Hong Kong: HK's logistics industry to flourish

Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan

Although there are still two months to go, 2021 is no doubt another challenging year for the logistics industry. The global supply chain has survived and risen to the challenge to keep the world going, from restocking hash browns and chicken wings locally, to the timely distribution of food and other essential supplies such as vaccines worldwide. It calls for collaboration that transcends boundaries and sectors and is only made possible through concerted efforts among the maritime, aviation and logistics industries. Given such a backdrop, the theme of this years conference, Resilience, Agility, Sustainability, could not be timelier.

Despite disruptions to global supply chain and worldwide shortage of containers, we have been doing whatever we can to maintain normal operations of our airport and port round the clock. For the first nine months of 2021, the cumulative container throughput at the Hong Kong port has edged up to 13.3 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit) and cargo throughput at Hong Kong International Airport recorded a 13.1% growth to 3.6 million tonnes. These are testimony that cargo operations on all fronts in Hong Kong remain vibrant and resilient.

Under one country, two systems, the National 14th Five-Year Plan reaffirms the unwavering support of the Central Peoples Government to strengthen Hong Kongs position as an international aviation hub and an international maritime centre, as well as the regions logistics hub.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is one of the fastest growing regions in China and in the world with a total population of 86 million and a combined GDP (gross domestic product) of around US$17 trillion. The strategic development of the bay area provides immense opportunities for common prosperity. Last year, the bay area handled altogether a throughput of 82 million TEUs, and 7.7 million tonnes of air mails and cargoes. Putting together the nations dual circulation economic development strategy, the bay areas cluster effect, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the potential for development and growth for the logistics, maritime and aviation industries would be phenomenal.

To make the most of these opportunities, we have formulated comprehensive strategies to reinforce our position as a premier regional logistics hub, underpinned by our world-class transport infrastructure, be it air, land and sea. Our aviation network reaches out to over 200 destinations worldwide. Hong Kong International Airport had been the worlds busiest cargo airport for many years and its cargo handling capacity will be doubled to 10 million tonnes annually when the three-runway system is fully commissioned by 2024.

As for sea transport, the Hong Kong port is renowned for its extensive connectivity and efficiency. With over 150 years of maritime heritage, robust international connectivity and our multi-faceted maritime excellence, the Hong Kong port remains one of the top 10 container ports in the world, as well as a transhipment hub in the region. There are some 280 weekly container vessel sailings, connecting to over 600 destinations worldwide.

The future of modern logistics is going to be smart and technology-driven. Automation, artificial intelligence, big data and digitalisation are instrumental. To help achieve this strategic goal the the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has set up a HK$300 million funding scheme to encourage logistics service providers in applying technological solutions to enhance productivity.

Apart from hardware and infrastructure, human capital is also indispensable. The Hong Kong SAR Government spares no effort in attracting and grooming talent to support the maritime, aviation and logistics industries. With a total commitment of HK$300 million, the Maritime & Aviation Training Fund has organised a wide spectrum of training activities, with over 13,000 practitioners and students trained over the years. The Hong Kong International Aviation Academy also helps nurture talent for the aviation sector. To better equip for the enormous opportunities brought by the rapid growth of e-commerce in the Mainland and across the globe, the Hong Kong Logistics Association, with the support of the Hong Kong SAR Government, has also launched accredited training programme on cold chain logistics management.

Hong Kongs success in logistics, maritime and aviation has come a long way. With the rule of law and level playing field for all, together with multi-modal transport infrastructure and worldwide connectivity, Hong Kong remains the preferred logistic hub in the region. Looking ahead, our continual economic integration with the nations development will offer unprecedented opportunities for the global community. With the staunch support of the Central Peoples Government and the enduring collaboration with partners across the globe, we are here to serve with our best and we count on you, not only to reshape the global supply chain, but also to chart and build an agile, resilient and sustainable system for the future.

Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan gave these remarks at the Asian Logistics, Maritime & Aviation Conference 2021 on November 3.

This story has been published on: 2021-11-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Hong Kong: National plan aids fintech growth

Financial Secretary Paul Chan

For the first time, FinTech Week combines in-house sessions with virtual events. In short, the world is watching.

Scaling the FinTech Future Together is the theme of this years Hong Kong FinTech Week. More than capturing the mood of the conference, the theme speaks of the future. For fintech and all of us who believe in its transformative promise.

This years event welcomes thousands of you - fintech founders and innovators, financial services professionals, regulators and government leaders, academics and researchers, and plenty of investors, too - and from more than 60 economies. Some 300 high-profile speakers, 400 exhibitors and more than 25 delegations in all.

You are here, there and everywhere to gather intelligence, insight and inspiration from another action-packed FinTech Week. This years edition features discrete global stage, future stage and Hong Kong stage sessions and activities.

Let me begin with the big picture. A reassuring picture. Despite COVID-19 and numerous other challenges, Hong Kong remains a prime international financial centre. And you need not take my word on that. The latest Global Financial Centres Index published in September saw Hong Kongs return to number three, globally - just behind only New York and London. We are Asias top financial services centre.

More big picture affirmations can be seen from the National 14th Five-Year Plan. It supports Hong Kongs continuing efforts to expand our global financial services status and offerings. At the same time, it backs the development of Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub.

The plan also counts on a continuing expansion of connections between the financial markets of Hong Kong and the Mainland.

A welcome case in point is the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area just launched a month ago. Thanks to the wealth management connect, Mainland investors can access global wealth products via Hong Kong.

No less important, its establishment serves as a watershed moment in the bay areas financial development.

And thanks to our one country, two systems institutional strength, Hong Kong remains the destination of choice for fintech companies looking to operate, or expand, locally, regionally or globally.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is actively working with Mainland authorities to help the fintech industry seize the far-reaching opportunities emerging in the bay area.

These efforts are paying off. Just two weeks ago, the Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Peoples Bank of China signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Greater Bay Area Fintech Innovation Supervisory Co-operation.

The new co-operation will allow financial institutions, tech companies and innovators from the Mainland and Hong Kong to test cross-boundary fintech applications via a one-stop sandbox. The agreement will enable more timely feedback from regulators and users, expediting the launch of fintech products while lowering costs.

Equally significant is the continuing collaboration between our HKMA and the Peoples Bank of China in the testing of the use of digital renminbi here in Hong Kong. The goal is creating a convenient means of cross-boundary payments for Hong Kong and Mainland residents.

The HKMA is also studying the prospect of issuing our own central bank digital currency for retail use in Hong Kong and I look forward to its findings in the coming months.

I have got more digital updates for you. Our Faster Payment System, known as FPS in short, has been rapidly developing since its launch in 2018. It now supports person-to-person and merchant payments, as well as account top-ups and the e-payment of government bills and fees using QR codes.

At the end of September, FPS had recorded more than nine million registrations. Average daily real time transactions exceeded 740,000, worth some HK$5.2 billion.

A commercial data interchange is also in the works. It will connect banks and service providers such as payment systems and public bodies or utility companies, providing the banks with welcome data.

That will help banks conduct more accurate and objective credit assessments, enhancing trade finance efficiency and making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain trade finance. The system is expected to get going sometime next year.

There is more. In February, we launched the Fintech Proof-of-Concept Subsidy Scheme. It encourages financial institutions to collaborate with fintech companies in the development of innovative financial services products.

The programme, I am pleased to report, was oversubscribed. A total of 93 projects were approved and given funding. They cover promising growth areas such as regtech and payment tech, as well as cross-sector and cross-boundary applications. I am confident the projects will result in more convenient, expeditious and reliable services. And that is good news for the public and the growing Hong Kong fintech sector.

So too is our electronic Consumption Voucher Scheme. This scheme gives every eligible Hong Kong citizen aged 18 or above some US$640 to spend. Created to accelerate economic recovery by boosting domestic consumption, the scheme is being implemented entirely electronically to promote a more popular use of e-payment by both consumers and merchants. As at the end of September, the four stored value facility operators participating in the scheme have registered over three million new consumer accounts and acquired over 80,000 new merchants. That includes taxi drivers and wet market stalls.

Up to November 1, some 6.3 million registrants had received their electronic (consumption) vouchers, totalling about US$3.5 billion, boosting visibly the business of the F&B (food and beverage), retail and other service sectors, with very positive feedback from both consumers and businesses.

Talent is essential to fintech development. We are working on that as well. Indeed, we have doubled the annual quota for the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme to 4,000 to welcome talent from all over the world. This scheme, of course, includes fintech professionals.

The latest Policy Address announced the establishment of professional qualification standards for the fintech sector. That will create clear and accredited professional development ladders for practitioners.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan gave these remarks at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2021 on November 3.

This story has been published on: 2021-11-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: KZN voters commended for participating in Local Government Elections

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has commended voters in the province for their role in what can be described as peaceful, free and fair local government elections.

We take this opportunity to thank the voters in KwaZulu-Natal who came out to vote to express this hard-earned democratic right. In particular, we convey our gratitude to all the communities of KwaZulu-Natal for displaying maturity and for allowing all political parties and independents to display their posters and to campaign freely, Zikalala said.

Millions of eligible voters went to the polls on Monday in the countrys local government elections to choose councillors for the next five years.

This years election marks 21 years of local government in South Africa, and 28 years since the country was first ushered into the democratic era in 1994.

On behalf of Provincial Executive Council, Zikalala led an intensive media campaign encouraging voters to vote and to allow others space to campaign without hindrance or administration.

The Premiers campaign was run, as numbers at the beginning of October 2021 indicated that, while there were 26 221 853 million registered voters in South Africa, 5 467 329 million of them were in KwaZulu-Natal.

Based on this count, the Electoral Commission (IEC) said that out of the countrys estimated 40 million eligible voters, an estimated 13 million were not going to vote because they had decided not to register.

Responding to voter turnout, Zikalala said the preliminary figures showed a significant drop in overall voter turn-out, with 52% of KwaZulu-Natal voters went to the polls this year, compared 61% during the 2016 Local Government Elections.

This years figures point to a 10% decline, but it gives hope that with more intensive engagement of the voters, that decline can be halted.

KwaZulu-Natal is one of only three provinces out of nine which together with the Western Cape and Northern Cape breached the 50% response of registered voters who made their mark yesterday, Zikalala said.

Greater focus on young first time voters required

Moving forward, the Premier said it is clear that greater focus on young people who are first time voters will be required to remind them that they have a stake in the future of this country.

As leaders it is our duty to help reverse this trend of non-voting and to encourage voters to exercise this right which is central to consolidating the democratic gains, the Premier said.

Security Cluster commended for creating safe environment

Meanwhile, Zikalala commended the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) for maintaining a peaceful election.

He said that apart from reported isolated incidents, the provincial government is pleased that political parties engaged robustly, but with respect for each other in what has been a mature contest for the soul of the voter.

We also express our sincerest gratitude to the dedicated men and women of the SAPS and the entire Security Cluster who planned, executed and maintained a safe and secure environment for our elections.

Through its preventative and responsive capacity, the Security Cluster created the necessary atmosphere in which the IEC could conduct its work and the voters could vote for parties and candidates of their choice, Zikalala said.

Parties, candidates called to accept final results

He also called on KwaZulu-Natal people, including the parties and candidates to accept the final results as the product of a democratic, free and fair process.

Once the results are finalised we will start setting up councils. We call on the people of KwaZulu-Natal to support these structures and for the next five years to work closely with all our elected representatives to support the delivery of basic services and to work for a better KwaZulu-Natal, the Premier said.

He further paid tribute to the IEC for rolling out its world class election machinery to conduct an election that we can all be proud of.

The IECs integrity remains uncontested as an independent election agency that is centred on our Constitutional values. The IEC continues to display its critical role in the maintenance of democracy and the building of one united South Africa, Zikalala said.

As at 02:30pm, the IEC's live results showed that KwaZulu-Natal was at 60% completion, with the African National Congress leading with 42.34 votes, followed by the Inkatha Freedom Party with 25.78% and Democratic Alliances 11.12%.

The IEC is expected to hold a media briefing this afternoon, to provide an update on the counting of results.  SAnews.gov.za

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Hong Kong: Vaccine booster details announced

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

The Government announced today that immunocompromised patients and people with a higher risk of infection can receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for free on or after November 11.

Secretary for Food & Health Professor Sophia Chan and Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip unveiled the details of the booster shot arrangement at a press conference this afternoon.

Immunocompromised individuals include cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, advanced-stage HIV patients and patients taking active immunosuppressive drugs. They should be administered the third dose at least four weeks after the second dose.

Those who have received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine and with a higher risk of infection should receive the third jab at least six months from the second dose. They include people aged 60 or above, healthcare workers and those with chronic illnesses.

Workers at an increased risk of COVID-19 exposure and transmission due to their occupational setting, such as personnel participating in anti-epidemic related work, providing cross-boundary transportation or working at control points and ports, also belong to this high-risk group.

For these two groups, the government-appointed experts recommend that a third dose of the BioNTech vaccine may elicit a better immune response, though they may choose the type of vaccine they prefer.

For people aged 18 or above in the aforementioned higher risk populations who have received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine, an additional dose of the same vaccine administered at least six months from the second dose is recommended, though they may select the Sinovac vaccine as the third dose.

Prof Sophia Chan said: As far as BioNTech vaccine is concerned, if you have taken two doses of BioNTech and are in the higher risk groups, then you are recommended to take the third dose.

For those who have taken the BioNTech vaccine but are not in the higher risk groups, we will look into more data. The joint scientific committee under the Centre for Health Protection and our experts will look into it before making any further recommendation.

Prof Chan added that individuals who are fully recovered from COVID-19 should discuss with their physician whether two vaccine doses are required and if so, an interval of six months between them is recommended.

Currently, recovered patients are only required to receive one dose of the vaccine.

On ways for the eligible people to get the third jab, Mr Nip said that starting from November 5, they can make reservations for vaccination on or after November 11 at community vaccination centres (CVCs) or designated clinics of the Hospital Authority through the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme website.

They can also collect same-day tickets and get vaccinated at the CVCs without prior booking. Alternatively, they may make a reservation for the Sinovac vaccination through private doctors or clinics enrolled in the vaccination programme.

Additionally, patients and visitors of public hospitals can receive the BioNTech vaccination without prior booking at nine COVID-19 vaccination stations.

This story has been published on: 2021-11-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
RTHK: India's homegrown Covid jab gets WHO approval

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday that it has granted approval for Indian drugmaker Bharat Biotech's home-grown Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use listing, paving the way for it to be accepted as a valid vaccine in many poor countries.

The WHO tweeed that its technical advisory group had ruled that benefits of the shot, known as Covaxin, significantly outweighed the risks and that it met WHO standards for protection against Covid-19.

The decision had been delayed as the advisory group sought additional clarifications from Bharat Biotech before conducting a final risk-benefit assessment for the vaccine's global use.

WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation also recommended Covaxin's use in two doses, with an interval of four weeks, in age groups 18 and above. These recommendations are in line with the company's guidance.

Covaxin was given emergency-use authorisation in India in January even before the completion of its late-stage trial, which later found the shot to be 78 percent effective against severe Covid-19.

WHO's decision is expected to help millions of Indians who have received Covaxin to travel outside the country.

WHO's approval may also clear the way for India to commit supplies to the Covax global vaccine sharing effort, which is co-led by the WHO and aims to provide equitable access to shots for low- and middle-income countries. (Reuters)

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South Africa: Vote counting completed

The Electoral Commission (IEC) has announced that vote counting for the 2021 Municipal Elections has been completed.

At the level of capturing, 96.9 percent of results are already in the system awaiting scanning and auditing. This means of the 64 502 results expected, 62 500 have been captured into the results system, IEC General Manager: Electoral Matters Granville Abrahams said.

Addressing a media briefing on Wednesday, Abrahams said of the 62 161 results captured, 53 209 have been scanned into an image and thus available.

The completion rate in the Northern Cape is 95.5 percent, 88 percent in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape 83 percent; Mpumalanga 85.4 and the Free State are at 87 percent. The completion rate in the rest of the provinces ranges between 60 and 80 percent, he said.

The IEC has affirmed its commitment to finalising results expeditiously while taking care to ensure that all necessary verifications are enforced.

Progress in relation to the finalisation of results now stands at 79 percent of expected results. The number of completed municipalities now stands 139 from a total of 257, Abrahams said.

He said all results are now being transcribed to result slips and all these result slips are at local offices.

At the local office, they are required to check them for arithmetic accuracy. It is then captured once into the system, the screen goes blank and we capture it the second time. We call this double blind capturing. It is done to verify what was captured the first time is correct, once those numbers are verified the result slip is confirmed, scanned and matched to the result.

We have auditors at all of our capturing sites. We also have the national audit manager for the project monitoring the operations. These are independent auditors. Its not the internal audit function of the IEC, Abrahams said.

The auditors verify that the information on the form is the same as what was captured in the system. The auditor has a unique code to enter the result system and nobody knows the code.

Once all of those controls are done, the result is cleared. 96.9% of all the result slips have been captured and are in the system. The remaining 3.1% is focused primarily in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Gauteng.

We have, however, expedited Gauteng by providing additional capacity as far as the capturing phase is concerned, which should be done very soon.

As far as the auditors is concerned, we cannot rush the auditors. It is essential do their work independently without any pressure from the IEC, he said.

Abrahams said the IEC is not behind in finalising the results, as they must be announced within seven days of the election.  SAnews.gov.za

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South Africa: Commission report finds no evidence of gender discrimination during elections

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) says its preliminary report has found no evidence of any gender-based discrimination during the 2021 Local Government Elections.

The Commission has sent at least 50 observers to represent it at voting stations and results centres across the country since the beginning of the voting period.

The mission of our observers was to witness and observe the unfolding voting process throughout the country during voting day to ensure that men and women, and boys and girls eligible to vote, were afforded opportunities to exercise this democratic right, free of gender discrimination or any other gender-related impediments.

Based on the experiences and feedback receivedthe CGE wishes to issue this preliminary statement indicating that we have found no evidence of systematic and/or systemic discrimination or impediment against any South African citizen based on gender, Commission spokesperson Javu Baloyi said.

Baloyi added that the Commission takes note of the special care given to those more vulnerable groups during voting.

We wish to remark with appreciation the efforts of the staff of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, at the various voting stations observed, for assisting and prioritising pregnant women, elderly, persons with disabilities including women and men with small children, to move ahead of the queues to minimise and alleviate the inconvenience of standing for too long in queues before casting their votes, he said.

However, the Commission also noted that there were some isolated incidents.

We have also noted reports of isolated incidents at some of the voting stations observed by the CGE where, during the vote counting process, the application of strict rules to control the movements of individuals in and out of the vote counting venues, including regulation of comfort breaks and use of restrooms and ablution facilities, resulted in some discomfort and distress to some of the women affected, he said.

A more substantive report on the outcome of the elections will be released at a later stage, containing the findings of the CGEs gender analysis of the results of the 2021 Local Government Elections.

Female representation

Baloyi highlighted that at 55%, women continue to dominate the registered voters roll and said although this stands the country in good stead, men continue to dominate public office.

[T]he CGE desires to signal no complacency with these voter registration figures that appear to show higher levels of interest and willingness among women to participate in choosing their public representatives, as challenges persist. We note, for instance, that overall women continue to be significantly under-represented among public representatives at local government level, particularly among ward councillors, as well as within the leadership structures of some of the major political parties in the country.

We therefore await with great expectation the results of the recent Local Government Elections to assess the extent to which these inadequacies will be addressed, Baloyi said.

The Commission will release a comprehensive report on the outcomes of the Local Government Elections at a later stage which will contain a gender analysis of the election results.  SAnews.gov.za

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RTHK: British trawler held in France allowed home

A French court ruled on Wednesday that a British trawler impounded by French authorities could sail for home, overturning an earlier demand that its captain pay a 150,000 euro bond, a lawyer for the captain said.

The Cornelis Gert Jan was seized last week, with French authorities saying it had been caught fishing for scallops in French territorial waters without a proper licence.

The lawyer for the Irish captain, Jondy Ward, said earlier the vessel was a pawn in a wider political row between Paris and London over fishing rights after Britain's departure from the European Union.

Ship tracking website marinetraffic.com showed the vessel was still moored on Wednesday evening in the French port of Le Havre, where it was impounded. Its declared destination was listed on the site as "FREEDOMMMM".

"We are obviously delighted and relieved that the vessel can leave and our crew can get home," Andrew Brown, a director of the trawler, said.

"We are also very pleased the courts have not set any bond for the release of the vessel. We are just relieved that the crew, who remain in good spirits, are able to head home," he said.

The French authorities had initially demanded the 150,000 euro bond in exchange for allowing the captain and the vessel to leave French jurisdiction pending a trial which has been scheduled for next year.

France and Britain this week came to the brink of a cross-Channel trade war, with Paris alleging that London was denying fishing licences to French trawlers they were entitled to under a post-Brexit deal.

Britain said it was honouring the deal, and accused France of blowing the affair up out of all proportion. Paris had threatened to step up checks on trucks and produce arriving from Britain and to bar British trawlers docking in French ports.

But France pulled back at the last minute and now says it will make a fresh attempt to negotiate a solution with Britain. Senior British and French officials are to meet for talks on the issue on Thursday. (Reuters)

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RTHK: Nine killed as cargo plane bursts into flames

A Belarussian-owned cargo plane crash-landed in Siberia and burst into flames, killing all nine people on board, after disappearing from radar just outside the city of Irkutsk, officials said.

Russia's federal aviation agency Rosaviatsiya said the Antonov An-12 plane, owned by Belarussian company Grodno, circled around after first coming in to land, at which point communication was lost.

"The only thing we can see is that, unfortunately, everyone is dead," said Igor Kobzev, the regional governor of Irkutsk.

Video footage from the scene showed rescuers battling to put out the flames, illuminated by torchlight in pitch black, snowy conditions. The local branch of the Russian Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case over violation of transport safety rules.

Belarussian authorities said the plane had been manned by an experienced crew of three Belarussians, two Russians and two Ukrainians, who had all died, and the plane had not been carrying any cargo. Russian prosecutors later said there had been two additional passengers on board.

Air accidents are not uncommon across the former Soviet Union, especially involving ageing planes in far-flung regions. (Reuters)

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RTHK: Anger as British lawmakers reverse colleague's ban

Britain's governing Conservatives were accused of corruption after they voted on Wednesday to halt the suspension of a colleague found to have broken paid lobbying rules, and forced through an overhaul of the process of investigating lawmakers.

Parliament's standards watchdog had determined Conservative Owen Paterson had committed an "egregious case of paid advocacy" by repeatedly using his position to promote two companies, who together paid him nearly three times his annual parliamentary salary.

It had recommended he should be suspended for 30 days.

But when parliament was asked to endorse the suspension, a group of Conservatives, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's support, put forward a proposal to delay it and instead set up a new committee to review his case and the wider process of investigating lawmakers.

That proposal was passed by 250 votes to 232, despite considerable anger from opposition parties that the government was changing the rules because it did not like the result, a move that they said would damage public trust in parliament.

There were shouts of "shame" from opposition lawmakers as the result was read out. There was also disquiet among some on the governing benches; of the 361 Conservative lawmakers in parliament, more than 100 either voted against or abstained.

"This is corruption," opposition Labour Party deputy leader Angela Rayner said on Twitter. "Owen Paterson was found guilty of breaking the rules by an independent committee. He took money from a private company and then lobbied Ministers on their behalf."

The government, which media reported had told its lawmakers to back the proposal, said it was about improving the process.

"Paid advocacy in this House (of Commons) is wrong," Johnson, who himself voted for the move, told lawmakers. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-11-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
News of the day: death toll in Kabul attack rises to 23, Covid-19 cases in Russia set new record. A multimillion-dollar donation to Oxford prompts a debate in Vietnam.

AFGHANISTAN

The death toll has risen to 23 after the attack on the military hospital of Sardar Daud Khan in Kabul claimed by the Islamic State of Khorasan. The victims include a Taliban chief responsible for security in the capital. In the meantime, the Taliban have banned the use of foreign currencies while cash is in short supply.

TAIWAN

After recent tensions between Taipei and Beijing, today Taiwan welcomed the first delegation of the European Parliament. The main theme will be foreign interference and attempts at disinformation in democratic processes. President Tsai Ing-wen has sounded the alarm about repeated Chinese attempts to gain more influence on the island.

HONG KONG - CHINA

Hong Kong's airport could be split in two to separate tourists from mainland China from everyone else. The measure would be taken to reduce cross-border infections. China today reported 93 new cases of Covid-19, a quarter of them in Heilongjiang province, on the border with Russia. That's the highest count since Aug. 9, and now at least 16 areas are reporting new cases of the coronavirus.

RUSSIA

For the third consecutive day, more than 40,000 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded. Daily deaths have reached record numbers since the start of the pandemic. Moscow and Saint Petersburg in lockdown. Several clergymen have died and many in intensive care.

SYRIA - ISRAEL

This morning Israel launched an airstrike hitting an outlying area of the city of Damascus. No casualties were reported. A few days ago Syria had accused Israel of carrying out attacks in the south of the country. Israel says it wants to hit the weapons destined to hezbollah militias close to Iran.

INDIA

The Indian government has sent teams of experts to at least nine Indian states to combat dengue outbreaks. So far, more than 1,530 cases of dengue have been reported in the capital. Only 1,200 were recorded in October, the highest number in four years. In Punjab, there were 16,126 cases registered as of Oct. 31, the highest figure since 2017.

VIETNAM

Oxford University's historic Linacre College will change its name to become Thao College after a 1 million (182 million euros) donation from Vietnam's richest woman, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, an airline founder. The choice is stirring controversy among Vietnamese who wonder how much that sum could have funded education in their own country.

MYANMAR

The military junta has confirmed its decision to prevent the special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) from visiting Aung San Suu Kyi despite mounting international pressure.
NEWS PROVIDED BY

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Nov. 3, 2021



NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue reexamines the meeting last week between the pope and the president:

Many Catholics were dismayed, if not furious, with news reports indicating that Pope Francis told President Biden on October 29 that he was "a good Catholic" and "should keep receiving Communion." The Vatican has neither confirmed nor denied this account. As I said when the news broke, we have good reasons to be skeptical of Biden's rendition.

After taking another look at this issue, examining the exact words used by Bidennot relying on media interpretations of what he saidmy skepticism is growing. The president was asked about this matter at two press conferences: one on October 29, and the other on October 31.

On October 29, Biden was asked, "Mr. President, did the issue of abortion come up at all?" The first words out of his mouth were, "No, it didn't." Then he contradicted himself saying, "It came up." So which account is true?

After Biden said, "It came up," he then said what the media widely reported. "We just talked about the fact that he was happy I was a good Catholic and I should keep receiving Communion."

If the first version is rightabortion never came up for discussionthen it seems peculiar, to say the least, for the pope to tell him he should "keep receiving Communion." What would be the context for such a statement, if not abortion? After all, the entire controversy is about Biden's pro-abortion record, so it is hard to imagine the pope imploring him to "keep receiving Communion" absent any discussion of abortion. Are we to believe he said this out of the blue?

If abortion did come up, what did the pope say to him about it? Just recently Pope Francis said that "abortion is murder. Those who carry out abortions kill." Such an unequivocal remark suggests it is unlikely that the pope would discuss abortion without talking about it in such graphic terms. That would surely have made Biden uneasy, yet he did not appear to be that way when he spoke.

At the same press conference, Biden was asked, "Did you discuss the U.S. Conference of Bishops?" He answered, "That's a private conversation." This begs the question: Why would a discussion of the bishops' conference be considered a private matter but not one that affects him personally, namely his suitability to receive Communion?

It is entirely possible that Biden is lying.

After admitting that abortion never came up, he quickly pivoted. Why? Because he saw an opening, an opportunity to report to the press the most important thing he wanted from the popea chance to undercut those U.S. bishops who are deeply troubled about his pro-abortion record (they will be meeting in less than two weeks to discuss this subject). Having been denied the photo-op the White House desperately wanted, he had to come away with something that served his interest. The Communion issue had to be in the forefront of his mind.

At the October 31st press conference, Biden was asked, "For these Catholics back home, what did it mean for you to hear Pope Francis, in the wake of thisin the middle of this debate, call you a good Catholic? And what did he tell youshould that put this debate to rest?"

"Look, I'mI'm not going toa lot of this is just personal," Biden said.

But it wasn't personal just two day earlier. In fact, he showed no hesitancy in getting the word out that the pope regarded him as such a good Catholic that he allegedly encouraged him to "keep receiving Communion." What changed? Could it be that the Vatican contacted the Biden team and asked them to quash this issue, knowing that Biden's account was not accurate?

Our incurious media are not asking these questions. That's because they want to protect the pope and the president, both of whom they like.

There are too many unanswered questions to put this matter to rest. The unwillingness of the Vatican to confirm or deny Biden's account, and Biden's inconsistent and implausible responsesonly adds to the problem. This doesn't make either side look good.
Court Gives DOD Extensive Homework Before Navy SEAL 1 v. Biden Hearing

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Liberty Counsel

Nov. 3, 2021



TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 3, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- In Liberty Counsel's class action lawsuit against Joseph R. Biden, the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the federal court in Florida ordered the defendants to submit an extensive verified list of information regarding COVID shots and the military by November 12.

Liberty Counsel represents members from all five branches of the military, federal employees, and federal civilian contractors who have been unlawfully mandated to get the COVID shots or face dishonorable discharge from the military or termination from employment.

In preparation for Navy SEAL 1 v. Biden, Judge Steve Merryday has ordered the defendants to file a "precise statement of the number of requests in each branch for a religious exemption from injection of a COVID-19 vaccine; the number of requests granted, denied, and pending; the number of persons in the armed forces who are unvaccinated and who have submitted no request for exemption; the number of persons whose application is resolved and who have received some change in the terms and conditions of their service, including separation of any kind; and the categories of results that have occurred and how many of each kind of result has occurred."

In addition, the court ordered the Department of Defense to submit: "(1) the procedure by which a service member applies for a religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement, including a copy of any form for, and any instructions for, applying for an exemption and a copy of any form used to grant, deny, or otherwise resolve the application; (2) the procedure for resolving the request, including the identity (by rank, position, or the like; a person's name is not required) of the person or persons who initially resolve the request; (3) the criteria by which the identified person or persons will resolve the initial application, including the standard of proof the factual allegations of the application must satisfy before approval of the application; (4) the procedure, including the forms, the persons empowered to decide at each level, the standard of proof, and the like, for each opportunity available to a service member to obtain review of, and request reversal or modification of, an unsatisfactory (to the service member) resolution of the application (this statement must describe each level of available review to and including exhaustion of the available remedies); (5) the procedure for and alternatives for punishment following the denial of an application and the exhaustion of available review; and (6) any policy under active consideration (by any branch of the United States armed forces or any defendant) to alter or amend the substance and procedure described in response to (1) through (5) of this paragraph and effective before June 1, 2022."

The plaintiffs all hold sincere religious beliefs against the COVID shots on the basis that their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and to defile it is a sin against God. In addition, the plaintiffs do not want to participate directly or indirectly or otherwise be associated with the destruction of human life through abortion by injecting a product that contains or was tested or developed with aborted fetal cell lines. The plaintiffs have all submitted religious exemption requests from a COVID-19 injection which have been unlawfully denied.

The COVID shots cannot be mandatory under the federal Emergency Use Authorization law, and the plaintiffs free exercise of religion is protected by the First Amendment. In addition, their free exercise of religion is protected under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). Regarding RFRA, the Supreme Court wrote, "That statute prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion unless it demonstrates that doing so both furthers a compelling governmental interest and represents the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. Because RFRA operates as a kind of super statute, displacing the normal operation of other federal laws, it might supersede Title VII's commands in appropriate cases" (emphasis added).

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "Liberty Counsel looks forward to our day in court against Joe Biden's unlawful COVID shot mandates. The Biden administration has no authority to require the COVID shots for the military or for federal employees or civilian contractors. Nor can the Biden administration pretend that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment do not apply to its unlawful mandates. Forcing the COVID shots without consent or consideration for their sincere religious beliefs is illegal."

Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost.



SOURCE Liberty Counsel



CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org



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Denmarks Orsted eyes offshore wind power project in Hai Phong

Orsted Group of Denmark has made a proposal to invest between US$11.9 - 13.6 billion in an offshore wind power project with a total capacity of 3,900 MW in Hai Phong city.













Representatives of the Danish Embassy in Vietnam attend a working session with the Hai Phong administration on November 2.





The project will be located 14 km far from Bach Long Vy island to the southeast, 36 km far from Long Chau archipelago to the northwest and less than 100km from the mainland.



The offshore wind power project is considered to fall in line with the orientation of the Vietnamese national energy development strategy which gives priority to the exploitation of renewable energy sources.



The proposal was put forward during a working session held on November 2 between representatives of the Danish Embassy in Vietnam and Nguyen Duc Tho, vice chairman of the Hai Phong administration.



Troels Jakobsen, head of the embassys commercial section, expressed his hope that cooperation between Denmark and Hai Phong would continue to be promoted in economics, trade, investment, education, tourism, and green economy transformation.



In response, Tho confirmed that the largest northern port citys administration always strives to create favourable conditions in which investors can benefit from. He asked investors to give more details about the project to ensure safety for fishing, maritme transport and national security as well.



Orsted, a Danish Government-owned enterprise, is currently the world's largest offshore wind developer, accounting for a total of 29% of global installed capacity and generating 88% of its energy from numerous renewable sources.
Brasilia (dpa) - Brazils bid for the elusive Olympic football gold was dented again in the form of a second straight goalless draw, against Iraq on Sunday night.



Renato Augusto volleyed high in injury time after being denied by the bar in the 44th. But the Brazilians were also lucky when Iraqs Mohanad Abdulraheem hit the post early on.



Neymar and company had also drawn their game 0-0 against South Africa, and some parts of the Brasilia crowd jeered the team which now needs a victory in the final group game against Denmark to be fully assured of a quarter-final berth.



Brazil, the record five-time World Cup winners, are yet to triumph in the mens Olympic football tournament, losing finals in 1984, 1988 and 2012.



The Olympics come two years after the World Cup in Brazil, where the home team were humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals and failed to make the final in Rios Maracana stadium, which will also stage the Olympic final on August 20.




Young man turns interest into career, becomes keen promoter of Tibetan dance

People's Daily Online) 17:39, November 02, 2021

Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2021 shows Jigme Dechen putting on a folk dance show in Riwoche county, Chamdo city, southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region. (China News Agency/Ran Wenjuan)

After going professional, 24-year-old Tibetan man Jigme Dechen now stands on a bigger platform to promote Tibetan folk dance.

Dancing has been a source of pleasure for Jigme Dechen since his childhood. My dream was to dance on the stage, he said. When he was 16, Jigme Dechen became a member of an art troupe in Riwoche county, Chamdo city, southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region.

But unlike the old days when he was happy just dancing randomly, Jigme Dechen realized that learning it professionally was a toilsome process. I spent long hours pressing my legs, and because we didnt have a standard classroom, I got hurt sometimes when I didnt have proper protection while practicing, Jigme Dechen recalled.

Jigme Dechens parents believed their son would not be able to find a decent job from dancing, and suggested he pursue another career as a traffic policeman. It was his strong passion for dancing that gave the young man the strength to move forward. After gradually adapting to the intensity of practice at the art troupe, Jigme Dechen started feeling good about himself and realized his dream step by step. I found myself becoming more confident and happier, and my horizons have also been broadened, Jigme Dechen said.

In recent years, the local government of Riwoche has attached great importance to enhancing the protection and inheritance of traditional ethnic culture, conducting frequent cultural exchange and mutual learning activities with other cities, such as those in Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality. This provided Jigme Dechen and his colleagues with more opportunities to showcase the charm of Tibetan dance to more audiences around the country.

In 2019, Jigme Dechen was recommended by his art troupe to take part in a dance show produced by the art troupe of the Tibet Autonomous Region, which was preparing for the dance competition for the 12th Lotus Awards to be held in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province. During the rehearsals, Jigme Dechen practiced so hard that he sometimes forgot to eat. The dance show won an award at the competition. When the host announced the competition results, I was so excited that I was on the verge of tears. My efforts had finally paid off, said Jigme Dechen.

Now that hes on a bigger platform, Jigme Dechen has decided that he should do more to promote Tibetan dance. In recent years, he has visited villages to collect information about local folk dances. Many folk dances may become extinct after the elderly people who know how to dance them pass away. So I must hurry up, Jigme Dechen explained.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
Governor's race could be bellwether for future U.S. political landscape

Xinhua) 08:03, November 03, 2021

File photo shows voters filling in their ballots at a polling station in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, Nov. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Outrage among parents, uncertainty on economic issues, as well as U.S. President Joe Biden's record-low approval ratings are coalescing to make this tightest gubernatorial race in recent memory.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The governor's race in the U.S. state of Virginia is neck and neck, and the result could have major implications for the country's future political landscape.

The race is happening in a state that has been led by Democratic governors for over a decade.

As Virginians head out to vote on Tuesday, the average of polls from RealClearPolitics, a U.S. political news website and polling data aggregator, showed the Republican candidate was leading by 1.7 percent. The win is still up for grabs, and that could foreshadow the U.S. political environment for the next couple of years, experts said.

In a speech from Norfolk of Virginia on Friday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said the race would be a "bellwether" for what would occur in the near future.

"It's a close election and it's a bellwether for what happens in the rest of the country," she said.

An unusual combination of factors - from the alleged cover-up of a sexual assault in a local school bathroom to how racial justice issues are taught - are playing out in Virginia, part of which borders on Washington D.C., the national capital.

Outrage among parents, uncertainty on economic issues, as well as U.S. President Joe Biden's record-low approval ratings are coalescing to make this tightest gubernatorial race in recent memory.

That's a sharp about-face in a state that Biden, a Democrat, carried by ten points in last year's presidential elections, and one that has not seen a Republican winning a statewide election since 2009.

The race, between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, occurs a year after Biden clinched the White House from former President Donald Trump. While Biden got off to a good start, recent months have seen his popularity plummet on issues ranging from his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, urban crime, and the economy.

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that a Youngkin victory would "signal a way for Republicans to embrace Trumpism without getting too close to Trump himself."

"It provides a path for 2022 (midterms) and 2024 (presidential race) for GOP candidates to present themselves to voters in ways that resonate in competitive states," West said.

File photo shows voters walking into a polling station in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, March 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Clay Ramsay, a researcher at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland, told Xinhua that if Youngkin wins, it means "the Democrats have not produced enough on a national level to get a higher turnout from their own Democrats and some independents."

"If McAuliffe wins by a hair, this will still start the alarm bells about the midterms. But if Youngkin wins by a hair, this will be interpreted as a resounding Republican victory with national implications," Ramsay said.

Youngkin is doing a careful tightrope walk by distancing himself from Trump - the de facto GOP leader, and a polarizing figure in increasingly Democratic Virginia.

McAuliffe has tried to paint Youngkin as a far-right Trump ally, but that strategy may have backfired in the home stretch of the race.

That's because Youngkin has eschewed Republican Party bigwigs and zeroed in on state-specific issues - particularly education.

Indeed, education stands as the top among Virginians - at 21 percent, six points ahead of jobs, according to a recent WFXR News/Emerson College poll.

The issue has become tense in recent months, as parents in Northern Virginia have grabbed national headlines, lambasting school board officials in public meetings for what they said were plans to teach critical race theory, or CRT.

Many parents in the state believe - rightly or wrongly - that CRT promotes racism and division in society, and the GOP blames this on what they bill the radical left wing of the Democratic Party.

Youngkin recently ran an ad that showed McAuliffe stating in a debate that he didn't think "parents should be telling schools what they should teach." McAuliffe later said the statement was taken out of context.

Education has also taken center stage after students took classes online for more than a year during the pandemic. Experts said online learning for children is not as effective as in-person study in a classroom environment.

Many parents are concerned that their children have lost a year or more of education, and many have expressed that they are feeling anxious over the issue.

Christine Hayden, a manager in a small company in her 50s, told Xinhua she's concerned about the possibility of teaching CRT in schools. She is also outraged about the alleged sexual assault in the school bathroom that officials allegedly covered up.

Stephanie Newman, an office worker in Virginia in her 40s, told Xinhua she would never vote Republican, mostly because of Trump.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Commentary: China's institutional strengths guarantee for fulfilling its carbon commitment

Xinhua) 08:07, November 03, 2021

BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- As the Chinese leadership has reiterated the country's carbon emission goals on multiple occasions, some may wonder how the world's largest developing country can fulfill its promise. The answer lies in China's institutional strengths including top-level design, strong leadership and economic incentive.

To begin with, China's political system, which is good at top-level planning and implementation, will ensure its carbon reduction goals can be fulfilled. Once decisions and goals are set, they are incorporated into the overall national development program, turned into feasible action plans and delivered faithfully by local governments and competent departments.

China's carbon-cutting goals are a major strategic decision made after much deliberation. One year after its introduction, they have been frequently appearing in China's national and regional development plans and policies, such as the government work report as well as the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the long-range objectives through the year 2035.

The latest example of the country's efforts came at the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26), as China announced that it would foster a green, low-carbon and circular economic system at a faster pace, press ahead with industrial structure adjustment, and rein in the irrational development of energy-intensive and high-emission projects.

The strong leadership of the country serves as another cornerstone for delivering on its promise. As demonstrated by the widely-acknowledged achievements made in China's fight against the COVID-19 and the die-hard extreme poverty under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Chinese society was highly efficient in pooling resources to concentrate efforts to undertake those tasks.

Guided and coordinated by the central government, good visions and methods that were successful in one region can be swiftly copied, adjusted and promoted in other parts of the vast country, ensuring the experience in development and reform can be used to the maximum.

In addition, China has strong economic incentives to reduce carbon emissions. The massive transition of the Chinese economy to a low carbon one will see new jobs created, relevant technological innovation advanced and the competitiveness of domestic enterprises promoted.

While retiring outdated production facilities and high energy-consuming enterprises to cut emissions at the source might have an immediate impact on some local economies, industrial upgrading and decarbonizing can drive China's economic growth and make it healthier and more sustainable in the longer term.

Anyone who knows China well is sure that the country is serious about reducing carbon emissions and pursuing green development. But the international community should also recognize that for a developing country with a population of over 1.4 billion that has not completed industrialization or urbanization, efforts such as the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and the supporting policy measures that China has adopted voluntarily have not been easy.

There are of course challenges for China, which has only 30 years between carbon peak to carbon neutrality, the shortest in the world history, to deliver on its promise. But given the institutional strengths China has, the country will realize its carbon reduction goals and any worries about it failing to do so is unnecessary.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Interview: BRI promotes int'l, intercultural exchanges, says German professor

Xinhua) 08:30, November 03, 2021

BERLIN, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- In the eyes of Michael Schueller, professor at the Osnabrueck University of Applied Sciences in Germany, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) creates opportunities for international and intercultural exchanges.

Schueller told Xinhua in a recent interview that the initiative was not widely known in Western Europe a few years ago.

"Back then I had a lot of questions about the BRI, my idea was to create an intercultural experience by contrasting the viewpoints of students from Kazakhstan, Germany and China," he said.

Therefore, Schueller organised a trip to countries and regions along the Belt and Road for his students in May 2019 to let them further understand the BRI's main projects during the excursion.

One group of the students started the train journey from Hamburg, Germany and headed to Almaty, Kazakhstan from west to east via Poland and Russia. Another group, led by Schueller started the trip from Shanghai, heading from east to west via Hefei in Anhui province, Xi'an in Shaanxi province, Lanzhou in Gansu province, and Horgos in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to get to Almaty. The third group was tasked with organizing a symposium at the German-Kazakh University in Almaty.

The trip took them about two weeks and they finally met in Almaty. The entire trip was documented in a 45-minute video report narrated in both Chinese and German.

Schueller said that he was very much impressed by the infrastructure behind the China-Europe freight train service during the trip, noting that there have been "huge changes" in recent years, as many people in Western Europe are now talking about the initiative.

Schueller also highlighted the importance of efficient transport connectivity in extraordinary global situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Railway connections are attractive complements to air freight and especially to sea freight," he said.

The China-Europe freight trains traveling along 73 routes have reached more than 170 cities in 23 European countries, since it was launched in 2011.

The China-Europe freight train trips have gained robust growth momentum since the start of 2021, with the total number surging 32 percent year-on-year to reach 10,030 by the end of August, two months earlier than last year, data from the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. showed.

Schueller said he was convinced that this rail link is vital for the countries along the Silk Road in Central Asia as it connects them to the global supply routes.

"Therefore, I hope that the spirit of the silk road, as we have experienced in our journey with international students from China, Kazakhstan and Germany, will continue to shape and form the Silk Road in the future," Schueller said.

In his eyes, such a huge project will be successful in the long term if all network partners, whether they are in Asia, Africa, Europe, or the rest of the world, can work together in a win-win form.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
More of the world's top scientists eager to cooperate with China

Xinhua) 08:51, November 03, 2021

SHANGHAI, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's scientific research started to develop rapidly about 40 years ago and is now at the world's leading level, and we are eager to cooperate with the country, said Jules Hoffman, the 2011 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, at a forum in Shanghai.

The 4th World Laureates Forum (WLF) kicked off on Monday and has brought together more than 130 top global scientists, including 68 Nobel laureates, who will participate through webinars and offline meetings in Shanghai.

Focusing on basic science promotion, international cooperation and youth development, the three-day event was co-organized by the World Laureates Association (WLA) and the China Association for Science and Technology.

In addition to the theme of open science, this year's forum has attached great importance to international scientific and technological cooperation.

Randy Schekman, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and also WLA vice chairman, expressed the importance of international cooperation in the field of basic science.

He said it is very important for scientists in the United States and the West to maintain continuous interaction with their counterparts in Asia, especially in China.

"China has invested a lot to develop the country's scientific infrastructure, and I believe it is most beneficial for us to communicate and cooperate with them," he added.

The forum also announced the establishment of the WLA Prize, which will be officially launched in 2022, with two individual awards each attached to prize money of 10 million yuan (about 1.56 million U.S. dollars).

Funded by donations from Chinese enterprises, the WLA Prize will focus on supporting original basic research and encouraging global scientists to better participate in and serve the common well-being of mankind.

Roger Kornberg, WLA chairman and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, said the WLA Prize proves that China attaches great importance to the development of basic science research, and he is confident that it will become a top global science award.

He also holds a positive attitude toward the prospects of the cooperation between China and the international scientific community.

"We work with our colleagues around the United States and Europe in different universities. As I know, the extent of such international cooperation between science in China and elsewhere has doubled in the last 10 years," he said.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Chinese premier urges efforts to foster, strengthen market entities

Xinhua) 08:52, November 03, 2021

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chairs a symposium during an inspection trip to the State Administration for Market Regulation, Nov. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has underlined the importance of work to foster and strengthen market entities to stimulate market vitality and social creativity.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while chairing a symposium during an inspection trip to the State Administration for Market Regulation on Monday.

The cultivation of market entities will also provide solid support for steady growth and stable employment, Li noted at the symposium.

China's market entities established since 2013 paid 3.81 trillion yuan (about 593.5 billion U.S. dollars) in taxes in the first three quarters alone, nearing last year's annual total, official data shows.

In places with more active market entities, the local economy is better, said Li, urging efforts to solve difficulties for market entities and allow more market players to be established, grow and prosper.

As the economy faces downward pressure, the over 100 million market entities provide an important foundation for the Chinese economy to maintain resilient, according to the premier.

He urged further policy support that brings tax and fee cuts directly to market entities, amid continued efforts to improve the business climate and cut red tape.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
UN chief speaks highly of President Xi's proposals on addressing climate change

Xinhua) 08:53, November 03, 2021

GLASGOW, Britain, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposals of upholding multilateral consensus, focusing on concrete actions and accelerating the green transition to address global climate change.

Guterres made positive comments Monday on Xi's written statement for the World Leaders Summit at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change when he held talks with Xie Zhenhua, special representative of Xi and China's special envoy for climate change, and Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation to COP26 and vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Guterres said he hopes the Chinese delegation would, as always, give full play to its influence at COP26, strengthen communication and coordination with all parties, and contribute to the success of COP26.

The two sides also exchanged views in depth on issues that include strengthening pragmatic cooperation among all parties, promoting the green transition, enhancing political mutual trust between the South and North, fulfilling the pledges of financial and technical support to developing countries, and working together to cope with climate change.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Confucius Institute in Uganda reopens after months of closure due to COVID-19 pandemic

Xinhua) 08:55, November 03, 2021

KAMPALA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Confucius Institute at Makerere University in Uganda has reopened for physical classes after being closed in June due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that the east African country was facing.

Gilbert Gumoshabe, the Uganda director of the institute told Xinhua by telephone on Tuesday that classes resumed on Monday, after a government directive that all institutions of higher learning reopen on Nov. 1.

"We closed in June for physical studies and decided to opt for online studies following the escalation of COVID-19 cases. But we have now reopened for our students to attend lectures physically," he said.

Patricia Nandekya, a first year student of Chinese language said that she is excited to be one of the students who have reported to the institute for physical studies.

"We have been attending lectures online because we could not access the institute due to the pandemic. But I am excited and happy that I am going to interact physically with my teachers here," she told Xinhua.

The institute said there will be strict adherence to the COVID-19 prevention protocols as classes resume.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Factbox: China's sci-tech achievements in 13th Five-Year Plan period

Xinhua) 08:57, November 03, 2021

Space suits are on display at an exhibition on China's major scientific accomplishments during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- China has made great achievements in scientific and technological innovation during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

As China embarks on a new journey to build a modern socialist country in all respects, sci-tech innovation will play a vital role in promoting the country's overall development.

According to the Global Innovation Index released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China moved up from 29th place in 2015 to 12th this year in the world ranking.

The following are facts and figures reflecting the progress of the country's sci-tech fields.

CUTTING-EDGE SCI-TECH PROGRESS

-- In December 2020, researchers established the quantum computer prototype "Jiuzhang" through which up to 76 photons were detected, achieving quantum computational advantage. This achievement marks that China has reached the first milestone on the path to full-scale quantum computing -- a quantum computational advantage, also known as "quantum supremacy," which indicates an overwhelming quantum computational speedup.

-- China launched the second comprehensive scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in June 2017, 40 years after the first expedition. Lasting five to ten years, the expedition members will conduct a series of studies focusing on the Plateau's glaciers, biodiversity, and ecological changes. They will also monitor changes in the region's climate.

-- China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest filled-aperture and most sensitive radio telescope, officially began operating on Jan. 11, 2020.

-- On Aug. 1, 2019, a hybrid artificial intelligence (AI) chip named Tianjic enables a bike to not only balance itself but steer itself around obstacles, respond to voice commands, and even make independent decisions.

-- The China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) went into service in March 2018. The CSNS is the country's first and the world's fourth pulsed spallation neutron source.

-- In July 2017, the world's first production line for high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel elements started mass production at China North Nuclear Fuel, headquartered in Baotou in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

-- On June 15, 2017, China launched a space telescope, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), or Insight, to observe black holes, neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts, and other celestial phenomena.

EXPLORING SPACE, DEEP SEA

-- China's Tianwen-1 mission, comprising an orbiter, lander and rover, was launched on July 23, 2020. The rover Zhurong has traveled more than 1,000 meters since it landed on Mars at the southern part of Utopia Planitia in May 2021.

Before Zhurong, five American rovers had landed on Mars. Although a latecomer, Zhurong has a unique innovation - it is the first Mars rover equipped with active suspension.

-- The Chang'e-5 probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and a returner, was launched on Nov. 24, 2020.

The return capsule landed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Dec. 17, 2020, retrieving about 1,731 grams of moon samples. The China National Space Administration delivered approximately 17 grams of sample to 13 institutions. They each applied for research programs.

-- The Chang'e-4 probe, launched on Dec. 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019.

The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have worked for 1,000 Earth days on the far side of the moon as of Sept. 29, 2021. The rover Yutu-2 has traveled 839.37 meters and obtained 3,632.01 gigabytes (GB) of data.

-- Fendouzhe, China's deep-sea manned submersible, successfully reached the Mariana Trench, going to a depth of 10,909 meters and setting a new record for China's manned deep-diving on Nov. 10, 2020.

SERVING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

-- A giant shield tunneling machine with a diameter of 16 meters rolled off the production line on Sept. 27, 2020, in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province. This machine is 150 meters in length and 4,300 tonnes in weight and is the largest shield tunneling machine produced by China so far.

-- By the end of 2020, the country had more than 37,900 km of high-speed rail lines in service, the longest in the world, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.(China Railway), the country's railway operator.

With maximum speeds of 350 kph on many lines, the network links all of China's major mega-city clusters and has become more than merely a faster mode of choice for domestic long-distance travel.

-- China officially commissioned the BDS (BeiDou Navigation Satellite System) on July 31, 2020, opening the new BDS-3 system to global users. Since then, the BDS-3 system has been operating smoothly and providing stable quality services to global users.

-- China launched its carbon dioxide monitoring satellite TanSat on Dec. 22, 2016, becoming the third country after Japan and the United States to monitor greenhouse gases through its own satellite.

The satellite's mission is to achieve high-precision monitoring of the global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and provide satellite data for scientific research.

-- A type of rice breeding accelerator has shortened the rice growth period from 120 days to 60 days. Helped by the technique, rice breeding will likely increase from two to six generations per year.

-- A total of 24 domestic COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for clinical trials, and nine of them entered the third phase of clinical trials. Meanwhile, there are 59 COVID-19 nucleic acid detection reagents approved for the market.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Shanghai upgrades services for a successful CIIE

09:00, November 03, 2021 By Tian Hong, Xie Weiqun ( People's Daily

Shanghai is going all out to hold another successful China International Import Expo (CIIE), from ensuring solid efforts in pandemic prevention and control, and constantly refining its service capabilities.

The first China-Europe freight train carrying exhibits for the fourth China International Import Expo arrives in Shanghai from Hamburg, Germany, Oct. 29, 2021. (People's Daily Online/Shen Chunchen)

On the morning of Oct. 21, the first batch of cold-chain food exhibits for the fourth CIIE arrived at a cold-chain food storage warehouse in Zhuqiao township, Pudong New Area, Shanghai.

After opening the cargo area of the truck that carried the exhibits, sanitary inspectors in protective suits measured the temperature of the cargo area with infrared thermometers, and then the exhibits were transferred on a designated convey belt for disinfection.

According to Xu Liang, vice general manager of Shanghai Huachen Youan Supply Chain Co., ltd., the warehouse covers a total area of 30,000 square meters and boasts a designed capacity of 12,000 metric tons. It is completely separated from the business areas of cold-chain enterprises. Porters, tally clerks, forklift drivers and managers have already started working at the warehouse, and are under closed-off management for better COVID-19 control, Xu said.

Shanghai has designated 37 medical facilities that offer 24-hour green channels of nucleic acid tests for those with CIIE certificates. Besides, 300 medical workers are working at a large temporary site for nucleic acid tests near the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), a main venue for the fourth CIIE, and the test results are uploaded to a cloud system soon after they are generated.

Shanghai has implemented full-chain, closed-loop, and traceable management, and all residents have been vaccinated and gone through COVID-19 screening, said Wu Jinglei, director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, adding that the whole city has been disinfected and all accesses to it are approved upon strict screening measures. The city is working earnestly to ensure solid pandemic prevention and control, so as to make the fourth CIIE a success, Wu noted.

The exterior of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), a main venue for the fourth China International Import Expo. (People's Daily Online/Yan Daming)

On the morning of Oct. 29, the first China-Europe freight train carrying exhibits for the fourth CIIE arrived at the Minhang Railway Station of Shanghai from Germany's Hamburg. Prior to the train's arrival, a 15-member customs team had already established a green channel for the customs clearance of these exhibits at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), which is not far from the Minhang Railway Station.

These new models and facilitation measures have further upgraded the customs clearance of CIIE exhibits. By optimizing information input and a venue inspection application, Shanghai Customs updated its big data management platform for cross-border trade, which has made its monitoring work more digital, intelligent and facilitated.

Besides, Shanghai has employed the achievements of urban digital transformation in the fourth CIIE, so as to ensure effective services with digital governance and better facilitate the participators with digital application scenarios.

At present, health information of the participators in the fourth CIIE, including their health codes, nucleic acid test results, and vaccination conditions, is being uploaded times a day by the municipal big data center of Shanghai, and such information acts as a determinant for the participators' access permissions. When they go through check points at the venues of the event, their temperature, security check, and verification information will be automatically recorded.

The National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), a main venue for the fourth China International Import Expo. (People's Daily Online/ Wang Chu)

Apart from that, a special service is now available on the public service platform of Shanghai, through which the participators and visitors can inquire about everything about the event, from exhibitors to venues, and from activities to online exhibitions.

The fourth CIIE will fully support the use of digital yuan at its venues, so as to offer a one-stop consumption experience of the digital currency. To build a multi-dimensional financial support system, the Export-Import Bank of China has specifically tailored a service plan for the fourth CIIE that offers over 30 financial products.

Greenland Global Commodity Trading Hub, as a permanent trading and exhibition platform of the CIIE, introduced another 17 country pavilions last month. Over 800 exhibits of the fourth CIIE were put on the shelf in advance. So far, the platform has attracted 180 merchants from 76 countries and regions, and established 63 country pavilions.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
20 years since entry into WTO, China wins widespread recognition for honoring promise

09:05, November 03, 2021 By Ouyang Jie ( People's Daily

China puts a lot of effort into and carefully makes arrangements for the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade policy review every time, and takes seriously every question from WTO members, which fully manifests Chinas commitment to multilateral trading system and indicates that it attaches great importance to the reviews of the WTO, Chinas Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said at a recent press conference.

Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2021 shows a busy container terminal of Lianyungang Port in Lianyungang, east Chinas Jiangsu province. (Peoples Daily Online/Si Wei)

China has laid great stress on WTOs trade policy review all along since its accession to the international organization in 2001, said Wang Shouwen, Chinas vice minister of commerce and deputy China International Trade Representative, at a press conference on WTOs eighth trade policy review of China.

Trade policy review is one of the three major functions of the WTO, and the other two are acting as a forum for trade negotiations and handling trade disputes between its members, Wang said, explaining that according to the existing rules, the WTO reviews Chinas trade policies every three years and that the organization has conducted the eighth trade policy review of China recently.

During the latest trade policy review, Chinas commerce minister Wang Wentao pointed out in his keynote speech that through untiring struggle and efforts as well as adherence to its reform and opening-up policy, China has achieved leapfrog economic development, providing huge opportunities for the world and making outstanding contributions to global economic development.

The commerce minister noted in his speech that over the past two decades since its entry into the WTO, China has strictly followed WTO rules, earnestly fulfilled its WTO commitments, and been a firm supporter of, active participant in, and important contributor to multilateral trading system. He also stressed that China has contributed to the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with practical actions.

A total of 65 representatives of WTO members spoke at the conference session of the eighth WTO trade policy review of China. And they made positive comments about China, Wang Shouwen said.

These representatives affirmed that China has actively participated in WTO activities, earnestly fulfilled its WTO commitments, actively taken part in WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies, led the way in promoting negotiations on investment facilitation, and constructively participated in negotiations on e-commerce, according to the vice minister of commerce.

Employees of Siemens Electrical Apparatus Ltd., Suzhou, a subsidiary of Siemens AG based in Suzhou, east Chinas Jiangsu province, produce circuit breakers to be exported, June 22, 2021. (Peoples Daily Online/Hua Xuegen)

They spoke highly of Chinas important role in international anti-epidemic cooperation and praised China for supporting the WTO in making an early decision on waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, he said.

Representatives of WTO members also expressed gratitude to China for granting zero-tariff treatment on imports from the least developed countries and helping other developing members and the least developed nations integrate into the multilateral trading system, according to Wang.

Representatives fully affirmed Chinas efforts to voluntarily lower tariffs, shorten its negative lists for foreign investment access, continuously expand market access, actively promote facilitation and liberalization of trade and investment, and offer a broad market to WTO members, Wang said.

They believe that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) gains huge potential for boosting trade and economic cooperation among relevant countries and has brought more opportunities for development to cooperative partners of China, he added.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Chinas accession to the WTO. If you look at the timetable for Chinas WTO obligations, you can see that we have fully fulfilled our obligations under the WTO as well as our commitments to the organization. And several directors-general of the WTO and the vast majority of WTO members have given full affirmation and wide recognition to our performance in this regard, Wang said.

Photo taken on May 19, 2021 shows workers of a healthcare product manufacturer based in Wenzhou, east Chinas Zhejiang province, are busy producing massage equipment to be exported to countries along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative. (Peoples Daily Online/Su Qiaojiang/)

China has made active efforts to align itself with the WTO rules, according to Wang, who disclosed that after China joined the WTO, the central government of China has reviewed more than 2,000 trade-related laws, regulations, and departmental rules, and local governments across the country have reviewed over 190,000 trade-related local policies, laws, and regulations.

Meanwhile, the country has made sure that its newly-formulated policies, laws, and regulations are completely in conformity with WTO rules, Wang noted.

The country has made consistent efforts to open its market to the rest of the world, Wang said, explaining that when China joined the WTO, its import tariffs stood at 15.3 percent on average, and it promised to reduce its average tariff level for imported goods to 9.8 percent. Now the countrys overall import tariff level has been cut down to 7.4 percent, lower than that of all developing members and close to that of developed members of the WTO, according to Wang.

The WTO accession protocol and relevant working group reports stipulated that China needed to open 100 sub-sectors in nine categories in 2007, while the country has so far actually opened nearly 120 sub-sectors, overfulfilling its commitments, Wang said.

China has abided by WTO rules over the past two decades, according to Wang, who said that China has reported the introduction, adjustment to and the implementation of domestic laws to the WTO in a timely manner, with the number of relevant reports exceeding 1,000.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
IMF officialChina has been an important contributor to the recovery of global trade

09:08, November 03, 2021 By Wu Lejun ( People's Daily

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently projected that the global economy recovery continues but momentum has weakened in its latest World Economic Outlook. However, Chinas share of the world economy has risen increasingly and the countrys economic recovery has supported global growth directly. Krishna Srinivasan, Deputy Director of Asia-Pacific Department at IMF told Peoples Daily in a recent written interview.

According to the latest statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China (GAC), Chinas foreign trade in goods registered a total value of 28.33 trillion yuan ($4.4 trillion) during the first three quarters of 2021, up 22.7 percent year on year. The global market shares of Chinas total foreign trade, exports as well as imports have increased, and China remained the worlds largest trading nation in goods.

China has been an important contributor to the recovery of global trade. Srinivasan commented that Chinas import and export performed well this year and the higher growth in Chinas trade has strong spillover effects on the global economy. Upholding the policy of reform and opening up and rebalancing its economy towards a more sustainable growth model, China will continuously contribute to the global economic growth.

Last September, China announced a concrete long-term target of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality in 2060 at the UN General Assembly. Srinivasan thought highly of Chinas important role played in the global fight against climate change in the interview. This year, Chinas national carbon market has started online trading. From his point of view, Chinas continuously promoting high-quality development, shifting away from investment-led to consumption-led growth and supporting the expansion of services and high-tech sectors, are all conductive to lowering carbon emissions.

According to IMFs newly released Asia & Pacific Regional Economic Outlook, Chinas experience with e-CNY (its digital currency) could hold useful lessons for those considering issuing central bank digital currencies, as long as these are backed by prudential safeguards. Srinivasan praised on Chinas significant efforts made in developing its own central bank digital currency in recent years. Chinas e-CNY has started large-scale tests in a number of cities and regions. He stressed that Chinas e-CNY has the potential to promote financial inclusion and improve payment efficiency, and it can expand the coverage of payment services to unbanked households and lower transaction costs for households and small firms. Chinas e-CNY can also provide targeted fiscal support and improve transparency in public finances.

Srinivasan firmly held the view that the global economy would benefit from a more open, stable, and transparent rules-based international trading system. Speaking of the U.S. and China, he said that finding ways to resolve trade disputes and modernize the multilateral trading system can benefit all countries in the world. From his perspective, the two countries are not just large economies  they are also major hubs for global value chains. By working together, the U.S. and China can perform well in addressing the most pressing global challengesfrom the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to the fight against climate change.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
China-Pakistan Friendship Square inaugurated in Wuhan

Xinhua) 09:10, November 03, 2021

Zhao Haishan (left), vice governor of Hubei Province, and Moin ul Haque, Pakistani Ambassador to China, inaugurate the China-Pakistan Friendship Square in Wuhan on Nov. 2, 2021. (Xinhua/Pan Zhiwei)

WUHAN, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The China-Pakistan Friendship Square was unveiled in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Tuesday, as part of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan.

The square, located beside the Yangtze River in the city center, is the first China-Pakistan Friendship Square in China.

Covering an area of about 10,000 square meters, the square has set statues, lampposts and seats featuring cultural elements from both countries.

Among the statues is one in the form of two shaking hands, commemorating the 70 years of China-Pakistan friendship. With the red hand representing China and the green one symbolizing Pakistan, the statue conveys the idea that the two countries are friends standing together through thick and thin.

On either side of the square are sculptures of the Chinese sturgeon, the national first-class protected wildlife, and the Markhor, the national animal of Pakistan. With the two precious animals looking at each other, the sculptures imply that the two countries keep watch for and help one another.

"It's a historic day today," said Moin ul Haque, Pakistani Ambassador to China. "The square truly reflects the great affinity, the great solidarity and most importantly the deep love, trust and respect between our two countries and peoples."

Haque said that a similar friendship square is being established in Karachi, the biggest city in Pakistan, and will be inaugurated soon.

According to Feng Xiguo, deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, Hubei and Pakistan have frequent exchanges and extensive trade cooperation.

As of September 2021, Pakistan had invested in 75 enterprises in Hubei, with a total contracted investment of 15.14 million U.S. dollars. And in the first three quarters of this year, Hubei's imports and exports with Pakistan reached 3.87 billion yuan (around 605 million U.S. dollars), up 146.9 percent from the same period last year, according to Wuhan Customs.

In 2016, when Hubei was hit by floods, the Pakistani government donated 10,000 tonnes of rice to the disaster areas. In early 2020, after the outbreak of COVID-19, masks donated by the Pakistani government and people reached Hubei urgently. Once the epidemic was under control in Hubei, the province promptly donated masks, protective suits and other supplies to Pakistan, and sent medical teams to support the country's fight against the epidemic.

"The province of Hubei and the city of Wuhan have a very special place in the hearts of the people of Pakistan," said Haque. "They admire your resilience, courage and efficiency in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Your courage and discipline in achieving a great victory in the people's war against the pandemic was a beacon of hope for the entire world."

During his visit to Hubei this time, Haque said he would also attend a commendation ceremony for the medical teams from the city of Yichang in Hubei, who had stayed in Pakistan for a year to assist them with fighting the pandemic.

Regarding the unveiling of the China-Pakistan Friendship Square, Feng said: "The iron-clad brotherhood between China and Pakistan will always be remembered in the hearts of the Chinese and Pakistani people. Hubei will strengthen cooperation with Pakistan in fields such as infrastructure construction, agriculture, technology and education in the future."

At the square's unveiling ceremony, Haque signed letters of intent for friendly relations with two cities in Hubei. Cooperation agreements between universities and medical companies were also signed by representatives of the two countries.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Australian company expects lasting trade relations from CIIE

Xinhua) 09:19, November 03, 2021

CANBERRA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Although unable to fly to China himself due to COVID, Tony Carapetis, chief winemaker of the Monteperle Wines greeted the Chinese people in a video to be shown at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) starting this Friday.

"The CIIE offered great opportunities to expand markets in China," he told Xinhua.

Located in the renowned wine-producing region of Barossa Valley in South Australia, the Monteperle was a relatively young brand, founded in 2017. It is a small winery with an annual production of about 60,000 bottles.

It made debut in the CIIE in 2019, second year of the event, after local government of South Australia encouraged businesses to attend.

"The sheer size of the event allows us to present our wines to the maximum amount of interested people. The face to face contact meant we could discuss our products directly, taste with the potential customers, and answer their questions without delay," said Carapetis.

"It also allowed us to get the valuable feedback about our wines that we need," he continued. "It helps us understand our markets and customer to ensure that we are making the products that fit their requirements, in terms of styles, varieties, and price."

According to Vivian Zhang, general manager of the Jia Yuan Hua Wines which is owner of the Monteperle, the CIIE is a bridge between China and the rest of the world, where they managed to make their brand known. The previous CIIE events brought them about 100 clients and potential clients.

While living standard of the Chinese people kept rising, the demand for high-quality consumer products such as wine also grew.

"Chinese market has huge potential to tap," she said, adding that in the past years she knew other companies were also enthusiastic to go to the CIIE.

"The CIIE is an important platform for people-to-people exchanges," she said. "It boosts friendship between our two peoples and increases the understanding of Australians in China."

Relationship between China and Australia slipped in recent years but Zhang saw it as temporary. "Economies between China and Australia are complementary," she said. "The relationship will be back to normal sooner or later. After all, a sound and healthy relationship of the two countries benefits the ordinary people."

Sometimes owners of the wineries in Barossa Valley get together and talk about the future, and Zhang said they still had hope for the Chinese market.

"So this is also a reason why we are going to the CIIE," she said. "The Chinese market is always important and we would like to continue our business with Chinese clients."

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Interview: CIIE to boost global economic recovery, Argentine economist says

Xinhua) 09:30, November 03, 2021

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) will boost the global economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and provide significant opportunities for Latin American countries, Argentine China expert and economist Gustavo Girado said.

The expo "is taking place as trade is revitalized" and many commercial activities and marketing logistics are recovering, said Girado, director of the postgraduate course in Contemporary China Studies at the National University of Lanus.

China was one of the first economies in the world to achieve dynamism and recovery after the toughest phase of the pandemic, and its scale has allowed it to help other countries do the same, said Girado in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"Since a large number of global manufacturing activities depend on China, and its companies are part of global value chains, the CIIE is bound to be extremely important," he said, calling the Chinese market the "most dynamic market in the world."

Some 3,000 companies from 127 countries and regions are expected to participate in the expo, which will be held in Shanghai on Nov. 5-10. A total of 58 countries and three international organizations will join the event remotely, according to CIIE organizers.

The expo will allow global companies to "showcase their capabilities and products to Chinese consumers," offering remarkable opportunities to Latin American countries, especially those in South America, Girado said.

"The region will benefit more because greater economic activity in China will generate greater demand from its population, which will raise the average standard of living, leading to consumers demanding more agro-industrial products" exported from South America, the Argentine economist noted.

The CIIE, Girado continued, also plays an important role in affirming multilateralism and global governance reform supported by China.

Hopefully, he added, the 4th CIIE will serve as an opportunity for Western countries, which recently turned toward unilateralism and protectionism, to return to multilateralism.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Elderly women provide free care services for unattended children after school in SW Chinas Sichuan

People's Daily Online) 13:56, November 03, 2021

A group of elderly women in Chengdu, capital city of southwest Chinas Sichuan province, volunteer their time to help working parents pick up their children from school and accompany them after school, extending community services to more families in need.

Two elderly women pick up children, helping working parents who are unable to collect their own kids immediately after the school day ends in Chengdu, capital city of southwest Chinas Sichuan province. (Photo/Chengdu Daily)

The team, from the Jifu community in the Jinyang neighborhood of the citys Wuhou district, consists of 35 female seniors, according to a staff member in the community. These volunteers stay with the youngsters in the activity rooms of the residential compounds located in the community until their parents can collect them. To make the most of accompanying the children, these senior citizens will also learn skills such as handicrafts at a service center for members of the Communist Party of China and the people of Jifu community.

The charity program was jointly initiated by the community and a local social organization. According to Yang Qiong, head of the social organization, 40 percent of students in the community were left unattended after school, and the program aims to help solve this problem.

Currently, female seniors joining the program have provided care services in 23 residential compounds in the community, helping more than 270 families on a regular basis, the staff member of the community said. The community has renovated its service center and public spaces in old residential compounds and attracted social organizations to participate in community governance, bringing warm and convenient services to old residential compounds.

Zhang Huiying, 67, is one of the female seniors to join the program. She usually picks up a kid called Yang Yijia from a kindergarten at 4:40 pm, then takes him back to a neat and comfortable activity room, which was built for the program in 2019, in an old residential compound. Inside the activity room, Zhang will tell stories to the accompanied child. At 5:45 pm, Yangs mother surnamed Yi will pick him up from the activity room.

The program relieves the pressure of working parents who are not able to pick up their children immediately after school, Yi said, expressing gratitude to the selfless help of the volunteering seniors.

For Zhang, she has become happier after joining the program, which has helped to alleviate some of her loneliness. I feel young and my life is meaningful, Zhang said.

Now more and more families receiving help are repaying the goodwill by participating in the provision of public services in Jifu community.

The community is representative of Chengdus wider efforts to improve public services in its communities. To date, the city has renovated 3,043 communities, highlighting the services provided by the service centers in these communities, while having launched 910 relevant programs through the pooling of resources. Chengdu will implement another 75 similar programs within the year.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Scapegoating China over climate change "craven and inaccurate": British newspaper

Xinhua) 14:15, November 03, 2021

LONDON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- A British newspaper's recent report has criticized scapegoating China over climate change as "craven and inaccurate."

According to the Morning Star daily, Alok Sharma, former British Business Secretary and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's appointee to chair the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, had sought to put China in the dock with his widely publicized comments "we expected more."

"Simultaneously, our press has sought to paint China as a major climate change culprit," said an editorial published in the newpaper on Sunday.

The truth is, the article said, the United States' carbon emissions per head stand at more than double as China's, and more striking is the speed of China's development of zero-carbon technologies, such as on solar panels, high-speed electric trains, and electric cars.

China also generates more solar and wind power than the European Union, it added.

"At the same time, China, along with other developing countries, acknowledges the magnitude of the challenge. China has to match the developmental needs of its people in ways that will not jeopardise their own long-term future or that of the planet," it said.

"Scapegoating China as the problem, conveniently hides the real challenge that faces us," the article stressed.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Interview: China's import expo "world-class platform" for opportunities, partnership, Honeywell senior executive says

Xinhua) 14:20, November 03, 2021

NEW YORK, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is a "world-class platform" that brings opportunities and enhances partnership for companies around the globe, a senior executive from U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell has said.

"The difference between CIIE and other expo-type exhibitions is that this is not a tourism opportunity. This is a world class platform for global companies like Honeywell to find new cooperation opportunities," Shane Tedjarati, president of Honeywell Global High Growth Regions, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"Since participating the very first time, we've been able to meet many new partners and discover new business opportunities. So I think the participation is of great significance for us," he said.

The CIIE is the first dedicated import exhibition in the world, and the 4th CIIE is slated to be held in Shanghai on Nov. 5-10 this year.

Honeywell was one of the first global companies to join the first CIIE in 2018, and this is the fourth consecutive year for the company to join the event.

Tedjarati said "partnership," "innovation," "new economy," and "China for the world," are among the key words as he recalled his company's experience with the CIIE.

Honeywell has seen fruitful outcomes in the previous three editions of the CIIE, and the company's booth area more than doubles that last year, fully demonstrating confidence and determination to further explore the "CIIE opportunities," he said.

More than 30 Honeywell products and solutions, including cutting-edge innovations in the areas of low-carbon technologies, advanced manufacturing, and digitalization, will be presented at this expo, a platform that facilitates connectivity, according to Tedjarati.

"For companies like us and other global companies with a long-term commitment to China, we can introduce our innovative technologies and solutions that cater to the Chinese market, but also find partners that would be willing to work with us to take these technologies and their technologies to global markets together. It's a great platform," he said.

Tedjarati said his company "really value the CIIE platform," noting "it's time for this platform to even get further prominence with China further opening up to the world."

Honeywell's business meets the market demand in China, and the company sees broad business prospects there especially when the country is striving for sustainability goals of peaking CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, said the senior executive, who has worked and lived in China for more than 20 years.

Honeywell has announced its commitment to carbon neutrality in all of its operations and facilities by 2035, which perfectly aligns with China's "dual carbon" goals, said Tedjarati.

"China is leader in the digital economy innovation already, we wanna continue to work in that area, the digital warehousing, e-commerce, supply-chain management, and advanced manufacturing...I think China can (also) be a role model in advancing technologies for a sustainable future," he said.

Honeywell has a long history of development in China. In 2013, China became the company's largest single country market outside the United States.

In its third-quarter results released lately, Honeywell said growth in China continues to be robust, as China's very favorable investment environment provides business opportunities for the company.

(Web editor: Xia Peiyao, Liang Jun)
Chinese cuisine taking in exotic tastes

Xinhua) 15:34, November 03, 2021

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A platter of Beijing fried sauce noodles, served with fried chicken nuggets and French fries in Beijing's downtown area, raise eyebrows.

"It is an unexpected mix and match with Chinese food in a Western fast-food restaurant," said a man surnamed Wang, who ordered the unique working lunch for roughly 35 yuan (5.47 U.S. dollars) at a KFC outlet.

An elder Beijinger surnamed Qiao now finds it easy to enjoy a family dinner with his wife and child who prefer Western food.

"Most western-style meals don't agree with me, but I enjoy delicious Beijing fried sauce noodles here," Qiao said.

The specialty has been freshly added to the fast-food chain's menus in Beijing. "It is a hot seller," said Shi Jiajia, a local KFC employee.

Customers can now order chicken rolls, preserved egg and pork congee, soybean milk, deep-fried dough sticks and boiled skewers, which are typical Chinese food, at KFC outlets in China.

The fusion of traditional Chinese and exotic tastes has been embraced by KFC as well as many other catering brands in China.

At the Beijing APM shopping mall, Tongrentang, a time-honored traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmacy with a history of over 350 years, opened a coffee shop featuring herbal coffees in late September.

Coffee latte with goji berries or dried tangerine peels on top, or Americano with monk fruits -- such creative combinations have attracted numerous youngsters.

"Young consumers in China are increasingly health-conscious nowadays and would like to have a taste of our special coffee," said the coffee shop's manager. The coffee business has also boosted the sales of its medicinal materials and processed products.

Chinese per capita nominal consumer spending rose 15.8 percent year on year to 17,275 yuan in the first three quarters. After factoring in price levels, spending went up 15.1 percent year on year.

The country's ever-expanding consumption market will unleash huge market demand and investment opportunities, where Chinese and foreign brands can team up with each other, said Zhuang Rui, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics.

In July this year, China allowed cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing to take the lead in building international consumption centers.

Beijing is expected to become an international tourism destination featuring shopping, food and cultures as well as digital consumption. Experts believe that the convergence of Chinese and Western cuisine is an inexorable trend for the city to build itself into an international consumption hub.

"There is no doubt that the Chinese market has huge potentials. Meanwhile, our household disposable income needs to be further raised and efforts should be made to cater to the demand for high-quality, diversified and personalized consumption," said Zhuang.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Opening ceremony for South Africa-China joint training program in Mandarin and Chinese culture held online

16:14, November 03, 2021 By Wang Lei ( People's Daily Online

The opening ceremony for a joint training program in Mandarin and Chinese culture for the local employees of Chinese enterprises in South Africa was held online on Oct. 29. The training program is being jointly offered by the South Africa-China Economic and Trade Association (SACETA) and the Confucius Institute of the University of Johannesburg with an aim to helping South African employees improve their individual professional skills and integrate into the work environment with greater ease and cultural fluency.

Xue Dong, counsellor of the Business Office of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, said the training will contribute to the economic and trade relationship between the two countries, with the local people who join the training program expected to lend their efforts in helping the South African economy to recover.

Professor Saurabh Sinha, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, delivered a speech during the ceremony. She said, The University of Johannesburg continues to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem both locally and, through communities of practice nationally, we believe that collaboration with the economic and trade association will serve a great purpose; we are keen for the internationalization of this entrepreneurial ecosystem that can bring about exchanges in innovation and start-ups between China and South Africa.

Wang Wen'an, chairman of SACETA and chief representative of the State Grid Corporation of China, expressed his thanks to the Confucius Institute on behalf of SACETA. He said that the trade and economic activities between China and South Africa have developed rapidly. Since the establishment of SACETA, its members have invested more than $14 billion in South Africa, creating nearly 30,000 jobs for residents in local communities. He believed that this training program will not only help South African employees to better understand Chinese culture, but also create better conditions for enterprises to promote economic and trade activities between the two countries.

Professor Peng Yi presided over the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. She said that the Confucius Institute has made remarkable achievements in its provision of teaching, cultural activities, and academic research in recent years. The Confucius Institute has provided Chinese teaching and training not only to students from the University of Johannesburg, but also for government agencies and personnel in South Africa.

The Opening Ceremony was attended by more than 70 local employees. After attending the first culture and Chinese training course, the students were very excited and looked forward to the next course.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Paradise of insects: Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park

People's Daily Online) 16:48, November 03, 2021

Photo shows the larva of a Charaxes bernardus, a species of butterfly, in the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in south Chinas Hainan province. (Photo/Zheng Xiaoyang)

The Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in south Chinas Hainan province is a paradise for insects thanks to its rich biodiversity. It boasts one of the most concentrated, best preserved and largest contiguous tropical rainforests in the country, and is a global biodiversity hotspot.

Located in the mountainous areas of central Hainan Island, the park includes 20 natural reserves, covering about 4,269 square kilometers.

Hainan is accelerating the protection of its tropical rainforests so as to build a better ecological environment for wild plants and animals.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Vietnam is calling for foreign investments in 157 projects in the 2021-2025 period, according to a decision recently signed by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh.

The projects are in various fields, including transport infrastructure, industrial and economic zone facilities, information technology infrastructure, waste and wastewater treatment, education and health, culture-sports-tourism, agro-forestry-fishery, production and services.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is tasked with guiding and inspecting the implementation of the decision; coordinating with ministries, sectors and localities in making detail information about the projects; organising events to popularise the list of the projects; reporting the investment promotion situation to the Prime Minister; and proposing supplements or adjustments if necessary.

Despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam still rose 4.4 percent year on year in the first nine months of 2021 to 22.15 billion USD.

An upturn was recorded in both values of investment to new projects as well as additional capital to existing ones. Specifically, 12.5 billion USD was poured into 2,212 newly-licensed projects, up 20.6 percent over the same period last year, while 6.4 billion USD was added into underway projects, a rise of 25.6 percent./.

VNA
Zongyang Opera originated in Zongyang county in east Chinas Anhui province in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Unlike other traditional operas, the musical instruments used in Zongyang Opera are simple, usually using only the flute or suona horn. The earliest historical records of Zongyang Opera can be found in a book written during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. Zongyang Opera shares similarities with Peking and Kunqu Opera, but is also quite different from both. Opera enthusiasts can still find a hint of characteristics of Zongyang Opera in more than 50 operas. Zongyang Opera is a miracle of Chinese opera. It was carried forward over the course of more than 300 years, with some of its original characteristics still preserved even to this day. Most operas change over the course of just 30 years, but Zongyang Opera hasnt changed at all, something that is rarely seen in the history of opera development, said Wang Kui, director of the opera research institute with the Chinese National Academy of Arts. However, the opera was once nearly lost in its hometown. A lot of opera performers know very little about Zongyang Opera, revealed Wang Lijuan, director of the Art Theater in Tongling city and also a first-class artist in China. As an inheritor of Zongyang Opera, Wang proposed a plan to rejuvenate the art form by cultivating talents and editing and writing opera scripts. In addition to teaching theoretical knowledge and offering acting lessons to Zongyang Opera performers, the Art Theater in Tongling also reproduced six Zongyang Opera shows. We hope to stage the shows in a way that was close to the way they were performed in ancient times, through the arrangement of the band and the use of musical instruments, Wang explained, while adding that the shows are also being performed in local dialects so as to cater to audiences. To better preserve and carry forward Zongyang Opera, the culture and tourism bureau of Tongling formulated a guidebook on protecting and rejuvenating the art form and sent personnel to look for folk artists and collect opera scripts in Zongyang. It invited folk vocal arts experts to recompose music used in Zongyang Opera and look for and collect classic opera pieces, in a bid to push forward protection and development of Zongyang Opera. In recent years, it has taken vigorous efforts to popularize the art in schools and in rural areas.


The 2021 Huangshan Book Fair, a major cultural event of East Chinas Anhui province, is slated to take place in its provincial capital Hefei from November 5 to 7.

Jointly sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Anhui Provincial Committee, the Administration of Press and Publication of Anhui Province, and the municipal government of Hefei, the fair will attract more than 500 publishing houses and 100-odd online bookstores.

More than 200,000 kinds of books will be displayed both online and in Binhu International Convention and Exhibition Center, the venue of event.

During the fair, a number of activities will be staged, including a book exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), book promotions, book-signing sessions as well as relevant forums.

Some well-known authors will attend the event.




Anhui Province in east China recently launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign for children aged 3 to 11.

Children must be accompanied by their parents (or guardians) and get vaccinated in accordance with the principles of voluntary participation, informed consent, and personal responsibility for potential risks.

COVID-19 vaccination is critical for children aged 3 to 11 in order to boost immunity and prevent the transmission of the coronavirus.

More than 3.53 million doses of COVID-19 vaccination had been administered to children aged 3 to 11 in China as of Oct. 29.




President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Pedro Castillo exchanged congratulations on Tuesday on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Peru, with both leaders pledging to bolster the countries' comprehensive strategic partnership.

In a congratulatory message to Castillo, Xi hailed the long-lasting friendly exchanges between the two countries despite the long distance between them, saying that bilateral ties enjoy a solid foundation.

Since they established diplomatic ties 50 years ago, the two countries have become an example of solidarity, cooperation and common development between China and Latin American countries, with their political mutual trust deepened, pragmatic cooperation expanding and cultural and people-to-people exchanges increasing, he said.

Xi referred to mutual support and assistance between China and Peru since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that they have taken action to practice the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind by developing active antivirus and vaccine cooperation.

Noting that he considers developing China-Peru relations to be greatly important, Xi said he is willing to work with Castillo to take the anniversary as an opportunity to strengthen synergies between the countries' development strategies, push for the optimization and upgrading of bilateral cooperation in various fields, boost traditional friendship and promote bilateral ties to a new stage.

Castillo said in his message that his country attaches great importance to developing ties with China.

He expressed appreciation to China for its support for Peru in combating the pandemic by providing medical supplies and vaccines, saying that his country stands ready to maintain high-level exchanges with China.

Peru wants to advance cooperation with China in trade, investment, tourism and the digital economy, jointly uphold multilateralism, work together to contain the virus and promote post-pandemic economic recovery, Castillo said.




Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has underlined the importance of work to foster and strengthen market entities to stimulate market vitality and social creativity.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while chairing a symposium during an inspection trip to the State Administration for Market Regulation on Monday.

The cultivation of market entities will also provide solid support for steady growth and stable employment, Li noted at the symposium.

China's market entities established since 2013 paid 3.81 trillion yuan (about 593.5 billion U.S. dollars) in taxes in the first three quarters alone, nearing last year's annual total, official data shows.

In places with more active market entities, the local economy is better, said Li, urging efforts to solve difficulties for market entities and allow more market players to be established, grow and prosper.

As the economy faces downward pressure, the over 100 million market entities provide an important foundation for the Chinese economy to maintain resilient, according to the premier.

He urged further policy support that brings tax and fee cuts directly to market entities, amid continued efforts to improve the business climate and cut red tape. Enditem




BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Pedro Castillo on Tuesday exchanged congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations.

Xi pointed out that China and Peru, though geographically apart, enjoy long-standing friendly exchanges and a solid foundation for bilateral relations.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 50 years ago, the two sides have deepened political mutual trust, and expanded practical cooperation as well as people-to-people exchanges, setting a good example of solidarity, cooperation and common development between China and Latin American countries, Xi said.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, China and Peru have stood in solidarity and helped each other, actively carried out epidemic fight and vaccine cooperation, and demonstrated the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind with concrete actions, he added.

Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Peru relations and stands ready to work with Castillo to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to enhance the alignment of the two sides' development strategies, upgrade their cooperation in various fields, lead people across sectors in the two countries to carry forward the traditional friendship and push the China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

For his part, Castillo pointed out that Peru and China are both ancient civilizations with several thousand years of history. On the basis of traditional friendship, bilateral relations have been upgraded to comprehensive strategic partnership in recent years, he added.

Castillo said that Peru attaches great importance to developing relations with China and thanked China for providing a large number of supplies and vaccines to support Peru's fight against COVID-19.

He said Peru is ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, promote cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, tourism and digitalization, jointly uphold multilateralism, fight against COVID-19 and realize post-pandemic economic recovery.
In this image released by the US Navy, The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut(SSN 22) departs Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton for deployment in Bremerton, Washington on May 27, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]

Washington should elaborate further on a submarine incident in the South China Sea in order to fully respond to the concerns and misgivings of countries in the region, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday, urging the United States to stop undermining the sovereignty and security of other countries.

US Navy investigators said on Monday that the US nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Connecticut had hit an uncharted undersea mountain, without offering further details. The latest announcement came nearly a month after the submarine had collided with an unknown object on Oct 2.

"We have expressed grave concerns over this incident several times and asked the US side to give a detailed explanation in a responsible way," Wang said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

However, he said that the US only issued an ambiguous statement a week after the incident and vaguely referred to its location as "in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region".

The US side never explicitly explained the intention of the submarine, the detailed location of the incident, whether it happened in the exclusive economic zone or territorial waters, or whether there was a nuclear leak or contamination in the marine environment, Wang said, adding that this showed that the US is not transparent and is irresponsible.

For quite a long time, the US has stirred up trouble in the South China Sea under the guise of "freedom of navigation", which the Foreign Ministry said posed serious threats and major risks to the region's peace and stability.

"The US should stop sending warships or military aircraft all around to make provocations and flex its muscles," Wang said, adding that otherwise the number of such incidents would increase.

The spokesman also urged Washington to learn lessons from the Afghan war and abandon its belligerent policies.

He made the remark after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a recent interview that the US had attempted to deploy its military infrastructure in countries neighboring Afghanistan, such as Pakistan and Uzbekistan, but they had rejected those US proposals.

"The countries you mentioned are all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It is the common goal of SCO members to safeguard regional peace and stability, and relevant countries have been in close cooperation," Wang said while responding to a question at the news briefing.

He said that the 20-year war by the US in Afghanistan had severely undermined regional peace and stability and caused a huge humanitarian disaster, urging Washington to earnestly respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional countries and refrain from repeating its mistakes.
Nearly a month after the USS nuclear-powered submarine Connecticut had a collision incident in the South China Sea, the US military released the results of its investigation on November 1, claiming the submarine had hit an unknown underwater mountain. A set of data might tell us why such a collision had happened.

Intense and frequent US military operations in the South China Sea

According to data of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), the US military has carried out more intense and frequent operations in the South China Sea this year than ever before.

By November 1, the operations of its large surface vessels have almost doubled compared with the same period of last year. Four US carrier strike groups and two amphibious ready groups have entered and left the South China Sea for 11 times, multiple US destroyers have crossed the Taiwan Strait 10 times, and five destroyers have trespassed into territorial waters off Chinas Xisha Islands and 12 nautical miles of the Nanhai Islands five times for the so-called freedom of navigation operations.

Besides, US strategic bombers have flown over the South China Sea in 14 times and 22 sorties to practice the combat concept of dynamic deployment. According to the limited information revealed, the US Navy has dispatched at least 11 nuclear-powered submarines to carry out strategic cruises in the West Pacific as well as the South China Sea.

The year 2009 was a watershed in US military operations in the South China Sea, after which they have become notably more frequent and targeted. US submarines have carried out many operations around the South China Sea this year, including the recent collision incident, which can also display an obvious increase in underwater activities, said Hu Bo, director of the SCSPI.

Constant close-in reconnaissance of China by US aircraft and ships

Likewise, as of November 1 this year, the US military has intensified the reconnaissance in the South China Sea. Open information shows that except the early warning reconnaissance aircraft onboard the aircraft carrier in the region, the US military has also dispatched at least 563 large reconnaissance aircraft from several bases in Japan and the Philippines to conduct close-in reconnaissance of the South China Sea, averaging more than two sorties every day and up to seven at most. It is worth noting that some US military aircraft didnt actuate the ADS-B signal or used false address codes while in operation, so the actual sorties would be more than the above.

In addition, five ocean surveillance vessels and one ocean surveying vessel of the US military also conducted close-in reconnaissance from time to time, with their mission duration lasting 396 ship-days and an action rate of 86%, leaving almost no rest day.

According to Hu Bo, as far as we know, about a dozen such close-in reconnaissance were right next to Chinas airspace and less than 20 nautical miles from the baseline of the territorial sea of the Chinese mainland, even closer in reality. Long duration is a key feature of such operations, and they sometimes flew back and forth for hours, indicating that the US is getting more vigilant against China.

Excessive deployment and fatigue of US forces in the Asia Pacific

Apart from high intensity and high frequency, Americas military operations in the South China Sea have displayed two new developments.

Hu said, first of all, we have noticed the fatigue of the frontline American troops. After frequent vessel collisions since 2017, the US military has conducted an internal investigation, trying to figure out why they had so many incidents in the West Pacific, especially in units assigned to the Seventh Fleet of the United States Navy. A key reason was excessive deployment and fatigue, and this situation wont change unless the US changes its way of thinking and operation. Once such situation gets worse, it will be detrimental to the regional security.

Second, in the past few years, the US military has diverted its attention to battlefield construction and war preparedness other than routine cruises in order to respond to the so-called high-level military conflicts, and we need to pay close attention to this.

The US has stationed 300,000 troops at its 514 military bases around the world, 100,000 of which are in the Asia Pacific. The Northeast Asia military base cluster and the Guam base cluster are regarded as very important strategic outposts and pivots, and those in the southeast are also essentially strategic for the US military to interfere in South China Sea owing to their geopolitical proximity to relevant countries in the region, said military expert Luo Xi.

Most of US Navys collision incidents in recent years occur in South China Sea

In 2017 alone, the US Pacific Fleet had five vessel collision incidents that caused the death of 17 people. The investigation found under-staffing, exhaustion, mis-operation and inadequate training to be main reasons for the incidents.

As for recent nuclear submarine collision incident, according to Luo Xi, it exposes Americas military attempts in the South China Sea, that is, to meddle in the regional affairs and conduct close-in reconnaissance and military containment toward China. Americas constant muscle-flexing and fist-wielding in the South China Sea seriously undermines the regional security and order. The US is the largest driver of regional militarization and the biggest source of risks for regional security.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on other nations to "step up cooperation" and act on climate targets, but offered no new commitments in a statement to the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, known as COP26.

"Visions will come true only when we act on them. Parties need to honor their commitments, set realistic targets and visions, and do their best according to national conditions to deliver their climate action measures," said Xi, who is not attending the talks in person. China is the world's biggest carbon emitter.

China has been facing an energy shortage that sparked widespread power outages over two-thirds of the country in late September. This was one of China's worst power shortages in a decade. The outages affected factories, leading to concerns about disruptions to global supply chains. China, meanwhile, said it has increased its production of coal -- a fossil fuel -- to ease the power crunch.

The Chinese leader's long-anticipated statement shows that China cannot abandon fossil fuels during a power crunch without more infrastructure, analysts said. Households may lack heating, while manufacturing could suffer due to the power shortage, said Jane Nakano, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"I am a little disappointed that President Xi Jinping didn't really go ahead and answer some of the key questions that many of us have had," Nakano said. "I wonder if the power crunch that China is facing at the moment has really gotten in the Chinese leadership's way of wanting to have perhaps a much broader commitment."

Xi noted an earlier Chinese government plan to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030. Last month, China announced a focus on green energy in a new version of its Belt and Road Initiative for infrastructure projects stretching from Asia to Europe.


Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected accusations French President Emmanuel Macron made about a scrapped $37 billion submarine deal. Macron has recently said Morrison lied when abandoning the submarine deal before Australia joined a new security pact with the United Kingdom and the United States known by its acronym AUKUS.

The AUKUS alliance and Australia's cancelation of a lucrative defense contract in favor of U.S.-built nuclear submarines caught Paris off guard. France felt betrayed. In protest, France temporarily recalled its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra. Tensions remain.

French President Emanuel Macron told reporters at the meeting of the G-20 grouping of industrialized nations that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had been deceitful despite the two countries enjoying a close relationship. "When we have respect, you have to behave in line and consistently with this value," Macron said to reporters.

Morrison quickly denied he had lied. He insisted he had explained to Macron in June that the submarines to be supplied by French company Naval Group were not going to meet Australia's military requirements. "I was very clear that what was going to be provided to us was not going to meet our strategic interest," Morrison said.
President Moon Jae-in began a visit to Hungary on Tuesday by paying his respects to the Koreans who were killed in a boat accident on the Danube in 2019.

Budapest is the final leg of Moon's nine-day Europe trip.

"I thank the Hungarian government for doing its best in its search and recovery efforts at the time of the accident," he said. "The Hungarian people also expressed their concerns and paid condolences The two countries should remember and be vigilant so that such a tragedy does not happen again."
Kang Daniel, formerly of the now-disbanded boy group Wanna One, will make his acting debut in an upcoming romantic drama series to be streamed on Disney+, which will launch its service here in partnership with mobile carrier LG Uplus next week.

"Rookies," a coming-of-age drama depicting the dreams and challenges of students at a police academy, is slated to be released sometime in the first half of next year.


A delegation of North Korean officials unexpectedly showed up at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday. The North is among 190 countries that have signed up to the 2015 Paris Climate Accords and has sent representatives to subsequent meetings.

But instead of a team from Pyongyang, the North's ambassador to the U.K. attended the meeting because North Korea's borders are completely sealed and nobody can come in or out.

Ambassador Choe Il and other delegates were almost barred from the venue when they tried to attend the opening ceremony and speeches delivered by world leaders without special tickets. They were finally able to enter after showing their North Korean passports.
China and Russia are set to introduce a joint resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to a host of economic sanctions on North Korea.

Among the sanctions the two countries want lifted are a ban on North Koreans working overseas and sending home their earnings, exporting seafood and textiles and ending a cap on imports of refined petroleum.

The draft resolution, obtained separately by the Associated Press and Reuters, urges the 15-member Security Council to remove the sanctions "with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population" of North Korea.


Forum sees promising and confident teenage scientists

By:Wu Qiong | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-11-02 12:59

My dream is to become an excellent female chemist, even though the journey might be difficult, said Huang Zirui, a junior undergraduate from Jilin University at the Junior Excellence Dialogue during the fourth World Laureates Forum.

During the Dialogue session, seven young students, including Huang, were invited to report on their research in front of top scientists.

(The Dialogue session was held on Oct. 31, a day before the WLF officially opened.)

Huang was the only female speaker among the seven. Her research subject is the mechanism behind the shrinkage of water volume when NaOH is added into it. The question was raised by her when she was in high school. Now a university student majoring in chemistry, she kept working on the subject. For her, chemistry can be interpreted as chem is try, which means one has to do many experiments to get a deeper understanding of what they are studying. The girl still does not know which field she will be working in in the future, but she will keep on with a persisting love for chemistry.

The young scientists speeches revealed their curiosity about the planet and the universe. Li Shijia from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, found his research interests on the track field. While watching discus athletes training, he came up with an idea of inventing a digitalized discus, and analyzed the key parameters behind throwing the discus. Though his algorithmic model program was once questioned by his supervisor, he did not give up. As he said,science is just around us. Maybe it is on the track field which I love.He has found more sports-related research he wants to do.

Among the audience, Zhou Yuzhu from Shanghai Yucai Middle School is also a chemist. She is studying electrocatalytic technology under the guidance of a professor at Fudan University, to help eliminate the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.I want to make some contributions to the countrys carbon neutrality goal, said Zhou. This is the first time for her to attend the World Laureate Forum.Being able to attend the WLF and have a closer look at these big names in science has given me a lot of confidence. I hope to become a person like them. All those Nobel laureates and scientists who have contributed to the development of humanity are my idols, she added.
World Laureate Forum launches top prize for global scientists

By:Wu Qiong | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-11-03 08:41

We need science more than ever. We face global problems, global infectious diseases and global climate change. For this, we needglobal solutions and for this, we need opennessmore than ever,said Michael Levitt, Laureate of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and vice president of the World Laureates Association at the opening ceremony of the fourth World Laureates Forum (WLF), which was held in Lin-gang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone on November 1.

Together with hundreds of other scientists from across the world, Michael Levitt called for open science.

The opening ceremony was attended by 131 honorees of top science awards (including 68 Nobel Laureates), dozens of Chinese academicians, 132 young scientists and hundreds of teenage scientists.

The WLA Prize was also launched on November 1 to recognize scientists who have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields worldwide.The amount of each individual category of the prize is as much as 10 million yuan.
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David Chipman is proving  again  why he was never fit to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Chipman spoke with CBS News claiming the firearm industry, "profits by gun violence itself," and that U.S. senators that doomed his nomination are complicit in allowing criminal activity to continue. "To oppose me must mean that you're not for preventing gun violence." Chipman claimed, without a shred of proof, that the firearm industry sells guns to criminals and, "the reality is in much of America it's easier to buy a gun than a beer."

That's patently untrue since beer sales don't require FBI background checks. It's more than that though. Chipman smeared the firearm industry, describing it as complicit in the crime. He claimed that fear of regulation was the impetus behind the firearm industry's opposition to his nomination.

"The fear is, it's going to be harder for people who sell guns to sell guns absent any accountability from profiting from selling to criminals and terrorists," Chipman claimed. "The reality is in much of America, it's easier to buy a gun than a beer."

The allegation is as disgusting as it is false. Firearms are lawfully made and sold through an FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) verification. They are only sold to those who pass that check  lawful gun owners. Prohibited individuals such as convicted felons, the dangerously mentally ill, and domestic violence offenders don't pass those checks. .....
A subdivision on the outskirts of the northeast side of the city is offering residents great options for home ownership, while also handling financing for future residents.

The Oaks of Kokomo, 2000 County Road N. 250 E., a manufactured subdivision, has steadily grown over the past year, bringing life and community to a location better known for its cornfields.

As the community takes shape with a mix of young families and retirees, development manager Jennifer Haasz is excited to expand into phase two, which will offer an additional 20-plus land home sites within the subdivision very quickly.

Over the past year we have become a thriving little community, and Im excited about the new opportunities for growth as we near the start of phase two, Jennifer said.

The Oaks of Kokomo is being built with the working families in mind. Homes start at $80 per square foot, with house sizes ranging from 1,000 to 2,400 square feet. The homes feature very similar construction specs as site built housing, along with northern wrapped insulation and smart home technology.

Customization is one of the core attractions at The Oaks of Kokomo. Future residents may choose from a variety of cabinet and countertop styles in the kitchen and decide whether they want a walk-in shower or soothing tub in the bathroom.

"The American Farmhouse kitchens with industrial accents throughout the rest of the home are huge right now, Jennifer said. The five bedroom, three bathroom loft floor-plan best demonstrate the latest available amenities in today's market.

Endless possibilities extend to the exterior as well. Is your new home blue with a white picket fence or tan with a landscaped front yard ready for spring flowers?

These homes also have two decks, concrete driveways, sidewalks and private mailboxes. Personal touches and options abound.

Jennifer recommends clients work directly with the team at The Oaks to professionally assist them through the entire the process. They have many years working directly with banks that specialize in this type of financing.

We are here to make the entire process much easier and flow quickly to get you into your home as quick as possible, Jennifer said.

Turnaround for home completion is relatively short, with units ready in a matter of months compared to potentially waiting up to 18 months or more for a site-built house.

Since the Kokomo workforce is at the heart and soul of the community, The Oaks of Kokomo is focused on offering the best options possible for home ownership. They work with banks specializing in manufactured homes that offer FHA loans, conventional loans, flexible terms and approvals for those with lower credit scores.

Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute

Our payments for owning your land and your home are often times cheaper than the current going rate for rent, Jennifer said.

Most importantly, dont qualify yourself, she said of those who might believe themselves unable to attain a home in the community. Let us help qualify you.

One of the many benefits of The Oaks of Kokomo is location. Residents get the best of both worlds: a quiet country setting with the amenities of city life only minutes away. Indiana 931 is a quick drive down 100 North, and with it comes restaurants, fast food options, Wal-Mart and the Markland Mall.

Convenience is key when it comes to a healthy work and life balance. A home in The Oaks of Kokomo is within an easy drive to GM, Chrysler, Community Howard Regional Health and Ivy Tech, making it the perfect location for those who want to spend as much time at home with their loved ones as possible.

The location also falls within the highly sought after Northwestern School District.

Our current as well as future residents love that such a beautiful community is right here in Northwestern! There are very few homes available in Northwestern, Jennifer said.

Jennifer has made Kokomo her home over the past few years. Originally from northeast Ohio, she has owned multiple manufactured housing retail sales centers in Kentucky and Tennessee before moving into land development and housing subdivisions. After taking a short break from the industry, she joined up with business partner and investor Tupper Baker.

We both have an absolute passion to help people, she said of their friendship.

Thats what makes me proud to work for Jen and Tupper, said sales manager Mike Huskey. Their hearts are in the right place.

The Oaks of Kokomo opened sooner than expected, Jennifer said, due to a demand for housing. Because of this, much of the land is still under development, but the final product will have below ground utilities, new streets with decorative lighting, street signs and an entrance way welcoming residents and visitors.

If a Kokomo resident already owns land but wants a new home, as a retail manufactured housing dealer, Jennifer said there are many available floor plans and styles to choose from. Jennifer provides an easy turn-key, start-to-finish service, helping you get into your dream home on your own property. All someone has to do is call.

Jennifer can be reached by calling or texting 765-614-8807. Mike can also be reached at 765-210-3856. You may also email kokomohomes181@gmail.com for more information or visit theoaksofkokomo.com for pictures, virtual tours and links to social media accounts.

The experienced team at The Oaks of Kokomo is looking forward to showing you just how easy it is to own your own home and land. They look forward to meeting you.
HAMMOND  After nearly five years of fighting and losing at two trials, former Portage Mayor James Snyder is not giving up in his attempts to overcome federal bribery and tax violations convictions.

The 43-year-old Republican, by way of his defense attorney Andrea E. Gambino, has filed a notice of appeal and says the jurisdiction is with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, records show.

The appeal comes on the heels of Snyder's Oct. 13 day-long sentencing hearing that resulted in him receiving 21 months behind bars and one year supervised release, which was well below the recommended sentencing guideline of 46 to 57 months.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly gave Snyder until Jan. 5 to surrender himself to begin his prison term. It is not clear whether Snyder will be allowed to remain free while his appeal is pending.

In imposing the lighter sentence, Kennelly said that Snyder's offense appeared to be an "aberration" in his life.

Yet the judge, who was brought in from the Northern District of Illinois to handle the local case, rejected the defense's call for no prison time, saying the sentence was necessary as a deterrent to public corruption.

"It sends an important message," Kennelly said.

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He further said probation alone would not be appropriate because Snyder had lied to investigators and sought to influence others to "defeat the truth-seeking process" in his case.

"That says something about Mr. Snyder," Kennelly said.

Current Portage Mayor Sue Lynch, a Democrat, was not happy with the sentence.

"This verdict is no vindication for the citizens of Portage and it is unfortunate that this ruling has made a mockery out of the justice system," she said when asked by The Times for comment. "To say I am disappointed in Judge Kennelly's ruling is an understatement."

Snyder was twice found guilty of soliciting and accepting a $13,000 bribe in 2014 in return for steering a $1.125 million garbage collection contract for the city of Portage to the local Great Lakes Peterbilt company.

Federal prosecutors say he also obstructed the Internal Revenue Services efforts to collect unpaid taxes on a private mortgage company he ran.

"We left Portage a better place," Snyder told the judge during his sentencing hearing. "The Snyders will always hold their heads up high."
The party organization that works to elect Republicans to the U.S. House has added U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, to the list of 70 Democratic congressmen it's targeting for defeat in 2022.

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the Republican electoral victories Tuesday in Virginia, along with polls showing Republican chances to retake the House are improving, spurred the NRCC to expand its original list of 57 targeted candidates.

"In a cycle like this, no Democrat is safe," Emmer said. "Voters are rejecting Democrat policies that have caused massive price increases, opened our borders, and spurred a nationwide crime wave."

Mrvan is the only Indiana Democrat being targeted by the NRCC. Republicans consider Mrvan to potentially be vulnerable because Mrvan won last year with only 56% of the vote, compared to the 65% of district voters who supported former U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary, in 2018.

In addition, records show Democrat Joe Biden only won Mrvan's 1st Congressional District by an 8.8% margin over Republican Donald Trump in 2020, a drop from the 12.6% margin Democrat Hillary Clinton had over Trump in 2016  suggesting Northwest Indiana may be trending Republican.

So far, two Republicans have filed to run in the May 2022 primary election: Jennifer-Ruth Green, of Crown Point, an Air Force Reserve member and chief information officer for the Indiana Air National Guard; and Tom Madden, of Valparaiso.

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They're likely to be joined by, among others, perennial GOP nominee Mark Leyva, a Highland carpenter; and possibly a former state official under Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Mrvan said Wednesday he's not concerned about being on the targeted candidate list because "the voters of Indiana's 1st Congressional District determine who represents their interests in our nations capital, not the NRCC."

"That is why I have and will continue to remain focused on engaging with constituents, learning about their priorities, and doing my very best to be a district-centric member of Congress," Mrvan said.

Specificially, the former North Township Trustee said he's working to advance the causes of organized labor as co-chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, and he's delivered COVID-19 relief to local businesses, cities and towns, schools, and residents by backing the American Rescue Plan.

"As we move forward, I will continue to remain relentless in my efforts to grow our regional economy with improved educational and career opportunities for everyone," Mrvan said.
Press Release

November 3, 2021 Dispatch from Crame No. 1167:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima on the COMELEC signing of contract with F2 Logistics 11/3/21 Handing over the contract on the delivery of 2022 election paraphernalia, including counting machines, to Duterte crony Dennis Uy is basically asking the wolf to guard the sheep. No "ifs" or "buts" about it. Dennis Uy is not any ordinary campaign donor. He is, like Michael Yang, Duterte's most favored crony. Proof of this status is the grant of major government contracts to Dennis Uy's companies, including the Malampaya oil and gas field contract. Before Duterte became president, Dennis Uy was a minor player in big business, if not a total non-entity in major government projects. After Duterte became president, Dennis Uy has dominated not only in government contracts, but in Philippine big business in general. There is therefore reason to believe that Dennis Uy's interests are also Duterte's. The two are most likely business partners, or worse, Dennis Uy is Duterte's dummy in the plunder of public funds through the irregular acquisition of government contracts. This is crony capitalism at its worst. Comelec's assurances are disappointing to say the least. In light of existing public records showing Dennis Uy's status as most favored Duterte crony, they should not have treated Dennis Uy as just an ordinary campaign donor. He is more than that. For all intents and purposes, he represents Duterte's interests, and that makes the Comelec award to his company a clear disregard of a conflict of interest case. Comelec should have done more, and not merely relied on the absence of a law prohibiting campaign donors from bidding in election contracts. This goes to the most fundamental, most elementary and even the most commonly understood meaning of the word "fair" in the phrase "fair elections." The Comelec crying about an "absence of law" is a Comelec that has either forgotten or forsaken its mandate under the Constitution.### Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 1167, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatchno1167
The Tunisian Interior ministry has launched a probe into the discovery of a tunnel linking a house to the residence of the French ambassador in capital Tunis.

Authorities were alerted Tuesday evening about the discovery of the 270-meters long tunnel. It was discovered following the eviction of a family that living in the house, Mosaique FM reveals.

President Kais Saied and several top officials visited the area that has been sealed.

Business News, a local media notes citing an unnamed top security source that tunnel has been allegedly built to assassinate the envoy, Andre Parant. The interior ministry however has refrained from making comment on the discovery. Tunisia has been reeling terrorist acts. The North African country, under state of emergency has seen a surge in terror attack in recent years.

Three terror attacks, the bloodiest in the countrys history killed over 70 people, most of them foreign tourists, in 2015. The Islamic state group claimed responsibility carnages that occurred in capital Tunis and resort city of Sousse.
The US development Agency, USAID, and Egypt signed Monday seven grants worth $125 million to support education, health and other development projects in the Arab country.

I am pleased to announce $125 million worth of economic aid from the United States to Egypt the US envoy to Egypt Jonathan Cohen said.

The aid is broken down as follow: $17 million towards the basic education sector, $31 million for the Egyptian American Higher Education Initiative, $4 million for the American Egyptian Cooperation of Science and Technology, $13 million to improve health results, and 2 $7 million for economic governance, $5 million for agriculture and rural development, and 28 million Dollar to stimulate trade and investment environment in Egypt, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement.

The US aid support to Egypt has hit $30 billion over the past forty years and contributed to the supply of clean water and sewage services to 25 million Egyptians, eliminating polio, building 2000 schools, and providing 4000 University Scholarships, Cohen also stressed.
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Rocky debris, the pieces of a former rocky planet that has broken up, spiral inward toward a white dwarf in this illustration. Studying the atmospheres of white dwarfs that have been polluted by such debris, a NOIRLab astronomer and a geologist have identified exotic rock types that do not exist in our Solar System. The results suggest that nearby rocky exoplanets must be even stranger and more diverse than previously thought. Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silv

An astronomer from NSF's NOIRLab has teamed up with a geologist from California State University, Fresno, to make the first estimates of rock types that exist on planets orbiting nearby stars.

After studying the chemical composition of "polluted" white dwarfs, they have concluded that most rocky planets orbiting nearby stars are more diverse and exotic than previously thought, with types of rocks not found anywhere in our Solar System.

Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets orbiting stars in our galaxy -- known as exoplanets. However, it's difficult to know what exactly these planets are made of, or whether any resemble Earth. To try to find out, astronomer Siyi Xu of NSF's NOIRLab partnered with geologist Keith Putirka of California State University, Fresno, to study the atmospheres of what are known as polluted white dwarfs. These are the dense, collapsed cores of once-normal stars like the Sun that contain foreign material from planets, asteroids, or other rocky bodies that once orbited the star but eventually fell into the white dwarf and "contaminated" its atmosphere. By looking for elements that wouldn't naturally exist in a white dwarf's atmosphere (anything other than hydrogen and helium), scientists can figure out what the rocky planetary objects that fell into the star were made of.

Putirka and Xu looked at 23 polluted white dwarfs, all within about 650 light-years of the Sun, where calcium, silicon, magnesium, and iron had been measured with precision using the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawai'i, the Hubble Space Telescope, and other observatories. The scientists then used the measured abundances of those elements to reconstruct the minerals and rocks that would form from them. They found that these white dwarfs have a much wider range of compositions than any of the inner planets in our Solar System, suggesting their planets had a wider variety of rock types. In fact, some of the compositions are so unusual that Putirka and Xu had to create new names (such as "quartz pyroxenites" and "periclase dunites") to classify the novel rock types that must have existed on those planets.[1]

"While some exoplanets that once orbited polluted white dwarfs appear similar to Earth, most have rock types that are exotic to our Solar System," said Xu. "They have no direct counterparts in the Solar System."

Putirka describes what these new rock types might mean for the rocky worlds they belong to. "Some of the rock types that we see from the white dwarf data would dissolve more water than rocks on Earth and might impact how oceans are developed," he explained. "Some rock types might melt at much lower temperatures and produce thicker crust than Earth rocks, and some rock types might be weaker, which might facilitate the development of plate tectonics."

Earlier studies of polluted white dwarfs had found elements from rocky bodies, including calcium, aluminum, and lithium. However, Putirka and Xu explain that those are minor elements (which typically make up a small part of an Earth rock) and measurements of major elements (which make up a large part of an Earth rock), especially silicon, are needed to truly know what kind of rock types would have existed on those planets.

In addition, Putirka and Xu state that the high levels of magnesium and low levels of silicon measured in the white dwarfs' atmospheres suggest that the rocky debris detected likely came from the interiors of the planets -- from the mantle, not their crust. Some previous studies of polluted white dwarfs reported signs that continental crust existed on the rocky planets that once orbited those stars, but Putirka and Xu found no evidence of crustal rocks. However, the observations do not completely rule out that the planets had continental crust or other crust types. "We believe that if crustal rock exists, we are unable to see it, probably because it occurs in too small a fraction compared to the mass of other planetary components, like the core and mantle, to be measured," Putirka stated.

According to Xu, the pairing of an astronomer and a geologist was the key to unlocking the secrets hidden in the atmospheres of the polluted white dwarfs. "I met Keith Putirka at a conference and was excited that he could help me understand the systems that I was observing. He taught me geology and I taught him astronomy, and we figured out how to make sense of these mysterious exoplanetary systems."

The pair's results are published in the 2 November 2021 issue of Nature Communications.

Notes

[1] "Normal" or existing rock classification methods are based on the fact that olivine and orthopyroxene are the dominant minerals in Earth's mantle (and the mantles of other rocky planets in our Solar System). For many exoplanets, though, olivine might be absent and quartz present, or orthopyroxene could be absent and periclase is present, and so a new classification nomenclature was developed. The new rock type classifications proposed by Putirka and Xu include: "quartz pyroxenites," which have more than 10% each of orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and quartz; "quartz orthopyroxenites," which have more than 10% orthopyroxene and quartz, and less than 10% clinopyroxene; "periclase dunites," which have more than 10% each of periclase and olivine, and less than 10% clinopyroxene; "periclase wehrlites," which contain more than 10% each of periclase, olivine, and clinopyroxene; and "periclase clinopyroxenites," which have less than 10% olivine and more than 10% each of periclase and clinopyroxene.

More information

NSF's NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), the US center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the international Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC-Canada, ANID-Chile, MCTIC-Brazil, MINCyT-Argentina, and KASI-Republic of Korea), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and Vera C. Rubin Observatory (operated in cooperation with the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory). It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du'ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai'i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that these sites have to the Tohono O'odham Nation, to the Native Hawaiian community, and to the local communities in Chile, respectively.



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The lunar surface is covered by numerous craters that date back to the impacts of asteroids.

Age determinations on lunar rocks formed during these impacts show a surprising clustering at ages of about 3.9 billion years before present, or about 500 million years after the Moon was formed. These observations have led to the theory of a Late Heavy Bombardment of the Moon (or LHB).

But what was the origin of this late bombardment and where did the asteroids that hit the Moon come from? Scientists discuss two possibilities. One is that these bodies could represent the leftover material from the main phase of Earth's formation that hit the Moon with continuously decreasing frequency. Another hypothesis is that about 3.9 billion years ago, instabilities in the orbits of the gas giant planets led to a sudden sharp increase in impacts from asteroids and comets from the outer solar system.

Planetologists at the University of Munster have now tested these hypotheses with very precise isotope measurements of lunar rocks formed during the bombardment 3.9 billion years ago. Their conclusion: There was no sudden increase in the impact rate, and the bombardment of the Moon goes back to continuous impacts of asteroids left over from the main phase of the Earth's formation. The results are published in the current issue of the journal "Science Advances".

About the study

The scientists from Munster examined lunar rocks that were formed during the bombardment 3.9 billion years ago. These rocks contain tiny metal globules consisting of material from the impactor asteroids. By studying the isotopic composition of these metal globules, researchers can determine where in the solar system these bodies originated. They focused on the elements ruthenium and molybdenum because these elements show systematic changes in their isotopic composition depending on where they were formed in the solar system. "Our research shows that the bombardment of the Moon was by the same bodies that formed the Earth and Moon," explains planetologist and lead author of the study Dr. Emily Worsham. The impact craters on the Moon, therefore, are due to a continuous bombardment of leftover asteroids from the main phase of the Earth's formation. This also allows scientists to rule out a sudden increase in the impact rate due to bombardment with bodies from the outer solar system. But then where did the clustering of ages of 3.9 billion years come from? "It has previously been suggested that the lunar rocks studied so far are mostly made up of material from a single impact basin - the Mare Imbrium in the north-central Earth-facing side of the Moon," explains Emily Worsham.

It is known from theoretical calculations that the orbits of the gas giants changed at some point in the early history of the solar system, scattering a large number of bodies from the outer solar system inwards, which collided with the Earth and the Moon, among others. "This event must have taken place earlier than previously thought, because we find no evidence of impacts by asteroids or comets from the outer reaches of the solar system in the lunar rocks," explains Prof. Dr. Thorsten Kleine. The change in the orbits of the gas giant planets therefore probably took place during the main formation phase of the Earth-like planets - that is, in the first roughly 100 million years of the solar system - which in turn agrees well with recent dynamical models. "Our study, therefore, also shows that the Earth-like planets incorporated water-rich bodies from the outer solar system relatively early, during their formation, thus creating the conditions for the emergence of life", adds Thorsten Kleine.

###

The work was carried out within the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre SFB/Transregio 170 "Late accretion onto terrestrial planets" and is supported by the German Research Foundation.



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By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and the World Bank have discussed cooperation prospects in the fields of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, the Energy Ministry reported on November 3.

The discussion took place at the meeting between Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and World Bank Country Manager for Azerbaijan Sarah Michael.

During the meeting, the parties discussed ongoing successful bilateral cooperation and the status of the implementation of joint projects.

Issues arising from the memorandum of understanding signed between the ministry and the IFC, a member of the WB Group, on cooperation in the use of offshore wind energy resources were discussed.

The parties also exchanged views on the work done to assess the potential of wind energy of the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea and the development of a roadmap in the field of energy.

The sides expressed their confidence that joint cooperation efforts will contribute to the development of green energy production in Azerbaijan, as well as to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

A number of other issues of mutual interest were discussed at the meeting.

Azerbaijan joined the WB in 1992. Since then, the bank has financed over 50 projects with total commitments of $4.4 billion. It started economic cooperation in Azerbaijan to help increase the countrys institutional capacity and to build efficient management of oil reserves. The WB has always supported the large-scale reforms carried out in Azerbaijan.




By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan has organized business training within the framework of the smart village project in liberated Zangilan region, the Economy Ministry reported on November 2.

The ministry noted that the residents of Zangilans Aghali village will be supported in creating micro-business within the framework of the project.

At the initial stage, 22 residents of Zangilan will be involved in the self-employment program. After the completion of the training, the program participants will be provided with the appropriate equipment according to their fields of activity.

Representatives of the agency for small and medium businesses development and the agency for agrarian reforms have already met residents to identify their future areas of activity. As a result of the meetings, such spheres as the repair of vehicles, household appliances, construction, hairdressing services, the production of flour products, trade, and others were identified.

It should be noted that the business training will last until late November.

The countys newly-liberated territories will be first where the smart city concept - that has long been on the agenda in Azerbaijan  will be implemented.

Azerbaijan has already presented the first pilot project of a smart village to be created in the liberated territories, as part of the 2020-2022 National Action Plan. Thus, the first project covers Zangilans Aghali I, II, III villages. The project will be implemented mainly on five components - housing sector, production sector, social services, smart agriculture and alternative energy.

Initially, 200 individual houses will be constructed with the use of innovative building materials. In addition, engineering communications and heating systems in the houses will also be created on the basis of smart technologies.

Moreover, modern schools, kindergartens, clinics and electronic control centers will be built in these villages, and tourism infrastructure will be formed. All residential houses, social facilities, administrative and catering buildings, processing and production of agricultural products will be provided with alternative energy sources.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates plan to establish a business council and working groups to expand business contacts.

A protocol of the meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on economic, trade, and technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UAE was signed on November 3, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov wrote on his official Twitter page.

"According to the protocol, appropriate measures will be taken to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields of economy, Business Council and working groups will be established to expand business contacts, cooperation between SME-s and promote mutual investment," the minister wrote.

It should be noted that the protocol was signed by Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov and his UAE counterpart Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri.

The minister also tweeted that the joint intergovernmental commission is an effective platform for identifying new areas of bilateral partnership.

"During the 8th meeting of the commission, we discussed strengthening cooperation in the fields of investment, trade, 'green' energy, agriculture, food security, SME, innovation, logistics, tourism, health, science," Jabbarov wrote.

Moreover, a memorandum was signed between the Azerbaijani Agency for Small and Medium Businesses Development and the Dubai Chamber, within the meeting of the Azerbaijan-UAE intergovernmental commission in Dubai.

"The document envisages the implementation of joint initiatives to expand bilateral cooperation in the field of trade and business," the agency's board chairman, Orkhan Mammadov, wrote on his official Twitter page.

Currently, Azerbaijani products are showcased at the Global Village International Fair in Dubai.

The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $33.8 million during the first nine months of the year. Of the total turnover, exports amounted to $10.1 million, while the imports to $23.6 million.

Last year, Azerbaijan and the UAE signed agreements on pilot projects in renewable energy. Under the agreement, the building of a 230-MW solar power plant is envisaged. The solar power plant to be built in Baku and Absheron region will produce about 500 million kWh of electricity annually, save 110 million cubic meters of natural gas, reduce carbon emissions by 200,000 tons, create new jobs and attract other investors to new projects.
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

A meeting of the Second Election Group chaired by Azerbaijan has been held at the UNESCO headquarters.

The meeting, chaired by Azerbaijan's Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Ambassador Elman Abdullayev, was attended by the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences Gabriela Ramos and many others, Azertag reported.

After the approval of the agenda, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to UNESCO Alexander Kuznetsov made a statement on the results of the 212th session of the Executive Council as Vice-President of the Second Election Group of the UNESCO Executive Council.

Next, Gabriela Ramos briefed on the activities of the sector led by UNESCO during the General Conference and the activities to be carried out within the General Conference.

She expressed hope that UNESCO's recommendations on the ethics of artificial intelligence would be adopted at the forthcoming General Conference, and called on countries to vote for the adoption of these recommendations.

Touching upon intercultural dialogue, Gabriela Ramos thanked Azerbaijan for the Baku Process and spoke about the country's support for UNESCO in the field of intercultural dialogue.

The meeting continued with speeches and exchange of views by representatives of member countries.

The sides agreed that Bulgaria will be the next chairman of the Second Election Group from January, 2022.

Azerbaijan and UNESCO have been enjoying successful cooperation since 1992.

In 2003, the parties signed the framework agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, science, education, and communication, which allowed Azerbaijan to become one of the donors of UNESCO.

Many Azerbaijani cultural sites have been included in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Icherisheher (Old City), Maiden Tower, and Shirvanshah's palace were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, while since 2007 the Gobustan National Historical-Artistic reserve was also listed among these heritages.

Shaki, an important city at the crossroads of the historic Silk Roads was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee held in Baku.

In 2017, UNESCO recognized Azerbaijan's dolma as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Art of crafting and playing with kamancha, presented jointly by Azerbaijan and Iran, was also inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Moreover, the Pomegranate Festival, Art of miniature were inscribed in UNESCO Representative List in December 2020.

UNESCO also successfully celebrated the 600th anniversary of the death of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Imadaddin Nasimi and the 200th anniversary of the first settlement of Germans in Azerbaijan.
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Georgian musician has given a master class on jazz for Azerbaijani students.

Lecturer at Pop-jazz Faculty of Tbilisi State University Irina Ebralidze shared her knowledge and jazz music secrets with young talents who study at Baku Music Academy (BMA), National Conservatory, the State University of Culture and Arts and Sumgayit Music College.

The master class was held virtually as part of the Jazzery Voices project.

Initiated by the Culture Ministry, the project includes concerts of professional and young jazz musicians, an international scientific-creative conference on "Issues related to jazz art in Azerbaijan", a master class on jazz vocal performance and a research seminar.

The Jazzery Voices project will end on November 6 at the International Mugham Center with a gala concert titled "Jazz says Victory".

At the online meeting, associate professor of the BMA's Theory Department of BMA, Doctor of Philosophy in Art Criticism Turan Mamedaliyeva spoke about Jazzery Voices, which is aimed at discovering talented youth and creative growth.

Irina Ebralidze praised the talents of the Azerbaijani students and pointed out the skills that still need to be worked on.

The master class was accompanied by the laureate of international jazz festivals Afgan Rasul. The event aroused great interest among students.
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Baku Music Academy (BMA) has hosted a scientific-creative conference within Jazzery Voices project.

Rector of the Baku Music Academy, People's Artist Farhad Badalbeyli greeted the conference participants, Azertag reported.

The musicologist Natavan Huseynova (the Netherlands) and jazz musician Irina Ebralidze (Georgia) joined the meeting virtually.

Badalbeyli praised the Jazzery Voices project, noting the latest achievements of acclaimed jazz musicians Emin Afrasiyab, Isfar Sarabski, Etibar Asadli and others.

Irina Ebralidze discussed some aspects of the jazz vocal studies, while Natavan Huseynova provided insight into the Azerbaijani jazz in the first half of the twentieth century.

Next, professor of the Baku Music Academy Doctor of Philosophy in Art History Lala Rzayeva made a report on "Jazz Pianism", while Doctor of Philosophy in Art History Aybaniz Novrasli discussed Azerbaijan ethno-jazz trends.

Musicologist, publicist, actress Fariza Babayeva made report on the issues of Azerbaijani jazz art, postgraduate of the Baku Music Academy Jamila Amirova spoke about modern Azerbaijani jazz pianists, Doctor of Philosophy in Art History, jazz researcher Turan Mammadliyeva touched upon some issues of jazz management in Azerbaijan.

The conference was followed by the performance of laureate of international jazz festivals Elbay Mammadzade. The musician performed a music piece "Illustration".

Notably, Jazzery Voices project features concerts of professional and young jazz musicians, conference, research seminar, master classes and much more.

Initiated by the Culture Ministry, the large-scale project is timed to the 100th centenary of the Baku Music Academy.

For many years, BMA has successfully promoted Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage. Since its establishment, Baku Music Academy has trained many generations of world-famous musicians.

With a rich history spanning 100 years, Baku Music Academy offers a high-quality education for many young talents.

Since 1991, eminent pianist and composer Farhad Badalbeyli has been the rector of the Baku Music Academy.

The Academy also holds a number of concerts with participation of world-famous musicians.

Meanwhile, the final concert "Jazz says Victory" will be held at the International Mugham Center on November 6.
By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

On September 27, 2020, in response to a large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the frontline, the Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive operation, later called the "Iron Fist".

The 44-day war put an end to nearly 30 years of occupation, ensured the liberation of Azerbaijan's lands and the restoration of the country's territorial integrity.

Chronicle of 44-day Second Karabakh War: November 3, 2021

- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin held phone talks.

- The Armenian armed forces were forced to retreat, suffering losses.

- During one day the list of the destroyed military equipment of the Armenian armed forces was announced.

- Armenia violated the ceasefire regime on the state border.

- The Azerbaijani army has a full advantage over the Armenian armed forces.

- Another UAV of the Armenian armed forces was destroyed.

- The Armenian armed forces fired at Azerbaijans Fuzuli region, using Smerch multiple-launch missile system.

- The reconnaissance and sabotage group was destroyed in the direction of Azerbaijans Zangilan region.

- A video footage showing the destruction of two more ammunition depots of the Armenian armed forces near Khankandi city has been released.

- The sniper group of the Armenian armed forces was destroyed.

- The Armenian armed forces fired on Azerbaijans Aghdam and Aghjabadi regions.

- The Armenian head of regiment fled, but the servicemen went missing.

- The commander of the Armenian armed forces' tank battalion was killed, several tanks were destroyed as a result of the explosion.

- The phosphorus shell fired by Armenia at Azerbaijans Tartar region has been neutralized.

- A video footage showing the destruction of the Armenian armed forces tanks in the battles around Khojavand region has been spread.

- The commander of the Armenian armed forces motorized infantry regiment was killed.

- A video footage showing the destruction of the Armenian armed forces artillery in the direction of Khojavand district has been released.

A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and urged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centres, and historic Shusha city.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov have discussed the importance of developing a post-war 3+3 regional cooperation platform, the Foreign Ministry has reported.

In a telephone conversation on November 2, the two ministers focused on a number of issues of the bilateral relations agenda and the current regional situation.

The ministers discussed the implementation of trilateral statements signed by Baku, Moscow, and Yerevan in November 2020, and January 2021.

They discussed the activities of the Azerbaijani-Russian-Armenian working group on unblocking transport and communications and other issues of mutual interest.

Earlier, on October 30, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome, Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed the prospects of launching the regional mechanism "3 + 3" in order to unblock economic and transport ties and promote mutually beneficial infrastructure projects in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan, along with Turkey earlier offered a new regional cooperation format that would involve all six countries in the region, including Armenia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced Baku's willingness for a new regional cooperation platform at a press conference on December 10, 2020.

The six-sided platform is the idea of launching a consultative regional mechanism with the participation of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

It is believed that the cooperation platform will meet the interests of all its potential participants, contribute to strengthening peace, confidence, lead to stimulating economic processes and cooperation in the South Caucasus.

It should be noted that President ?lham Aliyev said during his visit to Zangilan on October 20 that although Armenia earlier resisted the unblocking of the regional transport communications, "they have now agreed to it".

The document signed on January 11, 2021, envisages the unblocking of transport communications in the region after Baku and Yerevan reached a ceasefire deal in November 2020 after the 44-day war.

The latest meeting of the trilateral working group was held under the joint chairmanship of the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian deputy prime ministers in Moscow on October 20.

During the first part of the eighth meeting, Shahin Mustafayev, Aleksey Overchuk and Mher Grigoryan considered the prospects of restoring transport communications in the South Caucasus region and the course of further work within the framework of the trilateral statement signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on January 11, 2021.

The parties agreed to hold the second part of the eighth meeting in the near future.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Experts closely watching the official launch of major projects in Karabakh by the leaders of two fraternal and ally countries - Azerbaijan and Turkey in late October have described this key event as the determination of Baku and Ankara to achieve long-term regional peace, security and cooperation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the first international leader, who landed at a brand-new airport that Azerbaijan has constructed in liberated Fuzuli in eight months after its remarkable victory in the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020.

Erdogan's historic visit to Fuzuli on October 26, 2021, to inaugurate along with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev the Fuzuli International Airport, which is currently Karabakhs only air connection with the world, and the Zangazur corridor of immense strategic importance was the focus of attention in the regional and international media.

President Aliyev stressed the importance of the visit, saying "this shows that Turkey and Azerbaijan, as two brotherly countries, are always close to each other".

Change in geopolitical panorama

Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova earlier stated that today, projects that are being resolutely implemented by joint efforts of Azerbaijan and Turkey change the geopolitical panorama of the region and add new nuances to it.

Some experts think that Erdogan used his visit to Fuzuli and other territories over which Azerbaijan gained control after the autumn war of 2020 to communicate Turkey's readiness for regional cooperation.

Another message from Erdogan is thought to be the confirmation of Turkey's readiness to be the guarantor of Azerbaijan's security in line with the Shusha Declaration that Baku and Ankara signed on June 15, 2021.

Furthermore, it is believed that Turkey seeks to use the new regional situation for the development of international transport communications, which should benefit everyone.

These plans can be successfully implemented with the opening of the Zangazur corridor across the narrow isthmus of the Armenian territory between Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which has a border with Turkey. Therefore, Turkey, like Azerbaijan, counts on the normalization of relations with Armenia.

Erdogan earlier stated if Armenia shows sincere will in relations with Azerbaijan, there will be no obstacles to the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

In addition, the Zangazur corridor has geopolitical significance as a link providing uninterrupted communication between the Turkic states from Russia's Altay (35 percent of the republic's population are members of the Turkic ethnic group) to Southern Europe. This will increase the role of Azerbaijan as a link between the Turkic world and Turkey.

Toghrul Juvarli, a member of the Azerbaijan National Public Committee for European Integration, believes that Erdogan's participation in the opening of Fuzuli airport was of great importance for both states.

The participation of Erdogan increased the significance of this event, attracted more international attention to it. The message was given to the world that Azerbaijan, having finished the war, is busy with creative work. On the other hand, the construction of the airport still in the dead zone underscores the scale of the damage caused to Azerbaijan by the war," Juvarli said.

The expert stressed that the opening of the airport, as well as the laying of the construction of a new highway in the direction of Horadiz-Zangilan-Aghband along the Iranian border to the border with Armenia, showed that Azerbaijan is determined to implement the Zangazur corridor project, which will become part of international communication between Europe and Asia.

Important message to investors

For Azerbaijan, the opening of the airport had a symbolic meaning, among other things.

The construction of a new modern airport among the ruins in just eight months confirms the country's determination and ability to restore territories completely destroyed during the war. This, according to the government, is an important message for investors that the region is overgrown with transport infrastructure, it has prospects and the participation in projects can bring economic benefits.

Chairman of the Humanitarian Research Public Union Avaz Hasanov believes that the construction of the airport will speed up the construction of other infrastructure on the liberated territories.

The airport in Fuzuli is able to receive aircraft of all classes, including cargo ones. This will make it possible to quickly deliver materials and equipment from foreign countries here. The presence of an airport is an important factor in attracting foreign investors and contractors. Firstly, when there is an airport nearby, it is very convenient to send specialists for a preliminary examination and assessment of the places of upcoming work. Taking into account the fact that there is no hotel infrastructure in the region, it is very important to fit in one day. Secondly, the presence of the airport testifies to the seriousness of the government's intentions to restore vast territories, and this strengthens investors' confidence in the prospects for capital investments," Hasanov stressed.

Hasanov also outlined the importance of the construction of airports in terms of tourism.

Erdogan's visit also showed that the brotherhood of Azerbaijan and Turkey not only brings stability to the region but also serves as a model for regional actors. Through their practical activities, the two countries resolutely defend each other's national interests and implement the joint projects in various spheres, he said.

Regional transport communications

Azerbaijan, along with Turkey earlier offered a new regional cooperation format that would involve all six countries in the region, including Armenia.

President Aliyev announced Baku's willingness for a new regional cooperation platform at a press conference on December 10, 2020.

The six-sided platform is the idea of launching a consultative regional mechanism with the participation of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

It is believed that the cooperation platform will meet the interests of all its potential participants, contribute to strengthening peace, confidence, lead to stimulating economic processes and cooperation in the South Caucasus.

It should be noted that President ?lham Aliyev said during his visit to Zangilan on October 20 that although Armenia earlier resisted the unblocking of the regional transport communications, "they have now agreed to it".

The document signed on January 11, 2021, envisages the unblocking of transport communications in the region after Baku and Yerevan reached a ceasefire deal in November 2020 after the 44-day war.

Shusha Declaration

On June 15, 2021, during Erdogans first visit to Karabakh, both Baku and Ankara signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The pact assesses the opening of the corridor between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the construction of the Nakhchivan-Kars railway as a contribution to the intensification of transport and communications.

The document envisages the sustainable development of Azerbaijani-Turkish relations at all levels, including in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres. At the same time, the declaration addresses issues of defense cooperation and mutual military assistance.

It also highlights the importance of partnership and cooperation in the field of military industry, which increases the strength of both countries.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The tenth meeting of the Azerbaijani-Russian joint demarcation commission was held in Russias Pyatigorsk city on October 27-28, the Foreign Ministry reported on November 2.

During the meeting, the participants discussed issues related to the continuation of the Azerbaijani-Russian state border demarcation process. In addition, the commission's work plan for 2022 was approved.

The parties stated that the work plan of the Azerbaijan-Russian joint demarcation commission for 2021 was fully implemented.

It should be noted that the next meeting of the commission is planned to be held in Azerbaijan. The dates of the meeting will be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.

The border between Russia and Azerbaijan was established by an agreement signed in Baku on October 3, 2010. It was ratified on July 18, 2011. The length of the land border between the two countries is 284 km.

The joint demarcation commission was founded on May 15, 2013, in Moscow. It defines boundary markers and places of their installation, as well as pronunciation rules in the languages of the parties to geographical names.

Azerbaijan and Russia have mutual cooperation in different fields, such as economy, agriculture, customs, communications, high technology, and others. More than 230 intergovernmental and intercompany documents have been signed between the two countries and six "road maps" are being implemented.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

President Ilham Aliyev has hailed the bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azertag reported on November 3.

He made the remarks during the meeting with Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sefik Dzaferovic.

We met many times and also spoke relatively recently by phone about our partnership, our cooperation, and very friendly ties between our nations. Our countries always supported each other on all the issues. This mutual support makes our partnership very special, he said.

The president expressed his gratitude for Bosnias support during the Second Karabakh War in 2020.

Noting that there is a lot in common between the two countries, Aliyev underlined that Baku and Sarajevo are sister cities for almost 50 years.

Of course, that was the time when our countries were not independent. But we continue this close cooperation in the years of independence, he said.

Aliyev expressed his confidence that this visit will be a good opportunity to address broad issues of bilateral cooperation in political, economic, and other areas.

In turn, Dzafekovic thanked Aliyev for the invitation and for the opportunity to participate in the 8th Baku Forum.

Noting that the two countries have a history of friendly relations, he stated that hopefully in the future, we will continue to build these friendly relations.

I have already congratulated you during our telephone conversations but now I would like to congratulate you once again in person on the reintegration of Azerbaijani territories. You have fought a liberation war in accordance with the rules of international law and now you are trying to reintegrate and rebuild a part of your territory, he added.

He expressed hope for the continuation of bilateral cooperation on political, cultural, and economic issues.




By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Nizami Ganjavi International Center officials have discussed the latter's growing role and the upcoming Global Baku Forum, Azertag reported on November 3.

The meeting held with the center's co-chairs Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Ismail Serageldin, former heads of state and government, its board members on November 3 noted that the 8th Global Baku Forum to be held from 4 to 6 November under the motto "The world after COVID-19" is dedicated to a very topical issue.

It was underlined that the centers board members and other participants of the forum would visit Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the event.

The meeting also stressed "the growing role and influence of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center across the globe as an international institution".

It was noted that during the 44-day war, the centers board members made numerous statements supporting the just and fair position of Azerbaijan.

The members of the Board of Trustees of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center noted that despite the pandemic, the center continues functioning actively, holding numerous conferences and developing cooperation with other international organizations, the report added.

Members of the Nizami Ganjavi International Centers Board of Trustees thanked Aliyev for his attention and support to the center's activities.

The Nizami Ganjavi International Center was established at a special meeting held in Nizami Ganjavi poet's hometown of Ganja as part of the 870th anniversary of the birth of great Azerbaijani poet on 30 September 2012.



Continuing its activities with President Aliyev's support, this international non-governmental organization brings together former heads of state and government, foreign ministers and prominent international scholars from more than 50 foreign countries.

The main governing body is the Board of Trustees, which consists of influential public and political figures from around the world. The board includes 18 former leaders. The center also includes 53 prominent members from 25 countries in Europe, six from three countries in the Americas, 15 from 12 countries in Asia and five from four countries in Africa.

The co-chairs of the center are former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga (19992007) and former World Bank Vice-President Ismail Serageldin (19922000).
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijan intends to buy Pakistani JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, Trend reported on November 2.

Azerbaijans military attache in Islamabad Col Mehman Novruzov confirmed the states willingness of purchasing fighter jets from Pakistan, the report added.

Novruzov said that purchasing jets is the main topic on the embassys agenda and Azerbaijan is working with Pakistan to modernize its Air Forces.

He added that Azerbaijan intended to buy a modification of the JF-17 Block 3 fighter, which was launched in December 2019 in China.

Compared to its previous version, this model employs more advanced cockpit electronics and radar systems, Trend said.

The two countries signed an agreement on mutual military cooperation at the fifth meeting of the working group on Azerbaijani-Pakistani military cooperation in the city of Islamabad in winter 2014.

In October 2016, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif confirmed plans to carry out joint military exercises.

In September 2021, the Azerbaijani, Turkish and Pakistani special forces conducted the Three Brothers - 2021 joint drills to improve the coordination among the military units of friendly and partner countries during combat operations, prepare for operations in peacetime and wartime, exchange knowledge and experience.

During the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020, Turkey and Pakistan were among the first countries voicing political support for Azerbaijan. The two fraternal countries also support Azerbaijan in the restoration of the country's liberated territories.

Furthermore, the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan have signed the Baku Declaration on cooperation. The document was signed following the trilateral meeting held by speakers of the three countries parliaments on July 27, 2021.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General Kamran Aliyev has said that measures related to Azerbaijans appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Armenias war crimes are being taken, local media reported on November 2.

Aliyev underlined that the Prosecutor-General's Office has collected the necessary evidence about Armenias war crimes against Azerbaijan, the report added.

"Physical evidence is used during these processes. Prosecutors thoroughly conduct an investigation into each crime," Aliyev said.

Azerbaijani has been collecting evidence about Armenia-committed crimes since the occupation of the country's territories, he noted.

Aliyev added that prosecutors inspect each liberated region to collect proof of war crimes.

"The destroyed houses, historical monuments, and environmental crimes were documented separately, photos and videos were taken during the inspection," Aliyev said.

The prosecutor-general stressed that the evidence forms a strong basis to accuse Armenia and its military-political leadership of committing war crimes against Azerbaijan.

"This work is of historical importance. The future generation must know about this and must be informed," Aliyev emphasized.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor-general stressed that police seized drug crops in the Azerbaijani lands liberated from Armenia's occupation in 2020.

After the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from occupation, representatives of the Interior Ministry reported such facts, Aliyev added.

Over its 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Armenia has used Karabakh and adjacent seven regions for its illegal activities, including arms and drugs trafficking. Although Azerbaijan repeatedly raised the issue before the international organizations, Armenia continued in the same vein, creating all the necessary conditions there for the illegal cultivation, production, and further distribution of narcotic substances.

The clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed after Armenia launched large-scale attacks on Azerbaijani forces and civilians on September 27.

During the second Karabakh war, Ganja, Barda, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Tartar, Gabala, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Khizi and other Azerbaijani cities and regions came under Armenia's missile and artillery fire.

International human rights watchdogs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch verified the use of banned cluster bombs and rockets by Armenia in its attacks against Azerbaijani cities.

As a result of the military aggression by Armenia, 100 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, including 12 children and 27 women. As many as 454 people were injured, including 35 children. Some 181 children lost one parent, five children lost both parents, one family died. In total, 12,292 residential and non-residential buildings and 288 vehicles were damaged.

A criminal case has been initiated into the death of every civilian in Azerbaijan caused by the Armenian terror, and appeals have been sent to international courts and organizations.

A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and urged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijans Nakhchivan garrison troops conduct command and staff drills, the Defence Ministry reported on November 2.

The drills are conducted by the military units in line with the Nakhchivan garrison troops reconciliation plan for the 2021 academic year, the ministry said.

As a part of the command and staff exercises, relevant units of the garrison troops were brought to different levels of combat readiness and were taken to the training area with the alarm signal.

The exercises test the ability of the working groups, which coordinate the activities of the troops in the combat control centres through modern technical means.

The ongoing drills aim to improve the interaction between different types of troops, to achieve coordination of tactical and special groups performing separate tasks and to ensure that commanders make the right decisions in a short time and deliver them to subordinates.

The command and staff training will last until November 6, the report concluded.

Azerbaijan periodically holds drills to improve its military personnels combat readiness.

The drills also aim to improve interaction and combat coordination between the servicemen during operations, as well as to develop commanders' military decision-making and unit management skills.




President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva have visited Lahij settlement as part of their trip to Ismayilli region, Azertag reported.

The head of state and the First Lady toured the settlement and talked to residents.

President Ilham Aliyev: Hello.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Hello, it is a pleasure to see you.

Resident: Hello, you are welcome. You are always welcome. On behalf of the people of Lahij and on our own behalf, thank you and we say to you  You are welcome.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

Female resident: Thank you very much for returning our beautiful Karabakh to us.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

Woman resident: And this is your gift.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you, thank you very much, our Kharibulbul.

Female resident: May Allah be pleased with you and grant you good health.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you very much.

Residents: You are welcome.

President Ilham Aliyev: Hello.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Hello, it is a pleasure to see you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. How are you?

Male resident: I wish you continued success. You restored our dignity in the 44-day war. May Allah be pleased with you. You have raised us to this high place among all nations. Our soldiers showed great courage and became martyrs. Your victory in the field of information accounts for half of our great victory. I wish you and Mehriban khanim great success and good health.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. Just one year ago now, battles were underway.

Male resident: Yes, the enemy and the reporters were astonished. You graduated from Mr. Heydar Aliyev's academy.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. How are things in your village? Is everything good?

Male resident: Good.

President Ilham Aliyev: Hello.

Male resident: Mr. President, welcome, you are always welcome.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you, what do you sell?

Male resident: This is Lahij thyme. It consists of a mixture of 33 herbs. This is a lemon-flavored thyme. This is chamomile, and this rosehip  a good remedy for coughing. And this is rumex of Lahij.

President Ilham Aliyev: Did you collect them all from these mountains?

Male resident: Yes, Mr. President.

President Ilham Aliyev: Hello.

Female resident: Hello, you are welcome. You are welcome, Mehriban khanim. How are you?

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you, how are you?

Female resident: Thanks to you, we live very well. We are very glad that you have taken our lands. There is Allah above us and there is you on the ground. We love you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you very much.

Female resident: Please accept our gift. This is a kelaghayi [headscarf] from Basgal.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you, thank you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: As you may know, work is underway in Basgal.

Female resident: Yes, a new road is opening on our side. We are proud of you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. Basgal will be like Lahij, full of tourists.

Female resident: Inshallah. May Allah be pleased with you. May Allah protect you. Now we have a lot of tourists.

President Ilham Aliyev: There are many from the Shamakhi road.

Female resident: Yes, it's a new road.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Are tourists coming?

Resident: There are many tourists. There are a lot on Saturdays and Sundays, but not so many on weekdays.

Another female resident: We are very happy that you have liberated Karabakh.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

Female resident: Thank you, may Allah protect you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

Male resident: Welcome, dear Mr. President and Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva. We congratulate you, all the people of Azerbaijan on the upcoming anniversary of our victory. We express our endless gratitude to you for your great attention to Lahij.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. You know, we have been to Lahij many times, and today we have come to the reopening of the mosque.

Male resident: May Allah help you. May Allah always be with you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you very much.

Another male resident: Mr. President, welcome, the people of Lahij are proud of you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

Another male resident: May Allah be pleased with you.

***

A picture was taken.

***

Female resident: Thank you very much. May Allah bless you all. May Allah always be with you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you, goodbye.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Goodbye.

***

President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva then viewed the restoration and repair work carried out at Badoyun Mosque in Lahij.

When First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva visited Lahij settlement, Ismayilli district in 2019, the residents appealed for the repair of the Badoyun Mosque. The First Vice-President familiarized herself with the situation in the mosque and instructed to carry out a major overhaul.

Assistant to the Azerbaijani President Anar Alakbarov said that built in 1791, the Badoyun Mosque and the surrounding areas have been restored and reconstructed with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. As a result of the work, the mosque was restored to its original state.

***

Akhund of the mosque: Hello, welcome.

President Ilham Aliyev: Hello. Nice to meet you.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Hello. It is nice to meet you.

Akhund of the mosque: Mr. President, please accept this from us by the community of Lahij and Ismayilli.

The head of state was presented with a Holy Quran.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much, thank you.

Male resident: Thank you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: How many mosques are there in Lahij?

Male resident: Five of this level.

President Ilham Aliyev: What is the situation like in those mosques?

Male resident: They are in as good condition.

President Ilham Aliyev: Are they all open?

Male resident: Yes, all of them are open.

President Ilham Aliyev: Was this discovered during the repairs?

Male resident: Archeological excavations were carried out During the repairs and this was discovered.

President Ilham Aliyev: It is interesting. It seems that there was an ancient temple here.








By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

President Ilham Aliyev has initiated an amnesty on the occasian of the first anniversary of Azerbaijans victory in last year's 44-day war with Armenia, Azertag reported on November 3.

The president came up with the initiative taking into account the exceptional significance of November 8 - Victory Day for the Azerbaijani people and continuing the traditions of humanism.



The proposed amnesty act is expected to be the largest one in terms of the number of people and institutions that it will cover, the report added.

The act submitted to parliament by President Aliyev will apply to more than 16,000 people. Over 3,000 convicts are expected to be released from prisons, as well as the unserved part of the sentences of about 3,000 convicts will be reduced.

The Azerbaijani parliament will discuss the bill on the declaration of amnesty in connection with November 8 - Victory Day at its plenary session scheduled for November 5, the report added.

Under the amnesty act, close relatives of those who took part in the 44-day war and other military operations to protect Azerbaijans sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as persons awarded orders and medals will be released.

Moreover, close relatives of those with disabilities or killed as a result of military provocations, as well as persons who have committed crimes that do not pose a major public threat will also be released from criminal liability.

At the same time, negligent offenders, persons who have committed a less serious or first-time grave crime for which the unserved part of the sentence is less than six months, persons serving a sentence in a precinct-type penitentiary institution less than one year before the end of their sentence will be released from the unserved part of the sentence.

The act is expected to apply also to individuals, who were fined, sentenced to public work, correctional work, imposed restrictions over military service, detained in a disciplinary military unit, and had other non-custodial sentences.

The amnesty will remove convictions from individuals who do not pose a major public threat or who have committed less serious crimes.

On November 8, Azerbaijan will celebrate Victory Day to commemorate the liberation of Shusha and other cities and villages from Armenias occupation in the 44-day war in late last year.

On September 27, 2020, in response to a large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the frontline, the Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive operation, later called the "Iron Fist".

The 44-day war put an end to nearly 30 years of occupation, ensured the liberation of Azerbaijan's lands and the restoration of the country's territorial integrity.

A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and urged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city.
By Trend

Belarus proposes to prepare a roadmap for further cooperation with Azerbaijan, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said at a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan Ulvi Bakhshaliyev, Trend reports.

According to Andreichenko, the views of the two countries coincide on many issues of the international agenda.

Next year, we should organize meetings at the level of the leadership of parliaments, at the level of chairmen of standing committees, committees, and working groups. I think that in the near future, on your request, we can organize your meeting with the working group, at which it will be possible to determine the directions of our further interaction, and perhaps even draw up a roadmap to decide in which directions we can move further," he said.

Andreichenko also stressed that the two countries have good rates of cooperation in the economy.

"The trade turnover, which has developed in eight months, accounts for about $350 million. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase of 30 percent has been recorded. Last year, the trade turnover between Belarus and Azerbaijan amounted to $447 million. This is a solid trade. Azerbaijan is among 15 countries with which we have such turnover," Andreichenko added.
By Trend

The VMedia channel on YouTube in its new video footage exposes one of the most notorious and resonant fake claims of the second Armenia-Azerbaijan Karabakh War, spread by Armenian propagandists, namely, accusations that Azerbaijan allegedly fired on the Cathedral of Christ the Holy Savior in Shusha city on October 8, 2020.

According to Yerevans statement, the so-called strike was made either through a drone or artillery. This detail helped the authors of the VMedia channel to prove that there was no shelling at least because the church was not exploded or burnt.

The identity of the Armenian journalists, who were allegedly injured during the fake shelling of the cathedral, also arouses doubts, the message said. Russian blogger Yuri Kotenok became an unwilled participant and victim of a fake performance, the video footage of which was then spread by notorious journalists Pegov and Kots. However, their fake show is obvious.
Dubai SME has extended AED75.6 million ($20.5 million) in financial facilities to the Global Village under an agreement to support Emirati business initiatives.



The agreement, signed for the 26th season of Global Village, which runs until April 10, 2022, aims to provide emerging national projects with an exclusive space in one the best business platforms in Dubai, reported Emirates News Agency WAM.



Under the agreement 25 kiosks have been allocated for Emiratis within Global Village to launch and grow their business.



Dubai SME, through its online registration portal, received more than 200 applications for Global Village. The eligible candidates were selected by a committee comprising representatives of Dubai SME and the Global Village. The 25 kiosks were allocated for startups in the food and beverage (F&B) sector, chiefly restaurants and cafes, wholly owned and operated by UAE nationals. Priority was given to Dubai SME members, existing restaurants/cafes located in Dubai, new concepts, and entrepreneurs seeking to participate in Global Village for the first time.



Being present at Global Village will provide ambitious Emirati entrepreneurs with a stimulating experience and opportunity to experiment with their spirit of innovation and excellence as well as business development skills. The unique exposure will also enable Emirati entrepreneurs to enhance competitiveness and sustainability of their business while also supporting economic development in Dubai and the UAE.



One of the focal points for Dubai SME is to augment the presence of Emirati products in various local and global forums, thereby creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into reality and gain further knowledge and experience in successful enterprise.



Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME, commented: "Dubai SME and the Global Village have remained partners for more than 15 seasons. During this period we have supported 689 varied projects, with food and beverage being a strong component in the past five years. The total value of support we have extended under this partnership has now reached AED 75.6 million. We thank the Global Village team for extending their platform to aspiring entrepreneurs."



Participation in Global Village entitles entrepreneurs to special incentives in addition to various forms of support each season. Average sales achieved by Emirati projects participating in each season is eight million dirhams, which in itself is an incentive for Emirati youth, especially fresh graduates, to become successful and empowered.



Bader Anwahi, CEO of Global Village, said: "We believe in the importance of entrepreneurship and its role in promoting innovation, driving economic growth and creating opportunities for the young people of our Nation. Global Village is an exceptional platform for SMEs to gain the necessary expertise to optimally manage projects, develop their business and ultimately achieve their goals."



Anwahi said that Global Village is also offers great prospects for international businesses. "Its an ideal platform for any business or project, providing endless opportunities to introduce, and incubate, concepts to the region. Supporting ambitious Emirati youth as they explore new business opportunities in various sectors and build partnerships is important to the economic prosperity of the UAE. We are proud to play a role in strengthening the SME ecosystem in Dubai, enabling SMEs to make remarkable returns on their investment, and supporting the UAE governments strategy to develop a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem."



Entrepreneurs who were part of Global Village during previous seasons have benefitted significantly from the exposure and the support provided by Dubai SME.



Marwan Falaknaz, owner of TripX project, said: "Global Village is a unique business platform for launching a new project. The advantages offered by Dubai SME is encouraging too, as it provides working spaces at competitive prices and provides valuable guidance to entrepreneurs in operations and marketing."
The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), an energy-focused multilateral development financial institution, and the National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) signed a five-year debt finance facility with Hartree Maritime Partners (HMP), the shipping affiliate of Hartree Partners, a global energy and commodities firm, which will contribute to boosting maritime sustainability.

The $108 million facility, in which Apicorp acted as the mandated arranger and facility agent, will be utilized to finance HMPs purchase of two eco-friendly very large crude carriers (VLCC).

The ships are fitted with advanced emissions technologies which exceed the United Nations International Maritime Organizations (IMO) 2020 energy-efficiency parameters and Sustainability Development Goals.

Built by South Korea-based Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, the ships feature advanced digitalization and artificial intelligence technologies, Eco-Scrubbers, next-generation hull designs, and highly efficient engines which reduce fuel consumption and emissions by 25% to 30%.

Commenting on the agreement, CEO Dr Ahmed Ali Attiga said: "The partnership is in line with Apicorp's recently launched ESG framework, which re-enforces our commitment to sustainability in the energy sector."

"With around 2 billion metric tons of crude oil shipped via waterways in 2020, the maritime industry represents a significant opportunity to promote sustainable practices, mitigate environmental risks, and address climate change challenges," he stated.

National Bank of Fujairah CEO Vince Cook said: A key driver in promoting sustainability is the lending role that banks play in supporting and financing projects aimed at expanding and enhancing the application of sustainability practices. It is great to partner with Apicorp in co-financing such initiatives aligned with our goal of promoting lending to sustainable projects."

"This is another step in supporting UAEs national agenda for transformation to a green economy in line with UAE Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Declaration of all banks, cementing NBFs position as the best financial partner for business, he noted.

Guy Merison, Founding Managing Director of Hartree Partners, said: Our investment in these two cutting-edge vessels enables us to continue delivering outstanding service to our customers worldwide while at the same time helping to enhance sustainable practices within the maritime shipping industry.
McKinsey & Company has launched its regional flagship virtual platform, Forward, a one-of-a-kind learning programme for young professionals in the first years of their career.

Forward participants across the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey will have free access to a 6-month learning journey designed and delivered by McKinsey experts. They will join a global network of ambitious young professionals.

Fifty percent of the participants who joined last years pilot programmes were women. Eighty percent worked in small and medium-sized organisations or were entrepreneurs. Of those participants, 99% shared that they would recommend Forward to others.

Rakan, one of the Forward alumni, said: Forward teaches you simple things, but theyre so effective, and when you learn them, you just think: Why hasnt anyone taught me this before? Why didnt I learn them in school or university? Theyre such crucial skills.

Forward distinguishes itself from traditional online learning and leadership development programmes by offering one of the only cross-cutting programmes focused on practical skills and delivered in a fully digital and virtual model. The programme brings to bear what McKinsey is best known for  leadership, business, and digital skills  all things young leaders need to succeed, regardless of role or industry.

McKinsey experts and industry practitioners have developed the curriculum and content to address real insights from the firms research about foundational skills required in the future of work.

The curriculum also leverages the firms best-in-class thinking on capability building and adult learning.

Sessions are delivered by McKinsey leaders. The journey also contains collaborative peer-to-peer learning activities that give participants an opportunity to apply and embed learnings in their current roles.

Viktor Hediger, Senior Partner at McKinsey, said: Forward offers a transformational experience for young leaders at a very critical point in their career, their first or second job, where they need the most guidance. In this fast-changing world of work, these young people have the power to shape the future for themselves and others around them.

He continued: We have been intentional in developing a learning journey that we believe is relevant for every young professional, complementing their technical knowledge and inspiring a mindset of life-long learning even beyond the programme itself.

At a practical level, the journey teaches young leaders how to:

*Turn complex business challenges into opportunities using structured and creative thinking;

*Communicate in a clear and impactful way;

*Apply agile ways of working and spot opportunities to use data and technology; and

*Be adaptable, build resilience and emotional awareness to work successfully  both independently and in teams  especially in times of change.

To participate in Forward, applicants must meet the following criteria:

*Currently residing in Africa, the Middle East, or Turkey;

*Have at least one and no more than five years of formal work experience;

*Have completed post-secondary education (for example, diploma, associate degree, or undergraduate); and

*Have a good command of the English language since the programme will be conducted in English.

Applications for Forward are open until December 1, 2021.-- TradeArabia News Service
Cruise Saudi, the company facilitating the development of the cruise industry in Saudi Arabia, has confirmed that it has become a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Launched in January 2021 at the Future Investment Initiative (FII), Cruise Saudi has made good progress in its mission to bring the global cruise industry to Saudi Arabia.

The company has worked together with stakeholders such as the Saudi Port Authority MAWANI to guide the construction of a new cruise terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port, Saudi Arabias largest port. It has signed agreements with leading global cruise operators to bring their ships to Saudi waters, a statement from the company said.

MSC Bellissima, owned by MSC Cruises, a privately owned cruise line, and luxury liner Scenic Eclipse, have both been sailing the Saudi coastline during the summer season.

Cruise Saudi Managing Director Fawaz Farooqui said: Our membership of WTTC is an important step in fulfilling Saudi Arabias plans to become a new pillar for the global cruise industry. We have an unparalleled blend of cultural, historical and natural attractions that will appeal to a wide range of travellers, and we have begun to develop world-class infrastructure that has enabled us to start welcoming them.

He added: Through WTTC, we seek to alert the global cruise industry not only to the attractions of our country but also to its ability to provide seamless and safe tourist services. Saudi Arabia is committed to building a sustainable, environmentally conscious tourism industry in line with the goals of Vision 2030, and we look forward to collaborating with the WTTC on these efforts.

The membership of WTTC, which advocates for the development of the travel and tourism sector as a driver of sustainable economic growth, will further establish the Saudi cruise industry just as international leisure travel begins to resume following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joining the Council will allow Cruise Saudi to better shine a spotlight on the year-round potential of the Saudi market to tour operators, travel agents and cruise lines, in addition to sourcing key data on international travel trends and learning from the best practitioners in the global cruise sector.

WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson said: We are delighted to be welcoming Cruise Saudi as a member of the council. The Saudi travel & tourism sector will be critical to powering the countrys economy once Covid-19 has been combatted, and we look forward to working closely with Cruise Saudi, and continuing our work with the government, to ensure a swift recovery of this fast-growing sector.-TradeArabia News Service
The General Authority for Military Industries (Gami) has signed a contract with Saudi Arabian Military Industries (Sami) for the development and manufacture of the SkyGuard unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The strategic objective of this signing, lies in building a leading foundational base for technological innovation, both regionally and internationally, a Saudi Press Agency report said.

Ultimately, this contributes to the overarching goal of achieving localisation of more than 50% of expenditure on defence equipment and services, by the year 2030.

Sami also signed an Agreement with Prince Sultan Defence Studies and Science Research Centre (PSDSARC), with the objective of further developing the UAV.

SkyGuard is the outcome of numerous R&D efforts, undertaken by the Centre and geared towards developing a truly local product, which is satisfactorily compliant with the operational requirements of end Users.

The signing ceremony was attended by Governor of Gami Ahmad Al-Ohali, Vice Chairman of Sami Dr Ghassan AlShibl, CEO of Sami Walid Abukhaled, and a number of key executives from the two entities.

Al-Ohali asserted that this signing is expected to add great value by increasing military readiness within the Saudi Arabias defence ecosystem, and enhancing both field responsiveness and technical support, as well as expanding high-skilled job creation for Saudi human talent.

Worth noting, is that such value addition forms part of the framework for incentivising localisation in the kingdoms defence sector, and supporting its Vision 2030 targets, adding that Saudi Arabia today is laying the foundation for transformative change in this promising sector for generations to come.

"Moreover, one of the biggest drivers of this change, is the undeniable empowerment that the kingdoms defence sector enjoys from its wise leadership," said Al-Ohali. He went on to applaud the unprecedented openness (and ease) of doing business in Saudi Arabia, which cements its place across a multitude of domains, as a prime destination for investment.

Abukhaled stated that the signing marks a step amongst many, in the kingdoms aspirational and inspiring localisation journey. Abukhaled further noted the pertinence of this signing to building a robust local defence ecosystem, comprising indigenous supply chains that satisfy our strategic need to be self-sufficient.

Saudi Arabia draws its Vision 2030 target of localisation of defence expenditure from its core national priorities, namely military readiness, strategic autonomy, transparency and efficiency of spend, sustainability of local military industries, and interoperability within and across entities.-- TradeArabia News Service
Majid Al Futtaim, a leading shopping mall and leisure pioneer, has partnered with Yandex, one of the largest IT companies in Europe, to explore autonomous technology solutions to enhance Carrefours last mile delivery capabilities.



The partnership will enable Carrefour to be the first omnichannel retailer to use self-driving robots for orders delivery in the region.



Responding to the high demand for online orders, Carrefour customers in selected neighbourhoods across the UAE could receive their online orders via Yandex autonomous delivery robots as part of the pilot program, which is set to launch in early 2022. The joint project will introduce innovative robotic delivery for Carrefour customers, while other benefits will include lower emissions.



The signing ceremony was held at the Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport 2021on 27 October, and was attended by Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA); Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Retail; and Artem Fokin, Head of Business Development at Yandex Self-Driving Group.



The partnership reimagines the integration of robots into daily life. Powered by Yandex autonomous vehicle technology, companys delivery robots can efficiently plan the safest route in real time, detect approaching vehicles and pedestrians, and travel at speeds of up to 8 km/hour on sidewalks or other pedestrian areas. As the Yandex self-driving robots begin navigating the streets, customers will be able to track its movement in real time on the MAF Carrefour App.



Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Retail, said: As a leading retailer, driving the retail industry into the future is our responsibility. Together with Yandex, and the ongoing support of the RTA, we are excited to explore this innovative new last mile solution to offer our customers greater flexibility, convenience and speed with their online orders. What was once considered science fiction, we are delighted that the wheels are in motion for Carrefour to start delivering orders via self-driving, fully automated robots.



Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Yandex Self-Driving Group, said: "The demand for automated last-mile delivery continues to grow across the world. Not only businesses, but also cities and even whole states have now taken an interest in this technology. Autonomous delivery has the potential to improve the life for people in cities, while helping companies optimize their logistics and cut down the costs.



Yandex robots have already delivered tens of thousands of orders in the USA and Russia. We appreciate the support from RTA and together with Majid Al Futtaim we will explore the opportunities to bring the advantages of robotic delivery to Dubais daily life."  TradeArabia News Service
The Big 5 Construct Kenya is set to welcome over 100 exhibitors from Germany, Italy, Finland, Egypt, the UAE even as the nation has in the pipeline more than $50 billion of known planned and unawarded projects.

The timely event returns as Projects Data and Intelligence Partner, MEED Projects, reveal Kenya to be one of the most vibrant and diverse projects markets in Africa. The report highlights more than $2 billion worth of major projects currently out to bid in the country across different sectors and counties despite Covid-19 impact, led by the nine main packages on the Isiolo to Mandera road package.

Heavyweights signed up to exhibit include Liebherr, Wilo, Gamma, CGM, Elematic, Mapei, Sika, Rockal, Cleopatra Group and more. The show is on track to take place in person from November 24 to 26, 2021 at the Sarit Expo Centre, Nairobi, announce organisers dmg events.

In addition, the event will offer 20 exclusive and free-to-attend CPD-certified Talks presenting a unique opportunity for the construction community to stay up to date on trends in the sector.

Representatives from industry associations PMI Kenya, BIM Africa and KGBS will be speaking across key themes including Sustainability, Architecture & Design, Technology and Project Management.

Vital trading opportunities alongside educational seminars make The Big 5 Construct Kenya an unmissable business event for the construction sector in the wake of Covid-19 disruption.

Muhammed Kazi, Vice President at dmg events reports the future pipeline in Kenya and foresees powerful face-to-face connections as being key for the sectors continued development.-- TradeArabia News Service
Over 125 leaders from local, regional, and global governments and organisations will discuss the future of manufacturing, digitalisation and supply chain operations at the upcoming Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit in Dubai.



Scheduled to be held from November 22-23 at Expos Dubai Exhibition Centre, the fourth edition of the Summit (#GMIS2021) will spotlight topics such as Society 5.0, increasing digital mobility at work, sustainable manufacturing, gender equality, and the potential of Energy as a Service.



Global CEOs and senior executives confirmed to speak at #GMIS2021 include, Patrick Byrne, CEO of GE Digital; Patrice Caine, Chairman and CEO of Frances Thales Group; Luka Mucic Member of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of SAP; Steven A. Kiefer, Senior Vice President and President of General Motors International; Andy Purdy, Jr., Chief Security Officer of Huawei Technologies; Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman of Motherson Group; Bob Moritz, Global Chairman of PwC; Marc Engel, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Unilever; David Rafalovsky, CTO, Global Head of Operations Technology, and EVP of Sberbank; and Arkady Dvorkovich, Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation and Former Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.



The Summit will also welcome a line-up of speakers from some of the UAEs largest organisations, including Shadi Malak, CEO of Etihad Rail; Fatema Al Nuaimi, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company LNG, Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium; Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, CEO of Emirates Development Bank; Peng Xiao, Group CEO of G42; and Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, CEO of Emirates Steel.



Steven Kiefer, President of GM International, said: The global automotive industry is undergoing one of the most significant changes in its history, with significant advancements in the technology that will deliver safer, more efficient and zero emissions technologies. The integration of software and hardware lie at the heart of this transformation, as we reinvent the vehicle ownership experience. The upcoming #GMIS2021 in the UAE this November presents a unique and exciting opportunity to bring many players together to discuss our opportunities for innovation, economic growth and a cleaner future.



Patrick Byrne, CEO of GE Digital, said: Recent global events have spurred changes in the manufacturing industry, including enormous opportunities for digital transformation. As leaders from across countries and industries prepare to gather in the UAE this November, we have an exciting opportunity to develop a new global agenda for economic revival and industrial innovation that bring digital solutions, lean practices, and a focus on safety to the forefront. I look forward to interacting with industry experts at #GMIS2021 to discuss solutions and collaborations for a bright future.



CEOs and industry leaders will be joined by ministers and senior policymakers from across the world, including the UAE, Russia, United Kingdom, Brazil, Israel, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa, Cambodia, and Cameroon to name a few.



Badr Al-Olama, Head of the GMIS Organising Committee, said: Today, traditional business strategies are no longer effective. Organisations from both the private and public sector must increase their investments in cutting-edge digital strategies in order to create a lasting competitive advantage, revamp their operational models, maximise productivity and increase environmental sustainability. We are excited to welcome like-minded partners from all over the world to the UAE and look forward to engaging in thought provoking debates.



The six-day GMIS Week will feature the two-day #GMIS2021 Summit on November 22-23, a Global Prosperity Conference and an Alternative & Renewable Energy Conference on November 24. The GMIS Week will also feature country-focused conferences in partnership with the UK, Australia, Germany, and Italy. In addition, the event will run a six-day manufacturing and advanced technology exhibition to showcase some of the UAEs most innovative capabilities.  TradeArabia News Service
Mr Monopoly, the world's famous board game icon, is arriving in Qatar with hand-picked features to provide a custom-build, brand-new Doha Board game experience.



Throughout the following weeks, both Doha residents and tourists will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet and greet the most famous board game celebrity. Join the board game hero in his numerous activities around the city and start guessing the stand-out attractions and brands he will award to be featured in the local edition of the globally loved and played board game.



Mr Monopoly's trip to Doha will see him soak up the destination, enjoying the nation's cultural authenticity and modernity. He will explore iconic locations, experience must-try adventures, discover the Qatari culture, art, and nature, understand the city's future developments, and enjoy the shopping zones.



His location scouting will determine the brands and experiences which will form the extraordinary and exclusive Doha edition board game.



Winning Moves, manufacturers of the official Doha version of Monopoly, under license from Hasbro, said: "This is our first official Doha Monopoly board game. We are delighted to develop a game that will represent the destination's authenticity, heritage and future. This edition will be everything residents and tourists love about the traditional game, adapted in a way that Qataris will feel proud to play and enjoy for generations to come."



Chief Operating Officer of Qatar Tourism, Berthold Trenkel, said: Itll be our pleasure to welcome Mr Monopoly to Doha and to help him experience everything this incredible destination has to offer. The Doha Monopoly board will be the perfect keepsake for visitors, as it promises to showcase the very best experiences and varied landscapes for players to enjoy at home, long after their trip.



Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara said: When we heard that Mr. Monopoly was touring iconic landmarks on his debut visit to Doha, we knew we had to be the first location on his journey. It is an absolute pleasure to welcome him to the shores of Banana Island and we look forward to helping him ticket off a few bucket-list items on his visit.



Players will have the opportunity to Pass Go when the man in the top hat reveals his new board on 29 November. Monopoly: Doha Edition will be available from 30 November 2021 at leading retailers across the region.  TradeArabia News Service
The UAE has joined the Global Methane Pledge at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) summit in Glasgow, building on its position as one of the least methane intense nations in the world.

"The UAE is turning methane into opportunity with our ambitions to convert waste to energy. Together, this makes the UAE a unique leader in methane stewardship. We are delighted to help others, to share our experiences with the world, and commit to the Global Methane Pledge," said Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change.

"We are delighted to join the Global Methane Pledge, in this special year celebrating the Golden Jubilee of our nation. The UAE has continued to lead first in methane, since the UAE's founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, set up the first LNG production company in the Arabian Gulf, reduced flaring and achieved one of lowest methane intensities, still leading today," Dr Al Jaber said.

The UAE welcomes the opportunity to share its capabilities and experience in best-in-class methane performance with signatories to the EU-US led initiative that aims to cut global methane emissions by 30% by the end of the decade, a WAM report said.

The UAE has long acted as a regional leader in methane reduction. Over five decades, the country has successfully reduced the volume of natural gas flared in the domestic energy sector by more than 90%. In turn, the UAEs hydrocarbon industry today holds one of the worlds lowest methane intensities of 0.01%.

The country will build on this foundation of ultra-low methane intensity in the energy sector to further improve its methane performance. The UAE aims to achieve the Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 "gold standard" by deploying advanced technology from drones to satellites, and to decarbonise natural gas to create low carbon blue hydrogen for industry.

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, expressed appreciation to the US and EU for leading the call to the Global Methane Pledge that will mobilise tangible actions in endorsing countries.

She also thanked the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for their work on the Global Methane Assessment report, published in May 2021. The document shows that reducing human-caused methane emissions is one of the most cost-effective and impactful strategies to slow down the rate of global warming.

She added: "The UAE is a keen supporter of the global efforts to address climate change. Recognising the urgent need for multilateral cooperation in this regard, we are proud to join the Global Methane Pledge and reaffirm our commitment to cutting down on methane emissions through domestic policy-making and developing innovative solutions."

The Global Methane Pledge acknowledges that "readily available cost-effective methane emission measures have the potential to avoid over 0.2 degrees C of warming by 2050 while yielding important co-benefits, including improving public health and agricultural productivity."

The nations methane mitigation strategy is part of a holistic approach to climate action. Recognising that agriculture contributes to global emissions, the nation has also partnered with the US and over 30 nations to launch the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate, a global initiative aimed at accelerating investments in R&D for climate-smart agri-tech.-- TradeArabia News Service
Reebok and Les Mills fitnesss company have teamed up to run Fitness for Your Flag, a competition that calls on fitness enthusiasts from every stage of their journeys to get up and get moving.

Drawing inspiration from Expo 2020s central theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, the event aims to get the world moving  calling on individuals from 192 countries residing in and visiting Dubai to participate.

With the goal to unite the world through friendly competition, participants are encouraged to smash their activity goals during Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC), the citywide initiative encouraging everyone to complete 30 minutes of physical activity every day for 30 days, whilst experiencing the very best of Les Mills powerful workouts.

Hosted on Steppi, the reward-based health and fitness platform, participants will join others from their home country to compete and complete the most steps throughout the duration of the competition.

As a team, participants will need to complete 150,000 steps within 30 days. Team members can rack up their steps across Dubai through a series of complimentary energy-pumping Les Mills classes being hosted at: Expo 2020, Kite Beach and Mushrif Park as well as online on Les Mills + or through daily exercise routines.

The more sessions participants complete, the higher their teams step count will be, increasing their chance of winning.

At the end of the competition, Reebok and Les Mills will randomly select 10 highly engaged participants from the winning country to receive an AED5,000 ($1361.25) cash prize, a Reebok voucher worth AED1,500, a Les Mills MBX Mat, 6-month free subscription of LES MILLS+, and a complimentary 30-day membership to GymNation.

In addition to the 10 winners, three participants across all the countries who completed 150,000 steps or more within the 30 days will stand a chance to win a Reebok voucher worth AED1,500, a Les Mills SMARTBAND, a free 3-month subscription of LES MILLS+ and a 1-year GymNation membership.

Sarah Abrego Young, Senior Brand Activation Manager at Reebok Mena said: Uniting bodies and minds, the activation echoes Dubai Fitness Challenges goal to help create a wellness-focused mindset and inspire all to seek healthy, active lifestyles. Together, the Reebok and Les Mills have a history of working together to create events that motivate people to be more active  physically, mentally and in their own communities.

Glen Stollery CEO, Les Mills India, Middle East and Africa said: Fitness for Your Flag is an opportunity to amplify the power of group fitness as a source of motivation and inspiration for all generations. Creating the worlds best workouts, our aim has always been to encourage customers, instructors and people to succeed as one in relentless pursuit of their wellbeing goals.

Sign-ups for Fitness for Your Flag will be open from October 29 to November 10.-- TradeArabia News Service
The Middle East Public Relations Association (Mepra) has announced the finalists for the 2021 Mepra Awards, the largest-ever edition, with 88 organisations shortlisted across 55 categories.

This year, a record 639 entries were submitted by agencies and in-house communications departments, making it the most hotly contested awards season yet.

Winners will be revealed during a black-tie gala event on November 24, 2021 at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai.

This year marks the 13th edition of the ceremony, the communications industrys most prestigious event, which celebrates and recognises the most creative and impactful practitioners in the Middle East.

The annual Mepra Awards is open to all Middle East based agencies, corporates, government organisations, non-profits, students and academia working in the communications profession.

Leading the nominations tally this year is the UAE Government Media Office for its DOUBLE MOON campaign and Weber Shandwick MenaT & Mastercard MEA for their campaign: Empowering Every Business, both up for seven awards.

This years programme saw the introduction of Best Home-Grown Agency of the Year, which recognises independent agencies established and developed in the Middle East region. Eight consultancies were shortlisted for this category, including Acorn Strategy, Gambit Communications, Matrix Public Relations, Publicist Inc, SOCIATE, Tales & Heads, Tish Tash Marketing and Public Relations and W7 Worldwide.

To celebrate Mepras 20th anniversary, this years awards also features a Peoples Choice Best Middle East Campaign for the last 20 years category, which provides the public the opportunity to vote and select the overall winner from ten finalists, including campaigns from ASDA'A BCW, Four Mena with ENEC, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Memac Ogilvy, UAE Government Media Office and Weber Shandwick MenaT with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

This years entries were assessed by a panel of more than 50 regional and international industry leaders to select the 2021 finalists and winners.

The judging process was also reviewed by AMEC Chair and Co-Managing Partner CARMA International Richard Bagnall, who served as an independent adjudicator. Shortlisted entries were limited to 10 per category and for categories, which received a larger collection of entries, only the top 10 were shortlisted, regardless of whether the submission reached over the 70% scoring threshold.

Taryam Al Subaihi, Mepra Chair and judge, and Director of Corporate Communication at EWEC said: "Its been a pleasure to review the entries for the 2021 Mepra Awards. Having personally reviewed over 100 submissions myself, Ive seen close at hand the brilliant and diverse communications work thats being undertaken right across the region. Our industry should be proud of the incredible work theyre producing which is pushing boundaries and making a mark globally with innovative and creative campaigns. Congratulations to all our finalists for making it this far in our most competitive awards season yet."

For the second time, Mepra has developed an online showcase, which includes a preview of all shortlisted entries for each category so entrants can review their competition ahead of the awards ceremony later this month.

The 2021 Mepra Awards is supported by Acorn Strategy, APCO Worldwide, CARMA, ASDA'A BCW, Edelman Middle East, Four Communications Group, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Matrix PR, Memac Ogilvy, Mojo PR, Mubadala Investment Company, YouGov, Weber Shandwick MenaT, Zayed University.--TradeArabia News Service
Aswaaq Retail, a pioneering local brand in the UAE, is set to renovate its Umm Seqeim, Al Warqaa and Al Mizhar outlets and inaugurate two brand new outlets at the Dubai Waterfront Supermarket and JVC Mart.



The Umm Seqeim outlet will welcome customers in mid-October and the Al Warqaa and Al Mizhar beginning of 2022.



The revamp will feature a move to more unified branding with the signature Aswaaq look and feel which brings elements of traditional Arabic souqs to offer a street-market spirit to shoppers. Each section of the market will now be named after the dedicated employees who were essential to the success of these sections from the companys very beginnings.



The new stores will also feature a larger Fish Grill section following its success in the Al Warqaa branch. The renovated Umm Seqeim store will also feature a dedicated section of produce grown at Aswaaq Hydroponic Farm. The store will also introduce a Healthy Living section featuring organic, gluten free and healthy food options for the community. The company has also partnership tied up and SHOP N SHOP with Simply Kitchen, Green Souq and Pet World to widen their product offerings.



Franck Rouquet - CEO - Aswaaq Retail said: Aswaaq always been a community center and with the new plans we hope to enhance the spirit of community and offer options to bring people together. Our enhanced product offering will cater to the needs of a wider range of the community. The new openings and the store revamp came as part of our 5-Year expansion plan to expand to more communities across the emirates. We envision Aswaaq as a true household name in the UAE.



Aswaaq is a local brand and is recognized as one of the most trusted retailers in the UAE. Aswaaq owns and operates supermarkets and community malls located at the heart of residential communities in Dubaiand Ajman.  TradeArabia News Service
In a bid to redefine the affordable hotel experience in Saudi Arabia, Dur Hospitality has unveiled 'Nur by Makarem', its 3-star hotels brand.

The company participated at the World Travel Market London as part of the Saudi Tourism Authority's pavilion.

The new hotel brand is affiliated with Dur's subsidiary, Makarem Hotels, to create home-grown hotel brands that enhance the Kingdom's affordable hospitality segment.

'Nur by Makarem' will convert, operate and manage 3-star hotels in Makkah and Madinah, providing hotel owners the opportunity of having their facilities re-branded to correspond with the 'Nur' standard. This involves transforming and upgrading the hospitality experience, including the facility and the services.

'Nur' draws on Makarem's long-standing experience and services, qualifying it to add value to the 3-star hotel segment. Through its viable business model, Nur will also contribute to the sustainability of the 3-star hotel sector.

CEO Sultan bin Badr Al-Otaibi said: "Dur Hospitality heralds a new phase of growth with the launch of Nur brand that will bring a home-grown product into the Saudi hospitality market by managing and operating 3-star hotels, drawing on Dur's success in the 5- and 4-star hotels and residential complexes sectors.

"In line with Dur's strategy aiming to elevate the level of hospitality throughout the Kingdom, the launch of this hotels brand adds to the quality and variety of hospitality options in the holy cities to which our government gives special care and attention as part of Saudi Vision 2030."

He added: "Inspired by Makarem Hotels' values and aligned with its mission; Nur seeks to enrich the experience of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims and streamline their spiritual journey."

Dur's President of Hotels Operations Hassan Ahdab said: "Nur by Makarem will draw on the latest approaches and techniques in the industry to manage and run the 3-star hotels seamlessly for an upgraded experience.

"The new brand will operate following Makarem's approach in offering the finest hospitality experiences, inspired by the spiritual heritage, ambiance, and authenticity of the holy sites of Makkah and Madinah."

The new brand is another milestone added to the company's achievements, alongside the recent completion of the complete renovation of Makarem Ajyad Hotel.-TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air took part in the World Travel Market (WTM), the leading global travel trade show, which concluded in London today (November 3).

The airline attended the three-day event alongside Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority and a number of Bahraini travel and tourism industry representatives including hotels, travel agencies and destination management companies.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Zayed R. Alzayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and Chairman to the Board of Directors at Gulf Air, said: "World Travel Market is a key industry event which Gulf Air attends on an annual basis. We believe it provides a great platform for tourism boards and airlines to showcase the best of their nations to the travel and tourism world."

"Gulf Airs boutique strategy and new fleet has proven its success in turning heads to our brand at international platforms and we will ensure that we not only maintain but elevate our role to promote inbound tourism to Bahrain," he stated.

The annual WTM show provides a unique opportunity for global travel trade industry to meet, network, negotiate, and conduct business.

Gulf Airs attendance at the event is in line with its strategy and continuous efforts to promote the kingdom to an international audience as a tourist and business destination, remarked Alzayani.

Bahrains national carrier has a long history with WTM and has been a key exhibitor for many years since the early editions of the event. The exhibition is an annual global event attended by key international players and professionals of the travel and tourism industry, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
A non-governmental organization (NGO) carried out maritime garbage collection activities in China, besides environmental monitoring for overseas agency.

BEIJING, Nov. 2 -- November 1st of this year marks the seventh anniversary of the promulgation of the Counterespionage Law of the People's Republic of China. In recent years, foreign spies and intelligence agencies have attempted to jeopardize Chinas national security in more non-traditional security areas, and a large number of such cases have been uncovered under the investigation of Chinas national security agency.

Recently, a case was publicized, in which a non-governmental organization (NGO), funded by some foreign ones, set up maritime garbage monitoring points in China, collected and sent abroad the monitoring data and other sensitive information.

It is reported that those monitoring points basically covered China's coastline from north to south, which involved the waters of the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and Bohai Sea. Among them, 22 monitoring points were close to military targets, which directly threaten China's military security.

After investigation, it is revealed that the organization has complicated overseas backgrounds. It has continuously received funding from more than 20 overseas institutions since 2014, and the funding from overseas just from 2018 to 2019 reached more than two million RMB Yuan. According to the procedures established by overseas institutions, the organization set up maritime garbage monitoring points in coastal areas of China, and then formulated and published China's maritime garbage distribution map and relevant research reports.

Even though the monitoring point near a military installation was blocked by the fence and the gate was locked, the organization still sent people to bypass the tidal flat and arrived at the location to carry out monitoring activities.

The staff of Chinas national security agency pointed out that maritime data leakage could threaten China's military security, and the so-called monitoring report from this organization also deliberately discredited China's environmental protection work. According to the assessment by the PLA Navy, the 22 military-related monitoring points have posed a real threat to China's maritime military security. The information they collected on latitude and longitude, environment, geology and ocean flow could easily be exploited by foreign intelligence and military agencies, posing a potential threat to China.

In addition, the "monitoring report" released by the organization declared that the amount and weight density of waste it detected were 20 times and 8 times compared with that of China's official data, respectively. These fabricated data were also utilized out of ulterior motives to blacken and hype up China's environmental protection cause, bringing about negative impacts on China's international image.

The national security agency has punished the organization in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Counterespionage Law and the Implementation Rules of the Counterespionage Law. At the same time, the relevant organizations and personnel should be alert to such infiltration and exploitation from overseas organizations or personnel with ulterior motives, and stamp out any act that endangers national security.
BEIJING, Nov. 2 -- To actively implement the visions of building a community with a shared future for mankind and a global community of health for all, which are initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinas Ministry of National Defense will hold a thematic conference on military medicine under the framework of China-Africa Peace and Security Forum via video link in Beijing on November 4, 2021.

The conference will invite heads and experts from military departments on health and international cooperation in relevant African countries to conduct online exchanges and discussions, through which the Chinese military will share its domestic COVID-19 prevention and control experience, brief on its relevant international cooperation, and jointly explore with its African counterparts the methods and measures to improve the construction of the military medical and health care systems of African countries, as well as their capability to respond to public health contingencies.

China and the Africa are good brothers, friends and partners that always stand together through thick and thin. The Chinese military is willing to further strengthen the solidarity and cooperation with the militaries of African countries, carry out pragmatic cooperation in multiple fields under the condition of normalized pandemic prevention and control, and work with them to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future and a closer China-Africa community of health for all.
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by Fady Noun

The Saudis, Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have withdrawn their ambassadors and broken off relations with Lebanon. Dispute fuelled by the Lebanese Information Minister's accusations against Riyadh over the war in Yemen. President and Prime Minister call for Cordhai's resignation, who may enjoy the political protection of a part of the Christian world (and Hezbollah). The fears of the Vatican.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Bahrain have broken off diplomatic relations with Lebanon, recalling their ambassadors to Beirut and granted 48 hours to accredited ambassadors from Lebanon to leave their countries.

Riyadh, the first to take the initiative, last Friday, October 29, also decided to interrupt all trade with Lebanon, including imports of vegetables and legumes, which are a majo food product.

The Gulf monarchies involved in the dispute have gone so far as to ask their citizens in Lebanon to return home.

However, Saudi Arabia has also clarified that the break in diplomatic relations will not affect the status of the Lebanese working in the Wahhabi kingdom, about 140 thousand, and whose monthly monetary transfers are essential for Lebanon in this phase of severe economic crisis.

The unprecedented diplomatic crisis comes after the statements made by the Lebanese Minister of Information Georges Cordahi, who criticized the intervention of Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen. During a television broadcast on August 5, and therefore prior to his appointment as head of the ministry (September 10), Cordahi has defined as "absurd" the continuation of the war in Yemen, which since 2014 has seen the government recognized by the international community (pro-Saudi) opposing the Shiite Houthi rebels, close to Iran. He had gone so far as to say that the insurgents were doing nothing more than defending themselves "in the face of external aggression."

Head of State Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Nagib Mikati have vaily attempted to distance themselves from the statements of the Minister of Information. Mikati said he was "deeply sorry" for Riyadh's decision, stating that the words of the Minister of Information "do not reflect in any way the position of the government".

He then issued a tacit invitation, on at least two occasions, to Cordahi to resign. However, being able to count on the support of the small Christian Marada (pro-Syrian) party and Hezbollah, the latter flatly refused to do so. Claiming that his comments reflect his "personal opinion," he also refused to apologize.

For experts, the crisis even goes beyond the minister's words and reflects the ongoing power struggle between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, to which Lebanon itself is forced to pay a very heavy toll. "There is no crisis with Lebanon, but there is a crisis going on in Lebanon," Saudi Foreign Minister Faycal ben Farhan told the al-Arabiya television satellite chain.

Speaking to Cnbc, he then clarified that "dealing with Lebanon and its current government is neither productive nor useful, due to Hezbollah's constant dominance on the political scene." Saudi Arabia also accuses Hezbollah of exploiting Lebanon as a hub to flood the kingdom with captagon pills and weaken its inner resistance.

Attending the dedicated climate change summit (Cop26) underway in Glasgow, Prime Minister Mikati has been in contact with Arab and Western leaders to plead Lebanon's case. Among these leaders are French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The French head of state expressed the importance for Paris of "economic and political stability in Lebanon".

In fact, neither France nor the United States want the resignation or the paralysis of a government born after many months of efforts and essential guarantor - with the army - of stability, in a nation otherwise in collapse.

Washington would have decided to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Its intervention, as well as that of France, is all the more vital because the Wahhabi kingdom and its Gulf neighbors are considered the main donors on which Lebanon's partners rely to bring a breath of fresh air to the government.

Finally, the Lebanon debate agency reports that the Vatican has decided to send Card. Pietro Parolin to Beirut in an effort to better understand what is at stake in the crisis and the central role played by the Maronite patriarch, Beshara Rai, in trying to calm the waters.
About 15 per cent of the worlds primary forests is concentrated in the region, but in the last 20 years, an area the size of Thailand has been lost to deforestation, which is now increasing in mountain regions. Indonesia pledges to stop expanding palm oil plantations, which are a major factor in deforestation; but to do this while maintaining high production levels, it needs billions in investment.

Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies)  More than one hundred countries attending the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland have signed an agreement yesterday that includes a commitment to stop deforestation by 2030.

The signatories include a number of countries from Southeast Asia, a region of the world with almost 15 per cent of the world's tropical forests.

Such a pledge goes against what has been happening for years. For this reason, there are serious doubts about the real commitment to turn words on paper into actual actions.

Southeast Asia is one of the regions where deforestation is advancing more rapidly, fuelled by the race for intensive farming and the exploitation of its vast mineral resources.

According to a multidisciplinary study carried out by experts at the universities of Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Chiang Mai and Leeds and published a few months ago, between 2001 and 2019, Southeast Asia lost a total of about 610,000 sq km of forests, an area larger than Thailand.

About 31 per cent of this loss occurred in mountainous areas, where 189,100 sq km of highland forests were turned into cropland and plantations in less than two decades.

The study also found that the process is accelerating in recent years. By 2019, 42 per cent of total annual forest loss occurred at higher elevations, with the frontier of forest loss moving upslope at a rate of about 15 metres a year.

The loss is particularly serious in northern Laos, north-eastern Myanmar and Indonesias eastern Sumatra and Kalimantan regions.

More generally, Indonesia  which is among the signatories of yesterdays agreement at COP26 in Glasgow  is the Southeast Asian country with the highest level of deforestation.

According to Global Forest Watch, Indonesia could still count on 93.8 million hectares of humid primary forests in 2000, covering about 50 per cent of its territory. Over the past 20 years, some 9.75 million hectares of this forest was lost, or about 10 per cent.

Deforestation has been led by the growth of the palm oil industry, of which Indonesia is a leading world producer, together with Malaysia.

Most doubts touch precisely how governments can reconcile the commitment made in Glasgow to reduce deforestation to zero by 2030 with such economic activity in Southeast Asia.

The Indonesian government has pledged to respect its commitment by encouraging new farming methods that would increase yields without the need for more forest land. In particular, this would entail helping smallholder farms, whose holdings cover 75 per cent of total palm oil plantations.

According to the Indonesian Palm Oil Board, new crops could yield as much 22 tonnes per hectare per year compared to 9.2 currently.

About 2.78 million hectares of plantations belonging to smallholders are over 25 years old and need to be replanted, according to the Indonesian Agriculture Ministry.

However, this kind of transformation requires large-scale investments and one wonders how US$ 19 billion pledged at Glasgow can reach that goal.
Chung pleaded guilty to secession and money laundering, but rejected the charge of sedition. He is also said he is not ashamed of what he did as the leader of Studentlocalism. The sentence against delivery man Ma Chun-man will be read on 11 November.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  Former student leader Tony Chung pleaded guilty today to secession" and to one count of money laundering.

The first charge falls under the draconian national security law imposed by Beijing, which can entail a life sentence.

However, the 20-year-old activist risks no more than seven years in prison, the maximum the District Court can impose.

The case was adjourned until 23 November for a mitigation plea and sentencing. In the plea agreement Chung rejected the charge of conspiring to publish seditious material and a second count of money laundering.

The local prosecutor said that admission of guilt could lead to these two counts being dropped.

The police arrested Chung in October 2020 at a cafe near the US consulate, suspecting that he wanted to seek asylum.

Chung led Studentlocalism, a pro-Hong Kong independence student group until its dissolution in June 2020, shortly before the security law was adopted.

Prosecutors claim Chung used the group to post seditious messages on social media. In 2019 he took part in pro-democracy protests with the aim of promoting secession.

The activist is also accused of using a Paypal account to raise funds for illegal purposes. In his guilty plea, Chung said he "feels no shame in my heart" for what he did.

As RTHK reports, Judge Stanley Chan warned Chung not to make political speeches during the hearing.

According to the Hong Kong Free Press, Judge Chan also ordered video checks to verify that the audience present did not violate court rules with cries of support for the accused. Turning to Chung, a woman yelled Hang in there!

Chung is the third person accused to plead guilty to offences against national security. Before him, activist Andy Li and legal assistant Chan Tsz-wah did the same.

Recently, well-known pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said that he learnt from prison sources that the former Studentlocalism coordinator was subjected to corporal punishment during his imprisonment, an accusation that prison authorities deny.

Wong himself has been in jail for some time, awaiting trial on national security charges. More than 60 people, including prominent members of the pro-democracy movement, are in the same situation.

In late July, Tong Ying-kit became the first citizen of the former British colony to be sentenced under the security law. The 24-year-old waiter was given nine years for inciting secession and terrorism.

Ma Chun-man, a delivery driver accused of shouting slogans calling for Hong Kongs independence, will be sentenced on 11 November.
Israels Peace Now group reports on the first six months of the new government, noting that it is not living up to its pledge not to change the status quo. Instead, settlement activities in the Occupied Territories are up, and so is settler violence. in order to keep an Arab party on board, the government is authorising more housing and electricity for Bedouin communities.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  Israels government is planning new housing for Jewish settlements, more than the former administration led by Benjamin Netanyahu while making some concessions to Israels Bedouin communities.

Since taking power five months ago, the Bennett-Lapid coalition government has shown (few) lights and (many) shadows.

While many controversies plagued the old administration, especially internationally, the new government has already failed to live up to its pledge to maintain the status quo.

After looking at the period from 13 June to 26 October, Israels Peace Now movement found that Israeli authorities have actively worked to promote settlements and deepen the Israeli occupation of the territories.

For some observers, the government is pursuing a two-pronged policy. On the one hand, it is pushing for new housing in the settlements in order to keep the settlers on its side, while, on the other, it is making some concessions to Israeli Arabs, especially the Bedouin communities in the south of the country.

In fact, three new towns in the Negev were approved today. This comes on top of what was agreed with the United Arab List (Heb: Ra'am), a party led by Mansour Abbas, whereby unauthorised Bedouin settlements built before 2018 would get electrical power.

The government had pledged to increase funding for and improve the overall conditions of Bedouin communities in exchange of parliamentary support from the conservative Islamist party.

Yet, Peace Now points out that the government is going to build 3,000 new housing units on the Palestinian side of the old Green Line, directly on land that would be part of any future Palestinian state, if a two-state solution were ever to be implemented.

In fact, the government is pressing with its plans to expand the settlements of Ariel, Atarot and Revava in the occupied West Bank, with new tenders and approvals.

In addition, in the week of 20 October, construction began on 31 new housing units in the heart of the Palestinian city of Hebron (the first such development since the 1980s), approved under Netanyahu but sanctioned by the current administration.

In parallel to new settlements and outposts (especially farms), Peace Now reports an exponential rise in violence by Jewish settlers, so much so that There is hardly a day without new clashes, attacks and damages involving Palestinians.

Palestinian agriculture, especially olive trees, is the main target since many Palestinians depend on revenue from olive oil, with Israeli authorities showing little or no interest in stopping the violence.

For Peace Now, Israeli ministers have said precious little against those acts which must not be passed over in silence.

The Israeli anti-occupation group goes further. Reporting on the demolition of Palestinian homes, it says that the practice is rising dramatically with 260 homes destroyed in Area C between June and October.

Last but not least, while the settlement budget is up, there is also the still open question of the thousands of disputed houses in the Jerusalem neighbourhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, which triggered, among other things, the last violent flareup in Gaza.
Imran Khans government has concluded negotiations with Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, the country's radical Islamist party, to end recent protests. More than 2,000 party members have been released from prison. Observers criticise the government for its failure to revive the countrys economy.

Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The Pakistani government has signed an agreement with Islamists to end protests and violence that broke out in the country in recent weeks.

The details of the negotiations have not been disclosed generating criticism from the opposition and several observers.

Two weeks ago, members of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right Islamist party, marched from Lahore to Islamabad on one of the country's busiest motorways.

At least seven police officers were killed in violent clashes with protesters that left more than a hundred people injured.

The TLP is demanding the release of their leader, Saad Hussain Rizvi, and the withdrawal of terrorism charges against the party.

Although the government concessions to radicals to end the clashes were not officially made public, leaks from local sources and government actions confirm them.

Yesterday, for example, the authorities released more than 2,000 TLP supporters arrested in April, when the party was outlawed and designated as a terrorist group.

In exchange the party dropped its demand that the French ambassador be expelled from the country over the satirical cartoons portraying the prophet Muhammad which the TLP considers blasphemous.

Now the Islamist party will also be able to take part in the next elections, slated for 2023.

For the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, this is not a new modus operandi.

The TLP and Pakistani authorities have clashed at least six times in the countrys recent history and critics lament the latters weakness vis-a-vis such radical groups, which hold the country at ransom for their demands.

For a number of observers, the desire to keep the deal secret and unbanning of a party banned only a few months ago by the same government that is now legitimising it again weakens Imran Khans position even more.

But the issue is not only ideological question, according to an editorial in the English-language Dawn newspaper.

Since the TLP enjoys huge support in cities, We have to ask ourselves why is it so easy for any political party to bring so many people on to the streets for days at a stretch. Why is there no economic cost these protesters have to pay for taking to the streets for an indefinite period?

Although Pakistan's economy has recovered slightly after the COVID-19 pandemic, with GDP up by 3.5 per cent, a recent report by the World Bank points out that imports have grown faster than exports, leading to a large trade deficit. To cope with this, Pakistan needs to increase private investment and export more.

However, since Imran Khan came to power, the cost of electricity is up by 49 per cent and that of gasoline by 57 per cent, while the prices of oil, flour and sugar are at their highest in the last 70 years.

Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at the request of the United States, decided withhold a US$ 1 billion tranche, because Washington first wants to secure Pakistans military and strategic cooperation against the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Pakistan could open its airspace to fight terrorists in Afghanistan in exchange for cash. This would be handy. For many analysts, Pakistan is in desperate need for IMF money to keep the economy afloat.

Hence, with respect to the TLPs popularity, It is too simplistic to believe that only ideology is at work, concludes Dawn editorial. The state cannot and should not be blamed for simply encouraging religiosity  it needs to be held accountable for not offering anything else.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Moscow (AsiaNews) - An "imam of compromise" capable of working for reconciliation between the conflicting parties, thanks to his authority, deep culture and charisma: The figure of Nuriddin Kholiknazarov, the new leader of the Muslims of Uzbekistan, is attracting the interest not only of the faithful, but of the entire Uzbek and Central Asian society.

Since 2019, the 53-year-old supreme mufti already held the position of "imam-khatib" of Tashkent. He takes the place of Usmankhan Alimov, who passed away on August 15 at the age of 71.

Kholiknazarov is a native of Andizan, one of the country's main cities, and his election on October 19 was directly influenced by President Savkat Mirziyoyev, who was also recently re-elected to the highest political office. For the first time in the history of independent Uzbekistan, the appointment of the new supreme mufti was broadcast live on television, with his inaugural speech of good wishes to the nation and thanks to the head of state for the trust granted him.

The new religious leader completed his studies at the "Mir-i-Arab" madrasa in Bukhara in 1992, then attended the Islamic Institute of Tashkent (1998) and Fergana State University (2007). He served in the main "Akhamadal Makhdum" mosque in Asak, then in the "Ok Tepa" mosque in the Junusabadsk district of the capital; he also represented the administration of the Muslims of Uzbekistan in his native region of Andizan, as the supreme imam of the area.

One of his friends and confreres, Imam Abdulakhad Tadzibaev, sahred his joy at the appointment with Radio Ozodlik: "Nuriddin is the grandson of Safoat Kholiknazarov, a very well-known personality in Andizan. His is a family of very cultured and well-educated people, they have always been able to unite people, even when contrasts arose between the imams themselves, and I am convinced that he will lead with great success the entire 'muftjat' [main Muslim organisation] of our country."

The grandfather of the new grand mufti was very active in the Soviet years, when he held the office of "kadij" (judge of the interpretation of the Koran) in the city of Os in Kyrgyzstan, where he also served as the country's supreme judge. He later became one of the most important members of the Religious Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, as the right-hand man of Mufti-Sheikh Zijavuddinkhan ibn-Esan Babakhan.

Kholiknazarov's leadership has always been characterized by a desire to protect the Muslim community from various trends in society and pressures from civil authorities, stating that "there is no need to give so many directions to the imams and waste their time with unnecessary things, for every problem we will take care of the administration."

A well-known Uzbek blogger, Adkham Atadzanov, founder of the website Islamonline.uz under the pseudonym Abu Muslim, describes the new leader as a "moderate believer". As he explains, "the new mufti is well known by all the faithful, and his preaching is very well received, even by other imams." Atadzanov himself has accompanied the Mufti on representative trips, including to the United States, and collaborated with him in drafting the new law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations", from which, on his initiative, prohibitions on wearing religious clothing in public places were excluded.

According to Atadzanov, the new Muslim leadership of Taskent will have to deal with very relevant issues such as religious education and the publication of religious literature, and allowing students to wear headdresses and veils even in school. "Topics that have been worrying our community for many years; the 'dress code' is decisive for the performance of all educational activities, it is our internal issue," the blogger told Ozodlik. Atadzanov assures that the Mufti "will not intervene with the government to support pro-Taliban and more radical tendencies, which are also present in Uzbek society, but rather will try to enlighten everyone in order to overcome fanaticism and ignorance".
by Nirmala Carvalho

In the Diocese of Sindhudurg, projects have been undertaken to develop unused farmland and start new activities at a time when COVID-19 made things hard. For Fr Pais, women are often less paid and Recognising their contribution is important.

Mumbai (AsiaNews)  Caritas India with the support of Misereor organised a two-day festival in Mumbai to highlight women's work in Indian agriculture, honouring it as a source of wealth, especially at a difficult time because of COVID-19.

The event brought together some 80 women farmers from 11 different dioceses in western India. It included a seminar dedicated to such topics as farming techniques, the environment, and the protection of local cultures.

Women are fewer than men in agricultural work and are often less paid, bemoaned Fr Melwin Pais, director of the Sindhudurg Diocesan Development Society (SDDS), speaking to AsiaNews.

Thus, Recognising their contribution is important, because together with the work in the fields they are also involved in many other activities, including animal husbandry.

Despite the hardships caused by the pandemic in the farming sector, women have shown great capacity and resilience. Fr Pais cites two examples.

In the village of Paley, women came together to clean up about 40 hectares of unused land and started to grow bamboo, cashews, mangoes and black pepper.

Paley is home to about 113 families and is located in Sindhudurg district, in Maharashtras farm country.

Here people who share the same faith also share land in a common practice called Kul Zameen.

Until a couple of years ago the village was not united; but now, with the help of a village elder, women got the support of 30 families and each got a portion of the common land on condition of cleaning it up.

The land is fertile, and the women can earn something to improve their families difficult economic situation.

In Gavanale, another village in the diocese of Sindhudurg, other women went into business, preparing and selling packaged food, especially on local holidays, Fr Pais explained.

Some 237 families live in the village. About 12 women got together to form the Purva Udhoy Samiti group: Four of its members cook the food, four package it, and four sell it.

Speaking to AsiaNews, one of the women, Gavanalkar, said: We could not sit and do anything while we saw our income decrease; we had to do something to be able to move forward.
By Joshua Chou, Senior lecturer, University of Technology Sydney

ispace

Last month the Australian Space Agency announced plans to send an Australian-made rover to the Moon by as early as 2026, under a deal with NASA. The rover will collect lunar soil containing oxygen, which could eventually be used to support human life in space.

Although the deal with NASA made headlines, a separate mission conducted by private companies in Australia and Canada, in conjunction with the University of Technology Sydney, may see Australian technology hunting water on the Moon as soon as mid-2024.

If all goes according to plan, it will be the first rover with Australian-made components to make it to the Moon.

Roving in search of water

The ten-kilogram rover, measuring 60x60x50cm, will be launched on board the Hakuto lander made by ispace, a lunar robotic exploration company based in Japan.

The rover itself, also built by ispace, will have an integrated robotic arm created by the private companies Stardust Technologies (based in Canada) and Australias EXPLOR Space Technology (of which I am one of the founders).

Using cameras and sensors, the arm will collect high-resolution visual and haptic data to be sent back to the mission control centre at the University of Technology Sydney.

It will also collect information on the physical and chemical composition of lunar dust, soil and rocks  specifically with a goal of finding water. We know water is present within the Moons soil, but we have yet to find a way to extract it for practical use.





Read more:

Water on the Moon: research unveils its type and abundance  boosting exploration plans





The big push now is to identify regions on the Moon where water sources are more abundant, and which can deliver more usable water for human consumption, sample processing, mining operations and food growth.

This would also set the foundation for the establishment of a manned Moon base, which could serve as a transit station for further space exploration (including on Mars).



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Courtesy of Australian Embassy staff





Moon-grade materials

Once the Hakuto lander takes off, the first challenge will be to ensure it lands successfully with the rover intact. The rover will have to survive an extreme environment on the lunar surface.

As the moon rotates relative to the Sun, it experiences day and night cycles, just like Earth. But one day on the Moon lasts 29.5 Earth days. And surface temperatures shift dramatically during this time, reaching up to 127 during the day and falling as low as -173 at night.

The rover and robotic arm will also need to withstand the effects of space radiation, vibrations during launch, shock from the launch and landing, and exposure to dust and water.

At the same time, the arm must be light enough to conduct advanced manoeuvres, such as grabbing and collecting moon rocks. Advanced space-grade aluminium developed in Australia will help protect it from damage.



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The team behind the mission is currently in the process of testing different designs of the robotic arm, and figuring out the best way to integrate it with the rover. It will be tested together with the rover at a new lunar test bed, at the EXPLOR Space Technologies facility in New South Wales.

Like the one used by NASA, this test bed can mimic the physical and chemical conditions on the Moon. It will be critical to determining whether the rover can stay mobile and continue to function under different environmental stressors.

Step into your astronaut boots

The rover will also send back data that allows people on Earth to experience the Moon with virtual reality (VR) goggles and a sensor glove. Haptic data collected back by the robotic arm will essentially let us feel anything the arm touches on the lunar surface.

We plan to make the experience available as a free app  and hope it inspires future generations of space explorers.





Read more:

So a helicopter flew on Mars for the first time. A space physicist explains why that's such a big deal





Joshua Chou is the co-founder of EXPLOR Space Technologies.

Originally published in The Conversation.
Ransone said many family doctors want to vaccinate younger children because they know parents are likely to have questions. But even if they have a system and staff, there may be another issue: Its now respiratory disease season and they also may be flooded with kids suffering from the flu or RSV. The coming weeks probably will be even worse.
Wang says he signed a lease last week on the former Jasons Deli storefront at 2159-F York Road, across the street from the Maryland State Fairgrounds and around two miles north of its previous location at 1427 York Road. At 5,500 square feet, the space is about 50% larger than the previous spot. Depending on the permitting process and the length of the buildout, he hopes to have the business open by next February.
Chicago, which has the highest number of murders in the U.S., has debated whether the tool is worth it. The Office of Inspector Generals Public Safety section in Chicago released a report questioning how well the technology works. The inspector generals office found that between Jan. 1, 2020, and May 31 of this year, more than 50,000 ShotSpotter alerts were confirmed as probable gunshots, but actual evidence of a gun-related crime was found in about 4,500 instances, or only about 9%.
In 2020, Keiner stated, Animal Control responded to Misty Manor several times. At that time, the number of horses on the farm ranged from 75 to 128, he wrote in documents. The fields at the farm were in poor condition, he added, with broken boards, bad fencing, wire and other hazardous debris throughout the property. The terrain was rocky and uneven, there were lots of weeds with hardly any natural grass to graze on and the hay bales gave the horses mouth sores and ulcers from the foxtails found inside, according to Keiner.
According to the Bel Air town website, a canvass of provisional ballots and absentee ballots is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the town hall. If additional absentee ballots arrive in the mail, after the initial canvass, a second canvass is scheduled for Nov. 12.
Together, the attorneys have exonerated more than 10 men in recent years, some for high-profile murders, who together served nearly 300 years in prison for crimes that prosecutors now believe they did not commit. As with Morris, many of these cases hinged on an identification made by a witness who later recanted or was discredited. Other men have been set free after DNA tests of old crime scene evidence.
One of the negative side effects of COVID-19 has been the demonization of those individuals who are attempting to protect society from a deadly pandemic. Public health officials have been on the front line in this regard. The manner in which one of this nations preeminent public health leaders, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, has been misrepresented by the science-averse and targeted by far-right political actors has been shameful, and its trickled down to regional officials. In Maryland, the hostility directed at local public health officers has been so appalling that theres a move afoot to broaden state law to protect them from intimidation.
As Maryland State School Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury observed, the moment has come to re-imagine and restructure things that havent been working. How about the public school system? This is an opportune time to expand charter schools in Maryland and especially Baltimore (Following infusion of federal pandemic funds, Maryland schools set to receive billions over coming years, Oct. 27). Imagine if parents had a choice to send their elementary school children to a great charter school? Students would come to sixth grade or even better, ninth grade, with the proper tools to know how to study, compute, read and write clearly, have confidence speaking with adults and the knowledge of how to advocate for themselves.
Though she has been continuing to advocate for her agenda outside City Council walls, she said she doesnt think enough change has come to fruition from the council itself in the past four years on the topics of concern to her, including the environment, protecting the citys wetlands, clearing lead and mold for homes, offering residents more affordable housing options and public safety issues.
Gibbs attorney argued in court that the gun had been planted and suggested officers brushed the weapon against the steering wheel of the car Gibbs was driving to pick up DNA. Police testified the gun had been thrown into the air during a struggle and landed on the hood of the vehicle, but Woods argued there was no scratch or dent on the hood.
In June, the Senate confirmed Lydia Griggsby, making her the first woman of color to serve as a federal judge in the state. Griggsby, a Baltimore native and former chief counsel for Democratic U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
An individual is first entitled to file an appeal of a benefits determination with the lower appeals division, then a hearing is held before a hearing examiner who makes a decision, he said. An individual may file an appeal to the Board of Appeals, and that panels ruling can be appealed to the courts.
PM attends launch of Global Meth

PM attends launch of Global Methane Pledge

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and delivered remarks at the launch of the Global Methane Pledge under the co-chair of US President Joe Biden and President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen in Glasgow, the UK, on November 2.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh delivers a speech at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the UK (Photo: VNA)

He thanked the organising board, the US President, and the EC President for inviting Vietnam to take part in the Global Methane Pledge initiative.

The Vietnamese PM pointed out that methane is a result of unscientific and unsustainable production, use, and waste treatment, leading to global warming. Given this, all people should stay united and unanimous and join hands to reduce methane emissions.

This is a global issue which requires a global approach, he noted, adding that as it affects every people, an all-people approach is needed.

The PM called on developed countries, with the richest being the US and the European Union (EU), to share and support developing and poor nations in training and innovation as well as technology, finance, institutional building, and administrative sciences, among other fields, thereby helping them participate in the process of reducing methane emissions.

The pledge to reduce global methane emissions was signed by nearly 90 countries, aiming to reduce the potent greenhouse gas methane by 30% by 2030 compared to the 2020 level.

According to the UN, steep cuts in methane emissions this decade could help the world avoid 0.3 degrees Celsius of warming by 2040.

Earlier, Chinh attended the Leaders Action on Forests and Land Use session chaired by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Source: NDO
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Scholarship fund established in Millers memory

Preference for the Professor Teresa A. Miller Memorial Scholarships, created in memory of the longtime UB faculty member, will be given to talented law students from underrepresented minorities with a desire to champion social justice and civil rights. Photo: Rob McElroy

UB LAW LINKS

Teresa Miller always made an impression. She exuded personal warmth and a professional commitment to using education and the law to advance the human condition.



Miller, who died on Aug. 6 at the age of 59, joined the faculty at the School of Law in 1995, specializing in immigration law, criminal procedure and prisoner law. During her distinguished career at UB, she became the inaugural vice provost for inclusive excellence, where she made great strides in leading the universitys efforts to build a culture of equity, diversity and inclusivity. Her vision built the Office of Inclusive Excellence and launched forward-looking programs like the Difficult Conversations series, which continues today.

Recognizing her commitment and contributions to the field, after 26 years at UB, Miller was appointed SUNYs senior vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and chief diversity officer, continuing the important work that was her lifes passion. Throughout the course of her career, she made an indelible mark on issues of social justice and equity, not only through her leadership, but also through her dedication to teaching and mentoring law students.

Millers family, friends and colleagues seek to honor her memory and tremendous contributions to our world by establishing the Professor Teresa A. Miller Memorial Scholarship Fund at UB, which will provide a full tuition scholarship to a student enrolled in the School of Law. In order to build upon Millers legacy, preference will be given to talented students from underrepresented minorities with a desire to champion social justice and civil rights.
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Visiting professor demonstrates international scope of Black Lives Matter

Mame-Fatou Niang, the Melodia E. Jones Endowed Chair, is teaching a seminar, "Rethinking Universalism in 21st Century France," at UB this semester. Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

By MICHELLE EUBANK

Undergraduate biomedical sciences major

I think keeping in mind la finalite, or the purpose of life, helps us realize we have bigger challenges that face us as human beings. We need to come together to fight these, rather than let race divide us.  Mame-Fatou Niang, Visiting Melodia E. Jones Endowed Chair Department of Romance Languages and Literatures

UB visiting French professor Mame-Fatou Niang has lived through the challenges of racism her entire life. For years, she never saw anyone who looked like her in the media, much less celebrated in French culture. Her attempts to fight racism have landed her on a list titled 363 Islamo-leftists that need to be targeted in France. Now with recent Black Lives Matter movements in both the U.S. and France, Niang is beginning to see glimmers of a post-racist society. A scholar studying Blackness in contemporary France, she brings her familiarity with French racial issues to UB as the fall 2021 Visiting Melodia E. Jones Endowed Chair in French studies. Her seminar, FR 482: Rethinking Universalism in 21st Century France, examines how French identity was born, how Frenchness became restrictive and how this influenced the way France continues to pay homage to the French identity through memorialization of statues and names. When you look at all of this, you realize that French history is almost exclusively white and metropolitan, Niang says. To uncover this whitewashed history of France, she and her UB students are developing an inventory of Parisian streets named after French historical figures with hidden racist pasts.

Mame-Fatou Niang takes a photo of the street sign marking Rue Colbert in Paris. Jean-Baptiste Colbert was the most famous finance minister in the history of France, but not many people know he was also the architect of Frances slave code.

In collaboration with the Foundation for the Memory of Slavery in Paris, theyve found over 200 streets in Paris named after slaveholders and colonial missionaries who hid behind titles like artists and politicians, Niang says. We are building a website with an inventory of French heroes that had an unknown role in colonial and slave conquest. For example, there is a street named after Jean-Baptiste Colbert who was the most famous finance minister in the history of France, but not many people know he was also the architect of Frances slave code, she explains. Sophie May, a senior who is enrolled in FR 482, says she finds value in being a small part of the anti-racist movement in France. Each of us are given a few street names to research, and we write up a short paper highlighting the racist past of the person it was named after, says May. I had no idea how outdated the views and monuments were in France. Im grateful to have even a small role in pushing back against racism in France.

Mame-Fatou Niang with French visual artist Alexis Peskine at the presentation of her book, Identites Francaises, Jan. 24, 2020, at Columbia University's Global Center in Paris.

Uncovering hidden history
Buffalo, WY (82834)

Today

Cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 41F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 26F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Scientists are monitoring the delta-related variant  known as AY.4.2  to see if it might spread more easily or be more deadly than previous versions of the coronavirus. In a recent report, U.K. officials said this variant makes up 6% of all analyzed COVID-19 cases in the country and is on an increasing trajectory.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the health department are also offering vaccine clinics at elementary schools. Clinics will be held after school at Jacobsville Elementary and Odenton Elementary on Nov. 8, after school at Glendale Elementary and Van Bokkelen Elementary on Nov. 9, after school at Lothian Elementary and Tyler Heights Elementary on Nov. 10, after school at Cape St. Claire Elementary and Park Elementary on Nov. 11, after school at Benfield Elementary and Edgewater Elementary on Nov. 12 and at Davidsonville Elementary and Riviera Beach Elementary on the morning of Nov. 13.
We also tasted the Pasqua Mai Dire Mai (which means never say never) Valpolicella Superiore DOC 2013 ($50-60). Pasqua has wisely aged this wine so that it is in a beautiful spot right now. This valpolicella presented baked plum and cherry notes with hints of cedar in the finish. Very full, rich and mature with a flavor profile similar to a well-made Rioja reserva. The grapes for the Pasqua Famiglia Pasqua Amarone della Valpolicella 2016 DOCG ($50) were air-dried for three months before pressing. The finished wine featured sweet cherry notes with a hint of roses. Very fresh smooth and long lasting in the mouth.
Five Moderna booster shot clinics for eligible residents will be hosted by the health department in the coming weeks. The booster is half the dose of the primary series dose and is administered at least six months after the second Moderna vaccine for those who are eligible, according to the departments release. Eligible participants are 65 years older or 18 and older who live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions or who work or live in high-risk settings.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Harford County is at substantial transmission level. The CDCs most recent data reported 93.96 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in Harford for the last seven days that ended Thursday. It takes more than 100 cases per 100,000 to be classified as high and at least 50 to be classified as having substantial transmission.
Bishai, a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health adjunct professor with degrees in medicine and economics, has said he was not given a reason for his firing, which happened two weeks ago. He said he was called to an in-person meeting with officials from the Maryland Department of Health who informed him that the Harford County Council voted to remove him, and that state Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader approved the vote.
Myers joined the department in 1990 as a civilian in the crime lab. She entered the police academy in 1994 and worked her way through the ranks to become captain before retiring in 2018. When County Executive Calvin Ball asked her to become police chief in 2019, it was an easy decision, she said.
I found that given the information they had and the analysis that they did  I understand they reached the wrong conclusion, but ... was it reasonable to conclude what they concluded based on what they had? It was not unreasonable. It just turned out to be incorrect, Said said. He is the inspector general of the Air Force and is considered independent as he had no direct connection to Afghanistan operations.
The chairman of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) bloc, Sonam Wangdi, on Wednesday said that progress at the UN Conference on Climate Change or COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, has been "disappointing," and even "frightening" so far, as he claimed that they are getting very little money from the USD 100 billion per year climate fund.

"So far, the progress here is disappointing and, in a way, also frightening," Wangdi, who is also the secretary of the National Environment Commission for the government of Bhutan, said at a press conference.

The official pointed out that the 46 countries comprising the LCD group have contributed the least to climate change, but one in ten of the one billion people living in them is affected by it.

"So, our lives depend on decisions that are made here in Glasgow, decisions that are made during COP26," he stressed.

Wangdi complained, however, that despite Glasgow's meeting being the 26th climate summit, carbon emissions are still increasing and the $100 billion per year commitment to help poor countries tackle climate change made a decade ago has not been delivered.

"We are still not clear about what is happening with the USD 100 billion, but what we know is that we are getting very little," he said.

Asked about pledges to pour more money to reduce carbon emissions, halt deforestation and limit global warming to 1,5 degrees made by world leaders in the high-level segment of the COP26, the LDC chairman said "pledges are one thing, but we would like to see the evidence."

He said that such evidence should come in the form of new and objective Nationally Determined Contributions to reduce greenhouse emissions and long-term strategies showing the path towards carbon neutrality.

(ANI/Sputnik)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached New Delhi after concluding his five-day foreign visit to Italy and the UK on Wednesday where he enhanced India's self-declared renewable energy commitments at COP26 in Glasgow and outlined India's position on global issues at G20 Summit.

At the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, PM Modi delivered a "seminal" statement at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) and highlighted the range and depth of climate actions taken by India along with future goals that the country has set for itself.

During his COP26 address on Monday, Prime Minister Modi announced five "amrit tatva" including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070. He declared that India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030.

Highlighting India's efforts to combat climate change, PM Modi stated that India is the only major economy that has worked and delivered on the Paris commitments both in letter and spirit.

He also participated in the Build Back Better for the World (B3W) event and laid stress on four aspects in infrastructure creation including sustainable and transparent finance that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi and British Prime Minister Johnson launched the Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative in Glasgow. The launch was part of the India-UK Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

PM Modi also attended the launch event of Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States and announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will build a special data window for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring through satellite.

The 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) is the first major summit that was held physically, where more than 120 countries participated after the COVID-19 pandemic.

PM Modi also held various bilateral meetings with several heads of the state on the sidelines of the G20. He met German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Pope Francis, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In Rome, Prime Minister also met Indonesia President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister also met French President Emmanuel Macron. Emmanuel Macron and the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership.

"Departing from Glasgow after two days of intense discussions about the future of our planet. India has not only exceeded the Paris commitments but has now also set an ambitious agenda for the next 50 years," tweeted PM Modi.

(ANI)

Also Read: Telangana Cong chief says Huzurabad bypolls won't determine future of the party
I am inspired this week by an assignment my wife is doing for a Law in Education class. Her assignment was to write about religion in school and particularly release time for religious classes. It is an interesting assignment for her because, unlike most of her class, she grew up in a state 
In a note to McDonalds employees throughout the country, Kempczinski acknowledged his own ignorance: When I wrote this, I was thinking through my lens as a parent and reacted viscerally. But I have not walked in the shoes of Adams or Jaslyns family and so many others who are facing a very different reality. Not taking the time to think about this from their viewpoint was wrong, and lacked the empathy and compassion I feel for these families. This is a lesson that I will carry with me.
A: The vaccine that has been authorized for use in kids ages 5 to 11 is the Pfizer vaccine, but it is one-third of the dose that adults received. The childrens Pfizer vaccine is formulated differently than the one for adults. The new formulation can be stored for longer in a regular freezer  10 weeks versus 31 days for the current one, making it easier for more providers to administer it. Its being shipped to providers in different vials than the Pfizer vaccine for adults.
Revolutions production brewery is among the citys largest and older breweries  it opened in 2012  and it uses its size and expertise to its advantage. Its 20 taps maintain a varied and proficient lineup, from bright lagers to an array of pale ales and India pale ales, to the citys finest roster of weighty and warming barrel-aged beers. Theres also virtually everything in between; Revolution has recently tapped (or will tap in the near future) a saison, a brown ale, an English mild, a porter, a red ale, a bock and ... I could go on.
Looking ahead to 2020, what is the most critical issue that needs to be addressed for Chicago arts? And what person or institutions are best equipped now to have an impact on this issue?
I grew up eating these, said Kathi Reinstein, a former Massachusetts legislator who had petitioned several times, unsuccessfully, to make fluffernutters the official state sandwich. There are some things you can create and they make you think of all the warm and fuzzy stuff that mattered to you. And one of those is the fluffernutter.
But Flynn rejected the findings, demoted one of the prosecutors and reassigned the other. He said he could not comment on personnel issues, but said the two men had been removed because they did not accept my decision with the professionalism expected of career prosecutors. His office said that despite the lack of forensic evidence there was still ample trial testimony to support the convictions.
Citing parents displeasure with the number of children in quarantine, Martinez said he wants to start a test-to-stay program this month that will be in full force before Christmas. The pilot will allow children to bypass the current 10-day quarantine requirement for unvaccinated students exposed to COVID-19, if their parents consent to them being tested for the virus.
Todays actions by outside agitators demonstrate a deep and disturbing cynicism about the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the entire Little Village community, in which hundreds died from the virus and experienced the highest number of deaths of any neighborhood in Chicago, Alejandra Moran, spokesperson for the company, told the Tribune in an emailed statement. El Milagro still mourns the loss of our five employees, all those in the community who have suffered, and we continue to take COVID safety very seriously.
To say that were disappointed is an understatement, Choi said. The whole movement has been building up to this moment, which is that we dont want temporary protections. We dont want to fight for something that could just be taken away by the next administration or Congress.
Arroyo said, Im a paid consultant, OK. You put a price on it. I mean, if you want to get paid, you want someone else to get a check monthly, a monthly stipend, we could put them on the contract. We could put you on a contract. You tell me what it is. Tell me what you need, according to a statement prosecutors outlined in court.
The key to it is that unlike most laws, this one may not be enforced by state or local officials. That task is delegated for any mope on the street, who may sue any provider violating the ban and collect a minimum of $10,000, plus attorneys fees. Lawsuits may also be filed against those who aid and abet an abortion  say, a friend who drives a woman to an appointment.
The portal where employees upload their status has been a center of contention for Catanzara, who has cited privacy concerns. The mayor has said the portal is fully HIPAA- and ADA-compliant and simply asks a yes or no question on whether the employee is vaccinated, and for those who are, when they received their doses. City employees are also already required to provide other medical information.
Now, we are in a situation where in just six weeks, we could have complaints coming into the commission and not have a legislative inspector general in place to address them, Tracy said. Allowing this position to go unfilled is a major disservice to the people of Illinois who deserve an accountable and transparent government.
They didnt need to invent evidence to support Thomas, because it was already there, she said. The most logical explanation was McGhee  the last person known to see Buchanan alive  killed her and got rid of her body, she said.
On November 2, the "Global Action Initiative 2021Climate Change" climate week special event hosted by CGTN was launched. Ambassador Qin Gang attended the opening ceremony online and had a dialogue with Chinese and American students. He answered questions on climate change raised by students from New York, San Francisco, Washington DC and Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and Beijing Normal University (Full text of the dialogue here).

When asked what Chinese leaders have done to address climate change, and how the Chinese government reduces automobile pollution and mitigates climate change, Ambassador Qin Gang said, Chinese leaders attach great importance to climate change. In September last year, President Xi announced that China aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. President Xi gave a comprehensive and systematic account of the vision of building a Community of life for man and Nature at the Leaders Summit on Climate last April. As we speak, the COP26 is taking place in Glasgow. At the summit, President Xi called upon all parties to uphold multilateral consensus, focus on concrete actions and accelerate green transition, in our united action to tackle climate change and protect the planet, our shared home.

Ambassador Qin Gang said, China has been making hard efforts to reduce vehicle emissions and encouraging green transport. Chinas industry of new energy vehicles (NEV) has developed tremendously, with a total of 6 million new energy vehicles. The Chinese government also encourages people to go green in transport. Beijing Winter Olympics will be the first Olympics in history to use all green and clean energy. Green will be the most prominent color of Beijing Winter Olympics.

When asked what are the common and differentiated responsibilities of China and the United States in climate change, and what plans China has to cooperate with the United States to jointly address climate change, Ambassador Qin Gang said, addressing climate change is the shared mission of all countries, but developed and developing countries have different responsibilities. Developing countries need to develop their economies and improve peoples livelihoods. Developed countries should shoulder more responsibilities on climate change and fulfill their promise of providing financial and technological support to developing countries. As main actors on climate change, both China and the United States should first rely on themselves to fulfill their nationally determined contributions. The United States is a top student, but it also has a record of skipping classes and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. If it wants to score high in future tests, it should not skip classes, or hand in its homework late any more.

Ambassador Qin Gang said, China will strive to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. China will experience the worlds most intensive carbon emission reduction. To achieve this goal, as a developing country, China needs to pay greater prices and efforts than the United States. Addressing climate change requires close cooperation among countries, including China and the United States. We have issued a Joint Statement Addressing the Climate Crisis, reiterating that we will strengthen cooperation. We are also working together for a successful COP26. We have huge potential for cooperation in electric vehicles, renewable energy, green finance, and digital economy. These are areas where our two sides can effectively cooperate. We can also jointly help those countries that are vulnerable to climate impact, and carry out third-party cooperation to improve their capability against climate change. We hope that our two countries will take the COP26 as an opportunity, bear in mind the interests of all mankind, rise above the political microclimate that hinders our cooperation, and lead global efforts to counter the warming global climate.

When asked if there is a way for the younger generation to participate widely in tackling climate change, and if the exchanges and cooperation between young Chinese and American students can be strengthened, Ambassador Qin Gang said, climate change is a common challenge for all mankind. Our future depends on the choices and efforts of each of us, especially the younger generation. Young people are involved in and benefit from the efforts to counter climate change. You should also advocate for and lead in building an ecological civilization. I see that more and more young people in China and America regard the low-carbon youth as the new cool and new fashion. I hope that young people around the world can all start to act from small things, from yourselves and from your daily life, join in such efforts, advocate for and shape a green lifestyle, so that everyone can do his or her part. I believe that the talents, dedication and hard work of the young generation will converge into a tremendous force to protect our shared home on Earth, and deliver a bright future of the world! I myself and the Chinese Embassy in the US will support and help Chinese and American youths to have more communication.

The climate week special event will last for 5 days. Shen Haixiong, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Media Group (CMG), delivered an opening speech. Sierra Leone President Bio, Icelandic Prime Minister Jakobsdottir and other state leaders, as well as officials from international organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Wide Fund for Nature, attended the event.
When Zhang Heyi, an Amharic (official language of Ethiopia) major at Beijing Foreign Studies University, was invited to participate in events to mark Africa Day in May, she sang and danced with her African counterparts on campus. Although she didn't know about their musical instruments or songs, she just couldn't help dancing with them and enjoying the celebration.

"African people can be attracted by hanfu, or traditional Chinese garments, and Chinese people can also be attracted by African dance," said Zhang, one of the Chinese youth representatives who was invited to attend a forum as part of the 6th China-Africa Youth Festival. "Culture can intensely touch people, and strike a chord among different countries. It helps build intimacy, develop trust and works as a bridge for communication."

Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, the festival, as a platform for communication between Chinese and African youths, was held in Beijing from Oct 19 to 22. The festival includes various activities like visiting exhibitions, attending forums, watching films and taking part in a series of events to experience traditional Chinese culture. Forty-five young people from 44 African countries, as well as Chinese youth representatives, took part in the activities.

"As the participants and contributors of China-Africa cooperation, young people are also the beneficiaries, inheritors and driving force of China-Africa relations," Baba Ahmad Jidda, Nigeria's ambassador to China, said in a video broadcast at the opening ceremony of the festival. "The young people today are more optimistic than ever before.

"Involving them at the forefront as active participants, with more than a decorative role, and not just on the fringes of dialogue can lead to development and progress when they see how impactful their actions and opinions are," he adds.

According to participating guest Li Hongfeng, dean of the School of African Studies of Beijing Foreign Studies University, China and Africa have a common awareness of the value of young people, and they both issue policies to promote their development. "In the global tide of the 21st century, with the joint efforts of governments and people across the world, young people now have a broader stage for their performances," he says.

As a university teacher, he finds young Chinese people have intense interest in African countries. "I started to open a selective course at BFSU last year about African culture and identity, and students rushed to select it. Some complained that the course was too popular and they could not get in," says Li.

"On the other hand, many of my students are working in African countries. They often share their opinions on African development and cooperation between China and Africa, and their love for Africa with me through WeChat (a popular social networking app in China)."
An exhibition in southwestern Chinese city of Kunming is trying to bring audience closer to nature with paintings featuring an assortment of flowers and birds, after a UN biodiversity conference in the city last month sent the world a clear message of the urgency of protecting the Earth.

"It's such beautiful art, but all of it is completely rooted in science. And there are stories behind each of the artwork, especially about the great biodiversity of Yunnan province. So we thought it was a great opportunity for learning and for engagement with the public," said Jeff Crosby, deputy director of the Contemporary Gallery Kunming, where the paintings are exhibited.

With the theme "Flower, bird, world," the exhibition features the latest artworks of 83-year-old Zeng Xiaolian, who has dedicated his life to depicting flora and fauna.

Crosby explained that the theme is based on the poem "To see a world in a grain of sand" by William Blake.

"His whole world has been absorbed in depicting one flower at a time or one bird at a time. So we felt it was a perfect encapsulation of his career," said Crosby.

Zeng said that he has been in a good mood during the past two years, although he almost didn't get even one day off.

"I've got some health problems, but I don't feel sick when I paint and can work for about nine hours a day. I finished some 130 paintings during this time," he said.

Zeng started his career as a natural history illustrator at the Kunming Institute of Botany affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1958. He participated in the compilation of the "Flora of China," a publication composed of 126 volumes, which records more than 31,000 species of plants. The huge project took 45 years to complete.

After retirement, Zeng started to give more emphasis to the artistic aspect of his creations and has kept honing his skills.

"I've never drawn something that I'm completely satisfied with. I always said to myself that if only I could do it better when I finish one piece," said Zeng. "All plants have life and life is the hardest thing to depict."

In fact, his works have been well-received by the public.

"I'm so impressed. I can enjoy beautiful details of the plants that I've never noticed and feel their great vitality," said Li Li, a local resident.

"I really admire Mr. Zeng's attention to detail. Whether it's plants or animals, he uses different techniques to highlight the authenticity of what he paints," said gallerygoer Qi Jiaru.

The show has also attracted quite a few children, who come to learn more about the species co-existing with human beings.

"I will be greatly encouraged if the drawings can bring the visitors a breath of nature," Zeng said.

Two years ago, the dedicated artist was diagnosed with lung cancer. But he says he won't put down his brushes.

"I hope I will be blessed with five more years, so that I can accomplish my long-cherished wishes," said Zeng, explaining that his next plan is to paint something about ecology, which is about the relationship between different species and the environment.

Zeng said he doesn't take any drugs for cancer, because he believes they make his hands tremble. He says creating more works with both scientific and artistic value is what really matters to him.
China will inject more efforts in the intellectual property rights (IPR) sector to better serve the growth of new fields and new business forms during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), said the IPR authorities.



The National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) will carry out in-depth study and practice in the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and other new fields and new business forms.

China will put diverse efforts on patent examination, data IPR protection, Internet-related IPR protection and IPR international cooperation in the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

The NIPA will give full play to the bidirectional promotion function of patent examination in promoting innovation and application. It will improve the examination rules in the emerging fields to boost breakthroughs in core technologies and their industrial application.

It will promote the implementation of the data IPR protection project, push forward the legislative research and establish rules in the sector, targeting to effectively protect and use data to ensure personal privacy and national security.

The Chinese IPR authorities will also strengthen the IPR protection in the Internet field and facilitate the sector's online and offline integrated development to meet the new challenges from the information era.

According to the NIPA, China will also promote international IPR cooperation in new fields and business forms, as well as international rulemaking in big data, AI and other emerging new fields.

"In recent years, new technologies and new business forms in the fields of Internet, big data, AI and other emerging sectors are reorganizing the essential global production factors and reshaping the global economic structure. They are changing the global competition pattern," said Shen Changyu, head of the NIPA.

In 2020, China saw the industrial scale of its digital economy reach 39.2 trillion yuan (6.12 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for around 38.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the development of the digital economy. Online shopping, online education, telecommuting and smart health care, as well as other new technologies and business forms, have been deeply integrated into people's daily work and life, injecting impetus and vitality into high-quality economic development.

"New technologies and business forms propose new requirements for IPR protection works in digital fields. Therefore, we must tailor regulations and IPR protection measures to ensure sustainable and effective data application," Shen said.

China recently released a plan on IPR protection and application works for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), proposing new targets involving the protection, application, services and international cooperation of the country's IPR sector.

According to the plan, China has set multiple targets in key indicators of its IPR works. Some of these targets are -- the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people will reach 12, the number of patents issued overseas will reach 90,000, the added value of patent-intensive industries and copyright industries will account for 13 percent and 7.5 percent of GDP, respectively, among others.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has underlined the importance of work to foster and strengthen market entities to stimulate market vitality and social creativity.



Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while chairing a symposium during an inspection trip to the State Administration for Market Regulation on Monday.

The cultivation of market entities will also provide solid support for steady growth and stable employment, Li noted at the symposium.

China's market entities established since 2013 paid 3.81 trillion yuan (about 593.5 billion U.S. dollars) in taxes in the first three quarters alone, nearing last year's annual total, official data shows.

In places with more active market entities, the local economy is better, said Li, urging efforts to solve difficulties for market entities and allow more market players to be established, grow and prosper.

As the economy faces downward pressure, the over 100 million market entities provide an important foundation for the Chinese economy to maintain resilient, according to the premier.

He urged further policy support that brings tax and fee cuts directly to market entities, amid continued efforts to improve the business climate and cut red tape.
New Zealand's Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Phil Twyford announced Wednesday that New Zealand has ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

Signed in November last year, the RCEP is a mega trade deal between 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Once in effect, the deal will eliminate tariffs on as much as 90 percent of goods traded between its signatories over the next 20 years. RCEP will be a trade agreement between 15 economies in the region that is home to almost a third of the world's population, nearly a third of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), and collectively takes over half of New Zealand's exports.

Twyford noted that the deal will unlock huge economic benefits for exporters and businesses, as well as new market access.

"For New Zealand exporters, businesses and investors this means: A single set of trade and investment rules across the entire RCEP region, increasing certainty and reducing complexity. The opportunity for our exporters to get their products into RCEP-wide regional value chains."

"More market access opportunities, especially for services and investment into China and some ASEAN member states. Less red tape for exporters, and more streamlined trade; and new rules on government procurement, competition policy and electronic commerce, which will help New Zealand exporters take advantage of increased business opportunities," Twyford said.

"Our primary industries will also benefit - with the new expectation that customs authorities will release perishable goods within six hours of arrival, helping to reduce spoilage and save money," he said.

"This agreement will also enable our businesses to be better connected via regional supply chains and provide more certainty to exporters in what remain globally uncertain times."

Independent analysis by ImpactECON has shown that over a period of 20 years, New Zealand's annual GDP will be between 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent larger as a result of the agreement.
You are here: China

President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE) and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Wednesday.

The opening ceremony will be held in Shanghai on Nov. 4, said spokesperson Gao Feng.
The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, has commenced in Glasgow in the U.K. There is widespread attention because climate change is becoming the defining issue of our world. The conference will revolve around how committed nations are to reducing their carbon emissions, switching to renewables to contain a global rise in temperatures, and keeping the promises made at the Paris Climate Accords back in 2015. The stakes are enormous, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the summit as a "moment of truth."



The battle to fight climate change and transition to sustainable forms of energy is a global fight. It is wrong to politically scapegoat or shift the burden of commitment or blame onto a single country. Unfortunately, this is frequently the case with China, where owing to having the world's largest population, being the world's third-largest country by size, and being a developing country, it has often been singled out for blame over carbon emissions. Conversely, it has been frequently overlooked for what it has achieved and sets out to do already.

China's energy situation is complicated, but that does not mean there is no effort to shift to renewables, despite difficult circumstances. To grow sufficiently, China needs ever-increasing amounts of energy. China has rapidly transformed itself from a rural agricultural country into the world's largest industrial nation, with sprawling urbanization rates and growth in transportation. In going through this phase of development, China has lacked many privileges and advantages that Western countries have held in transitioning to renewable energy sources.

As a result, China faces the unique challenge of growing and developing while meeting burgeoning energy needs. This challenge has led to China becoming the single largest market and producer of renewable energy products globally. This has become the forefront of government policy. Last week, a new government white paper titled "Responding to Climate Change: China's Policies and Actions" was released. It sets out China's achievements in developing renewables and where it will be heading.

The paper explores how China is, across the board, investing in all kinds of renewables. This includes growing fleets of electric buses and vehicles, more emphasis on high-speed rail systems, the rapid development of nuclear and hydroelectric power infrastructure, as well as wind and solar capabilities. Such action has had outstanding results, with the proportion of non-fossil fuels in its energy consumption mix increasing to 15.9% last year, up 8.5 percentage points from 2005. This has included incredible advances in solar power capacity, which grew over 3,000 times, and wind energy 200 times.

According to the document, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP has become more sustainable, decreasing 28.7% from 2011 to 2020. Moreover, China has outpaced all other nations concerning producing and selling new energy vehicles for six consecutive years. In addition, the country is quickly phasing out the use of coal, in an "accelerated clean, low-carbon transformation" in the country's energy consumption mix, with the proportion of coal decreasing from 72.4% in 2005 to 56.8% in 2020.

As a result, China's record on climate change should not be attacked or scapegoated. Moreover, the accusation that China is exporting unsustainable development and forms of energy is a myth. For example, its construction of wind, solar and hydroelectric infrastructure in Pakistan and its commitment to freezing the financing of overseas coal projects.

The Western media often overlook these actions in favor of stereotypes. China is a more significant country now and, therefore, a more prominent global stakeholder. However, as a developing country, China has pursued a broader and deeper effort than its Western counterparts.

Thus, the battle against time to control climate change is a global endeavor. China is leading a renewable energy revolution as a critical partner because it tackles the twin pressures of energy demand growth and climate change. If the world steps up with the same scale and scope of action, then it's fair to say humanity will succeed.

Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. He writes on topics pertaining to China, the DPRK, Britain and the U.S. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
 Flash

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Tuesday questioned Washington's readiness to return to the Iran nuclear deal, or the JCPOA, and criticized its two-faced actions concerning the nuclear talks.

"The White House calls for negotiations with Iran and claims to be ready to return to the JCPOA. Yet it simultaneously imposes new sanctions on Iranian individuals & entities," Amir Abdollahian wrote on his personal Twitter account early afternoon.

"We are closely examining Mr. Biden's behavior," he added.

On Oct. 29, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued sanctions against four individuals and two companies related to the unmanned aerial vehicles program of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

The upcoming Vienna talks should be "on the basis of respect for mutual interests," Amir Abdollahian stressed, noting that "the purpose of negotiations is not talking for the sake of talking, but to achieve tangible results."
You are here: World

 Flash

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev met with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns in Moscow Tuesday.

"The parties discussed Russian-American relations," according to a statement published on the security council's website following the meeting.

Burns was confirmed as CIA head in March this year, making this visit to Moscow his first meeting with Patrushev in the new role.
 Flash

At least 15 people have been killed and several others wounded in a terrorist attack on a military hospital in Kabul on Tuesday, a local TV channel reported.

"At least 15 people, all security personnel of the Islamic Emirate, have been killed and numerous others injured following the terrorist attack on the 400-bed hospital," 1TV reported in its news bulletin.

One of the attackers had been killed and cleanup operation was going on to eliminate the second attacker who remained inside the hospital, the media outlet reported.

A bomb blast rocked near the military hospital in Kabul at around 1:00 p.m. local time followed by gunshots, said spokesman for the Interior Ministry Qari Sayed Khost, who didn't provide more details.

The 400-bed military hospital in the Police District 10 of Kabul is the main army hospital in Afghanistan that provides medical treatments to military personnel and their families.

Locals close to the site said that two explosions hit the area followed by gunshots, and ambulances began taking out bodies and those wounded to health centers.

The number of casualties, according to locals who declined to be identified, is higher than that reported by the media.

No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. However, the hardliner Islamic State group has in the past claimed such attacks in Afghanistan.
Choteau, MT (59422)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. Gusty winds diminishing during the afternoon. High 46F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Low 26F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Aquaculture Vaccines Market Growth & Trends

The global aquaculture vaccines market size is expected to reach USD 605.4 million by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8.4% from 2021 to 2028. The advent of vaccines for fish has significantly reduced the dependency on antimicrobial agents. Vaccination programs help in protecting the animal health and livelihoods of those who work with livestock as well as aid in ensuring food security. The development of some aquaculture sectors, such as the salmon industry in Norway, wherein fish farmers in the country moved from using antibiotics to vaccines by 1994, demonstrates the potential of vaccines in reducing the dependence on veterinary medicines.

Similar to other markets, the market for aquaculture vaccines has also been significantly affected. Some of the major impacts of COVID-19 on the market include supply chain disruptions, a decline in sales, low demand, growing awareness of animal to human disease transmission risks, and operational hurdles due to changing policies and restrictions.

The growing demand for aquatic animal-derived food products, such as oil, caviar, protein powders, and meat, is encouraging farmers to use vaccinations for aquaculture to gain higher profitability. Due to the rising urbanization, consumers are becoming more aware of the nutritious value of animal protein. The demand for healthy, sustainable, and high-quality meat products that have fewer or no drugs is also increasing rapidly. Thus, the need for healthy breeding of aquatic animals is increasing, which is expected to fuel the demand for aquaculture vaccines, thereby boosting the market growth.

The market for aquaculture vaccines is fairly competitive. The most notable participants in the market are Zoetis; Merck & Co., Inc.; and Elanco, along with other manufacturers of aquaculture vaccines. These players are involved in new product launches, acquisitions, and partnerships to gain a competitive edge over each other. For instance, in July 2020, Zoetis acquired Fish Vet Group from Benchmark Holdings, PLC. This added to the companys Pharmaq business, which is involved in fish vaccines and services.

Request a free sample copy or view report summary: Aquaculture Vaccines Market Report

Aquaculture Vaccines Market Report Highlights

Based on product, the inactivated vaccines segment held the largest share in 2020 owing to its high acceptance globally

By route of administration, the injected segment held the largest market share in 2020 owing to its easy availability

The bacterial application segment held the largest revenue share in 2020 owing to the high prevalence of bacterial diseases in aquatic species

In 2020, Europe held the largest revenue share owing to the increasing adoption of aquaculture vaccines, especially in countries such as Norway and the U.K.

North America held the second-largest revenue share in 2020. The key driver in this regional market is the presence of major market players, especially in the U.S.

Asia Pacific is expected to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period owing to the rise in aquaculture production and favorable government initiatives, especially in developing countries

Access Press Release@ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-aquaculture-vaccines-market

Aquaculture Vaccines Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global aquaculture vaccines market report on the basis of product, route of administration, application, and region:

Aquaculture Vaccines Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Attenuated Live Vaccines

Inactivated Vaccines

Subunit Vaccines

DNA Vaccines

Recombinant Vaccines

Aquaculture Vaccines Route Of Administration Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Oral

Injected

Immersion & Spray

Aquaculture Vaccines Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Bacterial

Viral

Parasitic

Aquaculture Vaccines Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

North America US. Canada

Europe UK. Germany France Italy Spain Norway Denmark Ireland Eastern Europe Croatia Czech Republic Hungary Poland Russia Romania Bulgaria Asia Pacific Japan South Korea Taiwan Indonesia Malaysia Singapore Thailand Philippines Vietnam Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Chile Colombia Peru Ecuador Middle East & Africa South Africa Saudi Arabia Israel Egypt



List of Key Players of Aquaculture Vaccines Market

Zoetis

Phibro Animal Health Corporation

Elanco

Merck & Co., Inc.

KBNP

CAVAC

Kyoto Biken Laboratories, Inc.

Nisseiken Co., Ltd.

Vaxxinova International BV

HIPRA

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.
San Francisco, 3 Nov 2021: The Report GCC Ceramic Tiles Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Glazed Ceramic Tiles, Porcelain), By Application, By End-use (Residential, Commercial), By Country, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2028

The GCC ceramic tiles market size is expected to reach USD 14.2 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2020 to 2028. Increasing infrastructure development activities in the GCC countries to spur the transformation into non-oil economies is expected to drive the market.

GCC is one of the most active construction markets in the world with a market revenue of over USD 2.4 trillion in 2020 and more than 22,000 ongoing projects across countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. This is expected to lead to an increase in the demand for ceramic tiles, primarily in the residential and commercial complexes, including housing, hotels, malls, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and cinema halls.

Key market players are exporting their products to other GCC nations and other parts of the globe, to increase their geographical presence and expand their business to other parts of the world. For instance, in 2019, Saudi Ceramics signed a Murabaha financing agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), worth USD 32 million. The agreement was part of the export finance promotion initiative taken by the Saudi Export Development Authority.

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GCC Ceramic Tiles Market Report Highlights

The porcelain tiles segment accounted for the largest revenue share valued at USD 4.7 billion in 2020 on account of a harder and denser structure as compared to other tiles and better scratch-resistant properties as compared to glazed ceramic tiles

The wall tile application segment is expected to witness a notable revenue-based CAGR of 8.9% from 2020 to 2028, owing to the rapidly rising demand for wall tiling patterns for decoration in living and commercial spaces

The residential end-use segment is expected to witness the fastest revenue-based CAGR of 9.1% from 2020 to 2028 on account of rapidly rising residential construction activities in the GCC economies due to favorable financial policies

Saudi Arabia dominated the market and accounted for revenue share valued at USD 2.9 billion in 2020 and is expected to witness notable growth over the forecast period on account of continued investment by the government in infrastructure projects

New entrants in the market are introducing new ceramic flooring products with enhanced durability and strength. Such players are either acquired by the existing well-established players or they continue their penetration in the market and create strong competition

List of Key Players of GCC Ceramic Tiles Market

RAK Ceramics

Porcelanosa Dubai

Al Jawadah Ceramics

Forsan Ceramics

Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles Co. SAOG

Al Maha Ceramics

Al Khaleej Ceramics

Saudi Ceramics

Niceramics

Arabian Tile Company Ltd.

Access Press Release of GCC Ceramic Tiles Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/gcc-ceramic-tiles-market-analysis
Human Insulin Market: Information by Type (Traditional Human Insulin (Premixed Traditional, Intermediate Acting and Short-Acting), Modern Human Insulin (Premixed Modern, Long-Acting and Rapid Acting) and Brand (Lantus, Novorapid, Humalog, Novomix, Levemir, Apidar, Humulin and Insuman)) - Forecast till 2027

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The human insulin market is estimated at USD 90,812.40 Million till 2025 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.10% within forecasted period.

North America and EU regions are dominating the market over a period of time while, Asia is the fastest growing region for Human insulin Market in coming years

Increasing prevalence of diabetes and increasing R&D investment for more effective insulin are driving the growth of the human insulin market in North America. Diabetes has become one of the major public health problems in North America, due to increasing number of geriatric population and rising prevalence of obesity.

Diabetes is the major public health threat for the world. Prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is increasing rapidly in Asia-Pacific. According to a study conducted by National Centre for Biotechnology Information in 2012, approximately 60% of Asian population was suffering from diabetes. China is expected to have highest prevalence rate of diabetes, followed by India, due to rise in industrialization, urbanization and westernization.

Competitive Landscape

The major global companies playing a key role in the Human Insulin market are :

Adocia

Merck & Co.Inc

Julphar

Pfizer Inc.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

GlaxoSmithKline Plc

Sanofi

Oramed

Novo Nordisk India Pvt. Ltd.

Eli Lilly and Company

Biocon

Tonghua Dongbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

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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.
Acupuncture Market Research Report: By Product & Services (Services, Product), Application (Pain Syndrome Illnesses, Gynecological Disorders, Others), by End-User (Wellness Center, Hospitals & Specialty Clinics, Others)  Global Forecast Till 2027

Acupuncture Market to Reach Revenues Worth USD 55323.8 Million By 2023 :

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Detailed Regional Analysis

The acupuncture markets regional assessment includes Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and other important regions. The European regions market currently holds the biggest share of the global acupuncture market due to the occurrence of prolonged diseases and the growing fondness among the European residents for acupuncture therapies. Moreover, improving insurance coverage in European countries is likely to facilitate growth for the regional market. The Asia Pacific acupuncture market is projected to be the speediest increasing region in the global market and is anticipated to face a CAGR of 15.02% in the coming period. The regions speedy growth is credited to countries incidence have an elevated implementation rate of such therapies due to acupuncture stemming from this region. The occurrence of long-lasting diseases has influenced the region and augmented the need for acupuncture in the region.

Competitive Analysis

The emphasis on creating reserves of resources to deal with unexpected situations is estimated to shape future market developments. The global market is estimated to see diversification in operating practices as newer models for operation and delivery come into place. The aid from government institutions is estimated to stimulate the global markets development in the coming years. The market may show restrained development due to the second wave of COVID cases resurgence in several regions. The continuance of lockdowns intermittently in several regions may cause obstacles to the markets development as resources such as labour and supply chains to become seriously impacted. The innovations and research being undertaken in the market are estimated to create promising growth options in the coming period. The reliance on online commerce for sales is estimated to show a significant spike in the forecast period, leading to more investment in its development by market stakeholders.

The significant contenders in the acupuncture market are Qingdao Great Fortune Co. Ltd, MKW Lasersystem GmbH, Asia med GmbH, Wuxi Jiajian Medical Instruments Co., Ltd, Schwa-medico GmbH Cymedics GmbH Co. KG, Zepter International, 3B Scientific GmbH, Kanson, SEIRIN Corporation, and AcuMedic Ltd.

Industry Updates:

Feb 2021 A group of 14 approved acupuncturists with at least five years of professional experience individually managed 20 acupuncture treatments in a randomized controlled test for migraine medication. Patients obtained acupuncture treatments every other day for the initial ten sessions, trailed by a 9-day break, and then undertook another ten sessions of acupuncture every other day. The entire sample size was 147 patients. Patients having taken acupuncture had increasing rates of progress over time. Improvements were noteworthy in the first four weeks of acupuncture handling.

Mar 2021 Nuubu, a cleansing foot patch prepared from Japanese herbs, has been launched. The patch claims to benefit with insomnia, brain fog, headaches, body odor, muscle aches, and many other issues. Nuubu was inspired by centuries-old conventional Asian knowledge. The company affirms its product was based on Japanese acupuncture

read more @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/acupuncture-market-6139
The report "Chemical Surface Treatment Market by Chemical Type (Cleaners, Plating Chemicals, Conversion Coatings), Base Material (Metals, Plastics), End-use Industry (Transportation, Construction, General Industry), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022", The chemical surface treatments market is projected to grow from USD 11.18 Billion in 2017 to USD 14.74 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2017 to 2022.

The growth of the chemical surface treatments market across the globe is fueled by the increasing use of chemical surface treatments in various end-use industries to reduce corrosion of materials as well as enhance properties of base materials that include their appearance, wettability, tarnish resistance, wear resistance, electrical conductivity, electrical resistance, reflexivity, torque tolerance, hardness, and chemical resistance. Moreover, the rising Gross Domestic Product (GDP), growing global population, and improving economic conditions of various countries of the world are factors expected to fuel the demand for consumer appliances across the globe, which, in turn, is expected to contribute to increased demand for chemical surface treatments.

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The plastics base material segment is projected to lead the chemical surface treatments market during the forecast period.

The plastics base material segment is projected to lead the chemical surface treatments market between 2017 and 2022. Plastics are replacing metals in various industries such as transportation and general industry, owing to various advantages offered by them that include lower costs, lower maintenance requirements, simplified designs, lightweight, and better chemical resistance over metals. Due to these properties, several end-use industries consider plastics more sustainable option than metals.

The transportation end-use industry segment led the chemical surface treatments market in 2016.

chemical surface treatments are used in various end-use industries such as transportation, general industry, industrial machinery, construction, packaging, and others. The transportation end-use industry led the chemical surface treatments market in 2016. The growth of this segment of the market can be attributed to the increased use of these chemicals in surface treatments of shock absorbers, heat sinks, gears, cylinders, and capacitors.

The Asia Pacific region is projected to lead the chemical surface treatments market between 2017 and 2022.

The Asia Pacific region is projected to lead the chemical surface treatments market during the forecast period. Moreover, the Asia Pacific chemical surface treatments market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2022. The growth of the Asia Pacific chemical surface treatments market can be attributed to growing demand for chemical surface treatments from various end-use industries such as transportation, electrical & electronics, construction, and industrial machinery of China and India. Moreover, increasing investments by manufacturers of chemical surface treatments in the surface treatment and plating sector of the Asia Pacific region is also fueling the growth of the chemical surface treatments market in the region.

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Some of the key players operating in the chemical surface treatments market are Platform Specialty Products Corporation (US), NOF Corporation (Japan), Atotech Deutschland GmbH (Germany), Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany), Chemetall, Inc. (Germany), Nihon Parkerizing Co., Ltd. (Japan), and PPG Industries, Inc. (US). These companies have adopted major growth strategies such as new product & technology launches, joint ventures & acquisitions, investments & expansions, and agreements between 2015 and 2017 to enhance their position in the chemical surface treatments market.

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The report "Amphoteric Surfactants Market by Type (Betaine, Amine Oxide, Amphoacetates, Amphopropionates, Sultaines), Application (Personal Care, Home Care and I&I Cleaning, Oil Field Chemicals, Agrochemicals) - Global Forecast to 2027", is projected to grow from USD 3.52 billion in 2018 to USD 6.48 billion by 2027

Rising demand for personal care products and high-performance amphoteric surfactants is expected to drive the growth of the amphoteric surfactants market during the forecast period. Personal care is the largest application of amphoteric surfactants, as they are one of the important ingredients required for skin care, hair care, and other personal care products. The industry is growing rapidly as personal care products have high demand among customers. Growing urbanization, increasing number of working women, changing lifestyle, and rising awareness regarding hygiene and skin care are some of the key drivers of the amphoteric surfactants market in the personal care application. The awareness regarding hygiene and personal health has propelled the need for personal care products. This change has led to an increase in the manufacturing of skin care and hair care products, thus driving the demand for amphoteric surfactants.

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Based on type, the amine oxide segment of the amphoteric surfactants market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR, in terms of value and volume during the forecast period

Based on type, the amphoteric surfactants market has been segmented into betaine (alkyl betaine, alkyl amido betaine, and others), amine oxide, amphoacetates, amphopropionates, and sultaines. The amine oxide segment of the market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR in terms of both, value and volume during the forecast period. Amine oxide is a mild surfactant, which offers excellent secondary surfactant characteristics. It has the ability to decrease skin irritation in combination with Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS) or alcohol sulfates. Moreover, amine oxide possesses inherent stability and has improved cleansing properties.

Based on application, the personal care segment is projected to lead the amphoteric surfactants market during the forecast period in terms of both, value and volume.

The personal care segment is projected to lead the amphoteric surfactants market in terms of both, value and volume during the forecast period. Amphoteric surfactants are the mildest surfactants and hence, are commonly used in the formulation of various personal care products. The mildness of amphoteric surfactants can be attributed to their zwitterion nature. The use of these surfactants in the personal care products results in lower skin irritation as compared to other surfactants.

The European region is expected to be the largest market for amphoteric surfactants during the forecast period.

The amphoteric surfactants market has been studied for 5 regions, namely, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. The European region is projected to be the largest market for amphoteric surfactants during the forecast period due to the strong foothold of manufacturers of personal care products in the region. Amphoteric surfactants are the key compounds used in the formulation of various personal care products. The European region is also home for the leading manufacturers of amphoteric surfactants. The major countries driving the growth of the amphoteric surfactants in the European region are France, Germany, Italy, and Russia.

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Some of the key players in the amphoteric surfactants market include AkzoNobel N.V. (Netherlands), BASF SE (Germany), Clariant AG (Switzerland), Croda (UK), Evonik Industries AG (Germany), Lonza (Switzerland), the Lubrizol Corporation (US), Oxiteno SA (Brazil), Solvay (Belgium), and Stepan Company (US).

Critical questions the report answers:

Where will all these developments take the industry in the long term?

What are the upcoming trends for the amphoteric surfactants market?

Which segment provides the most opportunity for growth?

Who are the leading vendors operating in this market?

What are the opportunities for new market entrants?

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Nancy Goldstone will appear at the Coronado Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 4, for a luncheon with fans and to discuss her most recent book, In the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters. Tickets for this intimate author event, a fundraiser for the Friends of the Coronado Public Library, are still available through the Librarys events calendar at cplevents.org (click on Nov. 4).
Philanthropists Don and Leslie Budinger have completed a major gift which began in 1999 and has now culminated in the transfer of title to the landmark building at 1100 Orange Avenue, to the Coronado Historical Association (CHA).
Join Edith Salas of Salas Properties & host Jenn Barlow as they visit the Coronado Shores community. The towers have amazing views including the world famous Hotel del Coronado, downtown San Diego, San Diego Bay, the City of Coronado, Point Loma, and the Pacific Ocean.
The staff of the Litchfield Jazz Festival is presenting the fourth installment of their free virtual concert series for April.
She will never touch him, she will never hold him, he will never know her touch, he will never know her love because youve stolen that from us, Hayes cousin Elaine Sachs said Tuesday. Gun violence is an epidemic and its all over the world. We need help, we need help from the police, we need help from our lawmakers. You have to join us because this is not going to stop until we come together.
Economic development officials in New Haven said Wednesday they believe the landing of Avelo and the expansion plans will lead to other air carriers coming to Tweed, especially those that cater to businesses. The airport then becomes an attractive tool for bringing more employers to the greater New Haven area.
It agreed to not appeal a $28.4 million penalty and will not seek a rate increase until at least January 2023 for rates that could not take place until at least January 2024. Eversource also will set aside $10 million to help customers who are unable to pay their utility bills.
With a win in Virginia and an unexpectedly close race in the blue state of New Jersey, national Republicans had much to cheer about. The Connecticut GOP also had a strong showing in communities across the state, from Killingly, where Republicans won every seat they competed in for the second cycle in a row, to Westport, where Republican Jennifer Tooker beat Democratic state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg for the open first selectmans seat. The party continues to hold the mayors offices in Danbury and New Britain and flipped the top spot in Bristol with Jeff Caggianos win over Democratic incumbent Ellen Zoppo-Sassu. For Republicans, who hold no statewide offices and are in the minority in both chambers of the legislature, Tuesdays results could provide a jolt of energy heading into the 2022 gubernatorial election.
Cut Bank, MT (59427)

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Windy with a mix of clouds and sun. High around 40F. Winds WSW at 25 to 35 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

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Considerable cloudiness. Low 27F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Cut Bank, MT (59427)

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Considerable cloudiness. Low 27F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
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But most of all, Id like to thank you, Virginia, for giving me the opportunity to make history, he wrote. On Day One, well work toward a safe and secure Virginia and ending the criminal first-victim last mindset. Virginia has spoken  we want safe streets, we want our police to be well-trained and supported in the community  and we want the rule of law respected.
He first got involved in politics in early 2020 when he went to the Hampton City Council to object to the citys proposed ban on the open carrying of weapons at city parks and libraries. He got 10% of the vote after jumping into the council race only three months before the election, and later decided to vie for the House seat.
I am humbled by the faith you have put in me and will never lose sight of the fact that my job as your Delegate is to improve the lives of everyone in the 93rd District, Mullin said in a message to voters.
Parents shouldnt be forced to send their kids to a school that may be failing just because of where they live, said Harper, a painting company owner and former Army sergeant. It will make everybody step up their game, and they will basically compete for your child, Harper said. Quality will go up across the board.
Brewer has served the reliably Republican district  which includes parts of Suffolk and Isle of Wight, Prince George and Surry Counties  since 2018. The business owner sponsored legislation this year that extended the excise tax on Virginia-grown peanuts to 2026 but lowered the rate from 30 cents per 100 pounds to 25 cents. The money goes to the Virginia Peanut Board to support sales.
In a statement to The Virginian-Pilot before the election, explaining his top priority, Youngkin said his vision for Virginia is to lead the nation in job creation because taxes are low and regulations are reasonable, because small business can access capital, people can hire who they need to hire, and expand, because every graduate is either college ready or career ready with the skill that will put them on the pathway to a more prosperous future.
In this Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, file photo, Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, left, talks with House Minority Leader Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, during the House session at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. Democratic control of Virginia state government over the past two years has allowed lawmakers to dramatically reshape public policy with legislation reforming the criminal justice system, loosening abortion restrictions and expanding voting access. In the Nov. 2, 2021, election, the balance of power in the 100-seat House of Delegates is on the line. (Steve Helber/AP)
Lubbock, TX (79409)

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Plenty of sunshine. High 79F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 46F. WSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
The CM said if managements hand over institutions they are unable to run to government, the government will revive them under Nadu Nedu and fill up the required number of teachers posts.  DC Image

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy asserted that state government is only extending a helping hand to aided institutions in carrying forward the spirit with which these institutions had been established.

During a meeting with officials here on Tuesday, the CM said intention of the government is to do good and extend a helping hand to the management, teachers and students of aided institutions. Brushing aside controversy on the issue as false propaganda, he maintained that states intent is to provide proper facilities, infrastructure and staff.

Tracing the history of such institutions, the Chief Minister pointed out that during earlier days, wealthy people donated lands on which aided schools and colleges had been built. Subsequently, monetary factors came into running these institutions. For the past 2025 years, governments have not filled vacant posts in these institutions as part of their policy. This resulted in managements appointing teachers on their own and running the institutions. This led to more monetary commitments, which managements could not raise.

These are the reasons why these institutions have become near defunct, with dilapidated buildings and non-appointment of new teachers in place of those who have retired. It is under these circumstances that government has come forward with concrete proposals to safeguard the spirit of aided institutions, Jagan Mohan Reddy underlined.

The CM said if managements hand over institutions they are unable to run to government, the government will revive them under Nadu-Nedu and fill up the required number of teachers posts. At the same time, names of original donors will be retained and their ideals safeguarded, he assured.

The Chief Minister clarified that the intent of government is only to do good for management, teachers and students of aided institutions.
Jagan said it was estimated that over Rs 790 crore would be needed for Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme for the year 202122. (DC Image)

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed officials to give top priority to Nadu-Nedu in the education sector which is aimed at modernisation of the education system for the good future of students. The Chief Minister said Rs 790 crore would be spent on Vidya Kanuka for the year 2021-22 under which notebooks, dictionary, school bag, textbooks, workbooks, uniform, belt and shoes are offered to every student. He said the government had spent Rs 3,650 crore for development of infrastructure in government schools under Mana Badi-Nadu Nedu and was going to spend Rs 4,535 crore for development of 12,663 schools under Nadu-Nedu phase-2 programme.

The Chief Minister held a review meeting on the programmes aimed at raising the living standards of people and various infrastructure projects and directed the officials to focus on the second phase of the Nadu-Nedu programme and complete construction of irrigation projects on priority basis.

During the review meeting held at the camp office here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister reviewed various issues related to education, medicine, health, skill development, water grid, roads, irrigation projects, urban development, housing, ports, fishing harbours, YSR steel plant, etc.

Jagan said it was estimated that over Rs 790 crore would be needed for Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme for the year 202122. The Jagananna Goru Mudda scheme is estimated to cost Rs 1,625 crore for 2021-22. The Chief Minister said the Nadu-Nedu programme was of the highest priority in the education sector and directed the officials to implement the programme effectively. He directed the officials to start the works of skill development colleges and complete the water grid works in Pulivendula, Uddanam and Dhone on priority basis.

The officials informed the Chief Minister that construction of the roads would be completed by the end of May, 2022. The Chief Minister directed the officials to focus on works related to extension of Karakatta road that connects Amaravati region and expedite the works.

He reviewed the setting up of permanent infrastructure in Jagananna colonies and said Rs 30,000 crore had been spent on it. He also reviewed the progress of construction works of Ramayapatnam, Machilipatnam and Bhavanapadu green field ports and directed the officials to expedite the works of ports along with harbours.

Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, higher education special chief secretary Satish Chandra, municipal administration special chief secretary Y. Srilakshmi, industries special chief secretary Karaikal Valevan, housing special chief secretary Ajay Jain, finance principal secretary S.S. Rawat, transportation principal secretary M.T. Krishna Babu, panchayat raj and rural development principal secretary Gopala Krishna Dwivedi, school education principal secretary Buditi Rajashekar, IT and electronics and communications principal secretary G. Jaya Lakshmi, health principal secretary Muddada Ravichandra, finance secretaries K.V.V. Satyanarayana and N. Gulzar, water resources secretary J. Syamala Rao, APMSIDC VC and MD Muralidhar Reddy, AP TIDCO MD Ch. Sridhar, AMRDA commissioner K. Vijaya and other officials were present.
New Delhi: The Union health ministry has sent teams of experts to nine states and union territories, which are reporting a high number of dengue cases, to support them in public health measures for control and management of the disease.

This is in accordance with the directions issued by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya during a review meeting on the dengue situation in Delhi on Monday, a health ministry statement said.

These nine states and union territories are Haryana, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.

Mandaviya had directed the ministry to extend help to states and union territories that have a high incidence of dengue cases, the statement said.

It said that 1,16,991 dengue cases have been reported by states and union territories across the country.

The statement said that a significantly higher number of cases in some states have been reported in October as compared to the number of cases during the same period in the previous year.

Fifteen states and union territories are reporting their maximum cases in the current year. These states have contributed to 86 per cent of the country's total dengue cases till October 31, it stated.

In view of this, central teams, comprising experts from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Regional Offices, have been sent to the nine states and union territories that have reported more cases in October compared to September, the statement said.

The teams are tasked to assist and support these states and union territories to mount an effective public health response. They have been asked to report on the status of vector control, availability of kits and medicines, early detection, availability and use of insecticides, status of anti-larval and anti-adult vector control measures, among others, the statement said.

They will also brief state health authorities about their observations, it said.
Hyderabad: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) extended the shelf life of Hyderabad-based manufacturer Bharat Biotech's Covaxin covid vaccine, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Currently, Covaxin has a shelf life of 6 months with subject to its storage at 2-8 degrees celsius.

"The CDSCO has approved the extension of shelf life of Covaxin up to 12 months, from the date of manufacture," the company's statement read. "This approval of shelf life extension is based on the availability of additional stability data, which was submitted to CDSCO," it added.

The company also announced that the extension of the covid vaccine's shelf life has been communicated to all the stakeholders.

Bharat Biotech had earlier in July sought permission from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to extend the vaccine's shelf-life from six to 24 months.

As of now, Covishield of Serum Institute, the only other Covid vaccine being distributed in the country along with Covaxin, has an approved shelf-life of nine months.

A shelf life is the expiration date of a vaccine, the time frame within which it retains the same characteristics it possessed at the time of its manufacturing.

Longer shelf life is necessary for vaccine manufacturers since they stockpile vaccines to be used over a period of time. It ensures that the vaccine is safe and of sound quality.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed the issue of vaccine hesitancy and asked officials to address the challenge of "rumour" and "misconception among people" to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage. He also urged officials to take the help of local religious leaders in the drive.

While addressing a review meeting with districts officials, where COVID-19 vaccination needs to be increased, the Prime Minister said, "You have a major challenge of 'rumour' and 'misconception among people'. As we go ahead, perhaps we will see these challenges in concentrated areas. A big solution is to make as many people aware as possible."

Urging the District Magistrates to take the vaccination drive to every doorstep and encourage people to take their vaccine doses, the Prime Minister said, "Doors of all those houses will be knocked where people still do not have the protection of double dose. So far, you arranged for people to come to vaccination centres and have safe vaccination. We will now have to go to every house with the spirit of 'Har ghar teeka, ghar ghar teeka'."

Stressing on the solutions to cater to vaccine hesitancy, he asked the officials to take the help of local religious leaders to encourage beneficiaries to take their vaccine doses.

"You can take the help of local religious leaders, make their short videos and circulate it," he said.

The meeting was held virtually with districts having low COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The meeting included districts with less than 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines.

The Prime Minister interacted with District Magistrates of over 40 districts in Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, and other States with districts having low vaccination coverage.

India has administered more than 107.29 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses so far, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.
Covaxin was found to have 78 per cent efficacy against COVID-19 of any severity, 14 or more days after the second dose, and is extremely suitable for low and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements. (Photo: Bloomberg)

New Delhi: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday granted emergency use approval for Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, in a move that the pharma major said is a "significant" step towards ensuring wider global access to the indigenously developed jab.

The announcement by the WHO came after the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), an independent advisory committee of the world body recommended Emergency Use Listing (EUL) status for Covaxin, and days after the TAG sought "additional clarifications" from Bharat Biotech on October 26 to conduct a final "risk-benefit assessment" of the vaccine for global use.

Bharat Biotech, meanwhile, said the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved the extension of shelf life of Covaxin up to 12 months from the date of manufacture. It was initially given permission for the sale and distribution of Covaxin with a shelf life of six months, which was later extended to nine months, a company spokesperson told PTI.

Thanking the WHO for granting the licence to Covaxin, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the achievement is a "sign of capable leadership and Modi ji's resolve, a tale of people's trust and this is Diwali of self-reliant India".

"WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to #COVAXIN (developed by Bharat Biotech), adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of COVID-19," the global health body said in a tweet.

The WHO said the TAG convened by it and made up of regulatory experts from around the world determined that Covaxin meets its standards for protection against COVID-19, and that the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs risks and thus can be used.

In another tweet, it said Covaxin was also reviewed by WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), and recommended use of this vaccine in two doses, with a dose interval of four weeks, in all age groups 18 and above.

Dr Poonam Khetarpal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South East Asia, in a tweet, said, "Congratulations India for Emergency Use Listing of its indigenously produced COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin."

Bharat Biotech said that with the validation from the WHO countries can now expedite their regulatory approval processes to import and administer Covaxin.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and GAVI COVAX facility will also be able to procure Covaxin for distribution to countries worldwide, Bharat Biotech said.

"Validation by WHO is a very significant step towards ensuring global access to India's widely administered, safe, and efficacious Covaxin," Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella said.

As an organisation, Bharat Biotech has focused on maintaining stringent quality and safety standards that meet rigorous assessment, and scientific standards established by WHO and as a result many of its vaccines have received WHO prequalification, he added.

"The EUL authorisation for Covaxin will enable us to contribute to accelerating the equitable access of Covid-19 vaccine, and the access to our vaccine globally thereby addressing the current public health emergency," Ella said.

Covaxin has been specifically designed to meet the needs of global distribution chains, the requirements for which are more critical in low and middle-income countries, Bharat Biotech said.

The vaccine has been formulated to enable shipping and long-term storage at 2-8 degrees Celsius. It is also formulated to adhere to a multi-dose vial policy, thereby reducing open vial wastage, saving money to procurement agencies and governments alike, the company added.

"The WHO nod for Covaxin is a validation of the tremendous effort made by everyone at Bharat Biotech and our partners. It is also an opportunity for us to create meaningful impact at a global level," Bharat Biotech Joint Managing Director Suchitra Ella said.

The global health body, however, said that available data on vaccination of pregnant women with the Covaxin vaccine are insufficient to assess vaccine safety or efficacy in pregnancy.

"Available data on vaccination of pregnant women with the #Covaxin vaccine are insufficient to assess vaccine safety or efficacy in pregnancy; studies in pregnant women are planned, including a pregnancy sub-study and a pregnancy registry," the WHO said in a series of tweets.

Covaxin was found to have 78 per cent efficacy against COVID-19 of any severity, 14 or more days after the second dose, and is extremely suitable for low and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements, it said.

"Covaxin EUL expands the availability of Syringe, the most effective medical tools we have to end #COVID19. It was assessed under the WHO EUL procedure based on the review of data on quality, safety, efficacy, a risk management plan & suitability in low- & middle-income countries," it stated.

WHO's EUL procedure assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and is a prerequisite for COVAX vaccine supply. It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.

"The EUL procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies. The aim is to make medicines, vaccines & diagnostics available as rapidly as possible while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy & quality.

"The Technical Advisory Group for Emergency Use Listing is an independent advisory group that provides a recommendation to WHO whether an unlicensed vaccine can be recommended for emergency use under the EUL procedure, and if so, under what conditions," the WHO said.

Before the WHO announcement, a source told PTI: "The Technical Advisory Group of WHO has recommended Emergency Use Listing status for Covaxin."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the G20 summit in Rome recently.

Besides demonstrating 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19, Covaxin has shown 65.2 per cent protection against the new Delta variant.

In June, the company said it concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 trials.

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed officials to ensure that key issues pertaining to the state should be brought up in the 29 Southern Zonal Council meeting, slated to be held in Tirupati on November 14. Reddy reviewed arrangements during a meeting at his camp office on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said that they will be raising issues like arrears that are due to Andhra Pradesh from Tamil Nadu for the Telugu Ganga project, the Polavaram project, Rs 6,300 crore pending electricity arrears, revenue deficit, and arrears from Telangana State. The meeting also resolved to pitch for Special Status provision to the state in the Council meeting.

Reddy said that Union home minister Amit Shah would chair the meeting, which will be attended by his counterparts from Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry and Lieutenant governors of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar and the administrator of Lakshadweep.

Officials informed that pending issues related to the State Formation Act have been included in the agenda along with the Polavaram project and power dues of Rs 6,300 crore. Also in the agenda was pending dues from Tamil Nadu, revenue shortfall, civil supplies arrears from Telangana State and rational allocation of PDS rice by the Centre.

The Chief Minister also sought to raise the issue of bringing the Jurala project under the purview of KRMB, interlinking of rivers, freezing of FD accounts, division of assets, among other key issues.

Ministers Mekathoti Sucharitha, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, chief secretary Dr Sameer Sharma, DGP Gautam Sawang, senior bureaucrats Poonam Malakondaiah, Karikal Valaven, Y Srilakshmi, SS Rawat, Muddada Ravichandra and TTD EO Dr KS Jawahar Reddy were present at the meeting.
Hyderabad: Despite being one of the most hyped, prolonged, expensive and bitterly fought byelections in years in Telugu states, and the first-of-its-kind in separate Telanganas seven years of existence, Huzurabad would not have any major direct political impact on the states politics.

For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the big win will hardly catalyse its growth or rise, or even its emergence as the numero uno rival to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). The benefits of the victory are going to be largely psychological, and fall short of being only slogan-eseque.

With a triple-R (Rajendar, Raghunandan Rao and Raja Singh) MLA team ready for the next Assembly session, the BJP comes closer to showcasing itself to being a party of strength in Telangana  the second state it so badly yearns to win in south India, after Karnataka. But the bypoll win will not lead to a cascading impact  there will be no resignations by MLAs of the ruling TRS and the government is powerfully, and stably, perched for the next two years.

The mojo is surely back with the saffron outfit, and energised to its acme in the state, an unmistakable trend which lends to the perception that the BJP finally means business in Telangana  a transformation brought in by the leadership of state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

Despite the definite blip after hitting the nadir and exposing its organisational weakness during the Nagarjunsagar bypolls, and a loss in the graduates constituency MLC polls, especially a sitting seat  the Huzurabad bypoll win gives BJP a visceral confidence, seeming as it does as a continuing run without a break  Dubbak, GHMC and Huzurabad. But the benefits hardly extend beyond.

The BJP would most certainly benefit from the rich experience and knowledge of Rajendar. He could prove immensely useful in its long journey ahead to build the party in various districts from the grassroots upwards. The TRS will see some attrition but that would come far closer to the next Assembly elections and two years is an aeon in politics.

The party can take the single largest takeaway of a reinvigorated narrative and go back to the people to establish itself as the true alternative and rival of the TRS.

Surprisingly, the polls do not impact the Congress badly either. Despite the fury of the intra-party maelstrom aimed at questioning the efficacy of the leadership of A. Revanth Reddy, it will hardly matter and would soon be forgotten. The newly crowned PCC president was plain unlucky that the first election the party was forced to fight under his leadership was one in which they were irrelevant  the fight in Huzurabad had long prior become dubbed as a war between the wrongly terminated minister Etala and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.

Revanth Reddy, in fact, would love the air of anti-TRS and a strong mood against the government and ruling party; and would believe that minus the extraordinary conditions of Huzurabad, the Congress is better placed to exploit it than the BJP across the state.

As counterfactuals go, in fact had the Congress fought the election more effectively, and strongly, it would have ended with an overall worse result  a TRS win and further solidification of the seeming invincibility of the TRS under the leadership of Chandrashekar Rao.

For the ruling party and the government, with no threat to its government, no possibility of attrition, or even a murmur of dissent from the leaders within, nothing changes. Except possibly as a signal to course correct.

A larger lesson exists, however, for all political parties and leaders  there is an outer limit to the impact of money on an election, and distribution of huge monies directly to purchase a vote could be counterproductive. People do not like bad economic outcomes, seek better governance, and dislike corruption but the biggest political vice, one punished ruthlessly by the electorate, is hubris.

If the TRS course corrects its governance and political approach, if the BJP continues to strengthening itself and showcasing the failures of the government, and the Congress marches ahead with its politics of fanning dissent and voicing discontent of people  all three possible outcomes of Huzurabad  it is good for the people, and the state.

The only thing certain after Huzurabad is that the three parties will face off again, and the battle will be intense and fierce, and the outcome could be anything.
Hyderabad: The poor show of the Congress in Huzurabad, where the party was runner-up in 2018, has come as a major setback to TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy. The party couldnt retain its deposit this time.

The defeat has strengthened the anti-Revanth Reddy voices in the party. Bhuvanagiri MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said the party had failed to utilise the five months gap till the election day to strengthen its base in the assembly constituency. This was the first time ever that the party lost its deposit there. We will submit a factual report to the party high command, Venkat Reddy said.

TPCC working president T. Jayaprakash Jagga Reddy, the Sangareddy MLA, alleged that Revanth Reddy and CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka had made NSUI state president Dr B. Venkat a scapegoat.

Former MP Ponnam Prabhakar said the fashioning of public meetings like Dalit Dandora and Nirudyoga, Vidyarthi Garjana had not yielded results. He said the party state leadership should have concentrated on Huzurabad from the day the seat fell vacant in June. There was a delay. We will discuss the issue with the partys senior leaders, he said.

The Congress had got around 61,000 votes in Huzurabad in the 2018 Assembly elections. Padi Koushik Reddy who had then contested on a Congress ticket shifted his loyalties to the TRS shortly before the byelection. This hurt the partys prospects.

To field a strong candidate, the Congress leadership pursued the names of former minister Konda Surekha and Ponnam Prabhakar etc, but finally fielded student leader Dr Venkat, a native of undivided Karimnagar district. Technically, he was a non-local.

The prediction of political opponents that the Congress would lose its deposit in the byelection proved true. There are those who suspect that a few Congress leaders strategically remained silent during the bypoll with a view to consolidate the anti-TRS votes in favour of Etala Rajendar. Even TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao alleged that Revanth Reddy had colluded with the BJP candidate.

Jagga Reddy and Venkat openly criticised the state Congress leadership, saying it did not work hard in Huzurabad. In the selection of the candidate and in starting the election campaign, the party lagged behind, they alleged. They said the issue will be brought to the notice of the Congress high command.

In the previous Dubbak and Nagarjunasagar byelections, the Congress had performed well though its candidates lost to the BJP and the TRS respectively. After Revanth Reddy became party chief, Congress leaders and activists hoped that the party would perform well in Huzurabad.
MLA-elect Etala Rajender and BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar burst firecrackers to celebrate the party's victory in the Huzurabad bypoll, in Karimnagar on Tuesday. (Y. Radhakrishna/DC)

Hyderabad/Karimnagar: In a major jolt to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party wrested the Huzurabad Assembly seat in the fiercely contested bypoll on Tuesday.

BJP candidate Etala Rajendar scripted history by trouncing Gellu Srinivas Yadav of the TRS by 24,109 votes including 242 postal ballots in the bypoll that was viewed as a battle of prestige between TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and Rajendar.

Rajendar created a record by winning for the consecutive seventh term as MLA. He won six times as TRS candidate from 2004 to 2018 and now as a BJP candidate.

Rajendar, who quit the TRS and joined the BJP in June after being dropped from the state Cabinet by Chandrashekar Rao in May over allegations of land grabbing, proved that his personal hold on Huzurabad is more than that of the TRS.

Rajendar, whose resignation from the Assembly in June caused the bypoll, secured a total of 1,06,782 votes while Yadav polled 82,712 votes. The Congress suffered humiliation as its candidate finished a distant third with just 3,012 votes.

Speaking to media personnel after his stupendous victory, Rajendar said the people had given a big slap on the face of Chandrasekhar Rao and saved democracy in the state.

Rajendar said, "People along with me faced a lot of problems for the past five months. The TRS exerted pressure on all sections of people by misusing its political power through police force. People were afraid to move freely in the constituency because of the situations that were created by the TRS. They even entered into the houses of some BJP men and my followers and tried to threaten them."

Rajendar dominated the counting held over 22 rounds. He took lead in the very first round of counting and did not look back later except for the 8th and 11th rounds, when the TRS candidate took a minor lead.

Chandrashekar Rao had gone all out to defeat Rajendar and camped dozens of ministers, dozens of party MLAs, MLCs, MPs and senior leaders for six months in Huzurabad from May to October.

The TRS government sanctioned Rs 2,000 crore to Dalit Bandhu in Huzurabad and another Rs 2,000 crore for various development programmes to lure voters. Despite all these, Rajendar emerged victorious.

Rajendar, who was first elected from erstwhile Kamalapur constituency (now Huzurabad) on TRS ticket in 2004 and retained it in the by-election in 2006, won from Huzurabad in 2009 and since then he had been winning the seat for the TRS.

One of the founding members of the TRS, Rajendar maintained his grip on the constituency since 2004. Continuing his winning streak in 2018, he defeated his nearest rival Kaushik Reddy of Congress by 47,803 votes. Rajender had then polled 1,04,840 votes while Kaushik Reddy had secured 61,121 votes.

Though Kaushik Reddy switched over to the TRS a few months before the bypoll, the outcome showed he could not ensure transfer of votes to the ruling party. With the victory in Huzurabad, the BJPs strength in 119-member Assembly rose to three. Huzurabad is the second Assembly seat wrested by the saffron party from the TRS in the last one year. In November last year, the BJP had wrested Dubbak seat by a thin margin.

Of the five mandals in Huzurabad, it is the Kamalapur mandal which gave the maximum majority of 9,450 to Rajender followed by Jammikunta mandal and helped him to register a massive victory in the much hyped by-election.

But for the first time, the TRS candidate Srinivas Yadav took the lead over Rajendar in his native mandal Veenavanka in the eighth round by 262 votes. The round included the Himmatnagar village from the native place of Srinivas Yadav.

In Jammikunta mandal, the TRS expected to gain at least half the votes. It secured 385 votes more in Jammikunta Rural mandal in the 11th round. But in the later rounds the

BJP secured a clear majority in Jammikunta and dashed their hopes.

For the total 44,730 turnout of voters in Jammikunta mandal, BJP secured 23,779 votes and TRS secured 17,987 votes. Rajendar secured 5,792 votes majority over the TRS in Huzurabad mandal.
Karimnagar: People gave a big slap on the face of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and saved democracy in the state, said BJP candidate and former minister Etala Rajendar speaking to the media after receiving the winning certificate from the officials here at the counting centre at SRR Degree and PG College in Karimnagar district on Tuesday.

Rajendar said, People along with me faced a lot of problems for the past five months. The TRS exerted pressure on all sections of people by misusing its political power through the police force. People were afraid to move freely in the constituency because of the situations created by the TRS. They even entered into the houses of some BJP men and his followers and tried to threaten them, he added. The TRS leaders even tried to create disputes among the people of various castes. But people taught them a fitting lesson. They consider Etala as their family member and registered a major victory without falling prey to the various gifts offered by the TRS, he pointed out.

Even though the TRS offered them Rs 10 lakh on the poll date, the people of Huzurabad did not support the TRS and killed the arrogant behaviour of Chandrashekar Rao, Rajendar said. He said the victory in the by-election was dedicated to the people of Huzurabad and the BJP activists and his own followers who strove hard and played a key role in registering a thumping victory.

He said he was going to fight on five main issues regarding the implementation of Dalit Bandhu scheme in the Huzurabad and to sanction the scheme to all Dalit people across the state. Rajendar said he would fight against the state government until it announced separate schemes like Dalit Bandhu to various other castes to uplift the weaker sections in other communities.

I will fight for sanctioning of double bedroom houses and money to the people for construction of houses in their own places , unemployment dole, implementation of pole promises, job notification for the educated unemployed youth and pensions to persons who crossed 57 years of age, he said.

He also said he was going to fight against the state government until it purchased all food grains produced by farmers and assured that he would become the voice of all those who fought for various public issues.

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J.P. Nadda and BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar for extending their support and for guiding him to the victory.

He also expressed thanks to former MPs Vivek Venkat Swamy and Jithendar Reddy, union minister Kishan Reddy, and leaders Enugu Ravinder Reddy, Bodiga Shoba, Dharma Rao and Tula Uma.
HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao will begin damage control exercise after Diwali to boost the image of the party and the government against the backdrop of Huzurabad bypoll debacle.

Party sources said the Chief Minister decided to reach out to people by undertaking extensive tours of districts in November and December and review the delivery of government schemes at the ground level.

After suffering shocking defeat in the hands of the BJP in Huzurabad bypoll, the first major challenge before the TRS leadership is to make Telangana Vijaya Garjana Sabha in Warangal on November 29 with 10 lakh people a grand success to boost the morale of party's rank and file.

Another immediate challenge before the Chief Minister is to select six candidates for MLC elections under MLAs quota, the notification for which will be issued by Election Commission on November 9. Since the TRS has absolute majority in the Assembly with 103 MLAs out of total 119, it can bag all six seats unanimously without polling on November 29. Opposition parties have no sufficient numbers to even field candidates.

However, there are 30 serious contenders in TRS for these six MLC seats and Rao has to do a balancing act in the wake of the changed political situation following Huzurabad defeat. He has to walk the political tightrope in selection of candidates to ensure that no dissidence erupts in the party from those who fail to get berths.

Although the TRS banked heavily on its welfare schemes and development programmes in Huzurabad, they failed to ensure victory for the party. The party feels that the lacunae in implementation of welfare schemes were one of the prime reasons for voters venting ire at the TRS as welfare schemes did not reach the beneficiaries effectively due to fund crunch. There is a huge pendency of applications for welfare schemes and also fund crunch which resulted in mounting arrears for beneficiaries.

The Chief Minister wants to fill that gap and ensure effective delivery of welfare schemes by ensuring adequate funds promptly every month, it is learnt. He will start his district tours to launch party offices in all district headquarters which are ready for inauguration in November and December.

He will also undertake tours to districts to monitor implementation of Dalit Bandhu where four more mandals are selected for pilot project along with Huzurabad.

The Chief Minister has been confined to his farmhouse in Erravelli on city outskirts since the TRS plenary meeting held at Hitex Convention Centre in City on October 25. He did not take part in any official programme or meeting since then.

After the conclusion of TRS plenary, the Chief Minister left for his farmhouse from where he reviewed Huzurabad byelection and counting till November 2.

After Diwali celebrations with family members on Thursday, the Chief Minister is expected to return to Pragathi Bhavan on Friday.
In every round, Dr Sudha established huge leads which proved too much for the BJP candidate. (DC Image)

Anantapur: YSRC candidate Dr Dasari Sudha cruised to victory in the Badvel (SC) Assemby byelection by a margin of 90,533 votesm trouncing Panathala Suresh of the BJP, on Tuesday.

In a triangular fight, Dr Sudha secured a margin that was more than double that achieved by her husband Dr Venkata Subbaiah in the 2019 elections. His death necessitated the bypoll.

The Telugu Desam stayed way, citing the convention of not opposing a family member of a deceased legislator. Jana Sena also kept way from he exercise. The Congress fielded former MLA M. Kamalamma.

Dr Sudha got a huge majority right from the first round of counting. As against 1,46,983 polled, Dr Sudha won 1,12,211 and Suresh of the BJP 21,678 votes. Kamalamma got only 6,235 votes, while 3650 voters opted for NOTA.

About 79 postal ballots were invalid as against total of 259 votes.

In every round, Dr Sudha established huge leads which proved too much for the BJP candidate.

Government Whip G. Srikanth Reddy expressed gratitude to the Badvel voters for blessing the YSRC government with huge majority. Peoples verdict is clear, but the BJP worked with the TD and practiced politics. The voters of Badvel taught the BJP a lesson, he said.

Kamalamma alleged that polling was conducted in an undemocratic way. She stressed the need for reforms. BJP candidate Suresh reiterated that there was a huge number of bogus voters.
We celebrate primarily because it gives us joy, because it helps us connect and share precious moments with those we love. (DC Image)

Across the country, across cultures, across the world and through centuries, people have treasured celebrations. What we celebrate and how we celebrate may differ, but everyone loves a celebration. There are no two opinions on this. We celebrate primarily because it gives us joy, because it helps us connect and share precious moments with those we love.

To celebrate is to live.

The word celebrate has its roots in the Latin celebrare, which means to assemble to honour. In other words, a gathering might seem to be a pre-requisite, etymologically speaking at least, to celebration.

Today is Diwali, the festival of lights, and one of Indias major festivals. In the time of the Covid-19 pandemic and amidst raging pollution, what does celebration mean? To me, the essence of Diwali has always been the Sanskrit sloka, Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya, which means: Lead me from darkness to light.

I grew up in an agnostic household. I am not a religious person. To me, Diwali or Deepawali is about lighting lamps, sweets, sharing, family, close friends. It is equally about shedding darkness and lighting the fire within, seeking out those whose warmth heals and nourishes.

Looking at photographs of Diwalis over the years brings back a flood of memories -- there is one spent in mountainous Ukhrul in Manipur more than a decade ago -- rows and rows of earthen lamps lighting up a hillside. An enchanting sight. Then all the Diwalis spent at home -- the preparations, the decorations, the earthen lamps with a touch of Rajasthans mandana art, sitting alongside a conch shell that I inherited from my grandmother, marigolds, rose petals, candles and lights All through the years and decades, there has been a common thread in my Diwalis -- lights, warmth and joy.

Is this the only way to celebrate Diwali? Certainly not. Diwali is celebrated in different ways by different people. For millions of devout Hindus, it is a celebration of the homecoming of Lord Ram to Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman after a prolonged exile of 14 years and defeating the Lankas King Ravan. Ramayana, the epic, which has shaped Indias culture, arts and politics, has many versions and there are multiple traditions within it.

To me, celebration is not about hierarchising; each one can celebrate Diwali the way she or he may wish to, within the parameters of the law.

Which brings me to the by-now routine, vitriolic discussions about Diwali. Several state governments across the country have imposed guidelines and restrictions pertaining to the manufacture, use, sale and burning of firecrackers for the festival. Delhi, the national capital, for example, has ordered a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1, 2022.

On September 29, the Supreme Court noted that six major fireworks manufacturers had violated orders requiring them not to use banned chemicals such as barium salts and to label firecrackers in accordance with the law.

Under the guise of celebration, nobody can be permitted to infringe the right to health of others, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and nobody can be allowed to play with the life of the others, more particularly senior citizens and children, the apex court declared.

It is made clear that there is no total ban on the use of firecrackers. Only those firecrackers are banned, as directed hereinabove, which are found to be injurious to health and affecting the health of the citizens, more particularly the senior citizens and the children, it added.

Last month, the Supreme Court also pointed out that under the guise of green crackers, many banned substances were being used by several firecracker manufacturers. The apex court noted that it was unfortunate that despite various directions issued by it, blatant violations were going on and it warned that any lapse on the part of the state governments, state agencies and UTs shall be viewed very seriously, and if it is found that any banned firecrackers are manufactured, sold and used in any particular area, the chief secretary of the concerned state(s), the secretary (home) of the concerned state(s) and the commissioner of police and DSP of the concerned area and the SHO/police officer in-charge of the concerned police station shall be held personally liable.

As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, health experts also advise against gravitating towards large gatherings and crowds.

Many see this as an attack on Hindu traditions, festivities and cultural practices. But can Diwali, which symbolises the victory of good over evil and light over darkness, be reduced to just burning firecrackers?

Celebrate we must, but the celebrations have to factor in the context. And our health. Talk to any doctor, or better still a pediatrician, and listen to him/her speaking about children who come in gasping after being exposed to the foul air for hours. Schools are reopening across the country after a long hiatus. Do we really want to make things worse for our children?

Arguably, the polluted air in most Indian cities cant be blamed only on Diwali. No one has argued that this is so and we must tackle the multiple sources of noxious air. And in my view, the bursting of firecrackers with dangerous substances should not be allowed on any occasion.

Celebrations are about spreading joy. How can we reduce the festival of lights to just one thing? Can Diwali be religious and secular at the same time, embracing the devout and the agnostic? I believe it can.

Celebrate Diwali. Make it a joyous and deeply personal experience with close friends and family members. Bring on the earthen lamps. Spread the light. Shedding the darkness also means shedding divisiveness.

Victory of good over evil cant be reduced to just bursting firecrackers.

On the eve of Diwali, I bought earthen diyas from a woman from Chittor, Rajasthan, who had set up a stall in my neighbourhood market. She comes every year to sell her wares and gets home just in time to celebrate Diwali with her family. What do the celebrations mean to her, I asked. Puja. Lighting these diyas. Being with my family. Maybe a few sparklers which have no dangerous chemicals, she said.

This is a celebration. Happy Diwali!
Taliban fighters stand guard near the Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan military hospital in Kabul on November 2, 2021, after at least 19 people were killed and 50 others wounded in an attack on a military hospital. (Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

Kabul: A Taliban military commander in Kabul was among the fighters killed when his men responded to an Islamic State attack on a hospital, officials said Wednesday.

Hamdullah Mokhlis, a member of the hardline Haqqani network and an officer in the Badri Corps special forces, is the most senior figure to have been killed since the Taliban seized the capital.

"When he got the information that Sardar Daud Khan Hospital was under attack, Maulvi Hamdullah (Mokhlis), the commander of the Kabul corps, immediately rushed to the scene," the Taliban media official said.

"We tried to stop him but he laughed. Later we found out that he was martyred in the face-to-face fight at the hospital," he added.

At least 19 people were killed on Tuesday in the attack claimed by the Taliban's hardline rivals, the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), on Kabul's main military hospital.

The attack began with a suicide bomber detonating his explosives near the facility's entrance before gunmen broke into the hospital grounds.

As part of the response, Kabul's new rulers deployed their special forces to the roof of the building in a helicopter captured from Afghanistan's former US-backed government.

Witnesses described to AFP a scene of terror, as patients and doctors tried to lock themselves in upper-storey rooms and gunfire erupted.

In a statement released on its Telegram channels, IS-K said that "five Islamic State group fighters carried out simultaneous coordinated attacks" on the site.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid played down the death toll, and said the attack was put down within 15 minutes thanks to the rapid intervention.
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Reports say that a new special forces unit will be drawn from all services like the SAS and SBS, with cyber warfare as its key capabilities. This unit will be geared for the future fight as technology will be integrated into the way it does its missions.

According to the army, this unit will be a force that will be better than the elite, with more lethality and flexibility than any branch.

It will feature new specialties are cyber, electronic counter warfare, and information functions, as hacking will need a countermeasure.

The future fight

Increasing use of information technology and cyber technology will be used more frequently in soldiering, and it will be the electronic vanguard of special forces tasked for such missions, reported the Sun UK.

To optimize the planned units, which will come from all units in the army. The draft states that a new branch of Army special ops is highly trained, with the skill set to deal with high-risk environments.

Such a unit will assist UK Special ops with technological expertise and special reconnaissance and human analysis. Called Brigade Combat Teams are smaller units that can fend for themselves in the field, with quick reaction to whatever arises. Next will be a focus on the development of urban warfare capabilities as well.

Army going green

The Army leadership plans to have cars that are not running on diesel or petrol, shift to novel technologies that will promote 10,000 new jobs by 2035.

New plans say that global threats like carbon emissions, poverty, also humanitarian crises with pandemics are considerations. The new special forces unit with cyber warfare will operate this way.

Read Also: Light Aircraft Carriers: Small but Powerful Substitutes for Large Aircraft Carriers

To allow more money to get the equipment, there will be a reduction of 10,000 troops, said the Ministry of Defense. Justifying the cut to get lasers and hypersonic missiles, noted the BBC.

Also, the armed forces are retiring 80 Challenger 2 tanks, 700 AFVs will be removed from service because they are easy pickings for UAV combat drones and missiles.

Armored troops and mechanized infantry units will control territory, while specialist air assault forces (SAS) will support long-range artillery, attack choppers, and drone resupply.

The Future Land Combat System remarks that large formations will be abandoned instead of small and mobile units will spread out. Use of masking signals for electronically fooling the enemy what the actual force is, cited the Asia Times.

Army units must have to go lower than the threshold of conflict in the future. Interpreted that it will be misinformation on the actual capabilities and strength on land and air.

What happens next?

Land Special Operations forces are a new approach to warfare that will combine actual presence with digital information to boost partners. Last is to check on bad states also terrible extremism.

Deployment abroad will belong as units will be on bases that are network or regional land hubs. Downing Street will be investing in keeping bases in Kenya and other places like Africa to Germany.

Also, the New Special Forces Unit with cyber warfare will be in the regional hubs worldwide to stay longer in these hotspots. A Global Response Force will support them.

This is a reaction to what is happening in the Indo-Pacific and Europe as China and Russian are getting stronger. Though going green and reducing troops might be the worst idea ever.

Related Article: Five Essential Weapons of War That a Marine Corps Need To Invade the North Korean Peninsula

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President Joe Biden revealed plans to cut methane emissions in the United States, showing an ambitious mix of new rules and voluntary programs.

The plan, which was announced Tuesday, focuses mainly on the oil and gas industry, which accounts for around 30% of all methane emissions in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to industry analysts, the proposal's impact on oil supply and pricing would be minor, and the petroleum sector has responded with cautious optimism, signaling that it is eager to cooperate with the government to finish the plan.

Biden's methane crackdown results in increasing energy rates

The idea relies on at least $16 billion authorized in the infrastructure package presently deadlocked in Congress to cap abandoned mines and oil wells, although it does not contain a topline cost for taxpayers.

According to Republicans and small oil and gas companies, Biden's proposal resulted in increasing energy rates, companies going out of business, and undue restrictions on the sectors.

They also feel that the limitations are "onerous," that they would harm ordinary Americans at a time when gas prices are at a seven-year high, and that they will benefit OPEC+ nations such as Russia, Venezuela, and Iran.

Methane, the simplest hydrocarbon, is a gas created in the transportation and production of coal, natural gas, and oil and contributes directly to global warming. Large volumes of the gas are also produced by livestock, landfills, and agricultural operations, as per Daily Mail.

The unveiling of plans for a $3 billion President's Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) to address climate awareness, financing, and adaptation efforts, which are part of Biden's broader climate financing package, follows Monday's announcements of new US climate commitments that build on previous global agreements.

Read Also: US Strengthens Ties with Taiwan Amid China Scare as Beijing Reiterates Firm Opposition to America's Military Contact

COP26 summit also talks about plans on forestry

However, it is unclear if the US president would be able to keep that pledge, which requires legislative approval. Biden also hailed a slew of domestic bills aimed at bolstering American infrastructure while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas pollution by more than one gigaton by 2030, as per Big News Network.

This law has governed the United States. Members of Congress fought hard for months but could not put the issue to a vote before Biden left for the summit last week.

Meanwhile, the forestry promise includes Brazil, Russia, China, and significant African countries like Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which collectively hold more than 80% of the world's forests.

On Tuesday, Biden did a victory lap, claiming that the methane vow included agreements from countries that account for "almost half of the global methane emissions and 70% of world GDP."

Boris Johnson praised the agreements to halt deforestation and reduce methane emissions, stating that battling climate change and safeguarding the environment are inextricably linked. The leaders attended a royal reception at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on Monday evening, the summit's opening day.

Queen Elizabeth II, who is 95 years old, could not attend the climate summit due to medical recommendations to rest, but she sent a video greeting to the attendees, urging them to "rise above the politics of the moment," the NY Post reported.

Related Article: Joe Biden Departs for Rome to Meet Pope as the Vatican Changes Live Broadcast Plan and Will Only Provide Edited Footage

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At the very start, the AUKUS pact was doomed, and the apology to France may not be enough, with information from White House documents pointing to Paris entirely in the dark about it.

Joe Biden beforehand could have canceled the $90bn submarine contract but allowed Australia to sign the deal.

The current rift between the participants of the tri-nation agreement might drag on if Macron decides to do so, despite US support for French endeavors. Biden, in effect, misled the French leader with the facts.

Australia informed France that they would cancel the submarine deal

According to the SCMP, a multi-page document is available that would expose the nuclear submarine deal, which angered Paris to pull out her ambassadors from the US. Following would a rift among allies due to an indelicate agreement.

Based on claims by source, the document was signed by advisers in the National Security Council (NSC), which said that Australia would drop the deal with France on September 16. The day AUKUS was announced, and dropped Paris like a hot potato.

Biden did not do anything to soften the shock on Paris, nor how President Macron went on a warpath against the deal members, reported the Daily Mail.

Suppose the White House advisers were aware of the document; they could have stalled or done something to avoid the anger of Paris or brief him on what to do. But, one question is does the president comprehends the consequences, like how Afghanistan went about.

Explained to Macron last Friday at the G20 summit in Rome that makes his apology to France moot, as the White House was aware of the facts that the AUKUS pact was doomed.

Read Also: Biden Attempts To Make Amends to French President Over the Ill-Advised AUKUS Deal that Ruined US, French Relations

An apology was given to the French leader for misunderstandings. Later the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was alleged to have lied before scrapping the deal.

Biden admitted how heavy-handed the deal was and said that he thought Macron was aware. Adding that he did not know that Paris was in the dark, noted ABC News.

After France pulled its ambassadors over the submarine deal that broke out, US officials were in consultation with the Morrison government on how to deal with the seething outrage of Paris.

France claims they were not informed regarding the deal

An unnamed government source said it was planned carefully, with everything all thought out and hit on different marks. Everyone knew what role they had and how to time it carefully.

During the G20 leader's Summit, Joe Biden chose to charm France, which was still mad over the ill-advised submarine deal.

Even the FLOTUS Jill Biden was in on it when she wined and dined French First Lady Brigitte Macron in a fancy Rome restaurant.

Everything was friendly with the French, but the Australian PM spat and called each other names. Several outlets say that Biden allegedly threw Morrison in front of the bus.

Canberra alleged that Macron was informed in June that the deal would not push through. That was done with text messages, not face to face. Macron asked for an answer to the submarine contract.

Point blank, the French leader was asked if his Australian counterpart had lied. He answered that he didn't think he knew.

Overall, the Biden administration caused it, and the AUKUS pact was doomed from the onset with an apology to France, unsure if it would keep.

Related Article: Britain Angered by Joe Biden's Attempt to Appease France Regarding the French, Brexit Fishing Row As Another Misstep in Foreign Policy

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In response to objections over the passage of two US warships through a body of water at the focus of tensions between the two countries, Russia has conducted a series of air defense and anti-ship military maneuvers in the Black Sea.

Crews working the Bal and Bastion coastal anti-ship systems performed simulated launches as part of "an exercise to destroy a fake enemy surface ship in the Black Sea," according to the Russian Armed Forces' Southern Military District.

The exercises were carried out from disguised locations in Crimea, a territory acquired by Russia following an internationally contested referendum held amid Ukraine's political crisis in 2014. The peninsula has long been home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet's headquarters, which staged a training exercise on Tuesday.

Russia's air defenses were on alert

Per Newsweek, to protect Russian warships from a "massive" missile assault and air raid by a simulated opponent, including imitation hostile drones, the fleet's air defenses were activated and "placed on alert."

The announcements came just a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the US military presence in the Black Sea at a meeting with defense sector executives.

The Russian leader warned of "major nations developing innovative strike weapons with advanced speed parameters," as well as "the increasing number of NATO flights close to Russia, and NATO ships with guided missiles appearing in the Baltic and Black Seas," while discussing the "need to further improve the aerospace defense."

On Saturday, the USS Porter, a guided-missile destroyer of the Arleigh Burke-class, sailed into the Black Sea on what the USS Porter described as a regular check.

According to the Navy's Sixth Fleet, the patrol was "normal." F-15E fighter jets from the United States Air Force and other aircraft from the United States Air Force are on display. Anti-submarine surveillance planes P-8A of the United States Navy.

A US media report concerning a Russian military buildup near Ukraine was dismissed by the Kremlin on Tuesday as a "low-quality fake," albeit it acknowledged it was open to Moscow to deploy soldiers around on its territory, VOA News reported.

Read Also: Kim Jong Un Starves Citizens as North Korea's Leader Order To Lessen the Food They Eat Until 2025

US-Russia tensions may be more dangerous than the Cold War

After a massive buildup this spring, commercial satellite photographs released on Monday corroborated recent claims that Russia is once again massing troops and military equipment near the Ukrainian border. On Monday, Ukraine reported it had seen no uptick of Russian troops or equipment near the border.

Russia has accused NATO of carrying out provocative exercises near its borders on several occasions. Following Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, the alliance says it is resolved to strengthen member nations' security near Russia.

According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, addressing online at the Fort Ross Dialogue conference, the present crisis in ties between Russia and the United States maybe even more hazardous than the two nations' position during the Cold War.

Per TASS, the Russian-US strategic stability discussion will resume within weeks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday at the Fort Ross Dialogue Forum.

The Russian and US presidents, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, agreed to begin strategic stability conversations during their June summit meeting in Geneva. Since then, two rounds have been held, on July 28 and September 30.

Related Article: Russia Blocks Investigative Website That Exposes Vladimir Putin's Cleaner-Turned-Millionaire Mistress with $100 Million Fortune

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United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that there was no need to be concerned about a potential armed conflict with China amid rising tensions with President Xi Jinping over what he considered was more of a "competition."

During Biden's closing press conference at the COP26 international summit, he said he was not worried about going up against Beijing. The Democratic leader said that his upcoming virtual summit with the Chinese president would make his statements clear.

Armed Conflict With China

The U.S. president said there was no need to have a conflict between the United States and China, but he said that he had warned Xi to play by the road rules. Biden added that the American government would not change its stance on several key issues, including China's aggressive claims on international sea lands.

During his speech, Biden said that he was not looking to have a conflict with China but quoted his father, who said, "The only conflict worse than one that's intended, is one that's unintended," CNN reported.

The situation comes after U.S. President Biden criticized President Xi after the Chinese leader failed to attend the international COP26 summit physically. The Democrat considered his Asian counterpart's actions as a "big mistake."

Read Also: Former Republican National Committee Spokesperson Tim Miller Urges Republicans To Stand Up Against Donald Trump

Biden's statement came after a reporter asked him during a press conference in Glasgow. The Democratic leader claimed that the conference's momentum has been lagging due to the fact that several international leaders of some of the world's largest nations were absent.

In his answer, Biden also called out Russia and Saudi Arabia for not showing up to the COP26 summit, saying it was a "problem." "We showed up. We showed up. And by showing up we've had a profound effect on the way I think the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership role," said the U.S. president, Yahoo News reported.

Rising International Tensions

China is known to be the largest emitter of carbon dioxide globally, the second being the United States, and Russia comes in at fifth. The COP26 that was held in Scotland's largest city was attended by more than 120 leaders worldwide.

Many countries have struck major deals during the event, including a global pledge to reduce methane levels and end deforestation by 2030. In a press release, the Kremlin said that Russia took the "strongest and most vigorous measures to conserve" woodlands, as both China and Russia were signatories of the pledge to end deforestation.

When asked about the roles of other countries, including China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, regarding the talks, Biden said that Beijing was trying to assert itself as a world leader but failed to show up to the event. He also said similar statements about Russia, saying President Vladimir Putin was staying quiet about the issue despite the burning of his country's wilderness.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, did not give any reason as to why the Russian leader did not attend the summit when the decision was announced in October. However, he noted that climate change was an important part of Russia's priorities, BBC reported.

Related Article: Joe Manchin Wants The Congressional Budget Office To Evaluate The Build Back Better Act, Says $1.75 Trillion Bill Has Budget Gimmicks

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This month, the fourth round of stimulus checks will be distributed across the United States. You could be eligible for the next payment if you live in California or Connecticut.

States are sending out money, unemployment benefits, and tax credit breaks to citizens around the country in order to aid their communities. Each state now has its own program to help residents, with local governments selecting who is eligible for a fourth stimulus check and how much they would get.

Residents in California who were obliged to file their 2020 tax return by October 15 received the Golden State Stimulus. As of October 31, almost half of the nine million people have received their payments, with the remaining stimulus checks being mailed. California citizens earning $30,000 to $75,000 per year were eligible for $600 while those with children under the age of 18 were eligible for $1,100.

States continue distributing stimulus checks

Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut launched the Back to Work program, which would provide $1,000 in stimulus checks beginning May 30, 2021, and running until December 31, 2021. Other states have more stringent criteria, including information on when citizens filed for unemployment and how long they were unemployed.

Teachers and principals in Florida will get $1,100 in stimulus money for their dedication to education throughout the pandemic. Only residents in Maryland who submitted their earned income tax credit got their state-wide stimulus check in August. Individuals were awarded $300, while families with children were awarded $500, as per The Sun.

Those who were not qualified for New Mexico relief funds in August were able to apply on October 12 for the second round of assistance. The previous payment to low-income households was $750 in August.

In the meantime, while Vermont is not providing a direct payment, it is willing to cover up to $7,500 in moving fees for those transferring to the state. The only condition is that the person must be migrating due to job loss in the hospitality or construction industries.

Georgia officials, on the other hand, handed out relief to teachers and other educational workers in March 2021. Tennessee lawmakers enacted legislation in 2021 to provide full-time public school employees a $1,000 bonus and part-time public school employees a $500 bonus.

While only approximately ten states are now providing stimulus payments to people, several more are debating whether or not to do so in the future. The money will go to people who were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and will assist them in getting back on their feet.

Read Also: Child Tax Credit 2022: How To Get $7,200 Next Year as Lawmakers Extend the Stimulus Payments

Will there be stimulus checks in November?

Several states have already begun paying out stimulus payments to alleviate some of the financial hardship caused by COVID-19 and the ensuing long-term measures. Furthermore, because each new month might bring new information, here is a look at the stimulus check scenario in each state for November 2021.

Due to the economic turbulence caused by COVID-19, low- and middle-income households across the United States have been granted financial assistance in the form of stimulus payments. Per MARCA, the federal government no longer distributes stimulus checks; but states are already implementing a variety of programs to assist their populations, ranging from stimulus checks to unemployment benefits to tax credit breaks.

There may be 2 more stimulus checks!

Although parents have always been eligible for a Child Tax Credit, it was formerly limited to $2,000 per child, with just $1,400 refundable. Because the tax credit could not lower your tax amount to zero, only individuals with a tax liability of at least $2,000 received the entire benefit.

Because you claimed the credit when you filed your taxes, it didn't aid you much during the year. The increased Child Tax Credit is now distributed on a monthly basis. It's also a lot more money: up to $3,600 per child under the age of six and $3,000 for children aged six to seventeen.

Even parents with low tax loads can collect the money because the entire amount is refundable. On July 15, payments for the enlarged credit began to be transferred into people's bank accounts; and eligible families have already received money for the months of July, August, September, and October.

Payments of the enhanced Child Tax Credit will be made until the end of 2021. When all of these monthly payments are added up, you'll get half of the credit this year, with the balance due in 2022 when you submit your 2021 tax return.

The enhanced Child Tax Credit is only supposed to last this year, but politicians are attempting to extend it so there's a potential that monthly payments will continue next year if this occurs, as per The Motley Fool.

Related Article: More Than 1 Million Stimulus Checks Worth $875 Will Be Distributed Today; Will You Get One?

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The movement of Russian armor and troops along the North Ukraine border has caused fears that war is not far behind. As President Vladimir Putin has said, all the units present at the border respond to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its related activity.

A situation exists wherein Ukraine is getting support from US and NATO, which the Kremlin sees as dangerous, leading it to protect its borders.

The tension caused by the annexation of Crimea, and now the EU is blaming a weaponized energy crisis, has not helped in strains.

Putin getting tired of US, NATO mischief

Massed war machinery deployed by the Kremlin to the border shared with Ukraine, with satellite images of these units has placed the EU on edge, reported the Express UK.

Last Monday, a set of photos taken indicates that the Russian Federation is building up its military forces on the said border in mass deployment of military assets this spring.

Via the use of Maxar Technologies, which shows the number of armored units and artillery equipment, and ground troops close to Yelnya. It is a Russian town just near the Belarus border, cited the Daily Mail.

In late September, the units were ordered to deploy to locations in Russia from their bases that included the elite 1st Guards Tank Army.

According to an analysis by a source, the 4th Tank Division units have been sent to the Bryansk and Kursk regions, which are located near the northern border with Ukraine, noted the Politico.

This division has the T-80U main battle tanks, with self-propelled artillery deployed as well, movement of Russian armor and troops near the North Ukraine border signals NATO to watch it.

Read Also: Russia Fires at Practice Targets in Crimean Waters To Warn Off US and UK From Further Territorial Violations

Ukraine's intent to joint NATO

Moscow is not keen on Ukraine becoming a member of NATO and has made it clear to NATO its objects. The Kremlin leader made it clear that NATO would dare expand its armies and make the country a member. It would be a dare to him not to cross red lines, and the Russian leader is known for his decisiveness.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the red lines of the Kremlin are not acknowledged as it's not on its border. He stressed that it is Ukraine's business, not Russia's, and what is best for Europe's security.

But the Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrei Rudenko, called making Kyiv a member is dangerous. Think about it and the consequences that follow. The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is keen on joining NATO.

A recent visit by Lloyd Austin, US Defense Secretary, went to Kiev and asked the Ukraine government about joining the group.

Nothing was said of membership confirmation, but he stressed that the country should decide its future foreign policy. He added the US would bolster its ability to defend itself.

The Pentagon was weighing in on the movement of Russian armor and troops and stated that activity on the North Ukraine border is not the usual, according to Lt. Col. Anton Semelroth, a Pentagon spokesperson.

There is an indication the Biden administration is moving allies and would-be partners to counter Russia and even China. Moscow is not a pushover, so that Washington would use countries like Ukraine to the front in such tense border situations.

Related Article: Ukraine Fears Russian Reprisal After Drone Attack; Putin Deploys Armored Units To Protect Cities Close to Shared Border.

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted many city union leaders who were opposing the region's vaccine mandate that was implemented with the goal of curbing the spread of the coronavirus infection.

The mayor's statements called union leaders "downright unpatriotic" and threatened New York City Fire Department firefighters of broader "consequences" for their involvement in a fake sickout to avoid the mandate. In an interview, de Blasio said that union leaders were "doing exactly the wrong thing."

New York's Vaccine Mandate

The New York City mayor said that in recent days, some union leaders have stepped up and have embraced the mandate, having workers get vaccinated in compliance with the law. However, de Blasio also noted that there have been many who have completely opposed the requirement, arguing they were putting their own internal politics ahead of the safety of the people.

The fake sickout involved roughly 2,300 firefighters from the FDNY, a number which represents more than double the usual 1,000. The incident left 18 fire and ladder companies temporarily out of service and several others unmanned, the New York Post reported.

De Blasio's threats against the firefighters who were involved in the alleged sickout come as he recently revealed that roughly 9,000 city workers were placed on unpaid leave for failure to comply with the vaccine mandate. The number represented about 6% of the city's entire workforce that totaled about 378,000 employees.

Read Also: Former Republican National Committee Spokesperson Tim Miller Urges Republicans To Stand Up Against Donald Trump

But the New York City mayor specifically addressed the issue with the firefighters on Monday, saying it was unacceptable. De Blasio said that the right thing to do was to come to work and protect the people of the city, as they swore to during their oath.

The mayor said that the city was looking into possible violations of the Taylor Law, which prohibits public workers from striking under certain circumstances. "Whether these union leaders have now crossed a line, we are watching every single thing they say and do - every email, every tweet - we are watching everything. If we see a violation of the Taylor Law, we will be in court immediately," said de Blasio, the New York Daily News reported.

Opposition to the Requirement

There were still roughly 12,000 city workers who had yet to get their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine but had applied for a religious or medical exemption. The city has allowed these individuals to continue working while their requests are being evaluated.

In less than two weeks after the vaccine mandate was first announced with the Monday deadline, many city agencies observed a surge of vaccinations. The Emergency Medical Service experienced a jump from 61% to 87% in its vaccination rate. On the other hand, the Sanitation Department's numbers jumped 20%, from 62% to 82%.

Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said that over the weekend and into Monday, the effects of the vaccine mandate on the labor shortage were evident in the firefighting industry within the city. The firefighters' union said that workers at a firehouse in the Bath Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn came to work despite being unvaccinated but were sent home due to the mandate, the New York Times reported.



Related Article: Joe Manchin Wants The Congressional Budget Office To Evaluate The Build Back Better Act, Says $1.75 Trillion Bill Has Budget Gimmicks

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Ronald Greene's death in 2019 was not caused by injuries sustained in a vehicle accident, according to a second autopsy.

The Louisiana State Police withheld vital information from the coroner, according to a new forensic assessment of the case requested by the FBI. Greene's death has since been connected to a number of factors, none of which are related to the police's initial explanation of a vehicle accident.

Greene's shattered breastbone and burst aorta were not caused by faulty airbag deployment, according to the assessment. Instead, an unnamed source involved with the investigation said that CPR attempts were most likely to blame for the injuries.

New autopsy rejects crash theory from Louisiana police

Greene's mother, Mona Hardin said that she hopes the new report sheds fresh light on the case. According to federal prosecutors, a civil rights investigation into the beatings of other Black motorists is approaching conclusion. The additional information may increase the likelihood of charges being filed against the cops involved, Newsweek reported.

The rare second look at what killed Greene verified what his family believed the instant they saw his bruised and beaten body and his car, which had only little damage: his death was not caused by a small collision at the conclusion of a high-speed chase.

The FBI received a new forensic examination this week in light of the long-buried body camera footage, vehicle black box data, and other items the state police concealed from Greene's initial autopsy.

It was unclear if the fresh autopsy would compel the Union Parish coroner to alter Greene's death from accidental to homicide, affecting the charges that state and federal prosecutors may pursue.

According to Rafael Goyeneche, a former prosecutor who now leads the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a New Orleans-based monitoring group, the new cause of death makes it much more likely that prosecutors will pursue substantial charges.

Read Also: Brian Laundrie Likely Dead Two Days After Gabby Petito Was Reported Missing; Authorities Admit to Costly Mistake the Investigation

The family hopes the case will have a fresh investigation

A request for comment from the Louisiana State Police was not immediately returned. A representative for the US Justice Agency declined to comment on the probe, but said that if the evidence exposes legal infractions, the department will "take all appropriate action."

Green was killed on May 10, 2019, after he refused to stop for a traffic violation and led troopers on a nighttime pursuit through northern Louisiana, reaching speeds of 115 mph (185 km/h), before collapsing on a desolate roadside near Monroe. Greene's family was told by state police that he died after crashing with a tree, which the Union Parish coroner agreed to put in an official report, which characterizes Greene's death as a motor vehicle accident with no mention of a conflict with troopers.

A news outlet obtained and published the troopers' body camera video this spring after officials refused to release it for more than two years. Per NBC News, the video shows white troopers approaching Greene before he can even get out of his car, repeatedly stunning and punching him as he appears to surrender and wails, "I'm your brother!" I'm scared! I'm scared! "

Later, a soldier can be seen pulling the heavyset Greene by his ankle shackles and leaving him prone and face down in the soil for more than nine minutes before becoming limp.

The new autopsy report comes as federal prosecutors near the end of a two-year civil rights investigation into Greene's death, which has subsequently expanded to include the beatings of numerous other Black motorists, as well as whether top troopers obstructed justice to protect troopers from prosecution.

Per USA Today, it was unclear if the fresh autopsy would compel the Union Parish coroner to alter Greene's death from accidental to homicide, affecting the charges that state and federal prosecutors may pursue.

Related Article: New York Trooper Charged After 11-Year-Old Girl Died When He Intentionally Rammed His Cruiser into Her Dad's Car

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The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, announced on Tuesday that the agency has authorized Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine to be used on children aged five to 11 years old and will begin rollout immediately.

In a statement, Walensky said that science was leading the fight against the coronavirus infection and that the agency was able to take another major step in bolstering defenses against the virus. She said that the news will come as welcome news to parents who are eager to vaccinate their children against the deadly disease.

Pfizer Vaccine for Children

Walensky said that as a mother herself, she was encouraging parents to talk about their circumstances with their pediatricians, school nurses, or local pharmacists. She said that they should ask questions to learn more about the vaccine and why it was important to have their kids protected against the virus.

Prior to the authorization of the Pfizer vaccine to young children, a special federal advisory committee met to discuss the issue. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week authorized emergency use of the vaccine doses for kids, which would be given as kid doses, or one-third of the original dose given to adolescents and adults, Fox News reported.

Read Also: 33,000 People Trapped After Shanghai Disneyland Finds 1 Coronavirus-Infected Guest, Forcing 100,000 Visitors To Get Tested

Before voting in support of the authorization of Pfizer's vaccine for children aged five to 11 years, members of CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices debated for a long time. A professor of pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Dr. Sarah Long, said that the approval of the vaccine was another way to protect young kids from the virus.

After the vote, Dr. Beth Bell, a clinical professor of global health at the University of Washington, said that there has been a lot of enthusiasm for the Pfizer vaccine to be used on a specific age group. However, the medical professional acknowledged that parents had legitimate concerns about the effects of the treatment on young kids.

Protection From the Virus

"We were all talking about how we're getting our kids and our grandkids vaccinated. But I think another point that we made to the American public is that we do understand that people have legitimate concerns and that they have lots of questions. We really encourage people to ask their providers, to visit the CDC website, to talk to their friends, their parents, and do what they need to do to feel comfortable with their decision," said Bell, CNN reported.

In response to the announcement, United States President Joe Biden has called the agency's decision a "turning point." The Democrat said in a statement that the authorization will allow parents to finally put an end to months of anxiously worrying about their children being victims of the coronavirus. Biden added the use of the vaccines on young kids will help prevent the spread of the infection.

The American Academy of Pediatrics welcomed the CDC's decision as its members are already starting to administer the vaccines to children within the age group. Authorities said that five to 11-year-old kids will receive two low doses that are administered three weeks apart, the Associated Press reported.



Related Article: Pennsylvania Offers More Than 70,000 Workers 5 Paid Days Off To Get Inoculated Amid Surge of COVID-19

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In the wake of widespread concern about Chinese President Xi Jinping's absence at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, China said on Tuesday that the conference organizers failed to provide him with a video link, forcing him to issue a written statement instead.

Xi, who did not attend the World Leaders Summit at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC) 26th session in Glasgow, made a written statement outlining China's position on climate-related problems.

Xi Jinping's absence in COP26 Climat Summit sparks suspicion

He called on all nations to adopt "stronger actions" to collectively address the climate crisis in his written message to the COP26, and presented a three-pronged approach for attaining global consensus, focusing on tangible actions and speeding up the green transition to cut carbon emissions.

Xi's absence has also fuelled suspicion that he wants to avoid any closed-door discussions over China's carbon reduction targets, as per Republic World.

The absence of China's top leader, which is the world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the United States, has sparked questions about Beijing's climate commitment, despite official media reports that Beijing is attempting to link climate cooperation to improved ties with the United States.

China submitted its revised emissions reduction promise, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to the United Nations on Thursday, ahead of the COP26 summit, which climate campaigners described as weak and said failed to boost China's ambition by much.

The statement has been amended to incorporate Xi Jinping's vow from September that China will attain peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Defends Joe Biden's Decision To Withdraw US Troops From Afghanistan as Russia Ponders on Removing Taliban From Terrorist List

Joe Biden chastises Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin's absence in the event

"As far as I understand it, the conference organizers did not give the video link method," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said when asked why China's President preferred to deliver a written message, NDTV reported.

Since returning from an official visit to Myanmar in the middle of January 2020, Xi Jinping, 68, has not left China. Instead, he has been using video links to address world issues.

In addition to Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin opted out of the crucial global climate summit, emphasizing the burgeoning China-Russia strategic partnership in contrast to the Biden-led US-EU coalition.

Per Sky News, President Joe Biden has slammed his Chinese and Russian colleagues, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, for failing to attend the COP26 climate conference.

President Biden told reporters at the end of the second day of the climate summit in Glasgow that China had "walked away" on the most important subject of our time, and that President Xi's absence was a "big mistake."

The US president went on to criticize Russia for failing to adhere to aggressive climate targets. President Biden also said that by declining the invitation to the event, China had "lost influence."

Related Article: Joe Biden Unveils Crackdown on Methane Leaks Targeting Oil and Gas Industry in COP26 Climate Summit

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Legal papers suggest that Prince Andrew's legal team has attacked his accuser's accusations of abuse by exposing her "sex kitten" history and accused her of procuring "slutty females" for Jeffrey Epstein.

Virginia Giuffre accuses the Duke of York of rape in a 36-page request filed by the Duke of York's attorneys to dismiss the US civil action.

The 38-year-old, whose maiden name was Roberts, alleges convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficked her to Prince Andrew three times, the first time when she was 17 years old.

Prince Andrew's lawyers accuse Giuffre of profiting at Duke's expense

The Duke, 61, has publicly and passionately disputed her allegations. Prince A ndrew's US legal team labeled Giuffre's case"'frivolous" in court filings filed on Friday night, saying: "She has brought this baseless litigation against Prince Andrew to get another payment at his cost," Daily Mail reported.

They said she had benefited for years from her relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and that she was eager to "milk the limelight" for all she was worth, but that she had not kept her claims straight.

Lawyers also noted a 2015 piece in the New York Daily News in which Giuffre was accused of recruiting young women into Epstein's sex trafficking network, as well as former acquaintances who characterized her as a "money-hungry sex kitten" who lived a luxurious lifestyle.

Lawyers mention Crystal Figueroa, the sister of one of Giuffre's ex-boyfriends, who alleges she was requested by Giuffre for aid in recruiting young females, in a portion of the legal papers titled "Giuffre's participation in Epstein's illegal organization."

Read Also: Prince Charles Taking Over Queen Elizabeth's Duties After Health Scare as Royal Family Dismantle Claims of Internal Feuds

Duke of York seeks dismissal of "baseless" civil lawsuit

Former acquaintances said Giuffre was more of a "money-hungry sex kitten" who liked the rich lifestyle than someone who was enslaved by the convicted pedophile while she was in the process of resolving a lawsuit with Epstein in March 2015.

"For over a decade, Giuffre has profited from her allegations against Epstein and others, including Epstein and his ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, by selling stories and photographs to the press and entering into secret agreements to resolve her claims against her alleged abusers, including Epstein and his ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell," the court documents continued.

Her "habit of initiating a series of lawsuits against a number of high-profile persons should no longer be accepted, as it continues to injure many innocent people," according to the filing.

The court records revealed Giuffre sparked a "media frenzy" in the press, causing "sensationalism and innuendo to dominate over fact." Giuffre has been one of Epstein's most vocal critics, saying that she was a victim of his sex trafficking operation as a teenager in the early 2000s.

Prince Andrew's attacks on Virginia Giuffre's character in an attempt to have her sexual abuse lawsuit against him thrown away may fail to risk additional harm to his image, British lawyers warned.

The difficulty today, according to the British lawyer, is that the only option for Prince Andrew to convey his side is to attend court sessions. Mark Stephens, a partner at Howard Kennedy and UK media law expert, stated that if the UK Prince gets involved, he will be forced to explain what transpired. Although Prince Andrew claims to have "no recall" of meeting Giuffre, she will likely provide explicit and comprehensive testimony regarding their liaisons, as per Republic World.

Related Article: Judge Sets Deadline For Prince Andrew To Answer Questions in Sexual Abuse Civil Case; Why Lawyer Wants to Keep 2009 Legal Deal Sealed?

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Voting machine warehouse supervisor James Savage recently filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and some of the ex-POTUS's political advisers.

According to reports, Savage believes that Trump slandered him during a months-long effort to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

Savage's attorney, J. Connor Corcoran, filed the 60-page lawsuit that detailed the complainant's fate after working as a voting machine warehouse custodian in Delaware.

Corcoran said that his client suffered two heart attacks, and Savage also received threats if he wouldn't overturn the result of the election in Pennsylvania.

The custodian is also suing some of Trump's key advisers and his former campaign attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis.

"Simply put, Mr. Savage's physical safety, and his reputation, were acceptable collateral damage for the wicked intentions of the Defendants herein executed during their lubricious attempt to question the legitimacy of President Joseph Biden's win in Pennsylvania," the lawsuit states via Politico.

The lawsuit also stressed that even though Trump and his allies never mentioned Savage's name, they still referred to the voting machine warehouse supervisor, who is none other than Savage.

James Savage accused of illegally uploading votes

According to Corcoran, Savage didn't have the ability to conduct vote tabulation. But two GOP poll watchers believe that he tampered with machines by illegally uploading votes, according to Raw Story.

Savage is reportedly seeking monetary damages, and he also wants a jury trial on charges of defamation and civil conspiracy.

Read Also: Donald Trump's Ally John Eastman Reveals He Was Counting on Former VP Mike Pence To Toss Results of 2020 Election

Donald Trump faces lawsuits relating to election fraud claims

Trump has faced multiple lawsuits after he pushed claims that there was election fraud among the different states where he was expected to win.

Employees of Dominion Voting Systems, Capitol Police officers, and members of the Congress who fled the pro-Trump mob all filed a lawsuit against Trump.

Last month, Trump's allies admitted that they did little to check some of the former president's uncorroborated claims about the alleged 2020 election fraud, according to CNN.

As of press writing, Trump continues to spread lies about the 2020 election. He and his Republican supporters are convinced that he should've won over Joe Biden.

Republicans for Voting Rights' billboards slam Trump

But even Trump's former supporters are sick and tired of the lies that he continues to spread. As such, Republicans for Voting Rights recently put up billboards in Texas, Florida, and seven other states declaring that the ex-POTUS lost.

"Trump Lost. No More Audits," the billboards read, and they contain a photo of Trump looking downward.

In Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin, the billboards were also put up.

According to Newsweek, the Republicans for Voting Rights shelled as much as $250,000 for the billboards because they wanted to stop Trump from spreading lies about last year's election.

In a statement, the group said they reject the false choice between voting access and election integrity. They also believe that Republicans in federal, state, and local governments should protect the election systems and the Americans' right to vote.

Related Article: Former Republican National Committee Spokesperson Tim Miller Urges Republicans To Stand Up Against Donald Trump

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The body of a missing North Carolina woman has just been found. According to reports, Shameka Johnston was reported missing on Oct. 13, and her body was found 15 days later, about 20 yards off Horne Road in Troy.

One of the men that she was last seen with was the one that led police officers to her body. Eric Buie was taken into custody last week. Days later, he was charged with murder after revealing to the police to find Johnston's remains.

As of late, Johnston's cause of death is still unknown. And an autopsy is still being conducted. It's also unclear her relationship with Buie, but her family said that the late woman was four months pregnant.

"It's tragic. Tragic for her family and this community. It's a small community and probably about half knew her or her family. It's just heartbreaking for everyone," Troy Police Chief James Atkins said via NBC News.

According to ABC 13 News, Johnston was last seen getting into a truck with two men that she knew. Her mom, Sandra Ray, said that that was the last time she heard from her daughter.

More information about Shameka Johnston's murder

Ray added that her daughter always wanted to have a baby. And she finally became pregnant at 28, but she ended up dying together with her unborn child.

Johnston's mom is also heartbroken over the fact that she laid out on the side of the road for over two weeks before police officers were directed to her body.

Read Also: Missing New Hampshire Boy Found Dead; Mom, Boyfriend Charged With Witness Tampering, Child Endangerment

Her sister, Sondra, wants Johnston's killer to tell her straight why he did what he did. Sondra also wants to know what Johnston did to Buie that triggered the latter to kill her.

As of late, there's no information regarding the other man that Johnston hung out with before she passed away. And it's also unclear if he had something to do with her murder.

A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help Johnston's family with their funeral expenses. And a memorial service for the 28-year-old will be held on Nov. 6.

Woman's body found in Asheville building

Johnston isn't the only woman from North Carolina that was murdered in recent months. Last month, a woman's body was found in a vacant Asheville building while officers from the local police department were completing their inspection of a vacant business on Patton Avenue.

The woman was later identified as Kimberly Michelle Randall, 49. And the foul play was involved in her death. Randall's murder marks the 10th homicide that the Asheville Police Department investigated this year alone, according to CBS 17.

North Carolina woman charged with murder

A North Carolina woman was also arrested and charged with murder following the death of Jenay Crawley in June. Tiffany Reid, 25, was booked into the Franklin County jail.

Reid was previously indicted on charges of aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence, and the abuse of a corpse, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Related Article: Officials Find Bodies of Arkansas Woman, Her Daughter in a Car That's Been Missing Since 1998

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Authorities reported at least 20 dead and 30 injured after powerful blasts at the largest military hospital in Afghanistan on Tuesday, followed by gunfire at Kabul's Daoud Khan Military hospital entrance.

The facility was considered the biggest in the region, housing 400 beds, and is located near the capital's former diplomatic quarter. In a statement, Taliban officials later revealed that special forces arrived at the scene after the explosions.

ISIS Attack on Taliban

At a nearby Wazir Akbar Khan civilian hospital, a doctor who was treating incoming patients said at least 15 injured people were admitted into the facility's emergency ward. Many of the victims were in critical condition. Additionally, the Italian humanitarian NGO "Emergency" posted on Twitter that nine people were injured and quickly brought to its hospital in Kabul.

Video footage obtained by CNN and posted on Facebook showed three armed men inside the hospital compound near the building entrance after two blasts were felt in the area. The recording was filmed from inside the hospital by a man who said on the social media platform that he became "trapped" inside a room and was hiding from the assailants. A fourth man appeared to be laying on the floor later on in the video, CNN reported.

The attack is believed to have been conducted by the Islamic State and included at least one suicide bomber. A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the attack involved several members of ISIS and had a car full of explosives that were found outside the hospital and exploded, wounding dozens of civilians. It was also reported that several Taliban fighters died in the clash while others were injured in the ensuing gun battle.

Read Also: Japanese Joker Impersonator Went on a Train Rampage Stabbing 10; Passengers Mistook it as Halloween Stunt

Hours after the attack, the Islamic State Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, which is an affiliate of ISIS, took responsibility for the incident. A senior commander responsible for the Taliban's Kabul corps and one of the first members of the insurrection group to enter the presidential palace of Afghanistan, identified as Mawlawi Hamdullah Rahmani, was among the fatalities.

One doctor at the hospital who wished to remain anonymous for his safety revealed that the gunmen had entered a ward that was treating wounded Taliban fighters and shot them dead in their beds. Another medical professional said he could still hear gunfire within the building early Tuesday afternoon, the New York Times reported.

Brutal Wedding Shootout

The incident comes after three armed men, who claimed to be members of the Taliban, shot three people dead at a wedding in the region. The insurrection group members said the attack was made because the music was being played at the reception.

A spokesman for the Taliban's government said that two of the three gunmen were arrested after the Friday attack. However, they denied that the men were acting on behalf of the Islamist movement.

"Last night, at the wedding of Haji Malang Jan in Shamspur Mar Ghundi village of Nangarhar, three people who introduced themselves as Taliban entered the proceedings and [asked] that the music stop playing," Mujahid said on Saturday, the New York Post reported.

Related Article: 9-Year-Old Afghan Girl Sold to 55-Year-Old Man So Her Family Can Eat; Families Residing in Afghan Displacement Camps Struggling After Taliban Took Power

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Ethiopia could lose access to lucrative US trad programs due to human rights violations unless they address the ongoing conflict and alleviate the crisis by January 2022.

According to reports, US President Joe Biden found that Ethiopia doesn't comply with the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). As such, he's urging the Ethiopian government to take urgent action to remain in the program.

AGOA grants eligible sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the US market for their wide range of products.

This week's announcement came in the heels of the executive order Biden signed last month, which authorizes sanctions against those that perpetuate the ongoing conflicts in Ethiopia.

Throughout the past year, millions of Ethiopians have been at risk of starvation. After all, the ongoing conflict in the northern part of the country has not eased down.

Joe Biden's administration pleads for peace

Biden and his administration, as well as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, have been urging the Eritrean forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to end hostilities, but to no avail.

"We are urging the government of Ethiopia to take urgent steps by insuring an end to all gross human rights violations, granting unhindered access to international human rights monitors, removing barriers to humanitarian operations. We are urging all parties to halt military operations that are causing widespread loss of life and threats to civilians and to come to the negotiating table without preconditions," a spokesperson said via CNN.

Read Also: Ethiopia Massacre: New Video Shows How Soldiers Documented the Execution of 36 People, 37 Others Still Missing

The suspension of duty-free access to the thousands of products from the United States will gravely affect Ethiopia's economy. The country is already struggling due to the ongoing conflicts, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the United States has no other choice but to cut ties with the country if they do not immediately resolve their conflict.

Ethiopian PM releases statement

Ethiopia's Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration released a statement on Tuesday saying that they are extremely disappointed by the threat of the AGOA withdrawal. But they also said that the action would reverse if they comply with what Biden asks them to do.

The ministry also said that they will continue to try to correct any unintended and perceived wrongs to reverse the decision by Jan. 1, 2022.

US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman said that the United States could not continue its business relations with Ethiopia as its war approaches its first anniversary.

The UN, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission investigates

According to Al Jazeera, the United Nations and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission will release a report on Wednesday after looking into the alleged violations of human rights, humanitarian, and refugee law in the Tigray conflict.

According to VOA News, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concerns over the increasing number of forces from the Tigray region advancing into Dessie and Kombolcha.

The United States is alarmed by reports of the TPLF takeover of Dessie and Kombolcha. Continued fighting prolongs the dire humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia. All parties must stop military operations and begin ceasefire negotiations without preconditions.  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 1, 2021

On his Twitter account, he urged all parties to stop military operations and begin ceasefire negotiations.

Related Article: Ethiopia's Military Airstrike Hits Tigray Marketplace; 64 Killed Including Children

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Barack Obama's former economic adviser, Jason Furman, recently criticized the Democrats' plan to repeal a cap on state and local taxes (SALT) deductions. On his Twitter account, Furman called the proposal obscene and said that the repeal of SALT deductions would primarily benefit the rich.

When Donald Trump was president, he launched the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that capped SALT deductions at $10,000. But during Joe Biden's administration, Democrats were pushing to get rid of the cap throughout the next five years.

"My guess is the majority of Americans who have a net worth of $50 to $300 million would get a tax cut under the Build Back Better plan with a full repeal of SALT. The bill would do more for the super-rich than it does for climate change, childcare or preschool. That's obscene," Furman said via Yahoo! News.

Furman added that billionaires would get a net tax cut from Build Back Better and SALT repeal. He's also estimating that those who have a $200 million wealth likely have an income below $10 million.

CRFB's analysis reveals wealthy Americans will benefit

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) also analyzed what the Democrats are trying to do. They said that those in the top five percent after the SALT cap repeal takes into effect would get a $30 billion net direct tax cut.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey was first to say that the tax cut provision has been added into the Senate Democrats' Build Back Better plan. He's also confident that the repeal in the cap will take into effect after the Build Back Better bill is signed.

Read Also: Senator Joe Manchin Encourages Democrats To Reconsider Child Tax Credit Bill Because It's Too Generous; Wants Wealthier Households To Be Excluded

Repeal tax cap supported by 32 legislators

According to Business Insider, the repeal currently has the support of 32 legislators from both sides. It also has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who supports the repeal of the cap, said that this is their way of punishing blue state voters.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey also slammed those saying that the tax would benefit the rich. He said that some people living in low-income neighborhoods are paying over $10,000 in taxes. Booker stressed that the repeal of the cap would benefit middle-class households, as well as lower-income families.

Sen. Bernie Sanders doesn't support the tax cuts

However, not all Democrats are on board with the tax cut. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is convinced that the repeal of the cap will benefit the wealthiest people in America. But Sanders also said that he's open to a compromise together with those that support the plan.

Last month, Bloomberg claimed that Biden might find it challenging to roll back Trump's unpopular tax cuts in 2017 because of unyielding resistance among even some in his party to raise taxes.

The publication also said that Biden could follow in Obama's footsteps by keeping the vast majority of their predecessors' tax reductions in Congress.

Biden is still negotiating with some Democrats over his proposed $1.75 trillion budget for the Build Back Better bill as of press writing.

Related Article: Joe Biden Ends Bid for Free Community College, Says His Plans for Paid Leave Is Shrinking Due to Lack of Support From 50 Democratic Senators

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Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the government's proposal to declare a week-long holiday in the country in response to the growing number of COVID-19 cases.

Ahead of Putin's announcement, Moscow's mayor also ordered all unvaccinated seniors to stay at home for four months to prevent the further spread of the deadly virus. Unvaccinated individuals suffering from chronic illnesses regardless of their age are also required to stay home until the end of February 2022.

According to reports, Russia just reported its highest number of daily cases and fatalities due to COVID-19.

Russians refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19

Experts blame the government's lagging vaccination program since only 30 percent of Russia's total population has been vaccinated.

There is also a growing distrust of the authorities and the information they broadcast about the vaccines, which is why people are discouraged from getting the jab. The irony of the situation is that Russia has four domestic vaccines available.

"I think the country is now falling into disaster. I have hope we will soon come to a certain limit beyond which we will not go, but this is still very high morbidity and mortality. Hospitals are overwhelmed," Vasily Vlassov, a Russian epidemiologist and former WHO adviser, told CNN.

Read Also: Russian President Vladimir Putin Weighs In On Tensions Between China, Taiwan, Says President Xi Jinping Doesn't Need To Use Force

COVID-19 task force may not be disclosing accurate figures

Vlassov also said that there's a growing concern that Russia's official figures do not reflect the accurate scale of its public health emergency. After all, individuals who die from respiratory failure from COVID-19 are included in the statistics as someone who didn't die from the virus.

Russia's counting method of casualties does not include part of the deaths in the official statistics saying that someone died with COVID-19 but not because of it.

According to ABC News, Russia just set another daily record for COVID-19-related deaths on Tuesday. The country's coronavirus task force reported 39,008 new confirmed cases and 1,178 deaths four days after ordering Russians to stay at home.

Regional governments may extend the lockdown

This week, Putin also told local governments in Russian regions may add more non-working holidays if they feel the need to do so. But the president's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, denied the rumors that the non-working period could be extended for the entire country.

Peskov said that regional governments are encouraged to make their own decisions based on their number of active COVID-19 active cases.

On Monday, Russia's Novgorod region announced that they could extend the non-working holiday for at least another week. The Tomsk region in Siberia and the Chelyabinsk region in the Ural Mountains followed suit two days later, according to Click 2 Houston.

Americans discouraged from traveling to Russia, Belgium

Meanwhile, Russia and Belgium have just been included in the list of countries that Americans shouldn't consider visiting.

According to USA Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk. Reports revealed that Russia had had the third-highest number of COVID-19 cases globally in the last 28 days.

Related Article: Russian Government Refuses To Impose State-Wide Lockdown Following Reports of Over 1,000 Deaths In the Past 24 Hours Due to COVID-19

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Just days after Facebook rebranded to Meta in a push to establish virtual places for both consumers and businesses, Microsoft is joining the battle to build a metaverse inside Teams.

Next year in 2022, Microsoft will integrate Mesh, a collaborative platform for virtual experiences, into Microsoft Teams.

It's part of a larger push by the business to merge its mixed reality and HoloLens work with meetings and video conversations that anybody can join, thanks to animated avatars.

Microsoft and Meta appear to be on a collision course in the metaverse, particularly for the future of work, with today's announcement.

Microsoft Team Meetings

Microsoft, too, wants a piece of the metaverse, so it revealed 3D avatars for Teams meetings when you don't want to be on camera today at its Ignite conference.

Microsoft's 'Mesh for Teams,' which integrates the company's Mesh platform (not to be confused with Windows Live Mesh) for powering shared experiences in virtual reality, augmented reality, and elsewhere.

Teams dubbed "Animated Personal Avatars."

Users may use anything from a smartphone to a VR headset or a HoloLens to access Mesh for Teams.

Microsoft's John Roach wrote in today's release, Nov. 2, that this is the company's metaverse play for productivity, intended to make online meetings more personal, engaging, and enjoyable.

It's also a portal to the metaverse, which is a persistent digital universe populated by digital twins of people, places, and things.

Consider the metaverse to be a new version or vision of the internet, one in which people can congregate to connect, create, and share with their own personal virtual presence on any platform.

Meetings will still take place in that vision, but they will be more enjoyable due to the metaverse, or something along those lines.

Microsoft Technical Fellow Alex Kipman, who is always upbeat remarked via TechCrunch that, "As a company whose focus is on productivity, on knowledge workers, it's something that customers are really asking us for, and it's coupled with the vision of mixed reality that we've been working on for 12 years. It's all coming together."

Read Also: Microsoft Surface Duo 2 Reviews Are Mixed: Great Futuristic Design, But Full of Bugs?

Mesh Technology

Mesh will be little more than 3D customized avatars that imitate your words but not your actions for the time being.

According to The Verge, businesses can also create their own venues within Teams where people can digitally communicate and work.

Furthermore, the tech giant will employ artificial intelligence to listen to your voice and then animate your avatar based on what you say.

If you move to a more immersive 3D meeting, these animations will now include raising your avatar's hands or animating emoji around your avatar when you select the raise hand option.

Microsoft sees this Mesh connectivity as being most valuable in immersive areas, notably in its efforts to develop a metaverse for enterprises.

The company envisions virtual places within Teams where users can network and chat while playing games, or even collaborate on projects using Microsoft tools.

Related Article: Worried the Microsoft Office Files You're Downloading Are Infected by Malware? 3 Ways to Remove Threat, Protect Yourself
Eligible families can now update their income in the Child Tax Credit Update Portal on IRS.gov.

This feature should be helpful to families who want to raise or lower their Child Tax Credit payments. Changes will be reflected on the last two payments for November and December.

Fortunately for many Americans, the IRS recently upgraded their Child Tax Credit update portal to include income change functionality. Families who experienced significant income changes between 2020 to 2021 should immediately use this tool.

Why You Should Use Child Tax Credit Update Portal

For reference, the ongoing Child Tax Credit payments give out up to $1,800 for each child under age six and $1,500 for each child ages six to 17. Since July, the budget is being distributed as $300 and $250 monthly payments. The payments are delivered every 15th of the month.

Unfortunately, some eligible families are receiving payments below what they qualify for. Others received more than they expected. These numbers are being influenced by their latest tax returns, either 2019 or 2020.

As previously mentioned, families who experienced income changes should immediately utilize the Child Tax Credit update portal and reclaim their owed money. According to IRS, the November and December payments will be adjusted to catch up to the proper amounts after changes are recorded. This means either bigger or smaller monthly payments, depending on circumstances.

Read Also: Fourth Stimulus Check Update: $2000 Online Petition Progress, Child Tax Credit Portal Upgrade

How to Change Income Information on the Child Tax Credit Portal

Keep in mind that the portal is only accessible to families who are currently receiving their monthly payments. For low-income groups and non-filers who are interested in applying could use this non-filer online tool instead of the CTC portal.

Families who might have lost their jobs or regained a new one are some examples of those who can file for an income change. To use the new feature, head to their website. Click on "Manage Advance Payments" and complete the follow-up instructions. IRS said the new upgrade also lets families use the Child Tax Credit update portal to:

Switch from receiving a paper check to direct deposit.

Change the account where their payment is direct deposited.

Update their address information.

Stop monthly payments for the rest of 2021.

According to IRS, the portal will acknowledge the income change but will not display it on the screen. IRS representatives will be unable to confirm about recent updates either. So be extra careful whenever submitting a new change on the tool and double check the information provided. These changes might also take a while to process.

Payment Changes for November and December

IRS announced that any changes made by midnight on Monday will be reflected on the November 15 payment. However, if recipients missed the timeframe, then they should receive the usual CTC amount.

Eligible filers have a second chance to change their information starting Tuesday because any changes submitted before the end of November 29 will be reflected on the December payment. This deadline is still three weeks away, which should give families plenty of time to think and update their information.



Related Article: Fourth Stimulus Check Update: New $1100 California Payments Coming Soon, Child Tax Credit Extension Facing Issues
Director Shin Won-ho recently finished the second season of his latest series, "Hospital Playlist." Courtesy of tvN





By Lee Gyu-lee







It has been a long-established arrangement for most Korean TV dramas, if not all, to air two episodes on consecutive days per week and to run for a single season.







However, star director Shin Won-ho has broken that practice. "Hospital Playlist," his latest series, aired only one episode each weekend, and continued over two seasons  a decision he made even before production began.







Unveiling one episode per week was initially seen as high risk for Shin, as well as tvN, in a fast-changing digital era when viewers are increasingly impatient about TV series and anxious to know what happens in the next episodes. Over-the-top service providers have tried to appeal to viewers' changing needs by unveiling all of the episodes of a series upon its release.







Shin's confidence-driven experiment turned out to be a success.







The feel-good drama has garnered popularity since the start of its first season in March of last year. It ended the run in success with the second season commencing in September, scoring a 14.1-percent viewership rating.







The director, who led hit dramas like "Prison Playbook" and the "Reply" series, expressed that the new scheduling of the series, which was groundbreaking in the K-drama industry, offered him a longer turnaround time and helped boost the overall quality.







"After this series, I don't think I can ever do a series that airs two episodes per week. I can't imagine the time when I used to do those projects," Shin told The Korea Times. "Because we didn't feel as fatigued during production, we were actually able to work more efficiently around the set, which is the biggest advantage."







The poster for the series / Courtesy of tvN





Written by star screenwriter Lee Woo-jung, who wrote the "Reply" series, the drama follows five friends from medical school: Lee Ik-joon (Cho Jung-seok), Ahn Jeong-won (Yoo Yeon-seok), Kim Jun-wan (Jung Kyoung-ho), Yang Seok-hyeong (Kim Dae-myung) and Chae Song-hwa (Jeon Mi-do).







The friends, now in their forties and each with a different medical specialization, work at the same general hospital, and still share a common interest in music through the band they formed together in college. The story develops, as the group explores their friendship and interwoven relationships with fellow medical staff and patients at the hospital.







Shin noted that the series' rich story, with different subplots of the main characters, staff, and patients at the hospital, led to the success of both seasons.







"I think the audiences had different reasons to watch our series; for some, it could be the chemistry between the five friends, or the music, and for others, it could be the heartwarming story of the patients, or maybe the romance," he said. "But mostly, I think the characters the five lead actors created and their friendship, along with the stories of people at the hospital, led viewers to fall for our series."







Director Shin, third from left, poses for pictures with the cast members. Courtesy of tvN





So keeping the same vibe from the first season was his key mission in creating the second season, to continue telling the heartwarming story of the people at the hospital.







"Instead of trying to make a bigger impact or making drastic changes, our purpose was to keep doing what we did and to continue following their poignant daily lives," he said.







The director revealed that the process of making two seasons over two years has brought out greater chemistry among actors, which is reflected in Season 2.







"It was an amazing experience even though about 10 months have passed since Season 1, it felt that we were just picking up where we left off yesterday. Usually, during the first few shooting sessions during production, there are a few processes to go through, like getting used to each other. But this time, we were able to skip that part and everything just went so smoothly," he said.







"And as the actors and the production staff came to develop a sense of strong intimacy over the two years, we could create Season 2 with a much more tight-knit chemistry, which was a refreshing experience."







The series revolves around five friends from medical school, working at the same hospital. Courtesy of tvN





The series follows the life of doctors beyond their profession and looks as them as individuals, interacting with patients and making connections with fellow medical staff.







Despite the heartening story, the series took criticism from some people who said that the series excessively put doctors  an elite class in Korean society  up on a pedestal.







The director responded to those criticisms by saying that he sought to tell a story of "kindhearted fantasy."







"It's a fantasy we have that everyone is a good person. So I wanted to unfold a story viewers would get engaged in, hoping to be part of those good people's lives. If you want to call it a fantasy, so be it," he said. "I just wanted the audience to feel comfort and empathy by watching the series. Our series was never meant to idolize a specific profession, but rather was about telling a heartwarming story of these kindhearted people who happen to be from this profession."







A scene from the series / Courtesy of tvN





Noting that all series are fiction, he referred to the series as a more realistic fantasy.







"In reality, there are no goblins like Gong Yoo and no boyfriends like Park Bo-gum nowadays series are getting more and more extreme (in their fantasy aspects). And among those provocative, shocking and dramatic stories, I think it is worth having this kind of tender fantasy," he said.







Shin originally planned the series to have three seasons. But after wrapping up the second one, he explained that he is not sure of that decision, despite having more stories that he wanted to touch on in the series.







"There are a lot of stories about the patients that we haven't covered yet. The main purpose of the series was to revolve around the doctors, so there are still many stories that are yet to have been told," he said. "However, as this was my first time making more than one season, I became exhausted and encountered different conundrums. So it is going to be a tough decision whether to continue on with the story or not."


The documentary, "The Birth of Resonance," follows the life of traditional drum maker Im Seon-bin, who was designated as a Gyeonggi Intangible Cultural Asset in 1999. Courtesy of Cinesopa





By Lee Gyu-lee







Preserving a cultural tradition in these rapidly changing contemporary times is a daunting mission indeed, especially when it is overlooked by society at large. Yet, this is not the case for master drum craftsman Im Seon-bin, who was designated as a Gyeonggi Intangible Cultural Asset in 1999. He has dedicated his entire life to preserving and passing down how to make the traditional drums including the grand bass drum, or "buk," to the next generation.







Director Lee Jeong-jun / Courtesy of Cinesopa

Recently, Im's six decades of unwavering efforts were recognized by a filmmaker.







Director Lee Jeong-jun's feature documentary directorial debut, "The Birth of Resonance," brings Im's craft into the limelight, paying tribute to the artisan for his perseverance and tenacity to continue a cultural heritage tradition. The documentary won the Asian Development Foundation Award at the 2020 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival and two awards  the Special Jury and the Audience Award  at the 2021 EBS International Documentary Festival.







"Many think that being an intangible cultural asset is sublime, beautiful and worth our respect. But that is not the reality. They make these incredible works in a small and rusty workshop," the director said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. "I wanted to show the artistic side of an intangible cultural heritage asset who makes this wonderful instrument, and wanted the audience to grasp that."







The documentary, which hit local theaters on Oct. 21, follows Im's process of making a grand bass drum, or "buk," to be used during the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympics, while delving into his life-long quest to find the drum sound that touched his heart as a child.







Im paints drawings on a traditional grand bass drum, which was used during the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympics. Courtesy of Cinesopa





Born in 1949, in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Im has led a tough life since childhood. At the age of 10, he was split from his family due to poverty and was sent to Seoul.







He began his new life in a poor neighborhood of Seoul as part of a "Worker Reconstruction Unit," a government organization to register those who made a living from rag-picking. Because he had a limp, due to contracting polio, Im was bullied and beaten by his peers until he lost the hearing in his right ear. He ran away at the age of 11, becoming homeless, before he met the late drum-making master, Hwang Yong-ok, and found a new home, living as Hwang's apprentice. Making drums with the use of only one ear also led him to lose most of his hearing in his left ear by the age of 25.







The director said that he came across Im's story after working as the assistant director for his mentor and filmmaker Jin Mo-young's popular documentary, "My Love, Don't Cross That River."







"I had a chance to film some items that were heading to an exhibition in Milan. I got to meet craftsmen for the first time and I was so shocked to see them working under such poor conditions to make those great pieces," he said. "So I drew up a list of all the traditional craftsmen in Korea and found Im on the list."







Im and his son Im Dong-guk, who became his apprentice, put up frames for a traditional grand bass drum. Courtesy of Cinesopa





He noted that Im's 60 years of craftsmanship, despite his disability, drew him to make the documentary. "I thought that if he was able to get to where he is, even though he had disadvantages, he must have immense tenacity and skilled craftsmanship. So I decided to visit him that next day," he said.







The director said that his offer to make a documentary fueled Im's desire to make instruments under his own name. "Until now, he has made a lot of drums but he was mostly taking part in the production and not many were made under his name alone. And just as he was thinking that he needed to make his own pieces, I came along and asked if I could make the documentary," he said.







In the film, Im embarks on a dream journey to make a drum that has the sound he has longed for, built from timber he had stored for 20 years.







The film delicately captures each step of Im's efforts that go into making the buk, from structuring the frame and painting the decorative artwork on it, to testing the sound before sending it off to PyeongChang.







Yet, it also doesn't hide the regretful reality that Im is not getting the respect he deserves as an artist. Although he contributed his buk to the ceremony, the Paralympic organization failed to give him credit for his work and to invite him to attend.







A monk plays a grand bass drum that Im made at the request of an artist. Courtesy of Cinesopa





When asked about the most crucial part of the film, Lee noted that it was capturing the deep sound of the buk, in order to offer audiences a glimpse of the resonance Im was seeking in his work.







"The first and foremost purpose of this film was to deliver the powerful, touching sound of a buk to audiences, and weave that astounding sound into Im's story," he said, adding that he felt rewarded when people attending the film's screening expressed awe during the drumming scene.







However, the director explained that Im has still yet to find the right sound.







"I've gotten a lot of questions about whether Im has indeed found the sound. And I have answered no. During the whole time I was making the film, I tried to figure out what would be the 'sound' he was looking for," he said. "I don't think it meant in a technical sense, but rather referred to the sound that resonated with his loneliness  the comfort he felt from the vibration of the drum he hit while he felt his childhood abandonment."







Adding that the driving force behind his mastery is this sense of loneliness, the director said that Im's search for the sound will not stop until the day he retires as a drum maker.







Along with the drum-making process, the documentary closely captures Im's daily life in his warehouse  from working with his son and apprentice, Im Dong-guk, to providing shelter for stray cats  which reminds him of his own childhood.







A scene from the documentary / Courtesy of Cinesopa





The director said that there are stories of Im that are yet to be shared, like his relationship with his son, in passing down his craftsmanship.







"Their relationship portrays the message that tradition is always changing I don't think there's such a thing as a perfectly standardized tradition. And that message can be shown through the son's efforts to keep this traditional craft alive today," he said, adding that he hopes for a follow-up film to delve deeper into that part of the story.







Following his award-winning documentary debut, director Lee expressed that he continues to touch on traditional cultural heritage topics, using his background as a history major.







"My first film was like a test for myself to see how well I could do it. And fortunately, the documentary was able to be released and receive awards at festivals, which made me feel accepted," he said, adding that he felt that the wins were meant to pay homage to Im's noteworthy life as well.







"I think it goes for most of the fields of traditional culture as well. Not to simply put it in such a way that I just want to highlight bygone things, but rather, I want to be a filmmaker who covers the rich topic of the wide range of cultural heritage, architecture and traditions."


Korea Investment Corp. CEO Jin Seoung-ho delivers a keynote speech during the 2021 Korea Times Global ESG Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) building in Seoul, Oct. 29. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



CEO to meet GIC, Temasek executives on sidelines of Milken's conference



By Park Jae-hyuk



Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) CEO Jin Seoung-ho is set to meet with his counterparts in Singapore, on the sidelines of his participation at the upcoming annual Milken Institute Asia Summit, sources said Wednesday.



The summit will take place Nov. 15 and 16 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, as part of Singapore Week from Nov. 15 to 19.



The KIC chief's planned trip to the Southeast Asian city state is for his first attendance at an overseas event since his appointment in May.



He will stay there for the week for meetings with top executives from the city state's sovereign wealth funds  GIC and Temasek  on the sidelines of the Milken conference.



Sources said the KIC is arranging additional meetings between Jin and representatives from global financial institutions.



Jin is expected to pursue greater cooperation with GIC and Temasek in his forthcoming visit as his predecessor did last year during his meeting with GIC CEO Lim Chow Kiat and Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara.



Both GIC and Temasek are among the world's top 10 sovereign wealth funds in terms of assets under management (AUM), while KIC's AUM stood at 14th with $200 billion as of August.



The Korean sovereign wealth fund, which has been assigned to invest only in overseas assets, has regarded the city state as a possible foothold for its investments across the Asia region, including China, since it opened its third overseas office there in 2017 following the opening of offices in New York and London in 2010 and 2011 respectively.



Considering that Milken's conference this year is intended to discuss ways to rebuild an equitable and just society, Jin will be sharing ideas for designing a sustainable and equitable future with attendees at the event, introducing KIC's strategies for investments considering environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors.



According to the Milken Institute, speakers of this year's event include Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters, BNP Paribas Chairman Jean Lemierre, Singapore Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong and Australian Finance Minister Simon Birmingham.



Investments in Southeast Asia



The key point in the KIC chief's upcoming trip is whether it will prompt the corporation to increase its alternative investments in Southeast Asia, in line with its plans to raise the proportion of alternative assets in its entire portfolio to 25 percent by 2027.



Alternative assets data provider Preqin has already expressed an optimistic view about making alternative investments in Southeast Asia, citing that the region has developed into a vibrant tech hub, based on improvements in internet connectivity.



According to Preqin, ASEAN-focused private equity and venture capital investments reached $37 billion as of last December, up from $17 billion in 2015.



"For the venture capital industry, the region's most valuable unicorns explore concrete plans to go public, either through the traditional initial public offering route or by merging with special purpose acquisition companies," Ee Fai Kam, Preqin's head of research and data operations, said in August's press release. "Going forward, we expect the diversity of venture capital deal types and the quality of companies coming out of the region to become much more interesting for investors."


Sandra Boss, Global Head, Investment Stewardship for BlackRock.

Diversity on board helps corporate performance, long-term value creation



By Lee Kyung-min



Greater female participation on company boards is vital not only to meet the fiduciary duty to clients but also to create long-term values at companies, a senior official at the world's largest investment management firm said Wednesday.



BlackRock Investment Stewardship Global Head Sandra Boss said women should not be limited merely to being elected to corporate boards but also play decision-making roles, a critical step to strengthening diverse voices in what largely remains a male-dominated arena.



"It does nothing for companies  or our clients  if women are elected to boards but are never put in decision-making leadership roles. We need to see the meaningful representation of women in committee chairs and chair roles on boards," she said during a keynote speech at the 2021 International Conference of Korean Women in Finance at the Korea Exchange, Wednesday.



Organized by the Korea Network of Women in Finance, this year's international conference was held under the theme, "A Powerful Driver of Sustainable Economic Growth  ESG Investment Stewardship and Board Diversity." The event sought ways to increase diversity in corporate governance structures and to encourage changes in corporate culture.



More seats are needed for women at the table in the boardrooms, for this practice to be the standard and for the full strength of their voices to be heard, the global head said.



"Not only would we like to see more women on boards, but we want to see that women are set up for success. A single woman on the board can feel like a token  I have been there, and it can be frustrating and exhausting at times," said Boss, who has spent most of her career as the only woman in the room, or one of only a few.



"I've been part of high-performance teams and boards, where all members were valued for the quality of their ideas, contributions and impact  valued because of their differences, not despite them."






A Joseon-era royal court folding screen of "morando," or peony blossom painting / Courtesy of the Insa Traditional Culture Preservation Association



By Park Han-sol



After witnessing the streak of success achieved by local art fairs held recently  the latest by the Korea International Art Fair (KIAF) Seoul, which saw a record turnout and sales of 65 billion won ($55 million) in October  Insa-dong in central Seoul is gearing up for its own art events this month.



As a neighborhood best-known for antiques, traditional crafts and galleries, it will play host to two art fairs with a mix of traditional Korean and contemporary art.



From Nov. 10 to 14, the Insa-dong Antiques & Art Fair will take place in the alleys filled with shops and teahouses, as well as the region's main cultural complex, Anyoung Insadong.



Previously called the Insa-dong Traditional Culture Festival for the last 33 years, the five-day event has transformed into a fair this year, inviting nearly 20 galleries and boutiques. With a focus on antiques, the participating shops will present classic masterpieces, crafts and traditional tea and snacks.



The event's special exhibition is themed around Korean color paintings, specifically royal court paintings and "minhwa," or folk paintings that donned the walls of the houses of the working class throughout the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom as auspicious symbols of prestige, wealth, peace and longevity.



Among the 60 relics to be showcased, some pieces include: a court painter's "hwajodo" (flower and bird painting); "morando" (peony blossom painting) used in royal weddings, funerals and ancestral rituals; and "Geobukseon Haejindo," or a folding screen depicting the lineup of the iconic turtle-shaped ships led by Admiral Yi Sun-shin (1545-98) in preparation for the impending naval battle of the Imjin War.



"We will continue to preserve the identity of Insa-dong through art fairs that center on antiques and classic masterpieces," Shin So-yoon, the president of the event's organizing institution, the Insa Traditional Culture Preservation Association, said at a recent press conference.





Kang Kuk-jin's "Rhythm 85" (1985) / Courtesy of AHAF Committee




President Moon Jae-in held a summit with Hungarian President Janos Ader on Wednesday and agreed to upgrade relations between the two countries to a strategic partnership as two-way trade grew at a solid pace despite the COVID-19 pandemic.







"In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade reached a new high last year," Moon said during a joint press briefing after the talks, adding that he hopes the two nations will step up cooperation in electric cars and batteries.







The two sides also agreed to expand forward-looking cooperation in the fields of economy, science, technology and culture, and had in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics to strengthen friendly and cooperative relations between the two nations, Moon's office said.







The summit came a day after Moon arrived in Budapest for a state visit, becoming the first South Korean president to visit the country in 20 years. The state visit also includes talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban set for later in the day.







Bilateral trade between South Korea and Hungary stood at $3.6 billion in 2020, compared with $2.97 billion a year ago, according to Korean government data.







South Korea's exports to Hungary rose 18.1 percent on year to $2.92 billion in 2020. Imports from Hungary jumped 36.6 percent on year to $678 million last year.







During the summit, South Korea and Hungary also agreed to make joint efforts to cope with global crises, such as the pandemic and climate change, according to Moon's office.







Ader said Hungary will continue to support Seoul's efforts to foster peace on the Korean Peninsula.







Hungary is one of South Korea's key partners in Europe serving as a bridgehead for Korean businesses to advance into European markets. Currently, some 90 Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics and Hankook Tire, are investing in Hungary.







Later in the day, Moon will hold a bilateral meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.







Also scheduled are meetings with business leaders from Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which form the Visegrad Group. (Yonhap)










gettyimagesbank



By Lee Hyo-jin



A complete ban on the use of mobile phones in schools infringes on the basic rights of students including freedom of communication, the nation's human rights watchdog said, Wednesday.



The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) expressed the opinion in response to a complaint filed by a student at a high school in the southeastern city of Daegu.



Under the school policy, students must have their mobile phones turned off during school hours, with no exceptions even for recess and lunch time  a common regulation at schools here.



If a student is caught using their phone, teachers take it away for one week, and for two weeks if the student is caught a second time. The student may face other penalties such as cleaning duties.



If the student is caught a third time, their parents are notified. When caught a fourth time, the student may face additional actions based on the decision of the school's disciplinary committee.



The school explained that the outright ban on mobile phone use aims to minimize unnecessary use of electronic gadgets at schools and create a better educational environment.



It added that students can use the school computer lab to access the internet and they are also allowed to use phone booths installed on each floor. In case of emergency, they may contact their parents through their homeroom teachers.



The NHRCK, however, said such rules violate basic human rights including freedom of communication guaranteed by the Constitution.



The commission also viewed that banning phones not only during class but also breaks is an excessive restriction.



"In modern society, a mobile phone is not only a tool for telecommunications, but also the means for social interaction and connection, as well as a source of obtaining necessary information," it said in a statement.



"Aside from the complete ban, the school should seek different ways to create a better educational environment while minimizing the violation of students' basic rights," it added, recommending the school principal revise the rules.



The NHRCK also said, "The school makes students contact their parents through homeroom teachers in case of emergency instead of using their own phones, but this may result in breach of privacy in certain situations."



While debates over the bans on phone use in schools is not new in Korea, the human rights watchdog has been recommending against excessive bans in its responses to previous similar complaints.



Earlier in October, it made a recommendation to a high school to revise its rules under which teachers collect the students' phones in the morning and return them when classes are over.






A 70-million won ($59,300) fine was finalized for Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong for illegal use of propofol, an anesthetic medication, as he did not appeal the sentence, judicial sources said Wednesday.







Last week, Lee was ordered by the Seoul Central District Court to pay the fine and an additional forfeiture of 17 million won for violating the Narcotics Control Act. The fine and the forfeiture were the same as what prosecutors had demanded for Lee.







According to the sources, neither the prosecution nor the defendant filed an appeal by Tuesday, the last day of the seven-day period to challenge a court ruling in a criminal case.







The Samsung Electronics Co. vice chairman was indicted in June on charges of taking propofol for purposes other than medical treatments at a plastic surgery clinic in southern Seoul on a total of 41 occasions between January 2015 and May last year. (Yonhap)






A total of 23 Thai nationals have been apprehended in a recent crackdown of a drug trafficking ring targeting migrant workers in South Korea, police said Wednesday.







Seventeen of them were drug traffickers and six were users, the Seoul Dongjak Police Station said.







All but three drug users have since been formally arrested, the police said.







The ring's head of drug distribution is suspected of having smuggled a total of 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine from Thailand to South Korea via international shipping on four occasions between April and October.







The volume of the smuggled drugs, worth about 16 billion won ($13.5 million), was enough to be administered to 83,000 people at the same time, according to the police.







In the crackdown, the police seized 1.3 kg of meth and 685 tablets of yaba, a combination of meth and caffeine, as well as criminal proceeds of 97.2 million won.







The ring was found to have used social network services to mostly sell drugs to foreigners working across the country.







The police said they will work with Interpol and local authorities to investigate a person who was in charge of supplying the drugs from Thailand.







"We will further strengthen crackdowns on international drug trafficking in cooperation with the related authorities, including the Korea Customs Service," a police official said. (Yonhap)


President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech on Seoul's efforts to fight climate change at the 26th Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday (local time). Yonhap



Seoul comes with ambitious package against climate crisis



By Kang Seung-woo



South Korea, regarded as a late starter in moves toward attaining carbon neutrality, has unveiled ambitious proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the goal of taking a leading role in the global fight against climate change.



President Moon Jae-in made the proposals in a speech at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday (local time).



Moon officially introduced South Korea's accelerated goal for carbon neutrality  the country is committed to cutting carbon emissions by 40 percent from 2018 levels by 2030. The reduction target was raised from the 26.3 percent set in 2020 and from 35 percent stated in a relevant bill passed at the National Assembly in August



"This is a bold objective that was raised by about 14 percentage points from the previous target," Moon told the climate summit, which is being participated in by more than 100 global leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.



"This is a very challenging task of having to steeply reduce greenhouse gases in a short period of time. It is not an easy task, but South Korea has decided now is the time to act."






Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a meeting of the party's election committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



Tension between the ruling party and the government seems to be escalating as its presidential candidate is floating ideas that go against the administration's policies.



Ahead of the presidential election in March, Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said he would give a new COVID-19 relief payment to all Koreans, and delay the government's planned taxation of virtual assets  presumably to appeal to young and centrist voters.



Earlier this week, Lee said the government should provide an additional 300,000 won ($253) to 500,000 won per person in relief funding as the government is expected to log a larger-than-expected surplus in tax revenue this year and many people are still suffering from the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.



"We have to take care of small business owners, who have borne the brunt of the coronavirus, and the people who were indirectly yet massively damaged," Lee said during a meeting of the DPK election committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday.



"I do not mean we should help them by increasing state debt, but we need to recognize that the debt-to-GDP ratio should not be a stumbling block in providing relief funds."



In response to Lee's push, the ruling party is following his lead.



"We decided to review procedures, the amount and laws regarding additional relief payments," said Rep. Park Wan-joo, who heads the DPK policy planning committee. "But we need to talk with the financial authorities and opposition parties on how it should be done."



However, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum made clear the government's opposition to another round of cash handouts, citing financial strain.



"Our financing does not have enough capacity to do this," Kim said in a radio interview Wednesday.



"From the financial authority's perspective, our disposable revenue is limited. We are not in a situation to just get money from here or there."





Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Whether to form alliance with main opposition draws attention



Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the minor opposition People's Party, has declared his third presidential bid, vowing to be a leader who can kick-start a new era. "In order to break this vicious cycle of two-party politics that repeats every five years, it's time to turn over the table," he said in a press conference Monday.



Ahn's announcement turns the March 9 presidential election into a four-way race among the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), the minor progressive Justice Party and the People's Party.



This is the third time that the former medical doctor and software entrepreneur has announced a bid for the presidency. In the 2012 election, he withdrew from the race less than a month before the poll, giving his support to Moon Jae-in, the candidate of the then main opposition party. Ahn ran again in the 2017 election following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and finished third.



In the press conference, Ahn, 59, said he will build a country strong in science and technological innovation and vowed to step down if his administration fails to secure public approval of 50 percent midway through his term. He is presenting himself as an alternative candidate at a time when all strong contenders from the major parties are deemed to fall short in morality and ability. Yet it's doubtful if he can assert himself as a crusader for new politics, given his repeated candidacies and breach of promises.



Opinion polls show that the upcoming presidential election will be too close to call. In that case, Ahn, who appeals to centrist voters and boasts approval ratings of 5 percent to 7 percent, might have the casting vote. The political community will closely watch whether he will form an alliance with the PPP to achieve a change of government. But the most important thing for him to do is offer his own clear vision for the future that could rattle the framework of the country's entrenched two-party system.


By Park Yoon-bae





The death of former President Roh Tae-woo reminds us of how crucial apologies and forgiveness are to healing the wounds of the victims of the bloody crackdown on the May 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju.



As the country's last general-turned-president, Roh died Oct. 26 at 88, leaving behind a mixed legacy. His bad legacy stemmed from the fact that he co-led the 1979 military coup which allowed his predecessor Chun Doo-hwan to seize power following the assassination of then authoritarian President Park Chung-hee.



Roh also drew criticism for his deep involvement in the brutal suppression of the Gwangju uprising which "officially" claimed the lives of more than 200 protesters and left 1,800 others wounded. Roh and Chun were the core members of the military junta which nipped the Seoul Spring in the bud and turned the clock back to the dark age of military dictatorship.



On the flip side, Roh left a good legacy as the first popularly-elected president of South Korea since 1971; and by leading a transition to democracy during his 1988-93 term. Before the election in 1987, he issued the "June 29 Declaration" accepting the people's demand for a direct presidential system in the face of massive pro-democracy rallies across the country.



The declaration led to the birth of a new Constitution which laid the foundations for democracy. Some critics have dismissed the declaration only as a ploy to prolong military rule. But, without it the country could not have taken the path toward a functioning democracy.



In addition, Roh has been lauded for expanding the country's diplomatic horizon by establishing ties with socialist countries such as the Soviet Union and China in the early 1990s. He was also recognized for improving inter-Korean relations by signing the South-North Basic Agreement with Pyongyang.



But his achievements cannot outweigh his misdeeds. In 1996, Roh together with Chun was convicted of treason and corruption. Roh was sentenced to 17 years in prison and a 260 billion won ($223 million) fine, while Chun was given a life term (following commutation of a death sentence) plus a 220 billion won fine. Both were released on a presidential pardon the following year.



Much to the disappointment of the public, Chun and Roh have never admitted to or apologized for their role in the Gwangju massacre. Chun has even tried to distort the facts about the pro-democracy movement.



However, Roh's son, Jae-heon, offered several apologies for the bloody crackdown on behalf of his bed-ridden father. He also visited the May 18th National Cemetery to pay his respects to the victims. Roh's bereaved family made public his last message begging for forgiveness for his "faults."



The message was construed  somewhat awkwardly  as an "apology" for his misdeeds. It might have positively affected the Moon Jae-in government's decision to hold a state funeral for the late Roh. Of course, the administration cited Roh's contributions to the nation's development, including his "Nordpolitik," despite his historic faults with the coup and the crackdown.



The decision appeared to be politically motivated for the sake of national harmony and unity ahead of the March 9 presidential election. It was also apparently aimed at garnering support from conservative voters for the ruling party's candidate. But, Roh was not buried in a national cemetery as he was disqualified because of the guilty verdict made against him.



Yet, the nation was sharply divided over the state funeral. Conservatives were, by and large, in favor of it, while progressives were against it. Bereaved families of the victims of the uprising strongly criticized the Moon government for so honoring one of the main culprits of the massacre.



Now the question is whether Roh made an apology in a true sense just before he died. In fact, his last message fell short of an apology. It reads: "I made my best efforts, but now sincerely ask for forgiveness for my shortcomings and faults." It does not specify what his faults were. It makes no mention of the coup and the bloody suppression of the pro-democracy movement.



No victims can easily forgive the perpetrators as long as the latter refuse to acknowledge and apologize for their misdeeds. If Roh had truly sought forgiveness, he should have used more clear and concrete expressions about what he did to the victims.



Nevertheless, Park Nam-seon, a surviving pro-democracy protester, visited the memorial altar to pay his respects to the late Roh. He said he has forgiven Roh, accepting his last message as an apology. He also recognized the apologies offered by Roh's son.



Park, a former key member of a citizens' militia standing up against the military junta during the uprising, was captured and sentenced to death. But he was freed on parole later. Now he deserves praise for his courageous act of forgiveness which raises hope for reconciliation with the perpetrators.



But the biggest obstacle to forgiveness and reconciliation is former President Chun's tenacious refusal to admit his role in the brutal crackdown on the uprising. If Chun dies without apologizing for his misdeeds, he will forever lose a chance to tell the truth and help heal the scars of the victims.





The author (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times.




Top four business groups need more female board representation



By Kim Bo-eun





Korea's four major conglomerates are increasingly focusing on environment, social and governance (ESG) factors in operating their businesses, but they are lagging behind in making improvements in the last of these. Sound governance is evaluated based on issues including the role and makeup of boards of directors and ensuring the rights of shareholders.



Among these factors, leading global corporations have been seeking to ensure diversity at the board level, to reflect a wider spectrum of thoughts. They have primarily been seeking to improve gender representation, a move that gained traction after the global financial crisis in 2008.



Figures such as European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde have put forth the idea that had it been the "Lehman Sisters," the financial crisis may not have been as deep, given the tendency of women to avoid risks compared to men.



The largest corporations in Korea have lagged behind in this aspect, but have recently moved to include female board members after the National Assembly passed revisions to related regulations last year.



The Capital Market Act was revised in February 2020, to prevent listed firms with at least 2 trillion won in assets from having boards comprised solely of men.



Samsung, Hyundai, SK and LG have scrambled to meet the requirement prior to the revisions going into effect in August next year.



Status quo at Samsung, Hyundai, SK, LG affiliates



One of the key agenda items at general shareholders meetings in March of core Samsung, Hyundai, SK and LG affiliates was appointing board members.



The appointments of new female members by these companies made headlines. The traditionally male-dominant Hyundai Motor appointed its first female board member, Lee Ji-yun, a KAIST associate professor of aerospace engineering.



While the latest appointments were made to comply with the law, a Hyundai Motor official said "Hyundai Motor is changing, as can be seen in the increasing appointments of female managers within our organization."



According to the Korea CXO Institute, companies ranking among the country's top 100 appointed a total of 31 female board members this year. But most boards only have one female member, and in most cases they are outside directors.



Samsung Electronics has one female external director on its board, as does Hyundai Motor, SK hynix and LG Electronics. The female members take up one out in 10 positions on the board, making the female ratio just 10 percent.










By Kim Yoo-chul







SsangYong Motor has signed a contract with preferred bidder Edison Motors to give the electric bus maker a 100 percent stake in the beleaguered automaker.







The agreement is subject to approval by the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, although officials say it is expected to get the green light. After receiving court authorization, Edison Motors will start two weeks of due diligence on SsangYong Motor, including checking its debts and assets.







As a deposit, Edison Motors wired 15.5 billion won, or 5 percent of its proposed acquisition price of 310 billion won, to SsangYong Motor's account late Tuesday.







Edison Motors also has to come up with around 1.62 trillion won to cover 700 billion won in SsangYong Motor's overdue payments as well as 800 billion won owed to the carmaker's main creditor, the Korea Development Bank (KDB). The state-run bank has said it will not provide any more financial aid to SsangYong.







SsangYong Motor and court-appointed sales advisor EY Hanyoung announced last month that an Edison Motors-led consortium had been chosen as the preferred bidder to take over the automaker. The consortium includes financial investors Korea Corporate Governance Improvement (KCGI), Keystone Capital and Edison Motors affiliate Semisysco.







Regarding detailed financing plans, Edison Motors said earlier that it plans to raise 310 billion won via a new share issuance and financial assistance from strategic investors. It will then proceed with a second share issuance to raise 530 billion won to cover operating costs. Edison Motors said it will seek to borrow 800 billion won from banks using SsangYong Motor's land and buildings as collateral.







Founded in 2015, Edison Motors builds electric buses and is developing electric commercial trucks. If all goes as planned, Edison Motors will start selling electric crossover vehicles and SUVs under the SsangYong brand.







Ssangyong Motor was acquired by Daewoo in 1997 and was sold to Chinese automaker SAIC in 2000. The ailing automaker was sold again to Mahindra & Mahindra in 2011. But the Indian carmaker sold its controlling stake to exit the Korean market.


Oriental Brewery Marketing Vice President Alexander Lambrecht talks during an interview with The Korea Times at Belgian restaurant Frites Artois in Hannam, Seoul, on Nov. 1. Courtesy of OB



By Kim Jae-heun



COVID-19 has impacted various economic sectors, and the beer market is definitely one that has been affected severely, as restaurants, bars and nightclubs were all forced to close down at night for almost the last two years.



The country's largest beer-maker, Oriental Brewery (OB), came up with a number of countermeasures to cope with the pandemic. It expanded domestic market sales targeting consumers who enjoy a drink alone at home, while diversifying the variety of alcoholic beverages to satisfy different preferences.



At the forefront of this scheme, OB Marketing Vice President Alexander Lambrecht said no major changes in marketing are scheduled for the near future and his company will continue doing what it is doing now.



"The marketing process is always the same. It is only the solution that is different. AB InBev (parent company of OB) has been moving towards carrying out experience-based marketing here by collaborating on our premium beer with local restaurants. Meanwhile, we also introduced the Korean lager beer Hanmac, which is made of rice that goes well with Korean cuisine," Lambrecht said during an interview with The Korea Times at Frites Artois in Seoul, on Nov. 1.



The vice president said what OB is doing now had all been planned out before the pandemic began. As the beer market develops in each country, breweries have to offer a variety of alcoholic beverage options that fit individual tastes.





Belgian restaurant Frites Artois in Hannam, Seoul / Courtesy of OB
A boy, injured during a blast, lies on a stretcher at the entrance of a hospital in Kabul, Nov. 2. Reuters-Yonhap



At least 19 people were killed and 50 more wounded in an attack on a military hospital in Kabul on Tuesday, the latest atrocity to rock Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power.



The Taliban's rivals, the Islamic State group, claimed responsibility for the gun and bomb assault in the center of the capital.



Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) said in a statement on its Telegram channels that "five Islamic State group fighters carried out simultaneous coordinated attacks" on the sprawling site.



"The IS insurgents wanted to target civilians, doctors and patients in the hospital," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, claiming that Taliban forces had repulsed the attack within 15 minutes.



As part of the response, he said, Taliban "special forces" were dropped onto the roof of the hospital from one of the helicopters that the group seized from Afghanistan's former US-backed government.





Smoke billows near the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan National Military Hospital after an explosion in central Kabul, Nov. 2. Reuters-Yonhap

The attack got under way when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near the facility's entrance. Gunmen then broke into the hospital grounds, firing their weapons.



"Nineteen dead bodies and about 50 wounded people have been taken to hospitals in Kabul," a health ministry official who asked not to be named told AFP.



Mujahid played down the death toll, but confirmed that two Taliban fighters, two women and a child had been killed outside the hospital.



One woman who had been trapped in the hospital when the attack began told AFP how she and her friend "felt we were going to die, that our lives were ending".



"There was a blast at the door," Rowana Dawari, a poet and lecturer, told AFP.



"Daesh came and started firing, we were stuck. We heard firing, glass breaking. We locked ourselves in a bathroom," she said, referring to IS by its local name.



"Later, Taliban came and we saw they were with our doctors, so we knew it was OK."



Amanudhin, a 28-year-old cleaner at the hospital, pushed an elderly, frail and partially sighted patient, Mariam, away from the scene in a wheelchair.



"The explosion happened and after a while people started screaming 'Daesh is here'," he told AFP. "We heard a lot of firing.



"We were in the 7th floor and locked ourselves in a room. There were injured people everywhere. Broken glass."



They hid until Taliban fighters came to rescue them: "They were special forces, professionals, they broke the door and got inside."





A Taliban fighter checks documents after an explosion, Kabul, Nov. 2. AP-Yonhap



Going 'room to room'



The Taliban spent 20 years waging an insurgency against the ousted US-backed government.



Now they face the struggle of bringing stability to Afghanistan, which has been hit in recent weeks by a series of bloody assaults claimed by the Islamic State group's local chapter.



"All the attackers are dead. The attack was initiated by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle who blew himself up at the entrance of the hospital," a Taliban official from the government media team said.



Two explosions targeted the hospital area, he had earlier said in a statement.



AFP staff in the city heard a second explosion some 30 minutes after the first was reported.



"I heard a big explosion coming from the first checkpoint. We were told to go to safe rooms. I also hear guns firing," a doctor at the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital told AFP while the attack was being carried out.



"I can still hear gun firing inside the hospital building. I think the attackers are going from room to room... like the first time it was attacked," the doctor added.





Taliban fighters check on injured comrades at the entrance of the emergency hospital in Kabul, Nov. 2. Reuters-Yonhap
A man browses through food condiments at a neighborhood market in Beijing, Tuesday. AFP-Yonhap



Beijing shoppers stocked up on cabbage, rice and flour for the winter on Wednesday, after the government urged people to keep stores of basic goods in case of emergencies, though it assured them there were sufficient supplies after some panic buying.



China's Ministry of Commerce published a seasonal notice on Monday encouraging authorities to do a good job in ensuring food supplies and stable prices ahead of winter, following a recent spike in the prices of vegetables and a growing outbreak of COVID-19.



But the ministry's advice to households to also stock up on daily necessities in case of emergencies prompted significant confusion, sending some rushing to supermarkets to purchase extra supplies of cooking oil and rice.



China's instructions also pushed up domestic edible oil futures as well as Malaysian palm oil.



"It's going to be a cold winter, we want to make sure we have enough to eat," said one woman loading rice onto a bicycle outside a supermarket in central Beijing.



A long line formed at the supermarket's cabbage stall, as people bought supplies of the vegetable that is traditionally stored at home and consumed over the winter months.



But many residents said there was no need to purchase more food than normal.



"There's no need. Where could I stockpile vegetables at home? I get enough for my daily needs," said a Beijing retiree surnamed Shi leaving another Beijing supermarket.



Others said they did not expect any shortages, particularly in the capital.



Government advice to residents to purchase supplies ahead of the winter is issued every year, said Ma Wenfeng, an analyst at A.G. Holdings Agricultural Consulting.



"It is necessary because there is often heavy snowfall in the winter ... and it seems there will be some uncertainty about the weather conditions this year. So I think this is quite a normal matter," he said.



China's National Meteorological Center is predicting a plunge in temperatures over the weekend in the northwest, southwest and most central and eastern regions.



State media has sought to reassure the public that there are plentiful supplies of basic goods.



China's state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday that there had been some "over-interpretation" of the ministry's advice.



"Currently, the supply of daily necessities in various places is sufficient, and the supply should be fully guaranteed," it quoted Zhu Xiaoliang, director of the ministry's Department of Consumption Promotion, as saying.



Some cities including Tianjin in the north and Wuhan further south have released winter vegetables from stockpiles for sale at lower prices in supermarkets.



But some panic buying appeared to continue on Wednesday, with several people complaining online of empty supermarket shelves, attributed largely to a growing COVID-19 outbreak. (Reuters)






A pipeline that moves methane gas from the Frank R. Bowerman landfill to an onsite power plant is shown in Irvine, Calif., June 15. Reuters-Yonhap



World leaders promised to protect Earth's forests, cut methane emissions and help South Africa wean itself off coal at the U.N. climate summit Tuesday  part of a flurry of deals intended to avert catastrophic global warming.



Britain hailed the commitment by more than 100 countries to end deforestation in the coming decade as the first big achievement of the conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow, known as COP26  but experts noted such promises have been made and broken before.



More than 120 world leaders were heading home after two days in which they received stark warnings about the state of the Earth from Johnson, naturalist David Attenborough, Queen Elizabeth II and  most powerfully  the people of countries and regions already facing climate upheaval.



Johnson said at a news conference that it was important to ''guard against false hope,'' but added that he was ''cautiously optimistic'' about the outcome of the talks. The conference aims to keep the world on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels  the goal set at the Paris climate conference six years ago.



Johnson had a message for negotiators from around the globe who will strain over the next 10 days to turn politicians' climate promises into reality: ''The eyes of the populations of the world are on you.''





Aerial view of a fire in the Amazonia rainforest in the surroundings of the city of Porto Velho, Rondonia state, Brazil, Sept. 15. AFP-Yonhap



The U.K. said it has received pledges from leaders representing more than 85 percent of the world's forests to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Among them are several countries with massive forests, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the United States.



More than $19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged toward the plan.



Experts and observers said fulfilling the pledge will be critical to limiting climate change, but many noted that such grand promises have been made before  to little effect.



''Signing the declaration is the easy part,'' U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter. ''It is essential that it is implemented now for people and planet.''



Alison Hoare, a senior research fellow at political think tank Chatham House, said world leaders promised in 2014 to end deforestation by 2030, ''but since then deforestation has accelerated across many countries.''



Forests are important ecosystems and provide a critical way of absorbing carbon dioxide  the main greenhouse gas  from the atmosphere. But the value of wood as a commodity and the growing demand for agricultural and pastoral land are leading to widespread and often illegal felling of forests, particularly in developing countries. Indigenous peoples are often among the hardest hit.



''We are delighted to see Indigenous peoples mentioned in the forest deal announced today,'' said Joseph Itongwa Mukumo, an Indigenous Walikale and activist from Congo.



He called for governments and businesses to recognize the effective role Indigenous communities play in preventing deforestation.



''These are billions in investment towards environmental preservation, but it's very difficult for this money to reach Indigenous communities, reach traditional communities,'' said Chief Ninawa, a leader of the Huni Kui people from the Amazon attending the summit.



Some campaigners said the forests pledge was a step forward. Luciana Tellez Chavez, an environmental researcher at Human Rights Watch, said there were ''quite a lot of really positive elements.''









She said it was positive to see China and Brazil pledging to protect forests, but noted that Brazil's public statements don't yet line up with its domestic policies and warned that the deal could be used by some countries to ''greenwash'' their image.



Brazil's government has been eager to project itself as a responsible environmental steward in the wake of surging deforestation and fires in the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands that sparked global outrage in recent years. Critics caution that its promises should be viewed with skepticism, and the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, is an outspoken proponent of developing the Amazon.





In this undated file photo the Trans-Alaska pipeline and pump station north of Fairbanks, Alaska is shown. The Biden administration is launching a wide-ranging plan to reduce methane emissions, targeting a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. AP-Yonhap



On Tuesday, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden launched a plan to reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. The announcement was part of a broader effort with the European Union and other nations to reduce overall methane emissions worldwide by 30 percent by 2030.



Clamping down on methane flaring and leaks from oil wells and gas pipelines  the focus of the Biden plan  is considered one of the easiest ways to cut emissions. Reducing methane from agriculture, in particular by belching cows, is a trickier matter.



Helen Mountford, a climate expert at the World Resources Institute, said the agreement ''sets a strong floor in terms of the ambition we need globally.''



Separately, the U.S., Britain, France and Germany announced a plan to provide $8.5 billion in loans and grants over five years to help South Africa phase out coal.



South Africa gets about 90 percent of its electricity from coal-fired plants, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.



But campaigners say the world's biggest carbon emitters need to do much more. Earth has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2F). Current projections based on planned emissions cuts over the next decade are for it to hit 2.7C (4.9F) by the year 2100.



Increased warming over coming decades would melt much of the planet's ice, raise global sea levels and greatly increase the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather, scientists say.





Climate Youth activists, Indigenous people and their parents call on world leaders to "End Climate Betrayal" in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 2. AP-Yonhap
HVAC TECHNICIAN

Full time with benefits

The HVAC technician will be responsible for troubleshooting & repairing geothermal, steam, hot water, and heat pump equipment, including programmable controls, numeral controls, power supplies, drives, gages, and test equipment. Additionally, will perform work requiring a thorough knowledge of HVAC and mechanical theories, electrical codes, properties of various materials, and principles of operation and application of electronic equipment. The person in this position will be responsible for installs, starts up and shuts down equipment for machine activation and shutdown in accordance with safety procedures & OSHA requirements. Additionally, will assist with technical troubleshooting, snow removal, and serve in on-call rotation.

Qualified candidates should have five years professional commercial HVAC experience. Control system experience a plus. Certification or experience in refrigeration & a clean drivers license required.

Millbrook School requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID19.

Interested candidates please CLICK HERE to submit a letter of interest and resume for consideration. Candidates may also mail interest letters and resumes Millbrook School, Attn: Human Resources, 131 Millbrook School Road, Millbrook, NY 12545

As an equal opportunity employer, Millbrook School does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national, origin, citizenship status, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

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Product Design Engineer - iPad Austin , Texas , United States Hardware Summary

Posted: Nov 1, 2021 Role Number: 200307423 The iPad Product Design Team works in a dynamic startup-like environment with all of the tools, resources, and support of the world's largest hardware company. We are a close-knit group of engineers who work with a singular focus...to surprise and delight our customers with truly great products. At Apple, you will work alongside the most talented engineers & technology experts at the top of their fields. We have a firm commitment to fairness and diversity, recognizing that each employee contributes a wealth of perspectives to our culture; we seek to tap into this extraordinary resource and incorporate it into how we do business. Come join us and be empowered to generate the best and most impactful work of your life. Key Qualifications High degree of motivation, curiosity, passion and creativity.

Design intelligence: mechanical intuition, creative problem solving, spatial reasoning, diligence in finding the best solution for each design challenge, attention to detail

Engineering Fundamentals: statics, strength of materials, material science, statistics

Flexible design skills: tolerance analysis, design for assembly/manufacturability, electro-mechanical integration, simple fixture design, design for high volume manufacturing, developing initial product layouts, understanding of Statistical Process Controls (SPC), understanding of metrology (basic knowledge of measurement systems), mechanism design

Computer aided design (CAD) Skills: 3D CAD experience required - NX preferred, 2D drafting and GD&T preferredExcellent communication skills: both written and verbal, ability to clearly communicate design ideas, contribute to brainstorms

Experience in the design cycle from concept through manufacturing a plus

Experience designing mechanical components for high volume manufacturing is preferred - specifically injection molded parts, sheet metal components, die-cast and machined parts

Interested in traveling up to 15-20% max throughout the year.

2+ years of experience in Mechanical Design. Opportunities available for more experienced individuals to take on additional responsibilities and leadership positions within the team. Description In this highly visible role, you will utilize your mechanical design engineering skills to bring products to market. This includes the following: Negotiating and collaborating cross functionally with various departments, such as Industrial Design, Product Integrity, EE, Manufacturing, SW, and technology groups to refine and execute the vision for the product Developing deep technical knowledge in areas outside your realm of expertise to understand other teams' design constraints and craft creative solutions to technical problems Collaborating with outside vendors and internal manufacturing experts to optimize designs for function, aesthetic, and manufacturability Utilizing 2D and 3D CAD to communicate design intent and inspection requirements Ensuring fit, form, and function throughout the life of the product through stress and tolerance analysis, DFMEA, prototyping, testing, and failure analysis Education & Experience MSME or BSME Apple is an Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We also take affirmative action to offer employment and advancement opportunities to all applicants, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Apple will not discriminate or retaliate against applicants who inquire about, disclose, or discuss their compensation or that of other applicants. Apple participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law. Apple is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical and mental disabilities.


We will be at home during the Thanksgiving holiday.

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We will spend most of the Thanksgiving holiday away from home.

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A Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) will be signed between Cybernaptics and the University of Mauritius (UoM) on Wednesday 3rd November 2021 for future collaboration between the two entities.

The event will take place at UoM from 10am to 12pm. The signing of the agreement will be done by Viv Padayatchy, Managing Director of Cybernaptics and the Vice-Chancellor of UoM, Professor Dhanjay Jhurry.

In addition to its mission of building human and intellectual capital, the University of Mauritius is endeavouring to also develop business capital by working closely with industry and the private sector. This partnership with Cybernaptics is most welcome, says Professor Dhanjay Jhurry.

Viv Padayatchy, Managing Director of Cybernaptics states:

As Mauritius transitions to a higher income country, we are faced with the challenge of preparing our workforce for an increasingly technological economy. Our traditional model of leveraging wage arbitrage to attract labour intensive but low value work will no longer be relevant for Mauritius.

Under the Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA), Cybernaptics will sponsor a UoM postgraduate student doing research in Robotics Process Automation & AI. The RCA helps to bridge the gap between academic institutions and companies and provide them with the expertise they need to continue to innovate. Cybernaptics will work in collaboration with the UoM to develop courses adapted to the requirements of the labour market.
Were still not sure, but we may not open the dining room right off the bat, Janis said. It largely depends on if were able to hire all of the staff that we need. If we cant, we may just be to-go as we get our feet wet.
An average of 52,610 vaccinations are being administered to Pennsylvania residents each day, according to CDC data. Of those, 26,056 are first doses. The number of total vaccinations per day is up 75.2% over the last 30 days. The number of first doses being given per day is up 68.2% over the last 30 days.
We love working with Jim and his team in other communities across the Lehigh Valley and have seen the tremendous impact he has had for various organizations through their fundraising efforts and partnerships, said Jessica ODonnell, executive vice president of Affiliated Chambers and Northern Tier for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber. Naturally we are excited to be bringing this community-centric organization into another close-knit municipality to see the dynamics grow and prosper.
A Moravian College and Notre Dame High School graduate, Kachmar said during his 28 years spent as a city manager or county administrator for several communities in the U.S., he produced one budget that had a tax decrease. The rest either included no tax increases or tax decreases. Even though taxes have gone up three of the past four years, Kachmar warned voters more hikes may be on the horizon as the citys pension fund is underfunded by $64 million.
Santos, 21, is a Kutztown University student studying psychology and Spanish. A New York native, Santos has lived in Allentown for 10 years. She said the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyds murder by a Minneapolis police officer inspired her to run for office. Santos said she has always had an interest in social justice issues and hopes to improve Allentown by supporting initiatives that are in the best interest of the community.
The race for the third seat, however, may now come down to the processing and counting of provisional ballots. Republican David Ritters margin over Democrat Zachary Cohen narrowed to only 0.06% with the addition of the mail-in ballots. Ritter, who holds a 124-vote advantage, said he was cautiously optimistic but would wait for the provisional ballots to be counted later this week. Cohen did not return a call Wednesday
School boards and their pandemic policies have been a point of contention for more than a year, illustrated by packed school board meetings that sometimes included shouting, booing and even increased security after threats of violence over COVID-19 policies. Experts anticipated increased energy from Republican school board candidates campaigning in favor of in-person learning this cycle, an off-year election following a Democratic win in the presidential campaign, and their prediction held.
With a Democrat-led Legislature, Murphy achieved most of the promises he made in his first run four years ago when he vied to succeed Republican Chris Christie. Paid sick leave, taxpayer-financed community college and some pre-K, tighter gun laws, expanded voting access, recreational marijuana, more state aid for schools and a fully funded public pension  all promised and all delivered during the first term. A proposal for a public bank to finance projects went unfulfilled.
A petition was filed in court in Montgomery County, Degraffenreid said, to allow four precincts to remain open for an extra hour because they had opened late. It was not immediately clear if that petition was granted.
In an off-year election following a Democratic win in the White House race, voting experts anticipated a surge of energy from Republicans, and they werent wrong. But Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governors race in Virginia by shying away from Trump instead of embracing him. In New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who had been favored to easily win against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, eked out a victory that wasnt called until Wednesday evening.
Edward Skinner, who originally was charged with attempted homicide, was sentenced immediately after pleading no contest to aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in connection with the Nov. 8 incident at his home in the 4300 block of Winfield Terrace, the Northampton County district attorneys office said. Under the no contest plea, Skinner admitted that prosecutors could prove those charges beyond a reasonable doubt. For the purpose of sentencing, it is considered the same as a guilty plea.
Staley will be accompanied on his talk by Bradbury-Sullivans executive director Adrian Shanker, who also serves as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in the Biden-Harris administration.
Union representatives are supposed to act in the best interest of their members, not swindle them out of rightfully earned pay or urge them to participate in fraud, said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. This defendant had a duty to advocate on behalf of all members in the Allentown Post Office in connection with the equitable distribution of overtime grievance settlements. Whitbeck abused his position and for that he will now face the consequences in federal court.
Gross heard gunshots being fired and then saw a man, later identified as Allentown resident Elyn Jose Marte, repeatedly firing a handgun, Martin said in a news release. Gross followed Marte and repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon, then fired four shots when Marte appeared to level and lift the gun, Martin said.
Im going in with 20 strong men, Lynch said. Im going to speak in front of the school board and Im going to give them an option. They can leave or they can be removed. And then after that were going to replace them with nine parents and were going to vote down the mask mandates that evening. That evening.
Many of us, whether we agreed or not, accepted the call. And in the Army none of us complained when we got our vaccines.
Voters cast their ballots for the 2021 Missoula Municipal Election as polls opened Tuesday night. Turnout for Tuesdays election was 44.5%, beating 2017s 43% figure. Voters have until 5:00 p.m. Nov. 3, to resolve errors if their ballot was rejected. Election results remain unofficial until Nov. 15 when they are brought before a board of officials for certification.
State

Gorkha community celebrate Pre-Tihar

Members of Gorkha community in Kohima lighting lamps at the Pre-Tihar celebration.

KOHIMA | Publish Date: 11/3/2021 12:08:30 PM IST

Gorkha community in Kohima celebrated Pre-Tihar (Deepawali Milan) jointly organised by Gorkha Public Panchayat Kohima (GPPK) and subordinate bodies at Multi-utility hall Chandmari Kohima on Tuesday night.

Extending greetings on the occasion, GPPK president Santu Thapa expressed hope that Tihar, which was also known as the festival of lights, brings abundance of blessing to the Gorkhas/Nepali community and the people of the State in general.

On the occasion, Thapa also led in paying homage to the forefathers of the community for being early settlers and participating in the developmental process of Kohima by engaging in different fields.

A moment of silence was also observed in honour of the departed souls.

Compere Jenny Lamichane dwelt on the significance of the celebration while Bhailo and Deusi, traditional songs that sung during the festival were presented by members of Gorkha Sahitya Kala Sanstha followed by entertainment by various clubs and Assam Rifles band.

Keneizhakho Nakhro, MLA, Deputy IGAR(N) Brig Vinod Bajiya, Col Ganesh Nagarajan, ADC Kohima N Bhavani Sri and officials of Tsutuonuomia Khel Council led by its vice chairman Kelhousinyu Solo also joined the celebration.
International

Saleh asks Ashraf Ghani to release tapes with US envoy

Amrullah Saleh

New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) | Publish Date: 11/2/2021 1:20:52 PM IST

Amrullah Saleh, Vice President of the former Afghan government, has asked former President Ashraf Ghani to release the tapes of the peace process with Zalmay Khalilzad and other relevant foreign diplomats in particular of the past July and August, Khaama Press reported.

Saleh in a Twitter post said that Ghani must do it to counter the growing propaganda that accuses the Afghan side of the collapse of Afghanistan.

I know these tapes exist and you have them. This is the time to release, Saleh said in a tweet.

This comes after Khalilzad, the former US special envoy to Afghanistans reconciliation, and US secretary of state Antony Blinken accused Ghani to have been behind the collapse of the previous Afghan government.

Blinken in his latest interview with CBS said that he had talked with Ghani and he had endorsed to hand on the government to the Taliban but added that he fled Afghanistan the following day.

Ghani in his remarks after leaving Afghanistan had said that he escaped his country to prevent bloodshed and destruction of Kabul.
4H Virtual Fair 2020

Celebrating the local county fair!

COVID-19 may have canceled the local fair, but that's not stopping us from celebrating the best of our community with this tribute to Virtual Fairs 2020. Help us highlight the best of the local fair competition by telling us what you would have entered in this year's fair competitions.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-02 18:33:47|Editor: huaxia

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Mohammad Mozeh, a young engineer, processes a design on his laptop in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Oct. 23, 2021. Fed up with the gloomy atmosphere pervasive in photos of the war-torn Syria, Mohammad Mozeh decided to insert famous cartoon characters into photos about everyday life to cheer up people in the country. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)



by Hummam Sheikh Ali

DAMASCUS, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Fed up with the gloomy atmosphere pervasive in photos of the war-torn Syria, Mohammad Mozeh decided to insert famous cartoon characters into photos about everyday life to cheer up people in the country.

"My goal is to make the reality look better and give a positive look to the situation we are living through," the 26-year-old graphic designer told Xinhua. He hoped to add some positive energy to the photos taken in his country, to show that amid tough situations, there is a space for something optimistic and beautiful.

The idea started at university, when he used to add cartoon characters to the photos of dull lectures. Gradually, the idea inspired him to insert cartoon characters into photos of daily life taken by himself or other people, making the photos brighter and highlighting the real superheroes in society. And he shared the pictures through his social media accounts.

He put the image of Cinderella inside a crowded passenger bus in the capital of Damascus. With her in the bus, Mozeh wanted to say that even though people in the bus looked tired and weary, they were still beautiful.

In another photo, Mozeh placed a Superman cape on the shoulders of a scavenger, who was cleaning the streets in the cold weather. And he brought a Superman to help a man carrying a cooking gas cylinder, saying that the scavenger and the man carrying a cooking gas cylinder are the real-life superheroes in Syria.

"I started looking for photos that have meanings and try to add a cartoon character to it to amplify the meaning of the photo. Sometimes, the characters may also have some sort of suffering like Cinderella or someone with superpower like Superman," he said.

In another photo, there was a man standing over a bridge in Damascus, resting his head in his hands with weariness so obvious in his posture. Mozeh thought that this man would want a genie to grant him some wishes. He brought the famous blue genie and designed the photo as if the genie is hugging the man to give him comfort.

The young man wishes that people in Syria would begin to look for positive things, wear a smile on their faces to try to make life easier.

In the future, Mozeh hopes that he could make videos with animated cartoons to reach more people. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-02 23:58:29|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's three-pronged proposal, including upholding multilateral consensus, focusing on concrete actions and accelerating the green transition, is vitally important for the world community to address climate challenge, foreign experts and scholars have said.

Xi made the proposal in a written statement for the World Leaders Summit at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is being held in Glasgow, Scotland.

British author and political commentator Carlos Martinez said he "essentially agrees" with Xi's proposals during the COP26 conference. "The essential thing we need to do is to uphold multilateralism. We need to start working together, stop playing blame games," Martinez said.

He called on all parties to stick to the Paris Agreement and the framework of common but differentiated responsibilities to deal with climate issues. "Let's coordinate around how we can support developing countries, especially the least developed countries that don't have the financial and infrastructure resources to reduce carbon emissions," he added.

Antony Froggatt, deputy director of Environment and Society Programme Chatham House, a London-based think tank and also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, said global cooperation and technical innovation are crucial for tackling global challenges like climate change.

He gave an example of cooperation among the European Union, China and the United States, saying that there are great potentials for the three sides to work together in renewable energy industry such as solar energy and wind energy.

"It is these three blocs that not only deliver the world's biggest deployment of technologies, but by doing so, can enable falling costs, which enables other countries also to deploy these technologies," he said.

Vice President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Danny Alexander said he believes that the green transition will be accelerated when addressing climate change. "Green investment can be a crucial part of the economic recovery over the next several years after the COVID-19 pandemic," as there is a huge need for clean energy and urban projects such as subways, light rails, water and sanitation projects, he noted.

"Every project now has to also be able to be adapted and resilient to climate change in the future," he added.

Pui Jeng Leong, a media veteran in Brunei, said President Xi's proposal of focusing on concrete actions is highly necessary. Actions speak louder than words in terms of efforts to cope with global climate change, he said, adding that China has been making all-out efforts to honor its carbon reduction commitments and push forward a comprehensive green transformation in development. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 05:35:25|Editor: huaxia

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File photo shows voters filling in their ballots at a polling station in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, Nov. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Outrage among parents, uncertainty on economic issues, as well as U.S. President Joe Biden's record-low approval ratings are coalescing to make this tightest gubernatorial race in recent memory.

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The governor's race in the U.S. state of Virginia is neck and neck, and the result could have major implications for the country's future political landscape.

The race is happening in a state that has been led by Democratic governors for over a decade.

As Virginians head out to vote on Tuesday, the average of polls from RealClearPolitics, a U.S. political news website and polling data aggregator, showed the Republican candidate was leading by 1.7 percent. The win is still up for grabs, and that could foreshadow the U.S. political environment for the next couple of years, experts said.

In a speech from Norfolk of Virginia on Friday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said the race would be a "bellwether" for what would occur in the near future.

"It's a close election and it's a bellwether for what happens in the rest of the country," she said.

An unusual combination of factors - from the alleged cover-up of a sexual assault in a local school bathroom to how racial justice issues are taught - are playing out in Virginia, part of which borders on Washington D.C., the national capital.

Outrage among parents, uncertainty on economic issues, as well as U.S. President Joe Biden's record-low approval ratings are coalescing to make this tightest gubernatorial race in recent memory.

That's a sharp about-face in a state that Biden, a Democrat, carried by ten points in last year's presidential elections, and one that has not seen a Republican winning a statewide election since 2009.

The race, between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, occurs a year after Biden clinched the White House from former President Donald Trump. While Biden got off to a good start, recent months have seen his popularity plummet on issues ranging from his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, urban crime, and the economy.

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that a Youngkin victory would "signal a way for Republicans to embrace Trumpism without getting too close to Trump himself."

"It provides a path for 2022 (midterms) and 2024 (presidential race) for GOP candidates to present themselves to voters in ways that resonate in competitive states," West said.

File photo shows voters walking into a polling station in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, March 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Clay Ramsay, a researcher at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland, told Xinhua that if Youngkin wins, it means "the Democrats have not produced enough on a national level to get a higher turnout from their own Democrats and some independents."

"If McAuliffe wins by a hair, this will still start the alarm bells about the midterms. But if Youngkin wins by a hair, this will be interpreted as a resounding Republican victory with national implications," Ramsay said.

Youngkin is doing a careful tightrope walk by distancing himself from Trump - the de facto GOP leader, and a polarizing figure in increasingly Democratic Virginia.

McAuliffe has tried to paint Youngkin as a far-right Trump ally, but that strategy may have backfired in the home stretch of the race.

That's because Youngkin has eschewed Republican Party bigwigs and zeroed in on state-specific issues - particularly education.

Indeed, education stands as the top among Virginians - at 21 percent, six points ahead of jobs, according to a recent WFXR News/Emerson College poll.

The issue has become tense in recent months, as parents in Northern Virginia have grabbed national headlines, lambasting school board officials in public meetings for what they said were plans to teach critical race theory, or CRT.

Many parents in the state believe - rightly or wrongly - that CRT promotes racism and division in society, and the GOP blames this on what they bill the radical left wing of the Democratic Party.

Youngkin recently ran an ad that showed McAuliffe stating in a debate that he didn't think "parents should be telling schools what they should teach." McAuliffe later said the statement was taken out of context.

Education has also taken center stage after students took classes online for more than a year during the pandemic. Experts said online learning for children is not as effective as in-person study in a classroom environment.

Many parents are concerned that their children have lost a year or more of education, and many have expressed that they are feeling anxious over the issue.

Christine Hayden, a manager in a small company in her 50s, told Xinhua she's concerned about the possibility of teaching CRT in schools. She is also outraged about the alleged sexual assault in the school bathroom that officials allegedly covered up.

Stephanie Newman, an office worker in Virginia in her 40s, told Xinhua she would never vote Republican, mostly because of Trump. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 07:25:11|Editor: huaxia

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A woman promotes Scottish products via live streaming during a preview banquet held in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 2, 2021. Scottish Development International (SDI) on Tuesday held a preview banquet ahead of the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE). A total of 37 Scottish exhibitors attending the 4th CIIE participated in the event with various featured products. (Xinhua/Ren Long)


Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 07:33:34|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Low-income countries worldwide are still facing difficulty in accessing COVID-19 vaccines as the global death toll inflicted by the ongoing pandemic has reached five million.

The inequitable distribution of doses has currently become a major bottleneck in the global fight against the disease.

U.S., EUROPE HARDEST HIT

According to the latest data from World Health Organization (WHO), as of 5:40 p.m. CET (1640 GMT), there have been 246,951,274 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 5,004,855 deaths, reported to the WHO.

The United States has the highest cumulative number of confirmed cases and deaths, with almost 45.68 million cases and 740,366 deaths, accounting for nearly 18.5 percent and 14.8 percent respectively of the world's totals.

In terms of WHO regional offices, the Americas and Europe have so far reported 93,711,700 and 77,231,883 confirmed cases, and 2,296,114 and 1,432,224 deaths, respectively. The two regions together account for nearly 70 percent of the world's confirmed cases and about 74.5 percent of deaths.

WHO said that for the week ending Oct. 24, the number of new confirmed cases and deaths reported weekly worldwide had increased for the first time in two months, or four percent and five percent respectively week-on-week, as the continued rise in the European region outweighed declines elsewhere.

Europe had reported an increase in new confirmed cases for four consecutive weeks, up 18 percent compared to the previous week.

FURTHER SPREAD AS WINTER NEARS

WHO experts have said recently that many countries have already phased out restriction measures against COVID-19, but with the onset of autumn and winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the emergence of cold snaps, people will be more inclined to spend more time indoors, leading to reduced social distances, which, combined with poor ventilation, could lead to further spread of the virus and a continued increase in new cases in the future. This is particularly true in Europe.

"Cases will increase. We have the Delta variant. The Delta variant is evolving. We are tracking more than 30 sublineages of this so the pandemic will continue," said Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the WHO's Health Emergencies Program.

Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, has expressed concerns that communities are going back to what people consider as normal and restrictions have been progressively lifted in many countries in stages over the last number of months, which is coinciding with the winter period when people are moving inside as the cold snaps appear.

"In that sense, there is more social mixing, there is more movement and when you have more social mixing and more movement in the presence of a virus that spreads by a respiratory route then you're going to get more cases. That's a reality," he said.

Ryan also warned of repeating the situation last year when large-scale COVID-19 outbreaks led to extreme pressure on national healthcare systems. He held that the fact that many countries in the European Union (EU) have been able to decouple the incidence from the deaths speaks to the value of the vaccines.

"The issue is that that benefit (of vaccines) is not available to so many millions of people in so many countries, including those health workers in countries all around the world. So we will expect to see increases in cases," he said.

Ryan also suggested that the focus should not be too much on the overall percentage of people who are vaccinated, but most importantly on those in high-risk groups who have missed vaccinations but are still at the highest risk of infection and death.

ACCESSING DIFFICULTIES FOR LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES

The inequitable global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has led to many low-income countries having difficulty in accessing vaccine doses, which has become a major bottleneck in responding to the pandemic.

According to WHO's records, more than 6.89 billion vaccine doses ha been administered globally. It said early last month that almost one-third of the world's population had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, low-income countries had received less than half of one percent of the world's vaccines. In Africa, less than five percent of people were fully vaccinated.

WHO announced an initiative in early October to vaccinate 40 percent of the population of every country against COVID-19 by the end of 2021 and 70 percent by mid-2022, by prioritizing vaccine delivery to low-income countries, particularly those in Africa.

According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, achieving these targets will require at least 11 billion vaccine doses, which is an allocation problem instead of a supply problem. "With global vaccine production now at nearly 1.5 billion doses per month, there is enough supply to achieve our targets, provided they are distributed equitably," he said last month.

In addition to calling on countries with high vaccine coverage to swap delivery schedules with COVAX, the WHO-led international vaccine campaign, and to fulfill their dose-sharing pledges immediately, WHO has been asking vaccine manufacturers to prioritize and fulfill contracts with COVAX as a matter of urgency, and to be "more transparent on what is going where, and to share know-how and non-exclusive licenses to enable all regions to increase manufacturing capacity."

At the G20 summit just concluded in Rome, WHO called on participants to increase vaccine supplies for the world's poorest, to ensure access to vaccines for all people on the move, and to support low- and middle-income countries to combat COVID-19 with all available means, including financial, political, technical and logistical support. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 22:14:50|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wednesday urged the United States to stop harassing and suppressing Chinese students and visiting scholars, so as to create a sound atmosphere for bilateral cultural exchanges and educational cooperation.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a query about the recent repatriation of Chinese students and visiting scholars by the United States.

Wang Wenbin said there have been frequent incidents of harassment and suppression of Chinese students and visiting scholars to the United States, adding that some days ago a visiting Chinese scholar with a visa issued by the U.S. government was repatriated after being interrogated while entering the country.

According to incomplete statistics, since August this year, nearly 30 Chinese students and visiting scholars to the United States have suffered such unfair treatment, and many people have been harassed and questioned by the United States in a rough way, Wang said.

"Most of the above-mentioned people were asked whether they or their parents were members of the Communist Party, or if they had been assigned tasks by the Chinese government before going to the country," he said, adding that some of them were repatriated for unbelievable reasons, such as being suspected of having military background because photos of college military training were found in their mobile phones. "These interrogations have gone far beyond the ambit of normal law enforcement claimed by the United States."

Wang said that the United States claimed to welcome Chinese students on the one hand, and inherited the poisonous legacy of the previous administration on the other.

Some law enforcement departments and personnel in the United States continue to generalize the concept of national security and harass Chinese students and scholars, he said, pointing out that these moves run counter to the mutually beneficial and win-win nature of cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides, seriously hurt the feelings of the people on both sides, and affect mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries.

"We urge the U.S. side to stop such practices that harm others without benefiting itself and create a sound atmosphere and necessary conditions for China-U.S. cultural and educational exchanges and cooperation. We will firmly safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese personnel pursuing studies in the United States," Wang said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-04 03:58:55|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's senior nuclear negotiator, said on Wednesday that the Vienna nuclear talks for the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will resume on Nov. 29.

"In a phone call with Enrique Mora, we agreed to start the negotiations aiming at the removal of unlawful and inhumane sanctions on Nov. 29 in Vienna," Bagheri Kani tweeted.

After meetings between Bagheri Kani and Mora, deputy secretary-general of the European External Action Service, in Tehran and Brussels, Iran and the European Union had agreed on the resumption of talks in November.

Iran has said the issue of lifting sanctions and the related parties' full implementation of obligations to the JCPOA will be the main agenda of the talks which has been suspended since June following a shift in Iran's administration. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 09:24:33|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday that it provided assistance to over 150 families displaced by floods in eastern Libya.

"More than 150 families in eastern Libya have been displaced from their homes due to flash floods caused by the heavy rain over the weekend," the UN migration agency said in a statement.

This emergency triggered the UN Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) which includes coordinated emergency assistance from World Food Programme, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Libya, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Libya and IOM to support the affected households with assistance, the statement said.

"In line with RRM's commitment to respond within 72 hours of an emergency, IOM jointly with RRM members distributed food, core relief items and drinking water in Albayar to 85 households and in Almaraj/Tacnis to 73 households," it said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 09:32:19|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Libya's anti-illegal migration department said on Tuesday that 163 illegal migrants have been deported to their native country of Nigeria.

"Based on instructions from the Ministry of Interior and the Attorney General's office, 163 illegal Nigerian migrants, including women and children, managed to return to their country voluntarily in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)", the department said in a statement.

All the migrants have been tested for COVID-19 before departure, it added.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.

The Voluntary Humanitarian Return program, run by the IOM, arranges the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya to their homelands.

Since 2015, more than 53,000 illegal migrants have returned from Libya through the program, with support from the European Union and the Italian Migration Fund, according to the IOM. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 15:05:47|Editor: huaxia

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by Mahmoud Fouly

CAIRO, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian professor has urged countries to take actions on climate change, as the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is underway in Glasgow, Scotland.

"Climate change affects everything, including agriculture, marine life, human health, economy and all," Egyptian environment professor Magdy Tawfik Khalil, who teaches at the Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University in Cairo, told Xinhua during an interview.

The COP26 summit, Khalil said, represents a chance for earnest actions to save the planet from the consequences of global warming.

Most Western countries, who had enjoyed the results of the Industrial Revolution, should take the responsibility to address climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuel and providing developing countries with such support as funding and technology, according to the expert on environmental issues.

Developing countries in North Africa, for instance, are concerned about possible ice melting and submergence of coastal cities due to global warming, which could raise the level of the Mediterranean Sea, Khalil noted.

"The problem of developing states is mainly the lack of funds, as we all know, for it takes considerable amounts of money to build protection barriers for coastal cities," he explained.

Khalil stressed China has been playing a positive role in backing efforts to limit climate change and global warming.

China is becoming less reliant on coal, with the proportion of coal consumption declining significantly to address pollution and climate change caused by fossil-fuel combustion.

"China has started early in facing these challenges through changing and diversifying its sources of energy," Khalil added. "The Chinese have started to rely on solar energy technologies and reduce the use of coal and petroleum." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 22:27:56|Editor: huaxia

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by Marwa Yahya

QENA, Egypt, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- "I came to Luxor to discover more about Ancient Egypt's civilization from temples and unique archeological sites," said Ellina Artel, a 30-year-old Russian tourist.

Home to many world-renowned tourist attractions, Egypt's monument-rich Luxor city has been suffering from a limited number of tourists in the wake of COVID-19.

"The diverse antiquities in Luxor mirror glory and development of Ancient Egypt," Artel told Xinhua, adding that she was impressed by the city's historical sites.

She also enjoyed the sunny weather and natural scenes of Luxor, noting that she will end her trip in the city by taking a Nile cruise to Aswan, another famous historical city of Upper Egypt.

Cultural tourism in Egypt, especially in the warm southern provinces, has seen a flow of tourists ahead of the coming winter with COVID-19 precautionary measures being taken by the government.

According to Mohamed Othman, chairman of the Cultural Marketing Committee in Luxor, the winter tourism season started this year with increasing tourists from European countries like Spain, France, Romania and some Asian countries.

The occupancy in hotels now has reached 80 percent compared to only 10 percent in the past season, he said.

Lately, ministers of tourism and aviation decided to run two weekly flights from the Red Sea resort cities Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada to Luxor International Airport.

"The decision has encouraged tourists to visit Luxor and Aswan, the paradise of temples in Egypt, after enjoying the beaches of the Red Sea," he said.

Media coverage of the restoration works in al-Karnak Temple and the upcoming reopening of the Avenue of Sphinxes has drawn the tourists' attention, he added.

Othman added that, in the past, Nile cruises at the sites were inadequate compared to the number of tourists, pushing the government to establish one of the most important Nile docks in Africa with special places for the disabled and movable chairs for the old.

There are 54 Nile cruises working but only four were there last year, Othman said.

Like Luxor, Aswan province has also received a large number of tourists for the first time since COVID-19 broke out in 2020, according to Abdel Monem Saeed, general manager of Aswan and Nubia Antiquities Authority.

He mentioned that temples in Philae, Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo, and Edfu were magnets for visitors from Latin America, the United States, and some Asian countries.

Around 1,750 tourists visited Dendera Temple last week after almost two years of setback, he said, adding that tourist agencies recently have created a program that includes the Red Sea resorts and archeological sites in Luxor, Aswan, and Qena in one trip.

He also praised efforts of the tourism ministry to welcome many foreign bloggers and influencers, especially those sharing their experience visiting Egypt, to contribute to the revitalization of the country's tourism industry.

Tourism constitutes nearly 12 percent of the country's GDP, according to official statistics.

In 2019, Egypt's tourism revenues hit a record high of 13 billion U.S. dollar, before its sharp decline in 2020 due to the outbreak of the pandemic. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 23:14:20|Editor: huaxia

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YAOUNDE, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least two Cameroonian soldiers were killed on Wednesday in an ambush by suspected separatist fighters in the country's restive Anglophone region of Southwest, according to security and local sources.

The soldiers, on their way to buy some basic commodities from a nearby village, were ambushed and killed in Ekondo Titi locality of the region by gunmen, a security official told Xinhua but opted for anonymity.

Separatist fighters who want to create an independent nation in Cameroon's two Anglophone regions are known to be active in the locality, according to security reports.

Government forces and separatist fighters have been clashing in the regions since 2017. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-04 04:45:57|Editor: huaxia

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Illegal immigrants are seen at Misurata International Airport in Misurata, Libya, on Nov. 3, 2021. A group of 91 illegal immigrants, mostly children, on Wednesday were voluntarily repatriated from Libya to their home country Niger. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A group of 91 illegal immigrants, mostly children, on Wednesday were voluntarily repatriated from Libya to their home country Niger.

"Based on instructions from the Interior Minister regarding resumption of voluntary repatriation flights for illegal immigrants, a flight deported from Misurata International Airport to Niger's Niamey airport through the International Organization for Migration (IOM)," Hussain Attorki, head of migrants deportation department in Misurata International Airport, told Xinhua.

"The flight carried 91 illegal immigrants, including six men, 25 women, and 60 children and infants," he added.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.

The Voluntary Humanitarian Return program, run by the IOM, arranges the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya to their homeland.

Since 2015, more than 53,000 illegal immigrants have been repatriated from Libya through the program, which is carried out under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration and through the Italian foreign ministry's Migration Fund. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-04 05:02:31|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that 357 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya.

"357 persons were returned last night to Tripoli (90) and to Zawiya (267) in two separate operations. 54 women and 22 children among them," UNHCR tweeted.

"The boat returned to Tripoli with 90 onboard was in distress at sea for two days. UNHCR & IRC provided medical aid & assistance to all survivors," it said.

Many illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya, given the chaos and insecurity that have plagued the North African country since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

According to UNHCR, nearly 28,000 illegal immigrants have been rescued and returned to Libya so far this year.

Rescued migrants were detained inside overcrowded reception centers across Libya, despite repeated international calls for closing those centers. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 09:09:32|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Although unable to fly to China himself due to COVID, Tony Carapetis, chief winemaker of the Monteperle Wines greeted the Chinese people in a video to be shown at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) starting this Friday.

"The CIIE offered great opportunities to expand markets in China," he told Xinhua.

Located in the renowned wine-producing region of Barossa Valley in South Australia, the Monteperle was a relatively young brand, founded in 2017. It is a small winery with an annual production of about 60,000 bottles.

It made debut in the CIIE in 2019, second year of the event, after local government of South Australia encouraged businesses to attend.

"The sheer size of the event allows us to present our wines to the maximum amount of interested people. The face to face contact meant we could discuss our products directly, taste with the potential customers, and answer their questions without delay," said Carapetis.

"It also allowed us to get the valuable feedback about our wines that we need," he continued. "It helps us understand our markets and customer to ensure that we are making the products that fit their requirements, in terms of styles, varieties, and price."

According to Vivian Zhang, general manager of the Jia Yuan Hua Wines which is owner of the Monteperle, the CIIE is a bridge between China and the rest of the world, where they managed to make their brand known. The previous CIIE events brought them about 100 clients and potential clients.

While living standard of the Chinese people kept rising, the demand for high-quality consumer products such as wine also grew.

"Chinese market has huge potential to tap," she said, adding that in the past years she knew other companies were also enthusiastic to go to the CIIE.

"The CIIE is an important platform for people-to-people exchanges," she said. "It boosts friendship between our two peoples and increases the understanding of Australians in China."

Relationship between China and Australia slipped in recent years but Zhang saw it as temporary. "Economies between China and Australia are complementary," she said. "The relationship will be back to normal sooner or later. After all, a sound and healthy relationship of the two countries benefits the ordinary people."

Sometimes owners of the wineries in Barossa Valley get together and talk about the future, and Zhang said they still had hope for the Chinese market.

"So this is also a reason why we are going to the CIIE," she said. "The Chinese market is always important and we would like to continue our business with Chinese clients." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 09:18:08|Editor: huaxia

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NUR-SULTAN, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan's food producers who have attended the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in previous years keenly hope that the upcoming edition will bring them new opportunities from the ever-expanding Chinese market.

Global Beverages, a Kazakh manufacturer of soft and alcoholic beverages, will take part in the expo for the second time.

Dmitry Zhukov, the company's export manager, said that a kind of mineral water with a lightweight composition will be presented at the 4th CIIE and Chinese consumers will also have an opportunity to taste the Kazakh vodka, cognac, whiskey and gin.

"We have specially designed packagings for the Chinese market. We really hope that the expo will not be just a show, but facilitate the conclusion of contracts and entry into the Chinese market. This will give us a big boost to growth," Dmitry Zhukov told Xinhua.

The Kazakh Meat Processing and Service company, a major beef exporter to China with a fattening base for 3,000 head of cows, will attend the upcoming CIIE virtually.

"Our company has participated in the CIIE since 2019. At the CIIE of that year, we signed a contract of 50 million U.S. dollars and exported about 2,500 tons of meat in six months," said Bakhytzhan Abdrasilov, founder of the company.

Abdrasilov said his company, one of the four meat firms that received a permit for export to China, hopes to ink new contracts with Chinese partners.

Araltuz, a century-old salt production company in Kazakhstan, will attend the CIIE for the fourth time. "This reaffirms our interest in entering the Chinese market," Sales Director Evgeny Korol told Xinhua.

Korol said the company will take part in the exhibition online but has sent samples to Shanghai.

"The package of salt is adapted to the Chinese market by adding Chinese characters," he said.

"I attended the first CIIE personally. The exhibition was really grand and covered almost all industries and types of products worldwide," Korol said, recalling his first participation in the event in 2018.

"We shipped a small batch of salt to China in two wagons this year, so that Chinese distributors can get acquainted with the products," he added.

A total of 27 Kazakh enterprises will attend the 4th CIIE, which will be held in China's Shanghai on Nov. 5-10. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 13:14:11|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Phil Twyford announced Wednesday that New Zealand has ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

Signed in November last year, the RCEP is a mega trade deal between 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Once in effect, the deal will eliminate tariffs on as much as 90 percent of goods traded between its signatories over the next 20 years. RCEP will be a trade agreement between 15 economies in the region that is home to almost a third of the world's population, nearly a third of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), and collectively takes over half of New Zealand's exports.

Twyford noted that the deal will unlock huge economic benefits for exporters and businesses, as well as new market access.

"For New Zealand exporters, businesses and investors this means: A single set of trade and investment rules across the entire RCEP region, increasing certainty and reducing complexity. The opportunity for our exporters to get their products into RCEP-wide regional value chains."

"More market access opportunities, especially for services and investment into China and some ASEAN member states. Less red tape for exporters, and more streamlined trade; and new rules on government procurement, competition policy and electronic commerce, which will help New Zealand exporters take advantage of increased business opportunities," Twyford said.

"Our primary industries will also benefit - with the new expectation that customs authorities will release perishable goods within six hours of arrival, helping to reduce spoilage and save money," he said.

"This agreement will also enable our businesses to be better connected via regional supply chains and provide more certainty to exporters in what remain globally uncertain times."

Independent analysis by ImpactECON has shown that over a period of 20 years, New Zealand's annual GDP will be between 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent larger as a result of the agreement. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 13:38:17|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A survey released on Wednesday by researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Sydney revealed the ongoing trauma caused on firefighters by the devastating Black Summer bushfires in Australia.

More than 18.6 million hectares of land, mostly on Australia's east coast, were burned by fires that raged for more than half a year from 2019 to 2020.

The survey, published in the Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, took responses from some 65,000 firefighters involved in fighting the bushfires, 78 percent of whom were volunteers.

Shockingly, nearly half of the respondents reported suffering from post-traumatic stress symptoms in the 12 months following the fires. About 11.1 percent were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and 5.5 percent reported making suicide plans.

Despite that, less than half had sought mental health support in the year following the fires.

Lead researcher and Associate Professor Erin Smith said the results were concerning and revealed a lack of progress in supporting emergency responders.

"Experience from the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria told us the mental health impact on those who respond to major bushfire events will likely be complex and protracted," she said.

A large barrier to impacted firefighters getting the support they needed was the stigma that exists around seeking mental health help, especially among members of the male dominated firefighting industry.

Data from men's mental health support organization MensLine Australia showed that men in Australia were significantly less likely to reach out for support compared to women, and as much as three times as likely to commit suicide.

"This culture continues to promote the belief that speaking out about mental health is weak, and that there is a need for firefighters to be impervious to the impact of trauma exposure," said Smith.

Smith said to combat this phenomenon, organizations needed to be both proactive and reactive, to "reach in" to offer support to firefighters and to be available for them to "reach out" for help.

"A critical part of preparing for future fire seasons is ensuring the wellbeing of volunteer personnel who are called upon to respond to fires and protect our communities." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 19:27:36|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,591 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, the lowest since Feb. 24, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,793,898.

The DOH also reported that 186 more people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the country's death toll to 43,586. Seven laboratories failed to submit data.

Metro Manila will lift a curfew from midnight to 4:00 a.m. local time in the capital region starting Thursday to allow malls to operate longer hours during the holiday season, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Benjamin Abalos said.

Abalos said the Metro Manila mayors agreed to lift the curfew as mall owners decided to extend the shopping hours until 11:00 p.m. instead of 10:00 p.m. local time, adding that lifting the curfew will "help spread out an influx of people (coming to and from the malls)."

The Philippines has eased the lockdown rules amid a dip in the daily COVID-19 cases and progress in the vaccination in Metro Manila, home to more than 13 million people, and other regions. The move allowed the opening of more businesses needed to revive the pandemic-hit economy.

The government said 87.78 percent of Metro Manila's target population have received the full double-vaccine doses. Metro Manila remains under alert level 3 on a scale of 5.

The Philippines has administered more than 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since March 1. Nearly 28 million people have been fully vaccinated. The government aims to vaccinate up to 70 percent of its 110-million population this year.

The Philippines ramped up the vaccination drive as it battled the third wave of infections that peaked in September. It reported its highest ever daily tally on Sept. 11, with 26,303 cases. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 09:45:02|Editor: huaxia

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DUBLIN, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ireland's daily COVID-19 cases on Tuesday surpassed the 3,000 mark for the first time since mid-January of this year, official data showed.

The Irish Department of Health said that a total of 3,726 new confirmed cases were reported on Tuesday, up by nearly 31 percent from Monday's 2,855 cases.

The country saw a spike in COVID-19 cases with the daily count averaging over 2,700 in the last six days, the fastest pace since the middle of this January.

Tony Holohan, chief medical officer with the Department of Health, urged all those who still need to get their COVID-19 vaccine to do so to prevent severe illness and hospitalizations.

There are still an estimated 300,000 people in Ireland who have not been vaccinated, said Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in a recent interview with local media.

People aged 60-79 have already started to receive their booster shots. And the booster program will be extended to frontline healthcare workers, said Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly on Monday.

He also called on the Dail, the top legislature in Ireland, to extend the COVID-19-related emergency legislation by another three months after it expires on Nov. 9, according to Irish national radio and broadcaster RTE.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Tuesday that there were no guarantees that the COVID-19 restrictions would not be re-introduced, according to RTE.

On Oct. 22, the Irish government removed most of the restrictions in the country. Only a few now remain in place, including social distancing in crowded places, wearing face masks in indoor settings and on public transport, and requirements of digital COVID-19 certificates for entry into certain indoor facilities. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 13:02:46|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- A British newspaper's recent report has criticized scapegoating China over climate change as "craven and inaccurate."

According to the Morning Star daily, Alok Sharma, former British Business Secretary and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's appointee to chair the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, had sought to put China in the dock with his widely publicized comments "we expected more."

"Simultaneously, our press has sought to paint China as a major climate change culprit," said an editorial published in the newpaper on Sunday.

The truth is, the article said, the United States' carbon emissions per head stand at more than double as China's, and more striking is the speed of China's development of zero-carbon technologies, such as on solar panels, high-speed electric trains, and electric cars.

China also generates more solar and wind power than the European Union, it added.

"At the same time, China, along with other developing countries, acknowledges the magnitude of the challenge. China has to match the developmental needs of its people in ways that will not jeopardise their own long-term future or that of the planet," it said.

"Scapegoating China as the problem, conveniently hides the real challenge that faces us," the article stressed. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 18:41:31|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained 17 suspects in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul for an attempted attack on a crew member of the U.S. Navy, the Istanbul Governor's Office announced on Wednesday.

The office said in a written statement that the suspects tried to put a sack over the crew member's head of a naval ship of the U.S. Navy, which recently anchored on Istanbul.

It noted that the incident occurred during a city tour, and "the suspects were detained upon the order of the chief public prosecutor's office."

The U.S. amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney arrived in Istanbul on Monday for a scheduled port visit. According to press reports, the ship is expected to sail toward the Black Sea to join a military drill this week. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-11-03 12:59:59|Editor: huaxia

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NEW YORK, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is a "world-class platform" that brings opportunities and enhances partnership for companies around the globe, a senior executive from U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell has said.

"The difference between CIIE and other expo-type exhibitions is that this is not a tourism opportunity. This is a world class platform for global companies like Honeywell to find new cooperation opportunities," Shane Tedjarati, president of Honeywell Global High Growth Regions, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"Since participating the very first time, we've been able to meet many new partners and discover new business opportunities. So I think the participation is of great significance for us," he said.

The CIIE is the first dedicated import exhibition in the world, and the 4th CIIE is slated to be held in Shanghai on Nov. 5-10 this year.

Honeywell was one of the first global companies to join the first CIIE in 2018, and this is the fourth consecutive year for the company to join the event.

Tedjarati said "partnership," "innovation," "new economy," and "China for the world," are among the key words as he recalled his company's experience with the CIIE.

Honeywell has seen fruitful outcomes in the previous three editions of the CIIE, and the company's booth area more than doubles that last year, fully demonstrating confidence and determination to further explore the "CIIE opportunities," he said.

More than 30 Honeywell products and solutions, including cutting-edge innovations in the areas of low-carbon technologies, advanced manufacturing, and digitalization, will be presented at this expo, a platform that facilitates connectivity, according to Tedjarati.

"For companies like us and other global companies with a long-term commitment to China, we can introduce our innovative technologies and solutions that cater to the Chinese market, but also find partners that would be willing to work with us to take these technologies and their technologies to global markets together. It's a great platform," he said.

Tedjarati said his company "really value the CIIE platform," noting "it's time for this platform to even get further prominence with China further opening up to the world."

Honeywell's business meets the market demand in China, and the company sees broad business prospects there especially when the country is striving for sustainability goals of peaking CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, said the senior executive, who has worked and lived in China for more than 20 years.

Honeywell has announced its commitment to carbon neutrality in all of its operations and facilities by 2035, which perfectly aligns with China's "dual carbon" goals, said Tedjarati.

"China is leader in the digital economy innovation already, we wanna continue to work in that area, the digital warehousing, e-commerce, supply-chain management, and advanced manufacturing...I think China can (also) be a role model in advancing technologies for a sustainable future," he said.

Honeywell has a long history of development in China. In 2013, China became the company's largest single country market outside the United States.

In its third-quarter results released lately, Honeywell said growth in China continues to be robust, as China's very favorable investment environment provides business opportunities for the company. Enditem
ACTING President Constantino Chiwenga yesterday extended the Covid-19 induced level two national lockdown by another two weeks.

He also said vaccination centres are required to commence vaccinating the 16-17-year age group with immediate effect after the Government extended the exercise to the older teenagers on Monday.

In a statement yesterday, Acting President Chiwenga said the lockdown extension comes at a time when the country has recorded a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

He said the decline in the number of Covid-19 cases speaks to the effectiveness of the lockdown measures put in place by Government.

The last two weeks has seen a reduction in the number of cases of Covid-19 which has resulted in the country recording an average of 45 new cases per day and an average of one death per day.

This indicates that the lockdown public health measures currently in place are effective in controlling the transmission of the virus, he said.

Acting President Chiwenga said globally and nationally, public health discussions have been ongoing regarding extending vaccination to children and other special groups such as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

Based on the available scientific data in line with Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe guidance, the specialist paediatricians have recommended the vaccination of the 16 to 17 years age group with the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, said Acting President Chiwenga.

The public is hereby advised that the Covid-19 vaccination for the 16 to 17 years age group has been approved. All the provinces, secondary schools, colleges, universities and vaccination centres are hereby required to commence the vaccination campaign of this age group with immediate effect. For the avoidance of doubt the only vaccine type eligible for this age is the Sinovac Covid-9 vaccine.

Acting President Chiwenga said Government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care, is determined that Zimbabwe achieves herd immunity by the end of December. Chronicle
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Eric Adams is the Democratic nominee for mayor of new York, which, in this overwhelmingly Democratic city, gives him a 97% chance (to pick a totally made-up number) of becoming the next chief executive of Americas largest municipal government. Over the course of the last few months, theres been no shortage of commentary about how his campaign was built on a combination of his unique biography, ethnic identity and a focused commitment to beat back the upsurge in crime. Some of this commentary has suggested that there isnt much there there beneath Adams surface.
I know what happened to Sgt. Adonis, and Im trying to figure out  and I think Im not the only one  how is it that Sgt. Adonis is the only one who got reprimanded out of everybody there, and it wasnt even her assignment at the moment? the judge asked.
Prince Andrew could be on the hot seat within two months, to answer questions in a lawsuit brought by a woman who says the British royal had sex with her three times starting when she was 16, the accusers lawyer said Wednesday.
[T[he Court is not at all convinced that his employment and rapid promotion at Exodus is appropriate, Irizzary said. While he allegedly is not involved in procuring contracts, he is involved in seeking property for the program, which is completely related to his criminal conduct involving his misappropriation of funds as a referee for the state court in forfeiture proceedings.
Judge Samuel Alito noted that there are already a lot of armed people in New York and on the subways late at night  theyre just carrying firearms illegally. He added that doormen and other workers who finish their shifts late commute through dangerous neighborhoods yet are not able to carry guns, even if theyre scared for their lives.
At the time of his arrest in that case, Garmie was also charged with murder for the fatal stabbing of a 24-year-old man. A grand jury concluded Garmie was acting in self-defense, since the stabbing victim was also armed with a knife and tried to rob Garmie.
When he died, cops only had one name for the victim: Abraham Rodriguez of Maine  the new identity given to him by the feds after he went into the witness protection program, the source said.
He deserved it. He was always beating on that woman. He was drinking every day and putting his hands on her and her son, a family friend who lives downstairs charged. There were two shots, and then the police came knocking.
An off-duty FDNY firefighter pulled over in Brooklyn for driving a BMW with excessively tinted windows sped off after he was caught with an unlicensed gun  only to crash as he jumped out of his car, police said.
Half an hour later cops spotted the SUV heading against traffic near the Jackie Robinson Parkway and Jamaica Ave. When those officers tried to pull over the vehicle the driver stopped short and the police cruiser rear-ended the SUV, police said.
At a Wednesday press conference Mayor de Blasio noted that even though the court system is not yet functioning at pre-COVID pandemic levels the rate of violent crime has slowed since the summer, with many neighborhoods across the city showing decreases compared to last year and some approaching 2019 levels.
A 26-year-old woman was struck twice in the leg and once in the arm. A 27-year-old man was blasted in the lower back and a 26-year-old man was shot in the arm, officials said.
In October 2020, Eisenman was told his juvenile daughter was sold into a sex trafficking ring in the Seattle area, and that Sorensen may have been the one responsible for her sale, police said. He was able to rescue his daughter and get her back to Spokane later the same month.
Murdaugh also admitted, through his attorneys, to a botched assisted-suicide scheme in which he paid a man, allegedly his drug dealer, to shoot him on the side of the road so his son Buster would receive a $10 million life insurance payout. The plan was exposed when Murdaugh survived.
Days ahead of the planned attack, Domingo, who had long spoken of recreating the October 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas, drove the agent and an associate to Long Beach to scout out the best location for the bomb to cause the most damage.
Fiona is a strong-minded and fearless young girl who was ready to conquer the world at 7, she told the newspaper. Unfortunately, the blows just seem to not stop as she was recently told after completing every assignment her teacher will provide that she is not only failing 2nd grade but that there is no way she could catch up, per her teacher.
Georgetown College does not tolerate violence or misuse of authority. We hold our administrators, students and faculty to the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct. We are surprised and deeply disappointed by what we have learned, Robert Mills, the Chairman of the Georgetown College Board of Trustees, said in a statement.
Roman was reported missing Jan. 11, 2020, and cops quickly located his body in a storage bin in the Piper family basement. But because the family moved around so much, the case became complicated, and the Pipers were not arrested until February 2021.
At 11, nothing was going on at that point, she had the guns prepped, she had them laid out on the cart, they then went to lunch, she came back, she had another duty and responsibility as key props assistant so she had gone to do that after she had provided the handgun to Mr. Halls, Bowles said.
The child, a girl named Stella, was born shortly before Mack was jailed and raised in prison for almost two years before she was given to a foster mother. When Mack was released from prison, the two were reunited, and Stella, now 6, was deported back to the U.S. alongside her mother.
Watchdog group Media Matters, which monitors conservative media movements like Fox News, noted that news organizations including the Daily News and Daily Dot had been contacted by Fox representatives uninvitedly asking off the record that it be clarified that Fox Nation, not Fox News, was broadcasting Carlsons fever dream. The Los Angeles Times reported that it was Carlson and his team that put together Patriot Purge, which it says was not worked on by Fox News journalists.
Instead, they both were dragged off the platform and out to the middle of the zipline, dangling about 100 feet above the ground. Romeros friend believes he intentionally let himself drop because he feared their combined weight would snap the line and leave them both injured.
This proposed constitutional amendment would freeze the number of state senators at 63, amend the process for the counting of the states population, delete certain provisions that violate the United States Constitution, repeal and amend certain requirements for the appointment of the co-executive directors of the redistricting commission and amend the manner of drawing district lines for congressional and state legislative offices. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
Well, we have two Democrats running and, most races, we have Democrat versus Republican in November, Hochul said last month. I didnt weigh in, and the process allows people to exercise different ways to be considered by the voters in November as well.
The voters I talked to want somebody who served as a federal prosecutor, never lost a case, prosecuted corruption from both sides of the aisle, and thats my record, he told the Daily News last month. They want someone whos going to be an honest and straightforward prosecutor with integrity.
Aside from changing how the states independent redistricting commission draws and approves legislative and congressional map, the measure would have also enshrined in the constitution that all people, regardless of citizenship status, be counted in the process and would have moved the deadline for the maps to be submitted to align with the states new June primaries.
I do agree with this decision, Adams said of de Blasios order during a morning appearance on PIX11. We can have a new form of isolation. You dont have to put someone in a small cell. Put them in another location where they wont be harmful to others. We can do the solitary aspect of this in a humane way, but you cant continue to put dangerous inmates back in the same housing areas where they are attacking innocent officers and those prisoners who are trying to serve their time.
We will need to wait some time for every vote to be counted  but just like in 2020, we are confident that there are enough absentee ballots to prevail once thats done, he said in a written statement. I look forward to counting every vote, and getting back to work for the neighborhoods where I was born and raised as your councilman.
So grateful to be called to serve, Carr tweeted after his win became clear. I have big shoes to fill after a eight years of @StevenMatteos tenure in office, and I will do all I can to be worthy of the trust the district has put in me.
He fought off Elizabeth Crowley, another former City Council member, in primaries last year and this year. In the June 22 primary this year, he won by less than 1 percentage point in the third and final ranked-choice round, according to the Board of Elections.
Bragg, who attended Harvard Law School, has said he was repeatedly held at gunpoint by cops as he grew up in Harlem in the rugged 1980s. He has promised his formative experiences in Manhattan would influence the way he would operate as district attorney.
In Manhattans borough president race, Councilman Mark Levine glided to victory. Im going to continue to be a public health warrior and work to beat back this pandemic, Levine, chair of the Councils Health Committee, told the Daily News on Monday. I want us to be able to pivot to deal with all the underlying issues that weve delayed acting on because of the pandemic.
Im not going to be a philosophical mayor, he continued. Im going to be a mayor thats going to be a GSD mayor. Get stuff done. We need to stop letting people living the life that theyre living right now. Were better than this as a country. And Ill be damned if people are going to continue to live this way in my city.
I think hes able to connect with so many New Yorkers, regardless of party and I think thats so important, Giuliani said. One of the things that I think: Whether you agree with Curtis on an issue, or you dont agree, you see that Curtis cares about New York and weve seen that with him getting hit by cabs and getting you know, hit by bullets, you know, over the past 30 years and 30 hours. So I think its that love for New York that shines through.
Sliwa provided perhaps the most dramatic moment of the day when he showed up at a voting site on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with a sling around one arm after a recent cab crash, and one of his 17 cats, Gizmo, wrapped in his other arm. He became enraged after he learned he would not be allowed to bring the feline in to vote.
Adams  whos set to be sworn into office on Jan. 1 as the first African-American mayor since David Dinkins  prevailed in the far more competitive Democratic primary this summer by portraying himself as a reformer who spent decades as an NYPD officer fighting police misconduct and racism from inside the department.
She also informed Democratic colleagues that she has reinserted four weeks of paid family leave into the bigger social spending package that the House plans to consider soon, days after it was removed to address concerns of moderates.
Trump raised eyebrows with a vow to come to Virginia to campaign for Youngkin in the closing days of the race, but later said he would visit after the election.
Youngkin, a political neophyte and former private equity executive, was able to take advantage of apparent apathy among core Democratic voters fatigued by years of elections that were seen as must-wins. He successfully portrayed McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor, Democratic National Committee chairman and close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, as part of an elite class of politicians. He also seized on a late-stage stumble by McAuliffe, who during a debate performance suggested parents should have a minimal role in shaping school curriculums.
Fenster is one of several international journalists who have been arrested since the coup. Almost all the others have been deported. Fensters family has said its hoping for the same fate.
Though the majority of the island has not been affected by the eruption, the threat of lava forced over 7,000 to evacuate their homes. Over 2,200 buildings were crushed or damaged by the coverage of more than 2,400 acres of molten rock.
Instead, the were left to flounder as box after box of frozen fish came down the belt, according to the BBC. The fish were ticketed for New Yorks Kennedy Airport.
When Mayor-elect Eric Adams takes the oath of office in January, he will begin his administration at a moment when the city is facing a myriad of crises  and when the future of education in our city is at stake. The new mayor must contend with a host of institutional problems, from the deeply inequitable impact of COVID-19 on students of color and the fact that New York City remains one of the most inequitably segregated school districts in the country, to the future of the citys specialized programs like gifted and talented education, as well as the future of selective high school admissions.
Though he would prefer not to hear it, Adams must know that Braggs stance as a progressive prosecutor is potentially at odds with the former cops promises to remedy what he describes as New Yorks state of disorder. Even if the next mayor empowers the NYPD to make more arrests, a DA unwilling to prosecute would leave cell doors wide open for suspects  many with long rap sheets  to walk right back onto the streets. This comes on the heels of legislative changes like bail reform and the recently passed Less is More Act, both of which will already constrain Adams from achieving the crime rate reductions hes promising New Yorkers.
Advocating for families looks different. It means listening to their stories, hearing their voices and sharing their burdens and pain. Our network of mothers who have lost children to homicide, the Voices of Black Mothers United, sends trained advocates to crime scenes to comfort the mothers, serve as liaisons between the families and police, and make sure the families are treated with respect and given the proper space and counsel to grieve.The simple gesture of sending someone who understands and looks after the family provides such needed relief and invites the community to be a part of the healing process.
Worse than the overreaction, though, is the fact that by concentrating on certain narratives (e.g. the The Democrats cant get their act together narrative due to two senators holding out and a couple of disappointing elections), the media fails to concentrate on the much, much bigger story: that we have a political party that is going to great lengths to undermine democracy through the closing of polling stations, the disavowal of legitimate elections, voter ID laws, voter caging and more. On top of that, the GOP is doing everything it can to sabotage any progress, even going so far (again) as to threaten to blow up the economy by refusing to raise the debt ceiling to pay for things they already spent money on. This should be the story, and we should stop wasting countless hours on virtually worthless predictions.
I think that mandatory gun safety training [should be required] for the actor so that they can check the guns themselves and know how to use them appropriately and so that they can keep others safe, she told AFP.
According to a news release, the restaurant will feature in the bar area a contemporary shrine to departed ancestors honored on the holiday every Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, as well as calaveras, representations of human skulls, imported from Mexican artists.
When we decided to launch Smack Wings, we set out to make the absolute best wings, said Brian Wright, CEO of Tijuana Flats. The whole strategic goal of the concept was to create a menu that is so craveable that no matter what you order, you will be dying to order again from the moment you taste it.
He showed me how he cut the eggplant and pressed it and browned it. How he layered everything. We did it together and took it over to my house and we all had dinner. That was my first big food moment with my papou and it made me think: Yeah, this is really cool. This is what Id like to do.
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UFs refusal to allow its professors to provide paid testimony is an example of university leaders reticence to stand up to lawmakers, Cassanello said. In Florida, most university trustees are appointed by the governor or the Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system. Most members of the Board of Governors are also appointed by the governor.
I really appreciated how he could bring the temperature of the room down and keep us all moving forward, said Long, who is white and a fellow Democrat. At this place and this time in the history of St. Petersburg, he is the perfect person for the job.
WKMG reached out to Johnson for comment, however, the news station was told Johnson is believed to be on vacation at this time.
Its become apparent that additional audio would assist investigators in obtaining a more complete picture of our deputies interactions with the public, Mina said. One of the reasons for this change is to capture audio and video in high-stress, critical incidents, where the deputy needs to react immediately - to save their life or someone elses  and may neglect to turn on their cameras until that critical first moment has passed.
The fast-growing community has seen its population soar by more than 50% to over 40,000 residents today since the year 2000. And many Oviedo residents say they have become wary of the traffic congestion and sprawl of new residential subdivisions that have popped up in recent years. Oviedo is expected to continue growing in the years ahead as more young families move into the area.
Two raccoons eagerly wait for a bottle of food at The Haven for Injured and Orphaned Animals in Altamonte Springs on Oct. 28, 2021. This backroom of the haven is where the animals are prepared to be moved outside before eventually being released to the wild. (Casey Almstead / Special to the Orlando Sentinel)
The universitys decision in regard to Spencer took courage and an unwavering focus on the sanctity of the First Amendment. It showed that the university was willing to endure students protests, upset faculty, and questions from other institutions that had made a different decision to not have an avowed Klansman speak at their campuses. It showed that the university could endure discomfort because it was devoted to the idea that differing opinions need to compete in the marketplace of ideas without censure or the concept of free speech would be harmed and belittled.
If you only communicate and say, Well, Latinos are progressives, then youre probably going to get the positive attention of an 18- to 25-year-old, Cardenas said. But that risks alienating someone holding down two or three jobs and raising a family, or someone working  he punched out the word for emphasis  who needs a roof over his or her head, or someone working who needs health care.
Anyway, while everyone from Fox News to the Los Angeles Times spotlighted Poseys audacity, few noted what hed been talking about before he delivered the insult. Among other things, it was unity. That came after Posey delivered another speech earlier this year about mutual respect, saying:   we are all fellow Americans and we must respect one another and work for the greater good of the American people.
Did you know how that started? DeSantis said. And you have the media, theyre hand wringing over this. But you know, there was a NASCAR race, and theyre doing an interview with a driver, I guess his name was Brandon. And the crowd starts chanting very colorful language about Joe Biden. And it was obvious that they were doing and, you know, it is what it is.
Sotos seat in Osceola and parts of Orange and Polk counties saw huge increases in the Puerto Rican population over the past 10 years and would seemingly trigger the requirement. Not doing so could open up the Legislature to lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act, which still protects minority representation despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that partisan motivation was now allowed.
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Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh revealed while dancing with contestant Divyansh on 'Lungi Dance' that he was trying to impress Deepika Padukone while shooting for this track. He was interacting with the contestant in the show 'The Big Picture', hosted by Ranveer. During the weekend episode, Divyansh will be answering the questions asked by the host Ranveer Singh and also they will be having conversation about their fathers. As Divyansh opens up to Ranveer about how his father has supported him in his struggles, the host also reveals how his father has deeply contributed to his success. Divyansh also told Ranveer that he is the first person from his village to become a Civil Engineer. He hails from Uttar Pradesh. Both Ranveer and Divyansh in a conversation opened up about their life struggles. Divyansh shared about the hardships his father faced to get him a good education. Ranveer also told how his father struggled financially when he went to study in America. He further mentioned how his father never made him realise the troubles he and his mother went through and can relate to Divyansh's story. Ranveer also danced with Divyansh on 'Lungi Dance' song. Ranveer revealed that he was trying to impress Deepika Padukone when she was shooting for this song. Ranveer said: "During the shoot of this song, I was on the sets as I was trying to woo Deepika." 'The Big Picture' airs on Colors.




Farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri have turned down the olive branch extended to them by Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, an accused in the October 3 incident in which four farmers were mowed down by his car.

The minister had called the farmers for a meeting at his residence on Tuesday to address problems related to paddy procurement and also to settle the October 3 violence case in which his son, Ashish, is the main accused.

Ashish Mishra is in jail and the case is being investigated by a special investigation team (SIT).

Leaders of the Sikh community held an emergency meeting at a gurdwara and asked farmers of the area to skip the meeting.

Jasbir Singh Virk, president of Bhartiya Sikh Sangthan, said, "We have unanimously decided not to go to his house for the meeting. We have nothing to do with him. He may try to lure our farmers by offering a higher price for their paddy, but he should remember that he cannot compensate for the lives lost in the October 3 incident. If any member of the Sikh community keeps any relationship with Mishra or his family the entire Sikh Samaj will boycott that person."

The family of Lovepreet, who was mowed down by a vehicle belonging to the minister, said, "The minister had sent an invitation through his men for a meeting to settle the case and arrive at a compromise. They also offered support in crop procurement but we refused."

"No action has been taken against the minister yet. We have nothing to do with him and his men," the farmers said.

A SIT member, meanwhile, said, "We are investigating the case. We have provided security to all the witnesses. If anyone faces any threat or any pressure is being put on him/her, then he/she may give a complaint in writing to us or to the local police. Appropriate action will be taken."
The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded a safety, cost and utility audit of a multi-level parking, a portion of which gave way at Green Park in the national capital.

AAP leader Somnath Bharti demanded that a Supreme Court-monitored SIT should be constituted to investigate the incident that occurred on Tuesday evening.

Addressing a press conference here, he said, "There is no safety audit, no cost audit or utility audit. We demand that all this be audited. A Supreme Court-monitored probe should be ordered and the incident should be investigated".

AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the automated parking was inaugurated by two Union Ministers at different times. It was inaugurated by Hardeep Puri in January 2020, just before the Assembly polls.

He alleged that crores of rupees were collected from the shopkeepers in the name of conversion and parking charges.

The parking was constructed at cost of Rs 19 crores at a place, where a surface parking lot already exists, Bhardwaj claimed.

The AAP leader said it was re-inaugurated in November 2020 by Union Minister R.K. Singh, LG Anil Baijal and MP Meenakshi Lekhi.

Bhardwaj said that the question is whether the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has any expertise in this type of parking lot, whether it had any safety audit or structural audit, whether any action has been taken against the officials who did it.

Alleging a scam in the construction of the automated multi-level parking, AAP leader Atishi demanded an immediate investigation into the matter, and said: "Who was the contractor and what type of material was used in the construction should be known to everyone."

She said that Union Minister Hardeep Puri should come forward and answer these questions.
US President Joe Biden has criticised the leaders of China and Russia for not turning up to the UN COP26 climate summit currently underway in Glasgow, the BBC reported.

In a speech on Tuesday night, Biden said climate was "a gigantic issue" and China "walked away" - adding it was the "same thing with Russia and Putin".

Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Chinese President Xi Jinping were at the summit.

Both countries however have sent delegations to the talks, which are due to run for two weeks until November 12.

China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the US. Russia is the fifth largest after the EU and India, the report said.

More than 120 leaders turned up at the conference in Scotland's largest city.

Both China and Russia are signatories of the pledge to reverse deforestation.

Before Biden's speech, Putin virtually addressed a meeting on forest management at the COP26 summit on Tuesday, saying that Russia takes the "strongest and most vigorous measures to conserve" woodlands, according to a Kremlin press release.

The US president made his comments when asked about the role that other countries, including China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, have played in talks so far.

"The fact that China is trying to assert, understandably, a new role in the world as a world leader - not showing up, come on," Biden said, adding that Xi's absence was a "big mistake", the BBC report said.

He said the same about Putin, saying that Russia's wilderness was burning and their president "stays mum" about the issue.
The Andromeda galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy 2.5 million light-years from Earth. Otherwise known as Messier 31, it hosts a double nucleus, which is well-explained by a massive disk of apse-aligned stellar orbits about a supermassive black hole, a configuration astronomers call an eccentric nuclear disk. In a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, a duo of University of Colorado Boulder astronomers proposes a new formation mechanism for such nuclear disks via the gravitational wave recoil kick of the central black hole.

When scientists first looked at the Andromeda galaxy, they were expecting to see a supermassive black hole surrounded by a relatively symmetric cluster of stars. Instead, they found this huge, elongated mass, said Dr. Ann-Marie Madigan, senior author of the paper.

In the new study, Dr. Madigan and her colleague, Tatsuya Akiba, used computer simulations to track what happens when two supermassive black holes go crashing together.

Based on their calculations, the force generated by such a merger could bend and pull the orbits of stars near a galactic center, creating that telltale elongated pattern.

When galaxies merge, their supermassive black holes are going to come together and eventually become a single black hole. We wanted to know: What are the consequences of that? Akiba said.

Mergers may play an important role in shaping these masses of stars. When galaxies collide, the black holes at the centers may begin to spin around each other, moving faster and faster until they eventually slam together.

In the process, they release huge pulses of gravitational waves. Those waves will carry momentum away from the remaining black hole, and you get a recoil, like the recoil of a gun.

The astronomers wanted to know what such a recoil could do to the stars within one parsec (3.3 light-years) of a galaxys center.

They used computers to build models of fake galactic centers containing hundreds of stars  then kicked the central black hole to simulate the recoil from gravitational waves.

The gravitational waves produced by this kind of disastrous collision wont affect the stars in a galaxy directly, Dr. Madigan said.

But the recoil will throw the remaining supermassive black hole back through space  at speeds that can reach millions of miles per hour, not bad for a body with a mass millions or billions of times greater than that of Earths Sun.

If youre a supermassive black hole, and you start moving at thousands of kilometers per second, you can actually escape the galaxy youre living in.

When black holes dont escape, however, we discovered they may pull on the orbits of the stars right around them, causing those orbits to stretch out.

The result winds up looking a lot like the shape we see at the center of Andromeda.

_____

Tatsuya Akiba & Ann-Marie Madigan. 2021. On the Formation of an Eccentric Nuclear Disk following the Gravitational Recoil Kick of a Supermassive Black Hole. ApJL 921, L12; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ac30d9
COP/26 comes in the wake of the latest (6th) Assessment Report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which focused the attention of the world on the portentous ominosity of the continued anthropocentric interference with the ecosystem without limitation that would spell doom for the planet and the welfare of generations to come.

by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne in Montreal

We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Abraham Lincoln

Although President Lincolns famous saying pertained to the abolition of slavery, the phrase last best hope resonates with the global climate crisis which The Secretary General of the United Nations calls a climate catastrophe and the three words were used by Alok Sharma, President of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP/26) now being held. COP was set up by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - the multilateral international treaty adopted by 154 States at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, informally known as the Earth Summit. The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system.

President Sharma said in his opening address at COP/26 which opened on Monday 1 November 2021 in Glasgow: COP/26 is the last, best hope to keep 1.5 in reach. 1.5 refers to the Paris Agreement of 2015 at which 196 countries among which were developed States (including the United States, which later withdrew from the Agreement) agreed during COP 21 in Paris to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016.

That COP/26 may be the last best hope to achieve the Paris target of 1.5 is a platitude. The issue however on everyones mind is would the last best hope be realized or would this also turn out to be what Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said: 30 years of climate action had amounted to "blah, blah, blah."?

COP/26 comes in the wake of the latest (6th) Assessment Report - released in August this year - of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) comprised of a panel of expert climate scientists - which focused the attention of the world on the portentous ominosity of the continued anthropocentric interference with the ecosystem without limitation that would spell doom for the planet and the welfare of generations to come. According to the IPCC Greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years and continue to rise. As a result, the earth is about 1.1C warmer than it was in the 1800s. The last decade was the warmest on record. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others. The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms, and declining biodiversity. People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways. It affects our health, ability to grow food, housing, safety, and work.

The IPCC Report categorically states that human influence is very likely the main driver of the global retreat of glaciers since the 1990s and the decrease in Arctic sea ice area between 19791988 and 20102019 (about 40% in September and about 10% in March) components of human influence, including emissions of greenhouse gases, aerosols and their precursors; land-use changes (land-use reflectance and irrigation); and aviation contrails. The Report also says that in 2019, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher than at any time in at least 2 million years and concentrations of CH4 and N2O were higher than at any time in at least 800,000 years. Since 1750, increases in CO2 (47%) and CH4 (156%) concentrations far exceed, and increases in N2O (23%) are similar to, the natural multi-millennial changes between glacial and interglacial periods over at least the past 800,000 years.

Global surface temperature has increased faster since 1970 than in any other 50-year period over at least the last 2000 years (said by IPCC with high confidence). Temperatures during the most recent decade (20112020) exceed those of the most recent multi-century warm period, around 6500 years ago13 [0.2C to 1C relative to 18501900). Prior to that, the next most recent warm period was about 125,000 years ago when the multi-century temperature [0.5C to 1.5C relative to 18501900] overlaps the observations of the most recent decade (said with medium confidence).

It is virtually certain that hot extremes (including heatwaves) have become more frequent and more intense across most land regions since the 1950s, while cold extremes (including cold waves) have become less frequent and less severe, with high confidence that human-induced climate change is the main driver14 of these changes. Some recent hot extremes observed over the past decade would have been extremely unlikely to occur without human influence on the climate system. Marine heatwaves have approximately doubled in frequency since the 1980s (high confidence), and human influence has very likely contributed to most of them since at least 2006.

At COP/26 therefore, our most charitable thought of the genuine intent of the delegates of COP/26 could be expressed in what Prime minister Boris Johnson said: to get on with the job (although he meant it in a different context). The question is, can COP/26 get on with the job amidst a plethora of failed promises in the past? What about the 100 billion US dollars per annum promised to the developing countries to assist them with tackling climate change? What about stopping the use of coal  the worst polluter  when new coal mines are opening? What about the global framework agreed to be developed at COP/24? What about the fact that the world remains on track for a dangerous global temperature rise of at least 2.7C this century even if Paris goals are met?

Will the leaders succeed in finalizing the Paris Rulebook, or the rules needed to implement the Agreement? Timelines will be crucial that are agreed upon on common timeframes for the frequency of revision and monitoring of climate commitments of States. In this regard, The United Nations opines that the world needs to halve greenhouse gas emissions in the next eight years. Would there be a globally agreed and enforceable agreement to this effect? Although there are net zero pledges by the European Union and some others, these are supposed to attain fruition only by 2030? Why? And does this comport with the IPCCs forecast that the world will reach 1.5 Celsius by 2030 when COP/26 believes that to have a chance of keeping global warming to 1.5C  and avoiding the most disastrous consequences  emissions need to halve by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 ?

Mark Leonard, in his article Why COP/26 Will Fail says: The world is missing target after target. This should not be surprising: while a growing number of countries have set net-zero targets, for example, very few have credible plans to meet them. And even if we did meet existing targets, that would not be enough to achieve the 2015 Paris climate agreements main goal: limiting global warming to 1.5 above pre-industrial levels. Then there is the private sector on whose support the world depends for net zero emissions. The Economist says: Of more that 4200 firms in the G20 club of big economies that have disclosed their climate ambitions, only a fifth have committed to so called science-based targets that would keep the world on track to meet the Paris Agreements goal. The Economist goes on to say that one credible way forward is to impose a carbon tax but only one fifth of global emissions is covered by carbon taxes, keeping the global price of carbon at US$3 per ton whereas, according to the International Monetary Fund the price should at least be $75 per ton to make sense. Reaching this target is effectively precluded by rising nationalism, disparity in individual regulations in each country and an overall lack of political commitment.

A positive outcome in Glasgow would require National Domestic Commitments (NDCs) to attain enhancements that are large enough to ensure that the 1.5C target can be achieved. Governments that have not yet submitted 2030 targets need to do so, while those that have submitted unambitious NDCs should revisit their pledge. Strong action from the G20 countries, which account for around 80 per cent of global emissions, is key. Should the level of NDC ambition by COP26 be insufficient to align with a 1.5C pathway, governments will need to present a strategy for closing the gap in the early 2020s, which should include revisiting NDCs earlier than the Paris timetable dictates and accelerating decarbonization through initiatives in high-emitting sectors.

The view of many experts is that developed countries must deliver on their 2009 pledge to mobilize $100 billion per year for climate action in developing countries. This is important for raising ambition and crucial for avoiding a breakdown in trust. The implementation of many developing country NDCs is also  at least partly  conditional upon the receipt of enhanced levels of finance. An ambitious outcome in Glasgow will require enhanced support for and increased attention to the key issues of climate change adaptation and loss and damage.

All we have to do is hope and be optimistic. At the end of the day, it is all about the responsibility of the present generation to meet its needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. One of the considerations in handling the problem would be, as the Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change - released for the Government of the United Kingdom on 30 October 2006 by economist Nicholas Stern  stated, to use comparisons of the current level and future trajectories of the social cost of carbon (the cost of impacts associated with an additional unit of greenhouse gas emissions) with the marginal abatement cost (the costs associated with incremental reductions in units of emissions  and go on the basis that the benefits of strong, early action considerably outweigh the costs. Stern called for one percent of the Worlds GDP to be allocated to tackle the problem of climate change.

Meanwhile, what about us? our youngsters cry. The Convention on the Rights of the Child , adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 states that the child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity; and that State Parties should take, to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation, legal and administrative measures to ensure that economic, social and cultural rights of the child are preserved. At the Apex of the Treaty lies Article 6 which emphasizes that States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life and that they will ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.

At least we owe that to them without going blahblahblah.

Dr Abeyratne is the author of Aviation and the Carbon Trade; (Nova): and Aviation and Climate Change: In Search of a Global Market Based Measure (Springer).
Today, for the second time so-called investigative Parish Priest Cyril Gamini Fernando used a third party to evade the Criminal Investigation Department where he was summoned to record a statement to assist the ongoing investigation and litigation on Easter Attacks and offer a chance to table his credible evidence.

Editorial

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time," Abraham Lincoln,16th U.S. President, is credited often for these lines. How does Lincoln's view fit to understand lies told to the media by a very small group in the Catholic Church who have turned the series of Easter attacks by Islamic extremists into a political weapon and by a politician like Ranjith Madduma Bandara, former Minister responsible for national security, who should be held accountable for his sheer negligence? A year before the slaughter then the spy chief suggested in an intelligence assessment to Madduma Bandara that Zahran one of the fanatics involved in the Easter attacks should be arrested immediately. But the Minister has not taken any action.

Let us pray for God to liberate us from deceivers, Amen!

Impostors are everywhere; handsomely occupying the very space of liberty and freedom of expression ensured by the constitution to deceive the public. There are plenty of empty people who brag and criticize the actions of others without fulfilling their responsibilities. These impostors and their mimics can do no other responsible thing than damage the dignity and reputation of a handful of men and women who are immensely contributing to strengthening the national interests and wellbeing of the country.

Who are the competent authorities of the doctrine preached by His Holly Son, whom Holly Father sent to the world to liberate people from hypocrisy, greed, and selfishness? Priests, isnt it? Are all Sri Lankan priests who are obliged to preach the gospel fulfilling their responsibilities?

RELATED EDITORIAL: Sri Lanka: Melancholic Madduma Bandara Talks Easter Attacks

The Lord Jesus of Nazareth was resurrected after the crucifixion by sinners. Jesus the son of God came to the world to liberate human beings from suffering. But it says Lord Jesus of Nazareth has been silently assassinated for the second time by corrupt priests in the Vatican to manipulate the Gospel for their personal benefit. Those corrupt priests used their clergy not only for financial fraud but also to deceive people in various ways. There they committed a number of crimes ranging from sexually abusing children to financial fraud. Those priests, unfortunately, the gospel of the Lord Jesus were not used to liberate believers but as a tool to satisfy their cravings.

The John Jay Report, an investigation commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, published in 2004, found that more than 80 per cent of the victims of clergy sexual abuse had been adolescent males. Reports from dioceses around the worldincluding national bishops conferences in Australia, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, the Philippines, India, and most of Europefound similar results. In Sri Lanka, fortunately, as we believe to date, none of the Catholic priests engaged in any form of sexual abuse or other misconduct.

RELATED EDITORIAL: Sri Lanka: Catholic Church is Not a Conclave of Liars

Let us say proudly the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is the silver line in the dark cloud of sexual violations in the Catholic Church. We hope that Catholic priests in Sri Lanka do not sexually abuse children. We also believe that some Catholic priests who are playing a front role in seeking justice for the Easter attacks do not harm the reputation of the Catholic Church by drinking with sex workers who often appear on social media and behaving like sex addicts in areas such as in Ja-Ela and elsewhere.

In this context, it is important to recapitulate the exceptional investigation carried out by Fr. Cyril Gamini to find the mastermind of the Easter terrorist attacks and his credible evidence which are yet to be tabled. Today, for the second time this investigative Parish Priest used a third party to evade the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) where he was summoned to record a statement to assist the ongoing investigation and litigation on Easter Attacks. Many have questioned whether he is doing his best to shirk his responsibilities by giving different interpretations as he owns nothing credible to prove the subjects involved in Easter Attacks but a few gossips published in various social media and other tools.

The Parish Priest reiterated that he knew the truth about the mastermind who planned the Easter attacks and that he had credible evidence to prove it. There he pointed the finger at the country's intelligence chief and accused him of murder. Father Cyril Gamini revealed the details of his investigation at an online seminar where he accused the Chief of Intelligence as well as the former Chief of Intelligence of plotting the attacks with Islamic fanatics. If he can make such a serious accusation, he must also make sure to prove it by presenting credible evidence. Failure to do so is a great disgrace not only to him but also to the Catholic Church he represents.

RELATED ARTICLE: Exclusive: Why did no one pay attention to Zahrans final video?

This is a legal issue that needs the genuine cooperation of Fr. Cyril Gamini to immediately address the injustice caused by branding innocent people as murderers and harming their lives, ridiculing peace in their families and tarnishing the good name of their institutions. He has no right to evade the statutory bodies that are bound to enforce the law in this country. If he does not have credible evidence to substantiate his so-called accusations, as a man sworn to preach the gospel of God, Fr. Cyril Gamini should apologize publicly according to his conscience.

The Lord Jesus of Nazareth spoke of sinners who were crucified him. "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do " (Luke 23:34). This is what not only the Lord Jesus but also the common people have to say in prayers for God when they see Father Cyril Gamini and his group torturing innocent people with various insults. See the inconsistency now and then the time where Jesus of Nazareth lived. Sinners who were crucified by the Lord Jesus now appear in the world disguised as priests responsible for spreading the gospel. They please sinners by calling them, redeemers. They are engaged in malicious campaigns against real people who have sacrificed their today for our tomorrow and call them murderers. This is not what Jesus of Nazareth taught. Are these preachers not forms of Satan who deceives the world with their masks of holiness? They are replacing the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth with cynicism, the instrument of their lust, and deceiving an entire nation. It is a woeful scramble from gospel to heterodoxy.

The search for truth and the fight against justice does not mean inflicting injustice on the innocent for political vendetta. According to His Holiness Pope Francis in one of his books, The Church of Mercy, one who believes may not be presumptuous; on the contrary, truth leads to humility, because believers know that, rather than ourselves possessing truth, it is the truth that embraces and possesses us." Let truth prevails! Amen!
What Sri Lankans actually want is to have the culture of impunity ended so that the political pigsno disrespect intended for the harmless hoofed mammalswill be denied legal immunity, and treated like everyone else before the law.

by Prabath Sahabandu

The government has reportedly claimed that the so-called one-country-one-law Presidential Task Force (PTF) will play only an advisory role. A member of the PTF is reported to have said the outfit has no powers to make laws and it will only make recommendations. Anyone with an iota of knowledge of legislative affairs knows that a task force is not vested with powers to make laws. But according to the gazette carrying the presidential proclamation at issue, the PTF has been appointed to make a study of the implementation of the concept, One Country, One law; within Sri Lanka and prepare a draft Act for the said purpose. Thus, it is clear that the PTF has been assigned to prepare a draft Act, which, in our book, means a draft Bill to be published to enable consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny of proposed legislation. It could be considered part of the law-making process.

A Street in Colombo

As for the one-country-one-law concept, what the people basically demanded was that nobody be allowed to remain above the law. Ruling politicians and their kith and kin enjoy legal immunity to all intents and purposes thanks to the prevailing culture of impunity. They are free to attack opponents, carry out rackets, and help themselves to public funds. This has happened during the past several decades.

Sri Lankas predicament reminds us of George Orwells dystopian novella, Animal Farm, where the ruling pigs declare, All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others, and remain above the law. What Sri Lankans actually want is to have the culture of impunity ended so that the political pigsno disrespect intended for the harmless hoofed mammalswill be denied legal immunity, and treated like everyone else before the law.

Following every regime change, legal action is instituted against the members of the losing side for various offences such as the abuse of power, theft of public funds, corruption and even murder. Court cases drag on for years, and before they are concluded, the accused return to power. Thereafter, the cases against them are withdrawn on flimsy grounds, and the Attorney General cuts a pathetic figure by trying to justify his or her decisions to discontinue legal action. There has been a severe erosion of public faith in the legal and judicial processes owing to their manipulation by politicians.

It was to restore the rule of law, and public faith in the legal and judicial processes that civil society organisations, opinion leaders, the media, etc., have been asking for the discontinuation of the existing culture of impunity. True, the existence of various personal laws has become problematic, and a remedy should be adopted, but what needs to be done immediately, in keeping with the wishes of the public, is to end the existing culture of impunity, which benefits only the rich and the powerful.

How can we expect the concept of One country, One law to be implemented under a government, which engineers the termination of legal and judicial action against its members, and appoints to key positions convicted criminals and other such elements after giving them presidential pardons? During the tenures of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Maithripala Sirisena and the incumbent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, convicted drug dealers, murderers and a person serving a jail term for contempt of court, have been given presidential pardons. These three leaders are in the current administration, which is making a public display of its commitment to making one law for the whole country.

The government would have the public believe that it is all out to restore the rule of law. And pigs might fly.

Prabath Sahabandu, is the Chief Editor of The Island, where this piece first appeared.
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ARDC grant award for the ARISS-USA STEREO Education Project

ARISS-USA is known for promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) by arranging live question/answer sessions via amateur radio between K-12 students and astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). In the last two decades, over 1400 contacts have connected more than one million youth using amateur radio, with millions more watching and learning. ARISS is constantly pursuing opportunities to enhance and sustain our educational capabilities and outcomes.

ARISS-USA is pleased to announce that Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) awarded a 5-year grant for a project called, Student and Teacher Education via Radio Experimentation and Operations (STEREO). Total grant funding over five years is nearly $1.3 million. This ARDC grant will fund three distinct initiatives that enable ARISS to sustain and improve STEAM educational outcomes:

Part 1: ARISS is developing a wireless electronics technology kit called SPARKI, short for Space-Pioneers Amateur Radio Kit Initiative for use with middle and high school students. This ARDC grant will take SPARKI from prototype to operational and then deploy these kits into a selected set of ARISS formal and informal education organizations that are planning their ARISS radio contacts.

Part 2: To be successful, ARISS must Educate the Educator by creating awareness of ARISS, amateur radio and SPARKI to prospective formal and informal educators in the USA. ARISS-USA will conduct educator workshops for a selected set of educators to aid them in seamlessly employing SPARKI in their education environment and for ARISS to receive their feedback and ideas.

Part 3: The grant will support some of the costs of ARISS contact operations between students and astronauts aboard the ISS over the five-year grant period.

ARISS-USA Executive Director Frank Bauer welcomed this news by saying, ARISS-USA is so excited about this new 5-year initiative. It will be a STEAM education game changer and represents a key element of our ARISS 2.0 vision. Most importantly, it brings wireless technologies and amateur radio into our ARISS formal and informal classrooms. We thank ARDC for their interest and support and look forward to working with them on this incredible initiative!

ARDCs mission is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote Amateur Radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology. ARDC makes grants to projects and organizations that follow amateur radios practice and tradition of technical experimentation in both amateur radio and digital communication science. Such experimentation has led to broad advances for the benefit of the general public  such as the mobile phone and wireless internet technology. ARDC envisions a world where all such technology is available through open-source hardware and software, and where anyone has the ability to innovate upon it.

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National LabSpace Station Explorers, and

NASAs Space Communications and Navigation program (NASA SCaN). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in handson learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org , www.ariss-usa.org .

Media Contact:

Rita M. DeHart, PE

KC4RMS

ARISS-USA Director of Public Engagement

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Search Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status
LCARC Rally this Sunday

LCARC, the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club will hold a Rally in the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa on Sunday 7th of November 2021. Doors will open at 11:00. Entrance fee is 5 Euro per person.

As with previous Rallies, there will be a bring and buy opportunity. Tables for bring and buy, exhibitors and related demonstrations are free. Tables should be booked through Michael Kingston EI2IX via email to rapidov66 /at/ gmail.com

Steve Wright EI5DD will be demonstrating digital modes and the networks supporting them.

Please check out the current list of donated equipment for sale and also equipment for sale by private sellers. Go to the club web site www.limerickclareamateurradioclub.ie and follow the --market place-- drop down menu.

Please Note that the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa will insist on the following restrictions on attendees at the LCARC Rally on Sunday the 7th of November:

Entry will only be allowed on production of a valid COVID Certificate. Photographic identification will be required. Masks have to be worn at all times. Furthermore, attendees over 13 years will have to provide evidence of COVID vaccination. Under 18s will have to be accompanied by an adult.

Entrance to the Rally will be manned by hotel staff therefore LCARC members will not have any function in deciding on who is allowed in. Failure to comply with the conditions, laid down by the hotel, will result in failure to gain admittance to the LCARC Rally.

LCARC looks forward to welcoming members of the National Short Wave Listeners Club (NSWLC) to the LCARC station in the Shannon Aviation Museum on Saturday 6th November

NSWLC will hold their first annual dinner after the visit, and they invite everyone to join them. The National Short Wave Listeners Club was established in 2021. They have has just commenced their next HAREC training class, called Delta, which aims to prepare attendees to pass ComReg licensing examinations in early 2022. Anyone interested should contact training at www.swl.ie for more information.

IRTS
New York (United States), Nov 02, 2021 (SPS) - The Republic of Angola appealed to respect the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence.

During his intervention before the Committee on Special Policy and Decolonization or Fourth Committee, Mr. Ambassador Joao Iambeno Gimolieca, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Angola at the UN, declared Angola welcomes the measures taken by the Fourth Committee to effectively guarantee the implementation of the Declaration of the Concession of Independence to all territories that still remain under the control of occupying powers, particularly Western Sahara .

It is imperative that all parties collaborate to facilitate the overall process, recognizing the fundamental role of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General in accelerating the search for a just and lasting solution for the entire region, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions of the UN , highlighted Mr. Joao Iambeno. SPS

125/090/TRA
Americas disdainful CIA had plotted in connivance with Pakistans rogue military-political obnoxious nexus and perished Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his above-quoted four most trusted and able lieutenants to kneel a crushing blow to the very cosmos of Bangladeshs existence.

by Anwar A. Khan

The month of November is one the most depressing months in the annuls of our history in the whole year. This heartbreaking month of November has come again in our collective life. Let us roll back the 46 years-to-1975. Crime, murder, and tragedy which had despoiled, robbed and destroyed our whole or aggregate lifeblood by force and violence by some uncultured, aggressive, rude, noisy troublemakers under the drawing card of a Punic and perfidious sub-human like Khondokar Mushtaq Ahmed.

National leaders: former Vice-President Syed Nazrul Islam, former Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad, former Prime Minister Captain (Rtd.) Mansur Ali, and former Home Minister AHM Quamruzzaman were assassinated 79 days after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman brutal murder in 15 August, 1975, while they were interned illegally at the Dhaka Central jail. They inspired, cared, and had a general love for all mankind. They truly lived to make the world a better place. They were selfless and wonderful men. The greatest voices of the planet were lost to brutal murders more than four decades back. These murders are definitely the most tragic deaths; and we lost the biggest politicians who walked on this earth.

Dhaka in 1975

The sun is not yet down; my heart is in thought usually benevolent, now consumed by wrath. A nation that was once potential like air had Gone with the Wind leaving mockery and despair. How did this happen in August and in November in 1975, what happened to love which was overtaken by madness called orders from roughnecks. Those men of surpassing excellence who loved us so dearly and created a native land for us have encountered so much unmerciful death; in their place, a deadly beast emerged!

We, in the land, once sang songs of victory! Now, we sing songs of woe  woe for the lost spirits and values of our glorious Liberation War of 1971; woe for the death of hope, and woe for the death of Saviours! We must begin a new battle. This is not a battle for gold. Nor it is a battle for the belly of any might. This is a crusade to restore a hope, a future for our scion.

We commemorate the jail killing of four golden sons of our history lesson with tormented hearts on this calamitous month which bechanced in 1975. Their lives might be a spectacular book of innumerable pages for anyone interested in political history. Turn the resplendent pages of our history in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and their leadership tones and one would be astounded with their noble-minded and moral deeds for the people of Bangladesh. Their passion and love for the people of Bangladesh leaps from the pages. The just did the best they possibly could for the countryeven giving up their precious lives at gun points and bayonet charges.

They were bluntly honest in carrying out their jobs for the welfare of their people and creating our own homeland. Their personalities and methods are so fascinating that they tend to overshadow the big picture. They used every minute of the day to its potential in order to develop their plan for Bangladesh. Their hope was that this plan would allow every Bengalis to partake at some level in the incredible success that the nation was not experiencing during the days of Pakistani rulers. But we were proud of the struggle for our independence, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating treatments which were imposed upon us by force by the foreign Pakistani sawyers. So, it pains me; it pains every conscious citizen of this country, to see the state whose birth so inspired me or us like ordinary citizens degenerate into such a political tragedy.

Americas disdainful CIA had plotted in connivance with Pakistans rogue military-political obnoxious nexus and perished Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his above-quoted four most trusted and able lieutenants to kneel a crushing blow to the very cosmos of Bangladeshs existence. Despite their brief political careers after our independence in 1971 and tragic deathsor perhaps because of themBangabandhu and his deputies entered history through the front door: they became both a flag and a symbol.

Each of them lived as a free man, and an independent thinker. Everything they wrote, said and did was the product of someone who knew their vocation to be that of liberators of bondages, and they represent for Bangladesh what Castro did for Cuba, Nasser for Egypt, Nkrumah for Ghana, Mao Tse-tung for China, and Lenin for Russia.

Their images were rehabilitated by the present regime and they were proclaimed national heroes and martyrs in Bangladeshs history after more than two decades of military and quasi-military rules. 46 years are on. Late veteran freedom fighter Md. Shafiqur Rahman used to say, If I had one wish, it would be to bring the Satan Khondakar Mushtaq Ahmed back to the dock to inflict due punishment to him posthumously to make our majestic history aright and undo what were done by him and his cohorts. In this gripping story, we should take their accomplices into claustrophobic prisons to see where many of accused patiently awaited trials on charges of genocide in 1971. Mushtaq is no exception than the brutal murderous character in the guise of a human and he must be posthumously brought to justice for his grievous misdoings.

They are national icons in the history of Bangladesh; and they were the preeminent leaders of Bengali nationalism in Pakistani-ruled Bangladesh standing beside Bangabandhu like a solid rock all along; and in fact, they were men of determination, charisma and conviction. It was a tremendous loss that occurred in the country in the wee hours 3rd November 1975 because they were all dynamic political leaders; towering and successful leaders of the state and the AL. They always wanted to achieve specific goals. They were men on the move. I am sure there is much more they could have achieved, but the country at large has lost very able and popular leaders of the masses.

The four national leaders fulminant or jerky demise is a great tragedy and the loss suffered by all in Bangladesh. Everyone was a fearless revolutionary and a disciplined lion. They had sharp and probing intellect in their field of actions. They were unable to complete the heavy task for our country; bullets and bayonet charges all spent, so sad we fell. But unless we smite the enemy, our bodies cannot rot in the field. Yea, they will be born again and grasp the sword in their hands when ugly weeds cover this island. Our sole thought shall be the future of this splendid land. The bright sun is looking down upon earth and shines ever so brightly on our red hearts. I narrate a few lines of a poem:

Could you imagine a pain so deep down inside

That it cannot be summarized in words you simply can write

A pain that touches your toes and up to the top of the ceiling

You can't eat, you can't sleep, that is the pain that I am feeling...

Suddenly night crushed out the day and hurled,

Their remnants over cloud-peaks, thunder-walled.

Then fell stillness such as harks appalled,

When far-gone dead return upon the world.

It is also found true in the words of Eduardo Galeano, "In the struggle of Good against Evil, it's always the people who get killed." But should we turn a blind eye to injustice, to betrayal, to murder, to abuse? No. That is exactly the point. There should be no blind eyes. And yet human justice stands with eyes covered, blind. With such blindness, we lose sight of our humanity. The restorative justice of criminals requires eyes that see, not only the victim, but also the so-called human being who is the perpetrator.

The four fallen heroes had personal ties with their people that had been severed by the cruel hand of death. But they are all bright humans in all respects. Deaths as occurred and everything is changed. We are painfully aware that life can never be the same again, that yesterday is not over. Let us immortalise these patriotic leaders of our splendiferous chronicle who stood above others in character, attainment or reputation for our country and people by exceptional courage and nobility and strength.

We will trudge on, our eyes fixed on our thoughts, without seeing anything outside, without hearing any sound, alone, unknown, back bent, hands crossed, sad, and the day for us will be like the night. We will not look upon the gold of nightfall, nor the sails from afar that descend on the country. And when we arrive, we will place on their grave a bouquet of green holly and heather in bloom.

We must wake up and seek sound reformation, before it is too late. Because those bright sons of this soil walk among us. And murder shall be no more; murder, thou shalt die. Tomorrow, at dawn, the moment the countryside whitens, we will leave. You see, we know that you await us. We will go through the forest; we will go across the mountain. We can no longer remain away from you.

When all of heaven seems filled with clouds and rain; when love seems to render betrayal and abuse. When the world seems a barrel of greed and madness - a streak of bliss tends to appear from an unknown place. Sometimes it is a small spot of blue with a sunny ray; sometimes it is a word of hope, a word of truth. Sometimes it is a miniature gift of love, of gladness. It's like a slap on the back, a bliss, a little grace. When all seems dark, blue or filled with gloom on a spot along our way, a flower will bloom. There is no doom, no storm that is big enough to become immune to our love for them always-present love. Let us fall in tune

It is written in the sand. The purpose of our life is millions of grains of sand. If the sea would have erased it from the shore. The grains will have whispered it to the drops and waves, the braking waves will sing the purpose of our life. If the heat of day erased it from the surf evaporating mist would carry it to the clouds where we will paint it in amazing skies the purpose of our life. The clouds will rain and diamond beads will ornament the rose. The rose's scent will tell it the purpose of our life. But if we fail to find it in the sand or song of waves in the clouds or scent of roses the purpose of our life.

We may have to make it quiet and look deep within our heart where it will be dancing all around the purpose of our life. If we do not find it in our hearts, we may have to return to sand and it is written in the sand.

One day all the smoke of greed will disappear and so will worry, anger, violence and fear and at that point in time, not far from here, we will all be seeing with a vision, perfectly clear. We will indeed see with perfect clarity that only through peace and love and charity. We get happiness and the emotion of feeling good. This will be widely and universally understood. Now, many of us alive in the world today are moving already on that wonderful way and know that performing a simple kind act gives us a peace of mind thats almost perfect all the above, soon will be here for all to see come and believe, believe together with me.

Let us all take up our biggest brush today and start painting the world, right away. With a wish for love and unity for the whole wide world, independent of race, sex, religion

This morning I wanted to be the sunshine in the life of everyone I'd meet. Now at night, we are not so sure; not sure if any rays have shone sometimes small gestures or a kind word can make a difference in someone's life. We hope we have some of these today, because of big good deeds we are not aware. Perhaps the small talk with our sons or an unobtrusive hi or smile. We still hope that our day has meant a thing for here or there a soul, a heart or mind.

It is dark, no moon, no light, just darkness, a starless sky, the wind blows, the waves break a single firefly passes by soon the firefly is gone. Leaving us in the darkest of nights, the tiny fly made us anticipate a sunrise with the finest of lights.

In our heart, we found this spark of dedication: to write a little poem of consolation, for all my friends, brothers and sisters who live in darkness, or anything sinister. Dear brothers and sisters, it may seem to last forever, but we pray for strength for those peoples politicians who were murdered barbarically, to give up never! We want to end this little poem, if we may, with an old but still fabulous cliche: after the darkest hour, comes dawn.

Somewhere far away in another galaxy, there is a little star that started to shine several years ago. Its light is travelling at a dazzling speed towards our planet with a message of love a message of kindness. Less, much less now than a light year away that lovely little light from that tiny star will reach us soon. Once it reaches, no heart will remain shut; all the beauty and love will enter freely into all humanity. Oh, little star, let your light come and keep on shining for a world, a planet that needs you oh so much.

Let us start today. A kindness revolution, the biggest revolution ever, let's all hope together and work for it today.

The morning sunlight in all its glory, the morning sunlight in all its glam, every molecule in my heart, is jumping up and down the quarks inside collide emanating a mini beam of light, we hope that this little beam of light coming from our heart in a way can just like the morning sun brighten the lives of those we meet today.

Tears are welling up our eyes remembering those patriots of our history on this deplorable month. Because Voltaire said, Tears are the silent language of grief. Our devout homage is to four national leaders on this blackened month of November. Though difficult to sing, but let us sing chorus today. Let us all sing Bangladeshs patriotic songs. My soul weeps and my heart bleeds, we seem to have lost our core creeds but we must restore them in full. I feel Bangladesh in every vein; the arteries pulsate with love as this country is so dear to me. I feel Bangladesh in every breath and the challenges the world paints. I see not but a beautiful Bangladesh. May their memories live on forever in our hearts!

-The End-

The writer is an independent politicalanalyst based in Dhaka, Bangladesh who writes on politics, political and human-centred figures, current and international affairs.
The recommendation to vaccinate children ages 5-11 against COVID-19 by the CDC and FDA is good news for families who have been waiting for their younger children to have a layer of protection against the virus, said Kerting Baldwin, public information officer for Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hospital in Hollywood. As soon as we receive the vaccine, we will open appointments to inoculate children.
Its almost like were looking to shoehorn this building into a very tight area, Trantalis said. Im very concerned about the intensity of this development. Keep in mind that right across the river are single-family homes. Were an up-and-coming city and I think we can do better. We cant impose these large structures in peoples neighborhoods.
Connected Warriors began in 2010 as a free weekly yoga program for veterans in studios in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale. Yoga instructor Judy Weaver of Lighthouse Point, the daughter and wife of veterans, began the program after teaching yoga to Beau MacVane, an Army Ranger from Boca Raton who served five tours in the Middle East and suffered from Lou Gehrigs disease. She saw how the breathing and meditation techniques she taught him remained useful even as his condition deteriorated. He died in 2009 at 33.
Every single time we have reached a low number, we stop doing what were doing and let it go back up again. This will be the fifth time were doing this rollercoaster ride, so I want people to stay cautious and still look at where theyre going, who theyre associating with and still being very careful.
If we could do something to motivate and encourage people to be vaccinated, its so important that people be vaccinated, School Board Chairwoman Rosalind Osgood said in August when board members approved the bonus. Theres a lot of hesitancy, and this is also a way to show some values to employees.
Regardless of which one wins, Smith said, this result guarantees another tough race in August of 2022. Someone winning with 23% of the vote  everybodys looking at [the fact that] 76% did not want this person or wanted somebody else, so Im going to run. (Smith, who years ago had considered running for Congress, said emphatically he had no interest in doing so.)
Holness, 64, had nowhere near as much money as his rival, but his nearly two decades in Lauderhill politics and as a county commissioner and mayor make him a formidable political figure. As the self-anointed voice of Black voters in Broward, Holness built an effective and sometimes heavy-handed get-out-the-vote machine, especially in the growing Caribbean community. But it wasnt enough to deliver a decisive victory.
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Mentorship Forum Middle East (MFME) 2021 has announced that Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy of Bahrain will open the Forums 2nd edition on November 11 at the Gulf Hotel.



Sheikh Salman will deliver a keynote address on this years theme Prioritising Mentorship in a New World.



The event is being held as a hybrid event with expected participation from more than 400 C-Suite leaders, HR and mentorship experts and up-and-coming professionals across sectors.



Sheikh Salman will address a local, regional and international audience on the importance of mentorship following significant workplace changes that have resulted in the wake of Covid-19 and how mentorship can be leveraged to keep training and development goals and ultimately business and economic goals on track.



Zahraa Taher, Managing Director of FinMark Communications, the Forums Founder and Organiser, said: We couldnt be more proud to announce HE Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Bahrains Minister of Finance and National Economy, as our keynote speaker. His interest and support for the event underscores the important nature of mentorship and the prominent role it can play in supporting human capital development and in turn broader economic advancement and growth, which go hand in hand.



Strong human capital and talent pools are key drivers of economic progress and expansion and we look forward to hearing his remarks and giving our attendees this unique opportunity to benefit from his vast experience and insights.



The Forums interactive sessions and workshops, which will follow His Excellencys address, will look to closely examine a range of topics relating to changes in workplace that have resulted from the pandemic, gaps in training and development that have occurred and the role mentorship can play in ensuring talent development goals stay or get back on track in the new working order.



Panel discussions will cover: Mentorship and Meeting Talent Development Gaps in the Hybrid Workplace, Mentorship for Boards, Cross Mentorship and the Leveraging of Diverse Talent Pools, Technology-Focused Mentoring, Mentorship for Entrepreneurs and SMEs and Speed Mentoring. The events high level speakers and panellists will soon be announced.



The Forum is being supported by Lead Partner National Bank of Bahrain and other Strategic Partners: Gulf International Bank (GIB), Tamkeen, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), Reach, CFA Society Bahrain, Foulath Holding, BisB, Netiks and EMIC Training. The events Financial Media Partner is BFT Media and its Educational Media Partner, Education BH.  TradeArabia News Service
Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa (MEA) has launched a new app feature that enables its customers to offset the carbon footprint generated from their mobile phone usage.

The voluntary contributions by customers will be matched or topped up by the local operating companies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait, in line with the mobile companys ongoing efforts to achieve carbon negativity.

The feature which is now available in the UAE and soon to be rolled out in KSA, Oman and Kuwait, invites customers to offset carbon emissions through a voluntary donation with every purchase through the Virgin Mobile app. The local operating companies will then further contribute and invest the total amount in local offset projects and initiatives.

As the leading mobile virtual network operator in the region, we are an integral part of the economies in which we operate. We recently achieved net zero carbon emissions across all our operations by putting in place an annual emissions reduction programme and offsetting what we have not yet been able to reduce.  This was a key milestone for the company and our ambitions. We are now committed to becoming a carbon negative business to really make an impact towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To do this, we are keen to provide our customers with a platform to join us on this journey, commented Erik Dudman Nielsen, Founder & Group Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa.

Independent research by Virgin Mobiles operating companies in the region has revealed that sustainability commitments by companies are increasingly becoming a key consideration in driving purchasing decisions. In KSA, 73% of respondents said that they would change their purchasing habits to support companies that focus on sustainable, eco-friendly business. 72% stated that they are willing to contribute financially to projects that are designed to offset carbon emissions.

The climate crisis is, and should be, on the minds of every person, business, and government because the journey to a greener future is one that is impossible to make alone. As a digital first brand, we have built a business where sustainability is deeply rooted in our culture and we are continuously working towards reducing our emissions through creating and implementing sustainable initiatives and processes. This app feature is the next step in our journey, and through it, we are making it easier for the communities in which we operate to contribute towards broader sustainability goals, concluded Nielsen.-- TradeArabia News Service
The Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) has signed a strategic alliance agreement worth $7.5 billion with Dubai-based DP World to enhance Indonesias maritime and port sector within the global manufacturing ecosystem.



This partnership will improve the operation of ports, reduce logistics costs, and advance national competitiveness, reported Emirates News Agency WAM.



As a global leader of data-driven logistics expertise and global infrastructure, DP World will bring world-class technology and best practices to develop new port terminals and assets, enabling greater shipping efficiency and enhancing inter-island and international connectivity.



DP World and INA will form a consortium and working team to explore investments into the logistics infrastructure in Indonesia, including hinterland investments, inland terminals, cargo parks, feeder network systems, landside transport, and industrial zones. They will also explore collaboration with the Indonesia Port Corporations (Pelindo).



DP World will seek to leverage its joint investment platform with Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) which since its launch in 2016 has invested in 12 port terminals globally across various stages of the asset lifecycle.



INAs CEO, Ridha Wirakusumah, said this strategic partnership with DP World aligns with INAs mission to optimise investment in Indonesias infrastructure and resources to deliver long-term economic development. INA's investment focuses on several key sectors, such as airports, ports, toll roads, industrial estates, digital infrastructure, healthcare services, and renewable energy.



Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world with more than 17,000 islands. Its vast geography makes it reliant on a strong domestic shipping network. Despite historically trailing neighbouring countries in containerisation rate and currently facing issues of high logistics costs, Indonesia is already among the top 15 countries in terms of container traffic and has much potential to grow further. Furthermore, containerisation rate in Indonesia will only increase given the burgeoning domestic consumption and production.



"Indonesias maritime and port sector is key to support trade and consumption across the archipelago, and this collaboration with DP World will enable us to resolve issues of high logistics costs and port inefficiencies. Following INAs rigorous partner selection process, we are confident that DP World can work well with us to create a strong domestic shipping network and add value to investors, businesses and employees. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transportation, other government agencies and Pelindo for their strong support," said Wirakusumah.



DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: "DP World recognises the vast potential of Indonesia as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, as well as projects undertaken by the government to improve port facilities. Through our partnership with INA, we are committed to supporting national initiatives that create value and bring in expertise to modernise the Indonesian maritime infrastructure."



DP World CEO and MD Asia Pacific and Australasia Glen Hilton said: "Together with INA, we will focus on building mutually beneficial relationships with local governments and stakeholders to create value across Indonesias supply chain. By combining our experience and disruptive technology with INAs mandate to maximise economic impact, we are optimistic that we can elevate Indonesias supply chain performance."



DP World will also introduce its global best practices to Indonesia, including operations optimisation, service innovation, disruptive technologies, and safety principles. Cutting-edge logistics technology includes fully automated stacking to eliminate inefficiency, hyperloop systems for fast cargo delivery, and 100% electric sustainable means of cargo transport.
Dubai Industries & Exports (Dubai IE) led a team of 13 companies from the UAE to Anuga, the leading global trade fair for the food and beverage (F&B) industry that took place recently in the German city of Cologne.



Dubai IE led the companies to the event as part of its mandate to accelerate exports out of Dubai and enable the local industrial sector to achieve the targets set in the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 as well as the national strategy to raise the industrial sectors contribution to the GDP to AED300 billion by 2030 (Operation 300bn), reported Emirates News Agency WAM.



The international trade fair was an opportunity for the UAE companies to present the capabilities they have acquired in manufacturing and meeting the growing global demand for new and diverse food and beverage products. Dubai IE also co-ordinated bilateral meetings between the UAE companies and international buyers from Europe at Anuga.



Dubai FDI, the investment development agency of Dubai Economy, as well as Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza) and the Dubai Airport Free Zone also attended the international trade fair as part of the Dubai IE pavilion, which was opened by Hafsa Al Ulama, UAE Ambassador to Germany.



Hafsa Al Ulama said: "We are pleased to have the UAE pavilion at Anuga World Expo 2021 as the presence of Emirati companies in this international gathering confirms the importance of the food and beverage sector as well as companies and factories opening in the sector in the UAE. Events like this are critical to bringing together potential partners, particularly during the present global recovery phase after COVID-19."



She added: "UAE-German relations are witnessing remarkable developments at various levels, and economic and trade cooperation is the most important priority for both countries. The two countries are well-positioned to accelerate bilateral trade exchange, and Dubai Industries & Exports is an important body capable of contributing significantly in this regard. The UAE Embassy in Germany is working closely with Dubai Industries & Exports in converting all potential into opportunities, and creating new ones, for exporters and importers in both countries."



"The food and beverage industry is one of the most important sectors in Dubai, and one among the six priority sub-sectors identified in the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030. The food and beverage sector in Dubai has the potential to play a major role in global trade as communities worldwide are increasingly focusing on competitive source markets and food security," said Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO of Dubai Industries & Exports.



Al Awadi added that exports of food and beverage sector in Dubai had witnessed 27.8% growth in 2020 compared to the previous year despite the COVID-19 crisis. Dubai achieved a 90.7% growth in food and beverages exports and 73.1% growth in re-exports of the same during the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Overall, the sector contributed 6.1% to non-oil foreign trade in Dubai during this period. Exports had a share of AED9.42 billion and re-exports, AED6.37 billion, in total AED 41.04 billion worth of food and beverage trade in Dubai during the first half of 2021."



Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO and Managing Director, DP World UAE and Jafza, said: "At DP World and Jafza, we have a lot to offer to the food and beverage industry and all those participating in Anuga. Our strategic location, which allows access to over 3.5 billion consumers, represents an ideal base for companies operating in this sector. In addition to our facilities in Jebel Ali, companies benefit from the Food and Agricultural terminal at the port.



The ample storage capacity for grain and oil silos and advanced covered, temperature-controlled warehouses are suitable for various types of food products. This is complemented by several packaging and assembly facilities. The proximity of Jafza to the Al Maktoum Airport and connections to global ports gives companies easy access to raw materials and the ability to export its products to the whole world via land, sea and air."



Bin Damithan added: "The food and beverage industry can take advantage of our digital systems to increase the efficiency of the global supply for food and agricultural products. We are committed to our goal of improving the quality of life in the UAE and around the world. Hence, we look forward to inviting global companies to benefit from the sea of opportunities available and share the value it provides."



Ahmed Al Omari, Director of the Export Markets Development Department at Dubai IE, said: "The number of local food and beverage companies joining us since our first participation in Anuga until the 2021 session has reached 120. This year we had 13 local companies with us at the event from diverse segments such as dates, coffee, soft drinks and edible oils, in addition to various commercial activities related to food and beverage."



Food and beverage products exported or re-exported from Dubai chiefly include sugar, raw oils of rapeseed, fresh or dried nuts, milk and cream, spirits, vegetables (leguminous) and dates, Al Omari said.
Wa'ed, the entrepreneurship arm of Aramco, has approved to grant a SR5 million ($1.3 million) loan to the Jubail-based Amad Chemicals Company, a leading manufacturer of environmentally low-impact chemicals and coatings for the maritime industry.



The loan will help finance Amads new facility for the production of chemicals and coatings that comply with Saudi-supported environmental standards set by the International Marine Organization (IMO), a UN agency that oversees global shipping.



The new IMO-compliant facility will be located near Ras Al Khair in Jubail, where the King Salman Maritime Complex, one of the worlds largest planned shipyards, is now under construction. The facilitys business line will promote the reduction of industrial waste and pollution, particularly in the maritime and offshore sectors.



Hazza Al-Qahtani, Chairman at Amad Chemicals Company, said the loan contributes to closing an important gap in the Saudi economy for homegrown environmentally-compliant chemicals.



We are delighted that Waed is empowering the growth of our company and with it, industry expansion in Saudi Arabia. We pride ourselves for being among the first Saudi-based companies to address this untapped market and thank Waed immensely for their substantial backing.



Local demand for industrial cleaners is currently being met through direct imports which, according to the United Nations Comtrade database, were estimated to make up around SR4.5 billion of the Saudi industrial cleaners market in 2019.



Financing Amads new facility marks another initiative by Waed to boost the localization of key industrial sectors while supporting the growth of sustainability-focused companies in the Kingdom. The loan will also help generate local jobs for Saudi professionals, a key priority within Waeds strategy to simulate the local ecosystem and a leading strategy in the Vision 2030 economic blueprint.



Supporting Amad Chemicals will not only create prospective jobs for Saudis in a crucial industrial sector, but it will also advance the Kingdoms adoption of international environmental standards, an opportunity to elevate local awareness around sustainable businesses, said Fahad Alidi, Managing Director at Waed.



Amad Chemicals plans to expand its operations within the kingdom with a future unit to be established in Jeddah within the next few years. In the shorter term, the company is looking to tap into new markets, offering a wide range of industrial sanitization services for clients in various sectors within the next year.



Commitments to international sustainability standardization are becoming essential after the Saudi government issued a requirement for all government entities to review and approve industrial contractors environmental management plans.



The reviewing process is meant to ensure contractors such as Amad are adhering effectively to international standardization measures, like the ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems and the ISO 14000 Environmental Impact Management measures.  TradeArabia News Service
Bahrains Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) is hosting a forum aimed at studying the Digital transformation plans of Bahrain government entities for the year 2022.



Led by Chief Executive Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, the event, which seeks to implement high level directives to accelerate the pace of Digital Transformation, is being held from November 1 to 4 at the iGAs premises in Muharraq with the participation of Undersecretaries, Asst. Undersecretaries and senior officials representing 28 government entities.



The forum is organized in line with a decision announced by the Cabinet to achieve comprehensive, government-wide digital transformation.



Carried out under the supervision of the iGA and in accordance with clear and carefully studied strategies, the plan encompasses all government services, aiming to further improve their quality through the deployment of the latest technologies, endorsed by the Supreme Council for Information and Communication Technology (SCICT), and the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance.



Al Qaed welcomed the attendees, thanking them for their continuous efforts and cooperation which reflects their joint ambition to realize the vision of Bahrains leadership and government. He highlighted the accelerated rate of digital transformation during the pandemic, which he attributed to government directives and decisions taken by the SCICT that helped in enhancing the quality and efficiency of the services provided.



He noted the importance of working together on these national digital transformation plans, including discussions on initiatives by individual entities, and coordination with the iGA for the necessary support.



Al Qaed said that the forum provides a unique opportunity for participants to integrate efforts and aspirations, particularly in light of initiatives such as the formation of the Government Services Improvement Committee, which is tasked with documenting government service procedures and requirements, prioritizing the ones proposed for development, and setting implementation plans to offer them online in coordination with the respective entities.



Al Qaed also praised the Cabinets recent decision to endorse and launch the new Digital policies, which included Open Data Policy, eParticipation Policy, Digital First Policy, Digital Services Act Policy, and One-Time Data Request Policy. The decision will help enhance eServices and streamline their use by various sectors in accordance with best international practice.



He highlighted the participants experiences in the deployment of digital technologies and solutions that helped Bahrain combat the pandemic, praising their efforts to ensure that government services continue to be offered without interruption.



iGA Deputy CE for eTransformation, Dr. Zakareya Ahmed AlKhajah said that the forum plays an important role in realizing the goals of its senior participants. The event will help them formulate joint plans and strengthen the IT sector, in line with government directives. This will help accelerate the pace of digital transformation and improve government performance with the aim of eventually automating all services to better serve citizens and offer them higher accessibility and functionality, while reducing costs.



AlKhajah revealed that the iGA, working with other entities, has successfully developed and lunched 578 eServices, available via its various e-Channels. Work is ongoing to offer all 1,600 of its services online. He added that the Kingdoms digital transformation was significantly accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic, as evident by the iGAs various initiatives during that period, including BeAware Bahrain; the digital transformation of financial, judicial, and education services; and remote work infrastructure. This is in addition to improving ID card services and the launch of self-service kiosks.



iGA presented the lifecycles of government services, the government digital transformation journey, projects that ensure government work continues uninterrupted, the evolution of financial transactions via the iGAs various digital channels, and statistics on the number of National Portal users. The iGA has launched 20 initiatives in total during 2021.



Other digital transformation initiatives highlighted included the restructuring of internal operations, upgrading of data systems, establishment of channels linking various entities, the issuance of digital transaction regulations, plans towards eliminating public-facing offices, and digital transformation decisions related to government documents and certificates.



The iGA also presented an overview of the Operation and Governance departments role in developing strategic initiatives that support digital transformation and help establish an advanced IT infrastructure. Discussing the Government Data Network (GDN) project, he revealed that the iGA completed procurements and signings of contracts related to the development of third generation software-based Wide Area Network (SDWAN), which relies on programmed technologies that identify cloud computing requirements and support app access. Work is ongoing to link the new system to a central storage device and upgrade current systems so they can accommodate the improvements.



The iGA emphasized the importance of cloud-based backups of government systems, adding that three backup copies will be created in two different places, including one located outside the entity to ensure nothing is lost.



Construction is finished on a disaster recovery center, complete with servers, storage devices, and an implementation plan to ensure that government systems continue to be operational during emergencies. Work is ongoing on the GDN and the provision of new servers. By the end of this year, systems will be linked to the disaster recovery center and a verification of its operational procedures will take place.



The participating entities showcased key ongoing digital transformation initiatives, including eServices they are working on and proposals to establish electronic links with other entities. The participants were also invited to discuss and enquire about the iGAs digital transformation initiatives.  TradeArabia News Service
The UAE and the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) have announced the launch of a Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform, a new global climate finance facility for accelerating the transition to renewable energy in developing countries.

The UAE has committed $400 million in funding provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) toward the platforms goal of securing a minimum of $1 billion in total funding.

The formal launch took place on the sidelines of the COP 26 United Nations Climate Summit in Glasgow in the presence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, together with the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne, President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and President of Togo Faure Gnassingbe and UAE Special Envoy for Climate and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Dr. Sultan Al Jaber.

Sheikh Abdullah said: "The new ETAF platform reinforces our long-standing commitment to support positive climate action for economic growth in developing and vulnerable countries. As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UAE fundamentally believes, we must work together globally, in partnerships, to mitigate the effects of climate change."

"The UAE is proud to act decisively in pushing forward a responsible, sustainability-led agenda, and in partnering with other nations to enable the significant benefits of renewable energy," he noted.

Dr Al Jaber said: "The UAE views development aid and climate action as powerful catalysts for economic growth, both domestically and internationally. Todays announcement will help to advance the economies of partner countries by providing reliable, low-cost renewable energy for businesses, industry, and homes."

"We are proud of this significant new contribution by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to accelerate climate action and deliver immediate economic benefits in the process. This is the kind of initiative that combines partnership, policy and finance to create tangible progress, and it is this focus on practical results that has motivated the UAE to offer to host COP 28 in 2023," he added.

Through co-financing, ETAF will aim to mobilize an additional $2 billion in energy transition investments, targeting a total deployment of 1.5 GW of clean renewable energy generation and storage by 2030.

It will be managed by Irena from its Abu Dhabi headquarters, capitalizing on the UAEs climate finance market and renewable energy innovation infrastructure.

The new accelerator platform will help mitigate investment risks and finance renewable energy projects in developing countries that may otherwise struggle to secure sufficient capital.

Francesco La Camera, the Director-General of Irena, said: "We have reached a defining moment in our generations efforts to put our economies and our environment on a path to stability, resilience and shared prosperity. The energy transformation is the most attractive and effective tool we have to achieve that."

"This new investment platform reflects the UAEs commitment to shaping a sustainable future, and Irenas efforts to serve its over 180 member countries as an indispensable energy transformation partner. We encourage multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, governments, and private sector actors to join us in bolstering sustainable development efforts," he added.- TradeArabia News Service
DoubleTree by Hilton Sharjah Waterfront Hotel and Residences, a newly-opened property in the emirate, has unveiled its multi-national team, led by General Manager Vikram Jamwal.

Jamwal, a German national of Indian origin has a wealth of industry experience across the European, African, Asian and Middle Eastern markets  most recently he served as General Manager at Hilton Durban, South Africa.

The new team features a broad range of industry talent with strong female representation (accounting for 60%) from countries spanning Ukraine, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, and Russia.

Some of the key appointments include Fatuma Abdul as the first female Head of Security at Hilton in the UAE, Amna Alraeesi as the first Emirati Sales Lead at Hilton in the UAE, and Nadia Kaser heading up a 100% female Commercial Team.

An industry veteran, Kaser has worked across three continents for various brands over the last decade.

Katia Kosynska, Front Office Manager, previously worked at Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah and Hilton Doha before joining Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa.

Liana Julius, Executive Housekeeper, previously worked at Hilton Durban, South Africaand Natalia Krutova, F&B Manager, has over 11 years of experience in the food and beverage sector. Collectively, the leadership team brings more than 65 years of hospitality experience.

Located in the heart of Sharjah, the DoubleTree by Hilton property boasts a truly multi-national workforce, with the wider hotel team hailing from over 30 countries and speaking an impressive 20 languages, said a company spokesman.

With the opening just having taken place last week, the team are excited to welcome their first guests to the stylish property, he added.
The Institute of Seismology and Atmospheric Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan and the Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences signed a Memorandum of Cooperation via videoconferencing.

As was noted at the signing ceremony, the memorandum will contribute to the development of bilateral partnership in implementing joint programs, projects, exchanging research experience and other activities in the field of seismology, modern geodynamics and geophysics on the basis of mutual interests.

Commenting on the joint work, Director of the Institute of Seismology and Atmospheric Physics Guldzhemal Saryeva emphasized that the Memorandum of Cooperation was signed with the view of expanding academic ties for solving fundamental problems of seismology, including the study of the physics of the earthquake source, exploration of the earth from space, including the assessment of seismic risks and earthquake forecast.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021
UW Professors ESL Research Helps English Language Learners Navigate Public Schools

Wyoming English as a second language (ESL) families attend the recent Wyoming ESL Parent Institute in Gillette to gain advice and resources to help them support their children as they navigate the public education system. (UW Photo)

More than 200 people attended the recent Wyoming ESL Parent Institute, which served as a resource for English as a second language (ESL) students and their parents, in addition to educators and policymakers who want to support ESL families in their school districts.

The inaugural Wyoming ESL Parent Institute, held at Gillette College, was an outcome of research conducted by Jenna Shim, an associate dean and professor in the University of Wyomings College of Education.

Shims research was funded by the Everett D. and Elizabeth M. Lantz Distinguished Professorship in Education, which she was awarded in 2018. The award, endowed by the Lantz family, was established to attract and retain outstanding scholars to UW and provides salary or discretionary funding to enhance the recipients research and teaching programs for two years.

As part of her work, Shim interviewed more than 100 ESL parents in Wyoming.

Through my research, I learned these families value education and want to help their children succeed in school but are often unsure how to navigate the American public school system, she says. I also learned that ESL students, many of whom live in impoverished conditions, can have better success in school when their family and school collaborate on their behalf.

With these findings, Shim reached out to Campbell County School District 1 principals Bertine Bahige and Keri Shannon to collaborate on an event that would connect ESL families to the school district and resources available to them. The Gillette districts high English learner population and established dual language immersion (DLI) programs made the principals ideal partners to help plan and deliver the first Wyoming ESL Parent Institute.

Events like the Wyoming ESL Parent Institute are the result of sustained educational partnerships between Wyoming public school districts and UWs College of Education, Shim says. These collaborations can provide research-based changes for P-12 education in our state and are a powerful means of improving student achievement and cultivating college-going cultures.

The institute was held on a Saturday in October to allow working parents to attend. Translators were present to ensure the information was received by all, and resources were provided to ensure parents with young children could attend. Every aspect of the event was developed with the unique needs of ESL families in mind.

A breakfast and community resource fair preceded opening remarks from Shim; Scott Thomas, the John P. Jack Ellbogen Dean of the UW College of Education; Mary Ellbogen Garland, president of the John P. Ellbogen Foundation; Jillian Balow, Wyoming superintendent of public instruction; state Sen. Jeff Wasserburger, R-Gillette; and Kirby Eisenhauer, deputy superintendent of Campbell County School District 1.

Several influential people from Wyoming also were in attendance to support the event, including David Fall, a UW trustee from Gillette; Jessica Binning, a division supervisor in the Wyoming Department of Education; Antoinette Hallam, a consultant for the Wyoming Department of Education; and Brendan OConnor, assistant director of Wyomings Professional Teaching Standards Board.

Participants in the institute were asked to attend four informational sessions and were eligible to receive gift bags upon completion that included bilingual dictionaries and other resources. Sessions included presentations on a variety of topics to help ESL families support their students. Attendees selected the sessions they wanted to attend and learned about the benefits of being bilingual; how to use district technology; extracurricular programs; resources available to them in the school district; how to help their students with homework; and resources that lead to college and other postsecondary options.

Educators need to make authentic efforts to better engage with these families and create support systems that are specifically designed to help the families of ESL students become active partners in their childrens schooling, Shim says. Teachers and administrators who attended the institute from across the state hope to use the Wyoming ESL Parent Institute as a template to host similar events that increase parental involvement in their districts.

The Wyoming ESL Parent Institute was hosted by the UW College of Education/UW Trustees Education Initiative in partnership with Campbell County School District 1 and GEAR UP Wyoming in Gillette. The Everett D. and Elizabeth M. Lantz Distinguished Professorship in Education funded the event.

View photos from the institute and a meet-and-greet event for Thomas held the evening before as part of the Wyoming ESL Parent Institute.

Shim will partner with Campbell County School District 1 to host the fifth annual Wyoming ESL/DLI Conference April 29-30 in Gillette. Educators interested in attending can join this email list.


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Work on the National Disability Strategy Commences

The Special Needs and Disability Coordination and Liaison Office today began work on the National Disability Strategy for Gibraltar.

The National Disability Strategy will outline ways in which every Government department can better their policies and practices for individuals and families with special educational needs/disability. Similarly to the UK National Strategy, immediate commitments and long-term goals will be set out.

The National Disability Strategy will be informed by various methods of data collection and by placing the lived experiences of individuals with disability and that of their families at the centre of policy making.

Today, a working party comprised of various representatives from relevant charities and support groups attended a meeting at No.6 Convent Place to put forward their thoughts on Education. Subsequent meetings will be held on this and on other matters.

The Special Needs and Disability Coordination and Liaison Office are reminding the public that they can be contacted on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any matters relating to special educational needs / disability.
13:14 | Dubai (UAE), Oct. 31.

The United Arab Emirates holds the fifth position when it comes to receiving Peruvian shipments in Asia behind China, South Korea, Japan, and India.





Known as the City of the Future, Dubai flourished in the desert and became the jewel of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Today, it is the venue for Expo 2020, which began on October 1 and will come to an end on March 31, 2022.









As is known, it had been postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.





According to information provided by Peru's Exports and Tourism Promotion Board (PromPeru) , the event aims to invigorate the global economic reactivation process and is the first world exhibition to be held in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region.





During six months, Peru showcases all the biological and cultural diversity of its 25 regions (Andes, coast and jungle), as well as sea. This important international event will give a strong boost to tourism and exports-related activities, which are currently in a recovery process.





Concept









The Peruvian pavilion is based on the Timeless Peru concept, in which attendees enjoy a sensory experience through our historical-culinary legacy. It features a giant lliclla (hand-woven cloth) on the facade that can be accessed through a replica of the last Inca bridge: The Q'eswachaka





Given those attributes, Expo 2020 Dubai is the ideal occasion to put Peru's varied exportable offer and tourist destinations on display.





Various activities are promoted inside the national pavilion, such as business rounds linked to the textile sector so as to promote alpaca fiber and Peruvian cotton, as well as food fairs, in which Superfoods play the leading roles, boosting the food industry, as well as the extraordinary diversity of our raw materials.









The regional offer of goods and services, as well as the tourism projects portfolio, will be essential for opening new niches in the Middle East market and boost Peru's internationalization process.





It is expected that by the end of Expo 2020 Dubai deals would total US$30 million. For 2024, non-mining-energy exports would reach US$70 million as a result of 11 business rounds and meetings to be attended by representatives of more than 200 companies. 80% of them come from SMEs in Lima Metropolitan Area and regions. In turn, more than 1,100 business meetings are expected to be held.





It is estimated that participating in Expo 2020 Dubai would provide Peru with a potential market of US$2.14 billion for our export products and contribute to income worth over US$44 million from tourism in two years.





The United Arab Emirates ranks fifth in Peruvian shipments to Asia behind China, South Korea, Japan, and India.





Peru's participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is in line with the Government's economic reactivation policy, which aims to shape a sustainable and decentralized foreign trade and tourism sector that translates into benefits and opportunities for all Peruvians, Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Roberto Sanchez forecast.





(END) WRR/MVB
"() they are the ones who lead the operational issue, the logistics issue; as a minister, I focus on the political framework," he told reporters.





On the other hand, the high-ranking official clarified that the Armed Forces are indeed entitled to support the police whether in a state of emergency or not as this was established by Legislative Decree No. 1095 issued in 2010. The Cabinet member said this would be the case of the resolution published last Monday, which authorizes military support for the police.





"Legislative Decree No. 1095 establishes support whether in a state of emergency or not; in this case, it is without a state of emergency. Therefore, whenever the Police require it, the Armed Forces are willing to support (the police) in various ways, providing security to public facilities ()," he indicated.





Last Monday, Congress members and lawyers said that the intervention by the Armed Forces would be unconstitutional, since the state of emergency should have been first declared in Lima and Callao.





Legislative Decree No. 1095 which establishes rules for the use of force by the Armed Forces in the national territory was enacted on September 1, 2010.





Minister Ayala reiterated that the Armed Forces will act within the constitutional framework, rely on the personnel trained for this task, and he ruled out that the functions of the National Police will be usurped, or that the presence of the military in the streets implies arresting citizens.





In this regard, he said the military could fulfill the role of protecting public facilities so that more police members are deployed to the streets with the aim of fighting crime.





(END) DOP/RMCH/MVB
?????? Peru suscribe la Declaracion sobre Bosques y Uso de la Tierra.

? Nuestro pais forma parte de este compromiso internacional para frenar la deforestacion junto con otros lideres reunidos en la #COP26.

?? Conoce mas aqui ???? https://t.co/WnoPepXk3I#PeruPorLaGeneracionDelCambio pic.twitter.com/9zCm4Kw5tw
WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Armenia to the United States Lilit Makunts had a discussion-meeting with more than a dozen members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues in the Capitol Hill.

Ambassador Makunts expressed her gratitude to the Members of Congress for their constant support to Armenia, the issues that concern to Armenian people, and for the adoption of pro-Armenian resolutions in Congress, the Armenian embassy said in a readout.

In particular, the adoption of resolutions on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, as well as condemning the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh, and coming up with legislative initiatives in that regard.

Ambassador Makunts briefed Members of Congress about the democratic reform program implemented by the Armenian Government, agenda of the Armenian-American relations and current regional security issues. In that context, she emphasized the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Ambassador Makunts presented the challenges followed by the 44-day war and the humanitarian crisis, emphasizing the need for the unconditional repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians held in Azerbaijan.

During the meeting Ambassador Makunts answered the questions raised by the Members of Congress.
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan had a meeting with the new Country Manager of the World Bank for Armenia Carolin Geginat, during which he presented the agenda of the ministrys reforms, the ministry said in a news release.

The agenda is directed to anti-corruption and constitutional reforms, improvement of freedom of speech, etc.

The minister congratulated Carolin Geginat on appointment, by highly valuing the World Banks constant support provided for Armenias reforms, in particular in the fields of justice and police.

The meeting sides discussed also other issues of mutual interest and agreed to develop the existing productive partnership.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan received Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin, the SRC said in a statement.

Mr Badasyan and Mr Kopyrkin attached importance to the regular meetings between the heads of the Armenian State Revenue Committee and the Russian Federal Customs and Tax services. They emphasized the importance of joint programs on installing electronic systems.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received today head of the International Monetary Funds (IMF) Armenia Mission Nathan Porter and IMF Resident Representative in Armenia Mehdi Raissi, the PMs Office said.

Pashinyan highly appreciated the Armenian governments and Central Banks cooperation with the IMF. The partnership and targeted programs with the IMF, especially in the post-war period, have demonstrated their importance and contributed to the preservation of macro-economic stability in Armenia. We are inclined to continue the mutual partnership with the same spirit and are ready to discuss the future joint actions, PM Pashinyan said.

The IMF Armenia Mission head thanked the PM for the appreciation and stated that their organization attaches importance to the cooperation with Armenia and reaffirms its readiness to expand the collaboration. He added that the IMF will continue assisting the Armenian governments reforms aimed at improving the monetary-credit and fiscal policy, strengthening the public-private investment system and the business climate, improving infrastructures, conducting education field strategy, raising governance transparency, developing mining industry, etc.

Pashinyan said that the government is taking active works in all directions. He touched upon the ongoing reforms in education, infrastructure, investment, mining, fiscal and other sectors, providing the guests with details about the ongoing activities and outcomes.

He stated that all these reforms are inter-connected, and the successful process of each of these reforms depends on the effective implementation of all of them. The PM said the education reform is the basis of reforms. We are planning to build/renovate 300 schools and 500 kindergartens in the next 5 years. Our main goal is to make high-quality education available for all children living in Armenia. In this context we also develop the remote learning system, he said.

As for the investment climate, the Armenian PM said that works are being done to introduce effective assessment system.

The sides stated that their visions on the further process of the Armenia-IMF partnership are overall the same and agreed to continue the productive cooperation.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The closing of Seeds For The Future program took place on October 21, online, due to the COVID-19 restrictions in the country.

Their words of congratulation and motivation presented Mr. Vahan Hovsepyan, Adviser to Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia, Mr. Alexandr Yesayan, Shareholder of Telecom Armenia, Mr. Ara Khachatryan, CEO of Ucom, and Mr. Chen Liang, GM of Huawei Technologies Armenia.

Mr. Vahan Hovsepyan appreciated the students for their participation in the program: I want to thank Huawei to bring this prominent opportunity for students in Armenia. We welcome technological companies to share their knowledge and skills with the students. I believe this will be the next step for our future leaders to help us to create new economy that is suitable for the innovations and development.

Shareholder of Telecom Armenia, Mr. Alexandr Yesayan started his closing speech with the gratitude words for having the opportunity to address his speech for the closing ceremony.

I am sure Huawei is the company that achieved huge success globally and its really inspiring how this company grown for the last years and I am sure this is because of research and development investment that Huawei took on their shoulders and achieved tremendous success on the technological advancement.

Mr. Yesayan mentioned that Armenia nowadays is very well positioned in the technological advancement: This is one of the opportunities in our country and people like you need to learn from the leading companies in the world, to see where to invest your time and efforts to achieve success, because your success is our countrys success.

Mr. Alexandr Yesayan thanked Huawei and the whole organizing team for this kind of program be accessible also in Armenia.

The CEO of Ucom, Mr. Ara Khachatryan started his speech by welcoming the participants of the program and congratulated on the event held during the tough period of Covid19 and after-war.

The current situation shall not be an obstacle as not to speak about the innovation, stable development and international cooperation in Armenia.

Thank you for starting this important initiative in our country.

Ucom is always following the global technical developments. Today, there is a need of specialists with fresh ideas, innovative solutions and who want to surpass the requirements and expectations of the new generation not only in our sphere but in any business sphere.

Mr. Khachatryan mentioned, that it was difficult to manage such programs in Armenia many years ago, but now the chances are many and technical companies including Huawei, Ucom are hosting such programs on the strategic level.

Once again congratulations on hosting Future seeds online program and wishing success to everyone on your current challenging but very interesting way.

The closing ceremony speech was summed up by Mr. Chen Liang, Huawei Technologies Armenia General Director. He has congratulated the participants and wished them to move forward and be patient to reach success they aim.
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Erika Olson, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister welcomed the US State Departments delegation, noting that the Armenian Government attaches great importance and highly appreciates the friendly relations established between Armenia and the United States. According to Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian-American strategic dialogue started in 2019, which is aimed at further development and promotion of the relations. I would like to emphasize the role of the US Government in promoting democratic reform in Armenia. Recently we registered a concrete result in this regard, in the face of the establishment of the Patrol Police, the PM said. Nikol Pashinyan also praised the role of the United States in the return of 15 Armenian captives from Azerbaijan in June this year. The Prime Minister noted with satisfaction that the United States continues to make efforts in this direction.

During the meeting the interlocutors discussed a number of issues related to the processes taking place in the South Caucasus region, the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, the return of Armenian captives, hostages and other detainees kept in Azerbaijan, and democratic reforms in Armenia.

Prime Minister Pashinyan highlighted the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the recent organization of a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in New York, and the forthcoming visit of the Co-chairs to the region. Nikol Pashinyan stressed the need to return the captives held in Azerbaijan, noting that Azerbaijan continues to violate the relevant point of the November 9, 2020 declaration. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia also referred to the opportunities of opening regional communications and carrying out the demarcation and delimitation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, presenting the clear positions of the Armenian side. Nikol Pashinyan also spoke about the Government's future programs and steps aimed at the development of democratic institutions, emphasizing that our country will continue to move consistently and resolutely towards the development and strengthening of democracy.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Erika Olson noted the US readiness to contribute to the resolution of humanitarian issues in the region, as well as to the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. At the same time, she stressed the interest of the USA in continuing to support the Armenian Government in its democratic reforms.
YEREVAN, 3 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. Armenian has allied relations with Russian Federation and cooperation in military-political, security, and also economic, energy, infrastructure, humanitarian and cultural fields is an important component of the Armenian-Russian multi-layered cooperation, ARMENPRESS reports, Armenian Foreign Minister told Nouvelles d'Armenie magazine.



At the same time Armenia highlights the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with EU and EU Member States in different dimensions based on common democratic values.

In this regard, I would like to emphasize the importance of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. This comprehensive document creates a strong legal basis for the Armenia-EU partnership, as well as for cooperation with EU Member States. The effective implementation of the agreement will strengthen the cooperation in different fields such as justice, security, economy, agriculture and infrastructure, environment and climate, education and science, culture, healthcare, etc. said Mirzoyan.



He named the Eastern Partnership an important platform, mentioning that Armenia continues active involvement and work in the direction of strengthening the inclusiveness of the format and deepening the cooperation.



Talking about Armenia-Iran relations Armenian Foreign Minister said that there are historical friendly relations based on mutual trust between the two countries. There is readiness of both sides to further develop and deepen the Armenian-Iranian relations based on friendship and mutual respect, cooperation in trade and economy, politics as well as in mutually beneficiary other fields, Mirzoyan emphasized.



He added that Armenia is full of hope, that the nuclear talks will restart, will have a successful course, and will create an opportunity to raise the sanctions from Iran, which can be an important stimulus for the development of economic cooperation between Armenia and Iran.
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The Russian Federation will make an extended comment over the anniversary of the agreement signed on November 9, 2020 between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, ARMENPRESS reports representative of the MFA Russia Maria Zakharova said in a briefing.

Now I can say that works are underway in all directions, Zakharova said.

She reminded that recently the Russian Foreign Minister had telephone conversations with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts. The ministers agreed that the situation in the region has stabilized over the past year, and the ceasefire regime is generally maintained. Baku and Yerevan highly appreciate the role of Russian peacekeepers. Individual incidents are handled through partnership-based contacts. Efforts are being made to unblock transport links, Zakharova said, reminding of the meeting of the Deputy PMs of the three countries in Moscow in October. "We see a comprehensive solution to the problem with the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the beginning of the demarcation process. Of course, active works are done by the OCE Minsk Group, Zakharova said.

Answering the question about the possible signing of new documents in the near future, as well as a possible meeting of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "I do not have such information yet. Let's let the question be answered by the leaders and their press services. If they have such information, they will share it with us.

Referring to the announcements on the putting into operation the 3 + 3 platform in the region and the issue related to the position of the Russian Foreign Ministry on it, Zakharova said. "We support the idea put forward by the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan to establish such a regional consultation mechanism. It is called 3 + 3, we are talking about the countries of the South Caucasus and their neighbors: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey and Iran. Of course, we think it is time to put these plans into practice. Multilateral regional cooperation is in the interests of all participants of this platform. In our opinion, its implementation will increase confidence in interstate relations, in the settlement of conflicts, will open the economic and transport potential of the region. The platform can and must offer solutions to both old problems and new challenges.
The Taliban has banned the use of foreign currencies in Afghanistan, a move that could further disrupt an economy on the brink of collapse, BBC reports.

November 3, 2021, 15:28 Taliban Bans Foreign Currencies in Afghanistan

STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 3, ARTSAKHPRESS: "The economic situation and national interests in the country require that all Afghans use Afghani currency in their every trade," the Taliban said.

The economy is struggling due to the withdrawal of international financial support after the Taliban took control.

The US dollar has been used widely in Afghanistan's markets.
Next Match: at Missouri-St. Louis 11/5/2021 | 8 PM

EVANSVILLE, IN  The University of Indianapolis volleyball team traveled to Evansville on Tuesday night for a GLVC match up with the University of Southern Indiana. The Screaming Eagles came out on top 3-0 in the crucial conference match.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hounds trailed by one midway thru the first set before 6-0 run from the Eagles put them ahead 17-10. UIndy bounced back with a 6-2 run of their own including a pair of kills from Hannah Huppenbauer before USI scored six of the final eight points of the set to take a 25-18 victory.

USI led by five early in the second set until a 5-2 run from the Hounds pulled them within two. Four of UIndy's five points came from Lauren Cullison kills. The Eagles established a seven point lead at 17-10 but UIndy clawed back, eventually tying it at 21 after back-to-back kills from Cullison and Huppenbauer. The Hounds fought off set point but USI snuck away with the 25-22 win.

The final frame was back and forth to start as neither team scored back-to-back points. The Eagles utilized a 10-1 run to jump out to a 17-7 lead en route to the 25-13 win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

- Grace Hegwood paced the Hounds with 11 kills and a pair of blocks.

- MaKenna Barnhart and Alex Equihua both recorded double digit kills with 19 and 14 respectively.

- Equihua led the offense with 23 assists on the night.

- USI recorded 18 blocks to UIndy's eight.

UP NEXT

The Hounds close out the week with their final road trip of the regular season. UIndy takes on Missouri-St. Louis on Friday followed by Maryville on Saturday.
Africa Mining Chemicals Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Ore Type (Iron Ore, Powder Gold, Phosphate), By Application (Explosives & Drilling, Mineral Processing), By Country, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

New York, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Africa Mining Chemicals Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Ore Type, By Application, By Country And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06179079/?utm_source=GNW



Africa Mining Chemicals Market Growth & Trends



The Africa mining chemicals market size is expected to reach USD 960.97 million by 2028. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2021 to 2028. Factors such as the rising demand for minerals, increasing mining activities, and water treatment are likely to fuel the market growth over the forecast period. The growing market for metals such as gold, copper, and phosphate is expected to contribute to the product demand over the coming years.



Innovation in the industry is likely to increase yield and reduce the environmental hazards of mining operations. Furthermore, the deteriorating quality of mineral reserves is likely to result in the development of new and advanced mineral processing methods, which is expected to drive the demand for chemicals, such as flocculants, frothers, grinding aids, and solvent extractants, over the coming years.



Raw materials such as uranium, sulfuric acid, lead, nitric acid, mercury, and cyanide are used in the manufacturing of mining chemicals.China is a major exporter of mercury to Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, India, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, and Ukraine.



In the African continent, Morocco is a major producer of Mercury.However, due to the adverse effect of mercury on the environment and human health, mineral miners are moving themselves to support mercury-free gold extraction.



Countries such as Burkina Faso and Kenya have participated to support mercury-free gold extraction programs led by the United Nations.



The African market for mining chemicals is characterized by the presence of numerous manufacturing giants and local players who constantly focus on upgrading their overall business portfolio right from product development to marketing.The product demand in Africa has increased significantly since the past decade with major shifts in the mining industry, coupled with the growing wastewater activities in the region.



Many end-use application manufacturers have even formed alliances with the manufacturers to maintain consistency in their production processes and eliminate the risk of uncertainty in terms of product availability and sourcing.



Africa Mining Chemicals Market Report Highlights

 By ore type, the powder gold segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR of 5.8% in terms of revenue over the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the increasing use of gold in different applications, including medicine, water treatment, printing paper, and making colors for painting

 In 2020, the explosives and drilling segment emerged as the dominant application segment and accounted for a revenue share of more than 35.0% because drilling and explosions are major operations used in opencast mining

 Ivory Coast is projected to register the fastest CAGR in terms of volume from 2021 to 2028. This growth is attributed to the growing gold mining activities in the country

 The African market for mining chemicals is highly competitive due to the presence of a large number of multinationals that are engaged in constant research & development activities and local players

 Some of the key local players are involved in enhancing their market presence in Africa through signing an agreement with distributors

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06179079/?utm_source=GNW



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Figure 1

Location of the ROC-031 channel sample profile at Rodruin

Location of the ROC-031 channel sample profile at Rodruin

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aton Resources Inc. (AAN: TSX-V) (Aton or the Company") is pleased to provide investors with an update on recent activities at its Rodruin advanced exploration project at the Companys 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession (Abu Marawat or the Concession), in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Highlights:

The Company recently re-started its surface channel sampling programme of potential mineralisation exposed along drill road cuttings at Rodruin;

Sampling of channel sample profile ROC-031 returned a mineralised interval of 127m at a grade of 1.33 g/t gold and 7.3 g/t silver ;

Drill road and pad preparation is ongoing at Rodruin ahead of the upcoming diamond drilling programme. Good progress is being made with new roads onto the North Ridge which will allow the first drill testing of veins mined in ancient workings, which returned grades of up to 321 g/t gold at surface.

We are very happy that Rodruin continues to live up to our expectations and these new channel sampling results vindicate our commitment to the second phase drilling programme that will commence in the coming weeks, said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. These new results again demonstrate the potential and the continuity of the mineralisation outcropping at surface at Rodruin, and further reinforce our interpretation of broad zones of gold mineralisation on the South Ridge which will be amenable to open pit mining. We are also excited at the prospect of being able to drill for the first time the very high grade veins which we sampled in 2017-18, as we continue to push new roads up on to the North Ridge.

Rodruin channel sampling programme

Channel sampling of newly exposed mineralisation in road cuttings at Rodruin re-commenced in August 2021, following on from the 2018 reverse circulation percussion (RC) drilling and surface sampling programmes (see news releases dated August 7, 2018, September 4, 2018, September 12, 2018, September 24, 2018, and October 29, 2018 for previous details of channel sampling at Rodruin). The current channel sampling programme is focussed on new roads that are being excavated in advance of the upcoming diamond drilling programme, which will commence in the coming weeks.

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Channel profile ROC-031 (Figure 1) was sampled along a new high road running southeast from the ROP-031 to ROP-034 drill pad on the Central Buttress Zone (CBZ), see news release dated January 3, 2019. A total of 67 samples were collected over a 127m profile length, predominantly within carbonate-silica rocks with patchy gossanous zones. At the southeastern end of the profile quartz filled tensional stockwork veins outcrop. Samples were collected over nominal 2m lengths, along a continuous saw-cut channel profile. A further 5 QAQC samples were submitted for analysis, comprising 1 duplicate sample, 2 blank samples, 1 flushing sample, and 1 standard sample of a certified reference material.

Figure 1: Location of the ROC-031 channel sample profile at Rodruin

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/de730f6a-4e5a-49bb-a5f0-20ac5c17cb01

The results from ROC-031 are very encouraging and are summarised in Table 1 below. The profile returned a mineralised intersection of 127m at a grade of 1.33 g/t gold (Au) and 7.3 g/t silver (Ag) over its entire length, including a 16.5m interval which returned 4.29 g/t Au and 16.5 g/t Ag at the southernmost end of the profile, close to the Spiral Pit Zone (SPZ).

Profile

ID



Length

(m)



Intersection (m) Au

(g/t)



Ag

(g/t)



Zn

(%)



Comments



From To Interval ROC-031















127 0 127 127 1.33 7.30 0.79 South Ridge high road from the SPZ to the CBZ















incl. 0 42 42 0.51 4.97 0.16 incl. 42 95 53 1.38 6.70 0.73 incl. 95 110.5 15.5 0.19 6.08 1.21 incl. 110.5 127 16.5 4.29 16.5 2.20

Table 1: Summary of the results from the ROC-031 channel sample profile

Previous channel sampling in the vicinity of ROC-031 returned mineralised intervals of 50.3m grading 1.37 g/t Au (profile ROC-017, see news release dated September 24, 2018), 58.2m grading 1.25 g/t Au (profile ROC-018, see news release dated October 29, 2018), 26.3m grading 2.29 g/t Au (profile ROC-019, also see news release dated October 29, 2018), and 26.0m grading 1.97 g/t Au (profile ROC-026, previously unreported), associated with variably gossanous carbonate-silica rock.

Furthermore the first phase of RC drilling in the vicinity of channel sample profile ROC-031 also returned significant mineralised intervals including 20m grading 5.36 g/t Au and 15.9 g/t Ag from surface (drill hole ROP-029, see news release dated December 10, 2018), 34m grading 2.00 g/t Au, from 10m depth (drill hole ROP-033, see news release dated January 3, 2019), 31m grading 2.45 g/t Au and 12.5 g/t Ag, from 2m depth (drill hole ROP-034, also see news release dated January 3, 2019), and 70m grading 1.16 g/t Au, from 11m depth (drill hole ROP-047, see news release dated January 29, 2019). Mineralisation was again associated with gossanous carbonate-silica rock, except from ROP-029 at the SPZ where the host rock consisted of mineralised carbonate and heavily phyllic altered quartz-sericite rock.

The latest results from channel profile ROC-031 again confirm the presence of significant gold mineralisation at surface, associated with the variably gossanous carbonate-silica rock mapped between the Central Buttress and the Spiral Pit (Figure 1). The new results combined with the results of previous surface channel sampling and the first phase of RC drilling indicate that much of the carbonate-silica rock in the CBZ and SPZ areas may be mineralised. The area is structurally complex, but it is quite possible that the carbonate-silica hosted mineralisation on the Central Buttress and the higher grade mineralisation hosted in phyllic altered rocks at the SPZ is contiguous.

These latest results continue to provide Aton with strong encouragement that the Rodruin area may host significant bulk tonnages of gold mineralisation, associated with the mapped carbonate-silica rocks, and with localised zones of potentially high grade, coarse gold bearing mineralisation, such as at Aladdins Hill and the Spiral Pit, associated with heavily phyllic altered host rock.

The upcoming planned diamond drilling programme using Energolds specially engineered rig, which will include a series of horizontal and shallow dipping holes, will target this potentially broad zone of outcropping mineralisation on the South Ridge, associated with the mapped silica-carbonate unit and associated gossans, amongst other areas.

Exploration activity update

Final results for the wadi sediment sampling programme at Abu Gaharish have now been received. The samples were submitted for ultra-low level multi-element ionic leach (mobile metal ion) geochemical analysis. The results of the programme are now being evaluated and interpreted, and will be released once this has been completed.

Drill road and pad preparation is ongoing at Rodruin in advance of the upcoming diamond drilling programme. 2 excavators continue to operate at Rodruin, and are making good progress on the North Ridge, which will enable Aton to drill the high grade veins, which returned assays of up to 321 g/t gold (see news release dated February 6, 2018), for the first time.

Energolds drill rig arrived in Egypt on October 22, 2021, and is now undergoing customs clearance procedures, which are expected to take potentially another 1-2 weeks.

Sampling, sample processing and analytical procedures

Access road cuttings and drill pads selected for channel sampling initially had their exposed faces cleaned by an excavator, prior to sampling. A single continuous sample channel was cut along each profile using a large, generator powered angle grinder. Sample intervals were marked up on the cleaned faces with spray paint, with the start and end points of individual samples marked on the exposed faces. The channels were created by sawing 2 parallel cuts, approximately 50-75mm apart, with the angle grinder. The cut channel was subsequently sampled using a hammer and chisel, with the sampled material excavated from between the 2 cuts. The profiles were sampled at nominal 2m intervals, but with individual sample lengths varying from less than 1m to greater than 3m, as appropriate.

Samples were bagged up in cloth bags, and dried and crushed to -4mm at Atons onsite Hamama sample preparation laboratory, and split to a nominal c. 250-500g sample size.

The dried, crushed and split samples were shipped to ALS Minerals sample preparation facility at Marsa Alam, Egypt where they were pulverised to a size fraction of better than 85% passing 75 microns. From this pulverised material a further sub-sample was split off with a nominal c. 50g size, which was shipped on to ALS Minerals at Loughrea, Ireland for analysis.

Samples were analysed for gold by fire assay with an atomic absorption spectrometry finish (analytical code Au-AA23); and for a 34 multi-element suite using ICP atomic emission spectrometry (analytical code ME-ICP61).

High grade overlimit gold samples (>10 ppm Au) were re-analysed using analytical code Au-GRA21 (also fire assay, but with a gravimetric finish). High grade overlimit zinc samples (Zn >10,000 ppm or >1%) were re-analysed using the ore grade technique OG62 (consisting of a four acid digestion with an ICP finish).

About Aton Resources Inc.



Aton Resources Inc. (AAN: TSX-V) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession (Abu Marawat), located in Egypts Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamins world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor. Qualified person



The technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Javier Orduna BSc (hons), MSc, MCSM, DIC, MAIG, SEG(M), Exploration Manager of Aton Resources Inc. Mr. Orduna is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.



For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:



TONNO VAHK



Interim CEO

Tel: +1 604 318 0390

Email: info@atonresources.com Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements



Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.



Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.




(Bloomberg) -- Harold Hamm, one of the richest and most prominent shale wildcatters, is finally taking a stake in North Americas biggest oil field.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Continental Resources Inc., the shale driller created and controlled by the billionaire, agreed Wednesday to acquire assets in the Permian Basin from Pioneer Natural Resources Co. for $3.25 billion. Continental will pay cash for the assets in the Delaware Basin, a subregion of the massive Permian. Continental shares fell as much as 8.1% in New York Thursday.

Acquiring the drilling rights across 92,000 net acres will allow Continental to generate an extra half billion dollars in annual free cash flow next year at current commodity prices, the Oklahoma City-based explorer said in a statement.

These Permian assets contain the key strategic components common to all of our assets with significant untapped potential to enhance performance through optimized density development, wellbore placement, operational efficiencies and further exploration, Jack Stark, Continentals chief operating officer, said in the statement.

Record free cash flow in the U.S. shale patch is driving a return to asset sales and corporate consolidation, particularly as private-equity backed producers ramp up output and seek to monetize their holdings. Investors have largely rewarded drillers for deals focused on a singular field, rather than expanding into new territories.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says

Continental Resources $3.25 billion purchase of assets from Pioneer in the Delaware Basin troubles us because the deal dilutes the buyers Williston and Anadarko portfolios while introducing the uncertainty of a relatively modest position where Continental has limited operating experience.

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Vincent G Piazza and Evan Lee, BI analysts

Read the full report here.

While output from other U.S. oil fields is flatlining or falling, the Permians multi-layered tiers of oil-soaked rock continue to thrive. ConocoPhillips inked a deal in September to acquire Royal Dutch Shell Plcs Permian assets in September for $9.5 billion in cash, a move that will boost the American explorers footprint in the worlds most-prolific shale field.

Continental traded 2.7% lower at $45.66 iat 9:51 a.m. in New York while Pioneer was 1.2% higher at $192.09.

Until now, Continental has focused on the Bakken shale in North Dakota, where its the largest operator, and the Scoop and Stack plays in Oklahoma. The company, which trades under the ticker CLR, also recently added drilling rights in Wyomings Powder River Basin to its portfolio.

The market may not like CLR getting into a new basin at this point in the commodity price cycle, Leo Mariani, an analyst at Keybanc Capital Markets Inc., wrote Wednesday in a note to investors.

The Permian wells to be acquired by Continental pump the equivalent of about 50,000 barrels of oil a day, Pioneer said. The Delaware Basin comprises the western half of the Permian; the eastern section is called the Midland Basin.

This transaction returns Pioneer to being 100% focused on its high-margin, high-return Midland Basin assets, where we have the largest acreage position and drilling inventory, Pioneer Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield said in the statement.

(Updates with share price in second paragraph)

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2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Palestinians facing Jerusalem evictions reject deal with Israeli settlers Palestinian activist Muna El-Kurd stands with her family members at a press conference in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah

By Nuha Sharaf and Zainah El-Haroun

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinians facing eviction from the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah rejected a deal on Tuesday that would have seen them accept the temporary ownership of their homes by an Israeli settler organisation.

The long-running legal battle over the evictions helped trigger an 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, and the case has been a regular source of tension across East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

Seeking a compromise, Israel's Supreme Court in October proposed a deal that would have seen four Palestinian families remain in their homes for 15 years as "protected tenants" while paying rent to settlers who claim the land.

The court gave the families until Nov. 2 to decide whether to accept.

"We unanimously rejected the settlement offered by the occupation (Israeli) court," Muna El-Kurd, one of the Palestinians facing eviction, said at a press conference.

"This refusal comes from our faith in the justice of our case and our rights to our homes and homeland," said El-Kurd, wearing a jacket embellished with the words "No Fear". She was flanked by other residents.

The deal would have required the Palestinians to recognise the settlers' ownership claims on land their families have lived on for generations - a condition they have long rejected. It also would have granted them the right to prove ownership in the future.

A ruling on the families' fate has been repeatedly delayed since May, after the case garnered international attention and the #SaveSheikhJarrah hashtag gained momentum overseas.

The families have lived in their homes since the 1950s. But the settlers claim the land is theirs and presented 19th-century documents as evidence in Israeli courts.

Some Israeli settlers have already moved in to homes in the neighbourhood. After the news conference, Reuters knocked on the door of one of the settlers' houses, but there was no answer.

Story continues

Israel has framed the issue of Sheikh Jarrah as a real estate dispute, while Palestinians say the court-ordered evictions aim to erase their presence in the holy city.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, occupying and later annexing it. It regards the entire city as its undivided capital - a status not recognised internationally.

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as capital of a state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza.

(Reporting Stephen Farrell, Zainah El-Haroun, Additional reporting by Sinan Abu Mayzer, Ammar Awad and Nuha Sharaf; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Angus MacSwan)
File photo: The Sea Wolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut departs Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for sea trials in December 2016 (AP)

The US Navy has revealed that the nuclear submarine that met with an accident and was damaged in the contested waters of South China Sea last month had hit an underwater mountain and not a foreign vessel.

The nuclear-powered submarine USS Connecticut collided with an unknown object on 2 October and suffered severe damage, leaving more than 10 sailors injured. The US 7th Fleet, which operates in the western Pacific Ocean, began an investigation to find the cause.

The investigation determined USS Connecticut grounded on an uncharted seamount while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region, 7th Fleet spokesperson Commander Hayley Sims told USNI News, a think tank close to the Navy, on Monday.

The investigation, which was completed last week, has now been passed on to the 7th Fleet commander for review and to determine if there will be any additional accountability actions over the incident, Commander Sims said.

The 2 October collision was confirmed by the Navy only a week after the fact.

The damage to the forward section of the submarine ruined its ballast tanks. The Connecticut  one of three Sea Wolf-class attack nuclear boats that were developed for deep-water operations  is undergoing repairs at Guam, a US territory in the western Pacific.

The collision also became a point of contention between the US and China. Beijing, which already has objections to Washingtons presence in the South China Sea, objected to the lack of transparency about the accident and accused the US of a cover-up.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that China had grave concerns and accused the US of being irresponsible and cagey by not providing details about the incident. He said the lack of details gave every reason to question the truth and the intention of the US.

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U.S. border officials pledged to be ready for more visitors on Monday, when fully vaccinated Canadian leisure travelers will be allowed to enter the United States through land crossings.

The U.S. has sharply limited Canadians' ability to enter through land borders since March 2020, although they have been allowed to fly over the border.

The easing of entry restrictions is welcome news for U.S. businesses who rely on an influx of Canadian visitors, including retailers and ski areas. The change will also make it easier for Canadians to attend Bills and Sabres games, and to catch flights from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Snowbirds will be able drive their own cars from Canada to Florida as the chillier weather sets in.

Elected officials including Rep. Brian Higgins have pressed the Biden administration to reopen the border to vaccinated Canadian leisure travelers, especially after Canada loosened restrictions on Americans entering Canada almost three months ago.

Here's what to know about what will happen starting Monday:

 Canadians visitors will be asked by border agents to verbally confirm they are fully vaccinated, and should be prepared to present proof of vaccination in either paper or electronic form, said Matthew Davies, executive director of admissibility and passenger programs with Customs and Border Protection's office of field operations. That's in addition to the travel documents visitors normally carry.

 Staffing at the U.S. border will be back to pre-pandemic levels, Davies said. "We know and we expect that there will be wait times as travel increases, but we expect to have a full complement of staffing to handle this surge as travel resumes," he said in a Tuesday media briefing.

According to Peace Bridge statistics, the number of autos and buses crossing the span from Canada to the United States in September was down about 78% from the same month in 2019, before the pandemic hit.

 Canadian children 17 and under won't have to be vaccinated to enter the U.S., as long as they are accompanying a fully vaccinated adult.

 Canadians won't have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test to enter the U.S., but they still face a testing rule to return home. The Canadian government requires them to have a negative COVID-19 test that is no more than 72 hours old by the time they re-enter Canada.

That means Canadians can take a COVID test before traveling to the United States, as long as they return within the 72-hour window. If their test result is over 72 hours old, Canadians will need to take a new test in the United States in order to return home.

 The U.S. will count Canadians with "mixed" vaccination  someone who has received shots produced by two different companies  as fully vaccinated.

Canadians traveling to the United States can also be inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been approved for emergency use authorization by the World Health Organization, but not by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

 Customs and Border Protection is "laser focused" on encouraging its employees to get vaccinated ahead of a Nov. 22 deadline for federal employees, Davies said. That approaching deadline has raised concerns about whether federal agencies would have sufficient staffing workers.

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After more than a quarter century prosecuting criminal cases for the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office, Jon Budelmann will be moving to the other side of the courtroom bench.

The Republican county district attorney prevailed in the race for the 10-year term as Cayuga County Surrogate Court judge, defeating Democratic challenger Ben Susman, 8,608 votes to 6,794.

With 1,840 total absentee ballots issued in Cayuga County, Budelmann's lead after election night is essentially insurmountable.

Budelmann and Susman both announced their campaigns for surrogate court judge in February. Susman, who owns his own law practice in Auburn, came to Auburn in 2017 to raise his family in his wife's hometown. Budelmann has lived and worked in Cayuga County for more than 25 years. He joined the district attorney's office in 1995 and was elected as DA in 2007 when his predecessor, James Vargason decided not to seek re-election. Budelmann successfully ran for re-election as district attorney three times, most recently in 2019.

The campaigns clashed over who had the best experience for the judicial seat. Budelmann pointed to his long tenure as DA and record of community service as being essential for the job, while Susman said his broader legal experience beyond criminal justice made him the better fit.

The race was by far the most expensive in Cayuga County this year. According to campaign finance disclosure reports, the two candidates had raised a combined $120,245 as of the 11-day pre-election filing, and they had spent $93,961 at that point. Susman had raised $69,557 and spent $67,645, while Budelmann raised $50,688 and spent $26,316. The DA had a considerable advantage in cash-on-hand heading into the campaign's finan week and a half.

The seat is now held by Cayuga County Surrogate Judge Mark Fandrich, who announced in January that he would not pursue reelection for another 10-year term. Due to the state's mandatory retirement age for state judges, Fandrich would not have been able to finish the term. When he announced his retirement, Fandrich noted that he would be turning 67 at the end of his current term, while mandatory retirement age in New York is 70.

Jeremy Boyer can be reached at (315) 282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer

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Democrats appeared to retain control of the Auburn City Council on Election Day with unofficial early results giving newcomer Ginny Kent and incumbent Terry Cuddy the leads.

The two declared victory Tuesday night as Democrats gathered to watch the results come in at Prison City Pub and Brewery North Street Urban Farm in Auburn.

With four candidates running for two open seats, Cuddy had 2,315 votes and Kent had 2,102. Republican challengers Timothy Lattimore had 2,007 and Rob Otterstatter had 1,736.

The Cayuga County Board of Elections reported that 795 absentee ballots had been issued in the city this year, so those votes could come into play in the race.

Kent, a former elected Auburn school board member making her first run for municipal office, currently works for the Cayuga Community College Foundation. Previously, she ran the Leadership Cayuga program for the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce, served as director of the Auburn Industrial Development Authority and helped start the Auburn Beautification Commission. She served two terms on the Auburn Enlarged City School District Board of Education, which included stints as board vice president, and is a trustee on the Seymour Library board.

Kent announced her decision to run for the seat back in January when two-term incumbent Councilor Debby McCormick announced that she would not be running for a third term.

Kent said her focuses would include economic development, infrastructure and protecting the city's drinking water.

"I am committed to a vision of Auburn as a thriving community that we all can be proud to call home," she said. "We are a community with tremendously hardworking and innovative people, I've been lucky enough to meet and mentor so many through my life. I know that when we work together as Auburnians, we are unstoppable."

Cuddy, seeking a third term on the council, has been a strong supporter of environmental issues, including studying the problem of harmful algal blooms in Owasco Lake.

Otterstatter, who grew up in Auburn and recently returned to the city after living many years in Colorado and Washington, D.C., is the owner of Octane Social House in the newly redeveloped Nolan Block downtown.

Lattimore is finishing up his third term on the Cayuga County Legislature. He served on the council from 1988 to 1991. He was mayor of Auburn from 2004 to 2007 before losing four straight mayoral elections to Michael Quill.

The council has been in control of Democrats since McCormick and Cuddy won election in 2013. Mayor Michael Quill, who won a fourth consecutive term in 2019, is also a voting member of the council, and Jimmy Giannettino is currently serving his second term after being reelected in 2019.

Timothy Locastro has been the lone Republican on the council since winning his first try for elected office in 2019 on a platform critical of the city's all-Democratic council that he said failed to ask tough questions of city staff and of each other.

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Although Democrats declared victory in the Auburn City Council race Tuesday night, the several hundred absentee ballots yet to be counted could potentially swing the results between the second- and third-place finishers.

Unofficial early results on Election Day showed Democrats will keep control of the council, with incumbent Terry Cuddy's strong lead ensuring there will be at least three members of the party on the five-person council. Democrat Ginny Kent could join them as a fourth Democrat, as she was in second place in the four-person contest for two four-term terms.

The unofficial tally showed Cuddy with 2,315 votes and Kent with 2,102, with Republican contenders Timothy Lattimore at 2,007 votes and Rob Otterstatter at 1,736. That leaves a 95-vote gap between Kent and Lattimore.

The Cayuga County Board of Elections reported that 795 absentee ballots were issued in the city this year, meaning those votes could cause a shift in the results. Counting of those votes will start later this month.

Kent, a Cayuga Community College Foundation employee and former two-term elected Auburn school board member, gave a victory speech Tuesday night, but Lattimore said in an interview with The Citizen Wednesday that he's not conceding.

Lattimore, a former mayor of Auburn and former council member who is currently serving his third and final term with the Cayuga County Legislature, said he has had different successful elections that have come down to absentee votes before.

"I've been in a number of races where the absentees have absolutely made a difference in my elections," he said.

That said, Lattimore said he believes The Citizen Editorial Board council endorsements made a difference in him being behind on election night. Kent and Otterstatter, another local election newcomer who co-owns restaurant and coffee shop Octane Social House in Auburn, received those endorsements. Lattimore praised Otterstatter, and added that in a four-way race, he believes that endorsement "absolutely helped" Kent.

Additionally, Lattimore said he has been told by different people that they went to spots they thought were their polling places, only to be told they couldn't vote at that specific location. He also believes that using Memorial City Hall as a polling place made it harder for seniors citizens to vote. Additionally, he criticized the fact that one of the city polling places was in Owasco, arguing different churches or the new public safety building as spots that could have been used as polling places within the Auburn city limits.

"How can you have a city election where you're voting in the town of Owasco?," Lattimore asked. "It's a city-wide race. Voting should be held within the boundaries of the city."

Another Cayuga County-area election candidate expressed concern about voters having to travel outside of their own areas in order to cast their ballots. Brian Muldrow, a Democrat who ran for the county Legislature's District 15 seat this year, noted in September that people within that district had to go to a polling place in District 14 in order to vote. Katie Lacey, the Democratic elections commissioner in Cayuga County, said at the time that COVID-19 restrictions limited which locations could be used as polling spots in last year's and this year's elections.

Lattimore felt confident about absentee ballot counts going his way, noting that while he could be wrong, absentee voters are normally "a little bit on the senior side and I am one of them. They voted for me in the past and I think they trust me and feel that I love the city and I'll do the right thing by the city." He also said he appreciates the community's votes, whether they are seniors or not.

"Let me just say that it's been a privilege, win, lose or draw, to be able to put my name on a ballot in the city of Auburn, in the county of Cayuga," he said.

Kent said she was aware of the numbers, she would let the "procedures play themselves out," and that she trusts the board of elections to follow protocol by law, with witnesses.

"We'll wait to see what the final count is. I'm confident that I will still be in front, but I don't have a crystal ball so I can't see what the numbers are actually going to be," Kent said. "So I'm upbeat."

She also added that she was pleased with the voter turnout in a year where there wasn't a gubernatorial or presidential race, and she was optimistic about the future results.

"I just look forward to joining Auburn City Council. I'm very excited about that opportunity and to be a part of the continuing growth in our community and the investment in our community and the people's work, helping us move forward, " she said. "So I'm just excited about that. I feel positive about the outcome."

Cuddy, a Democrat who has been on the council since 2014, is poised to start a third term. In January, Kent said she would seek a council position when two-term incumbent Councilor Debby McCormick announced she would not be aiming for a third term.

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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While neither party emerged with a clear majority in this year's Cayuga County Legislature race, Republicans will be in a position to take control of the 15-member body after it had been in hands of Democrats the past two years.

With victories over two-term Democratic incumbents in two races and holds in three others, Republicans were poised to secure 414 weighted votes on the Legislature compared with 286 for Democrats. Simple majority votes on the Legislature require 442 weighted votes.

With incumbent independent Andrew Dennison and Conservative Hans Pecher more frequently voting with Republicans, the GOP should be able to install their own choice as legislative chairperson in 2022.

This year's races for county Legislature had a wrinkle in that they are all to fill two-year terms instead of the usual four-year terms. In 2019, voters approved a law that set up these shorter terms for the 2021 seats up for election in order to align all 15 county districts into the same election cycle for the purposes of redistricting.

The Legislature is expected to make decisions about redistricting, which include changes to district boundaries and the total number of seats, ahead of the 2023 elections.

Here is a breakdown of Tuesday's unofficial results from the county Board of Elections in each of the county legislative districts with races this year:

District 1 (Sterling, Victory):

In the race to replace Tucker Whitman, James J. Basile kept the seat for Republicans with a win over Democrat Caitlyn Augustyn, 605-477. That victory keeps 53 weighted votes for the Republican caucus.

District 3 (Montezuma, Mentz, Throop):

Republican challenger Lydia D. Patti Ruffini was poised to prevail in a three-way race, as she received 468 votes compared with two-term Democratic incumbent Benjamin P. Vitale's 387. Conservative candidate Jeffrey Emerson received 221 votes. Ruffini's win adds 65 weighted votes to the GOP total.

District 5 (Aurelius, Fleming): In the only Legislature district that did not have a contested race this year, David Gould won the seat being vacated by Legislature Paul Pinckney, who hits the county's three-term limit this year. Gould, a former Cayuga County sheriff, collected 959 votes.

District 7 (Springport, Ledyard, Scipio):

Two-term incumbent Keith M. Batman, a Democrat, fell to Republican challenger Robert Shea, 741 votes to 605, a gain for the GOP of 68 weighted votes.

District 9 (Summerhill, Sempronius, Moravia, Niles): Incumbent Mark D. Strong, who was appointed to the post earlier this year to replace former Legislator Charles Ripley, held the seat for Republicans by defeating Geraldine Germano-Yaw, 891-418.

District 11 (Auburn): Incumbent Legislator Elane M. Daly, a Democrat, had a commanding 589-429 vote lead over Republican challenger Mario Campanello Jr. There were 213 absentee ballots issued in that race, so the challenger would need to take a significant margin of those in order to deny Daly a second term.

District 13 (Auburn): In the race to replace incumbent Legislator Timothy Lattimore, whose tenure was ended by term limits, Democrat Christina M. Calarco was leading Republican Michael P. Pettigrass, 317-267. With 84 absentee ballots, that lead should hold up for the Democrat.

District 15 (Auburn): Democrat Brian Muldrow held a solid election night advantage over his challenger, Republican Brian Dahl, 260-202. There were 84 absentee ballots issued in that race.

Jeremy Boyer can be reached at (315) 282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer

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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- ZEEKR, the infant premium electric vehicle brand of Geely, announced earlier this week the deliveries of its first production model ZEEKR 001 reached 199 units only one week after the model's scale delivery kicked off on Oct. 23.

The ZEEKR 001 is also the first production model to ride on Geely's Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) modular EV platform and use the 7nm Mobileye EyeQ5H chips.



ZEEKR 001; photo credit: ZEEKR



To accommodate the demands of both local and remote users, ZEEKR hands over cars in three ways. Buyers are allowed to pick up cars at the brand's delivery centers or ZEEKR Intelligent Factory. Besides, they can also choose the door-to-door service to receive the new ZEEKR 001s.

ZEEKR Power chargings station; photo credit: ZEEKR



ZEEKR is pushing ahead with the construction of charging networks in over 10 Chinese cities. In late Sept., the first set of EV charging stations under ZEEKR Power, the energy supply sub-brand of ZEEKR, was launched in Hangzhou, where Geely Auto is headquartered.

ZEEKR currently has access to more than 250,000 third-party charging points from a slew of operators, like State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, and TELD. Additionally, it has offered the one-stop home charging service to users across 158 cities.

ZEEKR opened its first experience center in Hangzhou in September. The automaker plans to launch another one in Shanghai by 2021. In addition, there have been five ZEEKR Spaces and one ZEEKR delivery center coming online as of October.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Honda Motor (called Honda for short) said on Wednesday its China deliveries in October reached 148,377 units, dropping 17.9% from the prior-year period due to the impact of chip supply constraint.

The Oct. deliveries of two joint ventures, GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda, stood at 77,748 units and 70,629 units respectively, falling 9.1% and 25.8% year over year respectively.

Due to the six consecutive months of year-on-year decline, the growth in Honda's year-to-date China deliveries shrank to 0.8%, 3.1 percentage points lower than the increase in Jan.-Sept. volume.

For the first ten months of this year, GAC Honda's deliveries edged down 0.7% to 618,140 units, while Dongfeng Honda still recorded a 2.2% growth with 638,052 new vehicles delivered.

The deliveries of the vehicles armed with the hybrid powertrain system Sport Hybrid reached 21,166 units in October, resulting in 190,779 units for the year-to-date volume, which jumped 26.2% over a year earlier.

Last month, the Japanese automaker released a comprehensive strategy for the auto electrification development in China. Based on the strategy, the company will introduce to the country the first 10 Honda-brand BEV models, namely, the e:N Series, over the next five years.
With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.



NIO suppliers latest battery swapping products allow unattended self-service

Shandong Weida Machinery Co., Ltd. disclosed that the second-generation battery-swapping station products it supplied to NIO, make unattended operation and automated parking functions possible. NIO users can swap batteries with a push of a button without getting off the car.

Photo credit: NIO



Baidus JiDU car-making process enters new phase



Today, JiDU revealed that its SIMUCar manufacturing process has entered into the dynamic testing phase. Head of JiDU Auto intelligent driving unit, Wang Weibao said, JiDUs vehicle will be powered by the latest full-stack autonomous driving technologies from Baidus Apollo.

CPCA predicts auto retail volume to drop 12% YoY

According to the data released by China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), daily averaged automobile retail volume in the fourth week of October amounted to 94,000 vehicles, dropping 15% from a year ago, and 8% from September. CPCA projected a 12% year-on-year decline in retail volume for the whole month.

Yutong Group Oct. production, sales volume slashed YoY

Chinas commercial vehicle manufacturer Yutong Group saw a 34.5% year-on-year decline in October production volume, at 2,574 vehicles. The company sold 2,242 vehicles during the same month, dropping 38.44% from a year ago.

JMC sees decline in Oct. sales volume YoY

Commercial vehicle maker Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd (JMC) sold 25,800 vehicles in October, down 24.14% year on year. The company produced 24,523 vehicles in the same month, decreasing 22.18% from a year ago.

SGMWs GSEV-based vehicle monthly sales hit all-time highs in Oct.

AIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW), General Motors' joint venture with Chinese partners SAIC Motor and Guangxi Automobile Group, said the monthly sales of the vehicles based on GSEV (global small electric vehicle) platform notched new highs of 51,081 units in October, surging 112% year on year, while also jumping 39% month on month.

CPCAs secretary general says Chinas NEPV penetration rate expected to top 20% in 2022

The penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles (NEPVs) in China is expected to surpass 20% in 2022, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the CPCA (China Passenger Car Association), said on Nov. 3.

NIO completes building of 600 battery swap stations in China

On Nov. 3, NIO launched a new battery swap station in Qingdao, Shandong province, signifying the startup has completed the construction of 600 battery swap stations in China.

FedEx teams up with Neolix for autonomous delivery vehicle test

Global express transportation giant FedEx Express announced that it is working with Chinas Neolix to test autonomous delivery vehicles in China. This marks the first time that FedEx has partnered with local Chinese tech company for driverless vehicle tests.

Honda Motors China deliveries dip 17.9% YoY in Oct. due to supply constraint

Honda Motor (called Honda for short) said on Wednesday its China deliveries in October reached 148,377 units, dropping 17.9% from the prior-year period due to the impact of chip supply constraint.

GAC Group invests in Holomatics C1 round, with cooperated vehicles coming in 2022

GAC Group signed a deep cooperation agreement with China's autonomous driving solution startup, Holomatic, and invested in the startup's C1-round of financing.

Geelys premium EV brand ZEEKR delivers nearly 200 ZEEKR 001s within only one week

ZEEKR, the infant premium electric vehicle brand of Geely, announced earlier this week the deliveries of its first production model ZEEKR 001 reached 199 units only one week after the model's scale delivery kicked off on Oct. 23.

Lincoln China sales hit records high in Oct.

Ford Motors premium brand Lincoln continued to explore the largest auto market in the world, with its October China sales volume hitting records high, the company said yesterday.
Beijing (Gasgoo)- GAC Group signed a deep cooperation agreement with China's autonomous driving solution startup, Holomatic, and invested in the startup's C1-round of financing.

GAC Group, Holomatic signing ceremony; photo credit: GAC Group



GAC Group added that the investment would be made entirely through GAC Capital, and the automaker planned on further investing in Holomatic in the future. This round's fundings will help tighten the strategic relationship between the two partners and help GAC Group take up more resources in the intelligent connected mass-produced technologies field.

Founded in 2017, as a leading developer who focuses on mass-produced autonomous driving solutions, Holomatic has been a favorite in venture capital's eyes. In 2020, the company received an A+ round of financing for autonomous driving engineering and technology development. In 2021, Holomatic has successively finished another two rounds of investments.

Holomatic has become an integral member of GAC Group's ecosystem. Holomatic is one of the few companies capable of full-stack autonomous driving technologies, including wire control, multi-sensor fusion, and core algorithm designs. The company utilizes driving and parking scenarios as the starting point for mass production and offers all-scenario autonomous driving solutions.

Photo credit: Holomatic



In fact, Holomatic has been a partner to GAC Group for quite some time. Building on the XJ3 and X3V programs, the two companies have co-developed L2++ automated parking and memory parking functions and achieved periodical results. According to the partners, they are currently exploring L3 and up autonomous driving technologies.

Moreover, Holomatic has started to provide autonomous driving technology for GAC Group's vehicle platforms and will continue as the main supplier for the said solutions on GAC Group's wholly-owned brands.

In addition, multiple Holomatic's technology powered GAC vehicles will be on the market starting 2022.
LOS ANGELESAxelAbysse.com has released "The Experiment," a new science fiction-themed scene from director Axel Abysse.

The scene follows the story of two laboratory subjects who are treated with a strange glowing goo that transforms them in mysterious, unsettling ways. Written and directed by Abysse, who has been called "Tokyos poet of pornography," the featurette blends a sci-fi storyline with hardcore kink.

"An experimental slimy goo wreaks delicious havoc on lab rats Axel and Syusaku. As they ladle thick strings of the glowing green substance onto each other's smooth naked bodies, a wild reaction mixes it with their bodily fluids. The mix pulses through their holes, their blood, their brains!" the site wrote in its announcement. "Syusaku and Axel are transformed into obsessed, out-of-control sex fiends, driven to mingle their flesh in the most outrageous ways. They fuck, fist and fill every orifice relentlessly with every tool and body part within reach."

The scene features Syusaku Nohara and Abysse slathered in gallons of sticky, fluorescent-bright slime (made from Abysses preferred lubricant X Lube) in an acid green hue as part of their sexual play.

Industry veteran Nohara, who is based in Osaka, assisted Abysse in creating the goo for the shoot.

Marking the fourth anniversary of his website, Abysse has built and furnished a playroom, inspired by months of lockdown isolation. The room made its online debut in Octobers Inauguration, Part 2. And in Paradiso, Abysse joined frequent partner and collaborator Yoshi Kawasaki on a kinky fisting roadtrip to a verdant seaside paradise. That scene made its debut both on his website and YoshiKawasakiXXX.com.

With "The Experiment," Abysse aims to bring a challenging and stimulating venture into sci-fi horror to his viewers. He elaborated, Way before I made my own movies, my favorite go-to keyword when looking for porn was bizarre. I dont care for stories about a pizza delivery guy ringing at my door. What turns me on is when I have no clue what is going on, when its weird, sometimes grotesque, sometimes beautiful and mostly when its surreal! Movies like Shivers or Existenz by Cronenberg also have this uncomfortable touch of eroticism that makes you both cringe and want to touch yourself when nobody is watching (or at least, thats my reaction, but again, Im a weirdo)."

Abysse continued: "Not being able to travel for almost two years now because of the pandemic, I grew closer to some of the local Japanese porn industry artists. Syusaku has become a truly special friend. Along with a common passion for scuba diving and anything aquatic, we share a great curiosity for new ideas in porn, with a desire to make nasty movies that we havent seen before. Hes the one who came up with most of The Experiment and how we could make it happen. We had so much fun squirting, rubbing, sliming and sliding together, but also it became a very intimate moment. The smell of our body fluids mixed in the goo was delightful, my chest pressed onto his arms, his cock throbbing, my hole twitching, our laughs and his smile. I wish I could have stayed in it forever."



For more information, visit AxelAbysse.com.
LOS ANGELESSex Work CEO, the business resource and advocacy platform for online sex workers, has named Assembly Four as a premier sponsor.

Assembly Four is an Australian-based collective of sex workers and technologists that creates products and services to help sex workers thrive.

"We are thrilled to be involved with Sex Work CEO," said Lola Hunt, Assembly Four co-founder. "Were seeing a new wave of resources and tools made by and for sex workers, such as Sex Work CEO, enabling sex workers to work smarter, safer and more creatively. Its really fantastic work and we wanted to support it."

Sex Work CEO was launched by veteran content creator and entrepreneur MelRose Michaels on International Sex Workers Day this past June in order to educate and provide resources to help content creators grow their business as independent entrepreneurs.

Im beyond thankful to Assembly Four for their generosity and support to Sex Work CEO, Michaels said. Our goal is to empower the sex work community and to make sure that the tools and resources they need are available to them for free. What an incredibly powerful message this is to send to our industry, with leading innovators in the adult space like Assembly Four behind us, helping to fuel the current paradigm shift that is putting all the power into sex workers hands.

Sex Work CEOs educational resources are free to all sex workers, thanks to its sponsors, which are personally vetted by Michaels.

"We want to make sure our sponsors truly want to impact the sex work community in a positive way, Michaels said. Its important to me to keep Sex Work CEO as a free platform for all sex workers and thanks to incredible sponsors like Assembly Four, were able to off-set the costs of producing, distributing and organizing our courses. In return, we offer our sponsors the opportunity to educate models on how to use their products and services, as well as to demonstrate their alignment with sex work community values.

To learn more about becoming a sponsor and about the sponsorship packages available, visit www.MelRoseMichaels.com/Sponsors. For more updates, follow Sex Work CEO on Instagram and Twitter at @SexWorkCEO, or visit www.SexWorkCEO.com.
Northern Arizona University presented its Technology and Research Initiative Fund (TRIF) plans for fiscal years 2022 through 2024 at the recent meeting of the Arizona Board of Regents' (ABOR) Research and Health Sciences Committee. The university plans to use its $47.9 million in investment funds over the three years to further its research in a few areas.

[Our proposal] will really strengthen NAUs ability to deliver equitable post-secondary value through workforce-driven programming and impactful research programs, NAU President Jose Luis Cruz Rivera said.

He said the proposal was different from NAUs previous use of TRIF funds in its centering initiatives that met students and their communities where they are, and the seed funding to grow innovation and high-impact practices that involve students in research.

The funds are meant to focus on five strategic areas of research and four fundamental research stages, based on how far the projects would be from a completed product.

The largest investment area in NAUs proposal is workforce development (55% or $18,537,600), followed by water, environment and energy (18.5% or $6,222, 454) and improving health (15.5% or $5,217,020). The other two -- national security systems and space exploration and optical solutions -- are much less of a focus in the proposal (6.5% or $2,195,055 and 4.1% or $1,381, 876, respectively).

The funds are more split in terms of research stages. NAU is devoting 72.1% for work on research infrastructure ($24,185,175) -- which they defined as resources and related services that are used to conduct research and which cross all the other stages. A little more than a quarter of the funds ($8,552,605) are for basic research; projects more than 10 years from completion. The stages representing projects closest to completion -- applied research and development -- accounted for much smaller portions of the funding (2.2% and 0.2%, respectively).

Jason Wilder, NAUs interim vice president for research, gave the presentation and said in response to a question about the high percentage of infrastructure investment compared to the other state universities that investments in human infrastructure accounted for most of that difference. For example, he said, the percentage spent on workforce development would fall into the infrastructure category.

NAU listed its own priority areas in the presentation, putting 40% of funds to access and workforce development and 30% each to targeted areas of research excellence and competitive seed funding. Wilder said these areas build on successes from past TRIF investments.

Around $18.5 million will go to access and workforce development over the course of the three-year investment. It includes workforce needs specifics and enhancing student support at the universitys statewide locations -- which Wilder said would be a launching pad for its New Economy Initiative (NEI) priority of training healthcare professionals.

The overall framework of this investment is for NAU to deliver outstanding educational programming that offers the right degrees and credentials for our students to succeed in the workforce wherever and however they engage at NAU, Wilder said.

NAU plans to spend $15 million on targeted research excellence during the three-year investment. Wilder said the university had used previous TRIF funding to develop these areas, which include pathogen genomics, forest management and restoration, climate change science and health disparity research.

Wilder said he expected grants and contracts to generate a direct financial return on ABORs investment. Investments in this category would also involve more students in research, increasing diversity and producing a highly skilled STEM workforce, which he said would be in high demand in the future.

The final $14.4 million will go to competitive seed funding for scientific research.

These investments are typically low-dollar, high-risk-high-reward incentives for our faculty and students to innovate around ideas, Wilder said.

NAU also plans to invest in strategic programming grants to stimulate new cross-cutting activities that span our research and student-serving missions.

Wilders presentation also included NAUs projected outcomes from the funds. These include supporting more than 30 postdoctoral scholars each year, creating three startups and generating $80.7 million in research funding from an initial investment of $5 million in TRIF funding. They also expected NAU faculty to have more than a thousand publications in peer-reviewed journals and over 24 thousand students (both undergrad and graduate)

In the next three years, we will use TRIF dollars [to] strengthen our statewide educational opportunities while also leveraging our research programs to improve the NAU student experience, enhance workforce development and create outstanding academic programming, he said.

The Research and Health Sciences committee voted unanimously to bring NAUs proposal to ABOR for approval. ABORs next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17.

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New York, NY (CNN)Billionaire Charlie Munger's controversial plans for a massive, windowless dorm at the University of California, Santa Barbara has left many wondering -- how is this even possible?

The answer is at the University of Michigan, where the Munger Graduate Residence Hall houses more than 600 graduate students in 6 to 7 bedroom apartments. And most of those single-occupancy rooms don't have windows, either.

Public policy graduate student Luiza Macedo didn't see the sun for a full week when she had to isolate in her room at Munger Residence due to a Covid-19 scare.

A windowless dorm room at Michigan's Munger Residence Hall.

"That was probably the low point of my experience here. It was being stuck in my room," Macedo said. "A lot of people are incredulous that this was even a thing before all these articles came out about UCSB...like, how is this legal? How are they doing this to us?"

Many students use sun lamps or night lights to create an artificial sense of daytime -- students told CNN Business it's almost impossible to get by without one.

Munger, 97, is Warren Buffett's right-hand man and an amateur architect. He has no formal education in the field.

Warren Buffett's billionaire partner bankrolls windowless dorm. An architect quit

Warren Buffett's billionaire partner bankrolls windowless dorm. An architect quit

He's attended the University of Michigan and donated the majority of his $110 million gift to fund his vision of the $185 million dorm. At that time in 2013, it was the largest single donation the school had ever received. Michigan promoted the building as a "community of scholars," where graduate students of different disciplines constantly interact with each other in common areas, where there are windows.

His controversial plans for Munger Hall at UCSB  an 11-story building that would provide almost 4,500 windowless beds for undergraduates  led a consulting architect to quit in October. Munger donated $200 million to UCSB to fund the dorms, with the stipulation that his designs are followed.

"When an ignorant man leaves, I regard it as a plus not a minus," Munger said about the consulting architect in an interview with CNN Business Monday. "He's just plain wrong."

Charlie Munger Fast Facts

Charlie Munger Fast Facts

Munger says his designs create positive experiences for students.

"I was (at the University of Michigan) last month, you never saw a happier bunch of students and it has a very similar design," Munger said. "So all I can say is that I have been doing this for a long time and no building has failed yet."

Unlike Michigan, the rooms at UCSB would have artificial windows meant to imitate fake portholes on Disney Cruises.

"It was a mistake on my part, not to put these artificial windows into Michigan," Munger said in an interview with CNN Business Monday.

Macedo doesn't spend much time in her room, which costs around $1,000 a month. Instead, she studies facing windows on the top floor -- but that's not because she wants to collaborate with anyone.

"Mental health far outweighs the desire for people to collaborate or whatever that goal is," Macedo said. "I would much rather not have depression than collaborate with my peers."

Some students have gotten used to living without a window in their room.

"I wasn't sure how living in a bedroom with no window was was going to work out but for me, at least, it's really no big deal," graduate student Sabrina Ivanenco said. "I think that once you exit your bedroom, you have a very beautiful living space."

In fact the building has a rating of 8.8 out of 10 on veryapt.com. Reviewers praise the building's amenities, including study rooms and a fitness center. And each room has a queen-sized bed and its own bathroom, with common space that features a large kitchen, living room, dining area and natural light. But plenty of commenters also bemoan about the lack of windows.

Lindsay Stefanski, the assistant director of graduate academic initiatives, said Munger has multiple community-building events in place, such as yoga on the roof, to encourage well being. The hall had partnered with the university's counseling and psychological department to provide SAD lamps, which stimulate sunlight.

"The feedback has just been phenomenal," Stefanski said. "Students appreciate those opportunities to get out of their silos and connect with each other in those larger common spaces."

UCSB said in a statement Friday that the project and design of the building will go forward as planned.

Munger has also designed a dorm at Stanford University and a library with removable walls at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. But he has no plans to bring his dorm designs to other universities.

"No, I won't do it. I'm ready to die very shortly," He said. "But I do expect this dorm will be copied four more times on the USCB campus and many more times than that on the other campuses on the UC system and I expect this to spread all over the country. It's a better mouse trap."

Buffett pal Charlie Munger is doubling down on Alibaba bet

Buffett pal Charlie Munger is doubling down on Alibaba bet

Louise Batta, a PhD student, disagrees. She wasn't aware her room wouldn't have windows -- she said there were no pictures on the website, and due to Covid she couldn't tour in person. Batta said she immediately began getting headaches because of ventilation issues.

"It's completely thrown off my circadian rhythm. It's hard to get up in the morning to go out of bed because I never know what time it is," Batta said. "I know that people joke all the time about how bad the living situation is, but it has truly had a negative impact on my grad school experience."

Batta is attempting to break her lease.

"I haven't heard any birds since I came up here because I don't have a window. I can't wake up to birds," Batta said.
GLASGOW, Scotland  Over five days abroad at two global summits, President Joe Biden showed a new willingness to openly confront China over climate change and its lack of leadership on the global stage.

Biden ended his time at the U.N. climate summit in Scotland on Tuesday by chastising Chinese President Xi Jinping for physically skipping the event and failing to make the level of commitments that roughly 100 other nations did to curb greenhouse gasses. Xi also avoided the earlier Group of 20 summit in Rome, allowing Biden to dominate the conversation as he met with his French, Italian, British and German counterparts.

"We showed up, and by showing up we've had a profound impact on the way I think the rest of the world is looking at the United States in its leadership role," Biden said at a Tuesday news conference wrapping up his trip abroad. Biden added that China had made a "big mistake" in bypassing the events because "they've lost an ability to influence people around the world."

But Biden's global progress and willingness to challenge China  a stance that also was critical to the rise of his predecessor Donald Trump  may be lost in the fog of domestic politics.

Biden jetted back to Washington to confront his deepest challenge yet as he struggles to pass $3 trillion in new government spending, including $555 billion to combat climate change. His poll numbers are flagging. The headwinds could worsen in Congress, where a wave of retirements bodes poorly for holding on to Democratic majorities in next year's elections.

And another blow greeted his arrival: Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the race for Virginia governor, an outcome widely thought to cast another shadow on the 2022 elections and reflect poorly on Biden's own agenda as well as his efforts to campaign for McAuliffe.

The president stressed that he wants to compete against China, rather than have conflict. But he also showed a new strategy of using climate as a cudgel against Beijing.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters during the trip that China has an obligation to "step up" on climate and the U.S. will keep pressing Beijing. One tool might be economic penalties: Biden brokered a deal with the European Union to block "dirty steel" made possible by Chinese coal plants.

The president outlined his thinking by quoting his father at Tuesday's news conference.

"My dad had an expression. He said the only conflict worse than one that's intended is the one that's unintended," the president said, adding that he wants to make sure in an upcoming virtual meeting with Xi that there are no misunderstandings.

Biden was well-received on the world stage, where he shared backslaps, handshakes and elbow-bumps with global leaders across two major international summits, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden referring to him as "dear Joe." He scored victories on key priorities like a global minimum tax on corporations and boosted global commitments to combat climate change.

Biden insisted no world leaders had been pressing him on the fate of the budget and climate legislation back in Washington and he expressed confidence in its passage. But members of his own party are growing impatient at the delays in settling intraparty conflicts over the matter.

Since he launched his presidential campaign in 2015, Biden has cast the 21st century as a generational struggle between democracies and autocracies  principally the rising threat from China.

As much as the five-day European trip was meant to promote Biden's message that America is back, it also was meant to highlight why he believes the U.S. must reengage with the world after four years of isolation. The president worked to forge new alliances and coalitions meant to contain Beijing from all sides, and on a host of economic, security and environmental issues.

Asked why American should commit to cutting emissions when China and Russia have not done likewise to the same degree  a frequent complaint that his predecessor cited to justify withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate accord  Biden answered forcefully: "Because we want to be able to breathe, and we want to be able to lead the world."

Biden issued a rare public mea culpa during the climate summit for America's step away from leadership on climate during the Trump administration.

"Those of us who are responsible for much of the deforestation and all of the problems we have so far," Biden said, have "overwhelming obligations" to the poorer nations that account for few of the emissions yet are paying a price as the planet has grown hotter.

As for Trump's action, he said: "I shouldn't apologize, but I do apologize for the fact the United States, the last administration, pulled out of the Paris accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit."

Biden also eased a trade war with Europe that threatened to raise prices on goods in the U.S. and harm American exports ranging from motorcycles to whiskey. The new agreement would still block Chinese steel production that is coal dependent and allow his administration to devote its focus to renewed trade talks with China, as Biden maintains Trump's pressures in a simmering economic conflict.

But the fundamental challenge between China and the U.S. on climate might be an incompatible set of world views. Biden sees the efforts to limit global warming as an opportunity to create jobs and boost economic growth as the U.S. becomes more innovative. China, for its part, still sees coal and oil as necessary to keep fueling an economy that is now the second-largest in the world.

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Area residents interested in getting a COVID-19 booster shot will have an opportunity Saturday.

Gage County Emergency Management Director Lisa Wiegand said a clinic is planned for this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Gage County Fairgrounds.

The booster shots are available at no charge, and Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson variants are all available.

This is a booster clinic, primarily, but if someone walks in and wants to get their first or second shot follow up, thats fine, too, Wiegand said. All three vaccinations will be available. In terms of the decision that individual makes on what kind of booster they want, thats entirely up to them. They would just report that to public Health Solutions nurses there.

Wiegand said anyone is welcome to get a booster shot at the event, not just Gage County residents.

In addition to the Gage County clinic, Wiegand said Public Health Solutions is organizing clinics in other counties.

A Saline County clinic will be held Friday, Nov. 12 from 4-7 p.m. at Public Health Solutions in Crete.

A Thayer County clinic will be held Saturday, Nov. 20 from 1-3 p.m. at the Thayer County Fairgrounds.

A Jefferson County Clinic will be held Saturday, Nov. 20 from 9-11 a.m. at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.

A Fillmore County clinic will be held Saturday, Nov. 20 from 9-11 a.m. at the Fillmore County Fairgrounds.

Area pharmacies and clinics also have booster shots available for those interested.

Jefferson Community Health & Life will offer COVID-19 booster clinics on Nov. 5, 12, and 19 at the Fairbury Presbyterian Church. Appointments are required for these clinics by calling 402-587-5188.

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The State of Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission issued a ruling that Beatrice City Administrator Tobias Tempelmeyer violated the law in acquiring a list of registered voters.

On Aug. 10, the executive director commenced an investigation alleging that Tempelmeyer used public resources that were not in accordance with regulations in the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act. Specifically, the report alleged that Tempelmeyer used $270.36 in Beatrice city funds to purchase a voter registration list from the Gage County Clerk for a purpose that was not in accordance with election law.

A settlement agreement was reached, and a civil penalty of $1,000 was assessed.

The settlement was unanimously approved, and Tempelmeyer has reimbursed the city for the cost of the voter registration list.

The settlement agreement noted that Tempelmeyer said it was not his intent to violate the law, but agreed there was sufficient evidence to find that a violation had occurred. The maximum penalty for such a violation was $5,000, though since Tempelmeyer cooperated to resolve the matter at an early state in the proceedings a $1,000 fine was agreed upon.

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The citys fire department will receive $1.5 million to staff Medical Response Teams that can respond to strictly medical calls preventing the need for large ladder truck crews to respond instead. The effort is touted as a more efficient way to use the citys resources, and it would add 10 full-time employees to the department.

"So far, I'm pretty excited," Billings Fire Chief Pepper Valdez said Tuesday. "Now the real work begins. My staff is ready to move as early as tomorrow morning if this passes tonight." Valdez said he has always felt the service his department provides has been great but that he was looking forward to "raising the bar."

The remainder of the funds are split among city court ($1.45 million), ongoing public safety needs ($1.3 million) and mental health and substance use disorder services ($415,000). The last being an effort by the city to support services to prevent criminal behavior by interceding in mental and substance use crises.
That was a few years ago, she added. Since then, they havent gotten any updates from anyone.

Nothing, Frances added.

Tribal police often have responsibility for missing tribal citizens. But if they are found murdered, the FBI becomes involved. If children and adults are trafficked across state borders, or live on one reservation or city and disappear from another, it can become even more difficult to find them.

Thats the jurisdictional nightmare. Our biggest fear when a woman is taken or a child is taken is that they leave the state. That is something that needs to be fixed, said Deborah Maytubee Shipman, founder of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA.

Whenever we do one and we find theyre somewhere else, we try to link in the police departments, she said.

The nonprofit advocates for families, coordinates searches and supports relatives, among other work. It has a huge following on Facebook, with its posts about missing and murdered Indigenous people often shared several hundred times, and has added staff as the workload has grown since Shipman founded it several years ago.
As sky rocketing hospitalizations due to COVID-19 contribute to burn out among nurses, Gianforte said the best way to relieve and retain existing staff is to bring in more workers.

Billings Clinic has brought in more than 1,000 traveling healthcare workers during the last 18 months and turnover of exiting staff has been increasing, according to Interim Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michelle Pierson.

A retention strategy as well as a recruitment strategy will be very important moving forward, Pierson said.

The funds for the recruitment incentive are left over from the return-to-work bonus program that offered one-time bonuses for Montanans who returned to the workforce, according to previous reporting done by Montana State News Bureau reporter Sam Wilson.

The return-to-work program was launched in May 2021 and ended Oct. 31.

Lawmakers and administration officials voted unanimously on Oct. 27, 2021 to recommend the $4.3 million the state received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) be put toward the new program.
Republican Sen. Steve Daines had an approval of 42%, with that approval largely coming from his fellow party members. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, likewise had massive support from Montana Democrats, although nearly a quarter of Republicans in the poll also approved of the senator.

Going against the Supreme Court in its decision last year allowing a tax credit for some students in private and religious schools, 61% of Montanans said they disapproved of those tax credits. While nearly all Democrats disapproved of the tax credits, about 30% of Republicans were also against them.

With a law passed by the State Legislature allowing for the concealed carrying of firearms on Montana campuses facing multiple challenges in court, 68% of Montanans said they are pleased with the gun laws currently in place in the state.

A majority of poll respondents came out against mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, with 65% saying they were against any kind of mandate. Although Democrats were more likely to support a vaccine mandate, across all other demographics Montanans leaned toward disapproval.

Something I see as particularly interesting is that younger people are very much against the idea of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Gentry said.

A majority of Montanans consider themselves to be pro-choice, with the question of abortion falling along partisan lines, according to the poll. However, 62% of those answering that they were pro-life said they favor legalizing abortion for specific circumstances such as rape, incest or if a pregnancy puts the life of the mother at risk.

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The more of those children that get vaccinated, the safer it will be for not only their family members, but also for their teachers, and other school staff, Felton said. The vaccine is by far the most effective measure we can take to slow the spread of this disease.

At the Wednesday press conference, Yellowstone County had not yet received the first allocation of pediatric vaccinations, and the number of doses the county will receive is unknown.

Still, mass clinics for pediatric vaccinations are set for Nov. 13 and 20 at Cedar Hall at Metra Park. Clinics for second doses will follow three weeks later.

Vaccination clinics on school campuses have been discussed with superintendents in the county, Felton said.

Well likely work with the schools to do before- and after-school clinicsthe easier we are to make it for people the more likely they are to get vaccinated, Felton said.

The worst month so far
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy narrowly won reelection Wednesday, eking out a victory that spared Democrats the loss of a second gubernatorial seat.

Hes the states first Democratic governor to get a second straight term in 44 years, defeating Republican former Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli.

AP called the race Wednesday evening when a new batch of votes from Republican-leaning Monmouth County increased Murphys lead and closed the door to a Ciattarelli comeback.

Ballots remaining to be counted included a significant number of votes from predominantly Democratic Essex County, along with mail-in votes spread across other counties. Murphy has won the mail-in vote by a wide margin even in Republican leaning counties like Monmouth.

Ciattarelli spokesperson Stami Williams disputed the call because of the close margin, calling it irresponsible.

Murphy delivered a brief speech in Asbury Park's boardwalk convention hall, nodding to the race's narrow margin by saying he would work for both those who voted for and against him. But there was no trace he planned to scale back the left-leaning positions he's taken during his first term.
Gehl said shortly after he was appointed to the board, he approached Arntzen to chat about the position, and she gave him a crash course in boardsmanship and what is really going on in the schools.

That lady works for us, Gehl said, referring to Arntzen. She is a leader and she is definitely on our side.

One audience member asked Gehl if the school board will require the COVID-19 vaccine.

The MCPS board has not considered a policy requiring the vaccine at this point. Additionally, House Bill 702, which prevents discrimination based on vaccination status in Montana, was signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte this spring.

That doesnt mean that theyre not going to try, Gehl said.

The issue of masks was the straw that broke the camels back," Gehl said, adding he pulled his children from Hellgate Elementary this year. His wife quit her job to home-school their children.

It wasnt an easy choice, it was tough, but we still struggle every day a little bit, Gehl said. But its been extremely rewarding.

He believes the board members he serves with are good people, but hes concerned they are heading down two different paths, he said.
An April 11 jury trial has been set for a Plentywood man accused of three counts of sexual intercourse without consent against two developmentally disabled women.

And the net for the jury pool was widened from 60-70 candidates in Sheridan County to 150, given defendant Timothy Marshs longtime presence in the community. Attorneys asked the number be "bumped up" in order to find jurors. There was no discussion of a change of venue for the trial during Thursday's discussion.

Judge Brenda R. Gilbert of the 6th Judicial District Court out of Livingston is presiding over the Sheridan County trial after the previous judge was asked to recuse himself, when prosecuting attorney cited his possible familiarity with the defendant.

During the Oct. 28 omnibus hearing, state Assistant Attorney General Mike Gee of the Montana Department of Justice, which is prosecuting the case, said the investigation into Marsh is continuing and would provide any new discovery to Marshs attorney as that unfolds.

He said there would possibly be more subpoenas issued soon.

I think there will be more motions, he said.

Marshs attorney, Samantha Howard, said her client did not plan to waive his right to a speedy trial.
Congressional Proposal 10: The Republican-submitted map includes all of Flathead County in the Western District. Republicans exclude portions of Gallatin County from the Western District, while also excluding Lewis and Clark County. They also include the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in the West. Congressional Proposal 10 creates a Western district in which Republican presidential candidates did 7.8 percentage points better than they did in the nation as a whole in the past two presidential elections. In the Eastern District, Republican presidential candidates performed 15.7 percentage points better than in the nation.

Congressional Proposal 11: Democrats kept Gallatin County completely intact in Congressional Proposal 11. Park County is in the West as well as Lewis and Clark County. Sure to raise Republican concerns, this map divides Flathead County, putting Whitefish in the West, while Kalispell and the bulk of Flathead go the east. The proposal also puts the Blackfeet Reservation in the Eastern District. Congressional Proposal 11 creates a Western district in which Republican presidential candidates did 4.75 percentage points better than they did in the nation as a whole in the past two presidential elections. The Eastern district gave Republican presidential candidates an 18.6 percentage point advantage.
CASPER, Wyo.  The heavyweight anti-vaccine mandate bill of the Wyoming Legislature's special session died in its final reading on Wednesday, leaving lawmakers with only a single bill left to consider. But that legislation doesnt do much of anything to fight back against the Biden Administrations vaccine mandate for companies.

House Bill 1001 died twice after lengthy, impassioned debate. The first vote was 15 aye to 13 no, two excused, but to pass the bill, lawmakers needed a majority of those elected (which would be 16), not a majority of those present.

Lawmakers then motioned for a reconsideration, which passed.

The second vote resulted in 14 aye 13 no and three excused because Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, left the floor. That said, even if he was present, it still would have failed.

No lawmakers, other than Boner, changed their vote from the first to the second vote.

After being amended repeatedly, House Bill 1001 sought to allow parents of public school children to opt their child out of a COVID-19 vaccine and masks, as well as ban vaccine passports in certain circumstances. Gov. Mark Gordon already banned vaccine passports via an executive order.
The GAO, which is a non-partisan congressional watchdog agency, was asked to review the federal response and other issues related to the MMIW crisis. It describes its report as examining to what extent the number of missing or murdered indigenous women in the U.S. is known, and to what extent the Department of Justice and Department of Interior have taken steps to address the crisis.

A combined 15 U.S. senators and representatives, including Sen. Jon Tester and Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, are listed among those who requested the GAO review.

The report provides perspectives on how federal law enforcement agencies respond or assist with cases, but does not include perspectives on how state or local law enforcement agencies respond to cases of missing or murdered indigenous women because those issues fall outside the scope of the agency.

The GAO report found that a more detailed plan to continue data analysis efforts could provide federal agencies and other stakeholders with "information to better understand the nature of the missing or murdered AI/AN (American Indian/Alaska Native) crisis and identify emerging trends."
Last year was a historically destructive wildfire season. While we havent yet seen the end of 2021, nationally 64 large fires have burned over 3 million acres. The economic damage caused by wildfire in 2020 is estimated at $150 billion. The loss of communities, loss of life, impacts on health, and untold environmental damage to our watersheds  not to mention the pumping of climate-changing carbon into the atmosphere  are devastating.

We are the National Association of Forest Service Retirees and are pleased that much of the American public and Congress seem supportive of action to alter our current terrible path to continuing wildfire disasters.

We are, however, dismayed at the proliferation of misinformation about what can be done about wildfires. More work is needed to address many issues within the wildland-urban interface (in which people live in proximity to forestlands) and, of course, the national and global priority of climate change. Alongside this work, reducing fuels by thinning forests followed by prescribed burning  especially in our western mixed conifer and ponderosa pine forests  is essential. Such work must be increased quickly on a landscape scale if we are to even begin to save our forests and communities.
The context in which Daines announced his intention to introduce another WSA bill is also important. The subject of hearing at which he spoke was the Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Act, a bill introduced by his Montana colleague, Sen. Jon Tester. The bill, the product of literally decades of discussions with stakeholders (including timber-industry, ranching and motorized-recreation advocates), would add about 80,000 acres to the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Mission Mountains wilderness areas, protecting the four most important tributaries to the Blackfoot River.

While he praised the "collaborative efforts" of the Blackfoot-Clearwater stakeholders, he basically took the BCSA hostage. He said that he would only support its passage if it were tied to his as-yet-unseen bill to release hundreds of thousands of acres of WSA lands.

We disagree with Senator Daines on both the specifics of his action and the way he chose to do it. The BCSA should not be "horsetraded." Either he believes in the work that was done, and believes in keeping these important parts of Montana's public lands wild and public, or he doesn't. To tie the fate of the BCSA to making many other wildlands in Montana open to industrial development is a cynical ploy that reveals Daines' lack of commitment to the work his constituents have done.
A Mandan man who pleaded guilty to raping a teenage girl has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Thomas Weber, 37, must also spend 10 years on probation and register as a sex offender after his release, court documents show.

Weber was accused in July 2020 of inappropriately touching and raping the girl at a residence where he was drinking alcohol with her and other teens. He entered Alford pleas in March to three sex crime charges -- one of which could have sent him to prison for life -- and a misdemeanor count of contributing to the deprivation of a minor. An Alford plea means he doesnt admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to find him guilty. Courts treat an Alford plea like a guilty plea.

South Central District Judge Bonnie Storbakken on Tuesday suspended 12 years of a 20-year prison sentence, according to court records.

Weber in 2015 was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony sex crime in Mountrail County, court records show. His probation was revoked in February and he was sent back to prison for three years. Hell begin serving the prison sentence from the recent case at the same time.

Defense attorney Christopher Redmann and Assistant Morton County States Attorney Gabrielle Goter did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com

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The majority of employees at Sanford Health and CHI St. Alexius Health in Bismarck have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the hospitals.

The two health care providers announced COVID-19 vaccine mandates this past summer, along with other hospitals around the country during the onset of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. Reported active COVID-19 cases in North Dakota went from 146 on July 1 to 4,334 on Oct. 1. They later declined to 3,124 on Nov. 1 but remain high. Both Sanford and CHI St. Alexius gave their employees a Nov. 1 deadline to be vaccinated.

Sanford spokesman Jon Berg said that less than 1% of all employees in Sanford's multistate health system were suspended Monday for not complying with the mandate. A total of 82 employees were suspended:

31 in Fargo

28 in Sioux Falls

16 in Bismarck

7 in Bemidji, Minnesota

Employees who did not get vaccinated have been suspended without pay for 60 days. If those workers still choose not to get the vaccine, they will be considered to have "voluntarily resigned" from employment, Berg said. Staff with medical or religious exemptions will be subject to regular testing.

CHI St. Alexius spokesman Jeremy Fettig said 92% of that health system's 12,000 total employees were "fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated or have applied for and received a medical or religious exemption." Fettig did not immediately respond to a request for data specific to Bismarck. Unvaccinated employees without an exemption may continue to work while subject to masking and testing requirements until a replacement is found, he said.

"We know vaccination is the best way to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic and are grateful to all of our employees who have chosen to get vaccinated," Fettig said.

Neither hospital said how many employees were given exemptions. Berg said exemption data is a personnel matter. Fettig did not immediately respond to a question about exemption data.

Some people view vaccine mandates as an infringement on personal freedom. The announcement of the mandates sparked protests outside the Bismarck hospitals throughout the summer, with dozens of people attending.

Reach Sam Nelson at 701-250-8264 or sam.nelson@bismarcktribune.com.

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The preamble to the U.S. Constitution, regrettably often overlooked by the citizenry, provides an elegant summation of our nations constitutional creation story. It speaks of the work of the sovereign people. It represents a direct act of legislation and introduces and forms part of the supreme law of the land, distinct from any and all future laws that will be passed under its authority.

The preamble is a historical and legal colossus. In the Pennsylvania State Ratifying Convention, James Wilson, a leading delegate to the Constitutional Convention, quoted from the essence of the preamble: We the people of the United States  do ordain and establish this Constitution. Wilson was trumpeting to the world, the groundbreaking significance of the preamble: We the people are ordaining, that is constituting or creating the fundamental law that will govern the United States. The assertion by the American people of a right to create a government of their choosing was unprecedented in a world dominated for centuries by monarchs, dictators and tyrants.

The framers were not required to wring concessions from British kings and nobles, as their forbears did in drafting the Magna Carta or the English Declaration of Rights. In contrast, Americans were unshackled in the drafting of their Constitution, including a preamble that stated their ambitious goals. Free from the coercive force and influence of a kingship or tyrant, able to focus on the incorporation into the Constitution their governing values, their preferences for power structures and their choices for allocating powers to both the national and state governments.

The preambles reference to the ordainment of the Constitution was a direct reference to the ratification of the Constitution by the people, an act that conferred authority upon the Constitution. The proposed Constitution could not will itself into existence; as James Madison explained, it had no life until it was ratified by the citizenry.

The preamble boldly declared that the very rationale behind the creation of the Constitution was to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. These stated ends of government, what Edmund Randolph of Virginia called a philosophy of the ends of government and human polities, reflected the founders familiarity with a version of the Social Contract Doctrine presented by the 17th Century English philosopher, John Locke.

Americans understood the doctrine to imply a voluntary association of individuals, a social compact by which the whole people covenant with each other that all the people shall be governed by the same laws for the common good. This compact was not between the states; after all, states were not parties to the approval of the Constitution. The Constitution, as the founders were fond of saying, referred to We the people, not we the states.

The drafting of the preamble throughout the summer of 1787 produced no great surprises. Both the Virginia and New Jersey plans featured a modest preamble, expected perhaps because they canvassed and, in many ways, promoted provisions of various state constitutions, several of which included a preamble to promote security and the general welfare. Alexander Hamiltons plan, which was not formally presented to the convention, also included a preamble.

The framers work on the draft of what became the final version of the preamble resembled the process that characterized work on the other provisions of the Constitution. What was missing in the discussions of the preamble, however, were sharp differences of opinion, moments of intense debate. Certainly this provision generated no threats of walkouts from southern delegates, as did their objections to the evolution of the treaty-making power.

The Committee of the Whole, that is the daily meetings of the Constitutional Convention, spent much of the summer discussing various provisions of the proposed Constitution, including a preamble. Again, there was virtually no dissent among the delegates. By August 6, the delegates had dispatched the draft to the Committee of Detail to round some corners and rough edges with the hope of making more progress. The focus, to that point, was on the inclusion of language that the people would ordain this Constitution, and that the preservation of the common defense and liberty should be included.

The Committee of Detail worked over the draft for roughly three weeks and then sent it onto the Committee of Style, which included such heavyweights as Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Rufus King and Gouverneur Morris. Scholars agree that the preamble features the elegant, flowing handwriting of Morris, as does the rest of the Constitution.

The preamble should not be a forgotten part of our Constitution. On the contrary, it is poetry, while the rest of the Constitution is mere prose. Indeed, its elegance and lofty ambitions are inspiring and accessible to us, anytime, particularly in dark political waters when we may need to be reminded of the possibilities of a more perfect union.

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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North Dakota is discovering the rising cost of fighting crime. Its not because of the losses incurred, but the need to pay the State Crime Lab staff more. Much more.

In a Monday story, Tribune reporter Jack Dura explained the lab has lost eight of 23 employees in the last two years. One North Dakota worker took a job in Georgia that paid $30,000 more. Meanwhile, two toxicology scientist finalists declined North Dakota job offers because of the pay.

The State Crime Lab forensic scientist annual salaries range from $48,000 to $85,704, which may seem like a lot to North Dakotans. Unfortunately, the market is paying more because forensic scientists are in demand.

The staff shortages mean the State Crime Lab cant turn around evidence as quickly as in the past. Sometimes prosecutors need evidence from the lab to proceed with trials. And Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem points out the State Crime Lab can help prove the guilt of a suspect or his or her innocence.

Because of the staffing shortage, the lab eliminated its firearms and latent fingerprint divisions. The South Dakota lab was doing the analyses for North Dakota until it became overwhelmed with work and unable to continue.

Now the State Crime Lab is looking for someone to accept the work. It potentially means an additional cost to North Dakota law enforcement agencies. The state lab doesnt charge agencies for its work. Theres a question of who will be responsible for the costs if another party takes over the work.

Law enforcement agencies dont budget for lab work. Its obvious that North Dakota, law enforcement agencies or both are going to have to pay more. Its become a situation where its just not sustainable, Stenehjem told the Senate Appropriations Committee last month.

North Dakota doesnt have a choice but to pay more. Whether its outsourcing the work or paying staff more, the costs are going to rise. Stenehjem asked the Legislature to use $537,000 of leftover Consumer Protection Refund Fund money to increase lab salaries. Thats only a temporary solution.

Stenehjem has also been working with two area universities with science programs in an effort to recruit graduates. Its not likely grads will take a lot less to stay close to home. The state will have to sweeten the pot.

The Tribune editorial board believes the Legislature needs to make the State Crime Lab salaries competitive with the market. The lab also needs to bring back the firearms and latent fingerprint divisions.

Its important the state has a fully functional lab. The lab not only processes the evidence, its staff provide expert testimony at trials. If the work is done elsewhere, then prosecutors will have to pay expert witnesses to provide testimony.

North Dakota will have to pay more to make sure crime doesnt pay.

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In what is sure to make headlines worldwide, former newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai and seven others are being tried for participating in a Tiananmen Square Massacre vigil last year, now banned under the extremist National Security Law. []

The trial of outspoken media tycoon and longtime Acton friend Jimmy Lai, along with seven other influential pro-democracy activists, began Nov. 1 in a Hong Kong court.

The group is being tried for participating in an unauthorized Tiananmen Square Massacre vigil last year, which is now forbidden under Hong Kongs stifling National Security Law.

The vigil was an annual event hosted on June 4 by the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Democratic Movements in China. Thousands of participants would flock to Victoria Park, lighting candles and singing songs, to remember those who were killed by Chinese police in the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Last years vigil was banned, however, owing to the events supposed violation of COVID regulations, and efforts to mark the anniversary were physically blocked by a large police presence. Yet thousands defied police warnings and commemorated the massacre anyway.

Lai and the seven others on trial, including Lee Cheyk-yan, the former chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance, face charges including organizing, participating in, and inciting others to participate in last years banned vigil.

The South China Morning Post reported that of the eight defendants, Lee and four others pleaded guilty to incitement charges as the trial began. Lee also pleaded guilty to organizing the vigil, while former Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai pleaded guilty to participation.

Lai, reporter and activist Gwyneth Ho, and former alliance vice-chair Chow Hang-tung pleaded not guilty.

All eight activists initially pleaded not guilty, according to The Guardian.

Critics believe the COVID-related explanation for the ban on last years vigil was merely a smokescreen for the Hong Kong governments increasing crackdown on political dissent, as well as freedoms of speech, assembly, and expression.

Passed down from Beijing, Hong Kongs strict National Security Law bans what the city deems as acts of subversion, secession, or terrorism. Since the laws implementation in June 2020, more than 150 activities and individuals have been arrested.

Twenty-six activists were charged over some form of participation in last years vigil, including many members of the Alliance.

In fact, the Alliance was forced to disband in September after it denied Hong Kong authorities request for information on its membership, finances, and activities. The group was accused of colluding with foreign forces, an offense punishable by up to life in prison. Four of the Alliances members were arrested and the group had no choice but to fold.

Of the 26 activists arrested after last years vigil, 16 of them, including Joshua Wong, previously pleaded guilty over their participation and were handed sentences of between four and 10 months.

Two other charged individuals, including Nathan Law, secretary-general of the Hong Kong federation of students, and Sunny Cheung, former spokesman for the Hong Kong Higher Institutions International Affairs Delegation, have fled the city.

At the center of this attempt to crush civil and human rights in Hong Kong is Jimmy Lai, entrepreneur and former publisher of Apple Daily, whose reporting on the Beijing-inspired denial of basic freedoms once enjoyed in the city incited a government crackdown. The documentary The Hong Konger, focusing on Lais pro-democracy activism, courage, and confrontation with Hong Kong authorities, will debut in early 2022, produced by the Acton Institute.
When a man agreed to donate his body after death to medical research, it's unlikely he imagined that "research" to include a dissection in front of a paying audience at a traveling "Oddities and Curiosities Expo" event. But that's where the body of 98-year-old David Saunders ended up, to his family's dismay.

Saunders, who died of Covid-19, had his funeral in Louisiana. But his body ended up at the Marriott hotel in Portland as the subject of a "Cadaver Lab Class," where people paid $500 per ticket to watch an "autopsy."

As King5 News, who broke the story, described it:

Paying customers filed into a lower floor ballroom at the Marriott Downtown Waterfront hotel. On a table in the center of the ballroom, a figure lay draped in a white sheet. The VIP customers, who paid the $500 ticket price, sat in the front row inches from the table. Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired professor of anatomy from the University of Montana in Missoula, removed the covering and exposed the body of an 86-year-old [changed to 98-year-old in later articles] dead man that Henderson said "had donated his body to science."

From HuffPost:

The so-called Cadaver Class was organized by a group called Death Science, which offers education about "scientific fields and topics that relate to the deceased." Death Science, which has more than 1.1 million followers on TikTok, posts a range of quirky content about deaths, autopsies, crime scenes, fossils and more.  Saunders' widow reportedly learned about how her late husband's body was used via a KING 5 report last week questioning the ethics of the event. A photojournalist from the news outlet observed Saunders' name on a medical bracelet.  Mike Clark, the funeral director in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who handled the preparation of Saunders' body, told KING 5 he and his staff were horrified by what happened. "Our whole staff was horrified that this is what had happened to a gentleman that he and his family thought that his body was going for the advancement of medical students," Clark said. He also noted that his funeral home would no longer work with Med Ed Labs, the company that received the body.

The traveling show had a second Cadaver Lab Class (with a second cadaver, of course) lined up in Seattle for a special Halloween performance, but it was canceled.
A 41-year-old gentleman sued his parents because they stopped giving him an allowance. And he lost.

Faiz Siddiqui, an unemployed lawyer who graduated from Oxford University, was used to a lavish lifestyle in London, living rent-free in a $1.4 million apartment  all supplied to him by his wealthy parents. So when they decided it was time to cut off their boy financially, he felt cheated.

From Newsweek:

Siddiqui, who graduated from Oxford University, last worked in 2011 having previously practiced law at prestigious firms Burgess Salmon and Field Fisher Waterhouse and worked as a tax adviser at major accountancy firm EY, reported The Times. While unemployed, he claimed he has become entirely dependent on handouts from his parents Rakshanda, 69, and Javed Siddiqui, 71, who live in Dubai.

This is the same chap who tried to sue Oxford University in 2018 for "inadequate teaching," according to the BBC. But the case was "dismissed."

Sometimes, life just isn't fair.
John Tye is a former State Department employee who blew the whistle on some NSA spying programs in 2014; three years later, he founded a Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit that provides legal consultation and representation for other people who might want to blow some whistles of their own. His clients include Frances Haugen, the recent Facebook whistleblower.

Tye recently spoke with The Boston Globe about his business, and even offered some free basic advice for would-be whistleblowers. While most of it is basic InfoSec guidance, it might be helpful for some people in context.

The first step, Tye said, before talking to anyone or collecting any documents, is making sure your communications are secure. Download and use Signal, an encrypted phone messaging application, for low-stakes conversations. Use Tor, an encrypted web browser, and SecureDrop for highly sensitive matters. "Never use e-mail," he said. After getting communications in order, the next step is simple. "Talk first to a lawyer," he said. "Don't talk to your boss, don't talk to your friends, don't talk to a journalist  An [expert] lawyer should have some knowledge about this area  and they can protect your communications."

So you want to be a whistleblower? [Pranshu Verma / Boston Globe]

Image: Public Domain via PixaBay
A new report from the Center For Countering Digital Hate analyzed nearly 7,000 top-performing climate denial Facebook posts from the last year, and found that 69% of them came from the same 10 pages:

Breitbart

Western Journal

Newsmax

Townhall Media (which, the report notes, was founded by the Exxon-funded Heritage Foundation)

Media Research Center (another Exxon-backed "think tank")

The Washington Times

The Federalist Papers

Daily Wire

RT.com and Sputnik News

Patriot Post

Here are some takeaway from this report about the "Toxic Ten":

The Toxic Ten have 186 million followers on mainstream social media platforms. The Toxic Ten account for 69% of interactions on climate denial Facebook posts CCDH analyzed 6,983 climate denial articles from the last year featured in Facebook posts with 709,057 interactions in total using the social analytics tool NewsWhip. This analysis shows that posts containing articles from just ten websites account for 69.69% of Facebook users' interactions with the climate denial content in our study. Despite promising to start attaching information labels to posts about climate change, 92% of posts containing content from the Toxic Ten carried no labels. 99.05% of user interactions with posts containing Toxic Ten content were with posts that carried no information or fact-checking labels. The Toxic Ten's websites have received nearly 1.1 billion visits in the last six months alone, earning those that are part of Google's AdSense platform an estimated $3.6m. This money is given to Google by brands such as Chevrolet, Capital One and the delivery company DHL International, whose Google AdSense ads have run on Toxic Ten sites.

In October 2021, Google announced that it would start prohibiting climate denial ads and demonetize climate denial on YouTube. Facebook Meta has yet to make, let alone deliver, any similar promises.

The Toxic Ten: How ten fringe publishers fuel 69% of digital climate change denial [The Center For Countering Digital Hate]

Image: Edward Kimmel / Flickr (CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Most of the Afghan people are being admitted on an interim basis, and without having gone through the system, which can take years. This means they will not be immediately eligible for many of the services that resettlement agencies are funded to provide, nor will they be granted permission to work right away.

Representatives from the four main agencies agree that, in addition to the lack of funding, resettling the expected 350 Afghani evacuees will be challenging. There is the uncertainty of exactly when and how many people will arrive. And there is the additional emotional and psychological stress on the evacuees, whose trauma is fresh, unlike many who have been refugees for years and have had time to process.

The Buffalo United for Afghan Evacuees initiative builds strength in the collective.

The united effort is a unique and powerful example of what happens when we come together to look for creative solutions, said Lauren Maguire, the director of development and communications at the International Institute of Buffalo. In this moment of uncertainty regarding the Afghan evacuees, we are seeking community-wide response. This speaks to Buffalos ethos as a welcoming city, the City of Good Neighbors.

What we as a community can do to help
A land transfer between Refresco Beverages U.S. and Orchard Park developer Krog Group is clearing the way for better road access to a new cold-storage facility that was built in Dunkirk, alongside 30 acres of marketable land.

The IDA approved the purchase of 2.25 acres of land on South Roberts Road from Refresco for $275,000 - as a donation - and the resale of the property to Krog for the same price. That's a change from a prior plan, in which CCIDA would have used the power of eminent domain to acquire just 0.91 acres of the underutilized and privately owned brownfield commercial property, and then transfer it to Krog for the infrastructure work.

Krog will now use the land to construct a new access road from a traffic signal at Progress Drive to a new $13 million refrigerated warehouse facility that it previously built - under contract with Fieldbrook Foods - on 17.5 acres of land at 320 and 440 South Roberts. The 136,000-square-foot facility - which replaced a 167,000-square-foot building on the site that Krog demolished - is now reachable only from a driveway from Roberts Road.
The mild adventures that follow reflect the everyday heroics of people navigating supremely awkward situations. Out of necessity, curiosity overcomes inherent mistrust as the stranded Arabs and isolated Jews find common ground, at times in the most uncommon ways.

At times the accents can be hard to understand, so attention must be paid. Most often, though, the words dont matter as much as the music and the motions.

In one favorite scene, two musicians share an uncomfortably cramped dinner table with an Israeli family. Just when you think things couldnt get more painful, a soulfully comic a cappella Summertime saves the day.

Meanwhile, the bands resident lothario, Haled (Joe Joseph), needs no words at all to give his shy young host an eloquent pantomime lesson in how to woo a girl at a roller rink.

And so forth.

Throughout the encounters, Yazbeks songs flow seamlessly in and out of the action, changing moods almost organically in ways we dont always see in popular musicals. It made me think of The Song That Goes Like This from Spamalot, which gently mocks the predictable format of big showtunes that are loud, overacted and go on and on and on.
Hedging Their Bets: At 11 p.m., WGRZ-TV anchor Scott Levin understandably hedged a little on Browns apparent victory. We dont know officially how many votes are for Byron Brown, Levin said at the top of the news. But the Brown campaign is all but declaring victory. Actually, Brown declared victory on WNLO 30 minutes earlier. At 11 p.m., Channel 4 anchor Jacquie Walker made a similar hedge. It appears Byron Brown has succeeded in his write-in campaign and that makes it historic, said Walker.

Cheers to the Pollster: There werent many polls in the mayors race, but the Emerson College-Channel 4 poll favored Brown by more than 17 points, about the same as the 59-41 margin of victory by write-ins over Walton.

The Numbers Game: WNLO had ridiculously low voter totals early in its newscast when it claimed a majority of votes in certain races had been counted. That had to have been a mistake. It fixed the problem by the end of the night.

AOC Impact: Davis opined that the late campaign appearance that progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made in Buffalo on behalf of Walton was a mistake and that it hurt the candidate more than helped her because it may have energized more conservative Democratic voters.
Heading into Election Day, Republicans knew it would be an uphill climb to take back the Erie County Legislature majority from the Democrats, but they wanted to close the gap by trying to unseat 9th District Democrat John Gilmour.

Gilmour faced off against fellow lawyer Frank Bogulski in a district that includes South Buffalo, Lackawanna and the Town of Hamburg.

While that race was too close to call Tuesday night, with both candidates within a few dozen votes, Gilmour said absentee ballots are expected to land in his favor.

Based on absentee ballots received by the Erie County Board of Elections so far, he said 65% of the 1,247 ballots received were from Democrats and Working Families party voters. Another 9% were from unaffiliated voters.

If Gilmour holds onto what was a very slim lead Tuesday night, then the balance of power in the Legislature will remain unchanged, with all incumbent legislators returning to office.

An overwhelming defeat

Rick Davis, who repeatedly clashed with fellow Democrats and drew scrutiny for actions taken as mayor of the City of Tonawanda, was routed in his bid for a third term.
Byron Brown, considered politically dead by many following his stunning defeat in the June primary for mayor of Buffalo, appears to have resurrected his long career as he claimed victory Tuesday in his bruising write-in campaign against Democratic nominee India Walton.

The growing accumulation of write-in votes point to a significant lead for Brown and the first time any Buffalo mayor has won a fifth term. Walton refused to concede, but that did not stop Brown from proclaiming victory at around 10:30 p.m. to cheers at his Washington Street headquarters.

His victory, he said, was not "just a referendum on the City of Buffalo, it was a referendum on the future of our democracy."

"At the very beginning, they said we cant win, that it was impossible to win as a write-in, the mayor shouted to cheering supporters. "But you know, you can never count a Buffalonian out.

"The people chose four more years of the Brown administration," he added. "The people chose one of the greatest comeback stories in our history."

At Main Events Banquet Hall on Main Street, Walton delivered remarks she labeled definitely not a concession speech.
Democratic Town Board member Shawn Lavin handily won a second term but the race for the second seat was too close to call and awaits the counting of absentee ballots. GOP challenger Ray Herman had a narrow lead over Councilwoman Jacqualine Berger with Republican Dan Rider trailing well behind.

Cheektowaga

Republican Michael C. Jasinski was the top vote-getter for three Town Board seats, and incumbent Democrat Brian M. Nowak was second.

The race was too close to call for the third seat, between incumbent Democrat Brian N. Pilarski and Republican Vernon S. Thompson.

Democrat Stanley J. Kaznowski III was fifth and Eileen O. Ebner, who suspended her campaign after discovering that accepting the $20,000 annual board salary would jeopardize benefits she receives, was sixth.

Lancaster

Adam Dickman, subject of controversy for a video he recorded at the Village of Lancaster Public Works Department, won re-election to the Lancaster Town Board.
Republican John C. Garcia was clinging to a slim lead in the race for Erie County sheriff late Tuesday, but the outcome remained too close to call. A clear winner will emerge only after a potential 19,000 absentee ballots are counted in coming days.

Garcia, the candidate endorsed by departing Sheriff Timothy B. Howard and a slew of police unions, produced strong results, even with two other Republican-leaning candidates draining him of votes. He led Democrat Kimberly Beaty by around 6,000 votes after the vast majority of ballots were counted late in the evening.

Though Beaty refused to concede, Garcia took the microphone at his gathering in Grand Island and talked like the victor. "I look forward to protecting and serving all citizens, the people of Erie County for the next four years," he said.

This much was certain: The next Erie County sheriff will be a veteran of the Buffalo Police Department. Garcia, 59, of Grand Island, retired after a career as a detective with the homicide and narcotics units. He now owns a stake in a private security firm. Beaty, 58, of Lancaster, retired as the deputy police commissioner. She is the director of public safety at Canisius College, her alma mater.
" My daughter never even knew that I was in the Army until she was 19 years old, and then she was 21 before she ever knew that I was a Vietnam veteran," said Bellinger, who was awarded the Bronze Star.

He said the late 1960s and early 1970s was a difficult time for Vietnam veterans returning home from what was a decidedly unpopular war.

"You were looked upon like a baby burner or drug addict. You were a pot smoker, and the best thing you wanted to do was get out of the Army and get back into civilian clothes and grow your hair," Bellinger said.

Attitudes evolved over the intervening years, said Moxham. In its first year, the show exhibited for over a month at the Kenan Center in Lockport, where it was perennially revived.

"A lot of people would come in during the day and view the photographs, not just veterans but those who had veterans in their families ... and it was very rewarding, I think, for our chapter members," Moxham said.

For the 25th anniversary showing in 2015, a memorial wall featuring the names of 80 fallen Vietnam veterans from Niagara County was introduced as part of the exhibit.

"We wanted to make sure that those who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam received proper recognition," said Moxham.
The administration veered between permissive and restrictive responses, leaving it politically isolated and underscoring consequences of not having a new asylum system in place when it rescinded Trumps policies.

Some developments could not have been predicted, and pre-dating Biden was immigration courts taking nearly four years on average to decide a case of someone not in custody.

But a close review of the last year  based on internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and AIM Media Texas and dozens of interviews with current and former U.S. and Mexican officials, among others  shows how an administration stacked with immigration advocates was unprepared for the huge increase in people seeking refuge at the border. Many interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized or comfortable discussing private deliberations.

The White House defended its record when presented with specifics of the reconstruction.

After four years of the Trump administrations chaos, cruelty and misplaced priorities, the work to build a fair, orderly and humane immigration system will take time and wont happen overnight, said spokesman Vedant Patel. In a short period of time, the Biden administration continues to make considerable progress delivering on its plan.
The largest growth of bee colonies has, surprisingly, been in Asia, where pesticide use is more lightly regulated and widespread. The scientific consensus has drifted away from neonics and other insecticides as a factor in bee declines  if they exist at all.

Why then, after this public shift in the scientific community, is New York aiming to pass a bill that doubles down on the role of pesticides on the Beepocalypse narrative?

In June, the State Senate passed the Birds and Bees Protection Act, to ban the use of neonics on any farmland and to restrict any seeds laced with the chemical. Its companion bill in the Assembly is now in committee and will get a vote soon.

When the European Food Safety Authority conducted a study on the impact of the EUs neonics ban on the rapeseed industry alone, it determined that the ban would cost over $1 trillion dollars in lost revenue, not to mention rising food prices and increased farming in nations that do not limit greenhouse gas emissions.

While the agriculture output of New York pales in comparison to California or Midwestern states, a ban on neonics will have significant spillover effects on farmers and consumers across the country.

Whatever the Assembly decides, we must hold them accountable to the policies they plan to implement, whether that is based on science or the now-debunked Beepocalypse.

Yael Ossowski is deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center, a consumer advocacy group.
Byron Brown cant officially be declared the winner of Tuesdays election  apparently for weeks, yet  but unless the thousands of write-in votes are for someone other than him, the Buffalo mayor has survived a historic challenge on the way to claiming a historic fifth term in office. There are lessons to be learned.

One of them is as old as elections themselves: Dont take your voters for granted. Brown insists, unpersuasively, that his pre-primary inattention to the campaign was because he was so focused on leading the city during a deadly pandemic. It would have been a dereliction of duty, he said, to debate his inexperienced opponents.

But his dismissive approach seems much more likely to have arisen from a belief that, after four terms in office, he didnt have to work for votes, let alone acknowledge the likes of India Walton, a novice candidate agitating on the Democratic Partys far left. Give him this much: If he discounted her threat, he wasnt alone. He changed his mind about the threat after losing to her in Junes primary, which is usually tantamount to election in Buffalo.
Winners and losers. Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock

Tuesday was a night of upsets, shoo-ins, nailbiters, and way too many cats. Here's our scorecard for the 2021 elections.

Winner: New York City night owls

The 110th mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, called it "almost silly" to suggest he shouldn't have spent the night partying in high-end nightclubs after his victory Tuesday evening. "This city does not go to sleep at 5 a.m.," Adams told NY1's Pat Kiernan on Wednesday morning, after soundly defeating his Republican opponent, avowed ailurophile Curtis Sliwa. "I'm going to be out visiting those hospital workers at 12 a.m. in the evening, I'm going to visit transit employees at 3, 4 a.m. in the morning."

Adams added that he was "happy to be at Zero Bond"  a private social club that counts Tom Brady and Kim Kardashian among its members  "then I went over to Cipriani's as well, and I'm going to continue to help my nightlife."

With Adams' election, New York City ends an era of criticizing its mayor over being chauffeured 12 miles to work out and begins one of criticizing its mayor over illegally parking and driving down the sidewalk.

Loser: Primary elections

When Buffalo's incumbent mayor, Byron Brown, lost his city's Democratic primary to socialist India Walton last June, Walton was expected to be all but a shoo-in on Election Day. But following "the most ambitious write-in campaign in recent memory," per Buffalo's WIVB, Brown appeared poised for victory come Wednesday morning.

A moderate Democrat seeking his fifth mayoral term, Brown was backed in his race by the New York State Republican Party, which sent thousands of mailers encouraging the write-in campaign. Meanwhile, Walton was "not uniformly embraced by state [Democratic] leadership, as Gov. Kathy Hochul  a Buffalo native  and Jay S. Jacobs, the chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, declined to endorse her," The New York Times writes.

Story continues

Loser: Police defunders

In one of the closest-watched elections of the night, voters in Minneapolis shot down a measure to replace the police department with a Department of Public Safety. "If residents of the heavily Democratic city where George Floyd was murdered by former police officer Derek Chauvin won't back a radical reimagination of law enforcement, who will? Almost nobody," writes Joel Mathis for The Week. Indeed, these days "almost two-thirds of Americans now believe crime is a 'very big problem'" and "places like Austin, Texas  where voters on Tuesday rejected a measure to increase the budget of the local police department  are the exception, not the rule."

The pattern could be seen elsewhere in the country as well. Adams, the new mayor of New York City, is a former police captain, while Kansas City elected as its mayor Tyrone Garner, the retired deputy chief of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. Likewise in Seattle, "a Republican leads [the] race for City Attorney  the other candidate is a self-described police abolitionist  and [the city] looks poised to elect a mayor (a Democrat) who favors more police over one who voted to cut police spending," points out Insider columnist Josh Barro.

Winner: Candidates of color

A whole lot of historic "firsts" were elected on Tuesday evening, including:

Loser: The reconciliation bill?

Poor showings for Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday night could complicate passage of the reconciliation bill, which Democrats were "within striking distance" of finishing before the election, Politico writes. Now, though, there are "two possibilities: A) That the loss in Virginia will light a fire under Democrats, providing the urgency they needed to get Build Back Better over the finish line ... Or B) It triggers a whole new round of infighting, as progressives push to go bigger and moderates slimmer."

Though some predict Democrats will "circle the wagons" to push the legislation through, further quarreling between moderates and progressives could potentially complicate matters at a time when the party needs unity. "Democrats need to stop fighting each other and start delivering for voters," a Democratic strategist further told Politico. "If we don't, 2022 is going to be brutal."

Winner: Trump  but also not Trump

Speaking of Virginia, former President Donald Trump is already taking credit for Republican Glenn Youngkin's gubernatorial win there.

But "if we forget about Trump and the history of the last five years, Youngkin's victory looks completely ordinary," Ryan Cooper explains at The Week. CNN adds that Youngkin "focused on his own brand and on issues that were top of mind for local voters, instead of on a Trump-centric or Trump-style campaign that relied on rotating grievances and personal pique." Indeed, savvy to the fact that Trump lost Virginia to Joe Biden by about 10 points in 2020, Youngkin delicately avoided both campaigning with Trump and alienating Trump's base.

The result paid off in spades. As Politico reports, "Trump won rural Virginia 52-46 last year. Youngkin won it 64-36. Trump won non-college whites 62-38. Youngkin won those voters by a whopping 76-24. Youngkin's pivot to the center was successful, but his quiet fueling of the Trump base seemed to pay even bigger dividends."

Loser: The misinformation playbook

A campaign of misinformation is what led to Trump supporters violently storming the Capitol this past winter, encouraged by unfounded claims of fraud and conspiracy. But as this election night proved, and Mathis points out for The Week, Republicans don't need to lean on the misinformation playbook to win elections.

Youngkin particularly took pains to distance himself from Capitol rioters: "It is weird and wrong to pledge allegiance to a flag connected to Jan. 6," he said of an incident at an event where Trump called in to endorse Youngkin. "As I have said many times before, the violence that occurred on Jan. 6 was sickening and wrong," Youngkin added.

Meanwhile, in Montana, Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly (D) easily won re-election. Kelly supports the creation of a national heritage area in central Montana; the proposal, however, was plagued by a misinformation campaign that falsely claimed the designation would hurt farmers and landowners. Fred Burow, Kelly's challenger, "opposed the proposal and trumpeted disinformation about it," The New York Times reports. Despite  or perhaps because of  that, he lost.

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Afghan currency exchange dealers

The Taliban has banned the use of foreign currencies in Afghanistan, a move that could further disrupt an economy on the brink of collapse.

"The economic situation and national interests in the country require that all Afghans use Afghani currency in their every trade," the Taliban said.

The economy is struggling due to the withdrawal of international financial support after the Taliban took control.

The US dollar has been used widely in Afghanistan's markets.

Dollars are also often used for trade in areas bordering Afghanistan's neighbours such as Pakistan.

"The Islamic Emirate instructs all citizens, shopkeepers, traders, businessmen and the general public to henceforth conduct all transactions in Afghanis and strictly refrain from using foreign currency," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement posted online.

"Anyone violating this order will face legal action," the statement said.

Assets frozen, funds stopped

After the Taliban seized control of the country in August, billions of dollars of Afghanistan's overseas assets were frozen by the US Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe.

"We believe that it's essential that we maintain our sanctions against the Taliban but at the same time find ways for legitimate humanitarian assistance to get to the Afghan people. That's exactly what we're doing," Deputy United States Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told the US Senate Banking Committee last month.

The Taliban has called for the release of Afghanistan's assets that are being held overseas as the nation faces a severe cash crunch.

Afghanistan has also been hit by the exodus of foreign aid. Grants from overseas previously financed three quarters of its public spending.

Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Afghanistan will no longer be able to access its resources, while the World Bank also halted funding for projects in the country.

Story continues

Last month, the IMF warned that the country's economy could shrink by 30% this year, pushing millions into poverty and causing a humanitarian crisis.

The fund also said that Afghanistan's economic woes could fuel a refugee crisis impacting neighbouring countries, Turkey and Europe.

The country is also suffering from a severe drought, which has ruined much of its wheat crop and sent prices soaring.

The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that millions of Afghans could face starvation due to a combination of the drought, conflict and Covid-19.

However, although Western powers have said that they want to avoid a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, they have refused to officially recognise the Taliban government.

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Trudeau calls on a big step to cap carbon emissions at COP26

Around 120 leaders are attending the United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this week to set a path that limits global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It is imperative the world takes immediate steps to cut carbon emissions because these emissions, which mainly come from fossil-fuel use, will last for centuries.

In Glasgow, Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced one incremental step: a cap on Canadas oil and gas emissions. These are emissions from the production of oil and gas which reached 191 million tons (Mt) in 2019 making it Canadas largest source of carbon pollution. They are also far more than emissions of most countries such as Pakistan (174.5 Mt) with a population of 220 million people.

Trudeau called the oil and gas cap "a big step thats absolutely necessary."

Although the cap was first announced during the Federal election in September, there are no details of how the cap will work or when it will be in place. Nor does the cap curb the oil and gas industrys plans to expand production nor the enormous emissions that result from using all the oil and gas Canada produces. For example, Canadas oil sands produce 3.0 million barrels of oil a day which adds about 500 Mt of carbon to the atmosphere every year. The oil sands industry plans to increase production 25 percent by 2030.

Canadas biggest climate challenge is the oil and gas industry and the proposed cap fails to address the biggest issue of pumping out more and more atmosphere-destroying fossil fuels, said Dale Marshall, the National Climate Program Manager at Environmental Defence.

Canada has the weakest 2030 emissions reduction target in the G7, gives the most public financing to oil and gas companies in the G20, Marshall said in a statement.

Oil and gas companies operating in Canada have climate strategies that will accelerate the climate crisis, according to a report released Wednesday Nov 3 in Glasgow by Environmental Defence Canada and Oil Change International. Titled Canadas Big Oil Reality Check the report says the climate plans of large oil and gas producers in Canada are wildly out of step with the bare minimum for 1.5 degrees C.

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Canada is a wealthy country that needs to be doing much more to do its fair share, said Malaika Collette, a Fridays For Future climate activist and student from Trent University in Peterborough. We should be increasing our targets, ambitions, and plans, Collette told the Weather Network from Glasgow. Our actions do not currently represent that of a climate leader.

Collette is in Glasgow as a coordinator for the Mock COP 26, a two-week virtual meeting with youth from 140 countries who show what they would do if they were in charge. Canadians should be following whats happening in Glasgow and listening to activists from areas experiencing serious climate impacts that are a consequence of decisions made by Global North politicians, she said.

The economy always comes before climate action in Canada, said Evangeline Kroon, a political science Ph.D. student at York University. It will take strong and brave leadership to change that, Kroon told The Weather Network.

Youth dont turn to politics for solutions but towards activism. They cant understand why climate polluters continue to get tax cuts and other subsidies or why simple solutions to cut emissions arent implemented, she said.

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Teenage activist Greta Thunberg (centre right) joins activists taking part in the Youth Strike to Defund Climate Chaos protest against the funding of fossil fuels outside Standard Chartered Bank in London. Credit: Victoria Jones/PA Images / Getty Images

Glasgow is the first time Canada has come to any UN climate meeting with a strong emissions-reduction package already in place, said Eddie Perez of the Climate Action Network - Reseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada, a coalition of more than 100 organizations across the country. Over the past year Canada has created a number of regulations and initiatives that outside experts believe will bring emissions down 30 percent compared to emissions in 2005 by the year 2030 as previously reported on The Weather Network.

That doesnt make up for what Canada should have, and could be doing, as a rich country with high carbon emissions, Perez told the Weather Network from Glasgow.

Canada has a serious credibility issue with nations in the Global South and should admit were not doing enough and are ready to do more, he said. Among the first actions for Canada is to phase out the estimated $14 billion a year in fossil-fuel subsidies as part of an accelerated transition to clean energy around the world.

Canadians expect fossil-fuel use to decline. Subsidies to prop up the industry hurts the Trudeau governments claims to be a climate leader, said Perez.

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World finance ministers at COP26 on November 3, 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. COP26 is the 26th "Conference of the Parties" and represents a gathering of all the countries signed on to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Agreement. The aim of this year's conference is to commit countries to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Credit: Christopher Furlong - WPA Pool / Getty Images

Poor countries are hard hit by climate change and wealthy, high-carbon countries like Canada promised in 2009 to help by providing a minimum of $100 billion a year by 2020 but have failed to do so. Canada has yet to pay its fair share, although it recently announced a doubling of its contribution to $5.3 billion over the next five years.

Canada also needs to strongly back the Paris agreement target of 1.5 degrees C and increase its 2030 target from 40 to 45 percent reduction to 60 percent reduction by 2030.

Canadians know how to step up.We need to make the transition happen, said Trudeau at his final news conference in Glasgow on Tuesday. Were serious about tackling climate change.

Thumbnail image courtesy: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Image News.
Following the Queen's recent overnight stay in hospital, and advice from her doctors to rest for at least two weeks, its likely that Her Majesty will start to slow down on her Royal duties in the coming weeks and months  particularly as we head towards her Platinum Jubilee next year, which will undoubtedly be an incredibly busy time for the Monarch.

With that in mind, the question as to who will take her place at official events and public appearances has been on the lips of many royal experts as of late. Although the decision to delegate duties falls to the Queen, and so she may decide not to pass over any duties at all, it's likely that some of her more arduous obligations will be handed down to younger Royals.

In fact, by law, should the Queen be temporarily unable to carry out her duties (whether that's due to illness or being out of the country) then her 'counsellors of state' can step in. The counsellors are made up of the sovereign's spouse (which would have been the late Prince Philip) and the next four people in the line of succession, counting only those who are over the age of 21. These are, Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry and Prince Andrew.

Despite Harry opting to step down from Senior Royal duties last year with his wife, Meghan Markle, and making the transatlantic move to the US, he would still be required by law to act as a counsellor of state. Similarly, Prince Andrew would also be required to take on the role, regardless of the fact he is no longer permitted to carry out his Royal duties due to his connection to the Jeffrey Epstein controversy.

If Prince Harry were to step in on behalf of the Queen, alongside his father and brother, there are still rules in place as to which duties he'd be allowed to take on. "Obviously, as the Queen gets older, more duties will be devolved upon other members of the Royal Family," Prof Vernon Bogdanor, an author, political scientist and expert on the British constitution, told The Guardian. "The other royals can do anything except the constitutional functions, such as audiences with the prime minister and signing acts of parliament."

Story continues

Essentially, there's a list of do's and don'ts when it comes to what the Queen's counsellors of state can do on her behalf, but certain duties can only be carried out by the sovereign. Duties that the likes of Prince William and Harry could carry out include attending privy council meetings, signing routine documents and receiving credentials of new ambassadors to the UK.

On the flip side, the duties reserved only for the Queen include the dissolving of parliament, the creation of peers and appointing a prime minister, as well as matters relating to the Commonwealth.

It seems then, that if the Queen does decide to spend more time resting and less time carrying out Royal duties, then we may see Prince Harry return to life as a Senior Royal after all.

Watch: Paddy McGuinness kissed Prince Harry

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Yorkshire - Renewing a Regional Identity

Author: Colin Speakman

Colin Speakman is Chair of the Dalesway Association, an active member of The Yorkshire Society, a Vice President of the Friends of the Dales, a Vice President of West Riding Ramblers, Vice Chairman of PLACE Yorkshire, President of Action for Yorkshire Transport, and an advisor to the One Yorkshire Committee (formed in 2018 to campaign for greater powers for Yorkshire).

Historically, England - the land of the Angles - is supremely a nation of immigrants, some more recent than others. We have a rich DNA  Celts, Romans, Germanic Saxons from the Rhineland, Angles, Jutes, Norse, Norman French, Huguenots, Jewish central Europeans, and in more recent years Africans, Afro-Caribbeans, South Asians, eastern Europeans and perhaps soon even more Hong Kong Chinese.

This mix of genes has produced the dynamic culture of many of our great cities, most especially London  a true world city  but left many other parts of England struggling to understand what living in post-imperial England/Britain means.

The way forward to rediscovering who we are as a people might be to go back 1,000 years ago to pre-Norman Conquest times, when the notion of England was still emerging from several warring sub-nations of these second or third generation Germanic immigrant settlers - Mercia, Wessex, Anglia, Northumbria, Cumbria, Cornwall (a Celtic enclave) and Yorkshire. All spoke very different dialects of English, not always mutually understood, and enjoyed differing cultures.

Remarkably many of these regional differences have survived the millennium since the Norman Conquest. They offer a way of creating a new post-imperial sense of what it is to be English in the 21st century  an England of the diverse regions.

Yorkshire has retained many aspects of its pre-Conquest identity remarkably well. As the 19th century geologist and writer John Phillips suggested, only Devon and Cornwall have a more distinctive topography  in the case of Yorkshire defined by its major geographical features: The Pennines to the west, the Humber and its great estuary to the south, the sea to the east and the Tees Valley/Stainmore gap to the north.

Crucially at the time following the Viking invasions and settlements this was also Danelaw, a land occupied, settled and ruled independently for a century or more by Scandinavians, with York, at that time the second city of England, a focal point of the sub-nations culture, a fact emphasised by the citys rich Viking archaeological heritage and Norse street names. This importance is retained in ecclesiastical terms with York Minster and its Archbishop being second only to Canterbury in importance and influence.

The Viking name Jorvik corrupted to York is a continuing link with this Norse Heritage, not just int the regions ancient capital but in the three Ridings derived from thriddings or thirds of the old Anglo-Saxon scir the term for an administration. Uniquely the scir or shire of Jorvik was so large it had to be divided into thirds, the East, West and North Ridings, each administration with its own civic centre initially under the overall control of York.

Only in 1974 were the Three Ridings which covered the historic counties of Yorkshire abolished, and split into the separate county administrations of North, West and South Yorkshire, with East Riding shared across the Humber and given the somewhat artificial name of Humberside.

Though West and Riding names have also sadly been consigned to history the unitary authority in east Yorkshire (outside Hull) for a time known as North Humberside, is now formally known by its proud name as the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Norse place names and pronunciations abound throughout the county. The Yorkshire Dialect is a still a clear and distinctive form of English, albeit under some threat from globalised technocratic forms of the language, but still preserved in accent, phraseology, idiom. Many scholars have suggested how local speech reflects communal history and characteristic personality of the people.

In terms of a regional identity there are parallels with Germany who has, thanks ironically to the post-war settlement largely devised British occupiers, a democratic constitution that not only recognises regional differences but has strengthened these differences in political institutions  the 17 Lander or States that make up the Federal Republic. The Lander have their own Government and institutions governed by democratic processes, their own culture, flags and their own sense of being German. Yet the parallels with Yorkshire and Bavaria, perhaps the most independent German Land, are striking, and fascinating. Most Bavarian people  even relative recent immigrants  consider themselves to be Bavarians first and Germans second. Many Yorkshire people are proudly Yorkshire, yet more hesitant English or British  a constant source of confusion. Unlike the red cross of St George or even, sadly, the Union Jack, the proud White Rose of Yorkshire set against a blue background has not been hi-jacked by extremist political groups. Yorkshire Day is about celebrating with a sense of pride that rich diversity - all things that belong to Yorkshire both people and place.

Defining Yorkshire

Yorkshire is about a sense of belonging. Being Yorkshire is as much about having a shared living, open culture, as it is about a sense of place, though this latter is extremely important. It is not about accident of birth, race (whatever that term might be chosen to mean), parental background, skin colour, or politics. It is also inclusive of other heritages  you can be Jewish, Sikh, Muslim or Christian or be of African, Afro Caribbean, French, Latvia, Chinese or Indian heritage yet still belong to Yorkshire, the region where you live and work, and be proud of your dual identity.

It is about pride in accepting and sharing that unique heritage  the landscape, natural beauty and wildlife, architecture, history, music, art, religion, literature - an aspect of England and being English but in a special and distinctive way, something that poets, writers, musicians, film makers, photographers and artists can and will continue to interpret, re-invent and be inspired by.

This sense of place is equally relevant to people who feel they belong to the whole of territory of the historic three Ridings of Yorkshire, including former areas of ancient Yorkshire now within the boundaries of other local administrations such as Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria and Cleveland

Devolving Yorkshire

Being Yorkshire is about creating a sense of pride in who we were and who we are. It is not political in the narrow sense, nor confined to a Yorkshire political party however worthy such an organisation might be. It is far more important to work with and within existing political democratic institutions in a mutually supportive way to sustain and improve the quality of life of the people and environment of the region. It needs to be forward looking  celebrating the past (whilst accepting the dark side including in our region industrial exploitation) but also deciding what kind of future we and our children want for our region, its towns and its countryside. It must be inclusive, ensuring that people from ethnic minority background can celebrate Yorkshire as part of their own ethnicity and have an equal voice in determining that future.

It has been pointed out that Yorkshire has approximately the same population as Scotland, and a larger population than several sovereign states recognised by the United Nations, yet is part of the most centralised state in Europe, if not the world, with as many people are well aware, a serious democratic deficiency.

What little embryonic Regional Government there was in England post 1974 was effective abolished by the incoming Coalition Government in 2010 when the Committee for Yorkshire & Humber Region, one of the nine Regions of England was not reappointed, followed by the abolition of the Government Office for the Region being abolished in 2012. Yorkshire & The Humber as a concept now only survives for statistical purposes.

The many weaknesses of an over-centralised state have been cruelly exposed in the coronavirus crisis. The more decision making can be devolved to regional and local level, the more effective potentially can be the outcome in terms of ownership by all stakeholders of the decision-making process.

The Yorkshire Society can help, support and provide an evidence base to help achieve such outcomes for our region.

The Societys vision for the next forty years is to be:

The non-political organisation that brings together individuals and organisations who love Yorkshire and who share an interest in supporting communities and protecting the unique environment and cultural heritage of the region.

The organisation that celebrates all things worthy and distinctive about Yorkshire and encourages the promotion of all aspects of the region, whenever possible working with other bodies to do so and being prepared to innovate or support innovation where necessary.

The focal point for knowledge and understanding of the regions rich natural and cultural heritage, working with academic institutions and individuals at every level to ensure that this knowledge is shared by future generations and also becomes an inspirational force to inform and shape creative ideas in the arts and the sciences based on our shared identity.

The only membership organisation that represents the values and views of the people of Yorkshire and speaks on their behalf.

The only organisation with the moral authority to guard Yorkshires good name and reputation.

The publisher is the Centre for Welfare Reform.

Yorkshire Renewing a Regional Identity  Colin Speakman 2021.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews.
Brian Kelley said hes going to do his best to treat today like any other day. He and his wife, Robin, are headed to work. Their eldest daughter, Terra, is headed to school.

It will be the first time since the death of their daughter, Jayna, three years ago today, that they are going to try and go about their lives on the anniversary of her death.

Were going to give it a try, Brian Kelley said. We have the understanding we can bow out. The start of November is always going to bring about memories ... the trauma of that day.

Jayna Kelley was 9 at the time she was struck and killed, along with two other Girl Scouts and one of the scouts mothers, on Nov. 3, 2018, as they picked up trash along Highway P in the village of Lake Hallie.

Brian Kelley admits he has good days and bad days dealing with his grief, as does everyone else in their house. They bond together to get through it.

We talk about Jayna, he said. We may go see her grave. Robin writes a journal to her. We look at her pictures, and share memories when they pop up on Facebook.

At Jaynas funeral, Brian vowed he was going to start a non-profit organization in his daughters name, to raise money for programs she loved. The Jayna Kelley Memorial Foundation was launched.

Its become our purpose, he said. Its good therapy for us, to do something productive, for her.

For instance, Jayna loved animals. Her Girl Scout Troop would go to the Chippewa County Humane Association and help care for animals.

We try to do as much as we can, to make the community better, he said. Last year, we gave $39,000. This year, we gave out $120,000. We had some funds we invested that did pretty well. We had one significant donor that gave us a lot; we didnt have to touch the principle.

Brian Kelley said they have held a handful of fundraisers, including an event on Jaynas birthday, which is June 10. While the goal was for the Foundation to be perpetual, Kelley said he never imagined they would be able to raise so much money so quickly.

People are just so generous, he said. Its amazing. Its surreal to see how supportive people are, still three years later.

The money this year went to: $50,000 for Camp Nawakwa; $10,000 each for Northwest Wisconsin Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Sleep in Heavenly Peace and the Chippewa Falls Family Support Center; $5,000 each for the Eau Claire County Humane Association, the Eau Claire Area School District GATEWAYS program, Touched Twice Unlimited, the Chippewa County Humane Association, the Bruce School Weekend Backpack Program, the Helpful Hearts Foundation, the Chippewa County Foster Program, and the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester Angels of Inspiration.

The funds have been distributed over the past eight days to the variety of organizations.

Its great to do these things, Brian Kelley said. Everyone is appreciative when you do these things. Everyone understands our situation.

Years before the crash, Robin Kelley started writing a kids book, Ostriches Eat Sausages. Jaynas death gave her the push to complete it. The book is available at a variety of area booksellers as well as on Amazon.

So far, they have sold 950 copies, with the proceeds going to the Foundation.

Jayna loved the book; it was just part-way done when she read it, Brian Kelley said.

To donate to the Foundation, visit www.jaynakelley.com

Moving past the crash

Colten Treu, 22, and John Stender, 24, had purchased a can of Dust-off at the Lake Hallie Walmart on Nov. 3, 2018. On the drive back to the home they shared on the south side of Chippewa Falls, they took turns huffing from the cannister. At about 11:20 a.m., Treu  the driver  veered off Highway P and into a group of Girl Scouts cleaning up trash alongside the road.

Treus vehicle struck and killed three Girl Scouts: Jayna Kelley, Autumn Helgeson, and Haylee Hickle, along with Hickles mother, Sara Jo Schneider. Treu drove away from the scene. They had the vehicle in a garage. Later that day, both men turned themselves in to authorities.

Treu was sentenced in March 2020 to serve 54 years in prison. Stender was sentenced to three years of prison in September.

Brian and Robin Kelley attended every court hearing over the past three years.

Its a relief to have the court stuff behind us, he said. Its hard to have to re-live it.

Kelley said the crash has united the families who lost loved ones that day. He said they continue to stay in touch and be there for each other.

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The final proposal for Wisconsins next political maps from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers redistricting commission would narrow, but still maintain, Republican legislative and congressional majorities in the state.

Evers said his Peoples Maps Commissions proposal for the next decades legislative boundaries, unveiled at the state Capitol Tuesday, stand in stark contrast to Republican-drawn maps that were revealed last month and will be voted on in committee Thursday.

The GOP proposal focused on a least change methodology to maintain the core of existing district boundaries, which have been regarded as some of the most gerrymandered maps in the nation and have afforded Republicans strong majorities in both chambers for the last decade.

Wisconsinites wont stand for gerrymandering 2.0 and neither will I, so I want to be clear today if the Republican maps come to my desk as they are currently drafted I will veto them, Evers said. Its just as simple as that.

The Legislature must redraw political lines every decade based on the latest population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. The mapmaking process can allow a party in power, even without statewide majority support, to create or increase a legislative majority based on how district lines are drawn. Republicans often have downplayed concerns about such a practice  known as gerrymandering, after an early 19th century political cartoon  saying the GOPs success is the result of strong candidates and Democrats being clustered in cities.

The GOP-led Legislature could take up a vote on Republican-drawn maps as early as next week. Evers said he may call lawmakers into a special session to take up the commissions proposed maps, but such efforts have been largely ignored by Republicans in the past.

With a GOP-backed lawsuit filed with the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court and a similar lawsuit brought by Democrats in federal court, its highly likely the states next 10-year maps will be decided in court.

We are sure the litigation process will consider all the options and we will continue to demand the final result be a map that fairly and accurately reflects the will of Wisconsin voters  our democracy demands no less, Fair Elections Project director Sachin Chheda said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said in an email the commission prioritized partisan gerrymandering over core constitutional protections. Republicans have decried the commission maps for splitting more counties and municipalities than the GOP maps, though they split slightly fewer than the current maps the GOP drew in 2011.

A previous draft created by Evers commission received criticism that the proposal didnt have enough majority-minority districts. On Tuesday, commission chair Christopher Ford said the final proposal will perform well for communities of interest and also minority-majority districts.

We wanted to make changes where we saw fit to make the opportunities better for the people of the state of Wisconsin, and so although there is some temporary disenfranchisement, we want to fight against permanent disenfranchisement for those individuals, Ford said.

An analysis by national academic group Princeton Gerrymandering Project found that maps proposed by both the commission and Republicans would maintain the same number of majority-minority districts  one congressional district, three in the Senate and nine in the Assembly  as current boundaries.

The office of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Vos and LeMahieu were the only two to speak in favor of the GOP-drawn maps during a nearly 10-hour-long meeting last week.

Comparing maps

The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave the Republican proposal for Assembly, Senate and congressional maps an F grade for partisan fairness, noting that all three provide a significant Republican advantage, while the congressional proposal also advantages incumbents.

The project gave the commissions three maps an A for partisan fairness. It also gave Senate and Assembly maps from both the commission and Republicans a C for competitiveness, noting that the maps are similarly competitive relative to other maps that could have been drawn. The GOP-drawn congressional map received an F for competitiveness, while the commissions proposal received a C.

All told, the commissions Assembly boundaries would create 42 GOP-leaning districts and 34 Democratic-leaning districts, and 23 districts would fall in the 45-55% competitive range, according to Daves Redistricting, an organization that provides publicly available mapping software based on census data. In the Senate, 14 districts would lean Republican, eight would lean Democrat and 11 would be competitive.

GOP-drawn maps for the Assembly would create 51 GOP-leaning districts, 35 Democratic-leaning districts and 13 competitive districts, according to a Princeton Gerrymandering Project analysis using past election results. In the Senate, 15 districts would lean Republican, 10 would lean Democratic and eight would be considered competitive.

Current maps include 47 Republican-leaning Assembly districts, 32 that lean Democratic and 20 that are considered competitive, according to Daves Redistricting. In the Senate, current boundaries provide 16 GOP-leaning districts, nine that lean Democratic and eight that are competitive.

Durable skew

Ruth Greenwood, director of the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, said she doesnt believe the commissions maps are fair for Democratic voters, adding that predicted efficiency gaps show a large and durable skew in favor of Republican voters for both the Assembly and Senate map proposals.

PlanScore, a program that predicts precinct-level votes for districts based on past election results and U.S. Census data led by the Campaign Legal Center, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for nonpartisan maps, found that under the commissions proposal Democratic candidates would take 35% of state Senate seats and 39% of Assembly seats with a near 50-50 Democratic and Republican vote share.

Greenwood said this may be due to the commissions prioritization of compactness over partisan fairness. Greenwood noted that the first priority Evers listed in his original executive order creating the commission was that maps shall, whenever possible, be free from partisan bias and partisan advantage.

That is not reflected in the resulting plans, Greenwood said.

Greenwood said last month Republicans proposal essentially bakes in almost the same level of partisan advantage as current districts.

Republicans currently hold a 61-38 majority in the Assembly and a 21-12 majority in the Senate. Five of the states eight congressional districts are held by Republicans.

Other outcomes

The commissions Senate map would split 35 counties and 60 cities, compared with 42 counties and 28 municipalities in the GOP-drawn map. For the Assembly, the commissions proposal would split 48 counties and 104 cities, compared with 53 split counties and 48 split municipalities in the Republican map.

Congressional boundaries proposed by the commission and Republicans would split 10 counties, while the commission proposal would split 33 municipalities and the GOP map would split 24 municipalities.

According to the Legislative Reference Bureau, the proposed GOP-drawn maps would see six incumbent Republicans in the 99-member Assembly facing off in newly drawn districts.

Reps. Joe Sanfelippo and Mike Kuglitsch, both of New Berlin, would compete in the new 15th District; Ken Skowronski, of Franklin, and Chuck Wichgers, of Muskego, would both run in the new 82nd District; and Shannon Zimmerman, of River Falls, and Warren Petryk, of the town of Washington, would face off in the new 93rd District.

Tatyana Warrick, spokesperson for the state Department of Administration, said the commission did not take into consideration where incumbents lived when drawing maps and information on incumbent pairings was not available Tuesday.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 2) The Philippines is still holdings talks with Russia to get the "best deal" for the procurement of the single-shot Sputnik Light vaccines, according to an adviser to the COVID-19 national task force.

"Nagne-negotiate pa doon (We're still negotiating). We're trying to get the best deal," Dr. Ted Herbosa said during the arrival ceremony of the nearly three million Sputnik V doses Tuesday afternoon.

"Kasi ang iniisip ng national task force, kung bibili ka ng mahal masyado na one dose, baka mas maganda makabili tayo ng two doses na mas marami. So sabi ko nga sa [Russian] ambassador, kung mapapababa 'yung presyo," he added.

[Translation: Because the national task force is thinking that if we buy an expensive single-dose vaccine, maybe it would be better if we buy two doses in more quantities. So I told the Russian ambassador, if they can lower the price.]

Task force officials earlier expected the first batch of Sputnik Light to arrive in September. At the time, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said the country would be getting one million doses of the Russia-made vaccine.

The Sputnik Light earned emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration in August. Developed by Gamaleya Institute, the vaccine requires a storage temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund earlier noted that the Sputnik Light "has demonstrated 70% efficacy" against the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  A police precinct commander in General Santos City has been sacked for allegedly beating up and threatening to kill his subordinates.

Philippine National Police chief General Guillermo Eleazar on Wednesday said he has ordered the immediate dismissal of Police Capt. Nemecio Calipjo, Jr. - the chief of Police Precinct 8 in Barangay Tinagacan - who is now being investigated over the incident.

The PNP said it received reports a drunk Calipjo arrived at the police station early morning of Oct. 31, ordered officers to be at formation, and "started castigating and threatening to kill them" while holding an M-16 rifle.

The commander was allegedly furious over his men's supposed inaction on a concern raised by a resident close to him.

"Calipjo allegedly punched and slapped his subordinates while castigating them for about an hour and the rifle he was wielding even accidentally went off when he set it down," the PNP said in a statement, adding four non-commissioned officers were assaulted.

Eleazar vowed serious sanctions await Calipjo should the allegations be proven true.

"All police commanders should set good leadership examples to their men and what Police Capt. Calipjo, based on the initial report I received, was clearly a breach of discipline and violation of PNP rules and regulations," he said.

The PNP said its Internal Affairs Service is conducting the probe, and will determine the administrative cases that would be filed against the precinct commander.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  The countrys pandemic response officials are batting for incentives for vaccinated persons and in turn, disincentives for those who have yet to get their COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Enough na po ang ating supply at kailangan po talagang mas marami po nating mga kababayan ang makumbinsi nating magpabakuna, National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said during President Rodrigo Dutertes recent public address.

[Translation: Our supply is already enough and we really need to convince more of our fellow citizens to get vaccinated.]

Dizon, who is also the testing czar, said hes making the recommendation along with NTF chief implementer Carlito Galvez, Jr., Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano.

The officials suggest following the best practices of the United States, European countries, and Asian nations like Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. Dizon noted that rules on vaccinated and unvaccinated persons are subject to very strict implementation there.

The NTF deputy chief said they will be presenting the proposal before the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, along with President Rodrigo Duterte, in a few days.

Some establishments and local governments have already been promoting vaccination by dangling benefits and perks, like discounts and free items. Some indoor activities have already been allowed in areas under the alert level system, but only to fully inoculated individuals and workers.

The proposal comes as the government announced higher targets for the national vaccine drive, with a new daily goal of administering 1 million to 1.5 million shots beginning Nov. 20.

Authorities are likewise targeting to vaccinate at least 15 million persons before the month ends, along with at least 70% full vaccination of the elderly population and 90% of teachers, students, and school personnel.

The government also eyes a 50% full vaccination rate for priority areas like Central Luzon and Calabarzon. Galvez also revealed they hope to activate up to 5,000 vaccination sites by utilizing malls, universities, schools, gyms, camps and function halls of various agencies.

The Philippines has administered over 60.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to date. More than 27.7 million are now fully vaccinated against the disease, while 32.6 million have already received their first shot.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has teamed up with the Philippines and Indonesia to establish an energy transition mechanism (ETM) in both countries.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa - along with Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati - announced the new partnership during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, the regional lender said Wednesday.

The first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific, the ETM Southeast Asia Partnership hopes to accelerate Southeast Asia's transition to clean energy.

The ETM refers to a "transformative, blended-finance approach," hoping to speed up the retirement of coal-fired power plants and replace them with clean power capacity. It will be composed of two multibillion-dollar funds: one devoted to early retirement of the plants, and another for new clean energy investments.

The ADB will work with government stakeholders to pilot the mechanism in the Philippines and Indonesia with the joint conduct of a feasibility study zeroing in on each pilot country's optimal business model.

The ETM will raise financial resources needed to hasten the retirement of five to seven coal plants in both countries during the two- to three-year pilot phase, while encouraging investment in clean energy options.

"A clean energy transition in the Philippines will create jobs, promote national growth, and lower global emissions," Dominguez said, as he noted that the ETM could accelerate the retirement of coal plants by at least 10 to 15 years on average.

The organization and its partner countries will also establish an advisory group with nongovernment organizations and civil society groups to "prioritize a just transition to clean energy" during the ETM's design, the ADB said.

Affected workers and communities will be provided technical assistance for their reskilling and livelihood development, it added.

Under the partnership, the organization will also be "bringing together concessional resources from donor governments and philanthropies, in close coordination with global climate change-focused funds."

The ADB will likewise leverage large amounts of commercial capital to help usher in a "decisive" shift toward decarbonization.

It also noted that fully scaling up the ETM in both countries and possibly Vietnam, which involves retiring 50% of coal fleet or about 30 gigawatts in the next 10 to 15 years, could cut 200 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually - equal to taking 61 million vehicles off the road.

The Energy department announced late last year a moratorium on greenfield coal power plants in line with the government's bid towards renewable energy.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  President Rodrigo Duterte wants police and military assets to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the regions in a bid to ramp up vaccination efforts.

He admitted what he called "fault lines" in the vaccination program, especially in areas outside Metro Manila. He told vaccine czar Carlito Galvez to deploy police and military helicopters to help deliver vaccines and mobilize resources in provinces.

"Medyo hindi ako nakuntento," he said in a taped address that aired on Wednesday. "Hindi ko malaman saan nagkakamali  kung may mali. Bakit mahina ang paglabas ng bakuna? Dito sa National (Capital Region) medyo okay. Ang problema pagdating doon sa provincial, regional level, doon nagkakaroon ng medyo problema. Even in the matter of deploying them to the proper sites, mahina."

[Translation: I am not content with it. I don't know where the problem lies. Why is the deployment of vaccines slow? It's okay in the National Capital Region, but the problem is in the provincial and regional levels. They are poor at deploying them to the proper vaccination sites.]

Duterte said local chief executives must augment the vaccination work force.

He also tasked the Department of Interior and Local Government to impose sanctions against local officials who fail to administer the shots in the "most expeditious manner."

Government data shows 88.13% of the target population in Metro Manila is vaccinated, but in other regions the numbers range from a dismal 9.8% in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to 39.37% in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

A total of 27.74 million people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 32.65 million received the first dose since the vaccine rollout in March.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3) Strengthening the country's healthcare and education sectors, as well as fighting hunger are at the forefront of presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo's pandemic recovery plan for 2022.

Robredo on Wednesday shared her "Kalayaan sa COVID" (Freedom from COVID) plan which focuses on these three aspects  as she underscored the need for a "clear and strategic" crisis response.

Public health

If elected, Robredo said she would focus on strengthening the public healthcare system.

This will include forming a team of experts to advise the government, revamping the embattled Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, ensuring sufficient salaries and benefits for medical frontliners, rolling out free testing, supporting hospitals, and purchasing enough medicine supply.

Robredo said the government will also expand the "E-Konsulta system"  a teleconsultation platform launched by her office earlier in the pandemic  through partnerships with private service providers.

The Vice President also vowed enough funds for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, and to ensure the doses' smooth distribution at the local level.

Hunger

Robredo also said the government will set aside 216 billion for pandemic aid.

"Gamit ito, matitiyak na hindi dadaan sa gutom ang mga pamilya, mabibili nila ang kanilang pangunahing mga pangangailangan," Robredo said.

[Translation: With this, we can ensure that families will not experience hunger, they can buy their essentials.]

The presidential aspirant added that she will push for the implementation of granular and street-level lockdowns instead of a nationwide quarantine.

A National Unemployment Insurance Program will also be created to help those displaced by the health crisis. Programs for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and other businesses will likewise be carried out, she said.

The agriculture sector was also highlighted in Robredo's recovery plan, as she eyes doubling its budget should she win the presidency.

Education

Robredo also proposed the reopening of schools in areas classified as low-risk for the coronavirus.

"Sa mga lugar na mayroong low prevalence ng COVID, buksan na ang mga eskuwela. Sa mga lugar na high prevalence, ang target: mabigyan ng device ang bawat estudyante," Robredo said.

"Lahat, dapat may libreng internet access sa de-kalidad na educational materials. Susuportahan natin ang mga guro at magulang," she added.

[Translation: In areas with low prevalence of COVID, let's open the schools. Those with high prevalence, our target would be to give every student his or her own device. Everyone should have free internet access and quality education materials. We'll support the teachers and parents.]
(CNN)  Ethiopia's Attorney General Gedion Timothewos announced a state of emergency starting Tuesday, after forces from the northern Tigray region said they had gained territory.

The move comes two days after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed urged citizens to take up arms to defend themselves against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Earlier on Tuesday, authorities in the capital Addis Ababa told residents to prepare to defend their neighborhoods.

The state of emergency was imposed after the TPLF claimed to have taken the key cities of Dessie and Kombolcha, both of which are near a main route into the capital.

The TPLF said it was considering marching on Addis Ababa, about 235 miles (380km) south of its forward position.

The governments of four of the country's 10 regions have called on Ethiopians to mobilize to fight against the Tigrayan forces, state-affiliated Fana TV said.

Ethiopia last imposed a state of emergency in February 2018, for six months, ahead of the transition of power to Abiy. Curfews were enforced and people's movements restricted, while thousands of people were detained.

Prior to the announcement on Tuesday, people were moving around the capital as normal.

"I will try to buy food commodities in advance. But so far I haven't yet purchased anything," one woman, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

The US Embassy in Addis Ababa is urging US citizens to leave the country and has restricted travel for all personnel from leaving the capital, according to a new security alert issued Tuesday.

TPLF claims territory

The TPLF dominated national politics for nearly three decades, but lost much of its influence when Abiy took office in 2018 following years of anti-government protests.

Relations with the TPLF soured after the group accused Abiy of centralizing power at the expense of Ethiopia's regional states -- an accusation Abiy denies.

TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda said that if the Tigrayan forces and their allies succeeded in removing the government, they would establish an interim replacement.

There would also need to be a national dialogue, Getachew said, but Abiy and his ministers would not be asked to take part. "They will have their day in court," he said.

The government meanwhile has said it wants to take the TPLF's leaders to trial.

The TPLF has claimed the capture of Dessie, Kombolcha and Burka, all in the Amhara region, in recent days.

A government spokesperson disputed the capture of Dessie and and Kombolcha but later released a statement saying TPLF "infiltrators" had killed 100 youths in Kombolcha.

Spokespeople for the government, military and the Amhara region did not return calls seeking further comment on Tuesday.

On Monday night, Tigrayan forces said they had linked up with fighters from an Oromo force also fighting the central government. The Oromo are Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group. Many of their political leaders are currently in prison.

US alarmed

The conflict in what was once considered a stable Western ally in a volatile region has plunged around 400,000 people in Tigray into famine, left thousands of civilians dead and forced more than 2.5 million people in the north to flee their homes.

The US's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa said on Tuesday the US was alarmed by the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the north and urged all sides to find ways to de-escalate and let aid in.

Jeffrey Feltman said Washington was seeing signs of famine and near-famine and that it was mostly government restrictions that were preventing humanitarian help from getting to people.

The Ethiopian government has denied blocking food aid.

Also on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden's administration accused Ethiopia of "gross violations of internationally recognized human rights" and said it planned to remove the country from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade agreement which gives it duty-free access to the United States.

When he first came to power, Abiy enacted significant political reforms, but rights groups say many of those freedoms have since been rolled back.

Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending a long-running border conflict with Eritrea. Troops from Eritrea, whose president is an arch-enemy of the TPLF, later entered Tigray to support Ethiopian forces.

The Eritreans pulled back from most of Tigray in June after many reports of major human rights violations. The Eritreans denied responsibility for any abuses.
(CNN) -- Prince Andrew faces a crucial hearing in his sexual abuse case at a New York district court on Wednesday, as his legal team attempts to turn the tables on his accuser, Virginia Giuffre.

Giuffre alleges that she was forced to perform sex acts with the royal -- claims Andrew denies. His attorneys are hoping the case is thrown out, having filed a motion to dismiss.

But they also appear to be attempting to shift the narrative, alleging in a blistering court filing that Giuffre's claims are motivated by money. CNN has contacted Giuffre's lawyers in relation to the fresh claims; in their initial filings for the case, her attorneys said Andrew had inflicted "emotional distress" on Giuffre that was "severe and lasting."

"Giuffre has initiated this baseless lawsuit against Prince Andrew to achieve another payday at his expense," Andrew's lawyers wrote in the documents filed on October 29 -- the clearest sign yet that they are planning to go on the offensive as they battle to save the reputation of the Queen's third child.

What are Giuffre's claims?

Giuffre, an alleged victim of convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, says she was forced to perform sex acts with Andrew. She says she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with his friends -- including the prince -- at a time when she was underage (17) in the US.

Giuffre says the assaults happened in London, New York and the US Virgin Islands, that Andrew was aware she was a minor at the time, and that she had been trafficked by Epstein.

Andrew, 61, has consistently denied the claims, telling the BBC in 2019: "It didn't happen. I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened. I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever."

Where do things stand in the court case?

A key pre-trial conference in the civil case, filed by Giuffre at a district court in New York, is due to take place on Wednesday, the courthouse confirmed to CNN.

Filing the lawsuit in August, Giuffre's lawyers said the damage from the alleged incidents was "severe and lasting."

Andrew's legal team had until last week to respond to the allegations. They asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, saying it violates the terms of a confidential settlement agreement Giuffre made with Epstein in 2009.

That agreement, Andrew's lawyers say, included a "general release" of all claims against Epstein and numerous other people, including Andrew. Details of the settlement were redacted from the court filing made by Andrew's attorneys.

It is not their first attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed; in September they claimed the papers had not been properly served and that the case should be thrown out as a result.

Andrew has until July 14 next year to potentially answer questions about the case under oath, following a ruling made by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan last week. The scheduling order signed by the judge in New York means that if lawyers for Giuffre want to question Andrew, they must do so outside of court and submit the interview by that date.

Last month, London's Metropolitan Police force announced it would take "no further action" against Prince Andrew, following an investigation sparked by Giuffre's case.

What is Andrew's legal defense?

Andrew's attorneys will present their argument to the court on Wednesday, but their filings last week make clear that they are attempting to change the shape of the trial by turning the tables on Giuffre.

The documents acknowledge that Giuffre "may well be a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein ... and nothing can excuse, nor fully capture, the abhorrence and gravity of Epstein's monstrous behavior against Giuffre, if so."

But the papers also seek to paint Giuffre as money-driven and accuse her of "willful recruitment and trafficking of young girls for sexual abuse."

They allege that Giuffre "was trained to and did, in fact, recruit other young women into Epstein's sex trafficking ring," and has since "milked the publicity for all she could," a dramatic escalation in the case that hints at an unsavory round of legal battles ahead.

Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies, did not responded to CNN's request for comment on the allegations in the court documents filed by Andrew's lawyers.

In her lawyers' initial filing, Giuffre said she feared disobeying Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew "due to their powerful connections, wealth and authority."

Boies said in a statement to the New York Times last week that Andrew's attorney's motion to dismiss "fails to confront the serious allegations" the prince faces.

"Most people could only dream of obtaining the sums of money that Giuffre has secured for herself over the years," Andrew's lawyers say in their October 29 document. "This presents a compelling motive for Giuffre to continue filing frivolous lawsuits against individuals such as Prince Andrew."

Prince Andrew's lawyers declined to comment when contacted by CNN.

Will Andrew have to face questions himself?

Andrew has previously been accused of not cooperating with attempts to interview him as part of the investigation into the alleged sex trafficking ring Epstein and Maxwell are alleged to have operated.

If Giuffre's court case continues into the New Year and beyond, he will likely have to reckon with the mid-July deadline to answer questions under oath.

Until then, though, he is not scheduled to appear in court and is unlikely to speak to the media about the case.

The prince stepped back from public duties and has kept a relatively low public profile since a much-derided television interview with the BBC's Newsnight program in November 2019.

In that broadcast, Andrew said he had taken his elder daughter, Princess Beatrice, to a party at a pizza restaurant on the night it is claimed he had sex with Giuffre. He also claimed that for many years he had been unable to sweat, countering allegations made by Giuffre that he was "sweating profusely" before they had sex when she was 17.

What does this mean for the royals?

The long-running allegations facing Andrew have dramatically tarnished his public standing. In their motion to dismiss the case, his lawyers acknowledge his "sullied reputation."

Facing pressure from the public and the media in the wake of the Newsnight interview, the Prince stepped back from royal duties in late 2019.

Aside from the days following the death of his father, Prince Philip, earlier this year, he has barely appeared in public since. He was even absent from publicly-released photographs of Beatrice's wedding last year.

The scandal has wider implications for the royal family, which has simultaneously been forced to weather criticism and a claim of racism from Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex over the past year. Buckingham Palace said the couple's allegations of racism were"being taken very seriously," while Harry's brother, Prince William, told reporters: "We're very much not a racist family."

British tabloids often refer to the duke as the Queen's favorite child, so his lengthy association with Epstein and Giuffre's allegations against him signal a hefty fall from grace.

While the monarch and other senior royals have so far avoided damage to their own reputations as a result of the Giuffre case, the prospect of Andrew being forced to answer questions under oath will be an unwelcome one for the wider institution.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Prince Andrew's legal team is fighting back in US sex assault case. Here's what you need to know"
Columbus Area United Way (CAUW) recently announced a merger that will help continue to support programming and positively impact the community, CAUW officials said.

Community and Family Partnership (CFP) merged under the umbrella of CAUW. This merger has been in the works since the end of 2020, and was completed earlier this year.

CAUW Executive Director Hope Freshour said on Nov. 2 the merger occurred as a way to provide more stability for the CFP and programs as well as give support to CFP staff.

The United Ways perspective  from the board  its a win-win, Freshour said. We can have grant funding that helps support the initiatives that align with United Ways pillars and mission. Were not duplicating services but essentially were able to provide more dollars and resources back to programming for community members.

CAUW and CFP previously had a close partnership over the past 10 years, according to a recent United Way press release. They worked on enterprises relating to family and youth engagement, childhood mental health, early childhood infrastructure, low income and basic need resources, food security for families and community education and training opportunities.

The merger will be beneficial because it allows stability for processes, staff, policy, staff, measurable impact and diversification of funding, the press release states. Additionally, the merger permits an avenue for Nebraska Children and Families Foundation funding streams. This resource can allow more dollars to go back into the community, providing programming for residents.

CFP, along with several local organizations, including the United Way, originally started in 2010 as the Child Well Being Coalition -- a community assessment and strategic plan. The coalition went through a few name changes but eventually was renamed Community and Family Partnership in 2018 to mirror the local community and family.

During the past decade, Columbus Area United Way had been the fiscal agent for various initiatives with CFP.

CAUW Board Member and CFP Steering Committee Member Claudia Lanuza said she believes the merger aligns with both nonprofits goals.

We saw a commonality of impacting the lives of those in our community and felt this merger would also benefit by being able to have a larger footprint and more collaboration of resources, said Lanuza, who is also the CHI Health Schuyler project and foundation coordinator and president.

CAUW Collective Impact Director Roberta Miksch said the merger also builds on the organizations strengths.

Merging is a great opportunity to link arms and continue to strengthen our work in the communities we serve, said Miksch. In a shared effort, we will continue to create a future in which all children and families may have the opportunity to thrive.

Freshour said more funds are going to resources and programs that are found on the local level.

Thats a benefit of the merger, she said. It streamlines some of those processes and eliminates any duplication services and provides more opportunities for families, children and youth to access programming.

Andrew Kiser is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at andrew.kiser@lee.net.

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Taiwanese regulators are coming under pressure from MPs who want them to ready crypto regulation. Regulators admitted that there is currently no official body in the country that has policing power over firms offering the sale and purchase of cryptoassets. But those fearing a Mainland China-type crackdown will be able to rest easy after regulators hinted they prefer a more business-friendly approach.

Per the China Times, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Huang Tien-mu has met with major ministries and government organs including the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, and the National Development Council in a preliminary bid to lay the groundwork for the management of cryptoassets in Taiwan.

Regulators and the government were grilled on the matter by lawmakers on a finance-related committee. One MP asked the FSC and the justice ministry how it planned to deal with crypto-related money-laundering risks and legal compliance-related matters.

Huang conceded that under current legislation, the FSC only has power over firms offering security token offerings (STOs), and can only intervene in the sector to prevent suspected instances of money laundering.

Huang was also quoted as responding that two crypto exchanges that deal with STO-type offerings had applied for trading permits, and that the FSCs response would be forthcoming before the end of the month.

A further six exchanges, lawmakers insisted, should be hit with legal action if they failed to apply for trading permits.

Another MP stated that the prices of tokens such as bitcoin (BTC) and dogecoin (DOGE) were highly volatile and could be manipulated by major powers. As such, the MP concluded, such tokens were not suitable for sale in Taiwan and should be controlled.

Huang responded by hinting that as international governments were taking a wait-and-see approach to crypto market supervision, Taiwan might be better off following suit.

However, the FSC chief added that as crypto does not classify as a financial asset, but as a general commodity, the regulator could not currently exercise any power over tokens  nor could any other entity in Taiwan.

Huang concluded:

It is correct that there is no specific [regulatory] authority that has authority over virtual currencies in Taiwan.

____

Learn more:

- Singapore to Invest in the Future with 'Strong Regulation' of Crypto

- Crypto Community Smarts at US Regulators Fear-mongering Stablecoins Report

- How and Why Crypto Suffers from Unfair Treatment by Regulators, Politicians & Media

- The Crypto Cat Is Out of the Bag, but Can We Still See More China-Like Bans?



- FATF Wants to Gut DeFi with Vague New Guidelines, Say Crypto Players

- Why Crypto Needs To Be Regulated
Information is from police reports and may be incomplete depending on the status of an investigation. Phone numbers are nonemergency.
The state Department of Health reported 173 new cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths for Cumberland County Wednesday as part of a three-day data release.

The department said its National Electronic Disease Surveillance System experienced technical delays Monday and Tuesday, resulting in no COVID-19 case data updates.

The PA-NEDSS system did provide updated deaths data, with Cumberland County reporting one death Monday, two deaths Tuesday and four deaths Wednesday.

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 decreased to 89 in Wednesday's report, down six from Tuesday. There are 19 adults in intensive care (the same as Tuesday) and 17 on ventilators (the same as Tuesday). Ten adult ICU beds remain open of the 102 currently staffed across the county, and 36 of 95 ventilators in the county are in use.

Wednesday's three-day report included 441 test results, with 72 probable cases. Comparing just the number of negative tests (268) and confirmed positive tests (101), the county saw 27.4% of its tests come back positive.

Franklin County reported 54 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 Wednesday (up one from Tuesday), with seven of 26 currently staffed ICU beds available in the county and 11 of 35 available ventilators in use. There are 13 adults in intensive care and seven on ventilators.

Dauphin County reported 106 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 Wednesday (down 13 from Tuesday), with 26 of 198 currently staffed ICU beds available in the county and 77 of 177 available ventilators in use. There are 33 adults in intensive care and 22 on ventilators.

School-age children

In its weekly update for the eighth week of the school year, the department reported 72 cases among children aged 5-18 in Cumberland County during the week of Oct. 20-26, a decrease of 46 from the 118 cases reported last week. That brings the total number of cases in Cumberland County for this school year to 1,261.

Statewide, the number of cases among 5- to 18-year-olds decreased for the fifth week in a row with 5,238 cases reported. The state said the total number of cases in that age group for the school year is 59,743.

Early Warning Dashboard

Cumberland County saw a decrease in its in percent positivity and its incidence rate per 100,000 people in the Health Department's weekly update to its Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard Friday. Its percent positivity decreased to 8.5% for the week of Oct. 22-28, down from 10.6% the previous week. The incidence rate per 100,000 people decreased to 123.9, down from 156.7 the previous week.

Philadelphia County, which includes the city of Philadelphia, had the lowest percent positivity in the state for the week of Oct. 22-28 at 3.3% and the lowest incidence rate per 100,000 people at 63.9.

Montgomery, Philadelphia and Sullivan counties all dropped out of high transmission status for COVID, with both listed as substantial spread.

Penn State Health update (Nov. 1)

Penn State Health lists a COVID-19 dashboard on its website tracking cases at each of its acute care hospitals  Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center, Hampden Medical Center and Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center. The dashboard will be updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Monday's update shows 101 total cases (95 adults, 6 pediatrics) in the health system's four hospitals  17 are fully vaccinated (17.9%) with four in an ICU and no one on a ventilator, 64 are nonvaccinated (67%) with 23 adults in an ICU and 11 adults on a ventilator, and 20 are unknown status patients. Three of six children hospitalized are unvaccinated (three are unknown status), with two in an ICU and one on a ventilator.

Holy Spirit Medical Center in Camp Hill has 16 COVID patients. Five are fully vaccinated adults (no one in ICU and no one on a ventilator) and 11 unvaccinated adults (one in an ICU and one on a ventilator).

Hampden Medical Center has six COVID patients. Four are not fully vaccinated (three in an ICU, no one on a ventilator) and two are fully vaccinated (one in an ICU).

Vaccinations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labels Cumberland County as having "high" transmission of the virus  the highest level, which is the transmission level for every county in the state except Montgomery, Sullivan and Philadelphia counties which have dropped to "substantial," the next highest level. Community transmission is determined by the number of new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days and the positivity rate over the last seven days, so the classification could vary from day to day based on those numbers.

In data updated Tuesday evening, the CDC says Cumberland County has seen 62.9% of its total population of 253,370 become fully vaccinated. For the county's vaccine eligible population of people ages 12 and older, 72.5% have been fully vaccinated.

County numbers in the southcentral region (for Nov. 3) *new cases are totals for Sunday-Monday-Tuesday:

Adams County (pop. 103,009): 105 new cases; 13,482 total cases (11,016 confirmed, 2,466 probable); 44,164 negatives; 229 deaths (+4); 50.1% of county population vaccinated

105 new cases; 13,482 total cases (11,016 confirmed, 2,466 probable); 44,164 negatives; 229 deaths (+4); 50.1% of county population vaccinated Bedford County (pop. 47,888): 54 new cases; 6,910 total cases (4,703 confirmed, 2,207 probable); 12,494 negatives; 175 deaths (+4); 34.8% of county population vaccinated

54 new cases; 6,910 total cases (4,703 confirmed, 2,207 probable); 12,494 negatives; 175 deaths (+4); 34.8% of county population vaccinated Blair County (pop. 121,829): 152 new cases; 17,858 total cases (14,069 confirmed, 3,789 probable); 47,230 negatives; 395 deaths (+7); 46.2% of county population vaccinated

152 new cases; 17,858 total cases (14,069 confirmed, 3,789 probable); 47,230 negatives; 395 deaths (+7); 46.2% of county population vaccinated Cumberland County (pop. 253,370): 173 new cases; 28,448 total cases (22,229 confirmed, 6,219 probable); 102,167 negatives; 633 deaths (+7); 62.9% of county population vaccinated

173 new cases; 28,448 total cases (22,229 confirmed, 6,219 probable); 102,167 negatives; 633 deaths (+7); 62.9% of county population vaccinated Dauphin County (pop. 278,299): 202 new cases; 35,157 total cases (30,161 confirmed, 4,996 probable); 128,479 negatives; 656 deaths (+5); 58.8% of county population vaccinated

202 new cases; 35,157 total cases (30,161 confirmed, 4,996 probable); 128,479 negatives; 656 deaths (+5); 58.8% of county population vaccinated Franklin County (pop. 155,027): 150 new cases; 22,054 total cases (17,943 confirmed, 4,111 probable); 64,498 negatives; 465 deaths (+5); 45.7% of county population vaccinated

150 new cases; 22,054 total cases (17,943 confirmed, 4,111 probable); 64,498 negatives; 465 deaths (+5); 45.7% of county population vaccinated Fulton County (pop. 14,530): 27 new cases; 2,293 total cases (1,132 confirmed, 1,161 probable); 5,026 negatives; 32 deaths; 31.4% of county population vaccinated

27 new cases; 2,293 total cases (1,132 confirmed, 1,161 probable); 5,026 negatives; 32 deaths; 31.4% of county population vaccinated Huntingdon County (pop. 45,144): 30 new cases; 6,918 total cases (5,684 confirmed, 1,234 probable); 20,771 negatives; 162 deaths (+5); 47% of county population vaccinated

30 new cases; 6,918 total cases (5,684 confirmed, 1,234 probable); 20,771 negatives; 162 deaths (+5); 47% of county population vaccinated Juniata County (pop. 24,763): 22 new cases; 2,941 total cases (2,678 confirmed, 263 probable); 6,678 negatives; 116 deaths; 40.2% of county population vaccinated

22 new cases; 2,941 total cases (2,678 confirmed, 263 probable); 6,678 negatives; 116 deaths; 40.2% of county population vaccinated Lebanon County (pop. 141,793): 121 new cases; 20,828 total cases (17,817 confirmed, 3,011 probable); 63,225 negatives; 339 deaths; 50.9% of county population vaccinated

121 new cases; 20,828 total cases (17,817 confirmed, 3,011 probable); 63,225 negatives; 339 deaths; 50.9% of county population vaccinated Mifflin County (pop. 46,138): 45 new cases; 7,374 total cases (6,979 confirmed, 395 probable); 17,606 negatives; 202 deaths (+2); 49% of county population vaccinated

45 new cases; 7,374 total cases (6,979 confirmed, 395 probable); 17,606 negatives; 202 deaths (+2); 49% of county population vaccinated Perry County (pop. 46,272): 32 new cases; 5,360 total cases (4,135 confirmed, 1,225 probable); 13,309 negatives; 126 deaths (+2); 47.2% of county population vaccinated

32 new cases; 5,360 total cases (4,135 confirmed, 1,225 probable); 13,309 negatives; 126 deaths (+2); 47.2% of county population vaccinated York County (pop. 449,058): 445 new cases; 63,354 total cases (51,562 confirmed; 11,792 probable); 194,545 negatives; 990 deaths (+11); 55.4% of county population vaccinated

ZIP code-level counts (updated Nov. 3):

17013: 3,411 positives, 15,849 negatives - +35 since Oct. 29

17015: 2,037 positives, 7,725 negatives - +15 since Oct. 29

17050: 3,238 positives, 16,149 negatives - +32 since Oct. 29

17055: 3,634 positives, 18,321 negatives - +28 since Oct. 29

17011: 3,353 positives, 15,350 negatives - +23 since Oct. 29

17007: 484 positives, 1,967 negatives - +3 since Oct. 29

17065: 347 positives, 1,370 negatives - +0 since Oct. 29

17324: 397 positives, 1,416 negatives - +8 since Oct. 29

17241: 915 positives, 3,438 negatives - +8 since Oct. 29

17257: 2,344 positives, 7,793 negatives - +18 since Oct. 29

17240: 225 positives, 701 negatives - +4 since Oct. 29

17025: 1,552 positives, 6,235 negatives - +10 since Oct. 29

17070: 1,445 positives, 5,919 negatives - +11 since Oct. 29

17043: 496 positives, 2,242 negatives - +4 since Oct. 29

17019: 1,714 positives, 6,037 negatives - +21 since Oct. 29

17266: 28 positives, 136 negatives - +0 since Oct. 29

School district and college case counts (updated Oct. 29)

The Sentinel's case counts for Cumberland County school districts and colleges or universities are updated Fridays. The policy for each school districts reporting is noted in the list below.

Big Spring School District (reports active cases in past 14 days with school exposure): 17 student cases and 3 staff cases being monitored as of the sites last update on Oct. 27.

(reports active cases in past 14 days with school exposure): 17 student cases and 3 staff cases being monitored as of the sites last update on Oct. 27. Carlisle Area School District (reports cases as they occur and updates a chart): 10 new cases since Oct. 22; 164 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) according to the charts last update on Oct. 27.

(reports cases as they occur and updates a chart): 10 new cases since Oct. 22; 164 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) according to the charts last update on Oct. 27. Camp Hill School District (posts chart that includes total case count): 1 new student case and 1 new staff case since Oct. 22; 62 student cases and 8 staff cases this school year (started Aug. 25.)

(posts chart that includes total case count): 1 new student case and 1 new staff case since Oct. 22; 62 student cases and 8 staff cases this school year (started Aug. 25.) Cumberland Valley School District (reports weekly and total number of cases with school exposure): 14 cases since Oct. 22; 194 cases this school year (started Aug. 31.)

(reports weekly and total number of cases with school exposure): 14 cases since Oct. 22; 194 cases this school year (started Aug. 31.) Mechanicsburg Area School District (chart lists total cases actively being monitored, updated Tuesday and Friday): 6 positive and presumed positive cases being monitored as of Oct. 29.

(chart lists total cases actively being monitored, updated Tuesday and Friday): 6 positive and presumed positive cases being monitored as of Oct. 29. Shippensburg Area School District (reports weekly and total confirmed case counts involving school exposure): 2 new cases since Oct. 22; 147 cases this school year (started Aug. 19) as of the charts last update on Oct. 27.

(reports weekly and total confirmed case counts involving school exposure): 2 new cases since Oct. 22; 147 cases this school year (started Aug. 19) as of the charts last update on Oct. 27. South Middleton School District (posts notices as cases occur, updates table of case counts weekly on Fridays): 4 new casts since Oct. 15; 72 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) as of the charts last update on Oct. 22.

(posts notices as cases occur, updates table of case counts weekly on Fridays): 4 new casts since Oct. 15; 72 cases this school year (started Aug. 25) as of the charts last update on Oct. 22. West Shore School District (reports active cases with school exposure within past 14 days): 53 student cases and 6 staff cases being monitored as of Oct. 29.

(reports active cases with school exposure within past 14 days): 53 student cases and 6 staff cases being monitored as of Oct. 29. Dickinson College : 2 student cases and 1 employee cases since Oct. 22; 34 student cases and 24 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 30.)

: 2 student cases and 1 employee cases since Oct. 22; 34 student cases and 24 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 30.) Messiah University : 8 new student cases and 6 new staff cases since Oct. 22; 58 student cases and 24 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 7.)

: 8 new student cases and 6 new staff cases since Oct. 22; 58 student cases and 24 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 7.) Shippensburg University: 13 new student cases and 4 new staff cases since Oct. 22; 163 student cases and 21 employee cases this semester (started Aug. 1.)

(Counties with a percent positivity above 5% in a week go on the Department of Health's watch list)

Pennsylvania: Percent Positivity - 8.8% last 7 days (9.1% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 159.5 (175.4 previous 7 days)

Adams County: Percent Positivity - 15.2% last 7 days (16.0% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 192.2 (236.9 previous 7 days)

Cumberland County: Percent Positivity - 8.5% last 7 days (10.6% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 123.9 (156.7 previous 7 days)

Dauphin County: Percent Positivity - 11.9% last 7 days (12.5% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 168.9 (197.3 previous 7 days)

Franklin County: Percent Positivity - 11.7% last 7 days (12.5% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 149.7 (169.0 previous 7 days)

Lebanon County: Percent Positivity - 11.7% last 7 days (12.9% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 174.2 (201.0 previous 7 days)

Perry County: Percent Positivity - 15.2% last 7 days (15.5% previous 7 days) Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 175.1 (164.2 previous 7 days)

York County:

Percent Positivity - 15.4% last 7 days (14.7% previous 7 days)

last 7 days (14.7% previous 7 days)

Incidence Rate per 100,000 people last 7 days - 245.2 (258.1 previous 7 days)

Email Jeff at jpratt@cumberlink.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelPratt.

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Student enrollment has increased about 21% this year over last fall at Saint Patrick School outside Carlisle.

As of Friday, 452 students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade attend the school in South Middleton Township, Principal Antoinette Oliverio said.

Enrollment has risen from 372 in late October 2020 and and 319 students enrolled in October 2019  roughly five months before the outbreak of the pandemic.

COVID had a lot to do with it, Oliverio said about the record numbers. When Gov. Tom Wolf issued the closure order on March 13, 2020, many schools were caught unprepared, but faculty and staff at Saint Patrick School were ready to switch to remote instruction that following Monday, she said.

We continued to be remote five days a week until the end of that May [2020], Oliverio said. That continued the following year [2020-21] when we brought everybody back in-person. We stayed open all of last year. We did not close any of the 180 days. Parents really liked that consistency of us being in school.

Once they were here, they realized this is an awesome education  smaller class size, more individualized attention, she said. They stayed and then they brought their friends. Enrollment continued to increase.

The growth is not unique to Saint Patrick School. The Harrisburg Diocese reported on Friday that enrollment across its 36 Catholic schools increased by 6.5% over fall 2020 numbers. The equivalent of about 580 new students, its is the first enrollment increase since 2013 and the single largest one-year increase on record the diocese said.

This enrollment growth is a positive sign that Catholic education is strong in our diocese, said Daniel Breen, secretary for education and superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese.

Its a sign that families are seeing the added value of what we offer, and that we are looking to the future as a system of schools, Breen said. It is notable that 85% of the students who came to us from public school last year have remained in school with us this year. This increase is the direct result of the daily excellence of our teachers, and of the tireless efforts of our principals, presidents, pastors and school leaders in offering exceptional schools where our students thrive.

In the case of Saint Patrick School, a sizable number of students each year are children of military officers enrolled in the one-year residential course at the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Oliverio said. We cant retain those children because they are transferred out.

Of the families that can stay, most have renewed their enrollment, she said. I think weve only lost two families [in recent years] having to do with financial reasons or parental/family issues.

Saint Patrick School is affiliated with the Shrine Church in Carlisle Borough and the Marsh Drive church in South Middleton Township. Enrollment typically opens the first week in January with the current students, their siblings, the children of alumni and the children of church members getting first dibs.

From there, the enrollment priority shifts to anyone carried over on a waiting list. As of Friday, Saint Patrick School is at capacity within current COVID-19 restrictions.

I could take maybe one or two more students, Oliverio said. I have a waiting list for some classrooms. We are not all at the same number of students per classroom.

The pre-COVID capacity of the school was about 500 students.

Word of mouth is the best advertisement for the Saint Patrick School, though staff members also run newspaper ads and host open houses.

A lot of people hesitated in the past, Oliverio said. Weve heard this so much from the new folks who were coming in. They felt they couldnt afford the school so they didnt even bother looking at it. They thought it was too expensive. If you want a Catholic education, we will work with every family to make it happen.

You dont have to be a church goer, she said. You dont have to be a Catholic. That is another misconception that people have. We get to do our mission which is to teach you about Jesus and God. Maybe you want to join us. If not, thats OK, but at least you have learned about Christ and your children have learned how to be good moral characters. That is our goal, our mission.

Email Joseph Cress at jcress@cumberlink.com.

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With all mail-in ballots counted in the municipalities covered by the Carlisle Area School Board, incumbent school directors are expected to reclaim their seats this January.

Counting both in-person voting Tuesday and mail-in ballots, incumbent Democrat Rick Coplen and incumbent Republican Anne Lauritzen secured the most votes in the school board race, which has four open seats, according to the unofficial totals provided by Cumberland County.

Overall, Coplen  helped by the highest mail-in ballot count in the race (1,765 votes)  received the most votes with 4,283. Lauritzen only had 774 mail-in votes, but she had the second highest in-person voting total to earn 4,110 votes overall.

David Miller had the highest in-person voting total in the race (3,395 votes), but only received 689 mail-in votes (the lowest in the race). At 4,084 votes total, however, it still earns him a place on the board.

Though there are 154 write-in votes still to be tallied, as well as provisional and military ballots, the fourth spot on the board will likely go to Sue Bower, who received both party nominations in the primary.

Bower had 4,016 votes overall (1,678 of them were mail-in), which is a high enough margin from her competitors, Democrat Jerry Stirkey with 3,792 votes and Democrat Joanna Birchett with 3,383 votes.

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The Justice Department is suing to block a $2.2 billion book publishing deal that would have reshaped the industry, saying consolidation would hurt authors and, ultimately, readers.

German media giant Bertelsmann's Penguin Random House, already the largest American publisher, wants to buy New York-based Simon & Schuster, whose authors include Stephen King, Hillary Clinton and John Irving, from TV and film company ViacomCBS.

The Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit in federal court in Washington, D.C., Tuesday in the first major antitrust action by the Biden administration. The department said the deal would give Penguin Random House outsized influence" over which books are published in the U.S. and how much authors are paid.

If the worlds largest book publisher is permitted to acquire one of its biggest rivals, it will have unprecedented control over this important industry," Attorney General Merrick Garland said. American authors and consumers will pay the price of this anticompetitive merger  lower advances for authors and ultimately fewer books and less variety for consumers."

The purchase of Simon & Schuster would reduce the so-called Big Five, which dominate American publishing and include HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan, to four.

Because it targets the prices paid to authors as well as those paid by consumers, the suit shows a possible new direction for the antitrust regulators under the Biden administration, suggested Daniel Crane, a law professor at the University of Michigan who focuses on antirust.

Theres a desire to think very comprehensively about all the interests that could be harmed, he said. It raises lots of interesting questions about publishing and about competition in publishing.

The governments case addresses a conventional market of five mammoth old-line publishing houses. Overshadowing it is Amazon, which created an empire and ecosystem of digital books starting back in 1995, controlling not only the bookstore but also the dominant devices for reading e-books and listening to audiobooks, and eventually some of the content. The e-books undercut the prices of conventional books, providing ammunition to the publishing houses in asserting that they have to bulk up to survive the competition.

The deal raised concern from writers and from rival publishers. The Authors Guild has said it opposes the acquisition because there would be less competition for authors manuscripts.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which owns HarperCollins and had reportedly also been interested in buying Simon & Schuster, also slammed the deal. Its CEO Robert Thomson said last fall that Bertelsmann was buying market dominance as a book behemoth.

In a statement, Penguin Random House and Simon & Simon & Schuster said they would fight the lawsuit. They say blocking the deal would harm authors.

DOJs lawsuit is wrong on the facts, the law, and public policy, said Daniel Petrocelli, Penguin Random House's lawyer. Importantly, DOJ has not found, nor does it allege, that the combination will reduce competition in the sale of books."

The new antitrust suit signals that the Justice Department is willing to use its full authority to combat the wave of consolidation swallowing the American economy, said Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, an organization that advocates for government action against business concentration.

This case also reflects how Amazons dominance looms as a predatory presence for most firms in the economy, Miller said in a statement. The CEOs of the number one and number three publishers openly sought to use this merger to become an exceptional partner to Amazon.



AP National Writer Hillel Italie and Business Writer Marcy Gordon contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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KINGS BAY, Ga.  A Fredericktown, native is serving aboard USS Alaska, one of the worlds most advanced nuclear-powered submarines.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Dakota Dowd, a 2014 Fredericktown High School graduate, joined the Navy three years ago.

Today, Dowd serves as a torpedoman, whose responsibilities include maintaining, loading and assisting in shooting torpedoes.

I perform maintenance on weapons on board our ship and ensure everyone is qualified to carry our weapons, Dowd said.

Dowd joined the military to follow in the footsteps of those already making a difference.

I joined the Navy because some of my family and friends are serving, and I wanted to help out as well, Dowd said.

According to Dowd, the values required to succeed in the military are similar to those found in Fredericktown.

Growing up I learned the importance of showing up to work on time, Dowd said. I also learned to always have a good attitude with whatever is thrown at me.

Known as Americas Silent Service, the Navys submarine force operates a large fleet of technically advanced vessels. These submarines are capable of conducting rapid defensive and offensive operations around the world, in furtherance of U.S. national security.

There are three basic types of submarines: fast-attack submarines (SSN), ballistic-missile submarines (SSBN) and guided-missile submarines (SSGN).

Fast-attack submarines are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; strike targets ashore with cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy SEALs; conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions; and engage in mine warfare.

The Navy's ballistic-missile submarines, often referred to as "boomers," serve as a strategic deterrent by providing an undetectable platform for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. SSBNs are designed specifically for stealth, extended patrols and the precise delivery of missiles.

Guided-missile submarines provide the Navy with unprecedented strike and special operation mission capabilities from a stealthy, clandestine platform. Each SSGN is capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, plus a complement of heavyweight torpedoes to be fired through four torpedo tubes. As a member of the submarine force, Dowd is part of a rich 121-year history of the U.S. Navys most versatile weapons platform, capable of taking the fight to the enemy in the defense of America and its allies.

Serving in the Navy means Dowd is part of a team that is taking on new importance in Americas focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.

The Navy ensures that we are always ready to provide nuclear deterrence and provide a watchful eye of all that happens above and below the surface of the sea, Dowd said.

With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the worlds international phone and internet traffic carried through underwater fiber optic, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy. A major component of that maritime security is homeported at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.

We do two big things here in Kings Bay: we send SSBNs on Strategic Deterrence Patrols and we forward deploy our guided missile submarines overseas, said Rear Adm. John Spencer, Commander, Submarine Group Ten. This work is essential to uphold the number one mission of the Navy: strategic deterrence. And this is the only home port for both of these types of submarines on the East Coast.

Strategic deterrence is the Nations ultimate insurance program, and for decades, Kings Bay has been home to Ohio Class SSBN ballistic-missile submarines. Beginning in 2028, the new Columbia Class ballistic-missile submarines will arrive and provide continuous sea-based strategic deterrence into the 2080s.

As Dowd and other sailors continue to train and perform the missions they are tasked with, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.

Serving in the Navy means sacrificing my time with the ones I love and trying to better myself every day so that my family is taken care of and safe for the future, Dowd said.

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An area man was sentenced to 12 years in prison last month after pleading guilty earlier this year to manslaughter in the 2018 fentanyl overdose death of 22-year-old Aaron Michael McCarthy.

Hunter P. Harris, 24, of Perryville, appeared for sentencing in Ste. Genevieve County in October, where Circuit Judge Wendy Wexler Horn handed down a 10-year prison sentence for one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and a two-year prison term on one count of possession of a controlled substance. The judge ordered the sentences to run consecutively for a total of 12 years in prison.

McCarthy's parents were present at the hearing and addressed the court before Harris was sentenced. In June, the man's parents had also been at a court hearing when Harris pleaded guilty to the charges. The parents reportedly approved of the state's recommendation in the case.

According to a probable cause statement from the Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff's Office, on March 7, 2018, police began investigating the death of 22-year-old McCarthy. McCarthy was reportedly from Perryville but was staying at his mother's home on Route N in St. Mary, where he was found deceased. The man's time of death was confirmed at approximately 6:27 a.m. on March 7, 2018.

An investigator arrived at the home about an hour after McCarthy's passing and was informed by a deputy that the man's cell phone was in his hand. The investigator photographed McCarthy, the room in which he was located, and the bathroom to which he reportedly had access.

Photographs were taken of heroin and a snorting straw in a camouflage backpack located next to the bed and McCarthy. Investigators reported that no lacerations, bruises, or suspicious injuries were found on the man's body. The investigator noted that his observations of McCarthy were consistent with his experiences of investigating deaths by drug overdose.

Police reportedly received information that McCarthy was using marijuana and heroin regularly. Before leaving the scene, an investigator was provided the name of Harris as being the supplier of the heroin that killed McCarthy. One of McCarthy's cousins reportedly provided this information over the cell phone speaker of another relative.

The report states the cousin mentioned that McCarthy went to St. Louis with Harris and obtained the heroin the day before. After receiving these details, the death investigation evolved into a homicide investigation.

At approximately 8:05 a.m., McCarthy's body was transported to the Coroner's Office in Ste. Genevieve. Blood was drawn from the man's heart for a toxicology examination by a laboratory.

Police then interviewed McCarthy's cousin at 11:21 a.m. He told police that McCarthy had come to his house in Perryville around 2-2:15 p.m. the day before he was found deceased and the two discussed traveling to Festus to obtain marijuana. They headed out, and the man said he realized McCarthy intended to get more than marijuana. While en route to Perryville, McCarthy told his cousin they were going to pick up "Hunter." The man explained that his girlfriend had previously said to him that McCarthy had traded his marijuana for heroin with a person named Hunter Harris.

McCarthy and his cousin reportedly picked up Harris at his Perryville residence. They waited across the street in Perry Plaza for an unknown girl to bring Harris money for a heroin purchase.

After receiving the money from the girl, the man said the three of them traveled to Gilster-Mary Lee Corp so McCarthy could get money from a family member at her work. McCarthy reportedly lied to this family member, telling her the three men were going to ride UTVs at a friend's house. The man recalled that McCarthy was driving his truck, Harris was in the front passenger seat and he was in the back seat when they left Perryville, according to the statement.

After stopping off in Pevely to buy some marijuana, the three men reportedly headed north on I-55 to North St. Louis.

Harris had reportedly been on his phone with his heroin connection. He had noted that the person was driving a gray Dodge Charger with Illinois temporary plates and had traveled in front of them as they were exiting I-55 to a Love's Travel Center in North St. Louis.

McCarthy's cousin said McCarthy and Harris changed seats so that Harris was in the driver's seat after they parked at the North St. Louis Love's Travel Center, where they waited approximately 15 minutes for the heroin connection. The Dodge Charger pulled into the Love's parking lot, where Harris opened the driver's side door of the truck and received the heroin through the door. McCarthy's cousin stated he overheard Harris tell McCarthy that on the last trip he made up there to obtain heroin, he was shorted 11 capsules.

Harris reportedly drove McCarthy's truck back onto I-55, heading south toward Perryville, and attempted to count the capsules before he handed them to McCarthy to count and take his portion.

McCarthy's cousin reportedly told police that both McCarthy and Harris used heroin by snorting it on the trip home. He said McCarthy had a bad reaction to the heroin, and both he and Harris believed McCarthy was going to die on the way back to Perryville. He told investigators that he used McCarthy's cell phone to contact his girlfriend and had messaged her about what was happening using Facebook Messenger. He said they had arrived at Brewer in Perry County when McCarthy came out of his heroin-induced stupor.

While McCarthy had been in the heroin stupor, Harris reportedly told McCarthy's cousin that McCarthy had gotten into a heroin stupor two nights before when they had done a similar heroin transaction. Harris allegedly told McCarthy's cousin that he won't sell to people who "do this s---," referring to the stupor, because if they die, "I don't get my money."

Harris reportedly drove to the Perryville Plaza where he exited McCarthy's truck and headed home across the street.

McCarthy's cousin said he and McCarthy stayed in the plaza for some time so McCarthy could recover further. Then, McCarthy drove to a spot behind Perryville Walgreen's, where his cousin got out of the truck and last saw McCarthy alive at approximately 7:30 p.m.

When asked if he could describe Harris's heroin connection, McCarthy's cousin said he knew he was black because Harris had been referring to him as the N-word. He was shown the capsules police had recovered in a cellophane wrapping near McCarthy at the scene of his death and identified the capsules as the same ones he saw during the earlier heroin transaction.

A few hours after police interviewed McCarthy's cousin, they interviewed Harris.

During the questioning, Harris reportedly admitted that he was a heroin dealer and had organized and delivered the heroin to McCarthy that ultimately caused the man's death.

Harris was read his rights and reportedly wished to continue speaking with investigators.

The report states Harris confessed that he had been distributing heroin for approximately five months. The man told police he was introduced to his heroin connection, which he identified as "Mike," a male from North St. Louis, by another man formerly of Perryville. Harris said he had gotten 20-25 heroin capsules from "Mike" on his trip to St. Louis with McCarthy and his cousin. He said half of the heroin capsules went to McCarthy and approximated the quantity to be 10-12 capsules.

Harris explained that McCarthy paid $50 toward his portion of the heroin but owed Harris marijuana that he was supposed to deliver that day as a trade for the heroin. Harris further recalled that McCarthy's cousin was with them but did not get any heroin capsules.

Harris told police he was worried about McCarthy after the heroin transaction because of the earlier heroin stupor experienced by McCarthy on the way home. He said later that evening, he wanted to check on McCarthy, so he sent a message to him stating something similar to "be careful with those things I sent you with."

The report states that Harris confessed he had traded McCarthy heroin for marijuana in the past. Harris told police that McCarthy was originally a marijuana connection before the man began getting heroin from him.

Harris denied there were more heroin capsules at his home, a statement which was later identified as a lie after Harris' mother located 11 capsules in his room and turned them over to the Perryville Police Department.

An investigator noted in his report that he asked Harris if there was anything he wanted him to tell the prosecuting attorney (PA) on his behalf. Harris reportedly asked the officer to tell the PA he "wasn't a monster." Harris also reportedly wanted the PA to know he said, "I'm more than sorry," and "I'm stupid, I f----- up, and I'm sorry."

He, too, was shown the capsules police had recovered near McCarthy's body and identified them as being the same ones they received in the heroin transaction the day before.

On March 22, 2018, investigators received the toxicology report for McCarthy's blood which indicated his death was due to substantial amounts of fentanyl in his blood. Pathologist Dr. Russell Deidiker informed investigators that heroin metabolizes inside the blood within approximately 6-8 minutes, causing blood tests not to show positive results for heroin.

The pathologist noted that the amount of fentanyl needed to kill a person is comparable to two grains of salt.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab report stated the capsules found near McCarthy's body were made up of both heroin and fentanyl.

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com

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An area man and former area police officer entered a guilty plea this week in federal court after being indicted on a charge of production of child pornography last year.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark accepted a plea of guilty from Andrew Hotchkiss, 36, of rural Bonne Terre, for the production of child pornography. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri previously indicted Hotchkiss for the charge on Dec. 3, 2020.

Court records state that between March 1 and May 13, 2019, in St. Francois County, Hotchkiss sexually abused the victim, who was 6 years of age at the time. Police said Hotchkiss used his cell phone to video record and produce images of his sexual abuse of the victim.

Hotchkiss then distributed the images and videos of his sexual abuse of the minor via the internet to one or more others, including a resident of Oregon.

On May 13, 2019, law enforcement officers with the Oregon State Police located the illicit pornographic images and videos on a cell phone belonging to an Oregon resident who was in police custody after attempting to meet an 11-year-old for sexual contact.

According to an initial probable cause statement from the St. Francois County Sheriffs Department, in May 2019, the department was contacted by Oregon State Police in reference to a child pornography investigation.

As part of the investigation, Oregon State Police sent 12 videos of child pornography that depict Hotchkiss performing sexual acts on a child in St. Francois County.

Hotchkiss was initially charged in St. Francois County with counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and felony possession of child pornography, before being indicted in federal court.

According to the initial probable cause statement, Oregon police found photographs showing child pornography that had been taken with a cell phone.

The report stated that the images contained metadata, which could be used to determine where the photographs were taken using global positioning coordinates. The coordinates revealed that the photos had been taken at a Quiet Lane address north of Bonne Terre.

A deputy in the sheriffs department, who was familiar with Hotchkiss because Hotchkiss had previously been a Leadwood police officer, viewed the photographs of a male and was able to identify the man depicted in the photographs as Hotchkiss.

On May 17, 2019, a warrant was issued for the Quiet Lane residence. Investigators were reportedly able to determine that the 12 separate photographs showing child pornography were taken in a bedroom of the home.

The report states the photographs contained images of Hotchkiss performing sexual acts on a child less than 12 years of age.

It was the Oregon State Police investigation and their recovery of the images and videos produced by Hotchkiss that initiated the investigation that gave rise to the charges against Hotchkiss in this case, the U.S. Attorneys Office said Tuesday in a statement.

Hotchkiss is scheduled to appear back in federal court on Feb. 15 for sentencing. The man faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years. The prosecution plans to recommend a 25-year prison sentence in the case, according to the plea agreement.

The case was also investigated by the St. Francois County Sheriffs Department and the United States Secret Service.

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com

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Farmington voters on Tuesday approved the Public Safety Tax and Internet Use Tax proposals on the ballot.

St. Francois County Clerk Kevin Engler said the November general election, which just had those two issues, could not have gone any smoother.

It couldnt be any smoother, but it was a very light turnout, he said. We have almost 10,000 registered voters in the city of Farmington. We are somewhere around 700-750, so its 7 to 7.5% (for voter turnout).

The Public Safety Tax passed by an almost 5 to 1 margin of 527-185.

The Internet Use Tax passed by a slim 371-335 vote.

City Administrator Greg Beavers was satisfied with the results.

The public safety portion of it looks like it won with a pretty healthy margin, he said. The internet use tax looks like its up by 30 something votes, so it won but by a much closer margin.

Its pretty well what we expected because its a little hard to explain the local use tax. Strategically for Farmington, its really important that we diversify that tax base.

The Public Safety Tax is expected to generate approximately $2.2 million annual revenue.

Currently, the police and fire departments are funded solely through the general revenue fund. The issues involving Farmingtons sizable growth in recent years has created a large increase in service calls for both departments. These expansions in service calls are creating a need for more manpower, the cost of which is growing faster than the growth of the current sales tax revenues.

The plan for the Public Safety Tax is specifically designed for four key allocations:

Add eight additional full-time firefighters at a cost of $650,000.

Add five additional uniformed police officers at a cost of $350,000.

Supplement police department salaries at a cost of $300,000.

General fund replacement at a cost of $900,000.

The general fund replacement is designed to ensure that other departments  specifically the library and parks and recreation  would continue to have sufficient funding.

The second question on the ballot was the use tax for the city of Farmington.

With the recent passage of legislation in Jefferson City, internet sales taxes can be made available to local governments that have lost out to out-of-state sellers, such as Amazon and Wayfair. The Wayfair bill, SB 153, was recently signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson. To be able to recover those taxes, Farmington would have to pass a use tax to receive reimbursed from the state.

Beavers had said an ever-increasing percentage of the nations economy is moving to the internet.

We have to restructure how we pay for things, he said. As more and more sales move online, we have to put this [use tax] in place. It will begin the process of changing the way we collect revenue for the city

Beavers said Farmington was missing out on tax revenue estimated at about $120,000 per year.

Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com

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ST. LOUIS  National Weather Service survey reports confirmed that at least five tornadoes touched down in Missouri and Illinois south of St. Louis last week, including two large tornadoes with peak wind speeds of about 150 mph.

Two of the strongest tornadoes that swept into the area about 8 p.m. Oct. 24: one through Fredericktown, and another outside Farmington to St. Mary, then traveled to Chester, Illinois.

The weather service said in a damage report released Oct. 27 that both of the strongest storms reached EF-3, meaning the storm was strong enough to flatten well-constructed buildings and flip vehicles.

There were also two EF-1 tornadoes and an EF-0 tornado reported as part of the same storm systems in southern Missouri and Illinois, according to the weather service.

Fredericktown tornado

The largest of the five tornadoes hit southwest of Fredericktown and cut a 19-mile path with a maximum width of about a half-mile, according to the weather service.

The tornado first touched down near the St. Francis River and continued northeast along the river approaching Fredericktown.

One known injury was reported at a business outside of Fredericktown where a person was hurt climbing out of debris after the tornado passed.

The tornado is thought to have reached its maximum strength off Highway 72 in Fredericktown where it destroyed two well-constructed warehouses, ripped the roofs off multiple homes and severely damaged a Black River Electric Co-op building.

The tornado may have begun to weaken somewhat as it continued through the Fredericktown area, but continued to severely damage homes.

The tornado then weakened, but continued to cause significant tree damage and some minor damage to homes through Madison and Perry counties in Missouri.

St. Mary tornado

The second EF-3 tornado cut a 42-mile path of damage beginning about 6 miles south of Farmington, and ending near Chester, Illinois.

This tornado peaked at about a quarter-mile wide with 150 mph winds, destroying multiple barns, ripping off roofs and flattening one home along its path, according to the weather service.

The surveys showed the most severe damage happened between Farmington and Coffman on Route AA where a home was completely destroyed. One man took shelter in the pantry of the home, the only part of the structure that was not crushed, the weather service said. The man sustained minor injuries.

The tornado continued into Coffman and through forested areas in Ste. Genevieve County before it hit the approximately 400-person town of St. Mary. There it damaged at least 28 homes and tore the roof off a large portion of the St. Mary Antique Mall, according to the report.

The tornado then crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois where it continued to Chester destroying barns, snapping trees and damaging farm buildings.

It dissipated near Bremen, about 60 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Three smaller tornadoes

An EF-1 tornado also touched down just outside of Johnsons Shut-Ins State Park on Route N. That tornado had peak winds of about 105 mph and left widespread tree damage, according to the weather service report.

Another EF-1 tornado touched down briefly in Iron County, uprooting several trees and damaging a manufactured home, according to the weather service.

A more minor EF-0 tornado was also reported in Washington County, Illinois, just north of Interstate 64 about 65 miles east of St. Louis.

According to Debbie Meeds, Red Cross volunteer and Multi-Agency Resource Center manager, more than 80 residents from more than 25 households were helped during a multi-agency resource center event Tuesday at the Farmington Civic Center. Several agencies were on hand to help with disaster-related assistance.

A separate event was held in Fredericktown on Monday. Madison County declared a state of emergency last week. The governor has not declared a state of emergency.

Read Thursdays edition of the Daily Journal for more information about how the tornado has impacted Madison County, as well as a reporters column about how the St. Mary/Coffman tornado destroyed his neighbors property.

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The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative will open all this stuff just bloomed around me: A Community-Curated Exhibition of the Art of Steve Keene with a reception at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Keene, a Charlottesville native, has sold or given away more than 300,000 paintings during his career, and this exhibition will be created from paintings owned by community members. Keene was influenced by musicians while serving as a DJ at WTJU 91.1 FM in the 1990s. Over the years, he has created album art, posters video and stage sets and other works for such bands as Pavement, Silver Jews, The Klezmatics, Dave Matthews Band and Soul Coughing. He creates paintings on plywood quickly and prices them to make them available to fans of all backgrounds. For details, go to the bridgepai.org.

The Barn Swallow is presenting Water, Light & Color, a new exhibit of paintings by Mary Stokes Crocker, throughout November. An opening reception is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, and visitors can meet the artist.

Crocker explores the behavior of light and its impacts on the colors of nature. Head to thebarnswallow.com or call (434) 979-4884 to learn more about the exhibit and the gallery.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection has opened the first part of the two-part exhibition Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu (Past & Present Together): 50 Years of Papunya Tula Artists, tracing the Papunya Tula Artists movement from 1971 through the mid-1990s. It can be seen through Feb. 27, 2022. The second part, celebrating the role of women artists and featuring paintings created during and since the 1990s, will be open from March 17, 2022, to Feb. 26, 2023. Boomalli Prints and Paper: Making Space as an Art Collective can be seen through June 19, 2022. Tours have resumed and will be led for free by volunteer guides at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. each day the museum is open. Longer tour experiences for groups will be available for purchase. Masks are required. Make reservations at kluge-ruhe.org. 400 Worrell Drive. (434) 244-0234.
Magill is married to Vice-Mayor Sena Magill.

Others joined Magill in asking City Council to demand an apology from the Lincoln Project.

Andrew Shelton voiced his frustration with political campaigns using footage from the Unite the Right rally in TV ads as well as the Lincoln Project stunt.

This is not fodder for political campaigns on either side. And they both attempted to exploit it throughout the day and the day that followed. Were almost just numb to seeing the events and footage from that day get played out in political ads, but it is crossing a whole new line to have people come and cosplay as Nazis in this town to make some kind of point, Shelton said.

I really feel that its important as a municipality to just say something about that and express our great displeasure with this and the exploitation of our collective trauma, he said.

Sally Duncan suggested that City Council should ask the Lincoln Project to make a financial contribution to Integrity First for America. IFA is a nonprofit representing the plaintiffs in the Sines v. Kessler trial.
The three rally attendees who won their Virginia House races were incumbents Del. Dave LaRock and Del. John McGuire and Marie March, who won an open seat. The two losers in Virginia were Philip Hamilton and Maureen Brody. BuzzFeed News reported that Hamilton and Brody were at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Elsewhere, Stop the Steal attendees winning local races included candidates for seats on the City Council in Nampa, Idaho, the Borough Council in Watchung, New Jersey, and the Board of Commissioners in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, according to published reports. Apparent losers included candidates for county executive in Pennsylvania and for the City Council in Mason, Ohio.

March said during an interview Wednesday that she doesn't regret attending Trump's Jan. 6 rally with her husband and father. She said they left before Trump finished his speech and the mob breached the Capitol and they didnt go to the Capitol before returning home.

Were in a very conservative district and a lot of people do like Donald Trump, March said. He was the sitting president of the United States of America at the time. We went to see him speak.
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday recommended a prison sentence of nearly four years for a New Jersey gym owner who is on track to be the first person sentenced for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Scott Fairlamb's sentencing, scheduled for next Wednesday, could guide other judges in deciding the appropriate punishment for dozens of other rioters who engaged in violence at the Capitol that day.

Prosecutors said Fairlamb, one of one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol, incited and emboldened other rioters around him with his violent actions.

Law enforcement officers were overwhelmed, outnumbered, and in some cases, in serious danger. The rule of law was not only disrespected; it was under attack that day, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

If U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth adopts the Justice Department's recommendation for a 44-month prison term, Fairlamb's sentence would be the longest for a rioter. An 8-month prison term is the longest sentence among the nearly two dozen rioters who have been sentenced so far. A man who posted threats connected to Jan. 6 but didn't storm the Capitol was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
Hardly a single mask could be found on the faces of his supporters. At McAuliffes event, a sign at the entrance said everyone must be vaccinated to enter.

Former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore, attending Youngkins rally, said that it was clear Republicans had turned out to vote.

Its pretty clear we asked all the Republicans to vote and I think they did, said Gilmore, who served as governor from 1998 to 2002. I think they want to see a change. I dont think they think things are going well.

Wealthy outsider

Youngkin was largely unknown in the state when he launched his campaign in January. Youngkin wielded his wealth and a message of being a political outsider to obtain the GOP nomination over better-known state Republicans in a convention.

Youngkins wealth - variously estimated to be at least $200 million - made him a formidable opponent to McAuliffe, known as a powerful fundraiser and well-connected Democrat who left his last term in office with high approval ratings. By Oct. 21, Youngkin had contributed $20 million of his own money to his campaign, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Where do these perceptions come from?

Not from voters personal experiences. In fact, Virginia voters of all partisan stripes had similar experiences  and good ones!  in 2020. Of those who cast their ballots in person, two-thirds reported having to wait less than 10 minutes. Of those who voted absentee, 94% said their ballot arrived without delay.

Election Day woes were few and far between as well. Ninety-seven percent of voters had no trouble finding their polling place; 96% encountered no harassment or bothersome behavior while waiting in line; 98% had no difficulty providing identification; and 99% were checked in with no problems because their names appeared on the rolls. While we certainly dont want to diminish the challenges that some voters faced, strong majorities of Republicans (85%) and Democrats (84%) report encountering no major problems at the polls last year.

Instead, these perceptions  that democracy is in danger, or under attack  are rooted in partisan national narratives about elections.
Contrary to many political prophecies, the election of Republican Glenn Youngkin as governor of Virginia does not augur a bloodbath for Democrats in the 2022 midterms. If it finally pounds in the lesson that the woke crusades of the far left are poison to the party, it may even improve the partys prospects.

The Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe lost in a state that had preferred Joe Biden over Donald Trump by 10 points. Candidate Youngkin managed to thread the needle of not attacking Trump while keeping a far distance. In his victory speech, he didnt even mention Trumps name.

There was a lesson here for Republicans, too.

Youngkin exploited the alarm many Virginia parents have at stories of crusades to make white kids feel guilty over the traumas suffered by African Americans. Though the fears were way overblown, they did find traction in the noisy demands of elite lefties.

And if you think thats a suburban Virginia thing, consider the conflict at a public school in the liberal Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. It was over a mural placed in the cafeteria that read Black Lives Matter, Black Trans Lives Matter and the more militant Your Silence Will Not Protect You.
Albany Options School now has a new program with a focus in construction, offering students hands-on training in 20 different aspects of the construction trade.

It's part of the alternative high school's Career Technical Education program, which offers pathways directly into careers or trade schools upon graduation. Students who develop enough skills to qualify for a certificate from the Carpenters International Training Fund will more quickly be able to secure an apprenticeship once they graduate.

Our goal is to create a bridge into other careers, said Gabe Diaz, the construction teacher who built the project from scratch. I want to make my kids competitive on the waiting list to get into trade school.

Diaz teaches five classes throughout the day, and while some continue with him throughout the year, others will only stay on for a couple of weeks. At AOS, the students usually only stay long enough to catch up on credits and transfer back to West Albany or South Albany high schools.

But with the CTE Construction program, some students want to stick around longer so they can learn more practical skills, Diaz said.

Diaz previously worked as the bilingual liaison at AOS before starting the construction program. Originally from Puerto Rico, Diaz earned an architecture degree and put it aside to move to Oregon and work in the school district.

When AOS Principal Mark Hannan asked Diaz if he would like to become a teacher, Diaz knew exactly what he wanted to do.

He saw in me what I never saw in myself, Diaz said.

Diaz has the workroom set up into stations, and students spend two weeks learning from hands-on projects and three weeks learning from a book to get the technical aspects down. The students learn carpentry, plumbing, roofing, electrical skills, painting and more. Some have even started to fix their sinks and toilets at home using the knowledge they get at school.

Diaz said another rewarding part of the program is watching the kids bond with their parents over shared skill sets and experiences.

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There are 38 students in the program, and Diaz hopes it will grow every year. He runs an Instagram account for the class, @cteconstructiontrade, where he posts pictures and videos of students working on projects and highlights their progress.

Eventually I want to have the kids running the show, he said.

Local businesses can help the program by "Adopting a Trade", where a company adopts a station that represents the company trade. Businesses can contribute anything they can to help the students with hands-on learning, or even send in a guest speaker to talk to the class regarding the profession.

"Whatever is scrap for a company could be a class for us," Diaz said.

Joanna Mann covers education for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6076 or Joanna.Mann@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @joanna_mann_.

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Corvallis City Manager Mark Shepard has received a positive evaluation from the City Council and will receive a 4% merit raise.

The council discussed the evaluation of Shepard, who began serving in the post May 1, 2015, at a closed-door session before Monday nights meeting. During the regular session that followed, councilors unanimously voted to accept the evaluation and award the merit raise.

At his request, Shepard, 56, had not received a merit raise during his previous four evaluations, although as a city department head he received a 3% cost-of-living adjustment each of the four years.

Shepard, who is evaluated annually, chose to take his 4% merit raise in deferred compensation, which leaves his base salary at $199,394.28.

Ward 9 Councilor Andrew Struthers made the motion to award Shepard the merit increase.

In short remarks after the vote, Shepard offered his thanks to the council. Thank you for your confidence. I couldnt do it without you and the city staff who do the heavy lifting.

Among the strengths councilors listed in the eval were Shepard's fiscal responsibility, sound leadership, adherence to the budget, in-depth knowledge of city departments, focusing on long-term success and his relationships with staff and councilors.

Goals for the future include providing more options on issues in staff reports to the council, ensuring the council is informed quickly on hot button issues and providing additional opportunities to engage with the public.

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The City Council is responsible for hiring and evaluating the city manager, the municipal judge and the city attorney. The city manager supervises the remainder of the city workforce, including the chiefs and department heads.

Shepard, an Oregon State University graduate and long-time Corvallis resident, came to the Corvallis position after a 23-year career in a variety of roles with the city of Albany, including assistant city manager.

In other highlights from the meeting:

 Councilors began the discussion on potential new boundaries for the nine city wards because of the 2020 Census numbers. Councilors agreed to use the same basic guidelines they used for the 2010 remapping while using a plus/minus 8% population target. Key challenges that councilors will face include some wide discrepancies between the number of residents in some wards. For example, Ward 4, which surrounds Oregon State University, is over its target population by 1,809 residents.

Census numbers show Ward 4 contains 8,467 residents. The target population for balanced representation in each of the nine wards is 6,658. Wards 1, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are all under that 6,658 figure. Councilors also said they want to respect geographical boundaries, historic districts and try to ensure that neighborhood associations are contained within one ward when possible. The Dixon Creek Neighborhood Association currently includes residents in three separate wards.

The councilors will work on adjusting and finalizing the new ward boundaries at future meetings.

 Councilors approved moving $10,000 from the general fund contingency budget to Parks and Recreation to pay for portable toilets, hand washing stations and trash service at Central Park, Pioneer Park, the Crystal Lake boat ramp and Michaels Landing on the north riverfront.

The item was part of the consent agenda, which consists of items that are considered together via one motion. That motion passed unanimously.

 Councilors unanimously approved two sets of land development code text amendments, work on which dates to 2018. The city work benefited from a state grant to do the work, which is part of the Oregon Housing Planning Project. A code audit committee met four times and the Planning Commission met six times to discuss the changes.

Key changes of the project called for consolidating land division and property line adjustment application requirements, procedures and approval criteria, and introducing new flexibility in the maximum block perimeter/public street and pedestrian circulation requirements. The proposed changes would maintain existing land division standards, which have been rewritten to be clear and objective and add requirements applied during the land division process.

 Councilors voted to add Jerry Shean and Erik Haunold to the citys Planning Commission, which plays a leading role in city land use decisions.

Among the issues that the seven volunteer commissioners work with are: conducting public hearings on land development proposals; taking actions regarding specific land development proposals, including annexations; reviewing and making recommendations regarding the city's comprehensive plan, land development code, and other plans; and providing information/recommendations to the mayor and council about development related issues.

Haunold will finish out the term of Penny York. His seat comes up for renewal June 30, 2022. Shean replaces Susan Morre, whose term would have expired June 30, 2023.

The two new commissioners might begin serving as soon as Wednesday night's meeting.

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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In the Jim Byrnes blues song Love Is Just a Gamble, he laments how love can disappear for no apparent reason, leaving you sad and crying and never knowing why.

Its sorta the same with hate. Theres sadness and crying, except it doesnt seem to disappear, it just seems to keep feeding on itself. And in the end, theres just confusion.

Hate doesnt have to manifest with torches and pitchforks, although one shouldnt discount that as a possibility, but it could be simply a profound adherence to hypocrisy.

Consider the pillaging of Portland, the looting, the arson, the assaults, the destruction of businesses and governmental facilities by thousands of rioters over months of time, and in the end no one held accountable because it was all just peaceful demonstration.

Compare this to the event of Jan. 6, with only hundreds of protesters, far less damage, far fewer personal injuries, but believed to be a catastrophe on the scale of 9/11, Pearl Harbor and the biblical destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The hypocrisy of hate.

Or the hate of thoughtlessness? Forty thousand private vaccine records inadvertently released to the media should be a clue of what can be done by the government when it takes an overall laissez faire attitude toward the public.

We will never be able to move toward a better world unless we move together without hate. Present government is keeping us from doing this, not by accident.

Together we can stand and live better, and free.

Ronald Garnett

Corvallis

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Yahoo has announced that it will exit China due to an increasingly challenging operating environment.

China is notorious for its draconian internet controls, and many of Yahoos services were already blocked by the infamous Great Firewall. While its exit from the market is therefore perhaps more of a gesture, in recent months China has moved to tighten its grip over tech companies  including domestic firms  with the implementation of the Personal Information Protection Law, which outlines the information that may be gathered by tech companies and regulates how they are able to store this data.

This likely catalysed Yahoos decision, as the firm has fallen foul of Chinese legislation in the past. Companies that choose to operate in China are required by law to hand over data to the authorities on request, and in 2007 Yahoo obliged, supplying information on two dissidents which led to their arrest. The US firm received strong criticism by US lawmakers for this acquiescence, despite its hands being effectively tied by Chinese law.

In a statement, Yahoo said: In recognition of the increasingly challenging business and legal environment in China, Yahoos suite of services will no longer be accessible from mainland China as of November 1, adding that the firm remains committed to the rights of our users and a free and open internet.

Yahoo is not the first US-based firm to exit the Chinese market; Google abandoned China several years ago, while last month Microsoft-owned LinkedIn announced that it would scrap its Chinese website in favour of a jobs bulletin. Yahoos move is the latest signifier that western firms are unwilling to comply with the strict political censorship enforced by the Chinese Communist Party, even if this precludes them from the vast audience offered by the market.

Chinese firms have stepped in to provide alternative services, with Baidu largely assuming the functions of Yahoo and Google as Chinas most prominent search engine, Weibo acting as an analogue for Twitter and WeChat providing a similar offering to WhatsApp.
Were all rolling on up toward the holidays, and I want everyone who has any connection to me, either positive or negative, to have a good one. Theres been a ton of research coming out this last couple of weeks that many of the COVID-19 ritualistic class would find upsetting. But in the spi
Cast members include Kodibeth Bates as Dallas, Riley Rivers as Monty Louise, Victoria Kelly as Rachel, Luci Sloan as Laurie Laurie, Caroline King as Pheenie, and overall understudy Melanie Canada.

The play will be directed by Brooke West Carr, and shell be assisted by her husband, Chipola College Theatre Director Raines Carr.

Mrs. Carr has starred in a full-out production the show before; this will be her first time directing it or any other. The work, she said, has lingered in her memory since she took on the role of Pheenie years ago. She said part of its special appeal is is its unique and interesting language.

A staged reading of it, with scripts in hand, gives the actors involved a number of advantages, she says.

This kind of presentation is very common in New York and California theater, so this show will give them an experience they might need as they further explore opportunities on stage outside of college, she said.

It also give the language a chance to be a more focal point for both the actors and their audience, and the guest director said shes certain theyll be in for a rich experience because of that.

Her husband said that from the start he wanted a woman at the helm of this all-female play.
A Dothan pastor and nonprofit leader with a long criminal history was indicted on drug charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justices Southern District of Alabama division.

The U.S. Marshals Service recently arrested 56-year-old Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow on a federal charge of conspiracy to sell or distribute drugs, specifically cocaine, according to the indictment.

He made his first appearance in court on Wednesday morning.

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The U.S. Department of Justice office said that it cannot comment on the possibility of additional charges.

According to court documents, the case was filed the same day that Glasgow, the founder of The Ordinary People Society and activist for ex-felons, called for the community to support and cooperate with local law enforcement as they face a surge of gun violence.

The charges come a couple of months after Glasgow was indicted for second-degree assault, possession of a controlled substance, and tampering with physical evidence for an incident with Dothan police that occurred on Jan. 18, 2020.
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NEW YORK (AP)  Former police captain Eric Adams easily won the race for New York mayor Tuesday, and Boston elected its first woman and Asian American to the citys top job as voters across the U.S. picked local leaders who were largely defined by their stances on police and crime.

Adams, who will become the second Black mayor of the nation's largest city, first triumphed this summer in a crowded Democratic primary after he struck a nuanced stance on law enforcement issues. His message on crime and his experience as a police officer largely insulated him from attacks from his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol.

He described being beaten by police officers as a teenager when he was arrested for trespassing. When he later became a cop, he was a vocal critic of the police department, advocated for Black officers and spoke out about injustices. But he did not embrace calls from some progressives to defund the police by shifting money from law enforcement to social work and other programs aimed at addressing the root causes of crime.

In Boston, Michelle Wu espoused a more liberal approach to policing and called for bigger reforms, but her history-making win came in a campaign dominated more by debates about issues such as affordable housing.
Wawrzyk pointed out that Poland deems such actions unacceptable and won't tolerate them. He highlighted that Poland is determined to defend its borders and the external borders of the European Union, Jasina said in his statement.

There was no immediate comment from the Belarusian side.

In recent months, thousands of migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa have been lured to Belarus on tourist visas and encouraged to cross into Poland, Lithuania, and to a lesser extent Latvia  the three EU nations bordering Belarus.

Polish and other EU leaders have accused the government of President Alexander Lukashenko, which is backed by Moscow, of encouraging the migration as a form of hybrid warfare aimed at creating instability in the region and the EU more broadly.

In Brussels, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said Wednesday that territorial intrusion into Poland, if confirmed, "would be yet another provocation from the side of (the) Lukashenko regime against the European Union and its member states.

Zaryn said that that there has been a series of incidents and provocations organized by Belarusians, but this was the most dangerous and serious incident so far.
Jim and I became allies of Alabama Farmers Federation (Alfa). We would go to supper every night with Milton Parsons, the veteran chief lobbyist for Alfa. We would usually dine at the politically famous Elite Restaurant. Jim smoked a pipe. I love the smell of quality tobacco pipe smoke. He would smoke it all day at his desk then also at the Elite. He was a quiet, dignified, gentleman, who chose his words carefully. He exuded quality and class. Even though he had humble roots, he had the demeanor of someone born into royalty.

Jim Preuitt was born in July 1935 near Moulton in Lawrence County. He was the oldest of seven sons. His father was a sharecropper. Jim was determined to have a better life. Like Bear Bryant, the son of a sharecropper in Moro Bottom Fordyce, Arkansas, would say when asked why he worked so hard to succeed, I did not want to spend my life plowing someone elses land behind an old mule.

As a teenager, Jim met the love of his life, Rona Jane Millsap, on a school bus. They were married soon thereafter. She was truly his love and his best friend. Jim and Rona had been married 66 years when he passed away in September. He was successful as a businessman and politician. However, his greatest and most satisfying aspect of his life was as a family man. He had two beautiful daughters, Lynne Stanford and Leigh Leak. Jim adored his grandchildren.
Universities have a long tradition of imparting centuries of accumulated knowledge onto those who undertake advanced study. More importantly, academies of higher learning foster thought, often through the exchange of varieties of ideas, in ways that date as far back as the Platonic Academy in the classical Greek era.

In contemporary times, such exchanges seem to be under fire. Four years ago, Auburn University officials attempted to cancel a planned appearance by an alt-right provocateur, Richard Spencer, who had rented space on campus for an event not sanctioned by the university. The cancellation was reversed by a federal judge, resulting in the university paying $29,000 for Spencers legal expenses, and the event went on as planned to sparse attendance.

This week, Samford University in Birmingham, a privately funded conservative Christian school, withdrew an invitation to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham, who was to speak during the inaugural activities for the universitys new president, Beck A. Taylor.
After having her first child, Tuyet Nhung told her husband she did not want more since she felt worn out and wanted more leisure and personal time.

Nhung and her husband of Hanoi's Nam Tu Liem District got married when they were both over 30.

When her son was a newborn, he would cry all night, making her paranoid and "look around the house and think it is about to fall" and experience prolonged insomnia and headaches.

In the first three years, he was sickly and spent more time in hospital than at home, forcing her to resign from her job as a department head at a university and become a regular employee.

Her husband is a busy businessman and hardly has much free time to help with housework.

Her son is now in second grade and no longer sick, and so she no longer has to ask her boss to let her come in late and leave early.

She says: "I have started to live happier a life, feeling more relaxed with everyone and less angry with my husband and son. Every weekend I go to coffee shops and attend personals skill courses that I like".

When she told him her decision to have only one child, her husband supported it.

A newborn baby at Tu Du Hospital in HCMC, January 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Thu

According to Khuat Thu Hong, director of the Institute for Social Development Studies (ISDS), there are a growing number of couples like Nhung who are putting off having more babies.

According to 2020 statistics from the Department of Population and Family Planning, 21 provinces and cities in the country had a fertility rate of fewer than two children per woman, accounting for 39 percent of the population.

In 2019 the five centrally-run cities, especially Ho Chi Minh City, had among the lowest rates, 1.39 per child per woman of reproductive age.

"The low birth rate is because of social and economic pressures," Hong says.

Nguyen Thu Quynh, 30, of Hanoi's Cau Giay District understands more than anyone the economic pressures of living in a large family.

"Sometimes I still dream of being called up to the blackboard by my teacher for not paying my tuition fees or being beaten by my mother for asking for a dress that she couldn't afford," she says about her childhood memories of growing up in a poor family with many siblings.

She does not want the past to repeat itself with her four-year-old daughter.

Her family's current income is just over VND20 million ($872) a month.

Every month, on top of the VND5 million it takes to raise a child, she still has to pay off her mortgage of VND5 million and send VND2 million to her parents and grandparents.

"I am afraid I won't be able to bear the economic burden of having more kids," she says.

The economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic in the last two years has also made couples afraid of having children.

In the U.S., a survey by the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, found that 34 percent of women with husbands or boyfriends have decided to delay pregnancy or have fewer children because of Covid-related economic concerns.

A study by Dai-ichi Life Research Institute belonging to the Japanese life insurer also found a similar situation in Japan.

Hoang Ngoc Hai, 34, a tour guide living in HCMC's District 1, lost his job due to the pandemic, forcing him to give up the idea of having a second child.

His wife, an English teacher, became the main breadwinner of the family, but her income from teaching online has been barely enough to support the entire family. The couple have used up all their savings.

"We have just one child but still face financial difficulties, and sometimes even quarrel due to money problems," he says.

The epidemic has caused Nguyen Thanh Hoa, 30, of HCMC to think not having children is a good idea.

The woman who got married five years ago says: "We have bought a house and currently have a saving of VND300 million. We want to make sure we are financially stable first before having a child".

The couple have been lucky that they were still earning money and comfortably working from home without children around during the four months of stringent lockdowns.

Meanwhile, their friends were frantically looking to buy diapers and food and caring for their children while also trying to earn a living.

"If having kids makes parents feel exhausted and children face the risk of falling sick due to Covid, air pollution and others, what's the point of having kids?" Hoa asks.

A woman inside a nursing home in Hanoi's Bac Tu Liem District. Photo by VnExpress/Phan Duong

With people not keen on having kids and the improved healthcare system, people are living longer and the aging population is posing a challenge to the fiscal and macroeconomic stability to many societies.

According to data from the United Nations, in 2020 just over 33 percent of the world's population was under the age of 20 compared to 44 percent in 1950.

Experts predict that by the second half of this century, or even earlier, the global population will begin a sustained decline for the first time.

Many signs of that scenario have emerged around the world: A number of maternity clinics in Italy have closed and schools have been turned into nursing homes, ghost cities are appearing in northeastern China and universities in South Korea cannot find enough students.

In Germany, hundreds of thousands of houses have been razed and turned into parks. In Japan, adult diapers outsell baby diapers.

Vietnams population is aging rapidly.

In developed countries, the demographic transition to an aging population took decades, even hundreds of years, but in Vietnam it has taken only 17-20 years.

It is forecast that by 2050 Vietnam will become a 'super-old' country with people over 65 years accounting for 18 percent of the population.

According to experts, the low fertility rate will be detrimental to socio-economic development by putting increasing pressure on the social welfare system for the elderly and reducing the availability of human resources.

Later a child will have to face the burden of taking care of two parents and four grandparents at the same time.

It is forecast that after 2035 every four people of working age will have to take care of three people of non-working ages.

Faced with the fact that people are afraid to have children, in the last two years the government has changed its policy from encouraging people to have only one child to having two.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has approved a program to encourage both men and women to marry before 30 and have two children.

A draft outline of the Law on Population by the Ministry of Health for submission to the government says couples in areas with low birth rates will be encouraged to have two children.

The government will grant couples a sum equal to the minimum wage of their region on having their first child and twice that on having a second.

The minimum wage currently ranges from VND3.07 million to VND4.42 million, and thus women in some places will receive up to VND8.84 million when they have their second child.

But Hai, the tour guide, says even if the law is passed, he and his wife would stop with one child if their income is still precarious.

"Raising a child is a long journey. Moreover, raising a child involves many things, not just money".

He and his wife have saved money, planning to give it to their son when he turns 18.

He also plans to buy life insurance so that in his old age he will not be a burden for his child.

Instead of giving her son a younger sister or brother, Nhung plans to give him as many life skills as possible and a lot of love.

The couple have also set up a separate fund for moving into a retirement home in their old age.

"We are determined from the very beginning that we will not rely on our children when we were old so that we won't be disappointed later," she adds.
Wu Ting Ting at a police station in Ba Ria-Vung Tau for running an online gambling ring. Photo by VnExpress/Quang Binh

A Chinese couple are being investigated for allegedly recruiting many Vietnamese citizens for operating an online gambling ring with its servers located abroad.

Wu Ting Ting, 32, her husband Sun Jingo, 46, another Chinese national Wu Can Sen, 30, and around 20 Vietnamese men and women, mostly residents of the southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, have been detained pending the investigation into their illegal activities.

Police believe Ting is the ring leader. She has been released on bail for raising her young child.

Investigators say the ring used computers and smartphones and installed apps linked to gambling websites with servers outside Vietnam.

Ting and her husband rented a three-storied house on Vo Thi Sau Street in Vung Tau Town.

She hired three Vietnamese citizens and paid them VND8-10 million ($350-440) per month for advertising the gambling facility on social media and act like gamblers themselves in order to lure people into gambling.

After a period of surveillance, police raided the rented house in July, seized seven computers, 110 smartphones, 16 sim cards, 16 bank cards, and $5,000 in cash.

Police said several hundred people have gambled billions of dong via Tings ring. (VND1 billion = $44,000)

Gambling remains illegal in Vietnam, though Vietnamese are known for their love of gambling. There are a handful of licensed casinos in the country, but only foreign passport holders are allowed to gamble there.

For now, only two casinos, one on the southern island of Phu Quoc and the other in Van Don in the northern province of Quang Ninh, are allowed to admit Vietnamese.
Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo courtesy of the university

Six universities in Vietnam were listed among the top 500 in Asia for 2022 by global higher education think-tank Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

Vietnam has 11 representatives featured in QS Asia University Rankings 2022 released Tuesday. Though all had appeared in last years rankings, five climbed higher, three dropped, and three remained in place.

Of the 11, Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City ranks the highest, at 142nd, up from 163rd place last year and the 207th position in 2020.

Vietnam National University Hanoi is placed 147th, up 13 ranks, followed by Vietnam National University HCMC in 179th, down 21.

Duy Tan University in Da Nang City sees a clear improvement, climbing from the 351-400 group to the 210th rank while Hanoi University of Science and Technology rises from the 301-350 to the 281-290 group.

Hue University in central Hue Town ranks in the 401-450 group.

Can Tho University in Mekong Deltas Can Tho City and the University of Da Nang in Da Nang both land in the group of 501-550.

The remaining Vietnamese universities in the 2022 ranking are Hanoi University of Education and University of Economics HCMC in the 551-600 group, and the Industrial University of HCMC in the 601-650 segment.

Featuring 687 institutions, the 2022 ranking of the top Asian universities is the biggest yet, QS stated.

This year, the National University of Singapore maintained its top position for the third year in a row.

It is followed by Peking University in China and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Published annually since 2009, QS Asia University Rankings highlights the top universities in Asia each year using 11 indicators: academic reputation (30 percent), employer reputation (20 percent), faculty/student ratio (10 percent), international research network (10 percent), citations per paper (10 percent) and papers per faculty (5 percent), staff with a PhD (5 percent), proportion of international faculty (2.5 percent) and proportion of international students (2.5 percent), proportion of inbound exchange students (2.5 percent) and proportion of outbound exchange students (2.5 percent).

Featured universities can be found in 18 locations across Asia. The most-represented location is mainland China (126 ranked universities), followed by India (118), Japan (108), South Korea (88), Pakistan (47), Taiwan (46), Malaysia (36), Indonesia (33), Thailand (23), Philippines (15), Vietnam (11), Hong Kong (9), Sri Lanka (6), Singapore (3), Brunei (2), Macau S.AR. (2), and Mongolia (1).
The United States values Georgia as a strong strategic partner, and remains unwavering in its support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, declared U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on his recent trip there.

Over the last three years, the Georgia Defense Readiness Program has built Georgia's defense capacity and readiness, but it is set to conclude at the end of the year. The Georgia Defense and Deterrence Enhancement Initiative will take its place, announced Defense Secretary Austin:

We are going to build upon the Georgia Defense Readiness Program by continuing institutional reform in the defense sector by strengthening the capabilities and the capacities required for effective deterrence and defense, by fostering interoperability with NATO, and modernizing and developing the Georgian Ministry of Defense and the Georgian Defense Forces.

The success of this initiative will require close cooperation between our countries so that we stay on track toward our common goals, said Defense Secretary Austin:

The memorandum of understanding that the Minister and I just signed. . .underscores the Department of Defense's enduring policy of helping Georgia to defend itself, to deter aggression, and to further its Euro-Atlantic integration. At the same time, the Georgian government must do its part by leveraging U.S. support to strengthen Georgia's democracy and to make fundamental reforms to bring Georgia even closer to the West.

Defense Secretary Austin also thanked the Georgian government and people for their support of U.S. and NATO efforts in Afghanistan. Georgians played an outsized role in this mission, bravely serving shoulder to shoulder with their American comrades in arms. The nation paid a heavy price with 32 killed in action and 293 wounded in Afghanistan. The United States honors their sacrifice, and is grateful to the Georgian people, the troops who served, and their families.

Our collective effort in Afghanistan, said Defense Secretary Austin, is a testament to the strength of our strategic partnership and our shared interests and values.
A worldwide company that supports the oil and gas industries, NOV Inc., has received the Nevada Excellence in Mine Reclamation Award for 2021 for reclamation work at the Big Ledge barite property in Elko County.

Nevada Division of Minerals presented the award to NOV (National Oilwell Varco) at a presentation ceremony during the Nevada Mining Associations Safety Awards Luncheon in Reno as part of the divisions annual effort to recognize reclamation projects.

NOVs award-winning reclamation of the waste rock facility at Big Ledge became the first project of its kind for full encapsulation at high elevation, according to the minerals division, and the award was for innovative reclamation and closure.

Nevada Division of Minerals Administrator Mike Visher said NOV is an outstanding example of a project that meets the award goals of encouraging operators and explorers in the mining industry to submit projects that raise industry standards, increase public awareness of the positive aspects of mining, and encourage innovation in reclamation techniques.

In showcasing this work, we hope to draw attention to the continued efforts of Nevadas mining industry to lead the nation in successful reclamation, community partnerships and environmental protection practices, he said.

Spirit Minerals was developing Big Ledge in about 2006 and mined in 2007 and 2008, with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approval of Spirits plan of operations in 2007. NOV purchased Spirit Minerals in 2009 and continued mining, according to Caroline Macmillan, project manager for NOV.

NOV last mined at Big Ledge in 2013, and NOV began planning for closure activities in 2016. Closure activities began in 2017, she said.

Visher said the first production report we have for Big Ledge is for 2010. The last year we have an amount mined at Big Ledge was 2013, but stockpiled crude barite ore was shipped from Big Ledge in 2014 and 2015.

The company is reclaiming the site under a closure plan developed with the BLMs Wells Field Office, and under permitting from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.

The site in the Snake Mountain Range was mined earlier between 1978 and 1983, which predated Nevada mining regulations. NDEP wrote in an earlier report that Old Soldier Minerals Co. mined there in the early 1980s.

The reclamation award was for the remediation and reclamation targeting acidic waters identified in 2016 at the base of the historic West Waste Rock Facility, where NOV began the corrective action plan that included a temporary regrade, construction of water wells, and a well and surface water sampling program, according to the awards presentation.

In 2018, the company constructed a lined catchment pond to contain and control acid rock drainage.

NOV completed a final regrading of the area in 2019, adding 2.3 million square feet of AGRU Super Gripnet liner, a protective geotextile, and a 2-foot rock cover with quicklime in mid-2020.

The company also constructed 8,900 linear feet of stormwater channels and was an early adopter of Hydro-Turf instead of traditional rip-rap, the presentation states.

The 2021 award for Big Ledge was accepted by Mike Creek, director of mine closure and reclamation for NOV; Steve Boyce, technical expert with Haley Aldrich; and John Cooper, principal engineer for SRK Consulting.

This is the 30th year for the Nevada Excellence in Mine Reclamation Awards, which are chosen by a committee representing the minerals division, NDEP, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service.

The committee must unanimously vote that a submission or nomination exhibits excellent mitigation of the environmental impacts of mineral industry activity, demonstrates work efforts that go above and beyond what is mandated, and represents an exemplary narrative to be shared with the industry and the public.

Nominations for the 2022 award can be submitted through the Nevada Division of Minerals website at http://minerals.nv.gov. 

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Nov. 2

Grace E. Brunner, 25, of Carlin was arrested at Elko County Jail for theft/damage to public utility property to defraud.

William J. Jenkins Jr., 40, of Houston was arrested for battery, disturbing the peace, and on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor crime. Bail: $3,330

Samuel R. Johnny, 20, of Elko was arrested at Elko County Jail for buying, possessing or receiving stolen property, and petty larcency.

Laterrial D. Jones, 33, of Folsom, California was arrested at Elko County Jail for fugitive felon from another state.

Kevin J. Mentaberry, 43, of Elko was arrested on a state prison hold.

Kristin Roman, 30, of Spring Creek was arrested at 774 Carlin Court for domestic battery. Bail: $3,140

The charges above do not imply guilt. Under the law, everyone is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

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Department 1  Judge Kriston Hill

Sept. 15

Shanell Catherine Martin, 31, of Elko pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 12 to 30 months in prison.

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Joseph Venilates Wolfgramm, 31, of Salt Lake City pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny and was given a suspended sentence of 19 to 48 months in prison, was placed on probation for two years and was ordered to pay $1,900 restitution to the victim.

Oct. 4

Rebecca Andrade, 27, of Orange County, California, pleaded no contest to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 53 days in jail and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

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Bo Dwight Hegge, 35, of Spokane, Washington, pleaded no contest to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and was sentenced to 12 to 30 months in prison.

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Tiffany Lynn Ramirez, 35, of Elko pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 195 days in jail. In a separate matter, she also pleaded guilty conspiracy to commit a controlled substance and was sentenced to 195 days in jail to be served concurrently with the previous sentence.

Department 2  Judge Al Kacin

Aug. 17

Troy Kenneth Howard, 50, of Salt Lake City pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit uttering of a forged instrument and was sentenced to 42 days in jail.

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Kenneth Wayne Miller, 49, of Nogales, Arizona, pleaded guilty to injury to other property and was sentenced to 300 days in jail.

Aug. 24

Corey Lynn Bradshaw, 39, of Ogden, Utah, pleaded no contest to attempted sexual assault and was sentenced to 72 to 180 months in prison.

Aug. 25

Anthony Loren Moon, 35, of Elko pleaded no contest to one count of conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon and one count of willful injury to or destruction of property, was given a suspended sentence of one year in jail and was ordered to pay $171.67 restitution to the victim and was placed on probation for one year.

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Christian Ochoa, 24, of Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty to statutory seduction and was sentenced to 19 to 48 months in prison. In a separate matter, he pleaded no contest to embezzlement and was given a suspended sentence of 19 to 48 months in prison consecutive with the previous sentence, was ordered to pay $1,800 restitution to the victim and was placed on probation for two years.

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Jesse Dane Rinaldo, 29, of Grand Junction, Colorado, pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, was given a suspended sentence of one year in jail and was placed on probation for one year and was further ordered to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court.

Department 3  Judge Mason Simons

Aug. 30

John George Richards Jr., 35, of Modesto, California, pleaded no contest to one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of abuse or neglect of a child and one count of battery constituting domestic violence by means of strangulation and was sentenced to 80 to 204 months in prison.

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Paedin Kody Smith, 20, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance, was given a suspended sentence of one year in jail and was placed on probation for one year.

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Erik James Spalding, 28, of Sandy, Utah, pleaded guilty to attempted eluding a police officer in a manner posing danger to persons or property, was given a suspended sentence of 12 to 30 months in prison and was placed on probation for 36 months and required to complete the DUI Diversion program.

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ELKO  An Elko man wanted on charges of sexual assault of a 7-year-old girl this summer was arrested last week in St. George, Utah.

Stevan Villa Triste, 53, was arrested Oct. 23 on a felony warrant issued 10 days earlier by Elko Justice Court.

An Elko Police Department detective began investigating the case in July following a request by the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services.

The girl, a relative of Tristes, told police that he gave her ice cream and candy before the alleged incidents.

According to the detectives report, the girl informed other family members but the incident was not reported to police until she and siblings told a neighbor.

Triste repeatedly denied the allegations when interviewed by police.

According to the St. George News, an Elko police officer contacted St. George police with information that Triste was believed to be staying at a residence in St. George. He was arrested on a $750,000 bail warrant issued by the Elko County District Attorney.

Triste faces charges of sexual assault of a child under 14 years of age and lewdness with a child under 14 years of age, both class A felonies that are punishable in Nevada by life imprisonment.

As of Tuesday, Elko County Jail booking records did not indicate that he has been extradited to Nevada.

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EUREKA  A recall effort against Eureka County Sheriff Jesse Watts that accused him of misusing county funds and improperly investigating crimes failed Monday when the needed signatures werent turned in by the deadline.

The countys clerk-recorder, Lisa Hoehne, said Tuesday that 30 signatures were turned in by 5 p.m. Monday and there had been 28 signatures turned into her office earlier, but 148 valid signatures were required for a special election in the sparsely populated county.

Watts posted a Facebook statement after the recall effort failed, along with a video thanking those who supported him  and he reached out to his opponents, as well.

I also say thank you to those who filed for the recall, because they brought up things that had never been brought forward before. Hopefully, we will come together to do a united front to fix the problems you have addressed because without unity you cant have community, he said in the video.

The petition was filed by two Eureka County employees: Jackie Berg, commissioner administrative assistant; and Ashley Adams, administrative legal secretary for District Attorney Ted Beutel  as well as by Cynthia Beutel, the wife of the DA.

Obviously, we are wanted the outcome to be different than it was, but were confident that we made an impact on some of the voters in the county. It prompted conversations regarding the sheriff and his performance in the job, and we are proud of that, Adams said Tuesday.

She said the petition drive was separate from her county job, and she has never been swayed by someone else when it comes to matters like this.

The petition states: Jesse Watts spends too much of our taxpayer money. He misuses the county funds entrusted to him. Jesse Watts fails to property investigate crime. He thinks he is above the law. Jesse Watts does not want law enforcement to help people. He only helps himself. Jesse Watts is only interested in his own personal gain and his own fame. Give Jesse Watts what he deserves  to be recalled from office.

Watts drew attention when he joined the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association that held rallies earlier this year in Elko and Battle Mountain, and for his refusal to enforce Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolaks COVID-19 mandates.

The sheriff said in a phone interview Monday that he plans to make a statement on the recall issue at the Board of Eureka County Commissioners meeting Friday. He also said he plans to run again next year for sheriff. He is in his first term.

Watts, who was a deputy in Eureka County starting in 2013 and came back to the county to run for office in 2018, said he hasnt had good relations with the district attorney, and the DA wrote a long letter to voters against him.

Beutel said in an email Tuesday that he wrote a detailed letter to the voters of Eureka County regarding the current sheriff. The decision to recall or retain an elected official, as always, resides with the voters.

He also said that without access to accurate information, our democracy is sure to suffer.

In the open letter to voters, Beutel said this recall is about the ability to do a job, and he said the effort was started by Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters, and any suggestion the recall of Jesse Watts is a Democrat conspiracy, or any other form of conspiracy, is absurd.

Beutel wrote that Watts recently overspent the services and supplies budget for his department by roughly $70,000, and while he may claim some grants fill in that hole, those grants are still taxpayer money.

His letter also states that since he took office in 2019, Watts had sought to increase the departments budget by $1.5 million and had spent $40,000 on his county credit card for the department because he apparently thinks he needs to spend everything, including the what if money.

Beutel pointed to Watts saying at a June rally in Elko that the sheriffs of the counties and state of Nevada and the United States dont answer to the President. We dont answer to Senate. We dont answer to Congress. We dont answer to our county commission except for the purse strings.

The DA says the ideological basis for his claim of being a constitutional sheriff are flawed.

I do not believe Jesse Watts realizes sheriffs are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, and in the Nevada Constitution the States Legislature has the power to abolish county sheriffs, Beutel wrote, also stating that the idea that the sheriff has all the power is a dangerous idea.

Additionally, the letter claims Watts goes beyond what is ethically appropriate under the rules when sharing his opinions with the public about what crimes he believes persons may have committed, and he criticized Watts use of social media regarding the death or destruction of peoples lives.

Beutel also wrote that the sheriff picks and chooses what reports of crime are sent to the prosecutor, and these reports are not very heavy with facts, and he said that under the direction of Watts, crimes are not properly investigated, and evidence isnt always properly collected.

Beutel, who has been the DA in Eureka County since 1999, was himself a target of a failed recall election in 2005 over unpopular decisions.

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ELKO  Within the past several months, a group of local parents has been active in raising attention to issues within the Elko County School District related to Covid-19 mitigation measures and other matters.

Parents of Elko County founder Misty Atkins, who has attended most school board meetings since May, has voiced numerous concerns to trustees and administration, including Interim Superintendent Jeff Zander, alongside other members of the group.

After school board meetings were delayed twice in October due to a sudden adjournment and threats toward the school board, Atkins wanted to clear up misconceptions in a Q&A format, express the groups thoughts on recent events and specify the goals of the Parents of Elko County going forward.

Q: What would you like the public to know about the goals of the Parents of Elko County and their presentations made to school board trustees at Elko County School District board meetings?

A: I would like the public to know that our goals are to get the school board to give rights and choice back to parents. Also, to bring to light all of the misdeeds done within Elko County School District. Through that process, we would hope that this information would prompt those involved to either hold themselves accountable or make sure the people responsible are held accountable. From there, changes need to be made to rectify the problems and keep true transparency and accountability. We dont need more policy or laws, we need whats currently in place to be enforced. Like mandatory reporters to be held accountable for not reporting when they know that any kind of child abuse is being experienced between students and teachers. That would include formal disciplinary action and dismissal. Things can be forgiven, but those people should never be allowed to be in a position of power over children again.

Q: Since August, the Elko County School District has made headlines for five school board resignations, delays in conducting meetings due to masks mandates, and, more recently, threats to trustees. Do you have any comments about these incidents?

A: We are aware of why the last three board members stepped down and I believe [former trustee] Robert Leonhardt has done a small release on some of that information with Joey Gilbert and Battle Born Media. He [Leonhardt] alluded to being forced to resign by people that are still affiliated with the school board with numerous threats. As to the reasoning behind the first two [trustees] stepping down, I would wonder if it was because [former trustee Brian] Zieszler had a pretty serious conflict of interest with his wife, not only being a teacher but was the President of the Teachers Union [Elko County Classroom Teachers Association] for the majority of the time that he served as a school board member. [Former trustee] Jim Cooneys reason for stepping down is also unknown to us, but there is a rumor that it was due to health problems.

To my knowledge, no one in the group has ever made threats of violence to an administrator or school board member. Rumors about the threats to former Superintendent Robinson were just that. A group of people spoke to the Sheriff [Aitor Narvaiza] after we left the school board meeting on Oct. 26, 2021, and he admitted that no threats were made. As far as recent threats, to my knowledge that has nothing to do with anyone in our group. We would be more than happy to shut down any threats of violence as we dont condone or approve of it.

Delays in conducting meetings were also not due to anything that we did. We entered and conducted ourselves in the same manner that we always have. [Trustee Teresa] Dastrup decided that she was going to enforce the mask mandate for the first time and when we asked why we were told, Because I was being nice and you werent. So now I will enforce it. Last I checked, rules dont change because you dont like what someone says.

Q: The school district has asked the community to take their concerns about mask mandates and Covid-19 mitigations to Carson City, particularly Gov. Steve Sisolak who wrote the Emergency Directives guiding the responses of the school district to outbreaks which they are required to follow according to Nevada law. Do you have any comment on the school districts request, and do you have any comment regarding state policy on how Covid-19 mitigation measures are implemented?

A: The school district can ask the community to do whatever they want. The school board chooses to enforce these mandates because it will bring in more money. We hear them complaining left and right about not having money, yet they build how many new buildings before they take care of heating systems or the trailers that we are told are falling apart. Their gross mismanagement of money needs to be brought to light and corrected. Their job is to address and work to rectify our concerns, not pass the buck. Not only do they pass the buck, but they meet our concerns with silence and stony stares.

Our concerns dont lie solely with the school board stripping parents of their right to decide on how to protect their children and the forced PCR testing to participate in sports. Funds from Pay-As-You-Go should have been used for repairs before the construction of new buildings. Pay-As-You-Go netted over $250 million and didnt make much progress with major repairs needed to HVAC systems and replacing the deteriorating trailers that we have heard so much about. Now the school board claims to need $150 million in bonds to do what Pay-As-You-Go was supposed to do. We witnessed [Deputy Superintendent] Mike Smith create a new, six-figure job that didnt exist, out of the general fund while in the same breath telling us how desperate they are for money. There is no sound logic there. I believe it was [Elko County Health Officer] Dr. [Bryce] Putnam that called for transparency and accountability at a school board meeting. Well, its high time that we hold the school board accountable and demand transparency.

The transparency can start with why they have not replaced curriculum or textbooks for over a decade. Curriculum takes 1% of the general fund but they can afford to pay the Interim Superintendent three salaries, the most recent of which will pay $260,000 for one year, without overtime. So here we stand, 50th in the nation for education, watching our children suffer and watching our rights, as parents, be willingly stripped away by a school board that wont even answer questions from parents that are posed to them at their open meetings. Throwing money at a problem and creating more policy will solve nothing. The school board violates its policies at every meeting and when parents point out how theyre violating that policy, they just vote to change it. These things need to be remembered, by the community, when it comes time to vote.

Q: School board Trustee Teresa Dastrup told the Elko Daily Free Press she would like to meet with parents outside of a public meeting to discuss the issues. Do you have any comments on that offer?

A: School board Trustee Teresa Dastrup may have told EDFP that she would like to meet with parents outside of a public meeting to discuss the issues, but not once has she communicated that to any of the parents or concerned citizens of Elko County. Why would she communicate that through [Elko Daily] when Dastrup has all of our contact information? We are open to a meeting, [and] she can contact any one of us at any time.

Q: Is there anything else that you would like the community to know about your group and goals?

A: We are here and fighting for our kids and if the school board wants the fight to stop they need to give choice back to parents. We dont want to be here or doing this. There are a lot of things that we are missing out on. They could have stopped all of this if they had just given choice back to parents. Now we have uncovered very questionable practices and that demands transparency and accountability.

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WASHINGTON  U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., has announced that the National Cemetery Administration is soliciting recommendations from veterans and military organizations for naming the veterans cemetery coming to Elko.

Construction is slated to begin yet this year on the cemetery on land the City of Elko sold to the Veterans Affairs Administration this year after years of efforts, including the Cortez Mastos work to locate a burial ground for veterans in Elko.

Elko City Council agreed in July to sell 15.37 acres to the federal government for the appraised value of $900,000 southeast of the intersection of Jennings Way and Rocky Road.

Name recommendations can be submitted to the National Cemetery Administration through Dec. 17. The names should help identify the location of the cemetery, have broad appeal to the veteran population, and be relevant to local history, geography, or other community features, according to the Nov. 2 announcement.

Recommendations may be sent by email to NCA.PacificDistrictOffice@va.gov or mailed to the National Cemetery Administration Pacific Office, 1301 Clay St. Suite 1230 N, Oakland, CA 9461.

Cortez Mastos office also reported that Nevadans can reach out to her office at 775-686-5750 for guidance and assistance.

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ELKO  Just when you thought there was nothing new on the eating horizon, along comes Sugar y Spice, a gourmet doughnut shop. Rise and shine, breakfast is ready!

I used to work in mining and it was always a hassle trying to find some really good food in the morning for miners, said Manuel (Manny) Alejandro Romero, a partner in the business. [The buses] are all hours of the day. I was always in the mood for something fresh, not frozen.

Manny moved to Las Vegas to attend barber school.

When I came back, I was thinking everything, because of Covid, had shut down, Manny said. There was nothing open in the mornings. Everything was closed after a certain hour.

He discussed the dilemma with parents Manuel and Lupe Romero. They thought a good business idea was to open a food service operation that catered directly to miners and others who rise in the wee hours.

Location was of extreme importance. Manny noticed an availability at Cimarron West where a previous eatery had closed shop.

Things just worked out and he and his parents leased the location, completely remodeling and refurbishing the kitchen with all new fixtures and equipment. Over a four month period they deep cleaned, painted and made the establishment brand new.

A lot of the (equipment) was six months, seven months backed out because of Covid, Manny said. You couldnt find a doughnut display anywhere. My dad constructed the doughnut display himself.

The front room of Sugar y Spice is a work of art, decked out with stainless steel countertops and a doughnut display that would rival any big city bakery.

Everything she (our baker) does is from scratch, said Lupe. She comes in on a Saturday or Sunday and prepares all of the icing for the doughnuts. Thats why its a gourmet doughnut.

The business makes many types of doughnuts on a daily basis. They also have specialty items like brownies, cinnamon rolls, crullers, muffins and sticky buns. Other goodies are on the way soon.

When you crave a doughnut you usually want something to drink with it. Sugar y spice makes their coffee from scratch using fresh coffee beans. They also provide piping hot chocolate  regular and Mexican style.

Its been a total hit for us! Lupe said.

Other cold beverages are on hand for the really thirsty customer at a self-serve station. In fact, everything made and displayed at the bakery is ready for expedited pick up. Go in, select the doughnuts you want, pay and you are out of there.

The shop has been selling out of doughnuts so quickly that they devised a preorder system where hungry miners and others can text in their needs for a quick-go box.

Basically, the order has to be placed before 4 p.m. the day before, Manny said.

Doughnuts are not the only specialty of the house. The company makes breakfast and lunch burritos ready to go. There are several options available and they are displayed in the quick serve burrito warmer area right up front. Of course, all of the ingredients, including the beans, are prepared from scratch. Red potatoes line the shelves of the storage area ready for peeling and cooking by hand. Lupe even orders the meat locally so it can be cooked on site.

I get the meat from the local Carniceria los Compadres, Lupe said. We cut it up here, marinate it.

The salsa is also handmade with completely fresh ingredients. In fact, it is grandmas salsa made from Mannys grandmothers (Socorro Marin) own recipe.

We want to give everybody that sense of freshness as if your mom or grandma cooked it in your kitchen, Manny said.

Sugar y Spice owners recognize that some in the community are not as fortunate.

When we dont sell out, I try to deliver the doughnuts to FISH by noon because I know they feed the people down there, Lupe said.



Elkos Favorite Foods: A gourmet gallery:

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UPDATE, Wednesday 10 November: Loon Mountain bone fragments aren't Maura Murray, investigators confirm

The sister of Maura Murray, a Massachusetts woman who mysteriously vanished from the scene of a New Hampshire car accident 17 years ago, says the testing of bone fragments found near the site of her disappearance could take several months.

Murray, who was 21 at the time, has not been heard from since going missing after crashing her car on Route 112 in Woodsville, New Hampshire, in February 2004.

Her case has gained national and international attention, developing into an obsession for the online true-crime community and featuring in numerous podcasts and television documentaries.

Bone fragments found on Loon Mountain construction site

In September this year, what is potentially the most significant lead so far in the search for Murray emerged when human bone fragments were found on a construction site on New Hampshires Loon Mountain, located some 25 miles from Woodsville.

New Hampshire State Police explained in a statement released after the discovery that the human remains would be tested "to determine age and possible sex", but Murrays sister Julie says she has been told this is likely to be a slow process.

"On Monday I asked officials for an update and an estimated timeline," Julie Murray said in a blog post on the Murray familys website on Tuesday. "They told me it may take several months for examination and testing results.

"In speaking with one expert familiar with the initial assessment, there may be evidence to suggest the gender of the remains which gives us hope; however, we want to see definitive results which hopefully will come soon."

Wait for news on bone fragments "really, really hard"

Speaking to WBZ-TV following the discovery on Loon Mountain, Julie Murray described the wait for news on the bone fragments as "gut wrenching". "This is really, really hard []," she said. "Im hoping this is it, but its not going to destroy us if it isnt. Well just keep looking."
Headlines

- Volcano now into its seventh week of activity, having begun on 19 September

- Some La Palma schools limit on-site classes due to ash cloud

- Copernicus observations detect over 2,600 buildings in La Palma have been destroyed. No new buildings affected on 2 November

- Spanish government to provide further 70 million among its support measures

- New lava flowing into previously formed 'lava tunnels'

- Concerns about La Palma air quality following main cone collapse

- Over 35,000 earthquakes and tremors recorded in La Palma over the past month

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?

Cumbre Vieja eruption: live video
China has made great achievements in scientific and technological innovation during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

As China embarks on a new journey to build a modern socialist country in all respects, sci-tech innovation will play a vital role in promoting the country's overall development.

According to the Global Innovation Index released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China moved up from 29th place in 2015 to 12th this year in the world ranking.

The following are facts and figures reflecting the progress of the country's sci-tech fields.

CUTTING-EDGE SCI-TECH PROGRESS

-- In December 2020, researchers established the quantum computer prototype "Jiuzhang" through which up to 76 photons were detected, achieving quantum computational advantage. This achievement marks that China has reached the first milestone on the path to full-scale quantum computing -- a quantum computational advantage, also known as "quantum supremacy," which indicates an overwhelming quantum computational speedup.

-- China launched the second comprehensive scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in June 2017, 40 years after the first expedition. Lasting five to ten years, the expedition members will conduct a series of studies focusing on the Plateau's glaciers, biodiversity, and ecological changes. They will also monitor changes in the region's climate.

-- China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest filled-aperture and most sensitive radio telescope, officially began operating on Jan. 11, 2020.

-- On Aug. 1, 2019, a hybrid artificial intelligence (AI) chip named Tianjic enables a bike to not only balance itself but steer itself around obstacles, respond to voice commands, and even make independent decisions.

-- The China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) went into service in March 2018. The CSNS is the country's first and the world's fourth pulsed spallation neutron source.

-- In July 2017, the world's first production line for high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel elements started mass production at China North Nuclear Fuel, headquartered in Baotou in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

-- On June 15, 2017, China launched a space telescope, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), or Insight, to observe black holes, neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts, and other celestial phenomena.

EXPLORING SPACE, DEEP SEA

-- China's Tianwen-1 mission, comprising an orbiter, lander and rover, was launched on July 23, 2020. The rover Zhurong has traveled more than 1,000 meters since it landed on Mars at the southern part of Utopia Planitia in May 2021.

Before Zhurong, five American rovers had landed on Mars. Although a latecomer, Zhurong has a unique innovation - it is the first Mars rover equipped with active suspension.

-- The Chang'e-5 probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and a returner, was launched on Nov. 24, 2020.

The return capsule landed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Dec. 17, 2020, retrieving about 1,731 grams of moon samples. The China National Space Administration delivered approximately 17 grams of sample to 13 institutions. They each applied for research programs.

-- The Chang'e-4 probe, launched on Dec. 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019.

The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have worked for 1,000 Earth days on the far side of the moon as of Sept. 29, 2021. The rover Yutu-2 has traveled 839.37 meters and obtained 3,632.01 gigabytes (GB) of data.

-- Fendouzhe, China's deep-sea manned submersible, successfully reached the Mariana Trench, going to a depth of 10,909 meters and setting a new record for China's manned deep-diving on Nov. 10, 2020.

SERVING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

-- A giant shield tunneling machine with a diameter of 16 meters rolled off the production line on Sept. 27, 2020, in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province. This machine is 150 meters in length and 4,300 tonnes in weight and is the largest shield tunneling machine produced by China so far.

-- By the end of 2020, the country had more than 37,900 km of high-speed rail lines in service, the longest in the world, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.(China Railway), the country's railway operator.

With maximum speeds of 350 kph on many lines, the network links all of China's major mega-city clusters and has become more than merely a faster mode of choice for domestic long-distance travel.

-- China officially commissioned the BDS (BeiDou Navigation Satellite System) on July 31, 2020, opening the new BDS-3 system to global users. Since then, the BDS-3 system has been operating smoothly and providing stable quality services to global users.

-- China launched its carbon dioxide monitoring satellite TanSat on Dec. 22, 2016, becoming the third country after Japan and the United States to monitor greenhouse gases through its own satellite.

The satellite's mission is to achieve high-precision monitoring of the global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and provide satellite data for scientific research.

-- A type of rice breeding accelerator has shortened the rice growth period from 120 days to 60 days. Helped by the technique, rice breeding will likely increase from two to six generations per year.

-- A total of 24 domestic COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for clinical trials, and nine of them entered the third phase of clinical trials. Meanwhile, there are 59 COVID-19 nucleic acid detection reagents approved for the market.
Photo for illustration (Photo by Thai Nguyen)

The event will be held to mark the 91st anniversary of the traditional day of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (November 18, 1930 - November 18, 2021) and the 76th anniversary of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23, 1945 - November 23, 2021).

Diverse activities will be held during the week. The highlight will be the opening programme and exhibitions to promote investment in the village.

In addition to the regular activities of the 13 ethnic groups at the village, there will be performances of traditional musical instruments of the Mong ethnic group and the Spring Festival (Nao pe chau), a festival of the Mong ethnic group.

The week aims to promoting the cultural identity of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam in the implementation of the "All people unite to build cultural life" movement, protecting cultural heritage values and building an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity; arousing the spirit of solidarity of the whole nation and promote the good traditions of the nations, spreading the spirit of mutual affection and love for the homeland and the people of Vietnam.

This is also an activity to introduce the Vietnam Ethnic Culture and Tourism Village after it was temporarily closed for COVID-19 prevention and control./.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung (left) and Head of the EPS office of Vietnam Pham Minh Duc (Photo: VNA)

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Pham Minh Duc, Head of the office, said that under the EPS, Vietnam has sent 110,000 workers to the RoK over the past 16 years.

The office was established in 2013. In collaboration with Vietnams labour management board in the RoK, it has met with and provided direct consultations for thousands of labourers on weekends. The office has also offered between 100 and 150 consultations over phone per week.

According to Duc, these activities have made an important contribution to supporting Vietnamese workers, thus reducing the rate of illegal labourers in the RoK from 40 percent in 2013 to less than 26 percent in 2020./.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends the opening ceremony of the World Leaders Summit at the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, Britain, Nov. 1, 2021. World leaders on Monday called for concrete actions to tackle the challenges of climate change at the COP26. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

GLASGOW, Britain, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- World leaders on Monday called for concrete actions to tackle the challenges of climate change at the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26).

"This COP must be a moment of solidarity. The 100 billion U.S. dollars a year climate finance commitment in support of developing countries must become a 100 billion dollars climate finance reality," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his speech at the World Leaders Summit at COP26.

"This is critical to restoring trust and credibility," he said.

In 2009, developed countries, who built their wealth by burning fossil fuels and have contributed most to the climate crisis, pledged 100 billion dollars a year to help lower-income nations by 2020. However, they still have not made good on the pledge. Recent reports indicate that this goal could slip to 2023.

Guterres added that beyond the 100 billion dollars, developing countries need "far greater resources" to fight COVID-19, build resilience and pursue sustainable development.

"Visions will come true only when we act on them," Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a written statement.

Parties need to honor their commitments, set realistic targets and visions, and do their best according to national conditions to deliver their climate action measures, Xi said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose country hosts the two-week climate gathering, said, "while COP26 will not be the end of climate change, it can and it must mark the beginning of the end."

Admitting that developed nations' support for developing countries is "still falling short," U.S. President Joe Biden said, "there's no more time to hang back or sit on the fence or argue amongst ourselves."

"This is the challenge of our collective lifetimes; the existential threat to human existence as we know it. And every day we delay, the cost of inaction increases," he said.

Seychellois President Wavel Ramkalawan said he is "scared" of the impact climate change will have on his country as "the beautiful archipelago of 115 islands may be reduced to less than 50 islands as the coral islands disappear."

COP26, delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, kicked off on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the first conference after the five-year review cycle under the Paris Agreement inked in 2015. Enditem
Ukraine has registered 23,393 new cases of COVID-19, as well as 11,937 recoveries and 720 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Health Ministry press service said on Wednesday.

"More than 18 million shots have been administered since the beginning of the vaccination campaign! Over the past day, November 2, Ukraine has registered 23,393 new cases of COVID-19 (including 1,406 children and 421 medical workers), while 310,439 people have been vaccinated for COVID-19, among them 229,100 persons who received their first shot and 81,339 persons who have completed their vaccination. In the past 24 hours, 5,935 persons have been hospitalized, 720 have died, and 111,937 have recovered," the ministry said on Telegram.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ukraine has seen a total of 2,979,086 coronavirus infections, including 2,466,674 recoveries and 69,447 deaths.

To date, 10,682,752 persons have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in Ukraine, including 10,682,750 who have received their first shot and 7,596,587 who have been fully vaccinated (among them two persons who received their first shot of the vaccine abroad). As many as 18,279,337 shots have been administered.
Opponents of vaccination for COVID-19 are blocking traffic on Hrushevskoho Street and a number of other main streets in Kyiv adjacent to the area where the government is located on Wednesday.

Several hundred people are taking part in the protest, and none are wearing masks, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported from the site. The protesters demand lifting the quarantine restrictions and resuming regular classes in school, among other things, and they oppose the vaccine mandate.

The protesters began gathering near the Ukrainian parliament at 8:00 a.m., and more protesters are coming in.

Once traffic has been blocked, the protesters plan to hold a meeting near the building of the Verkhovna Rada.

Police are trying to persuade the protesters to unblock the streets for public transportation at the least.
Ukraine has one of highest death rates from COVID-19 in world for second day in a row

The number of active cases of coronavirus infection in Ukraine over the past day (442,965) has again set a record for the entire time since the beginning of the pandemic, exceeding the previous day (432,229), according to the website of the Monitoring System for the Spread of the Coronavirus Epidemic of the Office of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC).

In the previous peaks in the incidence of COVID-19, the number of active infections reached 425,339 on April 20 and 384,510 on December 7, 2021.

The number of deaths of people infected with COVID-19 over the past day (720) exceeded the figure of the past day and is second only to the figure on October 26, when it reached 734. In the previous peaks of morbidity, daily mortality did not exceed 481 cases on April 7 and 285 cases on December 11, 2020, respectively.

The number of new infections per day (23,393) also exceeded the figure for the past day, but remains significantly lower than the figures for the past week, when the number of cases per day reached 26,870.

According to the website Worldometer.info, as of November 2, the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Ukraine per day was 10.2% of the world (700 out of 6,867), and our country was the third in the absolute number of deaths after the Russian Federation and the United States. At the same time, Ukraine was only the fifth (after the United States, Russia, Great Britain and Turkey) in terms of the number of both new cases of infection (19,455 or 5.06% of the world) and active cases of the disease (432,229 or 2.36% of the world).

For the rest of Ukraine's neighbors, the corresponding indicators were significantly lower. In Poland, nine deaths and 4,514 cases were recorded per day, in Romania - 586 deaths and 11,073 cases, in Hungary - 39 deaths and 1,867 cases, in Belarus - 16 deaths and 1,979 cases, in Slovakia - 31 deaths and 2 287 cases, in Moldova - 42 deaths and 1,074 cases.

As of November 3, statistical information has not yet been received from all of the above countries. All the aforementioned indicators in Ukraine have increased per day, but statistically not significantly.

In the regional context, the maximum mortality rate of those infected with COVID-19 in Ukraine was recorded in Kyiv (69 cases), Odesa, Cherkasy (46 each), Dnipropetrovsk (45), Kyiv, Sumy (44 each) and Lviv (41) regions, the minimum - in Kherson (1), Zakarpattia (5) and Kirovohrad (6). The maximum incidence is in Kyiv (2,024 cases per day), Dnipropetrovsk (1,935), Odesa (1,858) and Zaporizhia (1,558), the minimum is in Kirovohrad and Chernihiv (119 and 264 cases, respectively) regions.

In terms of the number of active cases, Odesa region is in the lead (42,702), the least - in Kirovohrad region (2 841). Luhansk region became the only one where the number of people who recovered per day exceeded the number of cases.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky did not have time to speak at the session of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow (UK) on reducing methane emissions at the time when he was announced by U.S. President's Special Envoy for Climate Affairs John Kerry, because he was at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba.

"While all sorts of stories about Kerry's announcement of Ukraine's turn to speak, and Ukraine was absent in the hall, are being dispersed in the media, they do not tell you that it was at this time that the meeting of the President of Ukraine with Secretary of State Antony Blinken was taking place. And since it was very substantive and longstanding, they talked a lot, it's banal thing that just a floating schedule did not allow us to get into the hall on time. Trust me, it was an extremely important conversation, extremely useful and extremely confidential," Kuleba said live on Facebook on Wednesday.

At the same time, he noted that Ukraine had warned the organizers that it was not in time for the President's speech, and the failure occurred not from Ukraine, but from the organizers of this event.

"Let's, as they say, carefully watch our hands. Who started to disperse the story that there seemed to be a scandal, the President of Ukraine was not present at the meeting when John Kerry was leading it and announced Ukraine's turn to speak? Russian media began to do this," the minister said.

Kuleba pointed out that on the sidelines of the conference, the President of Ukraine had a very good talk with both U.S. President Joseph Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"Of course, the main topic of our conversation with them was the situation in Donbas and what we, together with our partners, can do to stop Russia, to force it to behave constructively in negotiations, as well as the issue of the energy security of our state. These are the topics that the President of Ukraine paid special attention to during his contacts," he said.

The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry urged not to be involved in Russian provocations in this regard. "Let's not be in sucked all these Russian fakes and all their provocations, with the bile that they are actively sprinkling in the information space, trying to discredit Ukraine. There was nothing like that, a normal organizational moment," he added.

Kuleba also drew attention to the fact that during the climate conference in Glasgow, the President of Ukraine held 13 bilateral meetings and contacts.
First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Oleksiy Liubchenko, who has submitted his resignation, is being searched by law enforcement officers, a law enforcement source told Interfax-Ukraine.

"Searches are underway," said the agency's interlocutor, without specifying any details. According to media reports, searches at Liubchenko's house may be related to tax evasion.
The Verkhovna Rada has supported the resignation of Oleksiy Liubchenko from the post of First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

The corresponding decision was voted for by 320 MPs at a plenary session on Wednesday.

Liubchenko has been in the post of First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy since May 20, 2021. Prior to that, he headed the State Tax Service for a little over a year, and in 2015-2020 he was the first Vice President of PrJSC Ukragrokhimholding.

As reported, following the meeting of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction on November 1, candidacy of Deputy Head of the President's Office Yulia Svyrydenko will probably be considered for the post of First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine if Liubchenko resigns.
The Verkhovna Rada has eliminated inconsistencies in the text of the adopted law on de-oligarchization (bill No. 5599).

Thus, the majority of deputies at the plenary session on Wednesday supported the elimination of inconsistencies in Articles 5, 7 and Article 9 of the law.

According to the proposals published in the comparative table on the website of the parliament and for which the deputies voted, the body that makes the decision on recognizing a person as an oligarch is the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC). At the same time, the NSDC is also authorized to exclude a person from the relevant register.

In addition, the Rada supported the proposal of first Deputy Speaker Oleksandr Korniyenko that the bill should be signed by chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk.

As reported, on September 23 the parliament adopted at the second reading the presidential bill on prevention of threats to national security associated with the excessive influence of persons who have significant economic or political weight in public life (oligarchs) (No. 5599).

Later, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence appealed to the speaker with a request to re-vote the law on oligarchs No. 5599, adopted on September 23, in connection with a legal conflict that arose. As head of the Holos faction, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, explained, deputies simultaneously took into account three amendments (396, 398, 406), which contradict one another.

According to the 398th amendment, the decision on recognizing a person with significant economic or political weight in public life is made by the head of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) after the appeal of the Commission on Counteracting the Excessive Influence of Persons with significant economic or political weight in public life.

At the same time, in the 406th amendment, the decision on recognizing a person as an oligarch is made by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on the basis of a submission from the Cabinet of Ministers, a member of the NSDC, the National Bank, the Security Service or the Antimonopoly Committee.

The electronic minutes state that amendments 396 and 398 were not separately voted on for their support.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk, presiding over the plenary session on Thursday, when voting on amendment 406, did not name amendments 396 and 398 as automatically rejected.

Bill No. 5599 was considered at the second reading according to a special procedure and only 13 amendments were made, approved by the relevant committee (on national security issues). All other amendments were considered automatically rejected, which was reported by Stefanchuk every time a vote was taken.
On Thursday, November 4, at 11.30, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a roundtable talk entitled "Creative industry as new driving force of economy in Ukraine and world," a unique system of relations based on the new non-governmental platform I-Dolina (Ukrainian Silicon Valley) will be presented. Participants include Chairman of the International Technology Transfer Association, founder of I-Dolina Artem Honcharenko; President of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, former Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services Lev Partskhaladze; Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC IBOX BANK Rostyslav Nakonechny; representative of the Information Committee of the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce Oleh Sytnyk; Director of the Institute of Digital Transformation, Ph.D. in Economics, former CEO of Microsoft Ukraine Nadiya Vasilyeva; fundraising expert, Managing partner of the Synergy Universe group of companies Svitlana Olieinikova; Head of the audiovisual authors' society ARMA Ukraine, founder of UNI.UA Dmytro Kolesnykov; Director of Kyiv Junior Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences Iryna Polischuk; Chairman of the Board of the Ukraine-Israel Business Council Oleksandr Pavlov; member of the Supervisory Board of the International Technology Transfer Association Oleksandr Tepliuk. Participants online: Chief Engineer, CTO Security at Cisco Andriy Zavadovsky; Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-nominated producer and writer Den Tolmor (8/5a Reitarska Street). The broadcast will be available on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Due to quarantine restrictions, the number of seats in the press center is limited. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot.
On Friday, November 5, at 11.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host press conference with the participation of Executive Director of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future (UIF) Vadym Denysenko entitled "Why are ratings of Volodymyr Zelensky falling?" according to the results of a sociological survey conducted by the UIF with the assistance of "New Image Marketing Group," some 2,400 respondents were interviewed using the face-to-face method (8/5a Reitarska Street). The broadcast will be available on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Due to quarantine restrictions, the number of seats in the press center is limited. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Greece, Cyprus and France on Friday discussed means of boosting cooperation in various fields including energy, climate change, combating coronavirus, and migration, a communique on their meeting in Athens said.
The Military Joint Committee between Egypt and Israel agreed to increase the number of Egyptian border guards at the Rafah border area with Israel, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced on Monday.
Libya's parliament speaker Aguila Saleh registered Saturday to run in next month's presidential election, joining a military strongman and the son of Moamer Kadhafi in the contest.
Al-Ahram Weekly sounds out experts on the decision to introduce the Administrative Capital for Urban Development Company as an IPO on the Egyptian Stock Exchange

The state-owned Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) Company may be listed on the stock exchange within two years, according to statements by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi on Saturday.

We are talking about raising some LE100 billion. The Companys assets are estimated at between LE3 and LE4 trillion, Al-Sisi said during the opening of a number of residential projects in Badr city.

Following Al-Sisis announcement, Ahmed Zaki Abdine, CEO of ACUD, said the companys assets included the land portfolio under development. He said that much of the land had been sold, with ownership moved to real-estate development companies. There were also government facilities not considered under the ownership of ACUD, he said.

ACUD was established by presidential decree in 2016. It is the owner and developer of the land at the New Administrative Capital, the first phase of which is under construction. The company is owned by the New Urban Communities Authority and the National Service Projects Organisation.

Abdine said ACUD had a land portfolio of 174,000 feddans, and the first phase was finalised on an area of 47,000 feddans. The second and third phases will follow. Land left undeveloped will be assessed in order to estimate the real size of the companys assets, he added.

The value of the companys land portfolio is increasing year by year as a result of the development taking place and the high standards of the infrastructure projects, Abdine stated.

Financial inflows from instalments paid to the company for land sold in the first phase and planned to be sold in the second phase guarantee the availability of the liquid funds mentioned, he added.

The New Administrative Capital is a three-phase project covering an area of 700 square km east of Cairo. It will transform the desert into a modern urban hub of government buildings, embassies, and leading companies and will host the tallest tower in Africa.

The government is scheduled to move up to 50,000 employees to the New Administrative Capital by December, and the monorail linking it with Cairo is expected to become operational by mid-2022.

The LE100 billion initial public offering (IPO), Egypts largest ever, is awaiting the appointment of a financial advisor, lead regulator, and bookrunner.

Hani Tawfik, chairman of the Direct Investment Association, said the announcement of the IPO had had a positive impact on stock market indices, which rose during Sundays session by about 1.5 per cent.

He added that more important than the announcement of the offering was its overall significance, meaning that the state was paving the way for the entry of private and foreign investment.

Tawfik said the IPO would attract foreign and Arab investors who often prefer to invest in real-estate stocks that are known for their good performance on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

The introduction of ACUD as an IPO is expected to increase liquidity in the market and attract more local and international investors. Telecom Egypt was previously the largest IPO since 2015, collecting LE5.1 billion.

Toka Al-Waziri, a real estate analyst with Beltone, an investment bank, believes the announcement of the ACUD offering means that the market is witnessing an increase in listed real-estate stocks. It would revitalise the market due to the large amount of liquidity involved, she said.

The preparatory steps preceding the offering will reveal information about Egypts real estate market, the size of the demand for ACUD stocks, and the units for which there is high demand, Al-Waziri said.

It is crucial that the offering be well-publicised at home and abroad, she added.

We are in the planning stage now and can start the procedures for choosing advisers and deciding the size of the offering early next year, Abdine told the US Bloomberg channel. We hope this IPO will be the largest in Egypts history.

The offering will take place on the Egyptian Stock Exchange and very possibly in another international market as well, he added. We are studying this option.

Al-Waziri believes that the IPOs the government had earlier announced, but then postponed, will attract more investors to the ACUD IPO if implemented or partially executed.

Egypts IPO programme surfaced in 2018 with the target of offering 23 public companies on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. But by March 2019, only 4.5 per cent of Eastern Tobacco shares had been offered. Other IPOs were postponed due to unsuitable circumstances.

It was expected that Banque du Caire and e-finance, a national developer of digital payments infrastructure, would be among the first companies to be offered. It was also anticipated that additional shares would be offered in Alexandria Containers and Cargo Handling, Abu Qir Fertilisers, and Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals, but the plans were postponed.

Al-Waziri said that Egypts real estate sector has been revitalised over the past year. The year before, the sector had witnessed a slowdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, she said. According to the performance of companies listed on the bourse, all real-estate sectors have recovered.

Besides promoting the ACUD IPO, it should also be accompanied by exemptions on taxes on investing in the stock exchange and stamp duties on buying or selling whether profits are garnered or not, she added.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 19 August, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The new Opera House is planned to be the largest in the Middle East

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi toured on Sunday the new Opera House in the Arts and Culture City at the New Administrative Capital (NAC) to follow up on the progress of construction works, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said.

The president's inspection tour comes after his attendance earlier in the day of Charity Doors (Abwab Al-Kheir) ceremony, which targets raising the living standards of about 5 million citizens.

The new Opera House, which is planned to be the largest in the Middle East, is located within the 127-feddan Arts and Culture City along with theatres, cinemas, libraries, and museums.

The new capital, one of the country's mega-urban development projects, was due to be inaugurated by mid-2020, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed the move till the end of 2021.

The 700-square-kilometre New Administrative Capital, located 60km from Cairo in the area between the Cairo-Suez and Cairo-Ain Sokhna roads, was launched in 2015 by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and is set to house 6.5 million people.

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The district will attract international companies given the availability of the necessary facilities, the cabinet said

The Egyptian government has received an offer from a Chinese company to operate and manage the Central Business District (CBD) at the New Administrative Capital, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told cabinet members on Monday.

The Chinese offer included a proposed programme for operating the district, according to a statement released by the cabinet.

The cabinet statement was light on the offer's details.

The cabinet, however, added that the Chinese company's representatives said the CBD will attract major international companies given the availability of the necessary facilities that will help provide stability for these entities.

Madbouly instructed the government to study the offer before giving the final decision.

"We are in talks over the operation and management plan for the CBD to ensure it is well-managed and operated in line with the nature of the [New Administrative

Capital] project that is being implemented per the latest global systems according to the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi," the statement quoted Madbouly as saying.

New commercial area in Egypt

The CBD, which will be home to 20 towers, is being built in cooperation between the Ministry of Housing, represented by the New Urban Communities Authority, and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), one of the largest construction companies in the world.

The district includes the near-complete 78-floor Iconic Tower, almost 400-metre-high, which is set to be the tallest building in Africa.

Work on the tower officially began in May 2018 with the digging of the land, while the construction of the building started in February 2019. In February 2021, Egypt announced that 60 floors were completed.

Investments in the CBD project are estimated at $3 billion.

The New Administrative Capital, a mega 700-square-kilometre city, located 60km from Cairo in the area between the Cairo-Suez and Cairo-Ain Sokhna roads, was launched in 2015 and is set to house 6.5 million people.

Thousands of public sector employees are scheduled to be relocated to the new capital in the near future.

Government offices were due to be relocated to the new capital by mid-2020, but the step was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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A new book details how the Obama administration secretly supported the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood across the Middle East in the wake of the 2011 Arab uprisings, writes Hany Ghoraba

While it is becoming a known political fact that the former US Obama administration facilitated the meteoric rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East after the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, few books have linked it to Brotherhood leaders in the United States and abroad in the terrorist groups ambitions to rule the Middle East.

However, a recent book The Arab Spring Ruse: How the Muslim Brotherhood Duped Washington in Libya and Syria by US political writer and counter-terrorism expert John Rossomando, does just that. Rossomando has written for over a decade for a myriad of US political and counter-terrorism media outlets and newspapers.

In his book, which was published in October, Rossomando uncovers a number of links between the Obama administration and the Brotherhood. Despite the books small size, it is heavily researched and documented with online links or citations for every incident covered in its pages. It may entice readers to read more on the subjects discussed, given the details it has exposed.

Few had realised how dramatically the Obama administration had altered official US government policy towards the Muslim Brotherhood until the moment US-backed Muslim Brotherhood parties made grabs for power in Egypt, Libya and Syria, Rossomando writes. His book details the Obama administrations changes in detail, showing how it levelled the field for the terrorist group while assisting it in grabbing power in Egypt, Libya and Syria.

While the book focuses mainly on the cases of Libya and Syria as two countries that are still suffering from the onslaught of over a decade of civil war, it also gives clues on how the Obama administration favoured the Brotherhood in countries such as Egypt after the beginning of the Arab Spring.

Rossomando elaborates on how far the Obama administration strayed from the path of previous US foreign policy, leaving one that had been consistent for many years. Previous Democratic and Republican administrations never publicly engaged or dealt with the Muslim Brotherhood or its affiliates. According to the author, both parties presidents recognised that the Muslim Brotherhood or its affiliated groups or front organisations were dangerous and linked to terrorist groups. The Obama administrations decision to ignore its predecessors policies towards the Brotherhood marked a significant turn of events.

The decision to engage the Muslim Brotherhood marked a historic change in American foreign policy, created a new paradigm in the Middle East, and set into motion a series of events that had catastrophic results: the Muslim Brotherhoods resurgence, the overthrow of at least two

governments, Al-Qaeda in Iraqs transformation into the ISIS [the Islamic State group] caliphate, failed governments in Syria and Iraq, millions of refugees and displaced individuals, and the resulting destabilising migration flows, Rossomando writes.

According to his book, former US president Barack Obama went as far as to issue a secret directive called Directive 13 (PPD-13). This then shaped US foreign policy related to economic and political reform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The Obama administration believed it was necessary to separate the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda. Empowering the Muslim Brotherhood would, according to Obama, weaken Al-Qaeda in a decision that can be considered as one of the severest cases of political naivete in modern times.

The core fault of the Obama administration was its adoption of a false rhetoric, presented for years by Islamist activists and later liberal Western politicians and pundits, that there is a distinction between the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda. But the truth remains that the Brotherhood must be judged on its criminal and terrorist record, starting from the 1940s in Egypt and then moving to other countries.

The groups founder, Hassan Al-Banna, and its main ideologue, Sayed Qutb, remain the main references for Islamist or Jihadist group across the planet. Hence, attempting to separate them off from the groups they give rise to is nothing less than farcical.

Yet, Obama, according to Rossomando, instructed US diplomats to expand their contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood and to coordinate with it in its quest to seek power in Syria, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. Brotherhood activists controlled the narrative on events in Syria and Libya for the Obama administration and even the US media. Eventually, that controlled to directing the policies of the administration towards assisting the ascension of the Brotherhood to positions of power.

Furthermore, the book discusses the growing influence of Brotherhood-affiliated groups in the US, such as the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Centre in Falls Church in Virginia. This was instrumental in bringing the US into the Libyan conflict, according to the author. It has been linked to some of the most notorious Islamist leaders, such as Anwar Al-Awlaki, the Al-Qaeda leader who was killed by a US drone-strike in Yemen in 2011.

The book sheds light on the complicated yet close relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda. Supporters of liberal factions opposed to the Islamists in Libya and Syria report they were ostracised by the Obama administration from any decision-making in these two countries.

The Arab Spring began with rhetoric about freedom and democracy, but we now know it was an Islamist Spring that brought only death, suffering and oppression. Who knows what might have been had Barack Obama stood against the Brotherhood and its supporters, concludes Rossomando in his excellent book, which uncovers what US mainstream political pundits have attempted to hide for over a decade.

He uncovers what dozens of other books on the Arab Spring have failed even to scratch the surface about. It is rare for a book of this length to contain as much detail about a decade-long struggle in the Middle East fuelled by a US administration. The book is an indictment of an era when a US administration led by Obama placed all its weight behind pushing an Islamist agenda in the Middle East and tossing all US security concerns and diplomatic traditions out of the window.

Alas, the whitewashing of the Obama administrations misdeeds in the Middle East is still ongoing, even though some may describe that administration as literally getting away with murder. The destruction of the Syrian and Libyan states and the ongoing war on terrorism in the region resulting from Obamas policies have been mostly overlooked in US coverage of the Arab Spring.

But now along comes a book that has done much to uncover what the US liberal media has attempted to bury for a decade.

* The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring: The Long and Winding Road to Democracy.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Looking for balanced reporting on Egypt in the Western media can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, part of a phenomenon produced by the Muslim Brotherhood/

How does the West see us? is a question that anyone visiting Egypt often hears. Egypt is seen in the West as an authoritarian and tyrannical dystopia, would be the honest answer. Almost always, the wondering words, but, why? follow. Most Egyptians do not feel that this description matches the Egypt they are living in.

As a result, because there are no easy answers as to why the narrative on their country tends to be negative, arguments about the West plotting against the Arab countries tend to fill the void. Such conspiracy theories strengthen anti-Western sentiment and represent an obstacle towards peace, dialogue and cooperation.

However, the anti-Egyptian narrative is an equally unfortunate obstacle that ought also to be deconstructed.

Looking for positive or balanced reporting on Egypt in the Western media can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Little to no attention is given to the progress occurring in Egypt such as the increased protection of Egypts Christians, the renovation of previously damaged Jewish heritage sites and synagogues, the combating of extremism and terrorist recruitment, the reform of religious teaching and Islamic interpretation and the promotion of ideological diversity among scholars of theology.

Other areas where progress has been made lie in urging Egyptian immigrants in the West to respect Western values, improving the countrys infrastructure and housing challenges, combating childhood diseases and mortality rates and strengthening womens rights in society and politics.

As commentator Cynthia Farahat has noted, while there is certainly room for improvement in the regimes governance and policies, it is no less important to recognise President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi for the historic reformer he is. Celebratory descriptions aside, even moderately bright reports about, for instance, how Al-Sisi seems to have no weakness for corruption, as the US magazine New Yorker puts it, are quite rare. Instead, negative stories seem to dominate Western discourse, leading to a narrative that remains largely unquestioned.

An old and overused, but certainly valid explanation, is that orientalism still exists across most of Western media. For instance, a 2017 article in the New Yorker said that Egyptian pride sometimes drives policy, and officials have a reputation for being hot-tempered. A 2014 article in the US publication Politico noted that the US trained him and funds his regime. So why wont Al-Sisi listen?

There are countless more examples of such stereotypical portrayals and neocolonialist conceptualisations in the Western media. Taken together, they create an image of a country that cannot be trusted to govern and protect itself.

A case in point was when in November 2020 the Austrian police conducted more than 50 raids against members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in that country. Shortly after the terrorist attack that occurred in the same month, they announced a set of security measures aimed at preventing terrorism and curbing increasingly violent extremism. Despite some heavy criticism, the consensus was one of acceptance and understanding of the police actions given the circumstances.

Why should the same right not be granted to Egypt, which ranked 14 in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index, when most European countries rank far lower in terms of the terrorist threat?

At the same time, evidence of Eurocentrism can also be found in the pragmatic policies that many Western countries pursue. These policies are seen to benefit the West without regard for how they might negatively impact the other party, in this case Egypt.

The inclusion promotes moderation principle is a good example here. The assumption is that, once in power, the MB would become less extreme and act as a firewall between the West and more extreme terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. But history has shown us that this is not the case, since the same thing was argued about Hitlers rise to power in Germany in the 1930s, and his rule certainly proved the opposite.

While the MB cannot be compared to Hitlers Nazi Party, it does have the potential for danger and mayhem. But the West seems to focus on the positive (its self-declarations of non-violence) instead of the glaringly negative (its actual record of terrorism and extremism). The MB lobby has played an important role in skillfully manipulating the narrative to its benefit, something it is still good at doing.

Since the early 1990s, the MB has been expanding in the European public arena and promoting its ideological agenda through cultural, commercial and social functions. It has managed to present itself as the representative of Muslims in general and thus hide itself in moderate ranks. Combined with the perks of living in a tolerant society in Europe, the MB silences critical voices by accusing them of Islamophobia and intimidates anyone linking it to a particular organisation by simply suing.

Because of its immense funding, it can afford to do so. This financial backing also allows the MB to influence politics, the media and even academia in the West. What does this have to do with the Western narrative on Egypt? Everything.

By hiding behind cultural institutions and religious communities, the MB has been actively taking part in the Western discourse and shaping it in its favour. A big part of the MB effort is devoted to trying to ensure that Egypt gets a bad press in the West in order to demonise the Egyptian government. The more negative the coverage of the Egyptian government in the Western media, the more sympathy the MB can garner for itself. Countering such claims would be to question the alleged lived experiences of poor Muslim immigrants.

One recent example was provided by Amir Al-Shami, an Austrian socialist turned Salafi with Egyptian roots, who said that no one criticises us except for far-right politicians in an interview with a female journalist whose hand he had refused to shake. The fact that the left and centre in many European countries are afraid to touch the subject of the MB means that it will continue to be successful at hiding in plain sight.

Another camouflage technique is the MBs trick of linking itself to international justice movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. This creates the image of the MB being for human rights and equality. The more successful it is at establishing this as a given, the more whatever follows from it is taken to be true.

In other words, if the MB is pro-democracy, then its enemies must be against it. If it is oppressed, then its enemies must be oppressors. As a result, it is no surprise that a negative narrative about Egypt can be built, propagated, and, with time, solidified. Egyptian counterterrorism is thus presented as tyranny, and tyranny needs to be resisted. Counterterrorism becomes crackdown, and terrorism becomes resistance.

It is high time for the MBs ideology to be unveiled as the totalitarian, radical and anti-democratic one that it is. At present, the dispersed members of the MB are not living in a democratic manner in the West, they are merely surviving it.

Western audiences need to be aware of the MBs influence on how the narrative on Egypt is shaped. Carefully navigating the paradox of an inwardly (mostly) tolerant and an outwardly (often) pragmatic and orientalist West, the MB has been tirelessly working to keep this narrative negative. If things stay this way, the MB will be able to continue to hide in plain sight while enjoying the perks of the victim.

On that note, it would be as well to assure Western readers that the Muslim Brotherhood are not your Muslim brothers.

*The writer is the general secretary of the IISES, a Vienna-based think tank for social and economic studies.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Al-Ahram Weekly reports on the escalating conflict between the London- and Turkish-based wings of the Muslim Brotherhood

On 11 October, Ibrahim Mounir, the London-based acting supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, dismissed six of the groups leaders  Mahmoud Hussein, the Brotherhoods secretary-general; Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, chairman of the Association of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Expatriates; Hammam Ali Youssef, chairman of the Brotherhoods office in Turkey, and three members of the Brotherhoods Shura Council, Medhat Al-Haddad, Mamdouh Mabrouk, and Ragab Al-Banna  all of whom currently reside in Istanbul.

Mounir appointed London-based Osama Suleiman and Sohaib Abdel-Maqsoud as the groups spokespersons, replacing Turkish-based Talaat Fahmi.

In a statement, Mounir accused Brotherhood leaders in Turkey of corruption, telling the London-based Muslim Brotherhood TV channel Al-Hiwar on 15 October that the dismissals were part of an internal corrective movement that included dissolving the Brotherhoods administrative office and Shura Council in Turkey.

Mounirs decisions were rejected by the Muslim Brotherhoods office in Turkey which mooted the possibility of dismissing Mounir from his post as acting supreme guide. The Hussein-led wing in Istanbul said Mounirs decisions represent a coup against the group, and revealed that it was in the process of naming a new supreme guide who can gain the approval of Brotherhood members.

Amr Abdel-Moneim, a researcher on Islamist movements, told Arabiya TV there has long been talk of corruption among the Brotherhoods leaders in Turkey.

The groups Turkish administrative office receives an estimated $1.7 billion monthly in financial donations from different sources, said Abdel-Moneim, and younger members of the group, including many who fled Egypt following the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in 2013, accuse the old guard of using the money to enrich themselves.

Amr Farouk, another researcher, told Sky News TV that the conflict between the groups two wings erupted some months ago, when Egypt and Turkey began to move towards reconciliation. As part of that process, Turkey clamped down on the groups anti-Egyptian television channels, and expelled a number of its media specialists.

Young members now face the threat of being deported from Turkey. They complain of the hardships they face and blame the groups leadership in Istanbul of doing nothing to help them.

MP Mustafa Bakri, editor of the weekly Al-Osbou, believes the Muslim Brotherhood is facing an existential crisis.

After losing power in Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia and Morocco, the group found many doors closing. Even Turkey and Qatar are moving to their support and reconcile with Egypt.

Turkey, which once welcomed the group, is now seeking to uproot it, says Bakri, noting that the only place in which the group now has a safe haven is London.

Bakri argues the crisis within the Brotherhood stems from its lack of credible leadership following the arrest and referral to trial on charges of terrorism and espionage of Mahmoud Ezzat, the groups supreme guide. Cairos Criminal Court announced last week that it will deliver its judgement on Ezzats case on 19 December.

In his interview with Al-Hiwar channel, Mounir conceded Ezzats arrest had left the Brotherhood rudderless.

This is one of the worst crises through which the Muslim Brotherhood has passed and it began when the group was removed from office in Egypt and its then supreme guide  Mohamed Badie  was arrested.

Farouk says young Brothers are angry not only at the corruption of the groups Turkish-based leaders, but at their failure to reach any kind of reconciliation with the government in Egypt, a step which would help towards the release activists currently serving jail terms.

Al-Arabiya.net reported on 16 October that some Brotherhood members in Istanbul had taken to social media, particularly Telegram, to accuse leaders of misusing funds, and that the vitriolic exchanges show how deep the crisis within the group goes.

This conflict, argues Farouk, could lead to Mounirs wing taking control of the Istanbul office, or the Istanbul office declaring its independence from London. The latter case will result in the Brotherhood being divided into two groups, with two heads.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 October, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Ethiopia said Tuesday it was "extremely disappointed" in US President Joe Biden's plan to remove Africa's second most populous country from a key trade programme because of rights concerns related to its year-long war.

"We are extremely disappointed by the threat of AGOA withdrawal currently under consideration by the US government," Ethiopia's trade ministry said in a statement, referring to the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

"These actions will reverse significant economic gains in our country and unfairly impact and harm women and children," the statement said, adding that the decision "must be reversed".

Earlier Tuesday Biden said in a notice to Congress that Ethiopia's AGOA eligibility was set to end as of January 1 due to "gross violations of internationally recognized human rights".

Ethiopia's government has been locked in a war since last November against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated national politics for nearly three decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018.

The United States has been among the most vocal critics of the war, which has featured myriad reports of massacres, mass rapes and what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described as "acts of ethnic cleansing".

Ethiopian officials in recent weeks have led a pressure campaign against removal from AGOA, warning of the consequences, especially for the country's manufacturing sector.

Mamo Mihretu, an adviser to Abiy, wrote in Foreign Policy magazine in October that AGOA had helped boost Ethiopia's exports to the US from $28 million in 2000 to nearly $300 million in 2020, with almost half of that total falling under AGOA.

Tuesday's statement said Abiy's government would "continue to make every effort to correct any unintended or perceived wrongs".

It called on the US "to support our ongoing efforts to restore peace and the rule of law -- not punish our people for confronting an insurgent force that is attempting to bring down our democratically elected government."

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Egypt will vaccinate teens aged between 15 to 18 nationwide starting from Wednesday as the country is expanding its mass vaccination campaign against Covid-19, cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said on Tuesday.

In statements to Sada El-Balad TV channel's "News Room" show, Saad stated there are 8 million Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses allocated to students in schools.

Egypt has already received a total of 8,255,520 doses of the American-German vaccine donated by the United States via COVAX initiative. The last shipment was received on Saturday.

"Medical teams are going to be sent to schools to vaccinate teens because it is hard to depend on this age category in going to the vaccination centres," Saad said.

According to the cabinet spokesman, 12 million citizens received two doses while 25 million citizens received one dose so far. He noted that Egypt currently has 34 million doses available to be administered.

The government has set a goal to vaccinate 40 million citizens by the end of 2021.

Egypt administers Sinopharm, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines in its public vaccination campaign.

The cabinet spokesman reiterated that starting from 1 December, un-vaccinated citizens won't receive any public service.

"They [citizens] must present the vaccination certificate even if they had taken one dose of the vaccine," he added.

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Attacks by the Islamic State group are raising tensions in Iraq, with the groups focus seemingly being to re-spark confessional strife in the country, writes Salah Nasrawi

Iraqs eastern province of Diyala was a sleepy agricultural region growing the best of the countrys fruit and vegetables until the US-led invasion in 2003, when it was transformed into a thriving hub first for the anti-American resistance and then for Sunni opposition to the post-invasion Shia-dominated government of Iraq.

Diyala, which borders Iran in the east, is a mixed community where towns and villages across the province are populated by Sunni Arabs, Muslim Shias and ethnic Kurds and Turkomen. The presence of mixed populations across Diyala has prompted fears that the province could turn into a powder keg since claims to territory and spheres of influence overlap.

For nearly 20 years, Diyala has lived amid simmering communal tensions as the strategic province emerged as a base for the Sunni insurgency in Iraq and one of main strongholds of first Al-Qaeda and then for Islamic State (IS) group militants.

It remained a hotbed even after Iraq declared its war against the IS caliphate was over in December 2017, nearly three years after the group had taken over large swathes of the country. The group has built bases for its fighters in rural areas and in particular in remote citrus groves in the province.

Last week, Diyala seemed to be on the boil once more some five years after the IS caliphate was defeated, a reminder of the extremes of Iraqs communal divisions and a warning that sectarian violence could easily be reignited.

On 26 October, scores of insurgents attacked the village of Al-Rashad in the Miqdaddiya district of Diyala, which is inhabited by members of the powerful Shia Al-Tamimi tribe. IS later claimed responsibility for the attack that killed at least 11 people and wounded dozens of others.

The attack took place as villagers assembled after hearing that negotiations with IS over the payment of ransoms to free two locals kidnapped by the group had broken down. According to several versions of the event, the militants opened fire on the villagers after the families of the victims allegedly refused to pay a ransom.

There is no way of knowing what exactly happened in the village with any certainty after the assault. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said the crime would not go unpunished. We stand firm on our pledge that we will continue to chase terrorists inside and outside Iraq, he tweeted.

Al-Kadhimi also dispatched a delegation including the interior minister, the migration and displacement minister and National Security Adviser Qassim al-Araji to the area to indicate government support.

The government has sent special security forces to the area to try to stop any further escalation and to ensure peace in the volatile province and the non-recurrence of similar attacks.

But videos posted on social media showed that government representatives, security officials and militia leaders who travelled to Al-Rashad were booed by villagers who blamed the security forces for failing to protect them against IS attacks.

In a sign of what many believe will come after the IS assault, Shia tribesmen from the victims families attacked the nearby Sunni village of Nahr Al-Imam, accusing the residents of betrayal and providing the IS militants with sanctuary.

According to security officials who spoke to media outlets, some 3,000 tribesmen from the Al-Tamimi tribe took part in the raid after they surrounded the village from four sides to block escape into nearby groves and farms.

It is difficult to get a clear picture of what happened in the Nahr Al-Imam village on that day since the government has not disclosed details, but the script is all too familiar in Diyala, which has witnessed similar massacres before.

Some unverified footage surfaced later of the killing in the village of unarmed men, with their assailants also destroying houses and cars with bulldozers and setting fire to farms. The assailants can be heard in the footage shouting Shia slogans and praising the killings as an act of revenge.

Dozens of families left their houses in the village and took refuge in Baquba, Dilyalas provincial capital. Some were able to find shelter in mosques, while the government provided emergency financial help.

Diyala, like many provinces in Iraq which the government calls liberated areas from IS, is overseen by a hodgepodge of government and security agencies with overlapping mandates, and this makes it highly unlikely for investigators to be able to solve the two events or find the suspects.

Iraq is currently witnessing its highest levels of violence since 2017, with the failure of the countrys multiple security forces to adequately deal with militants who have reorganised and shifted from direct confrontation with government troops to guerrilla warfare tactics.

Estimates vary as to how many IS fighters are left in Iraq. While Iraqi intelligence puts the number at 2,000 to 3,000, the Pentagon and the UN say that around 10,000 IS militants are still active across Iraq and Syria.

While the bulk of IS fighters have retreated to caves and hiding places and resurface only occasionally to hit security checkpoints, power stations, and other infrastructure, sleeper cells have remained at large to conduct attacks against collaborators or carry out suicide missions.

The groups operations have been significantly on the rise, with its mobile squads carrying out small-scale attacks mostly by machine guns, grenades and snipers and targeting the security forces with low casualty rates.

Occasionally, it carries out more deadly sectarian attacks. The group claimed responsibility for a twin suicide attack on a busy market in Baghdad that left at least 36 people dead in January and a bombing in a Baghdad Shia neighbourhood that killed at least 30 people in July.

These attacks have come despite government claims that its intelligence services have been active in arresting IS leaders over the last few months. Among those who have been allegedly arrested is the deputy of the IS finance chief and other key group members.

Since the two massacres last week, the group has been launching indiscriminate rocket attacks against Shia-populated areas in the Diyala province in a show of defiance apparently aimed at forcing locals to flee their villages.

The escalation has underlined the carefully laid-out sectarian agenda of the group, which aims to exact a toll on the political system in Iraq by exploiting the turmoil caused by the recent elections crisis and the sharp divides within Iraqs ruling factions.

While IS views the Shias ideologically as heretics worthy of the death penalty and legitimate targets, the attacks are meant to ignite sectarian violence in Iraq and thus create more chaos that could be used as the background for the group to take over territory as it did in 2015.

The Miqdaddiya attacks and the tit-for-tat raid were the ugliest manifestations of everything that has gone wrong with Iraqs war against IS since the country declared victory over the group in 2017, allowing the government to take back control of the Sunni provinces.

The flare-up is an indictment of the post-IS territorial control in Iraq, and it has underscored the failure of power-brokers in Iraq to rebuild the country as a democratic, peaceful and prosperous state.

Their stumbling has been translated into an abysmal security failure to truly defeat IS, avert its resurgence or restore stability and unity to the fractured nation. It has been coupled with Iraqs wider malaise of endemic corruption, mismanagement and patronage and has caused the country to sink further into crisis.

The on-going elections crisis in Iraq and the intra-Shia rivalry also have implications for the dynamics of the countrys fragile political system, which is now unlikely to be fixed in the best interests of all Iraqis and has the potential for further political instability including sectarian conflicts.

While it is difficult to estimate how the IS presence will play out in future in Iraq, the group will doubtless continue to raise concerns that it seeks to stir up sectarian tensions and make an all-encompassing cause of renewed Shia-Sunni fissures.

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The Ethiopian police officers raided the cathedral in Addis Ababa before sunrise, interrupting prayers and forcing a dozen ethnic Tigrayan priests and monks into a pickup truck.

They gave no explanation for the July raid, but there was no need: The detained men knew right away they were joining the thousands of Tigrayans rounded up for allegedly supporting the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group.

For the past year, a mass campaign of arbitrary arrests targeting Tigrayans from all walks of life has played out in the capital Addis Ababa and elsewhere in Ethiopia -- a mostly hidden feature of the relentless war in the country's north.

Law enforcement leaders portray it as a legitimate effort to stamp out the TPLF, which they consider a terrorist organisation.

Yet AFP interviews with dozens of detainees, lawyers, justice officials and human rights activists reveal a more indiscriminate operation, ensnaring everyone from high-ranking military officers to ordinary day labourers.

Victims told AFP their experiences smacked of ethnic profiling, with cases built on threadbare evidence.

In the case of the detained clergymen, police held them for more than two weeks, accusing them of fundraising for the TPLF, burning Ethiopian flags and even plotting terrorist attacks themselves.

One of the monks said he could not help but laugh when an investigator asked where they hid their pistols.

"We told them we are men of faith, not politicians," he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

"I don't know where they get this information. But they are using it to kick Tigrayans' legs out from under us, to make us live in fear."

- Military purge -

The detentions began soon after war broke out in Ethiopia's northernmost Tigray region in early November 2020, the culmination of months of rancour between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the TPLF, which dominated national politics before Abiy took office in 2018.

At first, officials mainly targeted military personnel.

Two weeks after the first shots were fired, dozens of Tigrayan officers were summoned for a televised meeting in Addis Ababa, with state media airing the footage as evidence of the participants' support for the government.

Yet later, at least three of the officers were arrested and had their homes searched for weapons before being locked up for allegedly conspiring to overthrow Abiy, family members told AFP.

Michael, whose father was among those arrested, said he was mystified by the move.

"He didn't like to talk about politics," Michael said of his father, a mid-level officer with a three-decade record of service.

"In fact, he used to scold us when we talked about politics."

After a state media report in August said a military court had handed down death sentences to some "traitorous" officers, Michael's worries deepened.

"I fear very much that they may apply the death sentence or life sentence to my father and the people around him," he told AFP.

A military spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Nearly a year on, Michael's father remains in custody at a military camp west of Addis Ababa.

With the right to receive visitors three times a week, he is one of the lucky ones, as thousands of others have been held incommunicado.

- Critics silenced -

As the war dragged on into 2021, the detentions steadily climbed, albeit slowly.

But they kicked back into high gear in late June after the TPLF mounted a stunning comeback, retaking control of most of the region including its capital Mekele and prompting the military to largely withdraw.

Three nights after Mekele was recaptured, five federal police officers and three plainclothes officers knocked at the Addis Ababa home of Alula, a Tigrayan activist who had been using his Facebook page to highlight massacres and gang rapes in Tigray.

They held him overnight at a police station in the capital, after which soldiers drove him to a military camp 200 kilometres (125 miles) east, in the Afar region.

For the next seven weeks, Alula -- not his real name -- lived off one piece of bread and two cups of water each day.

The camp's more than 1,000 detainees included journalists and politicians who had spoken out about the horrors of a conflict that has killed thousands and, according to the UN, pushed hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions.

Alula was released, but he no longer feels safe discussing the war.

"If I do, I'll get arrested again or maybe killed," he told AFP.

Along with detentions, officials have closed thousands of "TPLF-supporting" businesses, something a trade ministry official boasted about to state media in September.

On a single block in Addis Ababa, seven bars and two hotels were closed in July because of "noise pollution", a claim their owners dismiss as baseless.

"Basically they are imagining that Tigrayans were celebrating the TPLF's advance," bar owner Michael told AFP.

The closures, he added, are further evidence that officials are targeting all Tigrayans, not just active TPLF backers.

- 'Every person is uncertain' -

Given its secretive nature, the full scale of the crackdown is impossible to determine, said Fisseha Tekle, a researcher for Amnesty International who has investigated arbitrary arrests of Tigrayans.

Yet he noted that Amnesty has "received multiple reports" of more than 1,000 people held at one camp alone in "squalid" conditions.

Many detainees remain unaccounted for.

"Family members have travelled hundreds of kilometres in search of detained relatives. Others went round police stations in Addis searching for relatives," he told AFP.

The arrests have also drawn criticism from some government officials.

In late September, Abraha Desta, a senior official in the Abiy-appointed Tigray interim administration, wrote on Facebook that the authorities had created an environment in which speaking Tigrinya, the Tigrayan language, "is considered a crime".

The following day Abraha too was arrested, accused of a firearms violation and incitement.

Other officials have reportedly spoken out privately.

During a retreat in September in the city of Adama, Attorney General Gedion Timothewos scolded members of his office's asset recovery directorate for being overzealous in going after Tigrayan business owners, according to several officials who attended.

At one point he accused the directorate of engaging in an "abuse of power" and called for an end to "ethnic profiling", the officials told AFP.

Gedion, now the justice minister, did not respond to a request for comment.

Even if the arrests were to stop tomorrow, victims fear they have already severely corroded Ethiopia's social fabric, especially in Addis Ababa, where Tigrayans once lived freely.

"It's obvious that every person is uncertain... they don't know what will happen tomorrow," said one Tigrayan lawyer currently representing 90 fellow Tigrayans who are detained.

"Even myself, I am not confident. At any time they can detain me."

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Israeli air strikes hit positions held by the Syrian government and its pro-Iranian allies near Damascus overnight, a war monitor said on Wednesday.

Syrian state news agency SANA confirmed the raids and said they caused only material damage.

"The Israeli enemy launched an aerial aggression with a number of missiles," the news agency quoted a military source as saying, naming the targeted area as Zakia.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the targets were army positions and arms depots belonging to Iran-backed militias.

Similar strikes last week killed at least five militiamen, the Observatory said.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes but has confirmed carrying out hundreds in Syria since the civil war erupted in 2011 in a bid to stop Iran gaining a foothold on its doorstep.

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For the first time in Iraq, a new breed of representatives is entering parliament, born from a civil society movement fed up with the corruption that has long tarnished politics.

Among the newcomers is pharmacist Alaa al-Rikabi, 47, whose party Imtidad (Extension) emerged in the aftermath of the October 2019 protest movement against the entrenched political elite.

Imtidad positions itself as the "opposition" to governments that have emerged through an informal ethno-sectarian quota system that has been in place since the US-led invasion of 2003, Rikabi said.

Despite campaigning with extremely limited finances, the party secured nine of the 329 seats in the Iraqi Council of Representatives in the October 10 election, according to preliminary results.

"I'm aware that our size in parliament will not allow us a lot of leeway" to push a political agenda, Ribaki said, stressing that his party instead aims to perform a watchdog role.

"We will not participate in any government set up on the basis of quotas, so that we will be able to hold leaders to account," Rikabi said in his home in Nasiriyah, a flashpoint of protests in Iraq's mainly Shia south.

Overall, big political blocs retained their dominance in the election, which was marked by a record abstention rate.

The biggest winner was the Sadrist movement, led by firebrand Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr. It took 70 seats, according to the results that are expected to be finalised within a few weeks.

Search For Allies

Behind the scenes, there have been discussions over the formation of blocs to create a parliamentary majority that would distribute the upcoming cabinet posts.

But it is specifically against this system that the protest movement, and by extension Imtidad, was forged.

Imtidad is seeking its own alternative alliance to make its presence felt.

With only nine seats, the party "will not be able to extend its influence in parliament", said Saleh al-Alawi, a judge and a political scientist.

Rikabi pointed out that, "according to the constitution, we need at least 25 MPs to be able to question a minister".

To this end, he said, "we are trying to come to an understanding" to team up with other parties.

In particular, Imtidad has been in talks with a small Kurdish party, the New Generation Movement, which has similar leanings and also holds nine seats.

Protest Movement

The unprecedented protest movement that broke out two years ago railed against the political class running the oil-rich but poverty-stricken country where youth unemployment is soaring.

The streets of Nasiriyah still bear witness to the anger, and posters of the "martyrs" adorn the walls, honouring many of the hundreds of activists who paid with their lives.

Factions of the Hashed al-Shaabi -- a paramilitary group integrated into the armed forces and represented by the pro-Iran Fatah (Conquest) Alliance in parliament -- have faced accusations of targeting activists.

Hussein Ali, 28, said he has been in a wheelchair for two years since being shot in the back during a demonstration.

"I voted for Imtidad because I hope they can fight for the rights of the demonstrators," he said. "Ever since I was injured, I haven't received any compensation from the government."

Changing 'stereotypes'

Unlike many established Iraqi politicians, newcomers like Rikabi have little money and had to run low-cost campaigns.

Imtidad spent four million dinars (about $2,700) for posters and events in the province of Dhi Qar, of which Nasiriyah is the capital -- a fraction of the tens of millions often spent by larger parties.

In a bid to break with what he calls the "stereotype of the representative," who is out of touch with voters and with reality, Rikabi drives his own car and does not have an office.

Others have been even more frugal, such as Mohammed al-Anouz, who came to be known on social media for putting up his own campaign posters in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf.

For him, opposition is the only option, he said.

"The big parties have contacted me to find out my position," he said. "I will not form an alliance with the parties that have led the country in past years.

"It is they who got us into this situation where there are no public services and corruption reigns."

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Three Algerians have been killed in a bombing on their trucks blamed on Morocco, the Algerian presidency said in a statement Wednesday.

"Three Algerians were assassinated... in a barbaric strike on their trucks as they travelled between (the Mauritanian capital) Nouakchott and (the Algerian city of) Ouargla", it said in a statement quoted by Algeria's APS state news agency.

"Several factors indicate that the Moroccan occupation forces in the Western Sahara carried out this cowardly assassination with a sophisticated weapon," it added. The reported killing took place on Monday.

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Libyan authorities and the United Nations' migration agency on Wednesday repatriated 91 migrants to Niger, mainly women and young children, in a rare humanitarian flight.

"Today we facilitated a flight with the International Organization for Migration for the voluntary departure of 91 migrants," said Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Amin al-Terki, responsible for returns of irregular migrants through Misrata airport.

The flight, only the second since such trips were suspended two years ago, included 60 children, 25 women and six men, he told AFP.

The IOM late last month flew 127 Gambians back to their home country in the first flight since the suspension ended.

Libya plunged into a decade of violence following the fall and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a 2011 uprising, and the resulting lawlessness led to a surge in sub-Saharan African migrants using its shores for desperate bids to reach Europe.

Many are intercepted en route by the Libyan coastguard, backed by European states, and returned to Libyan detention centers.

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The US administration apparently withheld $130 million of assistance from our Egyptian allies allegedly on human rights concerns, to pressure Egypt to release 16 prisoners that may include Muslim Brotherhood extremists, US Senator Ted Cruz said at the Senate earlier this week.

In mid-September, a US State Department spokesperson said the US would withhold $130 million of the $1.3 billion in assistance the US used to send to Egypt since 2017 until Cairo addresses specific human rights-related conditions.

Of the $1.3 billion, Congress has set human rights-related requirements on $300 million. Of these, the US decided to approve $170 million to Egypt for counter-terrorism, border security and nonproliferation, State Department and congressional aides said in September.

Cruz said the US conditions to release aid to Egypt apparently include releasing 16 unnamed prisoners. We dont know who they are.

The Texas senator said the only reason the American public found out in the first place about the conditions on which the $130 million would be released is because the Washington Post revealed it.

The Washington Post reported that the US requires Egypt to release 16 people and end the investigation of human rights activists and civil society groups, known as Case 173, in order to proceed with the remaining $130 million aid.

The Biden-Harris administration didnt explain to the American people what they were doing, it was only the reporting of journalists that revealed it, and we still dont know enough, Cruz, a member of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, said.

He rebuked Senior Director for Middle East and North Africa Affairs on the National Security Council Barbara Leaf for being non-responsive and answering falsely about the Biden administrations Middle East policies.

Cruz accused Leaf of failing to provide answers about the names of the 16 prisoners, whether they are affiliated with terrorist groups, whether they include Americans, and why the US is pressuring Egypt to release those prisoners.

The American people have a right to know if the Biden administration is trying to pressure our allies to release Muslim Brotherhood extremists, if the Biden-Harris administration is trying to get our allies to release anti-Semites, and if they are, to hear a justification for why. But Ms Leaf instead simply defies the Senate and refuses to answer, Cruz stated.

Late in October, Cruz placed a hold on Bidens nomination of Leaf as assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs after she had failed to answer three of Cruzs written questions to the senators satisfaction.

According to a document published by Politicio, Leaf did not provide any names of the 16 individuals, their organisational affiliations or the charges they face in response to Cruzs questions.

Why is it that the Biden-Harris administration is extorting Egypt to release 16 prisoners, and yet theyre embarrassed to say who those prisoners are? Cruz said at the Senate.

He also accused the Biden administration of continuing to boost the Muslim Brotherhood and other religious extremist groups in the Middle East.

In December, Cruz, known for defending the Egyptian political leadership policies, reintroduced a bill urging the State Department to label the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.

Egypt has labelled the Muslim Brotherhood group as a terrorist group since 2013, following the ouster of late president Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood figure who had held office for one year.

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In a statement on Wednesday, the Egyptian embassy urged all expats to adhere to all measures and instructions issued by the Ethiopian authorities and keeping all movement to a minimum while ensuring that they are always carrying their personal identification documents.

The embassy also advised against going to large gatherings and remote areas.

Egyptian expats were also advised to reach out to the embassy in the event of an emergency via its number (+251944342108).

On Tuesday, Ethiopias cabinet declared a six-month nationwide state of emergency after Tigrayan rebels seized two crucial towns in an apparent push towards the capital in a new flare-up of the year-long war between the Ethiopian government and Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominates much of Ethiopias Tigray province.
Egypts health ministry released on Wednesday a health passport application as an electronic alternative for the COVID-19 vaccination QR code certificate for use by travellers as well as locally.

The passport can be used at any airport around the world, according to the health ministry. The passport proves whether a person is vaccinated, what kind of vaccine they have received, the number of doses administered, and, if they have received only one dose, the date of their upcoming dose.

Egypt has made coronavirus vaccination mandatory for several sectors in the country, including the public sector, where, starting 15 November, unvaccinated employees will not be allowed to enter their workplaces unless they present a negative PCR test every 15 days.

Starting 1 December, those who are unvaccinated will not be allowed to enter government facilities.

Egypt has so far vaccinated 24 million people in a mass campaign that has expanded to include teens as young as 15 years old.

The Egypt Health Passport app is currently available for both iOS and Android OS for free, but a fee of EGP 100 is required to set up an account, and adding a health certificate to an account for use in international travel costs another EGP 150.

Here is how to set up your Egypt health passport account:

1- After downloading the Egypt Health Passport app, whether on iOS or Android, you will be asked on the login page to enter your national ID number or passport number, as well as the registration number you received from the health ministry when registering for the vaccine.

2  The Ministry of Health will then send an OTP number to the mobile phone number you used to register for your vaccine.

3- You will then be asked to take an image of yourself using the app or to select an image from your phones photo gallery. Set your pin code and pay the EGP 100 fee using a debit or credit card to complete the registration.

4- Next, you will see your vaccination certificate.

5- You can then add a picture of your passport using your mobile phone camera. A fee of EGP 150 is required to add your passport to your account.

6- Voila, you now have a coronavirus vaccine health passport that can be used in Egypt and in airports around the world.

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The Egyptian and Indian air forces conducted a joint air training exercise at an airbase in Egypt for several days, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced on Wednesday.

The training included a number of theoretical lectures and practical exercises to unify concepts, refine skills, and manage joint operations using various modern air combat methods.

The training also included refuelling drills in the air and joint sorties to attack enemy targets.

The drills aim to boost military relations between Egypt and India via holding joint military exercises on executing various tasks using available resources to overcome current and possible security threats, the Egyptian Armed Forces said.

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A US envoy will travel Thursday to Ethiopia to seek a peaceful solution, as Tigrayan rebels advanced toward the capital Addis Ababa, the State Department said.

Jeffrey Feltman, special envoy for the Horn of Africa, will hold talks on Thursday and Friday to urge "all Ethiopians to commit to peace and resolution of grievances through dialogue," a State Department spokesperson said.

Earlier today, Feltman, said Washington had directly warned TPLF leaders not to advance on the capital and instead to pursue talks.

He voiced exasperation at allegations in Addis Ababa that the United States is seeking to overthrow Abiy and install a government along the lines of late strongman Meles Zenawi, a former TPLF chairman.

"That is just not true," Feltman said.

Late on Tuesday, the Ethiopian authorities ordered residents of the capital to register their firearms as state-affiliated media announced a nationwide state of emergency and ordered residents of Addis Ababa to prepare to defend their neighbourhoods.

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In a statement, the police said they were investigating 30 people who used or retweeted the hashtag #olmus (#heisdead), which became a top trending topic on Turkish Twitter.

Underscoring the government's sensitivity about the posts, Erdogan's communications director Fahrettin Altun posted a short clip on Wednesday showing the Turkish leader walking out of his official car along a turquoise carpet.

"Trust to friends, fear to enemies," Altun wrote.

Rumours about the health of Erdogan, 67, have been swirling for years, with one of his doctors going on record in 2011 to deny that the Turkish leader had cancer.

Erdogan underwent laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery that same year, and has been walking more gingerly ever since.

Erdogan met US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome on Sunday.

He then cancelled his planned attendance at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, citing a dispute over the security protocol.

The latest wave of speculation appears to have been prompted by Erdogan's failure to attend a ceremony of his ruling party, which on Wednesday celebrated the 19th anniversary of its rise to power.

The official Anadolu news agency later issued footage of Erdogan -- first standing, then seated in silence -- meeting in the capital Ankara with Baghdad Amreyev, who heads a council of Turkic-speaking central Asian states.

His office said Erdogan would also receive diplomatic credentials from a new group of ambassadors to Turkey.

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Lebanon on Wednesday sought a dialogue with Saudi Arabia to resolve an unprecedented diplomatic rift over a Lebanese Cabinet minister's comments, even as new reasons for tension emerged.

The spat unfolded over statements by the Lebanese Information minister aired last week about the war in Yemen, which Lebanese officials have said do not represent official government views.

Riyadh angrily recalled its ambassador and asked the Lebanese envoy to leave. It also banned Lebanese imports, undermining the small nation's foreign trade and depriving it of millions of dollars while it is deep in an economic crisis.

Gulf countries have joined Saudi Arabia in pulling out their diplomats, sharpening the diplomatic slap.

Despite the calls for mediation and dialogue, there is no sign of the crisis letting up.

Instead, new reasons for tension emerged, following leaks by a Saudi paper in which the Lebanese foreign minister, apparently in off-the-cuff remarks to Lebanese reporters, said drug smuggling out of Lebanon would not have happened if there was no market in Saudi Arabia.

The comments, apparently made at the outset of the crisis, were interpreted by Saudi media as an endorsement of the smuggling, which had been another reason for the tension with Lebanon.

Since the crisis, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib in comments to the press had said Riyadh is being too harsh on Lebanon.

He did not deny the leaked comments Wednesday in a statement, but said he had wished the Saudi paper would have helped in resolving the crisis ``instead of publishing partial and wrong narratives'' that only complicate matters.

In separate comments following a meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun Wednesday, Bouhabib said any problems between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia should be resolved through dialogue.

He added that Lebanon, which is going through one of the world's worst economic meltdowns, is looking for support from its neighbors to overcome ``the difficult circumstances it is going through'' and the hardship its people are facing.

``We are certain that joint Arab interests will overrule what happened in the last few days and there will be no spilling of oil over the fire,'' Bouhabib said.

He also appealed to Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries to respect Lebanon's freedom of expression and democracy, which he said are not intended to harm relations with Lebanon's neighbors and friendly nations.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese minister of information at the center of the crisis, George Kordahi, has refused to apologize or step down, saying his remarks about the Yemen war, which were recorded before he took the post in September, were not meant to offend.

At the heart of the crisis is Saudi Arabia's frustration with the growing role of the Iran-backed Shia group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Riyadh is locked into a regional power rivalry with Tehran, which it accuses of backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen along its borders.

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A US drone strike in Kabul in August that killed 10 Afghan civilians was a tragic mistake but did not violate any laws, a Pentagon inspector general said Wednesday after an investigation.

Three adults, including a man who worked for a US aid group, and seven children were killed in the August 29 operation, with the target believed to have been a home and a vehicle occupied by Islamic State militants.

"The investigation found no violation of law, including the Law of War. Execution errors combined with confirmation bias and communication breakdowns led to regrettable civilian casualties," Lieutenant General Sami Said, the inspector general for the US Air Force, said in a report.

"It was an honest mistake," Said told reporters at the Pentagon.

"But it's not criminal conduct, random conduct, negligence," he said.

Said said the people directly involved in the strike, which took place during the US-led evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans after the Taliban seized control of the country, genuinely believed "that they were targeting an imminent strike."

"The intended target of the strike, the vehicle, its contents and occupant, were genuinely assessed at the time as an imminent threat to US forces and mission at Hamid Karzai International Airport," the report said.

However, it said, the interpretation of intelligence and the observations of a targeted car and its occupants over eight hours was "regrettably inaccurate," it said.

"What likely broke down was not the intelligence but the correlation of that intelligence to a specific house," Said explained.

The US military believed it was targeting IS militants planning an attack on the evacuation operations, three days after a suicide bomb attack at the airport left 13 US service members and scores of Afghans dead.

The car was thought to have contained explosives like those used in the previous attack.

After a preliminary investigation, the Pentagon admitted on September 17 that it had been a "tragic mistake."

The Pentagon said that the surviving family members would be compensated.

Said said that there was not one point of failure or a person to be blamed for the error. He also said it was not in his responsibilities to decide whether someone should be punished for the error.

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A British-registered scallop boat caught up in a post-Brexit spat between the UK and France over fishing licenses has been released by French authorities, its owner said Wednesday.

Andrew Brown, head of public affairs for Macduff Shellfish, which owns the scallop dredger, said the Cornelis Gert Jan had departed Le Havre in northern France. French maritime police seized the vessel off the Normandy coast last week and detained its skipper and crew.

The boat, which was detained over a paperwork infraction, has become a symbol of a bigger feud between the UK and France over fishing rights in the English Channel since the UK withdrew from the European Union..

``We are pleased to have this matter resolved and delighted that our crew and vessel are now able to return home,'' Brown said. ``The crew have acted with calmness and professionalism throughout the entire incident. They are in good spirits, looking forward to return to their loved ones and are grateful for all the messages of support received from the British public.''

The French and British governments have traded threats and allegations for weeks over French demands for licenses to fish in UK waters.

France complained that dozens of its boats were denied licenses to fish in waters around Britain and the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, which are self-governing British Crown dependencies close to the coast of northern France.

Fishing is a tiny industry economically for both countries but with outsized political importance, and the dispute has mushroomed into an important test for Britain's relations with the European Union after Brexit.

France has threatened to close its ports to some British boats and to impose strict checks on boats and trucks carrying UK goods, if more licenses are not granted.

Paris also at one point suggested it might restrict energy supplies to the Channel Islands, which are heavily dependent on French electricity.

The French government originally said it would impose the sanctions if no resolution on the license dispute emerged by Tuesday. It pushed back the deadline, and then said Wednesday that the measures were on hold at least through Friday, while talks involving French, British and EU officials continue.

Britain says a blockade would breach the Brexit withdrawal agreement and that the issue behind the dispute is is a technical one related to some French boats' lack of paperwork to prove they have traditionally fished in the areas where they want to keep working.

But France sees it as a matter of principle and has accused Britain of breaching its legally binding divorce deal with the European Union, which sets the rules for fishing in the post-Brexit era..

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were peppered with questions about the diplomatic dustup as they attended a Group of 20 summit in Rome and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow over the past week.

The impounded trawler is not one of the vessels involved in the licensing dispute, according to the captain's lawyer. Mathieu Croix, the lawyer for skipper Jondy Ward, said a French court on Wednesday ordered the boat's release.

The court in Rouen annulled last week's seizure, Croix told The Associated Press. French maritime authorities, who seized the boat in the Le Havre port last week, did not immediately respond to the ruling.

Croix said the dredger was ``caught in a political game''

``There is a whole story spun around this entire case, whereas in fact, it is a rather mundane affair over fishing in an area that is supposedly out of bounds and about licenses that may or may not have been given and catch amounts that are relatively modest,`` Croix said.

``From then on, given the current political climate, the case blew up to levels that in our view are totally disproportionate,'' he said.

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The 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) concluded a two-day UN-sponsored meeting in Cairo on Monday attended by representatives from Sudan, Chad and Niger. Libyas neighbours all expressed willingness to cooperate in the processes of removing foreign fighters and mercenaries from Egypts western neighbour.

The meeting was consultative in nature, with participants agreeing to establish effective channels of communication to pursue the matter further. The Sudanese, Chadian, and Nigerian representatives said they were fully prepared to cooperate on the effective removal from Libya of fighters from their countries, and coordinate to ensure that they would not return to Libya or destabilise any of Libyas neighbours.

In a statement issued on the first day of the 5+5 JMC meeting, UN Special Envoy for Libya Jan Kubis said: Our meeting today, and the meetings and consultations that will follow, are only the first steps on the way to preparing a concrete implementation plan for the withdrawal of all mercenaries, foreign fighters, and foreign forces from Libya which is crucially important given forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

From this and other statements, it is clear that the meeting is intended as the first in a series aiming to layout a roadmap for the removal of foreign fighters. It was the first meeting to deal with the foreign fighters in terms of nationality, with the focus on Libyas African neighbours. Other groups, most notably those from Syria or Russia which operate primarily in the north, were not discussed.

The participants said that African fighters present in Libya either belonged to transnational ethnic groups, such as the Toubou people or the Touareg, or are members of rebel groups from Chad and Darfur.

Some of these groups are engaged in human trafficking and smuggling across the Sahel states. Their vying interests and the frequent outbreaks of violence between them have been a major source of instability in southern Libya which Islamic State and Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups have been able to exploit. Because of the general lack of security and porous borders, Libya had become an ideal location for terrorist training camps and recruitment, with the terrorist organisations able to benefit from arms smuggling and human trafficking.

Libyas African neighbours are keen to avoid becoming victims of the way Turkey and Russia are using the mercenaries they introduced into Libya as bargaining chips in negotiations with each other and with other international parties, fearing that their own rebel groups based in Libya will attempt to take advantage of the situation. This explains why, for example, Chads Transitional Military Council (TMC) is so focussed on Chadian political opposition groups led by Mahamat Mahdi Ali operating in the area straddling southern Libya and the Tibesti region in northern Chad. Members of the alliance Ali formed in April have been accused of assassinating Chadian President Idriss Deby, and are determined to march on NDjamena and topple the TMC.

According to reports by UN experts, the Toubou and Tuareg have been engaged in gold prospecting and have accessed hitherto unknown sources of wealth in southern Libya, with some reports suggesting the Russian Wagner group has aided these endeavours.

The ethnic/tribal demographics that are interwoven with Libyan politics complicates the removal of African fighters and mercenaries. The Toubou and Touareg peoples span Libya, Chad, and Niger, taking advantage of porous borders. Gaddafi-era policies, such as supporting southern Libyan Arab tribes  the Maqarha and Awlad Suleiman  in their disputes with the Toubou and Touareg, helped shaped post-revolutionary alliances and tensions. As the alliances fluctuated, so tensions and inter-tribal/inter-ethnic violence in the south increased.

Some Libyans, including participants in the Cairo meeting, claim up to a million people have infiltrated Libya since the revolution, creating demographic distortions and demanding citizenship rights and a share of power and wealth, citing the demands recently aired by the Toubou Congress as evidence of this phenomenon.

The presence of mercenaries and foreign fighters from African countries threatens not only Libyas stability and security ahead of the elections but also the stability and security of Libyas neighbours, which is why the UN is promoting a mechanism to deal with such mercenaries separately from Russian and Syrian fighters. Some European powers also perceive a greater threat to their own security from the illicit activities of African groups than from those of Syrian and Russian mercenaries.

Given the complexities of the security situation in Libya it is hard to conceive that the problems posed by the presence of mercenaries will be resolved ahead of elections. Nor do the current situations in Sudan and in Chad bode well for the process: indeed, the threats to regional security and stability are looking, if anything, more intractable.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 November, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Abdel-Ghaffar Shukr, the veteran leftist leader and former vice-chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), passed away on Sunday at the age of 85.

Shukrs family announced his death on Facebook. His funeral, held on Sunday in Tirah village, Daqahliya, was attended by hundreds of people, including many leading politicians.

The NCHR issued a statement saying it mourned the passing of a great thinker.

Shukr was born in 1936. His grandfather was the mayor of Tirah village, a post which his father then held between 1943 and 1946 before being dismissed because of his support for the Wafd Party. When Shukr was 11, his father died of a heart attack.

Shukrs involvement in politics began in 1953, while he was still a high school student. He joined a succession of left-wing movements that supported the 1952 Revolution including, in 1953, following the dissolution of political parties, the Liberation Organisation.

In 1958 Shukr graduated from the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, and almost immediately joined the National Union, founded by president Gamal Abdel-Nasser as a replacement for the disbanded Liberation Organisation. In 1963, he joined the Socialist Union, also founded by Nasser, and in 1964 became a trustee for education in the Socialist Youth Organisation, a Socialist Union affiliate.

Shukr also played a role in the Vanguard Organisation, secretive offshoot of the Socialist Union assigned with training cadres to protect the 1952 Revolution.

Under president Anwar Al-Sadat Shukr became a leading member of the leftist Tagammu Party, and in 1981 was among many prominent figures to be detained because of their opposition to the 1979 Peace Treaty with Israel.

Shukr wrote several books expounding his views on democracy, social justice and equality, including Issues and Experiences of Partisan and Political Work, Globalisation and Capitalism and their Impact on the Arab World, Renewing the Egyptian National Progressive Movement, and The Role of Civil Society in Building Democracy, and published a number of studies in Arab periodicals.

Among the positions Shukr held were vice president of the Arab and African Research Centre, and chairman of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, which he founded in the wake of the 2011 revolution after quitting the Tagammu Party.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 November, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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COP26 was an opportunity for Egypt to remind the world that the GERD file remains unresolved, but the situation in Sudan could affect the restart of tripartite negotiations

Last week, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Dina Mufti told Sky News Arabia she expects the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the current chair of the African Union (AU), to send delegations to Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan soon to hold talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Restarting negotiations, however, is likely to prove difficult given the situation in Sudan where the military dissolved the transitional government on 25 October, triggering protests. Meanwhile, Egypt is continuing its diplomatic campaign to explain its position and the dangers of maintaining the status quo. It is a strategy, explained Ali Al-Hefni, a former deputy to Egypts foreign minister, that began several months ago.

Al-Hefni pointed to the two Security Council sessions on the issue, one held last year, the second this year, and the UNSC presidential statement issued in October, as developments on which Egypt needs to build. This weeks COP26, and last weeks Cairo Water Week 2021, also provided international forums for Egypt to press its case, he told Al-Ahram Weekly.

American University in Cairo professor of political science Tarek Fahmi, however, ruled out GERD, or indeed any other water security issues, being discussed on anything but the sidelines of COP26.

Given the AU remains responsible for the file, and Algeria has yet to pursue its initiative on the matter, the only avenue open is for Egypt to continue raising the issue in international forums and summits wherever possible, Fahmi told the Weekly.

Algeria proposed an initiative to restart negotiations in August but nothing has happened since.

During COP26, which focuses on international efforts to combat climate change, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi was expected to foreground issues of concern to developing countries in general, and African states in particular, with the outstanding conflict over GERD accorded more than passing mention given its importance to Egypt and the continent.

In his meeting with the Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg on the periphery of COP26, President Al-Sisi underlined Egypts historic rights to Nile water, describing it as an existential issue, and called on the international community to exert every effort to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.

The two leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation and regional issues, including illegal immigration, extremism, and the latest developments in the Palestinian cause. Al-Sisi also affirmed Egypts wish to host next years COP27.

COP26, which opened on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland, aims to agree mechanisms to keep global warming below2 oC. It ends on 12 November.

In his meeting with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi on the sidelines of the summit, Al-Sisi underlined Egypts determination to reach a legally-binding agreement on GERD and hailed the efforts exerted by the DRC to bring Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia back to the AU-sponsored tripartite talks.

Al-Hefni explained President Al-Sisis meetings with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other senior officials were also likely to be pertinent to the outstanding issues over GERD, given Cairo is seeking to build up as much pressure on Addis Ababa as possible.

President Al-Sisi held brief meetings with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the second between the two leaders since the resumption of relations between Cairo and Qatar in January, and with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Armenian President Armen Sakissian, and the prime ministers of the Netherlands, Palestine, Lebanon, and Libya.

The dispute over GERD was high on the agenda of last weeks Cairo Water Week 2021. In a video address to the opening session, Al-Sisi underlined that Egypt is seeking a balanced and legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, and explained that Cairo wants Addis Ababa to pursue its development ambitions while minimising the social and environmental consequences on Egypt and Sudan.

Despite Cairos efforts to push forward tripartite negotiations, commentators fear the situation in Sudan will be counter-productive.

Abbas Sharaki, professor of geology and water resources at Cairo University, believes things will have to settle in Sudan before negotiations can begin. Al-Hefni argues the opposite, saying that Sudan is too aware of the dangers of maintaining the status quo not to engage with the issue.

Cairo has repeatedly stated its fears that GERD will significantly reduce Egypts share of Nile water, on which it depends for more than 90 per cent of its fresh water needs, while Khartoum is concerned GERD could threaten the safety of Sudans dams.

Ethiopia claims Egypt and Sudan will not be harmed by the dam but has repeatedly refused to show studies that back its assertions and insists it will only accept guidelines on the operation and filling of the dam rather than a legally-binding agreement. Ethiopia has also rejected Khartoums proposal that the UN, the US, and the EU be given mediating roles in the dispute.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 November, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Already embroiled in an economic crisis, Lebanon is facing a storm from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states

For the second time this year Lebanon is facing a backlash from Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states following statements by a cabinet member criticising the regional policies of Riyadh and its Gulf allies.

In May, less than a year after being appointed, Charbel Wahbeh resigned as Lebanons foreign minister after blaming affluent Arab Gulf countries for the wide-spread presence of Islamic State (IS) in neighbouring Iraq and Syria. Following Wahbehs resignation, relations between Beirut, Riyadh, and Riyadhs Gulf allies, returned to the tepid state they have been in since 2017, when France intervened to contain tensions between Riyadh and Lebanons then prime minister, Rafik Al-Hariri.

Now, just as Lebanons Najib Mikati government is attempting to reverse the countrys seemingly intractable economic crisis, Arab Gulf anger has been reignited after Lebanese Minister of Information Georges Kurdahi criticised Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their handling of the war in Yemen.

Though Kurdahi made his remarks on a TV programme that was recorded in August, before he became a minister, the programme was only broadcast last month. Though Kurdahi subsequently attempted to defuse the situation by insisting his statements did not reflect the position of the government, he has refused to appease Riyadh by tendering his resignation.

Meanwhile, Hizbullah, which backs Kurdahi, has threatened to pull Shia ministers from the cabinet if the minister of information is forced to resign.

Following two weeks of diplomatic squabbling, which has included expelling Lebanese ambassadors from several Gulf capitals and suspending economic relations with Beirut, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan finally announced that Riyadh has no interest in dealing with the Hizbullah-dominated Mikati government.

Saudi Arabia, which accounts for 8.25 per cent of Lebanons $3.54 billion worth of exports, has announced a halt to trade. If Riyadh follows through on the stoppage, says economist Paul Abi Nasr, the crisis in Lebanons industrial sector can only worsen. And while other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which account for half of Lebanese exports, have not taken similar measures, Abi Nasr is concerned that Lebanon has no alternative to the GCC market.

On Monday, Lebanons Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib protested against the harsh Saudi reaction, arguing the Lebanese government was in no position to reign in Hizbullahs regional influence, including its support for the Iranian-aligned Houthis who have engaged in a seven-year-long war with the Saudi-led coalition.

The idea of a wholesale resignation of the Mikati government is strongly opposed by international powers that fear another extended political vacuum will only exacerbate Lebanons devastating economic crisis.

While Bou Habib has called for dialogue to resolve the crisis, Riyadh has shrugged off his appeal. Informed Western diplomats in the region say, however, that talks between the Saudi foreign minister and his American counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 on Sunday aimed to get Riyadh to soften its position.

The diplomatic crisis is unfolding just as the US and its European allies are preparing to revive the nuclear deal with Iran, and while on-again-off-again Omani hosted Saudi-Iranian talks over resuming normal relations continue.

An informed Arab diplomat said that Oman, in cooperation with Qatar, is involved in a process of slow diplomacy that aims to find a compromise. Despite the GCC secretariat joining the criticism of Kurdahis statements, neither Qatar nor Oman is backing diplomatic or economic measures against Lebanon.

According to the same diplomat, Qatar and Oman are also talking to Hizbullah and Iran about a compromise that would allow for the eventual withdrawal of Kurdahi from the government and his replacement with someone acceptable to Hizbullah.

On Monday, speaking from Glasgow where he was attending the UN summit on climate change, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamed said he will dispatch his foreign minister to Beirut promptly to explore ways out of the crisis.

On Tuesday, Mikati made an unscheduled trip to Glasgow to meet with Bin Hamed, the president of France, the prime minister of Kuwait and the foreign minister of the US, to discuss possible exits.

Arab and Western diplomatic sources agree that mediation will be difficult, arguing that while the Saudis might be willing to reach a compromise with Iran, in view of the US and European position towards Tehran, they are determined to reduce Iranian influence in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.

According to a Gulf analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity, Saudi Arabia thinks Iran is still following an aggressive policy, supporting terrorist groups in the region like the Houthi militia in Yemen and Hizbullah in Lebanon.

A Gulf-based Western diplomat characterised the latest spat between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon as part of Riyadhs continuing attempts to contain Irans regional influence, adding that, in the absence of substantial Gulf aid to Lebanon, it is hard to see how the pressure will play out to Riyadhs benefit.

Journalist Tony Boulos argues that Hizbullah has been trying to use receding Gulf financial influence to detach Lebanon from its Arab context and align it firmly with Iran.

According to an informed Arab diplomat who spoke from New York, to properly understand the Saudi-Iran, and the UAE-Iran, showdown, it is important to take on board that the Saudis are hypersensitive about their management of the war in Yemen.

It goes without saying that the Saudi-led coalition is battling to push back Iranian influence, he said, noting that while the Saudis and Emiratis have come under increasing pressure over the humanitarian impact of the war, the Iran-supported Houthis have so far escaped such criticism.

The diplomat pointed out that last month, in the UN General Assembly, over 30 Western countries launched an aggressive diplomatic offensive against Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the war in Yemen, though Saudi Arabia and the UAE pushed back with the support of Arab countries, including Egypt.

The broadcast of Kurdahis statements and the UN General Assembly incident coincided, something which, the diplomat suggested, combined with Kurdahis refusal to apologise or resign, could account for the ferocity of the Saudi reaction.

Ibrahim Awad, professor of international relations at the American University in Cairo, argues that this latest diplomatic episode underlines the need for a new political system in Lebanon capable of shielding the country from power struggles between regional and international players.

There are problems with the state system in Lebanon and resolving them will remain very difficult given the fragmentation of the countrys political parties and the overall regional situation.

While Lebanon will emerge from the current diplomatic crisis sooner or later, says Awad, the links between Lebanons political players and their regional and international allies urgently need to be addressed.

Reporting by Dina Ezzat in Cairo, Rita Boulos Chahwan in Beirut, and Ahmed Mostafa in Dubai

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 November, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Ethiopian officials Tuesday ordered residents in Addis Ababa to register their firearms and prepare to protect their neighbourhoods, as fighting raged north of the capital between government and rebel forces.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has in recent days claimed control of two key cities about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Addis Ababa and has not ruled out marching on the capital.

The government has denied claims of TPLF territorial gains which, if confirmed, would represent a major strategic advance for the rebels in the year-long war.

Much of northern Ethiopia is under a communications blackout, and access for journalists is restricted, making battlefield claims difficult to verify independently.

But in Addis Ababa, officials announced new measures for the city's five million residents including that all firearms be registered within two days and preparations made to secure the capital.

"All residents must be organised by blocks and neighbourhoods to protect peace and security in their home area in coordination with security forces, who will coordinate activities with community police and law enforcers," said Kenea Yadeta, chief of the city's Peace and Security Administration Bureau.

"There will be recruitment and organising of the city's youth to work in coordination with security forces to protect peace and security in their area," Kenea said in remarks carried by state media.

He said "all sections of society" must cooperate with efforts to increase alertness, including landlords and hotel owners checking IDs of tenants and guests.

Those publishing "fake information" on social media were ordered to cease immediately.

International alarm

The restrictions come as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed urged unity in the fight against the TPLF, saying that victory was possible if the "full force" of the country was brought against the rebels.

In an address broadcast on Monday, he also claimed that foreigners were fighting alongside TPLF fighters, without elaborating.

The only confirmed presence of foreigners on the battlefield in Ethiopia is that of Eritrean forces, who have been fighting alongside federal troops against the TPLF.

The international community has expressed alarm at the expanding conflict, and called again for an immediate ceasefire and for the African Union to broker peace talks between the warring parties.

Abiy sent troops into Tigray in November 2020 in response to what he said were attacks on army camps by the TPLF, and promised a swift victory.

But by late June the rebels had regrouped and retaken most of Tigray, and fighting spread to the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara.

The latest fighting has been in Amhara over the cities of Dessie and Kombolcha, which lie at a strategic crossroads on the main highway to Addis Ababa.

The government has also carried out a steady campaign of airstrikes in Tigray itself, hitting targets it says are military in nature and aiding the TPLF.

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Jurors heard starkly different portrayals of Kyle Rittenhouse  instigator or victim  in opening statements at his trial Tuesday on charges of shooting three people on the streets of Kenosha during a turbulent protest against racial injustice.

Kyle Rittenhouse listens as his lawyer gives opening statements to the jury at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis, on Nov. 2, 2021. [Photo: The Kenosha News via AP, Pool]

A prosecutor said Rittenhouse set the bloodshed in motion when he triggered a confrontation with a man that night and then killed him with a bullet to the back.

But Rittenhouse's attorney told the jury that his client acted in self-defense after the man tried to grab Rittenhouse's gun and others kicked the teen in the face and clubbed him in the head with a skateboard.

You as jurors will end up looking at it from the standpoint of a 17-year-old under the circumstances as they existed, defense attorney Mark Richards said.

Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with killing two men and wounding a third during the summer of 2020 with an assault-style rifle. The one-time aspiring police officer could get life in prison if convicted.

The teenager traveled to Kenosha from his home in Illinois, just across the Wisconsin state line, after protests broke out over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse said he went there to protect property after two nights in which rioters set fires and ransacked businesses.

The first witness was Dominick Black, who was dating Rittenhouse's sister at the time. Black faces charges he bought the rifle for Rittenhouse months before the shootings because the teen was not old enough to own one at the time.

Black testified that he and Rittenhouse went to downtown Kenosha to help protect a car dealership after vehicles were burned the night before. Black said he thought nobody would start trouble if they saw him with his assault-style rifle. He also said Rittenhouse helped give medical aid and put out fires.

Black said he was on the roof as protesters hurled gasoline bombs and rocks at the business. He said he heard gunshots but didn't know Rittenhouse was involved until the teenager called and said, "I shot somebody, I shot somebody.

Afterward, Black said, Rittenhouse was freaking out. He was really scared. He was pale, shaking a lot. Black said Rittenhouse told him that he acted in self-defense because people were trying to hurt him.

In his opening statement, prosecutor Thomas Binger described the unrest in Kenosha as two of the roughest nights that our community has ever seen" and said outsiders were drawn to the city like moths to a flame.

Yet Binger repeatedly stressed that amid the hundreds of people in Kenosha and the anger and chaos in the streets, the only person who killed anyone is the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse.

When we consider the reasonableness of the defendants actions, I ask you to keep this in mind, Binger said, after explaining to the jury that a claim of self-defense can be valid only if Rittenhouse reasonably believed he was using deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

The prosecutor said that it is not known exactly what words were said, but it is clear that Rittenhouse started a confrontation that led Joseph Rosenbaum to begin chasing Rittenhouse across a parking lot.

Binger emphasized that Rosenbaum, 36, was killed by a shot to the back after he threw a plastic bag. The first two bullets hit Rosenbaum in the lower extremities, causing him to fall forward, the prosecutor noted.

Richards, the defense attorney, argued that it was Rosenbaum who lit the fuse that night." Rosenbaum yelled an expletive at Rittenhouse and lunged for his gun before Rittenhouse fired at him, according to the defense.
Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin were locked in a fierce battle for Virginia governor Tuesday night, the most closely watched contest in an off-year election that could prove a referendum on President Joe Bidens first year in office.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin gestures as he speaks to supporters during a rally in Chesterfield, Va., Nov. 1, 2021. [Photo: AP/Steve Helber]

The race was too early to call.

The bruising campaign pitted McAuliffe, a prominent figure in Democratic politics and a former Virginia governor, against Youngkin, a political newcomer and former business executive. The two have spent months fighting about everything from Youngkins ties to former President Donald Trump to abortion rights and culture war battles over schools.

But voters saw the economy as the top issue, followed by the coronavirus pandemic, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of statewide voters. Some 34% of Virginia voters ranked the economy as their No. 1 priority, compared to 17% saying COVID-19 and 14% choosing education. Those issues outranked health care, climate change, racism and abortion in the survey.

The final results, though, may ultimately be interpreted as an early judgment of Biden, who captured Virginia last year by a comfortable 10-point margin. The closeness of the governors race indicated just how much his partys political fortunes have changed in a short period. The White House has been shaken in recent months by the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, a sometimes sluggish economic recovery amid the pandemic and a legislative agenda at risk of stalling on Capitol Hill.

A loss in a state that has trended toward Democrats for more than a decade would deepen the sense of alarm inside the party heading into next years midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. But Biden expressed optimism going into the evening while acknowledging that the off-year is always unpredictable.

I think were going to win in Virginia, Biden said at a news conference in Scotland, where he was attending an international climate summit. I dont believe  and Ive not seen any evidence that  whether or not I am doing well or poorly, whether or not Ive got my agenda passed or not, is gonna have any real impact on winning or losing.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was trying to win reelection against Republican former State Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli. If successful, Murphy would be the first Democrat reelected as the states governor in 44 years.

A ballot question was defeated in Minneapolis that sought to reshape policing in that city, where the killing of George Floyd last year touched off sweeping demonstrations for racial justice across the nation.

But no other race received the level of attention of the Virginia governors campaign. Thats in part because such contests in many states have sometimes shown voter frustration with a party newly in power, foreshadowing significant turnover in Congress the following year.

In 2009, during President Barack Obamas first year in office, Republican Bob McDonnells victory in Virginia previewed a disastrous midterm cycle for Democrats, who lost more than 60 House seats the following year.

This year, both Virginia candidates said the implications of the first major election since Biden moved into the White House would be felt well beyond their state.

At one of his final events of the campaign, McAuliffe insisted the stakes are huge. Youngkin said the election would send a statement that will be heard across this country.

Voting proceeded largely without incident across Virginia on Tuesday. McAuliffe and Youngkin were mostly out of sight ahead of election night parties planned in the critical northern Virginia suburbs that each campaign was counting on.
KYODO NEWS - Nov 3, 2021 - 11:19 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

The number of young people in Japan newly diagnosed with the eating disorder anorexia rose about 60 percent in fiscal 2020 from the previous year, due possibly to increased stress and anxiety amid the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed.

Despite the uptick in patients, some hospitals saw a lack of beds available for those with serious conditions, as they likely had to give up beds to treat COVID-19 patients, according to the survey released last month by the National Center for Child Health and Development.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that is

characterized by an abnormally low body weight, an obsessive fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of weight. It can lead to a life-threatening condition or even death.

The survey found 28 boys and 230 girls under 20 years old were newly diagnosed with the eating disorder in fiscal 2020 through March this year, both up over 60 percent from the previous year.

Nine boys and 132 girls were newly hospitalized due to anorexia, up from six and 93, respectively, from the previous year.

The center conducted the survey in two months through the end of June with the help of 26 medical institutions in 19 of the nation's 47 prefectures.

An official of the center attributed the increase in anorexic patients among young people to the coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted the lives of students at elementary, junior high and high schools.

"Because many schools suspended activities as a measure against the coronavirus, a lot of young people felt a greater level of stress and anxiety," the official said.

The center has also conducted a series of surveys on parents and their children, with many young people expressing worries and discontent over their school life as a result of the pandemic.

A girl in the second grade of a junior high school said in the survey she "wants to live a normal life as soon as possible."

In the same survey, a boy in the fifth grade of an elementary school also said, "Are we going to spend our whole life not going outside and not doing anything? I want to go wherever I want to go and meet whoever I want to meet."

The center said there should be more medical institutions capable of treating patients with eating disorders. It also called on parents and schools to pay attention to any child suffering weight loss and refer them to a hospital before their health condition gets worse.
KYODO NEWS - Nov 4, 2021 - 10:15 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Foreign researchers received recently by a Japanese government-affiliated institution are having to follow stricter COVID-19 quarantine rules than otherwise and have been "jailed" in their hotel rooms since their arrival in Japan, people with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.

Over 50 researchers on a program by the Japan Foundation are not allowed to leave their rooms at all for up to 15 days following their arrival in Japan and security guards are on watch to catch rule-breakers, those people said.

The scholars arrived in Japan on Oct. 28 and are staying at a hotel near Narita airport near Tokyo for quarantine.

Their entry was approved as an exception as Japan maintains travel restrictions due to the pandemic. But their treatment prompted a backlash from some participating researchers who compared it to being kept in a "luxury jail" or described it as a case of "xenophobia."

In response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Japan has imposed strict travel restrictions just as other nations did. But the United States and European countries have eased them to accept foreign researchers amid an improvement in the COVID-19 situation.

The Japan Foundation, affiliated with the Japanese Foreign Ministry, carries out cultural exchange programs globally and invited the scholars in Japanese studies from abroad.

An official with the foundation acknowledged that it was "a precondition" set by relevant Japanese authorities and had to be followed so the program could resume.

Japan has set a 14-day quarantine period for those entering Japan, regardless of nationality, and they are asked to refrain from nonurgent outings.

The scholars were required to sign a written oath, under which no outings are allowed, including going for a walk or grocery shopping, and they will stay only in an assigned room. It does not ask whether they have been vaccinated or not.

Fully vaccinated people can end quarantine if they test negative in a voluntary test on the 10th day in Japan, excluding the day of arrival, under the government rules.

But one of the sources said the foundation has effectively urged the scholars to stay at the hotel until the 15-day period ends, with no such test on the 10th day, saying that if they tested positive they would have to shoulder the necessary expenses thereafter.

Asked why the researchers needed to follow stricter rules, an official with the government headquarters on COVID-19 response said, "We do not know about individual cases."

"I want to leave the room for a walk or buying foods at least once a day," one of the scholars said.

Another researcher said it is one of the worst cases of "racism," adding, "Japan is dishonoring itself in its contemporary history."

Related coverage:

Japan to ease quarantine rule to 3 days for business travelers

Japan institute to receive int'l scholars as exception to COVID rules

Scholars urge Japan to restart issuing visas to foreign students
KYODO NEWS - Nov 3, 2021 - 08:44 | All, World, Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday agreed in their first in-person talks to enhance the bilateral alliance and closely cooperate toward a free and open Indo-Pacific amid China's assertiveness in the region.

Kishida also agreed to forge closer ties with his counterparts from Britain, Australia and Vietnam on the sidelines of the U.N. climate summit, all three countries which Tokyo views as key partners in advancing a free and open region.

The flurry of diplomatic activity took place during Kishida's brief first foreign trip as the Japanese leader. He departed following Sunday's general election in which his governing coalition won a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives.

After arriving in the Scottish city of Glasgow earlier Tuesday, Kishida had a brief conversation with Biden, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The two agreed to continue to jointly deal with climate change issues as well as regional issues, apparently mindful of the challenges and threats posed by China and North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Kishida told reporters later in the day he agreed with Biden to meet again at the earliest date possible, which could be later this year, to have more "thorough" discussions.

The former long-serving foreign minister already had phone talks with Biden after being elected prime minister by parliament last month, but it was the first time that the two met in person while serving in their current positions.

Kishida, meanwhile, affirmed with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson their cooperation toward promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific and agreed to accelerate talks for a deal to improve legal and other procedures to facilitate joint exercises between their defense forces.

The negotiations for a Reciprocal Access Agreement come as Britain has been stepping up its engagement in the region, partly propelled by Beijing's undermining of democracy and human rights in Hong Kong, a former British colony.

As members of the Quad group that also involves the United States and India, Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed on the importance of both bilateral and quadrilateral ties in pursuing a free and open region.

During talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Kishida expressed his strong opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China seas.

China has conflicting territorial claims with four members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam -- as well as Taiwan in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than one-third of global trade passes.

Beijing also claims the Senkaku Islands, a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea administered by Japan. China has frequently sent its coast guard ships near the chain of islets, which it calls Diaoyu.

Kishida and his Vietnamese counterpart agreed to cooperate over supply chain issues, given that many Japanese companies have production and other corporate bases in the Southeast Asian country, and to accelerate talks to promote Japanese defense exports, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
By Miya Tanaka, KYODO NEWS - Nov 3, 2021 - 14:00 | All, Feature, Japan, World

EDINBURGH, Scotland - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday made a smooth diplomatic debut at the U.N. climate talks in Britain, showing not only his commitment to issues of global importance but also networking with key countries that share concerns over China's assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

But the whirlwind trip has not done much to provide clarity over how Kishida, who is just weeks into Japan's top job, plans to deal with the foreign and national security challenges ahead -- from beefing up the U.S.-Japan alliance to managing the rise of China.

Kishida appeared to be satisfied with the outcome of his first overseas trip as prime minister, telling reporters he made Japan's "presence" felt through a speech that conveyed his resolve to lead efforts to put Asia on a path to a zero-carbon emission future and to curb his country's contributions.

Having long served as a foreign minister, he also said he made a "very good start" in face-to-face diplomacy, touching on the brief conversation he had with U.S. President Joe Biden and talks held with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, among others.

Robert Ward, a London-based expert on Japan at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that it was apparently difficult to achieve "much of substance" in Kishida's diplomatic debut, given he had only hours in the Scottish city of Glasgow in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's general election.

But he said Kishida showed "important symbolic political commitment" to the countries he had meetings with.

Britain has made a "tilt" to the Indo-Pacific, Australia is a member of the Quad group of four major Indo-Pacific democracies also involving the United States, Japan and India, and Vietnam is a country Japan hopes to work with to counter Beijing's assertive behavior in the East and South China seas.

While Kishida's moves underscore the continuation of Japan's diplomatic efforts to deepen the alliance with the United States and advance a "free and open Indo-Pacific," attention is increasingly being paid to the details of his foreign and security policy agendas.

"What remains to be seen is how a Kishida Cabinet will manage critical questions about the future of the alliance," Sheila Smith of the Council on Foreign Relations said in response to emailed questions, adding that among the "tough issues" will be determining what kind of investment is needed for Japan to maintain its defense capabilities and to prepare for a Taiwan contingency.

Although hailing from a historically dovish faction of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida has vowed to beef up Japan's defenses amid China's rapid military buildup and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, while instructing his government to weigh the possibility of securing the capability to strike targets in a hostile country.

The LDP, of which Kishida is now president, also proposed ahead of the recent House of Representatives election a target of spending 2 percent of Japan's gross domestic product on defense, a substantial increase from the 1 percent threshold the country has traditionally maintained.

Acquiring enemy base strike capabilities has been a particularly politically sensitive topic in Japan in light of its war-renouncing Constitution that has led the Self-Defense Forces to adopt a so-called exclusively defense-oriented policy.

But it is also a matter of great interest to Washington and neighboring countries such as China as the move could mark a deviation from the nature of the decades-old alliance, in which the United States has served as a "spear" and Japan as the "shield."

As the United States continues to take a tough stance on China, Japan has become more vocal about its concerns over Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. But Tokyo has not made clear what role it exactly plans to play.

"Is it going to just be defense of Japan? Is it going to be rear area support of U.S. forces?" Jeffrey Hornung, a senior political scientist at the Rand Corporation, asked at a recent in-person event organized by the Heritage Foundation.

"There's a whole host of mission sets that I think Japan is capable of playing," he added.

Citing Japanese security legislation that provides the grounds to act in such cases, Hornung said, "The security legislation tells us what legally Japan is capable of doing. It does not tell us what Japan is willing to do. And that's really the $10,000 question here."

Whether Kishida likes it or not, expectations about Japan's role in maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific region are likely to become greater as the United States shifts its focus more to competing with China following its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"Americans could fight the war on terror without Japan. But here in this Indo-Pacific region, Americans cannot fight without Japan, Americans cannot deter China without Yokosuka, Sasebo and Kadena and Okinawa (where U.S. bases are located)," Kuni Miyake, research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, a Tokyo-based think tank, said.

"This is the first time since 1945 (that) Japan has to be, whether we like it or not, a key player, because the theater is here, not in Europe, not in the Middle East anymore," he said at a recent online event organized by the Stimson Center in Washington.

Ward said Japan's allies would likely be feeling relieved that Kishida is off to a good start, including his smooth diplomatic debut and the LDP having a strong performance in Sunday's election, as they closely watch for signs of whether he could end up being another short-term prime minister.

"The start is good, but obviously, people's expectations would have been raised, I think, as well. So the important thing would now be to try to deliver on this," he said.
New Delhi:

The BJP on Tuesday questioned the Oppositions silence over a video in which Tej Bahadur Yadav, a sacked BSF soldier whose nomination as SP candidate from Varanasi was rejected by the EC, is purportedly talking about assassinating Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a press conference, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said: A video has been running since yesterday in which Tej Bahadur Yadav is heard asking for Rs 50 crore to assassinate Modi. This is fateful as we have been seeing this video since yesterday but neither the media nor the opposition has spoken about it.

The echo of sponsored slaps on Kejriwal ji is heard for months, but there is no talk of conspiracy to kill the PM of the nation. Why is the opposition silent on this? Does the opposition agree with Tej Bahadur, he asked.

Patra further asked if the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party will apologise to the nation after seeing the video.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was praising Tej Bahadur a few days back. I want to ask the SP-BSP alliance if it will apologise to the nation after watching the video, Patra said.

The Samajwadi Party had fielded Tej Bahadur as its candidate against Modi but the Election Commission rejected his nomination papers, saying he had not furnished all details sought by it.

On Monday, the BJP expressed shock over the video. Some news channels have shown the video but have not vouched for its authenticity.

BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said the video illustrates how in the face of imminent defeat political rivals have degenerated into using violent methods.

When Tej Bahadur Yadav was asked about the video, he confessed that he is the man in the video but claimed that the clip was doctored as he never spoke to assassinate the Prime Minister. The sacked BSF jawan said that the video was shot by a Delhi Police constable in 2017 when he was staging a dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi after his dismissal.

I have seen that video. This video was shot in 2017 without my knowledge. I had spoken to that person on several issues related to soldiers. But I never spoke about any plot of assassination of Prime Minister. The video is doctored, Indian Express quoted Yadav as saying.

On Monday, Yadav moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Election Commissions decision to cancel his candidature from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. In his plea, Yadav termed the decision of the poll panel discriminatory and unreasonable and said it should be set aside.

Tej Bahadur Yadav, the Border Security Force (BSF) Constable was dismissed from service after he had released a video in 2017 on quality of food served to soldiers. He had posted four videos on the social media in January, 2017, that showed him complaining about the unpalatable food at his camp along the Indo-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir.
New Delhi:

NASA, the US space agency, gave details about its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)s plan to hit a small moonlet target in a double asteroid system with a spacecraft in 2022, its first mission to demonstrate a planetary defence technique. The asteroid, called Didymoon or Didymos B, is a moon asteroid around 150 meters tall orbiting a larger body Didymos A, the most accessible asteroid of its size from the Earth, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The asteroid poses no threat to Earth and is an ideal test target: measuring the change in how the smaller asteroid orbits about the larger asteroid in a binary system is much easier than observing the change in a single asteroid's orbit around the Sun. Work is ramping up at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and other locations across the country, as the mission heads toward its summer 2021 launch  and attempts to pull off a feat so far seen only in science fiction films.

The Didymos system is too small and too far to be seen as anything more than a point of light, but we can get the data we need by measuring the brightness of that point of light, which changes as Didymos A rotates and Didymos B orbits, said APLs Andy Rivkin, DART investigation team co-lead, who participated in the observations.

The brightness changes indicate when the smaller moon, Didymos B, passes in front of or is hidden behind Didymos A from our point of view. These observations will help scientists determine the location of Didymos B about Didymos A and inform the exact timing of DARTs impact to maximize the deflection.



The investigation team will observe Didymos again from late 2020 into the spring of 2021. Final ground-based observations will occur as the spacecraft travels toward the asteroid, as well as after impact occurs.

But the NASA team will eventually see the asteroid system close-up thanks to an Italian-made imager. The shoebox-sized cube satellite will record the spacecraft's impact and its aftermath.

DART will carry an optical navigation system to capture images that help the spacecraft reach its target.

In its latest design, DART spacecraft will be able to move by relying on small hydrazine thrusters while utilising the electric propulsion system, which will push the start of the primary launch window to July of 2021, shortening the mission flight time. Its previous planned launch time was December 2020.

The DART spacecraft will crash itself into the asteroid at a speed of approximately six kilometer per second and the collision will change the speed of the moonlet in its orbit around the main body by a fraction of one per cent, enough to be measured using telescopes on the Earth, according to the NASA.

(With agency inputs)

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Lucknow:

Known for blowing hot and cold against ally BJP, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar claimed on Monday he has resigned from the Yogi Adityanath government and it was up to the saffron party to decide on it.

"I tendered resignation as minister on April 13. It is up to the BJP to decide whether to accept or reject it," Rajbhar, a cabinet minister in the UP government, told reporters here.

"I have nothing to do with the government now," he said.

The SBSP chief alleged the BJP was misusing his party's name and flag in the election under way. "Even during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow, they were used. I have filed a complaint in this regard with the Election Commission," Rajbhar said.

Rajbhar has often publicly criticised the BJP, its ally in Uttar Pradesh.

Last month, he said his party will contest the Lok Sabha election in the state alone and announced candidates on 39 seats, prompting BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to say that "Rajbhar has has been with the BJP and will remain with it".

But he has continued with his criticism of the BJP, alleging it was trying to weaken his party.

On Monday, the SBSP chief claimed the SP-BSP-RLD alliance will win more seats than BJP in the state. He also claimed that the BJP was worried over Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's continuous attacks on it.

Rajbhar has fielded candidates on some 40 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state after he failed to have an understanding with the BJP for Lok Sabha polls and has making adverse comments against the bigger NDA partner.

The Rajbhars constitute 20 per cent of the Purvanchal population and are regarded as the second-most politically dominant community after Yadavs in eastern UP, parts of which will vote during the sixth and seventh phase polls on May 12 and 19, respectively.

The SBSP won four seats in 2017 UP assembly elections.

Rajbhar had said the BJP was under an impression it could win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state and 400 seats in the country "but the reality will dawn on May 23".
New Delhi:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday blamed Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal for the failed alliance between their parties in Delhi for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 and said that the AAP chief took a "U-turn" from an agreed position and wanted a tie-up beyond the national capital.

"I clearly told Kejriwal ji that we have to win all seven seats in Delhi. You contest on four seats and we will contest on three. First, he agreed. Even I concurred with the proposal. But then he brought in talks on Haryana and Punjab. Then he took a U-turn," Gandhi said.

Gandhi was addressing a rally in the Chandni Chowk constituency where he asserted that only the Congress could stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and the RSS. He asserted that the Congress is the only party in the last five years to fight Modi across the country. He accused Kejriwal of "opening the doors" for BJP's victory in 2014 by spreading "lies" about the Congress. "The BJP alone did not spread lies about the Congress," Gandhi said.

"It is you who has to understand this. In Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Karnataka...wherever Narendra Modi went, the Congress party defeated him. I will not allow Narendra Modi, BJP and the RSS to move ahead even by an inch," he said. The Congress president said that even in Parliament, the party MPs battled the BJP.

The AAP and the Congress have been at loggerheads ever since their alliance to fight the BJP failed. While the AAP was not ready to have a tie-up in Delhi alone, the Congress was reluctant to have an alliance beyond the national capital. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has proposed to give two seats to Congress which has instead demanded three - New Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North East Delhi, sources in both the parties claimed. The rationale behind an alliance between the two parties is that together they polled more votes than the BJP which swept the 2014 Lok Sabha elections winning all the seven seats in Delhi.
United Nations:

UN chief Antonio Guterres Tuesday appreciated India for its continued support to the world body's counter-terrorism work, as a flagship programme was launched to support member states to help prosecute suspected terrorists.

The United Office of Counter-Terrorism launched the 'UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme' which is funded by India, Japan, the Netherlands, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Senior UN official Jelle Postma told PTI that India helped the UN agencies get the programme started with its contribution of USD 250,000, giving them a push in the right direction and now other donors are also stepping in.

India's support was highly appreciated by the UN, he said.

Postma said the United Office of Counter-Terrorism and other agencies involved in the effort are hoping to engage further with India to examine how this cooperation can be prolonged.

It helps India as well to be more safe too, he said.

Guterres referred to the recent terror attacks in New Zealand and Sri Lanka to expressed concern over the spread of the scourge of terrorism while warning about the dramatic movement of terrorists around the world.

Sri Lanka is among the first confirmed beneficiary States of the programme. The island nation came under attack on Easter Sunday as terrorists killed over 250 people.

The recent despicable attacks in Kenya, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, among others, are tragic reminders of the global reach of the scourge of terrorism. These attacks underscore the need to work closely with partners across the United Nations system and beyond," Guterres said at the official launch of the programme in the General Assembly hall.

The UN Chief stressed the UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme is about helping to meet these objectives.

Expressing gratitude to the Dutch Government for its generous contribution to the effort, Guterres said "I also appreciate the continued support of the Governments of India, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar to the counter-terrorism work of the United Nations".

India is at the forefront of efforts at the UN to combat terrorism and ensure that perpetrators of heinous terror attacks are brought to justice.

Merely days after Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar was listed as a global terrorist at the UN Security Council, India gave a clarion call for strengthening efforts to adopt the long-pending Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism for countering the global scourge.

India had proposed a draft document on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN in 1986 but it has not been implemented as there is no unanimity on the definition of terrorism among the member states.

The programme aims to support member states to use travel information to detect, prevent, investigate and prosecute suspected terrorists, while respecting high safeguards for data protection and in compliance with international human rights laws.

The UN will provide state-of-the-art software 'goTravel' - capable of analysing travel data which, based on context-specific risks, will help them to detect and track suspected terrorists and their movements across borders.

The programme will help member states collect, process and share travel data with other competent national and international authorities, with full respect for privacy and other fundamental freedoms.

The UN chief said just two years ago, the world organisation estimated that over 40,000 foreign fighters from more than 110 countries may have travelled to join terrorist groups in the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq.

"Following the territorial defeat of ISIS, many terrorists are trying to return home or relocate to safe havens or other troubled parts of the world. Many are well trained and could carry out future terrorist attacks," he said.

He said others are hoping to radicalise and recruit new followers to their cause, representing a major transnational threat.

Guterres underscored that detecting and disrupting these terrorists and other high-risk criminals prior to them carrying out an attack was a high priority for the international community.

"This information sharing will enhance the abilities of Member States to effectively detect, prevent, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences, including their related travel. Importantly, this will also enable the detection and disruption of human trafficking and other forms of serious organised crime and to faster identify their victims," he said.

The first phase of the programme will run for five years and an estimated USD 12 million per year is required for it.

Guterres said the programme represents the kind of cooperative, inter-governmental and institutional approach that he aimed for when he established the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact last year to enhance counter-terrorism coordination and coherence across the system.

"The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre has stepped up its efforts to meet the growing expectations and demands from countries most affected by terrorism. Let us all pledge to continue to work together in pragmatic and innovative ways to address serious threats to international peace and security," he said.

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New Delhi:

After months long waiting, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first Baby Sussex, a baby boy on Monday evening. With the big news, it wasnt long before the Duke of Sussex spoke to the media and the royal fans about the arrival of the bundle of joy. Sharing the big news, the Duke, ecstatic about his new baby boy lets loose a tongue slip thanking even a pair of horses, which is nothing short of adorable.

At Windsor Castle, Harry had given a short statement to a handful of reporters confirming the birth. At the end of the speech, he said he was "over the moon" and told the reporters, "Thank you very much, guys." Making a hurried exit, Prince Harry then goes on to turn towards the horses stables and added, "Thanks, guys!" leaving the internet in splits.

Watch the video here:

Baby Sussex, who was born in the early morning of Monday morning was received with a warm, awaited welcome by the royal household and fans. Sharing the news with the royal fans, the Royal family released an official statement that read:

"We are pleased to announce that Their Royal Highness the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their firstborn child in the early morning on May 6th, 2019. Their Royal Highnesses' son weighs 7lbs. 3oz," the statement read. "The Duchess and baby are both healthy and well, and the couple thank members of the public for their shared excitement and support during this very special time in their lives."

Baby Sussex stands seventh in line to the British throne and is Queen Elizabeth's eighth great-grandchild.

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Colorado:

A teenage student was shot dead while several others were critically injured in a shooting by fellow pupils at a suburban Denver school in the US school of Colorado on Tuesday.

It is with extreme sadness that we can confirm that 1 student at the STEM School was killed in todays shooting incident. The immediate family has been notified. Douglas County Coroner Jill Romann has not officially identified the student is stating its an 18 year old male, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter.

Earlier, Sheriff Tony Spurlock had said that that two shooters walked into the school and opened fire on students in two classrooms. He said a number of students were shot and wounded. The victims are all 15 and older.

Spurlock said the gunmen were both students at STEM School Highlands Ranch and that he had no information about whether anyone was targeted. The sheriff says the shooters are in custody, believed to be a man and a minor boy.

The sheriff said at least a handgun was recovered, but he didn't release other information on weapons.

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New Delhi:

The wait for the Signature Bridge in the national capital is finally over after 14 long years. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate the 575-metre-long suspension bridge on Sunday and it will be thrown open for public on Monday.

Built over river Yamuna, Signature Bridge will reduce the travel time between north and northeast Delhi. It will also share the traffic burden of the Wazirabad bridge. It will also offer a panoramic view of the city and have designated selfie spots.

Read More | Central Banks Autonomy: Is India only country to witness fight between government and bank?

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia visited the bridge on Friday and conducted inspection to ensure everything is in place.

Delhi! Here is your pride ..The Signature Bridge ..

Ready to welcome you tomorrow for inauguration ceremony.. 4pm onwards.. Sunday. 4th Nov. pic.twitter.com/kVicLkACWh  Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) November 3, 2018

Delhiites will be able to enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the 154-metre-high glass box on the top of the bridge, where they will be taken in four elevators with a total capacity of carrying 50 people. The elevators area likely to be operational in two months, an official said.

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Announced in 2004, the bridge has missed several deadlines since 2011. The proposal for the bridge, mooted in 2004, received approval of the Delhi Cabinet in 2007. It was initially expected to be completed at a modified estimate of Rs 1,131 crore for the Commonwealth Games, held in Delhi in October 2010. In 2015, the cost of the project rose to Rs 1,594 crore. Reportedly, the bridge was proposed for the first time as early as in 1997 at an initial cost of Rs 464 crore.

All you need to know about the Signature Bridge:

It is a 575-metre-long suspension bridge. It will reduce travel time between north and northeast Delhi, taking the load off Wazirabad bridge There will be an observation deck on the tip of the pylon to take a panoramic view of the city. The pylon is boomerang-shaped and is a high-steel glass structure. The viewing deck is likely to be open to public by February. The visitors will be taken to the viewing deck in four elevators, which will be able to carry around 50 people at a time. The elevators area is likely to be operational in two months. The proposal for the bridge, mooted in 2004, received approval of the Delhi Cabinet in 2007. As per reports, the bridge was proposed for the first time as early as in 1997 at an initial cost of Rs 464 crore which escalated to a whopping Rs 1,500 crore. The Signature Bridge is one of the most expensive projects of the Delhi government.

(With agency inputs)
highlights Jaitley terms Congress the 'cry baby' of 2019 elections.

FM attacks the party for alleging violation of MCC by BJP again and again.

However, the poll body issued clean cheat to the rulling party in all the cases.

New Delhi:

In yet another hard-hitting Facebook post, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday described the Congress as the "cry baby" of this election, saying the party has recently developed a new tendency to excessively allege a violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) by its opponents. The senior BJP leader also reminded the grand-old-party that the model code of conduct cannot encroach someone's right to free speech in any way.

"Of late, a tendency has developed amongst the political parties to excessively allege a violation of the MCC by their opponents. The Congress Party as the 'Cry Baby' of this election, is leading the pack," Jaitley wrote in the blog post titled 'Model Code of Conduct Does Not Take Away the Right to Free Speech'. "The MCC cannot encroach the right to free speech. The two have to exist harmoniously," he added.

In a reference to Article 324 of the Indian Constitution, Jaitley said, any power exercised by the Election Commission under the act cannot relate to areas which are covered by the legislation or regulation but will be confined to areas where legislation does not occupy any space. Article 324 empowers the Election Commission to take all necessary steps in order to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to first-time voters that they should keep in mind the sacrifice of martyrs while casting vote, Jaitley said: "no party or candidate was mentioned". Addressing a public rally in Maharashtra Modi had on April 9, said, "Can your first vote be dedicated to those who carried out the air strike in Pakistan".

Citing Modi's another statement in Wardha about Rahul Gandhi contesting from Wayanad, Jaitley said the prime minister only commented on the demographic composition of the constituency. "If such speeches are considered by anyone as violative of the MCC, that may actually run the danger of the MCC's constitutionality in relation to free speech being called into question," he said.

Last month, the Congress had knocked the Election Commission's door, asking the poll panel to take action against Modi's "divisive" speech on Gandhi.

In an election rally in Wadhara, Modi had on April 1 reportedly said the opposition party was "scared" to field its leaders from constituencies where the majority dominates. Modi's statement indicated that Kerala's Wayanad constituency had more voters from the minority community which led the Congress chief to file his nomination from the seat.

In a first, Gandhi, this year, is contesting from Kerala's Wayanad, as a second parliamentary constituency, in addition to his traditional stronghold in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.

However, the Election Commission did not find any violation of its instructions in Modi's speech during his Maharashtra and Wardha rallies and issued him a clean cheat on the basis of the Congress' complaint against him.

On the latest incident of the Congress approaching the EC, the finance minister said, "they can call even an honest Prime Minister a 'Chor'. Others don't possess that right".

At a rally in Uttar Pradesh, Modi had last week launched a blistering attack on Rahul Gandhi, saying that his father (Rajiv Gandhi) was termed Mr Clean by his courtiers, but his life ended as "bhrashtachari no 1".

Though the prime minister was issued a clean cheat by the Election Commission for his "bhrashtachari no 1" remark on Rajiv Gandhi yet again on Tuesday, the comment evoked a widespread criticism from politicians across party lines.
Raipur:

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel Monday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling former prime minister late Rajiv Gandhi corrupt. Speaking at a poll rally in Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh on May 4, PM Modi, attacking Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, accused the latters father, former PM Rajiv Gandhi, of being corrupt.

Your father was termed Mr Clean by his courtiers, but his life ended as Bhrastachari number 1 (corrupt number 1), Modi had said.

Addressing a press conference in Raipur, Baghel said, Rajiv jis contribution for the nation proved to be a milestone. His work on information technology and Panchayati Raj are among them. He sacrificed his life for the unity and integrity of the country. He was awarded the highest civilian award of the country Bharat Ratna posthumously. The PMs remark on Rajiv ji is highly condemnable. No one can even imagine that a person of the stature of prime minister would make such a derogatory remark about a person who is not alive and was a respectable political figure. It shows the PM has lost his mental balance and needs medication, Baghel said.

The PM has said that he sleeps only for 3-4 hours. Lack of sleep has destabilised his mental status. He (Modi) should not be at the top position as it is dangerous for the country, he added.

PM Modi falsely claims he has love in his heart for the country but instead he is only hungry for power and can stoop to any level to attain it, Baghel alleged.

Baghel said the statement proved that Modi had accepted defeat in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections and demanded that the PM apologise to the nation for the remark.

Baghel further said the BJP is not going to win more than 150 seats in the lok Sabha election, and claimed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance would get over 300 seats.

Meanwhile, state BJP spokesperson Sachchidanand Upsane hit out at Baghel for his statement that the PM has lost his mental balance.

Since Modi ji became PM, Congress leaders have been making very objectionable comments on him. Now a CM has made such a remark. He should apologise, Upsane said.

The PM did not abuse Rajiv Gandhi ji. He had only told the facts. Why is the Congress so panicked when the entire Bofors matter is in the public domain. Rajiv ji must have worked for the country but he also faced charges of corruption, Upsane added.
New Delhi:

Air India, the embattled national carrier, has finally found the buyer for its iconic sea-facing Mumbai building, a latest media report said on Tuesday. The deal, if materialise, may help the Air India to ease its fund crunch. According to an Indian Express report, the Maharashtra government has offered Rs 1,400 crore to Air India for its Mumbai building. Earlier, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) had quoted Rs 1,375 crore and Rs 1,200 crore for the building. The deal is one of its kind with the state buying back the land it had leased out for a commercial activity. It was in 1970 that the then Maharashtra government had leased the building to Air India for 99-year term.

We have asked Air India to ensure there is no renewal of rental agreements after the expiry of the current period. Due to a paucity of space in Mantralaya, offices of the state secretariat operate from various locations currently. Were paying high rentals and face efficiency related issues. All these offices can be accommodated in the Air India building, Maharashtra Chief Secretary UPS Madan was quoted as saying.

However, Air India has not issued any statement regarding the impending deal. The sale of Air Indias 23-storey building at Nariman Point, Mumbai, which was also once the airlines headquarters, was seen as way for getting more funds. The Air India is currently running with debt of Rs 50,000 crore.

Earlier, speaking about the Air India's woes, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu had said that future revenues of the company cannot service its "massive" debt and this legacy issue has to be segregated from the current challenges of national carrier.

"If you feel that future revenues can actually service the debt, it is not possible for the simple reason that the debt is so massive," Prabhu had said during a livestream held on 'Flying for All: Global Aviation Summit 2019'.

Air India earns 65 per cent of its revenues from international routes, while the remaining comes from domestic network. "Also, the cost of interest on the debt, when you try to service it from your revenues, Air India can never be in profit. Therefore, we have to address the debt issue. We are proactively working with the Ministry of Finance to make it happen," Prabhu added.

Air India has been making losses since the merger with Indian Airlines in 2007. The airline has a fleet size of around 122 aircraft currently.

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Port Moresby:

A powerful but deep 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, officials said, cutting power and knocking items off shelves though there were no immediate reports of serious damage. The quake struck at a depth of 127 kilometers (80 miles) about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the town of Bulolo at 2119 GMT Monday according to the US Geological Survey, and was felt in the capital Port Moresby about 250 kilometres away.

Officials said there were no immediate reports of major damage and the depth of the tremor meant there was no Tsunami threat. "We have no reports as yet" of serious damage, Inspector Leo Kaikas, Bulolo police station commander, told AFP.

"We are still assessing the situation," he said. Staff at Bulolo's Pine Lodge hotel said there was very minor damage from objects falling off tables, but nothing more serious.

Residents in Lae, more than 100 kilometres away, said the quake knocked things off shelves and worktops and cut electricity in some areas.

"I had just woken up," Christopher Lam, a designer who lives in the city, told AFP. "It lasted a little more than 30 seconds. We had household items knocked off their shelves and the power got cut.

"Things seem to have returned to normal. No structural damage here, though I'm not sure about other buildings in the city."

There are estimated to be around 1,10,000 people living within 50 kilometers of the epicentre, according to UN data.

The Moresby-based National Disaster Management office said while there were no early reports of damage, but news from the quake zone could take time to trickle in.

"We are awaiting assessments," a spokesman told AFP. The country's rugged highlands region was hit by a 7.5-magnitude quake in February last year that buried homes and triggered landslides, killing at least 125 people.

The scale of that disaster did not become apparent for days due to PNG's poor communications and infrastructure.

There are regular earthquakes in Papua New Guinea, which sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire -- a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.

Along the South Solomon trench, an area of the Pacific that includes PNG, there have been 13 quakes of magnitude 7.5 or more recorded since 1900, according to USGS data.

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New Delhi:

The Congress approached the Election Commission on Monday, seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including a ban on his campaigning, for his remarks against former PM Rajiv Gandhi. A team of Congress leaders, comprising Abhishek Singhvi, Rajiv Shukla and Salman Khurshid, met the Election Commissioners and demanded that the EC take immediate action against Modi for his remarks, which they termed "uncultured, illegal and against Indian traditions".

"We have sought an immediate ban on the prime minister's campaign. We have emphasised to the Election Commission that it is very important for its own credibility, as the EC had kept complaints pending for over 30 days in the past," Singhvi told reporters.

He said the Congress has so far made 11 complaints with the EC, but no action has been taken, despite going to the Supreme Court.

"There are around two weeks left for the elections (to complete) and there should be an immediate ban on the prime minister's campaigning and a notice of 24 hours should be given at the most and action should come within 48 hours," he said.

On Saturday at a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi said that the life of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's father and former PM Rajiv Gandhi had ended as "bhrashtachari number 1".

Singhvi said it seemed the PM was not aware of the Indian culture.

He has a "tendency to make statements for cheap electoral gains", the Congress leader said, noting the remarks were not worthy of a person occupying the top post in the country.

Singhvi said after almost 14 years, a petition was filed against Rajiv Gandhi and the same was turned down by the Supreme Court on November 2, 2018.

"I want to ask whether this country is run by the rule of law or the statement of the prime minister," Singhvi said.

He also accused Modi and other BJP leaders of indulging in blatant violation of laws.

"We want to ask, who is telling a lie, who is indulging in misleading campaign, and distortion of facts," he said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, meanwhile, said that while the Congress chief and his party can criticise an honest prime minister as a "chor" (thief) and no model code is preventing them from saying so, but if the PM calls the Congress legacy "corrupt", the grand old party demands action against him and files complaints to the EC.

"Are there two Model Codes of Conduct," Jaitley asked in a tweet.

The Congress in its memorandum to the EC requested for urgent and necessary censures/strictures against Modi for using obscene/derogatory remarks for the late Rajiv Gandhi.

"The derogatory remarks by Mr. Narendra Modi are not only unbecoming of a prime minister but have also met with widespread condemnation from across the country," the memorandum said.

The party also said that despite the court's orders, the prime minister in a "vile and malicious attempt to malign the former prime minister's image has gone this far ahead with his false accusations only to further his election propaganda".

"Usage of such obscene/derogatory language by the prime minister is not only defamatory but also violates the directions of the Model Code of Conduct that must be strictly observed and followed," the Congress said.

"Yet again we are constrained to beseech this Commission and remind it of its constitutional powers under Article 324 of the Constitution. So far, this election has recorded the greatest number of lapses deliberately and maliciously by a sitting prime minister in recorded history. A complete lack of action against the prime minister has made these actions all the more egregious. The ECI must not let its sanctity be compromised.

"We hope the Commission deems this a matter worth addressing and treats it with the urgency it deserves," the party said in its complaint to EC.

Earlier, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said the statements from BJP leaders have given a clear impression that the saffron party is in "electoral depression".

He said by attacking Rajiv Gandhi the PM has "proved that the BJP campaign has reached a dead end. In fact, it is that car which has no tyre or engine. The people of India are very intelligent."

"The camp BJP is nervous, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who for the past five years, was in panic mode or rather in flight mode, today is in an electoral panic mode.

"In the past five years, the prime minister could not uplift the standard of living of the people of the country, but, he completely singlehandedly lowered the standard of politics in the country," Shergill said.

The Congress leader asked the first-time voter of 2019 to definitely consult the first-time voter of 2014 to know the reality of BJP.

"The truth of the matter is 2014 slogan was ?Har-Har Modi, Ghar-Ghar Modi' and 2019 slogan is ?Bye-Bye Modi, Bye-Bye Modi'," he said.

To a question on the violence in West Bengal, Shergill said the Congress condemns any kind of violence being witnessed in any state in India during the on-going poll process.

"The Election Commission should definitely look into the violence; prevent future violence in the remaining period to ensure that people cast their vote freely and without any fear. That is our people and I hope the Election Commission and the central forces will look into it," he said.
New Delhi:

The bodies of 2 Maoists, including that of a woman, were recovered after an exchange of fire between the security personnel and left-winged extremists at the Goderas jungle in Chattisgarh's Dantewada on Wednesday morning. An INSAS rifle and a12 bore weapon with and other incriminating materials were recovered.

SP Dantewada Abhishek Pallava said, "District Reserve Guard female commandos Danteshwari Ladake also took part in this encounter". As many as 30 women including surrendered Maoist cadres or wives of surrendered cadres were recruited in the only woman DRG platoon in Dantewada.

The face-off took place around 5 am at a forest in Gonderas village when a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force (STF) was out on an anti-Maoist operation, Deputy Inspector General (anti-naxal operations) Sundarraj P told PTI.

The patrolling team was moving through Gonderas, located along the border of Dantewada-Sukma districts, when a group of the ultras fired at them, leading to the gun-battle, he said.

Besides, some ammunition, Maoist literature, items of daily use and other Maoist-related material were also seized from the spot, he said. Those killed are yet to be identified, he said. The incident took place around 450-km from state capital Raipur. No harm was reported to the security personnel in the gunfight. Search operation is underway in the area, he added.

(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi:

At least five people, including a policeman, were killed and 15 others injured after three private passenger vehicles skidded off mountainous roads and rolled down hills in separate incidents in Ramban and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a statement, a police official said, Two people identified as policeman Bittu Ram and a youth named Neik Ram were killed and six others injured when a passenger cab fell into a deep gorge at Kanga near Ramban.

The cab was on its way from Sumber to Ramban, the busy town along Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Soon after the unfortunate accident, all the injured were rescued. Two of them named Darshan Singh and his wife Deepa Devi were immediately referred to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu for specialised treatment.

Earlier, a vehicle fell into a 200-feet deep gorge near Seenbatti area on late Monday night, killing three people and injuring five others. The deceased were identified as Milap Singh, Keshu Ram and Raju Singh. According to the police, the accident took place when the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a blind curve.

Another vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Bufliaz area of Poonch district's Surankote, injuring at least four passengers.

Recently, five BJP workers were killed after their car fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district. However, the driver of the car survived. All the deceased were on their way to attend chief minister Jai Ram Thakur's election rally at Bhatkidhar in Seraj Tehsil. According to the police, the vehicle fell into a 300-metre-deep gorge near Bagachanogi area killing the five occupants instantly.

Previously, five were killed while five others injured when a jeeb rolled down a cliff near the Phagni village under the foothills subdivision of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The jeep rolled down a cliff and fell into a deep gorge at the Padhar area of Mandi.

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New Delhi:

The Board of Secondary Education, BSE Odisha is expected to release the BSE Odisha Result 2019 for Class 10 (HSC) and Class 12 (Plus Two, +2) board examinations soon. As per the latest updates, the results may take a few more days. The BSE Odisha results would be announced on bseodisha.ac.in and orissaresults.nic.in. The candidates must note that the board has not released any official date for the declaration of the results. Last year the board has released the results on May 7, 2018.

CLICK HERE FOR ODISHA RESULTS 2019

We here at News Nation are in close contact with our sources and will be updating all the latest updates here. Hence, we request the students to bookmark this page and check it regularly for all the updates. Sources on the ground however suggest that the results may be delayed by a week or 10 days. The reason for the delay stated is the restoration work which is presently underway in the state of Odisha.

This year, more than 5 lakh candidates are waiting for their Class 10 results. Last year, about 6 lakh students had appeared for the examinations. Of the total, 4,85,989 students had cleared the matric exam. Girls results were better than boys.

Soon after the formal declaration of the results, the scorecards will be available on the official websites of the board i.e. bseodisha.ac.in and orissaresults.nic.in. The candidates must note that we will be publishing the results on this page as well. For the convenience of the students, we have mention the steps the steps through which the candidates can check the results:

Step 1: english.newsnationtv.com/board-results and click on the Odisha class 10 page

Step 2: Click on the result link given on the top of the page

Step 3: Fill in your registration number or roll number and other admit card details in the provided fields and click on 'Submit'.

Step 4: Once your result appears on the screen, download it and take a printout for future reference.

About Board

There are two separate boards for regulating High School Education and Higher Secondary Education. The Council of Higher Secondary Education, Odisha is in existence since the year 1982 and was established in accordance with the Odisha Higher Secondary Education Act 1982. The duties of CHSE, Odisha include regulating and monitoring the policies to develop Higher Secondary Education in the state of Odisha.

The Board of Secondary Education, Odisha is a Body Corporate constituted under the Odisha Secondary Education Act, 1953. The BSE is located at Bajrakabati Road, Cuttack and is functioning as an education body since 1955. It conducts the High School Certificate Examinations (HSCE) and other related examinations. Its duties and jurisdiction involve the development of curriculum, supervision in the implementation of state academic policies and conducting examinations for the purpose of evaluating the students at the higher secondary level.
Washington:

The Trump administration plans to hike the H-1B visa application fee to increase funding for the expansion of an apprentice programme, Labour Secretary Alexander Acosta has told American lawmakers, a move that would impose additional financial burden on Indian IT companies.

Testifying before a Congressional committee on the annual budget of the Department of Labor for the fiscal year 2020 beginning October 1, 2019, he said that the Labour Department has also made changes to the H-1B application forms to ensure greater transparency and better protect American workers from employers seeking to misuse the programme.

Acosta, however, did not give details of the proposed increase in the H-1B filing fee and the categories of applicants it would be enforced on.

But given past experience, the Indian IT companies, which account for a large number of H-1B applications, are likely to face the additional financial burden because of this proposed increase in H-1B filing fees.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

Arguing that foreigners hurt American workers by competing for jobs and driving down wages, the Trump administration has tightened the noose around the H-1B visa programme.

In his testimony on May 2, Acosta said, "In FY 2020, the Department's budget includes USD 160 million to continue our expansion of apprenticeship programmes, along with a proposal to increase H-1B fee revenues to fund additional apprenticeship activities."

The apprentice programme trains American youths in technology related activities.

Acosta told lawmakers that last year the Department of Labour had launched the first-ever sector-based apprenticeship grant funding opportunity to invest USD 150 million to expand apprenticeships in those in-demand industry sectors most often filled by individuals on H-1B visas, such as information technology, health care and advanced manufacturing.

This grant funding opportunity introduced an innovative approach: a 35 per cent private-sector match requirement. This brings the total investment to USD 202.5 million, USD 57.7 million coming from the private sector, he said.

"As a result of this private sector match requirement, educators have a greater incentive to join with industry to ensure curricula address the needs of our ever-changing workplace, investing in the latest technologies and techniques, and providing more in-demand opportunities for Americans,? Acosta said.

On July 18 last year, the Department of Labour announced USD 150 million in H-1B funds to support sector-based approaches to expanding apprenticeships on a national scale in key industry sectors.

The focus is on industries reliant on H-1B visas. It aims at expanding apprenticeships and increase the level of apprenticeship activity among a range of new employers within these industries, particularly small- and medium-sized businesses.

The Seattle Times on Monday reported that last year immigration officials denied nearly one out of every four requests for new visas for skilled foreign workers.

In fiscal 2018, the Department of Labour concluded 649 non-immigrant visa programme cases and found violations in 553 of those cases.

In a news story, Breitbart News, a far-right website, said that every year, more than 100,000 foreign workers are brought to the US on the H-1B visa and are allowed to stay for up to six years. There are about 650,000 H-1B visa foreign workers in the US at any given moment, it added.

"Let's put our citizens first and protect US workers and wages. Hard-working and highly-skilled American men and women share their stories about H-1B visa fraud and abuse," Republican Congressman from Arizona Paul Gosar said.

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New Delhi:

A minor girl was allegedly gangraped by three youths over a period of 51 days who kept her confined at an undisclosed location in Noida, the police said. The 16-year-old finally managed to escape on April 22 and return home in Noidas Mamura and narrated her ordeal to her parents, who later filed an FIR. The girls father works in a factory.

The girl said that she knew two of her tormentors who lived in her neighbourhood. They had befriended her and then kidnapped her in the first week of March. Family members of the girl alleged that despite repeated attempts to lodge a complaint, police refused to file one initially. Only after they approached the SP (crime), an FIR was lodged. However, a police officer told TOI that the complainant allegedly had a compromise with the accused in the beginning.

Two of the accused were Chotu, a native of Chatarpur in Madhya Pradesh, and Suraj from Mahoba. They kidnapped the girl and kept her confined in a room, where she was raped between March 2 and April 22. They had even threatened to kill her if she tried to flee. In their absence, the girl would be assaulted by Aditya, a resident of Sector 135 who would be present in the room. Aditya belongs to Banda district, the complaint says as reported by ToI.

She arrived in a dishevelled situation and narrated her ordeal to us. We then reached Phase III police and asked cops to lodge a complaint and get her medical test done, but the police made us sign on a paper. Later, no information was given to us and there was no headway in the probe, the father said in the complaint.

Only on April 30, when the girls father gave a written complaint to Gautam Budh Nagar SP (crime) that an FIR was lodged under IPC sections 376 d (gangrape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 3/4 of the POCSO Act against the accused trio at the Phase III police station. And a medical test was conducted on Tuesday.

The girls father denied allegations of a compromise between them and the accused. However, he said that they signed the compromise papers after being misled by neighbours and others who told them their family honour would be lost and if the public got to know.

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New Delhi:

In what may provide enough fodder to the BJP to attack the Congress over nationalism and national security, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has showered praise on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for his agenuine and far-reaching interesta in Indian history, saying that it was adisappointinga that it took a Pakistani leader to remember Tipu Sultan.

On May 4, Khan had paid tribute to Tipu Sultan, praising the 18th century ruler of Mysore for preferring to die for freedom rather than "live a life of enslavement".

aToday 4th May is the death anniversary of Tipu Sultan - a man I admire because he preferred freedom and died fighting for it rather than live a life of enslavement,a the Pakistan PM had tweeted.

Responding to his tweet, Tharoor tweeted: aOne thing i personally know about @imranKhanPTI is that his interest in the shared history of the Indian subcontinent is genuine & far-reaching. He read; he cares. It is disappointing, though, that it took a Pakistani leader to remember a great Indian hero on his punyathithi.a

One thing i personally know about @imranKhanPTI is that his interest in the shared history of the Indian subcontinent is genuine & far-reaching. He read; he cares. It is disappointing, though, that it took a Pakistani leader to remember a great Indian hero on his punyathithi. https://t.co/kWIySEQcJM a Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 6, 2019

Khanas tweet trigerred a war of words between senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah and BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday, with the former saying he was not the one to "eat biryani" with the premier of an enemy country.

Retweeting Khan's message, BJP MP Chandrasekhar wrote, "Dear @siddaramaiah avare - time for u (you) to hug Imranji n (and) Bajwaji - @sherryontopp! Thts (That's) quickest way to bcm (become) @RahulGandhi n (and) @priyankagandhi's favourite! #JustDoIt."

His jibe was aimed at Siddaramaiah's reverence for Tipu Sultan. The Congress leader had started the tradition of celebrating Tipu Jayanti as then chief minister of Karnataka three years ago.

Slamming Chandrasekhar, Siddaramaiah tweeted, "Mr @rajeev_mp, Think before you tweet. I am not like your Chor @narendramodi to eat biryani with the PM of our enemy country & also not like you to compromise on ethics to please your bosses.

"It is better to lead a life of Tipu Sultan than like a slave of your bosses like you."

The Congress leader's attack was in reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Nawaz Sharif, the then prime minister of Pakistan, in Lahore in 2017.

Opposing Tipu Jayanti, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held protests.

The saffron party has been accusing the Congress of ignoring the "genocide" carried out by the erstwhile ruler of Mysuru, including the killings of Kodavas in Kodagu district and Mandyam Iyengars of Melukote.

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New Delhi:

An Egyptian court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences of 13 Islamic militants for attacks against security forces. It is to be noted that all the 13 militants had appealed to the Court of Cassation after a Cairo criminal court handed them the death penalty in 2017.

The 13 were members of Ajnad Misr, or Soldiers of Egypt, had claimed responsibility for lethal attacks on security forces in and around the capital Cairo. Ajnad Misr militant group in January 2014.

During the hearing, the Cassation Court rejected an appeal against initial rulings passed by a Giza criminal tribunal in December 2017. All the accused were found guilty of "making and possessing explosive materials, bombs and firearms, and of receiving training outside the country".

They were also convicted of terrorist acts against police forces and public facilities from late 2013 to May 2015. Apart from the 13 death sentences, 17 other defendants were handed life prison terms and nine to between five and 15 years in jail. However, five defendants were acquitted.

Talking about Ajnad Misr, the Islamic militant group had claimed several deadly attacks against security forces and bombings outside key buildings such as the Supreme Court and the cabinet offices. The group's leader Hammam Mohamed Attiyah was killed by security forces in 2015 in Cairo and many of its remaining members are held in custody.

Security forces had said that Attiyah belonged to Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State group, before he broke away in 2013 to found Ajnad Misr.

Egypt has been battling an insurgency affiliated with IS in the restive North Sinai region since former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted in 2013.

The government in February 2018 launched a large-scale military operation against IS in the Sinai Peninsula of eastern Egypt. Around 600 suspected militants and 40 soldiers have been killed so far, according to official figures.

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New Delhi:

Restrictions on the movement of civilian traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway were further relaxed on Tuesday, with the authorities partially lifting the ban on public vehicles on the Srinagar-Udhampur stretch. The restrictions on civilian traffic in the Srinagar-Udhampur section of the national highway-44 will be lifted on Wednesdays with effect from May 23, according to an official statement.

"The prohibition on civilian traffic in this stretch would now be only on Sunday(s)," it said. The authorities had earlier relaxed the ban on the Srinagar-Baramula stretch. The restrictions on civilian traffic two days a week were enforced after a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attacker rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a bus in a CRPF convoy, killing 40 jawans on February 14.

(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi: Devotees will once again get to visit Mother Annapurna Devi after nearly 100 years at an initiative by PM Narendra Modi. The statue of the mother, who was smuggled to Canada about 100 years ago, has been brought back to India. Which will now be installed at Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, the actual location of the statue.

The statue of Mother Annapurna Devi was brought back to the country on October 15 last. It was only in November last year that PM Modi announced the return of the statue of Mother Annapurna to the country. PM Modi had said during his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat that it was stolen and sent out of the country around 1913. In this case, union culture minister G Kishan Reddy had informed on Tuesday (October 2, 2021) that the statue of Mother Annapurna from Ottawa, Canada has been found by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and will be taken to Varanasi.

According to the Ministry of Culture, 55 statues were returned to India in 1976, out of which 75 per cent were received during 2014-2021. Out of this, 42 statues were brought back to the country after 2014. The ministry has said that the statue of Mother Annapurna will first be taken to Aligarh on November 11, then Kannauj and Ayodhya on November 14. It will then reach its last destination Varanasi on November 15, where it will be installed at Kashi Vishwanath temple after religious rituals.

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Canberra: Australia announced on Wednesday that it has ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world's largest free trade agreement, which will go into effect next year (FTA).

According to reports, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said in a statement that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) would be a major boost for the country's economy. "Australia has ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, ensuring that our farmers and businesses can access the benefits of what will be the world's largest free trade agreement," the statement said.

The 15 signatories to the agreement -- ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, New Zealand, China, South Korea, and Japan -- account for roughly 30percent of the global population and GNP (GDP).

It aims to eliminate tariffs on up to 90percent of goods traded between the two countries and standardise investment and e-commerce rules."When fully implemented for all 15 signatories, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be the world's largest free trade agreement, bringing nine of Australia's top 15 trading partners into a single economic framework," according to the statement.



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New Delhi: On Tuesday, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav urged the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) to work together to protect developing countries' interests, stating that climate finance cannot remain at 2009 levels and must be increased to at least USD 1,000 billion to meet the goals of addressing climate change.

Speaking at the LMDC Ministerial Meeting on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow, the minister emphasised the need of the LMDC's unity and strength in the UNFCCC discussions to protect the interests of the Global South in the battle against climate change.

The Environment Minister further stated that India is working on ambitious climate initiatives in accordance with sustainable development aspirations under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vibrant and visionary leadership. He urged LMDC members to join India in supporting global initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT). The Minister also praised the Third World Network (TWN) for its support of LMDC, emphasising the need of ensuring TWN's resources.

India, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were among the countries represented at the meeting. Yadav emphasised that acknowledging the current issues confronting poor countries necessitated increased multilateral cooperation rather than increased global economic and geopolitical competitiveness and trade wars.

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Islamabad: Pakistan is largely responsible for the current condition of Afghanistan. This was what the whole world used to say until now, but now a terrorist organization has said the same thing. The Islamic State, a terror group that has rocked Afghanistan with day-to-day bombings, has said that Pakistan is responsible for the current situation in Afghanistan. The Islamic State is also known as Da'esh and ISIS-K. It has described Pakistan as its first target.

ISIS-K has warned that anyone who goes against Islam or opposes the Quran will face the wrath of the terror group, which is intended to adopt Sharia rules. A member of ISIS Khurasan (ISIS-K) in Afghanistan said his first target is to destroy Pakistan. According to reports, ISIS-K member Najifullah (Nazifullah) has blamed Pakistan for what is happening in Afghanistan.

Tell us that ISIS is currently increasing its activity in Afghanistan. He considers the Taliban his arch enemy. According to media reports, nazifullah, a member of the terror group, said, "Our first target is to ruin Pakistan, because Pakistan is the main reason for every situation in Afghanistan. 

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Flights from Srinagar, in Jammu and Kashmir, to Sharjah will not be permitted, according to the Pakistani government.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reacted to the move by tweeting, "In 2009-2010, Pakistan did the same thing with an Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai. I had hoped that Go First's permission to fly over Pakistani airspace would signal a warming of relations, but alas, that was not to be."

According to a media report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special VVIP flight flew over Pakistani airspace on Friday en route to Italy for the G20 Summit, and the aircraft will use it again on its return journey after receiving formal permission from Islamabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plane, a Boeing 777-300ER, K7066, flew into Pakistani airspace from Bahawalpur, passing through Turbat and Panjgur on its way to Italy via Iran and Turkey.

According to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources, Indian authorities had requested permission to use Pakistani airspace for Modi's special flight from Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The request was granted, and the Indian Prime Minister was allowed to fly through Pakistani airspace.

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Pakistan: After being blocked by the Taliban two months ago, the Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan has reopened to people and vehicular traffic, according to media reports. "After discussions between border authorities of Pakistan and Afghanistan, friendship gate at Chaman-Boldak crossing point will open from tomorrow morning & two sides will ensure facilitative movement of people and trade/transit vehicles," Islamabad's Ambassador to Kabul Mansoor Ahmad Khan said in a series of tweets on Tuesday. Meanwhile, officials in Kandahar verified that the border crossing opened at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

On October 22, the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing at Torkham, which had previously been restricted to commercial activity, reopened, allowing desperate Afghan men and women to enter Pakistan.

In an effort to reduce Covid-19 transmission, the Pakistani authorities decided to restrict all of its borders with Afghanistan to pedestrian travel in May of this year. The constraints also included Islamabad's decision to now accept inflows of migrants fleeing the Taliban's control of Afghanistan and the security situation there.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday after a five-day foreign trip that included stops in Italy and the United Kingdom, where he bolstered India's self-declared renewable energy commitments at COP26 in Glasgow and outlined India's global policy positions at the G20 Summit.

PM Modi delivered a "seminal" statement at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, highlighting the range and depth of climate actions taken by India, as well as future goals that the country has set for itself. Prime Minister Modi announced five "amrit tatvas" during his COP26 address on Monday, including a goal of net-zero emissions by 2070. He stated that India will increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030, and that renewable energy will meet 50 percent of India's energy needs.

PM Modi praised India's efforts to combat climate change, claiming that India is the only major economy that has worked to implement the Paris Agreement in both letter and spirit. He also spoke at the Build Back Better for the World (B3W) event, emphasising four aspects of infrastructure development, including long-term, transparent financing that respects all countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity.

PM Modi and British Prime Minister Johnson launched the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative in Glasgow later on Tuesday. The event was held as part of the India-UK Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Coalition (CDRI).

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New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi has returned to the country today after attending the G-20 Summit and Conference of Parties (COP) 26. But shortly before returning to India, Scotland saw a unique style of PM Modi. PM Modi met the Indian community there before leaving for India. PM Modi also played the drums with a group standing in his reception.

#WATCH PM Modi plays the drums along with members of the Indian community gathered to bid him goodbye before his departure for India from Glasgow, Scotland



(Source: Doordarshan) pic.twitter.com/J1zyqnJzBW  ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2021

In fact, PM Modi came out of the hotel on Tuesday to go to the airport. Here, a lot of people were standing outside the hotel at their reception. Some of them stood with drums and bands. Seeing PM Modi, one started playing Nagada. PM Modi also approached him, accepted his greetings and joined him on the drum.

People outside the hotel were wearing traditional Indian attire. PM Modi also met the children present. PM Modi met heads of state from several countries including the UK, Israel, Nepal, Italy and France during his 5-day foreign visit, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the G20 Summit in Rome.

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In Nepal, different aspects of nature are worshipped along with gods and deities. One of such parts of nature highly valued in Nepal is animals. There are many festivals dedicated to the worship of different animals, birds and insects.

They are worshipped either as vahana (the vehicle) of any god or goddess or as the reincarnation/avatar of gods and goddesses. Plus, the support they add to making peoples lives easier is also valued.

Here, lets find out which animals are worshipped in Nepal, when, and why:

1. Dog

File: A sniffer dog is being worshipped on the occasion of Kukur Tihar

Hindus in Nepal worship dogs on Kukur Tihar, the second day of Tihar, or the festivals of light, Tihar. Kukur Tihar is one of many renditions of the Nepali Hindus worshipping animals. The dog is considered the vahana (vehicle) of the Hindu deity Bhairava. Dogs, be it pet dogs or stray dogs, are worshipped on this day. They are offered tika, garlands, and food on this day.

2. Cow

A woman worshipping a cow by putting Tika.

The cow is considered the most sacred animal by Hindus as its entire body is believed to represent 330 million Hindu gods and goddesses. The cow is worshipped daily in most Nepali agricultural households that follow Hinduism and rear cows. However, cows are particularly worshipped on Gai Tihar, the third day of Tihar, by offering them garlands and tika and feeding them delicacies like malpua, fruits, and so on. The cow is regarded as the reincarnation of the goddess of wealth, Laxmi.

3. Ox

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

On the fourth day of Tihar, Goru Tihar, a day dedicated to goru (ox), oxen are worshipped. An ox is the vehicle of Lord Shiva and is called Nandi. Like cows and dogs, oxen are fed with delicious offerings and are worshipped by putting tika on their forehead and marigold garlands around their neck.

4. Crow

Crows eating food offered by devotees.

The festival of lights, Tihar, begins with worshipping crows. Crows are believed to be the messengers of Yamaraj, the god of death, therefore devotees hope to appease Yamaraj and ward off grief and death by worshipping crows. On the day of Kaag Tihar, devotees offer a little bit of every dish cooked for lunch to the crows before they have the meal and place the offering on the rooftop or on the streets. They also offer grains and seeds.

5. Snake

File: Locals of Kathmandu mount a Naag image on their doorway to celebrate the Naag Panchami festival.

On the day of Shrawan Shukla Paksha Panchami, the fifth day of the waning moon in the lunar month of Shrawan, falls Naag Panchami, a festival dedicated to snake gods, naag. Devotees mount the picture of Naags on the top of the doorways with cow dung, put tika, dubo, rice grains, and offer milk and fruits believing that this will guard them against the bites of snakes, scorpions, and other poisonous animals and calamities like storms, fire, and lightning.

6. Frog

File

On the full moon day of Shrawan, on the day of Janai Purnima, some Newars of Kathmandu worship frogs as a part of a ritual in the month of Gun:laa. They offer frog rice while worshipping them.

7. Monkey

On the full moon day in the month of Chaitra (March-April) falls Hanuman Jayanti, a day to worship Hanuman, popularly known as the monkey god. This day is celebrated by offering vermilion or red cloth to Hanuman, the faithful servant of Lord Ram as per the Mahabharat. The festival that marks the birthday of Hanuman is celebrated in India also.
Tashi Gyatso Gurung from the village of Dhye in Upper Mustang is not home. Due to the negative effects of climate change, Gurung is 12 kilometres away from Dhye in a place called Thangchung. Having lived in Dhye for most of his life, Gurung and most of the locals in Dhye have had to relocate due to reasons out of their control.

Water sources have dried up. There are no green pastures for animals to feed on and the land has also become barren. We have no other option but to move, says Gurung.

Due to this reason, many have left the village. Some have relocated to Jomson or around Lower Mustang, some have left the place altogether and moved to Beni, Pokhara and even Kathmandu looking for means to make a living for themselves and a better future for their children.

However, the past decade has shown them things can get better. While they understand that the effects of climate change will never let them live in Dhye, they have found a place to relocate and have also found a means to sustain themselves as they aim to become resilient for years to come.

Around 2008, the villagers came up with a plan to make a living. Having seen parts of Jomsom and Marpha do well through apple farming, villagers in Dhye formulated a plan to do the same. But, as they could not do that in Dhye due to obvious reasons, they decided that they would start doing it in Thangchung in Upper Mustang.

And, by now, they have done this.

Reviving hopes

Villagers from Dhye looking after an apple tree in Thangchung. Photo: Dewa Apple

There is hope that things will be better. This years yield was a bit better and I hope that it will be the same in the near future, says Gurung.

This is not the first relocation the community faced due to climate change. Social anthropologist and filmmaker Fidel Devkota, who has been researching in the area for the past 10 years, says these people have had to relocate in the past too. Originally from a place called Ghayul, they had to move bellow to a place called Zong Phu due to lack of resources. Their time in Zong Phu was also cut short, says Devkota, as water sources there started to dry up and land there started to get barren.

They had to relocate due to similar reasons. Its like the same problems followed them, says Devkota who has lived over 40 months in the village.

Life was better in Dhye a few decades ago. It was lower than both Ghayul and Zong Phu and the land was fertile and they did not have a water crisis. But, soon, that changed. The past decade has been very hard for the locals.

Gurung explains that problems started around 2008 when their land started to become infertile. Rain was seldom and even snow did not settle in the area enough for groundwater to recharge.

When it rained, it rained so hard that it wiped the soil away. It was either drought or flash floods, says Gurung.

That meant that they no longer had the means to make a living. With only one crop cycle, sustaining through farming alone became harder and harder.

We also traded jimbu (Allium hypsistum) and shaligram, a fossil stone. But, these had to be done illegally and if caught we would get in trouble, says Gurung, adding that they had not been able to harvest jimbu as much as they would like.

This resulted in many leaving the area. Dhye, which around 2007 had over 300 people, now has less than 100 and that number is sure to fall furtherdown. That is when they started thinking about relocating again. This time, they wanted to make sure that they were near water so that they would not have to face a similar problem again.

The locals got together and decided that we could move to Tsewalhe and carry out farming at Thangchung, says Gurung.

Collective campaign

The apples are packaged and sent to Kathmandu from where Green Growth distributes them. Photo: Dewa Apple

An apple farm is set up in Thangchung while a housing settlement is being planned in Tsewalhe. The apple farm that started out as an experiment now has over 10,000 plants that produce nearly 10 tons of apples every year.

A French organisation brings in farmers from France to teach the people of Dhye how to grow and take care of the produce. Theyve also been producing plums, peach and walnuts also, says Devkota.

Yangchen Gurung, born in Dhye but now living in Kathmandu, says that they are hopeful that things will change. Having gone abroad thanks to a sponsor, Yangchen came back to Nepal primarily to help the people of her home village.

I want to do whatever I can to make sure that they get a better life. They work very hard to make ends meet and hopefully, this relocation project can become a success in the long run, she says.

She says that Green Growth, an agrotech company, has been helping them sell some of what they produce for the past three years while the locals are also selling them on their own.

This is a community project, and all trees are a part of the community. But, that said, every family from Dhye has their own plant and they get to keep the produce from it. The rest we have been giving to Green Growth to sell in Kathmandu and other places in Nepal, says Yangchen.

Saurav Dhakal from Green Growth says he heard about Dhye from Devkota in 2018 and since then has been helping them. The response from the market in Kathmandu has been quite great.

Weve been helping out communities like these for a few years now. Although logistics is a major problem, we like what they are producing and hope we can carry on helping them, says Dhakal.

The locals have also planted trees for timber around the area as they know that when they do start moving to Tsewalhe, they will need timber to build houses. A model house is also being built thanks to architect and author Wolfgang Korn as the locals hope that this will their final relocation.

Its sad that weve had to relocate from Dhye. But, we hope that this will be our final relocation. But, given how climate change works, we can never say never, says Yangchung.



To buy these apples contact Green Growth or Dewa Apples.
" " This illustration from the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" depicts the death of Uncle Tom. Culture Club/Getty Images

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" was America's first bestseller. The antislavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe sold 310,000 copies in the United States and at least 1.5 million more abroad, where it was translated into 16 languages, according to the Christian Science Monitor. But the greatest impact of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," first published in 1852, was to awaken its mostly white northern readers to the horrors and un-Christian immorality of chattel slavery.

"[Stowe] was an abolitionist who tapped into the historical moment," says Patricia Turner, a professor of African-American studies at UCLA. "She thought really strategically. 'What do I have to write that will move the people to understand that it's impossible to be a good Christian and to hold slaves?' She knew exactly what kind of hero to create in Uncle Tom, what kind of situations to put him in and how to characterize the slave owners."

In the book (which may strike modern readers as overly sentimental), Uncle Tom is a deeply faithful Christian, a courageous and selfless family man who first risks his life to save a young white girl, Little Eva, and later gives his life rather than divulge the location of two female runaway slaves. Uncle Tom is beaten to death by his cruel master, Simon Legree, but not before Tom forgives his tormentor much like Jesus Christ on the cross.

" " This 1852 frontispiece of "Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly" has a picture of author Harriet Beecher Stowe on the left. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" and its hero deserve credit for popularizing the cause of abolition in the lead-up to the Civil War. According to a well-worn legend, when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe, he said, "So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war."

But here's where the story of Uncle Tom takes an unexpected turn.

Given that Uncle Tom was the heroic martyr of one of the bestselling books of the 19th century, how did his name get twisted into a modern-day insult directed at Black people accused of being "traitors to their race"? How did the name of a beloved literary character become, as Henry Louis Gates Jr. calls it, "the ultimate instrument of black-on-black derogation"?

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'Uncle Tom' Takes to the Stage

Turner believes that the transformation of Uncle Tom from hero to "traitor" began during the thousands of wildly popular stage productions of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" that toured the U.S. and around the globe from the 1850s through the 1930s. Many of these were minstrel shows featuring white actors in blackface, and immediately Uncle Tom's character and the book's storyline were changed to suit the mostly white, working-class audiences.

" " This 1899 theater poster portrays Uncle Tom as a much older man than he was in the novel. Bettmann/Getty Images

"In order to sell tickets, the producers needed to come up with stage shows that would have music, comedy and a happy ending," says Turner, never mind that Stowe's novel was an earnest tragedy. "And Uncle Tom was portrayed as this extremely deferential, subservient, poorly spoken Black man who would give the white slave owners or any other white person what they wanted, which was nothing like the book."

The stage productions also aged Tom into a feeble, white-haired old man rather than the hard-working 40-something he was in the book. Turner says that 19th-century white audiences didn't want to see a strong Black man on stage unless he was demonized as a "brute."

Scholars like Turner believe that the "Uncle Tom" insult began at a time when post-Emancipation Black America tried to distance itself from this caricature of the subservient slave. For a new generation of Black men and women searching for true freedom from white oppression, fellow Blacks who played into the "Uncle Tom" stereotypes of the minstrel shows were indeed "traitors" to the race.

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Or Maybe It Wasn't the Stage Plays...

When Adena Spingarn first read "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in graduate school at Harvard, she was also struck by the obvious discrepancy between Tom's Christlike character in the book and "Uncle Tom" the racialized slur. After hearing about the transformation of Tom's character in minstrel shows, Spingarn tracked down hundreds of newspaper reviews of the many stage productions of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and got a second surprise.

"In both white and Black newspapers, the character of Uncle Tom was described as virtuous and dignified," says Spingarn, not as a subservient old man or buffoon. "In fact, the objections to him by some conservative white critics was that he spoke too intelligently and too wisely, and was too perfect a Christian," some of the same objections to the novel.

Spingarn began to question the accepted theory that "Uncle Tom" the insult grew organically from the stage plays, especially since the stage productions were still seen as "dangerous" in former Confederate states like Kentucky, which banned all touring shows of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as late as 1906.

Instead of crediting the modern pejorative use of "Uncle Tom" to a creation of the "white imagination," Spingarn writes in her book, "Uncle Tom: From Martyr to Traitor", the character and his name have been "shaped by fundamental debates within the Black community over who should represent the race and how it should be represented."

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'Uncle Tom' as the Ultimate Insult

It's hard for 21st-century readers to grasp the impact and influence of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in the 19th-century imagination, and how the character and name of Uncle Tom became the very image and emblem of the American slave.

"Uncle Tom was so ubiquitously understood a stand-in for American slavery that both white and Black Americans called the days of slavery 'the days of Uncle Tom,'" says Spingarn.

It is this association of Uncle Tom with the old days of slavery and its violently imposed white rule that so enraged a rising tide of Black political leaders in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Spingarn says the term "Uncle Tom" first took on a negative connotation in the Black community as early as the 1880s, when a Black lawyer decried what he called a subservient, "Uncle Tom" type of manhood, adding, "I despise that as heartily as anyone."

The term "Uncle Tom" gained power as a potent political epithet in the 1910s, slung by people like Rev. George Alexander McGuire, an acolyte of the Black nationalist, Marcus Garvey.

"[T]he Uncle Tom n----- has got to go, and his place must be taken by the new leader of the Negro race," said McGuire at the first convention of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1919, "not a Black man with a white heart, but a Black man with a Black heart."

By the 1960s, "Uncle Tom" had become the choice insult for any Black man or woman (but mostly men) accused of "betraying the race." Malcolm X called Martin Luther King Jr. an "Uncle Tom." Stokely Carmichael called Roy Wilkins, the NAACP executive director, an "Uncle Tom." Muhammad Ali called at least three of his Black opponents "Uncle Toms."

More recently, "Uncle Tom" has been wielded against Black conservatives like Justice Clarence Thomas and now Black supporters of President Donald Trump. In 2018, Snoop Dogg called Kanye West an "Uncle Tom" for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.

Spingarn sees the long and strange history of Uncle Tom as part and parcel with America's ongoing struggle with its original sin of slavery and the reality of racism.

"The figure of Uncle Tom has changed because we've always used him to talk about race," says Spingarn. "What is authentic Blackness? What is the right protest strategy? What should the Black image be?"

As long as Americans are grappling with questions of race, Uncle Tom will be right there with us.

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Now That's Something One of Thomas Edison's first fictional movies was a film version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" released in 1903, the same year he shot "The Great Train Robbery."
People

Former Microsoft exec DelBene tapped for top tech job at VA

Kurt DelBene speaks at a March 2020 meeting of the Defense Innovation Board in Austin, Texas. (DOD photo by EJ Hersom)

Kurt DelBene, a former senior executive at Microsoft and an instrumental figure in the effort to repair the HealthCare.gov website during the Obama administration, is being tapped to serve as CIO at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

VA is one of the few agencies with a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed CIO. The full title of the post is assistant secretary for information and technology and CIO. The technology unit at VA has its own appropriations line and manages the technology portfolio, cybersecurity and more for the major divisions at VA, including Veterans Health Administration and the Veterans Benefits Administration.

The job is frequently filled with career officials in an acting role. Since 2009, there have been just three Senate-confirmed occupants of the VA CIO post. The job is currently being filled by Neil Evans, a VA physician who heads the Office of Connected Care in the Veterans Health Administration.

VA is seeking a $4.8 billion appropriation for the Office of Information and Technology for fiscal year 2022. OI&T is also playing in increasingly important role in the ongoing $21 billion-plus Electronic Health Care Record Modernization (EHRM) program.

A longtime Microsoft executive, DelBene took leave from the company in late 2013 to replace Jeffrey Zients as the lead of the team working to stabilize and improve the HealthCare.gov website, the front door for citizens to obtain health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The website famously failed at launch and required an intensive effort to scale the site and improve its performance.

DelBene's career at Microsoft included stints as executive vice president of corporate strategy, core services engineering and operations as well as president of Microsoft's Office division. He retired from the company in September 2021. He has also served as a member of the Defense Innovation Board.

DelBene is married to Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) who was first elected in 2012 and serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. Her district includes Microsoft's Redmond headquarters.
3 November 2021, 18:35 CET



At an event held at COP26 today, ArcelorMittal (the Company) and the government of Quebec announced a CAD$205 million investment by ArcelorMittal Mining Canada (AMMC) in its Port-Cartier pellet plant, enabling this facility to convert its entire 110 million tonne annual pellet production to direct reduced iron (DRI) pellets by the end of 2025.



The investment, in which the Quebec government will contribute through an electricity rebate of up to CAD$80 million, will enable the Port-Cartier plant to become one of the worlds largest producers of DRI pellets, the raw material feedstock for ironmaking in a DRI furnace. The project includes the implementation of a flotation system that will enable a significant reduction of silica in the iron ore pellets, facilitating the production of a very high-quality pellet.

The project will deliver a direct annual CO 2 e reduction of approximately 200,000 tonnes at AMMCs Port-Cartier pellet plant, equivalent to over 20% of the pellet plants total annual CO 2 e emissions. This reduction in CO 2 e emissions will be achieved through a reduction in the energy required during the pelletising process.

A DRI plant uses natural gas to reduce iron ore, resulting in a significant reduction in CO 2 emissions compared with coal-based blast furnace ironmaking. In Hamburg, Germany, ArcelorMittal is trialing replacing natural gas with hydrogen to make DRI, with its industrial scale pilot project anticipated to be commissioned before the end of 2025. The DRI installations the Company has announced it is developing in Belgium, Canada and Spain are all being constructed to be hydrogen-ready, so as and when green hydrogen is available in sufficient quantities at affordable prices the Company can produce DRI with near zero-carbon emissions.

Approximately 250 jobs are expected to be created during the construction phase of the project in Port-Cartier, which is scheduled to be begin mid-2023 and complete before the end of 2025.

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Expressing the Quebec governments support for the project, Premier Francois Legault said:

With this project, the Port-Cartier plant will become one of the world's largest producers of direct reduction pellets. The market is increasingly evolving towards this technology. We are therefore ensuring that ArcelorMittal will continue to create wealth in Quebec for many years. We are positioning our regions at the heart of the green economy of tomorrow. My message to companies looking for a place to reduce their GHG emissions is come and see us. We'll help you carry out your projects promptly. Quebec is the best place in the world to invest in the green economy. To build together a greener, more prosperous and prouder Quebec.

Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal CEO, said:

This project has an important role to play in our efforts to reduce our groups CO 2 e emissions intensity by 25% by 2030, and our longer-term ambition to reach net zero by 2050. Not only does it deliver a significant reduction in our emissions at AMMC, but it also expands our ability to produce high-quality direct reduced iron pellets, which we will need in significant volumes as we transition to DRI-EAF steelmaking at our steel plants in Canada and Europe.

I am grateful to Premier Legault and his government for the support it is providing in realising this project. It is the first significant decarbonisation project we have announced for our mining business and fitting that we are able to make this announcement at COP26 as it exemplifies the transformational change we need to deliver this decade as we move towards becoming a carbon-neutral business.

Mapi Mobwano, CEO, ArcelorMittal Mining Canada, added:

This investment will see us become one of the biggest direct reduction pellet producers in the world, thereby propelling ArcelorMittal Mining Canada into the forefront of mining and steel decarbonisation. From 2025 onwards we will have the capacity to produce ten million tonnes of very high-quality iron oxide pellets, with low silica content and high iron density, which will be highly strategic in the years ahead. This transformation will enable us to reduce our own current emissions by 200,000 tonnes of CO 2 e per year  equivalent to removing 57,600 cars from the road each year. Moreover, it will support a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of primary steelmaking. These pellets are the feedstock for DRI-EAF steelmaking, which given its significantly lower carbon footprint is expected to replace a significant amount of blast furnace capacity in the coming decades. It also provides a boost to the local economy and community as 250 jobs will be created for the construction phase which will start in the summer of 2023.

ENDS

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 17 countries. In 2020, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $53.3 billion and crude steel production of 71.5 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 58.0 million metric tonnes.

Our goal is to help build a better world with smarter steels. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future.

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/



Contact information ArcelorMittal Investor Relations General +44 20 7543 1128 Retail +44 20 3214 2893 SRI +44 20 3214 2801 Bonds/Credit

E-mail +33 171 921 026

investor.relations@arcelormittal.com Contact information ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications



Paul Weigh

Tel:

E-mail:







+44 20 3214 2419

press@arcelormittal.com





1 AMMCs pellet plant currently produces 10 million tonnes of pellets annually, of which 7 million tonnes are blast furnace pellets and 3 million tonnes are direct reduced iron pellets




Expands photonics technology and free-space optical laser communication for U.S. government and commercial missions

RESTON, Va., November 03, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CACI International Inc (NYSE: CACI) announced today it has entered into an agreement to acquire Los Gatos, California-based SA Photonics, Inc., a leader in the development and deployment of innovative multi-domain photonics technologies for free space optical (FSO) communications.

With the acquisition of SA Photonics, CACI broadens its capabilities as the leading U.S.-based FSO laser communications provider supporting space, airborne, and terrestrial missions to U.S. government and commercial customers. SA Photonics owned IP technology offers low size, weight, power, and cost (SWAP-C) solutions that transmit data 25 times faster than current radio frequency systems, while using payloads that are half the size.

SA Photonics high-volume low-earth-orbit (LEO) optical inter satellite links (OISL) technology complements CACIs FSO technology optimized for medium-earth-orbit (MEO) and geosynchronous-equatorial-orbit (GEO) orbits. CACIs photonics-based capabilities enable terrestrial communications at higher-bandwidths and with a lower probability of detection or defeat.

Through this acquisition, CACI also significantly increases development and manufacturing capacity within the United States by expanding its modern photonics production facilities in California, Florida, and New Jersey. Together, CACI and SA Photonics offer technology that advances next-generation communications from space to airborne and ground platforms at scale.

John Mengucci, CACI President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "For two decades, CACI has successfully delivered FSO communications to advance evolutionary technology for the protection and exploration of the contested space domain. Our innovative space-based photonics technology delivers enhanced capability for missions ranging from national security to human spaceflight. With SA Photonics, our combined technology enables us to deliver immediate FSO communications across all-domains."

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Jim Coward, Chief Executive Officer of SA Photonics, said, "It is great to see that the years of hard work to develop and mature a very innovative and highly manufacturable FSO approach to address the high volume needs of space, now and into the future, continues with a great company like CACI."

SA Photonics total purchase consideration is $275 million. CACI expects to close the transaction by the end of the calendar year pending customary regulatory reviews and will provide additional financial information post-close as part of its fiscal second quarter earnings release and call.

About CACI

CACIs approximately 22,000 talented employees are vigilant in providing the unique expertise and distinctive technology that address our customers greatest enterprise and mission challenges. Our culture of good character, innovation, and excellence drives our success and earns us recognition as a Fortune Worlds Most Admired Company. As a member of the Fortune 500 Largest Companies, the Russell 1000 Index, and the S&P MidCap 400 Index, we consistently deliver strong shareholder value. Visit us at www.caci.com.

There are statements made herein which do not address historical facts, and therefore could be interpreted to be forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in CACIs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, and other such filings that CACI makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Any forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon and only speak as of the date hereof.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005127/en/

Contacts

Corporate Communications and Media:

Jody Brown, Executive Vice President, Public Relations

(703) 841-7801, jbrown@caci.com

Investor Relations:

Daniel Leckburg, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations

(703) 841-7666, dleckburg@caci.com
LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 28, 2021



NEW YORK, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP announces that a federal securities class action lawsuit has been filed against Camber Energy, Inc. ("Camber" or "the Company") (NYSE American: CEI) on behalf investors who purchased the Company's securities between February 18, 2021 and October 4, 2021, inclusive (the ''Class Period'').

All investors who purchased Camber Energy, Inc., and incurred losses are urged to contact the firm immediately at classmember@whafh.com or (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774. You may obtain additional information concerning the action or join the case on our website, www.whafh.com.

If you have incurred losses in the shares of Camber Energy, Inc., you may, no later than December 28, 2021, request that the Court appoint you lead plaintiff of the proposed class. Please contact Wolf Haldenstein to learn more about your rights as an investor in Camber Energy, Inc.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CASE

Camber is an independent oil and natural gas company that acquires, develops, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids.

In December 2020, Camber acquired a controlling interest in Viking Energy Group, Inc. (Viking), a purported independent exploration and production company. Then, in February 2021, Camber executed a definitive merger agreement with Viking to effect the full combination of the two entities (the Merger).

Throughout 2021, Camber has failed to timely file required financial statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, financial reporting services such as Yahoo! Finance and Bloomberg were forced to rely on infrequent and outdated updates in SEC filings to estimate the Companys shares of common stock issued and outstanding. For example, before a recent update by the Company on October 6, 2021, the widely-reported estimate of the Companys shares of common stock issued and outstanding amounted to 104.2 million, which itself was based on a filing the Company made with the SEC on July 12, 2021. When the Company provided an update on October 6, 2021, it reported 249.6 million shares of stock issued and outstanding, a significantly higher figure.

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Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in New York, Chicago and San Diego. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions regarding your rights and interests in this case, please immediately contact Wolf Haldenstein by telephone at (800) 575-0735, via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com, or visit our website at www.whafh.com.

Contact:

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP

Patrick Donovan, Esq.

Gregory Stone, Director of Case and Financial Analysis

Email: gstone@whafh.com, donovan@whafh.com or classmember@whafh.com

Tel: (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.




After Canada, now Australia has found that controversial facial recognition company, Clearview AI, broke national privacy laws when it covertly collected citizens' facial biometrics and incorporated them into its AI-powered identity matching service -- which it sells to law enforcement agencies and others.

In a statement today, Australia's information commissioner and privacy commissioner, Angelene Falk, said Clearview AI's facial recognition tool breached the country's Privacy Act 1988 by:

collecting Australians sensitive information without consent

collecting personal information by unfair means

not taking reasonable steps to notify individuals of the collection of personal information

not taking reasonable steps to ensure that personal information it disclosed was accurate, having regard to the purpose of disclosure

not taking reasonable steps to implement practices, procedures and systems to ensure compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles

In what looks like a major win for privacy down under, the regulator has ordered Clearview to stop collecting facial biometrics and biometric templates from Australians; and to destroy all existing images and templates that it holds.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) undertook a joint investigation into Clearview with the U.K. data protection agency, the Information Commission's Office (IOC).

However the U.K. regulator has yet to announce any conclusions.

In a separate statement today -- which possibly reads slightly flustered -- the ICO said it is "considering its next steps and any formal regulatory action that may be appropriate under the UK data protection laws".

A spokeswoman for the ICO declined to elaborate further -- such as on how long it will be thinking about maybe doing something.

U.K. citizens should be hoping the regulator doesn't take as long "considering" Clearview as it has chewing over (but failing to act against) adtech's lawfulness problem.

Meanwhile, other European regulators have already hit users of Clearview with sanctions...

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Back on the other side of the world, the OAIC isn't wasting any time acting against Clearview, nor mincing its words.

In public comments on the OAIC's decision (pdf) finding Clearview breached Australian law, Falk said: "The covert collection of this kind of sensitive information is unreasonably intrusive and unfair. It carries significant risk of harm to individuals, including vulnerable groups such as children and victims of crime, whose images can be searched on Clearview AIs database."

By its nature, this biometric identity information cannot be reissued or cancelled and may also be replicated and used for identity theft. Individuals featured in the database may also be at risk of misidentification," she also said, adding: These practices fall well short of Australians expectations for the protection of their personal information.

The OAIC also found the privacy impacts of Clearview AIs biometric system were "not necessary, legitimate and proportionate, having regard to any public interest benefits".

When Australians use social media or professional networking sites, they dont expect their facial images to be collected without their consent by a commercial entity to create biometric templates for completely unrelated identification purposes, said Falk.

The indiscriminate scraping of peoples facial images, only a fraction of whom would ever be connected with law enforcement investigations, may adversely impact the personal freedoms of all Australians who perceive themselves to be under surveillance.

Australia's regulator said that between October 2019 and March 2020 Clearview AI provided trials of its tool to some local police forces -- which conducted searches using facial images of individuals located in Australia.

The OAIC added that it is currently finalising an investigation into the Australian Federal Polices trial use of the tech to decide whether the force complied with requirements under the Australian Government Agencies Privacy Code to assess and mitigate privacy risks. So it remains to be seen if local law enforcement will get a sanction.

Earlier this year, Sweden's data protection watchdog warned the country's cops over what it said was unlawful use of Clearview's tool -- issuing a 250,000 fine in that instance.

Returning to the OAIC, it said Clearview defended itself by arguing that the information it handled was not personal data -- and that, as a company based in the U.S., it did not fall under the jurisdiction of Australia's Privacy Act. Clearview also claimed to the regulator that it had stopped offering services to Australian law enforcement shortly after the OAICs investigation began.

However, Falk dismissed Clearview's arguments, saying she was satisfied it must comply with Australian law and that the information it handled was personal information covered by the Privacy Act.

She also said the case reinforces the need for Australia to strengthen protections through a current review of the Privacy Act, including restricting or prohibiting practices such as data scraping personal information from online platforms. And she added that the case raises additional questions about whether online platforms are doing enough to prevent and detect scraping of personal data.

Clearview AIs activities in Australia involve the automated and repetitious collection of sensitive biometric information from Australians on a large scale, for profit. These transactions are fundamental to their commercial enterprise, said Falk. The companys patent application also demonstrates the capability of the technology to be used for other purposes such as dating, retail, dispensing social benefits, and granting or denying access to a facility, venue or device."

Clearview was contacted for comment on the OAIC's decision.

The company confirmed that it will be appealing -- sending this statement (below), attributed to Mark Love, BAL Lawyers, representing Clearview AI:

Clearview AI has gone to considerable lengths to co-operate with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. In doing so, Clearview AI has volunteered considerable information, yet it is apparent to us and to Clearview AI that the Commissioner has not correctly understood how Clearview AI conducts its business. Clearview AI operates legitimately according to the laws of its places of business. Clearview AI intends to seek review of the Commissioner's decision by the (Australian) Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Not only has the Commissioners decision missed the mark on the manner of Clearview AIs manner of operation, the Commissioner lacks jurisdiction. To be clear, Clearview AI has not violated any law nor has it interfered with the privacy of Australians. Clearview AI does not do business in Australia, does not have any Australian users.

The controversial facial recognition company has faced litigation on home soil in the U.S. -- under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act.

While, earlier this year, Minneapolis voted to ban the use of facial recognition software for its police department -- effectively outlawing local law enforcement's use of tools like Clearview.

The fallout from Clearview AI's scraping of the public web and social media sites to amass a database of over 3 billion images in order to sell a global identity-matching service to law enforcement may have contributed to an announcement made by Facebook's parent company Meta yesterday -- which said it would be deleting its own facial biometric data mountain.

The tech giant cited "growing concerns about the use of the technology as a whole".

Update: In addition to the above statement, Clearview's founder, Hoan Ton-That, has also issued a personal response (pasted below) to the OAIC's decision -- in which he expresses his disappointment and argues that the privacy commissioner's decision misinterprets the value of his "crime fighting" technology to society:
(Bloomberg) -- A top U.S. cybersecurity official offered a dire warning to members of Congress on Wednesday, saying the American way of life faces serious risks amid the drumbeat of ransomware attacks and physical threats to the nations critical infrastructure.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, told the House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday that ransomware has become a scourge on nearly every facet of our lives, and its a prime example of the vulnerabilities that are emerging as our digital and our physical infrastructure increasingly converge.

Her appearance, aside National Cyber Director Chris Inglis, comes as the private sector and governments have grappled with pervasive cyberattacks during the last 12 months. Some attacks, including the Colonial Pipeline Co. breach in May, have led to gas shortages, disrupted supply chains and exposed federal systems to significant compromise.

Easterlys testimony came after CISA issued a binding operational directive that would create a catalog of known exploited cybersecurity vulnerabilities and would require federal agencies to fix these flaws within specific time frames. It would apply to all software and hardware on federal information systems, including those managed by an agency or hosted by third parties.

While the directive would only apply to federal agencies, Easterly said in a statement she wants every organization to adopt the directive and prioritize mitigation of vulnerabilities listed in CISAs public catalog.

Representative John Katko, a Republican from New York, said, The volume of alerts, advisories, and directives goes to show the pervasiveness of vulnerabilities affecting owners and operators of critical infrastructure, and federal networks.

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Inglis said that privately owned critical infrastructure, which accounts for 85% of the total, is increasingly core to the governments imperative to protect and provide for national security.

Shared defense is not a choice but an imperative, Inglis said.

Inglis said he is working with the White House on a forthcoming executive order that would provide additional clarity on the roles and responsibilities for his newly created post, which is expected in the coming weeks to months. The Office of National Cyber Director was created by Congress earlier this year, and the role was designated as the top official overseeing cyber strategy and budgets within the government.

But lawmakers have raised concerns that it overlaps with authorities of CISAs Easterly and the White Houses Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology. The goal of the executive order is to provide clearer parameters around the new role, Inglis said.

Both Katko, the top Republican on the panel, and Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and the panels chairman, have placed a rare bipartisan emphasis on the importance of countering cybersecurity threats and offering praise for CISAs efforts. President Joe Biden has called cybersecurity a core national security challenge, and has since rearranged parts of the U.S. government to reflect new priorities.

Thompson, who also chairs the House select committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, also raised concerns of misinformation as key elections played out in Virginia and New Jersey. Just yesterday, voters went to the polls to cast their ballots even as efforts to push the Big Lie and erode public confidence in democratic institutions persist, Thompson said.

Inglis told members of Congress that there has been a discernible decrease in cyberattacks by Russia-based groups since President Joe Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June.

Its too soon to tell whether thats because of material efforts taken by the Russians or the Russian leadership, he said. It may well be that the transgressors in this space have simply kind of lain low understanding that this is -- for the moment --a very hot time for them.

We need to make sure that the continues to be the case, Inglis said.

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Una Brands, the e-commerce aggregator focused on Asia-Pacific brands, announced today it has raised $15 million for its Series A. The full-equity round was co-led by White Star Capital and Alpha JWC, along with participation from returning investors and Ninjavan co-founder Alvin Teo.

This news comes only five months after Una launched with a $40 million equity and debt seed round. The startup has not disclosed the ratio of debt and equity (like many other e-commerce aggregators, Una uses debt funding to buy brands because it is non-dilutive). Co-founder and chief executive officer Kiren Tanna told TechCrunch the Series A is a priced round with a valuation more than five times Unas last funding. Besides raising equity, Una also extended its debt facility size from Claret Capital.

We have a very strong pipeline of brands across APAC that we are working on, and as we have done some deals already, we are seeing larger and larger brands that are approaching us, said Tanna. The Series A was raised to accelerate the growth of its brand portfolio and Unas operations, and it plans to raise further debt and equity, he added. The company now has 90 team members in seven offices across the Asia-Pacific: Singapore, Australia, India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Unlike many other e-commerce aggregators that focus on Amazon sellers, Una describes itself as sector agnostic because of the number of marketplaces used across APAC, including Tokopedia, Lazada, Shopee, Rakuten and eBay. Una looks for profitable brands that make between $1 million and $50 million in revenue per year. After acquisitions, Una grows brands by adding new distribution channels or expanding them into new countries.

Since launching, Una has bought more than 15 brands and says the first ones it acquired have seen a 50% increase in sales and profits. The average EBITDA of its acquired brands are about 26%, putting the company on a path toward profitability, said Tanna.

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He added that Una is building technology to help its brands scale. Since most arent on Amazon and many are seller-fulfilled, sometimes from their homes, Una transitions them to its professional warehouse fulfillment infrastructure. Tanna said the company is building its own technology to get transaction-level data from multiple channels to integrate it into its ERP system and track operational performance.

In a statement, Alpha JWC managing partner Jefrey Joe said, Digitally native brands in APAC is a secular trend growing at 4x the rate of those in the West. We believe Unas value proposition will resonate with brands across the region and further propel the growth of DTC in countries such as Indonesia.
OSLO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor said on Thursday it will restart talks with Tanzania's government next week on the possible revival of plans to develop major natural gas reserves found in the east African country's waters.

Equinor during the last decade made nine discoveries off Tanzania and said it was considering a liquefied natural gas (LNG) development, but in January of this year wrote off the entire book value of $982 million, citing poor economics.

The Norwegian company is the operator of Tanzania's Block 2, which it estimated to hold more than 20 trillion cubic feet (0.6 trillion cubic metres) of gas in place, while ExxonMobil also holds a stake.

Shell, meanwhile, operates Block 1 and Block 4, which are estimated to hold some 16 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, according to the company's website.

Talks on the future of all three blocks will restart at the initiative of Tanzania's authorities, with a focus on fiscal, legal and regulatory frameworks, an Equinor spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

"We are pleased with the sense of urgency and prioritising the government of Tanzania has placed on the Tanzania Gas and LNG Project," he added.

Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv was first to report that the talks would restart.

Shell was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo and Shadia Nasralla in London, editing by Terje Solsvik)
(Bloomberg) -- Few leaders have seen their fortunes turn as dramatically as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the Nobel laureate now accused of human rights abuses whose officials on Sunday asked residents to secure the capital against a potential assault by rebel forces.

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What went wrong, according to close observers, was Abiys failure to navigate the deep ethnic divisions that have consumed Africas second-most-populous nation since the 1960s. Now, isolated by the U.S. and Europe, his own future suddenly looks much more tenuous.

Its just a month since Abiy won elections and less than a year since he declared military victory over the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, the ethnic-based party whose forces now threaten Addis Ababa and which dominated Ethiopia until Abiy took office in April 2018.Its also just two years since the former military officer won the Nobel Peace Prize for signing a treaty with neighboring Eritrea, to end a stalemate that followed a 1998-2000 border war. At the time, he was hailed in the U.S. and European Union as the best hope for bringing democracy and a market economy to Ethiopia, as well as to spread stability in a turbulent neighborhood that runs from Sudan to Somalia.

Abiys reforms have since stalled. Not only are the TPLF now seizing swathes of territory from outmatched federal forces, a wider civil war could be unfolding. The Oromo Liberation Army, a guerrilla force drawn from former ethnic Oromo supporters, has joined the attack on the government.

Abiy inherited a fragile country and handling issues like the Oromo nationalist demands and protests that brought him to power was a really big challenge, said William Davison, senior Ethiopia analyst at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. To do all that without causing friction required a lot of political skill, which the prime minister proved not to have.

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Creating a more unified national state from an ethnically fractured one -- a process Abiy calls synergy -- had support at the start, says Davison, whom the government has expelled from the country without explanation. But he tried to create a party around himself to the exclusion of anyone who has different views, returning Ethiopia to a system in which much of the opposition is criminalized.

Looming Bloodbath

Even in Addis Ababa, ethnic divisions would make any attempt at civil defense a bloodbath, said a businessman in his 40s who runs trucks to Amhara, the province north of the capital now largely occupied by the TPLF, and who asked not to be identified.

Mehdi Labzae, a researcher from the French university Sciences Po, said that this week in Bahir Dar, capital of Amhara province about 300 miles northwest of Addis Ababa, he saw large numbers of buses carrying militia fighters to the front lines of the conflict with the TPLF.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price urged all sides to show restraint at a daily briefing Wednesday. He said Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, special envoy for the Horn of Africa would visit Thursday and Friday amid concern at the growing risk to the unity and the integrity of the Ethiopian state.

The seeds of conflict were sown early, marked for many Tigrayans by the peace deal with Eritrea, which they saw instead as a military alliance between Abiy and the TPLFs mortal enemy, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. Eritrean forces later played a central role in the governments military operations in Tigray.

Emperors Palace

For some Oromo, it was the day before Abiy got his peace prize, when he opened the refurbished palace of 19th century Emperor Menelik II. The prime ministers office said at the time it should symbolize Ethiopias ability to come together for a common goal.

Yet Menelik is remembered by many Oromo as a warlord whose troops mutilated Oromo women. They, like the TPLF, saw Abiys appeals for unity as a cynical bid to centralize power.

Abiy betrayed the Oromo nationalist cause, said Awol Allo, a senior lecturer at the Keele University in the U.K. and a staunch supporter of Abiy in his early days. While he was invoking these liberal ideas for the economy and democracy, he was also consolidating power.

A turning point came in December 2019, when Abiy dissolved the former, ethnically based ruling coalition known as the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front. The Prosperity Party that Abiy created in its place had a pan-Ethiopian vision and, according to Allo, as a result also had little chance of competing against the nationalist parties that dominate in Ethiopias 10 ethnically based provinces. That, Allo said, forced the prime minister to suppress opposition and centralize power further.

Conflict was triggered after Abiy delayed elections scheduled for last year, citing the Covid-19 pandemic. The TPLF decided to go ahead with the vote in Tigray regardless.

Rights Abuses

On Wednesday, the United Nations published an investigation that accused government forces -- as well as the TPLF and troops Abiy enlisted from Eritrea -- of abuses that could amount to war crimes during their yearlong conflict.

Read: U.S. Blocks Duty-Free Trade Access to Ethiopia Over Conflict

The U.S. suspended duty free access for the countrys exports on Tuesday. The EU had cut budgetary aid late last year and investors are fleeing.

The yield on Ethiopias $1 billion of Eurobonds rose 158 basis points on Wednesday to a record 16.31%, up from 6.09% when Abiy took office.

Abiy remains in power and may well survive. But a military analysis by Janes, a defense publication, assessed his toppling as increasingly likely unless he negotiates with rebels he has designated as terrorists.

The prime minister showed little sign of doing so Wednesday, saying in a statement to commemorate the start of the Tigrayan conflict that: We will bury this enemy with our blood and our bones, and uplift Ethiopias dignity.

(Updates with comment by researcher in ninth paragraph; U.S. envoys visit in 12th. An earlier version of this story corrected the timing of Abiys opening of refurbished palace in 11th paragraph.)

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The Federal Reserve in Washington

The US Federal Reserve isnt ready for climate changeyet.

But the worlds most powerful central bank, like every major global institution, will have to react to the disruptions caused by a changing climate, and by our efforts to mitigate them.

The good news for the Fed is that it wont have to work out how to decarbonize the economy. (Thats mostly up to the world leaders meeting at the United Nations conference on climate change, where governments are confronting the reality that the Earths temperature will increase dangerously unless they take drastic action to reduce emissions.)

But how that process plays out will test the Feds primary duties. Maintaining stable prices and full employment will get trickier as old-line, carbon-emitting industries shrink or get phased out altogether. Meanwhile, in its role as the regulator supreme of the US financial sector, enshrined in law after the Great Recession, the Fed will have to think carefully about the exposure lenders have both to fossil-fuel industries and to the cost of ongoing climate change through things like extreme weather events

Think of it this way: By deciding how swiftly to eliminate reduce emissions, world leaders will have to balance the impact of a changing climate and the impact of decarbonization. And the Fed will have to make sure neither wrecks the economy.

A hotter planet means riskier markets

Lael Brainard, the member of the Feds board of governors who has taken the lead on environmental issues, likes to note the record cost of $630 billion incurred by natural disasters in the US over the past five years, as extreme weather, driven by climate change, has burned the west and flooded the midwest. Insurance companies forced to pay up for these losses have been among the first movers in the business world pushing for attention to climate change.

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While climate shocks will shape the path of monetary policy, what worries the Fed most, according to observers and bank officials, is the possibility of hidden climate risk in the financial system.

Before the 2008 market crash, banks were convinced that mortgage-backed securities were largely safe investments. As it became clear that some significant share of home loans backing those securities would not be paid back, panic set in and banks endured runs that left them requiring government bailouts. Afterward, US lawmakers handed the Fed responsibility for the stability of the financial systempoking behind the scenes to make sure future shocks didnt bring a surprise financial panic.

Brainard worries about similar scenarios, but in climate terms. A simple example is if bankers dont realize their capital cushion is built on real estate threatened by flooding. But the Fed also worries about more complex efforts to shift risk among financial institutions in unexpected ways. To wit, few thought Lehman Brothers was dependent on mortgage securities until days before its collapse. The revelation that a major fund or banks assets are climate-compromised could launch a fire sale and a panic. Or, if the world moves more quickly toward decarbonization, that transition could dramatically change the model for energy-intensive businesses and their financiers.

To avoid all that, the Fed has launched a new organization, the Financial Stability Climate Committee (FSCC), which will stress-test US financial institutions against realistic scenarios for climate disruption.

How central banks prepare for climate change

When the Fed needs to do something new like this, they economist up, says Claudia Sahm, a former economist at the central bank. When the stakes are very high, the Fed brings in the very best people to think through those questions.

In this case, that person is Adele Morris, an economist whose career has focused on the economic cost of climate change. Most recently, she was an economist at the Brookings Institution, where her attention was on developing proposals for a carbon tax.

Previously, she worked at the Treasury Department and at the White House, where she was a key member of the US delegation that negotiated the Kyoto Protocol, a precursor of sorts to the Paris agreement on climate change. Now, she will chair the new FSCC. I cant think of too many other people you could appoint, said Warwick McKibben, an Australian economist who was Morris collaborator at Brookings.

While the Federal Reserve declined to comment on Morris role or the FSCC, Brainard delivered a speech in October that laid out the banks near-term climate agenda. Her focus is on scenario analysisexploring how climate change and the policies that might mitigate it will affect the economy. Brainard cited the work already being done by the European Central Bank to understand how banks and businesses will respond to a hotter world.

We at the Fed are developing a program of scenario analysis to evaluate the potential economic and financial risks posed by different climate outcomes, Fed chair Jay Powell said in an Oct. 21 statement.

Stress testing for climate change

Stress tests emerged in the US after the financial crisis as a tool for the Fed to ensure banks could handle another crisis. Fed officials forced bankers to face questions about what would happen in a severe recession or market crashand if they didnt like the banks answers, regulators could make them hold more capital in reserve.

In the future, banks also will face questions about the share of their lending that goes toward carbon-intensive industries, or that is secured by real estate in areas facing environmental disruption.

As we have seen in California and in Florida, insurance companies can pull back from insuring properties and facilities in geographic areas subject to heightened flood or fire risk or seek to raise insurance rates on these properties and facilities to more accurately reflect risks, Brainard said in March. Although such changes may ultimately result in a more accurate assessment of actual risks, the abrupt changes to a wide range of contracts that embed systemic mispricing could initially amplify the shock.

Tough questions mean tricky politics for the Fed

The Fed is running behind the European Central Bank and other central banks when it comes to addressing climate issues. That, insiders say, reflects the US central banks desire to be divorced from politics.

While it has had internal working groups focused on the issue and participated in global discussions, the Feds leadership was reluctant to engage publicly at a time when US president Donald Trump repeatedly said he did not believe in climate change, and rolled back policies intended to fight global warming.

Under a Democratic president, the Fed has been more willing to publicly face the scientific consensus on the changing planet. Still, many conservative American politicians connected to the fossil-fuel industry are fighting even voluntary efforts at greening finance, like Texas governor Greg Abbott attempting to ban state investment in businesses that decarbonize.

The conflicts will become even more clear once the Fed starts asking some of the most politically powerful businesses in the US to add the previously uncounted cost of carbon into their decision-making. Economists in the US widely reject the idea that the Fed should explicitly preference lending to decarbonized businesses, but just accounting for the reality of carbon emissions will likely be demagogued as an effort to pick winners.

Can anything change behavior like a carbon tax would?

Morris has devoted much of her recent career to assessing the potential of a carbon tax, the preferred solution of economists and wonks but one largely seen by US politicians as infeasible: The upfront cost of such a tax on consumers and businesses is just too much, they say, even if the plan includes redistribution of the gathered funds

Holding a measuring stick up to the banks may yet convince them to do more about climate. In a 2019 interview with Jason Jacobs, an entrepreneur turned climate activist, Morris lamented the lack of interest in carbon taxes from the financial sector.

Those people in your world, Jason, that are managing gigantic financial portfolios and that kind of thing, large banks and investor groups and so on, I do not see them in DC engaging on promoting carbon pricing, Morris said then.

Its safe to say that if she puts the Fed on a path to stress-test banks against climate change scenarios, that dynamic could easily reverse.

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VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 3, 2021 /CNW/ - GR Silver Mining Ltd. ("GR Silver Mining" or the "Company") (TSXV: GRSL) (OTCQB: GRSLF) (FRANKFURT: GPE)  is pleased to provide an update to the market on our 2021 reconnaissance drilling program at the Plomosas Project, in Sinaloa State, Mexico. This drill program is focused primarily on new areas (Figure 1), recognized as attractive sites for NW or NE trending, high-grade Au-Ag mineralized veins. Additionally, we provide an update on the discovery of the sulphide-rich mineralization in the footwall of the San Marcial resource area (Figure 3).

Highlights:

Loma Dorada  initial logging has identified a set of NE trending quartz-sulphide veins, interpreted to connect with the San Juan Area, located 1.2 km to the south

San Marcial - Underground drilling has successfully extended the mineralized breccia 100 m down dip, below the mineral resource boundary, and has also identified a broad sulphide-rich zone hosted by a volcano-sedimentary unit.

El Trampolin  a N-S trending epithermal vein system, along strike from historic underground workings

El Saltito  a 2.5 km long NW-SE trending epithermal vein system including the northern and southern extensions of historic shallow Ag-Au underground workings

GAP Area  a series of NW-SE trending epithermal veins, located between San Marcial and San Juan, discovered as a result of recent geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys

Plomosas South  presence of sulphide-rich, steeply dipping veinlets hosted within NE-SW trending structures on the edge of intrusive diorites

GR Silver Mining President and CEO, Marcio Fonseca commented "Despite a number of seasonal setbacks out of the Company's control, we have successfully advanced our reconnaissance drill program, completing 5,500 m to date of the proposed 14,000 m program. We have delineated new epithermal systems in an extensive area outside of the previously announced mineral resources. It is a credit to our team that despite COVID-19 challenges and a heavy "wet" season with strong rainfall, the exploration program has been able to proceed. While we have experienced extended turnaround times for laboratory analyses, we anticipate this situation will improve in the final months of the year. With the wet season essentially behind us, the Company anticipates drilling and exploration productivity to increase and will release assay results in the context of each target."

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The Company is advancing exploration on multiple targets, ranging from resource expansion to potential new discoveries. The NW and NE trending high-angle structures potentially hosting low to intermediate sulphidation epithermal systems, are the key targets at Loma Dorada, Trampolin, El Saltito, Plomosas Sur and the GAP Area (Figures 1 and 2). Additionally, early-stage reconnaissance exploration at the Las Cuevas and El Ranchito areas provide additional prospects for future drilling.

The following figure (Figure 1) illustrates the geographical location of some of the targets being drilled in relation to the Plomosas Mine Area, indicating the magnitude of the hydrothermal system within the Plomosas Project.

Figure 1: View Looking East to the Sierra Madre Occidental  Drill Program Targets (CNW Group/GR Silver Mining Ltd.)

Figure 2: Reconnaissance Drill Targets (CNW Group/GR Silver Mining Ltd.)

The following is a summary description of the drilling targets being tested.

LOMA DORADA

Loma Dorada is one of GR Silver's high priority targets for reconnaissance drilling. The Loma Dorada target is characterized by a prominent 1.5 km x 0.5 km iron-rich soil color anomaly (Figure 1) associated with intense oxidization and argillic alteration, as well as Au and Ag geochemical anomalies. The broad zone of hydrothermal alteration with disseminated sulphide and quartz-sulphide veining (Figure 1) is located 1.2 km NW of San Juan. Ongoing drilling is delineating new Ag-Au mineralized zones of low to intermediate sulphidation epithermal characteristics close to surface.

The primary geological concept at Loma Dorada is to test the northern extension of the San Juan - La Colorada vein system. GR Silver's drilling to date has resulted in the discovery of typical epithermal veins with textures such as comb, lattice and bladed silica/quartz veins.

SAN MARCIAL

The first underground drill program is underway at San Marcial aiming to identify new Au-Ag zones in the footwall area outside of the mineral resource and to extend the San Marcial hydrothermal breccia down dip.

The main drill targets include:

Shallow ground geophysical anomalies (magnetometry, chargeability and resistivity) related to a sulphide-rich volcano-sedimentary unit in the footwall of the existing mineral resource

The down dip extension of the San Marcial hydrothermal breccia to expand the current NI 43-101 mineral resource (Figure 3)

Prospective narrow high-grade Au mineralization, as reported by previous drilling (including 1 m at 204.6 g/t Au, see News Release dated July 30, 2019).

Figure 3: Representative Cross Section  San Marcial Underground Drilling (CNW Group/GR Silver Mining Ltd.)

Similar zones of elevated chargeability are found over several kilometres further S and SE of the resource area, untested by drilling, and remain attractive targets for future exploration. Resistivity and magnetic data are helping to understand the geology of this area, with definition of large intrusive (diorite and granodiorite) units, as well as identifying new drill targets.

PLOMOSAS SOUTH

The current exploration program at Plomosas South is focused on three potential mineralization styles:

the southerly extensions to the Plomosas Ag-Pb-Zn mineral system, hosted by the Plomosas Breccia;

the occurrence of a set of NE-SW striking Au-Cu veins and NW-SW trending Ag-Au veins which are historically identified cross-cutting the Plomosas mineralization at different levels within the historic Plomosas mine; and

the occurrence of high-angle Au mineralization at the contact between a diorite sill and the volcanic/volcaniclastic host rock sequences.

TRAMPOLIN

The Trampolin target is a 3 km long N-S trending, steeply dipping structural corridor located between, and subparallel to, Loma Dorada and the Plomosas Mine Area (Figures 1 and 2). Initial geological reconnaissance in this target area indicates the presence of an epithermal vein system in close proximity to a volcanic dome complex with associated Cu-Au mineralization, located immediately to the north.

Shallow drilling is currently underway to assess the mineral potential of this epithermal vein, along strike. The southern portion of this system is currently undergoing small scale underground mining by a local third party.

EL SALTITO

The El Saltito target consists of a set of NW-SE trending epithermal quartz veins located 4.5 km to the west of the Plomosas Mine Area (Figure 2). The system extends for at least 2.5 km, including the northern and southern extensions of historic shallow Ag-Au underground workings, currently held by a third party.

The southern projection of the El Saltito vein system suggests continuity towards the GAP Area vein system (Figure 2).

GAP AREA

The GAP Area consists of a series of NW-SE striking, steeply dipping epithermal quartz veins, located within the area between the San Juan and San Marcial areas (Figure 2). No exploration was ever undertaken along this 5 km long structural corridor which hosts numerous old workings. Recent mapping and mineral prospecting by GR Silver identified epithermal textures, with highly anomalous Au values up to 10.7 g/t Au (see News Release dated September 8, 2021). Geological mapping by the Company, supported by recent interpretation of a ground geophysical survey, confirms a geological setting favourable for the presence of multi-phase, overprinting, low sulphidation epithermal veins.

The Company is continuing with the reconnaissance drilling, testing new targets with the objective of identifying new discoveries, as well as the resource expansion underground drilling at San Marcial.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical data contained in this News Release related to the exploration program were reviewed and/or prepared under the supervision of Marcio Fonseca, P. Geo. He has approved the disclosure herein.

About GR Silver Mining Ltd.

GR Silver Mining is a Canadian-based, Mexico-focused junior mineral exploration company engaged in cost-effective silver-gold resource expansion on its 100%-owned assets, located on the eastern edge of the Rosario Mining District, in the southeast of Sinaloa State, Mexico. GR Silver Mining controls 100% of two past producer precious metal underground and open pit mines, within the expanded Plomosas Project - which includes the integrated San Marcial Area and La Trinidad acquisition. In conjunction with a portfolio of early to advanced stage exploration targets, the Company holds 778 km2 of concessions containing several structural corridors totaling over 75 kilometres in strike length.

GR Silver Mining Ltd.

Mr. Marcio Fonseca, P. Geo.

President & CEO

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

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.

GR Silver Mining Ltd. (CNW Group/GR Silver Mining Ltd.)

SOURCE GR Silver Mining Ltd.

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / AnyChat Co., Ltd. announced on the 4th that Lamp Genie (LGN) Token, which will be used for the LAMP (Language Ai Translate Messenger Platform) service that provides services such as chatting, SNS, shopping, games, etc., will be listed on the Hotbit Global Exchange.

LAMP is a messenger platform which allows anyone to freely communicate with people around the world in real-time, without the help of an external translation tool by applying LAMP's unique patent technology (AI Deep running Technology) which allows to translate expressions that contain general terms, chat terms, and dialects.

LAMP will also offer a variety of services beyond simple messenger functions, such as World-Wide Second-hand markets, making friends, business centers, and LAMP Musics using abundant high-quality music sources. As of December 25, 2021, official services will be provided worldwide, and 13 languages (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Arabic, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese and Philippine Tagalog) will be supported first. By 2023, additional 30 languages will be supported.

LAMP stated that it will be the first messenger platform to break down language barriers around the world, and it will establish itself as an indispensable core technology for future industries by providing API services to various industries (shopping malls, online games and metaverse environments, etc.)

Meanwhile, Hotbit Global is a global cryptocurrency exchange established in 2010, and has more than 1.5 million members in 170 countries around the world. An official from AnyChat Co., Ltd. said, "We will promote Lamp Genie (LGN) to enter the global market through the global exchange, Hotbit Global" and "Please look forward to AnyChat's unique patent technology (AI Deep running Technology) that can be expanded to various fields."

More detailed information of the listing of Lamp Genie (LGN) can be found on the Hotbit Global website.

Story continues

Name: Kim Dong yeong

Email: dykim@anychat.com

Phone: +82 01064658328

SOURCE: AnyChat Co., Ltd





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Commercial agreement reached with Unitel for service start in 2022

FALLS CHURCH, Va., November 03, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lynk Global, Inc. (Lynk), the world's leading cell-tower-in-space connectivity provider, today announced it has signed a commercial partnership agreement with Unitel, Mongolias largest mobile operator, enabling its subscribers to remain connected everywhere on the planet with ordinary cell phones. Unitel represents Lynks third partnership agreement reached within the past month with a mobile network operator (MNO) as part of the American tech firms Flagship Carrier Program. As a carrier program partner, Unitel will now have first-to-market rights to implement Lynks service in Mongolia. Lynks global commercial service providing direct satellite to cell phone service is on schedule to be deployed next year.

"We know that Unitel is looking at many options to supplement network coverage for its subscribers. We are honored that they chose Lynk to be their partner to help meet its critical connectivity needs in Mongolias vast landscape. This represents traction for Lynk, as we are adding another region of the world to our Flagship Carrier Program," states Charles Miller, Lynk CEO. "Recently we announced that Lynks 5th satellite has connected, and registered, hundreds of standard mobile phones per minute in initial tests in the US, the UK and the Bahamas, proving that Lynk has solved the last major technology barrier to connecting everybody, everywhere with a standard mobile phone."

"Mongolia is a very large country, covering an area of 1.6 million square kilometers, twice the size of France for example," explains Unitels CEO Enkhbat Dorjpalam. "Located between Russia to our North and China to our South, our population of approximately 3.3 million people live all throughout the country, which includes the worlds 2nd largest desert, the Gobi Desert. We have unique needs for coverage in our country given our nomadic lifestyle and extremely large livestock population of more than 70 million animals which is a critical component to our societys growth and resiliency. Add to that the very extreme weather, particularly in winter where our temperatures often drop to -36 to -40 C, we are looking forward to ensuring our people remain safe, secure and connected through Lynk."

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"We recently announced the first operators to sign up for our Flagship Carrier Program, Aliv in the Bahamas and Telecel Centrafique in the Central African Republic. With the addition of Unitel in Mongolia, Lynks service offering is rapidly spreading around the world," says Charles Miller, Lynks CEO and cofounder. "Our technology is now proven in 5 different countries, having registered phones in Canada and New Zealand in the last couple weeks. We are in a great position to launch global commercial services in July 2022."

Lynk will provide complete connectivity everywhere, whether land or sea, for the existing over 5.2 billion mobile subscribers through their existing MNO. Each year, more than 3 billion people, who own mobile phones, experience extended periods of disconnectivity. Another 1 billion people who can afford a mobile phone, dont buy one because there is no connectivity -- there is Zero G (0G) -- where they live and work.

The mobile industry has nearly exhausted the ability to profitably expand coverage with ground-based cell towers world-wide, leaving geographic coverage effectively capped. Lynks cell-tower-in-space service will complement existing terrestrial coverage and solves the 0G coverage problem. Lynk represents the largest growth opportunity in the mobile industry today  a bigger growth opportunity than 5G.

For more information about Lynks Flagship Carrier Program, please visit this blog.

For more technical information this blog post How Lynk Proved Direct Two-way Satellite-to-Mobile-Phone Connectivity explains what Lynk has accomplished with the hundreds of phone registration tests.

About Lynk:

Lynk Global Inc. is focused on providing universal connectivity for mobile phones and is the world's only independently verified space-based mobile network provider. The company's patented technology allows standard mobile phones to be connected virtually anywhere via low-Earth-orbit satellites without any change to hardware or software. Headquartered in Falls Church, VA, Lynk's leadership and engineering teams are experts in satellite engineering, space flight, and wireless technology. Follow us at www.lynk.world, @lynktheworld, or via LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005435/en/

Contacts

Tony DeTora, VP, Government Affairs, Lynk Global, Inc.

+(1) 703-203-8597

tdetora@lynk.world
- The Mars bar will be carbon neutral in the UK and Ireland from January 1st, 2023

- Making it the first carbon neutral chocolate bar produced by a top 5 confectionery company to appear on shelf

- Mars bar's carbon footprint is set to be slashed by over 20% by 2023 in a demonstration of concrete climate action from the confectionery giant today, to deliver a sustainable future tomorrow

- The business will work with an independent auditor and use the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality



SLOUGH, England, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars Wrigley UK has announced that Mars bars sold in the UK and Ireland will be certified as carbon neutral by January 1st, 2023.

Mars loves Earth: iconic British Mars bar set to be certified carbon neutral by January 2023

This move will make the Mars bar, which has annual sales of over 200 million bars in the UK alone, the first carbon neutral chocolate bar to appear on British and Irish shelves that is produced by a top 5 confectionery company.

The new pledge, that also includes Mars bars sold in Canada, represents tangible climate action less than a month after Mars, Incorporated, Mars Wrigley's parent company, announced its commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its full value chain by 2050.

Mars Wrigley is committed to doing more and aims to reduce the Mars bar carbon footprint by over 20% in the UK and Ireland by 2023. This will be a result of the company supercharging its efforts to sustainably transform supply chain agricultural practices, including using satellite data to geomap cocoa farms and accelerated partnerships with suppliers to produce dairy more sustainably.

Mars Wrigley UK has also announced that the Mars bar will be trialed in fully recyclable paper packaging starting in 2022.

Any emissions that cannot be eliminated will be offset by high quality carbon removal credits based on climate solutions like reforestation and land restoration.

The greenhouse gas reductions and high-quality offsets used for Mars bar to go carbon neutral in 2023 are expected to be roughly equivalent to charging more than 13 billion smartphones, or the same amount of carbon sequestered by around 135,000 acres of forest in a year.

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The world's largest chocolate manufacturer will work with an independent auditor to certify the Mars bar as carbon neutral and will be adhering to the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality, which provides radical transparency and is widely considered to be the leading standard of carbon neutral specification.

Adam Grant, Mars Wrigley UK General Manager said: "At Mars, we believe that actions speak louder than words and, to create a world tomorrow where our planet is healthy, we are clear that bold action must be taken today. Our pledge to deliver a certified carbon neutral Mars bar in the UK and Ireland by January 1st, 2023, supported by significant reductions in the near term, is the kind of immediate climate protection intervention needed to deliver a sustainable tomorrow."

Mars has been driving climate action for more than a decade. The Mars bar, which has been manufactured in Slough for nearly 90 years, is already produced in a factory that sources 100% renewable electricity.

Purposeful climate interventions such as these have led to Mars in the UK reducing its absolute greenhouse emissions from direct operations by 67% since 2015.

For further information on Mars, Incorporated's climate commitments and Sustainable in a Generation Plan, visit www.mars.com/sustainability-plan .



Notes to editors

In 2016 Mars in the UK began purchasing its electricity from the Moy Wind Farm near Inverness in Scotland. This means that owned factory operations in the UK, including Slough  the home of the Mars bar  source 100% renewable electricity [Drone video and photo assets available upon request]

Mars Wrigley UK purchases waste 'green' steam from the power station next to its Slough factory

Deforestation and land-use change are significant drivers of carbon emissions in the agricultural supply chain. To deliver on Mars' ambition of a deforestation-free supply chain for cocoa, we are using satellite data to geomap cocoa farms and have already mapped over a third in their supply chain. This enables monitoring and management of the cocoa supply chain through near constant satellite surveillance. Transparency is important to Mars, and we make our progress publicly available through an interactive map.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676974/Earth.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676975/Mars1.jpg
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, Nov. 2, 2021 /CNW/ - Media representatives are advised that the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, and German State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth will hold a press conference and take questions from on-site media representatives on the Climate Finance Delivery Plan co-led by Canada and Germany.

Event: Press conference Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2021 Time: 9:30 a.m. (GMT) Location: German Pavilion (COP26)

Those not attending in-person can view the press conference via live webstream using the Meeting ID 865 0680 9109 and password 547584.

Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan ( http://twitter.com/nrcan )

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

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View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2021/02/c6732.html
Michael Burry just dismissed red-hot meme coin Shiba Inu as 'pointless'  try these 3 mainstream crypto avenues instead

Michael Burry isnt afraid to go against the herd.

The hedge fund manager famously bet against the U.S. housing market in 2008 and won big  a move that was profiled in the hit movie The Big Short.

And now hes sounding the alarm on meme token Shiba Inu, citing the fact that its supply exceeds 1 quadrillion coins.

One quadrillion days is 2.7 trillion years, or all of time, from the beginning of the universe, multiplied by 71,000, Burry wrote last month in a now-deleted tweet. In other words, pointless.

Burrys warning did nothing to stop the rally. Despite a 12% decline in recent days, Shiba Inu is still up more than 550% over the past month.

Shiba is very volatile, even by crypto standards.

The coin was inspired by Dogecoin, which was inspired by Bitcoin. Thats why some say that it is the meme coin of a meme coin.

Here are a few more conventional ways to play the crypto boom.

Risk management is key. But if you believe in the future of crypto, one of these methods could be worth purchasing with some of your spare change.

Buy crypto directly

Momentum Fotograh/Shutterstock

Shiba Inu has delivered jaw-dropping returns of late. But rallying prices across the entire crypto arena have certainly helped its cause.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum touched all-time highs in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Dogecoin has made a comeback.

And many sharp minds on Wall Street expect that momentum to continue.

Fundstrats Thomas Lee projected that the price of Bitcoin could go as high as $168,000 by year-end. And Ark Invests Cathie Wood recently told CNBC that Bitcoin could soar to $500,000 in five years.

Investors can participate by purchasing crypto coins directly.

These days, many exchanges charge up to 4% in commission fees just to buy and sell crypto. But some investing apps charge 0%.

And theres no need to buy a whole coin. You can start with as little as $1.

Invest in crypto ETFs

K.unshu/Shutterstock

Exchange-traded funds have been a staple for many investors. They trade on stock exchanges, so its very convenient to buy and sell them.

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Several Bitcoin ETFs launched in Canada this year, including CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF and Evolve Bitcoin ETF.

And now, U.S. ETF investors can get a piece of the action, too.

On Oct. 19, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF started trading on NYSE Arca. The fund holds bitcoin futures contracts that trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

On its first day of trading, BITO surged 4.8% and hauled in more than $570 million in assets. The launch was widely regarded as a major catalyst that drove the price of Bitcoin above the $65,000 mark.

Investors who want exposure to the crypto market can invest in these ETFs. In fact, some investing apps allow you to buy both cryptocurrencies and ETFs commission-free.

Crypto stocks

Burdun Iliya/Shutterstock

When companies tie themselves to the crypto market, their shares can move in tandem with the coins. And that presents another opportunity for investors.

First, we have crypto miners.

The computing power doesnt come cheap and energy costs can be substantial. But if crypto keeps surging as the bulls predict, miners such as Riot Blockchain and Hut 8 Mining will likely receive growing attention from investors.

Then there are intermediaries like Coinbase and Paypal. When more and more people buy, sell, and use crypto, these platforms stand to benefit.

Finally, there are companies that simply hold a lot of crypto on their balance sheets.

Case in point: Enterprise software technologist Microstrategy has a market cap of $7.6 billion. Yet its bitcoin count reached 114,042 at the end of Q3, a stockpile worth around $7 billion.

Tesla is another bitcoin hoarder. But the companys roughly 42,000 bitcoin stash  worth around $2.6 billion  isnt substantial compared to its $1.2 trillion market cap.

An artsy alternative

antoniodiaz/Shutterstock

The volatility of cryptocurrencies is not for everyone. And even crypto stocks can make wild swings to either side.

If you want to invest in something that has little correlation with the ups and downs of the stock market and the crypto market, you might want to consider an overlooked asset: fine art.

Contemporary artwork has already outperformed the S&P 500 by a commanding 174% over the past 25 years, according to the Citi Global Art Market chart.

Investing in art by the likes of Banksy and Andy Warhol used to be an option only for the ultra-rich, like Burry. But with a new investing platform, you can invest in iconic artworks, too, just like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates do.

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Extending its commitment to continue advancing digital transformation in engineering

Digital Transformation in the EPC Industry

Digital Transformation in the EPC Industry

Digital Transformation in the EPC Industry

DETROIT, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mintmesh, a Detroit-based software company, today announced a new multimillion-dollar seed round investment, funded by New York City-based Private Equity firm, Bridge Lake Partners. The raise will fund the build-out of the software development team and fuel continued global expansion in the EPC market.

Mintmesh, a pioneer in using artificial intelligence and computer vision in the engineering industry, has created a digital platform to enable the end-to-end processing of technical evaluations and knowledge management of engineering equipment.

Mintmesh's cloud-based digital platform RUDY significantly enhances and accelerates the operational effectiveness of engineers during project bidding and execution phases. RUDY is created to digitally transform technical evaluation processes for large capital-intensive projects that currently experience significant delays from aging, time-consuming methods.

"We've seen a significant shift in the EPC industry in the last 12 months; there is significant consolidation within the industry and a huge realization that digital transformation is necessary to stay competitive," said Trevor Bardallis, Chief Executive Officer, Bridge Lake Partners. "We chose to invest in Mintmesh because we see it as a transformative technology that creates value for companies with capital intensive projects".

Mintmesh's CEO, Sunil Chathaveetil, said, "Mintmesh is thrilled to welcome Bridge Lake Partners as an investor in our growing company. This year, we have added top talent to our team and expanded into the energy corridor. With RUDY, we are automating and transforming the traditionally cumbersome, slow, and costly process of technical evaluations. We're also excited by recent developments in the market, as a Top 10 EPC company has recently chosen RUDY for its North American operations."

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Sunil continued, "While we are receiving significant interest from the Oil and Gas industry, this growth funding enables us to dramatically increase our reach and market presence, scaling to meet the needs of the entire EPC industry. Having Bridge Lake as part of our investment and board team will help guide Mintmesh to deliver the highest possible value to our clients."

"The engineering technology market has traditionally been one of the most underserved by innovation, and we believe digital transformation is on a fast track as it becomes a necessity for survival. The future winners in this industry absolutely require advanced digital platforms to efficiently scale their businesses. We found Mintmesh to be the first company solving a difficult problem solely devoted to engineers and ELP," said Trevor J. Bardallis, Founder at Bridge Lake Partners.

About Mintmesh

Mintmesh Inc is a Detroit, Michigan-based software provider for engineering, procurement, and construction companies. Mintmesh operates out of Houston, Richmond and Detroit, with support from its thought center and research arm in Bengaluru, India. Mintmesh's digital platform RUDY is used by engineers, suppliers, owners, and operators to manage technical evaluation processes and knowledge management. Learn more about how we help engineers transform their business at www.mintmesh.ai

About Bridge Lake Partners

Bridge Lake Partners is a New York City-based Private Equity Firm. Bridge Lake partners with disruptive software companies that are focused on digital transformation in industries lagging in technological innovation. Bridge Lake typically invests in early-stage companies from seed round to Series A. To learn more about Bridge Lake Partners you can reach out at info@bridgelake.com

Press Contact:

+1 (888) 874 3644

info@mintmesh.com

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Image 1: Digital Transformation in the EPC Industry





Using ELP and AI to Transform and Assist









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TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2021 /CNW/ - NAV CANADA, in collaboration with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), has launched a public consultation as the next step in a proposal to introduce airspace enhancements around Toronto Pearson, which are anticipated to have a significantly positive impact on noise and greenhouse gases emissions (GHGs).

NAV CANADA (CNW Group/NAV CANADA)

The proposed changes will introduce a modern arrival procedure known as Required Navigation Performance Authorization Required (RNP AR) for two runway ends at Toronto Pearson, Canada's busiest airport. This will be supported by a new International Civil Aviation Organization standard known as Established on RNP-AR (EoR).

RNP AR provides the opportunity to design shorter, more direct routes, enabling aircraft to turn towards the airport sooner, while the new standard supports safe and efficient integration of traffic in a busy parallel runway environment. If implemented, this will be the largest deployment of the EoR standard at a major international airport to date.

This proposal will support the industry's sustainability efforts with regard to both noise and emissionsby significantly reducing GHGs and the overflight of residential areas. It is estimated that the deployment of RNP-AR will result in GHG avoidance of 178,000,000 kilograms over 10 years. That's equivalent to taking approximately 44,000 cars off the road permanently.

"The aviation industry continues to examine ways to reduce its environmental footprint, from sustainable fuels and alternative energy sources, to improvements in aircraft technology and ground equipment, and modern, more efficient flight procedures," said Raymond Bohn, President and CEO, NAV CANADA. "The reductions in GHGs and noise impacts, coupled with fuel costs savings for our airline customers, are notable and supportive of an environmentally responsible recovery from COVID-19."

"Our sector's successful recovery post-pandemic depends on continuing to find innovative ways to operate in an efficient and environmentally sustainable way," said Deborah Flint, President and CEO, GTAA. "It is incumbent on us to build back better, not only for the entire travel and tourism ecosystem, but also for future generations of travellers, employees and our neighbouring communities."

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NAV CANADA and the GTAA have a notable history of pursuing noise mitigation efforts in collaboration with the communities around the airport and remain committed to working with neighbours to ensure that noise management remains a part of the conversation as the aviation industry recovers.

Residents are invited to visit www.navcanada.ca/YZRNP to learn more about the RNP-AR proposal, register for upcoming online public briefings, or provide feedback.

Public consultation will run until December 17, 2021.

About NAV CANADA

NAV CANADA is a private, not-for-profit company, established in 1996, providing air traffic control, airport advisory services, weather briefings and aeronautical information services for more than 18 million square kilometres of Canadian domestic and international airspace.

The Company is internationally recognized for its safety record, and technology innovation. Air traffic management systems developed by NAV CANADA are used by air navigation service providers in countries worldwide.

About the Greater Toronto Airports Authority

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority is the operator of Toronto  Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Canada's largest airport and a vital connector of people, businesses and goods. Toronto Pearson has been named "Best Large Airport in North America serving more than 40 million passengers" for four years in a row by Airports Council International (ACI), the global trade representative of the world's airports. In recognition of its Healthy Airport program, ACI also awarded Toronto Pearson the "Best hygiene measures in North America" award, and Toronto Pearson was the first Canadian airport to receive ACI's global health accreditation for its response to COVID-19.

For more information, please visit Toronto Pearson on Twitter (English and French), Facebook or Instagram.

For further information, please contact:

GTAA Media Office 416-776-3709

media.relations@gtaa.com

Greater Toronto Airports Authority Logo (CNW Group/NAV CANADA)

SOURCE NAV CANADA

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View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2021/03/c8840.html
2022 schedule has 200+ sailings with exciting ships and itineraries to meet every travelers high seas vacation plans

SAN PEDRO, Calif., November 03, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The departure of the Grand Princess at the Port of Los Angeles on September 25 signaled the start of a big comeback for cruise ship operations at the World Cruise Center on the LA Waterfront.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005210/en/

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Bliss sails down the LA Waterfront at the Port of Los Angeles. (Photo: Business Wire)

The Port is forecasting more than 200 sailings during the 2022 calendar year  the most since 2008. Vacationers can choose itineraries from 11 unique cruise brands, anchored by the Ports longest-standing cruise partner Princess Cruises, along with Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, which makes its return to the Los Angeles market after a decade.

Luxury cruise lines Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Viking Cruises, Crystal, Seabourn, Cunard and NYK also have scheduled sailings from the LA Waterfront this coming year.

"Resumption of cruises from the LA Waterfront is not only great news for our cruise partners and local economy, but also the tens of thousands of vacationers who will have a variety of cruise options, itineraries and exciting destinations conveniently accessible from the Port of Los Angeles," said Christopher Chase, marketing manager at the Port of Los Angeles.

"Many of these cruise ships are less than five years old, and can be considered destinations in and of themselves, featuring incredible amenities that passengers of all ages can appreciate," added Chase.

Sailing from the Port of Los Angeles since 1965, Princess Cruises and its iconic LA-based Pacific Princess introduced cruise vacations to a new generation of travelers when the ship was featured on The Love Boat television series starting in the 1970s. More than a half century later, Princess Cruises 70 departures out of Los Angeles in 2022 include sailings on the Discovery Princess, the cruise lines newest 3,600-passenger flagship vessel, slated to arrive in the first half of next year.

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In 2022, Princess Cruises itineraries out of Los Angeles will largely focus on week-long trips to the Mexican Rivera, with stops in Cabo San Lucas, Puerta Vallarta and Mazatlan. Once Hawaii lifts its current COVID-19 travel restrictions, Princess Cruises will once again offer its popular 14-day itineraries to the Hawaiian Islands.

Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Joy, also newer vessels, will continue to sail from the LA Waterfront. With capacity for up to 4,500 passengers, they are the largest cruise ships serving the U.S. West Coast and also sail Mexican Riviera itineraries.

For 2022, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines will return to the LA Waterfront with its 3,200-passenger Navigator of the Seas, offering year-round, twice-weekly three-day getaways to Ensenada, Mexico, and four-day cruises to Ensenada and Catalina Island. Since the early 2000s, Ensenada has grown into an emerging Baja California culinary hub, known for its fish and lobster tacos, plus an expanding wine region.

Los Angeles remains a top market for cruises, widely recognized as a convenient embarkation and disembarkation point for sea-going travelers. Its new and expanded cruise offerings solidify Los Angeles as an exciting gateway to cruises throughout the Pacific.

Cruise travel is also a valuable component of L.A. tourism economy. A busy cruise weekend, with three or four ships in port, brings as many as 20,000 travelers to the LA Waterfront. Each cruise ship call generates more than $1 million in economic activity.

L.A. is also the nations largest "drive-to" cruise market, attracting motorists from as far as Phoenix and Las Vegas. Farther north, cruise vacationers from San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver, BC, Canada, appreciate the fly-in convenience of Los Angeles World Airport, 22 miles north of the Port, as do the frequent wintertime Canadian "snowbirds" from Edmonton and Calgary. Click here for cruise schedules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005210/en/

Contacts

Arley Baker

Port of L.A. Communications

(310) 732-3093

abaker@portla.org
Figure 1

Location map showing Rancheros concessions (red) and the location of the Alamos Golds Mulatos and Agnico Eagles La India and Pinos Altos mining complexes.

Location map showing Rancheros concessions (red) and the location of the Alamos Golds Mulatos and Agnico Eagles La India and Pinos Altos mining complexes.

Figure 2

Maiz Azul Geology and Current Drill Program.

Maiz Azul Geology and Current Drill Program.

Figure 3

Hydrothermal alteration map (showing location of historic drill holes)

Hydrothermal alteration map (showing location of historic drill holes)

Current drill program focused on expansion of known gold mineralization at Maiz Azul and initial testing of two highly prospective targets.

Diamond core drilling commenced on October 27, 2021.

To date 360 meters have been completed in two drill holes.

A 13 hole, 3000-meter program Phase 1 drill program planned.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ranchero Gold Corp. (formerly, Melior Resources Inc.) (TSXV:RNCH) (the Company) is pleased to provide an update of its current drill program at its 100%-owned Santa Daniela project located in Sonora, Mexico. The Santa Daniela project consists of a large 22,000-hectare concession that located in the heart of the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) gold belt situated in close proximity to a number of currently operating gold mines.

Diamond drilling is underway. The drill rig arrived on site on October 25 and commenced drilling on October 27. To date, 360 meters of diamond core drilling has been completed in two drill holes.

The Sierra Madre Occidental Gold Belt

Over the last 20 years, a significant new gold belt has emerged in the SMO. While there has historically been small-scale gold production, it is only in the past 15 years that large-scale mining has begun. The region is dominated by Alamos Golds Mulatos mining complex and Agnico Eagles La India and Pinos Altos mining complexes. These three mines produced approximately 390,000 ounces gold and 2.3 million ounces of silver in 2020. Combined proven and probable gold reserves are 2.5 million ounces. (Source: Alamos Gold and Agnico Eagle Websites) The Santa Daniela concessions are directly adjacent to the Mulatos mine complex (Figure 1).

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The SMO is a regionally extensive Tertiary volcanic field, comprised of two distinct volcanic sequences, an older andesitic and dacitic series, and a younger, pyroclastic dominated rhyolitic series. The Upper Series overlies the Lower Series with erosional disconformity and comprises a sequence dominated by stratified volcanic ash beds. Most significant metal occurrences, including Rancheros prospects in the SMO, are hosted by rocks of the Lower Series.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8c514bce-53e8-46ea-9ac9-3386582bec34

The Maiz Azul Prospect

The most advanced project in the Santa Daniela concessions is the Maiz Azul prospect. It lies approximately 3.5 km southeast of Alamos Golds San Carlos and El Victor deposits - part of the Mulatos gold complex. It is contained within the Lower Series volcanic rocks which also host gold mineralization at Mulatos. Historic drilling encountered gold mineralization in multiple drill holes including 37.0 meters averaging 1.56 g Au/t (DDH MA-18-03).

Field work conducted by Ranchero in 2020 consisted of mapping, geochemical sampling and alteration studies. As a result, Ranchero geologists have identified three primary targets for drill testing known as La Colmena, La Cascada and X-Structure. These targets have been defined by three principal factors: (i) structural trends (veins/veinlets, faults); (ii) geochemical sampling and (iii) alteration mapping. These factors appear to define a classic low-sulfidation, epithermal, precious-metal system.

The primary structural trend is west-northwest and the three targets, parallel to each other, follow this orientation (Figure 2). A secondary northeast trend is also prominent and may have an important control on mineralization.

Geochemical sampling has encountered numerous samples containing gold at surface (particularly the La Colmena and La Cascada targets). Independent samples of outcrop exposures of the La Colmena zone returned values between 0.22 to 6.27 g Au/t.

Alteration mapping (Figure 3) with the aid of spectral analysis shows concentric halos typical of a low-sulphidation gold deposit. This is characterized by an inner core of silica/clay surrounded by a halo of propylitic alteration (chlorite-epidote-calcite). Outlying this alteration are remnants of argillic alteration characterized by the presence of illite/smectite clays and destruction of rock textures.

The current drill program is planned to test the three targets. Thirteen diamond drill holes will be completed as shown in Figure 2. The program is designed first, to confirm and expand upon the historical drilling at La Colmena. The program will also provide an initial test of the La Cascada zone which has the largest surface expression of the three targets. Finally, one drill hole will provide an initial test of the X Structure.

The Maiz Azul prospect covers just a small portion of the Companys 22,000-hectare concession block. Reconnaissance efforts have yielded additional targets for further field investigations.

Corporate Update

Ranchero announces that it has engaged the Independent Trading Group (ITG) to provide market-making services. ITG is a member of IIROC, CIPF, the Toronto Stock Exchange and Canadian Securities Exchange, and is based out of Toronto, Ontario.

Ranchero entered a market making services agreement with ITG pursuant to which Ranchero engaged ITG to provide market-making services with the objective of maintaining a reasonable market and improving the liquidity of Rancheros common shares. Ranchero retained ITG for an initial term of three months, with automatic renewal of one-month terms thereafter until terminated by either party with 30 days notice. In consideration for the services, Ranchero will pay ITG C$10,000 per month, plus applicable taxes, during the term of the agreement. ITG will not receive any securities of Ranchero as compensation.

ITG is an arms length party to Ranchero. ITG does not currently have any interest in Ranchero or the securities of Ranchero, but ITG may acquire securities of Ranchero in connection with the market-making services. The funds to be used for the market-making services will be provided by

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1686eeae-e6bc-4644-b9fa-1ce924d62c82

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0f0bc3c9-2355-4f20-b4ed-45e0d9bb728f

ITG in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) and applicable securities laws. The engagement of ITG is subject to the approval of the TSXV.

Qualified Person

Scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by William Pincus, CPG, who is a "qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101.

About Ranchero Gold

Ranchero Gold is a gold exploration and development company currently focused on its 100%-owned Santa Daniela project located in Sonora, Mexico. The Santa Daniela project consist of a large land package of 22,000 hectares within Mexicos Sierra Madre Occidental  a newly emerging gold-belt. Maiz Azul is the Companys most advanced prospect. Drilling is currently on-going.

On behalf of the board of directors of the Company:

William Pincus

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains certain 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 expects or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate plans, estimates or intends or stating that certain actions, events or results  may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include, but are not limited to, the final acceptance of the TSXV to the Transaction.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to materially differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: risks related to regulatory approval, including the approval of the TSXV. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statement will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipate in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or managements 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.

For further information, please contact:

William Pincus

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

+1 303 589 3734




Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Royal Road Minerals Limited (TSXV: RYR) ("Royal Road" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Ana Gabriela Juarez and Roderick Corrie have been appointed as new directors of the Company and Jon Hill has been appointed as the Company's non-executive Chairman. The Company also announces that it has established a specialist advisory board (the "Specialist Advisory Board") and appointed experienced advisors, Hugh Devlin and Guy Wallis, as its members.



Director Appointments

Ana Gabriela Juarez has joined the Company's board of directors as a non-executive director. Ana has more than 15 years of management, leadership, consulting, and auditing experience in Environmental and Social Management, Environmental and Biological Monitoring, and Permitting in compliance with IFC performance standards, Equator Principles, Towards Sustainable Mining and The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, across mining projects in Latin America. Ana also has experience supporting banks as an auditor, ensuring that operations are in compliance with their international financial commitments. Ana is the President of the Canadian Operations of CTA Environmental Consultants, where she leads the team consulting to major resource projects mainly in Latin America. Ana is also the founder of Women in Mining Central America, a non-for-profit organization focused on promoting and empowering women, as well as education in respect of mineral resources, and advocating for the sector in Central America. Ana has a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Berlin, Germany; an MSc in Environmental Water Management from the University of Cranfield, UK; and a Certification in Sustainable Finance from Cambridge University, UK.

Roderick Corrie has joined the Company's board of directors as a non-executive director and will serve as Chair of the Company's Audit Committee. Roderick is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Banking (ACIB). He has been a strategic adviser and financier with a variety of companies and holds or has held executive or non-executive roles in corporate finance, strategic advice, TV advertising, financial services, health, property, internet services, mineral and oil exploration & development, investment and manufacturing companies. Roderick was a founding shareholder and director of Royal Road and served as CFO until 2014 then briefly again in 2018. Roderick has a BA and MA from Cambridge University, UK.

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Jon Hill was appointed as non-executive Chairman of the Company. Jon has been a director of Royal Road since 2017. He has over 35 years of experience globally, in exploration, project development and mining operations and has been directly involved in the discovery of several world-class projects within both greenfield and brownfield areas. As Principal Advisor at Exploration Outcomes, which he founded in 2017, Jon provides specialist support to a number of companies including Jaguar Mining Inc, Giga Metals - Brazil and Sanatana Resources. Jon is also a director of Stratabound Minerals. He holds a BSc (Hons) Economic Geology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and a BAppSc. Applied Geology from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

"We are pleased that Ana and Roderick have joined Royal Road's board of directors and that Jon will now serve as Chairman. Each of them brings a wealth of experience to their leadership roles and their appointments reflect the Company's commitment to sustainability performance and good corporate governance. I am confident that this board will ensure the Company meets the expectations of its shareholders and exceeds its obligations in respect of the performance standards to which it is bound both ethically and under contractual arrangement with communities, NGO's and post-conflict cooperatives in Colombia and Nicaragua," said Dr. Tim Coughlin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Specialist Advisory Board

The Advisory Board will work closely with the Company's board of directors and management and advise on various corporate and strategic matters, including with respect to the Company's commitments as a signatory to the British Embassy's Business and Peace Initiative in Colombia.

Hugh Devlin has joined the Company's Advisory Board. Hugh is a former officer in the Royal Marines with over 20 years of military experience. A specialist background in intelligence, military diplomacy, and international arms control. As a Marine Commando he has served on operational tours in various countries and taken part in counter terror and counter narcotics operations in Belize and Northern Ireland. On leaving the Marines, Hugh worked in security, land and community relations and operations for mineral exploration companies and went on to become one of the co-founders and an original member of the executive board of Royal Road. Hugh has been involved in establishing sustainable community development programs in Armenia, Kosovo, Georgia, Turkey and Ethiopia, focused on training and development of workplace skills for local employees and providing opportunities for disadvantaged minority groups. Past experience includes several years as a security and risk consultant specializing in resilience planning, disaster recovery and operational logistics. Hugh is currently employed by the UK Ministry of Defence as a Regional Employer Engagement Director. Hugh is a competent and experienced Russian interpreter and trained negotiator.

Guy Wallis has also joined the Company's Advisory Board. Guy served with British Armed Forces for 35 years, including 19 with UK Special Forces (UKSF) before joining the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. In the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, his team provides analysis to senior decision makers within the Ministry of Defence and Other UK Government Departments. While in the Armed Forces, Guy served with the US Manoeuvre Warfare Centre of Excellence, establishing collaboration on manoeuvre warfare doctrine, policy, training (including simulation) and equipment capability development. In Afghanistan he served with the US Marine Corps Headquarters based in Helmand providing critical planning advice and coordinating operations. He has also served with the US Special Operations Command providing operational and policy advice on counter-terrorism working with US Special Operations Forces, intelligence and law enforcement agencies and completed a tour of Iraq coordinating the UK & US Global Counter Terrorism strategy. Guy has also served in the Ministry of Defence, providing specialist input to key policy documents and has represented UKSF at cross-Government meetings and provided support to Cabinet Office Briefing Room 'A' (COBRA) and the Defence Crisis Management Centre during operations and domestic incidents. Guy has an MSc in Security Management, is a Fellow of the Security Institute and is a Chartered Security Professional. He is also a PRINCE2 Practitioner and Member of the Association of Project Management.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary statement:

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") describing the Company's future plans and the expectations of its management that a stated result or condition will occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or developments in the Company's business or in the mineral resources industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that is based on assumptions about, among other things, future economic conditions and courses of action, and assumptions related to government approvals, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The words "plans", "prospective", "expect", "intend", "intends to" and similar expressions identify forward looking statements, which may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the Company's exploration plans.

The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. There is no guarantee that the anticipated benefits of the Company's business plans or operations will be achieved. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: economic market conditions, anticipated costs and expenditures, government approvals, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators or other applicable regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements included herein are based on the current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions of the Company management and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.



For further information please contact:

Dr. Timothy Coughlin

President and Chief Executive Officer

USA-Canada toll free 1800 6389205

+44 (0)1534 887166

+44 (0)7797 742800

info@royalroadminerals.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101729
After Nubank filed its F-1, Natasha Mascarenhas and Alex Wilhelm dissected the document to learn more about the operations of one of the world's largest startups.

"With over 40 million users across Brazil, as well as Mexico and Colombia," the fintech company's LTV/CAC ratio is central to its success, they found. Notably, as many as 90% of Nubank customers were acquired organically.

Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members.

Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription.

Even with more competitors entering their markets, Nubank's sticky customers generate a relatively high monthly average revenue.

As a direct result, its CAC payback periods are relatively short and its "losses do not appear even close to lethal," report Natasha and Alex. "Indeed, they are more modest than we anticipated."

More neobanks are waiting to get on deck and take their turn at bat in an IPO: PicPay, Chime and Monzo are likely the next few to enter the public markets, but these "fresh metrics could prove that neobanks are finally moving off their investing phase."

Thanks very much for reading TechCrunch+. I hope you have a great week!

Walter Thompson

Senior Editor, TechCrunch+

@yourprotagonist

What Netflixs move into gaming means for developers

General Exterior Views Of Netflix ABQ Studios

Image Credits: Sam Wasson (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Some analysts predict that Netflix will spend as much as $19 billion on original and acquired content in 2025, but that figure omits a new frontier for the global media platform: gaming.

Netflix hired a lead for its gaming division in July and purchased Night School Studio in September, giving it access to more developers.

"It makes one wonder how Netflixs plans will influence game developers and studios around the world," writes Sendbird CEO John S. Kim.

"More importantly, how will developers respond to Netflixs entry into the space?"

Story continues

As Yahoo leaves China, an accelerating stream of exits

Image Credits: Nigel Sussman (opens in a new window)

As of today, TechCrunch is no longer available to readers inside China.

Citing an increasingly challenging business and legal environment," Yahoo (our parent company) became the latest global internet brand to exit the country. Microsoft recently decided to make LinkedIn unavailable there, and Epic Games decided to shut down its Fortnite servers in China last month.

The move is directly related to the November 1 start date of the Personal Information Protection Law of the Peoples Republic of China (PIPL).

When taken as a whole, its clear that international business and media and the Chinese market are decoupling at an increasingly rapid clip, write Anna Heim and Alex Wilhelm.

Is China building the metaverse?

Person with an Experiences of Metaverse Virtual World via Smart Phone.

Image Credits: BlackSalmon (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Given its strengths in areas like 5G, payments, e-commerce and related tech, China may have a strategic advantage when it comes to building the metaverse.

Announced in 2017, many of China's AI initiatives are starting to bear fruit. Other trump cards, such as access to vast data sets for AI training and its robust manufacturing infrastructure, could tip the balance.

"Its not hard to imagine  at least in the near term  that Chinas version of the metaverse may be the richer experience for consumers and for those who sell to them," says Catherine D. Henry, SVP Growth at Media.Monks.

When should your B2C startup enter a new market?

Point of view, looking up ladder sticking through hole in ceiling revealing blue sky

Image Credits: PM Images (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Many entrepreneurs say fortune favors the brave, but French microbiologist Louis Pasteur got it right: luck favors the prepared mind.

Bold is good, but smart is better, especially when it comes to expanding the range of a B2C startup. Introducing yourself to customers (not to mention regulators) in a foreign market comes with a lot of known unknowns.

"It may be that through luck or ingenuity, your business has thrived in your home country with minimal marketing spend, but there is absolutely no guarantee this will happen abroad," says Jim Mann, director of acquisitions at Thrasio, a consumer goods company.

Shareholders approve Bird-SPAC merger, stock promptly falls

Barcelona Bird e-scooter

Image Credits: Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch

After shareholders of Switchback II Corporation approved its merger with scooter company Bird this morning, its stock fell as much as 20%.

When the deal was announced in June, the company was expected to reach a valuation of $2.3 billion after the merger.

"Thats precisely what the company will be worth in light of Switchback IIs share price declines, but the number could be lower than the headline figure from early merger disclosures," reports Alex Wilhelm.

Make the most of iOS 15's updates to the App Store

Omni channel technology of online retail business. Multichannel marketing on social media network platform offer service of internet payment channel, online retail shopping and omni digital app.

Image Credits: Blue Planet Studio (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Watchful consumers may notice the performance updates in iOS15, but for app developers, the release brings a host of changes to the App Store that includes access to new metrics and updated product pages.

In an overview that includes suggestions specifically for app developers, Ilia Kukharev, head of ASO at AppFollow, reviews several features that have been released and previews upcoming changes.

"There hasnt been this big of a change since iOS 11 was released over four years ago," he writes.

Backblazes IPO a test for smaller tech concerns

Connection network in dark servers data center room storage systems 3D rendering

Image Credits: sdecoret / Getty Images

Cloud storage company Backblaze tentatively priced its upcoming IPO between $15 and $17 per share, which values it at $684.3 million at the higher end of the price range.

That pricing makes it unique, writes Alex Wilhelm, because if smaller companies can go public at multiples similar to that of bigger firms, one more startup excuse for avoiding IPOs goes poof.

Balancing risk: Modern architectures role in the BNPL playbook

Young multi-ethnic friends on white circles

Image Credits: Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images

Buy now, pay later activity is exploding. According to one estimate, BNPL now accounts for $100 billion each year.

But the companies providing BNPL loans face risks, as outdated banking infrastructure leaves loan providers with little visibility into their end-customer's ability to repay, writes Matt Bivons, CEO and co-founder of Canopy Servicing.

Switching to more modern loan servicing infrastructure can help providers minimize third-party and merchant risk, while being insured against "unfair practices and the ability to do business with the transparency customers need to borrow responsibly."

Quick observations on Udemys unicorn edtech IPO

creativity 3d concept: a silhouette of a human head with a cutaway revealing abstract shapes inside

Image Credits: Vertigo3d (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Udemy went public at $29 and raised a significant amount of capital, but the unicorn's stock tumbled 6% the same day it debuted.

The sell-down indicates that Udemy may have to prove that its new focus on enterprise business will generate steady revenue growth, write Alex Wilhelm and Natasha Mascarenhas.

Until that happens, "the companys valuation appears ready to hold fast in second gear."
Tesla EV sales boom in Singapore, pushing rivals' models off the streets A Tesla car charges at a Supercharger station in Singapore

By Chen Lin

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - In wealthy Singapore, where new vehicle registration is tightly controlled to manage the city state's traffic and pollution, Tesla Inc is having a moment: surging sales are gobbling up rivals' market share.

The buying frenzy in one of the world's most expensive places to own a vehicle - Tesla's most basic Model 3 costs nearly S$200,000 ($148,300) in Singapore, largely due to an ownership levy, compared with less than $40,000 in the United States - underscores the U.S. firm's ascent in the global auto industry.

This week, Tesla surpassed $1 trillion in market value, overshadowing the combined value of five of its biggest rivals, Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Co and General Motors.

The number of new Teslas on Singapore roads has risen more than ten-fold to 487 in the third quarter, from just 30 in the first half, data from Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) showed.

"I bought the car because I'm a supporter and shareholder of the company," said software engineer Tim Shim, who reserved a Model 3 five years ago but received just recently as sales began this year in the city-state.

Helped by Tesla fans like Shim, the company became Singapore's sixth-most popular car brand in September, outselling Nissan, Audi and Kia.

Experts say there is no single cause for the surge, although Singapore did announce this year up to S$45,000 subsidy for buyers of electric cars. Because Tesla seems to have fared better than other companies at weathering supply chain issues, it may simply be able to deliver more cars than competitors.

"Pent up demand is relatively large. Now the supply is in place and Tesla is most likely working through a large backlog," said Niels de Boer, an electromobility expert at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

There were 314 Teslas registered last month in Singapore, almost on par with Hyundai and trailing top brands Toyota Motor Corp's 778 and Honda Motor's 466.

Story continues

Tesla declined to comment on its performance in Singapore.

Its website shows new buyers still have to wait 4-12 weeks to get their cars.

TESLA'S GAIN IS OTHERS' LOSS

Singapore's strict limits on car registrations until early 2025 mean Tesla's market share gain comes at the cost of its rivals in the tiny and competitive country, which runs 50 km (31 miles) from east to west and 27 km from north to south.

Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and Nissan saw a average monthly new car registrations decline in the third quarter, down 45% and 27% respectively from the first half of this year, according to a Reuters calculation.

Although monthly car registration dropped 15.8% on average last quarter from the first half, only Tesla and Korean car makers Hyundai and Kia bucked the trend among major vendors. Hyundai and Kia reported 13.6% and 25% sales rises respectively.

Analysts and industry experts said factory disruptions caused by a global chip shortage also probably affected deliveries and sales in recent months. Hyundai and Tesla are among a handful of carmakers that fared better than rivals in managing disruptions.

(For graphic on Top brands vs Tesla's performance in 2021 - https://graphics.reuters.com/TESLA-SINGAPORE/gdpzywlwdvw/chart.png)

"A Tesla car is cheaper to own when compared to equivalent class sedans from other famous Western brands like Mercedes and BMW," said Andy Seo, who switched to Tesla from a Volvo. He said it costs about S$20-S$30 to fully charge a Model 3 near his home.

NTU's de Boer expects the Tesla frenzy to fade longer term as competition heats up, but said it could help broaden adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

"I think Tesla will help with the shift: this is buying an EV while being cool and trendy," he said.

(For graphic on Top three car brands in Singapore vs Tesla (Jan-Sept 2021)- https://graphics.reuters.com/TESLA-SINGAPORE/egvbkmxmwpq/chart.png)

Tesla made up 1.4% of 36,629 new car registrations in Singapore this year, compared with top player Toyota's 20.4%.

Singapore, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk once criticised for not being supportive of EVs, plans to phase out all internal combustion engine vehicles https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-economy-budget-autos-idUSKBN20C15D by 2040 and is encouraging drivers to switch to EVs through a range of measures, including more tax breaks and subsidies.

($1 = 1.3483 Singapore dollars)

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Top brands vs Tesla's performance in 2021 https://tmsnrt.rs/3jEF9SD

Top three car brands in Singapore vs Tesla (Jan-Sept 2021) https://tmsnrt.rs/31aMLpx

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

(Reporting by Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Gerry Doyle)
All-New 2022 Toyota Tundra wins top honor at the 2021 Texas Truck Rodeo

PLANO, Texas, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota's all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra was awarded the title "Truck of Texas" by the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) at the annual Texas Truck Rodeo event.

The all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra Platinum

Built on a new fully boxed chassis and equipped with a new multilink rear suspension, the Tundra offers impressive capability with its maximum tow rating of 12,000 pounds and a max payload of 1,940 pounds. Featuring two new i-Force powertrains  the i-FORCE 3.5L twin-turbo V6 engine and available i-FORCE MAX 3.5L twin-turbo V6 hybrid  the Tundra not only significantly improves performance but both powertrains improve efficiency as well. Maybe the most surprising aspect of the hybrid i-FORCE MAX powertrain is that it is the most powerful of the options, producing 437 hp @ 5,200 rpm and a whopping 583 lb.-ft. of torque and an impressively low 2,400 rpm.

"The 2022 Toyota Tundra is truly an all-new truck inside and out, and we're honored that TAWA recognized all the great features the Tundra offers," said Lisa Materazzo, group vice president - Toyota Marketing. "The Tundra is really an American story through and through, as it is not only assembled at our manufacturing plant in San Antonio, but it was designed and developed in California and Michigan, its engines are built in Alabama and the multimedia system was developed by our Connected Technology team in Plano.

Born from invincible, the 2022 Tundra arrives in December 2021 with a host of new features to accompany the new chassis and powertrains. Those looking to get off the beaten path will appreciate the off-road technology that includes the available Multi-Terrain Select (MTS), Crawl Control (CRAWL) and selectable rear locker. The all-new multimedia system offers a user-friendly experience with new voice activated technology or via the massive 14-inch touchscreen.

Additionally, the 2022 Tundra offers drivers groundbreaking towing technology. Using sensors and cameras, Tundra's driver assistance technology helps drivers easily connect a trailer and Straight Path Assist helps keep it in a straight line when backing up. Additional new interior features include a panoramic moonroof, a tailored cabin, the available fan-favorite power vertical rear window and an available 12.3-inch digital instrument panel for the driver.

Story continues

This year's Texas Truck Rodeo brought together 44 journalists to evaluate automakers' latest trucks and SUVs on an off-road course in the Texas Hill Country near Austin. Vehicles from the world's top manufacturers were evaluated on interior, exterior, value, performance and personal appeal. The Tundra ran the rugged course, leaving its competitors trailing in the competition.

"The Texas Auto Writers Association Truck of Texas award is a prestigious honor, and there's no doubt the 2022 Toyota Tundra roared in with the intention to impress," said TAWA president Kristin Shaw. "TAWA journalists had the privilege of driving the brand-new Tundra on- and off-road at the same time as the national launch. By the end of the Texas Truck Rodeo, our members' votes were loud and clear: the 2022 Tundra is a winner."

TAWA is a Texas-based nonprofit association for automotive journalists promoting professionalism and quality in journalism for more than two decades. TAWA has grown to become one of the most influential and recognized automotive journalist associates in the U.S. The group produces two annual events  Texas Auto Roundup and Texas Truck Rodeo  that allow members to experience vehicles from various manufacturers in one place, at one time.

For more information on the 2022 Toyota Tundra, visit the Toyota Newsroom.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.

Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 36,000 in the U.S. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 30 million cars and trucks at our 9 manufacturing plants, 10 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

To help inspire the next generation for a career in STEM-based fields, including mobility, Toyota launched its virtual education hub at www.TourToyota.com with an immersive experience and chance to visit many of our U.S. manufacturing facilities. The hub also includes a series of free STEM-based lessons and curriculum through Toyota USA Foundation partners, virtual field trips and more. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Media Contact:

Marissa Martinez

Allison+Partners

210-240-7877

marissa.martinez@allisonpr.com

Toyota brand logo. (PRNewsFoto/Toyota Media Relations) (PRNewsfoto/Toyota Motor North America)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toyota-tundra-named-truck-of-texas-301414998.html

SOURCE Toyota
Cathy Binder defended her spot on the King George Board of Supervisors Tuesday, defeating the attempt by Cedell Brooks Jr. to return to public office.

Binder garnered 63 percent of the tally, beating Brooks by 700 votes in the Shiloh District. She had 1,622 votes compared with 922 for him, according to unofficial results from the State Board of Elections.

James Monroe District Supervisor T.C. Collins was unopposed in his bid for re-election.

Binder bubbled with excitement Tuesday night.

Im enthusiastic, Ill put it that way. I want to continue doing good things for the county, she said, noting that people from both political parties had expressed their support. My philosophy is trying to do the best I can for all the residents of the county and I got a lot of positive feedback from people.

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Brooks wished her well. We tried hard, but I guess it just wasnt my season, he said.

Meanwhile, newcomers David Bush and Matthew Roles won seats on the King George School Board. Bush received 68 percent of the votes over his opponent, native King George resident Earsley M. Robinson, in the race for Shiloh District School Board. He had 1,703 votes compared to 764 for Robinson.
Cooler-than-average temperatures are holding fast the first week of November.

This Wednesday mornings official low temperatures locally were recorded as 33 and 34 degrees respectively at Stafford Regional Airport and Shannon Airport. Official thermometer heights are 4-6 feet above ground, so overnight temperatures at grass level actually dropped below freezing in many locales. Thus Jack Frost likely paid a visit to most Fredericksburg area neighborhoods this morning.

Those temperatures will halt their rise in the mid-50s this afternoon, several degrees below average for this stage of the month. A northerly breeze at 5-10 mph will stir the air and keep that chilly feeling in place despite todays abundant sunshine. High pressure sprawling across the eastern U.S. will be mostly in control of the Fredericksburg regions weather tonight and Thursday, with one exception.

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That exception is a low pressure center that will form along the old frontal boundary that passed through Fredericksburg Monday. That storm system will push a blanket of clouds northward into the area tonight, keeping local temperatures from dropping quite as low as they did this morning.
Only one familiar face will return to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors as first-time candidates won three out of four races on Tuesday.

In the Aquia District, independent political newcomer Monica Gary upset Republican candidate and former supervisor Paul Milde by 134 votesearning 50.56 percent of the total. Gary succeeds Supervisor Cindy Lamb, who Milde defeated in the Republican primary.

I feel elated and I feel hopeful, said Gary. This has proven people can agree on something. I have supporters who are super-hard Trumpers, and supporters who love [President Joe] Biden, and they both voted for me.

Late Tuesday night, Milde released a statement thanking his supporters and wishing Gary success.

I have a new daughter and family that I now get to spent time with that I would have spent helping our county, wrote Milde. So I am a winner on that score.

Gary is a native Virginian and has more 12 years experience in ministry. She has lived in Stafford for six years. Last month, Gary told The Free LanceStar she believes her background in religious ministries will benefit the constituents she hopes to represent.

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Bennett said there was concern from the FDC that some candidates are anti-mask and anti-CRT and a threat to the nonpartisan nature of local leadership. She said she wanted to ensure Black voters were aware there was potential political influence in the local election.

We decided we couldnt pretend that it wasnt happening, Bennett said. We needed to make sure our voters understood whats going on.

Bennett said she was especially worried about a possible uptick of political rhetoric seeping into the School Board. Ward 4 incumbent Malvina Kay, who ran unopposed, said her concern is that anyone who has political aspirations could use November School Board elections as a springboard.

Im concerned that its going to be more political as opposed to local elections when you get to focus on local issues, Kay said.

But Dominguez said state and national issues should not be ignored in local campaigns. He said he believes party affiliation should be listed on the ballot so voters know where candidates stand.

Unless youre a true independent, you cannot take politics out of a vote, Dominguez said.

Voters had mixed views on the municipal elections moving to November.
Democrat Candi King of Woodbridge held onto the 2nd District seat representing Prince William County and part of North Stafford, capturing 57 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Gina Ciarcia.

The 28th District race was the most hotly contested in the region and one targeted as a key race in determining whether Republicans could wrest control of the House of Delegates from the Democrats.

Durant was cast into the national spotlight last simmer during the height of anti-police protests when she was drove her vehicle through downtown Fredericksburg. When Durant and her 12-year-old daughter were blocked from driving through a city intersection by protestors, Durant called city police for help, but the dispatcher said she could not send officers. The audio of Durants 911 emergency call garnered national media attention.

An educator at Holy Cross Academy who is married to a Marine, Durant has lived in Stafford for more than 20 years. She told The Free LanceStar last month that education will be one of her top priorities and said she wants Virginia public schools to become the benchmark for every other state to look up to.

Education is the most important priority to me. Ive seen the impact as a mother of three and as an educator, Durant said Tuesday night.
Incumbent Berkeley School Board member Erin Grampps loss Tuesday to challenger April Gillespie could mean a new majority on the board that will question the school divisions budget requests and prioritize taxpayers in addition to students and staff.

Gillespie, who was endorsed by the Spotsylvania Republican Party and whose campaign received thousands of dollars in donations from prominent members of the party, garnered 64 percent of the vote to Grampps 34 percent, with all ballots counted except for those mailed and processed after Election Day.

Those ballots must have been postmarked Tuesday and can be received by the county registrar until noon on Friday.

According to unofficial results, Gillespie received the majority of votes in every precinct except for absentee ballots processed through Election Day.

On her campaign website, Gillespie states that she believes schools are the primary contributor to the countys debt and that she will effectively lower the schools budget, while still meeting the needs of students and staff.

Gillespie had not responded by Wednesday afternoon to a request to comment on her win.

Grampp congratulated Gillespie in a post to her School Board Facebook page.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Anticipating a green light from vaccine advisers, the Biden administration is assembling and shipping millions of COVID-19 shots for children ages 5-11, the White House said Monday. The first could go into kids' arms by midweek.

"We are not waiting on the operations and logistics," said coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients.

By vaccinating children, the U.S. hopes to head off another coronavirus wave during the cold-weather months when people spend more time indoors and respiratory illnesses can spread more easily. Cases have been declining for weeks, but the virus has repeatedly shown its ability to stage a comeback and more easily transmissible mutations are a persistent threat.

On Tuesday, a special advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet to consider detailed recommendations for administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to younger children. The Food and Drug Administration already cleared the shots, which deliver about one-third of the vaccine given to adults. After CDC advisers make their recommendations, agency director Dr. Rochelle Walensky will give the final order.
At 12:30 a.m., Ciattarelli said he couldn't yet declare a victory because votes remained to be counted, but said he fully expected to make a victory declaration once that happens.

Weve sent a message to the entire nation. This is what I love about this state: Every single time it's gone too far off track, the people of this state have pushed, pulled and prodded it right back to where it needs to be," he told the crowd.

While a Ciattarelli win would send a jolt through state and national politics, a win by Murphy would also break some historical trends.

No Democrat has won reelection as governor in New Jersey since Brendan Byrne in 1977, and the party opposite the president's has won the New Jersey governorship going back to 1985.

An enthusiastic Murphy also appeared onstage, hopeful for a win.

When every vote is counted, and every vote will be counted, we hope to have a celebration, he said.

New Jersey does not have an automatic recount law, but the candidates are permitted to request one. The party that wants a recount has to file a suit in State Superior Court in the counties where they want to contest tallies. That has to be done within 17 days of Election Day.
As a bomber with the Army Air Forces during World War II, he was shot down. He received a Purple Heart and other medals but felt uncomfortable discussing his wartime experience.

Well, I tell you, I dont ever talk about it. I was in the Pacific. I came back and many of my friends did not come back and theyre just forgotten about, he said.

After the war, he attended the University of Missouri and Syracuse University before getting his law degree from Drake University in Des Moines in 1950. He farmed, worked as a lawyer, and served as an assistant county attorney in Polk County before he was elected to Congress.

Smith said he was inspired to enter politics during President Harry Trumans campaign in 1948. With Truman expected to lose, Smith went to the state Democratic headquarters and asked how he could help. He was told to start a young Democrats club at Drake, which he did.

He also recalled that during the Great Depression, politicians managed to give people hope.

It just seemed like people who were there working in the government were trying to help improve the situation, and it made one think that government service was a good thing to do, Smith said in the Iowa Public Radio interview.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson did not immediately respond to messages about the charges.

Probation is not an option in Nevada for a conviction on a charge of DUI causing death, which carries a possible sentence of two to 20 years in state prison. The possible sentence for reckless driving is one to six years in prison, with probation available.

Ruggs attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said they are investigating the crash on behalf of their client and ask everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are gathered.

Chesnoff declined additional comment after Ruggs was released from University Medical Center and booked into the Clark County Detention Center.

The Raiders didn't wait for the courts to act, sending out a brief statement Tuesday night announcing Ruggs' release. The Raiders had issued a statement earlier in the day saying the team was aware of the crash, devastated by the loss of life, and in the process of gathering information.
Some of the races were so close that recounts are likely. Mugler lost by just 272 votes in her Peninsula district.

Del. Alex Askew, D-Virginia Beach, appeared headed to defeat, but rallied on early voting and led by 184 votes and declared victory. His lead had shrunk to 94 votes by Wednesday morning.

Democrats also came back to win close seats in Hampton Roads and their stronghold in Northern Virginia, where Del. Wendy Gooditis, D-Clarke, defeated Republican Nick Clemente, in a district that extends from Loudoun County into the Shenandoah Valley.

The elections set the winners for two-year terms in the House, but they could face voters again next year if the federal courts agree with longtime Democratic political operative Paul Goldman that the current districts are unconstitutional.

Goldman filed a federal lawsuit in June that alleges the elections held on Tuesday violate the requirement in the U.S. Constitution that political districts are proportionally equal to guarantee one man, one vote.

As a result, House districts that have lost population in the past decade  primarily in Republican-dominated areas such as Southwest and Southside Virginia  are over-represented, while those in Richmond and other cities that generally vote Democratic are under-represented.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry filed a motion in U.S. District Court in California on Tuesday to dismiss a federal indictment alleging that he lied to the FBI and concealed information about illegal 2016 campaign contributions because of lack of proper venue in a California court.

"The government's attempt to drag Congressman Fortenberry across the country to face a jury of Californians for these alleged offenses represents a gross abuse of power by the Department of Justice," the motion stated.

"These important constitutional safeguards were intended to prevent precisely the kind of opportunistic venue-shopping the government is engaged in here," the motion filed by Fortenberry's legal team in the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California stated.

"Congressman Fortenberry has not committed any crime and he should not be prosecuted in any district," the motion stated.

"But if the government thinks otherwise, it must, at minimum, honor his fundamental right to an 'impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.'"

That guarantee is contained in the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Fortenberry, a Lincoln congressman, represents eastern Nebraska's 1st District in the House of Representatives.

The congressman's attorney, John Littrell of Los Angeles, had earlier signaled his intention to file the motion to dismiss the case in California because of a lack of venue in Los Angeles.

Contacts involved in the case were made in the District of Columbia and Nebraska, Littrell had earlier said.

The $30,000 in illegal campaign contributions from a foreign source were collected at a fundraising event in Los Angeles.

"The congressman will ultimately be victorious in this case," said Jim Morrell of Washington, a spokesman for Fortenberry. "He did not lie to the FBI and in fact was trying to help them."

At issue is $30,000 in cash from a Nigerian-born billionaire named Gilbert Chagoury that was contributed to Fortenberry's campaign through other individuals who attended the fundraiser in Los Angeles.

"The government does not allege that Congressman Fortenberry knew about Chagoury's scheme to funnel foreign donations to his campaign in 2016," the motion to dismiss stated.

"He didn't," it said. "The indictment should be dismissed."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins, chief of the public corruption and civil rights section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Los Angeles, has said that Fortenberry "lied and misled repeatedly" in attempting to obstruct a federal investigation into the 2016 contributions.

Jenkins has said he intends to call eight witnesses, some of whom are or were employees in the congressman's office.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The charges against the nine-term Republican congressman include one count that he schemed to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigations.

Trial in Los Angeles is tentatively scheduled to begin Dec. 14, but is likely to be delayed by a potential series of motions if that court maintains venue.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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A punishing winter looms for many Afghans who are already dealing with the effects of a devastating humanitarian crisis and an economic crunch brought on by the Taliban takeover, the withdrawal of foreign forces, and suspension of international funding.

The state health-care system, propped up by foreign aid for two decades, was hurting even before the Taliban seized power in mid-August, with many health-care workers going unpaid for months. Now the system is trying to stave off total collapse.

"The situation is dire, Khan, a resident of the eastern province of Kunar, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. We are on the eve of winter and disease is spreading."

Like many both at home and abroad, Khan called on foreign countries and aid groups not to abandon the country.

The main problem affecting Afghanistans health-care sector is the loss of financial aid, according to Patricia Gossman, associate director for Human Rights Watch's Asia Division.

"There is no money to pay health-care workers. There is no money to buy medicines," said Gossman, who added that the system was "already weak" under the previous government. "With former donors blocking aid -- not humanitarian aid, but actual cash to pay salaries -- the health-care situation is in a free fall like the rest of the economy."

Hundreds of health facilities have been shuttered in Afghanistan since the Taliban toppled the internationally recognized government in Kabul.

Abdul Bari Omari, the Taliban's caretaker deputy director of public health, told RFE/RL in October that nearly 90 percent of the sector was dependent on foreign aid, which led to the closure of 2,300 health centers when that aid was cut off.

Urgent appeals for more funds by NGOs and the United Nations have resulted in pledges of more than $1 billion, and outside states and aid groups have delivered much-needed medical supplies. But there is no clear path for the distribution of the funds and supplies, and billions of dollars held by Afghanistan's previous government remain frozen in the United States.

Many have turned to outside organizations that continue to provide health services in Afghanistan, such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which has worked in the country for 70 years, and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Representatives of both organizations say they saw the departure of some staff and an uptick in patients following the Taliban takeover, and cite malnutrition as a deadly concern.

Christophe Garnier, a MSF project coordinator, said the organizations therapeutic feeding centers in the western city of Herat and the southern city of Lashkar Gah were operating at twice their capacity and maternity units were helping more than 55 women a month deliver babies in the eastern city of Khost and more than 60 per day in Lashkar Gah.



"There are several factors that explain why we are seeing so many patients but perhaps the biggest problem is that other health facilities aren't functioning, so people have few other places to seek health care," Garnier said in e-mailed comments from Afghanistan. "Now the situation has slightly stabilized, many organizations have returned, but the health system is still struggling."

Garnier singled out financial measures taken against the Taliban's acting government, including the freezing of nearly $9 billion in Afghan assets held in the United States, as having "paralyzed the country's banking system and pushed the country toward economic and institutional collapse."

Sam Mort, chief of communication, advocacy, and civic engagement for UNICEF Afghanistan, said that the organization is urgently scaling up its humanitarian response to the crisis in Afghanistan. Mort said in e-mailed comments from Afghanistan that most of UNICEF's team is physically back at work in the country, including women, and that new staffers are being hired.

Mort said that the organization was well equipped to deal with the challenges experienced in Afghanistan in recent months and was able to distribute supplies to Afghans displaced by fighting, water to areas heavily hit by drought, therapeutic food to combat malnutrition, and mobile health teams to provide health services.

But the challenges remain immense and complex, Mort said.

"More than 600,000 people are displaced; there is drought; winter is approaching; there are outbreaks of measles and acute watery diarrhea, food and fuel prices are rising, and around 20 million people will face acute food insecurity this month," Mort said.

"And when food insecurity spikes, so too does severe acute malnutrition," which he said could lead to the deaths of 1 million children under the age of 5.

Following a visit to Kabul in mid-October, UNICEF deputy executive director Omar Abdi, expressed shock at the conditions he saw.

Abdi based some of his observations on his visit to the capital's 360-bed Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital, which is dealing with staff shortages after many medical workers fled the country or took other work due to a lack of payment.

"I visited the children's hospital and was shocked to see how packed it was with malnourished children, some of them babies," Abdi said.

Abdi noted that even before the Taliban takeover at least 10 million children in Afghanistan were in need of humanitarian assistance, and listed polio and measles as sources of concern in addition to acute malnutrition.

RFE/RL has documented many complaints from citizens about the state of public health care, including at Indira Gandhi Hospital.

Shirin Gul said her granddaughter recently died after the hospital was unprepared to treat her heart condition.

"There were no services or supplies at the hospital," Gul said, adding that she had to go elsewhere just to obtain medicine.

Meanwhile, officials at the state-run Afghan-Japan Hospital in Kabul -- the only active hospital for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Afghanistan -- told RFE/RL that employees had not been paid in three months.

As fears mount of a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, chief physician Tariq Ahmad Akbari said that the facility was short of funds to buy medicine, oxygen, and even food for patients.

Akbari said the hospital was sending requests for financial assistance to authorities and institutions both within and outside the country, and that if the pleas are not answered the hospital might be forced to close.

UNICEF'S Mort said that finding a way to pay health workers stands among the biggest challenges in Afghanistan because such professionals could be forced to look for other work to support themselves.

"To ensure delivery of essential medical aid, we urgently need the health system operational, health workers paid, and facilities open and well stocked," Mort said.

MSF's Garnier said that during a recent visit to a displaced persons camp near Herat, community leaders expressed concerns about the upcoming winter.

"This community has no work, no income, no land, no home, and no food," Garnier said. "They are very worried about what will happen in the winter, when they already don't know what they will eat today."
Pakistan is holding secret talks with the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) extremist group over a cease-fire, sources have told RFE/RLs Radio Mashaal.



That is despite the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, publicly denying a claim by Islamabad last month that the sides were in negotiations.



Pakistani military officials and representatives of the TTP have been meeting in neighboring Afghanistan to negotiate a truce, said sources with knowledge of the TTPs policies.



The talks have been mediated by the Talibans Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the notorious Haqqani network, the lethal arm of the Taliban, the sources added. The network is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization and Haqqani is among the FBI's most-wanted fugitives.



The Afghan militants, who seized power of the war-torn country in August, have links with both Islamabad and the TTP.



A cease-fire agreement could pave the way for formal talks over a negotiated end to the TTPs 14-year insurgency in Pakistan, where thousands of people have been killed in militant attacks and clashes between the TTP and the military.



They have been engaged in talks for two weeks, said a source familiar with the negotiations, describing the talks as hectic.



Pakistans ambassador to Kabul, Mansour Ahmad Khan, told RFE/RL on November 2 that he did not know of any talks. But he did not reject the possibility of talks with the TTP.

The negotiations come as the TTP has intensified its attacks in recent months in northwestern Pakistan, its former stronghold. A massive Pakistani Army offensive in 2014 drove out the militants from the countrys tribal belt and across the border to Afghanistan.



Forced from its strongholds, debilitated by the death of successive leaders, and riven internally, the TTP was seen as a largely spent force. But the militant group has reemerged over the past year, unifying squabbling factions and unleashing a spate of deadly attacks in Pakistan.



Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on October 1 that his government was in talks with some factions of the TTP on a reconciliation process."



Khan told Turkish state broadcaster TRT that his government was willing to forgive TTP militants if a cease-fire deal was reached.



When asked if the Afghan Taliban was facilitating the process, Khan said that "the talks are taking place in Afghanistan, so in that sense yes."



One the same day, a faction of the TTP ordered its fighters to observe a cease-fire until October 20. The Hafiz Gul Bahadar faction directed its fighters to observe a cease-fire for 20 days and halt all their operations against the Pakistani government and security forces.



But the TTP leadership quickly issued a statement rejecting Khans claims. The militant group said it was united and there were no divisions in its ranks. The TTPs spokesperson also called on the groups fighters to continue attacks.

Sources told RFE/RL that representatives of the TTP have held several meetings with Pakistan intelligence officials in Afghanistan in recent weeks. The TTP has been represented by close associates of Noor Wali Mehsud, who has headed the group since 2018.

The two sides are fine-tuning their demands and conditions for a cease-fire, said one of the sources.



Among the TTPs demands is the release of 100 fighters in Pakistani prisons. In return, the government has demanded a nationwide truce.



Once the cease-fire is agreed, the Pakistani security forces will not take action against the TTP and the TTP will not carry out attacks on the security forces or civilians, one source said.



The source said that government negotiators had told the TTP that they could visit their homes in Pakistan but would have to be unarmed. Many members of the TTP are Pashtuns from the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which straddles the border with Afghanistan.



The TTP has also demanded the implementation of Islamic Sharia law in Pakistans tribal region, a demand that observers say is unlikely to be met.



Since the emergence of the TTP in 2007, Islamabad has signed peace deals with several factions. But none of the agreements has lasted, and most were followed by an uptick in violence.



This is the not the first time that Khan, whose Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party came to power in 2018, has reached out to the TTP.



In 2013, when Khan was part of the opposition, he urged the government to launch talks with the TTP and allow the militants to open an office in Pakistan just as the Afghan Taliban had opened an office in the Gulf state of Qatar.



In 2014, the TTP demanded Khan be included in the committee formed by then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for holding talks with the militant group. Khan declined the offer.

With peace efforts breaking down, the Pakistani Army in June 2014 launched a large-scale offensive against TTP militants, many of whom fled to Afghanistan.

In December that year, the TTP attacked a military-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 147 people, most of them students. It was one of the deadliest militant attacks in Pakistans history.
Warning that Colorado's health system is "in jeopardy of being overwhelmed," state hospitals escalated their joint efforts to transfer patients Wednesday amid an ongoing spike in hospitalizations officials say likely won't abate before the end of November.

That escalation gives the hospitals involved the ability to move patients around on a statewide basis, rather than regionally or between individual hospitals. It creates "a single point of contact for any hospital in the state that needs to transfer patients due to capacity concerns," the Colorado Hospital Association wrote in a statement Wednesday. Sicker patients can be sent to more specialized facilities, while recovering Coloradans can be moved to hospitals with more available space.

The Combined Hospital Transfer Center was launched by the state's hospitals almost exactly a year ago so patients could be moved between facilities as beds filled and space grew more limited. It was deactivated earlier this year, then fired up again in August as cases rose. It's now been elevated to its highest tier, the hospital association said, because of the "monumental strain" the current COVID-19 surge has placed on the state's health care system.

But even last year, when COVID-19 hospitalizations ran higher than they do now, the transfer system was never elevated to tier three status, said Cara Welch, the spokeswoman for the hospital hospital association. Under tier one, a large health system would have a smaller, often rural partner. The smaller facility could call its larger partner and ask to move a patient. If the larger hospital couldn't take him or her, they would ask another large system.

Now, Welch said, transfer coordinators from every large system will meet twice a day every weekday to facilitate transfers. It's an "unprecedented" move, she said.

This is an extraordinary step taken by the states hospitals and health systems, Darlene Tad-y, the vice president of clinical affairs for the hospital association, said in a statement. Even when under immense pressure, the states health care system continues to work collaboratively with each other and our partners at the state to ensure the best care possible is available to every Coloradan that needs it. However, activating Tier 3 of the (transfer center) should send a clear message to Coloradans: Our health care system is in jeopardy of being overwhelmed."

Hospital and state officials have said a number of things are contributing to the strain on hospitals. COVID-19's latest surge is playing a prominent role, but so, too, is a lack of staffing across the health care system. The shortage of providers exacerbates capacity issues, officials said: The space may be there, but there aren't workers to cover it. What's more, there's been a spike in more routine care; hospital officials say patients delaying care for the first year of the pandemic has sent many to the hospitals in worse shape than they would have been had they been treated earlier or more regularly.

Gov. Jared Polis has taken several steps in recent days in an effort to alleviate the strain of hospitals without instituting population-level orders like masking. One of those steps fell last weekend, when the governor issued an executive order centralizing the transfer system and allowing patients to be moved without their prior consent.

He's also emphasized the use of monoclonal antibody treatments, which have been shown to be effective at blocking hospitalization if given quickly to newly symptomatic patients. The state has also blocked nonessential cosmetic procedures, reactivated its crisis standards of care to help hospitals navigate staffing shortages and requested personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

State officials have given increasingly grim updates on the pandemic situation in Colorado in recent weeks. State officials said Tuesday that Colorado has the fifth-highest rate of COVID-19 spread in the country; according to The New York Times, its rate has grown more in the past two weeks than the other four states in the top five. Hospitalizations have hit their worst stressed moment since the late 2020 surge and have surpassed the first pandemic wave of spring 2020.

What's more, the situation does not appear likely to abate soon. Polis and Rachel Herlihy, the state's epidemiologist, said Tuesday that the peak will likely not come until the end of November and that it could match the crisis from a year ago.

The state has not yet activated the crisis standards of care that would allow hospitals to begin rationing care, if space becomes critically limited. An expert told The Gazette he would be surprised if that happened but that some hospitals were already so stressed that they were keeping intensive care patients in emergency departments. Welch said hospitals still have a number of moves to make before care rationing would need to be implemented. But she said with the current trajectory of hospitalizations, the state was moving toward its worst-case scenarios.

Banner Health, which has a heavy presence in Northern Colorado, has been running over capacity consistently for weeks. The system's internal projections indicate it may not hit its own peak until Dec. 18.

"The hospitals  we have reached a level of stress in which we need support," Angela Mills, the chief medical officer for Banner North Colorado Medical Center, told The Gazette last week. "That's a fact. We need support."
Simple Weeknight Pizza Dough Simple Weeknight Pizza Dough Yield: 1 pizza 1  cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup Greek yogurt  teaspoon salt Water, as needed Choice of toppings Procedure: In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in Greek yogurt. Mix until a dough forms. If too dry, add water a very little bit at a time until dough comes together. Knead on the counter for 8-10 minutes or until elastic. Stretch onto pan or into desired shape. Top and cook at 500 degrees for approx. 10-15 minutes or until done. Source: Gather Food Studio and Spice Shop

Homemade Pizza Sauce Homemade Pizza Sauce Yield: 4 cups 28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes 1 can tomato paste 1 tablespoon dry oregano  tablespoon dry basil 2 teaspoons garlic powder Salt, to taste (careful not to over salt as toppings will add salt as well) Procedure: Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until combined. Freeze leftover sauce. Source: Gather Food Studio and Spice Shop

Pizza Crust Pizza Crust Yield: 1 pizza 10 ounces flour 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon yeast Pinch sugar 5-6 ounces of water 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for kneading Semolina, to bake Choice of toppings Procedure: Add warm water, between 100-110 degrees, to a measuring cup or bowl. Add a pinch of sugar to water, then add yeast and stir. Cover and let rest 10-15 minutes or until yeast blooms. In a mixing bowl, add flour, oil and salt. Mix together. Once yeast has bloomed add water/yeast mixture to the flour and stir together. With your hands pull it together until it forms a ball. The dough should be soft and sticky, but not overly sticky. If it is, sprinkle in more flour. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons olive oil onto the surface that you are kneading on. Place dough onto surface and knead by hand for 10 to 20 minutes. Just remember the dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If it is overly sticky add a bit more flour. Too much flour will make a tough crust. Once done kneading, add olive oil to a bowl and rub onto dough ball. Place dough ball into the bowl, cover, and let rise for 8-12 hours. (You can use it after just 1 hour, but the longer rise will allow the yeast to ferment and have a more sour flavor). To Bake: Form dough, then dust surface of cooking sheet with semolina and place dough on top. Then add desired toppings and bake for 12-20 minutes, or until crust is well browned. Source: Gather Food Studio and Spice Shop

White Pizza with Mushrooms, Fresh Garlic & Herb Oil White Pizza with Mushrooms, Fresh Garlic & Herb Oil Yield: 1 pizza 1 recipe for pizza dough For the herb oil:  cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon 4 stems fresh Italian flat leaf parsley 4 stems fresh oregano 2 stems fresh rosemary 2 stems fresh basil, plus 2 more stems for garnish 4 cloves garlic, sliced Pinch of red pepper flakes For the topping: 6-8 ounces mushrooms, shredded 1 cup shredded mozzarella Slices or small balls of fresh mozzarella Optional, Italian Seasoning to sprinkle and sausage meatballs Procedure: For herb oil: Add  cup olive oil to a saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, parsley, oregano, rosemary and 2 stems of basil and cook until the herbs become crisp. Remove the herbs and discard, keeping slices of garlic. Remove from heat and let cool. Stretch pizza crust and dust bottom with semolina and place on pizza pan. Build the pizza by generously brushing with herb oil, dot with sliced garlic from herb oil, then sprinkle the shredded mozzarella. Add remaining oil to the mushrooms and toss. Top dough with mushrooms. Add fresh mozzarella to the top and sprinkle on red pepper flakes. If desired, sprinkle Italian seasoning and add sausage meatballs to the pizza. Bake at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until crust is deep brown. Source: Gather Food Studio and Spice Shop

Blueberry & Feta Grilled Pizza with Caramelized Onions & Mint Blueberry & Feta Grilled Pizza with Caramelized Onions & Mint Yield: 1 pizza 1 recipe pizza dough or 1 premade raw pizza dough 1-2 tablespoons olive oil 1 red onion, julienned Pinch red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze 1/2 cup feta cheese  cup ricotta 2 tablespoons preserved lemon, finely chopped 1 cup blueberries  cup mint, chiffonade Salt to taste Procedure: Preheat grill to between 500-600 degrees (medium to medium-high heat). Heat the olive oil in a medium pan over medium low heat. Add the onion and season with a pinch of salt to taste and red pepper flakes. Cook the onions until softened, about 3-5 minutes and stir in the balsamic, letting the onions caramelize. Remove from heat. Mix ricotta, feta and preserved lemons in a bowl. Stretch out pizza dough to the desired shape. Grilled pizzas are nice in more rustic shapes, oblong or not quite perfectly circular. Brush top side generously with oil. Set up all topping ingredients on a tray and take it with you to the grill. Place the pizza dough, oil side down, directly onto the grill grates. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip and top with feta. Spread the feta onto the top of the dough, add the honey caramelized onions. Sprinkle the blueberries on top. Close grill and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from grill, top with mint and serve. Source: Gather Food Studio and Spice Shop
A judge on Tuesday reversed a ruling dismissing criminal charges against a Colorado Springs woman who used a vehicle to block Interstate 25 during a June 2020 Black Lives Matter protest.

In a ruling filed just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, district judge G. David Miller remanded the case of Molly Avion back to county court after a May ruling found the statute used to charge her could have invited arbitrary enforcement that could chill her First Amendment rights because it was unconstitutionally vague and dismissed the charges against her.

Avion, a 21-year-old artist who lives in Colorado Springs, was charged in 2020 with obstructing a public highway in a June 2020 Black Lives Matter protest that stretched across Interstate 25 near downtown Colorado Springs, blocking traffic for about half an hour.

After Millers ruling, Avion, who according to the ruling conceded before her case was dismissed that she had blocked traffic with a vehicle, will be sent back to county court for prosecution. According to court records, shes due back Nov. 29.

In the ruling, Miller took aim at the defense's claim and senior county judge Stephen Slettas eventual ruling that the statute barring people from obstructing highways, which includes an exception that people can do so if theyve been granted the legal privilege, is vague and does not sufficiently define what that privilege might look like.

The vagueness of legal privilege, Sletta ruled in May, could cause enforcement of the statute to be arbitrary and selective, threatening Avion's rights to free speech.

But in his ruling, Miller said that while that privilege was not specifically defined, the statute only seeks to prohibit someone from knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly obstructing a public area, and doesnt reach into restricting someones constitutional rights.

In fact, Miller ruled, putting a stop to certain activities is entirely within the powers of law enforcement agencies, even if that means incidentally restricting someones right to free speech and assembly, if the conduct is reasonably related to a legitimate safety interest.

Ending obstructions on public highways, he said, can fall under that public safety category.

It is not reasonable for the defendant in this case to believe that because she was exercising her right to protest a significant public issue, that she also had a commensurate right to shut down an interstate highway, Miller wrote in the ruling. It cannot be said that one can have a 'legal privilege' to cause such an obstruction because they are exercising their First Amendment rights.

There are plenty of other public areas available for exercising First Amendment rights which could have been utilized without creating an obstruction, he added.

To obstruct an interstate, Miller said, common knowledge holds that someone would have to obtain a license, permit or some other form of government-sanctioned approval.

He also made clear that while I-25 is a public area many use, high-speed lanes of travel dont qualify as traditional public forums on which people can gather to exercise their First Amendment rights.

The statute, which seeks to prohibit intentionally, knowingly or recklessly obstructing public areas (such as an interstate highway), is certainly reasonable to ensure public safety, Miller said. The language of the statute does not show any effort to suppress activity due to a disagreement with a particular viewpoint.

The defenses claim that the statute was unconstitutional under the Colorado constitution, Miller said, couldnt be the case because the statute didnt prohibit a specific type of message in its language.

Miller also addressed claims from Avions defense that the Fourth Judicial District Attorneys Office had vindictively prosecuted protesters for the Black Lives Matter movement for exercising constitutional rights while ignoring other protesters engaged in similar acts.

Defense attorneys, Miller said in the ruling, cited news articles discussing police responses to protests for former president Donald Trump, and compared a lack of arrests in those incidents to enforcement during Black Lives Matter protests.

They failed, however, to bring "any evidence" that prosecutors had misused the statute to only go after people with beliefs similar to Avions, Miller ruled.

Colorado Springs public defenders couldnt immediately be reached for comment on the ruling. Howard Black, spokesman for the Fourth Judicial District Attorneys Office, said it would be unethical to discuss an active case in a public forum. Miller said he had no further comment on the ruling when called Wednesday.

Eighteen people were originally charged in the 2020 I-25 protest. Some, like Charles Johnson, are still awaiting trial, and have similarly cited outrageous governmental conduct and First Amendment violations through motions.

Those claims, Johnsons attorney Alison Blackwell said in an October interview, have gone over with mixed results, often because the cases deal with different circumstances.

All the different protest cases have a different series of facts, Blackwell said. Based on my conversations with other attorneys, there [are] different judges ruling differently, so some people are denying the motion, and other judges are dismissing cases.
Monument voters on Tuesday appeared poised to hand city officials millions of dollars in funding, as well as added legal autonomy, by approving three ballot measures, early returns show.

About 60% of Monument voters opted to approve ballot measures 2E, 2F and 2G in early returns.

The results appear to be a win for city officials, who would have money to improve roads and hire police officers while they initiate a process that would give the town more flexibility in issuing ordinances and collecting taxes.

Feeling good, Mayor Don Wilson said. I think this is going to be great for our community.

Measure 2G allows Monument to form a home rule charter commission that will draft a new town charter, which city officials say will give the town more independence.

Under home rule, Monument would have more flexibility with its land use standards, tax collection, town ordinances, zoning and economic incentives for incoming businesses, town officials have said. The town could also adopt taxes on visitors and tourism  like lodging tax and some new user fees.

Voters  about 63% of who approved of the measure in early returns  also selected nine members to serve on the Charter Commission, a formality because there were only nine on the ballot: Jennifer Coopman, Matt Brunk, Brandy Turner, Sana Abbott, Ashley Watt, Janet Ladowski, Shannon Clark, Steve King and Joel Lusby.

The Charter Commission would have six months to draft a new town charter and is expected to host at least one public hearing before submitting the proposed document to the Monument Board of Trustees next spring. Voters will have a chance to approve the charter in 2022.

Monument voters appeared likely to pass ballot measure 2E, which empowers the town to retain revenue exceeding a legally established limit and use it for road construction and maintenance. The measure does not raise taxes but would allow the city to spend excess funds it collects between the 2021 and 2028 fiscal years. Early returns showed 59% of voters approved the measure.

Town officials can now retain revenue beyond the limitations of Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights and the state's legal code, which limit the amount of tax revenue local governments can collect.

Approved by voters in 1992, TABOR requires governments to refund taxpayers any revenue they collect above a certain limit. The amendment capped government spending growth and requires residents to approve tax raises.

Monument voters have freed town coffers from TABOR on at least six occasions since 1996.

Voters likely handed city officials about $1.65 million a year to fund added police services by raising the town's sales tax to 3.5% from 3%.

Monuments population increased by 34% in the last 10 years and police calls have gone up 53%, town staff have previously said. The department said it plans to use the money to hire eight more officers, fix or replace patrol cars and hire a sexual assault detective. Monument Police also plan a special unit to combat vehicle break-ins, drugs, residential burglaries and human trafficking, according to officials.

Voters struck down a similar ballot measure last year, with more than 57% of residents opposed. This year, about 63% voted for it.

Monument Police Chief Sean Hemingway told town trustees in July residents have told him they voted against the measure last year because they were confused by the ballot language, and it wasnt clear whether the funds would go solely to the police department.
Critical race theory and COVID-19 protocols were two of the biggest campaign issues for the dozens of candidates who ran for election in the Colorado Springs areas three largest school districts. The election was a sweeping victory for conservative voters, who almost exclusively elected candidates with right-leaning stances on hot-button issues.

An independent committee with Republican ties called the Springs Opportunity Fund spent more than $57,000 in support of nine candidates: Nicole Konz, Thomas LaValley, Aaron Salt, Sandra Bankes, Al Loma, Lauren Nelson, Ivy Liu, Jamilynn DAvola and Lori Thompson. All nine candidates won their races.

Academy School District 20

Incumbent Thomas LaValley, Nicole Konz and Aaron Salt had a large lead over the other seven candidates in the regions largest school district, according to early results. All three candidates were on record against mask mandates and critical race theory. The districts superintendent, Tom Gregory, issued a mask mandate in late September, sparking a rash of student walkouts and a protest outside the D-20 administrative building.

I did not support mandatory masking, but I understand why (Gregory) did it. It has to do with the state Department of Health, LaValley said during a candidate forum.

Colorado Springs School District 11

Rev. Al Loma, senior pastor at Victory Outreach Church, won a general election against incumbent director Shawn Gullixson by more than 1,000 votes. Sandra Bankes, Lauren Nelson and Julie Ott were leading a seven-candidate field with 16,277, 15,818, and 12,052 votes, respectively.

District 49

Jamilynn DAvola defeated incumbent Dave Cruson and Fadil Lee for directorship of District 1.

Im shocked, but in a good way said DAvola, who voted against the proposed $8.6 million tax increase that would have funded a pay raise for teachers and staff members. I think this was one of our most important school board races, and I think people have finally woken up to the fact that we need to get back to educating our kids and not teaching them things that go against family values.

District 4 director Ivy Liu foiled a bid by Tammy Harold, who had previously served on the board for eight years. Lori Thompson defeated Elmer Harris and Justin Jakovac for the District 5 directorship.

The board has a history of supporting parental choice on masking and curriculum. A resolution banning the teaching of critical race theory in D-49 schools was drafted in August, and the district recently courted controversy when it made the decision not to report positive COVID-19 cases, despite Gov. Jared Polis contention that they were legally required to do so. Liu was one of the boards most vocal opponents of critical race theory.
School board races in Colorado were the ones to watch Tuesday night, as statewide ballot issues seemed settled in early returns.

Big spending and high passion yielded mixed results.

The slate of conservative-backed candidates in Douglas County appeared to have won all four races, the biggest victory of the night, based on unofficial returns.

Results were split in other districts, including the board for Aurora Public Schools and in Mesa County. The biggest spending was for four seats in Denver Public Schools, and early results show candidates backed by the teachers' union winning two of the four seats with two seats too close to call.

Driving the fervor in many locations were mask mandates, arguments about critical race theory, school closings and testing tied to COVID-19, and even fights over issues unrelated to school boards. Spending by dark money groups (which don't disclose who funds them) has topped $2 million, with the big bucks going to candidates in Denver and Douglas County.

Jefferson County

At stake in the state's second-largest school district: control of the board by candidates backed by teachers' unions or those supported by conservative causes.

Incumbents who chose not to run again held two of the three seats on this year's ballot. All three were backed by the union in past elections.

Early results show the Jeffco Kids slate of Danielle Varda (District 1), Paula Reed (District 2) and Mary Parker (District 5) winning by comfortable margins. The slate was backed by the Jefferson County Education Association and the Colorado Education Association, as well as from an independent expenditure committee (IEC), Students Deserve Better, funded by CEA and several other teachers' unions along the Front Range. IECs are allowed to collect unlimited contributions but are forbidden by state law from coordinating with candidates they support.

Should those results stand, Varda wins over Jeffrey Wilhite, Reed defeats Therese Shelton and David Johnson, and Parker defeats Kathy Miks.

The Jefferson County GOP endorsed Shelton, Miks and Wilhite.

Brooke Williams, president of the Jeffco Education Association, told Colorado Politics "Voters showed they trust the educators in the classroom. I'm very excited because these are the candidates who will help unite our community for our students' future...they're going to be focused on our students, expanding career and technical education programs and career opportunities, what our students need and what educators need to improve education in Jeffco and give students the best possible experience."

Douglas County

Douglas County school board meetings have become raucous affairs in recent months, with accusations on both sides of bad behavior.

One candidate, incumbent Kevin Leung, filed a police report claiming he was attacked by an audience member at a candidates' forum.

Four seats were up for grabs on the seven-member board. As of 9 p.m., the conservative Kids First slate of Mike Peterson, Kaylee Winegar, Christy Williams and Becky Myers are defeating the CommUNITY slate of incumbents Kevin Leung and Krista Holtzmann, as well as Ruby Martinez and Juli Watkins.

The board would would shift from one largely supported by teachers' advocates to a 4-3 board backed by conservative education groups. IECs spent heavily to back the Kids First Slate.

Tyler Sandberg of Ready Colorado Action, one of the big funders of the DougCo Kids First Slate, said the wins are "a repudiation of a union-backed board that kept schools closed for too long. The election is shaping up as a tsunami of parent power across the state," he said, pointing to results in D11 in Colorado Springs and D6 in Greeley.

Denver

The seven-member Denver Public School board had 13 candidates vying for four seats.

Only one incumbent, Carrie Olson, ran for re-election, and as of 9 p.m. Olson holds a strong lead over Mike DeGuire. Five candidates ran for the at-large open seat (Marla Benavides, Scott Esserman, Vernon Jones Jr., Jane Shirley and Nicky Yollick), with Esserman in front of all challengers by a more than 10,000 vote lead. In District 2, Xochitl Sochi Gaytan has a 46-vote lead over Karolina Villagrana, In District 4, Michelle Quattlebaum leads Gene Fashaw by 235 votes, with Jose Silva a distant third.

IECs spent more than $1 million to back the slate of Jones, Villagrana and Fashaw. The Denver Classroom Teachers' Association and its IEC backed Olson, Quattlebaum, Gaytan and Esserman, although spending considerably less.

Cherry Creek

Heated discussions have characterized school board meetings in this Arapahoe County school district, including accusations that the district is teaching critical race theory (the district says it isn't) and arguments over over mask mandates.

As of 8:30 p.m., incumbent Kelly Bates in District D held a commanding lead over her two opponents, Jen Gibbons and Schume Navarro, who sued the district and won a temporary injunction that allowed her to participate in the final candidates' forum without a mask. In District E, Kristin Allan also holds a strong lead over Jason Lester and Bill Leach.

Bates and Allan were both backed by teachers' unions.

Aurora (Adams-Arapahoe)

The Aurora school district, known as Adams-Arapahoe 28J, saw some of the biggest spending by independent expenditure committees, both from the teachers' union committee and from conservative IECs that don't disclose their donors.

Six candidates  voters could choose up to four for the at-large seats  vied for four seats on the seven-member board: Michael Carter, Christy Cummings, Tramaine Duncan, Debbie Gerkin, Anne Keke and Danielle Tomwing.

IECs spent heavily to back Keke and Tomwing, including from Ready Colorado and the Colorado League of Charter Schools. Early returns show Keke, Gerkin and Carter taking three of the four seats; the fourth is still too close to call but Duncan leads the other two candidates by 306 votes as of 8:30 p.m.

Mesa County

The Mesa County school board election has had a rocky year; one member, Paul Pitton, resigned in September, citing politicization of issues. In August, school board members had to be escorted to their cars by police officers after one particularly heated meeting over public comments.

Conservative groups, such as Stand for the Constitution, backed the slate of Andrea Haitz in District C, Will Jones in District D and Angela Lema in District E. The Mesa County Education Association endorsed Nick Allan (District D), David Combs (District E) and Trish Mahre, the incumbent from District C. Also in that race, Austin DeWitt. As of 9 p.m., the race in District C has tightened, with Mahre's 932-vote early lead over Haitz down to 320 votes. Jones holds a 609-vote lead over Allen and Lema leads Combs by 3,068 votes.
LETTERS: Why do they call it progress?; supply of monoclonal antibodies
Colorado voters were quickly on their way to spiking three requests in early returns on Tuesday's statewide ballot: a hike in marijuana taxes to pay for off-campus education, another to lower property tax rates and a largely Republican effort to give legislators more say in how the governor spends money.

Proposition 119, which sought to raise state sales tax on retail marijuana from its current 15% to 20%, was losing handily across the state.

Proposition 120, to reduce property tax assessment rates, also fell behind early and never recovered.

Amendment 78, which addressed how executive and legislative branch spend certain tax dollars, was losing big-time in early unofficial returns Tuesday night.

The failure of 119 broke with tradition. While Colorado voters historically oppose sales tax increases for such essentials as transportation and schools, they also have a history of supporting sin taxes, including repeated increases on marijuana, as well as tobacco and gambling.

Denver voters, meanwhile, narrowly supported Proposition 119 but rejected a city decision, Initiative 300, that would have raised the city sales tax on recreational marijuana by 1.5% to bring in about $7 million annually for pandemic research.

Had the votes gone the other way, pot users who buy their stash in the capital city would have been paying a 33% sales tax, the third-highest in the country behind Seattle (47.1%) and Los Angeles (34.5%). Colorado would have tied Montana for the second-highest retail marijuana tax in the country, behind Washington's 37%.

Legislative analysts estimated that sharp hike in the state pot tax would have brought in about $160 million in its first three years.

The windfall would have gone to the new Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress Program to help pay for Colorado kids ages 5 to 17 to take part in out-of-school learning, which could be tutoring, special needs assistance, training in a second language, tech-career training programs or mental health services, with a priority for students living below the federal poverty level.

The after-school plan also would have gotten about $22 million from the state land board that normally would go to the Public Education Permanent Fund, investments that ultimately benefit K-12 education.

The principle and interest that otherwise would be invested in the fund represents a $40 million loss over a decade but in 20 years will be three times that, said Chris Brown, an analyst for the Common Sense Institute in Denver.

The measure, nonetheless, had broad bipartisan support, backed by Republican former Gov. Bill Owens, Democratic former Gov. Bill Ritter and current Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat who made expanding education a main plank of his first-term platform.

Amendment 78 took aim at the current and future governors' spending authority. The proposal spun from conservatives' disapproved of how Gov. Jared Polis unilaterally spent nearly $1.7 billion in emergency federal pandemic relief dollars when the legislature wasn't in session last year.

That amounted to an "executive branch slush fund," said Michael Fields, executive director of Colorado Rising State Action, which collected the signatures to get the amendment on the ballot.

The measure also would have required state agencies that collect fees for an agency's operation to have those decisions routed through the legislature, as well as including public hearings.

Democrats saw it as a cynical attempt to throttle the executive branch, while needlessly slowing down the legislative process debating and dictating how earmarked dollars are spent. That also raised concerns for local government officials who look for help from the federal government during disasters, such as last year's wildfires. Critics of Amendment 78 said requiring the General Assembly to vote on how those dollars are spent would unnecessarily delay that assistance.

Because it changed the constitution, Amendment 78 needed 55% to pass.

Meanwhile, Proposition 120 aimed to reduce the residential property tax rate from 7.15% to 6.5% and the non-residential property tax assessment rate from 29% to 26.4%.

The proposition also would have allowed the state to keep and spend $25 million that normally would have to be refunded to taxpayers under the state constitution's revenue cap for five years.

After the ballot measure was filed last spring, however, legislators concerned about the potential loss of billions of dollars in revenue rewrote the property tax definitions to mitigate the damage to the state budget. They lowered tax rates for two years.

With those changes, the outcome of the reduction would have applied to residential properties that are multi-family units, such as condos, townhomes and apartment buildings. As for the commercial rate break, only lodging would have qualified.

The legislative maneuver reduced the projected gains for taxpayers from about $1.1 billion annually to about $150 million, according to proponents.

If voters had passed the proposition, the courts would have had to settle the dispute between voters and lawmakers.

Colorado Rising State Action also collaborated with other conservative advocacy groups to get Proposition 120 and Amendment 78 on the ballot.

Staff writer Scott Weiser contributed to this story.
Fountain Councilwoman Sharon Thompson, left, is greeted by Cory Applegate, right, with Brenda Miller, who is running for election for an at-large seat of the Widefield School District 3 School Board, middle, during Thompsons watch party at IHOP in Fountain on Tuesday. Early returns shows Thompson is the projected winner to become Fountains mayor and Applegate is projected to win Ward 3 representative on the Fountain City Council.
David is a Senior Investigative Reporter at The Gazette and has worked in Colorado for more than two decades. His work has been recognized by, among others, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Society of Business Editors and Writers, the National Association of Real Estate Editors, at the National Headliner Awards. He has worked at publications in New York City, St. Louis, Detroit and Denver over a journalism career that began in 1982.
Pita Pit's downtown Colorado Springs location has closed after nearly two decades, a victim of the pandemic's economic punch and a franchisee's personal struggles.

Husband-and-wife Craig and Jolene Howard, who took over as franchisees of the location at 8 E. Bijou St. in May 2020, closed the restaurant Oct. 8.

Closure of the downtown Pita Pit might not be permanent, however.

Jolene Howard said she and Craig would like to sell the downtown franchise location. If they don't find a buyer, they hope to locate someone who would take over their lease and convert the space to a new restaurant concept, she said. The space includes Pita Pit's kitchen equipment, tables and chairs.

"We'd prefer to sell the franchise as a whole so that the location could continue," Jolene said. "There are so many great reasons to keep that going. It's a legacy location. A great loyal customer base."

The downtown location, which Gazette archives show opened in 2003 under a different franchisee, is part of the Canadian-based Pita Pit chain that has its U.S. headquarters in Coeur dAlene, Idaho.

Pita Pit, popular for its pita bread sandwiches and salads, has more than 210 locations in 43 states, its website says; two additional Springs locations are operated by a different franchisee.

Pita Pit corporate representatives didn't return phone calls to The Gazette.

In general, restaurants were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic starting in March 2020, especially after states such as Colorado ordered the temporary closure of dining rooms. After such orders were lifted, many restaurants struggled to regain customers.

The Howards and their downtown Pita Pit were no different.

After taking over the restaurant last year, they had "high hopes" that customers would return. But sales didn't fully recover, in part, because many downtown employees who had been past customers weren't back in their offices, Jolene said.

"Business coming back from COVID has not been as quick as anticipated," she said. "That's probably the No. 1 factor. ... Workers from downtown have been working from home for so long that not all of them are returning downtown. Foot traffic is a part of that, absolutely."

In-person learning also was disrupted for students at nearby Palmer High School and at Colorado College a few blocks to the north, which led to the loss of more Pita Pit customers, Jolene said.

"Colorado College came back for one week," she said. "We had those customers in our store. We were so excited. And then they had a COVID breakout and closed everything down again. It was such a bummer. It was so sad."

Then, just as the Howards began to make a profit in January and February of this year, personal factors took a toll on their ability to operate the restaurant, Jolene said.

In March, she gave birth to twins  Keaton, a boy, and Brighton, a girl. They were born prematurely, and their care required time and effort that took her away from the business, Jolene said. They're now doing well and are healthy, though they go to physical therapy, she added.

Two weeks after the twins were born, Craig suffered a stroke. He had managed the restaurant, sometimes spending 60 hours a week there, Jolene said.

He's "on the mend," Jolene said, though still not 100%, and attends physical and cognitive therapy.

"It's unfortunate," she said. "The timing was obviously terrible. There's just no way he could function as he did before in the store, managing and tending the operations and all of that. It is what it is."

With Craig unable to work at the restaurant, the Howards hired someone to manage the restaurant, though that expense cut into their profits, she said.

The couple has now depleted their savings, yet still has bills to pay and therefore hopes someone buys their franchise or takes over the downtown space, Jolene Howard said.

"It's fully set up for a restaurant concept, a quick-casual restaurant concept," she said. "We need to at least get out of there without losing everything. We have to pay off business loans to be able to break even on it. Well, not even break even, obviously; we lost our (savings) cushion.

"It has been there so long and I feel like I've kind of let it down," Howard added. "It's sad in so many ways, on a personal level and a business level and a community level. It just kind of rips my heart out."
2021 Government Innovation Awards

Lawmakers and defense officials often tout small businesses as the key to innovation. But connecting small companies with the nearly $1 billion in funds the Defense Department awards each year is often difficult and complex  even down to the application process. A new approach under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs aims to transform how those companies interact with DOD.

Small businesses are often on the frontlines of economic development and job growth, and their performance was tested when the pandemic and health safety mandates affected their ability to operate. To make it easier for entrepreneurs to present great ideas directly to DOD and earn new business, the department built a shared technology platform called the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP).

The cloud-based portal, which was designed to be user-centric and accessible for people with disabilities, combines requirements for 15 DOD components, including the Army, U.S. Special Operations Command and Defense Logistics Agency. Additionally, DSIP helps applicants verify the completeness of their proposals and includes business process automation and plug-and-play modules for microservices so the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) can easily incorporate changes to law, policy and context.

So far, the project has helped OSD process applications faster, yielding a 10% increase in volume and garnering 20% more first-time submissions to DODs SBIR/STTR programs. Moreover, the portal makes it easier for OSD to track funding expenditures and program results and comply with reporting requirements from the Small Business Administration, DOD leaders, the Office of Management and Budget, and Congress.
2021 Government Innovation Awards

As disinformation spread during the 2020 election cycle, one of the largest counties in Arizona, a key battleground state, decided to fight back by forming a cybersecurity war room.

The Maricopa County Office of Enterprise Technology made the move to address the increasingly challenging threat vectors, with nefarious domestic actors and nation-states using social media to coordinate both cyber and physical events.

The war rooms leaders took a methodical approach to addressing cyberthreats ahead of the election and achieved significant results. An information security operations team identified and investigated misinformation and disinformation across a vast web of digital platforms to disrupt attacks targeted at county information systems.

The team thwarted several cyber incidents, including a data-scraping attack against a nonvoting system that led to the arrest of an Arizona resident and a possible nation-state attackers attempt to register thousands of fake accounts on a popular civic engagement website. The team also responded to a distributed denial-of-service attack against a county website used to identify polling locations and uncovered disinformation that did not originate in the U.S.

To bolster the effectiveness of their efforts, war room officials created channels of communication and established processes with the Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the FBI and the states Counter Terrorism Information Center, Department of Public Safety and secretary of state.

By the time Arizona voters headed to the polls, the war room was ready to provide hourly updates on election activities to its partners and real-time intelligence on potential attacks and evolving threats to ensure that Maricopa Countys election, and that of the country, was secure.
2021 Government Innovation Awards

Recognized for its thoroughness, but not necessarily its speed, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is applying automation to facilitate approval processes.

FedRAMP is a governmentwide program that supports agencies adoption of secure cloud environments and tools. It partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the General Services Administrations 10x innovation-funding program to develop the Open Security Controls Assessment Language -- a standard machine-readable language based on XML and JSON. FedRAMP applies OSCAL to its security baselines and the security packages that cloud service providers (CSPs) submit.

FedRAMP developed validation rules that analyze OSCAL-formatted data to enable automated package reviews for completeness, consistency, adherence to formatting and other low-level checks that CSPs can perform before submitting their plans. It also allows for automated markups to facilitate review teams assessments. The result is a faster  and less costly  review and remediation process.

Security authorizations are just very time-consuming for all people involved to create, review, remediate and authorize a package  both for the CSPs creating the packages and for my review teams at FedRAMP, said Zachary Baldwin, FedRAMP program manager for strategy, innovation and technology at GSA. OSCAL is the foundation to make automation possible.

OSCAL could speed and improve accuracy in all three of the FedRAMP authorization steps. First, CSPs can create System Security Plans faster, reuse control language and submit everything in a standardized format, validating much of their content before submitting it to the government for review.

Second, third-party assessment organizations can automate the planning, execution and reporting of cloud assessment activities, and third, agencies will be able to accelerate their reviews of the FedRAMP security authorization packages.

For FedRAMP review teams, the standardization allows us to do validations and automated checks on the data very easily that you cant do if its in a PDF or Word, Baldwin said. We collected all checks that our review teams do, and we think we can automate about 60% of those checks. Even something as simple as just checking if the documentation is complete, that takes a decent amount of time and [with OSCAL] that can be done without my review team doing it. It lets them focus on more important, more strategic reviews that are of higher value.

OSCAL Version 1.0 was released in the spring, but pilot tests of the language have been underway using mock package data. This allowed developers to upgrade and shift their approach to validation presentation and results as needed. FedRAMP is running a pilot now with Cloud.gov to create a security package in OSCAL and run the validations against it.

With the first release, Baldwin said hes also issued the first set of validation rules.

I am releasing all of the validations publicly, he said. I will give you what Im checking for initially so you can self-test and make sure your package is at least going to pass that level before I even have my review team look at it.

The two main metrics hes monitoring are the amount of time it takes to get a cloud service offering into the FedRAMP Marketplace and how significantly OSCAL can reduce the amount of back-and-forth between CSPs and review teams. Its hard to estimate how much time the teams could save because each package is different, Baldwin said.

Were hoping this creates a whole ecosystem of security packages based on this machine-readable format  the validations and sharing information, inherited controls, ingestion into [governance, risk and compliance] tools and things like that, he said. What were hoping is that the GRC tools  and we have been working on piloting some of them  will be able to ingest a package  for the agencies to help them manage their risk and security compliance.

Additionally, FedRAMP released Version 2.0 of its agency authorization playbook on Oct. 20  the first update since 2017  also with the goal of facilitating CSP and agency efforts to move to the cloud.
Parents of Clear Lake students will receive Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) scores this week during parent teacher conferences.

Compared to previous years, Superintendent Doug Gee says there is nothing to panic about when looking at the data.

ISASP is a computerized assessment that looks at a students growth and proficiency, and has standards that change from year to year, according to Gee. This year's data is an overview of school years 2019 to 2021. Assessment testing was skipped in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The collected data is compared to the state average, and broken down by grade. Gee says parents will be looking at how their student is performing from year to year.

If (parents) have questions and theyre like tell me what this means, I encourage them to make sure they talk to a teacher or myself or a principal, said Gee. But what we'll talk to them about is to remember that this is just one snapshot in time. Its one assessment of many.

Gee says Clear Lake students demonstrated a level of proficiency above the state average, but there is still room for improvement. In math , certain grade levels' proficiency dropped between 2% to 5% on the ISASP.

In our math, basically from seventh grade through eleventh grade, our scores didnt go up, said Gee. In some cases they went down a little bit. We didnt drop off by a ton, so thats where we have to look and say is this due to March through May and 2020 (during COVID-related school shutdowns) and what they lost in there.

Gee explained the tricky situation with looking at the ISASP data is identifying what areas of study need improving. Certain categories in the ISASP will only make up a small portion of the total number of questions, for instance, having only three geometry questions out of 36 total math questions.

Gee says they look for subject categories which have a greater number of questions, or for categories in which multiple grades struggle. From there, teachers can address those areas within their curriculum.

Gee says the quarterly and daily assessments of Clear Lake students have given a better picture of their learning proficiency.

Im way more concerned about our summative and our quarterly that we actually do, because those are the standards that we believe at Clear Lake are the most important to the kids, said Gee. (ISASP is) important, but I put more stock in the quarterly and unit assessments.

Clear Lake educators continually conduct formative assessments of students. These daily check-ins help to assure that Clear Lake students are meeting the districts essential standards, according to Gee.

The neat thing is with our PLC (Professional Learning Community) process is that I can walk in any one of our five first-grade or six kindergarten classes and theyd be pretty much teaching the same thing. It might be taught just a little bit different, because we give teachers some say [in] that, but theyre teaching pretty much the same thing, said Gee.

Gee says of Clear Lakes PLC meetings, "When they work together collaboratively, its not just one teacher, its four or five, said Gee. They can work together and get other ideas and help each other and thats how you get better.

Gee explained the steps that follow a completed assessment.

Well start looking at that data and start looking at 'heres where we need to focus our attention' and well get real specific about it. Well keep teaching (the curriculum), but we've really got to focus on the next step, Gee says.

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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Clear Lake's only competitive race, the school board election, had three candidates competing for two spots. It was an incredibly tight race between the three, but Chyrl Bervig and newcomer Greg Southgate narrowly beat out incumbent Tony Brownlee for the two open seats.

Bergvig is a retired educator who says over her long career she has taught at every grade level in some capacity, and was seeking her third term on the school board.

Mason City voters return Tom Thoma to council Mason City voters indicated they are happy with status quo on Tuesday night, returning incumbent Tom Thoma to his at large city council seat b

During her campaign, Bergvig said she was running to see through some projects the board has been working on. One initiative Bergvig planned to undertake is adding additional teachers to the school district as it continues to expand.

Bergvig maintained a lead throughout the night, while Southgate and Brownlee remained consistently within a handful of votes of one another.

North Iowa local elections results Here are the latest unofficial results of the contested local elections in North Iowa. For a

Dettmer, Garza, and Steckman elected to Mason City School Board The Mason City voters have elected Carol Dettmer, Cindy Garza, and Alan Steckman will be school board directors for the next four years.

"I'm really excited, I've never been the top vote getter before," Bergvig said. "I want to thank the people who voted for me ... I'm excited to serve."

For the beginning of her third term, Bergvig wants to focus on the opening of the upcoming Clear Lake Wellness Center, as well as some curriculum improvements the board is in the middle of working on.

"I really want to see that (the curriculum) grow and develop," Bergvig said. "It's going in the right direction."

Challenger Greg Southgate, who has lived in Clear Lake since 2009, was seeking election to the school board for the first time, with a platform aimed at improving the morale of the district's teachers and giving them a louder voice with the board.

"I'm pretty stoked," Southgate said of his election to the school board. "Excited to be able to serve on this school board for the next few years."

Southgate said that he plans to spend the first few months finding his feet in the new position, but also following through on his main campaign promise.

"The first thing I want to do is reach out to the teachers," Southgate said. "I want to honor that."

Bergvig was surprised by the result, both that she got the most votes and that Brownlee didn't get voted on to the board.

"Well I'm a little shocked," Bergvig said. "I know Tony pretty well, I thought he was a shoo-in."

Brownlee has been a director on the board since 2017.

On the city government side, council members Dana Brant and Bennett Smith ran unopposed in their bids for re-election, as did the incumbent Clear Lake Mayor Nelson Crabb.

Zachary Dupont covers politics and business development for the Globe Gazette. You can reach him at 641-421-0533 or zachary.dupont@globegazette.com. Follow Zachary on Twitter at @ZachNDupont

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The Danville Public Schools Education Foundation, in partnership with the Danville Otterbots and the Danville Running & Fitness Club, will host its inaugural Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk and Childrens Fun Run on Thanksgiving Day.

Proceeds will help fund programs, initiatives and scholarships for students who attend Danville Public Schools.

Participants may pre-register at https://bit.ly/DPSTurkeyTrot2021 or pick up a registration form at The Brick Running and Tri Store, located at 410 Main St., or DellAnnos Pizza Kitchen, located at 316 Main St.

The Childrens Fun Run will start 8:30 a.m. Nov. 25 and the 5K Run/Walk will kick off at 9 a.m. The event will start and end at American Legion Field, home of the Otterbots. The race will take place along the Riverwalk Trail.

Theres no cost for the Childrens Fun Run for those 12 and under. For the 5K Run/Walk, the charge is $25 through Nov. 15 and $30 after. The price goes up to $35 on race day. All area students 18 and under can participate for $10 in advance and $15 on race day.

Packet pick-up will be available on race day beginning at 7 a.m., and all race registrants will receive a long-sleeve performance shirt.
Mondul garnered 10,043 votes to Mattesons 2,255, or 81.46% to 18.29% according to unofficial results.

Sales tax

Also, Danvillians can expect a 1-percentage-point increase in its sales tax to help pay for school projects following Tuesday nights vote.

The school referendum sales-tax increase passed by 7,587 to 4,905 votes  60.43% to 39.57%. The school bond that will be financed by revenue from the 1-percentage-point tax increase passed by a vote of 8,333 to 3,942, or 67.89% to 32.11%, according to unofficial results.

A total of 12,871 votes were cast in the election by city voters, according to unofficial numbers.

The estimated cost to make needed improvements at schools was $126 million four or five years ago.

According to a preliminary estimate presented to the school board in May, about $194 million in improvements are needed at G.L.H. Johnson, Woodberry Hills, Forest Hills, Park Avenue and E.A. Gibson elementary schools, Langston Focus School and George Washington High School.
The Maine Legislature previously approved the proposal by a wide margin, but it also needed the approval of voters.

Its always a good idea to secure and protect an individual right in the world we live in. Food is life, said Hickman. I dont understand why anyone would be afraid of saying so out loud in the constitution."

The proposed amendment was the result of effort by members of the states food sovereignty movement. The movement includes small farmers, raw milk fans, libertarians, liberals and anti-corporate activists who all feel local communities should have more of a say in the future of the food supply.

Maine enacted a food sovereignty law, the nations first of its kind, in 2017. That law allows local governments to OK small food producers selling directly to customers on site. Other states around the country have passed similar laws in the years since Maine passed its law.

The Maine Farm Bureau, the largest farming advocacy group in the state, opposed the new constitutional amendment. The group's leader said Tuesday the bureau respected the will of voters.

Maine Farm Bureau is prepared to support Maine farmers as this amendment is enacted and, as always, stands clear in its resolve to protect and embrace food safety and animal welfare as a standard for all Mainers, said the bureau's executive director, Julie Ann Smith.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP)  The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial over a string of shootings on the streets of Kenosha watched one of the central pieces of video evidence Wednesday  footage of a man chasing Rittenhouse and throwing a plastic bag at him just before the man was gunned down.

Someone is heard yelling F--- you!, followed by the sounds of the four shots Rittenhouse fired, killing Joseph Rosenbaum, though the shooting itself is not clearly seen on camera. Rosenbaum was the first of three men Rittenhouse shot that night, two of them fatally.

Oh, he shot him! He shot him, man. He shot him. He shot him, man. He laid him out," the person making the video can be heard saying.

Footage shown to the jury also depicted Rosenbaum lying on the ground as frantic bystanders surrounded him to help. He had a wound to his head, and a bystander placed a shirt on it to apply pressure.

The scenes were part of a wealth of video played in court that captured the chaos and the repeated sound of gunfire on the night the 17-year-old aspiring police officer fired an assault-style rifle during a tumultuous demonstration against police brutality in the summer of 2020.
Danville and Pittsylvania County are averaging about 19 new COVID-19 infections per day.

Thats a dramatic drop from about 78 in mid-September.

Also, fewer students are coming down with the virus. In turn, that means theres less classroom disruptions with potential quarantines.

Overall, these are positive signs the region is emerging from the pains of the fourth coronavirus wave.

But its too early to declare victory.

Dont let your guards down; this continues to be a serious and dangerous virus, and will likely be with us for several more months, Dr. Scott Spillmann, director of the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, told the Register & Bee on Friday.

Simply put, we arent yet to the pre-COVID business as usual stage, he said.

In the last week, nine new deaths  six Danville residents and three people who lived in Pittsylvania County  at the hands of the illness caused by the novel coronavirus have officially reached the record books. The age range included those in their 50s to 80 and older. Two were men and the other seven were female.
RALEIGH  Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones urged supporters of public education in North Carolina on Oct. 26 to organize to fight anti-history laws being promoted by Republican lawmakers.

Hannah-Jones said the left hasnt gotten mad enough in opposing the culture war that has been contrived by the right wing that has led to laws banning schools from teaching things such as her 1619 Project.

She said at an online forum of North Carolina educators that people are living in dark and scary times where teachers are afraid to even teach and talk about the experiences that their children are having.

Were being outgunned right now and I think thats because this is not an issue thats getting enough of the people on the left angry, Hannah-Jones said. People on the right are very angry and anger is often what inspires you to organize and to push for laws and to push for these changes.

Hannah-Jones was the keynote speaker at The Color of Education Summit, a two-day virtual event drawing 1,600 people to engage in critical conversations centered on addressing issues of racial equity and education.
Since then, Pfizer/Biontech received the Food and Drug Administrations emergency approval to administer reduced doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for youngsters ages 5-11.

State health officials say North Carolina clinics could offer shots to youngsters in the age group by as early as Nov. 5.

In September, Pfizer released new data to support its claim that two 10-microgram shots of the vaccine stimulate a robust immune response in kids in the 5-11 age group. The dosage is 1/3 the amount of teen and adult doses and produced side effects that were similar to those seen in ages 16-25, multiple national news outlets have reported.

Rockingham County Public Health Director Trey Wright said in recent weeks, I am hopeful that parents will have their child vaccinated as we have seen an increase in (infection) in the younger age groups.

But Wright had concerns about parent hesitancy.

I do think parents will be somewhat reluctant, he said. My advice is to do your research through evidence-based journals and with medical professionals.

The health department is poised to get shots to the younger school kids who fill kindergarten through seventh-grade classrooms, Wright said in October.

Currently we are in communication with local health systems to provide onsite vaccinations, Wright said about the possibility of delivering inoculations to school campuses. No information was immediately available about how soon shots will be offered in Rockingham.

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WENTWORTH  The Rockingham County Division of Public Health will host a series of drive-thru vaccination clinics to offer Moderna booster shots, the agency announced this week.

According to the CDC, the following groups are eligible for a booster shot six months or more after their second dose:

People 65 years and older

People 18 and older who live in long-term care settings

People 18 and older with underlying medical conditions

People 18 and older who work or live in high-risk settings

County health officials advice those people who are unsure if they should receive a booster vaccine to consult their physician for additional guidance.

Dates for drive-thru Moderna booster vaccinations are from 9 a.m.4 p.m. on Nov. 4, Nov. 6, Nov. 18, and Nov. 20.
Veterans Day Ceremony: 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, Carolina Field of Honor at Triad Park, 9652 W. Market St., Kernersville. Color guards, special music, the laying of the wreath, taps and other commemorative activities. Comments will be made by several distinguished veterans. Keynote speaker: Dinny Sisley, the wife of retired Brig. Gen. Fred Sisley, USMA. Bring seating. Rain or shine. 336-851-0999 or www.carolinafieldofhonor.org .

Veterans Day Service: 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, Veterans Monument, 6826 U.S. 158 East, Stokesdale. Masks are preferred and the chairs will be placed to comply with social distancing. bmarshall6@triad.rr.com , 336-643-5979 or 336-707-4964.

Parade: 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, downtown Asheboro. Pilot Club of Asheboros annual Veterans Day Luminaria Service follows at 5:30 p.m. in front of the historic Randolph County Courthouse, 145 Worth St., Asheboro. Invocation from the Rev. Fred Huffstetler, Central United Methodist Church, speaker Lt. Col. Jason O. Williams, commander of the 28th Security Forces Squadron, the reading of the names of the veterans being honored and patriotic music by Jace and Caroline Burroughs. The Southwestern Randolph High School JROTC will present the colors and the Randolph County Honor Guard will provide the 21-gun salute and Taps to conclude the program. 409-504-9099 or lcovington@triad.rr.com
We are very confident that there will be 52 Republicans seated when the House convenes in January, Shipley said.

House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn acknowledged that the results were not what Democrats were hoping for but said there are still several tight races that will determine the majority as votes continue to be counted. The state Department of Elections has said that ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 will be counted through noon on Friday.

We are going to make sure every Virginians voice is heard and every vote is counted, Filler-Corn said in a statement.

Democrats held a 55-45 majority heading into Tuesdays election, but Republicans waged an aggressive campaign to flip up to 13 seats held by Democrats whom they considered vulnerable. The GOP needs to flip at least six seats to regain the majority the party lost in 2019. Democrats still hold a slim 21-19 majority over Republicans in the Senate. Senators are not up for reelection until 2023.

Republicans had controlled the House since 2000, but Democrats won back 15 GOP-held seats in 2017, helped by voter hostility toward then-President Donald Trump. In 2019, Democrats took full control of the legislature by wiping out slim Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
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Lahdo's statements came in a meeting with our agency about the position of the AANES regarding dialogue with the Damascus government. Lahdo reiterated the administration's assertions of its desire to resolve the Syrian crisis through dialogue.

Lahdo's statements were preceded by statements made by Aldar Khalil, a member of the Joint Presidency of the Democratic Union Party, in which he expressed their readiness for a direct dialogue with Damascus.

This series of statements came after the co-chair of the leadership of the Kurdistan Community System, Camil Bayek, said in late October that reconciliation between the Damascus government and the Aministration is the correct solution to the Syrian crisis.

"It is time for a solution to this Syrian crisis," Lahdo told our agency. He added, "The AANES will be a bridge to bring the Syrian people to safety."

Lahdo ruled out finding a solution to the Syrian crisis away from the Autonomous Administration, and said, "We, as the Syrian people, have an interest in solving our crisis. Therefore, since its inception, the Autonomous Administration has had an important position regarding this matter, and it is not possible for the Autonomous Administration to be absent from a solution to the Syrian crisis."

Regarding previous meetings that took place with the Damascus government, Lahdo explained that they "did not bear fruit." He justified this by the intervention of international powers that have an interest in keeping the Syrian crisis unresolved.

"We are ready and open to enter into negotiations, but the Syrian government was not ready for this matter," Lahdo added.

But Lahdo returned and reiterated the administration's desire for dialogue, "We continue to open all doors for dialogue with the Damascus government and the opposition, because we previously entered into the dialogue and it did not bring any result." He stressed that "negotiations are the basic solution because we are Syrians and represent the Syrian identity."

Lahdo stressed the need for any future negotiations, if they take place, to be serious and include various levels, and to be mediated by the international community and with the participation of the United Nations.

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ANHA
Journalist of Al-Nahar Newspaper, Sarkis Kassarjian, interviewed with the co-chair of Commanding Body of Kurdistan Communities Union, KCK, Jamil Bayik, published on 26th and 27th October.

After publishing the meeting with Jamil Bayik, Turkish Embassy in Beirut accused, Sarkis Kassarjian of propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, and that this undermined the relationship between Turkey and Lebanon.

Journalist Sarkis Kassarjia, during special meeting with ANHA agency, said: "In addition to what I spoke in response to the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon, it is surprising that this attitude of the Turkish Embassy to the work of a journalist is the core of the media work in general."

Adding "I would have hoped that the content of Mr. Jamil Bayik's talk and serious accusations against the Turkish army and Turkish politics in the region would have been answered rather than distributed."

On the reasons for this Turkish response, Journalist Sarkis Kassarjia, said: "Over the past three decades, many Turkish journalists have met with leaders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), on the top the leader Abdullah Ocalan, Murad Karlyan, Jamil Bayik, in 2013 the Anatolian agency went to Qandil Mountain, many newspapers and TV channels have very high - profile meetings, but today the difference is that the Turkish Government is looking for a reason to raise an issue that is linked internally to the national group, where it is trying to tighten the national nerve at home, and thus begin with unjustified and unrealistic reactions to political objectives. "

He noted, "This response really abused to Turkish media more than to al-Nahar Newspapers or me as journalist. Now, I am not talking as representative of al-Nahar Newspapers, but when the ambassador of one country talks about undermining relations with another country because of a newspaper article; This means that the said diplomat considers that all the media in this State follow the policies of the Government of this country and a spokesman for this Government. It says implicitly that, just as the media in Turkey speaks for the Government, Al-Nahar Newspapers meeting on this subject means that the Lebanese Government is giving way to terrorists, etc., and therefore this is an abuse of Turkish media. "

The Journalist concluded by saying: "The Turkish Embassy's response is unacceptable, unjustified and very illogical. The logic of media and diplomatic work, which cannot be classified or placed under any title whatsoever, is that the Ambassador attempts to bleach his face to President Erdogan that he is doing something, only because of the disappearance of the institutional practices of the Turkish state and system, has had to go to such a way to show his loyalty, activity and effectiveness. "

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ANHA
" " Laparoscopy involves making small incisions into the body part, and inserting a device fitted with a tiny camera that broadcasts images on a screen, so the surgeon can see and navigate the area. bymuratdeniz/Getty Images

Surgery isn't exactly something to look forward to, but you're likely to dread it less if the incision is smaller and the recovery time is quicker. Laparoscopy (laparoscopic surgery), also known as minimally invasive or "keyhole" surgery, is now the standard of care whenever possible these days. That's because it's just so much easier on the body than traditional open abdominal surgery.

It might surprise you to learn that this technique has been around for a very long time. Pioneering physicians Dimitri Ott, Georg Kelling and Hans Christian Jacobeus are some of the docs credited with exploring the potential for minimally invasive surgery way back in the early 1900s. As is often the case with major scientific developments, laparoscopy progressed slowly, with just some doctors daring to dabble in the practice, although usually for diagnostic, rather than surgical, purposes. Finally, the late 1980s, some physicians began performing successful laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) procedures, inspiring scores of other surgeons to reevaluate the potential for this game-changing technique.

Nowadays, laparoscopy is the surgery style of choice for dozens of diagnostic and surgical procedures. Diagnostically speaking, laparoscopy is used to confirm a particular diagnosis or to figure out what's going wrong when X-ray, ultrasound and other non-invasive imaging efforts just aren't cutting it. Many painful gynecological conditions are diagnosed and/or treated using the method, including ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis and ovarian cysts.

On the surgical side, laparoscopy can be employed to remove problematic organs, like the appendix or gallbladder, and repair hernias and ulcers. Many patients turn to laparoscopy for hysterectomies and even weight-loss surgeries, and minimally invasive techniques are also helpful for suspected cancer biopsies.

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How Laparoscopic Surgery Is Done

When it comes to surgery, size actually does matter. Laparoscopy usually involves small incisions ranging from 0.2-0.4 inches (0.5-1 centimeter), up to no more than about a half an inch (1.27 centimeters) in length. This is tiny compared with standard open surgery incisions of several inches, or even more! A tube-shaped instrument called a trochar is inserted into each incision, and it's through these devices (sometimes more than one is used) that other instruments can be inserted.

One of these is the aptly named laparoscope, which is a long, skinny device fitted with a tiny camera that broadcasts images on a screen, so that the surgeon can adequately see and navigate the area. The area is inflated using carbon dioxide gas to allow for better visibility when the surgery starts. Sometimes, additional incisions are necessary to be able to insert instruments like scissors or biopsy forceps, but those cuts are also very small in size.

" " Laparoscopy is used to remove problematic organs, like the appendix or gallbladder, and repair hernias and ulcers, as well as to perform gastric bypass. thelinkeGetty Images

So how do surgeons get an organ, like an appendix or gallbladder, out through those tiny incisions? We asked Dr. Gerald M. Fried, surgeon-in-chief at McGill University Health Center in Quebec to explain. "The appendix is usually small enough to bring either into a 10-12 mm [0.4-0.5 inch] diameter trocar which we usually place at the belly button," Fried says in an email interview. "Otherwise, we put the appendix in a plastic bag, remove the trocar and bring the appendix out through the incision. This sometimes requires mild stretching of the incision."

And the gallbladder? "[It] is bigger but is filled with liquid (bile). It is pear-shaped. We first pull out the narrower part of the 'pear,' then as we pull further the pressure pushes the liquid from the part of the gallbladder that is in the abdomen out into the portion that is outside the abdomen, allowing the remaining gallbladder to collapse and be removed. If the gallbladder contains stones larger than 12 mm, we use the bag and stretching technique described above, " he adds.

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Risk vs. Reward of Laparoscopy

The success rates and reduced pain associated with minimally invasive surgery have turned laparoscopy into the preferred surgical method whenever possible. It produces less bleeding, less pain and scarring, as well as shorter hospital stays than regular surgery, according to studies. It's also associated with a lower infection risk, which is key because surgical site infection is linked to higher risk of death, as well as lengthier hospital stays and associated costs.

Amanda Marshall, a customer service representative in Brookhaven, Georgia would definitely choose laparoscopy over the more typical surgery, having experienced both. "Laparoscopic was significantly easier. The only discomfort I felt were gas pains in my shoulders and back immediately following but it couldn't even be considered 'pain,'" she recalls, noting that she had surgery on Thursday, spent the night at the hospital, and was back to work on Monday. "I never had any discomfort that couldn't be managed with Advil or Tylenol."

Laparoscopy isn't totally without risk, though. Often, the surgeries take longer to perform than traditional surgeries, which means that patients are under anesthesia longer, and therefore at greater risk of complications. Other possible problems can include infection, internal bleeding, hernia and/or bleeding at incision sites, and even damage to internal organs or blood vessels.

Not everyone is a prime candidate for laparoscopy, however. Fried notes that the technique is not advised for unstable trauma patients because bleeding can cover the lens and make visualization impossible. He also says that people with extensive prior abdominal surgeries are typically not candidates.

"In these cases scarring (adhesions) from the previous surgery may make it difficult or impossible to appropriately view the abdominal contents to do the surgery safely," he explains. Large tumors that require bigger incisions for removal will also exclude laparoscopy as an option.

Now That's Cool Laparoscopy is poised to get even better in the coming years thanks to improved training technique using simulations. "This is now embedded in all residency training programs," Dr. Gerald Fried explains, adding, "these simulation programs have been shown to shorten the learning curve for the surgeon to become proficient at laparoscopic surgery. Simulation will continue to improve and make laparoscopic surgery more widely available and safer."
" " Limb lengthening patient Alfonso Flores (L) and Dr. Kevin Debiparshad (R) before Flores's surgery. The LimbplastX Institute

Alfonso Flores is a 28-year-old freelance writer and pre-med student in Dallas. At 5 foot, 11 inches (1.8 meters) he already enjoyed a height that many people would envy. Still, he longed to top 6 feet and then some, so he underwent limb-lengthening surgery in May 2020. As of June, he's already gained more than an inch (2.5 centimeters), and still has a couple to go before he maxes out at the expected 3-inch (7.6-centimeter) improvement.

"This is something that I've really wanted to do  as far as I can remember  since I was 12. All of my heroes were super-tall. I'm talking about great, accomplished, people like Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and of course my father," he explains. "These people were remarkable team leaders, hard workers, absolutely selfless, and they embodied everything that I wanted for my future self."

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For many of us, the concept of limb-lengthening is brand new information, despite the fact that it has been done for more than 80 years in a non-cosmetic fashion to even out limbs or even reconstruct them.

Las Vegas-based, Harvard-trained orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kevin Debiparshad, who performed Flores's surgery, has done his fair share of both types of limb-lengthening surgeries. Although volume is low for the cosmetic variety compared to deformity cases, he has noted a marked increase in patient interest since 2018 when he opened LimbplastX, the cosmetic branch of his practice.

"In 2019, I completed 22 cosmetic limb-lengthening cases, and with over 250+ patient inquiries to date, I'm on track to easily double that amount this year," he says, noting that patient testimonials and public awareness about the procedure are helping it become more socially acceptable.

Currently, 85 percent of people who've consulted and/or had the surgery with Debiparshad have been males averaging 5 feet, 6 inches (1.6 meters) in height. "The desire to appear taller, particularly for men, has always been a hot topic in modern day society and social norms," he explains. "While that is a driver in the popularity to increase their height, reasons for cosmetic limb-lengthening vary, ranging from a boost in self-confidence to improved physical capabilities  all of which change lives." Indeed, studies have shown that taller-than-average people (particularly taller-than-average men) are more educated, earn more income and are generally more satisfied with life than shorter people.

How Limb Lengthening Is Done

The technology used by Debiparshad involves placement of a full weight-bearing, FDA-approved implant, available only since 2018. The minimally invasive surgery is designed to lengthen either the thigh bones (femur) or the lower leg bones (tibia), by essentially breaking and healing them. During the X-ray-based surgery, Debiparshad makes between four and six small incisions in the legs, allowing access to the hollow part of the bone. He then inserts the implants, and screws are placed at the top and the bottom of the devices to lock into position.

The implant device is managed (and the extra inches thus added) by way of an external remote control. "Post-surgery, the external remote control is used by the patient to simply increase their height by 1 mm per day at the touch of a button, slowly stretching the legs to increase their height," he says. "Patients can expect to gain up to 6 inches [15 centimeters] in height across two lengthening surgeries."

Still, those extra inches come with some risk, not to mention a hefty price tag that most people can't afford. Cost is about $75,000 to $79,000 according to the institute's website. Financing is available since health insurance likely won't cover the procedure. "The initial surgery is painful, but pain can be well controlled with medications to allow same-day walking," Debiparshad says.

"When I woke up, I wasn't in as much pain as I thought I would be after just having my legs broken," Flores recalls, noting that his pain level only rose at any point to about a three or four out of 10. "The most difficult part was sleeping on my back for two days at the hospital."

Debiparshad says that the bone-lengthening process using the remote control is typically painless (though some patients report pain after surgery). Physical therapy, which begins the day after surgery, can be very uncomfortable. However, patients are expected to return to normal activities only a couple of weeks post-surgery. It takes a few months for the limb-lengthening process to be completed, during which time the patient continues with physical therapy and medical visits.

"Limb lengthening definitely requires a village," says Delaware-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. L. Reid Boyce Nichols in an email interview. "Physical therapy and frequent doctor's appointments are needed to avoid complications. There will be time off from school and or work."

Nichols says that while limb-lengthening done by an experienced surgeon is safe enough, there are considerations to be made. "Because the lengthening involves lengthening bones, muscles, nerves and vessels have to also lengthen. Any surgery, though, has risks, such as infection, difficulty healing and unexpected deformity."

Aside from that, anyone considering such a cosmetic procedure should think long and hard before proceeding  take it from Flores. "I highly encourage people to really look into themselves before they commit to having the surgery, and really think about why they are doing this to ensure that it's for the right reasons."

Now That's Cool Limb-lengthening was originally done using an external device that lengthened the bones of people with polio, dwarfism or congenital defects. The idea is to improve range of motion, thus quality of life.
" " Reed diffusers usually use rattan sticks that have small channels to allow the essential oil to travel up the stick and spread the aroma around the room. Carol Yepes/Getty Images

Although incense and candles are still around, there's no denying the stronghold that essential oils have on today's aromatically inclined society. Whether they're used to "treat" an ailment or simply make a room smell nice, they seem to be just about everywhere.

Although essential oils date way back to ancient Egypt, their modern surge started to occur in the 1970s when more people became interested in natural medicine. Today, mega-manufacturers like Young Living and doTERRA offer a variety of oils rumored to cure just about every ailment out there. But the million-dollar question is, are oils and the diffusers used to emit them safe?

First, it's important to know that oils can be applied directly to the skin, or via a diffuser to perfume the surrounding air. If you're going the latter route, there are many types of diffusers to choose from, including ceramic, reed, electric and ultrasonic diffusers. They all function differently, but the end result is that they aerosolize the oils, meaning that they're turned into a fine spray in the air.

Here's where the question of safety gets sticky  the effect of essential oils varies from person to person. "In general, oil diffusers are safe. Their risk of harm is mostly limited to superficial things related to device function, such as burns and minor allergic reaction," explains Dr. Eric Lee, a general practitioner based in St Louis, Missouri, with InvigorMedical via email. "The FDA [Food and Drug Administration] has labelled essential oils as GRAS (generally recognized as safe)."

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Oil Diffuser Safety Concerns

As Lee noted, there is potential for a diffusing device to malfunction or burn the user through incorrect handling, so many people choose to avoid styles that involve use of an open flame for safety reasons. Not surprisingly, these tend to be the least expensive type of diffuser.

" " Another type of oil diffuser is a ceramic diffuser. This one uses a small candle to disperse its scent. Guy Cali/Getty Images

Still, that doesn't mean the other types are perfectly safe. Although Lee doesn't tell patients which type of diffuser to use at home, he is leery of ultrasonic diffusers that employ a water reservoir to function. "Like other water-containing home machines (like a CPAP), they can be difficult to clean and encourage growth of microbes," he explains.

And Lee would never recommend using essential oils in a health care setting. "In 2016, patients' families in an ICU in Austria shared a bottle of essential oil, resulting in the spread of a multidrug resistant strain of bacteria," he recalls. Fortunately, the outbreak was handled appropriately, and infection peaked at seven people.

Diffusers can also be a risky proposition for people who are sensitive to smells or who have respiratory issues. "In some hospitals where aromatherapy has been permitted, whole-room diffusers have been associated with sensitivity reactions  staff and other patients have been affected," Lee explains. "In health care spaces, there are lots of different patients  and some may be suffering from respiratory conditions worsened by essential oils."

Another side risk of essential oil use is that although the oils might not cause any actual harm, their use could cause delay of evidence-based treatment, as some people wait to see if the oils alleviate the illness in question. So, a simple case of croup that could have been handled via a regular doctor's visit suddenly morphs into an ambulance ride to the nearest emergency room, as a New York Times article pointed out.

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Aromatherapy Claims Versus Research

It's not that surprising that people would delay treatment because so many essential oils have been touted to relieve a host of symptoms of many debilitating ailments, like depression, anxiety, nausea and insomnia. Studies have shown that some varieties of oils are effective antimicrobials, and oils from plants like garlic and thyme can even take down the Lyme disease bacterium better than the standard antibiotic. But human trials have yet to confirm that last claim.

The lack of large-scale research is indeed a sticking point for many doctors. "For clinicians to be comfortable prescribing and treating patients with essential oils, rigorous research needs to be performed to evaluate each health claim," Lee says, noting that almost all studies on essential oils to date measure a short-term effect such as perceived anxiety before and after a doctor's visit. "Ideally, each essential oil would be researched in the context of each health claim it is purported to have. For example, if lemon oil is supposed to make your skin shinier and also increase your mood, then research would have to be designed for each of these."

Currently, essential oils are not subjected to the same rigorous standards as medical drugs because they're classified as botanical products. "As such, they are not regulated as a pharmaceutical, and do not need to have laboratory testing verifying their contents or concentrations," Lee says. "This has led to essential oil producers providing their own false 'certifications' on their label," such as ultra-pure, authentic and distilled. Don't fall for the labelling hype, though. "None have meaning," he says.

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Using Essential Oils in a Diffuser

"Practically, I feel that patients should be able to pursue whatever means they desire for wellness. Life is hard! If you feel that sniffing a lilac makes it less hard, then you should go for it," Lee says. "I just want patients to have the big picture in mind: Essential oils are NOT proven by science, they may have side effects we don't know about, and you should tell [your physician] about everything you are taking."

With those precautions in mind, if you still want to use an oil diffuser, what should you do? Jamie Bacharach, a licensed holistic doctor and head of practice at Acupuncture Jerusalem, has extensive experience with advising patients on oil diffusers. She recommends the following when deciding what oils to use in your diffuser:

Test a new oil by dabbing a drop on your wrist. Wait to see if there is a negative reaction on the skin. "When diffused, an oil which someone is allergic to can cause serious complications if inhaled." Avoid low-quality oils. Some companies use synthetic oils and ingredients as filler to save on costs and enhance scent. "Make certain the oils you're using are natural and 100 percent pure. When diffused and inhaled, synthetic oils and chemical fillers can pose a serious health risk." Consult with a doctor if you're an asthmatic. Diffusing natural oils can exacerbate asthmatic symptoms, so get medical expertise before doing this. Stay away from oil diffusers when pregnant. "There is insufficient data to draw from when weighing the risks of diffusing a natural oil as a pregnant woman. It is best to steer clear of doing so until the scientific community establishes it as a safe practice."

Now That's Cool Not all essential oils are created equal. Dr. Lee recommends people select products certified by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) because it's the only way to verify that the essential oils contain what they're advertised to contain.

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Originally Published: Mar 10, 2020
Eric Feaver and Melinda Reed won seats on the Helena City Commission Tuesday evening, according to unofficial results.

As of the final election night update, Feaver secured 6,115 votes and Reed racked up 5,617. Troy McGee had 5,425 votes and Steve Allen had 2,411.

The Lewis and Clark County Elections Department has 42 provisional ballots that have yet to be counted. Results are considered unofficial until the canvass, which is scheduled for Nov. 10.

The two candidates with the most votes will replace outgoing Commissioners Andres Haladay and Heather O'Loughlin.

Feaver rose to prominence as the Montana Federation of Public Employees president. He pushed the issues of housing, parks and recreation, and local authority during campaign season.

When asked what he felt might have set his campaign apart from his competitors', Feaver said his prolific door knocking over the past months helped him "learn a lot about Helena and gave me a great deal of insight..."

Feaver thanked his campaign team and fellow candidates for running a clean race.

"We proved that right here in Helena we can have a proper campaign and a proper election," Feaver said.

Reed was hired in early 2020 as the interim Helena city manager, replacing former City Manager Ana Cortez, less than two weeks before Mayor Wilmot Collins declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reed thanked her fellow candidates as well.

"I think we all approached this race with a sense of civic duty," she said. "I feel we all ran a congenial race, something Helena deserved."

Reed also thanked her campaign team.

"It was a really great campaign, and I'm proud of what we've done and the support we received," she said.

McGee worked for nearly half a century with the Helena Police Department, serving as chief of police for 23 of those years. McGee promised a more open dialogue between Helena residents and their local governing body as well as more attention paid to city services such as water systems and emergency services.

Allen said he has worked as a general contractor, land developer, real estate investor, substitute school bus driver, website builder and online marketer.

The county elections office reported a 48.12% voter turnout as of 10:50 p.m.

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Kelly Harris defeated incumbent James Schell in East Helena's mayoral race, according to unofficial results released Tuesday evening.

Harris, an East Helena city councilman, was running against Schell, who was seeking a third term as mayor, and resident Lori Erickson. Harris had 262 votes, Schell had 207 and Erickson had 49, according to the final election night update.

The Lewis and Clark County Elections Department has 42 provisional ballots that have yet to be counted. Results are considered unofficial until the canvass, which is scheduled for Nov. 10.

"I think the city was ready for a change and I think that is what the votes are saying," Harris said.

Harris, 46, who works for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, said during the campaign he wants to see East Helena grow without forsaking our history. He said he would encourage business growth and to see businesses take root in the former smelter properties, look at the citys infrastructure, and plan a fiscally responsible path forward.

He also said he wanted to address the high turnover rate of city employees, noting there has been close to a complete staff turnover in the past eight years. He blamed the current mayor for the problem.

Harris was two years into his first term as councilman. A victory for Harris will leave a seat open on the council.

Schell, 56, noted his experience, with three years as a city planning board member, two years as a city councilman, eight years as mayor, and participation on other intergovernmental boards and committees.

He said the biggest issue is the current condition of roads, which relates to the lack of funding for repair, maintenance and improvements. He also mentioned police department staffing and developing administrative and managerial staffing to properly handle the areas growth and apply for grants to fund the things necessary for progress.

Schell cited his experience, knowledge and relationships that he has built over the last eight years as mayor.

He declined to comment Tuesday night.

Erickson did not respond to a campaign survey from the Independent Record and could not be reached by phone or email.

Three East Helena City Council members -- Judy Leland, Don Dahl and Wesley Feist -- ran unopposed. Feist was seeking election to the remaining two years on the term he was appointed to fill following the resignation of Joy Bowen from the council in July.

One issue that may have played a role in the election stems from when former East Helena Police Chief William Harrington resigned in March, following an allegation of sexual assault. In June he pleaded not guilty in a separate case to three counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

He was placed on conditional release.

A May 11 report by Great Falls attorney Jordan Crosby looking at the workplace culture of the East Helena Police Department noted it had inadequate management and oversight and that there was a failure to define roles and responsibilities. It also noted a lack of training, and outdated policies and procedures.

Montana law says supervision of any police department is the responsibility of the mayor, who appoints all members and officers.

Harrington reported working more than 4,200 regular hours and nearly 500 hours of overtime, meaning by Harrington's account, he averaged more than 81 hours of work a week. Harrington, an hourly employee of the city, grossed $134,890 in wages last year.

"There's no question it played a factor," Harris said. "It was a major factor."

Independent Record editor Jesse Chaney contributed to this story.

Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021.

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Former state legislator Tom Winter, a Democrat, is running for Montanas soon-to-be-drawn congressional district.

Winter, 35, said in an interview earlier this week he's joining the race because hes frustrated with politicians playing what he called this game of musical chairs.

This is my district where I live and Im a Montanan and I want to make sure the western Montana voice is there in Congress, Winter said.

Winter said he waited to announce his bid for whats expected to be the western district until the shape of the congressional map became more clear.

After moving to Montana in his early 20s, Winter ran a home health care business before winning a seat in the state Legislature in the 2018 elections in a district won by Republican President Donald Trump in 2016. He also ran for Congress in 2020, losing the Democratic primary to Kathleen Williams with just over 10% of the vote. Winter now works to expand broadband access in rural and underserved communities.

Winter said he thinks that promise to Montanans of being able to work hard and afford a life in the state has been broken.

Its one we used to have and I want to bring it back, Winter said. He cited issues such as universal pre-kindergarten, a living wage and a sustained and concerted action on climate change as priorities, adding that he backs Democratic President Joe Biden and supports the Build Back Better plan as it was first written.

In an interview, Winter said the soon-to-be-created western congressional district has different needs than the eastern half of Montana.

The challenges faced by these different parts of the state are vast, Winter said. Its not just that some are in the mountains and some are in the plains.

One of those issues separating the districts, he said, is a high demand for housing driving up prices especially in western Montana to the point of being unaffordable for many.

The pandemic has exacerbated the problem, Winter said, saying people have lost their jobs and income and that an influx of new residents has priced many out of the housing market and rentals.

Wages are not keeping up with our ability to build housing or to provide health care or going to college, Winter said.

He also said that agriculture, especially commodity crop exports, is such a large part of the eastern district but doesnt have as big of a role in the west.

Its not as large a portion not only of our culture here but also our economy, Winter said. Its just not the same. Theres a clear cultural difference between a cattle rancher in Miles City and someone who works at the airport in Kalispell."

Winter sees the role of Montanas congressperson from the district to bring the local communitys concerns to the federal government and ensure the communitys voice is heard. He said he wanted to be realistic about what Montanas congressperson from the newly created district could and couldnt do.

The idea (that the congressperson could) single-handedly stop legislation or start it is fairly ridiculous, Winter said. I really want to be open with voters about this. The idea you can change the world is not fair to them and it sets up a system where you can be disappointed.

Asked why he is joining a race three other Democrats have already announced for, Winter said both his fellow party members and Republicans aren't as connected to the state.

I am thankful that there are other good Democrats who want to step in as well, Winter said. Some of them might not live in the western district, some of them might have only recently become Democrats. This is where I live, this is what I fight for and I hope that will come through in this campaign."

Republicans who have announced they're running include Ryan Zinke, the former Secretary of the Interior and past congressman from Montana; former state Sen. Al Olszewski, a surgeon from Kalispell; and Kalispell pastor Mary Todd.

Like the other Democrats running, Winter criticized Zinke as "near criminal," citing the multiple investigations into his actions while heading the Interior, and pointed to reporting showing Zinke spends a significant amount of time out of the state. Zinke has disputed both those attacks previously, saying he's not been proven of wrongdoing and defending how often he's in Montana.

Thats not a man who works for the people, thats not a man who works for Montanans, Winter said of Zinke.

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A 48-bed DUI treatment center that served mostly women in the Glendive area will soon be repurposed as a residential substance use disorder facility, the Montana Department of Corrections announced late Tuesday.

This is an exciting opportunity to repurpose an excellent campus and work group in a great community to create an innovative treatment program for people in need of help, so they dont end up in the corrections system, Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin said in a press release. Creating treatment opportunities in rural Montana is critical to diverting folks from the criminal justice system.

The WATCh East program in the state-owned Glendive facility has seen less and less use following Medicaid expansion and felony treatment courts around the state, DOC said in the release. The facility opened in 2005 as a correctional program for individuals convicted of felony DUIs.

As the transition gets underway, those in the program who are still in DOC custody will be moved to other correctional treatment facilities around the state. Community, Counseling and Correctional Services, Inc., which currently operates the Glendive program under contract with the DOC, will now lease the facility and run the program independently.

Community, Counseling and Correctional Services, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that provides services around the state, will begin the licensing process with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services so it can secure Medicaid reimbursements. The state health department has asked the federal government to waive its prohibition on Medicaid coverage for residential treatment facilities with more than 16 beds; WATCh East has 48.

We are hopeful the federal government will approve this request and allow us to expand our treatment capacity in eastern Montana, DPHHS Director Adam Meier said in the press release.

The new program will be funded in part by the state's new Healing and Ending Addiction through Recovery and Treatment (HEART) initiative, sought by Gov. Greg Gianforte and approved by the 2021 Legislature. The initiative draws funds from upcoming tax revenues from recreational cannabis.

The corrections department said the transition would have a "minimal impact" on current staffing levels.

This is the second major shift in DOC facilities this year. In a three-way deal with the U.S. Marshals and Cascade County Sheriff, the Department of Corrections in June swapped its state inmates in the Great Falls Regional Prison with the federal inmates at Crossroads Correctional Center, a privately operated prison near Shelby. That move ironed out a number of issues: President Joe Biden early in the year ordered the U.S. Marshals to phase out its use of private prisons and Cascade County was suing the state for unpaid per diem costs of housing state inmates. The three parties hailed that shuffle as a win-win-win.

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Countries across the world are gathering in Scotland for the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP26, to grapple with our climate crisis. I joined 500 state legislators from 47 states and territories calling on our federal government to strengthen our national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. As the largest historical contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. faces a moral imperative and practical responsibility to reach net zero emissions by or before 2050.

Montana feels firsthand the serious harm from climate change with our drought damaged crops, melting glaciers, warming fisheries, beetle killed trees, and hazardous air quality from choking wildfire smoke. Across the country this year alone, weve endured historic devastation from hurricanes and wildfires, droughts and flooding, heat waves and cold snaps. Sadly, in Montana, any state legislative attempts to tackle climate change fail to even get out of committee. For several sessions, I sponsored a Montana Climate Action Act to charge a $10-a-ton carbon fee to the states biggest industrial belchers of carbon pollution, including the Colstrip coal fired power plant. The money would pay for a just transition of fossil fuel workers and communities to a clean energy economy. I also sponsored The Coal Revenue Replacement and Fossil Fuel Worker Economic Security Act that also died in committee.

Fortunately, many other states are taking climate action, building a new clean energy economy, and solving systemic climate inequities. States are transitioning fleets to zero-emissions vehicles, making buildings more energy efficient, and protecting natural landscapes to enhance carbon sequestration. More than two-thirds of U.S. states and territories have some form of renewable portfolio standard or clean energy standard, and more than a dozen have committed to 100% clean energy. Shockingly, this past legislative session, Montana Republicans repealed our clean energy standard outright.

While state action is crucial, Montana needs federal action. Other states like Montana that struggle to address climate change legislatively must look to the federal government to set strong emissions and air quality standards. Binding federal commitments to phase out fossil fuel usage and accelerate the transition to renewable energy are overdue.

In this critical moment, we must stand as united states. If we act with conviction now, we can rescue Montana, this country, and planet for future generations. Lets encourage the U.S. to lead by example at COP26 and commit to achieving full decarbonization. Lets enact bold climate solutions today before its too late, and our kids, grandkids and their kids shake their heads in regret that we didnt act when we could.

Mary Ann Dunwell is a Democratic state legislator representing House District 84, Helena/East Helena.

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U.S. Sen. Steve Daines  during a recent Senate hearing, you had a unique opportunity to join with three out of four Montanans in support of the bipartisan Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA).

Instead, you took the bill hostage.

In exchange for supporting a bill that protects 80,000 acres at the headwaters of the Blackfoot River, youre demanding protection be stripped from hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands across the state managed as wilderness study areas (WSAs). Apparently, youre going to introduce another bill that would do just that, repeating a mistake you made in 2017, when you introduced a bill that would have stripped protection from five WSAs comprising 500,000 acres.

The bipartisan University of Montana Public Lands Survey from 2020 showed 8% of Montanans support stripping protections from wilderness study areas. That same poll showed that 75% of Montanans, including 75% who identified as Republicans, support the BCSA.

It appears your coming anti-wilderness study area bill will be thrust on Montanans from the top down like your 2017 bill was, without any public input from the thousands of Montanans who know, depend on, and use the areas it will leave unprotected. We believe the fate of our WSAs should be decided after that kind of collaborative discussions at the local level, not by some one-size-fits-all bill drafted far from affected communities.

Completely unlike your 2017 bill and your anti-WSA bill to come, the BCSA is the culmination of a 15-year collaborative effort by Montanans representing a wide spectrum of interests  conservation, timber, ranching, outfitting, local business, recreation and more  the sort of collaborative effort missing from your WSA proposal. We spent years vetting the BCSA, making sure it works for the vast majority of Montanans, not just for 8%.

Adding to the support of the BCSA are the 170 groups, organizations and businesses across the state that have so far endorsed the bill, including Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Montana Outfitter and Guides Association, and several hunting and angling groups.

Since youre troubled by the wilderness components of the BCSA, then perhaps you could explain why, in 2019, you joined with your colleagues from Utah in support of 660,000 acres of new wilderness in their state, but wont join with 75% of Montanans in support of protecting 80,000 acres of new wilderness in your state?

Its not as though Montana has an abundance of wilderness protection, as you keep trying to claim. After all, only 3% of our states land mass is designated wilderness (Floridas is 4%, by comparison).

But the BCSA is about more than new wilderness. Its also about protecting the health of one of the most beloved rivers and fisheries in Montana  the Big Blackfoot. Its about protecting the wildlife that inhabit, and depend on, the wildlands at stake in the BCSA. And its about the heart that Montanans have poured into this bill over the last two decades, heart that will be missing from the anti-public lands bill youre going to introduce in the coming weeks.

So, in holding the BCSA hostage, youre also holding the Blackfoot hostage and everything that makes it so special to Montanans.

While campaigning last year, you called yourself a protector of public lands. The majority of Montana voters took you at your word, believing, or at least hoping, youd live up to it.

You had the opportunity to do so by supporting the BCSA. You still have that opportunity  by withdrawing your demands for the BCSA and supporting it on its own merits. We sincerely hope youll choose to be the senator you claim to be.

Terri Raugland is co-owner of Blackfoot River Outfitters. Lee Boman is a member of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship steering committee, former president of Wild Montana, and former president of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation. Jerry O'Connell is the founder and executive director of the Big Blackfoot Riverkeeper.

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They say you can tell a lot about a person watching them interact with animals. I think this is true and was very evident in my life. My father loved animals  almost more than he loved people. I write a lot about my father in this column and other columns. He was a massive force in my life. He was a human, far from perfect, but one thing that can be said was that he was always trying to get better. He was always looking to improve, and he did so with an amazingly contagious happy attitude.
DECATUR  A Decatur man who was wanted for a robbery in 2019 had to be subdued with a stun gun after resisting arrest and attempting to disarm an officer Monday night.

According to a sworn affidavit from the Macon County Sheriffs Office, the 42-year-old suspect was first identified after a detective of the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force performed a traffic stop on a female who was a missing/endangered person from Arizona.

Prior to the female being stopped, the detective said he noticed the woman with a man near his vehicle before the man took off running. When asked about the man, the woman refused to tell the detective the identity of the man but said she was in Decatur with her childs father, according to the affidavit.

Once the woman was deemed to not be safe, the detective and a deputy from the sheriff's office drove her to her residence in the 600 block of West William Street in Decatur when they came across the man who fled earlier, according to the affidavit.

The man, who stopped on the stairwell of the apartment, saw the deputy at the base of the stairs and ran back up toward the third floor when he was told to stop, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said the man broke free from the deputy's and the detectives grasp but was eventually pulled to the ground by the detective.

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At this time, the man punched the detective in the stomach and tried to grab him by the crotch to break free but when that didnt work, he reached for the detectives firearm, according to the affidavit.

The deputy then deployed his stun gun to control the man but needed to deploy it twice as the man stood up and continued to fight, according to the affidavit.

The man was arrested on preliminary charges of aggravated battery, resisting arrest and attempting to disarm a peace officer while also being arrested for robbery in a separate incident from 2019.

A check of the Macon County Jail records Tuesday showed he remained in custody with bail for the first three offenses set at $150,000 and bail for the robbery offense set at $50,000, meaning he must post bonds for $15,000 and $5,000 each to be released.

All preliminary charges are subject to review by the state's attorneys office.

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BLOOMINGTON  The Rev. Jesse Jackson will lead a march Friday from Bloomington police headquarters to the Illinois State University campus, it was announced Tuesday, as activists continue to call for a federal investigation into the death of grad student Jelani Day.

"We want to gain one thing, and that is justice for Jelani Day," said Cameron Barnes, national youth director with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization that Jackson founded. "We want justice and a federal investigation."

A Danville native, Day, 25, was last seen in Bloomington on Aug. 25. His body was recovered from the Illinois River in the Peru area Sept. 4. The La Salle County coroner last week said the cause of death was drowning, but family and friends have questioned whether foul play was involved. The case has received international attention.

Day's mother, Carmen Bolden Day, and his family have been adamant in their belief that he was murdered and did not go into the river by choice. They have repeatedly called on the FBI to take over as lead investigators in the case.

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Jackson attended a march in Peru and a burial service for Day in Danville last month. On Monday, Jackson was hospitalized in Washington, D.C., after falling and hitting his head during a visit to Howard University. He was being kept for observation overnight.

Jackson is scheduled to have a press conference at the Bloomington Police Department at noon on Friday prior to the march.

Bloomington police Officer John Fermon said the department plans to help coordinate with organizers.

Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe told The Pantagraph that the city will assist in any way possible to provide safety and ease of traffic flow.

"Any time somebody loses their life, it is always a concern, but especially when it's a young person with so much promise," said Mwilambwe. "Our thoughts are with the family."

A multi-jurisdictional task force comprised of the Peru and Bloomington police, the LaSalle County sheriff's and coroner's offices, the Illinois State Police, and the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit continue to lead the investigation.

On Friday, Peru police Chief Robert Pyszka told The Pantagraph the task force has given all files in the case to the FBI. He said the FBI will assist on the case but will not take the lead.

Some state representatives and activists groups have criticized the Peru and Bloomington police departments handling of the missing person and death investigation.

Mwilambwe said he "believes the Bloomington Police Department has handled this in the best way it could. it has provided assistance and continues to provide assistance as a member of the task force."

Barnes said the group hopes the march will continue to bring national attention to the investigation and to raise awareness regarding the disparity in how missing persons cases for Black and indigenous people are handled in the United States.

"We want the same thing this mother wants, and that is to know what happened to Jelani Day," Barnes said.

Contact Sierra Henry at 309-820-3234. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_sierrahenry.

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SPRINGFIELD  Gov. J.B. Pritzker and an entourage of top state officials planned to depart for the United Kingdom Tuesday on a weeklong hunt for climate-friendly investment and to tout Illinois' new clean-energy law at the global climate change summit in Scotland.

Pritzker's group will start in London, spending three days meeting with government and industry leaders to encourage expansion in Illinois' green-energy economy, particularly a burgeoning electric-vehicle industry, spokeswoman Emily Bittner said. She did not identify any of the British participants.

The group will continue on to the Scottish city of Glasgow on Friday for the COP26 climate summit, where Bittner said the Democratic governor will deliver a speech at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions on Nov. 7.

Illinois is leading the Midwest on climate action and building a green energy economy and I am eager to tout our success abroad, Pritzker said in a statement last week announcing the trip. Our historic clean energy legislation, talented workforce, and role as a transportation hub for the nation makes our state a top destination for international companies looking to do business in the U.S."

The Clean Energy Jobs Act, which Pritzker signed into law Sept. 15, pledges to make Illinois carbon free by 2045. It provides a $700 million subsidy to two unprofitable nuclear plants to keep them operating, closes coal-fired power plants by 2045, provides rebates for purchases of electric cars and more.

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Accompanying the governor will be his chief of staff Anne Caprara, deputy governors Andy Manar and Christian Mitchell, first assistant deputy governor Christy George and deputy policy director Jessica Himes.

Five other governors  all Democrats  have announced plans to attend: Jay Inslee of Washington, New Mexico's Michelle Lujan Grisham, Hawaii's David Ige, Louisiana's John Bel Edwards and Oregon's Kate Brown. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that family obligations will keep him home, but his lieutenant governor will attend.

Maryland and Massachusetts, states led by Republican governors, will also send representatives.

Bittner said Pritzker is paying his own expenses. Airfare for staff members will be paid by Intersect Illinois, a business ambassador group financed by Illinois corporations to spur new development. Staff members' lodging will come from the state budget. Bittner did not estimate total budget costs.

Democratic House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch will join the group in London on Wednesday and pay his own expenses, spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll said. He will not go to Glasgow, returning to the U.S. on Saturday.

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Lee Enterprises will be carrying a live blog of events in the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Opening statements and first witnesses were heard Tuesday.

Lee Enterprises/Kenosha News reporter Deneen Smith is reporting from inside the Kenosha County Courthouse, with reporting on this page augmented by remote staff.

More coverage:

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4:45 p.m. Prosecutor Thomas Binger advises that the judge had informed attorneys about a joke that a juror attempted to make to a deputy. Binger does not repeat the joke, but says it provides cause to strike the juror.

Judge Bruce Schroeder says he was told about the incident but had yet to question the juror about it. Schroeder says the court will revisit the issue in the morning and adjourns court for the day.

4:30 p.m. Jurors are dismissed, while attorneys continue to discuss an objection that arose during the most recent testimony.

4 p.m. The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial over a string of shootings on the streets of Kenosha watched one of the central pieces of video evidence Wednesday  footage of a man chasing Rittenhouse and throwing a plastic bag at him just before the man was gunned down.

Someone is heard yelling F--- you!, followed by the sounds of the four shots Rittenhouse fired, killing Joseph Rosenbaum, though the shooting itself is not clearly seen on camera. Rosenbaum was the first of three men Rittenhouse shot that night, two of them fatally.

Oh, he shot him! He shot him, man. He shot him. He shot him, man. He laid him out," the person making the video can be heard saying.

Footage shown to the jury also showed Rosenbaum lying on the ground as frantic bystanders surrounded him to help. He had a wound to his head, and a bystander placed a shirt on it to apply pressure.

The scenes were part of wealth of video played for the jury that captured the chaos and repeated sound of gunfire on the night the 17-year-old aspiring police officer fired an assault-style rifle during a tumultuous demonstration against police brutality in the summer of 2020.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger drove home the point that Rosenbaum was apparently unarmed, asking Kenosha Detective Martin Howard if any of the videos shown in court indicated Rosenbaum had a weapon of any kind. Howard replied no.

Other video played for the jury showed Rittenhouse saying before the shootings that he was there to protect property and provide medical care to anyone who was hurt.

An interviewer mentioned non-lethal weapons and Rittenhouse responded: We dont have non-lethal. The man filming the video then asked if Rittenhouse was full-on ready to defend the property and he replied, Yes, we are.

In another video, Rittenhouse can be seen running through the frame, carrying a fire extinguisher. Shortly afterward, the video captures the sound of one gunshot, which was fired into the air by someone in the crowd other than Rittenhouse, according to authorities. The defense has said that that shot made Rittenhouse think he was under attack.  Associated Press

2:55 p.m.: Taking a break for "something technical," Binger says. Judge had just a few minutes ago he wanted a break to be taken soon.

2:51 p.m.: Howard confirms the plastic bag Rosenbaum appears to have thrown at Rittenhouse was never recovered.

Prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Binger, now focusing questioning on the bag.

2:40 p.m.: After lengthy showing of livestream videos, Howard notes upon questioning that Rosenbaum in the moments prior to being shot didn't appear in videos to have a weapon such as a gun or club. Howard says all he saw Rosenbaum carrying was a plastic bag.

Howard says, upon responding to scene of the shootings of Gaige Grosskreutz and Anthony Huber, officers were concerned there may still be an active threat and so responded "with a show of force" with multiple armored vehicles and officers telling bystanders to leave the area.

1:40 p.m.: In widely seen video of law enforcement officer telling armed group that included Rittenhouse "we appreciate you guys, we really do," Investigator Martin Howard says he doesn't know what department that officer was with, other than it being a sheriff's office; the officer was not with the Kenosha Police Department.

1:35 p.m.: Break is over. Judge has returned to his chair. Jury being called back in.

1:10 p.m.: Going to a break as arguments over video audio continue.

From an early afternoon pool report:

Rittenhouse took notes when prosecutors displayed video him speaking into a camera last year while standing in a car lot before the shooting. A several points Wednesday as the video played, he leaned over to say something to one of his lawyers.

Some jurors nodded as the judge turned to them to explain why audio on the video had to be turned down when the person shooting it commented about what he was seeing. Later, the judge sent jurors out of the room when he addressed the issue further with attorneys.

12:52 p.m.: Judge Schroeder is complaining again about what he feels is unfair treatment by "the media" regarding the 2008 case of Mark Jensen, which has been appealed and overturned  and he still asserts he was 100% correct on  as prosecution and defense argue about audio in a livestream video with commentary being played in court.

Prosecutor says the commentary should stay in, since what the person filming is describing could contribute to Rittenhouse's "state of mind" the night of the shooting.

Defense says that the person filming is not there to be questioned, and so his statements cannot be made in court.

Prosecutor fires back saying that what Rosenbaum did that night has been talked about extensively and has been used to "attack the character of a deceased individual." The video, prosecutor says, that Rittenhouse is witnessing the things shown in video since he was "10 feet away" from the camera.

"I don't see why the commentary by the videographer" would be relevant to Rittenhouse's state of mind, Schroeder says.

"This narrator is going to prove my client's state of mind?" Defense Attorney Mark Richards says later, attempting to paint prosecution's desire to show video with audio as ridiculous.

Schroeder then complains about the media "again," in his words. He noted that someone on TV two days ago talked about how "divisive" the Rittenhouse case is. He says there are members of the media on "reputable sites" saying things that are "bizarre," but doesn't expound on what he's referring to.

Schroeder says prosecution is "mixing rules up" regarding hearsay as it relates to a defendant like Rittenhouse and to Rosenbaum.

Prosecutor says he doesn't want to respond to the media, saying he hasn't heard what Jeffrey Toobin has said on CNN, and sounds confused about why it's coming up.

12:32 p.m.: During an explanation on hearsay for the sake of the jury, the judge expounds on how hearsay came up in the Bible relating to Saint Paul going on trial  a story from nearly two millennia prior to the United States being founded. "Where are the witnesses against me?" Judge Bruce Schroeder quotes Paul as saying in the Bible story Schroeder says is an example of the ancient Roman antecedent to the current law.

12:21 p.m.: Howard says that Rittenhouse's identity was learned via social media and then was confirmed when Rittenhouse turned himself in near his home in Antioch, Illinois.

Howard went down to Antioch to interview Rittenhouse. There he examined Rittenhouse for injuries. He told the jury about the following: "Half-inch scratch above his left eyebrow (and) a small cut on his lower lip ... An approximately 2-inch scratch under his left collar bone. There was some redness to the right side ... of his belly button." Redness was described on several parts of Rittenhouse's body, a scratch on his back and "two bumps" on the back of his head "above the left ear."

Two bullet casings were found in the Car Source parking lot.

12:20 p.m.: Lunch break appears to be over. Judge and others have returned to courtroom.

11:23 a.m.: An early lunch break. Lunch was delivered earlier than expected, judge says.

11:16 a.m.: Washington's testimony ends. An Kenosha Police Department investigator, Martin Howard, is called to the stand. He's been a detective for about three years and was a patrol officer before then.

During riots, he said he was doing "surveillance" in unmarked squad cars and ensuring gas stations had their pumps shut off, fearing that arsonists would use gas to set further fires.

"Every 911 call we get, we have to check out," Howard says, noting that many 911 calls coming in that night were "unfounded."

Howard says his assignment that night changed upon the shootings. Initially the reports were four homicide victims, although two people are only known to have died  Huber and Rosenbaum.

Howard maintains his primary partner is and was Detective Ben Antaramian.

After the shootings, they spent time saving videos shared on Twitter and on Facebook, including Washington's livestream. Private citizens also shared videos that weren't online, Howard said.

11 a.m.: Live again.

10:34 a.m.: Break.

10:30 a.m.: "He seemed like he was young and didn't know what was going," Washington says of the impression Rittenhouse left on him prior to the shootings. Rittenhouse was chain smoking cigarettes with gloves on, Washington said, and appeared "nervous in the situation ... A lot of people were nervous." However, he didn't appear "malicious."

Rosenbaum's behavior was described as erratic, but also acting similarly to others who were there.

10:20 a.m.: Attorneys ask Washington about how one would use a skateboard to hit someone, questions the witness struggles to answer as he says he'd never do that and never thought about using a skateboard to cause harm. "I just ride it like it's designed for."

Pool report:

Jurors began the day watching two monitors just outside the jury box as prosecutors seek to enter extensive video they say will support their case. Walking into court, jurors appeared more relaxed than the day before, some talking to each other, smiling and laughing.

Just before the trial started, Rittenhouse's mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, walked over to her son at the defense table to speak with him and a lawyer. Rittenhouse, in a blue suit and tie, hunched forward at the defense table to watch the same video as jurors on a desktop screen.

9:45 a.m.: The prosecution is breaking down video Washington has from the moments of the shootings.

9:20 a.m.: Koerri Elijah Washington, who livestreamed nights of the rioting, is back on the witness stand.

9:16 a.m.: Jury called into the room to begin trial for the day.

To begin at 9 a.m. Testimony continues today in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, where jurors heard opening statements on Tuesday that cast the defendant in sharply different lights.

For prosecutors, Rittenhouse was the problem  triggering a confrontation with one man that set in motion the bloodshed that followed. Rittenhouse's attorneys portrayed him as someone out of options who had to use deadly force to defend himself.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger described the unrest in Kenosha as two of the roughest nights that our community has ever seen and said outsiders were drawn to the city like moths to a flame.

Yet Binger repeatedly stressed that amid the hundreds of people in Kenosha and the anger and chaos in the streets, the only person who killed anyone is the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse.

When we consider the reasonableness of the defendants actions, I ask you to keep this in mind, Binger said, after explaining to the jury that a claim of self-defense can be valid only if Rittenhouse reasonably believed he was using deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards countered that his client was a victim, pointing to evidence that one man tried to grab his gun and others kicked the teen in the face and clubbed him in the head with a skateboard.

You as jurors will end up looking at it from the standpoint of a 17-year-old under the circumstances as they existed, Richards said.

Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with killing two men and wounding a third during the summer of 2020 with an assault-style rifle. The one-time police youth cadet could get life in prison if convicted.

The teenager traveled to Kenosha from his home in Antioch, Illinois, just across the Wisconsin state line, after protests broke out over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse said he went there to protect property after two nights in which rioters set fires and ransacked businesses.  Associated Press

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Two weeks ago, an optimistic Gov. J.B. Pritzker floated the idea of lifting much of his mask mandate by the holidays.

But the latest COVID-19 data has not kept improving as winter approaches, and on Tuesday Pritzker offered a more sober assessment.

New hospitalizations are flat. That is not a good sign. Thats not whats happened in previous dips from surges, Pritzker said after getting his coronavirus booster shot in Chicago. We went down for a while here, but now weve leveled out at a level that is much higher than the summer.

While the numbers of new cases and hospitalizations are well below their during the recent surge, they remain far above where they were early this summer, and the trends recently have stopped dropping.

The Pritzker administration has yet to say how low the metrics need to go before hed lift the requirement for masks at indoor public settings, and the latest trends add to the murkiness surrounding the endgame of a now 10-week-old mandate put in place after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopted new guidelines on masks.

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At the time the mandate was issued, Pritzker said all Illinoisans needed to mask up to stop the more contagious Delta variant from spreading so rapidly that hospitals would be overwhelmed.

Illinois hospitals are not faced with that possibility right now, but Chicago-area hospital leaders say caseloads remain far from ideal, and there remains uncertainty about the course the pandemic might take as more kids are vaccinated but colder weather sends more people indoors.

We are undoubtedly in a better place than we were a month ago, said Dr. Jorge Parada, Loyola Medicines regional director for infection prevention and control. That said, the fact that were better than a disaster doesnt mean were in a good place.

The state outlook

When Pritzker imposed the latest indoor mask mandate in late August, he cited the rapid uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations that left Illinois running out of time as our hospitals run out of beds.

Running out of beds is a worst-case scenario in a pandemic because it means that care stretched thin not only for those sick from the virus but also for those having other medical emergencies, from heart attacks to strokes.

In the latest surge, stories emerged across the country of people waiting far longer, or being sent much farther away, to try find an open bed.

By the time the mask mandate was reimposed in Illinois, more than four times as many hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients as had been the case just two months earlier.

The good news: The average number of people hospitalized each day with COVID-19 has dropped by nearly half from the last surges peak of above 2,300, to around 1,200.

The bad news: The hospitalization numbers stopped dropping a week ago and remain at triple they were in July, when the number was about 400.

During the late summer surge, most of the states regions had fewer than 20% of their ICU beds available, a bench mark of concern under guidelines set by the Pritzker administration. The states southern region ultimately ran out of ICU beds in mid-September, something that hadnt happened in any region of the state even in the depths of the deadlier fall 2020 surge.

The south region has since come back from the brink, with more than 20% of its ICU beds now available. But, even with COVID-19 hospitalizations dropping across the state, half of Illinois other regions remain under the 20% ICU threshold, including four in the Chicago area. One region  covering DuPage and Kane counties  has seen a drop from 26% of ICU beds available to 19% in roughly 1 weeks.

Though Chicago-area hospitals are no longer in danger of overflowing, they still face stressors because of the number of COVID-19 patients filling their beds. The situation is exacerbated as health systems, like other organizations, are struggling with staffing shortages.

While some local health systems are firing workers who refuse to get vaccinated, that affects only a small fraction of the workforce at many systems. And some hospital systems have not yet started terminating employees who arent vaccinated because they havent yet hit the deadlines they set for their workers to get shots or face consequences.

Rather, hospital leaders said, part of whats driving the shortages is burnout after a grueling year-and-a-half.

Those staffing issues are leading to questions about how health systems will manage patients  both in hospitals and doctors offices and clinics  especially as the weather turns colder and more illnesses potentially spread, said Dr. Reinhold Llerena, chief population health officer for Amita Health, which has 19 Illinois hospitals.

We are at a point now where some clinicians who might have retired in another two or three years are opting to retire much sooner, as early as this year, Llerena said.

Throughout the pandemic, the CDC has issued masking recommendations that, while not mandates, lead to masking orders from state and local health officials. Illinois lifted its original indoor mask mandate in May after the CDC advised those fully vaccinated that they no longer needed to wear masks indoors.

The mask-free days were short-lived. In late July, as the more contagious Delta variant was spreading across the country, the CDC suggested everybody  regardless of vaccination status  wear masks again indoors in public, at least in communities that met either of two key metrics:

A rate of more than 50 new diagnosed cases per 100,000 residents per week.

An 8% or higher rate of COVID-19 tests coming back positive, the so-called positivity rate.

The positivity rate hasnt been a major concern in Illinois, remaining relatively low. But the weekly case rate by late August had climbed beyond 200, well into the CDCs worst transmission category of high, before Pritzker imposed the statewide mask mandate.

Since then, the statewide weekly case rate per 100,000 residents has dropped notably, but is still not below the CDCs high spread category, or even below the rate defined for substantial spread. And in the past two weeks, the statewide rate has risen slightly, from roughly 129 to 136.

'Just a temporary situation'

Within the states 11 health regions, case rates have plummeted in the two downstate regions that were hardest hit in the summer surge, while rising in two others.

Those mixed trends are being seen in the Chicago area as well. The city of Chicago continues to have the lowest weekly case rate of any region, near 106, but that still puts it in the CDCs worst transmission category.

When Pritzker told reporters two weeks ago he wanted to remove certain mask mandates by the holidays, he called it an important marker for us.

As trends changed in that short span since then, Pritzker on Tuesday said it would take sustained drops for the mask mandate to be lifted for indoor places other than schools.

And so the question is, Is that just a temporary situation? Are we going to start heading downward in those numbers? he asked.

Like much of the pandemic, there remain large unknowns that could affect transmission levels, and the need for the mask mandate.

The state is preparing to vaccinate kids ages 5 to 11 while already doling out booster shots to adults who qualify. That includes anyone who, like Pritzker, received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The governors booster dose on Tuesday was the Pfizer vaccine.

Experts have said vaccination remains the best way to curb the spread of the virus, even better than wearing masks. So more vaccinations could mean less spread.

But its possible cases could again climb as people gather more indoors to avoid the cold and celebrate the holidays.

That concerns Dr. Charles Bareis, chief medical officer at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, which was particularly hard-hit by COVID-19. At the peak of the pandemic, the hospital had nearly 100 inpatients with COVID-19 at one time, he said. The hospital had to transfer many of its COVID-19 patients to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, he said.

During the height of the pandemic we were so full of critically ill patients, if we hadnt had that offramp to transfer them to the medical center, our hospital would have looked like the hospitals in Brooklyn, treating patients in the hallways, Bareis said. We dont want that to come back.

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BRISTOL, Va. - City Manager Randy Eads was upbeat this morning about work at the city's embattled landfill, after speaking with officials in Bridgeton, Missouri regarding a similar landfill.

Eads presented a landfill update to members of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce also attended by members of the Bristol Tennessee City Council, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and local representatives of Congressional office holders.

Bristol Virginia's quarry landfill is undergoing more than $1 million in work to try and address widespread odor complaints on both sides of the Twin City. The Missouri community had similar odor problems with its quarry landfill but told Eads and others during a conference call the steps now underway should help solve the problems.

"I'm extremely hopeful," Eads said after the presentation. "Based on the discussions I had with folks from Bridgeton, Missouri, they had the very same issues as what we're having. It took them 10 years to get any sort of resolution on their landfill and the city of Bristol, once we recognized we had an issue we jumped on it quickly to try to resolve it. We know its taken longer than we want but based on that conversation I feel like we're moving in the right direction."
Washington County School Board Chairman Tom Musick lost his seat in Tuesdays election  ending a 20-year run  to challenger Debbie Anderson.

Musick, 53, had faced no competition in elections for a dozen years in the countys Taylor District.

Yet, this year, Musick campaigned against Anderson, 65, a longtime schoolteacher and the retired principal of Rhea Valley Elementary School of Damascus.

According to unofficial results, Anderson garnered 1,762 votes in the Taylor District, compared to Musicks 1,119 votes.

Im so pleased to have had the chance to serve the citizens of Washington County, said Musick, a beef cattle farmer from Damascus.

On Tuesday, Anderson said she ran for the office because of her love for children.

My heart and my love is for the children of this district as well as the children of Washington County, she said. I want to always be known as the one who makes a difference in a childs life.

In another contest, insurance agent Jenny Nichols, 43, won the Wilson Districts School Board race with 2,409 votes, according to unofficial results.
BRISTOL. Va.  Veteran city police Detective Tyrone Foster got a new job Tuesday, when voters narrowly selected him to become the next sheriff of Bristol, Virginia.

Foster, 63, won over Charlie Thomas, 56, a longtime captain with the Bristol Tennessee Police Department, with 2,554 unofficial votes, or 51.4%, to 2,404, or 48.4%. Vote totals are unofficial until the city Electoral Board completes its canvass this morning.

I am proud to be your next sheriff for the city of Bristol, Virginia, Foster told an assemblage of about 30 cheering family, friends and campaign volunteers Tuesday night. I want to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ first because he is the reason we are here. Im nothing and I can do nothing except through him. The people of Bristol have spoken; thank you, Lord, and thanks to every one of you all.

Foster, who currently serves as chairman of the city School Board, will have to resign that post. He is expected to take the oath of office and take office in January. He will replace Sheriff Michael Stout, who was sworn in back in July following the retirement of former Sheriff David Maples.

Foster said he was relieved with the outcome.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP)  Bumping their elbows in greeting, European lawmakers met with Taiwan's premier on Wednesday in the first official visit of a European Parliament delegation to the self-ruled island, which is also claimed by China.

Seven members of the European Parliament committee on foreign interference in democratic processes are visiting Taiwan, after the parliament passed a resolution last month calling for the body to intensify EU-Taiwan political relations."

Although we are geographically very far away, between our two sides, we share the same values, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law. ... In those regards, we are actually very close, Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang said.

The European delegation will also meet President Tsai Ing-wen and Digital Minister Audrey Tang, and visit Taiwanese think tanks, NGOs and others working on countering disinformation.

The visit comes amid growing support for the democratic island, which China claims as part of its territory to be annexed by force if necessary, and rising negative perceptions toward Beijing in Western countries.
In the middle of the night, on Oct. 30, the Tennessee Legislature passed a bill with wide-ranging limitations on the liberty of private individuals, schools and businesses in the state. The bill was introduced Oct. 27 and rushed through without time for much public comment.

State entities, businesses and even private schools will not be allowed to require either masks or vaccinations as a condition of employment or as a condition of being served at the business. Employees or customers cannot be restricted in any way if they are not vaccinated. State-funded entities cannot require masks except under very limited conditions and then for 14 days. Supposedly, the Legislature thinks it is discriminatory to limit access to unvaccinated people. COVID-19 is a deadly illness. Apparently, it is OK to discriminate against older people, those with illnesses or who have family members who are vulnerable. According to the Legislature, they dont count.

School districts will be subject to onerous conditions before they can enact a mask mandate, even one with an opt-out provision. The only exceptions are entities that have mask or vaccine requirements due to federal laws or funding.
Arrest warrants were issued for 40 people for illegal drug, gun and gambling activity at a convenience store in Lenoir. The business lost its alcohol sales permit in the investigation.

The investigation began over complaints from the community about illegal activity at Gamewell Superette on Morganton Boulevard, according to a news release from the Lenoir Police Department.

Working with N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement, the two agencies did an undercover investigation and got search warrants for Gamewell Superette and a home at 144 Torrence Circle in Lenoir. ALE and the police department searched the locations on Oct. 29, according to the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

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Employees are accused of operating illegal gambling machines and patrons were accused of selling drugs, N.C. ABC said. Narcotics and drug paraphernalia were found during the search, Lenoir police said.

Six employees of Gamewell Superette were charged in the investigation, N.C. ABC said. The employees charges included delivering drug paraphernalia, operating an illegal video game machine, possessing an illegal slot machine and conspiracy to sell methamphetamine.

Seven patrons were charged with selling methamphetamine and heroin, conspiracy to sell heroin and more, N.C. ABC said.
EnergyUnited awarded nearly $45,000 to 46 North Carolina teachers through the NC Bright Ideas education grant program. Teachers in Alexander, Catawba, Iredell, Cabarrus, Davie, Davidson, Forsyth, Mecklenburg and Stokes counties will now be able to effectively implement innovative classroom projects that will impact thousands of students.

EnergyUnited is committed to delivering a brighter future for our communities, said Maureen Moore, communications manager for EnergyUnited. The NC Bright Ideas program is just one resource that we leverage to support this vision.

Angela Raby at Bandys High School received $1,400.

Angela Hines at East Alexander Middle School received $1,000.

Melinda Glenn at Taylorsville Elementary School received $850.

Melanie Sigmon and Amanda Reid at West Alexander Middle School received $330 and $800, respectively.

Since the Bright Ideas grant program began in 1994, EnergyUnited has contributed nearly $950,000 to local teachers.
A friend recently told me, Never decide today what you can decide tomorrow with more information. There is a lot of truth in that statement when I think about the mountain of decisions Duane and I have made for our dairy farm over the past 30-plus years.

Thankfully, Duane does not take big decisions lightly. He does sufficient research before taking our farm through a major change.

Many years ago, we wanted to build a parlor and freestall barn to take the place of our tie stall barn. We visited many types of parlors and got several quotes before landing on the double-12 parallel parlor. Anytime we upgrade a piece of equipment, it takes weeks  and sometimes months  of looking at different kinds of equipment, calling dealers to see what used pieces they have, and talking to farmers to see what works or doesnt work for them. This is all to find the best fit for our farm.

One of the most thorough decisions we made for the farm was whether to install a methane digester. We knew this was not a quick decision to make with limited information.



Our first step was to pull in a team of experts that could bring different perspectives to the project. The state of Pennsylvania has a strong resource for dairy farmers called the Center for Dairy Excellence (CDE). The CDE in Pennsylvania helped us gather a team to discuss the possibility of installing a digester on our farm.

Everyone around the table contributed with financial expertise, personal experience, or conservation consulting. The CDE also arranged to have a retired businessman join the team to give us an outside perspective.

We spent hours discussing the potential project, visiting farmers across the country and finding out what kind of digester they installed. We discussed the hurdles they had to jump through and what scenarios might work for our dairy operation.



After many months of research, we laid aside the idea of a digester. Disappointment was my first reaction; we had been so hopeful but concluded that the timing was not right for us.

That determination was tough. Our hearts were pointing to a digester but our heads and the advice we received showed us that we needed to give it more time.

We left the idea alone for five years, and finally, after more consideration, we picked it back up and started researching again. This time, the plan of a digester came together nicely, and we really felt strong support and clarity in moving forward. Like the time before, our best research included visiting farms with digesters of various sizes and styles.



Gathering information from farmers and digester experts was time-consuming, but the effort certainly paid off. This decision was not one to take lightly, as it was a major change to the day-to-day operation of the dairy. Our normal schedules and routines were rearranged.

Major decisions require gathering a ton of information. I think the best source of knowledge is found from other farmers. In the past years, so many farmers helped us gather the right information to take back to our farm. Sometimes we used that insight on our dairy farm; other times, we knew it was not going to fit for us. But, hearing and seeing how other farmers run their businesses has always been a valuable step in helping us make our decisions.

I will be honest  there were times that I was overwhelmed with all the choices that needed to be made. Duane kept his head during the entire process, though, and was thoughtful and intentional in how we were to move forward.



My earlier quote has merit when making decisions, but not all options can be put off until later. Many decisions need to be made quickly, and we do not have time to gather more information tomorrow.

For instance, there is the looming decision of when to chop corn. If Duane were to continuously wait to get more information on the forecast, our crops would never leave the field.

Deciding when to chop corn is not a decision that we take weeks to make, but there are a lot of warning signs that tell us it is close. The corn starts to dry at the bottom of the stalk and the kernels start to dent.

It is always a big deal when the first farmer revs his chopper and starts cutting corn. The chopping fever snowballs through the farming community and before long, silage trucks and wagons are running across the county.

I would not be honest if I did not mention our faith. Duane and I seek wisdom from above every day and rely heavily on that guidance. Decisions take a balance of knowing when enough information is gathered, being satisfied with the data, and being confident to move forward. We wont move at all if we dont take steps forward.

George S. Patton summed it up perfectly: When you have collected all your facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead.

The author and her husband, Duane, own and operate a 550-cow dairy in Cochranville, Pa.
Ever had a cheese tea? Its just one example of the importance of innovation of dairy products around the world according to Vikki Nicholson-West, who serves as the senior vice president of Global Ingredients Marketing for the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC).

During the October 27 Hoards Dairyman DairyLivestream sponsored by Cargill, Nicholson-West described the drink that is composed of hot tea that is topped with a foam. That foam actually consists of a mixture of cream cheese and skim milk powder that gives the drink its signature name  cheese tea.

While this drink may not appeal to all, it has been hugely popular in Asian countries that are an important export market for the United States dairy industry, and it speaks to the innovation in and opportunity for dairy in those areas.

We actually work with universities and their food science departments on understanding dairy ingredients and how they can make foods with those, Nicholson-West said of USDECs efforts to spur innovation that matches cultural preferences in Asia. We tell the students the basics  how it works, flavor profile, and the different things we might do with it. Then we let them loose with it, and they come back with some of the most innovative products and ideas on how to use whey protein, permeate, or milk powder, for example.

Perception matters

Several years ago when I was first in China, the chef at the place where we were staying had been told that the previous folks from America did not prefer the Chinese breakfast that was there, so the chef should make an American breakfast for us, the University of Wisconsin-Madisons Mark Stephenson said of one of his experiences eating internationally. They brought out the stuff that was the most bizarre collection of things that I had seen, but this was their perception of what an American would want to eat.

This story provided a pertinent analogy for how U.S. dairy sometimes approaches export sales, according to Stephenson. Too often, we bring products or ingredients we think they would want rather than ascertaining what they actually want and need.

We need to truly understand what they want, he continued. We need to understand that we dont need to make them into us. We need to provide them with the things that they would like to eat and present them in a way that they would like to have them presented.

When our dairy ingredients can be part of these solutions, it offers dairy an opportunity to not only be part of that culture, but also to innovate in a way not feasible if research never left the bounds of the United States coasts. When that occurs its a win-win for U.S. dairy producers and consumers.

We want to inspire, set the stage, help them ideate, and let them brainstorm, Nicholson-West concluded. As they create ideas, some of those make it back to the U.S. and drive consumption here, too.

To watch the recording of the October 27 DairyLivestream, go to the link above. The program recording is now also available as an audio-only podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and downloadable from the Hoards Dairyman website.

An ongoing series of events

The next broadcast of DairyLivestream will be on Wednesday, November 17 at 11 a.m. CDT. Each episode is designed for panelists to answer over 30 minutes of audience questions. If you havent joined a DairyLivestream broadcast yet, register here for free. Registering once registers you for all future events.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2021

October 28, 2021
Mayor Darrell Hinnant was elected to a third term leading Kannapolis.

Hinnant, who had no opposition on the ballot, had 1,547 votes in unofficial results announced Tuesday evening. There were 724 write-in votes, most for Councilman Ryan Dayvault.

In his filing statement in May, Hinnant said, Kannapolis has been re-imagined and we are well on our way to our goal to have a great place to worship, live and work. Our Council has been a great team to lead. We have worked hard to accomplish many things. We have taken bold actions and made hard decisions. But we are not done yet!

Dayvault had announced his candidacy for mayor earlier this year but withdrew in June before the ballots were finalized. He said the timing wasnt right and mentioned his fathers declining health.

During the campaign, Hinnant wrote a column that appeared in the Independent Tribune and The Salisbury Post, in which he endorsed City Council candidates Jeanne Dixon, Dr. James Litaker and Van Rowell, an incumbent. They have a vision of what Kannapolis can be while preserving our legacy/history, Hinnant said.

Hinnant said he made the recommendations because so many asked him who they should vote for.
The Old Courthouse Theatre is participating in MTI's All Together Now! - a brand-new musical revue featuring 15 beloved songs from MTI's shows with a show at 2:30 p.m. The event opens with Be Our Guest and closes with Seasons of Love also with songs from Mamma Mia!, Frozen, Fiddler on the Roof, Godspell and others in this family friendly event. This is a fundraiser for OCT. Masks are required. Tickets are available at octconcord.com

The annual HOLIDAY FUN EXPRESS hosted by the Cabarrus County Extension and Community Association (ECA) and the Family and Consumer Sciences Program will be in the Cabarrus Rooms at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center in Concord. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. with coffee and hot tea available. The program begins at 10 a.m. ECA members and friends will be sharing quick and easy holiday decorating ideas, gifts and recipes. ECA members will host a Win-Me event for holiday shopping that will benefit Cabarrus County ECA nonprofit community programs. Win-Me tickets will be available for purchase at the event. Attendance will be limited, and masks and hand sanitizer will be available. Cost is $5 per person. Preregistration is required. Register online at www.cabarruscounty.us/register, in person at the N.C. Cooperative Extension-Cabarrus Center, 715 Cabarrus Ave. W., Concord, on workdays, or by mail. Make checks payable to Cabarrus County. For more information, call 704-920-3310 weekdays.
It is important not to vilify those clearing tropical forests. In most cases, whether its oil-palm plantation workers in southeast Asia, or the owner of a family-run cocoa farm in Ghana, these are just ordinary people trying to make a living. Where those clearing forest are poor subsistence farmers with few alternatives, such as many in Madagascar for example, preventing forest clearance can mean some of the poorest people on the planet are bearing the cost of tackling climate change. Given that such people contribute relatively few emissions, this isnt very fair.

What we do know is that progress on slowing deforestation has been wildly inadequate. The good news is Brazil, Russia and China, which did not sign the 2014 declaration, have this time. However, words are cheap. Actually slowing deforestation is difficult to achieve.

Why is it so hard to slow deforestation?
MATTOON  Kids got the nod to roll up their sleeves for a COVID jab on Tuesday, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisers voted unanimously to authorize smaller-dosed Pfizer shots for children aged 5 to 11.

The 14-0 vote of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which was expected to be signed off on by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, means that inoculations can begin as soon as Wednesday. It does not mandate inoculation, but simply declares it safe, as one ACIP member noted after voting.

Approval had long been anticipated, and medical professionals have encouraged it as the delta variant encroached on younger populations once thought to be immune to the coronavirus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the shots, which are one-third the size of those given to adults, for emergency use last week.

Sarah Bush Lincoln, the Coles County Health Department and other area healthcare providers have been preparing for the possible federal authorization.

If approved in the near term, Sarah Bush Lincoln reported that the health system's first doses will be administered from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Mattoon Walk-In Clinic. Appointments are necessary. Community members are advised to call 217 238-3000 to make the appointment for those ages 5 to 11. The second dose is expected to be administered Saturday, Dec. 4.

The Coles County Health Department started planning in anticipation of the vaccine's approval and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Part of the planning was ordering the pediatric vaccine from the Illinois Department of Public Health, but a few steps need to take place before the vaccines can be delivered to the health department and vaccine clinic dates can be set.

"The health department can only order COVID vaccines when CDC makes them available to (the Illinois Department of Public Health)," said Lisa Sorenson, the director of nursing at the health department.

Anticipating a green light from vaccine advisers, the Biden administration is assembling and shipping millions of COVID-19 shots for children ages 5-11, the White House said Monday. The first could go into kids' arms by midweek.

By vaccinating children, the U.S. hopes to head off another coronavirus wave during the cold-weather months when people spend more time indoors and respiratory illnesses can spread more easily. Cases have been declining for weeks, but the virus has repeatedly shown its ability to stage a comeback and more easily transmissible mutations are a persistent threat.

The FDAs approval of the two-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for administration in kids ages 5-11 has the potential to have a major positive impact - not only for the health and safety of individual children, but also on the pandemic as a whole," said Sarah Overton, chief nursing officer for OSF Multi-Specialty Services. "We are eagerly anticipating the endorsement through the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice (Tuesday or Wednesday) to finalize this option for younger children."

OSF HealthCare, which has area facilities including a hospital in Urbana and a OSF OnCall Urgent Care clinic in Mattoon, is working on implementing the process for administering the low-dose vaccine to children age 5-11 both within its OSF Medical Group Clinics and to the community at large

"We are continuing to meet with our local health departments and regional superintendents on other community vaccination efforts for partnership and collaboration," Overton said. "Within OSF Healthcare, we are encouraging our patients and families to get a dose wherever they can, and not delay if they can obtain the appropriate vaccine dose.

The Tribune News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Companies submit plan to clean up AltEn waste, including enough wet cake to cover football field 150 feet deep

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star file photo Wet cake sits piled outside the AltEn plant in February, when it was shut down by state regulators who ran into confusion and legal obstacles when it tried to address complaints from the people of Mead about the now-closed ethanol plant.

Emergency measures to contain and begin treating pesticide-contaminated byproducts at AltEn are expected to continue into next year, according to a plan submitted by seed companies leading the effort.

The AltEn Facility Response Group, a coalition of six seed industry giants shouldering responsibility for cleaning up the facility south of Mead, filed a remedial action plan with the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy on Monday.

The 111-page proposal, submitted through the Nebraska Voluntary Cleanup Program, details the work done at the biofuel plant since AltEn was ordered to shut down by the state in February and outlines the next steps environmental contractors plan to take in the coming months.

It also provides greater insight into the failings of the ethanol plant, which turned hundreds of millions of pounds of pesticide-treated seed into a gasoline additive and repeatedly ignored the directives of state environmental regulators.

When seed companies first arrived on site in February, they found AltEn in a "dire" state of disrepair requiring extensive emergency work "to prevent environmental site damage" resulting from facilities that "AltEn had poorly maintained."

This included an estimated 250,000 cubic yards of pesticide-laden wet cake  a volume of solid byproduct that would cover the area of a football field at a depth of 150 feet  stockpiled at three sites on AltEn's property.

ChrisDunker / Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy An estimated 250,000 cubic yards of pesticide-laden wet cake  a volume of solid byproduct that would cover the area of a football field at a depth of 150 feet  is stockpiled at three sites on AltEn's property.

The highest points of Memorial Stadium on its east and west sides, respectively, stand 175 feet above the field.

Another 100,000 cubic yards of sludge was located at the bottom of the lagoon systems, including a pond designed to collect stormwater runoff on the property, the cleanup proposal reports.

Along with the toxic solids, the environmental cleanup is also focused on removing pesticides from wastewater on the site.

Three lagoons, all badly damaged, and the emergency pond were running above capacity, holding 173 million gallons of wastewater, the equivalent of 273 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The facility response group said it will also address the 7.5 million gallons of stillage and manure being held in a pair of digester tanks, as well as leftover liquid in pipes and smaller vessels in AltEn's processing facility.

Earlier this year, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy outlined several emergency priorities for the facility response group to address as it developed a longer-term plan to clean up the site.

The coalition of companies said it has worked to draw down the levels in the lagoon system, using a series of temporary storage tanks that resemble above-ground swimming pools, to store water treated in an on-site filtration system.

The focus has now turned to construction of a new "treated water pond system," a pair of lagoons capable of receiving 52 million gallons of water after it has been treated.

The treatment process includes removing solids, cleaning the water with chemicals and filtering it before it is pumped into the new ponds, which are expected to be finished by the end of November.

Read the remedial plan submitted by the AltEn Facility Response Group

Meanwhile, the facility response group is working to drain the emergency pond, dredge approximately 25,000 cubic yards of sludge from the bottom, dispose of the pond's old, damaged liner and install a new liner by the middle of this month.

Once completed, the emergency pond will be the destination for the remaining contents of the digester tanks  which will be drained to a level below the piping that burst earlier this year  and store untreated water, according to the plan submitted to the state.

Work to consolidate the three wet cake piles, as well as soil underneath the piles, into a single location on the northwest corner of the property has also been completed, the facility response group said.

The sludge from the lagoons has been included in the wet cake pile, bringing the total waste material at the site to 350,000 cubic yards.

The pile will be covered  the plan doesn't detail how, or with what  and work will commence to collect any water that comes into contact with the piles underneath the cover.

The plan also states the AltEn Facility Response Group is exploring multiple options for disposing of the contaminated wet cake and wastewater.

For the wet cake and lagoon sludge, the plan indicates the seed companies have explored incineration, taking the waste to a landfill or incorporating it into a cement kiln.

Seed companies to start cleanup of wet cake, but final fate of contaminated material remains unknown After disposing of 43,000 tons of its pesticide-contaminated distiller's grains at a landfill in 2020, questions remain how to dispose of the remaining 84,000 tons still stockpiled at the facility.

But the document also says reducing moisture in the byproduct, finding other material to mix it in before putting it in a landfill, and transportation costs are potential constraints.

The AltEn Facility Response Group says it plans to apply treated water on area farm ground  it was unable to find properties or secure permits to do so this year  or to discharge it into area waterways.

The Platte River east of Yutan and Salt Creek near Ashland are two sites that are being explored as possible places to discharge.

Members of the Perivallon Group, which formed this year to coordinate research efforts and community response to AltEn, said the plan offers "a stunning indictment" of AltEn's owners and its management.

Former Sen. Al Davis, a member of the group, said it also shows the company never received more than "written reprimands and empty threats of enforcement that were never carried out."

"It also brings into focus the extent of the environmental damage and human-health risks inflicted on Nebraska," Davis said.

John Schalles, a professor of biology at Creighton University, said he was concerned by the plan to consolidate and cover the wet cake and sludge without anything separating them from the soil below.

"Most of these contaminants and their breakdown products are highly water-soluble and can leach into groundwater and drain into surface waters," Schalles said. "The AltEn site presents great risk to eastern Nebraska's water, soil, air and potentially to human health."

Its about as sterile as you can get  Storm, wastewater runoff from AltEn traveled miles downstream for years Once clear and teeming with life, the pond is now murky and stained by chemicals  a victim of what happened at the far end of its 6,000-acre watershed.

The AltEn plant is located between Omaha and Lincoln in Saunders County.

The research group also criticized what isnt included in the initial plan, which will be reviewed internally by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy before being opened up for a 30-day public comment period and a public hearing.

There is no detail on what remediation  if any  will take place offsite at properties affected by the ethanol plant, Davis said, adding the facility response group needs to broaden its scope.

"Unfortunately, (the plan) does not address remediating or mitigation of offsite impacts, including the private pond belonging to Stan and Evelyn Keiser, 6 miles downstream from the plant, which has been completely destroyed," Davis said.

The Perivallon Group said the expertise offered by researchers at the University of Nebraska and Creighton University have also continued to be ignored by both the Department of Environment and Energy and the AltEn Facility Response Group.

Bayer, Corteva AgriScience, Syngenta, AgReliant, Beck's Superior Hybrids and Winfield Solutions, a subsidiary of Land-O-Lakes, are part of the facility response group.
The congressman's attorney, John Littrell of Los Angeles, had earlier signaled his intention to file the motion to dismiss the case in California because of a lack of venue in Los Angeles.

Contacts involved in the case were made in the District of Columbia and Nebraska, Littrell had earlier said.

The $30,000 in illegal campaign contributions from a foreign source were collected at a fundraising event in Los Angeles.

"The congressman will ultimately be victorious in this case," said Jim Morrell of Washington, a spokesman for Fortenberry. "He did not lie to the FBI and in fact was trying to help them."

At issue is $30,000 in cash from a Nigerian-born billionaire named Gilbert Chagoury that was contributed to Fortenberry's campaign through other individuals who attended the fundraiser in Los Angeles.

"The government does not allege that Congressman Fortenberry knew about Chagoury's scheme to funnel foreign donations to his campaign in 2016," the motion to dismiss stated.

"He didn't," it said. "The indictment should be dismissed."
The atmosphere surrounding the launch of shots for elementary-age students was festive in many locations. California vaccine sites welcomed children with inflatable animals and handed out coloring books and prizes. Vehicles lined up before dawn at an Atlanta site.

Many pediatricians offices expected strong interest in the shots at least initially, but health officials are worried about demand tapering off. Almost two-thirds of parents recently polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they would wait or not seek out vaccines for their kids.

Brian Giglio, 40, of Alexandria, Virginia, brought his 8-year-old son, Carter, in for vaccination at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, where kids with underlying conditions got first dibs. Carter has Type 1 diabetes that puts him at risk for complications if he were to become infected.

Giglio said the vaccine was like a hallway pass for us to begin living life again. And Carter said he cant wait to leave masks behind once hes fully vaccinated, so he can smell the things he used to be able to smell without it.

Im ready to trash it, he said, though the CDC still recommends masks in schools and indoor public spaces where virus activity is high, even for the fully vaccinated.
With the top courts blessing, state lawmakers stacked the deck against defendants with harsh, mandatory minimum sentences for conviction of drug- related and many other crimes. These laws tie the hands of judges but give prosecutors the power to threaten to indict a defendant for additional, related crimes in order to get a guilty plea.

At first glance, guilty pleas might look like a win all around. Defendants avoid the costs and uncertainty of a trial. Prosecutors avoid time consuming preparation for a lengthy courtroom trial. Judges, too, benefit by avoiding tedious courtroom trials.

But wait. A 2018 report by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Foundation for Criminal Justice titled, "The Trial Penalty: The Sixth Amendment Right to Trial on the Verge of Extinction and How to Save It," exposes the popularity of plea-mania. For the same federal crime, post-trial sentences are indeed much harsher than plea-bargain sentences.

In 2015, for example, the average sentence for fraud was three times as high (six years versus 1.9 years) for defendants who went to trial versus those who pled guilty  for burglary/breaking and entering it was nearly eight times as high (12.5 years versus 1.6 years). The difference  a trial penalty  is the cost paid by defendants if convicted in a courtroom trial.
Law enforcement officials issued a very public warning in late summer after fentanyl-laced cocaine claimed the lives of nine people and an unborn child and sickened many more.

What they didn't know at the time was that drugs involved in some number of those cases came from the Nebraska State Patrol's evidence room.

Two people -- an evidence clerk and her boyfriend -- were arrested on suspicion of stealing $1.2 million worth of marijuana, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, meth and other pills. Patrol Col. John Bolduc said after the announcement of the theft that the clerk, Anna Idigima, was the only person who could have taken the drugs from the facility.

The stolen drugs -- evidence in an unknown number of other drug cases -- have resulted in the dismissal of 66 cases thus far, and it is likely the tip of the iceberg.

The public deserves answers, but they won't be coming anytime soon.

The Journal Star asked the patrol for documents related to policies and training regarding the evidence room and was denied. It was given 21 pages of documents with 20 of them fully blacked out. The Journal Star also asked for evidence audits and quarterly checks of the evidence locker, which were also denied.
In my lifetime, I have seen the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. I have seen one president assassinated, and one resign in disgrace. The turmoil of the anti-war protests, and the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Through all of that, as a nation, we came out stronger and better. It is sad to see our democracy crumble because of blind allegiance to a political party and a would-be tyrant who cannot accept defeat. Jan. 6 should be a date remembered as much as Pearl Harbor.

Many in the Republican Party just want it to go away and act like it never happened. They can't or won't see it for what it was, an attempt to overthrow a fair election. It was an insurrection or a coup attempt, not a peaceful protest.

Donald Trump and his followers are still propagating the lie that the election was stolen from him. If he runs again and loses, he will claim that election was stolen also. Keep telling a lie big enough and loud enough, and people will start to believe it. Will we ever have an election that will be considered fair and free?
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RACINE  With one week to go before the trial, the Racine County District Attorneys Office has dismissed criminal charges against a man who was accused of trying to hire someone to kill a Kenosha law enforcement officer.

Kelly Rainey, 57, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide, a category A felony, along with manufacture/delivering cocaine near a park and possession of marijuana.

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The case fell apart, according to the DAs Office, because two witnesses would be unable to testify.

Witnesses unavailable

Assistant District Attorney Brian Van Schyndel announced in Racine County Circuit Court on Monday that the charges were being dismissed because the state had been unable to locate the chief witness, who was a confidential informant.

A second witness is a law enforcement officer injured in the line of duty who would not be able to testify.

Frustrating process

Carl Johnson, who represented the defendant, said Rainey continues to maintain his innocence.

Were happy that it worked out the way that it did and the case was dismissed, he added. But it certainly has been a frustrating process for him to go through.

Case history

The Racine County Metro Drug unit was using an undercover informant to investigate Rainey, who they allege was dealing drugs.

On Aug. 14, 2019, Rainey allegedly sold the informant 0.2 grams of cocaine, and then is accused of offering the informant a $200 down payment and a gun to kill a Kenosha County deputy, with $200 more to be paid when the deputy was dead.

Rainey contacted the informant later and gave the informant a $20 down payment, saying he would not be able to get the gun until Aug. 16.

Racine Police later pulled Rainey over at the intersection of 16th and Villa streets and arrested him.

Problematic case

Rainey has maintained his innocence from the beginning and claimed in court documents that he was being framed due to a federal lawsuit he filed against the officer who was the target of the alleged hit.

The defense attacked the states evidence in a series of pre-trial motions.

The first issue was that of motive for the alleged hit.

The defendant had filed a federal lawsuit against the Kenosha law enforcement officer in question, along with three others connected to the prison system, and those cases were ongoing.

In one filing, Johnson noted the supposed motive for the hit was over the loss of the federal lawsuit, but Johnson was able to show that in fact the federal lawsuit was ongoing.

He wrote, The state alleges he made the threat because he lost his federal lawsuit, which was untrue.

Johnson also intended to introduce evidence that would call into question the trustworthiness of the confidential informant (C/I).

I think thats ultimately what led us here today, Johnson said of the case being dismissed.

The defense intended to provide evidence the C/I was twice convicted of forgery, which would go to her honesty.

Further, the defendant was arrested after the C/I claimed to have purchased drugs at his house, but the reports of the controlled buys filed afterward do not indicate the C\I had any contact with Rainey, according to the defense.

The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning the state could recharge the case if they found their witness.

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Could the Wisconsin Elections Commission be eliminated? The answer is yes. But thats not likely to happen anytime soon, and it would possibly take a constitutional amendment for such a change.

Theres also not much support for that.

Some conservatives have called for the WEC, formed just six years ago, to be dismantled. But those asking for change largely have just wanted a changing of the guard  not for the actual, legal structure of the commission to be undone.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, for example, called for mass resignations at WEC after the Racine County Sheriffs Office brought forward allegations of election fraud at a Mount Pleasant nursing home on Thursday. The commission has thus far maintained it did no wrong and broke no laws, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice has so far not taken up Sheriff Christopher Schmalings call for a statewide investigation.

None of the six appointed commissioners, three Republicans and three Democrats, have resigned in the past week, nor has Administrator Meagan Wolfe, who was unanimously confirmed to her post by the Republican-controlled state Senate in 2019.

Leading the call to abolish the WEC and to have Wisconsins elections efforts led by an elected official is the Institute for Reforming Government, a conservative think tank led by former Republican staffers and founded three years ago in Madison. The IRG is connected to former Gov. Scott Walker, having paid his consulting firm $164,000 two years ago.

The Commission should be scrapped, Chris Reader, IRG executive vice president, said in an email to The Journal Times Thursday, hours after Schmalings news conference on allegations of election fraud concluded. The unsolicited, emailed quote was identical to statements Reader has made previously. Its time to abolish WEC and transfer elections administration to an elected official that is accountable to voters. Its time to give power back to the people to restore confidence in elections among Wisconsin residents.

To say voters have no influence on the WEC is a bit of a red herring: the Commission is comprised of appointees who are appointed by elected officials, who of course are accountable to voters.

Asked Monday on calls for the WEC to be dismantled, Wolfe said she didnt believe it would be appropriate to comment on that possibility.

History

The WEC was created by Republican legislation in 2015.

For much of state history, Wisconsins elections were headed by a state official: the Secretary of State.

That changed in 1974, when the role of leading statewide elections was given to the legal counsel of the Elections Board, which was created that year.

Then, in 2007, the Government Accountability Board was created; it was responsible for enforcing elections, ethics and campaign finance laws. At that time, the top elections official in the state became the chief counsel for the GAB. But in 2016, after then-Gov. Walker signed a bill authored by Republican state Rep. Dean Knudson  who is now an appointed WEC commissioner  the GAB was split into two entities: the Wisconsin Elections Commission and the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

(The dismantling of the GAB sparked a bit of a scandal. The GAB had been investigating Walker and his associates for alleged theft and misconduct in office when Walker had been Milwaukee County executive. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and other Republicans said in 2015 that those investigations were a factor in legislative Republicans wanting to take apart the GAB; several former GAB employees in 2017 were accused by then-Attorney General Brad Schimel of contempt of court for failing to follow court secrecy orders.)

To create a new statewide elected position, Im not quite sure the Legislature could do that without amending the Constitution, Joseph Kreye, chief counsel for the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, said in an interview Monday.

Kreye noted that the role could be given back to Wisconsins secretary of state, a position that has seen its powers drastically limited in recent decades. More than 30 other states, including Georgia and Michigan, have the role of chief elections official fall underneath the secretary of states responsibilities.

Giving the powers of the WEC administrator to an already existing position, such as the secretary of state, would be easier (in a legislative sense) than creating an elected position since no constitutional amendments would be necessary.







Secretary of state

The secretary of states powers in Wisconsin have repeatedly been weakened over the past half-century, and that weakening has sped up in the last decade.

In 2013, Republicans removed the Secretary of States power to delay new laws before they go into effect.

In 2015, Doug La Follette, a Democrat who has been Wisconsins secretary of state off-and-on since 1974, sued Walker over the cuts.

La Follette was angry over how the budget passed that year cut his offices budget in half, giving powers to the governors Department of Administration, and the secretary of states office was moved into a smaller space in the state Capitols basement. La Follette lost the suit; the cuts remain in effect.

The MacIver Institute, another Wisconsin conservative think tank, in 2015 called for getting rid of the position of secretary of state entirely.

Wisconsin has had a secretary of state since achieving statehood in 1848. Getting rid of the position would require an amendment to the state Constitution.

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RACINE  Racine Lutheran High School continues to battle racism in its halls and within its student body as students have been accused of sharing offensive, racist content on social media, including something called the George Floyd challenge.

The Journal Times received several screenshots of a boy identified as an RLHS student using racial slurs and hand signals on social media. The same student shared on social media an image of himself kneeling on another boys neck and using a hand signal, with the caption #Georgefloyd challenge, an apparent reference to how then-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd for more than nine minutes. Chauvin was convicted for killing Floyd; that ruling is being appealed.

Racine Lutheran High School administrators did not respond to numerous requests for comment.

Last month, during homecoming week, the school faced scrutiny when a group of students wore T-shirts with a brick design on them and the words Trumps border wall. Around the same time, a bathroom stall was reported to have been vandalized with a swastika and a racial slur.

Linda Boyle, co-president of the Racine Interfaith Coalition, says nothing has changed since then. The school has taken no meaningful action, Boyle said.

The student pictured in the #Georgefloyd challenge photo was sent home, his locker was cleaned out and is facing discipline, Racine Lutheran senior Serenity Ford said. After the photo was shared among RLHS community members, several students had their parents take them home from school since they didnt feel comfortable being at Racine Lutheran.

Neither this nor last months incidents, however, is anything new, according to Forward Latino President & Chairman of the Board Darryl Morin.

In the past, students have not been permitted to celebrate Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month or Womans History Month at Racine Lutheran, according to Morin. After working with RLHS after the T-shirt incident and helping students form the advocacy group Students 4 Dignity, Morin said more students and families have come forward with stories of racism remaining unaddressed in the high school, painting a new picture of the schools environment.

Morin said that discipline in the school has been enforced unjustly, and in a way that was extremely biased; and that all these acts and these words, and images of hate, have been allowed to continue on.

Ford agreed and said more needs to be done to change the culture in the school after the involved student was disciplined. Some students are too comfortable at the school, so much so that theyre outwardly racist, according to Ford, while other students school days are being negatively affected.

A lot of the kids that are involved, they dont go to class all the time, Ford said. Theyre missing class because theyre uncomfortable being in their classroom, because kids are harassing them constantly.

The most recent incident prompted Forward Latino to again contact the South Wisconsin District of the Lutheran Church and the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church, of which RLHS is associated, telling them they cannot allow this to continue since theres been almost no action taken whatsoever.

Forward Latino brought forward a plan to protect student dignity, but Morin said the school hasnt implemented any of the suggested measures.

All of them are in keeping with Lukes Gospel and philosophy, about the need to protect human dignity, Morin said. And many of them are considered best practice at high-performing institutions across the country. So why Racine Lutheran High School would refuse to implement them is really quite telling, quite honestly.

An email sent by RLHS Executive Director-Principal Dave Burgess to Racine Lutheran families on Tuesday was forwarded to The Journal Times. It reads:

Parents and Guardians 

Thank you for your concern and comments. While Racine Lutheran High School does not disclose individual student discipline records or matters, we can state that we were made aware of a situation involving social media posts and acted promptly to address it, in accordance with our student handbook. The students were issued appropriate consequences as a result of their behavior.

Gods Peace

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One year out from the 2022 election, the reelection prospects for both Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson look bleak, according to a new Marquette Law School Poll.

Next November, Republicans will seek to reclaim all levers of state government by taking back the governors seat from first-term incumbent Evers, while a packed field of Democratic candidates is vying for the U.S. Senate seat held by Johnson, who has yet to announce if hell seek another term.

The poll found that 40% of respondents said they would definitely or probably vote to reelect Evers, while 38% said they would definitely or probably vote for Johnson if those elections were held today. Fifty-three percent said they would definitely or probably vote for someone other than Evers and 6% said they dont know or declined to answer, while 52% said they would vote for someone other than Johnson and 10% said they dont know or declined to answer.

Marquette Poll director Charles Franklin said matching up incumbents against an undefined opponent can be challenging as respondents typically think of their ideal candidate, but added that those who say they will reelect a candidate provides an understanding of an incumbents base level of support.

This is remarkable that in the same set of respondents, a Democrat and a Republican are both at 40% or lower, Franklin said in a prerecorded video posted Wednesday. Normally you would think that one party would do well and the other party would do poorly, but I think this reflects that its a challenging political environment for politicians generally and incumbents specifically in which there are a lot of folks pretty strongly opposed to the incumbents.

Franklin said the poll did not ask about head-to-head matchups as there are many candidates vying for nominations in the upcoming 2022 election.

The poll found that Evers job approval stands at 45%, while 46% of respondents disapprove. In August, 50% of respondents approved of Evers job as governor, while 43% disapproved.

Evers is viewed favorably by 42% of respondents and unfavorably by 45%, with 13% saying they didnt know enough to have an opinion. For Johnson, 36% have a favorable opinion, 42% have an unfavorable opinion and 22% didnt know. Forty-six percent of respondents viewed Evers favorably in an August poll, while 35% had a favorable opinion of Johnson.

Fifty-three percent of respondents said they trust Evers as a source of information about the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with 39% who trust Johnson. The poll also found that 53% of respondents approve of the governors handling of the ongoing pandemic, while 40% disapprove  comparable to the 54% of respondents who approved of Evers handling of the pandemic in August.

Pretty grumpy

Overall respondent favorability of other political figures also was down in the latest poll, with 38% holding a favorable view for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, 44% for President Joe Biden, 39% for Vice President Kamala Harris and 38% for former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.

This is a public both in the state and nationally thats pretty grumpy about a variety of things and I think you see it in this measure, as well as seeing it in that fact that we asked about seven political figures and all seven of them were at least a little bit net negative, Franklin said.

Asked about a hypothetical rematch between Biden and Trump in 2024, 45% of respondents support Biden, compared with 41% for Trump. The results are similar to the polls last survey before the 2020 election, in which 47% said they supported Biden, while 43% supported Trump. Biden ultimately won the state last year by about 21,000 votes, or less than 1 percentage point.

2020 election

Confidence in the accuracy of the 2020 election in the state remained comparable to Augusts poll, with 65% of respondents confident that votes for president were accurately cast and counted. The poll did find a considerable partisan split, however, with only 33% of Republicans confident and 64% not confident, compared with 99% of Democratic respondents confident in the election. Among independent respondents, 67% were confident in how the election was handled.

Clearly, this goes in the direction of whether my party won or lost, but independents are a telling group because of that 2-to-1 margin of confidence, Franklin said.

With regard to the ongoing investigation into the 2020 election being carried out by former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, 15% of Republicans approve of the review, compared with 11% of independents and only 7% of Democrats. Most telling was that the majority of all respondents, 72% of Republicans, 67% of independents and 56% of Democrats, said they hadnt heard enough about Gablemans review to have an opinion.

To then discover that all of this is going largely unnoticed by two-thirds of the public is an important thing to keep in mind when we imagine that these debates over that investigation are front and center, Franklin said. Maybe they are in the Legislature, but theyre not front and center with the public at large.

Redistricting

As Evers and legislative Republicans gear up for a court battle over how the states next 10-year political maps are drawn, 60% of respondents said they are not following the matter too closely or not at all. Of respondents, 63% said redistricting should be conducted by a nonpartisan commission, while 25% said it should be done as it is currently, by the Legislature and governor. That trend was consistent among Republicans, Democrats and independents.

The poll interviewed 805 registered Wisconsin voters, 27% by landline and 63% by cellphone during the period of Oct. 26-31. The polls margin of error is +/- 3.9 percentage points.

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Wisconsin moved another step closer to ending its reliance on coal this week, but environmental advocates warn continued dependence on fossil fuels remains a threat to the climate.

WEC Energy Group, parent company of the states largest utilities, announced Tuesday that it would stop burning coal by 2035, transitioning its remaining fossil fuel plants to natural gas.

That will also mean the end of coal-fired power for Madison Gas and Electric, which owns a small share of WECs 1,400-megawatt Elm Road Generating Station, the states newest and largest power plant.

MGE president and CEO Jeff Keebler said the decision moves the utility one step closer to its goal of producing carbon-neutral electricity by 2050.

Our continued transition away from coal and our significant investments in renewable energy represent our ongoing commitment to a cost-effective clean energy transition that benefits all MGE customers and maintains MGEs top-ranked electric reliability, Keebler said in a statement announcing the plan.

It has been a decade since MGE stopped burning coal at the Blount Generating Station, the utilitys only solely owned coal plant. That plant now burns gas.

Earlier this year, Alliant Energy announced plans to retire the states second-largest coal plant, the Columbia Energy Center near Portage, by 2025. MGE owns a small portion of that plant as well.

WECs announcement leaves just one coal-fired power plant not slated for retirement or fuel switching: Dairyland Power Cooperatives 42-year-old JP Madgett Power Station, a relatively small 387-megawatt plant on the Mississippi River in Alma.

Utilities say natural gas is needed to enable the clean energy transition, providing on-demand power when the wind isnt blowing and the sun isnt shining. But while gas releases less carbon dioxide when burned, the production and transportation releases far more potent greenhouse gases.

Nationally, natural gas supplanted coal as the primary fuel in 2016.

While coal remains the primary source of Wisconsins electricity supply, its share has declined over the past decade thanks to cheap natural gas, according to Energy Information Administration data.

In 2013, more than 60% of the states electricity was generated by coal; last year it was just 39%. Meanwhile, natural gas has risen from less than 13% to nearly 35% of the total.

Ongoing review

WEC chairman Gale Klappa announced the companys plans during a conference call with investors Tuesday, where company officials estimated it would cost about $150 million to fully convert the Elm Road plant. The company expects to operate the plant on up to 30% gas this decade.

Chief operating officer Scott Lauber said the company plans to add another 700 megawatts of solar generation and 500 megawatts of battery storage to its portfolio.

Company officials did not directly address plans for the 945-megawatt Weston coal-fired plant near Wausau, which is jointly owned by Dairyland Power and WEC subsidiary Wisconsin Public Service Corp.

Lauber said the company is evaluating the potential for burning gas at the plants newer unit.

So well be evaluating that as an option as we go through the next several years here, Lauber said. But we do realize that its a very critical part of the state and we want to make sure we have the reliability at that location. Were going to continue to evaluate it.

Others respond

Reaction to the news was mixed.

Clean Wisconsin called the move a critical step in the fight against climate change, but called for a more aggressive timeline for a plant that last year pumped more than 7 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and was built well after scientists had come to understand the impact to the climate.

After decades of inaction on climate change, we cant afford to postpone any longer, said Chelsea Chandler, climate solutions director for Clean Wisconsin. We need to pick up the pace for the health of our climate and communities.

The Clean Power Coalition of Southeast Wisconsin lauded the decision to stop burning coal, but said gas is not an acceptable replacement.

The transition to gas makes the move a half step, not the full stride toward renewables that the climate crisis demands, said member Tom Rutkowski. The resources directed toward retrofitting coal plants to burn gas instead would be better spent in a transition to renewable energy and battery storage.

The Sierra Club, which has led a campaign to end the use of coal, blasted the move as short sighted.

Were glad WEC has seen the writing on the wall: the era of coal is over, said state director Elizabeth Ward. But we cannot replace one expensive and climate destroying fossil fuel with another.

Don Wichert, part of an MGE shareholders group that has pushed for more clean energy sources, said the switch appears to be a reasonable step to reduce emissions and cost, but noted the environmental problems with gas.

Tom Content, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, questioned whether ratepayers should be on the hook for $345 million worth of pollution controls installed within the last decade at the Weston plant, as well as the economic benefits of modifying the 10-year-old Elm Road plant.

It raises the question of was the fuel choice correct or should it have been natural gas all along, which was CUBs position when the Oak Creek plant was approved, Content said. The prospect of additional investment ... is something well need to evaluate.

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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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The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Children's Justice Clinic has served Lancaster County's vulnerable child population in the justice system since 2017.

Now, thanks to new funding, the program's efforts will expand to work on increasing quality child advocacy in rural communities across Nebraska.
MADISON, Wis.  Fall has fully arrived in Wisconsin and with it comes the end of daylight saving time. As you change the clocks back an hour this weekend, ReadyWisconsin encourages you to use some of your extra time to check the carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms in your home, while also making sure your home emergency kit is ready for the upcoming winter.

Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2 a.m.

Carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms provide a critical early warning to a potentially life-threatening situations in your home, said Wisconsin Emergency Management Acting Administrator Greg Engle. Spending just a few minutes this weekend to make sure those devices are working properly and have fresh batteries could end up saving the life of you and your loved ones.

As the winter months approach, carbon monoxide detectors are an especially critical tool to have in your home. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Wisconsin averaged 20 deaths each year between 2015-19 due to carbon monoxide poisoning. In 2020, the state reported 321 emergency department visits and 28 hospitalizations due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide detectors can help your family know they need to leave and get to safety if a furnace or other device leaks this deadly gas inside your home. The batteries in them should be changed annually, while the devices should be tested monthly and replaced completely every five years.

Smoke alarms are also a critical early warning tool that can help alert you to a fire in your home. According to the National Fire Protection Association, three out of every five home fire deaths occurred when smoke detectors were either not present or were not working properly. Smoke alarms should be tested monthly and the batteries should be replaced at least once a year. The device itself should be replaced every 10 years.

If you have an emergency kit at home, this weekend is also a great time to check for expired products or items that may have been borrowed for other purposes and need to be replaced. Pay attention in particular to the expiration dates on batteries, first aid supplies and food.

Having a well-stocked kit is important, in the event you lose power or are unable to leave home during a winter storm, Engle said.

For tips on emergency preparedness visit http://readywisconsin.wi.gov. You can also follow ReadyWisconsin on Facebook and Twitter.

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As we stood atop the bluff some 460 feet above the river, I was struck by the breathtaking vista before us.

A few weeks ago, my wife, Sherry, and I hiked to the top of Bradys Bluff in Perrot State Park near Trempealeau on a cool fall afternoon. As tourists we think nothing of traveling hundreds of miles when sometimes we forget to take time to enjoy the beauty that is as close as our own backyard. It had been at least 20 years since we climbed the bluff  far too long.

Across the Mississippi River were the Minnesota bluffs, stretching as far as the eye could see. A fishing boat slowly maneuvered around the islands below us. To our right was Trempealeau Mountain, named by French traders Montaigne qui trompe de Ieau, or the mountain that is soaked in the water.

These spectacular views have long captivated visitors.

Major Steven Long, who made an expedition up the Mississippi River from St. Louis in 1817, wrote about the beauty of the bluffs.

The bluffs along the river today were unusually interesting. They were of an exceedingly wild and romantic character, being divided into numerous detached fragments, some of them of mountain size, while others in slender conical peaks seemed to tower aloft till their elevation rendered them invisible.

Here might the poet or bard indulge his fancy in the wildest extravagance, while the philosopher would find a rich repast in examining the numerous phenomena here presented to his view, and in tracing the wonderful operations of nature that have taken place since the first formation of the world.

Trempealeau Mountain is one of only three solid rock islands along the entire Mississippi River, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and is bordered by both the Mississippi and the Trempealeau rivers. It stands 425 feet high and has been a prominent navigational landmark for hundreds of years. The Ho-Chunk called it Hay-nee-ah-chah, soaking mountain, and it contains Native American mounds and burial sites.

The territory was claimed by the French and in the fall of 1685, Nicholas Perrot established a trading post in Trempealeau. French rule ended in 1763. In 1766 under British rule, Jonathan Carver traveled from Green Bay to the Mississippi.

According to the History of Trempealeau County, Carver wrote: a mountain remarkably situated; for it stands by itself exactly in the middle of the river, and looks as if it had slidden from the adjacent shore into the stream. It cannot be termed an island, as it rises immediately from the brink of the water to a considerable height.

In 1805 Zebulon Pike was on a geographical exploration and slept near the foot of Trempealeau Mountain. Pike noted that the mountain was once joined to the shore by a neck of low prairie ground that over time was washed away by the river. And thus formed an island of this celebrated mountain.

Perrot is certainly a gem. A few weeks earlier we walked a trail along the riverside and explored Horseshoe Falls, a small waterfall and semi-circular bowl that water has carved out the bluff.

The park and its land have been an important historical and cultural location for the past 7,000 years, including for Native American tribes who built mounds there. And since I enjoy a little history as well, this was the perfect spot to visit.

One never knows where the poet or the bard might indulge his fancy.

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A 23-year-old La Crosse man accused of attempting to sexually assault a child now faces a charge of sexually assaulting a different child.

Connor J. Horman was charged Wednesday in La Crosse County Circuit Court with second-degree sexual assault of a child younger than 18.

According to the criminal complaint, police discovered the second girl after searching Hormans cell phone. The newest complaint says Horman and a 15-year-old girl responded to a Snapchat message and met Horman on several occasions during September and October. The girl said Horman repeatedly asked her for sex, undressed her multiple times and inappropriately touched her despite her objections.

Horman was charged in the first case Oct. 19. Prosecutors allege that Horman sent a 15-year-old girl graphic photos of himself, arranged a Sept. 21 meeting and asked her to pursue a sexual relationship with him. In that case, he was issued a $2,500 signature bond that prohibits contact anyone under 18 except his biological child. Prior to his second arrest, he was being held in the La Crosse County Jail on a probation violation.

If convicted on both charges, Horman faces up to 63 years in prison.

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Police officials voiced support for the creation of a new study committee that will evaluate the feasibility of a possible police advisory board, but emphasized that the people who serve on the body will be critical to its success.

La Crosse County Sheriff Jeff Wolf and La Crosse Chief of Police Shawn Kudron both echoed those sentiments to the county Judiciary & Law Committee on Tuesday afternoon, as members approved the creation of the study group.

Quote "Having anti-police individuals trying to manipulate law enforcement, it's not going to do any good and it's going to be very toxic to the whole process." - La Crosse County Sheriff Jeff Wolf

This new body is the second to research what a police advisory board would look like, and it has taken several months to get it to the table after behind-the-scenes discussions between stakeholders.

The final product that would be created out of this began as an oversight board on policing, but during these discussions much of the direct disciplinary power has already been stripped of the would-be body, and it has been transformed into only an advisory board.

Both police leaders said Tuesday that theyre in support of improving the way they interact with the community.

Im not opposed to the concept of looking at this study committee, Wolf said. We understand our role in the community, and we work to bridge gaps and improve our relationships and help those that need help.

Its been important to us to understand and be able to take in comments as well as critiques in terms of how we can become better as law enforcement and policing services in our community, Kudron said.

But both officials said that the piece they were worried about was the individuals who would be chosen to serve in the group, saying that La Crosse County Board chair Monica Kruse had a very important job to put careful thought into who she selected to serve on it.

I do have some reservations about personal agendas, Wolf said. Weve seen it previously on the subcommittee that individuals have, and its important that this committee identifies what the purpose is in the scope of their duties to make law enforcement better, make the leaders in our county better, build relationships and so forth.

Wolf said, But if its the goal of any members that want to be on this committee to [vilify] law enforcement or criticize law enforcement rather than make improvements, were not going to get anywhere.

Having anti-police individuals trying to manipulate law enforcement, its not going to do any good and its going to be very toxic to the whole process, Wolf said. Its very important that [Kruse] is diligent in the selection and, if things are done right, like were told that they will be, then I think that this could be a very positive thing.

Kudron echoed this reservation, saying it will be a great responsibility to choose the members of the committee to bring together people who can critically look at these concepts and have the ultimate goal of making all of our agencies better for the communities that we serve.

The resolution creating the study group states that its members will be made up of stakeholders including law enforcement; policy and decision makers for agencies and municipalities; and community stakeholders including victim advocates, representatives of disproportionately impacted communities, subject matter experts, criminal legal system researchers, representatives with legal, civil rights or law enforcement expertise.

This was the first time the J&L Committee took a vote on the study group, after it bypassed the group on its way to the La Crosse County Board the first time.

It will go before the County Board next Monday, and if discussions went the way that officials had hoped during the referral of the item, it should receive unanimous support.

If it is approved, Kruse then has the authority to pick the members of the study committee, appointments that would then need County Board approval.

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A proposed compromise to a zoning request for Bethany Lutheran Homes is receiving renewed opposition from neighbors of the assisted living complex.

Neighbors spoke out against the new plan, which would amend the current zoning rules for the building instead of granting Bethany a rezoning, at Tuesday nights Judiciary & Administration Committee.

The compromise was introduced and a referral on the matter was approved by the La Crosse City Plan Commission on Monday, which at the time seemed to get the approval from most involved.

Bethany has requested a rezoning to build an expansion to its existing facility on Green Island. The new addition would be a four-story, 60-unit skilled nursing home, but its current zoning only allows for up to three-and-a-half stories. The next zoning, however, could allow up to 10 stories on a building, causing some worries among neighbors.

Officials have proposed referring the zoning for a third time in order to get new legislation on the table that would instead amend the current zoning law, allowing for up to four stories or 55 feet in that specific zoning district. City leaders hoped it would be a compromise for this specific issue but also solve a gap in height flexibility of future developments around the city.

But on Tuesday, neighbors renewed their opposition, worried that Bethany might have plans to eventually build more than one building on the lot regardless of the new height limitations.

We dont want to seem difficult and unappreciative, because we have made progress in this matter, said neighbor John Von Ruden, but we still have concerns.

Neighbors asked city officials to include a limitation for the project to limit it to only a single, four-story building, and one questioned whether the designs for the development could be restarted to try and fit within the existing limitations of the current zoning.

Von Ruden called amending the zoning height reasonable as long as there were assurances or protections put in place, such as new language that more clearly lays out the vision of the property for the future.

We want to give them the one four-story building they want  one four-story building, not a campus of four-story buildings, said neighbor Patrick Scheller.

I am very concerned that the city is opening the door wide for this entire property to be developed into another Eagle Crest South with multiple, towering four-story buildings adjacent to a single family residential area, said neighbor Susan Hengel.

This is why the neighbors keep emphasizing that this project be limited to one four-story building in the courtyard of the existing walls of the property, she said. I feel the city is bending over backwards to accommodate this project, but still not fully seeing our view.

Bethany CEO Todd Wilson said that restarting the design of the expansion would be duly unfair.

The tone has obviously changed, Wilson said. It seems to me that we keep going down this same road where we seemingly come to an agreement, only to fall back and take two or three or more steps back.

There have been a lot of false statements made, Wilson said, saying Bethany Lutheran Homes has worked in good faith to explore different options with neighbors and the city.

It meets our needs, I think it met the neighborhood needs  at least last night  but now tonight we come back with the idea that we should abandon that, he said.

City officials seemed keen on the idea that the new zoning change would help the city as a whole, not just Bethany Lutheran, with Mayor Mitch Reynolds saying that staff wholeheartedly agreed with the move.

Council member Jennifer Trost, who has been spearheading the compromise and represents the district, said the height amendment addressed a weakness in the citys zoning rules.

I want to thank the neighbors for taking advantage of this public process. I mean, this is democracy right here in the room, Trost said. And I do want to make sure that everyone understands that were representing the districts, but were also representing the city.

My understanding is that the problems with this project by the neighbors were really more about the zoning rather than the project itself, Trost said, saying she expressed to neighbors that she sympathized with the concerns over a possible 10-story building under the proposed zoning.

I entirely agree with that, and so I listened to those concerns and so my compromise was to come up with a solution that would work for the city as well as this particular project, Trost said.

So when were talking about whos listening to who, I represent both Bethany Lutheran, those residents, the caregivers of those residents, and I also represent the residents across the street, she said. Im putting this forward as a compromised solution.

The J&A Committee approved the referral, which would give officials another month and allow for the new zoning amendment to come through the council in December. The La Crosse Common Council will take a final vote on the referral next Thursday before its final.

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Nearly 13,000 Afghan evacuees currently live in temporary housing 40 miles east of La Crosse at Fort McCoy. With the international refugee crisis suddenly arriving at our front door, its important to discuss the economics of migration.

We have rich data provided to us from former migratory events that can tell us how migrants affect us.

How do migrants affect the local labor markets?The labor market consequences of higher immigration are relatively small, summarizes 2021 Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. David Card and his coauthor Dr. Kristin F. Butcher in the journal article Immigration and Wages.

The labor market consequences from immigration are small or zero for several reasons. We know that migrants are likely to seek employment. They fill jobs, often low-skilled positions. But migrants also need to purchase goods and services and are likely to spend their money in the local economy. Migrants buy food and need haircuts like the rest of us. In total, migrant spending helps create as many jobs as they fill.

Filling jobs would provide some much-needed relief right now to businesses that are struggling to hire workers. The U.S. is experiencing one of the greatest labor shortages in our lifetime.

As of August 2021, there were roughly 2.3 million more unfilled job openings than there were unemployed people in the country. Most of the time, there are far more workers looking for jobs than there are open jobs available, creating unemployment. Recently, however, that reversed, and job openings now exceed the number of unemployed workers.

Hiring struggles continue to plague business owners here in the Coulee Region. Almost every industry  from restaurants to health care is dealing with hiring challenges, according to recent La Crosse Tribune articles.

With the state facing slow population growth  the 2020 census showed state population growth of 3.4 percent, 17th slowest in the country  migrants may hold the keys to filling job openings and spurring economic growth in the state.

How do migrants affect economic growth?I sat down with Bryan Caplan, author of Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration to ask him about the global implications of migrations. Migrants serve as a boon to the local economy, he reasons. The secret to mass consumption is mass production, Bryan described.

If we want to enjoy the abundance of affordable goods and services, we need workers to produce those goods and services for us.

Caplan also says that if we look at the bigger, global picture, moving almost anyone from a poor county to a rich country increases the total production of humanity, because youre moving from countries that produce very little to countries that produce a lot, which is to the general betterment of mankind.

Migration remains a huge opportunity for growth. We can make the lives better for both migrants and natives by welcoming those who wish to move here. The world dropped a billion-dollar bill on our sidewalk. We have to decide if were going to pick it up.

Adam Hoffer is the director of the Menard Family Initiative and an associate professor of economics at the University of WisconsinLa Crosse.

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Madison-based Exact Sciences Corp. reported Tuesday a net loss of $166.9 million in its third quarter, falling short of Wall Street expectations.

The publicly traded biotech giant said it had a loss of 97 cents per stock share during a Tuesday conference call. Thats compared with an 89 cent per share loss expected by six Wall Street analysts surveyed by Chicago-based firm Zacks Investment Research.

But Exact Sciences posted revenue of $456.4 million in the period, which exceeded Wall Street expectations. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected $429 million.

Exact Sciences Corp. CEO Kevin Conroy said Tuesday the company is entering an exciting period for its expanding efforts to support tests that help defeat cancer through early detection.

That entails getting more people tested with products such as Cologuard, which screens for colorectal cancers, as well as Oncotype DX  a portfolio of breast, colon and prostate cancer tests that aim to give an accurate picture of a tumors biological makeup, he said.

Revenue for Exact Sciences screening tests increased by 31% in the third quarter, or by $280.4 million, compared to 2020. The sale of Oncotype products increased by 59%, or $145.4 million, compared to last year.

But screening revenue expectations were lower in the third quarter due to the rise of Delta variant cases starting in July, causing in-person sales to decrease in August and September, the company said Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Voting on the UW-Madison campus increased in last years election with nearly three in every four eligible students casting a ballot, according to a report released Tuesday.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic complicating the voting process for students, many of whom were newly eligible to cast ballots, voter turnout on campus increased from 65% in the 2016 election to 73% in 2020. In total, 24,572 UWMadison students voted out of 33,749 who were eligible in the 2020 election.

UW-Madisons uptick in voting mirrors a national trend identified in a report by the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education, creators of the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement. The proportion of college students who voted in the 2020 presidential election hit a record 66%, up 14 percentage points from 2016 and outpacing the 6 percentage point increase of all Americans.

Unlike in past elections, where more than half of UW-Madison students voted in person on Election Day, just 18% did so last year, the report said. About 16% voted early and in-person and 64% voted through other means, such as mail-in voting and dropping ballots off at a dropbox.

Our student body and the BadgersVote team should be proud that so many of our eligible students overcame the challenges of the pandemic to cast ballots in the presidential election, said UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden, who served as faculty of BadgersVote, a university-wide initiative encouraging campus voting.

National Voter Registration Day is usually a time when many campus groups work to sign up students and answer questions with a range of in-person events and activities. It fell last fall on a day when two of UW-Madisons largest dorms were under quarantine, nearly 500 infected students were sequestered in isolation housing and few others had reason to come to campus because all classes had temporarily moved online.

Yet the report noted that the universitys voter registration rate increased from 80% in 2016 to 85% in 2020. Get-out-the-vote efforts mostly moved online, with publicity campaigns, podcasts, discussion panels and social media drives.

UW-Madison also helped students with the question of voter ID. Traditionally, the university provides a plastic ID card for students who dont have access to a Wisconsin drivers license, U.S. passport or other federal ID. But with the pandemic posing problems with ID distribution, various campus partners created a website for students to download an electronic version of the ID to be printed, signed and presented. Staff also organized to have computers and printers at campus polling places. More than 2,700 students were able to access the voter ID website to obtain their cards, according to the university.

We encourage our students to stay informed, participate in political conversations, and cast their votes, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in a statement. Civic participation is what makes our democracy work.

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Lee Enterprises will be carrying a live blog of events in the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Opening statements and first witnesses were heard Tuesday.

Lee Enterprises/Kenosha News reporter Deneen Smith is reporting from inside the Kenosha County Courthouse, with reporting on this page augmented by remote staff.

More coverage:

4:45 p.m. Prosecutor Thomas Binger advises that the judge had informed attorneys about a joke that a juror attempted to make to a deputy. Binger does not repeat the joke, but says it provides cause to strike the juror.

Judge Bruce Schroeder says he was told about the incident but had yet to question the juror about it. Schroeder says the court will revisit the issue in the morning and adjourns court for the day.

4:30 p.m. Jurors are dismissed, while attorneys continue to discuss an objection that arose during the most recent testimony.

4 p.m. The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial over a string of shootings on the streets of Kenosha watched one of the central pieces of video evidence Wednesday  footage of a man chasing Rittenhouse and throwing a plastic bag at him just before the man was gunned down.

Someone is heard yelling F--- you!, followed by the sounds of the four shots Rittenhouse fired, killing Joseph Rosenbaum, though the shooting itself is not clearly seen on camera. Rosenbaum was the first of three men Rittenhouse shot that night, two of them fatally.

Oh, he shot him! He shot him, man. He shot him. He shot him, man. He laid him out," the person making the video can be heard saying.

Footage shown to the jury also showed Rosenbaum lying on the ground as frantic bystanders surrounded him to help. He had a wound to his head, and a bystander placed a shirt on it to apply pressure.

The scenes were part of wealth of video played for the jury that captured the chaos and repeated sound of gunfire on the night the 17-year-old aspiring police officer fired an assault-style rifle during a tumultuous demonstration against police brutality in the summer of 2020.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger drove home the point that Rosenbaum was apparently unarmed, asking Kenosha Detective Martin Howard if any of the videos shown in court indicated Rosenbaum had a weapon of any kind. Howard replied no.

Other video played for the jury showed Rittenhouse saying before the shootings that he was there to protect property and provide medical care to anyone who was hurt.

An interviewer mentioned non-lethal weapons and Rittenhouse responded: We dont have non-lethal. The man filming the video then asked if Rittenhouse was full-on ready to defend the property and he replied, Yes, we are.

In another video, Rittenhouse can be seen running through the frame, carrying a fire extinguisher. Shortly afterward, the video captures the sound of one gunshot, which was fired into the air by someone in the crowd other than Rittenhouse, according to authorities. The defense has said that that shot made Rittenhouse think he was under attack.  Associated Press

2:55 p.m.: Taking a break for "something technical," Binger says. Judge had just a few minutes ago he wanted a break to be taken soon.

2:51 p.m.: Howard confirms the plastic bag Rosenbaum appears to have thrown at Rittenhouse was never recovered.

Prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Binger, now focusing questioning on the bag.

2:40 p.m.: After lengthy showing of livestream videos, Howard notes upon questioning that Rosenbaum in the moments prior to being shot didn't appear in videos to have a weapon such as a gun or club. Howard says all he saw Rosenbaum carrying was a plastic bag.

Howard says, upon responding to scene of the shootings of Gaige Grosskreutz and Anthony Huber, officers were concerned there may still be an active threat and so responded "with a show of force" with multiple armored vehicles and officers telling bystanders to leave the area.

1:40 p.m.: In widely seen video of law enforcement officer telling armed group that included Rittenhouse "we appreciate you guys, we really do," Investigator Martin Howard says he doesn't know what department that officer was with, other than it being a sheriff's office; the officer was not with the Kenosha Police Department.

1:35 p.m.: Break is over. Judge has returned to his chair. Jury being called back in.

1:10 p.m.: Going to a break as arguments over video audio continue.

From an early afternoon pool report:

Rittenhouse took notes when prosecutors displayed video him speaking into a camera last year while standing in a car lot before the shooting. A several points Wednesday as the video played, he leaned over to say something to one of his lawyers.

Some jurors nodded as the judge turned to them to explain why audio on the video had to be turned down when the person shooting it commented about what he was seeing. Later, the judge sent jurors out of the room when he addressed the issue further with attorneys.

12:52 p.m.: Judge Schroeder is complaining again about what he feels is unfair treatment by "the media" regarding the 2008 case of Mark Jensen, which has been appealed and overturned  and he still asserts he was 100% correct on  as prosecution and defense argue about audio in a livestream video with commentary being played in court.

Prosecutor says the commentary should stay in, since what the person filming is describing could contribute to Rittenhouse's "state of mind" the night of the shooting.

Defense says that the person filming is not there to be questioned, and so his statements cannot be made in court.

Prosecutor fires back saying that what Rosenbaum did that night has been talked about extensively and has been used to "attack the character of a deceased individual." The video, prosecutor says, that Rittenhouse is witnessing the things shown in video since he was "10 feet away" from the camera.

"I don't see why the commentary by the videographer" would be relevant to Rittenhouse's state of mind, Schroeder says.

"This narrator is going to prove my client's state of mind?" Defense Attorney Mark Richards says later, attempting to paint prosecution's desire to show video with audio as ridiculous.

Schroeder then complains about the media "again," in his words. He noted that someone on TV two days ago talked about how "divisive" the Rittenhouse case is. He says there are members of the media on "reputable sites" saying things that are "bizarre," but doesn't expound on what he's referring to.

Schroeder says prosecution is "mixing rules up" regarding hearsay as it relates to a defendant like Rittenhouse and to Rosenbaum.

Prosecutor says he doesn't want to respond to the media, saying he hasn't heard what Jeffrey Toobin has said on CNN, and sounds confused about why it's coming up.

12:32 p.m.: During an explanation on hearsay for the sake of the jury, the judge expounds on how hearsay came up in the Bible relating to Saint Paul going on trial  a story from nearly two millennia prior to the United States being founded. "Where are the witnesses against me?" Judge Bruce Schroeder quotes Paul as saying in the Bible story Schroeder says is an example of the ancient Roman antecedent to the current law.

12:21 p.m.: Howard says that Rittenhouse's identity was learned via social media and then was confirmed when Rittenhouse turned himself in near his home in Antioch, Illinois.

Howard went down to Antioch to interview Rittenhouse. There he examined Rittenhouse for injuries. He told the jury about the following: "Half-inch scratch above his left eyebrow (and) a small cut on his lower lip ... An approximately 2-inch scratch under his left collar bone. There was some redness to the right side ... of his belly button." Redness was described on several parts of Rittenhouse's body, a scratch on his back and "two bumps" on the back of his head "above the left ear."

Two bullet casings were found in the Car Source parking lot.

12:20 p.m.: Lunch break appears to be over. Judge and others have returned to courtroom.

11:23 a.m.: An early lunch break. Lunch was delivered earlier than expected, judge says.

11:16 a.m.: Washington's testimony ends. An Kenosha Police Department investigator, Martin Howard, is called to the stand. He's been a detective for about three years and was a patrol officer before then.

During riots, he said he was doing "surveillance" in unmarked squad cars and ensuring gas stations had their pumps shut off, fearing that arsonists would use gas to set further fires.

"Every 911 call we get, we have to check out," Howard says, noting that many 911 calls coming in that night were "unfounded."

Howard says his assignment that night changed upon the shootings. Initially the reports were four homicide victims, although two people are only known to have died  Huber and Rosenbaum.

Howard maintains his primary partner is and was Detective Ben Antaramian.

After the shootings, they spent time saving videos shared on Twitter and on Facebook, including Washington's livestream. Private citizens also shared videos that weren't online, Howard said.

11 a.m.: Live again.

10:34 a.m.: Break.

10:30 a.m.: "He seemed like he was young and didn't know what was going," Washington says of the impression Rittenhouse left on him prior to the shootings. Rittenhouse was chain smoking cigarettes with gloves on, Washington said, and appeared "nervous in the situation ... A lot of people were nervous." However, he didn't appear "malicious."

Rosenbaum's behavior was described as erratic, but also acting similarly to others who were there.

10:20 a.m.: Attorneys ask Washington about how one would use a skateboard to hit someone, questions the witness struggles to answer as he says he'd never do that and never thought about using a skateboard to cause harm. "I just ride it like it's designed for."

Pool report:

Jurors began the day watching two monitors just outside the jury box as prosecutors seek to enter extensive video they say will support their case. Walking into court, jurors appeared more relaxed than the day before, some talking to each other, smiling and laughing.

Just before the trial started, Rittenhouse's mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, walked over to her son at the defense table to speak with him and a lawyer. Rittenhouse, in a blue suit and tie, hunched forward at the defense table to watch the same video as jurors on a desktop screen.

9:45 a.m.: The prosecution is breaking down video Washington has from the moments of the shootings.

9:20 a.m.: Koerri Elijah Washington, who livestreamed nights of the rioting, is back on the witness stand.

9:16 a.m.: Jury called into the room to begin trial for the day.

To begin at 9 a.m. Testimony continues today in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, where jurors heard opening statements on Tuesday that cast the defendant in sharply different lights.

For prosecutors, Rittenhouse was the problem  triggering a confrontation with one man that set in motion the bloodshed that followed. Rittenhouse's attorneys portrayed him as someone out of options who had to use deadly force to defend himself.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger described the unrest in Kenosha as two of the roughest nights that our community has ever seen and said outsiders were drawn to the city like moths to a flame.

Yet Binger repeatedly stressed that amid the hundreds of people in Kenosha and the anger and chaos in the streets, the only person who killed anyone is the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse.

When we consider the reasonableness of the defendants actions, I ask you to keep this in mind, Binger said, after explaining to the jury that a claim of self-defense can be valid only if Rittenhouse reasonably believed he was using deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards countered that his client was a victim, pointing to evidence that one man tried to grab his gun and others kicked the teen in the face and clubbed him in the head with a skateboard.

You as jurors will end up looking at it from the standpoint of a 17-year-old under the circumstances as they existed, Richards said.

Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with killing two men and wounding a third during the summer of 2020 with an assault-style rifle. The one-time police youth cadet could get life in prison if convicted.

The teenager traveled to Kenosha from his home in Antioch, Illinois, just across the Wisconsin state line, after protests broke out over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse said he went there to protect property after two nights in which rioters set fires and ransacked businesses.  Associated Press

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The Friends of Bekkum Memorial Public Library have started a volunteer home-bound delivery service to any person who is temporarily or permanently unable to come to the Bekkum Memorial Library because of illness, disability, or other factors, and lives within 5 miles of the city of Westby. If you are interested in this service, please call the library at 608-634-4419.

The Bekkum Memorial Library also delivers library items to Norseland Nursing Home, the Friendship House, and Nordic Village once per month. Residents of Norseland Nursing Home can contact Angealic Kaye, director of recreation therapy, to be included in the monthly deliveries. Residents of the Friendship House and Nordic Village can contact our circulation manager, Amy Weaver, at 608-634-4419 to take advantage of this service.

Our Friday Movie for November is Babe. The movie will be shown at 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 5 in the community room. Snacks will be provided.

The Whats Brewing at the Bekkum Brown Bag Series on Thursday, Nov. 4, will feature a crock-pot lunch be sure to bring your best holiday cooking tips and Renee will share her favorites. Get ready to talk turkey! The fun starts at noon in the community room.

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The Amish Farm & House will host a tour dedicated to one of the best parts of the holiday season: homemade Christmas cookies.

The tour will take visitors to three Amish houses to try baked-from-scratch treats. Attendees will also get the recipes to recreate the goodies at home.

It'll also serve as an experience to get to know more about Amish culture and heritage, complete with a 2-hour bus tour of the area.

The tour will happen on Fridays and Saturdays starting Nov. 19.

Tickets are $49.95 for those ages 12+, $34.95 for those between 5 to 11 years and $8.95 for children aged 4 and under.

Amish Farm & House warns that the tour is not suitable for those with food allergies, is not pet-friendly and is not handicap accessible.

For more information, visit amishfarmandhouse.com/christmas-cookie-tour/.
An active duty Army solider has been extradited to Lancaster County after being arrested for soliciting a child for sex, according to Northwest Regional police.

Ian Christopher Jones, 20, of Manheim, was charged with solicitation of statutory sexual assault, sexual abuse of children, criminal use of a communication facility, corruption of minors and solicitation of indecent assault.

Jones communicated through social media with a 13-year-old girl from Mount Joy Township in July, police said in a news release. Jones, who was aware of the childs age, asked the child for sexually related video and physical contact.

Jones, who was stationed at an Army base in Fort Polk, Louisiana, was arrested and extradited to Pennsylvania with help from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. He arrived in Pennsylvania on Oct. 27.

Attempts to reach Jones attorney, Douglas Cody, were not immediately successful.

Jones was confined to Lancaster County Prison on Thursday after he was unable to post a $100,000 bail, court records show. He will face a preliminary hearing before Judge Randall Miller on Nov. 18.

Detective Chuck Tobias, who investigated the allegations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Reading man broke into a West Earl Township business and attempted to steal an entire ATM, according to West Earl Township police.

Petro Joseph Delmonico, 51, was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft by unlawful taking, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer and possessing an instrument of crime.

Delmonico broke into the Dutch Lane Bowling Alley at 4311 Oregon Pike around 3:12 a.m. Monday and strapped the ATM to a dolly, police said in a news release. Investigators believe Delmonico, who was acting alone, was attempting to steal the entire machine.

Broken windows and tools used to break into the building were found inside the bowling alley, police said.

Officers arrived at the bowling alley to find Delmonicos Suzuki SUV parked in the rear. Delmonico ran from the building to the vehicle and fled the scene.

Police lost track of Delmonico, but the car was later found abandoned at a property in the 100 block of East Farmersville Road around 9:20 a.m., according to the news release.

Reading City police later arrested Delmonico at his residence.

Delmonico was released from Lancaster County Prison on Tuesday after posting a $10,000 bond, court records show. He will face a preliminary hearing before Judge Jonathan Heisse on Nov. 8.

Delmonico previously pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary in Berks County in 1992, being sentenced to three years of probation, according to court records. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence in 2006, to which he was sentenced to 11 to 23 months of confinement and four years of probation.
Update: Police announced Wednesday morning that Herr was found dead.

Police are searching for a Lancaster Township woman who left her home Monday morning and hasnt been seen since.

Jennifer L. Herr, 57, was last seen leaving her residence in the 100 block of South President Avenue around 8 a.m, according to news releases from Manheim Township and West Lampeter Township police. She was wearing dark or black pants, a black and yellow Millersville University sweatshirt and a knit cap.

Attempts by Herrs family and police to contact her since then have been unsuccessful.

Herrs family is concerned for her welfare and ability to care for herself and have declared her an endangered missing person, police said.

Herr was driving a dark gray 2012 Toyota Prius sedan, which was later found in Lancaster County Central Park around 6 p.m. West Lampter Township police searched the park along with search and rescue teams since then, but have not located Herr.

The search began in the first block of Natures Way, off Eshelman Mill Road, around 6:45 p.m. Monday. The searchers requested a hazmat team provide a drone for the search, according to a Lancaster County-Wide Communications dispatch report.

Herr is described as being about 5-foot-7, 120 pounds, with brown or reddish hair, brown eyes and a thin build.

Anyone with information as to Herrs whereabouts or who comes into contact with her is urged to contact Manheim Township police at 717-569-6401 or West Lampeter Township police at 717-464-2421.
Republican Glenn Youngkin mobilized voters concerned about education and race, while making small gains with suburban voters and other key groups to help his party rebound from Donald Trumps poor showing in Virginia last year and win the governors race.

The former private equity executives victory came even as Trump remains broadly unpopular in the commonwealth.

Youngkin managed to keep Trump at arms length without angering Trumps base. A year after Democrat Joe Biden dispatched Trump in Virginia by 10 percentage points, it was Youngkins supporters, not Democrat Terry McAuliffes, who were more fired up  74% of them said they were extremely interested in the election, compared with 63% who voted for McAuliffe. Thats according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters.

Both Democrats and Republicans pulled together familiar coalitions. Men, rural and small town voters and white evangelicals were squarely in Youngkins corner, while McAuliffe was the choice for Black voters, moderates, and voters under 45. Women were only slightly more likely to back the Democrat than the Republican, 53% to 46%.

But small shifts added up to make a difference. In 2020, voters ages 45 and older split about evenly between Biden and Trump. This year they were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe, 55% to 45%.

Youngkin also performed better with suburban voters, a group that helped Democrats win elections across the country during the Trump era.



MORE ON ELECTION 2021:

 The Virginia governor's race emerges as a test of how voters feel about Joe Bidens presidency

 Key takeaways from the elections in Virginia and New Jersey

 Republican Glenn Youngkin makes slight gains with some key voter groups when compared with former President Donald Trump in his 2020 loss

 School board races become the new front in a culture war as resentments over coronavirus restrictions and anti-racism curriculum reach a boiling point

 Elections are held for three open congressional seats in Ohio and Florida

 Voters in Minneapolis reject a proposal to replace the police department after the death of George Floyd

 Mayoral races are huge milestones for Asian Americans

 Election officials deliver a relatively smooth Election Day after a year of dealing with false claims and death threats



HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

NEW YORK  Republican former U.S. Rep. Vito Fossella has been elected Staten Island borough president.

Fossella left Congress over a decade ago after a scandal. It involved a drunken driving arrest and revelations he had a secret second family.

He defeated Democrat Mark S. Murphy in the election Tuesday and is making his first return to elected office since he left in 2009. He was once seen as a potential candidate for New York City mayor, but his political career cratered after the revelations about his personal life. Fossella was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in the primary.



STAMFORD, Conn.  Democratic state Rep. Caroline Simmons has been elected mayor of Stamford, Connecticut.

She defeated former Major League Baseball manager and player Bobby Valentine, who conceded defeat in a speech to his supporters.

Simmons will be the first woman to serve as mayor of Stamford, the states second-largest city. The 35-year-old legislator had defeated the two-term incumbent Democratic mayor in a September primary.

She touted her experience in both state and federal government and argued she was better suited for the job than her celebrity opponent. The election Tuesday was the first political campaign for Valentine, a 71-year-old former Republican who ran as an unaffiliated candidate.



RICHMOND, Va.  Republican former business executive Glenn Youngkin has won Virginias governors race, a major political turnabout in a state that had been trending increasingly blue.

The win is sure to alarm national Democrats already nervous about holding their partys narrow control of Congress in next years midterm elections.

The 54-year-old Youngkin is a political newcomer and was a virtual unknown at the start of the race. He beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who served as governor from 2014 to 2018.

President Joe Biden won Virginia by a comfortable 10 percentage points last year, but that disappeared as Youngkin beat back the Democrats efforts to portray him as a clone of former President Donald Trump.



PORTLAND, Maine  Maine voters passed the nations first right to food constitutional amendment.

A statewide referendum asked voters on Tuesday if they favored an amendment to the Maine Constitution to declare that all individuals have an inherent right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing.

Supporters said the amendment would ensure the right to grow vegetables and raise livestock in an era when corporatization threatens local ownership of the food supply.

Mainers on Tuesday also voted against building a 145-mile conduit for Canadian hydropower. The project was billed as either a bold step in battling climate change or unnecessary destruction of woodlands. But Tuesday's vote wont be the final word as litigation over the project continues.



DEARBORN, Mich.  A state lawmaker has won the mayoral race in Dearborn, Michigan, making him the citys first Arab American mayor.

A final unofficial vote count on the citys website shows Abdullah Hammoud defeated Gary Woronchak, a former state representative and former Wayne County commissioner, by a 55% to 45% margin in Tuesdays election.

Hammoud, who is Muslim, is serving his third term in the Michigan House. His parents immigrated to the United States from Lebanon.

Dearborn is a city of over 100,000 people and has one of the largest Arab American populations in the nation. But the citys past includes efforts by longtime segregationist Mayor Orville Hubbard to keep Black families from moving into the then-mostly white community.



BUFFALO, N.Y.  The mayor of New Yorks second-largest city has declared victory in his write-in campaign as early results showed him with a possible lead over the democratic socialist who beat him in the Democratic primary.

Tuesdays election between Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and challenger India Walton remained too early to call, and in fact it was unknown how many people had voted for Brown because his name didnt appear on the ballot.

Early returns showed Walton trailing the number of write-in votes cast. But a full tabulation of those write-in votes wont begin for days. Thousands of absentee ballots also have yet to be counted. Walton says she is proud of the race she has run and is waiting for a full count.



BOSTON  Boston voters for the first time elected a woman and an Asian American as mayor, tapping City Councilor Michelle Wu to serve in the citys top political office.

Throughout its long history, Boston had previously only elected white men as mayor.

Wu defeated fellow Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George on Tuesday. The two Democrats faced off against each other after defeating several other mayoral hopefuls in a September preliminary election.

The election of Wu, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan, marks another break from tradition in Boston. Wu grew up in Chicago, only moving to Boston to attend Harvard University and Harvard Law School. Boston typically elects mayors with lifelong Boston roots.



COLUMBUS, Ohio  Longtime coal lobbyist Mike Carey held an open U.S. House seat in central Ohio for Republicans in Tuesdays special congressional election.

Carey defeated two-term Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo, a public health policy consultant, in Ohios 15th Congressional District. Russo had raised more money in the district than any Democrat in history.

Former President Donald Trump had endorsed Carey to succeed veteran U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers, a centrist Republican who resigned in April to become CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Trump called Carey a courageous fighter and visited the state to campaign for him, as did former Vice President Mike Pence.

Carey has been vice president of government affairs for American Consolidated Natural Resources, formerly Murray Energy, since 2012. He also chairs the board of the Ohio Coal Association.

Murray was among corporate contributors involved in an elaborate $60 million bribery-for-legislation scheme alleged by federal prosecutors. The coal giant has not been charged with a crime. The investigation is ongoing.



MINNEAPOLIS  Minneapolis voters have rejected a proposal to replace the citys police department with a new Department of Public Safety  an idea that arose from the May 2020 death of George Floyd under an officers knee.

The initiative would have changed the city charter to remove a requirement that the city have a police department with a minimum number of officers.

Supporters of the proposal said a complete overhaul of policing was necessary to stop police violence.

Opponents said the proposal had no concrete plan for how to move forward and could make communities already affected by violence more vulnerable as crime is on the rise.



DETROIT  Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has easily defeated attorney Anthony Adams to win a third four-year term leading the Motor City.

Duggan was the clear favorite to win Tuesdays election after first winning in 2013 and taking over in January 2014. That was just after the city emerged from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Duggan had won more than 72% of the votes in the August primary, in which the top two vote-getters in the nonpartisan primary moved on to the general election.

Adams was a former deputy mayor in the early to mid-2000s under Kwame Kilpatrick.



A year after Donald Trump lost Virginia by 10 percentage points, Republican Glenn Youngkin is in a tight race for governor against Democrat Terry McAuliffe thanks to shifting support from some key voter groups.

Youngkin has made slight gains with suburbanites, voters 45 and older and voters in households earning $50,000 or less when compared with Trump in his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Thats according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters.

Both Democrats and Republicans pulled together familiar coalitions. McAuliffe is the clear choice of voters under 45, women, Black voters, moderates and college graduates, while men, rural and small town voters and white evangelicals are squarely in Youngkins corner.

But small shifts with other groups could make a big difference. Tuesdays race is tighter than originally expected, sparking concern among Democrats and potentially giving Republicans a playbook for competitive battlegrounds as they look to the 2022 midterm elections.



NEW YORK  Alvin Bragg has been elected Manhattans first Black district attorney.

The 48-year-old Democrat easily defeated Republican Thomas Kenniff on Tuesday to join a wave of progressive, reform-minded prosecutors in several big U.S cities.

When Bragg takes office in January, hell inherit an ongoing investigation of former President Donald Trump. Manhattan prosecutors this year charged Trumps company and its longtime finance chief with tax fraud.

Bragg campaigned partly on a promise to change the culture of the district attorneys office. He said he wants to shrink the system and look for alternatives to prosecuting small crimes of poverty.



NEW YORK  Democrat Eric Adams has been elected New York City mayor after handily defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Adams is the Brooklyn borough president and a former New York City police captain. He will become the citys second Black mayor and must steer the damaged metropolis through its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Adams victory Tuesday seemed all but assured after he emerged as the winner from a crowded Democratic primary this summer in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 7 to 1.

Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol. He ran a campaign punctuated by stunts and his signature red beret.



COLUMBUS, Ohio  Democrat Shontel Brown won the Cleveland-area U.S. House seat formerly held by Biden Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge in Tuesdays special election.

Brown is a Cuyahoga County Council member who also chairs the county Democratic Party. She defeated Republican Laverne Gore, a business owner and activist, in the 11th Congressional District. The district is a heavily Democratic area that stretches from Cleveland to Akron.

Brown will fill the remainder of Fudges term, which runs until January 2023, facing reelection again next year to hold the seat.

Her election marks a win for establishment Democrats, who sought to defend the district against a takeover by progressives. Her backers included Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn and several labor unions.

But victory may be short-lived. Already, Browns defeated primary opponent, progressive Nina Turner, has begun campaigning for the full congressional term up for grabs in 2022.



Republican Glenn Youngkin did his best to keep former President Donald Trump at arms length in his competitive race for Virginia governor against Democrat Terry McAuliffe. The strategy appears to have had the intended effect.

A majority of Virginia voters say they have an unfavorable view of the former president, but Youngkin fares better, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters. About half have a favorable opinion of the former private equity executive.

The economy ranked as the top issue facing the commonwealth, with the coronavirus pandemic and education trailing, and voters were split in their opinion of President Joe Bidens performance.

Tuesdays election is the most closely watched contest since Biden defeated Trump last year. It is widely seen as a gauge of how voters are feeling ahead of next years midterm elections, and for both parties it could provide a blueprint for campaigning in competitive states.

Biden won Virginia by 10 percentage points last year. Now, 48% of Virginias voters approve of Bidens job performance, while 52% disapprove.

Voters who ranked the economy and education as the top issues were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe. Voters who identified COVID-19 as the top issue supported McAuliffe over Youngkin. McAuliffe also earned the majority backing of the roughly 2 in 10 who ranked health care, climate change or racism as the top issue.



Voters casting ballots in the tight race for Virginia governor rank the economy as the top issue facing the commonwealth, with the coronavirus pandemic and education trailing.

In the contest between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, 34% of Virginia voters say the economy and jobs was the most important issue facing the state. Seventeen percent name COVID-19 and 14% choose education. Thats according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters.

Health care (7%), climate change (7%), racism (5%), immigration (5%), abortion (5%) and law enforcement (4%) were all lower-tier issues.

The race is the most closely watched and competitive contest since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump last year, and is seen as a gauge of voters feelings ahead of next years midterms.

Youngkin, a former private equity executive, often asserted Virginias economy was in the ditch, but a majority of voters disagreed. Fifty-six percent said the states economy is in good shape, compared with 44% saying economic conditions are poor.

Schools became a focus of the race in its final weeks. A quarter of Virginia voters say the debate over teaching critical race theory in schools was the single most important factor in their vote for governor, but a similar percentage identified the debate over handling COVID-19 in schools as most important.


Republicans flexed their muscles in countywide and in local races outside of Lancaster city, with the GOP on track to win all four Manheim Township commissioner seats on the ballot, the three county row offices and help power a slate of GOP statewide judges to what look to be solid wins.

The county Board of Elections said it couldnt predict final turnout when the polls closed at 8 p.m., but early returns suggested this years election will surpass the 27% turnout recorded in the 2019 municipal election.

Click here for where to find voting results from the county, state.

Click here for live updates as results come in for Lancaster County's key races.

Chief Elections Clerk Christa Miller said her office expected to report in-person returns for nearly all precincts on Tuesday night, along with about 16,000 of the 24,487 mail-in ballots returned by the 8 p.m. deadline. Mail-in votes from 169 precincts are fully counted, including all precincts from Manheim Township, where a hotly contested commissioners race could tip the board majority back to Republican control.

Miller said only a small number of issues typical of any election had arisen: People showing up at the wrong polling place or calling the office to ask where to vote. Her office wont begin counting write-in votes until the end of the week. The county has until Nov. 16 to complete counting ballots, and final returns must be reported to the Department of State by Nov. 22.

As of midnight with 100% of precincts reporting all in-person votes, Republicans were poised to sweep the three countywide row office races  for controller, recorder of deeds and clerk of courts.

In Lancaster city, Mayor Danene Sorace, a Democrat, easily defeated her independent challenger, Willie Shell Sr. With 100% of the in-person vote counted, the returns were just as decisive for the four Democrats running for city council.

Sorace, standing outside her polling place at Emmanuel Lutheran Church on West Walnut and North Pine streets around 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, said she had visited polling places in each of the citys four quadrants.

Its good to see people and greet voters, said the mayor, whose last two years in office have been shaped by social justice protests and a pandemic. Its been an eventful four years.

Four Republicans running for statewide judicial seats, including a Supreme Court seat, lead in Lancaster County, but those races remained tight as votes from across the state continued to be counted.

Manheim Township

With 100% of precincts reporting at midnight, Republicans had regained control of the Manheim Township board of commissioners.

All of the townships mail-in ballots were counted Tuesday, Miller said.

Click here for more on the Manheim Township board of commissioners race.

Two years ago, Democrats gained a board majority, capitalizing on residents concerns about growth in the fast-growing suburb of Lancaster city.

This years campaign was the most expensive municipal campaign in county history, as Republicans outspent Democrats in the campaign and attacked the incumbent board for failing to deliver on promises to control growth. They also criticized Democrats for presiding over an exodus of longtime municipality staff members.

I was surprised were getting as many people as we have, 3rd precinct judge of election Joe Wells said of the turnout, just before noon at Grandview Church. Were doing pretty well, considering the mail-in votes.

Tim Kauffman, whos been voting at the 11th precinct at St. Mathew Lutheran Church since 1983, didnt want to say who he voted for in the highly contentious school board elections.

Kauffman, an Army veteran, said that hes been registered as a Republican, Democrat and independent, and the one thing hes learned is that the parties arent important. The people are the important part of the election.

Elizabethtown School Board

This closely watched race for four seats on the school districts board was a referendum on COVID-19 and how racial issues should be taught in schools, with some people saying that they did not want critical race theory taught in school and others saying they did.

As of midnight, with 100% of the in-person vote counted, Republicans won all four seats.

Click here for details on the Elizabethtown School District race.

Turnout was higher than usual at a few polling places in the Elizabethtown Area School District. Election officials told LNP|LancasterOnline that it was the school board race that brought so many people out to vote.

No matter what party people are registered as, theyre concerned now with whos on their school board, said Craig Bennage, judge of elections at the Mount Calvary Church and Mount Calvary Christian School polling place.

With a girls volleyball match happening in the room next door, Bennage said nearly 600 people cast their vote Tuesday. Thats more than double the 200 or so Bennage said he expected for a nonpresidential election.

School board candidates Stephen Lindemuth, a Republican, and Kristy Moore, a Democrat, stood outside the Mount Calvary polling place to greet voters.

Lindemuth, whose wife, Danielle, is also running, said he was feeling good about his chances.

We did pretty well in the spring, and I expect that momentum to carry over, he said, adding that hed like to bring more transparency to the school board.

Moore also said shes feeling hopeful.

I feel like we did everything we couldve possibly done, she said. Now we just wait and see.

In Elizabethtown, the race for school board was a referendum on COVID-19 and how racial issues should be taught in schools, with some people saying that they did not want critical race theory taught in school and others saying they did.

Critical race theory is not taught in the Elizabethtown district - nor in any other district in the county. Still, the term has been incorrectly used by people on both sides of the issue of how the issue of race is approached in education.

Ive been paying attention to whats been going on in school board meetings across the country, and I am totally against critical race theory being taught in our schools, said Greg Fouse, 61, who voted at Lifegate Church four of the Republican candidates in the school board election: Jim Read, Stephen and Danielle Lindemuth and James Emery. Im totally against the government thinking they have a better idea how to teach our children than we do.

In contrast, Tomas Estrada said he voted for all three Democratic school board candidates because Its important for kids to have an accurate full story of a particular American history.

Im troubled by how certain members of our school board are trying to whitewash a lot of the problematic elements of our history, in particular with the opposition to critical race theory, he said.

Susan Sharp, 56, cast her vote early Tuesday at Mount Calvary Church in Mount Joy Township. She voted for the three democratic candidates.

I trust them, she said. I dont trust the ones that are running for Republican. They cause a lot of division at school board meetings.

Kristy Moore, one of the Democratic candidates, spent much of Tuesday at the Mount Calvary Church polling place on Holly Street in Elizabethtown.

Im feeling very hopeful and really excited to see all of our hard work pay off, Moore said early in the day.

Shes been campaigning since December alongside Democratic candidates Sarah Zahn and Jagger Gilleland. The three are running against Republican candidates Jim Read, Stephen and Danielle Lindemuth and James Emery.

Pat Smeal, 76, walked out of the Elizabethtown Borough Municipal Building early this morning donning her I Voted sticker.

She voted for all four of the Republican candidates in the school board election.

Im a straight Republican, always have been, she said.

-- REPORTING FOR THIS STORY BY: ASHLEY STAHLNECKER, TY LOHR, GILLIAN MCGOLDRICK, ALEX GELI, DAN NEPHIN AND CARTER WALKER
Lancaster County Republicans easily maintained their dominance of county government Tuesday, winning all three open row office races by double-digit margins.

Despite a purpling of the countys political hue over the past two decades in some areas, particularly around the urban core, Republicans showed that when it comes to county-wide races they are still a force to be reckoned with.

On the ballot were Clerk of Courts, Controller and Recorder of Deeds. In all three races, Republicans won by 30,000 votes or more.

About 8,500 mail-in ballots remained to be counted, which is not enough to sway any race.

Democrats put up candidates in all open races for the first time in the past two decades, but were unable to surmount the Republicans' voter-registration advantage.

Republicans represent 51% of the countys registered voters to Democrats 32.5%, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Republican controller-elect Lisa Colon said she was excited to be the first woman elected controller. She beat out Democrat Chris Hess to replace her outgoing boss, Brian Hurter.

I want to continue with the audits that we are doing so that we include all of the elected offices and then work down to the departments, Colon said of what she will do in office, adding the results will be public. So taxpayers can take solace that there have been audits by the controllers office.

And Ann Hess (no relation to Chris Hess), retained her position as Recorder of Deeds, beating Democrat Dominic Castaldi.

In the Clerk of Courts race, Mary Anater was a last-minute addition to the Republican ballot following former clerk Jackie Pfursichs resignation to take the position of county solicitor. Anater defeated Democrat Michelle Batt and will take over the office, which is facing a staffing shortage.

The office is being managed in the interim by longtime employee Rhonda Allen. Commissioner Josh Parsons, however, said the county is unable to move Anater into the position earlier than January, as that power lies with state government.
Republicans will regain control of the countys second-largest municipality, pulling off what GOP leaders called a must-win in fast-growing Manheim Township.

Republicans invested more than $60,000 in their election Tuesday, sweeping four of four seats on the ballot to regain control of the board, on which Democrats have held a 4-1 majority for two years.

The Republican candidates beat the Democrats by varying degrees: Republican incumbent Donna DiMeo won a two-year term by 367 votes; John Bear and Stacey Morgan Brubaker won a four-year term by nearly 300 votes; and Mary Jo Huyard won a four-year term by 160 votes.

Democrats spent $23,000 trying to maintain control in the countys second-largest municipality, doubling what Democrats had spent to win in their historic upset win in 2019. Republicans spent only $1,700 in that 2019 election, according to campaign finance records.

Manheim Township seemed on track to become a Democratic stronghold -- like its neighbors Lancaster city and Lancaster Township -- in recent years. But Republicans held onto hope that they still have voters loyalty in Township, and Tuesdays election showed they remain a commanding force.

Democrat Joe Biden won most of Manheim Township in the 2020 presidential election, but Republicans won down ballot in the area, favoring two incumbent GOP candidates  U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker and state Sen. Scott Martin.

It was well after 11 p.m. Tuesday before most of the Manheim Township vote was in and it was clear the GOP slate had won.

It was close, but Im feeling great, said Huyard. It was a good turnout, and were excited for the energy in our party It sends a message to people that we want change in our community, we want fiscally responsible candidates that can speak for the people.

Republicans recruited experienced candidates -- including a former state representative and former township solicitor -- as they sought to wrest back control from Democrats this year.

They were able to overcome the attempts by Democrats to connect their candidates with big developers -- and that they were responsible for the unpopular Oregon Village development approved in 2019. However, the two slates of candidates often sounded alike on how they would handle future development, with all of them promising to create a new comprehensive plan to lead the townships vision and protect the remaining land zoned for agriculture.

Voters then had to make their decision based on which candidates convinced them they could better lead the township as it continues to grow. Candidates said they knocked on thousands of doors leading up to the election in hopes of persuading them that their team is the best fit for the job.

DiMeo said their teams innovative ideas pushed them to a win Tuesday.

Ryan Dodson, a Democratic candidate, said he had hoped activism could beat the GOPs registration advantage and big spending campaign -- but it doesnt always happen that way, he added.

I hope these promises of new-found concern for farmland preservation and green space preservation...I hope they make good on them, he said late Tuesday night after most votes had been counted.

The candidates who ran on the Democratic slate will remain engaged in local decisions, Dodson said, who is part of the townships sustainability committee.

Its not like we pack our bags and go home, he said. Its disappointing, for sure, but were still going to be here.

Voter turnout

Few voters said the commissioners' race drove them to vote Tuesday. Several voters said national issues brought them out to the polls. Others said the Manheim Township School Board race motivated them to turn out.

Chris Harwick, 37, said he supported Republican candidates down ballot, because they best represent his views at the local level.

Thats where my values lie, Harwick said.

No particular race brought Harwick to the polls, but he brought his son along with him to vote to talk about the importance of voting in local elections.

Phyllis Allison, 82, moved to Manheim Township from Florida earlier this year, after living in the Reading area earlier in her life. Allison said she followed the development issues closely, and chose to support the Democratic candidates as the best stewards of the townships remaining agricultural lands.

Id hate to see the farmland paved over, Allison said.

Michael Brown, 41, said he usually doesnt vote in off-presidential year elections. This years local elections brought him out to the polls Tuesday.

Id hope to see Lancaster go blue, Brown added.

For others, like John Rodgers, all of Tuesdays races were important.

Rodgers said he voted for all Republicans in Tuesdays election, adding that he missed the straight ticket option on the ballot, which was removed as part of Act 77 of 2019.

Rodgers said he supported the Republican commissioner candidates, though he hopes that its determined whether the townships contract to provide police coverage to neighboring Lancaster Township isnt a money loser for taxpayers.
A winning Powerball ticket worth $100,000 was sold at a Chester County retailer for the Oct. 30 drawing.

Wawa at 3710 Lincoln Highway in Downingtown sold the winning ticket, earning a $500 bonus, according to a Pennsylvania Lottery press release. The tickets numbers 5-23-28-43-56 matched four of the five white balls drawn and the $1 Power Play option doubled the tickets initial $50,000 value.

Winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes. The holder, who has not yet claimed their prize, should sign the back of the ticket and contact the nearest Lottery office.

More than 30,500 other Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball tickets won prizes of various amounts in the drawing, including more than 7,800 tickets purchased with Power Play and more than 4,300 purchased with Double Play.

The Pennsylvania Lottery directs all ticket proceeds to programs that benefit older residents.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  The king and queen of the Netherlands toured Dubai's Expo 2020 and a strawberry farm deep inside the Emirati desert Wednesday, part of a two-day trip to the United Arab Emirates.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima received a rousing round of applause as their day ended at the massive Al Wasl Dome at Expo 2020, the world's fair going on in Dubai until the end of March.

Children draped in the Netherlands flag and the parents listened as the king nodded toward the ongoing climate talks in Glasgow with a speech acknowledging his country and the oil-producing UAE both need new strategies for the future.

The ideas, methods and growth strategies that helped us achieve greatness and prosperity in the past are no longer fit for the purpose, the king said. They don't offer solutions to the major challenges of our time.

While the Netherlands and the UAE can feel worlds apart  the heat alone on Wednesday roasted those gathered at the Expo  the two share deep trade ties. The Dubai-based port operator DP World runs a cargo container port at Rotterdam. Mutual trade between the nations has reached $4 billion annually.

Earlier in the day, the king and Queen Maxima visited a strawberry farm in the deserts of Abu Dhabi near the city of Sweihan, built with Dutch help. While there, they toured the facility, walking among the rows of strawberries growing inside the facility.

The king wore a pinstriped blue suit and red tie, while the queen sported a green-and-white jumpsuit, at the farm. Both also wore face masks as the UAE maintains a mask mandate amid the coronavirus pandemic, even as it has one of the world's highest per-capita vaccination rates.

At Expo, the king wore a blue suit with a pale blue tie, with a pocket square sticking out of his suit jacket. The queen wore a large sunhat and an off-white dress. They stopped by the Netherlands pavilion, where a young boy handed the royals a hand-drawn picture of the Netherlands tri-color flag.
THE ISSUE

In this weeks Sunday LNP | LancasterOnline, journalist Carter Walker reported on an August 2020 rally that announced the creation of a white nationalist group called the National Justice Party. The rally was held in a historic barn on Millersville Pike, just outside Lancaster city; the barn is owned by pro-Russia Holocaust denier and Jan. 6 insurrectionist Charles Bausman. The rally was led by Mike Peinovich and other notorious white supremacists. Peinovich (aka Mike Enoch) and fellow National Justice Party founder Joseph Jordan (aka Eric Striker) have published essays on Russia Insider, a pro-Kremlin propaganda outlet published by Bausman, whose 1630 Millersville Pike property serves as the residence of National Justice Party founder Gregory Conte, Walker reported. Orry Von Diez, a former leader in the white supremacist group Identity Evropa, registered to vote in Lancaster County in February 2020, with the farm listed as his address. Norman Trey Garrison, who had been editor of The Lancaster Patriot (a conservative site) before LNP | LancasterOnlines reporting identified him as the host of a white-nationalist podcast on Peinovichs The Right Stuff network, also is listed as living on the property in court papers related to his recent DUI case, Walker reported.

Our message to the white nationalists who have come here in the hope of drawing others into their deranged and malicious web of hate is simple: Leave.

Lancaster County has a beautifully diverse community. Refugees, immigrants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, people of all religious faiths are welcome here.

White supremacists and antisemites are not.

As LNP | LancasterOnlines Walker reported in a two-day report  a vivid reminder of the importance of investigative journalism  experts believe that the gathering of some of the nations most notorious white supremacists here, which went largely unnoticed at the time by neighbors and law enforcement, suggests the group sees this traditionally conservative region as fertile ground for recruiting new members as the population grows more ethnically and politically diverse.

Walker noted that Lancaster County, particularly the urban core including the city and surrounding municipalities, has become increasingly diverse in recent decades, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

He pointed out that in 2000, Lancaster Townships population was 84.1% white. Two decades later, in 2020, only 57% of the nearly 19,000 residents were white, according to census data.

Moreover, he wrote, The suburb has tipped blue after decades of voting for Republicans. A majority of voters there backed Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in the last two presidential contests. ... The county has followed the same trend, albeit more slowly. Republicans made up 61% of registered voters 20 years ago; they make up 51% today.

These white nationalists are trying to exploit the fears among some people of a population thats increasingly diverse.

Alexander Reid Ross, a doctoral fellow at the United Kingdom-based Center for Analysis of the Radical Right and author of Against the Fascist Creep, told Walker that he sees the National Justice Party as part of a broader effort to shift America toward an autocratic populist governance like that of Viktor Orbans Hungary, where democratic norms have been eroded.

Theyre trying to create a populist radical right party in the United States thats more hard line than the Republican framework, Ross said. I think theyre doing Lancaster because theyre trying to cultivate a rural following, because thats effectively what (Prime Minister Viktor) Orban did in Hungary.

The strategy: Gather strength in rural areas, then use that strength to subvert democracy.

Orban is anti-immigrant, authoritarian and antisemitic. Beware anyone who regards him as a role model.

Virulent platform

The nonsense penned by the founders of the National Justice Party is disgusting. Were not going to amplify its virulent rhetoric by quoting its platform at great length, but we do feel its necessary to point out some of its most dangerous aspects.

It wants the United States to have a permanent European majority of citizens. It wants white people to be afforded the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  a disingenuous and cynical attempt not to help white Americans, but to hurt minorities. It calls for a ceiling on Jewish employment in vital institutions  clearly embracing inflammatory views of Jewish influence. It wants homosexual, neoliberal, and transgender propaganda to be banned from school curricula. It wants to repeal no-fault divorce and prohibit same-sex marriage.

Peinovich, in a documentary released earlier this month, said the goal of the party is to gain support by focusing on divisive social issues like race and LGBTQ issues, Walker reported. They hope to nominate candidates for elected office and usurp the Republican Party as the voice of conservatives.

Other excerpts from Walkers reporting:

 Greg Conte, the party founder now living at the Bausman farm, used his channel on Telegram  a messaging service created by a Russian entrepreneur  to praise American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell. In another message to his 1,400 subscribers, he wrote, Its sad that Hitler didnt win. 

 Peinovich said in a 2017 interview with The New Yorker that he had an intense, personal antipathy for Jews and repeatedly has been photographed and videotaped performing the Sieg Heil Nazi salute.

 Party founder Jordan, who writes under the name Eric Striker, once wrote in The Daily Stormer that the Jew is the virus that launches many infections against our national bodys White blood cells ... we must eliminate this virus before it brings about our Demise.  The Daily Stormer is a white-supremacist website and message board that often horrifically advocates for a second genocide of Jewish people.

These are the views of the people who held a rally in Lancaster Township in August 2020.

We call on every public official, beyond those quoted by Walker in his article in the Sunday LNP | LancasterOnline, to make it clear that these views are not welcome here. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker and members of the Lancaster County delegation in Harrisburg: Go on the record to declare your opposition to these despicable views.

Antithesis of our values

Even if, as Walker reported, most of the National Justice Partys members seem to have moved on from Lancaster County, and even if the party has relatively few adherents, we all should make it clear that the partys views are disgraceful and un-American, and the antithesis of this countys values.

And we should be aware that white nationalists dont always carry tiki torches (though Peinovich did speak at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia). According to Carla Hill, a senior investigative researcher at the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism, they often spread their poison online and in podcasts. This is how they make connections with other white supremacists and gain influence, insidiously and stealthily.

We also should be aware that they often hide their hateful views and sketchy affiliations so they can get others to buy the garbage theyre selling.

Consider Charles Bausman, the owner of that Lancaster Township barn where the National Justice Party held its August 2020 rally.

As Carter Walker and LNP | LancasterOnline Watchdog Editor Russ Walker reported Monday, Bausman comes across as a well-to-do, educated father.  He doesnt hide his love for Russia or the Russian Orthodox Church, and he insists hes just a businessman running a small publishing enterprise. He denies any ties to the Russian government.

But Bausman essentially has been hiding in Russia since the middle of January, acknowledging to LNP | LancasterOnline that he fears he may be in legal jeopardy because he illegally entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6., and because of his ties to white nationalists and Russia.

And a 2018 U.S. State Department report on rising antisemitism in Russia described Bausmans Russia Insider as being linked to pro-government oligarchs, LNP | LancasterOnline reported. From its start in 2014, Carter Walker and Russ Walker noted, it was aimed at delivering pro-Russia coverage to Western audiences.

They cited a January 2018 essay by Anton Shekhovtsov, a European scholar of the far right. Shekhovtsov noted that Russia Insider published a 5,000-word manifesto in January 2018 that was authored by Bausman, in which he asserted that it was time to start assertively addressing the pernicious influence of the Jewish elites.

Russia Insiders embrace of antisemitism and its celebration of former President Donald Trump were useful for Moscows covert influence in the U.S., Shekhovtsov wrote. The more extreme the growing American far-right scene is, the more it contributes to the already troubling polarization of American society.

We cannot let Lancaster County be fertile ground for the growth of the far right. Given the depth of LNP | LancasterOnlines reporting on Bausman and his fellow white nationalists, we no longer can say, as the lawn signs assert, that hate has no home here. Unfortunately, without our knowledge, hatred has made itself far too comfortable in Lancaster County.

We know this now. And so we have to make it absolutely clear that its not welcome. That we stand with our Jewish neighbors, our neighbors of color, our LGBTQ neighbors and the refugees and immigrants who strengthen our community. That we expect all of our elected officials to take a stand against hatred  with the urgency our newly gained knowledge demands.
County Approves $2.5M Settlement of Suits Related to Kobe Bryant Crash

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today approved a $2.5 million settlement for two families suing over the unauthorized sharing of photos of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, in which their loved ones also were killed. Under the proposed settlement, still subject to court approval, Matthew Mauser stands to receive $1.25 million and siblings J.J. Altobelli and Alexis Altobelli would share another $1.25 million.

Mausers wife, Christine, and the Altobellis mother, father and younger sister  Keri, John and Alyssa  died in the Jan. 26, 2020, crash that also killed Bryant, his daughter Gianna and three others. A report from the county counsel recommended the settlement to avoid further litigation costs.

The county has already spent approximately $1,292,592 in fees and legal costs in the two cases, according to the board letter. The five-member board approved the payment without comment.

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The Altobellis and Matthew Mauser filed separate federal lawsuits against the county alleging they suffered emotional distress after a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that L.A. County sheriffs deputies and L.A. County firefighters took and shared crash scene photos for purposes outside law enforcement.

We believe these proposed settlements of $1.25 million are reasonable and fair to all concerned, attorney Skip Miller of Miller Barondess  who represented the county  told The Times.

We are pleased that the Mauser and Altobelli families, who as private citizens suffered the same grief and loss as others, will be able to move forward after these settlements, which are subject to final approval by the Board of Supervisors. We also hope that eventually the other families will be able to do the same.

Bryants widow Vanessa sued Los Angeles County last year, alleging that she and her family suffered severe emotional distress after discovering that sheriffs deputies snapped and shared gruesome photos of the helicopter crash scene.

The legal fight between Vanessa Bryant and the county intensified when county lawyers sought to have Bryant undergo a psychiatric examination in advance of the trial scheduled for February 2022. Lawyers argued in court papers that she cannot have severe distress from crash photos she and the public have never seen.

On Monday, however, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Eick denied the countys motion seeking the exam, deeming the request untimely. He denied the motion without prejudice, meaning county attorneys could make the request again depending how the case proceeds.

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Bryant won a separate legal victory in the case last month when L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and Fire Chief Daryl Osby were ordered to be

deposed in the case. Eick said Villanueva and Osby appear to have unique first-hand, non- repetitive knowledge relative to the case. The judge limited each deposition to four hours.

The family of Sarah Chester and her 13-year-old daughter Payton, who also died in the crash, filed their own suit against the county in December, saying they were humiliated and distraught when they realized that personnel trusted to secure the site had photographed remains. That family is not part of the settlement approved Tuesday.
CSULB Receives $10 Million Grant for Public Health Program

The public health program at California State University, Long Beach received a boost courtesy of the American Rescue Plan.

Cal State Long Beach is one of 10 schools nationwide to receive a $10 million grant, the maximum award, to help recruit, train and place more than 700 minority students into Californias public health workforce. The grant is intended to improve the gathering of U.S. public health information and COVID- 19 data collection.

The funding, administered through the American Rescue Plan, is headed toward Cal State Long Beachs College of Health & Human Services to coordinate efforts with other CSU and UC schools, community colleges, and the private sector to the public health demands in California.

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I am so pleased that this project will form a consortium to collectively provide a high quality and unique educational opportunity for over 700 underserved students on interdisciplinary approaches in public health informatics and technology, Professor Kamiar Alaei, Department Chair of Health Sciences and the principal investigator/director for the project, said in a release.

The program is being developed for public health curriculum focusing on diverse students seeking certifications, associates, bachelors or masters degrees, in addition to providing paid internships and job placement.

We have numerous supports from over 26 public health agencies, major hospitals, education providers, community-based agencies and advocacy organizations who vouched for commitment in the form of support, resources, expertise, internships, recruiting, outreach and placement efforts, Alaei said in a release.
More Than 1,300 LAPD Employees Have Not Reported Vaccination Status

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said today 1,357 department employees had not submitted their vaccination status as of Friday, and each commander has received a list of their names to begin enforcement of the citys vaccination and testing mandate.

Moore also told the Police Commission the department currently has a total of 9,473 sworn personnel and 2,670 civilian personnel. A majority of those who havent reported their status were sworn employees, but Moore said he did not have the exact number.

Each officer who has not yet reported their vaccination status will receive a notice telling them to report their status within 48 hours and to enter into an agreement to receive two tests per week, paid for by the individual employee.

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If an employee does not submit information on their vaccination status, the department, myself, will initiate disciplinary proceedings against the employees, civilian or sworn, Moore said. Ultimately, our goal is to have to a 100% fully vaccinated workforce.

The commanders also received lists of the officers who are seeking medical or religious exemptions. Those requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, according to the city, and if an exemption is approved, the employee will be required to test for COVID-19 once per week, but the tests will be paid for by the city.

The union representing Los Angeles police officers sued the city on Friday, alleging unfair labor negotiations related to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for municipal employees.

The unions Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also seeks to stop the city from requiring unvaccinated employees who dont have exemptions to pay for their COVID tests, at $65 per test, twice a week. Los Angeles vaccination mandate was updated on Oct. 26, pushing back the deadline for employees to get vaccinated from Oct. 20 to Dec. 18.

Mayor Eric Garcetti called the mandate critical to protecting the health and safety of our workforce and the Angelenos we serve. Through Dec. 18, unvaccinated employees have to submit to two COVID-19 tests per week, and $65 per test will be deducted from their paychecks.

Employees have to get tested during their free time, and testing has to be conducted by the city or a vendor  of the citys choosing, according to the CAOs report approved by the City Council on Tuesday.
Tenants, Landlords Urged to Take Advantage of Emergency Rental Assistance

Supervisor Hilda Solis today urged tenants and landlords to take advantage of state rental assistance dollars on offer, saying participation is low in certain areas of Los Angeles County.

It is disheartening to still see very low participation of tenants and landlords in hard-hit communities like East L.A., southeast L.A. and parts (of) the San Gabriel Valley, which indicates that more work needs to be done to increase participation, Solis said in a statement. With over 66,000 unhoused residents, tackling our housing and homelessness crisis remains the countys number one priority. Tenants in households with 2020 income below 80% of the countys median income are eligible, and priority is given to those with income at or below 50% of that level.

The median income set by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is $77,300  80% of that number $61,840. Any tenant meeting the income test can apply, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.

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Solis comments came after the Board of Supervisors approved the return of $84 million in funding to the state, which is now administering emergency rental assistance on behalf of the county.

As of Oct. 23, the state has distributed $308,152,988 in rent relief to Los Angeles County residents and assisted 25,937 households, according to Solis. The state program does not yet have an end date, and Solis warned that continuing to provide rental assistance is critical to avoid further increases in homelessness.

This pandemic has not affected everyone equally and, to that end, I am focused on meeting the needs of our community to stabilize households and mitigate the detrimental effects of disruptive displacements across the county, Solis said. She urged anyone in need of help paying their rent  or having trouble getting payment from tenants  to visit stayhousedla.org or call 888-694-0040.


The Democratic Republic of Congos environment minister said on Thursday the country plans to ban all log exports. The country also plans to take measures to lessen threats to its tropical rainforest. The forest takes in carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. It is a major move to fight climate change.

Congo is home to the majority of the worlds second-largest rainforest. The country is under pressure to improve how it administers the forest.

It is also under pressure to slow down the high rate at which the forest is being destroyed, or deforested. Information from the U.N. shows the deforestation rate has doubled in the last ten years.

Eve Bazaiba is the environment minister. She announced the suspension of log exports to reporters in the capital Kinshasa. She did not say when it would come into effect.

"It allows us not only to enable natural restoration but also a reforestation program that we have with all of our technical, financial, and development partners," she said.

Information from the Central African Forest Initiative shows the Congo Basin rainforest removes 4 percent of carbon dioxide that humans put into the atmosphere around the world each year. About 60 percent of the rainforest is in Congo.

Removal of ban

Bazaiba also has a plan, however, to remove a temporary ban on new industrial logging, which would give land to logging companies to remove trees. This plan has caused concern in environmental groups and scientists. They have warned of serious environmental, social, and climatic harm.

Bazaiba has said in the past that the temporary ban has not been able to stop the spread of illegal logging.

More than 24 scientists have urged those who financially support the Democratic Republic of Congos forests industry to suspend financing if the government goes ahead with this plan.

But some scientists and other groups support the measure.

The European Unions ambassador to Congo has shown openness to the governments plan. They said earlier this month that it represented a desire to regain control of the forests.

Gaining control

Earlier in October, President Felix Tshisekedi ordered an inspection into all existing logging contracts, or legal agreements. He was trying to gain more order in the poorly administered industry.

"We don't want any more contracts with partners who came to savagely cut our forests, we will retire these types of contracts," Bazaiba said.

Forest Trends is an American organization that works to save forest land. In 2018, it found that Congos biggest markets for wood products were Vietnam, the European Union and the European Free Trade Association, and China.

Im Gregory Stachel.

Hereward Holland reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor.

______________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

log  n. a long, heavy section of a tree that has fallen or been cut down

carbon dioxide  n. a gas that is produced when people and animals breathe out or when certain fuels are burned and that is used by plants for energy

allow  v. to permit (something): to regard or treat (something) as acceptable

restoration  n. the act or process of returning something to its original condition by repairing it, cleaning it, or other acts

savage  adj. very cruel or violent

type  n. a particular kind or group of things or people
American school systems usually have gifted and talented programs for students that show a high level of success.

Such programs have been under much criticism in recent years. Some parents say they worsen racial segregation and inequities in the countrys education system.

In early October, the mayor of New York City announced plans to end the gifted and talented programs in the countrys largest school system. If it goes forward, that would be a big win for groups supporting an end to similar programs from Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington.

From the start, gifted and talented school programs drew worries they would produce an unequal education system in U.S. public schools. Many programs began as efforts to keep white families from leaving racially diverse public schools in urban areas. They were created to compete with high-performing private schools.

School leaders and parents increasingly have to deal with difficult questions over equity. They are trying to find ways to teach strong learners while continuing to help other students succeed. It is a question that is driving the debate over whether to grow gifted and talented programs or end them completely.

I get the burn-it-down and tear-it-down mentality, but what do we replace it with? asked Marcia Gentry. She is a professor of education and the director of the Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute at Purdue University in Indiana.

Gentry co-wrote a study two years ago that followed the racial inequities in gifted and talented programs.

The study found that U.S. schools identified 3.3 million students as gifted and talented. But an additional 3.6 million who should have also been considered gifted were not included in the programs. The study found these students were disproportionately Black, Latino and Native American.



An Associated Press study of recent federal data found that nationwide, 8.1 percent of white and 12.7 percent of Asian American children in public schools are considered gifted. But only 4.5 percent of Hispanic and 3.5 percent of Black students are identified as gifted.

Gifted and talented programs aim to provide more demanding instruction for students who feel limited with the regular program. Critics of the push to end them say it punishes successful students. They say it also cuts off a chance for students to move up, especially for those from poor families without the means to attend private schools.

In Seattle, a former top official of the school system tried to end its gifted and talented program. She blamed it for worsening school segregation. In its own recent study, Seattle public schools found only 0.9 percent of Black children had been identified as gifted, compared with 12.6 percent of its white students.

School leaders have since approved changes to the program. Students will be admitted based on their performance. They are no longer required to take a test to enter the program. The selection committee will also consider input from teachers, family and community members.

Rita Green works for the local NAACP office, a racial justice organization. She said the changes do not go far enough. She wanted the schools to help all of the citys 50,000 students, not just the most successful.

We want the program just abolished, Green said. She added that the program is inherently racist.

Since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, other school systems around the U.S. are also rethinking their gifted and talented programs.

Boston schools voted to expand its program and guarantee placements for top students from poorer areas of the city. A top high school in San Francisco, California removed its entrance exam. As did a top high school in Fairfax, Virginia, where parents recently lost a legal fight to keep the test.

Most gifted and talented programs have used test scores to decide which students to admit. Some wealthier families are able to spend thousands of dollars on instruction to increase their childs scores.

Nowhere has the debate been as heated as in New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio said last month that he would begin to end the program, calling it exclusionary.

Eric Adams, likely the citys next mayor, said he does not support ending the program.

But Gentry, the Purdue researcher, agreed that it was time to fix the equity problems of gifted and talented programs. She urged parents and school officials to do the hard work of finding a compromise.

I know the inequities exist, Gentry said. I worry that the easy solution is to stop doing it.

Im Dan Novak.

Bobby Caina Calvan reported this story for the Associated Press. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

Quiz- US Schools Debate Gifted and Talented Programs Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

_______________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

talented  adj. having a special ability to do something well

segregation  n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other

inequity  n. lack of fairness : unfair treatment

diverse  adj. made up of people or things that are different from each other

mentality  n. a particular way of thinking

disproportionate  adj. having or showing a difference that is not fair, reasonable, or expected : too large or too small in relation to something

abolish  v. to officially end or stop (something, such as a law) : to completely do away with (something)

inherent  adj. belonging to the basic nature of someone or something

score  n. the number of points that someone gets for correct answers on a test, exam, etc.

exclusive  adj. available to only one person or group


American technology company Yahoo says it has pulled out of China because of an increasingly challenging business and legal environment.

The company said in a statement its services were no longer available in mainland China as of November 1.

Yahoo remains committed to the rights of our users and a free and open internet. We thank our users for their support, the statement said.

The withdrawal follows moves by Yahoo to reduce its presence in China over the past few years. Many of the companys services were already blocked as a result of Chinese government censorship.

Yahoo is the latest major foreign technology company to leave China. Google gave up several years ago. And Microsofts professional networking service LinkedIn announced last month it was closing its Chinese site.

In their place, Chinese companies have created other digital services. The Baidu search engine has largely replaced Yahoo and Google in China. WeChat and Weibo are now the leading social media websites.

Restrictions on technology companies

The departures demonstrate the difficulties technology companies face operating in the massive mainland Chinese market. China requires companies to censor content and keywords that it considers politically sensitive or inappropriate.

Yahoo's pullout came as Chinas government put new restrictions in place on internet companies. The restrictions are part of the countrys Personal Information Protection Law, which limits what information companies can gather. The law also sets rules for how information must be stored.

Chinese laws also require companies operating in the country to hand over data if requested by government officials. This makes it difficult for Western firms to operate in China as they may also face pressure back home for giving in to China's demands.

China blocks most international social media sites and search engines, such as Facebook and Google. Some users in China get around the block by using a virtual private network (VPN), which hides who users are and where they are operating from.

Yahoo was strongly criticized by American lawmakers in 2007 after it provided data on two Chinese dissidents to Beijing. The information later led to the dissidents being imprisoned.

Yahoo entered China in 1998. In 2012, the company struck a deal with Alibaba Group to sell its share of the massive online seller. The deal also saw Alibaba gain the right to operate Yahoo China under the Yahoo name for up to four years.

Yahoo China later closed its email service and web portal. But the company kept a major research and development center in Beijing until 2015, when it was shut down.

Im Jill Robbins.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

____________________________________

Words in This Story

challenging  adj. difficult to do in a way that tests your ability or determination

censorship  n. the system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc.

inappropriate  adj. not suitable or proper in a particular situation

virtual private network (VPN)  n. a private computer network used to connect users in other places to a companys private, internal network

portal  n. a page on the internet that links to many other pages of websites that people use to start searching for information
Find out which sectors of the local economy are doing well  and which are not.
Major outbreaks of the disease occurred in the late 19thcentury in Europe and the United States, by the 20th century it had become one of the most worrying childhood disease due to its effects.

The disease hit without warning, tended to strike white, affluent individuals, required long quarantine periods during which parents were separated from children: it was impossible to tell who would get the disease and who would be spared, according to author E.J. Sass in Polios Legacy: An Oral History.

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In fact, the 32nd president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, contracted polio in 1921 and became paralyzed permanently from the waist down.

At its peak in the 1940s and 1950s, polio would paralyze or kill over half a million people worldwide every year during the decades.

McKelevy said he recalls as a child, if there was a case of polio in the local community, people would stop going to the local swimming pools, as water is one way polio is transmitted.

Two vaccines were developed in the 1950s and through mass immunizations; the disease was eliminated from most of the world.
Lewiston, ID (83501)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 31F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 31F. Winds light and variable.
Anthony Cooper was participating in a community forum about gun violence when he had to abruptly leave. There had been shots fired near Warner Park.

Cooper is the CEO of the Focused Interruption Coalition, a local group which works to diffuse and prevent retaliatory violence.

In that late September meeting, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes and Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett discussed plans for how to address local gun violence and answered questions from community members.

Cooper, meanwhile, responded to the incident in the 1400 block of Troy Drive, near Warner Park, where a physical fight ended in a shooting. Two individuals were shot and later transported to the hospital.

This year, 30 people were struck by gunfire through Sept. 30, with 171 shots fired and five homicides by firearm, according to the Madison Police Department.

Madison saw the highest number of shots fired, 250, in the citys history, in 2020. Last year, MPD data show 48 subjects were struck by gunfire and there were eight homicides by firearm.

I am deeply concerned about the levels of gun violence were seeing in Madison, but also in cities all across the country, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said in a Sept. 9 statement. Its highlighted the danger of weak gun laws.

The city is now set to evaluate a new Gun Violence Reduction Strategy proposed by Barnes that would bring new resources to curbing gun violence. And for years, local community groups have been working in multiple ways to ease tensions, prevent shootings and address underlying issues that can lead to violence.

But it will take a coordinated effort.

Weve heard from MPD officers and leadership that we cant police our way out of all our problems and we know that over time too much has been laid at the feet of the nations police departments, Rhodes-Conway said in the statement. They need support from partner agencies that can address issues in different ways and before they escalate into violence.

Building stronger communities

MPDs Barnes has been involved in online community discussions to give residents a chance to interact with the chief and other city leaders about gun violence.

Weve had major concerns here that have been going on in the city for a long time, District 9 Alder Nikki Conklin said at the Sept. 30 meeting. We wanted to bring everyone together and just get on the same page.

According to Barnes, violent crime and property crime are down from 2020 and over a three-year average.

This year, violent crime has reduced, Barnes said. Our number of shots fired has reduced. But what remains is fear of crime.

Curbing the violence and reassuring fearful residents are priorities of the MPD and the Dane County district attorneys office.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, who also has participated in community meetings addressing gun violence, said intervention needs to start in the home, when children are young.

We need to work to protect children and give youth in our community positive opportunities and support, Ozanne said. Teaching kids as early as possible nonviolent conflict resolution, reasoning, and logic prepares them for school and gives them tools to solve problems without violence.

Barnes has a similar thought. In the September meeting, he recalled when he was a kid and all of the adults in his area took on the responsibility of making sure that he and other children were where they were supposed to be, and doing what they were supposed to be doing.

He said it appears much of that culture has been lost and it is vital to the community to get back to those values.

We have to create stronger communities, Barnes said. We (the police) cannot control a 12-year-old who is not home at 3 a.m. because theyre out driving a stolen vehicle. We have to create those communities.

We have to wrap our arms around our kids and let them know there is a place for you here in Madison.

Gun Violence Reduction Strategy

Barnes has touted the Gun Violence Reduction Strategy as a way for Madison to reduce the amount of gun violence in the city and lower incarceration numbers.

The strategy has been used in municipalities all over the country, including Salisbury, North Carolina, where Barnes was deputy chief of police from 2017-2020.

The GVRS has four major components:

1. Data-driven identification of groups and individuals: This involves looking at every individual gun violence incident and understanding who the folks are at the center of it, and what their risk factors are. It would likely involve a weekly review of shootings in the area, determining which ones have a likelihood of retaliation, and what individuals need to be focused on in order to prevent such retaliation.

2. Direct communication: Communicating with those high-risk individuals and helping them work through their issues in order to prevent them from picking up a gun.

3. Services, supports and opportunities: Developing an intensive plan with high-risk individuals. Staying in contact with them consistently. Helping them find employment and other opportunities for positive community interaction/involvement.

4. Focused enforcement: If after (or during) this process, that individual decides to pick up a gun anyway, they would be prosecuted to the laws fullest extent.

On Oct. 26, Focused Interruption Coalitions Cooper hosted an online informational meeting about GVRS, and interviewed David Muhammad, executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform.

NICJR provides training and technical assistance to cities across the country working to reduce gun violence. The group has worked with municipalities including St. Louis, Detroit, Orlando, Stockton and others.

The most transformative thing we have is when there is someone who can be a positive person in your life and be engaged with you, Muhammad said.

Muhammad said the pandemic has exacerbated gun violence across the country.

COVID-19 has had this horrible impact on gun violence in cities, Muhammad said. Large, small, East, Midwest, all over the country. There has been no area untouched by this gun violence. All that being said, what were talking about is near-term gun violence reduction. Can we reduce gun violence over the next months?

On Oct. 25, the city of Madisons Finance Committee adopted an amendment to the mayors 2022 operating budget that would fund community violence prevention. Under the amendment, $215,725 would go to Public Health Madison & Dane County.

The funds requested would pay for approximately 15 full-time public health staffers to do case management and outreach with the at-risk individuals. These case workers would connect with people through text, phone calls, meetings and help them get set up with counseling or job opportunities.

Madisons City Council is set to deliberate the 2022 budget beginning Nov. 9.

I strongly support GVRS as a conceptual framework for addressing gun violence, said District 13 alder Tag Evers. Its a relational and balanced approach, one that doesnt start and finish with law enforcement.

It is not yet known how much support or opposition there will be in Madison to GVRS specifically. But Muhammad said opposition is common.

I dont know a place we havent received some sort of pushback, Muhammad said. Its hard to get people to do differently. Folks want change, but folks dont want to change. Were asking people to invest in, say, a 25-year-old who has five or six arrests, and thats in a crew or something. That person might not be exactly out looking for services, you know? Thats a hard population to say, Yeah, lets invest in that person. Some people ask if thats a person who is worthy of services.

Staffing is key. In Oakland, where Muhammad is based, the city saw six consecutive years of reduction in gun violence from 2012-2018, with only a marginal uptick in 2019, he said. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they lost the staff members who were vital to the full-time outreach.

Forty people whose full-time job is to engage people who were at high-risk all went away overnight to shelter in place, and didnt return, Muhammad said.

Focused Interruption Coalition at work

On July 5, almost 200 people gathered at a BP gas station on the 4500 block of Verona Road. Some were angry and shouting, others were mourning and some were just seeing what was going on.

Keshaun Q. Davis-Williams, 22, had been shot and killed.

In addition to police, members of the Focused Interruption Coalition were at the scene. FIC workers put themselves at risk trying to deescalate the angry emotions, show empathy to mourners, and stop the cycle of violence before it takes root in someone bent on vindication.

We try to navigate and make sure that retaliatory violence doesnt happen after a shooting occurs, said Cooper, who has run the Focused Interruption Coalition for six years.

The scene that night was particularly heated, Cooper said. Large crowds of emotional people along with dozens of law enforcement officers have the potential to devolve into more incidents and more hurt.

It was crazy. You had family members that were fighting with each other, Cooper said. We stay very focused on the task at hand and what that may take to make sure that it doesnt become more volatile between law enforcement and the community. There were fights that we had to try to de-escalate, and we couldnt de-escalate all of the fights because there were 200 people there, and we didnt know all the parties.

So what happens?

What we can do is be able to have the conversation with law enforcement to be like, Hey, let them argue that out and be what it is. If you all intervene its going to become a bigger situation, Cooper said. But being able to have those conversations in the moment is key and also being okay with the fact that those conversations dont always look the best.

In their work, Cooper and members of his team deftly work to calm people who are fighting or angry and want to do something with all that anger. In the immediate aftermath of a shooting, the lines between grieving the loss of a loved one and wanting to retaliate can be razor thin.

One of the things I try to stay focused on is trying to prevent trauma stacked on top of trauma, Cooper said. If during those times when families were fighting and arguing, and were in the police officers faces and things of that nature, we have to be able to be the calm voice. We say, If you go to jail tonight, whats going to happen to your family?

Being able to have those conversations in the moment, it changes things from any perspective. It changes anyones perspective even when things are heated, Cooper said.

FIC workers not only perform that duty but also work with law enforcement officers who can add to tension while trying to control a scene.

Thats particularly important in an era where police shootings and assaults of people of color have become national news, like the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020. FIC workers are at times literally standing between members of the community bent on revenge, and police officers who may retaliate.

Theres been times where folks have almost hit a law enforcement officer or got into that officer's face in a way where it would have been very volatile, Cooper said. But being able to have someone who can interject and be that constant support in that moment, it really changes the reality for someone.

The intense scenes can take a toll on those who work for FIC.

Most of the people who work with us, some are reliving their traumas, Cooper said. Its different for everyone. But theres times when staff members need to self-evaluate or self-check and take a breather. Because it can get tough.

Theres been times when people say that I myself need to take a breather. Ive been part of almost every homicide that has taken place around Dane County, or at least Madison.

Decompressing is key.

I definitely have my times where I talk about it, Cooper said. I pray. I just pray and ask for whatever release looks like for me to have some understanding. I do walks. I ride a bike with friends of mine from time to time. I have a circle of people I can talk to.

Police have charged 26-year-old Christopher Somersett and 24-year-old Avieon Little with first degree intentional homicide in this case.

The power of mentors

During the meeting about GVRS, Muhammad said people in their early-to-mid-20s were the most important group to reach to immediately reduce gun violence. But for future goals, focusing on middle-to-high school kids could effect longer-lasting change, as that generation grows into adulthood.

In Madison, this fall has seen a rash of youth violence, however. Fights at area high schools have been common and a source of concern for parents, mirroring a national trend.

Madison has had community meetings over the past couple of years to address issues about crime, guns and violence among youth.

As the CEO of Mentoring Positives, a youth-outreach organization based in the Darbo-Worthington neighborhood, Will Green has helped set kids on a positive track for more than 15 years.

For Green, the key to reaching kids before they get into things like picking up guns or engaging in other serious offenses, is to give them a platform to be heard and unpack their feelings. But its been a challenge during COVID-19.

Normally, when stuff happens around gun violence, there is at least a stage on which youth can express themselves, Green said. I feel like we as a community have not done a good job of giving that platform to the youth to speak and express themselves. We, as youth orgs, used to rely on person to person contact in building relationships with kids.

We kind of all went underground during COVID and so now its kind of like, Where are the youth and what have they been doing for a year-and-a-half?

Recently, Green was contacted by an MPD officer he knows who showed him a picture of a kid from one of Greens programs. The kid was posing in an Instagram post holding a gun. Green immediately spoke to the kid about it.

I said, You cannot be posting stuff like this on social media. You cannot be indulging in this kind of behavior, Green said. He was embarrassed that I knew about it, because hes trying to be a really good guy. He didnt want to talk about it with me.

This is a kid were trying to have develop leadership skills and give him work. So I work with kids that I know are going to fall off the horse sometimes, theyre not gonna be perfect, so all we can do is help.

In Darbo there is what Green described as active gun activity. But much of it is people from outside the Darbo community coming in and firing shots, then speeding away in cars.

Its not the individuals who live in the neighborhood, Green said. Its people who like to come into the neighborhood, do their dirt and leave.

Gun violence is something that Green said ebbs and flows from generation to generation. Sometimes there are periods of time when there is a lot, and other eras are relatively peaceful.

But the pandemic has produced a class of young people that Green fears are disconnected and detached.

I really feel like, yeah, kids are desensitized from what is going on out here and we have little value ourselves on human life, and who we are as people, from a Black perspective.

As Black individuals, we have a bigger responsibility when it comes to this, Green said. Take, for instance, when Tony Robinson was killed. There were protests and things but at least kids were able to take the megaphone and express themselves.

We have to come together and give that space to at least talk about it.

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Yet Binger repeatedly stressed that amid the hundreds of people in Kenosha and the anger and chaos in the streets, "the only person who killed anyone is the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse."

Binger told the jury that self-defense can be a valid claim only if Rittenhouse reasonably believed he was using deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

The prosecutor said that it is not known exactly what words were said, but it is clear that Rittenhouse started a confrontation that caused the first person shot that night, Joseph Rosenbaum, to begin chasing Rittenhouse across a parking lot.

Binger emphasized, too, that Rosenbaum, 36, was killed by a shot to the back after he threw a plastic bag. The prosecutor noted that the first two bullets hit Rosenbaum in the lower extremities, causing him to fall forward.

Richards, the defense attorney, said Rosenbaum yelled an expletive at Rittenhouse and lunged for his gun before Rittenhouse fired at him. It was Rosenbaum who "lit the fuse that night," he said.

Richards said Rittenhouse fired four shots at Rosenbaum in less than a second "as he's trying to take Kyle's weapon from him to use against him."
Tamara Thomsen and Mallory Dragt thought they would take a spin under Lake Mendota on a couple of underwater scooters, motorized gadgets that scuba divers use to propel themselves through the water.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in June, and the duo, who work at Diversions Scuba, debated whether they had just seen a log sticking out of the bottom of the 9,781-acre lake or something extremely rare.

The discovery, on a slope in 27 feet of water near Shorewood Hills, has turned out to be about as historic as it gets.

After a bit of investigation, it turns out that Thomsen, who is also a maritime archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society, was right in judging that it was more than just a log: It was a dugout canoe. A few weeks later, carbon-14 dating showed that the 15-foot-long vessel was an estimated 1,200 years old, the oldest intact boat ever found in Wisconsin waters.

On a brisk Tuesday, amid a chop of waves and 50-degree water, the canoe was brought to shore by teams of divers who shared fist bumps and hugs to applause from residents of the Spring Harbor neighborhood who had gathered at the beach to witness the canoes return to shore.
Members of the Idaho State Police Association say theyre struggling with increasing calls for service and want the agency to raise state troopers pay.

In an Oct. 20 letter to Gov. Brad Little and state legislators, the associations board requested better compensation for employees. A rise in demand and workforce shortages have challenged ISP workers, the letter said, as the state sees an increase in calls to service.

Current employees are experiencing low morale, financial hardship and increased workload due to Idahos rapid population growth, the letter stated. Recruiting quality employees is difficult with the current pay scale and the extreme rise in the cost of living.

Members of the association, a nonprofit corporation that advocates and fund-raises for its members, include ISP sworn officers and civilian employees. The ISPA board didnt respond to requests for further comment.

The letter cited problems with recruitment and retention efforts due to a lack of affordable housing and pay thats below the national average, forcing loyal veteran employees to leave ISP to cover the cost of living for their families. The annual salary for new troopers in Idaho, according to the association, falls below that of Wyoming, Washington and Oregon.

ISP has 18 vacancies among commissioned members, including state troopers, and 20 vacancies for non-commissioned positions, according to ISP. ISP currently employs 316 commissioned employees, which include troopers and higher-level positions. Pay ranges for state troopers are between $22.81 and $39.93 an hour.

Meanwhile, emergency calls to state police have spiked this year, according to ISP. The agency said employees in the Meridian-based Regional Communications Center South are averaging 35 overtime hours in a four-week period.

Calls for service into state police dispatch centers have remained relatively the same since last year, according to ISP, at just over 4,000 calls a week. However, emergency calls being transferred to state police already rose by 14% compared with last year.

A 911 call first comes into an Idaho city or county dispatch center and can get rerouted to one of ISPs two regional dispatch centers if needed. ISP has totaled 16,665 911 transfer calls so far. Last year ISP totaled 14,579 transfer calls, according to the agency.

There is no doubt calls for service are increasing, and cost of living, while disparate between regions, certainly impacts all employees, state police spokesperson Lynn Hightower said. ISP is not alone in these issues. With other state agencies, ISP is working with the Idaho Division of Human Resources at this time to review and address the wage issue with a holistic approach.

Gov. Brad Littles spokesperson Marissa Morrison Hyer said the governor is awaiting the annual Change in Employee Compensation report, an analysis on pay put together by the state Division of Human Resources with consulting firms, before finalizing recommendations for state employee compensation.

The governors office is working closely with agencies to determine budgeting needs, Morrison Hyer said in a statement.

Service remains uninterrupted, Hightower said. Last week alone, dispatchers and troopers with ISP responded alongside our fellow law enforcement agencies to extremely critical, urgent calls for service.

ISP, alongside Boise police, helped respond to a shooting at the Boise Towne Square mall that left two dead and four injured. ISP also responded to a standoff between police and an armed man near the Boise Airport.

That lifesaving response speaks highly of the men and women serving in the Idaho State Police, Hightower said.

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As of January 2021, 80% of Idahos 115 school districts had a supplemental levy in place to fund day-to-day operations. But a state senator from Caldwell is proposing a plan that would phase out the supplemental levy authority for school districts entirely, replacing it with a sales tax-driven state fund instead as a means of providing property tax relief.

Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, introduced the idea Friday in the Property Taxes and Revenue Expenditures study committee meeting, which is a joint committee studying Idahos property tax system to make recommendations to help with property tax relief and other goals.

The proposed plan would be to allocate half a cent from Idahos 6% sales tax and create a new fund outside of the education budget and distribute the funds to school districts based on the number of enrolled students. By todays calculations, that would be about $180 million.

The total number levied by school districts across Idaho last year was $216.6 million.

School districts would still be able to secure bond funding through elections.

Idaho State Police Association wants pay raise for troopers, citing living costs Current employees are experiencing low morale, financial hardship and increased workload due to Idahos rapid population growth. Recruiting quality employees is difficult with the current pay scale and the extreme rise in the cost of living.

For school districts with existing levies that are larger dollar amounts than what the fund would provide, Rice said districts could levy for the difference until the fund grew large enough to replace that revenue.

It would phase (supplemental levies) all out and replace it with money from the sales tax thats growing at a faster rate in actuality than what weve been seeing supplemental levies grow at, Rice told the Idaho Capital Sun on Monday.

The idea reflects several realities of Idaho politics  residential property tax rates are increasing, education budgets are increasingly a target of some Republican legislators, and school districts have struggled in recent years to pass supplemental levies in all corners of the state, from West Ada to Swan Valley.

During the committee meeting, Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, said she was concerned by the idea of tying education funding to economic growth because there are years when growth slows or when the state experiences a downturn in economic activity.

Rice said he isnt as worried about that.

Even in a downturn, sales tax doesnt tend to go down as much, Rice said. Income tax is where you see the real volatility. And when you have a downturn in the economy, that makes it even harder to pass a supplemental (levy), so if you cant pass it because of an economic downturn, you get zero.

Necochea told the Sun it doesnt matter whether the funds come from sales tax or income tax, because they are part of Idahos general fund revenue stream. In a downturn, she said, there will be more pressure on general fund dollars to move around and education funding would be hurt in the process.

The entire reason we need so many supplemental levies is the Republican-controlled Legislature has not provided adequate support for basic operations, and now this proposal asks Idahoans to trust that same Legislature to do right by schools in the future, while taking away a critical locally controlled school funding tool, Necochea said.

Rice said the plan would provide property tax relief on a permanent basis and would create a stable funding source for education since it would be separate from the education budget.

Childrens mental health is national emergency in pandemic. Whats being done in Idaho? In Dr. David Petermans 40 years as a pediatrician in Idaho, he has never seen so many children younger than 12 coming in with anxiety. And t

By keeping it separate, you create a real disincentive for it to ever be taken away or to have the education budget reduced because they get these other funds, Rice said. I dont think anybody would be dumb enough at that point to try taking it away or try reducing the education budget.

Necochea said the plan is reminiscent of the tax changes implemented by U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, when he was acting governor in 2006, but unlike that proposal, Rices plan includes no new sources of revenue  only existing funds. And in 2006, Necochea said, legislators were promised the change wouldnt affect education budgets.

I absolutely want to see us direct more state funding to schools because it also increases equity across our state, but I dont trust this Legislature to be there for our schools and students and keep our schools whole, she said.

Rice said he wants people to read the bill and provide feedback on the idea leading up to the 2022 legislative session in January. It may also become a ballot question in next Novembers election, he said.

The purpose though is to solve problems without creating new ones, so Im open to adjusting it, were open to all sorts of things, Rice said.  Our purpose is to expand the people were hearing from, the people were talking to, so its not a bubble. It really is a discussion with the population of the state of Idaho.

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Nomination from counselor

Joshuas younger brother died from suicide during his sophomore year. He was failing school miserably, dropped out, did a little online schooling then went to ID Youth Challenge Academy. He came back a confident young man who now has a 4.0 GPA.

Josh has shown us what determination can do. Despite knowing full well that he could be highly successful in school, he was failing. It was heartbreaking to his parents and to our high school staff. He was grieving the loss of his brother. His willingness to leave home and attend IDYCA took courage and showed a desire to change things for himself. Life would be much different for Josh if he hadnt chosen to go to IDYCA and chosen to work hard there. His determination to do better and be better will open up many more options for him in life.

Joshua plans to enlist in the United States Army.

More about Joshua

When Joshuas younger brother, Justin, died, our life stopped right then and there, his mother said. Josh didnt care about school anymore. He was so depressed that it scared everyone at the school and at home. We decided it would be best to pull him out and home school. He was excited and there was a light of hope. Until the actual homeschooling started. Then it went right back to no drive.

The whole family attended counseling, and Joshs counselor introduced them to the Idaho Youth Challenge Academy.

We saw hope again, she said. He had a spark, he was excited. The program is a holistic, quasi-military, fully-accredited residential high school academy. He would be gone six months. The school would always tell us no news is good news. We would get calls every Sunday. He was thriving. There was confidence in his voice. And in the letters he would send home. Covid struck and they got to come home early. I was so happy to have him home, and right before the holidays. He quickly enrolled back into Wendell High School as a junior.

Josh went from sleeping in class to all As, she said.

Josh continues to be a confident young man who is rockin straight As with perfect attendance.

Josh asks a lot of questions in History, said social studies teacher Zack Clough. Whether related to the topic or not he enriches the class with his quest of knowledge and trying to understand the complexities and nuances of American History, he said. He is a positive influence on students who sit near him in class driving group work and is a testament to his own hard work and self-belief.

Josh Cooke is one of the most positive, hard-working, dedicated, caring and decent human beings I have ever known, said music teacher Daniel McCarty. I have been teaching Josh since he was in middle school. Over the last few years, Josh has overcome the loss of his brother to become the man he is. Before Josh dropped out, he had very little motivation to do much of anything. He would do what I asked him to do in band but not much else. He really struggled finding his place in school and in life. I was saddened when he dropped out, but unsurprised at the same time. When he contacted me about being his mentor for the National Guard Challenge Academy, I hoped this would be a new start for him. From the first conversation we had over zoom while he was at the academy, I knew that something had changed in him. He believed in himself and wanted to change his life for the better. Since returning a year ago, Josh has helped his fellow students to try to achieve greater things. I have seen him take on a leadership role in my sixth-grade band where he is my student aid. He helps the trombone players learn their notes and assists the other kids in anything they might need help with. Josh may be the heart of the band. There has not been a day since he returned when I havent seen a smile on his face, and a willingness to help others. I am really proud to be Joshs teacher, mentor and friend.

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I wish the best for Heyburn," Rosa said. "But I will be putting my efforts elsewhere."
TWIN FALLS  College of Southern Idaho facilities director Spencer Cutler won a seat on the Twin Falls City Council with 34.9% of the votes on election night.

Cutler will take Seat 5, replacing Greg Lanting who has served on the council since 2006.

"It's exciting and nerve-racking and relieving all in one," Cutler said.

There are a million things he is excited to get started on but the first is electing a new mayor.

The two newly elected council members, Cutler and Jason Brown will take office during the first Twin Falls City Council meeting in Jan. During that meeting, the council will elect a new mayor after Suzanne Hawkins' mayoral term ends in January.

"Right off the bat you start making decisions and put your name on the record," Cutler said.

This year four candidates ran for Seat 5. Liyah Babayan was the runner-up with 24.38% of the votes. More than 3,700 citizens cast their vote for Seat 5.

There was a lot of tenacity and enthusiasm among all the candidates, Cutler said. It is tough to put your name out there, he said.

Born in Twin Falls, this was Cutler's first candidacy for an elected office.

Growth, growth, growth. Thats the big issue on everybodys mind, Cutler told the Times-News previously. Its important that we work with community members to have a well thought out strategic plan to prepare for growth while minimizing the burden on taxpayers."

Cutler said he appreciates the trust voters have placed in him and he looks forward to showing them it was a good decision.

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Can I give you an earworm for the day? Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover. Youre welcome.

Im starting with that bit of humor because the subject for today is leaving our government. It is a serious subject.

A recent poll from a non-profit organization, Public Religion Research Institute, asked responders, Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country. Thirty percent of Republicans, 11 percent of Democrats, and 17 percent of independents said yes. It only amounted to 18 percent of all responders, but it is a worrying thought.

Residents of the United States have not had a war fought on our territory since the Civil War. Even that war involved civilians being displaced, wounded, or killed in distinct regions of our country. The rest of the world cannot make that claim, although the Western Hemisphere has fared somewhat better. Generations of us have sent representatives to the worlds wars, but we have never personally suffered the devastation of battle. If we had, resorting to violence would not be an attractive option.

We all enjoy the fable of the good guys overcoming the bad guys in one sweeping motion. The result is instant peace and goodwill. Unfortunately, the positive outcome is fantasy. Force always fosters resentments that spawn more force. There are generations of people who are still fighting about the issues of our civil war.

Do you know anyone who agrees with the City Council, the Legislature, Congress, or the President on every issue? Even if you voted for them? I doubt it. No matter what public policy, there is always disagreement. There will never be a political figure who unites us behind everything a government does. We faced a horrible moment on January 6 when a mob of people stormed our Nations Capitol, demanding that an election be overturned in favor of their preferred candidate. The poll cited above, taken months later, says that American citizens would be willing to consider similar action in the future.

Is our government perfect? Has it ever been perfect? What government has ever been perfect? Should we tear down all the institutions we have established and start from chaos? I notice that people who want to do that believe that our Constitution is something like what they consider the bible to beinerrant. The Constitution has changed 27 times. Those changes did not alter our form of government. Two of those changes were an experiment in legislating morality. As devastating as the impact of alcoholism is, making it illegal did not annul the problem.

When people try to use the bible as a sort of Constitution for government, the effort fails because it is impossible to legislate peoples moral beliefs. For instance, the bible says we should not commit murder, but we go to war, execute criminals, and assign degrees of guilt in homicide convictions.

I know that I am not alone in loathing the current lack of civility. The show of firearms at public demonstrations alarms me. I understand that a demonstrator is trying to call attention to a cause, but a carried rifle or gun indicates that the demonstrator could attempt force to get their way.

As citizens, we cannot predict all the challenges that come our way. It seems that we have more different kinds of serious challenges at this time than ever before in history. I can see no one thing that we can do to save our country. I dont think that peril comes from only a single issue or a single group of people.

Saving our country is not the issue. Keeping our nations traditions of public debate, compromise, and, especially, cooperation will see us into the uncertain future. The first thing anyone in the military learns from conflict is that success comes from having each others back. When we fight for each other, our nation does not need saving, only protecting.

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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Around 12:30 a young man came out and gave us the final count, saying that the only thing they were waiting on to make it official was the count on post-dated mail-in ballots, said Dillard. Although it does seem to be a final answer, you still want to hear that officially finalized, so theres still a bit of anxiety, a bit of excitement. I cant wait until they say theyre done counting. I want to enjoy the moment and to move on to the next phase, to carry out the plans that I have discussed.

Dillard thanked everyone who got in behind the Revisioning Henry County platform and all who voted, as well as those who worked the polls and assisted with the registrars process and he also thanked the other three candidates.

It was a nice, good, clean race. I commend everybody for that, Dillard said, because there were four candidates, and nobody created any commotion, and thats what campaigning should be about: everybody telling what their platforms are and not knocking or trying to criticize the other candidates.

Dillard won two precincts while Phillips and White each got the most votes in separate precincts.

In the Axton precinct, Dillard won with 160 votes, White was close behind with 150, Phillips had 86 and Bowling received 31.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Nearly 60% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while only 6% of the population of the African continent is vaccinated. Yet the United States is expanding boosters and is about to authorize vaccines for children 5 to 11 years old while hoarding and wasting additional doses, says William Moss executive director of the Johns Hopkins International Vaccine Access Center.

COVID-19 has only managed to exacerbate pre-pandemic global vaccine inequities, says Moss, vaccinology lead for the Coronavirus Resource Center. Looking at vaccine rates for typical childhood immunizations, there were 23 million unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children worldwide in 2020 and 44%, or 10.1 million, of those children live in the World Health Organization's Africa Region. Here, Moss elaborates on the stark global inequities in COVID-19 vaccination rates.

Why is there so much inequality in vaccines?

These vaccine inequities reflect longstanding social, economic, and political inequities between wealthy and poor nations. As of the end of September, high-income countries administered 35 times more doses [of COVID-19 vaccines] per resident than low-income countries. It was 62 times in June, so it has come down as vaccine distributions to low-income countries have increased. But it is still a very high ratio that highlights the global inequities in COVID-19 vaccines.

In addition, 56 WHO member countries did not achieve the goal of vaccinating 10% of their populations by the end of September. Those 56 countries comprise 20% of the world's population, and 70% of these people live in Africa.

WHO Africa said that by the end of 2021, only five countries on the continent will have met the World Health Assembly's goal of fully vaccinating 40% of their populations.

What would it take to help those nations succeed in their campaigns to vaccinate against COVID-19?

About 550 million doses are needed to help 82 countries in the world hit the 40% vaccinated mark. With 3 billion doses set to be produced by the end of the year, WHO officials said just 10 days of production could help those countries meet the goal.

What can the United States do to provide more doses to the world?

In addition to the donations that the United States and other nations have promised, people need to be aware of two other big problems: vaccine wastage and hoarding in the United States.

NBC News recently reported that between March and September there were 15 million doses wasted in the United States. It is unacceptable that any COVID-19 vaccines are wasted in the United States given the global demand and insufficient supply.

There is also vaccine hoarding. A recent report from Doctors Without Borders estimated there are 500 million excess doses in the United States even if the nation were to give a booster dose to everyone who is eligible.

So high-income countries not only have vaccinated a much higher proportion of their populations they're also storingor hoardinglarge numbers of vaccine doses that could be distributed to the rest of the world.

And there continue to be these stark global inequities in COVID-19 vaccine coverage while the United States is giving booster doses and vaccinating younger children who are at much lower risk.

But the bigger tragedy lies in the wasting and hoarding of vaccines that could be going to nations who desperately need them around the world.

Explore further Moderna to supply Africa with up to 110 million COVID doses
A health worker administers a dose of Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine at a health center in Garia , South 24 Pargana district, India, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. The World Health Organization has granted an emergency use license to a coronavirus vaccine developed in India, offering reassurance for a shot that was authorized by the country's regulators long before advanced testing was completed to prove it was safe and effective. Credit: AP Photo/Bikas Das

The World Health Organization granted an emergency use license Wednesday to a coronavirus vaccine developed in India, offering reassurance for a shot the country's regulators allowed long before advanced safety and efficacy testing was completed.

The U.N. health agency said in a statement that it had authorized Covaxin, made by India's Bharat Biotech. The action makes Covaxin the eighth COVID-19 vaccine to receive WHO's green light.

"This emergency use listing expands the availability of vaccines, the most effective medical tools we have to end the pandemic," said Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO's assistant director-general for access to medicines.

Covaxin was developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research, the government's apex research body. The vaccine is made using a killed coronavirus to prompt an immune response and is given in two doses.

WHO said the vaccine was found to be about 78% effective in preventing severe COVID-19 and was "extremely suitable" for poor countries due to its much easier storage requirements.

An expert group convened by WHO said there was insufficient data about the vaccine's safety and efficacy in pregnant women; studies are being planned to address those questions.

India's drug regulator authorized Covaxin in January, months before extensive testing in people had been completed, prompting concern from health experts that the shot was given the nod prematurely.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the first shot of the two-dose vaccine in March. By mid-October, over 110 million jabs of the vaccine had been administered, making Covaxin the second-most used COVID-19 shot in India after AstraZeneca's.

Despite India's repeated endorsement of its homegrown vaccine, Bharat Biotech has faced problems scaling up production. In July, India's Health Ministry said the company was making 25 million doses of the vaccine on average each month and expected to increase monthly production to 58 million doses.

The company says it's aiming to reach an annual capacity of 1 billion doses by the end of 2021, or over 80 million shots each month, but has not responded to questions about its current capacity.

Bharat Biotech said several other countries, including Brazil, Philippines, Iran and Mexico, also had authorized its COVID-19 vaccine. Before India paused exports, shots made by Bharat Biotech were sent to Myanmar, Paraguay and Zimbabwe as grants, and to Mauritius and Iran as a part of commercial deals, data from India's Foreign Ministry shows.

The federal prosecutor's office in Brazil is investigating possible irregularities in the Health Ministry's contract to buy 20 million doses of Covaxin.

To date, the World Health Organization has granted emergency approval to the vaccines made by AstraZeneca and its partner, the Serum Institute of India, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and the Chinese pharmaceuticals Sinopharm and Sinovac.

Vaccines OK'd by WHO can be used as part of the U.N.-backed COVAX effort to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and to share doses with poorer countries. The initiative is in desperate need of more vaccines after failing to meet its targets and dramatically reducing the number of doses expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

Anna Marriott, health policy manager for Oxfam, said WHO's authorization of India's Covaxin should "silence those who have claimed that the experience and expertise to develop and manufacture life-saving medicines and vaccines do not exist in developing countries."

She called on Bharat Biotech to freely share its vaccine recipe and know-how so more manufacturers globally could produce it. Fewer than 1% of the world's coronavirus vaccines have gone to poor countries.

"Today's vaccine apartheid between rich and poor countries has been created by the monopolies of companies like Pfizer and Moderna who have consistently put obscene profits before saving lives, and we urge Bharat Biotech not to follow in their footsteps," Marriott said in a statement.

WHO's emergency use license for Covaxin should also mean that millions of Indians immunized with the shot will be allowed to travel internationally by countries that recognize vaccines authorized by WHO, including Britain, European Union members and Canada.

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment for many patients suffering with treatment-resistant depression, but exactly how it works is not known. Scientists worldwide are racing for objective biomarkers of DBS treatment efficacy so that this experimental approach can be optimized, approved and disseminated to those in need.

New research published November 3 in Translational Psychiatry, presents new evidence that brief intraoperative exposure to therapeutic stimulation at the time of implantation surgery induces rapid and consistent electrophysiological brain state changeindexed by a decrease in beta power measured at the site of stimulation. These intraoperative brain state changes are seen in individual subjects and are correlated with a significant and sustained decrease in depressive symptoms outside of the operating room without additional stimulation, establishing reduction in beta power as a novel biomarker for DBS treatment optimization.

The data presented are from a collaborative study at Emory University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Led by Helen S. Mayberg, MD, Mount Sinai Professor in Neurotherapeutics and Founding Director of the Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics at Mount Sinai, this research is part of an ongoing National Institutes of Health (NIH) BRAIN Initiative-funded grant.

Deep brain stimulation is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat essential tremor, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is a neurosurgical procedure involving placement of a neurostimulator (sometimes referred to as a "brain pacemaker"), which sends high-frequency electrical impulses through implanted electrodes deep in the brain to specific areas responsible for the symptoms of each disorder. While still an experimental treatment, DBS of the subcallosal cingulate (SCC, Area 25), a brain area that has been implicated as playing a major role in depression, has been repeatedly demonstrated as a promising intervention for patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression..

Acute behavioral changes and long-term antidepressant response can be reliably elicited with stimulation of this well-defined, surgically-targeted depression circuit, using individualized neuroimaging guidance. While the clinical effectiveness of DBS over the course of six months of treatment has been repeatedly demonstrated, there are differences in the timeline of recovery across different patients. Understanding the mechanisms of these initial rapid and reproducible behavioral effects and their role in predicting the more critical long-term response trajectories will be key to effective treatment and future study design.

"What we found was that within minutes of stimulation inside the operating room, there was a change in the beta brain rhythm. Patients who showed larger changes then experienced greater relief from their depression in the week after surgery," said Allison C. Waters, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Neuroscience, at Icahn Mount Sinai and co-first author of the paper. "The beta rhythm is conventionally associated with the brain's determination of whether to stop or keep going with a course of action, which is why neurologists target beta with DBS to treat disorders of movement. We haven't had a clear signal to target with DBS for depression, but now we can speculate as to how the beta signal might function in this context: a release of the brake that generates fatigue and slowness, or interrupting a habitual cycle of negative self-focused thought."

"We were able to leverage machine learning and explainable artificial intelligence approaches to explore unknown (hidden) changes in brain state that would explain the obvious behavioral changes previously observed," said Mohammad Sendi, MSc, Ph.D. candidate in the Biomedical Engineering Department of Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology and co-first author of the paper.

Eight treatment-resistant depression patients underwent electrophysiological recording in the operating room during their DBS lead implantation surgeries. Using patient-specific tractography models prior to surgery, investigators identified the "optimal" target within the SCC for lead placement. Stimulation was then delivered in the operating room over the course of an hour while local field potentials (LFPs)electrical signals between neurons deep in the brainwere simultaneously recorded. A machine learning classification method was subsequently used to discriminate between intracranial LFPs recorded at baseline (stimulation-naive) and after the first exposure to stimulation inside the operating room. Spectral inputs (theta, 4-8Hz; alpha, 9-121Hz; beta, 13-30Hz) to the model were then evaluated for importance to classifier success and tested as predictors of the antidepressant response. A decline in depression scores by 45.6 percent was observed after one week and this early antidepressant response correlated with a decrease in the SCC LFP beta power, which most contributed to classifier success.

"We generally think of depression treatment as taking weeks to months to show stable and meaningful changes in core clinical features of the illness," said Dr. Mayberg. "This study shows reproducible and consistent changes in a brain readout over the first minutes of optimized stimulation in the operating room in individual patients. This provides new mechanistic understanding of the 'depression switch' that moves a patient from a state of sustained mental pain and immobility to relief and the renewed capacity to move and engage."

"This research provides individuals who have struggled with depression a sense of hope through advancements in existing technology," said John Ngai, Ph.D., Director of the NIH BRAIN Initiative. "We are making immense strides in better understanding debilitating brain and mental health conditions through these discoveries and look forward to seeing how deep-brain stimulation will continue to improve people's lives."

Studies that continue to track these brain state biomarkers during ongoing DBS therapy are ongoing at the Nash Family Center for Advanced Therapeutics at Mount Sinai West in New York. Phase II of this 5-year NIH BRAIN Initiative grant is currently recruiting new subjects.

Explore further Researchers boost human mental function with brain stimulation

More information: Intraoperative neural signals predict rapid antidepressant effects of deep brain stimulation, Translational Psychiatry (2021). Intraoperative neural signals predict rapid antidepressant effects of deep brain stimulation,(2021). For more information and/or to be screened for the active study, please contact: Jaimie Gowatsky at jaimie.gowatsky@mssm.edu. Additional information about the active study can be found here. Journal information: Translational Psychiatry
(HealthDay)A California judge has ruled against local governments that sued drug companies for billions of dollars to recover their costs of dealing with the opioid epidemic.

In a tentative ruling issued Monday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson rejected the plaintiffs' claims the companies used deceptive marketing to increase unnecessary prescriptions of opioid painkillers, the Associated Press reported.

"There is simply no evidence to show that the rise in prescriptions was not the result of the medically appropriate provision of pain medications to patients in need," Wilson wrote in a ruling that entailed more than 40 pages, the AP reported.

The lawsuit by Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Clara counties and the city of Oakland names Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie Inc.'s Allergan subsidiary, Endo International, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and other companies in its lawsuit.

While disappointed by the ruling, the local governments said they planned to appeal to "ensure no opioid manufacturer can engage in reckless corporate practices that compromise public health in the state for their own profit," the AP reported.

The drug companies "successfully transformed the way doctors treat chronic pain, opening the floodgates of opioid prescribing and use," the lawsuit contends. "This explosion in opioid prescriptions and use has padded Defendants' profit margins at the expense of chronic pain patients."

The plaintiffs projected that it could cost $50 billion to provide comprehensive opioid abatement programs in the four jurisdictions that filed the lawsuit, the AP reported. The money would go for things like ongoing opioid abuse prevention and treatment programs in Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties.

Nearly a half-million Americans have died from opioid abuse since 2001, the AP reported.

The drug companies welcomed the judge's ruling. In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said the decision showed it engaged in "appropriate and responsible" marketing of its opioid medications, the AP reported.

Thousands of similar lawsuits have been filed nationwide by cities, counties and states, but this was just the second such case to go to trial. In 2019, an Oklahoma judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $465 million, but the company is appealing the decision, the AP reported.

Other lawsuits have resulted in large settlements or proposed settlements.

Explore further J&J and other drugmakers go on trial over US opioid crisis

More information: Visit the National Institute on Drug Abuse for more on Visit the National Institute on Drug Abuse for more on opioids

Copyright  2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

The results of the largest study in a high-income country looking at antibiotic dosing and duration for children hospitalized with pneumonia show that the number of doses given can be reduced safely, without impacting recovery.

Pneumonia (sometimes called a chest infection) is common in young children. It is usually treated with the antibiotic amoxicillin. But, until now, there has been little evidence to guide how long treatment should be given for, or what dose should be used.

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found children only required three days of amoxicillin (given by mouth) rather than the five or seven days more commonly given internationally. Led by researchers at St George's, University of London and the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, the CAP-IT trial results will likely influence national and international guidelines for treating children who attend hospital with pneumonia, reducing the treatment burden for children and their caregivers.

The randomized controlled clinical trial recruited 824 children (of whom 814 received at least 1 dose of trial medication), aged greater than six months and weighing 6 to 24 kg from 29 hospitals in the UK and Ireland. The study was double-blind and placebo-controlled, with half the participants receiving seven days of amoxicillin and the other half receiving three days of amoxicillin and four days of placebo. As well as comparing duration, dosing was also studied, with half the participants in each duration group receiving a lower dose (35 to 50 mg/kg) and the other half a higher dose (70 to 90 mg/kg).

The results found that the shorter course of treatment was no less effective than the longer course, and that the lower dose was no less effective than a higher dose, in terms of children needing further antibiotic treatment within four weeks. The study also used a dosing schedule of only giving amoxicillin in two doses per day, rather than three, suggesting the total number of doses required to treat pneumonia could be reduced from 15 to 21 doses over five to seven days (UK guidelines currently recommend three times daily dosing for five days) to the simpler six doses over three days.

The trial found no differences in symptoms between the different durations or doses given, other than resolution of cough being slightly quicker in the group receiving seven days of amoxicillin (10 days recovery vs. 12 days). There was no difference in time to return to normal activities for parents and children, or in additional use of healthcare services. The number of adverse events, such as diarrhea, thrush and skin rash, was also comparable between groups. There was no evidence that using shorter course or lower dose amoxicillin led to increased resistance to the pneumococcus bacteria, the leading bacterial cause of pneumonia globally, with low resistance levels overall in the UK.

Dr. Julia Bielicki, joint first author on the paper from St George's, University of London, said: "Amoxicillin is the commonest antibiotic children receive globally, with hundreds of millions of courses given every year. There is surprisingly limited evidence of the optimal dose and duration that should be used to make sure children are treated safely, minimizing the impact from side effects and antibiotic resistance, while making it simpler for families to give their child the medicines they need.

"The CAP-IT study provides family-friendly evidence that shorter durations of amoxicillin given twice daily are safe and effective even in young children with serious chest infections attending hospital. It has also demonstrated again that large strategic trials that inform the optimal choice of drug, dose and duration of antibiotics to treat common infections are feasible and critical to tackling antibiotic resistance."

Professor Diana Gibb, joint last author on the paper from the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, London said: "CAP-IT is one of the largest antibiotic trials involving children globally, and clearly shows that for children leaving hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia, three days of amoxicillin is safe and effective. We are immensely grateful to all the children and their families who joined the trial; for the work done by nurses and doctors at the participating hospitals, and to the PERUKI and GAPRUKI networks who helped make the trial a success."

UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance Dame Sally Davies, said: "I welcome the CAP-IT trial results for adding to the increasing evidence on optimal prescribing. Thanks to the UK National Institute of Health Research, CAP-IT gives information that can be used in the real world by families, doctors and policy-makers to improve health outcomes, whilst contributing to global stewardship efforts. We need many more studies in adults and children globally to ensure that we can continue to tackle the global challenge of AMR."

Dr. William van't Hoff, chief executive officer at the NIHR Clinical Research Network Coordinating Centre, said: "Each year, nearly half of all children under two years receive antibiotics, commonly for acute respiratory infections. I am delighted to see that the CAP-IT study has provided key evidence on the best use of antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia which is really important to improving care for so many children. It's a trial that has been supported across the UK and in Eire, demonstrating the power of collaborative research in tackling major health questions."

Explore further Largest trial of antibiotic amoxicillin for treating chest infections in children finds little effect

More information: Julia A. Bielicki et al, Effect of Amoxicillin Dose and Treatment Duration on the Need for Antibiotic Re-treatment in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia, JAMA (2021). Journal information: Journal of the American Medical Association Julia A. Bielicki et al, Effect of Amoxicillin Dose and Treatment Duration on the Need for Antibiotic Re-treatment in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia,(2021). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.17843
Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD, and Heather Gray-Edwards, PhD, DVM. Credit: University of Massachusetts Medical School

Sio Gene Therapies, a clinical-stage company focused on developing gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, presented positive interim data from its ongoing Phase I/II study of AXO-AAV-GM1, an adeno-associated viral vector-based gene therapy candidate for the treatment of GM1 gangliosidosis.

Sio, formerly known as Axovant, licensed exclusive worldwide rights from UMass Chan Medical School in 2018 for the development and commercialization of gene therapy programs for GM1 gangliosidosis and GM2 gangliosidosis, including Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases.

GM1 gangliosidosis is a progressive and fatal pediatric lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the GLB1 gene that cause impaired production of the -galactosidase enzyme. Currently, there are no FDA-approved treatment options for GM1 gangliosidosis.

Research into the causes and potential therapies for lysosomal storage diseases such as Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases and GM1 gangliosidosis at UMass Chan Medical School and the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine has led to significant advances in the field, including development of the gene therapy vector used to deliver functioning copies of the defective genes that cause disease. Miguel Sena-Esteves, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology is a principal scientist of the research program at UMass Chan. Heather Gray-Edwards, Ph.D., DVM, assistant professor of radiology at UMass Chan is a part of the development team for the research discoveries, in conjunction with Douglas Martin, Ph.D., professor of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.

In a presentation at the European Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Virtual Congress in October, Sio described data from five patients in the low-dose cohort and the first patients in the high-dose cohort, which demonstrated an encouraging safety profile and a consistent dose response in disease biomarkers across the evaluation period.

"We are extremely proud of these data, representing our broadest dataset generated thus far, which support a dose response and a favorable safety and tolerability profile at both low and high doses," said Gavin Corcoran, MD, chief R&D officer of Sio Gene Therapies. "We observed dose-dependent responses in two key biomarkers, including normalization of both biomarkers in the high-dose cohort. Taken together, six out of seven patients show no evidence of overt disease progression at the latest time point assessed, and we now have a better understanding of the clinical measures that may serve as important indicators of efficacy.

"Based on the results of this ongoing study, we are working on the continued development of AXO-AAV-GM1 and plan to engage the FDA to discuss further development, recognizing that there is currently no approved therapy available for GM1 patients."

Cynthia Tifft, MD, Ph.D., deputy clinical director of the National Human Genome Research Institute and study principal investigator added, "I have dedicated my career to the care of patients with GM1 gangliosidosis and to research efforts in the search for a functional cure. The biomarker dose response and favorable safety profile is a remarkable finding for the gene therapy field. I am excited about the potential impact that AXO-AAV-GM1 may have on the lives of these children and their families. I look forward to seeing the longer-term data, where we may have a chance to see not only durable disease stabilization, but possibly even improvement."

Data presented at the conference showed a dose-dependent improvement in key biomarkers of disease activity: -galactosidase enzyme activity in the serum and GM1 ganglioside activity in the cerebrospinal fluid; serum -galactosidase activity achieved a normal range in both patients in the high-dose cohort at six months; all five patients in the low-dose cohort saw an increase in the same timeframe.

There was no clinical evidence of overt disease progression in four of five low-dose patients at 12 months and both high-dose patients at six months as assessed by measures of development including the Vineland-3 Adaptive Behavior and Upright and Floor Mobility scales.

Longer-term evaluation of eight patients in the low- and high-dose cohort is ongoing; two patients have received the low dose of AXO-AAV-GM1, and screening for enrollment of patients in the high dose cohort is ongoing.

AXO-AAV-GM1 delivers a functional copy of the GLB1 gene via an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector, with the goal of restoring -galactosidase enzyme activity for the treatment of GM1 gangliosidosis. The gene therapy is delivered intravenously, which has the potential to achieve a broad central and peripheral biodistribution. Preclinical studies in murine and a naturally-occurring feline model of GM1 gangliosidosis have supported AXO-AAV-GM1's ability to increase -galactosidase enzyme activity, reduce GM1 ganglioside accumulation, improve neuromuscular function and extend survival.

Explore further First evidence of clinical stabilization in Tay-Sachs
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

As long as antibiotics have existed, so too has antibiotic resistancethe inevitable result as infectious bacteria continually evolve to evade the very drugs designed to kill them.

Today, antibiotic resistance is considered a major global health threat. In the United States, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every year, at least 2.8 million people develop infections resistant to antibiotics, leading to more than 35,000 deaths. Yet, in recent decades, antibiotic development has been slow, and no new classes of antibiotics have reached the market. Meanwhile, widespread use of the limited number of antibiotics currently available has spurred more bacterial strains to develop resistance, with additional strains already resistant to available antibiotics being discovered, often in hospitals. This situation is expected only to worsen over time, resulting in more drug-resistant bacterial infections and deaths.

Maofu Liao, an associate professor of cell biology in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, spoke with Harvard Medicine News about antibiotic resistance and the challenges of developing new antibiotics.

Liao explained how his team's research on protein structures in bacteria could inform antibiotic design and described a new pipeline his lab is establishing to improve the process.

In a newly published study in Science, Liao and colleagues demonstrated that their pipeline can effectively identify compounds that interfere with essential proteins in bacteria and thus may have potential as antibiotics.

HM News: What are some of the most pressing challenges with currently available antibiotics?

Liao: One issue is that most drug development efforts depend on industry, but antibiotics are time-consuming and expensive to developand often aren't necessarily required for treatment and aren't taken by patients on a regular basis. It's hard to make the business case to industry that it's worthwhile to develop new antibiotics when so much effort and money are required, and profit isn't predictable or immediate. A second issue is the way we use antibiotics. For a long time, we have relied on single-use antibiotics, or a limited combination of antibiotics. This makes it easy for bacteria to acquire resistance. They can then transfer that capability to other bacteria that have not been exposed to antibiotics. So, we are using very limited tools that bacteria can easily overcome.

Another critical issue is how we develop antibiotics. With few exceptions, our efforts to identify new antibiotics mostly rely on chemical screens against bacterial growth. People do a screen and hope to find some magical compound that can kill the bacteria with great efficacy. Once they have that, they hand the compound to chemists who optimize it and hopefully develop it into a clinically useful antibiotic. Such screens cannot target specific proteins in bacteria, and may exclude compounds that have the potential to attack crucial bacterial proteins. Moreover, for antibiotics developed through such screens, we often don't know the underlying mechanism of how they work, or why they stop working when resistance occurs. This is a critical gap in our current approach.

HM News: What are you studying in the realm of antibiotic resistance?

Liao: I have a longstanding interest in studying how proteins work, so I come into the field on the protein mechanism side. Inside humans, or any living organisms, there are many proteins that do many different things. In bacteria, some of these proteins are doing essential workso if the proteins get disrupted, the bacteria are not happy and may even die. That's something we'd like to exploit. First, we want to understand how these essential proteins inside bacteria work and then we want to use this information to direct our effort to kill the bacteria with antibiotics.

HM News: Can you provide more detail about the bacteria you study?

Liao: Most of our work is on E. coli, which is a model organism related to many pathogenic bacteria. E. coli is a type of Gram-negative bacteria, which means it has an extra membrane in addition to the regular membrane around the cell. That extra outer membrane is vital for keeping the microbe alive. It prevents a lot of things from entering the cell, including antibiotics, and plays a key role in antibiotic resistance. The outer membrane is made of lipids, but many of these lipid molecules are attached to long chains of polysaccharides, or sugarsso the membrane looks hairy, but those hairs are actually sugar chains. These are large, strange lipid molecules called lipopolysaccharides that have to be synthesized inside the cell and then transported to the outer membrane where they are assembled. We are studying the proteins involved in transporting these lipids from inside the cell to the outer surface. The proteins involved in the transport process are essential for E. coli survival and growth. If we can somehow interfere with the function of these transport proteins, we may affect bacterial growth and survival.

HM News: You are using a technique called Cryo-EM in your research. What are the benefits of this technique?

Liao: Cryo-EM is a microscopy technique used in structural biology, which is a field that aims to see small things in high resolution. Traditional structural biology relied on methods like X-ray crystallography to obtain high-resolution details of protein structure. However, with X-ray crystallography you have to put your protein in crystal contact instead of in solution, which makes it difficult to observe all the different conformations, or shapes, of the proteinonly some of which may be relevant. Cryo-EM is more flexible because it doesn't require crystal contact. You freeze your protein sample in ice, put it into the microscope, and take many, many images. Those images can be put together and processed to obtain high-resolution structures of the protein in its different conformations. This method helps us obtain critical insights into how transporter proteins in E. coli work. We are able to look at the entire proteinlipid complex in high resolution to see how the protein interacts with its lipid substrate in a lot of detail.

HM News: How can insights from cryo-EM improve antibiotic development?

Liao: We are trying to build an entirely new pipeline for antibiotic development. The pipeline starts with a chemical screen to find a compound that can stop the activity of essential proteins in bacteria. Once we have that, we use cryo-EM to obtain the high-resolution structure of the target protein bound to the compound. Then we know which pocket the compound binds on the protein and we gain high-resolution information about the binding pocket. We use the structural information about that so-called druggable pocket to do a virtual screen, potentially using artificial intelligence, to find other compounds with other chemical backbonesor scaffoldsthat bind to the same pocket on the protein. So, we ask the question: What other compounds with other scaffolds can take advantage of this pocket that worked for the first compound? Next, we use cryo-EM to determine the structure of the protein bound to any new compound that was identified, and confirm the compound's effect on protein activity and bacterial growth. We do that so we can validate our prediction and get more detailed information about how every part of the new compound interacts with the pocket; which parts are more important, which parts are less important. We also get information about the potential variations of the druggable pocket when the protein is bound to the new compound, so we can better understand the interplay between the protein and compound. This gives us a rational way to further optimize the compound as it is developed into an antibiotic. In our recent paper in Science, we successfully used this pipeline to identify a completely different compound that had the same effect on an essential transporter protein as our starting compound.

HM News: What is the long-term goal for your pipeline?

Liao: We are still doing the initial work to demonstrate the power of our pipeline, but as we focus on these essential transporter proteins, we hope this information can be used to develop better antibiotics. During our research, we realized that knowing the mechanism of a compound and having high-resolution information about how the compound interacts with a target protein really breaks open many possibilities of antibiotic drug development. It allows us to use more rational approaches to develop antibiotics efficiently. Our goal is to change the way we develop antibiotics. We would like to show that new ideas and new technologies can transform antibiotic discovery into a more systematic, rational, and robust process.

I hope that in the future, by changing the way we develop antibiotics, humans can eventually win the race of antibiotic resistance. I think we should develop a wide range of broad-spectrum and narrow-spectrum antibiotics: We should have multiple drugs to target multiple proteins inside bacteria and we should have multiple drugs to target the same essential protein through different mechanisms, such as different drug pockets. If we have a large array of useful antibiotics, bacteria should not be able to develop resistance so easily. Plus, then we can combine different antibiotics for different patients based on their particular disease and infection conditions to get the best results. First, we need the tools, then we can have clever ways to use them. But if we don't have the tools in hand, there's really nothing we can do.

Explore further Antibiotic resistance outwitted by supercomputers

More information: Francois A. Thelot et al, Distinct allosteric mechanisms of first-generation MsbA inhibitors, Science (2021). Journal information: Science Francois A. Thelot et al, Distinct allosteric mechanisms of first-generation MsbA inhibitors,(2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abi9009
German Health Minister Jens Spahn attends a news conference about the COVID-19 situation in Germany in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool

Germany's health minister called Wednesday for booster vaccinations to be stepped up and for more frequent checks of people's vaccination or test status as new COVID-19 infections increase.

Senior health officials also appealed anew to German residents who haven't yet been vaccinated at all to get their shots, though Health Minister Jens Spahn acknowledged that many of the holdouts can't be convinced. They said that pressure on hospital beds is rising, particularly in regions where vaccination rates are relatively low.

Spahn said that although officials agreed in August to make booster shots available to over-60s and nursing home residents and staff, only a bit over 2 million have been administered so far.

"That is much too fewthe pace of boosters is not sufficient," he added.

There is some tension between the minister and doctors' organizations over the issue. Germany's independent standing committee on vaccinationwhose recommendations are followed by many doctorscurrently recommends boosters for over-70s and a few other groups, but the health ministry says everyone who wants one is entitled to one.

"If every country waited for data before they do anything, we wouldn't have any data," Spahn said, noting that boosters have been cleared by European authorities and vaccinations of teenagers also were started well before a recommendation from the committee. He said the most at-risk should take priority, but as far as others are concerned "the vaccine is there, the clearance is there and findings from other countries are there."

A woman walks past an abandoned coronavirus test center in Frankfurt, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. Numbers of coronavirus infections are rising again in Germany. Credit: AP Photo/Michael Probst

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sits at the weekly cabinet meeting in the Chancellor's Office and puts on her mask, which she had briefly removed earlier, Wednesday, Nov.3, 2021. Credit: John Macdougall/Pool via AP

Official figures show that about two-thirds of Germany's population of 83 million has completed its first round of vaccination. The head of the country's disease control center, Lothar Wieler, said that 16.2 million people age 12 or above remain unvaccinatedincluding 3.2 million over-60s.

Germany hasn't made coronavirus vaccinations obligatory for any professional groups, unlike some of its European counterparts. But regional governments have limited access to some indoor events and facilities to people who have been vaccinated, have recently recovered or been tested, and some are tightening those rules.

Checks are often lax at best.

"If my vaccination certificate is checked more often in one day in Rome than it sometimes is in four weeks in Germany, then I think more can be done," Spahn said. He also called for obligatory testing across Germany of nursing home staff and visitors, including those who have been vaccinated.

Explore further Germany experiencing 'massive' pandemic of unvaccinated

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Germany is experiencing a "massive" pandemic of the unvaccinated, Health Minister Jens Spahn said Wednesday, calling for curbs targeting those not inoculated to tame a resurgence in COVID cases.

The fourth wave is raging "with exceptional force", Spahn said.

"We are currently experiencing mainly a pandemic of the unvaccinated and it is massive," he told reporters, warning that "in some regions in Germany intensive care beds are running out again."

Germany, the EU's most populous country of some 83 million people, has been grappling with a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks that has pushed up the seven-day incidence rate to highs not seen since May.

The country added 20,398 cases over the past 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch health institute, while another 194 people died.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has called the coronavirus trend "very worrying", signalled she was in favour of stricter curbs focussed on the unvaccinated.

"If the pandemic situations in hospitals worsens... then further restrictions for unvaccinated people are possible," Merkel said through her spokesman Steffen Seibert.

The number of COVID patients in intensive care on Wednesday climbed to 2,226, up almost 26 percent on the previous week to reach the highest level since early June, according to Germany's DIVI registry.

Booster plea

More than 66 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, but a recent survey showed that the vast majority of Germany's still unvaccinated adults have no intention of getting inoculated against COVID.

"For the unvaccinated, the risk is high that they will become infected in the coming months," warned RKI chief Lothar Wieler, speaking alongside Spahn in Berlin.

Spahn called for more thorough checks at establishments or events where only those who can show they have been vaccinated, recovered from COVID or recently tested negative are allowed to enter.

In hard-hit regions, he said, access should be limited to those who are fully vaccinated or can show proof of recoverya system that excludes the unvaccinated and is known as "2G" in Germany.

"It's nothing to do with vaccine bullying," he said, "but with avoiding an overloading of the healthcare system".

He also recommended a bigger push on booster jabs, saying the current pace "is insufficient".

Spahn's plea for all vaccinated Germans to get a third jab after six months is however at odds with the nation's STIKO vaccine commission, which for now is only recommending booster shots for the elderly and certain at-risk groups.

For the elderly, getting a booster was urgent, said Leif Erik Sander, who leads a research group on infection immunology at Berlin's Charite hospital.

"Our studies show that around 40 percent of people above 70 no longer have neutralising antibodies against the Delta variant six months after their vaccination," he warned.

Patchwork

The COVID surge comes as Germany is in political limbo following September's general election, with the winning Social Democrats hoping to have a new coalition government in place by early December.

The incoming coalition parties have however reiterated that there will be no mandatory COVID jabs and no new lockdownsat least not for the vaccinated.

Merkel's outgoing chief of staff Helge Braun called for an urgent meeting between the caretaker federal government and the regional leaders of Germany's 16 states to discuss the COVID surge.

Under Germany's federal system, regional states have significant powers to decide their own COVID approach, at times leading to a confusing patchwork of regulations.

The southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on Wednesday introduced new rules in response to the fourth wave, after breaching a self-imposed threshold on occupied intensive care beds.

Unvaccinated adults in the state must now show a negative PCR test for many activities, including indoor dining and entry to cinemas, museums or gyms. The tests can cost upwards of 50 euros ($58).

The eastern state of Saxony aims to unveil tougher restrictions on Friday.

Under its proposed "2G" plans, unvaccinated people would be excluded from indoor dining, leisure facilities as well as bars and nightclubs.

Explore further Germany vows no more lockdowns for vaccinated people

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Many parents celebrated the news last week when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages five to 11, a decision that was endorsed today by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory group and Director Rochelle Walensky. This sets the stage for a vaccine rollout to that age group to start imminently.

While most children don't get severely sick with COVID-19 when infected, schoolchildren have had a significant role to play in viral transmission, and the associated risks have driven school closures and other social disruptions during the last year and a half. Getting this groupa demographic that includes 28 million people in the United Statesvaccinated could signal a new phase of the pandemic.

But how quickly will parents get their children vaccinated, and will this alter the trajectory of the pandemic? Penn Today spoke with experts in epidemiology, vaccine acceptance and misinformation, and pediatric medicine about what this authorization holds for the weeks and months ahead.

Uncertain uptake

During the last 20 months, it's become clear that COVID-19 poses the greatest threat to older adults and those with conditions that impair the immune system. "But kids are still at risk," says Melanie Kornides, an assistant professor at the School of Nursing, whose scholarship focuses on vaccine misinformation. "They are at risk not only for asymptomatic or mild infection, but we have also seen kids being hospitalized, and we have even seen some kids die. Preventing that is one big reason why getting the vaccine to this group is so important."

Communicating that message to parents is the role of public health officials and pediatricians, Kornides says, and they have a daunting task ahead. According to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, only about a third of parents are eager to get their 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated. Roughly another third are strongly hesitant, with the remainder taking a "wait-and-see" approach.

Kornides says having such a large group on the fence at this early stage is unsurprising.

"Parents are always a little more hesitant with their children when it comes to vaccines," she says. "We've seen this with the HPV vaccine, with the varicella vaccine. I'm a parent; I'm protective; I understand. It's going to take a lot more reassurance from pediatricians and social support from people in their communitiesfrom other parents, from schoolthat, yes, this is safe, this has been tested."

What's known and what's not

Data from the Pfizer-BioNTech clinical trial showed the vaccineone-third of the dose of the adult vaccine but otherwise identicalto be 91% effective at preventing infection with SARS-CoV-2. None of the 3,100 children who received the vaccine in the trial had serious side effects, though mild side effects like headache, fever, and arm soreness were common. The FDA advisory committee that met last week voted 17-0, with one abstention, to authorize the vaccine, affirming their belief that the potential benefits outweigh any known or potential risks.

Yet an often-cited concern about these vaccines in children is the risk of myocarditis, or heart inflammation, a side effect that has been more often seen in male children and adolescents. No cases were seen in the Pfizer-BioNTech 5- to 11-year-old clinical trial, but the group size was small enough that rare side effects may not have emerged.

Michael Levy, an associate professor in the Department of Biostatics, Epidemiology, and Informatics in the Perelman School of Medicine, says that the vaccine trials were not designed to evaluate an impact on transmission, instead focusing on how effective the inoculations were at protecting individuals. Still, "a 91% efficacy against confirmed COVID illness is huge," he says, "and, although we don't know the exact numbers for the vaccine's efficacy against infection nor transmission, there is reason to hope that they will be significant. Even so, the vaccine's effect on the larger pandemic can be diminished by unequal distribution or uptake."

Tangible impacts

One environment that is likely to see changes is the schools where children of this age spend their days. David Rubin, director of the PolicyLab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and a professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, see this latest vaccine authorization "as an inflection point in terms of how we are thinking about school policy."

Since early in the pandemic, PolicyLab has been offering guidance to schools on COVID-related policies, such as reopening, masking, distancing, and quarantining.

"We've already been trying to build in more flexibility," Rubin says. For example, guidance has encouraged some schools to move from strict quarantines for close contacts of confirmed COVID cases to doing what's called test to stay. With that policy, instead of students quarantining at home for up to two weeks, missing significant classroom time, they can take repeated tests over a period of several days, staying in school as long as they wear a mask, remain without symptoms, and test negative.

Even with this decision on vaccines, school policies are unlikely to change immediately, especially given the upcoming holiday season, as larger gatherings may lead to upticks in infection rates of both COVID-19 and other seasonal respiratory illnesses. "As we move into the new year, however, we are likely to see declining rates," Rubin says.

And as winter turns to spring, he predicts more substantive changes. If infection rates decline, many schools are likely to shift toward mask-optional policies that allow families to choose whether to have their children mask at school. Some schools and districts with particularly low rates of infection may also modify their quarantine policies, Rubin says, perhaps simply requiring asymptomatic close contacts of confirmed COVID cases to wear a mask indoors for a period of time. Such modifications will likely require permission from public health departments, which is already happening in many areas of the country.

As more of the population gains access to vaccines, an effort CHOP is facilitating through its clinics in the region, Rubin says it's time to think about what a return to normal will look like.

"It's a good time to be thinking about these endpoints, even as we maintain some patience through the holidays," he says. Expanding vaccine eligibility is a way to get there. "This is a really important milestone."

Explore further COVID vaccine for younger kids already being packed, shipped
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One of the largest studies to investigate whether Preserved Ratio Impaired Spirometry (PRISm), an understudied low lung function state, is an early predictor of co-morbidities has found it is strongly associated with an increased risk of death. The analysis, led by University of Bristol researchers and published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, evaluated results of lung spirometry tests in over 350,000 UK adults and followed them up over 12 years.

Previous research has suggested that a particular pattern of low-scoring lung capacity tests known as a PRISm, calculated from forced expiration into a spirometer, is a precursor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, these findings are based on relatively small selective cohorts with short follow-up. Researchers from Bristol Medical School aimed to determine the prevalence, risk factors, clinical implications, and mortality of low-scoring PRISm in a large adult general population.

Using data from 351,874 UK Biobank participants, comprising 189247 women and 162627 men, the team found 38639 (11 percent) of 351874 participants were identified as having PRISm and this was strongly associated with obesity, smoking and patient reported doctor-diagnosed asthma. PRISm was strongly associated with symptoms and comorbidity including increased risk of breathlessness and cardiovascular disease.

Longitudinal analysis showed that 241 (123 percent) of 1973 participants who had PRISm at baseline transitioned to airflow obstruction consistent with COPD. The team found that PRISm was associated with increased all-cause mortality.

Dr. James Dodd, Consultant Senior Lecturer in Respiratory Medicine at Bristol Medical School: (THS) and North Bristol NHS Trust, said: "Our results found that PRISm was associated with breathlessness, multimorbidity, and increased risk of death, which does not seem to be explained by smoking, obesity, or existing lung disease."

Dr. Daniel Higbee, the study's first author from Bristol Medical School, added: "Our analysis is an example of the power of large population cohorts like UK Biobank in allowing us to more accurately describe the epidemiology and implications of abnormal lung function by accounting for sample size and selection bias."

Dr. Dodd continued: "Although for many patients PRISm is transient, it is important to understand which individuals are at risk of progressive lung function abnormalities. Further research into the genetic, structural and functional pathophysiology of PRISm is warranted."

Explore further COPD exacerbations lead to lung function decline, particularly among those with mild COPD

More information: "Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications of preserved ratio impaired spirometry: a UK Biobank cohort analysis," The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, (2021). Journal information: Lancet Respiratory Medicine "Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications of preserved ratio impaired spirometry: a UK Biobank cohort analysis,", (2021).
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The University of Valencia and the Biotechvana company of its Science Park have participated in the development and validation of a new pandemic simulator that helps predict their evolution in different epidemiological scenarios. The system, called LOIMOS, has been developed in the context of COVID-19 and its results are limited to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, although they could be applied to the study of other pandemics. The work is published in journal microLife.

LOIMOS has been developed by research teams from the University of Valencia, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the Biology and Evolution of Microorganisms group of the Ramon y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS) Madrid, CIBER in Epidemiology and Public Health, the FISABIO Foundation, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the University General Hospital of Valencia, the La Paz University Hospital of Madrid and the Biotechvana company, located in the Science Park of the University of Valencia.

"We can draw multiple scenarios, ask all the questions and hypotheses we want and predict their effects. This greatly helps decide what measures need to be taken, to establish those that are more effective to prevent or at least limit the spread of the virus," says Jose M. Sempere, researcher of the ALFA-VRAIN group of the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

Virtual and hierarchical design of the behavior and evolution of viruses

The system is based on computer models with membranes, which allow to virtually design the behavior of viruses in various environments, conditions and levels of severity.

"These models reproduce viruses and interactions with an unprecedented level of detail. In this way, we can evaluate and predict the incidence of a virus in a neighborhood, city or country, under different situations, and observe its evolution in the short, medium and long term," explains Jose M Sempere.

"The important thing is that they are simulated under certain assumptionsfor example, various types of preventive measuresand then assess their infection rate and variation over time in the population. Obviously, if the assumptions change, the effects of the virus could change. Having a tool like the one developed here is very relevant, because it can help propose effective measures against the spread of this epidemic by a virus and, by extension, any other pathogen," explains Andres Moya, Professor of Genetics at the University of Valencia and researcher at the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBioUV / CSIC) and Fisabio.

LOIMOS is also a model with different hierarchical levels that interact with each other, unlike others used so far. In this way, modifying only one parameter of these levels allows you to see the effects at this level and at all others. "For example, we could increase in the model the period in which the virus can produce infections and see how this would affect the number of people who go to work," says Marcelino Campos, also a researcher in the ALFA-VRAIN Institute of the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

Among other variables, LOIMOS incorporates the type of infections, the degree of acquired immunity or the period and rates of infection; allows you to define different values depending on the area and age range of the infected person or the mechanics of the infection.

The scenario is a European town of 10,000 inhabitants

For validation, the researchers team applied LOIMOS to a fictitious European-type city of just over 10,000 inhabitants, and reproduced the dynamics of the epidemic and the effects of immunity on SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission in different age groups.

The model predicted the consequences of delaying the adoption of non-pharmaceutical interventions between 15 and 45 days after the first reported cases and the effect of these interventions on infection and mortality rates. The researchers also simulated non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce infections at three different levels: 20%, 50%, and 80%.

Another of the most relevant conclusions was verifying the importance of focusing the first efforts on the most sensitive and older people. "If the most sensitive and older people are isolated as soon as the infections begin, they can be slowed down a bit, but where it is most noticeable is in the health resources used and in mortality, because these people are the ones who are most likely to suffer worse symptoms when infected," adds Campos.

The LOIMOS team is currently working on the incorporationand simulation into the modelof the incidence of new strains in the vaccination period.

Explore further The confinement-eliminated circulating coronavirus variants during the first wave in Spain

More information: M Campos et al, Simulating the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions limiting transmission in COVID-19 epidemics using a membrane computing model, microLife (2021). M Campos et al, Simulating the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions limiting transmission in COVID-19 epidemics using a membrane computing model,(2021). DOI: 10.1093/femsml/uqab011
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Throughout each day, Cheryl Bettigole receives granular, neighborhood-level updates on the numbers we've all been hearing for months. The percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19. Transmission rates. Hospitalizations, deaths, and progress with vaccinesin Philadelphia and beyond.

The lines on the graphs often bounce around like the stock market. Yet at some point the city's acting health commissioner and policymakers throughout the country have to reduce it all to a pivotal yes-or-no question:

Is it OK to resume life as normal?

"Things are trending in the right direction," Bettigole said last week. "But we're not past COVID."

It is now generally accepted that COVID will always be with us in some form, much like seasonal coronaviruses that cause the common cold. But thanks to vaccines and the lingering immunity that many have acquired through infection, the share of the population protected from severe disease continues to grow.

That trend has infectious disease experts predicting that sometime in the not-so-distant future, perhaps a matter of months, the disease will become "endemic"still circulating, yet not out of control.

What level is low enough to know we've crossed that line? And who decides what is normal?

It's no secret that plenty of people felt comfortable returning to normal activities months agoeating indoors at restaurants, going to movies, masks be darned. Even policymakers such as Bettigole, guided by their public-health training to err on the side of caution, have eased up on the toughest, pre-vaccine restrictions.

But with vaccination rates still low in much of the world, the possibility of new variants, and the onset of winter and the flu, they want to make sure we don't slide back in the wrong direction.

What 'endemic' means

More than a year and a half ago, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic.

That means an epidemic that has spread across multiple countries, typically affecting large numbers of people. (In that case, WHO made the call when 118,000 cases of COVID had been confirmed in more than 100 countries.)

An epidemic, in turn, is a sudden increase in disease "above what is normally expected" in the population of one country or geographic area, the CDC says. Nothing about COVID was normal. It was brand-new, after all.

Endemic, on the other hand, means a disease has reached a "constant" or "usual" presence, the federal health agency saysin other words, normal. Yet even after all this time, Philadelphia's Bettigole says it is hard to tell what level of COVID will constitute its endemic phase.

In the near future, the threat level may continue to wax and wane as it has throughout the pandemic, she said. And the disease may subside enough in one region for a health department to lift mask requirements and other restrictions, but not in others, Bettigole predicted.

In her office at the Department of Public Health, she keeps a close eye on surrounding countiesnoting that the city, while less vaccinated than its neighbors, currently has lower rates of COVID, a trend she attributes to Philly's continued mask requirement.

"I think this could be a little like forest fires," she said. "I think it would be possible to say at a future time when the numbers look good, 'Hey, we don't need to have masks right now, [but] we might in the future.' "

How low is low enough?

We all remember the start of the pandemic, when naysayers described COVID as "just like the flu"despite clear evidence that its impact was far more severe. Even this year, despite the advent of effective vaccines, close to 400,000 deaths in the U.S. have been attributed to COVID10 times the typical national death toll each year from the flu.

But if COVID deaths and hospitalizations did eventually reach levels usually associated with the flu, would that be a reasonable benchmark for saying the pandemic was over?

It's not that simple, said Donald F. Schwarz, a former Philadelphia health commissioner who is now a senior vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

With the flu, nearly everyone has some level of baseline immunity, he said. The world is not there yet with COVID.

And unlike COVID, the flu is seasonal, meaning health officials in the northern hemisphere have time to prepare each year based on what flu strains are circulating below the equator, he said. Not so with COVID.

"If there's any [COVID] outbreak in Brazil in the summer, we're all at risk in a way that we would not be with influenza," he said. "A new variant of COVID in any part of the world is a risk to all of us."

In Philadelphia at the moment, 2% of those getting tested for COVID are identified as positivewell below the 5% threshold that epidemiologists say is cause for heightened concern. Bettigole said she would like the city to do even better, reaching a positivity rate below 1%.

But as more people are vaccinated, meaning that fewer people are likely to become infected and suffer life-threatening symptoms, case counts and positivity rates alone may be less important, she said.

"If our case rate is high and no one's in the hospital, or very few people are in the hospital ..." she said, "if people aren't ending up in the hospital or aren't ending up dying with complications, that might be something we can live with."

What if the flu is bad this year?

The U.S. was largely spared from the flu last winter, a phenomenon generally attributed to all the social distancing and other restrictions that were in place due to COVID.

But some infectious-disease experts have warned flu may come back hard this winter while COVID remains widespreada so-called twindemic. For those getting a COVID booster, a flu shot is recommended on the same visit.

Herb Conaway, director of the Burlington County Health Department and a New Jersey state assemblyman, is among those cautioning that it is too soon for society to let down its guard.

"We're moving to winter," he said. "That means less outdoor activities, more people huddled together in drier air indoors, more likely to engage in what might be considered high-risk behavior."

If there is a silver lining in the post-pandemic future, he said, more people may choose to be vigilant about hand-washing and other precautionseven masking when not required.

"I think there will be a number of people who will continue to wear masks even when we reach this endemic phase," the physician said. "They might wear it on the train or on a bus or on a plane, might wear it in other venues where they're huddled close together."

Could new mutations send us backward?

Each month seems to bring a new coronavirus variant somewhere in the world, even as delta retains a strong foothold in the U.S.

The good news is, none of the variants has mutated enough to escape the protection that vaccines provide against severe disease, said E. John Wherry, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

Yes, there have been breakthrough infections in vaccinated people. But that's not because our antibodies and other defenses fail to "recognize" delta, said Wherry, director of Penn's Institute for Immunology.

It's because our antibody levels have declined. And, in the case of delta, because its mutations have made the virus more transmissible. That attribute allows the virus to start making copies inside the hostthe definition of infectionbefore the immune system has time to snuff it out.

Still, the cells that produce antibodies, called B-cells, retain the blueprint for making more of them in a hurrymeaning that most infections in vaccinated people will not escalate to a severe case of COVID.

"The risk of a really, really concerning variant arising is not super high," he said. "But it's not zero, either."

That's because the vaccines train the immune system to recognize the coronavirus "spike"the tool that it uses to enter human cells. So if the spike mutates enough that the immune system has trouble recognizing it, those mutations also can be self-defeating: making the spike less adept at penetrating cells.

The danger would be if the virus evolved two "compensatory mutations" at the same timeone enabling it to escape the immune response, the other restoring its infectivity through some other means, Wherry said. That's unlikely.

"You need two independent things to happen at the same time," he said. "But the longer the virus replicates, the more you're rolling the dice."

What it will take to reach normal

Public health experts say the road to normal, however that is defined, involvesno surprisevaccines.

In the U.S., boosters have been recommended for people in various age groups, in some cases depending on underlying medical conditions or on which vaccine they initially received. The shots generally should boost the level of antibodies circulating in the person's bloodstream, potentially preventing even mild infections, Wherry said.

Far more effective, however, would be to vaccinate people who have yet to receive any shots, according to a new review of the evidence from ECRI, a Plymouth Meeting-based nonprofit that evaluates the safety and quality of health care.

"The focus should remain on vaccinating as many people as possible," said Marcus Schabacker, the research institute's president and chief executive officer.

Progress is steady in the U.S., though uneven, and the numbers should rise even more once the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorized for children ages 5 to 11.

But success remains elusive in much of the rest of the world. As of Sept. 23, just 2.1% of residents in low-income countries had a single dose of a vaccine, the ECRI report found. The figure has climbed substantially as of Monday, hitting 3.6%, but remains well behind the numbers in developed nations.

That disparity is foremost a humanitarian issue, the report's authors wrote. And as many have noted, it also paves the way for new variants abroad that could travel here. More rolls of the dice.

Explore further COVID Queries: Delta breakthrough infections

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Leah Lefkove, 9, shows off her vaccination sticker just before being the first child to be vaccinated at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Ben Gray

Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. School children who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic.

Health officials hailed shots for kids aged 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.

Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesdaya recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At a Decatur, Georgia, pediatrician's office Wednesday, 10-year-old Mackenzie Olson took off her black leather jacket and rolled up her sleeve as her mother looked on.

"I see my friends but not the way I want to. I want to hug them, play games with them that we don't normally get to," and have a pillow fight with her best friend, Mackenzie said after getting her shot at the Children's Medical Group site.

With the federal government promising enough vaccine to protect the nation's 28 million kids in this age group, pediatricians' offices and hospitals began inoculating children, with schools, pharmacies and other locations planning to follow suit in the days ahead.

Carter Giglio, 8, joined by service dog Barney of Hero Dogs, shows off the bandaid over his injection site after being vaccinated, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Brian Giglio, 40, of Alexandria, Virginia, brought his 8-year-old son, Carter, in for vaccination at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where kids with underlying conditions got first dibs. Carter has Type 1 diabetes that puts him at risk for complications if he were to become infected.

"Carter is the last in our house to get vaccinated and he was always the one that we had the most concern about,'' Giglio said. "And so today is like a hallway pass for us to begin living life again and we couldn't be more thankful to everybody that's been involved in this process to helping us feel that freedom that we feel today.''

Carter said he can't wait to leave masks behind once he's fully vaccinated, so he can smell the things he used to be able to smell without it.

"I'm ready to trash it," he said, though the CDC still recommends masks in schools and indoor public spaces where virus activity is high, even for the fully vaccinated.

Kidney transplant patient Sophia Silvaamaya, 5, held by her father Pedro Silvaamaya, is vaccinated by nurse Kelly Vanderwende, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, was first in line Wednesday for a drive-through vaccination at Viral Solutions in Atlanta. The girl bounced around the car in excitement before the shot, which she broadcast live on her computer during morning announcements at her elementary school.

Afterward, Cate said she was "very, very, very excited and very happy," looking forward to hugging her friends and celebrating her birthday indoors next month "instead of having a freezing cold outside birthday party."

Hartford Hospital in Connecticut vaccinated seven youngsters Tuesday night, minutes after CDC's director gave the OK, and three more early Wednesday. Mostly staffers' children, the kids were waiting for the CDC announcement, said Eric Arlia, senior pharmacy director for Hartford HealthCare in Connecticut.

One girl squeezed her eyes shut and a boy barely flinched as they got their shots and other waiting kids applauded, local media video showed.

Leah Lefkove, 9, waits as her dad Dr. Ben Lefkove prepares the first COVID-19 vaccine for her at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Ben Gray

"It feels like another important step on the journey to being able to vaccinate as many people as we can and put the pandemic to an end,'' Arlia said.

The vaccineone-third the dose given to older children and adults and administered with kid-sized needlesrequires two doses three weeks apart, plus two more weeks for full protection. That means children who get vaccinated before Thanksgiving will be covered by Christmas.

"The timing before winter holidays is very fortunate," said Dr. Jennifer Shu, whose Children's Medical Group office in Decatur, Georgia, began vaccinating first thing Wednesday. "This age group will be able to spend holidays with friends and family more safely than they have been able to since the start of the pandemic."

Sarah Kerr's children, ages 6 and 7, are Shu's patients and she hopes to get them vaccinated by week's end. Her kindergartner son has a chromosome disorder, receives special education and is at risk for severe illness if he got infected, Kerr said.

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children five to 12 years old is shown at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga.,Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.Credit: AP Photo/Ben Gray

"My son, who can't wear a mask and has been fully dependent on those around him to protect him, it will give him a line of defense,'' Kerr said. "My daughter has had to sit out on some social things because we've had to be so careful for his sake. She's been so understanding but it has been hard on her."

Thousands of pediatricians pre-ordered doses, and Pfizer began shipments soon after the Food and Drug Administration's decision Friday to authorize emergency use. Pfizer said it expects to make 19,000 shipments totaling about 11 million doses in coming, and millions more will be available to order on a weekly basis.

Authorities said they expect a smooth rollout, unlike the chaos that plagued the national one for adults nearly a year ago.

Asked about parents having trouble finding vaccine appointments, White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said the vaccines.gov website will be updated by Friday for parents to search for locations near them. He said the kid vaccination campaign will be at full speed next week as Pfizer continues to ship millions more doses to locations around the country.

Leah Lefkove, 9, covers her face as she waits for her dad Dr. Ben Lefkove to give her the first COVID-19 vaccine at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Ben Gray

And he said more than 6,000 vaccination clinics are being planned at schools around the country before the winter holiday break.

Walgreens planned to start kids' vaccinations Saturday and said parents could sign up online or by calling 1-800-Walgreens. CVS was also accepting appointments online and by phone at select pharmacies starting Sunday.

Many locations planned mass vaccination events in coming days. And while many pediatricians' offices were expecting strong demand at least initially, almost two-thirds of parents recently polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they would wait or not seek out vaccines for their kids.

Hannah Hause, a Colorado mother of four children ages 2, 5, 7 and 8, is among them. She's vaccinated but wants to see how the child vaccines play out and are studied in the larger childhood population.

Shots of COVID-19 vaccine for children are prepared, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

"It's not studied long-term. It just makes me nervous," she said. "As long as I can wait, I will wait."

At a White House briefing Wednesday, Walensky authorities thoroughly reviewed all available data on the vaccine's safety, efficacy and the immune response it generates before recommending shots for kids.

"The safety of our children is of the upmost importance to me,'' she said.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said he plans to get his 5-year-old son vaccinated. "Ultimately we want every child in our country to be safe from COVID and to get back to the lives they loved," Murthy said.

Government authorities said pediatricians and family doctors, whom parents depend on to give routine childhood vaccinations, could help build trust.

Dr. Ada Stewart, a Black family physician in Columbia, South Carolina, who works at a clinic for underserved patients, said she's ready to start vaccinating younger children. She's seen the toll the virus has taken on themnot just in family illness and death but with school disruptions, slipping grades and mental strain.

Levi Lefkove, 6, is held by his sister Leah, 9, while getting his first COVID-19 vaccine at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Ben Gray

School closures throughout the pandemic have disproportionately burdened children of color, widening academic gaps and worsening mental health, according to data presented Tuesday to CDC advisers. It showed more than 2,000 COVID-related school closures in just the first two months of the current school year.

But Stewart thinks demand for kids' shots will be mixed.

"Because many of my patients are Black, Indigenous and people of color, I've seen the full spectrum,'' from parents eager to get their children vaccinated to those who are more hesitant "because of a history of mistrust in the medical community,'' said Stewart, past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Her message to both is the same: "Vaccines work, they're safe, they're effective and they save lives.''

A Pfizer study of 2,268 children found the vaccine was almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections. The FDA examined 3,100 vaccinated kids in concluding the shots are safe.

An excited Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, hangs out of the car as she waits with her mom, Sara Zeigler, to receive her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga. on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The pair arrived one and a half hours before the site opened to be first in line. Credit: AP Photo/Ben Gray

Some skeptics have questioned the need for kids to get vaccinated since they are less likely than adults to develop severe COVID-19. But with the delta variant, they get infected and transmit "just as readily as adults do,'' Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a recent White House briefing.

Infected kids have also contributed to the U.S. tollalmost 46 million infections and more than 740,000 deaths.

Since the pandemic began, at least 94 children aged 5 to 11 have died from COVID-19, more than 8,300 have been hospitalized and over 5,000 have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to the coronavirus. Black and Latino youngsters and those with chronic conditions are among the hardest hit.

But while some health authorities say minorities should be over-represented in COVID-19 vaccine studies because they are disproportionately affected by the virus, nearly 80% of kids in Pfizer's study were white. Black youngsters totaled 6%, Latinos 21%, Asians 6% and less than 1% were American Indian or Alaska or Hawaii natives.

Carter Giglio, 8, hugs Dr. Bear before being vaccinated, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Carter Giglio, 8, reacts and holds his father's hand, Brian Giglio, as he is vaccinated by nurse Lydia Holly, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Kye'vontay Jordan, 7, who is Black, has diabetes and his shot at Children's National in Washington, D.C., gave his dad peace of mind.

"Now I can sleep not worrying about him going to school," said Brian Jordan. "Being exposed to the coronavirus could really affect him and mess him up."

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Turkey's health minister announced Wednesday that the country will start administering booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to people who received their second doses at least six months ago.

In a written statement following a meeting of the country's medical advisory council, Fahrettin Koca said the booster shots would be administered as of Thursday. The program will start with people aged 60 and above, those with chronic illnesses, as well as health care workers and other professionals considered to be at higher risk.

Previously, Turkey offered booster shots for people who were inoculated with China's Sinovac vaccine in the early stages of the country's vaccination program. In August, the government also offered two extra Pfizer-BioNTech shots for people wanting to travel to countries that have not approved the Chinese vaccine.

Turkey has administered more than 116 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since the start of its vaccination drive in January. Koca said around 59% of the population is fully vaccinated.

"This rate has to be increased to more than 70% in order for us to achieve communal immunity," Koca said.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported 29,764 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours and 246 deaths.

More than 68,700 people have died in Turkey since the start of the outbreak.

Explore further Australia approves vaccine booster shots for adults

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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England's deputy chief medical officer said Wednesday that too many people believe the pandemic is over, warning that the U.K.'s very high coronavirus rates and rising deaths mean that there are "hard months to come in the winter."

Jonathan Van-Tam also said he was worried that increasing numbers of deaths showed infections were "now starting to penetrate into older age groups."

Coronavirus "rates are still very high at the moment. They are higher than in most of Europe," Van-Tam told the BBC. "We are running quite hot. And, of course, it's of concern to scientists that we are running this hot this early in the autumn season."

"I personally feel there are some hard months to come in the winter and it's not over," he added.

The British government reported 41,299 new COVID-19 cases and 217 deaths Wednesday. The country recorded its highest daily death toll since February - 293 - on Tuesday.

While new cases have been dropping from around 46,000 a day in October, infection rates in Britain are still much higher than in most of Europe.

Van-Tam said the drop in case numbers mainly reflected the ebbing of a surge recently seen among teenagers. He warned that while hospital admissions have plateaued and total numbers of patients in hospitals have slightly gone down, the overall picture was still worrying.

"This could be a pause before things go up, it could be the very first signs that things are beginning to stabilize but at a high rate," he said. "But my worry is that the deaths are increasing and that shows that the infection is now starting to penetrate into those older age groups."

The U.K. got a head-start in rolling out its vaccination program, and most adults have been fully inoculated. A booster shot is being offered to millions, including everyone over 50. But the government has been cautious about vaccinating teenagers and younger people, authorizing jabs for healthy children between 12 to 15 years old only this September.

Jeremy Brown, a member of the government's vaccination advisory committee, said it was "far too early" to follow the lead of the United States in vaccinating children 11 years old and under.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government lifted almost all coronavirus restrictions in July, including mandatory face coverings and social distancing requirements. Nightclubs and crowded venues were allowed to fully open and the work from home advice was scrapped.

Authorities have resisted calls to reimpose restrictions like mandatory mask-wearing, and are instead relying heavily on vaccines to keep infections down.

Explore further UK encourages booster jabs, resists new virus restrictions

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Since March 2020, parents, educators, and politicians have debated whether to send children to school in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. New research suggests that in most regions, with the exception of the South, opening schools for in-person learning was not associated with an increase in COVID-19 case rates in the community. The results of the nationwide study, published in Nature Medicine, included 895 school districts across the United States.

"The results suggest it is possible for schools to operate safely and in-person without increasing case rates in the community," says Richard Nelson, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at University of Utah Health and co-senior author with Westyn Branch-Elliman, M.D., of the VA Boston Healthcare System. "But the flip side is true, too. In some areas, in-person school did appear to be a source of community spread."

The researchers analyzed data gathered during the 12 weeks from July to September 2020 by region, and categorized them as the Northeast, Midwest, South, and Mountain West. The Pacific West was not included because nearly all public schools were virtual. The study found that:

In every region analyzed, COVID-19 cases increased during the weeks following the start of school.

The South was the only region where case rates were higher in counties with in-person or hybrid school as compared to counties with virtual learning, after controlling for other contributing factors.

In all other regions, community case rates during the period following school opening were similar regardless of whether school was virtual, hybrid, or in-person.

"We know that cases increased substantially last fall throughout the country," Nelson says. "In some areas of the country, school mode was a contributing factor to those increasing rates, whereas in other areas it was not."

In the South, which included 191 counties from Delaware to Texas, traditional in-person school was associated with an increase in community cases of COVID-19 beginning two weeks after the school reopened. The increase was chiefly among people between the ages of 0-9, or 20 and older. Data were not available for stratification that would allow the scientists to analyze impacts on different school-age groups (e.g. elementary, middle, and high school).

The researchers controlled for local policies, including closings of workplaces and public transportation, canceling of public events, COVID testing and contact tracing policies, and mask requirements.

However, because people follow policies imperfectly, another important piece of data the researchers considered was community mobility. This is data collected from Google location history that reflects how much people are actually moving around the community in four categories: Residences, workplaces, grocery/pharmacy, and retail/recreation locations.

In communities where people are moving around more, there is more social interaction outside of school and thus more opportunity for infection to spread, Nelson explains. "Traditional school in an area where there's lots of movement looks different than traditional school where there's not much movement in the community, in terms of case rates," Nelson says. "For this reason, it is important to take community-level mobility into account when evaluating the impact that schools had on cases."

Together, the data suggest that the impact of traditional and hybrid school on community spread varied throughout the country, Nelson says. Further investigation into factors that may have contributed to community spread in the South could help determine the most effective mitigation measures for in-person school.

Branch-Elliman explains that it's possible that regional differences in community-level and in-school mitigation strategies, or other factors such as environmental conditions, may have played a role. "It is important to appreciate that schools are not islands," Branch-Elliman says. "They exist as part of a broader community network."

At the time the study data were collected, vaccinations were not available and the Delta variant had not yet emerged in the U.S. Additional research will also need to investigate how these factors affect the spread of COVID-19.

More information: Zeynep Ertem et al, The impact of school opening model on SARS-CoV-2 community incidence and mortality, Nature Medicine (2021). Journal information: Nature Medicine Zeynep Ertem et al, The impact of school opening model on SARS-CoV-2 community incidence and mortality,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01563-8
Foreign Minister of Belarus V.Makei meets the First Deputy Chair of the Upper House of Parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan

On November 3, 2021 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, met with the First Deputy Chair of the Upper House of Parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan, Chair of the Sughd region, Rajabboy Ahmadzoda.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Republic of Belarus, Makhmadsharif Khakdod, also attended the meeting.

The sides exchanged information on the agenda of the Belarusian-Tajikistan relations, discussed the state and prospects for the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation, trade and economic collaboration.



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Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Schoolchildren who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic.

Health officials hailed shots for kids ages 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.

Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday  a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At a Decatur, Georgia, pediatricians office, 10-year-old Mackenzie Olson took off her black leather jacket and rolled up her sleeve as her mother looked on.

I see my friends but not the way I want to. I want to hug them, play games with them that we dont normally get to, and have a pillow fight with her best friend, Mackenzie said after getting her shot at the Childrens Medical Group site.

With the federal government promising enough vaccine to protect the nations 28 million kids in this age group, pediatricians offices and hospitals began inoculating children. Schools, pharmacies and other locations plan to follow suit in the days ahead.

The atmosphere surrounding the launch of shots for elementary-age students was festive in many locations. California vaccine sites welcomed children with inflatable animals and handed out coloring books and prizes. Vehicles lined up before dawn at an Atlanta site.

Many pediatricians offices expected strong interest in the shots at least initially, but health officials are worried about demand tapering off. Almost two-thirds of parents recently polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they would wait or not seek out vaccines for their kids.

Brian Giglio, 40, of Alexandria, Virginia, brought his 8-year-old son, Carter, in for vaccination at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, where kids with underlying conditions got first dibs. Carter has Type 1 diabetes that puts him at risk for complications if he were to become infected.

Giglio said the vaccine was like a hallway pass for us to begin living life again. And Carter said he cant wait to leave masks behind once hes fully vaccinated, so he can smell the things he used to be able to smell without it.

Im ready to trash it, he said, though the CDC still recommends masks in schools and indoor public spaces where virus activity is high, even for the fully vaccinated.

Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, was first in line Wednesday for a drive-through vaccination at Viral Solutions in Atlanta. The girl enthusiastically bounced around the car before the shot, which she broadcast live on her computer during morning announcements at her elementary school.

Afterward, Cate said she was looking forward to hugging her friends and celebrating her birthday indoors next month instead of having a freezing cold outside birthday party.

Hartford Hospital in Connecticut vaccinated seven youngsters Tuesday night, minutes after the CDCs director gave the OK, and three more early Wednesday. As they got their shots, one girl squeezed her eyes shut and a boy barely flinched, and other waiting kids applauded.

The vaccine  one-third the dose given to older children and adults and administered with kid-sized needles  requires two doses three weeks apart, plus two more weeks for full protection. That means children who get vaccinated before Thanksgiving will be covered by Christmas.

The timing before winter holidays is very fortunate, said Dr. Jennifer Shu, whose Childrens Medical Group office in Decatur, Georgia, began vaccinating first thing Wednesday. This age group will be able to spend holidays with friends and family more safely than they have been able to since the start of the pandemic.

Thousands of pediatricians pre-ordered doses, and Pfizer began shipments soon after the Food and Drug Administrations decision Friday to authorize emergency use. Pfizer said it expects to make 19,000 shipments totaling about 11 million doses in the coming days, and millions more will be available to order on a weekly basis.

Authorities said they expect a smooth rollout, unlike the chaos that plagued the national one for adults nearly a year ago.

Asked about parents having trouble finding vaccine appointments, White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said the vaccines.gov website will be updated by Friday for parents to search for locations near them. He said the kid vaccination campaign will be at full speed next week as Pfizer continues to ship millions more doses to locations around the country.

More than 6,000 vaccination clinics are being planned at schools around the country before the winter holiday break, he said.

Walgreens planned to start kids vaccinations Saturday and said parents could sign up online or by calling 1-800-Walgreens. CVS was also accepting appointments online and by phone at select pharmacies starting Sunday.

Despite the initial enthusiasm, not everyone is rushing out to get shots.

Hannah Hause, a Colorado mother of four children ages 2, 5, 7 and 8, is herself vaccinated, but wants to see how the child vaccines play out and are studied in the larger childhood population.

Its not studied long-term. It just makes me nervous, she said. As long as I can wait, I will wait.

At a White House briefing Wednesday, Walensky said authorities thoroughly reviewed all available data on the vaccines safety, efficacy and the immune response it generates before recommending shots for kids.

Dr. Ada Stewart, a Black family physician in Columbia, South Carolina, and past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said shes seen the toll the virus has taken on younger children  not just in family illness and death but with school disruptions, slipping grades and mental strain.

School closures throughout the pandemic have disproportionately burdened children of color, widening academic gaps and worsening mental health, according to data presented Tuesday to CDC advisers. It showed more than 2,000 COVID-related school closures in just the first two months of the current school year.

A Pfizer study of 2,268 children found the vaccine was almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections. The FDA examined 3,100 vaccinated kids in concluding the shots are safe.

Some skeptics have questioned the need for kids to get vaccinated since they are less likely than adults to develop severe COVID-19. But with the delta variant, they get infected and transmit just as readily as adults do, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a recent White House briefing.

Infected kids have also contributed to the U.S. toll  almost 46 million infections and more than 740,000 deaths.

Since the pandemic began, at least 94 children ages 5 to 11 have died from COVID-19, more than 8,300 have been hospitalized and over 5,000 have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to the coronavirus. Black and Latino youngsters and those with chronic conditions are among the hardest hit.

Kyevontay Jordan, 7, who is Black, has diabetes and got his shot at Childrens National Hospital in Washington. The vaccine gave his dad peace of mind.

Now I can sleep not worrying about him going to school, said Brian Jordan. Being exposed to the coronavirus could really affect him and mess him up.



Associated Press writers Patty Nieberg in Denver, Angie Wang in Washington, Lauran Neergaard in Alexandria, Virginia, and Kate Brumback and Ron Harris in Atlanta contributed to this report.



Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at https:(backslash)(backslash)twitter.com(backslash)LindseyTanner.



The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Jordan Hess won a third term on Missoulas city council, according election night vote results.

As of 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Hess had 2,120 votes (59.70%) compared to 1,424 votes (40.10%) for his challenger Rebecca Dawson.

That was with all 13 precincts counted, but vote counts aren't official until the votes are canvassed by county elections officials.

Hess, 36, is the director of transportation for the Associated Students of the University of Montana and has lived in city limits since 2005. He chairs the city councils Land Use and Planning Committee and said transportation and affordable housing are major issues facing Missoula.

Ward 2 includes much of the Westside neighborhood, Grant Creek and a wide swath of the fastest-growing area of the city north of Mullan Road.

Hess was endorsed by the Missoula County Democrats.

"I'm really excited obviously," Hess said on Tuesday night. "First and foremost, I ran on a message that local government can be a transformative force for good, and local government programs can make a meaningful difference in people's lives and I'm glad that resonated."

Hess said it's a challenging time for the world and he's honored and humbled that he gets a chance to make a difference.

"To me, there's three converging crises," he said. "Those are around climate and housing and equity and those are issues across the West. We need to tackle those head on and make sure every decision we make is through the lens of addressing those as a community."

Hess said he was glad to see John Engen leading the race for mayor, calling him an intelligent, compassionate and humble colleague.

Dawson, 42, is a Realtor and property management company maintenance coordinator. She filed as nonpartisan for this race but did win a Republican primary for House District 95 in the spring of 2020, although she lost in the general election that year to Rep. Danny Tenenbaum.

Dawson had campaigned on cutting city spending. She did not respond to a request for comment.

Hess said he realizes that a lot of people voted for his opponent and he hopes to talk to those voters.

"Call me anytime," he said. "I think the city provides a tremendous value. I think our tax system in Montana is broken and I think it's the Legislature's fault, and there's been some fallout from that at the local level. I believe we have some common objectives around tax reform."

Hess said the state government has cut funding for things like case management, and local governments are left to pick up the pieces.

"Missoula is still a small town where you see people at the grocery store," he said. "I had a lot of good conversations on the doors with voters. I feel like I've been approachable the last eight years and I plan on continuing that."

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Voters in Missoula County appear to have overwhelmingly approved a 3% local-option excise tax on recreational marijuana products sold within the county.

A proposed 3% tax on medical marijuana products failed by a slimmer margin.

The 3% tax on recreational marijuana passed with 30,249 votes for the tax (78%) and only 8,556 against (22%).

The 3% tax on medical marijuana products failed with 19,969 votes against (51.57%) and 18,752 votes for the tax (48.43%).

The new tax will apply to the retail sales price of all recreational marijuana products and will go into effect on Jan. 31, 2022. On Jan. 1, it will be legal for all registered medical dispensaries in Missoula County to begin selling recreational marijuana to all adults age 21 and over within the county.

If both the recreational and medical tax measures had been approved, they were both estimated to generate around $716,000 annually combined, based on a report from the University of Montanas Bureau of Business and Economic Research. It's unclear how much money a tax on just recreational products would produce.

The county will get 50% of the revenue from the new tax, while 45% will go to the city and the remaining 5% to the state. Already in Montana, medical marijuana has a 4% state tax and recreational marijuana will have a 20% state tax once its legal.

Though city and county officials are still considering what the revenue could go toward; options being explored include using a percentage to offset property taxes, as well as funding community needs like the mobile crisis unit and preventing homelessness, said county communications manager Allison Franz earlier this year.

As of Sept. 15, there were 57 marijuana dispensaries in Missoula County registered with the Montana Department of Revenue.

After Jan. 1, 2022, no new dispensaries will be able to operate for 18 months. Only previously established medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to sell recreational marijuana during that period.

Ross Ingman, the chief marketing officer at Montana Kush dispensary in Missoula, told the Missoulian in July that the tax wouldnt affect his business at all if it were passed because the costs would be passed on to the consumer. He still expected his sales to quadruple in January when he can sell recreational products. He noted that Oregon has a 17% state retail tax on all marijuana products.

Meanwhile, the city is planning to take public comment on a proposal to amend the city zoning code related to recreational cannabis businesses.

City planners have recommended a buffer between dispensaries and a ban on non-transparent glass storefronts, as well as a ban on home cultivation or manufacturing as a legally allowed home occupation. They say the proposed changes would increase safety and preserve neighborhood character. The city council has not yet voted on the issue.

In 2022, the University of Montana study estimated that $217 million worth of marijuana will be sold in Montana, with nonresident visitors buying nearly $30 million of that chunk.

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Students in kindergarten through grade 12 are invited to enter the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. essay and art contest, which is now the Lynn Schwanke Youth Art & Essay Contest.

Students should respond to this quote attributed to King: "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed."

The writing portion may be an essay, poem or letter of no more than 250 words. Handwritten or typed work will be accepted. The artwork must be an original drawing, painting, print, collage or other 2D media on 8-by-11 inch paper. Virtual submissions will be accepted.

On the back of each entry include the students full name, grade, school (if applicable), home address and telephone number. Entries must be received at the Missoulian by Friday, Dec. 10.

Winners will receive cash prizes, be featured in the Missoulian and recognized at the virtual MLK community celebration Monday, Jan. 17. Winners will be awarded in five categories: grades K-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8 and grades 9-12.

Send entries to MLK Contest, Missoulian, 500 S. Higgins Ave. or P.O. Box 8029, Missoula, MT 59807. Virtual submissions can be submitted to forms.gle/3pFrz7FB8MmyNiFo7.

The contest is sponsored by the Missoulian, MLK Jr. Day Planning Committee and EmpowerMT. Contact Sierra Pannell at 406-541-6891 or sierra@empowermt.org with questions.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden has nominated Navy Adm. Christopher Grady to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

If confirmed, Grady, who currently heads the U.S. Navys Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., would become the nations number two military officer, replacing Air Force Gen. John Hyten. Hyten is retiring later this month.

Gradys nomination has been long delayed, making it highly likely that there will be a gap in the job once Hyten leaves on Nov. 19. Grady's name was sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, and it's not clear when a hearing on the nomination would be scheduled.

A graduate of the Univeristy of Notre Dame, Grady joined the Navy in 1984, and his first tour at sea was on the USS Moosbrugger as a combat information center officer and antisubmarine warfare officer.

He has served as a commander on ships in the Pacific and in the Middle East in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He took over U.S. Fleet Forces Command and U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command in 2018. He also has been serving as head of U.S. Naval Forces Strategic Command.

Grady also previously served as commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, based in Naples, Italy. He has master's degrees from Georgetown University and the National War College.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  Maine voters passed the nations first right to food constitutional amendment on Tuesday.

A statewide referendum asked voters if they favored an amendment to the Maine Constitution to declare that all individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being. It was an experiment not tried before by any state.

Supporters used the campaign to make the case the amendment would ensure the right to grow vegetables and raise livestock in an era when corporatization threatens local ownership of the food supply. They positioned the amendment as a chance for Mainers to wrestle control of the food supply back from large landowners and giant retailers with little connection to the community.

Opponents cast the drive as deceptively vague. They also said it represented a threat to food safety and animal welfare, and could encourage residents to try to raise cows in their backyards in cities like Portland and Bangor.

Sen. Craig Hickman, a Democrat and longtime supporter of the amendment, said he was inspired this legislative session by the amount of bipartisanship that went into this amendment. He also said the measure resonated with Maine voters.

The Maine Legislature previously approved the proposal by a wide margin, but it also needed the approval of voters.

Its always a good idea to secure and protect an individual right in the world we live in. Food is life, said Hickman. I dont understand why anyone would be afraid of saying so out loud in the constitution."

The proposed amendment was the result of effort by members of the states food sovereignty movement. The movement includes small farmers, raw milk fans, libertarians, liberals and anti-corporate activists who all feel local communities should have more of a say in the future of the food supply.

Maine enacted a food sovereignty law, the nations first of its kind, in 2017. That law allows local governments to OK small food producers selling directly to customers on site. Other states around the country have passed similar laws in the years since Maine passed its law.

The Maine Farm Bureau, the largest farming advocacy group in the state, opposed the new constitutional amendment. The group's leader said Tuesday the bureau respected the will of voters.

Maine Farm Bureau is prepared to support Maine farmers as this amendment is enacted and, as always, stands clear in its resolve to protect and embrace food safety and animal welfare as a standard for all Mainers, said the bureau's executive director, Julie Ann Smith.

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A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
GREELEY, Colo. (AP)  Jurors started deliberating Tuesday in the trial of a former longshot Idaho gubernatorial candidate charged with murder in the death of a 12-year-old Colorado girl who disappeared in 1984.

Suspect Steve Pankey was a neighbor of Jonelle Matthews and her family when she vanished after being dropped off at her empty home by a family friend after performing at a Christmas concert in Greeley, Colorado, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Denver.

Pankey emerged as person of interest in the case three decades later  shortly before Jonelle's body was found in 2019  after claiming to have information about what happened to her, allegedly knowing details that had not been made public and asking for immunity from prosecution.

Pankey is a paranoid true crime junkie who took an interest in the case, as well as other slayings, and testified to lying to investigators about having information about it, his lawyer, Anthony Viorst, told jurors during closing arguments.

Despite being dishonest and behaving like a jerk to his ex-wife, Angela Hicks, and others, Pankey did not kill the girl, Viorst said.

Jerk? Guilty as charged. Murderer? Not guilty, said Viorst, who said Pankey was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, which Viorst previously said causes Pankey to process information differently and get involved in matters, especially true crime cases, to prove his self importance.

Lacking physical evidence, the prosecution relied heavily on testimony from Hicks, who said that Pankey unexpectedly announced the night that Jonelle disappeared that they were leaving to visit family in California early the next day.

Pankey on the return trip home insisted on listening to news reports about the girl's disappearance on the radio and instead of heading directly home after the long trip drove past it to buy newspapers with stories about the case, Assistant District Attorney Robb Miller told jurors during closing arguments.

Dont let this self-proclaimed master manipulator manipulate you, said Miller.

Viorst discounted Hicks testimony, saying she only started talking with authorities about Pankeys suspected involvement in 1999, when she sought a divorce. Viorst also tried to generate reasonable doubt about his clients involvement by raising the possibility of an alternate suspect.

Pankey took the stand last week, delivering sometimes rambling testimony. He said he pretended to know information about the case out of bitterness for police and because of his former church and former employer, both of which he wanted investigated.

He spoke about being bullied for being bisexual and his hatred of racist police officers from his time working on an ambulance in California. In one example, he spoke about withholding treatment from an injured sheriffs deputy who was crying in pain because of his view of police.

Prosecutors said Pankey kept up to date on the case throughout the years even as he moved his family to several states before settling in Idaho where he ran unsuccessfully as a Constitution Party candidate for Idaho governor in 2014 and in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2018, the year that authorities said he was named as a person of interest in the girls death.

Jonelle was considered missing until workers digging a pipeline in a rural area near Greeley in July 2019 discovered human remains matching her dental records.

Her death was then ruled a homicide. She died from a single gunshot wound to the head, prosecutors said.

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MIAMI (AP)  The key witness against a Colombian police captain who leaked sensitive information about U.S. anti-narcotics investigations has been given a sharply reduced sentence Tuesday for his help in a case that has highlighted concerns about the Drug Enforcement Administration's operations overseas.

Judge Robert Scola sided with federal prosecutors in Miami who found that Juan Carlos Davila-Bonilla's cooperation merited a 40% reduction from sentencing guidelines recommending a minimum 57 month sentence for obstruction of justice.

Instead, the judge ordered he be freed immediately under supervised release after spending 33 months in custody since his January 2019 arrest in Colombia on a U.S. warrant.

Davila-Bonilla's testimony helped convict Juan Pablo Mosquera, a once-r ising star in Colombia's police who headed an anti-narcotics squad in the city of Cali overseen by the DEA's Sensitive Investigative Unit, the gold standard of its partnerships abroad.

Mosquera, who pleaded guilty in the U.S. to two counts of obstructing justice, was charged with trying to sell information about what he thought was an impending narcotics indictment against an American who had ditched probation decades earlier and was believed to be living in Colombia.

Mosquera's police unit was one of many vetted by the DEA under a program meant to help conduct drug investigations in foreign countries where U.S. agents face more restrictions than local officers.

The program has led to the arrests of hundreds of drug capos in more than 20 countries.

But a scathing U.S. Inspector General report this summer blasted the DEAs leadership in Washington for failing to properly oversee its foreign law enforcement partners even in the aftermath of a string of well-publicized scandals.

The case against Mosquera arose from a tip that he was trying to sell information through his representative, Davila-Bonilla, a previously convicted Colombian drug trafficker, to targets of U.S. law enforcement investigations.

When the DEA found out, it organized a sting in which it shared false information with Mosquera about an indictment out of Miami against an American fugitive identified in court papers as P.L.

Less than a week later, Davila-Bonilla was recorded on a phone call with someone he thought was a drug-trafficking associate of P.L. but in reality was a DEA confidential source. Davila-Bonilla told him that the Miami extradition request was imminent and that the American should leave Colombia

Prosecutor Joseph Schuster said that Davila-Bonilla's role in the conspiracy was minor compared to that of Mosquera. And he said that Davila-Bonilla had also helped with investigations against two other drug kingpins, neither of whom were identified by name. He said one of those had already been indicted and the other was under investigation by prosecutors in New York.

Also weighing in Davila-Bonilla's favor was the fact that he has no previous criminal record in the U.S., although he has been convicted twice before for distributing cocaine in Germany and Italy.

Id like to say to this honorable judge and court how much I apologize for this mistake," Davila-Bonilla said in brief remarks before Scola imposed the light sentence, adding that he hoped the court would give him an opportunity to rebuild my life.

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An April 11 jury trial has been set for a Plentywood man accused of three counts of sexual intercourse without consent against two developmentally disabled women.

And the net for the jury pool was widened from 60-70 candidates in Sheridan County to 150, given defendant Timothy Marshs longtime presence in the community. Attorneys asked the number be "bumped up" in order to find jurors. There was no discussion of a change of venue for the trial during Thursday's discussion.

Judge Brenda R. Gilbert of the 6th Judicial District Court out of Livingston is presiding over the Sheridan County trial after the previous judge was asked to recuse himself, when prosecuting attorney cited his possible familiarity with the defendant.

During the Oct. 28 omnibus hearing, state Assistant Attorney General Mike Gee of the Montana Department of Justice, which is prosecuting the case, said the investigation into Marsh is continuing and would provide any new discovery to Marshs attorney as that unfolds.

He said there would possibly be more subpoenas issued soon.

I think there will be more motions, he said.

Marshs attorney, Samantha Howard, said her client did not plan to waive his right to a speedy trial.

The alleged incidents occurred in 2015 and in 2018, according to court documents filed Aug. 16. Marsh at one time worked as a maintenance worker at Glenwood Inc., a facility for adults with disabilities. He is no longer employed there.

Each count is a felony. The first count can bring imprisonment of two to no more than 100 years, a maximum fine of $50,000 or both.

Marsh pleaded not guilty Aug. 25 and is out of jail on $150,000 bond.

Gee filed the request for the new judge on Aug. 30. Gee said no one was asserting that the previous judge, David Cybulski of the 15th Judicial District Court in Sheridan County, could not be fair or impartial, but said there was a specter of a conflict. Gilberts courtroom is based in in Livingston.

The trial is expected to take five days. At one time, the trial was scheduled for February.

Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021.

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The school system is following the required COVID-19 protocol, Shuffler previously told The News Herald. These protocols include the mandatory mask mandate, which requires all staff and students to wear masks while on school campuses and buses.

On the dashboard, which was launched on Sept. 7, there is a link that allows anyone to view the 2021-22 school year COVID-19 protocol. This link gives information about what to do if a student shows symptoms of COVID-19, when they are allowed to return to school if they test positive, how to properly wear a face covering and more.

The database allows parents, students, staff and the public to view data regarding COVID-19 for BCPS. This includes cases, exposures and quarantines in schools involving students and staff.

The data runs on a Monday to Sunday basis, so the data can be broken into a weekly basis to be monitored and changed as necessary, Shuffler said in a previous article.

For more information about the BCPS COVID District Dashboard or the BCPS COVID-19 protocol, visit burke.k12.nc.us.
In the contest between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, 34% of Virginia voters say the economy and jobs was the most important issue facing the state. Seventeen percent name COVID-19 and 14% choose education. Thats according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters.

Health care (7%), climate change (7%), racism (5%), immigration (5%), abortion (5%) and law enforcement (4%) were all lower-tier issues.

The race is the most closely watched and competitive contest since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump last year, and is seen as a gauge of voters feelings ahead of next years midterms.

Youngkin, a former private equity executive, often asserted Virginias economy was in the ditch, but a majority of voters disagreed. Fifty-six percent said the states economy is in good shape, compared with 44% saying economic conditions are poor.

Schools became a focus of the race in its final weeks. A quarter of Virginia voters say the debate over teaching critical race theory in schools was the single most important factor in their vote for governor, but a similar percentage identified the debate over handling COVID-19 in schools as most important.



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Richard Burr has been cleared in one investigation into possible insider trading in the early days of the pandemic, but another probe has unearthed new problems for North Carolinas senior U.S. senator. And as new revelations reminded us recently, his worst transgression might not be what he did when COVID-19 first threatened his state and country. Its what he didnt do.

New details arose Oct. 28 regarding a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into possible insider trading by Burr.

According to an SEC filing first reported by ProPublica, Burr possessed material nonpublic information regarding the incoming economic impact of the virus when he dumped roughly $1.6 million in stocks in February 2020.

After doing so, he called his brother-in-law, the filing says  and the very next minute, Burrs brother-in-law called his stock broker.

Burrs big sale was previously the subject of an investigation by the Justice Department, who informed the senator in January that it would not pursue charges against him.

But he  and his brother-in-law  remain under investigation by the SEC. And despite having an estimated net worth of $7.4 million in 2018, Burr has been raising big money to help foot his hefty legal bills.
Voters have elected James Jess as mayor in Deer Lodge and Nicole Haas as mayor in Ennis.

In the lone contest in Granite County, longtime Drummond Mayor Gail Leeper won re-election easily by getting 51 votes to six for Lawrence Thomas II, according to unofficial returns. Leeper won her first term in 1993 and has been mayor ever since.

In other local races in southwest Montana on Tuesday, all three incumbents seeking re-election to the Dillon City Council won easily and Dillon City Judge Kaylan Minor easily fended off a challenger, according to unofficial results.

There were no races in Butte-Silver Bow and Anaconda-Deer Lodge counties. The only possible race in Butte-Silver Bow this year was in the town of Walkerville, but nobody challenged Mayor John Ries or incumbent Town Council members Annette Bolton and Don Horne.

John McGinley will be the new mayor in Dillon. He was the only candidate seeking to replace two-term Mayor Michael Klakken, who did not seek a third term.

In Dillon City Council races, incumbent Diane Armstrong got 279 votes to 44 for Kimberly Francis in Ward 1, according to unofficial returns. Russ Schwandt won re-election in Ward 2, defeating Cameron Haworth 194 votes to 47 votes.

In Ward 4, incumbent Mary Jo ORourke got 134 votes to 53 for Hank Muntzer, who has organized pro-Trump rallies and faces charges tied to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. In Ward 3, Joe Brandon defeated Lloyd Lasperance 162 votes to 46.

All of those races were for four-year terms on the council. There was another seat in Ward 4 in play that McGinley gave up with two years remaining to run for mayor. George Johnston was the lone candidate and won that seat with 50 write-in votes.

In the city judge contest, Minor was re-elected by getting 713 votes to 281 for Paul Pilgrim.

In the small town of Lima, about 50 miles south of Dillon in Beaverhead County, Mayor David Olsen won re-election by getting 82 votes to Kent Cravens 29. It was a rematch of a 2015 race that Olsen also won easily.

Jacqueline Sutton and Travis Wilson won seats on the Lima Town Council, a done deal before Tuesday because they were the only candidates running.

MADISON COUNTY

In neighboring Madison County, Kacey Smart, Jon Osborn and Amy Grice were the top three vote-getters among six candidates seeking seats on the Town Commission in Virginia City.

Smart got 106 votes, Osborn 92 and Grice 89. The three losing candidates were Gay Rossow with 64 votes, Ken Julio Shields with 43 and McKenzy Shields with 18.

In Ennis, Haas got 211 votes in the mayors race to 146 for Kelly Elser. Five people ran for two seats on the Town Commission, with Nichole Hankins and Brandi Palmerton winning. Hankins got 228 votes and Palmerton got 164. Jason Norman Schroeder finished with 100 votes, Lisa Roberts got 92 and Jesslyn Dulinsky got 91.

In Sheridan, five people ran for two seats on the Town Council. Tamara Todd won one seat with 142 votes while Rahn Abbott got the other with 99 votes. Emilie Sayler finished with 91 votes, Patricia Wang got 41 and Jonathan Laurin received 16.

POWELL COUNTY

All contests in Powell County were in Deer Lodge, with the race for mayor garnering most of the attention. Jess, a parole and probation officer for the Montana Department of Corrections, won the office with 471 votes to 224 for Dan Highley, who works at the Montana State Prison. Businessman Clifford Kimerly got 103 write-in votes based on an initial, preliminary count.

Voters chose a new mayor in 2019  retired real estate agent Diana Solle  but it was only to fill the post for two years because previously elected Deer Lodge Mayor Zane Cozby resigned. Sollle did not run for a full four-year term this year.

In races for Deer Lodge City Council, Jackie Greenwood won a two-year term in Ward 1 by getting 91 votes to 80 for Glory Blue Earth-Highley. Nobody filed for an open Ward 1 seat with a four-year term.

Curt Fjelstad won a Ward 3 seat by receiving 119 votes to 85 for Leland Hague. John Skibsrud was unopposed in Ward 4 and Robert Kersch was the lone candidate in Ward 2.

JEFFERSON COUNTY

In Jefferson County, there were local contests in Boulder and Whitehall.

Patricia Lewis won a Ward 2 seat on the Boulder City Council by getting 97 votes to 52 for Stacie St. Clair. Russell Rusty Giulio was the lone candidate for mayor and Drew Dawson drew no council opponent in Ward 4.

In Whitehall, Mary Jancaro Hensleigh was the only name on the ballot for mayor and she received 151 votes. Kathleen Fike got 59 write-in votes for mayor. Bill Lanes, Patricia Peterson and Linda Jung won alderman seats on the Whitehall Town Council by acclamation because they had no opponents.

There was also an initiative on the ballot for Whitehall to begin the process of joining Jefferson Countys ambulance district. It passed with 181 yes votes to 62 no votes.

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MUSCATINE  it was an evening full of the spirits of the dead, but it was not scary like the American celebration of Halloween.

On Monday evening, the student center at Muscatine Community College came alive as members of the Muscatine Chapter of League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) celebrated Dia de Los Muertes or the Day of the Dead. The Mexican holiday which is observed Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 has less of a spooky tone and more of a joyful air as the celebrants welcome the spirits of their departed loved ones to return and feast with them.

We wanted to bring the way we celebrate on campus and share it with the community, Jesse Garcia, LULAC advisor, said.

Garcia said Dia de Los Muertes is the Hispanic version of Halloween. He said the cultural difference is the holiday is used as a dedication to loved ones to remember them.

On the traditional home altar set up for the event, a large photo of Vanessa Guillen was displayed. Guillen was a 20-year-old Army soldier who authorities believe was killed on April 20, 2020, inside Fort Hood by another soldier. LULAC had held a vigil for her in 2020 to raise awareness of sexual assault in the military.
As tends to happen when looking for trouble, trouble found him. He was attacked several times while guarding a used car lot by rioters. In two instances, he shot and killed people who were in the process of attacking him. In the third case he shot a man in the arm, blowing out his bicep. He was later arrested and faces two murder charges, one attempted murder charge, two counts of reckless endangerment, and one charge of having a weapon illegally. He has pleaded not guilty.

On the public front, beliefs on this divide right down party lines, with the far left feeling Rittenhouse is a white supremacist and he should go to prison for the rest of his life while the far right believes it was all self-defense and he should be exonerated. In fact the far right have hailed him as a hero and paid for his bail and attorneys fees.

So, two people are dead, one maimed, and one teen who is not old enough to know better will have to live with this for the rest of his life. This situation is nothing but tragic.
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP)  An American woman convicted of helping to kill her mother on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali and stuff the body into a suitcase was deported Tuesday to the United States.

Heather Mack, 26, was released from prison on Friday after serving seven years and two months of a 10-year sentence. Her then-boyfriend, who was also convicted in the killing, was sentenced to 18 years and remains in prison.

Immigration officials escorted her to Bali's airport on Tuesday for a flight to Jakarta, where she later departed for Chicago.

The badly beaten body of her mother, wealthy Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack, was found in a suitcase inside the trunk of a taxi parked at the upscale St. Regis Bali Resort in August 2014.

The killing generated national and international attention for years, in part because of photographs of the suitcase that appeared too small to hold an adult womans body.

Mack, who was almost 19 and a few weeks pregnant, and her then-21-year-old boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were arrested a day later after they were found at a hotel about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the St. Regis.
ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Greece on Tuesday announced tougher restrictions on most activities for unvaccinated people, as the country registered a record high in new infections for the second day in a row.

Health Minister Thanos Pevris said the measures would take effect Saturday. Greece on Tuesday recorded 6,700 new COVID-19 infections  up from 5,449 Monday  and 59 deaths.

Some 61% of Greece's population has been fully inoculated. Health authorities are striving to boost vaccine uptake  as well as to encourage adult Greeks to register for booster shots. Infections are currently particularly high in northern Greece, where public hospitals are running out of intensive care unit beds and are sending patients to be treated in private facilities.

The measures will affect people who choose not to be vaccinated, Plevris said, adding that the center-right government has ruled out a return to a general lockdown.

Plevris said as of Saturday all unvaccinated people will be obliged to display a recent negative test to enter all indoor public areas, including banks, most shops, government buildings and hair salons. The same will apply to outdoor restaurant areas and cafes. Exceptions will be made for supermarkets, shops selling food, pharmacies and places of worship.
The launch of SpaceXs Starlink Internet service in South Africa has been delayed by a year for new customers.

When the services pre-order website went live for South Africans in February 2021, it showed the company was targeting coverage in the country during 2022. That remained the case until at least Monday.

The same page now states Starlink expects to expand service to South Africa in 2023.

MyBroadband input various South African addresses, which previously showed 2022 as the expected arrival date, and all of them had been updated to 2023.

The images below show the previous and updated Starlink pre-order pages.

PCMag has reported estimated coverage dates in specific locations in the US have also been pushed back.

The publication said Reddit users looking to try out the service noticed their estimated availability dates had changed from late 2021 to early 2022 to late 2022 to early 2023.

There seems to be good news for those who have already placed their pre-orders, with these users reporting no change in the expected availability date.

MyBroadband forum members who had secured pre-orders confirmed that their dates had remained the same, with arrival still slated for 2022.

That suggests the company might have reached a certain number of customers in specific areas it will be able to serve by the earlier launch date, while new pre-orders will have to wait until the Starlink networks capacity expands.

MyBroadband asked SpaceX for comment on the reason behind the delay, but we did not receive feedback on our queries.

Starlink uses a constellation of low-earth-orbit satellites to beam Internet to users on the ground with a cutting-edge satellite dish.

The service is currently live for beta testing in several locations, including parts of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Germany.

SpaceX had already shipped 100,000 Starlink terminals to customers in those areas by August.

The service costs $99 (R1,517, excl. VAT) per month, not including the $499 (R7,646) once-off fee for the client terminal, consisting of a satellite dish, router, Ethernet cable, and mounting equipment.

The deposit to pre-order Starlink costs $99. That fee will cover part of the payment of the client terminal.

According to the latest data collected by StarlinkStatus.space, users are measuring an average of 133.8Mbps download speeds and 19.24Mbps for uploads, with a ping of around 46ms.

One recorded an impressive peak download speed of 370.88Mbps.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently announced that Starlink would exit its beta at the end of October 2021.

Musk has claimed the service will be capable of 1Gbps download speeds once a sufficient number of satellites have been launched into orbit.

1,740 Starlink satellites have been launched into orbit in less than two years.

SpaceX plans to have almost 30,000 satellites providing Internet coverage by the end of the second phase of its programme.

In September, it launched 51 laser-equipped satellites that can send data between each other, allowing them to provide Internet service in locations that dont have a ground station.

These laser links could theoretically also reduce latency in cases where communication needs to be carried to another country, and the terrestrial fibre cable route would take longer.

Now read: Elon Musk says Starlink could be installed on airlines
Eskoms former chief generation officer and acting CEO, Matshela Koko, has launched a scathing attack on Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter about his poor load-shedding performance.

This attack followed criticism from De Ruyter about Kokos management at Eskom and for running power stations into the ground.

De Ruyter blamed Kokos card system for incentivising power station managers to run units when faults occurred to avoid disciplinary action.

He added that the card system resulted in the manipulation of statistics related to unplanned breakdowns.

Koko was also blamed for forcing station managers to skimp on maintenance which led to higher unreliability today.

Koko hit back at these accusations in an ENCA interview, highlighting that Eskom officially confirmed that Koko and his team did not manipulate statistics and complied with regulations.

Eskom did indeed say that key performance indicators are audited internally and externally, eliminating material over-reporting of the energy availability factor.

What you see here is a clear disconnect between the official position of Eskom and its chief executive, Koko said.

Koko said his card system brought about a high-performance culture in Eskom. If you did not perform, you received a yellow card, and you are out of the system. We were pedantic in managing non-performance.

Responding to questions about De Ruyters accusations, he said there is only one conclusion  the Eskom CEO does not have a clue what he is managing.

How do you understate a breakdown? When a plant is broken, it is broken. You cannot keep the lights on, he said.

De Ruyter is clueless, and he is out of his depth. He cannot even spell what he is talking about. He is simply exposing his inexperience in the field he is operating in.

He added that South Africa is experiencing load-shedding now because of unplanned breakdowns. Under-reporting can therefore not be hidden, as De Ruyter alleged.

Responding to allegations that he ran power plants too hard, he said there is no engineering concept to justify such a statement.

In engineering, you have a simple rulebook  you operate the plant within the operating and technical specification. This is what my team did, he said.

He also dismissed accusations that the necessary maintenance was not performed under his leadership.

Koko said planned maintenance is audited and reported in Eskoms annual reports, which clearly showed maintenance increased when he was in charge.

Planned maintenance in my time was the highest in the history of Eskom, he said. Where is the evidence that maintenance under my leadership was not done?

Responding to accusations by De Ruyter that he is largely responsible for the current load-shedding mess South Africa finds itself in today, Koko slated the Eskom CEO.

The sooner we forget about Andre de Ruyter, the better. He is clueless and does not know what he is managing, Koko said.

He said De Ruyter has no idea how a power plant operates and what planned maintenance involves.

Koko added that during his tenure, they kept the lights on and had 4,000MW of surplus capacity.

When we were in charge, we did not blame our predecessors. We did the necessary maintenance, and almost good enough was not tolerated, he said.

Instead of blaming previous Eskom CEOs, he said they worked hard to eliminate load-shedding, which they achieved.
As announced in June, Terry Wooten of Napa stepped into the position of Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center Chief Executive, in July and said his decades-long career prepared him perfectly for the job.

In this role, Wooten will be responsible for the hospitals operational effectiveness and performance, officials said.

The Southern California native who moved to Napa in July has been with St. Joseph Health and Providence Hospitals, for more than 25 years, and takes over the reins from Larry Comes, who was Chief Operating Officer from 2015 until 2017, when he became Chief Executive, Queen spokesperson Christina Harris said.

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I was the Chief Operations Officer for Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach for five years before this, he said, adding that five years is likely the average stay in a position at this level in this industry, though it varies by facility.

Before that, Wooten was VP for clinical supply chain for St. Joseph Health System Office, and earlier held a variety of roles at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, including director of business & materials resources, surgical services, and endoscopy.

However, his very first job with the St. Joseph organization was working the night shift as an admitting clerk in the emergency room. "I was 23," he said, and still in college. "I learned a lot there."

Wooten went on to earn his masters degree in healthcare administration from the University of Southern California.

So far, Wooten said, hes thrilled to be in Napa.

I am absolutely loving it, he said. The hospital, the people here, the community. Napa has embraced me.

Wooten said hes unable to detail any major changes he may implement because hes still in the information gathering stage.

Were still within the first four months, and getting to know the community, the caregivers, and the needs of the community, he said. Were looking at the growth, and meeting the needs of the community. Our strategy is in development.

Among the issues for which Wooten said he is developing strategies, is how to deal with the declining reimbursements and overall pressures facing the Queen and the healthcare industry in general.

Like every system, we are looking at ways of being more efficient and cost-effective, he said. Were doing well, but are always looking for ways to be more efficient. Our caregivers are always mindful of that, too, and are always suggesting how that could be done.

Get to know: Name: Terry Wooten Occupation: Chief Executive of Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Napa Age: 48 City of Residence: Napa City of origin: Hawthorn and West Covina, Southern California Family: Engaged to Danielle Cooper. No children.

Wooten stressed he plans to focus on growth and filling community needs, and that he has no immediate plans for more layoffs, department outsourcing or consolidations.

Reductions are not in the conversation, he said.

The Queen employees an estimated 1,100 staffers, said a spokesperson. It's also hiring nurses, respiratory therapists, and clinical laboratory scientists.

Looking forward, Wooten said opportunities abound.

Were really excited about the future, he said. There is so much opportunity here, we need to focus on growing our out-patients presence, and expanding our primary care base, opening up urgent cares, expanding our community presence. At the hospital were focusing on growing our clinical institutes, including our programs like orthopedics, women and children, cancer programs, etcetera; growing our services within the hospital.

Officials are partnering with the Queens physicians and looking at the services were offering and looking at technology and other solutions, and identifying what would benefit the community, Wooten said. The Queen continues to be Napas hospital, and we will be here for the community, making sure we have the services available when needed. Weve been doing that for over 50 years and will continue to do so.

Meanwhile, Queen of the Valley continues improving functions and racking up recognitions, Harris said.

In September, the Winiarski Family Foundation donated $5.1 million for our Stroke and Diagnostic Center, Wooten explained. We will build out the stroke center within our imaging center, adjacent to the Emergency Department, and bring in the latest and greatest in technology.

The center will be a great enhancement in providing critical care for the 30,000 trauma, stroke patients, and patients with emergent needs who are treated in the Queens ED annually, officials said.

We are eternally grateful for the philanthropy of donors like the Winiarski family, Wooten said at the time. Their gift will reduce the time it takes to determine the extent and complexity of injuries and begin treatment. This state-of-the-art suite signals to the community we are committed to providing the highest quality of care to all our community members.

The Queen was also recognized recently for maternity care by California Hospital Compare for having lower C-section rates than the statewide benchmark, Harris said. Its a goal hospital officials have been working toward, she said.

Its part of a strategy, looking at births and the quality of care in our labor and delivery unit, Harris said, adding that this is the Queens first time making this honor roll in at least five years.

Its very important women have better outcomes when babies are delivered vaginally, and were glad the Queen is able to make that happen, she said.

In 2015, the California Health and Human Services Agency began recognizing hospitals that meet the 23.9 percent statewide target of C-sections for low-risk births through its Maternity Honor Roll.

The agency recently announced the recipients of the 2021 Maternity Care Honor Roll and

Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center was among the honorees, Harris said.

The hospital was one of 124 hospitals recognized for meeting or surpassing the statewide target aimed at reducing births via C-section in first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies. We are incredibly proud of the care we provide to mothers and babies from our Intensive Care Nursery.

Wooten said that working for a Catholic organization driven by a mission is especially meaningful to him.

"As a young person going into a job I didn't really know what that meant," he said. "I quickly learned what it means to be a part of something larger than just a paycheck. I learned what it meant to have meaning in your work."

"Have there been stressful days? Tough days? Absolutely. But the thing that always brought me back is the reminder of why I do this. It gives me a sense of meaning and purpose. It's more than just a job."

You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com
The nonprofit Angwin DART (Disaster Airlift Response Team), a coalition of more than 20 volunteer pilots based at Angwin-Parrett Airfield, has upgraded its radio system to allow for statewide communication during emergencies.

The new 50-watt, dual-band, mobile HAM radio base station links the Angwin airport to each of California's other DART-operated airports.

If Internet and cell phone systems go down during a serious disaster, HAM radios could be the only way to communicate disaster relief needs, said Marielle Coeytaux-Britton, director of the Angwin DART.

DART's mission is to fly goods or people in or out of devastated areas when ground transportation cannot do the job  for example, when roads are blocked by flooding, fire or earthquake damage.

Coeytaux-Britton and Marian Harris, her counterpart at the Half Moon Bay DART, had planned to check their respective radios on Saturday.

"But then an idea came to us: what if we were to open this event up and invite all the other DART Operators to join us in checking their radio communication status?," Coeytaux-Britton said. "And so it was."

From 10 to 10:27 a.m. Saturday, DART held its first statewide HAM "radio check" with 11 airports throughout California  as far south as Carlsbad near San Diego  plus one in Nevada.

"Amazingly enough, every transmission came through loud and clear, at least for us in Angwin," Coeytaux-Britton said.

She thanked St. Helena accountant Mel Varrelman for working pro bono to secure Angwin DART's nonprofit status, and the St. Helena Kiwanis Club for donating the necessary filing fees to set up the 501c3 organization. The nonprofit status allowed Angwin DART to receive tax-deductible donations  starting with a $1,500 donation from pilot Bob Edwards  to buy the radio equipment under the expert advice of local HAM expert Kevin Vogt.

"Kevin not only chose the right equipment for us, but also helped install it, crafting the necessary parts to connect all the pieces," Coeytaux-Britton said. "This HAM radio base station is the result of amazing teamwork."
Blue Zones Project Upper Napa Valley is hosting a Community Kickoff from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at Lyman Park.

We have received an incredible amount of support locally from key stakeholders over the last six months as we have created the foundation of this project, said Joaquin Razo, executive director of Blue Zones Project Upper Napa Valley. We are now excited to be able to engage with the public at large through people, places, and policy. We want everyone in Upper Napa Valley to feel like they have an opportunity to benefit from these resources, and encourage them to come out to the Community Kickoff to meet our team and learn how to get involved!

Based on principles discovered during an ongoing 20-year longevity study developed by Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author of "The Blue Zones" and "The Blue Zones Solution," Blue Zones Project is designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent and semi-permanent changes to a communitys built environment, public policies, and social networks.

Resilience, whole-person well-being, and a supportive community were hallmarks I noted growing up in Loma Linda, the only blue zones region in the U.S.. I am excited to see all the benefits that our Napa Valley community will experience as we engage in Blue Zones Project, said Dr. Steve Herber, CEO Adventist Health St. Helena and Steering Committee Co-Chair.

The free, family-friendly Community Kickoff celebration event will explore core themes inspired by the original Blue Zones Power 9 principles that help people live longer, healthier lives: Connect, Eat Wisely, Move Naturally and Right Outlook. Attendees will be invited to sample tastings of healthy, plant slant bites prepared by local restaurants, enjoy various activities in the park including a mindfulness demonstration and bilingual childrens storytime, and connect at over a dozen interactive stations hosted by partner organizations and businesses including UpValley Family Centers, Napa Valley Vine Trail, Open Space District, and Adventist Health Mobile Van.

At 11:15 a.m., special guest speaker Nick Buettner, vice president of product and producer of Blue Zones expeditions, will take the stage to share his exploration story to the original blue zones longevity hotspots, and the habits and longevity secrets discovered to help everyone live a longer, better life. Throughout the day guests will also receive giveaways, and can enter to win a $250 gift card for a local grocery market.

Starting the week of Nov. 15, the local team will be hosting additional engagement events. Hailing from the Okinawan concept of getting together for a common purpose, residents can sign up to join the launch of a walking group called a Moai. Free purpose workshops will be offered in both English and Spanish to help people explore their gifts and their reasons for getting out of bed in the morning. There will also be opportunities to learn new recipes and techniques for healthy, affordable meals during virtual cooking demonstrations.

All Blue Zones Project community events are free for participants but require advanced registration to maintain safety COVID precautions. To learn more and register visit info.bluezonesproject.com/unv-kickoff-2021.

More information about the Blue Zones Project Upper Napa Valley is available at uppernapavalley.bluezonesproject.com. For updates on the latest events and local happenings, follow on Facebook and Instagram at @bzpuppernapavalley.
PG&E Corp. had been driven into bankruptcy by wildfire damages and Gov. Gavin Newsom was worried that the state's ever-increasing wildfire hazards could swamp California's other major utilities as well.

So, just months after taking office, Newsom persuaded the Legislature to create a giant wildfire insurance fund for the big utilities, paid for by shareholders and ratepayers alike. The plan "treats wildfire victims fairly and protects California consumers," he said.

The fund is about to get its first claim.

PG&E says it plans to tap the fund for $150 million to help defray the expected cost of the Dixie Fire, which burned more than 963,000 acres this year. While an investigation is ongoing, Cal Fire believes the Dixie Fire began when a tree made contact with a PG&E power pole in the Feather River Canyon.

The state's Wildfire Fund, created by AB 1054, is designed to help the big utilities deal with wildfires that exceed more than $1 billion in damages.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday, PG&E said the costs from the Dixie Fire will total at least $1.15 billion. The utility said it expects to collect $150 million from the state's fund.

A critic of the fund said allowing PG&E to collect money would amount to a bailout for the utility.

"What's happening is exactly what we were worried about," said Maria Severson, a San Diego attorney representing two PG&E customers who are suing the state to block the program. "It created the moral hazard of having the utilities neglect their responsibilities because they knew their unfunded liabilities would be funded on the backs of ratepayers." The lawsuit was dismissed but has been appealed to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

But Michael Wara, a Stanford University climate and energy expert who helps oversee the fund, said the program is doing what it's supposed to do.

"The goal of the fund was always to stabilize the situation," said Wara, a member of the California Catastrophe Response Council, which operates the fund. "The fund is going to do its job, for the first time."

Before the fund was created, Wara said victims could be dragged through an anxiety-producing ordeal lasting years. For instance, victims of the fires that drove PG&E into bankruptcy have been promised $13.5 billion by the utility, but the process is taking years and there's no guarantee they'll get their full $13.5 billion. The payment trust is funded in part with PG&E stock, whose value has been depressed. So far the PG&E trust has paid out $1.2 billion.

Wildfire Fund could help pay victims

By bolstering the utilities' finances, the state-run Wildfire Fund makes it easier for victims to get compensated, Wara said.

"It was designed to create greater certainty for victims and utilities, so the victims get paid," he said. "It's really unfortunate that we ever had to use this fund but I'm personally glad that it's there."

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PG&E could run into interference on prying money out of the fund. The Public Utilities Commission could determine that the company didn't operate its system prudently, for instance. For its part, PG&E has said it regularly inspected the power pole, power line and the tree that's believed to have sparked the Dixie Fire.

Under the rules enacted by lawmakers, PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric funded the program with an initial contribution of $4.8 billion, and make monthly contributions. Eventually the fund is supposed to grow to $21 billion  half from shareholders, half from ratepayers.

Customers' shares come from a surcharge on their bills of about $2.50 a month, although rates actually haven't risen. Instead, the Legislature agreed to extend a surcharge that's been in place since 2001.

The surcharge was initially created to reimburse the state for electricity it purchased for the three utilities during the energy crisis. The charge would have expired last year, but instead will run through 2035.

As for PG&E, it believes it can get reimbursed for the entire cost of the Dixie Fire. Besides the $150 million from the state fund, it expects to collect $569 million from its insurers and $339 million in rates through a program set up by the Public Utilities Commission to cover certain wildfire expenses. Those costs would require PUC approval.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A 39-year-old Napa man faces a potential life sentence in state prison after his conviction on sexual assault allegations involving two relatives, prosecutors announced.

Samuel James Cereda was convicted Friday in Napa County Superior Court on 50 charges, including seven counts of child rape, 14 other counts of aggravated sexual assault, and 27 counts of forcible lewd acts on a child, the office of District Attorney Allison Haley said in a news release. Jurors in the nine-day trial overseen by Judge Scott R.L. Young also accepted special allegations of sex offenses against more than one victim, substantial sexual conduct with victims, and committing crimes by force, fear, violence, or duress.

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Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from the sexual assault of one family member in Napa County between 2017 and 2019, and of another relative from 2009 to 2011 in San Bernardino County. The survivors were between 8 and 13 years old at the time of the abuse, according to the District Attorneys Office.

Cereda was arrested at his San Francisco workplace in September 2019, after a Napa County student told a school counselor Cereda had abused her for several years, Napa Police said at the time, adding that the resulting investigation led to the discovery of a second victim outside the county.

Napa man arrested, suspected of abusing child for years A Napa man has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a child younger than 14, police say.

The Napa County District Attorneys Office took jurisdiction over all the allegations against Cereda and prosecuted them as a single case, and both survivors  now between the ages of 16 and 20  testified at trial, prosecutors said.

Cereda, who has been held without bail in the Napa County jail since his arrest, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1.
All Home, a Bay Area nonprofit, has a plan to reduce the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness across the region by 75% in the near future.

But the cost of mostly eliminating homelessness in Napa County over the next five years adds up to roughly $87 million, according to a presentation by All Home to the Napa City Council on Tuesday. And thats a small portion of the estimated $6.5 billion cost of implementing the plan across the Bay Area.

The group estimates that more than 35,000 people are homeless across the nine Bay Area counties. That includes at least 464 people in Napa County, the number of homeless people counted in the countys annual one-day point-in-time count in 2020. (The count didnt happen this year because of the pandemic.)

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The All Home plan to substantially reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness hinges on investing in three areas: interim shelter, permanent housing, and prevention.

And the suggested ratio for investments into those areas focuses on prevention more than the other categories, under what All Home calls the 1-2-4 framework. The framework means that, for every one unit of interim housing invested in, All Home suggests two units of permanent housing be invested in and four preventative interventions should be carried out.

Preventative actions may include providing financial assistance for rent or utilities, access to legal services or tenant education and advocacy, according to the plan.

One year under the plan in Napa could mean helping 187 people avoid homelessness, moving 93 people into permanent homes and moving 46 people into interim shelters, according to an All Home chart. In total, that would cost an estimated $42 million, according to another chart.

Ken Kirkey, chief partnership officer of All Home, told the Napa County Board of Supervisors in July that more people have drifted into homelessness over the years because of poverty. And, he said, it hasnt helped that responses to homelessness in the Bay Area have focused on addressing chronic homelessness instead of issues, like housing affordability, that lead people into homelessness in the first place.

With the cost of housing increasing rapidly, more and more people have been unable to afford to live in the region, Kirkey added.

For every person brought indoors, weve had two people become homeless, Kirkey said. And part of that, we believe, is because there hasnt been a prevention framework to help people who are at risk at homelessness, or newly homeless, get rehoused rapidly.

One project that could substantially cut down the number of people experiencing homelessness in Napa is Burbank Housings plan to transition the Wine Valley Lodge motel into 54 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless residents.

Napa County has operated the motel since March 2020 as a space for COVID-19 quarantines and temporary homeless housing.

Jennifer Palmer, the countys interim director of Housing and Homeless services, previously referred to the countys use of the motel as an unexpected experiment with the All Home approach, according to a Register report in July.

From April 2020 to June 2021, 78 people used the motel, and 52 of those moved into permanent housing, according to Palmer. Those homeless residents were able to stabilize and move into permanent housing because they had an opportunity to receive medical assistance, work with case managers and have meals, she said in the July report.

The Burbank Housing project is, however, dependent upon the success of a $31 million grant co-application to Californias Project Homekey initiative submitted by the city and Burbank Housing last month. Grant funding from the initiative  $1.4 billion in the current round  is intended to be used to sustain and rapidly expand housing opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and those at risk of homelessness statewide.

Several public commenters at Tuesdays meeting urged the council to endorse the plan. Scott Wagner, director for housing and services for Abode Services, said he appreciates the regional approach suggested by All Home and that coordination is extremely important in tackling homelessness.

Christine Jameson said its becoming almost impossible for low-income people to find places to live in the region.

Its extremely difficult to find places to live in todays society, Jameson said. Specifically if you really are low income or have mental health issues, it is a really tough situation.

The Napa Board of Supervisors in July chose not to immediately endorse the plan because they wanted to receive feedback from the Napa City Council before doing so, said Gail Gilman, chief strategist of All Home, at the Tuesday council meeting.

Gilman said several Bay Area cities and counties  including San Jose, Contra Costa County, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland  have endorsed the plan so far.

Most Napa council members expressed broad support for the plan, but the council didnt vote to endorse it.

Council member Mary Luros said the price tag appears daunting, but that, with partnerships with Napa County and the state, the plan seems like a real chance to help Napas homeless population.

You can reach Edward Booth at (707) 256-2213.

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The legal team of Republic of Armenia (RA) former Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan, who is currently under arrest, have issued a statement. It reads as follows:

The other day we learned that in the criminal case against Davit Tonoyan, the NSS [(National Security Service)] detained Artyom Hambaryan, the head of the Aviation Technical Property Service of the Aviation Department of the RA MOD, and Vladimir Babayan, the chief engineer of the Aviation Department, who had been questioned as witnesses in the same case.

These two high-ranking officers had given testimonyin the criminal casethat did not contradict the other materials of the case, refuting the charge against Davit Tonoyan. The defense also has other information about the "reasons" for detaining the two mentioned persons, which we do not consider expedient to make public at the moment.

This practice deepens the existing serious concerns on the part of the defense to conduct the investigation in any way, including those prohibited by law, in accordance with the NSS's preferred guidelines, to detain Davit Tonoyan for as long as possible, and to create an illusion of the already collapsed case being well-founded.

At the same time, we consider it necessary to refer to the statement issued by the NSS that some of the missiles acquired some time after delivery had not fired and were taken off the balance sheet, and the rest were allegedly not used at all, including during the 44-day [Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war that began on September 27, 2020.

In this regard, it should be noted that this information is mostly manipulative and misleading, as it was refuted by the data already obtained in the same criminal case; in particular, according to the materials of the criminal case, some of these missiles were used not only during the 2020 war, but also before that, during the training exercises, whereas no date were obtained in the case on their being low quality, non-performance of combat tasks.

We also consider it appropriate to recall the recent statement by the RA Prime Minister in the National Assembly that this criminal case has been filed by the National Security Service under the Prime Minister, and all international reports record that such cases cannot be solved and go towards solving without the existence of political will.

We propose and urge the RA Prime Minister and his subordinate structure to truly manifest political will in order to ensure an objective investigation of the case, to reveal the truth about the case. Only after ensuring that objectivity will we reflect on the clarification of the deadlines for the usefulness, production, and storage of ammunition to the investigative body with the support of an independent expert, as well as on the concept of "market price."
Armenian Foreign Minister and Otto Luchterhandt discuss Nagorno-Karabakh settlement

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Man, 29, jumps from Yerevan bridge

Armenia MFA confirms PM Pashinyan's readiness to meet with Azerbaijans Aliyev on December 15

Quake shakes coast of Vanuatu

State minister: Nationwide quarantine, specific restrictions planned to be imposed in Karabakh

Artsakh President convenes National Security Service consultation

Opposition MP: Armenia FM stated that Turkey has proposed new precondition: corridor

Armenia military expert: US Embassy warns its citizens to avoid Karahunj-Davit Bek, Kapan-Chakaten road sections

Armenia opposition MP: Air carrier operating flights from Syunik Province cannot have any security guarantees

Singapore is good example for Armenia, says President Sarkissian

Iran seizes foreign ship in Persian Gulf

2 Azerbaijanis injured in anti-tank mine explosion at Karabakh conflict zone

US, Turkey presidential advisors discuss situation in South Caucasus

Synopsys boss pays tribute to Armenian Genocide victims

Russia peacekeepers escort 15 convoys to, from Artsakh in one week

Catholicos Karekin II to Patriarch Kirill: We appreciate your warm attitude towards Armenian Church, people

China fines Alibaba for violating antitrust law

36 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh

UK Premier Johnson considering boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

Artsakh President visits Askeran city, meets with regional capitals youth

President to Russia Patriarch: Armenian people highly value your efforts aimed at achieving peace in our region

870 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

8 injured in tragic accident on Yerevan-Gyumri motorway are discharged from hospital

China, Russia, US agree to promote political dialogue on Iran

Azerbaijan mother, son commit suicide on same day

One pedestrian dies on the spot, other hospitalized after hit by car in Armenia village area

US beauty consultant is accused of killing woman by injecting silicone into her butt

Brazil Amazon deforestation reaches highest level in 15 years

Newspaper: Armenia soldiers are prohibited from filming episodes from their service, posting them on internet

Newspaper: Armenia opposition is forming large-scale resistance network

Armenia President visits National University of Singapore

Gia, wanted by French law-enforcement authorities, found at Armenia's Bagratashen checkpoint

Leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia agree to meet in Brussels

European Council: Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to establish direct communication line at level of defense ministers

Armenia's Representative to OSCE speaks about Azerbaijan's recent attack at Permanent Council's session

Armenia serviceman Meruzhan Harutyunyan, killed in Syunik Province, was buried at Yerablur Military Pantheon

Armenian News-NEWS.am's special report: Drive from Kapan to Tchakatashen is 150 km instead of previous 8 km

3 Armenian servicemen killed during Nov. 16 Azerbaijani attack posthumously awarded presidential medals

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Armenia delegation covers Azerbaijan's Nov. 16 attack during online meeting of CSTO PA Permanent Commissions

Armenia PM receives delegation led by Vice President of Lithuanian Seimas

Lavrov, Cavusoglu discuss bilateral ties and regional issues

Karabakh: Azerbaijani side, in Shushi, transfers bodies of 3 Armenian soldiers killed on Nov. 16

NEWS.am daily digest: 19.11.21

Armenian Embassy in Russia: Armenia citizens - mother and child - evacuated from Afghanistan

Georgia refuses to be a part of '3+3' format with regard to South Caucasus

The occupied Hadrut of our days (PHOTOS)

Arabologist: Photo of map of Turkic world shown by Erdogan and Bahceli is simply a gift for Armenian diplomacy

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Opposition With Honor legislature faction MP: No one knows if Armenia petitioned to Russia for military assistance

Armenia opposition MP: There is a threat that Baku will always get what it wants through use of force

Lavrov is certain that the Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan summit will take place

Ann Linde: OSCE working very closely with Russia to resolve Karabakh conflict

Karabakh FM congratulates newly appointed Abkhazia counterpart

Dollar relatively stable in Armenia

Armenia parliament majority members do not deny possibility of exchange of territories with Azerbaijan

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Armenia ruling party MP assures that situation on the border is currently stable

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Armenian serviceman, 19, dies in Georgia's Akhalkalaki

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High commissioner: Diaspora is considering ways to help hundreds of Ethiopia Armenians

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Opposition Armenia Faction in parliament: Authorities are unable to distinguish between priority and secondary issues

3 more die of coronavirus in Artsakh

Bruno Retailleau: France must support Armenia more firmly against aggressions by Azerbaijan

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799 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Katherine Clark: Azerbaijan must acknowledge and respect Armenian sovereignty

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Russia peacekeepers patrol along Karabakh border delimitation line

MOD: According to current data Armenia has 6 military casualties as result of Tuesdays attack by Azerbaijan

Turkish Islamic preachers organization denies reports of his death

Newspaper: What happened to missing Armenia soldiers during recent hostilities?

Armenia MOD dismisses reports about not allowing officers with higher rank than major to go up to combat positions

US virtually completes development of new tactical nuclear gravity bomb B61-12

Newspaper: Officers with higher rank than major not allowed to combat positions during recent hostilities in Syunik

Opposition MP: Granting corridor to Azerbaijan through Syunik Province will be gravest crime against Armenia

US Department of State representative says why Azerbaijan is not invited to Summit for Democracy

Armenian human rights activists to submit letters to ECHR regarding soldiers captured and considered missing

Armenia FM stresses importance of addressable response to Azerbaijan's actions during talk with Greek counterpart

Ex-ruling party official: Armenia authorities found reason for MOD's resignation after his visit to Karabakh

Republican Party of Armenia spokesperson: Nikol Pashinyan gave a confessional testimony in parliament yesterday

Armenia President talks about states' collective responsibility at Bloomberg New Economy Forum

Turkish website reports poisoning of Fetullah Gulen

Armenia FM holds phone talks with Cypriot counterpart, presents situation created after Azerbaijani attack

Mirzoyan, Zas discuss CSTO's possible actions to stabilize situation on Armenia-Azerbaijan border, if necessary

Mothers of deceased servicemen demand Armenia PM's resignation

Azerbaijani Armed Forces open fire at tractor in Armenia's Verin Shorzha village

Putin: Events unfolding on Armenia-Azerbaijan border attest to fact that situation has not calmed down in the region

Lithuania supports Armenia's territorial integrity

NEWS.am daily digest: 18.11.21

Ex-ruling party official: Incumbent authorities created deliberately organized chaos in Armenia
Today at the government I hosted the President of the Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] Republic, Arayik Harutyunyan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of the Republic of Armenia (RA) wrote this on Facebook Wednesday, and, also, posted a respective video.

Pashinyan noted in his speech: "The first anniversary of the 44-day war is coming to an end, and of course, this work has not stopped during this period either, but it is important to analyze the work we have done during this year and to assess the situation. We will discuss these issues during our meeting today.

It is important to note that during this period the Artsakh government, together with the RA government, has succeeded in carrying out very concrete work to restore normal life in Artsakh. Of course, we do not think that what has been done is satisfactory, and we should, of course, continue to work in that direction, replacing purely assistance programs with development programs.

Of course, it is also important that we have discussions at the working level on our future vision for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Of course, we consider it important that the full negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs be resumed where, as the Co-Chairs also have repeatedly stressed, the final and comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the clarification of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh shall take place on the basis of the known principles, including the right of nations to self-determination. All these issues are on our joint work agenda."

In his turn, Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan noted: "The fact that we have not deviated from the path of a political solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and we continue to maintain Artsakh's right to self-determination as the main political direction, and international players, including the OSCE Minsk Group, continue to be mediators, and the right of nations to self-determination is also put on the agenda in terms of Karabakh settlement.

Second, as a result of large-scale work, we are reaping the first fruits. By the end of the year, at least 300 newly built apartments will be commissioned in Stepanakert alone. Some of them are construction that started before the war, but, besides that, we also managed to lay the foundations of thousands of apartments today, and by the end of 2022 we will have completed at least 2,500 to 3,000 apartments first of all, within the framework of the funds provided by the RA government to Artsakh, and towards the implementation of various programs with the funds raised by the Hayastan All Armenian Fund.

Also, the Artsakh President thanked that a rather large sum of money is envisaged for Artsakh in the 2022 state budget of the RA, and that this will enable to carry out all the existing tasks in Artsakh.

"I am convinced that in 2-3 years we will completely solve the remaining housing and infrastructure and social problems. The normal life that exists in Artsakh is mainly conditioned by the money allocated by the RA government, andwhy notby the daily work that takes place.
Chairman of the House of Representatives of Belarus, Vladimir Andreichenko, during a meeting with Azerbaijani Ambassador Ulvi Bakhshaliyev, proposed to create a roadmap for the development of bilateral relations, BelTA news agency reported.

We highly appreciate the relations between Belarus and Azerbaijan, and most importantly, that they have been developing positively in economy, politics, culture and education. Of course, an exceptional role in this is played by the presidents of our states. We understand that our main task is to preserve these relations and enhance them, said Andreichenko.

We have the same views on many issues on the international agenda. I took part in the 2019 summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Baku. I heard and saw how important Azerbaijan's word is. We always hear the voice of Azerbaijani MPs in international parliamentary organizations such as PACE, OSCE. We are always grateful for the support your MPs give to Belarus, our parliament. Of course, we make steps in response. As for our bilateral relations, the pandemic will be over, and next year we have to organize meetings at the level of the leadership of the parliaments, at the level of chairpersons of standing committees and working groups. I think that in the nearest future, if you wish, we can organize your meeting with the working group, where we can determine the areas of our further cooperation and maybe even develop a roadmap on the directions we can follow, he stressed.
The 3+3 format wont be a success and is only Turkeys attempt to enter the region in the field of diplomacy. This is what political scientist Aleksandr Iskandaryan said during a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Iskandaryan explained that a format which includes Georgia, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan cant be a working format.

According to him, its logical that we learn about this format from Turkey, which is trying to designate itself as a country that needs to or wants to take part in the solution to regional issues.

This format is not new at all. It has been talked about for years, if not decades. In any case, its impossible, but this doesnt mean it wont be talked about constantly. There might be signing of statements and certain agreements, but it wont be a working format, he said.

According to the analyst, the issues facing Armenia emerged after Turkey truly entered the region after the second war in Nagorno-Karabakh, that is, it became politically present in Azerbaijans security sector.
The speedy return of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages remains a primary issue for the Government of Armenia. This is what Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said in an interview with Nouvelles d'Armenie.

Over 100 captives were returned to Armenia after the cessation of fire. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan still hasnt returned all the captives and is grossly violating the requirements of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions and point 8 of the trilateral statement signed on November 9, 2020, he said, adding that Armenia is working consistently for the speedy repatriation of the captives and is using all formats and taking advantage of all opportunities to raise and advance the issue.

Mirzoyan recalled that the European Parliament and the parliaments of several countries have adopted resolutions calling for the return of all Armenian captives, and the heads of several states, high-ranking clergymen, cultural figures and artists, parliamentarians, as well as dozens of human rights activists and human rights organizations (Human Rights Watch, Freedom House) have spoken out about the issue.

The Armenian side has also raised the issue within the scope of the case of Armenia vs Azerbaijan which the United Nations International Court of Justice is examining. I must say that Armenia attaches great importance to this legal procedure, he said.
The foreign policy priorities of the Republic of Armenia are stated in the governments program  as I have already mentioned on one occasion, Armenia has allied relations with the Russian Federation, and military-political cooperation, as well as cooperation in the security, economic, energy, infrastructures, humanitarian and cultural sectors constitute a key component of our multilayered cooperation. This is what Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said in an interview with Nouvelles d'Armenie, touching upon the question whether it is possible for Armenia to have close military cooperation with the Russian Federation and open itself towards Europe at the same time.

At the same time, Armenia attaches importance to the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with the European Union and EU member states in different formats and cooperation hinged on common democratic values. In this regard, I would particularly like to emphasize the significance of the Armenia-European Union Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, which creates a legal ground for the Armenia-EU partnership, as well as cooperation with EU member states. Effective implementation of the Agreement will help strengthen cooperation in various sectors such as justice, security, economy, agriculture and infrastructures, environment and climate, education and science, culture, healthcare, etc.

The Eastern Partnership is also a very important and strong platform for cooperation, and Armenia continues to be actively involved and is working actively in order to strengthen inclusiveness of the format and deepening of cooperation, Mirzoyan said.
During the meeting, we had asked the police chief to help organize a meeting, and based on the reached agreement, the Prime Minister will meet with the parents on Saturday. This is what father of a missing Armenian serviceman Garik Mkhitaryan told reporters.

Now we the parents need to formulate our questions and inform how many parents will attend the meeting. Our demand and request is to have a very limited number of people so that we can hear each other speak. We want to have a general response and understand what the situation is after investigative actions and what the results with regard to DNA tests are. There are captives whose captivity is confirmed, while there are others whose captivity is doubtful. It is necessary to find out if there is specific information regarding them and how many of them are still considered missing in action, Mkhitaryan informed

Hours ago, a dozen parents of servicemen deemed to be missing in action had shut down the road leading to the government building with the demand to meet with the Prime Minister of Armenia. Later, the relatives opened the street since an agreement had been reached to meet with the deputy police chief and organize a meeting with the Prime Minister through mediation of the police.
YEREVAN.  Iravunk daily of Armenia writes: The Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] sources of Iravunk claim that strange as it may sound, the Artsakh authorities, together with the General Staff of the DA [(Defense Army)], are quite worried about the setting up of a committee [in Armenia] investigating the circumstances of the 44-day war [last fall].

The thing is that there is a prevailing well-founded opinion in Artsakh that it is not ruled out that this committee has been set up for one very purpose: to burden everything on the Artsakh authorities and find the culprits in Artsakh.

It is said that the Artsakh President [Arayik Harutyunyan] himself is quite worried in this regard, as in the interviews with Armenias authorities and the commanders of separate detachments they already say that they climbed to this or that position by the order of Arayik Harutyunyan himself and faced serious problems there.

According to the rumors circulating in Artsakh, in this context, the relations between Armenias and Artsakh authorities have recently become tense. According to sources close to Armenias authorities, [Artsakh former defense minister and Defense Army ex-commander] Jalal [Harutyunyan], who is still considered untouchable, will also come to the surface during the committee's work.
Story Highlights 51% say coronavirus situation is getting better, up from 20% in September

36% are worried about contracting COVID-19; was 40% in September

51% think pandemic disruption will continue throughout 2022; 28%, longer

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' outlook for the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. has improved, as the summer surge brought on by the delta variant has waned in most parts of the country. The percentage of Americans who now say the U.S. COVID-19 situation is improving has more than doubled between September and October, to 51%.

Over the same period, worry about contracting the virus has edged down four percentage points, to 36%, and concern about the availability of hospital supplies, treatment and services has tumbled 10 points, to 33%. Although the public is more optimistic about the current state of the pandemic, a majority thinks the disruption to life will continue throughout 2022 or longer than that.

These findings are from an Oct. 18-24 update of Gallup's COVID-19 survey, which interviewed more than 4,000 members of its probability-based panel by web. Interviewing was conducted at a time when COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths were down sharply from the most recent peak.

Marked Improvement in Americans' Assessment of COVID-19 Situation

The slim 51% majority of Americans who think the coronavirus situation is getting a lot (12%) or a little (39%) better is up 31 points since September. At the same time, 31% of U.S. adults say the situation is staying the same, and the percentage saying the pandemic is getting worse has plunged 36 points to 18%.

The latest reading marks the first time since June that a majority of U.S. adults think the pandemic is improving; however, it is well below the 60% to 89% range of February through June, before the highly contagious delta variant caused a rise in U.S. COVID-19 cases. Gallup has established the fact that views of the pandemic are directly related to infection rates.

Line graph. Percentages of Americans who think the coronavirus situation in the U.S. is getting a lot or a little better, staying the same, or getting a lot or a little worse, from April 2020 to October 2021. Currently, 51% of U.S. adults say it is getting better, up from 20% in September. And 31% say it is staying the same and 18% say it is getting worse.

Concern About Getting COVID-19 and Hospital Capacity Edges Down

While Americans' worry about contracting COVID-19 has consistently been below 50% since February, it rose 12 points between June and July and another 10 points by August. The current 36% reading marks a slight dip from 40% in September.

Line graph. Percentage of Americans who are very or somewhat worried that they will get the coronavirus since April 2020. Currently, 36% are worried, which is down slightly from 40% last month. The highest on record is 59% in November 2020 and the lowest is 17% in June 2021.

Americans' worry about hospital capacity has followed the same general pattern as overall concern about getting COVID-19. That is, when hospitals have been overwhelmed, worry about the availability of hospital supplies, services and treatment has risen. The current 33% of U.S. adults who are very or somewhat worried about them marks a 10-point decrease from September, yet it remains higher than readings in the spring, when cases were low and hospitals were not overly stressed.

Line graph. Percentage of Americans who are very or moderately worried about the availability of hospital supplies, services and treatment in their local area, from April 2020 to October 2021. The current 33% is down from 43% in September. The highest on record was 58% in April 2020.

Americans Continue to Take Long-Range View of Pandemic Disruptions

Despite the latest positive swing in views of the pandemic, Americans persist in their belief that the level of disruption that is occurring to travel, school, work and public events in the U.S. will continue through the end of 2022 (51%) or longer (28%).

Americans' Expectations of How Long COVID-19 Disruption Will Last How long do you think the level of disruption occurring to travel, school, work and public events in the U.S. will continue? Oct 2021 % A few more weeks 1 A few more months 20 Through the end of 2022 51 Longer than that 28 GALLUP, Oct. 18-24, 2021

Americans have been living with the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. When it began, the public largely expected it would be gone in a matter of a few weeks or months. Over time, although they have experienced periods of hope, such as when the vaccine was first approved and just before the delta variant tore through the U.S., they have largely believed COVID-19 would upend their lives for a significant period of time.

To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter.

Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works.
A University of Miami School of Architecture team is advancing a collaborative project with the 3D construction firm Printed Farms that will provide an innovative living space for a Miami family while offering the opportunity to improve these new technologies that hold such promise for the future of housing.

The construction industry has a lot of room for improvementits basically the same today as it was 100 years ago, according to Armando Montero, an assistant professor of professional practice whos overseeing the project team. Weve been looking at the use of construction technologies in our curriculum, and this research project is a great opportunity for the University and for us to explore a technology that could seriously impact affordable housing.

Montero noted that the advisory board overseeing the development includes members from the top construction companies in South Florida and even some global representation.

One of those members, W. Robert Bob Miller, who earned his Bachelor of Science in architectural engineering from the University in 1977, was instrumental in engaging the schools team in the reconstruction of a home located in one of Coconut Groves Neighborhood Conservation Districts.

Miller, who serves as chair of the Master of Construction Management Advisory Board at the School of Architecture, is a director on the national board of the nonprofit Rebuilding Together and has collaborated for years with Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade, a local nonprofit organization that provides free rehabilitation services for low-income, elderly, and disabled homeowners. Rebuilding Together had identified a Coconut Grove home, badly damaged years ago, for reconstruction and negotiated with the City of Miami to engage a builder.

Miller approached the City of Miami and suggested using the new 3D printing technologies for the rebuild instead of traditional construction, Montero acknowledged.

This opens the door to use this technology and to go in and design and build a house, he said.

Max Jarosz, director of fabrication and an adjunct lecturer, is heading the small team engaged in the collaborative Coconut Grove project. While the school is working most closely with Printed Farms, which touts having the fastest and most flexible 3D concrete printers globally, Jarosz said collaborations with other firms are also advancing.

The team shared initial designs last week and, based on feedback, is now redesigning plans to satisfy the client and fit the flavor of the historic Bahamian neighborhood where the home is located. The documentation process should be completed, and the permit process launched this semester, according to Jarosz.

The new technologies pose some challenges to permitting, but the Universitys participation and support should facilitate the process, he said. The 3D concrete printingwhich takes only 10 or so daysshould begin by April or May.

Montero explained that the first connection with Printed Farms was made several years ago. Architecture students traveled to a site in Wellington, Florida (central Palm Beach County), to view a 3D barn the firm was building.

The students were mesmerizedits a wonderful technology with a lot of promise in the construction industry, Montero said. We decided to look into it further to start a collaboration and highlight our program in some way.

The home reconstruction in Coconut Grove and the current economic situation have presented the opportunity.

Montero cited the labor shortage and rising costs of lumber and other building materials.

Its not getting any better with the lack of workforce and increased costs. 3D gives us the advantage of not wasting materialsyou dont have lumber thats thrown out, he said. And a 3D printer doesnt get tired after 10 hours of work, so the productivity is better.

Several years ago, the school participated in a mission in Haiti to try to help residents redevelop after an earthquake, Montero reported. Utilizing resources that were available in the natural environment was pragmatic and essential. Part of the problem at the time was finding something they could build withsoil, rocks, what could be useful? The new technologies are better suited to address this challenge.

The technology has improved since then, but there are a range of challenges and complications that must be explored before it can be truly competitive.

Thats one of the reasons were jumping in, so that we can help solve these issues, Montero said. We can start experimenting. We have the lab and students already printing on a smaller scale, printing architectural models in miniature, he added.

Its pretty much the same thing, just a matter of scale and materials, he continued. This technology has a development curve; and while its not the most feasible right now, it shows a lot of promise for addressing industry needs.

With 40 years in the industry, Montero said that poor productivity and waste of resources are a couple of his major pet peeves. These increase construction costs, which inhibits more affordable housing projects. In this crisis area, he pointed to a range of benefits and the hidden plus that 3D structures offer over traditional construction.

In addition to issues of sustainabilitylabor and materialsresiliency is much higher for wind loads, and its insect free and fire proof because of the nature of the material, he explained, adding that even home insurance would be lower because the house would be assessed as more secure and a lower risk. These are all things that affect a family on a tight budget.

Jarosz added that the 3D printer construction addresses a stigma often associated with affordable housing that it generally doesnt look as fancyand still keep the cost competitive.

A concrete 3D printer allows for more complex geometries. We can change a wall from straight to being curved in different ways to highlight different site conditions and move around trees, he said. We dont have to cast molds and concrete.

The shorter time frame for construction also helps reduce the cost.

Time is money in terms of construction, Montero noted. If we work out some of the kinks in the experimental phase of using this technology, you could print a house probably in a couple of days, depending on what percentage can be printed and how much hand finished, he said.

We believe it can soon be very competitive pricewise, Montero added. These are formulas that still need to be worked out and this project gives us the chance to do just that.
The Filipino Student Association (FSA) was established at the University of Miami in the early 2000s, and it is focused on sharing the Filipino American heritage and culture with the campus community and emphasizes inclusivity and diversity.

When Madelene Shewmaker enrolled in the University last academic year, she was heartened to discover that the University had an organization dedicated to her culture. And now, she is doing her part to ensure that FSA is making strides to grow and create a meaningful space for others to learn and experience what her Filipino heritage has to offer.

Being a member of this organization has given me opportunities to engage with my culture in ways I would have never imagined, said Shewmaker, who is now the vice president of the group. And it has helped me to embrace and accept being a Filipino American into my identity even further.

Last month, designated Filipino American History Month, Shewmaker and her peers celebrated with musical events, food, and other activities to make members of the Coral Gables Campus community more aware of the commemoration, which marks the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the United States.

Introducing Filipino American History Month to my family has helped all of us, especially my younger sisters, understand just how special it is to be Filipino Americans and how blessed we are to have such an incredible culture, Shewmaker added.

Gabrielle Yamar, the organizations president, wants members of her campus community to know that FSA is inclusive and invites all to check out their club.

We are big on family, Yamar said. Filipinos are very welcoming people who want to share our culture, traditions, and foodespeciallywith everyone.

From left: Madelene Shewmaker, Gabrielle Yamar, Katrina Cocson, and Danae Lally

On October 8, FSA hosted History Through Food: Chinese Filipino Cuisine in partnership with the Wellness Center Learning Kitchen. The event focused on the shared history between China and the Philippines, while teaching attendees about indulging in Chinese and Filipino delicacies.

Filipinos value togetherness and support each other as best as we can, Yamar said. We are all about bayanihan [pronounced buy-uh-nee-hun]a Tagalog word to describe the spirit of civic unity and cooperation.

Katrina Cocson, the communications chair of the organization, said that she believes Filipino history intersects with many other cultures.

From the food that we make with Chinese and Austronesian influences, to the folk dances influenced by the Spanish, to the work that Filipino American farmers have done alongside Mexican farmers in the labor movement in the U.S., growing up I barely was informed from school or media about my own culture, Cocson said.

She added that celebrating Filipino American History Month allows her to not only teach others about Filipino culture, but it also serves as a time to reflect and learn more about herself.

Treasurer Danae Lally, who is not Filipino, but Chinese American, said she became involved with the organization to support her friends whom she met through the Asian American Students Association.

I love the FSA community and learning about Filipino culture, Lally said. Filipino American History Month is important in highlighting Filipino culture to make people aware of the rich history of Filipino Americans.

Learn more about the Filipino Student Association on Engage.
A Norwegian-American shipbuilder and a South Florida-based marine geologist may not appear to have much in common. Yet although Georg Unger Vetlesen and Robert Nathan Ginsburg were born a generation apart and grew up on different continents, they shared a passion for the seaand understood the importance of philanthropy in advancing vital scientific discovery.

Through their visionary generosity, Vetlesen and Ginsburg have helped ensure that the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science will continue to shed light on climate change and other pressing challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.

This generosity was celebrated on Oct. 26 with the formal installation of two endowed faculty chairs at the Rosenstiel School. The G. Unger Vetlesen Professor of Earth Sciences was awarded to Ved Chirayath, associate professor in the department of ocean sciences. And the Robert N. Ginsburg Endowed Chair in Marine Geosciences was awarded to Gregor Eberli, professor in the department of marine geosciences.

We recognize in those who hold a named faculty chair an intellectual, scholarly authority that is the essence of any university, said President Julio Frenk. They are experts who can touch thousands of lives through their teaching, mentorship, and the research and innovation they generate.

The Vetlesen and Ginsburg chairs are two of the 100 Talents, an initiative Frenk announced in his inaugural address in 2016, through which the University seeks to endow 100 faculty positions by its centennial in 2025.

Philanthropic support is the cornerstone of this effort. Donors such as the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation and the late Professor Robert Ginsburg, who make these permanent investments in our faculty, are ensuring a bright future for current and future generations, Frenk said

During his lifetime, Vetlesen, who trained as a naval architect and mechanical engineer, forged a career in shipbuilding in Britain and the United States. He served in the U.S Navy during World War II and afterward was the founder of Scandinavian Airlines System Inc. Shortly before he passed away in 1955, he established the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation, which supports research and discovery in earth sciences and is dedicated to academic, environmental, and economic innovation.

The foundation is a longtime benefactor of the Rosenstiel School, having also supported the Marine Technology and Life Sciences Seawater Research building, the Helicopter Observation Platform, and various other climate related research projects.

Chirayath, the inaugural Vetlesen Professor, is an award-winning researcher and inventor of advanced sensing technologies.

He joined the Rosenstiel School this year as director of the new Aircraft Center for Earth Studies. This multidisciplinary initiative will, said Roni Avissar, dean of the Rosenstiel School, inaugurate the next generation of scientific aerial platforms and observations for Earth science and open the door to many vital atmospheric and marine studies.

Chirayath works at the intersection of earth sciences, astrophysics, aeronautics, engineering, and optics. His research focuses on inventing, developing, and testing sensing technologies for studying the natural worldbe it underwater, airborne, or in outer space.

He came to the University of Miami from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where for eight years he directed the NASA Laboratory for Advanced Sensing at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. His inventions include MiDar, a next-generation remote sensing instrument that was recognized in 2019 as a NASA Invention of the Year for its potentially broad applications in aerospace, geology, oceanography, medicine, human space flight, and manufacturing.

What attracted me here was, firstly, I was already working with a number of faculty at the University of Miami, Chirayath said. And they were just some of the top minds in their field. And I think of the potential that comes with that and the responsibility to make sure that were doing good science, developing new technologies, and then passing that knowledge on to the next generation, he added.

I want to leave a legacy and help inform science in the future, he explained. For me, the endowment is not only proof of conceptthe future is brightbut there are people out there who can provide resources to kids like me from a completely different world, but [with] the common connection to the science and [a] shared understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

Ginsburg, who passed away in 2017, devoted nearly half a century of his professional life to the Rosenstiel School as a professor of marine geology. He believed strongly in the importance of supporting future generations of scientists and researchers, and the endowment created by his bequest will help illuminate vital new discoveries in marine geology for years to come.

A pioneer in the study of carbonate sedimentary rockssuch as limestone and their formationGinsburg was also passionate about coral reefs and their preservation and made important contributions to our understanding of reef decline. He was one of the most influential thinkers in his field and a mentor to generations of students and post-doctoral associates.

One of his mentees was Eberli, the inaugural holder of the Ginsburg chair and director of the Rosenstiel Schools Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory, which Ginsburg founded in 1970. Eberli and Ginsburg crossed paths in 1985, when Eberli came to the Rosenstiel School from Switzerland as a post-doctoral researcher.

Together, they used the first available seismic data across the Grand Bahama Bank to reveal the internal architecture of the Earths largest isolated carbonate platform, built by the sedimentation of fossilized coral and other sea life over millions of years.

In 1991, Eberli returned to the Rosenstiel School as an associate professor and has built a distinguished career as a researcher and educator. In his 30 years at the University, he has conducted extensive research worldwide on sea levels, seismic stratigraphy, and using the carbonate sedimentary record to unlock the secrets of Earths changing climate.

After I came back to Miami as faculty, [Ginsburg] became my mentor, Eberli said. Now, with this endowment, he sort of looks after me in his afterlife and Im so grateful to him for that. And to thank him, I want to continue his legacy. I have a long list of things I still want to do.

This, of course, is a great honor. Its rooted in the recognition of having done well so far. But its also an incredible boost for the futureit gives me so much motivation to attack new challenges and ventures for years to come, said Eberli, about receiving the endowed chair.
With VideoDeath at Le Meridien Taipei Hotel The negligence of the lifeguard Wangs family said

Reported by Alexander Chiu and Shengwen Lee for CNEWS, Taipei

My younger brother died because of the neglect of the duty of the lifeguard at Le Meridien Taipei, the victims elder sister said. Wang Chih-ya, Wang Ching-chiehs sister and one of the consultants of the Taipei City Government, claimed that her younger brother is a Centurion cardholder. On July 29th, 2020, Wang Ching-chieh went to Le Meridien Hotel in Taipei, which has a partnership with the American Express company, to consume and use the swimming pool. From the video, it can be seen that after more than 20 minutes of being in the water, Wang went ashore to rest on a lounge chair because of obvious physical discomfort. However, there were no high chairs and clearly marked lifeguards at the swimming pool. At 19:36, Wang called the counter for help, clearly indicating that he needs medical help since he has problem breathing and has chest tightness.

Faced with Wangs desire for help, the hotel staff misjudged him as low blood sugar and provided a series of non-medical services such as eating and changing postures. Even made the victim, who was suffering from myocardial infarction, take 34 steps, depleting his oxygen and physical strength. During the period, the victim had called the counter the second time at 20:03, conveying clearly that he still couldnt breathe the air, needed medical treatment due to the chest tightness and wished to be accompanied by someone. However, the hotel still wouldnt call the ambulance for fear of influencing the business image. Thus, they kept asking Wang to take a taxi to the hospital solely, causing the death of the victim.

Wang Chih-ya indicated that there are some key points in the incident: From the victim asking the counter staff for help, to the death resulting from a myocardial infarction, the lifeguard on duty never appeared during the course which is more than 40 minutes. This is one of the main factors of the sudden death of a Media Tek engineer at Le Meridien Taipei hotel in July last year. Afterwards, the lifeguard claimed that he was busy taking care of other elderly and children, completely forgetting his duty as a lifeguard. The evidence of negligence was conclusive. It can be said that the repetitive mistakes, a series of delays, and not being able to get medical help in time, are the causes of the death of the victim. They can all be blamed for the negligence of the staff.

According to the Swimming Pool Management Legal Norm point eight:  A swimming pool owner or operator shall provide lifeguard service at a swimming pool, according to the total area of the pool, when it is open for use. Wang, the victim, visited Le Meridien Taipei hotel on July 29 last year. After swimming, he felt unwell and went ashore on his own. He called the counter staff for help, indicating that he was feeling chest tightness and was unable to get enough air. There is no doubt that lifeguards must take care of the customers when they feel unwell in the swimming pool. However, the lifeguard let the swimmers who requested rescue find no one. Therefore, all Wang could do was go ashore reluctantly and call the counter for help on his own.

As claimed by Lifeguard Qualification Law clause three: The scope of lifeguards duties is as follows: 1. Observe both the physical and mental state or emotional response of water activists, and deal with their problems appropriately. 3. When water activists are faced with incidents, the lifeguards should respond immediately. If necessary, give first aid. However, the lifeguard on duty, Chen, did not show up after the deceased asked for help. All the hotel did was send a staff without first aid training to make sure everything was alright. Due to the staffs lack of medical knowledge, he didnt notice that the deceased had had the early signs of myocardial infarction and needed proper medical treatment urgently. Rather than measuring the heartbeat and pulse, and giving oxygen to the victim, he guided every process mistakenly in the way of dealing with low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Such misjudgement led to the miss of a precious rescue moment.

According to the Myocardial Infarction 2020 Guidelines:  Released by National Health Research Institute, there is a 70.2% chance of having difficulties breathing(dyspnea) and a 79.1% chance of having chest pain when its a case of acute myocardial infarction. The deceased in this incident had both symptoms at the moment. Notice that if symptoms related to myocardial infarction occur, after receiving proper treatment within five minutes, the cases of occurring again could be eliminated to none. In other words, the earlier the treatment is executed, the lower the damage and the higher the chance of recovery.

Considering the facts provided by Le Meridien Taipei hotel and the timetable for handling the situation, it can be seen that the lifeguard on duty had missed. People who were dealing with the situation were only the foreman and other hotel staff. According to the confession of the lifeguard, he explained he was busy taking care of other elderly and children, and therefore didnt give a hand to the deceased. In addition, he noticed that his colleagues were taking care of the situation, and thus he neglected the severity of the problem.

Did the lifeguard forget his duty? He is neither a homeroom teacher of a cram school nor a caretaker from a nursing home. How is it possible that having fun with the elderly and children is more important than giving first aid to the swimmers who are feeling unwell? If he had checked the situation at the first moment , if he had measured the deceaseds blood pressure and heartbeat after finding out that his discomfort had not been relieved, and if he had given the victim oxygen and called for decent medical help, the whole thing would have been different and the tragedy might not have happened. Isnt it the negligence of the lifeguard that he didnt show up and deal with the problem immediately, which caused the death of the deceased?

According to Criminal Judgment S.G.Y. No. 1682 High Ct., 2005: The victim was a consumer who used the swimming pool, and the accused was a lifeguard employed by the swimming pool. Thus, the accused voluntarily assumed the obligation as a guarantor, who is obliged to prevent the victims from drowning and causing serious injuries. The lifeguard Chen admitted that he was a lifeguard in the swimming pool of the Le Meridien Taipei hotel, so he was a person who voluntarily assumes obligations and remained the status of a guarantor to the consumers at the swimming pool.

The lifeguard failed in his duty without permission, abandoned the help seeker for playing with the elderly and the children. How can customers in the swimming pool entrust their lives to a negligent lifeguard? The Taipei District Prosecutors Office decided not to prosecute temporarily. However, if there is still a trace of justice in Taiwan, the hotel-related personnel will not be able to escape the criminal responsibility of the negligence leading to death, in order to meet the expectations and the understanding of the society.

As far as this case is concerned, the accused is obviously not suitable to continue to be a lifeguard. At least his qualification as a lifeguard should be revoked. The relevant unit should also give immediate fines to both the lifeguard and the business unit to protect the lives of other swimmers and avoid foreseeable tragedies.

Photo credit: Google MapCNEWS Press Kits

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Meghan Markles surprise appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show provided plenty of new insights into the Duchess relationship with Prince Harry  like the revelation that their first-ever royal double date was with Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in Toronto on Halloween, in secret  but our favorite update is this new peek at their growing family. During []
Alec Baldwin in New York in October 2021. Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for National Geographic

Alec Baldwin shared a "Rust" movie crew member's post that defended the movie set's safety.

The costume designer said claims crew were overworked and in unsafe conditions are "bullshit."

Baldwin appeared to endorse it, sharing the post on Instagram with the words "Read this."

Alec Baldwin shared an Instagram post that defended the safety of the "Rust" movie set, where he fatally shot a cinematographer with a gun that turned out to be loaded.

Baldwin shared a post by Terese Magpale Davis, whom Deadline identified as the movie's costume designer. In it, she called claims that the set was unsafe "bullshit."

She wrote: "I am so sick of this narrative.

"I worked on this movie. The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bullshit."

Baldwin, who was a producer on the movie as well as its lead actor, added the caption: "Read this."

Baldwin fired a prop gun during a rehearsal on October 21 that was loaded, authorities said. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed, and director Joel Souza was injured.

Baldwin said after the shooting: "We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened."

Baldwin previously tweeted two articles that said the movie's assistant director had told him the gun was safe before giving it to him.

Multiple claims have been made about the safety of the movie set.

Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film's armorer, said she was overworked and wanted more time for training and preparation, but was overruled by producers.

Their statement said "The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings."

The Los Angeles Times reported that camera crew members were told they could not have hotels and would instead need to travel from home to the set. The report said the crew considered that unsafe given how long and difficult their work days were.

Story continues

The post shared by Baldwin addressed the hotel situation, claiming that crew members were offered hotels but thought they were not "fancy" enough. It also said that days were shorter than reported elsewhere.

The LA Times reported that a member of the movie's production staff ordered t-shirts mocking crew requests for hotel rooms.

One of the movie's actors told TMZ after the shooting that he had been unsure about the set's gun safety, but stayed quiet as he didn't want to "cause trouble."

The Wrap and TMZ also reported that sources said crew members used guns intended for the movie as target practice on set the morning that Hutchins was killed.

Read the original article on Insider
As stories about safety on the Rust set continue to swirl following cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death last month, costume designer Terese Magpale Davis is speaking out in support of the producers.

In several screenshots of Davis' lengthy statement shared by Alec Baldwin on Instagram Tuesday, she claimed that there were stringent safety protocols in place, and while other crew members have described "red flags" on set, she alleged that working conditions were safe.

"The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bulls---," Davis wrote in part, according to the screenshots.

"The day Halyna died we had come off a 12 hour turnaround after an 11 hour shoot day. We had (including camera) gotten off by 6:30 pm. We had just had a 56 hour weekend right before that. No one was too tired to do their jobs," she wrote, claiming that "this is all provable by daily time sheets."

Later in the post, she said that crew had "several safety meetings. Sometimes multiple per day."

RELATED: Alec Baldwin Shares Articles Saying Gun He Fired on Rust Set Wasn't Properly Checked

Halyna Hutchins

James Gourley/Shutterstock Halyna Hutchins

"Our AD never seemed flippant about safety. He may have in other shows, but he wasn't like that on ours," Davis continued, referring to assistant director David Halls, who was reportedly terminated from a previous film after a situation involving a firearm injured a crew member.

Halls, who was the one to hand Baldwin the loaded gun, admitted to authorities that there was a lapse in gun safety protocol on set leading up to the incident, according to a Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office search warrant obtained by the New York Post.

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The shooting happened on Oct. 21 on the New Mexico set of Rust, a country western movie starring Baldwin and directed by Joel Souza. During a rehearsal, Halls handed Baldwin a gun that had contained a real bullet. Thinking it was only loaded with blanks, Halls shouted "cold gun" to indicate it was safe to use, according to a Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office search warrant affidavit.

Thinking the gun did not have live ammunition in it, Baldwin shot the Colt .45 revolver, which left Hutchins fatally injured and Souza hospitalized, according to the affidavit. The bullet has since been recovered from Souza's shoulder.

Following the incident, Halls said he picked up the gun from a church pew on set and took it to armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, instructing her to open it so he could see what was inside. When the armorer opened the gun, Halls told authorities he saw five rounds in the gun  four "dummy" rounds, indicated by a hole in the casing, and one "without the hole," according to the warrant.

Davis said in her post that the fatal accident is about "gun safety," not working conditions.

"This is about gun safety. Something we could all stand to learn a little more about so that we know if we're seeing something a bit off," she wrote. "I know that's not as much fun as vilifying producers. Personal responsibility is the last thing anyone wants to focus on in a tragedy."

RELATED: Rust Gaffer Says He Held Halyna Hutchins 'While She Was Dying,' Blames Her Death on 'Negligence'

Film set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch appears in Santa Fe, N.M., . A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film "Rust" before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he'd been told was safe to use, court records released

Jae C Hong/AP/Shutterstock

Davis added that she plans on learning more about on-set gun safety protocols so that she can call things out if she sees those protocols not being followed. "I'll fight for better gun safety on set in Halyna's name," she wrote.

A spokesperson for the movie's production company, Rust Movie Productions, LLC, previously told PEOPLE that "the safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company. Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down. We will continue to cooperate with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation and offer mental health services to the cast and crew during this tragic time."

An investigation remains ongoing, with production on the film halted. No charges have been filed, though authorities have said that "all options are on the table at this point" and "no one has been ruled out" as they search for answers.
Shaky columns. Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock

On election night in 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney conceded defeat around 1 a.m. After calling then-President Barack Obama to offer his congratulations on re-election, Romney gave a speech to his supporters. "I pray that the president will be successful," he said.

That's probably the last time a Republican will ever concede defeat in a presidential race  and the fate of the our democracy may depend on proving my expectation false.

Former President Donald Trump said there was rampant fraud in an election he won in 2016, and he tried for months to overturn his defeat in 2020, pushing the "big lie" that President Biden stole the election. That has cemented a new norm among the Republican base that their electoral defeats are never legitimate. A recent NBC News poll found that while 84 percent of Republicans thought their vote would be fairly counted in October 2020, a year later just 41 percent expect the same in future elections. As David Corn writes at Mother Jones, conservatives including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon are pre-emptively casting doubt on this week's elections in Virginia, and a Marist poll published Monday found just 33 percent of Republicans will trust the results of the 2024 elections if their candidate loses. Unless this trajectory changes, our political competition will erupt into open violence.

It's hard to see what could change it, but let's begin by noting this state of affairs isn't solely Trump's fault. American-style presidential democracy incentivizes the very deranged behavior we're seeing from him and the rest of the GOP.

A presidential democracy, of course, is one in which the head of government is elected separately from the legislature (our current system)  as compared to a parliamentary democracy, where the legislature elects the head of government (as in New Zealand or Denmark). Political scientist Juan Linz argued in a famous essay, "The Perils of Presidentialism," that presidential systems have three major weakness as compared to parliamentary ones, weaknesses he said explain why every presidential democracy in global history has eventually collapsed or fallen to a coup d'etat. (The United States is the one exception  so far.)

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The first weakness is the inherent possibility of conflict between the president and the legislature. Both are able to claim democratic legitimacy, because both might have won elections in which they received a majority of the vote. "There is no democratic principle on the basis of which [this conflict] can be resolved, and the mechanisms the constitution might provide are likely to prove too complicated and aridly legalistic to be of much force in the eyes of the electorate," writes Linz. The American practice of midterm elections, which always have very different electorates than presidential votes, greatly increase the chance of such conflict.

Parliamentary systems have single elections and the same government, usually a coalition, in both the legislative and administrative branch. Majorities are almost always composed of two or more parties, which tends to defuse extremism and megalomania. Even small parties can easily become part of a government and gain meaningful policy concessions commensurate with their public support.

Second is rigidity. American presidents serve for fixed four-year terms, and, aside from impeachment, there's no way to oust them early. "It breaks the political process into discontinuous, rigidly demarcated periods, leaving no room for the continuous readjustments that events may demand," Linz argues. In a parliamentary democracy, by contrast, the prime minister can call new elections or be removed through a vote of no confidence, which is also followed by a new election. This is a straightforward way to dissolve political deadlock or cast aside a corrupt or incompetent head of government (or party leader) without too much fuss and with guaranteed democratic legitimacy.

The third weakness is how presidents stoke polarization. The head of government in our system is a powerful, winner-take-all office that, as noted, serves for a fixed term. Presidential elections are hence high-stakes and zero-sum, "with all the potential for conflict such games portend," Linz writes.

Combining head of government with head of state in a single position also influences the character of the office. The president is seen as a sort of national mascot, the sole personal representative of the whole country  which only heightens conflict with the legislature. "In his frustration," Linz notes, "he may be tempted to define his policies as reflections of the popular will and those of his opponents as the selfish designs of narrow interests."

Parliamentary systems split these roles. (In the United Kingdom, for example, the prime minister is the head of government and the monarch the head of state.) A prime minister doesn't claim to be the personal, embodied will of the whole population, only the leader of a necessarily temporary coalition that could end at any moment.

These weaknesses create a powerful temptation for presidents and parties to resort to cheating or violence to gain or retain such great power. In worst-case scenarios, the resulting conflict or power vacuum may end with the military picking a winner or simply seizing power itself. This outcome has been commonplace in Latin American history where countries (alas) have tended to follow the U.S. presidential model instead of Europe's parliamentary approach.

As writer John Ganz points out, much of Linz's work on this topic was dedicated to explaining why the United States seemed largely immune to these problems. Linz argued that a tradition of bipartisan compromise; diffuse and politically overlapping parties that served more as patronage machines than disciplined, ideological blocs; and a large majority of moderate voters tended to defuse the conflicts inherent in a presidential system.

All those immunities are lost today, and America has every one of the morbid symptoms of a presidential system in crisis. The Obama administration saw unprecedented conflict between the president and Congress, with House Republicans threatening default on the national debt and Senate Republicans denying Obama an appointment to the Supreme Court, another first. Trump was the first president ever to be impeached twice. Biden now enjoys a Democratic Congress, but if Republicans win the midterm elections, even more bitter conflict is absolutely guaranteed (witness Rep. Lauren Boebert [R-Colo.] and Matt Gaetz [R-Fl.] "joking" about blowing up the metal detectors in Congress recently).

The rigidity of the presidency has also proved to be a wretched hindrance of late. Last year, we had possibly the biggest numskull in the entire country overseeing the public health bureaucracy during the worst pandemic in a century  and no way to get rid of him. Trump proved impeachment of a deeply corrupt or even openly seditious president is rendered meaningless by modern partisan discipline. Our one means of removing bad presidents is a dead letter.

Finally, the extreme power and prestige of the presidency  ironically produced by the very separation of powers scheme that was supposed to restrain concentrations of power  has motivated ever more extreme politics. The president is not just "the head of state and government," to quote a pseudonymous writer, but also increasingly seen as "the embodiment of the polity itself."

This holds especially true on the right. Trump as president catalyzed a cult of personality in which his cruelty was celebrated by tens of millions of hooting MAGA voters who gloried in indulging their most irresponsible impulses without consequence, just like he did. And for Trump personally, the tremendous wealth and influence afforded to presidents undoubtedly helped motivate his attempt at a classic autogolpe after losing the election.

At The New York Times, Jamelle Bouie reminds us that the first attempt at an American constitution, the Articles of Confederation, failed spectacularly. Then, the framers of the current Constitution pulled a fast one on the states  without any legal authorization  to launch an entirely new system of governance. They got away with it because the failures of the status quo were so manifest and the ideological stakes so low that state governments grudgingly went along with the plan.

I see no reason to expect that history to repeat, even if the accelerating incapacity of the U.S. government reaches an Articles level of dysfunction. In 1789, the United States was a tiny, poor, provincial backwater, of little interest to great powers of the day. Now it is the world's most powerful country, with by far the largest military, the most control over global financial pipelines, and an economy rivaled only by China's in scale. At bottom, political contests are about control over status and resources, and stakes don't come higher than domination over the rotting American colossus.

The GOP could still steer us off this grim course. But it beggars belief to imagine Trump (or any of the mini-Trump creeps rising through the Republican ranks) turning down the rhetorical temperature or abandoning convenient delusions about Democrats stealing elections. And absent that or some similarly implausible fix, we come back to my expectation: that once elections are sufficiently discredited that open theft attempts are expected, the old-fashioned method of resolving political disputes  violence  will return.

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By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - As the devastating Delta variant surge eases in many regions of the world, scientists are charting when, and where, COVID-19 will transition to an endemic disease in 2022 and beyond, according to Reuters interviews with over a dozen leading disease experts.

They expect that the first countries to emerge from the pandemic will have had some combination of high rates of vaccination and natural immunity among people who were infected with the coronavirus, such as the United States, the UK, Portugal and India. But they warn that SARS-CoV-2 remains an unpredictable virus that is mutating as it spreads through unvaccinated populations.

None would completely rule out what some called a "doomsday scenario," in which the virus mutates to the point that it evades hard-won immunity. Yet they expressed increasing confidence that many countries will have put the worst of the pandemic behind them in the coming year.

"We think between now and the end of 2022, this is the point where we get control over this virus ... where we can significantly reduce severe disease and death," Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist leading the World Health Organization's (WHO) COVID-19 response, told Reuters.

The agency's view is based on work with disease experts who are mapping out the probable course of the pandemic over the next 18 months. By the end of 2022, the WHO aims for 70% of the world's population to be vaccinated.

"If we reach that target, we will be in a very, very different situation epidemiologically," Van Kerkhove said.

In the meantime, she worries about countries lifting COVID precautions prematurely. "It's amazing to me to be seeing, you know, people out on the streets, as if everything is over."

COVID-19 cases and deaths have been declining since August in nearly all regions of the world, according to the WHO's report on Oct. 26.

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Europe has been an exception, with Delta wreaking new havoc in countries with low vaccination coverage such as Russia and Romania, as well as places that have lifted mask-wearing requirements. The variant has also contributed to rising infections in countries such as Singapore and China, which have high rates of vaccination but little natural immunity due to much stricter lockdown measures.

The transition is going to be different in each place because it's going to be driven by the amount of immunity in the population from natural infection and of course, vaccine distribution, which is variable ... from county by county to country by country, said Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Several experts said they expect the U.S. Delta wave will wrap up this month, and represent the last major COVID-19 surge.

"We're transitioning from the pandemic phase to the more endemic phase of this virus, where this virus just becomes a persistent menace here in the United States," former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said.

Chris Murray, a leading disease forecaster at the University of Washington, likewise sees the U.S. Delta surge ending in November.

"We'll go into a very modest winter increase" in COVID-19 cases, he said. "If there's no major new variants, then COVID starts to really wind down in April."

Even where cases are spiking as countries drop pandemic restrictions, as in the UK, vaccines appear to be keeping people out of the hospital.

Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London said that for the UK, the "bulk of the pandemic as an emergency is behind us."

'A GRADUAL EVOLUTION'

COVID-19 is still expected to remain a major contributor to illness and death for years to come, much like other endemic illnesses such as malaria.

"Endemic does not mean benign," Van Kerkhove said.

Some experts say the virus will eventually behave more like measles, which still causes outbreaks in populations where vaccination coverage is low.

Others see COVID-19 becoming more a seasonal respiratory disease such as influenza. Or, the virus could become less of a killer, affecting mostly children, but that could take decades, some said.

Imperial College's Ferguson expects above-average deaths in the UK from respiratory disease due to COVID-19 for the next two-to-five years, but said it is unlikely to overwhelm health systems or require social distancing be reimposed.

"It's going to be a gradual evolution," Ferguson said. "We're going to be dealing with this as a more persistent virus."

Trevor Bedford, a computational virologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who has been tracking the evolution of SARS-CoV-2, sees a milder winter wave in the United States followed by a transition to endemic disease in 2022-2023. He is projecting 50,000 to 100,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths a year, on top of an estimated 30,000 annual deaths from flu.

The virus will likely continue to mutate, requiring annual booster shots tailored to the latest circulating variants, Bedford said.

If a seasonal COVID scenario plays out, in which the virus circulates in tandem with the flu, both Gottlieb and Murray expect it to have a significant impact on healthcare systems.

"It'll be an issue for hospital planners, like how do you deal with the COVID and flu surges in winter," Murray said. "But the era of ... massive public intervention in people's lives through mandates, that part I believe will be done after this winter surge."

Richard Hatchett, chief executive of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, said with some countries well protected by vaccines while others have virtually none, the world remains vulnerable.

"What keeps me up at night about COVID is the concern that we could have a variant emerge that evades our vaccines and evades immunity from prior infection, Hatchett said. That would be like a new COVID pandemic emerging even while we're still in the old one."

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Bill Berkrot)
KYIV (Reuters) - Several hundred people blocked traffic in the centre of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Wednesday in a protest against coronavirus restrictions and mandatory vaccinations, which the government introduced to curb new infections.

Ukraine has registered record high rates of new cases and deaths from the coronavirus in recent weeks, and its total number of infections almost reaching 3 million with 69,447 deaths.

Vaccines have become mandatory for some state workers, and in "red" zone areas including Kyiv, only vaccinated people or those with negative COVID test results are allowed into restaurants, gyms and on public transport.

Protesters, many of them young people, held up posters with messages such as "Say no to COVID passports", "Protect our children" and "Say no to COVID genocide".

Ukraine lagged behind other European countries in obtaining coronavirus vaccines this year and is now struggling to persuade a sceptical public to take them.

"Such rallies of people that we see today, with calls not to get vaccinated, in my opinion, make a mockery of our doctors and families, who, unfortunately, have lost their relatives due to the coronavirus," Ukrainian health minister Viktor Lyashko told a televised news conference.

"Trust me, this anti-vaccination spirit quickly disappears in intensive care units, and fake certificates don't work," he said.

Parliament on Tuesday criminalised the use and manufacture of bogus COVID-19 vaccine certificates, setting out a prison term of up to three years or a fine of about $6,460 for offenders.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Natalia Zinets, Sergiy Karazy; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Associated Press

A difficult political atmosphere for President Joe Biden may have become even more treacherous with the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. Biden was already facing sliding poll numbers with an electorate worn down by the coronavirus pandemic and increasing inflation. Now, the president finds himself caught between outraged Democrats  some of whom were already stewing over Bidens inability to land police reform and voting rights legislation  and Republicans looking to use the Rittenhouse case to exploit the national divide over matters of grievance and race.
GLASGOW, Scotland  On Tuesday, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledged to donate $2 billion of his personal fortune to restoring nature and transforming food systems affected by climate change.

Each year, forests and landscapes absorb 11 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. As we destroy nature, we reverse this process, the billionaire said in remarks at the U.N. Climate Change Conference. In too many parts of the world, nature is already flipping from a carbon sink to a carbon source. This is a profound danger to us all.

That money will be part of Bezoss $10 billion commitment to fighting climate change this decade, and was, in part, inspired by his trip in July beyond the Earths atmosphere in a rocket developed by Blue Origin, his aerospace business venture.

Nature is beautiful, but it is also fragile, he said. I was reminded of this in July when I went into space with Blue Origin. I was told seeing the Earth from space changes the lens through which you view the world, but I was not prepared for just how much that would be true.

As John Kerry, President Bidens special envoy for climate, made clear earlier in the day, the coming fight against climate change will be very expensive and will require a massive infusion of cash from the likes of Bezos and companies in the private sector.

A hundred billion dollars doesnt do it, folks, Kerry told a small gaggle of reporters at the conference that included Yahoo News. Its trillions of dollars that are needed. And the only way that we will get this done is if trillions of dollars are forthcoming. And they are. [On Wednesday] there will be an announcement. Im not going to jump the announcement, but there will be tens of trillions of dollars announced that are available to be invested in this transition.

Kerry noted that banking industry firms in the U.S. have already agreed to chip in.

Let me give you an example, he said. My office worked with the six largest banks in America  Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, State Street, Bank of America and JPMorgan  they publicly stood up a number of months ago, it wasnt much noticed, and they announced that they will, over the next 10 years ... they will invest $4.16 trillion.

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos speaks at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday. (Paul Ellis/Pool via Reuters)

That money will be crucial in helping developing nations transform their economies away from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy, and is a major issue facing the world on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. To that end, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that the U.S. was backing a bond financing plan to offer $500 million per year to help developing nations.

"The gap between what governments have and what the world needs is large, and the private sector needs to play a bigger role, Yellen told delegates in Glasgow.

Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, will arrive in Glasgow this week and hold bilateral meetings to advance U.S. global leadership in supporting countries to implement more ambitious emissions reduction commitments, her office said in a press release.

While more than 100 countries joined a pledge Tuesday to halt deforestation by 2030, raising enough money to protect the people who live in much of the developing world, funding has remained a stumbling block. USAID said that Power would look to secure commitments, partnering with vulnerable countries to prepare for and adapt to climate impacts and disasters, and advancing climate equity and empowering women, indigenous peoples, and local communities.

On Tuesday, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he would serve as co-chairman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, a group that says it is committed to accelerating and mainstreaming the decarbonization of the world economy and will seek to fund climate change initiatives from 450 financial institutions in 45 countries.

Winning the battle against climate change will require vast amounts of new investment, and the majority will have to come from the private sector, Bloomberg said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday told representatives from vulnerable nations that their countries will need to have easier access to finance, as well as pathways for debt relief as climate change continues to worsen.

You represent those who are first to suffer and those who are last to receive help, Guterres said at the conference. The solidarity you need is lacking. The solidarity needs to emerge here, in Glasgow.

_____

Global temperatures are on the rise and have been for decades. Step inside the data and see the magnitude of climate change.

____

Read more from Yahoo News:
New Jersey's Muslim community has made strides in local politics in recent years, winning seats across the state as mayors, council members and school board commissioners.

Despite their growing political power, no Muslim has ever served in the state Legislature.

That changed on Election Day, however, when former Tenafly councilwoman Shama Haider won the race for state Assembly in the 37th District in Bergen County.

"I am extraordinarily proud of our campaign," Haider, a Democrat, said Wednesday morning. "I'm grateful to my historic running mates, who have been an immense support through these months, and I am immeasurably grateful to all the people who worked and volunteered to make this victory possible."

NJ election live updates: Topsy turvy race sees Ciattarelli grab slim lead in latest tally

Haider was part of a groundbreaking Democratic ticket in the 37th, which covers eastern Bergen County. Voters also chose Gordon Johnson to be the first African-American state senator from New Jersey's most populous county and Ellen Park as what's believed to be the first Korean American woman in the Assembly.

Shama Haider, center, campaigned for the state Assembly with supporters at the Chit Chat Diner in Hackensack on Tuesday. The Democrat is thought to be the first Muslim candidate ever elected to the state Legislature.

While acknowledging the historic nature of her victory as a Muslim woman, Haider also said that should not define her.

"I don't want to be this token Muslim woman in the Assembly," she said. "No, I want to be known as an effective legislator."

Haider, 72, has been active in local politics for over two decades, serving on the Tenafly Borough Council twice in terms beginning in 2001 and in 2015. While the events of the Sept. 11 attacks spurred many Muslims to get involved in politics and reach out to their communities, Haider said, she had already been deeply involved in local issues at the time.

Her activism dates back to her youth in Pakistan when she was a college student protesting against military dictatorship as part of the progressive Pakistan People's Party. Later, she became secretary to the first lady of Pakistan, Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

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Haider came to the U.S. in 1977, settling in Bergen County. She is a former fundraiser for a nonprofit that supports arts in schools and is the chairwoman of the Tenafly Democratic party. Over the years she has also served on county and borough commissions focused on women, human services, the environment and business development.

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Focus on environment, diversity

As an assemblywoman, Haider said, she wants to focus on the environment and renewable energy and teaching about diversity and culture in school to promote tolerance.

She was one of three Muslims running for state office in New Jersey, all of Pakistani ancestry. Democrat Sadaf Jaffer, a former mayor of Montgomery, ran in the 16th Assembly district in central New Jersey, but the race is still too close to call. In Hudson County, incumbent state Sen. Brian Stack, a Democrat, bested Republican Agha Khan, who is Muslim. Stack received around 85% of the total vote.

More than 30 Muslims ran for office across New Jersey in state and local races. Haider said it's a trend she hopes will continue in a state where 3% of the population identifies as Muslim.

"The answer is to get more Muslims elected, more men and more women, so people are used to it, so they are not the odd person out and not one person here or there," Haider said.

"Involvement should not stop at running for office," she said. "You have to support the right candidates. You have to be seen and active in the community."

This story has been updated to correct the status of the race in the 16th Assembly district. That race has not yet been called.

Hannan Adely is a diversity reporter covering Arab and Muslim communities for NorthJersey.com, where she focuses on social issues, politics, bias and civil rights. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: adely@northjersey.com

Twitter: @adelyreporter

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: First Muslim woman elected to NJ Legislature, Shama Haider in 37th
President Biden faced questions about Democrats' defeat in Virginia during a news conference on Nov. 3, 2021. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

As President Biden bounced between meetings with world leaders during two major summits in Europe in the last week, he was asked again and again whether he could deliver on the lofty promises hes made despite the political turmoil back home.

Its a question that grew more urgent by the time Air Force One touched down early Wednesday morning. Democrats had lost the governors race in Virginia and only squeaked by in New Jersey, a red flag that Bidens party is cruising toward a devastating midterm election next year.

The results sent tremors through Capitol Hill, where the presidents agenda has been trapped in congressional quicksand for months. House Democrats are trying to dislodge it this week as they push for votes on legislation that would invest in infrastructure, expand the social safety net and tackle climate change.

The final outcome, however, remains uncertain as Biden tries to forge a compromise between his partys progressive and moderate wings at a time when hes drawing on dwindling reserves of political goodwill. Public opinion surveys show Americans  frustrated by the protracted COVID-19 pandemic and rising prices, not to mention the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan  are increasingly unhappy with his leadership.

Right now Biden appears weak and unable to deliver, said Chris Stirewalt, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. If he fails to make progress, Stirewalt said, that perception becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Biden said Wednesday that he wished his proposals had passed before this weeks elections.

People want us to get things done. They want us to get things done, he said from the White House. Thats why Im continuing to push very hard for the Democratic Party to move along.

As Biden was leaving the room, a reporter asked him for his message to lawmakers negotiating over the legislation. The president popped his head back in and said: Get it to my desk.

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Congressional negotiations are taking place against a backdrop of alarm and finger-pointing among Democrats, some of whom blame inaction for the partys problems at the ballot box.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy defeated his Republican opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, but by a much narrower margin than expected.

Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin arrives to speak at an election night party in Chantilly, Va., early on Nov. 3, 2021. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

In addition, Terry McAuliffe, a former governor and party fixture since Bill Clintons presidency, was defeated by Glenn Youngkin, a Republican and former chief executive of a private equity firm. Youngkin not only performed strongly in conservative rural counties, but also made significant inroads among suburban voters who were key to Democrats recent gains in the state.

This was not supposed to be such a close race, said Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Democrats were supposed to easily win in a state that has trended increasingly blue.

McAuliffe had aggressively worked to tie Youngkin to former President Trump in hopes of juicing turnout among his supporters. However, Youngkin was able to keep Trump at arms length while also connecting with the former presidents base by emphasizing topics that have stirred outrage among conservatives, such as critical race theory, a decades-old academic framework that university scholars have used to study how racism intersects with American law.

Even though its not taught in public schools, far-right provocateurs have sought to rebrand it as a form of racism being pushed on white children by the far left, and at school board meetings in Virginia and around the country, parents have forcefully protested lessons about American racial history.

Republicans tapped into this anxiety among white voters on the campaign trail, and Youngkin vowed to ban the teaching of critical race theory on his first day in office.

Youngkin gave them a version of Trumpism that they could get behind, said Niambi Carter, a political science professor at Howard University. At the same time, she said McAuliffe may not have been the right candidate. The Democratic Party keeps thinking the white moderate is the way forward, and I dont know if thats the case.

Youngkin was also able to harness more general dissatisfaction among suburban parents  a key part of Democrats coalition last year  whose children were not able to attend in-person learning for much of last year because of the pandemic. Forty-five percent of working parents in northern Virginia said supporting their childrens education made work more difficult, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll in July.

Youngkin winning these college-educated white voters who are skeptical of Trump indicates Bidens approval is likely slipping with these same types of groups in key battleground metropolitan areas like Atlanta, said J. Miles Coleman, a political analyst at the University of Virginias Center for Politics.

Democrats have razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, and holding onto their majorities was always going to be an uphill proposition because a presidents party traditionally loses seats in midterm elections. But after Virginias results, Coleman and his colleagues shifted some of their projections for next year, suggesting that Democrats such as Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Raphael Warnock of Georgia were more vulnerable than previously thought.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) predicted Republicans could do better in 2022 than in 2010  the first midterm of Barack Obamas presidency, in which Democrats lost 63 seats and their House majority.

Democrats have to fundamentally change the dynamics of this campaign season or were going to have 2010 again or perhaps even worse, said Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster.

He praised Bidens legislative proposals, but added, Just passing things that people agree with does not necessarily stave off history in this case.

The presidents team is interpreting this weeks election results as a reason to step on the gas rather than to tap the brakes.

If voters are frustrated with inaction, the obvious response is to be more decisive and pass bills based on an agenda for the middle class that received a record-breaking 81 million votes last year, said a White House advisor who requested anonymity to discuss political strategy. And theres a strong consensus about that across the party. Doing less is plainly the opposite of what people want.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the majority whip, told reporters that the loss in Virginia should be an accelerant to our efforts.

Bidens agenda is split between two pieces of legislation. One is geared toward investing in infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and the other is focused on fighting climate change and expanding the social safety net. The president released a revised framework on the latter legislation last week before leaving for Europe in hopes of prodding negotiations toward a conclusion.

Biden is quick to remind reporters that hes been written off before. Pundits read his presidential campaign its last rites before he captured the Democratic nomination last year, and theyre constantly checking for a pulse on his legislative agenda.

Youve all believed it wouldnt happen from the very beginning, the moment I announced it, and you always seem amazed when its alive again, he said. Well, you may turn out to be right  maybe it wont work. But I believe well see by the end of next week, at home, that its passed.

However, a final deal remains elusive. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) told her caucus Wednesday that she was adding paid family and medical leave back into the legislation, even though Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), a key swing vote, has opposed the proposal.

Another unresolved issue is the cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT. Removing the cap would please wealthier Democratic voters in states such as California and New York, but progressives have opposed the proposal as regressive.

Sean Clegg, a Democratic strategist based in San Francisco, said that what ultimately cost McAuliffe the Virginia race is the feeling that, OK, we gave you [Democrats] all the reins of power and youre not delivering anything except a picture of internal, internecine squabbling.

All the forces that have been impeding getting visible progress done in the House and Senate need to cut it out, he said.

Times staff writer Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Steve Holland, Trevor Hunnicutt and Chris Kahn

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Wednesday confronted a sobering defeat for Democrats in Virginia's gubernatorial election, and new pressure to resolve Democratic bickering and pass his social and climate agenda.

In Virginia's closely watched election for governor on Tuesday, Republican newcomer Glenn Youngkin defeated https://www.reuters.com/world/us/too-close-to-call-virginia-governors-race-headlines-us-elections-2021-11-02 Democrat Terry McAuliffe in a state Biden won by 10 points in the presidential election a year ago.

The loss raised red flags for Democrats over midterm elections in November 2022 that could see them lose control of Congress, making it tough for Biden to advance his agenda in the second half of his presidency.

Biden told reporters the results were a sign that voters are unsettled.

People are upset and uncertain about a lot of things, from COVID to school to jobs to a whole range of things and the cost of a gallon of gasoline. And so if I'm able to pass and sign into law my Build Back Better initiative, Im in a position where youre going to see a lot of things ameliorated, quickly and swiftly."

He said it would have helped if the legislation had passed before Election Day but that not necessarily would have changed the outcome.

Inside the White House, officials took the results as a sign they need to get bills through Congress immediately, and that Democrats need a stronger message than "We're not Donald Trump."

Biden returned from a Europe trip early on Wednesday to the same struggle he has faced for months: Trying to resolve a bitter dispute between progressive and moderate Democrats over an estimated $1.75 trillion social spending plan and $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

Now, though, the stakes are higher.

"If voters are frustrated with inaction, the obvious response is to be more decisive and pass bills based on an agenda for the middle class that received a record-breaking 81 million votes last year," said a person familiar with White House thinking. "Doing less is plainly the opposite of what people want."

Story continues

Republicans had not won a statewide race in Virginia since 2009. That win foreshadowed congressional election results the following year, in which Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives when Biden was vice president.

Republicans waged a cultural war https://www.reuters.com/world/us/virginia-governors-race-could-show-way-republican-congressional-campaigns-2021-11-01 partly against "critical race theory," a concept taught in mostly in law schools and universities that maintains racism is ingrained in U.S. law and institutions and that legacies of slavery and segregation have created an uneven playing field for Black Americans.

Asked how Democrats should fight claims the theory is being taught in elementary schools in coming elections, Biden said, "Well I think that we should produce for the American people."

Democrats, who sought to link Youngkin to former President Donald Trump, are relying on Biden's spending package to bolster support. The party's progressive wing and moderate senators from West Virginia and Arizona need to agree for that to happen.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia told CNN that Democrats' inability to approve the infrastructure bill and give McAuliffe a talking point on the campaign trail contributed to his defeat.

I think it was on the shoulders of Democrats here who have the majority, he said. People had a lot of hope for Joe Biden and the Joe Biden agenda, but Democrats didn't want to give Biden a win," he said.

McAuliffe's loss showed there are limits to the use of Trump in Democratic campaigns, the person close to the White House said.

"Its incumbent on Democrats to be loud and clear about what were for, affirmatively and not just run against Donald Trump," the source said.

'CATASTROPHIC' INACTION

Some Democrats are looking uneasily at Biden's declining approval numbers, which could hurt midterm candidates and may have affected the Virginia race. Reuters-Ipsos' latest polling https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-BIDEN/POLL/nmopagnqapa shows 44% of Americans approve of Biden, down from nearly 60% early in his presidency.

"It would be catastrophic for us not to start passing some legislation immediately," said Democratic strategist Bud Jackson.

"I'm confident that if we can get this stuff passed, the economy starts to turn around and the supply chains improve, there are opportunities for Biden's poll numbers to improve. But they're not going to recover until we get this passed," he said.

A new Reuters-Ipsos poll https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-BIDEN/akpezadwqvr, conducted Friday to Monday, found that 51% said the Democratic-led plan would affect them personally in a positive way, while 26% said it would have a negative impact.

Overall, 56% said they supported the plan as they understood it, while 29% opposed it. Some proposed elements of the plan are even more popular https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-BIDEN/movanjxaapa, including expanding the Medicare healthcare program for seniors and offering universal prekindergarten.

Democrats inched closer to a deal on Tuesday, agreeing to measures they say will lower prescription drug prices, a top wish for many voters.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Chris Kahn; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell)
This White House's buttoned-up communications operation still has one big leak: President Biden.

Driving the news: On Tuesday, on the world stage in Glasgow, Scotland, he bluntly chastised Russia and China for skipping the COP26 climate change conference. It wasn't an isolated instance.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

The big picture: While Biden administration staffers work overtime to control their message both domestically and abroad, the president has given an unvarnished view of his thoughts by letting fly during recent public appearances.

Two weeks before, during a CNN town hall event in Baltimore, the U.S. president had accused Saudi Arabia of keeping oil prices high in a bid for his attention diplomatically.

He also speculated on the duration of elevated gas prices  and freely shared details of private negotiations with key lawmakers over his proposed $1.75 trillion social safety net expansion.

"Spent 72 hours on endless calls digging out detail after detail based on private meetings and it turns out Biden was just going to lay them all out in the A Block of the town hall," CNN senior White House correspondent Phil Mattingly tweeted in response.

Why it matters: Throughout his career, Biden has been reliably vociferous. The equally long debate has been about whether this helps or hurts his cause.

Andrew Bates, deputy White House press secretary, said in a statement: The American people trust Joe Biden because he's straight with them about his thoughts and values.

What he's saying: During his news conference on Tuesday, Biden also put markets on high alert by making comments about reappointing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

"We'll be making those announcements fairly quickly," he said. "It's been in train for some time."

Hinting he'll release a slate of nominees  perhaps not just for chair but also members of the Fed's Board of Governors  Biden added: "I think we're gonna have plenty of time to make sure all the major nominees are able to be cleared in time."

And he took dead aim at Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China for skipping the climate conference, as Axios' Zachary Basu noted.

Story continues

"I think it's been a big mistake, quite frankly, for China not showing up. The rest of the world looked at China and said, 'Well, what value are they providing?' And they've lost an ability to influence people around the world and all the people at COP."

"The same, I would argue, with Russia," said Biden.

Editors note: Updates with White House comment.

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Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi fended off a challenge from Council Chair Denise Malinowski Maxwell to continue being mayor, winning 73% of the vote for a partial term that ends this year and 72% for a full four-year term that follows.

Dearborn Heights Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski Maxwell is running against Bill Bazzi to be the mayor of Dearborn Heights.

Bazzi, 58, has been mayor since January, when he was appointed by the council.

An immigrant from Lebanon and a Marines veteran, he's the first Muslim and first Arab American to be mayor of Dearborn Heights, where about one-third of the city is Arab American.

Bazzi was one of three Arab American Muslims to be elected mayor Tuesday in cities across metro Detroit, with Hamtramck and Dearborn voters also electing candidates who are Muslim and of Arab descent.

[ Metro Detroit election results 2021 ]

In December, the previous mayor since 2004, Daniel Paletko, died after testing positive for the coronavirus.

After he died, Malinowski-Maxwell, 61 , became interim mayor, according to city charter rules. In January, the city council voted 4-3 to appoint Bazzi as mayor.

Bill Bazzi's photo can be seen on the walls of Dearborn Heights City Hall as members of the community do city business on Oct. 25, 2021. Bazzi may become the first Muslim to be elected mayor in Dearborn Heights. Bazzi was appointed mayor earlier this year by the city council after the death of previous Mayor Dan Paletko. Bazzi won with a big margin in the August primary.

Malinowski Maxwell and Bazzi have clashed at times on some issues. There have been 11 lawsuits filed by the City Council or other city officials accusing each other of wrongdoing.

Dearborn Heights faces challenges with infrastructure and flooding, but saw a 10% spike in population over the past decade to 63,292 residents, with growing numbers of Arab immigrants moving from Dearborn and other cities. The city's residents are 32% of Arab descent, according to 2019 census data.

More: Dearborn Heights voters electing new mayor amid change, infrastructure challenges

More: Bill Bazzi, Marine vet and Ford engineer, is Dearborn Heights' first Muslim mayor

He served with the U.S. Marines, joining the military branch after he graduated from Fordson High School in Dearborn. Bazzi served globally, helping allies and countering terrorism. He is active with veterans groups, serving as commander of the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council.

Bill Bazzi works in his office at Dearborn Heights City Hall on Oct. 25, 2021. Bazzi may become the first Muslim to be elected mayor in Dearborn Heights. Bazzi was appointed mayor earlier this year by the city council after the death of previous Mayor Dan Paletko. Bazzi won with a big margin in the August primary.

After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, he also worked for Boeing and then Ford Motor Co. as a product development engineer, retiring after he became mayor this year.

Story continues

In the race for City Council, six candidates ran for four seats of four-year terms, and two candidates ran for a partial term.

Bill Bazzi works in his office at Dearborn Heights City Hall on Oct. 25, 2021. Bazzi may become the first Muslim to be elected mayor in Dearborn Heights. Bazzi was appointed mayor earlier this year by the city council after the death of previous Mayor Dan Paletko. Bazzi won with a big margin in the August primary.

Mo Baydoun won the race for a partial term with 70% of the vote, according to Wayne County results.

Bob Constan, Tom Wencel, Nancy Bryer and Hassan Ahmad won the four council seats for full terms.

The mayor's annual salary is $89,879, council chair is $13,377, and council member is $10,562.

Contact Niraj Warikoo at nwarikoo@freepress.com or Twitter @nwarikoo.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bill Bazzi elected mayor of Dearborn Heights
Brazilian artist Jaider Esbell, one of the leading figures in contemporary indigenous art, was found dead at age 41 in his home in Sao Paulo, authorities said Wednesday.

Officials did not say what killed Esbell, a member of the Macuxi indigenous group from northeastern Brazil who rose to international fame with politically charged works on climate change, indigenous issues and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Esbell, who won Brazil's prestigious PIPA prize for the visual arts in 2016, had recently sold two works to the renowned Pompidou Centre in Paris.

His work currently features prominently in the Sao Paulo Biennial of Contemporary Art, including two inflatable, multi-colored snake-shaped sculptures on a lake that welcome visitors to the expo.

"With clarity and generosity, he became one of the leading voices for indigenous artists, building bridges and exchanging knowledge with the institutional circuit of the contemporary art world," the expo's organizers said in a statement.

His death, discovered on Tuesday, was "completely unexpected, especially considering his temperament and his position as a catalyzer of energies," said the expo's curator, Francesco Stocchi.

Esbell grew up on the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous reservation in the northern state of Roraima.

A writer as well as an artist, he moved to the state capital, Bela Vista, at 18, working days at the electric utility and nights in a library until his artistic career took flight.

"My best work is politics, not those colorful drawings, or the snake in the lake; those are elements to grab attention and spark discussion on issues such as global warming and ecological urgency," Esbell told AFP last month.

"This is a key moment, because everyone is fighting, but nobody is fighting for the ecological emergency."

mls/jhb/sst
The trawlers waved as they arrived back on British shores - Eddie Mitchell

A British trawler impounded by France amid the dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights has arrived in the UK after being released by French authorities.

The captain and crew of the Cornelis Gert Jan, a Scottish-registered scallop dredger, left Le Havre on Wednesday night as it emerged that Britain has granted 96 per cent of fishing licences requested by France.

The trawler had been held there since last week, when it was accused of fishing in French waters without an appropriate licence.

It docked at Shoreham-by-Sea, near Brighton, at 4.46am on Thursday, according to MarineTraffic.com.



Jondy Ward, the boat's captain, had been free to leave but wanted to stay with his vessel, his lawyer said. Earlier on Wednesday, after appearing at a court in Rouen, he said he wanted to "get out of here today".

At the hearing, a judge overturned attempts by local officials to force him to pay a 150,000 bond before the vessel could be freed. France was accused of playing a "political game" by demanding such a large sum.

Mr Ward said his boat had "definitely" been snared in the bitter Anglo-French row over post-Brexit fishing. Insisting his papers had been in order, he said he did not know whether UK or French officials had been at fault over its absence from the correct European register.

Jondy Ward, the captain of the Scottish-registered scallop dredger Cornelis Gert Jan - Eddie Mitchell

A spokesman for Macduff Shellfish, the owner of the vessel, said the company was "delighted" that the matter had been resolved, adding that the crew were in "good spirits" and "looking forward to returning to their loved ones".

Mr Ward has been ordered to to appear before judges on Aug 11 next year, accused of operating illegally in French waters, for which he could face a 75,000 fine.

It came as official Whitehall data showed that Britain has granted 96 per cent of fishing licences requested by French boats this year, contradicting France's claims about outstanding permits.

The government figures, released on Wednesday, contradict French allegations that "almost 50 per cent" of licences to which its fishermen have a right under the UK's pact with the EU were missing.

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The data also undermine claims made last week by Clement Beaune, the French Europe minister, that Britain had made a "political choice" to "target" Paris by withholding permits.

The vessel docked back in Britain on Thursday morning after being released by the French authorities - Eddie Mitchell

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the UK did not recognise the numbers issued by France. Britain has repeatedly said it has granted 98 per cent of all permits requested by EU boats.

The latest figures mark the first time ministers have offered a breakdown of the status of requests by country, with Victoria Prentis, the fisheries minister, saying the move would provide "clarity".

A government source told The Telegraph: "This is the authoritative version, which shows how we've acted and done the right thing in line with our obligations."

The figures showed that 840 of 874 French applications had been approved since the UK and EU signed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in December.

All 736 permit requests for French boats to fish in the 12-200 mile zone off the UK have been granted. Eighty-five of 88 requests for vessels over 12 metres to have access to British waters between six and 12 miles from the coast have been approved, with three outstanding.

It emerged that there were more outstanding applications for Belgian boats in this category, with four pending approval and 17 licences granted. Meanwhile, 19 out of 50 French applications for vessels smaller than 12 metres in this zone have been approved, with 31 pending.

Ms Prentis restated the Government's policy that boats seeking access to fish in British waters must be able to show a history of operating there prior to Brexit.

"Access to the territorial sea is limited to 'qualifying' vessels  i.e. those that fished in those zones in at least four of the years between 2012 and 2016, or their direct replacements," she said.

Her intervention came ahead of Lord Frost travelling to Paris for talks with Mr Beaune on Thursday, when it is understood the Brexit minister will "double down" on the Government's refusal to lower the bar for the evidence required.

Mr Beaune said on Wednesday that discussions would "intensify" this week, but British sources have played down the prospect of any new licences being approved unless further evidence is put forward by France. He spoke as the UK formally reiterated its position on fishing in a paper sent to Paris.

Earlier this week, Boris Johnson denied the UK had offered any concessions on fishing to Paris after Emmanuel Macron backed down on his threats to impose sanctions.

Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, the French transport minister, argued that the "balance of power" in the row was in France's favour, telling Europe 1 radio: "The British have a lot more to lose by not implementing the Brexit agreement between the EU and the UK than the reverse."

Mr Djebbari also said British officials were negotiating in "good faith", adding: "The spirit is a constructive one on this topic."

In another sign Paris was softening its position, a French government spokesman suggested planned sanctions would be delayed until Friday.

Gabriel Attal, a close ally of Mr Macron, said the French government would not move before a meeting with the European Commission on that day, when Lord Frost is also set to meet Maros Sefcovic, a European Commission vice-president, in Brussels. European officials are privately confident that a deal to end the 10-month dispute can be struck.

"Officials from the UK, France, Jersey and the Commission have been meeting for the past two days. These talks have allowed us to chart the way forward on several aspects and have created a positive dynamic aiming at a solution," a commission spokesman said. "We hope the positive engagement on all sides will soon translate into concrete results."
NEW BRUNSWICK  Police are investigating after a 32-year-old Franklin man was fatally shot Tuesday night in the area of Seaman Street and Remsen Avenue.

The victim has been identified as Lorenzo Hill Staten, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and New Brunswick Police Director Anthony A. Caputo announced.

Police responded about 8:02 p.m. Tuesday to the area of Seaman Street and Remsen Avenue on a report of a shooting where they found Hill Staten with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the prosecutors office. He was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment where he later died, the prosecutor's office said.

No motive or suspects have been identified by the prosecutor's office.

This is the second fatal shooting in the city this week.

Azeem Seawright, 40, of New Brunswick, was fatally shot early Monday in the area of Easton Avenue and Conduit Street. Justin Landrum, 20, of Staten Island, has been charged with Seawright's murder.

Crime: NY man charged with murder of New Brunswick man shot on Easton Avenue

Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area in Tuesdays shooting is asked to call Detective Keith Walcott of the New Brunswick Police Department at 732-745-5200 or Detective Mark Morris of the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office at 732-745- 3927.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: New Brunswick police investigate after Franklin man killed in shooting
(Reuters) - Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, a Democrat who mounted a rare write-in campaign after losing his party's nomination to a socialist candidate in a shocking upset earlier this year, declared his re-election victory on Tuesday but his opponent India Walton refused to concede.

Brown declared victory, claiming a fifth four-year term, and thanked his supporters after local media reported Walton had won 41% of the vote while 59% of the votes were for "write-in."

The write-in votes, however, will still need to be checked to confirm that Brown's name has been indicated.

"At the very beginning, they said we couldn't win, it was impossible to win as a write-in. But you can't ever count a Buffalonian out," Brown said to applause from his supporters.

Walton, however, was not ready to concede.

"This is definitely not a concession speech," local TV station WIVB quoted Walton as saying, adding that she said it was still unclear who the "write-ins" were.

Asked by WIVB if he thought the number of write-in votes for Brown was greater than the number of votes for Walton, Brown answered: "That is correct."

Walton, a democratic socialist, community activist and nurse, made national headlines when she won the Democratic primary in June over Brown, who has served as the first African-American mayor of New York state's second-largest city since 2005.

But with no Republican on the ballot, Brown, 63, campaigned as a moderate alternative to the 39-year-old Walton, urging voters to write his name on their ballots.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax and Chris Gallagher; Editing by Peter Cooney, Tim Ahmann and Kim Coghill)
Buffalo, N.Y., Mayor Byron Brown speaks to the media after filling out his ballot on Oct. 23. (Joshua Bessex/AP)

Buffalo, N.Y., Mayor Byron Brown declared victory in his write-in campaign to retain his seat, saying he had defeated Democratic nominee and socialist India Walton.

Todays election was not just a referendum on the direction of the city of Buffalo, it was a referendum on the future of our democracy and our vision for our future, he said late Tuesday night.

Brown turned to a write-in campaign after losing the June primary to Walton. With a majority of the vote counted, write-ins held a double-digit lead in the race. While absentee votes need to be counted and write-in votes confirmed to be for Brown, the four-term incumbent celebrated the apparent victory, while Walton said all write-ins need to be counted and that she was not conceding.

Waltons upset in the June primary was a shock in New Yorks second-largest city; she defeated Brown by 4 points after he refused to debate her and essentially ignored her candidacy. A Buffalo native and registered nurse who became a mother at age 14, she had not run for office before.

Walton, 39, was involved in housing activism in the city as well as last years Black Lives Matter protests. Republicans did not field a candidate in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Walton ran to become the first woman to be mayor of Buffalo and the first socialist to lead a major American city in decades.

India Walton at a campaign event in Buffalo on Monday. (Lindsay DeDario/Reuters)

Brown, 63, a former state senator, was first elected mayor in 2005. The first Black mayor in the citys history, he is a moderate, pro-business executive who also served as co-chair of the state Democratic Party. He spent the general election campaign painting Walton as a dangerous radical who was too far left for the citys residents.

As part of its effort, the Brown campaign spent tens of thousands of dollars on ink stamps so that voters would spell his name correctly on the write-in line. He received the support of the New York state Republican Party, which sent mailers to thousands of voters urging them to write in Browns name.

Story continues

The mailers went to a broad universe of voters who we believe will vote to stop socialism in the city of Buffalo, said state GOP spokeswoman Jessica Proud. Nick Langworthy, the New York Republican chair, congratulated Brown on the apparent victory.

Waltons victory in the primary splintered Democratic power brokers in the Empire State. She was endorsed by both of the states U.S. senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as prominent progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman. However, following her win, the Buffalo Common Council voted to explore the idea of getting rid of the position of mayor altogether.

The state party never rallied behind her, with Gov. Kathy Hochul declining to endorse and state Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs drawing criticism last month for comparing Walton to former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke in an interview.

Lets take a scenario, very different, where David Duke  you remember him, the grand wizard of the KKK  he moves to New York, he becomes a Democrat, he runs for mayor in the city of Rochester, which is a low primary turnout, and he wins the Democratic line, Jacobs said in an interview with Spectrum News.

I have to endorse David Duke? I dont think so. Now, of course, India Walton is not in the same category. But it just leads you to that question: Is it a must? Its not a must.

Schumer called the statement totally unacceptable, and the analogy used was outrageous and beyond absurd, while Bowman was among those who called on Jacobs to resign, calling his comments the malignant narcissism of far too many white men.

After initially refusing to apologize and defending his comments, Jacobs relented but reiterated that not every candidate who wins a primary is entitled, unquestionably, to the endorsement of all party leaders or elected officials.

____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Oxygen

The brutal murder of a nine-year-old girl in 1959 has finally been solved, marking an end to one of Washington states oldest cold cases. Candice Candy Rogers disappeared while selling Camp Fire Mints  a fundraiser for the Camp Fire Girls, a Girl Scout-like organization  in her Spokane neighborhood on March 6, 1959, according to a press release issued by the Spokane City Police Department. Searchers found boxes of mints strewn along the street; it was the only indication of which direction s
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has unveiled a new feature that will allow eligible customers in the US to borrow up to $1m in cash by using their Bitcoin as collateral.

With the feature, customers in selected US states will be able to take out a line of credit without any prior credit checks  equivalent to as much as 40% of the value of the Bitcoin in a users account, up to $1m.

The borrowed cash can be deposited quickly and fee-free to a bank or PayPal account, with $10 minimum payments required each month to pay the interest due.

Customers can then pay off their outstanding balance when ready, with their collateralised assets stored safely on Coinbase.

Big news for the #BTC set  Were excited to announce that eligible customers can now borrow up to $1 Million USD from Coinbase. Learn more herehttps://t.co/3aKzoWkmqP pic.twitter.com/LC3s9ARp3K  Coinbase (@coinbase) November 2, 2021

Coinbase will also offer fixed-term loans, which are currently only available for Coinbase customers in Connecticut.

Fixed-term loans will enable customers to borrow up to 30% of the value of their Bitcoin in cash (up to $100,000) on a one-year basis.

Only monthly interest of 8% APR is paid on the loan, with the principal repayable after a year.

Coinbase also noted that it will not report any loan-related information or activity to credit reporting agencies at this time.

Coinbase continues to drive adoption

The borrow feature is Coinbases latest move in a spate of recent efforts to improve the user experience for its 68m-strong userbase.

The exchange recently became the leading US mobile application for iPhone users due to rampant interest in Shiba Inu and has also introduced a paycheck deposit feature to bring greater adoption of cryptocurrencies in the US.

Coinbase has also made notable developments in the adoption of its native Coinbase Card by allowing customers to immediately earn interest on their income and earn crypto rewards by using one. The exchange also recently integrated Apple and Google Pay services into its card services.

The upcoming launch of its native NFT marketplace is also expected to attract vast amounts of new customers to the ever-expanding Coinbase ecosystem.
Citing a conflict of interest, a group of community activists on Wednesday demanded the recusal of a Jackson County judge who will preside over the trial of a Kansas City police officer accused in the shooting death of a Black man.

Eric DeValkenaere, 42, was indicted last year on charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Dec. 3, 2019, killing of Cameron Lamb. The 26-year-old was shot while sitting in his pickup truck in his backyard, prosecutors said.

Members of the organization Getting to the Heart of the Matter gathered on the steps of the Jackson County Courthouse calling for Judge J. Dale Youngs to be removed from presiding over the bench trial scheduled to begin Monday.

It is often said that justice is blind, but we really need for Kansas City to see this, said Darron Edwards, lead pastor of the United Believers Community Church. You cannot have balanced scales if somebody has their hand on the scales. This trial, we believe cannot proceed like this.

The group alleges there is a conflict of interest between Youngs and Dawn Parsons, one of the attorneys representing DeValkenaere. However, the alleged issue dealt with a separate criminal case that occurred in 2009 and is not related to DeValkenaere.

They also said they believe Youngs may show favor to DeValkenaere based on his past dealings with Parsons, who had previously served as an assistant Jackson County prosecutor.

The group asked that the criminal trial be delayed until another judge is selected. They also want Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker to file a motion to have Youngs recused.

When you have constitutional violations in the past, what makes you think that these things wont happen in the present? Edwards said.

No court fillings had been made, the group admitted. And there is no legal standing that would permit the group to intervene in a criminal matter.

Michael Mansur, a spokesman for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, declined to comment.

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Missouri Supreme Court ruling prohibits Youngs from commenting on the pending criminal trial.

Edwards was one of several clergy who helped organize Getting to the Heart of the Matter, an initiative among churches in Kansas City to work with the Kansas City Police Department to build community trust and reduce violence.

But in recent months, the relationship between the group and police ruptured after Edwards and other clergy publicly questioned the police departments narrative of the March 25 fatal police shooting of Malcolm Johnson.

The Lamb shooting occurred after an officer investigating a crash reported a red pickup chasing a purple Ford Mustang. Officers in a police helicopter located the truck driven by Lamb and followed the vehicle.

When Lamb pulled into his driveway at 4154 College Avenue, DeValkenaere and another detective, Troy Schwalm, arrived at the home to investigate the crash. The detectives walked onto the property, with DeValkenaere reportedly knocking over a barbecue grill and a car hood to get to the backyard.

DeValkenaere said that he fired after Lamb pointed a gun at Schwalm.

Police investigating the shooting found Lamb inside the vehicle with his left arm and head hanging out of the drivers side window. On the ground near his left hand was a handgun, according to police.

When the prosecutors office announced the charges, Baker said DeValkenaeres conduct during the shooting was reckless and violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Prosecutors allege the detectives, who were in plainclothes, did not ask for permission to walk onto the property and did not have a warrant.

DeValkenaere has been an officer since September 1999 and is currently assigned to the executive services bureau.
ST. PETERSBURG  Financial adviser Copley Gerdes, 38, defeated consultant Bobbie Shay Lee, 49, in the race for St. Petersburgs District 1 City Council seat.

The Tampa Bay Times called the race at 9:40 p.m. with Gerdes leading with roughly 53 percent of the vote, with all precincts reporting.

Im happy that all the work and the effort that the entire team put in came out in an outcome that were all very happy and proud of, he said.

Gerdes said he was honored to have run alongside a diverse slate of candidates: I think the city is shining tonight because of the people that raised their hand that wanted to serve.

Lee said she wished her opponent the best and was proud of her campaign team.

We left everything on the table, she said. We have absolutely no regrets.

Gerdes will replace Robert Blackmon, who resigned his council seat to run for mayor. He will serve out Blackmons term until 2023, at which point he will be able to seek reelection.

Gerdes, who works for Northwestern Mutual, campaigned on a platform of development and sustainability. He said he wants to help local businesses in his district, noting the traffic between the beaches and downtown St. Petersburg.

His father, Charlie Gerdes, previously served two terms representing District 1.

A former nonprofit executive and breast cancer survivor, Lee developed a platform focused on public safety by increasing police funding and investing in social services. Lee said she first got involved in the race by advocating for the restoration and reopening of the St. Petersburg Science Center, which has been at the center of city debates.

Both candidates said they wanted to focus on affordable housing, keep the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg and replace the citys aging stormwater and sewer infrastructure. Both Gerdes and Lee are first-time political candidates who grew up in St. Petersburg.

Gerdes was endorsed by Mayor Rick Kriseman, Pinellas County Commissioner Charlie Justice, as well as four current City Council members. As of Friday, his campaign had raised $88,845.

Lee received endorsements from state Reps. Chris Latvala and Linda Chaney, and Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters. Her campaign had raised $74,285 by Friday.

District 1 covers much of west St. Petersburg, its upper boundary running along 40th Avenue North and its lower boundary marked by the Gulfport city line.
Dozens of races across the country Tuesday amounted to a tug-of-war over education policies, from school mask requirements to history curricula. While conservatives capitalized on education culture wars to win the highest-profile election, for Virginia's next governor, results in other contests were mixed.

Races in 76 school districts across 22 states featured candidates who took a stance on race in education or critical race theory, according to Ballotpedia, a political tracking website. Critical race theory, a graduate-level law school concept that examines systemic racism, is seldom taught in schools. It has nevertheless inflamed conservatives, previewing a valuable political tool for Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections.

Critical race theory, DEI: What do those terms really mean?

Conservatives campaigning against critical race theory secured school board seats in several suburbs across the country, from Douglas County, Colorado, to Southlake, Texas. In Virginias razor-tight governors race, Republican Glenn Youngkin ran on a platform touting parental control of schools and attacking progressive-led initiatives designed to make schools more inclusive. Youngkin secured a victory Tuesday night with 50.7% of the vote, a major upset for Democrats in a state where President Joe Biden won by 10 percentage points last year.

School board culture wars: Is students' well-being at risk?

Youngkins victory will send shockwaves nationwide  parents across the country are speaking up because they want more leverage and better options for their children, Carrie Lukas, vice president of the conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit Independent Womens Voice, said in a statement. They want school systems that remember that they work for parents and children, not for activist bureaucracies. And they want schools that educate, rather than indoctrinate.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin greets supporters at a rally in Chesterfield, Va., on Nov. 1. Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor, in Tuesday's vote.

Much of the race in recent weeks centered on Loudoun County, whose school board has been embroiled in controversies since its passage of various diversity and inclusion initiatives, including a policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom associated with their gender identity. That policy became a rallying issue after reports of two sexual assaults at Loudoun schools, one of which occurred in a bathroom. (The perpetrator in that case, whose gender identity hasnt been confirmed by authorities, was recently found guilty in the case; the incident occurred before the gender-inclusive policy took effect.)

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But Loudoun County still voted for Youngkins Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, by double digits. And elsewhere, many candidates who fought COVID-19 restrictions and anti-racism classes lost their election bids Tuesday, including several who waged high-profile campaigns in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Connecticut.

In Wisconsin, an effort to recall members of the Mequon-Thiensville school board accused of promoting critical race theory failed. Each of the incumbents won more than 58% of the votes in their races, according to unofficial results posted by the district Tuesday.

Teaching kids to hate America? Republicans want critical race theory out of schools

Still, victories for conservatives elsewhere suggest critical race theory will continue to dominate political debate, especially in swing states or tight congressional races.

In Pennsylvania, four of the six open school board seats in the Central York School District went to Republicans, according to unofficial but final results. The margins in the race were thin, illustrating just how fraught debates over anti-racism school initiatives have become. This fall, the district lifted almost yearlong "freeze" on anti-racism books and resources with diverse perspectives.

Beyond the school culture wars: Students say their well-being is at risk.

In a Dallas-area district, critical race theory was the genesis of an all-out fight this spring. Shortly after a TikTok video showing a group of white teens shouting racial slurs went viral, the Carroll Independent School District created a diversity council and an action plan to make sure its classrooms were actively anti-racist.

But Tuesday night, Andrew Yeager, an outspoken critic of that diversity plan, handily won a school board seat, beating his opponent, a former teacher, by more than 30 percentage points.

Yeagers victory follows a spring win for two other conservative school board candidates who opposed the diversity plan. According to NBC News, all three candidates were supported financially by Southlake Families PAC, a group that describes itself as unapologetically rooted in Judeo-Christian values and was formed specifically in response to the diversity plan.

The results are in, and Im humbled to have earned your confidence and your trust, said Yeager, a TV executive, in a Facebook post. As your next CISD School Board Trustee, I will always work for the best interests of our students, promote transparency in leadership and policies, and work toward responsible financial management.

Conservatives have already gained power at these school districts: Here's what happened next.

Critical race theory ban? Schools can teach full US history, experts say. Here's how.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Contact Alia Wong at (202) 507-2256 or awong@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @aliaemily.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: School board races show mixed results for critical race theory
A former Wisconsin-based police chief has been sentenced to 10 extra years in federal prison after a substantial amount of child porn was found  again  in his possession.

Alexander Bebris, of Denmark, Wisconsin, was sentenced to five years in federal prison in November 2020 after being convicted in federal court on charges of distributing child pornography.

The 52-year-old appealed the conviction and was allowed to remain free until his original conviction was upheld on Aug. 8, 2021, a Nov. 3 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Wisconsin said.

But while he was out free pending his appeals resolution, Bebris accumulated more child pornography, according to the release.

Just days before he was set to begin his five-year sentence, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his home only to find a substantial amount of recently-downloaded child pornography, involving children as young as three, the release said.

He was once again charged and entered a guilty plea.

Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach said at the second sentencing that Bebris ability to commit essentially the same crime so willingly after his first sentencing indicated a strong need for deterrence and punishment, the release said.

Bebris retired from law enforcement in 2017 before running for Outagamie County sheriff in 2018, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette. He most recently served as public safety chief, a combination job of police and fire chief, in Oakwood, Ohio, according to the release.

He also was previously a lieutenant with the Fox Crossing Police Department, a police officer at the Milwaukee Police Department and the chief deputy of the Adams County Sheriffs Department, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported.

The additional 10-year sentence will run consecutively to his initial five-year sentence. When released, Bebris will be required to register as a sex offender and will be on supervised release for 10 years.

Ex-cop ensnared Georgia police department coworkers in luxury car scam, feds say

Boyfriend burns down Maryland bar to hide assault footage, feds say. He blames steroids
File.

STUARTS DRAFT  The Augusta County Sheriff's Office said a missing woman was found dead in a submerged vehicle Wednesday in a pond in Stuarts Draft, according to a press release.

At 12:41 p.m., deputies from the sheriff's office responded to the 300 block of Lake Road for a report of a missing female.

About an hour later, a deputy located an almost totally submerged 2004 Jeep Sport utility vehicle in a pond, the press release said. The deputy immediately requested assistance from Augusta County Fire-Rescue, the Stuarts Draft Volunteer Fire Department, the Stuarts Draft Rescue Squad and Virginia State Police.

Authorities recovered the vehicle from the pond and found the dead woman inside the Jeep. The woman had been driving on a private road, the sheriff's office said.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing, and the sheriff's office said the deceased woman was the missing female who was being sought. A preliminary investigation revealed that a medical condition could have been a factor, the sheriff's office said.

The name of the victim is being withheld pending the notification of next of kin.

If anyone has information about this incident, please contact the Augusta County Sheriffs Office at (540) 245-5333 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 322-2017.

More: Emilio's, Pompei closed in Staunton. Owner will retire and aims to sell the building

More: Augusta Health pediatric vaccine clinics for children 5-11 years old now open

To subscribe, visit www.newsleader.com and click "subscribe" at top of page.

Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Authorities find vehicle in Stuarts Draft pond, dead woman inside
NEW YORK  Eric Adams, the former police captain who campaigned on a message of public safety, was elected New York City mayor Tuesday.

Adams will become New York's second Black mayor and inherit a city at a pivotal time in its economic recovery from the pandemic.

Adams, a Democrat, defeated longshot Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa after he narrowly won his party's nomination in June during a crowded Democratic primary.

The Brooklyn borough president and former state senator will replace the term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio in January.

Adams vowed Tuesday night to take the city in a new direction and make its government work for the poor, homeless and underserved.

"This is not about Eric Adams becoming mayor. This is about carving out a pathway so people could enjoy the prosperity that this city has to offer," he said from the stage of his victory party where he was joined by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Adams said he would "build bridges" between business leaders and the inner city, create jobs for New Yorkers and reduce crime while addressing its root causes.

"In four years, this city is never going to be the same. Once we move forward, we will never go back," Adams said.

Eric Adams raises hands with Jumaane Williams, New York City Public Advocate, and Comptroller candidate Brad Lander during a Get Out the Vote rally in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall on October 22, 2021.

Adams brought a photo of his late mother as he voted Tuesday in Brooklyn and reflected on his working-class upbringing. Sliwa brought one of his many cats and got into a dispute with an election worker over whether he could bring the cat and his red jacket emblazoned with his name inside the polling location.

During the primary, Adams faced a number of progressive and moderate challengers but ultimately won with heavy support in lower-income, Black and Latino neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens.

"When you look at all the other mayors who have come up from where they came up from, there is no one like him. He is unique," Sid Davidoff, a fixture in New York City politics and adviser to former Mayor John Lindsay, told USA TODAY in June.

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Who is Eric Adams? What to know about the Democrat likely to become New York City's next mayor.

Adams, 61, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens. While a teenager, he was beaten in police custody, which prompted his desire to become a police officer.

While in the New York Police Department, Adams had a reputation as vocal critic of discriminatory practices within policing. He served as the head of the Grand Council of Guardians, a Black officers' group, and formed 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, which sought to fight racial profiling and police brutality while restoring trust among Black residents.

New York democratic mayoral candidate Eric Adams carries a portrait of his late mother Dorothy Mae Adams as he walks to cast his vote at a voting center in Brooklyn, New York on November 2, 2021.

Adams' stance on the police department has been more moderate than other Democrats in the city. While he supports trimming its budget and "civilianizing" sections that do not need to be staffed by officers, he also has backed the use of stop-and-frisk in some cases and reviving a disbanded anti-gun task force.

He also said he would appoint the first woman to head the NYPD in city history.

Beyond vowing to strengthen public safety, Adams has said he plans to make the city more friendly to businesses. We have been defined as a business-enemy city instead of a business-friendly city, he said in a September appearance on Bloomberg Radio.

He has also backed increasing affordable housing options and services at hospitals to house people with mental illness experiencing homelessness.

To combat the pandemic, he said he supports de Blasio's vaccine mandate for city workers, including police officers, firefighters and EMTs. However, unlike de Blasio, Adams has also said he would require vaccines for students if the Food and Drug Administration gives full approval to a vaccine for children.

Adams also supports the "gifted and talented" program in the city's schools, which de Blasio vowed to eliminate. The program requires a standardized test for 4-year-olds, and critics say it heightens educational inequalities, with white and Asian students making up a disproportionate share of its seats.

Primary drama: How NYC's election board got primary election results so wrong

What's next for Mayor Bill de Blasio?

When asked Monday night during NY1's "Inside City Hall" about his future political aspirations, de Blasio hinted at a possible run for governor that has been rumored in recent months.

"There's a lot of changes, a lot of things that need to be fixed in Albany.  But I'm really looking forward to getting into this bigger discussion about where the state is going," he said.

Politico reported Saturday de Blasio had finalized a filing with the state election board for a candidate committee to allow him to fundraise, though the forms did not specific for what office. The committee is called "New Yorkers for a Fair Future," the report said.

A number of Democrats are reportedly interested in or have entered the race for governor after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who sparred often with de Blasio, resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment.

The crowded primary could feature Gov. Kathy Hochul and a number of New York City natives, including state Attorney General Letitia James and the city's Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

Adams defeats longshot Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa

Sliwa, Adams' opponent, did not stand much of a chance in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 7 to 1.

The Guardian Angels founder had described himself as a populist and sought to portray a "David versus Goliath" image against Adams.

Before running for mayor, Sliwa was well known in New York for his media antics and stunts, including faking crimes to fight for his Guardian Angels.

Sliwa opposed vaccine mandates and closing the Rikers Island jail complex. He also said he supported reversing police budget cuts and reducing the number of bike lanes in the city.

Conceding the race to Adams, Sliwa said he was offering friendship and solidarity to the new mayor.

"He's gonna need it. He's gonna need all the support he can get because of what Bill de Blasio is leaving behind," Sliwa said, getting in a dig at the outgoing mayor.

First Black Manhattan DA elected, will oversee Trump investigations

Former federal prosecutor Alvin Bragg was elected district attorney in Manhattan on Tuesday, becoming the first Black person to win the office.

Bragg, also a civil rights lawyer, will now oversee the office's various prosecutions and investigations tied to former President Donald Trump and his business.

Trump remains under investigation by the office over a fight to obtain his tax returns, while former Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg is facing tax evasion charges.

Bragg will take over for the longtime district attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., who is retiring. Vance prosecuted the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein for rape.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eric Adams elected New York City mayor, defeating Curtis Sliwa
SheKnows

If there was any doubt about who Kim Kardashian was going to be kissing under the mistletoe this year, shes officially wiped that away with her latest photos with Pete Davidson. The Saturday Night Live star is fully in the Kardashian fold because hes now become a SKIMS spokesmodel (were kidding, sort of). The Kardashian []
MarketWatch

Six million Americans have Alzheimers today. What is interesting, though, is that there is substantial and remarkable evidence that meditation, and in particular a 12-minute daily chant known as Kirtan Kriya meditation, can have an effect. Researchers Nicole Last, Emily Tufts and Leslie Auger, at the University of Guelph-Humber in Toronto, published a systematic review of scientific literature in 2017 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Alzheimers disease.
By Zohra Bensemra

KABUL (Reuters) - To fill her days and keep her mind occupied, university student Hawa sits by the window in her Kabul home and pores over a book.

Like hundreds of thousands of other Afghan girls and young women, the 20-year-old Russian literature undergraduate has not been allowed to return to her studies since the Taliban seized power in mid-August.

And like many of her peers, she is feeling a mixture of frustration and anger that her aspirations to study and work are being thwarted.

"We are not born to sit at home," Hawa told Reuters in her family's house in the Afghan capital, where she has been cooped up spending her days drawing, reading and doing chores.

"If we can nurture babies we can provide for our families too. In this situation, I do not see my dreams coming true."

(Open https://reut.rs/3nPWv0a in an external browser to see a picture package on Afghan women and girls unable to study)

The hardline Islamist Taliban movement, which stormed to power earlier this year after ousting the Western-backed government, has allowed all boys and younger girls back to class, but has not let girls attend secondary school.

Most public universities are not functioning at all, or only partially.

Officials have tried to assure Afghans and foreign donors that people's rights will be honoured, including allowing girls to go to school and women to study and work once details on how to do so in accordance with Islamic law are thrashed out.

They have also blamed https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/we-are-not-deleting-them-afghanistans-taliban-promise-progress-girls-schooling-2021-11-02 the international community for cutting off aid, making it harder to fund the reopening of schools and universities for all.

More than three months into their rule, that has not happened, and some are skeptical of a group that, when it was last in power from 1996-2001, banned all girls from school and women from paid employment.

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DREAMS ON HOLD

Fewer than 40% of Afghan girls attended secondary school in 2018 even though it was allowed then, according to the most recent figures from UNESCO.

Much of the country remains deeply conservative, despite 20 years of Western-backed rule and billions of dollars in foreign aid aimed partly at promoting equality and civil rights.

But in urban centres in particular, girls and women have enjoyed greater freedoms since 2001, and they are reluctant to let them go.

"Those of us who went to university and also had jobs, were helping our families, of course nothing will come of us, because they (the Taliban) say that whatever we studied in the last 20 years is useless," Hawa said.

Across town, 17-year-old Sahar is also stuck at home. She wants to become an engineer, but, for now at least, has to learn at home as best she can.

"I am trying to continue my lessons at home but nevertheless the environment at school, the classroom, our friends and teachers is something different compared to being at home."

She proudly showed Reuters around her old classroom - a school manager on the premises that day allowed Sahar in.

"I would love to come back to my class, resume my studies, to be with my classmates and teachers," she said, looking wistfully around the room where desks and benches gathered dust.

When her younger brother and sister return from school each day, Sahar helps with their homework.

"They ... come home and do their homework, talk about their classmates and their studies. But I feel sad inside that I can't go to school myself."

Her sister Hadia, who is 10, has noticed that some of her former teachers and classmates are no longer around - she assumes they were among thousands of Afghans who fled Kabul in the chaotic weeks that followed the Taliban's conquest.

Even at her age, she recognises the difficulties ahead.

"I'm in the 4th grade. I want to be a doctor, but if in two years' time I am not allowed to continue my studies like my sister, I won't be able to fulfil my dream," said Hadia. "That already scares me."

(Writing and editing by Mike Collett-White)
Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as rival forces from the northern region of Tigray move toward the capital, per AP.

Why it matters: It's the latest escalation of a yearlong civil war that threatens to tear apart Africa's second-most populous country and has killed thousands of citizens.

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The state of emergency is effective immediately and is slated to last about six months, according to AP.

Under the state of emergency, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed can impose curfews, order citizens into military service and restrict the news media.

The big picture: President Biden announced on Tuesday that Ethiopia would be terminated from a U.S. trade program, saying that the war-torn country was in "gross violations of internationally recognized human rights."

The sanction is set to take effect on Jan. 1, and a pathway toward reinstatement will be provided to each country removed from the program.

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MAPUTO (Reuters) - The European Union on Wednesday launched a two-year mission to train Mozambique troops to fight an Islamic State-linked insurgency in the country's northernmost province Cabo Delgado.

The insurgency, which broke out in 2017, has escalated dramatically with militants seizing whole towns and this year bringing a $20 billion liquefied natural gas project led by France's Total to a grinding halt in an attack.

More than 3,000 people have died in the violence and over 800,000 people have been displaced, EU Ambassador Antonio Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar said, adding the security issues threaten to spill over across provincial and national borders.

"No country, no region and no organisation can face these global challenges alone," he said.

The EU's mission will see 11 Mozambican special force units trained and equipped over the period, with the training focused on both strengthening the army's operational capacity and human rights and international law - key to winning the population's support in a conflict zone, Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar said.

Mozambique has also accepted help from a number of other governments, including training from the United States and military intervention from a regional bloc of African nations and Rwanda. This has seen previously inaccessible areas cleared of insurgents and individuals, and weapons and bases captured.

Before that, the southern African country's army was losing ground and stood accused by rights groups of abuses against civilians. The government dismissed the allegations, saying that insurgents regularly impersonated soldiers.

Defence Minister Jaime Neto said the additional support from the EU will reinforce the security gains made in the province.

"Our focus is to restore security...We believe this process of specialising our troops is the right step towards achieving this goal," he said.

(Reporting by Manuel Mucari; writing by Emma Rumney; editing by Mark Heinrich)
WASHINGTON (AP)  WHY THE AP CALLED VIRGINIA FOR GLENN YOUNGKIN

Democrats became the dominant political force in Virginia over the past decade, propelled by explosive growth in the Washington, D.C., suburbs in the northern part of the state. The party won the governor's office twice and took control of both chambers of the legislature in what had been a Republican stronghold.

Their grip weakened considerably in Tuesday's gubernatorial election.

The Associated Press declared Republican Glenn Youngkin the winner over Democrat Terry McAuliffe at 12:37 a.m. Wednesday. The AP called the race because Youngkin led McAuliffe by about 85,000 votes, and the former governor wasnt winning in the counties with votes still left to count by enough of a margin to close that gap.

It's an outcome that was hard to imagine a year ago when President Joe Biden easily carried the state by 10 percentage points, a showing that built on Hillary Clinton's more than 5 percentage point win in 2016.

But Youngkin benefited from boosted turnout in rural, Republican-leaning areas in central and western parts of Virginia, where he took a larger share of the vote than Ed Gillespie, the losing Republican candidate for governor in 2017.

At the same time, McAuliffe's share of the vote in reliably Democratic northern Virginia was down significantly compared with recent elections, with McAuliffe carrying 68% of the vote there early Wednesday. Current Gov. Ralph Northam carried those same suburbs with 71% in 2017.

That dynamic was on particularly stark display in Loudoun County, which Biden won by 25 percentage points last year. Early Wednesday, McAuliffe was winning it by 10.5 percentage points.

Virginia was once solidly Republican, with President George W. Bush winning there as recently as 2004. But growth in the counties outside Washington has led to an influx of increasingly diverse and Democratic-leaning voters who helped shift the balance of power.

Tuesdays results show the limitations of the regions political influence.
(Reuters) - Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc said on Thursday it would invest in New Zealand to promote up and coming news publishers and boost their digital capabilities, a month after the social media giant landed in hot water with Australian media outlets over content licensing.

The company, which did not disclose its investment amount, said its program would include training local publishers from diverse backgrounds to drive their digital audience and revenue growth, both on and off Facebook.

Meta also said it would partner with the International Center for Journalists to set up an advisory panel comprising five Kiwi media personnel who will help develop talent selected under the program.

The move comes just days after an Australian academic publisher urged the government to enforce a new law to compel Facebook to negotiate a content deal, as it did with other large media companies such as News Corp and the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Last week, Facebook changed the name of its holding company to Meta, undergoing a rebranding at a time when lawmakers and regulators have criticised its market power, algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on its services.

(Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
The FBI arrested Heather Mack at a Chicago airport Wednesday, as shes been newly indicted on conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice charges for helping to stuff the body of her socialite mother into a suitcase at a ritzy Bali resort in an alleged plot to access her trust fund.

Mack and her ex-boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were indicted in the Northern District of Illinois Wednesday with one count of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and one count of obstruction

Schaefer remains imprisoned in Indonesia, and Mack was taken into custody at Chicagos OHare International Airport Wednesday morning, Joseph D. Fitzpatrick, assistant district attorney for the northern district of Illinois, confirmed to Fox News Digital.

BALI SUITCASE KILLER TO RETURN TO CHICAGO FROM INDONESIA WITH DAUGHTER

Mack is expected to make her first court appearance in Illinois later Wednesday. If convicted, she faces a maximum statutory penalty of life imprisonment for counts one and two, and 20 years imprisonment for count three as well as a fine up to $250,000, prosecutors say.

Fitzpatrick did not have information immediately available on Mack and Schaefers 6-year-old daughter, Stella, who was expected to be traveling with her mother back to the United States.

One of Macks U.S.-based attorneys, Brian Claypool, previously told Fox News Digital he was fighting for Oshar Putu Melody Suartama, an Australian woman married to a Balinese man who has acted as Stellas foster mother for the past five years, to take over custody should Mack be arrested. Kia Walker, who is Schaefer's mother, and therefore Stella's paternal grandmother, had also joined the custody battle for the girl upon her return to the U.S.

Walker did not have any comment when reached by phone by Fox News Digital earlier Wednesday.

Speaking to exclusively to Fox News Digital, von Weise-Macks close friend, Elliott Jacobson, said he never believed Heather Mack wanted to become a mother herself but posed for photo ops with hopes of using Stella as a "meal ticket" to gain access to her late mothers estate.

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Mack arranged travel for Schaefer from Chicago, Illinois to Bali, Indonesia in August 2014. Schaefer allegedly exchanged text messages with his cousin, Robert Bibbs, regarding different ways to kill von Weise, according to a copy of the indictment provided to Fox News Digital. Mack and Schaefer also "exchanged messages in which they discussed how and when to kill von Weise," the indictment says.

After arriving in Indonesia, Schaefer entered a hotel room at the St. Regis Bali Resort while Mack and von Weise were inside the room. Schaefer and Mack proceeded to kill von Weise, placing her body inside a suitcase and loading it into the truck of a taxi cab, the indictment says. Schaefer and Mack also removed linens from the hotel room and clothing worn during the killing, the indictment says.

Bibbs pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Illinois in December 2016 to one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national. Court documents reveal that Mack also allegedly asked Bibbs if he knew anyone who would kill her mother in exchange for money.

Mack and Schaefer were prosecuted and convicted in Indonesia in 2015 for von Weises murder. Mack was sentenced to 10 years and Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. Serving just seven years due to her good behavior, Mack was released on Oct. 29, and deported to the U.S.
By Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement and security agencies believe domestic extremists, notably white supremacists, pose a violent threat in the United States similar to that of Islamic State militants, top U.S. security officials told Congress on Wednesday.

Concern about racially motivated domestic extremists had prompted the FBI to elevate the threat to a level equal with that posed by the Islamist militants, said Timothy Langan, the assistant director who heads the counterintelligence division.

Langan told a House Intelligence subcommittee the Federal Bureau of Investigation had detected a significant increase in the threat of violence from domestic extremists over the last 18 months.

He said the bureau was conducting around 2,700 investigations related to domestic violent extremism, and there had been 18 lethal attacks targeting U.S. religious institutions in which 70 people had died in recent years.

The FBI has engaged with tech companies regarding their role in fueling extremism, has successfully disrupted planned acts of violence and will continue to "try to close the gap" on its inability to legally decode encryptions on mobile phones.

John Cohen, acting undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis in the Department of Homeland Security, told the subcommittee that racial superiority and "hatred of immigrants" were major threat concerns.

He said his department believes the biggest domestic threat is posed by lone offenders and small groups indoctrinated in extremist ideology. The threat is fueled by a blend of extremist beliefs and personal grievances, he said.

Cohen noted that domestic extremists conduct so much discussion openly on social media that covert collection of intelligence on the threats they pose may often not be necessary to spot the threats.

Some Republican members of the House subcommittee suggested U.S. spy agencies should not be collecting information on U.S. political activity unless there is a connection to foreign actors.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Howard Goller)
Ford Motor Co. became the first of the Detroit Three automakers to comply with a federal order on COVID-19 vaccines, announcing that it will require salaried workers get the shots by early December.

The company notified employees Tuesday that most of the 32,000 white-collar employees in the U.S. will be affected.

Monique Brentley, company spokesperson, provided this statement Wednesday:

"The health and safety of our workforce remains our top priority and we have been very encouraged by the support of our employees to comply with our protocols, including the more than 84% of U.S. salaried employees who are already vaccinated. As we continue to put measures in place to protect our team, Ford will now require most U.S. salaried employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8, which also aligns to federal contractor guidelines."

The company uses the term "most" employees because it is still evaluating the policy for employees at manufacturing sites, parts depots and Ford Credit, including analyzing federal and collective bargaining requirements.

Ford Chief Technology Officer Ken Washington shared a vaccination image to inspire colleagues on the global network.

In a letter obtained by the Free Press on Wednesday, Kiersten Robinson, Ford chief people and employees experiences officer, wrote,"The science and data tell us the vaccines offer critical protection against COVID-19 and its variants and our goal continues to be for all team members who can, to be vaccinated.... We must do everything we can to protect each other."

President Joe Biden's administration in September issued the requirement for federal workers and federal contractors to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8. A similar mandate for private employers of more than 100 people is expected soon from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, though challenges are expected.

Vaccine plus 14 days

An employee is fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving both doses of a two-dose vaccine or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson.

"This approach builds on our already established vaccine requirements put in place earlier this year requiring employees traveling internationally or those on international assignment, as well as corporate officers, to be fully vaccinated," Robinson wrote.

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Kiersten Robinson, chief human resources officer, presents to a Ford global town hall from her home in Franklin via Webex on May 28, 2020.

"This policy will ensure employees covered under the recently announced federal contractor guidelines meet the Executive Order requirements to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 since Ford is a federal contractor," she said.

Religious and health exemptions are included. The letter says Ford will take a "thoughtful and considerate" approach when assessing the small percentage of salaried employees who are not vaccinated. They will get more information this week.

Ford said it expects to make announcements in coming weeks related to manufacturing plants, parts depots and Ford Credit, along with UAW-represented employees.

More: Private moments with Ford CEO Jim Farley reveal how he works

More: Ford promotes 308 workers to full time ahead of schedule in Flat Rock, Ohio

More: Ford Motor Co. reports $1.8B net income in Q3, will restore dividend in Q4

UAW members are strongly encouraged by the company and the union to get vaccinated but they're not mandated.

Stellantis, GM policy in US

Stellantis told the Free Press no changes have been made to company policy in the U.S.

Stellantis said in a statement provided by spokesperson Jodi Tinson:

"Since vaccines have become available, Stellantis has continued to strongly advocate for our employees to get vaccinated. As part of our protocol, all U.S. employees have been asked to self-certify their vaccination status since spring. We are continuing to monitor the situation and, in partnership with the UAW, evaluating additional actions to take in the best interest of employee health and safety."

GM told the Free Press no changes have been made to company policy in the U.S.

In a statement provided by Maria Raynal, the company said:

We support vaccination, Raynal said in an emailed statement. Our overriding priority is keeping our employees and their families safe. We continue to strongly encourage our employees to get vaccinated given the broad availability of safe and highly efficacious vaccines, which data consistently show is the best way to protect yourself and those around you. We will continue to review our options and will share with our employees first any changes to our current protocols.

Stricter in Canada

Meanwhile, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis announced in mid-October they would require vaccination for hourly and salaried workers in Canada.

GM set a Dec. 12 deadline and Stellantis Dec. 17, while Ford did not initially release a deadline.

In October, Ford of Canada employees were required to confirm their vaccination status and provide the record if fully vaccinated. Effective Jan. 3, all Ford employees must be fully vaccinated before entering any Ford facility in Canada, unless the employee has a Ford-approved accommodation, such as a medical requirement.

Unvaccinated Ford employees who do not have a Ford of Canada exemption will be provided with "educational resources including information about how COVID-19 vaccines work, vaccine safety related to the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, benefits of vaccination against COVID-19, risks of not being vaccinated against COVID-19, and possible side effects of COVID-19 vaccination," said Lauren More, vice president of communications, Ford of Canada.

Charrise Staten, UAW benefits representative at Stellantis' Belvidere Assembly in Illinois, is one of the nation's first autoworkers to get the COVID-19 vaccine during a three-day program starting Feb. 2, 2021.

Factory workers in Canada are represented by Unifor. Its national president, Jerry Dias, said 85% to 90% of the union membership had been vaccinated. He told the Free Press previously that workers have "disdain" for having to work alongside someone who is not vaccinated.

More: I drove a Ford Mustang Mach-E for 10 days  and it was incredible

More: Ford makes classic pickup electric in surprise one-of-a-kind F-Series truck reveal

Staff writers Eric D. Lawrence and Jamie L. LaReau contributed to this report. Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford to require COVID-19 vaccine for salaried workers by Dec. 8
A former state employee who bought and resold generic drugs for erectile dysfunction  sometimes using his work email to do so  was sentenced Monday in federal court.

Howard Stanley Head Jr., 59, of Franklin County, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, fined $1,000 and ordered to forfeit $30,275 in earnings from the illegal activity, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Lexington announced Tuesday.

Head pleaded guilty in June to a charge of conspiracy to import misbranded prescription drugs, court records show. The plea agreement said that Head ordered generic versions of Viagra and Cialis from countries like India and Singapore. The packages arrived in the mail with inaccurate or misleading descriptions of their contents, such as Supplement, according to the plea agreement.

The U.S. Attorneys Office said Head ordered thousands of generic tablets for erectile dysfunction online between July 2015 and October 2019. He resold them for a profit in Frankfort and elsewhere in Kentucky, sometimes using his state employee email address to place the orders and contact customers, the government said in a news release.

The sales covered in Heads plea agreement were between mid-2015 and October 2019, but he had a business card that said hed been in business since 2009, according to a sentencing memorandum.

Head worked at the Kentucky Finance & Administration Cabinet. Using the online persona Dr. Head and the business name Dr. Heads Meds, he marketed the drugs using code language such as blue magic or energy vitamins, the indictment stated.

Head abused his state-government email account to conduct his illegal side business, and likely did it on state work time, Assistant U.S. Attorney William P. Moynahan said in a sentencing memorandum.

Head lost his state job in 2020 because of the case, according to a court document.

The U.S. Attorneys Office said the drugs were not authorized for entry into the United States and didnt meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling requirements, nor is Head a doctor or pharmacist, so he had no legal authority to prescribe, dispense, transport or otherwise handle prescription medications.

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Even after U.S. Customs officers intercepted some of his shipments and he received warnings, Head allegedly made additional orders for generic erectile-dysfunction drugs using different addresses.

Kentucky State Police and the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations investigated the case.

Herald-Leader staff writer Bill Estep contributed to this report.
A French aid worker who was kidnapped and held hostage in Mali for four years has returned to the West African country on her own initiative, the French government said Wednesday, calling her decision "irresponsible".

Sophie Petronin, 76, was taken by gunmen in December 2016 in the northern Malian city of Gao and held by what are believed to be Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants.

She was freed in October last year, along with leading Mali opposition figure Soumaila Cisse, reportedly in exchange for the release of more than 200 convicted or alleged jihadists by the Mali authorities.

The ordeal and eventual release of Petronin, who was the last remaining French hostage in the world, became national news, with President Emmanuel Macron himself welcoming her home as she touched down in France.

But media reports over recent days said she had willingly returned to Mali, which the French government confirmed, condemning the decision.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal called Petronin's decision "a form of irresponsibility".

Attal told reporters that the former aid worker was compromising her own security as well as that of France's military personnel.

"When our citizens are taken hostage abroad, our soldiers go to save them, risking their lives," Attal said.

"Some of our soldiers have died in operations to save hostages who were taken in foreign countries," he said, calling for "respect for our soldiers".

Attal declined to confirm media reports that said Petronin has been living back in Mali for about seven months, having entered the country illegally after her request for a visa was rejected.

French radio said she had decided to go back to Mali after being unable to adapt to life in the Swiss village where she had settled after her release.

The authorities in Mali last week issued a search warrant for her, it said.

A Mali police official, who declined to be identified, told AFP that there were fears for her safety because of the presence of armed groups in the area where she was believed to be.

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The authorities, meanwhile, declined to say whether Petronin, who has an adopted daughter in Mali, would be expelled once found.

Mali has been struggling to contain a jihadist insurgency that first emerged in 2012, and which has claimed thousands of lives.

burs/jh/dl
When the American conceptual artist Joseph Kosuth created the 1965 art installation One and Three Chairs, he spread a chairs function across several mediums. The installation includes a wood folding chair, a mounted photograph of a chair, and a mounted photographic enlargement of the dictionary definition of chair that begs the question: How do the photograph and the definition of the chair function differently than a real chair?

These days, furniture can cross into many different formats outside of a physical product. Depictions of high-end designer chairs have been appearing on items like shower curtains, hoodies, pants, shirts, and more shirts. A recent example is the Kartell and Zara collaboration, a collegial line of apparel and furniture including a shirt featuring a silhouette of the famous Louis Ghost chair. Fashion and furniture have often been in the same vein of highbrow streetwear expression. Last month, the popular Reebok and Eames footwear partnership established a sense of common ground for many aspiring fashion and furniture collectors alike.

Kartell_Zara.jpg

For this generation, the sneaker is such a popular vessel that it is probably easier to get the average 18-year-old to care about a limited-edition sneaker than a lounge chair designed in the 1950s, says Tyler Watamanuk, the writer behind the newsletter Sitting Pretty. But if the takeaway is to get more people to know about the Eames legacy and to care about thoughtful design, then I think a sneaker collaboration is an excellent way to move that message.

Tyler insists that the best fashion collaborations are the ones that catch you off guard, the ones that feel like two wholly different worlds colliding. As he further explains, Seeing the logos of two luxury brands on one garment is boring as hell. I think a collaboration needs to be clever, easy to understand, and it needs a little bit of an idiosyncratic edge. Tyler thinks that the appeal of cross-medium collaborations is a double wink to ones interest in addition to the rarity of these collaborations happening. For example, a brand like Supreme may collaborate with apparel-centric labels like the North Face and Vans, but their one-offs with Knoll and Artek will most likely be rare occurrences.

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Supreme_Artek_Stool.jpg

The Reebok and Eames collection is one of the most recent in a long line of furniture and fashion collaborations like the Bauhaus-Archiv and Highsnobiety collaboration, the Dries Van Noten partnership with the estate of Verner Panton, Off-White and IKEAs pairing, and the Rick Owens furniture line (not so much a collaboration as a spectacle). To fashion fanatics like Jian DeLeon, Nordstroms mens fashion and editorial director, these collaborations add to the canon of each brand or designer. People who like premium products or an artists work are likely looking for new ways to flesh out that universe and, best case scenario, get their taste in interiors and ready-made design validated through these kinds of partnerships, he says.

Jian likes to define culture as a gigantic bowl of spaghetti. You start on one end of a noodle, whether its fashion, sneakers, or furniture, and along the way you might find things youre also into, he explains. Thats what these collaborations speak to, the fact that no one consumer is a monolith, and people can be into many things at once. When two things youre passionate about come together, its a win-win. Jian argues that putting chairs on things that we wear is the latest evolution of wearable art, pointing out that people might not have the space for a Wassily chair or Eames lounger, but wearing it on your chest or the Eames dot pattern on your feet isnt as big of an investment.

Chaise_Lounger_Tattoo.jpg Photo: Saint Claire

Wassily_Tattoo.jpg Photo: Saint Claire

However, some fans of the Wassily chair love it so much, that theyre willing to make a different kind of investment. San Franciscobased tattoo artist, Saint Claire, has fostered connections with others through the collecting and selling of furniture. This experience inspired them to incorporate pieces of furniture into their flash tattoo designs; in February 2021, Saint added the Cesca chair, the Wassily chair, and Le Corbusier Gravity Chaise Lounger to their flash offerings and has since inked a number of iconic designer chairs on clients.

Its cool how a design can connect you with all different kinds of people, Saint says. Everybody has their own story with it and we just share those stories while giving tattoos. Theyll tell me, Oh, my grandma had this in her home, and we just share that special [bond] over a design. Some people say they cant have it in real life, so they have it on their body forever. Or they already have it in their home, so they want to decorate their bodies with it. Youre decorating their body just like theyre decorating their home.

Cesca_chair_tattoo.JPG Photo: Saint Claire

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
Gainesville Regional Utilities wants to build a plant to supply most of the University of Florida's electricity, with the revenue helping to stabilize customers bills in the coming years.

The Gainesville City Commission on Thursday is scheduled to vote on hiring firms to help the city's utility company submit a proposal to UF to build the new Central Utility Plant on Gale Lemerand Drive. They include: a finance partner, law firm and engineering and construction contractor.

The university expects to save more than $16 million a year in energy costs from the new plant, a statement on the universitys website says. UF will be soliciting proposals from other energy provides as well as GRU.

But the natural gas-fired plant UF has endorsed would be a step backward for green energy policy, student protesters and environmentalists have said.

Student protesters hold a rally on Sept. 24 at the corner of University Avenue and 13th Street demanding that UF halt plans for a gas-fired energy plant.

In June, the UF board of trustees approved of the Central Energy Plant Project to the dismay of some green-energy advocates who want the university to consider renewable energy instead, particularly solar.

UF says on its website that the university carefully weighed its options before deciding to go with the gas-fired plant, which will be UF's largest source of energy for the coming decades.

Prior to moving forward with a plan, technology options were compared by UFs team for costs, known energy requirements, local impact, environmental impact and construction and timeline feasibility, UF's statement said. Combined heat and power was selected as it provides the best overall solution while establishing a baseline for future integration of other energy distribution concepts. This results in an efficient, resilient, long-term model for meeting the needs of the university.

The campus currently receives steam from Duke Energy's cogeneration plant, which is responsible for the distribution network that connects a majority of the buildings on campus for steam use.

The facility has been in operation for 25 years and is nearing the end of its service life. It will be decommissioned by the end of 2027.

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Mark Helms: University of Florida taking balanced approach to powering campus

On Sept. 24, about 50 student protesters held a rally at the corner of University Avenue and 13th Street demanding that UF halt the plans for the new natural gas-fired energy plant.

Makenzie Griffin, a UF student who is the president of Climate Action Gator, said Wednesday that there should be no excuse for UF not using renewable energy, like solar, to generate its campus power.

Griffin said it might cost more to generate power by solar, but UF should do it anyway.

We think that UF has plenty of land and plenty of building space on top of the roofs to put the solar panels, she said.

Griffin said when natural gas is burned it releases greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change. Most likely this (methane) is going to be from a fracked source, she said.

She said the University of California is using solar as a major source of power generation on its campus, and UF can and should follow suit.

According to a recent press release from the University of California, nearly half of the university's electricity came from green power sources in 2020, defined by the EPA as the renewable energy sources that provide the highest environmental benefit, including solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact small hydroelectric sources.

Isabel Muir, campus organizer with Florida Public Interest Research Group, said she hopes the University of Florida reconsiders its plans to move ahead with a natural-gas fired energy plant.

I think its ridiculous, she said.

She said UF  which was recently ranked No. 5 in a recent U.S. News & World Report of the nation's top universities and located in a state where climate change is a daunting problem  has a unique opportunity to take real action and set an example for other schools in the state and throughout the country.

And instead, they are going to build a gas plant, pretty much eliminating any opportunity for them to transition their energy usage to anything remotely near renewable energy, she said.

Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe said Wednesday that he agrees that UF is going to have to significantly rely on solar power to reach its carbon-reduction goals.

But one of the big challenges that UF has is that they need steam to heat and cool all of the buildings on our campus, he said. And that is a byproduct from a more traditional approach. That is sort of their immediate challenge.

Editorial: GRU has opportunity for UF power plant deal, but new obstacles have emerged

He said UF made the decision to move forward with the gas-fired plant approach and GRU is simply replying to an invitation for different companies to submit proposals.

We are definitely benefiting from participating in that process, he said. It certainly makes sense to keep those dollars local that will be reinvested in our community. Thats going to pay local workers. Were going to have a much better direct working relationship.

Poe said UF is also more likely to achieve carbon-reduction goals and increase renewable energy by having GRU as a partner rather than teaming up with a national or international company.

Weve shown, and continue to be committed, to renewable energy, and so I think we are the perfect partner for UF looking into the future on how to achieve our mutual goals of a carbon-neutral Gainesville, Poe said.

Debra Trione: UF's planned power plant incompatible with climate commitment

To submit a competitive proposal, the city is planning to hire several experts. The city commission on Thursday will decide whether to hire JP Morgan as its finance partner. The firm would be entitled to $2.25 million if GRU is the winning proposer, but nothing if GRU isnt selected.

The commission is also scheduled to voted on whether to hire Holland & Knight as outside counsel to assist in the negotiations and bond issuance. "If GRU is chosen as a short-listed proposer, legal fees are estimated between $300,000 and $600,000," the staff report says.

The commission is also scheduled to vote on whether to enter into a contract with the power plant contractor and engineering firm, Frank Lill & Son.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville Regional Utilities eyes UF power contract
GLASGOW, Scotland  Israel's energy minister, Karine Elharrar, said she was unable to attend the U.N. Climate Change Conference on Monday because security would not allow her wheelchair-accessible vehicle to enter. But shes just one of many participants who are frustrated by the inadequacy of facilities at the conference.

Late Tuesday afternoon, mounting frustration among nongovernmental organizations led the U.S. Climate Action Network (USCAN) to send a letter to Trigg Talley, director of the Office of Global Change at the State Department, lamenting the lack of transparency and access in a variety of ways. (USCAN is a coalition of virtually all the major environmental advocacy groups, such as the Environmental Defense Fund and Friends of the Earth, that coordinates activism on global climate change negotiations.)

We are alarmed by the lack of access at this COP, and implore US Officials in their party capacity of the UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] to advocate for more access to observers to the various negotiation sessions and meetings, the letter states.

Online, activists have complained that official meetings are not open to nongovernmental organizations to observe and there are no live video feeds in the rooms they are able to access.

By now, you've probably heard about the lines, access and representation issues at #COP26. But it's been a really awkward, strange day, so I want to lay everything out here, because if you've wondered if #COP26 is okay, I'm gonna show you that no, #COP26 is really not okay/1  Alexandria Villasenor is at COP26! (@AlexandriaV2005) November 3, 2021

More than 30,000 people have descended on Glasgow for the two-week-long round of climate negotiations, also known as COP26. Thats more than twice the number of hotel rooms in the midsize Scottish city, which is not a major tourism destination, and more than the number of people the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) can accommodate at any given time.

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But the difficulty in finding accommodations outside the SEC pales in comparison to the challenge of finding a chair inside it. Delegates, activists and journalists circle fruitlessly around tables and desks, searching in vain for a place to pull out their laptops, and often resort to working while standing or sitting on the floor.

Attendees at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, struggle to find chairs at workstations. (Ben Adler/Yahoo News)

The lines to get in on the first day of the conference were so long that it resulted, according to a BBC reporter, in "members of delegations from Maldives, Nepal and Russia all missing meetings. Lines on day two were almost as long.

While the security lines at the entrance have since become better organized, the infrastructure inside seems simply too limited to handle demand. Lines at the food hall  with the exception of the station serving traditional Scottish fare such as haggis  are typically long and slow-moving. Items are frequently sold out in the interior shops, water coolers have no cups, and no water bottles are provided or even sold.

No official tally of registered attendees has been made public, and USCAN claims the number is upwards of 55,000. These are people that came here with the expectation that they would be able to participate, and they are not able to, the network said in its letter. But USCAN also complains that many of its member organizations have not been allotted enough credentials. Giving out more credentials could exacerbate the capacity issues, but USCAN suggests a few approaches that could be helpful, including increasing the number of security checkpoints and allowing virtual attendees to participate, not just watch.

Adding insult to injury, Elharrars office said she was offered a shuttle to the conference, but the bus was not wheelchair-accessible. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized to her, and she attended on Tuesday by going in Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts official motorcade, but it is not clear how the needs of other attendees with a similar situation would be handled.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson greets Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar at the conference on Tuesday. (Alberto Pezzali /Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

In response to widespread complaints about various logistical issues, the UNFCCC, the organizing body of COP26, issued a statement essentially blaming the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic means that UNFCCC and the UK host government had to put many safety measures in place to protect the health of all participants, the statement said. This has meant reducing access to many spaces within the venue to ensure social distancing can be maintained as well as having to reduce the security and registration lanes in line with Covid-19-related protocols.

The statement, however, did not address the specific issue of access for people with disabilities. The UNFCCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Yahoo News.

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Global temperatures are on the rise and have been for decades. Step inside the data and see the magnitude of climate change.
Associated Press

Khari Hasan Kalo peered out of the window of the repatriation flight as it touched down in northern Iraq. It's a place he and his family had hoped never to see again after they left for Belarus two months ago, driven by dreams of a new life in Europe. Kalo, 35, had begged for loans and spent his savings on the ill-fated journey to the Belarusian capital of Minsk, the first stop on a journey to the West.
CHEBOYGAN  The Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity is hosting a networking event  Habi-Hour  from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4 in hopes of attracting potential new board members and committee members.

This networking event at The Lark Theater in Cheboygan is an opportunity for potential volunteers to chat with the current staff and board members about the work Habitat is doing in the community and how they can get involved.

Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity is currently seeking board members, committee members and volunteers.

"It takes everyone coming together to help make an impact in the housing issues our community is faced with. You are invited to attend Habi-Hour to learn how you can get involved," said Mandy Martin, Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity's executive director.

The Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity will be hosting a networking event at The Lark Theater on Thursday in hopes of attracting people who are interested in serving on its board of directors and committees.

At the Habi-Hour event, there will be live music by Dale Rieger, a cash bar and hors doeuvres. There are limited seats available, so RSVPs are requested.

For more information and RSVPs, please visit www.habitatcheboygan.org or call (231) 597-4663, extension 5.

We are so excited to be able to connect with community members wanting to learn more about the work Habitat is doing in the community and how they can get involved," said Martin. "We truly depend on community support to keep our mission moving forward and we hope to gain a few new board members and volunteers from this event.

If you want to learn more about the work Habitat is doing and get involved but cant make the Habi-Hour event, reach out to Martin to set up some time to meet. Martin can be reached by emailing mandy@habitatcheboygan.org or calling (231) 597-4663, extension 5.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Habitat for Humanity hosting Habi-Hour networking event, seeking new board and committee members
The Hartford woman gunned down inside her apartment last week was a gentle soul who was looking forward to meeting her first grandson when he is born in January, family members recalled during a small vigil Tuesday afternoon outside her Asylum Hill residence.

Now Catherine Elizabeth Hayes, 53, will never get to meet the next generation of her family, her family and local activists said, as the toll gun violence has taken on the capital city this year continues toward historic levels.

She will never touch him, she will never hold him, he will never know her touch, he will never know her love because youve stolen that from us, Hayes cousin Elaine Sachs said Tuesday. Gun violence is an epidemic and its all over the world. We need help, we need help from the police, we need help from our lawmakers. You have to join us because this is not going to stop until we come together.

Although few details have been revealed publicly about Hayes death, her murder already sparked outcry because she is not her alleged shooters only victim.

Hayes was shot and killed the afternoon of Oct. 25 inside her Spring Street apartment and police quickly developed a person of interest in 31-year-old Jose Cajigas  who is affiliated with the notorious local gang Los Solidos  and began to search for him.

Just hours later, an apparently intoxicated Cajigas approached a Hartford police officer sitting inside her marked police cruiser about a mile from Hayes apartment and opened fire, narrowly missing the officer.

Cajigas was captured moments later by other responding officers and was charged with attempted murder and related weapons offenses. He remains in custody in lieu of a more than $2.5 million bond across several criminal cases.

Police Chief Jason Thody has said the shell casings found at the scene of the officers shooting match one found in Hayes apartment and, although Cajigas has not yet been charged formally with Hayes murder, Thody indicated detectives plan to present that case to prosecutors and a judge soon now that he is in custody.

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Originally from the Philadelphia area, Hayes moved to Connecticut about 10 years ago where much of the family still lives, including Sachs. Sachs, her sister and Hayes were inseparable three musketeers growing up and have stayed in touch even though they lived apart, with Sachs and Hayes even sharing text messages back and forth the week before her death.

I need everyone to know that Catherine was a good person, Sachs said. She was a gentle soul, she would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. Why this happened to her, I dont know, I dont understand, but like I said before, gun violence its not going to stop until everybody pitches in. I know Im not the only one who feels that.

Hayes neighbors peered out their windows Tuesday afternoon into the courtyard where Sachs gathered for a short vigil with Rev. Henry Brown and several members of Mothers United Against Violence near a small memorial for Hayes at the apartment buildings door.

Hayes was the 30th murder victim in Hartford so far in 2021 and on Monday 36-year-old Erick Rodriguez became the 31st  almost all of whom were killed by guns. Brown called on anyone in Hartford who knows about an incident of gun violence or knows someone who has a gun and might use it to come to community leaders or the police to share what they know and get help.

Im so sick right now because we have to meet families like this again, Brown said. This is so sickening. I dont understand for the love of me how we can continue to let these things happen in our community  You can save (your childs) life or you can save somebody elses childs life.

Hartford remains on pace to record one of its deadliest years in decades with two full months still left on the calendar  now just short of the recent highs of 32 murders in all of 2015 and 33 total murders in 2009.

Should killings continue, the total number of homicides in 2021 may be rivaled only by the late 80s and early 90s when homicides peaked nationwide and gang wars raged in Hartford and by 2003, when an arson at the Greenwood Health Center killed 16 in a single night.

Zach Murdock can be reached at zmurdock@courant.com.
The British trawler impounded for a week by France in a deepening dispute over fishing rights sailed Wednesday from the French northern port of Le Havre after receiving permission to leave, a day ahead of crunch talks aimed at resolving the standoff .

The Cornelis Gert Jan, which is accused of gathering two tons of scallops in French waters without a proper licence, left the port just after 1700 GMT, the correspondent said.

The lawyer for the ship's captain, Mathieu Croix, said a court in the nearby city of Rouen had allowed it to leave without posting any financial guarantee.

He told AFP that the court had rejected the state's demand that the trawler remain impounded until a 150,000 euro ($175,000) bond was deposited. The vessel's captain Jondy Ward was present in court for the hearing.

"It is a good decision, of a kind that will allow the tensions to drop," said the lawyer. "French justice is independent from political pressure," he added.

Ward then joined his seven crew members to begin the journey back, smiling at journalists on the shore.

He still faces a trial in Le Havre on August 11, 2022 on charges of non-authorised fishing in French waters by a boat from outside the European Union, which carry a maximum fine of 75,000 euros ($87,000).

"Glad to hear the #Cornelis is free to leave Le Havre and that the Brits on board are on their way home tonight," tweeted the UK's ambassador to France Menna Rawlings.

- 'All options on table' -

The vessel's departure comes a day ahead of talks between British Brexit Minister David Frost and French Europe Minister Clement Beaune in Paris on Thursday aimed at finding a solution to the crisis.

Frost is a staunch defender of Brexit while Beaune is a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, not shy of making clear his belief that France should not pay for what he sees as Britain's mistake of leaving the EU.

The two have also sparred on social media. Their meeting is set to be held behind closed doors and no press conference is planned.

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French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said that on Friday there would also be a European Commission meeting on the issue during a visit by Frost but this is yet to be confirmed by Brussels.

The dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights has strained already troubled relations between Paris and London following Britain's exit from the European Union and has threatened to escalate into a full-blown trade war.

While British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday made it clear that London's position had not changed, there are signs both sides favour diplomacy in a bid to avoid the situation worsening.

- 'All options' on the table -

Attal emphasised that "all options were on the table" regarding future sanctions after Macron delayed implementing them to give the talks a chance.

France has threatened to ban British boats from unloading their catches at French ports and to subject all British imports to inspections.

Under a deal agreed by Britain and the EU late last year, European fishing vessels can continue to ply UK waters if they can prove they operated there in the past.

But dozens of French boats have had their applications to operate in the UK's fish-rich waters rejected.

The total volumes affected are tiny in terms of overall France-UK bilateral trade.

But analysts say Macron is keen to take a hard line against Johnson as he eyes re-election in 2022 polls, while the British premier is also keen to talk tough in the wake of Brexit.

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HOLT  About 150 students walked out of Holt High School on Wednesday, with many of them demanding that teachers and staff make changes to better address bullying and fighting inside the school.

Students expressed frustration with school safety and other protocols, and with bullying and fighting they've witnessed or experienced at school.

About 150 Holt High School students walked out of classes Wednesday morning, Nov. 3, 2021, to express their disdain with issues like school safety and other protocols. They called for better communications between staff and students, and parents and staff members.

Holt Public Schools has released several statements over the past few weeks concerning incidents inside the school.

On Oct. 26, a 15-year-old student was arrested after bringing a loaded handgun to school. Holt Public Schools officials have since suspended the boy until further notice.

The following day, Holt High School and Junior High entered lockdowns after announcing investigations of two threats of violence made on social media.

And after school on Monday, administrators received information about a "nondescript threat" on the bathroom wall at the high school's main campus. The threat, which was photographed and shared on social media, prompted another investigation.

On Tuesday evening, a group of seven students penned a letter to the school district and all of the high school community, requesting that staff improve communication and hold accountable students who harm others.

Joy Williams, a sophomore who helped organize the event, said she would like to see information about school safety communicated to parents, students, teachers and students at the same time and in a timely manner.

"I feel like parents and staff should be getting the information at the same time so everyone knows about it," Williams said.

"This is their school, this is how the democratic process works. These students are a big part of the solution," Holt Superintendent David Hornak (middle) says after posing for pictures with students outside Holt High School Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, when they walked out to express their concerns within the school. "I want them to understand their voices are valid, so I came here to hold the door open for them when they left the school." About 150 Holt High School students walked out of classes to express their disdain with issues like school safety and other protocols, calling for better communications between staff and students, and parents and staff members.

The letter also called for greater consequences for bullying and fighting, and a full investigation of each incident.

Bullying and fighting are constant issues at the school, said sophomore RJ Amon.

"(Students) are getting bullied for anything," Amon said. "Being gay, being who they want to be, who they want to date, what they smell like, their masks, their hair, their headphones, their backpacks. Anything they can think of."

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Students said they were advocating for some who are living through the same struggles. They hoped using their voices might make a difference in their classmates' lives.

School and district officials said they have been engaging the students in conversations about how to work together to improve the high school from within.

Holt freshman Camron Fraser protests with about 150 fellow students during a walk out Wednesday morning, Nov. 3, 2021. The students expressed their disdain with issues like school safety and other protocols, calling for better communications between staff and students, and parents and staff members.

Both Holt High School Principal Michael Willard and Holt Superintendent David Hornak were present at the walk out.

Willard said the district is in the process of implementing an equity-oriented plan that centers around its students. Additionally, he said it could be useful to have weekly or monthly meetings with students about these issues, and to involve them in professional development with staff.

"We're at the beginning steps this year, just realizing those changes need to be made, and I think it's just going to continue to help students have a voice," Willard said.

Hornak said it's important that students continue to speak up when they see people perpetuating harm, and that the schools hold those individuals accountable.

"What I saw today was students who were speaking up to say we need more communication. We want to put an end to the inappropriate behaviors and we need to hold students and staff, who might end up acting inappropriately, accountable," Hornak said.

Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Holt High students walk out, seek action on bullying, fighting
IMDB Forced to Remove Review Bomb Comments for Eternals

IMDb was forced to pull negative reviews of Marvel Studios' upcoming title Eternals after the site was filled with comments panning the Chloe Zhao-directed, inclusive superhero film (which hasn't even been released yet).

Many users appear upset the film will feature the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first gay couple, superhero Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and his husband Ben (Haaz Sleiman).

"I feel lucky, and Im grateful. AndI dont want to sound arrogant, but I feel like Marvel, they were very smart to cast me in it because I got to humanize the hell out of it," the out, gay actor Sleiman told Out back in September. "I got to humanize an LGBTQ+ family and show how beautiful they are."

That humanization appeared too much for some IMDb users who decided to review bomb the film, the practice of flooding review sites with bogus, often baseless, negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes does not permit user reviews prior to a films opening date to prevent the practice. IMDb does still permit the early user reviews, but was forced to remove negative comments for Eternals to stop the ongoing review bombing of the film.

If woke and mediocre would be given a medal this would win. C'mon marvel, this was cheap even for you, such a crappy movie like this could be done only with Angelina Jolie and her style of making amendments to movies, one user review was quoted by The Direct. Not watchable at all.

Sucky, said another user quoted by The Direct. Totally unrecognizable from the comics. All it does is tick all the Hollywood woke boxes, which seems to be the goal. Not storytelling. But that's hardly surprising these days. Don't waste your money. It's not worth it.

According to IMDbs breakdown of its user reviews, the overwhelming majority of reviews came from males by a significant margin, with most reviewers aged 18 to 44 years old. While the negative comments have been pulled, Eternals was still only given an overall, weighted average rating of 5.9 out of 10 stars by users, becoming the lowest-rated film in the entire MCU.

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Last month while talking with Varietys The Take, Spencer actress Kristen Stewart had the perfect response for the haters of the gay representation and affirmation featured in Eternals.

"I dont know much about the storyline in this one, but Im glad theres gay people in it," Stewart responded. "I would say youve had your time. If youre happier and more comfortable looking in the rearview mirror, that is where well leave you, brah. But yeah, sure, go watch every other movie that hasnt really touched on what we are, and we will just continue growing without you."

Eternals premieres in theaters on Friday, November 5.

RELATED | So Is Eternals Gonna Have Any Gay Sex in It?
EXCLUSIVE: Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are demanding answers from the FBI on how they are complying with Attorney General Merrick Garland's directive targeting harassment and threats of violence at school board meetings, while slamming the Justice Department for efforts to "target concerned parents" and "chill their protected First Amendment activity."

All Republican lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, led by ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, penned a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, notifying him of their continued investigation into what they call the "troubling attempts" by the DOJ and the White House to "use the heavy hand of federal law enforcement" to target parents.

DOJ MISSES DEADLINE TO PROVIDE SENATE INFO ON BASIS FOR SCHOOL BOARD MEMO

"The Attorney General directed you and all U.S. Attorneys Offices to take action to address parents attending school board meetings," they wrote. "This unusual directive is particularly worrisome as it applies to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and given the FBIs illegal spying on the Trump campaign and its scandalous history of misconduct and politicization."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks at a news conference July 21, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Republicans were referring to the FBIs work in securing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page in its effort to probe whether the campaign was colluding with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Garland has not directed the FBI to obtain FISA warrants against parents.

Last month, the attorney general sent a memo to the FBI, office for U.S. attorneys, and the DOJs Criminal Division to notify officials that the agency would "use its authority and resources" to identify threats at school board meetings against faculty, and "prosecute them when appropriate."

Garlands memo said the FBI would partner with local law enforcement, and each U.S. attorney, to convene meetings with federal, state, local, tribal and territorial leaders in each federal district within 30 days. Garland said the meetings would "facilitate the discussion of strategies for addressing threats against school administrators, board members, teachers and staff, and will open dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting, assessment and response."

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The memo also announced that the FBIs involvement would help to "determine how federal enforcement can be used to prosecute these crimes."

The memo was sent after the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to Garland citing instances, including nonviolent behavior that did not include threats, but that was deemed disruptive. The NSBA had called for the use of measures, including the Patriot Act, which is typically used to address terrorism. Their second letter said they "regret and apologize for the letter," stating that "there was no justification for some of the language" they had used.

MCCARTHY DEMANDS AG GARLAND RETRACT MEMO URGING FBI TO INVESTIGATE PARENTS WHO THREATEN SCHOOL BOARDS

"Concerned parents voicing their strong opposition to controversial curricula at local schools are not domestic terrorists," the Republicans wrote to Wray Wednesday. "Parents have an undisputed right to direct the upbringing and education of their children."

They added, though, that when parents "cross the line to commit a violent act or issue a criminal threat, state and local authorities are best-equipped to handle these violations of state law."

"But we must not tolerate the use of the federal law enforcement apparatus to intimidate and silence parents using their constitutional rights to advocate for their childs future," they wrote.

The Republicans demanded answers on whether the meetings with Justice Department and FBI officials with local and state leaders are "ongoing," requesting all documents and communications relating to the meetings and an explanation on whether Wray has issued guidance to FBI local field offices. They also asked for all recommendations, formal and informal, presented in the meetings.

BIDEN'S 'POLITICIZATION' OF DOJ CONTINUES WITH NEW EFFORT TO COMBAT THREATS AGAINST SCHOOL BOARDS, CRITICS SAY

The Republicans also asked the FBI to explain whether it considers Garlands directive "lawful," and whether Wray intends to direct FBI agents and employees to "enforce" the directive.

The letter was signed by Jordan, and GOP Reps. Steve Chabot, Louie Gohmert, Darrell Issa, Ken Buck, Matt Gaetz, Mike Johnson, Andy Biggs, Tom McClintock, W. Gregory Steube, Tom Tiffany, Thomas Massie, Chip Roy, Dan Bishop, Michelle Fischbach, Victoria Spartz, Scott Fitzgerald, Cliff Bentz and Burgess Owens.

Republicans demanded a response from Wray and the materials to be transmitted to them by the end of the day on Nov. 17.

Garland has maintained that his memo is about threats of violence, and does not target parents for speaking out against mask mandates and curriculum, like critical race theory, in schools.

BIDEN ADMIN GIVES POST TO NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION CHIEF WHO SIGNED DOMESTIC TERRORISM LETTER

Garland claimed during Senate testimony that the DOJ is not just concerned about school board officials, but a "rising tide" of violence against judges, prosecutors, election administrators and others.

"The only thing the Justice Department is concerned about: violence and threats of violence," he said last month, continuing to defend his memo, and claiming that it was a response "to concerns about violence, threats of violence, other criminal conduct."

"Thats all its about," he continued, "and all it asks is for federal law enforcement to consult with, meet with local law enforcement to assess the circumstances, strategize about what may or may not be necessary to provide federal assistance if its necessary."
The driveways of the homes have been deemed too steep by health and safety officials, (Wales News Service)

Homeowners in a village in Wales claim their properties could be demolished after health and safety chiefs ruled the steepness of their driveways pose a safety hazard.

Families in the seven houses were horrified when roads chiefs decided 30ft drives outside their homes in the mountainside village of Blaina, near Abertillery, Gwent, are too steep to safely park cars.

They warned the cars could career down onto the road into the lake opposite after the homes were built higher than planning permission given to developers.

Now neighbours in the four-year-old row of six semis and one detached home are claiming their homes could be razed  but are hoping to reach a "sensible solution with the council.

Road safety issues were reportedly the major issue stopping planning permission for the houses. (Wales News Service)

Families in the seven houses were horrified when roads chiefs decided 30ft drives outside their homes are too steep to safely park cars. (Wales News Service)

Homeowner Andrew Pugh said: As you can imagine the cost to ourselves if this gets turned down is going to be catastrophic, as weve all paid about 200,000 each for these houses.

We werent to know about these issues. We are in a state of shock at how this was allowed to happen.

As far as we were aware everything was above board and legally transparent.

The application for the building of the homes was originally refused by Blaenau Gwent Council in 2014 but this was later overturned by Welsh government planning inspectors and the homes were built in 2018.

But council officials said the homes did not match the planning permission  including problems with the steep driveways surrounded by high walls blocking the view of the road.

Developer D3 Property Developments lodged an amended planning application to be allowed to retain the homes.

Peter Barnes, agent for D3 Property Developments, told councillors that the developer had agreed to lower the driveway walls to improve the road visibility.

But planning officers recommended refusal of planning permission because the steep driveways meant there was a risk that cars would roll into the road  and that visibility from the driveways is also hampered.

Blaenau Gwent council development team manager Eirlys Hallett said road safety issues were the major issue stopping planning permission for the houses.

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Hallett said: Those issues are gradient of driveways and visibility.

Her report explained that the steep driveways meant there was a risk that cars would roll back into the road.

Planning officers recommended refusal of planning permission for the houses because the steep driveways meant there was a risk that cars would roll into the road and the water. (Wales News Service)

Planning officer Jane Engel said: "Consultation has been carried out with the owners/occupiers of all seven properties."

She added that highways officers believe the issues had not been solved and the development "remains a potential hazard to the public highway.

The planning chiefs are due to consider the row today in the hope of coming to a decision on whether the homes can be made safe or demolished.

Yahoo News UK has contacted Blaenau Gwent Council for comment on whether demolition is a possibility for the homes.

Watch: How does the 95% mortgage scheme work?
As world leaders pledge to end deforestation at the U.N climate conference indigenous groups warn that the pledge will only turn into action if funds are delivered directly.

More than 100 national leaders on Monday pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade.

$19 billion in public and private funds backed the announcement but how this is to be spent is being closely examined.

Leader of the Indigenous Women of the Brazilian Amazon Union, Telma Taurepang, was skeptical of turning the plan into action:

"How will they [the government] ensure a resource that does not reach Indigenous lands. It does not reach Indigenous organisations to curb deforestation. Because the resource when it arrives, it does not reach Indigenous peoples. They come to secure more and more soy plantations, and they give the money to those who plant soy, to those who deforest and not to Indigenous peoples."

She points to the increase in mining and agribusiness in the Amazon rainforest that has caused deforestation.

Under the agreement, 12 countries pledged to provide $12 billion of public funding between 2021 and 2025 for developing countries to restore degraded land and tackle wildfires.

Some of the promised funds from investors came with the pledge to stop investing in palm oil, soybean farming, pulp production and other activists linked to deforesting.

WWF deputy Damien Fleming echoed the need for the funds to be handled sensitively:

"So we need to see these words translated into binding policies and commitments. And also, you know, a full and effective engagement with those on the deep forest, on the front lines of deforestation, such as indigenous peoples and local communities."

The announcement on Monday is being called one of the most concrete declarations on deforestation to keep alive a target of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Israel launched an aerial attack with a number of missiles targeting an area on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus, Syrian state TV said early on Wednesday citing a military source.

It added the attack resulted in some material damage.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.

(Reporting by Moaz Abdel Aziz, writing by Lilian Wagdy; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israeli lawmakers have begun a marathon voting session on Wednesday to try and pass the first national budget in three years, a major test for the fractious new coalition government.

Failure to pass the budget by November 14 would bring down the government and trigger a fifth election, giving former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to return to power. Passing the budget on the other hand, could extend the coalition government's rule.

The coalition includes eight parties from across the political spectrum and has a razor-thin margin of 61 seats in the 120-member assembly. If Netanyahu and his allies can peel away just one defector, the budget could fail to pass, but most expect it will, if only because the coalition is firmly united against him.

The Knesset, Israel's parliament, began voting on hundreds of amendments in a marathon session that opened with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his former mentor, Netanyahu, trading barb-filled speeches.

Bennett said at the start of the session after three and a half years of chaos, failed management and paralysis, he and his allies formed a government and are passing a budget.

Its an important hour for the stability of the country and its economic life, he said.

The voting is expected be completed Thursday or Friday. The government has given itself a 10-day window ahead of the deadline in case there are any surprises.

Israel entered a prolonged political crisis after elections in April 2019, when a right-wing party that had been allied with Netanyahu refused to sit in a government with him. The next two years brought three more hard-fought elections with no clear victor, as well as Netanyahu's indictment on serious corruption charges, which he denies.

The government formed in June includes parties from across the political spectrum united by little more than a desire to avoid another Netanyahu-led government or more elections. But the fragile coalition is expected to significantly extend its rule if it passes the budget.
MILAN (Reuters) -Italy's medicines agency AIFA on Wednesday recommended a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine to those innoculated with the Johnson & Johnson shot.

All those who have had a single shot of the J&J vaccine, regardless of age - about 1.6 million people in Italy - will be eligible to receive the booster from six months after the first dose, the agency said in statement.

It said it considered the booster necessary because the J&J vaccine had showed a slow decline in efficacy against mild and moderate forms of the disease as the months went by.

Italy started to inoculate vulnerable groups and the over 60s with a third vaccine dose in September.

More than 44.8 million Italians, or 83% of the population over the age of 12, are fully vaccinated against COVID.

Italy has registered 132,161 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.78 million cases to date.

The weekly incidence of cases, after months of decline, has been rising rapidly since last week, the National Health Institute said in a report on Friday.

In Europe, Spain and Germany have already authorised boosters for those who have had the J&J vaccine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Oct 20 authorized booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and said Americans can choose a different shot from their original inoculation as a booster.

(Reporting by Emilio Parodi, editing by Alexandra Hudson)
WASHINGTON  Senate Democrats failed to advance the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on Wednesday after Republicans blocked the vote from advancing to debate.

The legislation would replace part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2013 and would aim to restore Justice Department review of changes in election law in states with a history of discrimination.

The bill did not receive the 60 votes needed to overcome a legislative hurdle called a filibuster, preventing the start of debate on the legislation.

In a vote of 50 to 49, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican who supported proceeding to debate. Speaking from the Senate floor prior to the vote, she said while she had "reservations" on the legislation, she believed it was the best starting point to begin debating voting rights legislation.

"I think we should be able to agree to meaningful improvements that will help ensure that all our elections are free, they're fair, and they're accessible," Murkowski said.

The vote Wednesday came nearly two weeks after Democratic leadership in the upper chamber attempted to advance another piece of voting rights legislation. That was also blocked by Republicans with the filibuster.

More: Voting rights and election reform: Senate Republicans block latest legislation

Democrats have been pushing to pass new voting legislation as several states pursued new restrictions after the 2020 election.

A USA TODAY analysis of 254 new laws in 45 states passed since then revealed a variety of changes voters may notice and other administrative changes happening behind the scenes. In total, about 55 million eligible voters live in states with changes that will give them less access.

A new American fault line: How new election laws will make it harder for 55 million to vote

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday that "across the country, we are witnessing a coordinated assault on the right to vote and even on how elections are conducted, tallied, and potentially decided, a true threat to the ultimate foundation of our democracy."

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The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act named for the late Democratic Rep. John Lewis, a civil-rights icon  drew little support from Senate Republicans.The legislation passed the House in August 219-212 along party lines.

About the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

Democrats, who control both chambers of Congress, are seeking to restore protections for voting rights they contend have eroded since the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and were further scaled back by the Supreme Court in 2013.

In 2013, the high court ruled that states no longer had to comply with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required some states and municipalities with a history of discriminatory voting laws to obtain federal preclearance before enacting changes to voting laws or practices.

More: 5 things that could decide Virginia election (and 2022): Biden, Trump, culture wars and more

The legislation up for a vote Wednesday seeks to bring back the preclearance requirementeither from the Justice Department or federal courts, before those states can making changes to election processes.

In this March 7, 1965, file photo, a state trooper swings a billy club at John Lewis, right foreground, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, to break up a civil rights voting march in Selma, Ala.

The Supreme Court in striking down that portion of the Voting Rights Act said the formula to determine which jurisdictions needed preclearance was outdated. The court did not rule that the requirement itself was unconstitutional.

More: Activists working in John Lewis' shadow warn about voter suppression ahead of November vote

The John Lewis bill is an attempt by lawmakers to find a formula for preclearance that would survive an even more conservative court.

The bill would also restore voters ability to challenge laws, such as those related redistricting or onerous voter ID requirements that could be discriminatory.

That provision is in response to two voting laws in Arizona that the court upheld earlier this year. The decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee said states may have good reason to shorten voting hours that have nothing to do with discrimination.

Where do Republicans stand?

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and most Senate Republicans signaled well before the vote they would not support opening debate on the legislation.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called it "unconstitutional" when asked by USA TODAY.

"Section two of the Voting Rights Act is the law of the land. So if somebody does pass a law that the federal government believes violates the Voting Rights Act, they can file a lawsuit, but there's no basis upon which the state should be required to ask permission ahead of time," Cornyn explain.

Republicans also argue that the legislation is part of a partisan strategy for Democrats to federalize election rules to their advantage.

More: Divisive Texas elections bill heads to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk

Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump: The other Virginia governor's race

"This is a Trojan horse to carry a lot of other provisions that the Democrats have wanted going through the earlier bill that we've already considered and rejected, McConnell said.

The president urged Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republicans to "get out of the way" and let Democrats suspend the nation's debt limit to keep the government from a devastating credit default.

Josh Silver, president of RepresentUs, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization aimed at anti-corruption, told USA TODAY that because of today's political climate, Senate Republicans are likely to block almost all election reform legislation. That includes even scaled-back bills like the Freedom to Vote Act, which Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., helped create to bring GOP lawmakers on board.

No Republicans voted in favor to move to debate on that bill, either.

He noted that Republicans in past decades have support election reform similar to the John Lewis VRAA, like in 2006, when the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act passed the Senate 98-0.

"This is a new era where the sort of intersection of primaries, gerrymandering, rampant money in politics, this broken political system, has conspired to incentivize gridlock, polarization, and extremism that is now captured US government," Silver said.

"Politicians are currently acting rationally in a broken system."

Contributing: USA TODAY reporters Jeanine Santucci, Bart Jansen, Joey Garrison, Nick Penzenstadler, Phillip M. Bailey, Rachel Looker

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate Republicans block John Lewis voting rights bill
By Stephanie Nebehay and Dawit Endeshaw

GENEVA/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - All sides fighting in the war in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray committed violations that may amount to war crimes, according to a long-awaited joint investigation by the United Nations and Ethiopia published on Wednesday.

The report by the U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission was released the day after Ethiopia declared a state of emergency. Tigrayan forces said on Monday they might march on the capital to topple the government of Africa's second most populous nation.

The report covers most of the year-long conflict, fought by Tigrayan forces against the Ethiopian military and its key allies: forces from Ethiopia's Amhara region and soldiers from the neighbouring nation of Eritrea.

All sides are accused of torturing and killing civilians, carrying out gang-rapes and making arrests on the basis of ethnicity.

It was not immediately clear whether findings from the report could form the basis for legal action. Ethiopia and Eritrea are not members of the International Criminal Court, so the court has no jurisdiction.

The report recommended a possible international justice mechanism, saying Ethiopian investigations were insufficiently broad, did not always comply with international standards, and were not always transparent.

(Additional reporting by Maggie Fick and Katharine Houreld; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Jon Boyle)
The Daily Beast

Instagram/Tarrant County Sheriffs OfficeA man charged with murdering an exotic dancer in Fort Worth, Texas, was a customer at the club where she worked and had stalked and threatened her after claiming to have paid her thousands of dollars, authorities said.Stanley Szeliga, 54, is accused of fatally shooting Abigail Saldana, an exotic dancer at Ricks Cabaret, last week while she was behind the wheel of her car not far from the club.I dont know where she was going that night, Saldanas mom,
A day after news broke that the lead pastor of Virginia Beachs Rock Church had been charged with soliciting sex from an underage girl, the church announced he will step away from all ministerial duties until the case is resolved.

The statement was released Wednesday morning, five days after Pastor John Blanchard was arrested in a sting operation in Chesterfield County.

Police said the operation targeted 17 men whod been communicating online with someone they believed to be a teenage girl and then arranged to meet the girl at a motel. The person they were communicating with was a police officer.

When each man knocked on the motel room door they were greeted by several police officers, according to Mike Louth, a major with the Chesterfield County Police Department.

Blanchard, 51, was arrested Friday and charged with felony solicitation of prostitution. The crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Blanchard was released on bond. A video from Rock Church shows the longtime pastor participated in a church service there two days later.

In its statement, Rock Church said it had been advised by legal counsel not to comment on the charges. Bishop Anne Gimenez will serve as lead pastor and will be joined by Blanchards wife, Robin, also a senior pastor of the church, while the case is pending.

We are all committed to walking in integrity and truth at Rock Church International and will continue to take steps to do so, the churchs statement said.

As followers of Christ, we must remember that redemption, salvation, grace, mercy and healing are all gifts given to the children of God. Although everyone must address their own convictions and consequences, our assignment as believers is not to condemn, but to be agents of Gods love, healing, justice, and reconciliation.

The churchs statement offered thanks for the outpouring of support it has received since news of the arrest broke, and asked that the Blanchard familys privacy be respected while they walk through this difficult journey together.

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According to the churchs website, John and Robin Blanchard have been senior pastors there since 2013, and are the parents of two girls.

Rock Church is non-denominational and was founded in 1968 by Anne Gimenez and her late husband, John. Rock Church International has over 500 churches in multiple countries, according to its website.

Jane Harper, 757-222-5097, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
BEIRUT (AP)  Lebanon on Wednesday sought a dialogue with Saudi Arabia to resolve an unprecedented diplomatic rift over a Lebanese Cabinet ministers comments, even as new reasons for tension emerged.

The spat unfolded over statements by the Lebanese Information minister aired last week about the war in Yemen, which Lebanese officials have said do not represent official government views.

Riyadh angrily recalled its ambassador and asked the Lebanese envoy to leave. It also banned Lebanese imports, undermining the small nations foreign trade and depriving it of millions of dollars while it is deep in an economic crisis.

Gulf countries have joined Saudi Arabia in pulling out their diplomats, sharpening the diplomatic slap.

Despite the calls for mediation and dialogue, there is no sign of the crisis letting up.

Instead, new reasons for tension emerged, following leaks by a Saudi paper in which the Lebanese foreign minister, apparently in off-the-cuff remarks to Lebanese reporters, said drug smuggling out of Lebanon would not have happened if there was no market in Saudi Arabia.

The comments, apparently made at the outset of the crisis, were interpreted by Saudi media as an endorsement of the smuggling, which had been another reason for the tension with Lebanon.

Since the crisis, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib in comments to the press had said Riyadh is being too harsh on Lebanon. He did not deny the leaked comments Wednesday in a statement, but said he had wished the Saudi paper would have helped in resolving the crisis instead of publishing partial and wrong narratives that only complicate matters.

In separate comments following a meeting with Lebanons President Michel Aoun Wednesday, Bouhabib said any problems between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia should be resolved through dialogue. He added that Lebanon, which is going through one of the worlds worst economic meltdowns, is looking for support from its neighbors to overcome the difficult circumstances it is going through and the hardship its people are facing.

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We are certain that joint Arab interests will overrule what happened in the last few days and there will be no spilling of oil over the fire, Bouhabib said.

He also appealed to Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries to respect Lebanons freedom of expression and democracy, which he said are not intended to harm relations with Lebanons neighbors and friendly nations.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese minister of information at the center of the crisis, George Kordahi, has refused to apologize or step down, saying his remarks about the Yemen war, which were recorded before he took the post in September, were not meant to offend.

At the heart of the crisis is Saudi Arabias frustration with the growing role of the Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Riyadh is locked into a regional power rivalry with Tehran, which it accuses of backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen along its borders. Over the years, Saudi Arabia, once a close ally, it has lost its influence and clout in Lebanon.
Dominik Szoboszlai converted a penalty in stoppage time as RB Leipzig held Paris Saint-Germain, who were without the injured Lionel Messi, to a 2-2 draw in the Champions League on Wednesday.

PSG had been cruising to an away win and were 2-1 up with 90 minutes gone in Leipzig as Georginio Wijnaldum netted twice to cancel out Christopher Nkunku's early goal for the hosts.

In the dying seconds, Leipzig were awarded a penalty when PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe leaped onto Nkunku as a cross came in and substitute Szoboszlai made no mistake with the spot kick.

"We didnt start well, but Leipzig did and we had to get back in the game," Wijnaldum told DAZN.

"We created second-half chances, but also gave a lot away too.

"We have to learn from that and control the game better, because we were 2-1 up and should have put our chances away. There is a lot of room for improvement."

With Messi sidelined, the draw cost PSG first place in Group A and left them a point behind new leaders Manchester City, who thrashed Club Brugge 4-1.

PSG meet City in Manchester in three weeks' time.

"Being second to City doesn't change anything for us," PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

"We need to have the desire to go there and win the game to try to be top of the group."

Leipzig's faint hopes of reaching the last 16 were ended as they remain bottom of their group despite earning their first point in Europe after three previous defeats.

"We should have won this game and it's a bit of a pity that we didn't take our chances," said Leipzig's American coach Jesse Marsch, who was booked in the first half for arguing with the referee.

"If we had gone 2-0, it would have been very hard for PSG," he added, referring to Andre Silva's weak penalty attempt that was saved shortly after Nkunku's opening goal.

The German club put up a fight in the 3-2 defeat at PSG a fortnight ago and made a lightning start on Wednesday.

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With barely 20 seconds gone, PSG captain Marquinhos had to clear off the line as Silva got in behind the defence and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a save.

The hosts kept up the pressure and deservedly took the lead when Silva's cross was met with a superb diving header by Nkunku to claim his fifth Champions League goal in four games.

Leipzig attacked again and were awarded a penalty, but the weak attempt by Silva, who has struggled for form in Leipzig since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt, was easily saved by Donnarumma with barely 11 minutes played.

Angel Di Maria started the break for PSG's equaliser, Neymar carried on the move and Mbappe supplied the cross which former Liverpool man Wijnaldum flicked into the net on 21 minutes.

Wijnaldum doubled his tally when he nodded Marquinhos' header over the line and the VAR allowed the goal, despite suspicions of offside, to make it 2-1 at the break.

Mbappe should have put the game beyond Leipzig's reach when he fired over, then shot straight at Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi to waste two clear chances early in the second half.

The visitors were guilty of taking their foot off the gas as Leipzig created the better chances.

Donnarumma just got a glove to a cross, which was heading for Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen, then Szoboszlai fired wide for the hosts as PSG lived dangerously.

The game came to a dramatic close when Kimpembe jumped into Nkunku and Szoboszlai calmly slotted home the penalty.

ryj/gj
Murderers' victims had a right to life too

Regarding the Oct. 25 column "Right to life' includes murderers as much as babies."

I would like to remind readers that the victims of Ohios most heinous murderers had a right to life too. So do their possible future victims.

Anyone who believes in protecting the right to life in relation to the death penalty should read about two of Ohios most heinous murderers  Joel Drain and Casey Pigge.

More: Opinion: 'Right to life' includes murderers as much as it does unborn babies

Drain, who was already serving a 30 years to life sentence for aggravated murder, beat his cellmate, who was serving a four year sentence, with a motor from a desk fan, stomped on his throat, and kicked a pencil into his head killing him. Pigge, who was first convicted of killing his girlfriend in 2009, killed his cellmate with a cinder block in 2016, killed an inmate on a prison bus in 2017, and in 2018, along with another inmate, stabbed a corrections officer 32 times with metal shanks made from prison beds.

Joel Drain, 38, speaks to his attorney during his death penalty trial in Warren County on Monday, May 18, 2020. Drain is accused of killing another inmate at the Warren Correctional Institution last year.

Unfortunately there are people in the world like Drain and Pigge who have killed multiple people and who would kill more if given the chance. As a civil society we should be more concerned about victims and future victims right to life than we are about those who take multiple lives without any due process and without so much as a second thought.

Louis Tobin, Executive Director, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association

Natural gas playing growing role in heating Ohio homes

Have you had to turn on your homes heat yet? If not, you will be soon and chances are youll be using natural gas to do it. Where does that natural gas come from though? October is energy awareness month, making now the perfect time to learn.

More: Columbia Gas gets siting board nod to run pipeline through Delaware County to Union County

Two-thirds of Ohio homes use natural gas for heating, much of which is produced right here in Ohio. Our state produces 2.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas annually.

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To put that in perspective, we can heat 28.1 million homes for the winter with Ohio produced natural gas.

Maybe youre part of the 25% of Ohioans who rely on electric heaters to warm their homes. You likely still rely on natural gas for heat.

More: Throw on an extra layer of clothes: Winter heating costs expected to jump this year

A full 43% of Ohios electricity production in 2020 came from natural gas-fired power plants, up from less than 2% in 2008. The increased use of natural gas for electricity production even led to a 50 million metric ton decrease in CO2 emissions for the sector between 2005 and 2015.

When youre watching the Buckeyes game in the warmth of your home, take a moment to remember the role Ohios natural gas and oil industry plays in providing essential Ohio energy.

George Brown, Executive Director of the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program

letters

More: How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio school boards politicized issue instead of reaching out

How sad that the leadership of the Ohio School Boards Association chose to politicize a letter they disagreed with as opposed to laying out their concerns directly with the National School Boards Association (Oct. 27 "Boards cut ties with national group over Biden letter").

What type of message is OSBA sending to its local members  some of whom have faced threats of disruption and intimidation during the current school year?

More: Ohio School Boards Association cuts ties with national group over Biden 'terrorism' letter

When differences arise why is the response to disengage and separate yourself as opposed to reaching out and addressing your concerns?

NSBA issued a statement of apology giving an opportunity for OSBA to move forward on behalf of its members in a way that allows the greater community to benefit.

Carl Faller, Columbus

Mike Thompson, USA TODAY

Why use tax dollars to pay people to be vaccinated?

I cannot fathom why Ohio would use tax dollars to pay for people to be vaccinated who are too selfish and/or too stubborn.

No one I know received any money to get vaccinated. We have all done it on our own because it was just the safest, smartest and right thing to do.

No one should benefit financially from contributing to the COVID problem. Almost everyone could have been vaccinated over the last six months so there's no excuse for not doing everything we can to stop the pandemic. But the state is going to reward these people with money?

Incredible.

Dale Pitman, Hilliard

Shootings of children point out need for gun safety

A September article in The Dispatch ("Gun violence adds burden to trauma centers stretched thin by COVID") reported the striking increase in gun violence this year at Grant Hospital and Wexner Medical Center. I wanted to call attention to the fact our local Level I Trauma Center for children (Nationwide Children's Hospital) has seen a similarly striking increase in victims of gun violence admitted to the hospital. So far in 2021, there have been almost double the number of children admitted for gunshot wounds than were admitted in 2020.

More: Columbus' two Level I trauma centers see surge in gunshot wound patients

As a pediatrician, I know that the American Academy of Pediatrics maintains that the safest home for a child or teen is one without firearms. In the event that there is a gun in the home, caregivers can reduce the risk of injuries by keeping household guns unloaded in a locked space that kids and teens cannot access. Once all guns are safely secured, caregivers should regularly ask friends and family about guns in their home before a visit.

To learn more from experts on firearm safety and advocate for a safer environment for our children and communities, follow the hashtag #SaferStorage or the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Childrens Hospital @CIRPatNCH. Visit www.projectchildsafe.org to find a free lockbox near you.

Kristol Das, MD on behalf of Trainees for Injury Prevention

Mike Thompson cartoon, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Murderers' victims had a right to life too; Natural gas role grows in heating Ohio homes
The damaged cockpit of the Pan Am airliner that exploded and crashed over Lockerbie in 1988 - Roy Letkey/AFP

Libya has indicated it would consider extraditing the man charged in the US with making the Lockerbie bomb that killed 270 people.

Abu Agila Masud is accused of packing explosives into a suitcase that downed Pan Am Flight 103, in charges brought by the US last year. Most of the passengers on the flight in 1988 were Americans.

Masud, who is the third alleged conspirator charged over the bombing, is being held by the Libyan authorities.

On Wednesday, Libyas foreign minister, Najla El-Mangoush, said positive outcomes are coming in discussions with the US to have Masud extradited to face trial.

Asked whether extradition was possible, she told the BBC: Well, I dont know, but I think we as a government, we are very open in terms of collaboration on this matter.

We understand the pain and the sadness of the families but we also have to respect the laws.

She added that the issue was progressing.

Devastation caused by the explosion - Roy Letkey

An FBI affidavit alleges that Masud confessed his crime in an interview with the Libyan authorities in 2012, after he was jailed in the wake of Muammar Gaddafis fall from power.

Masud said he put one-and-a-half kilograms of the plastic explosive Semtex with a timer in a Samsonite suitcase on a flight in Malta which eventually was moved on to Pan Am Flight 103, according to the affidavit.

He is also alleged to have said he was working on the orders of the External Security Organisation, the Libyan intelligence service at the time.

Abu Agila Masud, a man suspected of being Gaddafi's master bomb maker

Two other conspirators, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi and Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah, were charged in 1991.

Megrahi was convicted by Scottish judges in 2001. He eventually was released from prison in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Fhimah was acquitted.

Relations between the US and Libya have thawed since Gadaffis fall, leading to the optimism on both sides that an agreement can be reached over Masuds extradition.
Long Island saw a Republican surge on Election Day, delivering a rare red wave in deep-blue New York.

Republicans like Bruce Blakeman, the candidate for Nassau County executive, and Anne Donnelly, candidate for district attorney, are declaring victory over their Democratic challengers  Laura Curran for executive, and state Sen. Todd Kaminsky for district attorney.

Curran, though, is not conceding, telling News12 Long Island Tuesday night that the race "is not over," and that "every Nassau resident who participated in this election is owed the opportunity to have their voice heard."

NEW JERSEY'S GOVERNOR RACE: SEE THE ELECTION DAY MAP

News12 Long Island reported Wednesday afternoon that thousands of absentee ballots still need to be counted.

Hempstead Town Councilman Bruce Blakeman and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran shake hands after a Newsday Town Hall for the Nassau County executive race in Melville, New York, on Oct. 14, 2021. John Keating/Newsday RM via Getty Images

Donnelly, in claiming victory for Nassau DA, thanked voters for "backing the candidate who backs the blue."

Donnelly would be the first Republican district attorney elected in Nassau County in two decades.

WITH NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR ELECTION RESULTS TOO CLOSE TO CALL, HERE'S HOW RECOUNTS WORK IN THE GARDEN STATE

Meanwhile, a Republican also won the race for district attorney in Suffolk County, defeating the Democratic incumbent.

"I will fight every day to keep the citizens of Suffolk County safe," Republican Ray Tierney told News12. "I will be fair and I will reach out into the community to develop relationships so we can all have faith in the District Attorney's Office."

Nassau County district attorney candidates Todd Kaminsky and Anne Donnelly at a Newsday Town Hall in Melville, New York, on Oct. 19, 2021. John Keating/Newsday RM via Getty Images

"A red wave swept across Long Island," the Republican National Committee said Wednesday, adding that, amid "spiking crime" in the state, "New York voters strongly rejected Democrats and their crusade to defund the police."

MCAULIFFE VIRGINIA GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN'S INABILITY TO COMBAT 'RACE-BAITING BS' BLASTED BY PROGRESSIVES

The rare red wave in Long Island comes after Virginias Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin flipped blue Virginia red, defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe. President Biden won the state of Virginia by 10 points in the 2020 presidential election.

Also in Virginia, Republicans Winsome Sears and Jason Miyares declared victory in the lieutenant governor and attorney general races, respectively  after the GOP had not won a statewide election since 2009.

In New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy was expected to secure a second term against Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, though the election is still too close to call. Biden won the state of New Jersey by 16 points in 2020.
BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP)  A Mississippi man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2018 shooting deaths of two police officers, and a judge gave him two sentences of life in prison.

The guilty pleas from Marquis Aaron Flowers, 28, came five days before jury selection was scheduled to begin in his capital murder trial. By pleading guilty before a jury could be chosen, Flowers avoided the possibility of the death penalty because only a jury can hand down a death sentence in Mississippi.

Brookhaven Police Department Cpl. Zach Moak, 31, and patrol officer James Kevin White, 35, were shot to death Sept. 29, 2018, while responding to a call about shots being fired at a home. Investigators said that before Moak died, he was able to shoot Flowers and call for help.

Relatives of the two slain officers spoke in court Wednesday, asking Circuit Judge Richard McKenzie to give Flowers the strongest sentence possible.

White's sister, Lisa White McBlair, said she cried herself to sleep for months after her brother was killed, and she has had nightmares and stress-induced panic attacks.

Marquis Flowers handed every one of us a life sentence that morning over three years ago, McBlair said, her voice shaking.

Vicki Moak stood with her other son, Chris Moak, as she recalled how Zach had been born prematurely.

He came into this world fighting to live, and he went out fighting," Vicki Moak said. "He was my baby. He was quiet, but in his quietness, there was strength.

She said her whole world changed when she received the call that her son had been fatally shot on duty.

I have a wound in my heart thatll never heal," Vicki Moak said. I think about him every day.

Flowers also spoke briefly in court Wednesday. He apologized to the officers' families and asked for their forgiveness.

The two officers were slain a year after an unrelated series of killings shook Brookhaven, a south Mississippi city with 12,000 residents. A sheriffs deputy and seven other people were shot to death in and around Brookhaven in May 2017, and in early 2020 a jury convicted and gave four death sentences to Willie Cory Godbolt, who blamed his actions on the devil.

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Flowers was on parole for a vehicle burglary conviction when Moak and White were killed. Flowers was arrested and charged shortly after the officers were killed, and he was sent to the state prison system to finish serving his sentence in the vehicle burglary. Flowers was moved in March 2020 from Central Mississippi Correctional Facility to a county jail.

On Oct. 28, 2019, Flowers was indicted on two counts of capital murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He pleaded not guilty to all three counts on Nov. 12, 2019. District Attorney Dee Bates said from early in the case that he would pursue the death penalty in the killings of the two officers.

Flowers on Wednesday also pleaded guilty to the firearm charge, and McKenzie gave him a 10-year sentence for that.

McKenzie decided months ago that Flowers' trial would be moved outside Lincoln County, where the killings occurred, because of heavy news coverage when the officers were slain. Jury selection was supposed to have started next Monday in northern Mississippi, and the jurors were to be taken back to the southern part of the state for the trial.

____

Emily Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson.
EXCLUSIVE: TheGrio was on the ground in Washington while more than 60 others were also arrested with King.

Martin Luther King III, son of the late civil rights activist and icon Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was arrested and released Wednesday by U.S. Park Police after peacefully protesting for voting rights in front of the White House. TheGrio was on the ground in Washington while more than 60 others were also arrested with King.

Martin Luther King III leads voting rights protest outside the White House on Nov. 3, 2021. (Photo: theGrio/Jessica Floyd)

Some of the protesters were under the age of 18 and were taken away by police, however, they were not processed. The granddaughter of Dr. King Jr., Yolanda King, joined her parents on the front lines of the march but due to her age was not arrested.

My father, John Lewis and so many others opened doors so that wed have the right to vote. And tragically, our states are making it very difficult for people to vote, Martin Luther King III exclusively told theGrio.

TheGrio asked King if there are concerns about new state leadership in Virginia, a state that just a few months ago became the first in the south to pass a voting rights protection package in response to the 2013 Supreme Court ruling in Shelby v. Holder that significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

King believes it is a possibility that the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, signed into law earlier this year by then-Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, will be decimated just as it has been done at the federal level when the Supreme Court did it in 2013.

The Shelby v. Holder ruling and the dismantling of voting rights protections in the United States has prompted Congress to hold public hearings on the issue and work to pass legislation to enact new voting rights protections and reform across the country. Without action, states are free to impose their own laws without federal pre-clearance, which previously allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to review and approve any changes to voting regulations in states that have a legacy of voting discrimination.

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(Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

As Democrats collect their thoughts on losing the Virginia governors mansion, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing for the Senate to vote on its version of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on Wednesday. It is not expected to pass as the minority group of Republican senators are expected to filibuster the issue to overrule the majority.

President Joe Biden said he would deal with the filibuster issue after his physical and human infrastructure bills are signed into law. But the passage of his Build Back Better Framework package has yet to happen as Democrats continue to wrangle over what to shave from the plan to fit the new compromised $1.75 trillion price tag.

The Senate needs to pass the cloture rule in order to continue debate, OTHERWISE, the FILIBUSTER MUST BE ELIMINATED, at this time, Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas tweeted on Wednesday in support of the voting rights demonstration happening at the White House. How long must we wait for the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Bill? How long must we wait for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act? How long must we wait for the HR 40 The Commission to study slavery and develop reparations proposals?

I stand with the protesters that have just gotten arrested on the moral high ground of why we do not have the #VotingRights that have been lacking in this nation since the Shelby Case.



1/3 https://t.co/hA0koTqdZG  Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) November 3, 2021

She added, I stand with you, Martin Luther King III and all of the protesters. PASS THE VOTING RIGHTS BILL NOW!

Cornell Belcher, Democratic pollster for Brilliant Corners said voting rights is the number one issue for Black women. The face of the fight for voting rights over the decades has been Black America, however, restrictive voting laws impact everyone from all races and genders.

Arndrea Waters King, wife of Martin Luther King III, highlighted the important role Black women play in maintaining Americas democracy.

Black women will continue to show up. We will continue to show our power, Waters King told theGrio. But now its time for America to show up for us.

Demonstrators protest for voting rights outside White House on Nov. 3, 2021. (Photo: theGrio/Jessica Floyd)

There are several press conferences on Wednesday hosted by civil rights giants to address the threat on voting rights. Leaders of traditional civil rights organizations including the NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Urban League and National Action Network will host one call, and then Melanie Campbell of the Black Womens roundtable will host another with SEIU.

Alongside the fight for voting rights, Rev. Mark Thompson is drawing a comparison between the struggle on Howard Universitys campus for better housing conditions and the push for voting rights protections from federal elected officials.

[Howard Universitys] presidents office is not willing to sign a memorandum of agreement or understanding to meet the students demands, and he has one demand  that they leave the building. He wants them to leave the building for free, unconditionally on a handshake, Thompson told theGrio.

Joe Biden, we voted for him on a handshake, right? And so where is our memorandum of agreement as a Black electorate to get some of the things that we should have, that we should need and that we demand? We need real legislation.

theGrios Jessica Floyd contributed to this report.

Have you subscribed to the Grio podcasts, Dear Culture or Acting Up? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Martin Luther King III arrested, later released after voting rights protest outside White House appeared first on TheGrio.
A coalition of progressive groups issued a scathing reaction to Terry McAuliffes election loss in Virginia, blasting Democrats for running an "uninspired" campaign that failed to address issues voters really care about.

A statement issued by the left-wing groups Battle Born Collective, Justice Democrats, Sunrise Movement and United We Dream Action said McAuliffes "shellacking" Tuesday night by Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin should be a "wake up call for Democrats" ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Democratic nominee for Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe looks on as he addresses supporters during an election night party and rally in McLean, Virginia, Nov. 2, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis

VIRGINIA ELECTION TIMELINE: HOW EDUCATION BECAME CRUCIAL TO REPUBLICANS' VICTORY

"Terry McAuliffe ran the milquetoast campaign he wanted to run  where every other word he uttered was Donald Trump instead of focusing on the issues voters cared about the most," the groups wrote.



"What happened in Virginia is what happens when Democrats fail to take on the GOPs divide-and-conquer racism and motivate people to turn out," they continued. "The McAuliffe campaign had no comprehensive pro-worker economic message against a literal private equity magnate. It had no positive message on what the next four years would be like for Virginians. It had no rebuttal to Republican race-baiting bull----. Put simply: it was a campaign designed to fail."



"This was a controlled experiment for what NOT to do in 2022," they wrote. "This is what it looks like when Democrats get caught flat-footed and let Republicans dictate the terms of the debate by manufacturing a fake education crisis. It does not have to be this way. There is still time to adopt an inclusive economic message that crowds out racist dog whistles. There is still time to go on offense and fight for the very voters who powered Democratic victories in 2020."

The left-wing groups also blasted the "DC establishment" for rushing to back McAuliffe's campaign, saying it "sidelined two potentially history-making Black women running for the same office."

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Education and the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in public schools became a key issue in the Virginia gubernatorial race. Youngkin has vowed to ban CRT from being taught in schools on his first day as governor, while McAuliffe has repeatedly described the fight against CRT as a racist dog whistle. He has also claimed the theory has never been taught in Virginia, despite it being promoted on the states department of education website.

Progressives have attempted to paint McAuliffes loss as a win for White supremacy.

"Its not the messaging, folks. This country simply loves white supremacy," tweeted The Atlantic contributor Jemele Hill.

Critics noted that Virginia Republicans are set to elect Jason Miyares as the the state's first Latino attorney general and Winsome Sears as the state's first woman of color lieutenant governor. Both candidates have declared victory, though the AP has not called either race.

"Ah yes, thats why we elected the first latino to Virginia AG and the first black woman to Lt. Governor. Really makes sense, Jemele," conservative commentator Caleb Hull tweeted.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  Donovan Mitchell had a big third quarter and then turned to Mike Conley. He didnt need to say a thing.

Don and I kind of have a nonverbal communication. He looks up at me with his hands on his knees and Im like, Ill take the ball for a few possessions, Conley said.

Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points and Mike Conley add a season-best 30 points, lifting the Utah Jazz to a 119-113 win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.

To be able to play off each other and be in close games like this one where shots may stop falling but fortunately Ive got a 15-year veteran there and can say, You got it and Ill stay out of the way, Mitchell said of his backcourt mate.

Conley scored 13, including three 3s, in the fourth quarter, and Rudy Gobert made six clutch free throws down the stretch to move Utah to 7-1 on the season.

It was one of those games where me and Don had it going and the rest of the team was missing shots they usually make, so in those moments you go with whats working, Conley said.

Gobert had 12 points, 20 rebounds and four blocked shots.

This win wasnt easy for Utah. The Kings kept hanging around and cut the lead to 115-113 on Harrison Barness 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining.

Mitchell made two free throws while Buddy Hield jawed with him. Gobert forced Barnes into a tough shot on a drive and then blocked Davion Mitchells shot on the next possession to seal the win, Utahs sixth straight over the Kings.

The game was tight throughout with neither team leading by more than single digits. Sacramento (3-3) took its final lead of the game on Richaun Holmess tip-in with 5:02 remaining to make it 102-101.

Barnes led the Kings with 23 points and Hield had 19. Seven Sacramento players scored in double figures.

The Jazz have been struggling from the 3-point arc and went 4 of 25 in first half, missing 10 in a row at one point. But the Jazz used the long ball to gain advantage in the second half, especially behind Mitchell and Conley. The pair combined to go 11 for 21 from beyond the arc.

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Last season, the Jazz set the NBA record for most 3-pointers made per game in a single season at 16.8 per game. In a regular 82-game season, they were on pace for 1,378 from deep, which would have easily topped the Houston Rockets mark of 1,323 in 2018-19. But this year has been a different story, and Utah is at 32% on 3s.

Mitchell scored 17 points in the third quarter, but it wasnt enough to shake Sacramento, which trailed 90-87 entering the final period.

He was hot tonight. He hit shots. He hit tough shots. You cant really do anything about that, Davion Mitchell said.

However, Utahs Mitchell had one play that deflated Kings spirit. Mitchell missed a 3-pointer, ran to grab the rebound and then made a layup as the Kings stood and watched. Sacramento coach Luke Walton was visibly upset and called a quick timeout.

I love the fight of our team. Its really fun coaching these guys. Were learning these hard lessons. I hope we figure it out soon, but the details of the game is whats costing us right now. Tonight, it was defensive rebounding, Walton said of Utahs 15 offensive rebounds.

Fox was shooting just 37.7% overall and 17.1% from 3-point range and struggled again versus Utah. He had eight fourth-quarter points to keep the Kings close. The Sacramento point guard is now 9 of 34 in two games against the Jazz.

Hes fine. Yeah, hes missing some shots, but thats part of it. We all go through these little slumps. It happens to everybody. I think its being made a bigger deal than it is, Tyrese Haliburton said of Fox.

WHAT CANT CONLEY DO?

When asked if he gets surprised about what Conley is showing as a 34-year-old point guard, Utah coach Quin Snyder said, I think hed be a great quarterback. I think he'd probably be a heck of a tennis player. Im sure hes a good bowler. You go down the line. We all know he can golf. I bet he can pick any position on the baseball field.

As far as basketball, Hassan Whiteside added, If youre a casual basketball fan, you might not know who Mike is, but people who really know basketball believe hes one of the most underrated players of all time.

TIP-INS

Kings: Holmes limped off the court with an apparent left knee injury with 8:04 left in the second quarter but returned a few minutes later.  Sacramento reserves outscored Utahs bench 41-19.  Hield got two technical fouls with 0.4 seconds remaining in the game and was ejected.

Jazz: Utahs first 20 points of the game were in the paint.  Jordan Clarkson, who saw his 99-game streak with at least one 3-pointer end last game, went 0 for 11 from deep and had two points.  With 3:10 left to play, the Jazz successfully challenged a foul on Gobert and then got the ball due to a stolen tip on the ensuing jump ball.

UP NEXT

Kings: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, the start of a four-game homestand.

Jazz: Visit the Atlanta Hawks for the first of three straight road games.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
The CDC's approval Tuesday of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for 5-11-year-olds may open a new debate: whether schools should ultimately mandate them for that age group.

Why it matters: Members of the advisory boards for both the CDC and the FDA raised concerns their votes allowing shots in arms for all kids regardless of medical status might ultimately trigger mandates in schools.

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"I'm just worried that if we say yes, that the states are going to mandate administration of this vaccine to children in order to go to school, and I do not agree with that," FDA committee member Cody Meissner said on Friday.

What's happening: Ultimately, the CDC panel, as well as CDC director Rochelle Walensky, said there were more benefits to all kids 5 and older getting the vaccine than not.

State of play: The federal government authorized shots for 12-17-year-olds nearly six months ago, and so far, only five of the 200 largest school districts have mandated shots for those kids.

All five of those districts are in California.

A handful of other districts, mostly in or near big cities including New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington, D.C., require high school athletes to be vaccinated, Dennis Roche, co-founder of school tracking site Burbio, tells Axios.

Reality check: Schools would be up for a huge challenge if they do decide to pursue mandates for 5-11-year-olds, Bree Dusseault, principal at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, tells Axios.

For starters, experts have said they expect about a third of parents of kids in this age group will want their kid to get the shot right away. The other two-thirds will be more hesitant and likely to wait a while.

Another problem is the risk of severe infection or death is already pretty low which makes selling a mandate hard in places the are resistant to the shots, FiveThirtyEight reported.

And Dusseault said where she likely sees similar problems with vaccine mandates for children in districts where mask mandates were challenged.

The bottom line: "They're less burdensome to have than masking or COVID testing and districts that make that choice may have a clearer path in being able to focus more of their efforts and resources on learning which is what districts want to be doing," she said.

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"However, districts may feel that asking students to vaccinate crosses a line that they're not willing to cross. It puts them at risk of potentially losing some of the students they serve if the families don't agree with that mandate," she added.

Go deeper: Your pediatric vaccine questions answered

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New Jersey residents waited nearly a full 24 hours after polls closed Tuesday night to find out who will lead their state.

Gov. Phil Murphy was declared the winner just after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night, making him the first Democrat in nearly five decades to win a second term as New Jersey governor.

The outcome of the race between Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli had state and national implications. Along with the Virginia governor's race, which went to Republican Glenn Youngkin, the two were seen as bellwethers for next year's midterm election.

With Republicans taking the executive office in Virginia and pushing Murphy to the limit in New Jersey, Democrats found themselves rethinking their strategies and trying to decipher how they so badly misjudged the electorate.

Here's a look at what happened throughout the day Wednesday:

If you're looking for results for your local county, municipal and school races you can find them here. You can find results for all the state legislative races here.

Read more: NJ Gov. Phil Murphy narrowly wins a second term, beating Republican Jack Ciattarelli

Murphy gives victory speech

Having been declared the winner of the governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy delivered a brief speech at Asbury Park's Grand Arcade on the boardwalk around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, nodding to the race's narrow margin by saying he would work for both those who voted for and against him.

We shall be judged in the long run not by how we fared in elections, but by what we did as an administration, Murphy said, quoting Brendan Byrne, the last Democratic governor to be reelected in the state. Those words will always remind us to always, always, always keep moving forward.

Ballots remaining to be counted included a significant number of votes from predominantly Democratic Essex County, along with mail-in votes spread across other counties. Murphy has won the mail-in vote by a wide margin even in Republican leaning counties like Monmouth.

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Jack Ciattarelli spokesperson Stami Williams disputed the call because of the close margin, calling it irresponsible. Ciattarelli's campaign said earlier Wednesday that a possible legal pursuit of a recount was on the table.

You can watch Murphy's speech here:

AP: Phil Murphy narrowly reelected governor

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy narrowly won reelection Wednesday, eking out a victory that spared Democrats the loss of a second gubernatorial seat.

Hes the states first Democratic governor to get a second straight term in 44 years, defeating Republican former Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli.

Ciattarelli waged a formidable campaign in the heavily Democratic New Jersey, his spending nearly equaling the governors and outpacing the GOPs performance four years ago. But Murphys advantages, including 1 million more registered Democrats, proved too much for the Republican to overcome.

The victory gives Democrats a silver lining after GOP businessman Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe in Virginias gubernatorial race  exacerbating worries that President Joe Bidens sagging approval ratings are hurting the party. This years elections were the first major tests of voter sentiment since Biden took office and pointed to a potentially painful year ahead for Democrats as they try to maintain thin majorities in Congress.

When could the race be called? Why is it taking so long to count NJ votes?

New Jerseyans could be waiting days for an official result. And if it remains close, the losing candidate may ask for a recount, which could drag things out even longer.

"You might get a call but the question is how meaningful is that call going to be? If youre either one of these candidates, youre certainly going to be asking for a recount, no question," said Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University.

For politicos refreshing their browsers to follow New Jerseys election results Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, votes in certain counties trickled in painfully slow for what turned into a nail-biter of a night.

Some, including Bergen and Sussex counties, eventually posted different counts for different forms of voting in separate sections of their websites, making it difficult to understand the true vote tally.

Is this normal?

Different counties do things in different ways  some dont release anything until they have everything, while others are more incremental, said Matthew Hale, a political science and public affairs professor at Seton Hall University. That said, we did have new election equipment this year, and any time you have something new, its different on game day than it is in practice.

We explain more: Here's why it's taking longer to count NJ votes, and what's happening with Bergen totals

History made: First Muslim elected to NJ legislature

New Jersey State Assembly candidate, Shama Haider celebrates as it is believed she has won her race. Tuesday, November 2, 2021

With uncertainty still swirling around the top of the ticket, Bergen Countys Shama Haider made history in a local race Tuesday. The Democrat from Tenafly became the first Muslim candidate elected to New Jerseys state legislature with her victory in the 37th District state Assembly race.

Haider, 72, has been active in local politics for more than two decades and said she wants to focus on the environment and promoting diversity and tolerance in the classroom.

"I don't want to be this token Muslim woman in the Assembly," she said. "I want to be known as an effective legislator."

Read more: Bergen's Shama Haider makes history as first Muslim elected to NJ Legislature

Murphy retakes the lead with latest vote tally

Stop us if you've heard this: The governor's race has once again flipped.

Updated vote totals put Murphy ahead of Ciattarelli by about 15,000 votes, according to the Associated Press, which put Murphy's vote total at 1,201,420 and Ciattarelli's total at 1,186,337 as of about 3 p.m. Wednesday.

NJ election results 2021: Governor, Senate, Assembly race results

Ciattarelli pulls ahead again in topsy-turvy governor race

The race for New Jersey's highest office has swung again following an update from election officials in Hudson County shortly after noon on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

But the votes are so tight that the race is too early to call, leaving voters anxious in New Jersey and politicos on the edge of their seat nationwide.

As of 12:30 p.m., the Associated Press estimates that 88% of votes were counted, giving Ciattarelli a lead of 695 votes out of more than 2.37 million counted, or a margin of 0.02 percentage points.

The newest totals are reflective of early votes cast in Hudson County.

The Associated Press told editors they estimate that as many as 185,000 ballots are left to be counted, a figure that includes provisional ballots.

Mail-in ballots give Cureton narrow lead in Bergen sheriff race

Mail-in ballots have given incumbent Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton a more than 12,000-vote lead over Republican challenger Robert Kugler in the race to determine the leader of the county's largest law enforcement agency.

Bergen County election results on Wednesday showed Kugler with a lead of more than 8,000 votes among election day and early in-person votes. But Cureton's 20,000-vote lead in mail-in votes has put him in the overall lead.

Mail-in votes are still being counted by election officials so check back for official results.

More: Mail-in ballots giving Cureton narrow lead over Kugler in Bergen County sheriff race

Uncounted Paterson votes could provide Murphy a boost

Murphy seems in a position to gain a major boost in votes from five election districts in Paterson where ballots have not yet been counted.

Mayor Andre Sayegh said the uncounted ballots were the result of poll workers' unfamiliarity with the new voting machines.

The mayor said election workers in the five districts accidentally locked the machines after the polls closed. Officials now must get a court order in order to unseal the machines to get access to the vote tallies, he said.

In the 63 Paterson districts that have reported numbers so far, Murphy had about 82.5% of the votes for governor, leading his GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli 8,493 to 1,692, according to unofficial tallies.

More: Five uncounted Paterson election districts could increase Murphys numbers

Latest NJ governor's race results have Murphy pulling ahead

The latest governor's race results have Murphy pulling ahead by just 1,400 votes, according to The Associated Press.

The race is still too close to call and many mail-in votes are still being counted. Get the latest results here.

Bergen County clerk race too close to call

The race between incumbent John Hogan and Republican challenger Bridget Anne Kelly for Bergen County Clerk is too close to call.

Hogan expressed confidence Tuesday night, saying that mail-in votes would put him over the top after early returns showed Kelly leading.

Democrats said Hogan received 30,996 mail-in votes to Kellys 9,484.

Hogan said as he took the stage that "it's been a nail-biter" but his first win was by just 1%, so "this feels like a landslide."

County Democrats said late Tuesday they felt confident that they would prevail across the board in races for sheriff, clerk and Board of Commissioners.

More: Bergen County clerk race between Hogan, Bridget Kelly, too close to call

Get local election results for your county and town

While you're waiting for the results of the governor's race, catch up on the results of your county races as well as the municipal and school contests in your town.

You'll found results by town for Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex and Sussex county here.

Who won NJ governor race? Too close to call

Murphy narrowly trailed Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli Wednesday morning with ballots  many of them vote-by-mail  in Democratic-rich areas yet to be counted.

With nearly 98% of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, Ciattarelli held a mere 1,200 vote lead in the contest to decide the next governor, according to The Associated Press.

The race was a statistical dead heat, and there were about 700,000 early and mail-in votes still to tally.

Both candidates told their supporters that they had hoped to celebrate Tuesday night, but that it was too close to call.

In a speech just before Ciattarelli, Murphy apologized to supporters "that tonight could not yet be the celebration we wanted it to be." But "when every vote is counted  and every vote will be counted  we hope to have a celebration."

More: Ciattarelli, Murphy campaigns spin tight battle for NJ gov's office. Here's what they said

NJ Senate, Assembly race results rolling in

While the governor's race is still too close to call, many results are in for the state legislature, where all the seats are on the ballot, and some have been called.

Catch up on all the latest results for statewide contests here.

NJ 37th District election results: Johnson wins bid to take over Weinberg seat

Gordon Johnson and his Democratic running mates swept to victory Tuesday night in District 37, besting a slate of Republican challengers who sought to seize seats in the deep-blue region.

Johnson, 71, a former Englewood police officer and Bergen County Sheriff, defeated Republican Michael Koontz by a margin of 23,851 votes to 13,540 votes to become the district's next state Senator.

With the victory, Johnson becomes the first Black state senator from New Jersey's most populated county. He will assume the seat now held by Democratic stalwart Loretta Weinberg.

Full story: Gordon Johnson keeps NJ 37th in Democrat column, as Assembly seats follow suit

Staff writers Liam Quinn, Joe Malinconico, Dustin Racioppi, Steve Janoski and Katie Sobko contributed to this report. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ election live updates: Phil Murphy wins governor's race
Small steps have been taken toward bringing broadband internet service to rural areas in northeast Louisiana.

Harris Hall in Lake Providence hosted the first stop Monday in a road show organized by the Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity, also called ConnectLA, for the launch of the state Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) grant program. Community leaders from East Carroll, West Carroll and Madison Parishes, along with state legislators and officials with ConnectLA discussed broadband access and affordability for the area.

ConnectLA Executive Director Veneeth Iyenger said affordability is essential when it comes to the digital divide that exists in the state.

"We can make all of these parishes the most wired parishes in the world, but if people can't fundamentally afford it then it's a wasted investment," Iyenger said. "We can make all of these parishes the most accessible. We can make Internet affordable for everybody, but if people lack the digital literacy skills to understand what to do with it, it's a wasted investment."

ConnectLA director Veneeth Iyenger presented discusses how to eliminate the digital divide by 2029 Tuesday morning before community leaders of rural parishes in Northeast Louisiana.

Iyenger said there are 462,000 state residents between ages 18 and 64 who lack basic digital literacy skills.

"When we're talking about literacy skills we're not talking about someone's inability to access the Internet or affordable Internet because they don't know how to set up a telehealth visit or the farmers are struggling with working with their John Deere combines because they're so computerized that they can run on their own," Iyenger said.

Laura Trieschmann Arvin, program coordinator for East Carroll Digital Navigators, said the key to affordability in East Carroll Parish is to stop pursuing a business model that puts money in the pockets of shareholders and executives of large internet service providers.

"Invest in a network that serves the common good: the people of East Carroll," Arvin said. "The Delta Interfaith Broadband Task Force has spent many hours researching internet technologies and talking with all sorts of possible partners for building a better broadband in East Carroll. The most attractive partner to date is the winner of the ARDOLF funds in our region  Conexon."

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Conexon, an Internet service provider in Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded $33 million in federal funds to build a fiber broadband network for the region.

More: NELPCO approves plan to offer broadband services in rural areas

More: NELA may soon get broadband access in Claiborne Electric coverage area

The Legislature established the GUMBO grant to provide funding to private providers to facilitate the deployment of broadband services in underserved areas of the state.

State Rep. Travis Johnson (D-Ferriday) said East Carroll Parish will be one of the first rural parishes in the state with broadband access due to the planning of Delta Interfaith.

Delta Interfaith, a broad-based coalition who addresses community problems in the Louisiana Delta, is researching a partnership with Conexon by applying for GUMBO grant funds to extend fiber network into the remaining unserved areas in East Carroll, according to Arvin.

The GUMBO program will use $180 million in federal funds to provide broadband and internet access to 400,000 households in Louisiana. The grant program will fund eligible projects through a competitive grant process which opened Monday and will close Dec. 31.

Iyenger addressed the fear of small parishes being overlooked for the grants.

"The program is singularly designed to service and focus on unserved markets," Iyenger said. "I think it's very clear where most, if not all, where those unserved markets are."

State Rep. Travis Johnson, D-Ferriday, said East Carroll is one of the first places to possibly move forward with broadband access because of their planning.

"You plan properly, set metrics and real results happen," Johnson said. "We're normally last but this time, we're going to be first."

Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinson and on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3vln0w1.

Support local journalism by subscribing at https://cm.thenewsstar.com/specialoffer.

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Northeast Louisiana parishes aim to expand rural broadband access
Nov. 2A Norwin Middle School guidance counselor told police the suspected crystal meth and a glass pipe authorities found in his car wasn't his and he "didn't even know what it was," according to North Huntingdon police.

Richard Wesley Kean, 54, of Verona is accused of having a plastic bag with drugs, a clean glass pipe and another with burnt residue inside a case tucked into his pants waistband as he sat in his car in the school parking lot about 12:30 p.m. Friday, police wrote in a criminal complaint.

Police charged Kean on Tuesday with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. A preliminary hearing has not been scheduled.

Kean could not be reached for comment.

Superintendent Jeff Taylor released a statement Monday acknowledging that police had detained a middle school staff member, who subsequently was placed on administrative leave and not permitted on school property or to have access to district accounts. Taylor declined further comment.

Kean initially refused requests by school officials and police to search his vehicle, police said, but then gave consent after police dog Rocco provided a "clear and definitive alert" that drugs were present on the driver's side of the vehicle.

A butane lighter was found under a car seat, and police said they noticed Kean was pressing his arm against the waistband of his pants. A search found an eyeglass case that contained drugs, police said. Kean told officers he was "picking it up for somebody," according to the complaint.

Norwin staff also allegedly found a glass pipe with burnt residue and a butane lighter in Kean's office desk, and they suspected Kean might have been using drugs in his car that afternoon, police reported.

Kean refused to leave the car when administrators asked him to come into the school to talk about his behavior. He later refused to be evaluated by a North Huntingdon EMS/Rescue crew, who police called after school staff said Kean did not appear well.

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252, jnapsha@triblive.com or via Twitter .
By David Gaffen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to a near four-week low on Wednesday, after U.S. crude stocks rose more than expected, as gasoline inventories in the world's largest oil consumer hit a four-year low.

Brent crude futures fell $2.73, or 3.2%, to settle at $81.99 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $3.05, or 3.6%, to settle at $80.86.

That was the biggest daily percentage declines for both benchmarks since early August and the lowest closes for Brent since Oct. 7 and WTI since Oct. 13.

Weekly crude stocks rose more by 3.3 million barrels, more than expected, but gasoline stocks fell to their lowest level since November 2017. U.S. oil market supply has tightened, with stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub at their lowest in three years. [EIA/S]

The U.S. Federal Reserve, as expected, said it will commence tapering asset purchases this month. Traders said that could sap some speculative buying in risk assets including oil. [nL1N2RT12T]

"Markets already have been under pressure," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "We're down because of profit taking from the Fed meeting today."

U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking at the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow, blamed a surge in oil and gas prices on a refusal by OPEC nations to pump more crude. The average retail price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States was lately at $3.40, according to AAA, up about 20 cents from a month ago.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, meets on Thursday and is expected to reconfirm plans to keep monthly supply increases steady despite calls for an acceleration.

In a sign high prices are encouraging more supply, BP Plc said on Tuesday it would ramp up investments in onshore U.S. shale oil and gas to $1.5 billion in 2022 from $1 billion this year. Overall, U.S. output increased to 11.5 million barrels per day, equaling the highest level this year.

(Additional reporting by Noah Browning, Julia Payne and Scott DiSavino; Editing by David Gregorio and John Stonestreet)
Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, fielded questions about the province's decision to not mandate COVID-19 vaccination for hospital workers.

"We decided that this is the right decision for right now here in Ontario," Elliott told reporters on Wednesday. "While individual hospitals can make their own determination."

The concern that we had that we would lose some of our precious health human resources, compared to a relatively small number of outbreaks, thats why the determination was made not to proceed with a mandatory policy at this time Well see what happens as we go further into the winter.Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Health

Elliott pointed to other provinces to also defend Ontario's decision.

"We know that in British Columbia, for example, theyve had to cancel some of their scheduled surgeries because theyve got about 3,300 workers that are out on leave now and are being requested to have vaccinations, and Quebec has just announced that they are taking another look at their original mandatory vaccination policy," she said.

"We still support the decision of individuals hospitals to do as they see best."

While Elliott did not provide specific details, she did confirm that there were individuals hospitals that indicated they were "very concerned about the loss of health human resources."

"From the beginning, the health and wellbeing of all Ontarians has been our priority and continues to be," she said. "So its the patients that we are protecting by having the employees tested frequently for COVID, but also for the thousands of patients have been waiting for well over a year to have procedures done that are painful and debilitating."

"We want to make sure that we can move forward with that because while its terrible to lose someone from COVID, its also terrible to lose someone from something that hasnt been diagnosed early enough or hasnt been operated on early enough."

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People in Ontario, include health professionals, are taking to social media to respond to the news.

BREAKING: The Ontario government has announced that they will NOT make COVID vaccination mandatory for health workers.



ALSO BREAKING: The Ontario government continues to pander to anti-vaxxers instead of prioritizing the safety of vulnerable patients.  Naheed Dosani (@NaheedD) November 3, 2021

NEW: The Ontario government just announced that they will NOT mandate vaccines for health workers.



Why?



Because they continue to prioritize the freedom of unvaxxed health workers to infect their patients over the collective freedom of sick patients to stay free of COVID.  Dr. Amit Arya (@AmitAryaMD) November 3, 2021

BROKEN: The #Ontario government will NOT make COVID vaccination mandatory for health workers. Because your health and safety (when you seek care!) isnt their concern.



ALSO BROKEN: Those of us who advocate for vaccines are subject to threats & vitriol.



None of this makes sense.  Nili Kaplan-Myrth MD PhD (@nilikm) November 3, 2021

BREAKING: the Ontario government not requiring mandatory vaccinations for health care workers is just a public policy gut punch for patients/families that should have their safety come first.  Andrew Baback Boozary MD (@drandrewb) November 3, 2021
portishead1 / Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer shot yesterday. Pfizer, which released its third-quarter earnings yesterday, raised its forecast 2021 vaccine revenues to $36 billion from the $33.5 billion anticipated in June, reflecting 2.3 billion additional doses expected to be delivered in fiscal 2021.

See: Delta Variant Spread Extends Pandemic-Era Financial Struggles for US Families

Find:Stimulus Money Could Cause the Stock Market to Plunge 15% by November

The CDCs new recommendations apply to about 28 million children in the United States in this age group and allows providers to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible, according to a statement.

Pfizer reported revenue of $24.1 billion, up 134% from the third quarter of 2020, according to an earnings release.

Keith Speights, a contributing analyst for The Motley Fool, told GOBankingRates that this is certainly a victory for Pfizer.

However, the big drugmaker wont receive a financial boost in the short term. The U.S. government has already secured more than enough doses of Pfizers vaccine to give to younger children and meet the demand for boosters. Over the long term, though, its possible that the COVID-19 vaccine market for kids ages five to 11 could top $1 billion annually, Speights added.

Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and CEO said that the biggest key driver for the quarter of which was Comirnaty  the name of Pfizers COVID-19 Vaccine  which contributed $13 billion in global revenue during the third quarter, according to a transcript of the investor call yesterday.

Today, we have produced 2.6 billion doses and shipped 2 billion doses to 152 countries or territories. So far, 75% of our Comirnaty revenues have been generated outside the U.S., and we continue to sign agreements with governments around the world. We also remain on track to produce 3 billion doses this year, of which, at least 1 billion will go to middle- and low-income countries, Bourla said.

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CFRA Research said it is keeping a Strong Buy opinion on Pfizer, according to a note sent to GOBankingRates.

Together with strong Q3 results, the expected CDC approval today of the COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11 should drive the stock price up, in our view. We lift our 21 EPS by $0.07 to $4.19 and our 22 EPS by $0.13 to $3.68, CFRA said in the note.

See: Delta Variant Hinders Womens Workforce Participation Even as Children Return to School

Find: Child Tax Credit for 2022  Heres How Some Families May Get $7,200 Next Year

Commenting on the CDC recommendation, President Joe Biden said that the program will ramp up over the coming days, and be fully up and running during the week of November 8. Parents will be able to bring their children to thousands of pharmacies, pediatricians offices, schools, and other sites to get vaccinated. Because of the groundwork weve laid, we can be confident that vaccinations for kids will be available, easy, and convenient.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Pfizer Raises Earnings Forecast After CDC Approves Its COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids Ages 5-11
The Ever Given container ship arrived in Qingdao, China in October for repairs. Li Ziheng/Xinhua via Getty Images

The world's most famous container ship is back after blocking the Suez Canal in March.

The Ever Given dry-docked in China for repairs - its 6-day saga took a toll on the ship's exterior.

One expert said its bow will be replaced with a "whole new lower bow section" already prepared.

The massive Ever Given container ship known for blocking the Suez Canal in March was spotted in Qingdao, China, as it underwent repairs.

Photos released in October reveal how six days inside the canal destroyed the ship's bow.

Ever Given container ship berthed at a ship-repairing dock of Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. Photo by Li Ziheng/Xinhua via Getty Images

The damage is so extensive that there's a "whole new lower bow section in the yard prepared," according to Dr. Salvatore R. Mercogliano, an associate professor of history at Campbell University and adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

"They will cut out that entire area and replace it with the new one they have fabricated," he said in a tweet.

More than 1 million cubic feet of sand and mud were removed from around the ship as workers worked round-the-clock to dislodge both the bow and stern back in March. One Twitter user compared the damaged "bulbous bow" to a photo that appears to show the same section of the boat wedged underneath the side of the canal.

An aerial view of the ship shows the damage from above. The Ever Given weighs 220,000 tons, making it one of the largest container ships in the world.

Container ships are getting larger every year - the Ever Given is longer than three football fields. Zhang Jingang/VCG via Getty Images

Read the original article on Business Insider
Voters wait in line outside a polling place in Fairfax, Va., on Oct. 23.

Voters wait in line outside a polling place in Fairfax, Va., on Oct. 23. Credit - Kenny HolstonThe New York Times/Redux

The local election office in Lynchburg, Virginia, has been tense for weeks. Thats partly because the gubernatorial race between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin has evolved into a neck-and-neck contest that both national parties are watching closely to divine their fortunes in next years midterms.

Its also because the office has been inundated with GOP poll watchers, who signed up in unprecedented numbers this year to observe voting in the states Nov. 2 election, says the citys director of elections, Christine Gibbons. We feel like were being harassed and hindered in being able to do our daily work, she says.

Last year, Lynchburg didnt have any poll watchers during its early voting period, according to Gibbons. Then President Joe Biden flipped Lynchburg, a longtime Republican stronghold, beating out Donald Trump. This year, the city has had a poll watcher in their office every day since early voting began on Sept. 17. Most of them have been Republican, Gibbons says, and many have had preconceived ideas about the voting process. One GOP poll watcher, who was later removed, accused her staff of stealing the election from Trump, she recalls. Our office has been on edge.

Poll watchers, individuals who are often appointed by political parties to observe election proceedings, are a regular feature of most American elections. Both Democrats and Republicans send poll watchers to observe the voting process, make sure votes are counted correctly and report any irregularities to local officials.

But in the last year, the push for more poll watchers to closely observe elections has become a more prominent strategy of local, state and national branches of the Republican Party, which says they are imperative to ensure transparency in the voting process. In Virginia alone, the Republican National Committee (RNC) says that it has so far trained 3,500 prospective poll watchers this year. Observers expect that the spike in poll watcher numbers seen in Virginia could be replicated in races during next years midterms, sparking concerns about the new recruits neutrality and potential interference with election officials work.

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The RNC encourages supporters to become poll watchers as one of the core tenets of its election integrity platform, which was launched during the 2020 race and has expanded to multiple states after Trumps false claims that the presidential election was rigged. Until 2018, a consent decree resulting from a case in which Democrats sued the RNC over alleged voter intimidation in a New Jersey governors race prevented the GOP from working with poll watchers for 38 years. Last year, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel wrote in a Washington Post Op-Ed that the 2020 presidential race would be the first time in decades the Republican party could deploy an army of poll watchers the same way that Democrats do.

Youngkin, the Republican candidate in Virginias race, has embraced election integrity as a theme in his own campaign. Before securing his nomination, he refused to say whether Bidens election was legitimate, though he has since acknowledged the presidents victory. He has personally expressed doubts about Virginias electoral process, and in particular whether voting machines can be trusted. Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase, a close ally of Youngkin, said in an Oct. 27 interview with Real Americas Voice that if Youngkin lost it would be because Democrats are committing election fraud. Trump has also waded in, saying on Monday that he does not believe in the integrity of Virginias elections.

Sean Rastatter, Fairfax Countys GOPs first vice chairman, says the county recruited more than 800 poll watchers this year  a significantly larger number than years before. The 2020 election helped spur that increase, Rastatter says, but he thinks theres also a broader interest among people who sign up to ensure votes are counted accurately. At a minimum, poll watchers will be able to investigate, find something thats suspicious and then send that up to the chain so we can determine whether thats fraud, he says.

Conservative groups like the Virginia Project, which works to mobilize Republicans but is not part of the official party apparatus, have also hosted virtual trainings on how to become a poll watcher and how to look for fraud. Ned Jones, the election integrity director for the Virginia Project, tells TIME that their trainings have probably been attended by about 400 people across the state. I dont think that poll watchers prevent fraud, Jones says. Theyre just observing and questioning things that dont look right.

Some question whether this new crop of poll watchers will be impartial witnesses. Many Republicans have started signing up to become poll watchers because they have been motivated by their belief in the big steal, says Daniel Ortiz, a law professor at the University of Virginia. While its entirely possible for the new recruits to set aside their political beliefs while on the job, Ortiz says he is nevertheless concerned. You worry that people who seem to be part of almost a cult, who believe things in spite of the facts, might not do their job properly, he says.

Ortiz expects that the GOP push for poll watchers will continue into next year ahead of the midterms, unless it somehow backfires due to violent incidents at the polls or there is a clear shift away from Trumps narrative that Biden stole the 2020 election. Otherwise well definitely see it againmaybe bigger, he says.

Democrats, too, are skeptical, though they, too, have sent poll watchers to observe in this election. The reason youre seeing this escalation right now, this explosion of interest inquote unquote poll watchingis all based on Trumps conspiracy theories, says a spokesperson for Virginias Democratic party.

Others are simply worried the heightened numbers could be distracting. My hope is that this uptick in poll watchers wont frustrate or fluster our election officials while theyre trying to do their job, says Alexandria Bratton, senior program manager at the Virginia Civic Engagement Table, which sent nonpartisan volunteers spread across 200 polling sites on Tuesday who are trained on reporting any irregularities, including actions of poll watchers. As of Tuesday afternoon they had not received reports of any hostile encounters related to poll watching.

Some local election officials in Virginia seem unphased by the influx. In Albemarle County, where Charlottesville is located, director of elections Richard Washburne says he, too, has seen more poll watchers in the run-up to this Nov. 2 than he has ever seen before. But this year, every single day, he says there has been at least one Democratic poll watcher and one Republican poll watcher for early in-person voting.

I guess a lot of questions are raised about the integrity of our elections and both parties want to be able to look over things, he says. So far, they havent caused any trouble, though his office did have to ask two of them to leave because they refused to wear a mask.

For Gibbons, the election official in Lynchburg, the tense election day atmosphere feels familiar. Last November, on the morning of the presidential election, she found a big banner outside her home saying that she should go to jail. Were all trying to do our jobs as election officials, Gibbons says. We are doing the best we can to follow election laws and its disheartening to see fellow citizens questioning and not trusting that we do have fair elections.
The president of Georgetown College in Kentucky was fired over alleged inappropriate conduct including complaints he sexually assaulted a female colleague.

The private liberal arts Christian college, located about 70 miles from Louisville, announced William A. Jones' termination on Tuesday.

"Georgetown College does not tolerate violence or misuse of authority. We hold our administrators, students and faculty to the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct," said Robert L. Mills, chairman of the college's Board of Trustees, in a statement.

Image: William A. Jones (WLEX)

Jones is accused of sexually assaulting a female employee, engaging in inappropriate behavior with another female worker and displaying "other conduct in violation" of his employment, the college said. The school became aware of the allegations on Sunday and immediately launched an investigation.

Georgetown said in its statement that it had hired outside counsel to assist with the investigation.

"We are surprised and deeply disappointed by what we have learned," Mills said. "We will support the members of our Georgetown College family who are directly impacted, and we will work cooperatively with ongoing or any future investigations."

Mills called a meeting on Monday with the executive committee of the Board of Trustees, which decided to fire Jones. The termination went into effect on Monday. Rosemary Allen, the colleges provost, will serve as acting president by the Colleges Board of Trustees.

"We are confident in the leadership of acting president Allen and the Board appreciates her dedication to the continuing mission of Georgetown College during this difficult time," Mills said.

Jones became president of the college in July 2019. He has not publicly commented on the allegations and could not be reached Wednesday at phone numbers listed for him.
Tyler Skaggs, pitching for the Angels on May 25, 2019, was found dead in a Texas hotel room on July 1, 2019. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

As a grand jury returned a superseding indictment against former Angels communications director Eric Kay on Tuesday in connection with the overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, prosecutors assailed an effort by Kays attorneys to delay his trial thats scheduled to start next week.

The superseding indictment in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth expanded the first of two charges against Kay to include conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. The original charge referenced only fentanyl.

Kays attorneys filed a motion Monday asking Judge Terry Means to postpone the trial for at least 30 days because the superseding indictment disrupted their strategy a week before jury selection. In a response Tuesday, prosecutors insisted theres no grounds for delay.

Defense counsel in this case has taken every opportunity to extend the deadline for this trial, assistant U.S. attorney Lindsey Beran wrote in the response. The defendant and his counsel have been aware of the evidence against the defendant for months. They have been aware that the government intended to present evidence of his entire drug distribution conspiracy, both his oxycodone distribution and his fentanyl distribution. The defendants motion to continue is just another attempt to cause additional, unwarranted delay.

Skaggs was found dead in a Texas hotel room on July 1, 2019, before the Angels played the Texas Rangers. An autopsy report found Skaggs choked on his vomit that resulted from mixed ethanol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication. Law enforcement discovered a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl in the hotel room.

Prosecutors allege Kay, first charged in August 2020, distributed oxycodone to Major League Baseball players since 2017 and provided the fentanyl that resulted in Skaggs death. Kay has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors argued in their response that the superseding indictment doesnt change the underlying conspiracy theyre alleging and wasnt based on new evidence, but instead oxycodone was added so as not to confuse the jury for a trial thats already been delayed four times.

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This discovery contains a significant amount of evidence related to the oxycodone distribution as well as his sources of supply  The defendant has had the evidence for months and will not be prejudiced by or with any new or additional evidence, the response said.

The filing accused the defense of not filing a witness list, which was due Monday, and not providing any discovery.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Josh Duggar. Kris Connor/Getty Images

Former "19 Kids and Counting" star Josh Duggar is awaiting trial on child pornography charges.

Prosecutors and Duggar's defense are battling over whether to raise Duggar's previous molestation scandal at trial.

In 2015, InTouch published a police report detailing allegations that Duggar molested four of his sisters.

Prosecutors want to bring up Josh Duggar's previous molestation scandal as they prepare to take him to trial on child pornography charges, but Duggar's legal team is fighting to suppress that information.

Duggar, once a star of his family's now-cancelled TLC reality show, "19 Kids and Counting," was arrested in April on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. Duggar has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors in the Western District of Arkansas wrote in a Wednesday court filing that they anticipate Duggar's defense will try to argue that the child pornography found on two of Duggar's computers, one at his used car dealership business and one at his home office, were accessed by someone else and that he "is not interested in such material."

To counter that defense, prosecutors said in the filing that they may now seek to introduce evidence that Duggar "committed other acts of child molestation" in approximately 2002 and 2003. Specifically, they said that he was "investigated for, admitted to, and received counseling for touching and sexually molesting multiple minor females."

Prosecutors pointed out that the child pornography found on Duggar's computer also depicts girls in the same "approximate age range."

While prosecutors didn't specify who the "minor females" are, they appear to be referencing Duggar's reported molestation of four of his sisters. The scandal first broke in 2015, when InTouch published a 2006 police report detailing allegations that Duggar molested the sisters while they slept, and at times while they were awake.

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A lawyer for Duggar didn't immediately respond Wednesday to Insider's request for comment, but his legal team addressed the scandal in a filing of their own.

Duggar's lawyers asked a judge not to allow the police report to be admitted because Duggar was never charged with a crime, the allegations are "irrelevant" to the charges in the case, and they could prejudice the jury.

"If the jury were to hear about the allegations lodged against Duggar when he was a minor, an unacceptable risk exists that the jury would convict him in this case, not because the Government has proven him guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt, but because the jury would improperly conclude that the prior allegations against Duggar somehow make it more likely that he committed the charged offenses in this case," Duggar's lawyers said in the filing.

They said such information would "confuse and mislead" the jury and "would needlessly waste time."

Duggar's father, Jim Bob, and members of their church had decided to take Duggar to a police officer to make the report, after Jim Bob learned about his son's behavior and temporarily sent him to live away from the family. Duggar would have been 14 or 15 years old when the allegations detailed in the police report happened.

After InTouch published the police report, Duggar issued a statement appearing to confirm the details.

In the statement, Duggar said that when he was a teen, he "acted inexcusably" and spoke to authorities to confess "my wrongdoing." He claimed to have turned his life around, however, after receiving counseling and seeking forgiveness from "those I had wronged."

TLC cancelled the Duggar family's reality show following the scandal.

Read the original article on Insider
Parents against masks for children in schools sit in a recent Rapides Parish School Board meeting. On Tuesday, the board approved a substitute motion to opt out of mandatory masks, reinstating some Centers for Disease Control protocols and giving parents choice on whether to quarantine their children if they're identified as a close contact of someone positive for COVID-19. But if parents allow their children to go to school, they must wear masks for 10 school days.

The Rapides Parish School Board voted 7-2 for a hybrid solution to masks in schools that will leave parents an option if their kids are identified as close contacts of anyone with COVID-19.

The action was taken so that the board could comply with Gov. John Bel Edwards' recent executive order that dropped his statewide mask mandate for all but school systems that had given parents the option whether or not to quarantine their children identified as close contacts.

Under that order, Rapides Parish public schools still would have had to operate under the mask mandate because it had voted in October to give parents the option to quarantine or not.

More: 'Russian roulette with children': School board adopts parental choice despite warning

Dr. David Holcombe, Region 6 public health director, compared the policy to playing "Russian roulette with children" before that vote since students would not be required to have a negative test to return to school.

A motion to discuss options was added to Tuesday's agenda, but there wasn't much discussion from board members. District G's Keith Breazeale immediately made a substitute motion that he said also was on behalf of fellow board member Wilton Barrios.

It opts out of mandatory masking, reinstates some Centers for Disease Control protocols and tweaks the parental option. Now, students identified as close contacts can attend school but must wear a mask for 10 school days.

President Buddy McCall and District F member Linda Burgess voted against the substitute motion.

A revised policy was being worked on Wednesday.

The substitute motion does not change the federal mandate that still requires masks to be worn on school buses, said Superintendent Jeff Powell.

The board also took up two items related to a planned $100 million bond issue it wants to place on the ballot next year to improve schools within Alexandria.

Both passed unanimously.

One approved the wording for the bond call, a procedural move that had to be done before the issue goes to the State Bond Commission.

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The other motion laid out how the bond money would be divided between the district's three feeder systems  the elementary, junior high and high schools children progress through in their zoned attendance areas.

Thirty percent of the money would go each to the Bolton and Peabody Magnet High schools feeder systems. Forty percent would go to the Alexandria Senior High School feeder system.

The allocation was based on how much money would be spent per student in the feeder systems. Because of capacity, the ASH feeder system would have received less money per student if the bond money was split evenly among the three.

The board also went into executive session for an update on an investigation of the district's maintenance policy and to get a report on "property loss due to unauthorized substitution of equipment, failure to proceed with work in a timely manner and failure to perform work in a professional manner at Pineville High School and Bolton High School," according to the agenda.

After returning from executive session, the board did not discuss the maintenance department investigation. But members did unanimously approve the pursuit of litigation in the Pineville and Bolton high issues, which were identified as being related to the repair of chillers and mitigation associated with that.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Rapides School Board tweaks policy so masks no longer are mandatory
Shannon Salter, 37, a poet and writing teacher protesting solar energy development in Nevada's Pahrump Valley, stands next to a fence demarcating the site of the Yellow Pine solar project. (Meg Bernhard / For The Times)

When some people look at the Mojave Desert, they see a vast expanse of nothing. But Shannon Salter sees ancient Mojave yuccas and wispy creosote bushes, shrewd kangaroo rats and slender foxes, all living atop a hard-packed crust of rock and lichen formed over thousands of years.

Theres this idea that its a wasteland, Salter said. No, its a vibrant, amazing thing. We are turning it into a wasteland with all of our antics.

In mid-October, Salter, a 37-year-old poet and writing teacher, moved into a campsite in the Pahrump Valley  just east of the California border in southern Nevada  to protest a solar project that she and other activists argue will irreparably damage the fragile desert ecosystem.

Shannon Salter, 37, camps in protest near the site of the Yellow Pine solar project in Nevada's Pahrump Valley. She is living out of a wooden camper. (Meg Bernhard / For The Times)

Yellow Pine, a 3,000-acre solar farm, will provide 500 megawatts of electricity to 100,000 homes in California.

It's the sort of renewable energy project that scientists and policymakers gathering this week in Glasgow, Scotland, for the United Nations climate conference, or COP26, say is needed on a massive scale to wean the world off fossil fuels and stave off the worst effects of global warming.

But even clean energy, from wind to solar to hydropower, isn't entirely clean.

More than 100,000 yucca and other plants will be destroyed during construction of Yellow Pine. This year, scientists relocated more than 100 federally protected desert tortoises from the site in preparation for construction, but about 30 of those have died, possibly eaten by badgers.

Is this really the way we want to do this?" Salter said. "Is this really green?

Other environmentalists believe more can be done to minimize the damage from solar farms, but accept some ill effects as the price of reducing carbon emissions.

We try to be really pragmatic, said Shayna Steingard, a policy analyst at Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation group that works to protect native animals and plants. We know that we have to meet our renewable energy goals and that is going to rely a lot on solar energy at the utility scale, that we will need to develop in the desert."

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Solar developers have long viewed the Mojave as prime real estate because of its sparse population and abundant sunshine. Two-thirds of Nevada  including the Yellow Pine site  is public land overseen by the federal Bureau of Land Management, offering one-stop shopping for massive swaths of land.

Construction at the Yellow Pine site is expected to start in coming months and be completed by the end of next year. It is part of a new generation of facilities that feature not only photovoltaic solar panels but also lithium-ion battery storage that enables delivery of electricity at night.

The developer, NextEra Energy Resources, a renewable energy company based in Florida, says the project will create 350 jobs during construction and generate $46 million in tax revenue for Nevadas Clark County over 30 years.

The company is working closely with state and federal agencies and has taken significant steps in project siting and design to minimize the overall environmental impacts of the project, Bryan Garner, a spokesperson for the company, wrote in a statement.

Plants will be mowed but not completely razed in hopes that they will eventually grow back.

Steven Grodsky, a scientist with the United States Geological Survey, said more research is needed to understand the effects of solar development on desert ecosystems.

Were in the midst of this rapid and necessary energy transition, but we dont have a clear path forward in terms of how to do it sustainably, he said.

In studies of the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in Nipton, Calif., Grodsky and other federal researchers have found declines in biodiversity. Cacti and yucca never grew back, the population of moths and other non-bee pollinators fell, and thousands of birds die each year from collisions or immolation as they chase insects around the facility.

Instead of building in the desert, some conservationists advocate for whats known as distributed solar  smaller solar panels built on top of roofs and parking lots in urban areas, places where wildlife has already been disturbed.

But many experts say that such a patchwork approach is impractical and insufficient given the threat of climate change. The Department of Energy recommends erecting solar panels in both cities and rural areas.

They have generally concluded in order to meet the renewable energy requirements that the country has over the next 30 years we need to do both, said Heidi Hartmann, an environmental scientist with the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois who has worked with federal agencies to determine the best locations for solar farms.

Lawmakers across the nation have unveiled ambitious plans for renewable energy. In September, the Biden administration issued a plan that would see the country generating 45% of its electricity from solar panels by 2050.

The Nevada Legislature passed a bill in 2019 that requires the state to generate half its electricity from renewables by 2030  nearly doubling their current share.

Nine solar installations are already operating on federal land in Nevada, with several others in the works, according to a Bureau of Land Management spokesperson. Over the summer, a plan for what would have been the largest solar farm in the state was scrapped after residents in the Moapa Valley protested that it would have been an eyesore that hurt tourism.

Salter is not opposed to the solar industry. She just doesn't want it in the desert  a place she quickly came to love after moving from Irvine to Nevada about a decade ago.

Her first environmental protests were against hydraulic fracking. She has also fought a proposal to erect wind turbines near a forest of Joshua trees.

Now she spends each morning walking a mile or so from her campsite to the Yellow Pine construction zone.

I just want to be able to see whats going on all the time, she said. Every day Im going over there. Im getting to know the valley better."

A barbed-wire fence marks the boundary of the future solar field. On a recent morning, developers were testing the soils stability to determine where theyd begin drilling.

Salter walked toward a cluster of trucks and greeted two workers. What are those? she asked, pointing to a square hole in the fence with a slab of wood underneath.

Theyre for the birds, replied a woman wearing a hard hat who was there to make sure the developers followed federal guidelines for protecting wildlife. So they dont get stuck to the fence.

Returning to her campsite, Salter ran into Ron Callison, a Pahrump resident whom shed met the week before. He gave her cookies made of mesquite flour and said he would camp with her that night.

Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the country says, Ive been across Nevada, theres nothing out there, Callison said. Someone in Connecticut says, theres just a lot of dried up bushes. They just happen to be hundreds of years old.

Salter nodded.

She understands that killing the Yellow Pine project is almost certainly a lost cause. There are still occasional protests, usually no more than a few dozen people. But it's been a year since the Bureau of Land Management rejected a petition from the Nevada conservation group Basin and Range Watch to block construction.

Shannon Salter sets up a 100-watt solar panel on a folding table to generate her own electricity for charging her laptop and cellphone for her online tutoring jobs. (Meg Bernhard / For The Times)

Still, Salter said she plans to camp out as long as construction lasts, changing campsites every couple of weeks to stay in compliance with the rules about living on federal public land.

Her accommodations are sparse: a wooden camper hauled in by friends with a truck and outfitted with a mattress and a thick sleeping bag. To generate her own electricity  which she needs to charge her laptop and cellphone for her online tutoring jobs  she set up a 100-watt solar panel on a folding table.

To shower, she drives her Toyota 30 miles to Tecopa, Calif., where there are natural hot springs, and for meals she uses a propane stove.

In her view, leaving would mean giving up, and the issue is not going away.

In the Pahrump Valley, four other solar development projects, all within a day's walk of Salter's camp, are awaiting federal approval.

Bernhard is a special correspondent.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ree Drummond's brother has died, leaving many in her family's home state of Oklahoma in mourning.

A social media post shared by Drummond's sister on Tuesday revealed that their brother, Michael Smith, recently died.

"We lost Michael, my sweet and wonderful brother, this last weekend. He was one of a kind, and he will be missed by so many people who loved him. Im very thankful for his life, the connections he made and his caring, fun and independent spirit. Love you forever, Mikey," Betsy Smith wrote.

A representative for the food blogger and star of "Pioneer Woman" did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment.

TAWNY KITAEN'S AUTOPSY AND TOXICOLOGY REPORT FINDINGS REVEALED

Ree Drummond's brother Mike Smith died Photo by: Tyler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

In another post shared to Facebook, Bartlesville, Oklahoma resident Dan Dalton described the food blogger's brother as a local "icon."

"It is with a sad heart to announce that Bartlesville Icon, Michael Smith, has gone to heaven. He is well known by almost everyone in Bartlesville and other parts of the state and known nationally due to Ree Drummond his famous sister. It is nice to know that he went fast and did not suffer. God has been very good to my favorite buddy. I know he is making lots of new friends in heaven," the post reads.

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According to a local report, Drummond's brother had special needs. He made an appearance on her television show on the Food Network in Season 7 and was known as "Cowboy Mike."

Back in 2013, Drummond posted online about the episode featuring her brother, calling it her "favorite episodefor obvious reasons."

A cause of death has not been released. Drummond has yet to publicly comment.

The "Pioneer Woman" is known for her successful cooking show and food blog and has turned her love of making food and desserts into an empire in her home state of Oklahoma, where she and husband, Ladd Drummond, live on a ranch.
Republican Jason Miyares, the son of a Cuban refugee, defeated the Democratic incumbent to become Virginia's first Latino attorney general and the first Hispanic elected statewide.

Miyares was officially declared the winner on Wednesday afternoon by NBC News after a very tight race.

Miyares had rooted his campaign in his mothers flight from Cuba in 1965, saying often on the campaign trail that it was where his story started.

He congratulated his mom in a victory statement late Tuesday night. "Mom, you did well." She arrived from Cuba 56 years ago "with nothing but a dream, a dream for a better life for her family," he said.

"Now I stand here today  elected to be the attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia," Miyares said, referring to himself as the "first-ever son of an immigrant and the first Latino elected statewide in the Commonwealth's history."

With the win, Miyares, a Virginia House delegate and former prosecutor, denied Democrat Attorney General Mark Herring a third term.

Miyares' win was part of the Republican victory in the state, with GOP gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin defeating Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe.

Miyares had made history as the first Cuban American elected to Virginias General Assembly, in 2015. He represented the 82nd District in the House, which is about 83 percent white, 10.3 percent Black, 3.3 percent Asian and 5.3 percent Hispanic.

Miyares took a hard line on law enforcement issues, including attempts at police reforms. But the campaign was mired by Miyares attempts to tie Herring to allegations of misconduct by the state parole board, even though Herring has no power over the parole boards decisions.

On Day one, well work toward a safe and secure Virginia and ending the criminal first, victim last mindset, he stated. Virginia has spoken. We want safe streets, we want our police to be well trained and supported in the community and we want the rule of law respected. I intend on delivering on my campaign promises.

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Democrats had hoped to be the first to elect a Latino to a statewide position, but Hala Ayala lost her bid for lieutenant governor to Winsome Sears, who is the first woman and first Black woman elected to the post.

Former President Obama Campaigns With Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Terry McAuliffe (Carlos Bernate / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Ayala, who identifies as Afro Latina, had already made history in 2017 when she was one of the first two Latinas elected to the state House of Delegates.

The other Latina elected that year, Elizabeth Guzman, won her House of Delegates race in District 31 Tuesday. Alfonso Lopez, also won his race in District 49.

Latinos gave Democrats strong support

Despite Ayalas loss, the large majority of Latinos supported the Democratic candidates, according to NBC News exit poll numbers.

Sixty-six percent of Latinos voted for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, while 32 percent voted for Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, who won the race.

Latinos made up 5 percent of the states electorate. Almost half (48 percent) of Virginia Latinos identified as Democrat, 18 percent as Republican and 34 percent as Independent.

According to the NBC News Exit Poll, 32 percent of Latinos in the state voted for Miyares, while 67 percent voted for Herring.

Miyares has said in many interviews and on the campaign trail that his mother fled Cuba when she was 19, after seeing her brother taken from their home by security forces and then subjected to a mock execution. Miyares also said his father left the family when he was a teenager.

"My mother fled Cuba in October of 1965," Miyares told a crowd in October, The Washington Post reported. "And almost 50 years to the day she left she was able to go in the voting booth and get a ballot and vote for me to represent her in the oldest democracy in the Western hemisphere."

"Thats what I call the American miracle," he said.

Miyares has emphasized that his mother immigrated legally to the country.

Many people who came to the U.S. from Cuba after the 1959 Cuban revolution were regarded as refugees, including more than 200,000 who boarded U.S.-sponsored Freedom Flights from Cuba to the U.S. from 1965 to 1973, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Cubans for years experienced preferential treatment for legal residency and citizenship in the U.S.

On his website, Miyares said he supports legal immigration, but he will not allow illegal immigrants to take advantage of American laws and is in favor of efforts to strengthen border security.

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PALISADES PARK  A Republican who was once accused of voter fraud appears poised to win a seat on the Borough Council, ousting a longtime councilman, according to unofficial results.

Stephanie Jang, a member of the Board of Education, was leading Democratic incumbent Jongchul Lee by 57 votes as of Wednesday, as some mail-in ballots were still being counted. The tally stood at 1,137 votes for Jang to 1,080 for Lee.

Incumbent Chong "Paul" Kim, a Democrat, led the vote totals with 1,162. Republican Matteo Osso had 889 votes. Two three-year terms were on the ballot.

Last year during the primaries in June, Councilwoman Cynthia Pirrera and her running mate, Jae Park, who both received nominations from the Democratic committee, filed a claim against challengers Councilman Frank Donohue and Jang, who was the Board of Education president at the time.

The Bergen County superintendent of elections said at the time that there was an investigation into fraud allegations involving mail-in ballots against Donohue and Jang. The status of the investigation is unclear.

NJ election results 2021: Governor, Senate, Assembly race results

NJ elections: Where the NJ governor's race stands, what to expect and what happens next

Pirrera and Park claimed that on June 10, associates of Donohue and Jang went to a county-owned senior housing facility in town, set up tables in the lobby, then went door to door asking residents to fill out ballots in the lobby.

The associates handled and, in some cases, completed the ballots, according to the complaint. At the time, Donohue and Jang called the claims "fraudulent accusations" and said they followed the rules "rigorously" while at the senior center.

Stephanie Jang , a candidate for Palisades Park Council, is at the polls as a challenger at a voting site at Charles Lindbergh Elementary School on Tuesday July 7, 2020.

Jang said that as of Wednesday, she never has received an official letter or phone call regarding the investigation and doesn't know its status.

"I don't know if an investigation was ever started," she said. "There's been no communication, no official letter or action taken place."

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Jang said she is used to roadblocks when it comes to running for public office in Palisades Park.

When she first ran for a Board of Education seat 15 years ago, she needed to fight to have her name on the ballot.

Jang said that in 2007 she sued the school board and went through court appeals to challenge accusations that she forged names on a petition to place her name on the ballot.

Center, Stephanie Jang, a candidate for Palisades Park Council, is at the polls as a challenger at a voting site at Charles Lindbergh Elementary School on Tuesday July 7, 2020.

"That was my beginning, because I was running as an outsider," Jang said. "It's been 15 years and this is my seventh time running after four failed attempts."

She said she continued to run because she loves the town and is concerned about high taxes.

"I think the people helped me because they believe me and still have faith in me," Jang said. "I have to do a good job."

NJ governor's race: Once considered a sleepy race, New Jersey's contest for governor may now be a bellwether

Jang said as a councilwoman she wants to dig out a recent comptroller's report on alleged waste and fraud in the borough to make sure it is being complied with, and to look at how the town can prevent flooding.

"I know it [Ida] was a natural disaster, but some portions in town were affected by what I believe are man-made mistakes," she said. "There are some sewage problems and overdevelopment. I will like to straighten up those crooked roads."

Palisades Park school board

The Board of Education also will see an incumbent replaced on the board. The top three vote-getters now are incumbent Eun Young Min with 1,032 votes, Soo J. Chung with 944 votes and Charlie C. Shin with 932 votes.

Former Mayor James Rotundo was in fourth place with 682 votes, followed by incumbent Hyunjin Rebekah Lee with 565 votes and Katie Nascenti with 521.

If Jang wins a council seat, there will be a vacancy on the school board that will need to be filled. The typical procedure is to list the opening and gather applications. The school board will conduct interviews and select someone to serve until the next election.

Kristie Cattafi is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: cattafi@northjersey.com

Twitter: @KristieCattafi

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Palisades Park NJ election race close, but Republican holds edge
Within days of launching, SQUID coin was shuttered and its creators made away with millions, suggesting it was a cryptocurrency scam known as a rug pull.



Rise in popularity: Although unaffiliated with the hit Korean Netflix show Squid Game, the cryptocurrency took advantage of its namesakes popularity to convince more than 40,000 people to invest.



The currency began at just $.01 per token and inflated 83,000% to reach a peak of $2,856.65 before ultimately crashing.

The tokens were touted as the currency for a forthcoming play-to-earn online game reminiscent of the Netflix series which was promised to go live later in November.

Some investors reported being taken in by the coins name, believing there was a relationship between the currency and the Netflix project.











Rapid collapse: The currency is now worth $0 and its social media, website, and email are all now defunct, with the creators identities yet unknown.



A red flag was raised early on by skeptics who noticed it was nearly impossible to sell the coin and cash out after purchasing.

SQUID is now being labeled as a rug pull, referring to a scam in which the creators of a cryptocurrency cash out for real money and stop others from trading, effectively draining the currency of value.

One Shanghai investor told CNBC he lost his entire life savings of $28,000 to the scam.



Experts warn that just because a new cryptocurrency bears the name of a popular show or trend, investors should not assume any affiliation.



Featured Image via Netflix / "Squid Game"

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Sen. Ted Cruz. Ken Cedeno/AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Ted Cruz wants merchants on Capitol Hill to be able to accept cryptocurrency as payment.

The Texas Republican filed a resolution calling on administrative managers to work on crypto-friendly payment contracts.

Crypto payments at vending machines and gift shops would be accepted under Cruz's resolution.

Sen. Ted Cruz wants to allow food vendors and other merchants serving US Congress to accept cryptocurrency as payment, saying the move could foster wider acceptance of digital-payments technology.

In a resolution dated Nov. 1, the Texas Republican calls for administrative managers on Capitol Hill to solicit and enter contracts that would let businesses take digital assets as payment for goods.

Businesses and consumers are increasingly embracing cryptocurrency. Congress, however, "is typically slow to adopt new technology," Cruz told Breitbart News. "My bill would position Congress to lead on this issue by having congressional cafeterias, vending machines, and gift shops accept crypto payments."

The resolution also says administrative managers may not enter into contracts that would preclude the selection of other payment types that are cost-effective and offer value to customers.

Cruz has positioned himself as a proponent of cryptocurrencies. He recently spoke out against provisions in a bipartisan Senate bill that included new tax rules for crypto-trading firms and brokers aimed at raising $28 billion in new revenue over a decade. The money would be used to fund President Joe Biden's infrastructure package, the White House has said.

And last month, Cruz said at the Texas Blockchain Summit that bitcoin mining could help the state with its power grid problems.

The state of Texas is also emerging as a cryptocurrency hotspot as bitcoin miners increasingly relocate there to take advantage of its deregulated energy market.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Seven Kansas City area residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to a cocaine distribution conspiracy.

The indictment was unsealed Tuesday in the Western District of Missouri, according to the federal prosecutors office. Charges against the group include conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of at least 500 grams of cocaine.

The defendants are Irfran Causevic, 37; Christopher C. Oregel, 29; Nicholas Carrillo, 32; Admir Suljic, 34; Augustine Charles Aviles, 32; Jacob Daniel Craven, 24; and Micah N. Bond, 36.

Causevic was first charged in the conspiracy in June and has since been released pending trial. The other six defendants were arrested early Tuesday, according to prosecutors.

An attorney representing Causevic declined to comment Tuesday evening. Court records did not list attorneys for the other six defendants.

Causevic was first arrested after he allegedly agreed to sell cocaine to an undercover Jackson County detective. He is accused of selling 113 grams for $3,500 on one occasion and agreeing to sell nine more ounces for $6,000 on another occasion, court records show.

The case was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the FBI, Kansas City police and the criminal division of the IRS.
Inside a Maryland juvenile detention facility in Anne Arundel County, officials struggled to manage a girl who tried to injure herself and staffers on numerous occasions.

She threatened to stab workers with colored pencils and attempted to assault them and other youth. After she tried hanging herself, staff at the Thomas J.S. Waxter Childrens Center in Laurel, not trained for the level of mental health care needed, put her in physical restraints inside her cell, one of several times theyve done so after she attempted to kill herself or harm others.

What happened to the girl represents the opposite of how state policies and advocates say such cases should be handled, and violates best practices calling for children in need of intensive psychiatric care to be housed in hospitals, not jail cells. She spent at least three weeks at Waxter until the state found an inpatient psychiatric hospital for her, according to the Department of Juvenile Services.

The incident also spotlights Marylands serious  some argue dangerous  shortage of staff, beds and treatment options for at-risk youth and, the public defenders office said, violates state law. The state had been slow to adopt better methods, experts and advocates say, and the sharp uptick in mental health issues facing youth during the COVID-19 pandemic may have only worsened things.

With juvenile psychiatric beds continually at capacity and a long waitlist, state officials say Maryland is not equipped to handle such incidents in its facilities. In addition, courts increasingly are sending children deemed not competent to stand trial to an alternative residential treatment program for minors. But even that program is currently full, which juvenile justice advocates say is pushing more minors into detention centers.

We dont want those places to become the default for people with severe mental health issues, said Nick Moroney, director of the states Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit, a group in the Maryland Attorney Generals Office charged with overseeing the Department of Juvenile Services treatment of children in state custody.

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The unit included the account of the girl who attempted to hang herself in the Laurel detention facility its latest quarterly report issued in August.

During the young womans stay at Waxter, behavioral health staff made daily phone calls to local inpatient hospitals to attempt to locate a bed for her, the Department of Juvenile Services wrote in response to the report.

While she was at the facility, there were at least 22 incidents where the girl acted out in a number of ways, ranging from swallowing random objects to punching a staffer, the report found.

Several times the girl was placed in mechanical restraints and isolated from other youths on site, sometimes for hours as staffers tried to subdue her. But thats not how DJS should have responded to a child suffering from severe mental health issues, according to the report.

The emphasis on compliance in correctional settings and a reliance on maintaining control through use of verbal commands (directives), physical and mechanical restraints and isolation (seclusion) to enforce compliance can be ineffective and re-traumatizing for many youth and can lead to both staff and youth physical and psychological injury, the report reads.

Moroney, who helped write the report, acknowledged that staffers didnt have much choice.

I think they tried to handle the child with as much consideration of her situation and her feelings as they could, given the resources they had, he said. Theyre not mental health experts. At the same time, they have this overarching mandate to keep the kid safe and to keep everybody else safe.

In response, DJS says that all detention centers have onsite clinical expertise to address youth needs and that, during this period, six licensed clinical staff and two addictions counselors were assigned to Waxter.

Through their professional yet compassionate care, the Waxter staff protected and supported the young woman during a difficult time, DJS wrote in response to the report, while adding it tried several times without success to admit her to an inpatient psychiatric program.

The state has been struggling with an ongoing shortage of psychiatric beds, exacerbated by increased demand brought on by the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maryland Department of Health spokesman David McCallister said that all state-run inpatient psychiatric facilities were at capacity as of Oct. 25. There are about 1,629 adult and juvenile beds at the five state-run psychiatric institutions, but only 1,026 are staffed, according to state officials.

And data from the Maryland Health Care Commission shows the average bed occupancy rate among acute psychiatric care units in general hospitals rose from about 68% in both the second and third quarters of 2020 to almost 74% by the last quarter, the latest data available.

DJS spokesman Eric Solomon said the department is working with all-child serving agencies as well as the Department of Health and Department of Human Resources to advocate for more psychiatric services to be made available for children.

In addition to providing treatment in our residential facilities, DJS contracts with many providers and are always looking to improve our continuum by increasing the access of behavioral health services to our youth, Solomon said in a statement.

The state has taken some steps to provide more psychiatric care to younger patients. In June, the University of Maryland Childrens Hospital opened the Trauma-Informed Children and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, a 16-bed treatment facility for children and teens experiencing acute mental health crises.

However, it did little to alleviate the states occupancy rate for such facilities as evidenced by the waitlist for treatment.

Without private providers adding more beds or the state funding an expansion of youth psychiatric services, the states juvenile capacity problem will only be exacerbated by the ongoing demand.

After a juvenile is arrested for a crime, a judge determines whether they need to be evaluated for competency to stand trial. Children also must be evaluated for their maturity and their ability to behave in the courtroom. The standard is based on developmental normalcy, according to the Department of Health.

Juveniles whove been ruled incompetent to stand trial can be sent to the Spring Grove Hospital Center, a 375-bed facility in Baltimore County that provides a broad spectrum of inpatient psychiatric services to adults and adolescents, as well as comprehensive residential psychiatric services to adults.

Children sent to Spring Grove must fit specific criteria, including having a mental disorder, needing inpatient care and posing a danger to themselves or others. But that facility is among those McAllister cited as running at full capacity.

If cases where theyre found not competent but likely to attain competency within 90 days, some juvenile defendants are sent to outpatient services in their community.

But increasingly, courts are ordering placement in an alternative residential treatment program at a Maryland Department of Health facility for children in Rockville. The state health department reported that 62% of juveniles found not competent for trial were referred to the Rockville facilitys program in 2020, compared with just 38% in 2017. Thats resulted in limited space in a facility where stays typically average a little less than 3 months, but can be up to 18 months if court-ordered.

Solomon said two minors are waiting to be placed at the Rockville facility as of Oct. 25, with one being housed at a state detention center awaiting an opening.

Youth are placed in DJS detention facilities through court orders, which DJS is required to follow, Solomon wrote in an email. By law, competency attainment services cannot be provided in a juvenile detention facility.

Jenny Egan, the chief attorney of Public Defenders Offices juvenile division, said the courts and DJS are violating Maryland law, which states that if a child is ruled incompetent to stand trial but has a reasonable probability of attaining competency, courts cannot place them in a detention center.

Our courts and DJS are ignoring the law and holding kids in jail until beds come open, she said, adding theres a lack of accountability as we have long known there are not enough beds and resources for children with psychiatric needs.

Egan argues the juvenile services department has conflicting priorities, advocating for more rehabilitative services even as it invests millions of dollars into upgrades for a Western Maryland youth detention facility to improve its security for higher-risk juveniles. That Garrett County center has sat dormant for months after the daily population was moved out during the coronavirus pandemic.

We need comprehensive wraparound services and a continuum of care, Egan said. What DJS must do is not just build more facilities ... they need a comprehensive plan to build a continuum of care with a focus on maintaining and treating kids with the highest needs in our communities.
Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Fear not, pancake lovers. The OPEC of maple syrup plans to dip into its sticky stockpile to cover a shortfall of the breakfast staple.The organization, Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, said it is draining nearly 50 million pounds of syrup from barrels in its strategic reserve, about half its stockpile and the most since 2008. The amount being released is equal to more than a third of this years harvest in the French-speaking Canadian province, the worlds top supplier. Output plunge
Jacob Somers, who spent months in Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center as a child, now works as a utility worker. Courtesy of Jacob Somers.

A Tennessee juvenile court judge used policies to illegally arrest and detain kids, sometimes without sufficient cause, a probe found.

Rutherford County has settled an $11 million class-action lawsuit on behalf of the children who were illegally arrested and detained.

Some of the children still feel the effects of the Rutherford County juvenile justice system to this day.

Jacob Somers recalls being 14 years old the first time he was arrested by authorities in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He recalled police pushing him up against a wall and handcuffing him before walking him out of his apartment complex in front of his neighbors. He cried in the back of the police car, and the cops ignored him, he said.

"There were maybe two or three cops that I could feel that they understood this isn't normal, this isn't right," Somers, now 22, told Insider. "All the other ones, they want to be hard on me and try and do that whole scared straight thing."

"They would fully pat me down, search me, and then take me to juvenile, and then I'd be sitting in there for two weeks at a time," Somers added. "It just became such a common thing."

Somers said he was arrested on charges like unruliness or truancy about 10 times before he turned 18. It added up to nearly six months at Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center. The county is in the process of settling a class-action lawsuit alleging the county was illegally arresting and detaining children dating back to the 1990s.

ProPublica reported that in 2014, Rutherford County jailed the children that were arrested in 48% of cases, compared to the state average of 5%. The county has agreed to pay up to $11 million, including $7.75 million to the children who were arrested and detained.

Somers is one of about 1,500 plaintiffs represented by the lawsuit. He claimed that his time in the juvenile detention system derailed his life.

"I had a couple of truancy charges because of the fact I was missing so much school because I was in juvenile," Somers said, adding that he bounced around alternative schools and homeschooling before dropping out before graduating. "I just kind of gave up cause I missed so much school  I had no idea what was going on."

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'The judge, jury, and executioner'

Rutherford County's Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport utilized a "process" that involved having children arrested by police, ProPublica reported. After their arrest, the children were taken to a juvenile detention center where a jailer - who was appointed by Davenport - used a "filter system" to decide which children to hold. The children later appear before Davenport in juvenile court. Davenport's office did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

During proceedings for the lawsuit against Rutherford County in 2017, Davenport said the "safety of the child" is a top priority in deciding whether to detain children, which meant determining "if the child is a risk to themselves or a risk to the community." She tried to "dig deep on those detention hearings" in order to "find out what's going on" with the children and their families, she said, according to court documents.

"We listen to everybody that touches and concerns our children so that when they leave there, we can go ahead and start that process that we're mandated to do, which is to help them and treat and rehabilitate that bad behavior," Davenport said during proceedings.

Judge Donna Scott Davenport is accused of creating policies that led to children being illegally arrested and detained. rutherfordcountytn.gov

In court documents, Davenport said "we're dealing with the offender in juvenile court. We're not dealing with the offense."

Somers said Davenport was harsh on children as well as their families, recalling one time that Davenport told Somers' mother to "shut your mouth" as she tried to explain their family situation during a court hearing. He added that of all the times he was arrested, he never considered himself a danger to others or himself.

"Judge Davenport told me that - excuse my language - if I don't straighten my shit, then she was going to lock me up until I was 18. I was 16 at the time," Somers said. "She pretty much was the judge, jury, and executioner."

Somers' roommate, Zachary Chittavong, also went through the juvenile justice system in Rutherford County. They work together now doing utility work and laying water pipes for 50 hours a week. Chittavong was sent to the juvenile center several times between ages 11 and 17. He was charged with burglary and unlawful drug paraphernalia, among other things.

"None of them were violent. I was not a mean kid," Chittavong, now 22, told Insider. "Nobody was being harmed. Not even myself. There were no threats against myself or anyone else. It was mostly just as punishment, like, 'You did something bad, so I'm going to show you what I could do to make you straighten up.'"

Chittavong also got truancy charges for missing school while he was in the juvenile center, and he bounced around different alternative schools until, like Somers, he dropped out. It was during that time he said he developed a drug habit.

"I got really bad on drugs because like all the people that were just chilling there ... they all wanted to be gangbangers, fight and sell drugs or get on drugs," Chittavong said. "Eventually, that shit broke me. I was like, I guess I'll try it too. I was already a fuck up basically in the eyes of education and school and the state. I was just trying to find myself. It didn't work out too well."

Inside the juvenile detention center

Somers, Chittavong, and several of their friends spent time in the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center. Rutherford County

The Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center is described as a "64-bed facility" that serves as secure housing for juveniles, according to its website. The center also provides for "the care, safety, and protection of youth in an environment that fosters healthy social, emotional, and intellectual development."

Rutherford County has a promotional video, narrated by Davenport, advertising the facility's services to surrounding counties who may want to place detainees in the detention center, a service for which Rutherford county charges $175 per day, per child, ProPublica found.

Chittavong remembers the detention center differently. He recalled the small cells and thin mattresses that he compared to a "camping bedroll with plastic all over it." They had to sleep with the lights on, so Chittavong would wrap his shirt around his head at night. Sometimes, they were allowed to have books or rent a pencil to write letters to family members. They could call their parents every other day.

"Each time I was in juvie, it was just another weird experience of feeling like I was just going to be stuck in there forever, going down the wrong part of the system. Being stuck in a system and not being a normal person," Chittavong said.

Chittavong said detainees weren't permitted to sleep during the day; guards would bang on the doors or even pepper spray them if they were caught lying down. When the children were awoken before 5 a.m. for showers, the guards on patrol would "just sit there and stare at you while you're butt naked."

The detention center was advertised as a high-tech, secure facility. Rutherford County

"They definitely looked at you like you weren't a normal person," he said. "You just feel the judgment in their eyes, like you're lesser than You're just somebody that's lost, and you're no longer going to be able to get out of the system. You're never going to be something in life."

A spokesperson for Rutherford County said the "conditions and practices" of the juvenile detention center "meet the institutional standards set forth by the State." They declined to offer further comment.

An ongoing cycle

Since going through the juvenile system, both Somers and Chittavong have been to jail as adults, as have many of their friends. Once you go through the system as a juvenile, you will almost certainly go through the system as an adult, they said.

"When you get inside the system here, you're stuck in it for good basically," Chittavong said, adding that if your family couldn't afford to pay off the court fees, "you're just completely screwed" and would likely end up back in the juvenile center.

An estimated 2.1 million minors are arrested in the United States each year, and studies that followed juveniles released from detention centers found that the average rate of rearrest was 55%, according to data compiled by several federal agencies.

Detainees were permitted to speak with their families over the phone every other day, Chittavong said. Rutherford County.

Michael, one of Somers and Chittavong's peers who went through the juvenile system, spoke to Insider from Rutherford County jail. He asked to go by his middle name for fear of repercussions from county officials for speaking out.

"It's so hard to get out, so hard to break the cycle," Michael, 22, told Insider. "Once you're tagged in Murfreesboro for something stupid, you're on the radar forever Juvenile was not rehabilitation. It was more like torture, and you just get out and do the same old thing."

Of Rutherford County's population of approximately 332,000 people, 70% are white and 15% are Black. Still, the county disproportionately arrested and detained children of color, ProPublica reported. Michael, who is mixed, said race "definitely" played a part in sentencing.

"I've been to court, and me and some white kid had the same charges. He got sent home. I went to jail," Michael said. "It was definitely predominantly people of color."

'Everything needs to change'

In the future, Chittavong wants to "repair all the damage" from his childhood and gain a better outlook on life. Somers hopes to get his GED and use his settlement money to go to community college. He doesn't know where he will go but he wants to "definitely get out of Murfreesboro."

"A kid just being a kid now, rebelling a little bit, or a kid trying to find himself going through all the emotions of puberty and everything else like that is seen as...a danger to themselves and other people in this county," Somers said. "Everything needs to change, but I also don't think it ever will."

Michael hopes to go to rehab for his drug addiction and then go to college for a business degree.

"I want to have my own house, my own family," he said. "I don't want to be 30, 35 years old like everyone else in jail."

Plaintiffs of the class-action lawsuit had until October 29 to submit a claim for settlement money. Kyle Mothershead, one of the lawyers on the case, told Insider that over 500 claims were submitted and are currently pending approval. Plaintiffs who were illegally arrested may get $1,000, and those who were illegally detained may get about $4,800, he said.

"We are doing everything we can to obtain as much compensation as possible for the victims of Rutherford County's illegal detention and arrest policies," Mothershead said. "While we have put a stop to these policies through federal court intervention, we hope to see the officials responsible held accountable in the coming months - by the state government, the federal government, and the voters of Rutherford County."

Michael said he doesn't care about the settlement money.

"A thousand dollars is nothing compared to everything I've been through," Michael said. "It's not worth the money. I wish I could just have the time back."

Read the original article on Insider
The Illinois woman convicted in Indonesia of helping her boyfriend kill her mother and hiding her body in a suitcase arrived in the U.S. on Wednesday morning and was immediately taken into federal custody on a new set of charges, according to the Department of Justice. Heather Mack, 26, is now facing conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges.

Mack and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were convicted in Indonesia in 2015 of killing her wealthy socialite mother, Sheila Von Wiese-Mack. Mack was released from an Indonesian prison last week after serving more than seven years, and was deported back to the U.S. soon after. Schafer is still serving an 18-year sentence in Indonesia.

A federal indictment from 2017, which was unsealed as Mack flew to Chicago on Wednesday, accuses Mack and Schaefer of conspiring to kill Von Wiese-Mack in her hotel room at a Bali resort in August 2014, and of hiding her body in a suitcase and leaving it in the trunk of a taxi. Both are charged with one count of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, one count of conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national, and one count of obstruction, the Department of Justice said.

Heather Mack, an American woman jailed in 2015 with her boyfriend after being found guilty for playing a role in murdering her mother and stuffing the remains in a suitcase, is seen inside an immigration car after being released from Kerobokan Prison in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, on October 29, 2021. / Credit: Johannes Christo / Reuters

After killing Von Wiese-Mack, Mack and Schaefer "corruptly destroyed, mutilated and concealed objects," by putting her mother's body in a suitcase and removing it from the scene of the crime, and removing "linens and items of clothing worn during the killing," according to the indictment.

Mack returned to the U.S. with her daughter Stella and the woman who helped care for the child while she was in prison, according to Mack's attorney, Brian Claypool. Prior to Mack's arrival, her lawyers filed an emergency court order to make sure Stella, who was born while her mother was in prison, wouldn't be taken into child protective services, CBS Chicago reports.

Claypool denounced his client's arrest, saying it violated federal law. He plans to file a motion to throw out the charges.

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"Heather has already faced a legitimate trial in Indonesia that included evidence that was assisted by the FBI, in front of a three-judge panel. This was not a kangaroo court in Indonesia. Heather was 18 at the time of this alleged crime," he said, according to CBS Chicago. "She's done her time."

Claypool also told The Associated Press that the conspiracy charge had been included in Mack's conviction in Indonesia.

"The U.S. government had a choice to make in 2015," he said. "They could have fought to extradite ... and try her in the U.S. court. They didn't do that."

Mack pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday afternoon, according to the Associated Press. She was ordered to stay in custody until her next hearing, which is scheduled for November 10.

In 2016, Schaefer's cousin, Robert Bibbs, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit foreign murder of a U.S. national after admitting he told Schaefer how to get away with the murder, CBS Chicago reports. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy wins reelection

Republican Glenn Youngkin wins Virginia gubernatorial election

What's next for Democrats and Republicans after Virginia governor's race?
The Supreme Court's questioning during oral arguments in a New York gun rights case showed that several justices have strong reservations about the states highly restrictive regulations for getting concealed carry permits.

The case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, is potentially the biggest gun rights case to go before the high court in more than a decade.

SUPREME COURT TAKES UP MAJOR GUN RIGHTS CASE OVER STATE CONCEALED CARRY REGULATIONS

New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood noted that, under current rules, the state has the discretion to evaluate a persons reason for applying for a permit, as an applicant has to show "proper cause" for needing one. Underwood pointed out that the more specific a reason a person gives in terms of facing a threat of danger, the better their chances.

"Why isnt it good enough to say I live in a violent area and I want to defend myself?" Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked.

Kavanaughs question came after Justice Samuel Alito gave a hypothetical of someone who gets out of work late at night and has to walk to or from a subway or bus station through a high-crime neighborhood to get home.

Alito noted that under the current law, that person would apply for a permit claiming he felt unsafe without citing a specific threat and be denied.

"That is, in general, right," Underwood admitted.

"How is that consistent with the core right to self-defense?" Alito asked, stating that this is at the core of the Second Amendment.

Kavanaugh suggested that one could cite statistics about crime in ones area, and Underwood said that the more specific the statistics are to an applicants neighborhood or even block, the better the applicant's chances would be.

SUPREME COURT ORDERS NY COURT TO RECONSIDER RULING FORCING CATHOLIC DIOCESE TO COVER ABORTIONS

Despite these challenging questions, conservatives did indicate that it would be reasonable to have limits on where one could bring a concealed firearm.

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The court appeared to accept the states argument for continued individualized discretion to enforce "sensitive place" weapon restrictions in areas such as college campuses, concert or sporting event venues and places where alcohol is served. Even attorney Paul Clement, taking the side of gun owners, acknowledged that such restrictions could potentially be acceptable.

Dense population was a concept that was used to argue both sides, as Underwood said there were less restrictions in less populated areas. Chief Justice John Roberts challenged the logic behind this, arguing that in those places there was less of a chance that a person would feel the need to get a gun for self-defense. In highly-populated urban areas, however, he said it seemed like "thats the last place" a person could actually get a permit.

Underwood said that the history had been "to regulate most strenuously" in densely populated areas because they featured greater police presence and the deterrent of more people nearby. Speaking again of police, Underwood claimed that proliferating guns in areas with a high police presence actually endangers officers because they may not know where shooting is coming from.

She also argued that the current regulations respect the right to self-defense as well as public safety. In densely-populated places, she claimed, the "risks of harm of people [armed with guns] standing shoulder to shoulder" is high.

OPINION: JONATHAN TURLEY: GUN RIGHTS SHOWDOWN AT SUPREME COURT A POTENTIAL BIG WIN FOR SECOND AMENDMENT

Roberts said that if the purpose of the Second Amendment was for protection, this goal was undermined by giving preference to areas with fewer people.

"How many muggings take place in the forest?" Roberts asked.

Underwood said she did not know the answer, but countered by stating that rapes and robberies do happen on deserted paths.

In his rebuttal, Clement claimed there was a serious problem with being stricter in places with more people, arguing that the areas are full of more people who have Second Amendment rights. Limiting firearms cant be a governmental interest when there is a constitutional right to bear arms, he argued.

In seven out of the 10 largest cities by population, however, it is easier to acquire a concealed carry permit, he said, as the states do not get to exercise the same level of discretion as New York.

The Justice Department also got time to present an argument in defense of the state law.

DOJ lawyer Brian Fletcher cited the historical precedent of longstanding state laws allowing restrictions on concealed carry weapons. But Alito raised similar concerns expressed by many gun rights groups and others  that many of these laws had a clear discriminatory intent to prevent recent immigrants and minorities from owning guns.

Crowds gathered outside the Supreme Court building expressing support for each side of the case.

As with other high-profile Supreme Court cases from years past, this case may not see a decision until late in the courts term some time in June.

Fox News Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.
A Taliban fighter in Kabul in August 2021. Rahmat Gul/Associated Press

The Taliban banned the use of foreign currency in Afghanistan.

The country is on the brink of financial collapse since the group seized power.

The US has frozen almost $9.5 billion in assets that belong to Afghanistan's central bank.

The Taliban banned the use of foreign currencies in Afghanistan, which is on the brink of financial collapse after the group ousted the previous government.

The Taliban said, according to the BBC: "The economic situation and national interests in the country require that all Afghans use Afghani currency in their every trade."

While the country uses the Afghani currency, the US dollar is also widely used.

The United Nations has warned that millions of people could starve in Afghanistan, citing the Taliban takeover as a factor in the crisis.

Since the Taliban took power in August, it has been prevented from accessing financial assets held overseas.

The US in August froze nearly $9.5 billion in assets that belong to Afghanistan's central bank. Most of that money is held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The UN said in September that the assets should be unfrozen to avoid "a severe economic downturn."

An October report from The Times of London said that Taliban officials asked the US to unfreeze the assets in a face-to-face meeting, but did not make any headway.

"The issue has not reached any conclusion. There are deadlocks on the issues from both sides," an unnamed Taliban official told the newspaper.

The International Monetary Fund said Afghanistan can't access its resources anymore, and The World Bank announced it would no longer give funding to projects in the country.

Some parents in Afghanistan are selling their children out of desperation for money, according to multiple reports.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is "gravely concerned" about escalating violence in Ethiopia and the expansion of hostilities and has repeated on Wednesday its call to all parties in the conflict to stop military operations and begin ceasefire talks.

Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on Tuesday with forces from the northern region of Tigray threatening to advance on the capital Addis Ababa.

Speaking at a press briefing, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman, who is heading to Ethiopia on Thursday, will have a chance to discuss the situation with Ethiopian government.

Feltman was heading to Ethiopia amid an escalation in the conflict in Africa's second most populous country that has killed thousands of people, forced more than two million from their homes, and left 400,000 people in Tigray facing famine.

"We are gravely concerned by the escalating violence, by the expansion of fighting that we've seen in northern Ethiopia and in regions throughout the country, Price said.

"Continued fighting only prolongs the humanitarian crisis that is afflicting far too many people in Ethiopia today," Price said, adding that the Washington was talking to other nations, the United Nations and the African Union to address the crisis.

"All parties must stop military operations and begin ceasefire negotiations without precondition," he said.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in a speech on Wednesday pledged to bury his government's enemies "with our blood" as he marked the start of the war in the Tigray region one year ago.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he would strip Ethiopia of duty-free access to the United States over alleged human rights abuses in Tigray, which the Ethiopian government has said it will investigate.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Fox News

As scenes of Middle Eastern migrants alternately storming fences in an attempt to get into Europe and huddling frozen around campfires make headlines, the handy conclusion was that Belarus' president, Alexander Lukashenko, wanted to wreak a little havoc to get back at the West for sanctions. Or that he wanted to make Western leaders who have in large part not recognized him as president this time around finally face up to him. Or that he wanted to make countries like Poland look like the evil on
Firms reported that growth in average unit costs, domestic prices, and export prices sped up to their quickest on record. Photo: Getty

SME fears that labour and materials shortages could impact future production hit an all-time high in the three months to October, new data revealed.

The Confederation of British Industry published an SME Trends Survey that was completed by 249 companies. It showed that almost two-thirds of SME manufacturers are concerned that the supply of materials and components could impact their output in the next three months  the highest share on record since 1988.

Worries about the availability of skilled labour (46%) were also higher than at any other time in the survey datas 33-year history.

Firms reported that growth in average unit costs, domestic prices, and export prices sped up to their quickest on record, and growth in all three is expected to accelerate further next quarter.

Watch: Presents could be in short supply this Christmas

The optimism of summer has given way to an uncertain autumn for SMEs in the manufacturing sector, as firms struggle with persistent supply challenges and acute cost and price pressures, said Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist.

The report also showed that growth has slowed over the past three months, following Julys record rise in output  it went from an increase of 36% to an increase of 14%.

Read more: Sunak 'cautiously optimistic' about job market as furlough ends

But it remains solid in comparison to the long-run average, and is also expected to pick up again in the coming quarter  going up 30%.

Total new orders growth remained firm despite easing on last quarters record-high rate, going up 24% compared to 45%, reflecting an easing in both domestic (24% from 41%) and export orders growth (6% from 15%).

SME manufacturers expect total new orders growth to be maintained at a similar pace next quarter.

Paleja welcomed the creation of a new supply chain taskforce by the UK government which he said "crucially utilises expertise in understanding and addressing these challenges."

It has been encouraging to see the government recognise the issues facing businesses and begin to take action to address supply chain issues and skills shortages," said Paleja.

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Business and government working together is the best way to restore momentum to the UK recovery, and move towards building the high-wage, high-skill, high-investment, high-productivity economy that we all want to see.

The three months to October also saw further strong growth in firms headcounts, despite the rate slowing slightly from Julys record high  with expectations for headcount growth to accelerate again in the coming quarter.

Read more: Property prices will continue rising across Europe, says S&P Global report

Business sentiment was broadly flat (-2%) after having grown rapidly in the past two quarters and investment intentions for the year ahead softened somewhat on the previous quarter, but generally remained strong.

Firms expect to increase investment in plant and machinery, product and process innovation, and training and retraining in the next 12 months, but to a lesser extent than last quarter, the report said.

Last month, G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledged to work together to monitor supply chain issues, as UK ports warn of a potential pre-Christmas logjam slowing deliveries.

Watch: Will interest rates stay low forever?
By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam

KABUL (Reuters) - The United Nations children's agency said it was planning to set up a system to directly fund Afghan teachers, after the international community placed a freeze on funding to the Taliban-led administration.

"UNICEF is setting up a system that will allow direct payments to teachers without the funds being channelled through the de facto authorities," Jeannette Vogelaar, UNICEF Afghanistan's Chief of Education, told Reuters in an email.

In preparation, she said, UNICEF would begin registering all public school teachers.

"The best way to support the education of girls in Afghanistan is to continue supporting their schools and teachers. UNICEF is calling upon donors not to let Afghanistan's children down," Vogelaar added.

Afghanistan's public services, in particular health and education, have been plunged into crisis since the Islamist Taliban movement took over the country on Aug. 15.

Many foreign governments have placed a ban on funding outside of humanitarian aid that is channelled through multilateral agencies.

That has generally been limited to urgent supplies such as wheat and blankets, leaving public service workers including teachers without pay for months. Billions of dollars in Afghan central bank funds held overseas have also been frozen.

The international community has raised alarm that the Taliban might restrict female education, and high schools for girls in many parts of the country have remained closed even while those for boys have been allowed to open.

A Taliban official told Reuters this week there would be "good news" soon on older girls being allowed to go back to school, and that they were working with UNICEF and other international organisations on the issue.

"We are working especially with UNICEF and some other international organisations ... to come up with a good solution ... we have meetings on a daily basis," said Waheedullah Hashimi, Director of External Programmes and Aid at Afghanistan's Ministry of Education.

"We have a problem that economically we are not good ... that is why we are requesting the international community, international organisations, especially those who have funds for emergency situations, to help us in this regard," he added.

(Reporting by Gibran Peshiman; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
A US envoy will travel Thursday to Ethiopia to seek a peaceful solution, as rebels advanced toward the capital Addis Ababa, the State Department said.

Jeffrey Feltman, special envoy for the Horn of Africa, will hold talks on Thursday and Friday to urge "all Ethiopians to commit to peace and resolution of grievances through dialogue," a State Department spokesperson said.

"The United States is increasingly troubled by the expansion of combat operations and intercommunal violence in Ethiopia and is closely monitoring the situation," the spokesperson said Wednesday.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government for a year, has claimed significant territorial gains in recent days and has been marching southward.

The allied Oromo Liberation Army said that his group planned to topple Abiy's government, calling its removal a "foregone conclusion."

Feltman's trip was announced Wednesday, despite the Abiy government's outrage a day earlier when the United States said it was removing Ethiopia from a key trade pact due to accounts of human rights abuses including the withholding of humanitarian aid to the Tigray region.

Feltman was stinging in his criticism of Abiy in an appearance in Washington on Tuesday, saying it could not be "business as usual" with a government whose policies "result in mass starvation of its own citizens."

Ethiopia historically has been a strong US ally, and Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize for his reconciliation efforts before the war broke out a year ago with TPLF attacks on the federal army.

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The conservative-majority US Supreme Court is to hear a gun rights case on Wednesday that could lead to looser restrictions on carrying firearms in public.

At issue is a challenge backed by the gun lobby to a New York law that regulates the carrying of guns outside the home.

It will be the first major case involving the Second Amendment constitutional right to bear arms heard by the nation's highest court in more than a decade.

The high-stakes case will be argued before a Supreme Court with a 6-3 conservative majority following the nomination of three justices by former president Donald Trump.

The court had previously declined to take up several Second Amendment cases, but it underwent a shift to the right under Trump and the three justices he named have been historically sympathetic to the arguments of gun owners.

This has raised fears among gun control advocates that local restrictions such as the New York law could be in jeopardy.

In a landmark 2008 case, the Supreme Court ruled the Second Amendment ensured a right to gun ownership, but left it up to cities and states to set their own rules on carrying weapons outside the home.

This has led to a patchwork of regulations across the country.

Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law, the legal arm of gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety, said the stakes in the case are "incredibly high."

"The fact the court even took up the case should give all of us cause for concern," Tirschwell said.

"The gun law at the heart of this case has been on the books for over a hundred years, and it's grounded in a centuries-long tradition of regulating the carrying of firearms in public," he said.

- 'Proper cause' -

The more than century-old New York law currently requires someone applying for a permit to carry a gun outside the home to establish "proper cause."

The suit to be heard by the Supreme Court was brought by two men who were denied permits to carry handguns for self-defense.

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Their appeals were rejected by lower courts and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

The court said it would limit arguments to the question: "Whether the state's denial of petitioners' applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment."

The Second Amendment to the Constitution is subject to various interpretations.

It reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

For the National Rifle Association and many gun owners, it guarantees the rights of citizens to carry weapons.

Eric Ruben, an assistant professor at the SMU Dedman School of Law and a Brennan Center fellow, said that if the Supreme Court strikes down the New York law "it will mean that the government is limited in the way that it can restrict the carrying of guns in public."

"As it stands today, the states where liberal politicians hold power are more likely to restrict the carrying of guns in public," Ruben said.

"Removing barriers to carrying concealed handguns in public places has been a primary goal of the gun rights movement, of the National Rifle Association, and of many conservative politicians."

Joseph Blocher, a law professor at Duke University, said about 80 million Americans currently live in states restricting the carrying of firearms in public.

"If the Supreme Court strikes down New York's 'proper cause' law, it could immediately call into question the constitutionality of similar laws in other states like California, New Jersey and Massachusetts," he said.

There were more than 43,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The Supreme Court has until June 2022 to issue a ruling in the case.

chp-cl/st
A majority of the conservative-leaning US Supreme Court appeared skeptical of a New York law restricting gun licenses at a hearing Wednesday that could lead to looser restrictions on carrying firearms in public.

The hearing reflected significant divisions on the bench, which has a 6-3 conservative majority following the nomination of three justices by former president Donald Trump.

But some of the conservatives seemed to be looking for a middle-ground solution to balance gun rights and public safety.

At issue is a challenge, backed by the gun lobby, to a New York law that regulates the carrying of firearms outside the home.

It is the first major case involving the Second Amendment constitutional right to bear arms to be heard by the nation's highest court in more than a decade.

The court had previously declined to take up several Second Amendment cases, but the three justices Trump named have been historically sympathetic to the arguments of gun owners.

This has raised fears among gun control advocates that local restrictions such as the New York law could be in jeopardy.

At a small rally outside the court, Angela Ferrell-Zabata, of Everytown for Gun Safety, said the "potential consequences are pretty bad," and that a decision "could make it harder for states and cities to address this crisis" of gun violence.

There were more than 43,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

- Patchwork regulations -

In a landmark 2008 case, the Supreme Court ruled the Second Amendment ensured a right to gun ownership, but left it up to cities and states to set their own rules on carrying weapons outside the home.

That led to a patchwork of regulations across the country.

Lawyer Paul Clement, representing the petitioners, told the court that "carrying a firearm outside the home is a fundamental constitutional right."

He received strong support from conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who argued that "ordinary, law-abiding citizens" such as janitors, waiters and nurses should be allowed to arm themselves for safety.

Story continues

"There is the right to self-defense for celebrities and state judges and retired police officers," he said.

But the three liberal justices on the bench highlighted the safety concerns of carrying weapons in public.

"They are dangerous guns," said Justice Stephen Breyer. "(If you have a license) to carry a concealed weapon and you go around shooting it, and somebody gets killed."

Other conservative justices sought a middle ground, though they criticized the New York law. "Everybody agrees there have to be some regulations," said Amy Coney Barrett, one of Trump's appointees.

The justices debated at length so-called sensitive places, where guns would still banned if the law were struck down, such as public transport, sports stadiums and tourist destinations like Times Square.

- 'Proper cause' -

The more than century-old New York law currently requires someone applying for a permit to carry a gun outside the home to establish "proper cause."

The suit heard by the Supreme Court was brought by two men who were denied permits to carry handguns for self-defense.

Their appeals were rejected by lower courts, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case probing the Second Amendment, which has long been subject to differing interpretations.

It reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

For the National Rifle Association and many gun owners, that guarantees the rights of citizens to carry weapons.

"If the Supreme Court strikes down New York's 'proper cause' law, it could immediately call into question the constitutionality of similar laws in other states like California," said Joseph Blocher, a law professor at Duke University.

A survivor of a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida in 2018, David Hogg, said on Wednesday at the rally outside the court: "We are asking for something simple: safety. We are asking for life."

The Supreme Court has until June 2022 to issue a ruling in the case.

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Voters approved the bond referendum, which means the real estate tax rate will increase to fund the first phase of flood protection in the city.

Election results showed that more than 70% of voters supported it, which means Virginia Beach can borrow up to $567,500,000 for new pump stations, drainage improvements and tide gates.

Depending on the term of the bonds  10-year versus 20-year repayment  the real estate tax will increase by 4.3 to 6.4 cents per $100 of a homes assessed value. It will cost homeowners $10 to $14 per month, or $115 to $171 per year, based on a median home assessment value of $267,600, according to the city.

Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle easily won a third term in office, defeating challenger Antonio Passaro. Stolle, a Republican, had 66.8% of the vote, compared to 33% for Democrat Passaro when the race was called about 8:45 p.m. Passaro, a former trooper and special agent for Virginia State Police who serves as a professor and chair of the criminal justice program at Tidewater Community College, was seeking his first elected office.

In the Commissioner of the Revenue race, Democrat Phil Kellam retained the position hes held since 1998. Kellam faced Republican Ben Loyola, a veteran and small business owner.

For Treasurer, incumbent Leigh Henderson, the Republican candidate, beat Laura Wood Habr, a community activist and restaurant owner.

___

This is a developing story. Check pilotonline.com throughout the day for updates.

Staff writer Jane Harper contributed to this report.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  Voters in Iowa's eighth-largest city, Waterloo, reelected the city's first Black mayor and chose three Black candidates for City Council, which will have its Black majority for the first time ever.

The historic outcome of Tuesday's election followed a campaign marked by bitter debates over policing and race in the city, where less than 17% of roughly 67,300 people are Black.

Quentin Hart, who became Waterloos first Black mayor in 2015, won a fourth two-year term to lead the city by defeating a white challenger, Margaret Klein, who campaigned as a champion of the police.

The four City Council seats that were on the ballot were won by three Black newcomers  pharmacist Rob Nichols, music educator John Chiles and artist Nia Wilder  and a white incumbent, Ray Feuss. All four defeated candidates that were endorsed by Cedar Valley Backs the Blue, a political action committee that formed in May to oppose Harts reelection and support what it called pro-law enforcement candidates.

The outcome means four of the council's seven members will be Black and it could help the city's first Black police chief, Joel Fitzgerald, keep the job he assumed last year. Fitzgerald faced criticism and calls to resign from Klein, who was also backed by the pro-police group.

Critics accused the group of using misinformation and racist campaign tactics to falsely paint Hart as an opponent of law enforcement who was allowing crime to spiral out of control.

This community chose working together, a message of unity, a message of hope and a message that is love for the city and not just division, Hart said told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday, acknowledging that the campaign took a toll on him and his family.

Hart said he and his supporters celebrated Tuesday by dancing to the Montell Jordan song This is How We Do It, which featured prominently in one of the many attacks he faced. The mayor last year made a video of himself lip-syncing the song for a local contest, and the Back the Blue group used the clip in Facebook ads to criticize Hart as a wannabe rapper.

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Growing up in Waterloo, Hart said he never saw a day when Black people would make up a majority of city leadership, calling it incredible and landmark. But he said the candidates won because of their qualifications and a vision for the city that appealed to voters across racial and economic lines.

Yes they are African Americans, but they are incredible, smart and talented, and they have something to offer to the city. The expectations are high, Hart said.

Hart won 58% of the vote against Klein out of 13,400 ballots cast. Klein, a retired Catholic school worker and two-term City Council member, congratulated Hart and noted that her campaign had been outspent significantly.

Lynn Moeller, the chairman of the Back the Blue group, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. On Facebook, the normally outspoken group wrote only that the voters had spoken and it was time to move forward.

The group, which was formed by retired officers, criticized the citys decision to remove the police departments longtime emblem  a mythical winged creature known as a griffin that had adorned officers' uniforms since the 1960s.

Critics said the emblem had long evoked fear and distrust in the Black community given its resemblance to a Ku Klux Klan dragon. Those who wanted to keep the emblem, including the police union, said it was a symbol of vigilance and not rooted in racism.

The group also argued that morale among officers was at an all-time low, noting that some had resigned to take other jobs and blaming Fitzgerald, who previously served as the police chief in Fort Worth, Texas. Since taking the Waterloo job, Fitzgerald has changed many department policies in an effort to improve relations between the police and the community and to hold officers to higher standards. Fitzgerald called the attacks racially-motivated.

Hart defended Fitzgerald, saying the department has adopted a popular community policing approach that promotes decency and respect during traffic stops.

Nichols, one of the newly elected council members, wrote on his campaign website that he saw himself in the many Black men who have been shot by police and that he once feared making a late-night medication delivery to a patient out of fear of trouble.

My vision for public safety is for all people of Waterloo to know that our public safety service will be there in our time of need, he wrote.
Just days ago, nearly all the election polls had Gov. Phil Murphy winning reelection by as many as 11 percentage points.

So why was his race against GOP rival Jack Ciattarelli still too close to call until Wednesday evening when the Associated Press finally declared Murphy the winner by a slim margin?

Polling experts, including those who predicted a clear Murphy victory as recently as this week, pointed to a combination of factors that are growing with each election cycle.

Among them are the challenges of trying to survey voters in a pandemic, and doing it when votes are cast in more ways than in the past, including early voting, voting by mail and using paper ballots.

Gov. Phil Murphy and former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli

More: NJ election 2021 live updates: Phil Murphy, Jack Ciattarelli trade leads in governor race

More: NJ Gov. Phil Murphy and family cast ballots on first day of early voting in Long Branch

A question of value

Then there's the Trump factor.

Despite being out of office for almost a year, pollsters contend former President Donald Trumps outsize influence remains, most notably with hard-core Republicans who distrust pollsters and simply do not participate in many surveys.

They have a deep distrust of the establishment and polling and the media are part of that establishment, so there are a significant number of them who do not want to talk to us, said Patrick Murray, executive director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, which had Murphy ahead by 11 points just two weeks ago.

This is the first indication that polling in elections might miss a significant Republican turnout even if Trump is not on the ballot," Murray said. "It raises a question about the value of public election polling that isnt able to reach those types of voters.

The question of value was in full view Election Night, which saw neither campaign claim victory or hint at conceding. The political roller coaster continued into Wednesday, with Murphy and Ciattarelli trading places at the top as more votes were counted until a winner was declared.

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Ashley Koning, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, echoed the view that the uncertainty surrounding Trump and his supporters tends to skew poll results.

Weve seen this in the past, what is the common denominator here, it is Trump and Trumpism, it is unseen levels of hyper-partisanship, said Koning. They have become so politicized in the Trump era. This is the most nationalized election cycle that Jersey has seen in its history, even though Trump was not on the ballot, he was certainly a factor in it and a motivator to spur enthusiasm among the party base.

Trump's impact

Trumps impact on polling dates back to his first election in 2016 when most polls had him losing to Hillary Clinton. Instead he prevailed, shocking a political establishment that did not take his candidacy seriously  until his upset victory.

Likewise, he made a stronger-than-expected showing four years later, losing to Joe Biden in what turned out to be a close race, and another loss for pollsters who predicted Biden would win in a walk.

There is a social pressure to say you dont like Trump and you dont like Republicans, especially in New Jersey, said Matt Hale, a Seton Hall political science professor. That has to be some of it. Pollsters try to account for that, but we are going to see that for a while. There is a lot of social stigma on that.

Murray agreed.

There is a large section of voters who will show up to vote and will not talk to us and they are skewed to the Republican side, and they tend to be very ardent Trump supporters, he explained. It raises questions about the value of doing public polling right before Election Day. If there are more misses than actual calls than we are not doing a service to the public.

And the missed New Jersey predictions appear to be across the board among major polls this election cycle.

Fivethirtyeight.com, which tracks multiple national polls and state races, cited polls from Monmouth as well as Stockton University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Emerson College that had Murphy ahead, declaring Ciattarelli had an uphill battle.

The Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, meanwhile, gave the incumbent governor an 8-point lead in a survey released Monday.

If we look at the several statewide polls conducted in the last week, the big picture points to a sizable margin for Murphy that  despite narrowing throughout the campaign  will be difficult for Ciattarelli to overcome in the final days, especially in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans two-to-one in registration, Koning said in a statement ahead of Election Day.

But when asked about the situation Wednesday, she pointed out that the polling has been impacted by factors that include Trump, as well as how polls are now conducted.

It is becoming increasingly harder to predict who will vote and how they will vote. Because we have different ways of voting, that adds a layer of mystery to how we count, Koning said. If they are not voting on a single day that is incredibly difficult to predict. When they respond have they already voted? Or will they vote? It makes it that much more complex.

She pointed to the fact that national polling outlets such as Gallup and The Pew Center have stopped conducting so-called horse race polls.

We believe to put our time and money and brainpower into understanding the issues and priorities is where we can most have an impact, Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport told POLITICO in 2015.

I am not a fan of the horse race because there are better ways that polls can be used, Koning added. We are not understanding it on all sides of the process.

Polling challenges

She cited the failure to take into account the margin of error of most polls, which was at 4 points in the last Rutgers-Eagleton gubernatorial poll. She said that could have given Ciattarelli a slight lead if it were taken into account.

We have to understand how to interpret a margin of error and these are samples, these are estimates that we know there is some inherent statistical error and it becomes so important in an election, Koning said.

That is the tricky part, if we talk about a margin of error that means Ciattarelli could have been around 46-47, Murphy around 46-45, she said. The numbers are an estimate.

Lindsey Cormack, a political science professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology, also cited polling challenges.

Polls suffer for a plethora of reasons, she said via email. It's increasingly harder to contact people via landline and cellphones, general willingness to answer poll questions is way down, and even after getting seemingly representative samples, survey houses have a really hard time weighting them properly to accurately reflect underlying opinion.

Hale added, There is no doubt it is much more difficult to be a pollster today than when everybody had a landline. People vote in a lot of different ways and people can change their mind at the last minute. New Jersey has a lot of middle-of-the-road voters, too.

Koning said the use of polling may well have to change because it is used too much as a prediction and not as a snapshot of the mood at a particular time.

It tells us more about what polls can do and cant do and what they mean, Koning said about the gubernatorial results. We need to recognize that statistical uncertainty. I think it is something all of us need to work on between the public, the press and the polling industry. This has been going on since 2016, how do we understand what preelection polls are about?

Monmouths Murray agreed and said this may be a sign that such preelection surveys are on the way out.

Election polling may become less useful overall in terms of giving us a picture down the line, he said. It runs counter to what polling is supposed to do which is take a snapshot of the entire population. Election polling breaks a lot of the rules by trying to predict what a sub-segment of the population is actually going to show up to vote.

Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of two books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ governor poll prediction wrong about clear Murphy victory
Nicholas Daley at his fashion show. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/BFC/Getty Images for BFC)

To mark Black History Month, Yahoo UK launched Black British Fashion, a three-part essay series in collaboration with digital publisher Black Ballad. Here, Ata-owaji Victor explores how exciting new technology is bringing Black representation in fashion to a new audience.

Innovation in Black fashion has spanned decades. But when it comes to promoting and celebrating those boundary-pushing Black designers, the fashion industry has been far from receptive.

According to 'Black Representation In Fashion', a recent report by the New York Times, there's still just one Black chief executive, Virgil Abloh at Off-White, working across one of the 64 global fashion brands included in the US and here in the UK.

According to another report, there's currently only 4.8% BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) representation in fashion and visual arts, a reality that has been obscured by an increase in Black cover stars on glossy magazines.

Sadly, the June 2020 Black Lives Matter-inspired spike in black-led articles within fashion publishing has done little to smash the creative worlds racial glass ceiling. In fact, this tentative inclusion only revealed the industrys lack of acknowledgment of the historical importance of Black culture and talent and its monumental influence on current fashion.

A garment in the Nicholas Daley: Return To Slygo exhibition at NOW Gallery, London, (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)

Finally, in response to years of under-representation, black designers are beginning to build a 'tech-first' atelier (studio) of their own.

New-school innovators, including US-based Congolese designer Anifa Mvuemba, have been key to the current wave of black fashion creatives moving away from traditional fashion presentations towards a future that places tech front and centre.

Mvuembas inaugural show for her label, Hanifa, was streamed over Instagram Live and featured 3D models against a black backdrop, as if the clothing was worn by invisible models strutting across a catwalk.

It was a fashion-tech first. Since Hanifas debut, the designer has continued to use technology and social media to promote her direct-to-consumer business to generate $1 million and counting. her clothes are now worn by stars including Lizzo and Kelly Rowland.

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This made-for-digital-consumption approach to fashion has also been a major driver behind the success of Liberian-American designer Telfar Clemens. The genderless fashion brand, founded back in 2005, has also become a pandemic fashion success story. Through the launch of Telfar TV and its Slow Fashion Format, the brand is using tech to help mend one of fashions biggest crises: Sustainability.

The smashing of old fashion systems is a good start - but when it comes to funding for fashion-tech businesses, it still remains disproportionately harder for black fashion start-ups to raise capital.

Read more: Black British Fashion: The rise of luxe Black-owned independent fashion brands

In a study that tracked venture-backed deals between 2013 and 2017, research found that across all sectors, only 1% of venture capitalist dollars went to Black entrepreneurs - compared to 77% for white entrepreneurs. So despite the uptick in black designers using technology to help shape the future of fashion, the tech funding world has yet to adapt.

It's a gap that 'angel' investor networks like UK-based Cornerstone Partners and Microsoft, with its Future Of Fashion incubator for students at the London College of Fashion, are only just beginning to close.

Despite the ongoing difficulties, within the industry at large, black British fashion tastemakers are still harnessing technology - like Urenna Okonkwo, the founder of Cashmere, a fashion fintech app. Founded in 2018, the app works as a social saving platform that helps label-loving shoppers save towards and purchase designer pieces without having to turn to credit cards or pay-later services.

Horizontal shot of beautiful satisfied female teenager focused in smartphone device, chats online with friends, checks notification received on email, being always in touch, wears casual orange jumper

Since the apps launch the entrepreneur has raised more than 100,000 in 'angel' investment.

Technologys impact on British fashion has also begun to be seen on the catwalk. Earlier this year, due to the pandemic, London Fashion Week hosted its first digital-only event.

Read more: 'We wore our own garmz': The rise of Black-owned UK streetwear

The move opened up room for homegrown designers like Nicholas Daley to showcase his take on fashion gone by, with a hybrid approach. In the absence of a physical catwalk, the Tottenham-based designer provided a film to accompany his spring/summer 2021 collection, Stepping Razor  which took its name from Peter Toshs 1977 debut single.

The short film was a celebration of cross-cultural, combative influences within the collection and paid homage to Rastafarian musician and martial arts enthusiast Peter Tosh with a look-book of karate-inspired silhouettes.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 19: Visitors during the "Nicholas Daley: Return To Slygo" photocall at NOW Gallery on May 19, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)

The designers Return to Slygo exhibition also followed a similar formula, with demonstrations of diasporic influences present throughout its colourful, multi-sensory showcase. As a nod to Daleys fine tailoring reputation and an ode to beautiful woven fabrics, the exhibition's floors were covered in bespoke carpets, backdropped by a mood-board of archive imagery, family photos and iconic reggae club t-shirts.

Paying homage to heritage via fashion is far from a new phenomenon, but it's another example of how the inclusion of technology within fashion is helping to amplify Black fashion.

Black designers have historically coloured outside of fashions approved lines - but armed with technology, black fashion innovation now appears almost limitless.
BEIJING (Reuters) - The World Economic Forum said on Wednesday that it is postponing its event planned for later this month in the Chinese city of Tianjin due to the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the country, where new locally transmitted cases hit a near three-month high.

"Regretfully, due to the circumstances around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and recent cases in major cities and provinces in China, the Annual Meeting of the New Champions will be rescheduled," the WEF said in an email to participants.

(Reporting by Tony Munroe; Editing by Alex Richardson)
With 99 percent of Loudoun County precincts reporting, Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin has outperformed expectations against Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe in the suburban Democratic stronghold.

Roughly two hours after polls closed, McAuliffe leads with 55 percent of the vote (87,016 votes) to Youngkins 44.5 percent (70,414 votes). The roughly ten-point split serves an encouraging sign for the Youngkin camp considering recent electoral trends: President Joe Biden bested incumbent Donald Trump by 24 points (61-37) in 2020 in Loudoun and Democrat Ralph Northam defeated Republican Ed Gillespie by 20 points (40-60) in the county in Virginias 2017 gubernatorial contest.

Loudoun took center stage in the education debate in recent weeks in the wake of the bombshell Daily Wire report that a female student was sexually assaulted in a school bathroom by a skirt-wearing male student. Parents lashed out at the Loudoun County school-board after the incident became public, accusing the board and administrators of covering up the assault.

Youngkin spent the last leg of the campaign trail engaging concerned parents and defending their right to be involved in their childrens education. During a debate against Youngkin, McAuliffe made a comment that galvanized many parents into opposition against him. I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach, the former Virginia governor said.

McAuliffe attempted to backtrack from his statement in a subsequent ad, claiming that he believes parents should have a seat at the table in public education and promising to increase investment in the Virginia school system.

In his last Parent Matter campaign rally Monday night, Youngkin visited Loudoun County, attracting an animated crowd estimated to be in the thousands.

More from National Review
Meador said what the portal does is pull any job listed from Lynchburg and surrounding localities from more than 900 sites.

And that includes anything from workforce, to the city jobs to career works to Indeed to Monster to anything and everything in between, she said. So rather than a job seeker having to hop from website to website to website, they can come here and they can type in a keyword or an employer and then get all those listings in one place.

She said her department meets with employers on a weekly basis  sometimes on a daily basis  and every single employer it has talked to always is asking about help with workforce.

Theyre asking how to find qualified people and how to get the word out about job openings, she said. And this was a way for us to help the employers on that end to be able to say, Hey, we have a tool now where someone can come and they can look up any job in that area and actually look in Lynchburg and the surrounding counties.

On the employers end, its able to help condense all that into one database and make it a little less complicated, she said.
So is critical race theory in public schools, but that hasnt stopped red-state politicians from using the term to condemn just about any discussion of the nations fraught history with race and racism as unacceptably divisive.

What are embattled Democrats to do? First they need to recognize that there is a battle going on, whether they want to fight it at this time or not.

But Im not surprised to hear sounds of disappointment, confusion and simple exhaustion coming from many Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents. They dont have candidate Trump to kick around anymore  and unify them in their opposition.

For all the tense and passionate debates that have surrounded Bidens agenda, how many Americans of either party know whats in the legislation? As Democrats should have learned from their prolonged battle to pass the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, all the benefits of BBB have been poll-tested as popular among voters. But first, they have to know thats whats in the bill.

You have to say this for Trump  and I dont say much for him  the man is an expert salesman. In civilian and political life he knows how to boil complex issues down into simple slogans that kick up your pulse rate, one way or another.
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday stated the rare idol of Maa Annapurna that went missing from Kashi 100 years ago during the British era, is finally being returned to from Canada to its home, Varanasi and will be installed there.

Highlighting the efforts made by the PM Narendra Modi to retrieve and bring home the idol of the goddess , CM Yogi said, 100 years ago an idol of Maa Annapurna went away from Kashi which ended up at a university in Canada. The government of India has received that idol from the University, it is now being given to the Government of Uttar Pradesh. It will be placed in Kashi Vishwanath temple on November 15 amid chanting of Vedic hymns, CM Adityanath said.

Speaking at a press conference, the CM said, It is an occasion for joy and spiritual satisfaction. This statue will be transferred to the state government in a ceremony to be organized in Delhi on November 11, followed by its journey in a grand procession from Delhi on to reach Varanasi on November 14 enroute stopovers of one day each in Soron, Kanpur Nagar and Ayodhya.

Finally, on the auspicious occasion of Devotthan Ekadashi on November 15, a grand ceremony will be held at Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham and the statue will be placed after the appropriate rituals, he added.

Giving credits to PM Modi for the cultural renaissance in India, he said, Today, more than 200 countries of the world are celebrating International Yoga Day on 21st June by adopting Yoga which is the gift of Indian sages, adding that the grand-divine Prayagraj Kumbh, organized under the guidance of the Prime Minister, is being appreciated by the whole world as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity (manavta ki amoort sanskritik dharohar).

The chief minister further said the recognition given to Ayush Vidya, especially Ayurveda, is phenomenal. Now in this sequence, the idol of Goddess Annapurna, which went missing from Kashi is being returned.

Maa Annapurna ke ashish se Kashi me koi bhookha nahi rehta. It is Goddess Annapurna who gives food to Baba Vishwanath. In such a situation, this idol has special significance, he added.

The Union minister for culture and tourism G. Kishan Reddy said that since 2014, 42 rare idols and antiquities have been returned to the country during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whereas from 1976 to 2013, only 13 rare statues-paintings could be brought back. Reddy said that after PM Modis recent visit to America, the path has been cleared for the return of 157 such rare antiquities which will be brought to India soon.

General public will get to worship the Goddess

CM Yogi informed the media persons that on the auspicious occasion of Gopashtami, the statue will begin its journey to Kashi with a four-day grand procession.

On November 11, the procession will reach Soron where it will stay for a night. Next day, the idol will reach Tapeshwari Devi temple of Kanpur via Etah, Mainpuri. On November 13, the procession will reach Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Ayodhya via Unnao, Lucknow and Barabanki. After this, on 14th November the idol will reach Varanasi. On November 15 which is Devotthan Ekadashi, the idol will be placed in Kashi Vishwanath temple after performing rituals. The CM said that the procession in each district would be welcomed by the local public representatives and the minister in charge of the district. The general public will also participate in this.
P.E.O. Chapter FK

P.E.O. Chapter FK held two meetings in October.

We had 23 sisters present at the Oct. 8 meeting. Prior to the business meeting Jill Killion, the volunteer coordinator at Jennie Edmundson Hospital, shared many volunteer opportunities that are available to us to get involved.

CharLes Kemmish and Linda Martin were hostesses and Kathy Fox donated the fundraiser. Sympathies were expressed to several members who have lost family members including one of our P.E.O. sisters.

A fundraiser and a special collection was donated in memory of Corporal Daegan Page, grandson of President Peggy Tye, killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

Kathy Thomsen presented a candidate for the STAR scholarship. We think she is another winner.

Tye and Marilyn Knauss attended the first ever virtual international convention and gained a wealth of knowledge.

We had 25 sisters present at the Oct. 22 meeting. Prior to the business meeting, Brenda Mainwaring of the Iowa West Foundation gave a very informative program. It was eye opening to learn of all the facets of this foundation.
Remote operators keep tabs on multiple robots at a time but they say they rarely need to hit the brakes or steer around an obstacle. When a robot arrives at its destination, customers type a code into their phones to open the lid and retrieve their food.

The robots have drawbacks that limit their usefulness for now. They're electric, so they must recharge regularly. They're slow, and they generally stay within a small, pre-mapped radius.

They're also inflexible. A customer can't tell a robot to leave the food outside the door, for example. And some big cities with crowded sidewalks, like New York, Beijing and San Francisco, aren't welcoming them.

But Bill Ray, an analyst with the consulting firm Gartner, says the robots make a lot of sense on corporate or college campuses, or in newer communities with wide sidewalks.

"In the places where you can deploy it, robot delivery will grow very quickly," Ray said.

Ray said there have been few reports of problems with the robots, other than an occasional gaggle of kids who surround one and try to confuse it. Starship briefly halted service at the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 after a wheelchair user said a robot blocked her access to a ramp. But the university said deliveries resumed once Starship addressed the issue.
In a roundabout way, it could be said that North Platte's Nebraska National Guard unit gave rise to North Platte's World War II Canteen.

The townsfolk who gathered on the Union Pacific Railroad platform just before Christmas 1941 thought they would be greeting and giving gifts to their North Platte Company D boys. When the train arrived, it wasn't the local group. They gave their gifts and good wishes to the young soldiers aboard the train. That gesture set in motion the Canteen that would greet and serve more than 6 million servicemen and women.

North Platte's National Guard unit, designated as Company D, 134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division, fought with pride and earned its rewards during World War II.

A unit with a record of Indian fights and then mobilization for the Spanish-American War and the and the 1916-17 Pancho Villa Expedition, the North Platte company was not called up as a unit for World War I. On Dec. 23, 1940, it was mobilized for World War II.

Trained in Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina and West Virginia, the 134th was commanded by then-Col. Butler B. Miltonberger of North Platte.
Residents who live in Arrow Rock, a subdivision three miles downwind, reported either not smelling the odor or only encountering it three, four, five times a year, mostly in the summer.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

We get the smell from feedlots more than we get the smell from the rendering plant, said Lisa Miller, who has lived in the subdivision for six years.

A resident half a mile southeast from the beef plant, however, said the plant had changed how she and her family live.

We smell it every freakin day, Cherie Bochnak said.

However, Kuna city administrators were unsure whether CS Beef Packers was the source, insisting that the smell came from Darling Ingredients.

Any smell you get out there is going to be from mostly (Darling Ingredients), said Kuna Mayor Joe Stear, complicating the fact-finding mission.

As the North Platte group left Idaho Monday afternoon, they discussed their findings.
A lot has changed at our department under his leadership, and we have a ways to go. Were going to focus now on a little stability. Were short a lot of people, so were going to focus on recruitment and retention and keeping you all whom weve invested a lot of money in working in our department.

The citys Civil Service Commission has yet to submit a list of finalists for the permanent chiefs job. Kelliher will nominate the next chief, subject to council ratification.

Council members also heard updates on redistricting the citys four election wards and discussed how they might adjust how they take public comment at meetings. No action was taken in either case.

Planning Admin-istrator Judy Clark reviewed a proposed election map from gWorks of Omaha to adjust ward boundaries to account for 2020 U.S. census results.

It makes minimal changes to those boundaries and ensures all eight current council members will stay in their wards, Clark said.

The council will have to adopt a final map before years end, she added, so Lincoln County Clerk Becky Rossell can stay on schedule in preparing for the May 10 primary election.

Candidates can begin filing Jan. 5.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}
BOSTON (AP)  Boston voters, marking a key milestone in the city's long political history, for the first time elected a woman and an Asian American as mayor on Tuesday, tapping City Councilor Michelle Wu to serve in the citys top political office.

Wus victory marks a turning point for the city. Boston had only elected white men as mayor before her.

One of my sons asked me the other night if boys can be elected mayor of Boston," Wu told supporters. They have been, and they will again someday, but not tonight.

The choice of Wu over fellow Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George is just the latest marker of how much the Boston of not-so-long-ago  known for its ethnic neighborhoods, glad-handing politicians and mayors with Irish surnames  is giving way to a new Boston.

Wu wont have much time to revel in her win. She will be sworn in on Nov. 16.

We are ready to meet this moment. We are ready to become a Boston for everyone. Were ready to be a Boston that doesnt push people out, but welcomes all who call our city home, Wu said.

Just before Wu spoke, Essaibi George conceded the race.
A loss in Virginia, which has trended toward Democrats for more than a decade would particularly deepen the sense of alarm inside the party heading into next years midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. But Biden expressed optimism going into the evening while acknowledging that the off-year is always unpredictable."

I think were going to win in Virginia, Biden said at a news conference in Scotland, where he was attending an international climate summit. I dont believe  and Ive not seen any evidence that  whether or not I am doing well or poorly, whether or not Ive got my agenda passed or not, is gonna have any real impact on winning or losing."

Elsewhere, Democrat Eric Adams won the New York City mayoral election, and a ballot question promoted by top national progressives was defeated in Minneapolis. It had sought to reshape policing in the city, where the killing of George Floyd last year touched off sweeping demonstrations for racial justice across the nation.
It would be hard to overstate the relief Americans felt in 1918 when they heard the war to end all wars was over. World War I, the deadliest conflict in history to that point, had ended.

Many families would soon be reunited with fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers  but not every American in the Great War made it home. More than 116,000 Americans perished on the battlefields of Europe, and many were never identified. On Nov. 11, 1921, to recognize the sacrifices of these unnamed heroes, Congress created a national monument in their honor: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

On Nov. 11, we will come together to honor not only the heroes of Americas military, but also 100 years since this unknown veteran of the First World War was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

This Veterans Day, we will again honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Today, each of us has an opportunity to make a difference for the veterans who have served this country and who form such a crucial part of our communities. Community-led efforts to honor, recognize, and care for our veterans can make a big difference in a veterans life.

For example, take Omahas state-of-the-art new VA ambulatory clinic. Without the passionate efforts of local community and business leaders, it would never have happened.
Whats old is new again

The parallels between the Protestant Spiritualists and many contemporary SBNRs can be striking. Both are repulsed by the ethical failings and exclusivism of religious communities. Both emphasize the responsibility of the individual to follow their own spiritual quest. Both believe that authentic experience of God or ultimate reality is available to all people, regardless of their specific beliefs. Whereas Franck and Denck used the early printing press to spread their message, today a spiritual teacher might record a podcast or YouTube video.

But it is important to emphasize that the Spiritualists were still decidedly Christian. Contrary to most SBNRs, they considered Jesus Christ the authoritative revealer of truth. Some believed he would soon return to Earth for his Second Coming and waited as expectantly as any end times-focused fundamentalist does today. They may have seen other religions as valid paths, but they didnt turn to them as resources for spiritual practice.
According to the resolution, the condition of the building is dangerous and unsafe to the extent that it creates a public nuisance to the citizens of Opelika.

Derrick Baker, who inherited the building, said hes had to go through a lot of channels to get approval to repair the building, and he asked the council to table the vote on the resolution.

We can come back to give an update before the next council meeting, Baker said. In 30 days we can get started on the areas of concern, which include the bell in the front tower and the roof.

Baker has contacted a structural engineer to assist in what needs to be done to repair the building.

We want to restore it back to what it used to be in the community. Its given support to the community for over 100 years, he said.

Emily Key, a real estate investor and owner of Key Living Solutions, said she wanted to be a voice for the Ferguson Chapel building.

Im so grateful that Mr. Baker came because I thought I was going to be the only one to say that the building deserves to stand, Key said. It is a prominent feature of our community in that area, and I was going to be heartbroken if it got torn down, she said.
CHICAGO (AP)  The Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized Monday in Washington, D.C. after falling and hitting his head while helping Howard University students who are protesting living conditions on campus, according to a spokesman.

The 80-year-old Chicago civil rights leader was entering a campus building when he fell and hit his head, according to Jackson spokesman Frank Watkins.

Jackson's staff took him to Howard University Hospital for various tests including a CT scan which came back normal. Watkins said Jackson would be kept at the hospital overnight for observation.

"Family, he's resting comfortably and doing well," Santita Jackson, one of Jackson's daughters, posted on Twitter along with a story from The Grio about his fall.

Jackson was attending a meeting with Howard President Wayne A.I. Frederick and the students, who were discussing their complaints about living conditions, according to Watkins.

Jackson, who has Parkinson's disease, has already been hospitalized twice this year. He checked into a Chicago hospital for a breakthrough COVID-19 infection in August and required weeks of physical therapy as COVID affected his Parkinson's and his ability to walk and talk. He also underwent gallbladder surgery earlier in the year.
France has condemned the leak as a further breach of trust.

This is an unprecedented new low, in terms of how to proceed and also in terms of truth and trust, Thebault said.

Doing so... sends a very worrying signal for all heads of state: Beware, in Australia there will be leaks and what you say in confidence to your partners will be eventually used and weaponized against you, Thebault added.

Rather than proof that Morrison hadnt lied to Marcon, the message suggested Australia had left France in the dark.

It completely demonstrates that until the last minute, we didnt know where things were heading to, Thebault said. It completely demonstrates that nothing has ever been told to us.

Australia canceled the deal when it formed an alliance with U.S. and Britain to acquire a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines built with U.S. technology.

Morrison maintains that he did not lie to the French leader and had been clear that conventional submarines would not meet Australias evolving strategic needs.

Thebault rejected Morrison's account.
so her an Kanye aren't back together???



i'm so confused

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WHAT is going on in that first pic of him? He legit looks like a human muppet.

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doesn't he have some disease?

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It's called being a man.

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yes puppet-itis. there is no known cure 

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hes got crohns.



but so do i and i dont look like an extra from the muppets movie.

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Yes, Crohn's disease. It can cause inflammation around the eyes.

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So Pete is pretty much the not-good-looking rebound guy hot girls date to piss off their bf or ex-husbands???



Obvs this is all for attention but it's really short-lived so why????

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LOLOL oh this is the couple I'll watch for. They both deserve each other and I prey we'll get so much mess from this, we need a closer for 2021

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Im here for it because you KNOW hell spill all the dirt when they breakup lol.

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i'm not invested or interested in anyone being discussed, i just want to express my appreciation for this quality lord greg davies content

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i hope its pete & ariana pt 2 and the break up is messy af

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Edited at 2021-11-03 01:50 am (UTC)

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Aw that color really works for him tbh

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Talking about the lip or skin tone?

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He said if Taylor could do it, then Ill try as another sandy blond.

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I love this edit

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You know Kanye is seething lol



Also I know Pete's ego must be the size of the sun at this point and that sickens me because fuck men who punch above their weight lmao

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No one fucking cares

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I watched that entire boring episode of SNL and until seeing that thumbnail, I completely forgot that skit happened.

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I heard from a friend of a friend, that that dick was a ten out of ten.

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On the STI scale?

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Right? I heard its big. Lol >_O



Edited at 2021-11-03 03:10 am (UTC)

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I was hoping his career would tank so he would have to resort to another industry lol

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Just because it's big doesn't mean he knows how to use it. And they don't have to resort to actually knowing Pete. They could just go on a porn site if they want to see big dick.

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I don't want to see the receipts 

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I don't trust straight women to know good sex if they tripped over it

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you know what? i'm here for this.

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I feel like Pete has dated 20 people just this year. I'm tired just thinking about it.

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You mean really kim is jealous of Kourtney and her relationship and now engagement with Travis and Kim is like oh hell nah

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Pete Davidson real life reenactment of the plot of Cant Buy Me Love. He just had to convince once superstar to date him and the rest just want to get in on the weird fad?

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Im so bummed Ari is Cindy Mancini.

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She knows hes white, right?

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You know she's dated White men, right? She even "married" one.

Can we end the patently racist jokes already?



Edited at 2021-11-03 02:00 am (UTC)

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What white guy did she marry?

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Kris is a biracial butterfly

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 love trap, baby love trap 



 love trap, that's where its at 

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Nothing will ever come close to that ridiculous blind dating reality show where they picked people based on their vaginas and cocks

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They what

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There was a show, Germany actually did a local version of it where a woman would first get to see multiple dicks or a man would see multiple vaginas and then they would pick 5 or so women based on the appearance and then it would move further up to their boobs or chest and finally it would reveal their faces with the last 2 detaining contestants. It was so weird like the host would be like what in particular do you like about this penis? or why do you think this vagina was more attractive to you? Was it the pupes?

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I watched that once and it was wild AF, floppy dicks everywhere!

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I'm sorry what? I don't want to know how that works, but I want to know because my imagination is going crazy. Did they just look at pics? Did they physically show them through a hole in the wall? Like what? WHAT?!

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Olivia Colman made the actress who plays the Queen Mother in the Crown watch this when they were all up north filming Balmoral scenes, she talks about it on Graham Norton during one of her many appearances lmaooo.

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lmao I remember randomly coming across that show while tipsy & flipping through channels in Scotland a couple years back. it was wild and hilarious and extremely European 

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lol i just google this  therere 8 seasons. i know what im doing for the weekend lol thanks

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They air this show on OUT TV in Canada and I was like wtffff the first time I watched it. But it's also funny to watch a full episode, people have very interesting taste in physical features. It's honestly weird how playful and innocent it seems.

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That's also on Channel 4. They have some of the most ridiculous dating shows but Naked Attraction is easily my favorite.

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It's absolutely wild and graphic as hell but I actually think it's a positive thing in normalising all sorts of different body types etc



This woman SENT me lmao



Judith gawps as six penises are revealed. The audio description to #NakedAttraction adds another level of magic. pic.twitter.com/9XVMNYQfnk  Channel 4 (@Channel4) February 7, 2020 lmao Naked Attraction, it's still on in the UK and it airs on free-to-air TV at thatIt's absolutely wild and graphic as hell but I actually think it's a positive thing in normalising all sorts of different body types etcThis woman SENT me lmao

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lmao I hope she's okay. Also this is stupid.

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nothing could have prepared me for that lmao

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So reverse fuck boy island?



Edit: ok did not expect that ending 



Edited at 2021-11-03 09:26 pm (UTC)

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had to replay it to check, but they're all in flats which makes sense. wondering what the set up could have been for this though, some kind of elastic netting under? figuring a trampoline wouldn't work, and this type of fall might result in injury on a crash mat for someone untrained. so curious



not curious enough to watch this though lol, the twitter video was enough for me

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I pictured a giant slide

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I GASPED. I was not expecting that at all.

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LOL it didn't look like any of them were!

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Ellen taught them I guess

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There was a reality show in 2002 called Russian Roulette that dropped contestants like that.

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WTF this is what the squid game folks must've felt when the doll started killing people

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I'm as curious about what happens here as what happens in Floor is Lava when the lava takes them.

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that guy's jaw freaks me out.



I saw this last night and wasn't expecting that (neither were they). 

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his face was killing me

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That second face is where he's mentally asking himself if he got that girl killed.

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HEEEELP

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God has already abandoned us a long time ago.

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I saw this earlier and died - it's fucking hilarious lol.

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I swear the UK has the weirdest shows.

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Personally I hope the US picks it up on Hulu or something because Id watch it.

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It's channel 4 mainly. Someone has to throw a random show idea and they'll say yes

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There was a show called Release The Hounds where people literally just had to run away from dogs chasing them to win money

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Hahahahahahaha what?!

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Crude oil prices drifted lower today after the Energy Information Administration reported an oil inventory build of 3.3 million barrels for the week to October 29.

This compared with a build of 4.3 million barrels that paused the oil price rally last week.

The authority also reported mixed results in gasoline and middle distillates.

In gasoline, the EIA estimated an inventory decline of 1.5 million barrels for the seven days to October 29, with production averaging 10.2 million bpd.

This compared with a stock draw of 2 million barrels for the previous week and average daily production of 10.1 million bpd.

In middle distillates, the EIA reported an inventory build of 2.2 million barrels for the week to October 29. This compared with a decline of 400,000 barrels estimated for the previous week.

Production of middle distillates averaged 4.8 million bpd last week, which compared with 4.6 million bpd a week earlier.

Oil prices were down at the time of writing after the American Petroleum Institute estimated a crude oil inventory build of almost 3.6 million barrels. This was the sixth consecutive inventory build estimate by the API.

Prices, however, remain elevated as OPEC+ sticks to its plan to add a moderate amount of oil to global supply every month despite higher demand and pleas from major consumers.

The extended cartel is meeting tomorrow for its monthly update on policy but major surprises are unlikely. Signals from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, among others, have pointed in the direction of continued supply discipline. Some of that discipline is not voluntary, however.

Several OPEC members are struggling to boost production by the agreed amount because of years of underinvestment and insufficient maintenance. As a result, OPEC+ has been adding less than the agreed 400,000 bpd to global supply. Even that, however, doesnt seem to be enough to motivate those members of the group that can increase production to do it.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Oil prices are through the roof and oil companies are raking it in. The oil industry has made a truly unbelievable turnaround after prices bottomed out last year during the early phases of the novel coronavirus pandemic and now some industry insiders are even speculating whether oil is on track to hit $100 a barrel.

In early 2020, as Covid-19 rapidly spread around the globe, industry shut down and people were driven into their homes, causing demand for oil to plummet seemingly overnight. As OPEC+ entered talks to strategize their response, Saudi Arabia and Russia began a spat which developed into an all-out oil price war. Soon, a global oil glut had flooded the market to such an extent that storage was at a premium and owning oil became a liability. This is how, on April 20, 2020 the West Texas Intermediate crude benchmark did the previously unthinkable and plunged into the negatives, ending the day at nearly $40 below zero a barrel.

Now, at the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate is at $83.89 a barrel. Last week Saudi Arabia warned the world that global spare oil capacities are falling rapidly. So has the pandemic-fuelled oil crisis ended? On the contrary, oil prices have skyrocketed thanks to the newest phase of the Covid-19 crisis thanks to a scarcity premium. Around the world, supply chains are still reeling and energy supply has been unable to keep up with demand as it bounces back to pre-pandemic levels. China, India, and the European Union are now all facing a very serious energy crunch heading into a very grim winter.

So now that oil companies are rolling in the dough will they increase production to help out the worlds energy supply squeeze? Dont count on it. Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp. confirmed this week that, for the most part, theyll spend their windfall profits on share buybacks and dividends, Bloomberg recently reported. While capital expenditures will increase in 2022, the report continues, the increases come off 2021s exceptionally low base and within frameworks established before the recent surge in fossil-fuel prices.

This is a huge change in behavior for the oil industry, which usually brings a drill, baby, drill mentality to even the smallest upticks in oil prices. The oil industry has been historically characterized by booms and busts as the oil sector reacts to high prices by flooding the market with oil, which then sinks those prices. The oil industry then repents, curbs production, waits for oil prices to rise, and then starts the cycle all over again. Until now.

For the duration of the Covid-19 crisis, oil producers have shown uncharacteristic restraint and held tight to their pledged production cuts. And now that restraint will turn into a payoff for shareholders. While this is bad news in the short term for countries suffering from an energy crunch, in the long run this move is good news for climate change mitigation.

Big Oil is more than aware that world leaders are getting more serious than ever about the clean energy transition, and the future of fossil fuels is far from certain. We will not double down on fossil fuels, Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden was quoted by Bloomberg. Supermajors might just stay the course on their production caps and focus on diversifying in the coming years.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Canada will ban thermal coal exports by 2030, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The ban is part of the efforts to put an end to coal emissions, which is "one of the single most important steps the world must take in the fight against climate change," according to the PM's office.

The Canadian government will also provide $810 million (C$1 billion) to help coal-dependent countries accelerate their move to lower-carbon energy sources.

"This investment will lead to the successful implementation of country-level strategies and associated kick-start projects, build support at the local and regional levels, and accelerate the retirement of existing coal mines and coal power plants, while enabling new economic activities and contributing to a socially inclusive and gender equal transition," the statement said.

"Climate action can't wait," Trudeau said at COP26, as quoted by Mining.com. "Since 2015, Canada has been a committed partner in the fight against climate change, and as we move to a net-zero future, we will continue to do our part to cut pollution and build a cleaner future for everyone."

Canada is one of the top ten coal exporters globally as well as one of the top five oil producers. While forecasters expect oil production in Canada to continue growing through 2050, PM Trudeau announced that the government was planning on capping emissions from the industry and making it a net-zero industry by that year.

"To help do this at a pace and scale needed to achieve the shared goal of net zero by 2050, the government will set 5-year targets, and will also ensure that the sector makes a meaningful contribution to meeting Canada's 2030 climate goals," the PM's office said in its statement.

The industry reacted with concern that this was a "reckless" move and that the government was setting targets that it did not know how to hit, CBC reported, citing the chief executive of Whitecap Resources.

"Setting out virtue-signaling commitments with no real firm targets is dangerous, and it's reckless because at the end of the day, this is about the things that we can't live without  food, heat, clothing and transportation," said Grant Fagerheim said.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has prevented an attempt by the U.S. to seize an Iranian tanker in the Sea of Oman and "confiscate" its oil, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Wednesday, citing local media.

According to the reports, "the US had seized an Iranian oil tanker in the Sea of Oman, transferred its oil to another tanker, and taken the tanker to an unknown place."

Iranian media say that the IRGC later regained control of the Iranian oil tanker in an operation involving helicopters.

U.S. forces reportedly pursued the Iranian tanker with warships and helicopters, IRNA reports, without specifying when the incident had taken place.

U.S. forces didn't seize the tanker from IRGC, and the vessel is now in Iranian waters, the news agency adds.

Iranian state television has described the reported skirmish as a failed attempt of the U.S. to "steal" oil, Reuters reports.

Waters offshore Oman were the scene of a major incident at the end of July this year when tensions in the Middle East escalated after a drone attack on the oil tanker Mercer Street, which killed two crew members. Israel, the United States, and the UK blamed Iran for the attack.

"Upon review of the available information, we are confident that Iran conducted this attack, which killed two innocent people, using one-way explosive UAVs, a lethal capability it is increasingly employing throughout the region," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement at the time.

The Middle East tensions further escalated a week later, when a tanker carrying bitumen was the target of a hijacking attempt in the Gulf of Oman in early August, in which the vessel was ordered to travel to Iran.

In the summer, just as Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi was being sworn in, the Islamic Republic responded to the accusations about the drone attack by saying it would deliver a "strong and crushing" military response to any hostile move against it.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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State-and-regional

Mystery surrounding Nebraska artist's painting is solved, but not who will own it next

LILY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD The Sanley Farm painting was Dale Nichols first done in oils.

The Dale Nichols painting hung on the living room wall of the Omaha home, a backdrop to the familys lives for three generations.

Until they decided to sell its contents, two siblings who grew up in the house  who want to remain anonymous  had no idea the work in oils hadnt been seen since an exhibition in New York in 1938. Or that Dan Sanley had been searching for it for years.

MARJIE DUCEY, THE WORLD-HERALD The first of the red barns that appeared in many of Dale Nichols' paintings.

Its a painting from his Uncle Dave and Aunt Lilas farm near Surprise, Nebraska. Lilas told Sanley the story of how her brother had created The Sanley Farm while sitting in a cornfield in 1933, unfazed by the winter days freezing temperatures. Hes best known for his rural landscapes.

This was his first oil painting and red barn. He was famous for subsequent red barns in his rural paintings, Sanley said. Its the only rural painting he did from reality. All the rest of his paintings were his own concepts.

Omaha artist's 'yarn bomb' promotes tree planting Cindy Weil, who recently moved back to her hometown, wrapped her midtown Omaha trees in colorful fiber art. A tree damaged in the violent July wind storm was her inspiration.

The painting sold for $350 in New York in 1938. A photograph of it was featured in The World-Heralds farm report in 1940, but then it seemed to vanish.

The bill of sale from that New York show  stuck to the back of the painting  was a delightful surprise when Joel Ward, owner of Twist of Fate Estate Sales, moved it to a safer spot for the sale this weekend. The address of the home will be released on its website Friday morning.

LILY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD Twist of Fate Estate Sales Joel Ward, left, Zaley Woodington and Tachele Linley-Ward stand for a portrait with The Sanley Farm. The painting appraised for between $60,000 and $75,000.

Ward discovered the paintings history and Sanleys search as he was preparing for the sale. Sanley had created a Facebook page called Nebraska Bohemians in 2011 to celebrate his Czech heritage, and had posted details about the painting, but no one had ever come forward. The World-Herald also did an article that year about its disappearance.

He (Sanley) was beyond excited that we had located the painting, Ward said. I texted him a picture. I think he was kind of in disbelief.

Sanley, who is 73 and now living in San Diego, said he and his siblings still own the family farm east of Surprise and adjacent to the farm in the painting. Sanley is working with the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art in David City to try to acquire the painting and preserve the Nichols history.

JOEL WARD Joel Ward found this information on the back of the painting when he moved it for the upcoming sale.

The museum has 11 original Nichols paintings already in its collection, plus four originals that are on loan from the City of David City and David City Public Schools. It also has screen and woodcut prints, pencil drawings, illustrated letters, and original illustrations for his book, A Philosophy of Esthetics.

Nichols niece, Ruth Nichols, still lives in David City.

My dream is to get it and put it in the museum, Sanley said.

JOEL WARD The painting sold for $350 in 1938.

But thats where things get complicated again. The painting recently appraised for $60,000 to $75,000.

Joslyn Art Museum breaks ground on $100 million addition Construction will begin soon on a pavilion that will add 42,000 square feet to the Joslyn Art Museum. The museum will close from spring 2022 until the pavilion is completed.

Ward said while the family likes the idea of it going to the museum, a bid from Sanley and Bone Creek didnt meet their expectations. So, it will be part of the estate sale. Its already drawing national attention.

The museum is the perfect buyer, Ward said. I did get them (the family) to agree that if we have no other offers, we will sell it to the museum.

LILY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD Tachele Linley-Ward, left, Joel Ward and Zaley Woodington with the painting The Sanley Farm by Nebraska artist Dale Nichols. The family owns Twist of Fate Estate Sales.

Sanley is hopeful but realistic. Hes just glad its been found.

It would be nice if the person who buys it would loan it to the museum, he said. If I can get it there on a permanent basis, that would be wonderful.

+11 +11 Dale Nichols' work at the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art The Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art in David City has several Dale Nichols' paintings, some a permanent part of the collection and others on loan.

Related
His novel paints a troubling picture of modern-day South Africa, though Galgut said he did not set out to be negative.

I didnt plan for the overall trajectory of the book to be a downward one, he said  though thats how it turned out.

I think the portrait it paints of modern South Africa is not a happy one, he said. I had no agenda in describing it that way, but things are not great with us right now. You could read that as a warning or a portrait, I dont know, but South Africa has seen better days.

Historian Maya Jasanoff, who chaired the judging panel, said The Promise was a profound, forceful and succinct book that combines an extraordinary story, rich themes -- the history of the last 40 years in South Africa -- in an incredibly well-wrought package.

Galguts ninth novel traces members of the Swart family  the word is Afrikaans for black  haunted by an unkept promise to give their Black maid, Salome, her own house. The book is structured around a series of funerals over several decades; Galgut has said he wanted to make readers fill in the narrative gaps themselves.

He is the third South African novelist to win the Booker Prize, after Nadine Gordimer in 1974 and J.M. Coetzee, who won twice, in 1983 and 1999.
Henderson also said the knife used in the slaying was recovered at Harshbargers home.

Its still an ongoing investigation and the police are still working with interviews and collecting evidence and DNA, Beadle said. So, I dont think that the charges are necessarily set in stone yet.

Authorities have provided few additional details on how the two came into contact other than saying they met through a mutual friend.

Daniel Beaman Jr., the teens father, said they recently returned to Omaha from Pleasanton, Texas, because of a family death and to stay for the winter. A cousin who declined to give her name said Harshbarger is a longtime neighbor and babysat the cousin her entire life.

Beaman was distraught and cried during and after Wednesdays court hearing.

He couldnt do something like that, hes not capable, Beaman said. Everyone thats met him says hes an amazing kid, how well-behaved he is, manners and stuff.

The cousin said Dejaynes-Beaman met Harshbarger about a week before the slaying, because he was staying with the cousins mom, who is friends with Harshbarger.
According to UNL, 125 NCPA college scholars are enrolled at Nebraska, with an average GPA of 3.2. NCPAs freshmen-to-sophomore retention rate is at 84%, and its six-year graduation rate is 75% or higher. The 2016 cohort achieved an 85% college graduation rate.

Green said the program is something we are immensely proud of at the University of Nebraska.

LaDaysia Smith, a sophomore studying architecture at UNL, was part of the NCPA program during her time at North.

As a first-generation student, it was very meaningful for me to know that all I had to do was put the work in to be able to chase my dreams, Smith said. That was very important for me and my family.

Smith said her mom and dad pushed her to succeed and always checked her grades. It was important to her family that Smith be a role model to her younger siblings.

In NCPA, Smith took advantage of test prep and study hours, but more importantly the program offered a support system for students.

Smith said teachers and counselors within the program at North push the students for academic success, but they also want students to be mentally and emotionally healthy.
SEYMOUR, Iowa (AP)  An Iowa man who violated federal animal welfare laws more than 100 times has been barred from selling, breeding or brokering dogs and must give up 514 dogs he kept in various locations around the state.

A federal judge on Tuesday approved an agreement against Daniel Gingerich, whose main site was in rural Seymour in south-central Iowa, KCCI-TV reported.

The agreement settles a lawsuit filed against Gingerich by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whose investigators visited his facilities 18 times in six months.

The USDA said Gingerich violated the Animal Welfare Act 120 times since March.

Investigators said Gingerich failed to provide adequate nutrition, potable water and veterinary care for his dogs, which caused unnecessary suffering and death.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are gathering the dogs, which will be sent to other shelters.
Frakes reiterated that he wasnt trying to build a new prison to imprison more people and that those community issues need to be addressed along with each piece of the system. But, he said, he has to be selfish to address the needs of his department and do the work thats expected of them.

I dont feel like I was heard, Smith told The World-Herald. Because, at the end of the day, I dont think that him and his parties are going to go to these other systems and work together to find some type of cohesiveness.

She noted that he called prisons a business.

Its not a business, this is a system, Smith said. But you just pretty much said its a business -- and thats how we feel, we feel as if prison is a business.

At the end of his time in front of the crowd, Frakes stuck around to answer more questions. He told The World-Herald that he was happy with how the event went.

A lot of the people I serve come from this community  I need to know this community, and they need to know me, he said.

Love said he thought the town hall had just scratched the surface, and there are areas to follow up on.
The Dale Nichols painting hung on the living room wall of the Omaha home, a backdrop to the familys lives for three generations.

Until they decided to sell its contents, two siblings who grew up in the house  who want to remain anonymous  had no idea the work in oils hadnt been seen since an exhibition in New York in 1938. Or that Dan Sanley had been searching for it for years.

Its a painting from his Uncle Dave and Aunt Lilas farm near Surprise, Nebraska. Lilas told Sanley the story of how her brother had created The Sanley Farm while sitting in a cornfield in 1933, unfazed by the winter days freezing temperatures. Hes best known for his rural landscapes.

This was his first oil painting and red barn. He was famous for subsequent red barns in his rural paintings, Sanley said. Its the only rural painting he did from reality. All the rest of his paintings were his own concepts.

The painting sold for $350 in New York in 1938. A photograph of it was featured in The World-Heralds farm report in 1940, but then it seemed to vanish.
So, the TV ads and public statements from gubernatorial hopefuls include economic approaches that can help address this concern, correct? No; only silence so far on that concern too.

What some candidates have focused on  intently  is critical race theory. Will Nebraskas gubernatorial contest head down the same path as Virginias? That state held its gubernatorial election Tuesday, and political analysts pointed to critical race theory as a central issue.

Focusing on hot-button culture-war issues revs up voter anger, no question. Maybe such a political strategy can help a candidate win an election. But an aspirant for Nebraska governor would far better serve the state by doing something altogether different: Demonstrate the ability to bring Nebraskans together  urban, rural, from all backgrounds  to address our long-term needs.

Needs such as boosting the states ability to attract and retain newcomers. Housing affordability. Broadband access. Property tax solutions. Support for startups and entrepreneurs. Strategies to help small towns. Nurturing a welcoming atmosphere for all.

A particular word sums up the essential quality a candidate needs: leadership.
Succession planning is a mixed bag across the globe.

Nigeria, Africas largest country, has now surpassed Korea as the global hub for very large churches, including the largest seating-capacity church buildings and the largest-attended annual Christian camp meetings. Two of the worlds fastest-growing church denominations also come from Nigeria. And frankly, many of the worlds most curious megachurch personalities also are from there.

T.B. Joshua, founding pastor of one of Nigerias most globally influentialand controversialmegachurches, unexpectedly died June 5th at age 57. He had preached a Saturday evening service, left the stage, went to his office and a few minutes later was found sitting in his chair, unconscious from a stroke. He died later that evening.

Even as the church, Synagogue Church of All Nations (known widely by its initials, SCOAN) both mourned its sudden loss and managed coverage from international media, confusion immediately began about who the televangelists successor would be.

Media attention quickly shifted from highlighting the dignitaries paying tribute to T.B. Joshua to surfacing an apparent lack of a succession plan. Speculation focused on the prophets widow Evelyn. Indeed on July 15 the churchs elders declared her as the heir apparent.

According to SCOANs official statement: Be informed that at the appropriate time, the new leader of the ministry shall be made known, according to the move of the Holy Spirit. For now, Mrs. Evelyn Joshua is in charge of coordinating the affairs of the church.

Initially, T.B. Joshuas sermons were replayed for weekend services at the church and also on SCOANs satellite and internet broadcasts. Local media responded by highlighting the churchs many evangelists, along with Evelyn, as candidates to pastor, preach and lead the church in its grieving and into a future without T.B. at the helm.

For Others, Next Steps Have Begun

The day Im composing this article, I spent an hour with the executive pastor of a large church in Brazil. The long-term senior pastor, now in his 60s, had asked him to help walk through the many issues at stake with a healthy succession.

Their starting point is that there was no emergency succession plan. The church bylaws were not specific about the succession process, nor was the role of the board clearly spelled out.

The churchs only previous pastoral transition had taken place back in 1999 when the church was about 350 in attendance. Today, the church looks much different, drawing thousands. It is also multisite, has paid staff, daughter churches and directly supports several missionaries. This organizational complexity increases the number of decisions that need to be made. It also speaks to the various communication processes necessary for a smooth leadership transition to eventually occur.

The formal planning began as the executive pastor framed about 20 questions, mostly about selecting models for succession. He and the senior pastors prayed and talked about them over three hours for their initial session. Most importantly, they set an appointment for the next conversation. They see the process of putting a complete succession plan in place as taking months if not years.

3 Steps for Long-Range Planning

As Ive conducted interviews, Ive been amazed at how many people look back on their succession planning and lament, I wish I had started sooner. Some wish they had allowed time to mentor and to give the congregation greater exposure to likely successors (even if those successors didnt know they were being considered). Others wish they had led the congregation to pay off a debt or reposition a resistant staff member so the new pastor would not inherit the issue. Others who had named an heir apparent wish they had allowed time to help their future successor build a team or receive training in areas of need.

There are several long-range planning steps any pastor can initiate. While the urgency may be greater for a pastor at age 65 with 20 years of tenure than a pastor at age 30 with two months at the helm, succession is too often overlooked. Important steps include:

1. Policy Make sure the church bylaws are clear, specific and known by the churchs board and senior staff. If the church is part of a denomination with succession polity in place, review the designated process as a board and senior staff.

2. Emergency Action Develop an emergency succession plan and communicate it to the right people. Should the senior pastor suddenly die or become incapacitated, how will day-to-day decisions be made, including who will preach over those initial weekends during the crisis?

3. Forecast A common fault of succession planning is to make the current senior pastors personality and skills the primary standard of comparison. It is important also to ask how the neighborhood and racial makeup of the community is changing. What will be the churchs likely leadership needs 3 to 5 years from now? Discuss the future with the idea that the church will likely need to emphasize more of this and less of thatand then describe the kind of leadership needed to navigate that path.

The Bible is full of examples of people who helped shape their succession, from Moses who mentored Joshua for 40 years, to Paul investing in Timothy to Jesus who poured three years into training his ministry resident team. A pastor can do likewise in praying for, cultivating those who are likely to become the next generation of leaders in their church.

Granted, there are instances where denominational or church polity doesnt allow pastoral involvement in the succession process. Even in that situation, those pastors can play a huge role in succession planning by building the kind of optimal leadership development culture where the next leader, whoever that may be, is most likely to thrive.
Guide the Next Generation of Leaders

Discipleship is a big part of a pastors role. You are called to raise up and launch leaders. What are some practical steps pastors and leaders can take to develop leaders? How do they know what it is time to send them out into the harvest field?

Leadership is a part of your legacy.

Whether it is leadership within your family or the church or mission field, your leadership has a lasting impact. Discipleship is one of the core pillars for a leadership legacy within the Kingdom of God.

Leadership discipleship is investing in the next generation of spiritual leaders. Invest in the men and women God has called and impart the lessons and wisdom you have learned.

Take, for example, Moses passing the leadership baton to Joshua:

Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: I am now a hundred and twenty years old, and I am no longer able to lead youThen Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:1-2, 7-8 NIV

Like Moses, all leaders have a point in their leadership where it is time to invest and disciple the next generation of leadership.

There are three ways to invest in the next generation of leaders:

Teach them to be self-aware.

Being self-aware is an essential skill to have as a leader. Self-awareness brings humility and understanding. A self-aware leader knows their strengths and their weaknesses. This kind of leader can commune with God on a deeper level, allowing Him to perfect them in weaknesses. These leaders can learn and grow into the men and women God has called them to be.

Prayer is the best way to become self-aware. Having an open relationship with God allows for Him to prune us while we abide in Him. Alongside our dynamic relationship with God, personality tests, strengths tests, and spiritual gifting tests are excellent in helping give verbiage to what a leader is good at and where there are potential weak spots.

Cast Vision Repeatedly.

Another way to develop and disciple leaders is to cast vision continuously. Continuous is the keyword; to truly take root and have a lasting impact, a vision must be constantly communicated. Developing and investing in the next generation of leadership requires casting vision to them repeatedly. If they are your culture carriers, the ones who will continue to live out your mission and vision, then the vision must be communicated regularly, so they have total clarity.

One of the best ways to help solidify vision casting is to host an off-site leadership retreat to dream and talk through vision casting for the future. Typically, the lead pastors call for this kind of retreat and invite key staff and board members to participate. During this retreat, vision is discussed at length, and leadership training occurs to carry the vision moving forward. Typically, off-sites are held twice a year to once a quarter.

Invest in your team and your upcoming leaders by planning an off-site.

Challenge and Mentor Them

While this might be the most common approach to discipleship for upcoming leaders, mentoring is still one of the best ways to disciple the next generation of leaders. As a leader, you will want to push your mentees limits and inspire them to step up to the plate, regardless of where they are leading. Mentorships can look like many different things, but the critical point is to meet and teach leadership principles regularly. This can be working through a book or meeting to discuss specific life scenarios and how to handle them.

However you see fit, and as the Holy Spirit leads, take a couple of upcoming leaders under your wing and invest in them.

A residency program is a structured program within a church to take on new ministry leaders for a limited time to help them gain ministry leadership experience under the tutelage of experienced ministry leaders. While many churches structure their residency programs differently, the core mission of a residency is to invest in the next generation of ministry leaders.

Residency programs include training in:

 Leadership skill training

 Spiritual growth and development

 Ministry administration training

 Conflict management skills

Ministry holds a lot of different scenarios, both good and challenging. A residency program creates space for you as a leader (and many others) to invest in the knowledge you already know and pass it on to another up-and-coming leader. The lessons a ministry resident learns will carry with them for the rest of their ministry career.

Be strong and courageous

As with Moses, there is a time to pass the leadership baton to the next generation. As the leader, you are tasked with investing and equipping those who will grow to stand on your shoulders. Training the next generation of ministry leaders will be a part of your legacy.

I would challenge you to take some time and think through how you will intentionally invest in the next generation of ministry leaders. Your experience is needed, and your influence is what the next generation will stand upon.

First published on StartChurch.com. Used by permission.






San Francisco Firehouses Celebrate Christmas 1948 - 1950

Robert and Marilyn Katzman have graciously shared some images and a short history from when San Francisco's firehouses went all out to decorate for the Christmas holidays. If you'd like to own these and many more images in a great slideshow with a seasonal soundtrack, take a look at the ordering information at the bottom of this page.

1948 was the San Francisco Fire Department's first annual Christmas decoration contest, a tradition that was to last only three short years. Each firehouse was limited to a total expenditure of $50.00 and the grand prize winner received $1,000 and a gold loving cup known as the Civil Service Star Trophy to be displayed at the firehouse throughout the year. The judging committee reported to Fire Chief Edward P. Walsh that he should be very proud of his boys, their spirit was refreshing and the competition keen. "The firemen begged, borrowed, carpentered and sculptured to create what the casual passerby could scarcely believe was a firehouse," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle. In the first year the money for the awards was contributed by members of the Fire Commission---Max Sobel, Chairman, Robert Schaefer, Walter Leonetti---and a number of San Franciscans who became interested in the project because of its colorful addiion to the city's Christmas spirit.

In 1949 the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the decorations were even better than the first year, although only $25.00 in expense money was allowed and the grand prize dropped to $ 500.00. San Francisco Mayor Elmer Robinson proudly stated that San Francisco was the only city to decorate its firehouses each Christmas on a community basis and he wanted every child in San Francisco to see the firehouses. Many of the decorations were animated and often reflected the architectural pattern of the firehouse's particular neighborhood.

1950 found "the boys" becoming experts at making a firehouse at Christmas season look like anything but a firehouse. Battalion Chief Joseph A. Smith worked out a 54-mile route that went past all the firehouses, beginning and ending at Civic Center. Free Municipal Railway bus rides were provided for children over three nights, with candy breaks set up at firehouse rest stops. The Chronicle reported, "The world was full of news of war and price curbs and mobilization - but for grinning, jostling, kids in the green and white Muni buses, it was a world of Christmas magic."

On November 20, 1951 San Francisco's firemen voted to end their three-year tradition of decorating the city firehouses for Christmas. The firemen gave lack of money as their reason. Many made up the balance of the yearly decorating costs out of their own pockets, and were not in the mood for such contributions when in that month's election a ballot initiative to increase firefighter pay had been defeated.

Forty-five years later, we took the one-of-a-kind slide collection of the late Alfred Stettler, an avid fire buff employed by the Department of Fire Prevention, and transferred it to video to relive this nationally-recognized three-year competition.

You are certain to enjoy the original musical arrangements (from music box to calypso) and will be touched by the special carol singing by San Francisco's Singing Fireman Jim Bogue. We wish you Peace on Earth.

This video in DVD format can be ordered for $20, tax, shipping and handling included, from The Old Firehouse. Email Robert and Marilyn at engineco33@aol.com.

Read more about Christmas Firehouses on our Community Message Board.

Christmas Firehouse Images

Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places.
EUREKA  A court hearing is set for Thursday afternoon in Woodford County for six McLean County Unit 5 employees who filed a lawsuit last week against the district's Board of Education over the mandate to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or test weekly.

Peoria-based lawyer Jason Jording filed the case in Woodford County Circuit Court on behalf of Unit 5 employees Rachel Henderson, Ashley DeFreese, Tracy Quattro, Laura Feely, Stacy Herren and Lisa Jones. Jording could not immediately be reached for comment.

The school district extends into small parts of Woodford County but largely covers Normal, parts of Bloomington and surrounding areas in McLean County. It is based in Normal.

Five of the plaintiffs are employed at Glenn Elementary School in Normal, while Jones works for Northpoint Elementary School in Bloomington, according to the district's website. "Multiple" plaintiffs live in Woodford County and two of the plaintiffs also have children in Unit 5 schools, the complaint said.

Unit 5 is not involved in a statewide lawsuit by parents at more than 140 other districts.

Unit 5 have seen the complaint but it has not been officially served as of midday Wednesday, said a statement from Curt Richardson, the district's attorney. The complaint has multiple problems that the district will be responding to, he said.

In September, the district and its teacher union, the Unit Five Education Association, agreed to a letter of understanding which required teachers to either be vaccinated or be tested weekly, as required by an executive order under Governor J.B. Pritzker. Teachers had until Sept. 19 to receive the first dose and 30 days after for a second dose.

The letter allows for medical or religious exemptions but still requires weekly testing for those covered by the exemptions. It also sets out a three-step process for discipline for teachers not in compliance with the mandate, starting with a verbal request for documentation. The discipline process culminates in being docked pay until providing proof of vaccination or testing. There is a 48-hour window of paid time to provide documentation.

Quattro "has been locked out of work," the lawsuit said, "and the remainder of the Plaintiffs have been forced to undergo testing against their will to maintain their livelihood."

The Letter of Understanding also suggests that teachers who do not comply should consider negotiating an unpaid leave of absence, as provided by the collective bargaining agreement.

Despite union leaders entering the Letter of Understanding with the district, the lawsuit said the letter was not approved through a vote by the collective bargaining unit. "Multiple" plaintiffs are or were members of the bargaining unit, the complaint said.

But the union's bylaws do not require a membership vote on Letters of Understanding, said UFEA President Lindsey Dickinson.

She declined to comment further on the lawsuit.

The district's actions have been in accordance with the Letter of Understanding, Richardson said.

"Unit 5 is complying with Executive Order 2021-22 issued by Governor Pritzker and Illinois State Board of Education emergency rules which require unvaccinated school employees to undergo weekly testing or be excluded from work," his statement said.

The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday, seeks a temporary injunction against Unit 5's vaccine and weekly testing requirements. It claims that local health departments have the authority to isolate or quarantine rather than school districts.

The first hearing for the case is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday before 11th Judicial Circuit Judge Charles Feeney.

Last month, 10 teachers who didn't want to follow the state vaccine and mask mandates sued the Triad and Edwardsville school districts in Madison County near St. Louis.

An amendment to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act passed both houses during last week's veto session and awaits Pritzker's approval, who has expressed his support of the measure.

The bill currently prohibits discrimination against anyone's "conscientious refusal to receive, obtain, accept, perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any particular form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience."

The bill passed last week and awaiting the governor's approval adds language to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act stating it is not a violation of the act for an employer to impose any requirements intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations. It is not a violation of this Act to enforce such measures or requirements."

If Pritzker signs the bill, it would take effect June 1, 2022.

Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood

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BLOOMINGTON  For Beer Nuts, it all started in a confection shop's basement on North Main Street. There, peanuts with skins in tact were coated with salty-sugary glaze and sold by the scoop.

Here are nine facts about our own Bloomington-made snack star.

1937

Arlo Shirk and his father Edward Shirk buy the Caramel Crisp Shop, a peanut and popcorn store at 413 N. Main St. in downtown Bloomington. One of the popular products created by previous owners Herbert and Edith McCollum were sugar-coated Virginia and Southeastern Jumbo Runner peanuts.

20

Age of Edward's son, Russell Shirk, when he returned to Bloomington in 1940 after the death of Arlo to run the store and eventually oversee the expansion of the operation.

1950

Year the first Shirks Glazed Peanuts" were packaged for a local liquor store. The "Beer Nuts" name was adopted three years later.

7,000

Square footage of 505 N. Prairie St. building that housed operations starting in 1954, a year after the confectionary store was closed so attention could be focused on Beer Nuts. Shirk Products Inc. was incorporated in 1955. With the help of Eldridge C. Brewster, who sold Blue Star Potato Chips, the snack would be available in all 50 states by 1960.

4 million

Amount of Virginia peanuts sold in 1963, according to a Pantagraph article, which described the company as a "$2 million a year business." It employed 50.

1973

After expansions of the North Prairie Street plant in 1957, 1961 and 1962, the company moved to a factory at 103 Robinson St.

15 million

Sales, in pounds, in 1985.

5 million

Gift from Russell Shirk's family foundation for the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he graduated from in 1943. The longtime company leader died in November 1999.

100,000

Square footage of current plant, which started as a dairy building. The business remains a family operation and Bloomington-made Beer Nuts are available far and wide.

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CHEYENNE, Wyo.  The victims of a head-on crash that killed four people on a highway south of the Wyoming-Colorado line included two senior airmen at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.

The crash on U.S. 85 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of Cheyenne around 2:30 a.m. Saturday killed Yasmin Takiah Evans, 22, and her only passenger, Taylor Alize Lipscomb Ashley, 24, the Weld County Coroner's Office said in a statement Tuesday.

The airmen were assigned to the 90th Missile Security Operations Squadron and the 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron at F.E. Warren, the Denver Post reported.

This is a terrible tragedy for the entire wing team, Col. Catherine Barrington, 90th Missile Wing commander, said in a statement. Our priority is to do everything we can to support the two families and all their friends and loved ones struggling with this loss.

Also killed were Jonathan William Upchurch, 30, of Rockford, Illinois, and his passenger, Zane Lee Schure, 30, of Fort Collins, Colorado, according to the coroners office.

Upchurch was driving a 2015 Jeep Cherokee that crossed into the oncoming lane and hit a 2018 Honda Accord driven by Evans, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

All four were wearing seat belts. The Colorado State Patrol was investigating.

F.E. Warren oversees 150 Minuteman nuclear missiles in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.

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BLOOMINGTON  The Rev. Jesse Jackson will lead a march Friday from Bloomington police headquarters to the Illinois State University campus, it was announced Tuesday, as activists continue to call for a federal investigation into the death of grad student Jelani Day.

"We want to gain one thing, and that is justice for Jelani Day," said Cameron Barnes, national youth director with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization that Jackson founded. "We want justice and a federal investigation."

A Danville native, Day, 25, was last seen in Bloomington on Aug. 25. His body was recovered from the Illinois River in the Peru area Sept. 4. The La Salle County coroner last week said the cause of death was drowning, but family and friends have questioned whether foul play was involved. The case has received international attention.

Day's mother, Carmen Bolden Day, and his family have been adamant in their belief that he was murdered and did not go into the river by choice. They have repeatedly called on the FBI to take over as lead investigators in the case.

Jackson attended a march in Peru and a burial service for Day in Danville last month. On Monday, Jackson was hospitalized in Washington, D.C., after falling and hitting his head during a visit to Howard University. He was being kept for observation overnight.

Jackson is scheduled to have a press conference at the Bloomington Police Department at noon on Friday prior to the march.

Bloomington police Officer John Fermon said the department plans to help coordinate with organizers.

Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe told The Pantagraph that the city will assist in any way possible to provide safety and ease of traffic flow.

"Any time somebody loses their life, it is always a concern, but especially when it's a young person with so much promise," said Mwilambwe. "Our thoughts are with the family."

A multi-jurisdictional task force comprised of the Peru and Bloomington police, the LaSalle County sheriff's and coroner's offices, the Illinois State Police, and the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit continue to lead the investigation.

On Friday, Peru police Chief Robert Pyszka told The Pantagraph the task force has given all files in the case to the FBI. He said the FBI will assist on the case but will not take the lead.

Some state representatives and activists groups have criticized the Peru and Bloomington police departments handling of the missing person and death investigation.

Mwilambwe said he "believes the Bloomington Police Department has handled this in the best way it could. it has provided assistance and continues to provide assistance as a member of the task force."

Barnes said the group hopes the march will continue to bring national attention to the investigation and to raise awareness regarding the disparity in how missing persons cases for Black and indigenous people are handled in the United States.

"We want the same thing this mother wants, and that is to know what happened to Jelani Day," Barnes said.

Contact Sierra Henry at 309-820-3234. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_sierrahenry.

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COLLINSVILLE  Flags lined Eastport Plaza Drive leading to the Gateway Convention Center where the life of slain Pontoon Beach Police Department Officer Tyler Timmins was honored Tuesday in a moving, heartbreaking, heroic, brave and, at times, humorous service.

Illinois State troopers filled at least three rows of seats in the full ballroom of Collinsville's Gateway Center, where about 1,000 of Timmins' friends, family and "brothers and sisters in blue" gathered to remember the 36-year-old law enforcement officer.

"We are here to celebrate the life of one very special man," said Rev. Jarad Corzine, chaplain for the Granite City Police Department. "He was a father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew and husband....with a servant's heart of gold."

Corzine then introduced the people who "loved him most and knew him best."

Timmins' wife, Linsey (Hornberger) Timmins, spoke of the short five years they'd been together, having just married on Sept. 11 in Pocahontas.

"Thank you everyone for coming today," she said. "Your continued support is overwhelming and so appreciated.

"For me the definition of hero is my husband," Timmins said in a voice filled with emotion. "Every day he strapped that vest to his chest he was courageous and he paid the ultimate sacrifice.

She said he loved being a police officer, not only on the street, but also mentoring and "even the occasional hazing of rookies," to which many knowingly laughed, well aware of Tyler Timmins' huge sense of humor.

"He truly bled blue," Linsey Timmins said. "Never did he complain. He would say, 'Linsey, we can't do anything different. This is how God created us.' To his brothers and sisters in blue, he loved every single one of you. Please do not be afraid to talk and share stories about my husband.

"I am strong because of Tyler," she said. "In the short five years I had with him, he taught me patience, he taught me kindness and he taught me forgiveness. His infectious smile, beautiful soul and servant's heart were a perfect complement to me."

She and others who spoke, including her brother-in-law Jake Timmins, who's Tyler Timmins' younger brother by four years, said she is forever a part of the Timmins family, as well as the law enforcement family of Pontoon Beach and multiple other jurisdictions.

"I love you sister," Jake Timmins said during his eulogy.

Linsey Timmins said, garnering another laugh, "I will gather with them, love them and play in overly-competitive family game nights.

"I love Tyler with every ounce of my being," she said. "I love him and will spend every second of every minute of every day for the rest of my life missing him."

Pontoon Police Chief Chris Modrusic said the day Timmins was fatally shot, at about 7:50 a.m. Oct. 26, "is marked as the worst day in department history."

Timmins joined the Pontoon Beach Police Department in April 2020. He began his law enforcement career 14 years ago as a Wood River Police cadet, then became a patrolman with the Roxana Police Department, a chief with the Worden department and a patrolman with the Hartford Police Department.

"Some call it an endeavor. Some call it a calling, defined by service," Modrusic said of a career as a police officer. "It attracts those who are called, who soar above the rest each day, facing the unknown out on the streets.

"Tyler was fully aware of those dangers. That's why this tragedy is so hard to comprehend," he said. "The pain at times is almost unbearable. We will honor Tyler by carrying on his legacy and remembering his sacrifice. God bless you Tyler and may you rest in peace."

Officer Daniel McIntyre, manager of the MidWest Heat Softball for police, eulogized Timmins with anecdotes from their softball experiences.

"I'm making an executive decision here today to retire the No. 3 for Tyler Timmins," McIntyre concluded in his eulogy.

Also eulogizing Timmins, who was born in Alton, were his best friend Vance Wilhelm, with the South Roxana Police Department, and his brother Jake Timmins. The Timmins brothers' stepmother, Laura Timmins, led prayer.

Corzine returned to the podium before the conclusion of the service at Gateway Center.

"Officer Tyler Timmins served and protected, and he paid with his life," Corzine said. "Sounds a lot like Jesus to me."

A procession from Collinsville followed Timmins to his final resting place for a private burial at Woodland Hill Cemetery in East Alton.

Timmins was shot at the recently opened Speedway convenience store at the intersection of Illinois 111 and Chain of Rocks Road in Pontoon Beach. According to the Illinois State Police, Timmins was approaching a vehicle that he had stopped believing the car stolen, when the suspect reportedly opened fire, striking Timmins in the neck. Timmins was airlifted to Saint Louis University Hospital where he died at 10:30 a.m. from his injuries.

Timmins was returned to Illinois on Oct. 27, escorted by more than 100 fellow officers, as hundreds of people lined the streets holding "thin blue line" flags in support of law enforcement. Nothing could be heard except the wailing of police sirens.

Timmins was brought to the rear of Marks Mortuary at 6th and Lorena streets in Wood River where a large crowd of family and officers gathered to salute and pay their respects as his casket was carried into the funeral home.

Timmins is survived by his wife, and daughter Chloe Rice, of Hartford. He was the son of Timothy Timmins, of East Alton, and the late Beverly (Zeisset) Timmins, of Roxana.

A GoFundMe page to help Timmins' wife and daughter is located at https://www.gofundme.com/f/family-of-fallen-offer-tyler-timmins?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unknown&utm_campaign=comms_l4vs+family-of-fallen-offer-tyler-timmins.

On Oct. 28, the Timmins family issued a public statement of appreciation for all who have supported them following Officer Timmins' death.

"We would like to thank the law enforcement community and the thousands of others who have expressed their love, support and concern," they said.

Scott Hyden, 31, of Highland, was quickly taken into custody at the shooting scene on Oct. 26. He was charged the following day with two counts of first-degree murder, both Class M felonies; aggravated discharge of a firearm at a peace officer, a Class X felony; unlawful possession of a stolen firearm and offenses relating to motor vehicles, both Class 2 felonies; and, unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 3 felony. He is being held in the Madison County Jail without bond, faces natural life in prison, and the State's Attorney Tom Haine said that they would seek the maximum penalty.

The case remains under investigation. Two others were taken into custody and Haine said he did expect further charges related to the shooting.

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His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that with the African Development Bank stating that Africa will need some US$3 trillion in mitigation and adaptation by 2030 to enable her implement nationally determined contributions, Africa should seriously consider the question of financing this challenge.



The Almighty has blessed our lands with abundant natural resources, and it would be wholly unfair for the world to demand that Africa abandons the exploitation of these same resources needed to finance her development, and help us to cope better with the threat of climate change, at a time when many countries on the continent have only just discovered them, President Akufo-Addo said.



He continued, The development and industrialization of the wealthy nations of today were also hinged on the exploitation of their natural resources. This development came at the expense of pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases. Even today, the western world is responsible for 76% of carbon emissions.



COP26 in Glasgow



Around 120 leaders have come together in Glasgow since (Monday) at the start of COP26, launching two weeks of global negotiations to help determine whether humanity can drive forward the urgent action needed to avoid catastrophic climate change.



As the world experiences record temperatures and extreme weather pushing the planet dangerously close to climate catastrophe, the need for urgent action at COP26 has never been clearer.



COP26 brings the major emitting countries face to face with the countries most vulnerable to climate change. The World Leaders Summit are expected to send a clear signal to negotiators to be as ambitious as possible and agree to a negotiated outcome that accelerates action this decade.



The Summit will also underscore that the Paris Agreement is working, with increased commitments on finance, emissions and adaptation as we see the first crank of the Paris Agreement ratchet.



Nana Addo's Address



PeaceFM's Senior Correspondent, Sampson Kwame Nyamekye, reports that the president said this when delivered Ghanas statement at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP 26, currently ongoing in Glasgow, Scotland.



According to him, the president pointed out the need to strike a "balance" between socio-economic advancements and its environmental impact.



Ghana acknowledges the importance and effects of Climate Change, and the urgent need to combat it, and we acknowledge equally the importance of protecting our development. We believe that a balance must be struck and maintained between our social, economic and environmental imperatives, Nana Akufo-Addo stated.



Protecting Ghanas Forests and Oceans



Describing deforestation and forest degradation as the greatest challenges to sustainable forest management in Ghana, the President stated that Ghana has, in the course of the last two decades, adopted several policies and programmes, such as National Forest Plantation Development Programme and the Ghana Forest Plantation Strategy, aimed at restoring her lost forest.



In June this year, I led the entire country, through the Green Ghana Project, to plant over seven million trees, far above the five million we had targeted. Next year, we aim to plant a minimum of twenty million trees, and we have already begun earnest preparations towards this, he added.



"from 2024 and beyond, we aim to reduce emissions by some ten million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in the cocoa-forest landscape, through the implementation of the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, one of five ecological landscape-tailored programmes in Ghanas REDD+ Strategy, he assured.



Ghana, President Akufo-Addo stressed, through her Nationally Determined Contributions in the forestry sector, is committed to supporting the global target of halving emissions by 2030, and attaining neutrality by 2050.











Ghana Joins Others To Make Declaration on Forests and Land Use

Meanwhile, more than 100 world leaders have promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, in the COP26 climate summit's first major deal.



Brazil - where stretches of the Amazon rainforest have been cut down - was among the signatories on Tuesday. The pledge includes almost 14bn ($19.2bn) of public and private funds.



Experts welcomed the move, but warned a previous deal in 2014 had "failed to slow deforestation at all" and commitments needed to be delivered on. Felling trees contributes to climate change because it depletes forests that absorb vast amounts of the warming gas CO2.



UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hosting the global meeting in Glasgow, said "more leaders than ever before" - a total of 110 - had made the "landmark" commitment.



The countries who have signed the pledge - including Canada, Brazil, Russia, China, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana the US and the UK (the full list is here) - cover around 85% of the world's forests.

Source: From SAMPSON KWAME NYAMEKYE/ UK/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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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.
Government has announced plans to digitalize the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) as part of the ongoing digitisation of the nations economy.



According to the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, a digital School Feeding Programme will ensure efficiency, speedily transfer of data and transparency in the social intervention programme.



Dr. Bawumia made the announcement during his address on the digital economy held at the Ashesi University in the Eastern Region on Tuesday 2nd November, 2021.



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He was of the view that the digital system will largely address most of the challenges of GSFP especially the alleged issues of ghost schools and ghost children.



Meanwhile, the Management of the Ghana School Feeding Programme led by Dr. Mrs. Gertrude Quashigah in line with the governments vision has already procured some 300 brand new Tablets to pilot the digital system in some selected districts in all the 16 regions of Ghana which was fully funded by the World Food Programme (WFP).



GSFP Management and their partner, WFP, have also finished the practical training of key stakeholders in all the regions including headteachers, circuit supervisors and school feeding staff at national and regional levels on the use of the tablets for monitoring and evaluation purposes.



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The piloting of the GSFP digital monitoring system commenced on 1st November in the selected districts; and it will be followed by the digitalisation of the entire school feeding programme by the Government in earnest.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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The attention of West Hills Mall has been drawn to media reports about an incident that occurred on Saturday, 30 October 2021, concerning an action taken by the Malls management and which resulted in the arrest of an official of the Mall. These reports, and especially the conversation it has subsequently generated, are rather lopsided and misleading and must be corrected immediately to set the record straight.



In order to fully appreciate the context within which the incident took place, it is important to note that this is simply a case of encroachment by China Mall on West Hills Mall land and an attempt by West Hills Malls management to secure and protect its land that has been intruded by China Mall during the past couple of months.



Shareholders have invested in excess of $100 million and inclusive of $10 million on an interchange that gives sole access to the Mall. So when we became aware that part of this property had been encroached upon, all we did was to take the necessary steps to protect our investments which, by the way, is partly owned by workers and pensioners of Ghana through the 40% stake which SSNIT owns in this investment.



It must be noted that the area which has been reported as being the entrance and part of the parking to the retailer known as China Mall, is actually the bona fide property of West Hills Mall. West Hills Mall has a Land Title Certificate issued by the Lands Commission covering the land in question. This encroachment by China Mall was confirmed by an independent land surveyor, of which China Mall is very much aware. It must be particularly noted that the Management of West Hills Mall had in good faith engaged both China Mall and its Landlord, Alstonia Investments on the matter, prior to taking this action



The ownership of that parcel of land by West Hills Mall has never been in dispute, and it may surprise you to know that barely two weeks ago, officials from West Hills Mall, Alstonia Investments, China Mall and some surveyors met on site, for a meeting which culminated in a decision by all parties that China Mall would create its own access and desist from using West Hills Mall land as access forthwith; China Mall was to inform West Hills Mall by a certain date as to how it would implement the change. Unfortunately, China Mall reneged on its promise and continued using the land without informing West Hills Mall by the agreed date of how and by when it would desist from the encroachment, or asking for permission to use the West Hills Mall land.



This is, therefore, not a case of competitor rivalry, as is being portrayed in the media. This is a case of West Hills Mall protecting the land that it legally owns and has paid for, and which is illegally being occupied by China Mall. Clearly, the offender succeeded in misleading not only the press but also the public, especially the communities that we serve, the authorities as well as the Police. The arrest and prosecution of our Facilities Portfolio Executive is unfortunate. We will in the coming days take all the necessary lawful actions to defend our official and protect the name of our company.



The least reference made to competitor rivalry the better because the presence of China Mall provides diversity in the offering that retailers like ourselves provide, and honestly, it is clear that we serve two very different markets in these communities.



We hereby reiterate the fact that this is not about competition but about the protection of ones property. West Hills Mall believes that laws protecting land ownership in Ghana should be respected and that China Mall should not be able to appropriate West Hills Malls land without proper authorization. You should also be aware that, together with Broll Properties, we are championing the formation of the Ghana Property Owners Association for the Retail Sector, so having critical mass can only help us in addressing the challenges facing this sector so we welcome competition gladly.









Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah has entreated people who urinate in gutters to stop because "gutters are not their washrooms".



The Minister who wants an end to this attitude noted that people are hired to clean the gutters.



Ms Dapaah said "there are generations in Ghana who think urinating anywhere, anytime is their right, it's wrong and we must all speak against this.



"There are people who sit in very posh cars, they park anywhere, anyhow and urinate...and that must stop," she added.



"We should change our attitudes," she said.



The Minister was speaking at the Mole XXXII WASH conference held at Ejisu in the Ashanti region which on the theme: "Repositioning the WASH sector for emergency response and sustainable development".



Ms Dapaah called on Ghanaians, especially parents to ensure their children do not urinate in gutters because it is wrong.



She also appealed to galamseyers to stop their activities because they are destroying surface waters.



She wants Ghanaians to be bold and speak out when they see the water bodies being destroyed because of illegal mining activities.

Source: classfmonline.com









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The Ranking Member of Parliaments Defence and Interior Committee has charged the Inspector-General (IGP) of the Ghana Police Service to stay within his limit in administering his duties.



James Agalga speaking on Accra-based Citi FM, said Dr Gerorge Dampare is being over-zealous in his new role.



The IGP needs to understand that the democratic dispensation does not allow the police to also act above the law, just as we are being told that MPs are not above the law. Moreover, he should remember that the Service owes its existence to the 1992 Constitution, he said.



The police have been on the heels of the Madina MP, Francis-Xavier Sosu for his involvement in a violent demonstration over deplorable roads in his constituency last week.



Mr Sosu said some police officers tried to arrest him during the protest.



Police were also reported to have tried to arrest the lawmaker while he was at Church on Sunday, October 31, 2021, though the police administration has denied the reports.



Subsequently, the police sought permission from the Speaker of Parliament to invite Mr Sosu to assist in investigations but it was proven unsuccessful after Alban Bagbin refused to release him.



The Service, however, is considering legal action to compel the Madina MP to report himself for questioning.



The Director of Public Affairs, ACP Kwesi Ofori has revealed that the police could seek interpretation from the Supreme Court of the extent of parliamentary privileges afforded legislators.



Reacting to these developments, Mr Agalga said Dr Dampares modus operandi is flawed.



This is his first gaffe. He needs to be mindful of the clear provisions of Articles 122 and 117. It is not for nothing that the framers of the constitution made room for these provisions. If it is the collective view of Ghanaians that these provisions have outlived their usefulness, then lets take them out of the constitution.



But until then, I expect everyone, including the President, to respect this provision. Even if they intend seeking for interpretation of the provision, that has not been done yet, and so the police should just stick with the Speakers position and stop the back and forth.

Source: myjoyonline.com









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An Adentan Circuit Court has sentenced 22-year-old tricycle rider to 10 years imprisonment over defilement. Benjamin Akrofi Otumfuor, is said to have defiled the Victim aged 14 in a classroom at a school in Otinibi, near Danfa in Accra.



Charged with defilement, Otumfuor, pleaded guilty and he was convicted on his plea.



According to the court presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Balokah, before sentencing Otumfuor, it considered the age of the accused and the fact that accused was a first offender. Prosecution led by Superintendent of Police, Patience Mario told the court that the complainant was unemployed and she resides at Otinibi.



Supt. Mario said the Victim is 14 years old and the daughter of the complainant.

Prosecution said on September 8, this year, in the evening, the Victim left the house to visit her grandmother at Otinibi, which was a walking distance away from her house.



Supt. Mario said on her way, accused now convict lured her into one of the classrooms of the government school and had sex with her.



Whiles in the act, accused was caught by witnesses. Prosecution said at about 7:00pm, accused and the victim were sent naked to the complainant house and the matter was reported to her.



According to the Prosecutor, the complainant reported the matter to the Police and a medical form was issued to her to seek medical care for the Victim.

The victim was treated and her medical form was endorsed.



Prosecution said accused was later arrested by the Police and after investigations, he was charged.

Source: GNA









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Zimbabwes President Emmerson Mnangagwa has arrived in the UK for the COP26 summit. This is the first time in 25 years that a Zimbabwean leader has set foot in the UK.



Relations between Zimbabwe and the UK became strained during the rule of Mr Mnangagwas predecessor, Robert Mugabe, following the take-over of white-owned farms and violence against opposition members.



In a tweet, Mr Mnangagwa thanked UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UN Secretary General Antonio Gueterres for welcoming him to the summit being held in the city of Glasgow in Scotland.



Mr Mnangagwa tweeted a picture of himself with the two, and said that reengagement is working.



Critics have dismissed suggestions that the visit is a diplomatic coup for the government.



This is a UN Climate change summit not a bilateral meeting, one said.

During the weekend, Mr Mnangagwa told his supporters: I have been invited by Boris Johnson, and he has indicated he might meet me one on one.



On Sunday, a Zimbabwean government spokesman posted a video of two UK-based supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF party, with trolleys full of cartons of alcohol, to celebrate his arrival.















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 Helping Africa Foundation (www.helpingafrica.org) under the leadership of its President, Dr Deborah Rose, has provided Asare Bediako SHS in Akrokerri, Ashanti Region; Bomaa community in the Ahafo Region, and Tuobodom community in the Bono East Region of Ghana with ultramodern ICT centers to promote the teaching and learning of ICT under the foundations flagship program, the Yamoransa Model Labs Program.



All projects comprise a 48-seater educational lab (known as EDULab) and powered by an ASANKA device (www.myasanka.com) that enables students to access educational materials without the internet. The labs are built by TECHAiDE (www.techaide.global), a Ghanaian technology company working in Africa for over a decade using ICTs to improve Education, support Youth Development, and facilitate Health Delivery.



Among robotics facilities provided in the MakerSpace for innovation and creativity are tools for 3D Design and Printing; Coding withLegos andArduinos; and Virtual and Augmented Reality. BothYM Labs 9 and 10 have a conference room and Center managers office.



Speaking at the dedication ceremony of the respective projects, the Project Manager & CEO of TECHAiDE, Mr. Kafui Prebbie, disclosed that the facilities in Bomaa and Tuobodom are powered by solar as part of the sustainable model of the projects.



"The computers installed in these facilities are of low voltage. This means they consume only 10% of the power used by the everyday computer and this is to ensure that the communities are not burdened with utility bills and no student is to be charged for using the facility", he remarked.



At the dedication ceremony of the centre in Akrokerri dubbed YM Lab 3.1, the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP for Fomena Adansi, Mr Andrew Amoako Asiamah assured the Asare Bediako Senior High school that he will adopt the school and develop as it is one of the most deprived schools in the Region.



He also encouraged teachers and students to make good use and properly maintain the facilities provided by the Helping Africa Foundation.



Executive Director of the Helping Africa Foundation, Mr. Japhet Aryiku stated that the vision of the Foundation is to equip every Ghanaian school-going child with the skills needed to be globally competitive.



"The vision of the HAF is to bring quality and accessible education to all Ghanaian children to ensure they acquire the right skills in order to be competitive in the global market regardless of the location", Mr. Aryiku said.



He further added that these 3 labs bring to a total of 10 labs out of the 16 labs HAF intends to build in all 16 regions of Ghana.



At Bomaa in the Tano North Municipality, the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Ernest Kwarteng admonished the community to handle the facility with care and ensure it is maintained well.

In a related development, the Promoter of the Yamoransa Model Lab 10, Honourable Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, MP for Techiman North at the dedication ceremony in Tuobodom expressed her gratitude to the Helping Africa Foundation for their sterling intervention in providing the community with such a facility. According to her, the facility puts Techiman North ahead of the government's plan to introduce Robotics and Coding into the Ghanaian educational curriculum. She extolled the virtues of robotic education.



Robotic education creates an environment that embraces people with varied talents. It promotes creative thinking, strategic thinking, logical reasoning, computational and analytical skills, which are undeniably essential skills required from the 21st century citizen in this competitive globe.



The Yamoransa Model Labs is an initiative started by the Helping Africa Foundation, aimed at providing opportunities for students to expand their knowledge in STEM education through practical experience. The model is a partnership between HAF, the District Assemblies and the District Education Directorate.



It is managed by Implementers (www.TheImplementers.org), a project management non-profit organization that partners with charitable organizations, philanthropists and corporate institutions to positively impact communities.



Implementers will manage these projects for the next two years before handing it over to the local authorities through a sustainable plan.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged the vibrant youth of the country to take more advantage of the digital revolution the government is undertaking.



The Ghanaian economy has undergone significant digital transformation over the past four years, with many technological innovations and e-commerce springing up.



Delivering a public lecture at the Ashesi University Tuesday evening on the impact of digitilization on the Ghanaian economy, Dr. Bawumia said digitilization is a youth revolution, which presents huge prospects for the brilliant Ghanaian youth in terms of job creation, and also to enable them contribute more to the development of the nation.



"The digital revolution is a youth driven revolution. It is your revolution," Dr. Bawumia said.



"There is a growing body of empirical evidence that illustrates the capacity of digital technology to create jobs, significantly boost productivity, increase income and support wealth creation."



"I am excited about the prospects of the nation we are building, the brilliant minds being nurtured who are contributing towards this vision and I look forward to all of you playing a role in making our nation great and strong."



Dr. Bawumia noted that the obvious digitization progress government has made in the areas of unique biometric national identification system, digital address system, mobile money interoperability, digitization of many government services, among others, is only work in progress, and more is being done with the youth in mind and, and to be the driving force.



"Having put together these large databases as a result of digitization, our focus would now turn inter alia to data analytics through big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning to provide solutions to many challenges we face."



"We will leverage on the progress we have made with digitalization to drive innovation for the youth."



''We are not yet where we want to be, but we have made a great start and there is a lot more to come. There is also more to be done to embed these major digital reforms in the everyday lives of Ghanaians as adoption and usage of digital technology increases.''



"We have put in place new systems and we should all commit to adopt them and utilize them for maximum impact in the coming years," Dr Bawumia urged.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has lamented some ugly incidents that have taken place with respect to the approval of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, MMDCEs, in parts of the country.



"The things we are seeing under Akufo-Addo are of a different level," he wrote in a Facebook comment.



The comment was made on a post by a Joy News journalist, Justice Baidoo, which read: "It looks like this round of MMDCE confirmations is the ugliest we've seen yet."



The approval of MMDCEs has been dogged by instances of corruption on one part and violence with the use of armed security officials in some areas.



The most recent incident was in Juaben where the President's nominee was captured on video demanding 5,000 cedis refund from Assembly Members after he was rejected for a second time.



He has subsequently been invited by the Special Prosecutor to help with investigations to the issues of corruption.



Analysts have criticized certain aspects of the MMDCE elections with the former ambassador and NPP founding member, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe accusing the President of being lawless by presiding over the chaos.



Part of his opening comments at a press conference he called last week was as follows: "Before I begin, permit me to state without any fear of contradiction that, Akufo-Addo is the most lawless president Ghana has ever had and do not believe in the rule of law.



"This act of his in recent times has found its way into our local government system," he said.







Source: 3 news









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The National Youth Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Henry Nana Boakye, aka Nana B, has called on the rank and file of the party to channel their energies into promoting party peace, unity and harmony.

He also urged them to desist from actions that sought to ruin their electoral fortunes ahead of the 2024 polls.



He said the government was working assiduously to accelerate socio-economic development across the country, hence it behoved party members to embrace unity and work harder to improve the lot of the people.



"As a democratic party, we must stand firm and commit ourselves to our common goal to build a new Ghana we all desire under the able leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufu-Addo.



"In every election, there will always be winners and losers and, therefore, we should be able to appreciate the fact that we are a party with a common destiny.



Let's see it as such and stay united in the supreme interest of the NPP, he stressed.



Mr Boakye, who doubles as a member of the Governing Board of the National Youth Authority (NYA), gave the advice at the Assin North Delegates Conference.



He urged party folks to bury their differences, saying the NPP had a team that was solidly knitted together with a focus on pragmatic socio-economic policies and had stayed true to the people by delivering most of its promises.



Battle ready



Touching on the embattled Assin North Member of Parliament's legal battle, he expressed the readiness of the party to convincingly win the seat in a possible by-election.



According to him, the election of a legislator for the constituency will significantly ease the rising political tension and apprehensions in the area to accelerate rapid socio-economic development.



"President Akufo-Addo won the 2020 election in the Assin North Presidential election, however the NPP parliamentary candidate, Abena Durowaa Mensah, lost the seat to the embattled NDC candidate, James Gyakye Quayson, hence our determination to work hard to win the seat.



From all indications, the good people of Assin North are ever ready to give the seat back to the NPP.



All that is required is for us to promote cohesion among the rank and file.



I, therefore, urge all of you to be united with a common purpose and prepare yourself adequately for the looming by-election he added.



Court ruling





A Cape Coast High Court at its sitting on Wednesday, July 28, ordered a fresh election to be conducted in the constituency after restraining Mr Quayson from holding himself out as the MP for the area.



In its ruling, the court, presided over by Justice Kwasi Boakye, declared the election of the MP as illegal and void in contravention of article 94 (2) of the 1992 Constitution and ordered the EC to organise a new election to elect an MP.



This is because Mr Quayson, during the 2020 Parliamentary elections still held allegiance to the Canadian government.



Mr Benjamin Essah, Assin North Constituency Chairman of the NPP, said "we are battle-ready for the possible by-election.



We are putting our acts together to take the seat by all legal means to reaffirm the party's political dominance in the area.





















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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Deputy Communications of the ruling NPP, Mame Yaa Aboagye has described Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as "a man of digitization who has no match as far as Presidency is concerned".



According to her, Vice President Bawumia has demonstrated unparalleled skills in sound economic management, particularly in the area of digitization, resulting in relative progress in the economy as compared to the abysmal state in which the previous Mahama-led government left behind.



Mame Yaa Aboagye, speaking after a public lecture by Vice President Bawumia at the Ashesi University, stated; I now understand the reason why anytime Vice President Bawumia speaks, it sends shivers down the spine of the opposition NDC and their leader, Mr. Mahama. Listening to him speak on the economy yesterday evening was a beautiful moment to behold. His presentations were simple and straight to the point. He was highly intelligent, a savvy policy analyst, articulate, coherent, sophisticated and, above all, he demystified the role of a digital economy and technology in creating jobs, significantly boosting productivity, increasing income and supporting wealth creation in Ghana.



Mame Yaa affirmed that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia is the "man of the moment. His in-depth knowledge and comprehension of the dynamics of the digitization, micro and macroeconomic issues has no match".



She was confident that Ghanaians would soon enjoy and fully appreciate the economic benefits of the digitization campaign.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Former Aspiring CPP General Secretary, James Kwabena Bomfeh, has urged the Member of Parliament(MP) for Madina constituency, Francis-Xavier Sosu to avail himself for Police interrogation over his involvement in a violent protest within the constituency.



The Madina MP joined a group of people to demonstrate at Madina on Monday, October 25, 2021 and, in the process, the protesters blocked roads at the vicinity impeding vehicular and human movements.



He is also reported to have angrily driven his vehicle through some civilians and two Police officers nearly injuring them as he sped off from the scene of the protest.



He has since been invited for interrogation but has turned down the Police invite.



As a result, the Police made a request to the Speaker of Parliament for Hon. Francis-Xavier Sosu to honour their invite but the Speaker has refused to release him on grounds of Articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 constitution.



The Speaker of Parliament, in a letter signed by the Deputy Director of Legal Services of Parliament, said; I am directed by the Rt. Hon. Speaker to inform you that proceedings of the 3rd Meeting of the 1st Session of the 8th Parliament commenced on Tuesday 26th October 2021, and having regard to the limitations of articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic, he is unable to release the Member of Parliament as requested in your letter.



James Kwabena Bomfeh, popurlarly called 'Kabila', condemned the MP's behaviour as well as the Speaker's refusal to direct him to the Police.



According to him, inasmuch as he recognizes Parliament's immunity, he believes the right thing is for the MP to respect the Police by assisting in the investigations.



He emphasized that the MP shouldn't think that he is immune to arrest.



"That honourable Member of Parliament can be arrested by the Police, investigated and if the Police feels to prosecute him, if they are convinced; they will go to the Attorney General for the right to prosecution," he said during Peace FM morning show 'Kokrokoo'.



He subtly advised the MP to exhibit the right leadership to his constituents.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Former Central Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has vehemently condemned the New Juaben MCE nominee, Alex Sarfo Kantanka, over a video that surfaced on social media showing the nominee angrily requesting refund of bribes he paid to some Assembly members.



Mr. Sarfo Kantanka was rejected twice during Assembly elections to determine his confirmation.



He was captured in a viral video threatening some members to return a sum of GHC 1000 he paid to them for their endorsement or face his wrath.



Following the incident, the Police arrested him and he was later granted bail.



The Special Prosecutor is said to have also taken the matter up and invited the MCE nominee to assist in his investigations.



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, the Minister complimented the Assembly members for rejecting Alex Sarfo Kantanka.



He bemoaned the nominee's behavior explaining his demeanor tells that he would have disgraced the President if appointed.



"The Assembly was right. The Assembly was right, first, rejecting him and, second, rejecting him," he exclaimed.



He advised the MMDCEs to exhibit a good character as they represent the President in their various districts.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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It seems the constant comparison of old and new musicians is likely to be a never ending one with artistes from both sides sharing their opinions.



The latest to join the discussion is rapper Paa Dogo who said the new crop of rappers had nothing good to offer, adding that their works could not be compared to the old ones.



According to Paa Dogo, there was no sense in recent rap songs and it was unfortunate that was what Ghanaians seemed to enjoy.



When you talk about good rap and deep lyrics the likes of myself, Okra Tom Dawidi, Jay Dee, Obrafour, Tinny, Okyeame Kwame, Lord Kenya had that but the same cannot be said now. Now every rapper is talking nonsense and is getting the views and attention all over, he told Graphic Showbiz recently.



Paa Dogo said the new crop of rappers was not positively impacting the up and coming ones.



What is the new crop of rappers teaching the up and coming rappers? We took inspiration from the likes of Reggie Rockstone but what are they also teaching the young ones who take inspiration from them? he asked.





Read also: No mobile phone, no wahala Kwabena Kwabena



Paa Dogo has been missing on the music scene for a while now and said he was planning to come back big.



Sometimes, you need to take a break and restructure whatever you do. We did music with passion and even though it never paid at that time, I believe I left a mark with good rap. I had to do other stuff to take care of my family but I am coming back. I am coming out big, he said.



To Paa Dogo, he would prefer to wait for a long time and come out with something great than to rush and come out with something below standard.



When you set a standard, you dont have to reduce it. I have been praised by my peers and Ghanaians for being a good rapper so whats the point in releasing a song below standard. It wont make any sense, he stated.



Read also: Music not lucrative anymore  Kumi Guitar



Despite trying to come back big, Paa Dogo said he preferred to make it on his own than to ride on the back of current musicians.



With good promotion and a great song, getting a banger is easy. I dont need to ride on KiDi, Kuami Eugene or Stonebwoy for my comeback. Very soon, Paa Dogo will be one of the biggest artistes in Ghana, he said.



Paa Dogo who has worked with musicians such as Obrafour, Tinny and Okyeame Kwame is known for songs including Osumafour (Mmonto), Medo No and Tykun.

Source: Graphic.com.gh









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Rapper, Kwaw Kese born Emmanuel Kofi Botwe says he has taken a break from smoking because he is now a matured man.



Even though, he didnt state what exactly he smokes, he said he has gotten to the stage where he needed a break.



Now, I have taken a break. Now I am a mature man, I am grown, I have kids. I have slowed down on some things, he reportedly said on Hitz Fm.



I was crazy, now the craziness has toned down. Now it is beautiful madness, he added.

The Abodam crooner was on November 22, 2014 arrested by the Ghana Police Service in Kumasi for allegedly smoking marijuana in public.



He was subsequently granted bail on December 30, 2014 after spending over a month in prison. In between going to court and pursuing music career, he was engaged in advocacy to support prison inmates and also advise the youth to stay away from drugs.



He was later sentenced to prison for just a DAY with a fine of GHC1,200. Now he says he is breaking away with his smoking past.

Source: Daily Guide









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 19-year-old student of Clark University, Ama Tutuwaa Osei-Akoto, was crowned Miss Malaika Ghana 2021 at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) last Saturday, October 30.



Ama walked in the footsteps of Jasmine Djang, Miss Malaika 2020, as one of the youngest contestants to have won the pageant.



She beat nine other beautiful and intelligent young ladies; Manuella Floris Lazo, Bintou Keita, Asia Musah, Abena Danquah Okai, Precious Yankson, Hillary Tsar, Doreen Osei Tutu, Winifred Bambil, and Iris Cudjoe.



For her prize, she took home a brand new car, cash and other benefits which include souvenirs from sponsors among other mouth-watering prizes.



Asia Musah, a 21-year-old student of Central University, and Bintou Keita, a 24-year-old graduate and entrepreneur took the 1st and 2nd runner-up position respectively.



The performance of all ten contestants on stage right from the onset to the end was exhilarating and educative.



Most of the applause from the cheering crowd went in her favour as Ama stood out after she performed creditably during the show.



The event, put together by Charterhouse Ghana, witnessed performances from Mr. Drew, Adina Thembi, and S3fa among others.



Miss Malaika Ghana is a Charterhouse Production proudly sponsored by Nivea, Frytol, GTP, Kenya Airways, Malta Guinness, Tomreik Hotel, Lux, GHOne, Royal Senchi and Closeup with support from Aspire Destinations, Lucozade and Verna Water.



Miss Malaika Ghana is a beauty pageant, and reality show which first aired in Ghana in 2003. The show is produced by Charter House Productions and airs on Ghanaian television station TV3 as well as DSTV channel Africa Magic.



The pageant is produced as a 12 to 13-week reality show. It was the first beauty pageant show to be aired as a reality series in Ghana.



From the conception of the show in 2002, it has been presented to the audience as a reality TV show which allows for the viewers to vote for their favourite contestant to be crowned Miss Malaika Ghana.



Each week, the contestants are given tasks to perform which range from performances to organising events. This is then assessed by a panel of judges who have a certain degree of power in selecting successful candidates and eliminating others.



Ameyaw posted the chat on social media and begged Berla to accept the proposal so he makes a cool $100,000.



Anyemi @berlamundi your mind Dey? Make me $100k richer , he wrote. Berla hilariously responded in the comments: Berla Mundi left the group  ,







Source: Peacefmonline.com









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A red deer in the Alladale Wilderness Reserve. Credit: Dr. Chris Sandom

New research suggests that wild herbivore numbers are not unnaturally high in the UK or the rest of the World despite what many conservationists believe, with data implying that, if anything, they are much lower than expected for healthy ecosystems.

A study co-authored by Dr. Chris Sandom at the University of Sussex, suggests that at comparable levels of natural productivity there are typically less wild herbivores in Europe compared to Africa, where ecosystems are more intact.

The findings, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, challenge the commonly held perception that the density of wild grazing and browsing species is 'too high' and causing damage to ecosystems.

Dr. Sandom, senior lecturer in biology at the University of Sussex, worked on the study led by Dr. Camilla Fljgaard and colleagues at Aarhus University, Denmark. He said: "Diverse and abundant large herbivore communities like red, roe and fallow deer aren't the enemy of conservation or restoration, the problem is the degraded ecosystems humans are forcing them to live in.

"Our research shows that, naturally, densities of large herbivores are likely to be much higher than is commonly perceived. This, combined with the diverse and abundant communities of predators and vegetation, is what intact ecosystems should look like.

"The problems we're seeing, like the lack of tree regeneration, are likely because few remaining trees mean there is a limited seed source. Dense cover of grass, heather, and bracken mean there are few places for trees to germinate. The absence of large predators disrupting grazing and browsing pressure mean the few saplings that do establish don't stand a chance. This combination of factors needs to be kept in mind when we think about nature recovery. We can't just blame the herbivores."

The findings show that many nature reserves outside of Africa are depleted in large-herbivore biomass. According to the authors, nature restoration in these places needs to be focused on restoring functional ecosystems that include diverse and abundant wild large herbivores. This may include reducing herbivore numbers in the short-term, but could see spectacular and beneficial returns in the future.

"Even though large herbivores have been wandering the landscape for millions of years, it seems that we have become accustomed to landscapes almost completely devoid of them, and we have come to accept this as the natural state of things," says Camilla Fljgaard, from the Department of Ecoscience at Aarhus University.

The study comes at a crucial time for the planet, with the commencement of COP26 in Glasgow and the UN's Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, which runs until 2030. The global initiative is described as 'a rallying cry' for the protection and revival of ecosystems around the world, for the benefit of both people and nature.

The authors of the study believe that, where we can strive for large-scale nature-recovery we should be aiming to rewild large herbivores and allow nature to manage their numbers without setting predefined targets.

Rasmus Ejrns, senior researcher from Aarhus University, said: "Bringing back big animals is crucial to restoring self-sustaining ecosystems and conserving biodiversity, but it is not going to be easy. Large animals are troublesome, because they damage crops, disrupt traffic and generally just get in the way. It will require political commitment and careful physical planning, including fenced reserves."

Dr. Sandom said: "Herbivores are important because they help increase the diversity of nature as a whole by grazing and browsing, bark stripping and branch breaking, rooting and dunging, when they are in ecosystems that also include a mixed mosaic of vegetation types and large predators.

"In places, restoring nature may well involve reducing large herbivore numbers now, but this should be seen as an opportunity to restore the ecosystem to allow richer and more abundant nature across the board in the future, from plants to predators and including large herbivores.

"Ultimately, we need to see nature as a system and aim to restore all its component parts, and this includes wild large herbivores."

Explore further Ecosystems worldwide are disrupted by lack of large wild herbivoresexcept in Africa

More information: Camilla Fljgaard et al, Exploring a natural baseline for largeherbivore biomass in ecological restoration, Journal of Applied Ecology (2021). Journal information: Journal of Applied Ecology Camilla Fljgaard et al, Exploring a natural baseline for largeherbivore biomass in ecological restoration,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14047
Portrait of Sir Francis Bacon, British philosopher, scientist and politician. Credit: Simon Van de Passe, Copenhagen, 1626-1647. Credit: Collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Turns out we can thank a guy named Bacon for the concept of "taste," as in properly discerning the relative value of cultural goods.

That is what Jonathan Lamb contends in a new article, "What Books Taste Like: Bacon and the Borders of the Book" in the journal Textual Cultures.

The University of Kansas associate professor of English argues that a key shift occurred with Francis Bacon's famous 1597 aphorism about eating books: "Some bookes are to bee tasted, others to bee swallowed, and some few to bee chewed and digested: That is, some bookes are to be read only in partes; others to be read, but cursorily, and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and attention."

That's far earlier than the Oxford English Dictionary's citation for the earliest use of the word "taste" with the meaning of aesthetic discrimination. Indeed, writers for the next century would quote and adapt Bacon's line, Lamb said, a process that would culminate in a shift from "taste" in the sense of "to sample" to "taste" in the sense of discrimination and distinction.

This sort of tracing of trends in published word usage over time was made possible only recently and, in the case of the Early English Books Online database, with access that KU Libraries affords, Lamb said. The new article is based on research Lamb has been doing over the past two years for a book he has tentatively titled "How the World Became a Book in Shakespeare's England."

Lamb said he has been searching Early English Books Online "and finding the language of books anywhere I could. So when Bacon says some books are to be tasted, that's just one of about 5,000 examples I have collected of language like this. It includes things like 'the book of nature." People needed a way to talk about the natural world, and the book gave them a structured metaphor to do it. Another example is the phrase 'to turn over a new leaf." Most people today think it refers to a leaf on a tree, but it was a popular bookish metaphor in the 17th century."

Bacon's remark about tasting books struck a chord with his contemporary readers, Lamb said.

"What makes Bacon's version special," Lamb wrote, "is, first, that he crosses the idea of tasting as sample with the idea of eating as comprehension and, second, that dozens of writers repeated his line and used it as a prompt ... By rerouting the notion of taste from a quality of books to a faculty of readers ... Bacon opens the door for the modern notion of taste as aesthetic discriminationwhat you mean when you say you have good 'taste' in music."

Lamb wrote that this led, nearly 75 years later, to the work of John Milton, cited by the Oxford English Dictionary as the first usage of this latter concept of taste.

Lamb wrote: "The OED calls this kind of taste 'a sense of what is appropriate, harmonious, or beautiful," specifically 'the faculty of perceiving and enjoying what is excellent in art, literature, and the like." The OED dates this notion of taste to 1671, in Milton's "Paradise Regained," which refers to "Sion's songs, to all true tasts excelling, Where God is prais'd aright.'"

Lamb said that Bacon deserves as least inspirational credit for the modern meaning of taste as refined sensibility.

Explore further Loss of sense of smell and taste may last up to 5 months after COVID-19

More information: Jonathan P. Lamb (97105), What Books Taste Like, Textual Cultures (2021). Jonathan P. Lamb (97105), What Books Taste Like,(2021). DOI: 10.14434/tc.v14i1.32841
Minister Raharinirina and British Ambassador David Ashley discuss efforts to slow deforestation with people living near Madagascars rainforest. Credit: Forest4Climate&People, Author provided

More than 100 world leaders meeting at COP26the UN climate summit in Glasgowhave committed to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.

The countries that have signed the agreement contain 85% of the world's forests. The announcement includes 14 billion (US$19.2 billion) of public and private funds for conservation efforts. In addition, 28 countries have committed to ensuring trade in globally important commodities such as palm oil, cocoa and soy, does not contribute to deforestation.

Saving the world's dwindling forests is essential if we are to avoid dangerous climate change. Forests soak up carbon from the atmosphere and cutting them down releases it. On balance, forests removed about 7.6 billion tons of carbon every year over the last two decades. This is roughly 15% of global emissions.

But forests around the world are moving from net sinks of carbon, which soak up more than they release, to net sources. While the Amazon rainforest as a whole remains a carbon sink (for now), ongoing land clearance in parts of the Brazilian Amazon mean forests there are already emitting more carbon than they absorb. Increasing global temperatures are causing more forest fires too, further raising emissions from forests and so driving global temperatures higher.

Given that the window for keeping global warming below 1.5C, or even 2C, is rapidly closing, humanity desperately needs remaining forests to stay standing. So is the Glasgow leaders' declaration on forests and land use up to the task?

Past failures

This is only the most recent commitment to stop forest loss in a series of similar initiatives. Back in 2005, the UN Forum on Forests committed to "reverse the loss of forest cover worldwide" by 2015. In 2008, 67 countries pledged to try and reach zero net deforestation by 2020. This was followed by the New York declaration on forests in 2014 which saw 200 countries, civil society groups and indigenous peoples' organizations commit to halve deforestation by 2020 and end it by 2030.

These earlier efforts clearly failed to meet their targets. On average, rates of forest loss have been 41% higher in the years since the New York agreement was signed. It's almost impossible to know what deforestation rates would have been without these pledges.

It is important not to vilify those clearing tropical forests. In most cases, whether it's oil-palm plantation workers in southeast Asia, or the owner of a family-run cocoa farm in Ghana, these are just ordinary people trying to make a living. Where those clearing forest are poor subsistence farmers with few alternatives, such as many in Madagascar for example, preventing forest clearance can mean some of the poorest people on the planet are bearing the cost of tackling climate change. Given that such people contribute relatively few emissions, this isn't very fair.

What we do know is that progress on slowing deforestation has been wildly inadequate. The good news is Brazil, Russia and China, who did not sign the 2014 declaration, have this time. However, words are cheap, actually slowing deforestation is difficult to achieve.

Why is it so hard to slow deforestation?

The causes of forest loss vary from place to place, but the problem boils down to a conflict between those who benefit from deforestation and those who benefit from keeping forests intact, and whose ability to influence what happens on the ground wins out.

Conserving forests benefits everybody by stabilizing the climate. But logging, or clearing a patch of forest for farming, benefits the people involved in a much more direct and tangible way. Ultimately, to keep forests intact, those who benefit from forests (that's all of us) need to fund efforts to conserve them.

Despite criticism, and problems with implementation, this is the underlying rationale to REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation)  the UN mechanism whereby tropical nations are paid for efforts to conserve forests.

Just before flying to Glasgow, Madagascar's minister of environment and sustainable development, Dr. Baomiavotse Vahinala Raharinirina, visited a village to ask people their views on what would make forest conservation more effective. They spoke about the lack of alternative livelihoods, the need for more support to help them manage the forest sustainably, and the fact that local communities often lack the ability to exclude those who wish to exploit forests.

Raharinirina said: "Madagascar has contributed relatively little to climate change, but our people are suffering the consequences. For example, a million people in the south are in need of food aid because of the effects of a drought caused by climate change. We are trying to do our bit to reduce emissions by conserving and restoring our forests and have signed the Glasgow Leaders Declaration, however this won't be achieved without more resources We will need support from the international community to help us achieve this."

I am cautiously impressed with how much attention is being paid to the question of fairly reducing tropical deforestation at COP26. The first event in the UK-led program brought forest communities and indigenous people together to discuss lessons from the last decade of forest conservation.

Dolores de Jesus Cabnal Coc, an indigenous leader from Guatemala, shared my cautious optimism, saying: "It's a slow process and will continue to be, but ever since [COP21 in Paris in 2015] there has been a big difference in that there is now a platform to help ensure more inclusive actions"

Perhaps I am naive, but I sense a helpful change in tone among world leaders, from assuming that forest conservation inevitably delivers triple wins which benefit the climate, biodiversity and local livelihoods, to a more honest acknowledgement that often, there are winners and losers. Only by finding ways for conservation to benefit those who live alongside forests can the world hope to keep those forests absorbing emissions for years to come.

So, will this pledge finally halt and reverse deforestation? Unlikely. But given the importance of the issue, the renewed focus on deforestation at COP26 is certainly positive.

Explore further Why tackling deforestation is so important for slowing climate change

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
All data are for 2019, with Euros converted to dollars at 1.12 Euro/dollar. *The U.S. does not count organic farmers  16,585 represents the number of organic farms, some of which have more than one farmer. Credit: Table: The Conversation, CC BY-ND Source: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, European Commission and USDA

President Joe Biden has called for an all-of-government response to climate change that looks for solutions and opportunities in every sector of the U.S. economy. That includes agriculture, which emits over 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent every yearmore than the total national emissions of the United Kingdom, Australia, France or Italy.

Recent polls show that a majority of Americans are concerned about climate change and willing to make lifestyle changes to address it. Other surveys show that many U.S. consumers are worried about possible health risks of eating food produced with pesticides, antibiotics and hormones.

One way to address all of these concerns is to expand organic agriculture. Organic production generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional farming, largely because it doesn't use synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. And it prohibits using synthetic pesticides and giving hormones or antibiotics to livestock.

But the U.S. isn't currently setting the bar high for growing its organic sector. Across the Atlantic, Europe has a much more focused, aggressive strategy.

The EU'S Farm to Fork plan

The European Union's Farm to Fork strategy, often described as the heart of the European Green Deal, was adopted in 2020 and strengthened in October 2021. It sets forth ambitious 2030 targets: a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, a 50% cut in pesticide use and a 20% cut in fertilizer use.

Recognizing that organic production can make important contributions to these goals, the policy calls for increasing the percentage of EU farmland under organic management from 8.1% to 25% by 2030. The European Parliament has adopted a detailed organic plan to achieve this goal.

Credit: Chart: The Conversation, CC BY-ND Source: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture

Today the U.S. is the world's largest organic marketplace, with US$51 billion in sales in 2019. But the EU is not far behind, at $46 billion, and if it achieves its Farm to Fork targets, it is likely to become the global leader.

And that ambition is reflected in national food policies. For example, in Copenhagen 88% of ingredients in meals served at the city's 1,000 public schools are organic. Similarly, in Italy school meals in more than 13,000 schools countrywide contain organic ingredients.

The U.S. strategy is technology-driven

In contrast with the EU, the U.S. has no plan at the national level for expanding organic production, or even a plan to make a plan.

Less than 1% of U.S. farmlandabout 5.6 million acres (2.3 million hectares) is farmed according to national organic standards, compared with 36 million acres (14.6 million hectares) in the EU. This small sector doesn't produce enough organic food to meet consumer demand, so much of the organic food consumed in the U.S. is imported from nearly 45,000 foreign operations. While the U.S. government tracks imports of only 100 organic food productsa small sliver of what comes inspending in 2020 on these items alone exceeded $2.5 billion.

I see this gap as a huge missed opportunity. President Biden has called for a "Buy American" strategy to bolster the U.S. economy, but today consumers are spending money on organic imports without reaping the environmental or economic benefits of having more land under organic management. More domestic production would improve soil and water quality and create jobs in rural areas.

While the U.S. and the EU are working together to address agriculture's contribution to climate change, they have very different views on the role of organic farming. At a U.N. Food Systems Summit on Sept. 23, 2021, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack launched a new international coalition on sustainable productivity growth, calling on countries and organizations to join the U.S. in the cause of increasing yields to feed a growing world population. In his press briefings, Vilsack promoted voluntary, incentive-based and technological approaches to producing more food, such as gene editing, precision agriculture and artificial intelligence.

Patrick Barbour, winner of a climate-friendly farming competition sponsored by the National Farmers Union of Scotland, explains steps he is taking on his organic sheep and cattle farm to reduce carbon emissions and deliver environmental benefits.

Vilsack asserts that the European Union's emphasis on organic production will reduce output and push up food prices. This argument reflects a long-standing debate about whether organic farming can produce enough food to meet demand while using fewer chemical inputs.

The strongest support for the USDA strategy is no surprise. It comes mostly from conventional agriculture groups, including Syngenta, Bayer and Cortevathree of the four largest global agrichemical companiesalong with their lobbying arm, CropLife America.

More organic doesn't mean going backward

In my view, these U.S. talking points are outdated. The world's farmers already produce enough food to feed the world. The question is why many people still go hungry when production increases year over year.

At the U.N. Food Systems Summit, many world leaders called for reforms to eradicate hunger, poverty and inequality, and address climate change. Food systems experts understand that global nutrition security depends on empowering women, eliminating corruption, addressing food waste, preserving biodiversity and embracing environmentally responsible productionincluding organic agriculture. Not on the list: increasing yields.

Addressing agriculture's role in climate change means changing how nations produce, process, transport, consume and waste food. I believe that when leaders call for cutting-edge, science-based solutions, they need to embrace and support a broad spectrum of science, including agroecologysustainable farming that works with nature and reduces reliance on external inputs like fertilizers and pesticides.

The Biden-Harris administration could do this by developing a comprehensive plan to realize the untapped potential of organic agriculture, with clear goals and strategies to increase organic production and with it, the number of organic farmers. Consumers are ready to buy what U.S. organic farmers raise.

Explore further Sri Lanka reverses organic farming drive as tea suffers

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A figure showing the impact of a flash drought on a grassland in Oklahoma. The photos on the top row show the impact of the flash drought on the ecosystem compared with photos of the same area without flash drought impacts (bottom row). Credit: journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/99/5/bams-d-17-0149.1.xml

Flash droughts are described as rapidly developing, unexpected periods of drought. These flash droughts can cause severe impacts to agricultural and ecological systems and cause ripple effects that extend even further.

"Given that flash droughts can develop in only a few weeks, they create impacts on agriculture that are difficult to prepare for and mitigate," said Jordan Christian, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oklahoma and the lead author of a study published in the journal Nature Communications. "Even when environmental conditions seem unfavorable for rapid drought development, a persistent, multi-week lack of rainfall coupled with hot weather can create flash drought development with its associated impacts.

"The onset and timing of flash drought is a critical component to agricultural impacts, as flash drought can drastically reduce crop yields and lead to severe economic losses and potentially disrupt food security," said Jeffrey Basara, an associate professor in both the School of Meteorology in the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences in the Gallogly College of Engineering at OU. "These impacts can have cascading effects, including increased risk for wildfires, depletion of water resources, reduction of air quality and decreased food security."

Basara, who is also the executive associate director of the hydrology and water security program at OU, is the principal investigator and Christian's faculty adviser. The OU-led study explores the global distribution, trends and drivers of flash drought occurrence.

"Going back into the early 2000s, there was a realization that these flash droughts happen," Basara said. "Just as not all droughts are the same, some of these droughts evolve much faster than normal.

"This study is really important because although here in the U.S. we can often mitigate some of the effects with irrigation and other tools, a number of these types of events happen in places where they can't be mitigated," he added. "When that happens in areas dependent on subsistence living, where agricultural production is needed to survive, these types of events can be really devastating for the local system and create a lot of socioeconomic turmoil."

The study identifies global "hotspots" for flash drought from 1980 through 2015. Of the 15 locations analyzed, eight were identified as having experienced both the most flash drought occurrences for their regions, and as being locations with at least 20% of their total land areas used for agricultural production.

"What's interesting about flash droughts is they do have some preferential zones around the word," Basara said. "One of the more interesting aspects of this particular work is that we were able to start to identify these zones. We often associate drought with a lack of rainfall. For these flash drought events, about half of the contributing factor is a lack of rainfall, the other half is what we call 'hostile layer mass'  it gets really hot and dry."

The research team describes these regions as including the "Corn Belt" across the midwestern United States, barley production in the Iberian Peninsula, the wheat belt in western Russia, wheat production in Asia Minor, rice-producing regions in India and the Indochinese Peninsula, maize production in northeastern China, and millet and sorghum production across the Sahel.

Map of flash drought occurrence  Mean flash drought frequency, represented as the percent of years with a flash drought between 1980 and 2015. Credit: www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26692-z

Although six of the 15 regions experienced statistically significant increases in flash drought occurrences over the 36-year period examined in the study, three of the regions experienced a significant decline in flash drought frequency. The reason behind why some regions experienced increased occurrences while others decreased is still unknown.

"While several regions across the world have seen increasing or decreasing trends in flash drought over the last four decades, it is also critically important to know which regions may become more susceptible to flash drought risk in the future," Christian said. "This is especially true in areas with agricultural production, as changes in frequency or timing of flash drought will create additional challenges during the growing season. This study provides a foundation to build off and explore key questions regarding future trends of flash drought occurrence."

Christian added, "When flash drought events were examined, one thing was cleartiming is everything in terms of impacts from these events."

In 2019, Christian and Basara developed a method to begin to identify flash droughts. That methodology has helped researchers begin to better understand these events.

"When I entered the Ph.D. program in 2017, Dr. Jeff Basara and I had a conversation about a research topic for my dissertation and he said, 'I have an idea regarding flash droughts,'" explained Christian. "That idea translated into the creation of a method to identify flash drought, the investigation of several flash drought events, and ultimately led to the global analysis of flash drought. It turned out to be a pretty good idea."

Christian led a study published in Environmental Research Letters in 2020 that looked at the impact of a major heatwave in Russia in 2010. Preceding that heatwave was a flash drought. The impact of those weather events led to the decimation of Russia's wheat crop, so much so that Russia stopped exporting.

"Russia's biggest wheat importer were countries in the Middle East, so the price of grain went through the roof in the Middle East," Basara said. "The social unrest of the Arab Spring was created, in part, because of the unusually high grain prices and the socioeconomic turmoil those prices caused. That ripple effect was caused by a flash drought in one part of the work that affected an entirely other portion of the world."

With this study, the researchers are expanding their understanding of where flash droughts are more likely to occur around the world.

"This study helps us understand where they're happening, but now we need to understand more about the why," he said. "We see that depending on where you are in the globe, the mechanisms are a bit different from one place to another.

"As we go into a changing climate system, as we have population growth and food security issues, this becomes one of those topics that's important because of its really severe impact on agriculture and water resources," he added. "It has cascading impacts like wildfires and more. If we can better understand these flash droughts, we might have a better understanding of their predictability and then we can better plan for these types of events."

More information: Christian, J.I., et al, Global distribution, trends, and drivers of flash drought occurrence, Nat Commun (2021). Christian, J.I., et al, Global distribution, trends, and drivers of flash drought occurrence,(2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26692-z Jordan I Christian et al, Flash drought development and cascading impacts associated with the 2010 Russian heatwave, Environmental Research Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab9faf Journal information: Nature Communications , Environmental Research Letters
Carbonate terraces (the whitish material) that precipitate out as the high pH springs come out onto the surface. Because these calcium rich high pH fluids are so good at turning carbon dioxide into minerals, they are being looked at as a site for sequestering (or trapping) this important greenhouse gas. Credit: Matt Schrenk

Over the past decade, the NASA Astrobiology Institute funded Michigan State University geomicrobiologist Matt Schrenk's lab to study life in the extreme environment of groundwater in a highly alkaline aquifer near Lower Lake, California. Because similar environments occur in spacein the subsurface of Mars and in the oceans of Saturn's icy moon Enceladusthe microorganisms found in this aquifer, and their behavior, may provide insight into potential extraterrestrial life.

Two former MSU Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences graduate students, Lindsay Putman and Mary Sabuda, have recently published papers on this research. They collaborated at the same field site, which is characterized by serpentinization, a process where iron-rich rock reacts with water to form serpentine minerals and releases reduced gases like hydrogen and methane.

Putman's research, published in mSystems, presents a community assembly modelan ecological approach that studies the makeup and number of microbial species in a location to explain the processes that drive changes in their composition over space and time. From 20112017, Putman and her colleagues took samples from the bottom of the six wells a few times a year.

"I wanted to know what forces and ecological processes shaped the distinct microbial communities we see in this location," said Putman, who is now a postdoctoral scholar at Michigan Technological University. "And more specifically, I was asking if these communities are primarily shaped by their extreme environment or if other factors are at play."

Serpentine rock. Credit: Matt Schrenk

Surprisingly, the extremely high pH at the bottom of the well was not the only factor influencing community composition; the physical environment also played a big part. Because water in the aquifer moves at an extremely slow pace, taking about 300 years to travel a kilometer, microbial communities can't mix or interact with each other much. This isolation introduced a high level of random variation in microbial community composition. At the same time, extreme pH conditions resulted in microbial communities that are more genetically similar than expected by chance. Since Putman's research uses a large data set and spans many years, the paper offers reliable findings from the only large time scale study on this type of serpentinizing aquifer system.

At the same time, Sabuda published a paper on the first deep look into the water chemistry and microbial communities in the same aquifer system in JGR Biogeosciences. Instead of sampling only the very bottom of each well at the site, as Putman and others have done, Sabuda sampled water at five different depths in just one well. She looked closely at the small-scale processes going on under the surface.

"The well is like a window into what's happening underground," said Sabuda, who is currently a Science Policy Fellow at the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C. "As you get deeper, less oxygen is available, and the conditions become more extreme."

Sabuda found that in this environment, the microbes consume compounds like hydrogen and carbon monoxide, leaving the potent greenhouse gas methane to diffuse into the soils and perhaps into the atmosphere. Further investigation is necessary to determine environmental effects from these processes at the surface.

Lindsay Putman. Credit: Michigan State University

"I am extremely proud of the work that both Lindsay and Mary published," said Schrenk, EES associate professor. "They both started with a geoscience background, shaped their interdisciplinary ideas through teamwork in the field, and produced cutting-edge research that will have profound influences on the field of geomicrobiology.

"They were also the intellectual drivers for all areas of the science in these papers, from genomics, to hydrology, to thermodynamic modeling," he added. "The breadth of the work and its integration are a testament to their skill and creativity."

The findings in both papers help create a more complete picture of this extreme environment beneath our feet and provide clues for what life may be like beyond our planet. Their studies open the door for more research at this and similar extreme sites targeted for geological carbon dioxide sequestration to combat climate change.

"Ultimately, we found out in very different ways that things are far more complicated than they seem," Sabuda said. "We collect samples, do calculations, and build models that help us to understand how these microbes live, but there is still a lot of work remaining to fully understand these systems. We are excited to see what future research discovers."

Explore further Shedding light on microbial communities in deep aquifers

More information: Lindsay I. Putman et al, Microbial Communities in a Serpentinizing Aquifer Are Assembled through Strong Concurrent Dispersal Limitation and Selection, mSystems (2021). Lindsay I. Putman et al, Microbial Communities in a Serpentinizing Aquifer Are Assembled through Strong Concurrent Dispersal Limitation and Selection,(2021). DOI: 10.1128/mSystems.00300-21 Mary C. Sabuda et al, Biogeochemical Gradients in a SerpentinizationInfluenced Aquifer: Implications for Gas Exchange Between the Subsurface and Atmosphere, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (2021). DOI: 10.1029/2020JG006209
Credit: Shutterstock

At the Glasgow COP26 climate talks overnight, Australia and 123 other countries signed an agreement promising to end deforestation by 2030.

The declaration's signatories, which include global deforestation hotspots such as Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have committed to "working collectively to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation."

This declaration should be welcomed for recognizing how crucial forest loss and land degradation are to addressing climate change, biodiversity decline and sustainable development.

But there have been many such declarations before, and it's hard to feel excited about yet another one.

What really matters is changing policy domestically; if countries don't change what they are doing at home to bring emissions from fossil fuels to zero and restore degraded lands, declarations like this are meaningless.

The good parts

The declaration does a good job of joining up interrelated issues that for too long have been treated as separate problems.

Signatories say they will "emphasize the critical and interdependent roles of forests of all types, biodiversity and sustainable land use in enabling the world to meet its sustainable development goals; to help achieve a balance between anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and removal by sinks; to adapt to climate change; and to maintain other ecosystem services."

Biodiversity is key to forest conservation and sustainable land use.

From there, the signatories promise to "reaffirm our respective commitments, collective and individual, to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the Sustainable Development Goals; and other relevant initiatives."

To see commitments under several UN declarations recognized in one place is somewhat of a breakthrough; forests, biodiversity and land-use are often siloed despite the critical links in dealing with these issues.

It is also promising to see recognition that conserving existing forests and other terrestrial ecosystems is the priority, and signatories committing to accelerate their restoration (as opposed to just planting new trees).

A vast body of research shows planting new trees as a climate action pales in comparison to protecting existing forests. As I have written before, "restoring degraded forests and expanding them by 350 million hectares will store a comparable amount of carbon as 900 million hectares of new trees [] Forest ecosystems (including the soil) store more carbon than the atmosphere. Their loss would trigger emissions that would exceed the remaining carbon budget for limiting global warming to less than the 2 above pre-industrial levels, let alone 1.5, threshold."

Once intact forests are gone, we can't regain the carbon lost. It is known as "irrecoverable carbon". So protecting existing forests is the top priority, especially given the critical time frame we are in now to keep climate change under the 1.5 or even 2 thresholds.

The declaration also mentions trade, promising to "facilitate trade and development policies, internationally and domestically, that promote sustainable development, and sustainable commodity production and consumption, that work to countries' mutual benefit, and that do not drive deforestation and land degradation"

Here, we are starting to get to the real drivers of deforestation. For a long time, there has been too much focus on local drivers of deforestation including local communities. But research shows the leading drivers of deforestation are internationally traded agricultural commodities such as beef, soy, palm oil and timber.

The overall rate of commodity-driven deforestation has not declined since 2001. We can't tackle forest loss without tackling the trade drivers behind it.

Research shows the leading drivers of deforestation are internationally traded agricultural commodities such as beef, soy, palm oil and timber. Credit: Shutterstock

The not-so-good parts

The main deficiency in the text is that not enough attention is paid to the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

It is mentioned the countries will "recognize" and "support" the rights of Indigenous peoples but many of these signatories do not have adequateor, in some cases, anylegislation that actually recognizes those rights.

Subjugation of these rights to national law has been a problem in previous international agreements.

The challenge in many countries is regulatory reform to bring national recognition of land, tenure and other collective rights into line with the internationally recognized rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The track records of some of these signatories bring into question what policy change they will be making back home to ensure this declaration isn't just for show.

As a global land clearing hotspot, Australia will need to enact rapid policy change to bring its current practices in line with what it has signed on to. Australia remains the only developed nation on the list of global deforestation fronts. This is due to weakening land clearing legislation in New South Wales and Queensland, mostly for expansion of grazing lands.

As a signatory to this new declaration, Australia must strengthen land clearing laws, end native forest logging, and restore degraded ecosystemsjust planting new trees will not get us there. Australia has the potential to restore large areas of degraded land. Experts have proposed how this could be done for relatively little investment.

The European Union has signed on too; it has been a global leader on developing trade policies designed to end illegal logging and reduce deforestation. But it recently backpedaled on its commitment to a program of forest governance and law enforcement in timber-producing countries that allow access to the EU timber market.

If they are serious about this declaration, the EU must reaffirm its commitment to partner countries to address illegal logging in traded timber.

In Brazil, the Bolsonaro government has been winding back previous legislation to recognize Indigenous peoples' land rights. Deforestation rates have soared in the past few years. Perhaps the first action Brazil could take as a signatory to this declaration is to prioritize the landmark case (currently on hold) before Brazil's Supreme Court to protect Indigenous land rights.

Ending deforestation and restoring forests is not enough

This is the latest in a series of similar declarations. A pledge made at COP24 in Katowice, the New York Declaration on Forests, and Sustainable Development Goal 15 (Life on Land) all include similar commitments to end deforestation by 2030 or earlier.

This week's COP26 declaration ends with the importance of "pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5, noting that the science shows further acceleration of efforts is needed if we are to collectively keep 1.5 within reach."

The fact is, we won't achieve this through ending deforestation and restoring forests. These efforts are critically needed to address biodiversity loss and rural sustainability, but for limiting warming to 1.5, fossil fuel emissions need to come down to zeronow.

Explore further Why COP26 agreement will struggle to reverse global forest loss by 2030

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Lightning bolts in Johannesburg, South Africa. Credit: Dr Carina Schumann, Johannesburg Lightning Research Laboratory, Wits University

New research by scientists from South Africa and the U.K. could help forensic teams understand whether people or animals were the victims of fatal lightning strikes based solely upon an analysis of their skeletons. Their study is published in the journal Forensic Science International: Synergy, and titled "Harnessing Thor's Hammer: Experimentally induced lightning trauma to human bone by high impulse current."

Climate change is increasing and there is evidence to suggest the incidence and severity of thunderstorms and lightning strikes could increase. Sadly, fatal strikes are common on wild animals, livestock, and peoplewith African countries having some of the highest fatality rates in the world.

In South Africa, more than 250 people are killed annually by lightning, whereas 24, 000 people worldwide die each year. When a lightning death is suspected, the forensic pathologist determines cause of death by looking for signs of lightning-trauma to skin and organs of the deceased. However, when the body is skeletonised, soft tissues are absent and cause of death by lightning cannot be attributed.

This new research provides a tool to investigate cause of death when skeletonised remains are recovered as part of accident or death investigation.

According to Dr. Nicholas Bacci, Lecturer in the School of Anatomical Sciences at Wits University and lead author of the paper, "identifying a fatality caused by lightning strike is usually done though marks left on the skin, or damage to the internal organsand these tissues don't survive when bodies decompose. Our work is the first research that identifies unique markers of lightning damage deep within the human skeleton and allows us to recognize lightning when only dry bone survives. This may allow us to recognize accidental death versus homicide in cases where cause is not apparent, whilst at the same time allowing us to build a more complete picture of the true incidence of lightning fatalities."

The research was undertaken as collaboration between specialists in forensic anthropology, anatomy, lightning physics, and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) in South Africa, Northumbria University in the UK, and the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA).

The researchers generated artificial lightning in the laboratory, which was then applied directly to human bone, extracted from donated cadavers who had died of natural causes.

Dr. Hugh Hunt from the Johannesburg Lightning Research Laboratory (JLRL) at Wits University explains "we used equipment to generate high impulse currents in the lab, (up to 10,000 Amps), which mimicked the effect of lightning passing through the skeleton. Natural lightning can often have significantly higher peak currents but this allowed us to have much greater control over the experiment than trying to somehow place human tissue in the path of a natural lightning strike," says Hunt, a Senior Lecturer and Head of the JLRL in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering.

What the experiments showed was a pattern of damage to bone that was uniquely caused by short duration lightning current.

Harnessing Thor's Hammer  How forensic science is unlocking the mysteries of fatal lightning strikes. Credit: Patrick Randolph-Quinney, Forensic Science Research Group, Northumbria University, Tanya Augustine & Nicholas Bacci, School of Anatomical Sciences, Wits University, and Hugh Hunt, Johannesburg Lightning Research Laboratory, Wits University

Senior author Dr. Patrick Randolph-Quinney, associate professor from the Forensic Science Research Group at Northumbria University, and the Center for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey at Wits University, explains, "Using high-powered microscopy we were able to see that there is a pattern of micro-fracturing within bone caused by the passage of lightning current. This takes the form of cracks which radiate out from the center of bone cells, or which jump irregularly between clusters of cells. The overall pattern of damage looks very different when compared to other high energy trauma, such as that caused by burning in fire."

"Even though this experiment was conducted under controlled conditions in the lab, we see the same trauma in animals killed by natural lightning. We were able to compare the human results with bone from a poor giraffe killed by lightningand the pattern of trauma is identical even though the micro-structure of human bone is different from animal bone. This is the smoking gun that we were looking for in forensic lightning pathology," he adds.

Patterns of micro-trauma and micro-factures caused by the passage of experimentally induced current in human bone (middle) and a known case of fatal natural lightning strike in a juvenile giraffe (bottom). A control sample (undamaged) is seen in the top panel. Credit: Patrick Randolph-Quinney | Forensic Science Research Group, Northumbria University and Tanya Augustine & Nicholas Bacci, School of Anatomical Sciences, Wits University

Real-world problem

Notably, the research brought together different disciplines with a common focus on trying to understand the effects of lightning on the body, with the long-term aim of making the environment safer for those at risk of being killed by lightning.

Associate Professor Ken Nixon from the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at Wits University and member of the Board of Directors of the African Center for Lightning and Electromagnetics Network says, "This is a multi-disciplinary project, which highlights how forensic scientists can work with physicists and engineers to explore a real-world problem, which is implicated in the deaths of many people annually, and especially in countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Uganda."

"At a time when global climate change is driving increases in the number and severity of thunderstorms and lightning strikes, we need more research like this, bringing together different fields with real experience of dealing with lightning. Ultimately, our aim at Wits is to make our built environment and countryside safer for those exposed to the lethal effects of lightning energy in South Africa, and to provide life-saving knowledge for those around the globe who are increasingly put in harm's way of this natural phenomenon," he says.

This research would not have been possible without state-of-the-art imaging technologies based in the School of Anatomical Science in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits, and the micro-CT facility at the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa at Pelindaba.

"Researchers in South Africa are absolutely at the forefront of bringing together cutting-edge imaging methods to discover new and ground-breaking knowledge about the skeleton of modern and ancient humans," notes Dr. Tanya Augustine, an anatomist based at Wits Medical School, who co-led the research and is corresponding author on the paper.

"Over the last few years, teams at Wits and NECSA have unlocked the secrets of cancer in the hominin fossil record, provided evidence for cause of death in australopithecines, and now these techniques are allowing us to unlock the mysteries of fatal lightning strikes," she adds.

More information: Harnessing Thor's Hammer: Experimentally induced lightning trauma to human bone by high impulse current, Forensic Science International Synergy, DOI: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2021.100206 Harnessing Thor's Hammer: Experimentally induced lightning trauma to human bone by high impulse current,
Integrated radioisotopic dates, fossil ranges, and carbon isotopic profile of the Ediacaran Period. Credit: NIGPAS

Researchers led by Prof. Zhu Maoyan from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) and their collaborators from the UK, the USA, and Russia have proposed new radioisotopic dates for Ediacaran successions in South China and the White Sea area.

The new dates provide age constraints for both the Ediacaran fossil assemblages and the carbonate carbon isotope perturbations.

Their study was published in Science Advances on Nov. 3.

The Ediacaran Period is a pivotal period in Earth history, archiving the rise of complex macroscopic life. This evolutionary milestone occurred in the aftermath of extreme climate perturbations, the Cryogenian snowball Earth events, and amid dramatic changes in the global carbon cycle and ocean redox conditions.

These perturbations, including the Shuram event, which is the largest magnitude negative carbon isotope excursion in Earth history, have been documented worldwide, and are commonly employed to establish regional to global stratigraphic correlations.

However, there is a lack of a chronostratigraphic framework at sufficient resolution for testing hypotheses related to the tempo, magnitude/duration of the events (especially the Shuram), their global expression, and their co-relationship with biospheric evolutionary innovations.

The Upper Ediacaran is characterized by typical Ediacara-type fossils. Three assemblages of fossils have been recognized: the Avalon, White Sea, and Nama.

The age ranges of the Avalon and Nama assemblages have been constrained at 575560 Ma and 550539 Ma, respectively. New dates from the study indicate that the White Sea assemblage spans a time interval starting earlier than 557 Ma and ending later than 553 Ma. The age constraints on these three fossil assemblages can facilitate our understanding of evolution in the Late Ediacaran.

New dates from South China also provide age constraints for the Doushantuo acanthomorphic acritarchs, Weng'an biota, Wenghui biota, Miaohe biota, and Ediacara-type fossils in the Dengying Formation.

The terminal timing of the Shuram event was constrained at 551 Ma. However, the lack of high precision radioisotopic dates and the complexity of local stratigraphy have given rise to much debate about the number of negative carbon isotope excursions in the late Ediacaran and the age of the Shuram event.

The new dates indicate that there are two negative carbon isotope excursions in the 575550 Ma period. The older, long-lasting one is the Shuram event, and the younger, short-lived one occurred 550 Ma.

The researchers also compiled a global Ediacaran geochronology database and suggested that the Shuran event occurred between 575 Ma and 565 Ma, with an uncertainty on the order of a few million years. Another short-lived negative carbon isotope excursion, which is locally called WANCE in South China and is older than the Shuram event, is dated at ~587 Ma.

The proposed Ediacaran age model for the carbon cycle perturbations and fossil records provides the necessary chronometric context to test causal relationships, if any, between them. At the current resolution, these transitions in the fossil record coincide with the carbonate carbon isotope excursions, suggestive of a potential causal relationship between environmental perturbations recorded in the carbon cycle and biological turnovers.

Explore further Researchers report the earliest fossil footprints

More information: Chuan Yang et al, The tempo of Ediacaran evolution, Science Advances (2021). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi9643 Journal information: Science Advances Chuan Yang et al, The tempo of Ediacaran evolution,(2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi9643
The construction of new social housing is missing from the national economic recovery effort. Credit: sunnypicsoz-Geoff Childs / Shutterstock.com

"Building back better" is not in our sights for housing and homelessness despite the pandemic's singular opportunity to kickstart overdue investment. That's according to UNSW School of Built Environment housing policy expert Professor Hal Pawson, who says the pandemic has been insufficient in triggering the housing policy reform needed.

"COVID-19 was a focusing event for housing policy and innovations," the associate director of the City Futures Research Centre says. "But the way it looks now, I don't think the crisis has been serious enough to stimulate systemic change [in Australia]."

Prof. Pawson is conducting fieldwork into the housing and homelessness impacts of the pandemic. The research is a collaboration between the City Futures Research Centre and colleagues at Heriot-Watt University and Glasgow University in Scotland.

It forms part of the Poverty and Inequality Partnership between UNSW and the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and is also supported by Mission Australia, National Shelter and Queensland Shelter.

Australia out of step with global sentiment

The onset of COVID-19 prompted dramatic policy innovations in Australia to protect incomes and housing security. More recently, in response to 2021 lockdowns, such emergency assistance has been reinstated by the NSW and Victorian governments.

"Beyond social security income support and short-term wage subsidies, these have also importantly included freezes on rental evictions and mass hotel bookings as emergency safe housing for homeless people," Prof. Pawson says.

Some other countriesnotably New Zealandhave invested heavily in social housing as part of national economic recovery efforts, the initial report found. And, indeed, some Australian state governments have also pledged multi-million-dollar construction programs.

The Australian Government, however, stood back from any such commitments, the initial report found. In contrast with governments of other countries considered in the research, it also declined any new financial contribution to emergency homelessness programs or longer-term housing for those assisted.

"The national level of government has had less direct involvement or interest in this than any other country [examined in the research], including federations like U.S. and Canada," Prof. Pawson says.

Opportunity for reform gone to waste?

The pandemic created an extraordinary stimulus for 'outside-the-box' policy innovations. Rapidly enacted and large-scale emergency responses challenged wisdom about what was politically and economically feasible. But such interventions failed to recognize or address fundamental housing system flaws, Prof. Pawson says.

"As revealed by our work, a remarkable 40,000 homeless people were assisted with emergency accommodation from March to October 2020," he says.

But inadequate social housing infrastructure and income support meant less than a third could be transitioned to longer-term housing, the report found.

"The ability to transition those people into longer-term housing is very, very constrained," he says.

A growing social housing deficit, inadequate rent assistance and social security benefits form barriers to stable long-term housing for low-income Australians, the report found.

A story that crosses state boundaries

The series quantifies state and territory action on housing and homelessness, omitted from routinely published official statistics. It draws on in-depth interviews with government, industry and advocacy stakeholders, homelessness and rental housing service delivery organizations, and affected communities.

"The project aims to document the extraordinary government responses to the pandemic in housing and homelessness that we've seen over the past 18 months, as well as to highlight the limitations of some of those actions," Prof. Pawson says.

Research like this seeks to convey findings in language accessible to the public as well as to policymakers, he says, with media exposure an important part of raising awareness through public discourse.

"The research and impact collaboration between ACOSS and UNSW Sydney has increased awareness of the issues surrounding poverty and inequality, making the research produced by the partnership one of the most authoritative sources of poverty and inequality research in Australia," says Dr. Cassandra Goldie, CEO of ACOSS.

"It has created a sustained evidence base and platform for lifting up the voices and experiences of people experiencing poverty and inequality in Australia, and also led to the collaborative advocacy by academics and civil society leaders that is necessary to tackle poverty and inequality."

The roadmap out of crisis

Prof. Pawson's UNSW-ACOSS report builds on the team's biennial Australian Homelessness Monitor (AHM) series, commissioned by Launch Housing. The scale and upward trend of homelessness seen in Australia is in part an outcome of policy and political choices, the AHM 2020 argues.

"In responding to the problem, governments need to implement more effective actions to prevent homelessness from occurring; but also, to recognize the need for a fundamental re-set of the broader housing system," Prof. Pawson says.

"Australia's challenge is taking the homelessness prevention successes achieved during COVID-19 and integrating them into more housing and more support instead of relying on band-aid interventions that are costly and only lessen the harm for a short period of time," Bevan Warner, CEO of Launch Housing, says.

"Homelessness is bad for health, the economy and bad for our society at all times, not just during pandemics."

The AHM takes its blueprint from the UK Homelessness Monitor, commissioned by Crisis UK. It has delivered 18 reports (on England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) since its establishment in 2010 by Prof. Pawson and Prof. Suzanne Fitzpatrick at Heriot Watt University.

"As a longitudinal study, the UKHM offers vital insights for understanding the homelessness crisis in the UK and how changes in policy can bring homelessness levels down. With collective action, informed insight and political will, we can end homelessness once and for all," says Francesca Albanese, Head of Research and Evaluation from Crisis.

Looking long term

"Governments have partnered with community organizations to get people off the streets during the pandemic, which is something to celebrate," Prof. Pawson says. "But without purposeful re-engagement by our national government, Australia's housing policy challenges will only continue to intensify."

The second and third reports in the COVID series, including a focus on international comparisons, are due for release later this year.

Explore further We must act on homelessness before COVID-19 winter

More information: Housing and homelessness policy in the COVID-19 pandemic and recession: crisis, innovation and building back better: Housing and homelessness policy in the COVID-19 pandemic and recession: crisis, innovation and building back better: cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au//r  uilding-back-better/
An aerial view of Sombrero Chino Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Jan. 15, 2011. Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama announced Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, that they will expand and join their marine reserves to create a vast corridor that will connect the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador with Colombia's Malpelo Island and the Cocos and Coiba Islands in Costa Rican and Panamanian waters in the Pacific Ocean in hopes of protecting sea turtles, tuna, squid, hammerhead sharks and other species. Credit: AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File

Four Latin American countries announced Tuesday that they will expand and unite their marine reserves to create a vast corridor in the Pacific Ocean in hopes of protecting sea turtles, tuna, squid, hammerhead sharks and other species.

The new marine corridor will connect the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador with Colombia's Malpelo Island and the Cocos and Coiba Islands in Costa Rican and Panamanian waters, protecting migratory species from fishing fleets of hundreds of vessels that visit the eastern Pacific each year.

The announcement was made during the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, where world leaders gathered to discuss carbon emission targets and other environmental policies.

It comes amid growing concern over industrial fishing in the eastern Pacific, where fishing fleets from China and other countries are hauling in hundreds of thousands of tons of marine life each year using questionable methods.

The presidents of Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador were in Glasgow to announce the expansion of their marine reserves.

"We are going to protect ecosystems like the Galapagos and the Cocos Islands, which are among the world's most valuable ecosystems," Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada said.

Efforts to create a protected corridor in the eastern Pacific began in 2004, when Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador signed a declaration that sought to protect their island territories in the Pacific. Since then those countries have created marine reserves around the Galapagos, Malpelo, Cocos and Coiba islands, which have very small human populations but are home to hundreds of marine and bird species.

The new corridor will create a protected area of around 500,000 square kilometers (about 190,000 square miles) that will be off limits to industrial fishing fleets.

The Latin American countries said they are trying to contribute to a global initiative to preserve 30% of the world's oceans and land area 2030 as a way to address climate change.

Colombian President Ivan Duque said the new corridor is "the largest marine protected area in the Western Hemisphere."

Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo said: "We have heard lots of speeches about climate change, lots of commitments that are not met. This is a powerful action, and that's what our country and the world needs."

Explore further Panama expands the limits of the Coiba protected area

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

They are indispensable in journalism, but their work is often overlooked: fixers, the locally-based collaborators who assist foreign war correspondents with their work. Since the outbreak of covid-19, these local contact persons, who are already in a vulnerable position, have come under extra pressure. That is the conclusion of media scholar Johana Kotisova in a paper that she recently presented during the Future of Journalism conference.

From Ukraine to Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip: wherever foreign reporters are active in conflict zones, they are largely dependent on the help of fixers. These locally-based media workers provide help, for example, through interpreting or translating, arranging accommodation and transport, and making contact with possible sources. Their knowledge of the local culture and infrastructure are indispensable to foreign correspondents.

Nevertheless, their important work is often overlooked, argues Johana Kotisova, who is researching the position and emotional strain on fixers and stringers (local freelance journalists). "People have great admiration for war correspondents, but a lot less attention is paid to the locals who assist them, even though they are playing an increasingly important role in journalism."

Danger and shrinking budgets

In recent years, journalism in conflict zones has relied more and more heavily on local collaborators. As a result of shrinking budgets, media organizations have less and less money available to station correspondents abroad and moreover the security situation for journalists has deteriorated in many regions. In order to continue being able to report on conflict zones, foreign media are making increasing use of the services of local fixers and stringers.

"Large media companies outsource risky work to vulnerable local media workers, who are often underpaid," says Kotisova.

Because of the coronavirus crisis, the role of local collaborators has become even more important, argues Kotisova in her paper. "Due to travel restrictions, many foreign journalists were no longer able to travel to conflict zones themselves and they relied on the reports from their local contact persons. As a result of that, many fixers started reporting directly and became de facto journalists themselves." This has given them more autonomy in an editorial sense, says Kotisova. "Above all, however, the pandemic has worsened an existing problem: that large media companies outsource risky work to vulnerable local media workers, who are often underpaid and can count on receiving little protection."

Fixers cannot escape

Irrespective of the pandemic, many fixers and stringers are faced with threats and violence in their work, which sometimes even results in death. They are often, for example, blamed for inappropriate or insensitive behavior of the foreign correspondents with whom they collaborate, says Kotisova. 'And in contrast to their foreign colleagues, local media workers are not able to flee by taking an airplane to their home country, because they are already there. They cannot go anywhere. A harrowing example of this is the current situation in Afghanistan, where interpreters and fixers who collaborated with Dutch journalists are now stuck and fear for their lives.' The dangers which fixers and stringers are exposed to create great emotional and mental strain. Moreover, these media professionals are in a vulnerable position in an economic sense, because they work freelance and are not employed by a media company.

"Fixers cannot flee to their home country, because they are already there. A harrowing example is the current situation in Afghanistan, where interpreters and fixers fear for their lives," says Kotisova.

Due to outbreak of the coronavirus, fixers and stringers are even more heavily burdened than normal, concludes Kotisova. She interviewed, among others, fixers in Ukraine and Israel/Palsestine about the consequences of the pandemic for their work and wellbeing. Many of them indicated that they were saddled with a whole range of extra duties, because they had to take over the journalistic work of foreign correspondents. That entailed additional pressure and risks. In addition, the isolation that arose from the pandemic, in combination with the already uncertain freelance existence, resulted in additional vulnerability among this group.

Insurance schemes and psychological help

Kotisova's research also reveals that the coronavirus has accelerated changes to international news gathering. Many media companies and correspondents intend to continue collaborating with fixers and stringers in conflict zones even after the pandemic. The researcher points out that this should, however, go hand in hand with a better position for local collaborators: "Now that media companies have started collaborating even closer with fixers and stringers, it is also their ethical duty to take care of them, instead of just their "Western" employees. Examples include protection and support in terms of insurance schemes, training courses and psychological help."

About the research project

In her project "Fixers, Stringers, and Foreign Crews: The distribution of risks and emotions in crisis reporting," Kotisova investigates the collaboration, emotions, and power relations among reporters, producers, fixers, and stringers working for foreign media in Israel/Palestine and Ukraine. The research is based on in-depth interviews with fixers, local producers, stringers, and foreign reporters. Its goal is to increase our knowledge and raise awareness on media workers' precarity and emotional labor and to contribute to more ethical global journalism.

Explore further Journalism scholar team finds early foreign correspondents often came from socially less advantaged groups

More information: Project Website: Project Website: fixersandjournalists.humanities.uva.nl/
Kaja Hannedatter Sontum. Credit: University of Oslo

If cultural heritage institutions want to be relevant to young people today, they must move away from old categories defining what and who is Norwegian, archaeologist Kaja Hannedatter Sontum argues in her new doctoral thesis.

Social inclusion and diversity is one of the goals within the field of cultural heritage. A new Ph.D. study now suggests that the sector should reconsider current attempts to achieve their goals.

Considering the question of what is cultural heritage, Oslo youths are already divided on the issues laid out in public policies and governing documents within the field.

"In these documents, and also in the public debate, cultural heritage often revolves around material memories from the past. It may consist of excavations, site specific objects and singular artifacts. The young people that I have spoken with often think of cultural heritage as something immaterial," says researcher Kaja Hannedatter Sontum.

She has recently completed a doctorate in archaeology at the University of Oslo, Norway. There, she interviewed young people who felt that cultural practices, such as language, food or music, could be considered just as much a part of cultural heritage as a headdress in a museum exhibition.

"Perhaps this has to do with the fact that it is easier to feel included by an intangible cultural heritage. The traditional understanding of cultural heritage is more bound to a place, static and limited. It has been common to talk about historical roots," says Sontum.

Categorical thinking

Kaja Hannedatter Sontum has investigated what cultural heritage institutions are doing to include and reflect diversityand what those who are to be included evaluate their efforts.

On the one hand, she has studied the official policies and governing documents. On the other, she has carried out interviews and group conversations with students from a total of five different high schools in the capital Oslo, three from the affluent western side and two from the less privileged eastern side.

The young people she talked with came from various cultural backgrounds. Some had family from Norway only, and others had family with a history of migration. with a migratory background are particularly visible in Sontum's discussions.

"Their stories are set apart by an experience of mixing different cultures and practices, and thereby creating something new, something that is their own. This experience of having multiple and hybrid cultural connections is not found in the official documents. The documents, however, reflect a categorical way of thinking."

Youth are not included

For example, this is a statement from the Parliamentary Report "Living with our Cultural Heritage" from 20042005:

"In addition to preserving Norwegian cultural heritage, cultural heritage administration in a multicultural Norway is about documenting, disseminating and preserving cultural heritage with ties to the Sami as indigenous peoples, the five national minoritiesthe Jewish people, the Kvens, Roma, the Romani people and the Forest Finnsand the more recent minority groupsthe immigrants of the past 35 years."

In the Parliamentary Report "Future with a footholdCultural Heritage Policy" from 20122013, the wording "in addition to the Norwegian cultural heritage" is no longer used, but the inclusion model is still based on the same principle, Sontum believes.

At the administrative level, however, there has been a tendency to add new categories within an existing idea of what cultural heritage is, she points out.

"The cultural heritage of different groups of immigrants is often presented as an addition to, and at the same time, separate from, the place-bound national and local history. The perspective that it is possible to have multiple connections, or that one may experience falling outside of or moving between the existing categories of identity, is lacking."

The younger generation, in particular, seems to be skeptical about being represented in this way, as Sontum herself has seen in her work.

'The planning documents do not help'

Through informal conversations with people working within the field of cultural heritage, for example museum staff, it is Sontum's impression that many people are now looking for new ways to think about diversity and inclusion.

"The official planning documents and legislations do not seem to be helping," Sontum says.

Through the interviews, the archaeologist has discovered that many young people make considerate choices when they identify themselves with different cultural practices.

"They establish connections between themselves and others in ways that do not correspond to representations of a Norwegian core culture and homogeneous minority cultures. But their stories also indicate that they feel unsure about their own sense of belonging, especially in the context of how they are defined by others around them," says Sontum and adds:

"They express their own cultural heritage as something they choose, as something they do and as something that can be blended and mixed. In different social settings, something new may arise. The experience of being placed between different categories seems to contribute to reflections on definitions, for example: what does it mean to be ethnically Norwegian."

'The mindset must change'

Sontum points out that the administration of cultural heritage and cultural monuments must benefit the people. Thus, she believes, the work must be rooted in the experiences of those we are trying to include.

"New strategies should aim to stimulate critical reflection and dialog about how inequality is constantly produced within society. Cultural inequality is not something that is just there, it is created continuously through various social and political processes."

According to Sontum, we simply need to reverse the whole mindset of how we cultivate inclusion within the cultural heritage sector.

"Instead of undermining people's lived experiences, the sector must involve and acknowledge different voices within society, perhaps even conflicting voices. The actors within the field of cultural heritage have a unique and beneficial position to take part in this conversation. They can also offer tools and spaces where ideas about identity and belonging can be discussed."

A good starting point

Sontum believes that an insight into the migrations, cultural encounters and transformations of the past can provide a foundation for discussing current issues. She suggests that we could use museum exhibitions, collections, cultural heritage sites and historical artifacts as a starting point for inviting difficult but important conversations.

"Knowledge of the past provides the basis for being able to talk about ideas on belonging in today's society. Cultural heritage agents are not supposed to come with pre-prepared answers, but they can take part in the conversation in a critical way," she says and adds:

"We who are archaeologists, or work within cultural heritage administration and dissemination, cannot deny that what we concern ourselves with, is political. Rather, we must acknowledge the position of power we are in when it relates to what culture and cultural heritage is, and we must ask ourselves what role this plays in today's society. We simply have to take part in the conversation."

Explore further The conservation of cultural heritage in the face of climate catastrophe
The forest is a treasure of biodiversity and a giant carbon sink.

Stopping by a giant oak tree in Europe's largest surviving primeval forest, environmental journalist Adam Wajrak pauses in admiration.

"The trees here were born when the United States did not exist yet, when electricity had not been invented," said the journalist, who moved to a village in the vast Bialowieza forest 25 years ago.

"It's shocking that we protect historical monuments that are 400 years old but we cut down living organisms of the same age."

The forest, which is divided by the Poland-Belarus border, is a treasure of biodiversity and a giant carbon sink.

It has become a battlefield between environmentalists eager to protect it, and the state forestry agency keen to log it and many local residents who like to forage in it.

Forests have covered the area continuously for some 12,000 years, according to Bogdan Jaroszewicz, director of the University of Warsaw scientific unit in Bialowieza, a picturesque village of mostly wooden homes that is the main access point to the forest.

"Bialowieza is a giant open-air laboratory that allows us to study ecosystems evolving without human intervention.

"It's a window on the past... from the point of view of the future, it's a priceless natural genetic reservoir," he said.

While other forests in Europe were cut down to make way for arable farming and then either grew back naturally or were replanted, Bialowieza has grown wild, virtually untouched.

The Bialowieza forest covers an area of 1,500 square kilometres and is dissected by the border between Belarus and Poland.

Forests have covered the area continuously for some 12,000 years.

Some 42 percent of it lies on the Polish side, and over a third of this is protectedincluding with a UNESCO heritage listingbut the rest is managed by the state forestry agency and subject to logging.

On the Belarusian side, the forest is entirely protected.

Carbon reservoir

Strolling deep in the forest, Wajrak stopped to pull some hairs caught on a tree trunk.

"A bison has passed here," said Wajrak, who works for the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

An emblematic animal for Poland, bison were hunted for centuries and disappeared from Bialowieza, its last habitat in Europe, before World War II. They were reintroduced using specimens reared in zoos.

There are currently estimated to be 715 bison in the forestaround half of Poland's bison populationalong with around 40 wolves and 15 lynxes.

In total, there are around 12,000 animal species in Bialowiezamainly invertebratesand around 1,000 plant species.

Some of the oaks have a circumference of six metres (20 feet) and are 40 metres high. Spruces can grow even higherup to 50 metres, the equivalent of a 12-storey building.

In the forest, dead trees are as important as living ones.

Environmental journalist Adam Wajrak moved to a village in Bialowieza forest 25 years ago.

"What makes Bialowieza different from commercial forests is the abundance of dead trees. Most of the animal species are linked to them. It's a habitat for insects, mushrooms and lichens," said Adam Bohdan from Wild Poland, a non-governmental organisation.

Wajrak said that Europeans have become used to manicured "pseudo-forests".

"But the norm is Bialowiezachaos, mess, trees lying on the ground rotting and giving life to other organisms," he said.

"A primeval forest is more resistant to climate change and constitutes the best and most stable carbon reservoir in existence."

Breaking environmental laws

In 2016-2019, an infestation of spruce bark beetles led to the greatest crisis in Bialowieza's recent history.

The state forestry agency embarked on a major logging operation in Bialowieza with the justification of combating the spread of the wood-boring insects, angering environmentalists and the EU.

Campaigners said the government just wanted to sell more wood.

In order to stop the clearing, they chained themselves to trees and logging equipment.

Bohdan said he was taken down from a harvester by officers who slashed his harness with a knife, cutting his skin.

Some 42 percent of the forest lies on the Polish side of the border with Belarus, and over a third of this is protected.

According to Bohdan, more than 700 hectares were logged, including many trees that were more than a century old.

The European Court of Justice ruled against Poland for breaking environmental laws and the government ceased logging in 2018.

'Not logging'

In October, a limited amount of logging resumed in Bialowieza.

Bohdan said the felled trees included "large oaks that were nearly 90 years old" and the authorities used "the ridiculous pretext that it was to make space to plant other oaks".

Environmentalists have called for a halt to the logging.

But Jaroslaw Krawczyk, a spokesman for the state forestry agency in the nearby city of Bialystok, said the activity was "not logging".

"It's management, conservation, protection and renewal," he said.

In the rural commune of Hajnowka, many residents said they were opposed to expanding the protected area in the Bialowieza forest.

"If the park is expanded, we won't be able to pick mushrooms or berries, or use the wood to heat our homes," said Lucyna Smoktunowicz, mayor of the commune, home to around 3,000 people.

Despite all the threats to its existence, its supporters are hopeful of the forest's ability to survive.

Local communes benefit from taxes paid by the forestry agency and from additional spending on infrastructure such as roads.

The possible expansion of the national park protected area triggers strong emotions.

"If we say that we're in favour of expanding the park, we can have problems at work, at home, conflicts with family and friends. It's very tough," said Joanna Lapinska, from the association Locals For The Forest.

'Tough, resistant'

The forest has other problems too.

It is now divided by a new five-metre-high razor wire fence that Poland has to put up to stop an influx of migrants from Belarus.

"When an animal tries to cross it, it gets injured, it starts to panic, it gets stuck, its muscles are torn, its tendons are torn and it bleeds to death in shock," said Rafal Kowalczyk, head of the Polish Academy of Sciences unit in Bialowieza.

He said entire animal populations could be put in danger.

Despite all the threats to its existence, its supporters are hopeful of the forest's ability to survive.

On his walk, Wajrak looked up at his favourite hornbeam trees.

"When they get old, wrinkles appear, cracks, they twist. They're like human beingstough, resistant."

Explore further Poland broke EU law by logging in ancient forest: court

 2021 AFP
Illustration of a quantum wave packet in close vicinity of a conical intersection between two potential energy surfaces. The wave packet represents the collective motion of multiple atoms in the photoactive yellow protein. A part of the wave packet moves through the intersection from one potential energy surface to the other, while the another part remains on the top surface, leading to a superposition of quantum states. Credit: DESY, Niels Breckwoldt

A new analytical technique is able to provide hitherto unattainable insights into the extremely rapid dynamics of biomolecules. The team of developers, led by Abbas Ourmazd from the University of WisconsinMilwaukee and Robin Santra from DESY, is presenting its clever combination of quantum physics and molecular biology in the scientific journal Nature. The scientists used the technique to track the way in which the photoactive yellow protein (PYP) undergoes changes in its structure in less than a trillionth of a second after being excited by light.

"In order to precisely understand biochemical processes in nature, such as photosynthesis in certain bacteria, it is important to know the detailed sequence of events," Santra says. "When light strikes photoactive proteins, their spatial structure is altered, and this structural change determines what role a protein takes on in nature."

Until now, however, it has been almost impossible to track the exact sequence in which structural changes occur. Only the initial and final states of a molecule before and after a reaction can be determined and interpreted in theoretical terms. "But we don't know exactly how the energy and shape changes in between the two," says Santra. "It's like seeing that someone has folded their hands, but you can't see them interlacing their fingers to do so."

Whereas a hand is large enough and the movement is slow enough for us to follow it with our eyes, things are not that easy when looking at molecules. The energy state of a molecule can be determined with great precision using spectroscopy; and bright X-rays for example from an X-ray laser can be used to analyze the shape of a molecule. The extremely short wavelength of X-rays means that they can resolve very small spatial structures, such as the positions of the atoms within a molecule. However, the result is not an image like a photograph, but instead a characteristic interference pattern, which can be used to deduce the spatial structure that created it.

Bright and short X-ray flashes

Since the movements are extremely rapid at the molecular level, the scientists have to use extremely short X-ray pulses to prevent the image from being blurred. It was only with the advent of X-ray lasers that it became possible to produce sufficiently bright and short X-ray pulses to capture these dynamics. However, since molecular dynamics takes place in the realm of quantum physics where the laws of physics deviate from our everyday experience, the measurements can only be interpreted with the help of a quantum-physical analysis.

A peculiar feature of photoactive proteins needs to be taken into consideration: the incident light excites their electron shell to enter a higher quantum state, and this causes an initial change in the shape of the molecule. This change in shape can in turn result in the excited and ground quantum states overlapping each other. In the resulting quantum jump, the excited state reverts to the ground state, whereby the shape of the molecule initially remains unchanged. The conical intersection between the quantum states therefore opens a pathway to a new spatial structure of the protein in the quantum mechanical ground state.

The team led by Santra and Ourmazd has now succeeded for the first time in unraveling the structural dynamics of a photoactive protein at such a conical intersection. They did so by drawing on machine learning because a full description of the dynamics would in fact require every possible movement of all the particles involved to be considered. This quickly leads to unmanageable equations that cannot be solved.

6000 dimensions

"The photoactive yellow protein we studied consists of some 2000 atoms," explains Santra, who is a Lead Scientist at DESY and a professor of physics at Universitat Hamburg. "Since every atom is basically free to move in all three spatial dimensions, there are a total of 6000 options for movement. That leads to a quantum mechanical equation with 6000 dimensionswhich even the most powerful computers today are unable to solve."

However, computer analyses based on machine learning were able to identify patterns in the collective movement of the atoms in the complex molecule. "It's like when a hand moves: there, too, we don't look at each atom individually, but at their collective movement," explains Santra. Unlike a hand, where the possibilities for collective movement are obvious, these options are not as easy to identify in the atoms of a molecule. However, using this technique, the computer was able to reduce the approximately 6000 dimensions to four. By demonstrating this new method, Santra's team was also able to characterize a conical intersection of quantum states in a complex molecule made up of thousands of atoms for the first time.

The detailed calculation shows how this conical intersection forms in four-dimensional space and how the photoactive yellow protein drops through it back to its initial state after being excited by light. The scientists can now describe this process in steps of a few dozen femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second) and thus advance the understanding of photoactive processes. "As a result, quantum physics is providing new insights into a biological system, and biology is providing new ideas for quantum mechanical methodology," says Santra, who is also a member of the Hamburg Cluster of Excellence CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter. "The two fields are cross-fertilizing each other in the process."

Explore further How molecular footballs burst in an X-ray laser beam

More information: Abbas Ourmazd, Few-fs resolution of a photoactive protein traversing a conical intersection, Nature (2021). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04050-9 Journal information: Nature Abbas Ourmazd, Few-fs resolution of a photoactive protein traversing a conical intersection,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04050-9
A graph with its 3-colouring. For each edge, we check that the two connected vertices are of different colours. Credit:  University of Geneva, All rights reserved

The volume of data transferred is constantly increasing, but the absolute security of these exchanges cannot be guaranteed, as shown by cases of hacking frequently reported in the news. To counter hacking, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has developed a new system based on the concept of zero-knowledge proofs, the security of which is based on the physical principle of relativity: information cannot travel faster than the speed of light. Thus, one of the fundamental principles of modern physics allows for secure data transfer. This system allows users to identify themselves in complete confidentiality without disclosing any personal information, promising applications in the field of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. These results can be read in the journal Nature.

When a personthe so called "prover"wants to confirm their identity, for example when they want to withdraw money from an ATM, they must provide their personal data to the verifier, in our example the bank, which processes this information (e.g. the identification number and the pin code). As long as only the prover and the verifier know this data, confidentiality is guaranteed. If others get hold of this information, for example by hacking into the bank's server, security is compromised.

Zero-knowledge proof as a solution

To counter this problem, the prover should ideally be able to confirm their identity, without revealing any information at all about their personal data. But is this even possible? Surprisingly the answer is yes, via the concept of a zero-knowledge proof. "Imagine I want to prove a mathematical theorem to a colleague. If I show them the steps of the proof, they will be convinced, but then have access to all the information and could easily reproduce the proof," explains Nicolas Brunner, a professor in the Department of Applied Physics at the UNIGE Faculty of Science. "On the contrary, with a zero-knowledge proof, I will be able to convince them that I know the proof, without giving away any information about it, thus preventing any possible data recovery."

The principle of zero-knowledge proof, invented in the mid-1980s, has been put into practice in recent years, notably for cryptocurrencies. However, these implementations suffer from a weakness, as they are based on a mathematical assumption (that a specific encoding function is difficult to decode). If this assumption is disprovedwhich cannot be ruled out todaysecurity is compromised because the data would become accessible.

Today, the Geneva team is demonstrating a radically different system in practice: a relativistic zero-knowledge proof. Security is based here on a physics concept, the principle of relativity, rather than on a mathematical hypothesis. The principle of relativitythat information does not travel faster than lightis a pillar of modern physics, unlikely to be ever challenged. The Geneva researchers' protocol therefore offers perfect security and is guaranteed over the long term.

Dual verification based on a three-colorability problem

Implementing a relativistic zero-knowledge proof involves two distant verifier/prover pairs and a challenging mathematical problem. "We use a three-colorability problem. This type of problem consists of a graph made up of a set of nodes connected or not by links," explains Hugo Zbinden, professor in the Department of Applied Physics at the UNIGE. Each node is given one out of three possible colorsgreen, blue or redand two nodes that are linked together must be of different colors. These three-coloring problems, here featuring 5,000 nodes and 10,000 links, are in practice impossible to solve, as all possibilities must be tried. So why do we need two pairs of checker/prover?

"To confirm their identity, the provers will no longer have to provide a code, but demonstrate to the verifier that they know a way to three-color a certain graph," says Nicolas Brunner. To be sure, the verifiers will randomly choose a large number of pairs of nodes on the graph connected by a link, then ask their respective prover what color the node is. Since this verification is done almost simultaneously, the provers cannot communicate with each other during the test, and therefore cannot cheat. Thus, if the two colors announced are always different, the verifiers are convinced of the identity of the provers, because they actually know a three-coloring of this graph.

"It's like when the police interrogates two criminals at the same time in separate offices: it's a matter of checking that their answers match, without allowing them to communicate with each other," says Hugo Zbinden. In this case, the questions are almost simultaneous, so the provers cannot communicate with each other, as this information would have to travel faster than light, which is of course impossible. Finally, to prevent the verifiers from reproducing the graph, the two provers constantly change the color code in a correlated manner: what was green becomes blue, blue becomes red, etc. "In this way, the proof is made and verified, without revealing any information about it," says the Geneva-based physicist.

A reliable and ultra-fast system

In practice, this verification is carried out more than three million times, all in less than three seconds. "The idea would be to assign a graph to each person or client," says Nicolas Brunner. In the Geneva researchers' experiment, the two prover/verifier pairs are 60 meters apart, to ensure that they cannot communicate. "But this system can already be used, for example, between two branches of a bank and does not require complex or expensive technology," he says. However, the research team believes that in the very near future this distance can be reduced to one meter. Whenever a data transfer has to be made, this relativistic zero-knowledge proof system would guarantee absolute security of data processing and could not be hacked. "In a few seconds, we would guarantee absolute confidentiality," concludes Hugo Zbinden.
The COWVR instrument (center, wrapped in gold foil) in JPL's Environmental Test Laboratory during vibration testing. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

Working together, two instruments could open the door for a more efficient, cost-effective way to gather key information for weather forecasting.

Two instruments launching to the International Space Station in a few weeks could be weather-forecasting game changers. The two novel instruments are expected to demonstrate that while they are much smaller, much lighter, and much less expensive than weather satellites orbiting today, they can collect some of the same essential data.

The main purpose of the Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR) instrument is to measure the direction and speed of winds at the ocean surface. The Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems (TEMPEST) looks at atmospheric humidity.

Designed and built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the two instruments are technology demonstrations. NASA will archive the data and make it available to all interested users, but the main purpose of the mission is to prove the instruments can operate in space and supply data for weather forecasts. Together, they're part of a U.S. Space Force mission called Space Test Program-Houston 8 (STP-H8), expected to launch to the space station on Dec. 21.

What's new about COWVR

Almost a decade in the making, COWVR grew from the space-based weather-forecasting and environmental observation programs of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The military collects data to forecast ocean surface winds with a spaceborne instrument named WindSat, launched in 2003.

A microwave radiometer, WindSat measures naturally occurring microwaves emitted from Earth's atmosphere and surface. Over the ocean, when wind increases and waves grow larger, microwave emissions also increase. A microwave radiometer records these changing emissions, and processing the data can reveal both the speed and the direction of winds at the ocean surface. Those measurements are critical for monitoring how storms such as hurricanes develop, and they feed into forecasts and warnings to coastal populations and ships at sea.

WindSat has far exceeded its projected life span and is still operating, but in 2012, the Air Force began work on a replacement radiometer of the same sort, intending to launch the new instrument before WindSat went out of service. The expense and difficulty of building this type of instrument got DoD scientists thinking about what a next-generation ocean wind sensor could be. That's where NASA came in.

Shannon Brown, a JPL engineer, had been working on a microwave radiometer for the oceanographic mission Jason-3, developed by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and European partners to measure sea surface height. Brown recognized that the Jason-3 instrument's design advances could be repurposed to meet the needs of weather forecasters. "We put a concept together that used most of the Jason-3 hardware designs, and we found it could measure wind speed and direction at a much lower cost than what the Air Force was building," he said.

The COWVR development team and instrument in a clean room at JPL. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

The novel aspect of COWVR is its simplified design. The WindSat radiometer rotates about 30 times a minute as it gathers data. The engineering challenge of developing and powering up parts that can rotate many millions of times in space has proven to be one of the most expensive and demanding aspects of radiometer development.

COWVR reduces the number of moving parts, replacing hardware with algorithms newly developed for the instrument by Brown and his colleagues. The algorithms tease the desired signals of wind speed and direction out of the raw data stream. Parts that still must rotate are now housed on a turntable so they don't need to be powered individually. The streamlined instrument weighs only 130 pounds (58.7 kilograms) and uses 47 watts of power to operateabout as much as a bedside lampwhere WindSat weighs 990 pounds (450 kilograms) and uses 350 watts.

A team of NASA scientists and engineers began developing the instrument in 2013 at JPL with a budget of $24 millionone-fifth the cost of WindSat. They completed COWVR on budget and on schedule in 27 months, aiming for a planned launch in 2018. "It took a really talented team to do that," Brown pointed out. "We had to use everyone's best engineering judgment to keep moving forward."

Don Boucher, principal scientist in the chief architect's office of the U.S. Space Force (which took over space operations from the Air Force this year), monitored the project for the military. "COWVR has the distinct possibility of being an absolute game changer for our users," he said. "It's simpler to build, simpler to test, the timeframe to build the instrument is lessso you can build more of them for the same amount of money as one conventional radiometer. That has tremendous implications for our supply chain."

When the planned 2018 launch didn't pan out, the Air Force turned to the Space Test Program, which provides launches to the space station for the military science and engineering community. The space station orbit will give COWVR a view of the ocean surface at different times of day on each orbit, compared with a Sun-synchronous orbit that carries a satellite over any part of globe at the same time each day. Over time, this will aid understanding of how ocean waves develop and change throughout the day.

Watching tropical storms with TEMPEST

"The Navy is really interested in monitoring tropical cyclone intensity, but that was one of the things we couldn't design into COWVR because we had a very compressed schedule," JPL's Brown said. But JPL had an instrument already built for just that purpose: TEMPEST. About the size of a cereal box, it was a flight sparea duplicate created in case of damage or other problems with a spaceborne instrumentfor the TEMPEST-D 2018 NASA technology demonstration mission.

TEMPEST, too, is a microwave radiometer, but instead of winds, it measures microwave wavelengths that are sensitive to the presence of water vapor. Collecting data on multiple hurricanes and other storms between 2018 and last June, it had already demonstrated that it could measure water vapor at several levels of the atmosphere as well as the heritage satellites do.

"TEMPEST brings to the table an ability to sense both the amount of atmospheric moisture and its vertical distribution," said Steve Swadley, the lead for calibration and validation of microwave sensors at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey, California. "This is important both for numerical models and for characterizing the moisture surrounding tropical cyclones. So when Shannon [Brown] told us, "We have a spare TEMPESTwould that be useful on this mission?" the answer was an emphatic yes."

If the instruments operate as expected, the lower-priced new technology is likely to see widespread use. Organizations would be able to launch four or five satellites on the same budget that formerly would have paid for one. Currently, there are so few weather satellites that only one or two of them may pass over a growing storm in an entire day. Those few "snapshots" of a storm don't give forecasters enough information to monitor the kind of explosive growth that so many storms now exhibit. More satellites will give scientists a chance to increase the accuracy of forecasts and save more lives.

But that's looking far ahead, Brown noted. The STP-H8 mission is still a technology demonstration to show the feasibility of the instruments. "We have no reason to think we won't meet our objectives, but whatever comes out of it, we're confident that we're going to learn a lot."

Explore further New small satellite peers inside Hurricane Florence
Scalable stem cell processing technology in suspension bioreactors (a). The different conditions are tested in separate cultivation tubes (b). Credit: Fraunhofer IBMT/Bernd Muller

With the aid of artificial stem cells, it will soon be possible to establish new treatments for previously incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. At the Fraunhofer Project Center for Stem Cell Process Engineering SPT, a process for the mass production of these so called induced pluripotent stem cells is being developed. This process involves new materials, which ensure that industrial cell production will meet high quality standards. The process will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the MEDICA trade fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, between November 15 and 18, 2021 (hall 3, stand E74).

The cells of a growing embryo have a fascinating property. They are able to transform into any other cell typeheart muscle cells, nerve cells and many more. Experts refer to them as pluripotent stem cells. When the human body is fully developed, the cells lose their pluripotency. Recently, however, it has become possible to artificially revert the somatic cells of an adult to their embryonic state. These "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPS) are an important tool for biotechnologists. This means that somatic cells can be taken from adults with genetic diseases, reprogrammed into iPS cells and then differentiated into heart muscle or nerve cells, which can then be used to test new drugs. Because the iPS cells contain the patient's genome, it's much easier to determine which treatments will be effective for that patient. In this respect, iPS cells have huge potential for personalized medicine. The problem is that thus far, it hasn't been possible to produce iPS cells and culture them in large quantities and to a high quality. There lacks a standardized production line and process for industrial manufacturing that meets regulatory requirements. The new Fraunhofer Project Center for Stem Cell Process Engineering SPT in Wurzburg, which is jointly operated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT and the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, is working on exactly that.

Combining materials expertise with biotechnology

"In this project, we're combining our biotechnology expertise with the materials science know-how," says the Managing Director of SPT, Julia Neubauer of the Fraunhofer IBMT. The Fraunhofer ISC is sharing its vast experience in the development of materials and surface coatings to help optimize the Fraunhofer IBMT biotechnologies for cell culture at the project center. Around the world, most scientists currently use hard, smooth surfaces for cell culture. On this type of surface, cells such as artificial heart muscle cells that actually contract can be grown. They do, however, behave differently to cells in a living body. For example, they hardly react to hormones such as adrenaline, which should make them beat faster. The SPT team is creating more realistic culture conditions so that the iPS cells will develop into more mature cells that behave naturally. Instead of hard surfaces, soft surface coatings made of hydrogels and 3D "biomimetic structures" made with 3D printers are used, for example. The surfaces are also modified with biochemical processes so that tissue-specific environment can be simulated.

The key to iPS cell culture at SPT is the use of bioreactors, in which the cells grow while floating freely in a nutrient solution or adherent on microcarrier. Julia Neubauer and Marco Metzger of the Fraunhofer ISC, the SPT's Deputy Managing Director, explain that in these reactors, the cells are cultured on tiny hydrogel microspheres, for example. They can also grow in small 3D aggregates and interact with each other. These methods successfully mimic natural tissue growth. Another advantage of free-floating iPS cell culture is that the cells receive optimal nutrition and oxygen. In a group of cells on a 2D surface, those on the bottom layer are often less well nourished. The cell environment also doesn't provide natural conditions.

Adherent iPS cells on alginate microcarriers after successful cultivation (left: backlit phase contrast image, right: fluorescent image of pluripotency marker Oct-4, scale: 100 m). Credit: Fraunhofer IBMT

Cell biobank for research

Over the past few years, the Fraunhofer IBMT has worked with pharmaceutical companies to establish the European Bank For Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBISC)  a unique biobank for iPS cells. This biobank provides a variety of different iPS cell linesfor example from patients with Parkinson's disease or early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The iPS cells are available to academia, companies and research institutes. "With the help of these iPS cells, treatments for a range of diseases can be developed and tested," says Julia Neubauer. "The bank is thus of utmost importance for the future treatment of diseases that are currently incurable."

The SPT team will present the new culture technologies, bioreactor functionalities and new surfaces for cell cultivation to visitors at the MEDICA trade fair (hall 3, stand E74).

Explore further Growing stem cells faster on seaweed
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

When two people meet for the first time, they tend to see the other person as having a similar personality to their own.

A friendly and sociable person will tend to see others as friendly and sociable. Someone who is shy and reserved will see those characteristics in others.

In the world of psychology, this is known as the "assumed similarity effect." Psychologists have theorized people use their own personalities to fill in the blanks with someone they don't know well.

Now UO psychologists have proposed, tested and found support for another contributing factor: people tend to reciprocate each other's behavior. A person who acts friendly and sociable is more likely get the same in return.

In other words, people temporarily bring out behavior that is like their own personality, see that behavior and infer that is what the other person is like. They dubbed the phenomenon the "perceiver-elicited similarity effect."

Their study also found support for a dissimilarity effect: Assertive, dominant people bring out passive behavior in others, and passive people bring out assertive behavior.

The study was published last summer in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Bradley Hughes, a doctoral student, is the lead author. Co-authors are his adviser, professor Sanjay Srivastava, and John Flournoy, a former student of Srivastava's who earned his doctorate at the UO and is now at Harvard University.

"The idea is, people influence each other when they interact," Srivastava said. "They bring out behaviors in the other person that are in some ways predictably similar, and in others, predictably dissimilar."

To test their theory, the psychologists conducted an experiment, adapting the procedure from one that Hughes used when he was studying at the University of California, Berkeley. They recruited 322 UO students, split them into pairs, and asked them to review and jointly judge a series of photographs depicting works of art.

"We wanted people to interact and make these ratings and have a chance to influence each other," Hughes said.

The participants assumed the roles of co-managers of an art gallery and were given 20 minutes to review 20 paintings and select three to hang in the gallery. Their interactions were videotaped.

Before completing the art gallery task, each participant completed self-reports of their personalities. Afterward, they returned to a private room and provided perception judgments of their partner. A team of research assistants then watched the videotaped interactions and rated and coded the participants' behavior.

"The idea is that personality flows through interpersonal interactions, from who a person is, to how they act, to how others respond to them," Hughes said.

"You go through life making people a little more like you," Srivastava said. "The implication is, you have an interaction, you make people more like you, and you see that. This builds up over time. Your world view of what people are like is based on your own personality because of what you bring out in them."

The study took about four years from conception to publication. The behavior coding part was "very labor intensive," requiring teams of UO undergraduate research assistants to watch the videos and make structured ratings.

"You can influence your impressions of others by interacting with them," Hughes said. "Everyday interactions change how you see people. Evidence of these effects opens doors for future studies exploring interpersonal influences on other social cognitive effects."

More information: Bradley T Hughes et al, Is perceived similarity more than assumed similarity? An interpersonal path to seeing similarity between self and others, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2020). Journal information: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Bradley T Hughes et al, Is perceived similarity more than assumed similarity? An interpersonal path to seeing similarity between self and others,(2020). DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/axwdy
Researchers ice core drilling camp on Colle Gnifetti in 2015. Two ice cores extracted from this area preserved a continuous one-thousand-year record of European climate and vegetation. Credit: Margit Schwikowski.

Europe's past prosperity and failure, driven by climate changes, has been revealed using thousand-year-old pollen, spores and charcoal particles fossilized in glacial ice. This first analysis of microfossils preserved in European glaciers unveils earlier-than-expected evidence of air pollution and the roots of modern invasive species problems.

A new study analyzed pollen, spores, charcoal and other pollutants frozen in the Colle Gnifetti glacier on the Swiss and Italian border. The research found changes in the composition of these microfossils corresponded closely with known major events in climate, such as the Little Ice Age and well-established volcanic eruptions.

The work was published in Geophysical Research Letters, which publishes high-impact, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences.

The industrialization of European society also appeared clearly in the microfossil record and, in some cases, showed up sooner than expected. Pollen from the introduction of non-native crops was found to go back at least 100 years ago and pollution from the burning of fossil fuels shows up in the 18th century, about 100 years earlier than expected.

Existing historical sources such as church records or diaries record conditions during major events like droughts or famines. However, studying data from the glaciers contributes to the understanding of climate and land use surrounding such events, providing non-stop context for them with evidence from a large land area. Precisely identifying the timing of these events can help scientists better understand current climate change.

"The historical sources that were available before, I don't think [the sources] got the full picture of the environmental context," said Sandra Brugger, a paleoecologist at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada and lead researcher on the study. "But also, with the ice core, we couldn't get the full picture until we started collaborating with historians on this. It needs those two sides of the coin."

Evidence on high

The new study analyzed microfossils frozen in two 82- and 75-meter-long ice cores pulled from the Colle Gnifetti glacier, which are the first two ice cores from the continent of Europe studied for microfossils. Similar studies have sampled ice cores in South America, Central Asia and Greenland, but those regions lack the breadth of written historical records that can be directly correlated with the continuous microfossil data in ice cores.

Over the centuries, wind, rain and snow carried microfossils from European lowlands, the United Kingdom and North Africa to the exposed glacier. Ice in this glacier site dates back tens of thousands of years, and the altitude of Colle Gnifetti4,450 meters above sea levelmeans the ice was likely never subjected to melting, which would mix the layers of samples and create uncertainty in the chronology of the record.

"They can actually pinpoint and identify the relationships between what's happening on the continent with climatic records inherent in the ice," said John Birks, a paleoecologist at the University of Bergen who was not associated with the study. "They can develop, in a stronger way, this link between human civilization and change and climate, particularly in the last thousand years or so where conventional pollen analysis is rather weak."

Evidence of pollution due to fossil fuel combustion also appeared earlier in the chronological record than expected. The researchers found evidence of the early burning of coal in the United Kingdom around 1780, much earlier than the expected onset of industrialization around 1850, which could have implications for global climate change modeling.

The records also showed evidence of pollen from non-native European plants from 100 years ago, showing a long legacy of the existing ecological problems created by invasive species transported across continents through trade.

Explore further Long-term greenhouse gas influence on retreating glaciers

More information: S. O. Brugger et al, Alpine Glacier Reveals Ecosystem Impacts of Europe's Prosperity and Peril Over the Last Millennium, Geophysical Research Letters (2021). Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters S. O. Brugger et al, Alpine Glacier Reveals Ecosystem Impacts of Europe's Prosperity and Peril Over the Last Millennium,(2021). DOI: 10.1029/2021GL095039
FORT EDWARD  A Glens Falls man has been sentenced to one year in jail for driving drunk and crashing his motorcycle.

Taylor S. Brown was arrested on July 10 after he got his motorcycle stuck in a ditch off the roadway on Route 197 in Fort Edward just after 4 a.m.

Brown had been revving the motor to try to get out of the ditch.

The trooper could smell the odor of alcohol on his breath and observed signs he was impaired, police said. Brown was not able to complete field sobriety tests.

He was transported to Glens Falls Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Brown pleaded guilty in Washington County Court on Oct. 22 to DWI and criminal mischief.

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CROWN POINT  One person is dead after a home invasion in the town of Crown Point.

State police have not released many details about the incident. Troopers were called to a home on Creek Road at about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday for a report of a home invasion.

One person, who police have identified as one of the suspects, died at the scene, according to a news release.

One resident of the home was injured in the incident and taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries,

The investigation is continuing. Police are attempting to identify other possible suspects. There is no threat to the public, according to police.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death for the deceased.

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Opening statements have begun in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three people during a protest against racial injustice on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year.

TOMS RIVER  A 55-year-old Pennsylvania woman charged with the murders of her father and his girlfriend in Surf City was ordered held until trial Wednesday by an Ocean County Superior Court judge.

Sherry Lee Heffernan was arrested last month and charged with murder and weapons offenses after her father, John Enders, 87, and Francoise Pitoy, 75, were found stabbed to death Oct. 3 in Enders home overlooking Barnegat Bay.

Heffernan was arrested Oct. 4 by Pennsylvania State Police at her home in Landenberg. She was extradited to New Jersey on Oct. 20 and has been in the Ocean County jail since that date.

Surf City police conducted a welfare check on Enders and Pitoy at 1:54 p.m. Oct. 3. Pitoys daughter, Valerie Lewis-Evans, alerted police after not hearing from her mother for more than a week.

When detectives saw the crime scene, they found blood on the front railing, blood spatter upstairs and downstairs, blood on several drawers, cabinets, a closet door handle and door knobs leading in and out of the back of the house, according to court documents.
Also on his watch and with his support, New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana, increased K-12 education funding and began fully financing the state's share of the public pension. He paid for some of the new state spending with higher taxes on incomes over $1 million.

In the closing days of the campaign, to hammer the point home, he appeared alongside U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders at Rutgers University at a rally. He cast the election as critical for holding on to progressive gains made during his first term.

Ciattarelli's campaign seized on comments Murphy made that New Jersey probably isnt for voters whose top issue is taxes, casting the governor as out of touch with a concern many prioritize.

He also sought support from those who disagreed with Murphy's handling of COVID-19. At a recent campaign rally in Hazlet when someone in the audience asked about mandates, Ciattarelli said there'd be none under his administration  an allusion to mask and vaccination mandates.

He also implicitly criticized critical race theory in schools, saying that we are not going to teach our children to feel guilty. Critical race theory is a method of thinking of Americas history through the lens of racism that has become a political lightning rod of the Republican Party.
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He also implicitly criticized critical race theory in schools, saying that we are not going to teach our children to feel guilty. Critical race theory is a method of thinking of Americas history through the lens of racism that has become a political lightning rod of the Republican Party.

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Polls showed Murphy got solid support for his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, which hit New Jersey hard in early 2020 and resulted in the deaths of more than 25,000 people. About a third of those deaths occurred in nursing and veterans homes. But the state also excelled at getting people vaccinated and was quick to become one of the states with the highest percentages of eligible people to be fully vaccinated.

Ciattarelli's tax message resonated with some voters at the Washington Township Senior Center. Joseph Buono, who wore his red Make America Great Again hat to vote, said he voted for Ciattarelli for governor largely because of his promise to address property taxes and because he doesnt want incumbent Murphy to remain in charge of the states pandemic response.

The fear is hes going to mandate everything if he does win, said Buono, a 31-year-old accountant. His wife, Nadia Buono, 37, who works in finance, said she doesnt want their two young children to be required to be vaccinated when they turn five.
Murphy is a former Goldman Sachs executive and served as ambassador to Germany under former President Barack Obama, who campaigned for Murphy in the weeks before Election Day.

He has said his next term will be about enacting a Reproductive Freedom Act aimed at codifying Roe v. Wade in the state as well as additional gun control laws and the expansion of taxpayer-financed pre-K for 3-year-olds.

Headwinds facing Democrats, like President Joe Biden's falling approval ratings and congressional Democrats' struggles to enact their agenda, didn't factor heavily enough into some experts' preelection analysis, said Ben Dworkin, the director of Rowan Universitys Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship. He counted himself among them.

A spokesperson for Ciattarelli said Wednesday that the campaign was focused on the vote count and said a possible legal pursuit of a recount was on the table. Murphy also called Wednesday morning for every vote to be counted.

New Jersey does not have an automatic recount law, but the candidates are permitted to request one. The party that wants a recount must file a suit in State Superior Court in the counties where they want to contest tallies. That has to be done within 17 days of Election Day.
China is not yet pretending it owns space, but is behaving as if it owns the South China Sea, saying who can and cant cross portions of these international waters and not so pleasantly correcting neighbors on orders they dont salute. Stay out of all of this, Xi has warned America, even as he seems confident China would win a Taiwan war with us. Not a few American intelligence agents have been quoted as agreeing because of Chinas advantage of being nearby and its growing military potency, compared to U.S. problems of being far away with declining military potency.

President Joe Biden said on TV we have a commitment to protect Taiwan, later hiding in ambiguity. The risks, if we do, include a deficiency of up-to-date Navy ships, most of our military aircraft being old beyond usefulness and the military not getting enough recruits. Budgets passed by Congress have not allowed for needed improvement and hypersonic missiles are seen as a threat to our defense systems that some experts say wont work anyway. We are right now far too dependent on China economically as it controls ever more small countries through duplicitous trade, and Chinese leaders seem to be playing games with climate change.
No incentives to just

do the right things

A recent article said that the state will be paying people $500 to go back to work; additionally, the state will pay $10,000 to employers for each new employee to help with salaries. We were also told there are lots of job openings, which translates to lots of money.

Not to be arbitrary, but the state does not pay anyone. We, the taxpayers, are the ones paying this tab. First, we paid people to stay home, then we incentivized people to get vaccinated, now we are paying people to go to work and we are paying employers to subsidize new employee salaries.

Is it any wonder that New Jersey is one of the most highly taxed states in the country? When do we say enough? Well, its not today. Another story said that one city in New Jersey, with an existing beach fee, will receive new beach sand with a combined federal and state taxpayer assessment of $26 million.

As an afterthought, I noticed that those people who kept working, when work was available, received no $500; those who got the vaccination when they were asked to get it received no incentives. Our new plan of action does not seem to favor those who just get on with it!

Cathe Mappin

Northfield
He said the bow of the Triton was always in the air, and it was hard to see over it. After the crash, he said, the minor asked, "Where did that boat come from?"

 A woman passenger on another vessel said she saw Thiel and Mahler's boats "racing around" and "speeding." She said there were a lot of waves on the river, and Verbeke appeared to be trying to maneuver his boat in the waves.

The boat in which she was riding rushed to the scene after the collision, and she saw Thiel on Verbeke's boat, appearing to be "in a daze or in shock." Children on the boat were "screaming and crying hysterically," she said.

When she asked what happened, she said, a woman on Thiel's boat replied, "Mind your own (expletive) business," which she said surprised her because they were there to help.

On shore, the witness said, she could smell alcohol on Thiel's breath from about 6 feet away. He said he'd been thrown from his boat, she said.

The woman also noted the bow of the Thiel boat was high in the air, and she said she believed the "little boy" driving the boat could not see Verbeke's vessel.
In early August 2019, Arroyo texted the senator asking to meet at a restaurant in Highland Park. Also at the meeting was Weiss as well as one of Weiss associates, prosecutors alleged.

During the meeting, Arroyo said he was going to introduce a trailer bill in the veto session expanding the use of sweepstakes games and offered to make periodic payments to the senator in exchange for his support, according to the criminal complaint filed against Arroyo in 2019.

Weiss told the group he would forward a draft of the proposed legislation that the senator could look over, according to the complaint.

I would like for you to carry the bill, Arroyo allegedly told the senator. I dont have nobody in the Senate.

Three weeks later, the senator was wearing an FBI wire when Arroyo allegedly delivered the first of the promised $2,500 checks at a restaurant in Skokie, according to the complaint.

This is, this is the jackpot, Arroyo allegedly told the senator as he handed over the money. Additional monthly $2,500 payments were expected to be made over the next six to 12 months, federal authorities alleged.

The complaint alleged Weiss later emailed the state senator a note of thanks.
She said he loved being a police officer, not only on the street, but also mentoring and "even the occasional hazing of rookies," to which many knowingly laughed, well aware of Tyler Timmins' huge sense of humor.

"He truly bled blue," Linsey Timmins said. "Never did he complain. He would say, 'Linsey, we can't do anything different. This is how God created us.' To his brothers and sisters in blue, he loved every single one of you. Please do not be afraid to talk and share stories about my husband.

"I am strong because of Tyler," she said. "In the short five years I had with him, he taught me patience, he taught me kindness and he taught me forgiveness. His infectious smile, beautiful soul and servant's heart were a perfect complement to me."

She and others who spoke, including her brother-in-law Jake Timmins, who's Tyler Timmins' younger brother by four years, said she is forever a part of the Timmins family, as well as the law enforcement family of Pontoon Beach and multiple other jurisdictions.

"I love you sister," Jake Timmins said during his eulogy.

Linsey Timmins said, garnering another laugh, "I will gather with them, love them and play in overly-competitive family game nights.
Rapid City Journal President/Regional Publisher Bill Masterson has been named the vice president of operations in the audience development division of Lee Enterprises, the Journal's parent company.

Masterson's promotion to the new executive role is effective immediately. He will continue to oversee operations at the Journal and other newspaper properties until those responsibilities are transitioned to another individual.

"Bill is an exceptional leader and has a wealth of operational experience, making him ideally suited for this role," Nathan Bekke, operations vice president for Lee Enterprises, said. "Bill will be responsible for maintaining superior quality while optimizing efficiency in the production and delivery of our printed products."

Masterson returned to the Journal in January following a 15-year absence. He previously led newspapers in the Black Hills for 18 years. He was the publisher of the Black Hills Pioneer from 1988 to 2000 and publisher of the Journal from 2000 to 2006.

Masterson said although he will be leaving the day-to-day operations of the Journal, he will remain extremely connected to the communities in the Black Hills.

"While I will be taking on a different role with the company, I will always maintain a home and be part of the Black Hills," he said Monday. "Its where my kids and grandkids are, its where my cows and accountant is, its where Julie and my burial plots are."

Masterson initially left Rapid City in 2006 to become publisher of another Lee newspaper, the Northwest Indiana News in Munster, Ind., where in 2012 he was named national Publisher of the Year by the trade magazine Editor & Publisher.

When he returned to the Journal in January, Masterson was a group publisher overseeing Lee properties in Alabama, Florida, Texas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Nevada. He held a similar role with the former Berkshire Hathaway Media Group (BHMG) before the company was acquired by Lee in 2020. Masterson was the president and publisher of the Tulsa World in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he was BHMGs vice president of their south region.

Masterson said he is enthusiastic to begin his new role with the Journal's parent company and about the future of the Journal.

"This move is just one more in a series of exciting changes that Lee Enterprises is making to recruit and bring in the best digital and marketing talent in the country," he said. "I will continue to oversee the properties until my replacement is announced but rest assured it will be someone that can take this local, statewide, and now national brand to the next level. I am excited to see who the lucky successful candidate will be from a number of talented individuals that are interested in being part of the Lee Agency network. Rapid City deserves the best in the nation, and they will get it."

Contact Nathan Thompson at nathan.thompson@rapidcityjournal.com.

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The long-standing legal dispute to the rights of using trademarks, logos and phrases for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may finally be coming to an end after the Sturgis City Council unanimously approved Wednesday a $90,000 agreement to purchase trademark and goodwill assets of the defunct nonprofit, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Inc. (SMRI).

The agreement between the city of Sturgis and First Interstate Bank is for the city to pay the bank $75,000 for the purchase of 12 trademarks "and goodwill associated with the trademarks" that were surrendered to the bank by SMRI. First Interstate Bank holds a default lien on SMRI's property for debts incurred during SMRI's existence.

Additionally, the city of Sturgis agreed to pay $15,000 to McPherson Auction and Realty Company for terminating an auction that was planned to sell the old trademarks.

City Attorney Mark Marshall said First Interstate Bank acknowledged that four organizations  the city of Sturgis, the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce, Sturgis Motorcycles, Inc., and Good Sports, Inc.  had rights to SMRI's intellectual property should SMRI default on their financial obligations to the bank.

With the impending dissolution of SMRI, the organization voluntarily surrendered its assets to creditors and defaulted on its debt to First Interstate Bank. Marshall said that the four organizations that held the rights to SMRI's intellectual property did not assume the debt or purchase the property.

When First Interstate Bank released their lien on the 12 trademarks, the trademarks were put up for an online auction. The original auction date was set to begin Oct. 8, with bidding ending on Oct. 20. However, a problem with the auction house's website delayed the closing date to Oct. 27.

Marshall sent an Oct. 21 letter to an attorney representing First Interstate Bank requesting the auction be stopped, which was granted. The auction to that point had garnered no bids.

The city began negotiations with the bank for a settlement offer for the rights to the 12 trademarks. The city council approved the settlement agreement Wednesday.

Marshall said the three other interested parties, the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce, Sturgis Motorcycles, Inc., and Good Sports, Inc., have indicated they have no intent to purchase the rights, but waivers will need to be obtained from the three parties before the agreement with the bank is final. The city and the bank have set a Dec. 5 deadline to receive the waivers.

Contact Nathan Thompson at nathan.thompson@rapidcityjournal.com.

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One of two men arrested in connection with the death of 24-year-old Dhani I. Aronson is facing a murder charge.

Andrew Thorson, 29, has been charged with second-degree murder and is being held on a $1 million cash only bond at the Pennington County Jail.

Thorson is accused of killing Aronson by shooting him in the head, according to the Pennington County State's Attorney's Office.

Thorson made an initial appearance in court on Wednesday, along with Jacob Staton, 25, who is facing an charge of accessory to murder. His bond was set at $500,000. Both suspects are from Rapid City.

Staton is accused of being present during the cleanup of the murder scene and disposal of Aronson's body, according to the Pennington County State's Attorney's Office.
Our ranchers are facing the possibility of their land taxes increasing anywhere from 60% to 280% if the newly proposed soil reassessment and tax tables are implemented. The Department of Revenue has pulled back the proposed reassessment in order to work all the bugs out before formal implementation occurs. That is a good thing, but even the possibility of the ranchers future land taxes going up anywhere from 60% to 280%, depending on their soil type, is neither fair nor equitable and definitely not acceptable.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Suitability of land for extensive grazing is normally measured in terms of the number of animals that can wisely be allowed to graze a land unit for all or part of a year the 'carrying capacity.' This depends mainly on the amount of feed and water that will be available to the animals on that land in all but exceptional years. When discussing the number of animals that can wisely be allowed to graze a land unit, or the carrying capacity South Dakota has very diverse regions. For example, in Aberdeen it takes 3 to 5 acres per cow/calf, in Mobridge the average is 10 acres per cow/calf. As you head west, the number of acres increases dramatically to 30 to 60 acres per cow/calf. Quite a profound statistic that speaks volumes to the difference, not only in elevation, soil type and rainfall, which affect the density of grassland productivity that supports each cow/calf and illustrates the difference between what the east and west river rancher experience.

Id like to share with you a few excerpts from emails I have received from our ranchers. These firsthand testimonials are from a few of the ranchers who have reached out to me:

I have been a rancher for over 45 years and my land has always been grassland. The tax situation is so burdensome that in some cases, taxes are approaching or at the same total as the income. Orval Frahm, Rancher

I have a third-generation operation in the south west corner of South Dakota. The proposed soil reassessment, if implemented, would redesignate large portions of my land to cropland even though, for three generations, has always been grassland. This reassessment of the soil could increase my taxes up to 280%. Joe Falkenburg, Rancher and Fall River County Commissioner

Please, as far as you can at the State congressional level do what you can to stop this nonsense. We are taxed enough for

our property taxes now and I hear something about taxing the cows also. Who comes up with these crazy ideas anyway? Donald Anderson, Rancher

These are just a few of the emails I have received from ranchers from all over the state asking for legislation that would alleviate this situation, one they have been fighting for over ten years! According to Susie Hayes, the Fall River County Assessor, Draft Bill 50 would solve 85% of the issues facing our ranchers. The bill in a nutshell says that, Any land that has been grassland for 20+ years shall remain grassland. Pretty straightforward. I have been told that the beauty of the bill is in its simplicity.

So, what can we, as individuals and a community do to help our ranchers? Join me in supporting them and Draft Bill 50. Call or write your local legislators and organizations asking them to support the bill. I will be continuing to meet with ranchers, county commissioners and organizations throughout the state about the bill prior to the 2022 legislative session beginning in January.

United our voices can make a difference! Together, we can work towards the common good of our ranchers throughout the State of South Dakota, and help to ensure that they will not face unfair and inequitable taxes in the future.

Representative Trish Ladner, District 30

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Letters to the editor, Nov. 3, 2021

What's in our future?

Will our future hold more scary stuff (permanent Halloween) or will we be enjoying the things that hold us together (Thanksgiving)? As a result of the "information networks", we are in uncharted territory when it comes to handling the sheer volume of data that affects our daily lives. Rather than bring us together to fight the covid problem, information (or should I say disinformation) has put an enormous strain on our ability to remain civil with each other. We did not have this problem in the past when we tackled other challenges. We automatically united together to get beyond our obstacles but lately, information (again I should say disinformation) has divided us even more than politics alone ever did. I'm not sure that we are able to handle the modern information world that we've created. We act more like adolescents than adults making our problems worse (not better) when we address the failings of "political leadership".

I know it's easier to call each other out than to fix our own shortcomings but until we do, we will not be able to handle this "brave new world" that we have created and we will live in scary times instead of celebrating our achievements and being thankful that we can do so.

Dave Freytag, Rapid City

Abortion kills

Abortion kills thousands of helpless babies every day in America. Now supposed Catholic Joe Biden wants to kill even more innocent babies. He wants to get rid of the HYDE amendment, which prohibits using our tax dollars to fund abortion clinics. What a scourge against religious Americans who know that abortion is murder!

I am certain that almighty God will not be pleased at this news.

Jack Sayles, Custer

A big thank you

The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) of South Dakota would like to say a Big than you to the 727th Transportation Committee for hosting the outstanding 17th Annual Charity Poker Run which provided a donation of $44,000.00 to the DAV Hospital Transportation Network which provides FREE rides for Veterans to the VA Health Care Systems and VA Clinics. This years donation of $44,000.00 brings the total to $349,000.00 in seventeen years from the Annual Poker Run.

The DAV thinks the community of Brookings and the citizens of South Dakota should be honored to have patriotic citizens such as the 727th Transportation Committee who will assist our Veterans who served and sacrificed for our great country.

In FY 2020 the program in South Dakota provided free rides for 5,603 Veterans, 17,122 Volunteer hours by our drivers, and 349,158 miles driven. Since the Transportation Program began we have provided free rides for 427,054 Veterans, 829,827 Volunteer hours by our drivers, and 19,557,081 miles driven.

We are very proud, as the DAV Hospital Transportation Network was started in Sioux Falls in 1984 and was picked up in 1987 as a DAV National Program. Currently we have twenty-seven (26) vehicles in South Dakota with locations in: Aberdeen, Belle Fourche, Brookings, Fort Thompson, Huron, Lake Andes, Lemmon, Madison, Milbank, Miller, Mitchell, Mobridge, Pierre, Rapid City, Redfield, Rosebud, Dakota Dunes, Sioux Falls (3 vehicles), Sisseton, Sturgis, Yankton, Watertown, Webster, and Winner.

We have two Hospital Transportation Service Coordinators located at the VA Black Hills Health Care System at the VA Ft. Meade and VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls. The drivers are all volunteers and do a super job for our veterans.

Marty Pennock, Adjutant

Disabled American Veterans

Department of South Dakota

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I just want my damn roads paved! the tribal leader thunders after no elected official responds to his tribes concerns. I wish it was easier to access affordable healthy food, says the mother desperate to care for her ailing 9-year old. Im tired of buying bottled water because our tap water is not safe to drink, the exhausted father sighs.

When democracy works, we elect officials who represent us, look out for us, and are accountable to us. When democracy doesnt work, we are left feeling like there is no way to make change and no one looking out for us, our community, and our children.

Every 10 years, district lines are redrawn to reflect population changes. The South Dakota Legislative Redistricting Committees have been engaged in this process since March of this year, and the full South Dakota Legislature look to adopt redistricting maps at a special session on November 8.

Longer lasting and arguably more influential than even your vote, redistricting decisions equate to power. Fair redistricting empowers all South Dakotans to have appropriate representation and resources. The decisions made now will dictate representation and resources for the next 10 years.

So it is understandable that at each and every meeting of the Redistricting Committees, tribal leaders, tribal organizations, and tribal representatives have pleaded to keep House Districts 26A and 28A and Senate Districts 26 and 27 drawn in a manner that allows them to continue to have their rightful voice and elect their candidates of choice. Additionally, under a federal law known as Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, Native Americans in these four districts are entitled to a map that allows them to elect their candidates of choice.

Beyond the legal requirements, I also have realized that in addition to be being the right thing to do for tribes, fair representation of our Native American citizens benefits all South Dakotans. Fairly drawn lines allow all of us to elect representatives that respond to our specific concerns and needs, such as infrastructure and healthcare. Because of this reality, in recent months I have testified to the Legislative Redistricting Committees to ask that they protect the four Native American majority districts. I did this because fair lines result in a stronger democracy. Voters should choose their representatives, not the other ways around.

Fair district lines are a long-term solution to help make our state stronger, more just, and a great place to live. The South Dakota I live in has a place for all of us to have a voice in the future of our state, regardless of our background, where we live, or the color of our skin. Ensuring our Native American neighbors have an effective voice will allow them to be represented fairly, not better or worse.

I hope that you can join me in asking the Redistricting Committees to maintain House Districts 26A and 28A and Senate Districts 26 and 27 in a map that continues to give Native Americans a meaningful opportunity to elect their representatives. All South Dakotans deserve fair maps.

Born and raised in Sioux Falls, Amy Scott-Stoltz serves South Dakota as a community leader committed to connecting fellow residents to their means to participate in the shaping of their neighborhoods, cities, state, and government. Scott-Stoltz is the President of the League of Women Voters of South Dakota (https://my.lwv.org/south-dakota).]

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Big Timber oil painting artist Shirle Wempner will be featured this month in her show Impressionistic Expressions of the Untamed West and an artist reception on Friday, Nov. 5, at Art Focus in Hamilton.

Wempner said in her work she mostly focuses on wildlife figurative, western figurative, some modern figurative and has a strong interest in Native American culture.

I like to incorporate a lot of colors and more impressionistic work, so it is not like a photographic representation, she said. When people are looking at my work I like to get more of a feeling, more of an emotional reaction to the colors or the way it is painted or the subject matter verses looking for a story.

Wempner said she has always enjoyed painting wildlife and nature and how they are linked together.

And how Native Americans spirituality and connection to wildlife flows, she said. I enjoy experimenting with this and exploring as I am painting.

Colors and light play a big part in her work.

It is depending on the day, but I like the contrast colors, she said. Sometimes I try to subdue it, but it just doesnt work. I think dont fight yourself just do what you like to do.

Wempner is a member of the Montana Painters Alliance formed 13 years ago with Wembpers husband, Thomas English as one of the founders.

Its a group of artists who get together in spring and fall and paint outside, Plein-air, Wempner said. We go to all different areas in the state for our paint-outs for three or four days.

She said it started because with artists usually painting alone in their studios gathering for camaraderie and encouragement was important. There are nearly 30 members in the Montana Painters Alliance.

Its like a family of artists, Wembper said. We want to keep it small enough to go to a place and stay together. Weve hosted in our ranch before. Its really fun and when we can we follow up with a show at a gallery in the area.

Wembper said she usually paints in her studio but attends the Plein-air painting events to learn and grow.

I enjoy painting outside, it is very challenging, she said. You may not realize what youre learning as youre out there but when I return, I realize Im looking at things differently. It can really help that way.

In her artist statement, Wempner said, The untamed west brings a multitude of images to my mind which includes wild spirited animals running across the countryside and nostalgic visions of times long gone. Both the spiritual and historical west has been a passion for me ever since I was a child growing up on a horse ranch. Every sunrise and sunset brings a multitude of emotions, visions, and longing to my soul, and I love to capture that energy in impressionistic imagery through my painting process.

She said she strives to connect with the viewer through their visual completion of the subject matter.

To achieve this, I work diligently at implying the subject with broad brushstrokes and bold colors to create an impression of the subject rather than rendering a more detailed result, Wempner said. This, I believe, draws the viewer into the painting and allows them to more fully participate in the essence of the piece. Emotions are what touch and form our souls, and a stirring of emotion is what I strive for in each piece I create.

Meet the Wempner at the artist reception from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5, at Art Focus, 215 West Main St., Hamilton.

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Stevensville residents voted in a new mayor Tuesday, while other incumbents for city hall races in Hamilton and Stevensville mostly retained their chairs.

Steven Gibson will serve as Stevensvilles new mayor after defeating incumbent Brandon Dewey by a vote of 394 to 267.

Gibson is a former state legislator, Montana Juvenile Corrections administrator and Stevensville council president. Before filing for election, he said he was approached by close to 100 Stevensville residents encouraging to him run.

If elected mayor, I understand that the residents of Stevensville are my employers, Gibson said before the election. It is the mayors role to make recommendations, manage the budget and listen. The council makes the decisions.

Former councilmember Stacy Barker narrowly defeated Paul Ludington 165 to 157 for the Ward 1 position in Stevensville.

Barker ran on a platform of transparency and a need for all voices to be heard. She has lived in Stevensville for 32 years.

Sydney Allen retained the Ward 2 chair that she was appointed to fill in June 2021 after Patrick Shourd stepped down. The unexpired term will end in 2023.

Allen defeated former city councilman Bob Michalson by a vote of 207 to 108.

Allen said she believes everyone in the community deserves a seat at the table, whether they attend council meetings or not.

In Hamilton, Ward 1 incumbent Kristi Bielski defeated challenger Dean Knudsen 261 to 223.

Bielski said she was eager to continue building on projects that were started during her time on the council, including the new fire hall, infrastructure improvements and the north urban renewal district project.

Ward 2 incumbent Rod Pogachar outpaced challenger Kathy Dexter 192 to 143.

The retired high school librarian said he would continue to study all sides of the issues brought before him and listen to peoples input before casting his vote in the council. This will be Pogachars third term.

In a close race between two first-time candidates for Ward 3, Darwin Ernst defeated Kenneth E. Allen by a vote of 168 to 162.

Ernst said he would bring experience gained from serving on numerous boards and more than 20 years as a residential real estate appraiser and real estate agent to help address Hamiltons challenges of trying to maintain a friendly hometown experience while facing exponential growth.

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About 75 people gathered Monday night in Missoula for a discussion about parental rights featuring State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, local school board trustee Mike Gehl and other community leaders.

The event was hosted by Crosspoint Community Church.

Arntzen stated that she was the first Republican to be elected superintendent of public instruction in the state of Montana in more than 30 years. She asserted that she is a champion of parental rights and has been ever since she started her career as a teacher.

So now in my role as a leader of public education I want to make sure that your voice is ringing out through that school hall and in that boardroom, Arntzen said.

People claim that she doesnt support school boards, but she supports students, she said.

Is this about the mask? Is this about a vaccine? Could be. Whats coming down the pipeline? Arntzen asked.

She then mentioned critical race theory, which analyzes American history through the lens of racism and was first developed by scholars in the 1970s and 1980s.

Critical race theory has come under scrutiny at school board meetings across the country. Critics view it as an attempt to rewrite American history. But the theoretical framework is mostly taught in law schools and in other higher educational settings. Critical race theory research is not easily accessible to K-12 teachers.

Arntzen told the crowd about her efforts to revamp the states content and curriculum standards, focusing on civics and social studies. She approached state Attorney General Austin Knudsen this past spring, when the legislative session was ending, to see what could be done about critical race theory, she said.

In June, Knudsen released a legal opinion in response to Arntzens request that stated certain teachings dealing with critical race theory and antiracism violate state and U.S. constitutions and statutes.

You can teach critical race theory in class, but you have to teach the other side, too, Arntzen said while explaining her interpretation of Knudsens opinion.

She doesnt believe the government can fix things and her office is taking a step back, she said. Ultimately, she hopes to create a public school system that children can be proud of, and suggested that it can be done by the voices and energy of the people at the churchs auditorium.

Arntzen added that it may seem like school trustees are not listening.

But I know they are, Arntzen said.

She asked how many of those in attendance had offered public comment at a school board meeting and about half raised their hands. She asked how many were considering a run for school board, and only a smattering of hands remained in the air.

'They're going to track you'

One of the first questions of the evening was about the National School Boards Associations letter to President Joe Biden requesting federal assistance to stop the growing number of threats and acts of intimidation against those in public school settings.

How many say that's wrong, raise your hands, Arntzen asked the crowd, as nearly everyones hand went into the air.

The Montana School Boards Association, of which Missoula County Public Schools is a member, paid its dues to the national organization in July. On Tuesday, the MSBA voted unanimously to terminate its membership with the national association and forgo seeking a refund for its dues.

Arntzen insinuated that federal interference in Montana in regard to threats of violence against school board members could allow federal agents to track people through the internet.

Theyre going to get into your internet and theyre going to track you, Arntzen said.

Eventually, Arntzen engaged with Gehl, who spoke about his experience of being a recently appointed trustee to the MCPS board. He said that this is a magical year for MCPS in terms of representation as six trustees, including himself, are up for election this spring.

Gehl expressed his disdain for conducting board meetings on Zoom and referred to the board as Rob Watsons Rubber Stamp Committee. Watson is the MCPS superintendent.

Arntzen then said she is in the process of forming a rule that could allow parents the ability to opt-out of certain board policies. However, the rule is still in early stages and wont likely be complete until April 2022.

Are you the minority or the majority? Arntzen asked those in the auditorium.

The crowd response was a mix, with people shouting both minority and majority at the same time.

You are the majority, but is your voice being heard? Arntzen asked.

She concluded by sharing her direct phone number with those in attendance, saying that she works for them and every parent and every single child in Montana.

Mask lawsuits

Quentin Rhoades, a local lawyer with Rhoades Siefert & Erickson, provided a status update on the two mask-related lawsuits he is involved with from Missoula and Gallatin counties.

In both cases, the judges denied the motions for preliminary injunction and allowed schools to continue mask requirements.

Rhoades was disappointed that the judges did not rule on the science presented in both suits, he said.

He intends to appeal the rulings and consolidate the cases into one before the Montana Supreme Court.

Its a political issue, we dont have a legal issue, Rhoades said of the judges not taking a judicial stance.

Gehl took the stage again to discuss school elections in more depth and reiterated that six positions will be up for election this spring.

He noted that the biographies for school board trustees previously included when their term ends and incorrectly insinuated that the district removed that information from its website. The contact trustees page on the districts website lists each trustee, their district-provided email address, and when their term expires.

Gehl said shortly after he was appointed to the board, he approached Arntzen to chat about the position, and she gave him a crash course in boardsmanship and what is really going on in the schools.

That lady works for us, Gehl said, referring to Arntzen. She is a leader and she is definitely on our side.

One audience member asked Gehl if the school board will require the COVID-19 vaccine.

The MCPS board has not considered a policy requiring the vaccine at this point. Additionally, House Bill 702, which prevents discrimination based on vaccination status in Montana, was signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte this spring.

That doesnt mean that theyre not going to try, Gehl said.

The issue of masks was the straw that broke the camels back," Gehl said, adding he pulled his children from Hellgate Elementary this year. His wife quit her job to home-school their children.

It wasnt an easy choice, it was tough, but we still struggle every day a little bit, Gehl said. But its been extremely rewarding.

He believes the board members he serves with are good people, but hes concerned they are heading down two different paths, he said.

He stated that the MCPS board wants to incorporate critical race theory. However, that has not been discussed as an action item by the board since he was appointed.

'Shoot 'em'

As Gehl was concluding his discussion, event coordinator Amy Livesay encouraged people to contact superintendent Watson.

Gehl then called on Rhoades to stand up, and asked him to recall a conversation they had at a similar meeting in late August.

What is it you said about what to do with these two superintendents? Gehl asked Rhoades. He did not specify which two superintendents he was speaking about.

Shoot em? Rhoades replied, prompting laughter from the audience.

You said, fire em, Gehl corrected.

After the meeting, Rhoades said his comment was made in jest.

At the August meeting, he recommended they change the makeup of the board through the upcoming election and then fire the superintendent.

In any event, the remark was given in humor as a way to relieve a little tension. It was obviously received the same way. The entire audience seemed to accept and appreciate the light-hearted intent of the exchange, Rhoades said in an email to the Missoulian. Of course, it was not intended to offend anyone, and, moreover, it clearly did not.

The comment was not met with humor from every member of the audience, however.

Tom Facey, a former legislator who served as both a representative and senator, was not amused  he interpreted the comment as being made against Watson specifically.

Facey happened to be sitting next to Rhoades when the comment was made.

It was stunning, and the point is in this day and age you dont do stuff like that, Facey said.

I dont think Rob Watson signed up for this, he added.

Missoula County Public Schools did not offer a comment in time for the publication of this article.

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As Montana struggles to attract and retain health care workers, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Tuesday a health care workforce recruitment program that would cover relocation costs for providers who commit to moving to the state.

The incentive would pay up to $12,500 in relocation expenses plus 35% to cover taxes. To qualify, health care workers must commit to permanently relocating to Montana and be employed at a health care facility for at least 12 consecutive months.

The program is expected to launch by the end of November, Gianforte said.

Prior to the press conference at Billings Clinic, Gianforte toured the hospital's intensive care unit where the 47 patients being treated put the ICU at 160% of capacity.

"It's just heart breaking to see...once you're in the ICU, unfortunately there aren't many victories. This is the tragic consequence of this virus," Gianforte said as he thanked health care workers across the state for their heroic actions throughout the pandemic.

Gianforte staunchly held his position against mandating vaccinations in Montana, but added that vaccines prevent severe COVID illness.

"While we're not going to mandate vaccinations, I want to say that hearing from (Billings Clinic ICU staff), you don't see vaccinated people in the ICU. Eighty-five percent of people, approximately, since April that have ended up in the hospital have been unvaccinated," Gianforte said.

As sky rocketing hospitalizations due to COVID-19 contribute to burn out among nurses, Gianforte said the best way to relieve and retain existing staff is to bring in more workers.

Billings Clinic has brought in more than 1,000 traveling healthcare workers during the last 18 months and turnover of exiting staff has been increasing, according to Interim Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michelle Pierson.

A retention strategy as well as a recruitment strategy will be very important moving forward, Pierson said.

The funds for the recruitment incentive are left over from the return-to-work bonus program that offered one-time bonuses for Montanans who returned to the workforce, according to previous reporting done by Montana State News Bureau reporter Sam Wilson.

The return-to-work program was launched in May 2021 and ended Oct. 31.

Lawmakers and administration officials voted unanimously on Oct. 27, 2021 to recommend the $4.3 million the state received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) be put toward the new program.

For too long, Montana has struggled to recruit and retain health care workers. This shortage has been felt in our largest communities but also in our frontier and rural communities especially where access to doctors and specialists has long posed a challenge, even before the pandemic. Over the last 19 months however recruiting and retaining health care workers has become an even greater challenge," Gianforte said. With this innovative new program, were inviting qualified doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to move to Montana, serve in our communities, alleviate some of the burden on existing workers, and help us build capacity so Montanans have greater access to care.

The governor added that he encourages all Montanans to talk to their doctor about getting vaccinated.

"I did that. I got vaccinated. And I would encourage others to do it as well," Gianforte said.

St. Vincent Healthcare Chief Operation Officer, Krikor Jansezian provided the following statement after the press conference:

We appreciate and applaud the focus Gov. Gianforte is placing on the acute-care workforce shortage that healthcare facilities throughout Montana are currently experiencing. The initiatives announced today are certainly a step in the right direction and will bring additional resources to our state that we hope will help ease the current labor shortage challenges.

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Montanans were divided along political lines, according a poll released by Montana State University Billings on Tuesday, with two exceptions being in their disapproval of Congress and the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The 34th Mountain States Poll accepted responses from Montana residents on topics encompassing local and national politics, and political party affiliation rather than age or education dictated a majority of those responses. The poll came on the same day that municipalities across the state are tallying Election Day ballots.

Overall, the defining factor thats going to tell you how people are going to decide their opinion is very much based on a political ideology, said Hope Dewell Gentry, a political science instructor at MSUB who directed this years Mountain States Poll.

Political science students at MSUB conducted the poll from Oct. 11 through Oct. 22, making more than 6,000 phone calls and drawing from a pool of randomly selected phone numbers. They received 204 valid responses, and the poll had a margin of error of 6.8%.

A majority of respondents disapproved of President Joe Biden, with just 27% saying they approved of his job performance so far, but a breakdown of political demographics told a different story.

When we look at the demographic split, we can very much see partisanship. So, the Democrats have a 70% approval rating as opposed to the Republicans with a 97% disapproval rating, Gentry said.

Independent voters who responded to the poll were more split than the other categories, she said, but still tended to disapprove of the president.

The poll showed an even higher disapproval rate of the presidents handling of the withdrawal of armed forces Afghanistan, which was completed at the end of August this year with nearly 124,000 evacuees. The Taliban has since assumed control of the country. A total of 71% of Montanans in the poll disapproved of the presidents handling of the evacuation.

About a third of Democrats approved of the withdrawal, according to the poll, not nearly as many who said they approved of Bidens overall performance. About 40% of Democrats neither approved nor disapproved of the withdrawal.

On the resettlement of Afghan refugees in the United States, 41% of Montanans approved. A majority of Democrats approved of resettlement, and just over half of all Republicans said they disapproved.

Only 5% of Montanans currently approve of Congress, in keeping with recent national polls. A Gallup poll released Oct. 26 showed Americans had only a 21% approval rate for the 117th Congress.

Even when you look at those party affiliations, that trend still holds very true, Gentry said.

As city and county officials are wrangling with how to implement recreational marijuana, 52% of respondents to the Mountain State Poll approved of legalizing recreational marijuana at the federal level. A majority of Montanans voted to legalize recreational marijuana use in the state last year.

We can see that actually Montanans are quite favorable about the idea of recreational use of marijuana, whether or not its regulated or where the dispensaries are allowed in the city limits is a different question, but overall Montanans are pretty approving of this idea, Gentry said.

Nearly a third of Republicans responded in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana use at the federal level, according to the poll.

Gov. Greg Gianforte received an approval rating of 51%, with Democrats largely driving his disapproval rating. More Independents were split on their opinion of the governor, but a majority approved.

While most Montanans soured on their overall opinion of Congress, the states congressional representatives received higher approval rates. Congressman Matt Rosendale had an approval of 33% among respondents, 37% disapproved and 20% responded that they did not approve or disapprove. Across the demographics, Gentry said, there was a sizable percentage of people who were lukewarm toward Rosendale, a Republican who took office this year.

Republican Sen. Steve Daines had an approval of 42%, with that approval largely coming from his fellow party members. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, likewise had massive support from Montana Democrats, although nearly a quarter of Republicans in the poll also approved of the senator.

Going against the Supreme Court in its decision last year allowing a tax credit for some students in private and religious schools, 61% of Montanans said they disapproved of those tax credits. While nearly all Democrats disapproved of the tax credits, about 30% of Republicans were also against them.

With a law passed by the State Legislature allowing for the concealed carrying of firearms on Montana campuses facing multiple challenges in court, 68% of Montanans said they are pleased with the gun laws currently in place in the state.

A majority of poll respondents came out against mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, with 65% saying they were against any kind of mandate. Although Democrats were more likely to support a vaccine mandate, across all other demographics Montanans leaned toward disapproval.

Something I see as particularly interesting is that younger people are very much against the idea of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Gentry said.

A majority of Montanans consider themselves to be pro-choice, with the question of abortion falling along partisan lines, according to the poll. However, 62% of those answering that they were pro-life said they favor legalizing abortion for specific circumstances such as rape, incest or if a pregnancy puts the life of the mother at risk.

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Two referendum measures were before Goochland voters on Tuesday and, unlike the casino referendum in Richmond, both appear to have passed. The measures concerned issuing bonds for public school construction projects and building a new courthouse and fire station.

According to election results as of 10:36 p.m. Tuesday, the public schools project had the support of 84.46% of voters, while 80% of voters were in favor of the courthouse/fire station proposal.

Louisa County

In Louisa County, four Board of Supervisors seats were up for grabs and, as of Wednesday morning, one race came down to a single vote.

In the Patrick Henry District, one vote separated incumbent Fitzgerald A. Barnes, an independent, from Republican challenger William D. Woody Jr.

Barnes secured 1,234 votes compared to Woodys 1,233, according to unofficial state election results.

Elsewhere, Republican challenger Rachel Jones appeared to take the Green Springs District seat from incumbent Robert F. Babyok Jr., an independent. She earned 53.2%  or 1,652 votes  out of 3,105, compared to his 46.4%, or 1,441 votes.
More than 100 people stood in line at a voting precinct in Chesterfield County on Tuesday evening for more than an hour waiting to vote.

People were lined up on both sides of a hallway inside the building at 13801 Westfield Road, north of Midlothian Turnpike, before they got into the voting area, according to voter Aaron Finch, who waited in line for about 90 minutes. Others were standing outside to get into the building, he said.

The precinct ran out of ballots around 3:30, Finch said elections officials told him. He arrived around 5:15 p.m.

New ballots were sent to the precinct twice, but they had the wrong local candidates on those ballots, Finch said. The third set of ballots arrived around 6:10 p.m. and were correct.

But then the scanning machines werent working, Finch said. Voters slid their paper ballots into a locked voting cabinet.

Finch finally got to vote about 6:45 p.m.

Im very grateful to be able to vote  of the people, by the people, for the people, Finch said.
Hicks, who was unable to vote in the city referendum because she lives in lives in Henrico County, said she wanted to support the casino campaign in part because she is a frequent visitor to casinos in Maryland. (At least two other pro-casino campaign volunteers interviewed Tuesday said they also live in Henrico and support the project because it would benefit the region.)

I would have the luxury of gambling and being entertained here, Hicks said. It would save me gas and time. And I would spend my money in the Richmond area, which would go toward tax revenue and paying the salaries of 1,500 employees.

Other voters interviewed noted that they know people in the Richmond area who travel to casinos outside of Virginia. If theyre already inclined to gamble, they reasoned, why not let them do it here?

I voted for it because its going to bring jobs to the area. Whether or not its here, people will still go to Maryland, Debra Winston, 52, said after casting her vote at the Powhatan Community Center in the citys East End. I dont gamble. I dont even play the lottery. But I think its going to be good for the community.

***
House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn isnt conceding the loss of the Democratic majority in the House of Delegates, despite a Republican surge to a 52-48 seat advantage in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, said she is waiting for final results in at least two House races  one in Hampton and the other in Virginia Beach  in which the margin of Republican victory was less than 1 percentage point of the vote in elections on Tuesday.

While the results across the Commonwealth were not what we were hoping for last night, we have several races that will determine the majority that are still within the margins with votes still to be counted until Friday, she said in a statement on Wednesday. We are going to make sure every Virginians voice is heard and every vote is counted.

Filler-Corn, who won a seventh term in the 41st District, is hoping to avoid the same fate as her predecessor, former Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, who was limited to two years in the long-coveted position before Democrats seized the majority two years ago.

If Republicans hold their new majority after vote canvassing and possible recounts, they will face a contest for speaker to succeed Filler-Corn.
Republican Jason Miyares declared victory on late Tuesday in his run for Virginia attorney general.

Fifty-six years ago, my mother fled Cuba  with nothing but a dream  a dream for a better life for her family, he said in a statement. Now I stand here today  elected to be the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia  the first-ever son of an immigrant and the first Latino ever to be elected statewide in the Commonwealths history.

Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring, who was seeking a third term, conceded on Wednesday after The Associated Press called the race for Miyares.

Miyares in his statement thanked Herring for his service, and said he was humbled to have been elected.

Id like to thank you, Virginia, for giving me the opportunity to make history, Miyares statement said. On day one, well work toward a safe and secure Virginia and ending the criminal first, victim last mindset. Virginia has spoken  we want safe streets, we want our police to be well trained and supported in the community  and we want the rule of law respected. I intend on delivering on my campaign promises.

Herring, in his statement, thanked Virginians for the opportunity to serve as attorney general for eight years.
Dunn also presented to Heimbach a letter he sent to Fields in which Heimbach describes the two of them as comrades and called Fields a martyr for our folk. Heimbach also thanked Fields for his service in the letter, but he denied Tuesday that service was in reference to the car attack.

Semantics proved to be a sticking point for Heimbach and his lawyer Tuesday, as the parties fought over how to best describe the defendants.

Despite being able to tie many of its ideologies to the National Socialist German Workers Party  better known as the Nazi Party  Heimbachs attorney, Josh Smith, took issue with TWP and its members being described as Nazis, likening the term to a slur. Smith also took issue with the term white supremacist, which Judge Norman K. Moon has previously ruled cannot be used to describe the defendants but he did say they can be called white nationalists. It is unclear why the preferred term, white nationalist, is seen as better by the defendants, given its inextricable link to white supremacy.

Smith spent much of Tuesday objecting to Dunns questions, describing them as either editorializing or argumentative. Smith himself was subject to similar criticism Monday during the cross-examination of plaintiff and witness Devin Willis.
House Democrats raised more than twice as much money as Republicans  $50.9 million to $23.3 million, according to the Virginia Public Access Project  but got caught in a backlash against President Joe Biden that intensified after the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

They also werent helped by infighting among congressional Democrats over a pair of potentially popular spending packages, totaling almost $3 trillion, that didnt come to a vote before Election Day.

Democrats also got off to an ominous start in a critical House race when Hurst, seeking a third term, was given notice of driving on a suspended license late Monday night while allegedly helping someone tamper with campaign signs for his opponent, Republican Jason Ballard.

I am deeply disappointed that Chris Hurst has decided to end his campaign in such a reckless way, Ballard said in a statement on Election Day.

Ballard was ahead of Hurst by about 2,700 votes and projected as the victor by VPAP.

The Richmond area featured some of the most critical elections in the battle for control of the House.
UPDATE: The Associated Press has declared Republican Winsome Sears the victor in Virginia's contest for lieutenant governor. Democrat Hala Ayala has issued a concession statement in which she congratulates Sears.

Virginia, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. The results are in, and while they may not be what we had hoped for, this is just the beginning, said Delegate Hala Ayala. I want to congratulate my opponent on making history and paving the way for future women leaders who look like us. We may not be able to claim victory today, but we know that the results of this election are simply a minor setback in our larger fight for progress.

Earlier story

Republican Winsome Sears appeared poised to win the office of lieutenant governor on Tuesday, according to unofficial results, which would make her the first woman elected to the post and potentially make the office key to the ability of the GOPs Glenn Youngkin to get bills through the legislature following his projected win as governor.
Chambers said the rules issued by the court offer a sense of what is going to happen. Although Im not sure that it completely tells us whats going to happen. Theyre just acting as the commission, frankly. They have to follow the law but theres not a case in front of them. So theyre just drawing these maps like any other group of seven people would draw the maps.

I am sure that theyre going to draw maps that are legal, because theyre smart and theyre going to have smart counsel, but its not as though the map they draw will be the Platonically perfect map  its just going to be one of a number of maps that are legal and may be viewed as fair by some, he said.

Chambers said, I suspect nobody on the court wants to do this. But, he added, They still may be in the best position to do it.

While the special masters will have 30 days to come up with a map or maps for the justices, it is unclear how long the court will take to do the job.

Im not sure they have an absolute limit on when they get the maps out, Chambers said. There are no more elections, even primaries, until next spring. But, he said, I suspect they will want to get them out as quickly as possible just to provide as much time as possible for folks to look over them.
The government has gone to great lengths to protect Xi and other leaders from COVID-19. He has met other world leaders and attended global meetings, but only by video link from China. Xi doesnt normally give news conferences, but other leaders such as Premier Li Keqiang have met with the media only by video, and even then, journalists have had to test negative for COVID-19 to participate remotely.

Xi last left China in January 2020 for a trip to neighboring Myanmar. That was shortly before the outbreak, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, started to spread widely worldwide. China has come under pressure from the U.S. and others to reveal more information about the origin of the pandemic and has been accused of mismanaging the initial outbreak and then seeking to cover up its mistakes.

The pandemic has given Xi a convenient excuse not to travel at a time when China faces heavy criticism of its policies toward Muslims in its Xinjiang region and its crackdown on individual rights in Hong Kong. Chinese leaders are extremely image conscious and Xi's public appearances are carefully choreographed to avoid potentially embarrassing confrontations.
Millions of children in Afghanistan were born into a life marred by conflict, and 40 years of war have made the country one of the most dangerous places to be a child. Now the Taliban takeover jeopardizes the safety and future of Afghan children once again, as more and more are displaced, struggling to survive and exposed to danger.

Despite being the biggest victims of the conflict, these childrens suffering often goes unheard, and they are seemingly left behind.

As a researcher who studies the well-being of children in the Global South, I have been distraught since the Taliban takeover. I fear for the lives and futures of these children. The global community cannot stand by and watch the destruction of these childrens lives, and see their stories lost to the 24-hour news cycle.

Education

The educational futures of millions of Afghan children are being destroyed by the Taliban, as history stands to repeat itself.
At deadline, McNamara had more than 71% of the vote, with one-third of precincts reporting.

Salem sheriff

Staton, a former chief deputy elected in 2017, in the previous 14 years, had 51% of the vote with 12 of 13 precincts reporting by 11:30 p.m. Shelor, a detective at the Salem Police Department who since 2004 has been a law enforcement officer in the city, had 37%. Richard Goodman, a member of the Roanoke Sheriff's Office since 2012 and a Marine Corps veteran, had tallied 12%.

Botetourt County School Board

Weddle, elected in 2017 to represent the Amsterdam District, had 70% of the vote in the Amsterdam District, where she faced write-in candidate Steve Dean. Wilson, running in the Buchanan District after incumbent Michelle Austin said she was leaving the board when her term ends, had 75% of the vote against another write-in opponent, Brandy Campbell.

The write-in candidates expressed opposition to the system's mask policy for COVID-19, which requires anyone in a school building to wear one. Dean told The Roanoke Times in September that he does not believe that masks prevent virus' spread, while Campbell said that mask-wearing encouraged children to live in fear.
A statement released by city Director of Communications Jenni Goodman differed slightly from Armentrouts account. It said that at about 9:24 p.m., a city sheriff's deputy reported possible vandalism to the city police department.

Goodmans statement said that the deputy initiated a traffic stop and asked for assistance. The statement does not identify the people stopped.

The city police officer observed some damage to signs, according to the statement. The statement does not reference any other details about the signs.

Asked if either Hurst or Frentress was cited for a traffic violation or charged with a crime, Goodman wrote in an email, There were no citations issued from the Radford City Police Department to the occupants of the vehicle.

The city has referred the matter to the Virginia State Police, Goodman wrote in the statement.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller wrote in an email that she could say nothing about the matter.

Because your inquiry concerns an elected official, I am not able to comment, Geller wrote.

Hurst did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the matter, though Ballard put out a statement early Tuesday.
Blacksburg Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith won a second term on Nov. 2.

Hager-Smith, the town's first female mayor, got close to 70% of the vote.

She was challenged this year by Mohsen Manteghi, who campaigned in his first run for elected office using the slogan "United for the Future."

Hager-Smith was first elected to town council in 2008. In 2017, she won a tight mayors race that also included Hager-Smiths former council colleague Krisha Chachra and banker Ed Lawhorn.

Recently, responding to the last of a series of questions from The Roanoke Times, Hager-Smith  a former journalist and small business owner  was asked if she had anything else to add about her campaign. She wrote:

A wise friend offered me support with this advice: You know, Leslie, he said, Some people can tell you to go to hell, and they do it so sweetly, you just cant wait to get there. Im still working on it. Public office provides many opportunities for practice.

Hager-Smith said shell continue to push for continued support of the business community. She said she believes the town has done a tremendous job assisting the business community throughout the pandemic.
Bond also says a main issue facing the schools is Montgomery County's continued growth.

Hudson is a software developer with two daughters in the county school system.

When asked what he sees as a main issue in the schools, he wrote:

In my opinion, the current tidal wave of politics engulfing our school boards is the #1 issue facing our schools. Even the basic issues of keeping our students safe during a pandemic and ensuring all kids have a safe place to use the bathroom have gotten mired in partisan politics. As I type this response, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is considering a partisan voucher policy to take money away from our public schools at a time when they need funding the most, and theyre using political issues like transgender kids to justify their decisions. Our teachers arent making the salaries they deserve, and our minority, LGBTQ, and other marginalized students just want a safe place to learn without being bullied. It is a sad state of affairs that shouldnt be tolerated by anyone who cares for our teachers, students, and schools.
March, however, gained greater notoriety earlier this year when she attended Trumps Stop the Steal rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, the day of the Capitol riot that turned deadly.

March defended her actions, maintaining that she left hours before the riot and that one of her major reasons for attending the Trump rally was so her father could hear the former president speak. She said there was nothing criminal about listening to the president speak.

Whether the D.C. trip ever truly put any dent in her run was unclear as Trumps brand of politics continues to resonate well with many conservative voters. March has previously said that her outspoken support of the former presidents style of politics has helped endear her to many voters in the New River Valley.

The support for March was evident during the GOP primary in the spring when she soundly defeated challengers Sherri Blevins and Lowell Bowman. Blevins, who is a Montgomery County supervisor, had in the period leading up to that contest received the support of several Republican elected officials in the area.

Trump loyalty aside, March campaigned on a number of common conservative issues.

Among other points, March has voiced strong support for protecting the Second Amendment and for anti-abortion policies.
Hudson got more than 5,300 votes, compared to candidate Deneen Evans with almost 2,000 votes, and candidate Greg Irby with over 750 votes, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.

Defending his seat against former longtime school board member Jerry Canada is incumbent David Linden, who appears to have won the closest of the three contested school board races, by about 500 votes in Hollins.

Jerry [Canada] served the North Roanoke community well for 25 years, and he is a good person, he really is, Linden said during a phone call. I think the concerns that parents have throughout the state, not only here locally in Roanoke County, but throughout the state, obviously played a role and helped me in what appears to be a win.

This year was the first time since Roanoke County began electing its school board in the 1990s that the Hollins district was contested.

Lastly, incumbent school board member Tim Greenway ran unopposed in the Vinton district, and received more than 95% of the vote, with more than 250 write-in votes against him.

In all, seven candidates competed for three contested seats, while Greenway ran unopposed for a fourth seat.

Some absentee ballots are still sifting in through the mail or other means, and those will be counted through noon Friday, according to election officials. They said they doubt enough ballots remain uncounted in the mail that it will change any of the local results, but exact vote counts are liable to change until 2021 elections are finalized on Nov. 15.

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With 25 of the county's 26 precincts reporting at 11 p.m. Tuesday, David beat Blue by a considerable margin. David received 64.26%. Blue received 33.85%.

Snow Creek District

Despite the fact that three candidates vied for the Snow Creek District seat, none of their names appeared on the ballot. All three-G.B. Washburn, Carletta Whiting and Gregory Maxwell-ran as write in candidates.

Write in results will be determined once canvassing is completed. According to the Franklin County Voter Registrar's Office, canvassing will begin at 10 a.m. on Nov. 3.

Incumbent G.B. Washburn Jr., 57, has been director of the federal Farm Service Agency in Franklin County for more than 30 years. The Snow Creek resident has served for 26 years on the board. We need to pour any and all resources we need into the elementary, pre-K through third grade curriculum and instructions and teachers, he told The Roanoke Times earlier this year.

Whiting, a Philadelphia native, moved to Franklin County in 2018. The 50-year-old resident of Snow Creek holds a degree in business management. During an interview with The Roanoke Times earlier this year, she said, "We've long passed segregation and I feel like they are slowly but surely trying to push that back into the school system."
UPDATE 8:50 AM, 11/3/2021: Blacksburg experienced its first freeze of the 2021 fall season on this Wednesday morning, dropping to at least 29, the third latest first fall freeze on record. Roanoke appears to have narrowly dodged its first freeze of the season with a low of 33. Both locations and everywhere around in the region will likely see more freezing temperatures into the weekend. The chance of snow for our region will be minimal and apparently limited to Thursday morning, with better chances to the south of Roanoke. Little or no accumulation is expected. The best chance of seeing a little white will be at elevations above 3,000 feet near the North Carolina line -- Mount Rogers-Grayson Highlands area, for example. This will be out of the way by Thursday night and Friday morning (clarifying text below mentioning Friday morning as the best snow chance, based on earlier data before the Tuesday writing of this weather column). A gradual warmup back to 60s highs/40s lows is expected early next week. END UPDATE
Dunn also presented to Heimbach a letter he sent to Fields in which Heimbach describes the two of them as comrades and called Fields a martyr for our folk. Heimbach also thanked Fields for his service in the letter, but denied Tuesday that service was in reference to the car attack.

Semantics proved to be a sticking point for Heimbach and his lawyer Tuesday, as the parties fought over how to best describe the defendants.

Despite being able to tie many of its ideologies to the National Socialist German Workers Party  better known as the Nazi Party  Heimbachs attorney, Josh Smith, took issue with TWP and its members being described as Nazis, likening the term to a slur. Smith also took issue with the term white supremacist, which Judge Norman K. Moon has previously ruled cannot be used to describe the defendants but he did say they can be called white nationalists. It is unclear why the preferred term, white nationalist, is seen as better by the defendants, given its inextricable link to white supremacy.

Smith spent much of Tuesday objecting to Dunns questions, describing them as either editorializing or argumentative. Smith himself was subject to similar criticism Monday during the cross-examination of plaintiff and witness Devin Willis.
The biggest election gains were made by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who won 73 out of 329 parliament seats. While he maintains good relations with Iran, al-Sadr publicly opposes external interference in Iraqs affairs. The Taqadum party led by Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, a Sunni, came second with 37 seats, while former Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikis State of Law bloc won 35 seats.

Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Fatah Alliance that represents the Shiite paramilitary group known as the Popular Mobilization Forces lost two-thirds of its parliament seats, dropping from 48 to around 16  a stunning defeat. The alliance had made big gains after participating in elections for the first time in 2018. At the time, it was riding a wave of popularity after playing a major role, alongside Iraqi security forces and a U.S.-led coalition, in the defeat of Islamic State group extremists across the country in 2017.

But the mood changed. Some began questioning the need for the PMF, an armed militia force that increasingly challenged the states authority. The force itself has splintered, with some factions aligned with top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani breaking away. The militias also lost some popularity in the past two years, alienating many after taking part in brutally suppressing the youth-led protest movement in late 2019 and early 2020.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
" " SunBOTs will be used in the future to track the movement of the sun, thereby harvesting a greater percentage of energy than today's solar panels are capable of harvesting. Pxhere (CCO 1.0)

A lot of living organisms exhibit a phenomenon called phototropism, in which they follow light sources to remain aligned with them. Young sunflower plants, for example, shift their stems' positions during the day to ensure that they soak up the optimum amount of sunlight while the earth beneath them moves in relation to the sun. Then they shift back during the nighttime. Older sunflowers just stay in the same position.

But now, a team of scientists from UCLA and Arizona State University has developed a polymer that mimics sunflowers' phototropism. As described in this study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology in November 2019, the sunflower-like biomimetic omnidirectional tracker is called the SunBOT.

Advertisement

The device, which is just 0.039 inches (1 millimeter) in diameter, contains a nanomaterial that converts light into heat causing it to shrink as a result. This shrinkage propels the device to bend toward the light. As the shaded underside of the stem cools, it stops the device's movements in a position that's optimally oriented to absorb light. The SunBOT will shift slightly during the day as the angle of sunlight changes.

That ability to mimic an actual sunflower enables the SunBOT the harvest 90 percent of the energy from sunlight when it's angled 75 degrees away from a perpendicular line to the surface, compared to just 24 percent achieved by stationary solar panels, UCLA material science and engineering assistant professor Ximin He told the Daily Bruin, the UCLA student newspaper.

Professor He explained that the new technology has the potential to double the amount of energy that a stationary solar panel can collect, which will make future solar energy much more readily available.

Now That's Interesting In the 1800s, some believed that growing the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus L) near a home would protect inhabitants from malaria.
WASHINGTON  The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced that Army Pfc. Michaux Turbeville, 31, of Dillon, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for on Feb. 16, 2021.

In late 1950, Turbeville was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.

On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify Turbevilles remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome analysis.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has joined Gov. Henry McMaster in the fight against a proposed tax credit for union made electric cars.

Graham implied in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon that the Democrats were being hypocritical by proposing the incentive.

Electric cars have the potential to be a major low carbon solution in the transportation space, Graham said. However, the Democrats proposal penalizes people for buying electric vehicles when the manufacturer is non-unionized. If you believe electric cars help improve our environment, why would you care where in the United States the car is made?

Graham added that South Carolina is home to non-union BMW and Volvo plants and that the $4,500 credit would harm the states economy.

This misguided Democratic proposal violates international law and rewards special interest groups at the expense of hardworking Americans, Graham continued. So much for climate change being the existential crisis of our time. Union politics, not environmental concerns, are the driving force here. Democrats are more in the camp of appeasing their union base than they are in advancing the usage of electric cars.

He added that workers in states like South Carolina would pay the price for the policy.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The Republicans will once again have a 6-3 advantage on the Florence County Council.

Republican Toney Moore received 556 votes, or 65.03%, to defeat Democrat Louis Ashley, who received 299 votes, or 34.97%, to win the election to fill the remaining year of H. Steven DeBerrys four-year term on the County Council.

Moores win means six Republicans will be on the council: Chairman Willard Dorriety Jr., Vice Chairman Kent Caudle, Roger Poston, Buddy Brand, Jerry Yarborough Jr. and Moore. The three Democrats are Secretary/Chaplain Waymon Mumford, Al Bradley and Jason Springs.

Moore said it had been a long eight months. He added that seeing everyone who worked on his campaign celebrating reminded him that he now needed to go to work for them, District 6 and the rest of Florence County.

He also thanked the Florence County Republican Party and his campaign team for helping him win the seat. Moore encouraged Republicans in Florence County to support the county party to get more done in the county.

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DeBerry was elected to the circuit court bench earlier this year and resigned his seat on the council to take the judicial seat.
 Oklahoma board recommends clemency for Julius Jones who claims innocence from death row | Main | First published papers from "Understanding Drug Sentencing" now available in latest issue of Federal Sentencing Reporter 

The title of this post is the title of this interesting-looking new paper about an interesting aspect of Canadian sentencing practice. This piece was authored by Marie-Andree Denis-Boileau, is available via SSRN, and here is its abstract:

This paper intends to give practical tools to legal actors to better implement the second part of the s 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code analysis for sentencing Indigenous people, as first laid out in the Gladue case of the Supreme Court of Canada. Following this, when sentencing an Indigenous person, judges have to pay attention to the types of sentencing procedures and sanctions which may be appropriate in the circumstances for the offender because of his or her particular Aboriginal heritage or connection. Drawing from case law, research and the work of Commissions and Public Inquiries in Canada, the author intends to provide practical tools to legal actors to support them in fully engaging with it. The paper identifies and describes three elements that must be considered by courts in this analysis: (1) the communitys perspectives, needs and alternatives to incarceration, (2) The Aboriginal Perspective, which was interpreted as including the "laws, practices, customs and traditions of the group and (3) Culturally sensitive, appropriate and responsive sentences addressing the underlying cause of the criminal conduct. Its main focus is on Indigenous law and providing practical and clear ways for judges and legal actors to consider it.

The content of this paper was first developed for Legal Aid BCs Best Practices Guide for Writing Gladue Reports and Understanding Gladue Principles, with the intent to support Gladue writers in providing more information to courts with regard to this part of the Gladue analysis and support anyone who is interested in better understanding Gladue principles. This paper should support legal actors in better engaging with it.
SIOUX CITY -- For over a century, The Journal has sponsored Mr. Goodfellow Charities during the holidays to raise money to purchase toys for needy children in Siouxland.

Today, the Journal kicks off a daily front-page feature that recognizes the many businesses, groups and individuals that have contributed $1,000 or more to the charity. The goal this holiday season is to raise $135,000 to buy toys and books. Last year, the charity benefited over 8,000 children from 1,400 families.

"Every year I am amazed at the generosity of our community," said Angie Dye, president of Journal Goodfellow Charities. "With the support from local businesses, organizations and individuals, we can continue to help families in need during the holidays."

The fund drive culminates with the annual sale of the Little Yellow Dog on Dec. 11 at the Ho-Chunk Centre in downtown Sioux City.

This year's dog has not yet been revealed.

A Journal reporter started Mr. Goodfellow Charities in 1914. Organizers sold the first Little Yellow Dog in 1936.

Families must apply for the Goodfellow toys with the application form that appears in The Journal, Shopper or Neighbors publications. The application is available now thru Nov. 30.

Donations are appreciated. Contact the Journal offices at 515 Pavonia St., Sioux City, IA 51101, call 712-293-4310 or email goodfellowcharity77@gmail.com.

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LGBTQ people in rural places and small towns are often ignored in the larger conversation surrounding queer life and culture. Even with these omissions, Pride celebrations in those locations are sweeping the nation, often encountering initial resistance.

As a transgender person from Central Appalachia and a doctoral candidate who studies rural transgender media activism, I still find myself sometimes conflating metropolitan with queer, despite knowing that reduces the complexity of transgender and queer lives. The day I reluctantly traveled to eastern Kentuckys Pikeville Pride, I was doing just that.

Dont get me wrong; I like myself, and I am proud of the LGBTQ people who are working toward self-respect and celebrating who they are and what Pride represents. Prides origin is a commemoration of the Stonewall riots in New York. In June 1969, LGBTQ fought back against laws that prevented them from gathering. That said, I got bored of Pride events  the commercialized type I knew in big cities  and somehow thought that a rural or small-town Pride would be similar.

It wasnt.

Pride in Pikeville

Before deciding to attend Pikeville Pride in October 2019, I did not understand the difficulties facing those who wanted to host Pride in Central Appalachia and the role of supremacist and white nationalist organizations in that struggle.

Pikeville is a town of about 7,750 in eastern Kentucky. About 400 people attended the first Pikeville Pride event in 2018 and over 500 participated in the one I attended.

Pikeville Pride was held at a park in downtown. Nonprofit groups and grassroots activists set up booths. Free pizza and rainbow-colored cupcakes were offered as bands and drag queens performed on the center stage. Women of different ages were stationed at the Free Mom Hugs table and actively asked attendees if they would like a hug.

One of the sidewalk-chalk messages spread throughout Pikeville Pride in eastern Kentucky in fall 2019. Beck Banks, author, Author provided

Tonya Jones, one of the founders of Pikeville Pride, said she did not start the event in response to the white nationalist rally that was held in downtown Pikeville in 2017, though other founders cite it as a reason. Instead of responding to the rally, Jones wanted to create a more welcoming space in the city.

When I attended, there were no signs of white nationalists or protesters of any kind. Jones said only two protesters attended the first year.

That wasnt quite the case in Johnson City, Tennessee, a small city about two hours away. In the same year that Pikeville Pride began, white nationalists threatened TriPride, the first Pride event to include Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol. In the end, 20 protesters attended, according to Jason Willis, the president and a founding board member of TriPride. By the second year, the number dropped to 10 or 12, many of whom stayed in a designated area.

Hell has frozen over in NE Tennessee. First ever Pride Parade in Johnson City, TN. Confederate flag waving protestors who threatened to show up, didnt. pic.twitter.com/KUXCCytAtx  Dorinda Dickinson (@doritotex) September 15, 2018

Willis knew the event would attract protesters. There will always be people who dont agree with it, Willis said. When online chatter of white nationalists happens  well, thats a different ballgame.

Because of white nationalist organizing on social media, state and federal law enforcement became involved, Willis says. About 200 police officers showed up during the first event  and a helicopter circled the vicinity. But supporters outnumbered the protesters by a wide margin.

I think they are happening because people feel like they can make them happen, Willis said. These Prides in small towns will continue to emerge. We had Black Lives Matter and womens marches. Not that they are the same, but you can have these cultural gatherings in small towns. Were seeing that.

Impact of rural Pride

The Prides in small towns are as important, if not more, to queer culture in America as the metropolitan events that happen in June.

In her 1995 article Get Thee to a Big City, anthropologist Kath Weston spoke of what she called the gay imaginary, the idea that queer people could not be themselves or find community until they moved from their small towns to a big city where other gay people exist.

Thousands of people marched peacefully in the first-ever LGBTQ pride parade in Starkville, Mississippihttps://t.co/uGgMwsmoRV  NBC Out (@NBCOUT) March 28, 2018

Jack Halberstam, a scholar of gender studies and English, expanded this concept with the phrase metronormativity, in which the journey for queer people from small towns to big cities is a rite of passage.

In essence, cities are allowed to be queer spaces while the rural queer life is ignored, even pitied or rejected, according to Scott Herring, a scholar who studies women, sexuality and gender.

As Herring says, the rural (take your pick: Idaho, North Carolina, small-town America, hick) is shelved, disavowed, denied, and discarded in favor of metropolitan sexual cultures such as New York City, San Francisco, or Buffalo. In each, the rural becomes a slur, one that has proliferated into an admittedly rich idiom.

Those lines are reflected in the news and mainstream storytelling. On television, queer characters who left small towns appear regularly, ranging from Titus Andromedon from Chickasaw County, Mississippi, in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to the Search Party character Elliott from a fictional holler in West Virginia. Their background is part of the joke.

[Over 115,000 readers rely on The Conversations newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.]

But a sense of belonging is not a laughing matter. In Pikeville, Jones knows firsthand what their Pride did for her wife of 27 years.

She never felt comfortable here until Pride, Jones said. She never felt she could be open. We foster children too, and a lot of these kids are in foster care because of coming out. We want to show them that they can have a family, and it doesnt have to be a blood connection.

___

Beck Banks 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.

___

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Marvin Calderon-Coronado, 46, had entered an Alford plea in September in Buena Vista County District Court to one count of lascivious acts with a child.

In addition to the prison sentence, District Judge John Sandy ordered him to register with the Iowa Sex Offender Registry for life and also serve a lifetime special sex offender sentence after he completes his prison sentence. If he were to violate terms of the special sentence, he could be sent back to prison.
SIOUX CITY  Morningside University has named three finalists in the search for its next president. The candidates are Jim Burkee, Elizabeth Frombgen, and Albert Mosley.

Each candidate will visit the university in the coming weeks. Following the visits, the Board of Directors will convene a special meeting to consider the feedback received from the search committee and appoint the 13th president of Morningside University, according to a press release.

The anticipated start date of the new president is July 1, 2022.

The candidates were recommended by a search committee chaired by Craig Struve and comprised of current and former members of the Morningside University Board of Directors, a student, faculty, staff and alumni.

Jim Burkee, Ph.D., has worked at College of Mount Saint Vincent since Nov. 2019. He currently serves as the vice president for strategic initiatives and previously worked as the vice president for enterprise programs and dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

Previously Burkee worked at Concordia College, New York, Concordia University, Wisconsin and Northwestern University.

Burkee holds bachelors degrees from Concordia University Wisconsin, a teacher certification from Concordia College  New York, and a masters and doctorate from Northwestern University.

He will be on campus for interviews Nov. 8 and 9, with a coffee and open forum for alumni and Siouxland community members to be held at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 9 at the South Sioux City Marriott Riverfront.

Elizabeth Frombgen, Ph.D., has worked at Thiel College since 2017 as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college. Previously, she worked at Hastings College.

She holds a bachelors degree from Western Washington University, and a masters and doctorate degree from Purdue University.

She will be on campus for interviews Nov. 15 and 16, with a coffee and open forum for alumni and Siouxland community members at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 16 at the South Sioux City Marriott Riverfront.

Albert D. Mosley, D.D., Ed.D., has worked at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare since 2018 as the senior vice president and chief mission integration officer.

Previously, he worked at Bethune-Cookman University, Gammon Theological Seminary, The Johns Hopkins University and Duke University.

Mosley holds a bachelors degree from Millsaps College, masters degrees from Duke University and Yale University, a Doctor of Divinity from Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Education from the University of Georgia.

He will be on campus for interviews Nov. 10  11, 2021, with a coffee and open forum for alumni and Siouxland community members at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 11 at the South Sioux City Marriott Riverfront.

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Republican Glenn Youngkin mobilized voters concerned about education and race, while making small gains with suburban voters and other key groups to help his party rebound from Donald Trumps poor showing in Virginia last year and win the governor's race.

The former private equity executive's victory came even as Trump remains broadly unpopular in the commonwealth. Youngkin managed to keep the former president at arms length without angering Trump's base. A year after Democrat Joe Biden dispatched Trump in Virginia by 10 percentage points, Youngkins supporters, not Democrat Terry McAuliffe's, were more fired up  74% of them said they were extremely interested in the election, compared with 63% who voted for McAuliffe, according to AP VoteCast.

Heres a snapshot of what mattered to voters, based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 2,500 voters in Virginia conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

BIG COMEBACK BUILT ON SMALL GAINS

Both Democrats and Republicans pulled together familiar coalitions. Men, rural and small town voters and white evangelicals were squarely in Youngkins corner, while McAuliffe was the choice for Black voters, moderates, college graduates and voters under 45. Women were only slightly more likely to back the Democrat than the Republican, 52% to 47%.

But small shifts added up to make a difference for Youngkin. In 2020, voters 45 and older split about evenly between Biden and Trump. This year they were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe, 55% to 45%.

Youngkin also performed better with suburban voters, a group that helped Democrats win elections across the country during the Trump era. Last year, about 6 in 10 suburbanites in Virginia backed Biden. A year later, Youngkin, who lives in a northern Virginia suburb, was more competitive with those voters, earning the support of 46% of them.

In recent elections, Democrats have built a sizable edge with voters who have college degrees. McAuliffe still won those voters Tuesday, but Youngkin fared slightly better than Trump did in 2020. Youngkin was backed by 45% of college educated voters in this year's election; in 2020, 38% went for Trump.

Youngkin also did somewhat better than Trump among white voters  both men and women. White voters made up 72% of the electorate and backed Youngkin over McAuliffe, 59% to 40%. Youngkin also appeared to make inroads with Latino voters, who were closely divided between McAuliffe and him.

BIDENS PERFORMANCE

The governor's race was seen by some as a test of Biden's standing so far in his term. The president and his wife campaigned for McAuliffe in the state, as did other top Democrats. Three-quarters of voters said negotiations in Washington over Biden's governing agenda were an important factor in their vote.

Biden won Virginia by 10 percentage points last year. Now, 47% of Virginias voters approve of his job performance, while 53% disapprove  a split similar to U.S. adults nationwide in recent AP-NORC polling.

TRUMP FACTOR

While McAuliffe leaned on his party for help, Youngkin didn't campaign with Trump or other GOP leaders. The political newcomer started the campaign with a blank slate on policy and cast himself as an affable, suburban dad. McAuliffe called him a Trump wannabe"  and Trump endorsed Youngkin  but it doesn't look like all Virginia voters bought it.

While Trump was unpopular with a majority of voters, about half had a favorable opinion of Youngkin. About 4 in 10 had an unfavorable opinion of him.

About half said they had a very unfavorable opinion of Trump, but only about 3 in 10 said the same about Youngkin.

Close to half of Virginia voters said Youngkin supports Trump too much, while roughly as many said he supports Trump the right amount. Most Youngkin voters  about 8 in 10  said the candidate supports Trump the right amount, but about 1 in 10 said he supports the former president too much. About that many said Youngkin supports Trump too little.

MCAULIFFE GETS MORE BLAME FOR ATTACKS

Overall, about half of Virginia voters said they had a favorable opinion of McAuliffe, while about half held an unfavorable view.

In a very contentious race, McAuliffe appears to have taken more of the blame for the tone. Most voters thought the gubernatorial campaign featured unfair attacks from at least one candidate, but voters were somewhat more likely to say only McAuliffe attacked Youngkin unfairly than the other way around. Close to 2 in 10 voters said both attacked unfairly.

SCHOOL DEBATE DECISIVE FOR MANY

Schools became a major focus of the governor's race for Youngkin, who localized a nationwide issue after McAuliffe said during a debate that parents shouldn't be telling schools what they should teach.

About a quarter of Virginia voters said the debate over teaching critical race theory in schools was the single most important factor in their vote for governor, and 72% of those voters backed Youngkin.

Most Youngkin voters  about three-quarters  said the public school system in Virginia is focusing on racism too much. Among McAuliffe voters, just over half said the focus is too little, while about a third said its about right.

McAuliffe voters had concerns about schools, too  but they were more likely to be focused on COVID-19 precautions. Roughly a quarter of all voters identified the debate over handling COVID-19 in schools as the most important factor in their vote, and 63% of them backed McAuliffe.

About 6 in 10 Virginia voters support mask mandates for both teachers and students in K-12 schools and COVID-19 vaccine mandates for teachers. Those voters were more likely to be McAuliffe supporters. Only about a third of Youngkin backers supported each policy.

TOP ISSUE

Thirty-five percent of Virginia voters said the economy and jobs was the most important issue facing the state, while 17% named COVID-19 and 15% chose education.

Health care, climate change, racism, immigration, abortion and law enforcement were all lower.

Voters who ranked the economy and education as the top issues were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe. Voters who identified COVID-19 as the top issue supported McAuliffe. McAuliffe also earned the majority of the roughly 2 in 10 who ranked health care, climate change or racism as the top issue.

IS VIRGINIAS ECONOMY SOARING OR SINKING?

Youngkin, a former private equity executive, often asserted during the campaign that Virginias economy was in the ditch, but a majority of voters disagreed. Fifty-five percent said the states economy is in good shape.

Youngkin argued that Virginias record budget surplus was the result of overtaxation as he campaigned on a promise to enact substantial tax cuts.

McAuliffe countered that the surplus was due to strong economic growth under Democratic leadership and argued that Youngkins opposition to abortion rights and conservative position on LGBTQ issues would hamper efforts to recruit new businesses to the commonwealth.

MORE INDECISION THAN 2020

About 6 in 10 voters said they had known all along whom they would be backing in the governors race. In the presidential race last year, three-quarters of Virginia voters said they knew all along.

Of the three in 10 voters who say they decided over the course of this year's the campaign, there was a preference for Youngkin, 55% to 45%.

CONTINUED SKEPTICISM ABOUT THE VOTE COUNT

Although Virginia experienced no major issues with its vote count in 2020, only about half of voters in Virginia were very confident that the votes in the election for governor would be counted accurately. An additional 3 in 10 were somewhat confident.

Just 18% of Youngkin's voters said they were very confident the vote would be counted accurately. That compared with 78% of McAuliffe voters.

Still, overall confidence is stronger among voters now compared with last years presidential election: Just 25% then said they were very confident votes would be counted accurately.



AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News and The Associated Press. The survey of 2,655 voters in Virginia was conducted for seven days, concluding as polls closed. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish. The survey combines a random sample of registered voters drawn from the state voter file and self-identified registered voters selected from nonprobability online panels. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated to be plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCasts methodology at https://www.ap.org/votecast.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
It may be an odd-numbered year but Tuesday's elections aren't sleepy, local contests. Voters in Virginia are weighing in on a governor's race that could rattle President Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington. In Minneapolis, a city still shaken by George Floyd's murder will vote on whether to disband its police department and create a new public safety agency. School board races across the country have become the new battlegrounds for partisan debates over race.
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Opening statements were held Tuesday in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three men, killing two of them and wounding the third, during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. Rittenhouse has argued he fired in self-defense after the men attacked him.

Here's a look at the charges:

FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESS HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This felony charge is connected to the death of Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man Rittenhouse shot. Bystander video shows Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse through a parking lot and throwing a plastic bag at him. Rittenhouse flees behind a car and Rosenbaum follows. No video of the moment Rittenhouse pulled the trigger has surfaced yet, if any exists. Richard McGinnis, a reporter who was trailing Rittenhouse, told investigators that Rosenbaum tried to grab Rittenhouse's gun, according to the criminal complaint.

Reckless homicide differs from intentional homicide in that prosecutors aren't alleging Rittenhouse intended to murder Rosenbaum. Instead, they're alleging Rittenhouse caused Rosenbaum's death by showing an utter disregard for human life.

Former Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher said prosecutors' decision to charge reckless instead of intentional homicide shows they don't know what happened between Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum and what might have been going through Rittenhouse's mind when he pulled the trigger.

The charge is a felony punishable by up to 60 years in prison. The dangerous weapon modifier carries another five years.

FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING SAFETY, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This felony charge is also connected to the Rosenbaum shooting. McGinnis told investigators he was in the line of fire when Rittenhouse shot Rosenbaum. The charge is punishable by 12 1/2 years in prison. The weapons modifier carries another five years.

FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This charge is connected to Anthony Huber's death. Video shows Rittenhouse running down the street after shooting Rosenbaum when he falls to the street. Huber leaps at him and swings a skateboard at his head and neck and tries to grab Rittenhouse's gun before Rittenhouse fires. The criminal complaint alleges Rittenhouse aimed the weapon at Huber.

Intentional homicide means just that  a person killed someone and meant to do it. Bucher said that if Rittenhouse pointed the gun at Rosenbaum and pulled the trigger that would amount to intentional homicide. However, self-defense would trump the charge.

"Why I intended to kill this individual makes the difference," Bucher said.

The count carries a mandatory life sentence. The weapons modifier would add up to five years.

ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

This is the charge for Rittenhouse shooting Gaige Grosskreutz in the arm seconds after he shot Huber, and as Grosskreutz came toward him holding a pistol. Grosskreutz survived. Video shows Rittenhouse pointing his gun at Grosskreutz and firing a single round.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 60 years. The weapons modifier would add up to five more years.

FIRST-DEGREE RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING SAFETY, USE OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON

Video shows an unknown man leaping at Rittenhouse and trying to kick him seconds before Huber moves his skateboard toward him. Rittenhouse appears to fire two rounds at the man but apparently misses as the man runs away.

This charge is a felony punishable by 12 1/2 years in prison. The weapons modifier again would add up to five more years.

POSSESSION OF A DANGEROUS WEAPON BY A PERSON UNDER 18

Rittenhouse was armed with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle. He was 17 years old on the night of the shootings. Wisconsin law prohibits minors from possessing firearms except for hunting.

The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months behind bars.

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH AN EMERGENCY ORDER FROM STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Kenosha officials imposed an 8 p.m. curfew the night of the shootings. Rittenhouse was still on the streets as midnight approached. The offense is punishable by up to $200 in forfeitures.

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  A court in Belarus on Wednesday handed prison sentences to two human rights activists, part of an ongoing crackdown on nongovernmental organizations and independent media in the ex-Soviet country.

The court in the eastern city of Homiel sentenced 55-year-old Leanid Sudalenka to three years in prison and gave a 2 1/2-year sentence to 43-year-old Tatsiana Lasitsa on charges of organizing and financing actions violating the public order. Both have been in custody since their arrest more than nine months ago.

Sudalenko has written from prison that the charges hinged on him meeting a colleague released from jail and helping a low-income farmer family to buy firewood  actions that investigators interpreted as organizing and funding protests.

Sudalenka and Lasitsa worked for the Viasna human rights center, the countrys leading rights group. Another five leading members of Viasna, including its head Ales Bialiatski, are in custody awaiting trial.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other international rights groups urged Belarusian authorities to immediately annul Wednesday's sentence and strongly denounced politically motivated prosecutions of Viasna members and volunteers (that) are part of the purge of Belarusian civil society" by President Alexander Lukashenko's government.

"Belarusian authorities targeting of Viasna in particular is no doubt designed to punish the organization for its outstanding and courageous human rights work over the course of 25 years, they said.

Lukashenko faced months of protests triggered by his re-election to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that the opposition and the West saw as rigged. He responded to the demonstrations with a massive crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police.

Belarusian authorities have methodically ramped up the pressure against nongovernmental organizations and independent media, conducting hundreds of raids of offices and apartments of activists and journalists, and arresting scores.

On Wednesday, Belarus' Interior Ministry said that the online resources of Belsat, an independent Belarusian TV channel based in Poland, have been designated as extremist  a decision that follows July's court ruling which already outlawed the TV channel as extremist. The moves have exposed its employees and viewers to prison terms.

The authorities are methodically cleansing Belarus information space, and the absurdity of the situation is that they assign the extremist designation several times, said Andrei Bastunets, the head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists. Officials apply the label of extremism to the media they cant reach.

Even before the move, Iryna Slaunikava, a Belsat journalist, was sentenced to 15 days in jail on Monday for reposting Belsats content on her Facebook page. Slaunikavas husband, Ales Loyka was also handed a 15-day sentence for reposting Belsats materials dating back several years.

They were arrested on Saturday after returning from a trip to Egypt.

In February, Belsat journalists Daria Chultsova and Katsiaryna Andreyeva were convicted of violating public order and sentenced to two years in prison after they covered a protest.



Uliana Pavlova in Moscow contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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The annual trick-or-treat ritual is over. Not so the tricks perpetuated by congressional Democrats about their tax-and-spend ritual, and their phony numbers.

Consider the latest spending measure cobbled together by the House Democratic leadership, or more accurately their staffs. It is 2,400 pages long, much longer than the longest book I ever read. I doubt most members have read much if any of it. It, combined with the coming social spending bill, is a Democrat wish list that addresses problems that dont exist (climate change), the supposed inability of parents to care for their own children (free daycare), and creation of new entitlements that will addict voters to their party in perpetuity, which seems their goal.

The language is foreign to most English speakers and was likely poll-tested along with false promises it will not cost a dime. Forget pennies from Heaven. These are borrowed and printed dollars from Washington.

Youve heard of the kitchen sink. This is that, the bathroom sink, and the tub. If it becomes law, the country will sink deeper in debt from which we are unlikely to recover. Even worse is yet to come with the massive social spending measure.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin said on CNN that the administrations proposed tax hike on billionaires is not a wealth tax, but a tax on unrealized capital gains of exceptionally wealthy individuals. Word games.

Christian Mysliwiec, commentary editor for The Daily Signal, a publication of the conservative Heritage Foundation, has written an analysis of the $1.75 trillion bill. Here are three of his lowlights:

Childcare and Pre-K: Actual 10-year cost is likely more than twice the reported cost of $400 billion.

Obamacare Tax Credit: Actual 10-year cost is likely much more than three times the reported cost of $130 billion.

Child and Earned Income Tax Credits: Actual 10-year cost is likely more than 10 times the reported cost of $200 billion.

In total, these programs would likely cost well over $2.3 trillion above the estimate in this framework over 10 years. This excess would be more than $18,700 of new spending per American household.

This is, to recall a phrase, voodoo economics.

Aside from the monetary cost, there would also be a sociological price to pay. Children will be raised with the values of paid daycare workers and without parental love. The measure would discourage work, as we have seen with checks going to people during the pandemic, who have been reluctant to return to their jobs.

Mysliwiec also notes the bill will subsidize single parenthood, including among teens, thereby weakening the probability that children will be raised by a married mother and father  fewer children will experience social success and upward mobility, and low-income Americans will be left behind.

This advances the liberal (aka progressive) soft bigotry of low expectations, because it tells especially minorities they have little to no chance of succeeding without federal help. We have heard this for decades. If government alone, or even government mainly, could cause people to make decisions that are good for themselves and the country, would it not have by now? Trillions of dollars have been spent on programs that have not fulfilled the promises of those who created them. What about the numerous people who have succeeded on their own by making right decisions? Forget them, because they dont help the Democrats narrative.

I am not a pessimist, but if these spending bills become law, which is still in doubt given the opposition of some Democrats, it will only advance our decline, massive debt being one of the contributing factors to the demise of other nations that engaged in profligate spending.

Our enemies, which now include domestic enemies, as well as foreign, are eager to reach their goal of fundamentally transforming America.

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In a courtroom in Charlottesville, Virginia, there is a trial going on that is, day by day, revealing the inner thoughts of some of Americas most prominent racists. Some of these men you might know: neo-Nazis Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler, self-proclaimed shock jock Christopher Cantwell. But their names arent really so importantwhats more important is what theyve done. Theyre accused of orchestrating the violence of the 2017 Unite the Right rally, from the white supremacists carrying tiki torches and chanting you will not replace us to the explosion of brutality that followed, when a man drove his car into a crowd, killing a woman named Heather Heyer. Four years later, the man who drove that car has been sentenced to life in prison. The Confederate statues these men came to Charlottesville to defend have been torn down. But the organizations that brought so many white supremacists together en masse still exist. This trial, Sines v. Kessler, is intent on bringing those organizations down.

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Kathleen Belew, a historian at the University of Chicago who studies the white power movement, looks at this trial and sees echoes of cases that have come before. She says whats notable about this instance is that the plaintiffs are trying to hold an entire network to account for what happened in the summer of 2017. They are doing that by piecing together chat logs and direct messages, violent memes and carpool requests. Usually, accountability for domestic terrorism has looked like a criminal trial for one or two defendants. This case, though is trying the system. On Wednesdays episode of What Next, I spoke with Belew about how the civil trial in Charlottesville aims to take down the super structure of white supremacy. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Kathleen Belew: What were talking about is an organized event with implications for multiple activists, groups, leaders, and rank-and-file members of the white power and militant right movement. This is a movement that has been with us since the late 1970s, that has over and over again attacked American infrastructure, civilians, leaders, people, religious houses of worship  it goes on and on like this. It is an interlocking social movement that, as the history shows us, is usually manned by the same people and has organized very coherently online since 198384. Sometimes you hear about the founding of Stormfront in 1996 as the prehistory of social network activism on the right. But these groups were establishing this thing called Liberty Net in the 80s, in which they used early computer to computer message boards that were keyword-secured. Liberty Net was not just ideological writings and assassination lists, but also things like personal ads and cookbook recipes and things like that. So this was social networking way before Facebook, a network that was trained at locking people into a social movement and providing a platform for radical action. The fact that this movement is still with us is partly because it has avoided being described as a movement. Instead, we have mostly heard about white power action as lone-wolf violence. And when we hear these stories of lone-wolf attacks, what that does is really disable the public response and the political will to confront this violent movement.

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Mary Harris: Watching the Unite the Right gathering unfold in 2017, you saw something more than a protest. You saw a performance, a tying up of ugly ideas in what was meant to be a palatable, even attractive, package. That momentum culminated in deadly violence.

It was very clear to me from the beginning that this is a white power action, that its using white power rhetoric, that all of this has been very tightly managed: getting everybody to show up in khakis and polos as part of a performative strategy that is geared toward recruiting from a broader group. So this is not just a Klan rally. This is meant as a public-facing recruitment action. You might think about something like Boogaloo as a similar movementthese are the guys showing up to protests last year wearing Hawaiian shirts. Its wacky and zany and a little campy even. but what theyre calling for is provoking a civil war. I mean, thats an incredibly violent idea, right? But the public-facing part of it is meant to see exactly how far they can push into our mainstream so they can figure out their recruitment strategy. I find it very alarming anytime there is a big, organized public-facing thing that brings together multiple groups, because that shows legwork, an organization groundswell. And it also shows that this movement has enough of a sense of momentum that its members are interested in public-facing recruitment rather than just a meeting in robes and hoods.

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Was it a forgone conclusion that there would be a civil lawsuit like this against the rally from the beginning?

Well, let me say that criminal suits of white power violence have had many, many high-profile failures. We could think about something like the Oklahoma City bombing trial, which got a conviction for McVeigh and his co-conspirators but did not try to figure out ties to the broader white power movement, which were evident in the historical archive. Civil suits have historically, at least in the short term, provided a really interesting and effective way to stop white power momentum, because a civil suit, through consent decrees and other legal instruments, can do things like stop activists from associating with one another, stop the publication of a newsletter. They can stop them from marching in uniform in public places. They have done things like seize the membership records of white power groups, which are usually kept highly secret. These are huge, immediate victories that can be really meaningful for affected communities and can have direct consequences for the organizing groups.

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In this case, there are so many people being brought in to defend themselves. Can you just lay out who the plaintiffs are, who the defendants are, and how this is moving forward?

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What we have in Charlottesville is a civil suit by nine plaintiffswho were affected by the Unite the Right rally in 2017against a number of groups and activists who the plaintiffs say are responsible for their injuries and for the damages to their lives. The defendants range from groups to prominent activists like Richard Spencer, Andrew Anglin, Matthew Heimbach, Christopher Cantwell, and others. I think what the prosecution is looking for here is a clearer sense of legal responsibility for the violence of the Unite the Right rallythat you are, as a group or activist, responsible for the violence you incite.

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Listening to the defense, the main line seems to be We have freedom of speech or We are just joking. But then theres also this other thread: that the Charlottesville Police should have controlled the situation better. I wonder what you think about that.

I have to say that part of the reason that happened, according to governor at the time, Terry McAuliffe, was that there were several militia groups on site who were purportedly keeping order. That was the reason police could not go in to protect counterdemonstrators: They were outgunned by militiamen. Now lets straighten out what we mean about militias: So many people hear the word militia and think it is somehow patriotic or legal, but what we are talking about is illegal private armies. They are illegal simply for doing things like creating and commanding a private army. And then they do additional illegal activity on the regular: involvement with various kinds of violent action, like preventing police from doing their jobs. In this case, in Charlottesville, we have a pretty clear case where the militias are part of the militant right and white power movement, organizing this rally and making sure police couldnt respond properly to this action. So I think that here this is not an effective defense by historical standards, because one reason the Charlottesville Police couldnt intervene more effectively is the presence of these armed men themselves.

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The defendants who are named in this Charlottesville trial read like a laundry list of white supremacists and their organizations: the White Knights of the KKK, the Traditionalist Worker Party, the League of the South are all called out by name here. In the years since 2017, a few of the defendants in this case, like Richard Spencer, have tried to distance themselves from the movements they stoked. Spencer has said not just that this trial has drained him of money, but that, after being one of Donald Trumps biggest supporters, he voted for Joe Biden in 2020. Youve said that this kind of shape-shifting is par for the course in white supremacist culture.

This is an incredibly opportunistic and flexible movement, where people regularly move around between groups and ideologies, where groups regularly change their name when they hit legal action or other kinds of issues, and where the form changes very, very quickly. Historians and journalists have spent an enormous amount of time trying to understand like, which ones are Klansmen, which ones are neo-Nazis, which ones are other kinds of fascists on the ground. Those distinctions have never been as important to people in these groups as they have been to outsiders, because people have multiple affiliations. People move around between them, but often they describe those differences as a small matter.

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This flexibility is part of how white supremacists have avoided accountability in the past. IN previous decades past, the legal system has struggled to hold perpetrators accountable.

Look at what happened in 1979 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Members of the KKK and the American Nazi Party came together to threaten and eventually kill protesters opposed to their ideology. As in Charlottesville, the police did not intervene. There was an event where Communist demonstrators held a Death to the Klan march. Klansmen and neo-Nazis came together, drove up to this event, and opened fire on the demonstrators, killing five people and wounding many more. This was held in a Black housing project that experienced curfews and generational trauma as a result of this event as well.

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Where were the police?

That is part of a very interesting, long story: The police were stationed away from the protesters because the Communists had had some confrontations with police before, and the police thought they could better manage this event from farther away. What happened is that the white power people came together, opened fire on leftist demonstrators, and then were acquitted on state criminal charges for reasons of self-defense. They were acquitted on federal criminal charges because the jury instructions in that trial said that they had to decide if these gunmen come together to deny the dead people their rights for reasons of race. The people killed in this event were four white men and one Black woman. The defendants said they were just articulating anti-communism, not racism, and because the long intertwining of communism and race in Southern history was not articulated very well in that trial, they walked free again. Then there was a civil suit where the only death found to be wrongful was the one person killed who was not a card-carrying Communist at the time of their death.

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The white power movement, we can se,e takes an event like that as a huge green light for further organizing and further violent activity. Greensboro did not end this allianceit cemented it, and a few years later, they were declaring war on the federal government, organizing groups around the country, implementing leaderless resistance and liberty. And that was sort of the arc of action that took us all the way to the Oklahoma City bombing.

Do you feel like what happens in Charlottesville could set a tone moving forward for how the judicial branch at least thinks about these white power movements and deals with them?

I can say from a historical perspective that an acquittal in Charlottesville would fuel additional violent activity. Because weve seen that every time there is a major acquittal, theres a huge surge in momentum in white power and military groups.

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Is there not a similar surge if theres a conviction?

If theres a conviction, especially in a civil trial, there might be parts of it that brook momentum, right? So if they seize assets and membership lists and bar association, and if people have the feeling that actions like Charlottesville are going to be expensive and difficult, it will not encourage additional actions of the same kind.

Theres been so much attention paid to what took place in Charlottesville. None of it seemed to change the momentum toward what happened on Jan. 6. I wonder if you think about that too.

I think it has changed the momentum in a number of really important ways that will allow us to better combat this problem. One thing it did was focus resources: Even before Jan. 6, we got a a threat assessment from the Department of Homeland Security that identified what they call domestic violent extremistsor white power and militant right activistsas the single most pressing terrorist threat to the country. Thats huge, and that is the first time the DHS and FBI have ever directed resources at this problem in this way. I think that, after Charlottesville, there was also a lot more interest in newsrooms about this issue and, I think, a greater degree of public awareness. All of those things are tools that can be directed toward combating white power violence.

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There is plenty of blame to go around for Terry McAuliffes loss to Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday night in the race for governor of Virginiastructural electoral factors, the seemingly endless legislative debacle that passes for the White Houses effort to enact its domestic agenda, and McAuliffes aimless and generally baffling campaign. Thus far, one person who deserves his fair share of blame has managed to avoid any of the recriminationsAttorney General Merrick Garland.

On key issues that appear to have been central to the result on Tuesday, the Department of Justice in recent months has been tone-deaf or listless. The result has been that Garland has significantly depleted whatever cross-party political capital he once had and that the department has looked both too political and not political enough, managing to frustrate pretty much anyone paying close attention.

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The most notable misstep was Garlands memo to other department officials last month containing the evidence-free assertion that there had been a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school officials, which drove many conservatives crazyand not entirely unreasonably. The memo conceded that the Constitution protects spirited debate but went on to vaguely assert that the department would work with federal and local law enforcement officialsand also announce a series of measuresin order to prevent violence, threats of violence, and other forms of intimidation and harassment. At best, the memo was sloppy and poorly written, but the department has thus far refused to give any ground.

The department appears to have thought that few would notice or care that Garlands memo was issued within days of a letter to the White House from the National School Boards Association that requested that the department deal with the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation, but that turned out to be an extreme miscalculation. For an attorney general who has staked his public persona on the proposition that politics and law enforcement are somehow neatly divisible, the timing of Garlands memo looked suspiciously like a politically motivated effort to tamp down whatever it is that public school officials believe constitutes improper intimidation and harassment, as opposed to vocal but nonviolent protests from school parents about what is happening in their childrens schoolshowever outraged, misguided, or racially inflected those protests may ultimately be.

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To be sure, Republican politicians blew this way out of proportion. During a pair of congressional hearings last month and elsewhere, they theatrically milked it for all it was worthcapitalizing on the fact that conservative media figures and political operatives have managed to fully nationalize and confuse debates about how to teach issues of race and discrimination in public schools. Garland seemed incapable of defending the memo when he recently appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. At one point, he invoked in his defenseand seemed to misdescribea statute about threats among domestic partners, which would seem to have little, if any, relevance to the matter at hand. (Even more remarkably, he was reading from prepared materials when he made this apparent error.)

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The dispute ended up converging with the Youngkin campaigns effortdeeply unfair but ultimately successfulto portray McAuliffe and the Democratic Party as intolerant of parental input on controversial issues. Meanwhile, a recent poll suggests that Garland has managed the impressive feat of generating an approval rating that is about as bad as Joe Bidens.

Another key plank of Youngkins campaign was indulging the election denialism and fearmongering over election fraud among many Trump supporters, but here too, the departments output has been deeply confused. The best evidence that anyone committed serious fraud during the 2020 election remains Trumps call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, but the department under Garland does not seem to care, so why should the public think that Trump did anything wrong?

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The department is also treating the criminal defendants in the Jan. 6 cases better than most defendants, but at the same time, prosecutors are using dramatic rhetoric about the dangers of that day in court filingsall without any effort on the part of Garland or the department to publicly make sense of these seemingly contradictory messages. Last week, the chief judge in D.C. openly complained about the departments erratic approachinscrutable at best and schizophrenic at worst. No wonder parts of the public in the U.S. are confused about whether what happened on Jan. 6 at the Capitol was simply a petty offense of trespassing with some disorderliness or shocking criminal conduct that represented a grave threat to our democratic norms, Judge Beryl A. Howell said in court.

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Of course, the most pressing threat to election integrity is the slew of Republican efforts to make it harder for people to vote and easier for elected officials to overturn their will. The department sued Georgia over its recently enacted voter suppression law, but otherwise the department, like the White House itself, has been apathetic as a practical matter about the broader, systemic problems that have been growing this year. Garlands most notable contribution to the public discourse was a meandering op-ed in August in which he argued that it was not right to erect barriers that make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to vote and that it was time for Congress to act, but he conspicuously had nothing to say about what that law should actually do.

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Garlands contentless offering was promptly and justifiably forgotten, but the result, on top of all the rest, has been that the department has managed to contribute to the partisan neutralization of this topicwith Republican voters somehow convincing themselves that they are being disenfranchised just as much, if not more, than Democrats. On some level, you can understand their confusion. After all, the most noteworthy prosecution that the Garland DOJ has brought concerning attempted election tampering is a case about Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign.

The department also bears a non-negligible amount of responsibility for the broader frustration with the economy that Youngkin capitalized on. The Garland DOJ has taken laudable first steps in the areas of policing and civil rights, but for most of the year, the department has displayed almost no interest in the seemingly unprecedented level of financial crime throughout the country, including huge problems with coronavirus-related fraud that have affected many regular Americans at a time when one-third of the country can barely manage their monthly expenses.

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In recent weeks, the department finally began to outline what senior officials claim will be their effort to more forcefully combat white-collar crime, but it is remarkably thin. One of the marquee initiatives is to embed FBI agents with other white-collar prosecutors in Washingtonin the building where I used to workwhich sounds impressive unless you know that prosecutors in the office are often traveling and barely ever in the building to begin with. Department officials have also suggested that they will increase financial penalties in corporate criminal resolutions, but there is no good reason to believe that the sort of incremental increases in fine levels that they are contemplating will accomplish much of anything.

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As if to underscore the disconnect between the departments supposed white-collar priorities and the real world, on Election Day in Virginia the big news out of the department was an antitrust lawsuit that seeks to block a merger between two publishing companies. The lawsuit is based on the theoryrelatively novel but fashionable in progressive legal circlesthat the departments antitrust enforcement efforts should not focus merely on preventing adverse impacts to consumers in the form of higher prices. In this case, the department says that it is worried about the possible suppression of advances to book writers, which is great for people in the media who want to write books and pretty much no one else.

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Needless to say, exactly how much a role any of this played in the result on Tuesday is unknowable and debatable, but it is hard to deny that the Garland DOJs work has itself reflected broader criticisms of the Biden administration that appear to be resonating with many voters. From the beginning of his return to the national stage, Garland has been enamored with the laudable notion that he can restore broad bipartisan confidence in the departmentthat he can somehow be a truly apolitical figureeven though federal law enforcement is, in fact, an undeniably political project, one that requires difficult but very real choices about how to balance competing values and priorities in pursuit of some conception of the public good.

The Garland DOJ is doing legitimately impressive work in many respects. But it is long past time for Garland to recognize that he is a political actor too, whether he likes it or not, and that unless something changes, he is on track to remain one of the most unpopular Democratic figures in American politics.
New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney is the most powerful legislator associated with his states Democratic machine, which, long story short, is run in South Jersey (where Sweeney is from) by an insurance executive named George Norcross who doesnt actually hold office and is a member of Mar-a-Lago because he was friends with Donald Trump in the 1980s. The way the whole deal works, allegedly, is that the machine politicians do favors for state business interests, which then provide them with the campaign cash they need to crush their challengers.

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Sweeney was so confident in his position, in fact, that this June he and Norcross met with legislators in the north part of the state to reportedly discuss a potential Sweeney campaign for governor  in 2025.

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Theres been a big hiccup there, though:

The most powerful state senator in New Jersey, Senate Prez Stephen Sweeney, is losing his re-election bid with almost all ballots counted. pic.twitter.com/ZruoFoWkpt  Reid Wilson (@PoliticsReid) November 3, 2021

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Who is Edward Durr? I will be pleased to tell you. He says he is a truck driver, his tremendous Twitter header is pictured above, and, according to NJ.com, he compared the purpose of his campaign to restoring a rusted, broken down 1964 Mustang thats sitting on bald tires in his front yard. (A different outlet, NBC 10 in Philadelphia, tried to reach Durr but was only able to speak to his mother, who, it says, shared that she prays every day that he wins. ) Durrs latest state financial disclosure form attested that he had raised about $10,000 for his campaign and spent $153 of it, of which $66.64 went to a Dunkin in Upper Pittsgrove.

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Its a little hard to draw any specific ideological lesson here because in New Jersey Sweeney was generally considered an obstacle to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphys agenda rather than a supporter of it. (The state teachers union hates this guy so much that they actually spent $5 million supporting his Republican opponent in 2017.) Meanwhile, your New Jerseybased correspondent is hearing secondhand that Sweeney is calling members of his caucus and blaming progressives for his loss, as one does. In any case, he counted his chickens before they hatched, and Edward Durr drove over them with a semitruck.
No need for suspense: The Supreme Court is going to force New York, and every other state, to issue concealed carry permits to any law-abiding citizen who requests one. The only question left, after oral arguments on Wednesday in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, is whether the conservative supermajority will use sweeping language that casts doubt on the constitutionality of other long-standing restrictions on the right to bear arms. Based on the Republican-appointed justices biting questions, we can probably assume it will.

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Bruen marks the first time the Supreme Court has considered public carry laws since it created an individual right to bear arms under the Second Amendment. In 2008s D.C. v. Heller and 2010s McDonald v. Chicago, the conservative majority held that the Constitution protects the right to keep a handgun in the home for self-defense. But what about outside the home? Most states already allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public. Seven states, including New York, do not. These states require residents to show good causethat is, some heightened need for self-defenseto get a permit for concealed carry. About 83 million people, or roughly one in every four Americans, live in a good cause state. The lower courts have divided on the constitutionality of good cause laws, and SCOTUS took up Bruen to resolve the dispute.

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The timing, though, is not a coincidence. Lower courts have been split over concealed carry restrictions for years, yet the Supreme Court did not step in until 2021after Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh had joined the bench. Barretts predecessor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, voted against gun rights, while Kavanaughs predecessor, Justice Anthony Kennedy, demanded language limiting the scope of Heller. Chief Justice John Roberts seemed eager to avoid Second Amendment cases, if only for fear of backlash. But his vote no longer matters with Barrett and Kavanaugh on the court. Both justices were chosen, in part, because of their past opinions endorsing a broad vision of the right to bear arms.

So when Paul Clement, arguing on behalf of the petitioners, began attacking New Yorks good cause rule on Wednesday, the court promptly cleaved along partisan lines. The conservative justices mostly tossed softballs, while the liberal justices launched a fusillade of questions about the constitutional and practical consequences of his position. After Clement insisted that New York could still ban guns in sensitive places, Justice Elena Kagan (who once shot a deer while hunting with Antonin Scalia) pressed for examples: What about the New York City subway? The NYU campus? Crowded stadiums? Packed protests?

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Clements argument derived from a fantasy version of history.

After Clement refused to answer these questions directly, Barrett jumped in with an assist. Cant we just say Times Square on New Years Eve is a sensitive place? Because now weve seen people are on top of each other, weve had experience with violence, so were making a judgment, its a sensitive place. Clement agreed that this restriction might be a perfectly reasonable time, place, and manner restriction. But its pretty cold comfort if New York can only ban guns in one of the most crowded places in the world on its single busiest night, but perhaps thats the best we can hope for from this 63 court.

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Much of Clements argument derived from history, or rather a fantasy version of history that erases a vast record of stringent gun regulations from the colonial era through the ratification of the constitutional provisions that allegedly establish an individual right to bear arms. Thirteen years of research have demonstrated that Heller contains a multitude of errors that undercut its central claim. Its too late to persuade the Supreme Courts amateur historians that Heller was wrong. But, as Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed out on Wednesday, the historical record also demonstrates that the right to carry a concealed weapon in public is not clearly rooted in American tradition, either. Sotomayor reminded Clement that many of the colonies restricted concealed arms before the Revolutionary War, and states maintained these bans following independence. And after the Civil War, there were many, many more states that granted a right to arms but not concealed.

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Many of the laws conditioned or retained the right of the state to decide which people were eligible to carry concealed guns, Sotomayor said. To carry the arms, citizens had to be subject to the approval of the local sheriff or the local mayor. Why, she wondered, is a good cause requirement any different than that discretion that was given to local officials to deny the carrying of firearms to people that they thought it was inappropriate? The best Clement could muster was that he didnt read the historical examples the same way Sotomayor did.

Later, when principal deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher came to the lectern, he debunked Clement in brutal fashion: Fletcher identified laws in Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Alabama, that imposed draconian restrictions on concealed carry in the 1800s. Justice Brett Kavanaugh tried to counter by asserting that residents could carry a gun openly, but he was wrong; as Fletcher explained, these laws banned both open and concealed carry. Justice Clarence Thomas retorted that Fletcher sought to focus a lot on western states, but the West is different. Again, nope: In addition to western states, Fletcher identified southern states like Arkansas and northern states like Massachusetts with historical analogs to New Yorks law.

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Frustrated with historical Whac-a-mole, Justice Samuel Alito took a simpler approach: bemoan the plight of the ordinary law abiding citizens denied their right to self-defense. His question to New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood is worth quoting in full:

So I want you to think about people like this, people who work late at night in Manhattan, it might be somebody who cleans offices, it might be a doorman at an apartment, it might be a nurse or an orderly, it might be somebody who washes dishes. None of these people has a criminal record. Theyre all law-abiding citizens. They get off work around midnight, maybe even after midnight. They have to commute home by subway, maybe by bus. When they arrive at the subway station or the bus stop, they have to walk some distance through a high-crime area. And they apply for a license, and they say: Look, nobody has said Im going to mug you next Thursday. However, there have been a lot of muggings in this area, and I am scared to death. They do not get licenses, is that right?

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When Underwood responded that it might be unwise to allow a lot of armed people in an enclosed space like the subway, Alito snapped: There are a lot of armed people on the streets of New York and in the subways late at night right now, arent there?

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In a colloquy with New Yorks solicitor general, Justice Alito expresses empathy for working class New Yorkers forced to brave the citys allegedly crime-infested subways on the way home from work, asking: Dont they need to carry concealed guns to protect themselves? pic.twitter.com/n485J1Qy2m  Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) November 3, 2021

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Leave aside the question of when, exactly, Alito last rode the New York subway, which, despite some real problems, is not the crime-infested hellhole the justice made it out to be. (He is from New Jersey, which may help to explain his bias.) Its extraordinary to see Alito express empathy, which he spurns in most other contexts. The justice has no apparent empathy for Texans forced to flee the state to terminate their pregnancies, or same-sex couples denied the right to marry, or racial minorities persecuted by law enforcement, or people on death row facing the threat of gruesome torture. But when a doorman wants to carry a handgun on the subway, his heart bleeds for them.

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Similarly, Alito proved uncharacteristically eager to divine the ostensibly bigoted intent behind New Yorks law. He was the first justice to cite a controversial brief filed by Black public defenders making the contested claim that the states concealed carry restrictions were motivated by racism, nativism, and suspicion of organized labor. There are those who argue, he said, that a major reason for the laws enactment was the belief that certain disfavored groupsmembers of labor unions, blacks, and Italianswere carrying guns and they were dangerous people and they wanted them disarmed.

It is jaw-dropping to hear Alito express concern for labor unions, whose rights he has ruthlessly crushed in case after case. But its even more jarring to hear him acknowledge the possibility that racism may lurk behind the law. Just last year, when the Supreme Court noted that racism drove states to allow non-unanimous convictions in criminal trials, Alito flipped out: In a furious passage, he castigated his colleagues for merely recognizing this tainted history. We should set an example of rational and civil discourse, he huffed, instead of contributing to the worst current trends.

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Theres little question that Alito and his conservative colleagues will invalidate New Yorks good cause requirement and compel the state to hand out concealed carry licenses to any gun owner who wants one. At this point, the bigger issueone Justice Neil Gorsuch raised repeatedlyis how the court will do it, and what ramifications its decision will have for other gun laws. Will the court deploy expansive rhetoric that undermines other gun restrictions? There are plenty under fire in the lower courts right now, including limits on open carry, bans on assault weapons and large capacity magazines, waiting periods, age restrictions, caps on the number of firearms an individual can buy each month, and more. Courts have generally upheld these laws, though conservative judges are increasingly eager to strike them down. Bruen could open the door to a new era of Second Amendment jurisprudence in which all firearm regulations are inherently suspect. All because five or six justices convinced themselves that the framers wouldve wanted to flood the New York subway with guns.
Civil courts are becoming the most powerful weapon against Donald Trumps Big Lie. Thats in part because the select committee investigating Jan. 6 has stalled due to obstruction from Steve Bannon and others under investigation, and because the Department of Justice has refused to go after the ringleaders of the mob that rioted at the Capitol. As a result, civil courts have proved to be one of the only legal venues for directly confronting the people intent on destroying democracy.

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The defamation cases are already piling up. And a fresh lawsuit was just filed in a Philadelphia-based county court on Monday against Trump, his attorney Rudy Giuliani, and other purveyors of the lie that Pennsylvania Democrats stole the election for Joe Biden.

James Savage, the Delaware County Voting Machine Warehouse Supervisor, alleges that Trump, Giuliani, Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, a right-wing legal organization that backed Trumps attempts to overturn the election, and a pair of Republican poll watchers defamed him by suggesting he had personally added votes to Bidens tally. Savage says that he has lost job prospects, his reputation in his community has suffered, hes been personally accosted in the street, he and his family have received death threats, and he has suffered two heart attacks as the result of the Trump teams fraudulent allegations.

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Savage was in charge of a suburban Philadelphia vote machine warehouse when GOP poll watchers Gregory Stenstrom and Leah Hoopes alleged that they witnessed him use a USB card to upload 50,000 illegal votes for Biden. Giuliani and Trump amplified these claims during a hearing put on by Pennsylvania Republican legislators in November, during which the former president called in by cellphone.

This newest suit follows similar lawsuits by voting companies Dominion and Smartmatic, and at least one Dominion employee. It is further evidence that defamation law, which has historically been employed by the powerful to silence critics, according to University of Utah law professor RonNell Andersen Jones, is beginning to play an outsized role in confronting the Big Lie.

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It has been less obvious to us that defamation law can be useful as a pro-democracy, anti-disinformation tool. But it feels like we might be standing on the cusp of a set of cases that are trying to do this, Andersen Jones told me over email.

In the Colorado case by a Dominion employee named Eric Coomer, the court has already taken depositions of Giuliani, former Trump attorney Sidney Powell, and others. The judge in that case is currently deciding whether to allow the case to go forward and against which plaintiffs. Savages attorney, Conor Corcoran, used Giulianis deposition in his own legal filing, pointing to statements by Giuliani acknowledging that he had an obligation to verify information before sharing it and that he hadnt done so while compiling and spreading many lies about voter fraud. (Corcoran also pointed to a New York courts comprehensive dismantling of Giulianis reckless voter fraud allegations in its decision to suspend his bar license.)

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Basically, plaintiffs in these defamation suits are looking to flip the script. They are asserting that some aspects of the disinformation campaigns sufficiently targeted them and their reputations that they warrant relief in tort law, Andersen Jones wrote. It is really interesting that defamation, of all things, could turn out to at least sometimes be the mechanism we use to combat disinformation from authoritarian influences.

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In Savages case, proving the elements of defamation for every defendant will be a challenge, but it appears that some of those elements are very strong indeed. Hell have to prove he was the specific target of false claims that were put out with knowledge that they were false or reckless as to their veracity and that demonstrably damaged his reputation.

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As to that last element, Savage has apparently suffered real harm. As a direct and proximate cause of said false statements, Mr. Savages reputation has been damaged, his earning capacity has been greatly diminished, and he suffered two (2) heart attacks, the lawsuit claims.

And the claims against him are certainly false: As the filing notes, a number of Pennsylvania-based judges dismissed as without merit the many allegations of fraud by the Trump campaign.

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What will be more difficult to prove is that every defendant was taking part in a scheme to specifically accuse Savage of committing fraud, but even here he has some prospects.

During the November Gettysburg hearing, at which Giuliani and Trump were featured performers, Stenstrom said that he had personally observed USB v-cards being uploaded to the voting machines by the voting machine warehouse supervisor on multiple occasions and that the result [] was 50,000 votes for Biden. The direct implication was that Savage had committed fraud that added to Bidens total by 50,000.

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People ask me all the time, how do people commit crimes, I know theres a lot of theories here and I always look for the simplest thing, Stenstrom added, making his allegation clearer. Sticking USB sticks in, putting ballots in, very simple thing. Stenstrom also repeated his claim against Savage on national television on Sean Hannitys Fox News show. And at a December press conference put on by the right-wing legal group the Thomas More Society, another defendant in this suit, Stenstrom again identified Savage by his title and implied that he had committed fraud.

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I saw the voting machine warehouse supervisor for Delaware County carrying in unsealed bags of unsecured USB v-card drives, which he inexplicably proceeded to plug into computers, the vote counting computers, and upload into the official vote tally, Stenstrom said. When he was finished, the vote count shot up by 50,000 votes for Vice President Biden.

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Hoopes, another poll watcher, meanwhile, implied during the Gettysburg hearing that Savage had a political motivation to commit fraud, saying, The voting machine warehouse supervisor is a Bernie Sanders delegate who was also solely responsible for every scanner, machine, v-card, and all machines with absolutely zero experience in this area. The lawsuit claims that this was both an accusation by Hoopes and an acknowledgment that she was aware that someone with absolutely zero experience in this area, such as Savage, could not have had the technical capacity to commit the fraud she was insinuating.

Finally, theres Giuliani, Trump, and Ellis, who all to some degree promoted Stenstroms false allegation at the Gettysburg hearing.

This voter fraud that took place, which as you will see from the witnesses that we call, had several dimensions to it, several different ways in which it was done, Giuliani said before introducing the demonstrations of Stenstrom and Hoopes. What are the odds that [votes] all switched? Overnight? They just switched, by the next day.  I think youre gonna see how that happened. Ellis, for her part, said she echo[ed] everything Giuliani had just said. And when he called into the hearing on Ellis cellphone, Trump specifically repeated Stenstroms false allegation that 50,000 votes had been switched and that people put votes in, and they put em in illegally, they put em in after the polls closed.

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The fact that Trump, Ellis, and Giuliani dont directly reference Savages position might make his case against them more difficult, but still possible, even as he appears to easily meet this element of defamation law against the GOP poll workers.

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The injured party just has to show that the defamatory statement is of and concerning him. It can be that he is explicitly named, but it is also possible for this to happen through descriptions or titles or reference to the position he holds, Andersen Jones wrote. Much looser references by others who echo the allegations but dont echo the descriptive identification may well fall short of meeting this element.

The biggest targets of the suit appeared to repeat the lies but apparently didnt repeat the initial libel verbatim with all of the details that identified the plaintiff. The case is obviously stronger when there is an assertion of direct identification and more explicit defamation, Andersen Jones pointed out.

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For his part, Corcoran argues that his client will be able to overcome this obstacle because Trump and Giuliani, in essence, planned to have Stenstrom defame Savage for them as part of a piece of concerted political theater.

Its clear that they set up Stenstrom to propagate that lie, he told me. To that end, the lawsuit alleges, in a separate count from the defamation claim, a civil conspiracy that Trump, Ellis, and Giuliani had a common purpose of unlawfully pushing out Stenstroms false and defamatory statements and/or insinuations about his client.

In this particular instance they all got together and planned that piece of political theater to produce that specific piece of defamation against my guy and I think thats why Trump and Giuliani are on the hook too, Corcoran said. Thats why theres a civil conspiracy count here too: because they planned this.

Ultimately, even if Giuliani, Trump, and Ellis manage to survive this legal challenge unscathedwhich is far from certainit seems that there will be a price to pay for at least some of the figures who falsely accused fellow citizens and election workers of committing crimes and taking part in a fraud that did not happen. It may not be enough to end the Big Lie, but its a good start.
In 1965, the Yale architecture magazine Perspecta commissioned Charles Moore, a young architect who had taught at the University of California, Berkeley for the previous six years, to write about monumental architecture in California. Moore wrote, by way of introduction, that he was about to zig, where the editors of Perspecta had thought he would zag: The editors suspected, I presume, that I would discover that in California there is no contemporary monumental architecture, or that there is no urban scene (except in a sector of San Francisco), or more probably, that both monumental architecture and the urban scene are missing.

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But rather than dismissing everything in California, Moore delivered his classic essay You Have to Pay for the Public Life, an uneasy celebration of privatized public spaces, of what we have instead: a new kind of public sphere, for a new kind of public. He described downtown Santa Barbara as one of the few great public spaces of Southern California, a public realm filled with architectural nuance and, even more importantly, filled with the public. But apart from a few isolated examples like that one, Moore argued that this Californian public life was often to be found in paid-entry spaces, and its epitome was Disneyland, the most important single piece of construction in the West in the past several decades. This theme park, he wrote, was a blueprint for the future. To create a public realm, Moore wrote, we depend, in part, on more Disneys, on men willing to submerge their own Mickey Mouse visions in a broader vision of greater public interest, and who are nonetheless willing and able to focus their attention on a particular problem and a particular place.

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In the past few days, another wannabe Disney has been in the news, and weve had the chance, once again, to see how California has borne out Moores midcentury prophecies about the risks and benefits of privatization. News of Munger Hall, UC Santa Barbaras planned 4,500-student dorm, designed and partly funded by nonagenarian billionaire and untrained architect Charlie Munger, has exploded on Twitter and beyond after an architecture consultant resigned in protest over the lack of windows in 94 percent of its rooms. As shocking as this project is, it is the result of two long-standing processes: the defunding of public education, and the surrender of our public realm to private donors that Moore foresaw 55 years ago.

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For Moore, this surrender wasnt all bad. Moore pointed out that Versailles cost someone a great deal of money, too, and he believed in the need to create some kind of public space, in a state dominated by domestic architecture. This process would depend partly on the skill of architects who might seize new tools provided by technology and industrythe building blocks of Californias postwar boomto differentiate the floating gray suburbs then spreading between the pleasant anchors of early California towns. But these tools could only be applied given an appropriate commission, and that commission might have to come from a private individual like Disney.

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I am a graduate student at UCSB, and while I will probably not end up housed in this dorm, which is intended for undergrads, the plan to build Munger Hall matters a lot to me, as it will change the face of my campus and alter the experience of its student body. The proposed building is 11 stories tall, approximately the same height as Storke Tower, the campanile that is the campuss visual icon. Each residential floor will contain 512 rooms, divided into eight corridors called Houses, which each include eight suites of eight beds with two shared bathrooms per suite; one of the designs achievements is that students will have singles rather than sharing bedrooms.* Renderings of the rooms look nearly identical to my grad student bedroom one complex over, except that I have a window. Many critics have pointed out that one can only exit the suites through a single corridor, creating significant fire safety problems.

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The ground floor will include utility rooms as well as a bakery, grocery market, and 40-seat theater. The laundry room looks remarkably small for a 4,500-person building. The top floor, known as Our Town in the Sky, includes a gastropub, demonstration kitchen, cafe, juice bar, and multiple fitness centers. The design applies the corporate campus model of Silicon Valley tech giantsgenerous common spaces that blur the boundaries between work and lifeto an actual university campus.

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According to the report presented to the design review committee, the grand scale of the building will be treated in a classical motif with a clearly delineated base with common areas, a middle section containing the student housing and a top that is dedicated to the Our Town in the Sky component. The exterior is made of concrete panels, and the modular residential units are supposed to be prefabricated off-site to reduce assembly time. An immense rectangular block with no massing variation to add interest, it is not an attractive building. Munger called it our version of ship architecture on land, and the similarities to a beached ocean liner are clear.

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How could this unappealing project get so far? The schools stated reason is UCSBs housing crisis. UCSB is located not in Santa Barbara, but one town north, in Goleta, where the average house price has increased 17 percent in the last year to $1 million, according to the real estate website Redfin. (According to realtor.com, the median listing home price in Goleta is $957,000.) UCSB has also increased enrollment, beyond the terms of a legally binding Long Range Development Plan co-signed by the city of Goleta and the county of Santa Barbara. This year, due in part to COVID-19, many UCSB students struggled to find housing; UCSB has housed some in local hotels. The official UCSB press statement about Munger Hall framed it as delivering on the Long Range Development Plans goal of 5,000 additional beds.

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But Munger is only paying for $200 million of a $1.5 billion building. So why would UCSB allow Munger to dictate how $1.3 billion of university money will be spent? Because, as Moore predicted in 1965, the superrich now hold the keys to the public realm. They have helped fill the gap left by the decline of public support for cultural and educational institutions, which accelerated with Ronald Reagans defunding of the University of California.

The UC system was pivotal to Californias postwar boom, as university science labs fueled the growth of the aerospace and defense sectors and new campuses accommodated the expansion of higher education. As Aaron Bady and Mike Konczal write, in the postwar era, the UCs public mission was as close to a bipartisan consensus as you could find. Simon Marginson has described this midcentury model as the California idea of higher education:

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an ideal to be realized  as well as a vast workshop of practical activity in which people are prepared for work and society, opportunity is allocated, and new ideas are formed and disseminated. It embodies a society-wide commitment to universal access to higher education, with tuition free of charge or low enough to constitute only a minor barrier to entry and financial aid for the needy as required.

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But this vision lasted a shockingly short timea matter of decades. In 1966, Ronald Reagan ran for governor on an anti-UC, anti-student-protester platform, promising to clean up that mess in Berkeley. A year after Moore published You Have to Pay for the Public Life, Reagan was elected in a landslide, and he made good on his promise. Fifteen days after Reagans inauguration as governor, the Board of Regents voted to dismiss UC President Clark Kerr, and in 1970 a primarily Reagan-appointed Board of Regents agreed to an educational fee that amounted to the first tuition in the UC systems history.

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Charging tuition had two goals. First, the state would save money. But just as importantly, students who paid for university (proponents of the plan believed) would value their education more highlyand be less likely to protest. Reagans educational policy chimed with the privatized public spaces Moore half-celebrated: You had to pay, Reagan said, for the public life. Although Moore was an architect and Reagan was a politician, they each saw California as a laboratory for the idea of the American public. While Moore took the pragmatic view that we should take the chances we got to create something public, even if that meant a corporation was paying for it, Reagan fully celebrated the privatization of society. As president, of course, Reagan would implement this philosophy on a national scale.

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Reagans policy codified the decrease of state funding to UC, from a peak of nearly 70 percent in the 1950s to just 8 percent in 202122. To partly make up for this decrease, undergraduate tuition for in-state students at UCSB is now over $14,000 a year; for out-of-state students its over $44,000. This is a far cry from the universal access of the postwar era. In this funding scheme, money comes from individuals, rather than the state. Its not that big a jump from charging out-of-state students $45,000 a year to agreeing to details about room layout in exchange for a $200 million gift.

Mungers philanthropy, with strings attached offer to UCSB echoes the case of Barry Dillers $260 million Little Island park in the Hudson River, which will revert to city-funded maintenance after 20 years. Maintenance costs for marine structures like Little Island are significant. Diller isnt making any money off of Little Island, and there is much to be said for the advantages to the public of a new park in Manhattan. But Little Island lets a billionaire dictate what kind of public space a city should have, and where it should be. It also lets people like Diller dictate where money doesnt get investedlike in much-needed maintenance for dozens of public and recreational facilities across New York City that dont have the sex appeal of building an island.

Munger Hall is the ugly West Coast twin of Little Island. But if the rooms had windows and there was some kind of variation to the massing, making the exterior look a little more pleasing, I dont think wed be quite so upset. The true horror of Munger Hall is not its layout, but a billionaires power to determine how a public university spends its moneyand how natural that would seem to us, if we liked the building more. When New York City pays for the maintenance of Little Island, and UCSB shells out for an unloved, poorly lit dorm, the turn to private funding has truly robbed us of our say in democratic society. From his perspective at a still-tuition-free UC Berkeley, Charles Moore failed to see just how much we lose when we leave the public realm up to the whims of the superrich. Charlie Mungers paying for the public life, and hes getting his moneys worth.
This article is republished here as part of Slates partnership with Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The piece originally appeared in the Nation, a co-founder of Covering Climate Now.

Last month, I spoke to a group of climate activists about what I call information pollutionthe use of various PR tactics to shape the publics understanding of everything from how the economy works to what can be done to fight climate change. The day before, at the TED Climate Countdown event in Glasgow, Scottish climate activist Lauren MacDonald had accused Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden of being personally responsible for the deaths of thousands. A video of the standoff had gone viral, and one of the activists I was speaking to wondered if, MacDonalds bravery aside, this was really the best tactic. Shouldnt we think about bringing these companies into these discussions more? she wondered.

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It was not the first or even the 100th time Ive been asked that question. Quick answer: Companies are not people; they do not have moral compasses. But also, these nonhuman entities have had a seat at the table on environmental and climate policy for a century or more, and what theyve done with that seat is flip the table over and throw their chair at us. (See? Anthropomorphizing can work both ways.) But theres a longer answer here too, and it has everything to do with the subject of the talk I was giving.

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Back in 1962, a young Alabaman, E. Bruce Harrison, had just left his job on Capitol Hill to work in communications for the chemical industrys trade group, the Manufacturing Chemists Association (today known as the American Chemistry Council). He was just another PR person until science writer Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, her book about the impact of the chemical industry on both the environment and human health.

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Rachel Carsons book appears, and chaos ensues. And people are extremely concerned about the environment, explained Melissa Aronczyk, co-author of a forthcoming book, A Strategic Nature, about the history of environmental PR in America. Its at that moment that Harrison is appointed the environmental information manager and sort of given a team of other PR people who worked at companies like DuPont, Dow, Monsanto, and Shell and told, You design the PR response to Rachel Carson. This is a disaster. 

Harrison was the first-ever environmental PR guy. He and his team threw everything they could at Carson: She was a woman; she wasnt a scientist (Carson had stopped short of finishing her degree in biology to care for various family members); she had cancer, so this was probably a personal vendetta; she might even begaspa lesbian. None of it worked. Carsons work had sounded the alarm, and multiple environmental regulations ensued. But it was a learning experience for Harrison, and he would not repeat his mistakes.

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He went on to work for Texas Freeport Sulphur Company (today Freeport-McMoRan), helping to open gold and copper mines in Indonesia and New Guinea, while retaining a position on the MCA public relations committee. By the time he came back to Washington, in the early 1970s, various polluting industries were struggling with a wave of new environmental regulations.

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The year 1972, in particular, was an inflection point for businesses with respect to environmental issues. In the United States, you had the Clean Water Act. And then there was the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, which birthed the Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan for the Human Environment. This groundbreaking document made environmental issues global, emphasizing conservation, the redistribution of resources, and state responsibility for environmental damage both within and beyond borders. It also had zero concern for business. To the extent that industry was included at all, in the UNCHE negotiations, it was as a culprit and a threat, Aronczyk and co-author Maria Espinoza write in their book.

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The first principle put forth in the Stockholm Declaration reads, Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. Later on, the declaration reaffirms nations sovereign right to extract their own resources but notably balances that right with the mandate that countries must ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

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Sustainability was invented as a neoliberal, business-friendly approach that privileged voluntary and market-based solutions to ecological problems.

It led to the creation of new international laws, norms, and organizations focused on environmental protection, including the United Nations Environment Programme, which was formed as a permanent agency to act as the environmental conscience of the U.N. It was the kind of coordinated global call to action that youth climate activists are calling for today. It was also the culmination of what Carson had kicked off a decade earlier. Again, this was in 1972. So what happened?

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Well, all this progress on environmental regulation was a massive PR crisis for American industryand a huge opportunity for Harrison. Not only did he have contacts in politics thanks to his years working on the Hill; he also had international experience, industry connections because of his involvement with the MCA, and a few critical insights gleaned from the Silent Spring debacle.

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Harrisons first big idea was to pull multiple industries grappling with environmental regulations together into one group that could collectively represent their interests. He formed the National Environmental Development Association, an appropriately vague and green-sounding name for a group of pro-business politicians, labor groups, and companies in the chemical, petroleum, agricultural, and mining sectorsall of which felt that new environmental standards were a threat to their livelihoods. Harrison then opened his own PR firm, with NEDA as his first client and himself as NEDAs executive director. Harrisons wife, Patricia de Stacy Harrison, was a co-founder of the firm and a NEDA director. (Today, shes the president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.)

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Harrison also saw the importance of integrating business interests into the international discussion of environmental issues. Central to this endeavor was inventing sustainability as a neoliberal, business-friendly approach that privileged voluntary and market-based solutions to ecological problems. Throughout the 1980s, Harrison scored himself invitations and speaking engagements at various U.N. Environment Programme events, where he pushed the idea that the more companies participated in the creation of environmental policies, the more effective those policies would be. To be clear, Harrison wasnt the only person championing that idea in the 1980s, nor was his message a hard sell. Plenty of people were happy to embrace a business-friendly approach that required no economic tradeoffs. But given his domestic and international influence, Harrison was a driving force in this movement to allow polluting companies to shape environmental policy. In the late 1980s, he created two organizations: the Global Climate Coalition (which brought together manufacturers, oil and automotive and rail companies, and various other industries into a group that could effectively shape the global response to climate change) and EnviroComm (an international network of PR firms that would all use the same corporate messaging on environmental problems). These organizations stated mission was to monitor emerging environmental policy all over the world for their clients, and to influence that policy through strategic lobbying.

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The idea was to use those 20 years between the Stockholm Declaration in 1972 and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro to fully integrate industry into the international approach to environmental issues. The strategy was enormously successful. At the 1992 Rio summit, there was none of the urgency or directness of the Stockholm Declaration. Gone, too, was the emphasis on government regulation, replaced by a sort of big-tent approach that included business interests and prioritized compromise. In order to meet the challenges of environment and development, States have decided to establish a new global partnership, Agenda 21, one of the defining documents out of the 1992 Rio Summit reads. It is recognized that, for the success of this new partnership, it is important to overcome confrontation and to foster a climate of genuine cooperation and solidarity.

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That evolution, from regulation to compromise, is a critical one, because the Rio Earth Summit also birthed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which informed the creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and its reports, as well as every international climate agreement since.

It was at the many events run by business surrounding that 1992 Rio Earth Summit, convened by the U.N., [where] Harrison presented his paper on the concept of sustainable communication, Aronczyk said. And he had very willing ears of all the CEOs from all over the world who were interested in this idea. He was also chairman of the International Public Relations Association at that time, and the International Public Relations Association was also holding events around the Earth Summit. The environment was a very, very hot topic at that time, of real concern to corporate leaders.

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Harrison wasnt exactly delivering his message to an unfriendly audience. Maurice Strong, the organizer of the Rio Earth Summit, was an oil man himself and often talked about the need for industry to be part of any effective climate solution. A big fan of doing well by doing good, Strong often highlighted the financial rewards that could come from solving environmental problems and believed that companies embracing sustainability represented a real and meaningful change. Not to say that corporations are perfect today, but even grand corporations like DuPont have made immense progress in translating some of their past environmentally damaging practices into new profit opportunities, he said at a press conference in the early 2000s.

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In contrast to the 1972 convening, the U.N. encouraged business-community participation in 1992and industry groups were ready to take advantage. They drafted their own sustainable development charter to bring to Rio. And as you can imagine, this charter did not contain anything that would have really transformed how companies did business, Aronczyk explained. It was a very business-as-usual document, but it paid a lot of lip service to the idea of going green, of being sustainable, being very concerned about the environment. And because they got out in front of the actual conference, they were really able to put that document forward and stave off other kinds of more binding legislation or more draconian regulations that would have caused problems for these companies profits.

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That approach has held strong in the decades since the Rio Earth Summit. To the point where Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC since 2010, thought it a good idea to invite the CEO of Shell to that TED climate event in the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow.

Bruce Harrison died in January 2021, but at the end of his life, Aroncyk spent a considerable amount of time with him. He told her that battling Carson in the 1960s taught him how to transform the climate policy debate.

He spoke with me at great length about that moment as being a defining moment, because he felt that the big mistake had been not understanding how to communicate with the public, Aronczyk said. If you just tried to discredit existing knowledge by saying its wrong, youll meet with a lot of resistance.  What Harrison understood, and what ended up defining the rest of his career, was in developing public relations strategies where consensus was the order of the day.

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For Harrison, that also required making his clientspolluting industriesas valid of stakeholders as scientists, environmental advocates, or the public. Aronczyk said, Thats essentially the beginning of the end as far as environmental policy in the United States is concerned, because what you have, if you always have business voices at the table, is a sense of the self-interest of business, which is always going to be at odds with the need to protect the environment.

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Its a reality were seeing unfold right now, as West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin argues for a coal-friendly compromise on legislation that amounts to stripping out the cornerstone of the reconciliation bills climate policy: the Clean Electricity Performance Program. And we hear it routinely in President Joe Bidens comments on the subject too. Throughout the Build Back Better discussions, he has said hes willing to hear ideas from both sides to get an infrastructure bill passed.

Its also an idea that keeps torpedoing international efforts on climate and threatens to once again undermine the U.N. process as world leaders meet in Glasgow. The inclusion of oil CEOs in events like the TED Climate Countdown in Glasgow is evidence of the fact that the idea Harrison began pushing in the 1970s is still the norm. Given all the evidence we have of what sort of compromise industry is afterone that puts profits before the public goodperhaps its time to go back to a Stockholm 1972 approach. Forget the triple bottom line approach Harrison and his ilk were after. Theres one bottom line here: We get off fossil fuels and live, or we dont and die.
ARCHIVED - Blood pressure medication recalled in Spain



The two drugs will be immediately withdrawn from market in Spain

The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), which is overseen by the Ministry of Health, has issued an urgent recall for the drugs Coaprovel and Karvezide, both used to treat blood pressure. According to the agency, the medications have been withdrawn from market for not meeting quality standards.

Drugs affected

Batch FT028 of Coaprovel 300 mg / 25 mg with an expiration date of January 31 2023

Batch FT029 of Karvezide 300 mg / 25 mg with an expiration date of January 31 2023

The alert issued by AEMPS states that an impurity above acceptable limits was detected in both medications and that all products will be returned to the Sanofi Aventis laboratory.

Each autonomous community will independently monitor the withdrawal of the drugs.

Image: Archive
ARCHIVED - Incidence rate drops almost a point: Spain Covid update November 2



The majority of coronavirus figures remained stable over the holiday weekend in Spain

Celebrations and festivities of any kind are precarious during the coronavirus pandemic , and health authorities waited with baited breath for the latest figures to be released after the All Saints long weekend on Tuesday November 2. The Ministry of Health in Spain delayed releasing the daily data for four days, but thankfully, the national holiday hasnt had too drastic an impact on the evolution of the virus, with most of the important indicators remaining stable and some even going down.

New infections

Since the last update published before the weekend, 5,820 new coronavirus infections were registered on Tuesday evening. At first glance, this appears to be a significant increase on the 2,212 reported last Thursday, but the figures include cases detected over a four-day period.

A total of 585 cases were reported in the last 24 hour period, bringing to 5,016,968 the number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic.

Cumulative incidence rate

After several days of the 14-day incidence rate hovering dangerously close to the medium risk level, the figure has dropped almost a full point to 49.03 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

This all-important indicator naturally varies widely by autonomous community, the Balearic Islands topping the list at 87.66 cases, double the national average. It is followed by Navarra, with 83.18% and the Basque Country, with 82.91%.

On the other end of the scale, the communities with the lowest incidence are Ceuta, with 8.31% and Galicia, with 19.14%.

Fatalities and hospitalisations

In the last 7 days, Spain has reported 41 more deaths. Aragon and the Valencian Community have recorded the highest number of fatalities with 9 deaths each.

On a much more positive note, more and more communities are experiencing a decrease in the death toll, with the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Ceuta, Extremadura, Melilla and La Rioja reporting zero fatalities in the last week.

These figures bring the total death toll from coronavirus in Spain to 87,423.

There are currently 1,740 patients hospitalised with Covid throughout the country with 405 being treated for more serious cases in the ICU. In the past 24 hours, there have been 185 admissions and 83 discharges.

Vaccination data

As of Tuesday, 38,037,531 people (90.3%) had received at least one dose of the vaccine while 37,317,388 individuals, representing 88.6% of the target population, are now double jabbed.

Image: Archive
The representatives of universities in Slovakia disagree with more powers to the management boards, among others.

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The Education Ministry introduced university reform exactly one year after the Academic Senate of the Slovak University of Technology (STU) in Bratislava removed its then rector, Miroslav Fikar, after long-lasting tensions.

This is symbolic, because Fikars removal and his dispute with the dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies, Ivan Kotuliak, launched a debate on the necessary reform on the management of universities.

The reason is that shortly after Kotuliak took the dean post, most of his employees protested against him, and eventually left the faculty. Both the rector and the university management board were calling on him to resign. The only one with the power to recall him was the academic senate, which eventually supported him.

The reform should change conditions between the rectors and the deans, as well as the management boards and the academic senates. If this law had been in force two years ago, Kotuliak would have most probably not been the dean anymore.

It is not clear whether the reform will be passed in the end, since universities oppose it and are threatening to strike.

Selecting a rector a problem
After three months of lottery, Slovakia is the third worst country with a low vaccination rate in the EU and interest keeps decreasing.

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Lottery for the vaccinated airs on the public-service RTVS. (Source: Facebook RTVS)

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The lottery for vaccinated people not only had almost zero effect in luring people to vaccinate themselves against coronavirus. It did not succeed in addressing a critical section of inhabitants  pensioners who are the most threatened by the coronavirus.

The logic of the competition counted on the state willing to pay money for a prize supposed to motivate people to be vaccinated, instead of paying to cure infected people in hospitals. Curing the oldest people is the most expensive.

The 27 million prize money paid out had an even smaller impact on lowering the strain of the Covid-ill in hospitals than originally expected.

I personally think that the state should especially motivate old people, said Stefan Kiss, head of the Value for Money unit that runs under Finance Ministry. The probability that a 30-year-old will be hospitalised or die is very low.

Kiss did not provide any exact numbers on the interest of the elderly but in general, he said that fewer seniors than are represented in the population signed up for the lottery.

Foreign scientific studies as well as Slovak analysts have been pointing out that more motivating than the vision of a top prize would be a smaller sum to everyone who opts for vaccination.

The state would be able to pay, for example, out of 27 million, a reward of 50 to 520,000 people. If everyone who got vaccinated at the time of the lottery received money, the state would be able to pay about 100 to each one.

Kisss analysts pointed out in summer that the impact of the vaccination lottery to increase the vaccination rate in other countries was not proven.

The lottery would not significantly help, neither cause significant damage, governments analysts claimed.
The sale needs to be approved by the state since the company belongs to the critical infrastructure.

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The Czech company Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH) reportedly plans to sell its minority, 49-percent share in the regional distribution company Stredoslovenska Energetika Holding (SSE Holding).

However, since the company belongs to the critical state infrastructure, it will need the government's approval. The state, represented by the Economy Ministry, currently controls the majority stock in SSE Holding. The managerial control rests with EPH.

The respective legislation was changed last year so that the interests of Slovakia are sufficiently protected when the critical infrastructure is sold, the ministry wrote in a statement, as quoted by the SITA newswire, adding that any requests concerning such sales need to be submitted to the government.

The ministry admitted that it is discussing the potential sale of the minority stock in SSE Holding. Neither the distributor nor EPH has commented on the matter.

Hungarians in play

EHP purchased the 49-percent stock in SSE Holding in 2013, after buying it from the French company Electricite de France for 400 million. SSE Holding is comprised of two companies: Stredoslovenska Energetika, which sells and supplies energies, and Stredoslovenska Distribucna, which distributes electricity in Zilina Region, Banska Bystrica Region, and part of Trencin Region.
Lottery for vaccinated people failed. Daily caseload in the third wave breaks another record. The capital already has a Christmas tree.

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Good evening. Catch up on the main news of the day in less than five minutes with the Wednesday, November 3, 2021 edition of Today in Slovakia. We wish you a pleasant read.

Half of Slovakia will be in the black tier

Map of districts from November 8, 2021. (Source: Health Ministry)

The pandemic situation is deteriorating.

The seven-day average of hospitalisations has increased to 1,454, up by 51 percent compared with the previous week, while the number of hospitalised patients with Covid rose to 1,774 (up 45 percent). At the same time, the average daily number of Covid-related deaths went up from 10 in the previous week to 28.

This is probably the worst thing were experiencing, said Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO) after the November 3 cabinet session, referring to the steep increase in hospitalisations and deaths in the past week.

He admitted the anti-pandemic measures applied based on the alert system, called the Covid automat, might even be toughened up if the situation continues worsening. The group of experts who serve as an advisory body to the Health Ministry should meet tomorrow to discuss potential changes to the system, with one topic being some relaxed measures for fully vaccinated people in black-tier districts. Currently, they face several restrictions.

The worsening situation is also reflected in the map of districts. From next Monday, there will only be two in the orange tier, meaning they will apply the least-strict measures. Another seven will be in the red tier, 34 in the dark-red tier, and 36 in the black tier.

The situation has also worsened in Bratislava, which will be in the red tier from next week. However, Mayor Matus Vallo stressed this is the worst possible tier the city will likely be placed in since the vaccination rate of its inhabitants aged 50 years and more has exceeded 75 percent. This threshold enables a respective district to lower its tier by two levels.

Still, we need to say the situation is very serious here as well, and if we didnt use this wild card, we would probably be in the dark-red or black tier like most Slovak towns, Vallo wrote on Facebook.

Lottery for the vaccinated had almost zero effect

The lottery for the vaccinated airs on the public-service RTVS. (Source: Facebook RTVS)

The lottery for vaccinated people not only had almost zero effect in luring people to vaccinate themselves against coronavirus, but it also failed to address a critical section of inhabitants  old people who are the most threatened by the virus, the Sme daily reported.

The logic of the competition counted on the state's willingness to pay money for a prize supposed to motivate people to get vaccinated, instead of paying to cure infected people in hospitals. Senior citizens are the most expensive to treat.

The prize money totaling 27 million had an even smaller impact on lowering the strain of Covid patients in hospitals than originally expected.

Foreign scientific studies as well as Slovak analysts have been pointing out that rather than a top prize for just a few people, a smaller sum paid out to everyone who opts for vaccination would be more motivating.

From the start of the lottery on August 1 until its completion on October 31, 259,500 people were vaccinated with at least the first dose. The state does not know how many were motivated to get vaccinated by the lottery.

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More coronavirus and vaccination developments

5,361 people were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 19,150 PCR tests performed on November 2, which is a new record since the third wave started. The number of people in hospitals has increased to 1,774 and 36 more deaths were reported on Tuesday. The vaccination rate is at 45.56 percent; 2,505,987 people have received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here.

were newly diagnosed as Covid positive out of 19,150 PCR tests performed on November 2, which is a since the third wave started. The number of people in hospitals and were reported on Tuesday. The vaccination rate is at 2,505,987 people have received the first dose of the vaccine. More stats on Covid-19 in Slovakia here. The Health Ministry has launched a study on antibodies against the novel coronavirus in selected regions. The aim is to find out more about the immunity a person who has not been vaccinated against Covid-19.

in selected regions. The aim is to find out more about the immunity a person who has not been vaccinated against Covid-19. 56 percent of children aged 12-17 years in Bratislava have been vaccinated. In Senec, 51 percent have been vaccinated, in Pezinok 45 percent, and in Trnava and Dunajska Streda 36 percent.

have been vaccinated. In Senec, 51 percent have been vaccinated, in Pezinok 45 percent, and in Trnava and Dunajska Streda 36 percent. 8 percent of pupils had to stay in quarantine this week, while 92 percent attended in-person education at schools. More than 290,000 testing kits for self-testing were used last week, with a positivity rate of 1.2 percent. PCR tests detected about 7,000 infected pupils, i.e. 0.9 percent of the total number of schoolchildren in Slovakia.

had to this week, while 92 percent attended in-person education at schools. More than 290,000 testing kits for self-testing were used last week, with a positivity rate of 1.2 percent. PCR tests detected about 7,000 infected pupils, i.e. 0.9 percent of the total number of schoolchildren in Slovakia. Most people in Slovakia do not expect the third pandemic wave to have a worse impact than the previous one, while one-third said they are not prepared for it from a financial standpoint. Slightly more than one-quarter of people would approve of a nationwide lockdown if the situation gets worse, according to the latest edition of the How are you, Slovakia? survey.

Travel info

After more than a year and a half, the United States has decided to lift its ban on foreign national travellers entering the country by air. Starting on November 8, every foreigner fully vaccinated against Covid will be able to travel to the US. This includes visitors from the European Union.

Picture of the day

A 15-metre-tall Christmas tree has been installed on Bratislava's Main Square. The fir, weighing in at 2.1 tonnes, was donated by an inhabitant from the Dubravka borough. The Christmas tree is an inseparable part of the Christmas atmosphere in the city, much like the Christmas markets on the Main Square, which the city plans to hold this year.

Christmas tree on Main Square. (Source: Courtesy of the city of Bratislava)

Feature story for today

The recently introduced university reform does not seem to have the support of universities, which are threatening to strike. They object particularly to the fact that it would give management boards more power. If the Education Ministry fails to push the reform through, Slovakia may lose about 0.5 billion from the recovery fund.

Universities protest, not wanting to grant more power to management boards Read more

In other news

The Czech company Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH) reportedly plans to sell its minority, 49-percent share in the regional distribution company Stredoslovenska Energetika Holding . There are several potential buyers; a Hungarian state-owned energy company is allegedly the top contender.

in the regional distribution company . There are several potential buyers; a Hungarian state-owned energy company is allegedly the top contender. Slovakia reported a general government deficit of 5.5 percent of GDP , or 5.062 billion, last year, up by 4.17 percentage points year-on-year. The public debt amounted to 55.009 billion , as stems from the annual report approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. On the EU level, 13 countries had a higher deficit than Slovakia, and 13 had more debt.

, or 5.062 billion, last year, up by 4.17 percentage points year-on-year. , as stems from the annual report approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. On the EU level, 13 countries had a higher deficit than Slovakia, and 13 had more debt. Slovakia will have a new nature reserve from December 1  the Primeval Forests of Slovakia the Old Growth Forests of Slovakia - following the order approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. It will include 76 localities across the country.

 the - following the order approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. It will include The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute issued a warning against strong wind for several districts in western and northern Slovakia, which will be in place from this evening until tomorrow noon. The districts of northern Slovakia should also prepare for a second-level warning against strong wind tomorrow.

More on Spectator.sk today:

Caputova: We are failing the effort to prevent the irreversible devastation of our planet Read more

Real estate fever. Situation in smaller towns is sometimes worse than in Bratislava Read more

Zuckerberg's timing is worse than suspicious Read more

If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/absolutely-totally-false-pentagon-refutes-iranian-claim-that-us-forces-attempted-to-seize-oil--1090458817.html

'Absolutely Totally False': Pentagon Refutes Iranian Claim That US Forces Attempted to Seize Oil

'Absolutely Totally False': Pentagon Refutes Iranian Claim That US Forces Attempted to Seize Oil

The US Department of Defense sternly rejected claims on Wednesday that American naval forces ever attempted to seize a vessel carrying Iranian oil, an... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T22:16+0000

2021-11-03T22:16+0000

2021-11-03T22:13+0000

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iran

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The condemnation was aired by Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, who told reporters during a news briefing that claims made by Iranian officials were "absolutely totally false and untrue."Kirby subsequently followed up his remarks by explaining that the allegations stemmed from an October 24 incident in which the US claims involved Iranian forces seizing a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker. Washington has maintained that it had only monitored the incident, and that US forces had acted in accordance with international law. "The only seizing that was done was by Iran," Kirby emphasized.Kirby's commentary surfaced after Iranian media issued a series of contradictory reports on Wednesday that detailed it was US military personnel who confiscated the Iranian tanker loaded with crude oil in the Sea of Oman, where members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy reacted promptly and gained control of the vessel, directing it back towards Irans territorial waters.Tensions between the two nations have remained heated over the last several months as Iran has repeatedly warned the US against its military presence in the Gulf, highlighting that Iranian forces have conducted increased patrols of the region to ensure safe passage of Iranian vessels.The latest spate unfolded just as Iran announced that it would be returning to stalled negotiations to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in the hopes of easing restrictive sanctions. Talks are expected to resume on November 29.

Martian On Earth The whole US corporate empire is based on lies, deceptions, piracy, and hypocrisy.. End of the story! 15

Lyle Milroy You would have to be an idiot to think an advanced u.s. sub would drive into an underwater structure. Oh wait, they did lol 14

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/ahead-of-indias-uttar-pradesh-polls-samajwadi-leader-akhilesh-yadav-is-shirking-his-duty-expert-1090444699.html

Ahead of India's Uttar Pradesh Polls Samajwadi Leader Akhilesh Yadav is Shirking His Duty: Expert

Ahead of India's Uttar Pradesh Polls Samajwadi Leader Akhilesh Yadav is Shirking His Duty: Expert

With each passing day, the battle for the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly elections in India is becomes more intense. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T21:49+0000

2021-11-03T21:49+0000

2021-11-03T21:50+0000

elections

politics

politics

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election

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India's former Uttar Pradesh State Chief and Samajwadi Party leader, Akhilesh Yadav, has declared he will not contest in polls likely to be held between March-April in 2022.The announcement came at a time when his party is geared up to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Yadav is traveling across the state to connect with people and highlight the failures of the Yogi government. He is also meeting politicians of other parties in a bid to form an alliance so as to collectively defeat the BJP.But Yadav's announcement that he would not contest the polls created confusion about who will now be the Samajwadi Party's main candidate for the post of State Chief.The Uttar Pradesh state elections are crucial, as the results might have a major impact on India's 2024 general elections. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will compete with the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress.Sputnik reached out to political expert Desh Ratan Nigam to understand how his decision to not contest the crucial state polls may have an impact in the upcoming elections. Excerpts:Sputnik: How significant would be Akhilesh Yadav's decision to personally not contest the state polls?Desh Ratan Nigam: Akhilesh Yadavs decision not to contest the state assembly elections can be seen in terms of two aspects. First, he is a member of parliament as of now and if he wins the state assembly election then he has to resign from the parliament. This will be a very difficult situation for him because, after his resignation, his seat might go to the BJP in the by-polls. So he might be concerned about it.Second, it is another way of running away from responsibility. Suppose the Samajwadi Party (SP) doesnt perform well in the Uttar Pradesh elections, he can easily say that it is the issue of the party. A lot of other parties like Congress are also doing the same. You have all the power but no accountability (through the use of this method).Sputnik: In the absence of Akhilesh Yadav, who could be another candidate for the post of State Chief from Samajwadi Party (SP), the main opposition party? Desh Ratan Nigam: This is a very clever move because if SP wins the state assembly elections then Akhilesh Yadav will come back as the state chief and somebody will resign for him. He will have to contest an election within six months and it wont be difficult for a sitting state chief to win a by-poll.Sputnik: Can such an announcement impact the Samajwadi Party's poll preparations? Desh Ratan Nigam: Definitely, because if the main leader of the party shows that he is not taking accountability then I have doubts that the cadre will be motivated. Any leader must lead from the front.Sputnik: Do you think other parties like Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) or Trinamool Congress (TMC) that are eyeing coalition with the SP, may have second thoughts? Can anyone else be projected as the state chief?Desh Ratan Nigam: I really doubt that someone other than Akhilesh Yadav will become a state chief if Samajwadi Party and coalition wins. Political leaders like Shivpal Yadav are like unknown commodities. The vote bank (voters), which these leaders had, has already fragmented. If you see the results of the previous state assembly elections, the BJP won because all the communities voted for it.Sputnik: Is there a possibility that Akhilesh's announcement just ahead of the elections may be counter-productive and benefit his arch-rival BJP, the state's ruling party?Desh Ratan Nigam: Primarily, it should. But it also depends on the BJP's strategy. The BJP has performed well under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath in the state. The (COVID-19) pandemic situation, especially the second wave, was tackled well. Employment has been generated and, most importantly, the law and order situation has improved drastically.

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/big-apple-blues-why-very-liberal-new-york-city-picks-mayor-with-strong-law-enforcement-background-1090451612.html

Big Apple Blues: Why 'Very Liberal' New York City Picks Mayor With Strong Law Enforcement Background

Big Apple Blues: Why 'Very Liberal' New York City Picks Mayor With Strong Law Enforcement Background

Former police captain and 18th borough president of Brooklyn, Eric Adams, won the race for New York City mayor on 2 November, defeating Republican nominee... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T15:30+0000

2021-11-03T15:30+0000

2021-11-04T08:34+0000

new york city

bill de blasio

world

us

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crime

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Before his November victory, the 61-year-old retired African American police officer won the Democratic mayoral primaries in June, outperforming former New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. The primary vote was mired in controversy after Adams raised the alarm over an abrupt massive increase in voter totals that threatened his election odds. This prompted some left-leaning reporters to mock the mayoral candidate, comparing him to Donald Trump, who threw the 2020 presidential election outcome into doubt. However, the NYC Board of Elections later acknowledged a "discrepancy" and re-tabulated the results.Liberal NYC Chooses Law & OrderSpitzer believes that Adams' win "adds fuel to the belief of many Democrats that they do better when they steer a more moderate course as opposed to the more progressive tack taken by some more liberal Democrats". The recent events also indicate that support for someone with a law enforcement background has vote-getting power even in the very liberal NYC, according to the professor."At the time Adams won the Democratic primary, many analysts expressed surprise at this outcome, imagining that Democratic voters remained interested in a strong programme of reducing police presence", recalls David Plotke, professor of politics at New School for Social Research in NYC.Plotke notes that after the death of George Floyd, an African American man, in police custody in May 2020, "there was an upsurge of criticism of police practices and of the scale of police activity in general". A wave of racial justice protests calling for defunding the police engulfed the country in summer 2020.At the time, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio supported the BLM cause by participating in painting the "Black Lives Matter" slogan on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower and turning a blind eye to the creation of the "City Hall Autonomous Zone" (CHAZ) in Manhattan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, eyewitnesses shared a video on Twitter featuring racial justice protesters at the CHAZ mocking and berating the police, and even calling an African American officer a "f**king black Judas"."The critics of policing had trouble coming up with a plausible programme - that was crucial", says Plotke says. "When parts of the left, including part of the Black Lives Matter movement, briefly took up 'defund the police' as a slogan, they got a resoundingly negative response. Another reason for this shift was a notable increase in crime rates in the last couple of years in many cities, especially in murders".In December 2020, NYPD records showed a spike in shootings, from 748 in 2019 to 1,480, with murders up 40%, from 312 in 2019 to 436.Although Democrats in NYC very much want reforms that would make another George Floyd case very unlikely, they also want substantial policing, the professor notes, adding that this includes public opinion among Blacks in NY, whose communities suffer the most from any increase in crime.NYC's Two Acute Problems: Crime and HomelessnessAdams' victory is not surprising, in "particular since crime was the most important issue and Adams was seen as the most law and order candidate in the primary and in the general election", echoes Spencer Kimball, an assistant professor of political communications and director of Emerson Polling.Kimball notes that Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa also has a crime-fighting background, being the founder and chief executive officer of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit organisation for unarmed crime prevention. This is by no means a coincidence, according to Kimball.However, Adams was boosted to victory by the sheer number and loyalty of Democratic voters, with active enrolled Democrats outnumbering Republicans by over 2.8 million in New York City as of 1 November 2021, Schantz underscores, recalling that over the past three decades, NYC elected only two Republican mayors, Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg."Three strengths that Adams brings to the table are his penchant for working for many hours at the office, his experience as a police captain, and his status as the second Black mayor of Americas largest city", Schantz says.These assets should afford the new mayor an opportunity to deliver on his promises and address New Yorkers' concerns, the academic concludes.

https://sputniknews.com/20210721/almost-two-thirds-of-us-voters-want-congress-to-probe-black-lives-matter-riots---poll-1083433601.html

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/british-pm-boris-johnson-insists-uk-will-make-no-concessions-in-fishing-row-with-france-1090437670.html

British PM Boris Johnson Insists UK Will Make No Concessions in Fishing Row With France

British PM Boris Johnson Insists UK Will Make No Concessions in Fishing Row With France

At the heart of the dispute is the implementation of the post-Brexit trade deal the United Kingdom signed with the European Union, in particular, the issue of... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T08:41+0000

2021-11-03T08:41+0000

2021-11-03T08:41+0000

france

boris johnson

emmanuel macron

europe

uk

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted that the United Kingdom will make no concessions in the ongoing fishing row with France.During a press conference on the sidelines of the 26th UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, the PM was asked whether London had offered Paris more generous terms for fishing boats in order to settle the rift. Johnson replied that Britain's position has not changed, signalling that the UK is unwilling to make compromises.The statement comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron made a U-turn on the promise to take retaliatory measures against Britain. Mr Macron said discussions between the sides will continue and ruled out imposing any restrictions "while we are negotiating".Britain welcomed the move noting that Paris and London need to discuss not just fishing licenses, but a "wider range of issues as well". UK Secretary for Environment George Eustice will meet French Secretary for European Affairs Clement Beaune on 4 November.Details of the Fishing RowAt the heart of the dispute is the implementation of the Brexit deal, particularly, the issue of fishing licenses. Members of the European Union enjoy equal access to the bloc's waters, but since Britain left the EU nations need to apply for licenses in order to fish in the UK's waters. In order to get permission, nations need to prove that they had fished in a particular area prior to the Brexit negotiations (1 February 2017 and 31 January 2020).There have been disagreements over how much evidence is needed for a boat to be granted a license. France insists that Britain issued only half the permits Paris "is entitled to". London, in turn, argues that it has given licenses to 98 percent of EU vessels. The row escalated last week after Paris seized a UK trawler, the "Cornelis Gert Jan" in French waters near Le Havre over what local authorities described as a refusal to allow checks to be conducted. Another UK vessel was fined as it "didn't have the right to fish in the zone". Britain said both trawlers were used as a "pawn in the ongoing dispute".France threatened to impose retaliatory measures against Britain unless the UK grants more licenses to its boats. The threats include:As mentioned earlier, French President Macron has delayed sanctions, but according to the Associated Press, which cited a French government official, the deadline for action has been extended to 4 November. The United Kingdom vowed to take legal action if Paris decides to impose restrictive measures.

Dan Warth But what about fish? Nobody ask 'em? 0

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/british-trawler-seized-by-france-released-by-authorities-preparing-to-leave-le-havre-1090454112.html

British Trawler Seized by France Has Officially Departed Le Havre Port, Sailing English Channel

British Trawler Seized by France Has Officially Departed Le Havre Port, Sailing English Channel

The vessel was detained over allegedly failing to present a licence for fishing in French waters. The ship's seizure happened amid an unfolding row between... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

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2021-11-03T17:03+0000

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British fishing trawler the Cornelis Gert Jan, which was detained by the French authorities last week, officially departed the northern French port of Le Havre late Wednesday, marine traffic data has revealed.Latest tracking data indicates that the vessel is traversing the English Channel at a speed of 9 knots after having left Le Havre at about 11:30 p.m. local time.The vessel's swift release became possible after a local court rejected the French authorities demand to hold it on a 150,000 euro ($173,752) bail bond.The captain of the formerly detained scallop dredger, Jondy Ward, believes what happened to his ship was "over the top" and alleged that the harsh reaction of the French authorities when they detained the vessel a week ago was prompted by the ongoing feud between Paris and London.The ship was ordered to dock in Le Havre after French authorities accused the trawler of fishing without a licence in the country's national waters. The owner of the boat later insisted that it was fishing legally. The incident, however, took place hot on the heels of Paris' threat to impose sanctions on the UK over the alleged failure to fulfil its obligations on fishing that were undertaken during the Brexit divorce from the EU.France claimed that the UK had not issued all the licences for fishing in its waters that it was supposed to, while London denied this. Trying to pressure London to engage in a dialogue, several French officials warned that they might ban British fishing boats from docking and trigger additional measures if the UK does not listen to Paris demands.The fishing row, however, recently took a turn towards a potential resolution after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to work on "practical and operational measures" to end the conflict. However, Johnson was quick to clarify that the UK has no plans to make any concessions in the potential negotiations with France on fishing.

https://sputniknews.com/20211102/talks-need-to-continue-macron-backslides-on-his-vow-to-sanction-uk-over-paris-london-fishing-row-1090405044.html

GREGOR Belic They will sort it out, My believe is the tip of ice berg. Some negotiation is going on behind the scenes... 0

GREGOR Belic Man was released so both countries are begin to resolve deeper issues  0

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france, fishing, uk
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/china-set-out-to-expand-nuclear-triad-amid-fears-us-would-strike-before-2020-election-report-says-1090457664.html

China Set Out to Expand Nuclear Triad Amid Fears US Would Strike Before 2020 Election, Report Says

China Set Out to Expand Nuclear Triad Amid Fears US Would Strike Before 2020 Election, Report Says

A new Pentagon report highlights how heightened US aggression has fueled fears in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) that war is likely in the near future... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T19:55+0000

2021-11-03T19:55+0000

2021-11-03T19:52+0000

donald trump

china

report

competition

pentagon

nuclear weapons

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Amid publication in September of a new book about the final days of the Trump administration, it soon became apparent just how afraid military officials in both the US and China were that then-US President Donald Trump might attempt to stage an incident in the South China Sea that would bring the two countries into war and allow him to stay in power, either by hook or by crook.However, in the Defense Departments annual report to Congress on Chinese military developments, the department notes that American posturing in recent years has had a profound effect on Beijings strategic thinking, driving them to expand their nuclear capabilities at an increasing rate.October SurpriseChinas leaders perceptions of intensifying strategic competition driven by structural changes in the international system and an increasingly confrontational United States is consistent with the Partys long-held opinion - based on its view of competition between systems - that the United States seeks to prevent Chinas rejuvenation, the report states. Given this belief, the accrual of the PRCs comprehensive national power sets conditions for the PRCs greater willingness to confront the United States.It goes on to mention that twice in late October 2020, just days before the US election that Trump lost to Biden, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley and then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper both reached out to their Chinese counterparts to try and assuage Beijings fears. Days earlier, the Peoples Liberation Army had put all five commands on high alert due to fears of a so-called October Surprise by Trump.A subsequent congressional hearing in late September revealed that Trumps continued contestation of the election kept tensions with China high, with Milley placing a second call in the wake of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol to again reassure Beijing that no strike was imminent. Milley also coordinated with US intelligence leaders, including at the CIA and NSA, to get advance warning about any potential coup by Trump, and he instigated a snap review of the nuclear launch process with his senior generals to ensure Trump didnt try and order an illegal launch, he said.Need for a TriadHowever, American antagonism of China didnt begin in late 2020, it has built over several years, since early in the Trump administration Washingtons strategic orientation began to shift away from the War on Terror and toward great power competition with Russia and China.Throughout Trumps presidency and into US President Joe Bidens, the US has staged provocative actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan, including dramatically increasing support for Taiwans military, and opened an all-out economic and ideological offensive aimed at demonizing China and cutting off its political and economic growth.The massive bomber, a heavily modified version of Tupolevs Tu-16 strategic bomber built for the former Soviet Union, has exterior missile mounts and an indentation under its belly for carrying an air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM). The unusual design allows for the PLAAF to deploy nuclear weapons from an aircraft without having to design a new nuclear gravity bomb, which China has never seen as a valuable part of its small nuclear deterrent.When combined with its submarine-launched ballistic missiles and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, the H-6N and its ALBMs give China a nuclear triad, or a guaranteed second-strike capability that only Russia and the United States also enjoy.Expanding Nuclear StockpileAccording to the Pentagon, the PRC is expanding its nuclear warhead stockpile, as well. At present, China only maintains a small collection of between 200-350 nuclear warheads sufficient to deter an attack, and has implemented a no-first-use policy to further clarify that the weapons are purely defensive. However, US pressure has accelerated expansion of that force, with the Pentagon projecting perhaps a doubling of Chinas stockpile to 700 warheads by 2027 and 1,000 by 2030.While the US is dismantling older warheads, its also pouring more than $1.2 trillion into modernizing its nuclear strike force, which includes several new lines of nuclear warheads. In July, the first W88 Alt 370 thermonuclear gravity bomb rolled off the proverbial assembly line at the Pantex Plant in northern Texas, while the small W76-2 warhead was produced in recent years and several other overhauls are planned.Other nuclear-armed states include Pakistan, India, France, the UK, Israel, and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, all of which maintain only small arsenals.

STABOU Youssef La Resistance construit la Phrase mythique des Piliers de la Resistance : Les Barbares ne comprennent qu'un Seul Langage... 2

STABOU Youssef Le Langage des Missiles BOULAVA !!! 2

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donald trump, china, report, competition, pentagon, nuclear weapons
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/china-strengthens-pla-with-mobile-oxygen-gear-in-tibet-to-enhance-combat-power-against-indian-1090437347.html

China Strengthens PLA With Mobile Oxygen Gear in Tibet to Enhance Combat Power Against Indian Troops

China Strengthens PLA With Mobile Oxygen Gear in Tibet to Enhance Combat Power Against Indian Troops

As the stand-off between the neighbouring nations continues, the Indian and Chinese armies have kept more than 50,000 extra troops for a second consecutive... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T13:51+0000

2021-11-03T13:51+0000

2021-11-03T13:51+0000

tibet

pla

border

chinese people's liberation army (pla)

ladakh region

indian army

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China has supplied a range of portable equipment to its soldiers stationed in areas 3,000 metres above sea level, which will improve their fighting abilities in the hostile environment of the Himalayas. The new "mobile cabins", with integrated facilities such as oxygen concentrators, will help frontline troops to keep going for long hours at sub-zero temperature and low oxygen levels.The Logistic Support Department of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) said that oxygen production and supply has become portable and individualised for every soldier.The CMC has also increased supplies of field oxygen in Tibet by establishing portable oxygen generators and solid oxygen generators, targeting the specific needs of plateau border patrol missions."A support system for oxygen use in both peacetime and wartime has thereby been established," the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said in a statement.The PLA has already opened the world's most extensive "plateau human genetic resources biological sample bank" in the Tibetan region to improve medical research into altitude sickness.Soldiers need more than 10 days to acclimatise to the harsh atmosphere where oxygen levels are only 60 percent of that available in the plains. Temperatures in the forward areas also drop to 30 below freezing (Celsius) around January.Footage released by the Indian Army showed troops equipped with portable oxygen cylinders carrying out free fall jumps from C-130 and AN 32 aircraft.In July this year, the Indian government supplied portable oxygen concentrators to border outposts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).Last month, a severe disagreement erupted between the two armies during the commanders' level conference. India's defence ministry said in a statement that it had made "constructive suggestions" but the Chinese side was "not agreeable" and "could not provide any forward-looking proposals". China had described India's proposals as "unreasonable and unrealistic".The two Asian rivals have stationed more than 50,000 troops assisted by artillery, tanks, and fighter jets along the loosely demarcated LAC. Last year, 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in a clash involving stones and fists in the Galwan Valley.

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tibet, pla, border, chinese people's liberation army (pla), ladakh region, indian army, indo-tibetan border police (itbp)
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/conservatives-gloat-online-over-msnbcs-meltdown-after-gop-candidates-victory-in-virginia-1090440852.html

Conservatives Gloat Online Over MSNBC's 'Meltdown' After GOP Candidate's Victory in Virginia

Conservatives Gloat Online Over MSNBC's 'Meltdown' After GOP Candidate's Victory in Virginia

Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin has won the election race in Virginia, beating his Democratic rival Terry McAuliffe with some 50.68% of the... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T11:48+0000

2021-11-03T11:48+0000

2021-11-03T11:48+0000

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virginia

conservatives

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msnbc

republican

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One could hardly imagine prominent Republicans recommending their fellow conservatives tune into MSNBC - a channel they frequently accuse of having a liberal bias. But this is exactly what happened on Tuesday night when MSNBC's hosts appeared to have a "meltdown" after unofficial results from the Virginia gubernatorial election showed the Republican candidate winning the race."To my Republican friends, please turn on MSNBC right now, this is the best TV you will ever see", former Senate Judiciary Committee aide Garrett Ventry tweeted.What happened on MSNBC was three co-hosts, Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid, and Nicolle Wallace, hardly managing to conceal their disappointment over GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin's apparent victory. According to the co-hosts, Youngkin was successful in the election race due to backlash about critical race theory.Their arguments did not appear very convincing to some viewers, who took to Twitter to gloat over how the hosts handled the coverage of the Republican victory in Virginia."MSNBC is currently going through the 7 stages of grief on an endless loop in real time", Buck Sexton, a co-host of the conservative podcast "Clay & Buck", tweeted. "It's great, highly recommend".He and other conservatives appeared to have been unusually gleeful at watching the left-leaning news channel.Some others pointed at how the left-wing news channel appeared to have omitted some details about the newly-elected Republican candidates in the state being trailblazers. For example, Managing Editor of NewsBusters Curtis Houck noted, that the MSNBC hosts never mentioned Jason Miyares would be Virginia's first Latino attorney general and Winsome Sears becoming the state's first-ever female and woman of colour lieutenant governor. Conservatives also pointed at how CNN, along with MSNBC, refrained from airing Lt. Governor-elect Winsome Sears' victory speech - even given the aforementioned details.The preliminary results of the Virginia election showed Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin defeating Democratic rival Terry McAuliffe. While the absentee ballots still remain to be counted, Youngkin appears to have secured 50.68 percent of the vote, and McAuliffe has 48.55%.

astrodetective MSNBC one of many zionist controlled media networks 2

wtfud I'm so upset, yeah yeah! 1

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/democrat-eric-adams-projected-to-win-next-new-york-city-mayoral-race-by-landslide-1090436164.html

Democrat Eric Adams Projected to Win New York City Mayoral Race By Landslide

Democrat Eric Adams Projected to Win New York City Mayoral Race By Landslide

The politician will take charge of America's city in January, becoming the second black New York mayor, after David Dinkins, who led New York from 1990-1993. 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T08:01+0000

2021-11-03T08:01+0000

2021-11-03T08:02+0000

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Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain and state senator, won the New York City mayoral elections by a landslide, getting 66% of the vote after more than a half of the projected ballots were counted. His opponent, Curtis Sliwa, talk show host and founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime nonprofit, only managed to get 29% of the vote, reports suggest.The politician started his career as a police officer in 1984 and became a captain shortly before leaving the ranks in 2006. He then ran for the state senate, representing the 20th Senate district in Brooklyn from 2006 to 2013. In 2013, Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President and gained enough support for a successful re-election bid in 2017.Adams is known as a moderate Democrat, who opposed the "defund the police" agenda over the past few years. He also supported outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio in his decision to make vaccination obligatory for police officers, firefighters, and other key workers.

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new york, us, new york city mayor, new york city, elections
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/democrats-are-projected-to-lose-virginia-and-guest-roger-stone-1090428741.html

Democrats are Projected to Lose Virginia and Guest Roger Stone

Democrats are Projected to Lose Virginia and Guest Roger Stone

On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan and co-host John Kiriakou discussed current events, including Minneapolis voting on replacing police... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T08:33+0000

2021-11-03T08:33+0000

2021-11-03T10:46+0000

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Democrats are Projected to Lose Virginia and Guest Roger Stone On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan and co-host John Kiriakou discussed current events, including Minneapolis voting on replacing police with peace officers, and NY Firefighters suspended for driving trucks to lawmakers office over vaccine mandates.

GUESTRobert Bridge - Author, Columnist | American Corporations Hurting Children, Russia Upholding Family Values, and Political InfightingRoger Stone - Political Consultant, Author, and Former Lobbyist | Russia Collusion hoax, Lawfare, and The Virginia Gubernatorial RaceIn the first hour, Lee spoke with author Robert Bridge about the woke agenda in America, the demonization of Russia, and political involvement in parenting. Robert spoke about living in Russia and how American family values have changed over time. Robert discussed how American corporations have become too powerful and the influence they possess on the American population.In the second hour, Lee spoke with Roger Stone about the political harassment he has faced, the January 6th riot, and population changes in Virginia. Roger discussed the numerous anomalies in the 2020 election and the media calling people "conspiracy theorists" for wanting election audits. Roger talked about his time working with Richard Nixon and how the deep state came after the former President.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/ghislaine-maxwells-trial-may-shed-light-on-jeffrey-epsteins-famous-friends-media-says-1090448696.html

Ghislaine Maxwells Trial May Shed Light on Jeffrey Epsteins Famous Friends, Media Says

Ghislaine Maxwells Trial May Shed Light on Jeffrey Epsteins Famous Friends, Media Says

Maxwell, the daughter of a UK publishing tycoon, was arrested by the FBI in July 2020 and has since been held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in New York... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T14:29+0000

2021-11-03T14:29+0000

2021-11-03T14:29+0000

society

ghislaine maxwell

jeffrey epstein

rape

sexual abuse

sex trafficking

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Ghislaine Maxwells trial this month may shed light on Jeffrey Epsteins famous friends and whether they were implicated in his crimes, Forbes reported after a US federal judge ruled against proposed redactions of documents for the upcoming hearing.Judge Alison Nathan said that the redactions proposed by Maxwells legal team "were unnecessary to protect the privacy interests of the individuals implicated. According to Forbes, the ruling opens up the possibility of high-profile figures such as Prince Andrew, actor Kevin Spacey, former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, and former Barclays CEO Jes Staley being mentioned during the upcoming trial.The judge also allowed to use the terms "victim" and "minor" to describe the accusers. Ms Maxwells lawyers have argued that the terms were "inherently prejudicial". During the pre-trial hearing, Maxwells lawyers yet again drew attention to her prison conditions. Attorney Bobbi Sternheim claimed that on the day her client was due to attend the pre-trial hearing, Maxwell was awoken hours before dawn and forced to crawl "on her hands and knees" to get into a prison van. Maxwell was offered "very little food" and given no utensils to eat it with, the lawyer said.Previously, her legal team described prison conditions as "cruel" and "onerous". Lawyers have alleged that she is being woken every 15 minutes during the night and subjected to strip searches multiple times during the day. As a result, she has lost six kilograms and started losing hair, her lawyers claimed. Last week, her brother Ian Maxwell told UK media that the guards have reportedly "physically abused" Ghislaine, as he vowed to take legal action against US authorities over the treatment of his sister.Who is Ghislaine Maxwell and Why Does Her Trial Matter?The ninth and youngest child of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, she was part of the highest circles in Britain and the United States. In the 1990s, she met Jeffrey Epstein, a US financier and millionaire. The two dated and it is said that even after their breakup, they maintained close contact. In 2019, Epstein was charged with running a sex trafficking network of minors. Dozens of women claimed that he had sexually abused and raped them, including when they were minors.The alleged victims accused Maxwell of luring them into the hands of Epstein by promising them well-paid jobs at the millionaire's house. Some of the women claimed that she not only groomed them, but also took part in the abuse.Epstein didnt live to see his trial. He hanged himself in prison on 10 August 2019. His death sparked numerous conspiracy theories. According to one, the financier was killed by his powerful friends (among them presidents, prime ministers, and royals), who feared they may be implicated in his crimes. Several of his pals, including Prince Andrew and former US President Bill Clinton, travelled on Epsteins private jet and visited his private island, where the women claim they were abused.Thus, Maxwell is the only person who can shed light on his crimes. Her trial is scheduled for 29 November. She faces eight charges, including sex trafficking of minors and enticing minors as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts. She claims she is innocent and insists that the prosecution has made her a scapegoat for Epstein's crimes.

Jack Sprat LET THE PIG SQUEAL. 2

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/house-dems-put-paid-family-leave-back-in-spending-bill-after-biden-removed-it-to-assuage-right-wing-1090458641.html

House Dems Put Paid Family Leave Back in Spending Bill After Biden Removed It to Assuage Right Wing

House Dems Put Paid Family Leave Back in Spending Bill After Biden Removed It to Assuage Right Wing

The latest development in negotiations for the Democrats massive spending package has seen lawmakers rebel against a plan put forth by US President Joe Biden... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T21:09+0000

2021-11-03T21:09+0000

2021-11-03T21:06+0000

nancy pelosi

sen. joe manchin (d-west virginia)

bill

paid family leave

meghan markle

build back better

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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced the move in a Wednesday letter to her colleagues, saying it had been done at the urging of many members of the caucus.When Biden announced the American Families Plan in May, a social spending plan intended to serve as one component of a larger post-pandemic economic restart, it included 12 weeks of paid family leave. However, through months of compilation and negotiation, the resultant Build Back Better Act bill had been whittled down to providing just four weeks of leave.The US is the only industrialized nation without a national statutory paid maternity, paternity or parental leave. Some federal programs offer limited paid or unpaid leave, and some states offer their own paid leave programs, as well.Pelosi said on Tuesday she believed all outstanding concerns about the bill, which totals some $1.75 trillion over the next decade, could be resolved by the end of the day, a timeline that would have allowed for a vote by the end of the week. However, House Dems wont hold a vote on the bill unless they know they have 50 votes in the Senate - something not yet guaranteed, due to the continued intransigence of moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who has used his leverage as a deciding vote to force more than a trillion dollars out of the bills provisions thus far.He said earlier this week they are not in a rush right now and that negotiations will take quite a while to settle.House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that he thinks Democrats have the votes in both houses of Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act.Politico reported on Wednesday that among those putting pressure on senators to support the bill has been Meghan Markle, the California-born former Duchess of Sussex, who, along with her husband Prince Harry, stepped down from their British royal duties last year and moved to the United States.Sen. Shelley Capito, Manchins Republican colleague from West Virginia, described the situation.Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) also got a call from the royal, telling Politico, I was happy to talk with her, but Im more interested in what the people of Maine are telling me about it. Markle lives in Montecito, California.The UK offers 12 weeks of full-rate equivalent paid leave and a total of 52 weeks of maternity leave, although the stipend given each week steadily declines. After birth, a two-week leave is compulsory for all women workers, or four weeks for women factory workers.

BillOwens US regime is allergic to making lives of the middle class more bearable. 0

Gone Don't give any pay paternity leave, don't educate anyone, don't give anyone any health insurance... Enemies of America - and they are many! - enjoy reading about this bigoted, capitalist shortsightedness. They will destroy themselves, folks. Don't even need to do a thing. Just wait... about 10 years. Tops. 0

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nancy pelosi, sen. joe manchin (d-west virginia), bill, paid family leave, meghan markle, build back better
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/iran-says-outcome-of-nuclear-talks-clear-if-biden-fails-to-provide-guarantees-1090445103.html

Iran Says Outcome of Nuclear Talks 'Clear' If Biden Fails to Provide Guarantees

Iran Says Outcome of Nuclear Talks 'Clear' If Biden Fails to Provide Guarantees

It was the United States that ditched the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 during the Trump administration, with the former president then... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T14:58+0000

2021-11-03T14:58+0000

2021-11-03T14:58+0000

vienna

middle east

us

iran

nuclear talks

joint comprehensive plan of action (jcpoa)

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The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, warned on Wednesday that the negotiations on a possible restoration of the JCPOA deal will fail unless US President Joe Biden gives some guarantees.His remarks come shortly after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Tuesday underlined the importance of mutual benefit as the basis of the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.Tehran blasted the fact that Washington, while expressing interest in returning to the JCPOA, at the same time continues to impose sanctions on Iranian officials. In late October, the US Department of the Treasury imposed a new round of sanctions on four individuals and two entities allegedly involved in promoting Irans unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme.Despite the new sanctions, Washington appeared to welcome the idea of quickly restoring the 2015 agreement after Iran said that the stalled Vienna talks would resume by the end of November. Vienna Nuclear TalksThe talks between the JCPOA signatories to restore the deal kicked off in the Austrian capital of Vienna in April. In June, the negotiations hit a deadlock.However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in early November that it will announce the date for the talks to resume after consulting all parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), primarily China.While the issue of US anti-Iranian sanctions remains acute for Tehran, the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States have stated that in order for the sanctions to be lifted, Iran must first return to compliance with the JCPOA. US President Joe Biden asserted that Washington is ready to return "to full compliance with the JCPOA and to stay in full compliance, so long as Iran does the same".Tehran stepped away from its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA shortly after former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal in 2018. Iran has consistently reiterated that because it was Washington's move to exit the deal, it is now up to the US to take the first step and lift the sanctions before Tehran returns to its own JCPOA commitments.

netman There is Nothing to talk about...! 3

Lin Wren Frankly, I would trust any of them. Iran is a Sovereign Country & not an Israeli, USA EU's muppet. 2

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vienna, middle east, us, iran, nuclear talks, joint comprehensive plan of action (jcpoa)
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/iran-to-resume-jcpoa-negotiations-in-vienna-on-nov-29---iranian-deputy-fm-1090456972.html

Iran to Resume JCPOA Negotiations in Vienna on Nov 29 - Iranian Deputy FM

Iran to Resume JCPOA Negotiations in Vienna on Nov 29 - Iranian Deputy FM

Earlier Wednesday, Ali Shamkhani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned Washington that the outcome of Joint Comprehensive Plan of... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T19:06+0000

2021-11-03T19:06+0000

2021-11-03T20:11+0000

iran

jcpoa

us

joint comprehensive plan of action (jcpoa)

ned price

iran nuclear deal

oil

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Following a Wednesday call with the European Union's Enrique Mora, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri took to social media to announce that JCPOA negotiations are set to resume on November 29 in Vienna, Austria. Bagheri noted that Tehran will be seeking the removal of "unlawful and inhumane sanctions" placed on Iran. US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday that US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley has been appointed to lead US participation during the November 29 talks. The State Department communicated that it is confident that it can quickly reach an understanding regarding a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA. The concrete date puts an end to months of speculation over whether the two nations would abandon stalled negotiations on whether both Washington and Tehran would rejoin the international nuclear pact, and the removal of sanctions on Iran, one of the world's biggest oil extractors. In May 2018, then-US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the JCPOA - also known as the Iran nuclear deal - and reimposed sanctions that crippled the Iranian economy. Soon after, Tehran also abandoned its commitments under the agreement. Negotiations between the two nations initially kicked off in April, but stalled in June. Being that Iran, following consultations with a number of entities - including China, has agreed to return to negotiations, it is now a question of how Tehran and Washington will make concessions. While the US, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have said that Iran must return to the agreement before sanctions are lifted, Tehran has demanded that Washington lift its sanctions before Iran resumes its JCPOA commitments.

John Mason Don't know why Iran even bothers with the US; keep the US out of the JCPOA and it is up to the remaing signatories to make sure that the US sanctions do not affect Iran. If the can't for whatever reason the walk away from the JCPOA agreement. Iran doesn't need to hear the BS rhetoric coming from the US. 4

Willyspit What's the point Iran? How do you negotiate with someone who wants everything you've got including your sovereignty? 4

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iran, jcpoa, us, joint comprehensive plan of action (jcpoa), ned price, iran nuclear deal, oil
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/israel-to-use-high-tech-reconnaissance-balloon-to-help-idf-in-intercepting-missiles-1090453549.html

Israel To Use High-Tech Reconnaissance Balloon to Help IDF in Intercepting Missiles

Israel To Use High-Tech Reconnaissance Balloon to Help IDF in Intercepting Missiles

The Jewish state came under attack from a barrage of rockets coming mostly from the territory of the Gaza Strip in May 2021. The brief scuffle with Hamas... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T16:53+0000

2021-11-03T16:53+0000

2021-11-03T16:53+0000

middle east

israel

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Israel has launched its first advanced aerial surveillance balloon equipped with the Elevated Sensor (ES) system, which allows the country's air defence to receive an early warning about advanced aerial threats such as missiles and drones. The balloon, also known as the High Availability Aerostat System (HAAS), was launched by the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) in the country's north, according to a statement from the Defence Ministry.The HAAS itself was developed by the American company TCOM, which specialises on aerial surveillance.The balloon will hover at a great altitude and scan the airspace around it in all directions for potential threats, relaying information to air defence and filling in any holes existing in the ground-based radars. It will also allow Israeli air defence to detect threats from greater distances.Israel has a multi-layered air defence system: the Iron Dome that protects the country from short-ranged rockets and missiles; Davids Sling that intercepts medium-range threats; and the Arrow system that takes down long-range ballistic missiles. The Iron Dome is Israel's primary defence against day-to-day threats as most of them come from neighbouring territories  Gaza Strip and, according to Tel Aviv's claims, Syria.The Iron Dome intercepted hundreds of rockets during the May 2021 war between Israel and Gaza-based groups, such as Hamas. Some of the projectiles either made it to their targets or were intercepted too late and above inhabited areas resulting in several civilian casualties.

https://sputniknews.com/20210923/separate-bill-introduced-in-us-congress-pushes-1-bln-funding-for-israels-iron-dome-defence-system-1089330269.html

STABOU Youssef Rien de nouveau, le Premier Ballon Assassin c'etait Ariel Sharon ! 0

Tiger Well, this tech will further improve Israel's defense. 0

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middle east, israel
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/israeli-aircraft-conduct-strike-in-damascus-outskirts-syrian-state-media-reveals-1090430723.html

Israeli Aircraft Conduct Strike in Damascus Outskirts, Syrian State Media Claims

Israeli Aircraft Conduct Strike in Damascus Outskirts, Syrian State Media Claims

The latest development comes amid ongoing military drills in which Israeli forces are taking part in weeklong war drills that are said to simulate a full-scale... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T00:52+0000

2021-11-03T00:52+0000

2021-11-03T01:38+0000

damascus

israel

missile

syria

strike

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Israeli jets have reportedly carried out a missile strike against Syria, in the Damascus countryside, it has been detailed.Citing a military source, the SANA news agency reported that the the incident took place at approximately 12:56 a.m. Wednesday, and that a "number of missiles" were allegedly deployed "from the direction of northern occupied Palestine."It was further indicated that the strike had caused some "material losses" in the Zakia area. The extent of the damage remains unclear.The Israel Defense Forces has yet to respond to the reports.Syrian air defense forces recently destroyed a pair of missiles launched by the IDF from the Golan Heights. At the time the strike targeted Syrian air defense facilities.Israeli forces are presently taking part in a massive weeklong exercise that is reportedly expected to see participants involved in simulated war drills against Hezbollah militants. The drills are due to run until Thursday.

Dicksonrp And Pootin twiddles his thumb again, to appease his gods, Chickenshit Satanyahoo and Bennett. 3

vot tak If you want war so much, dicksonrp and nonyank, then go fight it yourself, istead of demanding others fight it, while you sit safely at home telling the grownups what they should be doing. War isn't a video game. 3

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Gaby Arancibia

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/israels-infrastructure-headache-only-going-to-get-worse-with-time-expert-says-1090435095.html

Israel's Infrastructure Headache Only Going to Get Worse With Time, Expert Says

Israel's Infrastructure Headache Only Going to Get Worse With Time, Expert Says

Over the years, Israeli authorities have invested billions in broadening highways, digging tunnels, and constructing a sophisticated railway system but the... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T06:31+0000

2021-11-03T06:31+0000

2021-11-03T15:16+0000

infrastructure

middle east

israel

population growth

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With nearly 70 percent of its population fully vaccinated, many Israelis feel that their country has managed to curb the coronavirus pandemic.The nation's streets are buzzing, the roads are packed, and traffic jams are once again a headache. And that makes Israelis angry and frustrated.On average, Israelis spend half an hour in traffic per day, which translates into 5.5 days a year in which they simply don't move.No AlternativesProfessor Erel Avineri, the head of the MSc Program in Energy and Power Systems Engineering at AFEKA Tel Aviv Academic College, says Israelis rely on their cars in the absence of any other alternatives.In Israel, however, the choice is minimal as infrastructure is lacking. A subway system is non-existent, the periphery is poorly connected to the centre with a network of trains and the number of buses is believed to be substandard.Growing Population as Core ProblemBut Avineri is certain that the situation is only going to get worse with time, and the reason for this is Israel's rapid population growth.The way it stands now, Israel is leading in fertility rates among all OECD countries, with women producing three children on average. The country's population already stands at nine million people and the projections are that by 2050 it will reach almost 16 million people.The catch is that Israel's infrastructure is just not keeping up with that rapid growth. "It takes years and even decades to plan, approve, develop, and construct infrastructure projects. And by the time some of them are completed, they are no longer relevant, as they meet the demands of the past, not of the future", explained the expert.Israeli lawmakers are well aware of the current infrastructure crisis. Over the years, the nation has invested billions into broadening roads, digging tunnels, opening new highways, boosting the train system with more carriages, purchasing more buses, and constructing light rail in several cities across the country.Yet, Avineri says the efforts that were exerted and the funds given were insufficient.Avineri is an engineer, not a politician. He struggles to understand the political reasons behind the decisions to neglect the country's infrastructure. But he is warning that if Israel doesn't wake up, the situation might soon be irreversible.Wake Up CallWaking up not only means that Israel needs to inject more cash into its infrastructure projects. It needs to make a shift in its current policies and that might mean the country will need to take painful decisions when it comes to its rapid population rates.That, however, will be tricky, primarily among religious circles that normally produce seven children on average. But Avineri says the clock is ticking, and if Israel wants to survive, it won't have any choice but to make a change.

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Elizabeth Blade

infrastructure, middle east, israel, population growth
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/narendra-modis-net-zero-emissions-commitment-will-shake-indian-and-global-energy-markets-economist-1090421039.html

Narendra Modi's Net-Zero Emissions Commitment Will Shake Indian and Global Energy Markets: Economist

Narendra Modi's Net-Zero Emissions Commitment Will Shake Indian and Global Energy Markets: Economist

Days before the start of the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Indian officials rejected a demand by western nations to commit to net-zero carbon emissions in the... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T11:53+0000

2021-11-03T11:53+0000

2021-11-03T11:53+0000

climate

joe biden

boris johnson

narendra modi

us

glasgow

china

scott morrison

developing countries

developed countries

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In a surprise announcement, India has committed to meeting a target of net-zero emissions by 2070. Speaking at the world leaders' summit at the UN conference in Glasgow on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made five key pledges for decarbonizing the country of more than 1.3 billion people. India is the world's third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide after China and the US. Alongside the net-zero emissions target, Modi also pledged to reduce the nation's dependency on fossil fuels by 2030, promising a 45% reduction in the economy's carbon intensity. Modi referred to his five pledges at the COP26 as 'Panchamrit', a concoction of five substances representing the five elements, considered a holy nectar by those of the Hindu faith. Modi additionally asserted that India will increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts and reduce its projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes between now and 2030. The Indian prime minister also stated that his country will have 50% of its power generated by renewable energy by 2030. Sputnik spoke with Dr. Vaibhav Chaturvedi, an economist who leads The Council on Energy, Environment and Water work (CEEW) on low-carbon pathways, about Modi's commitment and its implications for the Indian economy and energy sector.Sputnik: Can India achieve a net-zero emissions target by 2070? If yes, then what kind of efforts will be made?Vaibhav Chaturvedi: This is an unprecedented, bold announcement from the prime minister. This is more ambitious than either the EU and Chinese announcements. For an economy expected to grow fast for the next two decades, even peaking in the next 20 years is not an easy feat. This announcement will shake Indian and global energy markets and give a sense of much-needed long-term certainty to investors in the energy domain. The enhanced ambition of 2030 targets makes the net-zero announcement even more credible. The prime minister has stamped India's leadership in the climate discourse.Any ambitious target would have its share of challenges. The biggest near-term challenge is in electricity market design and distribution sector reforms. For the longer term, it would be managing human resources in the coal sector. Skilled human resources for the new shape of energy markets would be critical. So challenges galore, but strategic planning would help see us through.Sputnik: Can you elaborate on the implications for Indian industry and the nation's economy to achieve the five pledges made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi?Vaibhav Chaturvedi: Long-term policy certainty is always positive for investors. 2070 is almost 50 years from now. With enhancing ambition on the NDC targets, the ball has been set rolling for the near term as well. Investors and developers associated with the power sector will be the first to witness massive change. Then will come the players dealing with the mobility sector, and the decision-makers in the non-mobility-related manufacturing industry will see the implications of this shortly after. Industries that are better placed in terms of technology availability would have to go first as this minimizes these sectors' economic costs. However, the political economy of the transition would need to be understood and managed strategically.Sputnik: Job losses are a significant concern. Can renewable energy (RE) provide jobs to those who will lose their earnings in the wake of the transformation?Vaibhav Chaturvedi: The transition is across two generations. If the transition is planned well, the impact will be minimal. Still, it has to be ensured that workers in the coal sector and their families are adequately supported. The RE sector requires a different skill set. We should not assume that a coal miner can work in the renewable energy sector with just some minor training. The massive increase in the RE penetration clearly implies that the sector will have millions of job opportunities. The Indian ecosystem has to be prepared to provide skills to the potential employees for harnessing this opportunity.Sputnik: Do you think the developed world will be able to provide one trillion dollars in funding to developing countries, as demanded by the Indian Prime Minister during his speech at COP26, as well as the technology to achieve the stated climate goals?Vaibhav Chaturvedi: I don't think, at least in the next few years, they will provide anything more than the $100 billion, as promised. This, I think, could be a major flashpoint in the negotiations.

INSPECTRE net zero is IMPOSSIBLE.. no exersize or sex to cut down on co2.. in fact, HOLD YOUR BREATH because we put out as much co2 as the cows do, and once we are FORCED to eat bean based cheeseburgers it will get much worse.. 0

INSPECTRE imagine chilli, with twice the amount of beans 0

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climate, joe biden, boris johnson, narendra modi, us, glasgow, china, scott morrison, developing countries, developed countries, renewable energy, kyoto protocol, paris climate deal, ministry of new and renewable energy (mnre), india, cop26
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/new-york-judge-expects-prince-andrew-hearing-to-be-held-between-september-and-december-2022-1090454214.html

New York Judge Expects Prince Andrew Hearing to Be Held Between September and December 2022

New York Judge Expects Prince Andrew Hearing to Be Held Between September and December 2022

The Duke of York has been accused by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of the alleged victims of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, of sexually abusing her when... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T18:50+0000

2021-11-03T18:50+0000

2021-11-03T18:50+0000

society

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virginia roberts giuffre

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US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said that a hearing on the sex scandal case involving Prince Andrew could take place between September and December 2022.Prince Andrew faces a civil trial over the accusations made by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claimed that she was sexually abused by the Duke of York when she was 17 years old. The alleged incident occurred back when she was a victim of a sex trafficking ring of late American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.The embattled Duke, however, vehemently denies any wrongdoing and has even snapped back at Giuffre. He dubbed her lawsuit "frivolous" and claimed that she only initiated the legal battle in order to cash in on it.Prince Andrew's legal team also referred to the 2017 settlement of a civil defamation lawsuit against Maxwell, saying that Giuffre had already received "millions of dollars" from it.Before any trial can take place, both Giuffre and Prince Andrew have to undergo questioning under oath with the opposing lawyers. The attorneys for both teams said they expect to conduct eight to 12 depositions by that date.The dramatic legal battle between Giuffre and Prince Andrew kicked off in August, when the woman filed her lawsuit against the Duke, calling for "accountability". Prince Andrew immediately dismissed the accusations, claiming he had an alibi for the day the alleged sexual intercourse happened. He also said he had no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre.In 2019, Prince Andrew had to give up his royal duties following his infamous BBC interview, in which he said he did not regret being friends with Epstein and failed to express sympathy for his victims.

https://sputniknews.com/20211102/prince-andrews-attack-on-accuser-virginia-giuffre-may-backfire-in-court-lawyers-say-1090406465.html

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Daria Bedenko

society, prince andrew, virginia roberts giuffre
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/nord-stream-2-still-months-away-from-being-put-into-operation-us-media-claims-1090441372.html

Nord Stream 2 'Still Months Away' From Being Put Into Operation, US Media Claims

Nord Stream 2 'Still Months Away' From Being Put Into Operation, US Media Claims

On 10 September, the Russian energy giant Gazprom announced that construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been completed, and that it is only waiting... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T11:26+0000

2021-11-03T11:26+0000

2021-11-03T11:26+0000

russia

us

vladimir putin

sanctions

germany

construction

gas pipeline

project

nord stream 2

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The already-completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline may still be "months away" from being put into operation due to the "remaining red tape" hurdles, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.Bloomberg recalled that Germany's Federal Network Agency has until 8 January to issue a draft decision on certification of the Nord Stream 2 project.The news agency went on to say that, "approval appears to be a foregone conclusion after the Economy Ministry in Berlin issued an assessment last month saying that Nord Stream 2 poses no risk to the energy supply of Germany and the EU".According to Bloomberg, problems may arise when the draft decision is handed over to the European Commission for review, which needs to define whether Nord Stream 2 meets EU rules envisaging that "the gas-transport business is separate from production and sales - a process known as unbundling".Given that the European Commission's findings are not binding, the Nord Stream 2 project will not be shut down, Bloomberg reported, arguing at the same time that a delay is "more likely". "The EU has two months to reach a conclusion, which can be extended for another two months. Only then can Germany's regulator grant certification - potentially putting Nord Stream 2's starting date well into next year", the news outlet asserted.Putin Says Russia Waiting for Germany's Go-Ahead Over Nord Stream 2 Bloomberg's claims come after Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia could start delivering natural gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as soon as Moscow gets the green light from Berlin.He added that Russia was on track to complete filling for the second line of Nord Stream 2 in mid to late December. Last month, pipeline operator, Nord Stream 2 AG, said that the first string of the pipeline had been filled with technical gas.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has, meanwhile, pointed out that "all the German agencies continue to operate, including those that will certify" the Nord Stream 2 project.Berlin is currently undergoing a cabinet shift, as several parties are negotiating a new coalition government following the Bundestag elections on 26 September.Nord Stream 2 ProjectA joint venture by Russia's Gazprom and four Western European energy companies, Nord Stream 2 is a 1,230-km twin gas pipeline along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to complement the existing Nord Stream 1 network.The already completed network is capable of transporting up to 1.9 trillion cubic feet (55 billion cubic metres) of gas per year from Russia to Europe, thus doubling Nord Stream's capacity.The US and its allies in Eastern Europe, especially Poland and Ukraine, had been opposed to the construction of Nord Stream 2. Washington previously slapped a number of sanctions on the project, arguing that once Nord Stream 2 is operational, Europe will become even more dependent on Russia's energy resources, something that will allegedly help Moscow gain political leverage. Moscow has repeatedly underlined that the project is purely economic, and the way in which the White House opposes Nord Stream 2 is an example of unfair competition.

https://sputniknews.com/20211006/eu-could-have-avoided-fuel-crisis-if-it-didnt-politicise-nord-stream-2-expert-says-1089718308.html

FeEisi Stop wasting time Germany and certify NS2 pipeline. German businesses can pressure the government to act quickly. 7

Shalom Soros Seeing Yankees throw repeated tantrums regarding German-Russian economic cooperation has become hilarious. They act like scared little children, afraid of the upcoming darkness of the night. Only that Yankistan's night will last a lot longer. 5

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russia, us, vladimir putin, sanctions, germany, construction, gas pipeline, project, nord stream 2
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/pakistan-allows-banned-tlp-to-contest-polls-after-it-agrees-to-drop-french-embassy-closure-demand-1090442627.html

Pakistan Allows Banned TLP to Contest Polls After It Agrees to Drop French Embassy Closure Demand

Pakistan Allows Banned TLP to Contest Polls After It Agrees to Drop French Embassy Closure Demand

After more than two weeks of chaos and violence across the Punjab province in Pakistan, the Imran Khan government reached an agreement with the proscribed... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T21:46+0000

2021-11-03T21:46+0000

2021-11-03T21:47+0000

pakistan

islam

tehrik-i-taliban pakistan (ttp)

imran khan

emmanuel macron

religious fundamentalism

violence

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The Pakistani government has allowed the TLP a far-right Islamist group banned under anti-terror law, to contest elections in exchange for its withdrawal of a longstanding demand for the closure of the French embassy in Islamabad. On Wednesday, local media reported that the government will also free over 2,300 jailed TLP workers, including the group's chief, Saad Hussain Rizvi, within the next few days.Ali Muhammad Khan, the Federal Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, said that the deal with TLP is in country's interest and should not be viewed as a victory of any individual or group. The agreement has been kept secretive for some time due to an unidentified "certain reason"."The state struck a deal with its people to restore peace in the country," Khan said during a TV discussion on Geo TV. The minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would welcome the group - banned in April 2021 - into the national mainstream. The PTI leader accused anti-Pakistan elements of fueling violence in the country. In 2007, over 100 people died in a clash between Pakistani security forces and Islamic fundamentalists inside the Lal Masjid compound.The secretive deal is being implemented even as Pakistan's National Security Adviser Moeed W. Yusuf had warned the group of serious consequences, as he claimed TLP crossed "the red line and exhausted the state's patience."On Tuesday, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, the Pakistan Minister for Information and Broadcasting, predicted that the religious extremist group would not be able to impact politics.People have warned the government of sealing secretive deals with fundamentalists.The TLP came into prominence in November 2020 after it held massive protests across Punjab, demanding the closure of the French Embassy in Islamabad. Protests erupted as French President Emmanuel Macron defended the publication of caricatures of Islam's preeminent religious figure by the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo.The group accused the Imran Khan government of not taking stand in favour of Islam. In April, an estimated 800 police personnel were injured during clashes with TLP members. To curb the protests, the government banned the group under an anti-terror law.

https://sputniknews.com/20211027/at-least-one-dead-25-hurt-in-clashes-between-banned-islamist-group-and-police-in-pakistan---videos-1090247390.html

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pakistan, islam, tehrik-i-taliban pakistan (ttp), imran khan, emmanuel macron, religious fundamentalism, violence
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/pentagon-watchdog-reportedly-finds-no-misconduct-in-us-strike-that-killed-10-civilians-in-kabul--1090459515.html

Pentagon Watchdog Reportedly Finds No Misconduct in US Strike That Killed 10 Civilians in Kabul

Pentagon Watchdog Reportedly Finds No Misconduct in US Strike That Killed 10 Civilians in Kabul

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, admitted in September that the US had made a "tragic mistake" in firing a Hellfire missile at a white... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T22:57+0000

2021-11-03T22:57+0000

2021-11-03T22:54+0000

kabul

us military

afghanistan

civilian deaths

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An independent review conducted by the US Department of Defense has concluded that misconduct and/or negligence were not factors in the US drone strike that killed civilians, including children, on August 29, according to a new Associated Press report citing an unnamed senior US defense official. However, the Pentagon report did find that US forces had issues during the process of identifying and confirming the strike's target. The report also found general breakdowns in communication among those involved. Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said, an inspector general of the service, led the review after he was found to be an independent party regarding Afghan operations. Said's review reportedly takes into consideration that, at the time, US forces were operating under a number of stressors amid the rushed US withdrawal from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was also noted that US forces received intelligence on the car's perceived threat shortly after a Daesh-K* suicide bomber killed 13 US troops and 169 Afghans near an airport gate. Based on the factors raised, it was concluded that the US forces believe they were engaging a genuine threat when they fired on a white Toyota Corolla sedan operated by Ahmadi, an employee of a US humanitarian organization. The strike killed Ahmadi and nine of his family members. While no charges have been announced in connection with the review, a number of recommendations were included and passed on to leadership in both the US Central Command and US Special Operations Command.One recommendation calls for the US military to have so-called "red team" personnel accompanying strike teams to question the outcome of situations. The practice would theoretically reduce "confirmation bias" among troops and lessen civilian casualties, according to the review. News of the internal review comes shortly after the US announced a commitment to offering cash condolence payments to relatives of the Ahmadi family. However, an amount was not provided, as those plans have been finalized. The US Departments of State and Defense are also assisting in efforts to relocate surviving members of the Ahmadi family to the US, according to Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. *A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries

pgb in nz If there was no misconduct then they must have intended to murder 7 innocent children and their father who worked for them. Murderous bastards !! 6

Nonyank Because to the US, LIVES DON'T MATTER. 6

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Evan Craighead

kabul, us military, afghanistan, civilian deaths
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/senior-taliban-commander-killed-in-attack-on-kabul-hospital-reports-say-1090432657.html

Senior Taliban Commander Killed in Attack on Kabul Hospital, Reports Say

Senior Taliban Commander Killed in Attack on Kabul Hospital, Reports Say

On Tuesday, the Afghan capital was targeted by twin explosions that killed at least 23 and wounded 50. According to preliminary reports, the Daesh* terror... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T04:55+0000

2021-11-03T04:55+0000

2021-11-03T07:54+0000

afghanistan

afghanistan

daesh

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A senior Taliban* commander was reportedly killed during the attack on the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital. Hamdullah Mukhlis was among the fighters killed when his men responded to the assault, a source told Sputnik on Wednesday.The commander was a member of the Haqqani network* and an officer in the Badri Corps special forces.The situation in the country remains uneasy after the Taliban takeover in August. In the meantime, recent reports suggest that ex-security personnel have been joining the Daesh terrorists since the collapse of the US-backed government.In early August, the Taliban launched a major offensive against Afghan government troops, amid the US withdrawal from the country. The Taliban entered Kabul on 15 August and in September seized control over all the Afghan provinces.*The Haqqani network, the Taliban, and Daesh (also known as Islamic State/ISIS/IS) are terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other nations.

Charlie McD Oh oh. That won't go down well. 3

TruePatriot My thoughts exactly. 2

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afghanistan, daesh
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/swedish-institute-disowns-two-19th-century-professors-over-racial-research-1090433883.html

Swedish Institute Disowns Two 19th-Century Professors Over Racial Research

Swedish Institute Disowns Two 19th-Century Professors Over Racial Research

19th-century scientists father and son Anders and Gustaf Retzius have long been celebrated for their contributions to anatomy and histology, but their legacy... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T06:10+0000

2021-11-03T06:10+0000

2021-11-03T06:10+0000

news

europe

sweden

history

racism

scandinavia

science

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The Karolinska Institute, Sweden's leading institution for medical research, has decided to rename the street, laboratory, and hall named after famous 19th-century professors Anders Retzius and his son Gustaf.The stated reason behind the name change is their interest in racial biology, which allegedly reflects a set of values that the institute no longer supports. The institute explained that its firm conviction is that all people are of equal value.A 23-time Nobel Prize nominee, professor of histology Gustaf Retzius has been celebrated for his contribution to the histology of sensory organs and nervous system, yet is also known for his interest in a branch of racial studies that today is discarded as "scientific racism". His father Anders Retzius, a professor of anatomy and a supervisor at the Karlinska Institute, is credited with a number of anatomic discoveries, including the cranial index. Both the father and the son viewed the Nordic race as the pinnacle of mankind and were known for studying Finnish skulls, which in recent years has become a hot-button issue between the two nations, to prove their point.The statues of father and son will remain, but will be relocated."We will relocate and re-contextualise the statues in a context where you see what they did with their views on racial biology", Ottersen explained. When asked whether more name changes may be relevant in the future, the rector emphasised that his say is not the last one and welcomed a positive discussion.The Solna-based Karolinska Institute is a research-led medical university and is also known for hosting the Nobel Assembly that awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Last year, dozens of memorials and statues seen as tributes to slave traders, colonialists, and racists were renamed or taken down amid Black Lives Matter protests that swept the western world, despite originally being against police brutality in the US.While the protesters during unrest in the US targeted above others Confederate and Columbus statues, instances of removing the Founding Fathers were not uncommon. Most recently, the NYC Council decided to remove a statue of Thomas Jefferson, citing his history as a slaveholder.

https://sputniknews.com/20210621/uproar-as-swedish-national-museum-adds-insane-racism-warnings-to-classic-art-1083196798.html

mandrake Bowdlerization, as if things will be better after we the offending object is removed. 0

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Igor Kuznetsov

news, europe, sweden, history, racism, scandinavia, science
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/this-didnt-age-well-kamala-harris-mocked-as-she-claimed-virginia-vote-will-impact-2024-election-1090439579.html

'This Didn't Age Well': Kamala Harris Mocked as She Claimed Virginia Vote Will Impact 2024 Election

'This Didn't Age Well': Kamala Harris Mocked as She Claimed Virginia Vote Will Impact 2024 Election

The gubernatorial elections in Virginia are widely seen as a litmus test for Joe Biden's presidency. The election comes after the Democrat's approval ratings... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T10:53+0000

2021-11-03T10:53+0000

2021-11-03T10:53+0000

us

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Social media users have mocked US Vice President Kamala Harris' prediction about the results of the gubernatorial election in Virginia after local media outlets reported that Republican Glenn Youngkin is projected to win the race. A few days ago, when Kamala Harris was campaigning for Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia she noted that the results in Virginia will have an impact on the US midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race.The news of Glenn Youngkin's potential victory caused a torrent of sarcastic comments on social media.Many users joked that this was the first time that a statement by Kamala Harris turned out to be true.Others imagined how the VP would react to the news of the Republican's victory.Still others said that the results of the Virginia election is the public's reaction to Joe Biden's presidency.According to local media, Glenn Youngkin is 2.1 points ahead of Democrat Terry McAuliffe with 99 percent of the vote counted. He is the first Republican to win gubernatorial elections in Virginia since 2009.The private equity tycoon announced his decision to run for governor in January. His campaign focused on crime, the economy, as well as education, in particular whether parents should have a say in what schools teach children. His rival Terry McAuliffe focused on abortion rights and voting reform and tried to link Youngkin to Trump.The gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey are widely seen as a referendum on Joe Biden's presidency and the issues that resonated in those states may affect the midterm elections in November 2022, when Democrats will defend their majority in Congress and the presidential race in 2024.The elections come in the wake of Joe Biden's approval ratings nosediving in recent months.The majority of respondents (53 percent) surveyed by Quinnipiac University, disapprove of Joe Biden's performance. The significant fall in ratings was caused by the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan as well as a vaccine mandate for federal workers, which some employees deemed controversial.

pgb in nz "What happens in Virginia will influence 2022,2024 and beyond" --- The most sense that hag has made in a long time !! 4

Jackal If I was a praying man, Id be praying that Senile Joe lives until the next election, and Laughy McLaughsalot doesnt get to take over to represent us. What a total embarrassment. 3

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/top-uk-medical-expert-warns-covid-crisis-is-long-way-from-over-as-he-quits-pandemic-advisory-body-1090443211.html

Top UK Medical Expert Warns COVID Crisis is 'Long Way From Over' as He Quits Pandemic Advisory Body

Top UK Medical Expert Warns COVID Crisis is 'Long Way From Over' as He Quits Pandemic Advisory Body

This summer Sir Jeremy Farrar revealed that he was "seriously considered resigning" from his post at the helm of SAGE in September of 2020 in protest against... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T12:20+0000

2021-11-03T12:20+0000

2021-11-03T12:46+0000

boris johnson

pandemic

uk labour party

uk

covid-19

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Sir Jeremy Farrar has announced his resignation from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) - an independent body which has been advising UK authorities on the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. The top medical expert also warned that the COVID-19 crisis is "a long way from over".According to Sky News, the top medical expert has been advocating for a "vaccine plus" strategy to curb infection. The plan envisaged more mask wearing, continued coronavirus testing, and ventilation. Boris Johnson's government has declined to adopt such a strategy and instead chosen more relaxed guidance.The Labour Party has described Farrar's resignation as a serious "blow revealing the level of concern about the government's mishandling of the pandemic".Farrar's resignation comes as infections in the United Kingdom have been on the rise again. On 2 November, Britain witnessed almost 34,000 cases, with the number of hospital admissions for the past seven days increasing to 2.5 percent, official data showed.His departure also comes a month after an inquiry conducted by several MPs revealed that the government's slow response during the early days of the pandemic cost thousands of lives. The report criticised the delayed decision to introduce a lockdown.This summer, Farrar revealed that he had "seriously considered resigning" in September 2020 in protest against the government's decision not to introduce a further lockdown. "The absence of a decision is a decision in itself", he wrote in his book.Announcing his resignation, he revealed he left SAGE at the end of October because he wanted to focus on the work of the Wellcome Trust, a charitable foundation focused on healthcare, which he heads. He thanked his colleagues and praised the board's work."Throughout this crisis, Sage has provided vital evidence, and independent, expert, transparent advice to support the UK response, often under huge pressure", the expert wrote.

TruePatriot Good riddance to bad and clueless rubbish. He should have been booted long ere this over his rampant corruption and stupidity and his crimes against humanity. 1

CountTo5Manual His resignation does mean he knows terrible truth about SARS-CoV-2 0

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Max Gorbachev

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Max Gorbachev

boris johnson, pandemic, uk labour party, uk, covid-19
https://sputniknews.com/20211103/us-congress-committee-mulls-expanding-five-eyes-alliance-to-add-india-japan-germany-south-korea-1090433390.html

US Congress Committee Mulls Expanding 'Five Eyes' Alliance to Add India, Japan, Germany, South Korea

US Congress Committee Mulls Expanding 'Five Eyes' Alliance to Add India, Japan, Germany, South Korea

The Five Eyes (FVEY) is the intelligence-sharing alliance among the US, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. It was originally conceived of... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T06:57+0000

2021-11-03T06:57+0000

2021-11-03T07:08+0000

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japan

australia

germany

india

s-400

quadrilateral security dialogue (quad)

caatsa

five eyes

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The US House Armed Services Committee has asked the director of national intelligence (DNI) and the secretary of defence to identify the "benefits" and "risks" of expanding the "Five Eyes" network to also include India, Japan, Germany, and South Korea.Gallego has reportedly introduced an amendment in the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for the year 2022 to formalise the House committee's proposal.The NDAA is meant to authorise defence spending by the US government. The NDAA 2022, the first one during Joe Biden's tenure, has proposed a budget outlay of $715 billion as defence spending for the current fiscal year."The committee believes that, in confronting great power competition, the Five Eye countries must work closer together, as well as expand the circle of trust to other like-minded democracies", it adds.India's Case Different Than South Korea, Japan, and Germany, Says Navy VeteranSeshadri Vasan, an Indian Navy veteran and presently the director of the Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S), believes that the proposal to include India in the intelligence-sharing network reflects America's "increasing reliance" on New Delhi in the sphere of strategic cooperation. He says it includes intelligence gathering, surveillance, and maritime domain awareness.Vasan states that if India becomes a part of the Five Eyes network, it will be a "natural extension" of the strengthened defence cooperation between the two democracies in recent years.The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the four-nation grouping comprising India, the US, Australia, and Japan, held its maiden leaders' summit in September. Under the previous administrations (Trump and Obama), the US and India sealed three foundational defence pacts to increase interoperability and intelligence-sharing - the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).The Indian think tank chief, however, believes that the US could propose "riders" for India's potential membership in the Five Eyes network because of close strategic and defence ties between New Delhi and Moscow."I feel that the US could be a bit hesitant to share all the intelligence inputs with India and only look to share it in certain categories. However, the US would be more interested in collecting intelligence from New Delhi, be it the maritime domain or at the land border with China", he argued.At present, the $5.43 billion deal between India and Russia for the supply of S-400 "Triumf" surface-to-air missile systems is facing intense scrutiny in the US.US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman warned during a visit to India last month that buying the Russian S-400 missile system was "dangerous" and in "nobody's interest". She indicated that New Delhi could attract economic sanctions under the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) should it go ahead with the transaction.However, several influential US senators, including India Caucus Co-Chairs Mark Warner (D-VA) and John Cornyn (R-TX), warned last week that targeting India under CAATSA could have "deleterious" consequences for the India-US defence partnership.The US senators also called upon Biden to grant a "waiver" to India over the deal. The first delivery of S-400s is scheduled to arrive in India by year's end.

https://sputniknews.com/20210925/china-warns-us-will-dump-india-australia-and-japan-as-four-nations-convene-for-quad-summit-1089391336.html

https://sputniknews.com/20211027/us-senators-ask-biden-to-waive-caatsa-sanctions-against-india-for-buying-s-400-missile-systems-1090235574.html

Rokenbok Anybody wish that the US would just go away on vacation for 50 years or so. The world would become a safer more productive place to raise a family. 7

Capt'nSkippy !!! In other worlds, the septic yanks expanding further its part of the satanic globalist agenda of TOTAL surveillance of every citizen on earth. Soon everyone will be owned just as the CON-VID farce was shown to having a total fascist regime enacted like Australia is now. There is no freedom now, only to being owned and subservient! To read more of the Australian state of fascism, look "Corporate Australia" for more information. 5

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https://sputniknews.com/20211103/welcome-to-scotland-mr-president-man-exposes-himself-to-joe-biden-on-his-way-to-cop26-report-says-1090434846.html

Welcome to Scotland, Mr President! Man Exposes Himself to Joe Biden on His Way to COP26, Report Says

Welcome to Scotland, Mr President! Man Exposes Himself to Joe Biden on His Way to COP26, Report Says

World leaders and representatives from almost 200 countries have arrived in Scotland to take part in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), aimed at... 03.11.2021, Sputnik International

2021-11-03T06:38+0000

2021-11-03T06:38+0000

2021-11-04T05:27+0000

joe biden

us

un climate change conference

methane

deforestation

greenhouse gas

cop26 climate summit

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US President Joe Biden received more than a warm welcome in the United Kingdom during his attendance of the UN Climate Change Conference. A large man exposed himself to the Democrat while he was travelling from Edinburgh to Glasgow, BBC correspondent Jon Sopel wrote, citing a report from the White House Pool.According to him, the man was taking pictures of the president's motorcade and then at some point bared himself. The location of the incident has not been confirmed.Like many attendees, Joe Biden has been staying not in Glasgow where the conference is being held, but in the capital Edinburgh. This detail caused a torrent of negative comments on social media, with netizens branding POTUS "hypocritical" for taking a 45-mile ride in a large motorcade.Agreements at COP26Major deals have been announced on the sidelines of the climate conference. Over 100 nations pledged to end deforestation by 2030 and help developing countries to restore land damaged by wildfires and agricultural activity.The United States and the European Union have announced a global partnership to cut methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas, which according to the United Nations is responsible for at least a quarter of global warming. Over 100 countries have signed up to the initiative.The 26th UN Climate Change Conference, which will be held until 13 November, is widely seen as one of the last attempts by the international community to address the issue of climate change. Attendees are discussing ways of achieving net zero emissions by mid-century, which scientists say will limit the increase of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius and prevent extreme weather events that may lead to the collapse of natural ecosystems. Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere and emissions that are removed from it. Currently, the amount humans add is more than the amount taken away.

keyboardcosmetics The people's press (social media) is awash with ribald humour making fun of the delegates self-indulgence at the COPS jamboree. Surprise Surprise! Only mainstream media takes the delegates seriously. 1

GasMonkey If he freshly "Shampooed" I'm sure JoeyBabie enjoyed it. 1

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Max Gorbachev

joe biden, us, un climate change conference, methane, deforestation, greenhouse gas
One problem she doesnt want the group to face is people feeling hesitant to join because they dont want others to know of their hearing loss. Its often a problem for people who are newly diagnosed and might feel embarrassed by their hearing loss.

I think one of the challenges is getting people to realize this group is here to support them and not judge them or anything like that, she said.

The group will help reduce anxiety and help people become more accustomed to life with hearing loss.

Whitaker said the first meeting would be more of an introductory session for attendees to hash out the specifics of the group. She wants the group to be self-led, and let members determine meeting times and discussion topics.

One option for the group, she said, would be to bring in guest speakers. Local experts like audiologist Kurt Fahrenbrook or ear, nose and throat doctor James Massey were a few of the examples Whitaker provided. She said another way to bring in speakers would be to set up virtual meetings to let group members interact with experts from all over. Other meetings could focus on hearing aid technology and financing options or types of hearing loss. Another discussion topic is disaster preparation, which is something people with hearing loss often struggle with, Whitaker said.
ATLANTA (AP)  After a year of dealing with false claims and death threats, election officials appeared on track Tuesday to deliver a relatively smooth Election Day.

There were few reports of voting or equipment problems, other than the sporadic power outage or polling place opening late that is not unusual for Election Day. It was too soon to gauge the effects of new voting restrictions in place in a few states.

In a repeat of last year, the debate over masks made its way to polling places when a few voters in Virginia complained they were told to cover their faces before going in.

In Georgia, Fulton County elections director Rick Barron said turnout had been "light but steady." Two county polling locations did not have all the equipment they needed when polls opened, but poll managers followed proper procedures and allowed voters to use emergency paper ballots until the equipment issues were resolved, Barron said.

Election officials said demonstrating secure, consistent and fair practices would help reassure those who still have doubts about last year's presidential election as preparations begin for next year's midterms.

"It is a great dress rehearsal for 2022," Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said.
In October, Lozoya was photographed dining out carefree at a luxury restaurant in Mexico City, drawing criticism.

I believe it is legal, but is immoral that these things happen. It is imprudent, at the very least, Lopez Obrador said in October. That is why there is so much indignation at him eating at a luxury restaurant. Even though he can legally do so, he is a witness to acts of corruption that damaged Mexico a lot.

Lozoya fled to Spain, was arrested there and extradited back to Mexico in 2020.

Once back in Mexico, Lozoya alleged that Pena Nieto and his right-hand man, then treasury secretary Luis Videgaray, directed him to bribe lawmakers, including five senators, to support controversial energy and other structural reforms in 2013 and 2014.

Lozoya also faces corruption charges related to Pemexs overvalued purchase of a fertilizer plant and to millions in dollars of bribes paid by Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. He has said Pena Nieto and Videgaray told him to use $4 million from Odebrecht to pay foreign campaign consultants for work on Pena Nietos 2012 election campaign.
Texas may be playing with fire. Dell Technologies, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, American Airlines, IBM and HP have already criticized the Republican leadership for dragging them into some of their right-wing games.

JPMorgan is not some little fast-food chain easily pushed around. As Cullum Clark, who runs the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative, told Bloomberg, Wall Street is strong. These are not weak entities that have no resources. I think theyre watching closely.

Some of the more enlightened civic leaders in Texas share concerns that the new law virtually banning abortions in Texas -- on top of others seen as rigging elections in favor of Republicans -- might repel the young, educated workers companies want to bring to their Texas operations.

Then theres Abbotts order forbidding private companies to require proof of vaccination. What business is it of his to stop companies from protecting their operations against COVID-19 infections? The Greater Houston Partnership, a business group with Exxon Mobil and Chevron as members, criticized the decree. American Airlines and Southwest are openly ignoring it.
You also dont refuse to use your most effective weapons, at least not in a fight for the survival of humanity, without a good reason. And in this case, the best weapon in our arsenal is nuclear power. As former NASA climatologist James Hansen and his colleagues have argued, theres no credible path to climate stabilization that does not include a substantial role for nuclear power.

But to quote Greta Thunberg, the Joan of Arc of climate activism, the arguments against nuclear power boil down to it being extremely dangerous, expensive and time-consuming.

Lets start with dangerous. For reasons of human psychology, deep-seated fear of nuclear power is socially acceptable among those who claim to follow the science. But just as the COVID-19 vaccines have saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, a few people -- literally a few -- have had bad reactions to the vaccine that may have contributed to their deaths. Whatever that number is -- three? four? -- thats more Americans than have died from nuclear power.
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More than 50 years ago, Johnny Sherrill was wondering if he would make it out of Vietnam alive.

Last month he and other veterans he served with had the chance to meet up for a long-overdue reunion of members of the 86th Transportation Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

It was great. Hadnt seen them in 52 years. ... It was great to see them, but of course, were a whole lot older now, Sherrill said with a slight laugh.

More than anything, it was a time to sit down with fellow men who understood each other because of what they all had faced over a half-century ago.

It was great to sit down because as a Vietnam veteran, you can talk to any of them. We can talk to each other where we cant talk to civilian people because they dont understand what we went through, Sherrill said.

He said his son, who traveled with him to the reunion, ended up learning more than he ever had because he hadnt opened up to his family over the year.

He learned a lot because he never heard daddy talk about it. But to get to sit down and talk to guys who I served with and went through what we went through, it was an honor, it really was, Sherrill said.
I am committed to going to Washington as a unifier, and will work with President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress to lead a swift health and economic recovery from the pandemic for Ohioans, Brown said in a statement.

Both winners will fill the remainder of their predecessors' terms, which run until January 2023. They must face reelection again next year under a congressional map that's being redrawn to hold onto the seat.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Carey, calling him a courageous fighter and visiting the state to campaign for him, as did former Vice President Mike Pence. Trump congratulated Carey in a statement Tuesday, saying he was proud to have endorsed him early and strongly and saying he would be a great congressman! President Joe Biden endorsed Russo, who raised more money in the district than any Democrat in history.

Browns election marks a win for establishment Democrats, who sought to defend the district against a takeover by progressives. Her backers included Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn and several labor unions.

But victory may be short-lived.
For all its advantages, Pathway Park still sits empty.

The EDA has been considering two concept plans for its redevelopment: maintaining the large single-industry plan or dividing it into two or three 200,000-square-foot lots.

County Administrator Shawn Utt noted Wednesday that when the land in the flood plain isnt considered only about 50 acres of the park are developable.

Utt also noted that the park needs a new sewer line installed as the existing one has collapsed. A larger water line would be an asset and the Virginia Department of Transportation would like to see access changes made. While this work is being done, Utt said, it would be advantageous to go ahead and put in the necessary erosion and sediment control measures, which would serve as a good selling point.

Officials are seeking grants to cover some of those costs and, last year, Virginia's Industrial Advancement Alliance awarded the EDA $20,000 for development costs.

However, Utt said, many such grants look for regional initiatives. In discussing the possibilities, he said, Bland County was willing to consider such a partnership.
ST. PAUL, Minn.  As a small boy, William Kent Krueger never went down for a nap, never went to bed at night, without first being told a story. This became the way he viewed the world  through stories. As far back as he can remember, "I always wanted to be a storyteller, too."

And a storyteller he has become. His 18th Cork O'Connor mystery, "Lightning Strike," was released in August. Nine of his novels have hit the New York Times bestseller list, he's been published in 21 languages and he's won a whole shelf full of awards, from Minnesota Book Awards to Edgars, Barrys and Anthonys, the Oscars of the mystery world. There are more than 1 million copies in print of his novel "Ordinary Grace."

Doesn't that make him a writer, not a storyteller?

Not exactly. To Krueger, there's a distinction.

"I mean, Colson Whitehead is a writer," he said. "I'm a storyteller."

Krueger is in his St. Paul backyard as he speaks. It's a hot, blustery day in mid-September, and he has leapt from his lawn chair to grab and steady the heavy patio umbrella, which threatens to topple over in the wind and crush his visitor. He is cheerful and unflappable and continues his thought without interruption.

"I think a writer sets out to do something with literature that has sort of a greater purpose in mind," he says, hanging onto the umbrella pole. "Maybe a writer sets out to experiment with a new literary technique, change the course of literature, or they have a particular social issue that they want to explore. But a storyteller sets out just to tell a story."

The stories that Krueger tells, mostly, are mysteries  his recurring character Cork O'Connor is a crime-busting former law enforcement official who hails from a town on the edge of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. But he's also written two stand-alone novels, "Ordinary Grace" and "This Tender Land," which are coming-of-age tales set in the Minnesota River Valley in the 1960s.

Whatever he writes, he tries to make as true as possible.

"You're always going to touch on things that are universal," he said. "But that's not what you set out to do. You just set out to write a good, true story."

He pauses, laughs. "I think I had to serve a really long apprenticeship before I felt like a natural storyteller," he said.

From coffee shop to dining room

Krueger's long apprenticeship began some 35 years ago, when he lived in a different St. Paul neighborhood and held down a full-time job  what he calls being a member of "the workaday world."

Every morning he got up early and walked to the St. Clair Broiler just as it was opening at 6 a.m. He ordered coffee ("Coffee is part of the ritual," he said) and opened his notebook. He wrote for precisely one hour and 15 minutes and then caught the bus to work.

He was almost 50 years old when he landed his first book contract  a two-book deal for the first two Cork O'Connor mysteries, "Iron Lake" and "Boundary Waters."

Some things have changed since then. Krueger, who will turn 71 in November, now writes on a laptop, not in a notebook. He and his wife, Diane, moved to a bungalow in Como Park next door to his brother, and his writing station moved to the coffee shop around the corner. He sold more books, grew more famous.

And then, of course, COVID-19 hit, and it did its best to muck everything up. But Krueger is the kind of guy who makes lemonade out of lemons. The pandemic shutdown, he quickly realized, gave him the gift of time, and he took full advantage of it.

Since lockdown began, he has written two Cork O'Connor novels, two novellas, and is now working on his third stand-alone novel, a companion to the first two and set, once again, in the Minnesota River Valley.

So much unstructured time "makes me want to step away from all the other things and just write," he said, but there is little chance of that.

Greatly in demand as a public speaker, he switched from in-person events to Zoom and chatted with some 300 book clubs all over the world. His "Lightning Strike" book tour of 35 in-person events has also pivoted to almost entirely virtual. Wednesday's Talking Volumes event will be his second public appearance since the pandemic began (he traveled to Texas in September for a one-book-one-community discussion with 600 people).

He now writes at the dining room table, a switch that he is eager to reverse whenever it's safe.

"The truth is, if you make your living as a writer, you do what you need to do in order to get the writing done," he said. "The transition was much easier than I had imagined. One thing I like about the coffee shop, I get myself up, dressed, groomed, and going to the coffee shop was like transitioning into the creative mode. I don't have that transition now. I feel like I'm having to pull myself into the work."

A land of conflict

Krueger, who grew up in Oregon, was in his 30s when he first set foot in the Boundary Waters. "I just fell madly in love with that place, tried to spend as much time as possible Up North," he said. "I decided, this is what I want to write about."

Any good book is built around conflict, and northern Minnesota gave him that in spades.

"Conflict is just such a natural part of life in the north  it's the rugged landscape, it's the weather, it's different cultures trying to live together, and then I thought, well, what if I created a character who mirrored conflict?" Cork is part Irish, part Ojibwe.

Krueger began writing during a time when the term "cultural appropriation" was not much used. Still, he's keenly aware that without "a drop" of Ojibwe blood himself, he needs to tread extremely carefully when writing about the Ojibwe culture and people.

"It wasn't an issue in the beginning. Tony Hillerman was doing it [in his mysteries featuring the Navajo Tribal Police] and doing it quite well and was pretty much the inspiration for me."

Still, he said, "Every time I sit down to write a Cork story I am painfully aware that I am a white guy trespassing on a culture that is not my own. And so I work really hard to get things right. That said, it's still written from a white perspective  Cork is 34 Irish and 14 Ojibwe. I do everything I can to get the Ojibwe part of it correct. And the response I've had has been, without exception, positive."

Human nature, he said, is human nature, no matter what culture you are from. And "if you're a storyteller, you go where the story takes you."

The young Cork O'Connor

"Lightning Strike" takes readers back to Cork's childhood, when he solved his first mystery, came to appreciate his Ojibwe heritage, fought with his father and began to grow up and think for himself.

"My agent had been urging me to do it for years," he said. "So often in the course of the Cork O'Connor series I've made reference to events in his past, people in his past, and she's been telling me this is rich territory to mine."

Continuity, though, was tricky. Krueger doesn't keep a notebook outlining Cork's back story or events mentioned in previous books ("That'd be a good idea, wouldn't it?" he said, grinning) and when he turned in the manuscript his agent pointed out discrepancies.

So he "worked really hard to make everything match," though he admits to fudging in a few places. "I've had a couple of readers write and say, 'You know, in this novel, 10 novels ago, you said this, and here you said this.' And you might hope, hey, who's going to remember 10 novels ago, but they do."

Over the years, Krueger said he has grown to trust himself more, and he has stopped sweating over the writing. "Mystery is a construct, and so I sweat over the plot. All of the narrative elements are what I really love  character, sense of place, sense of atmosphere, finding a profound language with which to tell the story. Those are the things that I love, but because they're mysteries, first they have to have that plot."

And so he works at it, honing the story line, deepening the characters, making the mystery as much of a page-turner as possible, trying to write a good, true story.

Because that's what a storyteller does.



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MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was reelected to a second term, surviving a bitter challenge in a race that focused on calls for changes to policing and racial justice, elections officials announced Wednesday.

Seventeen candidates ran in the race, including many who took issue with the way Frey has handled changes to the police department since one of its officers killed George Floyd last year. Frey, a Democrat, risked his political future and drew the ire of the citys most liberal voices by opposing a ballot question asking voters to eliminate the police department.

Voters soundly defeated that ballot question on Tuesday but left Frey guessing until Wednesday about his own fate. Frey had 43% of the vote after the first count Tuesday night, which was more than double the support of his closest challengers but short of the more than 50% needed to win outright under the citys ranked-choice voting system.

Frey told reporters he won by assembling a diverse coalition with support from across the city, and that the backbone of his support came from the heavily Black north side and from the Somali and Latino communities. He said he plans to roll out details in the coming weeks of a vision for public safety and police accountability.

This is a moment of transformation in our city if we can actually come together, recognizing the magnitude of this particular moment," Frey said. "And the moment is bright. The bright lights of the national press and the world have been shining down on Minneapolis now for, gosh, about a year and a half. And what we are seeing right now is that Minneapolis is shining back even brighter. We are well poised for the progress that we need to see."

Frey was announced the winner after city officials allocated voters second- and third-place choices when their first choices were eliminated. The city said Frey won with 49.1%, or 70,669 votes, to runner-up Kate Knuth's 38.2%, or 55,007 votes.

Only a handful of candidates were thought to be serious threats to Frey, with two  Knuth and Sheila Nezhad  teaming up on a strategy that urged voters to leave Frey off their ballots entirely. The pair had the backing of U.S. Rep. llhan Omar.

Frey, a Democrat in a liberal-dominated city, faced sharp pressure from competitors on his left flank. Seventeen candidates had entered the race for mayor, including many who took issue with the way Frey has handled changes to the police department since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis officer last year. Frey positioned himself as an opponent of an effort to eliminate the police department and of the most vocal liberals who were seeking a symbolic victory in Floyds city.

Voters soundly defeated the proposal to replace the department, with about 56% opposed. Four council members who backed elimination were ousted by challengers, including one who lost to a fellow supporter of the charter amendment. However, two candidates who backed the proposed overhaul won open seats.

Knuth, 40, is a former state representative and environmental justice activist. Nezhad, 33, is a community organizer who worked as a policy analyst for one of the leading groups out to eliminate the police department. Both women also supported rent control, another proposal on Tuesdays ballot, in contrast to Freys general opposition.

Under the ranked-choice system, candidates with no chance to win after the first round of counting are eliminated. A voter who backed such an unsuccessful candidate would then have his or her second choice tabulated, presuming that candidate remained in the race. The process is repeated until a candidate is declared the winner.

Frey late Tuesday called it a really good night but stopped short of claiming victory. By remaining in office, he stands to benefit from voters' approval of another ballot question Tuesday  one that moves the city to a strong-mayor form of government. Critics have long said the city's weak-mayor system sometimes meant confusion over who has clear authority over city departments and staff.

Frey was the face of Minneapolis during some of its darkest days, including Floyds May 2020 death and the rioting that marred ensuing protests and led to the burning of a police precinct after Frey ordered officers to abandon it. Floyds death sparked the most widespread unrest in the U.S. since the Rodney King riots.

During the worst of the Minneapolis unrest, conservatives accused Frey of failing to stem the riots and crack down on soaring crime and gun violence. Meanwhile, the left criticized him for not doing enough to overhaul the police department.

Frey, a lawyer by training and a Virginia transplant, first won a City Council seat in 2013. He ascended to the mayors office in 2017 by ousting incumbent Betsy Hodges in a race also roiled by police accountability issues, including the 2015 shooting of Jamar Clark, a Black man, in a struggle with white officers and the 2017 shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a white woman, by a Black officer.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Facebook said it will shut down its face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people. This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology's history, said a blog post Tuesday from Jerome Pesenti, vice president of artificial intelligence for Facebook's new parent company, Meta.

More than a third of Facebook's daily active users have opted in to our Face Recognition setting and are able to be recognized, and its removal will result in the deletion of more than a billion people's individual facial recognition templates.

He said the company was trying to weigh the positive use cases for the technology against growing societal concerns, especially as regulators have yet to provide clear rules.

Facebook's about-face follows its Thursday announcement that it was renaming itself Meta in order to focus on building technology for what it envisions as the next iteration of the internet -- the metaverse.

The company is also facing perhaps its biggest public relation crisis to date after leaked documents from whistleblower Frances Haugen showed that it has known about the harms its products cause and often did little or nothing to mitigate them.

More than a third of Facebook's daily active users have opted in to have their faces recognized by the social network's system.

That's about 640 million people.

But Facebook has recently begun scaling back its use of facial recognition after introducing it more than a decade ago.

The company in 2019 ended its practice of using face recognition software to identify users' friends in uploaded photos and automatically suggesting they tag them. Facebook was sued in Illinois over the tag suggestion feature.

Some US cities have moved to ban the use of facial recognition software by police and other municipal departments. In 2019, San Francisco became the first US city to outlaw the technology, which has long alarmed privacy and civil liberties advocates.

Whistleblower blasts Facebook's Meta rebrand

(AFP) Whistleblower Frances Haugen issued a stinging rebuke of Facebook's "Meta" rebrand on Monday, accusing the company of yet again prioritising expansion over people's safety.

The former Facebook engineer, who leaked a trove of internal documents that have sparked weeks of criticism of the social media giant, also called on its chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to step down.

Speaking at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Haugen said it was "unconscionable" that Facebook was trumpeting its ambitions to develop the "metaverse" -- a virtual reality version of the internet -- rather than focusing on fixing existing problems.

"Over and over again Facebook chooses expansion in new areas over sticking the landing on what they've already done," she told an audience of tens of thousands in the Portuguese capital.

"Instead of investing in making sure their platforms are a minimum level of safe, they're about to invest 10,000 engineers in video games."

Facebook last month announced that it will hire 10,000 new staff in Europe over the next five years in its bid to build the metaverse, which would use virtual reality to make online experiences -- like chatting to a friend, or attending a concert -- feel face-to-face.

The company last week announced it was changing the name of Facebook's parent company to "Meta" to signal the change in focus.

Critics have derided the rebrand as an attempted distraction from the avalanche of damaging revelations from Haugen's leaked documents.

The "Facebook Papers" show that company executives knew of their sites' potential for harm on numerous fronts, including the uncontrolled spread of hate speech in developing countries as well as Instagram's impact on teens' mental health.

Haugen has accused Facebook of ignoring concerns raised by its own employees in the pursuit of profit.

- 'Overwhelming' -

Asked if Zuckerberg should step down, she said: "I think Facebook would be stronger with someone who's willing to focus on safety, so yes."

She went on: "It doesn't make him a bad person to have made mistakes, but it is unacceptable to continue to make the same bad mistakes after you know that those are mistakes."

Haugen has testified before US and UK lawmakers in recent weeks, but the Web Summit -- which she officially opened, with an explosion of confetti raining down from the ceiling -- marked her first appearance before a wider public.

She said it was "overwhelming" to speak in front of so many people, telling the crowd: "Right now my heart is beating about as fast as I can imagine."

Facebook vice president Nick Clegg, who is due to address the Web Summit on Tuesday, will likely reject Haugen's suggestion that the metaverse project equates to a mass investment in "video games".

Zuckerberg last week showcased a much-mocked promo of what the metaverse could eventually look and feel like -- which was indeed playful, involving flying koi carp and a card game with a robot.

But Silicon Valley enthusiasts believe the metaverse could represent the next great leap in the evolution of the internet, eventually blurring the digital world seamlessly with the physical one, creating a wealth of new economic opportunities.

The metaverse is the theme of numerous events at this year's Web Summit, which runs through Thursday.

"I think some of the discussion will be, 'how much of it is hype and how much of it is real?'" Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave told AFP.

Some 40,000 attendees are flying into Portugal for the tech conference -- all of them requiring proof of vaccination or a negative PCR -- in a test of the return to mass events.

Organisers have hailed the fact that host country Portugal enjoys one of the world's highest vaccination rates.
The replacement for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space telescope is being readied for launch and it is almost ready to fly into space. How will it be like for the engineers? First, an example. Getting a rover to land on Mars is tough. After it is injected into the Martian atmosphere, it takes it "seven minutes of terror" to land safely. That is exactly how much time a rover takes to land after entering the atmosphere of the Red Planet. It is a fiery descent that, if not properly managed, will end in the crash of the rover into the red soil. Anything and everything can go wrong in those few minutes, unless it all works to perfection. For engineers, terror is the word that explains the experience and feelings best.

Now, what if we told you to stretch those "seven minutes of terror" for as long as two weeks? Well, the James Webb Space Telescope, which has been built to see the first ever stars to shine in the Universe, has two weeks of terror", starting from the launch.

In the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), there are a minimum 344 "single point failures" that can be termed as critical moments in the timeline where, if the action doesnt occur as per the plan, then the six-tonne telescope cannot achieve the desired configuration. It will be lost in space with no hope of recovery.

The faint, far-away targets need a giant telescope, one that must be folded to fit within its launch rocket and then unfurled once in orbit to begin collecting pictures of space. This unfolding process has been called an origami exercise in reverse.

One of the complex parts of the process is the expansion of the five super-thin membranes that will shield Webb's vision from sunlight. "The sunshield is like a skydiver's parachute; it needs to be folded perfectly so that it unfolds and deploys perfectly without snags, without any tangles," said Northrop Grumman systems engineer Krystal Puga told BBC.

Puga further mentioned that to perfect the sequence, the team performed multiple deployments testing them over several years on various models. This gives them the confidence that it will be successfully deployed.

The two weeks long Webb's drama begins as soon as the telescope is launched from the European Ariane rocket and ends on Day 14 when the mirror wing finally comes out.

Mike Menzel, Nasa's lead mission systems engineer on the project, told BBC that, "James Webb cannot avoid the deployments. In fact, James Webb has to perform some of the most complex deployment sequences ever attempted, and these come with many challenges.

Webb is scheduled to go into service about 180 days after launch, which includes time for the telescope's mirrors and instruments to be tuned. The engineers, on the other hand, will not rush over their work, especially if they encounter a block.

"I've been the Webb project manager for almost 11 years, and this team does not give up," said Bill Ochs, Webb project manager, showed his confidence in the project. "So, we don't talk about what do we do if we fail? We talk about how we correct problems that we see on orbit, and how we move forward from there."

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will launch on December 18, 2021 and astronomers will use it to discover the universe's oldest galaxies, look for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars, and achieve a variety of other scientific goals.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 comes at a time when the TWS earbuds market is crowded with tempting options. You have got Google Pixel Buds A-series and Oppo Enco X, along with the Sony and Jabra options fighting for your attention, and money. The Galaxy Buds 2 isn't interested in targeting audiophiles, unlike the others. It's more in line with the Google Pixel Buds A series, i.e., caring about the regular people, like you and me.

At INR 11,999, the Galaxy Buds 2 is commanding SOME price. Your money's worth is visible right from the get-go though: a cutesy design, ANC, and a convenient shape. But is all that enough to let you ignore the Google Pixel Buds A-series and Oppo Enco X?

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Design

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

Similar to its smartphones, Samsung is going for a unified design language on its earbud lineup. Whether its case or the shape of the earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 2 looks mostly identical to the Galaxy Buds Pro and somewhat resemblance to the Galaxy Buds Live. Not a design I would term flashy, but the cute rounded shape and glossy finish impart the current fashion.

Whichever colour you choose, the case exterior remains white and the insides are all coloured; so are the earbuds. The oval egg-like shape fits snug inside the ear but due to the lack of an ear hook, they have a tendency to loosen up when you are talking, or chewing. The eartips secure the ear canal nicely for a sound passive noise reduction.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Audio quality

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

The Galaxy Buds 2 is tuned to deliver a finely balanced audio signature -- not oriented towards bass, neither higher treble levels. It may sound bland at times but audiophiles may like this approach in audio tuning. Since I prefer some serving of bass, I turned on the Bass Boost mode from the equaliser -- this pronounces the lower frequencies but that thumping bass effect you get from a Sony is lacking.

This subtle tuning does help with the comfort factor -- I was able to listen longer on the Galaxy Buds 2 when compared to its rivals. Whether you listen to Bollywood, retro, or hip hop sensations, the Galaxy Buds 2 in Bass mode did enough to make the listening experiences enjoyable.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 (Amritanshu / HT Teh)

Helping with the experience is ANC. It is strong enough to dial out the ceiling fan or ambient traffic noise. You are still likely to hear high-pitched voices and strong winds occasionally, but theres enough isolation to not take away from the listening experience. The Ambient mode enhances the ambient sounds with a slightly robotic touch but is certainly helpful outdoors.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Smart features

Unlike the Galaxy Buds Pro, the smart features on the Galaxy Buds 2 are limited. You still get touch controls that are adequately sensitive. You control playback and accept/reject calls with tap gestures, while volume control are available as an experimental feature under Samsung Labs section. Theres Bixby available as your onboard voice assistant; it works nicely for basic functions. Theres also a voice prompt for notifications.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

Sadly, Samsung skips its beam-forming wind reduction tech for mic reception. Hence, my callers were able to hear me out easily indoors but repeatedly asked to switch to the phones earpiece while being outdoors. Taking calls is easy on the Galaxy Buds 2 but the earbuds may dislodge if theres extensive jaw movement.

I used the Galaxy Buds 2 mostly with a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and hence, the Galaxy Wearable app was already ready for a seamless setup experience right out of the box. Apart from the battery levels, you can update the firmware, tweak equaliser, control ANC modes, and try out experimental features from the Labs section.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

You have to install this app from the Google Play store on non-Samsung devices. iPhone users are out of luck as the Galaxy Wearable app does not support the Buds 2; you can just use them as Bluetooth earbuds. Ecosystem limitations are on a rise with Samsung products this year.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Battery life

The Galaxy Buds 2 can comfortably last up to four hours with a mix of ANC off and on on audio; this figure drops by an hour if you throw more calls into the mix. Considering the backup from the case, I was able to go up to 5 days on a single charge while using the earbuds for two hours daily on an average. The case takes over 2 hours to fully charge from. Theres wireless charging available too for a quick top up with reverse wireless charging supported phones.

Verdict

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

At INR 11,999, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 seems like a fairly reliable pair of earbuds. The audio quality is pleasant and the addition of ANC always helps in a noisy India. The battery life is adequate and when paired with a Samsung phone, its a lot more convenient. And you cannot ignore its chic looks, especially in the beautiful lavender colour. It seems like a well balanced proposition at this price, especially over the Google Pixel Buds A series.

However, head over to the Samsung India online store and you can find the Galaxy Buds Pro on sale at INR 9,999. The Buds Pro has slightly better audio signature, better mic performance, and the clever ANC mode; it is supposed to be the flagship model in Samsungs earbuds lineup. And, it works with iPhones too. Why go for the Galaxy Buds 2 then, right? I find no reason to recommend the Buds 2 over Buds Pro.

Our take: The Galaxy Buds Pro at its discounted price of INR 9,999 is a better choice now but once the stock runs out, or Samsung drops the price, we feel the Galaxy Buds 2 could be the evergreen choice, just like its predecessors.
The finalized prototype of Google self-driving car.

Government action is needed so driverless vehicles can be insured against malicious hacks which could have potentially catastrophic consequences, a study says.

The software in driverless vehicles will make it possible for them to communicate with each other. It is being used and tested on public transport around the world, and is likely to be available to private vehicles in the future.

This technology can help improve transport safety, but hacking could result in accidents and damage to fleets of vehicles, financial loss, deaths and personal injury.

Experts have called for the creation of a national compensatory body in the UK offering a guarantee fund from which victims may seek redress.

Traditional vehicle insurance wouldn't cover the mass hacking of driverless cars, and an incident like this could cost the industry tens of billions of pounds.

Hackers could target vehicles via their regular software updates. Without appropriate insurance systems driverless vehicles could pose too great a danger to road users if the vehicles suffered serious software defects or were subject to malicious hacking. Existing systems of liability are deficient or inapplicable to vehicles which operate without a driver in control.

The research, published in the journal Computer Law & Security Review, was carried out by Matthew Channon from the University of Exeter and James Marson from Sheffield Hallam University.

Dr. Channon said that "it's impossible to measure the risk of driverless vehicles being hacked, but it's important to be prepared. We suggest the introduction of an insurance backed Maliciously Compromised Connected Vehicle Agreement to compensate low cost hacks and a government backed guarantee fund to compensate high-cost hacks."

"This would remove a potentially onerous burden on manufacturers and would enable the deployment and advancement of driverless vehicles in the UK."

"If manufacturers are required to pick up the burden of compensating victims of mass-hacking, major disruptions to innovation would be likely. Disputes could result in litigation costs for both manufacturer and insurer."

"Public confidence requires a system to be available in the event of hacking or mass hacking which compensates people and also does not stifle or limit continuing development and innovation."

Dr. Marson concluded that "the UK intends to play a leading role in the development and roll-out of connected and autonomous vehicles. It was the first country to establish a statutory liability framework for the introduction of autonomous vehicles onto national roads. If it wishes to continue playing a leading role in this sector, it has the opportunity by creating an insurance fund for victims of mass-hacked vehicles. This would not only protect road users and pedestrians in the event of injury following a hacking event, but would also give confidence to insurers to provide cover for a new and largely untested market."

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More information: Matthew Channon et al, The liability for cybersecurity breaches of connected and autonomous vehicles, Computer Law & Security Review (2021). Matthew Channon et al, The liability for cybersecurity breaches of connected and autonomous vehicles,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.clsr.2021.105628
In this undated photo provided by Clearview is Hoan Ton-That, chief executive officer of Clearview AI. An Australian privacy authority has ordered facial recognition company Clearview AI to stop scanning the faces of Australians and destroy the images and related data it has already collected. CEO Hoan Ton-That, describing himself as a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, where he grew up, said in an emailed statement he was disheartened that the Australian regulator misinterpreted his technology's value in helping law enforcement solve "heinous crimes." Credit: Ronald L. Glassman/Clearview via AP

An Australian privacy authority has ordered facial recognition company Clearview AI to stop scanning the faces of Australians and destroy the images and related data it has already collected.

It's the latest challenge for the New York startup that has angered privacy advocates around the world over its practice of "scraping" photos from social media to identify people wanted by police and other government agencies.

Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said Wednesday that the company breached Australians' privacy by pulling their personal data from the web and disclosing it through its facial recognition tool.

"The covert collection of this kind of sensitive information is unreasonably intrusive and unfair," Falk said in a written statement. "It carries significant risk of harm to individuals, including vulnerable groups such as children and victims of crime."

Falk's office and its British counterpart jointly opened an investigation into Clearview last year.

The Australian regulator said it is ordering the company "to cease collecting facial images and biometric templates from individuals in Australia, and to destroy existing images and templates collected from Australia." In this case, biometric templates are digital or mathematical representations derived from images that can be matched against a database.

Clearview said Wednesday it was appealing the decision and challenged whether the regulator has any jurisdiction over the company, which doesn't do business in Australia or have any customers there. Clearview, however, had provided trials of its tool to some Australian police forces, including the federal police, but halted those trials after the regulator began its investigation.

Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That, describing himself as a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, where he grew up, said in an emailed statement he was disheartened that the Australian regulator misinterpreted his technology's value in helping law enforcement solve "heinous crimes."

The company has largely defied demands by bigger tech companies such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter that it stop collecting their users' images.

Facebook announced Tuesday it will shut down its own face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people amid growing concerns about the technology and its misuse by governments, police and others.

Clearview has boasted it has a much larger collection of "more than 10 billion facial images, the largest known database of its kind" and that all are publicly accessible and legally obtained from online news sources, mugshot websites and social media. It signed a contract last year with U.S. immigration officials and recently submitted its technology to a U.S. standards authority to verify its accuracy.

Clearview has faced a number of challenges, including lawsuits in the U.S. and scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and European and Canadian regulators.

Clearview stopped operations in Canada last year. Privacy commissioners there asked the firm this year to remove data on Canadian citizens, with one commissioner arguing that the system puts all Canadians "continually in a police lineup."

Explore further Canada probe concludes Clearview AI breached privacy laws

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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A March cyberattack that shut down systems at Chicago-based insurance giant CNA exposed the personal information of thousands of employees, contractors and policyholders, the company revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.

More than 75,000 people were affected by the hack, which revealed names, personal identification and Social Security numbers, according to a data breach notification filed with the Maine attorney general's office in July.

"We are not releasing further information beyond what is posted on CNA.com and what was in our recent filings," the company said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

CNA discovered the "sophisticated ransomware attack" on March 21, with an investigation revealing that the hackers accessed company systems and copied a "limited amount of information" before deploying the ransomware, according to a July notice posted by CNA. The company said at the time there was "no indication that the data was viewed, retained or shared."

In July, CNA notified the people whose data was exposed and offered them two years of free credit monitoring service.

The March cyberattack caused a network disruption that affected certain systems, including corporate email. It also shut down the functionality of CNA's website, reducing it to a static display. CNA paid the hackers $40 million to regain control of its systems, according to Bloomberg.

In its SEC filing Monday, CNA said it may be subject to "investigations, fines or penalties" as well as legal claims related to the data breach. The insurance company also disclosed that its own insurance policies may not cover potential damages.

"Although we maintain cybersecurity insurance coverage insuring against costs resulting from cyberattacks (including the March 2021 attack), we do not expect the amount available under our coverage and/or our coverage policy to cover all losses," the company said in its filing. "Costs and expenses incurred and likely to be incurred by the company in connection with the March 2021 attack include both direct and indirect costs and not all may be covered by our insurance coverage."

CNA Financial, which has 5,800 employees worldwide, is one of the largest commercial property and casualty insurance companies in the U.S., generating $10.8 billion in revenue last year, according to financial reports.

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Prototype of Zeva's electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Credit: Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture

Imagine hopping into a zero carbon emission, personal aircraft and zipping skyward over the traffic and congestion to land conveniently right at the office.

It's long been the stuff of science fiction but a team of WSU researchers is testing components that one day might make that dream of a personal, electric flying machine a reality.

"I would say if you've ever tried to drive from downtown Seattle to the airport, I think that's probably enough justification for the project right there," said John Swensen, associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

Swensen and Professor Konstantin Matveev have received a grant from Washington's Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI) to work with ZEVA Aero, a Tacoma-based start-up company, on the single-passenger, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The WSU team, including four students, is studying aerodynamic configurations to optimize the vehicle's thrust and controls. JCATI supports research relevant to aerospace companies and provides industry-focused research opportunities for students.

While generations have dreamed of easy-to-use personal flying machines that could take people directly from point to point, the biggest challenge has been having enough thrust to get someone off the ground, says Matveev. In recent years, advances in motors, control systems, and ever-lighter materials are helping close the gap.

"It's possible to have enough power in smaller packages, so you can install several small propellers that will enable this transportation technology," said Matveev.

ZEVA Aero, led by WSU alumnus Stephen Tibbitts, has completed a working prototype of an eVTOL vehicle that they hope will be used initially by first responders and emergency services. Their prototype is designed to fly at 160 miles per hour for up to 50 miles. Their unique vehicle acts like a hovering helicopter initially when it's lifting off and then tilts horizontally to more efficiently fly like a plane, taking advantage of the reduced drag, said Swensen.

"It is exciting to work with WSU researchers on this project to push forward this transformative transportation technology," said Tibbitts, a 1982 electric engineering graduate. "John and Konstantin and their teams of students are doing excellent work. It is very helpful to have the state investing in student development in aerospace, which can have lasting effects on regional competitiveness in the burgeoning eVTOL industry."

The WSU researchers are helping to model and test the aircraft's propulsion system. Swensen has built a test stand in which he is testing propellers under lab conditions, measuring their torque and efficiency. Matveev is responsible for modeling and computation, doing simulations of airflow around the propellers to optimize the propulsion system. The researchers meet regularly with company personnel to report on their work.

For those who are wondering when we might have our own electric flying machines, Swensen is hopeful about seeing the vehicles happen "sooner rather than later," especially with any new developments in more efficient and lightweight batteries.

"Whenever somebody makes a breakthrough on storing more electricity in a smaller amount of space with less mass, I think that that would be a big game changer to help it happen faster," he said.

Explore further Innovative batteries put flying cars on the horizon
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

After nearly two years of data collection and software development, EU-funded project, EMB3Rs, is almost ready to reveal the best ways that industry can re-use excess thermal energy.

In October 2021, EMB3Rs partners from across Europe gathered in Portugal, at Lisbon-based Information Systems business, PDMFC, to learn how the platform's all-important software modules will be integrated to the open source tool. These modules will be crucial to mapping the supply and demand of thermal energy from different stakeholders and will also determine the cheapest option to connect potential users.

PDMFC is responsible for integrating the modules to the platform and also ensuring the software interoperates seamlessly. As PDMFC researcher, David Fernandes, highlights: "Module integration is almost complete and soon, the user will be able to simply define their initial conditions and then receive a user-friendly result."

EMB3Rs initially comprises four key modules that have been programmed to handle different types of energy-related technical and economic data. A GIS module will find the best and cheapest way to connect different heat sources and sinks while a Techno-Economic module can find the least cost option for using excess thermal energy across an entire energy supply chain.

Meanwhile, the Market module calculates an overall economic analysis of a potential energy system, depending on market types such as centralized or peer-to-peer (P2P) conditions. And then a Business Model module will allow platform users to explore the financial, environmental and risk implications of any energy set-up.

On top of these four energy data-crunching modules, a simulation manager module coordinates how the modules interoperate as a user runs his or her energy simulation while a reporter module organizes the output for the end-user. "The user will want to configure a simulation, run it and then examine the results without caring what has been going on between the platform and the modules," says Fernandes.

To program the modules, partners from a range of case studies have been busy collecting vast amounts of project data from digging costs and energy flows to local energy tariffs and regulatory framework information. For example, industry-focused case studies, including an industrial park in Greece and cement plant in Portugal, have supplied data from potential providers and users of excess energy. Meanwhile, network-focused case studies have provided data from heating and cooling, and district heating networks, in Sweden, Portugal and the UK.

In the final pieces of the data puzzle, a super-user case study from the Portuguese Energy Agency adene has provided data from hundreds of thousands of commercial building and households to explore what happens to the platform when a user wants to analyze massive volumes of data. And a market-focused case study from the Technical University of Denmark has collected data associated with P2P relationships between the different energy market players.

Troubleshooting module communication

At the time of writing, data collection and development of all software modules is complete, and PDMFC researchers have been working closely with developers to integrate all software to the EMB3Rs platform so that each module can analyze data in a standardized way. As Fernandes points out: "Integration is almost complete, but we only recently realized that the modules are all 'talking somewhat differently.'"

"This is not a problem and we have been studying the inputs and outputs of the modules so we can find the middle-point between, say the techno-economic and market modules, to ensure processing takes place quickly," he adds.

As part of these activities, Fernandes and colleagues have developed so-called wrappers that developers can add to their modules. These wrappers standardize the code for communication between modules to ensure seamless interactions between each other and the platform.

However, according to Fernandes, standardizing communications between modules is not the biggest challenge that he and his PDM colleagues have faced. Instead, scaling the EMB3Rs platform to analyze more and more data for more and more users has been a trickier task.

"It's one thing running one simulation at a time on a desktop but what if you have 100 or even 1000 simulations at any single time? This is when scalability becomes very important," he says.

Fernandes and colleagues dealt with this issue by assessing how much processing power a module needed for any particular task. "Once we understood this we could see if there was any task that was stealing the available server resources," explains Fernandes. "Even once module integration is completely finished we'll continue to run more tests to work out how much we can scale platform simulations using a single server."

In the future, more servers may be an option, but for the time being simulations continue apace. An initial platform simulation has already looked at the functions of each module using dummy data. And data analysis from EMB3Rs platform developer and partner, Portugal-based INEGI, has also confirmed that the data being generated by case studies is suitable for future platform simulations.

"We've been testing the platform manually, step by step, but now we are working on automating the simulations so each module receives the inputs and provides the outputs that the user wants," says Fernandes. "This will take around a month but then the user will be able to 'click' a button and watch as everything happens."

Hopes for industry

Without a doubt EMB3Rs project partners are excited. For example, Aristotelis Botzios and George Goumas from the Greece-based Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES) have been collecting heating and cooling data from businesses at the Volos Industrial Park in Greece and residents in the nearby town of Agios Georgios, since May 2020. Botzios and Goumas hope that future EMB3Rs simulations will confirm the economic and technical viability of their proposed heat-exchange system between the industrial park and town so they can then bid for pilot study funds from Greece's Energy and Environment Ministry.

"Everything is going well so far," highlights Goumas. "We've had great results on the integration of our data and now we are looking forward to the simulation results."

Botzios concurs, saying: "With these simulation results we'll get an idea of the size of works that needs to be done, cost information and also what sort of financial policy or subsidies that may be needed to make this all possible."

"The EMB3Rs platform is going to be useful for any industrial park," he adds. "You'll be able to enter just basic data and see if your [project] is viable."

Importantly for users, EMB3Rs has also been designed as a modular platform so in the future, software developers will be able to integrate additional, different modules to the open source tool. "I see EMB3Rs as the kind of platform that is going to grow," says Fernandes. "As more and more more people use it, then of course the tool will also grow in complexity but the platform is certainly stable enough for this growth to take place this is a pretty interesting project for us."

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SIMEC Atlantis Energy's AR1500 turbine being installed at MeyGen, North Scotland. Credit: SIMEC Atlantis Energy

Tidal stream power has the potential to deliver 11% of the UK's current annual electricity and play a significant role in the government's drive for net-zero, according to new research.

Scientists from across the UK say that harnessing the power of the ocean's tidal streams can provide a predictable and reliable means of helping to meet the country's future energy demand.

However if that is to be realized, it will require government funding to accelerate innovation and drive down its cost so that future projects can provide cheap electricity.

And such opportunities, the authors say, are not presently available given the way the government's renewable energy funding schemes are configured.

In the past, access to government funding has helped install 18 MW of tidal stream capacity, around 500 times less than the UK's current offshore wind capacity. This relatively modest funding support to date has put the tidal stream sector on a steep cost reduction trajectory.

However, cost reduction has slowed since access to funding has been removed. Extending such support is essential to enable it to become cost competitive with gas turbines, biomass, and nuclear.

The study also explored the potential environmental effects of such future developments and found no evidence to suggest that the next phase of tidal stream development will cause significant detrimental environmental impact. The physical environmental impacts are expected to be an order of magnitude less than those created by climate change.

Nova Innovation's M100-D turbine. Credit: Nova Innovation

The studypublished in Proceedings of the Royal Society A and led by the University of Plymouthhas been released just a day before world leaders meet at the COP26 conference in Glasgow to discuss the need for global agreements on clean energy.

Dr. Danny Coles, Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth and the study's lead author, said: "Our study shows there is considerable evidence to support an estimate that the UK and British Channel Islands' tidal stream energy resource can provide 11% of our current annual electricity demand. Achieving this would require around 11.5 GW of tidal stream turbine capacity to be installed, and we currently stand at just 18 MW. It took the UK offshore wind industry approximately 20 years to reach 11.5 GW of installed capacity. If tidal stream power is going to contribute to the net zero transition, time is of the essence."

The regions with the highest tidal stream resource are the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters, Scotland, and the Channel Islandsbut both would require major grid infrastructure to connect them to high demand centers. In tandem with that, however, other sites could be more easily developed on the South Coast of England and in the Bristol Channel, as they are in closer proximity to existing grid infrastructure and demand centers.

The UK government recently identified the grid integration of variable generation as a key challenge as renewable power penetration increases. Importantly, this new research finds that the cyclic, predictable nature of the tides can provide grid benefits over alternative variable power technologies such as wind, including supply-demand matching, for example.

The UK Government has already committed to a Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 and, in 2017, almost 30% of the UK's energy was generated through renewable technologies such as wind and solar power.

However, electricity demand is expected to more than double by 2050 and while wind and solar will be the main contributors to meet this demand, a diverse generation technology mix is needed to keep the lights on.

Co-author Professor Beth Scott, of the University of Aberdeen, said: "This paper provides such an important and timely message for the world, and especially the UK government, to fully understand the strategic use of predictable tidal stream energy. At the moment the UK is leading the world in both the technological and environmental research aspects of tidal stream energy developments and supporting that lead now will rapidly increase the UK's goal of sustainable net-zero energy production."

Another co-author, Professor Philipp Thies of the University of Exeter, added: "This is an extensive review on the state of the art and opportunities for tidal stream energy. There are still engineering challenges ahead, but this source of low carbon energy is technically feasible and an important element of future net zero energy generation."

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Multimedia Reporter

Staff writer Harry Funk, a professional journalist for three-plus decades, has been on the staff of The Almanac since 2015. He has a bachelors degree in journalism and master of business administration, both from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The field of eight candidates vying to be Brunswicks next mayor was reduced to two on Nov. 2 with Cosby Johnson and Ivan Figueroa emerging from the pack to qualify for the runoff.
Clinkscales said Bennett makes sure everybody feels heard, valued and included and comes across in a genuine, honest and respectful way.

He can read a room of people and figure out who is feeling down or worried, that theyre not going to get chosen when we do group work, and immediately picks them as a partner, Clinkscales said. It doesnt matter what kind of clothes you wear, the music you listen to, if youre into sports, none of it matters to him. Hayden is a good person and is loved by everyone on campus.

Bennett has shared his knowledge with his peers by tutoring them and building them up as leaders, Clinkscales said.

There was a time that my niece was struggling with biology, so we literally called Hayden and she got it, Clinkscales said. He can explain things to others, even though he understands it in such a complex way, he can break it down very simply to anyone whos struggling.

Bennett hopes to become a professor teaching future generations that agriculture goes beyond whats on the plate as well as its importance in everyday life, he said.
But small shifts added up to make a difference for Youngkin. In 2020, voters 45 and older split about evenly between Biden and Trump. This year they were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe, 55% to 45%.

Youngkin also performed better with suburban voters, a group that helped Democrats win elections across the country during the Trump era. Last year, about 6 in 10 suburbanites in Virginia backed Biden. A year later, Youngkin, who lives in a northern Virginia suburb, was more competitive with those voters, earning the support of 46% of them.

In recent elections, Democrats have built a sizable edge with voters who have college degrees. McAuliffe still won those voters Tuesday, but Youngkin fared slightly better than Trump did in 2020. Youngkin was backed by 45% of college educated voters in this year's election; in 2020, 38% went for Trump.

Youngkin also did somewhat better than Trump among white voters  both men and women. White voters made up 72% of the electorate and backed Youngkin over McAuliffe, 59% to 40%. Youngkin also appeared to make inroads with Latino voters, who were closely divided between McAuliffe and him.

BIDENS PERFORMANCE
The Associated Press declared Republican Winsome Sears the victor in Virginia's contest for lieutenant governor on Wednesday. Democrat Hala Ayala has issued a concession statement in which she congratulates Sears.

Virginia, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. The results are in, and while they may not be what we had hoped for, this is just the beginning, said Delegate Hala Ayala. I want to congratulate my opponent on making history and paving the way for future women leaders who look like us. We may not be able to claim victory today, but we know that the results of this election are simply a minor setback in our larger fight for progress.

Sears was a one-term delegate from Norfolk  the first Black Republican woman elected to the General Assembly  and is the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Virginia. She defeated Democratic nominee Hala Ayala, a two-term member of the state House of Delegates from Prince William County.

Democrats control the state Senate 21-19, and the lieutenant governor breaks tie votes. The current lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, broke more than 50 tie votes during his term, including on a key abortion bill.
The operators behind the Mekotio banking trojan have resurfaced with a shift in its infection flow so as to stay under the radar and evade security software, while staging nearly 100 attacks over the last three months.

"One of the main characteristics [] is the modular attack which gives the attackers the ability to change only a small part of the whole in order to avoid detection," researchers from Check Point Research said in a report shared with The Hacker News. The latest wave of attacks are said to primarily target victims located in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Spain.

The development comes after Spanish law enforcement agencies in July 2021 arrested 16 individuals belonging to a criminal network in connection with operating Mekotio and another banking malware called Grandoreiro as part of a social engineering campaign targeting financial institutions in Europe.

The evolved version of the Mekotio malware strain is designed for compromising Windows systems with an attack chain that commences with phishing emails masquerading as pending tax receipts and containing a link to a ZIP file or a ZIP file as an attachment. Clicking open the ZIP archive triggers the execution of a batch script that, in turn, runs a PowerShell script to download a second-stage ZIP file.

This secondary ZIP file houses three different files  an AutoHotkey (AHK) interpreter, an AHK script, and the Mekotio DLL payload. The aforementioned PowerShell script then calls the AHK interpreter to execute the AHK script, which runs the DLL payload to steal passwords from online banking portals and exfiltrate the results back to a remote server.

The malicious modules are characterized by the use of simple obfuscation techniques, such as substitution ciphers, giving the malware improved stealth capabilities and enabling it to go undetected by most antivirus solutions.

"There's a very real danger in the Mekotio banker stealing usernames and passwords, in order to gain entry into financial institutions," Check Point's Kobi Eisenkraft said. "Hence, the arrests stopped the activity of the Spanish gangs, but not the main cybercrime groups behind Mekotio."

Users in Latin America are highly recommended to use two-factor authentication to secure their accounts from takeover attacks, and watch out for lookalike domains, spelling errors in emails or websites, and email messages from unfamiliar senders.
The current status of the 287(g) program is under review given the change in administrations, according to an ICE spokesman. ICE has 146 agreements with local law enforcement, which includes contracts with 70 jails in 20 states, like the one with the Dakota County Jail.

An ICE official said recent statistics were not available, but the agency reported that from October 2018 to September 2019, a total of 25 county jail inmates were screened by Dakota County personnel, with six leading to removal from the country.

Kleinberg said that during the past year, the jail had referred some undocumented inmates for ICE action but that the federal agency had not ordered detainers for any of them. The ICE spokesman said that he wasnt aware of the specific cases, but that the agency has been ordered to focus only on cases involving serious crimes and assaults.

Kleinberg said the program is worth keeping, even if no inmates in recent months have been picked up by ICE. There is a shortage of ICE agents, the sheriff said. He emphasized that screening is done only on people booked into the county jail and is not used to racially profile people for traffic stops.
A Buncombe man faces a litany of criminal charges after allegedly stealing a cop car and leading police on a chase across state lines from Missouri into Illinois, according to a law enforcement news release.

Matthew Nelson, 40, along with a second suspect, William Taylor, 43, of Vienna, was allegedly found in possession of a stolen vehicle at about 2:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at a Flying J Truck Stop in Charleston, Missouri, according to a news release from the Charleston Department of Public Safety.

Charleston police had received word that the suspect vehicle was at the truck stop. They were also informed that the occupants were allegedly armed, according to the Charleston police.

Taylor and Nelson were taken into custody and placed in a Charleston police car and a sheriffs department patrol car, respectively, while the suspects vehicle was searched.

A vehicle search allegedly yielded a stolen firearm, stolen checks and roughly 12 grams of meth.

During the vehicle search, Nelson managed to escape his handcuffs and allegedly steal the sheriffs patrol vehicle he was in, police said.

He then fled the scene heading east on U.S. route 60, almost hitting three officers with the vehicle.

The police pursued Nelson across state lines into Illinois and he was ultimately apprehended near Buncombe.

Taylor did not flee the original scene and was apprehended in Charleston.

Nelson was charged with the following: three counts each of first-degree assault on law enforcement and armed criminal action; two counts of stealing a motor vehicle; and one count each of escape from custody, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a firearm, stealing a firearm, possession of methamphetamines, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest and property damage.

He was being held in Illinois while awaiting extradition, according to the Charleston police.

Taylor was charged with one count each of possession of methamphetamine, unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, stealing a motor vehicle, stealing a firearm and fraudulent use of a credit device.

He was being held at the Mississippi County Jail on a $50,000 bond, according to the Charleston police.

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A group of Taiwanese government and business leaders completed a visit to Southern Illinois on Tuesday, laying groundwork for what local officials hope will be future investments and business opportunities between the region and the southeast Asian nation.

Representatives of the Taiwan Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago as well as the Taiwanese American Chambers of Commerce in Chicago and Taiwanese business leaders joined Southern Illinois legislators, administrators from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and governmental leaders for a tour and presentation on the Alexander County Port District project which will develop a river port in Cairo. The group also toured the SIU campus, the universitys Transportation Education Center and other facilities at the Southern Illinois Airport.

Taiwanese government and private sector investors are looking at the Alexander-Cairo Port District for future business opportunities, expand relationships with Southern Illinois University on a variety of programs, opportunities at the Southern Illinois Airport and future agriculture commodity purchases from the area.

Mark Chang of Carbondale, president of Olive Branch International Educational Services, a company which works to bring international students to SIU, said Southern Illinois-Taiwanese ventures have grown since the Chicago-based Friends of Taiwan group facilitated the donation of personal protection equipment and other supplies to area health care facilities at the beginning of the pandemic. The visit comes on the heels of a brief presentation on the Cairo project by State Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, to Taiwanese officials in Chicago several weeks ago.

Illinois Director of Agriculture Jerry Costello II said Illinois and Taiwan work together very well.

In 2020, we exported $382 million overall in agricultural products to Taiwan, he said. This has become a very, very strong relationship over the last few years. Taiwan and Illinois have formed a good relationship.

Johnson Chiang, director general of the Taiwan Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago said agricultural exports to Taiwan have expanded by 40% so far this year. He added the delegations visit to Cairo may become mutually beneficial.

We got a very impressive briefing about the Cairo port project and I like the idea of an additional waterway. With this new waterway, we have to expect more trade between Taiwan and here, he said.

State Rep. Dave Severin, R-Benton, said cooperation with Taiwan could exceed all expectations.

I think we are not even sure of the significant potential of the port and this relationship with Taiwan. This is not just about farm products and Southern Illinois, but this is about marketing Illinois products across the world, Severin said.

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Top Chicago Park District officials failed to initiate an investigation for months into troubling allegations of misconduct by Chicago lifeguards, an independent investigation found.

Just after the release of the report, new Superintendent and CEO Rosa Escareno announced she had fired three high-level managers.

Park District commissioners released the report on its managements response to the lifeguard sexual abuse investigation on Tuesday afternoon, after months of scrutiny driven by a WBEZ report on widespread allegations of sexual assault and harassment within its lifeguard program.

Last month, Park District superintendent and CEO Michael Kelly resigned on the same day that Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined several aldermen in calling for his ouster. After Kellys forced resignation, he was replaced by Escareno, a recently retired commissioner of Chicagos Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protections and a veteran of Chicago mayoral administrations.

Tuesdays report provided the most comprehensive look at how the Park District handled allegations of sexual misconduct. In a statement, Park District Board President Avis LaVelle said the allegations of sexual abuse were credible and taken seriously from the point they were turned over the Inspector General in March of 2020.

But, she acknowledged, We were simply dysfunctional in our approach to this investigation, and I apologize for what has been a slow, tortured process.

In a statement, Lightfoot said shes outraged and appalled by these findings, particularly those that show that the people entrusted to lead the Park District were aware of these heinous allegations of bullying, intimidation, sexual harassment, and assault and chose to do very little in response.

It is clear that all the way to the top of Park District senior leadership absolutely failed to take these complaints seriously, Lightfoot said. The investigations themselves were, until recently, also hampered by unacceptable layers of incompetence.

The report by former federal prosecutor Valarie Hays was harsh on Kelly and other top Park District staff. Hays concluded that Kelly violated the (Park Districts) policy on sexual harassment by not reporting Complainant Ones allegations to the Deputy Director of HR within five days of receiving them, and he violated (Park Districts) violence in the workplace policy by not immediately reporting potentially dangerous situations.

Kelly first received allegations from the complainants parents on Aug. 30, 2019, then received the allegations from Complainant One herself on Feb. 7, 2020, but did not provide the original complaints to the inspector generals office until March 19, 2020  over six months after he originally received the allegations from the womans parents, according to the report.

Investigators did not find evidence that Mr. Kelly initiated any investigation into Complainant Ones allegations between August 30, 2019 and February 7, 2020, the report said.

The investigation found that, contrary to Kellys statements saying he always planned to turn the complaint over to the (inspector general) for investigation, Kelly briefed a staff member in April 2021 and indicated that although disturbing, the information in the letter did not warrant a referral to the Inspector Generals Office.

Kelly told investigators that between Feb. 7, 2020, and March 19, 2020, he directed Alonzo Williams, chief programs officer, and Eric Fischer, assistant director of recreation, to conduct an initial investigation related to Complainant Ones allegations. But aside from Fischer and Williams saying they requested a database check for other similar complaints against lifeguards, there is no evidence that Mr. Williams or Mr. Fischer investigated Complainant Ones allegations, let alone any investigation that should have taken 41 days, the investigation found.

Williams failed to report the allegations to HR, the report said. Fischer also never reported a complaint he received from Complainant One, the investigation found.

Mr. Fischers position is that he did not see this email in his inbox, even though he admitted to (investigators) that he was very good about checking his email, the investigation found.

Fischer and Williams have been fired from the Park District, as has Pools Unit Manager Adam Bueling, Escareno announced Tuesday.

According to the report, Bueling violated the districts sexual harassment policy by not reporting Complainant Twos allegations to HR within five days of receiving them.

Bueling received the allegations from Complainant Two via email on March 9, 2020, which he acknowledged reading, according to the report. He never reported the complaint to HR or any other department or supervisor, the report said.

Upon receiving these reports last night I immediately moved to dismiss all employees found to have committed sexual misconduct and three senior managers that failed in their responsibility to keep their employees safe. Failings of this nature will not be tolerated, Escareno said during a Tuesday news conference, later confirming the identity of the three managers when asked by a reporter.

In addition to the immediate disciplinary actions that I took, I am also committed to using the findings to enact real change across the district, she said.

LaVelle said when the reported complaints initially reached her, she trusted that Kelly was making changes within the department.

I was assured repeatedly by former Superintendent Mike Kelly throughout the process that management was taking corrective steps to address these problems systemwide, LaVelle said. What I never expected was that it would take so long to get to the point of holding accountable those who are responsible.

LaVelle said she should have stepped out of the usual Office of Inspector Generals reporting structure and shared findings with the park board earlier.

Although LaVelle attempted to blame Kelly and other park managers for the scandal, Lightfoot ally Ald. Michele Smith released a statement calling on LaVelle to resign.

To dismiss more than three decades of systemic and sustained abuse and harassment as simply something not being handled in a timely manner, suggests a stunning level of tone deafness and a failure to accept responsibility as Chair by Ms. LaVelle, Smith said. In order to rebuild trust in the program and within the Park District, Ms. LaVelle needs to explain her communications with Ms. Little and what was communicated to the board. Given todays events, nothing has changed my opinion that Ms. LaVelle should resign.

The Park District inspector general has approximately 27 open investigations arising from lifeguard complaints, the report said.

The original complainants mother emailed Kelly to say that there was a profane fight song that lifeguards had to memorize and chant every morning as they did pushups at Oak Street Beach. The lyrics contained sexual references and profane references to bodily functions.

The girls mother also reported that her daughter was regularly called a bitch by some of the guards (along with other female guards) and at least two times, thrown against a locker by an older male guard.

The whole atmosphere at Oak Street is degrading yet there is a code of silence and you are called weak minded if you confront the behavior, according to the reports summary of the email.

The girl later emailed Kelly directly, telling him that she was regularly called degrading names and that lifeguards acted very abusive and unprofessional. She said she was forced to go to the end of year Oak Street banquet where awards such as bitch of the beach, slut of the beach and little dick were given, according to the report.

Many of the girls were grabbed in ways they should not have been grabbed, the complainant said.

The person identified as Complainant Two emailed emailed the mayors office on March 6, 2020, saying she was sexually assaulted by a male lifeguard five years earlier when she was 17 years old and he was approximately 20 years old. Complainant Two said there is a huge incidence of sexual violence within the Park District  from sexual harassment to sexual assault and rape.

Kelly received the complaint from the mayors office, then forwarded it and the earlier message to the inspector general.

According to the investigative report, Kelly told investigators he verbally mentioned to then-Inspector General Will Fletcher that he had a file coming his way on lifeguards.

But Fletcher denied that to the investigator, saying the first time he heard about either complaint was when Mr. Kellys assistant called him on March 19, 2020 to let him know that she would be emailing the complaints.

In addition to concerns over the Park Districts handling of the investigation, questions have been raised about Deputy Inspector General Nathan Kipp being fired earlier this year. Hays investigation found no evidence that Nathan Kipp, the former Deputy Inspector General and Interim Inspector General of the CPD, was terminated in an effort to impede the OIGs investigation of the Lifeguard Complaints, according to the report.

Former Inspector General Elaine Little, who resigned earlier this year, told investigators that she initiated Kipps firing. Kelly sent Little a letter on Aug. 6 in which he expressed concerns about a report he received related to Kipp. Little responded to the letter and said shed suspended him for reasons unrelated to the concerns raised by Kelly.

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An Oklahoma man has been charged for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of rare trading cards from shops across the midwest and trying to resell them in Texas.

According to Troy Police, Nicholas Garrison, 23, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was charged with burglary, theft over $10,000 and criminal damage to property over $10,000 for allegedly burglarizing the Realm of Gaming game shop in Troy. He is currently awaiting extradition back to Illinois.

On Monday, Oct. 11, at around 8 a.m., Troy Police responded to the 300 block of Edwardsville Road where a citizen reported the front door of a gaming shop had been broken.

Sam Bozarth, who co-owns Realms of Gaming with David McGonagall, said the front door of his store had been smashed in at around 3 a.m. by a lone individual who then cleaned out the stores' display cases where valuable Magic: The Gathering cards were kept.

In total, Bozarth said the masked man stole more than $100,000 worth of Magic: The Gathering trading card merchandise.

The break-in is one of three that occurred overnight across the St. Louis area.

Two other stores, Yeti Games and Game Nite, both located in St. Louis, also were looted of valuable collectibles. In both cases, the individual who broke into the store smashed several display cases and targeted Pokemon trading card games, which according to a recent article by Vox are seeing a surge in value, with some packs of cards selling for more than $300,000.

Troy Police requested assistance from the Illinois State Police to aid in the investigation. During that investigation, Troy detectives identified a suspect vehicle using newly added license plate reader cameras installed within the city.

In a statement, Troy Chief of Police Brent Shownes said his department worked with five other agencies that had similar burglary cases in St. Louis, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Together, the departments identified Garrison and arrested him in Bedford, Texas.

Troy detectives traveled to Texas to continue their investigation. There they found numerous items of stolen property from the Realms of Gaming burglary as well as more property allegedly stolen by Garrison from surrounding area stores.

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South Carolina State Universitys $410,000 share of a new federal grant will support equipment and scholarships in the universitys nuclear engineering and cybersecurity programs.

The U.S. Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) awarded the $7 million grant for workforce development and training supporting plutonium pit production to minority-serving educational institutions in South Carolina and New Mexico.

The DOE/NNSA provided $3.5 million for partnerships in each state to be distributed among selected institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities.

South Carolinas eight HBCUs will evenly share the $3.5 million to support the workforce necessary for planned plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site.

I was pleased to have worked with the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of Energy to make funding available to all eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities in South Carolina, said U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-South Carolinas 6th District. Partnerships and investments like these are essential in order to create a future workforce that is not only skilled but reflects the diversity of America and ensures workers access to good paying jobs.

Dr. Nikunja Swain, professor and chair of the SC State Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, said the grant will enhance ongoing activities in SC States existing programs in cybersecurity and engineering and assist in the design of planned new engineering programs.

This project will build a robust pipeline of skilled professionals to address the information technology systems and cybersecurity requirements of the plutonium modernization mission and other employers including federal agencies, Swain said.

Moreover, this program will serve as a steppingstone for students who wish to pursue advanced degrees in engineering and cybersecurity.

Both nuclear engineering and cybersecurity are key programs at SC State. The university is the only school offering a four-year nuclear engineering degree in South Carolina, as well as among the nations HBCUs. SC State also is designated as an Academic Center of Excellence in Cyber Defense Education for U.S. Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency.

Swain said the project will help SC State recruit talented students; enhance laboratory facilities to provide students with training on new and advanced tools and techniques in general and specific to SRNS plutonium pit modernization efforts; provide students with summer research opportunities on engineering, cybersecurity and cyber-physical systems; and provide students with opportunities to attend local, regional, and national STEM conferences.

The Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) will act as the grant administrator -- keeping track of how scholarship and equipment funds are allocated and spent -- for all eight HBCUs in South Carolina.

It is exciting to see these funds directed towards fulfilling a critical and diverse workforce channel that supports new missions at the Savannah River Site, said U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolinas 7th District. I appreciate the National Nuclear Security Administration, in partnership with the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization, recognizing the talent in our region and investing these dollars to support good-paying jobs for decades to come.

Rick McLeod, SRSCRO president and CEO, said the projected date for plutonium pit production to come online has been extended from 2030 to 2035, but portions workforce will be needed during the development stages.

Between now and then, they (contractors) will be doing some hiring and getting them trained  doing on-the-job training  as it directly relates to pit manufacturing, McLeod said. They will hire during the process. There will be, of course, a larger workforce once production comes online, but they need to develop the workforce throughout the process.

In addition to SC State, the institutions involved in South Carolina are Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Clinton College, Denmark Technical College, Morris College and Voorhees College,

While this DOE/NNSA award is one-time funding, McLeod said, the project could be a catalyst for similar but long-term joint funding efforts among South Carolinas eight HBCUs.

That would be my hope  if we could get all the HBCUs in South Carolina to form some type of collaborative approach, McLeod said. This is one-time funding. To develop training programs over the long haul, you have to have multiple-year funding.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  A prominent South Carolina lawyer whose wife and son were killed five months ago and has since found himself part of a half-dozen state investigations and a number of lawsuits had his assets frozen Tuesday by a judge worried he and his son might be scheming to hide money.

Judge Daniel Hall sided with an attorney suing Alex Murdaugh on behalf of the family of a 19-year-old woman killed in a crash on Murdaugh's boat which prosecutors said his late son was driving.

The family's lawsuit says Murdaugh is trying to hide millions of dollars they could possibly collect in their lawsuit and he could shift money between unknown accounts and potentially sell off property and a boat after he turned all his affairs over to his surviving son, Buster Murdaugh. He could also benefit from the estates of his slain wife and son and his father who died of natural causes a few days later, attorney Mark Tinsley said.

They have refused from day one to give me any information," Tinsley said.

Murdaugh inherited part of a legal empire in tiny Hampton County, South Carolina. Murdaughs father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all elected prosecutors. The familys law firm, located in the most impressive building in town after the courthouse, has spent a century winning multimillion-dollar verdicts.

Remaining unsolved now for nearly five months are the deaths of Murdaughs wife, Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22. Murdaugh said he returned to their rural Colleton County home to find them shot to death. Tight-lipped state police have neither named any suspects nor ruled anyone out. Murdaugh has adamantly denied having anything to do with their killings.

The deaths lead to five more criminal investigations into Murdaugh, from whether he stole money from the familys century-old PMPED Law Firm to the events around his housekeepers death and insurance payout to whether he or his family tried to obstruct the investigation into the boat crash.

A lawyer for Murdaugh argued at a hearing before the judge Friday that he has not been found responsible in any civil suits since his wife and son were killed and has insurance to cover if he is required to pay damages.

Attorney John Tiller also argued if Murdaugh loses control of his assets, that would open the door for similar things to happen in countless other cases if the person who sues thinks the defendant does not have enough insurance.

Murdaugh, 53, remains in the Richland County jail without bond after being charged with stealing nearly $3 million in insurance payments meant for the sons of his housekeeper, who died in a 2018 fall in his home. His legal team did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Tuesdays ruling.

A judge handling the Murdaugh criminal cases last month asked for a report on his mental state before considering whether to set bond. A date for a hearing has not been set.

While the criminal investigations into Murdaugh continue  he also has been charged with trying to arrange his own death so his surviving son could get a $10 million life insurance policy  the civil lawsuits against him are also piling up.

Murdaugh faces at least six lawsuits seeking money as damages, from claims over the 2019 fatal boat crash to allegations he stole accidental death insurance settlements meant for his housekeeper's sons and money from his family's century-old law firm to his own brother saying Murdaugh owes him $46,500 on $90,000 loaned in September in part to get Murdaugh into drug rehab.

The judge's decision Tuesday only deals with the lawsuit from the family of 19-year-old Mallory Beach. She died after Murdaugh's boat hit a Beaufort County bridge in February 2019 and her body was found seven days later.

Prosecutors say Paul Murdaugh was driving the boat recklessly while intoxicated and charges against him were dropped after he and his mother were killed at the family's Colleton County home in June.

Lawyers in two other lawsuits against Alex Murdaugh filed similar motions asking to have the independent lawyers review and catalog all of Murdaughs assets and approve whether he can spend money. They will get part of any legal settlements or judgements against Murdaugh in the cases they are involved.

Those cases involve a man on the boat who said the Murdaugh family tried to falsely pin him as the boats driver along with the family of Murdaughs late housekeeper Gloria Satterfield. The Murdaughs said she died after a fall in the familys home in 2018.

Murdaugh has been charged with pocketing nearly $3 million worth of insurance settlements that was supposed to go to Satterfields estate.

Prosecutors have accused Murdaugh of illegally diverting the money to his accounts. They said he then paid off a $100,000 credit card bill, transferred more than $300,000 to his father and $735,000 to himself.

Hes living pretty well for someone with no assets. He has a crisis manager, Tinsley said at Friday's hearing.

Last week, at least two more lawsuits were filed against Murdaugh looking to collect debts. His old PMPED Law Firm sued, saying they loaned him $470,000 in 2021 and has not been paid back. The law firm has a separate suit against Murdaugh seeking money they said he stole from them. That suit didn't specify and amount, but legal papers have suggested it is in the millions.

Also Randolph Murdaugh IV sued his brother, saying $90,000 he loaned before his arrest to help his brother make payroll and after the arrest for rehab has not been paid back minus a $43,500 tractor and rotary cutter that court papers said were given to the brother after Alex Murdaugh first tried to sell it.

Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Poland's foreign ministry said Wednesday that it summoned a Belarusian diplomat over an intrusion into Polish territory of "uniformed individuals armed with long guns.

Polish soldiers noticed three uniformed people with long weapons, said Stanislaw Zaryn, the spokesman for Polands security services.

After meeting a Polish patrol, they reloaded their weapons and then departed towards Belarus, Zaryn said.

Zaryn told The Associated Press that the incident occurred about 300 meters (300 yards) into Poland from the border with Belarus.

It was enough to assume that it was not a mistake, he said.

The incident comes as Poland, a member of the European Union, faces significant migration pressure on its eastern border with Belarus. That border forms part of the EU's eastern frontier with autocratic Belarus.

The foreign ministry spokesman, Lukasz Jasina, said that the incident took place on the night between Monday and Tuesday.

He said that the Belarusian charge d'affaires, Alexander Chesnovsky, was summoned to Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

During the meeting, a deputy foreign minister, Piotr Wawrzyk, demanded an explanation and emphasized that that the actions taken by the Belarusian authorities in recent weeks have the increasingly evident hallmarks of a deliberate escalation.

Wawrzyk pointed out that Poland deems such actions unacceptable and won't tolerate them. He highlighted that Poland is determined to defend its borders and the external borders of the European Union, Jasina said in his statement.

There was no immediate comment from the Belarusian side.

In recent months, thousands of migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa have been lured to Belarus on tourist visas and encouraged to cross into Poland, Lithuania, and to a lesser extent Latvia  the three EU nations bordering Belarus.

Polish and other EU leaders have accused the government of President Alexander Lukashenko, which is backed by Moscow, of encouraging the migration as a form of hybrid warfare aimed at creating instability in the region and the EU more broadly.

In Brussels, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said Wednesday that territorial intrusion into Poland, if confirmed, "would be yet another provocation from the side of (the) Lukashenko regime against the European Union and its member states.

Zaryn said that that there has been a series of incidents and provocations organized by Belarusians, but this was the most dangerous and serious incident so far.

He said the other incidents have involved Belarusian forces pointing guns in the air and shooting blanks when they meet Polish soldiers and guards. In other cases, Belarusian forces have destroyed a razor wire barrier on the border or encouraged migrants to do so, Zaryn said.



Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Over the years, corporations have become more creative in developing characters synonymous with their brands. From the lonely nameless Maytag Repairman to Progressive's quirky sales rep Flo and Jake from State Farm, beloved mascots give many products iconic voices that withstand the test of time.

The Aflac Duck waddled into the business world Jan. 1, 2000, and by the time I joined the Georgia-based supplemental insurance family in 2006, the little duck with big personality was already a brand powerhouse. That said, advertising and branding were only part of the mission.

In 2018, Aflac introduced My Special Aflac Duck as a companion for children with cancer. It quickly became clear that this robotic innovation was more than another brand mascot. Its purpose was born straight from the hearts of Aflac CEO Dan Amos and Kathelen Amos.

Since its debut, My Special Aflac Duck has made its way into the arms of more than 12,000 children with cancer, providing comfort and joy as they undergo treatment. Early on, parents and medical professionals saw its great benefits as more than just a cuddly companion. My Special Aflac Duck helps even the smallest patients (3 and older) communicate their feelings, better understand their care, and enjoy moments of empowerment and even fun.

Aflacs philanthropic focus on pediatric cancer has been strengthened by its 26-year, $155 million partnership with the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta  No. 6 on U.S. News and World Reports Top 10 Best Pediatric Cancer Programs list.

But the center is also consistently ranked for another reason. Last year alone, they had over 2,000 visits from patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), making it No. 1 in the nation for total SCD discharges. These astounding figures are what led Aflac to exponentially expand its corporate commitment to children with blood disorders like SCD. Through education, awareness and action, we are amplifying our efforts to help address gaps in care for the youngest suffering from this inherited, painful disease that disproportionately affects African American communities.

As a parent myself, my heart aches for those that learn their child has this devastating disease. It brings me great joy and pride to work for a company that invests in the well-being and futures of these children and their families.

As part of our ongoing commitment, My Special Aflac Duck has been enhanced with features specifically designed to help children with SCD cope with their unique care and treatment routines. Did you know fluctuations in temperature and dehydration can often lead to painful SCD crises? Kids with SCD can mimic their need to stay warm by bundling up their Duck in its very own customizable blanket, and they can learn to stave off dehydration by providing virtual water breaks through the ducks improved, free companion app.

The new My Special Aflac Duck with features for children with SCD will be available in early 2022  and just as it is for children with cancer, there will be no charge. Its available to health professionals and organizations that care for children with blood disorders to give to their children with SCD, free of charge. If youd like to receive an email when theyre available, sign up here: https://app.mobilecause.com/f/3c5s/n?vid=my8i8.

Brad Knox is senior vice president and counsel, Federal Relations, at Aflac Inc.

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When Margaret Cheney was first came to Casper, the nearest House of the Lord was more than 400 miles away.

Fellow worshipers would pile into a charter bus in the middle of the night, Cheney recalled, and head for Salt Lake City. After seven, eight, nine hours, theyd arrive before a towering fortress of white stone and spires.

Theyd spend a few hours inside while a napping bus driver awaited their return, she said. Then, theyd all ride back home.

Thats just what you had to do back then, to get to a temple.

For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormonism, temples are especially sacred ground. To go through the temple, as its sometimes called, is to visit somewhere closer to God.

We did it as often as we could, said Cheney, who heads a local LDS Sunday school.

The temples are reserved for special ceremonies and rituals  distinct from chapels, where more typical religious services take place.

But there are only so many LDS temples out there, and local congregations cant just start their own.

New locations are intentionally selected, funded and planned by the churchs central leadership in Salt Lake City. Whats more, theyre costly and time-intensive to build. They can only go up so fast.

And so for many church members, far-away trips to temples are just a given.

Maybe Casper would have a temple of its own day, Cheney remembers thinking. But who could say when?

I thought, would I live to see this happen? Cheney said.

Then church prophet and president Russel M. Nelson revealed in April a temple would be built in Casper.

Itll be the second LDS temple in the state, joining the Star Valley location, which opened in 2016. Earlier this fall, the church announced Cody will soon get one, too.

To Cheney and others in Wyomings LDS community, its an answer to generations of prayer and sacrifice.

***

In 1959, Caspers LDS community was small. There were just two branches, or congregations, in the whole city, Cheney said.

But Casper was small back then, too, she recalled. Then came the economic boom of the 70s, which brought in new families in droves, she said.

Casper as she knew it was changing  and so, too, was her church.

The Latter-day Saints have been evangelists from the beginning; the church has had missionaries since the days of its prophet and founder, Joseph Smith.

Though the fold has always been growing, the second half of the 20th century was a time of unique expansion for the church.

There were about 1 million Mormons in 1950, according to church estimates. But by 1990, that number had surpassed 7 million worldwide.

In the decades in-between, the Latter-day Saints were building up and out  launching more overseas missions, building more meetinghouses, more temples.

Even so, much of the churchs growth was still concentrated in the American West. So as the first temples went up in Taiwan and Peru, occasionally one would spring up a bit closer to home.

For decades, Cheney and her family would huddle around the TV watching the General Conferences  the churchs twice-a-year meetings in Salt Lake City  to hear sermons from church leaders and any important news.

Major announcements are common at General Conferences: changes in leadership, in doctrine or church operations. New temples.

For a long while, temple announcements were somewhat rare, arriving only once every few years or so. By the 80s and 90s, they came in spades.

The church unveiled plans in 67 to build a temple in Ogden, Utah  only marginally closer to Casper than Salt Lake.

A decade and a half later, a temple opened in Denver. A five-hour drive from central Wyoming. Thirty years after that  in August 2016  came the temple in Fort Collins. Three hours away. Progress.

Temple-building has been especially prolific under Nelson, who has been prophet and president of the church since 2018. As of October, more than 40 are under construction, and 50 more have been announced. Thats in addition to the 168 already standing  meaning in the coming years, the total number of LDS temples worldwide will increase by nearly two-thirds.

Still, Casper surprised everyone. Not even the local leaders knew the announcement was coming.

Steve Higginson, president of the churchs Casper East stake, said he was driving home from a family retreat when the news came.

Casper? Casper, Wyoming?

I didnt believe what Id just heard, he said.

***

In 1846, the Latter-day Saints sent their first pioneers westward.

The faithful were forced to flee Illinois after Joseph Smiths murder in 1844. Their flagship city, Nauvoo, wasnt safe anymore  but maybe the mountains would be.

The Salt Lake Valley was a thousand miles away, and at least until 1850, still belonged to the Republic of Mexico.

Smiths successor, Brigham Young, led advance parties into Iowa Territory, and onward into what would one day be Nebraska and Wyoming. The fledgling party followed the arc of the North Platte and Sweetwater rivers  first north, then south.

Most of the region was still dominated by the Plains Indians, the autonomous nations who have lived there for thousands of years. In just a few decades, the U.S. government would sanction their starvation, displacement and death to make room for white settlers.

Nine men in the wagon train were left near present-day Casper to help later travelers cross the North Platte. They would operate a log raft to carry wagons over the freezing water  remembered today as the Mormon Ferry.

The rest of the vanguard party reached Salt Lake in July 1847. Over the next 20 years, between 60,000 to 70,000 settlers would follow the same winding path west.

For most, the Mormon Trail would have been miserable, but not life-threatening. First-person accounts tell of the bitter cold winters, muddy summers, malnutrition and disease. But the vast majority survived the exodus, records suggest.

The journey, however, wasnt without tragedy; in fact, one of the deadliest disasters to take place on the Mormon Trail occurred just a stones throw from Casper.

The Martin Handcart Company, a group of immigrant converts from the British Isles, set out for Salt Lake in July 1856.

Their point of departure was Iowa City, and it was abnormally late in the year. By the time they reached central Wyoming, summer had turned to fall, and winter was imminent.

In early November, the group found itself stranded in a snowstorm. They were forced to wait out the weather in Martins Cove, a rocky nook just 55 miles from Casper.

Rescue wagons from Salt Lake City brought some supplies and helped protect the company while the weather cleared. By the time they reached Salt Lake later that month, its estimated more than 100 of the party had died.

***

To the Latter-day Saints, temples are the loci of all things eternal; where heaven meets Earth, some say.

Church members visit temples to participate in sacred ceremonies that help prepare them and others for the afterlife. For a faith forged in upheaval and uncertainty, theyre a sanctuary of permanence.

The main temple ritual is endowment  a special blessing given to adult members of the church.

Marriage ordinances, known as sealings, also happen in temples. In the LDS faith, families are meant to last forever  so sealings are performed to bind marriages not just in this life, but also the next.

Another common ceremony is baptism of the dead, more commonly called a proxy baptism.

The practice is just what it sounds like: a baptism, a conversion ritual that many Christian faiths consider essential to salvation. The difference is, in a proxy baptism, the goal is to baptize someone whos already died.

Its intended for those that didnt have the chance to join the faith when they were alive; a way church members allow past generations to share in the gifts of the present.

The church recommends members perform proxy baptisms for at least four generations of their forebears. The baptized doesnt have to convert  thats up to them.

To this end, many Mormons become adept genealogists. Thanks to the combined efforts of its members  the vast majority of them volunteers  the church says its archived hundreds of millions of family records.

For Emma Hardy and her family, its something like a part-time job. The high school senior said shes used to sifting through online records  linking a name here with a document there.

We have this family tradition where well all get together and tell stories that weve learned, Hardy said.

As far as proxy baptisms are concerned, genealogical research certainly serves a practical purpose. But church members say its also about connecting with your roots, showing gratitude toward those who came before you, making sure their sacrifices arent forgotten. And sometimes, simply satisfying a burning curiosity about the past.

Pride for family and church history has a special place in Latter-day Saints culture. In addition to Christmas and Easter, the church also celebrates Pioneer Day on July 24  the day the first wagons arrived in Salt Lake.

Any time of year, families will plan vacations to their ancestral homes, or church historic sites. Martins Cove, for example, welcomes tens of thousands of visitors annually  most of them Latter-day Saints. The church operates a visitors center there with exhibits and artifacts on display.

Then theres the trek: a popular youth excursion thats half camping, half historical reenactment. Church teens spend a few days living like the pioneers, hauling handcarts across the countryside in period clothing.

Treks are a way to help kids experience, internalize and appreciate what the early church went through, said Brandon Smith, president of the churchs Casper stake.

Smith said he and his wife joined a trek as a Pa and Ma: pretend pioneer parents who serve as teens chaperones and mentors.

The experience is all at once exhausting, exciting and eye-opening, he said.

Its those kinds of things that change your life, Smith said.

***

The church broke ground at the Casper temple in early October.

The 10,000-square-foot building is set to be finished in early 2023, church leaders estimate. For a short time after its completion, the temple will be open to the public  anyone will be able to stop by to see it.

At a special service Oct. 11, Cindy Blevins, a longtime church member, gave a brief history of the LDS church in Central Wyoming.

She spoke of the pioneers who risked their lives crossing the country, and the more ordinary, everyday work of todays church members: spending hours and hours pouring over records and travelling to temples to help their families.

The many saints who sacrificed so much, whose shoulders we stand on, are part of our heritage, she said.

Casper has been a place of sacrifices both large and small, she said. And out of great sacrifice comes great blessing, she added.

In just a matter of months, that blessing will open its doors.

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Taped on the doors of the Industrial Building at the Casper fairgrounds on Tuesday, there was a new message.

PRESENT IT AT THE POLLS, the red, white and blue flyers read, over clip art of a hand holding an ID card.

In the special election Tuesday, Natrona Countys first after the passage of Wyomings voter identification law earlier this year, pretty much everyone came prepared to present their ID.

Several people voting on the proposed specific purpose tax at the fairgrounds said they were glad to see a voter identification law in place.

I think we need to have voter ID, said Chris Frude after casting her vote. Every state needs that.

The law was introduced  on the third try  by Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, in an effort to curb voter fraud following widespread claims of it in the wake of the 2020 general election.

Voter fraud is extremely rare in Wyoming, with only a couple recorded incidents in the last few decades. In Casper on Tuesday, voters said they werent necessarily concerned with fraudulent votes, but thought that requiring identification was a reasonable policy.

I think most people have an ID, said voter Ed Reed.

In elections past, Wyoming voters only had to provide their name and address, as long as they were already listed in the countys voter logs.

Now, voters need to bring a form of identification with them to receive a ballot. The requirements havent changed for those registering at the polls, who have always needed to provide an ID.

Of the 1,000 people who had voted at the fairgrounds by 3 p.m. Tuesday, election judge Kent Shambaugh said just five had shown up without their ID. Four of those went home to get it before coming back to cast their votes, Shambaugh said, and the other cast a provisional ballot that will be verified once they show an ID at the county courthouse on Wednesday.

Shambaugh said that in his experience working previous elections, most people came prepared to present their identification anyway, even when not required.

I would guess eight out of 10 would come in and just hand it to us, he said.

At a polling place at Interfaith of Natrona County, election judge Jeanne Leske said only one of the 42 voters theyd seen by the afternoon had come without a valid identification.

Voters were deciding on just one question Tuesday  whether or not to approve a temporary sixth cent of sales tax that would fund a water line replacement for Midwest and Edgerton and completing construction on the final section of Midwest Avenue in Casper.

Many voters said they were motivated to cast a ballot to support clean water for the northern Natrona County towns and the nearby Salt Creek oil field.

Theres such a small population, so how much money can they put into it? said Lexann Littau. I just want to do something good for the city.

Larry and Marcia Stroh said they were fine with the additional tax since it would only be in place for three months, from April to June of next year. Several others also commented that the taxs limited scope made it easier to vote for.

Only a few voters said they opposed the tax, saying that construction projects including ones like these should be covered by existing budgets.

Others said they were there exercising their civic duty, and had made a habit of voting in every election.

The turnout was slim, in line with expectations set by previous special elections according to poll workers and the county clerk. The fairgrounds serves 13 precincts in Casper, but smaller locations like Interfaith in north Casper saw far fewer votes cast on Tuesday.

According to County Clerk Tracy Good, 769 people had voted early and 534 had cast absentee ballots by Monday afternoon.

Polls closed Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.

Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst.

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The Casper police employee involved in a fight in north Casper on Oct. 1 is a sworn officer, the department confirmed Tuesday.

The officer was off-duty at the time of the fight, police said in a statement.

When asked about the fight in October, police said an employee of the department was involved, but declined to specify whether that person was an officer or a civilian. However, police confirmed to the Star-Tribune on Tuesday that an officer was involved after the newspaper requested documents pertaining to him. The Star-Tribunes request was denied, the newspaper was told, because the documents were part of the investigation. A spokeswoman, when asked afterward, confirmed the employee was an officer.

According to police, another officer responded to a report of a fight near Seton House on North Durbin Street around 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 1. The responding officer reported seeing the other officer apparently involved in a fight with a citizen.

The altercation was unrelated to the involved employees employment at the Casper Police Department, CPD spokesperson Rebekah Ladd told the Star-Tribune in October.

The incident is being investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, which has declined to release information about the fight. The officer is on administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation. DCI will deliver its findings to District Attorney Dan Itzen to determine whether to bring charges.

Based on the results of the investigation, Ladd said, the department will look into any potential department policy violations before deciding whether or not to reinstate the officer to his position.

No arrests were made at the scene, Ladd said. She declined to give any information on the nature of the fight, the identity of the parties involved or any injuries sustained.

Gloria Perez, who manages the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store near the scene of the fight, previously told the Star-Tribune that employees had heard commotion outside on Oct. 1 and locked the stores door out of concern for their safety. Later that afternoon, Perez said, there were still around five patrol cars blocking the intersection at H Street.

Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst.

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CHEYENNE (AP)  The victims of a head-on crash that killed four people on a highway south of the Wyoming-Colorado line included two senior airmen at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.

The crash on U.S. 85 11 miles south of Cheyenne around 2:30 a.m. Saturday killed Yasmin Takiah Evans, 22, and her only passenger, Taylor Alize Lipscomb Ashley, 24, the Weld County Coroner's Office said in a statement Tuesday.

The airmen were assigned to the 90th Missile Security Operations Squadron and the 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron at F.E. Warren, the Denver Post reported.

This is a terrible tragedy for the entire wing team, Col. Catherine Barrington, 90th Missile Wing commander, said in a statement. Our priority is to do everything we can to support the two families and all their friends and loved ones struggling with this loss.

Also killed were Jonathan William Upchurch, 30, of Rockford, Illinois, and his passenger, Zane Lee Schure, 30, of Fort Collins, Colorado, according to the coroners office.

Upchurch was driving a 2015 Jeep Cherokee that crossed into the oncoming lane and hit a 2018 Honda Accord driven by Evans, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

All four were wearing seat belts. The Colorado State Patrol was investigating.

F.E. Warren oversees 150 Minuteman nuclear missiles in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.

For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Denver Post.

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The heavyweight anti-vaccine mandate bill of the Wyoming Legislature's special session died in its final reading on Wednesday, leaving lawmakers with only a single bill left to consider. But that legislation doesnt do much of anything to fight back against the Biden Administrations vaccine mandate for companies.

House Bill 1001 died twice after lengthy, impassioned debate. The first vote was 15 aye to 13 no, two excused, but to pass the bill, lawmakers needed a majority of those elected (which would be 16), not a majority of those present.

Lawmakers then motioned for a reconsideration, which passed.

The second vote resulted in 14 aye 13 no and three excused because Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, left the floor. That said, even if he was present, it still would have failed.

No lawmakers, other than Boner, changed their vote from the first to the second vote.

After being amended repeatedly, House Bill 1001 sought to allow parents of public school children to opt their child out of a COVID-19 vaccine and masks, as well as ban vaccine passports in certain circumstances. Gov. Mark Gordon already banned vaccine passports via an executive order.

The bill also would have appropriated $10 million in COVID relief funds to challenge vaccine mandates in court.

The Legislature is still considering one measure, House Bill 1002, But as it's now crafted, it doesnt create a law to oppose the federal vaccine mandate. Put another way, it does not appear the special session will result in what proponents had hoped. Wyoming's far right had pushed for the session to combat the Biden administration's vaccine mandates.

Trying to do something right is always worth it, but its sad that we couldn't accomplish that for the people, Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne told the Star-Tribune.

The new version of House Bill 1002, after undergoing changes in the Senate, faced some serious opposition in the House -- 47 lawmakers voted not to accept the Senate's changes on Wednesday afternoon. Now, legislative leadership will convene a conference committee of representatives and senators. On the House side, this will include Reps. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, and Mike Greear, R-Worland. This committee will attempt to come to an agreement about a final version of the bill.

Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis

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The Wyoming Legislatures two remaining anti-vaccine mandate bills cleared their latest hurdle Tuesday in the Senate while undergoing significant alterations.

House Bill 1001 would enact rules for certain Wyoming businesses that may choose to require COVID-19 vaccinations for their workers. House Bill 1002 declares that all public entities will not enforce federal mandates.

On Tuesday, lawmakers made multiple changes to House Bill 1001. One modified the parameters of exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates laid out in the legislation. Another added language prohibiting proof of vaccination or vaccine passports by public entities (something Gov. Mark Gordon has already done via executive order).

The senators also wiped out a number of amendments that the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a day earlier.

A change by Sens. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, and Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, sought to firm up protections for religious and medical exemptions granted under the bill. It also removed language that had invoked federal law pertaining to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Supporters of the EEOC provision say it created a less precarious position for Wyoming employers trying to navigate vaccine rules.

The final amendment of the day came from Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne. The revision, which passed, deleted huge swaths of the bill.

Hutchings amendment could make the Salazar and Steinmetz revisions moot. Her amendment removed requirements to get waivers and exemptions from being vaccinated, and instead established testing in a way thats consistent with current public health guidelines as the only requirement.

Hutchings change also removed the employers autonomy to independently decide that they want to mandate the vaccine for their business. The rest of the effects of Hutchings amendments remain unclear, but they clearly aimed to return the bill back to its earlier iterations. The Legislative Service Office should clarify the outcome of the amendment Wednesday.

In essence, a couple key sections of House Bill 1001 backtracked to what they were after leaving the House, said Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander.

Case doesnt think House Bill 1001 has the votes to pass now, but the measure has another day of amendments to undergo Wednesday that could alter its course.

Lawmakers made fewer changes to House Bill 1002, the other measure still being considered. But there was one notable amendment, in the form of a resolution

The legislature strongly condemns the promulgation of any federal COVID-19 vaccination requirement or mandate as an infringement on the rights of the citizens of Wyoming to make their own healthcare decisions without governmental coercion, intrusion or dictate, the resolution began. The federal government does not have the right to two impose such mandates on the states, and doing so violates the tenth amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution...

Resolutions can send messages, but they dont carry the weight of law.

If the bill is passed in its current form, it would be more of a statement on behalf of the state, thereby making 1002 even less toothless, Case said. It will have little impact in the world, he added.

Notably, lawmakers do not have to pass resolutions in the form of a bill or within a special session. They can adopt an informal resolution that expresses the same sentiment that all lawmakers can choose to sign onto.

A couple other states have passed resolutions in response to the Biden administrations worker vaccine mandate.

The Senate will reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday for third reading, while the House will reconvene at 11 a.m.

But even if one or both of the bills pass the Senate in third reading, the House still has to sign off on the changes the Senate makes. If the House does not like what it sees, the bills could end up in whats called a conference committee, where members from both chambers meet to negotiate the differences.

Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis

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The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Wyoming has fallen steadily over the last two weeks, but officials say the virus is still very present in the state, and remains a threat.

At the same time, virus deaths continue to surge, with the state reporting 69 on Tuesday  the highest single-day announcement this year.

A Wyoming Department of Health spokesperson declined to predict what the hospitalization numbers may look like going forward, but said the state remains vulnerable to the virus with the more aggressive delta variant still spreading and the states low vaccination rate.

She added, People leave hospitals for one of three reasons: they improve/recover, they are transferred to another facility or they pass away.

In the last two weeks, the number of virus patients at Wyoming hospitals has fallen from 249  the states all-time high  to 182 on Monday. Those figures are still much higher than the number of people being treated during March and April of this year, when fewer than 20 people a day on average were hospitalized with the virus statewide.

These things wax and wane, said Dr. Mark Dowell, infectious disease expert in Natrona County and the countys health officer.

He does expect to see slow decreases in the number of people being hospitalized with COVID-19, but stressed the virus is still very active.

Statewide, hospitalizations are where they were in late August, but Wyoming Medical Center is treating about the same number of patients it saw in early October, and many of them are still severely ill, Dowell said.

Deaths are still going on at a significant rate, we are seeing deaths from the severity of the illness from a few weeks ago, Dowell said. I anticipate we will see more deaths over the next few weeks because there are still a lot of very ill hospitalized patients.

Of the 69 deaths reported Tuesday by the Wyoming Department of Health, 55 occurred in October and six occurred within the last week.

Nearly as many deaths occurred between the last week of September and the first week of October of this year as did between the end of November and the beginning of December 2020  the last time hospitalizations and deaths spiked in Wyoming.

While today hospitalizations are below 200, Wyomings largest facility is still bearing the brunt of those patients. Dowell said Wyoming Medical Center is just as stressed today as it has been for the last two months.

Nearly 50 virus patients were still being treated Monday at Wyoming Medical Center. Just one intensive care unit bed was reportedly available, though that availability can fluctuate throughout the day, hospital officials have said.

At least two other hospitals at one point Monday had zero intensive care unit beds  facilities in Campbell and Converse counties.

Banner Health officials, including Wyoming Medical Center CEO Lance Porter, told lawmakers the states largest hospital had its highest patient census on record during October, with more than 200 people admitted to the facility at one time.

For reference, the facility is licensed to care for 217 beds, but typically has between 170 and 180, according to previous interviews with hospital officials.

While hospitals remain burdened by a more severe brand of the COVID-19 virus, Lawmakers are in Cheyenne this week crafting legislation that could thwart attempts to mandate hospital employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.

A special legislative session has been underway since Oct. 26, intended to block anticipated federal vaccine requirements, though the Banner Health requirement has been a frequent topic among legislators as well.

That requirement went into effect Nov. 1, though Banner is working with employees until Nov. 30 before staff are terminated, according to spokespeople. Banner operates four hospitals in Wyoming, including the states largest in Casper.

Follow health and education reporter Morgan Hughes on Twitter @m0rgan_hughes

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THE Confederation of Regional Business Chambers (CRBC) is calling on the Government to consider an extension on the submission of the property tax forms beyond November 30, 2021.

The CRBC, in a statement yesterday, said there can be criminal liabilities or a penalty if these forms are not filed by November 30, hence, Government is urged to consider the request to extend the deadline as an urgent matter.
Deborah De Labastide pours her genuine love for the Yuletide season into her popular ponche-de-creme blends, pastelles and black cake.

De Labastides self-branded Debs Exquisite Island Drinks line is a must-get for visitors at the annual Christmas upmarket at Lions Cultural Centre in Port of Spain.
Trinidad and Tobago has experienced its deadliest day of the Covid-19 pandemic to date, with a record 28 new deaths being recorded yesterday.

Among the deceased is a child.

The Ministry of Health reported the deaths in its daily update yesterday evening.
THE murder toll continues to rise following the shooting deaths of three men in separate incidents between Thursday evening and yesterday morning.

The killings took place in Laventille, San Juan and Freeport.

Two of the victims have been identified as Aaron Thomas and Nathaniel Phillip, while the victim in the Freeport incident remained unidentified up to yesterday evening.
The pre-election splurge by the PNM-led Tobago House of Assembly (THA) draws attention to constitutional loopholes that should be addressed.

Here is an administration which went in with a comfortable majority for the election which was held in January this year and came out in a dead heat with the challenger party.
All that left Roysden to argue that this is none of the courts business.

This would be uncharted territory, he told them. That is a terrible idea for the court to start down this path.

But Montgomery said legal precedents going back more than two centuries spell out that it is precisely the role of the judiciary to judge  and strike down  actions by other branches of government that run afoul of the constitution. And he said there certainly are questions about whether lawmakers were in compliance.

Consider, he said, the measure labeled K-12 budget reconciliation. Among the provisions in that bill is that ban on schools mandating masks.

So how does that relate to appropriation? Montgomery asked.

The Legislature could say if were going to fund schools, we want kids to go to the schools, and we think (a) mask mandate is going to deter attendance, Roysden responded. We dont want the schools that we fund to impose these types of mandates. That is within the power of the Legislature.

That line of thinking clearly did not convince the justices.
Fann was philosophical about the prospect. You know what? she told Capitol Media Services. If he wants to hold me in contempt and throw me in jail, I guess well see where that goes.

Kemp set a hearing for Dec. 2 on the issue.

So far the Senate has produced many of the records it has, including texts, emails and reports, though it is still fighting disclosure of items that Fann claims are protected by legislative privilege. Kemp has rejected most of those claims.

But the issue now is the documents that Fann said remain in the hands of Cyber Ninjas and the subcontractors it hired to review the 2.1 million ballots and examine the procedures used by Maricopa County to tally the returns.

Kemp rejected arguments that these documents are private, ruling that the company was acting as an agent of the Senate and performing a public function. That makes its audit-related records as public as those produced by the Senate itself, he said.

However, American Oversight never sued Cyber Ninjas directly. And that means the only remedy is to force the Senate to demand the documents.
Democrat Kevin Dahl will be Tucsons newest City Council member, according to unofficial vote tallies that show he earned nearly 58% of the votes in the Ward 3 election.

Dahl is a conservationist who serves as the Arizona Senior Program Manager at the National Parks Conservation Association. Hes also led Native Seeds/SEARCH and the Tucson Audubon Society, two groups dedicated to environmental protection.

His top issues over the next four years will include addressing climate change by ensuring the city stays true to its climate initiatives. Affordable housing in Tucson is another key issue for Dahl, whose strategy could include repurposing vacant homes to increase housing options.

Dahl will replace Councilmember Karin Uhlich, who was tapped to replace Councilman Paul Durham earlier this year following his resignation. She previously held the position from 2005 to 2017.

Uhlich did not seek a full term, making this years election in Ward 3 a battle between Dahl and two other political newcomers: Republican Alan Harwell Jr. and Independent Lucy LiBosha.

Harwell received about 27% of the vote. His top issues were to increase funding for law enforcement and oppose COVID mitigation measures like vaccine mandates for city employees.
Judge Bruce Schroeder in September rejected both sides' request to send questionnaires to potential jurors to probe biases as they prepared for the trial. Schroeder told the attorneys that he was afraid people would not fill them out and would wind up discussing the case even more with family and friends ahead of jury selection.

That may trigger even more conversations about the case, with consequent opinion formation, Schroeder said.

Ray DallOsto, a former public defender and attorney in Milwaukee, said he would anticipate jury selection taking a day or two in a murder or homicide case. He was still surprised by the speedy selection in Rittenhouses case, due to the publicity it has received.

Having tried cases and appeared before this judge, I can tell you he doesn't do a casual 4- or 5-hour work day, Dall'Osto said. You put in a real long, hard day and you get the work done.

But the streamlined procedure Schroeder used to seat a jury could generate skepticism among people watching, particularly in Kenosha, said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The FBI released hundreds of pages of newly declassified documents Wednesday about its long effort to explore connections between the Saudi government and the Sept. 11 attacks, revealing the scope of a strenuous but ultimately fruitless investigation whose outcome many question to this day.

Agents for years investigated support given to several of the hijackers upon their arrival in the U.S., focusing in particular on whether three Saudi nationals  including a Saudi Embassy official in Washington  had advance knowledge of the attacks.

Ultimately, investigators found insufficient evidence to charge any of the three with illegally supporting the hijackers, according to an FBI memo from May that closed out the probe and was among the more than 700 pages released Wednesday. The FBI noted in the memo that al-Qaida compartmentalized the roles within its major attacks and did not make the attack plans known in advance to others for fear of word getting out.

Specifically, in relation to the 9/11 attacks, the hijackers knew there was a martyrdom operation, but did not know about the nature of the operation until shortly before the attack for operational security reasons, the FBI memo states.
Sternheim said surveillance of Maxwell at the jail was disturbing and invasive.

U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan has thrice before rejected Maxwells application to be released, even after she offered to post millions of dollars in bail, be guarded around the clock, wear an ankle bracelet and renounce her citizenship in England and France.

Maxwell has had to wear shackles on her ankles and waist and handcuffs on her wrists during court appearances. Sternheim complained that when Maxwell was brought to a courthouse Monday, she was forced to sit alone for hours in a small chilly cell, where she was poked in the leg by a guard when she fell asleep.

In her renewed request for bail, Sternheim said Maxwell has been subjected to physical and emotional abuse by jail guards in a facility where it is difficult to prepare for trial amid unsanitary living conditions, insufficient nutrition and sleep deprivation as guards shine a light into her cell every 15 minutes as she sleeps.

There are cameras on her constantly, most are stationary, but one camera follows her as she moves throughout the facility, and is constantly surveilling her, even during confidential attorney-client conferences, Sternheim wrote, saying Maxwell had lost hair and at least 15 pounds (7 kilograms) of body weight.
Photo editor

Rick Wiley is the photo editor of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson. From 1995-2004, he was director of photography at the East Valley Tribune in Mesa. From 1988-94 he was a photographer at the Tucson Citizen. He is a graduate of ASU (yes, that ASU).
Putting the U.S. on the path to halve its own output of coal, oil and natural gas pollution by 2050, as his climate legislation seeks to do, demonstrates to the world the United States is not only back at the table, it hopefully can lead by the power of our example, Biden told delegates and observers on Monday.

I know that hasnt always been the case, he added, in a reference to Trump.

But Biden has yet to deliver on his own commitments as coal-state U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has again threatened Bidens domestic effort. For all the optimism Biden has been radiating at the summit in Scotland, persistent doubts lurk about whether he can deliver solely through executive actions as continued talks with Congress have steadily cut into his ambitions.

Manchin said Monday, at an unfortunate time for the president, that he remained undecided on Biden's $1.75 trillion domestic policy proposal, which includes $555 billion in provisions to combat climate change.

Manchin holds a key vote in the Senate, where Biden has the slimmest of Democratic majorities, and has successively killed off key parts of the administration's climate proposals. He said Monday he was uncertain about the legislation's impact on the economy and federal debt and was as open to voting against it as for it.
When we have citizens who are taken hostage, it is our troops who save them, at a risk to their own lives," he added. "There were soldiers who were killed in operations to save hostages imprisoned in foreign countries. You have to have respect for our soldiers.

In an interview with the French news outlet Mediapart, Petronin said she has been in Mali since March, having crossed the land border with Senegal after the Malian Embassy in Switzerland refused to issue her a visa.

After her release, Petronin said she had converted to Islam while in captivity and called her detention a spiritual retreat. She asked to be called by the name Mariam, not Sophie.

French journalist Anthony Fouchard, who stayed with her after her release, told French broadcaster France Info that Petronin had longed to return to West Africa and had been living a rather peaceful retirement in Bamako until last week.

Her life for the last 25 years has been devoted to Mali, he told France Info. She has her adopted daughter who is still there and she wanted to find her and I think that this can be understood by the majority of people.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukraine complained Wednesday that Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops not far from the countries border after war games, as part of its attempts to exert pressure on its ex-Soviet neighbor.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministrys statement marked an about-turn from its denial of any Russian military buildup  as reported in U.S. media  just two days earlier.

The ministry said Wednesday that about 90,000 Russian troops are stationed not far from the border and in rebel-controlled areas in Ukraines east. It said specifically that units of the Russian 41st army have remained in Yelnya, about 260 kilometers (about 160 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.

Russia has periodically deployed and built up troops to maintain tensions in the region and exert political pressure on neighboring countries, it said.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's Defense Minister Andriy Taran submitted his resignation and Ukrainian lawmakers quickly approved it Wednesday. Davyd Arakhamia, the head of the parliamentary faction of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, said Taran had health problems.
While summer is not Tucson's prime time for restaurant openings, a few standouts such as Janet & Ray's have recently graced our city. Here's a roundup of all the new restaurants in Tucson.
Jones said one of his projects during his time with TAF has been to shed new light on figures from the LBGTQ+ community, whose stories have become obscured over time.

I know what its like to grow up gay in Tulsa, and I wondered how my life, and the lives of others, might have been different if we had been aware of people like Bruce Goff, and the great contributions he and so many others have made to the arts and culture of the this city and this country, Jones said.

Projections from the past

Britni Harris was in search of a subject for a documentary when she first learned about Bruce Goff.

She was a student at the University of Oklahoma, doing an independent study in film, and her instructor encouraged her to do a documentary film.

He said the best way to learn how to make a film was actually to make a film, Harris said. I knew I wanted to do something on an Oklahoman in the arts, someone whose story wasnt so well known, or that had some mysterious quality to it. And I sort of magically came across Bruce Goff.
The states first tribally operated charter school is getting a second campus.

On Tuesday, officials with the Cherokee Nation announced the tribes $4 million purchase of Greasy School in southern Adair County. Located about 10 miles south of Stilwell, the property will house an expansion of the tribes immersion school starting with the 2022-23 school year.

Im proud of the Cherokee Nation for taking advantage of an opportunity where we could put a Cherokee language immersion school in the middle of the largest hotspot of Cherokee speakers in the world, Cherokee Nation Language Department Executive Director Howard Paden said.

Greasy is a small, traditional community surrounded by traditional communities such as Bell, Cherry Tree, Dahlonegah, Rock Fence and Candy Mink Springs. This area is one of the few places left in the world where a child can spend all day in our immersion school and go home to a Cherokee-speaking home.

First announced as part of Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.s State of the Nation address during the Cherokee National Holiday in September, the immersion schools new Greasy facility will start with a 2- and 3-year-old program and add one grade per year through eighth grade.
Two office managers in trouble with the law appeared in court this week on unrelated fraud charges.

Melissa Dihel, 50, of Okmulgee was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison Monday, followed by three years of supervised release.

Dihel had pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion after the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma charged her June 4 in connection with the theft of $2.7 million from her former Broken Arrow employer.

Melissa Dihel violated the trust of small-business owners and robbed them for years, Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said in a written statement. Dihels string of lies, criminal acts, and excuses have finally caught up with her, resulting in almost four years of prison.

The U.S. Attorneys Office and our law enforcement partners will hold white collar criminals responsible for the financial harm they cause to local businesses.

Dihel forged the company presidents signature on more than 300 company checks while she worked for there between 2008 and 2019.

She admitted to using most of the stolen funds to feed my gambling habit.
Due to a shortage of bus drivers, classes are canceled Wednesday for students at Bixby Public Schools.

Facing a dearth of certified drivers, most of Bixbys Transportation Department employees are already handling one of the districts nearly 40 bus routes in addition to their regular duties.

However, with eight drivers currently out on medical or personal leave and district enrollment up by almost 600 students from the end of the 2020-21 school year, the suburban district does not have enough staff to accommodate all of its roughly 3,500 bus riders.

Instead, Wednesdays classes are canceled across all campuses while the district uses the day to train the remaining bus drivers on additional routes in order to minimize the shortages impact.

Due to a lack of time to allow teachers to properly prepare, Wednesday will not be a distance learning day. Since the districts calendar already exceeds the state minimum for instructional time, Bixby students will not have to make up the day at the end of the school year.

Bixby High School students enrolled at Tulsa Technology Center or Tulsa Community College will still attend those classes Wednesday as scheduled.
The court ruled 5-4 in McGirt that Congress had never disestablished the Muscogee Nation reservation. The decision left the state of Oklahoma with no jurisdiction to try criminal cases committed by or against American Indians within the tribes reservation boundaries.

The ruling has since been applied to the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole and Quapaw reservations, as well.

The state is seeking to have McGirt overturned or, at a minimum, modified to allow the state to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian Country.

Cheryl Cohenour, chairwoman of the Indian Affairs Commission, thanked the mayor late Tuesday for his response and reiterated her disappointment in the citys action.

It makes the city appear to discount their Native American citizens and their tribal rights to sovereignty, Cohenour said. Tribal sovereignty is much stronger than a city entity. The Supreme Court ruling regarding McGirt reinforced tribal sovereignty. I hope people understand this point going forward.

In his letter, Bynum thanked the commission for its work on behalf of the city and tribal members but said that ultimately the organization was not in a position to advise the city on McGirt.
When investigators arrived to search the car, they found no such casings, according to the affidavit.

Dythe told detectives both Harper and Carson spent time inside her car before she reported the shooting to police, and she noted that both got into the front seat and looked at the roof before Harper got in the back seat, as well, and crawled around as if he were searching the floorboard. She said she didnt see them remove anything from inside the vehicle but assumed thats what they were there to do, the affidavit states.

According to the document, Devon Jones told detectives that while Harper and Carson were telling the Jones brothers what they should do next, Harper said, You dont need to worry about us (Harper and Carson). You need to be worried about them (other members of TPD).

Carson told detectives he didnt enter the vehicle until other patrol officers were present, and Harper vehemently denied removing any evidence from the vehicle, the affidavit states.

Townsell and Johnathan Jones were originally charged in Tulsa County District Court with one count each of shooting with intent to kill in the case, but their charges have since been amended to use of a vehicle in discharge of a weapon. Theyre scheduled for a jury trial in late January.
The tundra indeed is burning, Peskov continued. But lets not forget that forests are burning in California, and in Turkey, and in other countries. These are the consequences of climate change were facing, and Russia, to some extent, is facing more serious challenges.

Moscow is taking a very responsible stance when it comes to tackling climate change, the Kremlin spokesman stressed, and has concrete work plans.

Most likely, all this was not reported to the president of the U.S. when he spoke about the non-participation of Russia, Peskov concluded.



GLASGOW, Scotland  U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry said Wednesday that the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow have more energy and focus than previous rounds of climate negotiations in particular because of the strong presence and support of the private sector.

I think we are going to have the greatest increase in ambition weve ever had, we probably do in these first 36 hours, and the real issue is going to be follow-up, working with them, Kerry told a gathering of mayors from around the globe involved in climate initiatives at a local level.
But Stitt declined to act on the commutation recommendation, saying a clemency hearing was the better route.

Caucus Vice Chairman Monroe Nichols, D-Tulsa, urged Stitt to follow the recommendations of the Pardon and Parole Board.

Stitt has three appointees to the five-member board. The Court of Criminal Appeals and the Oklahoma Supreme Court each have one appointee.

Members of the caucus recently met with Jones at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Lowe called it an amazing experience, adding that Jones wants to be released to help kids and make a difference in the state.

Members were asked what they thought of the possibility of Stitts granting clemency but leaving Jones in prison for the rest of his life.

Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, said that if Jones didnt commit murder, he should not spend the rest of his life in prison.

No justice is served if someone who did not commit murder remains locked up, Goodwin said.

Jones says he was framed for the murder by Christopher Jordan. Jordan, who testified against Jones, spent 15 years of a 30-year sentence in prison for his role in the crime.
Stitt has not contributed anything to his 2022 campaign, which has raised a total of $2.1 million. It was activated on Jan. 5 and carried forward about $420,000 from 2018. The campaign has spent more than $667,000, including more than $30,000 just to process contributions.

Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who does not yet have a 2022 opponent, reported a hefty a cash balance of $772,000.

Considerable cash is flowing into the Republican attorney general primary race between Tulsans Gentner Drummond and John OConnor.

Drummond, who narrowly lost the 2018 primary to the since-resigned Mike Hunter, raised $224,000 in the third quarter and has almost $630,000 in cash on hand.

He also owes $2.36 million from 2018, mostly to himself.

OConnor may not have Drummonds ability to self-fund, but he does have Stitts financial network  and Stitt himself  behind him. Stitt appointed OConnor to the vacant attorney generals job last summer, and his campaign donated $2,800 to OConnor.

Since formally opening his campaign on Aug. 8, OConnor has raised almost $345,000 and through the end of September had spent only about $3,000.
Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday said he will go to Mexico this week for a state visit focused on strengthening diplomatic and economic partnerships.

The Oklahoma delegation, which also includes Secretary of Commerce and Workforce Development Scott Mueller, is scheduled to arrive Tuesday afternoon in Mexico City, travel on Wednesday to Monterrey and return on Thursday to Oklahoma.

While in Mexico City, Stitt is set to meet with officials from the U.S. Embassy and Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard to discuss plans to open a Mexican consulate in Oklahoma.

I am very excited to continue expanding the relationship between Oklahoma and Mexico, and I am particularly pleased that Mexico recently announced plans to open a consulate in Oklahoma, Stitt said. My administration has been focused on recruiting a consulate to better serve Oklahomas growing Mexican community and I will continue providing whatever support is needed so Oklahomans will no longer have to drive to Little Rock to take care of important business.

Mexico has a consulate in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Meetings are also scheduled in Mexico City with leaders from Mexicos energy industry.
The U.S. Census Bureau was late getting population data to the state, which necessitated the special session to deal with mandated redistricting. While legislative districts were redrawn during the regular session based on population estimates, some must be reconfigured due to new numbers.

Echols said it was the latest in history that state lawmakers got the data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The House and Senate chambers are under construction, so the 101-member House will meet in Room 110, a first-floor caucus room that once served as an art gallery. The gallery was moved to the second floor.

The Senate will meet in Room 535, said Aaron Cooper, a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

The special session is expected to last a week. It legally takes a week to pass a bill.

The public will be able to view the special session at the Capitol from viewing stations that will be set up inside the building. In addition, the special session will be live-streamed at oklegislature.gov.

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In an interview from his hotel room with KNX radio in Los Angeles, Garcetti said he was experiencing a mild scratchy throat and slightly runny nose but otherwise was feeling good.

He said he was hoping the test was incorrect  a so-called false positive -- but planned to keep up a regular work schedule if required to continue a quarantine at his hotel.

President Joe Biden nominated Garcetti as ambassador to India and he is awaiting confirmation in the Senate.

Garcettis 9-year-old daughter contracted coronavirus last December, when Los Angeles was experiencing its worst surge. Garcetti and his wife never got it but were forced to quarantine with their daughter.

Summit spokesman Alexander Saier declined comment, saying officials were not speaking on individual cases.

About 25,000 people picked up badges at the summit, Laura Lopez, conference affairs director for the summit, said Wednesday before news of Garcetti's positive test. Of them, 97% have been vaccinated.

Lopez said there had been roughly eight COVID cases, including one U.N. employee.
Finding its way through the pandemic gives the third anniversary of the Mother Road Market even more reason to celebrate.

The nonprofit food hall was founded by the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation as a restaurant incubator with an original 20 entrepreneurs under one roof. An expansion of The Shops in 2020 provided retail space. Since it opened, more than 250 new business owners have operated in the center, with 27 presently in service.

Located on the southwest corner of 11th Street and Lewis Avenue, it serves as an affordable launching pad for entrepreneurs and revitalizes a stretch of Route 66.

Such new ventures always carry risk, but the COVID-19 economic shutdown has been devastating to restaurants and retailers.

From the start, the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation led programs to raise funds to help the Mother Road Market merchants. It established an emergency assistance program to help its employees.

Earlier this year, the food hall increased pay for non-tipped hourly workers from $10 to $15 per hour to $13 to $17 per hour, to start a path toward providing all employees a living wage. That raise put workers 79% to 134% above Oklahomas minimum wage of $7.25.
Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) has signed a contract to purchase an additional 25 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, raising the total number of shots it has bought from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm to 55 million.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh witnessed the signing ceremony of the contract in Edinburgh, Scotland on Tuesday, as part of his working trip to attend the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) and pay visits to the UK and France from October 31 to November 5.

This is the second vaccine deal VNVC has inked with AstraZeneca.

The Vietnamese firm previously bought 30 million AstraZeneca vaccine shots, of which more than 20 million doses have been delivered while the rest are expected to arrive in November.

AstraZeneca will begin sending the doses under the second contract starting in December.

Prior to the ceremony, PM Chinh convened a working session with AstraZeneca Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot.

The premier thanked AstraZeneca for its timely supply of vaccines to Vietnam, which was an important contribution to the countrys COVID-19 prevention and control efforts.

He hoped that AstraZeneca would continue to expand effective cooperation in the health sector, not only in vaccines but also in medicines.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) convenes a meeting with AstraZeneca Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot in Edinburgh, Scotland, November 2, 2021. Photo: Le Kien / Tuoi Tre

Soriot affirmed that his company will work to deliver all vaccines signed with Vietnam in the near future.

AstraZeneca also announced an investment worth US$90 million to assist Vietnam in improving its pharmaceutical production capacity, which will help patients have better access to high-quality locally-made medicines.

In the 2022-30 period, the company plans to make three major pharmaceutical products in the Southeast Asian country.

In addition, it will select a partner in Vietnam to transfer production technology and provide the necessary expertise for the manufacturing of medicine for non-communicable diseases.

As of Tuesday, Vietnam had administered over 83 million vaccine doses, with more than 25 million people fully inoculated.

Health authorities target to inoculate 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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Linacre College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the UK, is seeking permission to change its name to Thao College, after Vietnamese businesswoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao committed a 155 million (US$211 million) donation to the school.

We are very pleased to be able to announce that we have signed a memorandum of understanding with Sovico Group, represented by their chairwoman Madam Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, to receive a philanthropy donation of a total of 155 million," Linacre College announced on its website on Monday.

This gift will have a transformative impact on Linacre College and we are immensely grateful for their generosity."

On Sunday, Sovico Groups chairwoman Thao and principal of Linacre College Nick Brown signed the MoU on mutual cooperation and investment in education research and development in Edinburgh, Scotland, the group said in a statement.

The MoU also mentioned the development of a college under the University of Oxford system and the establishment of a scholarship fund worth 7.5 million ($10.2 million) for students from Vietnam and other countries, the Vietnamese company added.

Linacre Colleges website additionally stated that they are asking the Privy Council for permission to change the school name from Linacre College to Thao College in recognition of this landmark gift after receiving the first donation of 50 million.

Thao is known as the founder and chairwoman of Sovico Group, a shareholder of the first private airline in Vietnam, Vietjet Air, and vice-chairwoman of HDBank, a large commercial lender.

The businesswoman has an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion, according Forbes magazine.

She ranked 1,111th on the Forbes 2021 World's Richest List.

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The well-known UK-based education organization Quacquarelli Symonds has announced the QS Asia University Rankings 2022 (QS AUR), in which 11 Vietnamese representatives have made it into the top 675 universities on the continent.

This prestigious ranking of the top Asian universities sees 38 universities participating for the first time.

The highest ranking in Vietnam went to Ton Duc Thang Univerisity, at 142nd place, closely followed by the Vietnam National University-Hanoi and the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, at the 147th and 179th positions, respectively.

The list also features other Vietnamese higher education institutions like Duy Tan University at 210th, the Hanoi University of Science and Technology placed in group 281-290, Hue University in 401-450, Can Tho University and the University of Da Nang in 501-550, the Hanoi National University of Education and the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City in 551-600, and the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City in 601-650.

For the second year in a row, the Vietnam National University-Hanoi has appeared in the top 100 for Academic Reputation and stepped up a place to the 98th position this year, according to the QS AUR 2022 results.

Singapore once again asserts its leading position with the National University of Singapore securing the top place in Asia and 11th in the world while the city-state's Nanyang Technological University ending up third in Asia and 13th in the world.

QS Asia University Rankings have been constructed by eliciting responses of more than 130,000 academics and 75,000 employers worldwide, along with analysis results collected from approximately 96 million citations from 14.7 million scientific publications after excluding self-citations, Quacquarelli Symonds said in its methodology.

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Bangkok's once bustling Khaosan Road has been a shadow of its former self since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, but business owners are hoping Thailand's reopening to tourism this week will soon restore its buzz.

The early signs, however, are that they may need to wait a little longer.

Thailand, one of Asia's most popular tourist destinations, has enforced strict entry curbs during the past 18 months, but from Monday allowed vaccinated travellers from more than 60 countries to visit without having to quarantine.

A person walks on Khaosan Road as tourists are allowed to visit the country for the first time in 18 months after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions were eased, in Bangkok , Thailand November 2, 2021. Photo: Reuters

"Khaosan Road is Bangkok's landmark for foreign visitors. For us all business owners, they are our hope," Thapanee Pansodsaicharoenkit, owner of the 'Rocco' restaurant, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Before the pandemic, Khaosan Road was heaving with people on weekends and at night with cheap beer bars, tattoo parlours, street vendors, hostels and buzzing nightlife drawing budget travellers and tour groups alike.

When Reuters visited on Tuesday evening there were a few people visiting the restaurants and bars, but the street remained quiet, with around 90% of shops closed indefinitely.

"Yeah, we've been sitting and waiting for (foreign) visitors," said 38-year-old waitress Walaiporn Roemthong, who has been working along the popular street for eight years. "It's not like before, where we didn't have to wait for them, they'd just arrive and take their seats."

Business along the Khaosan Road has been on pause for the past 18 months, Prasit Singhdamrong, president of Khaosan Business Association, told Reuters by phone, with only 10% of businesses able to remain open.

Despite this week's relaxation, some restrictions remain.

Restaurants certified by the tourism authorities can serve alcohol until 9 p.m. but bars will remain closed, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority said in a statement Saturday.

That means many will still struggle, said Prasit, because some make only 1-5% of their sales on food with the bulk of their business coming from alcohol sales.

"Khaosan is not a place where people come to eat, because we're not Michelin-star eateries," said Prasit.

For some, however, there is still hope.

"I think it won't be long for tourists to fill the street again, unless there's another outbreak," said 36-year-old Papot Meecharoen, as he waited for customers at his hair braiding stall.
As camels munch on the fringes of Thar desert, an oasis of blue solar panels stretches further than the eye can see at Bhadla Park -- a cornerstone of India's bid to become a clean energy powerhouse.

Currently, coal powers 70 percent of the nation's electricity generation, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged that by 2030, India will produce more energy through solar and other renewables than its entire grid now.

"First, India will increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts... Second, by 2030, 50 percent of our energy requirements will come from renewable resources," Modi told the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The arid state of Rajasthan, where Bhadla Park takes up an area almost the size of San Marino, sees 325 sunny days each year, making it perfectly placed for the solar power revolution, officials say.

Once an expanse of desert, authorities have capitalised on the sparsely populated area, claiming minimal displacement of local communities. Today robots clean dust and sand off an estimated 10 million solar panels, while a few hundred humans monitor.

This pursuit of a greener future is fuelled by necessity.

In this photo taken on October 7, 2021, an engineer walks next to solar panels made by Indian manufacturer Vikram Solar at the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) site at Bhadla Solar Park in Bhadla, in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. Photo: AFP

India, home to 1.3 billion people and poised to overtake China as the most populous country, has a growing and voracious appetite for energy -- but it is also on the frontline of climate change.

In the next two decades, it has to add a power system the size of Europe's to meet demand for its swelling population, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), but it also has to tackle toxic air quality in its big cities.

"India is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world for climate change and that is why it has this big push on renewables to decarbonise the power sector, but also reduce air pollution," Arunabha Ghosh, climate policy expert from the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, told AFP.

But experts say the country -- the world's third-biggest carbon emitter -- is some way from reaching its green targets, with coal set to remain a key part of the energy mix in the coming years.

This photo taken on October 5, 2021 shows a solar plant owned by farmer and doctor Amit Singh in Bhaloji village, in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. Photo: AFP

'Huge transformation'

Although India's green energy has increased five-fold in just over a decade to 100GW this year, the sector now needs to grow by the same proportion again to meet its 2030 goals.

"I believe this is more of an aspirational target... to show to the world that we are moving in the right direction," Vinay Rustagi from renewable energy consultancy Bridge to India, told AFP.

"But it would be a big stretch and seems highly unrealistic, in view of various demand and supply challenges," Rustagi said.

Proponents point to Bhadla Solar Park, one of the largest in the world, as an example of how innovation, technology, and public and private finance can drive swift change.

"We've huge chunks of land where there's not a blade of grass. Now you don't see the ground anymore. You just see solar panels. It's such a huge transformation," Subodh Agarwal, Rajasthan's additional chief secretary for energy, told AFP.

In this photo taken on October 13, 2021, an employee checks an automated machine connecting solar cells at the Vikram Solar manufacturing plant in Oragadam, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Photo: AFP

Authorities are incentivising renewables firms to set up in the region, known as the "desert state". Agarwal says demand has "accelerated" since 2019.

"It will be a different Rajasthan. It will be the solar state," he said of the next decade.

If this surge is sustained then coal-fired power for electricity generation could peak by 2024, according to Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) projections.

Currently, solar power accounts for four percent of electricity generation. Before Modi's announcement the IEA estimated solar and coal will converge at around 30 percent each by 2040 based on current policies.

India's billionaires, including Asia's two richest men Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, are pledging huge investments, while Modi is setting up a renewables park the size of Singapore in his home state of Gujarat.

Show me the money

But reshaping an entire power network takes time and money, analysts warn.

Around 80 percent of India's solar panels are still imported from China, the world's biggest producer.

Gyanesh Chaudhary, chief executive of Indian panel manufacturer Vikram Solar, insisted there should be "more than 30" local firms like his already.

"That's the kind of demand (and) ecosystem that India would essentially need... It should have happened sooner."

Experts say domestic growth has been stymied by insufficient policies, funding shortages, cheaper panels from China, and infrastructure and energy storage issues.

"A lot of these plants are located at very long distances from power stations, so you have to think of linking them," explained Apurba Mitra, World Resources Institute India's climate policy chief.

Modi, who announced at COP26 that India would be carbon neutral by 2070, made it clear that such emissions-cutting pledges would require finance from rich, historic emitters.

"India expects developed countries to provide climate finance of $1 trillion at the earliest. Today it is necessary that as we track the progress made in climate mitigation, we should also track climate finance," he told more than 120 leaders at the critical talks.

Solar energy in India. Graphics: AFP

Empowering lives

Farmer and doctor Amit Singh's three-acre family farmland in Rajasthan's Bhaloji village was running out of water and hit by frequent power outages.

"I always saw the sun and its rays and wondered... why not harness it to generate electricity?," he said.

Singh first installed rooftop panels at his small hospital which generated half of its energy needs.

He then invested family savings into a government-linked project on his land.

The mini-solar farm cost 35 million rupees ($450,000) and Singh sells electricity to the grid for 400,000 rupees a month.

"It's the ultimate source of energy, which is otherwise going to waste... I feel I'm contributing to the developmental needs of my village," he added.

Ghosh said it was vital to bring down costs.

"When a farmer is able to generate power from their solar plant near their farm and pump out water -- we are then able to bring the energy transition closer to the people," he added.

Pratibha Pai, the founder-director of Chirag Rural Development Foundation which has brought solar to more than 100,000 villagers, believes in clean energy's transformative role.

She said: "We start with solar power... we end with safe drinking water, power for dark village roads, power for little rural schools which will hopefully script the story of a 'big' India."
Read what is in the news today:

Politics

-- AstraZeneca announced its plan to invest an additional US$90 million in Vietnam, underpinning the company's commitment to expand its presence in the country, during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs working session with AstraZeneca Executive Director and CEO Pascal Soriot in the UK on Tuesday morning.

-- During Tuesdays meeting, PM Chinh and CEO Soriot witnessed the signing ceremony between Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company and AstraZeneca Vietnam for the purchase of more than 25 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 Updates

-- The central city of Da Nang began vaccinating children aged 15 to 17 against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday, in an effort to soon reach herd immunity and reopen schools.

-- Health authorities in south-central Binh Thuan Province administered the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine to nearly 5,000 prisoners at the Z30D prison in Ham Tan District on Tuesday.

-- Japanese drugmaker Shionogi will begin a Phase 3 clinical trial on its COVID-19 vaccine this month, mainly in Vietnam and other Asian countries, CEO Isao Teshirogi said Monday, Nikkei Asia reported.

-- Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, on behalf of the citys health authorities received seven ventilators, 500,000 needles, and 500,000 syringes worth a total of about $200,000 donated by CZ Slovakia Vietnam Co. Ltd., which belongs to real estate developer CZ Slovakia A.S, on Tuesday.

Society

-- An erring aircraft tug driver caused an Airbus A321 plane to strike a stationary aircraft operated by Bamboo Airways prior to take-off at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Tuesday.

Education

-- Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a well-known UK-based education organization, announced on Tuesday that 12 Vietnamese schools have made it to the top 675 universities in the QS Asia University Rankings 2022.

Sports

-- Vietnam edged out Myanmar 1-0 on Tuesday evening to make it through to the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup as the Group I winners.

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More than 5,000 inmates were provided with their first COVID-19 vaccine doses in Binh Thuan Province, south-central Vietnam on Tuesday.

Vo Van Hanh, deputy director of the provincial Center for Disease Control (CDC), confirmed that the agency had coordinated with the supervisory board of Thu Duc (Z30D) Prison in Ham Tan District to carry out the inoculation drive.

A total of ten vaccination sites were established across the detention facility.

All health workers, prisoners, as well as detention and police officers had to comply with COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

The inmates had their health checked and monitored carefully before and after the vaccination in accordance with the Ministry of Healths regulations.

Medicine and emergency equipment were also prepared to handle cases of serious postvaccinal reactions.

The Binh Thuan CDC is also planning to vaccinate over 1,000 inmates at the Huy Khiem detention center in Tanh Linh District in the near future, Hanh stated.

Detainees at Z30D will be administered their second doses as the recommended interval ends, the official added.

Binh Thuan Province has recorded more than 5,600 local COVID-19 infections since the fourth outbreak hit Vietnam on April 27.

As of Tuesday, local health authorities had given nearly 760,000 vaccine doses, with over 96,700 people fully inoculated, according to the provincial Department of Health.

More than 75 percent of Binh Thuans adult population have received at least one shot while 11 percent have been jabbed twice.

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Police in the south-central Vietnamese province of Binh Thuan have apprehended two suspects, including the deputy director of a local company, for kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old employee of a karaoke shop.

An investigation was initiated after the victim, 15-year-old T., who works at a karaoke parlor in Binh Thanh Commune, Tuy Phong District, submitted her denunciation letter, Colonel Pham Thuat, an official from the provincial Department of Public Security, said on Wednesday morning.

T. said a group of men came to the venue to drink beer and sing karaoke on Sunday evening.

One of them asked the girl to spend the night with him.

Despite T.s refusal, the group of men forced her onto their automobile and took her to a hotel in Lien Huong Town, where one of them raped her.

Le Anh Tuan is held at the police station in Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam. Photo: Tuan Tu / Tuoi Tre

After checking CCTV footage and collecting statements from relevant individuals, officers were able to identify the suspects as Le Anh Tuan, 39, Truong Dinh Vinh, 32, Nguyen Van Hung, 41, Nguyen Van Chien, 23, and another man named Son.

Tuan, who hails from north-central Quang Binh Province and is the deputy director of a company in Binh Thuan, was the one raping the victim.

Police have had enough grounds to take Tuan and Vinh into custody to facilitate their investigation.

Officers are also verifying the responsibility of the other suspects.

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The Ministry of Health confirmed 7,106 additional coronavirus cases on Wednesday, along with 8,869 recoveries and 78 fatalities.

The latest cases, including 17 imported and 7,089 local transmissions, were logged in 58 provinces and cities, the health ministry said, adding that 2,766 patients were detected in the community.

Ninh Thuan Province reported 1,009 of the domestically-infected cases, Ho Chi Minh City 985, Ninh Thuan Province 914, Dong Nai Province 905, Binh Duong Province 773, Kien Giang Province 374, An Giang Province 312, Bac Lieu Province 290, Tay Ninh Province 272, Tien Giang Province 207, Soc Trang Province 193, Can Tho City 152, Binh Thuan Province 136, Long An Province 119, Ha Giang Province 118, Quang Nam Province 90, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province 82, Hanoi 76, Khanh Hoa Province 27, and Da Nang four.

Vietnam had recorded 5,613 locally-acquired infections on Tuesday.

The country has registered 934,583 community transmissions in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth virus wave emerged on April 27, 830,858 of them having recovered from the respiratory disease.

Ho Chi Minh City is on top of the list with 434,736 patients, followed by Binh Duong Province with 235,293, Dong Nai Province with 68,199, Long An Province with 35,182, Tien Giang Province with 17,216, Dong Thap Province with 10,038, Khanh Hoa Province with 9,068, Da Nang with 4,982, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with 4,950, and Hanoi with 4,824.

Vietnam detected only 1,570 locally-transmitted infections in total in the previous three waves.

The health ministry announced 8,869 recoveries on Wednesday, taking the total to 833,675.

The toll has climbed to 22,283 deaths after the ministry recorded 78 fatalities on the same day, including 40 in Ho Chi Minh City and 13 in Binh Duong Province.

Vietnam has found 939,463 infections since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit it early last year.

Health workers have administered over 84 million vaccine doses, including 972,790 shots on Tuesday, since inoculation was rolled out on March 8.

More than 25.6 million people have been fully immunized.

Health authorities target to inoculate 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 Ministry of Health has requested authorities in Vietnam's 63 cities and provinces to prepare plans to offer the third and fourth booster shots of COVID-19 vaccine to fully-vaccinated people from next year.

The booster plan is necessary for building the scheme of COVID-19 vaccine use in 2022, according to the health ministry.

As a large number of COVID-19 vaccine doses are scheduled to arrive in Vietnam from now until the end of this year, the ministry requested every city and province to accelerate vaccination to promptly increase vaccine coverage and prevent new outbreaks.

Local officials must review the numbers of children aged 3 to 11, 12 to 15, and 16 to 17, and people from 18 years old to project the vaccine volumes for these age groups.

Based on the local statistics, the health ministry will formulate the vaccine distribution plan for November and December 2021 and the inoculation scheme for 2022, including giving out the third and fourth COVID-19 jabs to suitable populaces.

Earlier, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health called on the municipal Peoples Committee to administer a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk groups and frontline forces before continuing with the current immunization program.

The department also sought to administer the third and fourth doses to designated recipients from next year while inoculating children aged three and younger.

Health workers have administered over 83 million vaccine doses, including 1,277,565 shots on Monday, since vaccination was rolled out on March 8.

More than 25 million people have been fully inoculated.

Health authorities target to inoculate at least two-thirds of a population of nearly 98 million people against COVID-19 by the first quarter of next year.

The Ministry of Health said that it had distributed nearly 105 million doses to 63 cities and provinces by the end of October 29.

Vietnam has detected 932,357 infections since the COVID-19 pandemic first appeared early last year and 927,494 community transmissions in 62 provinces and cities since the fourth virus wave emerged on April 27, with 821,989 of them having recovered from the respiratory disease.

The death toll had jumped to 22,205 after the ministry registered 74 fatalities on Tuesday, including 31 in Ho Chi Minh City and 19 in Binh Duong Province.

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Veteran presenter Alan Jones is departing SKY News after 8 years with his program not renewed by News Corp.

SKY News have indicated to me that they will not renew my contract, which ends on November 30, Jones revealed on Facebook.

At a meeting on Friday, October 29 I wasnt offered another slot with SKY News, but an alternative offer was made to me to appear once a week on the news streaming service, Flash.

I declined that offer.

Jones joined SKY News in 2013 as co-host of political discussion program Richo + Jones, alongside Graham Richardson. He then went on to anchor Jones & Co in 2016 before hosting the Alan Jones program from July 2020.

Its been a flurry of headlines for the controversial presenter this year, with comments around COVID-19 part of a YouTube ban for the broadcaster, forced to admit a correction by ACMA, and having his column dropped by the Daily Telegraph. Last year he retired from 2GB citing ill health as rumours swirled Nine management were looking for change.

Paul Whittaker, Chief Executive Officer of SKY News Australia said: Regrettably Alan has decided not to accept a new role that was offered to him for next year. We respect his decision and know he will be missed by many.

His final program will air tonight, Thursday 4 November, at 8pm.
Applications have opened for the Australian Film Television and Radio School Talent Camp 2022.

A partnership between AFTRS, Screen Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, Film Victoria, Screen Queensland, Screen NSW and Screen Tasmania, this encompasses 7 city-based workshops for emerging talent from diverse backgrounds.

Dr. Romaine Moreton, Director of First Nations and Outreach, said, Talent Camp is an excellent opportunity for Australias premier screen agencies to work together in support of diverse stories from our countrys incredible emerging talent. Since launching in 2017, the program has successfully developed a number of young creatives, many of whom have since received production funding and career opportunities within the industry. For 2022, we are thrilled to introduce a new documentary camp and have reworked the overall program structure to encompass directing and producing, in addition to screenwriting. We cannot wait to welcome next years Talent Camp cohort and continue to foster diverse creatives in the Australian screen industry.

Nerida Moore, Screen Australias Head of Development, said, We are excited to once again be partnering with AFTRS and state screen agencies for Talent Camp, providing an expanded program including documentary, producing and directing components for the first time. This program is an important part of the push to make sure the makeup of our industry truly reflects all Australians, and Screen Australia is really pleased to be part of it.

Talent Camp, first established in 2017, aims to increase diversity and inclusion in the screen industries by providing career enhancement opportunities to early career and aspiring screen content creators from diverse backgrounds. The program recognises diversity as differences in gender, Indigenous identity, cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD), disability, sexual orientation, geographic location and socio-economic status.

With a focus on building crucial screen skills across industry sectors, Talent Camp 2022 will be a two-part project: one centred on narrative screenwriting, producing and directing for comedy and drama, and one on documentary directing and producing. This year, submissions will be accepted for both film and episodic web or TV series, long or short form.

For the comedy and drama stream, there will be five State Talent Camps held in Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide. The five-day workshops will begin with storytelling and screenwriting skills development, followed by a choice between the directing or producing component. The State Camps will focus on the bigger picture, diving into the ins and outs of story development, producing and directing considerations and career pathways, including industry information sessions to connect with experienced producers. These state-based workshops will be followed by one National Talent Camp for narrative, with two participants from each State Camp selected through a separate application process.

The documentary stream will take place as a National Talent Camp only, with two applicants selected from each of the five states across Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia. The participants will attend a one-week workshop, hosted in Melbourne. The workshop will be held during the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC), to allow for participants to engage with the industrys premier event for documentary filmmakers.

Following the completion of the national programs, Talent Camp will fund one narrative and one documentary short form work, whether a short film, pilot episode or proof of concept, with $20,000 allocated for a comedy/drama production and $15,000 for a documentary production.

National Documentary Talent Camp

Workshop dates: Sunday 06  Friday 11 March

Workshop location: Melbourne

(Note: this workshop is held parallel to AIDC (06-09 March) to allow for maximum benefit for participants)

Victoria

Workshop dates: Monday 14  Friday 18 March

Workshop location: Melbourne

South Australia

Workshop dates: Monday 21  Friday 25 March

Workshop location: Adelaide

Tasmania

Workshop dates: Monday 28 March  Friday 01 April

Workshop location: Hobart

Queensland

Workshop dates: Monday 11  Friday 15 April

Workshop location: Brisbane

New South Wales

Workshop dates: Monday 18  Friday 22 April

Workshop location: Sydney

National Narrative Talent Camp

Workshop dates: Monday 4  Friday 8 July

Workshop location: Sydney

Submissions close at 11.59pm on Monday, December 6, 2021.

aftrs.edu.au/talent-camp
All eyes have been on Glasgow as world leaders met at the COP26 climate summit and this week Q+A turns its attention to Australias role.

The Glasgow talks have been described as the last best hope for the world to get its act together to prevent a climate catastrophe. Prime Minister Scott Morrison attended, but Australia still faces strong criticism over its net zero climate plan, particularly from Pacific nations. What has Glasgow achieved and where to now for Australian climate policy?

Meanwhile, diplomatic relations with France are at an all -time low, with French President Emmanuel Macron accusing the Prime Minister of lying, and Scott Morrison leaking private texts between the two leaders to the media. How do we repair this major schism, and what is the impact on our relationship with America and international reputation?

And as diplomatic tensions boil over in Europe, Australians back home are finally reuniting with friends and family with the arrival of the first quarantine-free international flights into the country since March 2020. However, the new freedoms havent been extended to temporary visa holders, leaving many others in limbo.

Joining Virginia Trioli on the panel:

Matt Kean, NSW Treasurer

Adam Bandt, Leader of the Australian Greens

Kavita Naidu ,Pacific delegate to COP26

Blair Palese, Managing Editor, Climate & Capital Media

Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor, The Australian

8:30pm Thursday on ABC.
As House Democrats on Wednesday surprisingly moved to add paid family leave back into the $1.75 trillion social spending and climate policy bill -- word came that none other than Meghan Markle was lobbying senators on the issue -- personally.

In what might show that she's clued into congressional politics, she didn't go after West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin -- who doesn't support including family leave in the spending bill -- but made calls to Republicans, trying to get their votes instead.

MORE: Pelosi says Democrats adding paid family leave back into social spending bill, fate in Senate unclear

PHOTO: Meghan Markle appears onstage at the 2021 Global Citizen Live concert at Central Park in New York, Sept. 25, 2021. (Caitlin Ochs/Reuters, FILE)

Markle, the mother of two young children, including a daughter born in June, phoned Manchin's West Virginia colleague, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who said she first thought it was Manchin, because the caller ID was blocked, in a story first reported by Politico.

"Im in my car. Im driving. It says caller ID blocked," the senator recounted, details confirmed by her spokesman. "I thought it was Senator Manchin. His calls come in blocked. And she goes, 'Senator Capito?' I said, 'Yes?' She said, 'This is Meghan, the duchess of Sussex.'"

MORE: Meghan Markle advocates for paid family leave in open letter to Congress

PHOTO: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor during a royal tour of South Africa on Sept. 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images, FILE)

Markle then called another, more moderate, Republican -- Susan Collins of Maine -- who was in the gym at the time and also thought it was Manchin on the phone, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The duchess once again pitched paid family leave, Collins said.

"Much to my surprise, she called me on my private line and she introduced herself as the duchess of Sussex, which is kind of ironic," Collins added.

"I was happy to talk with her, but Im more interested in what the people of Maine are telling me about it," she said.

PHOTO: Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito leave the Senate chamber at the Capitol on Jan. 31, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images, FILE)

Last month, Markle, who now lives in the California with Prince Harry and their two children -- Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor -- posted a letter to Congress on the website PaidLeaveforAll.org advocating for paid family leave in the U.S.

Story continues

"I'm not an elected official, and I'm not a politician. I am, like many, an engaged citizen and a parent. And because you and your congressional colleagues have a role in shaping family outcomes for generations to come, that's why I'm writing to you at this deeply important timeas a momto advocate for paid leave," Markle wrote.

In the letter, she describes how hard her family worked to provide for her growing up and how the pandemic has pushed millions of women out of the workforce.

"Over the past 20 months, the pandemic has exposed long-existing fault lines in our communities. At an alarming rate, millions of women dropped out of the workforce, staying home with their kids as schools and daycares were closed, and looking after loved ones full-time," she wrote. "The working mom or parent is facing the conflict of being present or being paid. The sacrifice of either comes at a great cost."

Markle acknowledged that she and her family in no way face the same challenges other families do when it comes to raising a family.

"Like any parents, we were overjoyed. Like many parents, we were overwhelmed," Markle wrote, recalling the moment she brought home her newborn daughter. "Like fewer parents, we weren't confronted with the harsh reality of either spending those first few critical months with our baby or going back to work. We knew we could take her home, and in that vital (and sacred) stage, devote any and everything to our kids and to our family. We knew that by doing so we wouldn't have to make impossible choices about childcare, work, and medical care that so many have to make every single day."

Markle noted that, unlike the U.S., most other nations already have paid leave policies for all workers.

"Many other countries have robust programs that give months of time for both parents (birth or adoptive) to be home with their child. The United States, in stark contrast, does not federally guarantee any person a single day of paid leave. And fewer than one in four workers has dedicated paid family leave through their employer. I'm sure you agree that if we are to continue to be exceptional, then we can't be the exception."

ABC News' Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.

Meghan Markle calling: Duchess lobbies Republican senators for paid family leave originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Two University of North Georgia (UNG) faculty members have received a grant of more than $240,000 from the U.S. State Department to teach English and pedagogical approaches to educators in Jordan.

Dr. James Badger, director of UNG's Center for Language Education and a professor in the College of Education, and Dr. Juman Al Bukhari, associate professor of Arabic, are collaborating with a pair of Georgia State University faculty members and the University of Jordan on the project.

"English Education for All" will assist 40 teachers from disadvantaged and underrepresented areas in Jordan through online courses at UNG and workshops and seminars at the University of Jordan campus. These teachers will complete two courses this fall and two in the spring to earn a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate from UNG. Of the 40 Jordanian teachers, 15 will visit UNG and Georgia State in August 2022.

"The idea is that they can go back to their schools and train other teachers," Badger said. "It's an exponential model of growth."

Al Bukhari said the Jordanian teachers are eager to gain these skills, and UNG faculty are asking them about their needs to determine the best course design.

"They have a voice in this process," Badger said.
For Dr. Nathan Price, leadership starts with self-awareness. The University of North Georgia (UNG) associate professor of political science seeks to lead his students based on the approach in Bill George's book "True North."

"The main argument of the book is you cannot succeed as a leader by trying to emulate someone else. To be an effective leader requires authenticity," Price said. "You have to figure out your own compass first, what your values are and what your goals are, before you can step up and lead other people."

Price, who teaches on UNG's Blue Ridge Campus, has found that mentoring students is the sweet spot for him. One of the avenues for that investment is the Blue Ridge Scholars program, which focuses on service-learning projects.

"We apply what the students are learning in the classroom and let them take on some of the challenges in our community," he said. "I like working with partners to find these projects that are mutually beneficial for our campus and the community we serve."

Price has embraced being part of a campus that opens its community's eyes to the possibilities higher education can create for students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college.

"Our staff does a great job of cultivating a welcoming atmosphere," he said. "Students don't feel so intimidated. They're starting to learn this is a place where they can really grow."

Students from Fannin, Gilmer and other surrounding counties usually spend their first year or two on the Blue Ridge Campus. Price is grateful to see so many of them find success as they progress toward their degrees and join the workforce.

"Having the opportunity to take these terrified, first-generation students and watch them mature and grow into these high-functioning members of society who are making a big difference is awesome," he said.

Price earned his Ph.D. and master's degree, both in political science, from Louisiana State University and his bachelor's degree in political science and history at Miami University. He studied at Miami University's Dolibois European Center located in Luxembourg.
Gina Diodati has found opportunities to lead within a wide variety of organizations as a student at the University of North Georgia (UNG).

She is the Student Government Association (SGA) vice president on UNG's Dahlonega Campus for 2021-22 and the president of the Honors Program. Diodati has conducted research with faculty from UNG, Georgia Institute of Technology, Boston University and the University of Florida.

Yet the Dahlonega, Georgia, native pursuing a degree in chemistry aims to ensure that others don't see such success as unattainable. She makes it clear that she always looks for ways to improve and encourage others as they seek to find their niche.

"You want to make sure people around you understand you're not always going to have all the answers," Diodati said. "Being open about that is an opportunity for learning and personal growth. It makes others feel OK when they're struggling."

As the president of UNG's Society of Engineering Students and former president of UNG's Women in STEM, she aims to regularly be available so fellow students can come to her for help.

"I see myself as a vessel who can help others do great things. I want to be someone who encourages people to do their best," Diodati said. "Through my roles at UNG, I'm getting the opportunity to encourage people and push them to pursue what they want. I've been timid with my own goals, but I've grown bolder in pursuing what I'm passionate about."

For two years, Diodati studied organic semiconductors that can be used in organic light-emitting diodes, which are most commonly used in cellphones and televisions.

She also conducted lab research synthesizing single-molecule magnets under the guidance of faculty at University of Florida and alongside her brother Alex Diodati, '19.

As a senior in 2021-22, she assists UNG associate professor Dr. Ryan Meier with research into nickel (II) carbene complexes for use in catalysis. Diodati thrives on her research opportunities.

"It's always about trying to find creative ways to seek solutions. The key is not feeling bad for how long it takes you," Diodati said. "It's not a reflection of our ability. It's just the nature of research."
After the Azerbaijan victory, Turkish drones are in hot demand around Africa. The Bayraktar TB2 armed drone made by Turkish defence contractor Baykar is drawing attention of prospective buyer countries as a combat-proven technology. Nikkei Asia Review writes, that during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Angola last month, his host President Joao Lourenco reaffirmed the nation's interest in acquiring such capabilities. Lourenco had conveyed his intent when he visited Turkey in the summer.

"As you know, we are not conservative about such issues, and I told them we are ready to give all kinds of support," Erdogan said at a joint news conference with Lourenco. "Our defense ministers will talk, and we will take the necessary steps."

Military cooperation is especially effective in this strategy, with Turkey ready to sell everything from armed drones to armored vehicles and providing military trainers. This also fits with the desire of African states to diversify their sources beyond established suppliers like China and France.

According to former U.S. State Department official Rich Outzen's report "Deals, Drones, and National Will -- The New Era in Turkish Power Projection," Armenia lost 190 main battle tanks, 100 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles and dozens of air defense systems to Turkish-backed Azerbaijani attacks, in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of September-November 2020. "As drones of Turkish and Israeli manufacture pierced the air defense umbrella, Armenian forces proved highly vulnerable to detection and destruction," Outzen wrote.

Turkish drones are cheaper than those made in the U.S. or Israel. They also are easy to operate and fit the needs of African states, whose most common use is against non-state actors and terrorist organizations, according to Caglar Kurc, a Turkish defense analyst. From time to time, African states have made expensive acquisitions -- like buying aircraft -- but failed in maintaining and operating them," Kurc said.

At Turkey's Teknofest aerospace and technology festival in September, visitors from all ages took turns operating Baykar drones using joysticks at ground-control-station simulators. It takes roughly four months of training to become a certificated TB2 drone operator or technician, much shorter than a jet fighter pilot.

Hours after returning to Turkey from the four-day tour of Angola, Togo and Nigeria, Erdogan visited a Baykar factory on Oct. 21, telling employees about the response in Africa to the company's products. "Let me tell you this frankly: In Africa, wherever we went, they asked us for unarmed and armed drones, including the Akinci," the president said, referring to Baykar's latest high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

"The world powers are following you, what you did in [recent conflicts with] unarmed and armed drones," Erdogan said. "Because now you are among the world's top 3" most successful countries when it comes to unmanned aerial vehicles."

Reuters reported last month Morocco had received its first batch of Turkish drones. Ethiopia also has requested them, much to the ire of North African powerhouse Egypt, which is at odds with Addis Ababa over a hydropower dam on the Blue Nile.

Turkish Exporters Assembly data shows defense and aviation exports to both Ethiopia and Morocco increased sharply in the past two months, without providing details of any drone sales.

"There may be reports in international media that Egypt is uneasy that we are selling drones to Ethiopia. There is nothing official that came to our attention about the matter," Turkey's Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic told reporters last month. "After all, Turkey and Ethiopia are sovereign nations, and Ethiopia can buy these drones from wherever they want."

Tunisia also reportedly received its first batch of armed drones from another defense company, Turkish Aerospace Industries, at the end of September.

Turkey's main rival for drone sales in Africa will be China, said Arda Mevlutoglu, another defense analyst. "China may have a cost advantage by lowering the price tag in exchange for other concessions from buyer states," he said. But such low costs are often accompanied by poor service afterward as well as quality problems in sensors and guided ammunitions, at least in their exported versions, Mevlutoglu said. "Turkey, meanwhile, offers NATO standards to buyers," he said.

Mevlutoglu cited Somalia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Niger, Mali and Mozambique as countries having serious security problems in which low-cost drones that are easy to operate and maintain can be a good solution.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data shows the top four arms suppliers to Africa are Russia, China, France and the U.S. "Turkey has been selling items like armored vehicles, but after the military accomplishments of Turkish drones in Azerbaijan and Libya, African states now also want Turkish drones, as [they are] cheaper and accessible compared to U.S. drones," Kurc said. "Turkey does not apply embargoes or try to change foreign policy course. Turkey follows the footsteps of China on a no-strings-attached arms sales policy, which is welcome for buyers."

Delegations from Africa constituted the largest foreign attendance at the International Defense Industry Fair 2021, held in Istanbul during August, according to Ismail Demir, President of Defence Industries. Many defense contracts and cooperation agreements were signed during the event.
One of its most important points in the trilateral statement signed by Armenias prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijans president Ilham Aliyev, and Russias president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 10 November 2020which established the ceasefire and capitulation of armed forces of the Republic of Armenia in the Second Karabakh Waris the unblocking of transport communications in the South Caucasus region, Robert M. Cutler, fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, writes in the article for Geopolitical Monitor.

Although the trilateral statement mentions reconnecting the Nakhchivan exclave with the main body of Azerbaijan (via the Zangezur corridor) in particular, its ninth point begins with the simple and universal statement: All economic and transport connections in the region shall be unblocked.

For the last year, Armenia has found different ways to block the implementation even of the Zangezur Corridor project, even though it is to everyones benefit. In the most recent weeks, however, this has been changing. Pashinyan won snap parliamentary elections in Armenia in June 2021, despite Yerevans catastrophic loss of the Second Karabakh War a year ago. This occurred because of the complete political bankruptcy of the Karabakh clan that was hegemonic on the Armenian political scene from the late 1990s through 2018. Since the election earlier this year, Pashinyan has been able to install practical cooperation-minded personnel in key ministries and reduce the influence of the Yerevan war party.

The former defense minister Davit Tonoyan, for example, whose infamous slogan, new war for new territories typified the aggressive outlook of the old regime, is now under arrest for corruption along with other figures in the defense sector of the economy. On October 15, Pashinyan visited Moscow and agreed to open a railway between Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan proper, across the southern Armenian region Syunik, which borders Iran.

As the noted Russian military expert Igor Korotchenko correctly observed in a recent interview, the Zangezur corridor will make it possible to launch international transport communications in the full region. In his assessment, pragmatic Armenian politicians understand the benefits of the Zangezur corridor for Armenia and are ready to participate in it, but they are afraid of becoming victims of a witch-hunt. There are threats of terrorist attacks and assassination attempts even against Pashinyan and his family. Korotchenko is editor-in-chief of the authoritative review National Defense and a former chairman (and current member) of the Public Council at Russias Ministry of Defense. Further according to Korotchenko, despite the revanchism (literally, revenge-seeking) of part of the population and part of politicians in Armenia, nevertheless Yerevan has an understanding of the benefits of the Zangezur corridor. "Peace and the development of Armenia are now incompatible with territorial claims against Azerbaijan. I think they are [finally] ready participate in projects to unblock communications, including work on the opening of the Zangezur corridor, Korotchenko recently said.

This is frustrating to the militant fringes of the Armenian diaspora, particularly in the United States, which has become even more vituperative and aggressive in its attacks on the peace party in Yerevan, in Baku, indeed in Washington itself. The Zangezur transport corridor is the headline project here but not the only one. It will catalyze the development of economic ties within the so-called 3+3 initiative (also called the Six-way platform) that brings together the three South Caucasus countries plus Iran, Russia, and Turkey.

To take just one example, Armenia, which lost its land connections with Iran that had gone through the de-occupied Azerbaijani territories, will gain a rail connection with Iran through Nakhchivan. But that is not all. Azerbaijan has surprised observers with the strength and resolve of its efforts to develop the de-occupied territories. According to one estimate, Baku has already invested almost $3 billion to promote such redevelopment. High-profile projects include roadways to improve connections to the rest of the country and airports (notably, but not only Fizuli, which has already opened) that will also promote international links, including tourism.

The Azerbaijani government has provided tax benefits and created economic development zones in order to promote its initiatives. There are also initiatives to build smart villages and renewable-energy infrastructure. Most phenomenally, almost the whole region now has electrical power, including parts did not have it even before the last war.

With the price of oil not far from $100 per barrel, whereas Bakus state budget had been planned according to an expectation of $45 per barrel, Azerbaijan has become and will continue to be the economic driver of economic development in the South Caucasus region for the foreseeable future. Past Armenian governments, led by the now politically bankrupt Karabakh clan had earlier refused Turkish proposals for all-round economic cooperation and development. That was nearly a generation ago, and the Armenian public is tired of mass poverty and elite corruption. Pashinyan is not a newcomer to Armenian politics. He had long been a supporter of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the countrys president from 1991 until his forced resignation in 1998. When Ter-Petrosyan ran for president again in 2008, eventually losing to Serzh Sargsyan of the Karabakh, Pashinyan was one of his most outspoken supporters. Pashinyan made accusations of vote-rigging and fraud, and he was eventually jailed for organizing mass disorders. He won in the 2021 snap elections. These elections were an electoral battle mainly between Pashinyan and the other dominant Karabakh-clan politician, Robert Kocharyan. Next, the opening of the Zangezur corridor can lead Armenia out of the economic crisis
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 thirty-eighth day, November 3, the fighting concentrated in the liberated border areas and in the eastern sector of the frontline. The Armenian Armed Forces fired at Azerbaijani positions on the border of the two countries, outside the combat zone.



At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia spread fake news about the shelling of the civilian population of Shushi and Khojavend, including with prohibited weapons, as well as about the re-occupation of Azerbaijani territories and the destruction of the formations of the Azerbaijani liberation army.



Artillery shelling of the Dashkesan region of Azerbaijan again provoked a forest fire. Another Armenian drone was shot down in the morning. The city of Fizuli, liberated from occupation, was fired upon by Smerch missiles.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei demanded that Armenia withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan cannot yet take place.



In the afternoon, another group of invaders was liquidated, which tried to invade the Zangilan region of Azerbaijan, a little later - Armenian snipers in the Gubadli region. Footage of the elimination of the ammunition depots of the invaders and the suppression of the attack by the Armenian Armed Forces in the eastern sector of the front was presented.



In response, the invaders resumed shelling of peaceful settlements in the Aghdam and Aghjabedi regions of Azerbaijan. At about 15:00 it became known that the commander of the occupation forces' regiment had deserted from the battlefield, another Armenian officer, the battalion commander, was destroyed in the northeastern sector of the front, another, the regiment commander - in the eastern sector of the front.

Yerevan's fake news reached the point of absurdity: a certain core was presented as a "nuclear weapon" used by Azerbaijan, then there was a statement about strikes on the Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha.



The Russian Foreign Minister announced Moscow's support for the aspirations of Baku and Yerevan to peacefully settle the conflict. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, in turn, stated that this requires interaction between Russia and Turkey, Moscow confirmed the need for contacts with Ankara.

In the evening, footage of the liquidation of tanks of the occupying forces of Armenia was presented. The Armenian parliament reported that the invaders were left without weapons and food. Late in the evening, high-ranking occupiers who had fled from the combat zone were fired.



Thus, on the thirty-eighth day of the war, strikes on the settlements of Azerbaijan practically stopped due to the depletion of the ammunition of the invaders in the occupation zone - they were completely cut off from supply, which was recognized in Armenia. In fact, most of Armenia's occupation troops were taken into the cauldron, the combat vehicles moving along it were destroyed from the air by the Azerbaijani liberation army. The war has entered its final stage.
U.S. President Joe Biden scolded Chinese and Russian leaders for not participating in an ongoing climate summit, accusing them of having "walked away."

"I think  presumptuous of me to talk for another leader  but the fact that China is trying to assert, understandably, a new role in the world as a world leader, not showing up? C'mon," Biden said at a press conference to wrap up his appearance at the summit in Glasgow, Scotland. "The single most important thing that's gotten the attention of the world is climate.  It just is a gigantic issue. They've walked away. How do you do that and claim to be able to have any leadership now? Same with Russia."

Biden said Tuesday that Russia's tundra is "literally" burning and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "mum on the willingness to do anything." Meanwhile, he called it a "big mistake" for Chinese President Xi Jinping to not show up to the conference, U.S. News reported.

When asked why the U.S. should aim to meet global emissions-reduction goals when China and Russia won't, Biden said: "because we want to be able to breathe and we want to be able to lead the world."
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky discussed military-defense cooperation between the countries with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the climate conference in Glasgow.

"Discussed the tense security situation in Donbas with Secretary of State Blinken. Talked about Ukraine-U.S. military-defense cooperation, challenges in the energy sector," Zelensky wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

He noted that the United States firmly supports Ukraine's territorial integrity, praises progress in reforms and a strong commitment to their implementation, Interfax reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy announced the U.S. administration's intention to strengthen its energy security, according to the statement by State Department spokesman Ned Price.

"Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States unwavering support for Ukraines sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. He welcomed Ukraines steps to address corruption and underscored that, together with our allies and partners, the United States would continue to reinforce Ukrainian energy security, including by reducing the risks posed by the Nord Stream 2 pipeline," the statement reads.

Earlier it was reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy meet in Glasgow on the margins of COP26 on November 2.
The European Union committed on Tuesday to spend 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) from its budget over the next five years to protect forests, including 250 million euros for countries in the Congo Basin in Central Africa.

"We need to better listen to the indigenous communities, to the producers, to the consumers and to the traders... Listen to each other, work with each other, to stop deforestation," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

The EU contribution is part of a bigger $12 billion finance package to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests in poorer countries. Other donors including Britain, Norway, the United States and Japan, Reuters reported.
An Iranian oil tanker that U.S. forces attempted to block is now in Irans territorial waters, Irans Press TV said on Wednesday.

Iranian state TV has described the incident as a failed attempt to steal oil. It has not said when the incident took place.

The U.S. forces reportedly confiscated an oil tanker in the Sea of Oman that was carrying Iranian exported oil, transferred the oil cargo to another tanker, and moved the ship towards an unknown destination, Tasnim reported.
A roadside bomb struck a patrol in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding three, witnesses said.

Wednesdays bomb went off in the city of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.

The Taliban radical militant group (outlawed in Russia) district commander in the city confirmed the blast and said four Taliban fighters were wounded. The commander, who identified himself as Mubariz, did not provide details about those killed in the attack, saying the investigation continues.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, The AP reported.

The Jalalabad attack came a day after attackers set off an explosion at the gate of a 400-bed military hospital in the capital of Kabul, killing three women, a child and three Taliban guards said. Five assailants were also killed in the attack.
Russia and Azerbaijan at a meeting of the joint Russian-Azerbaijani demarcation commission in Pyatigorsk have approved a plan for 2022, as follows from the Russian Foreign Ministry's news release following the commission's tenth meeting.

"The list of issues discussed included the process of demarcation of the state border between Russia and Azerbaijan and the commission's plan for 2022," the Foreign Ministry said.

Also, the sides stated that the commission's plan for 2021 had been implemented in full.

"The meeting was held in the spirit of an open dialogue and mutual understanding. The commission's next meeting will be held in Azerbaijan," the Foreign Ministry said.
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Russia, Jeyhun Bayramov and Sergey Lavrov, discussed the implementation of agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh and issues of unblocking transport communications in the region in their phone call on Tuesday, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

"A telephone conversation between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was held on Tuesday. The sides discussed the implementation of trilateral statements [on Karabakh], including the activity of the working group for opening transport communications," it reported.

The top diplomats exchanged views on the current developments in the region and "emphasized the importance of developing cooperation platform in the 3+3 format with the participation of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey and Iran." A number of issues on the bilateral agenda were also discussed, the press service said.
The Secretary of Russia's Security, Council Nikolay Patrushev has held a meeting with the visiting Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns in Moscow on Tuesday, the Russian Security Council said.

"The sides discussed Russia-U.S. relations," the news release reads.

It was the first Patrushev-Burns meeting since the latter took office as CIA director. Their previous contact was in 2013, when Patrushev visited the United States. Burns was then deputy secretary of state (Secretary of State John Kerry was on a tour of the Middle East at that moment, so Patrushev was received by his deputy).

Patrushev maintains regular contacts with U.S. presidential national security advisor Jake Sullivan. This year they talked by telephone six times and held one personal meeting.
MP from the United National Movement (UNM) Eka Kherkheulidze has said that Georgia's ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili asks the opposition MPs to refrain from renouncing their mandates before the election bill providing for a lower election threshold is approved.

Saakashvili, who had previously urged the opposition to leave their MP seats, has seemingly changed his mind after the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) head Irakli Kobakhidze noted that the ruling party has no obligation to support the election bill for a lower threshold.

However, Kherkheulidze maintains that Saakashvili has not changed his mind regarding boycotting the parliament.

"This [election bill] is, I am quoting his [Saakashvilis] words, an obligation towards the Georgian people and we have to fulfill it," Agenda.ge cited her as saying.

Kherkheulidze added that although the UNM faction will support the election bill, it will continue boycotting the other parliamentary activities.

The constitutional amendment for a lower election threshold requires the support of at least 113 MPs in the 150-member state legislature, which means that both the ruling party, which has 90 MPs, and the opposition, should support it. Lelo - Partnership for Georgia faction, which has also boycotted the parliament in support of Saakashvili, announced that its MPs will attend the parliamentary sessions to vote for the election bill in the coming days.
Iranian Zagros Airlines and Qeshm Airlines are resuming Tehran-Tbilisi-Tehran flights, connecting the capital cities of Georgia and Iran starting this month, the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency announced.

Zagros Airlines will operate flights between Tbilisi and Tehran twice a week from November 1, while Qeshm Airlines will carry out flights two times a week until November 15, 2021, and four times a week after November 15.

The Georgian Civil Aviation Agency reports that Qeshm Airlines will consider switching to day-to-day operations during the off-season.

Georgia suspended direct flights with Iran after a coronavirus outbreak in February 2020.
Discussions in various formats are held between Azerbaijan and Armenia on demarcation and delimitation of the border and unblocking regional communications, but the issue of a new meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan has not yet been considered, Chief of Staff of the Office of the Armenian Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan said.

"The official representative of the Foreign Ministry has already expressed his opinion on this topic. There's nothing more I can say now," Harutyunyan said.



Earlier press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Vahan Hunanyan said that no meeting of the Armenian Prime Minister with the President of Azerbaijan is planned at the moment.

Back in October, Aliq Media reported that Armenia and Azerbaijan would sign two new documents in Moscow on November 9, one of which allegedly concerns the delimitation and demarcation of the border between the two countries, in accordance with which Yerevan and Baku recognize the borders and territorial integrity of each other, based on maps of the Soviet General Staff of the 1920s. The second document concerns unblocking regional communications, in particular the corridor roads, including the establishment of communication between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan.
When trading activities in the virtual environment yield huge profits, tax collection becomes a dilemma for many countries.

Retail sales of e-commerce worldwide has reached trillions of USD and increased sharply every year.

The rapidly evolving digital economy has increased the complexity of tax collection and administration and has led to unfair competition. Collecting taxes from e-commerce activities is considered a global dilemma, because the current tax system is built for the traditional economy while the digital economy is based on online transactions.

The global e-commerce market grew to US$26 trillion by 2020, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The strong rise of e-commerce in the context of Covid-19 brought the share of online retail in total retail sales from 16% to 19% in 2020.

E-commerce revenue grows every year and penetrates deeper into people's lives. Commercial activities on these platforms have become more and more popular in many countries, but tax collection is always a "headache" for many governments.

E-commerce platforms allow cross-border shopping and transactions in many jurisdictions. Sellers do not always determine the amount of tax to be paid and even deliberately dodge this duty. Therefore, many countries are considering or have enacted rules that require electronic exchanges to fulfill their tax obligations as well as rely on these online platforms to collect taxes.

In 2019, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommended that tax authorities rely on e-commerce platforms to prevent tax evasion. The OECD has come up with a harmonized set of rules on value-added tax/goods and services tax (VAT/GST) in the digital economy. The set of rules, already in place in a number of countries, is supposed to help eliminate double taxation or no taxation.

Countries are all looking for ways to more efficiently collect taxes from technology corporations or online-based activities.

Since 2016, the UK has implemented many additional measures to tackle the "erosion" of VAT with online shopping. E-commerce platforms such as eBay and Amazon are responsible for ensuring their overseas customers are registered for VAT in the UK. Online platforms face heavy fines and even criminal prosecution if they fail to comply with the rules.

In Germany, a bill passed in 2018 makes e-commerce platforms legally liable for unpaid VAT from German sellers.

India applied a controversial e-commerce tax policy, which required e-commerce platforms to collect GST from suppliers. Many e-commerce businesses in the country complained that the regulation increased compliance costs when they had to take over the function of the tax authorities.

In Europe, from July 1, 2021, any online seller or e-commerce exchange must register their business in a member country if they want to sell goods online in the EU. Companies selling goods online must collect VAT even if the transaction takes place through warehouses based in the EU.

Experience for Vietnam

Photo: In Vietnam, in the near future, e-commerce floors will have to declare and pay taxes on behalf of individual sellers.

Vietnam is one of the most promising digital economies in Southeast Asia. Its e-commerce market is also very attractive with an impressive growth rate. Vietnam's e-commerce revenue reached 13.2 billion USD in 2020 and may reach 52 billion USD in 2025 with an average growth rate of 29% per year.

The activities of buying and selling goods on e-commerce platforms are becoming an indispensable part of people's lives in many regions. But tax administration in this field has many challenges.

The Tax Administration Law No. 38 and a number of Circulars issued since 2020 have added many regulations related to tax administration for e-commerce activities. Following regulations on cash flow management with cross-border platforms, the Ministry of Finance has recently issued Circular 40, stipulating that e-commerce floors must declare and pay tax on behalf of individual sellers.

E-commerce floors will define the turnover for tax declaration and pay taxes on behalf of business individuals based on revenue, and other revenue received by individuals doing business on these floor, including revenue received through shipping units (CODs), payment intermediaries and other forms of payment. The taxes withheld directly on sales are Value Added Tax and Personal Income Tax.

This provision has caused a lot of controversy. E-commerce platforms believe that it will increase compliance costs when they have to invest in both infrastructure and human resources to determine, classify the taxes, or they cannot control or do not have information about revenue because they are only connection platforms.

Experts said that the Vietnamese e-commerce market has its own character: large cash transactions, seller operating on multiple platforms, with diverse revenue sources.

Meanwhile, the management agency said this regulation would not affect individuals who comply with tax obligations because they will not have to pay tax at a fixed business location if they have paid taxes through e-commerce floors. The tax management agency also will extend the implementation so that e-commerce businesses can prepare for the provision and connection of data with the tax authority.

According to the roadmap, from January 1, 2022, e-commerce floors operating in Vietnam must connect and provide seller information to tax authorities. "This reduces the number of focal points for tax declaration, creating favorable conditions for both taxpayers and tax authorities," said Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, Director of the Tax Administration Department for Small and Medium Enterprises and Individual Business Households of the General Department of Taxation.

Duy Vu
After changing its name from Facebook to Meta, the corporation has launched a new operation in Vietnam and other Asian countries.

After changing its name from Facebook to Meta, the corporation has launched a new operation in Vietnam and other Asian countries.

Meta Corporation recently announced the establishment of Climate Science Centers (CSCs) in Vietnam and more than 30 other countries in the Asia - Pacific region. This activity has taken place at the same time as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).

The establishment and expansion of Climate Science Centers demonstrates Meta's commitment to connecting people and providing guidelines for social media users on how to cope with climate change.

According to Meta's representative in Vietnam, to solve the problem of climate change, Meta prioritizes a methodical approach based on scientific awareness. Earlier this year, Meta partnered with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications to survey Facebook users in 30 countries and territories to get their views on the issue.

The survey results show people's attitudes, perceptions, behaviors and policy priorities when it comes to climate change. It also reinforces the company's upcoming efforts to scale up actions to better respond to the global climate crisis.

For Vietnam, Meta's survey disclosed that eight out of 10 Vietnamese would like to receive more information about climate change. Nearly nine out of 10 Vietnamese people said that they are somewhat worried or very worried about climate change.

A Facebook (now Meta) data center is located near the North Pole. Thanks to the cold climate here, Facebook can save energy in cooling the servers.

Nine out of 10 Vietnamese supported Vietnam's participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change. In addition, more than eight out of 10 people thought that climate change should be a high to very high priority of the Government and a similar proportion expect the Government to do more to tackle this problem.

Meta's survey also showed that Vietnamese people's support for renewable energy is very strong. More than eight out of 10 people think that Vietnam should use more renewable energy sources. Up to 67% of Vietnamese respondents believed that action to mitigate climate change will improve economic growth and create more jobs.

Nick Clegg, Vice President of Communications & International Relations at the Meta Group, said social networks with strong connectivity will be able to amplify voices and spread meaningful information in society.

Meta is committed to cutting its environmental footprint and accelerating climate science advances in the community, while reducing climate misinformation.

Since 2020, Meta's global operations have achieved zero carbon emissions and used 100% of renewable energy. The company also aims to achieve zero carbon emissions across the entire value chain and become a company capable of restoring more water in the environment than it consumes by 2030.

Trong Dat
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  A 33-year-old man sentenced to death in the 2012 fatal shooting of an Austin police officer at a Wal-Mart has been found dead in his cell, officials said.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said authorities are investigating the death of Brandon Daniel, who was found dead Saturday. Officials say foul play doesn't appear to be the cause.

Daniel, a former software engineer, was convicted of capital murder in 2014 in the fatal shooting two years earlier of Officer Jaime Padron during a disturbance and shoplifting call. Padron had been responding to complaints from store employees about a shoplifter who was possibly intoxicated.

TDCJ spokesman Robert Hurst said that at 4:25 a.m. Saturday, a correctional officer at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston was doing security rounds when he found Daniel unresponsive on his bunk. He said officers who entered the cell found that Daniel wasn't breathing.
That career began as a result of faith-changed lives that they sing about, Barnard said. Both were business majors at Texas A&M University when Barnards friendship with Everett, which started with music, led to his conversion in April 1997.

Worship songs that Everett was playing for an apartment complex fellowship led to performances at coffeehouses, then churches, youth groups and more before the two realized they were in this for a career and calling. Weve been answering the phone and saying yes ever since, Everett said.

The two split their Sundays between performing at other churches and their home of Watermark Community Church in Dallas.

While many of their live performances are church-related, Fridays concert is one aimed at providing physical help for those who need it.

The aid for Shepherds Heart mobile food pantry comes after more than a year of increased demand for food in the community, due to work, school and family disruptions caused by COVID-19. The Shepherds Heart food pantry has been one of the leading distributors of food to families in need in Waco.

There are a lot of hurting people around us and the Lord gives us a balm for the soul, Barnard said.

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Arguing for the United States, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices that Texas law was enacted in open defiance of Supreme Court precedent. It enacted a law that clearly violates this courts precedents, she said.

Under the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, states are prevented from banning abortion before viability, the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The justices will hear a separate challenge to those decisions in a case over Mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks. Those arguments are set for Dec. 1.

The most direct reference to the Mississippi case came from Justice Samuel Alito, who asked if the decision by providers to stop doing abortions in Texas is attributable to the fear of liability if Roe or Casey is altered?

But most questions focused on the Texas law and how it has altered abortion in the state even before the high court has made any change in abortion law. Kagan told Stone that until Texas passed its law, "no state dreamed" of trying to make an end-run around Supreme Court precedent in the same way.
Vaccines OK'd by WHO can be used as part of the U.N.-backed COVAX effort to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and to share doses with poorer countries. The initiative is in desperate need of more vaccines after failing to meet its targets and dramatically reducing the number of doses expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

Anna Marriott, health policy manager for Oxfam, said WHO's authorization of India's Covaxin should silence those who have claimed that the experience and expertise to develop and manufacture life-saving medicines and vaccines do not exist in developing countries.

She called on Bharat Biotech to freely share its vaccine recipe and know-how so more manufacturers globally could produce it. Fewer than 1% of the worlds coronavirus vaccines have gone to poor countries.

Todays vaccine apartheid between rich and poor countries has been created by the monopolies of companies like Pfizer and Moderna who have consistently put obscene profits before saving lives, and we urge Bharat Biotech not to follow in their footsteps," Marriott said in a statement.
The Bottega Veneta luxury store on Chicagos Magnificent Mile was hit again.

First on Sept. 20. Then again, on Oct. 11.

In broad daylight. Thousands of dollars in purses and handbags were taken. All captured on video.

And again, the situation turns political as this kind of theft is creeping up in stores around the country  from the West Coast to the East Coast.

The Magnificent Mile isnt so magnificent anymore.

Just read some angry  and ugly  comments:

Exactly. DA (Kim) Foxx has essentially given the green light to criminals to commit these acts free of charge. This loss of product is going to be paid for, one way or the other. Would not surprise me if insurance companies start to fight back and think twice about renewing policies for certain stores and/or locations.

And if a clerk looked at them, the NAACP would object because they were obviously being profiled. Imagine a world when this demographic doubles. The crime wave is escalating and the MSM largely ignores it, why?

The Magnificent Mile has been the target of rampant shoplifting that caused several stores to close their doors.
The involvement of veterans in the riot was alarming since some of them seemed to have exploited training they obtained while serving in the United States military against their own nation to disrupt the peaceful transition of power.

Do individuals like U.S. Army Lt. Col. Leonard Gruppo, who joined the Special Forces and fought in four war zones before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2013, commanded a team of combat medics in Iraq before retiring in 2013, deserve leniency from their act of insurrection?

When it comes to sentencing soldiers who stormed the Capitol, federal courts must weigh whether they deserve compassion because they served their nation or harsher punishment because they signed an oath to protect it.

The United States Department of Justice has taken the latter view.

At least five cases have been filed so far. Prosecutors have mentioned a rioter's military service as a consideration in determining whether or not to sentence them to prison or house detention.

Authorities have said on several occasions that the veterans' service, although respectable, made their conduct on January 6 all the more heinous.

The involvement of veterans in the riot was alarming since some of them seemed to have exploited training they obtained while serving in the United States military against their own nation to disrupt the peaceful transition of power.

Several veterans are among the far-right extremists accused of organizing coordinated assaults on the Capitol, including members of the Oath Keepers. The latter marched up the Capitol steps in a "stack" formation similar to that deployed by military infantrymen in Afghanistan.

When it came to Gruppo's sentence hearing last Friday, prosecutors' arguments concerning the rioters' military service failed to convince one of the first judges to hear them.

"I don't see his military duty in the same light."

That's something I can't bring myself to do. "Before sentencing Gruppo to two years of probation, which included 90 days of house arrest, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell made the following statement:

Gruppo's military service, according to a prosecutor, backed the Justice Department's proposal of a 30-day prison term for the defendant.

Gruppo, 56, of New Mexico, was educated, according to Assistant United States Attorney Hava Mirell, to spot the evident danger at the Capitol and "to help rather than harm" those there.

Although he received instruction, she said, "the fact that he purposefully ignored the training and went on to execute one of the most devastating actions against our Constitution and democracy does have an impact on the government's perception of his behavior."

Daniel Lindsey, the defense attorney, contended that his client's military experience should not be used against him in this case.

According to the spokesman, Gruppo first intended to keep his military service a secret because he thought he had dishonored it.

"And he did," Howell said in response. To put it bluntly, "Let's not mince words."

On the other hand, the judge expressed astonishment at the Justice Department's stance, stating that she feels the majority of Americans would have "enormous appreciation" for Gruppo's service.

The reason for this isn't only because Howell grew up on military posts all around the globe, she said.

According to James Markham, a professor of public law and administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in most criminal cases, a defendant's military experience is seen as a mitigating element that favors leniency.

However, he acknowledges that the Justice Department might conclude that rioters with military experience should be held to a higher standard than those without such training.

"It's obviously not related to their military service directly, but it's also not entirely conceptually unrelated that somebody who is a veteran or had military service could be viewed as having a more refined understanding of the importance of civilian control and electoral stability," said Markham, a lawyer and Air Force veteran." Markham, a lawyer and former Air Force officer shared his thoughts.

More than 650 individuals were charged in connection with the incident on January 6.

Some of the rioters facing the most severe accusations, including members of far-right extremist organizations, have military histories, which may explain why they face such harsh charges.
THUNDERPIG

By Stephen Chapis

Photos by Luigino Caliaro

If it had not been for the Vietnam War, not to mention feature films Air America (1990) and Con Air (1997), the history of the Fairchild C-123 Provider may have very well passed ignominiously into aviation history. Derived from a heavy assault glider conceived by the Chase Aircraft Company, the XCG-20, the C-123 was developed into two different prototypes. The XC-123 was powered by a pair of 2,200-hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-23 radials while the XC-123A was fitted with four General Electric (GE) J47-GE-11 turbojets, which powered contemporary aircraft like the B-47, F-86, and B-45. The former aircraft first took on October 14, 1949, and proved to be the best aircraft. It is interesting to note, however, that, even though it was an experimental aircraft, the jet-powered XC-123A was the Air Forces first jet transport aircraft. The U.S. Air Force placed its initial order in 1953 and soon there were 300 examples in service.

The capability and versatility of the Provider attracted the attention of the U.S. Coast Guard, which pressed the Provider, designated HC-123B, into service in 1958, as a transport and long-range maritime search platform. Despite being used by the Thunderbirds during the late 1950s, its heroic resupply flights during the three-month siege of Khe Sanh, and numerous special operations roles, including as a gunship, the C-123 will forever be remembered as the dubious poster boy of Operation Ranch Hand defoliating program.





While Ranch Hand is well-known, what has been lost to history is that on May 12, 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Joe M. Jackson, whod flown P-40s and B-24s during World War II and 107 combat sorties in F-84s during Korea, found himself circling over a special forces camp airstrip at Kham Duc, South Vietnam. After the fall of Camp Lang Vei during the Tet offensive in February, Kham Duc was the only observation post left in I Corps, the northernmost military district in South Vietnam. When the camp came under heavy mortar attack on May 10, General William Westmoreland ordered it evacuated.











On May 12, the enemy had overrun the forward outpost and set up machine-gun positions on the airstrip itself. These positions had already disabled two CH-47s and a C-130 that landed to evacuate personnel. Another C-130 burst into flames killing the crew and 150 Vietnamese civilians. When another C-130 took off with the last remaining personnel it appeared that Jacksons crew wouldnt be needed until they heard a frantic radio call that a three-man combat control team had been left behind. Jackson immediately put his Provider in a 4,000 foot per minute dive from 9,000 feet and landed on the last 2,200ft of usable runway. As he spun around the combat team sprinted from a nearby culvert into the open cargo ramp. Meanwhile, a 122mm rocket landed 10 meters from Jacksons aircraft but didnt explode. Jackson taxied around the mortar and took off having been on the ground for less than 60 seconds. For his actions, President Johnson pinned the Medal of Honor around Lt Col Jacksons neck on January 16, 1969.





Despite its yeoman service and proven versatility, the Provider began to indisputably show signs of its obsolescence, in terms of both payload and performance, when compared to the turbine-powered C-130 and was subsequently assigned for transport duties to the units of the ANG and AFRES shortly after the end of the Southeast Asian conflict. One of the last units to fly the C-123 was the Air Force Reserves 302nd Tactical Airlift Wing at Rickenbacker AFB, Ohio, which parented an ASB (Air Sprayer Branch) equipped with four UC-123K until their retirement, which occurred in June 1986, utilizing them for a series of specialized activities including the dispersal of insecticides for the control and debilitation of the disease transmitted by the insects, with operations conducted in Alaska, South America, and the Indian Ocean.

The Air Heritage Museum located at Beaver Falls County Airport (BVI), in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, originated in 1983 but only in 1990, as a result of rapidly multiplying opportunities of membership, Air Heritage, Inc. was founded. The dedication of the volunteers had already proven their capabilities with the restoration of the B-17G Nine O Nine after it ran off the runway during the 1987 Beaver Airshow. Therefore, Air Heritage Inc. reached an agreement to restore and maintain the important warbirds collection of David Tallichet and since then a number of static restorations, including an F-4C, F-15A, and Jet Provost, have been completed, while a Piper L-21B, in original Italian Army colors, combat veteran C-47B Luck of the Irish, have been restored to airworthy status along with the Provider.





The Air Heritage Provider left Fairchilds Hagerstown, Maryland facility on May 6, 1954, as C-123B, USAF #54-0664 and assigned to the 513th Troop Carrier (Assault Group  Tactical Air Command) at Stewart AFB, Tennessee. During its service, 664 returned to Hagerstown on two occasions for upgrades, the first was in July 1967 when it was converted to C-123K standard, which included the addition to a pair of GE J85 turbojets, and again in 1969 when it was modified to a UC-123K defoliant aircraft. When it was finally retired to the desert boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, #54-0664 had served in no less than six Air Force major commands and 10 operating locations from Otis AFB, Massachusetts to Holloman AFB, New Mexico.

After the aircraft had been declared surplus, Air Heritage managed, in April 1994, to obtain the aircraft, with the intention of returning it to flying condition. The agreement between Military Aircraft Restoration Corporation (MARC) and Air Heritage stated that if Air Heritage could recover the C-123K from storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, and fly it to BVI, MARC would lease it to Air Heritage for one dollar a year and receive a third of its airshow proceeds. Upon inspection the aircraft found it to be in a better state than they had imagined, and within the space of a couple of weeks were able to prepare the aircraft for its ferry flight.

On May 7, 1994, the day after Bob Hudock conducted the initial test flight, the ferry flight to Beaver Falls commenced, but while landing at Midland, Texas, a tire burst, forcing a prolonged stopover. Additionally, a massive loss of hydraulic fluid was discovered, which required further remedial work and repair by the Air Heritage team. The repairs took a week and on May 13, the C-123 departed again for Pennsylvania, and finally touched down at BVI at 1600hrs the same day.





Once ensconced in the museums hangar the volunteers of the Air Heritage Museum subjected the aircraft to a complete restoration program, applied a Southeast Asia paint scheme, and nicknamed the Fairchild THUNDERPIG, in honor of what the type had been called by the Provider crews of 911th AW at nearby Greater Pittsburgh Airport. The aircraft has impressed thousands at airshows since it returned to the skies over two decades ago and co-starred with Tom Cruise in the 2017 feature film American Made.

There are less than ten C-123s listed on the U.S. Register, and for the time being the Provider known as THUNDERPIG, is the only flying C-123 in the United States. Its home base is at Beaver Falls is just 130 miles from Fairchilds Thunder Factory where it was born in 1954 and served the U.S. Air Force with quiet distinction for 27 years. Interestingly, 2021 marks THUNDERPIGs 27th anniversary as a warbird, and thanks to the volunteers at the Air Heritage Museum, it will continue to serve as a flying memorial to the crews who flew the C-123 around the world.

Special thanks go to Luigino Caliaro for helping draft this article and the photos. F0r more information about Luiginos work please visit www.aerophoto.it



To support THUNDERPIG and to learn more about the Air Heritage Museum, visit www.airheritage.org

The paper version of this article is available inside issue 66 of Warbird Digest. Click HERE to purchase it.
VACCINE MANDATE

Details on discipline emerge as contractor vaccination deadline looms

NOTE: This article first appeared on FCW.com.

Federal contracting firms will decide for themselves on how to manage employees who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19 by the Dec. 8 deadline, but agencies are authorized to restrict unvaccinated workers from federal facilities.

The vaccination mandate and deadline apply to most contractor employees, including those working remotely on covered contracts, although there are exceptions for those entitled to accommodations.

The administration has already made clear that contracting companies, not agencies, will be collecting vaccination proof and giving out reasonable accommodations. According to the latest guidance from White House's Safer Federal Workforce Task Force companies are the ones deciding how to discipline employees who refuse to get vaccinated.

"A covered contractor should determine the appropriate means of enforcement with respect to its employee at a covered contractor workplace who refuses to be vaccinated and has not been provided, or does not have a pending request for, an accommodation," the guidance states.

Contracting firms could do this "using its usual process for enforcement of workplace policies" that might be in handbook or collective bargaining agreements, according to the guidance. The latest instruction also points to the procedures being used in federal agencies as a "model for enforcement."

The recommended approach for federal employees is to cycle noncompliant feds through education and counseling before removing anyone who refuses to comply from their job. Although agencies can start that process as soon as Nov. 9, White House officials have stressed recently that these upcoming deadlines "are not cliffs," as employees will go through established human resources processes before dismissal or other disciplinary measures occur.

Whatever process contractors go with, the companies will be charged with ensuring that any unvaccinated employees covered by the mandate follow all appropriate safety protocols. Generally, that will include masking, distancing and testing, but agencies can decide that heightened safety protocols are needed, or that the nature of the responsibilities of a contractor is such that nothing other than a vaccine is adequate, according to the latest guidance.

Agencies will also have the power to decide that covered contractor's employees who aren't inoculated can't enter a federal workplace per the agency's safety protocols.

The update comes as at least 18 states have filed several lawsuits in federal district courts to block the vaccine mandate for contractors, contending that it violates federal procurement law and exceeds the federal government's authority.
COMMENTARY

Break barriers between marketing, BD, capture and proposal groups to maximize your profits

For large and mid-sized government contractors, it can often feel like organizational silos hinder even the best of intentions. When pursuing a large proposal opportunity, the much-needed coordination between marketing and business development, as well as with the capture and proposal groups, can become a Kafkaesque nightmare.

Typically, this process starts with the marketing teams. Then it moves through business development, capture, and proposal teams  and finally on to sales and delivery.

Based on interviews OCI conducted with 30 vice presidents and directors of BD, capture and proposals, we found some enlightening views on what really happens during this process.

For example, only two companies we interviewed were happy with their overall process from marketing to proposals. The vast majority found big gaps between the groups in the overall proposal development chain. And, two companies stated that the pricing teams did not collaborate with the proposal teams  out of fear that their pricing secrets would be leaked out through consultants.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Other issues that were uncovered included one company that invested $1 million in consulting services only to find out that there was no commitment from government to fund the program. Another contractor spent a similar investment on a proposal, but failed to get a signed non-compete from its principal sub at the last minute, and the bid was abandoned.

The third proposal horror story we uncovered was about a contractor that made a $3 million dollar investment in a new special delivery vehicle for government, on top of a nearly $1 million proposal services investment. The problem was the price-to-win (PTW) study done late in the cycle, which found the necessary price was too low for the company to reach. And they abandoned the bid.

From ineffective BD processes to capture not engaging with the contracts team early, there were many gaps that occurred that could have easily been avoided. In fact, all three of these contractors could have actually won at least part of these contracts. Instead, these scenarios were all very expensive derailments. Following are ideas on how to avoid these issues and maximize profitability.

Get the Pricing Right the First Time

First, pricing work needs to start at the time of the contract pursuit decision. Often this begins with the CFO appointing a pricing lead who can formulate the overall pricing strategy in accordance with the draft RFP. Or, if there is no draft RFP, then use the past RFP.

One company interviewed had a big advantage in folding the pricing work into the mix. Unlike nearly all other companies, they place the pricing personnel in the same group with BD, proposals, etc. So they dont have to fight other priorities to get pricers. In addition, possibly the best-respected pricer in the Washington, DC area provided this insight into the picture: When I am reporting to the person responsible for BOTH profitability and delivery, things generally turn out better.

Of course, we all want to have our pricing reflect the findings of the price-to-win (PTW) study. Being able to do that is greatly facilitated by true collaboration between all related internal parties.

How the Proposal Group Can Enhance Collaboration

The most popular response from our phone surveys with contractors was that the proposal group can enforce attendance at all of the meetings. This especially includes having a qualified substitute if the designated person cannot attend.

Furthermore, 10 percent of the companies we interviewed have dedicated training crews provided by the proposal group. The value of training cant be overestimated, especially for players who are new to the proposal process.

We also found that 20 percent of the respondents give early-stage process briefings to make everyone aware of the upcoming opportunities and communicate everyones roles  including the importance of each persons role, and provide the training and tools that everyone needs. One large company even had proposals develop an operational capture manual to document all processes and rolls.

Of course, many respondents recommended using tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams for rapid collaboration, as well as new tools such as Bluescape for digital white boarding. One company opens dedicated meeting channels to help obtain continuous communication among team members.

What Will Increase Profit with the Least Amount of Investment?

In what may be the most critical question in our survey, we asked what was the single-most important initiative to increase profit for the least investment.

Twenty percent of the respondents from directors and vice presidents mostly at top 100 companies stated that money is the best incentive.

A BD or capture manager plan can include a pool of funds to reward all participants. All of these respondents believe that money incentives draw out the most productivity and creativity from all team members. Some firms even pay out  to 1 percent of the contract win. With that in mind, a $200 million contract could yield a $1-to-$2-million bonus pool.

Other winning tactics included getting the right people for the job, seeking out better-qualified opportunities from the start, gaining more government customer engagement, enforcing use of a shared document repository, and having technical teams develop irresistible solutions. Many also suggested having a well-committed executive sponsor to help supervise and facilitate all teams.

Parting Thoughts

One interview subject stated that starting any new initiative is never easy. And it requires deep consideration for all positions and risks involved. In addition, no matter how good the initiative, upper management must demand compliance from everyone if it is to succeed.

Responding to a large opportunity can often feel like you are climbing Mount Everest. By improving overall processes, enhancing communications, setting accountability, and even incentivizing, it is possible to get everyone moving in the right direction for that next big contract win.
COMPANIES

ManTech, ICF detail what they found in their latest acquisitions

And address other market-wide talking points

A pair of the government markets serial acquirers detailed their latest purchases to investors during respective third quarter earnings calls on Tuesday afternoon.

But those transactions were not the only items of interest to analysts, who also asked this group of executives for their explanations of other market-wide trends.

Here is a snapshot of what and how the company leaders answered.

ManTech

This week started with ManTechs announcement that it has agreed to acquire defense systems integrator and engineering company Gryphon Technologies for $350 million.

Herndon, Virginia-headquartered ManTech already has a heavy Navy presence as CEO Kevin Phillips put it during their call, but touted white space opportunities they see through the acquisition.

Gryphons work supporting the naval surface fleet and the combination of their investments (in) systems engineering, digital engineering and data analytics, along with what we've invested in, I think offer a very compelling view of how we're going to support the Navy as the shift to the Pacific continues, Phillips told analysts.

ManTechs other item of information for investors was lower revenue expectations for this year, now $2.55 billion-to-$2.575 billion compared to the previous range of $2.65 billion-to-$2.75 billion. That makes ManTech the latest publicly-traded government contractor within the past two weeks to reduce its sales outlook, as Leidos and Lockheed Martin for example have done.

One factor in that slightly dimmed forecast is the same megatrend many other GovCon companies have cited during this round of financial reports: supply chain disruptions and the challenge of getting everything needed to provide technology solutions for agencies.

Third quarter revenue of $637.8 million was flat compared to the same period last year.

Late into next year is when ManTech expects the supply chain picture to look better, albeit that is hard to predict -- almost like the budget situation that contractors cannot do much to affect.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and conclusions of some field sustainment programs also weighed on ManTechs revised forecast.

A second factor in that outlook is perhaps not unique to ManTech itself, although one the company did go in some depth on.

Procurement activity at intelligence agencies including award decisions continues to be at a lower level than what it was before the pandemic started in March 2020, Phillips said. Much of what has to happen in procurements must be done at offices that have had some occupancy restrictions for 19 months.

A return to normal could take several more quarters and ManTechs higher-relative exposure to intell customers amplifies that impact, he added.

ManTech also has its eye on the Dec. 8 deadline for federal contractors to get the COVID-19 vaccine and any potential impact on employee headcount from the mandate. Phillips said 85 percent of ManTechs employees have received the vaccine.

If it's already a tight labor market, anything above zero is a risk that we think is important to note, Phillips said.

ICF

In conjunction with its third quarter financial report, ICF announced the acquisition of health IT company Enterprise Science and Computing to further expand in an area the buyer already views as in the core.

ESAC brings advanced health analytics and bioinformatics capabilities to ICF, along with a highly-credentialed credentialed 40-person staff that serves a roster of government and academic clients, as well as federally-funded research centers and private organizations, CEO John Wasson said in ICFs call on Tuesday.

Some of those federal clients of ESAC include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, General Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, and the Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services departments.

Rockville, Maryland-headquartered ESAC focuses its services around data integration and visualization, interoperability, algorithm development and other elements of data science to further enable the sharing of research and information. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This transaction marks ICFs return to the scene as a buyer since its $255 million purchase of Incentive Technology Group in January 2020 to bolster the IT modernization portfolio -- an area the acquirer remains heavily interested in finding more inorganic opportunities for.

We remain focused in the same markets weve talked about quite a bit over the last couple of years in the federal market, so looking at IT modernization and federal health markets, Wasson said We'll continue to look for the companies that bring the deep domain expertise (and) implementation skills that we think can really drive synergistic revenues.

Fairfax, Virginia-headquartered ICF is holding to its outlook of $1.525 billion-to-$1.575 billion in revenue. Third quarter sales of $394 million were 9 percent higher than the same period last year, while federal revenue of $195.1 million showed an 11.4-percent increase.

As for ICFs vaccination rate: Wasson said north of 95 percent of our employees are vaccinated and the company is working through the last 5 percent.
WATERLOO -- The first competitive race for mayor in Waterloo in years, plus interest in the race thanks to record amounts of money funding a bevy of billboards, TV commercials and mailers, likely propelled voters to the highest turnout for a city election in more than a decade.

A little more than 32% of eligible voters in Waterloo cast a ballot in Tuesday's election, according to Black Hawk County Auditor Grant Veeder.

That's the highest turnout for a city election since 2005, when 36.5% of voters cast a ballot -- the year voters weighed in on whether to approve a municipal telecom utility. In 2019, voter turnout was less than 14%, and 17% in 2017.

That higher turnout in Waterloo probably helped the more progressive candidates in the nonpartisan race, said Christopher Larimer, political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa. That's in contrast to how other municipal elections went statewide, including in more conservative suburbs like Johnston and Ankeny.

"If Waterloo already leans to the left and you see that significant increase in turnout, it might have just turned out more voters to the left," Larimer said.

Democratic voters more than double the Republican voters in the city, 18,832 to 9,275, according to Veeder, though nearly 14,000 are unaffiliated with either party. Though he didn't yet have a political breakdown for this election, Veeder noted Democrats returned absentee ballots at more than three times the rate Republicans did, 3,103 to 981.

This year was the first time Mayor Quentin Hart faced a challenger since his first run for mayor in 2015, when turnout was around 23%. He faced not only Councilor Margaret Klein but the political action committee backing her, Cedar Valley Backs the Blue.

Backs the Blue, a group of retired law enforcement officers who said their group was for pro-law enforcement candidates, made the election a referendum on the removal of the Waterloo Police logo, a red griffin, that Black community leaders said had racist connotations and lobbied successfully to remove last year.

The PAC featured the former logo prominently on billboards, mailers and its Facebook page, and accused Hart of not backing police and causing an increase in crime. The county Republican Party even plastered the logo on its headquarters.

The strategy apparently backfired: Neither Klein nor the candidates the PAC endorsed won their races, and the Waterloo City Council elected its first majority Black council ever -- along with a slate of progressive candidates who made it clear they would not vote to bring the griffin back.

"I think the big storyline is just about the first time it'll be a majority African-American council," Larimer said. "Obviously, that's significant in itself."

Overall, Klein took the majority of Wards 1 and 2 in southwest and southeast Waterloo, which had turnout of around 34% and 32%, respectively -- two of the highest turnouts by precinct in the city.

Hart took the majority of Wards 3, 4 and 5 in northwest, northeast and central Waterloo, as well as the overwhelming majority of absentee ballots. Ward 3 turnout had turnout of around 28%, while Ward 4 was 27% and Ward 5 approximately 32%, according to Veeder.

A whopping 41.25% of eligible voters cast ballots in Ward 5, Precinct 5, which had the highest turnout in the city. That precinct favored Hart, at-large candidate Rob Nichols and progressive Ward 5 Councilor Ray Feuss.

But other precincts with higher-than-average voter turnout went for Klein, including Ward 1 Precinct 6 at 33.6% and Ward 2 Precinct 6 at 36.6%, though those precincts also chose progressive candidates like Nichols and John Chiles over Backs the Blue-endorsed ones.

The outcome could help the city's first Black police chief, Joel Fitzgerald, keep the job he assumed last year. Fitzgerald faced criticism and calls to resign from Klein.

This community chose working together, a message of unity, a message of hope and a message that is love for the city and not just division, Hart told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday, acknowledging that the campaign took a toll on him and his family.

Hart said he and his supporters celebrated Tuesday by dancing to the Montell Jordan song This is How We Do It, which featured prominently in one of the many attack ads he faced. The mayor last year made a video of himself lip-syncing the song for a local contest, and the Backs the Blue group used the clip in Facebook ads to criticize Hart as a wannabe rapper.

Growing up in Waterloo, Hart said he never anticipated a day when Black people would make up a majority of city leadership, calling it incredible and landmark. But he said the candidates won because of their qualifications and a vision for the city that appealed to voters across racial and economic lines.

Yes they are African Americans, but they are incredible, smart and talented, and they have something to offer to the city. The expectations are high, Hart said.

Hart won 58% of the vote out of 13,400 ballots cast. Klein, a retired Catholic school worker and two-term City Council member, congratulated Hart and noted that her campaign had been outspent significantly.

Lynn Moeller, the chairman of the Backs the Blue PAC, did not immediately respond to a message to the AP seeking comment. On Facebook, the normally outspoken group wrote only that the voters had spoken and it was time to move forward.

Ryan Foley of The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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WATERLOO  On the night before Election Day, a retiring City Council member asked the city attorney to look into allegations against another council member running for mayor.

Ward 3 Councilor Pat Morrissey, who is stepping down from the council after his term is up this year, made a formal complaint of nine allegations against Ward 1 Councilor Margaret Klein during Monday nights council meeting.

He said he understood the gravity of his complaint, and said he was reading the allegations during the council meeting so no one would say that Im handing something off and its behind closed doors.

Never did I, other council members and the public expect to be exposed to the many egregious, misleading or false statements spewed from the mouth of one of our council members, Morrissey said. I have had it, and enough is enough.

Morrissey said those statements included an incident in 2018 when Klein was allegedly overheard musing about being in a dark room with Morrissey and a knife. An investigation at that time by then-Police Chief Dan Trelka and the Black Hawk County Attorneys Office said there was insufficient evidence that Councilwoman Klein specifically intended to intimidate, annoy or alarm anyone.

Morrissey also cited a Klein remark in 2018 that the city was dumping raw sewage into the river, prompting visits from the citys insurer and the EPA.

False accusations damage our citys interest both economically and image-wise, Morrissey said.

More recently, Morrissey said, Klein accused developer Rodney Anderson of fooling the city by delaying his downtown grocery store project, and accused Lance Dunn, the citys human resources director, of improprieties in business dealings for not disclosing his financial involvement in that grocery store.

Morrissey also said a recent mailer from political action committee Cedar Valley Backs the Blue that claimed Mayor Quentin Hart appoints sexual predators to advisory boards was tied to Klein as well. Morrissey noted the mailer referred to a man appointed to the rebranding committee before a recent criminal charge of sexual abuse, and noted the man has not yet been judged guilty.

Thats shameful and disgusting, and this is what should happen to it, Morrissey said, ripping a copy of the mailer, to cheers from a packed crowd of self-identified Hart supporters.

Uncharacteristically, Klein sat silently as Morrissey read the allegations. Resident David Dreyer tried to interject during Morrisseys speech, calling it a political stunt, but left shortly after he was ruled out of order by Hart.

I think last night was the first time in Waterloo history that a mayor up for re-election allowed a lame-duck councilman to hijack the citys public access television network to launch a last-minute political attack ad, Klein wrote in an email to The Courier on Tuesday morning. To comment on Pats stunt would only lend it credibility. I hope he got the ratings he was chasing.

Morrissey asked the council to vote to censure Klein if she is found to have violated procedure.

A formal process is spelled out in Waterloos code of ordinances for censure in which the city attorney has 30 calendar days to investigate allegations. The mayor pro tem, currently Sharon Juon, would then report to the City Council within 14 days, at which point a supermajority, or five of the seven council members, would need to vote for censure to take effect. That vote would take place after the election but before those recently voted in would be eligible to participate.

Waterloo is the only city in Iowa with a formal censure process, enshrining it in law last December. A censure vote would not affect Kleins seat or her voting capability, but would signal the groups formal disapproval of her conduct.

Klein is stepping down from her seat at the end of her term because shes running for mayor.

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WATERLOO -- The mayor easily kept his seat for a fourth term, and a slate of newcomers will mean the Waterloo City Council is majority Black for the first time in history.

In a decisive victory, incumbent Mayor Quentin Hart vanquished a challenger from his own council, Margaret Klein, as well as a political action committee, Cedar Valley Backs the Blue, that had targeted Hart with billboards and mailers.

Hart, who raised an eye-popping $148,000 for his campaign in the last filing period, garnered 7,786 votes, or 58.1% of the total. He said he was "ready to roll my sleeves up and continue working" for another two years.

"I feel really good, very optimistic," Hart said Tuesday night after the results came in. "The public has spoken. They were able to see through a little bit of the mistruths and things that were happening."

Challenger Klein, the Ward 1 councilor endorsed by the pro-law enforcement PAC, got 5,456 votes, or 40.7%.

"I congratulate the mayor on his win; it was a hard-fought race," Klein said of the results. "It's tough to compete against $150,000, but we tried our best. I am so grateful for everyone in Waterloo and look forward to the future."

As far as what that future entails, Klein said she would "take a few days' break and think about what I want to get involved in."

Newcomer Sophia Mays, who ran largely to air her grievances with Hart, got 153 votes, or 1.1%. She said she thought the race went well and is thinking of her next move in politics, which might be raising awareness.

"A lot of people are still not even aware of what's going on in Waterloo," Mays said. "I want to continue to get awareness out there, continue to get the news out there. That's really how we'll make change."

Absentee results largely favored Hart, who took 71.9% of early votes. Klein received 26.8% of the absentee vote, while Mays got 1.2%.

On the council side, candidates who were not endorsed by Cedar Valley Backs the Blue took every race.

Three of the four races were won by Black candidates, meaning, along with current Ward 4 Councilor Jerome Amos, the council is majority Black for the first time in history, as well as being lead by a Black mayor.

Pharmacist Rob Nichols won the at-large seat handily over bar owner Dennis Halverson, 7,329 to 5,015, or 59.4% to 40.6%.

"I really appreciate all the support I received from Waterloo citizens," Nichols said, saying he appreciated Halverson's involvement and engagement. "I'm ready to get to work."

Main Street Waterloo President John Chiles won a close Ward 1 race over day care director Micki McCracken, 1,707 to 1,643, or 51% to 49%.

"It feels like all the hard work paid off," Chiles said, noting he would "go to work, teach, then go door knock" to speak to thousands of residents. "But it's worth it. We are going to be able to move Waterloo forward."

Entrepreneur and community activist Nia Wilder coasted to victory in Ward 3 over lawn care business owner Todd Maxson, 1,326 to 839, or 61.2% to 38.8%.

Wilder is also the first out member of the LGBT+ community to take a seat on the council. She noted she appreciated Maxson "for stepping up and being willing to be a voice for our city."

"Waterloo has spoken," Wilder said. "It is our time to continue to move forward, continue to grow and find our purpose together."

Incumbent Ward 5 Councilor Ray Feuss, who previously won a special election, garnered his own four-year term with a close win over challenger Dawn Henry, 1,335 to 1,245, or 51.7% to 48.3%.

"I think that I have some work to do," Feuss said, acknowledging the race was tight. "I think there was enough trust in the direction that Waterloo was going that that's why I was reelected."

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Take something of San Francisco's old-world elegance, sprinkle in a few local celebrities (you choose: an actor, a speaker of the House, a Fortune 500 CEO), add a quiet suburban hush, and you get Pacific Heights in all its grandeur.

Here's what to eat and where to hang when you're in the neighborhood.

Where to Shop in Pacific Heights Mission favorite Fiat Lux has brought its baubles to a stunning new jewelry shop on Fillmore Street. (Aubrie Pick) Fashion Fillmore Street is the Pac Heights fashion maven's stomping grounds for upscale, on-trend labels. New to this retail row is Mission favorite jewelry store Fiat Lux (1942 Fillmore St.), from tattoo artist and bauble designer Marie McCarthy. Get pierced or permanently clasped with a 14-karat-gold-fused bracelet, and don't miss the slithering serpent design painted on the floor by Caroline Lizarraga. // Rothys (2448 Fillmore St.), known for its colorful flats and sneakers made from recycled plastic bottles, has its flagship store here. // A clothing binge at trendy Reformation (2360 Fillmore St.) is justifiable thanks to their sustainable production practices. // With a large assortment of pieces from a range of designersthink ALC, Ganni, and Derek Lamas well as their own label, Intermix (2223 Fillmore St.) is a fashionista's heaven. // Cielo (2225 Fillmore St.) is for cutting-edge fashion lovers with a selection of global including Dries Van Noten, Sacai, and Yohji Yamamoto. // Both ladies and gents can get their denim fix at Frame's sleek shop (2142 Fillmore St.). // The daytime staples and footwear at the industrial-chic locale of Rag & Bone (2060 Fillmore St.) were made for urban stomping. // Veronica Beard (2241 Fillmore St.) has a Bay Area connection (one of the founding Veronicas is a Swanson), but you know the brand best for its signature dickey jackets. // With three locations in SF and one in New York, Isalis (2127 Union St.) curated wardrobe pieces with funky prints, colorful knits, and unique silhouettes from brands like Aparris, Faithfull, and Lisa Says Gah. Home Design The Future Perfect (3085 Sacramento St.) is a contemporary design lover's destination for special collectible furniture and artful objets. // Stop by the aesthetically pleasing home boutique March (3075 Sacramento St.) and you just might leave with their entire line of tableware. // If you're on the hunt for a cheeky gift, modern home store Jonathan Adler (2133 Fillmore St.) is brimming with colorful, quirky things. // Just up the street, Nest (2300 Fillmore St.) invites you to cozy up with softly textured bedding and peruse the curated collection of home goods and keepsakes from around the globe. // Check out Post.script (2413 California St.) for some offbeat knick-knacks, stationery, and graphic wall art. Skincare + Cosmetics Fillmore Street is home to the city's best collection of shops for cosmetics and wellness products. Credo (2136 Fillmore St.) steals our sustainably minded hearts with its beautifully curated array of non-toxic and cruelty free skincare, makeup, and fragrance from indie and luxury such as Tata Harper, which also has a skincare spa here. // London-based apothecary Space.NK (2000 Fillmore St.) stocks such brands as Hourglass, Chantecaille, and Bumble and Bumble in a sleek, light-filled space. // Visit high-end boutique perfumery Le Labo (2238 Fillmore St.) for made-to-order scents and candles. // NARS (2050 Fillmore St.) has all the colors you'll need to update your makeup look each season. // The hand soap at Aesop (2450 Fillmore St.) is legendary for a reason. Not drying on your skin, it also has notes of lavender and rosemary that double as perfume. The face masks, cleansers, exfoliants, and toothpaste are worth trying out as well. // Stock up on essential oils to perk you up from an afternoon slump or wind down before bed at Saje (1913 Fillmore St.).

Things to Do in Pacific Heights Traverse the Lyon Street stairs for views of Pacific Heights' storied mansions and the San Francisco Bay. (Courtesy of Eric Guarisco, via Langan) Wellness + Outdoors

You'll have to head to Larkspur if you're looking for a service at the Fillmore Street's now-closed old favorite International Orange, but if it's a massage you want, you can wander closer to Japantown for shiatsu and a traditional bathing ritual at Kabuki Springs & Spa (1750 Geary Blvd.), inspired by Japan's public bathhouses. // There is no excuse to miss your workout when you live in Pacific Heights, where boutique studios abound. At On Cue Pilates (2799 Sacramento St.), private and semi-private sessions let you really dial in your technique. // Take a group class at Simply Balanced (2410 California St.) which offers group reformer and gentle mat classes. // Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco (2201 Sutter St.) has something for practitioners of all levels with in studio and online classes plus advanced studies workshops. // You could also opt for a one-on-one training session at Eden (1650 Bush St.), a female-focused gym decorated with lush green plants. // Just steps from the Fillmore Street is Alta Plaza Park (Steiner & Jackson St.) is a lovely gathering spot for off-leash dogs and boisterous children. // Get in your cardio while ogling the neighborhood's stately mansions and stunning bay views when you walk or run the Lyon Street Steps (Lyon & Broadway St.). // Grab a photo op at the Mrs. Doubtfire house (2640 Steiner St.).
Given these changes in the job market and the desires of the long-term unemployed, the Labor Department and nonprofit organizations are starting to focus more on how older workers can get the training they need to help them switch into new careers.

What were experiencing right now in our country is that as we think about job training programs, maybe in non-pandemic times we would be looking at emerging industries, emerging technology and how do we skill people up, Walsh said. Right now, what were looking at is how do we give people the tools they need and the skills they need to be able to get a job in this market, quite honestly, particularly older Americans.

One option for lower-income older Americans who need additional job training is the federal Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). The program, which AARP Foundation participates in, matches older adults with nonprofits and public agencies so they earn income while building skills and self-confidence. In previous economic downturns, SCSEP has received federal funding to help people find jobs.

The proposed Build Back Better bill would give the Labor Department more money for workforce development programs over the next five years. That legislation has not come to a vote yet, but it demonstrates that lawmakers are recognizing the need to provide training opportunities for people age 55 and older.

As we think about the older individuals in our workforce, it is absolutely essential that lifelong learning continues so that older individuals in our workforce are still able to take advantage of the jobs of the future, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) said at the event. Steil is cochair of the Congressional Future of Work Caucus.

Another option for older adults looking to gain marketable skills could be community colleges. In many cases, these institutions have programs designed with the help of local employers to help get older adults ready to fill job openings in the region. And, for workers who may not be able to commit time to going back to a classroom, there are online programs that can help the long-term unemployed develop skills that can make them more attractive to employers. For example, AARP recently launched Skills Builder for Work, which offers free, self-paced courses on how to use Microsoft Office or become successful as a remote worker, among hundreds of other options available through MindEdge Learning.

Its never too late to learn new skills because your talents are needed in America right now, Walsh said.

Kenneth Terrell covers employment, age discrimination, work and jobs, careers, and the federal government for AARP. He previously worked for the Education Writers Association and U.S. News & World Report, where he reported on government and politics, business, education, science and technology, and lifestyle news.




High-Grade Drill Results Support Wiluna Sulphide Development

Perth, Nov 3, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Wiluna Mining Corporation Limited ( ASX:WMC ) ( FRA:NZ3 ) ( OTCMKTS:WMXCF ) is pleased to announce further high-grade results from resource development drilling at the Wiluna Mining Centre. Results continue to demonstrate that Wiluna is a very large and high-grade ore body.- More high grades from Happy Jack and East Lode confirm Wiluna as a high-grade gold mine:HJRD00067: 3.72m @ 5.31g/tHJRD00075: 3.60m @ 7.22g/tHJRD00078: 3.53m @ 13.37g/tHJRD00080: 2.56m @ 5.56g/t incl. 0.30m @ 35.50g/tWUDD0074: 3.34m @ 10.16g/tWUDD0075: 5.70m @ 5.98g/t and 3.00m @ 5.12g/t and 13.20m @ 7.41g/tWURD0169: 8.20m @ 6.28g/t and 23.16m @ 5.55g/tWURD0172: 3.48m @ 7.36g/tWURD0177: 4.47m @ 9.99g/tWURD0179: 11.60m @ 5.90g/tWURD0207: 7.75m @ 13.27g/t- Results from ongoing drilling received after the cut-off date for the in-progress Mineral Resource update; demonstrate potential to upgrade the Resource on an ongoing basis.- Mineral Resource update on track for release in November, Feasibility Study and Ore Reserves anticipated March quarter 2022.Happy Jack and East Lode are initial mining areas in the Company's two-staged development plan. At Happy Jack, ore drive development on sulphide mineralisation is underway ahead of stoping this quarter.The Company expects to publish its updated Mineral Resource Estimate mid-month. The current high-grade resource at the Wiluna Mining Centre, above a 2.5 g/t cut-off, is 26.9Mt @ 4.90 g/t for 4.23Moz and the historic mined grade was considerably higher at 7g/t to 11 g/t depending on the ore zone. It is considered that with results like these, the mined grade will increase when stoping commences.DRILLING RESULTSThe latest drilling results comprise an additional 33 holes for 11,723m from Happy Jack and East Lode, received since the preceding drilling update announced on 13 September 2021.Wiluna Mining's drilling program has consistently delivered thick, high-grade intercepts over the past 18 months from targeted locations at shallow depths, and close to previous development that is easily accessible for rapid low-cost production (Figure 1*). Infill drilling remains ongoing and is now focussed on Resource infill, Resource extension and grade control programs at the Bulletin and Happy Jack ore bodies. Results from diamond core grade control programs have been broadly in line with Resource development program results.The program was designed primarily to infill areas of Inferred Resource within preliminary stope designs, with the aim to upgrade geological confidence to Indicated Resource category and to grow the Ore Reserve. Additionally, extensional drilling has aimed to extend potential stoping areas along strike, up-dip and down-dip. The program has targeted growth in the Measured and Indicated Resource categories to 2.5Moz, from 2.14Moz @ 5.26g/t currently (>2.5g/t cut-off), to provide the foundation for a sustained long-term mining operation.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd

Wiluna Mining Corporation (ASX:WMC) (OTCMKTS:WMXCF) is a Perth based, ASX listed gold mining company that controls over 1,600 square kilometres of the Yilgarn Craton in the Northern Goldfields of WA. The Yilgarn Craton has a historic and current gold endowment of over 380 million ounces, making it one of most prolific gold regions in the world. The Company owns 100% of the Wiluna Gold Operation which has a defined resource of 8.04M oz at 1.67 g/t au. In May 2019, a new highly skilled management team took control of the Company with a clear plan to leverage the Wiluna Gold Operation's multi-million-ounce potential.


Cannon Gold Project Mineral Resource Update

Perth, Nov 3, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Horizon Minerals Limited ( ASX:HRZ ) is pleased to announce an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Cannon gold project located 30km east-southeast of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the heart of the Western Australian goldfields (Figure 1*).HIGHLIGHTS- Acquisition of the Bulong South, Glandore and Cowarna gold projects recently completed including the high-grade Cannon underground gold mine, 30km east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and 10km east of Boorara in the Western Australian goldfields- Cannon sits on consolidated granted Mining Leases with the open pit mined to 2017 producing 55koz at 2.98g/t Au at 91% gold recovery- A Mineral Resource Estimate and Ore Reserve generated by previous owners comprised a portal within the existing open pit and decline development to access the deposit from underground- Detailed review of all geological, engineering and metallurgical data now complete and an Independent Mineral Resource estimate compiled for Cannon and stands at:o 232kt grading 4.29g/t Au for 32,070oz at a 1.0g/t Au lower cut-off grade- Importantly, over 89% of the ounces are in the Indicated Resource category- Significant potential for resource growth down plunge and along strike on the Cannon shear zone with further drilling planned from both surface and underground drilling locations- Horizon's total Mineral Resource now stands at:o 20.73Mt grading 1.72g/t Au for 1,148,800oz with 77% in the M&I Categories- Mine optimisation and underground design work is well advanced with a maiden Ore Reserve for Cannon expected in the current December Quarter 2021Commenting on the Cannon resource update, Horizon Managing Director Mr Jon Price said:"The recently acquired Cannon underground gold project presents a near-term development opportunity and lies just 10km on existing roads from the proposed Boorara mill site being assessed as part of the consolidated Feasibility Study.""The project has the potential to provide high grade ore early in the production profile with significant growth potential down plunge and along the Cannon shear zone and we look forward to completing the underground mining studies and updated Ore Reserve in the current December Quarter.""Target generation for resource growth and new discoveries along the Cannon shear zone and within the Glandore and Cowarna project areas is also well advanced with surface drilling planned for the March Quarter 2022 with depth extensions to be tested from underground during the mining cycle."The high-grade Cannon underground gold project was acquired as part of the Bulong South, Glandore and Cowarna project acquisition recently completed for $5 million in cash. The project is 10km east by existing roads to the proposed Boorara mill site, and includes an historic open pit mined in 2017.Cannon is now one of six core open pit and underground satellite gold projects being advanced to complement the baseload Boorara gold project as part of the consolidated Feasibility Study to deliver a minimum five-year initial mine plan and underpin the establishment of a stand-alone centralised processing facility at the Boorara mine site.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Horizon Minerals Limited

Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is a gold exploration and mining company focussed on the Kalgoorlie and Menzies areas of Western Australia which are host to some of Australia's richest gold deposits. The Company is developing a mining pipeline of projects to generate cash and self-fund aggressive exploration, mine developments and further acquisitions. The Teal gold mine has been recently completed.

Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline.

Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of Australia providing exposure to Vanadium, Copper, PGE's, Gold and Nickel/Cobalt. Our quality joint venture partners are earning in to our project areas by spending over $20 million over 5 years enabling focus on the gold business while maintaining upside leverage.


Acquires Peoples Choice Credit Unions $1.1 Billion Financial Planning Business

Sydney, Nov 5, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - In a high profile acquisition, Fiducian Financial Services (FFS), financial planning subsidiary of Fiducian Group Limited ( ASX:FID ) was selected by the People's Choice Credit Union (PCCU) as the successful bidder to acquire PCCU's financial planning business, which provides financial advice to a selection of PCCU's 390,000+ members.Key Points:- Strengthens Financial Adviser distribution in South Australia and Northern Territory- Lifts Funds Under Advice in Fiducian Financial Services to $5.0 billion- National adviser network to reach 92The acquisition by Fiducian ( ASX:FID ) is a continuation of its strategy to expand its quality financial planning network throughout South Australia and lifts Funds under Advice in Fiducian Financial Services by $1.1 billion to $5.0 billion. Total Funds under Management, Administration & Advice (FUMAA) currently is $11.2 billion and post-acquisition will increase to $12.3 billion.Fiducian will pay $12.6 million from internal cash resources with 70% being up front and the rest after 12 months for a recurring revenue of $7.6 million. Another one off payment of up to $600,000 will be made subject to an additional $2 million being received in the first year as up front and/or ad hoc advice revenue. Fiducian has processes in place to ensure that Completion, involving the transition of clients, staff and contracts, can occur in the coming months consistent with the agreement signed today. PCCU was exclusively advised by Berkshire Global Advisers led by Nelson Lam, Berkshire's APAC partner.Fiducian Group Executive Chairman, Indy Singh said "This is a great achievement for us to be working alongside PCCU and we are delighted to be chosen. Our vision as an organisation is to make positive changes to the lives of our clients and our staff. This is a very exciting step for our group, and we have the expertise and experience to ensure it will be a success for everyone involved".Equally positive, People's Choice Managing Director, Steve Laidlaw, said "Our focus is to ensure our members continue to receive first-class financial advice and our financial planning team benefit from enhanced career development and growth opportunities. Fiducian will provide both, which is a very positive outcome." Mr Laidlaw said.Fiducian's Business Development team, led by Jai Singh and the Fiducian Financial Services team, headed by Robby Southall, were instrumental in this development, backed by the experience of our in-house legal, HR and financial teams, supported enormously by PCCU Chief Member Officer Maria-Ann Camilleri and her team, whose insight and professionalism was second to none," Mr Indy Singh said.Robby Southall, Executive Chairman of Fiducian Financial Services said, "The acquisition significantly increases Fiducian's distribution footprint across South Australia and the Northern Territory, and we look forward to welcoming more than 50 People's Choice financial advisers and support staff into the Fiducian family. We are excited to be able to support our people with superior processes, training and tools to enable them to provide the best quality financial advice. It is a testament to the expertise, technology systems, client centric processes and proven skills of the financial planning network developed by Fiducian over the last 25 years. We look forward to working with those selected as Fiducian Authorised financial planners and staff and are confident of a seamless transition into the Fiducian Family culture where client needs come first".About Fiducian Group Ltd

Publicly listed Fiducian Group Limited (ASX:FID) is a successful end-to-end financial services company in this fiercely competitive sector in Australia. FGL is Australian-owned and operated. FGL provides:

1. Platforms for investment and superannuation

2. Funds management and investment

3. Financial planning and wealth management

4. Technology solutions for financial planners and their clients

Through the vision of founding member Indy Singh (Executive Chairman), the company was established in 1997 and listed on the ASX in 2000. Funds under Management, Administration and Advice (FUMAA) total $11.2 billion as at 31 October 2021.
DENVER  Colorado voters will decide in Tuesdays election whether to raise the sales tax on marijuana to fund out-of-school programs, such as tutoring, technical skill training, mental health counseling and enrichment programs in the arts.

That question is one of several posed to voters around the state on ballot initiatives this year that also include a measure that would limit how many unrelated adults can live together in Denver and another that would limit governors power to spend funds from outside sources like the federal government.

A look at a few of the most interesting ballot initiatives:

MARIJUANA SALES TAX INCREASE

The measure would increase the states retail marijuana sales tax rate from 15% to 20% over the next three years. A majority of yes votes would create a governor-appointed board to administer the program, which aims to provide educational and enrichment opportunities with after-school programs and tutoring. The program would prioritize eligible Colorado children 5 to 17 years old whose families are at or below the poverty line.

Proponents of the initiative say its timely and necessary due to the educational gaps worsened by the pandemic and even more so for students of color, those from low-income families and students with special needs.

The group No on Prop 119 says that it takes already-limited funds away from public schools and it would create a private-run board with no oversight or accountability with out-of-state interests.

ROOMMATE LIMIT

The Denver ballot initiative would repeal a group living amendment, passed by the city council, which increased the number of unrelated adults who can live together. The amendment changed the citys zoning code to allow up to five unrelated adults to live together in a single home rather than the current limit of two. The amendment also allowed residential care facilities such as halfway houses for substance abuse programs to operate in more parts of Denver.

Groups like the grassroots campaign Denver Safe and Sound have raised concerns that an increase in roommates and residential care homes would negatively impact the quality of life in neighborhoods, bringing more congestion, overcrowded parking and more trash. Keep Denver from becoming like Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco, the campaigns website states.

But those against the repeal argue that the amendment takes away affordable housing options and makes it harder to live in Denver, one of the most expensive booming cities with a continuously increasing population over the last decade.

GOVERNORS POWER TO SPEND FEDERAL FUNDS

The constitutional amendment would require legislative approval for the state to spend money received from outside sources, such as the federal government or legal settlements.

A conservative group sponsored the initiative after Democratic Gov. Jared Polis used his executive powers to distribute nearly $1.7 billion of federal COVID-19 relief funds in May 2020.

Michael Fields, executive director of Colorado Rising Action, an organization promoting conservative policies, is spearheading the measure, arguing that Gov. Jared Polis allocation of federal pandemic funds were not transparent. In an Colorado Politics opinion piece, Fields calls for an elimination of executive branch slush funds.

However, opponents argue that limiting the appropriation of federal money puts more work on the part-time Legislature and creates more bureaucracy, which could delay the states spending in an emergency like a pandemic.

HOMELESS CAMPS

Election officials will still count the votes for a Denver ballot initiative that would have allowed residents to sue the city for a slow response to homeless encampment clean-ups, even though a judge ruled Sunday that the time limit was unlawful and should be removed.

The measure originally allowed people to sue the city if officials dont clean up an encampment within 72 hours of a complaint.

Even if it passes, the part that would have allowed residents to sue the city for a slow response to homeless encampment clean-ups wont be enforced, said Jacqlin Davis, a spokesperson for the City Attorneys Office.

The amended ballot question still asks voters to decide on creating up to four city-funded camping locations authorized on public property with required running water, restrooms and lighting. But local homelessness advocates say four sanctioned sites still isnt enough to address the scale of the problem.
CHEYENNE, Wyo.  The victims of a head-on crash that killed four people on a highway south of the Wyoming-Colorado line included two senior airmen at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.

The crash on U.S. 85 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of Cheyenne around 2:30 a.m. Saturday killed Yasmin Takiah Evans, 22, and her only passenger, Taylor Alize Lipscomb Ashley, 24, the Weld County Coroners Office said in a statement Tuesday.

The airmen were assigned to the 90th Missile Security Operations Squadron and the 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron at F.E. Warren, the Denver Post reported.

This is a terrible tragedy for the entire wing team, Col. Catherine Barrington, 90th Missile Wing commander, said in a statement. Our priority is to do everything we can to support the two families and all their friends and loved ones struggling with this loss.

Also killed were Jonathan William Upchurch, 30, of Rockford, Illinois, and his passenger, Zane Lee Schure, 30, of Fort Collins, Colorado, according to the coroners office.

Upchurch was driving a 2015 Jeep Cherokee that crossed into the oncoming lane and hit a 2018 Honda Accord driven by Evans, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

All four were wearing seat belts. The Colorado State Patrol was investigating.

F.E. Warren oversees 150 Minuteman nuclear missiles in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.
DENVER  Police in suburban Denver on Tuesday released body camera footage involving an officer accused of putting a woman suspected of shoplifting in a chokehold.

A judge ordered the footage in the case of Sheridan Officer Shawn Ralph to be made public last month in response to a request from Colorado media outlets under a new law that generally requires footage to be released within 21 days of a request.

Ralph is accused of using the chokehold on Sept. 3 after the handcuffed woman spit in his eye as she was apparently aiming at a store worker, who had confronted her about the alleged theft, according to an arrest affidavit. After looking at footage from all four officers there, police said it appeared that Ralphs left hand went toward her neck, with the web of it near her windpipe and his fingers and thumb on either side of her neck for about five seconds. His other hand eventually rests on top of his left, appearing to support it. A sergeant either knocked or pulled Ralphs hands away from the womans neck, the document said.

One of the four videos released of the incident briefly shows an officers gloved hands near the womans neck before the camera moves away.

In a statement to police, Ralph said that he reached his gloved hand toward the womans mouth to stop her from spitting more but she pulled back, causing his hand to slip to her chin, the affidavit said.

A message left for Ralphs lawyer, Zach Wagner, seeking comment was not returned.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexicos struggle to descend from a high plateau of COVID-19 cases continued Tuesday, even as the state inched closer to expanding the age eligibility for getting vaccine shots to younger children.

With the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 still spreading among vaccinated and unvaccinated New Mexicans, state health officials reported 675 new confirmed cases  the lowest single-day total in nearly two weeks.

They also reported 12 additional deaths related to the virus, bringing the states toll to 5,073 since the pandemic hit New Mexico in March 2020.

The stubbornly high number of new cases and deaths has prompted hard questions in New Mexico, which has one of the nations highest COVID-19 vaccine administration rates and is one of several states with a face mask mandate still in place for indoor public settings.

Acting Health Secretary David Scrase said last week there could be several reasons for the stubbornly high virus spread, including the possibility of waning effectiveness of vaccine doses given early this year.

But health officials have insisted higher vaccine rates would reduce COVID-19 spread.

During a four-week period that ended Monday, unvaccinated individuals made up 72.7% of new confirmed cases and roughly 79% of those hospitalized due to the virus, according to state Department of Health data.

Of the 123 deaths during that time period, 111 were unvaccinated people  or about 90%  and 12 were fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, advisers to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

New Mexico has preordered and is expected to receive 66,000 vaccine doses for children of that age group once final approval is given.

That could happen in the coming days, as a state Medical Advisory Team is expected to move quickly to ratify the age expansion once final approval from the CDC director is given.

If approved, the vaccine for 5 to 11 year olds would be similar to the adult vaccine but in a much smaller dose.

Under a plan announced by the White House, the vaccine would be available at pediatricians offices, pharmacies, health care clinics and possibly schools and community health centers.
Mayor Tim Keller, right, stands with his family while speaking to supporters at the Hotel Albuquerque on election night, Nov. 2, 2021. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) Mayor Tim Keller prepares to address supporters late in the evening on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) Mayor Tim Keller stands with his family while speaking to supporters at the Hotel Albuquerque on election night, Nov. 2, 2021. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) Mayoral candidate Manny Gonzales greets supporters on election night, Tuesday, November 2, 2021. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) Mayoral candidate Manny Gonzales, right, and his father-in-law Jimmy Sanchez, watch as Mayor Tim Keller addresses supporters on election night, Tuesday, November 2, 2021. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) Mayoral candidate Manny Gonzales addresses his supporters on election night, Tuesday, November 2, 2021. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) Mayoral Candidate Eddy Aragon takes calls from listeners while hosting his talk radio show on election night, Tuesday, November 2, 2021. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal) Prev 1 of 7 Next

Tim Keller is getting another four years to carry out his agenda in Albuquerque.

The 43-year-old Albuquerque native won a second term as mayor of the states largest city on Tuesday, according to unofficial results, fending off a pair of challengers who spent months arguing the city was in worse shape than it was when he initially took office.

Keller won in decisive fashion, earning 56% of the vote. Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales had 26%, while radio station owner/conservative talk show host Eddy Aragon had 18%. It is enough to avoid a runoff, which the city charter would have required if no candidate earned at least 50% of the vote.

A former state senator and onetime New Mexico State Auditor, Keller ran for reelection on what he said was a solid foundation built during his first term as mayor and the city governments strong performance during the pandemic.

The city is still facing some incredible challenges  it has broken its annual homicide record for the second time in three years, has a growing homelessness epidemic and a metro unemployment rate higher than the national average. But the city has some positive momentum too; property crime is falling and it has experienced strong recent growth in its gross receipts tax.

Though Gonzales, Aragon and other critics argued that violent crime and homelessness had only worsened on his watch, Keller cast himself as an experienced leader who understood the citys challenges and had developed practical plans to address them. That includes the long-awaited Gateway Center homeless shelter and services center at the old Lovelace hospital, which should begin some operations this winter, and a new public safety department, Albuquerque Community Safety, which Keller said will reduce the burden on police by sending social workers and other trained professionals to 911 calls that do not require a law enforcement response.

During his victory speech in front of city officials and other supporters at Hotel Albuquerque Tuesday night, Keller said there are no easy fixes to the citys problems but he believes he has put the city on the right track.

The voters showed that they are with us in that vision  that we are going to do this together, that we have the strength and the courage to face our toughest challenges. That is what tonight is truly a referendum on, he said.

Keller in his speech also recognized his challengers, saying he and Aragon  the races lone Republican  may disagree on almost everything but that he had run a respectable race, and that he hoped Gonzales, a fellow Democrat, would lend his support to the citys police and public safety efforts during the last year of his term as sheriff.

Gonzales, meanwhile, held a watch party inside the conference room of a liquor distribution warehouse in the South Valley.

As TV stations and the Journal called the race for Keller, Gonzales took the stage to rally his supporters, saying lets stay optimistic.

Shortly after, the blaring music was cut to watch Keller give his acceptance speech, with many booing as he asked Gonzales, as sheriff, to support the Albuquerque Police Department and boasted about the shape Albuquerque is in despite the pandemic.

What city are you living in? one man yelled. Then the music was back on again as people gave Gonzales a standing ovation and chanted Manny over and over.

But as the crowd filed out and his wife and others cleared tables and popped balloons, Gonzales expressed gratitude for those involved in his race.

For me, my loyalty is always going to be the people. Its an honor to have been able to run a race like that, he said. Im still the sheriff and Im looking forward to continuing to serve the people of Bernalillo County.

Aragon, who spent the evening broadcasting on his radio station, could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Despite the citys challenges, campaign-related drama may ultimately define the 2021 mayoral race.

That includes Gonzales bid for public campaign financing, which evolved into a monthslong fight over $600,000-plus in taxpayer money with multiple court, administrative and ethics hearings. City Clerk Ethan Watson denied the sheriff the money in July based on evidence presented in two ethics complaints against Gonzales, including one alleging that he submitted forged documentation in an attempt to qualify for the funds. Gonzales campaign subsequently acknowledged some forged paperwork, but denied the sheriff knew about the bad signatures. A state judge ultimately upheld Watsons decision, prompting Gonzales to switch financing strategies by taking private donations less than two months before the election.

Aragon, meanwhile, transformed the race in August by completing a last-minute signature-gathering effort to earn a place on the ballot. His candidacy sparked a quick legal challenge because he uses his radio station headquarters inside an Albuquerque office building as his home, but a state judge dismissed the petition and ruled Aragon could stay on the ballot.

Aragon and Keller each also have faced ethics complaints in the race  Keller for allegedly using city resources for campaign purposes, and Aragon for allegedly violating city and federal rules by campaigning on his radio station. The citys ethics board has not yet adjudicated either complaint, but both candidates have denied they violated regulations.

The Albuquerque mayors race also briefly made international news in June when the Dongcopter  a sex toy dangling from a drone  disrupted one of Gonzales campaign events.

More recently, Gonzales shocked observers by leveling multiple personal allegations against Keller without evidence during a live TV debate.

Keller, the only candidate who ran on public financing, outspent his challengers on his reelection bid.

Campaign finance reports show he had spent $620,878 through Friday, while Gonzales had spent $492,671 and Aragon had spent $135,881.

But more than a half-million dollars also flowed into the mayors race through political action committees.

The Gonzales-backing Save Our City PAC has spent $267,185 to date, according to the citys campaign finance website. Build Back Burque, which promoted Keller, has spent $254,124.

Journal staff writer Matthew Reisen contributed to this report.
Voters in at least two Albuquerque City Council districts will need to return to the polls Dec. 7 to settle runoff elections.

Unofficial returns indicated two incumbent councilors were in trouble and Republicans are likely to cut into the Democrats 6-3 majority in the chamber.

A runoff election is required if no candidate wins at least 50% of votes. Runoffs will be needed in the races for District 7 and 9. Republican Dan Lewis was leading 52% to 40% over Councilor Cynthia Borrego, a Democrat, in the District 5 race late Tuesday.

Of nine City Council seats, five were up for grabs this year. But only four seats were competitive races.

District 3 City Councilor Klarissa Pena, 54, was unopposed this year. A Democrat with a business and community service background, Pena was first elected to the post in December 2013 and cruised to a second-term victory over one challenger in 2017.

In District 1, incumbent Lan Sena was trailing challenger Louie Sanchez, a retired Albuquerque Police Department officer. Sena had 45% of the vote to Sanchezs 55%.

Sena, 31, a Democrat with a background in public health, was appointed to the council to fill out the term of Ken Sanchez, who died Jan. 1.

Louie Sanchez, 56, retired in 2014 as a lieutenant after a 26-year career with APD. Sanchez now operates two Allstate insurance offices.

Both Democratic candidates focused on crime as a top issue. District 1 lies on the West Side between Central and Montano NW.

Sanchez said late Tuesday that his experience as a police officer pushed him to victory.

I know officers, I know what their needs are having done it for years and years, Sanchez said. Having that experience makes a world of difference.

District 5 City Councilor Cynthia Borrego was the other incumbent trailing late Tuesday.

Borrego, 64, a Democrat, was seeking a second term in a three-way race that included a challenge from Lewis, who held the seat from 2009 to 2017.

Lewis was holding onto a double-digit percentage-point lead late Tuesday.

The third candidate in the race was political newcomer Phillip Ramirez, 43, a construction project manager and Democrat.

It looks good, Lewis said of the vote at about 9 p.m. I think clearly people arent happy with whats been going on the last four year  in terms of representation on the West Side and whats been going on in our city.

District 7 was the most crowded contest. Six political newcomers were vying to succeed Diane Gibson, who announced in April that she would not seek a third term.

The runoff will be between Lori Robertson, 48, a real estate agent and Tammy Fiebelkorn, 51, who owns an environmental and business consulting firm. Robertson had earned 32% of the vote to Fiebelkorns 24%, according to unofficial returns.

No other candidate earned more than 15% of the vote.

Robertson was the lone GOP candidate in the field.

Im excited. Were up there at the top and were moving forward, Robertson said. Statistically speaking, with six people in the race theres no way you could get to 50%, so we were completely prepared for a runoff.

District 7 is a Northeast Heights district between Interstate 25 and Eubank NE, and between Montgomery and Lomas NE.

In District 9, three candidates were trying to succeed Don Harris, a Republican who decided not to seek a fifth term after serving since 2005.

The race is likely headed to a runoff between the Republican candidate, Renee Grout, 60, who received 42% of the vote, and one of two Democratic candidates. Rob Grilley Jr., 37, earned 30% of the vote and Byron Powdrell, 54, had earned 28% of the vote, according to unofficial returns. There were fewer than 200 votes separating Grilley and Powdrell late Tuesday.

Its very exciting and very humbling, Grout said.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

The three young men drove around Downtown Albuquerque looking for a Black man with dreadlocks. It was July 10 and they were trying to find those who allegedly battered Asad Moody the week before.

Instead, in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity, authorities say Moody fired an AK-47 at Trevonte Robbins and his friends after spotting them near Central and Fourth.

Robbins, 19, was fatally shot, a teenage boy with him was injured and an officer driving through the area was hit with glass shards when gunfire struck his windshield.

Moody, 19; Jonathan Martinez, 21; and Darryus Chavez, 22, are each charged with an open count of murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy charges. Isney Lafirme, 21, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the incident.

A warrant has been issued for the four men.

In 2019 Moody, then 17, was charged with conspiracy and tampering in a drug ripoff that left a man shot several times. It is unclear how that case resolved. Robbins family previously told the Journal he was raised in Albuquerque and was visiting from Georgia when he was struck by a stray bullet Downtown.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Metropolitan Court:

Police responded around 2:30 a.m. to Central and Fourth after an officer reported being hit by glass shards from gunfire in the area. Police found Robbins shot to death nearby and his friend, a teen, shot in the arm and abdomen.

Officers collected eight AK-47 casings from the scene and retrieved surveillance footage that showed the gunfire came from a black Honda with three men inside. Police noticed the shooter had distinct orange and green shoes and the car had a mirror held together by tape.

A partial license plate led police to Martinez and the Honda with the damaged mirror outside his home. A search of Martinez phone and social media accounts led police to identify Chavez and Moody as suspects.

Detectives found a July 3 video of several men battering Moody in Downtown, being filmed by a Black man with dreadlocks. In a message, Lafirme told Moody I hope its funny when they die 1 by 1 and they traded photos of Black men  with braids and dreads  from the fight video.

Detectives found a video on Moodys Snapchat, posted hours before the shooting, which showed the distinct shoes, the AK-47 and the taped mirror of the car as it drove around.

Around the same time, Lafirme messaged Moody, Jus look for dreads. Knock his dreads off. (Racial slur) wanna play til we say game over.

At the time of the shooting, Moody, Chavez and Martinez were all pinged in the area and surveillance video showed the black Honda drove past Robbins and his friends, one of whom has braids, multiple times before shots were fired.
RICHMOND, Va.  The nations most closely watched off-year election wrapped up Tuesday in Virginia, where voters chose between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin in a campaign that became partly a referendum on President Joe Bidens first year in office.

Barely 12 months after Biden captured the state by 10 points, the governors race was supposed to be a comfortable win for Democrats. Instead, McAuliffe, a prominent figure in Democratic politics and a former Virginia governor, was locked in a dead heat with former business executive Youngkin as he tried to reclaim the post.

The bruising campaign centered on issues including Youngkins ties to former President Donald Trump, the future of abortion rights and culture war battles over schools. But voters saw the economy as the top issue, followed by the coronavirus pandemic, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of statewide voters.

Some 34% of Virginia voters ranked the economy their No. 1 priority, compared to 17% saying COVID-19 and 14% choosing education. Those issues outranked health care, climate change, racism and abortion in the survey.

The final results, though, may ultimately be interpreted as an early judgment of Biden. The closeness of the race indicated just how much his political fortunes have changed in a short period. The White House has been shaken in recent months by the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, a sometimes sluggish economic recovery amid the pandemic, and a legislative agenda at risk of stalling on Capitol Hill.

A loss in a state that has trended toward Democrats for more than a decade would deepen the sense of alarm inside the party heading into next years midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. But Biden expressed optimism going into the evening, while acknowledging that the off-year is always unpredictable.

I think were going to win in Virginia, Biden said at a news conference in Scotland, where he was attending an international climate summit. I dont believe  and Ive not seen any evidence that  whether or not I am doing well or poorly, whether or not Ive got my agenda passed or not, is gonna have any real impact on winning or losing.

Tuesdays voting also featured a governors race in New Jersey, mayoral offices around the country and a major policing question in Minneapolis. Still, both Virginia candidates said the implications of the first major election since Biden moved into the White House would be felt well beyond their state.

At one of his final events of the campaign on Monday, McAuliffe insisted the stakes are huge. Youngkin said the election would send a statement that will be heard across this country.

Voting proceeded largely without incident across Virginia. McAuliffe and Youngkin were mostly out of sight ahead of election night parties planned in the critical northern Virginia suburbs that each campaign was counting on.

In Norfolk, 29-year-old Cassandra Ogren said she voted for McAuliffe in part because of his support for abortion rights and her concern about restrictions recently enacted in Texas, where a new law mostly bans the procedure. But she was also motivated by Younkins ties to Trump.

Anyone endorsed by President Trump is not someone I want representing me, Ogren said.

School issues being important to many voters, meanwhile, could be good news for Youngkin. His pledge to ensure parents have greater say in what their kids are taught was a centerpiece of his campaign  possibly foreshadowing similar arguments GOP candidates will use across the country next year.

Youngkin has decried school efforts to teach about institutional racism in society. That push intensified after McAuliffe said during a debate that I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.

Bennett White, 24, a Youngkin voter in Norfolk, said he didnt want our next generation of leaders to be looking at their peers in the lens of race.

I just want to make sure that my mom is safe in the classroom, said White whose mother is a teacher, and that her ideals and everyones ideals are protected, and were not turning into brainwashing academies.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was trying to win reelection against Republican former State Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli. If successful, Murphy would be the first Democrat reelected as the states governor in 44 years.

A ballot question in Minneapolis could reshape policing in that city, where the killing of George Floyd last year touched off sweeping demonstrations for racial justice across the nation.

But no other race received the level of attention of the Virginias governors campaign. Thats in part because previous contests in many states have sometimes foreshadowed voter frustration with a party newly in power.

In 2009, during President Barack Obamas first year in office, Republican Bob McDonnells victory in Virginia previewed a disastrous midterm cycle for Democrats, who lost more than 60 House seats the following year.

But McAuliffe won the governorship in 2013, a year after Obama was reelected, marking the only time the state has picked a governor from the sitting presidents party since 1976. Hes trying to repeat that feat on Tuesday.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  At 10 p.m. Tuesday, Mayor Alan Webber was well on his way to capturing a second term with a commanding lead over City Councilor JoAnne Vigil Coppler.

Webber was leading with 9,415 votes, or 56% of the votes cast, to Vigil Copplers 5,913 votes, or 35%. Partial results were in from all 94 precincts. The results still have to be certified.

Webber could not be reached for comment.

Environmental engineer Alexis Martinez Johnson trailed with 1,691 votes, or 9%.

It was a rough campaign for the leading candidates. Vigil Coppler excoriated the mayor over his handling of the toppled Civil War memorial obelisk in the Santa Fe Plaza last year. Activists took down the statue, which had long been a subject of controversy due its previous reference to savage Indians. And Webber criticized Vigil Coppler during the early days of the pandemic for her vote against a city-wide mask ordinance. Vigil Coppler has responded that she was only voting against unenforceable laws.

All the mayoral candidates named affordable housing a key issue. Webber, in his campaign flyers, touted his support of the citys Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Vigil Coppler has said she would conduct a complete review of the housing fund. Martinez Johnson wants to identify existing affordable housing locations and expand public transit to them, her website states.

Meanwhile, incumbents held an edge in three of the four city council races.

In the District 3 council race, one of the four council races, incumbent Roman Tiger Abeyta was trailing Lee A. Garcia by 788 votes to 886.

Incumbent Signe I. Lindell held a big lead over Joe Hoback, Roger Carson and Brian Gutierrez in the District 1 contest. Lindell had 3,662 votes to 751 for Hoback, with Carson receiving 392 votes and Gutierrez 1,194.

Incumbent Carol Romero-Wirth ran unopposed for the District 2 seat and received 3,952 votes.

In District 4, Amanda Chavez was leading Rebecca A. Romero, 3,039 votes to 1,019.

Two incumbents ran unopposed for the Santa Fe Public School Board: Kate I. Noble for District 3 received 3,770 votes and Sascha Nicole Guinn Anderson for District 5 got 3,820 votes.

Voters approved a Santa Fe Public Schools General Obligation Bond for improvement of school buildings and the continuation of the Santa Fe Public Schools Buildings Tax of $1.50 per each $1,000 of next taxable value, also for school improvements, by overwhelming margins.

Santa Fe uses a ranked-choice voting system, with voters ranking their preference. If no candidate wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated and the process repeated until a candidate receives a majority of votes.
RALEIGH, N.C.  It has become a major issue in the Virginia governors race. Former President Donald Trump has railed against it. Republicans in the U.S. Senate introduced a resolution condemning any requirement for teachers to be trained in it. And several Republican-controlled states have invoked it in legislation restricting how race can be taught in public schools.

The concept known as critical race theory is the new lightning rod of the GOP. But what exactly is it?

The term seemed to appear in statehouses and at political rallies almost from nowhere. Over the past year, it has morphed from an obscure academic discussion point on the left into a political rallying cry on the right.

Yet, even those who condemn or seek to ban critical race theory in schools often struggle to define what it is. Real-world examples of students being indoctrinated in its principles are difficult to find.

WHAT IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY?

Critical race theory is a way of thinking about Americas history through the lens of racism. Scholars developed it during the 1970s and 1980s in response to what they viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.

It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nations institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.

The architects of the theory argue that the United States was founded on the theft of land and labor and that federal law has preserved the unequal treatment of people on the basis of race. Proponents also believe race is culturally invented, not biological.

Kimberle Crenshaw, executive director of the African American Policy Forum, a social justice think tank based in New York City, was one of the early proponents. Initially, she says, it was simply about telling a more complete story of who we are.

IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY BEING TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS?

There is little to no evidence that critical race theory itself is being taught to K-12 public school students, though some ideas central to it, such as lingering consequences of slavery, have been. In Greenwich, Connecticut, some middle school students were given a white bias survey that parents viewed as being part of the theory.

Republicans in North Carolina point to the Wake County Public School System as an example, saying teachers participated in a professional development session on critical race theory. County education officials canceled a future study session once it was discovered but insist the theory is not part of its classroom curriculum.

Critical race theory is not something we teach to students, said Lisa Luten, a spokeswoman for the school system. Its more of a theory in academia about race that adults use to discuss the context of their environment.

In his campaign for Virginia governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin said he would ban the teaching of critical race theory in the states public schools.

WHY ARE REPUBLICANS UPSET?

Many Republicans view the concepts underlying critical race theory as an effort to rewrite American history and convince white people that they are inherently racist and should feel guilty because of their advantages.

But the theory also has become somewhat of a catchall phrase to describe racial concepts some conservatives find objectionable, such as white privilege, systemic inequality and inherent bias.

WHERE DID REPUBLICAN PUSHBACK BEGIN?

Republicans often cite the 1619 Project as a cause for concern. The New York Times initiative, published in 2019, aimed to tell a fuller story of the countrys history by putting slavery at the center of Americas founding.

Critical race theory popped into the mainstream last year when then-President Trump took aim at it and the 1619 Project during a White House event focused on the nations history. He called both a crusade against American history and ideological poison that  will destroy our country.

HOW ARE STATES ADDRESSING IT?

So far, many Republican-led states have pushed legislation or other steps to limit how race and racism can be taught in schools.

Teachers unions, educators and social studies organizations worry the limits will whitewash American history by downplaying the role past injustices still play today. They also fear a chilling effect on classroom discussions.

Leading critical race theory scholars view the GOP-led measures as hijacking the national conversation about racial inequality that gained momentum after the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota.

Some say the ways Republicans describe it are unrecognizable to them. Cheryl Harris, a UCLA law professor who teaches a course on the topic, said its a myth that critical race theory teaches hatred of white people and is designed to perpetuate divisions in American society. Instead, she said she believes the proposals limiting how racism can be discussed in the classroom have a clear political goal: to ensure that Republicans can win in 2022.

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Anderson 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. Follow Anderson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BryanRAnderson. Associated Press writer Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
BEIJING  This weeks global climate talks in Scotland and the recent G-20 summit in Rome arent the only international meetings that Chinas leader has not attended in person. Xi Jinping hasnt left China in nearly 22 months, since January 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first exploded.

His absence drew criticism from U.S. President Joe Biden and questions about Chinas commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. China, the worlds biggest emitter, has pledged to begin reducing its output by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. The U.S. and others have urged China to advance those goals, but it has balked so far.

We made our promises and we honor our promises with actions, China climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said in Glasgow, blaming Americas now-reversed withdrawal from the Paris climate accord under former President Donald Trump for a wasted five years in tackling climate change.

China may not be ready to offer any new initiatives on climate, but Xis non-appearance also reflects the ruling Communist Partys zero tolerance approach to controlling the coronavirus. After being the first country overwhelmed with the disease in early 2019, it has stamped out its reappearances with strict lockdowns, quarantines and travel restrictions.

The government has gone to great lengths to protect Xi and other leaders from COVID-19. He has met other world leaders and attended global meetings, but only by video link from China. Xi doesnt normally give news conferences, but other leaders such as Premier Li Keqiang have met with the media only by video, and even then, journalists have had to test negative for COVID-19 to participate remotely.

Xi last left China in January 2020 for a trip to neighboring Myanmar. That was shortly before the outbreak, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, started to spread widely worldwide. China has come under pressure from the U.S. and others to reveal more information about the origin of the pandemic and has been accused of mismanaging the initial outbreak and then seeking to cover up its mistakes.

The pandemic has given Xi a convenient excuse not to travel at a time when China faces heavy criticism of its policies toward Muslims in its Xinjiang region and its crackdown on individual rights in Hong Kong. Chinese leaders are extremely image conscious and Xis public appearances are carefully choreographed to avoid potentially embarrassing confrontations.

His current stay-at-home approach contrasts with a formerly heavy travel schedule that took him across continents as he tried to boost Chinas international profile. First lady Peng Liyuan, an accomplished musician, was often on hand to add a bit of glamor and a human touch.

He met with the then-Japanese emperor in Tokyo, rode a gilded carriage with Britains Queen Elizabeth and paid a visit to North Koreas capital that included a ride through city streets lined by tens of thousands of cheering citizens.

Such travels have underscored a more assertive foreign policy under Xi, as the worlds second-largest economy seeks to extend its influence beyond East Asia with his signature Belt and Road overseas infrastructure investment program.

Xi isnt alone in skipping the meetings in Rome and Glasgow. Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has aligned with China in opposing U.S. influence in world affairs, also remained at home.

I think its been a big mistake, quite frankly, for China, with respect to China not showing up, Biden said Monday at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

Responding to the U.S. presidents remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Wednesday that Chinas response to climate change is concrete, pointing to recent achievements in reforestation and renewable energy.

Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said that friction in bilateral relations is complicating cooperation between the two countries on climate change.

Biden has taken the Glasgow climate meeting as an important occasion for China and the U.S. to compete for global influence, ideology and image, said Shi, who attributed Xis absence to Chinas zero tolerance approach to dealing with the pandemic.

Xi has remained in contact with foreign heads of state through virtual meetings, said Zhao Kejin, who teaches international relations at Beijings Tsinghua University.

The U.S. wants Chinese cooperation in responding to climate change, but Beijing is looking for changes in U.S. policy, including its support for the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, Zhao said.

This result was produced by the U.S. failing to integrate ties with China into its overall multilateral relationships, Zhao said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that Xis absence doesnt mean the Chinese are not engaging in the fight against climate change, but added that he wants China to do more to slash carbon emissions. He told reporters that China had made a substantial commitment and praised Beijings decision to end financing for overseas coal plants, though not yet at home.
GLASGOW, Scotland  Governments and big investors announced fresh plans Wednesday to pour trillions of dollars into curbing global warming, reflecting the financial worlds growing embrace of efforts to fight climate change as both a business necessity and opportunity.

But some social justice activists called for scrutiny of investors motives, warning that the same financial institutions that profited from funding fossil fuel firms were now being presented as green champions.

There is a growing consensus that the private sector must be involved if the world is to avoid catastrophic global warming. Speaking at the U.N. climate summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow, Britains Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said that while countries such as his are stumping up more cash to fund the shift to low carbon economies around the world, public investment alone isnt enough.

He praised a pledge Wednesday by a group of over 450 major financial institutions to align their investments with the 2015 Paris climate accord  which calls for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and other efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

This is a historic wall of capital for the net-zero transition around the world, Sunak said at the conference known as COP26.

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero  launched this year by former Bank of England chief Mark Carney  promised to follow scientific guidelines for cutting carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

That goal  which means limiting greenhouse gas emissions to the amount that can be absorbed again through natural or artificial ways  is increasingly being embraced by companies and governments around the world.

Experts say fossil fuel use has to drop drastically over the coming decade to cap warming at 1.5C, meaning investors would likely have to dramatically cut back money going to oil, gas and coal producers.

It is huge that financial institutions managing $130 trillion in assets are now leading the charge to a net-zero future, said Helen Mountford, a senior climate expert at the World Resources Institute think tank.

She said that mobilizing massive public and private finance will be key to tackling global warming.

To that end, Sunak said U.K. financial institutions and publicly traded companies will be required to publish plans detailing how green their investments and their own businesses are  in order to ensure theyre actually contributing to reductions in global warming.

As home to the City of London, one of the worlds major financial centers, the U.K. has a responsibility to lead the way in financing efforts to fight global warming, said Sunak, potentially becoming the worlds first net-zero aligned financial center.

But James Thornton, founder of the environmental law charity ClientEarth, questioned how effective the U.K. effort would be.

The U.K. market is still hooked on fossil fuels, he said, calling for a task force to ensure companies dont greenwash their activities  that is, using high-profile announcements of so-called green initiatives to mask other dirty activities. Experts also caution there are various ways to calculate net zero  and deciding on one standard definition is one of the big challenges going forward.

Some campaigners were distrustful of the motives of big investors in general.

Many of the financial institutions meeting today have made a killing from the climate and ecological crisis, and we should be deeply suspicious of any attempt to spin them as the heroes, said Dorothy Guerrero, head of policy at the nongovernmental group Global Justice Now. Governments must regulate the process and lead the transition, instead of just handing it over the corporations.

But Alok Sharma, the British official chairing the talks in Glasgow, insisted the shift was genuine.

What we have seen over the last few years is a big move in the private sector and the financial services sector to go green, he said, adding that this was not the case when he became a financial advisor in the 1990s. I do believe it is now mainstream.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen noted one of the reasons that may be the case: She described combatting climate change as both a huge financial challenge, with a price tag of $100 trillion, but also the greatest economic opportunity of our time.

Many renewables are now cheaper than carbon-based fuel alternatives and have lower long-term operating costs, she said. In many cases, its simply cost effective to go green.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order earlier this year aimed at requiring companies to disclose climate-related financial risks.

Investing with an eye on the environment has been one of the biggest trends reshaping the financial industry for years, graduating from niche to a major force.

Around the world, $35.3 trillion was invested in sustainable funds at the start of 2020, according to the most recent data from the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. That accounted for nearly $36 of every $100 invested under professional management, and it includes everything from funds that directly finance environmentally friendly projects to funds that simply refuse to buy shares of the most-polluting companies.

While thats still the minority of all investments, its been growing faster than other areas of the market. Four years earlier, sustainable investments accounted for less than $28 of every $100.

But an analysis of the holdings of 130 climate-themed funds this summer by London-based think tank InfluenceMap found more than half werent as green as they purported to be. Some that were classified as fossil fuel restricted owned shares of oil refiners and distributors, for example.

Alina Averchenkova, an expert on climate change policy at the London School of Economics, said the announcements by investors and governments were an important step in the right direction  but independent audits would be required going forward.

She also noted the growing urgent need for rich nations to fund climate-related projects in parts of the world that cant afford the measures themselves.

We need finance to help developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change, for example, to adapt to increased flooding to extreme weather events such as hurricanes, she said.

Poorer countries were angered last month by news that wealthy nations had failed to meet a previous commitment to provide them with $100 billion in climate finance each year by 2020.

That target is now expected to be met in 2023.

___

Kirka reported from London. Business writer Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.

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Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate.
PHOENIX  Two Maricopa County judges are growing increasingly frustrated that a cybersecurity consultant working for the Arizona Senate has not provided records related to its review of the 2020 election for release under the states public records law.

One judge said last week that Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based firm that led the Senates ballot review, is playing with fire. Another on Tuesday scheduled a contempt hearing to decide whether to fine the Senate, jail its Republican leader or otherwise sanction it for not doing enough to force Cyber Ninjas to turn over records.

Cyber Ninjas, for its part, says its files are its own private property and not subject to the public records law, though the courts have repeatedly disagreed.

The dispute stems from two public records lawsuits filed during the unprecedented partisan review of the 2020 vote count, one filed by the parent of The Arizona Republic and the other by American Oversight, a Washington-based watchdog group.

Judges in both cases ruled that documents related to the audit are public records under state transparency laws, even those maintained by private companies like Cyber Ninjas and other Senate contractors, because they were performing a core government function. The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld that finding in the Republic case, and the Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal.

With Cyber Ninjas defiant, judges in both cases are considering how to ensure the records get released.

Judge John Hannah, who is overseeing the Republic case, blasted the Cyber Ninjas for continuing to claim that its records are not public and failing to begin sifting through them to give the Senate any that have a substantial nexus to the audit, as ordered by the appeals court.

The Ninjas are playing with fire, Hannah wrote. He declined the Republics request to fine Cyber Ninjas $1,000 per day for noncompliance, saying the appeals court has to enforce its own ruling. But he said he would not allow delays if it lands back in his courtroom: Pleas for more time will fall on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, Judge Michael Kemp, who is handling the American Oversight case, this week scheduled a hearing for Dec. 2 to decide whether to hold the Senate in contempt. American Oversight did not sue Cyber Ninjas, so Kemp cant order the company to do anything. Instead, hes ordered the Senate to obtain relevant records from the firm to comply with the watchdog groups public records request.

A lawyer for American Oversight, Keith Beauchamp, argued the Senate has not done everything in its power to obtain compliance from Cyber Ninjas. He suggested suing Cyber Ninjas, getting a court order that could be enforced by the sheriffs office, making a referral to the attorney general or demanding the firm repay the $50,000 it has been paid by the Senate for its work.

He said if the judge finds the Senate hasnt done enough, he could issue fines, require jail time or require the Senate to post a bond.

Senate attorney Kory Langhofer said Senate President Karen Fann has tried to get records from Cyber Ninjas, but the court cant punish the Legislature for failing to file a lawsuit.

This is ridiculous, Langhofer told the judge Tuesday. The problem is Cyber Ninjas, not Karen Fann  Karen Fann cant snap her finger and get these documents.

The Senate has written a letter demanding Cyber Ninjas turn over records and last week notified the firm that it is in violation of its contract, which requires both parties to provide reasonable cooperation if one party is sued.

Only documents that the government owns may be considered public records, Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan wrote in response, espousing a legal interpretation the courts have rejected. You do not own our companys records.

Logan disputes that his contract requires him to comply with public records requests. His lawyer, Jack Wilenchik, argues it would be a massive burden to expect Cyber Ninjas to sift through all its records to determine which have a substantial nexus to the audit, a term he says is not well-defined.

Also at issue is the Senates claim that lawmakers are entitled to keep some records secret under legislative privilege, saying lawmakers cant engage in free-wheeling debate about public policy if theyre worried their emails and text messages will later become public.

Hannah has reviewed a handful of documents that the Senate claimed were privileged, agreeing that some could be withheld but others must be disclosed. Where to draw the line on legislative privilege is likely to be decided by the appeals courts, which have not yet weighed in on that question.

Cyber Ninjas has released some documents but maintains it is doing so voluntarily. Among them is a financial statement suggesting the ballot review cost nearly $9 million, far more than was previously known. That includes $5.2 million for salaries, $1.2 million in depreciation expense and $544,000 in travel expenses.

Cyber Ninjas received $5.7 million from political groups led by Donald Trump allies who have aggressively promoted the former presidents false claims that the election was stolen from him, along with $1 million paid by donors directly to subcontractors. Altogether, Cyber Ninjas reported a net loss of more than $2 million from the audit.

The Senate agreed to pay Cyber Ninjas $150,000 for its work but has so far paid a third of the money.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Iran seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman last month and still holds the vessel, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press, revealing the latest provocation in Mideast waters as tensions escalate between Iran and the United States over Tehrans nuclear program.

Irans powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard troops on Oct. 24 took control of the MV Southys, a vessel that analysts suspect of trying to transfer sanctioned Iranian crude oil to Asia, at gunpoint. U.S. forces had monitored the seizure, but ultimately didnt take action as the vessel sailed into Iranian waters.

Iran celebrated its capture of the vessel in dramatic footage aired on state television, the day before the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Officials at the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ship-tracking data analyzed by the AP from MarineTraffic.com showed the vessel still off Irans southern port of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday. A satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc. also showed the vessel off Bandar Abbas in recent days.

The two U.S. officials on Wednesday spoke on condition of anonymity as the information had yet to be made public amid ongoing attempts to restart talks over Irans tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Negotiations have stalled in Vienna since the election of hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi in June, allowing Iran to press ahead with its nuclear program and raising alarm in Western capitals.

The European Union, Iran and the U.S. all said late Wednesday that the indirect talks between Tehran and Washington would resume Nov. 29 in Vienna.

Irans top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri, said in a tweet that talks aimed for the removal unlawful and inhumane sanctions. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Iran continued to take provocative nuclear steps and that this window of opportunity will not be open forever.

The officials spoke to AP after Iranian state TV offered a series of contradictory reports about a confrontation between the Guard and the U.S. Navys Mideast-based 5th Fleet. State TV sought to cast the incident as an act of American aggression against Iran in the Gulf of Oman, with the U.S. Navy detaining a tanker carrying Iranian oil and the Guard freeing it and bringing it back to the Islamic Republic.

Asked about Irans assertion of U.S. aggression, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said it was false and that it was Iran that had seized what he described as a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Oct. 24.

Its a bogus claim, Kirby said of the Iranian assertion. The only seizing that was done was by Iran. He declined to cite the nationality of the vessel that was seized, saying it was up to that country to discuss it.

Kirby said Irans boarding and seizing of the vessel constituted a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce.

Tehran also did not provide the ships name, or other details, nor any explanation of why the Navy might target it. Irans mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iranian officials heralded the ships impoundment as a heroic act, with Raisi lauding the Revolutionary Guard on Twitter. The countrys oil minister, Javad Owji, thanked the Guard for rescuing the Iranian oil tanker from American pirates.

State TV released footage showing an Iranian surveillance drone monitoring a hulking red tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Heavily armed Iranian commandos then rappelled onto the boat from a helicopter as small speedboats surrounded the vessel and an Iranian catamaran ship patrolled the waters.

The video appeared to show Iranian Guard troops pointing uncovered deck-mounted machine guns at the USS The Sullivans, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. Photos released by the U.S. military show The Sullivans recently in the Arabian Sea near the Gulf of Oman.

The status and makeup of the Sothys crew wasnt immediately known. A shipping database showed the vessels last registered owner as OPEC Petrol Transportation Co., a firm with a Hanoi address. On Thursday, a worker at the office acknowledged an incident involving the Southys but referred questions to another employee who wasnt there. That employee did not immediately return a request for comment.

However, the Southys had been on the radar of United Against a Nuclear Iran, a New York-based advocacy group long suspicious of the Islamic Republic. In a letter dated Oct. 11 addressed to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the group said its analysis of satellite photos showed the Southy received a ship-to-ship transfer of oil in June from an oil tanker called the Oman Pride.

The U.S. Treasury identified the Oman Pride in August as being used to transport Iranian oil as part of a smuggling scheme to enrich the Guards expeditionary Quds Force. That Iranian oil ends up being sold into East Asia, the Treasury alleged, without identifying a specific country.

Irans seizure of the Southys would be the latest in a string of hijackings and explosions to roil the Gulf of Oman, which sits near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all traded oil passes.

The U.S. Navy blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers in 2019, as well as for a fatal drone attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members earlier this year. Just a few months ago, Iranian hijackers stormed and briefly captured a Panama-flagged asphalt tanker off the United Arab Emirates.

Tehran denies carrying out the attacks, but a wider shadow war between Iran and the West has played out in the regions volatile waters since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Irans nuclear deal in 2018 and imposed crushing sanctions on the country.

___

Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Robert Burns and Matthew Lee in Washington and Hau Dinh in Hanoi, Vietnam, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  An independent Pentagon review has concluded that the U.S. drone strike that killed innocent Kabul civilians and children in the final days of the Afghanistan war was not caused by misconduct or negligence, and it doesnt recommend any disciplinary action.

The review, done by Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said, found there were breakdowns in communication and in the process of identifying and confirming the target of the bombing. Said concluded that the mistaken strike happened despite prudent measures to prevent civilian deaths.

I found that given the information they had and the analysis that they did  I understand they reached the wrong conclusion, but  was it reasonable to conclude what they concluded based on what they had? It was not unreasonable. It just turned out to be incorrect, Said said. He is the inspector general of the Air Force and is considered independent as he had no direct connection to Afghanistan operations.

His review said the drone strike must be considered in the context of the moment, as U.S. forces under stress were being flooded by information about threats to troops and civilians at the Kabul airport, just days after a deadly suicide bombing. Thousands of Afghans were swarming the airport, trying to get out of the country following the Taliban takeover.

Said found that better communication between those making the strike decision and other support personnel might have raised more doubts about the bombing, but in the end may not have prevented it.

Said was asked to investigate the Aug. 29 drone strike on a white Toyota Corolla sedan, which killed Zemerai Ahmadi and nine family members, including seven children. Ahmadi, 37, was a longtime employee of an American humanitarian organization.

The intelligence about the car and its potential threat came just days after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. troops and 169 Afghans at a Kabul airport gate. The U.S. was working to evacuate thousands of Americans, Afghans and other allies in the wake of the collapse of the countrys government.

Said concluded that U.S. forces genuinely believed that the car they were following was an imminent threat and that they needed to strike it before it got closer to the airport.

They all have a genuine belief based on the information they had and the interpretation, that that was a threat to U.S. forces, an imminent threat to U.S. forces, he told reporters during a Pentagon briefing. Thats a mistake. Its a regrettable mistake. Its an honest mistake. I understand the consequences, but its not criminal conduct, random conduct, negligence.

He said repeated reviews of the video from that day showed that two minutes before the strike was launched, there was evidence that a child was in the strike zone.

Said, who said he watched the video himself, said troops in the strike cell did not see the child.

Im just saying it is 100% not obvious, he said. You have to be like, no kidding, looking for it. But when youre looking for it, certainly after the fact, if you ask me, was there evidence of the presence? Yes, there was.

Steven Kwon, president of Nutrition and Education International, which employed Ahmadi, said he was deeply disappointed in the review.

According to the Inspector General, there was a mistake but no one acted wrongly, and Im left wondering, how can that be? Kwon said in a statement. Clearly, good military intentions are not enough when the outcome is 10 precious Afghan civilian lives lost and reputations ruined.

The report, which has been endorsed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, made several recommendations that have been passed on to commanders at U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. The review recommends that more be done to prevent what military officials call confirmation bias  the idea that troops making the strike decision were too quick to conclude that what they were seeing aligned with the intelligence and confirmed their conclusion to bomb what turned out to be the wrong car.

Specifically, the review said the military should have personnel present with a strike team, and their job should be to actively question such conclusions. The report says using a so-called red-team in such self-defense strikes that are being done quickly might help avoid errors.

Said also recommended that the military improve its procedures to ensure that children and other innocent civilians are not present before launching a time-sensitive strike.

Those changes, he said, could go a long way to greatly mitigate the risk of this happening again in these types of rapidly moving, self-defense strikes.

For days after the strike, Pentagon officials asserted that it had been conducted correctly, despite mounting reports that multiple civilians and children had died and growing doubts that the car contained explosives. Saids review concluded that officials made their initial assessments too quickly and did not do enough analysis.

While Saids report does not find individual fault or recommend discipline, he said commanders may decide to take administrative actions once they review his report. He said commanders may look at the report and determine that there was subpar performance and decide to decredential, retrain or fire personnel.

You should not perceive the fact that I didnt call any individual out with accountability that it does not mean that the chain of command wont, he said.

The U.S. is working to pay financial reparations to the family, and potentially get them out of Afghanistan, but nothing has been finalized.

A second defense official said Austin has asked that Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, and Gen. Richard Clarke, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, come back to him with recommendations for changes to address the gaps.

Saids review mirrors many of the findings outlined by McKenzie several weeks after the investigation.

The Central Command review found that U.S. forces tracked the car for about eight hours and launched the strike in an earnest belief  based on a standard of reasonable certainty  that it posed an imminent threat to American troops at Kabul airport. The car was believed to have been carrying explosives in its trunk.

The airstrike was the last in a U.S. war that ended just days later, as the final American troops flew out of Kabul airport, leaving the Taliban in power.
The morning after Albuquerque voters elected a new slate of school board representatives, the leader of an education nonprofit highlighted to business leaders just how much improvement is still needed for New Mexicos beleaguered school system to catch up.

I love the public education system in New Mexico, I just think we can do a lot better, said Amanda Aragon, executive director of NewMexicoKidsCAN, an Albuquerque-based nonprofit that aims to improve educational outcomes across the state.

During an event hosted by the Economic Forum of Albuquerque Wednesday morning, Aragon spoke about four races for Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education seats and provided an overview of where the states public education system stands after disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In three of the four contested APS school board races, candidates who derived major financial support from the business community won their races over those backed by the Albuquerque Teachers Federation. Aragon praised those winners  Danielle Gonzales for District 3, Crystal Tapia-Romero for District 5 and Courtney Jackson for District 7  but disputed their label as business-backed candidates.

These candidates ran based on what they were hearing from their communities, Aragon said.

The NewMexicoKidsCAN Action Fund PAC donated $1,111, $1,666 and $2,222 via in-kind contributions to Gonzales, Tapia-Romero and Jackson respectively, according to campaign contribution reports.

Even before pandemic restrictions pushed instruction online, New Mexicos public education system had struggled relative to those in other states.

Aragon said just 30% of New Mexico students are able to read at grade-level proficiency, while just 20% can do math at grade level.

She added that this affects students even after they graduate, as they may have to take remedial courses when they get to college or struggle to complete job applications when they enter the workforce.

The pandemic has exacerbated these challenges. Aragon cited a report produced by the Legislative Finance Committee showing New Mexico students lost the equivalent of 10 to 60 days of instruction due to the pandemic.

We were already very behind, and we are now further behind, she said.

Furthermore, Aragon said shes concerned by the lack of data on student and teacher performance, a problem that has worsened since the pandemic began. She said many students havent taken statewide standardized tests for two years, meaning its difficult to ascertain the progress that individual students are making.

We have to know how every student is doing, so we can ensure that every student has access to a high-quality education, Aragon said.

The state received an unprecedented influx of federal money, totaling around $1.6 billion, aimed at supporting public schools during the pandemic. Still, Aragon said the state runs the risk of squandering that money without reliable metrics to evaluate progress.

Our kids need this $1.6 billion to get them back on track, she said.

Journal writer Pilar Martinez contributed.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The top physicians under Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are encouraging families to vaccinate their children ages 5 and older against COVID-19 as New Mexico endures one of the highest case rates in the nation.

They also shared plans to expand a pilot program in schools allowing students who have been exposed to COVID-19  but who arent infected  to continue in-person classes, as long as they undergo regular testing for a few days.

The push for vaccination and expanded testing in schools comes as people under 18 make up about one-fourth of New Mexicos recent cases.

Acting Health Secretary David Scrase and Deputy Health Secretary Laura Parajon, both doctors, said the state intends to offer shot clinics at schools and other sites in coming weeks to make it easier for parents to get kids vaccinated.

Vaccination is going to be another layer that protects our kids in the schools, Parajon said.

Federal regulators this week cleared a smaller dose of the Pfizer vaccine for children 5 to 11, and New Mexico officials say they have already received the first of three shipments of the shots.

The last allotment should arrive within a week, making 90,000 doses available for kids. There are about 188,000 children ages 5 to 11 in New Mexico, and more doses are expected to be available, depending on demand.

Parajon encouraged parents to be patient over the next week as the supply grows and more slots are available. Appointments can be made through a familys regular medical provider or on the state website, vaccineNM.org.

Kurt Steinhaus, who leads the Public Education Department, said his agency is also taking steps to help unvaccinated students stay on campus amid the pandemic.

Under a program that will be expanded over the next three to five weeks, schools that participate will allow students who have been exposed to COVID-19 at school  but who have not tested positive  to continue in-person learning.

They will have to be tested one day, three days and five days after exposure  an alternative to a full 10-day quarantine.

The goal, Steinhaus said, is to provide in-person learning as much as we possibly we can.

The testing, he said, will happen on campus. Alamogordo is already carrying out a pilot program, Steinhaus said, and other schools are expected to begin similar programs in coming weeks, with help from a $63 million federal grant.

COVID-19 cases are rising in every region of the state. But fatalities appear to have reached a plateau, Scrase said, a rare bit of good news.

Hospitals, nevertheless, remain under stress, Scrase said, especially in Farmington, where an emergency team of medical providers from the federal government will be deployed to help.

Throughout the state, he said, patients who require intensive care are stuck in emergency rooms waiting for a transfer.

This is a very, very tight situation, Scrase said.

New Mexico ranks No. 9 in the country for new COVID-19 infections per person over the past seven days, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Five other Mountain West states  including Colorado and Utah  are also among the top 10.

New Mexicos medical advisory team, Scrase said, is evaluating what might be driving the increase in cases. But they dont believe schools are a primary factor, he said, partly because of indoor mask requirements and social distancing.

The highly contagious nature of the delta variant, Scrase said, is clearly playing a role in the spread of the disease.

Its also possible, he said, that New Mexico may be seeing signs of immunity waning from its first waves of vaccinations  something that might pop up in New Mexico earlier than elsewhere because the state vaccinated a higher proportion of its population earlier.

But he didnt describe waning immunity as a definitive cause.

Whatever the reason, Scrase encouraged any New Mexican whos eligible for a booster shot to get one.

Residents who received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago can get a booster if they are either:

 65 or older.

 At least 18 and live in a long-term care setting, have certain underlying medical conditions, or work or live in high-risk settings, such as in education, grocery stores and law enforcement.

Eligibility is much broader for people who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Anyone 18 and older who got the shot at least two months ago can get a booster.

Scrase suggested he expects federal regulators to expand the booster eligibility in the next few months to anyone who wants one.

I think were going to see a relaxation on booster availability soon  I dont know when, Scrase said.

Parajon said the kid-size Pfizer vaccines are safe and effective. Some of the research was done in New Mexico, she said, which may reassure some parents.

Side effects appear to be milder in 5- to 11-year-olds than older recipients of the vaccine, she said.

In New Mexico, children under 18 made up 25.2% of the COVID-19 cases in a recent one-week period, according to a state epidemiology report issued Monday. Pediatric cases account for 16.8% of infections throughout the whole pandemic.

Five children have died and the state has recorded 299 pediatric hospitalizations for COVID-19, according to the epidemiology report.

The state reported 1,166 new cases Wednesday, 419 hospitalizations and 12 additional COVID-19 deaths.

Over the past month, people who arent fully vaccinated made up 73% of cases, 79% of hospitalizations and 90% of deaths, even though they are less than half the total state population.
Celebrity

The 'Strange Behavior' filmmaker has passed away at the age of 82 at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii after he reportedly suffered complications related to Covid-19.

Nov 2, 2021

AceShowbiz - Filmmaker and producer Michael Laughlin has died.

The star, who worked on big screen projects including "Two-Lane Blacktop" and "Strange Behavior", died on 20 October (21) aged 82, his friend Brooke Nasser told Variety.

He is said to have suffered complications related to COVID-19 and died at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Illinois-born star began his career after moving to London, England, where he worked on projects including "The Whispers" with Bryan Forbes and "Joanna".

Michael married French actress and ballerina Leslie Caron in 1969 and the couple stayed together for six years, separating in 1975. They legally divorced five years later.

Between 1976 and 1991, he lived with writer Susanna Moore and served as both screenwriter and director on three of his own features, including slasher flick "Strange Behavior".

Michael was a co-writer on the 2001 film "Town & Country", starring Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton, and was also a farm owner.

He is survived by his three stepchildren: Christopher Hall, Jennifer Caron Hall, and Lulu Sylbert.

Michael Laughlin was known for his scary movie series "Strange Behavior" and "Strange Invaders". It was supposed to be a trilogy, but the third film never happened following his disastrous flick "Mesmerized".

"It was an uncomfortable experience at the bitter end because the producer sold the video rights in the U.S. which made it impossible to sell the theatrical rights effectively," the director said.

But he quickly bounced back by writing "The Adventures of Philip Strange". "If you have good reviews for a small first film or a small horror film that stands as a record of your work it is very, very important and helpful," he explained.

In the wake of his passing, stepdaughter Jennifer posted an emotional tribute on Twitter as she remembered the late filmmaker as the "best stepfather anybody ever had."
Marvel Studios Movie

The Shang-Chi depicter steers clear of martial arts feature films after playing the main role in the comic book superhero blockbuster in Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - Simu Liu wanted to do something "completely different" after starring in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings".

The star became the first Asian actor to lead a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie in the recent superhero flick but will now star in the upcoming romantic flick "One True Loves" as he felt a change of direction was needed.

Simu added that he didn't want to be trapped doing "kung fu films" in a similar manner to Jackie Chan and the late Bruce Lee.

Asked about his decision to shift genres, he told The Hollywood Reporter, "To quote Monty Python, 'and now for something completely different!' "

"Coming off an action film/martial arts spectacle like Shang-Chi, I knew that much of the world was going to expect me to do more kung fu films."

Simu continued, "It's always been important to me to constantly challenge people's perceptions of myself, as well as of Asian people as a whole."

"While I celebrate legendary actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Bruce Lee, I know that my path is very different. I am not a master of kung fu, after all; I am an actor who trained very hard to embody the character that I was hired to play."

The star admits that he wants to continue to challenge the perception of Asian characters during his career and describes it as "avant-garde" to be playing a typical human being.

Simu said, "I want to play characters that people can connect to, and that continue to challenge people's expectations of what Asian people can be."

"It sounds strange, but sometimes it feels like the most avant-garde thing I can do as an Asian actor is to play a human being. No martial arts, no stereotypes, no accent... just a flawed, messy, insecure human."
WENN Celebrity

The 'Bad Habits' star insists his relationship with Cherry Seaborn came at the right time because it would have been a disaster if they dated in high school.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - Ed Sheeran is convinced his relationship with now-wife Cherry Seaborn wouldn't have lasted if they'd dated in high school.

The pair grew up as "really close friends," Ed told Dax Shepard on his "Armchair Expert" podcast on Monday (01Nov21), but the "Shivers" star thinks "it would have been a disaster" if their romance had begun when they were teenagers.

Ed and Cherry drifted apart when he went on tour and she got a university scholarship, but their paths crossed once again in New York in 2015 thanks to their mutual friend Lauren.

"One day, she (Lauren) was in New York and she went to go out with Cherry because Cherry worked on Wall Street," he said. "And then she was like, 'Oh Cherry Seaborn is in town, do you want to hang out?' I was like, 'Yes.' "

Ed admitted he felt nervous seeing Cherry again after so long because the last time they saw one another they had "hooked up."

"In my head, the last time I'd seen Cherry we hooked up. So in my head, I was like what if she remembers that because it was like a while ago. It was very innocent. Very gentle, it was a kiss," he smiled.

Now the pair are parents to daughter Lyra and are happier than ever, with Ed feeling comfortable at ease when he's with his family in their hometown in which they grew up.

"I feel like I am the me that I was when I grew up when I'm there," he continued. "And then when I come to London, it's like you have this switch. I described it like putting on Spider-Man's outfit, you become this person that no one recognises when you go back. I know everyone so I'm pretty invisible there."
MGM Movie

The 'Born This Way' hitmaker stayed in character as Patrizia Reggiani for a year and a half in order to make her portrayal more convincing for Ridley Scott's movie.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - Lady GaGa maintained an Italian accent for nine months while filming "House of Gucci" to help her stay in character.

The pop star-turned-actress was so committed to her portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani, the Italian socialite who wed the former head of the fashion house, Maurizio Gucci, in Ridley Scott's film, she continued acting when cameras stopped rolling.

"I lived as her (Reggiani) for a year and a half. And I spoke with an accent for nine months of that...I never broke. I stayed with her," she tells British Vogue in a new interview, adding that she pored over newspaper clippings of her alter ego's trial, for allegedly masterminding Gucci's 1995 shooting death, and listened to recordings of her voice.

But she worked so hard at being Reggiani that Gaga started losing her sense of reality.

"I had some psychological difficulty at one point towards the end of filming," the Oscar winner admits. "I was either in my hotel room, living and speaking as Reggiani, or I was on set, living and speaking as her. I remember I went out into Italy one day with a hat on to take a walk. I hadn't taken a walk in about two months and I panicked... I thought I was on a movie set."

She also notes taking on the part 24 hours a day caused problems with friends and family, revealing there was "some silence and some disconnect for a while."

The "Born This Way" hitmaker worries, too, that she pushes herself too hard.

"I ask myself, 'Is this healthy, the way that you do this?... I just don't know any other way," she reveals.

It seems her famous co-stars were in awe of Gaga's dedication. Salma Hayek tells the magazine she's observed Gaga's "level of passion" only a "very few times" during her own career, adding, "She really committed..."

But the real Patrizia Reggiani, who served 18 years in prison after being found guilty of hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband, is less thrilled with the pop star's casting.

"I am quite annoyed by the fact that Lady Gaga is playing me in the new Ridley Scott film without even having the foresight and sensitivity to come and meet me," she stated previously.
Instagram Celebrity

Body remains of Laundrie, who was the fiance of slain YouTuber Gabby Petito, were discovered along with his backpack and notebook in Florida's Carlton Reserve in October.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - More possible details surrounding Brian Laundrie case are here. A Florida police chief believes that the fiance of slain YouTuber Gabby Petito (Gabrielle Petito) had "probably" already died by suicide by the time police and FBI started searching for him.

North Port, Fla., Police Chief Todd Garrison discussed the case at a community event on Friday night, October 28. Garrison, who served as a panelist at a law enforcement forum at the South County Tiger Bay Club, talked about the mistakes in his agency's investigation.

Of them mistaking Laundrie's mother Roberta for her son, Garrison said, "Yes, we made a mistake." He added, "It was human error, but I still stand behind my team."

"I can tell you one thing," Garrison continued, "The amount of work that was done, behind the scenes, 24 hours a day, from our team and the FBI team working on the second floor of the police department, was phenomenal work."

Despite the mistake, Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman praised Garrison and his department during the manhunt. "We talked probably 20 times during that situation and obviously we supported them out in the preserve looking for Brian Laundrie," so he said at the forum.

"That guy went out there and by all accounts probably committed suicide and he was right out there where we thought he was," Sheriff Hoffman added. "There was four feet of water out there at the time."

Laundrie's remains were discovered in a Florida park in October. Authorities stated that the partial human remains were found along with Laundrie's backpack and notebook in Florida's Carlton Reserve at a location previously underwater.

"A comparison of dental records confirmed that the human remains found at the T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve and Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park are those of Brian Laundrie," FBI Denver confirmed in a statement which was published on Twitter.

Following the confirmation, Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino released a statement from the family. "Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the remains found yesterday in the reserve are indeed Laundrie's. We have no further comment at this time and we ask that you respect the Laundrie's privacy at this time," the statement read.

According to his parents, Laundrie went missing after going to hike on September 14. It was weeks after Laundrie, who was named as person of interest in Petito's murder case, returned alone in their van from his and Gabby's cross-country road trip on September 1.

As for Petito, her remains were found in the vicinity of Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest on September 19. It was then confirmed that the 22-year-old died of strangulation.
MGM Movie

Patrizia previously admitted that she's 'quite annoyed' by the fact that the 'Poker Face' hitmaker is playing her in the new movie 'without even having the foresight and sensitivity to come and meet' her.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - Lady GaGa has her particular reason why she never met Patrizia Reggiani despite playing the latter in "House of Gucci". When reacting to the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci's criticism over her role, the "Poker Face" hitmaker told her side of the story.

"I only felt that I could truly do this story justice if I approached it with the eye of a curious woman who was interested in possessing a journalistic spirit," the 35-year-old explained when speaking to British Vogue. "So that I could read between the lines of what was happening in the film's scenes."

"Meaning that nobody was going to tell me who Patrizia Gucci was. Not even Patrizia Gucci," the Grammy winner added. She then divulged that she didn't even read the book that the movie is based on, "The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed." She said, "I did not want anything that had an opinion that would color my thinking in any way."

Instead, GaGa spent more than a year living in character as Reggiani. "I will be fully honest and transparent: I lived as her for a year and a half. And I spoke with an accent for nine months of that. Off camera. I never broke. I stayed with her," she elaborated.

"I instantly had to dye my hair, and I started to live in a way whereby anything that I looked at, anything that I touched, I started to take notice of where and when I could see money. I started to take photographs as well," she continued. "I have no evidence that Patrizia was a photographer, but I thought as an exercise, and finding her interests in life, that I would become a photographer, so I took my point-and-shoot camera everywhere that I went."

The interview came months after Reggiani revealed that she's not a fan of GaGa's portrayal of her. "I am quite annoyed by the fact that Lady GaGa is playing me in the new Ridley Scott film without even having the foresight and sensitivity to come and meet me," she told ANSA back in March.

Also starring Adam Driver and Jared Leto, "House of Gucci" is based on the book which narrates the 1995 murder-for-hire of Maurizio Gucci, one of Guccio Gucci's grandchildren. It also tells about the subsequent trial and conviction of Reggiani, who was slapped with a 16-year prison sentence for committing the crime.
WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Celebrity

'Did you dress as the cinematographer your dad shot?' one critic asks the model and actress, who complains about paparazzi intruding her privacy in an Instagram post.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - Hilaria Baldwin wasn't the only one of Alec Baldwin's close family members who has come under fire after posting a Halloween post on Instagram. The actor's daughter Ireland Baldwin has also been slammed by social media users after showing her bloody costume for the spooky festivity.

Like Hilaria, Ireland took to the photo-sharing platform to show how she celebrated the annual festivity. She let out several pics showing her dressing as a sexy schoolgirl with a horror twist by putting on fake blood which seemed to be dripping out of her eye down to her cheek.

Her boyfriend RAC matched her look in a simple white shirt with fake blood splattered all over his neck and shirt. Getting saucy, the 26-year-old model/actress pulled out her tongue and put her face close to the musician's as if she's going to lick it in one of the snaps.

In the caption, Ireland complained that paparazzi are intruding her privacy in the wake of the "Rust" shooting and forced her to stay at home on Halloween. "So we stayed in for Halloween this year," she wrote. "There are reporters and paparazzi hanging out all over my street being super fun and invading all my privacy which is always a good time."

She went on sharing how she eventually celebrated the festivity, "We didn't think we would celebrate, but we found some old costumes and blood, ate really good food, drank tequila, had a couple friends over, watched a scary movie and had 0 trick or treaters.... How was your Halloween? Raise your hand if you went as squid game this year."

In the comment section, some people expressed their sympathy to Ireland regarding paparazzi's behavior. "Sorry you and your father are going through this. Sending you both positive healing energy. If you need help, we got ya," one follower wrote. Another said, "Happy Halloween!! Sorry you have to deal with that babe. Your costumes are amazing tho!"

"So glad you have good friends and could still enjoy the day!" a third fan remarked, while another added, "I'm glad you had fun! So sad that you have to deal with the paparazzi all the time and specially now! Hope everything is ok with you and your family!"

Some others, however, were irked by her "tone-deaf" and "inappropriate" Halloween costume. "How about not this year?" one rhetorically asked. Another slammed Ireland and her father, "Not a smart family."

"How freakin tone deaf are you? Sorry but this is so wildly inappropriate and insensitive. Grow up Ireland," a third critic said. Another made a clear reference to Halyna Hutchins, who was accidentally shot and killed by her father Alec, "Did you dress as the cinematographer your dad shot?"

"I'm completely sympathetic to you and what you and your family are going through now," another person explained their anger, "What happened to your dad was an extremely unfortunate tragedy. But the optics of this costume, at this time, are not good. You should do you, but I wish you'd thought better of posting these pictures."
WENN/Adriana M. Barraza Celebrity

The Kylie Cosmetics founder first offers a glimpse of the gold band on her ring finger in an Instagram post which shows another ring she's just got from her on-and-off boyfriend.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott (II) may be ready to take their relationship to the next level, now that they are going to welcome their second child together. The reality TV star sparked a speculation that she may be married to her baby daddy after flashing a mystery ring.

The pregnant star first gave a glimpse of the mystery band when showing another ring that she got from her on-and-off boyfriend. In an Instagram post she uploaded on Tuesday, November 2, the 24-year-old revealed a matching diamond ring with her daughter Stormi.

After seeing the post, fans noticed that Kylie is also wearing a gold band on her ring finger. She was wearing the same ring when she was spotted out in Los Angeles later that day. In pictures obtained by Daily Mail, the cosmetics mogul dressed down in baggy black layers while carrying a thick white jacket as she arrived at the airport in her custom Rolls Royce Cullinan SUV.

Kylie Jenner flashed a mystery ring on that finger when arriving at an L.A. airport.

The mystery band with Travis calling Kylie "wifey" this summer fueled the speculation that they may have walked down the aisle. However, a source tells E! News that the "speculation is not true at all." In fact, the couple seemingly doesn't have any plans to tie the knot just yet as the so-called insider states, "They are not engaged."

Meanwhile, Kylie's new diamond ring, which she wears on her index finger, features two cuts of diamond in a baguette and pear shape each. The ring is estimated to cost about $300,000. As for Stormi's, it features similar diamonds in smaller size and costs around $40,000.

"daddy got us matching rings," Kylie captioned the photo their matching rings.

The jewelry piece, which appears to be "matching Toi et Moi rings," is said to hold sentimental meaning "because it symbolizes the union of two people," according to Jenny Luker, the president of Platinum Guild International USA.

Danielle Leeann Chin, a diamond stylist at Ultimate Diamond, adds that the ring style is "representative of any type of love and everlasting bond, such as that between family-especially mother and daughter."
Celebrity

The one-third of the funk band died peacefully at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife Linda Boulware-Wilson holding his hands on Tuesday morning, November 2.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - The Gap Band is losing another of its members. Ronnie Wilson, a founding member of the R&B and funk band, has passed away after suffering a stroke last week, his wife Linda Boulware-Wilson confirms. He was 73 years old.

On Facebook, Linda revealed that the R&B legend died on Tuesday morning, November 2. "The love of my life was called home this morning, at 10:01am," she wrote in a post. "Please continue to pray for The Wilson, Boulware, and Collins family, while we mourn his passing."

She went on remembering her late husband, "Ronnie Wilson was a genius with creating, producing, and playing the flugelhorn, Trumpet, keyboards, and singing music, from childhood to his early seventies. He will be truly missed!!!"

To TMZ, Linda said that Ronnie passed away peacefully at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her holding his hands as he took his last breath. She said that Ronnie was put into a semi-coma since he had a stroke last week and he never recovered. He had reportedly suffered several strokes throughout the years.

Ronnie's death has been mourned by his friends and fans, including Bobby Eaton, CEO at Eaton Media Services and a radio host, who wrote on Facebook, "RIP my friend Ronnie Wilson of the Gap Band." Others left comments which read, "Praying for you and the families," "Sending my love and prayers" and "Deepest condolences to the Wilson, Boulware, and Collins families. Ronnie will now be playing in God's choir! RIP," on Linda's Facebook post.

Ronnie and his brothers, Charlie Wilson and Robert Wilson, formed The Gap Band back in the 1970s in Tulsa, OK. They rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s with their songs such as "I'm in Love" and "Shake".

After 43 years together, they retired in 2010. On August 15 of the same year, Robert died of a heart attack at his home in Palmdale, California at the age of 53. Charlie, 68, is now the last surviving brother.
WENN/Instar/Avalon Celebrity

After a video surfaces of the president seemingly dozing off during the opening speeches of COP26, the former POTUS takes the opportunity to assert his claim that global warming is a hoax.

Nov 3, 2021

AceShowbiz - Donald Trump couldn't let it slide after Joe Biden was caught on camera seemingly falling asleep at a climate conference. After a video emerged of the current president apparently dozing off during the COP26 summit, the former POTUS released a statement to mock his successor and air his grievance over things that he has claimed as hoaxes.

"Even Biden couldn't stand hearing so much about the Global Warming Hoax, the 7th biggest Hoax in America," he said in the statement released via email, "followed closely behind by the 2020 Presidential Election Scam, Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2 and, of course, the 'No Collusion' finding of the Mueller Report."

He continued insisting that global warming is not a dire threat as noting, "Biden went to Europe saying Global Warming is his highest priority, and then promptly fell asleep, for all the world to see, at the Conference itself. Nobody that has true enthusiasm and belief in a subject will ever fall asleep!"

Also criticizing Biden for falling asleep at the conference was House Republicans which tweeted, "America is in crisis, and Joe Biden is asleep at the wheel." Piers Morgan added, "Jeez... not the best look when you're trying to tell the word to wake up."

During the opening speeches of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday, November 1, Biden closed his eyes for approximately 30 seconds. He was later fully alerted when a staffer approached and spoke to him.

When it's his turn to speak at the summit, Biden slammed Trump's leadership, apologizing for Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement. "I shouldn't apologize, but I do apologize for the fact the United States, the last administration, pulled out of the Paris Accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit," he said.
BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - The 41st Farm City Celebration comes to Butte County and begins this week.

The first event will be Kids Day at the California State University, Chico University Farm on Thursday. Third graders will be attending this event.

The second event will be the 17th annual Harvest Festival at the Durham Community Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. This is a free event that features kids arts and crafts, interactive animal display, bounce house, Bidewell Mansion tours and food.

The Farm City Celebration Agri-Business Bus Tour and Lunch will be on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at the Durham Community Park at 7 a.m.

This event will tour five local farms and agri-businesses where people can learn about their operations and contributions to Butte Countys agricultural industry.

The bus still has spots available and tickets can be purchased here.
Great Learning, a part of the BYJU'S group and Indias leading edtech company for higher and professional education has launched their Diwali Campaign, #NewBeginning to underscore the significance of upskilling for building rewarding careers. Conceptualized and created by Interactive Avenues, the social media campaign encourages professionals to upskill and give their careers a 'New Beginning' on the auspicious occasion of Diwali.

The ad film emphasizes that while most of us buy new things and redecorate our homes during Diwali, it's also a good time to give our career a fresh start by investing in upskilling ourselves. Targeted at working professionals, the campaign revolves around a young couple who is excited to celebrate the festivities by going on a shopping spree but eventually realize that it's probably wiser to invest on their career first.

Speaking on this new campaign, Aparna Mahesh, Chief Marketing Officer, Great Learning said This campaign has a very simple message - there is no better time than the festive season to think about investing in your career. This is considered to be an auspicious time to make all kinds of big-ticket purchases - appliances, cars, homes etc. However, the festival season also coincides with the mid-year appraisal season and hence, the perfect time to assess ones career and take appropriate steps for future growth. Our campaign '#NewBeginning' aims to capture the mood of ambitious professionals looking to accelerate their career growth during these times. We want to encourage them to invest in upskilling as much as they invest in new appliances, new clothes and other material things during the Diwali season.

The campaign is targeted towards the October appraisal cycle that many organisations follow and delivers the message of need for lifelong learning and upskilling to power ahead in one's career. The message will be further amplified through a contest on Great Learnings Instagram, Facebook and Twitter by asking followers to share their plans of #NewBeginning this Diwali. The nomination for this Diwali contest is currently live and each winner will have a chance to win Amazon vouchers worth 6k.
NetApp, an American hybrid cloud data services and data management company headquartered in California, has appointed Cisco's Varun Parwanda as Marketing Business Partner/SAARC.

NetApp India/SAARC Vice President & Managing Director Puneet Gupta said via a LinkedIn post: I am pleased to welcome Varun Parwanda to the NetApp family. Varun joins us as Marketing Head for India/SAARC and brings with him rich experience in marketing, having worked with leading technology companies

I had the privilege of working with Varun earlier and was amazed by his creativity, thinking, and strong execution skills. Heres wishing Varun all the very best in his new role, which I am sure will bring along lots of success, happiness, and fun, he added.

Previously he was working at Cisco, as Marketing Manager  Public Sector & Enterprise. He is a marketer with experience in building strategy, inside sales, and business development, extensive experience in the IT sector with a distinctive understanding of public sector & enterprise segments. And also proficient in delivering targets, communication & building relationships.
While the global pandemic has bought economies to a halt and massively disrupted businesses, it has also fuelled start-up dreams and we even saw several Indian start-ups achieve Unicorn status during the pandemic period. The times have never been better for budding entrepreneurs to give wings to their start-up dreams.

The Government, too, has come up with various schemes to support its Vocal for Local drive. A case in point is the recent Rs 1,000 crore Start-up India Seed Fund announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Start-up India International Summit 2021 held earlier this year.

Adgully is turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series  START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the Vocal for Local movement and over the next few months will be featuring all local/ homegrown businesses, brands, and Apps.

Anushka Iyer has always been an ardent animal lover. She observed that most people buy pets as status symbols and really dont know how to take care of them. She also sensed a huge gap in education & awareness about pet health care in pet parents. Keeping this in mind, Wiggles.in came into existence to make pet care easier and more accessible to pet parents. Incidentally, the start-up derives its name from Wiggles, Iyers 3-year old Lhasa Apso, who is also Wiggles official mascot.

Iyer has woven her professional journey extensively around social entrepreneurship, making a difference and ecosystem building. Before this stint, she worked with the Indo German Chamber of Commerce and other brands in the ecommerce space.

In conversation with Anushka Iyer, Founder and CEO, Wiggles.in, speaks about her start-up, adapting to the pandemic disrupted environment, enhancing customer experience and much more.

What need gap did you want to fulfil with your start-up? What is the core business proposition?

The pet industry is an antiquated space, with offerings being B2B focused. Our approach is to own the entire customer experience by providing hassle-free doorstep offerings to pet parents for their pets and making petcare affordable, easy, convenient and curated by vets for pets. At Wiggles, we are building a 360 degree petcare ecosystem where anything and everything that pets and pet parents need for their furry companions is provided for. We also aim to create awareness about preventive healthcare for pets to ensure that they lead a healthy and happy life during their life span from puppy to senior and we can guide them as their #PartnersInPethood during this journey. At the core of all of this is education and spreading awareness about important aspects of pet care that pet parents should know. We have recently launched our #BondedByBlood initiative to unite pet blood donors to recipients who are in need of blood and we are creating an online pan-India repository of pet blood donors, which can be accessed by any pet parent when their pet is in need of urgent blood donation.

How did you identify your TG? Did you carry out any feasibility study prior to starting your business?

Getting into this business, I was fully aware that it would not be an easy climb uphill. Identifying my target audience began with experiencing first-hand what could go wrong when a qualified veterinarian was not available or pet parents would self-medicate their pets with human medicines, which was disastrous for them. I have always been part of a lot of animal welfare and rescue groups. Here, is where I was able to garner knowledge about the atrocities that were happening when it came to quality petcare and this helped me establish my target audience. Most pet lovers were found to be in the age group of 15-48 years of age and that was a great number to begin working on our start-up. No business has ever been built without a thorough study about the market and trying to fully understand the pulse of your customers. So yes, I went old school and conducted a study wherein, I realised that there was a gradual shift waiting to happen as pets were no longer being looked at as just guard dogs, but were actually being revered as companions for life. Today, pethood is the first step to parenthood. So, this sealed the deal for me and justified my calling about building a petcare brand.

What were the challenges that you faced in your start-up journey and how did you overcome them?

Challenges are a part and parcel of the start-up journey and I have had my fair share, especially during the lockdown, where we as a team had to cross insurmountable difficulties to ensure we took responsibility and were there for our pets every step of the way by operating 24/7. Right from ensuring our teams were given the protection they needed, from PPE kits, gloves and masks to being forced into production of dog and cat food and delivering fresh food across Pune, to helping pet parents get the medicines they needed at the right time, we did it all. At Wiggles, we are not just fair weather friends, but here for the good times and the bad ones too. At the end of the day, its important to believe in yourself and your team, because there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle out there.

Funds/ finance is the prime issue of almost all start-ups. What can the industry and the Government do to address this issue and ease the capital requirements of start-ups?

We all do better when we work together. Working towards the collective goal of ensuring start-ups thrive in this ecosystem rather than just survive is key. The industry and government could work with start-ups to come up with innovative solutions to infrastructure problems, technical aspects, data storage on the cloud or any other areas in varied departments. Direct grants and zero-interest unsecured loans could be a start for blooming start-ups till they are able to break even. Corporate taxes could be reduced. The government could lease property to start-ups with a 3-month rent waiver that will help in the initial stages when business is taking flight. The government could help promote the business by foreseeing customer demand through its Vocal For Local and Make In India initiatives. There is a place for everyone to open shop and thrive if you can create a niche audience for your offerings. Start-ups should build on that premise and receive financial backing from the government, because ultimately if the start-ups grow so will the economy.

Prime Minister Modi has just announced a Startup India Seed Fund. How do you see start-ups benefiting from it?

The Startup India Seed Fund was announced by Prime Minister Modi in April 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic as the lockdown affected most start-ups. This fund has come as a ray of hope to entrepreneurs as it will help them with financial assistance, prototype development, product trials, market-entry, commercialisation, hiring skilled workforce on the premise that their business idea has the potential to become big and provide employment and training to our workforce.

How is digital helping you further your business?

By embracing digital transformation, organisations have not only met customer demands, but also increased remote working and reduced operating costs. Utilising digital transformation to reduce physical customer interactions, switch to managed services and move to a distributed workforce solution can help companies become more cost-effective. With digital, the organic reach is greater, the engagement is genuine and the speed with which business gets done is faster and propels it further. Wiggles grew 7X during the pandemic by pivoting and embracing digital transformations. Within 72 hours into the lockdown, we launched Wiggles SmartVet, vet consultation via video call, backed by medicine delivery across India. By being there for pet parents 24/7 across India, our online community Wiggles Tribe on Facebook grew to over 15,000+ active members. We have managed to cultivate a sticky customer base by providing wholesome vet approved content about pet care. Going digital creates businesses that are more aligned with customer demands and resilient in the fast-moving digital future.

What were your key learnings so far? How do you see the start-up ecosystem progressing in 2021?

To start with an idea and build it every day requires a lot of discomfort, uneasiness, and creativity. Start-up lessons unique to each entrepreneurs journey are woven seamlessly into every aspect of their journey. The pandemic taught me to not give up but rather take the plunge and persist. You need a mission to sustain you through the dark times  that vision and mission is what keeps you going. At the end of each day, you should feel like you made a difference in someones life. Then, that job will become more than a job  it will become your passion. I also realised I will never be fully ready. The time is always right to take a chance on ourselves. The best lesson I learned in business was that there was never going to be a time when my company would be fully prepared to scale until it simply did. Lastly, it is absolutely crucial that you stay one step ahead. Through the years, we have pivoted many times as a brand. The ability to adapt and innovate is extremely important. If youre able to stay one step ahead, theres a chance to prosper.

What would be your message for the budding entrepreneurs?

Enjoy the ride! Sometimes we get caught up in the black and white of success and failure, that we forget to enjoy the journey. Chances are, if you have created an idea, you will love it. Dont worry about success or failure; just find a comfortable spot in the gray area and work hard. Failure isnt your worst enemy. Its the fear of failure that is your enemy. Follow your instinct and you will be just fine.
The Federal Council

Bern, 03.11.2021 - Vaccination remains the most effective means of ending the pandemic in Switzerland. With this in mind, the Confederation and the cantons are launching a new vaccination campaign to inform as many people as possible about the benefits of getting vaccinated. The first stage of the campaign will be a national vaccination week running from 8 to 14 November with the slogan Pulling out of the pandemic together. Secondly, additional mobile vaccination centres throughout Switzerland will make it easier for people to get vaccinated over the coming weeks. As the third element of the campaign, special advisers will be directly available to anyone looking for more information about vaccination.

The vaccination campaign enjoys broad support and aims to reach the entire population. The Confederation and the cantons as well as numerous associations and organisations are working intensively on ways to implement it. There are three elements to the campaign: a national vaccination week, additional mobile advisory and vaccination centres, and one-to-one information services.

Pulling out of the pandemic together: national vaccination week from 8 to 14 November

The aim of vaccination week is to inform as many people as possible about the benefits of vaccination. The theme of the week is Pulling out of the pandemic together and the focus will be on how vaccination benefits society as a whole. All cantons as well as many clubs, associations and organisations will offer local events providing advice and easy access to vaccination, such as a vaccination night or livestream with experts. Reliable facts about vaccination will be clearly presented in several languages, for example on the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine, possible side effects, the health risks associated with COVID-19, and the various vaccination options.

From 7 November, more than 80 public figures from the worlds of sport, culture, business and politics will appear in advertisements to promote vaccination week. The website impfwoche.ch contains information about vaccination week and the COVID-19 vaccine as well as links to events in the cantons.

As part of vaccination week, there will also be an information and concert tour  'Back on Tour'  held in Thun (8 Nov.), Lausanne (9 Nov.), Sion (10 Nov.), St Gallen (12 Nov.) and Lucerne (13 Nov.). The tour featuring Stefanie Heinzmann, Danitsa, Stress, Dabu, Kunz and special guests Baschi, Anna Rossinelli, and Sophie Hunger will be launched on 8 November by President Guy Parmelin in front of the Federal Palace. The concert events will also offer advice about the vaccine and opportunities to get vaccinated. The number of spectators will be limited to 500 and, as the concerts are being held outdoors, there is no requirement to present a COVID certificate. Tickets are now available free of charge at impfwoche.ch.

Additional mobile advisory and vaccination centres

A large number of mobile advisory and vaccination centres, such as vaccination buses, will travel around the cantons during vaccination week and the following weeks. This will give people who have not yet been vaccinated easy access to advisory services and, if they wish, immediate vaccination. Individual advisory services will be available for people who are still undecided.

Vaccine advisers will also help people who may be looking for a vaccination centre, a doctor or, if necessary, an interpreter. It has not yet been determined how many additional mobile units and how many advisers will be available in the coming weeks, as not all cantons have yet presented their plans.

Cost ceiling of CHF 96 million

The vaccination campaign will cost the Confederation a maximum of CHF 96 million. By comparison, free tests for COVID certificates would cost up to CHF 50 million a week. A higher vaccination rate also produces greater healthcare and economic benefits: on average, one hospital admission can be prevented for every 50 vaccinations and one ICU admission prevented for every 150 vaccinations. Furthermore, additional costs can be saved by avoiding shutdowns, particularly in catering and hospitality, fitness centres or leisure activities.

Low vaccination rate

Compared with other European countries, Switzerland has a low vaccination rate, with only 73% of people aged 12 and over fully vaccinated. The Confederation and the cantons see vaccination as the fastest and most effective means of moving out of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will take a significantly higher vaccination rate to achieve the level of immunity needed to protect the population from serious illness and prevent overloading the health care system. Based on current knowledge, the vaccination rate  for the Delta variant and not including those who have already recovered  would have to be around 93% for the over-65s and 80% for those aged between 18 and 65.

Fragile epidemiological situation

The epidemiological situation remains fragile. The vaccination rate is currently too low and the pace of vaccinations too slow to prevent another strong wave of infection as winter approaches. Following several weeks of declining case numbers, the trend has now reversed. This was to be expected, given the drop in temperatures, the end of the autumn school holidays, an insufficient level of immunity and the far more contagious Delta variant. It is not yet possible to say with any certainty how severe or rapid the rise in hospital admissions will be over the next few weeks. In any case, the current rise case numbers is likely to have a knock-on effect on the number of hospital admissions and the required ICU capacity.

Information about the 'Back on Tour' concert series and how to register:

A press conference will be held via Zoom at 9.00 am on Thursday, 4.11.2021, with artists taking part in the information and concert tour.

Address for enquiries

Federal Office of Public Health

Coronavirus Infoline +41 58 463 00 00

COVID-19 Vaccination Infoline +41 58 377 88 92



Swiss Conference of the Cantonal Ministers of

Public Health (GDK)

Tobias Bar

Communications officer

+41 31 356 20 39

Publisher

The Federal Council

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html



Federal Office of Public Health

http://www.bag.admin.ch




The story that autism hasn't increased, that the skyrocketing number of children with the disorder are nothing new is getting coverage everywhere in the media. AP writer Mike Stobbe assures us that "many experts believe these unsociable behaviors were just about as common 30 or 40 years ago. The recent explosion of cases appears to be mostly caused by a surge in special education services for autistic children and by a corresponding shift in what doctors call autism." I would like to ask Mike Stobbe this question: "If these kids with autism have always been here, but mislabeled as something else, then what did we do with them?" As a parent and a teacher, I can tell you that it's very hard to miss an autistic child, even a mildly affected one. We would have had to provide help for their special needs, even if they weren't labeled "autistic." Why are our schools overwhelmed with so many children with special needs who weren't here twenty years ago?

Stobbe's baseless claim makes no sense in light of the endless waiting lists for services. Pretending that the autism epidemic isn't real is comparable to looking at the naked emperor parading down the street in Hans Christian Andersen's the Emperor's New Clothes and raving about his beautiful garments.

Mike Stobbe dismisses any real increase in affected children. His story is eagerly picked up everywhere, but he never has to prove it. If autism was just as common 30 or 40 years ago as Stobbe says, then where are all the misdiagnosed, undiagnosed adults with autism at a rate of one in 150.

Why isn't Mike Stobbe looking for them to back up his report?

Where are they living Mr. Stobbe? What are they doing? Many many parents desperate about their children's future would love to know. Show us how society has addressed their needs and accomodated them.

Until you can do that, please stop telling us that the autism epidemic isn't happening.

Anne McElroy Dachel is the mother of a son with autism spectrum disorder and dedicated advocate. She lives in Wisconsin.
Farmers have concerns about higher input costs now, but patience might be the key to getting the most out of a 2022 crop.

Antonio Mallarino, professor of soil fertility and nutrient management with Iowa State University, said farmers looking to save on potentially inflated costs may see more benefit in waiting until spring and seeing exactly what they need.

Fall applications of fertilizer, such as nitrogen and anhydrous ammonia, can be lost by excess moisture ahead of planting season, which might mean loss of investment.

What really determines nitrogen carryover is rains in the spring, Mallarino said. Normally theres a correlation of higher nitrate in the fall going to higher in the spring, but no university that I know of in the North Central region recommends profile sampling in the fall. It (nitrogen) may be in the profile now, but if you get rains early before planting season, then we have an issue.

Mallarino said farmers who have drier weather in the spring are less prone to nitrogen loss, meaning those who experienced drought conditions this season may be able to make fall applications with less concern. However, there is still a risk of loss with fall applications, and he suggests waiting.

For those who are applying in the spring, they can wait and see what happens, Mallarino said. Most of the research shows its safer to apply in the spring to minimize losses.

However, there is plenty of uncertainty on what input costs will look like then. With farmers concerned about missing the boat on a price before a possible spring spike, it might make sense to secure what is available now.
One of the four owners of the Club West Golf Course said he and his partners will seek talks
We have now reached the first anniversary of the most infamous political heist in U.S. history. Its a good time to reflect on the past year and consider how it has worked out for the Dems.

Youve got to give them credit, they had a plan going into the 2020 election:

Demonize Trump

Steal an election

Get their chosen useful idiot inaugurated

Fundamentally change the country with radical legislation

And in so doing, usher in a thousand years of Democrat political dominance. I remember reading about someone else who had a similar plan about 90 years ago. It didnt work out so well for him. Is it going any better for the Dems?

The plan was working pretty well until it got to the fundamentally change America part. Once in office, Joey from Scranton promised to pack the courts, nationalize elections, nuke the filibuster, and spend about 5 trillion bucks on leftist lunatic causes. Were 10 months into his first term now. Look at what President Experience and Competency has accomplished -- nothing, zilch, zip.

In fact, now we have the spectacle of the Dems mobilizing for an all-out civil war in their own party. The moderates are fighting with the radicals, and the radicals are behaving like the spoiled children theyve always been. The radicals are even encouraging their followers to video the moderates in public bathrooms as part of the vote whipping process. Bernie Sanders (D, Socialist) has declared that if he cant have everything on his Christmas wish list, he doesnt want anything. And he may just get his wish -- the latter one that is. Their grand plan seems like a distant memory now. What happened?

The Dems forgot we are still a democratic republic is what happened. An inauguration is not a coronation. Our president is not authorized to rule -- only to govern. In our form of government, to do so requires the consent of the governed. That consent must be granted, not stolen. And there lies the rub.

President Asterisk entered office with the weakest level of consent of any chief executive in decades. According to Rasmussen Reports, 56 percent of Americans now think that cheating affected the 2020 election. That number is up 5 percent since April. The number of Americans questioning Bidens legitimacy is going up, not down. That translates to over half of the governed not giving their consent.

And Joes lack of perceived legitimacy is not likely to improve given the storm cloud that appeared in September. That cloud is called the Maricopa County election audit. The propaganda ministry was quick to report that the audit confirmed that Joe got more votes in Arizona than the Donald -- and he did. But that wasnt the whole story. In the state where the election was decided by 10,457 votes, the audit discovered over 23,000 possibly illegal votes and enough lax security that theres the potential for that number to be much higher.

There were more than enough questionably cast votes to sway the election. But unfortunately, there is no way to know who the bad votes were cast for. The audit couldnt prove that Trump won. But it most definitely proved that we dont know who won Arizona. Biden can claim victory. But he doesnt really know, and neither do we. Thats why election integrity matters. Without it, the winner lacks the political capital to govern.

Take a majority of Americans questioning the election, stir in a Bidenesque level of mismanagement, and voila, there appears to be no floor for President Asterisks collapsing approval rating. In fact, Gallup is reporting that Biden has experienced the most sudden drop in approval of any president since WWII. Yikes! Thats pretty amazing when you consider that both Nixon and Carter were post-WWII presidents.

Its so bad that Joes allies have gone into survival mode. Hes looking around and not finding many tribe members voting to keep him on the island. As congressional Democrats see the midterms approaching, theyre suddenly more concerned about their own skin than Joes political success. Joes entire legislative agenda is collapsing.

The days of hubris and grand plans are over. The administration isnt talking about changing Senate rules or remaking the courts anymore. Were not hearing much about nationalizing election fraud by taking control away from the states either. Now Joes entire focus is to give a few handouts to favored leftist causes. Even that may not pass. Even if it does, its going to be a much smaller handout than Joe wanted. How small has his presidency become?

The Lets go Brandon chant isnt subsiding, its growing. The Dems need to listen up -- we will not be governed without our consent. The lesson of the last year is this: It takes more than an inauguration to govern -- it takes legitimacy.

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He currently writes at the American Free News Network (afnn.us). He can be followed on Facebook or reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image: Gage Skidmore

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I love living in the great state of Florida. Our fine governor, Ron DeSantis, has made living with the COVID pandemic as tolerable as possible. He is a logical, no-nonsense man who is unwilling to entertain the droppings of the media or the execrable spin that so many of our nation's politicians place upon the events of the day. I think he will make a fine president someday. But there are times I wish I lived in Texas, specifically the 21st Congressional District, represented by Congressman Chip Roy.

Watching Rep. Roy school the loathsome Rep. Jerry Nadler on the actual meaning and intent of the Second Amendment is well worth the time.

Nadler, buffoon that he is, seems only to be interested in limiting Roy's remarks. But the Texas congressman reminds Nadler and the rest of us that the Second Amendment was not written merely to protect the rights of hunters, and certainly not penned to make the acquisition of firearms easier for those bent on criminal activities, though both may be actual results of the law. No, the Second Amendment was written to guarantee a citizen's God-given rights when confronted with tyranny.

It is not even a thinly veiled truth that for dictators and despots to govern, or more accurately to reign, they must be dealing with a disarmed population. Imagine if any of the nations ruled by tyrants throughout history had possessed an armed populace. The sagas of those oppressors would have been short and would not have ended well for the miscreant leaders.

The Second Amendment is not about hunting season. It is not about firing range target practice. It was written to be a constant reminder to our nation's leaders that any migration from lawful governance toward unlawful tyranny would likely be met with legal armed resistance. Therefore, politicians who disparage gun rights must fall into one of two categories; clueless, misguided fools, or ambitious tyrants. Nadler represents both of these groups. He is an astoundingly arrogant, fork-tongued biped swamp creature, lacking the common sense to come in out of the rain.

Congressman Roy has not been an ardent defender of Donald Trump. The former aide to Sen. Ted Cruz was openly against the attempts to decertify the 2020 presidential election, which were often led by his former boss. He accurately compares his and Cruz's differences to those occasions when Clarence Thomas and the late Antonin Scalia were on different sides of an argument; they may have disagreed on an individual issue, but their mutual respect and affection never waned, and their commitment to conservative themes never wavered.

So it is with Roy and Cruz, and hopefully with Roy and Trump. Congressman Roy has passed the test as a staunch defender of one of our most basic and necessary rights. I commend him for those efforts. I wish he were my congressman.

Image: Gage Skidmore.

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In a most unfortunate series of events, Queen Elizabeth II has waded into politics on the global warming matter, quite contrary to her lifelong position of being above politics.

Her call to action at the United Nations' COP26 global warming summit in Scotland indicates a bad shift.

According to an editorial, likely written by Seth Lipsky, that appeared in the New York Sun:

Queen Elizabeth II made a mistake, by our lights, in abandoning her royal impartiality and plunging into the political fray at the Glasgow summit on climate change. She's effectively thrown herself  and her crown  in on the side of the Green New Deal. And of all those who will be addressing changes in the weather by tapping taxpayers at home and abroad, a money grab that will eventually boomerang on the politicians. We wouldn't suggest that the Right Honorable Mrs. Windsor, as Her Majesty might come to be called if she keeps diving into politics, should have ignored the climate conference. Nor discount entirely that she was weakened by the ailment that caused royal doctors to insist that she get some rest. Nor that she might just be lonely following the death of Prince Philip, who, she insisted, started warning about the environment in 1969. We would suggest that Her Majesty got way beyond her royal role when she declared that "the time for words has now moved to the time for action." And when she endorsed the environmental politics of her late husband, Prince Phillip, whose long ago warning she quoted as: "If the world pollution situation is not critical at the moment, it is as certain as anything can be, that the situation will become increasingly intolerable within a very short time . . ."

It's a heck of a shame to see this happen.

It's pandering to the crowd instead of staying above it and going the way of Meghan Markle. It's not just Markle, of course. The leftist pope, after all, is all in for it, having learned all he knows in Argentina. Even nominally conservative U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson is on the bandwagon, too.

The queen might have felt safe to wade into this issue, given that other big shots are already there and, more importantly, most of the British public actually believes the superstitions about man-caused global warming, too.

But it doesn't make the matter true. Man-caused global warming is a phony idea, as many studies show. That's a good reason to stay out of politics entirely, yet somehow the Her Majesty didn't.

What's going on at the global warming summit in Scotland, which is still swirling with the exhaust fumes of oodles of private jets, is a global-elite power-grab. Not one of those jet-set characters showing up in Scotland cares a whit about global warming  they're looking for power, a means of harnessing the global warming myths to that end. To them, the public is hopelessly wasteful and in need of a reduced standard of living and must accept U.N. diktats and in exchange can virtue-signal instead. The real aim is for the elites to control the hoi polloi, who don't ride private jets, through a huge global bureaucracy. Seems the groundlings are getting too powerful and, as the Duke of Wellington once put it, escaping all "proper control."

Yet it's discordant to get this message from the queen, coming in the age of Brexit. Brexit was Britain's signal to the world that it intends to remain sovereign and not under the thumb of the European Union, let alone the United Nations. The queen seemed to be signaling that maybe letting the United Nations call the shots is somehow better.

The New York Sun cites the queen's mention of her late beloved husband, Prince Philip, who spoke out against pollution in the '60s, as possibly her reason for breaking protocol. The U.K. press noted that she wore a beautiful butterfly brooch in his honor.

But the New York Sun also points out that back then, carbon dioxide was not considered pollution. Actual pollution was pollution. That would mean unfettered smokestacks and trash on the ground, or perhaps ozone depletion  not exhaling, not carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, after all, makes plants grow. Speaking out against pollution in England's "green and pleasant land" as Prince Philip did was always perfectly appropriate. But calling for a United Nations bureaucracy to regulate in the name of phony global warming is not. The New York Sun points out that Prince Philip withdrew his support for the WWF after it couldn't stop yelling about global warming.

Perhaps the queen was striving to be "relevant," the way Meghan Markle supposedly is, hip with trends, brimming with "influencer" prowess, and in tune with Hollywood money and morals. Meghan is all about politics and still apparently wants to run for public office. If Meghan can do it and succeed as Hollywood "royalty," maybe the queen has some interest now in following her path. Let's just say opining on global warming in the name of creating a vast new United Nations bureaucracy is exactly what Meghan does. And if Her Majesty the queen, who thus far has been so superior to Markle by staying above it all, has sadly followed the wretched Meghan, then it's all downhill. Why does anyone need a royal family at all if all they're going to do is dirty their hands in Meghan's politics?

It was a bad move, as the Sun points out, and hopefully just a misstep, not a trend. Conservatives who know global warming is fake are the backbone of the royal family's support, loving its continuity as they do. But if the royal family is skipping the continuity of remaining aloof from politics, all bets are off. The U.K. royal family will rapidly find itself on the path of going the way of most European monarchies  as memories, museum pieces, and relics.

Image: Screen shot from video posted by The Royal Family via shareable YouTube.

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Like a lot of kids, I loved trains. Over time, the train went out of style, except for a few times that I took the Baltimore-New York express on business trips. It was convenient and dropped you off within walking distance of your business appointments.

We may be enjoying trains again, especially with all of the news about flight cancelations. This is the latest from the Wall Street Journal:

Going to Florida over the holidays? Everyone else is. Getting delayed going or coming from home? Everyone else might be. This won't be a normal holiday travel season. Travelers had best plan accordingly. Multiple airlines have sold more tickets this year than they can accommodate. Normal weather disruptions or temporary hiccups have cascaded into major meltdowns because of staffing shortages. Airlines haven't had enough spare crews to recover normally, so customers end up stranded for long periods. Any bad weather or other problems at the holidays could spell trouble for travelers. American Airlines is the latest example of this lack of reserve capacity. High winds in Dallas slowed American last week. And the airline says a lack of flight attendants led to 2,000 canceled flights over the weekend and into Monday. More than half of the cancellations came on Sunday, when American scrubbed about 20% of its schedule.

Blame it on the pandemic? High winds? Staff shortages? Supply chain? Who cares?

No matter what is at fault, you may find yourself at airports waiting for your flight to be rescheduled or, worse than that, watching Chris Cuomo and CNN. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment!

As for our holiday plans, I'm checking out the train routes and enjoying a little time off the old-fashioned way. You can look out the window and see America's heartland. And you can go down to the next car and enjoy a little coffee without having to struggle getting out of those sardine-type seats that airplanes offer these days.

Sit back, put your earphones in, and listen to "Take the A Train" or maybe "The Last Train to Georgia" or my favorite, "Chattanooga Choo Choo." Yes, it's a little slower, but you are on holiday anyway. Why the rush?

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).

Image: Pixabay.
When the Black Death arrived in Avignon, France, a courageous doctor named Guy de Chauliac stayed to care for the sick even as many of his fellow physicians fled the city. He wrote that the plague "was so contagious ... that one man caught it from another not just when living nearby but simply by looking at him. ... Father would not visit son, nor son, father; charity was dead, and hope prostrate." The death rate for bubonic plague rose to 50%. The mortality rate for pneumonic plague was 100% and death occurred within the first 24 hours of infection. Dr. de Chauliac didn't have much to work with in the Middle Ages, but he didn't run away from the desperately ill patients who needed his help, even as the bodies piled up in the street.

COVID, our modern-day "plague," wouldn't even have been noticed in the days of the Black Death. It has a survival rate of between 97% and 99%. Although it can kill persons already afflicted with poor health, for the vast majority, it is barely the sniffles.

No self-respecting practitioner of medicine could possibly justify denying care to patients who are not vaccinated against the sniffles. Yet Dr. Linda Marraccini of Miami, Florida is doing just that  and she was still holding fast to that decision only five weeks ago.

Dr. Marraccini has announced that she will no longer treat patients in person if they are not vaccinated against COVID. Dr. Marraccini claims she is taking this step because she feels that people who are not vaccinated harm other people.

It's true that she has patients who are immuno-compromised and patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. No one can deny that COVID can be deadly to such patients. So can the flu. However, Dr. Marraccini has not seen fit to deny care to patients based on their flu vaccination status.

Dr. Marraccini refutes the idea that she is violating the Hippocratic Oath. She insists that she is following the oath when she denies care to unvaccinated patients because she is still willing to see them in a virtual meeting. I don't have much faith in the notion that a doctor can treat patients through a computer, but that's her story, and she's sticking to it.

Perhaps Dr. Marraccini would do well to ponder the words of the Hippocratic Oath, which states, in part: "I will do no harm. ... I will carry out my art. ... Into whatever homes I go, I will enter them for the benefit of the sick."

Those words would have been very familiar to Guy de Chauliac. He lived those words every day with the threat of agonizing death hanging over him. Perhaps Dr. Marraccini would do well to ponder Dr. Chauliac as well while she's deciding if she really wants to deny care to patients based on fear of the sniffles.

Pandra Selivanov is the author of Future Slave, a story about a 21st-century black teenager who goes back in time and becomes a slave in the Old South.

Image: The Dance of Death from the Nuremberg Chronicle, late 15th century. Public domain.
Somehow, it is supposedly a great achievement that 136 countries got together to agree to a 15% minimum corporate tax.

Nearly 140 countries agree to a minimum global corporate tax rate of 15 percent

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hailed the deal as "a once-in-a-generation accomplishment for economic diplomacy." Yellen congratulated countries that "decided to end the race to the bottom on corporate taxation" and expressed hope that Congress will quickly implement the deal in the US. "International tax policymaking is a complex issue, but the arcane language of today's agreement belies how simple and sweeping the stakes are: When this deal is enacted, Americans will find the global economy a much easier place to land a job, earn a living, or scale a business," she said in a statement.

Why aren't they concerned about all other competitive disadvantages or advantages?

Should China, India, Mexico, and others be forced to substantially raise their minimum wage to the U.S. rate, or should the U.S. substantially lower ours to take away the competitive disadvantage?

Should we make sure the payroll taxes and benefit costs in the U.S are no higher than all the other countries in these agreements to take away the disadvantages and level the playing field?

Should we make sure all countries have the same laws and regulations to make sure American companies don't have any disadvantages?

Should we make sure government bureaucracy costs in the U.S are reasonable and that government workers don't get more salaries and benefits than private companies so other taxes don't cause competitive disadvantages? Democrats always claim they care about income inequality and fairness, so I am sure they will be willing to cut government workers' salaries and benefits to be comparable to private workers, won't they?

Democrats claim they care about the wealth gap, so why do they continually reduce the competitiveness of the rest of the country by confiscating more money for themselves when they are already richer than almost all of us? Aren't they ashamed of themselves to be so privileged when they produce nothing but bureaucracy? Isn't that unfair?

9 of the '100 richest places' are in the DC area

Should we substantially reduce the amounts paid for secondary and higher education to make it equal to other countries so the private sector doesn't have the disadvantage of paying higher taxes to fund this high spending when the results are so bad?

Why do we continually throw more money at education when the achievement results don't improve despite the largesse?

The US spends more on education than any other country, but students lag behind academically. Here's how much other countries spend and how well their students perform. In 2017, the US spent $12,800 per student on public education, which is the second-highest amount spent per student of any country in the world. But when it comes to total spending, the comparison isn't remotely close. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the US spent over $700 billion on public education in 2017 alone. To put that in perspective, you could add up the total GDP of Finland and Vietnam and you still wouldn't hit the amount the US spends on education. ... Among the 34 OECD countries, the United States performed below average in mathematics in 2012 and is ranked 27th (this is the best estimate, although the rank could be between 23 and 29 due to sampling and measurement error). Performance in reading and science are both close to the OECD average. The United States ranks 17 in reading, (range of ranks: 14 to 20) and 20 in science (range of ranks: 17 to 25). There has been no significant change in these performances over time.

Why are Biden and other Democrats seeking to destroy the oil and coal industry if they are worried about competitiveness? Doesn't energy independence help ensure that we are more competitive than if we have to rely on OPEC countries and Russia?

One suggestion to level the playing field would be to reduce the number of lawyers per 100,000 people to help reduce the litigation costs on health care and everything in the U.S.

U.S. 396 per 100,000, Germany 191, France 84, Japan 24, China 16.

Think how much more reasonable our cost for health care and other things would be if we reduced the number of lawyers by 94% to get to Japan's level and 97% to get to China's level.

The reason that Biden, Yellen, and world leaders only talked about corporate taxes is because that's all they care about. They believe that this 15% minimum tax will raise $150 billion each year, and they always want more money. They all pretend higher taxes don't reduce economic growth, but that is just pure economic ignorance.

Chris Wallace, on Fox News Sunday, asked Rick Scott why he didn't want to repeal the Trump tax cuts since the CBO predicted the tax rate cuts would cost $2 trillion over ten years. Why do Wallace, most journalists, and other Democrats still use predictions instead of the actual revenues? The answer is that they know that the revenues have increased substantially, and results don't matter as they campaign for the leftist agenda to destroy America.

If they showed a chart showing how revenues have increased substantially after the rate cuts, $700 billion in FY2021 alone, the public would support the lower rates, and the media can't afford the truth to get out.

It is the same reason they use inaccurate computer predictions to spread the dire warnings on climate change. If the public saw a chart showing temperatures for the last 1,000 years, they would see that the temperatures are no warmer today than during the medieval warming period a thousand years ago, and the public can't be allowed to see the truth.

Fox News Host Confronts GOP Sen. Rick Scott Over Trump Tax Cuts Adding Trillions to Deficit

Fox News host Chris Wallace on Sunday confronted Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida over former President Donald Trump's tax cuts, which were estimated to increase the U.S. deficit by $1.5 trillion over the course of a decade. Wallace asked the senator the same question again: "When Donald Trump was president, you had the tax cut, which added $2 trillion to the deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

There are great reasons why we have the 10th Amendment in the U.S. so states can set their own tax rates instead of having D.C. rates. The founding fathers wanted the people to make the decisions, not a powerful government.

There is also a reason why the United States fought the Revolutionary War to achieve independence from the tyrannical British king. Why would we want to go backward to cave to the U.N. or some other international body to determine our minimum corporate tax rates or anything else? The founding fathers would be turning over if they see how much U.S politicians cave to other world leaders.

The Constitution starts, "We the people of the United States" not "we the people of the world." Trump was right when he said Americans come first in everything we do, and he also recognized that China, Russia, France, Germany, and all other countries should consider their countries and peoples first.

Saying Americans come first does not mean we don't care about others, but we should always be most important.

Let's go Brandon to save America!
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Ravi Teja's Next Is A Pan-Indian Film:- Mass Maharaj Ravi Teja was shattered with a series of debacles. The actor returned back to the track with Krack that released early this year. Krack is the biggest hit in Ravi Teja's career and the actor turned a signing spree. He is almost done with the shoot of Khiladi that is directed by Ramesh Varma. This stylish action thriller is expected to release in December. Ravi Teja is currently shooting for Ramarao On Duty which is a mass entertainer. He also commenced the shoot of Dhamaka directed by Trinadha Rao Nakkina recently. Both Ramarao On Duty and Dhamaka will hit the screens next year.

Ravi Teja announced a new film today which happens to be the 71st film of the veteran actor. The movie is said to be a pan-Indian film and is titled Tiger Nageswara Rao. Vamsee will direct the movie which is inspired by real-life incidents. The announcement poster looks terrific and Ravi Teja plays the title role as a criminal who committed several crimes during 70s in East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. Some top technicians are working for the film that will commence shoot next year. Tiger Nageswara Rao will release in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Abhishek Agarwal Arts are the producers. Ravi Teja also signed a film in the direction of Sudheer Varma which happens to be the 70th film of Ravi Teja.
Posted on: November 3, 2021 6:36 PM

Rachel Parry, Global Relations Director at USPG, to join Anglican Communion Office as the Commissions and Networks Support Officer

Rachel Parry, Global Relations Director at United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG), is to join the Anglican Communion Office in January. She is leaving USPG after 24 years to take up the new Commissions and Networks Support Officer role.

Rachel has said: I am looking forward immensely to continuing to work with longstanding colleagues and friends and to making new friendships and relationships, and to playing my part in supporting the Networks and Commissions which are such a crucial part of the wonderful missional fabric of the Communion tapestry that binds us all together.

In this new role, Rachel will be responsible for actively progressing support for a focus on local mission through the Commissions and Networks of the Anglican Communion. She will support programmatic directors in the Anglican Communion Office to ensure that their work can be more effectively undertaken in the provinces, regions and agencies across the Communion, as well as working with Member Churches and dioceses to support, maintain and grow Companion Links.

Rachel initially took up a temporary role with USPG in 1997, running the annual bursary programme meeting before taking up a permanent position in the Mission Personnel Team. Early in her USPG career, she also studied for a masters in Asian Politics at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. She was appointed Director of Global Relations in January 2014.

The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has said: I am delighted to be welcoming Rachel to the Anglican Communion Office. She will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from her time at USPG, and I have no doubt she will be a huge asset to the Communion. Our commissions and networks are an integral part of how we support local mission, and this new role marks an important point in our journey to better support the work of the Communion all around the world. Please join me in praying for Rachel as she prepares for this new role."
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ROME - The archaeological and natural marvels of the Siwa oasis as shown by the photos of Alberto Siliotti, Daniele Pellegrini, and Arnaud Chicurel is the core of an exhibition opening on November 8 in the gallery of the Italian Institute of Culture in Cairo.



Siwa is an oasis in the Libyan desert located in Egyptian territory 300 km south of the Mediterranean coast (Sollum), not far from the Libyan border.



Between the oasis and Cairo there is a vast, empty expanse of 550 sand-filled kilometers. The terrain in Siwa goes as low as 17 m below sea level and contains several springs, some of which warm and with salt water, and lakes.



The settlements are only a few farming villages where date palms, olive trees, and citrus fruits are grown. Inhabitants speak a Berber dialect.



Originally in a Libyan area, the oasis became part of Egyptian culture starting in the Saite dynasty and temples were erected, including the famous Oracle of Ammon visited by Alexander the Great.



North of the oasis, the 'Mountains of the Dead', Jebel al-Mawta, pullulates with tombs dating back to the 26th Dynasty and the Ptolemaic Era.



The necropolis has both Egyptian elements and Greek ones.



The photos in the exhibition, after the stop in Cairo, will be on display as part of a permanent collection in the Shali of Siwa, which has been renovated as part of a large EU-funded project.
VALLETTA - A group of 49 migrants including 6 children and 4 woman, one of whom pregnant, were rescued on Tuesday by Maltese armed forces' and police naval vessels.



The migrants had been stranded at the foot of a steep cliff hit by strong waves on the western coast of the island in an area that could be reached only via sea near Ghar Lapsi, Maltese media reported.



A video of the rescue operation shows all the migrants in good health and in dry clothes.



The group had probably disembarked over the night directly from a boat onto the Maltese coast.



A police spokesman reported that the rescue operation had been activated after a call reporting the presence of migrants on the coast.



A dinghy was needed for the operation, on which two or three migrants were transferred at a time to the patrol boat far away from the rocks nearby.



The group was disembarked at the Boiler Wharf of the Valletta port, where they were taken in the care of immigration officers.



The pregnant woman was taken to the Mater Dei university hospital to be placed under observation.



Migrant arrivals directly onto Maltese coasts are infrequent.



However, in February another small group of migrants was intercepted along a road that runs along the steep western coast; also in that case the crossing had been directly from Libya, but the disembarking had been carried out along an easier stretch of coastline.


TUNIS - The Tunis prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into a tunnel that reportedly led to near the residence of the French ambassador in Tunisia in the upscale suburb of La Marsa.



Reports were from the Tunisian interior ministry in a statement that noted that the investigation is being conducted under the Directorate General for the Fight against Terrorism of the National Guard.



The statement also noted that, after reports of suspicious activity and having found the presence of a person held to be an extremist near a home not far from the residence of the French ambassador, the interior ministry authorised police to break into the property.



Local sources say that the tunnel, which was several dozen meters long, was being dug in the direction of the French ambassador's residence. However, this was not noted in the ministry statement.
BRUSSELS - The situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where secessionist tendencies are growing stronger by the day, is raising a great deal of concern for the EU, the spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday.



The spokesman, Peter Stano, noted that last week there had been a series of political activities including the visit by External Action Service Managing Director Europe Angelina Eichhorst and by US envoy Matthew Palmer to try to find a solution to the crisis.



Stano added that the Althea mission is important for the stability of the country, noting that the EU will be following a discussion planned within the UN Security Council during which it will be decided whether or not to renew the mandate of the EU mission.



The spokesman for the EU foreign policy chief added that it was not their place to comment on the discussion but that they expected the mandate to be renewed.



The UN Security Council session had originally been planned for Tuesday but it was postponed to Wednesday in the hope of reaching an agreement with Russia.



According to local and international media, Russia - which does not recognise the legitimacy of the High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina as 'guardian of peace' - has threatened to veto the resolution on the mandate of the mission unless references to the High Representative in Bosnia are removed.



In his latest report to the UN, Christian Schmidt, the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, warned of an imminent risk of splitting the country and that there was a "very real" threat of a return to conflict.



Many international media outlets have published parts of the report to the UN Security Council, in which the risks of a split and fresh conflict due to "Serb separatists" are detailed.



The threat to the stability of the Balkan country is represented, the report states, by Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who has called for the secession of the Serb-majority Repubblika Srpska (RS) area of Bosnia from the central government in Sarajevo.



He was mentioned 61 times in the 34 pages of the report.



RS authorities, led by the political party SNSD and member of the Bosnian three-party presidency, threaten not only the peace but also the stability of the country and the region.



If the international community does not respond, this could lead to an annulment of the peace agreement that put an end to the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, the representative wrote.
Police have made five arrests as hundreds of climate activists marched through Glasgow as part of demonstrations around the Cop26 summit.

The protest was one of several in Glasgow on Wednesday, as the Cop26 summit discussed the financial system.

Police Scotland said on Wednesday evening that five arrests had been made.

Two of the arrests took place after a number of officers were sprayed with paint. Cans of spray paint were also seized.

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: Assaults on officers, who put their safety at risk every day to keep the public safe and have adopted a facilitative and rights-based approach to protest, is totally unacceptable.

Setting off from Buchanan Street steps just after midday, the Extinction Rebellion marchers were held at a police cordon on Sauchiehall Street.

Police and demonstrators at an Extinction Rebellion protest on Buchanan Street (Jane Barlow/PA)

The column of protesters turned back on themselves and went along West Nile Street, before moving down through other parts of the city centre.

Traffic was stopped in several streets as demonstrators made their way through.

Several activists staged a sit-down protest outside the offices of the SSE in Waterloo Street.

Extinction Rebellion protesters and police outside SSE (Jane Barlow/PA)

The march moved on past as campaigners, surrounded by police officers, refused to move from the entrance to the energy firm.

Protesters also marched outside the JP Morgan offices in Glasgow, banging drums and chanting.

Scuffles broke out after two men attempted to unfurl a banner reading control the borders, not our boilers and Extinction Rebellion protesters tried to stop them.

Later, activists sat down in the middle of St Vincent Street.

Robb Callender, a protester from London, said police were being quite aggressive towards those on the march.

He said SSE were talking a big talk but doing nothing on the climate.

Earlier, activists campaigning against the Cambo oil field staged a mock ceremony featuring the Queen turning off the taps to the oil pipeline.

The demonstration in the citys Buchanan Street comes on the anniversary of the Queen inaugurating the flow of North Sea oil in 1975.

46 years ago today the Queen turned on the UKs first oil pipeline. Today, Her Majesty TURNED IT OFF #stopcambo pic.twitter.com/o8oqccnbcG  Friends of the Earth Scotland  (@FoEScot) November 3, 2021

Friends of the Earth Scotland, along with the campaign groups Platform and Stop Cambo, staged the event on Wednesday morning.

An activist dressed as the Queen descended the steps at the top of Buchanan Street before reading a speech and turning off a large prop tap.

Caroline Rance, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: It has been 46 years since the Queen turned on the tap: it is high time we turned it off and stopped the continual flow of oil and gas.

If we want a liveable climate, scientists are telling us there can be no fossil fuel developments  oil and gas, as well as coal  from now on.

Boris Johnson, as host of these climate talks, must demonstrate what real climate action looks like.

The protest called for the Cambo oil field to be scrapped (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said an environmental review of the Cambo field in the North Sea should be carried out before extraction begins.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has backed the new oil field, saying Cambo is priced in to the UK Governments plans to reduce emissions.

Rosemary Harris, of Platform, said there should be no new investment in oil and gas.

She told the PA news agency: Any new oil and gas production is continuing to support a declining industry.

Theres a lot of talk about it being important for jobs, but they should be creating pathways for workers outside oil and gas.
Demand for weekday rail travel has recovered to 70% of normal levels for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

New Department for Transport figures show that the number of journeys made on Britains railways was at that level every day between Tuesday October 12 and Friday October 15.

The recovery of rail travel has been slower than that of road traffic and buses.

Latest figures show weekday car use is at around 92% of normal levels, with bus travel outside London at approximately 75%.

A spokeswoman for industry body the Rail Delivery Group said: The railway is crucial to Britains recovery, so its encouraging to see more people taking the train, with every journey helping to tackle congestion and clean up the air in towns and cities while boosting local businesses and the national economy.

Leisure journeys in particular are recovering strongly, but there is still a way to go before numbers are back to pre-Covid levels.

To help passengers travel with confidence, train companies are continuing with effective ventilation and extra cleaning, along with providing value for commuters with the new flexi season tickets.
More than 20,000 people have got into small boats and made the dangerous trip across the English Channel to the UK since the start of the year, figures show.

UK authorities rescued or intercepted 456 people who attempted the crossing on Tuesday.

Some 19,756 people had already reached the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats, according to data compiled by the PA news agency.

This is more than double the total for the whole of 2020.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Dan OMahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander for the Home Office, described the journey as dangerous, unnecessary and facilitated by violent criminal gangs profiting from misery.

He added: We are working with the French to stop boats leaving their beaches and crack down on the criminals driving these crossings.

The French authorities also prevented 343 people from reaching the UK on Tuesday.

It comes a week after several migrants were feared to have been lost at sea while attempting the journey.

Among the large numbers of people seen being brought ashore in Dover on Monday was a young girl clutching the hand of a man as she was led away from the water.

During what witnesses described as a steady stream of arrivals  amid relatively calm and sunny conditions at sea  staff were spotted carrying away a brightly coloured dinghy, decorated with a tropical-style scene featuring images of parrots and flamingos.

Almost 20,000 people have reached the UK in small boats since the start of the year (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

Last week, Home Secretary Priti Patel described an incident in which as many as three people are thought to be unaccounted for after trying to cross from France to the UK in a dinghy as appalling and an absolute tragedy.

Two men  both Somali nationals  were rescued off the Essex coast near Harwich on October 25 and searches for any possible remaining survivors have now been called off.

The soaring number of crossings has prompted Amnesty International UK to call for an overhaul of the nations asylum system.

Chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement: We need to remember that these dangerous crossings are taking place because the Government has provided no safe alternative for people to exercise their right to seek asylum here.

If Priti Patel is truly concerned with tackling criminal gangs and their exploitation of people, she needs to set up safe asylum routes so people no longer need to depend on smugglers.

The Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Tragically, the Government seems more interested in playing politics with asylum than in fulfilling its responsibilities toward people in need of a place of safety.

Asylum claims are no higher now than they were two years ago and are much lower than in other European countries, but the Government has seized on these highly visible sea crossings to justify draconian new policies criminalising people simply for seeking asylum.

Its misleading and deeply unhelpful to say France is a safe country when, as ministers should know, many people who are perfectly entitled to seek asylum in Britain are trapped in miserable conditions in camps in northern France.

We desperately need a new approach to asylum  including genuine Anglo-French efforts to devise safe asylum routes, a major overhaul of the painfully slow applications system, an end to the use of dangerous and unsuitable accommodation facilities like Napier Barracks, and a political approach based on real humanity not misinformation over so-called emergencies in the Channel.
A veteran climate activist has accused Alok Sharma of appropriating their resistance movement after the Cop26 president told delegates you are the new Swampys.

Kicking off the summits Finance Day, which aims to channel cash towards transitioning global economies to net zero carbon emissions, Mr Sharma recalled the climate protests of the 1990s.

He compared financiers and politicians to Dan Hooper, nicknamed Swampy, who became a household name in 1996 after his fierce campaigning to stop new road projects.

President for Cop26, Alok Sharma (Christopher Furlong/PA)

Mr Sharma said: When I started my career in finance in the 1990 in the city, there was a guy called Swampy, some of you may recall him?

He spent his time occupying trees and tunnels and he was the main face of climate action in the United Kingdom.

He continued: But today, the Swampys of the world are all around us, in boardrooms, in government departments, in multilateral development banks and trading floors all around the world  you my friends are the new Swampys, so be proud.

That means finance is increasingly flowing to climate action. Delivering the Paris Agreement requires nothing short of aligning all financial flows with clean and resilient development, and of course we know that the devastation caused by the pandemic makes this all the more urgent.

Anti HS2 activist Dr Larch Maxey says it is appropriation to say we are all Swampy (Yui Mok/PA)

Swampy himself is currently spending his 20th day in a tunnel in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, in an effort to block the progress of the HS2 rail project, and was unavailable for comment.

However, fellow campaigner Dr Larch Maxey, who is currently on bail for alleged offences relating to his protests against HS2, told the PA news agency: Unfortunately everyone is not down that tunnel with Swampy.

He continued: To say we are all Swampys is appropriation, it is attempting to take resistance, to take the truth and commercialise it and commodify it for the corporate agenda.

If only what he was saying was true. If only we were all Swampys  then we wouldnt be in the greatest threat humanity has ever faced.

Dr Maxey said world leaders were still trying to coax and cajole big industry into action, rather than leading by example.

(Mr Sharmas speech) is trying to say everything is OK, folks, you just trust us, the experts, the bankers, the politicians, and your future is safe, he said.

Well, its not  the future is in danger because of their actions over the last 30 years and because they are carrying on.

The Wendover Active Resistance camp in Buckinghamshire where Swampy has been (Lachlan Macrae/PA) underground for 20 days (Handout/PA)

Dr Maxey was sceptical that the targets of the Paris Agreement could be met without radical action.

He said: Sixty per cent of all emissions have been emitted during the Cop era, and so Cop is fundamentally predisposed to try and keep business as usual going.

We are still not seeing enough action, and obviously (Mr Sharmas) speech is trying to coax finance people into action, but I dont think its going to be enough  words to get people into action are not going to be enough.

He added: Thirty years ago we were in the space of coaxing and cajoling  now (climate change) is an existential threat and the science says what we do in the next three to four years will determine whether humanity survives or not.

This is how serious it is, and I dont see many people addressing this with the level of urgency and severity that it requires.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned we are careering toward climate catastrophe, unless we act now as he collected an honorary degree in person from Cambridge University.

Mr Guterres travelled from the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow to the prestigious institution to accept the honorary degree of Doctor of Law on Wednesday.

In an address at the universitys Senate House after he collected the degree, he spoke of the urgent need to tackle the climate crisis.

Mr Guterres said: We are careening toward climate catastrophe, unless we act now to keep temperature rises to the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement.

Current pledges put us on course for an uninhabitable world, with temperatures at least two degrees higher than they were in pre-industrial times.

Biodiversity is collapsing, with a million species at risk of extinction. We are polluting and poisoning air, water and land.

He said that Cambridge University is at the forefront of efforts to tackle these crises through its climate change initiative Cambridge Zero and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.

The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership is demonstrating that academia and the corporate sector can work together to drive transformative change, he added.

He urged people to support a UN initiative to strengthen multilateralism, called Our Common Agenda, with an emphasis on long-term thinking, human rights and a focus on facts and science.

Mr Guterres said levels of inequality are breath-taking, adding: Billionaires are competing in outer space while millions struggle to survive here on earth.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres (right) at Cambridge University (Joe Giddens/PA)

The universitys vice-chancellor Professor Stephen J Toope said: I am delighted that the university has today honoured the secretary-general Antonio Guterres with an honorary degree.

In doing so, Cambridge is also recognising the work of his UN colleagues around the globe.

The secretary-general is playing a crucial role in the arduous negotiations taking place at Cop26 and has been stark in his warning about the risks we are up against.

But he has also given us hope.

The UNs Our Common Agenda initiative is a rousing call to strengthen multilateralism.

In emphasising the importance of long-term thinking, and in proposing a greater focus on facts and science, it aligns with our universitys approach to tackling some of the worlds most complex challenges.

Director of Cambridge Zero Professor Emily Shuckburgh OBE said: The secretary-general has said we need institutions dedicated to learning, critical thinking and pushing the boundaries of human understanding.

We are responding to that by channelling ideas and innovations from Cambridge to shape climate-resilient net-zero futures for every citizen of the world.

Cambridge University Chancellor Lord Sainsbury of Turville conferred the honorary degree on Mr Guterres on Wednesday.
GLASGOW  Mayors from 1049 cities around the world committed to slashing greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of this decade on Tuesday, indicating an increased sense of urgency for urban centers on the front lines of the climate crisis.

The latest commitments to cut emissions in half within 10 years and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 cover cities with a combined global population of 730 million people.

The targets, if fulfilled, would be the equivalent of removing 1.5 gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere, according to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

"If we're going to make a difference, changing things in cities is a huge difference for everybody in the world, Garcetti, who chairs the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, an organization of mayors focused on climate action and mitigating climate risks within their cities, told Yahoo Finance. I think there's a recognition that while nations are struggling to meet their Paris climate goals, cities are succeeding. Two thirds of our C40 cities, which are the 97 largest cities of the world, have met or exceeded on time or early our Paris commitments. Contrast that with just one country, Gambia.

Yahoo Finance and Yahoo News will be reporting from COP26, which is set to begin on October 31 and last until November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. Check out the coverage here.

A horse runs free in the burned out fire area on Woolsey Cyn Rd in the West Hills area of Los Angeles on September 29, 2005. (REUTERS/Gene Blevins)

With 4 billion people  roughly half the worlds population  crowded in cities today, the risk of climate inaction has been elevated for mayors tackling extreme flooding, wildfires, and record heat brought on by global warming. The list of cities who have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint span the globe from Osaka to Bogota to Kansas City.

The risks are expected to increase dramatically by the end of the century, with 85 percent of the worlds population forecast to live in urban centers, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

This year alone, major cities like Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland have faced a record number of heat related deaths while rising waters trapped commuters inside flooded trains in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, ultimately killing more than 200 people.

The structure of urban centers, with more concrete and less greenery, make global warming especially pronounced. Average summer temperatures are expected to increase by 1.9 degrees to 4.4 degrees celsius, according to research by the University of Illinois.

Garcetti said the devastating impact of those weather events, combined with the challenges brought on by the pandemic, have turned C40 into a lab of sorts to exchange ideas on how best to tackle the climate crisis.

I think mayors are very on edge coming out of COVID looking at climate change, Garcetti said. I think that mayors get inspired by each other because we're very competitive in a good way. The old saying is, good mayors borrow, great mayor's steal. So, we're here to steal ideas from one another.

A child sits on a makeshift raft on a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China July 22, 2021. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

Garcetti has set some of the most aggressive targets among U.S. cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Los Angeles Green New Deal calls for all new buildings to be carbon neutral by 2030, with all of the citys operations reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The city also developed a roadmap to ensure 80 percent of all new cars sold in Los Angeles are electric by 2028, just in time to host the Summer Olympic games.

Long among the most polluted cities in the U.S., Los Angeles has been riddled by wildfires that have grown in intensity and frequency each year. Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide drought emergency, with the state experiencing its worst drought since the late1880s.

I think Los Angeles is the tale of two cities: The best and the worst of times," Garcetti said. The worst because we're parched and we're burning. But on the other hand, we're showing incredible progress. Cities can't afford to wait. They're doing more than anybody else. But if you want to be honest, even cities aren't doing enough yet.

Akiko Fujita is an anchor and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @AkikoFujita

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Starbucks has called on employees in three Northeast locations to reject a measure to form a union, following a victory by a Buffalo-area location thats spearheading efforts to organize its workers.

The company, which just last week announced plans to hike wages for its U.S. employees , sent a letter on Monday encouraging those workers to vote down a measure to organize. If the effort is successful, three coffee shops in upstate New York would be the first of Starbucks 8,000 stores to unionize, part of a wave of pandemic-era support for organized labor.

We want you to vote no, wrote Allyson Peck, Starbucks Northeast regional Vice President, in a letter shared with Yahoo Finance.

Theres a lot going on. We want to talk about and connect on the union vote and what it means and doesnt mean for you, because it has a potentially big impact on your job and your store, the executive said in the letter.

Unless you are positive you want to pay a Union to represent you to us, you must vote no. There is no opt out if the majority of voters vote yes, regardless of how you voted, Peck wrote.

Last week, the National Labor Relations Board sided with workers, rejecting Starbucks attempt to hold a single vote with 20 stores in the region.

Mail-in voting is scheduled to start next week, and will run through December 8, with a final vote count on December 9. There are about 128 employees at the three stores that will vote, according to the NLRB decision.

In a statement on Thursday, the Seattle-based coffee giant said itll be reviewing the ruling and be evaluating its options.

We remain focused on supporting our partners as well as maintaining open, transparent and direct conversations throughout the process. We just received the ruling, and we are evaluating our options, the company said.

'Very significant' decision

A Starbucks Drive Thru logo is pictured on a building in Buffalo, New York April 14, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Michelle Eisen, an 11-year Starbucks barista in Buffalo and a member of the union organizing group, Starbucks Workers United, is happy about the NLRBs ruling.

It was very significant and it wasn't unexpected, Eisen told Yahoo! Finance Live on Monday.

With her decade-plus experience at Starbucks, Eisen has been at the forefront of the unionization effort , however, since the NLRBs decision that came out last week shes noticed drastic changes in her work environment.

They have upped their interference by at least a percentage, said Eisen, who accused Starbucks corporate officials of interfering in the effort. But according to her, thousands of partners from across the country have reached out to our organizing committee asking how we got started, what steps they could take in their area to follow suit.

That also included workers high up in the chain like regional directors and district managers, Eisen added.

The NLRBs decision came the same day Starbucks came under pressure, after the company told investors that its fiscal 2022 outlook would be weaker than expected. The global coffee chain blamed rising costs and the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

Nevertheless, Starbucks has been forced to bow to realities of a tight labor market , and announced plans to raise its average pay to nearly $17 an hour by summer 2022 in a bid to attract and keep baristas amid the labor crunch.

Linking it to the ongoing union fight, Eisen called the pay move great.

She added: They are adding seniority pay to the wages, which is something that has come up in our campaign, said Eisen. The timing on that was not great [but] we knew what it was in response to.

Meanwhile, the decision underscores U.S. workers intensifying push to improve stagnant pay and working conditions following years of decline for organized labor. This also follows a spate of strikes that have rocked the private sector , revealing the new power workers wield as the pandemic exposes the strains in a stressed-out labor force thats quitting jobs at historically high rates.

In response, hourly wages at some of the largest corporations  including Chipotle, Target and Amazon  have received pay raises.

In other words, were in a time where workers have a once-in-a-generation upper hand.

People are turning down jobs that they just see as not suitable and a lot of people are re-evaluating what they want to do with their lives, Todd Vachon, director of the Labor Education Action Research Network at Rutgers University, told Yahoo Finance in an interview.

While Starbucks was hoping to open voting to the entire Buffalo market in a single ballot, Vachon suggested that the move was strategic.

It's to their benefit, to include all of the other stores where workers haven't decided whether or not they want union yet, because it waters down the pool of voters, he said.

Even though the move didnt work, Vachon believes the workers have a chance to unionize once the votes are counted.

If the workers in those three stores said they want to have an election, they're pretty confident that they have a majority of support, Vachon said.

You wouldn't want to go to the NLRB and start an election, unless you're pretty sure you're going to win it, Vachon added.

Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @daniromerotv

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of the United Nations is seen on the outside of its headquarters in New York

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The United Nations on Wednesday launched a new finance mechanism aimed at saving African governments $11 billion in borrowing costs in the next five years, while fostering greener investments and sustainable development.

The U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) launched the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility (LSF) at COP26, the global climate conference underway in Glasgow, Scotland.

International investors with portfolios containing African government bonds will be able to approach the LSF for short-term loans, known as repos, using the bonds as collateral, enhancing investors' ability to turn those bonds into cash at short notice, known as liquidity.

This would make the bonds less risky and therefore more attractive to a wider range of investors. African governments would then benefit from more demand and enhanced liquidity for their bonds, as well as cheaper financing costs.

The LSF said it could potentially save African governments up to $11 billion in borrowing costs over the next five years.

"Developed countries have long enjoyed the existence of large repo markets for their government bonds, facilitating the creation of stable and additional funding sources," said Egypt Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.

"With the LSF, our aim is to be able to provide the same sort of liquidity-supportive environment to African governments and private investors alike."

The LSF will raise money from institutions to fund the loans. For instance, its first transaction is expected to be announced in the first quarter of next year, worth $200 million and funded by the African Export-Import Bank.

After that, it expects to raise the equivalent of $3 billion in the International Monetary Fund's unit of exchange, Special Drawing Rights, from developed countries, and could hit $30 billion overall eventually, the LSF said.

It will look to incentivise green- or development-linked investments such as green bonds or bonds linked to sustainable development by offering better terms for its loans when they are backed by these kinds of instruments, David Escoffier, LSF board director, said.

This will incentivise investors to buy them and, in turn, African governments to issue them, he added.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by David Gregorio)
At least six state or local political candidates won their elections on Tuesday, less than 10 months after they attended former President Donald Trump's Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, the day when thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

At least 13 candidates on Tuesday's ballots for state or local offices were in Washington, D.C., for the rally promoting the lie that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Trump, according to a list compiled by BuzzFeed News. None of them have been charged with any crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot or accused of entering the Capitol that day.

Five of the 13 were running for seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, which Democrats and Republicans are battling to control. Three of the five, including two incumbent legislators, won their races on Tuesday.

The House remained up for grabs Wednesday, with a handful of competitive races still too early to call.

The list of losing candidates who attended the Stop the Steal rally included Oath Keepers member Edward Durfee Jr., who ran for the New Jersey General Assembly. He finished third behind two Democrats. Durfee worked a security detail for the Oath Keepers outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, Gothamist reported, but he isn't accused of joining other members of the far-right paramilitary group in storming the building.

The three rally attendees who won their Virginia House races were incumbents Del. Dave LaRock and Del. John McGuire and Marie March, who won an open seat. The two losers in Virginia were Philip Hamilton and Maureen Brody. BuzzFeed News reported that Hamilton and Brody were at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Elsewhere, Stop the Steal attendees winning local races included candidates for seats on the City Council in Nampa, Idaho, the Borough Council in Watchung, New Jersey, and the Board of Commissioners in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, according to published reports. Apparent losers included candidates for county executive in Pennsylvania and for the City Council in Mason, Ohio.

March said during an interview Wednesday that she doesn't regret attending Trump's Jan. 6 rally with her husband and father. She said they left before Trump finished his speech and the mob breached the Capitol and they didnt go to the Capitol before returning home.

Were in a very conservative district and a lot of people do like Donald Trump, March said. He was the sitting president of the United States of America at the time. We went to see him speak.

March, who owns a restaurant in Christiansburg called Due South BBQ, said she was motivated to run for office in part by an incumbent Democratic lawmaker from a neighboring district who tweeted, Who wants to start a BBQ joint in the (New River Valley) where the owners dont participate in an attempted coup?

"I won and he lost, so it's kind of poetic justice," March said of Del. Chris Hurst.

Over 650 people have been charged with federal crimes in the Jan. 6 riot. Several members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, another far-right extremist group, are charged with plotting coordinated attacks on the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's electoral victory.

Trump urged the crowd of his supporters to march on the Capitol, saying, If you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore. The Democratic-led U.S. House impeached Trump on a charge he incited the riot, but the Republican-led Senate acquitted him.

LaRock told The Winchester Star in January that he saw rioters attacking the Capitol after attending Trump's speech, but didn't join them.

I dont know what constitutes the Capitol grounds, but I certainly didnt enter the Capitol, LaRock told the newspaper.

McGuire told The Washington Post in July that he was at Trump's rally but didn't enter the Capitol that day. He later issued a statement saying he had joined thousands of law-abiding citizens at the rally to voice our support of a free and fair elections process.

When I arrived home and saw the news, I was just as shocked and horrified as everyone else to see that people had entered the Capitol. It was a tragic day, and one we wont soon forget," his statement said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
APTOPIX Election 2021 Virginia Governor Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin arrives to speak at an election night party in Chantilly, Va., early Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, after he defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

WASHINGTON (AP)  A brutal loss in blue-leaning Virginia and a too-close-for-comfort race in New Jersey sent divided Democrats in Washington scrambling for answers Wednesday, and calling for new strategies to unstick a stalled legislative agenda before they sustain more political damage.

Republican Glenn Youngkin edged Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor's race, erasing President Joe Biden's 10 percentage point margin of victory just a year ago. In New Jersey, heavily favored Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy was neck-and-neck with GOP political newcomer Jack Ciattarelli in a state Biden had carried by 16 percentage points.

The results were ominous for Democrats far beyond those states. The party's eroding support does not bode well as it clings to narrow House and Senate majorities ahead of midterm elections next year. Elections without presidential races historically mean many lost seats, especially in the House, for the party holding the White House.

Congressional leaders on Wednesday tried bolstering the appeal of Biden's stalled domestic legislation and used the election results to call for action. The two measures  a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and a 10-year, $1.75 trillion package of social and environment initiatives financed largely with taxes on the wealthy and corporations  have been slowed for months by infighting between progressives and moderates.

I would hope this clarifies everybody's thinking about how important it is to get these bills behind us, said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., who represents some of Washingtons prosperous suburbs. The time for kvetching is over.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., lamented that some fellow Democrats wanted to be purist about whatever their own particular goals were, left, right and center. He added, A lot of politics is about timing. And there was a time to do this that would have helped in both of these states."

Three-quarters of voters said drawn-out negotiations in Washington over Bidens governing agenda were an important factor in their vote. Those voters were more likely to back Youngkin, according to preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a survey of Virginia voters.

Rather than swift passage of the compromises on the table, progressives used the moment to urge the party to restore the liberal priorities dropped during talks. They blamed the election losses on Democrats' failure to make the bills bold enough. Biden and congressional leaders have cut in half what was a $3.5 trillion package of social and environment initiatives, curtailing or eliminating provisions embraced by progressives but opposed by spending-shy moderates.

The lesson going into 2022 is that Democrats need to use power to get big things done for working people and then run on those accomplishments. Period, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee said in a statement.

Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Democrats' continued delays on their economic bills hurt but cited other factors too.

I think there is a general sense of discontent, a tough year with the Delta variant, the challenges in the supply chain, the sense that Washington has been gridlocked. We cant control the external circumstances, but we can control getting things done, Khanna said.

After arriving back in the U.S. early Wednesday morning from Europe where the president participated in the Group of 20 and U.N. climate summits, Biden had no public schedule as he and his advisers took stock of what lessons could be gleaned from the Virginia and New Jersey voting.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said they were preparing to add paid family leave provisions to the domestic policy bill. The proposal has been a key priority for progressives but had been lopped out after moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., complained about its costs.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP's campaign arm, signaled its optimism Wednesday by adding 13 Democratic-held House seats to the 57 it was already targeting for 2022.

If Republicans can win in a state Joe Biden won by 10 points, then far, far more Democrats are in peril than theyre willing to admit, said NRCC spokesman Calvin Moore.

Even so, Democrats said much could change in 12 months including an easing of inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic and enactment of their party's economic agenda.

It could be a very different political environment by next spring, Connolly said.

___

AP reporters Farnoush Amiri, Kevin Freking and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP)  The president of Kentucky's Georgetown College has been fired after reports emerged accusing him of sexual assault and sexual misconduct against employees, the small Christian liberal arts school announced Tuesday.

William Jones was fired by the board of trustees after the college learned of "allegations of a sexual assault of a female College employee, inappropriate behavior with another female College employee, and other conduct in violation of Joness employment agreement with the College, according to a news release.

The Associated Press was not able to reach Jones for comment on Tuesday evening.

The college received the allegations on Oct. 31 and Board of Trustees chairman Robert Mills called a meeting of the board's executive committee the next day. The full board voted to fire him on Monday. The college has hired outside counsel to continue the investigation, the release said. Officials

Georgetown College does not tolerate violence or misuse of authority. We hold our administrators, students and faculty to the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct, Mills said in a statement, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. We are surprised and deeply disappointed by what we have learned. We will support the members of our Georgetown College family who are directly impacted, and we will work cooperatively with ongoing or any future investigations."

Officials did not release further details about the allegations.

Rosemary Allen, the school provost, was named acting president of the college by the board of trustees. The school, which is not connected to Georgetown University in Washington, is located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Lexington.

According to the college's website, Jones was named president in 2019 and previously worked as the president of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukraine complained Wednesday that Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops not far from the countries border after war games, as part of its attempts to exert pressure on its ex-Soviet neighbor.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministrys statement marked an about-turn from its denial of any Russian military buildup  as reported in U.S. media  just two days earlier.

The ministry said Wednesday that about 90,000 Russian troops are stationed not far from the border and in rebel-controlled areas in Ukraines east. It said specifically that units of the Russian 41st army have remained in Yelnya, about 260 kilometers (about 160 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.

Russia has periodically deployed and built up troops to maintain tensions in the region and exert political pressure on neighboring countries, it said.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's Defense Minister Andriy Taran submitted his resignation and Ukrainian lawmakers quickly approved it Wednesday. Davyd Arakhamia, the head of the parliamentary faction of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, said Taran had health problems.

Ukrainian media reported however that Zelenskyy's office was behind the resignation of Taran and four other ministers, who were also dismissed by parliament on Wednesday.

Russia has cast its weight behind a separatist insurgency in Ukraine's east that erupted shortly after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and has left more than 14,000 people dead. Russia has repeatedly denied any presence of its troops in eastern Ukraine.

Earlier this year, a massive buildup of Russian troops in the Russias west have raised concern in Ukraine and in the West, fueling fears of an escalation of large-scale hostilities.

Russian officials said the troops were deployed for maneuvers, casting them as part of measures to counter security threats posed by the deployment of NATO forces near Russian borders. Russia and the alliance also have blamed each other for conducting destabilizing military exercises near the borders.

The Kremlin has continuously stated that any troops deployments on the territory of Russia is its internal business.

Russia maintains troops presence on its territory wherever it deems necessary, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters.

___

Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced the nomination Wednesday of Rahm Emanuel to serve as the next ambassador to Japan despite opposition from two Democratic senators.

The bipartisan committee advanced Emanuel's nomination favorably to the Senate floor by voice vote, though Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., voted against it. Some Democrats from the progressive wing have come out against Emanuel because of how he handled the 2014 fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, a Black teenager, by a white police officer when he served as mayor of Chicago.

In a statement, Merkley said, Black Lives Matter. Here in the halls of Congress, it is important that we not just speak and believe these words, but put them into action in the decisions we make.

I have carefully considered Mayor Emanuels record  and the input of civil rights leaders, criminal justice experts, and local elected officials who have reached out to the Senate to weigh in  and I have reached the decision that I cannot support his nomination to serve as a U.S. Ambassador, he continued.

Of the 11 Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Merkley and Markey were the only two to vote against the nomination.

Meanwhile, several Republicans including the panel's ranking member, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, have publicly backed Emanuel for the role. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., who served as ambassador to Japan under then-President Donald Trump, introduced Emanuel at his confirmation hearing last month.

Emanuels nomination could be saved if several Republicans also vote to confirm him when it comes before the full Senate. Three other GOP senators, Roy Blunt, of Missouri, Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, and Susan Collins, of Maine, have also expressed support, according to The Washington Post.

Last month, when asked if President Joe Biden considered Emanuels handling of the McDonald shooting in choosing him as an ambassador, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, The president nominated Rahm Emanuel to serve as ambassador to Japan because he's somebody who has a record of public service, both in Congress, serving as a public official in the White House, and certainly also as the mayor of Chicago. And he felt he was somebody who could best represent the United States in Japan.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is among the Democrats who have urged the Senate to reject Emanuels nomination, though as a member of the House she has no say over the vote.

Before Emanuel, 61, served as Chicagos mayor, he served as then-President Barack Obamas first White House chief of staff. He also previously served in Congress and in then-President Bill Clintons White House.
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YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The 2022 state budget draft envisages a 34,5% drop of funding for the Prime Ministers Office, while the budgets of the Presidents Office and the Parliament Staff will remain unchanged, finance minister Tigran Khachatryan said at a joint parliamentary committee discussion on the 2022 state budget draft.

By the 2022 state budget, the Presidents Office will have a 1 billion 602,5 million dram budget against the 2021s 1 billion 601,2 million.

The parliament staffs funding will comprise 5 billion 992 million drams. In 2021 the parliament staff had a 6 billion 90 million dram budget.

Speaking about the cuts of the Prime Ministers Office budget, the finance minister said this is because numerous projects which were being implemented by the Prime Ministers Office previously will now be implemented by other government agencies. The PMO will have a 19 billion 675 million dram budget against the 30 billion 24 million of 2021.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting on November 3 with President of the Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan, the PMs Office reports.

The first anniversary of the end of the 44-Day War is approaching. Of course, during this period that work has never stopped, but on this occasion I think that its important to analyze the works we have done during this period and assess the situation. And today we will discuss these issues during our meeting.

Its important to record that during this period the government of Artsakh, together with the Armenian government, has carried out many concrete activities for restoring the normal life in Artsakh. Of course, we dont think that what has been done is enough, and we surely must continue the works on this direction, by replacing the assistance programs, as we have stated for many times, with development programs.

Of course, its also important that we hold discussions, and we do that also at a working level, about our future visions on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. We attach importance to the full resumption of the negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, where, as the Co-Chairs have repeatedly emphasized, the final and comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the clarification of the status of Nagorno Karabakh, take place based on the famous principles, including the nations right to self-determination.

All these issues are always in our joint working agenda, and today as well we will hold a detailed discussion on these topics.

Once again I want to welcome you and I am glad to see you here, Pashinyan said in his remarks.

Arayik Harutyunyan thanked PM Pashinyan for the meeting. In fact, already a year has passed, and what did we manage to do and record? The first one is that we have not been deviated from the political solution path of Artsakh, and we continue to keep Artsakhs right to self-determination as a key political solution path, and the international players, including the OSCE Minsk Group continue acting as a mediator, and the agenda in terms of the solution of the Karabakh issue is based also on the nations right to self-determination.

Secondly, I want to state that we already see the first results of the large-scale works, and we will soon put into operation at least 300 apartments only in the capital Stepanakert by the yearend. The talk is about the newly-constructed apartments. Of course, a part of it relates to the pre-war construction, but in addition to this, we managed to start constructing thousands of apartments and will complete constructions of at least 2500-3000 apartments by the end of 2022, he said and thanked the government of Armenia for the assistance provided to Artsakh. I am sure that we will completely solve the housing, infrastructural and social problems in 2-3 years, he added.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. 12% of the adult population of Armenia is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan said during an interview to Public Television.

She said that 28% of the adult population has received the first dose.

So far, 817,290 doses were administered, from which more than 562,000 are first dose jabs and 254,000 are second dose jabs.

We have an abrupt increase of the vaccination pace in the last month, Avanesyan said, adding that the healthcare system in Armenia is ready to administer up to 30,000 doses in a day.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The candidacy of former Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan is under discussion for the position of Member of the Board of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine, the Chief of Staff of the Prime Ministers Office Arayik Harutyunyan said.

Yes, it is under discussion, he said, when asked to comment on rumors that Avinyan is being considered for the position.

He is a member of the political team. And there must be people who would best represent Armenias interests in that organization.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
According to information published by the "Business Korea" website on November 3, 2021, Finland will purchase an additional batch of 10 K9 Thunder 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzers from South Korean company Hanwha Defense. The contract is scheduled to be signed next year and the first K9 will be delivered by 2025.

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South Korean Army K9 Thunder 155mm self-propelled howitzer. (Picture source Army Recognition)

In February 2017, Finland has signed a 146-million-euro agreement that authorized the Finnish Defence Forces to procure 48 pieces of surplus 155mm K9 Thunder howitzers from South Korea. This procurement is realized as part of the Operational Artillery program which was launched back in 2014 with the objective to replace artillery equipment that will be decommissioned.



The beginning of the Operational Artillery program involved examining several options. The request for information (RFI) that was submitted generated responses from a number of countries and manufacturers. During the phase of request for quotation (RFQ) it turned out that South Korea was interested in offering their surplus of K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers. As a result, the K9 became available for field tests in Rovajarvi in November 2016. Having completed the tests, the Finnish Defence Forces suggested that Finland procure surplus K9 self-propelled howitzers complemented by the build-up of a new unit type, namely, a heavy armored howitzer battery.



The K9 Thunder is a 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzer designed and developed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development and Samsung Aerospace Industries for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and is now manufactured by Hanwha Defense. The K9 is now in service with Turkey under the name of T-155 Firtina, Poland using only the chassis with a modified AS-90 British turret, Finland, India, Norway and Estonia. The K9 will also join Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) program starting in 2022 to replace Britain's AS90 with K9A2 variant.

The main armament of the K9 Thunder consists of a 155 mm/52 caliber ordnance with a maximum firing range of 40 km. A total of 48 projectiles and their associated charges are carried for ready use. Internally an automatic loading system takes projectiles from the storage position and places them onto the ammunition tray ready for ramming.

The K9 is based on tracked chassis fitted with a hydropneumatic suspension that consists on each side of six dual rubber road wheels, with the drive sprocket at the front, idler at the rear, and three track return rollers. It can run at a maximum road speed of 67 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 360 km.



The K9 Thunder has an all-welded steel hull and turret with a maximum thickness of 19 mm. It provides protection from the firing of small arms and artillery shell fragments. This self-propelled howitzer has a crew of five, consisting of commander, driver, gunner, assistant gunner, and loader.
Srinagar-Sharjah flight to take longer route, cost more

After the inaugural sortie, there were direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah on October 24, 26 and 28. (Photo: Twitter)

Srinagar: Pakistan is reported to have informed India that it will not allow the use of its airspace for Srinagar-Sharjah flights. The inaugural flight between Kashmirs capital and the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates was flagged off by Union home minister Amit Shah on October 23. He had said air connectivity between Srinagar and the Gulf will help in boosting tourism and bringing more investment in J&K.

After Islamabads refusal, the flight will be an hour and a half longer as the planes will have to fly to Sharjah via Udaipur and Ahmedabad and overfly Oman, and could also be more expensive, officials said. After the inaugural sortie, there were direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah on October 24, 26 and 28.

Earlier in 2009, Air India Express had started direct flights between Srinagar and Dubai. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who had along with then J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah and other dignitaries received the passengers of the inaugural Air India Express flight from Dubai at Srinagars modernised airport on February 14, 2009, said: Peace is returning to Kashmir and with Srinagar finding a place on the international aviation map the region's economy is destined to thrive.

The new aircraft inducted in its fleet by Air India Express had a flower-laden shikara (gondola) on Srinagars pristine glory, the Dal Lake on one side of the tail and an image of a large expanse of the Rajasthan Desert on the other side.

However, the weekly flight was grounded soon after it began operating with fanfare and raising new hopes among Kashmirs tourism and business stakeholders, as claimed by Mr Abdullah, due to Islamabads refusal to allow it to fly over Pakistan.

After the inauguration of the Srinagar-Sharjah flight, Mr Abdullah had tweeted: Good to see the refusal of space usage is a thing of the past.

Official sources in New Delhi and Srinagar said the Go First Srinagar-Sharjah flight has been forced to take a long route after Pakistan refused the use of its airspace. Effective yesterday (Tuesday), Go First has to change the flight path since Pakistan refused right to airspace, a source said, adding Islamabad raised concerns overuse of its airspace.

The sources said the external affairs, home and civil aviation ministries were informed about this, and they are looking into it.

Mr Abdullah had written on Twitter on October 23: Regarding the Srinagar-Sharjah flight that has been announced today -- has Pakistan had a change of heart & allowed flights originating from Srinagar to use its airspace? If not, then this flight will die the way the Srinagar-Dubai flight died during UPA2. In another tweet, he had said: Because of Pakistans cussed refusal to allow flights originating from Srinagar to use its airspace the SXR-DXB flight had to take a technical halt in Delhi or had to fly south & go around Pakistani airspace. This made the flight completely unviable both in terms of cost & time.

On Wednesday, he again tweeted: Very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that @GoFirstairways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations, but alas that wasnt to be.

Peoples Democratic Party president and former CM Mehbooba Mufti held the Indian government responsible for the fiasco. She tweeted: Puzzling that GOI didnt even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. Only a PR extravaganza without any groundwork.
Prime Minister Modi is holding the meeting immediately upon his return from abroad after attending the G20 and COP26 meetings

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday is holding a review meeting with district magistrates of over 40 districts having low COVID-19 vaccination coverage.

The meeting, being held via video conferencing, includes districts with less than 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose of vaccine.

The 40 districts are spread across Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Meghalaya, among other states, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

Prime Minister Modi is holding the meeting immediately upon his return from abroad after attending the G20 and COP26 meetings.

Highlighting the need to accelerate the pace and coverage of vaccination, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had recently said that there are more than 10.34 crore people in the country who have not taken the second dose of vaccine after the expiry of the prescribed interval.
Food and Drug Administration already authorized the shots for kids ages 5 to 11 doses just a third of the amount given to teens and adults

A ten year old child high fives Pharmacist Colleen Teevan after he received the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine for kids at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut on November 2, 2021. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP)

Washington: U.S. health officials on Tuesday gave the final signoff to Pfizer's kid-size COVID-19 shot, a milestone that opens a major expansion of the nation's vaccination campaign to children as young as 5.

The Food and Drug Administration already authorized the shots for children ages 5 to 11  doses just a third of the amount given to teens and adults. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommends who should receive FDA-cleared vaccines.

The announcement by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky came only hours after an advisory panel unanimously decided Pfizer's shots should be opened to the 28 million youngsters in that age group.

The decision marks the first opportunity for Americans under 12 to get the powerful protection of any COVID-19 vaccine.

As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated, Walensky said Tuesday night, in a statement.

In remarks earlier in the day, she said while the risk of severe disease and death is lower in young children than adults, it is real  and that COVID-19 has had a profound social, mental health and educational impact on youngsters, including widening disparities in learning.

There are children in the second grade who have never experienced a normal school year, Walensky said. Pediatric vaccination has the power to help us change all of that.

President Joe Biden called the decision a turning point."

It will allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others," he said in a statement. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus.

The American Academy of Pediatrics welcomed the decision as its members get ready to start the first injections into little arms, which the CDC said could begin as soon as possible. The 5- to 11-year-olds will receive two low doses, three weeks apart, of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech -- the same schedule as everyone else, but using a smaller needle.

Pfizer over the weekend began shipping millions of the pediatric shots to states, doctors' offices and pharmacies  in orange caps, to avoid mix-ups with purple-capped vials of adult vaccine.

Many parents have clamored for vaccine protection for youngsters so they can resume normal childhood activities without risking their own health  or fear bringing the virus home to a more vulnerable family member. But CDC's advisers said they recognize many parents also have questions, and may be fearful of the vaccine because of rampant misinformation.

Members of the advisory panel said they want parents to ask about the shots  and understand that they're far better than gambling that their child will escape a serious coronavirus infection. As for safety, more than 106 million Americans have safely gotten two doses of Pfizer's full-strength shots  including more than 7 million 12- to 15-year-olds.

I have vaccinated my kids, said CDC adviser Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, saying she wouldn't recommend something for other families unless she was comfortable with it for her own. We have seen the devastation of this disease.

In the U.S., there have been more than 8,300 coronavirus-related hospitalizations of kids ages 5 to 11, about a third requiring intensive care, according to government data. The CDC has recorded at least 94 deaths in that age group, with additional reports under investigation.

And while the U.S. has seen a recent downturn in COVID-19 cases, experts are worried about another uptick with holiday travel and as winter sends more activity indoors where it's easier for the coronavirus to spread.

Pfizer's study of 2,268 youngsters found the kid-size vaccine is nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 -- based on 16 diagnoses among kids given dummy shots compared to just three who got the real vaccination.

The FDA examined more children, a total of 3,100 who were vaccinated, in concluding the shots are safe. The younger children experienced similar or fewer reactions -- such as sore arms, fever or achiness -- than teens or young adults get after larger doses.

That study wasn't large enough to detect any extremely rare side effects, such as the heart inflammation that occasionally occurs after the second full-strength dose, mostly in young men and teen boys. Regulators ultimately decided the benefits from vaccination outweigh the potential that younger kids getting a smaller dose also might experience that rare risk.

Some of CDC's advisers said for some parents, deciding to get their children vaccinated may hinge on that small but scary risk.

The risk of some sort of bad heart involvement is much higher if you get COVID than if you get this vaccine, Dr. Matthew Oster, a pediatric cardiologist at Emory University, told the panel. COVID is much riskier to the heart.

Last week, FDA's advisers struggled with whether every young child needed a vaccine. Youngsters hospitalized with COVID-19 are more likely to have high-risk conditions such as obesity or diabetes. But otherwise healthy children can get seriously ill, too, and the CDC's advisers ultimately recommended the shots for all of them  even children who've already recovered from a bout of COVID-19.

CDC officials calculated that for every 500,000 youngsters vaccinated, between 18,000 and 58,000 COVID-19 cases  and between 80 and 226 hospitalizations  in that age group would be prevented, depending on the pandemic's trajectory. And CDC officials noted that COVID-19 has caused more deaths in this age group than some other diseases, such as chickenpox, did before children were routinely vaccinated against them.

What about younger children? Pfizer is testing shots for babies and preschoolers and expects data around the end of the year. The similarly made Moderna vaccine also is being studied with young children. But the FDA still hasn't cleared its use in teens, and the company is delaying its application for younger children pending that review.

A few countries have begun using other COVID-19 vaccines in children under 12, including China, which just began vaccinations for 3-year-olds. But many that use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are watching the U.S. decision, and European regulators just began considering the companies' kid-size doses.
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Graveside services for Dorothy Clarice "Dottie" Cross 86, of Athens have been scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday November 22, 2021 at Oaklawn Memorial Park with Bro. Cody Craig officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Autry's Carroll-Lehr Funeral Home. Mrs. Cross passed away November 18
Designed in collaboration with tuner Hiraku Co and Lexus ambassador, Townsend Bell, this Japanese sedan looks like its ready to tackle the Tokyo drift scene with any given Fast & Furious actor behind the wheel.Visually, its wearing a custom body kit comprised of a front lip spoiler, side steps, rear diffuser, custom front fenders, bumper canards, rear roof spoiler, rear bumper garnish and a Seibon carbon fiber hood and truck. The body itself is covered in a vinyl wrap, meant to offer a modern take on the traditional Lexus spindle styling cues. Its very subtle though and you really must look closely to notice the spindle grille design pattern.What you cant miss are the Rotiform LAS-R wheels with those bespoke aerodisc covers that look like something out of a sci-fi movie. The wheels themselves measure 20-inches in diameter, feature Brembo GT brakes with custom-painted calipers, as well as Nitto Invo rubber.Performance-wise, the vehicle now comes with a custom APEXi induction box, working alongside a TOMS Racing carbon fiber suction pipe and an APEXi N1 Evolution Extreme Quad Ti exhaust system, singing to the tune of 472 hp courtesy of a naturally-aspirated 5.0-liter V8 engine Other highlights include the Shiftpower 4.0 App-controlled throttle system by Beat Soni, a stiffer chassis thanks to the TOMS chassis braces over the front and rear suspension, plus an APEXi N1 EXV 32-way adjustable coilover system to aid cornering prowess.As for the interior, it comes with Sparco SPX carbon fiber reclining seats and a custom Alcantara steering wheel.
Acquired by the current owner in 2019 and subsequently modified to the current specification, chassis number J2A87FVH30234 is offered with a clean title and lots of desirable mods. The four-cylinder turbo diesel, for example, is rocking 161 horsepower and 310 pound-feet (320 Nm) of torque compared to 150 ponies and 245 pound-feet (332 Nm) for the AMC 304 V8.Complemented by a 30-gallon fuel tank and Bosch fuel injection, the R2.8 is connected to a New Venture Gear 3550 five-speed manual transmission. Jeep used this gearbox in the XJ Cherokee and TJ Wrangler, and its plenty strong for this application. The NV3550 is further connected to a simple-yet-sturdy Dana 300 transfer case, a Dana 30 open-style front axle with 3.73 gearing, as well as a Dana 44 rear axle with a limited-slip differential.Clearly not a mall crawler, the one-off Commando had its front bodywork lengthened by five inches and the body shell repainted in light green. A white removable hardtop with a polished roof rack, an off-road jack, old-school steel wheels, 235/85 by 16-inch tires, a spare mounted to a swing-out carrier, YJ springs up front, power-assisted front discs and rear drums, and a Next Venture Motorsports rear bumper also have to be mentioned.Reupholstered in white vinyl, the comfy buckets and rear bench are joined by lots of sound-deadening material under tan carpets, air conditioning, two cupholders for the center console, a roll bar, and a fire extinguisher for extra peace of mind. The five-digit odometer currently shows 90,976 miles (146,412 kilometers) although the total mileage remains unknown.Listed on Bring a Trailer with a high bid of $2,075 at the moment of reporting, this magnificent Commando does have two issues. The fuel gauge that doesnt work is relatively straightforward to fix or replace, but the rocker-panel corrosion requires a bit of TLC from the winning bidder.
kW

MTU Aero Engines, the biggest aircraft engine manufacturer in Germany, believes that fuel cells are able to provide enough power and range to become the main propulsion system for sustainable regional flights. Fuel cell technology and sustainably-produced hydrogen are the answer for green aviation, based on the premise that both of these technologies have matured over the past years, thanks to the automotive industry.In 2020, the company signed an agreement with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), planning to equip a Dornier 228 aircraft with a high-performance fuel cell and a single-sided electric motor with over 500shaft output, and use it as a flight demonstrator for the new technology. In order to achieve that, DLR is building a state-of-the-art test facility, dedicated to the entire hydrogen fuel cell system, including storage and monitoring solutions.The new DLR facility unfolds over 2,000 square meters (21,527 square feet) in the northern Black Forest and is supported by Germanys National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology. This is where the two companies will test the future fuel cell powertrain thats currently being developed.MTU has taken another important step by launching a partnership with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). According to Thomas Frank, MTUs Head of Quality, flying fuel cells are still new territory," which is why its important to begin talks about safety and regulations at an early stage. Together with EASA, MTU is also researching the future certification of a flying fuel cell (FFC) at the same time as its being developed.The innovative fuel cell powertrain, specifically developed for aviation, is set to begin flight tests in 2026, when the Dornier 228 will take off from DLRs research airport.
As weird as this may sound, this is exactly how using Android Auto sometimes feels, as a setup that works just fine right now can be completely broken down two seconds later for no clear reason.On the other hand, some would think that the best Android Auto experience should be provided by a Google phone. After all, its a Google app on a Google phone, and this makes perfect sense, right? Right.But in reality, this isnt necessarily the case. And the debut of the Google Pixel 6 reiterates the same thing.Users who purchased the Pixel 6 and expected Android Auto to run flawlessly in their cars have turned to Googles forums to report the same thing that others have struggled with before: random disconnects happening in the middle of the drive.Others say the Google Pixel 6 isnt even recognized, while some claim the disconnect is triggered by a notification. But at the end of the day, one thing is clear: Android Auto isnt running properly on the Google Pixel 6, even in a car where everything was working as expected before the upgrade.Is there something these users can do? Not really, as those who reported the struggle claim they have already replaced the cables, cleaned the cache and the data of Android Auto, and all the other generic fixes, obviously to no avail.Google is yet to acknowledge these problems, but the number of people reporting Android Auto errors on a Pixel 6 is growing and growing, so theres a chance an official response would be offered rather sooner than later.In the meantime, if youre also struggling with Android Auto in your car, the only alternative is to use the driving mode that comes bundled with the device. Of course, youre losing the larger screen, but at least you can continue to use the likes of Google Maps and Waze while driving.
Built by Toyota Motorsports Garage on a design by the same team, in partnership with Complete Customs in McKinney, Texas, Tacozilla was a challenge, because the goal was to make it look cool but without sacrifice to functionality and performance. It had to replicate the styling of the 70s Chinook and, at the same time, integrate with the existing features and design of the Tacoma on which its based. As Marty Schwerter, team leader on the project says, it also had to not look like a fridge plopped in the bed of the Tacoma.Once the Tacoma TRD (powered by a 3.5-liter V6 with 278 hp at 6,000 rm and 265 lb-ft (359 Nm) of torque, paired with a 6-speed manual transmission) was chosen as base, the bed was cut off. The team chose not to place the camper in the bed but to go under frame height instead, so as to allow standing height inside. They also put in a pop-up skylight in the roof for the same reason, as well as to allow in plenty of natural light and better ventilation.The Tacoma got two more inches of clearance and all-terrain General Tire Grabber X3 tires, as well as a custom fuel tank filler and a second battery in the engine bay. The camper is made of aluminum and welded onto the truck, and fully insulated, with a generously-sized pass-through to the cab area. The interior is small but incredibly well stocked and accommodating . Schwerter says it could sleep up to four people in comfort: you get a double bed over the cab, a lounge and living room with two couches (which can also be used for sleeping), a 3D-printed table that converts into a backlit piece of art, and a proper kitchen and wet bathroom.The kitchen has a sink and cooking area, two-burner stove, and refrigerator. The bathroom only holds a toilet and a hot-water shower, but its spacious enough not to get you feeling claustrophobic. In a build this size, that last part cant be emphasized enough. You also get more storage throughout, including under the two sofas.Tacozilla is small , something Toyota knows and acknowledges throughout the official presentation. At the same time, though, its comfy and airy, thanks to a combination of sparse furnishes, naked aluminum walls, and teak wood flooring  and especially thanks to the hundreds of hours of careful planning and working on it. The back door alone, Toyota says, is the result of 100 work hours.Because of the unique styling and the custom, retro-inspired paintjob, Tacozilla is a sight that cant pass by unnoticed, and that was the goal from the start. Whether youre out in the backwoods or on the street, Tacozilla is bound to make an impression. For the more practical adventurer (after all, not everyone is looking for extra attention from strangers), the tapered shape of the camper means it handles well off-road despite the size.Tacozilla is now on display at the Toyota exhibit at the Las Vegas Convention Center until November 5, 2021. If you cant make it by, you can see it in detail in the videos below and the photos in the gallery. Toyota has no plans to bring Tacozilla into production or, if it does, it hasnt said anything yet. But it should, because thats an incredibly cool build , overlanding enthusiasts are already saying online.
You see, Italy is the birthplace of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Maserati, and the latter company is currently celebrating 55 years since the original Ghibli was unveiled at the 1966 Turin Motor Show, on November 3.The official successor of the 5000 GT and Mistral was designed by Ghia, who had Giorgetto Giugiaro on its team, and has truly aged like a fine wine, if you ask us. The new interpretation of a gran turismo car, as Maserati refers to it, has a long hood, pop-up headlights, small grille that displays the Trident logo , muscular back end, and simple yet extremely elegant cockpit.But those are not the only highlights, because the original Maserati Ghibli was a true intercontinental cruiser, with space for two. In the first years of production, it rocked a 325 hp 4.7-liter V8, based on the knowledge obtained from the one powering the Mexico , which was then replaced by a 4.9-liter V8 with 330 bhp. The latter powered what was basically the mid-cycle refresh of the car, the Ghibli SS, which had a 160 mph (257 kph) top speed, and the ability to hit 62 mph (100 kph) in 6.8 seconds.Named after the Northern African wind known for carrying a great deal of sand with it, the Maserati Ghibli entered production in 1967. Until 1972, when assembly ceased altogether, it is estimated that more than 1,200 Coupes and 128 Spyder were made. The moniker was then ignored for the next four decades when the modern-day Ghibli came to life, but thats a story that everyone knows, so well end this one by wishing the classic Ghibli a big Happy Birthday!
This feature was originally launched on iPhone with the release of iOS 15, but on the other hand, the update to version 15.2 is the one that will bring it to CarPlay users.Those who arent necessarily big fans of Apple Maps probably stick with Google Maps, which right now is the top navigation solution on most platforms out there.But on the other hand, Google Maps didnt escape the blunder that iOS 15 ended up becoming on CarPlay, so users reported all kinds of problems, including random crashes and even the app losing GPS tracking.Needless to say, Google Maps no longer being able to locate you on the map makes the app mostly useless, as the navigation guidance would no longer be accurate.And this is what updates are for. Google has been very hard at work in the last 30 days or so specifically to refine the experience with Google Maps on the latest iOS versions, and the most recent update finally fixes everything. Or at least, this is what it all looks like at first glance, as Google Maps version 5.82 is running just flawlessly without any crashes or GPS errors.This is the reason users should install this update as soon as possible. While Google Maps hasnt provided a detailed changelog of whats included, the new version just seems to provide the most refined experience in a long time, both on the iPhone and on CarPlay.And we all know how important this is, especially because many rely on Google Maps for finding addresses on a regular basis. And of course, the aforementioned errors turned the whole thing into quite a huge mess on CarPlay , mostly without Googles fault.
Already published in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, the text urges voters to contact their lawmakers to prevent approving the bill as it currently is. Toyota did not hold back all its concerns related to the additional proposed tax credit.According to the Japanese carmaker, the incentive tells the American autoworker who has decided not to join a union that their work is worth $4,500 less because they made that choice. To American customers, it says that they will have to pay an extra $4,500 if they prefer to purchase an electric vehicle not made by Ford, General Motors, or Chrysler.Toyotas piece de resistance in that text argues that the U.S. governments message is that unionizing takes priority over fighting climate change. That said, it should treat all American autoworkers fairly, do the right thing. In other words, it should let the American consumer choose the best electric vehicle for them without needing to pay an extra $4,500 to buy an electric vehicle not made by Ford, GM or Chrysler. Ouch...To make that happen, Toyota urges its readers to call their Members of Congress and ask them to apply the electric vehicle tax incentive equally to all EVs assembled by U.S. autoworkers.Curiously, we have not found the ad on big websites or television programs. That shows the strategy Toyota adopted may be a metaphor for how traditional the company is. How many people will it reach by publishing the ad in these prestigious newspapers? Is Toyota focusing on the few who still read newspapers and may make a difference with their requests?Regardless of the companys strategy, it shows that Toyota is not happy about the Democrat proposition. Like Toyota, other 12 automakers also think the union incentive is flawed. Suppose they manage to convince customers that taxpayers should not help unions and the Big Three sell more electric cars. In that case, it may demote Biden to insist on it.
This April, NASA's Hubble telescope celebrated its 31st anniversary in space. Theoretically, the machine could operate for another two decades into Earth's orbit, but it has been facing more and more technical challenges these recent years.On October 23rd, Hubble's science instruments suffered from "loss of a specific synchronization message." This message usually provides the instruments the temporal information they need in order to respond to data requests and commands accurately.Then, two days later, the telescope's instruments encountered another glitch. This time, the error displayed multiple losses of synchronization messages, causing Hubble to automatically go into safe mode and suspend its operations.NASA says that its instruments are in good shape, but after 10 days, it still hasn't figured out the problem. And it looks like we've going to have to wait another week for an update. To better understand the synchronization issue and how to address it, the agency is currently assessing spacecraft data and system diagrams. It's also working on collecting more data from the telescope.This is the second time Hubble is facing challenges. Earlier this year, it encountered a computer glitch that made it go into safe mode for more than a month.NASA hopes that its telescope will be back online in order to be joined by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in space. Unlike its 30-year-old cousin, Webb will orbit Earth at a greater distance (about 930,000 miles/1,500,000 kilometers), and it will be more powerful. It will have enhanced infrared resolution and sensitivity, allowing the space agency to observe the universe's furthest objects.
So far, the German automaker has been spotted putting the Sedan through its paces in different environments, but as of recently, they have also started working on the Touring, which might launch next year as a 2023 model.Snapped in a premiere by our vigilant spy photographers, the long-roof variant of the car had vinyl stickers wrapped around its front and rear ends to hide the changes that will be shared with its four-door sibling.These will include a set of brand new headlights, with a different signature, as well as a slightly revised grille that will, fortunately, wont go down the oversized route. The front bumper appears to be new, and so does the rear one. Nevertheless, the updates at the back are very subtle compared to the current iteration , but will definitely comprise new taillights too.Expect a few revisions inside as well, with previous spy shots showing a new dashboard layout with a curved display, similar or perhaps identical to that of the i4. Some believe that it will get the latest iDrive infotainment technology too, in addition to the usual upholstery and trim revisions, all of which will be mirrored by the full-blown M model, albeit on a flashier scale.In case you forgot, the 3er Touring will be joined by an M3 Touring , allegedly launching in Europe late next year. It will use the same twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six engine as the M3 and M4, making as much as 503 hp in the Competition. At the same time, Alpina is also working on the 2023 B3, which should retain the powertrain of the current one.
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The Biden administration has been privately pressuring the Israeli government to show restraint ahead of a key decision on settlement building in the West Bank, Israeli and U.S. officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: Both sides want to keep this from becoming a point of tension between President Biden, who considers the settlements a threat to the two-state solution, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads a pro-settler party and is under political pressure on the issue.

Most of the international community views the West Bank settlements as illegal, and the Palestinians argue that Israel is claiming more and more land that should be part of their future state.

How it happened: Biden told Bennett in their Aug. 27 meeting at the White House that he expected Israel to show restraint on the settlements issue, and Bennett replied that Israel would build only according to needs arising from natural growth."

But when he returned from Washington, Bennett told settler leaders that when Biden pressed him on settlements, he told him "no," according to a report last week from the Times of Israel.

Soon after that report, the U.S. charge daffaires in Jerusalem, Michael Ratney, reiterated Biden's call for restraint to senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office. He also raised particular concerns about possible construction in the sensitive E1 area near Jerusalem, which could prevent territorial contiguity between north and south in the West Bank.

The backstory: Bennett had wanted to get one big step on settlements out of the way before traveling to Washington: the approval of 2,000 new housing units in the Israeli settlements and about 1,000 new housing units in Palestinian villages.

Instead, a strike by the workers union of one of the departments in the Ministry of Defense postponed the move.

Between the lines: It would have been much easier to approve the new units before Biden explicitly pressed Bennett on this issue. In the six weeks since the visit, the meeting to approve the housing units hasn't been rescheduled.

What they're saying: "There is great sensitivity right now with the Americans about settlements. This is the reason the approval of new planning and building in the settlements is held up for now," a senior Israeli official tells me.

A senior U.S. official told me the Biden administration has been engaged with the Israeli government regarding settlements on a weekly basis since the meeting between Bennett and the president.

A U.S. Embassy spokesperson declined to comment on private conversations but reiterated a call for "all parties to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution. That includes settlement activity."

The Prime Minister's Office also said it wouldn't comment on private conversations with U.S. officials.

The issue also requires a balancing act from Biden, who is committed to a two-state solution but will also want to avoid a public fight on the issue like the one between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu  particularly as Bennett's government remains unstable and Netanyahu is waiting in the wings as opposition leader.

What to watch: It's unclear when the committee that approves settlement building will be convened or whether Bennett will decrease the number of housing units up for approval.
The Biden administration has asked the Israeli government to use its close relations with Sudans coup leader and de facto president, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to urge the military to restore the civilian government.

Why it matters: Burhan has been central to the Israel-Sudan normalization process over the last two years. He and other Sudanese generals have been coordinating with contacts in the Israeli national security council and Mossad intelligence agency.

While all Western governments condemned the military takeover, Israel has been silent so far  strengthening the perception in Sudan and in Washington that the Israelis are backing Burhan and the military.

Driving the news: Last week, Blinken raised the situation in Sudan in a call with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

According to Israeli and U.S. officials, Blinken asked that Israel encourage the Sudanese military to end the coup.

Gantz doesn't hold the Sudan file, but the Biden administration's message was also passed to officials in the Israeli Prime Ministers Office and Foreign Ministry.

Behind the scenes: Two weeks before the coup, a Sudanese military delegation visited Israel and held talks with officials at the Prime Ministers Office and the Mossad.

The Sudanese officers gave a briefing about the political crisis in the country but offered no indication they were planning a coup, Israeli officials say.

Earlier this week, a Mossad delegation visited Khartoum and met Sudanese military officials. Israeli officials say it was just a fact-finding mission and that the meetings were not with Burhan but with lower-level officials.

What they're saying: U.S. envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman said in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday that Burhan and his supporters in the military hijacked and betrayed the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people.

Feltman called on Burhan to release Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok from house arrest and restore the civilian government.

The world is watching. The military cant choose its civilian partners in the transitional government. They need to work together," Feltman said.

Whats next: The Biden administration made it clear to the Israelis that the normalization process with Sudan wont be able to continue amid the current instability in the country, a senior U.S. official told me.
Siradeghian was one of the leaders of a popular movement for Armenias unification with Nagorno-Karabakh who came to power in 1990. He became one of the newly independent countrys most powerful men when serving as interior minister in the administration of its first President Levon Ter-Petrosian from 1992-1996.

One year after Ter-Petrosian resigned in 1998, Siradeghian was charged with ordering a string of contract killings. He strongly denied ordering those killings, saying that the charges were fabricated as part of then President Robert Kocharians efforts to neutralize his political foes.

Siradeghian fled Armenia in 2000 ahead of the Armenian parliaments decision to allow law-enforcement authorities to arrest him. Although the authorities had Siradeghian placed on Interpols wanted list, his whereabouts always remained unknown to the public.

The death of the 74-year-old Siradeghian was announced by his wife and son on October 16. They did not specify its cause or reveal his last place of residence.

The Armenian government decided afterwards to form a commission that will organize his funeral. The commission is headed by the chief of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians staff, Arayik Harutiunian, and comprises senior government officials, a deputy chief of the Armenian police as well as Siradeghians son Khachatur.

The latter told RFE/RLs Armenian Service that his fathers body has still not been brought back to the country. He did not give any reasons for the apparent delay or possible dates for Siradeghians funeral.

Harutiunian declined to give any information when he spoke with journalists on Wednesday.

Siradeghian lived abroad under a new and false name, according to Khachatur Sukiasian, a wealthy businessman and pro-government parliamentarian who has long been close to the ex-minister.

This is why, Sukiasian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service last month, repatriating his body is now fraught with some difficulties. There are technical and legal issues, he said.

Throughout his exile Siradeghian continued to enjoy the strong backing of Ter-Petrosian and members of the ex-presidents entourage. Ter-Petrosians Armenian National Congress (HAK) party has urged the Armenian authorities to allow Siradeghians family to bury him at the National Pantheon in Yerevan.
Erika Olson, the newly appointed deputy assistant secretary of state for Southern Europe and the Caucasus, arrived in Yerevan on Tuesday on the first leg of her tour of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The State Department said she will promote regional cooperation and discuss bilateral issues.

Olson was also due to participate in Yerevan in an annual meeting of the U.S. ambassadors to the three South Caucasus states joined by Andrew Schofer, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, and a senior official from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The diplomats accompanied her during her talks with Pashinian.

An Armenian government statement on the meeting said Pashinian discussed with the U.S. officials processes taking place in the South Caucasus, prospects for a Karabakh settlement and the Minsk Groups peace efforts.

It said he also briefed them on Russian-led efforts to forge transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan and facilitate a demarcation of their volatile border.

According to the statement, Olson reaffirmed Washingtons readiness to contribute to a comprehensive solution of the Karabakh conflict and help to resolve humanitarian issues such as the release of Armenian prisoners still held by Azerbaijan.

The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Lynne Tracy, has repeatedly said that the conflict remains unresolved after last years Armenian-Azerbaijani war. We do not see the status of Nagorno-Karabakh as having been resolved, Tracy insisted on September 13.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemned those remarks. It echoed President Ilham Aliyevs claims that Azerbaijans victory in the six-week war put an end to the conflict.

Olson met on Tuesday with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian. The latter is a co-chairman of a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani task force dealing with practical modalities of opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani border to cargo shipments.

The government statement said that democratic reforms in Armenia were also on the agenda of Pashinians talks with Olson. It said the prime minister praised the United States for continuing to support those reforms.
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Two men died after being exposed to hazardous materials at a truck wash in Avondale back in August. An APS worker lost his life during an underground explosion in downtown Phoenix in 2019.

According to workman's comp attorney Matt Fendon, on-the-job accidents are a serious problem in Arizona. "There's a lot more than people realize," said Fendon. "We talk to maybe 30-35 people a day with new cases potentially, so it's very prevalent, very common here in the Valley."

On Monday, two men had to be rescued from a ditch at a construction site in North Scottsdale, and a man was crushed under a manufactured home in Buckeye on Tuesday. The incidents all raise concerns about how safe employees are on their job.

Man severely injured after manufactured home falls on him in Buckeye Police say the victim's coworkers were able to life the home off of him.

Jessie Atencio is director of Arizona's Dept. Occupational Safety & Health. The state agency provides free consultation and training to businesses to help them better protect employees.

"They can call and say, hey, I'm a baker, and I'd like to have somebody come in and evaluate my programs and how my business is running from a safety standpoint," said Atencio. "If there's anything you can provide to be better going forward, we'd love to see that."

Workers are encouraged to call in anonymously or file a complaint with OSHA online if they see any safety concerns at their place of employment. And if they're injured, they need to know what to do next.

Firefighters rescue 2 from trench in Scottsdale Crews rescued two workers who got stuck in a trench at a construction site in Scottsdale Monday morning.

"One thing I see all the time is people don't go to the doctor right away," said Fendon. "They don't report an injury right away to the employer or Industrial Commission governing agency in charge of workers comp. The problem with that is, it puts the injured worker behind the eight ball because a lot of insurance companies use this as a reason to deny claims."

For more details on filing a workplace complaint, visit azcia.gov.
Robert Fisher, the Scottsdale man accused of killing his family before blowing up his home in 2001, has been taken off the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List and replacing him with the alleged MS-13 leader for all of Honduras.
"You think, 'Oh, I'll do that when I retire,' but we're probably not going to make it for him to retirement age, so we're doing it now, and we're enjoying it."
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Republicans have won at least 50 seats in the Virginia House, ensuring at least a tie with Democrats who had fought to retain control
Preliminary voting totals show strong support for collective bargaining for two local Professional Firefighters Associations.

The election still has to be certified, but the landslide of votes in favor likely mean the outcome wont change.

Voters approval means Port Neches Local No. 3713 and Groves Local No. 1905 - the last two unions in the region that did not previously have a collective bargaining agreement - can establish their very first contract between the firefighters and the city. Provisions up for negotiation could include wages, hours, fringe benefits, discipline, health and safety and other working conditions.

In Groves, preliminary voting totals on Tuesday night showed 84.05 % for and 15.95% against proposition A for collective bargaining out of a total of 1,091 votes. In Port Neches, preliminary voting totals showed 82.35 % for and 17.65% against Proposition A out of a total of 799 votes. By the end of the

We want to thank everyone who signed our petitions, voted for us, put signs at their businesses and homes, President Groves Local 1905 Haden Grove said in a statement to The Enterprise. We would like to thank the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters), TSAFF (Texas State Association of Fire Fighters), and all of the other Locals across the state for their help. We strive to give our all for our citizens and early voting showed that they repaid us. Extremely grateful!

Related: Mid-County firefighters seek collective bargaining

Totals also favored binding arbitration, which would settle any labor management disputes. The association previously said the provision would include a neutral third party or panel that holds a formal hearing, takes testimony and renders a verdict.

In Groves, preliminary voting totals showed 84.1% of 1,088 total votes for and 15.9% against Proposition B for binding arbitration. In Port Neches, preliminary voting showed 81.01% of 795 total votes and 18.99% against Proposition B .

We would like to thank our citizens for the approval and helping us gain a voice to negotiate for our benefits and working conditions, IAFF Local 3713 President Tyler Hebert said. We put a lot of work into what has been going on to prepare for this election and we are indebted to the citizens for their support.

We will always continue to deliver excellent service to our citizens and the city of Port Neches and all of our response area, and serve with pride a community that is rich with traditions and supporting workers and education, he continued. Again, we wanted to say thank you to all of the citizens for supporting us and allowing us to have a voice to be heard.

The passed propositions mean local associations will soon meet with the international and state associations of firefighters to collaborate on building the first contract, Hebert said.

The next step would be to gather resources and collaborate with other locals in the area to figure out what would work best for our local, Hebert said. Hopefully within the next year we are going to be gathering information to start building up things we are wanting to be in our contracts through collaborations with other locals in our area that are similar size cities and unions so we can bounced off of their ideas.

Both associations advocated for hundreds of signatures in the months leading up to the election so collective bargaining and binding arbitration could be added to the ballot.

It's all been the citizens giving us their blessing to be able to get our voice heard with our city, Hebert said.

The association presidents previously said approval would not result in a tax rate increase, and the public servants would not be able to strike or get locked out. Instead, the contract would give workers a voice on matters that directly affect employment, which the association said could help retain and recruit experienced and talented firefighters.

Out of 146,535 registered voters in Jefferson County, only 6.57% of voters turned out to the polls to cast a total of 9,628 ballots for the Constitutional Amendment and Joint Election on Nov. 2.

meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/megzmagpie
More than 600 locked out ExxonMobil workers have again taken their fight on the road, this time to county government.

Hardly a seat was left Tuesday morning as unionized workers, some of whom were wearing red United Steelworker T-shirts and Polos, filled row after row of the Jefferson County Commissioners Courtroom to formally bring their case before the bench.

Were not on strike. ExxonMobil locked us out of our jobs, Meekie Moseley, Vice President of United Steelworkers 13-243 and an A operator at the blending and packaging plant, said while standing at a podium before the elected leaders. Our members reported to work, only to have the company escort us out of the facility and lock the gates. But those gates represent stability for over 600 families.

Thats more than financial stability, he said. Its access to quality health care. Its peace of mind.

We have worked through hurricanes, floods and freezes to ensure safe and profitable operations, he said.

We stayed on site through hurricanes even as our families were being evacuated.

We kept the power running at ExxonMobil even as our families were home in the dark.

Leslie Garza, a worker in the plant and chairwoman of Women of Steel who attended the Comissioners Court meeting, recalled driving to work in the middle of Hurricane Imelda because she had to be there, no matter what.

I was stuck on I-10 for nine hours because it was flooded out, she said. Just trying to make it to my job because Im essential personnel. That was me. That was my safety. We sat there, no food, no where to use facilities.

They dont want wage increases. They want a safe work environment, Garza and many others said. They want a work environment where seasoned employees are retained in leadership positions. And so they came to ask the Commisioners Court to do something, to help them negotiate more effectively with the executives.

And it seems that plea was heard.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Everette Bo Alfred invited the workers to come talk to him. He said he already has met with company leadership.

My role is to find out from (the plant-workers) angle what is going on, he said.

I just want to see if we can get to some way to move this thing ahead, because it is hurting people in our community and it is hurting the image of our community.

At the same time, Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said he met with company leadership. He said he hopes that the parties will reach a resolution soon for the sake of involved families.

I talked to the company on Wednesday, and Ive just impressed upon them my desire that some kind of resolution be reached, and Im hopeful that everybodys going to bargain in good faith, and then theyre going to make some headway, Branick said.

ExxonMobil on multiple occasions has said it has bargained in good faith since the parties started negotiating in January.

Weve had over 40 meetings with the USW as it relates to contract negotiations. The company presented fair offers, but the USW rejected all of them, said Nakisha Burns, Beaumont Area Public and Government Affairs Manager.

Over 120 days have passed since the initiation of the lockout, and the Union has not presented an offer that came close to meeting the companys objectives.

Nonetheless, it remains the sincere hope of each and every member of Management that the USW Local 13-243 Bargaining Committee will accept our offer and hold a membership vote.

And while locked out workers were calling on the county to help with negotiations, the company on Thursday presented a graphic on social media explaining the process they are considering for ending the lockout.

According to their information, the company would need a ratified contract approved by voting union members before it would end the lockout.

The company has previously said it initiated the lockout in May to avoid the potential of union members exercising their right to walk out on short notice after strike action was authorized by the USW earlier in the negotiation process.

Staff writer Jacob Dick contributed to this report.

rachel.kersey@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/ontheREKord
DEDHAM, Mass. (AP)  A Massachusetts man who prosecutors say threw a punch during a fight outside an American Legion that led to the death of another man post nearly three years ago was convicted Tuesday of involuntary manslaughter.

The Norfolk Superior Court jury deliberated for more than a day after a weeklong trial before finding Matthew Potter guilty in the death in January 2019 of Chris McCallum, The Patriot Ledger reported.
A former security guard was sentenced to at least 50 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to fatally stabbing a Timberland marketing director at the outerwear company's New Hampshire headquarters last year.

Eight family members of Catherine Cassie" Heppner told the court how much they have missed her since her death on Feb. 9, 2020.

I know Ill never fully understand the pain Ive caused, Robert Pavao, 22, said in a written statement that was read in court by his lawyer as he sat shackled with his head lowered.

I'm sorry from all my soul taking away one of your loved ones," Pavao's statement said. I can't imagine losing a sister, a mother, or a wife ... I hope one day I can be forgiven for what I've done."

Heppner, 46, had worked for Timberland for over 13 years and was considered a high performing talent with the potential to lead the company's global marketing operation in the future," according to a statement from a vice president of human resources.

Heppner had gone into the office on a Sunday afternoon to retrieve some product samples and finish up a presentation for a planned business trip to Dallas the next day. She needed access to a storage closet, but it was locked. Pavao, who was working that day, had the key.

Security camera footage shows both Heppner and Pavao going into the closet, and that Pavao closes the door at one point. After a half hour, Pavao is seen leaving the closet. Prosecutors said he was covered in blood. He called his mother and sister, said he had blacked out, and they told him to call 911.

Pavao, formerly of Berwick, Maine, originally was charged with both first- and second-degree murder and had pleaded not guilty to killing Heppner at the Stratham-based company.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Wednesday as part of a negotiated plea deal with prosecutors. The terms called for a prison sentence of 55 years to life, with five years of the sentence deferred for 20 years on conditions. A first-degree conviction would have called for a life sentence without the chance for parole.

A lawsuit filed in federal court against Securitas by Michael Cormier, Heppners husband, says that the company negligently hired Pavao, despite alleged red flags about his psychological state. It said he allegedly used marijuana and psychedelic drugs at work, and allegedly had mental breakdowns at work that went unreported by a supervisor.

In its response, Securitas said it bears no responsibility for Heppners death. Securitas said it didnt cut any corners in hiring Pavao, and that it didnt receive any reports concerning him and the alleged drug use. Securitas also said no employee reported any troubling information about Pavao.

Nothing at Wednesdays hearing was discussed about Pavaos state of mind at the time. Much of the hearing was devoted to family members who wrote and spoke of Heppner's infectious laugh, her work ethic and her kindness.

I feel sad that I will not be able to see Mom again," Heppner's 10-year-old son, Jack, said in a statement read by a family member. I can no longer ski with Mom, which is something that we did together since I was barely walking. I can no longer go to the lake with Mom. I miss the days hiking at Sunday River with Mom," a ski resort in Newry, Maine.

When asked what he'd like to see happen to the person who took his mom's life, Jack wrote, I think he should be in jail for the rest of his life so he cannot hurt anyone else."

Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Daniel St. Hilaire called what happened a senseless and brutal act," and said to Pavao, I don't know why you did what you did. Nobody will ever know."

He said Heppner's family came to court to express their remorse, anger, and hurt.

I want you to keep their words in mind for the rest of your life," he said.
Pandemic policies were put to the test Tuesday in several states where ballot measures sought to rebuke or affirm actions taken by officials trying to fight COVID-19.

The virus-related measures were among two dozen ballot proposals in six states that also include new constitutional rights for residents to grow their own food or enjoy clean air and water.

In Texas, one constitutional amendment would prohibit governments from limiting religious services. Its a backlash to public health orders in some large cities and counties that restricted the number of people who could gather indoors at the onset of the pandemic.

Another Texas amendment would create a constitutional right for residents in nursing homes and other group-living facilities to designate an essential caregiver, who could continue to visit even if the general public is barred from the facility. The amendment would add heft to a similar law enacted earlier this year in Texas.

Both of the propositions  Proposition 3 and Proposition 6, respectively  were passing Tuesday evening with about 46% of polling locations reporting, according to the Texas Secretary of State. Proposition 3 was drawing about 64.7% of the votes in favor, while Proposition 6 was reporting a commanding 87.9% of the votes in favor.

Like his counterparts elsewhere, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott barred nursing homes from admitting visitors as COVID-19 cases surged in facilities last year. The precaution, which lasted for months, was intended to save lives. It also left elderly residents unable to connect with family and friends.

Besides the tragedy of very sick people and death, the saddest story that we heard from our constituents was the fact that they could not see their mother, their father, their grandfather, their grandmother, their aunt, uncle, brother or sister in the nursing homes, said Texas state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Republican who sponsored the amendment. It was just something that really just tore at our hearts.

Those also were two of three issues that brought many Jefferson County residents to the polls on Tuesday.

Some of the propositions mean our taxes will go up, and I'm a senior citizen, said one Beaumont resident who only wished to be identified as Judy. I don't need that.

You reach a certain age, and your income doesnt rise anymore, said Jerry Boudreaux, an elderly Beaumont resident. I dont want to see my taxes keep going up. Its that simple.

And with that, he walked off but doubled back with a raised finger.

Oh, and the church, he said. Nobody can tell me I cant go to church.

Boudreaux was not the first, nor the last, to emphasize the importance of being able to attend church without interference from the government. Michael Cooper, pastor of The Church of I Am in Beaumont, was at the polls Tuesday to make his voice heard about, amongst other things, church policies.

We have to have good, common-sense governing, he said. The pandemic didn't break out all across Texas at the same level. Some areas were hotspots, some areas were not. What the government is doing right now is an overreach of our rights.

While Cooper takes issue with government-mandated shut-downs of churches, he also thinks forcing schools to stay open during a pandemic surge against the wishes of district superintendents or saying school districts cannot mandate masks is taking governance too far. In his opinion, these sorts of decisions should be left to local leaders, not state leaders. He expects the same respect for churches.

Most churches I know closed during the pandemic, he said. But it should be their choice.

Judy spoke of how her congregation met in their cars in the parking lot after the shut-down. Tiffany Barnaby, a 21-year old Beaumont resident, said her church transitioned to online services. Regardless of how they reconfigured, the right to worship is a big deal to many southeast Texans.

I feel like during this whole situation, it was seen as not a necessity, and for a lot of people, it is a necessity  to be able to gather with like-minded people and worship God, Barnaby said. During the pandemic, obviously nobody wanted to spread it. That was so important  to have the freedom to be like, No, this is our right to be able to practice our religion and to be able to go and meet together.

Judy never got the virus, she said. She limited her visits and gatherings, wore her mask and kept her hands clean in accordance with CDC guidelines. Beyond that, she said restrictions felt like an intrusion on a sacred way of life.

Weve got to get this country back to what it was, she said.

That is sending the message to folks that they're still keeping this church and state separate, Cooper said. You have to decide what it is that you want to stand for.

Heres how the rest of the propositions looked late Tuesday evening with 46% of polling locations reporting:

Proposition 1, which allows raffles at rodeos, was passing by a margin of over 80%. Similar raffles are already allowed by state law at other professional sporting events.

Proposition 2, which would allow counties to initiate bonding projects  as cities and towns can  was also passing with over 60% of the vote.

Proposition 4 would impose certain residency, licensing and experience requirements on state district judges and appellate judges. Prop 5 would allow the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate allegations of wrongdoing against judicial candidates. The commission already handles discipline matters related to seated judges. They each were just under 60% in favor.

Propositions 7 and 8 also had over 85 percent approval in early voting. They relate to homestead property tax exemptions offered to military veterans and the disabled.

Proposition 7 would extend property tax reductions provided for the disabled to their surviving spouses after they die, with certain conditions.

Proposition 8 would allow surviving spouses to continue receiving property tax exemptions provided to veterans.

rachel.kersey@beaumontenterprise.com
From the desk of Beaumont ISD Superintendent Shannon Allen:

Technology in schools and its use as a learning tool have come a long way since many were in school. While I learned how to write in cursive in a Big Chief notebook, students today are learning keyboarding skills as early as First Grade. In the classrooms that I was educated in, we had a good old-fashioned chalkboard, while students today use smartboards, tablets and projectors.

The advancement and integration of technology in our classrooms has been an asset in many ways. We are able to teach from a distance with Zoom meetings, Google Classroom and other online platforms. The recent pandemic showed us just how important technology is to educate our children - so much so that we worked to place a device in the hands of every single student in the district over the past year, making BISD a 1:1 district.

While the advancements in technology have made the accessibility of information easier, it also is a double-edged sword. Besides the devices we provide them, most students also have personal cell phones that enable them unfettered access not only to information, but also social media platforms that impact them socially and emotionally.

I have witnessed the negative aspects of such access to cell phones within our schools.

Beyond simply being a distraction, they also have contributed to the spread of disinformation and videos of fighting, and they take a toll on our students mental wellbeing. Our community and others across the nation have seen a recent spike in student misconduct, including vandalism and fighting encouraged by social media and TikTok challenges.

People repeatedly have asked me, "Dr. Allen, why don't you just ban cell phones altogether?"

I can honestly respond that I think everything in school would be better if cell phones disappeared, for no other reason than the distractions associated with the negative side effects of having them. An enormous amount of time and effort is spent by campus administration combating the effects of students addiction to their devices.

Students as young as six can have a cell phone in their hand and a social media account of their own. Unlimited exposure and access to the real world can have a detrimental impact on children.

For the sake of the young developing minds of the children, please work with us to keep our kids safe and protected.

I encourage parents to check in with their students daily, limit their screen time, monitor their social media platforms and stay engaged with their phone activity during school hours.

This regular communication and accountability will help us prevent the glorification of misconduct and reduce the disruptions in our classrooms and as well as the increasing amount of cyberbullying.

I encourage every parent to activate the privacy settings and parental controls on their childs devices.

Beaumont ISD actively monitors each student's activity and restricts inappropriate language and online content on district devices through robust filters and Gaggle Safety Management.

We need help from parents to monitor personal devices and online activity happening at home.

Whether we want to accept it or not, the world has changed due to technology and has created a new layer of protection that must be implemented for the sake of the children.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  Republican Kevin Brobson was elected Tuesday to serve on Pennsylvanias highest court, leaving it with a 5-to-2 Democratic majority.

The Commonwealth Court Judge Brobson defeated Superior Court Judge Maria McLaughlin. Hell take the seat being vacated by the mandatory retirement of Republican Justice Thomas Saylor.

Brobson lives in suburban Harrisburg and has spent more than a decade on Commonwealth Court.

His more high-profile cases include a congressional redistricting decision that was promptly overturned by the Democratic majority Supreme Court in 2018.

The state Supreme Court has been at the center of major political disputes in recent years, handling cases over the hotly contested 2020 presidential election as well as the legality of how Gov. Tom Wolf used his authority to respond to the global pandemic.

___

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  Republicans in Pennsylvania saw success in voters' choices Tuesday to fill open seats on statewide appeals courts, amid light turnout statewide and a marquee race for a seat on the state Supreme Court that will not change the Democrats majority on the state's high court.

In Pittsburgh, Democrat Ed Gainey became the first Black mayor of Pennsylvania's second-most populous city, shouting to a crowd of cheering supporters a message of unity and that they were one city, one Pittsburgh.

Counties were wrapping up their vote counts in the hours after polls closed, but it was too early to call some statewide races before 1 a.m. Wednesday.

In a race for a seat on Superior Court, former Chester County and state prosecutor Megan Sullivan, a Republican, beat Democrat Timika Lane, a Philadelphia judge. The court handles appeals from county courts in criminal and civil cases.

Two seats were open on Commonwealth Court, and Republican Stacy Wallace, a lawyer from Bradford County, won one of the seats as the top vote-getter of four candidates. The court handles cases involving state government and local governments.

Election officials reported no significant problems while turnout was expected to hit 25% to 30% of registered voters.

Democrats went into Election Day with a 5-2 majority on the state Supreme Court that has played critical roles in settling fights over last year's presidential election and Gov. Tom Wolf's use of authority to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sole vacancy, opening with the mandatory retirement this year of Republican Justice Thomas Saylor, is being contested by two lower-court judges  Republican Kevin Brobson from Commonwealth Court and Democrat Maria McLaughlin from Superior Court.

The other seat on Commonwealth Court remained uncalled.

The Democrats seeking the seat are Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Lori Dumas and Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge David Spurgeon. The other Republican is Drew Crompton, a former Senate GOP aide running for a permanent spot on the court after being appointed to it temporarily last year.

Four statewide judges appeared likely to keep their seat on the bench for 10 more years in up-or-down retention races: Superior Court judges John Bender and Mary Jane Bowes and Commonwealth Court judges Anne Covey and Renee Cohn Jubelirer.

The judges who win could end up ruling in an array of high-profile cases pending in state courts, from abortion rights to public school funding to whether the state's mail-in voting law is constitutional.

The most notable of the states mayoral contests was in Pittsburgh, where Gainey, a five-term state House member, became the city's first African-American mayor after being heavily favored against Republican Tony Moreno.

Look at the image we are showing our children, Gainey, in a hoarse voice, shouted to the celebrating crowd at the downtown Benedum Center for the Performing Arts. I want our children to see a city for all of them.

In Scranton, Democrat Paige Cognetti declared victory for a second term and, in Harrisburg, Democrat Wanda Williams declared victory over Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who lost to Williams in the primary and ran as a write-in candidate. Results were not yet official in those races.

In Philadelphia, Democrat Larry Krasner won another term as district attorney, beating high-profile criminal defense lawyer Chuck Peruto, the Republican nominee, and getting the go-ahead to continue his progressive overhaul of the office.

Democrats won two special elections for open seats in Democratic-leaning districts in the state House of Representatives. Thom Welby won an open Scranton-area seat, while Gina Curry won the other in Delaware County.

For many voters, local races on the ballot Tuesday are the major attraction, contests that include county judge, district attorney, school board, district judge, mayor and city council.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Tupac Shakurs handwritten lyrics from classic songs such as California Love and Dear Mama along with galleries that pay homage to his upbringing and late mother are among the features in a massive touring museum exhibit.

The Shakur Estate announced Tuesday that the  Tupac Shakur. Wake Me When Im Free  will open Jan. 21 in Los Angeles. The exhibit is described as a fully immersive, thought-provoking museum experience that explores the life and legacy of the late rapper.

Shakur, one of the most prolific figures in hip-hop, died in 1996 from gunshot wounds. He was 25.

The exhibit is expected to spend six months in Los Angeles with the hopes of touring other cities.

There are thousands of pieces of paper, handwritten pieces of paper  which is everything from his lyrics to all of the songs and poetry that you know down to a grocery list for a birthday party, said Arron Saxe, president of Kinfolk Management + Media, who is working with Shakurs estate. Saxe has worked with estates for other iconic music artists including Otis Redding and Donny Hathaway.

The whole point of this exhibit was to not only show the kaleidoscopic nature of Tupac, but also show how he is relatable, Saxe continued. There are incredible pieces of clothing. This exhibit is also a mix of contemporary art and technology too. Many of the artifacts have never been seen before.

The 20,000-square foot exhibit will showcase Shakurs music, poetry, wardrobe, activism journey and other items in galleries.

One of the galleries will be dedicated to the rappers late mother, Afeni Shakur, the former Black Panther who inspired the work of her son. She died in 2016.

Saxe said Shakurs mother is the guiding light of the exhibition.

Afeni was the baddest Black woman to walk the planet, said Jamal Joseph, the rappers godfather and special advisor to the estate, in a statement. She raised awareness and shifted the atmosphere wherever she went. Tupacs brilliance shined brighter than the sun. He lived and moved with creative - revolutionary - fearless-passion fueled speed of a comet. Afeni and Pac challenged, re-imagined, and transformed history.

Shakurs estate-sanctioned museum experience is produced in partnership with Universal Music Group, CAA, Round Room Live and Kinfolk Management + Media.

Tupac Shakur was my Malcolm; he was my Martin, and to build an experience that honors such a prolific man, cannot be summed up in words, said Jeremy Hodges, whose firm, Project Art Collective, is working with The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the creative portion of the exhibit. We wanted to create a memorable experience that will inspire you to be better than when you walked in, all while leaving you with the knowledge that he was a true revolutionary spirit.
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Katrina Finkelstein, University of Tennessee and Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee

(THE CONVERSATION) On Veterans Day, people across America will thank veterans and active-duty military personnel for their service.

But many members of the public dont have a clear understanding of what service means to people in the military. How do they honor their own? What kind of spaces and activities help them reflect and remember  beyond one day a year?

We are cultural geographers who study how peoples emotions and connections with the past are represented physically in landscapes. Recently, our research has focused on commemorative place names in the military  particularly names associated with the Confederacy, which the U.S. armed forces are now reviewing and renaming.

Early this year, one of us (Katrina Finkelstein) visited Camp Pendleton in California to research commemoration on Marine Corps bases and understand how active-duty Marines and veterans interact with those spaces. In addition to official memorials and monuments sanctioned by the military, there are more informal and intimate examples of commemoration.

These ongoing, living memorials can be especially meaningful for service members processing their experiences and remembering those they lost, and physically represent the emotional weight they carry every day.

A living memorial

Camp Pendleton, one of the U.S. Marines busiest bases, sits between San Diego and Los Angeles on miles of undeveloped coastline.

Thirteen hundred feet above the base, more than 30 crosses stand on a hillside  a memorial site established in 2003. Before deployment to Iraq, a group of seven service members  two Marine officers, two enlisted Marines, two Navy corpsmen and one Navy chaplain  carried a cross made of an old telephone pole up to the site. It was an effort to remember a peer they lost and to prepare for the mission ahead of them. Three of the seven were later killed in action.

Today, the hilltop is still used for physical training and events before and after deployments. Meanwhile, its informal commemorations have expanded and changed, as many active-duty military and veterans develop a relationship with the space.

Destroyed in a fire in 2007, the original cross was replaced, and dozens of others added. Some are more intentionally constructed, engraved and carried up the steep hillside, while others might have been made from sticks on the way.

Contributing to the memorials has become an ongoing tradition. In August 2021, for example, after 13 service members were killed in a blast at Kabul airport  including nine Marines and one sailor based at Pendleton  new crosses appeared on the hillside. Others were erected at different Marine Corps bases, echoing the spontaneous way the first Camp Pendleton cross was installed.

This living memorial receives frequent attention, despite its isolated location and despite several official memorials throughout the base.

In an oral history interview, one of the original cross bearers from 2003, chaplain Scott Radetski, attributes the sites popularity to the life that exists on the hilltop. Because of its more intimate nature  secluded from the public and requiring an hourlong hike to visit  it has become especially meaningful for service members. The crosses are not a public memorial, he said, but a warrior memorial.

More than crosses

On the journey to the Pendleton crosses, people carry mementos to leave at the top. At first, they were small rocks, but have evolved to include sandbags, combat knives, insignia, unopened beer and liquor bottles, and helmets, all piled at the base of the crosses.

At times, officials have moved to tidy it up, such as removing cans of alcohol. But some service members have objected, stressing that these items are deeply meaningful and carefully chosen. For them, these items theyve carried to the top of the hill represent not only their comrades, but the emotional weight that veterans carry each day because of their experiences.

Those mementos represented that suffering, that pain, that loss, that anguish, that angst, whatever it was that service members needed to leave behind, Radetski said. The site is not always clean and neat, but he suggests it reflects the messiness of war and the traumatic experiences of the veterans who visit the site regularly.

In October 2021, before the battalion that sustained most of the losses at the Kabul airport returned to Camp Pendleton, the group Recycle for Veterans, which brings veterans together for cleanups on the West Coast, held an event to provide maintenance of the site. The group removed debris and empty bottles, but left mementos behind, leaving it ready for more commemorations in the future.

On common ground

While many memorial landscapes can seem fixed, representing a single moment or individual, the crosses at Camp Pendleton show that such spaces can actually change. The crosses reaffirm the idea that public memories are not static, and neither are spaces dedicated to them; new features are added as others are removed.

The crosses are not without controversy. A decade ago, after the Los Angeles Times ran a story about the memorial on Veterans Day, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers filed a complaint, arguing that their presence relegated all non-Christians who have fought and died for our country [] to second-class citizenship. Base officials reportedly conducted a review, and the memorial still stands.

For Marines who support the memorial, however, the site can serve multiple purposes: a destination during physical training, a way to prepare for a deployment, or a journey to come to terms with their experiences upon returning home.

Often, these activities are collective. Veterans organize semiannual hikes, meaning that the site does not become obsolete or forgotten. As the site of an ever-expanding memorial, the hillside is an example of how veterans continue to return to their own community, to a place that Chaplain Radetski called a common ground, for remembrance and healing.

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Satellite imagery of Namyit Island, a Vietnamese-held feature in the Spratlys, shows construction underway at its western tip. An image from Oct. 30 shows a barge and construction platform that was not visible on Sept. 29. (Images: Planet Labs Inc. Analysis: BenarNews)

Vietnam is carrying out construction and land-filling on another island under its control in the South China Sea, commercial satellite images analysed by BenarNews show.

The images show an extension is being developed to the western tip of Namyit island in the Spratly chain.

The then-Republic of Vietnam took possession of Namyit, which it calls Nam Yet, in 1973. North Vietnams army took over the island in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War.

A Planet Labs image on Oct. 30 shows building activities in Namyitm including a barge and construction platform that were not visible Sept. 29.

Sources familiar with the development plan who were not authorized to speak publicly, said Vietnam may be building a ship dock to improve access to the island.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese analysts said their country carries out work to prevent erosion and landslides to protect but not to expand or change the island features under its control.

At the same time as Namyit, construction work is being carried out on Pearson Reef, another Vietnam-controlled feature in the Spratly islands. Images taken on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 show what appears to be dredging work at the southern tip of the reef, BenarNews has revealed.

Vietnam has 49 or 51 outposts in the South China Sea spread across 27 features including ten islets, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI). Two of the 10 islets, Amboyna Cay and Namyit island, had not seen discernible reclamation work until now, AMTI said.

Namyit is a natural-occurring coral island with a total area of 13 acres, the fifth largest among Vietnam-administered islands in the South China Sea.

It is one of the more developed, with an array of new civilian facilities including a Buddhist temple, a medical center, a cultural house and a nature reserve which is under construction, local media have reported.

Namyit is also claimed by China, the Philippines and Taiwan.

China, which claims most of the South China Sea for itself, has been criticizing other countries, especially Vietnam, for construction efforts on islands in the region. By 2016, Vietnam had created just over 120 acres of land in the South China Sea compared to almost 3,000 acres created by China, AMTI said.
The Philippines aims to double the number of people receiving vaccinations  to 1 million a day  President Rodrigo Duterte said as he pressed local officials to speed up inoculation efforts against COVID-19 and threatened to punish those who lagged behind.

A total of about 109 million vaccine doses have arrived in the Philippines, but there appear to be bottlenecks in deliveries of the shots nationwide, he said.

I have reiterated my instructions to all agencies to make sure that our local government units will receive their daily jab (targets) so that our country can reach the target of 1 million jabs or more, Duterte said, according to transcripts of a pre-recorded cabinet meeting that were released Wednesday.

The government has given 60.4 million shots of COVID-19 vaccine to Filipinos, according to the National COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard. It noted that 27.75 million have been fully vaccinated and 32.65 million have received their first dose.

As of October, the president said, the government had exceeded its target of administering 55 million shots primarily because the supply came in droves.

We also thank the generous vaccine donations of many countries particularly the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, among others, he said, adding that 2.7 million doses of the Sputnik vaccine from Russia arrived this week. I thank Russia, particularly President Vladimir Putin, for ensuring we receive these doses in a timely manner.

Still, there are fault lines in the overall picture of our vaccination program, Duterte said, adding he was not pleased by the pace in which vaccines were being given.

The interior department has been ordered to impose the necessary sanctions against LGUs [local government units] and local chief executives who are not performing nor using the doses given to them in a most expeditious manner, Duterte said without elaborating on the potential sanctions.

The president also called on the armed forces and police to assist in delivering vaccines to far-flung areas.

Previous threats

This was not the first time Duterte used threats and intimidation to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, he warned that those who refused to be vaccinated would be detained forcibly in their homes.

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, human rights groups alleged that overzealous security forces had overstepped rules when imposing quarantines.

A former soldier who was described as mentally ill was gunned down in April 2020 after disobeying police at a quarantine checkpoint in Manila.

Before the shooting, Duterte drew criticism after he ordered police to open fire on civilians who insisted on crossing the checkpoint. That order came after several people were jailed after protesting against the quarantine.

This year, a man died in April after being forced by police to do hundreds of squats for violating a curfew in Cavite, a suburban province south of Manila.

The Philippines is among Southeast Asian countries hardest hit by the coronavirus. The health department reported 1,591 new infections in the previous 24 hours and 186 deaths, bringing the totals to nearly 2.8 million and 43,586 since the pandemic began.

Despite those numbers, daily cases in the Philippines have dropped lately, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

The whole country is currently classified as low risk because the two-week national growth rate has been going down, he said during the cabinet meeting.

The World Health Organization ranks the Philippines in 40th place globally in terms of active cases and fourth among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to Duque.

It is imperative that access to vaccines be increased now that the economy is beginning to recover, he said. The government announced that nightly curfews would be lifted by Thursday in an effort to aid the recovery.
This screen grab from a video produced by the Indonesian Army Headquarters (MABESAD) shows Gen. Andika Perkasa, the army chief of staff, in his office in Jakarta, Oct. 29, 2021.

Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo has nominated the army chief of staff who ended so-called virginity testing for female cadets as the new head of the countrys armed forces, the speaker of parliament said Wednesday.

Gen. Andika Perkasa is expected to replace Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto as the commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), if the House of Representatives confirms his nomination, as is expected. Hadi is due to retire from the military on Nov. 30.

Today the state secretary delivered [to the House] the presidents letter nominating General Andika Perkasa as the candidate for the TNI chief, House Speaker Puan Maharani told reporters.

Puan said no date had been set for a confirmation hearing.

State Secretary Pratikno, who goes by a single name, said the government hoped the appointment would be confirmed soon.

We hope to get approval as soon as possible so that the government can immediately install the new TNI commander, said Pratikno.

Born in Bandung on Dec. 21, 1964, Andika graduated from the Indonesian Military Academy in 1987. He attended post-graduate studies at the National War College in Washington and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University.

Andika is expected to serve as military chief for 13 months before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 58.

Career rose meteorically

Human Rights Watch researcher in Indonesia, Andreas Harsono, welcomed Andikas nomination.

Andikas move to stop subjecting female recruits to so-called virginity tests was widely welcomed by activists as well. Women make up about 15 percent of the approximately 800,000 members of the military in Southeasts Asia largest country.

Andika was also praised for supporting military member and volleyball athlete Aprilio Manganang, who competed as a woman but transitioned to be a man in March.

Andreas said the army chief had shown courage by abolishing the virginity tests, but was likely to face a tougher task introducing further reforms in his new role.

Its not easy because the TNI is much bigger, Andreas told BenarNews.

Khairul Fahmi, a researcher at the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS), said Andika would have to deal with the task of upgrading the militarys aging arsenals and improving personnel capabilities.

And its no less important to stop conflicts between soldiers and police, which are still happening, Fahmi told BenarNews.

Police in Indonesia dislike the militarys heavy involvement in state civil affairs, according to the Australian Institute of International Affairs. This rivalry has led to numerous clashes between personnel from both sides, which endangers citizens lives, local news reports have said.

Andikas father-in-law is Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono, a retired general and former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief, who is among Jokowis backers.

As a member of the armys special forces (Kopassus), Andika in 2002 led an operation to arrest al-Qaeda-linked militant Omar Al-Farouq, reportedly at the request of his father-in-law who headed BIN at the time.

Two days after Jokowi took office in 2014, Andika was appointed the chief of the presidential security corps, where he served for two years before being promoted to major general.

Made Supriatma, a researcher at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, wrote in a 2019 paper that Andika has had the most impressive career path in the Indonesian Army in recent times.

His military career rose meteorically when Jokowi came to power, Made said.

In Indonesia, it is widely held that an officers personal relations with powerful politicians will determine promotion to a strategic post.
A medical professional puts on gloves at a community testing center for COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Sept. 1, 2020.

Thai officials said Wednesday that police had arrested a local companys chief executive on suspicion of defrauding an American firm of millions of dollars last year for medical gloves it never supplied amid a global surge in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Separately, a Thai court sentenced an employee of another firm to four years in prison for exporting used gloves to a U.S. company, the attorney-generals office said.

Kampee Kampeerayannon, the CEO of Sufficiency Economy City Co. Ltd., was arrested at one of the companys offices in Bangkok for defrauding U.S. firm Rock Fintek, Police Col. Chetpan Kitticharoeksak said.

Police went to the office of the Sufficiency Economy City on Nov. 2 and arrested Kampee Kampeerayannon, the CEO, for fraud and presenting fake information online, Chetpan told reporters Wednesday.

Rock Fintek signed a $15.5 million contract for medical gloves with Sufficiency Economy, in a deal struck online in October 2020, Chetpan said. The American firm paid the Thai firm a deposit of $6.2 million last December, but got no gloves as it had expected in January this year.

A representative of Rock Fintech then flew to Thailand and filed a police complaint against Sufficiency Economy, Chetpan said, but he did not specify when.

A police team searched for the company in Sakaeo province [on the Thai-Cambodia border] where it was registered. Except for the company signage, there was only a vast jungle there, no factory, Chetpan said.

Police were unsuccessful in another attempt to find a Sufficiency Economy facility as well, in Chon Buri province near Bangkok. Here they found a factory that was shut, Chetpan said.

BenarNews contacted the company but did not immediately hear back on Wednesday.

Three more plaintiffs

Police also said that the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) began an investigation into three cases of potential fraud in the supply of medical gloves, at the request of U.S. authorities.

The attorney-generals office disclosed on Tuesday that an employee of a different company, Paddy the Room Trading Ltd., had been arrested in March, and sentenced on Saturday, for producing and selling used gloves to the U.S

Pipatpol Homjanya, the employee, was initially sentenced to eight years in prison, but that was reduced to four because he showed good cooperation during the trial, the attorney-generals office said.

A senior official from Paddy Trading, who police said was a Chinese man named Luk Fei Yang, could not be charged because he had fled Thailand, the AGs office said. It did not provide more details.

Police said they were investigating a third entity called Collection Company  a representative company for Paddy the Room  that allegedly exported latex gloves instead of nitrile gloves to a U.S. company called AirQueen, which lost $2.7 million in the deal.

BenarNews contacted these two Thai companies but neither one responded promptly.

Police said at least three other plaintiffs  from France, the U.S. and Hong Kong  have also filed complaint to Thai authorities.
Authorities have found human remains in the same general area of a river where a car was found that had been driven by a 17-year-old Massachusetts girl who disappeared nearly 40 years ago
An assessment or critique of a service, product, or creative endeavor such as art, literature or a performance.
VENTFORT HALL

Celebrate the return of Sarah and George Morgan's Steinway to Ventfort Hall with a concert and tea
Pittsfield Public Schools and the city's Board of Health are partnering on a series of youth vaccination events as student coronavirus continue to rise in through the public school community.
Cops and Courts Reporter

Amanda Burke is Cops and Courts Reporter for The Berkshire Eagle. An Ithaca, New York native, she previously worked at The Herald News of Fall River and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise.
PITTSFIELD  Voters preferred City Council candidates with municipal experience over several political newcomers Tuesday, according to unofficial election results.

At large incumbents Earl Persip III, council President Peter Marchetti and council Vice President Pete White handily won new terms. Newcomer Karen Kalinowsky earned the fourth at large slot, defeating incumbent Yuki Cohen and challenger Craig Benoit.

Cohen had faced criticism for several very public coronavirus safety violations at her Methuselah Bar and Lounge restaurant earlier in the pandemic. She had hoped that the city's decision to overturn one set of coronavirus fines and her focus on affordable housing would win her another term.

"Congratulations to all who were elected," Cohen wrote in a statement on Facebook late Tuesday night. "I thank you for the opportunity and look forward to keep building this city in a different capacity."

Kalinowsky, a retired police officer and school resource officer and former candidate for mayor, won a seat on the council after championing greater transparency in city business.

Ken Warren will take over the seat of Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon, who announced in May that she would not seek election to a third term. Warren beat political newcomer Andrea Wilson to win the ward seat.

The Ward 2 race solidly was won by Charles Kronick, who ran against Matthew Kudlate. Early results from the 2B precinct appeared to put the candidates within a 10-vote margin, but the 2A precinct ultimately chose Kronick out of the two businessmen. Kronick will replace Kevin Morandi, who chose not to run for reelection.

James Conant, the chair of the Conservation Commission, will be the next Ward 4 councilor as longtime representative Chris Connell steps back from his role on the City Council. Conant beat retired firefighter Andrew Wrinn for the seat.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi, the only incumbent to face a challenger this election, beat Ed Carmel by a sizable margin. Carmel, a member of the city's Homelessness Advisory Committee and Pittsfield Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, previously had challenged Lampiasi for the seat.

Residents in three wards had uncontested races: Kevin Sherman will fill Ward 3 Councilor Nicholas Caccamo's seat, and Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey and Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio will maintain their seats for another term.

City Clerk Michele Benjamin ran unopposed.

Traffic at the polls was predictably light given there was no mayoral contest on the ballot.

Ward 4 residents Mark and Marie Matthews said they can remember lines wrapping around and filling the Herberg Middle School auditorium that has been their polling place for countless elections. This year, the Matthews' said, "it's a sparse crowd, unfortunately."

Dick Marchetto, holding a sign for at large candidate Craig Benoit at the Ward 2A precinct at Morningside Community School, said he's focused on safety of another kind this election cycle.

"Definitely police protection in the neighborhoods," Marchetto said. "To me safety is one of the first things I would be concerned with."

Joe Cimini, a sign holder for Marchetti, said that candidates' stances on the streetscaping on North Street and Tyler Street and the bike lanes were impacting his vote as well as safety.

Ann Brennan said her finished ballot was "pretty much incumbents."
Lorena Dus, director of client and community services for the Berkshire Immigrant Center, will give a presentation at Wednesday's NAACP meeting on what life is like for immigrants living in the Berkshires.
A year after Alex Morse challenged U.S. Rep. Richard Neal in a widely followed Democratic primary, no one has stepped up to run against Neal in 2022.

Former staffers and supporters see some promise in what the Morse campaign accomplished in a high-turnout election, believing that his message reached residents who had tuned out from politics but since have paid greater attention to their representation. But, for many in Morses camp, the race  it included a late-breaking news story that shifted the focus from policy to Morses personal life  showed the difficulty of pulling off a progressive challenge in the 1st Congressional District.

And it might get even harder, with the district likely to expand into more conservative towns at its southeastern edge, while shedding upper Pioneer Valley communities that favored Morse, as proposed in redistricting maps released Monday.

Morse  at the time, he was the mayor of Holyoke  championed Medicare for All, a federal jobs guarantee and other policies to the left of Neal, a moderate Springfield Democrat who chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee. At the ballot box, Morse received 59,110 votes (41.2 percent)  more than any other challenger Neal has faced since he first was elected in 1988, a year before Morse was born  but well short of Neals 84,092 (58.6 percent).

To Neal, the results showed voters faith in his message that he delivered for the district, and that his experience and powerful position allowed him to shape legislation that changes our lives.

Morse supporters, though, saw the record-high turnout as evidence that many were eager for change, even though the coronavirus pandemic made it more difficult to interact with voters in the sprawling district of 87 cities and towns. Twice as many people voted in 2020 than in the 2018 primary, when Chicopee attorney Tahirah Amatal-Wadud took on Neal.

The Morse campaign made efforts to reach long-marginalized voters who tend to vote at lower rates. But, it had to balance that drive with a fundraising effort catered to nationwide progressives, who were drawn to Morses advocacy for Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, as well as the opportunity to unseat Neal, whom they view as an obstacle to those goals.

Morse, who refused donations from political action committees and criticized Neals corporate donors, raised $2.1 million, while Neal, the top congressional recipient of PAC money during the 2020 cycle, raised nearly $5 million. Although the national support brought Morse much-needed publicity, it forced the campaign to juggle local and national priorities in its messaging, said Sara Seinberg, of Leyden, a staff member on the Morse campaign.

I do think that the national groups put a lot of pressure on a very local campaign to transform messages into something that was resonating on a national level to a donor class, to a Twitter audience that didnt necessarily speak to voters on doors and voters at home, Seinberg said.

Seinberg and others saw promise in the conversations they had with voters on the ground. Freddy Stokes, who canvassed in public housing projects in Springfield, Holyoke and Chicopee, said he found potential voters to be receptive to the case he made that Morses platform could make a serious material difference in their lives.

It wasnt so much an issue of people being, Yeah, thats great, but its never going to happen,  said Stokes, who grew up in the Hampshire County town of Westhampton and graduated from Connecticut College in 2020. There was some of that, but I think once we were able to talk to someone, the challenge just was getting them to turn out.

For many aligned with Morse, it is impossible to discuss the race without mentioning an August letter from a group of college Democrats at the University of Massachusetts. Publicized less than a month from Election Day, the letter raised concerns of misconduct against Morse without offering specific claims.

Reports from The Intercept later suggested that some students had political motivations, quoting one who said, Neal will give me an internship. The student group later apologized to Morse, who is openly gay, for using language that played into homophobic stereotypes that have been used to oppress gay men in politics.

The state Democratic party also violated its own bylaws in advising those students, a party-ordered investigation found.

After seeing what happened to Alex, who else would decide to run here? Seinberg said.

An internal poll from the Morse campaign two weeks from Election Day showed Morse within 5 percentage points of Neal, who held a 46-41 percent lead. While 85 percent of those polled said they heard news related to Morse and the college Democrats, most said it did not change their choice. While 21 percent said the news made them more likely to support Morse, 18 percent said it made them more likely to vote for Neal.

Morse supporters point to voting results from Pittsfield, where Morse might not have had significant name recognition before the election, as evidence that the letter might have hurt voters perception of Morse. Although Neal nearly doubled Morses early voting tally, Morse narrowly won in-person voting on Election Day.

Other observers suggest that Neals influence and the districts demographics made a Morse victory unlikely from the start.

For one, the district is more white and more rural than largely urban districts where progressives have toppled powerful incumbents.

On paper, you can turn out a big vote in Springfields North End, precincts in Holyokes lower wards, said Matt Barron, a Democratic strategist from Chesterfield. He worked on Amatul-Wadud's 2018 campaign but was not heavily involved in the Morse campaign, which he supported.

But, in practice, Black and Latino voters feel so beaten down and apathetic about elections, and its very, very hard to get those people out, whereas Neals base of ethnic Catholics comes out in droves, Barron said.

Pragmatic vs. ideological

Matt Szafranski, editor in chief of Western Massachusetts Politics & Insight, added that Hampden County voters already likely had some perception of Morse and his mayoral record, regardless of its accuracy, before the race or the college Democrats' letter, including that Morse supported Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders for president in 2016. Szafranski said he believes that much of Hampden County remains comfortable with Neal, who won Holyoke with 51.8 percent of the vote.

A lot of people are more pragmatic than ideological, Szafranski said. Would it be better to have a more progressive congressman who is a backbencher or a less progressive one who is chairman of Ways and Means?

In the Morse camp, though, many viewed the policies he supported as more material than ideological.

Homer Winston, who grew up in Lee, had no party affiliation before the Morse campaign, which he worked on for eight months. Morse talked about health care gaps and the opioid epidemic, Winston said, not as abstract issues, but rather as everyday realities with often-deadly consequences, including in Morses own family.

I got invested because I felt that he was fighting for people like me, said Winston, a Williams College student who invited Morse to meet with activists in Lee about their opposition to a proposed toxic waste dump. Whether or not he could win, he was trying to put forth a theory of change.

The campaign felt really personal in my life as a young person facing the climate crisis, with health care issues that my family faces, added Gabbi Perry, a Mount Holyoke College student who worked on the Morse campaign. As a student, I think leading up to 2020 there felt like [there was] a lot of urgency for me relating to issues, especially climate, and this race felt important on a community level but also on a broader, kind of national scale.

National progressive groups have continued to target Neal. A September digital ad from Our Revolution criticizes Neals receipt of fossil fuel donations and asks voters to push Neal to end fossil fuel subsidies. Several groups likely would support another progressive seeking to challenge Neal, but no one yet has entered the fray.

Some say the absence of a challenger has to do with the slim odds of defeating Neal, a three-decade incumbent. While in office, Neal has accumulated positive media coverage, and cemented relationships with local and nationwide elected officials who provide him with endorsements. A growing number of left-leaning Democrats also have lost trust in the state party after its involvement in the college Democrats letter.

Most expect Neal to serve until he chooses to retire. State Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, and Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle are among those thought to be interested in the seat when Neal eventually vacates it, but it is highly unlikely that either would run against Neal.

Many who worked on the Morse campaign say they believe progressive organizing has shifted to local issues and elections. Nevertheless, they still are keeping an eye on Neal.

It takes really serious community organizing to [take on Neal], Perry said. But, I also dont think theres much sense in making us believe that any kind of real change will still happen in his office.
From North Adams to Pittsfield to Boston to Virginia, here's what you need to know about Tuesday's elections
Elections brought not only more gender diversity to the mayor's office, but also more racial diversity and LGBTQ representation to the City Council.
An artist rendering of the statue of Elizabeth Mum Bett Freeman that will be unveiled in Sheffield next summer.
As redrawn in the Massachusetts Legislatures proposal, the 1st Congressional District represented by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, would shed communities that favored then-Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse over Neal in the 2020 Democratic primary.
On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker said passage of the Maine Question 1 would set "a really difficult precedent" by retroactively denying appeals granted years ago.
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Watch as Bill dissects the climate conference in Scotland, which featured hundreds of private jets and a dozing President Biden, whose mental acuity is now doubted by a majority of Americans.

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On Tuesday's No Spin News Bill reported on media malfeasance at The Washington Post, which refused to publish most of a rebuttal letter from Donald Trump. Bill also related a personal story illustrating the Post's blatant bias.

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By the second quarter of 2021, Bioeconomy Corp awarded the BioNexus Status to 250 companies which contributed to Malaysias economy by $963.5 million (RM4 billion) in cumulative realised investments and $289 million (RM1.2 billion) in revenue.

Malaysia is strategically positioned to make the country a much-sought-after hub of Bioeconomy. In 2020, it completed the final phase of the National Biotechnology Policy (NBP) and is betting on its Bioeconomy sector to drive a robust economic recovery through programmes and initiatives of Bioeconomy Corporation. As a regional leader in this sector, being the second country in Asia and the first country in South East Asia to announce a national Bioeconomy initiative, Malaysia has already set the ball rolling. Moreover, in line with the National Recovery Plan, it has also framed a Bioeconomy blueprint to address pandemic challenges and to boost various sectors that are crucial to the economy. The country is poised to globalise bio entrepreneurship by bestowing fiscal incentives and grants through special BioNexus Status, effectively making it a major global player to reckon with, in the bioeconomy space.

In the year 2005, the Malaysian Government launched the National Biotechnology Policy (NBP) with the theme Biotechnology for wealth creation and social well-being to advance the development of three economic sectors like agriculture, healthcare and bioindustrial manufacturing. The initiative was the first national Bioeconomy initiative in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and second in Asia after China. There are nine thrusts of the National Biotechnology Policy aiming to nurture an empowering life science ecosystem in academia, R&D and commerce communities for stimulating the bio-based sectors. These trusts cover core research, product development, human capital development (BioAcademy), financial infrastructure, legal and regulatory framework, and strategic progress in association with the national support system.

Bioeconomy Corporation creates a platform for the private sector to channel and maximise commercial opportunities in bio-based industries. It supports new and established companies in the private sector by facilitating networking opportunities, collaboration with government stakeholders, commercialisation of research and development (R&D), and showcasing new bio-based projects and technologies which raises Malaysias profile as an investment destination. This will also accelerate the development of local bio-based businesses while creating new jobs and business opportunities.

Bioeconomy Corporation programmes create a conducive ecosystem for the growth of globally competitive bio-based players in Malaysia. The inclusion of bio-based companies into the BioNexus Status family attracts more investments, creates revenue and jobs.

By the second quarter of 2021, Bioeconomy Corporation awarded the BioNexus Status to 250 companies which contributed to Malaysias economy by $963.5 million (RM4 billion) in cumulative realised investments and $289 million (RM1.2 billion) in revenue.

Bioeconomy Corporation strives to drive Domestic Direct Investments (DDI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the growth in the bio-based sector by identifying DDI/FDIs, collaborating with external and internal stakeholders, including economic corridors and other agencies. Focus is also on funding high growth areas like biopharmaceuticals, biocompatible medical devices, industrial Bioeconomy upstream inputs, biochemicals from renewable resources, biomaterials from renewable resources, high-value bio ingredients, high-value food ingredients, and high-value horticulture inputs, and more.

"Malaysia is a democratic nation with the highest level of development behind Singapore in the South-Asia and South-East Asia regions. Factors that contribute to the attractiveness of Malaysia as a destination for foreign direct investment are the rule of law and a business-friendly environment not stifled by an overwhelming bureaucracy, frequent policy changes, or an unreasonably high burden of taxes and duties, all factors that pose significant risks for business and investment in many other nations in this global region" says Dr. Finn Zedler, Founder and Managing Director at ADT Biotech Sdn Bhd, which has been awarded the BioNexus Status.

Dr Zedler further adds, "Malaysia is home to an educated and increasingly skilled and talented workforce from diverse backgrounds with a good command of English, making it easy to recruit a competent and proficient team meeting the local business needs paired with the ability to communicate and interact on the global stage without cultural or language barriers. Besides a world-class infrastructure, it is important to mention a strong commitment from government to foster the growth of the biotechnology industry, an effort spearheaded by the Bioeconomy Corporation".

Bioeconomy Corporation has aligned its initiatives and efforts to leverage the forces to advance Malaysias national growth strategy. With the completion of the final phase of the NBP in 2020, Bioeconomy Corporation is expanding its goals to reach global businesses. It has developed many international and local biotechnology companies in Malaysia with the BioNexus status, which is an accreditation given to international and Malaysian bio-based companies that qualify them for fiscal incentives, grants, and guarantees administered by Bioeconomy Corporation.

Tom Berry, Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer at Nutrition Technologies Sdn Bhd who has also been awarded the BioNexus Status shares his experience on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which the company has made recognizing enthralling bio ecosystem in Malaysia.

Mr Berry explains, "As a foreign company, we were drawn to invest in Malaysia not only because of the large availability of traceable raw materials but also because of the abundance of talented biotechnology graduates. Bioeconomy Corporation was the first agency we engaged prior to investment and the teams diligent assistance in introducing us to relevant stakeholders, potential suppliers, and customers were fundamental to our initial success. Since incorporation and particularly during the COVID crisis, the team has been exemplary in continuing this support, both through helping us engage with relevant authorities as well as attracting new talents through their Biokerjaya @ My Future Agro programme. With the limited network in Malaysia and this region, this kind of assistance was crucial to our investment and we continue to be ever grateful for their continued support.

In the fast-paced field of changing technology, supporting discoveries, and innovations in biotechnology are thus key to ensuring research is transformed into marketable products which will drive the Bioeconomy. Active engagements with various local and foreign investors such as private VCs, corporations, financial institutions, and angel investors are increasing the access of funding and business at biotechnology companies and bio-entrepreneurs. With the continual support of the government, stakeholders, and investors in Malaysias Bioeconomy agenda, Bioeconomy Corporation is strengthening forces to achieve economic, social, and sustainable development. Overall, Bioeconomy creates an inclusive ecosystem by accelerating the growth and unlocking value in the bio-based industry across the bioscience, healthcare, bio-industrial, and agriculture sectors.

In the fast-paced field of changing technology, supporting discoveries, and innovations in biotechnology are thus key to ensuring research is transformed into marketable products which will drive the Bioeconomy. Active engagements with various local and foreign investors such as private VCs, corporations, financial institutions, and angel investors are increasing the access of funding and business at biotechnology companies and bio-entrepreneurs. With the continual support of the government, stakeholders, and investors in Malaysias Bioeconomy agenda, Bioeconomy Corporation is strengthening forces to achieve economic, social, and sustainable development. Overall, Bioeconomy creates an inclusive ecosystem by accelerating the growth and unlocking value in the bio-based industry across the bioscience, healthcare, bio-industrial, and agriculture sectors.

Photo Captions:

Dr. Finn Zedler, Founder and Managing Director at ADT Biotech Sdn Bhd (Left)

Tom Berry, Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer at Nutrition Technologies Sdn Bhd (Right)

Hithaishi C Bhaskar

hithaishi.cb@mmactiv.com
CII TN Medclave Excellence honours Dr Cherian for his pioneering work

Dr KM Cherian, Chairman and CEO, Frontier Lifeline Hospital, Founder and President  Frontier Mediville was honoured with the Life Time Achievement award at CII TN Medclave Excellence Honours.



Pioneer in bypass surgery, paediatric cardiac surgery, heart and lung transplantation in India, Dr Cherian has held prestigious positions in India and abroad and now runs the prestigious cardiac hospital in Chennai, Dr KMCherians Frontier Lifeline Hospital.



Dr Cherian said, It is an honour to receive this prestigious award from CII. Throughout my career, I have tried my level best to use the best medical practices combined with the latest technology and innovation. I feel that there is a need for medical R&D to be encouraged in the country for the development of indigenous medical sciences.
Mid-Senior Account Manager

Location: Cape Town, Zonnebloem Education level: Diploma Job level: Mid/Senior Own transport required: Yes Travel requirement: Occasional Job policy: Employment Equity position Type: Permanent Company: Machine_

Job description

Manage TTL campaigns (with a predominantly digital focus) and communication on a day-to-day basis (from start to finish with little minimal senior supervision)

Manage client expectations and service delivery by being a focal point for day-to-day interaction

Master client business and relationships to be a client partner, indispensable to their business, ensuring longevity and partnership

Understand the client, strategy and agency process in order to deliver efficiently and to the highest quality

Full ownership of your projects, taking accountability for all work presented and delivered

Support your Account Director and Business Unit Director in driving and meeting all financial targets

Empower your seniors with the correct information to ensure that they correctly support you and the client

Honest conversations with your client to enable your team to deliver excellence and you create trust through positive outcomes

Be a strategic partner to your clients, enabling you to guide and drive better work, better business conversations, and build business

Maintain the integrity of the creative strategy and work throughout the campaign

Ability to manage different personalities and always strive to get the best out of each individual

Keep abreast of industry (advertising) trends (broad communication trends and client competitor work) in order to add additional value to your clients business

Requirements

Relevant tertiary qualification in marketing/business communications

Minimum three years working experience as an account manager in an advertising agency (or in a similar environment i.e. Publishing)

Proficient in MS Office (i.e. Word / Excel / PowerPoint etc.)

TTL & Digital experience is essential (well versed in Digital)

Experience working on Chase

A good command of the English language (both verbal and written)

Strong presentation skills

Strong administrative and organisational skills

Strong numerical skills (financial and budget management experience)

Strong multitasking skills (ability to work on more than one brief at any given time)

Team player with the ability to work independently

Ability to remain calm in a highly pressurized environment

Accountable

Reliable

Energetic

Honest

Assertive

Proactive

Solution and deadline driven

Passionate

A can do attitude and willing to go the extra mile

Meticulous with attention to detail

Other: Flexible to work beyond normal working hours (overtime if and when required) Must be willing to work on alcohol brands



Company Description

Were looking for a passionate (mid-level) ato join our Cape Town.As a (mid-level) account manager, you are someone who views marketing and advertising as a career and not a job. You are passionate about digital, brand building, strategy and memorable campaigns; all the while building strong relationships with both our clients and internal agency stakeholders.You will report into the business unit director and account director across multiple clients and multiple disciplines. You need to be able to hit the ground running from day 1  be a self-starter and drive excellence.Candidate must please submit a concise CV. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Should you not hear from us within 2 weeks after submitting your application, please consider your application as unsuccessful.Publics Groupe is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and prohibits any forms of Discrimination or Harassment. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our employees in line with our Employment Equity Plan. All appointments will be based on qualifications, experience and best fit but preference will be given to all candidates from the designated group.Machine_ is a creative solutions agency represented across Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, and is home to?over 75 adventurous minds. At Machine_ we dont believe that intuition and gut feel are enough. Thats why everything we do starts with an insight. Our team of experts uses these insights to create impactful and accountable solutions that touch consumers at every point in their connected world.Machine_ is part of Publicis Groupe, one of the fastest-growing global networks.Machines mantra, Never Afraid, underpins our values of; doing the right thing, being curious, solution orientated and at its core getting things done!. Living this mantra daily helps grow our clients businesses and these are the values we look for when recruiting new talent. The right personality is just as important as the right experience. Were here to work hard and have fun while doing it. Posted on 03 Nov 12:07, Closing date 2 Jan
Senior SEO Manager

Location: Johannesburg, Durban Remote work: Some remote work allowed Job level: Senior Type: Permanent Company: Jellyfish South Africa

Job description

We work with global brands; some of the most recognized in the world!

Our clients span an array of exciting business sectors - fashion, sports, finance, automotive, gaming, travel, healthcare & much more

Were serious about technology! As part of working with us, you will gain access to best-in-breed technology suites that empower you to do a better and more effective job for our clients

Training is an ever-growing part of the agency. In the last two years, Jellyfish has trained over 2,000 customers in digital marketing, plus many of our 350 internal members of staff. Youll also get the opportunity to improve your knowledge in areas that youve never been exposed to before

Leading in the development of sophisticated SEO strategies addressing the objectives and KPIs of clients

Producing comprehensive technical SEO analysis of client websites/assets to facilitate the development of clear, actionable optimization roadmaps

Onsite content audits to identify how client content should be optimized to perform better within the organic SERPs

Developing white-hat link earning and amplification strategies geared toward building brand awareness across the web while strengthening organic ranking signals

Troubleshooting and participating in risk mitigation exercises and penalty removal for clients

Ensuring that audits, research and landscape investigations are properly utilised to deliver insight-driven strategies

Providing an exceptional level of reporting which includes detailed insights, actionable next steps and which tie-back to overarching business objectives

Attending key campaign meetings (internal and client-facing) and positioning yourself as one of the team

Working closely with internal Jellyfish staff to develop integrated digital marketing campaigns. This will involve partnering with lead practitioners from the Social, Content, Paid Media, Display, Creative, Development and UX teams

Working closely with Client Services and Project Management teams to stay on budget and within agreed timeframes

Identifying when junior team members are struggling in their delivery of tasks and providing them with the support they require

Identifying strategic opportunities and facilitating change in order to hit client expectations

Providing SEO training to internal teams and clients

Requirements

BA/BS degree required

Five+ years of SEO and digital marketing experience

Two+ year of leadership experience

Results and value focused

Excellent knowledge of leading industry software & tools, such as Searchmetrics, BrightEdge, Screaming Frog, Keyword Planner, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Majestic SEO, A-hrefs, Accuranker, Deep Crawl, Cognitive SEO and more

Organised and capable of managing multiple campaigns, tasks and team members

Ability to work to deadlines

Self-motivated and able to work both individually and as part of a team

Were looking for an experienced Senior SEO Manager to help lead high impact organic search strategies on behalf of our clients, fulfilling agreed objectives, working within budget and delivering against KPIs. From strategy development to technical analysis, content optimization to competitor monitoring; our SEO team is dynamic, results-focused and a proven authority within our field.This role is creative, technical and managerial, responsible for contributing heavily to strategic planning and execution on a campaign level plus also being involved in the line management and mentoring of team members across the department. There is an expectation that the Senior SEO Manager will take the lead, along with other senior team members, to provide thought-leadership, best practice approach, innovation and guidance at a campaign and departmental level.Jellyfish will give preference to Employment Equity candidates in accordance with the company's Employment Equity Plan and its Affirmative Action measures. Posted on 03 Nov 11:37, Closing date 2 Jan
Texas radio host William Neil "Doc" Gallagher, who prided himself on being a Christian, was given three life sentences plus another 30 years for duping his older listeners out of millions of dollars. Thinking they were retiring "safe, early, and happy" (see video below) by investing in his Gallagher Financial Group Ponzi scheme, many lost their homes and life savings.

Conveniently, the religious gentleman, age 80, is already a fixture behind bars, according to CBS, serving 25 years after a 2019 arrest for similar charges.

From CBS:

The sentencing came after more than a dozen senior victims testified during a three-hour court hearing about losing anywhere from $50,000 to $600,000 invested in the Gallagher Financial Group. Some said they had to sell their homes, borrow money from their children or take part-time jobs to supplement their Social Security benefits. Gallagher, 80, and his Gallagher Financial Group advertised on Christian radio with the tagline, "See you in church on Sunday." He promoted his investment business in books, such as "Jesus Christ, Money Master," and on Christian radio broadcasts.

"Doc Gallagher is one of the worst offenders I have seen," said Lori Varnell, chief of the Tarrant County District Attorney's Elder Financial Fraud team. "He ruthlessly stole from his clients who trusted him for almost a decade. He amassed $32 million in loss to all of his clients and exploited many elder individuals. He worked his way around churches preying on people who believed he was a Christian."

The court went easy on him, however, allowing him to serve his three life sentences concurrently.

Here's one of his God-infused "testimonial" ads from 2013:
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern chose to shut down a press conference on Monday rather than answer serious questions from an independent reporter outside of what she called the "accredited media."



WATCH:





Do not ask questions which havent been approved by the government pic.twitter.com/Th6N6jgmRZ  ValGlass2.0 (@AussieVal10) November 2, 2021



The "accredited media" means the state-run media and various globalist propaganda mills.



"We are all completely on the same page when it comes to driving vaccinations, and this is an issue," Ardern said before Shane Chafin of Counterspin Media asked her, "Why are the vaccines not working in Israel?"



"How come the vaccine has a 39% efficacy rate and you are still pushing it?" Chafin said.



"Sir, I'm going to answer the questions of the accredited media," Ardern arrogantly responded.



After Chafin kept going, Ardern said, "Sir, I will shut down the press conference if you do not cease!"



Ardern followed through and walked out of the press conference only to reconvene later ensconced in the warm bosom of the establishment press.



Ardern said last month that she's intentionally using vaccine mandates/passports to create a two-tiered society where the unvaxxed are stripped of their rights.



She's also now using media "accreditation" to shield herself from hard questions.



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While the teen environmentalist sat in the back of the room, she tweeted earlier in the day that the fossil fuel industry & banks, which she called the "biggest climate villains," were "here in Glasgow trying to scale up offsetting & give polluters a free pass to keep polluting."

"Polluting profiteers see offsetting as their get out of jail for free card in the climate game. But offsetting is often a dangerous climate lie," she added.

It is time to take down the Taskforce on Corporate Scams.

Polluting profiteers see offsetting as their get out of jail for free card in the climate game.

But offsetting is often a dangerous climate lie.

2/5  Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) November 3, 2021

As an example of Greta's actually valid point on carbon credits, in August, French energy giant TotalEnergies SE orchestrated a "carbon-neutral" liquified natural gas shipment with China National Offshore Oil Corp (Cnooc) last September. The math behind the carbon-neutral fuel "involved googling and guesswork," according to Bloomberg.

An insider who spoke with Bloomberg said junior traders at Total learned about carbon-neutral cargoes from a client who had already purchased two from Royal Dutch Shell Plc. They said the inexperienced traders were able to figure out how to neutralize the emissions of LNG through internet searches of green projects they could fund.

The traders were able to find a project thousands of miles away in Zimbabwe that allowed them to fund a carbon-neutral deal that allocated money to brush clearing to reduce wildfires. Bloomberg called the deal "complicated new math." There was limited evidence to support how Total's brush clearing in southern Africa would offset natural gas carbon emissions.

But to make it work, Total's pioneers of carbon neutrality first needed to find green projects capable of meeting two requirements: generate carbon credits backed by an international organization, without costing too much. After struggling to come up with an answer, the team set up a meeting with South Pole, a project developer based in Zurich that came recommended by rival traders. That's how $600,000 from a $17 million LNG transaction ended up, in part, paying for forest protection in Zimbabwe.

Yet, while Greta may be on to something when it comes to carbon offsets, she still hasn't heard of - or is willfully ignoring - China, the world's #1 polluter. A Twitter search of "China" on her timeline shows just five mentions all year, while she mentions "EU" over two-dozen times. Nothing about China bailing on COP26?

What's with the disconnect here? Shouldn't she be spending most of her energy on the #1 polluter instead of this green guilt trip on the west?

As we noted in May, China's 2019 greenhouse gas emissions exceeded those of the United States and the rest of the developed world combined.

According to the study co-authored by a former Obama admin climate policy official, energy modelers and emissions experts (just go with it), China is now responsible for 27% of total global emissions - more than the combined total produced by the United States (11%), India (6.6%) and the 27 EU member nations together (6.4%).

Apparently childhoods are only ruined when the west does it.
Back in February 2021, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) lobbied the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to extend COVID restrictions that perpetuate public educations reliance on privatization, specifically from Big Tech companies, which have been raking in record profits by selling schools ed-tech products to deliver online instruction during lockdowns. While the AFT and the NEA appealed to public health and safety rationales, their CDC lobbying efforts were couched in their conflicts of interest with Big Tech companies, such as IBM; corporate philanthropies, including the Rockefeller Foundation; globalist non-governmental organizations, like the Trilateral Commission; and world governance institutions, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Lobbying the CDC to add COVID restrictions for in-person learning that perpetuate Big Tech privatization was just a pit-stop on the way toward these same teachers unions pushing mandatory coronavirus jabs for students and educators who will be required to verify their vaccination status with compulsory digital immunizations passports platformed on blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies (DLTs). Now that President Joe Biden has called on state governors to mandate COVID vaccination for all school employees and students, the AFT and the NEA are fully on board with the state and federal proclamations forcing their dues-paying teachers to get jabbed along with students. By backing government-mandated vaccinations for school employees and students, the AFT and the NEA are rolling out the red carpet for digital vaccine passports through blockchain DLTs that will be used to aggregate students electronic health records (EHRs), learning analytics, workforce competency algorithms, and criminal histories into Social Credit scores which will determine access to the public square and private markets  a technocratic system planned out in detail long before COVID-19 emerged.

The IBM-AFT-NEA Love Triangle Builds Big Databases for Social Credit

For at least sixty years, the AFT and the NEA have been collaborating with IBM to drive the evolution of automated teaching machines into digital ed-tech programmed with artificial intelligence (AI) engineered to psychologically condition students for corporate-government workforce compliance. Today, the AFT and the NEA are cheerleading for Bidens vaccination mandates, which will kickstart a long-anticipated market boom for digital vaccine passports that can be platformed on DLTs, including IBMs blockchain DLT. IBMs DLT can be expanded to keep ledgers of students learning outcomes and job competences in order to extrapolate predictive analytics for Social Credit. At the same time, IBM is also on the front lines of the World Economic Forums Great Reset, which is calling for public-private ed-tech partnerships to Reimagine Education through AI algorithms that are programmed to data-mine students psychometrics for Social Credit algorithms. Those algorithms, in turn, track students into career pathways in order to fill job quotas for the global economy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Meanwhile, IBM is also teamed up with UNESCOs Global Education Coalition, which is a consortium of Big Tech companies that facilitate virtual distance education through online adaptive-learning courseware and other predictive AI ed-tech that can feed student data into Social Credit surveillance grids.

IBMs extensive ties to the NEA go back several decades. In 1960, the NEAs Educational Implications of Automation was financed with an unrestricted grant from IBM. Later, IBM partnered with the NEAs Mastery in Learning Project in 1986, at the tail end of UNESCO Study 11, which orchestrated international public-private partnerships between Big Tech corporations, including IBM, Microsoft, and Apple, along with national government agencies, such as the US Department of Ed, to set up the global information technology (IT) infrastructure necessary for the Fourth Industrial Revolutions ed-tech panopticon. In 1988, the NEA-IBM partnership launched the Mastery in Learning School Renewal Network, which was an asynchronous teleconferencing and messaging system using PCs [for] the first electronic network dedicated specifically to school reform. Two years later, in 1990, UNESCO collaborated with the World Bank to hold the World Conference on Education for All, which was followed up by a conference hosted by the United State Coalition for Education for All (USCEFA) in 1991. According to the USCEFA Conference Report titled Learning for All: Bridging Domestic and International Education, USCEFA was sponsored by the NEA, the AFT, IBM, Apple, the US Department of Education, and USAID, which has a long history of fronting for CIA operations.

It is worth noting that, in a 1985 Special Issue of Todays Education, which is the NEAs journal, there are advertisements for ed-tech products, including an ad for IBM computerized instruction for a single terminal or a whole school system. This Special Issue also contains infographics, including two illustrated graphs titled High-Tech Happy and School Computer Use Soars, which chart the regional proliferation of computerized ed-tech across the United States from 1981 to 1985 during the rollout of the US Department of Eds Project BEST (Basic Education Skills through Technology), which was Americas domestic version of UNESCO Study 11.

This special edition of the NEAs journal also included a collection of articles from trailblazers in the computerized ed-tech movement:

Mary Futrell: The former President of the NEA, Futrell would also later sit on the Board of Directors for K12 Inc., one of Americas largest online virtual charter schools, which was founded by US Secretary of Education, William Bill Bennett, who oversaw Project BEST after he took up the mantle from Secretary Terrel H. Bell.

Theodore Sizer: An acolyte of Goodlads technocratic model of community schooling, Sizer founded the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) where he advocated for hi-tech small schools; and he also founded the Annenberg Institute. The Annenberg Institute oversaw the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, where a community organizer named Barack Obama served on the Board of Directors alongside Bill Ayers, who bombed the Pentagon and the US Capitol building when he was a member of the infamous Weather Underground.

Linda Darling-Hammond: The President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, which is nowfinanced by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Hewlett and Packard Foundations. Darling-Hammond has been an advisor to President Barack Obama and President Biden and she sits on the Executive Board of Theodore Ted Sizers CES.

Harold Howe II: A member of Yales Order of Skull and Bones, Howe was the US Commissioner of Education under President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Howe sat on the 1982 Advisory Panel on Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education, which was convened by the US Department of the Treasurys Office of Technical Assistance.

In sum, the NEAs 1985 Special Edition of Todays Education included an all-star cast of ed-tech proponents while promoting the expansion of computerized learning during the years of Project BEST and UNESCO Study 11. At the same time, this Special Edition advertised IBM ed-tech products just before the NEA partnered with IBM to build the proto-internet Mastery in Learning School Renewal Network, which was followed by another NEA-IBM partnership through Americas domestic spinoff of UNESCOs Education for All coalition.

Like the NEA, the AFT also has decades-long ties to IBM. In fact, the year that the NEA published this Special Edition of Todays Education, in1985, was the same year that AFT President Albert Shanker was cavorting with the head of IBM and unspecified bankers at Trilateral Commission meetings. Fast-forward to 2016, when AFT News announced AFT and IBM Launch New Tool for Teachers. Through this AFT partnership with the IBM Foundation, AFT-affiliated teachers were given premier access to Teacher Advisor with Watson, a first-of-its-kind, innovative professional development tool using IBMs Watson cognitive technology to help strengthen instructional skills and customize lessons. With the help of the AFT, this early pilot development of IBMs Teacher Advisor with Watson was trained by third-grade math teachers and designed . . . to tailor lessons to meet individual classroom needs. In other words, the AFT lent its teachers to IBM so that Watson AI could data-mine them to develop learning analytics that will automate their jobs with personalized cognitive-behavioral algorithms.

Skipping ahead to this year, on May 20, 2021, the AFT-endowed Albert Shanker Institute promoted IBMs public-private P-TECH partnerships through a virtual discussion event entitled Breaking Barriers: A Conversation with AFT President Randi Weingarten and Stan Litow. The event also promoted Litows book: Breaking Barriers: How P-TECH Schools Create a Pathway from High School to College to Career. During the virtual talk, Weingarten, who wrote the foreword for Litows book, states that, for several decades, she has partnered with Litow, who was the President of the IBM Foundation when he founded P-TECH charter schools that partner with IBMs Open P-TECH. Those schools work to orient students to the wide world of technology . . . AI, Cloud, Cybersecurity, Quantum and more, including Data Science and Blockchain. Through the public-private P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools) system, students can earn [i]ndustry-recognized digital badges enabling them to demonstrate their knowledge and skills as they apply for employment through career pathways which can be pipelined through a blockchain pay for success system. That system, in turn, is funded by social impact investments that are part and parcel to the Social Credit economy of the WEFs Great Reset. Meanwhile, the NEA is also trafficking in competency-based teacher-training courses that award micro-credentials certified through digital badges which can likewise be tracked and traced with Social Credit smart contracts through blockchain and other DLT networks financed by pay-for-success impact investments.

While IBM and the AFT partnered together in the development of Watson AI and P-TECH micro-credentialing through digital badges, which are likewise being disseminated by the NEA, IBM is also an active member of UNESCOs NEA-endorsed Global Education Coalition. That coalition has teamed up with Chainlink DLTs to service social impact investments. Specifically, this partnership between Chainlink and UNESCO is financing a grant program to inspire developers to build universally connected smart contracts that positively impact humanity in any number of ways, including:

Dynamic NFTs powered by Chainlink VRF [Verified Random Function] that incentivize and gamify education to reduce school dropout rates and support lifelong learning . . .

IoT-based [internet-of-things] projects that leverage Chainlink External Adapters to connect smart contracts to real-world sensors and automate outdated, paper-based processes.

Educational certificates, for both formal university and skills-based courses, that are recorded on-chain and in universal passports.

In brief, through UNESCOs NEA-endorsed Global Education Coalition, which includes Chainlink and IBM, social impact investments are being funneled into DLT innovations that incorporate Chainlink middleware to integrate real world sensors for tracking gamified learning analytics into tokenized educational certificates, such as NEA and IBM digital badges. Those badges are supported by the AFT through smart contracts that are logged onto universal blockchain passports, such as IBMs Excelsior platform, and linked to the internet-of-things.

In a December 2020 article for the Activist Post, I documented how an infrastructure of Chainlink middleware has been in the works to integrate blockchain and hashgraph DLTs with off-chain data in order to streamline the ubiquitous monetization, or tokenization, of all digital forms of personal data for the purposes of tracking Social Credit metrics through the internet-of-everything in a surveillance capitalist Fourth Industrial Revolution. Now that UNESCOs Global Education Coalition is impact-financing Chainlink applications for connecting off-chain and on-chain data, IBMs blockchain platform for vaccine passports, such as New Yorks Excelsior, is primed to be Chainlinked to aggregate off-chain learning analytics and digital workforce competency badges that can be algorithmically tracked into a global Social Credit system bankrolled by impact investments under the world governance bodies of the United Nations and the World Economic Forum.

To tie it all together, IBM has spent at least sixty years collaborating with the AFT and the NEA in order to evolve Skinnerian teaching machines into AI adaptive-learning computers which data-mine students psychometrics for Social Credit algorithms that can be monetized, or tokenized, through blockchain passports linked to the internet-of-everything. Now that the adaptive AI learning infrastructure is firmly in place, thanks to COVID lockdowns which have forced schools to install Big Data ed-tech, all thats left is to hook up these psychometric data-mining technologies to a blockchain passport system. IBM is already platforming this through its contract with New Yorks Excelsior vaccine passport. To put the nail in the Orwellian coffin, the NEA and the AFT are now championing Bidens federal vaccination mandates, which are ushering in blockchain vaccine passports that will allow for the laying of the cornerstone for the DLT digital ID system that is necessary for the Fourth Industrial Revolutions Social Credit panopticon.

NEA and AFT Reimagine Education with Google, Gates Foundation, UNESCO, and WEF

The NEA and the AFT are further accelerating the COVID leap forward into the Fourth Industrial Revolution as both national unions are calling for teachers to reimagine schooling through the publicprivate ed-tech partnerships touted by UNESCO and the World Economic Forum. Meanwhile, those organizations are also parroting the Reimagine Education campaign of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in collaboration with former Alphabet/Google head Eric Schmidt. Of course, the NEA and the AFT both have a history of being funded with millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation, which is a member of the WEF, and both unions have also endorsed school integration of ed-tech products from Google, which is also a member of the WEF. At the same time, both the NEA and the AFT have collaborated with the Gates-owned Microsoft corporation, which signed a 2004 Cooperation Agreement with UNESCO, contracting to globalize Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) through community-based public-private ed-tech partnerships.

Now, as the WEF spearheads the technocratic Great Reset, these alliances between the NEA, the AFT, Google, the Gates Foundation, the WEF, and UNESCO are coming together as the global Reimagine Education movement, which aims to exploit COVID lockdowns in order to permanently lock in a Screen New Deal that deploys ed-tech to data-mine students learning algorithms for predictive analytics. This ed-tech system of Big Data-mining is being built to lay the groundwork for a Social Credit surveillance network plugged in to an AI internet-of-things hooked up to a transhumanist internet-of-bodies (IoB). Meanwhile, Gatess Microsoft corporation has been advancing the ID2020 project to set up a global digital ID apparatus through DLT platforms that can aggregate off-chain and on-chain biopsychosocial data, including blockchain vaccine passports and learning analytics, which can be tracked on Social Credit ledgers through the IoT and the IoB.

In 2019, a whole year before the global COVID lockdowns, the NEAs newsletter, NEA Today,published an article entitled The Reimagined Classroom, which showcased classrooms where teachers personalize lessons through Google Docs data along with QR codes, Apple TV, and a smartboard. This reimagined classroom also envisioned students typing their essays on their smartphones and Google Chromebooks in addition to posting Twitter comments for discussion assignments. Just a few months after COVID lockdowns began in the United States, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his own Reimagine Education partnership with the Gates Foundation and Bilderberger Eric Schmidt, who is still the Technical Advisor of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google where he was previously the CEO. In several articles published by the Activist Post, I documented how the Gates-Google Reimagine projects are building Social Credit Big Databases through data-sharing arrangements between InnovateEDU, which is funded by the Gates Foundation, and Googles BigQuery datahub, which contracts with the Chainlink DLT middleware that services social impact investments through its partnership with UNESCO.

In the meantime, the Gates-Google Reimagine initiative is currently being advanced by the NEA Foundation. In July of 2021, just a few months after the National Education Association lobbied the CDC to tighten up COVID-mitigation policies perpetuating virtual blended learning, the NEA Foundation announced that it would begin offering Reimagining Education Grants designed to support broad systemic changes and a reinvention of schools.

Prior to announcing these Reimagine Grants, the NEA and the Gates-owned Microsoft corporation co-financed a 2010 coalition between the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, which were also funded by Intel, and Pearson, the latter of which partners with IBMs Watson AI and is the largest edu-corporation in the world. As a result of this funding from the NEA and the ed-tech industry, the AACTE and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills published a white paper titled 21st Century Knowledge and Skills in Educator Preparation. That document calls for the application of technology to support more robust instructional methods grounded in Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) theory and research with the outcomes-based goal of developing workforce competences for 21st century skills in a global economy. In the interim between this 21st Century technology project and the Reimagine Education partnerships, the NEA has also been funded by multiple Gates Foundation grants, totaling at least $9,227,812.

Similarly, beginning in 2009, the Gates Foundation bankrolled the AFTs Innovation Fund to the tune of $1 million dollars each year until 2014 after public backlash emerged concerning the financial relationships between the AFT and the Gates Foundation. According to Department of Labor filings, AFT President Weingarten earned nearly $560,000 in total compensation during the 2013-2014 school year. Additionally, the Gates Foundation also endowed the AFT Foundation with at least $1,922,200, including a grant [t]o enable the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation to support the Minnesota Guild of Public Charter Schools to become a self-sustaining organization. Last year, on August 20, 2020, the Gates-owned Microsoft corporation sponsored an Axios Event titled The Future of Employment where AFT President Weingarten and Microsoft President Brad Smith called for policies and programs that would bridg[e] the digital divide by expanding broadband access to accommodate distance learning and distance working.

This year, on May 13, 2021, the AFT, which has adopted the Google Certified Educator Exam, published a white paper titled Return, Recover, and Reimagine: Toward a Renaissance in Americas Public Schools, which calls for schools to Reimagine Teaching and Learning by preparing students for [f]ascinating breakthroughs and vexing challenges [that] are all around usnanotechnology, gene editing, sustainable cities, even advances in 3-D printed organs. What seemed like the future is hereso it must be in our schools. Stated differently, the AFTs Reimagine Teaching and Learning campaign seeks to assimilate students into the transhumanist future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This revolution essentially aims to reimagine the human species into a cyborg collective of human resources commodified through biotech and nanotech that are controlled by AI for the purposes of human capital management in a Social Credit-based technocracy. Meanwhile, to facilitate this post-humanist Social Credit system, Microsoft is advancing the ID2020 project to set up a global digital ID grid linked to blockchain vaccine passports and other DLTs that can log Social Scores based on biopsychosocial data, including EEG algorithms from transhumanist brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).


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A Manitoba judge says a Brandon police officers search of a mans vehicle amounted to police misconduct in a decision on the admissibility of evidence.

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A Manitoba judge says a Brandon police officers search of a mans vehicle amounted to "police misconduct" in a decision on the admissibility of evidence.

Manitoba Court of Queens Bench Justice Herbert Rempel ruled the Brandon Police Service officer crossed a "bright-red line" when they searched Nathan Neubuhrs vehicle during an April 2019 traffic stop.

The officer found approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine during the stop, but the search was challenged during a voir dire, which determined the admissibility of the evidence.

"I would describe this as serious police misconduct that weighs heavily in favour of a finding that admission of the resulting evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute," reads Rempels Oct. 26 decision.

On April 24, 2019, the officer ran a routine licence-plate check on a black pickup truck with an Alberta plate on a service road next to the Trans-Canada Highway, according to the decision. The plate was inactive and registered to a white 2014 Dodge Ram.

They left to go to another call but came back later to find the truck parked in the same place and initiated a traffic stop. Neubuhr was sitting in the drivers seat with a "less than friendly" pit bull in the front seat.

The officer then checked the accuseds licence, which came back as inactive, Rempel wrote.

The arresting officer called for backup because he was going to arrest Neubuhr for driving without a licence. The backup was to put the pit bull in a separate vehicle, according to the decision.

Once backup arrived, the officer told the accused he was under arrest for driving without a licence and put in the back of a police car. Rempel says the officer "strangely" didnt handcuff or search Neubuhr for officer safety.

The officer went back to the truck to search for paperwork so it could be towed and found a single beer can on the floor of the car. The vehicle itself was described as a "pigsty," and that it looked like someone was living in it.

"This triggered a bumper-to-bumper search of the Chevy, which the arresting officer claimed was now justified under the provisions of the [Liquor Gaming and Cannabis Control Act]," Rempel wrote.

"The theory offered by the arresting officer was that if he could find one beer can, then he could perhaps find more."

During the search, the officer found a leather satchel with drugs in it in the back seat. But the judge took issue with the fact Neubuhr was never charged under the LGCCA and wasnt told the officer would be searching the truck.

Despite finding the beer can, Rempel said the search was unlawful, as transporting empty beer cans is not an offence under the LGCCA.

Rempel said the officers actions resulted in an infringement of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"The facts before me show serious Charter-infringing police misconduct, with a correspondingly high impact on Mr. Neubuhrs protected interest. I am satisfied this is precisely the sort of police conduct that the Charter was intended to abolish," Rempel wrote.

The judge ruled the drugs couldnt be used as evidence in the case, so the charges against Neubuhr were stayed.

Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcaen said Tuesday he had not had the chance to review the decision, given how recent it is.

"The Brandon Police Service strives to provide up-to-date training to our officers tasked with making difficult investigative decisions in the field and if there are lessons to be learned in this situation, we will take advantage of them to improve our service to the community, remove illicit drugs from our streets and obtain convictions in court when charges are laid."

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
The first documented case of chronic wasting disease in Manitoba has been discovered.

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FILE The first documented case of chronic wasting disease  which is found in deer populations  was recently confirmed in Manitoba.

The first documented case of chronic wasting disease in Manitoba has been discovered.

The case was first discovered by staff in the surveillance zone along the Saskatchewan border, according to Manitoba Wildlife and Fisheries Branch director Rob Olson. The animal, located west of Dropmore, had shown signs of the disease.

The male mule deer was observed to be unhealthy and was euthanized in western Manitoba, near Lake of the Prairies, on Oct. 14.

"Its not surprising its a mule deer, and its not surprising its a mule deer buck. Likely male mule deer are the most susceptible," Olson said. "We just know that theyre more vulnerable to it."

The case has been defined as "significant" by the province.

There are various measures in place to prevent the disease from spreading into Manitoba, including restricting the movement of live deer or hunting kills into the province. However, Olson said, it remains difficult to defend hundreds of miles of the border.

The department will increase sampling in the area and along the Saskatchewan border to determine the extent of infection in deer populations.

To contain the spread of chronic wasting disease in Manitoba, a small no-hunting zone around the area of discovery has been proposed to prevent hunters from inadvertently spreading the disease via carcasses.

Monday marks the opening of the general rifle deer season in Manitoba, Olson said. Its unfortunate timing to impose the no-hunting zone, but its imperative to stop the spread of the disease and close off a small section of land near the Saskatchewan border. The closure will not affect the entirety of Game Hunting Area 22 and will instead focus on a tight area around Lake of the Prairies.

The department has been monitoring for the potential spread of chronic wasting disease into Manitoba for many years. Hunters accessing the area near the Saskatchewan border are required to submit samples of any wild animal they kill. He added page 60 of "The Manitoba Hunting Guide" is a great resource for hunters and shows the locations of depots for samples.

"We want people to take it seriously and  help us. Be our eyes on the ground, tell us if you see animals that are not acting right," Olson said. "We want hunters to help by participating in the mandatory sample submission. Hunters participating is huge, and we hope they take it seriously and help us."

Olson said his team was not surprised to see the arrival of chronic wasting disease in Manitoba because it has been spreading across the Prairie provinces.

"Theyre wild animals  they didnt get the memo theyre not supposed to come here," Olson said.

Chronic wasting disease comes from the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. It is a prion disease, meaning it is a misshapen protein causing a progressive neurological disease.

"It is highly contagious, but it is species-specific. This is one specific to deer families  so mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose, elk and caribou. It can infect all of them," Olson said. "It is always fatal."

During the early stages of infection, signs might not be visible in the wild animal but as the disease progresses, deer will experience emaciation, erratic behaviour, scruffy fur, drooling, a drooping head and other symptoms.

"They just look unhealthy and act odd," Olson said.

While chronic wasting disease is in the same family as mad cow disease, Olson said, it remains specific to deer and will not spread to livestock. He added to date it has never been contracted by a human.

"The biggest risk here is for the deer," Olson said. "It greatly affects their survival."

The disease was first found in Colorado in 1967. Over the last five decades, the state has seen the average survival rate per year of deer drop from 80 per cent in healthy animals to about 50 per cent in animals with the disease.

Chronic wasting disease has been active in Saskatchewan since the 1980s and has been progressively spreading eastward, Olson said. The disease has now become an endemic largely located in the western half of the province.

His team has been participating in national chronic wasting disease working groups and remain in close contact with Alberta, Saskatchewan, American states and international partners that have been combating it for decades.

"Were constantly sharing science and best practices to try and battle it," Olson said. "The frustrating thing for all the jurisdictions is its hard to stop. Its really, really, really contagious within the deer."

They have learned from other jurisdictions that when a case occurs, a key approach is moving quickly to contain the spread.

If anyone witnesses what they suspect to be chronic wasting disease, they are encouraged to call their local district office and report it.

"Were trying to contain it, and we need folks help," Olson said.

 ckemp@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp
The province has logged 127 new cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday and one new death.

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The province has logged 127 new cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday and one new death.

According to the provinces online dashboard, the highest case count was in the Southern Health region with 50, followed by the Winnipeg health region with 27, the Northern region with 26, Prairie Mountain Health with 17, and Interlake-Eastern with seven.

Of those cases, 75 (59 per cent) were not vaccinated, three were partially vaccinated and 49 (39 per cent) were fully vaccinated.

The number of active COVID-19 cases has surged to 1,303, an increase of 30 since Monday.

The seven-day case count average in Manitoba is now at 122, a new fourth-wave high and the highest since June 23, which was 126.

The rising case numbers also pushed the provinces test positivity rate to five per cent, the highest since July.

Winnipegs latest test positivity rate was unavailable. It was 1.6 per cent Monday.

The age and sex of the latest death were unavailable, but provincial data says the person is from the Southern Health region.

The total number of people in hospital stands at 104, up from 98 on Monday. That includes 24 people in intensive care units  83 per cent are not vaccinated and 17 per cent are fully vaccinated.

There were 2,331 lab tests completed on Monday, bringing the total to 1,094,672 since the pandemic began.

The total case count since the start of the pandemic sits at 63,809 cases and 1,242 deaths.

The provincial vaccine dashboard recorded 86.9 per cent of eligible Manitobans have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 83.8 per cent have two.

School cases of COVID-19 since Sept. 7 stand at 617, according to the provinces online dashboard on school data. Of those, 529 are student cases and 88 are staff; 189 schools have reported one or more cases.

The Manitoba government now only issues news releases Mondays and Thursdays to update case numbers, although some figures are available online.

 kmckinley@brandonsun.com
Want to praise someone or get something off your chest? Darts and Pats is the place to do it.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Entering this years Portia Geach Memorial Award at the S.H. Ervin Gallery means being virtually assaulted by Janne Kearneys Theres a rainbow after every storm (Tilly Baker, musician). Theres nothing subtle about this portrait, and it sets the tone for a show that greets the end of Sydneys lockdown with a loud hooray. I dont know what sort of music Tilly Baker makes, but its probably not the ambient variety. When your dress, hair and glasses are in rainbow colours, it suggests loudness. Kearney has added the same colours to the background in case there was any ambiguity. Its no mystery as to why this picture got the entrance to itself. Janne Kearneys Theres a rainbow after every storm (Tilly Baker, musician). Credit:S.H. Ervin Gallery The Portia Geach is Australias premier award for female portraitists, resembling a women-only version of the Archibald prize. Like the Archibald, its an inconsistent affair, but this year the standard is higher, presumably because artists have been able to put more time and thought into their work during lockdown. When it comes to the visual arts, the pandemic has had its benefits. The strong colour continues in Joanna Braithwaites Aficionado, a portrait of art writer Chloe Wolifson. The simplicity of composition is offset by a bold colour scheme that shows Wolifson in a bright orange top against a turquoise background. Im not quite sure about the goldfish bowl balanced casually on the subjects head. Braithwaite sees it as a thought bubble, but few people would view goldfish and thought as a natural pairing. Joanna Braithwaites Aficionado (Chloe Wolifson, independent arts writer, researcher and curator). Credit:S.H. Ervin Gallery Theres also a remarkable amount of colour in Jo Bertinis portrait of her mother, Anne Ferguson. The soft pinks, reds and yellows are surprising because the subject is a sombre one. Anne is suffering from dementia, with all the ravages that entails. Not long ago, she was a sculptor of some distinction, but the disease has taken away her ability to work.

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Bertinis statement describes the discussions about art she still manages to have with her mother, which seem more precious because they are moments of lucidity snatched from the encroaching fog. Theres a desperate sadness in Annes face, but the painting is radiant, the warmth of the palette reflecting a daughters love for her mum. Theres nothing else in the exhibition thats so heartfelt, so genuinely touching. Could the judges be hard-hearted enough to award the prize elsewhere? Yep. This years first prize of $30,000 went to Marie Mansfield, for Tilly, a portrait of artist Matilda Michell, who is also represented in the show with a painting of wordsmith David Astle. Marie Mansfields Tilly (Matilda Michell, artist) was entered in the Portia Geach Memorial Award. Credit:S.H. Ervin Gallery Mansfield has appeared in this exhibition on many occasions. Her perseverance has finally been rewarded for a picture devoid of games or gimmicks that shows Michell dressed in black jeans and T-shirt, obviously her working togs. She is perched on a stool, her legs splayed out in front, hands tucked behind her head. Mansfield says the pose is unencumbered, open and natural in the moment, but its also full of physical tension, as if the figure were strapped to a rack. This is the ambiguity of the studio, where artists are simultaneously energised and tortured by their work. Its a crisp, assertive piece that does a lot with the most economical of means. If a portrait is primarily a likeness that gives us a sense of the personality and character of the sitter, Mansfield has fulfilled that task with great skill. If a portrait is a likeness that gives us a sense of the sitter, Mansfield has fulfilled that task with great skill. John McDonald on Marie Mansfields winning portrait There are 57 finalists this year, so if I only discuss a handful of paintings that doesnt mean the others are without interest. For those looking for a superior brand of realism, Tsering Hannafords portrait of farmer Jim Litchfield is a stunner. This bloke looks like hes about to speak to you. Its the hands, the eyes and the turn of the mouth that give this picture its spark of life.

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Rachel Perrins portrait of this years Archibald prize-winning artist, Peter Wegner, loses very little in comparison, although its worth considering whether the elaborate background adds or subtracts from the overall effect. Perrin even includes an element of pokerwork! Its an unwinnable argument: whether the best portraits concentrate solely on the sitter or if background detail is essential. Filippa Buttitta, for instance, has pushed the limits in her portrait of artist Tony Costa. Shes captured an excellent likeness but filled the canvas with too much distracting information. Rachel Perrins One painter, two painters (Peter Wegner, artist). Credit:S.H. Ervin Pam Tippett, known as a painter of still life, might be expected to include a few significant objects in her portrait of Amanda Bell, former principal of the Womens College at Sydney University. A vase, a bunch of azaleas and an antique photo have been chosen to provide insight into the subjects interests and achievements. Bell looks mildly amused by the process. Pam Tippetts Together (Amanda Bell, AM). Credit:S.H. Erwin Deborah Walker has taken a more adventurous approach with The suitcase (autobiographical memory), a portrait of her step-daughter Stephanie Griffin. It depicts a moment of departure in which each detail is given a mildly surreal twist. Griffin is barefoot. Her tears are echoed by large droplets that seep down the wall. A dog and a looming green form (which may or may not be a tree) on the left side on the canvas act as disjointed presences in the picture. Rather than too much information, Walker withholds vital data, turning this autobiographical memory into a metaphysical puzzle. Deborah Walkers The Suitcase (autobiographical memory). Credit:S.H. Ervin Gallery Finally, two paintings that left me completely bamboozled: Zoe Youngs The beauty of resilience, a portrait of Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the academic who escaped imprisonment in Iran; and Tianli Zus Dr. Gene, which must be the strangest vision of philanthropist Gene Sherman ever committed to canvas.

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Tianli Zus Dr. Gene (Dr Gene Sherman, AM). Credit:S.H. Ervin I know Zoe believes, in the style of Oscar Wilde, that its better to be noticed than not noticed, even if its not exactly a favourable notice. But its unclear what she was intending in this severely distorted picture in which Moore-Gilberts lower half seems disproportionately larger than the top, while her hands resemble skeletal claws. Its as if the kilim on which she sits has exerted a malign influence over the figure, making everything rough and choppy. The image remains awkwardly realistic while flirting half-heartedly with a more expressive style. Zoe Youngs The beauty of resilience (Kylie Moore-Gilbert, academic). Credit:S.H. Ervin As for Dr. Gene, Zu has made her subject look so scary that she could have stepped out of a Hammer Horror. All thats missing is a set of fangs. The black dress, the deathly white pallor, the dark glasses and the enveloping blackness produce an alarmingly sinister impression. The stylised little dog on a supplementary panel makes the portrait seem even more ritualistic. Loading I dont know whats on the piece of paper Sherman is holding, but perhaps its her proposal for turning the Powerhouse Museum into a fashion hub  an idea that many see as genuinely sinister. One thing I can say with confidence is that Zu has shown us a side of Gene Sherman weve never seen before, although Im not sure that this counts as success. johnmcdonald.net.au

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Not long until Christmas, and with bookshops open again, its worth having a squiz at some of the notable books coming our way in November. This is really the last month for big titles this year, but there are some crackers coming. (In fact thats a bit of a furphy as a few of the so-called November books were actually published last week.) The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday. Credit: Devotion, Hannah Kent Picador, $32.99, October 26 A deeply personal, third novel about a woman migrating in the 19th-century from Germany and finding love, loss and, yes, devotion, along the way. Kents Burial Rites was a blistering success, her follow-up The Good People less so, but she seems on form in this one, her first not rooted utterly in historical research. The book is just saturated in love, Kent says in Jane Howards interview with her, because I feel like thats where so much of my life has been in these last couple of years.

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Credit: How Decent Folk Behave, Maxine Beneba Clarke Hachette, $26.99, October 26 Accessible and immediate poetry that is bang on point from the memoirist, short-story and childrens writer. Clarkes style is direct, her language straightforward and her topics range from a personal consideration of her brand of feminism to a remarkable poetic summary of the horrors and disasters of last year. Credit: Gudyarra: The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance, The Bathurst War 18221824, Stephen Gapps NewSouth, $34.99, November 1

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The author of The Sydney Wars turns his attention to the all-out war of 1824 that broke out west of the Blue Mountains. Tensions arose with the occupation of Wiradyuri lands with Governor Macquaries plan to expand the colony and create wealth from sheep and cattle. Henry Reynolds describes the book as essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the new direction in the history of the frontier wars. Credit: Last Letter to a Reader, Gerald Murnane Giramondo, $26.95, November 1 There isnt anyone writing in Australia who writes like the idiosyncratic, perennial Nobel tip Gerald Murnane. In what he says is his final work for publication, he rereads his published books and reflects on them in his unique style. He even reconsiders this last book itself, which somehow seems a typical Murnane act. Credit: The Lyrics, Paul McCartney

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Allen Lane, $155, November 2 Masquerading as an autobiography and based on conversations with the Irish poet Paul Muldoon, Paul McCartney  you know, from a small group called the Beatles, Wings  reflects on the life and times of 154 songs over 64 years of his musical life. Its all a question of melody, apparently. Didnt we know that, though? Credit: 7, Christos Tsiolkas Allen & Unwin, $32.99, November 2 His last novel, Damascus, was about the early Christians. Here Tsiolkas creates a contemporary protagonist, a jaundiced novelist in search of beauty and simplicity in his life and embarking on a new book about a retired porn star presented with an intriguing proposition. Christo, as the writer is called, has taken refuge in a beach home on the south coast of NSW and ponders changes in how he views literature, how seminal moments in his life have infiltrated his fiction, and where his characters come from. Credit:

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How We Love, Clementine Ford Allen & Unwin, $29.99, November 2 The formidable and very popular feminist author of Fight Like a Girl and Boys Will Be Boys offers a surprisingly tender memoir of platonic, maternal and romantic love. When Katherine Brabon reviewed Boys Will Be Boys she described it as a gaze at contemporary patriarchy, gendered oppression and toxic masculinity. Ford makes a cogent and passionate argument ... that the system in which we live is broken in teaching boys and men their place in the world. Shes covered boys and girls, now we have Ford on love. Credit: How to End a Story, Helen Garner Text, $29.99, November 2 The third volume of her revealing diaries unpicks the misery of the collapse of her marriage in the late 1990s. As our review says: How to End a Story is a tremendous feat of what might just as well be fiction. It has a bloodcurdling credibility and in it Garner takes such a dim view of everyone, including her disordered self, that you are left no room to judge anybody and just hope for mercy to fall like rain.

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Two key frontbenchers were missing from Labors line-up during the last fortnight of Parliament. The shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, remained in Queensland and the shadow health minister, Mark Butler, stayed in South Australia.

An assortment of marginal seat holders also stayed in their electorates. There were deliberate tactical reasons for their absence. In the ongoing discussions canvassing the limitless what if scenarios that by necessity preoccupy oppositions, Labor worked out a plan in case Scott Morrison had a rush of blood and called an election for later this year.

They did not want Chalmers and Butler, or selected backbench MPs, to be immobilised by the quarantine wars, so the safest course was for them to stay home where they could swing into action immediately if Morrison pulled the rip-cord.

It was a sensible move which showed a meticulous level of planning by Labor on a micro level, which needs to be replicated at a macro level with the release of critical policies now that Australians are emerging from the COVID cocoon.
The Scots College has asked all students and staff across years 5 to 12 to self-isolate until further notice after a COVID-19 case was detected at the prestigious Bellevue Hill boys school.

Parents and carers were advised on Wednesday afternoon that a member of the eastern suburbs private school community had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Scots College on Victoria Road, Belleveue Hill. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The Senior Preparatory School (years 5-6) and Senior School (years 7-12) campuses on Victoria Road will be non-operational on Thursday to allow time for contact tracing and cleaning, Principal Ian Lambert said in the notice, sent by email and seen by The Sydney Morning Herald.

All students in years 5 to 12 will return to home-based learning for Thursday. Any student or staff member who attended either campus this week has been asked to self-isolate until further health advice.
Sydneys second city will not have an endorsed Liberal Party presence as the state executive distances itself from several problematic councils in the upcoming elections.

Parramatta Council, whose current and previous mayors are Liberal, and contains members on the state executive, has been ditched by party headquarters following court battles and factional warring in the chaotic run-up to the polls.

Parramatta Liberal councillor Ben Barrack is facing a charge of intimidation.

Blacktown, Cumberland, Bayside and Strathfield councils with also be without endorsed candidates, with some party members saying the vacuum would lead to less accountability, while others said reducing political interference in local government was a positive step.

One Liberal member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as it was about internal matters, said the councils had been left out by different camps trying to wrest control.
Those leaks are not concrete actions we are looking for. But if it is Australias answer, it is sad... But we dont consider this is the way Australia likes to react. According to reports in The Daily Telegraph, The Australian and The Australian Financial Review, two days before the AUKUS arrangement was announced, Mr Macron messaged Mr Morrison to say that he was not available at the time Australia was seeking a phone conversation. Credit:Matt Golding Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarines ambitions? Macron reportedly said in the text messages. Asked in Dubai if the leaked text message came from his office, Mr Morrison did not admit or deny authorising the leak of a text message sent to his personal phone but said he made very clear what the timeline was on the cancellation of the deal.

Loading Claims had been made and those claims were refuted, he said. Mr Morrison said he wanted to put an end to days of escalating dispute over a personal clash with Mr Macron. This contract was about delivering the best possible capability for the men and women who serve in our defence forces  thats what these contracts are about. Trying to rule a line under the affair, Mr Morrison said he had tried to be clear about the communications with Mr Macrons office but did not want to comment on the leaks.

I dont think theres any further profit for anyone in continuing down this path, he said. We made the decision we needed to make in Australias national interest. We understand the concerns and objections that have come in relation to that. They were understood when we made the decision. That was the decision Australia needed to make in our national interest. Im very keen to ensure that now we move on and deliver that capability. The political fallout continued on Tuesday when French government officials expressed their anger to Le Parisien at the leak to the Australian media of a private text from Mr Macron to Mr Morrison on around September 13.

Advisers to Mr Macron told the French newspaper the leak, which they blamed on Mr Morrisons office, was a pretty crude tactic to respond to the Presidents remarks. In a speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mr Thebault reiterated that his government has no gripe with Australia or the Australian people, but with certain aspects of the Canberra Bubble and its Secret Citys practices. Mr Thebault also urged Australia to significantly increase its 2030 emissions reduction target from 26-28 per cent to 45 per cent, saying: The time for prevarication has ended. Except if one is to become an accidental ally of the remaining who resist action. France reacted furiously to Australias decision in September to dump the French agreement and instead sign the AUKUS defence pact with both Mr Thebault and the French ambassador to the United States recalled to Paris for consultations with the government.

In his first public appearance since returning to Australia, the French ambassador said the Australian government did lie to Mr Macron. Was the President lied to? Yes he was. I have several examples, he said. Maybe there is a difference between misleading and lying. But you know, among head of states and governments, when you mislead a friend and an ally, you lie to him. Mr Thebault said Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton should not have held a meeting with their French counterparts just 17 days before the AUKUS announcement agreeing to underline the importance of the submarine agreement.

Do you agree on such a joint communique when there is the slightest doubt on something so massive as the official backbone of our cooperation? Maybe on Mars. But not on this planet, he said. Mr Thebault also hit out at the Australian government for not pushing back against negative media reports of the French attack-class submarine program, insisting the project was not over budget or delayed. He said the program was always budgeted at $50 billion in constant dollars, which doesnt take inflation into account over the life of the program. The Attack class program has been intentionally vilified to become an easy scapegoat, to justify a change of footing that was long time in the making, he said. And because there was far more at stake than providing submarines, because it was a common agreement on sovereignty, sealed with the transmission of highly classified data, the way it was handled was a stab in the back. These are not things which are done between partners, even less between friends. Especially in view of the strong historical ties that exist between our people and our strong political, strategic common interests for our citizens in this region, for the peoples of the whole region.

Loading Mr Thebault also raised significant concerns about the AUKUS agreement, which involves an 18-month review to decide on how to build nuclear-powered submarines using British or American propulsion technology with highly enriched uranium. The Australian government is abandoning a solid cooperation with well-established parameters for a yet unspecified project, without even a solid transition. A mere project of a project Not even the length of the study of the study is certain. Mr Thebault also said the AUKUS agreement could have implications for our common efforts to strengthen non-proliferation of highly enriched uranium. The new prospect therefore entails very specific responsibilities for Australia which will be scrutinised by the international community. Reconciling this project with the imperatives of nuclear non-proliferation will be a long and complex job, he said.
Under a pink roof at a desert retreat in southern California in 2013, Xi Jinping and Barack Obama laid the groundwork for almost a decade of co-operation on climate change between the two superpowers.

By 2015, the Paris Agreement was signed by the worlds two largest polluters at a state dinner at the White House, a moment that burnished both reputations.

But on Tuesday, much of that co-operation - so vital to the future of the planet - was blown away by an angry Joe Biden and a recalcitrant China, consigning climate change action to the wider diplomatic storm between the rivals over trade strikes, territorial claims, foreign interference and human rights abuse.

The relationship between the two superpowers is now at its lowest ebb since Donald Trump left office. Climate change is no longer the salve that once brought Xi and Obama together over a private dinner of lobster tamales, porterhouse steak and cherry pie.
Paris: The lone survivor of the cell of Islamic State group terrorists who attacked Paris on November 13, 2015 has been questioned in depth for the first time, describing a close family life and his neighbourhood acquaintance with many of the other defendants.

Salah Abdeslam, who discarded a malfunctioning explosive vest on that day and fled, is one of 20 men on trial for the coordinated attacks that killed 130 people outside a sports stadium, at crowded restaurants and at a Bataclan rock concert.

A court sketch of key defendant Salah Abdeslam at a hearing in September. Credit:AP

All the attackers who fired at people or detonated explosive vests that night died. The men now on trial are largely accused of helping with logistics or transportation. Six of the 20 are being tried in absentia.

The hearing on Tuesday, Paris time, followed five weeks of testimony from survivors as well as grieving families, including relatives of a man who later killed himself after struggling with the trauma. At the start of the trial in September, Abdeslam wore all black, spoke harshly and identified his profession as fighter for Islamic State. He said the deaths of so many innocent people were nothing personal.
London: The World Health Organisation has approved another vaccine to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic in a move that could result in 5 billion doses added to the global supply by the end of next year.

Covaxin, produced by Indian company Bharat Biotech and the Indian governments Council of Medical Research, was found to be 78 per cent effective against severe COVID-19 in a late-stage trial.

A woman is injected with a dose of the Covaxin COVID vaccine in Assam, India earlier this year. Credit:AP

Covaxin can be stored in a fridge, unlike mRNA vaccines which require ultra-cold storage, making it especially suitable for low- and middle-income countries. A single dose costs just 295 rupees ($5.32) in India.

The vaccine is produced by using SARS-CoV-2,the virus that causes COVID-19, particles which have been chemically deactivated. This means they cannot infect a person but still induce a protective immune response.
Bryan, OH (43506)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. High around 45F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 28F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Chinese telecom gear company Huawei on Wednesday said that it is committed to helping shape India's digital talent landscape and continue to work with the larger ecosystem to drive future digital initiatives.

The company signed an agreement with Asean Foundation to bridge the digital talent gap in Asia Pacific at its Digital Talent Summit 2021.

"As a global ICT leader, Huawei over its 20-year presence in India has been committed to helping shape the country's digital talent landscape, focusing on building basic education infrastructure, driving skilling programs, and leveraging global training competitions to build a future-ready talent," Huawei India CEO David Li said in a statement announcing collaboration with Asean Foundation.

He said that Huawei has been conducting several learning initiatives including its global flagship ICT training programme the 'Seeds for the Future', which has facilitated Indian students from prestigious engineering institutes to join global compatriots in gaining valuable hands-on knowledge on futuristic technologies.

The company claims to have over 30,000 Huawei certified ICT professionals India and supported the digital infrastructure of more than 100 schools benefitting 50,000 students.

"Aiming to equip the underprivileged rural youth in joining India's ICT economy, the Huawei Telecom Skill Development Center launched in 2019 has since trained 500 youth in industry-related skills. We are proud of our legacy and work in India and are committed to continuing working with the larger ecosystem to drive future digital initiatives," Li said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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State-owned is expected to make investments under the for specialty steel as the steel giant is in process of "examining categories under the scheme."



is evaluating the guidelines of the scheme and would reach a conclusion with respect to investments under it accordingly, company's chairman Soma Mondal told PTI.

Replying to an e-mailed query on SAIL's investment plans under the PLI scheme, she said " is presently in process of examining various categories under the PLI scheme, for feasibility and which may synergize with SAIL's current capabilities...The process of evaluation is ongoing based on the detailed guidelines, it would take some time to crystalize the specific investment plans."



Mondal also informed that post identifying product category under the scheme, if required, SAIL's Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel and the Centre for Engineering and Technology shall work in tandem with steel plants of the company to develop the products using required technologies.

On July 22, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved a Rs 6,322-crore to boost production of specialty steel in India, attract additional investment of about Rs 40,000 crore and generate fresh 5.25 lakh job opportunities.

On October 22, the scheme was notified by the government and uploaded on the website of Ministry of Steel.

Three days later, Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh along with Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste called a stakeholders' meet where they informed that applications from parties looking to invest under the scheme will be invited from the second week of November.

In the meeting organised by the ministry, Singh also asked the stakeholders to submit their concerns with respect to the scheme and said a meeting of empowered group of secretaries (EGS) will be called to address the issues of the looking to invest under the scheme.

The five categories of specialty steel which have been included in the are coated/plated steel products, high strength/wear resistant steel, specialty rails, alloy steel products, steel wires and electrical steel.

Industries like automobile, electrical, defence, pipes etc are consumers of these grades of steel, and India is importing the same. The government aims to save Rs 33,000 crore forex which goes out of India annually in exchange for import of specialty steel.

When asked about a particular product category which SAIL is looking to develop to attract customers from segments like auto, consumer goods etc, the chairman said "as mentioned, the process of examining various categories for feasibility and fit with the company's plans is presently underway. It would only be possible once further courses of action are frozen."



She further said making specialty steel is a collaborative process with end-users and transforms the usual supplier-customer relationship into more of a partnership so that steels can be designed and made for specific users/segments.

(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 administrator of two group companies, in the first meeting of the committee of creditors on Tuesday, apprised them about the status of the firms' corporate insolvency resolution process, as per regulatory filings.

Last month, the Reserve Bank had superseded the boards of Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL) and Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL) and appointed Rajneesh Sharma as the administrator of the two crisis-ridden firms.

Post this, appointed a three-member advisory committee to assist Sharma in the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of the two

On October 8, the Reserve Bank (RBI) bank had filed applications for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process against SIFL and SEFL at the Kolkata Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

"We wish to inform you that the 1st (first) meeting of the Committee of Creditors of the company was duly convened and conducted on Tuesday, 2nd November, 2021 at 11 :00 A.M. in Kolkata," SIFL said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

In a similarly worded exchange filing, SEFL said the first meeting of the committee of creditors of the company was convened on Tuesday at 2 PM.

"At the aforesaid meeting, the administrator of the company apprised the Committee of Creditors about the status of CIRP since the initiation, composition of committee of creditors based on the claims received, various aspects relating to the CIRP, going concern operations of the company and the way forward in terms of the activities/milestones as stipulated under the code," they said in their respective exchange filings.

The corporate insolvency resolution process has been initiated in both the under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016.

Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL) is the parent company of SEFL.

The economic stress caused due to the pandmeic led to an asset-liability mismatch in the Srei group, which resulted in the bankers taking control of the finances of Srei in order to recover their dues.

Srei group, which mainly caters to the MSME and infrastructure sectors, owes around Rs 18,000 crore to around 15 lenders, including Axis Bank, UCO Bank and State Bank of India, and has another nearly Rs 10,000 crore of external commercial borrowings and bonds.

The Bombay High Court on October 7 had dismissed Srei group's plea against the action on SIFL and SEFL.

(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.)
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotechs vaccine, Covaxin, received the much-awaited Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the (WHO) on Wednesday, bringing relief to students, business travelers, and all those who intend to travel abroad.

The WHO decided to grant the EUL after a risk-benefit assessment of Covaxin for global use. The WHO said in a tweet: WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to Covaxin (developed by Bharat Biotech), adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of Covid-19.

This emergency use listing expands the availability of vaccines, the most effective medical tools we have to end the pandemic, said Dr Mariangela Simao, WHO's assistant-director general for Access to Medicines and Health Products.

This makes Covaxin the sixth to receive EUL after the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson-Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm vaccines.





Reacting to the news, Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech, said: Validation by WHO is a very significant step towards ensuring global access to Indias widely administered, safe, and efficacious Covaxin. As an organisation, we have focused on maintaining stringent quality and safety standards that meet rigorous assessment, and scientific standards established by WHO, as a result, many of our vaccines have received WHO prequalification.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya took to twitter to thank the WHO, saying this was Diwali for Atmanirbhar Bharat. Thanking WHO for granting emergency use listing (EUL) to made-in-India Covaxin, the minister said.

Covaxin had demonstrated 77.8 per cent efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 infections and a 93.4 per cent efficacy against severe symptomatic infection.

India had thrown its weight behind locally-manufactured vaccines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the G20 summit session in Rome on Saturday that it was necessary that the WHO approves Indian vaccines at the earliest.

Long journey

The journey to EUL status took longer than what the firm had expected. In May, had said that it expects the EUL between July and September. The firm had submitted all the necessary documents for the EUL on July 9.

However, even as recently as October 26, the WHOs Technical Advisory Group (TAG) sought additional clarifications from Rolling data submission to the WHO began on July 6, and the company has been providing additional data as and when it was sought.

Sources in Indias industry said, Pfizer and Moderna got WHO EULs within six to nine weeks or so after they published their phase III clinical trial results. declared the results around July, and its been over 12 weeks or so. An inadequately drafted application can be a reason behind the back and forth between the company and the WHO.

The person quoted above, who is a senior executive at a maker, also added that back and forth with queries is part of the normal approval process. In some cases, it takes longer than usual. It is not a matter of concern, he added.
The has filed a charge sheet against 18 people, including an Indian Bank branch manager, in connection with the Rs 45.40-crore fixed deposit fraud of Chennai Port Trust, officials said on Wednesday.

A Sarmathi Raja, then branch manager of Koyambedu branch of Indian Bank, and 17 other accused have been named in the charge sheet for allegedly cheating Indian Bank by pre-closing term deposit accounts (fixed deposits) standing in the name of Chennai Port Trust, they said.

"It was alleged that the accused committed the offence of criminal conspiracy, impersonation, fabrication of false documents, submission of forged documents, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, fraudulent transactions, etc. and caused wrongful loss of Rs 45.40 crore (approximately) to the bank," spokesperson R C Joshi said.

Chennai Port Trust regularly invested in term deposits for which it had open tenders, which was bagged by the Koyambedu branch of Indian Bank, officials said.

The in its probe found that the accused allegedly exploited the situation of investment of surplus cash available with Chennai Port Trust in the form of term deposits/fixed deposits with the bank for earning interest through limited tender process and also the willingness of the bank to attract investment in the form of term deposits, Joshi said.

"In that process, a total of Rs 100.57 crore (approximately) was transferred from CPT in five investments against which 45 term deposits of different amounts were created. Out of the total amount invested, Rs 55.19 crore could be freezed after the detection of the fraud and the remaining Rs 45.40 crore were swindled by the accused," Joshi said.

Sources in the agency said the siphoned off amount was allegedly invested in properties and money lending business.

Once the deposits were created, the alleged mastermind went to the branch introducing himself as the Deputy Director (Finance) of Chennai Port Trust, where he opened a fake current account in the name of CPT at the branch on the basis of forged documents.

"After the receipt of investment from CPT on every occasion, the bank created term deposit receipts (Bond) against the said investment and the said bond was received by the accused from the bank directly. Instead of delivering the original bond to CPT, the accused made duplicate bonds and submitted the forged bonds to CPT," the CBI had said after registering the FIR in July 2020.

With original bonds in possession, the mastermind accused allegedly approached the bank and pre-closed deposits within days of their creation.

The amount was transferred to fake accounts of CPT created in the bank and further it was transferred to different accounts, they said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday asked Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir to undertake a review of rising COVID-19 cases and weekly positivity rates, and enhance testing.

In letters to the Himachal Pradesh health secretary, Andhra Pradesh principal secretary of health and the Jammu and Kashmir additional chief secretary of health, Additional Secretary, Union Health Ministry, Arti Ahuja highlighted the increase in weekly new Covid cases since last week (October 26-November 1) and early signs of rise in positivity rates since the past four weeks till October 31.

Ahuja also stressed on strict enforcement of Covid-appropriate behaviour, especially during festivities.

Previously on October 30, Ahuja had written to West Bengal and Assam, expressing concerns over the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the states.

In her letter to Himachal Pradesh, Ahuja pointed that there has been a nearly 22 per cent increase in weekly new cases since last week 1,468 infections in the week of October 26-November 1, as against 1,201 in the week of October 19-25 and that there are early signs of increase in positivity since the past four weeks 2.7 per cent in the week of October 4-10 to 3.3 per cent in the week of October 25-31.

"Three districts of the state Kangra, Bilaspur and Shimla have been identified as districts of concern due to high quantum of cases and positivity more than 2.5 per cent," the letter read.

"It is reassuring to note that the state has witnessed a gradual increase in the tests conducted from 38,726 in the week of October 4-10 to 44,549 in the week of October 25-31. Although because of the rising positivity, the state needs to conduct enhanced testing while maintaining the required RT-PCR share as it will aid in early identification of infection in the state," Ahuja said.

Andhra Pradesh, she pointed out, has shown a high quantum of weekly new cases over the past four weeks, and although the weekly positivity is less than 2.5 per cent, it has stayed stagnant for the past two weeks.

The state has also witnessed a decline in tests conducted from 2,82,959 in the week of October 04-10 to 2,41,838 in the week of October 25-31, she said.

"East Godavari district has been identified as a district of concern due to high quantum of cases and positivity over 2.5 per cent. The district had a high quantum of cases in the week ending October 31," the officer highlighted.

As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, Ahuja stated that the union territory has shown an approximately 61 per cent increase in weekly new cases 1,354 the week of October 25-31 as against 843 cases in the week of October 18-24.

Although the weekly positivity is less than one per cent, there has been a 67 per cent increase in positivity since the last two weeks from 0.3 per cent in the week of October 18-24 to 0.5 per cent in the week of October 25-31.

Ahuja said the UT has also witnessed a decline in tests conducted and underlined that because of the rising positivity, it needed to conduct enhanced testing.

"One district of the state Kathua has been identified as a district of concern due to high quantum of cases and positivity over 2.5 per cent. The district had high quantum of cases in the week ending October 31.

"Kathua has reported a positivity rate of more than five per cent in the week ending October 31 i.e., 8.13 per cent along with an increasing trend in the weekly positivity rate over a period of last three weeks," the letter stated.

"It has been observed that COVID-19 cases surge exponentially where basic public health strategy (Testing, Tracking, Treatment, COVID appropriate behaviour and Vaccination) is not followed rigorously," Ahuja wrote.

The officer also stressed on proper implementation of containment zones, increased focus on house-to-house search for active cases within these zones, strict and daily monitoring of cases under home isolation and their referral to hospitals, and strengthening contact-tracing of positive people and review of containment zones.

Besides, there should be a detailed district-wise and facility-wise analysis of deaths including a review of fatalities that happen within 24 and 72 hours of hospitalisation to resolve problems related with late hospital admission and the need for monitoring treatment practices, the letter stated.

It also underlined the importance of strict adherence to National Treatment Protocols, augmenting ICU, oxygen beds and ventilator capacity, and ramping up testing figures, while maintaining the share of RT-PCR tests, besides aiming for 100 per cent first vaccine dose coverage of the eligible population and increasing the pace of the second dose.

As far as super spreader events and places are concerned, there should be strict surveillance and monitoring as per SOPs of the ministry and testing as per ICMR guidelines, besides,ensuring COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, the letter added.

It emphasised on routine submission of RT-PCR positive samples from international travellers as well as those from the community for genomic analysis at the designated INSACDG network laboratory as per laid down protocols.

(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 COVID-19 vaccination will remain suspended at civic and government-run centres in for next four days in the wake of the festive season, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Wednesday.

The civic body in a statement also appealed to citizens to cooperate with it.

The vaccination drive will remain suspended at the civic and government-run centres from November 4 to 7, it said.

The BMC has sufficient stock of vaccines, so the inoculation drive will resume from Monday, it said.

According to the BMC's data, a total of 1,42,62,513 doses of vaccines against COVID-19 were administered in till Tuesday. So far, 53,63,755 citizens have received both doses of vaccine.

On Tuesday, reported 228 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths, taking the infection tally to 7,56,442 and the toll to 16,254, a civic official earlier said.

It was the second day in a row when the metropolis recorded less than 300 fresh cases.

The BMC's data showed the city's case doubling time was 1,596 days as on Tuesday and the average growth rate between October 26 and November 1 stood at 0.04 per cent.

It also revealed that the metropolis has 28 sealed buildings, while there have been no containment zones since mid-August.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
has denied use of its to Go First's Srinagar-Sharjah flight, the government officials said on Wednesday.

According to officials, Pakistan's refusal on Tuesday forced the flight to take a longer route and fly over Gujarat to reach its destination in the UAE.

Go First, previously known as GoAir, had started direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah from October 23 and the service was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to the Valley last month.

According to officials, till October 31, the flight was going through

However, on Tuesday did not allow the flight to pass through its airspace, and therefore, the service had to take a longer route, going over Gujarat, adding around 40 minutes to the flight time, they said.

There were no specific reasons given by the Pakistan government as yet for refusing the permission to the flight, officials said.

Officials said the flight, which operates four times a week, did not face any issue when it used Pakistan between October 23 and October 31.

There was no immediate statement or comment from Go First on the matter.

This is the first service between Jammu and Kashmir and the UAE after 11 years. Air India Express had started a Srinagar-Dubai flight in February 2009 but it was discontinued after some time due to low demand.

Reacting to Pakistan's action, former J&K chief minister and Conference leader Omar Abdullah tweeted "very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that @GoFirstairways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations but alas that wasn't to be."



Blaming the Centre, PDP chief and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted "puzzling that GoI didn't even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. Only PR extravaganza without any groundwork."



Inaugurating the flight, Shah had said the commencement of Srinagar-Sharjah services would boost tourism.

"There are many people from Srinagar and Jammu who are settled in the Gulf countries. There are many tourists who want to come from the Gulf countries to Jammu and Kashmir. The tourism of J-K is going to get a big boost with the commencement of Srinagar-Sharjah flights," he added.

The Srinagar-Sharjah flight duration is around 3 hours if the Pakistan airspace is used, however, with Islamabad refusing to allow the flight through its airspace, it will be nearly an hour longer, raising fuel and ticket costs.

The Pakistan government, however, allowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special flight to Italy to use its airspace on Friday to attend the G20 summit. His return flight from Italy was also allowed to use the Pakistan airspace on Wednesday, officials said.

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Dinesh Khara, State Bank of India chairman, on Wednesday termed the recent of ex- chairman Pratip Chaudhuris extremely unfortunate. It appears that he was not given an opportunity to be heard before issuing an warrant, he said.

We have utmost faith in the country's judicial system, said Khara, adding that he was confident that Chaudhuri will be released unconditionally at the earliest.

The Rajasthan Police had on Sunday arrested Chaudhuri in Delhi in connection with an alleged loan scam. He has been sent to judicial custody for an alleged sale of a non-performing asset  Hotel Gaudavan  to Alchemist ARC at a low value. The was made on the basis of a protest petition filed by former directors of Hotel Gaudavan before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Jaisalmer. Khara said the IBA has taken up the issue with government authorities and hoped this matter will be behind us very soon.
An advertisement is part of "free speech" but it cannot be at the cost of the trademark of an owner as it amounts to a misleading ad, the has said, asking Google to investigate a complaint about diversion of Web traffic to an imposter's site.

The high court said Google, which earns revenue through ads, is equally liable for the omissions and commissions of an advertiser who, through oblique motives, is cashing upon goodwill of the trademark owner for his own benefit.

The court noted that as per Google's policy, they investigate use of the trademark as a keyword but that is only confined for the European Union (EU) and not being followed in India and it was in addition to the investigation undertaken for an infringement of trademark in Ad-title and Ad-text.

The high court's order came while directing Ltd and Google LLC to investigate any complaint to be made to them by the plaintiff, Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd, alleging use of its trademark and variations as keywords resulting in the diversion of traffic from the website of the plaintiff to that of the advertiser.

There cannot be any dispute that the advertisement is part of free speech, but surely that free speech cannot be at the cost of the trademark of an owner which amounts to a misleading advertisement, Justice V Kameswar Rao said in a 137-page order.

The high court said there is no doubt that the usage of trademark as keyword results in diversion of traffic from the trademark owner's website to the webpage of the advertiser which causes prejudice to the owner in terms of goodwill and credibility for the services and should be investigated by Google.

The judge said it was only a prima facie conclusion and not a final determination of the suit.

The order came on a plea filed by Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd (APML) and DRS Logistics Pvt Ltd against Ltd, Google Inc and Just Dial, seeking to prevent infringement and misuse of their trademark Agarwal Packers & Movers (APM).

The court directed and Google LLC to also investigate and review the overall effect of an advertisement to ascertain that it is not infringing or passing off the trademark of the plaintiff and if a violation is found, it shall restrain the advertiser from using the same and remove such advertisements.

The plea said the search results showing the imposter's website at the top in Google search engine were causing confusion and deception with the intention to ride on the goodwill of the original owner of the trademark.

APML, represented through senior advocate Chander M Lall, claimed that Google was diverting the traffic meant for it towards imposter sites just because they were offering a higher bid price to Google for its trademark.

By this mechanism while APML was being forced to bid/ compete for its own trademarks with imposters, the unsuspecting consumers and public were being misled into handing over its valuable household goods into the hands of these imposters and then losing their life-earned items, it said.

Google, represented through senior advocate Sandeeep Sethi, contended that it was an intermediary and cannot be held liable for such violations and that the key words are chosen by advertisers and any complaints by APML should be addressed to the advertiser and not Google.

About the different policies followed by the Internet giant on the issue, the high court order said: It is clear that the fact that Google is investigating an Ad where use of trademark as a keyword is being used, there cannot be any reason why such a procedure is not followed in India.

"It appears this stipulation has been incorporated in their policy with regard to EU countries for the reason that there might be a chance of deception/ confusion in a given Ad which pops-up on the basis of search query which has also been chosen as a keyword, which may trigger the advertisement consisting of the infringed trademark/ references to it.

The court said it was unclear that on what basis a distinction has been drawn by Google between certain countries with regard to the trademark policies so formulated and followed.

Be that as it may, it is clear from Google's EU and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) policy that Google provides a higher duty of care in a jurisdiction where large portions of the population are internet literate. This aspect further fortifies my finding as to why such a policy should be followed in India, the judge said.

Allowing individuals who are not owners of a trademark to choose a keyword which is a trademarked term or use parts of the trademark interspersed with generic words in the Ad-title and / or Ad-text may constitute an infringement of a trademark and / or passing off, the court said.

The court took into account an affidavit filed by a consumer who had searched for APML but got confused while making the web search and suffered huge damages due to the confusion created by the defendants.

It does prima facie reveal that with usage of trademark of plaintiff as a keyword the traffic from the webpage of the plaintiff is being diverted to the webpage of the competitor/ advertiser which means that a normal consumer who on typing the trademark of plaintiff as a search query was led to a webpage which had caused confusion regarding the origin of the webpage, whether belonging to the plaintiff or not.

"In cases of intellectual property, the courts must also be mindful of the fact that it is ultimately the public at large which gets cheated and feels the brunt of spurious goods and services in the market, it said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Younger children across the US are now eligible to receive Inc.s Covid-19 vaccine, after the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention granted the final clearance needed for shots to begin.



CDC Director Rochelle Walensky recommended the vaccine for children from 5 to 11 years old. The decision ushers in a new phase in the US pandemic response, widening access to vaccines to some 28 million more people at the same time that Americans who received shots earlier in the pandemic are lining up for booster doses.



The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group of outside experts, earlier voted 14-0 in favour of giving children the shot, developed by and BioNTech SE, after it was cleared on Friday by US regulators. Administered in two injections three weeks apart, the vaccine is one-third the dose authorised for adults.



Today is a monumental day in the course of this pandemic, and one that many of us have been very eager to see, Walensky said at the opening of the panels all-day meeting. For almost two full years, schools have been fundamentally changed; there have been children in second grade who have never experienced a normal school year.



Safety data in children look very good, said Camille Kotton, an ACIP panel member, adding she would feel comfortable having her own children immunised if they were in that age group.



We have accumulated a tremendous amount of safety data with hundreds of millions of Americans, said Kotton, who is also the clinical director of transplant and immunocompromised host infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, in an interview after the vote.



Children should be vaccinated both to prevent death as well as to prevent major long-term effects of having this devastating infection, she said.



Myocarditis risk



While CDC advisers recommended approval of the shot, some expressed concern about myocarditis, an inflammatory heart condition thats been seen in some recipients. Health officials have been paying close attention to the risks posed by myocarditis following the shot compared with the overall risks of Covid.



Matthew Oster, a pediatric cardiologist at Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, said he believes 5- to 11-year-olds have a relatively low risk of developing myocarditis from the shots. We will watch and see for sure  and they may have some  but I dont think its nearly to the extent of cases seen in older adolescents and young adults, said Oster, whos also on the CDC Covid-19 Response vaccine task force.
Bharat Biotechs Covaxin has obtained the much anticipated and much awaited Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a development that comes as a relief for students, medical tourists, business travelers and people have international travel plans.

The granted an EUL to Covaxin on November 3, after a risk-benefit assessment for global use of the company's Covaxin vaccine. The said in a tweet: WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to #COVAXIN (developed by Bharat Biotech), adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of #COVID19

WHOs approval is critical for citizens who wish to take up international travel in the near future. The delay has been a concern especially for students and business travelers.

So far, the WHO has recognised the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson-Janssen, Moderna and Sinophram vaccines for emergency use. (See table: Vaccines with WHO EULs)

Covaxin demonstrated 77.8 per cent efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 infection and a 93.4 per cent efficacy against severe symptomatic Covid19 infection.

WHOs Technical Advisory Group (TAG), which met on October 26, sought additional clarifications from Rolling data submission for Covaxin to the WHO began on July 6, and the company has been providing additional data as and when sought by the WHO.

TAG is an independent advisory group that provides recommendations to WHO on whether a Covid19 vaccine can be listed for emergency use under the EUL procedure.

On Monday Australia recognised Covaxin for the purpose of establishing a traveller's vaccination status. Apart from Australia several other countries including Oman, Philippines, Mexico, Botswana, Cameroon, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Zimbabwe, Oman, Iran, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE have allowed travelers inoculated with Covaxin.

Last week, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had also recently put Covaxin on the list of qualifying Covid-19 vaccine candidates, under the category of "Participants in certain Covid-19 vaccination. said: "With validation from the WHO, countries can now expedite their regulatory approval processes to import and administer Covaxin. Furthermore, UNICEF, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), GAVI COVAX facility, will be able to procure Covaxin for distribution to countries worldwide." Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, Validation by WHO is a very significant step towards ensuring global access to Indias widely administered, safe, and efficacious Covaxin. As an organization, we have focused on maintaining stringent quality and safety standards that meet rigorous assessment, and scientific standards established by WHO, as a result, many of our vaccines have received WHO prequalification."

India had thrown its weight behind locally manufactured Covid19 vaccines getting global recognition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a G-20 summit session in Rome on Saturday said that it was necessary that the WHO approves Indian vaccines "at the earliest".

The EUL process is centred on determining if a manufactured product is quality-assured, safe and effective. The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) is centred on issuing evidence-based policy recommendations for the best use of vaccines against COVID-19.

Last month, in the SAGE review meeting, the Hyderabad-based vaccine maker made a 25-minute presentation before the SAGE working group on clinical data on Covaxin from phase-1, 2, 3 and post marketing studies on safety, immunogenicity, efficacy and effectiveness.

The presentation by Raches Ella, project lead, Covid19 vaccines, gave an outline of ongoing and planned studies on safety and effectiveness.

Such product-specific recommendations are issued once a vaccine is authorized through a regulatory process, including the assessment of safety and efficacy from phase III clinical trials, the spokesperson of WHO has said.

The EUL was long anticipated.

In May Bharat Biotech had said that it expects the EUL from WHO between July and September. The firm had submitted all the necessary documents for the EUL on July 9.

Later that month, Suchitra Ella, the companys co-founder and joint managing director, had said that approval from WHO is not expected to be a long-drawn process.

We are working closely with the World Health Organisation for the inclusion of Covaxin in its Emergency Use Listing. Approval from WHO is not expected to be a long-drawn process as the cell line and majority of our facilities have already been audited and approved by WHO for our other vaccines in the past, Suchitra Ella had said in a tweet.

A source in Indias vaccine industry said, Pfizer and Moderna got WHO EULs within six to nine weeks or so after they published their phase 3 clinical trial results. Bharat Biotech declared the results around July, and its been over 12 weeks or so. An inadequately drafted application can be a reason behind the back and forth between the company and the WHO.

The person quoted above who is a senior executive at a vaccine maker also added that back and forth with queries is part of the normal process of approval though. In some cases it takes longer than usual. It is not a matter of concern, he added.

Vaccines with WHO EULs Covid19 vaccine Company WHO EUL BNT162b2/COMIRNATY Tozinameran Pfizer-BioNTech December 31, 2020 AZD1222 Vaxzevria AstraZeneca February 15, 2021 * Covishield (ChAdOx1_nCoV-19) Serum Institute of India February 15, 2021 Ad26. COV2. S Janssen March 12, 2021 mRNA-1273 Moderna April 30, 2021 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated (lnCoV) Sinopharm (1) May 7, 2021 COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated/ CoronavacTM Sinovac June 1, 2021
Another Day (MHD) has just passed off. The life-shattering impacts of the pandemic has catapulted the number of cases in an unprecedented manner, while the critical services in 93% countries remain disrupted (WHO). In such a gloomy scenario, the President, World Federation for Mental Health (WFMF), Ingrid Daniels, expressed concern that women are reporting greater levels of anxiety and depression.



As the world struggles through illnesses, bereavements, social isolation, income and job losses et al, the predictors of poor mental health like fear, anxiety and emotional distresses grip the troubled humanity. A global analysis of data (January 01, 2020-January 29, 2021, Lancet) in 204 countries and territories, revealed an additional case load of 76.2 million in major mental disorders (MDD) and 53.2 million in anxiety disorders, out of which, 35 million cases for MDD and 52 million for anxiety disorders were of women, as compared to 2019. While, according to CAREs Rapid Gender Analysis across 38 countries this year, the number of women, who suffered from COVID-19 related mental health impacts, was found to be threefold more than that of men. Nevertheless, a Lancet study observed that the gender difference is on the expected lines, as women are already more susceptible to depression and anxiety disorders due to pre-existing socio-economic and cultural disadvantages.





While, a first of its kind review and meta-analysis of information gathered from 32-countries and more than four lakh participants in 2021, reported that the high prevalence rates among women are the direct effects of the fear of the contagion and perception of danger from the COVID-19, and indirect effects of the adverse economic fall out, particularly in countries with larger domestic outbreaks, low health system preparedness, and high economic vulnerability(Nature). A survey by a global mental health network to gauge stress levels in the Indian population during the pandemic, showed that 66% of women being stressed, compared to 34% of men. While, marginalised women like sex workers or trans women endured extreme emotional and physical vulnerabilities in the absence of any financial relief or support system, said the Mariwala Health Foundation, which works for making mental health services accessible to them.

While the UNWomen has unequivocally declared that the pandemic is not just a health issue, but, a profound shock to societies, exposing the inherent deficiencies which compel women to play multiple and underpaid roles. In the past, many research studies linked womens greater psychological, psychiatric risks to their subservient socio-economic and cultural status, and underscored the imperativeness of looking into them through lifestyle factors, instead of from the individual angle. Yet, the gendered aspect, which determines a womans standing in society, her control and power in a family, and, consequently, her ability to retain mental equanimity in the face of stressful life events like poverty, hunger, malnutrition, unremitting responsibility of caring, stressful reproductive cycles, violence, and sexual abuse et al, so far, received scant attention.



In this pandemic, the fatality rate among women may be lesser, yet, they, as frontline workers and at home, became the victims of shadow pandemic. A global study estimated that a prolonged lockdown for six months is likely to result in 31 million additional cases of gender-based violence. In India, the National Commission of Women recorded a 2.5 times increase in domestic violence cases (February and May 2020). A field survey in August, 2020 in six States in North India reported that more than 30% of the female respondents complained about feelings of depression, exhaustion, anxiety, and worsened perception of safety, as they lived through food insecurity and income losses. Further, women with daughters experienced a greater sense of anxiety and reduced feeling of safety, it said. India witnessed a 50% spike in incidents of child marriage within the first few months of pandemic in 2020 (NCRB) and trafficking, while, 13% of girls faced sexual abuse during the pandemic, said a field survey (May-July 2020) by a group of NGOs in Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Odisha and Chattisgarh. In high-income urban settings, working mothers with young children experienced tremendous mental stress due to the lack of childcare facilities and pressures of home schooling.



Nevertheless, even in the pre-pandemic era, mental disorders constituted one among the leading causes of the global health burden, and two most disabling mental disorders like depression and anxiety ranked among the top 25 leading causes of the disease burden.(GBD, 2019) About,13% of the worlds population have been affected by the mental health and substance use disorders, 12.6 percent of males and 13.3 percent of females.



While mental disorders are now on the rise in every country, a UN policy brief cautioned against the historic underinvestment in mental health needs. A Lancet study indicated that the countries spend even less than 2% of their health budgets on mental health. In India, it is less than 0.5% of the total health budget, which itself is marginally above 1% of GDP. Researchers (Lancet Psychiatry,July) have also cautioned that the huge psychological toll of COVID-19, will create enormous demands on the health systems, while, some rued that most national surveys tend to report aggregated findings, without stratifying by gender, which gives limited insight on women, even when a large number of women put up with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression across nations (Johnson, 2021).



The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake up call for the nations to ensure the mental well-being, as a priority health issue, and go for a more integrated, holistic and multidisciplinary approach for a stronger, healthier and inclusive world.



The author is Former Director-General, Doordarshan, & All India Radio, and Former Press Secretary to the President of India.
UK-based PLC on Wednesday said it has agreed to drop litigations to seize Indian properties in countries ranging from France to the UK as it has accepted the Indian government's offer to settle tax dispute relating to the levy of taxes retrospectively.

Meeting the requirements of new legislation that scraps levy of retrospective taxation, the company has given required undertakings indemnifying the Indian government against future claims as well as agreeing to drop any legal proceedings anywhere in the world.

The government now has to accept this and issue Cairn a so-called Form-II, that will commit it to refund the tax collected to enforce the demand. Following the issue of Form-II, Cairn will withdraw legal proceedings and will get a refund of Rs 7,900 crore.

Cairn said its undertaking shall be treated as having never been furnished if the Principal Commissioner for Income Tax either rejects the undertaking given by it in Form No.1 under rule 11UE(1) or the intimation of withdrawal given under rule 11UF(3), or declines to grant the refund.

Only after the refund is issued will the new legislation will be seen as working in the eyes of foreign investors.

In a statement, Cairn said it has "entered into undertakings with the Government of India in order to participate in the scheme introduced by recent Indian legislation, the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021, allowing the refund of taxes previously collected from Cairn in India." "Subject to certain conditions, the Taxation Amendment Act nullifies the tax assessment originally levied against Cairn in January 2016 and orders the refund of Rs 7,900 crore which was collected from Cairn in respect of that assessment," it said.

Seeking to repair India's damaged reputation as an investment destination, the government in August enacted new legislation to drop Rs 1.1 lakh crore in outstanding claims against multinationals such as telecom group Vodafone, pharmaceuticals company Sanofi and brewer SABMiller, now owned by AB InBev, and Cairn.

About Rs 8,100 crore collected from companies under the scrapped tax provision are to be refunded if the firms agreed to drop outstanding litigation, including claims for interest and penalties. Of this, Rs 7,900 crore is due only to Cairn.

Subsequent to this, the government last month notified rules that when adhered to will lead to the government withdrawing tax demands raised using the 2012 law and any tax collected in the enforcement of such demand is paid back.

For this, companies are required to indemnify the Indian government against future claims and withdraw any pending legal proceedings.

"In order to satisfy those conditions, Cairn will commence the filing of the necessary documentation under rule 11UF(3) of the Indian Income Tax Rules 1962(Rules) intimating the withdrawal, termination and/or discontinuance of various enforcement actions," the firm said in the statement.

Cairn said it is working collaboratively with the Government of India towards expediting the refund within the process of the Tax Amendment Act Rules.

From the refund it gets from the Indian government, Cairn will pay a previously announced special dividend in early 2022.

"Pursuant to the undertakings issued under clause (a) of Rule 11UE of the Indian Income Tax Rules, 1962, Cairn UK Holdings (together with its parent company PLC as an 'Interested Party') hereby confirms that any claims arising out of or relating to the relevant order(s) (as defined in the Rules) or any related award, judgment or court order, no longer subsist," it said.

The two have given an undertaking to "forever irrevocably forgo any reliance on any right and provisions under the awards, judgments and court orders." Also, "given a complete release of the Republic of India and any Indian Affiliates with respect to the awards, judgement and court orders and with respect to any claims pertaining to the relevant order(s), as well as an indemnity in respect of any claims brought against the Republic of India or any India affiliate, including by related parties or interested parties," it said.

Cairn said the undertaking "confirmed that they will treat any such awards, judgement and court orders as null and void and without legal effect to the same extent as if they had been set aside by a competent court and will not take any action or initiate any proceeding or bring any claim based on that." The August legislation canceled a 2012 policy that gave the tax department power to go back 50 years and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India.

The 2012 legislation was used to levy a cumulative of Rs 1.10 lakh crore of tax on 17 entities including UK telecom giant Vodafone but nearly 98 per cent of the Rs 8,100 crore recovered in enforcing such a demand was only from Cairn.

An international arbitration tribunal in December overturned a levy of Rs 10,247 crore in taxes on a 2006 reorganisation of Cairn's India prior to its listing, and asked the Indian government to return the value of shares seized and sold, dividend confiscated and tax refund withheld. This totaled $1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty.

The government initially refused to honour the award, forcing Cairn to identify $70 billion of Indian assets from the US to Singapore to enforce the ruling, including taking flag carrier Air India Ltd to a US court in May. A French court in July paved the way for Cairn to seize real estate belonging to the Indian government in Paris.

All these litigations will be dropped.

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British finance minister pledged on Wednesday to "rewire" the global financial system for net zero, saying London will also commit 100 million pounds ($136.19 million) to make climate finance more accessible to developing countries.

Outlining Britain's strategy over the next five years to the United Nations COP26 climate summit, he said in addition to the 100 million pounds, London would also support a new capital markets mechanism to issue billions of new green bonds.

"Six years ago Paris set the ambition, today in Glasgow we are provided the investment we need to deliver that ambition," he told an audience in Glasgow.

($1 = 0.7343 pounds)

(Reporting by William James, writing by Elizabeth Piper)

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founder Zhang Yiming has stepped down as chairman of the owner, after announcing his resignation as chief executive officer in May, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

New CEO Liang Rubo will take on the role of chairman, the person added.

did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

On Tuesday, Liang announced a major organisational reshuffle at by creating six business units: and its Chinese version Douyin, work collaboration unit Lark, business services unit BytePlus, gaming unit Nuverse, and education tech unit Dali Education.

Liang also said CEO Shou Zi Chew will step down as its parent ByteDance's chief financial officer (CFO) to focus on running the short video platform full time.

Chew joined ByteDance as CFO in March and was appointed as TikTok CEO in May.

(Reporting by Yingzhi Yang in Beijing and Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; editing by Shri Navaratnam and Richard Pullin)

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China's new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases spiked to a near three-month high and tighter curbs to contain the spread are expected in the capital Beijing in the run-up to a key gathering of the highest-ranking members of the Communist Party next week.

The National Health Commission confirmed on Wednesday 93 new local symptomatic cases for Nov. 2, up from 54 a day earlier and the highest daily count since Aug. 9 at the peak of China's last major outbreak.

Beijing reported eight new local infections, the most since Jan. 19.

While the new cases accrued each day by the Chinese capital city since late October have remained very modest compared to outside of China, the country's zero-tolerance policy has meant the imposition of strict measures to contain the spread of the virus at all costs.





ALSO READ: China asks citizens to 'stock up' amid tight Covid-19 pandemic curbs

Temperature screening has been set up at entrances of shopping malls, supermarkets, hotels, cinemas and subway stations, while a legion of personnel on the ground check the health codes of visiting individuals on their mobile phones.

Beijing authorities have also repeatedly told residents to refrain from travelling out of the city, postpone weddings, simplify funeral arrangements, and cut back on all non-essential gatherings.

Of the flights scheduled on Wednesday at Beijing Daxing Airport, 60.4% have been cancelled as of the morning, while 49.8% of flights at Beijing Capital Airport have been scrapped.

The rise in Beijing infections comes as the 300-plus members of the Communist Party's Central Committee prepare to gather in a major closed-door meeting on Nov. 8-11. It will be the committee's sixth and penultimate so-called plenum of its five-year term before the next big Party Congress in 2022.

At the plenum, President is expected to push through a resolution that will cement his authority and legacy and strengthen his case for a precedent-breaking third term starting next year.

Outside of Beijing, new local infections were reported in the north, northeast and northwest in provinces and areas including Heilongjiang, Hebei, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Qinghai.



ALSO READ: China's Xi to cement authority, legacy in Communist Party resolution

New cases were also seen the southwest of China, in the municipality of Chongqing as well as the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan.

The southern province of Jiangxi reported two new cases.

Inclusive of cases imported from overseas, China reported 109 new confirmed infections for Nov. 2 compared with 71 a day earlier.

As of Nov. 2, mainland China had 97,423 confirmed cases.

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Banks, insurers and investors with $130 trillion at their disposal pledged on Wednesday to put limiting at the centre of their work, and got support in the form of efforts to put green investing on a firm footing.



An announcement made at the COP26 UN climate conference in Scotland commits its over 450 signatories, who account for around 40 per cent of the worlds capital, to assuming a fair share of the effort to wean the world off fossil fuels.



A main aim of the COP26 talks is to secure enough national promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions  mostly from burning coal, oil and gas  to keep the rise in the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But how exactly to meet those pledges, particularly in the developing world  is still being worked out. Above all, it will need a lot of money.



UN climate envoy Mark Carney, who assembled the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), put the figure at $100 trillion over the next three decades, and said the finance industry must find ways to raise private money to take the effort far beyond what states alone can do.



The money is here but that money needs net zero-aligned projects and (then) theres a way to turn this into a very, very powerful virtuous circle  and thats the challenge, the former Bank of England governor told the summit.

Carneys comments reflected a problem often cited by investors who, in the face of a myriad of climate-related risks, need to be sure that they are being accounted for in a transparent and preferably standardised way around the globe.

Loopholes



However, others were not convinced.

These happy headlines conceal a wealth of loopholes and opportunities for backsliding that we cannot afford if we are to avoid climate breakdown, the Environmental Justice Foundation said in an emailed statement.



Net zero pledges mean nothing without divestment. Time for financial institutions to put their money where their mouth is and stop funding climate-destroying fossil fuels, the NGOs CEO Steve Trent added.



Kristalina Georgieva, head of the Monetary Fund, said it was crucial to incorporate climate data into everyday macroeconomic reporting. Chinas central bank governor, Yi Gang, said Beijing was working on a new monetary policy facility to provide cheap funds for financial institutions to support green projects, and that the Peoples Bank of China and the EU would soon publish a shared definition of green investment.

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The government has banned the use of foreign currencies in in a surprise move that could weigh on an economy struggling with a cash crunch and further isolate the country.

The move came as the were pushing for the release of billions of dollars of reserves overseas, which was frozen by the U.S. and its Western allies since the group swept into the power in August. Without these reserves, has been effectively shut out of the financial system.

The militant group has ordered the public, including shopkeepers to businessmen, to conduct all trade in afghani currency for the sake of national interests and to help the economic situation, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said.

The use of foreign currencies has negative effects on the countrys economy, he said in a statement. Violators will be dealt with legally.

It is unclear how the Taliban will enforce this ruling given that Afghanistans economy has been propped by U.S. dollars for more than twenty years. Two-thirds of Afghan banks deposits and half of the countrys national loans are in U.S. dollars.

The greenback is preferred over the local afghani to pay for imported goods and services as well as big-ticket transactions such as buying a home or paying for private school tuition. The ban could also complicate humanitarian aid from overseas, which will be crucial for the country as a harsh winter approaches.
The (UN) mission in the (CAR) strongly condemns an attack by members of the presidential guard which wounded 10 peacekeepers, a UN spokesman has said.

Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the attack on members of an Egyptian police peacekeeping unit "appears to be a deliberate and unjustifiable attack" on the blue helmets, Xinhua news agency reported.

A civilian died in a related accident, Haq added.

The mission, known as MINUSCA, reported the peacekeepers were shot and wounded, including two seriously, by members of the presidential guard in the capital of Bangui on Monday, he said. The Egyptian police officers landed at Bangui's airport earlier in the day. They are part of the periodic rotation and deployment of troops in the country.

"They were on their way to their base when they suffered heavy fire from members of the presidential guard," he said.

"The mission said in a statement that the police officers were fired at without any warning or response. They were unarmed."

Attempting to flee the attack, about 120 metres from the presidential residence, the bus carrying the Egyptian police unit hit a woman, who died, the spokesman said.

"A MINUSCA delegation later met the victim's family to offer condolences. They also condemned this tragic accident."

"The leadership of our UN peacekeeping mission and members of the Central African government immediately initiated a dialogue for the opening of the necessary investigations into this incident, and to ensure accountability in accordance with the obligations under the agreement between the and the CAR government," Haq said

--IANS

int/khz/

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The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan will be the anchor investors of the much-awaited Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and will pick up 25 per cent equity each in the Rs 6,000-crore issue.

Apart from the anchor investors, will retain a minimum of 15 per cent equity, while the rest will be offered to domestic institutional investors, the firm announced on Wednesday. The InvIT, which was launched on October 29 and closed on November 2, is a private placement instrument for international and domestic institutional investors.

Launched as part of the National Monetisation Plan (NMP) to monetise the NHAIs road projects, the has an initial portfolio of five operating toll roads located in Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Telangana with an aggregate length of 390 kilometers. Additionally, the has granted new concessions of 30 years for these roads.

InvITs are investment trusts that work like mutual funds and are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Assets are placed in the and investors put in money. The income generated from these assets is paid as dividend. The money raised will be used for further investment in the road sector. Part of the toll revenue will, however, be used for operation and maintenance.

In view of the long-term nature of the assets, units of the were offered to international and domestic institutional investors.

The total enterprise value of the five roads was pegged at Rs 8,011.52 crore, which includes a debt of Rs 2,000 crore from the State Bank of India, Axis Bank, and the Bank of Maharashtra. The rest is being funded through the issue.

The InvIT piqued the interest of international pension funds and a diversified group of domestic institutional investors comprising pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, banks and financial institutions, which have submitted bids worth Rs 6,203 crore.

The NHAI InvIT is part of the government of Indias NMP announced earlier this year and has significant potential to scale up in future with additional roads being monetised through the InvIT. [It] is expected to provide attractive long-term returns to its investors. Participation by marquee international and domestic investors will also benefit the InvIT in the areas of governance, transparency and quality maintenance of national assets, said Giridhar Armane, secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India and chairman of NHAI.

The InvITs launch, earlier scheduled for May 2020, was put off because of the Covid-19 crisis and the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25, 2020.
ace pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been promoted to the rank of Group Captain.

The officer was involved in a dog fight with Pakistani fighter aircraft and was awarded a Shaurya Chakra for taking down an F-16 combat aircraft during the engagement.

The officer has been cleared for promotion to the rank of Group Captain by the IAF and he would be putting on his new rank shortly, sources told ANI.

Group Captain is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army.

Abhinandan's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was shot down after he took down the F-16 and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army.

The Pakistan Army was forced to release him due to the extensive pressure exerted by the Indian side along with the international intervention into the matter.

Abhinandan was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019.

India had launched an aerial strike on Pakistan's terrorist facility in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area run by the Jaish e Mohammed.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Vietnam counterpart Pham Minh Chinh and had a productive exchange on the sideline of COP26 in Glasgow, informed the Embassy of India in Hanoi on Wednesday.

India and Vietnam reaffirming comprehensive strategic partnership, it added.

"Reaffirming Comprehensive Strategic Partnership! Prime Minister @narendramodiand Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a productive exchange on the sidelines of #COP26 in Glasgow," tweeted Indian Embassy in Vietnam.

PM Modi was on his five-day foreign visit to Rome, Italy and Glasgow, UK. He returned to India on Wednesday morning after enhancing India's self-declared renewable energy commitments at COP26 in Glasgow, and outlining India's position on global issues at G20 Summit.

PM Modi also held various bilateral meetings with several heads of the state on the sidelines of the G20. He met German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Pope Francis, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In Rome, Prime Minister also met Indonesia President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister also met French President Emmanuel Macron.

During his COP26 address on Monday, Prime Minister Modi announced five "amrit tatva" including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070. He declared that India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030.

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Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday called for making accessible and affordable to the common man.

The Vice President addressed the innaugural event of "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" celebrations on the theme of "Spirit of freedom struggle: Way forward" organised by Damodoram Sanjivayya Law University.

Addressing the event, Naidu said the focus of the central government and States should be on filling up judicial vacancies and creating requisite infrastructure. The cost of the legal process should not become an impediment to the common man's access to the system.

The Vice President stressed that faculties of law universities have to play a key role in training students to become change agents and bring about a transformation in the administration of the system in the country.

He urged the legal fraternity to fight for the cause of suppressed and oppressed people and provide them with legal aid. It should be ensured that people get their entitlements without any dilution or diversion. The legal fraternity should get into action if the entitlements are not delivered, he averred.

"We need to find ways to address huge pendency and inordinate delays in courts as timeliness is crucial to rendering justice," he said.

Naidu called for optimal use of information technology to ensure speedier justice to people and also called for fully leveraging alternative dispute redress mechanisms.

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Bharti Airtel posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,134 crore in Q2 FY22 as against a consolidated net loss of Rs 763.2 crore registered in Q2 FY21. The telecom operator posted quarterly revenues of Rs 28,326 crore, rising 18.8% year on year on comparable basis and 13% YoY on a reported basis, backed by strong performance delivery across the portfolio.

Consolidated EBITDA witnessed an increase of 24.5% YoY to Rs 14,018 crore in Q2 FY22. EBITDA expansion was broad based across the portfolio. EBITDA margin improved to 49.5% in Q2 FY22 from 44.9% in Q2 FY21.

State Bank of India, Eicher Motors, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Pfizer, among others will release their September quarter earnings today, 3 November 2021.

Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys and IBM, announced that the Finacle Digital Banking Solution Suite will be available on Red Hat OpenShift and IBM Cloud for financial services.

Wipro has partnered with TEOCO to develop solutions that help communication service providers (CSPs) improve network automation, flexibility, efficiency, and reliability. Together, Wipro and TEOCO will provide CSPs with comprehensive solutions to plan, analyze, optimize, and monitor next-generation networks (NGN).

The board of directors of Sesa Mining Corporation (SMCL), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Vedanta has approved the acquisition of Desai Cement Company Private Limited (DCCPL). The acquisition will enhance the group's portfolio with cement and help develop additional synergies through vertical integration.

eClerx Services'consolidated net profit grew 10.3% to Rs 100.7 crore on a 6.2% rise in total revenue to Rs 525 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q1 FY22.

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services said that in October 2021, the business continued its momentum with a disbursement of about Rs. 2,650 crore delivering about 20% YoY growth.

PSP Projects said the company has received Letter of Acceptance for two projects viz one government project in Gujarat and another government residential project in Uttar Pradesh totaling to Rs 288.27 crore.

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InvaGen receives termination notice from Avenue Therapeutics

Cipla announced that its wholly owned step down subsidiary, InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc. (InvaGen), USA had entered into a Stock Purchase and Merger Agreement (the SPMA) for acquisition of Avenue Therapeutics Inc. (Avenue), a company focused on the development and commercialization of intravenous (IV) Tramadol.

Since the second stage closing could not be completed as per the agreed timelines, in the terms of the SPMA, InvaGen has received a notice of termination from Avenue. InvaGen is evaluating the notice for any further steps that it may be required to take in this regard. The existing shareholding of InvaGen in Avenue shall continue.

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Gillette India fell 1% to Rs 5752 after the company's net profit declined 14.02% to Rs 81.93 crore on 11.02% rise in net sales to Rs 573.31 crore in Q1 September 2021 over Q1 September 2020.

Profit before tax (PBT) fell 8.37% year-on-year to Rs 112.05 crore in Q1 September 2021.

Net sales rose behind strong brand fundamentals, strength of product portfolio and improved retail execution.

Both Grooming and the Oral Care businesses recorded strong growth ahead of their categories. Revenue from Grooming segment stood at Rs 422.48 crore, up 26.80% QoQ and up 6.82% YoY. Revenue from Oral Care segment stood at Rs 150.83 crore, up 46.72% QoQ and up 24.76% YoY.

Compared to the corresponding quarter two years ago, prior to the pandemic, company sales are up 24% and PAT is up by 32%.

Madhusudan Gopalan, managing director, Gillette India said, "In a challenging market environment and a higher base period, we have delivered double digit sales growth. As the market continues to recover, we will continue to focus on our strategy of driving superiority and productivity, enabled by strength of our organization and culture. These strategies have enabled us to deliver strong results as we navigate through the pandemic, and they remain the right strategies to deliver balanced top and bottom line growth in future."

Gillette India is one of India's well-known FMCG companies that has some of the world's leading brands Gillette and Oral B.

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Minda Corporation rose 1.92% to Rs 175.40 after its consolidated net profit (from continuing operations) jumped 51.27% to Rs 39.06 crore on a 11.45% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 731.25 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020.

On a consolidated basis, EBITDA grew 16.06% to Rs 77.30 crore in Q2 FY22 from Rs 66.60 crore in Q2 FY21. EBITDA margin improved to 10.6% in Q2 FY22 as against 10.1% in Q2 FY21. Profit margin rose to 5.3% in Q2 FY22 as compared to 3.9% in Q2 FY21.

Meanwhile, Minda Corporation approved the acquisition of additional 49% equity stake in Minda Stoneridge Instruments (MSIL), a joint venture company wherein Minda Corporation already holds 51% equity shares. Post acquisition, MSIL will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.

Minda Corporation has increased stake in Minda Stoneridge to strengthen its core business. The acquisition will be value accretive for shareholders as financial performance of group will strengthen. We will continue to have perpetual license of all existing technology licenses granted by Stoneridge, Inc and continue Technical Collaboration with Stoneridge Inc for future products. This initiative has been taken in line with its vision to grow in advanced technological products i.e. Sensors & Clusters.

Commenting on the Q2 results, Ashok Minda, the chairman and group chief executive officer (CEO) of Minda Corporation, said, "In the second quarter of FY22, auto industry saw sequential pick up in demand with receding second wave of health pandemic and the growth trend was visible in all the vehicle segments to varying extent. I am pleased to report that we have delivered Revenue from Operations of Rs 7,313 million during the quarter, a robust sequential growth of 11.5% as against Industry de- growth of (2.6%)."

"EBITDA for the second quarter stood at Rs 773 million with double digit EBITDA margin of 10.6% despite higher commodity price and indirect adverse impact of Semiconductor shortage. Our performance is also reflected in the balance sheet position as we are net debt negative and generated free cash flow during the first half of the year. With economy recovering and evolving dynamics in the industry, we remain cautiously optimistic about the times ahead, yet, we remain confident in our abilities and strong product offerings to deliver sustainable profitable growth," Mr Minda added.

On 8 June 2021, Minda Corporation signed joint venture agreement with Infac Elecs co., Republic of Korea. As per the said Joint Venture Agreement, a new entity was incorporated in the name and style of Minda Infac, a Joint Venture Company on 10 August 2021. The joint venture entity is engaged in design, develop, manufacture, install, assemble, produce, conceptualize, test, service, distribute, market, promote, offer and sell (either by wholesale or retail) the Shark Fin Antenna - Micro Pole Antenna, LF Antenna & Switch Assembly, GPS Antenna, Advance Antenna (Products) in the territory, which shall be mutually decided by the parties from time to time. The ratio of shareholding of the Company in the proposed JV is 51% and 49% shall be held by INFAC.

Further, Minda Infac on Monday, 1 November 2021 has approved the allotment of 51% equity shares worth Rs 51,000 to Minda Corporation and 49% equity shares worth Rs 49,000 to Infac Elecs co., Republic of Korea.

Minda Corporation is an automotive component manufacturing company with a pan-India presence and international footprint.

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Pursuant to NCLT approval for scheme of amalgamation

The Board of Tata Steel BSL at its meeting held on 02 November 2021 has taken on record the order dated 29 October 2021 of the Hon'ble National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai sanctioning the scheme of amalgamation of Bamnipal Steel and Tata Steel BSL into and with Tata Steel.

In accordance with the Scheme of Amalgamation, Tata Steel will issue and allot to those shareholders of the Company whose names would appear in the Register of Members on the Record Date, 1 (one) fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10/- (Rupees Ten) each of Tata Steel, for every 15 (fifteen) equity shares of the face value of Rs 2/- (Rupees Two) each held by such member in the Company.

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Trent jumped 7.2% to Rs 1,111.9 after the Tata Group company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 92.58 crore in Q2 FY22 as compared to a consolidated net loss of Rs 71.6 crore registered in Q2 FY21.

Consolidated net sales grew 101% to Rs 1,178 crore in Q2 FY22 from Rs 585 crore posted in Q2 FY21. Profit before tax stood at Rs 118.97 crore in Q2 FY22 as against a pre tax loss of Rs 102.86 crore in Q2 FY21.

Trent said that customers continued to leverage the convenience of digital platforms with the online channel registering over 95% growth in Q2 over previous quarter. The company registered over 5% of Westside revenues through online channels with Westside.com accounting approximately 20% of these revenues.

Speaking on the performance, Noel N Tata, chairman of Trent said, Our fashion business has in particular recovered sharply and is now back to operating profitability. We have continued to focus on our expansion program, and I am happy to report that we are seeing good progress on building a strong pipeline, even as the constraints for actual opening to customers remains a challenge in the near term in the case of mall locations/ select markets. Increasingly, we are also convinced that the model we have pursued with our Star food business over the last couple of years - tight footprint stores, sharp pricing, focus on fresh etc is resilient and has strong economic viability. The customer traction witnessed by Star stores operating under this model has been encouraging. In this context, we are actively readjusting properties on the basis of this model and are looking to pursue a significantly accelerated expansion program.

He further said, We are confident that the business has the expertise and importantly the resilience to navigate and leverage this difficult phase. Near term uncertainties notwithstanding, we are continuing to focus on building out differentiated brands and strong expansion of our reach through stores and digital platforms.

Trent operates Westside, one of India's leading chains of fashion retail stores, Trent Hypermarket which operates in the competitive food, grocery and daily needs segment under the Star banner and Landmark Stores.

As of date, 191 Westside and 147 Zudio stores are operational.

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UP Minister Anand Swarup Shukla has said that Samajwadi Party president Yadav may even convert to Islam to appease Muslims.

He also claimed that the SP chief was enjoying the patronage of Pakistan's ISI.

"He may also be getting financial support from the neighbouring country's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)," the minister alleged while talking to reporters at his residence.

He said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath now poses a challenge for the Islamic world.

" Yadav is getting all support from them. is getting patronage and suggestions from the ISI. He could be even getting financial support from them," the minister stated.He further said, "To appease Muslims, Yadav had performed 'namaaz' and observed 'roza' (fast). He can also go for religious conversion to get their votes."

The minister's statements come after Akhilesh Yadav spoke of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the same breath as leaders who fought for India's independence.

"It is on the directions of the ISI that Akhilesh Yadav is glorifying Jinnah. He is issuing statements that Pakistan and the Taliban want him to," Shukla, who is the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, alleged.

--IANS

amita/skp/

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is at a special development stage that warrants its current status as the world's biggest emitter of climate-damaging fossil fuel pollution, the nation's senior climate negotiator said Tuesday.

Xie Zhenhua, a special climate envoy for China, spoke to reporters at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

As a major climate polluter and as the world's second-biggest economy, has been much talked about, but little seen, at the summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping who is not known to have left the country during the pandemic has not joined the more than 100 other world leaders at the event, addressing observers and delegates in a written message Monday instead.

Xie, who played a pivotal role in negotiations that achieved the 2015 Paris climate accord, underscored China's longstanding position that the United States and other developed nations should be the ones acting faster to cut climate-damaging emissions, not

China is already "making our biggest possible effort to address climate change, Xie said, saying China was unable to start reining in its reliance on coal-fired power plants any quicker than it already was.

So regarding the fact that China is the current largest emitter, it's because China is at a special development stage, Xie said.

The nation will be able to speed up its emission cuts later, he said.

We do not only make promises, we honor our promises with real action, he said.

China, which is heavily dependent on coal-fired power, pledged last year to start reining in its fossil fuel emissions later in this decade and to become carbon neutral by 2060.

Climate negotiators welcomed Xi's announcements then, but its 2060 date is a decade later than many other countries' target, and Xi has resisted international calls to move faster.

At the climate summit, China has taken part in some initiatives such as joining a multinational pledge Tuesday to preserve forests but announced no new climate efforts so far.

Despite China's status as an economic powerhouse, its leaders argue that factors that include China's modest per-capita income make it a developing country still.

As such, it bears less burden to cut emissions than economies like the United States or Europe that have already powered to wealth by burning coal and petroleum, China argues.

The average American still produces more than twice the climate-damaging amount of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels than the average Chinese citizen.

China and US officials long have played a mutual blame game as global warming intensifies, with China faulting the US as the world's largest climate polluter historically, and Donald Trump's administration in particular pointing to China's pollution in justifying rollbacks of US climate efforts.

President Joe Biden used the summit Monday to express regret for the US role in climate damage.

Those of us who are responsible for much of the deforestation and all of the problems we have so far, Biden said, have overwhelming obligations to the poorer nations that account for few of the emissions yet are paying a price as the planet has grown hotter.

Biden also apologized Monday for Trump's decision to leave the Paris climate accord, saying that put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit on combating climate change.

Xie on Tuesday dismissed a reporter's question about whether China, as the world's current worst carbon emitter, bore any similar obligations to other countries for China's role in damaging the Earth's climate.

Instead, he faulted the US, saying it was Trump's withdrawal that slowed down climate efforts.

We have wasted already five years owing to the US withdrawal from the climate accord, Xie said. And now we need to work harder and catch up.

Biden rejoined the Paris accord earlier this year as one of his first acts as president.

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judge D Y Chandrachud has termed the delay in communicating bail orders to prison authorities as a very serious deficiency and stressed the need to address it on war footing as it touches the human of every under-trial prisoner.

Chandrachud was speaking at an online event organised by the Allahabad High Court to inaugurate virtual courts and e-Sewa kendras' to facilitate online legal assistance to litigants. "A very serious deficiency in the criminal system is the delay in the communication of bail orders, which we need to address on war footing. Because this touches upon human of every under-trial, or even a convict who has got suspension of sentence..., he said.

Recently, Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, spend an extra day in the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai, despite securing bail from the Bombay High Court in the drugs-on-cruise case.

Prior to this, a CJI N V Ramana-led bench had expressed strong displeasure over reports of delay in implementation of bail orders and had said it would set up a secure, credible and authentic channel for transmission of orders. Even in the digital age, we are still looking at the skies for the pigeons to communicate orders, the bench had said



The had then ordered the implementation of a project -- Fast and Secure Transmission of Electronic Records (FASTER) -- for faster communication and compliance of its orders and had asked all states and union territories to ensure internet facility, with adequate speed, in every jail. Speaking at the event, Justice Chandrachud referred to one of the initiatives of the Orissa High Court which provides for the grant of e-custody certificate to every under-trial prisoner and convict who is undergoing sentence of imprisonment.

That certificate will give us all the requisite data with regard to that particular under-trial or convict, right from initial remand to the subsequent progress of each case. This will also help us in ensuring that bail orders are communicated as soon as they are made, from the place they are communicated, to the jails for immediate implementation," he said.

Justice Chandrachud also referred to the importance of virtual courts and said that they have been set up in 12 states for adjudicating traffic challans.

Across the country 99.43 lakh cases have been completed. Fines have been collected for 18.35 lakh cases. Total fine collected is over 119 crores of rupees. About 98,000 violators chose to contest the case", the judge said.

"Now you can imagine that for a common citizen who has a traffic challan, to spend a day away from daily wages and to go to court to pay for the traffic challan is not productive..., he said.

Justice Chandrachud said that 2.,95 crore criminal cases are pending in district courts in the country and over 77 per cent cases are more than one year old.

Many criminal cases are pending as the accused remain absconding for years. For example, the oldest sessions court case in Uttar Pradesh where the accused is absconding is sessions trial 64 of 1976 at Gorakhpur, he said.

The major reasons for delay in disposal of criminal cases is the accused remain absconding, particularly after bail is granted, and secondly, due to non-appearance of official witnesses during the course of the criminal trial for recording evidence, he said.

We can use information and communication technology here also. This is what we are working on presently in the e-committee of the Supreme Court", Justice Chandrachud said.

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The Cabinet Tuesday gave approval to the revised "Samadhan Se Vikas" scheme to enable the recovery of long-pending External Development Charges outstanding.

The scheme was earlier formulated to enable the recovery of long-pending EDC dues and was approved by the Council of Ministers in its meeting held on July 6, 2020.

An amount of Rs 1130.13 crore has been recovered under this policy till September 30, 2021, an official statement said after the meeting of the cabinet chaired by Chief Minister

As of now, approximately Rs 1,4932.87 crore EDC is outstanding with the coloniser/developers, it said, adding now the revised scheme has been approved.

In another decision, the cabinet accorded approval to a proposal regarding the creation of 'work assessment norms' for work assessment for all government offices in the state.

Formulation of Work Assessment Norms and proforma to conduct work-study for each Department in the State would be done by the Staff Inspection Unit of Administrative Reforms Department, the statement said.

In another decision, the cabinet gave approval to the exemption to stage carriage buses owned by State Transport Undertakings of Capital Region State that is Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and NCT of Delhi -- other than from the liability to pay Motor Vehicle Tax under Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement.

The cabinet also gave its approval to the One Time Settlement Scheme to resolve issues pertaining to the mining sector in the State under the Vivado Ka Samadhan scheme.

In another decision, the cabinet accorded approval regarding the rationalisation of VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).

Concessional rate of 1 per cent VAT on ATF was applicable on UDAAN flights under Regional Connectivity Scheme for a period of three years from August 1, 2018.

A meeting was held between Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Chief Minister, on October 13, 2021, in which it was decided to extend 1 percent concessional rates of VAT on all passenger flights in Haryana to boost connectivity and tourism across the country.

Accordingly, a decision was taken by Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday to extend 1 percent concessional rate to all passenger flights for a period of three years.

It was also decided to levy 1 percent concessional VAT on ATF for MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) related activities and in adventure activities.

(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.)
Surat (Gujarat) [India], November 3 (ANI/PNN): More than 1,000 entrepreneurs from Surat and across the country participated in the meet titled 'Rubaru-2.0' (Meet the Leader) organized by the Surt-based Progress Club, which was founded by the well-known motivational speaker, Sanjay Rawal.

Rubaru-2.0, a 5th common meet of the entrepreneurs organized by Progress Club in Surat, consisted of a total of 11 chapters, two chapters of the Progress Club Digital and the Women Progress Club chapter. Motivational speaker and founder of Progress Club, Sanjay Rawal, addressed the huge gathering of entrepreneurs in his signature style and shared his wisdom on how to become successful entrepreneurs, and suggested practical solutions to succeed.

According to Rawal, there are four pillars of success--Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. One needs to work on the two pillars--Dharma and Moksha--and the rest will be taken care of by the almighty God. A life lived for the sake of showing off to others is a sin. Having a calm body and mind will bring heaps of wealth, and taking care of small things in life will make the 'Best' version of your personality.

The Progress Club, which started with just eight entrepreneurs to spread the spirit of 'Let's Grow Together', has today grown into a vast family of 1,000 entrepreneurs in India.

Kamal Deora, the chief mentor of the (http://progressclub.in) Progress Club, said, "The objective of the Club is to not to promote the business growth of the members, but 'making a human being, who cares'. As soon as this is achieved, a new chapter of cohesive development begins in one's life. Entrepreneurs will get the solutions for Sales problems, time management, family relationship, staff issues, etc., as the by-product."

Deora added, "Progress Club is an ideology that connects people with mutual trust and honesty and motivates them to help each other."

This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi [India], November 3 (ANI/Mediawire): CBSE has not yet released the admit card for CBSE Board Exams 2021.

According to officials, CBSE will soon release the admit card for Class 10th and 12th board exams. The students can download the admit card from the CBSE's academic website.

According to the official datesheet released by the CBSE board, CBSE Board Exams 2021 term-1 will commence from 30th November for class 10th and from 1st December for class 12th. Students can download the datesheet from the official CBSE website.

CISCE has also released the ISC & ICSE datesheet 2021 for semester 1. ISCE board exam for class 10th will commence from 29th November. ISC board exam 2021 for class 12th will commence from 22nd November. Students can download the ICSE & ISC datesheet from the CISCE official website.

CISCE has also released a circular about the instructions to the candidates for ICSE & ISC Board Exams for semester 1 along with revised timetable and information on 28 October.

CBSE Term 1 Boards Competency Based Questions: Key Highlights & Guidelines For Students, Teachers

Competency- A competency is made up of three elements - skills, knowledge, and attributes. Focus on developing creative and critical thinking capacities of students.

A) Characteristics of good MCQs: -

1. connection between textbook and real life

2. allows testing of both higher and lower order thinking skills

3. good diagnostic tool

4. free from subjective scoring

5. doesn't allow bluffing

6. differentiate between good and poor performers in a test

7. key core understandings

8. focused

Here's the CBSE official link for major exam pattern guidelines for CBSE Class 10 Maths, Science, Social Science & English For Term 1 Board Exams 2021-22:

(http://www.cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Circulars/2021/88_Circular_2021.pdf)

b) Best practices in MCQ creation

1. answer should be indisputable

2. one concept per question

3. exclusivity

4. don't overlapping answers

c) Free of irrelevant difficulties

1. clear and concise

2. Reader- friendly phrasing (use active voice, simple tenses, simple sentences)

3. Avoid using contractions unless the question is testing it

4. Avoid negative phrasing

5. don't use multiple negatives.

6. have balanced representation of different populations

7. Don't have an opposite pair of options

8. Don't use specific qualifiers like "never" and "always" or vague qualifiers "may"and "some"

9. Not taken directly from the wording in textbook exercises.

10. Closed stem

11. Use best and most for higher thinking questions

12. Don't repeat words from stem.

13. options taken from stem, image, passage, table - in order of appearance

14. Words and phrases - in order of ascending/descending length

15. Years - chronological

16. Numbers - Ascending - flexible

17. copyright and image usage permissions

Fora Comprehensive study material for CBSE ICSE Term 1 / Semester 1 Board Exams 2021-22, there are few exclusive exam preparation resources such as The Best Seller Oswaal CBSE ICSE Sample Papers For Semester 1/ Term 1 Board Exams 2021-22.

These CBSE ICSE Sample Papers For Semester 1/ Term 1 Board Exams also includes cognitive exam preparation tools such as Mind maps, Mnemonics, Concept Videos, Revision Notes for quick learning, long-retention for Exam-Ready preparations:

Here's the recommended link for CBSE MCQs Class 10 Sample Papers for Term 1 Boards Exams 2021-22: (https://www.oswaalbooks.com/books/cbse-books/class-10?utm_source=3+nov & utm_medium=online+pr+cbse+term+1+toi & utm_campaign=cbse+10)(https://bit.ly/31qWt7n)

CBSE MCQs Class 12 Sample Papers for Term 1 Boards Exams 2021-22: (https://www.oswaalbooks.com/books/cbse-books/class-12?utm_source=3+nov & utm_medium=online+pr+cbse+term+1+toi & utm_campaign=cbse+12)(https://bit.ly/3k0wuKv)

ICSE MCQs Class 10 Specimen Sample Papers for Semester 1 Boards Exams 2021-22:(https://www.oswaalbooks.com/books/icse-board-books/class-10?utm_source=3+nov & utm_medium=online+pr+cbse+term+1+toi & utm_campaign=icse+10)(https://bit.ly/31spDTF)

Another major circular was released by CBSE board emphasizing on 'hybrid learning' for teacher. It's recommended to check the circular available on the official CBSE website. In this circular CBSE has partnered with Microsoft to provide training programs to teachers which will be conducted over a period of 5 days and commence from 15th November.

The entire concept is to promote among the teachers the basic and advance knowledge of technology and its applications.

It can mean that the online study and exam conduction may not be going to end soon.

Or it may simply mean that online education may be the future of Indian Education from now.

In the same manner, CISCE is conducting NISTHA secondary courses for CISCE teachers of classes IX to XII being conducted on DIKSHA platform.

The CBSE has also released a Handbook for Assessment and Evaluation. This handbook will help teachers of all subjects to design test items that are valid and reliable measure of the student learning. It will provide guidance for test developers who create questions or tasks for learning assignment.

It's highly recommended that students should go through this handbook at least once so that they can have the test papers insight. Students can get the handbook by visiting the official CBSE website.

Another major circular released by CBSE is regarding the International Olympiad. Students need to register and enrol themselves for the stage selection through Indian Olympiad Qualifier. The concept of International Olympiad is aimed to prepare the most talented Indian students to compete at international platforms.

Like the Olympics in sports, the International Olympiad is the celebration of the very best in school level science and maths.

The NEP (New Education Policy) entirely based on these latest developments and the it's implications and can be easily derived.

This story is provided by Mediawire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Mediawire)

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 3 (ANI/SRV): Karnataka Business Awards (KBA), the premier business award ceremony will be held on December 18th and 19th 2021 at the Manpho Convention Centre in Bengaluru.

The set of prestigious awards is designed to improve productivity and quality by recognizing and awarding companies, entrepreneurs and service providers for their outstanding performance and achievements in their respective fields. It aims to promote business excellence by providing a framework or criteria for assessment.

To encourage such innovative efforts and promote this spirit in the larger interest of qualitative development, Abdul Musaddiq President said, "The Karnataka Traders Chamber of Commerce [KTCC] recognizes these entrepreneurs for their outstanding performance and by conferring awards to motivate and encourage them."

The awards ceremony will be highlighting the innovation of new ideas and their execution towards the different sector's growth that contributes to the economy, employment, culture, the quality of hospitality, and the prosperity of Karnataka state.

This is the opportunity that can bring together government, hotels, restaurants, tour operators, and other sectors where all can share and celebrate the business and brands that work towards positioning Karnataka as the top state in building the Indian economy.

The overall aim of these awards is to recognize and celebrate the success of individuals and organizations within the Karnataka state and are registered with Micro, Small & Medium businesses [MSMEs].

The awards provide participants with complete transparency during the judging process and only emphasise merit-based awards.

Further, as the number of participants grows year on year, it also paves the way for a highly resourceful business community to be built comprising business professionals from diverse industries. Additionally, the Karnataka Business Awards provide an opportunity for participants to attain branding and exposure in multiple pre and post-events.

For more details, visit - (https://www.karnatakabusinessawards.com)

This story is provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi [India], November 3 (ANI/ATK): One in four pregnancies end in loss. There are 23 million miscarriages worldwide, every year. Yet, there is a culture of silence and secrecy around this. The Woman's Company, in collaboration with Facebook, have come together to raise awareness, offer support and start a conversation about Pregnancy Loss.

The Woman's Company, together with Facebook Creative Shop and Play Communications, has launched 'The Compassionate Pad,' the world's first pad designed for women suffering from pregnancy loss. In tandem, the pad also provides access to a messaging Bot - 'TENDER.' Tender, a compassionate, virtual friend, connects women experiencing this inexplicable loss (and the people supporting her) to a qualified panel of specialists like gynecologists, counsellors, doulas, fitness and nutrition professionals to get expert guidance and support.

Via Tender, women can also access stories of women in the community who have experienced pregnancy loss and hear from them how they coped with it. The resources include fact-checked and verified information, advice and community support all via the touch of a button, in a completely safe and confidential format.

People can connect to the Tender Bot via Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp (coming soon) Facebook, Instagram, The Woman's Company website and from the packaging of the 'Compassionate Pad' itself, via a dynamic QR code. When it comes to sensitive topics, using messaging technology is an important step towards digital inclusion and access to accurate information by connecting communities to resources.

The Compassionate Pad by The Woman's Company is the world's first sanitary pad designed keeping in mind the needs of women going through pregnancy and baby loss. The Pad is an extra-long, biodegradable pad which has multiple layers for additional absorbency, made of super-soft cotton, and ergonomically designed. It is the newest addition to the product line currently offered by The Woman's Company.

The customised product and the Tender bot are supplemented by a Facebook and Instagram ad campaign featuring women sharing their experiences to help break the silence and raise awareness about the services and support that are available to women going through this loss.

The Woman's Company offers an array of products ranging from sanitary napkins, panty liners, 100% organic cotton tampons, stand & pee urination devices, medical grade silicone cups and bamboo razors. All its products are organic, biodegradable and environment friendly.

Anika Parashar founded the brand in March 2020 with Roopam Gupta in order to produce and deliver tailor-made intimate wellness and hygiene products for today's women. These are customized to embrace the changing phases of women's bodies, as well as being environmentally conscious. The Woman's Company is not just an FMCG company - it is also a healthcare platform for women led by women, with decades of experience in healthcare and retail.

Says Parashar, "Pregnancy Loss is not talked about enough. It is a fact that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss, around the world. Given that so many women experience this at some point in their lifetimes and yet there is unaddressed grief, pain and lack of acknowledgement, is extremely concerning. In coming together with Facebook, we are trying to give all of those women a voice and saying to them - 'We see you. We see your pain and we acknowledge it in the small way we can."

This collaboration with Facebook resulted when the multinational technology company was looking to partner with a company that considered women and their needs as its top priority. The Woman's Company is not only woman-led - key team members have also experienced pregnancy loss. The Company's robust engagement platform for women, extensive background in healthcare and proven experience in dealing with sensitive issues made it an ideal match for the collaboration with Facebook. The decision to launch the initiative in India stemmed from the fact that Indian women are more prone to pregnancy loss and the number tripled during the pandemic, but communication and dialogue about the subject is severely lacking.

Sanover Srivastav & Divya Nailwal (Co-founders of PLAY and Creative Strategists for The Woman's Company) commented, "When we got the opportunity to work on the Compassionate Pad, we knew that the compassion needs to come right from the product's packaging as that will be this woman's first exposure to the product. So, we created unique packaging that would connect with her at an emotional level, with every pad change and then lead her on to TENDER, the compassionate chatbot."

Caitlin Ryan (Vice President of Facebook Creative Shop EMEA) said, "The Compassionate Pad is an inspiring example of how our platforms can connect people and businesses and marketing can demonstrate the humanity of business. It shows a shift towards brands behaving as social actors that can deliver value to the communities they serve. In the case of The Compassionate Pad, we hope to see this turn into an industry blueprint for all types of hygiene female brands - as the topic of pregnancy and infant loss knows no borders, and people around the world go through it with little to no access to fact-checked information or support."

The Compassionate Pad is available on:

(https://www.thewomanscompany.com/collections/compassionate-pads)

The Woman's Company

(https://www.thewomanscompany.com/pages/compassionate-pad)

(https://www.facebook.com/thewomanscompany/)

(https://www.instagram.com/thewomanscompany/)

This story is provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Glasgow [Scotland]/ New Delhi [India], November 3 (ANI/PRNewswire): The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today published detailed guidance to help the world's cities address warming, which is occurring at twice the global average rate in urban areas.

(https://www.unep.org/resources/report/beating-heat-sustainable-cooling-handbook-cities)Beating the Heat: A Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities, prepared with RMI, states that by the end of this century, many cities could warm (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-00958-8)as much as 4 C if GHG emissions continue at high levels. Even at 1.5C of warming, 2.3 billion people could be vulnerable to severe heat waves.

Launched at the ongoing UN Climate Conference (COP26) by (https://coolcoalition.org/)the Cool Coalition, (https://www.unep.org/)UNEP, (https://rmi.org/)RMI, the (https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/)Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), Mission Innovation and the (https://www.cleancoolingcollaborative.org/)Clean Cooling Collaborative, the new guide offers planners an encyclopaedia of proven options to help cool cities.

"Science tells us that to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5C, we need to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century. Sustainable and equitable urban cooling must be a part of cities' efforts to reach net-zero energy targets," said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director.

In outlining the problem, the Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities describes how cities are warming quickly due to the 'heat island effect', caused by a combination of diminished green cover, the thermal properties of the materials commonly used in urban surfaces, and waste heat from human activities.

The Handbook notes that:

Demand for space cooling is increasing. The energy requirement for space cooling is predicted to triple from 2016 to 2050 as millions of households in developing countries acquire air conditioners in the coming decades.

Impacts of urban heat are not evenly distributed. Cooler cities, homes and streets are key to ensure climate justice. Lower-income districts and communities are usually the most vulnerable to heat, placing the negative impacts of excess warming disproportionately on those least likely to be able to afford or access thermal comfort. We need to transition to more equitable and sustainable ways of cooling our cities and make them liveable for all.

The benefits of sustainable urban cooling are far reaching, including improved health and productivity, reduced power energy requirements, lower emissions, and economic benefits.

Cooling strategies can be optimized to work together efficiently. The report calls for a whole-system approach - that is, reduce heat at urban scale, reduce cooling needs in buildings and serve cooling needs in buildings efficiently - to benefit from integrative effects.

City officials working to make their cities cooler and more liveable are faced with a wide range of approaches - the challenge is where to start.

"This new handbook provides a comprehensive overview of ways to cool cities sustainably and equitably," said RMI CEO Jules Kortenhorst. "Based on systems-level thinking, this handbook includes actionable guidance to help cities make progress towards sustainable and equitable urban cooling, while also cutting emissions and increasing city resilience."

The guide's 80 supporting case studies and examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategies outlined and can help cities find an approach best suited to their unique contexts.

In collaboration with the Cool Coalition, (https://www.onebillionresilient.org/)the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance, an initiative of the (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/adrienne-arsht-rockefeller-foundation-resilience-center/)Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) at the Atlantic Council, announced plans to disseminate the new Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities to their partner cities and counties- including Athens, Greece, Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Miami-Dade County, United States. The newly announced Athens, Freetown and Miami-Dade Chief Heat Officers will be the first to benefit from this comprehensive guide.

To meet the energy- and building-related emissions target of their Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Climate Agreement, Vietnam will also pilot the handbook in three cities, Can Tho, Tam Ky and Dong Hoi City.

Similarly, 10 Indian cities will collaborate with UNEP, (https://niua.org/)India's National institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), RMI and the (https://indien.um.dk/en)Royal Danish Embassy of India to integrate cooling into their city masterplans.

Example case studies

United States: Heat reduction services from urban tree cover in the United States are estimated to be worth USD 5.3 billion to USD 12.1 billion annually. Globally, investing USD 100 million annually in street trees would give 77 million people a 1C reduction in maximum temperatures on hot days.

Seoul, South Korea: An effort to restore the Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through the city replaced 5.8 kilometres of elevated expressway covering the stream with a mixed-use waterfront corridor. The waterfront corridor decreased temperature 3.3C to 5.9C compared to a parallel road a few blocks away.

Medellin, Colombia: Green corridors were created that follow and restore the geography of the area prior to recent development. From 2016 to 2019, the city created 36 corridors, 18 along major roads and 18 along waterways, covering over 36 hectares. The areas with green corridors have already seen temperature reductions of up to 4C.

Paris, France: Paris is home of the first and largest district cooling system in Europe. When the water temperature in the Seine River that cuts through city is below 8C, this water is used to provide "free cooling."

Toronto, Canada: The municipal government implemented the largest lake-source cooling system in the world. Commissioned in 2004, Enwave's 264 MW of refrigeration Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system uses Lake Ontario's cold water as a renewable energy source.

Guangzhou, China: The municipal government adopted regional centralized cooling as part of a green and environmentally friendly modern urban centre in the core area of the Pearl River New City development. The local environmental temperature in the core area of Zhujiang New Town was reduced by 2-3C compared to using distributed cooling systems.

Additional Quotes

"The Global Covenant of Mayors is the world's largest alliance of cities taking action on climate, representing over 11,000 cities and one billion people. No matter how large or small a city, introducing sustainable urban cooling will both cut emissions and build resilience. We look forward to taking this handbook and sharing it across our worldwide network of cities so they can take immediate steps to make urban spaces cooler," said Andy Deacon, Acting Managing Director, Global Covenant of Mayors.

"Cities are at the forefront of the climate crisis, so it's vital that local governments urgently adopt sustainable urban cooling solutions to protect their communities from rapidly rising temperatures while also limiting further global warming," said Noah Horowitz, Director of the Clean Cooling Collaborative. "This guide is an invaluable tool for cities wanting to take meaningful action for both people and the planet."

"I am delighted to see how Mission Innovation has brought together the community to develop the Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities. This is a great example of what we mean by catalyzing clean energy solutions for all. We look forward to playing a role in its deployment in the next phase," Lee McDonough, Director General, Net Zero Strategy and International, UK Representative on MI Steering Committee.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The will announce the outcome of its two-day monetary policy meeting later today. Fed chair is expected to approve plans for scaling back its current $120-billion in monthly bond purchases. And this could be the first step away from the core policies put in place in early 2020 to battle the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Jan Lambregts, managing director and global head of financial research at Rabobank International, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce the start of tapering at its November meeting, where the central bank could announce a fixed monthly taper schedule that would reduce net asset purchases by $10 billion Treasuries and $5 billion agency mortgage-backed-securities. He also anticipates the Fed to stress on accumulated progress in the labour market and the transitory nature of supply side bottlenecks. But, given that the pace of price hikes has remained higher for longer than expected along with the United States' economy growing at a slower pace in the September quarter, market watchers are expecting a rate hike not before the second half of 2022. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, a widely tracked derivatives marketplace in the US, trading in federal funds futures contracts indicates a greater than 65% probability that the Fed would raise rates in June, with a second increase expected in November. A month ago, rates market indicators signalled less than 20% likelihood of a rate hike as early as June and a comparably negligible probability for two hikes next year. G Chokkalingam, founder and chief investment officer at Equinomics Research, says a rate hike would happen only in the second half of 2022 calendar year.

He cites as the reason the weak GDP numbers in the September quarter. Central banks are concerned about Fed and others would adopt phased-exit route from a liberal policy. They may reduce bond purchases by 5-10% every month. There will be no major impact on markets, he adds. Given this, global cues will hold importance in today's trading session. Back home, Dalal Street could see lean volumes on the bourses today as market participants would want to keep their positions light ahead of the outcome and Muhurat Trading session due tomorrow. Among stock-specific triggers, corporate earnings of State Bank of India, Bata India, and Eicher Motors, along with 39 other companies, will remain in focus today. According to analysts, SBI's Q2 profit may nearly double on a yearly basis to Rs 9,263.3 crore on the back of healthy net interest margins, recovery from DHFL, and lower loan provisioning. The lender's net interest income, however, is seen rising between 0.6 per cent and 4.6 per cent year-on-year, to up to Rs 29,309 crore. That apart, Services PMI data and IPOs of Policybazaar, SJS Enterprises and Sigachi Industries will also be on investor radar today.
Dakota graduated from Bret Harte in 2013 and went to Davidson College, NC where she earned a bachelor's degree in Arab studies. After spending time studying in the Middle East and Europe, she is happy to be home, writing about the community she loves.

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CAMEROUN :: The Cetic Of Zimphouet renovated after a long period in precariousness :: CAMEROON

Students of CETIC ZIMPHOUET a locality in the Menoua division , west region of Cameroon can now study in a comfortable and befitting structure after 12 years in makeshift.

Five classrooms have been commissioned for the teaching and learning process by the senior divisional officer for the Menoua, Godlove Mboke Ntua on September 24, 2021.



The rehabilitation of the five classrooms is the initiative of Non profit organization STRIVING FOR ALL, championed by humanitarian Genevieve Ngambia, its Founder and CEO and other influential members including Olena Baykur, Josh McDaniel and Dr. Katy Kemeze.

They have been working tirelessly with donors and partner organisations to give hope to underprivileged communities in Cameroon.

All the students who gathered to welcome the commissioning of the classrooms were told by the goodwill Ambassador of STRIVING FOR ALL, madam Tsafack Tonleu to make sure they work very hard in order to make the community proud of them, adding their assiduity will push STRIVING FOR ALL to go an extra mile to provide a library, electricity and above all potable water and a health center for the school.



Addressing the enthusiastic crowd of more than 300 villagers who left behind their farming activities to attend the official commissioning of the rehabilitated classrooms, the representative of the divisional delegate for secondary education for the Menoua Felix Tchinda called on the teachers to seize this opportunity to better prepare their lessons especially as they have a befitting working environment. To the students, he told them to be assiduous while extending his plea to the parents to be more involved in the education of their children.



Another speaker at the commissioning ceremony was the Mayor of Dschang Gabriel Kamleu Tchabgou who promised a geotechnical and geophysical studies to be carried out by the council to assist in the provision of potable water for CETIC ZIMPHOUET.



Created in 2008 and went operational in 2009, CETIC ZIMPHOUET has 11 departments with the newest being dressmaking and design.



Presenting his school the principal Pascal Zoulewa thanked STRIVING FOR ALL for everything they have done for the instruction. He however expressed regrets on the absence of teachers to assist the very few sent by the government.



One man who will not stop at encouraging the education of children in his community is the paramount ruler of the Foto clan HRH Guy Bertrand Momo Soffack who thanked STRIVING FOR ALL on behalf of his kin.



Prior to the cutting of the symbolic ribbon to officially commission the rehabilitated classrooms, the senior divisional officer for Menoua Godlove Mboke Ntua appreciated the partnership between the government and Non profit organization STRIVING FOR ALL. Mr Mboke called on parents to send their children to school.

It must be recalled that around this same time last year, Genevieve Ngambia mobilized resources on behalf of STRIVING FOR ALL to assist more than 300 internally displaced families who fled the arms conflict in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon.
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Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, has said that the return of schools after the mid-term break on Monday is safe, despite a high incidence rate of COVID-19 among children.

His comments follow after he said that was "increasingly worried" by presence of 2,193 new COVID-19 cases last Wednesday.

It also follows a govt statement from Last Friday, which outlined that it has no intention of restoring contact-tracing system for schoolchildren amid a spike in cases among those aged between 5 and 12, despite calls to do so by the Irish National Teacher's Organisation (INTO).

Dr Holohan reassured parents and teachers by saying that the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) would continue to monitor the level of the disease and review data, the international research and guidance and "to update our advice accordingly."

He explained that international evidence showed that in the vast majority of cases, children who became infected with Covid-19 experienced mild symptoms or were asymptomatic: "The public health advice is based on scientific evidence and the direct experience of the pandemic in Ireland."

Dr Holohan added: "It shows that child-to-child transmission is uncommon in school settings where there are preventive measures in place like those throughout our schools."

Similar sentiments were shared by Infectious diseases expert Dr Sam McConkey, who said he wasnt "wildly concerned" about children returning to primary school, as the virus generally doesnt "make them [kids] very sick."
FILE - In this April 29, 2016, file photo Pope Francis shakes hands with Vice President Joe Biden as he takes part in a congress on the progress of regenerative medicine and its cultural impact, being held in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican. The Vatican on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2021 abruptly canceled the planned live broadcast of President Joe Bidens meeting with Pope Francis, pulling the plug on the eagerly-awaited audience and consolidating the limits on independent information coming out of the Holy See for the past 18 months. The Vatican press office provided no explanation for why the live broadcast of Bidens visit had been trimmed to just the arrival of his motorcade in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
No one was reportedly injured Tuesday morning when this truck collided with a Penske box truck on Highway 24 near Franks Pizza in Broad Creek. (Contributed photo)
Melrose (Atkinson-Sanbornville, NH) - Atkinson-Sanbornville: With deep sadness we announce that Lewis Charles Stevens "Chucky" passed away on Thursday, October 21, in the comfort of his son's home. He fought a hard battle with cancer and heart disease and was blessed to be surrounded by love
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The film is also the feature directorial debut of Kajsa Nss, whose shorts include Deconstruction Workers and Its Up to You. The project began when Nss stumbled on a book about Nobile and the expedition.

In Norway, Roald Amundsen is a national icon, says producer Tonje Skar Reiersen. Everyone knows how he won the race against the South Pole, beating the British Scott in a deadly march. But that Amundsen had flown across the North Pole in an airship! This was news to her as to most people. How come this spectacular expedition was largely unknown?

Titina is not a typical expedition film: hard men, harsh nature, that sort of thing, Reiersen continues. The idea is to create an adventure with humor and compassion that really showed us the unexpected, soft, and sometimes petty sides of these great men. To focus on Titina allows us to be more playful and highlight details and storylines that would not fit in an heroic epic.

Full production began in June 2020; we caught up with Mikrofilm in early on in the pandemic. Delivery is due in June 2022.

The producers are Reiersen and Lise Fearnley for Mikrofilm, and Viviane Vanfleteren for Vivi Film. The film has been pre-sold to France, Benelux, and the Nordic countries, and sales agent Les Films du Losange will launch international sales shortly.

Below are some stills from the film, the first of which were exclusively unveiling:
After leaving Bluth, Quaife-Hodge animated effects for various studios including Hanna-Barbera, where she worked on The Pagemaster and Once Upon a Forest. She also contributed to Richard Williamss magnum opus The Thief and the Cobbler.

Eventually, she moved to Disney, working on 1990s features Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Tarzan. Later credits include Warner Bros. hybrid feature Osmosis Jones and Disney Channels The Proud Family.

Like many animators, Quaife-Hodge struggled to sustain her career in the early 2000s, as the U.S.s hand-drawn animation industry was eroded by the rise of cg productions. With 2d animation increasingly subcontracted overseas, Quaife-Hodge spent much of the first half of the decade creating style guides for studios in Asia and Europe, showing them how to do classy effects the way I had learned to craft them, as she wrote on her blog.

Around this time, she also began teaching life drawing and traditional animation at various West Coast universities, including Academy of Art University, California State University Channel Islands, and California State University, Fullerton. When 2d finally makes its comeback, she wrote, I wanted to have a few friends in L.A.

Indeed, she stayed close to Bluth, signing up to lead the effects animation on a planned hand-drawn feature based on Dragons Lair. Bluth and producer Gary Goldman launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2015, but the project never came to light  at least, not as an animated film.

Quaife-Hodge posted animation loops, figure sketches, and other artwork to her blog, which gives a good impression of her talents as an artist. She also published work on Youtube. Watch her demonstrate her technique for animating a splash of water in the video below:

Heres a fire loop she uploaded to the blog:
Photo: The Canadian Press Heather Stefanson is sworn in as Manitoba's 24th premier at the Legislative Building in Winnipeg on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

Manitoba's new premier was sworn into office on Tuesday while her opponent challenged her leadership victory in court.

"It's disappointing," Heather Stefanson said. "But I'm not going to let this get (us) off our game, our focus."

In her first speech as premier, Stefanson promised to strengthen health care and the economy. The government is also committed to listening to and learning from Indigenous people to advance reconciliation, she said.

"I will always listen to you, the people of Manitoba," she said.

Stefanson added that she expects the legislature to return later this month with a throne speech. She did not say whether there would be significant changes in cabinet, but suggested it's not unusual for roles to shift under new leadership.

Stefanson, 51, became the first woman to become premier of the province after Progressive Conservative party members chose her as their new leader on the weekend.

"While I may be the first woman to hold this office, I take this oath confident in the knowledge that I will not be the last," she said.

She is also the only female premier in the 10 provinces.

Shelly Glover, who narrowly lost to Stefanson when the leadership ballots were counted Saturday, is challenging the result. She claimed that the wrong person has been sworn in.

"I feel I am the first female Metis premier of Manitoba," Glover said.

In court documents filed Tuesday, Glover argued that Stefanson's win is invalid and that the premier's office remains vacant. She said in an affidavit that she was given different numbers of how many votes would be counted than what was eventually provided.

Stefanson won by 363 votes.

The Progressive Conservative party said the leadership vote was run independently and ballot counting was overseen by party auditors as well as a scrutineer from each campaign.

"We hope that after our election committee talks to Ms. Glover and her advisers and responds to her concerns that they will see that the process and the results were handled appropriately, accurately and without favour," the party said in a statement.

Glover, a former Conservative member of Parliament, had complained throughout the leadership race that many party members didn't receive their ballots in time.

Through her lawyer, Glover wrote to Manitoba's lieutenant-governor Monday asking for the swearing-in to be delayed so she could contest the outcome of the leadership vote in court.

The head of the Tory leadership committee said on the weekend that every effort was made to allow people to vote and no one was deliberately denied a ballot.

Stefanson was first elected as a legislature member in 2000 and has held the Tuxedo constituency in Winnipeg ever since.

She has promised a different tone than her predecessor, Brian Pallister, who stepped down in September after dropping significantly in opinion polls following controversial remarks about the history of Indigenous people. He was also criticized for the his government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stefanson didn't escape criticism during the province's worst wave of the pandemic. She was health minister last spring when dozens of patients in intensive care had to be flown to other provinces because of a shortage of beds.

Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew congratulated Stefanson on becoming Manitoba's first woman premier, but urged her to reverse her predecessor's decisions around health care.

Stefansonalso served as deputy premier, justice minister and minister of families since the Progressive Conservatives won a large majority in 2016.

She said she understands that it will be a significant challenge to regain the trust of Manitobans, but it's one that she's ready to face as premier.

"We are starting on the ground running right away."
Photo: The Canadian Press An impromptu memorial for Dr. Walter Reynolds, who died after he was attacked in an examination room, rests outside the Village Mall walk-in clinic in Red Deer, Alta., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. An Alberta man facing trial later this month in the slaying of a family doctor at a medical clinic has died. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A man who was to face trial later this month in the slaying of a family doctor at a central Alberta medical clinic has died.

Deng Mabiour, 54, was charged with first-degree murder in last year's death of Dr. Walter Reynolds at the Village Mall Walk-In Clinic in Red Deer.

Mabiour had been representing himself in court and a jury trial was to start Nov. 22.

Red Deer lawyer Jason Snider, who was appointed as an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, to help Mabiour, said he died in a Calgary hospital.

"I can confirm from the information I received from the correctional authorities that he has died in the Foothills hospital," Snider said in an email to The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

"I do not know the cause of death. It has not been shared with me."

At a court appearance in March, the Crown said a letter from psychiatrist Dr. Yuri Metelitsa indicated Mabiour had an appointment at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary for "a serious medical condition.''

Mabiour had previously undergone two assessments after exhibiting erratic behaviour but was found mentally fit to stand trial.

Reynolds, a 45-year-old father of two who was originally from South Africa, was attacked with a weapon while working at the clinic on Aug. 10, 2020. He later died in hospital.

At the time, one witness told media that she was in the waiting room when she heard cries for help and saw a man with a hammer and a machete.

RCMP have said the crime was not random and that the two men knew each other through the clinic. Although they have not said if Mabiour was a patient of Reynolds.
Photo: Castanet Staff Sean Taylor, a registered nurse and anti-vaccine advocate who has joined Ezra Wellness. The BC College of Nurses has issued a warning to registrants spreading misinformation.

The regulatory body that oversees nurses and midwives in B.C. has fired a warning shot towards nurses who are spreading misinformation about the pandemic.

In a statement this week, the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives said it is working with its partners and the provincial government to address the numerous recent reports of members who participate, organize, or agitate against public health orders in place to deal with COVID-19.

The college issued the statement on the same day that Ezra Wellness was ordered out of its Kamloops location by its landlord. The clinic, which billed itself as an alternative to traditional healthcare that did not provide healthcare, was opened by Glenn Aalderink.

Aalderink was a Licensed Practical Nurse at Royal Inland Hospital until the healthcare worker vaccine mandate was enforced. He organized an anti-vax rally outside the hospital on Sept. 1 and regular protests in the city against health measures.

Aalderink claimed this week to have 70 trained healthcare workers on his Ezra Kamloops team who were recently placed on unpaid leave due to the mandate.

Sean Taylor, a registered nurse and PPC candidate in the South Okanagan-West Kootenay in the past election, is another driving force behind Ezra Wellness. He was employed at the hospital in Grand Forks but said in a recent YouTube video that he was fired for his comments during the election campaign when he vigorously advocated against the COVID-19 vaccine.

Taylor said unvaccinated healthcare workers have a moral imperative to build a new healthcare system. He made the announcement in Toronto, where he travelled to be with anti-vaccine influencer and fellow PPC candidate Mark Friesen, who was intubated in hospital battling COVID-19.

The Ezra Wellness business model is not clear, but Aalderink says he'll be back with another Kamloops location after being evicted this week. A location is operating in Grand Forks, where Taylor is located.

The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives, meanwhile, says it is watching closely.

The BCCNM is the self-regulating body that oversees the delivery of nursing and midwifery in the province and has the power to conduct investigations and hold hearings.

In its statement this week, the college says it has the legal tools to ensure no individual misuses their registered title or practices without a registration.

The titles Nurse, Registered Nurse, Registered Psychiatric Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Midwife, and Registered Midwife are all protected in B.C.

That means only BCCNM registrants have the right to use the titles. The college can also legally restrain individuals from using those titles unlawfully or practising nursing illegally.

BCCNM registrants are free to voice their own opinions in a lawful manner but are not entitled to use a protected title to spread misinformation, the colleges statement said. BCCNM can and will take action against registrants whose use of title poses a risk to the public or could bring the profession of nursing or midwifery into disrepute.
Photo: CTV News

A Calgary high school is on lockdown and Calgary police are searching for a suspect after a teenager was stabbed Wednesday.

CTV News is reporting that a teenage boy was stabbed, rushed to hospital and police were called to Bishop McNally High School at 5700 Falconridge Blvd NE, Calgary just before 11 a.m.

It remains unclear if the stabbing took place on school property. The teen is listed in stable, non-life-threatening condition with a single stab wound.

The high school has been placed on lockdown as police are searching for a suspect or suspects.

A tweet from the Calgary Catholic School District indicates all other students are safe.



"CPS, EMS and senior administration are currently at the school dealing with the incident," the CCSD said.

"Calgary Catholic has a critical incident team that will work closely with the school community. Our thoughts and prayers are with all involved."

We are currently responding to reports of a stabbing at Bishop McNally High School. A teenage male has been taken to hospital in non-life-threatening, stable condition and we are circulating for potential suspects. The school has been placed into lockdown as a further precaution.  Calgary Police (@CalgaryPolice) November 3, 2021

-with files from CTV News Calgary
Re.: David Sellers letter Info on vax effects called for (Castanet, Nov 3)

You're absolutely right David Sellers, the information about potential side effects is important to have.

I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that such information is only available on social media. I decided to test that and within 30 seconds found numerous articles from well-established and trusted sources, including the Center for Disease Control, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the CBC, NPR (National Public Radio), the Canada.ca website, the Mayo Clinics website, immunizebc.ca, statista.com and others.

All I did to find this was Google Covid vaccine side effects" and voila, there were dozens of articles regarding that very subject.

If you read beyond the first couple of sentences on any given article you can find information on both the common and minor side effects, as well as the more serious side effects. All of these articles and links appear on the first page of the Google search results.

I am unsure if you simply haven't made any effort to find that information or if you've decided that all of those sources are untrustworthy. If you've decided that the only source you trust are random Facebook groups or Joe Rogans podcast, that's your prerogative. But to say the information isn't available is patently untrue.

The information is easily available to anyone who chooses to look for it.

I'll keep it short and remind you that the instances of life-threatening, or other serious, side effects are extremely, extremely rarefar below the 1.6% fatality rate for people who contract Covid-19 in Canada.

T. Robinson, Oliver
It was an exciting day on Friday when NC Chief Justice Paul Newby visited the Caswell County Court House. From left, Ed Wilson, Sr. Resident Superior Court; Judge Tony Grogan, Chief District Court Judge; Christine Strader, District Court Judge; Paul Newby, Chief Justice NC Supreme Court; his wife, Macon Newby; Jason Ramey, District Attorney; John Satterfield, Clerk of Superior Court; and John Dickerson, Caswell County Commissioner.
Lafarge Zambia reduces cement price by 5-10%

ICR Newsroom By 03 November 2021

Lafarge Zambia has reduced the price of cement by 5-10 per cent from 30 October 2021. The price reduction was said to be inevitable due to the appreciation of the kwacha against other major convertible currencies in the past two months, according to the Zambia Consumer Association (ZCA), which welcomed the step.



Lafarge Zambia Corporate Affairs and Communication, Sarah Banda, said in a statement that the reduction in the price of cement was caused by the recent appreciation of the kwacha against major convertible currencies as well as the positive outlook of national economic growth.



ZCA General Secretary, Juba Sakala, said the cement producer, with the help of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), has managed to reduce the price of cement to at least ZMW120 (US$6.92)/50kg bag. Initially, Lafarge Zambia, was supposed to reduce the price of cement to US$4-5 which should have been less than ZMW100, he said. He added that the CCPCs order to reduce the price of cement by four to five dollars has not been resolved.



Mr Sakala encouraged other leading cement producers in the country to follow in Lafarges footsteps.

Published under
Lafarge Algeria hits 2Mt export record

ICR Newsroom By 03 November 2021

Lafarge Algeria, part of the Holcim group, has exported 2Mta of cement and clinker for the first time, according to a company press release. The company achieved the volume less than five years after the start of cement exports from Algeria.



The 2Mta volume represents a considerable increase from the 1.2Mt of exports achieved in 2020 and puts the company firmly on the way to its 2.5Mt target by the end of this year. In 2022 the cement producer aims to export 2.6Mt.



This symbolic bar of 2Mta is largely reached thanks to "the internal mobilisation of all our teams in central and in factories in M'Slla, Oggaz and Cilas, and also to the support of the public authorities, ports, customs service and border police, said the CEO of Lafarge Algeria, Nicolas George.



The company sees the industrialisation of logistics and the automation of ship loading as an obligatory passage that will allow Algeria to impose itself on the international cement and clinker market to export 10Mta and generate more than US$400m per year. To achieve this ambitious target, the company is investing heavily in upgrading and expanding export facilities, including a logistics platform for the export of clinker, the first storage hall inaugurated in June 2020 with an extension coming online by the end of this year, as well as the acquisition of an 18,000tpd shiploader. It also continues to strengthen export capacities from several Algerian ports such as Oran, Mostaganem, Jijel, Skikda and Annaba.







Published under
Buena Vista, CO (81211)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. Low around 20F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low around 20F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
A woman at 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd. said someone stole her vehicle. Officers asked when she saw the car last. She said around 6 p.m. when she arrived at the mall. She said the vehicle was locked and the keys were in her possession. Officers drove and walked around the mall and did not locate the car. The woman said the vehicle had no stickers or marks that would stand out. Officers entered the vehicle into NCIC. At 9 p.m. an officer found that the vehicle was not stolen but that the woman had forgotten where she had parked. The car was located at the mall in the parking lot, where she left it. The owner was notified and came to pick up the vehicle. The officer removed the vehicle from NCIC as stolen.



* * *

Police were called to Arrowhead Trail where two people were arguing. Before police arrived they had separated and no longer needed police assistance.



* * *

A woman said someone tried to cash a check she wrote at the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union at 7442 Commons Blvd. She said the check was for $647. Officers went to this location and were shown pictures of an older white male in a red Nissan with a Georgia plate. Officers were informed by an employee of the bank that no money was given to the man. The suspect was using the ID for Damon Dockery who is 22 years old, while this man appears to be much older.

* * *

A woman at 5600 Brainerd Road said her vehicle was unoccupied, and properly parked in a designated parking spot. She said her vehicle was damaged in the front driver's side while she was inside. There are no witnesses and no camera footage.

* * *

A man on Hamilton Avenue called police and said sometime overnight the catalytic converter was stolen from his 2005 Honda Element. No suspect information could be obtained at this time.

* * *

A man on Vance Road said someone stole the catalytic converter off of his Honda Element. He said his neighbor's security camera took an automatic photo showing an unknown vehicle in the driveway next to his. The man said the total repair cost ranges between $1,000 and $3,000 for his vehicle. There is no further suspect information at this time.

* * *

Two officers responded to a suspicious activity on Valley Bridge Road. Officers responded to a report of a white male wearing an orange shirt and white shorts, carrying a gun. Upon arrival officers were not able to locate any individuals in the area matching the description given to dispatch.

* * *

While patrolling on East 3rd Street, police observed a man pacing around the railroad tracks and moving suspicious bags and leaving. Police spoke with the man who gave an inconsistent story about the items he was placing in the area. Police had the man pick up his items and leave the area.

* * *

A man said approximately nine months ago he had another man, Sergio, work on his green 1995 Ford Thunderbird. He said Sergio told him the vehicle was towed to Expressway Towing on Rossville Boulevard He said he observed the car parked in the rear lot of Expressway approximately five to six months ago. The man went to get his car, however, Expressway Towing informed him they did not have it. He said Sergio told him he did not get the vehicle back from Expressway Towing. The man said the vehicle was registered to him in 2018 or 2019 and he has owned the vehicle since buying it in the 90's. The man provided the title to the vehicle on scene. He had to get a new title due to losing the old title. The officer spoke with Sergio who said he did not have space for the vehicle at the time he received it from the man. Sergio told the officer he had the vehicle towed to the front of Expressway's property, as he does with vehicles when he does not have space. He said he never got the vehicle back from Expressway Towing. Expressway Towing informed the officer they let Sergio keep vehicles on their property, however they do not keep records of such. Expressway Towing informed the officer if Sergio's vehicles are not there, he either retrieved the vehicles or they were stolen, etc. Due to the unknown location of the man's car, it was entered into NCIC as stolen.

* * *

A man on Jenkins Road said between 1 and 3 a.m. someone drove through his yard and broke off his mailbox at ground level. He said he did not hear any disturbance in the night. He also found pieces of an unknown vehicle in his yard. The man added his city garage can was approximately 60 feet from where he had placed it the night before with trash scattered about. Repair cost is estimated to be $300. There is no suspect information at this time.

* * *

A woman on North Moore Road said that in 2019 an account appeared on her credit record from Credit One for $675. She said she has been disputing this for a year now with LVN Resurgent collection agency. She has contacted Credit One and they told her they sold the account to LVN and LVN will not give her any details of the account. She said she wants a police report as she is now filing a dispute with Equifax and Transunion.

* * *

A woman on Wilder Street called police to say sometime during the night someone broke out the right side window of her 1988 Honda CRV and stole the Sony Stereo system. She said the stereo cost $500 and does not know the cost to repair her vehicle.

* * *

A woman on South Germantown Road called police and said she has been getting phone calls from a number soliciting donations for the police department. She said he says his name is Lee with the National Coalition of Police Officers and wants to send her an envelope for her to send a donation. She said this has been going on for some time now. Police suggested that she contact her phone carrier to have the number blocked.

* * *

A woman on Kathys Trail said someone using the name Debbie Hudson used her Bystar Credit Union credit card information to place an order with Walmart for $184.88 to be delivered to Texas. The woman said she has contacted her credit union and Walmart. She said Walmart canceled the order. She said her credit card is attached to her Walmart.com account and assumes the woman hacked into her Walmart.com account to place the order. She said she has changed her password and canceled the credit card.

* * *

A man on Sequoia Drive said he went to Nashville overnight for a VA appointment and when he got back he found that his door was damaged. He said that his door was still locked when he got home but could tell that someone had damaged it as if they were trying to make entry into his residence. The door was still closed and secured when he arrived. The man said he wanted to make a report to give to his landlord.

* * *

Employees at Wine & Spirits at 6804 Shallowford Road called police for assistance in removing a man from the property. Once on scene, the officer spoke with the man and he agreed to leave after he was cleared of any outstanding warrants. The man was polite and cooperative during the encounter.



* * *

A man and a woman at Speedway at 1330 East 3rd St. were in a disorder over a misunderstanding about gas pump numbers. There were able to resolve the misunderstanding on scene.

* * *

Dispatch received a call in regards to homeless individuals refusing to leave the Sweet Thai and Basil at 5854 Brainerd Road. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a man and woman sitting against the rear of the building. Neither individual was trespassed from the property, per the reporting

party, but did agree to move along.

* * *

A woman on Signal Hills Drive said her sister has been causing disturbance in the house and she doesn't want her to come back in the house. While leaving, officers spoke with the sister walking down the street. She was stopped and was told by officers her sister wants her to be trespassed from the property.

* * *

A woman on Passenger Street said that mid-afternoon she had two men from a moving firm at her apartment to help her move some things. She said she did not have any cash on hand so she wrote each of them a check for $25. She said the first man cashed the check with no problem. The second man changed his check from $25 to $250 and cashed it. She described him as a white male, early 20s, tall, thin build with curly blonde hair. The woman said she has already talked to TVFCU and they have returned the $250 to her account, thus making TVFCU the victim.
Last time we considered the question found in Jeremiah 3:1-5: Have we called on God uselessly? The point being that our call would be useless not because God is unfaithful (He is not) but rather because we are unfaithful. The next question comes immediately, in fact in the very next verse. In spite of it being in the next verse, many believe that it is in a different prophecy given at a different time than that in verses 1-5.

That may be significant but not for my devotional approach here.

YHWH gets right to the point and bluntly so. Judah is judged even more harshly than her older sister who was just wiped from the face of the earth by the Assyrians. In verse 6, Israel is described as faithless (or backsliding). In verse 7 we find out that Israel refused to repent, and Judah refused to learn from Israels experience. In verse 7, Judah is described as being treacherous instead of simply faithless. It seems that Judah was deceitfully hypocritical in their counterfeit worship of YHWH. Verse 8 is a virtual repeat of verses 6-7 and uses the same terminology to describe faithless Israel and treacherous Judah. Verse 10 repeats for a third time the charge of treachery but adds deception to the charge. Verse 11 repeats the charge of treachery against Judah a fourth time.

Things get really interesting in verse 12 as God offers the gift of repentance to the ten northern tribes (Israel) which had long ago been carried off into captivity by the Assyrians. Perhaps that offer to scattered Israel is to provoke Judah into repenting as well. Jeremiah 3:11 And the Lord said to me, "Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 "Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, 'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the Lord; 'I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious,' declares the Lord; 'I will not be angry forever. 13 'Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the Lord your God And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,' declares the Lord. 14 'Return, O faithless sons,' declares the Lord; 'For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And I will bring you to Zion.' (NASU)

Clearly the call to repent in verse 12 is to scattered Israel in that day, and the call in verse 14 is likely the same. However, it seems to me that there are principles here for all people in all times. Repentance is a gift in the form of a call from God. God is gracious; He allows us to return. Acknowledging guilt is an indispensable element of repent and return. Ceasing from worship of anything than the Living God is also a crucial component of repent and return. Obeying Gods voice is necessary. Certainly, the prophecy in verse 14 points to a literal fulfillment in various stages but it seems there is a principle here for all people in all times. God will respond to our repenting and returning with merciful, gracious blessing.

The question designed to probe our hearts was found in Jeremiah 3:6, Have you seen what faithless Israel did? (NASU) Please understand that much of the historical record in the Bible is for us in other ages to learn from. You and I should learn from this record that God is long-suffering in offering the blessing of repentance. We should also see the folly of Israel and the folly of Judah and avoid that. Take advantage of the gift of repentance while there is still time.
EPB and their partners invite local artists to submit bids for the second side of the EPB community mural project along 10th Street. The central theme for this years mural is Voices of MLK to highlight the history, heritage and significance of Downtown Chattanoogas Martin Luther King Boulevard area. The open call ends at 5 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2022.Were proud that 100 percent of the selected submissions from the first year of our project were from minority and/or women artists, including some of them being first time muralists, said Elizabeth Hammitt, EPB director of Environmental Stewardship and Residential Energy Solutions. Were hoping to receive submissions from a diverse group of artists again. This is an opportunity for them to make their mark on our city that will be enjoyed by locals, visitors and future generations.The murals will be painted on panels along the second side of the EPB substation fence on 10th Street. This year, the mural will face Foster Street, and up to 11 panels in several different sizes are available.The project committee will choose up to 11 murals in total. Members of the committee represent EPB and other project partners: ArtsBuild, Association of Visual Arts, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, City of Chattanoogas Public Art Chattanooga, Chattanooga Community Kitchen, MLK Neighborhood Association, RISE Chattanooga, River City Company, Urban League of Greater Chattanooga and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.ArtsBuild is excited to again be part of the EPB Mural project. Not only is this program a great way to support artists, it brings so much vibrancy to the neighborhood we call home, said James McKissic, president of ArtsBuild.In alignment with the historical significance of the MLK district, our desire is to showcase the talents of artists of color, said Vickye Bone with the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga. We are committed to supporting organizations like EPB who facilitate these opportunities focused on intentional inclusion of all in our community.Artists must be 18 and live or work in the EPB service territory. They are asked to submit at least five images, specifically including samples such as painting, drawing, printmaking or graffiti art. Past mural experience is not required. Artists are also asked to write a vision statement of their concept that aligns with the theme.An outside group of community stakeholders will select the muralists based on their submissions artistic value, clarity of thought, community reflection and relevance to the theme. Artists will be notified of their selection and will receive support from ArtsBuild if needed. They will also be awarded a supply budget as well as a service fee for their work. For more information about the call for submissions that details the proposal and compensation specifics, contact EPBs Tiffany Coleman at colemantl@epb.net.There will be a virtual project information meeting on Dec.1 from noon-1 p.m. Contact Tiffany Coleman for more information. Meeting attendance is optional, but artists can learn more about the project and ask any questions in this public forum.This is the second year of a four year project. EPB will take submissions to create a public mural on the third side of the substation wall in late 2022. Learn more about the project at https://epb.com/about/news/open-call-artists-epb-10th-street-mural/
St. Jude School Saints families showed huge support for the Austin Hatcher Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Students, Eloise and Bear, helped to share the snacks collected with Becca Soetje and Taralyn Wiley, who came from the Foundation.

They pulled away from the school doors with a full heart, a full car and gratitude for the comfort and nourishment that St. Jude School helped to give their children in need.
Hamilton County Schools will host a Family Literacy Festival this Saturday to support families with how they can work with their children at home on important K-5 literacy skills.The YMCA, Signal Centers, Read20, The Chattanooga Public Library and other important partners in the community will also be present to provide food and additional literacy resources to families.There will be two events; the morning event will be held at Collegedale Commons from 9 a.m.-noon.The afternoon event will be held at Harris Johnson Park from 2-5 p.m.All HCS families are invited and encouraged to attend either event.We are thrilled to be hosting this event for families to attend and learn more about what they can do to help their children learn new skills, said Kate Skonberg, the districts Family and Community Engagement coordinator.Educators will be present to teach families about foundational literacy skills essential for K-5 students: fluency, letter names, rapid naming, sound and symbol recognition, sounding out words, letter sounds and word parts, phonemic awareness, spelling and comprehension.Attendees can enter a drawing for a chance to win one of five Kindle Fires, and free books and food will be available for kids at each event while supplies last.All families will receive take-home activities to support their childs foundational literacy skills. The YMCA is providing free healthy meals to children. The Chattanooga Public Library will sign up students for free library cards, which can be used for Kindle ebooks. Signal Centers will sign children up for Dolly Partons Imagination Library and Read20 will provide free books.
Tennessee state Senator Bo Watson of Hixson said Tuesday he will not run for county mayor.

He said, Nicole and I are humbled and deeply appreciative of the encouragement weve had from our supporters to consider running for Hamilton County Mayor.

"However, we believe that I can be more effective for my constituents by representing District 11 and continuing to serve in the Tennessee Senate.
Erlanger Health System Foundation announces two local women have joined the philanthropic arm for the regions nonprofit health system. Ashley Evans has joined as the director of Major and Planned Giving for Erlanger and Stefanie Wittler-Beavers has been appointed the director of Major and Planned Giving for Childrens Hospital at Erlanger.

Ms. Evans, who grew up on Signal Mountain, earned a bachelors degree in art history from the University of Georgia. Prior to joining Erlanger, Ms. Evans was the executive director for Volunteers in Medicine, Chattanooga where she helped raise more than $3 million in private funds for the general operations of a free primary care clinic for uninsured adults. She is particularly proud of a project funded that resulted in excellent outcomes for participating diabetic or hypertension patients that were introduced to vegan lifestyles and health classes.

Ms. Evans currently serves as immediate past president of the Chattanooga Civitan Club, is a member of the First Horizon Reinvestment Act Advisory Council, and secretary of the Tennessee Charitable Care Network. Previously held positions of volunteer leadership include chair of the Board of Trustees at Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute and chair of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Region III Planning and Policy Council.

Ms. Wittler-Beavers, also a lifetime resident of the area, joined Erlanger in 2019 as the director of Development for Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals and Erlangers Corporate Partners. In this position she established, organized and lead multiple roundtable events hosted by Erlanger CEO Dr. William Jackson, engaging local business and community leaders in a collaborative conversation on the relationship of the health system to the region on all levels. Prior to joining Erlanger, Ms. Wittler-Beavers was a cardiovascular and neurological specialty pharmaceutical sales representative for Arbor Pharmaceuticals. She earned her Bachelors degree in Business Management from Belhaven University where she graduated with honors.

In 2009, Ms. Wittler-Beavers was crowned Miss Tennessee and achieved Second Runner-Up for Miss America 2010. During her reign, she served as the official spokesperson for the governor and the Tennessee Department of Education in Tennessees public schools as well as the state spokesperson and Goodwill Ambassador for Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals and Ronald McDonald House Charities. Continuing her legacy of philanthropy, Ms. Wittler-Beavers serves on multiple boards and committees honoring veterans.

As the Foundation expands its philanthropic footprint to include raising money for multiple service lines, it is critical that we invest in building relationships both internally and externally, said Julie Taylor, president of the Erlanger Health System Foundation. Both Ashley and Stefanie have experience developing strategic partnerships and understand the impact they can have not only Erlanger but for our community at large.

For more information about Erlanger Foundation, to learn more about current needs of the health system or to see how to get involved, visit ErlangerFoundation.org
In her final home match as a Covenant Scot, Riley Howe delivered the knockout as her kill in the fourth set sealed a 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22) victory for No. 2 West seed Covenant over No. 3 West seed Berea in the quarterfinal round of the USA South Tournament on Tuesday night.It was the cherry on top for Howe as she registered a double-double of 11 kills and 19 digs with three blocks to help Covenant advance to the semifinals.Covenant (21-8) will travel to Buena Vista, Va., and face No.1 East seed Southern Virginia on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Southern Virginia dispatched No. 4 East seed Averett in three sets earlier on Tuesday night.Howe was joined in double-figure kills by Emma Kalbfleisch, who tallied a team-high 14 kills to go with seven total blocks (three solo, four assisted). Rachel Bartlett had 36 assists and seven digs and Anna Baldwin totaled a match-high 26 digs in the win.Covenant took a commanding 2-0 lead in the contest behind a strong attack. The Scots tallied 14 kills in the opening set and fought through in the seesaw frame that saw 10 ties and five lead changes. The Scots had the final answer in the first scoring the last three points, including back-to-back aces from Reagan Keener, to take a 1-0 lead.In the second, the Scots fell behind 5-0 before using an 8-1 scoring run to take a 12-9 lead. Keener had two kills during the stretch and Grace Logterman recorded three blocks to give Covenant the lead again. The Scots never trailed the rest of the set and a Howe kill gave Covenant a 2-0 match lead.Berea (20-12) staved off elimination with a third-set victory.Covenant built a 14-8 lead in the fourth set after a rare Baldwin kill on a zero attack, but Berea climbed back to within two (22-20) late in the frame. After a Covenant timeout, Keener picked up her eighth kill of the night to make it 23-20. Berea earned the next two points before a Keener and Kalbfleisch combined block followed by Howe's match-ending kill.Kyla Bailey added nine kills for the Scots, while Keener had eight and three blocks. Logterman had four total blocks with five kills. On the back row, Summer Johnson registered 17 digs and Savannah Savage had 14.It was the third time Covenant defeated Berea this season, with all three contests being decided in four sets.Berea was led by Julie Santana's 15 kills, Jonsey McGregor's 20 assists, and Deanna De La Torre's 24 digs.Covenant faces No. 1 East seed Southern Virginia in the USA South Tournament semifinals on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Buena Vista, Va.--
Police responded to a suspicious person call at Northshore Liquor and Wine at 319 Cherokee Blvd. The suspect description was a white male, with no shirt, holding a metal pipe in his hand. The man was observed loitering in front of a business and the owner wanted him to leave. The man was gone when police arrived. Police searched the area, but were unable to locate anything. The complainant did not wish to speak with the police.



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An employee at Downtown Auto at 1725 Market St.

was in a verbal disorder with a homeless man in front of the business. The homeless man has one leg and was seated on a bicycle on the sidewalk. The employee was standing in the business parking lot. The two had conflicting accounts regarding a verbal disorder. The employee made it clear that the homeless man was not welcome on the business property. He acknowledged this and moved on.* * *A woman on North Kelley Street said she had located her stolen vehicle. Police arrived and saw a silver Volvo displaying TN which returned to a different vehicle. Police then ran the VIN which had no return. After speaking to the woman, she said her boyfriend reported the vehicle stolen out of Cleveland. Police then spoke to the boyfriend via phone and found that he reported the vehicle stolen but did not have a tag number or VIN information to have it entered into NCIC. The woman said the tag that is displayed on the Volvo is registered to her, and it belongs on her old vehicle. Police ran the tag and found it to return to her. She said that it is displayed on the silver Volvo due to the vehicle being fixed and she did not want it to get towed. After speaking to both the woman and boyfriend, they said they gave suspect information to Cleveland PD. They said that when the vehicle was reported stolen, they gave a list of what was inside the vehicle to Cleveland PD and described the inside which matched the vehicle that police were with. The boyfriend said he was aware of where the vehicle was due to him knowing that the suspect frequents this location. No suspects were present while police were on scene. The woman did not have keys on scene. The vehicle was towed by Mostellers.* * *A woman on Signal Mountain Road said she had a temporary protective order on her ex-boyfriend which expired as of yesterday. She said this morning she noticed her ex-boyfriend's truck was parked by her work place. She mentioned she did not want to make a report, she just wanted officers to be aware.* * *An officer was flagged down at 6413 Lee Hwy. and informed of an individual walking in the parking lot talking to himself. The officer observed a black male, wearing camouflage pants and not wearing a shirt, walking around the parking lot. He identified himself, and though talking to himself, was able to give police his personal information. He said he is from Rhea County, however is currently homeless in the area. The officer told the man he could contact police if needed and that he was free to go. He left without incident.* * *An employee at Fuji Steak and Sushi at 2207 Overnite Dr. reported his phone was stolen. The stolen phone was a gold Samsung S9, estimated to be valued at approximately $400-500. The cellphone was left unattended in an employee area of the restaurant. The officer was allowed to view security camera footage of the incident. The suspect entered the building through the back door, which was left open. The suspect grabbed the phone and then fled. The suspect appears to be a certain homeless man who is known to frequent the area. Further investigation will follow before charges are sought.* * *A woman on Emma Kate Drive showed police her broken back window, that seemed to be pulled away from the frame a bit.* * *Police responded to two people acting suspicious in front of Cadis at 201 Cherokee Blvd. The officer found a man and a women by a silver truck. They said that they had jumped a friend's car. They both had out of state warrants, non-expeditable. They were told to leave the area and stay away from Cadis.* * *A Mapco cashier at 4711 Brainerd Road said a small, thin, black female grabbed four cases of beer and got into a blue SUV and drove east on Brainerd Road. The total cost is $65.39.* * *A woman on West 38th Street told police she lives alone and heard noises that frightened her. Police checked the perimeter of her home and vehicle, and reassured her that everything was as it should be.* * *Police were called to Appling Street to a possible disorder with a weapon. Upon arrival police made contact with a black male who appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance. However, there was no active disorder, nor was a firearm located.* * *Police responded to trespassers at Indigo Hotel at 300 W 6th St. The caller said there was two homeless people sleeping on their property and they wanted them to leave. The officer spoke with a man and a woman who were sleeping on the side of the building. They both said that they would leave the area. The officer ran both for warrants and they came back negative.* * *A man on Central Avenue said at 8:30 a.m. a black male wearing a red shirt and a blue backpack came into his yard and stole his Schwinn 21 speed 27.5" bicycle. He said the suspect went toward Third St. Police went into the area in search of the bicycle. The man said he will call back with the serial number for the bike.* * *A woman at Logan's Roadhouse at 3592 Cummings Hwy. told police because of the rain, she left her Mazda at her job at Logan's. She said when she returned to it, she discovered that someone had cut the exhaust and stolen the catalytic converter. She has not obtained a repair estimate as yet.* * *A woman told police over the phone that she bought a used car and then let her son drive it. She said she had put a tag (plate) on it that belongs to another vehicle she owns. He was later stopped by police for not having the correct license plate at the Sunoco Gas Station and an officer seized the tag as evidence. She said she did not have a badge number for the officer. She said the dealership she bought the car from then went and got the car because she had only paid a little money on it so far and it was towed back to the dealer property. She has since been trying to contact the Police Evidence room but has not been able to get into contact with anyone and has not gotten her tag back. She said the used car she bought is a smoky gray 2012 Mercury Marlin, and she did not have the VIN for it. The plate that was seized belongs on her other vehicle, a white 2009 Ford Escape.* * *Police were called by a supervisor at Astec at 800 Manufacturers Road after a verbal disorder between employees. The supervisor wanted police on scene while they informed a man that he no longer worked there and he needed to leave the business. The man was told and left the business without incident.* * *A clerk at the Mapco at 201 Browns Ferry Road called police because there was a suspicious person. An officer spoke to the woman, who said she was homeless and trying to get a nap. The clerk at the Mapco didn't want her sleeping on the sidewalk. The officer asked the woman to leave the property. She left without any problem.* * *A man on West 14th Street Court said some people had been staying with him but weren't any longer. They left a wallet and a piece of mail behind. Due to this, the man turned the property over to police. It will be turned into property under this complaint number for safe keeping. The man also recently sustained a broken window that he believes pertains to a stolen bicycle that his neighbors took. The man was informed he would need to go through CHA management to get his window replaced. At this time, there is no suspect information on the vandalism.

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An employee at 2001 N Chamberlain Ave. called police saying an ex-employee has stolen at least $16,000 since January 2021 from his business. She had been employed for approximately 11 years as someone who was in charge of keeping track of the finances for Buster Brown Properties. The employee noticed a lack of money recently and began to look into financial statements. He found that the ex-employee has been using company funds to purchase unknown items from stores like Walmart, Amazon and gas stations, and also sent money to her sisters and friend via Facebook. He also showed unauthorized checks that the ex-employee had cashed, while forging his signature. She was also direct depositing extra pay checks into her bank account, police were told. The employee said he and his employees are still digging into their financial statements and estimate that they will continue to find large amounts of money that the woman has taken. The man provided paper copies of financial statements that will be forwarded to the Fraud Division.
Martin Granum, Red Banks new city manager, has been scheduling meetings with multiple organizations that provide assistance and advice to cities and towns in Tennessee. With help from Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) at the University of Tennessee, the city manager said he will be taking a wide-ranging look at all personnel and human resources matters in Red Bank in order to get an understanding of all the issues that are involved. And classifications of jobs will be looked at so that similar work receives similar compensation, said Mr. Granum. This information will be ready and used during the next budget process.

Southeast Tennessee Development District (SETD) is another government organization that will be a source of information. One function of SETD is to provide planning and economic and community development services. Mr. Granum has engaged SETD for advice regarding planning and grant applications and said it will be helpful with the citys redevelopment of the old Red Bank Middle School property on Dayton Boulevard.

The city manager has also been in contact with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency (RPA) which is a regional entity that can help the city apply for grants. And a representative from Red Bank will be at the upcoming CARTA meeting aimed at establishing a three-year service contract for Care-A-Van transportation services to citizens in the city. If the services become available in Red Bank, individuals would have to be eligible and apply for the services that are offered.

All of the citys employees were invited to the commission meeting Tuesday night and were introduced and recognized for their service to Red Bank while highlighting their qualifications and experience. These are Red Banks Super Stars, said Mr. Granum.

The amendment to the Red Bank beer ordinance passed on the second and final reading. The changes made to the ordinance which controls beer sales in the city updated it and brings it up to the 21st century, said Commissioner Pete Phillips. It is seen as a tool that can be used for competing for businesses that Red Bank wants to attract.

The first application for a special events beer license was heard after the ordinance passed. Bethany Wilson received approval for a one-time special events beer permit for her business, Bela Co., 3803 Dayton Blvd.

A resolution proclaiming the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, as Small Business Saturday in Red Bank was passed unanimously. This day celebrates local businesses and their contributions to the city, and their social economic and environmental impact to their community. These businesses are hoping to have regular customers return and make purchases again to help them overcome the negative effects COVID has had.
The Chattanooga Fire Department has been serving the City of Chattanooga and its citizens for 150 years.

"As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, were honoring the departments rich history and generations of firefighters who dedicated their lives to answering the call for help," officials said.

The CFD will kick off its 150th anniversary celebration on Nov. 8 with a press conference at the Police & Fire Pension Fund.



The CFD officially went into service on Nov. 14, 1871 as a volunteer fire department composed of 105 citizens who pledged themselves to help fight fires. Improvements were made from year to year and officials saw the need for a larger department. In 1880, the first paid company was formed. From there, the agency grew and evolved with more members and equipment.



Todays fire department is comprised of paid, professional employees. There are 26 companies housed in 20 stations across the city, a Fire Prevention Bureau that conducts inspections year-round, a modern training center and a repair shop. In all, more than 400 dedicated men and women provide firefighting, emergency medical care and all-hazards response 24x7x365 for an area of 143 square miles and nearly 185,000 citizens.



Officials said, "The CFD is lucky to have its history preserved in a new comprehensive history book that was just published by Heritage Portraits & Albums. The book is a tribute to all those who have served in the department and it documents the departments story chronically through the years as the agency continually adapted to meet the needs of an ever-growing city. Years of research and countless hours of hard work went into the publication. The history book is just one of the ways we are marking our sesquicentennial. Banners have been placed on all of our fire stations and digital billboards are up across town, voicing our appreciation to the community for supporting our firefighters for so many years. Members of the command staff have echoed that message of gratitude to the citizens on the radio and television. Firefighters are also wearing shirts with our specially designed 150th Anniversary logo. Videos with legendary members of the fire department will be shared on our social media platforms as retirees reflect on some of the citys biggest fires and all of the technological advancements through the years."



Many lives have been impacted by the selfless acts of Chattanoogas Bravest since 1871. Chattanooga is better, and its citizens safer because of the men and women who have sacrificed so much to simply help others in their times of need, said Fire Chief Phil Hyman. The fire department has provided a platform for more than eight generations to help others with courage and duty. Skills have been acquired and grown through constant training and experience. Along with that training, improved tools and equipment have been put in the hands of able-bodied firefighters. For over one hundred- and fifty-years, Chattanooga has seen remarkable growth and has invested heavily in the safety of its citizens. Having increased its numbers of front-line personnel in service and purchasing innovative and life-saving equipment and apparatus, the Chattanooga Fire Department has grown in capacity and capabilities.



"We are so proud to have served this community for 150 years and we continue to pave the way for the next 150 years," officials said.



More information on the CFDs beginnings: On Nov. 14, 1871, the Chattanooga Fire Department was formed. Prior to that time there had been no organization of any kind, with the exception of a voluntary system known as the "bucket brigade." It was composed of every citizen who could carry a bucket of water. In the fall of 1871, the year in which Harry Wilcox became the first fire chief, Chattanooga's first big fire occurred. The Crutchfield House burned, destroying all the buildings from 7th Street to 9th Street on the west side of Market Street. Chattanooga suffered from the ravages of one of the most disastrous fires that had ever been known. The volunteer companies were helpless to combat the flames.

The inability of the bucket brigade to control the fire was of great concern to the citizens of the town and they at once set about organizing some system by which to fight fires. The citizens of Chattanooga realized that more equipment and personnel were needed for a fire department. A mass meeting was held and the city people felt that they were not able to finance a department or even a company for this protection. At this meeting, a volunteer company was organized, headed by Colonel Tomlinson Fort. Colonel Fort was a prominent civic leader at the time. The volunteer fire department was composed of 105 citizens who pledged themselves to help fight fires. The petition stated: We, the undersigned agree to form ourselves into a Fire Department, for the protection of life and property in case of fire and bind ourselves to comply with all rules and regulations usually governing similar associations providing, however, that the citizens and City Council will sustain us in our undertaking.

Many of the leading citizens became volunteer firefighters. It is interesting to note that the volunteer was fined 50 cents for missing a fire alarm. They were fined $1 if they left the scene of a fire without permission. The citizens realized the need for more protection. Another meeting was called and Harry Wilcox was made the first chief of the CFD. Largely through the efforts of Chief Harry Wilcox, plans were made and the department was reorganized in 1874. A number of community events were held and the proceeds were used to equip the CFD. On one such occasion, $4,000 was raised, all of which were turned over to the CFD.

At this time, the CFD's equipment consisted two reels and a few hundred feet of hose. One of the carriages was a combination reel and ladder; the reel was in the center of the truck with the ladders attached on the sides. The chief realized the inadequacy of this equipment in battling fires and he urged the purchase of more substantial equipment. This led to the first fire engine to run the streets of the city of Chattanooga. The new machine was an Ahrens engine and proved to be very satisfactory, serving many years in the CFD.

Along about this period, headquarters was moved to Broad Street. It remained there until about 1883 when they again moved to West Ninth Street. From time-to-time new companies composed of volunteer members were organized. They were instrumental in the saving of property that might otherwise have been destroyed. Great leadership and dedicated members propelled the agency forward and shaped the fire department into what it is today- an elite group of firefighters ready to respond to emergencies in the great City of Chattanooga.

Follow the CFD on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @ChattFireDept to find out about 150th anniversary activities and learn more about all of the great things the department is doing.
Belvoir Christian Academy third grader, Jeffrey Stubblefield, was honored as the statewide winner of the Elementary School division for the Tri-Star Reads/Tennesseans for Student Success annual competition.

Jeffrey read over 30,000 minutes over the summer. This is the second consecutive year for Jeffrey to receive this honor for his reading efforts.

To recognize his accomplishments, Jeffrey was invited to Nashville to join other divisional winners to meet Governor Bill Lee.

Governor Lee awarded Jeffrey the ceremonial Tri-Star 529 College Fund Scholarship for $1,000.

Additionally, Rep. Esther Helton read the House of Representatives Proclamation of Tribute to Jeffrey, and presented him with a State of Tennessee flag that was flown over the State Capitol building in his honor.

Jeffrey has also been selected to join the Davidson Institute Young Scholars program for the profoundly gifted, an organization that provides extracurricular activities for students with gifted academic abilities.
The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday set the execution date for a Hamilton County man described as a serial rapist.

Harold Wayne Nichols was convicted in the Sept. 30, 1988, rape and murder of Karen Pulley.

He was sentenced to death on May 12, 1990, and has been on death row for over 21 years.

The Supreme Court set an execution date of June 9, 2022, for Nichols.

The court also set an execution date of April 21, 2022, for Oscar Franklin Smith, convicted of the murder of three family members in Nashville in 1989. The court originally set the execution for June 4, 2020. Upon motions of Smith, the court reset the execution for February 4, 2021, and ultimately stayed the execution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Todays order, which can be read here, lifts the stay.

The court originally set the execution of Nichols for Aug. 4, 2020. On July 17, 2020, Governor Bill Lee issued an executive reprieve from the execution that expired by its own terms on Dec. 31, 2020.

View the Order here.
The Varnell Leadership Award honors a Bradley County resident that demonstrates professional, faith-based and ethical leadership. In memory of Robert W. Varnell, Jr., the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce will recognize an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the community. Nominees should have demonstrated leadership in religious, workplace and community capacities. Beecher Hunter holds the January 2021 title of award honoree.

Officials said, "The M. C. Headrick Free Enterprise Award is the highest and most prestigious award given by the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of the award is to focus on the Free Enterprise system and to honor the memory of one of the most outstanding businessmen Cleveland and Bradley County has ever produced. M. C. was a man who believed wholeheartedly in the fundamental concepts of the Free Enterprise System. In January 2021, Larry McDaniel, of The Town Squire, was awarded this prestigious honor for his success, high morals, growth of business, chamber membership and contributions to community-oriented projects."

Nomination forms can be found at ClevelandChamber.com by clicking "Downloadable Forms" in the upper right-hand menu. Completed forms should be mailed or hand-delivered to the Chamber by Friday, Dec. 3. The nominee should be available to attend the Chamber's Annual Meeting in January 2022.



For more information, contact Tasha Sullivan at TSullivan@clevelandchamber.com or 423-472-6587.
Dr. Rebecca Ashford, president, Chattanooga State Community College and Dr. Douglas F. Mann, president, Bryan College on Wednesday signed a transfer articulation agreement between the two institutions. The academic alliance allows the transfer of earned degrees, Associate of Science, Associate of Arts, Tennessee Transfer Pathway and Associate of Applied Science in any discipline, and related transfer credit from Chattanooga State to Bryan College.

Students with the aforementioned qualifying degrees will be admitted as juniors upon entering the bachelors degree program at Bryan College. Official transcripts will be required for transfer of credit. Information about the bachelors degree programs may be viewed here.

The work we do at Chattanooga State transforms our students lives through education," said Dr. Ashford. "Having this transfer agreement in place with Bryan College is one of the many ways that we enable our students to learn without limits."

Founded in 1930, Bryan College sits on a 125-acre wooded hilltop in the Tennessee Valley community of Dayton. Bryan College is an independent, coeducational, Christian liberal arts college named for William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), a prominent statesman in American political life. Bryan College seeks to assist in the personal and professional development of qualified students by providing an education based upon an integration of the Christian faith with academic programs.

Success in life is dependent upon gaining the tools which allow you to understand your discipline of study, think clearly and creatively, and articulate your ideas in an effective way, said Dr. Mann. He noted that Bryan College and Chattanooga State share many of the same common values. We are so excited to partner with a great school like Chattanooga State and I think that todays ceremony illuminates that partnership. We are very proud of this long-standing relationship.

Chattanooga State students who may wish to transfer to Bryan College following graduation should speak with their advisor for a clear understanding of the process involved.
90 Day Fiance: The Other Way star Ariela Weinburg wants to her fiance, Biniyam Shibre, to move with her to Kenya. Ariela believes a change of scenery will save her relationship. Heres the main reason shes thinking about moving her family to the neighboring country.

Ariela Weinberg on 90 Day Fiance The Other Way Season 3 | TLC

Biniyam parties in Ethiopia while Ariela is in the United States

When Ariela found out that Avi needed an emergency hernia surgery, she went to the US to get him medical care. On the Oct. 31 episode, Ariela is still in Princeton, New Jersey, living with her parents after Avis surgery. She and Biniyam are having difficulties in their relationship. Ariela found out hes been having house parties in their home, with many women.

Since Biniyams photos are being synched to her iCloud, shes seeing photos of random people in her house. Ariela says, You took the home that I had and you turned it into a party house. Biniyams friends and and even his sister, Wish, told Ariela that he was seen having parties with random women. She tells him, Im not coming back to Ethiopia.

Ariela explains why she wants to move to Kenya with Biniyama and Avi

Ariela blames Biniyams friends for being a bad influence. She says, You are surrounded by evil. And you are not the same man that I knew. She said, Youve spent the last two months destroying your family, you dont get a say anymore. Youve sacrificed nothing. Ariela tells him, God knows who you fked. And God knows what youve been doing. She says,  This is a chance for you to redeem yourself, this is your last fking chance.

Ariela is frustrated with Biniyams constant partying. She said, Binis reckless behavior is not only embarrassing to me, but to our entire family. She explained, But I promised Bini I would not keep him from Avi, so Ive decided to go to the neighboring country of Kenya. Weve been there before and for me, its neutral territory.

Ariela gives Biniyam an ultimatum

Ariela gives Biniyam an ultimatum, either Biniyam can go to Kenya with her to be a family, or she stays in the US and they can co-parent from different countries. She says, Im going to give you a chance, if you want to try to be a family. Me and Avi and you can move to Mombasa and we can start over again.

She says, But if you dont want to come to Kenya, we can figure out a custody arrangement and we can co-parent together. Those are your options. She told him, You can come and live with me in Mombasa with Avi and we can start it over again as a family. That is your decision.

Ariela has proof that Biniyam has been throwing parties behind her back and shes not happy about it. What will happen next? Will Biniyam choose to go to Kenya with Ariela and Avi? Fans will have to keep watching 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way to find out.

RELATED: 90 Day: The Single Life: Debbie Johnson Gets a Makeover Ahead of Season 2 Premiere  Check Out Her New Look!
Chance the Rapper was a guest on this weeks Peace of Mind with Taraji. The artist and host Taraji P. Henson spoke about how the pressure placed on Black men to Man Up affects their mental health. Chance, no stranger to mental health advocacy, shared his own struggles with dark days and his views on therapy.

Chance the Rapper | BET2020/Getty Images for BET NETWORKS

Chance the Rappers thoughts on therapy

Henson asked Chance if hed had any dark days yourself.

Definitely, he responded. A lot of dark daysYeah. I saw my friend killed in front of me when I was 19. I seen people I didnt know get killed, too, like, and you become kind of like, numb to it. Like, somebody else died last week. But it stays with you, you know what I mean? And you dont realize until later, like it could have lasting effects and stuff.

Despite the lasting effects the rapper speaks of, he has not sought out the aid of a therapist (for valid reason). He has, however, reaped the benefits of couples therapy.

Ive done relationship counseling, which was extremely helpful in my marriage, and we still occasionally do meet with our counselor, he said. But, I dont have a therapist. And I believe in therapy, Im just, you know, I dont necessarily trust going to a stranger and telling them everything about my life. Ive been through a lot of stuff.

Its an issue Chance feels resonates with a lot of Black men, feeling hesitant to trust someone with their life story.

I think Black men are naturally guarded, he said. You kind of have to beyour weakness is preyed upon. So, I think its a defense mechanism. You go to a funeral, like you kind of dont want to cry, you know what I mean? You dont want to subject yourself to the feeling of like, that weakness, of like, you know, it just takes a lot to be cathartic, to like, to cry, to like empty yourself.

Leading by example

1st read aloud for todays Books & Breakfast. Were identifying emotions and learning how to work through them. Happy early #WorldMentalHealthDay pic.twitter.com/jgREh7PaVB  Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) October 9, 2021

RELATED: Why Does Chance the Rapper Always Wear 3 Hats?

But Chance is hopeful things are changing, now that more Black men in the public eye are willing to showcase their emotions.

So, leading by example, fo sho, he said. When you show emotion, it allows other people to show emotion. Trying to give your kids and your, you know, the people that you influence a space to talk through how they feel, and a space to feel how they feel. Like, speaking about how you feel.

Chance thinks its a cool thing that celebrities are beginning to be more vocal about mental health. But, at the end of the day, its not enough.

These kinds of dialogues in these kind of spaces didnt exist, you know, just a few years back, he said. But, yeah. Now, its like were talented people, but were not the people that make the big decisions. Were not the people that, you know, write the biggest checks. Like, those kind of things have to happen. And, our lawmakers and the, you know, billion-dollar companies.

Chance the Rappers non-profit, SocialWorks

My after party look by Ralph. pic.twitter.com/uiwJcLztzF  Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) September 14, 2021

RELATED: Chance the Rapper Called Working With Kanye West Insanity

Through his non-profit, SocialWorks, which focuses on education, mental health, homelessness, and performing and literary arts, Chance has done a lot in the mental health sector.

A couple of years ago, I, for the first time experienced, you know, a friend, somebody that I knew from growing up, that was having a mental health crisis, basically, he said of getting involved in the mental health space. And his family and his friends had exhausted their efforts over years and years of trying to help. I didnt really know that much about this stuff. Theres probably a ton of situations where people, you know, we just wrote them off as like, crazy, or like, they was tweaking, but they were actually going through a, you know, a chronic mental health disorder. But, there came a point where I was trying to figure out a place for him to stay, right? So, Im trying to figure out where I can take somebody whos the same age as me, but not having the same means. And like, the kind of care that he needed wasnt available in the city, right? Or, it was very, very hard to findSo, I basically met up with the team, with Justin and Essence, at SocialWorks. And we basically found every possible mental health initiative within the city of Chicago, and then within Cook County, and then eventually through the entire state of Illinois. And, created this app that allows people to get in contact, whether its an in-person meeting or telehealth, with a mental health service provider, and get the help that they need, instantly from their phone, and its freeI feel like its something that were all, as like a mainstream, were starting to be like, Okay, yeah. Like, health is beyond just our physical state.

You can watch the full episode of Peace of Mind with Taraji here.
After Meghan Markle got engaged to Prince Harry, her father and half-siblings became household names as well due to the fact that they continuously spoke to the press about the Duchess of Sussex. They dont have a relationship with Harrys wife these days but that hasnt stopped them from publicly talking about her past and trashing her for shutting them out.

Meghans brother, Thomas Markle Jr., is currently a contestant on the Australian reality TV version of Big Brother VIP and told his housemates about the last time he actually saw his sister and how she changed after she began working on the legal drama Suits.

Meghan Markle posing for a photo at Corkin Gallery in 2016 | George Pimentel/WireImage

Thomas Markle Jr. said Meghans acting fame went to her head and she took off

On the first episode of the Big Brother VIP Thomas, who has the same father as Meghan, revealed to his housemates that he hasnt seen his half-sister since 2011 (the same year she was cast on Suits) at his grandmothers funeral.

She took off after that and went to Canada What happened to her? Nobody can figure it out, Thomas said (per 7News Australia). Money changed her I guess. Money and fame just went to her head really bad.

He then went on to discuss Meghans marriage to her first husband Trevor Engelson.

Thomas Markle Jr. at the Celebrity Boxing 68 press conference | Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images

The thing that gets to me is the guy that she was married to the first time, Trevor. This guy just took care of her like, man she was adored by him and she just walked all over him and dumped him, that fast after being married, Thomas recalled to the other houseguests. Sent the ring back in the mail. Is that cold or what?

Thomas added, Harrys next, Harrys on the chopping block next.

Meghans older sibling also defended the letter he wrote to Prince Harry before the wedding asking him not to marry his sister. According to Thomas, the Duchess of Sussex is selfish, self-centered, shallow and treats her family like shes embarrassed of where she comes from.

Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane on the set of the legal drama Suits | Shane Mahood/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

The duchesss childhood best friend agrees

Thomas isnt the only person to speak out about the way Meghan treated her first husband. The duchesss former best friend did as well. Ninaki Priddy, who was the maid of honor in Meghans first wedding, said she stopped talking to her after what she did to Engelson.

What came to light after Trevor and I spoke ended my friendship with Meghan, Priddy told The Sun. Meghan was calculated, very calculated, in the way she handled people and relationships. She is very strategic in the way she cultivates circles of friends. Once she decides youre not part of her life, she can be very cold. Its this shutdown mechanism she has.

Like Thomas, Priddy thought Meghans acting fame changed her as well saying: After the wedding, it was like a light switched off. Theres Meghan before fame and Meghan after fame.

RELATED: Meghan Markles Ex-Husband Felt Like a Piece of Something Stuck to the Bottom of Her Shoe, Friend Says
Bravo is best known to be the home of The Real Housewives. The franchise started in 2006 with The Real Housewives of Orange County where icons like Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge were made. Cities that followed included New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey, D.C., Beverly Hills, Miami, Potomac, and Dallas. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City was the latest U.S. city to get a franchise last year and the format is now going international. The Real Housewives of Dubai was confirmed this week and fans have a lot to say.

Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose, Heather Gay, Andy Cohen, Jen Shah, Mary Cosby, and Lisa Barlow | Heidi Gutman/Bravo

Andy Cohen confirms RHODubai

The Real Housewives franchise is expanding into new territory and claiming Dubai as its next city. Although the format has been done in other international cities, this is the first time Bravo is developing the franchise outside of the United States. Andy Cohen shared the exciting news while making an appearance on the Today show on Nov. 1.

Get your passports! Our 11th city, were going to the billionaires playground, the city of gold, the desert oasis  The Real Housewives of Dubai, Cohen told Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie. The first international city produced by Bravo. This is maj (major)  huge.

Cohen added, We have a great group of friends. This is going to blow the lid off of the entire franchise.

RELATED: It Really Happened! Nicki Minaj Shares RHOP Season 6 Reunion Photo With Andy Cohen

Everythings bigger in Dubai, and I couldnt be more excited to launch Bravos first international Housewives series in a city Ive been fascinated by for years, with an outstanding group of friends as our guides, executive producer Cohen said in an official statement from the network.

The press release also said that the series will highlight a group of women navigating their relationships, careers, and supremely lavish and ultra-wealthy lifestyles in the United Arab Emirates.

Whether theyre coasting on a private plane, running their own empires, or hosting on a private island, these glamourous, successful women are ready to serve up scorching hot drama and unexpected twists, the official press release read.

RELATED: Free Britney: Relive Andy Cohens Powerful Jackhole Moment on Watch What Happens Live

Fans react to The Real Housewives of Dubai teaser

It wasnt long before the news hit all the Bravo fans that The Real Housewives of Dubai was finally happening. The official Instagram account for the cable network aired a teaser for the show showcasing the desert and the world-renown skyscrapers. Viewers are eager and excited about whats to come and their reactions proved it.

omg, thats gonna be next level! bring the real big money, a fan replied.

I hope they actually have some who is a native on the show, a follower noted.

Do they know swearing in Dubai is punishable by jail? The show will be cancelled before they even film, an Instagram user pointed out

Very excited for this and cant wait to see more of Dubai and its culture. Just hope the cast reflects the country and the overall region, another fan mentioned.

This is going to be amazing! another follower commented.

The real rich women of dxb would never share their personal life, another Instagram user said.

RELATED: RHOC: Andy Cohen Leaves Door Open for a Tamra Judge Comeback

The Real Housewives of Dubai is slated to start filming this month. Caroline Stanbury, who Bravo fans remember from Ladies of London, is rumored to be one of the housewives in the new franchise. RHODubai will premiere in 2022 on Bravo.
Jim Halsey and friends celebrate the unveiling of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsas newest memorabilia exhibit inside Track 5. From left are Barbara McMahon Ritzhaupt, Brian Eckberg, Jana Jae, Norman Chambers, Jim Halsey, Minisa Halsey, Mike Flood, Becky Hobbs, Duane Sciacqua and Martin Madewell.
Chetek, WI (54728)

Today

Cloudy early with partial sunshine expected late. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Morning high of 34F with temps falling to near 25. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 13F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Christian group sues Nebraska university for denying funding of philosopher's lecture on God

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A Christian student group has filed a lawsuit against the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, accusing the school of wrongfully denying funding for a guest speaker.

The UNL chapter of the international apologetics ministry Ratio Christi filed a lawsuit against UNL last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, alleging that university officials engaged in viewpoint discrimination.

At issue is a funding request to host Christian philosopher and Notre Dame Professor Robert Audi for a lecture on whether it is rational to believe in God. The student group requested $1,500 in student activity funding for the event with Audi, who previously taught at UNL for nearly 30 years before his time at Notre Dame.

University officials denied the request, the complaint stated. The school allegedly told the students that they would need to invite a speaker to represent the opposite views of Audi to get the funding. The school reasoned that the funding could not be used to promote speakers of a political and ideological nature," the lawsuit added.

Defendants spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in student fees each year to pay for speakers and other events promoting political and ideological viewpoints on topics like sexual orientation, gender identity, reproductive justice, social justice, police reform, and political activism, the lawsuit reads.

And Defendants do not present opposing viewpoints.  Commonly, the student speech that Defendants fund on those and other topics conflict with the viewpoints held by Ratio Christi, the Student Plaintiffs, and other University Students.

Michael Ross of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal nonprofit representing Ratio Christi, said in a statement that public universities should foster an inclusive environment that showcases a variety of viewpoints, not dismiss those with whom the administration disagrees.

The University of NebraskaLincoln has failed to ensure its student organizations are treated fairly and objectively; it turned down Ratio Christis reasonable request because of a blatant bias against its particular religious and ideological viewpoint, Ross claimed.

UNL spokeswoman Deb Fiddelke said in a statement reported by The Omaha World-Herald last Friday that the university welcomes all viewpoints. She rejected claims of discrimination.

We have a variety of speakers on our campus, from across the ideological, religious and political spectrum, stated Fiddelke, adding that there are many different sources for event funding and that Ratio Christi has been previously funded for speakers and events from other funding sources.

The lawsuit drew the attention of Gov. Pete Ricketts, who called for the university to support speakers from a wide variety of viewpoints on campus, including Christian speakers.

UNL has previously brought in much more controversial speakers, and Dr. Robert Audi and Ratio Christi should be given the same respect, the Republican governor said in a statement. I urge University of Nebraska Chancellor Ronnie Green to step in and define policies to end this kind of discrimination and to send a message that all viewpoints, including Christian values, are welcome.

ADF has represented Ratio Christi groups in other cases, including a recent lawsuit against The University of Houston-Clear Lake that claims the school denied official recognition of the student group.

Days after the ADF filed the complaint against the University of Houston-Clear Lake, the university officially registered the Christian group as a student organization.

However, the university maintains that it never denied official status to Ratio Christi and was still processing the application when the lawsuit was filed.
Dan Darling seeks to raise 'Gospel-centered leaders' as director of Land Center for Cultural Engagement

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Dan Darling, the newly-named director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has said that in his new role, he hopes to help equip the Church to engage in an increasingly complex and confusing culture.

We live in a very divided and divisive age, and yet, an age in which God is calling Christians to share the good news of the Gospel and to speak truth in love, Darling told The Christian Post. We hope to help host conversations about important cultural issues and to raise the next generation of Gospel-centered leaders."

The center, which was established in 2007, is named after Dr. Richard Land, who served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission from 1988 to 2013. He then served as president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, from July 2013 to July of this year, and is now president emeritus. Land is also the executive editor of The Christian Post.

The center focuses on the study and research of ethics, public policy, and other cultural and philosophical issues, according to the seminary.

Land, who was featured in a February 2005 Time magazine edition as one of The Twenty-five Most Influential Evangelicals in America, told CP he believes Darling is well-equipped by calling, training, and experience to provide that leadership as director of the Land Center.

Never before has America more needed for Southern Baptists and other people of faith to be challenged and equipped to be the salt and light that our Savior has commanded us to be, he said.

He added: I am delighted and grateful that Southwestern, one of our most historically preeminent seminaries and academic institutions, will be utilizing the Land Center to help meet that pressing need for present and future generations. I look forward with anticipation to watching how our Heavenly Father will bless His church through the ministry of Southwestern and the Land Center.

Darling, author of The Original Jesus, The Dignity Revolution, The Characters of Christmas, The Characters of Easter, and A Way With Words, will also serve under presidential appointment as assistant professor of faith and culture at Texas Baptist College, Southwestern Seminarys undergraduate school. His appointments are effective Nov. 1

Darling previously served as the spokesman for the National Religious Broadcasters, a group of some 1,000 members employed in Christian media. He was fired from the role in August after he shared publicly why his Christian beliefs compelled him to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The NRB says it has a policy of remaining neutral on vaccines.

Prior to his role at NRB, Darling served as vice president for communications at the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, as well as in pastoral roles.

His appointment at the seminary comes at a contentious time for the SBC, America's largest Protestant denomination, largely stemming from internal disagreements over how to best respond to sexual abuse allegations at churches, which are autonomous.

The conventions leadership recently voted to waive attorney-client privilege as part of an investigation into the SBC leadership's handling of sexual abuse claims. The decision prompted at least a dozen SBC leaders to resign, including committee head Ronnie Floyd.

The denomination has also grappled with disagreements over critical race theory and conflicting views on traditional gender roles.

Adam W. Greenway, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told CP that Darlings hiring underscores the seminarys commitment to provide the very best theological education for men and women preparing to serve the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention.

In a day of moral upheaval and widespread rejection of Gods design for human flourishing, it is our unwavering commitment that the Land Center be a trusted partner in helping Southern Baptist churches and the broader evangelical world to understand the times and to apply effectively Gospel truth in this day, he said.

If there has ever been a time where we need Christian conviction marked by a winsome witness, it is now. I appreciate the tone by which Dan engages these issues, and I believe the future of the Land Center Southwestern Seminary is very bright under his leadership.
Va. megachurch pastor arrested, charged with soliciting prostitution from a minor

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A Virginia pastor was arrested during a sting operation to capture individuals seeking sexual relations with minors online and is facing a felony charge of soliciting prostitution.

John Blanchard, a 51-year-old pastor at the Rock Church of Virginia Beach, was one of 17 individuals arrested in the operation, according to an announcement from Chesterfield County Police on Monday.

During the two-day operation, detectives intercepted suspects who believed they were soliciting sex from minors through online and social media platforms, explained authorities.

The suspects communicated with people they believed to be underage members of our community and arranged to meet them at a location to have sexual relations. When the suspects came to the location, they were met by police and arrested.

Blanchard has been charged with felony solicitation of prostitution and the use of a vehicle to promote prostitution, according to Chesterfield Police.

Jim Booker, Blanchards neighbor, told the Norfolk-based WTKR News 3 that he was surprised by the news of the pastors arrest.

This is a shock to me because I know him fairly well. Hes never given me any indication over the years that Ive known him that he would be mixed up in anything like this, said Booker to WTKR.

I know evil is always present and always trying to take down those who claim Jesus Christ. Im going to pray for him and be there for him. If he needs someone to talk to, Im going to be there to talk to him.

According to the Rock Churchs website, Blanchard has served as senior pastor of the congregation alongside his wife, Robin, since October 2013.

Coming from a background in atheism and a dysfunctional childhood, Johns heart is to reach a generation with a message of hope through the healing and delivering power of Jesus Christ, noted the church.

This message has taken his ministry to dozens of countries all over the world and the USA and to procure a Masters of Divinity Degree from Oral Roberts University.
Supreme Court rejects Catholic hospital sued for refusing to perform hysterectomy on trans patient

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The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a case involving a Catholic hospital in California that is being sued for refusing to perform a hysterectomy on a trans-identified patient.

In a list of orders published Monday, the Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Dignity Health v. Minton, Evan. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neal Gorsuch would have granted the appeal.

The case goes back to state court for further proceedings as the high court's decision lets stand an appellate court ruling allowing the plaintiff to proceed with a lawsuit against the hospital.

The lawsuit was filed in April 2017, one year after Mercy San Juan Medical Center in the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael, California, refused to perform a hysterectomy on Evan Minton, a trans-identified female.

The hospital, one of six medical centers operated by its parent company, Dignity Health, concluded that performing the procedure would violate the ethical and religious directives for Catholic Health Care Services.

The directives document was published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and features guidance for institutionally based Catholic health care services.

The directives assert that direct sterilization of either men or women, whether permanent or temporary, is not permitted in a Catholic health care institution. However, the directives permit Catholic hospitals and healthcare providers to perform procedures that induce sterility if their direct effect is the cure or alleviation of a present and serious pathology and a simpler treatment is not available.

The original lawsuit filed argued that the refusal to perform Mintons hysterectomy "constitutes discrimination" based on gender identity. Although the Catholic hospital refused to perform the procedure, Minton secured a hysterectomy at another Dignity Health-affiliated hospital 30 miles away four days after the scheduled hysterectomy was canceled.

The Mercy San Juan initially agreed to perform the hysterectomy, a procedure commonly done for medical reasons, until finding out that the hysterectomy was part of a gender transition process, not an effort to alleviate a present and serious pathology.

The hospital then informed the doctor scheduled to perform the hysterectomy that she could not do so. Minton learned that the hysterectomy was canceled the day before the procedure was set to take place, a development that resulted in great anxiety and grief.

While a judge at the federal district court level sided with Mercy San Juan Medical Center, an appellate court ruled in September 2019 that Dignity Health discriminated against Minton in violation of California civil rights law. The appellate courts decision sent the case back to the California Supreme Court for San Francisco County to enter a new and different order.

In a petition for a writ of certiorari filed in March 2020, the hospital asked the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court decision. The petition warns that this case poses a profound threat to faith-based health care institutions ability to advance their healing ministries consistent with the teachings of their faith.

Minton took to Twitter to cheer the Supreme Courts refusal to hear the appeal.

For the first time in a year, I can feel my heart start to relax, Minton stressed. At times today, I danced. I notoriously never celebrate the moments, so this was huge.

In closing, the fight for justice can be long, it can be arduous, the future will always be (and is) uncertain, but the fight so far has been worth every tear and drop of sweat.

Hi folks,

It's been a busy day and things are still sinking in. I'm really trying to summarize how I feel, but it's hard. How to summarize a year of intense stress and nights where time seemed to stand still? Impossible.



First, I just want to say thathttps://t.co/waAcErPiQj  Evan Minton t(he)y (@EvanMMinton) November 2, 2021

While the nations high court declined to hear the case, the justices issued a decision in another case Monday that is favorable to Catholic nuns and other Christian employers seeking exemption from a New York state law requiring employer-sponsored healthcare plans to cover the cost of abortions.

The court vacated a lower court decision against religious groups and remanded the case back to the New York State Supreme Courts Appellate Division in light of its ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The June ruling found that the city of Philadelphia could not exclude a Catholic charity from its foster program because the organization upholds policies that don't allow children to be placed with same-sex couples.

The debate about whether or not faith-based organizations should be forced to take actions that violate their religious convictions has intensified in recent years as Congress has debated the Equality Act, which would codify nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community into federal law.

Critics of the legislation warn of its implications for religious liberty, specifically that it could force religious organizations to fund abortion healthcare coverage and violate their beliefs about gender, marriage and sexuality.

The bill has passed the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives but stalled in the evenly divided Senate because of opposition from both Democrats and Republicans.
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There is something powerful about storytelling. Sally Lloyd-Jones, in her popular childrens Bible writes, No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a faraway country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne  everything to rescue the one he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is  it's true. There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

I could share numbers and statistics of those living with Down syndrome and go into detail of the many health challenges facing the one in every thousand babies born with an additional chromosome 21. There are bullet point lists which can be shared about the financial realities of caring for someone with Down syndrome. With great soberness we could discuss the countless human lives sacrificed at the altar of abortion in the U.S. and around the world. Image bearers of God, these precious people living with Down syndrome need to be accepted as part of our society with dignity for the multitude of strengths they offer. We could grieve that countries like Greenland, through selective abortion procedures, have sought to eradicate Down syndrome from their society and been highly successful.

However, instead of trying to prove through numbers, statistics and witty quips that those precious people living with Down syndrome are needed, I want to relay a story of a mom and her daughter.

When you talk with Stephanie, her eyes immediately tear up at the sound of her daughters name  Clementine Joy. Shes like a glimpse of Heaven, Stephanie will say. Shes my best teacher. She has no filters and no fears of judgment. She just belly-flops into life.

Eight years ago, no one could have expected the baby born with numerous health conditions  most notably, complete tracheal rings, a birth defect in the cartilage rings that keep the trachea, or windpipe, from collapsing  to teach a woman in Tennessee so much about how to live.

Stephanie and her husband, Chris, already had twelve children  eight who came home through adoption from China and four biological children. However, as the Leist family interacted with families who had children living with special needs, they felt increasingly led to adopt another child. Less than a year after completing the adoption forms for a little girl from China living with Down syndrome, they flew across the world to meet her.

Ive never felt so scared or ill-equipped or unworthy of doing what we needed to do as I did at that moment, Stephanie says of her first encounter with Clementine. The day they were supposed to meet her, the girl was whisked away for urgent trachea surgery. Gotcha day, as many families frequently refer to when they talk about adoption day, came and went.

Finally, the three met, and everything changed.

We immediately fell in love, Stephanie says.

Fast forward eight years and Clementine Joy is thriving. So is Stephanie as she talks about parenting a child with special needs. Through Stephanie and Clementines story, here are three takeaways I believe all of us can learn from those living with special needs and Gods love for them:

First, we learn about mundane joy

What was the best day of your life? This is a question many of us have been asked at some point. We list milestones  graduations, weddings, births. But for those with Down syndrome, often what we see is something different  joy that sees beyond milestones and embraces the richness of each day.

Until you see and live with a child with Downs, you are missing out, Stephanie asserts. Recalling a time when she took Clementine to get a Coke, Stephanie says, For Clementine, it was like Christmas morning  seeing the joy she had over that Coke and the straw she got to use.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that we are all created in Gods image. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that He formed us in the womb and knew and consecrated us, before we were born.

Those with special needs can teach us how to prioritize life, embrace the joy of every moment, and appreciate Gods plan for us.

Second, we learn unconditional forgiveness

Living out Christs mandate to forgive is a tall order. When we have been wronged, or someone has wronged someone we love, the last thing we want to do in our flesh is to forgive that person. As Stephanie talks about Clementine, she is quick to list one of her best qualities  forgiveness to the fullest.

You cant do wrong by her, Stephanie says. Shes always willing to forgive, embrace, and laugh. Theres no shifting shadows.

In a world with much divisiveness and where lines in the sand have been drawn, an extended arm of forgiveness and kindness can be the best way to find our way back to health and wholeness, as families, as individuals and as a community. Those living with special needs can teach us how to move past the wrongs others have done and to embrace instead community and hope as we pursue life together. How rich is the love of Christ Jesus, that He forgave us while we were in the heinous act of sinning  how much then shall we forgive those who wrong us.

Third, we learn more about God's character

In talking about Clementine, Stephanie says something pretty radical: Shes such a pure and genuine human being. Those with special needs are who they are  there are no pretenses, no shifting shadows. Many live with a simplicity that leads those around them towards unexpected gratitude. This was true for Stephanie: We are just grateful to behold it all and do life alongside her.

Those with special needs remind us that we need not cower from the God who has made us. Those of us in Christ can approach his throne of grace with confidence with a pure heart and genuine love. We need not put on a face of courage when fear overcomes us; we need not smile when tears must flow but boldly come to the God who has made us in His image and uses us for His great purposes.

Final thoughts

Parenting children with Down syndrome isnt easy. About 50% of all babies born with Down syndrome also have a congenital heart defect. They are at higher risk for hearing loss, sleep apnea, ear and eye diseases, intestinal blockages and much more. It can be challenging parenting a child with Down syndrome, Stephanie agrees. Clementine has a lot of sensory fallout from her trachea collapsing and has breathing and feeding issues. For children with special needs, everything is harder to recover from.

But the blessings  and important life lessons  far outweigh the challenges. The story of Stephanie and Clementine reminds us that we find the most important lessons in the most unexpected places. Stephanie has been introduced to joy, forgiveness and Gods character in ways few of us have. Clementine, and millions of others with special needs, can indeed be our best teachers  so let's advocate for their lives so we dont miss the lessons.
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The Texas Heartbeat Act, known as SB 8, is once again up for consideration before the Supreme Court as a result of two consolidated cases.

Whole Womans Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas  scheduled for oral arguments on Monday  will require the court to consider whether the federal government can sue to enforce the right of Texas women to get an abortion and, if so, whether the Texas Heartbeat Act can be enforced at all.

SB 8  a Texas law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks gestation  has remained in effect since Sept. 1.

This is the second time the court has considered the Texas Heartbeat Acts unique procedural positioning and is being asked to halt its enforcement while the case is litigated in the lower courts. The court declined to halt the law while the appeal is underway.

Both cases have been scheduled for oral arguments much faster than usual. A week ago, the court granted certiorari before judgment, placing the cases on whats known as the Supreme Courts rocket docket. This is an emergency review procedure that allows a party to leapfrog over the appeals court  in this case, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals  without waiting for its outcome and go directly to the Supreme Court.

The two cases came to the Supreme Court at different times and originated in different ways due to the unique procedural questions presented. The court has joined the two and set them both for oral arguments on Nov. 1.

SB 8s unique enforcement mechanism provides the basis for both legal challenges. It has proven to be a barrier to those interested in maintaining the availability of abortion in the Lone Star State.

According to SB 8, state officials may not enforce the law and are granted sovereign immunity against anyone seeking to bring suit on the grounds that the bill is contrary to constitutional law.

Instead, the Texas Heartbeat Act allows private citizens to bring their own enforcement actions for violation of the law against those performing the outlawed abortions and anyone knowingly aiding and abetting them. This enforcement technique is generally reserved for state and federal fraud claims.

Therefore, the only way for an abortion provider to claim a defense against application of the law is to wait for a private actor to sue, and then raise the argument that the law itself is unconstitutional.

But for studious court-watchers and those following developments on abortion, Americans will recognize that this isnt the first time SB 8 has appeared before the justices  even this year.

November: The Texas Heartbeat Act is back at the Supreme Court

Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, when the Supreme Court made abortion a constitutional right, states have enacted more than 1,300 life-affirming laws, with more than 500 of them implemented in the last decade. The Supreme Court established a generalized right to privacy broad enough to include a right to abortion in its landmark 1973 decision.

Then, in 1992, the court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey affirmed that a state cant impose an undue burden on a womans right to an abortion and may only restrict her right to abortion after a fetus becomes viable outside the womb, which is at approximately 24 weeks gestation.

SB 8 opposes the courts jurisprudence on abortion and the framework set forth in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Therefore, on its face its unconstitutional under current Supreme Court precedent.

But the civil enforcement mechanism  criticized by abortion advocates as vigilantism has allowed the law to remain in effect so far by shielding state officials, those normally tasked with enforcing the law from liability by way of sovereign immunity.

Unlike past state iterations of so-called heartbeat bills, the Texas laws unique structure has flummoxed opponents and resulted in two trips to the Supreme Court and its continued operation at the state level during litigation.

The Texas law is rooted in both principle and science. Life is our most basic freedom. Science shows us that human life begins at conception and a babys heartbeat can be detected at roughly six weeks.

Since the Texas Heartbeat Act went into effect on Sept. 1, most abortion activity in Texas has come to a halt and an estimated 150 unborn children per day have been saved from abortion.

The efforts of Texans have also demonstrated how civil society rallies to support women experiencing challenging or unplanned pregnancies. In one single year, according to the most recent data available, Texas pregnancy resource centers provided $33 million in services, materials, and support at virtually no cost to Texas women and families.

That work continues in communities across the state every day. Nationwide, such centers served nearly 2 million people and provided $266 million worth of services and assistance in 2019.

Most Americans support significant restrictions on abortion. Yet, America is only one of seven countries in the world that permits elective late-term abortions after 20 weeks  five months  of gestation.

America is an outlier when it comes to earlier restrictions, too. A recent study found that 47 out of 50 European nations limit elective abortion prior to 15 weeks.

These statistics are reminders of the Supreme Courts arbitrary and unworkable abortion jurisprudence, which has been a barrier to states seeking to enact life-affirming policies that protect unborn children before viability and reflect advances in technology and science on fetal development.

While the Supreme Court will not address the constitutionality of the Texas prohibition on abortions before viability per se, the issue will likely come up during the argument itself. Rather, the primary focus will be on strictly procedural questions.

In United States v. Texas, the court will address whether the Department of Justice has standing to sue Texas at all and, if so, under what cause of action. In Whole Womans Health v. Jackson, the court will address the abortion providers claim that the civil enforcement mechanism itself is unconstitutional.

For its part, Texas is arguing that neither the federal government nor abortion providers are entitled to demand Texas write its laws to permit them to be challenged before they are even enforced. In the alternative, and if the court decides to address the underlying constitutionality of the six-week ban on abortion after all, Texas also argues that the court should overrule Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

December: Unworkable, unsettled abortion jurisprudence under scrutiny in Dobbs v. Jackson Womans Health Organization

Its highly unlikely the court will get to such substantive constitutional questions in the Texas cases. But on Dec. 1, the justices will hear oral arguments in a case that will explicitly reexamine Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Caseys arbitrary viability framework and address head on whether the court should even be mired in the minutiae of state abortion restrictions in the first place.

In Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, the court will consider the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks gestation with limited exceptions for medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormalities.

At that time, the court will be asked to consider whether all pre-viability restrictions on abortions are unconstitutional (that is, prohibitions on abortion before the child can survive outside the womb).

In the meantime, the Texas Heartbeat Act is saving hundreds of lives every day.

Ultimately, the Supreme Courts abortion jurisprudence has distorted the Constitution, failed to settle the abortion debate in our country, and poisoned our laws, courts, and culture.

The courts arbitrary and unworkable standards do not account for advances in science, shifts toward pro-life public sentiments, and the status and financial independence of women  both of which have increased significantly since the courts determination to legalize abortion in Roe v. Wade.

Looking ahead

The Texas Heartbeat Act isnt the first time pro-life policymakers have gotten creative to challenge the status quo, and it likely wont be the last.

Regardless of the outcome of Whole Womans Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas, Dobbs v. Jackson Whole Womens Health will provide the court with a prime opportunity to make a course correction on abortion jurisprudence rooted in a proper understanding of the Constitution.

Should the Supreme Court change course and reverse its prior holdings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, all abortion policymaking would return to the states.

There, through legislation, debate, and representative government, states would have the power to further address outdated and extreme abortion laws without being subject to an arbitrary and unworkable viability standard.

Policymakers could then craft laws that acknowledge the humanity of children in the womb and reflect public sentiment that supports protecting unborn children before and after viability.

In her scathing dissent to the courts refusal to stay SB 8s operation during the pendency of United States v. Texas, Justice Sonya Sotomayor argued that the court should have put a temporary hold on the law so that women might continue to receive abortions.

She argued, There is no dispute that under this Courts precedents, women have a constitution right to seek abortion care prior to viability  [But] SB 8 was created to frustrate that right by raising seemingly novel procedural issues [and] it has had precisely the intended effect.

For the drafters of SB 8, and pro-life advocates in Texas and beyond, they might consider Sotomayors statement proof of a job well done.

Originally published at The Daily Signal.
My heart is broke: Daughter of slain California pastor delivers stirring message of forgiveness and faith

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The daughter of a California pastor who was murdered outside of his church on Sunday is speaking out about her late fathers legacy of faith, love and forgiveness.

Daney Moore, daughter of Pastor Joe Moore, told the Edifi With Billy Hallowell podcast that her family is struggling to process her fathers killing, but are relying on one another to make it through this difficult time.

Its something we cant process. It was so unexpected. It was so senseless, she said. My heart is broke.

As Faithwire previously reported, Moore, 65, pastor of the Upper Room Christian Church in Compton, California, was killed Sunday while walking to his vehicle in between Bible study and church.

Listen to Daney Moore discuss her fathers life and legacy:

Despite the intense pain and anguish the Moores are feeling as police continue to investigate the murder, members of the family have told the press the pastor would have been the first to forgive those responsible.

One thing my daddy did preach and teach on was forgiveness. He always lived by the motto, What would Jesus do?' she said. He said, Jesus forgave His enemies and we have to forgive ours.  We have to forgive people to be free.

Daney Moore also spoke about other facets of her fathers personality, describing him as a character who always loved to laugh.

But beyond those jovial memories, she said he was a man of God on a mission to bring people to faith.

My daddy was a loving and funny man. He was just a non-confrontational soul who  wanted to make sure that everybody was saved, everybody accepted the Lord, she said. Any way he could find to tell you about God, he would.

When asked if she had a message she wanted to share, Moore delivered an emotional and stirring appeal to everyone listening: Stop the killing. Stop the violence  be at peace with people and  just get saved if youre not.

You can donate to the Moore familys GoFundMe, which will cover funeral expenses for the pastor. And please continue praying for peace and Gods strength for Daney Moore and her grieving loved ones.

This story originally appeared on Faithwire.com.
Inside the intense LGBT debate raging within the United Methodist Church (podcast)

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Christian Post reporter Michael Gryboski dives into the heated and complex same-sex marriage and sexuality debate that is raging within the United Methodist Church.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRISTIAN POST PODCAST ON EDIF

From discussions about openly-gay ordination to same-sex marital blessings, Gryboski breaks down the issues at play and the potential schisms that could unfold next year at the denomination's General Conference.

"It's believed by many that [next year's conference is] going to be the flashpoint, that's going to be the breaking point," he said. "[Some believe] whatever happens there is going to lead to a schism between conservatives and progressives."

Listen to this episode of The Christian Post Podcast below:

Listen to more Christian podcasts today on the Edifi app  and be sure to subscribe to the Christian Post Podcast on your favorite platforms:
When Condoleezza Rice is slandered as a foot soldier of white supremacy,' it is no longer about race

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Its hard to overstate how fundamental the idea of the image of God in man is for Christian ethics. The fact that men and women are made in Gods image, that we are indelibly stamped with the Imago Dei, should be a constraining factor on all we do  and on all we say  in Gods world.

While taking a life is the ultimate means by which an image bearer is destroyed, there are lesser, yet still serious, ways to deface and tear down the image of God in our fellow brothers and sisters. And that is primarily through our speech. This is why God, in the Ninth Commandment, commands us that, You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16). To slander someone, to lie about them, to degrade them, is to say, You arent worth the image you bear.

All of this is a necessary theological preamble to what I am about to address next, which was a recent instance of image-destroying slander directed against Condoleezza Rice.

First, its important to note that Rice is a living legend. She is a testament  a flesh and blood statue, one might say  to the tensions contained in the wonders and terrors of the American experiment. Born into the segregated South in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1954, Rice knows first-hand what it is like to face real racial prejudice. But she didnt just encounter racism, she overcame it. Despite the sad reality that she had to fight against those who disliked her simply because of her skin color, Rice proved that the American dream truly is available to all, regardless of color or creed.

After completing her PhD, she joined the State Department, eventually rising through the ranks to become the first woman to ever serve as National Security Advisor and then the first African-American female Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. In fact, until the inauguration of Kamala Harris as vice president in 2021, Rice held the honor of being the highest-ranking African American woman in the history of the United States.

Yet, despite her amazing life and career, she was just recently slandered as a foot soldier for white supremacy.

Toure, a former MSNBC show host and commentator and opinion writer for The Grio, wrote an article lambasting Rice for her recent comments on The View in which she addressed critical race theory and education.

Toure, seeking to symbolically tear down the statue that is Rices life and legacy, wrote that Condoleezza Rices recent appearance on The View was offensive and disgusting for many reasons but she was who we thought she was: a soldier for white supremacy. Her thoughts on critical race theory are completely white centric, as in, they revolve around the thoughts and needs of white people.

Its such an insane statement that its hard to wrap a reasonable mind around it. Rice  the first African American woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State, the woman who fought against real racial animus in the segregated south  is now a foot soldier for white supremacy.

And what was her crime? It was an Orwellian thought-crime. It was the fact that she wont toe the line on the new cultural orthodoxy regarding race in America. She refuses to join the ranks of the Elect  a term coined by Columbia University linguist and race commentator John McWhorter  to describe those who pursue a proselytizing brand of antiracism that has had a particularly harmful effect on academic inquiry. The sacred texts and high priest and priestess of this new woke religion are represented, he explains, by bestselling books like Robin DiAngelos White Fragility  which flagellates white people for their incurable racism  and Ibram X. Kendis How to Be an Antiracist. These are the gospels of the antiracist left.

Toure, however, is clearly a card-carrying member of this new cult. He is Elect. Rice is not. How do we know? Because when addressing the topic of CRT in K-12 education, Rice centered on individual agency and personal responsibility, and not race essentialism, telling the hosts that:

My parents never thought I was going to grow up in a world without prejudice, but they also told me, Thats somebody elses problem, not yours'  One of the worries that I have about the way that were talking about race is that it either seems so big that somehow white people now have to feel guilty for everything that happened in the past  I dont think thats very productive  or black people have to feel disempowered by race.

Then, Rice made the point that apparently triggered Toure and lit the fuse for his false-witness bearing, saying:

I would like black kids to be completely empowered, to know that they are beautiful in their blackness, but in order to do that I dont have to make white kids feel bad for being white.

This is a wonderful admonition. Historical wrongs will never be righted by present-day discrimination.

Apparently, for Toure this is unacceptable. He twists her words, her commendable desire to not make white kids feel bad for being white into something more sinister. Instead, he wants white kids to squirm, claiming that white children and adults should absolutely feel bad about the past atrocities committed by white Americans. They should feel guilty."

To be fair to Toure, his article raises some valid points, if Rice had said what he claims she said. But she didnt. She never said, Dont teach the ugly truth about our racist history. She merely claimed there is no value in making a fourth-grader in 2021 feel bad about being white.

But here is the heart of the issue at hand:

Even if that is what Rice had claimed, Toure has no right to call her a foot soldier for white supremacy.

Sadly, this is just another example of black-on-black verbal violence, an increasingly regular spectacle that occurs when woke black personalities engage in character assassination against other black voices who dissent from the progressive worldview. This happened to Larry Elder, when he was running for governor in California; for speaking his own mind and deigning to try to take the job of the very white but very woke Gavin Newsom, Elder was unbelievably called the Black Face of White Supremacy by a writer for the L.A. Times.

Whats the goal in such slanderous attacks like these? It seems clear that the intention is to silence or denigrate the stories and voices of black Americans, who, despite all the hardships they may have faced, still excelled on their own merit and through their own hard work. Black voices like Rice, Elder, McWhorter, Glenn Loury, Ben Carson, Colin Powell, Clarence Thomas, Candace Owens, Tim Scott, and even Booker T. Washington, who chose to run hard after that opportunity and are now willing to tell others that they can do the same.

In June 2020, the Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Memorial, which honors the service of African American soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War, was defaced. In Rochester, New York, a statue of Frederick Douglass, installed in 2018 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolitionists birth, was ripped from its pedestal in 2020 on what was the 168th anniversary of one of Douglass most famous speeches, and then knocked down once again this past September.

When Toure slanders Rice, he is undertaking a verbal form of defacement. His words are like the ugly expletives spray-painted over the 54th Massachusetts Memorial, except he is attempting to paint over the living legacy of Rices amazing accomplishments. Not content to wait for the statue to pull down, he seeks to malign her memory in real-time.

Bringing this interchange back under the lens of our Christian worldview, we must remember that when we attack other people with our words, we are tearing down an image bearer, desecrating that which is holy  their shared image-bearing status. Another passage, James 3:9-10, poignantly reminds us of this twisted reality: With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in Gods likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

While Its shameful and misguided to deface and destroy monuments, it is far, far worse to deface a living person, who is made in the image of God.

So no, Condoleezza Rice isnt a foot soldier for white supremacy. To levy such a claim is a clear violation of the Ninth Commandment. But here is where the Gospel brings hope to all statue destroyers and human slanderers. The Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, came in the flesh. He lived a sinless life and yet died a death for sinners. He was mocked, beaten, slandered, and destroyed. He was crucified for the Condoleezza Rices and the Toures of this world. For you. For me. Wicked men tried to destroy His witness to God the Father for good, but on the third day Jesus got up from the grave, vindicating His life and ministry, and put an exclamation mark on the end of his exhortation to Repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand (Mark 1:15).

This is what our country needs more than ever. We need repentance. After that, the rest will follow. Perhaps then, Rice can get the apology she deserves.

Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.
'Jesus Christ Money Master' author gets 3 life sentences for bilking millions from Christians

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William Neil Doc Gallagher, an 80-year-old Christian radio personality from Texas and author of the Jesus Christ, Money Master Leader Guide, was sentenced to three life sentences plus an additional 30 years in prison Monday for defrauding more than 190 people, many of whom were older adult Christians, of at least $23 million.

Doc Gallagher is one of the worst offenders I have seen, Lori Varnell, chief of the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Elder Financial Fraud team, said in a press statement. He ruthlessly stole from his clients who trusted him for almost a decade. He amassed $32 million in loss to all of his clients and exploited many elder individuals. He worked his way around churches preying on people who believed he was a Christian.

Gallagher, who was once president and CEO of the Gallagher Financial Group, described himself on the company website as an experienced financial advisor, financial journalist and author who also served as an instructor at Texas Christian University.

His companys mission was to be a vehicle of Gods peace and comfort to as many people as possible, helping first with their financial peace of mind, then also with their spiritual, emotional and family well-being. He also advertised on Christian radio with the tagline: See you in church on Sunday.

Despite the claims of his company to Christian virtues, the prosecutors say Gallagher was busy bilking seniors out of millions through a Ponzi scheme, which he pleaded guilty to running on Aug.31.

A release from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed that from December 2014 through January 2019, Gallagher raised at least $19.6 million from approximately 60 senior citizens by falsely claiming to be a licensed investment adviser.

He offered an investment that he called a Diversified Growth and Income Strategy Account, in which he promised to acquire income-generating assets for his clients in five specified categories. He promised investors that they would receive guaranteed, risk-free returns in their accounts ranging from 5% to 8% per year. In reality, except for one $75,000 annuity purchase, Gallagher purchased no assets in any of the five categories and no other assets to back the promised returns, the release said. Instead, he exhausted virtually all investor funds on spending unrelated to the accounts, including misappropriating significant portions for personal and company expenses and to make Ponzi payments to investors.

In addition to visiting churches and promoting his business on Christian radio stations owned by Salem Media, Gallagher promoted his investment business in books, like Jesus Christ, Money Master, which has a one-star review on Amazon.

More than a dozen of his older adult victims testified against Gallagher on Monday in a three-hour court hearing where they shared how they lost between $50,000 and $600,000, then asked Judge Elizabeth Beach to sentence him to life in prison for his crimes.

Some have had to sell their homes, borrow money from their children or take part-time jobs to supplement their social security payments. They spoke of losing trust in people and of the depression many now suffer because of losing their money through Gallagher's company, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office said.

"I'm afraid my money is going to run out," Judy Dewitt, one of the victims, said. "It's a very scary thing."

Another victim, Susan Pippi, said: "I don't trust anybody anymore, except for God and my family."
12 Memorable Quotes From Martin Luther's 95 Theses

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This year marks 500 years since German monk Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door in the German city of Wittenberg, sparking the Protestant Reformation.

On Sunday, Oct. 29, churches across the nation celebrate Reformation Sunday in honor of the anniversary of Luther's action.

Luther's theses, or points of debate, argued against various practices of the Roman Catholic Church and addressed matters regarding salvation and works.

A big focus was on the indulgences, a common practice at the time which involved giving something, oftentimes money, to the Church in return for receiving forgiveness.

Here are 12 memorable statements from one of the most important and history-changing documents in western civilization.

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The importance of boundaries amidst accelerating chaos

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Chaos currently rages.

Seventy-one percent of Americans polled recently and reported by NBC and other media believe the U.S. is on the wrong track. Cities that aimed at defunding police are desperately searching for police. New York City begs for 2,600 volunteer fire-fighters to fill the ranks of those resisting mandated vaccination. Thousands of flights are canceled for lack of flight attendants and pilots.

And thats only a tiny sampling.

In fact, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns that the whole world is becoming more chaotic, more insecure... more dangerous for everyone.

Futurist Ray Kurzweil wrote about accelerating entropy, or chaos in physical systems, but we are living in an age of intensifying disorder in spiritual, personal, social, and civilizational systems.

This should be of no surprise because the fundamental struggle in a fallen world is between cosmos and chaos. The order intrinsic to Gods Kingdom is assaulted by the radical disorder of the kingdom of darkness. This has been the situation since Adam and Eve, who, while enjoying the benefits of Paradise, opened the gates to chaos.

Beyond the boundaries of Eden was the land of Nod, where, as terrified Cain feared, there was sheer anarchy. The present chaos suggests that the whole planet is becoming Nod-like.

Cosmos is peace, harmony, coherence, and security. Chaos is de-creation, the destruction of healthy relationships, weakness, danger, and sickness of spirit, soul, and body.

Above all, cosmos is a sanctuary nestled within positive protective boundaries.

God gave the world the gift of the Ten Commandments as the sturdy components of the borders that can constitute a barrier to chaos. The Commandments provide the categories of boundaries essential for the well-being of a society and the people within it:

The primary boundary is spiritual: you shall have no other gods before Me... you shall make no idols. Every nation is built on a consensus of what is ultimate and provides the center for all other beliefs and valuesthe things a country is willing to fight and die for. Remove God from that core place of priority, and the boundaries that keep out chaos collapse.

you shall have no other gods before Me... you shall make no idols. Every nation is built on a consensus of what is ultimate and provides the center for all other beliefs and valuesthe things a country is willing to fight and die for. Remove God from that core place of priority, and the boundaries that keep out chaos collapse. Recognition of and reverence for the Transcendent: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Rulers must give an account to the Highest Authority for the way they have handled the powers entrusted to them. Therefore, if a governing power tries to make itself transcendent, depriving people of the basic rights given them by God, then it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness, as stated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Rulers must give an account to the Highest Authority for the way they have handled the powers entrusted to them. Therefore, if a governing power tries to make itself transcendent, depriving people of the basic rights given them by God, then it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness, as stated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Maintaining focus: Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. The setting apart of the Sabbath is a sanctification of time. Inside that holy day we are to focus on all the other components of the great structure that holds back the siege of chaos and remember and worship God Who gave us cosmos blessings.

Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. The setting apart of the Sabbath is a sanctification of time. Inside that holy day we are to focus on all the other components of the great structure that holds back the siege of chaos and remember and worship God Who gave us cosmos blessings. Respect for authority and heritage: Honor your father and your mother. There is a linkage between the honoring of family life and structure and the historical heritage of a nation. Parents are to prepare their children for the future by linking them to the principles laid down in the past that have made the country secure, free, and prosperous. Edmund Burke, George Santayana, and Winston Churchill are all credited for giving us this wise observation: Those who dont know their history are doomed to repeat it.

Honor your father and your mother. There is a linkage between the honoring of family life and structure and the historical heritage of a nation. Parents are to prepare their children for the future by linking them to the principles laid down in the past that have made the country secure, free, and prosperous. Edmund Burke, George Santayana, and Winston Churchill are all credited for giving us this wise observation: Those who dont know their history are doomed to repeat it. Respect for life: You shall not murder. Abortion is a chaotic assault on the womb. When a nation officially embraces abortion-on-demand it begins to die. For example, Europe, according to hli.org, has had a culture of death for a half-century. The average total fertility rate for European nations is under replacement fertility levels. [1]

You shall not murder. Abortion is a chaotic assault on the womb. When a nation officially embraces abortion-on-demand it begins to die. For example, Europe, according to hli.org, has had a culture of death for a half-century. The average total fertility rate for European nations is under replacement fertility levels. Respect for Sexual order: You shall not commit adultery. Not only is the breakdown in sexual behavior largely responsible for the abortion chaos, but also for chaos in family life, resulting in the destruction of homes, intended by God to be major bulwarks of cosmos in a chaotic world.

You shall not commit adultery. Not only is the breakdown in sexual behavior largely responsible for the abortion chaos, but also for chaos in family life, resulting in the destruction of homes, intended by God to be major bulwarks of cosmos in a chaotic world. Respect for private property: You shall not steal... shall not covet. From the dysfunctional states confiscation of hard-earned personal income through excessive taxation to the criminal driven to steal by covetousness, society is in chaos when the boundary of property is hacked down.

You shall not steal... shall not covet. From the dysfunctional states confiscation of hard-earned personal income through excessive taxation to the criminal driven to steal by covetousness, society is in chaos when the boundary of property is hacked down. Respect for truth:You shall not bear false witness. Rumor, fake news, unwarranted accusation, gossip, propaganda, all on a global scale via the internet, contribute to the chaos of ceaseless noise battering us moment by moment and forming the tragic decisions we make so frequently.

God gave the Ten Commandments to the Sinai nomads on their way to the Promised land so that it would go well for them in the land. (Deuteronomy 4:40)

If it is not going well for us it should awaken us to the urgency of restoring the boundaries of cosmos. No wonder Proverbs 22:28 exhorts us not to move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set.

Yet we have moved those crucial boundaries out of public education and other institutional facets that shape society... and wonder why we are being battered by the onrush of chaos.

[1] What is the Abortion Situation in Europe? | Human Life International (hli.org)
Biden takes communion in Rome after saying Pope Francis called him a good Catholic

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President Joe Biden received communion at St. Patricks Church in Rome a day after he said Pope Francis called him a good Catholic amid the ongoing debate over whether pro-abortion Catholic politicians should be given the sacrament.

Biden attended the mass on Saturday evening at the church in Rome, where he was taking part in a summit of the G20 worlds richest nations. He sat in the back of the church with his wife, Jill, and received communion, Reuters reported.

Pope Francis is also the bishop of Rome, so Biden went to mass and received communion in his archdiocese, the newswire said, noting that the president regularly attends mass and receives communion in Washington.

Biden, the first Roman Catholic to serve as president of the United States since John F. Kennedy, has clashed with Catholic Church leadership in the U.S. over his steadfast support of abortion.

After Bidens meeting with the pontiff on Friday, a reporter asked if the issue of abortion came up during the conversation. While Biden insisted that the topic did not come up, he said, We just talked about the fact that he was happy I was a good Catholic and I should keep receiving communion.

Concerns about Biden receiving communion date back to his 2020 presidential campaign when a priest in South Carolina denied him communion because of his support for a policy that directly contradicts Catholic Church teaching.

Biden has said while he is personally opposed to abortion, he cannot impose his views on others as an elected official.

Supporters of denying communion to Biden and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians point to the Catholic Churchs Code of Canon Law, which states that those obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion as the justification for their position. They also cite a 2004 letter from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict XVI, to two high-ranking officials in the U.S. Catholic Church, noting that the Church teaches that abortion or euthanasia is a grave sin.

Last month, when Pope Francis was asked about the U.S. communion debate, he called abortion, even soon after conception, murder, but added, Communion is not a prize for the perfect  Communion is a gift, the presence of Jesus and his Church, according to the newswire.

At its General Assembly meeting earlier this year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to move ahead with the drafting of a document clarifying the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. Initially characterized as a rebuke to pro-abortion Catholic politicians, the USCCB emphasized that the question of whether or not to deny any individual or groups Holy Communion was not on the ballot.

According to a question-and-answer document about the vote published by the USCCB, The document being drafted is not meant to be disciplinary in nature, nor is it targeted at any one individual or class of persons. It will include a section on the Churchs teaching on the responsibility of every Catholic, including bishops, to live in accordance with the truth, goodness and beauty of the Eucharist we celebrate.
Vaccinated White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirms she has COVID-19

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Four days after learning that members of her household tested positive for COVID-19, fully vaccinated White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki revealed that she tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday as doctors say its unlikely President Joe Biden has been infected.

In a statement shared on Twitter, Psaki stressed that she opted not to travel with Biden Thursday to attend two major summits with world leaders in Rome and Scotland while she was still testing negative for the virus.

She noted that she has not had close contact with the president or senior members of the White House staff since Wednesday. She said the last time she saw Biden in person, they were outdoors, wore masks and were more than six feet apart.

Today, I tested positive for COVID. While I have not had close contact in person with the President or senior members of the White House staff since Wednesday  and tested negative for four days after that last contact  I am disclosing todays positive test out of an abundance of transparency, she wrote. I last saw the President on Tuesday, when we sat outside more than six-feet apart, and wore masks.

Psaki, 42, noted that because she is fully vaccinated, her symptoms have been mild.

Thanks to the vaccine, I have only experienced mild symptoms which has enabled me to continue working from home. I will plan to return to work in person at the conclusion of the ten day quarantine following a negative rapid test, which is an additional White House requirement, beyond CDC guidance, taken out of an abundance of caution, she added.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday morning that the 78-year-old fully-vaccinated Biden tested negative for COVID-19 as part of a requirement to enter the United Kingdom. He is expected to participate in the United Nations Climate Summit, known as COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland, which kicked off Sunday.

Biden also received his booster shot on Sept. 27 for the two-dose Pfizer vaccine he received in December and January.

Asked about the situation, physicians told CNN on Sunday that it was unlikely that Psaki infected the president.

Based on the timeline of Ms. Psakis testing negative for multiple days following her last encounter with President Biden (which was also outside and masked, therefore very low risk in and of itself), it is virtually impossible for her to somehow have infected the President, Dr. Leana Wen, former Planned Parenthood president and former Baltimore City health commissioner, told the network.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University, also stated that the likelihood of Biden getting infected by Psaki was low since the last contact between the two was outdoors and other precautions were taken.

Transmission outside is much less likely than transmission inside. Also, she and the President were both wearing masks. That would further reduce the likelihood of transmission, Reiner stated. Also, remember, the president had been boosted. Recent data from Pfizer shows the third dose, what we had been calling the booster, restores that vaccines efficacy to about 95%. So I am sure the President also will be fine.
Union Seminary president claims Texas heartbeat abortion ban is 'un-Christian'

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Union Theological Seminary President Serene Jones recently argued that Texas law prohibiting most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected is un-Christian.

In a commentary published by Salon Tuesday, the head of the New York City-based progressive ecumenical institution argued that the heartbeat abortion ban, also known as Senate Bill 8, is grounded in a fundamentally warped interpretation of Christianity.

As a Christian, a biblical scholar, and a mother, it is infuriating that lawmakers would twist and distort our sacred text to give the government the power to force women to carry a child to term, wrote Jones.

The Bible doesnt say that abortion is a sin and has no explicit definition of when life begins. The reality is that abortion only became a rallying cry for conservative Christians  and particularly Evangelicals  when Republicans decided it was politically advantageous to do so.

Jones further argued that the Christian faith requires protecting the lives and well-being of women by allowing them reproductive freedom, not taking steps to eliminate it.

Texas law is particularly un-Christian, she continued. The bottom line is, no government should have the power to force women to carry a pregnancy to term. Any faith leaders who say otherwise are willfully mischaracterizing the teachings of their religions.

The column was critiqued by Micaiah Bilger of LifeNews.com, who argued that it is Jones who is twisting Christian teachings to claim that its acceptable to kill a unique, living unborn baby who is created in the image of God.

The Bible recognizes unborn babies as valuable human beings in Luke 1:41, Genesis 25:21-22, Psalm 22:10-11 and other passages, wrote Bilger.

Jesus placed great value on children when others in society did not in Matthew 19:14, and Proverbs 6:16-17 states that one of the things God hates most is the shedding of innocent blood.

Bilger concluded that opposition to abortion has never been about politics.

Christians and other pro-lifers fight against abortion because they know that abortion is a violent, oppressive injustice against a defenseless child in the womb and every unborn baby deserves a right to life, Bilger contends.

Jones remarks come the week that the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a legal challenge to Texas heartbeat abortion ban, which is being challenged by abortion providers and the Biden administration.

In April 2019, Jones garnered controversy when she claimed in an interview with The New York Times and on Twitter that Christians do not need to believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

You can believe in resurrection without believing in a bodily resurrection: Faith is more than adherence to rigid dogma, she tweeted at the time. The truth about our livesabout our worldis Gods love and grace will always have the final word. Rejoice!

In a column published by The Christian Post at the time, John Stonestreet and G. Shane Morris responded to Jones claim by noting that the bodily resurrection of Jesus is fundamental to the Christian faith.

The earliest witness of the church, the thing that altered their Jewish faith, the thing that they lived and died for, was that Jesus not only rose from the dead, but that if He did not, as Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15, our faith is futile; you are still in your sins (and) we are of all people most to be pitied, wrote Stonestreet and Morris.
University grants Christian group official status amid lawsuit alleging discrimination

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The University of Houston-Clear Lake has granted a Christian student organization full recognition as a campus student group after a legal challenge was filed claiming that the school discriminated by excluding the group as a registered student organization.

The conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom has claimed victory after the Christian student group Ratio Christi sued the university over claims that its official status as a student group was denied for unlawful reasons. However, the school rejects the claim that it ever denied the student group official status.

In a statement, ADF reported that the university quickly gave Ratio Christi the recognized status after the legal complaint was filed against school officials last Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Ratio Christi received the good news they deserveas a result of our lawsuit, the University of Houston-Clear Lake has now fully recognized the Christian student organization as a registered club on campus, granting them equal treatment among their peer groups, said ADF Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton.

We commend the university and its general counsel for taking quick action to correct this injustice. Now, the university must do the next right thing and rescind the unconstitutional policies that are still in place that were used to exclude Ratio Christi because it requires its leaders to agree with its values and mission.

The university denies it ever discriminated against Ratio Christi and argues that the lawsuit was filed while the school was still processing the groups paperwork.

The University of Houston-Clear Lake has approved Ratio Christi as a registered student organization, said University spokesperson Shawn Lindsey in a statement to The Washington Times.

This is not the reversal of a prior decision. The application was never denied and was still in process when the lawsuit was filed.

When a student group lacks registered student organization status, it cannot reserve on-campus spaces, invite speakers for events or use funds reserved by the university for student groups.

UHCLs refusal to grant Ratio Christi RSO status violates Plaintiffs free exercise, expressive association, free speech, and equal protection rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the complaint states.

The First Amendment protects the right of all student organizations to associate around shared beliefs. The fact that UHCL disregards that right when it comes to Ratio Christi is particularly egregious because UHCL has treated Ratio Christi differently because of its religious beliefs.

The complaint further claimed that the university was using its anti-discrimination policy to bar Ratio Christi from receiving RSO status, namely Ratio Christis rules that restrict its leadership to Christians.

The legal filing alleged that the universitys anti-discrimination policies allowed non-religious student organizations to limit their leadership positions and membership to students who agree with their mission but would not let religious student groups do the same.

Under the RSO Policies, RSOs cannot discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, veteran status, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity and gender expression  that is, unless the organization is the Vietnamese Student Association, International Student Advisory Board, Student Veterans Association, a sorority, or sport club team, the complaint reads.

In 2019, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs settled with its Ratio Christi chapter after initially barring the group from becoming an official student club.

The settlement included the University of Colorado granting Ratio Christi registered status upon resubmitting paperwork, paying $20,574 in damages and revising the schools Club & Organization Handbook to include a provision explaining that all student clubs can require leaders to adhere to a particular set of beliefs.

In July, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the University of Iowa discriminated against InterVarsity Christian Fellowship by deregistering the club as an official student group.
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In his November 1 op-ed for The Hill, Fox News Analyst Juan Williams claimed that the parents rights mantra in the Virginia gubernatorial elections is simply 'a code for white race politics.' To the contrary, this really is about parents rights and about what is best for all children. To inject charges of white supremacy and racism is to miss the whole point of why so many parents are so upset. In all candor and with due respect, I would have expected better from Mr. Williams.

The fact is that these parents are concerned with the injection of racism into every phase of their childrens education, not to mention the injection of an extreme LGBTQ agenda. Williams should be standing with these parents, not against them.

With reference to campaigning strategies in the 2018 elections, he wrote, Virginia Republicans are back with a new and improved Culture Wars campaign for 2021. The closing argument is once again full of racial division  but this time it is dressed up as a defense of little children.

Specifically, he claimed that, It is a campaign to stop classroom discussion of Black Lives Matter protests or slavery because it could upset some children, especially white children who might feel guilt.

To the contrary, every white Christian parent with whom I have interacted wants their children to know the truth about slavery, segregation, and the lasting effects of those sinful institutions. And they want to see equal opportunities for all.

But they do not want their children thinking they are evil because they are white (this is actually happening). And they do not want their children to feel guilty for having a nice home or good educational opportunities, as if all success of all white Americans was built on the shoulders of slaves.

In the words of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, The way were talking about race is that it either seems so big that somehow white people now have to feel guilty for everything that happened in the past.

Most of all, these parents do not want everything to be about race, to the point that math can be seen as racist. Or that famous European poets and historians are canceled because of their whiteness.

Remarkably, to make his case, Williams repeats the very fine people lie, writing, Recall, it was Trump who famously said there were very fine people on both sides of the violence sparked by Unite the Right, the 2017 rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va.

Surely Williams must know that this has been debunked time and time again. But why let a good lie die?

He also claims that Critical race theory  broadly, a focus on racial disparities as a fact of American life  is not explicitly taught in Virginias public schools or anywhere in American public schools. But Republicans nationwide have made it a boogeyman to excite racial divisions and get their base to the polls.

To be sure, there are different ways to define CRT. For some, it is healthy, positive, and objective. For others, it is unhealthy, negative, and biased. So, before we debate CRT, its important to ask, What, exactly, do you mean by the term?

And clearly, CRT in its full-blown, academic form, is not being taught to kids in Virginia (and elsewhere). But are classes taught through the lens of CRT? Without question.

As a Daily Wire headline announced on October 31, Terry McAuliffe Claims CRT Has Never Been In Virginia Schools. His Administration Pushed It, Documents Show. The documentation is clear and undeniable.

Yet Williams approvingly cites McAuliffe, who said, [Gubernatorial candidate Glenn] Youngkins closing message of book banning and silencing esteemed Black authors is a racist dog whistle designed to gin up support from the most extreme elements of his party  mainly his top endorser and surrogate, Donald Trump.

To the contrary, it is authors with extremist views that are under scrutiny, or, at the least, authors whose views are being exploited by educators with extremist agendas, while contrary views are rejected and banned. (As an aside, but for the record, Youngkin largely campaigned as himself and for himself, not as an extension of Trump, as other political commentators have noted.)

Unfortunately, Williams is guilty of reverse racism, one that projects all kinds of nefarious motives onto parents who really do care and who really want their kids to get a solid education rather than cultural brainwashing.

In that spirit, I recently tweeted, The solution to anti-black racism is not anti-white racism (or anti-Asian racism, etc.). Instead, it is cultivating mutual understanding, respect, and love, with a real desire to see others thrive and enjoy the best of what America has to offer.

Mr. Williams, I invite you to step higher with me so that, together, we could advance that mutual understanding, respect, and love based on truth rather than engage in an endless game of biased and racially charged sniping.

Surely America in 2021 deserves better.
Secular human rights group condemns Algeria's imprisonment of Christian convert

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Human rights group Amnesty International has condemned the conviction and sentencing of an Algerian Christian convert, drawing attention to the deteriorating religious freedom conditions in the north African country, especially for its small Christian minority.

Algerias law regulating non-Muslim worship, under which the convert, identified as Foudhil Bahloul, has been convicted, is discriminatory and he must be released, the group said in a statement.

Bahloul was arrested on April 17 after a raid on his house and charged with illegal donations and collecting donations or accepting gifts without a license from the authorized departments, according to International Christian Concern, which noted that the Christian convert also faces additional charges under a 2006 ordinance regulating non-Muslim worship, specifically targeting him as a Christian for distributing Bibles.

In July, a court in Ain Defla, a city west of the capital Algiers, sentenced Bahloul to six months imprisonment and a fine of $730 (100,000 Algerian dinars). The verdict mentioned that Foudhil Bahloul spread poisonous ideas to the unemployed youth, and that he destabilized their faith in Islam by distributing books, Amnesty said.

He shouldnt have been tried in the first place, said Amna Guellali, the groups deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

This discriminatory law is being used as a weapon to repress those who do not follow Islam in an assault against their fundamental freedoms, Guellali added. Instead of targeting non-Islamic believers, Algeria authorities must work on protecting the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief  which includes the freedom to manifest that belief.

The U.S. State Department estimates that no more than one in 200 Algerians is Christian. Over 99% of the population is Muslim, the vast majority is Sunni.

The country's Ministry of Religious Affairs hires and trains Muslim imams even though Algeria technically is not a religious state. And the government only engages in activities consistent with Islamic values.

While Muslims may convert to other faiths, Algerian law forbids trying to lead them away from Islam. Anyone who incites, constrains, or utilizes means of seduction intending to convert a Muslim to another religion; or by using to this end establishments of teaching, education, health, social, culture, training  or any financial means faces a maximum of $8,500 in fines and five years imprisonment, according to the relevant statute.

Last November, voters, in a low turnout, approved a new Constitution changing religious freedoms.

The former provision said: Freedom of conscience and freedom of opinion shall be inviolable. Freedom of worship shall be guaranteed in compliance with the law. The section now reads: The freedom of opinion is inviolable. The freedom to exercise worship is guaranteed if it is exercised in accordance with the law. The state ensures the protection of places of worship from any political or ideological influence.
US State Dept. condemns Burmese military over burning of 100 homes, churches in retaliatory attack

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The U.S. State Department released a statement Sunday condemning the "gross violations of human rights" after Burmese security forces fired heavy artillery into a town in the predominantly Christian Chin state, setting at least 100 homes and two churches on fire. The attack was in retaliation after a Chin militia shot and killed a Burmese soldier who was breaking into houses and looting properties, according to a report.

In its statement, the State Department said the Burmese military must be held accountable:

The United States is gravely concerned by reports of gross violations of human rights that Burmese security forces have perpetuated in Chin State, including reports that forces have set fire to and destroyed more than 100 residences as well as Christian churches. We condemn such brutal actions by the Burmese regime against people, their homes, and places of worship, which lays bare the regimes complete disregard for the lives and welfare of the people of Burma. These abhorrent attacks underscore the urgent need for the international community to hold the Burmese military accountable and take action to prevent gross violations and abuses of human rights, including by preventing the transfer of arms to the military. We are also deeply concerned over the Burmese security forces intensification of military operations in various parts of the country, including in Chin State and the Sagaing Region. We call on the regime to immediately cease the violence, release all those unjustly detained, and restore Burmas path to inclusive democracy. We will continue to promote accountability for the horrific violence that has been and continues to be perpetrated by the regime against the people of Burma. We will continue to support the people of Burma and all those working toward a restoration of Burmas democratic path and a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Nearly 10,000 residents of the town of Thantlang fled the area as the fire raged on, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reported.

The Southeast Asian countrys military, locally known as Tatmadaw, started attacking Friday morning after the militia, Chinland Defense Force, killed a Tatmadaw soldier while he was looting properties.

The presence of the Buddhist nationalist military makes civilians and militias in conflict-ridden states nervous. The military has been accused of vandalizing places of worship and civilians homes, raping girls and women, abducting civilians to be used for forced labor and shooting civilians to death.

ICC quoted the India-based Chin Human Rights Organization as saying that several religious buildings, including Church on the Rock, Presbyterian Church, and a building attached to the Thantlang Baptist Church, the largest congregation in town, have also caught fire.

The first rockets to be fired into the town landed at the entrances to the Thantlang Baptist Church, ICC said.

Earlier this month, the military, which staged a coup on Feb. 1, attacked Rialti village near the Chin states capital of Hakha, Radio Free Asia reported at the time.

We see this as a war crime because wherever they go, they focus on wherever there are large numbers of people  its a deliberate violation of religious freedom, Salai Za Op Lin, CHROs deputy executive director, said at the time.

Op Lin noted that other Christian communities in Chin state had also been targeted since the military coup in February. Now that the military has started a real operation in Chin state, we can expect a lot of such abuses and acts, and we urge the international community to keep a close eye on this.

Last month, a beloved youth pastor, Cung Biak Hum of Thantlang Centennial Baptist Church, was shot dead as he tried to help one of his congregants save their burning home after it was set ablaze by the military during an attack on civilians in Chin state.

Information on his Facebook page showed that he was married with two sons and was pursuing a master's of divinity degree at MIT Yangon.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, highlighted the pastors murder in a tweet at the time, calling on the international community to pay closer attention to the living hell civilians have been experiencing there since a Feb. 1 coup brought back full military rule following years of quasi-democracy.

Myanmars ethnic minorities, including Christians, live in the various conflict zones across the countrys borders with Thailand, China and India. Hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of them Christians, have been displaced due to the escalation of conflicts in the zones since the coup.

Militias in those areas have been morally supporting pro-democracy protesters since the coup, which has led to the use of heavy weapons by the Burmese army. Thousands of civilians in the conflict zones have sought shelter in churches when their villages are under attack.

Christians make up just over 7% of the majority-Buddhist nation. Formerly known as Burma, the country is home to the worlds longest Civil War, which began in 1948. Myanmar is ranked No. 18 on Open Doors USAs 2021 World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. The persecution level in Myanmar is very high due to Buddhist nationalism. Burma is recognized by the U.S. State Department as a "country of particular concern" for egregious violations of religious liberty.

The military is notorious for its relations with the ultranationalist ultra-Buddhist group the Ma Ba Tha, ICCs Southeast Asia Regional Manager, Gina Goh, said in a statement earlier this year. The military together with Ma Ba Tha has targeted the Muslims in the country, but they also go after Christians. Once they get a hold of the power, they might resort to things they were doing before they passed the power to the civilian government. They kill. They rape minority Christians.
Youve likely heard the saying that Companies dont sell products, they sell stories, which is at least partially true. To seduce todays consumers, its critical to show them more than flashy merchandise, as their Instagram feeds are already awash in glossy photos of the latest luxe loungewear, NFL merch, dating advice a myriad of pitches. To differentiate a company, you need to tell a story, to engage their values, and to create a sense of community and connection. This is why Jack Daniels claims that it has been turning nights into stories since 1866, and why Ancestry.com promises that behind every question is a story. Even the U.S. Forest Service is in on the tactic, encouraging Americans to make the forest part of your familys story.

But of course, storytelling can also run the risk of becoming another corporate cliche, an empty platform that entrepreneurs trot out to make their companies simply seem relevant. Savvy consumers and investors will then likely tune out, their eyes glazing over when they hear yet another warm and fuzzy invocation of corporate values in a shopworn yarn. Far too many companies tout stories without any substance or commitment, trafficking in a limited, and limiting, understanding of this actually nuanced communication technique. Entrepreneurs need powerful language and narrative to create meaningful connections, but to do so, its critical to think more intentionally about what storytelling is and how to do it in a way that will create lasting value.

1. Dont tell the same old story

For all the emphasis business leaders place on innovation and disruption, we sure love cliches. Scrolling through LinkedIn is like playing buzzword Mad Libs. Another floundering founder turned serial entrepreneur, followed by another ex-private equity, ex-Facebook, ex-Google accelerator grad bootstrapping a way to fame and glory? So, first and foremost, take off the turtleneck and tell your story, not Steve Jobs. If your business has a unique history or an uncommon path to success, celebrate that. Embrace what distinguishes you, not what reduces you to a predictable caricature.

Related: The Reason Good Businesses Tell Boring Stories

2. Show, dont tell

This was likely your creative writing teachers favorite lesson, and for good reason. However, telling a story isnt like writing an English paper; you dont need to have a thesis statement in the first paragraph, and you dont want to hit your audience over the head with multisyllabic words that are too witty by half. Good storytellers show their audience instead of telling them. Use anecdotes instead of elaborate justifications, examples instead of conclusions. Follow this rule, and your copy will come alive.

3. Be real

Storytelling is about connection. Recent good examples include how Dollar Shave Club capitalized on a comic monologue to groom a dull topic (puns intended), razors, into an edgy backstory. Or consider how Milton, Delaware-based Dogfish Head Brewery, among the founders of the micro-brewing revolution, links its beers to things like the Grateful Dead. These are more than focus-grouped marketing decisions; they represent a companys human realness in a way that creates connection.

4.  But not too real

You want to be honest and human with customers and investors, but you dont want to overshare. Its a fine line, and finding it takes time and practice. The more you experiment with a story, the more details will emerge that lend it life and humanity, and the more youll identify the duds: anecdotes that fall flat or sound whiny. To help, we designed the app Biograph to tell and gather stories in real time, since memory fades and never does justice to the vibrant reality of original experience.

5. Its not about you  its about your audience

Storytelling takes many forms, but good practitioners of the art have at least one thing in common they respond to their audience, shifting style, tone and narrative to meet  or challenge  its expectations and reactions. Because, the vibe of a room can shape or stymie an approach, and so can the zeitgeist. Witness the missteps of a company like Tushy, a start-up selling portable bidets. After the killing of George Floyd in 2020, it tweeted support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, smearing posts with toilet humor. We stand in solidarity with the families and loved ones of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Keep fighting. We got your back(side), read one. Talk about not reading the room. So, be prepared to shift approach for different audiences and settings. Dont get locked into one story or one way of telling it. Cultivate flexibility, and by the way, your moms golden rule still applies: if you dont have anything nice to say, dont say anything at all.

6. Connect with your values

So far, this creative process overall sounds great, right? Youre creating a connection, a community, with customers and investors. Every entrepreneur wants that, but unless the stories you tell reflect your core values, chances are the resulting narratives and tales will unravel. Good stories reflect, as well as create, our values; theyre how we know ourselves and others, and how we help others know us. Take the case of the jewelry brand Dannijo, which advertises its commitment to doing good in part by using the phrase that its, label is rooted in philanthropy. Sounds like another cliche, but listen to how the writer(s) weaves products and values into a meaningful story: [Our] debut in 2007 was a fundraising project for the first health clinic in Lwala, Kenya. Danielles time in Kenya subsequently influenced the brands iconic collection of Maasai-inspired bib necklaces, usage of bright colors and its bold aesthetic. Briskly worded, and compelling.

Its not enough to say how important your commitment to philanthropy is. Unless you can connect it to your experience, values and story, itll ring false. So, before you start telling a tired corporate chronicle, spend time reflecting on your values as an entrepreneur and an enterprise. Assemble stakeholders and focus groups. Understand where youre coming from and where youre going. The best stories will grow from that.

Related: 3 Steps to Establish Authentic Core Values

7.  And your customers values

What happens when a story really lands  when it lights a fire in an investor or inspires lifelong loyalty in a customer? How does that happen? Its certainly part magic, beyond the boundaries of rational explanation, but part also springs from an elemental connection at the level of values. Take, for example, John Lewis Insurances YouTube 2015 commercial, in which music, humor and gentle risk are synergized as the camera follows a little girl dancing around the house, nearly colliding with vases and potted plants. Not exactly an inspiring business subject, but the company hones in on values that connect us to truly precious things. It also describes the freedom felt when people have the right insurance  transforming a policy from a depressing chore into something inspiring. You can create the same connection if you focus on your customers values and weave a tale from there.

8. Under promise and overdeliver

PepsiCos Naked Juice recently got caught slinging fiction: the company claimed this product line was all natural and non-GMO. Turns out, not so much, and the resulting scandal de-fizzed its bottom line. It also soured relationships with customers  people who trusted PepsiCo to be open and honest. Its always better to be honest from the first sip, because nobody likes a bait and switch, a broken vow or bubbly hopes flattened against reality. Its part corporate strategy (you must first commit to honesty and transparency), but its also a narrative matter. Try turning down the volume. Avoid purple prose. Simple storytelling hits home and inspires trust conveys that youre not hiding anything in the thickets of language.

Related: Why Entrepreneurs Are Well-Equipped to Write Powerful Books

So, dont promise that your scented candles will put consumers in touch with the eternal, or that your energy drink will turn teenagers into honey-tongued raconteurs. Customers and investors will know youre telling a tall tale, and a stale one. Be honest about who you are and what your product or service does. Save your time and experience for when you can tell real, meaningful stories and truly deliver on their promise.

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Midland Health CEO Russell Meyers said the reduction in COVID in the community has him feeling cautiously optimistic that the latest wave is over.

The COVID numbers include:

The first days of single-digit COVID reporting totals in more than two months, according to the Midland Health Department;

Nine-straight weeks of declining weekly numbers, going back to Aug. 22-28;

The lowest weekly positivity rate last week at Midland Health testing centers (12.0 percent) going back to mid-July;

The lowest number of weekly positive COVID cases at Midland Health testing centers (81) going back to late July.

Other news includes that 65.3 percent of 248 patient rooms at Midland Memorial Hospital were occupied Tuesday. That is down dramatically since the height of the most recent spike. Also, staff impact at Midland Memorial is down with three staff members out and nine self-monitoring because of exposure. Meyers also said Tuesday during a press conference that the number of state resources are down to 29 workers and that they will be gone by the end of the month.

We continue to be quite dependent on very high-cost, traveling contract nurses and respiratory therapists, Meyers said. We expect that probably will be the case through the winter as our staff has been somewhat depleted.

Meyers added Tuesday that the number of COVID inpatients is 30 (21 active and nine convalescing). He also reminded those watching the press conference that the hospital still is dealing with a high number of COVID-related deaths  31 in October and two in November. There have been 99 COVID-related patient deaths at Midland Memorial Hospital since the beginning of August.

We still have people (at the hospital with COVID), Meyers said, so any optimism we have is cautious. But it does appear that this surge is running its course. (Midland Health Chief Medical Officer) Dr. (Larry) Wilson and I were talking yesterday, and he remarked that it's hard to believe at this point -- as contagious as the delta variant was -- that there's anybody in the community who hasn't had some level of exposure, either through vaccination or through infection. And, so, the vast majority of our community has some level antibody protection. So, it's not too surprising that this variant would run its course, and the community would begin to recover.

Meyers also said that Midland Health officials are concerned about the upcoming winter and the the typical respiratory viruses like flu and RSV.

Just because we have been mostly talking about COVID for two years, that doesn't mean the flu isn't real, Meyers said. Influenza kills people every year, not in the kind of numbers that COVID has seen, but it attacks the same populations, the vulnerable, the chronically ill.

So, if you haven't gotten your flu shot, you've got a great opportunity to do that right now and keep yourself well through the flu season. And hopefully, continue our return to normalcy here in Midland and around the country.
NEW YORK (AP)  Greg Kinnear was just a month away from making his Broadway debut in the play To Kill a Mockingbird when the pandemic shut theater down in March 2020. He's not giving up: Early next year, he'll try again.

The two-time Emmy Award-winner and Oscar nominee is slated to take over the role of Atticus Finch from Jeff Daniels beginning Jan. 5, 2022.

There is nothing in the Greg Kinnear IMDb credits that you will find that will suggest that I am in any way an obvious choice for for taking on this role, he tells The Associated Press. This will all be a new endeavor for me. I welcome it and Im thrilled about it.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and has been widely praised as a sensitive portrait of racial tension in 1930s Alabama. At its core is Atticus Finch, a lawyer called upon to defend a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.

Lees iconic book has been adapted for the stage by Aaron Sorkin, who won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his screenplay for The Social Network. The play is directed by Bartlett Sher.

Sorkin's script  which cuts the undergrowth of minor characters and enhances others, particularly the maid Calpurnia and Tom Robinson, the man falsely accused of rape  was the thing that really grabbed Kinnear.

It just moved me so emotionally. Its such a beautiful, slight modernization of the material to make it relevant in a way that that is so resounding right now," he said.

I feel like he humanizes Atticus in a way that needed to happen. And, at the same time, all the texture and the power of the book I dont feel is lost in any way.

Kinnear has visited New York to discuss the role with the creative team and while he hasn't yet seen the show, he has walked onto the empty 1,435-seat Shubert Theatre stage. I did feel a little catching my breath, he says.

He is scheduled to start rehearsals in December and hasn't yet decided whether or not he'll see Daniels in the role during his four weeks of preparation.

Im sure Ill be amazed if I do go and see it. But theres part of me that also feels like maybe keeping some distance from it frees up the creativity a little bit by not looking back, he says.

Kinnear earned an Oscar nod for As Good As It Gets and his additional credits include Youve Got Mail, Little Miss Sunshine, Sabrina and Baby Mama. He also has two Daytime Emmy Awards, both for Talk Soup.

He admits his theater experience is limited but he did perform in a 2012 production at the New York Stage and Films Powerhouse Theater. He says he trusts the To Kill a Mockingbird cast and crew. I'm just happy to get to join the ride, he said.

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Mark Kennedy is on Twitter as KennedyTwits
Tom Hanks doesnt need a human or even a sentient acting partner to make a film or a scene sing. Think Wilson the volleyball, Hooch and even that laptop from Youve Got Mail. So its not at all surprising if hes the first guy on the list for your post-apocalyptic film about a man, a robot and a dog.

Even less surprising is that Hanks delivers in  Finch, playing a robotics engineer who is dying from radiation exposure and desperately trying to make sure his dog will be taken care of when hes gone. Its the kind of premise thats been designed to pull at your heartstrings. Dying Tom Hanks and a cute pup? It's impossible to resist. And yet somehow it doesnt work as the epic it would like to be.

The story started out as a 20-page short about a man who builds a robot to replace him as a dogs caretaker from a film student named Craig Luck. He wanted it to be a calling card and despite some initial rejections, his last name proved apt since his idea charmed Ivor Powell, the associate producer on Blade Runner and Alien, who co-wrote the feature, Robert Zemeckis, who produced, Hanks, Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik and a major Hollywood studio (although Universal ended up selling the film to Apple TV+ during the pandemic).

Here, Earth has been rendered a dusty wasteland after a solar event destroyed the ozone layer now direct sunlight is the most dangerous thing in the world. It cooks any living thing within moments of being exposed.

Unlike the stranded, solitary men of Cast Away and The Martian, Finch has no family or home to get back to. Hes dying and the world is dying around him and he just wants to do everything he can to make sure the dog can live without him. The solution is rushed and imperfect  a robot who hes going to have to train on the go and is only at 72% completionbut theyre running out of time and have to make a treacherous journey to San Francisco in an RV from the '80s.

This robot is impressively strong and book smart but is more teenager than obedient servant. And his accent is a cross between Russian and the Twin Peaks Black Lodge backwards speak. This is the choice made by actor Caleb Landry Jones (a nod to his appearance in the Twin Peaks revival?), who also did motion capture work to play the robot. And, well, Im not sure if its the voice or how the character was written, but this robot is hard to root for. Sometimes you find yourself wishing that hed never been introduced at all, which is not exactly the best thing when he's one of only three characters.

Finchs scope and scale also were clearly designed for the big screen and an attentive audience, which might prove difficult on a living room television (the same felt true of Apple TV+'s other Tom Hanks epic, Greyhound, which was still a superior movie.) Although many of the visuals are quite familiar for anyone who has seen a post-apocalyptic movie in the past 20 years, they are striking and detailed nonetheless, and no doubt underserved by even the best small screen. The music cues, meanwhile, could not be more obvious (ahem, Road to Nowhere).

And it's no one's fault that a film with cautionary messages about delaying travel and living life while you can may be a little hard to swallow for an audience approaching year two of life in a pandemic.

But you're probably not coming to Finch for lessons, you're coming to Finch for Hanks. The good news is that he's not just the reason to show up, he's the reason to stay around as well.

Finch, an Apple TV+ release available Friday, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for brief violent images. Running time: 115 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

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MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)  Robot food delivery is no longer the stuff of science fiction. But you may not see it in your neighborhood anytime soon.

Hundreds of little robots __ knee-high and able to hold around four large pizzas __ are now navigating college campuses and even some city sidewalks in the U.S., the U.K. and elsewhere. While robots were being tested in limited numbers before the coronavirus hit, the companies building them say pandemic-related labor shortages and a growing preference for contactless delivery have accelerated their deployment.

We saw demand for robot usage just go through the ceiling, said Alastair Westgarth, the CEO of Starship Technologies, which recently completed its 2 millionth delivery. I think demand was always there, but it was brought forward by the pandemic effect."

Starship has more than 1,000 robots in its fleet, up from just 250 in 2019. Hundreds more will be deployed soon. They're delivering food on 20 U.S. campuses; 25 more will be added soon. They're also operating on sidewalks in Milton Keynes, England; Modesto, California; and the companys hometown of Tallin, Estonia.

Robot designs vary; some have four wheels and some have six, for example. But generally, they use cameras, sensors, GPS and sometimes laser scanners to navigate sidewalks and even cross streets autonomously. They move around 5 mph.

Remote operators keep tabs on multiple robots at a time but they say they rarely need to hit the brakes or steer around an obstacle. When a robot arrives at its destination, customers type a code into their phones to open the lid and retrieve their food.

The robots have drawbacks that limit their usefulness for now. Theyre electric, so they must recharge regularly. They're slow, and they generally stay within a small, pre-mapped radius.

Theyre also inflexible. A customer cant tell a robot to leave the food outside the door, for example. And some big cities with crowded sidewalks, like New York, Beijing and San Francisco, arent welcoming them.

But Bill Ray, an analyst with the consulting firm Gartner, says the robots make a lot of sense on corporate or college campuses, or in newer communities with wide sidewalks.

In the places where you can deploy it, robot delivery will grow very quickly, Ray said.

Ray said there have been few reports of problems with the robots, other than an occasional gaggle of kids who surround one and try to confuse it. Starship briefly halted service at the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 after a wheelchair user said a robot blocked her access to a ramp. But the university said deliveries resumed once Starship addressed the issue.

Patrick Sheck, a junior at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, gets deliveries from a Starship robot three or four times a week as hes leaving class.

The robot pulls up just in time for me to get some lunch, Sheck said. Bowling Green and Starship charge $1.99 plus a service fee for each robot delivery.

Rival Kiwibot, with headquarters in Los Angeles and Medellin, Columbia, says it now has 400 robots making deliveries on college campuses and in downtown Miami.

Delivery companies are also jumping into the market. Grubhub recently partnered with Russian robot maker Yandex to deploy 50 robots on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Grubhub plans to add more campuses soon, although the company stresses that the service wont go beyond colleges for now.

U.S. delivery orders jumped 66% in the year ending in June, according to NPD, a data and consulting firm. And delivery demand could remain elevated even after the pandemic eases because customers have gotten used to the convenience.

Ji Hye Kim, chef and managing partner of the Ann Arbor, Michigan, restaurant Miss Kim, relied heavily on robot delivery when her dining room was closed last year. Kim had partnered with a local robot company, Refraction AI, shortly before the pandemic began.

Kim prefers robots to third-party delivery companies like DoorDash, which charge significantly more and sometimes cancel orders if they didnt have enough drivers. Delivery companies also bundle multiple orders per trip, she said, so food sometimes arrives cold. Robots take just one order at a time.

Kim said the robots also excite customers, who often post videos of their interactions.

Its very cute and novel, and it didnt have to come face to face with people. It was a comfort, Kim said. Delivery demand has dropped off since her dining room reopened, but robots still deliver around 10 orders per day.

While Kim managed to hang on to her staff throughout the pandemic, other restaurants are struggling to find workers. In a recent survey, 75% of U.S. restaurant owners told the National Restaurant Association that recruiting and retaining employees is their biggest challenge.

That has many restaurants looking to fill the void with robot delivery.

There is no store in the country right now with enough delivery drivers, said Dennis Maloney, senior vice president and chief digital officer at Dominos Pizza.

Dominos is partnering with Nuro, a California startup whose 6-foot-tall self-driving pods go at a maximum speed of 25 mph on streets, not sidewalks. Nuro is testing grocery and food delivery in Houston, Phoenix and Mountain View, California.

Maloney said it's not a question of if, but of when, robots will start doing more deliveries. He thinks companies like Domino's will eventually use a mix of robots and drivers depending on location. Sidewalk robots could work on a military base, for example, while Nuro is ideal for suburbs. Highway driving would be left to human workers.

Maloney said Nuro delivery is more expensive than using human drivers for now, but as the technology scales up and gets more refined, the costs will go down.

For cheaper sidewalk robots __ which cost an estimated $5,000 or less __ it's even easier to undercut human delivery costs. The average Grubhub driver in Ohio makes $47,650 per year, according to the job site Indeed.com.

But robots dont always cost delivery jobs. In some cases, they help create them. Before Starships robots arrived, Bowling Green didnt offer delivery from campus dining spots. Since then, it has hired more than 30 people to serve as runners between kitchens and robots, Bowling Green dining spokesman Jon Zachrich said.

Brendan Witcher, a technology analyst with the consulting firm Forrester, says its easy to get excited about the Jetsons-like possibility of robot delivery. But ultimately, robots will have to prove they create an advantage in some way.

Its possible that we see this emerge into something else, he said. But its the right time and place for companies considering robots to test them and learn from them and do their own evaluation.

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AP Video Journalist Mike Householder contributed from Bowling Green, Ohio.
William Neil Gallagher, a Texas radio host known as the Money Doctor who promoted his business on Christian radio, was sentenced to three life terms for a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 190 listeners of at least $23 million.

Gallagher, 80, targeted older investors, promoting his company, Gallagher Financial Group, in churches and on the radio, according to prosecutors. The company had offices in Dallas and in Hurst, a city about 25 miles west of Dallas in Tarrant County.

Gallagher, who went by the nickname Doc, pleaded guilty on Aug. 31 to several charges connected to what prosecutors described as a Ponzi scheme that lasted nearly 10 years and bilked older people of their retirement savings. He was sentenced to three life sentences on Monday and an additional 30 years for charges of forgery against the elderly and exploitation of the elderly.

Doc Gallagher is one of the worst offenders I have seen, Lori Varnell, chief of the elder financial fraud unit at the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys Office, said in a statement. He ruthlessly stole from his clients who trusted him for almost a decade.

In March 2020, a Dallas County judge sentenced Gallagher to 25 years in state prison and ordered him to pay more than $10 million in restitution to the victims of his scheme. He pleaded guilty to the charges in that case.

A lawyer for Gallagher did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Anna Tinsley Williams, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys Office, said that 192 victims had claimed they lost $38 million when they gave their money to the Gallagher Financial Group.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Gallagher in March 2019 with running a Ponzi scheme, effectively shutting down the operation.

A federal judge appointed Cort Thomas, a lawyer at Brown Fox in Dallas, to recover the losses, which Thomas estimated at more than $23 million, according to federal court records.

So far, Thomas has distributed about $3.3 million to the victims, according to the records. He has also sued Salem Media, which owns the radio stations on which Gallagher hosted his show.

Salem Media, which is based in Irving, Texas, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Gallagher promoted himself as an experienced investor with a Ph.D. in philosophy from Brown University, offering clients a path to financial stability and a better life through personal responsibility and less government, with the help of God.

His lifes passion is to help people retire safe, early and happy, according to a video detailing his biography.

He wrote four books, including Burning: Passionate Prayers for Men on Fire and Jesus Christ, Money Master.

Gallagher promised a 5% to 8% return on his clients investments, according to court records. A vast majority of his clients were people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, and middle-class people who were not looking for enormous returns but a stable retirement fund, according to court records.

Instead, Gallagher deposited his investors money into a single account that he controlled and then used to make payments to earlier investors, a classic Ponzi scheme, according to the lawsuit filed by Thomas against Salem Media.

According to the SEC, Gallagher exhausted virtually all investor funds and used significant portions for personal and company expenses and to make Ponzi payments to investors.

To conceal the scheme, he drew up false account statements that showed fake balances, the SEC said.

In court on Monday, more than a dozen victims of the scheme described being forced to sell their homes, borrow money from their children or take part-time jobs to supplement their Social Security payments.

Im afraid my money is going to run out, Judy Dewitt, one of the victims, said in court, according to a statement released by Tarrant County prosecutors. Its a very scary thing.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
SEATTLE (AP)  Sixteen people were indicted after a series of arrests disrupted a multi-state methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution ring, according to federal officials.

The drugs were coming from California and being sold in at least six Washington state counties, said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.
SHYAMNAGAR, Bangladesh (AP)  With each tide, Abdus Satter watches the sea erode a little more of his life.

His village of Bonnotola in southwestern Bangladesh, with its muddy roads and tin-roofed houses, was once home to over 2,000 people. Most were farmers like the 58-year-old Satter. Then the rising seas poisoned the soil with salt water. Two cyclones in the last two years destroyed the mud embankments that shielded the village from tidal waves.

Now, only 480 people remain, with the rest rendered homeless by the sea.

The effects of global warming  particularly increased cyclones, and coastal and tidal flooding that bring salt water further inland  are devastating Bangladesh and destroying the livelihoods of millions, said Mohammad Shamsuddoha, chief executive of the nonprofit Center for Participatory Research Development.

Its a grave concern for a country like Bangladesh, he said, adding that projections show some 30 million people may be displaced from the countrys coastal regions.

With world leaders gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, for a U.N. climate conference this week, countries like Bangladesh are pressing for more financial support to cope with global warming.

A decade-old deal for rich countries to give poor nations $100 billion each year to switch to clean energy and adapt to climate change has not been fulfilled. Even the money that is being provided  about $80 billion in 2019  is spread too thin to make much of a difference on the ground.

In Gabura, another village in the Bengal River delta, Nazma Khatun, 43, has been struggling to feed her two daughters. Half of her meager daily income  less than $3 from sewing and selling cloth  goes toward medicine for skin diseases she says everyone in the village suffers from due to rising sea levels, which have contaminated land and water.

We have water everywhere, but we dont have a drop any more to drink from ponds or wells, she said.

This land was once fertile. Khatun said mango and jackfruit used to flourish, and everyone grew vegetables in their backyard, relying on ponds, rivers and wells for drinking water.

Now its impossible. See the pond here, fresh water is gone, she said.

In 1973, 833,000 hectares (3,216 square miles) of land was affected by the encroaching sea water, accelerated by more frequent cyclones and higher tides that have contaminated water supplies. Thats bigger than the U.S. state of Delaware.

This grew to 1.02 million hectares (3,938 square miles) in 2000, and 1.056 million hectares (4,077 square miles) in 2009, according to Bangladeshs Soil Resources Development Institute. Salinity in soil has increased by 26% over the past 35 years.

At Bonbibi Tola village, women gather daily at a hand-pump well to collect water for cooking and drinking. The women walk up to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) hauling water daily.

But this wont last long. Wells in the region only have fresh water in the months after monsoon rains. In the summer  when the flow from Himalayan rivers decreases - fresh water becomes scarce, said one of the women, Maheswari Halder.

This is the fate we all surrender to, she said.

The three villages lie in Bangladesh's southwestern Shyamnagar region, home to 400,000 people. Officials say the government lacks funding for additional desalination plants to convert salt water into fresh water.

The area needs maybe 500 desalination plants. But weve only 50 or so, said Alamgir Kabir, director of a local NGO, the Nawabenki Ganomukhi Foundation.

Despite seeing its gross domestic product rise from $6.2 billion in 1972 to $305 billion in 2019, Bangladesh cant pay the cost of global warming on its own. There are only six countries in the world more impacted by climate change from 2000 to 2019, according to the 2021 Climate Change Performance Index by nonprofit Germanwatch. In those years, Bangladesh lost 0.41% of its gross domestic product due to climate change, and a single cyclone in 2019 caused losses of $8.1 billion,

Nor should it, says Abul Kalam Azad, the countrys special envoy to the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a group of nations most at risk from the impacts predicted of a hotter future. Bangladesh, a country of about 160 million, has historically contributed a fraction of the worlds emissions, and yet the country is being devastated by climate change, he said.

Azad says aid in the form of high-cost loans would be of no use, but low-cost loans combined with grants would help.

Environmental campaigners say a sea change is needed in the international debate on climate aid to ensure a steady increase in funding to poor, vulnerable nations from a variety of public and private sources.

You also need to make sure that at least 50% of the funds go into adaptation (to climate change) because people are on the front line, said Jennifer Morgan, the head of Greenpeace International.

Speaking before fellow leaders Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh raised the thorny issue of major polluters paying compensation for the destruction caused by global warming.

The issue of loss and damage must be addressed, including global sharing of responsibility for climate migrants and those displaced by sea-level rise, salinity increase, river erosion, floods, droughts, she said.

The 2015 Paris accord already contains a provision for this. Article 8 states that parties to the pact, recognize the importance of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and slow onset events, and the role of sustainable development in reducing the risk of loss and damage.

Unfortunately, there hasnt been a single penny paid for loss and damage, Saleemul Huq, director of the Bangladesh-based International Centre for Climate Change and Development, said in a recent documentary.

Huq argues that a compensation fund for oil spills offers a template for how big polluters, particularly fossil fuel companies, could provide funding to nations whose islands have been washed away or farms turned to desert as a result of global warming.

Rich countries such as the United States are wary of any suggestion that they might be legally liable for their decades-long greenhouse gas emissions still lingering in the atmosphere.

But addressing such issues in Glasgow will be critical, said Huq. Otherwise, the developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable countries, will deem the (conference) a failure.

For Satter, it may already be too late.

Every morning, waves gush into his home and soon he, his wife and two sons will have to flee. The sea has snatched away their future and their past, he said, pointing to a muddy trench that was once a courtyard where his parents graves lay.

Its just a matter of time, he said.

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Ghosal reported from New Delhi. Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  Over five days abroad at two global summits, President Joe Biden showed a new willingness to openly confront China over climate change and its lack of leadership on the global stage.

Biden ended his time at the U.N. climate summit in Scotland on Tuesday by chastising Chinese President Xi Jinping for physically skipping the event and failing to make the level of commitments that roughly 100 other nations did to curb greenhouse gasses. Xi also avoided the earlier Group of 20 summit in Rome, allowing Biden to dominate the conversation as he met with his French, Italian, British and German counterparts.

"We showed up, and by showing up weve had a profound impact on the way I think the rest of the world is looking at the United States in its leadership role," Biden said at a Tuesday news conference wrapping up his trip abroad. Biden added that China had made a big mistake in bypassing the events because theyve lost an ability to influence people around the world.

But Biden's global progress and willingness to challenge China  a stance that also was critical to the rise of his predecessor Donald Trump  may be lost in the fog of domestic politics.

Biden jetted back to Washington to confront his deepest challenge yet as he struggles to pass $3 trillion in new government spending, including $555 billion to combat climate change. His poll numbers are flagging. The headwinds could worsen in Congress, where a wave of retirements bodes poorly for holding on to Democratic majorities in next years elections.

And another blow greeted his arrival: Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the race for Virginia governor, an outcome widely thought to cast another shadow on the 2022 elections and reflect poorly on Biden's own agenda as well as his efforts to campaign for McAuliffe.

The president stressed that he wants to compete against China, rather than have conflict. But he also showed a new strategy of using climate as a cudgel against Beijing.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters during the trip that China has an obligation to step up on climate and the U.S. will keep pressing Beijing. One tool might be economic penalties: Biden brokered a deal with the European Union to block dirty steel made possible by Chinese coal plants.

The president outlined his thinking by quoting his father at Tuesday's news conference.

My dad had an expression. He said the only conflict worse than one thats intended is the one that's unintended, the president said, adding that he wants to make sure in an upcoming virtual meeting with Xi that there are no misunderstandings.

Biden was well-received on the world stage, where he shared backslaps, handshakes and elbow-bumps with global leaders across two major international summits, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden referring to him as dear Joe. He scored victories on key priorities like a global minimum tax on corporations and boosted global commitments to combat climate change.

Biden insisted no world leaders had been pressing him on the fate of the budget and climate legislation back in Washington and he expressed confidence in its passage. But members of his own party are growing impatient at the delays in settling intraparty conflicts over the matter.

Since he launched his presidential campaign in 2015, Biden has cast the 21st century as a generational struggle between democracies and autocracies  principally the rising threat from China.

As much as the five-day European trip was meant to promote Bidens message that America is back, it also was meant to highlight why he believes the U.S. must reengage with the world after four years of isolation. The president worked to forge new alliances and coalitions meant to contain Beijing from all sides, and on a host of economic, security and environmental issues.

Asked why American should commit to cutting emissions when China and Russia have not done likewise to the same degree  a frequent complaint that his predecessor cited to justify withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate accord  Biden answered forcefully: Because we want to be able to breathe, and we want to be able to lead the world.

Biden issued a rare public mea culpa during the climate summit for America's step away from leadership on climate during the Trump administration.

Those of us who are responsible for much of the deforestation and all of the problems we have so far, Biden said, have overwhelming obligations to the poorer nations that account for few of the emissions yet are paying a price as the planet has grown hotter.

As for Trumps action, he said: I shouldnt apologize, but I do apologize for the fact the United States, the last administration, pulled out of the Paris accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit.

Biden also eased a trade war with Europe that threatened to raise prices on goods in the U.S. and harm American exports ranging from motorcycles to whiskey. The new agreement would still block Chinese steel production that is coal dependent and allow his administration to devote its focus to renewed trade talks with China, as Biden maintains Trumps pressures in a simmering economic conflict.

But the fundamental challenge between China and the U.S. on climate might be an incompatible set of world views. Biden sees the efforts to limit global warming as an opportunity to create jobs and boost economic growth as the U.S. becomes more innovative. He pronounced the next decade crucial for getting climate change under control.

China, for its part, still sees coal and oil as necessary to keep fueling an economy that is now the second-largest in the world. The country's lead negotiator at the U.N. summit said China must first become wealthier before it can transition faster to renewable energy.

So regarding the fact that China is the current largest emitter, its because China is at a special development stage, said Xie Zhenhua. China, Xie added, can accelerate its emission cuts later.

The U.S., too, still has plenty of work to do. It gets most of its energy from natural gas, and from a significant amount of coal, and Biden acknowledged during the trip that the U.S. is pushing the Gulf to pump more oil to ease gasoline prices.

China itself has committed to have a carbon neutral economy by 2060, 10 years after the U.S. The question for Biden might be how much of a difference those 10 years could make for the worlds two leading powers.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  COVID-19 infections are going down in Wisconsin, although medical professionals say it has been a slow fall.

The state experienced a spike in cases in September brought on by the delta variant. But the return to levels seen before the surge has been painfully slow, according to Dr. John Raymond, president and CEO of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Safety surrounding electric vehicles ownership may have taken a critical step away from the threat of battery fires this week, with the confirmation of a pilot plant for a breakthrough low-risk battery.

Clean technology firm Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG), whose graphene aluminum-ion chemistry ranks as one of the most energy-dense and lowest fire risk batteries, signed an agreement this week with industrial giant Robert Bosch to create a battery factory in Australia. Graphene aluminum-ion batteries also offer faster charging times compared with those made of lithium-ion.

The fully recyclable batteries will be produced in their initial coin-cell form by the end of the year. Coin cells are great for laptop computers, watches, remote controls and other kinds of electronic gadgetry. GMG currently is stress-testing its coin cells by charging prototypes in microseconds to try to find the end of the cells useful lifespan.

GMGs pouch cells, slated for production in 2024, will carry the same chemistry. Pouch cells are more suitable for EVs, tablets, laptops and smartphones. Most electric cars (Tesla, with its cylindrical cells, remains the exception) use pouch or prismatic cells.

Graphene aluminum-ion chemistry promises ultra-fast charging that could eradicate range anxiety not by stretching out the distances between recharges, but by charging up to 60 times quicker than the best current lithium-ion cells, as well as hugely boosting the levels of energy recuperated through braking.

The cells also hold three times the energy of the best aluminum-based rival cells, too, and with no upper Amp limit, they are not prone to the thermal runaway fires that have made headlines from lithium-ion cells recently.

Teslas Model S Plaid has been in the National Transportation Safety Boards spotlight over the thermal runaway fires, but lithium-ion fires are not just a Tesla problem.

General Motors this summer recalled its Chevrolet Bolt EV due to fire risk from its LG-sourced lithium-ion pouch cells, marking the second major LG Energy Solution battery fire-risk recall. LG cells were also behind the $854 million recall of Hyundais in South Korea this February.

United and Delta airlines have both banned bulk lithium-ion battery shipments on passenger planes due to fire risk, and while the bad old days of the Samsung 7 have gone, most airlines still carry warnings about overheating lithium-ion batteries on smartphones, tablets and laptops.

Behind the Lithium Fire Risk

Thermal runaway fires from lithium batteries are exothermic, meaning it generates its own heat and releases it outside its confines, making them very difficult to put out.

The same cells also have had problems in energy storage facilities.

In August, a Tesla 300mW mega packa cluster of lithium-ion cells to support the energy gridcaught fire in the Australian state of Victoria before it had even gone online. It burned for three days because nobody knew how to put it out. The cells used in the mega pack are also used in Teslas cars.

A fire in a grid-supporting lithium-ion battery mega pack in Arizona threw firefighters more than 65 feet from its container in 2019. Another one in Beijing in April this year needed 235 firefighters to extinguish; two of them were killed.

Lithium-ion battery fires are becoming more frequent eventsa huge concern as the EV industry grows and puts drivers directly on top of these battery packs in their cars.

Audi, Porsche, Hyundai and GM have already recalled cars for lithium fire issues in their EVs. Tesla seems averse to recalls, only ordering them when forced to by authorities, like in China earlier this year.

Why is a Graphene Aluminum-Ion Battery Different?

GMGs graphene aluminum ion cells differ from other aluminum-ion chemistries by using proprietary plasma-generated graphene. Graphene is simply a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms in a hexagonal lattice.

Independent testing by Stanford University shows the GMG chemistry has three times the energy density of the next-best cell. It also uses nanotechnology to insert aluminum atoms inside minuscule perforations in graphene planes.

The battery cells dont need rare earth materials, and their packs will be lighter than lithium-ion batteries because they wont demand the same bulky cooling systems, which can make up around 176 pounds of a 100kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

The energy transition has already happened and it wont stop at lithium. We just have to catch up with it, GMG CEO Craig Nicol said. Some lithium-ion cells cant do more than 1.5 to 2 amps or you can blow up the battery, but our technology has no theoretical amp limit.

Lithium-ion energy densities now top out at around 0.7kWh per liter, and GMG claims its first pouch pack will cross the 1kWh-per-liter threshold.

We are sitting at 3,000 charge-discharge cycles at the highest-current charging rate right now, Nicol said. The [charging] rate is something like 300 times higher than you would normally charge a phone today, and its still doing more than 1,000 charges at that rate.

We havent found the end yet, he said.

The other side of the coin is recyclability. Our products are basically near 100% recyclable, Nicol said. Once youre done with it, you pull it apart, refurbish the aluminum foil, recycle the graphene and send it back out again.

Thats how easy it is. Thats all this battery is, he said.

This article, EV Battery Fires: A Low-Risk Alternative, originally appeared on Forbes Advisor.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  A former Democratic leader in the Illinois House of Representatives pleaded guilty Wednesday in a bribery scheme that cost him his political career and could send him to prison for 20 years.

Luis Arroyo entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Chicago to one count of depriving the public of his honest services through a scam that involved popular but technically illegal sweepstakes games and entwined a state senator and the son-in-law of a once-powerful Cook County politician.

The so-called blind plea, offered without knowing of the sentence he will receive, could land the 67-year-old Chicago Democrat in prison for 20 years and cost him a $250,000 fine. Sentencing was set for Feb. 18.

Arroyo was charged with bribery in October 2019 after federal prosecutors announced he had paid a $2,500 bribe to an unnamed state senator who was wearing a recording device. He resigned the next month from the House seat he had held for nearly 13 years while rising to a leadership position.

A follow-up indictment filed last year added wire and mail fraud charges against Arroyo and lodged similar charges against James T. Weiss, the son-in-law of former Cook County Democratic leader Joseph Berrios.

Weiss allegedly began paying Arroyo bribes in November 2018 in exchange for the lawmakers' support of legislation favorable to sweepstakes machines, a specialty of Weiss' company. Not technically gambling instruments, they proliferate even though state regulators have declared them illegal.

Needing an ally in the Senate, Arroyo approached a then-veteran member of that chamber who was cooperating with the FBI for leniency in a false tax return investigation. The senator recorded a meeting with Arroyo in which the two agreed to $2,500-per-month in kickbacks for the senator's complicity.

Citing anonymous sources, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune identified the senator as Democrat Terry Link of Vernon Hills, who repeatedly denied the label. But Link pleaded guilty in September 2020 to filing a false tax return before resigning his post. The FBI announced Link had been cooperating with the government criminal investigation and prosecutors indicated they would seek probation if his help continued in good faith.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The FBI released hundreds of pages of newly declassified documents Wednesday about its long effort to explore connections between the Saudi government and the Sept. 11 attacks, revealing the scope of a strenuous but ultimately fruitless investigation whose outcome many question to this day.

Agents for years investigated support given to several of the hijackers upon their arrival in the U.S., focusing in particular on whether three Saudi nationals  including a Saudi Embassy official in Washington  had advance knowledge of the attacks.

Ultimately, investigators found insufficient evidence to charge any of the three with illegally supporting the hijackers, according to an FBI memo from May that closed out the probe and was among the more than 700 pages released Wednesday. The FBI noted in the memo that al-Qaida compartmentalized the roles within its major attacks and did not make the attack plans known in advance to others for fear of word getting out.

Specifically, in relation to the 9/11 attacks, the hijackers knew there was a martyrdom operation, but did not know about the nature of the operation until shortly before the attack for operational security reasons, the FBI memo states.

The documents were the latest materials to be released under an executive order from President Joe Biden aimed at making public long-classified investigative reports related to the attacks. A separate investigative document was released on the 20th anniversary of the attacks in September. The records have long been sought by victims' relatives as they sue in federal court in New York to try to prove that the Saudi government was complicit, something Riyadh officials have vigorously denied.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but issued a statement in September calling any allegations of complicity malicious and categorically false.

U.S. government investigations over the past two decades have documented support given by Saudi government officials to several of the hijackers upon their arrival in the U.S., but have not produced clear evidence that senior government leaders helped plot the attacks. The FBI memo closing out the investigation says the bureau has not identified additional groups or individuals responsible for the attack other than those currently charged.

Even so, the documents reveal new details about the years-long efforts by the FBI to hunt for possible involvement by the Saudi government and to scrutinize support given by Saudi nationals in the U.S. to the first two hijackers to arrive in the U.S., Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar.

Andrew Maloney, a lead lawyer for the victims' families, said the FBI has now released a substantial amount of very incriminating documents regarding the Saudi government's role in helping al-Qaida and these two hijackers in particular.

Brett Eagleson, whose father, Bruce, died in the World Trade Center attack, said in a statement that the details in the documents help bolster the arguments that high-level Saudi officials aided and supported the 9/11 hijackers.

Among the episodes scrutinized by the FBI and recounted in the records is a February 2000 encounter at a Southern California halal restaurant between al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar and a Saudi national named Omar al-Bayoumi, who subsequently helped them lease an apartment in San Diego. He had previously drawn FBI scrutiny but was never charged over his connections with the future hijackers.

According to the records released Wednesday, the FBI also investigated ties between al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar and people linked to the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, which funds mosques and efforts to promote Islam around the world.

According to one of the documents, the FBI studied whether al-Qaida operatives had infiltrated the ministry unbeknownst to the Saudi government or whether there was a collaboration of AQ operatives and certain radical elements within the Ministry of Islamic Affairs for mutually beneficial goals.

The FBI examined whether Saudis who had given financial support to al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar had ties to the plotters of the attack.

According to the documents, al-Bayoumi was in contact with Musaed al-Jarrah, who served as director of Islamic affairs at the Saudi Embassy in Washington and who the FBI suspected may have been trying to bring extremists into the U.S. using his embassy position. In its final summary of the investigation, the FBI described al-Jarrah as a controlling, guiding, and directing influence on all aspects of Sunni extremist activity in Southern California.

Maloney, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said those allegations are significant.

Here we now have for the first time the FBI telling the world that Jarrah was an extremist, and he was bringing in Sunni extremist imams into the United States and then supervising them, he said.

But authorities had insufficient evidence that al-Jarrah, al-Bayoumi and a third man  Fahad al-Thumairy, who was an accredited diplomat at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles and who investigators say led an extremist faction at his mosque  had conspired to assist the hijackers.

None of the three was charged, and all have since left the country, the FBI said.

The Trump administration fought to keep al-Jarrahs identity private before the Justice Department accidentally released it last year in a court filing.

In a Sept. 8, 2021, memo, the FBI corrected a previous assertion it made and said there was no evidence to prove that al-Jarrah had any personal contact directly with the two hijackers who were the focus of the investigation.

The documents also show investigators repeatedly re-interviewed Mohdar Abdullah, a Yemeni student who befriended al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar when they settled in San Diego. He was arrested after the attacks as a suspected material witness, an allegation he has denied. After nearly three years in custody, he was deported to Yemen in 2004.

Abdullah has told investigators that he believed Saudi officials may have been complicit in the Sept. 11 plot by helping the hijackers settle in Southern California. But he could not provide agents with evidence.

When questioned why he believes that, Abdullah stated that is his opinion and he doesnt know anything more than what he provided to the FBI in the past, the documents say.
OCALA, Fla. (AP)  Sheriff's deputies have arrested the parents of a 2-year-old north Florida girl who died of a fentanyl overdose earlier this year.

The child's parents remained in the Marion County Jail on Wednesday, each with an aggravated manslaughter charge.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  A former city sewer worker in Kentucky has been convicted of murder and other charges in a crash that killed a Louisville police officer in 2018.

Jurors deliberated for about three hours before returning the verdict Tuesday night for Roger Burdette, news outlets reported. Burdette was driving his Metropolitan Sewer District tanker truck when he crashed into Metro Police detective Deidre Mengedoht, who was conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 64.
ATLANTA (AP)  Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said Wednesday that he's still trying to determine if some of his department's employees are subject to an executive order by Democratic President Joe Biden requiring contractors to be vaccinated.

Black, Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr, all Republicans, spoke out against the federal requirement at a news conference discussing a lawsuit seeking to block the requirement, which Kemp called an outrageous big-government power grab.

President Biden and his administration want to invade the personal lives of thousands of Georgians, burdening hundreds of businesses of all sizes and endangering countless jobs, Kemp said.

Georgia is leading of group of states including Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia in a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Augusta. A total of 19 states have sued in four separate suits.

The states ask federal judges to block Bidens requirement that all employees of federal contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8, arguing the mandate violates federal procurement law and is an overreach of federal power.

Biden has argued that sweeping vaccine mandates will help end the deadly pandemic, but Republicans nationwide have opposed the vaccination requirements. The lawsuits argue the president is abusing federal procurement law by trying to use it to require contractor employees get inoculated and that the rule violates the 10th Amendment reserving power to the states.

This lawsuit is not about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine, said Carr, who described himself as pro-vaccination. "This lawsuit is based solely on the rule of law. The president does not have the authority to infringe upon state and individual rights."

Georgia Democrats say the lawsuit is a dangerous political stunt that will only contribute to the spread of COVID-19.

Black said he's still trying to find out whether his employees who are subsidized by federal money are considered contractors. He said even if they're not, some state agriculture employees would be required to comply because they share space with public university employees.

The University System of Georgia is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, and some of Georgia's 26 public universities have instructed contractor employees that they must get vaccinated. Kemp declined to comment on whether he thought universities moving ahead was a good idea, although he said regents joined the lawsuit because they know what a disaster this is.

Carrs lawsuit asks a judge to move quickly to block the rules, which could freeze the requirements.

___

Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
John Minchillo/AP

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his wife, Fran DeWine, are cancelling in-person events after the couple were exposed to two staff members who recently tested positive for COVID-19, the governor's office said Wednesday.

Both the governor and his wife are vaccinated and received their booster shots, have tested negative for the coronavirus and have no symptoms, DeWine's office said. The couple wont appear at previously scheduled in-person events through Sunday.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Mississippi health care providers say they may have to close floors and reduce patient beds after losing hundreds of nurses due to the recent expiration of a federal contract put in place to help the state battle the coronavirus pandemic.

During the last wave of COVID-19, 900 nurses were deployed to hospitals across the state under a 60-day contract funded by the federal government. That contract expired Nov. 1 and the number of virus cases has subsided since the summer peak.

Those nurses were crucial for caring for patients during the virus surge, but they also helped fill another urgent need  filling gaps left by nurses who have left the state during the last two years.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in August that the state had lost at least 2,000 nurses over the course of the pandemic. Nurses are leaving Mississippi for other states and traveling nurse companies that can pay higher wages.

Jessica Lewis, executive director of human resources at Singing River Health System on the Mississippi coast, told the Sun Herald that Singing River has lost around 240 nurses during the pandemic.

The expiration of the federal contract will mean the hospital system is losing 70 staff positions and 100 hospital beds.

Its just a big taffy pull ... everyone is scurrying out there trying to get the talent and keep their doors open, Lewis told the Herald.

Singing River joined 17 other major health systems, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn in writing an Oct. 21 letter to Reeves asking for further assistance to address the nursing shortage using federal pandemic relief money allocated to the state.

We are asking that you set aside a portion of those funds to quickly establish a program to incent health care workers, particularly nurses, to remain in and return to their hospitals, the letter reads.

In a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday, Reeves' spokesperson Bailey Martin said the contract nurses were only permitted to work with coronavirus patients, per federal regulations. At the peak of the surge, there were 1,667 Mississippians in hospital beds with COVID-19, she said. As of Tuesday, that number decreased by almost 90% to 172.

The contract fulfilled its mission, she said, adding that Reeves believes it is critically important to increase the number of workforce development opportunities for health care professionals.

The Governors Office is discussing nurse retention programs with the legislature and looking forward to working with them to devise a solution that will have a long-term impact on meeting Mississippis healthcare professional needs, she said.
WOOD RIVER  A new household hazardous waste collection site is set to open Saturday at 249 N. Old St. Louis Road in Wood River.

Madison County will use the site to service up to 400 households at each collection event, held 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the first Saturday and third Friday of each month.

Currently the county has been offering two semi-annual collections. Now, by partnering with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Heritage Environmental, residents can dispose household hazardous waste for free up to 24 times per year.

This opportunity is unique to Madison County and is the only collection facility within a 5-hour drive in Illinois, Madison County Chairman Kurt Prenzler said.

Madison County Building and Zoning Administrator Chris Doucleff said household hazardous waste can manifest itself in many different everyday items. Unfortunately, many of the items are difficult to dispose of in a manner thats safe for the environment.

As a result, these chemicals and toxic materials end up going into our waste streams and eventually can contaminate the groundwater, natural habitats and waterways, Doucleff said.

Resource Management Coordinator Brandon Banks said the county receives daily calls from residents seeking to dispose of chemicals and hazardous waste.

In the past, we were only able to provide limited resources for them, Banks said. Having a permanent site creates more opportunities for people to do the right thing when disposing of household hazardous waste.

Banks said the county is excited about the new site.

For years the household hazardous waste collections have been one of Madison Countys most sought after and popular events, he said.

Doucleff said disposal of items will be 100 percent free of charge and open to all Illinois residents.

You do not have to be a Madison County resident to drop off household hazardous waste, Doucleff said. However, appointments are required by scheduling one online or by calling.

He said funding for the new site comes from the tipping fees, the fees charged to waste haulers for disposal of items in the countys two landfills.

Its a win-win for taxpayers, Prenzler said. Residents pay nothing out of pocket and receive this new service.

Accepted items will include oil-based paints, pesticides and herbicides, lawn fertilizers and chemicals, cleaning solvents, paint thinners, hobby chemicals, antifreeze, motor oil, pool chemicals, household batteries, medicines, lead-acid batteries and fluorescent lights.

Non-acceptable items include latex paint, tires, electronics, ammunition, agricultural wastes, explosives, fireworks, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, farm machinery oil, business, commercial or biohazard waste.

To make an appointment online visit https://RecycleResponsibly.as.me/hhwaste, or call 618-296-5237. For more details and tips on disposing of other items, such as electronics, visit www.madisoncountybz.com.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  A court in Belarus on Wednesday handed prison sentences to two human rights activists, part of an ongoing crackdown on nongovernmental organizations and independent media in the ex-Soviet country.

The court in the eastern city of Homiel sentenced 55-year-old Leanid Sudalenka to three years in prison and gave a 2 1/2-year sentence to 43-year-old Tatsiana Lasitsa on charges of organizing and financing actions violating the public order. Both have been in custody since their arrest more than nine months ago.

Sudalenko has written from prison that the charges hinged on him meeting a colleague released from jail and helping a low-income farmer family to buy firewood  actions that investigators interpreted as organizing and funding protests.

Sudalenka and Lasitsa worked for the Viasna human rights center, the countrys leading rights group. Another five leading members of Viasna, including its head Ales Bialiatski, are in custody awaiting trial.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other international rights groups urged Belarusian authorities to immediately annul Wednesday's sentence and strongly denounced politically motivated prosecutions of Viasna members and volunteers (that) are part of the purge of Belarusian civil society" by President Alexander Lukashenko's government.

"Belarusian authorities targeting of Viasna in particular is no doubt designed to punish the organization for its outstanding and courageous human rights work over the course of 25 years, they said.

Lukashenko faced months of protests triggered by his re-election to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that the opposition and the West saw as rigged. He responded to the demonstrations with a massive crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police.

Belarusian authorities have methodically ramped up the pressure against nongovernmental organizations and independent media, conducting hundreds of raids of offices and apartments of activists and journalists, and arresting scores.

On Wednesday, Belarus' Interior Ministry said that the online resources of Belsat, an independent Belarusian TV channel based in Poland, have been designated as extremist  a decision that follows July's court ruling which already outlawed the TV channel as extremist. The moves have exposed its employees and viewers to prison terms.

The authorities are methodically cleansing Belarus information space, and the absurdity of the situation is that they assign the extremist designation several times, said Andrei Bastunets, the head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists. Officials apply the label of extremism to the media they cant reach.

Even before the move, Iryna Slaunikava, a Belsat journalist, was sentenced to 15 days in jail on Monday for reposting Belsats content on her Facebook page. Slaunikavas husband, Ales Loyka was also handed a 15-day sentence for reposting Belsats materials dating back several years.

They were arrested on Saturday after returning from a trip to Egypt.

In February, Belsat journalists Daria Chultsova and Katsiaryna Andreyeva were convicted of violating public order and sentenced to two years in prison after they covered a protest.

___

Uliana Pavlova in Moscow contributed to this report.
MEQUON, Wis. (AP)  School board members who survived a recall effort that garnered national attention in a suburban Milwaukee district were looking ahead Wednesday to reuniting voters after a divisive campaign.

The recall against four Mequon-Thiensville School Board members failed to unseat any incumbents Tuesday, handing organizers a stinging defeat in an effort that attracted nearly $50,000 in donations and was one of several high-profile school board races across the country that were dominated by debates over masks, vaccines, race and history.
URBANDALE, Iowa (AP)  An Iowa man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a Wisconsin woman whose body has not been found, Polk County authorities said Wednesday.

James Shiloh Klever, 46, of Mount Ayr, is suspected of killing 30-year-old Rachel Reuter, of Cassville, Wisconsin, the Polk County Sheriff's office said.
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel said Wednesday it has begun testing a massive inflatable missile detection system designed to hover at high altitudes and detect long-range threats.

Israel already boasts an array of sophisticated missile defenses, which were used successfully during the 11-day Gaza war this year.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  The former head of Mexicos state-run oil company has finally been ordered to jail on Wednesday, a year after he was extradited from Spain but offered to turn states evidence against other ex-officials.

Emilio Lozoya served as director of the state-run oil company Petroleos Mexicanos under former president Enrique Pena Nieto, who governed from 2012 to 2018.

Lozoya offered testimony about bribery and corruption involving opposition legislators and former administration officials, and also acknowledged that he himself received bribes.

But a judge ruled Wednesday that Lozoyas accusations have not done enough to help prosecutors, and that he represents a flight risk, and so should be held in jail while his legal process continues. He faces charges of corruption and money laundering, among others.

Lozoya had previously stayed out of jail because he was considered a cooperating witness. Lozoya's lawyers have also asked for seemingly endless extensions of his legal case.

The case has proved an embarrassment to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has made rooting out corruption the main theme of his presidency. Prosecutors have not yet managed to jail any of the top figures implicated in a big corruption case at the state-run oil company that almost bankrupted the firm.

In October, Lozoya was photographed dining out carefree at a luxury restaurant in Mexico City, drawing criticism.

I believe it is legal, but is immoral that these things happen. It is imprudent, at the very least, Lopez Obrador said in October. That is why there is so much indignation at him eating at a luxury restaurant. Even though he can legally do so, he is a witness to acts of corruption that damaged Mexico a lot.

Lozoya fled to Spain, was arrested there and extradited back to Mexico in 2020.

Once back in Mexico, Lozoya alleged that Pena Nieto and his right-hand man, then treasury secretary Luis Videgaray, directed him to bribe lawmakers, including five senators, to support controversial energy and other structural reforms in 2013 and 2014.

Lozoya also faces corruption charges related to Pemexs overvalued purchase of a fertilizer plant and to millions in dollars of bribes paid by Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. He has said Pena Nieto and Videgaray told him to use $4 million from Odebrecht to pay foreign campaign consultants for work on Pena Nietos 2012 election campaign.

Videgaray has denied the accusations. Pena Nieto, who left office in 2018 and is reported to live abroad, hasnt spoken publicly since the allegations surfaced. Neither man faces any charges.

And the businessman accused of bilking the government on the fertilizer plant deal quickly repaid some of the money and was released.

So the only people prosecutors have really gone after in the case are the opposition politicians who allegedly received the bribes, and that has raised suspicions in a country where the law has long been used only to punish political enemies.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP)  A judge ruled Wednesday that he'll seat one Black juror and 11 whites to decide the trial of the men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery, despite prosecutors' objections that several Black potential jurors were cut because of their race.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley acknowledged that intentional discrimination" by attorneys for the three white defendants charged in the death of the Black man appeared to have shaped jury selection. But he said Georgia law limited his authority to intervene.

Race is a central issue in the case involving the death of Arbery. Greg McMichael and his adult son, Travis McMichael, armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck on Feb. 23, 2020, after they spotted the 25-year-old man running in their neighborhood in coastal Georgia. A neighbor, William Roddie Bryan, joined the chase in his own truck and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times with a shotgun.

A long, sometimes heated debate over the racial makeup of the final jury erupted in court Wednesday afternoon as lawyers wrapped up a jury selection process lasting more than two weeks.

Arberys death became part of the broader reckoning on racial injustice in the criminal legal system after a string of fatal encounters between Black people and police  George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks, among others.

No one was charged in Arberys death until more than two months afterward, when the video of the shooting leaked online. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police and soon arrested all three men on charges of murder and other crimes.

Minutes after the attorneys had finished narrowing a panel of 48 to a final jury of 12 on Wednesday, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski noted only a single Black juror made the panel.

She argued that defense lawyers had struck eight Black potential jurors because of their race. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that it is unconstitutional for attorneys during jury selection to strike potential jurors solely based on race or ethnicity.

Laura Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, insisted those jury panelists were cut for other reasons  namely for expressing strong opinions about the case when questioned individually by attorneys.

I can give you a race-neutral reason for any one of these, Hogue said.

She noted one such juror had written on her juror questionnaire that Arbery was shot due to his color and had told attorneys she felt the defendants were guilty.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley denied prosecutors' request to reinstate those eight Black potential jurors, though he said: This court has found there appears to be intentional discrimination in the panel."

The judge said his ability to change the jurys racial makeup was limited because defense attorneys were able to give nonracial reasons for their decisions to strike the potential Black jurors.

They have been able to explain to the court why besides race those individuals were struck from the panel, Walmsley said.

The judge said the jury, along with four alternates, will be seated and sworn in Friday, when opening statements in the trial are expected. He did not give the races of the alternate jurors.

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters outside the courthouse she found it devastating that only one Black juror will be seated. Still, she said of the final jury: Im very confident that theyll make the right decision after seeing all the evidence.

Her attorney, S. Lee Merritt, said he still believes the trial will end in a conviction, though defense lawyers had "created a jury that was more favorable for their defendants, an almost entirely white jury.

Dunikoski noted that many prospective jurors questioned in open court expressed strong opinions about the case, but all who remained in the pool from which the 12 jurors emerged said they could be impartial and base a verdict solely on the trial evidence.

In Glynn County, where Arbery was killed and the trial is being held, Black people account for nearly 27% of the population of 85,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The judge said 25% of the pool from which the final jury was chosen was Black.

Defense attorneys say the McMichaels and Bryan committed no crimes. They say Arbery had been recorded by security cameras inside a nearby house and they suspected him of stealing. Greg McMichael told police his son opened fire in self-defense after Arbery attacked with his fists and grappled for Travis McMichaels shotgun.

Investigators have said Arbery was unarmed and theres no evidence he had stolen anything.

The slaying dominated news coverage and social media feeds in Glynn County, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Savannah. That caused court officials to take extraordinary steps in hopes of seating an impartial jury.

They mailed 1,000 jury duty notices, and nearly 200 people were questioned by the judge and attorneys at the courthouse during jury selection.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  A Kansas labor leader apologized Wednesday for remarks he made during a legislative hearing comparing COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the Holocaust that killed millions of Jews.

Cornell Beard said the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has "a long, proud tradition of welcoming everyone into the labor movement. Beard is president of the union's Wichita district.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  Louisiana's top public health official said Wednesday the state expects to receive 148,000 initial doses of the pediatric coronavirus vaccine, though the doses are trickling in across three shipments and may not be immediately available through health care providers.

Dr. Joe Kanter, with the state Department of Health, said he expects all of Louisiana's vaccine providers will have gotten their doses of the Pfizer vaccine for children by early next week. That will be enough shots to cover 35% of the state's 420,000 children between ages 5 and 11.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  The princes, presidents and prime ministers have left, and now the real mask-to-mask climate negotiations start.

For the next 10 days, maybe more, the professional diplomats at the crowded United Nations climate conference must convert marching orders left by their heads of government into compromises and agreements. The talks happen in a limited number of meeting rooms in Glasgow, with a Friday, Nov. 12, deadline and a record long agenda listing 104 items that must be settled.

The negotiations are restricted by the pandemic but aided by a year and a half of virtual meetings, instant soup brought from Norway and chocolates from Swiss and Australian diplomats.

By next week, the deadline pressure is sure to intensify. Meetings will go around the clock. Food and sleep will be put aside, except when someone dozes off in a seat or on a colleagues shoulder.

We have meals together and spend hours cooped up in conference centers with little sleep and bad food. It is a bit of a mad bonding experience, but it builds trust. And trust is key to compromise, said Environmental Defense Fund Vice President Kelley Kizzier, who spent 15 years as a European Union negotiator.

At least 120 meetings were scheduled for Wednesday, with more likely to be added. But only 25 meeting rooms are available in the sprawling conference complex where half of the structures are temporary, with makeshift roofs and rows of spotless but chilly portable toilets. And those rooms permit a limited number of people inside because of social-distancing rules designed to keep everyone 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) apart.

Between meetings, everyone has to get out for 15 minutes of cleaning, something the Scottish government insists on, said Laura Lopez, the conference administrator for the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, which runs the negotiations on a site that is technically U.N. property.

The problem is our people arent that disciplined, Lopez said. They keep talking and wont leave the room.

The rooms where it happens are often the rooms next to where it happens.

The deals are made very often outside of the room, said longtime negotiator Yamide Dagnet, now head of negotiations for the World Resources Institute. Countries give their positions at the table, but it is in the hallways, during coffee breaks, snatches of meals and other away time that compromises emerge, she said.

Thats why in-person meetings cant be replaced by virtual ones, said veteran negotiator Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, who chairs one of the two main negotiating groups for the U.N.

In the hallway, you meet someone, and thats where you agree on that comma versus that semicolon, and thats whats missing in virtual meetings, he said.

The 18 months of virtual negotiations have brought people closer and made them work together more. But they need to seal the deal in person, said Mpanu Mpanu and Marianne Karlsen, who heads another negotiating group for the U.N.

People need to sit eye-to-eye, Karlsen said.

They both credit the pandemic and the months of virtual meetings for improvements over previous meetings.

I really think the pandemic brought an extra deal of flexibility, Mpanu Mpanu said.

In past years, the U.N. would put beanbag chairs in meeting rooms and offices for catnaps during the final crunch, Lopez said. But the pandemic killed that this year.

Karlsen said one key to survival is having a supply of snacks, chips, chocolate and fruit  as well her personal contribution.

I always bring extra luggage with instant soups, Karlsen said. The Australians and Swiss finance negotiating teams are well known for bringing chocolate.

And theres no strings attached, Mpanu Mpanu said.

When talks go late and people get tired, bigger, richer countries that have extra negotiators have a leg up on smaller nations, he said.

If you are not on top of your game, people will take advantage of that, Mpanu Mpanu said.

In the past, negotiators were often joined in the rooms by observers, often from nonprofits. But the talks are now closed to those groups and to the media.

Because of the virus, the U.N. climate office has tried to offer more remote meeting access. With several poorer island nations unable to send negotiators and room occupancy severely limited by health rules, the remote system is crucial, but it has been filled with glitches.

Observers and activists have complained that they cant get into meetings or watch them online.

The United Kingdoms largest-ever diplomatic event had the U.N. apologizing for the video glitches, the lack of disability accessibility for an Israeli cabinet member, and for long, slow security lines.

The security lines were slow because 25,000 people have picked up passes. But at any given time, only 10,000 people can be present because of the pandemic, and the lines must be wider and fewer for social distancing, Lopez said. The conference briefly had to stop allowing people in because of the 10,000-person limit.

But hardships are just part of the deal with negotiators, Karlsen said: There is no easy borne children at this process.

___

Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate. Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at https://twitter.com/borenbears.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  The braking system on a plane carrying 42 people that overran a runway at an Alaska airport in 2019, killing one, was compromised by anti-skid sensors that were not correctly wired, the National Transportation Safety Board determined Tuesday.

The incorrect wiring likely occurred during an overhaul at the landing gear manufacturer's facility in January 2017, but it was not discovered until after the accident, the report said.

The system does not generate a fault based on incorrect wiring, the report said. Also, the plane was not in revenue service from the time of the overhaul until June 2019, the report said. Revenue service refers to flying passengers or cargo for money.

The improper configuration led to the skidding and bursting of one tire and the subsequent release of brake pressure on two of the three remaining wheels. Investigators determined the loss of effective braking on three of the four main landing gear wheels prevented the flight crew from stopping on the runway, a statement from the agency said.

Even though the airplane, the pilot, the weather and federal oversight all had a role in this tragedy, it was entirely preventable, the board's chair, Jennifer L. Homendy, said in the statement.

She described factors the board determined contributed to the accident: The brake system should have been designed to protect against human error during maintenance, the pilot shouldnt have landed on a runway with such a strong tailwind and federal regulators should have considered the runway safety area dimensions when authorizing the airline to fly the Saab 2000 into that airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration approved the use of the plane at the airport without considering whether the runway safety area was adequate for a plane with that approach speed and size, the report said.

Flight crew members told investigators they were aware of the plane manufacturers 15-knot tailwind limit, but they thought the reported wind direction and speed of 24 knots did not warrant a change of runway, the report said, calling the decision inappropriate.

Before landing, flight crew members learned of 24 knot winds, the report said. Investigators after the accident calculated the tailwind at landing at 15 knots, the report said.

The report said the plane was operated by Peninsula Aviation Services Inc., which it refers to as PenAir. PenAir had designated the airport in the Aleutian Islands fishing community of Unalaska as one requiring specific qualifications for pilots in charge because of the surrounding terrain and complex approach and departure procedures, the report says.

But it said the company allowed the captain of the accident flight to fly at the airport without gaining the experience that the companys policy intended" and that the captain might not have fully understood the challenges in landing the aircraft at that airport.

The flight was operated by a Ravn Air Group subsidiary that bought PenAirs name and assets in 2018 after PenAir declared bankruptcy, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The Ravn Air Group declared bankruptcy last year, and a new company emerged called Ravn Alaska, the newspaper reported.

While Ravn Alaska is a different company, weve taken great interest in this NTSB report and agree with the findings, the company's CEO, Rob McKinney, said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. "Our new Ravn intentionally uses aircraft with wider safety margins, specifically for this runway. Providing safe travel for our passengers, crews and communities is a top priority.

The NTSB report, among its findings, said the FAA's oversight of PenAir in the two years before the accident was insufficient to identify safety risks resulting from such things as the bankruptcy and loss of experienced pilots. A message seeking comment was sent to an FAA spokesperson.

NTSB also made several recommendations to the FAA. The agency, in a statement, said it takes seriously NTSB recommendations and will provide preliminary responses to those within 90 days.

Saab, in a statement, said it has "contributed to the investigation by advising the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK) and will continue to support the NTSB in the investigation.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Overall enrollment in Mississippis public universities dropped by less than 1% in the past year, according to figures released Tuesday by the universities board of trustees.

A total of 76,510 students are studying at Mississippi public universities this fall, compared with 77,154 last year  a 0.8% decline. That's after public university enrollment went down 1% between 2019 and 2020, according to the board.

Figures for individual schools varied. The most drastic change in the past two years has been at Delta State University in Cleveland. The student population declined by just over 9% between 2020 and 2021. The population has declined by 27% between fall 2019 and fall 2021.

In 2019, Delta State had 3,761 students enrolled. In 2021, 2,727 students were enrolled.

Delta State spokesperson Brittany Davis-Green said Tuesday that the university is continuing its recovery from a significant enrollment decrease caused by the compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, declining high school populations in the state and a national trend showing a reduced number of high school graduates enrolling in college.

She said the school has bolstered its recruitment efforts and saw growth in its freshmen class this year. In fall 2021, Delta State welcomed 267 first-time freshmen, 75 more than fall 2020, she said.

"Delta State has also implemented a robust, multi-channel recruitment marketing campaign that will assist in identifying and recruiting its evolving target population," she said.

The overall student population at Mississippi State University, on the other hand, increased for the seventh year in a row. The school of just under 23,000 students increased its population by 0.4% between 2020 and 2021.

Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum called the accomplishment extremely encouraging amid a global pandemic.

Weve encountered a health crisis like none weve seen in our lifetime, said Keenum, who pointed out that the university's class of first-time freshmen increased by more than 5% in the past year. Our employees have risen to the task and done a phenomenal job of finding meaningful ways to engage with, teach and assist our students."

The student population at the Mississippi University for Women saw a decline of just over 8% between this year and last year. The number of students enrolled dropped to 2,477 from 2,704.

The student population at Jackson State University increased by 2.3%, from 6,921 to 7,080.

The University of Southern Mississippi lost 460 students from this year to last year, its population dropping from 14,606 to 14,146. Alcorn State University dropped almost 5%, its population, decreasing from 3,230 to 3,074.

Mississippi Valley State University and the University of Mississippi both saw small increases of 1.6% and .8%.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Deborah Kochevar, Tufts University and Guilherme Werneck, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

(THE CONVERSATION) The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that zoonotic diseases  infections that pass from animals to humans  can present tremendous threats to global health. More than 70% of emerging and reemerging pathogens originate from animals. That probably includes the SARS CoV-2 virus, which scientists widely believe originated in bats.

There are still questions about specifically where the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged. But experts across the globe agree that communities can take steps to reduce the risk of future spillovers. A key is for veterinarians, doctors and scientists to work together, recognizing how closely connected human health is with that of animals and of the habitats that we share  an approach known as One Health.

To prevent new pandemics, scientists need to identify specific locations where viruses are most likely to make the jump from animals to humans. In turn, this requires understanding how human behaviors  from deforestation to fossil fuel combustion to conflict to cultural activities  contribute to spillover risks.

We focus on global One Health research and education and epidemiology of infectious diseases, and we served on a science task force convened by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Global Health Institute to evaluate current knowledge of how to prevent spillovers. The task force report noted that a recent analysis estimates the costs of addressing spillover at high-risk interfaces through One Health approaches and forest conservation at US$22 billion to $31 billion per year. These costs are dwarfed by the estimated global GDP loss of nearly $4 trillion in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In our view, coordinated investment based on a One Health approach is needed to initiate and sustain global prevention strategies and avoid the devastating costs of pandemic response.

Recognizing risky zones

Identifying high-risk areas for zoonotic spillover is challenging. People and wildlife move around a lot, and exposure may not lead immediately to infection or produce symptoms that clearly reflect exposure to pathogens.

But researchers can make predictions by combining data on human and livestock density with that on environmental conditions, such as deforestation and land use changes, that can enable pathogens to spread from wildlife to humans. For instance, there are areas in China, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh where development has fragmented forests and extended animal farming and human communities near the natural habitats of horseshoe bats. This group of bats, which includes more than 100 species, has been implicated as a reservoir for many coronaviruses.

Its not uncommon for bat-borne diseases to spill over to humans. Sometimes it happens directly: For example, bats in Bangladesh have repeatedly transmitted Nipah virus to humans. Or the pathogen can move indirectly via intermediate hosts. For example, in 1994 bats in Australia infected horses with Hendra virus, a respiratory disease that then passed to humans.

In Brazil, yellow fever is endemic in the jungles, spread mainly between monkeys via mosquitoes. People in the country occasionally contract it from mosquito bites, and deforestation and land conversion for farming are increasing the risk of greater spillovers. There is rising concern that the disease could be introduced into Brazils large cities, where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are widespread and could transmit it on a large scale.

There also are specific human behaviors that may further increase the risk of spillovers. They include work that puts humans in direct contact with or near animals, such as harvesting bat guano (dung) for fertilizer, and buying and selling wild animals or animal parts.

Daily routines related to storing food and eating wildlife meat can also create risks. For example, Ebola virus outbreaks in Nigeria have been associated with butchering and eating bushmeat.

People in areas with a high risk of spillover dont need to stop living their lives. But they do need to recognize that some actions are more risky than others and take appropriate safety precautions, such as wearing protective equipment and making sure that bushmeat is properly handled and cooked.

The importance of teamwork

In our view, it is essential for researchers and governments to understand and embrace the central concept that the health of animals, people and the environment is closely connected, and factors that affect one can affect all. Ideally, problem-solving teams form that address prevention from the community and district levels to the ranks of health, animal and environmental ministries.

Members of local communities are most likely to know where people run the highest risk of coming in contact with animals that may carry infectious diseases. By listening to them, veterinary and medical health professionals, as well as foresters and land managers, can develop strategies that are more likely to decrease the risk of spillover.

Organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, national governments and civil society groups are investing in One Health platforms across selected countries in Africa and Asia. These networks are typically anchored in government ministries. They can also include nongovernmental organizations and civil society groups committed to advancing health and well-being through a One Health framework.

[Over 115,000 readers rely on The Conversations newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.]

For example, many countries have separate databases to track infectious disease outbreaks in humans and animals. Connecting these systems across government ministries and agencies can improve information exchange between them and lead to better understanding of spillover risks.

We believe that preparing for the next pandemic must include preventing it at its source. Our best chance to succeed is to coordinate research and design of spillover interventions, recognizing that the health of humans, animals and nature are connected.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/preventing-future-pandemics-starts-with-recognizing-links-between-human-and-animal-health-167617.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP)  The public will weigh in on proposed changes to New Hampshires legislative districts next week, though maps still werent widely available Wednesday.

The House Special Commission on Redistricting discussed proposed maps for county commission seats and state House districts for four of the states 10 counties, with Republicans and Democrats offering their own versions of each.

Members will discuss the remaining House seats Thursday, along with proposals for redrawing the states two congressional districts.

Public hearings are scheduled for Tuesday morning and the following Wednesday evening at the Statehouse. But while there were some paper copies of the proposed maps available at this Wednesdays meetings, Committee Chair Barbara Griffin said she didnt know when theyd be posted online, as there have been technical issues following a recent update to the Legislatures website.

In discussing the county commissioner districts, Rep. Israel Piedra, D-Manchester, questioned whether lawmakers should consider whether incumbents would remain in the same districts under the new plans.

This was not an objective in creating these maps, but in my lay opinion, if we have two maps and theyre both constitutionally permissible and I havent heard why one map is better for any other reason, it seems to me that its something that can at least be discussed as a factor, he said.

Others committee members rejected that idea.

This situation were trying to go through in a very compact period of time is complicated enough, and I would hope that we focus our discussion only on the very core issues in terms of what is constitutional and what is required by federal and state law, and not include in our discussion issues which might be interesting if we were at the end of the day and sharing a cup of tea but are not absolutely relevant and essential to our decision, said Rep. Marjorie Smith, D-Durham.

As they do now, Republicans also controlled the Legislature when the current plan was approved in 2012. But the map was vetoed by former Democratic Gov. John Lynch, who argued it was unconstitutional because it denied 62 towns and wards their own seats in the House and that it needlessly broke up municipalities.

The Legislature overrode the veto, and the state Supreme Court later found the plan constitutional.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed bills in 2020 and 2019 that would have created an independent redistricting commission, saying it was unnecessary because gerrymandering is rare in the state and the current redistricting process was fair. The GOP-led Legislature killed similar bills this year.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Puerto Ricos governor said Wednesday that officials will start vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 this week against COVID-19, and that getting the vaccine will be required to attend school in person with few exceptions.

Health Secretary Carlos Mellado said he anticipates that some 227,000 children will be vaccinated, with a goal to inoculate 95% of that population.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  Turkeys health minister announced Wednesday that the country will start administering booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to people who received their second doses at least six months ago.

In a written statement following a meeting of the countrys medical advisory council, Fahrettin Koca said the booster shots would be administered as of Thursday. The program will start with people aged 60 and above, those with chronic illnesses, as well as health care workers and other professionals considered to be at higher risk.
GENEVA (AP)  All sides in Ethiopias yearlong war in the Tigray region have committed abuses marked by extreme brutality that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the U.N. human rights chief said Wednesday, noting the big numbers of violations are linked to Ethiopian forces and those from neighboring Eritrea.

The conflict that has killed thousands began in November 2020 after a political falling-out between the Tigray forces that long dominated the national government and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds current government. Ethnic Tigrayans across the country have reported being targeted with arbitrary detentions, while civilians in Tigray have described gang rapes, human-caused famine and mass expulsions.

The investigation, a rare collaboration by the U.N. human rights office with the government-created Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, was hampered by authorities intimidation and restrictions, and didnt visit some of the wars worst-affected locations.

The U.N. told The Associated Press the collaboration was necessary for its team to gain access to a troubled region that Ethiopian authorities have largely prevented journalists, rights groups and other observers from entering.

The report was released a day before the first anniversary of the start of the war and as Africas second most populous country enters a new state of emergency, with rival Tigray forces threatening the capital, Addis Ababa.

The joint investigation covers events up until late June when the Tigray forces regained much of their region, but it failed to visit some of the deadliest sites of the war, including the city of Axum, because of security and other obstacles. Notably, the report said, obstacles included the Ethiopian governments failure to release satellite phones procured for the investigation  crucial tools as phone and internet service are cut off in Tigray.

In western Tigray, claimed by forces from the neighboring Amhara region, it was apparent that the Tigrayans had left most of the areas, as it was difficult to find Tigrayans to interview, the report said.

The investigation breaks little new ground and confirms in general the abuses described by witnesses throughout the war. But it gives little sense of scale, saying only that the more than 1,300 rapes reported to authorities are likely far fewer than the real number.

Despite the report's shortcomings, Abiy's office said in a statement that it clearly established the claim of genocide as false and utterly lacking of any factual basis. Ethiopian Human Rights Commission chief Daniel Bekele said the investigation didn't identify violations amounting to genocide.

Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, acknowledged the investigators didnt turn up enough evidence to characterize disturbing suggestions of ethnically motivated violence as signs of possible genocide, but did say such allegations warranted further investigation.

The prime minister's statement noted serious reservations about the report but claimed it laid sinister allegations to rest." And it acknowledged the need to redouble our efforts to hold perpetrators accountable. A high-level task force will be formed, it said.

Among the investigations findings: Several Ethiopian military camps were used to torture captured Tigray forces or civilians suspected of supporting them. Others were detained in secret locations and military camps across the country, with detentions arbitrary in many cases. Tigray forces detained some ethnic Amhara civilians in western Tigray in the early days of the war on suspicion of supporting the military, and in some cases tortured them.

The Tigray conflict has been marked by extreme brutality. The gravity and seriousness of the violations and abuses we have documented underscore the need to hold perpetrators accountable, Bachelet said. Reports of abuses such as summary executions in Tigray continue, she said.

And yet the report gives little sign that Eritrean soldiers were responsible for many of the atrocities, as witnesses have alleged. Until March, Abiy denied they were even in the country.

Bachelet told reporters that while the report doesn't explicitly mention Ethiopian and Eritrean forces were responsible for the majority of the violations, "I would say that the big numbers of violations of human rights are linked to the Ethiopian and Eritrean defense forces. She denied the probe came under government pressure.

Ethiopias government imposed a blockade on Tigray since the Tigray forces regained control in June, cutting off almost all access for commercial goods and humanitarian aid. That followed large-scale looting and destruction of food and crops that has had a severe socioeconomic impact on the civilian population, the report says. In addition, some camps for displaced people didn't receive food rations for months.

The investigation, however, could not confirm deliberate or willful denial of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Tigray or the use of starvation as a weapon of war. It called for further investigation.

In a separate statement on events since the investigation, Bachelet expressed deep concern over the state of emergency Ethiopia's government imposed Tuesday with sweeping powers of detention and military conscription.

She also said her office has received reports of a highly organized system of detaining thousands of Tigrayans in western Tigray in recent months that now encompasses the general civilian population.

The Tigray forces since June have moved into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, and Bachelet noted an increasing number of allegations of abuses committed by them, including rapes.

The joint investigation, based on more than 260 interviews with victims and witnesses, said it had received no response from Eritreas government or Amhara regional officials. Eritrea's information minister tweeted Wednesday that Eritrea rejects the report's credibility.

The Tigray external affairs office in a statement called the participation of the EHRC an affront to the notion of impartiality" and said the report was fraught with problems. The report acknowledged that the presence of EHRC staffers at times inhibited interviews.

The investigation said Ethiopia's government should consider setting up a court to ensure accountability, and expressed concern that investigations conducted by Ethiopian national institutions do not match the scope and breadth of the violations it has identified.

We don't have enough transparency, Bachelet said.

___

Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya.
The National Wheat Foundation recently announced its winners for this years National Wheat Yield Contest, and three of them are located here in the Upper Thumb.

Jeffrey Krohn of Owendale and Dwight and Nancy Bartle of Brown City were on this years list of winners, with Krohn placing on both the national and state levels with the Bartles as runners-up on the state level.

This is Krohns first time competing in this competition, as he is serving on the Michigan Wheat Promotional Committee Board, a state board where he was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to promote the states wheat.

I decided, Well well apply for the State and National Yield Contest, Krohn said. We did that and got first place.

The contests recognize winners in two primary competition categories, winter wheat and spring wheat, and two subcategories, dry land and irrigated. Grain must be Grade 1 or 2 by Federal Grain Inspection Service standards to be eligible.

Krohn and the Bartles all competed in the Winter Wheat Dryland categories, finishing first, second and third in Michigan and Krohn finishing runner-up to this years bin buster winner, William Willard of Fredrick, Maryland, in the national competition.

Krohns yield of winter wheat this year was 140.5494 bushels per acre per yield in the field, with his variety being Dyna-Grow #9242. The 25-acre field used to grow the wheat is located on rented land owned by Ewald Farms near Elkton.

Dwight Bartles yield of winter wheat this year was 129.4118 bushels per acre per yield, with his variety being DF Seeds #DF119R.

Nancy Bartles yield this year was 123.8916 bushels per acre per yield, with her variety being Irrer Seeds #ISF727.

Krohn said the growers have 15 different varieties of soft white wheat to choose from. He was able to get such a large yield through intensive management, which included techniques like split nitrogen application, split fungicide application, and tissue sampling.

Krohn was surprised to win in this years competition, as he was competing against other farmers from across the United States.

This was a challenging year for everyone in white wheat growing areas, Krohn said. There was a dry early season and a lot of heat during pollination. The yield we put in overcame those challenges and we produced a good yield.

This year has presented many diverse challenges to farmers, stated National Wheat Foundation Board Chairman David Cleavinger. Drought has plagued most spring wheat growers and many winter wheat farmers faced the exact opposite fighting a wet harvest in multiple areas. These challenges have not only shown the persistence of growers in this industry, but also have highlighted the diversity of wheat which is shown in the range of yields of each region.

Aside from wheat, Krohn Farms grows corn, soybeans, dry beans, and alfalfa.

The National Winners will receive a trip to the Commodity Classic trade show in March in New Orleans and be recognized at an awards reception.

Dwight and Nancy Bartle could not be reached for comment.
Courtesy of Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra

Residents in Hays County report that letters spreading antisemitic rhetoric have showed up at their homes. The letters showed up at homes in plastic bags filled with pebbles, the Hays Free Press reports. The letters say that Jewish leaders control not only the media, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish," one letter reads.
Erica Zucco

Thursday, November 4 will mark the end of Erica Zucco's tenure at KENS 5. The on-air reporter is joining the team at KING-TV, KENS 5's sister station in Seattle.

Zucco started at the local CBS affiliate in August 2018. Since then, she's covered politics and policy in Texas. While Zucco's work is broadcast-focused, she quickly became a resource on Twitter. Viewers could expect to catch up on her stories on the timeline, where she'd frequently share easy-to-digest recaps of her stories after they aired.
Michele Sandberg/Getty Images

Republican Party of Texas chairman and 2022 gubernatorial hopeful Allen West was involved in a physical altercation at the Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport Wednesday. The incident allegedly stemmed from West's refusal to wear a mask on the premises, according to a press release from his campaign.

The statement alleges the GOP candidate was approached by a man who yelled at him for not wearing a mask. West allegedly responded by "flicking" the man's mask off. The man responded by raising his fists at West, per the statement. West took to Twitter afterward to provide his own account of the incident, saying the man called him an "idiot." West said he pulled down the man's mask and said "see, nothing happened."
Austin voters shot down a ballot proposition Tuesday night that would have forced the city to hire hundreds of new police officers  a tacit endorsement of the citys new scaled-down approach to policing.

With an estimated 91% of votes counted, voters rejected Proposition A by about 68.4% to 31.6%, according to KXAN-TV, preventing Austin from having to hire enough police officers to have two on patrol for every 1,000 residents.

The group Save Austin Now, which backed the measure, attempted to seize on the citys growing number of homicides, lengthening police response times and shrinking officer ranks to persuade voters to approve the measure.

Opponents of Proposition A  including Mayor Steve Adler and the unions that represent Austin firefighters and paramedics  warned of dire financial fallout for the city if the proposition passed, saying deep cuts in the citys budget would lead to fewer firefighters, medics and librarians.

Adler said the proposition would have forced Austin to adopt an antiquated police staffing model.

This election reaffirms our communitys belief that public safety for all requires a comprehensive system that includes properly staffing our police, but also our fire, EMS, and mental health responses as well, Adler said in a tweet.

Opposition group No Way on Prop A called the result a victory for Austinites and democracy. The safest cities have more resources, not more police, campaign manager Laura Hernandez Holmes said in a press release.

Like many major U.S. cities, Austin has seen an uptick in homicides during the COVID-19 pandemic. So far this year, the city has recorded 75 homicides  resulting in the citys highest homicide rate in two decades, according to statistics from the Austin Police Department. Proposition As backers argued the city needs more officers to slow the rise in homicides  an idea that has prompted mixed reactions among crime experts.

Other forms of crime have dropped this year after crime increased in Austin from 2019-20. Overall, crime in Austin is down from the beginning of the 2010s.

Ultimately, voters signaled they didnt think boosting the ranks of the police force was a necessary move to combat the growing homicide rate  or the correct way to go about police reform.

Shortly after the unofficial early voting results dropped, the Austin Police Association released a statement thanking Save Austin Now and those who voted for the failed proposition. The statement called on the City Council to hire 300 more officers.

Save Austin Now co-founder Matt Mackowiak called the results a disappointment in a speech Tuesday night. But he said the organization moved the conversation around policing in a meaningful direction. He added that opponents who still said the city should hire more police officers and implement increased training will now have to keep their word.

This council now is going to have to move in favor of public safety, Mackowiak said. Are they going to go as far as we would have liked, as Prop A would have taken us? No, theyre not, at least not in the short term.

The defeat for Save Austin Now came months after the organization successfully backed a May referendum that restored the citys ban on homeless encampments. In the days leading up to the vote, Save Austin Now flooded Austinites phones with text messages imploring them to pass the measure.

No Way on Prop A drew high-dollar donations, particularly $500,000 from liberal billionaire George Soros Open Policy Center, to try to beat back the proposition.

The Austin measure was among several referendums in U.S. cities to decide what their police forces should look like. Voters in Albany, New York, and Cleveland also backed measures to provide more civilian oversight for their police departments.

Most prominent was a ballot measure in Minneapolis  the center of the roiling national debate over police reform  to scrap its police department and replace it with a new Department of Public Safety. Voters rejected the measure, according to CNN.

Disclosure: Austin Mayor Steve Adler, a former Texas Tribune board chair, has been a financial supporter of the Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/02/austin-prop-a-election-results-police/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
Texans voting Tuesday passed all eight proposed amendments to the state's constitution, including two COVID-19-era related propositions, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State. The measures were passed as bills during the state's legislative session but required voter approval. Since the Texas Constitution was adopted in 1876, voters have adopted 507 amendments and rejected 180, according to the Legislative Reference Library of Texas.

Voter turnout this year was lower than the last constitutional amendment election in 2019, with only about nine percent of registered Texas voters casting a ballot, according to the Texas Tribune.

Proposition 3, which was approved by 63 percent voters in favor to 37 percent dissenting, bans governments from taking any action that "prohibits or limits religious services" of religious organizations, even during disasters like the coronavirus pandemic. The amendment was drafted in response to governing bodies closing churches at the start of the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Critics of Prop 3 said it could potentially have serious future consequences for public health responses since it bars the state from taking steps to mitigate disease spread.

Proposition 6, also created in response to COVID-19 restrictions, was approved 88 percent to 12 percent. The amendment allows residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities to designate an "essential caregiver" who could not, under most circumstances, be prohibited from in-person visits. Nursing homes have been among the institutions hit hardest by COVID-19. Many nursing home residents endured long periods of isolation after visitations were shut down to prevent the spread of the virus. As of August, 9,095 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to the Texas Tribune.

Other new amendments include Proposition 1, which allows the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women's Professional Rodeo Association to hold charity raffles at rodeo events. Currently, unauthorized raffles can be considered illegal gambling. Proposition 2 authorizes counties to issue bonds to fund transportation or infrastructure projects in underdeveloped areas. Cities are already allowed to issue these bonds.

Proposition 7 and 8 both passed with 87 percent approval. Prop 7 limits school district property taxes incurred by a surviving spouse of a person with disabilities who is older than 65 and has died, as long as the surviving spouse is at least 55 years old at the partner's time of death. Prop 8 expands eligibility for residential homestead property tax exemptions to include spouses of military members who succumbed to injuries sustained during their service, combat-related or otherwise.

Proposition 4 and 5 both passed with 59 percent of votes in support. Prop 4 changes the eligibility requirements to serve as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals and intermediate appeals courts. Under the amendment, candidates must be a practicing lawyer or judge in Texas for at least 10 years under a law license that has not been revoked or suspended during that time. District Court judges are also required to have served as a lawyer or judge in Texas for eight years, also under a license that had not been revoked or suspended. Proposition 5, allows the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to accept complaints, conduct investigations and take other action against judicial candidates.
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Indiana rifle unit honors fellow veterans

Photos provided The unit performs their gun salute at a memorial ceremony to honor the lives of those who have passed. (L-R) Charles Moon, Patrick Mullen, Larry Walker and Conrad Heslin Photo provided The unit attends the memorial location almost an hour early to pay respect to the fallen veteran they will be honoring with their salute. (L-R) Charles Moon, Patrick Mullen, Larry Walker and Conrad Heslin.

Gun salutes to honor fallen veterans  regardless of age and cause of death  are a pivotal part of a memorial ceremony and are becoming scarce in Grant County.

The Marine Corps League Tripoli Detachment #844 Gun Salute Unit are one of the only units who perform the salutes in Grant County, volunteering their time since they are more than honored to pay respects to fallen comrades.

Present members include Conrad Heslin, Larry Walker, Charles Moon and Patrick Mullen who all served during their lifetime in various wars. Heslin, Moon and Mullen are Grant County natives while Walker is from Wabash County, but he says he has strong ties to Marion.

I have been a member of the Marine Corps League here in Marion for 28 years now, and we used to go out to the Marion National Cemetery on Memorial Day and do the rifle volleys out there for their ceremony, said Heslin. Then, we started to do the funerals, and it got more and more because we are doing many more funerals than we were doing way back when.

Heslin and Moon served in Okinawa and Walker and Mullen served in Vietnam. Their dedication to honoring fallen veterans stems from their experiences and their respect from those who serve.

The salutes help the community and the families see we honor our fallen Veterans. We do not want any of our service brothers and sisters to be forgotten, said Mullen. Its a tribute to our nations honored dead.

At the ceremony, a gun salute is performed by the members, then TAPS, a bugle call traditionally played at flag services and military funerals, is played following the gun salute, which then leads into the folding of the flag which is then presented to the family.

TAPS is the final good-bye. The firing of three rifle volleys symbolizes respect and trust, said Mullen. The cartridges given to family signify duty, honor and sacrifice. The flag folding ceremony represents the same religious principles on which our country was originally founded.

Gun salutes are typically performed up to four times a week, sometimes twice in one day, with over 100 salutes being performed this year alone, which is almost as many as 2020 when the cemetery was closed for two months.

Families of veterans who would like the members to attend the funeral should contact their funeral home, who will then contact one of the members for arrangements, but the unit also welcomes families to contact them directly.

Unfortunately, since funeral homes are required to contact the unit, many funerals have gone without the gun salute due to a lack of communication.

I just wish that all the funeral homes would get ahold of us. A lot of the funeral homes dont, and even the main one still forgets, said Walker. They can offer this to the family, and sometimes the family doesnt realize that they can have both the flag folding ceremony and the rifle salute at the same time.

The units main goal is to honor veterans with the salute beyond Veterans Day or even what is expected. They never want someone who serves to be forgotten or disrespected.

It is a way that I honor veterans who have served as well as myself and my family, said Moon. Its a way that I can honor them for their service and show the family that there are other supporters in their suffering and loss.

The unit holds the salute for any veteran, regardless of their branch or the war in which they served. All veterans are equal in their eyes.

The members noted that many of the families thank the unit for their service even while overwhelmed with emotion after the ceremony, which makes the whole experience worth the effort.

I think (the families) appreciate it. Especially when we give the brass to them in a little red bag, and we say, please accept this brass as the final salute to your loved one for serving this country, said Walker. Some of them are tear-jerkers, and when I present the brass to them, I get kind of emotional and I can see in their eyes that they appreciate this very, very much.
Florida, FL (34429)

Today

Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 79F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.
TR to PR pathway closing November 5 Thousands of openings remain for English healthcare worker stream. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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The deadline to apply for the Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR to PR) pathways will not be extended.

The Canadian government website confirms that intake will close on November 5. New applications will not be accepted, but those who previously applied will still be able to sign in to the online portal and view their submission.

Originally launched May 6, the TR to PR programs were created to provide immigration options to essential workers, international student graduates, and French speakers.

Discover if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) aimed to admit 90,000 immigrants through the English programs alone, but it might fall short even with applications from the French streams included.

There are currently more than 13,000 spots available for essential workers in healthcare jobs in the English stream. Unlike the French streams, the English streams had caps. The stream for international student graduates filled up within 25 hours of opening, and the non-healthcare essential workers stream closed in July.

IRCC accepted about 7,307 additional international student graduate applications due to a glitch in the system.

For the French streams, the government reports nearly six thousand applied across all three programs, although some of the numbers may account for those who did not intend to apply for the French streams.

All told, Immigration Canada could be tasked with roughly 89,500 applications for these streams, not including the few coming in by mail to accommodate applicants with disabilities.

The programs were created in part to help IRCC land 401,000 new immigrants to Canada in 2021. The strategy was to admit as many temporary residents in Canada as possible, while travel restrictions barred foreign-approved permanent residents from completing their landings up until June.

So far in 2021, Canada has admitted 267,000 immigrants, after admitting more than 45,000 this past September alone.

Discover if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration

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With cyberattacks growing in sophistication and frequency, well-intentioned security professionals rely on a variety of tools to help them be proactive in protecting and backing up data. As the arsenal grows, however, many issues arise  including interoperability, management, governance, and usability.

Adopting multiple tools also doesnt necessarily improve security response, and may achieve the opposite effect, according to the Ponemon Institutes 2020 Cyber Resilient Organization Study. It found that organizations are averaging more than 45 different tools. Those using more than 50 ranked themselves 8% lower in their ability to detect an attack, and 7% lower in terms of responding to an attack.

So, what are the challenges with using multiple data protection tools and backup systems for cybersecurity? Thats the question we posed to members of the IDG Influencer Network, a community of journalists, industry analysts, and IT professionals who contribute their knowledge and expertise to IDG clients.

There are serious risks of using too many different products to protect and back up data, said Sridhar Iyengar (@isridhar), Managing Director at Zoho Europe. Companies, therefore, need to have a well-defined strategy and specific areas of responsibility to ensure it is crystal clear how data is accessed and used, plus how it is stored, shared, managed, and protected across the enterprise.

Wanted: Tools that are easy and interoperable

Too many cybersecurity tools can be overwhelming, say the experts:

The most interesting problem with using multiple data protection and backup systems is their tendency for conflict. For example, IT might use SVN to back up files to a check-pointed file system. If everything fails, do you restore the check-pointed file system first or the SVN repository? Generally, there should be only one backup system.  Brent Kirkpatrick (@DrBKirkpatrick), Cybersecurity Consultant and Researcher at Intrepid Net Computing

Many of these systems are deployed for a special cybersecurity purpose. But enterprise IT ecosystems are so interconnected that every platform can provide a back door to enter another unrelated part of the system.  Frank Cutitta (@fcutitta), CEO and founder, HealthTech Decisions Lab

If the solutions are not integrated, it is difficult and time-consuming to get a holistic view and react quickly without jumping from console to console and adapting to every available functionality.  Candid Wuest, Vice President of Cyber Protection Research at Acronis

Specifically, using multiple solutions can increase the time it takes for incident analysis and security system maintenance, not to mention the learning curve.

This can also introduce compatibility issues, where data from one system may not be able to be read by another, requiring more manual work, or additional applications to enable some form of compatibility, says Topher Tebow, Senior Cybersecurity Researcher at Acronis.

The more software you have, the more pieces there are in your security puzzle, and you may even find that a normally secure piece of code will become vulnerable if combined with certain other pieces of code being present on the system, Tebow adds. Using a single multi-layered solution can help to ensure compatibility and reduce the risk of adding unexpected vulnerabilities on your systems.

The Influencers also pointed to other concerns when organizations use an overwhelming number of data protection and backup systems:

Ease of use. Most businesses today must protect data residing in multiple databases, proprietary apps, cloud file systems, and SaaS, and are operating a hybrid cloud or multi-clouds, says Isaac Sacolick (@nyike), president of StarCIO and digital transformation leader and influencer. It's a significant challenge to provide seamless access to authorized employees while protecting data at rest and in transit from ransomware, device vulnerabilities, and disasters.

Staffing. Can a cybersecurity team find and keep the needed expertise internally to use those multiple systems? That can be a tall order in some markets today, says Will Kelly (@willkelly), Technical Marketing Manager for a container security startup.

Technical debt. Theres also the audit and reporting debt when teams have to do added work for audits and reporting because theyre using multiple tools and systems, Kelly adds.

Multiple headaches

The experts also had a lot to say about the issues multiple tools can cause with collaboration and data access:

Organizational collaboration is difficult when different data protection tools perform similar functions, as it may be unclear how to allow a collaborator to access or modify data. Something as simple as data classification and labeling becomes overly complex and a nuisance to end users if they need to set a label in multiple locations, particularly when the labels are not consistent across tools.  Kayne McGladrey (@kaynemcgladrey), Cybersecurity Strategist at Ascent Solutions

We found that we need multiple data protection tools because none of the tools fully meet our cybersecurity needs. Plus, all tools must be accessible for my staff that is using and implementing them. Often, the cybersecurity tools are not accessible. So we get limited, and sometimes not as robust, options when we select tools that our entire team can use.  Debra Ruh (@debraruh), CEO of Ruh Global IMPACT and Executive Chair of Billion Strong

With a multitude of tools and backup systems comes the need for proper coordination and management:

The main challenge is coordinating and normalizing all of the information from the various tools. While it is one thing to have a tool, the administrator must be trained and know how to use it to get any benefit from it. Multiple backups also need security. And if it is regulated data being backed up, there is a risk in just having that data, which is yet another reason for tokenization.  Ben Rothke (@benrothke), Senior Information Security Manager at Tapad

The key with any data protection plan is to make sure you have documented what data you are trying to protect. This would also cover what tools are protecting each data class. Using multiple tools and/or vendors can be more complex and cause things to be missed or mismanaged if objectives are not clearly stated and processes not clearly documented. Adam Martin (@colttrickle), IT Director

Theres also an impact on end users. One of the problems workers always talk about is how they must interface with too many different systems, says Jeff Kagan (@jeffkagan), industry analyst columnist. Most workers are not IT workers. Yet, this is the world they are forced to work in.

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Two trustees of the UK Science Museum, Jo Foster and Hannah Fry, have resigned following the charitys decision to partner with Adani Green Energy, a subsidiary of the Adani Group.

A prominent fossil fuel conglomerate, the Adani Group operates in thermal power plants and coal mining. Coal is one of the most polluting fossil fuels and thus a major contributor to global warming.

The Adani Group is funding a new gallery at the Science Museum entitled Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery which is due to open in 2023. It will promote green energy and display low carbon technologies that will help curb climate change.

Accused of greenwashing

The Science Museums decision to partner with the fossil fuel company has also been criticised by environmentalist groups.

Stop Adani , a campaign group, has accused Adani of greenwashing  a term used to define organisations which market their company as environmentally friendly despite practising unsustainable activity.

Similarly, The UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN) held a protest inside the Science Museum about its decision to partner with Adani last week.

The Science Museum has also partnered with Shell, a leading oil and gas company, on its climate exhibition. At the time of writing, a petition encouraging the Science Museum to end its partnership with Shell has garnered over 51,000 signatures.

Foster and Fry follow in the footsteps of former Science Museum adviser, Chris Rapley, who resigned last month over the charitys stance on receiving funding from giant oil companies like Shell, BP and Equinor.

Hannah Fry resigns with a heavy heart

Fry, professor of Mathematics at UCL, wrote a piece for The Times where she explained that it was with a heavy heart that she made the decision to resign.

By allowing such public ties with these companies, I worry that the Science Museum gives the false impression that scientists believe the current efforts of fossil fuel companies are sufficient to avoid disaster, she wrote.

Climate change presents a crucial turning point for humanity, and it comes in an era where pseudo-science is running high and trust in national institutions is at an all-time low. Being a credible, trusted voice is a fragile prize that should be preserved above all else. The Science Museum should serve as a leader in the national conversation and provide a platform for scientific inspiration on climate matters, but I dont see that it can do so while it fails to speak out openly on these issues.

Foster, the director at the Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS), has also resigned following the Science Museums decision. Foster has been a trustee for the charity since 2019.

Science Museums response

Dame Mary Archer, chair of the Science Museums board of trustees, stated that she has reluctantly accepted the resignation of Jo Foster and Hannah Fry.

Archer said: On behalf of the board, Id like to thank Hannah and Jo for their significant and valued contributions as trustees. We fully respect their decision to step down, which reflects views they expressed during recent board discussions on accepting sponsorship from Adani Green Energy, and they will both remain critical friends of the Science Museum Group.

Archer stressed: Nothing short of an energy revolution is required to replace fossil fuels with renewables, as a new gallery at the Science Museum will explore.

This news comes as the COP26 summit is underway (31 October - 12 November) where world leaders come together to propose solutions to the climate crisis.

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
KEY RACE ALERT. It was 7:13pm on the East Coast, thirteen minutes after polls closed in Virginias gubernatorial election, and CNN was telling us that the first votes were in: Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat, was leading Glenn Youngkin, the Republican, by a margin of two hundred votes1,126 to 910in Chesterfield County, near Richmond. Obviously, that is just a very, very small percentage of votes that are in, Jake Tapper said, before throwing to John King at the Magic Wall. Around the same time, MSNBC showed those vote counts on a full-screen graphic, with the percentages they represented in much bigger font; as more tallies started to trickle in, they flashed up on Steve Kornackis Big Board. At 7:37, Nate Cohn, the data whizz at the New York Times, said on Twitter that the papers election-night needle for Virginia would be tilting right, if it existed. (Electoral trypanophobes were glad that it didnt.) At 8:13, thirteen minutes after polls closed in New Jerseys gubernatorial election, CNN gave us another KEY RACE ALERT. Phil Murphy, the Democratic incumbent in that state, had a big lead, Tapper told us, but still 99 percent of the vote to go.

As things stand this morning, all but around ten percent of the votes have been reported in New Jersey and the race there remains too close to call. (Some observers are saying that Murphy, who trails the Republican Jack Ciattarelli by 0.05 percent in the current tally, needs to come from behind to win. We went through this last year.) Virginia was not as close: by 8:30pm, Dave Wasserman, an elections maven at the Cook Political Report, had seen enough to call the race for Youngkin; a few hours later, the Associated Press did likewise, sealing his come-from-behind victory following his early deficit in Chesterfield County. The minute the result was confirmed, the takes began to flow in earnest. On CNN, Dana Bash said that while McAuliffe had tried to nationalize the race by making it about Trump, Youngkins campaign had been incredibly Virginia-focused. On MSNBC, Brian Williams echoed that point, and said that something like student and parent rights at school allowed Youngkin to win. (Something like that, yes.)

ICYMI: A grassroots prosecution seeks justice for murdered journalists around the world

The result itself was quickly nationalized. Politicians and pundits variously pinned McAuliffes defeat on Biden failing to pass his ambitious progressive agenda through Congress, on Biden trying to pass an ambitious progressive agenda through Congress, and on neither of the above; it also spurred predictions of near-term Democratic Disarray in Congress (Tonight really empowers Manchin and Sinema), a Democratic wipeout in midterm elections a year from now (they have misjudged the nations mood as their window closes), and the all but inevitable 2024 candidacy of Donald Trump. Youngkins political future got talked up, too. A report in the Times suggested that it may hardly be limited to four years in the cream-colored Executive Mansion in Richmond. Ross Douthat, a columnist at the same paper, said that Youngkin should seriously consider running for president in 2024. He has not yet served a day in elected office, ever.

The most common topline takeaway, perhaps, was that Youngkin had successfully trodden the Trump tightrope: the Washington Post reported that Youngkin navigated the trickiest path in politics, appealing to moderate voters while still bringing out the most enthusiastic followers of Trump; at the top of its top story on the race, the Times concluded that Youngkin had provided Republicans with a formula for how to exploit President Bidens vulnerabilities and evade the shadow of Trump in Democratic-leaning states. There may very well be truth to this. But Virginia is not the country (nor, for that matter, is New Jersey), and off-year elections are not the midterms are not the presidential election. They tell us something, but far from everything, however desperate pundits may be to use them as grist for a national political narrative shift.

Such takes are also of a piece with the way the Virginia election was covered throughout by much of the national political media: Youngkin was too often characterized as a passive actor who deftly rode abstract culture-war forces rather than driving them himself, and hailed for his political savviness more than scrutinized for the substance of his message. As many media watchers have argued, that lens has failed much coverage of racial issues, in particular. Journalists often pointed out that critical race theory, which Youngkin cast as a woke specter in Virginias schools, isnt actually taught in Virginias schools; some went on to note extra crucial contextthat right-wingers, not least in the media, have stripped the phrase of its academic meaning and deputized it to oppose any discussion of race that makes white parents uncomfortablebut others retreated to shallow political framing. Its dishonest, Jonathan Lemire said on MSNBC yesterday, but Republicans are talented at branding. Theyre talented at making elections about certain issues even if they dont have any basis in reality.

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The media has a say in what elections are about, as well, but too often lets Republicans dictate the agenda. We also have a say in what leads the news when elections arent going on, yet we choose to fill much of that airtime with, erm, elections. The all-too-common genre of political commentary that structures a given presidency around a series of electoral testsVirginia and New Jersey, the midterms, the primaries, the presidential electioncontributes to narrowing the window in which politicians and the public can focus on governing, and warps their incentives when they do. The ridiculous notion that Bidens window for legislating is closing less than ten months into his four-year presidency is primarily, of course, a reflection of Americas ridiculous political system, but its surely the presss job now to push back on those dynamics and keep the focus on policies that matter in the lives of the American people, rather than gleefully leaping into a year of speculation about what Youngkins win means for 2022 and what 2022 means for 2024. To borrow the title of Lemires new show on MSNBC, its way too early for that.

In some ways, cable newss breathless focus on early vote tallies on election night is a microcosm of the way much of the political media covers the early part of a presidencyits not all totally lacking in insight, and its usually liberally sprinkled with reminders that things can change, but much of it is pointless, confusing noise concerning stuff that we simply dont know yet, when our focus could more usefully be directed elsewhere. One area that has often been neglected in the Virginia coverage that Ive seen is the Republican Partys wider war on democracy, which ended up being the biggest story to come out of the last election; when I did see it discussed, it was often in the context of Youngkin distancing himself from Trump, even though Youngkin centered his early campaign around election integrity and refused to say if Biden was the legitimate president until after he won the nomination. The Republican campaign to undermine elections wont end because one of their own just won one. The press may permanently be in election mode, but elections arent necessarily permanent.

Below, more on Virginia and election night:



A programming note, and an invitation: Next week, Ill be writing this newsletter from inside COP26, reporting and commenting on the media stories surrounding both the conference and the climate crisis itself. If you or your news organization is at COP, Id love to hear about your coverage, or to just say hi; Im especially interested in hearing from journalists who are covering the conference in an innovative way, and from those representing outlets outside the US. If you arent at COP, Id love to hear your thoughts on the coverage of the conference as it unfolds. You can reach me at [email protected].



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: What does the Facebook data dump mean?

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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.
Its happened at least once to every subrogation professional. A significant claim file involving an auto accident in which liability appears to be a lock, suddenly goes into a tailspin when the other side denies the claim because the tortfeasor suffered a heart attack or blacked out as a result of some other sudden medical emergency. You inquire into the law and learn that almost every state will avoid imposing liability where an auto accident is the result of a sudden and unforeseeable physical incapacity. You struggle to find ways to attack and defeat the sudden emergency defense so you can recover your or your clients significant subrogation interest, but evidence and documentation all seem to be peculiarly in the possession and control of the very defendant you want to sue. What should you do?

The sudden emergency doctrine can best be described as follows:

A person who is confronted with a sudden and unexpected perilous situation not of his or her own making and who acts as would a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances will not be held liable even if later reflection shows that the wisest course was not chosen.

The doctrine varies slightly from state to state, but most states require that in order to avoid liability under the sudden emergency doctrine, the defendant must show:

He or she suddenly became physically incapacitated; The incapacity was not reasonably foreseeable; The incapacity rendered the defendant unable to control his or her vehicle; and The accident was the result of a loss of control resulting from the incapacity.[i]

In most states, the burden of proving each of these elements rests with the defendant which is raising the defense, assuming the plaintiff has otherwise proven his or her case. Some states, such as Virginia, have held that the sudden emergency doctrine is not even an affirmative defense which needs to be pled and proven by the defendant, and say there is no burden on the defendant to prove its factors by a preponderance of the evidence.[ii] At the same time, those courts do require that the defendant bring forward sufficient evidence to permit a jury to conclude that the defendants actions were taken a qualifying sudden emergency.

Scope of Doctrine

To fall within the scope of this defense, the defendant does not need to die or lose consciousness. The incapacity must only be severe enough to render the defendant incapable of controlling his or her vehicle. The incapacity could be something as benign as a leg cramp or sneeze.[iii] So how simple is it for a defendant to simply claim he sneezed or had a leg cramp? Its almost impossible to prove he didnt. In addition, medical testimony is not usually necessary for a defendant to succeed with this defense, because the issue isnt why but whether there was incapacity, and the defendant might be the only one who really knows or can prove that.

Where a sudden emergency confronts a driver, he or she is not expected to exercise the usual degree of care or even the best judgment. Instead, the driver experiencing a sudden emergency must only use an honest exercise of judgment.[iv] It is important to note that only those who are driving carefully and prudently are entitled to the sudden emergency defense. The defense also doesnt apply to mental illness, such as a case where a person, believing herself to be the object of a conspiracy, turned her car and drove the wrong way on the freeway, driving head-on into oncoming traffic in an attempt to commit suicide.[v] The defendant in Ramey v. Knorr did not meet the test of sudden mental incapacity because the evidence clearly established she had notice and forewarning of her mental condition, had experienced a mental breakdown, and believed the person she worked for was conspiring to kill her by poisoning her. Even though Knorr had no history of being dangerous or violent, or any problems with her driving, that is not required in order to get around the sudden emergency doctrine. Earlier symptoms of a mental disability may constitute adequate notice and forewarning that driving is probably not a good idea and is negligence in and of itself.

Foreseeability

Foreseeability and timing are the two most litigated components involving the sudden mental incapacity which must accompany a successful sudden emergency defense. Foreseeability requires that the defendant be on notice of a risk of sudden incapacity. A previous history of seizures, taking certain medications, or other medical conditions place the defendant on notice that while convenient, getting in a car and driving could possibly endanger other people and property. The focal point is what the defendant knew when he or she got behind the wheel that day, and whether the decision to drive was reasonable. Simply bringing up these points will take the wind out of the sails of almost any sudden emergency defense, as the defense is thrown down rather cavalierly by defense adjusters almost routinely, without much forethought as to whether it actually applies. This shifts the attention from the moment of driving, when the defendant might sympathetically not be blamed for what happened, to the moment of starting the car, when he or she is to blame. Epileptic individuals may claim that their seizures were under control, to which the reply would be, obviously they were not.

If a person is suffering from chronic cardiac medical problems, argue that it is foreseeable that a heart attack could be imminent. Some cases, however, have held that as a matter of law, such an attack is not foreseeable if there is no reason to believe that it is imminent.[vi] Usually, however, if you can convince a jury that something is foreseeable; the defense will not be applicable.[vii] Family medical history, near-misses, etc., are all relevant and admissible to show foreseeability and negligence.

Timing

It is necessary that the incapacity underlying the defense actually precede the accident. Much like cases involving cattle which wander into a roadway and cause injury, timing must often by shown by circumstantial evidence. It is important to relay to the defense adjuster that circumstantial evidence is allowed and can be convincing in many cases. Juries love to play Sherlock Holmes and deduce things themselves. Leading a jury to water and letting them drink on their own is a powerful litigation tactic.

Whether the defendant suffered a heart attack or other condition before an accident or as a result of the accident is often a critical question in sudden emergency cases. Defendants can fall asleep, get into a serious or fatal crash, and then suffer a heart attack while injured and waiting for medical help. The importance of timing should be obvious. Medical testimony, the position of the deceased defendants body after the accident, evidence of the defendants behavior just before the incident, etc., are all important pieces of evidence in building a case to defeat the sudden emergency doctrine.

Accident reconstruction can show that the path the vehicle followed just before the accident would not be the path of a vehicle driven by somebody who was unconscious. If the defendant survives, testimony of first responders or paramedics that he or she was alert and unimpaired can be powerful evidence refuting the allegation of a heart attack or other medical condition. Remember, the basis of the sudden emergency doctrine is that the standard of care required of a party depends on the particular circumstances, and the circumstances would include whether an emergency exists. It will take work to discover those circumstances and put them before a jury. If the subrogation case is large enough, it might be worth the investment of time and some attorneys fees to file suit and conduct some discovery, putting pressure on the other side and putting them to the task of shoring up the allegations of sudden emergency they have been making.

Other Tortfeasors to Pursue

In addition to trying to defeat the sudden emergency doctrine, care should be taken to determine if other persons or entities might have some responsibility for causing the accident. If the defendant was on medication at the time of the accident  something that should always be inquired into  questions regarding the prescription and any warnings that came with or didnt come with the medication should be asked.

Some jurisdictions allow liability to attach to a health care professional for negligence which results in injury to a third party, while others do not. Those which do not say that the physician doesnt owe a duty to the ultimate victim or his subrogated insurance company. Others allow such liability in appropriate cases and refuse to declare that physicians absolutely have no such duty. In addition, some courts dont want to hold doctors to the impossible task of prescribing medication for a patient while taking the interests of non-patients into account. The more foreseeable an incident is, the more likely the court will allow liability to extend to a physician or other health care provider.

Drug manufacturers have also been looked at as possible target defendants in such cases. This is especially viable where the packaging contains no warnings or inadequate warnings to put the consumer on notice that his or her driving might be impaired while taking the medication. Such warnings are routinely given by drug manufacturers these days, but it doesnt hurt to look into it.

Swerving to Avoid an Animal in the Road

The sudden emergency doctrine is often used when a tractor trailer swerves to avoid colliding with an animal in the roadway, often resulting in the truck overturning and causing collisions with other vehicles who happen upon the overturned truck. However, aggressive subrogation professionals should remember that prudent drivers who react appropriately when confronted with a deer in the headlights can usually avoid the devastation and carnage that results from acting inappropriately.

When claims professionals receive claims involving deer collisions, they must take the time to investigate a few miles downstream of the crash and look for Deer Crossing signs. Those signs are there for a reason and are placed in areas known for high deer traffic to warn motorists and truck drivers. Deer are most frequently hit between 4:00-10:00 p.m. and again between 4:00-8:00 a.m. The real culprits in these collisions, however, are drivers who swerve to avoid hitting a deer. Swerving while operating a large tractor trailer can result in vehicles moving into oncoming traffic, crashing into trees and other objects, or even rolling over. The safest and most prudent course of action when faced with a deer in the headlights is to slow down as much as possible and let your vehicle strike the deer if it unsafe to swerve. While deer may cause damage to a vehicle and with smaller vehicles even injury, there is a much greater potential for serious injury and damage if the driver swerves and strikes a tree, telephone pole, or another vehicle. This is especially true if a tractor-trailer or commercial truck is involved. Experts advise drivers to take their foot off the gas and maintain a straight course to reduce damage and avoid injuring himself or others. The website dmv.org succinctly says, It is best to lock the brakes, jam the horn, and (if time allows) duck low behind the dashboard. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says, the safest option is to hit the brakes and the deerIf you swerve suddenly, you can lose control and then you risk a more serious collision with another vehicle or a stationary object such as a tree or utility pole. Do not swerve is the universal consensus regarding the prudent course of action to take when a deer appears in the roadway.

The sudden emergency doctrine is a doctrine of tort law which states that a driver confronted with a sudden and unexpected perilous situation not of his or her own making and who acts as would a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances will not be held liable even if later reflection shows that the wisest course was not chosen. This defense will likely be used by a driver who swerves to avoid a deer and causes other serious damage, injury, or death. However, evidence that the overwhelming consensus is that the prudent action is to not swerve can help sway a jury and a third-party liability adjuster and convince them that the actions of the defendant driver were not the actions a reasonably prudent person would have taken. Facing this defense is better than no subrogation potential at all. In North Carolina, for example, the defense requires the driver to be suddenly and unexpectedly confronted with imminent danger to himself or others. If you get a statement that indicates that the driver swerved to avoid harming the poor deer, the defense might not be applicable. By comparison, the defense would never be available to a driver who swerved to avoid a squirrel. Therefore, simply by showing no appreciation for or consideration of danger to the driver you can negate the sudden emergency doctrine. This is easy to do in collisions involving lower speeds. Remember, the sudden emergency doctrine is only applicable when a collision or accident is shown to have occurred as the result of a sudden emergency not of a partys own making.[viii]

Roll Up Sleeves

When a liability adjuster announces he or she is going to throw down the sudden emergency card when confronted with a subrogation demand, rather than giving up, the subrogation professional should take this as a cue that he or she is going to have to work for the subrogation dollars. The defense is often thrown down with little or no basis for doing so. If it wasnt an effective tactic, liability adjusters wouldnt do it. When confronted with the defense, the timing, foreseeability and individual circumstances of the loss should be looked at carefully in preparation for building a subrogation case.

[i] Rogers v. Wilhelm-Olsen, 645 S.E.2d 671 (Ky. App. 1988); Mobley v. Est. of Johnson, 432 S.E.2d 425 (N.C. App. 1993).

[ii] Vahdat v. Holland, 649 S.E.2d 691 (Va. 2007).

[iii] Zabunoff v. Walker, 13 Cal. Rptr. 463 (Cal. App. 1964) (sneeze); Reeg v. Hodgson, 202 N.E.2d 310 (Ohio App. 1964) (leg cramp).

[iv] McKee by McKee v. Evans, 551 A.2d 260 (Pa. Super. 1988).

[v] Ramey v. Knorr, 124 P.3d 314 (Wash. App. 2005).

[vi] Hout v. Johnson, 446 P.2d 99 (Or. 1968).

[vii] Keener v. Trippe, 222 So.2d 685 (Miss. 1969) (fainting spell found to be foreseeable even though defendant had only had a two-month history of headaches and no history of fainting).

[viii] White v. Taylor Distribution Co., Inc., 753 N.W.2d 591 (Mich. 2008).
CHESTERFIELD, S.C. (AP)  A judge Tuesday ordered independent representatives to take over the finances of a prominent South Carolina lawyer whose wife and son were killed five months ago and has since found himself part of a half-dozen state investigations.

Judge Daniel Hall sided with an attorney suing Alex Murdaugh on behalf of the family of a 19-year-old woman killed in a crash on Murdaughs boat which prosecutors said his late son was driving.

The familys lawsuit says Murdaugh is trying to hide millions of dollars they could possibly collect in their lawsuit and he could shift money between unknown accounts and potentially sell off property and a boat after he turned all his affairs over to his surviving son, Buster Murdaugh.

They have refused from day one to give me any information, attorney Mark Tinsley said.

The receivers will review and catalog all of Murdaughs assets and approve whether he can spend money. They will get part of any legal settlements or judgements against Murdaugh in the cases they are involved.

The judge told Tinsley to write an order and file it with his office.

A lawyer for Murdaugh argued he has not been found responsible in any civil suits since his wife and son were killed and has insurance to cover if he is required to pay damages.

Attorney John Tiller also argued at a Friday hearing that if Murdaugh loses control of his assets, that would open the door for similar things to happen in countless other cases if the person who sues thinks the defendant does not have enough insurance.

Alex Murdaugh remains in the Richland County jail without bond after being charged with stealing nearly $3 million in insurance payments meant for the sons of his housekeeper, who died in a 2018 fall in his home. His legal team did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Tuesdays ruling.

The lawyers for the housekeepers family and a second teen who survived the boat crash have also sued Murdaugh and helped with getting the receivers. Those attorneys expect judges in their cases to allow them to use the independent monitors.

Murdaugh, 53, also faces criminal charges in a second case. He was first arrested Sept. 16 and was accused of trying to arrange his own death so his surviving son Buster could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. That same day, the father signed a power of attorney for all his affairs over to his son, according to court records.

Murdaugh insists he had nothing to do with the June deaths of his wife, Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22. Murdaugh said he returned to their rural Colleton County home to find them shot to death. Tight-lipped state police have neither named any suspects nor ruled anyone out.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Jennifer Rogers Etcheverry and Wyatt McCrea will be presenting Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival awards Saturday night (virtually) as they have in the three-year history of the Festival. She is the great-granddaughter of Will Rogers. He is the grandson of Joel McCrea, co-star and friends of Will.
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of workers stayed home, rendering physical office spaces useless, at least temporarily. Now that employees are returning to in-person work, what does the current commercial real estate market look like? And what does the future of office space
Beachwood, OH (44122)

Today

Showers early, becoming a steady rain later in the day. High 43F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

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Showers in the evening, then cloudy overnight. Low 29F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Beachwood, OH (44122)

Today

Showers early, becoming a steady rain later in the day. High 44F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

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Rain showers early with overcast skies late. Low near 30F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Beachwood, OH (44122)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. High around 45F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

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Mostly cloudy skies. Low near 35F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  A human rights advocate has defended the petition to cancel former senator Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr.'s candidacy for president after the Marcos camp called it a predictable nuisance plea.

"Gusto ko ibalik ang bawat salitang sinasabi nilang nuisance ito at propaganda. Sino ang tunay na nuisance dito o peste? Fides Lim, spokesperson of human rights group Kapatid and one of the petitioners seeking to cancel Marcos candidacy, told CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday.

[Translation: I want to dismiss their statement that our petition is a nuisance and a propaganda. Who is the real nuisance and pest here?]

RELATED: Marcos camp calls disqualification case a 'nuisance' petition

Actually, itong Marcos family, sunud-sunod pinipilit ang kanilang pamilya to occupy the highest office of the land right now, tapos sinasabi nilang propaganda itong ginawa naming petition?"

[Translation: Actually, the Marcos family has been repeatedly attempting to occupy the highest office of the land right now, and yet they tell us that our petition is mere propaganda?]

Kapatid is a human rights group established in 1978 to fight abuses and advocate for the rights of political prisoners under the dictatorship of Marcos' late father and namesake.

In their 57-page petition filed before the Commission on Elections on Tuesday, civic leaders argued that Marcos' certificate of candidacy (COC) contains "multiple false material representations," including his assertion that he is eligible to seek the presidency.

They pointed out that Marcos was convicted in July 1995 by a Quezon City court for multiple failures to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985.

Marcos served as vice governor of Ilocos Norte from 1981 to 1983 and was governor from 1983 to 1986.

In its ruling, the QC court sentenced Marcos to at least nine years in jail and ordered him to pay the fine, but the Court of Appeals modified the decision and "improperly" deleted the penalty of imprisonment, the petitioners noted.

"Kaya ngayon, ang pino-point out namin, bakit merong selective justice? (That's why we are pointing out, why is there a selective justice?) Bakit merong (why is there a) double standard when it comes to people like the Marcos family in particular and now, no less than the namesake of the dictator, who is gunning for the highest post of the land?" Lim said.

Comelec slams Marcos camp's 'misleading PR'

Earlier in the day, Marcos' camp also issued a press release which used a remark of Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez to defend the validity of the presidential aspirant's candidacy.

Marcos' team said that the petition to cancel his candidacy will not prosper, since the Comelec spokesperson said "there is no clear case for disqualification," citing his interview with One News on Tuesday. Jimenez clarified, however, that he was referring to Marcos' 2016 vice presidential bid and not the November 2 petition.

"The PR is misleading....the original quote should have been taken in the context of the fact that the senator ran for VP in 2016. That quote was not intended in any way as a comment on the current petition recently filed," Jimenez added.

In a separate interview, Marcos said that he will not back down from his presidential bid.

"Sasagutin na lang namin ito pagdating...siguro natatakot sila sa numero, ididisqualify na lang ako," he said. "Pero hindi ako natatakot, hindi ako aatras, patuloy ang lahat ng aking gagawin."

[Translation: We will answer this petition at a proper time. Maybe they're afraid of the numbers so they just want to disqualify me. But I am not afraid, I will not back down. I will continue what I am doing.]

Based on the Omnibus Election Code, a petition to deny due course or to cancel a COC may be filed exclusively on the ground that any material representation contained therein is false. It shall be decided, after due notice and hearing, not later than 15 days before the election.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  The camp of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that the appeal to cancel his candidacy is nothing but a "predictable nuisance petition."

Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Marcos' spokesperson, said they will respond once they receive the official copy of the complaint.

"We shall address this predictable nuisance petition at the proper time and forum. Until then, we will refrain from commenting on their propaganda. Our camp does NOT engage in gutter politics," he said.

Nevertheless, a statement from his camp quoted Marcos as saying that the petition was lodged out of fear of how well he is performing even before the campaign period.

"Siguro kasama na rin 'yan sa pulitika. Lalo na 'yung aming mga kalaban ay imbes na humarap sa eleksyon kasi siguro natatakot sila sa numero, idi-disqualify na lang ako. Pero hindi ako natatakot, hindi ako aatras," Marcos said.

[Translation: I guess that's part of politics. Instead of facing me in the elections, my opponents, because theyre afraid of the numbers, would rather have me disqualified. But I'm not afraid, I will not withdraw.]

Heads of human rights groups filed the petition on Tuesday before the Commission on Elections. According to the petitioners, the son and namesake of the late dictator is not qualified to run for public office as he is a convicted criminal.

The Quezon City court convicted Marcos in July 1995 for multiple failures to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985. In its ruling, the court sentenced the former senator to at least nine years in jail and ordered him to pay the fine, but the Court of Appeals modified the decision and "improperly" deleted the penalty of imprisonment, the petitioners noted.

Civic leaders said Marcos' crime "involves moral turpitude, thereby disqualifying him under the Omnibus Election Code to be a candidate and to hold any public office."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  Key communist leader Jorge Ka Oris Madlos body has been cremated after he tested positive for COVID-19, the Philippine Army said on Wednesday.

The cremation took place on Tuesday following the release of the RT-PCR results and the turnover of the remains to the local government of Impasugong in Bukidnon, according to Maj. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the Army's 4th Infantry Division commander.

Brawner explained conducting COVID-19 swab tests on rebels who were slain, captured, or who surrendered is part of the militarys standard procedures to prevent soldiers from getting infected.

The military also reported that Eighfel Dela Pena, the medical aide who was killed along with Madlos, likewise tested positive for the virus and was cremated.

The Communist Party of the Philippines, which earlier called for an independent autopsy on the remains, however questioned this unilateral decision to cremate the bodies, which Brawner said was made by the local COVID-19 inter-agency task force.

According to the military, Madlos  a top commander of the New Peoples Army  and Dela Pena died in a gunfight with government troops in Bukidnon.

This narrative was rejected by the NPA leaders wife Myrna Sularte, alias Maria Malaya, the spokesperson of the National Democratic Front-Northeast Mindanao. Malaya said her husband was unarmed and was ambushed on his way to get medical treatment.

CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena accused the military of trying to get away with murder by burning all evidence...on the pretext of COVID-19 protocols.

If they wanted to follow protocols, then Ka Oris remains could (and should) have been buried in Impasug-ong, especially since there are no cremation facilities in Bukidnon (Covid protocols of the DOH do not provide cremation as the only option for disposing of remains), Valbuena said.

He added it is "highly questionable" that the remains even had to be transported to Cagayan de Oro to avail of cremation facilities.

Recall that a few months ago, the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) refused to release the remains of Kerima Tariman to her family and did so only after having it cremated. Indeed, cremation has become part of the AFPs protocol to hide their crimes and prop up a false image of respecting human rights, Valbuena said.

The AFP has earlier maintained its side of the story, saying it expects the CPP to misdirect the public on circumstances of this huge loss in the CPP-NPA leadership.

CNN Philippines Bukidnon-based correspondent Melchor Velez contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  General curfew in Metro Manila is lifted beginning Thursday, Nov. 4, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced on Wednesday.

This is to allow malls to extend operating hours to prevent crowding as the holiday season approaches, according to MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos. He said mall operators in the capital region "agreed" to open from 11 am to 11 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 11 pm on weekends. The target implementation is from Nov. 15 to Jan. 3.

Currently, curfew hours are from midnight to 4 a.m.

"Pumayag ang mayors na i-lift ang curfew starting November 4," Abalos told reporters in an interview.

[Translation: Mayors agreed to lift the curfew starting Nov. 4.]

"However, mayroon silang curfew on minors, iyong iba, 'yun ay existing pa rin iyon," he added.

[Translation: However, some local governments have curfew for minors. Those are still existing.]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  The Australian government has committed to supporting the Philippines' COVID-19 response with 1.8-billion aid to battle the health crisis from 2021 to 2023.

Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday, Australian Ambassador Steven Robinson said his government has increased its pandemic aid to the Philippines by AUD11.5 million or 433 million, raising its total commitment to 1.8 billion.

"[The aid] comes in three ways, which I think are really important: The procurement of vaccines for the Philippines, secondly, in terms of logistical support, and thirdly, advice to your drug administration about the disease from our Therapeutic Goods [Administration] in Australia," Robinson said.

According to Robinson, the aid consists of 556 million for vaccine procurement, 1.2 billion for logistical support, and over 17.4 million in terms of health advice.

The Australian envoy also recently turned over to the Department of Health the second batch of 100 oxygen concentrators, on top of the first 100 units that were shipped in August and delivered to different health institutions in Metro Manila and other regions.

"These machines are really important because [these] provide extra oxygen to help to those suffering badly with COVID-19. They are really life-saving machines. And because of demand that was out there in India and Indonesia, they have been hard to access," Robinson said.

"The fact that we were able to provide these across the Philippines to regional areas was a tremendous thing," he added.

The Australian government is also working closely with the United Nations Children's Fund for the procurement of more COVID-19 vaccines in the latter part of 2021 to reach the country's rural areas, Robinson said.

As of Nov. 2, the Philippines received more than 108 million procured and donated vaccines.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  The country on Wednesday recorded 1,591 new COVID-19 infections, the lowest in over eight months, pushing the nationwide tally to 2,793,898.

It's the lowest daily count since Feb. 24, when 1,557 infections were logged.

Of the total, 38,014 are active cases, the Department of Healths latest bulletin showed.

Among the active cases, 69.4% have mild symptoms, 5.2% are asymptomatic, 3.4% are critical, 8.1% are in severe condition, and 13.87% have moderate symptoms.

Meanwhile, the death toll reached 43,586 after 186 more patients lost their lives to the coronavirus.

The number of COVID-19 survivors also jumped to 2,712,298 with 4,294 new recoveries.

The DOH added that 349 duplicates were removed from the total case count, of which 330 are recoveries and four deaths.

It added that 132 cases previously reported as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

All laboratories were operational on Nov. 1, but seven laboratories failed to submit their data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System, it also said.

Based on data in the last 14 days, the non-reporting laboratories contribute on average 1.3% of samples tested and 3.0% of positive cases.

The daily positivity rate or percentage of people who tested positive is at 5.6% based on 29,489 tests done on Nov. 1.

The World Health Organization recommends that positivity rates be below 5% as bigger numbers may indicate high transmission.

The independent OCTA Research group said the reproduction number in Metro Manila slightly increased to 0.53 on Nov. 1 from 0.49 on Oct. 26, but the capital region is still considered low-risk for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Lubang in Occidental Mindoro is still at critical risk for COVID-19 infections as OCTA noted a reproduction number of 1.41.

The reproduction number refers to the number of people that can be infected by one person in a particular population. Medical experts have reiterated that it should be one or less for it to be assumed that the community transmission is decreasing.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  The government is eyeing to expand the COVID-19 vaccination program to children aged five to 11 years old in 2022, a health official said Wednesday.

"We have considered that in our plans for next year - vaccination of below 12 years old," Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, who also heads the National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center, said in an online media forum.

But first, the Health Technology Assessment Council and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) need to approve the expansion, Cabotaje said.

She also said that it is up to these agencies to decide what COVID-19 vaccine brand can be given to minors aged 5 to 11 as she noted that the shots developed by Pfizer and Sinovac are recommended for this age group in other countries. The United States FDA, for example, earlier issued emergency use authorization to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for five-to-11-year-old children.

The local COVID-19 immunization program currently covers only those aged 12 and above. The vaccination drive was earlier only open to priority groups due to limited vaccine supply.

As of Tuesday, Nov. 2, almost 28 million people have been fully vaccinated in the Philippines, Cabotaje reported. The country aims to vaccinate at least 77 million people by the end of the year.

Cabotaje said Metro Manila remains with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate among all regions while Bangsamoro has the lowest.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. has filed a sedition complaint against Senator Risa Hontiveros for allegedly bribing a witness to appear in a Senate probe.

Represented by employee Jaime Vega, Pharmally filed the case before the Office of the Ombudsman - accusing Hontiveros and her staff of bribing warehouse worker Veejay Almira with 20,000 to testify against the company.

"Veejay personally admitted that he was bribed in the amount of 20,000 aside from the 10,000 and another 5,000 sent through GCash, just to tell lies to the damage and prejudice of Pharmally and its officers and shareholders," the complaint affidavit read.

Almira earlier told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that they tampered with the expiration dates of face shields that were being supplied to the government.

In a video sent by Pharmally to the media, Almira claimed in his new sworn affidavit that he agreed to become a witness in exchange for help for his sick daughter.

"Wala po akong intensyon na siraan ang kumpanyang aking pinapasukan. Ginawa ko lang po iyon dahil nangako sila ng tulong sa aking anak. Akala po ay lehitimong pagtulong ang ginawa nila, 'yun pala ay gusto nila akong gawing testigo," he said.

[Translation: I don't have any intention to damage my company's reputation. I testified because they promised to help my child. I thought they were sincere, but they only wanted me to testify.]

Hontiveros again refuted the allegations against her, saying she has enough evidence to disprove Almira's claims.

"Nais ko lang ipaalala sa lahat na may resibo kami at yun ang nagpapatibay sa aming imbestigasyon," she said in a virtual press briefing.

[Translation: I just want to remind everyone that I have proof, and that strengthens our investigation.]

The senator pointed out that Almira sought assistance from her office to relocate in a bid to protect himself.

"May insidente na natakot siya. Pinakita ko rin sa Blue Ribbon [Committee] noon na may dalawang lalaking nakamotor na silang nag-aalok ng pera sa isang kabigan ni Veejay para ituro ang kanyang bahay," Hontiveros said.

[Translation: There was an incident that he was afraid. I also showed to the Blue Ribbon Committee before that there were two men on a motorcycle who were caught offering money to one of Veejay's friends to give his address.]

"Nung matakot siya, humingi siya ng tulong sa office ko, na makalikas sa kanyang tahanan, makalipat sa isang ligtas na lugar at siya rin ang humingi ng assistance para panggastos sa lilipatan nila," the senator added.

[Translation: When he got scared, he sought help from my office. He wanted to relocate to a safer place. He was also the one who asked for cash assistance.]

Hontiveros said she believes the complaint - which also accused her and her staff of subordination of perjury, offering false witness in evidence, and violating the norms of conduct of public officials and employees - is a "last ditch effort" by Pharmally to derail the ongoing Senate probe into the company's allegedly anomalous procurement deal with the government.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3)  Regulatory experts are looking into the applications to amend the authorization given to Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, and Sputnik V to include its use as booster vaccine shots or additional COVID-19 doses.

"Nag-request sila na ma-include ang third dose sa kanilang regimen o booster dose. Pinadala ang scientific data available at ito ang inaaral ngayon ng experts," Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo said in a taped address that aired on Wednesday.

[Translation: They requested that use for third dose or booster dose be included in the emergency use authorization. Experts are now studying the scientific data they sent.]

The official said the FDA is also studying mixing and matching certain COVID-19 vaccine brands for booster shots, as requested by the Department of Health.

Domingo said they are looking into the safety and efficacy of mixing the complete dose of AstraZeneca then Pfizer as the third dose, Sinovac then Pfizer or AstraZeneca, and Moderna then Pfizer as the booster shot.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. gave the projected timeline for the administration for booster dose for healthcare workers and third shot for senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals or those with impaired immunity due to illness.

He said they are hoping to release the final guidelines for booster and third shots by Nov. 5 and implement it by Nov. 15. But Galvez added the government will only give the shots after securing an amended emergency use authorization from FDA and the World Health Organization's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization releases its recommendation.

"Magkakaroon po tayo ng simultaneous sa Nov. 15 if all the requirements na EUA revision and also the SAGE recommendation will be published not later than Nov. 15, hihintayin natin iyon," he said.

[Translation: It will be simultaneously rolled out on Nov. 15 if the revised EUA and SAGE recommendation will be published not later than Nov. 15. We will wait for those.]

Booster shots are given to those whose immunity is going down over time after completing their shots. An additional dose is for individuals who never reached the ideal immune response level and are usually the elderly or those with impaired immunity.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 4)  President Rodrigo Duterte is considering running for a Senate seat in the 2022 elections, his former aide Senator Bong Go said.

In an interview, Go said Duterte is weighing a number of factors.

He is considering, pinag-aaralan niyang mabuti. Kung makakatulong ba sa bayan he might. Tinitingnan din niya yung slate ng administration ng PDP-Laban. Kung makakatulong siya na mas maraming mananalo sa part ng administration, said Go, a vice presidential aspirant.

[Translation: He is carefully studying it. If it will help the countryhe might. He is also looking at the slate of the PDP-Laban administration. If he can help, so that more senatorial aspirants from the part of the administration will win.]

Duterte initially planned to run for vice president in next years polls. He changed his mind and announced his retirement from politics last month. Go became the vice presidential bet of PDP-Laban after Duterte withdrew his acceptance of the partys nomination for vice president.

A faction of PDP-Laban led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said last week that they are trying to convince the President to run for senator.

Senator Ronald Bato dela Rosa, standard bearer of the faction led by Cusi, said he is planning to meet Duterte to push him to run for senator. The presidential aspirant also believes Duterte could be elected Senate president. However, Go said it is still too early to talk about it.

Hindi naman natin alam kung sino ang mananalo, who will compose the majority. Kadalasan diyan ay pipiliin po ng majority, Go added.

[Translation: We don't know yet who will win, who will compose the majority. Most of the time, the majority gets to choose.]

Nov. 15 is the deadline for substitution. Go confirmed that PDP-Laban officials will meet before Nov. 15 to finalize their Senate slate.

Go also said he is 100% sure about his vice presidential bid.
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.
Click on the link "CLICK HERE" below. This will redirect you to a login page. If you have already registered please log in, otherwise you will need to create an online account to proceed.

CLICK HERE!

At Step 3: Login using your Name exactly as it appears on your mailing label and the account number needs to be input without the leading zeros.
Centre County released preliminary polling results from the general election as of 11 p.m. Tuesday night with 87 out of 87 precincts partially reporting  as votes are still being counted.

Democratic primary nominee for mayor of State College, Ezra Nanes, ran unopposed with no Republican candidate nominated for the race. He will likely succeed Ronald Filippeli, State Colleges interim mayor, and become the 11th mayor of State College.

The current vote breakdown for mayor is:

Ezra Nanes (D): 2,805

Write-in: 140

Nanes, originally from New York City, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and then attended Penn States Smeal College of Business, where he received his masters degree.

One of his primary goals, as Nanes mentioned previously to The Daily Collegian, is increased representation for marginalized communities within the borough.

He also hopes to increase student involvement in local politics, advocate for policing reform, aid in the creation of a community oversight board for community relations with State College police and increase sustainability efforts in the borough.

Three seats are up for election within the State College Borough Council. Democratic candidates Gopal Balachandran, Divine Lipscomb and Richard Biever ran in the election, as well as Republican candidate Jacob R. Werner.

Balachandran, Lipscomb and Biever ran on the Our Communities Cant Wait campaign slate, alongside Tierra Williams, Ferguson Township Supervisor candidate.

The slate is sponsored by PA United PAC, a member-led organization that strives to build a multi-racial, multi-generational grassroots movement that can run and win people-powered, people-funded campaigns across western Pennsylvania, according to its website.

The current vote breakdown for borough council is:

Gopal Balachandran (D): 2,603

Divine Lipscomb (D): 2,482

Richard Biever (D): 2,477

Jacob R. Werner (R): 1,071

Write-in: 82

Additionally, four seats are up for election within the State College Area School Board, and two Republican candidates, one Democratic candidate and two candidates who are under both parties are running.

The current vote breakdown for the school board is:

Deborah Anderson (D/R): 10,285

Peter Buck (D/R): 10,201

Carline Crevecoeur (D): 9,908

Jackie Huff (D): 9,887

Michelle Glenn Young (R): 6,996

David K. Hutchinson (R): 5,539

Write-in: 137

MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE

Penn State faced lawsuit after alleged sexual assault, harassment claims Penn State was sued Monday by Jane Doe, a pseudonym for a former dishwasher at the Nittany L
The Graduate and Professional Student Association at Penn State released a statement Tuesday via Instagram with an outline of rights for those who plan on protesting alt-right political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos' event Wednesday.

The post said Penn State GPSA is aware of planned protests outside the venue, and while it doesn't want to encourage the protesting, it wants to ensure students are aware of their rights if they do choose to attend.

According to the post, the association encourages students to instead attend the "Love is Louder" event from 6-10 p.m. Wednesday in the HUB-Robeson Center's Heritage Hall.

Penn State GPSA also said to reach out with any further questions or concerns via Instagram.

MORE CAMPUS COVERAGE
The Indigenous Peoples Student Association at Penn State announced a list of events Monday it will host to celebrate Native American Heritage Month this November.

Nov. 1-30

Food Sovereignty Display and Book Recommendations will be available in the College of Engineering Library on the third floor of the Hammond Building.

Nov. 5

4 p.m.  There will be a presentation from Andrew Curley titled New Deals: The Legacies of Colonialism in Infrastructure Development in 112 Walker Building.

Nov. 9

7 p.m.  An acknowledgement of land at Penn State virtual panel discussion with students, staff and faculty from IPSA and the Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance will occur.

Nov. 10

7 p.m.  There will be a presentation of How to Become a Good Ally to Indigenous Peoples via Zoom.

Nov. 16

6 p.m.  The film Searching for Sequoyah will be streamed online, with a panel discussion following the film at 7 p.m.

Nov. 17

6 p.m.  The film 100 Years: One Womans Fight for Justice will be screened, with a following panel discussion at 7:20 p.m. Those interested can register here.

Nov. 18

7 p.m.  There will be a webinar about the book The Hunt for Red Pedagogy," and people can register here.

MORE CAMPUS COVERAGE
Penn State Health announced Wednesday it will administer the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to children ages 5 to 17 at vaccination sites in Berks, Centre, Cumberland, Dauphin and Lancaster counties.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 5 to 11 year olds are now authorized to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

Dr. Patrick Gavigan, pediatric infectious diseases physician at the Penn State Health Children's Hospital, and Jeanette Gibbs, senior vice president for ambulatory care at Penn State Health, discussed the process and importance of children being vaccinated against coronavirus.

Gibbs said vaccinations will be provided by appointments, which are in high demand.

The first day children can receive the dose will be Saturday, and all appointments are already full, according to Gibbs.

To schedule an appointment through Penn State Health, Gibbs said parents can visit its website or call 844-774-8883.

According to Gavigan, the new age group of children will receive a third of the dosage given to adolescents, young adults and adults. All children, regardless of height or weight, will receive 10 micrograms of the Pfizer vaccine.

The three-week time frame between both Pfizer doses will remain the same, however, Gavigan said.

Appointments for children and adults will be scheduled on opposite days to ensure accuracy with administering doses, Gibbs said.

According to Gibbs, some Pennsylvania school districts have reached out for more information. Since a parent or guardian must be present while their child receives the vaccine, school districts will most likely be unable to host vaccination sites during the school day.

We believe that what we have set up for the pediatric population will run smooth, Gibbs said.

While Gavigan said he encourages the younger population to receive the Pfizer vaccine, he understands the common fear of needles for children.

Try to be as straightforward with kids as you can, Gavigan said.

By telling children it will help keep their younger siblings, grandparents and others safe, Gavigan said it may help them understand the reasoning behind being vaccinated.

MORE CAMPUS COVERAGE
Pray the Gay Away.

These words, plastered on large posters above the face of British alt-right political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, greeted visitors at Penn States HUB-Robeson Center on Oct. 25  and again on Thursday.

Featured in prominent display cases in the HUB, tacked to poster boards, announcement forums and walls throughout campus buildings, and shared and reshared across students social media platforms, the posters advertise the Wednesday event by Uncensored America, one of Penn States student-run organizations.

When Penn States Queer and Trans People of Color Secretary Kyra Gines saw the posters for the first time, she said she thought the event was a performance or a satirical act with theatrically homophobic characters.

But Gines (junior-Spanish) said her attitude quickly changed when she verified the news and confirmed that Yiannopolous was scheduled to visit campus.

All at once, Gines said her tentative amusement was extinguished, replaced by concern for the safety of the QTPOC community amid whats going to inevitably be violence and discomfort across campus.

Yiannopoulos rose to fame with statements in his presentations and writings attacking political correctness, feminism, LGBTQ rights, racial equality and social justice, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Penn State QTPOC President Celeste Good shared Gines concerns and said she believes members of Uncensored America were fully aware of the potential consequences of inviting Yiannopoulos to campus.

They knew that bringing him here would cause an uproar, Good (senior-womens studies) said. Their intention with this event is to see chaos and to see violence and to have a big crowd. They want a show, and they want this to get violent, and they want to see this turn into carnage.

Good said her first action was to reach out to members of Penn State administration and the universitys Jeffrey A. Conrad Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity to see what actions her and her organization could take against the event with the ultimate goal of having it canceled.

However, the university told Good there was nothing it could do to stop the event, citing the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment.

Penn State released a statement on Oct. 25 denouncing Yiannopoulos visit and citing the same reasoning it supplied Good for why the event cannot be canceled.

According to Penn State Vice President and General Counsel Steve Dunham, Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims, and Vice Provost for Educational Equity Marcus Whitehurst  the authors of the statement  the university lacks the right to take action against the event.

As a public university, we are fundamentally and unalterably obligated under the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment to protect various expressive rights, even for those whose viewpoints offend our basic institutional values, Dunham, Sims and Whitehurst wrote. To do so otherwise not only violates the Constitution but would undermine the basic freedom each of us shares to generally think and express ourselves as we wish.

Gines said the universitys response was disappointing, but shes not surprised.

Its exactly what I expect from this institution, Gines said. Its not that Penn State is lacking people within the institution to tell it that this is wrong  its that the system, in this case, worked to allow the person to come to campus.

And the system, Gines said, isnt U.S. law but members of Penn States administration who took a very swift step back when they began hitting roadblocks in their attempted mitigation of the outcries against Yiannopoulos. She said they werent willing to push and tried harder to find loopholes in the law, which would allow them to cancel the event.

For Gines, administrations lack of willingness was indicative of the universitys seemingly indifferent attitude toward the QTPOC community, she said.

I need the university to think really, really hard about how much [it] cares about us, Gines said. An institution as large and powerful as Penn State  I would just like to know that [it] would be willing to fight whatever precedent is in place thats preventing [it] from protecting us.

Penn State spokesperson Lisa Powers said in a statement the universitys adherence to the law is in no way a reflection of its commitment to those who may be impacted by the event.

These incendiary speakers purposefully spew hate and hostility in an effort to divide communities and cause its members harm, Powers said in the statement. It is our hope that our community will show Milo Yiannopoulos that love is louder, and that his vile form of attacking others is not welcome.

An issue Good said she and other QTPOC students have with the university is its unwillingness to take accountability for events that occur under its administrative eye  events like the presentation by Yiannopoulos.

Good called the universitys inaction against Yiannopoulos hypocrisy.

Penn State thrives on calling itself diverse and inclusive and caring about [its] students, Good said, but at the same time, [its] going to allow someone to say pray the gay away and someone whos known for endorsing pedophilia, someone whos going to open a conversion therapy camp in Florida, to this campus to talk.

QTPOC Vice President Jahnia Marimon said Penn State allowing Yiannopoulos to speak on its campus was a shock given all the groundwork she said QTPOC individuals  including herself  have done to foster inclusive, comfortable and safe environments for people of color in the LGBTQ community  work she said university officials should have been doing themselves but havent.

Its very important to hold these spaces for people in an institution that doesnt hold [them] for us, Marimon (senior-communication arts and sciences) said.

By allowing Yiannopoulos to come to campus, Marimon said Penn State is indirectly expressing support for Yiannopoulos and his messages in the process.

QTPOC provides a space for queer and trans people of color to feel comfortable on campus, Marimon said. [Penn State is] providing a space on campus for this person to feel comfortable enough to preach hate.

Powers, however, reiterated the universitys obligation to follow national law.

Despite our abhorrence for Yiannopoulos vulgar statements, as a public university, we are fundamentally and unalterably obligated under the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment to protect various expressive rights  even for those whose viewpoints offend our basic institutional values and our sense of decency, Powers said in the statement.

Gines said she believes Penn State is setting a precedent for what it will tolerate in campus events and showing that inviting speakers like Yiannopoulos is OK. She said she fears possible future speakers and events with messages about racial and queer violence after Yiannopoulos visit.

What if its about race? Gines said. Can somebody just bring somebody who wants to come and say white is right onto campus? And are they allowed to do that because if were allowed to say Black lives matter, they get to be allowed to say white is right and that Black people dont matter? These are the kinds of environments and issues that were taking issue with.

The university, however, reiterated Powers sentiments in its Oct. 25 statement, saying it doesnt support Yiannopoulos visit, nor does it agree with his offensive and hurtful messages.

We share the profound dismay others have already expressed in response to his forthcoming appearance here, Dunham, Sims and Whitehurst wrote.

Dunham, Sims and Whitehurst also said the university doesnt support the message written on Uncensored Americas posters, calling it odious and divisive.

But the universitys denunciation of Yiannopoulos wasnt enough for Penn State QTPOC, Good said, nor was it enough for University Park Undergraduate Association President Erin Boas, UPUA Vice President Najee Rodriguez and Lion PRIDE Co-Presidents Josh Bannon and Cydney Howard.

In collaboration with the UPUA and Lion PRIDE, Good authored a joint statement Tuesday in which she and her co-authors strongly [condemned] the event and its intent.

Bigotry and discrimination have no place at Penn State, and the university must take the necessary steps to combat hate speech and protect the LGBTQIA+ community, the statement said. [Yiannopoulos] presence serves as a threat to students on campus, and the university should treat it as such.

The authors urged the university to have the event canceled immediately, as they will not tolerate an event like this to take place on campus.

In addition to what she and her co-authors wrote in their statement, Boas (senior-international politics) encouraged students and members of the Penn State community to show their support for the LGBTQIA+ community.

The rhetoric pursued by Mr. Yiannopoulos is absolutely abhorrent and in direct violation of the values we look to uphold at Penn State, Boas said via email. It is our duty as an institution and as a community to protect our students in all ways  physically, mentally and emotionally.

On Thursday, UPUA released a survey to the student body asking for input on the Yiannopoulos event.

In the survey, the student-run governing body asked students how they heard about the event and whether they felt comfortable on campus. There were also open-ended questions for respondents to discuss ideas for UPUA action against the event.

The Penn State College Democrats released a statement Tuesday condemning Yiannopoulos, Penn States administration and Uncensored America, calling Yiannopoulos and the event reprehensible and in open defiance of Penn States values.

College Democrats took issue with the universitys indirect funding of the Yiannopoulos event through the University Park Allocation Committee.

According to the official meeting minutes from UPACs Sept. 21 Allocation Night, the organizations nine committee members voted unanimously to approve Uncensored Americas budget following brief banter on the subject.

In its Oct. 25 statement, however, Penn State said it didnt sanction the event.

College Democrats also called for Penn State to decharter Uncensored America as a registered student organization, which the university has not done since the publication of College Democrats statement.

UPAC released a statement about Yiannopoulos Friday in which the student fee committee defended its decision to fund the event  it said it was neutral in its decision to host Yiannopoulos.

All viewpoints, including those that are controversial, must have an equal chance of receiving funding, the statement said.

However, UPAC said it did not mean to dehumanize any members of marginalized communities usually targeted by Yiannopoulos messages.

The nature of his commentary is both highly offensive and dangerous to a community that too often faces discrimination, UPAC wrote. It is our goal to facilitate a safe and welcoming environment for all students at Penn State, and we understand how this program directly contradicts those efforts.

UPACs statement was followed by a statement from the State College Borough Council Friday.

Members of the council backed a statement written by Borough Council President and Penn State professor Jesse Barlow, who condemned the event and said he and the council stand with student organizations UPUA, QTPOC, Lion PRIDE and later, THON, which also released a statement condemning the event.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey also released a statement Monday condemning the event for its anti-LGBTQ message.

On Tuesday, the Coalition for a Just University released its own statement condemning the Yiannopoulos event, writing that the First Amendment is not an excuse for Penn State to provide Yiannopoulos a platform.

As faculty members, we are concerned that this event will create a hostile work environment for many faculty, staff and other employees, CJU wrote in its statement, in particular for LGBTQ+ colleagues.

The organization promoted CSGDs Love is Louder event in place of Yiannopoulos Wednesday evening  an event designed to counter Yiannopoulos presentation.

Love is Louder will run from 6-10 p.m. in Heritage Hall in the HUB  before, during and after Yiannopoulos presentation.

It was early on Oct. 25 when student Jake Ehrbaker said he saw the Pray the Gay Away posters as he entered the HUB  and he said he immediately felt upset and angry.

Its writing and displaying hate speech on campus property, Ehrbaker (junior-chemistry), who identifies as gay, said. For [Uncensored America] to bring that to a campus of [over 47,000] students, where Im sure there are plenty of people still struggling with their own sexuality  to put posters up that say pray away the gay  its just a huge hit to everyones mental health, especially after coming out of the pandemic where everyones health is already at such a low point already.

Ehrbaker said he was so upset he asked a professor for an extension on an exam while he dealt with his emotions.

His emotions, in addition to personal experiences, are what Ehrbaker said inspired him to create a petition to End Hate Speech at Penn State University Park."

This was definitely something I had struggled with in the past, and Im familiar with going through, Ehrbaker said. For the LGBTQ students, I feel like its infuriating. Its awful to have to deal with that sort of hate being brought into the community.

And this, Ehrbaker said, can lead to dire consequences for an individuals health.

If someones struggling with their sexuality and theyre already in a bad place mentally and they walk into school and the first thing they see is a poster that says pray away the gay, thats going to be a huge toll on them, Ehrbaker said. This is something that, unfortunately, can push people to extremes where theyre either going to self-harm or possibly be pushed to the point of suicide because of this hateful speech thats being thrown around at them.

The petition, according to Ehrbaker, originally had two main goals  to have Uncensored Americas posters removed from the HUB and other locations on campus and to persuade Penn State to cancel the event altogether.

Many of us were appalled to see a poster stating Pray the Gay Away, promoting an event speaker promoting gay conversion therapy, Ehrbaker wrote in the petition. Implying that one needs to pray the gay away means that homosexuality is a choice and implies it is the wrong choice. This is not the message that we should be sending students or prospective students touring the campus for the first time.

But since the petition has garnered 12,130 signatories as of Tuesday night, Ehrbaker said another goal of the petition has become to inspire love and acceptance.

I want people who arent out yet to see all the signatures on the petition, Ehrbaker said. Theres still [over 12,000] people here to say, Were here for love and acceptance. We do not support the hatred thats being brought in here.

Ehrbaker emphasized the different approaches he said should be taken when examining free speech and cases of hate speech.

There is definitely a line that is crossed when free speech turns into hate speech, Ehrbaker said. That sort of negativity and harassment should be stopped.

And Ehrbaker said Yiannopoulos messages cross that line.

What hes doing doesnt necessarily constitute free speech as much as it does hate speech, Ehrbaker said. It is causing a mental  and in some cases, a physical  toll on many of the students, especially in the LGBTQ community.

Powers said students impacted negatively by the event can reach out to the CSGD or the Multicultural Resource Center. Faculty and staff, she said, can use the Employee Assistance Program.

Penn States Office of Educational Equity also offers an anonymous portal for all members of the Penn State community to submit reports of bias or discrimination, Powers said.

Students may also reach out to Penn State Counseling and Psychological Services, call the Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400 or text LIONS to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line, according to Powers.

In response to the universitys lack of action in canceling the event, Good said she, Morimon and Gines debated protesting Yiannopoulos but said QTPOC decided against such a route because of safety risks to members.

The safety and protection of our people as a marginalized group is what we care about more than being loud and proud about who we are, Good said. Thats what we care about more than protesting  making sure that were not in the line of fire and making sure that people dont put us in the line of fire.

But, Penn State Students Against Sexist Violence will host a protest outside the Thomas Building on Wednesday in response to Yiannopoulos presentation and Uncensored America.

SASV recognizes that you cannot just cross your fingers and hope such an odious figure disappears  doing so has only gotten us this far, the organization wrote in an Instagram post.

It called on all progressive students, faculty, staff and community members to protest with SASV.

On Tuesday, the organization authored an amendment with QTPOC to its posts about the protest addressing the organizations criticism of the Love is Louder event.

In it, the organization said the criticism was aimed exclusively at the Penn State administrations attempt to use this event to reduce student anger and to channel student action away from confronting Milo and into controlled spaces and that students, faculty and staff are free to choose one, both or neither events to attend.

Good said Yiannopoulos presence on campus already puts her and her community in danger, however  regardless of the protections she, her organization and the university provide to members of the QTPOC community.

Good said she fears riots and violence from the event that could have the potential to harm her and QTPOC community members in addition to other students, faculty and staff, as well as campus property.

How is that not something that the university is afraid of? Good said. What if Im sent to the hospital? What if someone dies? Thats all on Penn State.

Gines said, however, Penn State shouldnt take all the blame for the potential implications in Yiannopoulos visit  a large portion of the blame for hosting controversial speakers lies with students and student organizations, she said.

Whats problematic is when [organizations] like us come onto the scene preaching diversity and inclusion  it should not be something that needs to be reacted to, Gines said. There should be no exclusionary and hateful opposite to what were trying to preach.

Hopes of the university canceling the event are still strong for Good, Marimon, Gines, Boas and Ehrbaker  but the group also presented ideas and plans to combat the event within their rights as students should it not be canceled.

For all five, this begins with boycotting the event, they said.

Boas within UPUA and Good, Marimon and Gines within QTPOC announced their intention to support and attend CSGDs Love is Louder event.

Gines said the event is a potential platform for continuing the conversation about oppression in the QTPOC community  a conversation she said she expects to die out no more than a week after Yiannopoulos event. She said QTPOC aims to continue the conversation for as long as possible, as she said the oppression of the QTPOC community is perpetual and doesnt end when the topic becomes old.

In part, Gines attributes the perpetual nature and constant need to discuss QTPOC oppression issues to the innate racial and sexual identities of members within the community.

We had to grow up with these identities, Gines said. We never got a choice.
The State College Borough announced several travel restrictions downtown Wednesday, according to a release.

State College Borough Public Works will be working on sidewalk upgrades at the intersection of Dorum Avenue and Westerly Parkway from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Due to the construction, residents will still have access to their property from the Corl Street intersection, and pedestrians are asked to use the sidewalk detour in place with caution, the release said.

Questions can be directed to State College Public Works by calling 814-234-7140.

In addition, HRI, Inc.  a civil construction company  will be excavating West Hamilton Avenue between South Atherton Street and South Burrowes Street from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the release said.

The work will cause one travel lane to be closed, and pedestrians are again encouraged to use caution around this area.

Any questions regarding the construction can go 814-571-7322.

On Thursday, State College Borough Public Works is set to perform an asphalt repair on South Allen Street between East Nittany Avenue and East Fairmount Avenue from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The work will require a one road lane with flagging operations, the release said.

Questions can be directed to State College Public Works by calling 814-234-7140.

Additionally, HRI Inc. will excavate H Alley between West Beaver Avenue and West Foster Avenue, causing the entire street's closure from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

HRI Inc. will also excavate Logan Avenue between South Allen Street and South Atherton Street, causing the whole street to close from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, according to a release.

MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE
In this October 2014 file photo, protestors engage with passing motorists in a demonstration against the Jefferson County School Board conservative majority's plan to form a special committee to reevaluate school curriculum after the school board refused to back off plans to review Advanced Placement U.S. history courses looking for what they regard as objectionably un-patriotic content.
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!
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The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Janet May True, 82, from Covington, IN, a former Danville resident went to be with the Lord at 9:45 P. M. Thursday November 18, 2021 at the home of her daughter in Champaign. She was born December 17, 1938 at Los Angles, CA the daughter of Jack and Vera Mary (Branch) Guyer. She was a homemak
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Corsicana, TX (75110)

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A leaked internal report revealed that the paper was losing subscribers to the grim march of time while failing to attract new readers because while the WSJ made a killing by charging for an online subscription all the way back in 1996, it's since struggled to adjust to the modern internet. Online news is often held in reserve until the print edition is released, leading readers to click elsewhere for big stories. Reporters believe that improved coverage of social issueslike income inequality and drug abusecould bring in new subscribers, but editors allegedly don't want to touch the subjects. (Unless they're denying them, as the WSJ has a long history of hosting op-eds that dispute everything from climate change to the dangers of asbestos and second-hand smoke.)

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There's nothing inherently wrong with focusing on business, but if your only clientele is rich old guys who want to read about the nuances of IPOs, then you're not going to survive as a major institution. But instead of adapting, the WSJ appears to be at war with itself; before the 2020 election, the paper's opinion section ran a piece supporting an anti-Biden conspiracy, only for the news section to debunk it hours later. Attempts to diversify reporters and their coverage have stalled, with the editor-in-chief at one point killing a story about college fraternities for containing "jargon-y woke-isms."

Neon Tommy/Flickr Y'know, some would say "jargon-y woke-isms" is itself a jargon-y woke-ism.

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The paper also faces other, more insider-y problems, but the point is that phrases like "stem the bleeding" are getting thrown around, and no one seems to agree on how to do it. The WSJ is hoping to grow their 2.5 million digital subscribers into 5.5, but that report warned it would take 22 years unless changes are made. Meanwhile, its parent company is shrinking and pushing for fast results. So, if your grandpa tells you that the Wall Street Journal laid off all his favorite writers, you heard it here first. Because the WSJ apparently won't tell anyone on the internet until Rupert Murdoch has the chance to read about it over breakfast.
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Opinion: COVID has created an opportunity to start over in the workplace
C&S Wholesale Grocers is cutting 175 jobs at a Suffield warehouse, after its biggest Connecticut customer is moving distribution back in house with the promise of adding hundreds of positions to offset the C&S layoff in January.

The New Hampshire-based company reported the layoff last week in a filing with the Connecticut Department of Labor. A C&S Wholesale representative told Hearst Connecticut on Tuesday that affected employees have been offered positions at other C&S facilities, without providing additional details on the Suffield decision.

A Suffield official told the Hartford Courant the company lost a significant chunk of business with Stop & Shop, which is opening its own distribution center in Manchester. C&S has one other Connecticut warehouse, in South Windsor, of more than 30 nationally.

C&S Wholesale revenue hit $25.8 billion last year, according to Forbes, ranking the company the 11th-largest privately held business in the United States.

Major competitors include US Foods, Sysco and United Natural Foods based in Rhode Island, along with myriad smaller providers. On Monday, GS Foods announced the acquisition of the Wallingford distributor Thurston Foods, which focuses on schools, hospitals and restaurants.

Last March, Stop & Shop parent Ahold Delhaize announced it had taken over operation of a C&S facility near Fall River, Mass., which supplies some 200 Stop & Shop stores in New England. The supermarket chain is the largest in Connecticut with more than 50 stores.

The more we control ourselves, we can more control our destiny and were less dependent on third parties, said Frans Muller, CEO of Ahold, referencing the C&S changes during a mid-August conference call. Thats now paying off  and of course in the U.S., logistics and distribution is still stressed: availability of labor, fuel prices, and availability of vehicles. But I think we are potentially better positioned there, because we have a lot of drivers and vehicles under our own management.

Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop has been holding job fairs in the most competitive Connecticut job market in years, as companies struggle to lure back workers who sat out the COVID-19 pandemic due to health concerns, child care issues or being able to generate sufficient income from unemployment compensation.

Includes prior reporting by Jailene Cuevas.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  A reexamined autopsy ordered by the FBI in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene has rejected the Louisiana State Police claim that a car crash caused his fatal injuries, narrowing prosecutors focus on the troopers seen on body camera video beating, stunning and dragging the Black motorist.

The unusual second look at what killed Greene confirmed what his family suspected the moment they saw his bruised and battered corpse and his car with only slight damage: A minor crash at the end of a high-speed chase had nothing to do with his death.

The FBI this week received the new forensic review it commissioned in light of the long-buried body camera footage, vehicle black box data and other evidence the state police withheld from Greenes original autopsy. The review, which did not involve another examination of the body, attributes Greene's death to a series of factors, including troopers striking the 49-year-old in the head, restraining him at length and his use of cocaine.

The new review notably removes the crash and agitated delirium from the list of causes in Greenes original autopsy, according to a person familiar with the findings who wasnt authorized to discuss the federal inquiry and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

It also addresses a key unanswered question from the original autopsy, whether the crash that didn't deploy the air bag in Greene's car was severe enough to cause a fractured breastbone and ruptured aorta. The new review determined those injuries were most likely the result of CPR and other life-saving efforts by first responders, the person familiar with the findings said.

Still unclear was whether the new autopsy would prompt the Union Parish coroner to change the manner of Greene's death from accidental to homicide, which could affect the charges available to state and federal prosecutors.

Greenes mother, Mona Hardin, said she hopes the new report brings the case closer to justice so I can put my son to rest, adding that she has yet to bury his cremated remains. This thing has been so crazy. No one has properly grieved.

The new autopsy report comes as federal prosecutors are in the final stages of a two-year civil rights investigation that began looking into Greenes death but has since expanded to examine the beatings of several other Black motorists, and whether top brass obstructed justice to shield troopers from possible prosecution.

Rafael Goyeneche, a former prosecutor who heads the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a New Orleans-based watchdog group, said the new cause of death makes it even more likely prosecutors will bring serious charges. This yanks the rug from under the defense claim that the accident caused his death and that the beatings werent that severe, he said.

A Louisiana State Police spokesman said the agency has been provided no further information on the ongoing federal investigation but continues to cooperate. A U.S. Justice Department spokesperson declined to speak about an ongoing investigation but added that if the evidence reveals violations of the law, the department will take all appropriate action.

Greenes May 10, 2019, death came after he failed to stop for a traffic violation and led troopers on a midnight chase across northern Louisiana at speeds topping 115 mph (185 km/h), ending along a rural roadside near Monroe. State police initially told Greenes family he died after crashing into a tree, an account the Union Parish coroner committed to writing in an official report, which describes Greenes death as a motor vehicle accident and makes no mention of a confrontation with troopers.

After officials refused for more than two years to release the troopers body camera video, the AP obtained and published it this spring, showing white troopers converging on Greene before he can even get out of his car, repeatedly stunning and punching him as he appears to surrender and repeatedly wails, Im your brother! Im scared! Im scared! A trooper can later be seen dragging the heavyset Greene by his ankle shackles and he is left prone and face down in the dirt for more than nine minutes before he eventually goes limp.

Yet even after AP published video of Greenes violent arrest, state officials and advocates for the troopers repeated the crash theory, with Gov. John Bel Edwards floating it as recently as September.

The issue would be did he die from injuries sustained in the accident? Edwards, a Democrat, said on a radio program. Obviously, he didnt die in the accident itself because he was still alive when the troopers were engaging with him. But what was the cause of death? I dont know that that was falsely portrayed.

Edwards went on to say troopers' actions were criminal but that whether they caused Greenes death was the subject of an investigation and Im not going to get in front of that.

A lawyer for the troopers involved in Greenes arrest told a court in July that the crash killed him.

At trial, defendants will present scientific evidence that Mr. Greenes death was caused by a crash-related blunt force chest trauma resulting in a fractured sternum and ruptured aorta, P. Scott Wolleson wrote in a filing in a civil lawsuit brought by Greenes family.

Greenes was among a dozen cases over the past decade in which an AP investigation found troopers or their bosses ignored or concealed evidence of beatings, deflected blame and impeded efforts to root out misconduct. Dozens of current and former troopers said they occurred in an agency with a culture of impunity, nepotism and in some cases outright racism.

Federal investigators are also examining the actions of police commanders, which included pressuring their own detectives to hold off on arresting the trooper who acknowledged hitting Greene in the head with a flashlight and was overheard on his body camera video boasting to a colleague that he beat the ever-living f--- out of him.

That trooper, Chris Hollingsworth, died last year in a single-vehicle crash hours after he learned he would be fired for his role in the Greene case.

Speaking to investigators shortly before his death, Hollingsworth sought to justify his flashlight strikes on Greene in part because the man didn't have any apparent injuries after the crash and "could have done anything once my hold was broke off him.

___

Bleiberg reported from Dallas.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Tight races for governor unfolded in Virginia and New Jersey late Tuesday with the Democratic candidates narrowly trailing their Republican rivals in states that President Joe Biden easily captured a year ago.

Near midnight, the elections were still too early to call. As the vote count progressed, both races looked to be tight.

In Virginia, Democrat Terry McAuliffe addressed supporters in the Washington suburbs, vowing to count all these votes." Kristin Davison, an aide to Republican Glenn Youngkin, appeared onstage at a separate event and said his campaign would continue to track the incoming votes but was pleased with the way things appeared to be headed.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy was trying to win reelection against Republican former State Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli in a race that was also too early to call. If successful, Murphy would be the first Democrat reelected as the states governor in 44 years.

The evening's results, though, may ultimately be interpreted as an early judgment of Biden, who captured Virginia last year by a comfortable 10-point margin and easily won New Jersey. The closeness of governor's races indicated just how much his party's political fortunes have changed in a short period.

The White House has been shaken in recent months by the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, a sometimes sluggish economic recovery amid the pandemic and a legislative agenda at risk of stalling on Capitol Hill.

A loss in Virginia, which has trended toward Democrats for more than a decade would particularly deepen the sense of alarm inside the party heading into next years midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. But Biden expressed optimism going into the evening while acknowledging that the off-year is always unpredictable."

I think were going to win in Virginia, Biden said at a news conference in Scotland, where he was attending an international climate summit. I dont believe  and Ive not seen any evidence that  whether or not I am doing well or poorly, whether or not Ive got my agenda passed or not, is gonna have any real impact on winning or losing."

Elsewhere, Democrat Eric Adams won the New York City mayoral election, and a ballot question promoted by top national progressives was defeated in Minneapolis. It had sought to reshape policing in the city, where the killing of George Floyd last year touched off sweeping demonstrations for racial justice across the nation.

But no other race received the level of attention of the Virginia governors campaign. Thats in part because such contests in many states have sometimes shown voter frustration with a party newly in power, foreshadowing significant turnover in Congress the following year.

In 2009, during President Barack Obamas first year in office, Republican Bob McDonnells victory in Virginia previewed a disastrous midterm cycle for Democrats, who lost more than 60 House seats the following year.

The top of the Virginia Republican ticket featured a white man in Youngkin, a Black woman, Winsome Sears, running for lieutenant governor and vying to be the first woman of color to hold the post, and a Hispanic man running to be attorney general, Jason Miyares.

AP VoteCast, a survey of statewide voters, showed about half of Virginians had favorable opinions of Youngkin, compared to 55% saying they had unfavorable opinions of Trump, suggesting that the Republican gubernatorial candidate had successfully distanced himself from the former president. Youngkin was endorsed by Trump but didnt personally appear with him, though the party is still dominated by the former president.

McAuliffe, by contrast, campaigned with his party's top national stars, including Biden, whose last visit to Virginia came a week before Election Day. VoteCast found Biden underwater, with 48% of Virginias voters approving of his job performance compared to 52% disapproving  especially stark in a state he had won so handily.

VoteCast also found that Youngkin was making small gains in the suburbs, staying competitive with McAuliffe after about 6 in 10 voters in the same areas backed Biden over Trump last year.

In Norfolk, along the state's Atlantic coast, 29-year-old Cassandra Ogren said she voted for McAuliffe in part because of his support for abortion rights and her concern about restrictions recently enacted in Texas, where a new law mostly bans the procedure. But she was also motivated by Youngkins ties to Trump.

Anyone endorsed by President Trump is not someone I want representing me, Ogren said.

VoteCast found that Virginia voters saw the economy as the race's top issue, followed by the coronavirus pandemic and schools. The significance many voters placed on schools seemed like good news for Youngkin. His pledge to ensure parents have greater say in what their kids are taught was a centerpiece of his campaign  possibly foreshadowing similar arguments GOP candidates will use across the country next year.

Youngkin has decried critical race theory, an academic framework that centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nations institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people. In recent months, it has become a catch-all political buzzword for any teaching in schools about race and American history.

The issue took on greater weight after McAuliffe said during a debate that "I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.

Bennett White, 24, a Youngkin voter in Norfolk, said he didn't want our next generation of leaders to be looking at their peers in the lens of race."

I just want to make sure that my mom is safe in the classroom," said White whose mother is a teacher, "and that her ideals and everyones ideals are protected, and were not turning into brainwashing academies.

___

Associated Press writers Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, Hank Kurz in Richmond, Virginia, Alexandra Jaffe in McLean, Virginia, and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
HARTFORD  A former U.S. postal worker in Hartford admitted stealing cash and gift cards from letters in the mail when he pleaded guilty to a federal charge stemming from an investigation last year, according to federal prosecutors.

Nathaniel Bonilla, 32, of Bristol, pleaded guilty in Bridgeport federal court on Monday to theft of mail by a postal employee.

Bonilla was previously a mail processing clerk at the U.S. Postal Services Process and Distribution Center in Hartford. From April through October of last year, prosecutors said, Bonilla opened mail envelopes with a razor blade and removed cash and dozens of gift cards or prepaid debit cards for his own personal use.

In September 2020, a woman in New York mailed a letter with a $500 Home Depot gift card in it to a family member in Torrington. Prosecutors said when the Torrington resident received the envelope, it had been opened and the gift card removed.

Bonilla was later captured on Home Depot in-store surveillance footage using the card to buy items, prosecutors said.

Investigators confronted Bonilla on Oct. 16, 2020, as he was opening a letter with a razor blade. When investigators searched his bag, they found 44 gift cards he had previously stolen from work and 37 opened envelopes at his workstation at the distribution center.

Bonilla was arrested on Nov. 20, 2020. He is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.

He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford on Feb. 20, 2022. At sentencing, Bonilla faces up to five years in prison.

Individuals who think they are a victim of mail theft can file a complaint by calling 888-USPS-OIG, or by visiting www.uspsoig.gov/form/new-complaint-form.
NEW YORK (AP)  Former police captain Eric Adams easily won the race for New York mayor Tuesday, and Boston elected its first woman and Asian American to the citys top job as voters across the U.S. picked local leaders who were largely defined by their stances on police and crime.

Adams, who will become the second Black mayor of the nation's largest city, first triumphed this summer in a crowded Democratic primary after he struck a nuanced stance on law enforcement issues. His message on crime and his experience as a police officer largely insulated him from attacks from his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol.

He described being beaten by police officers as a teenager when he was arrested for trespassing. When he later became a cop, he was a vocal critic of the police department, advocated for Black officers and spoke out about injustices. But he did not embrace calls from some progressives to defund the police by shifting money from law enforcement to social work and other programs aimed at addressing the root causes of crime.

In Boston, Michelle Wu espoused a more liberal approach to policing and called for bigger reforms, but her history-making win came in a campaign dominated more by debates about issues such as affordable housing.

Police and crime issues came to the forefront in cities big and small after the death of George Floyd last year led to a national reckoning on racial injustice and law enforcement. The debate centered on questions of when and where police are needed  or sometimes whether theyre needed at all. It also unfolded amid an increase in homicides in the wake of the pandemic.

In some big cities, fear or a desire for a middle-ground approach elevated candidates seen as more supportive of law enforcement or who rejected liberal calls to defund the police. In Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed, voters were picking a new mayor. They also rejected a proposal that would have upended law enforcement practices by replacing the police department.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, defended the police department against calls to dismantle it. On Tuesday, he was fighting to keep his job against 16 challengers, with the most serious contenders running to his left. Frey had about 43% of the vote Tuesday, well ahead of the closest challengers but still short of the 50% needed to win outright.

Under the city's ranked-choice system, election officials were to begin sorting second and third-place choices Wednesday to allocate them to candidates.

Freys prospects may be linked to the ballot question that asked voters whether they want to replace the police department with a Department of Public Safety. Frey opposed the change, but his top two challengers supported it.

On the other side of New York state, the mayoral race in Buffalo put India Walton, a democratic socialist, in a rematch with incumbent Mayor Byron Brown, the citys first Black mayor and a Democrat who lost the primary to Walton this summer.

Brown ran as a write-in candidate with support from law enforcement and criticized Walton for her plans to cut $7.5 million from the police department budget. She said the plan was aimed at addressing the root causes of crime. Brown said the move is clearly defunding police.

Brown gave a victory speech Tuesday night, though it was still too early for The Associated Press to declare a winner. He said voters had spoken against those calling for ill-conceived policies that would reverse our progress and undermine the future stability of our city, our state and in fact, our nation.

In Atlanta, City Council President Felicia Moore advanced to a runoff in the mayoral contest that was dominated by fears over rising crime rates and a spate of high-profile killings. Moore cited rising crime as a motivation for her campaign.

She will compete in a Nov. 30 runoff, but it was not clear Tuesday night who would grab the second spot. Former Mayor Kasim Reed, who is seeking a return to office, also cited the crime surge as motivation for his campaign for a third term. He told voters that the low crime rate during his tenure and the hundreds of police offices he once hired make him the best choice.

Other major candidates spoke about adding more police officers and stressed the need to focus on the root causes of crime, such as affordable housing and unemployment.

In Seattle, mayoral candidate Bruce Harrell, a former city council member who has called for hiring more police officers to stem a rise in shootings, was leading opponent M. Lorena Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, the city council president, has called for an overhaul of the police department, which is under federal supervision for a pattern of excessive force and evidence of biased policing.

While Harrell held a strong lead Tuesday night, it could be days before theres a clear winner as mail-in ballots, which tend to favor liberal candidates, are received and counted in the coming days.

In Boston, Wu and her opponent, fellow council member Annissa Essaibi George, chiefly clashed over issues such as affordable housing, public education and transportation. But differences on policing and crime also emerged between the two Democratic women in the nonpartisan race.

Wu, a daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and a protege of liberal Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, had called for major police reforms. Before she was a candidate, Wu joined other city council members in calling for a 10% cut to the police departments budget.

Essaibi George, who describes herself as Polish-Arab American, had opposed reallocating the money and has called for hiring several hundred more police officers. She was endorsed by former Boston police Commissioner William Gross.

Even in Waterloo, Iowa, with a population of about 68,000, policing and race became a flashpoint in the mayoral race.

The citys first Black mayor, Quentin Hart, won reelection despite being falsely painted by critics as an opponent of policing. Hart faced vicious criticism for months from a political action committee called Cedar Valley Backs the Blue, which was formed by retired Waterloo police officers.

The group blasted the citys move this year to retire the police departments longtime griffin logo  which looks similar to a KKK dragon  and sought the resignation of the citys first Black police chief, a close Hart associate.

Harts opponent, white city council member Margaret Klein, campaigned as a supporter of police officers and won the groups endorsement.

___

Associated Press writers Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa; Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Chris Grygiel in Seattle and Steve LeBlanc in Boston contributed to this report.
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP)  Jurors heard starkly different portrayals of Kyle Rittenhouse  instigator or victim  in opening statements at his trial Tuesday on charges of shooting three people on the streets of Kenosha during a turbulent protest against racial injustice.

A prosecutor said Rittenhouse set the bloodshed in motion when he triggered a confrontation with a man that night and then killed him with a bullet to the back.

But Rittenhouse's attorney told the jury that his client acted in self-defense after the man tried to grab Rittenhouse's gun and others kicked the teen in the face and clubbed him in the head with a skateboard.

You as jurors will end up looking at it from the standpoint of a 17-year-old under the circumstances as they existed, defense attorney Mark Richards said.

Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with killing two men and wounding a third during the summer of 2020 with an assault-style rifle. The one-time aspiring police officer could get life in prison if convicted.

The teenager traveled to Kenosha from his home in Illinois, just across the Wisconsin state line, after protests broke out over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse said he went there to protect property after two nights in which rioters set fires and ransacked businesses.

The first witness was Dominick Black, who was dating Rittenhouse's sister at the time. Black faces charges he bought the rifle for Rittenhouse months before the shootings because the teen was not old enough to own one at the time.

Black testified that he and Rittenhouse went to downtown Kenosha to help protect a car dealership after vehicles were burned the night before. Black said he thought nobody would start trouble if they saw him with his assault-style rifle. He also said Rittenhouse helped give medical aid and put out fires.

Black said he was on the roof as protesters hurled gasoline bombs and rocks at the business. He said he heard gunshots but didn't know Rittenhouse was involved until the teenager called and said, "I shot somebody, I shot somebody.

Afterward, Black said, Rittenhouse was freaking out. He was really scared. He was pale, shaking a lot. Black said Rittenhouse told him that he acted in self-defense because people were trying to hurt him.

In his opening statement, prosecutor Thomas Binger described the unrest in Kenosha as two of the roughest nights that our community has ever seen" and said outsiders were drawn to the city like moths to a flame.

Yet Binger repeatedly stressed that amid the hundreds of people in Kenosha and the anger and chaos in the streets, the only person who killed anyone is the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse.

When we consider the reasonableness of the defendants actions, I ask you to keep this in mind, Binger said, after explaining to the jury that a claim of self-defense can be valid only if Rittenhouse reasonably believed he was using deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

The prosecutor said that it is not known exactly what words were said, but it is clear that Rittenhouse started a confrontation that led Joseph Rosenbaum to begin chasing Rittenhouse across a parking lot.

Binger emphasized that Rosenbaum, 36, was killed by a shot to the back after he threw a plastic bag. The first two bullets hit Rosenbaum in the lower extremities, causing him to fall forward, the prosecutor noted.

Richards, the defense attorney, argued that it was Rosenbaum who lit the fuse that night." Rosenbaum yelled an expletive at Rittenhouse and lunged for his gun before Rittenhouse fired at him, according to the defense.

Rittenhouse fired four shots in less than a second because Rosenbaum was "trying to take Kyles weapon from him to use against him, Richards said.

Binger, the prosecutor, said that after shooting Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse fled the scene instead of rendering aid, despite portraying himself as a medic earlier in the night. But Richards said Rittenhouse didnt stop to help because the crowd wanted to kill him," and instead ran toward police.

The crowd at that point clearly believed Rittenhouse was an active shooter, according to the prosecutor.

Moments after shooting Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, who was seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. The defense attorney portrayed Rittenhouse as the victim, saying Huber was trying to separate the head from the body with the skateboard.

Rittenhouse then wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a protester from West Allis, Wisconsin, who had a gun in his hand as he stepped toward Rittenhouse.

Prosecutors called FBI agent Brandon Cramin to testify about infrared surveillance video of the protest on the night of the shooting. Prosecutors have said previously that the video would show that it was Rittenhouse following or chasing Rosenbaum at one point. They played a grainy video from 8,500 feet in which figures on the ground werent immediately identifiable. After a dispute between the two sides over whether additional surveillance videos exist that the defense hadnt seen, Cramin, who testified off-camera by the court's order, was asked by the judge if he could return and testify another day.

The defense pushed back against the notion that Rittenhouse was an outsider drawn to Kenosha by a call to arms on right-wing social media. Richards said Rittenhouse had strong ties to Kenosha -- his father lived there and Rittenhouse worked in Kenosha County as a lifeguard -- and had seen livestreams of what was happening.

As his attorney displayed photos and video clips from the night of the shootings, Rittenhouse, wearing a dark pinstriped suit and tie, leaned on his elbows to view the images on a desktop monitor. He sat ramrod straight as audio of gunfire was played, and occasionally turned toward jurors, seeming to scrutinize their reactions.

His mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, sat behind him.

The most serious count against Rittenhouse, first-degree intentional homicide, is Wisconsins top murder charge.

Rittenhouse has been painted by supporters on the right  including foes of the Black Lives Matter movement  as a patriot who took a stand against lawlessness by demonstrators and exercised his Second Amendment gun rights. Others see him as a vigilante and police wannabe.

He is white, as were those he shot, but many activists see race as an underlying issue in the case, in part because the protesters were on the streets to decry police violence against Black people.

___ Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin, Forliti from Minneapolis. Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed from Fenton, Michigan.

___

Find APs full coverage on the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse at: https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse
SEATTLE (AP)  Moderate candidates took significant leads in early Seattle election returns Tuesday following a months-long debate about how to address the citys problems of homelessness, policing and racial and economic injustice.

In the mayors race, Bruce Harrell, a former City Council president, was ahead of current City Council President M. Lorena Gonzalez. Harrell had criticized his opponent for supporting the goal of cutting the Seattle Police Departments budget in half  a position she has since softened.

And in the normally low-key contest for city attorney, which also drew national attention, Ann Davison, who pronounced herself a Republican in overwhelmingly Democratic Seattle in 2020, was leading police and jail abolitionist Nicole Thomas-Kennedy. Davison had said Thomas-Kennedys policies would jeopardize public safety.

While Harrell and Davison now hold strong leads, it could be days before there are clear winners. Liberal candidates in Seattle tend to gain ground in later vote counts. And in Washingtons vote-by-mail system, ballots need only be post-marked by Election Day, not received.

The moderate versus left dynamic in Seattle mirrored that in other liberal cities, with back-to-basics candidates who promise law and order facing off against progressives who insist that new approaches are needed to solve intractable problems. The Seattle positions are officially nonpartisan.

The 63-year-old Harrell, who grew up in a redlined city neighborhood, would be Seattles first Asian American and second Black mayor. He has strong backing from business and real estate executives.

Were going to bring Seattle back together, Harrell told supporters after initial results were posted.

Gonzalez, 44, the daughter of migrant farmworkers, would be the citys first Latina mayor. Shes been endorsed by service-worker unions as well as environmental and urbanist groups.

In a statement Tuesday, she said she wasn't conceding, noting late-arriving votes and the fact that the votes of so many of our voters, who tend to vote at the very end, have not been counted means we may not know until late in the week or next week who the next mayor will be.

Gonzalez and other leftist candidates have said they want to tax large corporations to provide money for affordable housing. They would end forcible removals of homeless encampments when there isnt enough shelter or housing for the residents; end single-family zoning that prevents the construction of affordable housing; and invest in alternatives to policing, prosecution and incarceration.

Harrell has said he wants to bolster the police force. The department is down hundreds of officers because of retirements and resignations amid the talk of defunding, and Harrell has called for the hiring of more police, including some unarmed officers, as well as the appointment of a cabinet-level position to address rising gun violence in the city.

Harrell has courted voters frustrated with visible homelessness. He said he would keep parks clear of tent encampments while also increasing shelter space.

Incumbent Mayor Jenny Durkan is not running for re-election.

In the city attorney race, real estate and business executives have plowed money into opposing Thomas-Kennedy, who during and after the racial-justice protests of 2020 often tweeted vulgarly of her hatred for police.

Thomas-Kennedy is promising to stop prosecuting most misdemeanors. Citing her experience as a public defender, she describes such crimes as being largely crimes of poverty and says the city cant prosecute its way out of the problem. Critics say her election would make it even more difficult to hire and retain officers and it would send a message to criminals that they can get away with stealing.

Davison has her own baggage in deep-blue Seattle: She announced in 2020 that she was leaving the Democratic Party and running for lieutenant governor as a Republican. She has stressed that she is not a partisan  and that she voted for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden for president, not Donald Trump.

In recent years, Davison has advocated for sweeping homeless encampments and moving residents into relief shelters set up in warehouses, and she has opposed safe-injection sites and a sex-education law.

Davisons critics have questioned whether she would enthusiastically defend left-leaning laws adopted by the council, including renter protections and progressive taxation.

Police issues were high on voters minds.

Virginia Newman, who dropped off her ballot on Tuesday, said she was concerned about law enforcement in Seattle, citing the national outrage last year and whats happening in our city in terms of keeping those who dont have access to safe spaces who are marginalized and oppressed and how we police them unjustly in a city that considers itself so progressive.

James Vert, another Seattle voter, said the defunding movement was wrong.

I mean, our police will keep us safe, Vert said. And then we want to defund them. And then where does that leave us now with the problem we got? Look at the crime rates in Seattle right now.

___

Associated Press videographer Manuel Valdes contributed.
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP)  The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial over a string of shootings on the streets of Kenosha watched one of the central pieces of video evidence Wednesday  footage of a man chasing Rittenhouse and throwing a plastic bag at him just before the man was gunned down.

Someone is heard yelling F--- you!, followed by the sounds of the four shots Rittenhouse fired, killing Joseph Rosenbaum, though the shooting itself is not clearly seen on camera. Rosenbaum was the first of three men Rittenhouse shot that night, two of them fatally.

Oh, he shot him! He shot him, man. He shot him. He shot him, man. He laid him out," the person making the video can be heard saying.

Footage shown to the jury also depicted Rosenbaum lying on the ground as frantic bystanders surrounded him to help. He had a wound to his head, and a bystander placed a shirt on it to apply pressure.

The scenes were part of a wealth of video played in court that captured the chaos and the repeated sound of gunfire on the night the 17-year-old aspiring police officer fired an assault-style rifle during a tumultuous demonstration against police brutality in the summer of 2020.

In the courtroom, Rittenhouse  seated in the jurors' line of sight  kept his eyes fixed on a desktop screen and showed no emotion as video depicted him walking down a street with his rifle and shooting at protesters, people scattering and screaming.

Many of the videos played in court were found by police on social media sites, where lots of footage was streamed live or promptly posted after the bloodshed, and many of the scenes were familiar to those following the case.

Rittenhouse, now 18, could get life in prison if convicted in the politically polarizing case that has stirred furious debate over self-defense, vigilantism, the right to bear arms, and the racial unrest that erupted around the U.S. after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other cases like it.

The young man traveled to Kenosha from his home in Illinois after violent protests broke out over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse said he went there to protect property after two nights in which rioters set fires and ransacked businesses.

Prosecutors have portrayed him as the instigator of the bloodshed, while his lawyer argued that he acted in self-defense after Rosenbaum tried to grab his gun and others in the crowd kicked him in the face and hit him in the head with a skateboard.

A Kenosha detective who took the stand detailed injuries Rittenhouse suffered that night, all seemingly minor: a half-inch scratch above his eyebrow, a small cut inside his lower lip, a 2-inch scratch below his collarbone, a 2-inch scratch on his forearm, a scratch on his back and two bumps the size of pennies on his head.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger drove home the point that Rosenbaum was apparently unarmed, asking Kenosha Detective Martin Howard if any of the videos shown in court indicated Rosenbaum had a weapon of any kind. Howard replied no.

No gun? Binger asked.

I can only see a plastic bag hes carrying, Howard said.

So no gun? Binger asked.

No, replied Howard, who repeated the answer when Binger also asked him whether Rosenbaum carried a knife, bat or club.

But on cross-examination, Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards asked Howard what can happen if a weapon is taken from someone.

"It can be used against them as a deadly and dangerous weapon, correct? Richards asked.

Correct, Howard replied.

Richards also said that Rittenhouse shouted, Friendly! Friendly! Friendly! as he was being chased by Rosenbaum. Howard agreed, and said it looked as if Rosenbaum was gaining ground on Rittenhouse.

The defense attorney, describing how Rosenbaum came out from behind a car to meet Rittenhouse before the shooting, said to the detective: Correct me if Im wrong, but this looks like the classic ambush.

After prosecutors objected, Richards said: Mr. Rosenbaum is in hiding as my client arrives, correct?

It appears so, yes," Howard answered.

Other video played for the jury showed Rittenhouse saying before the shootings that he was there to protect property and provide medical care to anyone who was hurt.

An interviewer mentioned non-lethal weapons and Rittenhouse responded: We dont have non-lethal. The man filming the video then asked if Rittenhouse was full-on ready to defend the property and he replied, Yes, we are.

Yet another video captured the sound of a single gunshot, which authorities said was fired into the air by someone in the crowd other than Rittenhouse. The defense has said that that shot made Rittenhouse think he was under attack.

Jurors set their notepads aside and kept their eyes glued to the courtroom monitors as video showed people carrying one of the wounded as some screamed for medical help.

Earlier, jurors seemed to take extensive notes when testimony turned to the level of violence at the Kenosha protests, which included protesters throwing firebombs and rocks on the night of the shooting.

Moments after shooting the 36-year-old Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, who was seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard.

Rittenhouse then wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a protester from West Allis, Wisconsin, who had a gun in his hand as he stepped toward Rittenhouse.

___

Forliti reported from Minneapolis; Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan. Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed from Madison, Wisconsin.

___

Find APs full coverage on the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse at: https://apnews.com/hub/kyle-rittenhouse
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP)  Four men have pleaded guilty to attacking the owner of a South Carolina convenience store chain and his wife as part of a long-planned robbery.

Warren Willis was beaten and kidnapped as he left his W.E. Willis store in Landrum in September 2018 and the kidnappers went to his home, tied up his wife and shot her twice in the stomach before ransacking the house, Solicitor Walt Wilkins told media outlets.
ANSONIA  The Ansonia Republican Party had a very good Election Day.

Mayor David Cassetti, running unopposed, sailed to reelection on Tuesday night, while Republican incumbents not only retained their seats but picked up additional seats.

Only one Democratic alderman candidate, Joseph Jeanette, won his campaign while other candidates and even incumbents such as Diane Stroman, lost their reelection bids, according to unofficial results from the Ansonia Registrar of Voters as of 11 p.m. Republicans have nearly taken total control of the Board of Aldermen as a result, with Republican candidates saying the continued economic progress of the city swayed voters to their side.

Stroman won 99 votes and Rohan Brown, Democratic alderman candidate for Ward 4, won 81 votes, in effect losing to Republican alderman candidates Tony Spigarolo and Barry Knott, who won with 133 and 131 votes, respectively.

Ward 5 in particular was closely watched by both the Ansonia Democratic and Republican parties due to Burns Construction, which has a controversial rock crushing operation within the ward. Democratic candidates such as Brian Perkins latched on to the issue, claiming that the rock crushing was an example of the Republicans not listening to their constituents. The messaging was not enough to sway voters, however.

Perkins and his fellow ward candidate, David Rhodes, won 165 and 179 votes, respectively, while Republican aldermen Joseph Jaumann and Chicago Rivers won 276 and 272 votes, respectively, according to unofficial results. Perkins said that a representative from their party called their Republican opponents to congratulate them.

Perkins and his fellow candidates decamped from their campaign headquarters, by 9:50 p.m.

His campaign manager, Kianna DeCiucis, also a Democratic candidate for city treasurer, also lost her bid for election.

It is what it is, Perkins said, when reached by text message about his loss.
EASTON  In what he claimed was a victory of transparency over misinformation, First Selectman David Bindelglass won the race for the towns top seat.

We had a message of transparency, he said. We told people what we were doing. There was a tremendous amount of misinformation thrown at us about my positions on all kinds of things. I think the voters saw through what was misinformation.

An incumbent, First Selectman David Bindelglass is projected to have beaten Board of Education member Jeff Parker with a vote count of 1613 to Parkers 1491, according to town Democrats. Parker confirmed those numbers, admitting he lost.

At his house surrounded by candidates on the underticket and supporters, Bindelglass said the victory was the result of a phenomenal team effort.

This is a great effort and I believe this is a great day for Easton, he said. I will promise to do my best to make you proud for all the work you guys did. The work doesnt stop. Well roll up our sleeves and well get to work for Easton.

On a phone call, Parker said Easton is divided like never before, adding he is happy to help Bindelglass unite residents however he can.

The most important thing.. is whats in the best interest of Easton, Parker said.

Bindelglass, a Democrat, was elected in 2019 and inherited Easton on the verge of a pandemic. The 62-year-old town leader is an orthopedic surgeon and chief of orthopedics at Bridgeport Hospital.

Earlier this month, Bindelglass said that while most of his first year dealt with managing the pandemic, they were able to pass many ordinances and provide several services to put Easton into a better position going forward. However, he believes this is just the start and there is more to come.

I think theres a lot more work that needs to be done, Bindelglass said. Weve greatly increased participation from the public, but we have a way to go. I think there are still far too many people in the town that we still havent reached to inform them about the issues of the day.

Bindelglass said the pandemic contributed to the increase in communication.

Bindelglass pointed to how he kept the town running during the pandemic and Hurricane Ida as major achievements during his tenure, noting other towns struggled to do so. He said Easton was also able to return students back to school and open the senior centers before many other towns were able to do so in Fairfield County.

Parker, 71, ran as the Republican candidate with the goals to bring the community back together and to protect Eastons land and water.

Parker was also the catalyst for an investigation into the Easton school board that was started after he forwarded emails from parents to a local activist connected with the Save Our Schools group, which has been outspoken in combating measures being taken by the district to promote equity and inclusion in school. Parker has since apologized.

Parker has said when someone thinks about Easton, they think of land and water and the zoning laws put into place decades ago were done to protect those two things.

If not handled correctly, it could change the face of Easton forever, Parker said.

Parker noted he was inspired to run for public office by his late wife, Joan.

I was inspired to run for the Board of Education in 2011, Parker said. My wife, who had been a special ed teacher, special ed director and the principal of Helen Keller Middle School, passed away in 2010 and was the driving force for me to run for the Board of Education.

joshua.labella@hearstmediact.com
BRIDGEPORT  The citys employee unions are pressuring Mayor Joe Ganim to meet to discuss issuing city employees bonuses from some of the $110 million Bridgeport received in federal coronavirus relief.

All of our classifications (of members) left their homes to come in to work every day during the pandemic to serve the residents of Bridgeport, James Meszoros, local president of one of the largest labor groups  the National Association of Government Employees  told the City Council at its Monday teleconference.

He said he first wrote Ganim back in March about meeting with himself and his peers about COVID-19 premium pay, one of the allowed uses of the federal dollars that made up the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act the U.S. Congress and President Joe Biden approved earlier in the year.

At this time we still have not heard anything from the mayor, Meszoros said, noting the unions are open to speaking with him in person or online. All of our members are asking us every day, Whats going on in the city regarding the American Rescue Act?

Meszoros addressed council members during the public speaking segment that precedes their regular meetings. The mayor typically officiates but he did not appear to be present for the NAGE heads comments.

Ganims office did not immediately return a request from Hearst Connecticut Media for a response to Meszoros.

In an interview in April Meszoros complained the mayor during the pandemic had participated in events honoring healthcare workers but done little to nothing to recognize city employees who kept working through all of the stress and changes.

Over the summer Ganims administration sought public input on how best to spend the $110 million Bridgeport is receiving through the rescue plan, and NAGE at that time emphasized its desire the administration take advantage of the ability to use a portion of the rescue act money for premium pay. Some on the all-Democrat council also agreed it should be a priority.

But Ganim has, at least publicly, been silent on that proposal, even as his administration announced other ways it is divvying up the federal dollars, including providing $25 million to small business and nonprofits. A dozen different committees composed of nearly 80 members are currently sifting through and assessing 700 applications for those funds.

Ganim has also pledged investments in summer youth hiring and youth programs ($700,000 over four years), relocation assistance for residents facing eviction ($500,000), $8 million for broadband infrastructure and $8 million to help finance $395 million worth of upgrades to the aged wastewater system the council approved in April.

The city continues to explore other measures to address priorities in the Bridgeport community, including flooding issues, improving city cleanliness, providing additional social services and expanding healthcare access through a new community-based clinic, Ganim had said in an Aug. 2 announcement.

In interviews in early October some council members who had been supportive of the bonuses said the matter was tied up in the labor relations office whose director, Eric Amado, is also acting head of personnel and the front runner in the current search for a permanent personnel chief.

Ganim is not the only Connecticut politician being targeted by labor officials. According to the Associated Press, last Thursday the Connecticut AFL-CIO, an umbrella federation of unions, voted overwhelmingly for a resolution calling on Gov. Ned Lamont and the Democratic controlled General Assembly to provide hazard pay for all public sector and private sector essential workers by allocating remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars for that purpose.

We want all essential workers to receive pandemic hazard pay. This would include nurses, childcare workers, bus drivers, grocery and retail workers, building cleaners, fire fighters, police officers, and many others who put their lives and health on the line to serve their communities throughout the pandemic, David Dal Zin, a spokesman for the Connecticut AFL-CIO, said.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  Carroll Hughes, a veteran lobbyist at the Connecticut state Capitol who was well-known for representing the interests of package store owners and the state's police chiefs, has died. He was 79.

His wife and partner at Hughes & Cronin Public Affairs Strategies, Jean Cronin, confirmed to the Hartford Courant that her husband died on Monday evening at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital after battling leukemia for three years.

He lived a great life, loved his job, loved his family, loved the Capitol, loved everything about it, Cronin said. He will be missed. Hes just one of a kind. Larger than life.

Hughes established the states first independent lobbying practice in 1974, according to the firms website, paving the way for other lobbying firms in Connecticut.

Hughes, who served as executive director of the Connecticut Package Stores Association, for years fended off efforts to revamp many of the the state's liquor laws, often arguing proposals such as changing the state's pricing structure or allowing allowing liquor sales on Sundays would ultimately hurt small family-owned stores.

During public hearings at the state Capitol, Hughes would often criticize bills for benefitting big box stores and chains at the expense of the small, independent liquor store owner. In 2019, he noted, for example, how one proposal had provisions he said were designed and written in some corporate boardroom far from here, designed to eliminate the stores.

Fierce, smart, and hardworking, he was a friend to so many, state Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, the second-highest ranking Senate Republican, said in a written statement. He will be missed by all and remembered for helping bring the voices of many  from small business owners to the brave men and women in law enforcement  to the state Capitol.

Carroll was brilliant at his job," former West Hartford police chief James Strillacci, who was a former president of the police chiefs association, told the Courant. He called Hughes "a guide to the byzantine ways of the legislature, a font of historical lore and a sage adviser.
BRIDGEPORT  As the city submitted its final counts to the state on Wednesday, Democrats and incumbents dominated the results of this weeks school board and city council races.

Democrats Christine Baptiste-Perez, Erika Castillo and Michael Maccarone claimed victory in three out of the five open school board seats in Tuesdays election, with the slates average number of votes more than 1,800 greater than the next highest candidate.

The two incumbents  John Weldon, a Republican, and Joseph Sokolovic, who lost the Republican primary but ran on the Working Families Party line  snagged 1,245 and 1,202 votes, respectively, according to the head moderators report.

Voter turnout in Bridgeport hovered around 31 percent, according to data from the Secretary of States office.

And though the results were unofficial, Anthony Minutolo, the Republican deputy at the Bridgeport voter registrar, said they were unlikely to change.

I do expect them to get certified, he said.

The two other Republicans, Peter Perillo, who seemed posed to take the fifth board seat Tuesday night, and Mary Gaits, came close with 1,108 and 1,106 votes, respectively, according to unofficial tallies.

Sokolovics strength over Perillo and Gaits appeared to be with absentee ballots, of which he garnered 272 votes, compared to the latter two candidates 28 and 34 votes, respectively, according to results shared by Sokolovics campaign early Wednesday morning.

More than 1,200 absentee ballots were received from the Town Clerk, and fewer than 40 were rejected.

Sokolovic told Hearst Connecticut Media that he credited Maria Pereira with helping him get a large share of those absentee votes while she campaigned for her own city council seat.

The school board will elect its officers at an organizational meeting the first Monday of December, according to Weldon, who could seek his current position of chair again.

School board members serve four-year terms.

The council races, as expected, mostly followed the results of Septembers Democratic primaries, when 16 incumbents preserved their seats with, four new faces joining them. Three of those new candidates were cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party - Tyler Mack, Aikeem Boyd and Wanda Simmons. Three of the candidates were cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party.

The lone council race that was still in question Tuesday night before absentee ballots were counted was in the 139th Council District, where incumbent Eneida Martinez lost her primary and mounted a final hour write-in campaign.

Martinez, who circulated around 150 applications for absentee ballots, thought she might be able to overtake Wanda Simmons, but the unofficial count showed Ernie Newton got 355 votes, Simmons 272 votes on the Democratic line and 58 on the Working Families line, and Martinez 173.

Martinez has held the East End council seat since 2013, but was arrested last year in connection with a club violating COVID-safety rules where Nyair Nixon was fatally shot.

Simmons was treated in Bridgeport Hospital for COVID-19 this fall but discouraged constituents from getting vaccinated.

Councilmen Scott Burns and Matthew McCarthy from the 130th District; Councilman Jorge Cruz and Mack representing the 131st District; incumbents M. Evette Brantley and Marcus Brown from the 132nd District; newcomer Boyd and Councilwoman Jeanette Herron from the 133rd District; Councilwomen Michelle Lyons and AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia in the 134th District; incumbents Rev. Mary McBride Lee and Rosalina Roman-Christy in the 135th District; Councilmen Alfred Castillo and Avelino Silva representing the 136th District; incumbents Aidee Nieves and Maria Valle from the 137th District; and Councilwoman Maria Pereira and her new running mate, Michelle Small, representing the 138th District.

They will form an all Democratic legislative body for the next two years.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP)  Nineteen families on the Mississippi Gulf Coast have been left without a home after a city condemned a decades-old motel.

WLOX-TV reported that Pascagoula officials said Crown Inn had structural problems, safety hazards and code violations.
BRIDGEPORT  A shooting that injured a grandmother and two children at the P.T. Barnum public housing complex has shaken residents there and has one prominent Democratic political leader calling on the city to do more to stem the violence.

Look at the problem seriously, City Clerk Lydia Martinez, a former councilwoman and ex-state representative, said Tuesday in an interview while visiting the complex, located in the Black Rock neighborhood.

Police earlier in the day released surveillance stills of a suspected shooter who fired outside of P.T. Barnum on Saturday, around 3:30 p.m. Shrapnel from the bullets caused non-life threatening injuries to an unidentified woman and her grandchildren, ages 3 and 7 years old, who were standing on a balcony, according to Director of Emergency Management Scott Appleby.

All are well but (it was a) traumatic event, Appleby said in an email Tuesday to Hearst Connecticut Media, adding the family were bystanders and not targets.

Martinez told Hearst she knows the woman and the children and they did not want to be interviewed for this article.

She said the grandmother was struck in the stomach and calf, and the younger child hit in three places on her left leg.

Its bad, Martinez said. I saw them. They have big scars.

She added that the 7-year-old is so traumatized she doesnt want to be in school.

You experience something like that at that age, wouldnt you be a little bit traumatized? Dione Dwyer, who lives in P.T. Barnum and helps run the P.T. Partners advocacy group, said in a separate interview Tuesday. Id be at my age.

Dwyer is 44.

Martinez called on Mayor Joe Ganims administration to step up police patrols, though Appleby confirmed officers were in the area at the time of the shooting.

Residents of Bridgeports low income public housing sites are no strangers to violence and an overall poor living situation. In fact when Ganim ran successfully for mayor in 2015 he often visited such developments while campaigning, particularly in the wake of violence, to convince voters there he cared more than his opponent in that summers Democratic primary, incumbent Bill Finch.

Neither Appleby nor Ganims office on Tuesday said what, if any, additional security measures would be taken at P.T. Barnum.

Dont abandon the place. Dont act like this doesnt exist, Martinez said. There are many families here that need to live here because they are poor. They dont have the means to move out of here.

The city and Park City Communities, the housing authority that runs the mostly federally-funded properties, have been slowly razing the authoritys oldest buildings and replacing them with new, mixed-income structures.

Meanwhile the authority for several years has been labeled as troubled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in part for tenants living conditions and was recently determined by HUD to be in default of a plan to turn things around.

Jillian Baldwin, the authoritys director, was hired last year specifically to improve the situation. Baldwin in a statement Tuesday said our hearts go out to the families in this incident.

Members of the Park City Communities staff have connected with these individuals and are assisting them with the resources at our disposal, she said. We are committed to our continued partnership with the Bridgeport Police Department to reduce crime and violence in our communities. In support of that commitment, PCC has invested substantially to assist in the expansion of community policing efforts and has invested in technology upgrades which allow for community-wide surveillance.

Baldwin concluded, We are all heartbroken when incidents like this occur and it only serves to strengthen our resolve to work in partnership with city leaders, the police department and community advocates as we all strive to create and sustain safer communities.

Marie Lubin said she has lived at the apartments for two years after moving there from Stamford.

Ive heard people say this is a bad area, she said. And if the police are on patrol there, Lubin said, she does not notice the officers or cruisers.

They used to patrol around here but I dont see them anymore, she said.

Dwyer said Saturdays shooting definitely has the wider P.T. Barnum community concerned.

Everything that happens around here, whether it happens personally to you or not, everything effects everyone, Dwyer said. When one suffers we all suffer.

Dwyer said the issues are far more complex than whether enough police officers are assigned to P.T. Barnum.

Theres plenty of things that could be done in order for people to not have guns in the first place, she said.

Another resident of the complex who did not want to be identified said the problem of violence is difficult to escape and is hardly just a Bridgeport issue.

Its everywhere. Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven. Its crazy, he said.

Anyone with information on Saturdays shooting at P.T. Barnum is asked to call Bridgeport police Detective Ayala at 203-581-5259 or the anonymous tip line at 203-576-TIPS (8477).
STRATFORD  Mayor Laura Hoydick won reelection decisively Tuesday over Democratic challenger Immacula Cann.

The vote was 8,007 for Hoydick to 4,708 for Cann.

Republicans appeared to have maintained a 6-4 majority on the Town Council, though there will be a recount in one race.

Im glad that Stratford believes in the winning team and Im glad they have faith in us, the mayor said after greeting supporters at Riverview Bistro.

Hoydicks margin of victory was much more decisive Tuesday than 2017, when she won her first term by a 572-vote margin over Democrat Stephanie Philips.

Hoydick bested Cann Tuesday by 3,299 votes, or about 63 to 37 percent.

Philips had sought her partys nomination again this year, but lost out to Cann in a contest many saw as a bad omen for Democratic chances going into November. The partys bid for unity was further damaged when Steve Taccogna, who succeeded Philips as party chair, filed a complaint against her with state elections officials days before the Democratic caucus.

The race pitted Cann, a nurse who works at the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services as a director of education and training, against Hoydick, a former commercial property manager who became a state representative and then mayor in 2017 after serving in other roles.

Prior to Election Day, many more Democrats had requested absentee ballots  and Cann took absentee ballots 1,112 to 960 over Hoydick before losing big on votes cast Tuesday.

A similar pattern followed in some other races.

In the 8th District in the north end of town, for example, Democratic challenger Dianne Nolan won absentee ballots 182 to 99 over Republican incumbent Republican Jim Connor, but lost the race 879 to 670.

After learning the results at the Chapel Street Elementary School, Nolan congratulated Connor and the two candidates shook hands.

There will be a recount in the 2nd District Town Council race, where incumbent Democrat Kaitlyn Shake won by 8 votes over Ron Tichy, a Republican who held the seat prior to Shake, 624 to 616.

There will also be recounts in two land use races. In Planning Commission District 3, Democrat Barbara Heimlich has a 2-vote lead over Republican Alec Voccola, 1,109 to 1,107. In the Board of Zoning Appeals District 3, the margin is only one vote: 1,095 for Democrat Anthony Owusu Afriyie and 1,094 for Republican Kerry Whitham.

The mayor said she would wait for the down-ballot results to be confirmed but that regardless, Its really a great night for us.

Republican Town Council Chairman Chris Pia, who won reelection 1,171 to 642 over Democrat Will Farmer, said he looked forward to the mayors administration continuing.

Its a wonderful endorsement of Laura, he said of the results. Im proud of her and happy for the town.

Hoydick said it was too early to discuss plans for her second term.

Not yet, she said while greeting supporters Tuesday night. We won as a team so well govern as a team.

Going into Tuesdays election, Republicans held firm control of town government. In addition to the mayors office, the GOP held a 6-4 Town Council majority  with one of the outgoing Democrats, the Fourth Districts David Harden, endorsing Hoydick in the campaigns last days.

Cann ran a campaign based on economic issues, emphasizing the towns placement for the last two years on the states list of distressed municipalities. She proposed a list of steps such as appointing a chief innovation officer and start-up grants for businesses.

Hoydick cited economic development projects during her administration as well as modest tax decreases, along with her experience and ability to draw investment and government grants to the town.

The GOP held a fundraising advantage in the run-up to the campaigns home stretch.

At the close of the last reporting period a week before the election, Cann had $10,520 after paying $42,556 in expenses, mostly to Blue Edge Strategies, a Manchester-based Democratic consultancy whose Facebook banner image reads No one has flipped more towns from Red to Blue.

By contrast, Hoydick had nearly 10 times that  $110,467  after paying $2,447 in expenses for things like hall rental costs for a fundraiser and credit card processing fees.

Over the course of the campaign, Cann spent $65,324 and Hoydick spent $11,625.

Republican Town Committee Chairman Lou DeCilio said the mayors win is a stamp of approval on the job the mayor and the Republican-led council has done over the last four years.
In a stunning victory in Virginia and a strong showing in New Jersey, the Republican Party has fashioned a playbook that could repair the GOP's tarnished image in swing states and suburban districts across the nation.

But it is a formula that may be difficult to replicate on a broad scale in next year's midterm elections.

Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin, virtually unknown a year ago, won the Virginia governor's race early Wednesday by running away from the national Republican Party and its most prominent leaders  especially Donald Trump.

The Virginia Republican spent the closing months of his campaign avoiding the divisive issues that most animate Trump's base, including the baseless prospect of election fraud. And Youngkin benefited from running against former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a political insider with a muddled message.

Candidates matter, Youngkin chief strategist Jeff Roe said. We werent defined by Obama, we werent defined by Trump, we were defined by Glenn.

With a clear enthusiasm advantage on the right, Democrats should worry that the Republican victory in Virginia and a closer-than-expected governor's race in New Jersey  which remained virtually deadlocked early Wednesday  could signal an anti-Democrat wave in 2022.

Democrats lost 63 seats in the House and six in the Senate the year after Republican Bob McDonnell won the Virginia governor's race in 2009, the last Republican to win a statewide contest. This year, President Joe Bidens sagging numbers and Democratic dysfunction on Capitol Hill have added to the traditional prevailing winds that plague the party in the White House.

But to take advantage of such a climate in Tuesday's elections, Republicans in Virginia  and New Jersey, to some extent  followed a strategy that relied on placating Trump's base while avoiding Trump and his brand of politics. And in a surprise move, Trump cooperated by keeping a low profile, participating only in remote call-in appearances and sending emails late in the race to his supporters.

In New Jersey, Republican Jack Ciattarelli was locked in a tight race with incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy in a state Biden carried by 16 points a year ago. The New Jersey Republican distanced himself from Trump in the elections closing weeks, having once described him as an embarrassment who was unfit to serve as president. While Trump encouraged Virginia voters to support Youngkin on the eve of the election, he said nothing about Ciattarelli.

Meanwhile, as Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey railed against Trump, the Republican candidates tapped into just enough pro-Trump-style grievance to energize the former presidents base. And Youngkin, in particular, offered an uplifting message focused on kitchen-table issues  education chief among them  that gave Trump-weary Republicans and independents permission to vote GOP again.

Perhaps to avoid turning Trump against them, Youngkin's team worked to keep all high-profile Republicans out of the state. Ambitious GOP surrogates actively politicking in other states, including Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, played no significant role in Virginia.

But as the undisputed head of today's GOP, Trump's muted role loomed above the others.

That worked out well for Youngkin, who earned favorable ratings from about half of Virginia voters compared with Trump, who earned a very unfavorable rating from about half of the electorate, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters.

Trump's pugilistic leadership alienated women and suburban voters in Virginia and across the country in 2020, giving Biden a 10-point victory in the state and allowing Democrats to take control of Congress and the White House.

Whether Republicans can maintain this week's success in the 2022 midterms  where the most competitive races will be in traditional swing states and moderate districts  may depend on whether Trump is content to remain an afterthought in national politics, even as he moves toward a 2024 presidential run.

That's not likely.

Already, Trump is actively involved in key Senate races in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and North Carolina, where Republican candidates are fighting each other for his support. Most are parroting Trump's rhetoric about election integrity," code for false claims of election fraud. And Trump's link to GOP House candidates may be even stronger: 121 House Republicans are on record voting against certifying his loss in the 2020 election.

After briefly raising concerns about election integrity in the Republican primary fight this spring, Youngkin landed on a far less controversial policy that would help him unify both Trump's fiery base and anti-Trump suburban voters: education.

Taking a page from Democrats, the Virginia Republican promised to boost teacher pay and spend more on local schools than ever before. To appeal to Trump's base, he railed against critical race theory, an academic framework that isn't taught in Virginia schools, but centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nations institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people.

But the broader issue of education didn't begin to resonate more intensely until McAuliffe quipped during a late-September debate that, I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach."

The comment, taken out of context during a discussion about banning books, became a centerpiece of Youngkin's campaign, which quickly launched a Parents Matter effort reinforced by heavy advertising spending. The issue tapped into suburban parents' deep frustration with pandemic-related forced school closures, which extended across the state for much of last year.

That struck a nerve with parents, including me, said Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, suggesting the issue could help Republicans in the future. Across the country, I think the suburbs are coming back to us.

Overall, 14% of Virginia voters said education was the most important issue facing the state, according to VoteCast. About twice as many cited economy and jobs, while 17% named COVID-19. Voters who ranked the economy and education as the top issues were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe.

Democrats quickly explained away their struggles by pointing to historical patterns. Indeed, only once in the last 40 years has a Virginia candidate won the governor's race when their party held the White House. And not since 1977 has a New Jersey Democrat won a second consecutive term.

But they also glossed over their candidates' obvious shortcomings.

Democrats privately acknowledged they may have underestimated the extent to which voters continue to dislike political insiders in the post-Trump era. Murphy was seeking his second term, while McAuliffe spent years as a top political fundraiser for Bill and Hillary Clinton before being elected Virginia governor in 2013.

And as a 64-year-old white man, he struggled to energize young people and voters of color who animate the base of today's Democratic Party.

But above all, the Democrats' message simply was insufficient to generate energy with a fatigued Democratic electorate.

The former governor largely ignored his own accomplishments as governor  and his plans for the state if elected again  and focused the bulk of his record fundraising haul on linking Youngkin to Trump. It didn't help that Youngkin had spent millions of dollars over the summer running positive TV ads casting himself as an affable suburban dad.

While Democrats across the country were badly shaken by Tuesday's results, Biden pollster John Anzalone cautioned against reading too much into the off-year elections.

He predicted that Democrats would have a much more positive message for voters for the 2022 midterms highlighting the policies they adopted to help working families and seniors. That assumes, of course, that Democrats in Congress can come together to enact Biden's agenda.

Underestimate us today ... at your own risk, Anzalone said.

___

Peoples has been covering national politics for AP since 2011.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  While pandemic style saw people put on pajamas and their hair up in a bun, 2021 is more about mascara and lip liners  and makeup sales in the multi-billion-dollar Mideast market are beginning to improve.

For women in the region  and particularly the Gulf Arab states  makeup is one of their biggest spends, offering an opportunity for expression even to those who cover their hair and part of their face with black veils.

After a pandemic sales slump, analysts now predict the Middle East makeup market will grow by as much as 5% over the next five years, even as sales in some parts of the world continue to slow, such as in Western Europe and North America.

Drawing on those trends, Dubai  the glitzy city state that is part of the United Arab Emirates  has been hosting a number of events and celebrities. Among them was Mario Dedivanovic, known for doing Kim Kardashians makeup, who hosted a talk on the future of beauty over the weekend. With more than 9 million followers, Dedivanovic is one of the most influential makeup artists currently on the scene.

Mask-less women donning designer shoes and bags and wearing the latest makeup trends, gathered at Mirdif City Center Mall to listen to him.

Dedovanovic said Dubai is on par with global beauty hubs.

Dubai is such a cosmopolitan city. Everywhere in the world, you know, everybody knows about Dubai, Dedovanovic told The Associated Press. He said makeup artists in Dubai are "doing everything at the same pace that ... it is being done in Paris and Milan and London.

The makeup industry was worth $4 billion in the Middle East even during the pandemic, according to market research group Euromonitor International. But the pandemic hit it hard with the surge in working from home and cancellations of many social events such as weddings. Pandemic-related job losses also meant less disposable income, and spending focused more on necessities.

Globally, the makeup industry declined by 16% in 2020, Euromonitor said, with the slump slightly less drastic at 10% in the Middle East.

Amna Abbas, a consultant for beauty and fashion at Euromonitor, said some areas of the Middle East, including the UAE, had shorter lockdown periods. Once markets reopened, we saw signs of recovery happening immediately, she said.

As people began to go back to offices, socialize more and attend events, makeup sales began improving. Euromonitor said makeup sales growth should hit 6% to 8% in the Mideast this year.

Abbas said the growth has been faster than expected, even though the market is not likely to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels until 2022 or 2023. She added that recovery is still on.

Online shopping is also becoming increasingly important and so is the use of social media. After 2020, more women turned to purchasing their favorite shades of lipstick or foundation online, assisted at times by an augmented reality feature where they could see what they would look like wearing a specific color.

As part of the growing reliance on online shopping, women in the Gulf follow celebrities, influencers, and makeup brands on social media to find out about trends and beauty tips. Huda Kattan, a Dubai-based Iraqi-American beauty magnate, has built a billion dollar business here on that.

___

Follow Malak Harb on Twitter at www.twitter.com/malakharb.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  A man was arrested Tuesday in the southeast Alaska community of Kake, which a tribal official earlier said had gone into lockdown.

Alaska State Troopers arrested the man on a criminal trespass charge, troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said by email. Troopers in a statement said other charges were possible, pending the outcome of their investigation.

No injuries were reported.

Troopers said they received a call from a resident about 3:40 a.m. saying a window at a school had been broken, but the person wasn't sure when that happened. Another caller, around 4:30 a.m., said that the man who was later arrested had entered their home without permission and that four gunshots were heard a short time after he left, troopers said.

The statement did not indicate who fired the shots.

Another caller later provided further information to the troopers, the statement said, offering no details.

Joel Jackson, president of the Organized Village of Kake, had told the Anchorage Daily News the community would be on lockdown until troopers arrived. Troopers said they reached Kake around 11 a.m.

Nobody was hurt; everybody stayed indoors while this thing played out, Jackson told CoastAlaska.

CoastAlaska reported that Kake has no permanent law enforcement presence. Jackson told the outlet that village public safety officers serve on a rotation that leaves Kake without a law enforcement presence for two weeks at a time.

Kake is a community of about 580 people 95 air miles southwest of Juneau.

___

The story is corrected to say the man was arrested on a criminal trespass charge.
BRIDGEPORT  Police are asking for the publics help identifying a suspect in a weekend shooting at the PT Barnum housing complex, after two young children and their grandmother were struck by rounds fired at a building.

The children hit by gunfire were 3 and 7 years old, according to Bridgeport police.
FAIRFIELD  Police are investigating after two faculty members at The Southport School said they were robbed at gunpoint early Wednesday.

Fairfield police said the incident on Main Street sent the nearby school into a brief lockdown around 7:30 a.m.

A female employee told police she and a coworker were walking into school after parking their cars when they were approached by a man on Main Street, police said.

The male approached the two female subjects, displayed what was described as a black/silver handgun and demanded they hand over their phones and bags, police said in a statement.

After the women complied, they ran into The Southport School, which was placed into a secure school condition until officers ensured the area was clear, police said.

Police described the suspect as a man in his late teens or early 20s wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and baggy dark jeans. He was clean-shaven, according to police.

The suspected robber was last seen fleeing toward Harbor Road where he may have gotten into a vehicle and left the area, police said. No description of the vehicle was provided by police.

Police said no injuries were reported during the alleged robbery. Students were also not on the campus at the time of the incident, according to Southport School spokesperson Elizabeth Perkins.

The school is a private K-8 day school for children with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

Perkins said the school is working with its board, safety committee, school counselors, local law enforcement and others to keep the community safe.

Although any school hopes that events like this morning do not happen, and this was a highly unusual incident for our school, it is why we have safety protocols in place that we practice regularly, Perkins said.

Perkins said the schools faculty and staff responded in the right way, which helped protect everyone.

Stephanie Stallone, a parent of a student, said the incident was very unusual for this neighborhood.

I am shocked, she said while waiting to pick up her 11-year-old daughter from school Wednesday afternoon.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Beck Banks, University of Oregon

(THE CONVERSATION) LGBTQ people in rural places and small towns are often ignored in the larger conversation surrounding queer life and culture. Even with these omissions, Pride celebrations in those locations are sweeping the nation, often encountering initial resistance.

As a transgender person from Central Appalachia and a doctoral candidate who studies rural transgender media activism, I still find myself sometimes conflating metropolitan with queer, despite knowing that reduces the complexity of transgender and queer lives. The day I reluctantly traveled to eastern Kentuckys Pikeville Pride, I was doing just that.

Dont get me wrong; I like myself, and I am proud of the LGBTQ people who are working toward self-respect and celebrating who they are and what Pride represents. Prides origin is a commemoration of the Stonewall riots in New York. In June 1969, LGBTQ community members fought back against laws that prevented them from gathering. That said, I got bored of Pride events  the commercialized type I knew in big cities  and somehow thought that a rural or small-town Pride would be similar.

It wasnt.

Pride in Pikeville

Before deciding to attend Pikeville Pride in October 2019, I did not understand the difficulties facing those who wanted to host Pride in Central Appalachia and the role of supremacist and white nationalist organizations in that struggle.

Pikeville is a town of about 7,750 in eastern Kentucky. About 400 people attended the first Pikeville Pride event in 2018 and over 500 participated in the one I attended.

Pikeville Pride was held at a park in downtown. Nonprofit groups and grassroots activists set up booths. Free pizza and rainbow-colored cupcakes were offered as bands and drag queens performed on the center stage. Women of different ages were stationed at the Free Mom Hugs table and actively asked attendees if they would like a hug.

Tonya Jones, one of the founders of Pikeville Pride, said she did not start the event in response to the white nationalist rally that was held in downtown Pikeville in 2017, though other founders cite it as a reason. Instead of responding to the rally, Jones wanted to create a more welcoming space in the city.

When I attended, there were no signs of white nationalists or protesters of any kind. Jones said only two protesters attended the first year.

That wasnt quite the case in Johnson City, Tennessee, a small city about two hours away. In the same year that Pikeville Pride began, white nationalists threatened TriPride, the first Pride event to include Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol. In the end, 20 protesters attended, according to Jason Willis, the president and a founding board member of TriPride. By the second year, the number dropped to 10 or 12, many of whom stayed in a designated area.

Willis knew the event would attract protesters. There will always be people who dont agree with it, Willis said. When online chatter of white nationalists happens  well, thats a different ballgame.

Because of white nationalist organizing on social media, state and federal law enforcement became involved, Willis says. About 200 police officers showed up during the first event  and a helicopter circled the vicinity. But supporters outnumbered the protesters by a wide margin.

The Pride festivals in Appalachia arent the only ones happening in small-town America. Others have occurred in places as far-flung as Window Rock, Arizona; Pocatello, Idaho; Starkville, Mississippi; and Stockholm, Wisconsin.

I think they are happening because people feel like they can make them happen, Willis said. These Prides in small towns will continue to emerge. We had Black Lives Matter and womens marches. Not that they are the same, but you can have these cultural gatherings in small towns. Were seeing that.

Impact of rural Pride

The Prides in small towns are as important, if not more, to queer culture in America as the metropolitan events that happen in June.

In her 1995 article Get Thee to a Big City, anthropologist Kath Weston spoke of what she called the gay imaginary, the idea that queer people could not be themselves or find community until they moved from their small towns to a big city where other gay people exist.

Jack Halberstam, a scholar of gender studies and English, expanded this concept with the phrase metronormativity, in which the journey for queer people from small towns to big cities is a rite of passage.

In essence, cities are allowed to be queer spaces while the rural queer life is ignored, even pitied or rejected, according to Scott Herring, a scholar who studies women, sexuality and gender.

As Herring says, the rural (take your pick: Idaho, North Carolina, small-town America, hick) is shelved, disavowed, denied, and discarded in favor of metropolitan sexual cultures such as New York City, San Francisco, or Buffalo. In each, the rural becomes a slur, one that has proliferated into an admittedly rich idiom.

Those lines are reflected in the news and mainstream storytelling. On television, queer characters who left small towns appear regularly, ranging from Titus Andromedon from Chickasaw County, Mississippi, in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to the Search Party character Elliott from a fictional holler in West Virginia. Their background is part of the joke.

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But a sense of belonging is not a laughing matter. In Pikeville, Jones knows firsthand what their Pride did for her wife of 27 years.

She never felt comfortable here until Pride, Jones said. She never felt she could be open. We foster children too, and a lot of these kids are in foster care because of coming out. We want to show them that they can have a family, and it doesnt have to be a blood connection.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/small-town-pride-celebrations-emerge-and-show-that-lgbtq-life-in-america-is-flourishing-outside-of-cities-165518.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is putting new export limits on Israel's NSO Group, the worlds most infamous hacker-for-hire company, saying its tools have been used to conduct transnational repression.

The company, whose spyware researchers say has been used around the world to break into the phones of human rights activists, journalists, and even members of the Catholic clergy, said it would advocate for a reversal.

The U.S. Commerce Department said NSO Group and three other firms are being added to the entity list, which limits their access to U.S. components and technology by requiring government permission for exports. The department said putting these companies on the entity list was part of the Biden administrations efforts to promote human rights in U.S. foreign policy.

The United States is committed to aggressively using export controls to hold companies accountable that develop, traffic, or use technologies to conduct malicious activities that threaten the cybersecurity of members of civil society, dissidents, government officials, and organizations here and abroad, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

The announcement was another blow to NSO Group, which was the focus of reports by a media consortium earlier this year that found the companys spyware tool Pegasus was used in several instances of successful or attempted phone hacks of business executives, human rights activists and others around the world.

Pegasus infiltrates phones to vacuum up personal and location data and surreptitiously controls the smartphones microphones and cameras. Researchers have found several examples of NSO Group tools using so-called zero click exploits that infect targeted mobile phones without any user interaction.

Tech giant Facebook is currently suing NSO Group in U.S. federal court for allegedly targeting some 1,400 users of its encrypted messaging service WhatsApp with its spyware.

The company has broadly denied wrongdoing and issued a statement Wednesday saying its tools support US national security interests and policies by preventing terrorism and crime.

We look forward to presenting the full information regarding how we have the worlds most rigorous compliance and human rights programs that are based (on) the American values we deeply share, which already resulted in multiple terminations of contacts with government agencies that misused our products," the company said.

The full impact of being put on the entity list is unclear. Kevin Wolf, a lawyer at the firm Akin Gump and former top Commerce official, said being placed on the entity list can have a broad impact on a company.

Many companies choose to avoid doing business with listed entities completely in order to eliminate the risk of an inadvertent violation and the costs of conducting complex legal analyses, he said.

In 2019 the Commerce Department placed Chinese tech giant Huawei, which U.S. defense and intelligence communities have long accused of being an untrustworthy agent of Beijings repressive rulers, on the entity list.

Stewart Baker, a cybersecurity lawyer and former general counsel at the National Security Agency, said it remains to be seen how big an impact Wednesday's announcement will have on the NSO Group's long-term health. He said the Commerce Department will have significant discretion in how it handles licensing requests related to the NSO Group, and could face pressure from U.S. exporters and the Israeli government.

We could see a situation in which the sanction has been granted and it has a great symbolic significance and some practical significance for NSO, but certainly isnt a death penalty and may over time just be really aggravating," he said.

Another Israeli spyware company, Candiru, was also added to the entity list. In July, Microsoft said it had blocked tools developed by Candiru that were used to spy on more than 100 people around the world, including politicians, human rights activists, journalists, academics and political dissidents.

A prominent Russian firm, Positive Technologies, and the Singapore-based Computer Security Initiative Consultancy were also placed on the list for trafficking in cyber tools used to gain unauthorized access to IT systems, the department said. The Treasury Department put sanctions on Positive Technology, which has a broad international footprint and partnerships with such IT heavyweights as Microsoft and IBM, earlier this year.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP)  The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the appeal of a former Connecticut nurse convicted of killing and dismembering his college student girlfriend in 2013.

Jermain Richards, of Bridgeport, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison for the killing of Alyssiah Marie Wiley, a 20-year-old sophomore at Eastern Connecticut State University. Her partial remains were found about a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) from Richards' home.
Wednesdays editorial raises the question of why Connecticut needs so many registrars of voters. The answer is, first, to ensure the integrity of the election system and, second, because of the number of cities and towns in Connecticut.

At the heart of Connecticut election system is a system of checks and balances based on the two major parties jointly administering the election. Its a system which has worked well and which I wouldnt want to see changed.
Its been a long, bruising political season that wont end with Tuesdays municipal elections, though that would be great. Negative politics can stifle voter participation, according to a library shelfs worth of nonpartisan studies. By slinging mud, calling names and misbehaving, some people who are rude with their politics succeed only in driving others away from the polls.

This is a bad system that feeds on itself. The meaner we get, the less engaged become some voters, and a less engaged citizenry means a less representative democracy. Even without negative campaigning, thats the way it usually goes during most municipal election years  unless you live in a town such as Guilford, which on Election Day saw upward of half of its eligible voters go to the polls. In most towns, though, mudslinging moves people to stay away in droves, to the peril of the rest of us.

We are, at some point, going to have to knock this off and come together. It wont be pretty, and it wont be easy, but I know it can happen because Ive seen it.

In what was then a mostly Democratic state, my parents were Republicans, but that wasnt the half of it. In 1968, my mother may have joined the more-than-a-handful of Missouri voters who cast a ballot for George Wallace. That year, Wallace broke away from the Democratic Party because it was leaving behind some of its more racist tendencies, while Wallace was still hoisting the Confederate battle flag.

My mother only hinted that Wallace got her vote that year, and I dont blame her. If you voted for Wallace in 1968, a secret ballot helped hide your shame. Wallace the man may have seen the light as he drew closer to his eternal reward, but in 1968, Wallace the candidate was still willing to stand in a door  any door  to defend segregation.

My grandparents  my mothers parents  were Democrats, of the Harry S. Truman variety. During the Depression, they credited the Democratic Party for bringing electricity to their corner of Arkansas. The ability to flip a switch and turn night into day earned their lifelong political gratitude.

My grandparents believed that Democrats were for the working people  particularly the working poor, a category into which my family fit neatly. My parents believed the Republican Party would lead this country to greatness. Their political conversations were loud and lusty and not terribly well-sourced, though they were all well-read. In a world stripped of folderol, voting was their holy rite.

A half-year shy of my 18th birthday, I wore a The Grin Will Win button to school on Election Day. Id been listening to the back and forth my entire life, and I studied the magazines that came to our house. Jimmy Carter, a fellow evangelical, looked like my candidate, or he would have been had I been old enough to vote. I thought everyone at my high school would agree with me, so imagine my confusion when first period was spent arguing the merits of Gerald Ford  who seemed like a nice man, but hed let Nixon go free, and as Grandpa said, Nixon was crooked as a dogs hind leg, so no. Some of my more Republican classmates had done their homework, and by lunchtime, I was exhausted  exhilarated, but exhausted from the discussions.

The difference from today, of course, is that my high school classmates and my mother and her parents didnt then go home to fire volleys at one another on social media. We ate together and spent time in one anothers homes. We disagreed over various candidates merits, yet we still pulled over to give each other rides on cold mornings. We saw no reason to hate or demonize one another. Two generations later, my brother and I cheerfully remain political opposites, and our discussions generally devolve thus:

Youre stupid.

No, youre stupid.

Im hungry.

Lets eat.

See what happens there? We argue  still well-read and still shamefully free of sources  but we do not question each others humanity. Instead, weve spent time getting to know how we each came to our respective politics. We may not agree with the others destination, but we appreciate the journey.

That level of trust only happens when you spend time IRL  in real life, away from the keyboard and the swill of online lies, which is not easy to do. As Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen recently said, Its easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions. We slide down the greased pole of the outrage machine and let loose the hounds, with nary a thought as to how that hurts democracy.

And here is where I should insert a meme of a cute toddler waving an American flag. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger is a Republican from Illinois who voted to impeach the former president. He recently announced he wont seek another term. I disagree with him politically, but I appreciate his integrity. Should he seek national office  and its rumored he will  I wont vote for him, but I wont call him names, either. I doubt hell notice, but there you are. Im exhausted, but no longer exhilarated by the discussions.

So, on Tuesday, I voted because I want my little town to succeed, and by succeed, I mean I want affordable housing, good schools, paved streets and opportunities for all. I want a healthy economy. I want things to be fair. Maybe you do, too.

Susan Campbell is the author of Frog Hollow: Stories from an American Neighborhood, Tempest-Tossed: The Spirit of Isabella Beecher Hooker and Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism and the American Girl. She is Distinguished Lecturer at the University of New Haven, where she teaches journalism.
What do you think of when you think of cryptocurrency? Do you get a boost of serotonin as you imagine all the possibilities for the future of finance and your credit union? Does the idea of crypto send you into a mini panic, accompanied by a flurry of what if scenarios? Or are you somewhere in between: curious and optimistic, but a little bit cautious?

When it comes to cryptocurrency in the credit union world, I think of it as a slow-moving storm that is in fact so slow that you start to think the sky has always been this shade of purple and gray. And while it hasnt rained yet, you know its coming.

Credit unions across America are beginning to adopt crypto at different rates now that 31 states have some form of crypto legislation in place, with some credit unions currently piloting or offering crypto services. Many credit unions are working quickly and efficiently in the background, absorbing as much information as possible, engaging in conversations with experts, and many are becoming experts themselves.

Its like buying extra supplies of canned foods, bottled water, and batteries before a storm.

Between cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and decentralized finance, to say we live in an exciting time for finance is an understatement. These daysand at any given timea large amount of money is moving quickly through decentralized and centralized exchanges, held tightly in digital wallets, and watched on a mobile device screen anywhere from next door to the most remote areas of the world. We must be smart and prepared to meet the moment. Though the deadline for credit unions to submit their comments on digital assets to NCUA has passed, there are still ways to prepare for when the crypto storm makes landfall.

Heres what credit unions can do right now to prepare for the inevitable mainstreaming of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology:

Learn, learn, and learn some more. There are quite a few resources out there. A good starting point is the Blockchain Councils There are quite a few resources out there. A good starting point is the Blockchain Councils decentralized expert certification program . Its a self-paced, five-hour program that primarily covers the basics of decentralized finance, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and a glossary of terms that are vital to enhancing ones understanding of DeFi. Be prepared to pause and take notes because each module is jam-packed with information.

Engage with lawmakers and advocates to discover the state of play in your state. Here in Texas, weve engaged with various entities, including the Texas Blockchain Council, a nonprofit industry association that works to advocate for and advance blockchain innovation in Texas. As a regional association, its Cornerstone Leagues obligation to its members to stay ahead of financial trends, disruptors, and everything in between. By inserting ourselves into the conversation, we are doing right by our communities by helping influence legislation and regulation that makes crypto use safe for credit union members.

Build your digital assets team. Identify and designate a digital assets expert in your credit union. Whether you search for someone externally or designate someone in house, its important to consider budget, resources, and the role this person will play to enhance your credit unions overall strategy.

Love it or hate it, cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and decentralized finance arent going away anytime soon. According to CoinMarketCap, the 24-hour average trading volume of all cryptocurrencies globally is $111 billion (as of Oct. 5, 2021). And although blockchain technology is most widely known for its close association with cryptocurrency, the technology has been adopted by many industries in a variety of ways: anti-money laundering tracking systems, advertising insights, and supply chain and logistics monitoring.

Worldwide fervor for DeFiespecially with populations where national currency is unstablemay eventually wane but it has staying power. DeFis reliance on smart contractslegal contracts written in and enforced by softwarefrees it from needing central financial intermediaries such as credit unions, banks, brokerages, or exchanges to do its job.

Let me repeat that: DeFi does not rely on central financial intermediaries. Decentralized finance could take on many of the roles that traditional financial institutions fill today: credit, payments, custody, and stored value, just to name a few. It also enables:

A consumer to use cryptocurrency as collateral to borrow money through a smart contract. Consumers dont have to prove creditworthiness to a financial institution to obtain a loan.

Payments to occur through the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies instead of the automated clearinghouse.

People to buy and sell cryptocurrency on a blockchain, eliminating the need to trade stocks on a stock market.

Its important to learn as much as we can about that which can potentially harm us or help us. Credit unions have an incredible opportunity to leverage new technologies and help the underbanked access financial services in new ways  whether credit unions fight, ignore, or embrace it remains to be seen.

We can board up our windows and doors and brace ourselves for the storm or make peace with the rolling clouds, dust off our rain boots, and engage in some long-overdue puddle jumping. Whichever side you happen to be on, one thing is certain: something exciting is coming our way.
If you are wondering what your members may need right now, I would suggest they need understanding and creative solutions. Recently, I have had conversations with two people who called BALANCE wanting financial counseling. They both had a gap that needed covering. Their emotions around money were high.

The first story is about a single father raising his son. He has his savings and checking accounts with a credit union. He also has a credit card, car loan, and mortgage with the credit union. During the pandemic he lost his job for two months. He is working again now and is caught up with everything except his home. He is three months behind and the total dollar amount due is $3,000. He has enough money to pay all his monthly bills with a small surplus, but he just cannot catch up on the amount that is behind. Losing his home is a reality. He was feeling scared, anxious, frustrated, and ashamed. He asked the credit union if they could re-write the mortgage and add the three months ($3,000) to end of the loan. They said because he missed three payments his credit score did not support a mortgage re-finance right now. They encouraged him to apply for a $3,000 signature loan to pay up the late mortgage. He felt he could pay pack that loan over three years on his current salary. I am encouraged that the credit union is helping him keep his home. This man had a $3,000 gap.

The second story is about a single guy who has savings, checking, and a credit card with a credit union but for whatever reason, his car was financed with a local finance agency. He lost his job for three months during the pandemic. He missed car payments. He did not reach out to the credit union (or anyone) for help. He is now employed again and can make payments as he did prior to losing his job but it is too late. The car has been repossessed by the Finance Agency. Now he can no longer get to work to earn a living. He will soon default on credit cards if he cannot get his car back. I wished he had reached out to the credit union earlier. Maybe they could have refinanced the car to help him stay in the vehicle? Maybe they could have given him a loan for the $900 (three missed payments) to help him catch-up on the car loan. But he did not reach out  he just shut down because that is how shame impacts us. He had lost hope. He was frustrated with life and money. He decided he is going to take a 401K distribution (taxed) to help himself get caught up. It will take a few weeks to process so they may not hold his car, but he has explained the plan to the finance agency. I hope it works out for him. This man had a $900 gap.

In both stories the members needed coverage in a gap. They both had figured out new employment quickly after the pandemic took their job. But they, like most Americans, had no safety net and fell behind. However, they are working and earning now, they just have this gap they cannot close. In both cases, the amount needed to get caught up was relatively low ($3,000 and $900). $3,000 to keep a family in their home. $900 to get a car back to be able to continue employment. These real stories reminded me of the case studies the students worked on at the Cornerstone Foundations Principles and Philosophy workshop in October. The students discuss the business side and the social side of credit unions and they explore what makes a credit union different. They learn all about the 12 development issues which include transportation, employment, savings, and housing all mentioned in the two stories above. These development issues are defined below.

Housing  Humans have a basic need for shelter. Inadequate or unstable living conditions can have significant impact on peoples ability to overcome many other development issues.

 Humans have a basic need for shelter. Inadequate or unstable living conditions can have significant impact on peoples ability to overcome many other development issues. Transportation  Simply put, transportation provides access. Without transportation, individuals may not be able to maintain employment and families may not be able to access schools and food.

 Simply put, transportation provides access. Without transportation, individuals may not be able to maintain employment and families may not be able to access schools and food. Employment  The ability to produce and generate income provides individuals with a path to contribute to the greater economy and marketplace.

 The ability to produce and generate income provides individuals with a path to contribute to the greater economy and marketplace. Savings  People cannot rely on credit alone to solve all issues. A habit of saving will provide financial security and peace of mind when it comes to emergency expenses. Longer term savings help people build wealth and plan for retirement.

How can credit unions, as financial cooperatives, take steps to improve the communities we serve by focusing on development issues? The current environment provides so many opportunities. Credit unions have a rich heritage of being there for their members after a tornado, hurricane, fire, or government shut down. We meet the member where they are and do our best to meet their financial needs. This pandemic has caused financial stress that spans more than 18 months. Our members are getting back on their feet, but they have a gap  and it could be that $900 could change their whole situation. Credit unions should continue that heritage of people helping people in this historical time of need. Members will always remember who was there for them during a crisis. Standing in the gap is the way to earn their loyalty! Maybe we call it a Standing in the Gap loan with special terms? Maybe it is looking at their entire financial situation and restructuring all their debt? Maybe it is helping them design a new household budget using the new income. Maybe it is looking at the credit report together and designing an improvement plan? Maybe it is working on a debt repayment plan? Whatever the solution, it will require TALKING about money. It will require us to take the shame out of money.

How can we help members find their way back to financial health after the financial stress the pandemic caused? Meet them where they are at without judgment. Seek to understand and be creative with solutions.
Marye Louise Howse, age 71, of Cullman, passed away on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, at Hanceville Nursing Home. She was born April 23, 1950, to Rayburn R. and Thelma L. Brown. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Randall Brown. Survivors include her husband, David Howse; son,
Elizabeth City, NC (27909)

Today

Some clouds. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable.
Ryan Anderson/Daily Citizen-News

The Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce's annual awards ceremony was held Wednesday in conjunction with the chamber's annual Business Expo, which featured more than 100 exhibitors. Usually held inside the Dalton Convention Center, the expo was moved outdoors to the First Baptist Church of Dalton parking lot as a COVID-19 safety measure.
Ryan Anderson/Daily Citizen-News

Northwest Whitfield High School students begin the processional at the start of the 2021 graduation ceremony on the school's football field in May. Northwest's 2021 four-year graduation rate was 94%, while the four-year graduation rate for Whitfield County Schools for 2021 was 87.8%, up from 86.8% last year and in 2019.
Ashland, KY (41101)

Today

Cloudy with rain developing later in the day. High 54F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early with overcast skies late. Low 33F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Jason Martin Moore, 40, of Ashland Ky, died Saturday November 13th, 2021 at Kings Daughters Medical Center in Ashland Ky. Jason was born September 4th, 1981 in Ashland KY. A son of the late Jarome "Marty" and Donna Roe Moore. He is preceded in death in addition to his parents by his grandmot
Shortly before he became chairman of the British Medical Associations powerful GPs committee, Dr Richard Vautrey was asked whether so-called remote appointments were as effective as the real thing.

His answer? Absolutely not.

Specifically, he told this newspaper, he wouldnt feel happy diagnosing a common condition such as fatigue over a webcam, or via a screen.

The visual clues would be hard to pick up, was Dr Vautreys verdict. When youre not there in person you dont see the body language which tells you when a patient really wants to talk about something else.

That was five years ago, when NHS bosses were testing out an innovative scheme that aimed to cut waiting lists by offering patients a virtual alternative to traditional GP appointments (in the face of a somewhat sceptical medical establishment).

Since then, its fair to say that the position of Dr Vautrey, and many of his colleagues, has dramatically evolved.

In fact, hes spent the past six months heading up a high-profile and at times trenchant BMA campaign in favour of remote appointments.

Only last week, he described Health Secretary Sajid Javids 250million plan  launched in response to a Daily Mail campaign  to restore access to surgeries and face-to-face appointments in the wake of the Covid pandemic as a bullys charter.

Doctors should not feel pressured to return to a traditional ten-minute treadmill of face-to-face consultations, Dr Vautrey wrote in a letter to GPs. He also urged them not to take on new patients.

Five years ago, Dr Richard Vautrey (pictured) said remote appointments were 'absolutely not' as good as the real thing. Now, only last week, he described Health Secretary Sajid Javids 250million plan to restore access to surgeries and face-to-face appointments in the wake of the Covid pandemic as a bullys charter

As a man who has previously expressed sensible reservations about those very appointments, this may have left him feeling conflicted.

Yet while the demands of tub-thumping political battles can be gruelling, it was nonetheless a complete surprise when Dr Vautrey suddenly announced this week that he had decided to quit his role at the BMA.

The timing  Monday afternoon  of this resignation seems, at best, very peculiar indeed.

For it came on the very day when the BMA (in effect a trade union for doctors) escalated its row with the Government by sending out ballot papers to GPs asking whether they would support industrial action to reduce their unmanageable workload.

In his resignation announcement, Dr Vautrey made no mention of this high-profile ballot, which revolves partly around proposals for GPs earning over 150,000 to be identified, and the naming and shaming of practices that fail to improve face-to-face access.

Sajid Javid (pictured) is putting pressure on GPs to see more people face-to-face on the back of the pandemic. He said patients 'stayed away from the NHS when they were asked to, they now want to be seen'

Neither did he reference the wider row over remote appointments, which has placed the BMA increasingly at odds with not just the Government but also patients frustrated at the fact that just 61 per cent of GP appointments are currently face-to-face (compared with roughly 80 per cent before the pandemic).

Indeed, like a striking number of the BMAs recent PR statements, the announcement contained only a fleeting reference to the interests of the taxpaying public that GPs are supposed to serve.

Instead, Dr Vautrey claimed that it was simply the right time to step aside, after four years in the role, so that a new chair and team could be installed in time for negotiations over a new five-year NHS contract with GPs scheduled to begin next year.

We must take him at his word. But not everyones convinced. For behind the scenes, there are rumours that Dr Vautrey actually decided to jump ship after finding himself at odds with more militant members of both his committee and the wider BMA.

Dr Vautrey is a political centrist, who lives in a prosperous suburb of Leeds with his wife Anne, a Methodist preacher, and his instincts are believed to be aligned with moderate colleagues who have reportedly felt uncomfortable with the growing hostility between the BMA and the Government.

Only last month, the Health Service Journal was predicting that heads such as Dr Vautreys might soon roll.

Mood music from the BMAs GPs committee suggests its more moderate leaders, who seek to reconcile their professions anger with the mood of the public, politicians and Press, may soon be toppled after this latest furore, it reported.

The author of that article, the Journals deputy editor Dave West, said yesterday that while the exact cause of Dr Vautreys departure has not been confirmed, he suspects it is linked to internal tension within the BMA.

I think it is very likely that as a relatively moderate and sensible GP leader who has tried to work with NHS England and the Government, he was either informally pushed out (ie told he would be voted out) by other members of the BMA GPs committee, or it was made impossible for him to carry on because his views on the course of action were being overruled by other members, Mr West said.

While the demands of tub-thumping political battles can be gruelling, it was nonetheless a complete surprise when Dr Vautrey (pictured) suddenly announced this week that he had decided to quit his role at the BMA

On Saturday, to this end, it was also reported that a splinter group of radical Left-wing doctors is now planning to take over the BMA and force it to call a strike.

In an online forum leaked to The Times newspaper, leaders revealed that they have built a website to co-ordinate how supporters should vote in next years BMA elections.

Can we take over the BMA? Serious question! wrote one. Given that current leadership clearly does not want to strike, is there anything we can actually do about it? Im starting to think we can.

We clearly have numbers and we want the same thing. I think if we translated that into re-joining to vote in elections, and used our numbers, we could purge these losers.

An online poll on the forum, which is popular with junior doctors, revealed that more than 1,000 members were in favour of industrial action.

Whitehall sources believe their growing radical influence within the BMA was what encouraged Dr Vautrey to respond with hostility in May when the Government first wrote to GPs asking them to start increasing the number of face-to-face appointments.

I think a lot of GPs have been let down by their leadership, said one. If they had been a bit more thoughtful from the start, for example by saying that it would be difficult but theyd do their best, it would certainly have avoided the escalation of this row.

Instead they have raged against the Government, and the media, and patients who just want to see a doctor, and decided to carp about it all being some big vendetta or conspiracy.

Now, instead of being involved in sensible negotiation, they find themselves in a row where its impossible to be radical enough for the most trenchant members.

Doctors should not feel pressured to return to a traditional ten-minute treadmill of face-to-face consultations, Dr Vautrey wrote in a letter to GPs. He also urged them not to take on new patients (stock image)

Dr Vautrey doesnt just face extreme pressure from the Left, either: there is also a substantial faction of centrist GPs who believe the BMA is being too confrontational  rather than not confrontational enough.

On this front, it emerged yesterday that a local medical committee [LMC] covering members from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, had decided to publicly oppose the BMAs proposed industrial action.

In a letter to local practices obtained by the medical news outlet Pulse, its chief executive, Dr Dean Eggitt, said any militancy was likely to harm negotiations rather than help.

We need to have trusted and respectful relationships between leaders of our profession, NHS England, and the Government. We do not currently have this, the letter read. It is our current belief that the motion from [the BMA GPs committee] and the ballot for industrial action is likely to harm negotiations rather than help, resulting in Government policies that will alienate general practice from the NHS family.

The views of Dr Eggitt, who said he does not believe any form of industrial action at the moment is warranted, appear to be shared by colleagues in Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, County Durham, and Darlington, where LMCs are also considering their position.

Reconciling their relatively conciliatory views with those of the increasingly noisy Left-wing factions within the BMA is at best tricky and at worst impossible.

Its a nightmare, because whatever you do, its impossible in the current environment to make everyone at the BMA happy, said a supporter of Dr Vautrey. I think Richard, who isnt a particularly confrontational bloke, basically came to the conclusion that hed served his time and wasnt really enjoying the job any more.

Whoever takes over will need a thick skin. For regardless of how their dispute with the Government plays out, the trade union that represents Britains family doctors must also now fight a civil war.
How strange it is to reflect that Owen Paterson  a popular and well-connected figure on the Tory right  was seen once as a possible party leader.

Hes spent four years in Cabinet, overseeing Northern Ireland and then Environment, although his time at the top table was most memorable for his claim that the badgers have moved the goalposts when asked about the failure to hit a cull target.

There were too many such own goals: a botched response to summer floods, strident opposition to same-sex marriage and a perceived scepticism on climate change.

Grubby

Yet after returning to the backbenches in 2014, there was talk that Paterson might lead the looming Brexit campaign. He set up a think-tank and gave interviews on his plan to find the next leader, insisting the focus was on policies rather than his own campaign.

But far from becoming a substantial political figure, the North Shropshire MP is now fighting to cling on to his career after becoming snared in a tawdry lobbying scandal that threatens to further demean our political system.

Today, MPs will vote on whether to suspend Paterson from Parliament for 30 days. This would then trigger an automatic recall petition and might lead to a by-election, thereby potentially terminating his time in frontline politics.

How strange it is to reflect that Owen Paterson (pictured)  a popular and well-connected figure on the Tory right  was seen once as a possible party leader

We must hope our representatives do their duty  despite a vociferous campaign by the former ministers friends to dilute his punishment.

Anything less would insult voters  and, once again, chip away at the electorates wobbling faith in Westminster after yet another lobbying scandal.

As so often, this saga revolves around the grubby nexus of money, access and power that defiles our battered democracy with such shabby regularity.

The truth is, after leaving the Cabinet, Paterson cashed in  like many of our elected representatives at Westminster. In 2015, the year after David Cameron dismissed him from the Cabinet, Paterson was hired as a consultant by Randox, a firm making diagnostic equipment and medical tests, at a princely 500 an hour.

Two years later, he took on another consultancy with meat firm Lynns Country Foods Ltd. Together these jobs provided Paterson with a six-figure annual bonus on top of his 81,000 parliamentary salary.

Such payments are not illegal so long as they are all declared properly  and Paterson did declare them although cynics might wonder why a man nicknamed Wooden Top for his intellectual heft might be so valuable to those two firms.

In 2015, the year after David Cameron (pictured) dismissed him from the Cabinet, Paterson was hired as a consultant by Randox, a firm making diagnostic equipment and medical tests, at a princely 500 an hour

Randox doubled Patersons pay to 100,000 a year as well as donating to his pro-Brexit think-tank UK2020, which funded ten foreign trips by the former minister before being shut down two years ago.

Now it has emerged the Tory grandee committed an egregious breach of lobbying rules by repeatedly using his job as an MP to benefit these two companies over a 40-month period up to February last year.

An investigation by Kathryn Stone, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, found he breached the code of conduct by using his parliamentary office on 16 occasions for meetings relating to his outside business interests and in sending two letters relating to business interests on House of Commons headed notepaper.

Her report found that his approaches conferred significant benefits on Randox and Lynns in the long term and even in the short term secured meetings that would not have been available without Mr Patersons involvement.

Randox also saw its fortunes boosted in the pandemic by winning a 133 million contract to produce Covid testing kits  although like some other controversial deals won by outfits with political links in the crisis, it was awarded without prior publication of a call for competition, in light of the extreme urgency.

The recommendation for a 30-day suspension came from the House of Commons standards committee, which considered the allegations against Paterson and concluded unanimously that he had brought the House into disrepute.

Senior Tory MPs last night launched a last-ditch attempt to spare Owen Paterson from a 30-day Commons suspension for an egregious breach of lobbying rules by calling for a reform of the system - but any reform would need to be selected to be voted on by Speaker Lindsay Hoyle (pictured)

The vote should be a slam dunk. The rules are clear. They were broken. Indeed, a majority of the committee, which has seven lay participants, saw his misdeeds as so serious that they supported a suspension of greater length.

Bear in mind these offences come after a series of lobbying scandals that have stained our politics.

Paterson, of course, insists on his propriety. He says he acted properly, honestly and within the rules.

His friends in the Commons, including former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and veteran Tory troublemaker David Davis, agree and are sniping about the systems unfairness.

They argue Patersons actions flagged up food safety issues, thereby saving lives.

Blood

But Paterson sent a series of emails to the Food Standards Agency on behalf of Lynns Foods without declaring he was a paid consultant. In one initiative he sought to have a competitor firm forced to re-label a product so as not to compete with Lynns own products.

The MP also claimed he had to hold business meetings in Parliament to be present for key votes, which would have kept them within rules. But the meetings he cited took place at 9.30am and 3.15pm, with MPs voting at 10pm.

In addition, Paterson wrote to then-International Development Secretary Priti Patel asking her to meet with representatives of Randox so they could discuss using its technology to help with aid projects that involved blood testing. And he met with junior International Development minister Rory Stewart to discuss potential commercial opportunities Randox may wish to explore.

These issues are, of course, made more complicated by the widespread sympathy felt towards Paterson after last years suicide of his wife Rose. He has said the mother-of-threes struggles were intensified by this ordeal fighting to prevent political disaster.

These issues are, of course, made more complicated by the widespread sympathy felt towards Paterson (right) after last years suicide of his wife Rose (left)

Fiasco

She chaired Aintree race track  and Randox sponsored the Grand National. Meanwhile the couples friend Dido Harding, who oversaw the test and trace fiasco in the pandemic, sat on the board of the Jockey Club that owns Aintree. There are no allegations of wrongdoing against either woman.

Rose Patersons death was a terrible tragedy. Yet however sad and painful, it cannot be used to excuse a politician deemed guilty of inappropriate activities for several years while earning considerable sums from outside interests.

This might sound harsh. Not least when those previously ousted from Parliament in such a process were a Labour backbencher sent to prison for perverting the course of justice and a Tory minnow convicted of fiddling his expenses.

But Paterson broke the rules to advocate on behalf of outside paymasters, lobbying ministers and officials alike to adopt measures that would benefit his employers. This is, quite simply, unacceptable behaviour from an MP  especially at this time of wavering faith in our political system.

We have seen again and again with disturbing clarity how a few grasping politicians are easy prey for hustlers and firms on the make, thereby damaging the reputation of all their decent colleagues who strive hard to stay in the rules.

Paterson once lost a high-profile job after complaining badgers moved the goalposts.

If his colleagues now shift the parliamentary goalposts on sleaze to protect a popular colleague, it would be another dark day for our democracy.
Boris Johnson is a sensitive man who rightly resents unjustified criticism. There will be none of that on this page.

But it is hard to understand why the Prime Minister acted as he did this afternoon.

It was because of him that MPs voted to block the suspension of Tory MP and former Cabinet Minister Owen Paterson from the House of Commons, and to overhaul Parliaments disciplinary processes.

If Labour had not been so dozy and had got its act together, it could have defeated the Government since a sizeable number of Conservative MPs abstained or stayed away, and 13 of them voted against.

MPs voted to approve an amendment to reform the standards process of the House of Commons after Tory MP Owen Paterson was found to have broken lobbying rules

'The charge is that Mr Johnson is prepared to re-write the regulations in order to protect one of his mates'

In fact, when he hastily and rashly raised his standard in Mr Patersons cause  after all the fatigue and exertions of Cop26 in Glasgow  the PM cant have known that Labour would mount such a feeble opposition.

The vote was a needless gamble. As a result of Mr Patersons reprieve, and the tearing up of existing rules, there are now renewed cries of Tory sleaze. These carry some conviction, and may well reverberate outside Westminster.

The charge is that Mr Johnson is prepared to re-write the regulations in order to protect one of his mates.

This isnt the first time that he has shown special favour to a cherished colleague in spite of the rules. Almost exactly a year ago, he refused to sack Home Secretary Priti Patel after she had been found guilty of a serious breach of the ministerial code.

An official report declared that she had bullied underlings. And, of course, Mr Johnson indulged Dominic Cummings after his then chief adviser had been comprehensively outed as a breaker of the lockdown rules he had helped to devise.

Six months later, Mr Cummings was judged a threat to the PM, and summarily disposed of.

Why did Boris tear up the rulebook to suit Mr Paterson? The two men arent particularly close, though they both manned the same barricades during the 2016 Referendum campaign, and may have bonded over Brexit.

One possibility is that although he can behave ruthlessly towards those who cross him  viz Mr Cummings  the Prime Minister is essentially a soft-hearted soul.

He probably genuinely felt that Mr Paterson has been hard done by.

He may well have been moved to sympathy because Owen Patersons wife, Rose, killed herself in June last year. According to Mr Patersons recent assertion, the protracted investigation into his alleged lobbying activities was a major contributory factor in her suicide.

As I say, Boris can be a kind person, and it seems likely that his heart went out to Mr Paterson in his predicament and his grief.

But it is usually dangerous for a leader to be guided more by his heart than his head.

Although I believe that Mr Paterson is probably a pretty decent sort of fellow, Im sure that the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Kathryn Stone, was right to accuse him of an egregious case of paid advocacy on behalf of two companies which together paid him over 100,000 a year.

Mr Paterson, and his defenders in Parliament and the Press, insist that he was justified in lobbying (which MPs are generally not supposed to do) because he was drawing attention to various health risks such as the presence of antibiotic residues in milk being sold in supermarkets. Such action does him credit.

But on various occasions Mr Paterson plainly broke the rules by lobbying for less disinterested reasons. For example, he sought to have the rivals of one of the two companies he worked for re-label their products so as not to compete.

On other occasions he held business meetings in Parliament in defiance of the regulations. His justification was that he needed to be in the Commons in order to be present for crucial votes.

However, Ms Stone found that meetings took place when no vote was imminent. Not a hanging offence, many will say, and that is true. Mr Paterson is not a bad man. He simply bent the rules to suit his generous employers.

Instead of protesting so loudly that he has been denied natural justice, he should have taken his punishment, as other miscreant MPs of both main parties have done before him.

It is very hard to take issue with the cross-party Commons Standards Committee which unanimously agreed with Ms Stone that Mr Paterson had broken the MPs Code of Conduct. Three Tories on the committee acknowledged the breach.

North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson was found to have broken lobbying rules by advocating in Parliament for two companies who paid him more than 100,000 a year

Yet the world would barely have noticed if he had quietly paid his penalty for lobbying on behalf of the two companies  a 30-day suspension from the Commons, and the possibility of a by-election in his North Shropshire constituency.

As it is, his refusal to accept his lot, coupled with Boriss dramatic dash to his aid, have exposed the Tories to familiar, damaging accusations.

I dont of course suggest that the Prime Minister was motivated solely by feelings of solidarity with Mr Paterson. It is likely that he has a bone or two of his own to pick with Ms Stone.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has found Mr Johnson guilty of breaching the MPs Code of Conduct on three occasions since 2018, though in every instance, unlike Mr Patersons case, her decision was overturned by the Standards Committee.

It was Ms Stone who launched an investigation into the funding of Boriss 2019 holiday with Carrie in Mustique. I am sure that he has not forgotten, nor forgiven, that.

There may indeed be truth in the suggestion made by some Conservatives that Ms Stone has it in for them, and tends to be more indulgent of Labour. Between 2020 and 2021, she launched investigations into the alleged wrong-doing of 13 Tories compared with only five Labour MPs.

On the other hand, New Labour felt similarly got at by the then Parliamentary Commissioner, Elizabeth Filkin, who harried several of its luminaries. She resigned in 2001 after accusing ministers and senior civil servants of waging a whispering campaign against her. Plus ca change.

Whatever the argument for reforming the present rules  and those accused should probably have a greater right of appeal than they do now  the solution is not to spare Mr Paterson from the punishment meted out by a system which this Government has hitherto tolerated.

Neither the rules nor the referee should be changed in the middle of a game.

It is as though a new referee in the shape of Boris Johnson has marched on to the pitch to replace the old referee, and in the process declared that a player who had been sent off the pitch for foul play should be reinstated.

Perhaps Mr Paterson is so obscure, and the facts so difficult to penetrate, that the damage to the Tories will be slight.

I think its more likely that yesterdays ill-conceived vote will turn out to be an unnecessary, self-inflicted wound.

Boris Johnson probably didnt act for bad reasons. In fact, he may have been largely motivated by good ones. He just didnt think things through.

The danger is that more people will believe he doesnt know right from wrong, and that this is an overmighty Government which is happy to twist the rules to suit its own interests.
The Prince of Wales is striding through the main hall of the Cop26 monster-summit, en route to yet another reception. His turquoise linen face mask (a gift from weavers in Myanmar) is fooling no one.

People recognise him instantly and begin snapping away on their phones. TV crews and photographers latch on.

One or two delegates start exchanging a few words with the Prince and he is happy to chat, so I join in.

I ask him if he can remember his very first public eco-utterance. Oh yes, Id just been asked to be chairman of a countryside committee for Wales and Id seen this amazing scheme for trapping methane from a landfill site, he laughs.

People recognise him instantly and begin snapping away on their phones. TV crews and photographers latch on. The Prince of Wales is pictured with designer and sustainability advocate Stella McCartney

I made a speech trying to make people interested. Of course, no one paid the slightest bit of attention.

That was in 1970 when the Prince was 21  just three years older than teen eco-warrior Greta Thunberg is now. And he hasnt really stopped since. So the last few days must have been something of a vindication for a man so often painted as an amiable eccentric.

There is certainly a spring in his step as he wanders around this summit. Here, everyone from the politicians and boffins crammed inside this giant super-spreader event to the warbling hippies and Thunberg stormtroopers banging on the steel fence outside acknowledges that the Prince has been a key player.

Earlier this week, Boris Johnson saluted the Prince in front of the world leaders: l just want to say youre a prophet without honour and youve been right for a very long time.

Those same world leaders have been beating a path to his door all week, albeit the door to a rather dreary prefab box called Meeting Room D in the VVIP inner sanctum of this vast tented complex.

Its a symphony in low-lit beige with half a dozen chairs, but the Prince has done his best to make it homely with a few woodland scenes on the prefab walls.

There will always be those who think it is pretty rich of a Prince with several homes to lecture the rest of us on carbon emissions as he flies all over the world and drives around in motorcades

Over the course of a few hours, I counted them in and counted them out again  the Prime Minister of Australia followed by the Chief Minister of Sierra Leone followed by the President of Namibia followed by the Prime Minister of Jamaica (bearing handsome gifts of framed postage stamps) All received warm pleasantries before the Prince sat them down and picked up his big folder of briefing notes. Then the cameras (and I) were shown the door and it was down to business.

Afterwards, I asked the Australian PM, Scott Morrison, what they had been discussing for half an hour. Hes got a deep, granular knowledge, he said, so we were talking about climate finance, some Pacific island projects, some new housing projects in Australia. No one said Cop26 had to be fun.

Next up was Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, whose country faces an existential threat from climate change. The Prince greeted her like a long-lost friend  which she sort of is after running her Commonwealth nation for 17 years. Youve written me such nice letters, he told her.

She introduced her daughter, Saima, who has worked with the British Asian Trust, of which the Prince is the founding patron. Wheels within wheels. They soon got down to business. The Prince began with an apology.

I just wish I could have come to your 50th, he told Sheikh Hasina, referring not to her age (shes 74) but her countrys half-century.

There will always be those who think it is pretty rich of a Prince with several homes to lecture the rest of us on carbon emissions as he flies all over the world and drives around in motorcades.

His staff simply point out that the big trips are at the behest of the Government (like his upcoming visit to celebrate 100 years of Jordan).

Here, everyone from the politicians and boffins crammed inside this giant super-spreader event to the warbling hippies and Thunberg stormtroopers banging on the steel fence outside acknowledges that the Prince has been a key player

Yet, he can teach a thing or two to the other leaders gathered in Glasgow this week, where I have been trailing after him for a few days.

For a start, he is still actually here. By yesterday morning, most VIPs had climbed aboard their private jets and legged it, leaving their officials to crunch the numbers. The Prince will still be in Glasgow for the rest of the week, commuting from his home at Dumfries House. Its not all earnest chats about climate financing or the circular bio-economy alliance.

Yesterday, he was out and about, presenting his Terra Carta sustainability awards and inspecting sustainable fashion by the designer Stella McCartney. If the sight of the heir to the throne in one of his trusty old Savile Row suits chatting to Miss McCartney about her vegan handbags  made from laboratory-grown mushroom leather, if you please  was not incongruous enough, then up popped the Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Unlike the average celeb, for whom climate activism entails a few vapid, preachy tweets, the Oscar-winner has genuine form in this regard having funded dozens of conservation projects over the years. He spent ten minutes with the Prince in a corner of the room in deep conversation.

Today, the Prince is championing electric delivery vans. Tomorrow, its electric trains. And when he does move on, he may be the only VIP to leave Glasgow by electric car rather than plane (heading for Balmoral, whence he will return to London next week by train).

His main message all week has been one of carrot rather than stick. As he explains in speech after speech, we cant expect governments to blow their budgets trying to solve climate change using taxpayers money alone. Rather, they need to incentivise the private sector by creating fresh investment opportunities. To that end, he has enrolled 300 companies, managing assets of $60trillion, into his Sustainable Markets Initiative and is making progress.

As I learned this week, he does not like gaps in the schedule (this is, after all, a man who wont eat lunch). After the Prince had just finished another bilateral chat, one of his people spotted Justin Trudeau of Canada enjoying a Cornish cream tea in the leaders lounge. Their respective teams had failed to find diary space for a cosy chat, so a Clarence House official sidled up and asked if the Canadian might like a chat, well, right now. Mr Trudeau immediately stopped pondering whether the jam should go before the cream and put down his scone.

I hope I havent disturbed your lunch, said the Prince. Mr Trudeau was only too happy to have some private time with the next King of Canada  and vice versa. It had been Mr Trudeau who delivered the speech of thanks at last weekends G20 meeting in Rome after the Prince had addressed that summit. This had been a pretty extraordinary moment in itself. The G20 does not normally invite unelected non-heads of state within its ranks. The Prince had been a one-off.

Next up, was the Prime Minister of Vietnam who was so overwhelmed that he asked if he might have permission to put his arm around the Prince  and did. Suddenly, a call came through from the White House to see if the Prince might have time for a one-on-one with President Joe Biden.

So the royal team hoofed it upstairs to the US meeting room. A TV microphone picked up some of the chat before the two men retreated to a corner (minus officials).

The Prince did his usual I hope Im not taking up too much time thing, whereupon Biden went into full backslap mode. We need you badly, he told the Prince. You kept this whole thing going. Thats how it all started.

This was not flattery. This colossal 250million Cop shindig all started with something called the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. And that might not have succeeded in the way it did if the Prince had not organised his own Rio summit on board the Royal Yacht the year before.

Back in 1991, he brought together politicians, including the President of Brazil and future US vice-president Al Gore, plus big names in the oil industry and the green movement. Between them, over two days, they established some basic principles to avoid a rich vs poor schism at the Earth Summit. It worked.

So what does the Prince recall of his own mini Cop on board Britannia? It was just getting so critical to gather people together, he recalls as we march through the melee. At least it was a start.

Earlier, I followed him out of his beige box as he went off to join Boris Johnson at a reception for all the Commonwealth leaders. The PM was noisily saluting Commonwealth solidarity  I am filled to the gills with Indian vaccine!  and reminded everyone that the 1987 Commonwealth summit in Vancouver had been the first to get some sort of grip on climate change.

The Prince had not been due to speak but took to the stage anyway to ram home his point about unlocking private-sector trillions. Then, as future Head of the Commonwealth, he worked the entire room.

Britains Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford, noted that the Prince was among the last to leave. Hes got a huge amount of energy, she added. He is a unique asset at a gathering like this.

Ten days from now, the Prince will turn 73  the same age as the Queen at the turn of the millennium. She has been much missed this week, as every leader has reminded the Prince.

But he has been anything but a substitute here. Some nations have made an effort this week, others have shown they dont really care.

To the British public, footing the bill for this colossal party, it may stick in the craw that we are being urged to abandon our miners and our North Sea oil and gas industries while others merrily go on digging and drilling.

There are no easy answers to any of it. But if one person has done more than most to crack the conundrum, it has been the man holding court in Meeting Room D.
A mother from Oak Park, California, whose abusive ex-boyfriend was arrested for abducting her at gun point has opened up about the trauma she suffered at being kidnapped by him a second time just months later after he was freed from jail.

Giselle Shuken, 36, revealed how she was locked in the trunk of a car and beaten by her own boyfriend when he became paranoid she would cheat - only for the 'monster' to get out of jail four months later and do it again.

The mom-of-two endured a horrific 12-hour ordeal at the hands of her 'jealous' boyfriend of three months, David Crawford, 36, in April 2020, after he misinterpreted messages he saw on her phone.

After being left in the trunk in 100 degree heat for two hours, the 36-year-old said she was then taken into her own home and beaten, leaving her fearing she'd never see her two young daughters again.

Despite suffering a catalogue of injuries - including a broken jaw - she says her now ex ignored her pleas for medical attention and didn't allow her to leave and see a doctor until the following morning.

Giselle Shuken, 36, was locked in the trunk of a car at gunpoint and battered by her own boyfriend when he became paranoid she was going to cheat

The horrific 12-hour ordeal left her with an array of injuries, including a broken jaw

David Crawford, 36, stabbed Giselle in the forehead with a pen, burnt her face with cigarettes, bit her ear, punched her in the face and choked her

She stayed strong for her two daughters - Addyson, 9, and Evalyn, 6. 'I've got to get out of here, I've got to survive this, I've got two babies, two little girls,' she remembered thinking

David was sent to jail for the incident, but Giselle said he was back on the streets four months later after paying bail - in which he disobeyed court orders and continued to torment her.

In another terrifying ordeal that echoed the previous attack, Giselle claimed her ex kidnapped again. In July, he held her in a rental car - leaving her believing she was going to be beaten again. But this time she managed to talk him round after hours of pleading.

After 'living in fear' for months, the special education worker finally saw her ex sent to prison for three years on October 13, and is now telling her story to encourage other domestic abuse survivors to fight for their life and freedom.

Speaking about the initial abduction, Giselle explained that her ex's behavior was sparked when he saw that she had received a text message from a friend about 'a couple she went to high school with'.

'He got really mad at me for a text message that my friend had sent to me about a couple that I went to school with,' she revealed. 'For some reason he thought that I was interested in the guy she was talking about and that I was going to cheat on him.

'We were out throwing away some trash in a dumpster behind a building and he said, "Get in the trunk of the car or I'm going to kill you," and told me he had a gun.

'So I got in the trunk of the car and he had my cell phone and my Apple Watch so I couldn't communicate with anyone.

'We get back to his house and he tells me I need to stay there and he's going to watch me on the security cameras to make sure that I don't get out. So I stayed in the back of the car because I was scared to death that he would come after and I wouldn't have time to run to safety.

'It was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit when I was in the trunk, which is extremely hot and I almost died back there because it was so hot and I didn't have access to air.

'After that he took me back to my house which is where all the physical abuse started - he stabbed me in the forehead with a pen, burnt my face with cigarettes, bit my ear and choked me.

'He held me up against the wall by my neck and he's a lot bigger and taller than me so my feet were off the ground and then punched my jaw, like an uppercut, which caused my jaw to break.

'Then he filled up the bathtub and proceeded to hold my head under the water on and off for 15 minutes.'

After the sustained attack on Giselle, she said her jealous ex then went and set some of her clothes from her wardrobe on fire, threw away her children's baby albums because they had photos of their dad in them, and destroyed her iPad and MacBook.

Giselle needed physical therapy three to four times a week for six months, as well as electro therapy and PT exercises to rebuild strength in her damaged jaw

David (pictured) was sent to jail for the incident, but was back on the streets four months later after paying bail

After he was freed, he proceeded to repeatedly violate the restraining and emergency protection orders put in place for Giselle's safety

In July, David kidnapped the mom-of-two, from Oak Park, California, again

He was then re-arrested and pled guilty to corporal injury to a spouse. He was sentenced to three years in state prison and 48 hours community service

The battered mom-of-two was left fearing she would never see her young daughters - Addyson Scholz, nine, and Evalyn Scholz, six - again as the terrifying attack dragged on.

Giselle said: 'I just kept thinking, "I've got to get out of here, I've got to survive this, I've got two babies, two little girls." They were five and seven at the time.

'They have their dad but I'm their main support and I've got to make it out of here for them. They can't grow up knowing their mom didn't make it.

'I thought, "I just need to stay calm, don't aggravate him more and just get through this day."'

When David eventually allowed Giselle to leave and go to the doctor the following morning, she said he made her stay on the phone with him the entire time until she returned home, to ensure she didn't report what he had done to her.

She was forced to lie and say that the pair had been jumping on a trampoline when they fell and David's elbow accidentally hit her jaw, breaking it.

But, desperate for help, she managed to write a note to the doctor on a receipt to say that she had been beaten up by her boyfriend and couldn't talk freely as he was on the phone.

After a proper examination, the doctor registered the medical diagnosis of her injuries as domestic violence and sent the police to her house for when she returned home.

Giselle said: 'I wasn't sure if my ex was going to be there when I got home because he was upset that I was at the doctor's office for so long and was starting to panic.

'I just was thankful the doctor could recognize what was going on. When I got home the police were there and they said, "You need to get off the phone."

'My ex knew the police were there because he had access to my doorbell camera - I just told him they were there to check on my brother because they had come to my house to check on him before.

'When I left the next morning to go get us coffee and came home there were about six or seven police officers with their guns drawn and they arrested him.'

The mom-of-two needed physical therapy three to four times a week for the next six months, as well as electro therapy and PT exercises to rebuild strength in her damaged jaw, and she still needs more treatment.

However, she says after a mere four months in jail, David was allowed to post bail and proceeded to repeatedly violate the restraining and emergency protection orders put in place for Giselle's safety.

She claimed he called her from jail, sent her roses and cards to apologize for the attack, and even made numerous fake social media profiles to contact her when she blocked him on everything.

Giselle is now telling her story to encourage other domestic abuse survivors to fight for their life and freedom

His continued obsession with his ex-girlfriend became frighteningly clear in July this year when she said he hired a rental car to abduct her again.

Giselle said: 'I thought how can he just keep bailing out - how is he even allowed to get out, this person is a monster.

'In July he kidnapped me while I was out walking my dog - he rented a car and drove by my house and put me in the car and had me there for a couple hours.

'I kept trying to exit the vehicle even while he was driving just to get away.

'Eventually I convinced him we would work things out if he took me home, just saying whatever he needed to hear to take me back to safety.'

Finally, after 18 months of Giselle living in fear, David was re-arrested and pled guilty to disobeying a court order and corporal injury to a spouse at his trial in September.

He was sentenced to three years in state prison and 48 hours community service, while a no contact order and protective order was made in relation to the victim.

Giselle is now speaking out about her traumatic experience with her abusive ex to encourage other survivors to report every incident of abuse and 'stay strong.'

'It was a big relief when he was convicted but I was thinking why didn't he get more time, it's scary,' she said.

'And it took forever, I don't understand how someone can live in fear as I did for 18 months before they finally do something about it.

'Just know you are not alone and you can get through this. Stay strong and never stop fighting.'
Jenna Bush Hager has revealed that her twin sister Barbara Pierce Bush had frozen her eggs and was planning on having children on her own before she met her husband Craig Coyne.

The Today host, who is turning 40 at the end of the month, opened up about how 'painful' it was to become a mother before Barbara during her appearance on Hoda Kotb's new podcast 'Making Space with Hoda Kotb.'

Jenna said it was their 92-year-old grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, who had encouraged her namesake granddaughter to become a single mother.

"Barbara actually had decided...before my grandmother died, she had a conversation with my grandmother where she had decided to have kids on her own, and she talked to my grandmother about it,' she explained.

Candid: Jenna Bush Hager, 39, revealed that her twin sister Barbara Bush had frozen her eggs and was planning on having children on her own before she met her husband Craig Coyne

Party of three: Barbara and Craig welcomed their first child, Cora Georgia, in Portland, Maine, on September 27

'My grandmother said, "I think that's a really good idea." So Barbara froze her eggs and was planning, if she didn't meet somebody, to go ahead and do it, and then hopefully meet somebody else.'

Jenna reflected on how she and Barbara had always been 'in sync' when they were growing up in the White House, but that changed when she married her husband Henry Hager in 2008.

'We had a really shared history because we were the same age,' she recalled. 'So it's interesting how adulthood happens and how I just met Henry and that she didn't meet somebody, you know, she had a lot of boyfriends. And people always asked about it.'

Jenna, who is mom to Mila, eight, Poppy, six, and Hal, two, said having children before her twin sister was difficult and created a 'painful' situation when they were in public together.

'I mean, it was kind of disheartening to travel with her and people would say like, "Why aren't you married?" I mean, painful is the right word,' she said. 'One of the things that people assume too is, like, why hadn't she had kids?'

Interview: The Today star opened up about her twin's baby plans during her appearance on her co-host Hoda Kotb's new podcast 'Making Space with Hoda Kotb'

Looking back: Jenna said it was their late grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, who had encouraged Barbara to become a single mother

Jenna reflected on how she and Barbara (pictured as children) had always been 'in sync' when they were growing up in the White House, but that changed when they became adults

Barbara and Craig were set up on a blind date in November 2017, and they wed 11 months later in October 2018.

They welcomed their daughter, Cora Georgia Coyne, on September 27, at Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland, Maine, near the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport.

The first-time mom had planned on giving birth in New York, but baby Cora surprised them by arriving six weeks ahead of her due date.

Barbara visited the hospital daily with her husband before they were spotted bringing their bundle of joy home in mid-October after Cora spent nearly three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit.

The new parents have been staying at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport, which is about a 45-minute drive south of Portland, but Jenna confirmed that they will be moving back to New York with their baby girl.

Love: Jenna met her husband Henry Hager in her early 20s, and they got married in 2008

Family: Jenna, who has children Mila, Poppy, and Hal, with her husband, said it was 'painful' to become mom before Barbara because people would always ask her why she didn't have kids

Timing: Jenna previously admitted that she felt 'guilt' when she found out she was pregnant with her third child, Hal, just a few months after her sister's wedding in Maine in October 2018

'Our narratives are coming back together, and I just can't just wait to watch her become a mom,' said the former first daughter, who shared that her twin has been FaceTiming her with the baby.

Jenna wrote candidly about the 'survivor's guilt' she felt over her surprise third pregnancy and the Bush family's history of infertility in her book Everything Beautiful in Its Time: Seasons of Love and Loss.

She admitted that even her parents were worried about Barbara's reaction when she learned she was pregnant with baby Hal, who was born in August 2019.

'They were delighted, but the first thing my father said was, 'Have you told Barbara?' I knew my father was worried that Barbara, newly married, would likely be trying soon for a baby if she wasn't already,' she wrote.

'My parents went through so much in order to conceive us, so they are sensitive to the feelings of anyone who does not yet have the babies they want. They thought that if Barbara was trying, she might understandably envy my pregnancy.'

Reunion: Barbara and Craig have been staying at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, but Jenna confirmed they will be moving back to New York City

Protective: Jenna shared the first pictures of Barbara and Craig with Cora. She appears to have lightly blurred the face of the baby girl, perhaps in an attempt to maintain her privacy

Grandpa and grandma: Baby Cora is the fourth grandchild of former President George W. Bush, 75, and his wife Laura, 74

Jenna, who suffered an ectopic pregnancy before having her first child, explained that she and her husband weren't even trying for another baby.

'Henry and I had no plans to have more children. It wasn't even physically likely, Infertility runs in my family, and it was not easy to conceive Poppy. Now I was three years older, two years into what's termed  rather insultingly, I've always thought  advanced maternal age,' she wrote in her book.

'What's more, Henry and I, like many parents of young children, struggle to find time to be ... intimate. If we were to have another baby, it would have to be an immaculate conception.

Two years after welcoming her third child, Jenna now has the pleasure of being an aunt. She proudly shared the first photos of her newborn niece, Cora, with her parents on Instagram on September 28, just hours after the infant's arrival was announced by her elated grandparents.

In her caption, she expressed her joy at meeting her newborn niece, while revealing that the baby girl arrived early.

Major milestone! Barbara and Craig Coyne took their newborn daughter home from the hospital in mid-October, nearly three weeks after she was born

Surprise: Barbara had planned on giving birth in New York, but baby Cora surprised them by arriving six weeks ahead of her due date

'Dearest Cora Georgia,' she wrote. 'Today is the day I got to meet my most beautiful, precious, feisty, niece (a bit earlier than I expected!).

'I witnessed in awe as my dearest, toughest @barbara.p.bush became a mama. And today is the day I fell in love! Some cousins are anxiously waiting to play with you, but not just yet love. Xx auntie J.'

Baby Cora is the fourth grandchild of former President George W. Bush, 75, and his wife Laura, 74. The 43rd president and first lady announced the happy news in a press release, calling Cora 'healthy and adorable.'

'With full hearts, Laura and I are delighted to announce the birth of our new granddaughter,' they wrote in a statement.

'Barbara gave birth to Cora Georgia Coyne on September 27, 2021, in Maine  not far from our family home where Barbara and Craig were married.

'Cora is healthy and adorable, and we are proud and grateful.'
The University of Sussex professor who resigned from her post after sparking student protests over her views on transgender issues has claimed that some of the colleagues she worked alongside stoked the row that led to her quitting.

Kathleen Stock, 48, a professor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex, had faced angry calls to be sacked last month by students at the university following accusations of transphobia after she said people cannot change their biological sex.

Speaking for the first time about resigning from her post of twenty years on BBC Woman's Hour today, the academic said she still holds the view that 'trans women aren't women' and 'trans men aren't men' - but said these views are 'compatible with protecting trans people'.

She called her departure from the English university 'completely humiliating' and 'a defining moment in my life' but said she had 'no regrets' about leaving and stood by her views that female-only spaces should be protected.

Stock said returning to campus to retrieve her belongings was an 'anxious' experience and that she even felt anxious getting the train to the Woman's Hour studio, saying 'my life has changed completely'.

Stock (left) had faced calls to be sacked amid accusations of transphobia but decided to resign her position - today she spoke to Woman's Hour for the first time since her resignation

First interview: Professor of Philosophy Kathleen Stock, 48, resigned from the University of Sussex last month after students called for her to be sacked for her views on transgender people - she told Emma Barnett on BBC's Woman's Hour that a small group of colleagues had 'radically misrepresented' her views on gender

Stock suggested the views of a small number of academics who were against her inflamed the student protests by 'radically misrepresenting my views', saying: 'I don't know if the student activity would have been there if the colleague activity hadn't already been there.'

In the 30-minute interview on Radio 4, she described how 'intense' student activity came at the end of 'three-and-a-half years of low level bullying, harassment and reputation trashing' by colleagues, which began, she says, when she first started to write about gender identity policy.

Instead of debating her views directly with her, she said some staff had mobilised students against her during lectures.

She explained: 'There's a small group of people who are opposed to what I say and instead of getting involved in arguing with me, using reason, evidence, the traditional university methods, they tell their students in lectures that I pose a harm to trans students. Or they go on to Twitter and say that I'm a bigot.'

She told Barnett 'feeling unsafe doesn't mean you are unsafe' and she hopes the students realise 'the world is not as hostile towards them as they think it is'.

Posters put up in the tunnel from Falmer station to the university's campus earlier this month said she 'makes trans students unsafe' and 'we're not paying 9,250 a year for transphobia'

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour Emma Barnett, Stock said returning to campus to retrieve her belongings was an 'anxious' experience

The professor said she had 'no regrets' about leaving her role and stood by her views that female-only spaces should be protected

The feminist professor, who identifies as a lesbian, said that she first became aware of the complexities of the trans rights movement when she saw 'men' on lesbian dating websites.

When asked by the Woman's Hour host if by 'men' she meant 'trans women' she replied: 'I don't know what they were' explaining that physically some had an appearance traditionally considered as masculine but 'with female names'.

She explained: 'The categories are changing in radical ways and "lesbian" is one of them. There's real pressure on lesbians to accept that trans women can be lesbians and I think that has made lesbians of this in a way that straight people aren't necessarily as aware.

'There isn't the same pressure on straight women or straight men.'

She went on to say she was 'ostracised' while working at the university and faced a 'terrible anxiety dream' seeing her name plastered on posters across campus reading 'Stock Out' and 'Stock is a Transphobe'.

Stock added: 'The narrative about me is so far away from what I think I am.'

The academic also said that she's 'happily' taught trans students throughout her career and has been contacted by them following her resignation and that her book is not a threat to trans and non-binary people.

In a letter to staff issued on Friday, University of Sussex's Vice Chancellor Adam Tickell said they had 'vigorously' defended Professor Kathleen Stock's right to 'exercise her academic freedom and lawful freedom of speech, free from bullying and harassment of any kind'

Despite the University saying they would not sack Stock, and 'vigorously and unequivocally' defending her right to academic freedom and lawful freedom of speech, free from bullying and harassment, she decided to leave last week.

'So they're creating an atmosphere in which the students then become much more extreme and much more kind of empowered to do what they did.

'I'm not saying that they intentionally set out to cause this point but I do think that academics are treated by students as role models quite often,' she explained.

'If you're in a class as a student, and your lecturer is saying, look, "there are some views that are just beyond the pale that should never be debated" .

'Then automatically as soon as you say something that makes you bigot.

In her own words: What does Kathleen Stock believe about gender and trans issues? Kathleen Stock explained her views on trans issues in written evidence to Parliament in November 2020 here: Womanhood and manhood reflect biological sex, not gender or gender identity;

The claim 'transwomen are women' is a fiction, not literally true;

Sexual orientation (being gay, being lesbian) is determined by same-sex attraction, not attraction to gender identity;

Spaces where women undress and sleep should remain genuinely single-sex, in order to protect them;

Children with gender identity disorders should not be given puberty blockers as minors. Advertisement

'You just have to go on to Twitter and see who has said this.

'This is a a small number of people who really are quite extreme. In departmental meetings, people radically misrepresent my views, saying things like, "Oh, she thinks all trans women are rapists. Or she she's a bigot. She's awful, she she doesn't like trans people"'.

'And all of this is totally false. But I am increasingly powerless to change the narrative myself.'

Last week, Kathleen said she will be leaving her job after 'an absolutely horrible time' and 'a very difficult few years'.

Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch backed the professor and told the Sky News' Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme she is 'appalled' at the way the scholar has been treated.

Announcing her departure on Twitter on Thursday, she wrote : 'This has been a very difficult few years, but the leadership's approach more recently has been admirable and decent. I hope that other institutions in similar situations can learn from this.

'Am particularly glad to see University emphasising that bullying and harassment anyone for their legally held beliefs is unacceptable in their workplace.'

Professor Stock is an expert in gender and sexual orientation, had been branded a 'transphobe' by some outraged students who called for her to be fired in wake of her comments on gender.

Posters put up in the tunnel from Falmer station to the university's campus earlier this month said she 'makes trans students unsafe' and 'we're not paying 9,250 a year for transphobia'.

Banners saying 'Stock Out' had also been held alongside burning flares and scores of people were criticising her online under the Twitter hashtag #ShameOnSussexUni.

The University's Vice Chancellor Adam Tickell had strongly defended her 'untrammelled' right to 'say what she thinks', whilst more than 200 academics from other universities signed a letter calling out alleged abuse from 'trans activist bullies'.

But on Friday, Professor Stock announced on Twitter that she was 'sad to announce' she is leaving her position, and added that she hoped 'other institutions can learn from this'.

In a letter to staff, Sussex's Vice Chancellor Adam Tickell said that the university had 'vigorously' defended her right to 'exercise her academic freedom and lawful freedom of speech, free from bullying and harassment of any kind'.

But he added: 'We had hoped that Professor Stock would feel able to return to work, and we would have supported her to do so.

'She has decided that recent events have meant that this will not be possible, and we respect and understand that decision.

'We will miss her many contributions, from which the University has benefited during her time here.'
Best friends who created an exfoliating shower glove based on an ancient Turkish bathing ritual have turned over more than $2million in the space of 16 months.

Launched by Melbourne mates Catie O'Neill, 26, and Olivia Burrows, 27, in November 2019, the $34.95 My Glow 2 is made from 100 per cent Turkish silk that sweeps away dead skin and impurities by deeply exfoliating and detoxifying the body.

Since July 2020, the childhood pals have sold more than 70,000 units of their 'game-changing' invention to the tune of a cool $2.4million in revenue.

Designed to improve the appearance of pigmentation, the glove has emerged as one of the most affordable and effective treatments for keratosis pilaris, a common condition that causes tiny lumps to form on the arms and legs.

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Childhood friends Olivia Burrows (left) ad Catie O'Neill (right) have turned over more than $2million in the space of 16 months with their revolutionary Turkish exfoliating glove

The $34.95 glove strips away fake tan and is an effective treatment for keratosis pilaris, a common condition that causes tiny lumps to form on the arms and legs

When swept across the body during a shower, the handwoven fabric reduces dry skin, strips residual tan and banishes blackheads, stretch marks, and scarring.

Ms O'Neill was inspired to launch the product after an encounter with an elderly lady in the markets of Istanbul who told her of the ancient beauty secret of the 'kese mitt'.

This mitt is used in Hammams, one of the oldest bathing rituals in the world, which involves soaking in a steam bath before gently exfoliating dead skin from the body.

Together with Ms Burrows, she spent months researching fabrics and techniques before working with the top textile engineers in Turkey to craft the highest quality silk exfoliating glove and bring it to Australia.

Ms O'Neill was inspired to launch the product after an encounter with an elderly lady in the markets of Istanbul who told her of the ancient beauty secret of the 'kese mitt'

Photos show dry scaly skin, cellulite, sun damage and redness virtually removed from the skin after one use, leaving the body fresh, revitalised and radiant

What is the My Glow 2? This ancient exfoliation tool originates from one of the oldest bathing rituals in the world, the Hammam. This ritual is a transformative experience of the mind, body and soul that provides a long list of skin benefits from detoxification to rejuvenation. Ms O'Neill and Ms Burrows spent months researching fabrics and techniques before working with the top textile engineers in Turkey to craft the highest quality silk exfoliating glove. Advertisement

Videos posted to Instagram and TikTok show the glove in action, lifting scaly fake tan and smoothing dry patches in a single movement.

Hundreds of customers have shared astonishing before and after photos of their newly glowing skin, alongside rave reviews of the handmade accessory.

Pictures show dry, scaly patches, cellulite, sun damage, and redness virtually banished from skin after one use, leaving complexions radiant and revitalised.

The founders were flooded with such a volume of transformation photos that they created a second Instagram account dedicated to the results alone.

One fan wrote: 'I literally can't recommend this enough. I wish I found it years ago! I have tried every exfoliating product there is, and this is by far the best  an absolute game-changer.'

A second called the glove a 'life saver' and claimed it has cured her chronic eczema.

The founders were flooded with such a volume of transformation photos that they created a second Instagram account dedicated to the results alone

Customers have called the glove a 'miracle' product and a 'life-saver'

'I've ditched all my old scratchy exfoliators and body washes filled with nasty chemicals, and it's made me realise that was what was flaring up my eczema,' she wrote.

'This soothes my skin and leaves it calm. I even use it lightly on my face which has cleared up my rosacea! So thankful.'

Social media has been the biggest driver of the founders' financial success.

TikTok has been the most lucrative, with Ms Burrows crediting it for sparking 'exponential' growth this year.

'It's been a huge part of our story,' she said.

The best friends turned business partners are currently working on a wider range of tools inspired by ancient beauty treatments from Egypt and Japan, with sights set on a collection made from native Australian botanicals in the near future.
Travel-starved Australians are flocking to a 'hidden gem' beach on the southern tip of WA.

Tucked in the heart of Two Peoples Bay National Park, 35km east of Albany, Little Beach is famed for its pristine white sand and sparkling turquoise waves.

At the far southern end a path leads to the headland where a waterfall gushes down from the rocks and into the ocean.

Flanked by rolling hills and rows of rugged boulders, the beach has been hailed 'paradise on Earth' by awestruck visitors.

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Travel-starved Australians are flocking to this 'hidden gem' beach on the southern tip of WA

Tucked in the heart of Two Peoples Bay National Park, 35km east of Albany, Little Beach (pictured) is famed for its pristine white sand and sparkling turquoise waves

Little Beach near Albany, 443km south of Perth, WA

Photos posted to Instagram by WA travel photographer MKZ Imagery sparked stunned responses, with many saying the beach is the first place they will travel to once the state opens its borders to the rest of the country.

'Wow, this is incredible. The white sand. Crystal clear water. What a paradise,' one person wrote.

Another added: 'This looks like absolute perfection.'

On the other side of Australia, tourists are heading to a shipwreck that dates back to the darkest days of World War Two which is now a spectacular diving site off Queensland's Capricorn Coast.

Flanked by rolling hills and rows of rugged boulders, the beach has been hailed 'paradise on Earth' by awestruck visitors

Tourists have called the beach (pictured) 'absolute perfection'

After being requisitioned for service the US military in July 1943, the HMS Protector was on its way to a naval base in Papua New Guinea when it was damaged in a collision with a tug boat and abandoned off the coast of Heron Island.

Almost 70 years later, the rusted wreck is one of the state's most breathtaking underwater attractions, inspiring visitors with its formidable size and incredible history.

Travel photographer Mark Fitz described it as one of his favourite snorkelling spots on Earth.

At low tide, the ship's hull be reached by wading through the ocean and walking along the sparkling white sand bar.

This shipwreck was once the HMS Protector which collided with a tug boat on its way to active service in Papua New Guinea at the height of World War Two in July 1943

Almost 70 years later, the rusted wreck (left) is one of the state's most breathtaking underwater attractions, inspiring visitors with its formidable size and incredible history

Sitting 80 kilometres north-east of Gladstone, Heron Island is a natural coral cay surrounded by 24 hectares of coral reef at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

Famed for its spectacular coral reef, the island is home to an array of extraordinary animals including migrating whales and nesting turtles who glide between gaps in the wreck.

Photos of the ship have sparked stunned responses on Instagram, with many shocked that such a massive piece of WWII history can be found in Australia.

'It looks like a dream! Going next time I'm in Australia,' one woman wrote.

Another added: 'Mate this is way up near the top of my bucket list.'
Lily Cole has revealed she's 'learnt a lot' after she was slammed for posing in an Afghani burqa to promote her new book on climate change as Afghanistan fell into the tyrannical and misogynistic hands of the Taliban - and claimed her five-year-old daughter actually chose the photo.

The British supermodel, 33, who lives in Portugal with her boyfriend Kwame Ferreira and their five-year-old daughter Wylde, appeared on Woman's Hour and explained to host Emma Barnett about the 'backlash' she faced after she posted a photograph of herself wearing a blue burka on Instagram and what it has taught her.

She shared the post to 'celebrate diversity' and promote her new book on sustainability, but later deleted the photos and apologised. They were posted as Afghanistan was being taken over by the Taliban in August, who forced women to wear the burka when they were last in control there in the 1990s.

'Well I stand by my quote, what I wrote about diversity and all types of diversity,' she said on the radio show. 'I wholeheartedly stand by that and it's a big ethos of everything I do, is a need to respect different cultures and learn from different cultures.

Lily Cole has been slammed for posing in an Afghani burqa to promote her new book on climate change - as Afghanistan fell into the tyrannical and misogynistic forces of the Taliban

Dozens of people commented on the Instagram post before she then deleted it

She continued: 'In terms of the image, I think what I really learnt is don't post on social media when you're not reading the news, because I had been away for two weeks taking a really, kind of, intentional break from social media, from the media, and spending time with my daughter. And I knew that the book was coming out so I was creating posts around it.

'I actually, I mean I don't blame her at all, but I'd shown a bunch of pictures of myself to my daughter to say: "Oh, which one should I put with it?" And she'd chosen that image. Of course, because of the naivety of a child, she didn't have any understanding of the context.'

The model and climate campaigner shared two pictures to Instagram of herself wearing the face covering.

In one, the blue veil covers her face while in a second she reveals her face and looks directly at the camera. She uploaded the provocative photos to promote her new book Who Care Wins: Reasons For Optimism in Our Changing World.

Encouraging followers to buy her book, she wrote: 'It's out. Let's embrace diversity on every level: biodiversity; cultural diversity; diversity of thinking; diversity of voices; diversity of ideas.'

But speaking on Woman's Hour, Lily went on to say how she has lots of Muslim friends and had always felt 'sympathetic' to the issues that thy face and of the 'rising islamophobia in our culture.'

Lily Cole explained that because of her daughter's 'naivety' of being a child, she didn't have 'any understanding of the context' when she selected the photo

Lily has posted an apology on her Instagram story with links to Afghan women's organisations she says she's donated to

She continued: 'And that was the intention with which I put it together. I hadn't looked at the media and that was my massive mistake and that's why I immediately apologised and took it down and have spent more time, I think, trying to understand the particular issues around that particular garment, because I don't think I was educated enough at the time I posted it.

'And so I've been meeting people from Afghanistan, talking to my Muslim friends, learning more. So yeah, I think I learnt a lot.'

The campaigner also went on to say how she thinks it's useful that the public can 'backlash' because that's how we 'learn' and 'grow as a culture' - but highlighted the importance of pushing against violent language online.

When Emma went on to ask whether she received violent language and abuse, Lily replied: 'Yeah, I did. I didn't engage in it too much to see it all but I saw enough hostility and violence that I kind of checked out. And I've seen that happen to many other people before.

'We're all very familiar with that. You know, I've spoken out in the past, before this incident about not agreeing with that culture online.

'And I think it's a very dangerous culture because I think that what it ultimately does is it silences people. It makes people afraid to get something wrong. And also just violence and aggression is never I don't think, a useful way to solve issues.'

Lily uploaded the provocative photos to promote her new book Who Care Wins: Reasons For Optimism in Our Changing World

Many were quick to criticise the now-deleted picture, saying she was guilty of 'cultural appropriation' and 'putting Instagram gesturing above human rights'.

At the time, many were quick to criticise the now-deleted picture, saying Lily was guilty of 'cultural appropriation' and 'putting Instagram gesturing above human rights'.

'The oppression of Afghan girls is to be fought, not cosplayed. This is disgusting,' wrote one.

The pictures, which were posted to her 95,000 followers, remained up for three days before being deleted.

Shortly after, she issued a grovelling apology saying the burqa was 'borrowed from a friend' and she wasn't aware of the news of the Taliban's advance in Afghanistan and that the post was 'incredibly ill-timed'.

It was posted at a time when the Taliban took control of Kabul, securing their power over the nation by posing in the presidential palace, causing many Afghan women to desperately flee the country in fear of their own lives.

During Taliban rule in the 1990s, women were forced to wear coverings from head to toe, not allowed to work or attend schools and not allowed to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative.

Despite her apology, she had earlier defended her choice - saying she believes the garment was from Pakistan, and that for her 'diversity meant choice'.

A British soldier stands guard as hundreds of civilians are loaded on to an evacuation flight at Kabul airport after the tarmac was cleared of thousands of people desperately trying to flee

Hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban declared an 'amnesty' across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country

Slamming the model, The Times columnist Janice Turner wrote on Twitter: 'Lily Cole and the vacuity of modern hashtag-feminism. Putting Instagram posturing before universal human rights.

'I bet Afghan women are celebrating the 'diversity' of wearing this shroud.'

Activist Caroline Criado Perez - who successfully campaigned to get Jane Austin's face on the 10 note - added: 'I just went to check her Insta as I couldn't believe that would be recent (not that it would be ok if it were not) and... three days ago. Holy s*** Why?'

CEO of Staffordshire Women's Aid Dickie James MBE added: 'White, Western identity politics and privilege pretending to be feminism. Yuk!'

Another Twitter user wrote: 'Playing dress up as a subjugated woman. That's definitely a sign of a well rounded personality.'

'The self-indulgence and lack of awareness from her is staggering. So inappropriate and thoughtless,' said another.

Others pointed out how she was insensitive by posing with nail polish in the pictures, because many Afghan girls had their fingers amputated for wearing nail polish in the 1990s.

The model, 33, married entrepreneur Kwame Ferreira in 2012 and the pair have been living in Portugal with their five-year-old daughter Wylde for the past year (The couple are pictured in London in 2016)

Lily, who last week came out as 'queer', posted an apology on her Instagram story with links to Afghan women's organisations she says she's donated to.

She wrote: 'This week I posted an old photo of me wearing a burqa loaned to me by a friend, as she pointed out I was undermining its original purpose by wearing it with my face exposed, but I understand why the image has upset people and want to sincerely apologise for any offence caused.

'I hadn't read the news at the time I posted so it was incredibly ill timed (thank you for pointing that out to me).

'My heart breaks reading about what is happening in Afghanistan at the moment, and in looking for organisations helping women on the ground I can support, I thought I would share some I found/ donated to.'

Despite her apology, she had earlier defended her choice - saying she believes the garment was from Pakistan, and that for her 'diversity meant choice'.
A surgeon and TikTok doctor has gone viral with a video reveling a surprising connection between the size of a man's nose and his penis.

Dr Anthony Youn, a plastic surgeon and popular YouTuber from Troy, Michigan, shares his experience and knowledge with his 7.1 million TikTok followers.

In one of his recent clips, Dr Anthony told his followers that men with larger nose have bigger penis, while men with smaller ones had smaller attributes as well.

The video was based on a Japanese study in the Basic and Clinical Andrology, published earlier this year, and he used fictional characters incudes The Hulk and Pinocchio to illustrate the study's findings.

His comments, shared on the social media platform, left his followers in bits, as some claimed the study was true based on the men they dated.

Dr Anthony Youn, a plastic surgeon and popular YouTuber from Troy, Michigan, pictured, went viral after he shared the study showing there is a correlation between nose size and penis size

Dr Anthony said men who have bigger noses tend to have bigger penises. This is based on a study from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine

'Did you know the size of your nose correlates to the size of your penis?,' Dr Anthony said in the video. 'A study in Basic and Clinical Andrology found this to be true.'

The report was published in February of this year and was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.

The research investigated how nose size could correlate to the length of a stretched penis.

The physician joked men like the fairytale character Pinocchio, pictured, are more likely to have big penises

Dr Anthony used popular culture characters to illustrate the study, saying the Hulk, left, had a small penis and Butt-head, from Beavis and Butt-Head, right had a big one

Dr Anthony summarised the finding in simple terms, saying: 'Men with larger nose had an average wiener length of 5.3in, whereas men with shorter noses had an average length of 4.1in.'

In a bid to help comfort those who may now be feeling self-conscious of their genitals, he confirmed that this means Marvels 'The Hulk' will in fact have a tiny wee wee whereas 'Butt-Head' from the comedy television show, Beavis and Butt-Head, would pack out his trousers.

The study also concluded that penile length may not be determined by age, height or bodyweight - but actually before birth as a result.

It also stated that the penis stops growing during men's teenage years.

Dr Anthony then used a filter to make his nose appear bigger, to end the video on a tongue-in-cheek note.

The Dr put a filter on his face to joke he actually had a bigger penis than people thought in the video

The physician, pictured, has more than 7 million followers on TikTok where he dispenses advice and shares his experience

The popular post was viewed more than 7.2 million times, racking up 723,400 likes.

Although shocked, many of Dr Anthony's followers confirmed this fact.

One person commented: 'Speaking from experience, this is true.'

Another added: 'I actually started to notice this a while ago with guys I go out with!!! It is almost 90% true.'

Another viewer said: 'Squidward becoming squidwood.'

Someone else wrote: 'So sorry for Voldemort.'

Another viewer, who said that the discovery has changed their life forever, added: 'OMG thanks!!! Now Im gonna be looking at every guys nose!' followed by two laughing face emojis. [sic.]

People found the video hilarious, and others said they also believed the study's findings to be true

Other viewers were able to see the funny side, and one person said: 'I snort laughed so bad I woke my husband in the other room, followed by three laughing face emojis.

Japanese researchers studied the corpses of 126 middle-aged men within three days of their death as part of the study.

A host of measurements documented their height, weight, flaccid penile length, penile circumference, right and left testicular weights, and prostate weight.

A scientist was also tasked with laying each cadaver down and pulling the penis up vertically as far as it would go to get a measurement for stretched penile length.

This, researchers say, is an accurate way of replicating a penis' length when erect.

Are nose size and penis size definitely related? The February study from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine claims there is a chance nose and penis could be related. The study looked into the factors - apart from age - that were linked to the penis length. In order to do this, they analysed the length of the stretched penis as well as nose length and weight and height in 126 adults aged between 30 and 50 between April 2015 and March 2019 The study found there was a higher correlation between nose size and penis size than there were between nose size and weight or height. The university explained they wanted to see if the saying 'big nose big hose' was true. Statistical analysis revealed nose length was correlated to the size of a person's engorged member. They found men with noses smaller than 1.8 inches had a penis size of up to 4.1 inches. However, for people with a nose that is 22 per cent bigger and measures 2.2 inches long, their penises were larger, measuring 5.3 inches long. For people with noses which fall into the middle of this range, the average penis size was 4.5 inches. In Japan, the average penis size is 4.5 inches, according to previous research. The new study also found, unsurprisingly, a strong link between a penis's flaccid length and its erect length. Advertisement

Nose size was also documented by measuring the distance from between a person's eyes to where the nostril starts near the tip of the olfactory organ.

Statistical analysis revealed nose length was correlated to the size of a person's engorged member.

They found men with noses smaller than 1.8 inches had a penis size of up to 4.1 inches.

However, for people with a nose that is 22 per cent bigger and measures 2.2 inches long, their penises were larger, measuring 5.3 inches long.

For people with noses which fall into the middle of this range, the average penis size was 4.5 inches. In Japan, the average penis size is 4.5 inches, according to previous research.

The new study also found, unsurprisingly, a strong link between a penis's flaccid length and its erect length.

However, there was no connection between the size of a man's nose and the length of his penis when soft.

The researchers put this down to variability in how efficient a penis is at swelling, with some people being 'growers' and others noted 'showers'.

In the study, published in Basic and Clinical Andrology, scientists from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine did not look at why nose and penis length is linked.

Instead, their observational study only found a connection between the dimensions of the body parts.

'This study is the first to demonstrate the relationship between stretched penile length and nose size but is limited in Japanese male cadavers, and the reason why stretched penile length and nose size are related is still unclear,' the researchers write.

'Therefore, we consider it an interesting subject to pursue from now on.'

However, previous studies have found that an unborn baby's level of exposure to androgens while in their mother's womb can influence penile length.

They also say that androgens  a group of hormones which includes testosterone  has been previously linked to the 2D:4D ratio.

This states that androgen exposure can alter the length of a person's index and ring fingers and therefore the size ration of the two digits.

Previous studies have indicated the 2D:4D ratio and the speculated androgen link can can be used to predict food choices and even a person's sexuality.
Prince Charles looked delighted today as he met with Leonardo DiCaprio and Stella McCartney at COP26 in Glasgow.

The heir-to-the-throne, who is known as the Duke of Rothesay when north of the border, met with Hollywood and fashion royalty at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Wearing a grey suit and poppy, the Prince of Wales, 72, chatted to Leonardo, 46, as the pair were joined by Sir Paul McCartney's daughter, 50, to look on at a fashion installation created by the designer.

Prince Charles looked delighted today as he met with Leonardo DiCpario and Stella McCartney at COP26 in Glasgow.

Royalty meets Hollywood royalty! The Prince of Wales shakes hands with Leonardo DiCaprio today

The heir-to-the-throne, who is known as the Duke of Rothesay when north of the border, looked delighted to mingle with Hollywood and fashion royalty at the at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Rubbing shoulders with royals! The three long time environmental campaigners met today

The Prince of Wales (centre) speaks with designer Stella McCartney (right) and Leonardo DiCaprio (left) as he views a fashion installation by the designer, at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, during the Cop26 summit being held at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow.

Like the royal, Leonardo is a long time environmental campaigner and describes himself as an 'actor and environmentalist'.

He reportedly flew commercial to Glasgow yesterday. His decision to shun a private jet - which many billionaires flew in on - came after he was called an eco-hypocrite for his use of VIP planes. In 2016 it emerged the Oscar-winner flew 8,000 miles from France to New York and back on one just to accept an award on climate change.

The Wolf of Wall Street actor, who is expected to speak at various COP26 fringe events, first popped up last night at a book launch hosted by environmentalists at The Engine Works venue in Glasgow's Maryhill district, in the north of the city.

Meanwhile Stella is also a keen environmentalist and vegetarian - and has previously said she doesn't wash her designer clothes because the chemicals are damaging to the environment.

Meanwhile Stella is also a keen environmentalist and vegetarian - and has previously said she doesn't wash her designer clothes because the chemicals are damaging to the environment.

Stella, whose Beatles musician father is also a keen green campaigner and encourages people to eat less meat runs her celeb-loved band with a cruelty-free ethos and has never included leather or fur in her collections.

Designer Stella McCartney shows Charles her installation at COP26 today

Charles, right, speaks with designer Stella McCartney as he views a fashion installation by the designer, at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Charles, right, speaks with designer Stella McCartney as he views a fashion installation by the designer, at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, during the Cop26 summit being held at the Scottish Event Campus

Stella, whose Beatles musician father is also a keen green campaigner and encourages people to eat less meat runs her celeb-loved band with a cruelty-free ethos and has never included leather or fur in her collections.

After rubbing shoulders with celebrities, the Prince met with the CEOs of global companies awarded the Terra Carta Seal.

The Terra Carta Seal, designed by Sir Jony Ive, recognises global companies which are driving innovation and demonstrating their commitment to genuinely sustainable markets.

It was presented at today's inaugural awards to 45 companies that have committed to accelerating action over the next decade to help limit global heating to 1.5 C by 2050.

After rubbing shoulders with celebrities, the Prince met with the CEOs of global companies awarded the Terra Carta Seal.

Prince of Wales meets with the CEOs of global companies awarded the Terra Carta Seal

It was presented at today's inaugural awards to 45 companies that have committed to accelerating action over the next decade to help limit global heating to 1.5 C by 2050

It comes just hours after the duke looked suitably impressed by the souped-up car, which was manufactured by McLaren,

A keen environmentalist, Charles' own car, a vintage Aston Martin, runs on bioethanol produced from supply waste rather than petrol.

Senior members of the royal family, including the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate Middleton have all travelled to Scotland this week as part of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The heir-to-the-throne, who is known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, pictured, appeared smitten with the electric race car, manufactured by McLaren, as he attended an event at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow this morning. He also chatted with McLaren's first ever female driver, Emma Gilmour, centre, and Leena Gade, left, who is the racing tam's lead engineer

Vroom! The canary-yellow car's new livery was hand-drawn and features the names of the initial signatories of McLaren's Extreme E 'Count Us In' pledge page

Prince Charles shakes Emma Gilmour's hand as engineer Leena Gade looks on

The car's the star! The detailed livery unveiled today in front of the prince features the four biomes in which Extreme E races: arctic, desert, amazon and ocean

The heir-to-the-throne seemed particularly enthused as he stepped out of the museum to admire the race car close-up.

He also chatted with McLaren's first ever female driver, Emma Gilmour and Leena Gade, who is the racing tam's lead engineer.

Escorted by McLaren Racing CEO, Zak Brown, he learned more about the company's efforts to move on from fossil fuels and traditional power sources to become greener.

Ahead of Remembrance Day next week and as part of the Poppy Appeal, Charles also had a poppy pinned to his suit, and another poppy pinned to his blue coat.

McLaren's first ever female driver Emma Gilmour, right, talked Prince Charles through the livery on the car

Prince Charles was wearing a navy blue overcoat today - with a poppy on both his suit jacket and his warmer coat. He was greeted by Zak Brown, Chief Executive of McLaren Racing, left

McLaren's F1 team was certified carbon neutral ten years ago and has upheld that standard since

He first admired the detailed livery of the McLaren's Extreme E car, which has been hand-drawn during the Cop26. It features the four biomes in which Extreme E races: arctic, desert, amazon and ocean. As well as the names of the initial signatories of McLaren's Extreme E 'Count Us In' pledge page.

The Prince then listened intently as Zak Brown demonstrated how hydrogen power, which is made from oxygen and hydrogen, can be used as an alternative source of power for race cars needing high speeds. It can adapt to all terrains and only races in remote corners of the world.

In the Glasgow sunshine, Charles, a keen environmentalist, looked in great spirits during today's event, where he learned more about McLaren's sustainability efforts

Car talk: The heir-to-the-throne speaks with McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, as he arrives at the event

The royal donned a grey suit with a pinstriped white and blue shirt, with a light blue and white patterned tie

The heir-to-the-throne, pictured, looked relaxed at today's event, which focused on the future of car racing

McLaren's F1 team was certified carbon neutral ten years ago and has upheld that standard since, he said.

In September, McLaren pledged to put sustainability at the heart of what they do.

The car manufacturer wants to achieve a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030.

The pledge reads: 'Our ambition is to help drive and champion the sport and industry agenda forward, in partnership with all our stakeholders, to positively contribute to a truly sustainable future.'

'By taking small steps as outlined in this pledge and learning more about environmental impact we can make positive changes to help protect our planet for future generations.'
The Duke of Sussex is set to speak out on the 'internet lie machine' at an event organized by Wired magazine next week.

Prince Harry, 37, who is currently living in his $14 million mansion in California having stepped back from royal duty last year, will speak in a session at the Re:Wired summit on November 9.

According to the online description, his session is called 'The Internet Lie Machine', with details reading: 'As social media algorithms reward shock value over reality, as the line between fact and fiction weakens every day, as media propaganda and online hatred run rampant, we must ask: how did we get here and how do we get out of this mess?

'We'll hear from an expert authority on the rise of digital propaganda, a foremost civil rights advocate who understands the collision between misinformation and racial justice, and a global leader who is taking on misinformation in pursuit of a new era of truth.'

It is unknown what fee the Duke will receive for the appearance - last year, experts predicted he and Meghan, 40, could earn more than 1million each time they do a speech after signing up with an elite agency.

The Duke of Sussex, 37, is set to speak out on the 'internet lie machine' at an event organised by Wired magazine next week

The description of the event read: "What is the real cost of a lie on the internetto ourselves, our communities, our societies?

Prince Harry, introduced as the co-founder of Archewell, will be among the three speakers at the event, alongside by Renee DiResta, technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, and Rashad Robinson, co-chair of the Aspen Commission on Information Disorder and president at Color Of Change.

According to the Wired website, the summit will feature 'a series of conversations between technologists and people who think hard about the consequences for those technologies on society, economics, sustainability and, ultimately, our future.'

The event takes place the same day his wife Meghan is set to appear at an online conference organised by the New York Times to discuss 'women reaching economic and professional parity.'

Prince Harry, 37, who is currently living in his $14 million mansion in California having stepped back from royal duty last year, will speak in a session at the Re:Wired summit on November 9

Despite launching renewed attacks on the media, Prince Harry has continued to speak to outlets he and Meghan like, including giving extensive interviews to celebrity friends Dax Shepherd and Oprah Winfrey.

His latest appearance comes weeks after he used a live video message to launch an assault on the media and lecture on inequality in a surprise speech to VIPs including Piers Morgan hours after the ex-GMB host won a thumping victory for free speech over Meghan.

The Duke used his big screen speech beamed to the GQ Awards in London to blame 'those who peddle in lies and fear' in the 'news media and social media' for vaccine hesitancy.

Watching was MailOnline columnist Piers Morgan, who had just won a resounding victory for free speech after regulator Ofcom ruled he had not broken the broadcasting code for his comments on the Duchess of Sussex following her bombshell Oprah interview.

Speaking from the US, Harry, who referred to Britain as 'our nation' in his address, delivered a chiding speech urging governments to do more to vaccinate poorer countries, warning 'until every community can access the vaccine and until every community is connected to trustworthy information about the vaccine, then we are all at risk'.

Prince Harry, introduced as the co-founder of Archewell, will be among the three speakers at the event (pictured, the online description of the event)

Speaking from his Montecito mansion more than 5,000 miles away from London last night, the beleaguered Prince lectured his star-studded London audience on 'media misinformation' and the importance of sharing vaccines. Harry later presented the Heroes of the Year Award to Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Professor Catherine Green and the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

After being invited on the the stage by Harry, Professor Green told the crowd: 'I promised Sarah I wouldn't get too p***ed, and I promised I wouldn't swear, but there was no f***ing chance of that because I'm so starstruck'. Harry's live speech was at 11pm London time (3pm LA time), and Mr Morgan left the venue at around 11.15pm, after the duke had finished and handed out the award.

Mr Morgan's ITV colleagues and a string of respected broadcasters hailed Ofcom's ruling confirming his right to free speech after the watchdog dismissed 57,000 complaints about his criticism of Meghan Markle.

Senior British journalists have declared that the judgment meant a 'pillar of our freedom' in the UK had been 'reinforced'.

Piers, who was at the GQ event with his wife, author Celia Walden, was sensationally cleared by Britain's broadcast watchdog who backed his right to free speech after he said that he 'didn't believe a word' of what Meghan told Oprah and challenged her claims of royal racism and suicidal thoughts.

The Sussexes did not comment on the judgment, but will have been infuriated by the result given Meghan complained to Ofcom herself and also to Mr Morgan's boss at ITV, Dame Carolyn McCall. Meghan allegedly implored Dame Carolyn her to censure her critic as they were both 'women and mothers'.

And earlier this summer, the Sussexes renewed their campaign against the British media after backing a fierce attack on the industry body that represents newspaper editors.

In July, Archewell, the couple's campaign and media organisation, threw its support behind a group of journalists who accused the Society of Editors of a 'ham-fisted blanket denial of racism'.

The move threatened to reignite the row sparked during the couple's interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, when Prince Harry claimed the UK tabloid media was 'bigoted' and created a 'toxic environment' of 'control and fear'.

ITV, which bought the UK rights to the interview, was later forced to edit out some misleading and distorted headlines which portrayed British press coverage of the couple as racist.

The Duke and Duchess joined New York-based Harry Walker Agency, which represents the Obamas and the Clintons, las year.

PR expert Mark Borkowski told The Sun the pair will 'clean up'. They plan to be available for talks on social issues including racial justice, gender equality, the environment and mental health, according to the LA Times.

'I'm surprised they haven't done this sooner. It will be one of the great income generators for them. The speaker's circuit is a natural safe space for them to plunder,' he added.
A teen cancer survivor from Evansville, Indiana was left 'disrespected and disgusted' after a yearbook company edited out her chemotherapy scar from her high school photo without her permission.

Allison Hale, 16, wanted the world to know that she was not ashamed of her scars. That's why she asked for her yearbook photo, which was taken by Straub Photography, to be left 'untouched' and specifically wore clothes that she knew would show off the scar that saved her life.

So when she discovered that the scar located on her neck had been digitally removed from her school image without her permission, her 'heart sunk straight to her stomach.'

'When I pulled out the photo, my whole face dropped. I felt like my heart just sunk straight to my stomach because [my port] is so important to me, and it was just erased completely,' she told People Magazine.

A teen cancer survivor was left 'disrespected and disgusted' after she received her yearbook photo (left) and noticed that her chemotherapy port scar had been edited out of it

Allison Hale, 16, asked for her school image (pictured) to be left 'untouched' and specifically wore clothes that she knew would show off the scar that saved her life

Allison explained that she finds the scar 'beautiful' and says it is 'something that makes me who I am'

The Evansville, Indiana, student was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2020 right before Christmastime

Allison, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2020 shortly before Christmas, explained on Facebook that she finds the scar 'beautiful' and says it is 'something that makes me who I am.'

'I truly feel incredibly disrespected and disgusted,' she wrote.

'I ordered untouched photos. I wore a sweater to specifically show off my port scar. I love showing it off, I'm not ashamed of it.

'We all know, I've gone through hell and back this last year, and I want to show off my proof of life and winning. I don't want it covered up. I don't feel ashamed or embarrassed by it.

'But seemingly, scars are uncomfortable. Scars are unacceptable. Scars are something to be hidden, and to be embarrassed about.'

The teen continued, 'Here we have a touched up photo, covering up the trauma I find beautiful and hold, quite literally, so close to my heart. Something that makes me who I am.

'Maybe this sounds dramatic but to me, they covered up my life and the source of what healed me, and that feels like a new level of disrespect on my end.'

After raising her concerns to the photographers, Allison said they apologized and quickly fixed the image. DailyMail.com has reached out to Straub Photography for comments.

'Maybe this sounds dramatic but to me, they covered up my life and the source of what healed me, and that feels like a new level of disrespect on my end,' she said

The 16-year-old wants to remind everyone that all bodies are beautiful - imperfections and all. She said, 'Please, stop editing yourself and others to fit what society has made the standard'

Allison went through five rounds of chemotherapy and 20 sessions of radiation therapy, and in July, she learned that she was cancer-free

Allison explained that when she was first diagnosed last year, it was very hard for her.

'There was a lot happening in my life, outside of my health. I was already in a bad place mentally,' she recalled.

'Then, to be diagnosed with cancer right before Christmas at 15, it just diminishes every feeling of confidence and worth that you feel.

'Because now, you're sick and sad and feeling all the emotions. There was anger, there was fright. I was terrified of what was to come, and lonely, very isolated.'

But when she started treatment at Indianapolis' Riley Children's Hospital in January, she instantly felt less alone.

'I met the nurses... and they just made everything seem not as scary,' said Allison.

'Of course, it was still scary, but having that support and other kids who are going through the same things around you, it makes all the difference.'

When it became time to shave her hair, she admitted that she was nervous at first. But once it was done, she felt more confident than ever.

'As soon as I shaved my hair off, I was totally a brand new person. I didn't want to cover it up,' she explained.

'That was who I am. That was the picture of what I was going through and how strong I was to be able to show it.

'I was immediately so happy to not have that weight on my shoulders and to be able to take control of that.'

Allison went through five rounds of chemotherapy and 20 sessions of radiation therapy, and in July, she learned that she was cancer-free. A few months later, she went to take her yearbook photo - a day she described as 'incredibly important.'

'Because at one point you're like, "Okay, I may never have another birthday again or another yearbook photo,"' she explained.

'I was just so ecstatic to have another picture and to be able to show the new person, the stronger Allison, that I had become.'

Allison hopes to study forensic psychology in college one day

The 16-year-old, who hopes to study forensic psychology in college one day, knows that not everyone is as confident as she is when it comes to scars, and she wanted to remind everyone that all bodies are beautiful - imperfections and all.

'Scars are nothing that should be hidden, or covered, or edited. Every single body has a scar somewhere, and that's beautiful,' she said.

'Every body is beautiful, with every scar, dip, curve, bump, and bruise it holds. So please, stop editing yourself and others to fit what society has made the standard. Make your own standard and live by that.'

It turns out, this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Back in May, a Florida high school came under fire for editing 80 yearbook photos of female students in a bid to make their outfits more conservative.

Bartram Trail High School in St. John said they asked the yearbook committee to photoshop the photos because they felt they were 'inappropriate' and violated the school's dress code.

Girls had the necklines of their shirts raised and their shoulders covered up. However, photos of boys in skimpy speedos were left unedited.

When parents became outraged, they offered refunds to anyone who wanted to return the yearbook.

One mother told Action News Jax that she thought the school was sending young girls the 'wrong message' by editing out their cleavage, saying it 'sends the message that our girls should be ashamed of their growing bodies.'
Prince William's nerves 'were higher than normal' when addressing COP26 and he used 'several repeat rituals' and 'choreographed' hand gestures to mask his anxiety, claims a body language expert.

The Duke of Cambridge, 39, delivered a speech during the World Leaders' Summit 'Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment' session of the summit in Glasgow, Scotland, yesterday.

Cutting a stylish figure in a smart black suit adorned with a poppy, the father-of-three urged world leaders to 'think differently' and make the 'impossible, possible' in his impassioned address.

Body language expert Judi James told FEMAIL that the royal appeared more nervous than usual and was 'still suffering from butterflies' - so used dramatic-looking gestures to hide this.

Prince William's (pictured) nerves 'were higher than normal' when addressing COP26 and he used 'several repeat rituals' and 'choreographed' hand gestures to mask his anxiety, claims a body language expert

The Duke of Cambridge (pictured), 39, delivered a speech during the World Leaders' Summit 'Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment' session of the summit in Glasgow, Scotland, yesterday

Cutting a stylish figure in a smart black suit adorned with a poppy, the father-of-three (pictured) urged world leaders to 'think differently' and make the 'impossible, possible' in his impassioned address

She said: 'Williams verbal and non-verbal style as he delivered his powerful speech yesterday were unarguably different from his normal delivery. His gesticulation was more pronounced and he seemed to speak with a new sense of purpose and even bounce.

'Looking at Williams body language on the build-up to his speech it appears that his levels of nerves and anxiety were higher than normal.'

She suggested he showed his nerves by performing 'several repeat rituals of clothing checking and self-touch that are more extreme than usual'.

'These types of "performer nerves" are common with professional speakers and performers and rarely prevent a cracking speech on stage, but they do suggest that William is still suffering from "butterflies" rather than raised levels of confidence,' said Judi.

She added: 'Williams gestures were congruent and rather modest in terms of their message and tone, with no apparent attempt to big himself up in front of a global audience or act like a guru.

'If anything he was keen to direct praise and attention onto his 15 Earthshot Prize finalists. William wasnt doing any global status-raising then, but there were several hints to suggest he had been doing some serious training for this important speech.

The royal (pictured) put on a very animated display during his impassioned speech at the COP26 summit

Prince William (pictured) spoke just a day after the Queen's impassioned video message whch highlighted the need for world leaders to put aside division and act now for the sake of 'our children'

'He spoke more quickly than usual but without losing any accuracy. His diction and enunciation were incredibly better than usual but without sounding over-careful.

'His hand gestures looked well-timed to the point of being choreographed, with a couple of raised digits for emphasis and then a series of precision gestures, first with the left hand and then the right.

'Precisions are less about showmanship and more about proving your points are based on fact and detail. The one hand laid flat on his chest for an extended amount of time was probably to show heartfelt honesty.'

In his speech, the royal noted the urgency for people to 'think differently' if the battle against global warming is to be on its way to success within a decade.

It came just a day after the Queen's powerful video message which highlighted the need for world leaders to put aside division and act now for the sake of 'our children'.

The royal, donning headphones and a protective face mask, could be seen preparing before he took to the stage

A general view as Prince William took to the stage at the World Leaders' Summit 'Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment' session

Prince William spoke with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission at the World Leaders' Summit 'Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment' session

Taking to the stage, Prince William challenged world leaders to push even harder in a bid to stop devastating floods, fires and heatwaves and said: 'If we are to achieve our goal to repair our planet in what is now less than a decade, it is our shared responsibility to continue thinking differently, acting boldly, and making the impossible, possible.'

During the 'Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment' session in one of the plenary rooms, Prince William addressed the assembled world leaders and introduced the winners and finalists of the inaugural Earthshot Prize Awards, which took place on 17 October.

The royal was joined on stage by 15-year-old India-based Vinisha Umashankar, the youngest Earthshot Prize Finalist.

Vinisha's solar-powered ironing cart is a clean alternative to the charcoal-powered street irons that press clothes for millions of Indians each day.

Concerned by the burning of charcoal on the health of her local ironing vendors and the impact on air quality across India, her solar-powered invention means five hours of sunshine can power the iron for six hours.

Extra mobility means vendors can sell on doorsteps as well as the roadside and built-in phone top up and charging points bring extra income too.

Vinisha's example shows that by innovating today, the next generation can create a cleaner tomorrow.
Melanie McDonagh (pictured) says theres a limit to what parents can do to influence their children in secondary school

NO

By Melanie McDonagh

My goodness, I like the sound of the strictest headteacher in Britain, Barry Smith, who declared that of course parents need to do more to ensure their kids behave well, and I dont think all parents are doing what they should be.

Hes my kind of disciplinarian. He goes in for obligatory smiles from pupils and says hes willing to supply sick buckets in class to deter those pretending to be ill so that they can skip lessons.

Hes not right, though, to blame parents for indiscipline. Most of us fail, not because we dont want to bring up our children nicely, but because there are forces beyond our control.

Yes, Im talking about the internet. Yes, Im talking about peer group pressures. And Im talking about mobile phones.

Its easy to be a parent when your children are at primary school: you meet their teachers; you know other parents; your children are, bluntly, more willing to do what theyre told.

But at secondary school, its another story. Your contact with the school is limited; you dont drop your children off; you dont know their friends; and their access to technology is near uncontrollable.

Some people seem scared of their children

Well, I suppose the children of the Google and Facebook entrepreneurs get restricted screen time. It is the rest of us who are fighting a losing battle.

The upshot is theres a limit to what parents can do to influence their childrens behaviour. My daughter is 14, and her mobile phone is practically an extension of her arm. Ive tried to confiscate it, but she always finds a replacement; I try to limit screen time, but she insists she needs it for school, which is unfortunately true.

And on that device you get deeply worrying forces of subversion or, at least, sites with a different ethos from mine.

Adolescence is never easy, but technology makes it worse. A friends nice daughter turned into a monster of introversion and cheek once a well-wisher gave her a smartphone. She suddenly turned into a detached door-slammer.

As for peer pressure, it can undermine even the best of us. When my son was small, I forced him to write thank-you letters to his friends for his birthday party presents; I found them under the mattress, as the other children would have thought thank-you letters weird.

Mr Smith, I wish you well. But dont blame parents for bad behaviour  most of us are on your side.

YES

Helena Frith Powell (pictured) argues there's a misguided notion nowadays that we should treat our children like friends

By Helena Frith Powell

Should your child behave badly, its probably your fault. I write as a mother of two girls who used to dread parents evening  it was one protracted and painful apology.

One of the problems is the misguided notion nowadays that we should treat our children like friends; that they are our equals and have as much say in what goes on as we do, sometimes more. But we are not pals, we are their parents, and we owe it to them to act as such.

I totally agree with Barry Smith, otherwise known as Britains strictest headmaster, who observes that some parents seem scared of their children.

In these anti-disciplinarian times, where strict is synonymous with bad, parents seem nervous about telling their children what to do; to use that dreaded word no; or even to teach them basic manners.

A friend of mine no longer wants to meet up with her sister and their combined three children because her nephew is appallingly behaved. Yet her sister always dismisses his feral behaviour as the little darling expressing himself.

Another friend told me her six-year-old granddaughter had decided not to come away on holiday with them as she wasnt yet quite ready to travel without her mother.

In reality, the buck stops with parents

She might come next year, my friend told me, as if the girl was leafing through travel catalogues picking her own hotel. Shes going to think about it. Why on earth was this decision left to a child?

Children like rules and boundaries. They make them feel safe and give the impression that someone is in charge. We joke about snowflakes, but when a teacher cant tell a child how to behave for fear of offending them or affecting their mental health, its gone too far. These children are unlikely to grow up into nice or robust adults. They will find the real world one hell of a shock.

Most people, if asked who is responsible for their upbringing, will name their parents. That is why I dont understand parents who blame everyone but themselves for their childrens behaviour. In reality, the buck stops firmly with them.

In his book 12 Rules For Life, the clinical psychologist Dr Jordan Peterson includes a chapter entitled: Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them.

Its excellent advice and extremely easy to follow, if youre brave enough. My girls are now both lovely adults aged 21 and 22, but oh how I wish Id followed such wise counsel when they were little.
Queen Letizia of Spain showed off her diplomatic prowess today as she met the first lady of Paraguay, Silvana Lopez Moreira to visit the ruins of the Jesuit mission of Jesus de Tavarangue.

The royal mother-of-two, 49, sported a red utility jacket as she praised the work and dedication of Spanish aid workers in Paraguay, who are working to improve access to health and education services and fight against the trafficking of women in the South American country.

Opting for a dressed down look, the royal explored the artefact with Silvana who wore all white beneath a khaki jacket.

Queen Letizia of Spain showed off her diplomatic prowess today as she met the first lady of Paraguay, Silvana Lopez Moreira to visit the ruins of the Jesuit mission of Jesus de Tavarangue.

The royal mother-of-two, 49, sported a red utility jacket as she praised the work and dedication of Spanish aid workers in Paraguay, who are working to improve access to health and education services and fight against the trafficking of women in the South American country.

Opting for a dressed down look, the royal explored the artefact with Silvana who wore all white beneath a khaki jacket.

Staying Covid-safe in a face mask and opting for an untypical dressed down look, the monarch paired jeans with boots and shirt for the lowkey outing.

She tied her hair back into a low pony tail and opted for minimal make-up for the outing.

Letizia landed in Paraguay on Tuesday evening at Asuncion Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, where she was welcomed by First Lady Silvana Abdo, as well as Foreign Minister Euclides Acevedo and Madrid's Ambassador Carmen Castiella Ruiz.

Throughout the three day trip she will undergo many activities with the First Lady , focusing on projects between the two countries with a particular focus on women's empowerment and health, education and preparation for the employment of young people.

Staying Covid-safe in a face mask and opting for an untypical dressed down look, the monarch paired jeans with boots and shirt for the lowkey outing.

She tied her hair back into a low pony tail and opted for minimal make-up for the outing.

Diplomacy between the countries have been going on for decades.

She was without her husband King Felipe VI, 53, and her daughter's Princess Leonor, 15, and Infanta Sofia, 14, joined their parents on the day out.

Future monarch Leonor is a student United World College of the Atlantic in Wales, - which has been dubbed 'hippy Hogwarts'.

Letizia landed in Paraguay on Tuesday evening at Asuncion Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, where she was welcomed by First Lady Silvana Abdo, as well as Foreign Minister Euclides Acevedo and Madrid's Ambassador Carmen Castiella Ruiz. Pictured today with the First Lady

Letizia (pictured today) met Felipe VI at a dinner party in 2002, and the pair enjoyed an instant connection, leading to their royal wedding in May 2004.

Queen Letizia of Spain and the first lady of Paraguay, Silvana Lopez Moreira (R), visit the ruins of the Jesuit mission of Jesus de Tavarangu

The former newsreader is the granddaughter of a taxi driver and the eldest daughter of Jesus Jose Ortiz Alvarez, a journalist, and first wife Maria de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodriguez, a nurse and hospital union representative.

Letizia met Felipe VI at a dinner party in 2002, and the pair enjoyed an instant connection, leading to their royal wedding in May 2004.

The former newsreader is the granddaughter of a taxi driver and the eldest daughter of Jesus Jose Ortiz Alvarez, a journalist, and first wife Maria de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodriguez, a nurse and hospital union representative.

She attended public high school and did a degree at the Complutense University of Madrid. She later gained an MA in Audiovisual Journalism at the Institute for Studies in Audiovisual Journalism.

King Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son, now King Felipe VI.
A prolific anti-vaxx campaigner who compared NHS workers to Nazi war criminals and likened lockdown restrictions to the Holocaust was allowed back on YouTube to spout debunked conspiracy theories, MailOnline can reveal.

Kate Shemirani, who still clings to the title of nurse despite being struck from the UK's nursing register, had her previous channel banned last year for spreading false information about Covid vaccines and the pandemic in general.

But the 55-year-old, a friend of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's brother and lockdown skeptic Piers, created a new platform called 'Natural Nurse Report', this website found.

YouTube pulled the video after being alerted to its presence by MailOnline.

The reemergence of Ms Shemirani has prompted renewed calls to protect the title of nurse to stop people like her using it to promote conspiracy theories to the public.

Anti-vaxxer champion Kate Shemirani is back with a new YouTube channel spouting more conspiracy theories and hate towards doctors and nurses

In the only video on the new channel Kate Shemirani interviews an anti-vaxx nun Mother General of Tyburn Convent Marilla Aw with the pair claiming getting a vaccine is a type of communion with Satan

The start-up channel had only one video, featuring an interview between Ms Shemirani and a nun.

She filmed the video at Tyburn Convent, which honours the martyrs of Tyburn a group of Catholics executed during the Reformation in the 1500s and 1600s.

The 77-minute-long interview meanders between a plethora of debunked vaccine conspiracies  including that they cause cancer.

It also includes claims that Satanic worshippers are pushing vaccines onto society, insinuates pandemic restrictions are the start of Communism in the UK and around the world, and the Chinese Communist Party is infiltrating religious organisations.

In the video, Ms Shemirani, who is listed in a caption as being of part of the 'British Nursing Alliance'  a group she founded that was banned on social media, claims vaccines are being pushed upon society by the 'devil'.

Doctors and nurses and injectors, everybody actually, theyre not even following what it means to be human,' she said.

We know its wrong, we know its a lie, we know this is an abuse of humanity... Every injection that goes in, thats a little bit of Satan.'

Throughout the interview mother Marilla Aw nods along and verbally agrees with Ms Shemirani's claims.

The pair falsely claim that vaccines cause cancer and contain material from aborted foetuses, adding these are also found in cosmetics and fast food.

The nun's views put her at odds with the Catholic Church itself, with Pope Francis himself urging the faithful to get the Covid jab, describing it in a message as 'an act of love'.

Ms Shemirani also claimed she was anti-vaccine because she was created 'in God's image', despite previously running a Botox clinic providing cosmetic treatments.

The former nurse still describers herself as being an 'independent nurse prescriber' who still sees patients, despite being struck off from the UK's nursing register last year after other nurses reported her for spreading her anti-vaccine and anti-mask views to the public.

Ms Shemirani also predicted there will be many thousands of deaths in the UK among children who are given the vaccine  despite a plethora of data showing they are safe.

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth of the mothers when they realise what theyve done,' she said.

The pair also compared being asked about vaccine status to being asked to wear a yellow Star of David like Jewish people in Nazi Germany.

Segments of the video also claim that between 84 and 1,651 people in Britain have died from taking the Covid vaccine.

Kate Shemirani's video has segments featuring anti-vaxx imagery such as this which falsely says vaccines have been linked to 1,651 deaths. While the MHRA investigates all deaths following a vaccine this does not mean it was the cause of death as often other health conditions or illnesses, particularly in the elderly groups who first got the jab, are responsible.

More of the anti-vaccine messages featuring in the Kate Shemirani video

The 1,651 figure is from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA), the UK's drugs watchdog, Yellow Card Reporting system on vaccine safety.

As of October 28 this system reported 1,728 people have died shortly after receiving the vaccine, though this does not mean they died as a result of the jab.

This is because the Yellow Card System records all deaths following vaccination so they can be investigated and determined if the vaccine played a role in the fatality.

Shamed anti-vaxxer nurse whose own son has abandoned her and claims that NHS colleagues who got her struck off were overweight and jealous Mother-of-four Kate Shemirani, a former nurse of 35 years, is adamant coronavirus is a hoax and claimed its symptoms are linked to the roll-out of 5G Mother-of-four Kate Shemirani, a former nurse of 35 years, is adamant coronavirus is a hoax and claimed its symptoms are linked to the roll-out of 5G. She has argued the vaccine is a political tool to gain access to and change people's DNA, has likened lockdown to the Holocaust and insisted dancing NHS nurses will 'stand trial for genocide'. She wrote: 'Murder. Genocide. The NHS is the new Auschwitz.' She is a headliner at anti-lockdown rallies, having joined conspiracy theorists David Icke and Piers Corbyn at a protest in August. She directed yobs to confront riot police whom she branded 'dirty dogs' and mocked for wearing face masks at a rally in September. Her son Sebastian, 21, said he is concerned about the impact his mother's claims could have on public health and branded her 'dangerous' and an 'attention-seeker'. Advertisement

A detailed in the MHRA guidelines: 'It is very important to note a Yellow Card report does not necessarily mean the vaccine caused that reaction or event.

'Many... do not have any relation to the vaccine or medicine and it is often coincidental that they both occurred around the same time.'

The Office of National Statistics has reported nine deaths from Covid vaccines in the UK though this figure is predicted to rise over time.

This is because when a vaccine is suspected to have contributed to a death, a lengthy investigation has to be carried out.

Ms Shemirani's original YouTube channel called ' Kate Shemirani A Natural Nurse in a Toxic World' was banned last year following a crackdown by social media giants on anti-vaccine material.

She also urged cancer sufferers to treat their disease with dog wormer medication and swore by coffee enemas, and mistletoe injections to the stomach, for curing her own breast cancer.

In addition to her YouTube ban, Ms Shemirani, as well as her brand the British Nursing Alliance, was banned from other social media including Twitter and Facebook for encouraging people to not wear masks and avoid the Covid vaccine.

Nurses are currently campaigning to make the title of nurse protected, similar to doctors, to prevent people like Ms Shemirani using it to give their views authority.

Currently anyone in the UK can call themselves a nurse, irrespective of whether they have been trained in the profession or they have been struck off by the UK's nursing regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Founder of the #ProtectNurse campaign founder, professor and registered nurse Alison Leary, who is an expert in healthcare and workforce, said the current problem is people like Ms Shemirani are not doing anything wrong.

'Under the law she is entitled to call herself a nurse and entitled to have a therapeutic relationship (with patients) outside the bounds of registration,' she said.

'That's why we believe the title needs to be protected... currently literally anybody can use the title of nurse in the UK.'

Professor Leary from London South Bank University said the public were largely unaware that anyone can call themselves a nurse and this needed to change.

'There isn't enough public awareness that the title of nurse is not protected in law... and that's the real issue, we want to raise awareness of this as much as gain protection,' she said.

'So the public know that not everyone that they meet who appears to be a nurse is actually a registered nurse, with the qualifications...and some people that spread misinformation are also not registered nurses.'

Professor Leary said that while people like Ms Shemirani are perhaps the most obvious example of the problem, there are numerous people in the NHS and wider health and social care system who hold the title of nurse but not the qualification.

She cited one recent example where a position of Deputy Chief Nurse in an NHS trust was open to candidates without nursing qualifications or experience.

The #ProtectNurse currently has petition running to encourage Government to make nurse a protected title.

Ms Shemirani once argued anyone who disagrees with her is lying, misinformed or jealous, and she blamed overweight, envious nurses for her career being ended.

'The fact that I was always graced with decent looks and I'm always very slim has generated jealousy throughout my career,' she said previously.

Pictured: Kate Shemirani with Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at massive anti-vaccine and lockdown rally in London last year

Ms Shemirani, sprung to national attention during an anti-vaxxer rally in Trafalgar Square last year where she compared health professionals to Nazi doctors who should face 'Nuremberg trials', said vaccination teams should be renamed 'death squads' and referred to the NHS as the 'new Auschwitz' during a rally with Mr Corbyn's brother Piers.

In a video that went viral she said to the cheers of the crowd of anti-vaxxers and lockdown sceptics: 'Get their names. Email them to me'

'At the Nuremburg Trials the doctors and nurses stood trial and they hung.'

Police said at the time they were investigating the comments, with both London mayor Sadiq Kahn and Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemning the comments.

It is said that Ms Shemirani only briefly worked for the NHS in the 1980s before working as a British Airways air hostess and model before administering Botox, fillers and peels while bringing up her four children.

After undergoing a double mastectomy and reconstruction for her breast cancer, it is claimed she refused chemotherapy on the advice of her then husband Faramarz, himself a conspiracy theorist who believed 9/11 was an inside job.

Her son Sebastian, 21, believes his mother, 54, must be prosecuted for hate crimes: 'My mum is definitely beyond help. It's impossible to talk to somebody when they've got that level of God complex.'

He says his childhood was 'hell' because of years of brainwashing and said today that he was left 'bricking it' aged ten when Ms Shemirani told him 'the Rothschilds are planning to go live on a space station and how there's going to be this mass genocide', adding that when he fled home at 17 he said: 'She came to see me as part of this global plot'.

A YouTube spokesperson said: 'YouTube has always had clear community guidelines that outline what is allowed on the platform.

'The creators previous channel was removed from the platform for uploading content that violated our Medical misinformation policy.

'They tried to circumvent the removal by setting up another channel and as a result this new channel was terminated for breaking YouTube Terms of Service.'

Tyburn Convent was also approached for comment on Mother General Aw's views.

The Catholic Church Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, which represents the archbishops and bishops in the two nations, said the faithful could in 'good conscience' receive the Covid vaccines.

They did not respond to the views expressed by Mother General Aw.
The number of patients left waiting in the back of ambulances outside A&E for an hour has quadrupled within a year, according to official data.

Britain has been in the midst of an ambulance crisis for months, with patients left stuck outside crowded casualty units for up to 12 hours.

Leaked NHS statistics reveal around 28,900 ambulance handovers that lasted over an hour were recorded in October in England this year.

For comparison, the figure stood at around 7,800 for the same month in 2020.

NHS guidelines state patient handovers from ambulance to A&E staff should last no longer than 15 minutes.

But there is a growing crisis in the ambulance sector, which experts say is fuelled by unprecedented demand and staff shortages.

It has led to concerns that patients are coming to harm, with queues linked to two deaths last week.

NHS bosses have already written to trusts ordering them to 'eliminate' ambulance queues outside their sites.

But A&E medics slammed plans for 'airport-style' arrival lounges in unused parts of hospitals. The plans were labelled 'insane' and criticised for moving the problem, rather than dealing with it.

A&Es are already back to being as busy as they were before the pandemic struck, following month of patients avoiding NHS sites.

Around 28,900 ambulance handovers at hospitals lasted more than an hour in October in England this year  almost four times the 7,772 recorded in the same month last year. It was also more than 10,000 more than the number seen at the height of the pandemic this January (17,137)

Which NHS trusts had the most hour-long handover delays last month? Trust Hour-long delays University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust 2,098 Portsmouth Hospitals University National Health Service Trust 1,204 University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust 1,087 University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust 961 University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust 938 Advertisement

The leaked data seen by the Health Service Journal shows the weekly total of hour-long delays rose from around 2,000 at the end of October 2019 to around 8,000 last week.

The biggest increase in delays was in University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which saw 2,098 hour-long waits  up 1,339 (176 per cent) on last years number.

It said it has seen the highest Covid admissions in the country, with A&E attendances regularly above 1,250 per day, compared to around 900 before the pandemic.

UHB was followed by Portsmouth Hospitals University National Health Service Trust (up 1,079), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (817) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (802).

NHS England said: 'The NHS has already set out a 10-point action plan to prepare for significant demand this winter, and has now gone further by writing to trusts and systems asking for further, system-wide action to be taken to prevent ambulance handover delays with immediate effect.

'Staff have gone above and beyond over the last year, contending with record levels of A&E attendances and ambulance callouts, all while treating more than 470,000 seriously ill Covid patients  anyone who needs the NHS should come forward through the appropriate route so staff can help you with the best option for your care.'

Earlier this week, ambulance leaders described the 'highest level of emergency activity in history' and reports from around the country paint a bleak picture of ambulances queuing for hours outside busy hospitals.

Martin Flaherty, managing director of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, said: 'The ambulance sector is experiencing some of the highest levels of emergency activity in its history and this is regrettably leading to delays in the sector's ability to respond to some patients.'

And the College of Paramedics warned the UK faces a 'bleak' few months as the NHS prepares to fight its standard winter pressures on top of Covid.

Richard Webber, a paramedic and spokesman for the college, said: 'This issue has been bad for a while, hospitals have been so much busier.

'Patients are being admitted and what's happening is they cannot move them straight into A&E, so ambulances have become cabs waiting to unload outside hospitals.

'Our members are reporting delays of four to six hours in getting to people, which means there can be up to 15 ambulances waiting outside hospitals with patients inside.

'This also creates a backlog of 999 calls. I'm talking (about) up to 300 calls for a service to deal with, leaving people to wait at home potentially in need of serious medical attention.

'Everything is therefore taking longer; staff are dealing with three or four incidents every shift, when they would usually do as many as eight.'

Mr Webber said paramedics were often working three hours more than their shift and were having to travel further, leaving many 'tired and burnt out'.

He said the West Midlands had been the worst-affected region, with waits for ambulances of over eight hours 'not uncommon'.
U.S. veterans who opted not to get COVID-19 vaccines by spring 2021 cited fears of side effects and how new the shots were as their reasons for not getting jabbed, a new survey finds.

A joint research team from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University polled military veterans on their vaccination status.

They found that veterans were likely to get the Covid vaccine when it became available to them, with more than 70 percent having received the shot by March.

But of the roughly 30 percent who were hold outs, they had a wide range of reasons for why they were passing up on the jab.

Veterans who were eligible for the Covid jab but not yet vaccinated by March 2021 cited a wide range of reasons for not having the shot yet. The most common were concerns about the shots side-effects and the newness of the vaccine

Researchers, who published their findings on Wednesday in JAMA Network Open, sent a web-based survey to a database of military veterans.

In total, 1,178 responded to the survey and 71 percent reported that they were vaccinated.

Those who had not yet received the vaccine, 339 participants - or 29 percent - also reported that they had worse physical or mental health on average.

The most frequent reason cited among the unvaccinated was fears over potential side effects of the vaccine.

More than one-third, 36 percent, of unvaccinated veterans reported this as their main reason.

This matches the general population as well with a large portion of unvaccinated Americans citing fear potential dangers of the jab's side effects.

One out of every five respondents said they feared the newness of the vaccine, with about the same amount reporting that they were avoiding the jab in an attempt to use as little medicine as possible.

There was also a lack of trust demonstrated by the unvaccinated veterans in vaccines, and health care in general.

Around 18 percent of the unvaccinated respondents reported that they did not trust the health care system to act in their best interest.

Slightly less, 15 percent, reported that they did not trust the COVID-19 vaccines.

A vast majority, 71%, of veterans who were eligible for the vaccine had received it last spring, the study found. Pictured: A soldier in Fort Knox, Kentucky, receives a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine on September 9

For those who did get the jab, more than half said they did so to prevent themselves from getting Covid, wanting to contribute towards ending the pandemic and wanting to help life get back to normal.

Only three percent reported that they only got the shot so others would not think less of them.

Dispelling myths about COVID-19 vaccines and convincing Americans to get the jabs, whether they are veterans or not, has proved to be a major problem for health officials.

While active military members are required to get the vaccine, veterans are under no such authority.

Some of the reasons veterans cited for not wanting the jab - lack of trust of vaccines, fears the shot will alter DNA or effect pregnancy in some way - are drawn from falsehoods spread on social media about the vaccines.

While some platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, have taken some steps to combat misinformation about the jabs, critics have blasted the sites for not going far enough.

Despite these widespread falsehoods, a majority of Americans still have received the Covid jab.

According to most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of American adults have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, and almost 70 percent are fully vaccinated.

Eligibility for the vaccine recently expanded as well to include children aged five to 11, though the decision has been controversial among some parents.
Children in the United States are much more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than children in England.

American kids under age 18 are being newly admitted to hospitals with the virus at a rate up to four times higher than youngsters in England, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of publicly available data.

This is despite the UK experiencing another wave of infections and having one of the highest seven-day incidence rates of Covid in the world.

Health experts tell DailyMail.com that neither masks nor vaccination rates explain the disparity because face coverings are not required in any schools in England and the U.S. has higher rates of vaccinations among kids.

Instead, they point to more widespread testing in the UK, which has outpaced the U.S., and higher rates of chronic conditions such as obesity, which increases the risk of Covid-related hospitalization.

From September 30 to October 6, between 0.07 children per 100,000 and 0.19 per 100,000 in England were being admitted to hospitals with Covid. Over the same time period, between 0.29 and 0.33 per 100,000 children in the U.S. were hospitalized due to the virus, up to four times higher

Doctors say frequent testing among England's schoolchildren may be one of the factors behind the country's lower pediatric hospitalization rates. All secondary school students in England (left), are tested at home twice a week, something not done in the U.S (right), likely resulting in more cases earlier, preventing hospitalization

For the analysis, DailyMail.com looked at numbers compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Health Services (NHS) England.

Between September 30 and October 6, the latest dates for which complete data is available, 0.07 children per 100,000 to 0.19 per 100,000 were being admitted to hospitals with COVID-19.

Comparatively, over the same time period, between 0.29 and 0.33 per 100,000 children in the U.S. were hospitalized due to the virus.

The biggest disparity was seen on October 6 with 4.14 times as many American kids per 100,000 admitted to hospitals compared to English kids.

So what's behind this gap?

'There are some things to think about,' Dr Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist who treats adults at the University of California, San Francisco, told DailyMail.com.

'The UK doesn't have mask mandates [for kids] and vaccines for adolescents have not been as available as they are in the U.S.'

In early September, millions of children returned to schools in England with face coverings not required in classrooms.

By comparison, in the U.S., the CDC recommends wearing masks indoors for everyone aged two and older, regardless of vaccination status.

Some states have adopted the CDC recommendation while others, such as Florida and Texas, have prohibited mask mandates in schools.

And while masks are a politically divisive issue in the U.S., members of both the Conservative and Labour Parties in the UK have stated that wearing masks prevent children from being able to communicate and socialize.

COVID-19 vaccines don't explain the difference because more kids in the U.S. are vaccinated with 58.5% of 12-to-15-year-olds and 63.7% of 16-to-17-year-olds with at least one dose and 47.6% and 54.9%, respectively, are fully vaccinated

In the UK, 20% of 12-to-15-year-olds and 55% of 16-to-17-year-olds have received at least one dose and 1% and 10%, respectively, are fully vaccinated

Vaccinations also doesn't seem to be behind higher rates of hospitalization in the U.S.

According to the CDC, 58.5 percent of 12-to-15-year-olds and 63.7 percent of 16-to-17-year-olds have received at least one dose and 47.6 percent and 54.9 percent, respectively, are fully vaccinated.

Children between ages five and 11 were just authorized to receive vaccines on Tuesday so the impact of their vaccination rates won't be seen for several weeks.

Meanwhile, in the UK, vaccines are only authorized for those aged 12 and older.

Of 12-to-15-year-olds, fewer than 20 percent have received at least one dose and fewer than one percent are fully vaccinated, according to the UK Health Security Agency, which replaced Public Health England.

Meanwhile, of 16-to-17-year-olds, about 55 percent have received at least an initial dose and 10 percent are fully vaccinated.

Dr James Versalovic, COVID-19 Command Co-Leader and Pathologist-in-Chief at Texas Children's Hospital, in Houston, told DailyMail.com the vaccines also can't be considered a factor because they are entirely different.

'Pfizer is dominant in the U.S....and the only vaccine approved for kids...while AstraZeneca is dominant in the UK,' he said.

'Not only are they different manufacturers but they're different types of vaccines.

Pfizer's vaccine uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, to teach human cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response (antibodies) inside our bodies.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca's immunization is known as a viral vector vaccine, which combines genetic material from the new virus with the genes of the adenovirus - a cause of the common cold - to induce an immune response.

Experts say this means there are other factors driving up hospitalization rates in the U.S. including environmental differences.

They say that one of those factors is testing, which is much more widely used in the UK than in the U.S.

Currently the UK's Department of Education requires all secondary school students, between ages 11 and 18, be tested at home twice a week using rapid lateral flow tests.

The rapid test looks for antigens, proteins found on the surface of the virus, rather than genetic material, and returns results within minutes.

'The testing strategy in the UK has not been adopted in the U.S.,' said Chin-Hong.

'If you can test lots of kids who are readily available, you can pick out those with a very high viral load who can transmit the virus more easily and keep them home.'

But he says that because there is no regular testing at many U.S. schools, kids are being sent to classrooms instead of being kept at home because tests aren't detecting these cases.

This can lead to these children being hospitalized themselves or infecting other children who end up hospitalized.

'The reality is, if you're testing so many kids that frequently - that we're not doing in the U.S. - you're expanding the denominator and detecting a number of kids including asymptomatic and mild cases,' said Versalovic.

'This makes the hospitalization rate look smaller because the denominator is larger.'

More than 50% of children hospitalized with COVID-19 have had underlying conditions with the most common being obesity at 35 percent

'Hospitalization is not the same as infection,' Chin-Hong added.

'Yes, the more people get infected the more they go to the hospital, but people go to the hospital when they have comorbid conditions.

'Kids that don't have well-controlled disease are going to end up hospitalized.'

For example, according to the NHS, 9.9 percent of four-to-five-year-olds are obese in England.

Comparatively, 13.4 percent among two-to-five-year-olds in the U.S. are obese. CDC data find.

Among pre-teens, the gap is much closer with 21 percent obese in the UK compared to 21.9 percent in the U.S.

'I think there's no doubt that chronic health conditions are playing a role,' Dr William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told DailyMail.com.

'There were comments [at the CDC advisory committee meeting] that so many of the children being hospitalized [with Covid] today are...chubby.'

Few children have died of COVID-19 both in the U.S. and in England but 1.07 per 100,000 have died in the U.S. since the pandemic began compared to 0.69 per 100,000 in England

In fact, according to the CDC, more than one-third - 35 percent - of all U.S. children who have been hospitalized since the pandemic began have been obese.

'It won't influence the spread of the virus but should a chubby child get infected higher chance they will become more seriously ill and get hospitalized,' Schaffner said.

This also leads to higher risk of death.

Since the pandemic began, American children have been dying at a higher rate than English children.

The DailyMail.com analysis found that 1.07 per 100,000 children have died in the U.S. since March 2020 compared to 0.69 per 100,000 in the England.

Experts encourage parents to vaccinate their kids - and stress that the more adults get vaccinated and drive down COVID-19 transmission, the more pediatric hospitalizations will fall.

'The proportion of any adults in the community who get vaccinated needs to go up and up and we need to continue to use masks and social distancing and other ancillary means wherever kids congregate,' said Schaffner.

Chin-Hong added: 'You have to control the amount of virus in the community.

'If you have these measures that bring transmission down low, that affects kids who live in the community.'
A majority of parents who are hesitant to get their child vaccinated against COVID-19 fear potential side effects of the vaccine.

The Week 39 Household Pulse survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and published on Wednesday, asked parents of children aged 12 to 17 - who were unsure or definitely did not plan to get their child vaccinated - their reasons for hesitation.

More than two-thirds, 69 percent, reported they were concerned about side-effects, while one in every four parents said they were not sure if their children needed the shot.

Until this week, children aged 12 to 17 were the youngest age group eligible for the vaccine, though regulators made the decision to expand vaccine authorization to children aged five to 11 earlier this week.

Many parents have been undecided on vaccinating their children because kids rarely get severely ill and make up less than 0.1 percent of all Covid deaths in the U.S.

A majority of parents that do not have plans to get their child aged 12 to 17 vaccinated for Covid cite concerns about side effects as the reason why. Around a third are waiting to see if the vaccine is safe, and a quarter are not sure if their children even need the shots

Hospitalizations and deaths among children are rare, though officials still want America's youth to get the shot to limit transmission of the virus

Of 45.7 million respondents, 13 million parents answered they either were 'unsure' of, 'will probably not' or would 'definitely not' getting their child vaccinated.

Those 13 million respondents were then asked why they did not plan on getting their children jabbed.

Nearly one-third reported that they would wait to see whether the vaccine was safe in children that age.

Around 30 percent of parents said they do not trust the government, and three percent say they do not give their child any vaccines.

Many of these parents also fall within the 69 percent of parents who are concerned about the jab's side-effects and 24 percent who are not sure if their children need the shot.

Vermont is the state where parents worry most about the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines, with 100 percent of the 12,000 parents surveyed reporting their fears.

Delaware was among the leaders as well with 78 percent of parents who did not plan to vaccinate their children citing fear of side effects.

The most serious side effect that can strike children is myocarditis, heart inflammation, a rare condition which is usually minor but can result in death in more serious cases.

More than half of parents in Maine who do not plan of vaccinating their children say they do not believe it is needed - the only state to eclipse the halfway mark with 61 percent.

Younger people, and especially children, face significantly less risk from Covid than adults do.

While deaths and hospitalizations do occur, they are rare, and often among children with a serious underlying condition.

Vermont also has the largest portion of parents who are waiting to see if the vaccine is safe at 68 percent.

Among vaccine-hesitant parents who don't trust the government, California has the highest share at 71 percent followed by Maine at 61 percent.

According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 56.8 percent of Americans aged 12 to 15 have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine and 47.6 percent are fully vaccinated.

Numbers are slightly higher for those aged 16 or 17, with 63 percent having received at least one dose, and 54.9 percent fully vaccinated.

In total, 78 percent of Americans over the age of 12 have received at least one shot of a vaccine, and 68 percent are fully vaccinated.
Petrol prices grew faster in October than any month on record, according to the RAC.

The average price of both petrol and diesel hit new record highs before the end of last month after spiking by nearly 7.5p and 8p respectively - and have continued to rise since.

Petrol is now 30p-a-litre more expensive than it was a year ago, with a quarter of the 12-month hike coming in October alone.

Record fastest rise in fuel costs: Not only did October see the previous highest ever price of petrol and diesel eclipsed, unleaded also rose by more in one month that it has on record

Fuel pricing data goes back to 2000 and the RAC says it has never before recorded a petrol rise of more than 7.5p a litre in one month.

The previous biggest petrol price rise in a single month was in May 2018 when a litre went up 6p to 129.41p. Petrol started the month at 136.92p.

On Sunday 24 October, it exceeded the 142.48p-a-litre all-time peak set on 16 April 2012 by reaching 142.94p.

By the month close, it had reached 144.35p - adding around 4 to the cost of filling an average family car's fuel tank (79.39 to brim a 55-litre tank).

October prices rose 30p higher than what they were a year ago (114.46p), making it around 16.50 more expensive each time drivers visit the pumps.

The RAC says the diesel rise of 8.16p last month is second only to a 8.43p jump seen in May 2008.

Diesel also surpassed its record price of 12 April 2012 (147.93p) on Halloween, with a new high of 147.94p, up from 139.78p on 1 October.

Fuel pricing data goes back to 2000 and the RAC says it has never before recorded a petrol rise of more than 7.5p a litre in one month

By the month close, average unleaded prices reached 144.35p - adding around 4 to the cost of filling an average family car's fuel tank. Pictured: Prices on a forecourt at the M&S BP petrol station in Chiswick, Greater London, on 25 October

The RAC's data also reveals the extent of the fuel price 'postcode lottery', with petrol prices in Northern Ireland being nearly 3p-a-litre cheaper than the South East of England where prices are higher than anywhere else.

And while Northern Ireland had the cheapest petrol and diesel in the UK, drivers there still saw an 8p-a-litre leap in the price of unleaded.

A litre of diesel in Northern Ireland hit 144.36p  the same as the average price of petrol across the UK, while In the North East diesel rocketed by a 'frightening' 9p-a-litre to 147.22p.

Rising oil and supermarket rises pushed prices higher

The monthly record jump in petrol prices was primarily as a result of oil becoming more expensive, rising by nearly $5 a barrel from $78.62 to $83.47 - peaking on 25 October it peaked at $86.16.

This caused the wholesale price of a litre of unleaded to go up by 5p and diesel by 4.5p which is in stark contrast to the 7.5p and 8p forecourt rises.

'The surging cost of oil is certainly contributing to the misery drivers face at the pumps, but the price of a barrel is still only around two thirds of what it was when forecourt prices were last at these levels,' explained Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation.

And the motoring body also believes that the rising cost of biofuels has also pushed petrol higher, with filling stations across the UK from September switching to E10 petrol with a 10 per cent biofuel mix, up from 5 per cent E5 sold previously.

RAC Fuel Watch data also shows that the big four supermarkets had a part to play in October's spike.

They increased the price of unleaded by more than 9p-a-litre and diesel by more than 10p to averages of 142.18p and 145.28p respectively.

Asda had the cheapest petrol at 140.98p, only slightly lower than Sainsbury's at 141.68p. Sainsbury's, however, offered the lowest price diesel at 144.37p, just slightly less than Asda which charged 144.57p at the end of October.

The average price of motorway petrol was 158.43p on 31 October, with a record price set the day before at 158.56p. Diesel closed October at a new all-time high of 163.08p.

Motorway fuel continues to be well above the national average, with diesel rising to 163.08p-a-litre by the end of October. This picture shows the price of fuel at Crawley Services on the M23, south of London, on 26 October

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said October was a month motorists would want to forget, having set records 'for all the wrong reasons' but said there was a 'glimmer of hope' that prices could stabilise - and that major retailers needed to pass on savings to drivers as quickly as possible.

'With a fill-up costing 16.50 more than a year ago, the impact is definitely being felt in homes up and down the country. It's also bound to have a negative effect on the economy,' he said.

'There is, however, a glimmer of hope that the oil price may have peaked for the time being, but much will of course depend on whether more supply is released when oil producer group OPEC+ next meets on Thursday.

'Regardless of this, the profit margin retailers are taking on each litre of petrol is greater now than it used to be prior to the pandemic, which is artificially making forecourt prices higher, particularly as VAT is charged on top.

'We urge the biggest retailers, in particular, to play fair with drivers and ease the burden at the pumps by lowering their margins on petrol from around 8p a litre to more normal levels.'

Rishi Sunak announced in last week's Budget statement that fuel duty would remain frozen for a 12th consecutive year, telling MPs that he was 'not prepared to add to the squeeze on families and small businesses' amidst record fuel prices.
No sign of the rout stopping at THG, the ecommerce and technology business formerly known as The Hut Group, where shares have sunk 75 per cent this year from around 800p to 197.4p.

The price now is lower than the valuation of 260p in a note from research firm The Analyst earlier in the autumn, advising clients to short the shares.

THG has been dogged by concerns about unorthodox governance, which the City is usually prepared to overlook whilst performance is good.

Freefall: The Hut Group founder Matt Moulding (pictured) has seen shares in the firm plummet 75% this year from around 800p to 200p

If governance were the only problem, it would have been relatively easily solved. Promises to toe the line in future by founder, chairman and chief executive Matt Moulding would have done the trick.

Less simple to dispel are the questions over how valuable the business really is, once the hype that accompanied its float just over a year ago is stripped away.

THG has enjoyed the backing of some heavyweight investors who brought ballast and credibility.

So after a nightmare autumn in which Mouldings every attempt to reassure investors has provoked a fresh sell-off, the last news he will have wanted to hear is that Blackrock is offloading half its stake.

The fund manager is said to be engaging in risk management and to remain a believer in the management and the fundamentals of the business.

Maybe so, but you dont get to be one of the most formidable asset managers on Wall Street by selling shares at a low price unless you believe you have a very good reason. It hardly screams wholehearted faith in the company.

At the core of the questions about THGs valuation is the plan to spin off the beauty division for a separate float.

That would mean THG shareholders are left with a protein shake business and the Ingenuity ecommerce platform, which is used to sell THGs own offerings and also offers solutions to outside clients, including the likes of Nestle.

Japans Softbank ploughed in 536million in a convoluted deal in the spring, under which it has an option to buy a 20 per cent stake in a hived-off Ingenuity for 1.2billion, currently deep underwater.

Matt Moulding is far from the only entrepreneur who has had a bumpy transition from private business to all the requirements of a listed company.

Perhaps he has been poorly counselled on governance and the need for transparency. Now he faces a big battle to win back investor trust.

Cash-gushers

Whatever ones views on teenage visionary Greta Thunberg, in full throat at Cop26, the force of the climate change movement means investors must keep asking themselves why they should stay with Big Oil.

Bernard Looney, the BP chief executive, has an answer to that: at current oil and gas prices, his company is a cash machine.

Same story at Shell last week, where underlying operating cash flow hit a record high in the third quarter, and at Saudi Aramco, with free cash flow of nearly 21billion.

Another question for investors is: what is the point of BP? Once upon a time that was simple: the company drilled oil and sold it.

Now it has a purpose, which is reimagining energy for people and our planet as well as helping the world reach net zero and improving peoples lives.

So investing in BP  I have held a few shares for many years myself  requires a tolerance for corporate guff and willingness to believe it can fulfil its new motto of Performing while Transforming.

One extreme option is for BP and Shell to divest their legacy assets, return the proceeds to their investors and wind themselves down.

That might not be good for the planet, as the new owners are quite likely to be less responsible and less transparent operators.

One inconvenient truth is the global economy still depends on dirty old fossil fuels for around 80 per cent of its needs.

If the move to renewables cuts off that lifeblood quickly it would be catastrophic. Another is that there is plenty of money still to be made from oil and gas.

A third, for the climate zealots, is that the oil companies could be part of the solution.

Its not surprising Big Oil is treated with scepticism given the track record of pollution and willingness to operate in countries with dubious regimes.

But they have financial firepower to make the transformation. Is this the best strategy for investors in BP and Shell, and for the planet? That is the big gamble.
With Cop26 underway, the environment is firmly at the front of the worlds news agenda.

But as various world leaders stress the importance of building a low-carbon world, not all investors are convinced.

While some have ploughed money into green technologies  and vowed to shun big polluters  others see out-of-fashion sin stocks, including oil companies, as an opportunity.

Green stocks: More than $35 trillion of global investment capital is now said to be in funds designated as ESG friendly

Some of the worlds biggest investment companies  including Fidelity, BlackRock and Vanguard  have pledged to pull money from companies not committed to becoming carbon neutral.

It comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak will today announce plans to force listed companies to publish their plans on how theyll become carbon neutral.

Yet at the same time, several hedge funds and private investors  including British billionaire Crispin Odey  have been buying up oil companies left behind by big firms.

And thanks to a surging oil price  now up to $85 (62) a barrel, after seven consecutive weekly gains  their bets appear to be paying off.

So should you be an environmental saint or sinner when it comes to investing?

If youre keen to follow Boris and Biden in going green, you wont be lost for opportunities.

More than $35 trillion of global investment capital is now said to be in funds designated as ESG (environmental, social and governance) friendly.

Meanwhile, shares in green technologies  including renewable energy and electric vehicles  have been rocketing.

Electric-car maker Tesla continues to push to record highs, hitting $1 trillion last week. And U.S. hydrogen battery developer Plug Power is up 1,150 per cent since the beginning of January 2020.

But a few months ago, the picture began to change. A sudden rise in the oil price, coupled with disruption to global energy markets, saw a rapid resurgence in old carbon stocks.

In the U.S., Texas-based oil driller Diamondback is up 133 per cent this year. Shares in Missouri-based coal miner Peabody have soared a whopping 384 per cent. Its worth noting that this comes after a longer-term decline in their price: with Peabody still worth 30 per cent of its 2018 price.

Paying out: A sudden rise in the oil price, coupled with disruption to global energy markets, saw a rapid resurgence in old carbon stocks

On the FTSE, a similar (albeit less dramatic) rise has occurred, with oil giants Shell and BP now up 28 per cent and 37 per cent since January. Even better, both are expected to pay more than four per cent in dividends.

'Despite Cop26 grabbing the headlines, the oil industry will not be riding off into the sunset any time soon, says Garry White from investment platform Charles Stanley.

They may be less fashionable with ESG concerns, but ultimately its the oil price that determines their valuation.

While U.S. oil stocks have surged, many were on the verge of bankruptcy this time last year: and still have big debts.

On the FTSE, you dont have to look far for companies that have struggled: with the beleaguered Wood Group down 37 per cent this year (and 73 per cent in five years).

Its struggles reflect the markets general consensus that, while it may take years to materialise, a transition from oil is under way. Shell and BP are both keen to be part of that shift: publishing plans to transition to low-carbon companies.

Fund manager William Lough, who manages River & Mercantile UK Dynamic Equity Fund, is a believer in Shells green transition plan  and that it is undervalued by environmentally-conscious investors.

We think they have a thorough and credible strategy to become more sustainable, he says.

The uncertainty of the energy market means many investors  saints or sinners  may prefer to buy-in through managed funds. For investors persuaded by the green case, Impax Environmental Markets invests directly in renewable energy.

Its five year performance has turned 10,000 into 24,600. Baillie Giffords Positive Change Fund avoids carbon-intensive companies, rather than focusing on renewables.

Over three years, it has turned 10,000 into 25,900.

The commitment of big investors to net zero means fossil-focused funds are reducing.

Schroders ISF Global Energy is one such fund. But struggling energy markets have dragged its long-term performance, with a 10,000 investment five years ago worth just 7,611.

Like oil stocks, it remains a risky bet: but one that could pay off.

moneymail@dailymail.co.uk
US drugs giant Pfizer has raised its forecast for Covid-19 vaccine sales amid booming demand.

It now expects to rake in 26.5billion from the coronavirus shot this year  up from the 11billion targeted in February and 24.6billion in July.

Pfizer forecast another 21.3billion of sales from the vaccine next year, taking the total for 2021 and 2022 to nearly 48billion.

Pfizer now expects to rake in 26.5bn from the coronavirus shot this year - up from the 11bn targeted in February and 24.6bn in July

Pfizer is ramping up distribution of the jab around the world and shipping more doses for booster shots and children.

It developed its vaccine with German firm Biontech, and said it was on track to deliver 2.3bn doses this year.

The vaccine generated 9.5billion in direct sales in the third quarter of 2021, helping overall revenues in the period more than double to 17.7billion.

As a result, it upped its revenue guidance for the full year to between 59billion and 60billion.

The companys shares jumped 5.4 per cent, or 2.36p, to 45.93p.

Its vaccine has been one of the biggest winners in the inoculation drive against Covid-19 after the UK became the first country to approve the jab last December.

Vaccinating children, as well as the use of booster shots for the elderly and vulnerable people, means demand is likely to stay elevated into 2022.

However, the use of boosters has faced criticism due to low vaccination rates in developing countries, particularly those in Africa, where immunisation rates are estimated to be less than 10 per cent.

Despite this, Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said it is on track to deliver at least 2bn doses to low- and middle-income countries by the end of 2022.

One billion of these doses will be supplied to the US at a not-for-profit price to be donated to the worlds poorest nations at no charge, he said.
Float plans: Starling was valued at more than 1bn earlier this year

Challenger bank Starling still plans to float on the stock market  but could be tempted away from London.

The digital lender, which counts Goldman Sachs and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund among its biggest investors, was valued at more than 1billion earlier this year.

Chief executive Anne Boden said the bank wants to list on the public markets in 'a year or two'. She added: 'I very much hope we can do it in London.'

But in a caveat which could worry Chancellor Rishi Sunak, as he tries to attract more tech firms to London, she went on: 'I think that would be the default option, unless we're persuaded otherwise.'

It is understood that Starling would be unlikely to choose another location unless advised to so.It has not yet hired bankers to advise on a float.

Sunak has been leading a reform of listing rules, to encourage firms to float in London.
Backlog misery: Nearly 5,000 retirees are still waiting for their state pension

Nearly 5,000 retirees are still waiting for their state pension despite assurances that a claim backlog would be cleared by now.

In September, Money Mail reported how those reaching state pension age were being made to wait up to three months for their first payments.

It came amid a staffing crisis at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), but Pensions Minister Guy Opperman told Parliament the logjam would be cleared by the end of October.

Yet yesterday, close to 400 overdue claims had still not been paid, and the department was in touch with 4,900 retirees who needed to provide more information.

The DWP did not reveal the full scale of the delays disaster, but it is feared tens of thousands of new retirees were forced to wait weeks longer  including many women who had already been made to wait an extra six years after the state pension age was hiked from 60 to 66.

The DWP says any claim made today will be paid on time.

A spokesman says: We have now made the vast majority of outstanding payments, with a small number left where we are in contact with the customer for more information.

b.wilkinson@dailymail.co.uk
Four more energy suppliers have gone bust meaning 19 have folded since August under the strain of soaring wholesale gas and electricity prices.

The collapses mean around 23,700 households and businesses will switch suppliers, energy watchdog Ofgem said.

Omni Energy, MA Energy, Zebra Power and Ampoweruk all said they will cease trading.

Burned out: UK energy suppliers Omni Energy, MA Energy, Zebra Power and Ampoweruk all said they will cease trading

It comes after supplier Bluegreen Energy Services, which had 5,900 customers, collapsed on Monday as soaring gas prices put the squeeze on the sector.

Ofgem said Zebra Power supplies about 14,800 UK customers while Omni Energy supplies about 6,000.

MA Energy supplies about 300 business customers and Ampoweruk supplies about 600 domestic customers and some 2,000 businesses.

A price cap on tariffs means that as wholesale prices soar energy firms pay more for gas and electricity than they can charge their customers.

Gillian Cooper, head of energy policy for Citizens Advice, said: Suppliers continue to fall like dominoes. Its customers who are paying the price, with uncertainty, inconvenience and ultimately higher bills.

The firms that collapsed yesterday are among the smallest but take the total number of UK households that have lost their energy supplier well over 2m.

The continuing collapse of suppliers will add as much as 200 to the energy bills of every home in the country next year, the boss of British gas owner Centrica warned last month.

The shortfall is between 700 and 1,000 for each customer and has created a hole worth about 2.5billion which will have to be paid by everyone in 2022 and 2023, Centrica chief executive Chris OShea said.

Ofgem said that it will choose a new supplier for affected customers, who will be contacted. It assured customers energy supply and funds paid into accounts will be protected.

It added that households will also be protected by the energy price cap when being switched to a new provider.

Ofgem retail director Neil Lawrence said: We know this is a worrying time for many people and news of a supplier going out of business can be unsettling.

I want to reassure affected customers that they do not need to worry: under our safety net well make sure your energy supplies continue. If you have credit on your account the funds you have paid in are protected and you will not lose the money that is owed to you.

Ofgem will choose a new supplier for you and while we are doing this our advice is to wait until we appoint a new supplier and do not switch in the meantime.
The Cambridge Satchel Company has lost nearly 2million in the year to June 2020

With fans including Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, The Cambridge Satchel Company has long been a favourite with celebrities.

But that has not stopped the British firm losing nearly 2million in the year to June 2020 having failed to register a profit since 2014.

Founder Julie Deane, who received a CBE in the Queens Birthday Honours this summer, has vowed to stick to her guns despite a share issue in 2019 diluting her control.

She said: Years of investment in our manufacturing base have served us well and allowed us to avoid some of the supply chain issues others have had to manage.

'We remain committed to our core beliefs: timeless style, craftsmanship, British manufacturing to make bags that will last for decades. These pillars resonate now more than ever.

Set up in 2008 the firm fast became a viral phenomenon with fashion bloggers and then celebrity fans, such as Swift.

Although Deane is the ultimate controlling party, venture capitalist Index Ventures and private equity group Cassia have big stakes.
More than one million low-paid workers will finally get a pension boost  but not for another three years.

All savers should receive tax relief of 20 per cent on pension contributions.

But, due to a quirk in the system, around 1.2 million workers  three-quarters of whom are women  do not currently benefit from this vital top-up.

All savers should receive tax relief of 20% on pension contributions. But due to a quirk in the system around 1.2 million workers do not currently benefit from this vital top-up

The anomaly hits those who earn less than the personal allowance of 12,570  the amount of income you can pocket each year before you pay tax  who are in a so-called net payment arrangement scheme.

There are two ways money can be deducted from your pay and put into your pension.

Under a method known as relief at source, you get tax relief whether you pay tax or not.

Your pension provider claims the basic rate tax (20 per cent) from the Government and adds it to your pension pot.

But under net payment arrangements you pay the full amount into your pension and then get the relief back later via a deduction in your total tax bill for the year.

Yet if you do not earn enough to pay tax, you will not get anything back. This means you are paying more for your pension.

In his Budget last week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to fix the issue, giving those affected an average of 53-a-year extra towards their pension.

But the new system will not come into force until the tax year beginning in April 2024. And you cannot reclaim any money until the April 2025-2026 tax year.

Experts also criticised plans to put the onus on savers to claim back the cash themselves, which could mean many will continue to lose out.

Former pensions minister Steve Webb, from consultancy LCP, says: The proposed fix for low-paid workers is messy, belated and may be ineffective.

This is yet another sticking plaster response to a problem with the pension tax relief system which needs a systematic overhaul.

Victoria Todd, head of The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, says: The move suggests that those affected will need to take some sort of action to secure a top-up payment. This may discourage people from accessing it.

HM Revenue & Customs needs to ensure the process is accessible, simple and automated as far as possible.

Baroness Ros Altmann, a former Conservative pensions minister, welcomes the change but adds: It is disappointing that nothing will change before 2025 and until then these low earners will pay more for their pensions than they should.

But at least the end is in sight to this injustice. The pension provider should claim the cash back for them, otherwise many will not do it.

sy.morris@dailymail.co.uk
For years Money Mail has campaigned to keep bank branches open so customers can manage their money in person.

This has never been more important as branches continue to close at an alarming rate  forcing the elderly and vulnerable to travel miles for a face-to-face service. Yet even when branches are open, some banks are increasingly bullying customers into using self-service machines instead.

And banking giant Barclays has now been accused of quietly introducing new rules to restrict what transactions can be carried out at the counter.

No service: Banking giant Barclays has now been accused of quietly introducing new rules to restrict what transactions can be carried out at the counter

One Money Mail reader says she was turned away when trying to pay a bill because it was under 300.

Another was told by a cashier at the Walton-on-Thames branch that head office was monitoring transactions at counters and would rebuke staff who did too many. Instead, they had been told to send customers to use self-service machines.

Barclays counters are also running a reduced service and are open only between 9.30am and 2pm or 3.30pm, even if the branch itself does not close until later.

Experts have accused the bank of trying to force customers online, so it has an excuse to close more branches.

Major High Street banks have axed 1,035 branches since the pandemic forced the first lockdown in March 2020, according to lobby group Which?

This is almost three times the number that closed the year before, it said. More than one in four branches shut belonged to Barclays.

Eleni Georgiou (pictured) was told any transactions under 300 had to be done using a self-service machine

And last month, Lloyds Banking Group revealed it was closing 48 more locations next year, including the last remaining bank on the Isles of Scilly, after axing 56 earlier this year.

Jane Dough, 72, who lives in Weybridge, Surrey, visited her local Barclays branch earlier this month to amend a standing order and make a cash withdrawal.

But after queuing at the counter, Jane, a former executive PA, was ordered to use two self-service machines  one for each task at either side of the room.

Jane refused as an error had been made last time, but the cashier insisted and tried to take her over to the machine.

Jane says: It was like a standing battle. I was told I was in the minority and that most people wanted to use the machines, yet there was a queue of people stretching to the door waiting to be served at the counter.

The clerk relented, but as Jane left she overheard an elderly lady also being told she must use the machine when she didnt want to.

Jane adds: I feel it is deeply cruel of Barclays to be harassing customers in this way. Some people may want to use the machines, but those who dont should not have to. They come to a branch for a face-to- face service, which Barclays should also be providing.

Eleni Georgiou, 72, had a similar experience when she visited her local Barclays branch in Palmers Green, North London, in September to pay a 221 credit card bill.

The cashier refused and told her any transactions under 300 had to be done using a self-service machine. But when she returned a month later to pay a 900 bill, she was turned away again as staff claimed the counter was only for business customers.

Eleni (pictured), a former receptionist who lives in Winchmore Hill in North London, says: What is the point of having employees standing around waiting to direct customers to machines when they could be helping behind the counter?

Barclays clearly wants to close the counters and push more people online so it can shut more branches.

I ended up having to take several buses to use a diff-erent branch.

Barclays came under fire in September after Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, a member of the Treasury Select Committee, revealed it had wrongly led customers to believe it was closing its Mitcham branch in London because the lease had expired. In fact, the lease still had three years left to run.

Cost cutting: Banks are keen to close branches and reduce counter services as they are more expensive to run than online services

Ms McDonagh, MP for Mitcham and Morden, says: I am absolutely furious that Barclays would mislead a Member of Parliament and their longstanding, loyal customers in this way.

With more than three years left to run on the lease, the decision to leave Mitcham is a slap in the face for my elderly and vulnerable constituents who rely on the accessibility and safety of their local bank branch.

Another reader, Veronica Hall, says that when her Barclays branch in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, was refurbished, all but one of the counters was replaced with self-service machines.

Customers who wanted a face-to-face service were directed to branches in Cuffley and Barnet High Street.

The branch is now set to close, which Veronica claims was done without consulting the community.

Jes Staley (inset) was forced to resign as Barclays boss on Sunday following an investigation by the financial watchdog

She says: Neither of the other branches is on the doorstep, with Cuffley really inaccessible by bus, so the elderly are now expected to bank online, use an ATM where they feel vulnerable, get public transport, or be able to drive in order to get their money.

This is disrespectful to those who rely on these services, and banks should be ashamed of themselves.

Barclays admits it is increasingly encouraging customers to use self-service machines where possible. A spokesman says: These allow branch colleagues to help a greater number of customers more effectively, and to become self-sufficient and feel more confident in managing their money themselves.

HSBC is also making more of its network counter-less. As part of a major overhaul, it plans to make 40 per cent of its 511 branches self-service. Just one in five, mainly in large cities, will offer full services.

It adds that this is to help older customers become comfortable with digital skills, reduce waiting times and deal with more queries.

Some 58 branches of Lloyds do not feature a traditional counter.

a.murray@dailymail.co.uk
A charity had to call in the police after another HSBC customer did not pay back 5,000 sent to him by mistake.

Theo Gavrielides realised he had entered the wrong account number immediately when the money failed to appear in his charity's savings account.

But despite spending months trying to retrieve the cash, Theo, 40, was told by his bank there was nothing that could be done to retrieve it.

'Uncooperative': HSBC took over four months to return 5,000 to a charity after it was accidentally sent to the wrong account

Theo, who runs the community charity Restorative Justice For All in South East London, says HSBC told him it had spoken to the customer who received the windfall and he had accepted it was not his.

The charity director says he was then told the recipient had given the bank permission to take the funds from his account  but HSBC still did not send it back.

He says: 'It was very frustrating. It cost me so much in time and resources. It was taking me away from my job in supporting young people in the community.'

Theo says he spoke to police about the missing money but was told HSBC was not cooperating.

It was not until four months after the transfer was made that three police officers visited Theo's HSBC branch in Borough, South London. Three days later, the money was returned to the charity.

Theo says: 'We have been totally let down by HSBC. As a charity, we expected the issue to have been taken even more seriously.'

Theo made a formal complaint to the bank, but received a paltry 30 in compensation. Unsatisfied he took his case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which handles disputes.

In cases of so-called 'fat finger' errors, your bank will contact the receiving provider, or the account holder if they are with the same bank as you, within two days.

As long as the recipient does not dispute your claim, you should receive the money back within 20 working days.

HSBC says: 'We cannot comment in detail on complaints that are with the Ombudsman.'

a.murray@dailymail.co.uk
The CIA issued a warning that children may be at the scene of the botched US drone strike in Kabul just seconds before the missile hit the car killing 10 innocent civilians, according to a bombshell report.

Three sources told CNN an urgent warning that civilians were likely in the area and that children could be inside the target vehicle came just moments too late - moments after the military launched the Hellfire missile toward the target and just seconds before it struck.

The precise time lapse between the missile being launched and the intel warning of civilians in the area is not clear.

Nor is it clear if the warning reached the individuals who gave the missile launch the green light.

However the report suggests there may have been yet another key lapse in intelligence which led to the deaths of the seven children and three adults killed August 29 in the strike, which the US military finally admitted Friday was a 'tragic mistake.'

This latest report of a possible misstep by US officials comes as the grieving father of one victim demanded America 'finds the person who did this' saying 'I want him punished'.

Emal Ahmadi, whose three-year-old daughter Malika and nine other family members were killed in the attack, told the Associated Press on Saturday that an apology is 'not enough.'

'That is not enough for us to say sorry. The USA should find the person who did this,' he said.

The grieving father of one of the innocent victims demanded America 'finds the person who did this' saying 'I want him punished'. Emal Ahmadi (left) and his daughter Malika (right)

A damaged vehicle at the site of the US airstrike in Kabul which killed 10 civilians including seven children

Emal spoke out after the Pentagon made the extraordinary admission Friday that the man targeted in the attack was not an ISIS-K operative, as previously thought, but an aid worker.

Head of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie said in Friday's press conference the US carried out the strike in the 'earnest belief' it was preventing an imminent threat to Americans and Afghans evacuating Kabul airport during the US's withdrawal from the country.

But, the Pentagon made a 'tragic mistake' and he offered his 'sincere apology' to the victims.

The strike targeted Zemari Ahmadi, a longtime worker for a US aid group, as he arrived home to his family killing him, his children, Zamir, 20, Faisal, 16, and Farzad, 10; Ahmadi's cousin Naser, 30; three of Ahmadi's nephews, Arwin, seven, Benyamin, six, and Hayat, two; and two three-year-old girls, Malika and Somaya.

Reports that a warning came too late to stop the strike leaves many questions still unanswered, in particular the exact timeline of the intel and how it was passed through the chain of command versus the timeline of the operative launching the missile and it hitting its target.

The single Hellfire missile was launched from an M-Q Reaper drone which had surveilled Ahmadi for eight hours, flying at a maximum altitude of 50,000 feet or 15,240 meters.

Hellfire missiles travel at speeds of up to Mach 1.3 or 997 miles per hour.

This means - if the strike was carried out when the Reaper was at its maximum altitude and the missile traveled at its maximum speed - there would have been only 34 second lapse between the missile's launch and it reaching its target.

It is not clear if the military had communicated to the CIA it was firing the missile before it pulled the trigger.

It is also not clear where the CIA gathered its intel of possible civilians at the kill site.

Ten innocent civilians - all members of the same family - were killed in the August 29 US drone strike

McKenzie said Friday up to six MQ-9 Reaper drones were carrying out surveillance that morning of a compound thought to be used by ISIS-K.

He also insisted there were no US forces on the ground assisting with the operation and that it did not involve help from the Taliban.

However, the Defense Department and the CIA are known to often work together to carry out counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan.

The sources said this joint effort can lead to mistakes when there is miscommunication and problems around decision-making.

Military commanders in the field are responsible for launching the strikes and can carry them out without the usual chain of command if the situation requires it.

Meanwhile, the CIA is sometimes tasked with surveillance and passes the information onto the Defense Department in real time.

Mick Mulroy, a former CIA officer and Pentagon official not involved in the strike, told CNN something must have been 'really wrong there' if the intelligence could not reach the right people.

'If they tasked the agency with looking at the target for indications of 'go' or 'no go' criteria, they should have had the ability to get that information and affect whether they launched a strike,' he said.

'If there was no way to know that they were about to launch, there's something really wrong there.'

Ahmadi had been getting water jugs out of his car to bring home to his family when the military dropped the Hellfire missile on him. The aftermath above

Emal, the younger brother of Ahmadi, demanded the US investigates who fired the fatal missile and punishes the military personnel responsible as he said 'sorry' won't bring back his family.

'I want him punished by the USA,' he said of the person responsible for their deaths.

Emal said he had heard about the US's apology from friends in America.

Though he said he was relieved that the US had finally recognized his family were innocent victims - and not connected to ISIS-K - he voiced frustration that it took weeks of pleading for the US to at least make a call to the family.

Emal also questioned how the family's home could have been mistaken for an Islamic State hideout, especially given the US's drone capabilities.

'The USA can see from everywhere,' he said.

'They can see that there were innocent children near the car and in the car. Whoever did this should be punished. It isn't right.'

Emal said he also expected financial compensation from the US for his family's killings and demanded they be relocated to another country.

'I want the USA to pay compensation for us and transfer us to a safe country like a foreign country,' he said, adding that his brother had been the family's main breadwinner and looked after his three brothers, including Emal, and their children.

'Now I am then one who is responsible for all my family and I am jobless,' said Emal.

The grief-stricken father added that life under Taliban rule was 'not good' and has left them with more 'problems' to deal with.

'It was a mistake and I offer my sincere apology,' said the Head of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie

McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said Friday the US is considering making reparation payments to the family of the victims.

He said, as commander, he takes responsibility for the strike and said an internal investigation is still ongoing to see who should be held to account.

McKenzie told reporters it was 'unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS-K or a direct threat to US forces.'

'It was a mistake and I offer my sincere apology,' McKenzie said.

McKenzie said the movements of Ahmadi had matched US intelligence about the terrorist group's plans to carry out an attack at Kabul airport.

In particular, they had intel that ISIS-K would use a Toyota Corolla - the same make of vehicle driven by Ahmadi.

'One of the most recurring aspects of the intelligence was that ISIS-K would utilize a white Toyota Corolla as a key element in the next attack,' McKenzie said.

'It is further my assessment that the strike team at the time of the strike was convinced the area was clear of civilians and they had taken prudent steps in weaponeering the strike to minimize civilian casualties.'

A drone had observed men loading what were thought to be explosives into Ahmadi's white 1996 Toyota Corolla as they carried out surveillance on him for eight hours that day, he said.

The containers actually turned out to be jugs of water.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin released a statement saying the victims did not pose a threat and Ahmadi's actions that day were 'completely harmless'.

'We now know that there was no connection between Mr. Ahmadi and ISIS-Khorasan, that his activities on that day were completely harmless and not at all related to the imminent threat we believed we faced, and that Mr. Ahmadi was just as innocent a victim as were the others tragically killed,' he said.

The Ahmadi family pray at the cemetery next to family graves of the family members killed

The Pentagon for weeks insisted that at least one ISIS-K facilitator was killed along with three civilians and that it was necessary to protect the US troops still evacuating Afghanistan.

The stunning admission only came after a New York Times investigation reported that the vehicle struck actually belonged to the US aid worker who was killed along with nine fancily members.

The family had worked for Americans and were trying to gain visas to the US, fearing for their lives under the Taliban.

Ahmadi had been loading water jugs into his car to bring home to his family.

As he pulled into the driveway of the home he shared with his family and three of his brothers' families, several of his children and his brothers' children ran out to greet him, according to family members.

At that moment, the Hellfire missile was launched onto the vehicle.

The strike set off a large secondary explosion, which officials originally claimed was evidence the car was indeed carrying explosives.

An investigation has since determined the second blast was likely a propane tank located in the driveway.

The drone strike followed a devastating suicide bombing by the Islamic State group - a rival of the Taliban - that killed 169 Afghans and 13 US military personnel at one of the gates to the Kabul airport.

For days, desperate Afghans had swarmed the checkpoints outside the airport, trying to leave the country amid the chaotic US and NATO troops pullout, fearing for their future under the Taliban.
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Before the instant gratification of deleting unwanted photographs and the immediacy of posting desirable shots on social media, people had to wait to get their film developed to see what they had actually shot.

And sometimes their photographs turned out bad or awkward or were unwanted and left behind. (Also, if the negatives were considered risque, they wouldn't be developed.)

In the early 1970s, Michael Lesy was a graduate student with photography on his mind. His friend was a motorcycle delivery boy who ferried film from drugstores to be processed at a factory.

'What we used to do for a while is raid the dumpsters,' Lesy told DailyMail.com.

That 1971 summer in San Francisco, he amassed an archive.

'Every week, for four weeks during the summer, we took home whatever snapshots we found. They were in the trash because the machines that made themduplicates, triplicates, quadruplicatesmade them faster than the people on the line could stop them,' he wrote in his new book, Snapshots 1971-77.

'We guessed we took home seven thousand a week. I'd spend days looking through them. Some I kept; most I threw out.'

Years later, Lesy was back in his hometown of Cleveland and another opportunity for snapshots cropped up. Through a friend, he met a drugstore owner who didn't know what to do with the pictures people did not pick up.

Lesy waited 50 years to publish his found collection of snapshots. 'I always had it together. This book could have been made at any time,' he explained but added the legal risk before was high.

'Fifty years later, everything and nothing has changed,' he wrote.

During the summer of 1971, Michael Lesy was staying with a friend, who was a motorcycle delivery boy who ferried film from drugstores to be processed at a factory. 'Every week, for four weeks during the summer, we took home whatever snapshots we found. They were in the trash because the machines that made themduplicates, triplicates, quadruplicatesmade them faster than the people on the line could stop them,' he wrote in his new book, Snapshots 1971-77. In the image above, Lesy noted the man's holster and his gun, and that he was likely a detective. 'Look beneath the surface,' Lesy told DailyMail.com, 'that is what this book insists upon'

Lesy estimated that he took home around 7,000 images a week. 'I'd spend days looking through them. Some I kept; most I threw out,' he wrote in Snapshots 1971-77. When he went back to graduate school in Wisconsin after that summer in San Francisco, he took hundreds of snapshots with him. He told DailyMail.com that he was very selective in editing. 'I understood them as forming an archivean archive of the present,' he wrote in his new book. Above, a wedding couple with Lesy noting the groom's foxy grin

Vacation pictures used to fill albums instead of social media platforms. Lesy noted the body posture of the family above. 'The boy is having none of this,' he said, adding that his mom links her arm with his anyway. The daughter is holding herself up and she leans against her father. He wrote in Snapshots 1971-77: 'I realized something important: the people who made the pictures were insiders, not outsiders. I also understood that the people behind the camera made, without intending to, pictures of themselves'

'It's like a Madonna, I thought,' Lesy said about the image above of a young mother with her baby. The snapshots that he found either because they were never picked up or because they were duplicates offered a look into his fellow citizens' lives. 'Looking through the snapshots, fresh from the trash, was like being blasted by a firehose of information, soaked and pinned to the wall by it. It was intimate, domestic, close-up information that I could never have known otherwise,' he wrote in Snapshots 1971-77

Lesy wrote that his father's family was from outside of Warsaw.

'In 1921 my father's family immigrated to America and moved to Cleveland. Back in Poland, after World War II started, the SS herded everyone living in my father's town into the town's big wooden synagogue. First, they forced them to scrape off the synagogue's frescoes of the Creation with their fingernails. Then they locked the doors and burned everyone alive.'

His parents, who were married for 60 years, waited until the end of the war to have a family.

He told DailyMail.com that after the war, there was an effort to capture humanity. 'It was using the camera to bear witness.'

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the US government paid photographers to take pictures of people in a program that became known as the Farm Security Administration. The government wanted to build support for its New Deal spending and hoped to reinvigorate the farm economy. Lesy likened the portrait of the American people that emerged to the Great Pyramids or the Pantheon. 'It was a collective effort to pay homage to existence,' he told DailyMail.com.

In addition to the Farm Security Administration images, Lesy was also inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson, a famous photographer known for the 'decisive moment' and one of the founders of Magnum, and an important 1955 Family of Man exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

'I was carrying those in my head,' he said.

The only child of Jewish immigrants, he was going to graduate school and studying American history. He said: 'The smoke of the Holocaust was still in the air.'

In the summer of 1971, he went to Berkeley to visit his friend, who was working the delivery job.

'Looking through the snapshots, fresh from the trash, was like being blasted by a firehose of information, soaked and pinned to the wall by it,' he wrote in Snapshots 1971-77, which is published by Blast Books.

'It was intimate, domestic, close-up information that I could never have known otherwise.'

Above, three well-dressed men at a party and Lesy noted the dignity and formality of the image. After that summer in San Francisco, Lesy took hundreds of snapshots and went back to graduate school in Wisconsin. While studying American history, he met Paul Vanderbilt, an archivist and photographer. Vanderbilt told him about an archive for a town called Black River Falls. It included images taken by photographer Charles Van Schaick. This became Lesy's dissertation, which would turn into his first book, Wisconsin Death Trip. 'It was very controversial,' he said of his 1973 book

Lesy said the above picture of a man smoking weed in front of the U.S. Capitol is 'a protest photograph. It's a rebellious image.' In 1971, the United States was still embroiled in the Vietnam War and the trials of those involved with the 1968 My Lai Massacre and the shocking 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant, and others at the hands of Manson's followers, were ongoing

'Every picture has a backstory  has a surface and a depth,' Lesy said about the snapshots. He pointed out the written reminders on the chalkboard behind the nun in the above image. In addition to photographs taken during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Lesy was also inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson, a famous photographer known for the 'decisive moment' and one of the founders of Magnum, and an important 1955 Family of Man exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. He told DailyMail.com: 'I was carrying those in my head'

Lesy said that some of the images in the collection were obscene. He noted that when a person took their negatives to a drugstore or another business, like a Fotomat, to develop the film, there were times when they refused to print the photo. The image above, he said is very sweet, loving, affectionate and erotic. He noted that it seems she created mise en scene and all that was missing was a bear skin rug

Lesy told DailyMail.com that these snapshots were a 'truer witness' than the Farm Security Administration photographs of the country and who his fellow citizens were.

In 1971, the United States was still embroiled in the Vietnam War and the trials of those involved with the 1968 My Lai Massacre and the shocking 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant, and others at the hands of Manson's followers, were ongoing.

After that summer in San Francisco, Lesy took the snapshots and went back to graduate school in Wisconsin. While studying American history, he met Paul Vanderbilt, an archivist and photographer. Vanderbilt told him about an archive for a town called Black River Falls. It included images taken by photographer Charles Van Schaick.

This became Lesy's dissertation, which would turn into his first book, Wisconsin Death Trip. When he presented it to his dissertation committee, they were divided. 'It was very controversial,' he said of his 1973 book.

Wisconsin Death Trip is now considered a seminal work and a cult classic. In 1999, a documentary based on the book was released.

In the late 1970s, Lesy was back in Cleveland and a friend who was now an attorney had a client who owned a drugstore. People sometimes forgot to pick up their photos or didn't want them anymore, Lesy explained. The unclaimed images were eventually thrown out.

Lesy, who has been looking at photographs for decades and has written several books, said snapshots are often dismissed as 'trash or trivia,' but he pointed out that 'every picture has a backstory  has a surface and a depth. If you just pause a second, you see more.

'Look beneath the surface that is what this book insists upon.'

There are several rituals that have changed around photography since the ubiquity of cameras on phones and the arrival of other technology. Lesy noted that families used to sit down with albums to talk about the photographs and the past. For example, a child might ask a parent who someone is in a photograph, he explained. 'What they leave out is often as important as what they leave in; what they emphasize and what they minimize can be equally revealing,' he wrote in his new book, Snapshots 1971-77, about the images. Above, kids wearing pirate hats at a birthday party

Lesy said the snapshot above reminded him of the 1990 movie Goodfellas. He wondered who was taking the picture and if it was law enforcement. Lesy told DailyMail.com he was a self-taught photographer and many people were picking up a camera while he studied at Columbia. 'It was in the air.' He carried a 35mm, single-lens reflex camera and aspired to be a documentary photographer. Lesy has written 13 books, some of which are based on archival photography, like Wisconsin Death Trip

In the late 1970s, Lesy was back in his hometown of Cleveland and another opportunity for snapshots cropped up. Through a friend, he met a drugstore owner who didn't know what to do with the pictures people did not pick up. 'Drugstores in Cleveland threw away unclaimed snapshots after several weeks of waiting for customers to pick them up. I never found out if the drugstores had an official time limit,' he wrote in Snapshots 1971-77. 'I suspect that when they ran out of space to keep them behind the front counter, they threw the pictures into a bag andonce the bag was fullthrew the bag away.' Above, a 'very hip' woman, Lesy said

Above, likely a Memorial Day celebration, Lesy said. 'Seen through the eyes of an outsider like me, the snapshots looked in four directions at once: out at the subject, back at the photographer, inward at their assumptions and beliefs, and then out, beyond them, at the world in which they thought they lived,' he wrote in his new book
Democrat Shontel Brown won the Cleveland-area U.S. House seat formerly held by President Joe Biden's Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge in a special election in Ohio on Tuesday.

Brown, 46, a Cuyahoga County Council member who also chairs the county Democratic Party, defeated Republican Laverne Gore, a business owner and activist, in the 11th Congressional District, a heavily Democratic area that stretches from Cleveland to Akron.

She's going to fill the remainder of Fudge's term, which runs until January 2023, facing reelection again next year under a congressional map that's being redrawn to hold onto the seat.

A second special election is taking place in Ohio on Tuesday, this one for the open seat in the 15th Congressional District.

Republican Mike Carey, a longtime coal lobbyist, and Democrat Allison Russo, a two-term state representative and public policy consultant, are competing to succeed Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, who resigned in April to become CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce after a decade in Congress.

The winner will fill the remainder of Stivers' term and, like Brown, will face reelection in 2022.

Democratic candidate Shontel Brown waves to voters at the Bedford community Center, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, in Bedford Heights, Ohio. Brown is running for Ohio's 11th Congressional District. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

That election has seen some star power from both parties - Biden issued a last-minute endorsement of Russo on Monday and Carey sailed through a crowded Republican primary with Donald Trump's support.

Trump called Carey a 'courageous fighter' and visited the state to campaign for him.

Russo, on the other hand, has raised more money than any Democrat has in that district in history.

More than 377,000 Ohioans had voted early as of Monday afternoon, either by absentee ballot or at early in-person voting locations, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose. He said that was nearly 18 per cent more early ballots than had been cast at the same point in 2019.

Brown's election in the 11th Congressional District marks a win for establishment Democrats, who sought to defend the district against a takeover by progressives. Her backers included Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn and several labor unions.

But victory may be short-lived.

Already, Brown's defeated primary opponent, progressive Nina Turner, has begun campaigning for the full congressional term up for grabs in 2022.

A former state senator, she was a national mouthpiece for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential bids and remains one of the progressive movement's hardest-working congressional hopefuls.

Allison Russo, Democratic candidate for 15th Congressional District, casts her ballot Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, in Upper Arlington, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Mike Carey, right, Republican candidate for 15th Congressional District of Ohio, greets voter Sharon Mitchell outside of the Grove City, Ohio, recreation center in Grove City Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. Carey and Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo are seeking the Columbus-area 15th Congressional District seat held by Republican Steve Stivers, who resigned to lead the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

In Florida, 11 Democrats are on the ballot in Tuesday's primary special election for the seat of Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in April after suffering from pancreatic cancer.

One of the candidates is state Rep. Omari Hardy, who was 3 years old when Hastings was elected in 1992. Hastings was the longest-serving member of Florida;s congressional delegation.

Republican Jason Mariner won the Republican nomination to run for the 20th Congressional District seat, but the district is heavily Democratic. The winner of the Democratic primary is considered a lock for January's general election.

State Sen. Perry Thurston and former state Rep. Priscilla Ann Taylor are also seeking the seat for Democrats, along with Broward County Commissioners Dale Holness and Barbara Sharief, both of whom previously served as county mayor.

Others on the Democratic ballot are Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Elvin Dowling, Phil Jackson, Emmanuel Morel and Imran Uddin Siddiqui.

The district is a majority black and covers parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Hundreds of frontline workers have been forced to take time off after they refused to roll up their sleeves for the Covid-19 jab.

South Australia's latest vaccine mandate came into effect this week, where all health workers need to have had at least one jab and show proof they've have had the second or booked in for the jab.

Healthcare workers who oppose the new rule held a rally in Adelaide on Tuesday.

Almost 400 SA Health staff who have refused to get the jab have been forced to take leave, according to department figures.

All South Australian health workers must be fully vaccinated in a new mandate which came into effect this week. Pictured, a paramedic getting the jab

More than 65 per cent of the 391 unvaccinated staff work in metropolitan local health networks, including 107 from Central Adelaide.

Another 53 work for the Barossa Hills Fleurieu health network north-east of the city while 49 are from the Riverland Mallee Coorong catchment.

The hospital most impacted is Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital, where 133 staff aren't vaccinated.

'We are not having problems in staffing areas because it's spread pretty much across the whole network,' hospital boss Lindsay Gough told the ABC.

More than 100 unvaccinated staff from the Central Adelaide local health network have been forced to take leave. Pictured is a vaccination hub at Royal Adelaide Hospital

However, Bernadette Mulholland from the South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association senior industrial officer disagrees as each service at the hospital is small and specialised.

'It would be very difficult to see how that is not having a significant impact on the day-to-day operations.'

No local health network is experiencing problems in the delivery of clinical services to the community, according to health minister Stephen Wade.

He added unvaccinated staff represent per cent of the the state's health workforce.

'There are 391 staff who indicated they're not going to be vaccinated. That's out of a workforce of 46,000  that's less than one per cent of our workforce (including non-clinical roles), he told morning radio on Wednesday.

'Anecdotally, I've heard there's a high level of non-compliance amongst staff in non-clinical roles.'

He added staff have known for months about the vaccine mandate.

'People knew it was coming, staff had plenty of notice, management had plenty of time to prepare,' Mr Wade added.
Melbourne police were forced to contain angry teenagers at St Kilda Beach with pepper spray on Cup day as the youngsters gathered in the surrounding parkland in large numbers.

Footage posted by different TikTok users on Tuesday shows large groups of young people taunting police on St Kilda promenade.

At one stage a young man urges a female police officer brandishing pepper spray to use it on him.

'Spray me, you b****,' he says. 'I'll f*** your wife.'

In one video a young man urges a female police officer brandishing pepper spray to use it on him

Another video shows two mounted police chasing people away from a single police van parked on the foreshore at St Kilda

In the video two mounted police can be seen chasing people away from a single police van parked on the foreshore.

In another video a mounted police officer waves teens away from the area as the person filming the moment says, 'this is going f***ing viral, mate!'

One post shows two young men trying to punch each other as the person behind the camera says, 'bash him up'.

One of the teens runs away as a group of about 10 men chase after him. Large groups of people stand around watching.

The videos appeared to have been posted yesterday afternoon and last night.

One post show two young men trying to punch each other as the person behind the camera says, 'bash him up'

Some people commenting on the posts who were present at St Kilda yesterday said police were vainly trying to maintain Victoria's continuing social distancing requirements for outdoor gatherings

The city enjoyed a public holiday for the Melbourne Cup yesterday.

While Victorians are enjoying an easing of Covid-19 restrictions as vaccination rates lift, density rules of one person per two square metres still apply outdoors.

In one video, social distancing white circles can be seen spray-painted on the grass of the park.

Some people commenting on the posts who were present at St Kilda yesterday said police were vainly trying to maintain the social distancing requirement.

Another said police had tried to 'break up the fights happening every 10 minutes'.

Yesterday Port Phillip police posted on Facebook that it would maintain 'a significant presence in and around the St Kilda foreshore and nearby precincts' yesterday.

'A reminder that the alcohol and glass ban is now in force across the St Kilda Foreshore. This includes both sealed and unsealed containers and ensures everyone can have a safe and enjoyable time in the area,' the post read.

Daily Mail Australia has approached Victoria Police for comment on whether anyone was injured in the clashes and whether any arrests were made.
Cargo thefts along the West Coast - home to the nation's largest ports - have jumped 42 percent since last year.

The correlation between the California ports' logjam and crime rise came was hardly a shock to crime and theft specialist Scott Cornell.

'The more that the supply chain in general is backed up, the more cargo you're going to have sitting and that creates a bigger opportunity for thefts,' crime and theft specialist at insurance company Travelers Scott Cornell, told CBS MoneyWatch.

More than $5million in consumer goods were stolen in California during the third-quarter of 2021, according to cargo theft recovery and prevention network CargoNet - another blow to the state's beleaguered ports.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which move about 40 percent of shipped cargo entering the U.S., are struggling with an unprecedented backlog thats slowing the nations overall supply chain ahead of the holidays.

There were 73 container ships at anchor Monday, and 29 container ships at berth.

The backlog is exacerbated by thousands of empty shipping containers sitting on the ports, creating a logistical nightmare for truckers trying to move product.

Meanwhile, ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach have fired a warning shot against shippers letting their empty containers linger on docks too long, saying they could soon charge up to $35,000 per month  per unit  for abandoned boxes.

More than $5 million in consumer goods was stolen in California during the third-quarter, according to cargo theft recovery and prevention network CargoNet

It's another blow for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are struggling with an unprecedented backlog thats slowing the nations overall supply chain ahead of the holidays

California was the state most targeted by freight thieves during the third-quarter, CargoNet said in its most recent supply chain analysis.

While theft and fraud cases throughout the U.S. and Canada declined overall year-over-year, a 42 percent uptick in thefts was observed on the West Coast.

California has been leading the nation in cargo thefts for the entire year, having reported 208 cases of freight looting through September 30.

This comes as no surprise, as California continues to struggle with frequent thefts of high-end computer electronics shipments, CargoNet said in a statement.

Cargo thieves continued to show a strong preference for computer electronics shipments and nearly 70 percent of these thefts in the third quarter of 2021 occurred in California.

Texas had the second-highest rate of cargo thieves this year with 162 cases reported during the year's first nine months. Florida recorded 117 cases

California led the nation in cargo thefts in a trend largely driven by demand for electronics

California reported 208 cargo thefts during the first nine months of 2021, handily outpacing other states such as Texas, Florida, and Illinois

Electronics accounted for 49 percent of California's stolen goods, and household items accounted for an additional 15 percent in lifted loot, CargoNet said in its third-quarter report.

Other popular items among criminals included clothes, accessories, food and drinks.

Thieves most frequently made their moves at warehouses (27 percent), secured yards (15 percent) and roadsides (13 percent).

California cargo haulers reported 62 thefts during the third quarter at an average loss of $233,000 per crime, CargoNet said.

About $5.28 million in consumer goods was stolen during the timeframe.

The LA and Long Beach ports  collectively known as the San Pedro Bay port complex  were initially set to begin billing carriers Monday for empty containers that have overstayed their welcome

The mass congestion of vacant units is monopolizing space in nearby truck lots, blocking filled containers from getting moved, and crippling efficiency.

But executives voted last Friday to delay issuing fines until at least November 15 while they assess the situation.

Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said authorities tried getting shippers to voluntarily comply with removing empty containers before resorting to a fine system

If the fee structure is implemented, it would bring $100 per container, per day charges for containers moving by truck or ship that have been dwelling nine days or more.

Containers continuing their journey by rail have six days to get off the terminal.

The fine system is incremental, rising $100 each day, meaning a carrier would be charged about $45,000 for letting a container sit a month beyond deadline.

Gene Seroka, the ports executive director, said authorities tried enticing shippers with the carrot before turning to the stick.

Weve tried diplomacy, he told CNBC Tuesday. Weve tried collaboration, operations meetings all around, and nothing has moved the needle just yet. This is a last resort and one I didnt want to have to take, but were starting to see movement.

About 40 percent of import containers on terminals have been idling for at least nine days, the Port of Long Beach said in a press release.

Before consumer demand exploded in mid-2020, containers would typically sit at terminals for less than four days.

Any money collected from the fees will be put toward programs to help the port work more efficiently and address congestion impacts, the press release said.

Our objective with this program is not to generate revenue, said Los Angeles Harbor Commission president Jaime Lee. Instead, we need our supply chain partners to make operational changes that will reduce dwell times, clear our terminals and make room for the ships waiting to enter our port.

Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg (right) told Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace (left) that supply chain challenges will continue until the COVID-19 pandemic ends

Nearly empty shelves at New York City pharmacy and convenience store are seen October 26

There were 73 container ships at anchor in the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports Monday

Transport secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that the supply chain crisis will continue at least until the COVID-19 pandemic ends amid fears of shortages ahead of the winter holidays.

There are definitely going to continue to be issues, especially as long as the pandemic continues, Buttigieg told Fox News Sunday.

If you have, for example, the third-largest container port in the world in China shutting down because of a COVID outbreak in late summer you'll feel that in the fall here on the West coast.

He said that while politicians, the ports, and industry executives are taking all the necessary steps to combat the supply crisis, catching up with the backlog will take time - particularly as consumer appetite for imported products grows.

If we really want to see all of these disruptions end, weve got to end the pandemic, he said. Thats what getting everybody vaccinated is all about.
Minneapolis voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal to replace the city's police department with a new Department of Public Safety, an idea that supporters had hoped would bring radical change to policing in the city where George Floyd's death under an officer's knee brought calls for racial justice.

The Defund the Police movement also hit a road block in crime-riddled Seattle, where pro-police candidates led several races in the progressive city on Tuesday.

The Minneapolis initiative proposed a change to the city charter to remove a requirement to have a police department with a minimum number of officers. Supporters said a complete overhaul of policing was necessary to stop police violence.

Opponents said the proposal had no concrete plan for how to move forward and warned it would leave some communities already affected by violence more vulnerable as crime is on the rise.

The ballot proposal had roots in the abolish-the-police movement that erupted after Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year.

Minneapolis voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal to replace the city's police department with a new Department of Public Safety. Mayor Jacob Frey casts his vote on Election Day alongside his family at the Marcy Arts Magnet Elementary School on Tuesday

Frey arrived to cast his vote on the ballot proposal which had roots in the abolish-the-police movement that erupted after Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year

Bruce Harrell, who is running against progressive Lorena Gonzalez in Seattle's mayoral race, speaks to supporters on election night Tuesday, November 2

Defund the police was an idea that supporters had hoped would bring radical change to policing in the city where George Floyd's death under an officer's knee brought calls for racial justice

The movement spread to liberal cities across the US during the summer of protests in 2020 in the wake of Floyd's death. Alondra Cano, a city council member, speaks during 'The Path Forward' meeting at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. The focus of the meeting was the defunding of the Minneapolis Police Department in 2020

Demonstrators march against racism and police brutality and to defund the Minneapolis Police Department on June 6, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota

The debate over racial justice in policing brought national attention to Tuesday's votes, as well as a river of out-of-state money seeking to influence the outcome in Minneapolis that could have shaped change elsewhere, too.

In Seattle, pro-police candidates were expected to win mayoral, city attorney and City Council races when the final tallies are announced in the next few days.

In the mayor's race, former City Council President Bruce Harrell held a 30-point lead over progressive rival and current City Council President M. Lorena Gonzalez, who wanted to slash police department budget by 50 percent.

'I'm not a status quo politician, they want the homeless issue addressed with a sense of urgency, they want effective policing  biased-free policing, so we feel very good about the results,' Harrell told FOX 13.

Republican Ann Davison led Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, a self-proclaimed police and jail 'abolitionist', in the race for city attorney. In the City Council race, Sara Nelson, who is against abolishing the police, took the lead over Nikkita Oliver, who campaigned to defund the police.

Tuesday's elections highlighted the great divide and national reckoning that is continuing as the country grapples with how to address the defund the police movement and rising crime.

The ballot question in Minneapolis called for a new Department of Public Safety to take 'a comprehensive public health approach to the delivery of functions' that would be determined by the mayor and City Council.

City Question 2 read: 'Shall the Minneapolis City Charter be amended to remove the Police Department and replace it with a Department of Public Safety that employs a comprehensive public health approach to the delivery of functions by the Department of Public Safety, with those specific functions to be determined by the Mayor and City Council by ordinance; which will not be subject to exclusive mayoral power over its establishment, maintenance, and command; and which could include licensed peace officers (police officers), if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities for public safety, with the general nature of the amendments being briefly indicated in the explanatory note below, which is made a part of this ballot?

Explanatory Note: This amendment would create a Department of Public Safety combining public safety functions through a comprehensive public health approach to be determined by the Mayor and Council.

'The department would be led by a Commissioner nominated by the Mayor and appointed by the Council. The Police Department, and its chief, would be removed from the City Charter. The Public Safety Department could include police officers, but the minimum funding requirement would be eliminated.'

The new proposed amendment would have replaced the police department with a new Department of Public Safety that would take a 'comprehensive public health approach to the delivery of functions' that 'could include' police officers 'if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities for public safety.'

The new plan would have removed power from the mayor and the police for a new approach that would emphasize public health - especially mental health, according to Fox.

Supporters framed it as a chance to re-imagine what public safety can be and to devote more funding toward new approaches that don't rely on sending armed officers to deal with people in crisis.

Photojournalists document mayoral candidate Sheila Nezhad as she walks into the Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church on Election Day to cast her vote on Tuesday

Mayor Jacob Frey casts his vote on Election Day alongside his family at the Marcy Arts Magnet Elementary School on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 in Minneapolis

People check in to vote at Bryn Mawr Community School on Election Day on November 2

The effort was put forth by Yes 4 Minneapolis, a coalition of businesses and other groups, who gathers more than 22,000 signatures. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled it could go up for public vote in September.

Rishi Khanna, 31, a tech worker, voted yes on replacing the police department in Minneapolis, saying he doesn't believe police officers are qualified to deal with many situations, such as mental health crises. He said he thinks having professionals equipped to deal with a range of public safety issues in the same department as law enforcement will benefit both residents and police officers.

'I understand that law enforcement will have to have a seat at the table, but I think both in our community and in communities around the country, too often law enforcement is the only seat at the table,' he said. 'I don't think that's the right solution.'

Askari Lyons, 61, voted against the ballot initiative. A resident of the city's largely black north side, where violent crime runs higher than in the rest of the city, he said he believes Minneapolis police officers 'may have learned a lesson after George Floyd's death and what happened to the cop that killed him.'

Lyons called it 'unwise' to replace the department and said he believes change within the department is imminent.

'People are so frustrated, so angry, so disappointed with the violence occurring citywide as much as they are with the city's law enforcement,' he said.

The Minneapolis police department has a long history of accusations of racism. The New York Times reported that there's a deep divide between the predominately white police force and the community of Minneapolis.

'The truth is we do not have a good history,' Jamar B. Nelson, a longtime community activist, told The NYTimes. 'The biggest complaint is that the community feels the Police Department is racist, bigoted, and uncaring about the black community.'

Bodycam footage showing Minneapolis police saying they were 'hunting' people and 'f*** these people' as part of the unrest following Floyd's death have sparked outrage in the city and the nation.

'We're going to go find some more people, instead of chasing people around. You guys are out hunting people now, and it's just a nice change of tempo,' former police commander Bruce Folkens said on May 31, 2020, CNN reported.

Mayoral candidate Sheila Nezhad, right, casts her vote on Election Day at the Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 in Minneapolis

Minneapolis voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal to replace the city's police department with a new Department of Public Safety, an idea that supporters had hoped would bring radical change to policing in the city where George Floyd's death under an officer's knee brought calls for racial justice. Monica Rojas gets directions from a poll worker on her way to casting her ballot at Sabathani Community Center

Mayoral candidate Sheila Nezhad walks into the Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church on Election Day to cast her vote on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 in Minneapolis

Voters emerge from Sabathani Community Center after casting their ballots during municipal elections Tuesday, November 2, 2021, in Minneapolis

Moments like these have citizens calling for reform and new measures. Many cities have discussed adding workers to deal with mental health calls instead of the police.

The future of policing in the city where Floyd's death on May 25, 2020 launched a nationwide reckoning on racial justice overshadowed everything on the municipal ballot.

Defund the police protests broke out across the nation, arguing over-policing, gun violence, and systematic racism are causes in the deaths of black citizens like Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

The City of Denver, Colorado implement this program in June 2020, according to Time magazine. More than 800 mental health calls have been responded to and city officials have reported positive feedback.

Other cities like Austin, Texas, have allocated money from their police budget to buy a hotel for the homeless community.

As rallies popped up across the nation, many cities boosted police spending or kept it the same, Bloomberg reported in September 2020. Twenty cities, including New York and Austin, decreased police budgets by early 2021.

Minneapolis' Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey was also in a tough fight on Tuesday as he faced re-election for a second term, facing a bevy of opponents who have attacked him for his leadership in the wake of Floyds death. Frey opposed the amendment to disband the police force.

Mayor Jacob Frey casts his vote on Election Day

Rishi Khanna, 31, a tech worker, voted yes on replacing the police department in Minneapolis, saying he doesn't believe police officers are qualified to deal with many situations, such as mental health crises.

Two of his leading challengers in the field of 17 candidates, Sheila Nezhad and Kate Knuth, strongly supported the proposal.

With nearly complete returns, Frey had about 43 per cent of the first-choice vote. He needed more than 50 per cent to win outright under the city's ranked-choice voting system, with the city to begin sorting second - and potentially third-choice votes Wednesday morning.

Nezhad and Knuth were both near 20 per cent.

Two nationally prominent progressive Democratic leaders - U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents the Minneapolis area, and state Attorney General Keith Ellison - both supported the policing amendment.

But some leading mainstream liberals, including Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, opposed it and feared the backlash could lead to Democratic losses across the country in 2022.

Support didn't cleanly follow racial lines. Opponents included several prominent black leaders, including some who have been top voices in the police accountability movement.

Minister JaNae Bates, a spokeswoman for the pro-amendment campaign, told reporters Monday that even if the proposal fails, the activists behind it have changed the conversation around public safety.

'No matter what happens, the city of Minneapolis is going to have to move forward and really wrestle with what we cannot unknow: that the Minneapolis Police Department has been able to operate with impunity and has done quite a bit of harm and the city has to take some serious steps to rectify that,' Bates said.
A California man died after sacrificing himself to save a woman on a zipline after fearing they'd both fall under the weight.

Joaquin Romero, 34, was working at La Jolla Zip Zoom Zipline on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in the Pauma Valley in California on Saturday when a woman slide out on the line while he was helping her get hooked on the platform.

Romero allegedly grabbed onto her harness to stop her and got dragged away from the platform, which caused them to slide out on the line at about 100-feet.

Romero drifted down the line with the woman before falling at a height of about 70-feet, Cal Fire Department Captain Frank LoCoco said.

Joaquin Romero, 34, sacrificed himself after a woman he was harnessing to a zipline got pulled out and took him with her on Saturday. They were dangling 70feet above the ground when Romero decided to let go in fear that they would both succumb under the extra weight (pictured: La Jolla zipline)

Woman slipped from 100-ft high platform on the zipline, and Romero grabbed her harness before being pulled down the line with her. He fell from about 70-feet

Cal Fire rescued Romero by using a low-angle rope system to pull him to the roadside before airlifting him to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he died on Monday

The unnamed friend, who identified Romero, said the 34-year-old feared he and the woman would fall from the extra weight, so he decided to let go.

The zipline can hold up to 250 pounds, with a minimum of 65 pounds.

Romero dropped 100 feet and suffered from major trauma injuries. Cal Fire rescued him by low-angle rope system to pull him to the roadside.

He was then airlifted to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he died Monday morning.

He died at Sharp Memorial Hospital (pictured) on Monday

The woman was reportedly uninjured.

La Jolla Zip Zoom Zipline said they were 'heartbroken' over the loss of their employee and are conducting an 'in-depth and comprehensive investigation, in coordination and cooperation with federal and state authorities.'

Roughly 16 people die a year from ziplines.

La Jolla has three different ziplines to choose from, ranging from 300 to 2,700 feet and can reach up to speeds of 55mph.

The La Jolla Tribe opened its campground in 1930 and its newest attraction is the La Jolla zipline, which opened in September 2015.

Romero's brother Rick and his wife Rhonda's coworkers are hosting a grab-and-go fish taco fundraiser on November 5 to help the family.

'This fundraiser is to help the family out with the recent loss of Ricks brother Joaquin Romero,' a family friend Naomi Howard wrote on Facebook. A plate cost $5 with a option of donating more.
Dr. Anosh Ahmed, the COO and CFO of Chicago's Loretto Hospital, resigned from his position in March after it was revealed that he was able to get the vaccine for 70 employees at Trump Tower  where he lived in a $2.7 million condominium  almost three weeks before they were officially eligible for the shot

The FBI has launched a probe into a private Chicago hospital that admitted in March to prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations to its CFO's neighbors and staff at his favorite high-end restaurants and stores - despite the recipients not yet being eligible for the shot.

Dr. Anosh Ahmed, the COO and CFO of Chicago's Loretto Hospital, resigned from his position in March after it was revealed that he was able to get the vaccine for 70 employees at Trump Tower  where he lived in a $2.7 million condominium  almost three weeks before they were officially eligible for the shot.

Ahmed, 37, also vaccinated workers at luxury jewelry shop Geneva Seal and Maple and Ash, a high-end steakhouse where reservations require a $100 deposit.

Loretto Hospital, in the city's Oak Park neighborhood, has since become the subject of two federal grand jury subpoenas, which were issued 'pursuant to an official criminal investigation' to the Illinois Department of Public Health in May and September, according to Block Club Chicago.

They seek patient records and additional documents related to the hospital's vaccination distribution on March 10 and 11, though they make no wrongdoing against any Loretto official and do not spell out the scope of the grand jury investigation or its intended targets, the news outlet reported.

Loretto administrators could not be reached for comment.

The first subpoena, issued on May 27, regards 70 people inoculated through Loretto on March 10 and another 47 people vaccinated by Loretto the next day at an off-site event.

A second subpoena, issued on September 15, included a broader request from the hospital for all records on any COVID-19 vaccinations administered by Loretto at any location on those two days in March, according to Block Club Chicago.

The FBI has launched a probe into private Chicago hospital Loretto Hospital that admitted in March to prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations to ineligible residents

The hospital released its own audit stating that it administered 70 unapproved, ineligible vaccines at Trump Tower on March 10, but it lists no vaccination event where 47 more people were inoculated

The hospital also gave 'ineligible' vaccines to staff at luxury jewelry shop Geneva Seal (pictured) and Maple and Ash, a high-end steakhouse

The hospital released its own audit stating that it administered 70 unapproved, ineligible vaccines at Trump Tower on March 10, but it lists no vaccination event where 47 more people were inoculated.

The hospital's audit, published by watchdog group the Better Government Association, notes the 70 ineligible vaccinations given to Trump Tower, as well as 49 ineligible vaccinations given to Geneva Seal.

It also includes 236 vaccinations distributed at various locations to individuals listed as 'decided eligible,' but does not go into detail the improper vaccinations or how hospital administration determined how some recipients were 'decided eligible.'

Chicago attorney Stephen Lee, who formerly served as a senior counsel to the Chicago U.S. attorney's health care fraud unit, reviewed the subpoenas for Block Club Chicago.

He said to the news outlet, 'This is not a fishing expedition. Sometimes these investigations don't really go anywhere, but there's something they're looking into, and it's something more than just what's unethical.'

Ahmed, 37, is said to have told acquaintances that he vaccinated Donald Trump 's son, Eric

Ahmed's resignation sparked calls for the removal of the hospital's president George Miller, who oversaw the vaccine distribution

Ahmed, 37, is said to have told acquaintances that he vaccinated Donald Trump 's son, Eric, an executive at the Trump Organization and sent a picture around of himself posing with Eric Trump , although he later said that it was 'a joke'.

Eric Trump is an executive vice president and trustee of the Trump Organization, which owns the Trump Tower hotel and residence, but the millionaire would not have been eligible to be vaccinated in Chicago.

The workers from the Trump Tower in Chicago had its workers receive the shot on March 10th despite city guidelines saying the employees of hotels and residential buildings would not be eligible until March 29th.

A little over 10 per cent of the city's 2.7m population was vaccinated in March when the scandal took place.

The Democrat Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot said she was 'disappointed' at the news

There was high demand for the vaccine in Chicago at the time of the scandal, as just over 10 per cent of the city's 2.7m population had their first dose at the time

At the time, Chicago vaccination centers were limiting the vaccine to vulnerable populations, including people over 65, prisoners, teachers and first responders, not hotel workers or those in hospitality.

The action for the 72 injections was approved by the hospital's chief executive, George Miller who justified the injections by noting that the employees were 'predominantly black and brown,' and the event had been requested by Trump employees who live on Chicago's West Side, near the hospital according to Block Club Chicago.

The small 122-bed hospital is nine miles from the luxury tower block in downtown Chicago and situated in a mainly black neighborhood where people have been hit hard by coronavirus and few have been vaccinated.

The hospital has said it 'mistakenly vaccinated' the workers and that their mission is to provide vaccines to the 'minority communities hardest hit' by the pandemic.

'We were, at the time, under the impression that restaurant and other front line hospitality industry workers were considered 'essential' under the City of Chicago's 1B eligibility requirements,' Miller said in a statement.

'I now understand, after subsequent conversations with the Chicago Department of Public Health, that we were mistaken.'

Following news of the ineligible vaccinations, the city's health department suspended vaccine doses to Loretto until the situation was remedied.

After Ahmed resigned, it sparked calls for the removal of the hospital's president George Miller - who took responsibility for the vaccinations. More than 250 people have since signed a petition calling for Miller to be removed from his role.

The hospital's audit, published by watchdog group the Better Government Association , notes the 70 ineligible vaccinations given to Trump Tower, as well as 49 ineligible vaccinations given to Geneva Seal

Statement from Loretto Hospital On March 10 and 11, 2021, The Loretto Hospital infectious disease team vaccinated 72 predominately black and brown restaurant, housekeeping, and other hotel support personnel at Trump International Chicago. Stemming from requests from West side residents who work at the hotel and were unable to leave their jobs to be vaccinated during regular in-hospital hours, this effort was one of multiple off-site community vaccination initiatives undertaken by The Loretto Hospital in accordance with its mission of ensuring vaccine accessibility to the minority communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine doses used were from The Loretto Hospital's vaccine allotment, not from Protect Chicago Plus allocations, which are reserved specifically for Austin residents. The Chicago Department of Public Health has been in contact with hospital leadership to clarify the department's guidance regarding community vaccinations moving forward. Advertisement

On March 23, the day before Ahmed resigned, State Rep. LaShawn Ford stepped down from the hospital's board. Two days later, Chicago's progressive Mayor Lori Lightfoot called for an independent investigation into the hospital's vaccinations.

The scope of Loretto's vaccination distribution has also been the subject of scrutiny following the scandal. Loretto is a safety-net hospital serving 79 per cent black residents, to whom the vaccinations were intended to go as the coronavirus pandemic hit low-income communities of color hardest.

However, Lorreto's internal research, also obtained by the Better Government Association, reveals that 30 percent of people who got their shots at Loretto were white and 24 percent were Asian, while only 27 percent were Black and 12 percent Hispanic or Latino.

At the time, she said in a statement, 'We have a finite amount of vaccine in the city. We've been really, really careful to make sure that we're using it in a way that prioritizes the most vulnerable people who are most at risk and most at risk of spreading it. We cannot have something like this happen again.

She continued, 'They know it was a mistake. I've asked Dr. Arwady to dig deeper to make sure that  to trust but verify. To make sure that what they told us, the COO who decided to host this event, that it was limited to hotel workers and not some other circumstances. But they recognize that this was a mistake and absolutely can never be repeated. It's a cautionary tale for any other provider.'
From the mystery of the Beaumont siblings to the disappearance of William Tyrrell and the murder of Daniel Morcombe, Australians are not used to the story of missing children ending like this.

The discovery of Cleo Smith alive and well in Carnarvon on Wednesday morning, 18 days after she was last seen at a Western Australian campsite, is justly being described as a miracle.

Millions watched with mounting fears after initial hopes the four-year-old had wandered off from her parents turned into an abduction investigation.

Cleo was sleeping in her family's tent at the Blowholes camping ground 75km north of Carnarvon, in the state's north-west, when she was last seen in her family's tent on October 16 about 1.30am.

The discovery of Cleo Smith alive and well in Carnarvon on Wednesday morning, 18 days after she was last seen at a Western Australian campsite, is justly being described as a miracle

From the mystery of the Beaumont siblings to the disappearance of William Tyrrell (pictured) and the murder of Daniel Morcombe, Australians are not used to the story of missing children ending like this

Daniel Morcombe (pictured) disappeared from a bus stop on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on December 7, 2003. Paedophile Brett Peter Cowan was charged the 13-year-old's murder in 2011 and his remains found in the Glass House Mountains

Australia has a long history of children disappearing in mysterious and sinister circumstances but for high-profile cases such as Cleo's this ending seems unprecedented.

Million-dollar rewards for information like that offered to find Cleo have remained unclaimed and investigations of a similar scale have proved fruitless.

The country's landscape has sometimes hampered searches for missing children, with wide open spaces and natural dangers providing challenges for those involved.

While child abductions are rare and misadventure is common, sexual predators have plenty of room to operate and cover in which to hide.

Some of the most infamous disappearances of children in Australian history have only ever been partly resolved.

Azaria Chamberlain made worldwide headlines when the nine-week-old was snatched by a dingo during a family trip to Uluru in the Northern Territory on August 17, 1980.

Her mother Lindy was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison before being released after the chance discovery of an item of Azaria's clothing near a dingo lair in 1986.

The infant's body has never been discovered and likely never will be.

The fate of the three Beaumont siblings, Jane, Arnna and Grant, aged nine, seven and four respectively, has haunted the nation for almost 56 years.

The three children disappeared from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide on Australia Day, 1966 and no trace of them has been found since.

Azaria Chamberlain made worldwide headlines when the nine-year-old was snatched by a dingo during a family trip to Uluru in the Northern Territory on August 17, 1980. Her mother Lindy was wrongly convicted of murder and Azaria's body has never been found

The fate of the three Beaumont siblings, Jane, Arnna and Grant, aged nine, seven and four respectively, has haunted the nation for almost 56 years. The children disappeared from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide in 1966 and no trace of them has been found since

Several witnesses saw the trio in the company of a thin-faced, tanned, tall man aged in his mid-30s but he has never been located by police.

Supposed new leads have emerged over the decades but a $1million reward for information offered by the South Australian government in 2018 has not solved the mystery.

Similarly baffling is the case of toddler William Tyrrell who was last seen at his foster grandmother's house at Kendall on the New South Wales mid-north coast on June 26, 2014 in his distinctive Spider-Man suit.

Like Cleo, it was initially hoped William might have wandered off into bushland but police soon moved onto the theory the little boy had been abducted.

And like the Beaumont children, a $1million reward offered for the recovery of the three-year-old has led to no breakthroughs in the investigation.

The parents of murdered teenager Daniel Morcombe had described a television interview with Cleo Smith's mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon (pictured) as 'haunting'

Public appeals for information in Willliam's case were made difficult in the early stages of the inquiry because neither his birth parents nor foster family could be identified.

When 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe disappeared from a bus stop on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on December 7, 2003 his parents' faces became as recognisable as the missing boy.

Bruce and Denise Morcombe were relentless in their pursuit for information that would lead to Daniel's return or his kidnapper's capture, making public appeals for help for years.

The Morcombes' tireless campaigning and an undercover police sting operation led to the arrest of paedophile Brett Peter Cowan in August 2011.

Bruce and Denise Morcombe were relentless in their pursuit for information that would lead to son Daniel's return or his kidnapper's capture, making public appeals for help for years

Daniel Morcombe's remains were found in the Glass House Mountains in 2011 and three years later Brett Peter Cowan (pictured) was convicted of his murder, having pleaded not guilty

Daniel's remains were subsequently found in the Glass House Mountains later the same month and three years later Cowan was convicted of his murder, having pleaded not guilty.

The Morcombes had described a television interview with Cleo's mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon as 'haunting' and said they had been reliving their own endlessly traumatic experience.

'That was us,' Mr Morcombe told The West newspaper on October 21.

'Honestly it was an immediate flashback. We could feel their emotion as they were speaking because we have walked in their shoes. We have sat in that chair.'

Mr Morcombe said watching their interview with Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon made their own ordeal 'feel like yesterday'.

He and Mrs Morcombe had closely followed developments in Cleo's case and were praying for her to be found safely.

'You just cannot help but think the worst I suppose,' Mr Morcombe said. 'Our family is thinking of them and so is the rest of Australia.

The mother of nine-year-old Samantha Knight (pictured) was never reunited with her daughter, who disappeared from Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs on August 19, 1986

Serial sex offender Michael Guider was charged with Samantha Kinght's murder in 2001 and pleaded guilty to her manslaughter later that year. Guider is pictured leaving prison in 2019

'We all hope that Cleo is found healthy and well. We genuinely wish and pray for a positive result.'

The Morcombes established a foundation to educate children about personal safety and raise awareness of the dangers of predatory criminals.

The mother of nine-year-old Samantha Knight was never reunited with her daughter, who disappeared from Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs on August 19, 1986.

Serial sex offender Michael Guider was charged with Samantha's murder in 2001 and pleaded guilty to her manslaughter later that year.

Guider, who drugged and molested his many victims, claimed he had accidentally given Samantha an overdose of sleeping pills.

He has given various versions of what he did with Samantha's body and her remains have not been found 35 years after she disappeared.

Just last month there were scenes of jubilation when three-year-old Anthony 'AJ' Elfalak was found four days after being reported missing from his home at Putty in the NSW Hunter Valley

Just two months ago there were scenes of jubilation when Anthony 'AJ' Elfalak was found three days after being reported missing from his home at Putty in the NSW Hunter Valley.

AJ's family feared the three-year-old had been abducted on September 3 and celebrated wildly when he was located drinking water from a creek near their rural property.

His parents, Kelly and Anthony Elfalak, believed AJ had been 'saved by an angel' and vowed to 'pray for a miracle' for Cleo Smith.

'We can't believe it, we keep thinking ''not again'',' Ms Elfalak told Daily Mail Australia on October 18 of Cleo's disappearance.

'The whole nation needs to rally and pray for another miracle. I'm hoping to God we find her very soon like AJ.'
Carnarvon in Western Australia, where little Cleo Smith was found alive, is a small town of only 4,400 people, 900km north of Perth.

Police broke down the door of a locked home on Tonkin Crescent in the town's north about 1am on Wednesday to find the missing four-year-old alone inside.

A 36-year-old man with no connection to Cleo's family is in police custody after being arrested on a nearby street.

Cleo (right) was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

A view of the main street in Carnarvon, a town situated about 900km north of Perth in WA

Police broke into a Carnarvon home to rescue Cleo Smith in the early hours this morning

Cleo Smith (pictured) has been found with a man who is now being questioned by WA police

Carnarvon is a nine hour drive from Perth, and a popular spot for campers and tourists travelling north to attractions including the blowholes where Cleo disappeared.

The sleepy town is situated between the Shark Bay and Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Areas, and has its own airport.

But the street where Cleo was found is a far cry from the town's pristine beaches.

The street is host to low-rise, housing commission homes on dirt patches with what looks like a dilapidated children's play park half-way down the road.

The home where Cleo was held captive has a four wheel drive vehicle parked on the property and is located about seven minutes' drive away from Cleo's family home.

After Cleo was rescued from the suburban home, neighbours said a 'quiet' man was seen buying nappies from Woolworths

The Quobba Blowholes are a coastal favourite destination in the Carnarvon region

Carnarvon is also Cleo's hometown, and her family live just seven minutes from the home where the four-year-old was rescued, 18 days after going missing.

Cleo vanished from inside a tent on October 16 at a campsite at the Quobba Blowholes, 75km from the town.

Ocean swells force water through sea caves at the Quobba Blowholes, creating jets of water that can reach 20 metres high.

A neighbour told Seven News they became suspicious after seeing the man buying Kimbies nappies from a supermarket.

'The other day, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'
Alec Baldwin shared a social media post from a fellow Rust crew member slamming her coworkers for painting a 'blatantly false' picture of the set as 'chaotic and unsafe'.

Baldwin shared a screenshot of a post written by costume designer Terese Magpale Davis to his Instagram account Tuesday with the caption: 'Read this.'

'I am so sick of this narrative,' Davis wrote in her post. 'I worked on this movie. The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bull***t.'

Crew members began speaking out about the alleged conditions on set after Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming.

Davis' post refuted many of the complaints of crew members - including that they routinely worked more than 12-hour days.

Alec Baldwin shared a social media post from a fellow Rust crew member alleging that the picture being painted by fellow crew of life on the set was inaccurate

Baldwin shared a screengrab of a post written by costume designer Terese Magpale Davis (pictured) to his Instagram account Tuesday with the caption: 'Read this'

We never worked more than a 12.5 hour shoot day. That was once,' Davis wrote.

'Most days were under 12. The day Halyna died we had come off of a 12 hour turnaround after an 11 hour shoot day. We had (including camera) gotten off by 6:30pm.

She continued: We had just had a 56 hour weekend right before that. No one was too tired to do their jobs.

This is all provable by daily time sheets.

Several Rust crew members also alleged that the production had promised to provide them with hotel rooms in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area - where the film was being shot - but said were later told they needed to make a 50-mile drive from Albuquerque each day instead.

According to Davis, these allegations were false.

The camera crew HAD hotels. They just didnt feel they were fancy enough. NOT that they were unsafe. You cant tell me that 6 big men felt so unsafe in their hotel but were fine sleeping in their cars in parking lots (which never happened) like they also claimed.

Davis' post, which was several paragraphs long, provided alleged evidence against claims being made by crew members

Unionized crew members also alleged that their jobs had been replaced by local workers.

'In New Mexico, they have an overflow list they join when [workers] apply to the union. They have to get a certain amount of days worked on a union show before they're eligible to join,' Davis alleged.

'Every "non-union" person hired on this show was from that list. And we had union approval to hire them.'

Davis also addressed the allegations that armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, was inexperienced.

The costumer argued that although the 24-year-old was not the most experienced armorer in the industry, she had the proper qualifications to work on the set.

'The armorer had apprenticed to a well known armorer and had been in the same position on the same type of movie a few months before. Was she the most experienced person? No. Were her qualifications typical for a Tier One? Yes,' she wrote.

'You can say what you want about even lower tiers needing qualified people and I will agree. But how do you suppose anyone will get that experience? We all had a first and second job at one point.

'How do you suggest producers and UPMa sort out the people worth giving that shot to from the people who just look good on their resume and have great references? Because Hannah had both.'

Davis continued, sharing that the fatal shooting that occurred on set will haunt her for a long time. She notes that she is angry at Dave Hall, the assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun, but would not accuse him of not caring about safety.

'I am heartbroken and furious,' she wrote. 'I will never get the sound of that gunshot or my director's screams out of my head as a result.'

'My friend is dead. Am I angry at him? Yes. But I won't jump on the bandwagon and pretend that he was uncaring about our safety the whole way through.'

Davis said she has asked the film's producers why they haven't 'defended themselves more against the blatantly false accusations' being made by former crew.

The producers reportedly told her they wanted to keep the focus on Hutchins.

'They want us to have time to grieve and recover. They said there will be time to defend their reputations later. That it's not important to do that right now, it's important to make sure the crew is okay.'

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured) died on October 21 after Baldwin pointed and fired a Colt pistol at her during a scene

Hutchins died on October 21 after Baldwin pointed and fired a Colt pistol at her during a scene.

Baldwin was handling the vintage gun on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when it accidentally discharged  killing the mom-of-one and wounding director Joel Souza.

Overall he has remained silent about the situation.

Baldwin issued a public statement the day after Hutchins' death in which he indicated that he was cooperating with authorities and offered his condolences to her family. He also held an impromptu press conference with his wife on Saturday.

His silence was also reflected in his social media accounts, until Saturday when he appeared to return to some of his typical online behaviors.

His sharing of Davis' post is the first publicly-made indication that he doesn't agree with the narrative crew members have created.
A doctor has called out a pair of influencers for 'discouraging their followers from getting the Covid vaccine' after suffering rare side effects from the Pfizer jab.

Mikayla Hartge and Tash, both from Canberra, recently suffered rare illnesses suspected to be linked to their jab and spent several days in hospital, regularly sharing updates to their followers.

But former Melbourne GP Dr Michael Mrozinski has questioned why the pair failed to mention the medical team who looked after them in hospital.

'I'm not going to get in to the ins and outs of this and whether it's true or not because it's important for people who have adverse reactions to come forward,' he said in a TikTok.

While referencing a post made by Ms Hartge, Dr Mrozinski noted that she was cleared of having any blood clots and was discharged from hospital.

Mikayla HartgeCanberra Instagrammers Tash (left) and Mikayla Hartge (right) recently suffered rare illnesses suspected to be linked to their Pfizer vaccine and spent several days in hospital, regularly sharing updates to their followers

'Instead of saying thank you to the hospital, ''thank you to the staff for checking me out completely, making sure I was OK'', she posted this on Instagram, trying to discourage people from getting the vaccine,' he continued.

'Doesn't sit right with me.'

Both Ms Hartge and Tash received their first jab on October 20 and said 'everything went down hill from there'.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Tash said she was released from hospital on Monday.

'I have personally thanked (the hospital staff) multiple times, even ask the doctors and nurses who looked after me, for helping me and giving me answers,' she said.

'The fact that I didn't state that in my post and I'm being bullied for it is sickening. It doesn't phase me cause I know my truth and my whole experience.

'The hate doesn't really affect me. I'm strong and won't be silenced.'

The pair shared regular updates to their followers, posting clips of them side by side in hospital and holding hands.

One photo shows them standing in a hospital bathroom covered in ECG pads.

They have both hit back at trolls who accused them of 'lying' about their conditions to get followers.

Former Melbourne GP Dr Michael Mrozinski has questioned why the influencers didn't thank the medical staff who looked after them

Others have pointed out that in one photo they were both holding a vape.

Tash said the photo of her with the vape was taken when they first arrived at hospital.

'I used to vape, that was when I first got to hospital and still had all my belongings,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Ms Hartge in an earlier Instagram post said within a few days of getting vaccinated she was rushed to hospital after suffering severe abdominal pain, sweats, chest pain and tingles in her arms and legs.

She had a series of tests done which all came back clear and she was discharged.

'Two days later I was admitted again as I knew something was not right, I know my body and knew that there was something wrong,' she wrote on Instagram over the weekend.

'Instead of saying thank you to the hospital, ''thank you to the staff for checking me out completely, making sure I was OK'', she posted this on Instagram, trying to discourage people from getting the vaccine,' the doctor said.

'More and more tests were done and was told I had blood clots through my body, thankfully after 382992 blood tests, ultrasounds, more ECG scans and CT scans there were no blood clots and I was discharged yet again.

'However they still ''don't know what's wrong with me'' as all my symptoms were ''unrelated'' to the jab but we all know it was from it.

'I am one of the lucky ones that didn't get too much damage however, I have read that many stories of other people going through the same thing and not ending up as lucky as me.

'More people need to start speaking up and in times like this we need to be there for each other even though there are some people that do no agree and have other opinions (which is fine!).'

Tash experienced similar pain and was also rushed to hospital within a few days of receiving her vaccination.

She said on her first stint at hospital, she was told she had an inflamed lung and was sent home to recover as it would heal on its own.

'My pain continued at home, I was distressed in pain didn't want to leave my bed, cried for days. My sister was sick of seeing me and Mikayla (who was experiencing the same) and pushed us to go back to emergency so we did,' she wrote in a post on the weekend.

'I've had multiple tests done, heart ultrasounds, lung and heart CT scans, countless blood tests, a drip in each arm, an internal ultrasound!

'I've been told I had a blood clot under my left lung, I have inflamed lungs still, the lining of my heart is also inflamed my muscles are beyond stiff and sore.

'Last night was the worse night my blood pressure had dropped to 43/37.'

Ms Hartge in an earlier Instagram post said within a few days of getting vaccinated she was rushed to hospital after suffering severe abdominal pain, sweats, chest pain and tingles in her arms and legs

She said the medical staff told her it was a reaction to her vaccine and that while she sat in hospital she'd seen 'ten' others come in with similar symptoms.

'What is it going to take for the government to realise this is doing more damage then good?' she wrote.

'I never wanted the jab in the first place it was get it or lose my job. When are we going to have rights back to our own bodies? When is this going to end?

'I need to spread awareness as I wouldn't even wish this on my worse nightmare.'

Speaking about the hate both she and her friend have received, Tash said there was no reason for her to make it up.

'Why would I be getting jabbed multiple times a day, crying, being depressed all for a follow?' Tash wrote.

'Every single thing I've said is the truth, I was in hospital for four f**king nights ... I nearly ended up in ICU and people think this is a joke?'
Forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro says four-year-old Cleo Smith and her family will have to work through 'enormous' trauma after her 18-day ordeal.

Cleo, who went missing from a family camping holiday, was found in a house in nearby Carnarvon, Western Australia after police broke their way into the locked home at around 1am local time on Wednesday.

Mr Watson-Munro - who has worked on some of the country's most notorious crimes - told the Nine Network's Today Show 'It is just wonderful news, with a result, frankly, none of us really expected.'

He was relieved to hear that Cleo was physically unharmed. 'Of course, we don't know about the psychological trauma, which I suspect will be enormous.'

Four-year-old Cleo Smith has been found alive after being taken from a campsite 18 days ago

Mr Watson-Munro said the case had disturbed the whole country, and the national sense of relief on Wednesday was due to excellent detective work by the police, cooperation of the public and publicity from the media.

He said the details how Cleo was found 'will be fascinating' and that from a policing perspective it went very wide but also investigated minute details in a way that did not alert the alleged offender.

'I was always confident that it was a case of it would be solved. I was less confident it would have a happy ending that we're experiencing this morning,' he said.

Cleo Smith's first words to the police after being found were 'My name is Cleo'

The police will be investigating the state of the alleged kidnapper's mind, the psychologist said.

'A lot of the work would have been done already. This is not a fluke that they found him. I suspect that they've been watching him,' said Mr Watson-Munro.

He said the police will be meticulous in putting all the evidence together and presenting a very solid case to the court.

'The police, as they have been in this case, have been extremely thorough and methodical in terms of their investigation and the investigation doesn't cease with the discovery of a child.'

Criminal Psychologist Tim Watson-Munro with his daughter. Mr Watson Munro was walking on the beach in Byron Bay, NSW when he heard the news that four-year-old Cleo Smith had been found alive

He said the people of Carnarvon will be distressed by the discovery within their community and be wondering if they had the opportunity to find her earlier.

Speaking to Daily Mail in the early days of the investigation into the disappearance of Cleo, Mr Watson-Munro that a child snatcher 'could be anyone'.

'It's someone who can blend into a suburban lifestyle ... he could be involved in community or sporting clubs.

'If you met the offender he may appear very normal.

'This is the danger about these people - their ordinariness. They can blend in very easily and generally they are well presented.'
Social media users from around the world have slammed trolls who posted 'vile accusations' about Cleo Smith's parents after the missing toddler was found alive.

West Australian police officers found the missing four-year-old girl at a Carnarvon home about 1am on Wednesday, 18 days after she disappeared.

A 36-year-old man with 'no connection to the family' has been arrested.

The news sparked joy worldwide - leading news bulletins in the United States and UK - after millions hoped and prayed the four-year-old girl would be found safe.

But for many, the jubilation of Cleo's discovery has been mixed with burning rage over the cruelty the toddler's devastated parents, Ellie and Jake, were subjected to online.

Cleo Smith (pictured) was miraculously found alive inside a Carnavon home on Wednesday, marking the end of a three-week police search to locate the missing four-year-old girl

Since Cleo vanished from her family's campsite on October 16, social media sleuths have filled online forums with conspiracy theories falsely claiming that the girl's parents were involved - despite detectives making clear early on they were not being treated as suspects.

Within minutes of the news breaking she had been found on Wednesday, people flocked online to denounce those who pointed the finger at Cleo's mum Ellie Smith and step dad Jake Gliddon - demanding they issue the parents an apology.

'Such amazing news about Cleo Smith! It's really the only thing that matters today,' Nine News journalist Libby-Jane Charleston Tweeted.

'Let's hope the conspiracy theorists who have posted vile accusations against her parents now offer a public apology.'

Another man said: 'I wonder what all the sick trolls who harassed her parents on the inter web are doing right now? Being called out I hope. Deleting posts at a rapid rate is my guess.'

Added a third: 'To all the vile people who trolled Cleo Smith's parents during the most horrific period of their lives, now publicly apologise.'

A 36-year-old man was arrested at the home (pictured) and is being questioned by detectives

Cleo's parents Ellie and Jake (pictured) have been targeted by cruel trolls since their daughter disappeared on October 16

Another user said: 'It would be nice if all the people and the trolls who sent a hateful word and made accusations that [Cleo's] parents plotted the disappearance be accountable for their actions.'

One person said shared a previous post from Twitter group Sleuth United criticising Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon's media interview pleading for the safe return of their little girl. They blasted the 'hateful' trolls for 'only adding distress' to the poor parents as they 'lived every parent's nightmare'.

'Congrats on doing the thing that made an unbearable decision worse,' they continued.

'We'll enjoy the public apology that is the only decent course of action'.

Natasha Russell, a close friend of Cleo's family, was among those to unleash on callous keyboard warriors shortly after the little girl was located.

She said the case should serve as a reminder to internet detectives that they are not privy to crucial details about investigations to form judgements.

'To those trolls and people who thought the worst of two people who you didn't know and were going through actual hell,' she wrote on Wednesday morning.

People from around the world have called on callous trolls who accused the devastated parents of being involved in their daughter's disappearance to offer them an apology

A woman from Scandinavia sent her love to Cleo's family as they recover from their horrific ordeal

One woman called for those who criticised the family to publicly apologise to the little girl's parents

Social media users blasted keyboard warriors for adding to the parents' stress while they lived 'every parents' worst nightmare'

'I hope the news of Cleo being home and safe with her family makes you realise if you ain't got nothing nice to say, [say] nothing at all because you don't know s***.'

Authorities also addressed the unwarranted treatment Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon have suffered over the past three weeks while speaking to the media on Wednesday.

Speaking on Sunrise, Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch reminded 'internet detectives' that case cracking was best left to professionals.

'We cautioned early on about internet detectives. Police were doing their work and sifting through it,' Deputy Commissioner Blanch said.

'I think whats happened here today is a strong reminder, dont judge too quickly.'

WA Premier Mark McGowan issued a similar message just two days before the missing toddler was recovered, lashing trolls for their behaviour.

'I just dont get why all these people get all this courage when they get a keyboard and say the most horrible and shocking things that they would never say otherwise so I just urged them to stop,' he said on Monday.

Family friend Natasha Russell said the case should remind internet detectives to refrain from engaging in wild speculation online. Cleo is seen with her mother Ellie Smith.

'I urge people to go back to a sense of decency and civility towards one another, particularly people who are suffering.'

Cleo vanished from her family's tent between 1.30am and 6.30am on October 16 as her parents and baby sister slept nearby.

Her disappearance sparked a widespread search operation and major police investigation, with the state government offering a $1million reward for information leading to her location.

After a tip off, police raided a Carnavon home on Wednesday - just 73.7km south of the Blowholes campsite she went missing from, raising the possibility she was right under the noses of police for the past three weeks.

Even eerier, the property is only a seven minute drive away from where the toddler's family live in the small coastal Western Australian town.

Cleo was reunited with her family a short time later and is now in hospital receiving care.
The incredible news that missing girl Cleo Smith had been found alive was announced in a bombshell police press release at 4.15am on Wednesday.

Landing out of the blue when the vast majority of her home state of Western Australia was sleeping, it shocked millions around the world.

Australians prayed the four-year-old girl would be found alive, but after 18 days hope of a happy outcome was fading.

Cleo disappeared from the Blowholes camping ground about 75km north of her parents' home in Carnarvon, in the state's north-west, on October 16.

After vanishing from a camping ground on October 16, Cleo Smith has been found alive and well

Her mother Ellie Smith, stepfather Jake Gliddon, and baby sister Ilsa woke about 6am to discover she was no longer in the tent with them.

A $1 million reward for information leading to her being found was offered, but for weeks police had no leads - until a tip off on Tuesday night.

Police stormed the home on Tonkin Crescent in the Carnarvon suburb of Brockman at 12.46am on Wednesday and rescued the little girl.

A 36-year-old man, who lived at the house and has no connection to Cleo's family, was arrested soon after and is on his way to Perth where he is expected to be charged.

Even hardened police officers were moved to tears to find her alive and WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said it was his 'privilege' to announce the news.

The statement released by WA Police confirming that Cleo was located in a house in Carnarvon - roughly 70km from where she vanished on October 16

'Its my privilege to announce that in the early hours of this morning, the Western Australia Police Force rescued Cleo Smith,' he said.

'Cleo is alive and well. A Police team broke their way into a locked house in Carnarvon about 1am.

'They found little Cleo in one of the rooms. 'One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her whats your name?

'She said - My name is Cleo - Cleo was reunited with her parents a short time later.

'This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for. Its the outcome weve achieved because of some incredible police work.

'I want to thank Cleos parents, the Western Australian community and the many volunteers. And of course, I want to thank my colleagues in the Western Australia Police Force.

'I can confirm we have a man from Carnarvon in custody who is currently being questioned by detectives. Well have more to say on the rescue of Cleo as the day unfolds. For now - Welcome home Cleo.'

Shocked neighbours have since described seeing a 'quiet man' buying Kimbies brand nappies at Woolworths just two days before Cleo was found alive inside a locked home.

Police smashed down a door at a residence in Carnarvon in Western Australia about 1am local time and found Cleo

One neighbour said he saw the man at the supermarket buying diapers, which seemed odd as he does not have any children.

'The other day - on Monday - we saw him in Woolworths buying Kimbies [nappies] and that,' he told Sunrise.

'But we didn't click on what he was buying them for.'

The man said everyone in the street - which is just a seven minute drive from Cleo's family home - is familiar with each other, but they tend to keep to themselves.

'Everyone knows the person who stays at that house, but no one would have thought it would be him,' he said.

Cleo was reunited with her relieved parents a short time after being found and is now in hospital receiving care.
A worker has been left confused after he was reportedly threatened with being turned away from the Queensland border for having a surfboard on his roof.

Tweed resident Brian Springfield, 55, was on his way to work in Currumbin when he was quizzed by police at a border checkpoint on Saturday.

Mr Springfield had left his surfboard tied to his roof rack but thought nothing of it as he made his usual early morning commute to work.

Tweed resident Brian Springfield, 55, was on his way to work in Currumbin when he was quizzed by officers at the Queensland border checkpoint over a surfboard on his roof rack (pictured)

'The police officer looked at me and kept looking at the roof and back down,' he told Yahoo News.

'He went right through my paperwork and said, 'next time you come through, do not have the surfboard on or I won't let you come through.'

Mr Springfield then asked police why he would be turned away from the border to which an officer responded: 'It looks like you're going to go for a surf'.

Mr Springfield then asked police why he would be turned away from the border to which an officer responded: 'It looks like you're going to go for a surf'

The puzzled worker then challenged the officer, explaining there were no border rules against having a surfboard in the car.

But the officer reportedly told Mr Springfield there was 'no rule that I have to let you into the state'.

Under current border restrictions residents who have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine can cross the border for work, education, volunteering, caregiving, healthcare or essential shopping.

Cross-border residents who have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine can cross the border for work, education, volunteering, caregiving, healthcare or essential shopping (pictured, police conducting border checks)

Cross-border zone residents are not allowed into the state for recreational reasons or to visit friends and family.

'Police have a duty to ensure that everyone who enters Queensland with an essential purpose adheres to border entry requirements,' Queensland police said.

'If a person happens to have a surfboard on top of the car they have a reason to question if the person intends to go surfing and whether this is an essential reason.'

After months of harsh restrictions and confusing rules Mr Springfield said the border closures were taking a mental toll on residents.

'A lot of people are losing sleep over it, over how long it will take to cross the border and whether you will be turned away,' he told the news outlet.

'It's a mental thing, they can't see an end to it.'

Mr Springfield said the border closures were taking a mental toll on residents after months of harsh restrictions

Earlier this month Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced she will open the state's borders before Christmas, finally giving into mounting pressure to allow family reunions.

Ms Palaszczuk set a deadline for Queenslanders to get vaccinated - December 17, when NSW and Victorian residents will be allowed to visit without quarantining

But officials have confirmed the checkpoints are due to stay in place until early next year.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles confirmed that the barricades will be removed once the state hits the 90 per cent double vaccination rate.

Over Christmas, travellers will be checked by police at the border to ensure they are fully vaccinated and have tested negative to Covid 72 hours prior.

Gridlock is expected at the border after commuters experienced up to two hours of delay amid border closure checkpoints last holiday season.
Disgraced MP Tim Smith has broken his silence over his drink driving scandal in an interview asking for forgiveness, where he blamed his high level of intoxication on the lack of food he had during the day.

The Liberal MP resigned from his senior post with the Victorian state opposition on Sunday after he was caught driving almost three times over the legal limit, crashing into another car and a fence.

Disgraced MP Tim Smith has broken his silence over his drink driving scandal in an interview with Neil Mitchell on 3AW on Wednesday morning

According to Victoria Police, Mr Smith's vehicle collided with another car before smashing into a fence on Power Street in Hawthorn, in Melbourne's inner east, about 8.55pm on Saturday.

The 38-year-old was taken to the police station, where he blew a 0.131 alcohol reading - far higher than the 0.05 legal limit.

In a 25 minute interview with Neil Mitchell on 3AW on Wednesday morning, Mr Smith apologised 'profusely' for his actions.

He also claimed that he had spoken to his doctor about giving up alcohol while still in the public eye.

'I'm so so so sorry for the embarrassment and harm that I have caused my family, my party, my leader, it was an appalling lapse of judgement and I'm just so incredibly sorry for what I've done' the MP said.

'I certainly spoke to my GP about not ever drinking again, certainly whilst in public life and I give you that undertaking.

When Mr Mitchell questioned whether the disgraced MP was an alcoholic, Mr Smith rejected the idea, but admitted he had consumed too much alcohol on several occasions, which led to conversations with his GP.

Mr Smith also blamed his high alcohol reading of 0.131 on the lack of food he had eaten during the day and didn't think he would have been over the legal limit.

'I hadn't eaten much all day so as a consequence I blew much more than I ever thought I had consumed.'

Mr Smith 'profusely' apologised for his actions and claimed he had spoken to his doctor about giving up alcohol while still in the public eye (Pictured: Mr Smith's car embedded in a metal fence after he crashed in Melbourne's inner east on Saturday night while drink driving)

'I obviously knew I'd consumed alcohol but I genuinely thought I was [under the limit], certainly not to the extent it turned out to be,' he added.

Mr Smith mentioned that he had been drinking at his friend's house for a 'couple of hours' and only consumed a 'few glasses of wine'.

'But a few isn't 0.13. That's a few bottles,' the radio host said.

Mr Smith strongly fought back against Mr Mitchell's comment and said: 'I certainly didn't have a few bottles, I'm sorry. I certainly didn't have a few bottles.'

However, the MP agreed that his high reading was more than a couple of glasses of wine.

When asked about what caused the crash, Mr Smith said as he was driving down the hill of the street, a driver in front of him suddenly braked and he had to 'swerve' to miss the vehicle and that resulted in the MP 'clipping' the other car and crashing into the fence.

Mr Smith also rubbished reports that he attempted to leave the scene and stated he tried to reverse his car away from the fence.

Mr Smith blamed his high alcohol reading of 0.131 on the lack of food he had eaten during the day and didn't think he would have been over the legal limit

The MP also stood by his initial statement that mentioned he had returned a breath test, which was almost three times over the legal limit, but never stated that he had crashed.

'I'm sorry that the statement in your mind didn't seem to indicate the seriousness of the situation,' Mr Smith said.

'The honest answer is I was in deep shock  I put out a statement that I thought was, well nothing I said in that statement was untruthful.

'I'm sorry if that was tricky  I just put out the statement again to apologise for my behaviour,' he added.

During the interview, Mr Smith was grilled over previous comments he had made about Labor MP Will Fowles, who damaged a hotel door in 2018 in Canberra while intoxicated.

'I said a few things about Will that had I known probably better his mental state of affairs, I probably wouldn't have said them,' Mr Smith said.

'You've got every right to call me a hypocrite for those comments.'

Mr Smith also added that he did not have a mental illness and didn't intend to 'play the mental health card', and that his incident has taught him many lessons about understanding others' situations.

The disgraced MP said he was reflecting on his position and has not decided whether he will run for pre-selection for his seat of Kew and try to save his political career.

'I'm certainly asking other people their thoughts on that at the moment. I'm asking my branch members in Kew what their thoughts are, I'm asking what my family's thoughts are, I'm asking an array of different people who have been around in life a lot longer than me whether or not this cataclysmic error and profound moral failure should end my career.'

The disgraced MP said he was reflecting on his position and has not decided whether he will run for pre-selection for his seat of Kew and try to save his political career

Mr Smith also denied that he was 'acting like a suicide bomber' and ruining opposition leader Matthew Guy's chances of claiming victory in an election if he chose to seek pre-selection.

'I don't think that's how the members in Kew are looking at it.'

'They're very disappointed, they're very angry and I suppose the key question for them  is should one horrendously poor judgement render someone's career over immediately?'

Matthew's given me some very strong advice with regards to my life and my future, and I'm reflecting on that and discussing that with the 300 or so branch members in Kew,' he added.

Mr Smith said he will spend the next two weeks reflecting on various things and will make a decision on his next step 'accordingly'.

'Look, this is the most embarrassing, stupid, pathetic thing that I've ever done. I'm asking people to forgive me as a human being,' the MP said.

'I simply ask for forgiveness and hope that people will realise I'll learn from this and never do it again.'

Mr Smith was promoted to the position of Shadow Attorney-General in September after Matthew Guy took over the leadership of the opposition party in a spill.

Before that, he was shadow planning minister.
Ghislaine Maxwell was once a guest at the high-profile wedding of Andrew Cuomo and Kerry Kennedy as it's revealed the alleged sex trafficker would boast about sleeping with JFK Jr who she regarded as her 'chief conquest'.

Christina Oxenberg, Prince Andrews cousin, revealed that she met Maxwell at the merging of the political dynasties in 1990.

Oxenberg recalled in her new book, Trash: Encounters With Ghislaine Maxwell, that the ceremony happening at a Washington DC cathedral surrounded by the media, fans, and 'scores of invited guests.'

Some friends and family later gathered at Ethel Kennedy's home in McClean, Virginia, which is where Oxenberg said she met the now-infamous socialite.

'I was standing with my then-husband, Damian Elwes, a British painter when Ghislaine sauntered over. She and Damian burst with enthusiastic greetings,' Oxenberg wrote.

'I would later learn they were friends from their 'Oxford days', which I put in quotes because Damian never attended Oxford.'

Maxwell also claimed to have slept with former American heartthrob John F. Kennedy Jr., calling him her 'chief conquest,' according to another report

The couple, who both belonged to political dynasties, were married in 1990 in Washington DC

John F. Kennedy is pictured at the June 9, 1990 wedding in Washington

Book author Christina Oxenberg (left) is pictured with Maxwell in this 2013 file photo

She said she partook in casual conversation with Maxwell, and believes Cuomo invited her to the ceremony.

'He was simply the governor's son in those days and little was known about him,' she told The Sun.

Author Christina Oxenberg documented her encounters with Maxwell in her new book, 'Trash: Encounters With Ghislaine Maxwell'

Cuomo was married to Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of former Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy for 15 years.

They became embroiled in a bitter divorce in 2005, amid claims of infidelity and financial disputes.

The disgraced politician was charged last week with groping an aide's breast inside the governor's executive mansion in Albany last December.

Cuomo is alleged to have touched Brittany Commisso's left breast 'for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires, all contrary to the provisions of the statute.'

New York's former governor resigned in early August, bringing an end to a 40-year political career that made him a pandemic hero.

His legacy is now in ruins thanks to a damning report by Attorney General Letitia James which labeled him a serial sexual harasser.

Cuomo has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, Maxwell appeared at a pretrial hearing at federal court in New York Monday ahead of jury selection related to her sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell, 59, who is accused of procuring underage girls for pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Maxwell, who is awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges, is shown in a court rendering

The author if the book is cousins with Prince Andrew, who was accused of having underage sex with Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked to him by Epstein. Maxwell is seen in the background of the photo, taken in 2001

The author of the book is cousins with Prince Andrew, who has been accused of having sex with a teenage girl trafficked by Epstein.

The royal's legal team has filed a motion to dismiss a US civil case lodged against him by Virginia Giuffre.

The 38-year-old, previously known by her maiden named Roberts, claims she was sex trafficked to Prince Andrew on three occasions by convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the first time when she was 17.

The Duke has consistently and vehemently denied her claims.

Meanwhile, another source revealed that during her prime years as a British socialite, Maxwell allegedly had a one-time fling with America's most sought-after bachelor, John F. Kennedy, Jr. in the early 1990s, OK! Magazine reported.

Maxwell reportedly claimed to have had an intimate encounter with John F. Kennedy Jr

President's son JFK Jr., who was linked to a bevvy of celebrities, died aged 38, in a plane crash in 1999 , with his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy

'It was a one-time hookup,' a source told the magazine. 'It happened in the early 1990s soon after Ghislaine had started to establish herself on the New York social scene. He went to her house after a political event and she routinely would drop into conversation. Who wouldn't, right?'

Maxwell regarded the affair as her 'chief conquest,' they claimed.

President's son JFK Jr., who was linked to a bevvy of celebrities, died aged 38, in a plane crash in 1999 , with his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.

The allegations emerged after Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell accuser Virginia Giuffre said Epstein's alleged former madam would regularly boast about her sexual conquests.

She had also claimed to have performed a sex act on George Clooney and 'giggled like a schoolgirl'.
Racegoers have let fly at WA Premier Mark McGowan with a barrage of angry comments at a Perth horserace on Melbourne Cup Day - prompting his security to pull at least one punter aside.

Mr McGowan has kept his state's border tightly shut to the rest of the country over the past 18 months - though with very low Covid case numbers this has allowed the state to avoid lockdowns.

'Build back better! How much did the new world order pay you?' one male crowd member can be heard yelling at Mr McGowan in a clip shared to TikTok on Tuesday.

Mr McGowan (centre) can be seen walking through the crowd at Ascot in Perth on Tuesday flanked by a number of security guards

The 54-year-old was walking through the crowd flanked by a large team of security guards at Ascot racecourse for the Burgess Queen Stakes on Tuesday.

While West Australians have enjoyed no lockdowns and the state has been booming thanks to the mining sector, Mr McGowan's recently announced widespread vaccine mandates have angered many.

'Mr McGowan did not get the warm reception he hoped for,' the caption to the clip reads.

A second video shows one racegoer being pulled aside by one of Mr McGowan's security team - a large no-nonsense looking type dressed in sunglasses and with an earpiece visible.

The racegoer had been taking a selfie with Mr McGowan in the background just metres away and yelling anti-vaccination comments.

'You can't tell him what to say,' a female friends tells the guard.

'Freedom of speech,' the racegoer adds.

He then quickly follows up with: 'Am I thrown out?'.

The racegoer (left) being spoken to by security after yelling anti-vaccination comments at WA Premier Mark McGowan (back centre) with the clip uploaded to an anti-vaccination TikTok channel

Another security guard joins the first and they point at the man to be on his way.

The man then mumbles a sentence before walking away which is largely inaudible though the words 'south China', 'Australia' and 'choice in vaccination' can be clearly heard.

Comments on the video were mixed with some congratulating the man for his stunt.

'This guy is a legend, look at McGowan's goons acting tough,' one person said.

'Well done, don't be intimidated by the globalists,' adds another.

Though many defended McGowan.

'You're out enjoying the freedoms that the state kept and you want to bag him out?'.

'The way you keep saying freedom of speech is not correct here in Australia. I just presume you're saying this cause you've seen that in a movie,' another argues.

Australia does not have a constitutionally protected right to free speech in the way the United States does with the First Amendment.

West Australians have enjoyed a lockdown free 18 months after Mr McGowan closed off the state to the rest of Australia. Events such as Tuesday's races at Ascot (pictured) have continued unhindered

Security around Mr McGowan has been upped after threats were made toward him when he mandated earlier in October that 75 per cent of WA workforce will need to be fully-vaccinated for Covid or risk getting the sack.

Thousands are expected to lose their jobs even if WA achieves very high vaccination rates - enraging anti-vaccine proponents and even leading to one man being charged with threatening to kill the premier.

A Perth man was arrested less than two weeks ago when he made death threats to Mr McGowan and also hostile posts towards Victorian Premier Dan Andrews, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and multiple police officers over the vaccine rules.

In a separate incident a 49-year-old man was issued a move-on order after he kicked in the front door to Mr McGowan's electorate office in Rockingham.

The Premier's office has also been inundated with aggressive calls over the vaccine rules.

And a little more than a week ago on October 24 protesters attended Mr McGowan's house - which was already under heavy police guard following the threats - after his address was leaked online.

That same night he was bundled into a car and whisked away from a wedding reception at the Vasto Club in the northern Perth suburb of Balcatta after police had identified a major security breach,

WA Premier Mark McGowan (pictured with wife Sarah) was attending a function in Perth in October when he abruptly left following a security breach at his home

Speaking the following day Mr McGowan would not comment on the security breach except to say he believed it was connected to conspiracy theories circulating online.

'I just urge everyone to be respectful and understand that the government is doing what we have to do,' Mr McGowan said.

'We're not going to stop, we're not going to give in. If you want to protest, protest but be respectful.'

He added he was taking the security breach as 'a sign of the online world'.

'Where people get wound up by conspiracy theorists and misleading information and people who basically promote witch doctor solutions to medical problems.'
An angry motorist has told climate change activists to 'get a job' while trying to travel home from his own after the demonstrators blocked two lanes of peak hour traffic.

Notorious Extinction Rebellion protestors parked two small trucks across the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge outside of Canberra's CBD just after 5pm on Thursday, October 28.

In footage of the protest, at least four demonstrators are seen holding posters on top of the trucks in protest of Scott Morrison's climate change policies.

As motorists travelling north in the peak hour traffic sat helplessly at a standstill one man decided to vent his frustration.

'Get a f***ing job,' he screams as one of the protestors attempts to address the baffled crowd through a large megaphone.

Extinction Rebellion protestors parked two small trucks across the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge near Canberra's CBD just after 5pm last Thursday (pictured)

The outburst sparked ripples of laughter throughout the crowd as confused pedestrians also took in the scene from the bridge.

Protestor Dr Cat Sparks said two protestors superglued themselves to the road while others glued themselves to a truck, the Canberra Times reports.

In a video uploaded to TikTok four protestors are seen perched on top of a large truck parked across two lanes of traffic.

A large red sheet hanging from the side of the truck reads: 'The world is still watching, waiting, dying. Cop 26. How hot does it need to get?'

Footage captured by Canberra Emergency Responses shows ACT Search and Rescue members escorting the 'rebels' away from the scene.

The climate change activists brought motorists travelling north-bound to a complete standstill for several hours (pictured)

Officers standing on top of a police car alongside the truck negotiated with the activists for several minutes as other police officers stand guard (pictured)

Officers standing on top of a police car alongside the truck are seen negotiating with the activists as other police officers stand guard.

After several minutes the protestors eventually clamber down from the vehicle.

One man's arms were placed behind his back as he was walked towards a waiting police car and driven away, with the road finally reopening at 9pm.

An ACT Policing spokesperson said six people - including a woman in her 80s - were arrested and charged with 'unreasonable obstruction' after protest activity blocked the northbound lanes of Commonwealth Avenue Bridge.

All six people were due to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court on October 29.

A red sheet hung on the side of the truck read: 'The world is still watching, waiting, dying. How hot does it need to get?'

The protest came just days before the heavily-anticipated COP26 Summit kicked off in Glasgow on Sunday.

Britain is hosting the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) from October 31 to November 12 to work towards the goals of the Paris Agreement of 2015 and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The summit has triggered Extinction Rebellion protests in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane after Prime Minister Scott Morrison - who is attending the conference - pledged to plan for net-zero emissions by 2050.

The global environmental movement declares climate action is needed by 2030.

Earlier this week Extinction Rebellion protestors burned an Australian flag on the steps of the Victorian Parliament and declared Australia a 'climate pariah'.

Earlier this week Extinction Rebellion protestors burned an Australian flag on the steps of the Victorian Parliament and declared Australia a 'climate pariah' (pictured)

As one of the climate change activists waved the scorched national flag, another made an impassioned speech outside the government building on Monday (pictured)

As one of the climate change activists waved the scorched national flag, another made an impassioned speech outside the government building on Monday.

Meanwhile in Sydney, activist Larissa Payne - wearing a colourful headpiece made of flowers - stood on a tall ladder on Macquarie Street outside the Opera House.

Police officers were forced to coax the protestor down from the ladder which hung a sign reading: 'COP26: Decolonise to survive'.

At one point the lone activist lit a bright orange flare and waved it above her head.

Meanwhile in Sydney, activist Larissa Payne - wearing a colourful headpiece made of flowers - protested on a tall ladder on Macquarie Street outside the Opera House

At one point the lone activist lit a bright orange flare and waved it above her head (pictured)

And in Brisbane, four Extinction Rebellion protestors were arrested after they padlocked themselves to a kayak on the William Jolly Bridge near the city's CBD.

The climate activists parked a ute across two lanes at the intersection of the bridge and Coronation Drive causing delays for motorists trying to enter the city.

Last Wednesday, seven protestors from the same organisation glued themselves to the Princes Bridge near Flinders Street Station in Melbourne's CBD.

A rope was hung across the road with placards that symbolised 'human life is hanging by a thread' as members of the public asked attendees to move.

The week before, eight Extinction Rebellion activists were arrested in Adelaide after glueing their feet or chaining themselves to buildings in the city's CBD.
A tip-off from the public and tiny forensic clues led detectives to find Cleo Smith inside a suburban house just a seven-minute drive away from her family home.

Police found the four-year-old just before 1am on Wednesday after smashing their way into the locked Carnarvon home - 18 days after she went missing from the remote Blowholes campsite 73km away.

Western Australia Deputy Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the operation to find Cleo involved a task force of 100 officers and 'thousands of pieces of evidence'.

Ultimately, the top police officer said a 'needle in the haystack' clue late on Tuesday night led to Cleo's discovery and a 36-year-old man being taken into custody.

However, police are keeping close to their chest the precise details that led officers to the home.

Scroll down for video

Cleo Smith pictured left with her mother Ellie. The four-year-old was found just before 1am on Wednesday after police smashed their way into a locked Carnarvon home

'[Officers] have collected thousands of pieces of evidence, intelligence, data, witness statements,' he told Sunrise on Wednesday morning.

'That has a been a hard, hard slog.'

WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said a tip-off led officers to the Carnarvon house, 'a lot of forensic leads' had pointed in the same direction.

'There was some information we followed up on,' he told ABC Radio.

'We had been following a lot of the forensic leads and it led us to a particular house.

'We mounted our general duties police who did a tremendous job within minutes of arriving [at the house]... declared it a forensic scene and sealed it off which was just really, really good policing.'

During a press conference later in the day, WA Premier Mark McGowan said police analysed 'thousands and thousands of calls' and trawled through social media as part of their investigation.

Police officers are seen examining rubbish left near the Blowholes campsite in remote WA

Pictured: Forensic officers in full protective gear including gas masks as they searched through rubbish in an attempt to find Cleo

'They put their heart and soul into it,' he said. 'They used their instinct and didn't leave any stone unturned.'

'This is great news and uplifting for the entire country.'

Mr Blanch said phone data played a key role in finding the young girl.

'Everything contributed. Certainly phone data helped us,' he said.

'It will become apparent that when we put the puzzle together it all led us to one place.'

Investigators, have spent two-and-a-half weeks searching for missing four-year-old Cleo (pictured)

Mr Blanch said he saw seasoned detectives 'break down and cry with relief' when police asked the little girl who she was and the toddler replied: 'My name is Cleo'.

The property where Cleo was found is just a seven minute drive away from her family home.

The top police officer earlier on Wednesday morning confirmed that Cleo was 'alive and well' and had been reunited with her relieved parents.

Following the rescue operation, Cleo's mother, Ellie Smith, broke her silence by sharing a series of love heart emojis on Instagram and said: 'Our family is whole again.'

WA Police have confirmed the man arrested at the property has no connection to her or her family.

A man from Carnarvon has been taken into police custody with the house cordoned off with tape, just a seven minutes from Cleo's family home (pictured, the home where Cleo was found)

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, which is 46 miles away from where she went missing on October 16

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit, said it was 'relieving news' that Cleo had been found well.

He tweeted: 'What wonderful, relieving news. Cleo Smith has been found and is home safe and sound. Our prayers answered.

'Thank you to the many police officers involved in finding Cleo and supporting her family.'

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese also posted a message on his social media and thanked police for their search.

Cleo has been reunited with her relieved parents after she missing 18 days ago

Cleo's mum Ellie Smith (pictured during her daughter's disappearance) has made regular public appeals for her daughter to be found

'Such happy news. Cleo Smith has been found alive and well. To all those who tirelessly searched for this little girl, you deserve our thanks,' he said.

And Australian MP Tanya Plibersek also joined the tributes, writing: 'Cleo Smith is safely back in the arms of her parents. Wonderful news.

'What this family has been through is every parents' worst nightmare. To the WA Police, and the community who joined the search, thanks. Welcome home Cleo.'

Australian radio host Ben Fordham broke down live on air when informing listeners Cleo had been found.

Elsewhere neighbours in the street where Cleo was found described their shock that she may have been hidden at the residence for up to 18 days.

Scott Morrison - who is in the UK for a climate conference - has joined the outpouring of relief that Cleo Smith has been found alive after 18 days

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese also posted a message on his social media and thanked police for their search

Australian MP Tanya Plibersek also joined the tributes for the missing four-year-old

A neighbour told Australia's Seven News they became suspicious after seeing the arrested man buying nappies from a supermarket.

'The other day, like, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S***, she's been that close.'

A group of men who watched the rescue operation told Nine News: 'One of the boys shouted and said, ''oh they've got a little girl there, it might be Cleo''. I ran there, stood up toward the detective's window and I saw Cleo in the back. Yeah, that's her there!'

Neighbours described the man who lived at the house as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.
An Australian woman has screamed an environmental message at Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio as he arrived at the COP26 conference in Glasgow.

The A-lister attended the second day of the crucial environmental conference to hear US President Joe Biden announce to world leaders that the US will cut methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.

As he made his way to the main hall, Mr DiCaprio was swamped by photographers, security personnel, fans and a persistent Australian woman who shouted a message about fracking on Indigenous people's land in Australia.

'Leo, talk to Indigenous people about fracking on their land!' the woman yelled, metres from the star who describes himself on his Instagram bio as an 'actor and environmentalist'.

The woman, believed to be Indigenous art gallery owner Rikki Dank 9back to camera), shouts at Mr DiCaprio as he arrives at COP26 in Glasgow

Leonardo DiCaprio was swamped by photographers, security personnel, fans as he arrived at the COP26 summit

Security personnel around Mr DiCaprio at one stage subtly pushed the woman back away as she tried to approach the actor

Mr DiCaprio, wearing a black mask, kept his head down as he battled through hundreds of people in the public area of the Scottish Event Campus where the summit is being held.

'Mr DiCaprio, talk to indigenous women in Australia about fracking practices on their land!' the woman persisted.

'The government just gave $50million to frack their country. The Australian government is fracking their land.'

Security personnel around Mr DiCaprio at one stage subtly pushed the woman back away as she tried to approach the actor.

She can still be heard yelling in the background as the star reaches the escalator up to the main hall.

Aboriginal artist Nardurna said on Facebook that the woman shouting at Mr DiCaprio is her sister, Rikki Dank, who runs an Aboriginal art gallery, Lajarri, in Dubai.

'You can hear her in this video calling on Leonardo DiCaprio to speak to Indigenous women about fracking on Country in Australia, let's hope he heard her,' Nardurna posted.

'I am so incredibly proud my sister took time out of her life and business to travel from Dubai to Glasgow to represent us.

'Well done smelly.'

Rikki Dank, a Karanjini Gundanji woman, has campaigned against fracking on her family's traditional land in the Northern Territory

'You can hear her in this video calling on Leonardo DiCaprio to speak to Indigenous women about fracking on Country in Australia, let's hope he heard her,' the sister of Ms Dank (above) posted on Facebook

Ms Dank, a Karanjini Gundanji woman, has campaigned against fracking on her family's traditional land.

'The government is primarily thinking about money,' she told The Saturday Paper last year. 'And they are thinking about how much money they can get off Country and how much money they can get off blackfellas before blackfellas realise what is happening.

'The system from the ground up is corrupt.'

Ms Dank has posted videos on Instagram from her attendance at the Glasgow meeting.

Fracking is a technology used to increase the flow of oil and gas to a well, achieved by pumping fluid down the well at high pressure to open tiny cracks in the target rock reservoir.

The technique is designed to increase production and reducing the total number of wells needed to develop a resource.

It can also make a hard-to-reach or impermeable reservoir of oil or gas more accessible, increasing its commercial value.

Anti-fracking protestors, including Indigenous people, occupy Parliament House in Canberra in 2019

One concern of environmentalists is that the fracking process risks contaminating ground water reserves.

In August, traditional owners from Borroloola and Minyerri in the Northern Territory told a Senate Inquiry of their fears fracking by gas companies in the Territory's Beetaloo Basin would poison their water.

They also objected to grants handed to some companies, including $21million to Empire Energy, for exploratory drilling in the basin.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio participates in the Global Methane Pledge event during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland

Mr DiCaprio is a United Nations climate change representative who is said to have donated millions to environmental organisations and invested in green technologies.

He has also been criticised, however, for his own carbon footprint.

After Mr DiCaprio's speech at the 2016 Oscars in which he declared climate change to be 'the most urgent threat facing our entire species', Forbes magazine wrote that the actor's lifestyle meant his 'carbon footprint is much higher than he thinks'.

It was reported by Vanity Fair that the Oscar winner took commercial flights to the conference instead of arriving by private jet as some world leaders did.

Mr DiCaprio is expected to speak at a number of sideline events to the COP26 gathering and meet with young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who he previously described as 'a leader of our time'.

US President Joe Biden announced that about 100 nations had pledged to tackle methane emissions at the conference.

'It's gonna improve health, reduce asthma, respiratory rate emergencies,' said Biden. It's going to improve the food supply as well by cutting crop losses and related ground level pollution.

COP26 continues until the end of this week.
Western Australia's hard border was a 'blessing in disguise' for Cleo Smith who was found alive after 18 days, according to a top security expert.

Tony Loughran, a high-risk security consultant who runs his own company, said the state border closures due to Covid-19 could have prevented her abductor's escape.

Western Australia is only letting people enter without quarantine from the Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland with ID checks at the road borders and Perth airport.

Everyone entering must complete a mandatory registration and declaration known as a G2G pass, which gets scanned by police.

In an interview with Channel Seven's Sunrise program, Mr Loughran suggested having police on the border could potentially have stopped the abductor being joined by any accomplices.

Cleo's mum Ellie Smith broke her silence on Wednesday morning, sharing a series of love heart emojis on Instagram after her daughter was found alive and well

'The good thing is they have the state borders locked down, that has been a blessing in disguise,' Mr Loughran told Seven's Sunrise on Wednesday morning.

Police are yet to present any evidence other parties were involved in Cleo's disappearance.

At about 1am on Wednesday, Western Australian Police broke into a locked public housing home in Carnarvon, in the state's remote north-west, about 75km from where Cleo went missing from a campsite.

A 36-year-old man who lived at the home is being questioned in custody.

Asked if Cleo was targeted as part of a child trafficking ring, Mr Loughran said: 'It is too early to speculate, but that is one of the fears, and it is a strong possibility.

'The fact is, they kept her there for this length of time, it meant their plans were disrupted.

'The individual himself, he may have been a lone wolf, he may have had accomplices to get Cleo away from there as was the case with Madeline McCann,' he said referring to the unsolved abduction of the British three year old in Portugal in 2007.

'But they ran out of options, I believe, and it all pointed to something very, very suspicious going on there.'

Cleo Smith has been found alive and well, 18 days after she vanished from her family's tent at the remote Blowholes campsite in Western Australia

Three days after Cleo went missing on October 16, police forces around Australia put out alerts amid fears the youngster had been taken interstate, with WA Inspector Jon Munday saying 'she could be anywhere'.

Acting on a tip-off, officers raided a house and found the little girl in one of the rooms, 18 days after she disappeared from her mother Ellie and step-father Jake's tent at the Blowholes campsite.

She was in the house on her own and was smiling when she was rescued. Cleo is now in hospital being assessed.

'One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her 'what's your name?'', said WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch in a statement.

'She said: 'My name is Cleo'.'

Daily Mail Australia understands a local police officer rang Cleo's mother Ellie Smith to break the incredible news.

Ms Smith said: 'Our family is whole again.'

A neighbour told Seven News they became suspicious after seeing the arrested man buying Kimbies nappies from a supermarket.

'The other day, like, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'

The latest on how Cleo was found:

A 36-year-old man with no connection to the familyis in police custody

Neighbours said the 'quiet man' was seen buying nappies at Woolworths

Cleo found alone inside the house when police broke down the door at 1am

Police were acting on a tip-off that led them to the housing commission home

The home is just seven minutes' drive from the campsite where Cleo vanished

Cleo was smiling when she was rescued, the police commissioner confirmed

She is now in hospital for an assessment after being reunited with her family

The home where Cleo was found is just a seven minute drive away from Cleo Smith's parents home in Carnarvon

Neighbours described the man who lived at the house as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S***, she's been that close.'

Police said phone data was critical in cracking open the case.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news.

He said the youngster was good as can be expected.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said.

'She's as well as we could expect in the circumstances

She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result

'She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He added Cleo's parents were emotional but doing well.

'They're strong people, they are really strong people,' Commissioner Dawson said.

'They have good support around them.

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'

Commissioner Dawson also revealed it was a tip-off to police that led top the raid on the house where Cleo was found.

'There was some information we followed up on. We had been following, you know a lot of the forensic leads and it led us to a particular house,' he said.

'We mounted our general duties police who did a tremendous job within minutes of arriving, the first officers in the scene, within minutes, declared it a forensic scene and sealed it off which was just really, really good policing.

'From that moment on, it's just been a really dedicated team of well over 100 on the scene itself and we were prepared for a long haul but we're so, so pleased.'

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster was good as can be expected

In a video statement earlier, Deputy Police Commissioner Blanch said: 'This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for.

'It's the outcome we've achieved because of some incredible police work.'

Comm Blanch thanked Cleo's parents, the thousands of volunteers who have scoured the remote section of Australia for the little girl and the wider community for their support, as well as the hundreds of police who have been knocking on doors and sorting through tips to find her.

We saw him in Woolworths buying nappies

Police will provide more details on the rescue of Cleo later on Wednesday. 'For now - welcome home Cleo,' Deputy Commissioner Blanch concluded.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison - who is flying home from Glasgow - tweeted: 'What wonderful, relieving news.'

'Cleo Smith has been found and is home safe and sound. Our prayers answered.

'Thank you to the many police officers involved in finding Cleo and supporting her family.'

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan added: 'I'm beyond relieved. The nightmare is now finally over for Cleo and her family.

'I'd like to thank the Western Australian community for all their assistance over the past few weeks, and acknowledge the WA Police who did incredible police work to bring Cleo home to her parents.'

Cleo has been reunited with her relieved parents

2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham broke down live on air when informing listeners Cleo had been found.

Police interviewed more than 110 people who were at the Blowholes campsite on the night Cleo arrived with her family on October 16.

The little girl was last seen in her family's tent, at the vast campsite on WA's northwest coast, at about 1.30am before his mother and stepfather realised she was missing five hours later.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said the family had stayed near their tent all evening and hadn't socialised with other campers.

'I think it's more than likely an opportunistic-type event,' he told Perth radio 6PR on Tuesday hours before Cleo was found.

Cleo Smith (pictured) has miraculously been found alive after vanishing from a remote campsite in Western Australia

'We know they got there on the Friday night, it was getting dark, and there would have been limited opportunity for people to observe Cleo at that time.'

Police had stressed many times that the girl's mother, Ellie Smith, and her partner, Jake Gliddon, were not suspects, nor was Cleo's biological father.

Ms Smith had been posting daily public appeals on social media, pleading for Cleo to come home.

Police this week collected more than 50 cubic metres of rubbish from roadside bins stretching from Minilya to Geraldton.

It was transported to Perth, where forensic officers and recruits sorted through hundreds of bags in search of items that may have helped them find Cleo.

The State Government offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Cleo's location.

Police said the Cleo's disappearance was immediately treated with the highest priority, although it took two hours to establish a roadblock at the site.

Detectives made several visits to Cleo's family home in Carnarvon, sought CCTV footage from a range of businesses in the area and collected samples from a campfire at the Blowholes site.

Officers issued an extraordinary plea for dash cam and CCTV footage from within a 1000km radius of where the preschooler vanished and were seeking footage from motel check in, service stations, fast food outlets, truck stops, free camping areas, children's clothing stores, pharmacies and camping stores.

The selective list appeared to indicate that police were narrowing in on a suspect.

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)
A witness in the corruption probe investigating Gladys Berejiklian and her secret lover Daryl Maguire mysteriously boarded an Emirates flight for Dubai three months ago and hasn't been heard from since.

In a little-noticed development at the end of the former NSW Premier's evidence this week, the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard migration agent Yueming 'Monica' Hao, 58, left Australia on August 19.

Counsel assisting ICAC, Scott Robertson, said evidence was received in a previous ICAC inquiry that Ms Hao may have information about a so-called cash-for-visa scheme involving disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire.

'Ms Hao was summoned to appear before this commission to give evidence in relation to (the cash-for-visa) question.

'However, there is evidence suggesting that Ms Hao has left the country after being summoned but has not yet returned,' Mr Robertson told the ICAC.

Yueming 'Monica' Hao during a tour of the NSW Parliament. The ICAC has heard Ms Hao boarded an Emirates flight for Dubai in August

Evidence presented to the ICAC that a witness expected to give evidence to an inquiry into Gladys Berejiklian had left Australia and not returned

Records provided by the Australian Border Force showed that on August 19 Ms Hao left Australia on Emirates flight EK415 to Dubai and had not returned to Australia.

Ms Hao was due to appear for a compulsory examination as part of the investigation into Ms Berejiklian at 10am on September 16 last, but, unknown to the ICAC at the time, she had already left the country.

On September 15 Ms Hao's lawyer Christopher Levingston told the Commission that he had been unable to get in touch with her.

'I have advised client by email that she has a hearing before the ICAC tomorrow and I have also sent her a text and voice message but have had no reply,' he said.

The cash-for-visa scheme saw wealthy Chinese students buying their way into Australia, with evidence heard by ICAC alleging Mr Maguire was paid with envelopes full of cash for his alleged part in the illegitimate scheme.

In October 2020, Mr Maguire agreed at ICAC that he committed a 'breach of public trust' by involving his own constituents in a cash-for-visas 'scam'.

A witness expected to appear at the ICAC inquiry into former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) has left Australia for China and not returned

Mr Maguire said he was told by a NSW Riverina business and by his own associates that Chinese visa applicants were not turning up to contracted work but he continued to collect thousands of dollars in cash from the scam.

'You realised from an early point in time that there was a very serious risk that this was a scam, is that right?' Mr Robertson asked him.

'Yes,' said Mr Maguire, the former Liberal MP for Wagga Wagga.

Mr Robertson presented emails from Phillip Elliott, a Wagga Wagga RSL director about a failed meeting to recruit the RSL Club's caterer into the visa scheme.

Daryl Maguire arrives at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) hearing in Sydney on October 16, 2020

Mr Robertson said the caterer, Tim Howe, 'didn't want to get involved because they thought it was a scam'.

Mr Elliott emailed Mr Maguire in May 2013 to say 'Tim was out for sure'. 'I think the major hurdle in the end was the explanation by Maggie (Wang) and Monica (Hao) of how it works. They really need to be careful,' he said.

When Ms Wang was questioned by Mr Robertson, he put it to her that 'The people you were interested in were people with rich families in China who might be able to pay a large fee to obtain a visa.'

She said the applicants were mostly sourced from the database of her friend and migration agent Ms Hao, who had previously vetted applicants for visas such as the regional sponsored migration 187 visa.

Ms Wang said there were several meetings in Mr Maguire's NSW Parliament House offices.

Photographs from Ms Wang's phone, presented to the ICAC, show both her and Ms Hao in the Legislative Assembly with Ms Wang smiling in the Speaker's Chair.

The ICAC heard Mr Maguire did not want to share the visa scheme with Ms Hao because she did not support the idea of a trade centre being built in his electorate with Chinese investment.

That plan, Ms Wang said, was to establish a trade centre that would see 100 Chinese store owners and their families do business out of Wagga Wagga.

Mr Robertson asked Ms Wang if visas and migration were part of the discussion into the planned trade centre.

She said getting visas for the entire family of each of the 100 vendors was crucial. 'That's the essential condition for them to do their business in Australia,' she said.

Ms Wang told ICAC that she attended at least half a dozen meetings in Parliament House to hand Mr Maguire envelopes of up to $20,000 cash.

The whereabouts of Ms Hao, and if she plans to return to Australia, is unknown.
A Florida second grader who was repeatedly suspended and disciplined for refusing to comply with the district's face mask mandate may be forced to repeat the school year due to her 'excessive absences'.

Bailey Lashells fears her daughter Fiona may be held back despite her academic success after she missed 36 days of school due to suspensions for refusing to wear a face mask.

But she is proud of the eight-year-old who she says is on 'a mission to take back' her 'constitutional rights from the tyrant school board' at Palm Beach County school.

'Fiona has changed her priorities a bit and is on a mission to take back, not only her rights, but every American child's constitutional rights from the tyrant school board being operated by a financial expert who has no knowledge of how to safely and effectively run the 10th largest school district in America,' Lashells wrote on the StandUpForFiona website.

Fiona has made several videos telling her school board why she doesn't want to wear a face covering.

She incorrectly believes 'wearing a mask at school... can make you sick.'

'When you touch the mask to put it on you, your hands - they can have hundreds of bacteria on your hands. Then when you take the filter and put it inside your mask and then you also touch it. Then you put on your mask and then you breathe in all that bacteria and get sick.'

A Florida second grader named Fiona (pictured) was suspended and faces disciplinary action after failing to comply with the district's face mask mandate

Her mother, Bailey Lashells (right), says Fiona (left) is likely going to have to repeat the school year after she took a stand against her school's mask policy

Fiona was first disciplined on August 31 over her refusal to wear a mask. She was ordered to have a silent lunch in an office hallway.

Since then she was faced with 15 other disciplinary actions including in-school and out-of-school suspensions.

Lashells also received a letter indicating second-degree misdemeanor charges over Fiona's 'excessive absences.'

The mother is now concerned about her daughter's academic success, claiming that there appears to be no way for her to pass even though she has completed her classwork.

'The blows just seem to not stop as she was recently told after completing every assignment her teacher will provide that she is not only failing 2nd grade but that there is no way she could catch up, per her teacher,' Lashells explained.

Fiona has been disciplined more than 16 times and missed over 36 days of school

The Palm Beach County School District (pictured) has implemented school-wide mask mandates despite Governor Ron DeSantis issuing an executive order barring them

Disciplinary actions issued against Fiona thus far August 31: Silent lunch September 1: 'Temporary removal' from classroom. (AKA Segregation until a. compliance is met or b. end of school day) Fiona chose option B September 2: In-School Suspension September 3: One day out of school suspension September 8: Two day out of school suspension September 13: Three day out of school suspension September 17: Second three day out of school suspension September 24: Third three day out of school suspension September 29: Fourth three day out of school suspension September 29: Family receives second-degree misdemeanor letter over Fiona's excessive absences October 4: Fifth three day out of school suspension October 7: Sixth three day out of school suspension October 12: Seventh three day out of school suspension October 18: Eighth three day out of school suspension October 21: Ninth three day out of school suspension October 26: Tenth three day out of school suspension October 29: Eleventh three day out of school suspension Advertisement

Fiona is reportedly not only meeting all grade level requirements in mathematics, but also completing fourth grade level assignments at 100 percent mastery.

Neither Lashells nor the Palm Beach County School District immediately responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

Masks in schools have been a hotbed topic in Florida.

Governor Ron DeSantis in July issued an executive order barring school mask mandates, but in practice, at least eight counties representing more than half of Florida's public school students have defied him, requiring kids to wear masks to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The governor's press secretary, Christina Pushaw, issued a statement to Fox News regarding Fiona's situation: 'There is no scientific basis for forced-masking kids in school, and the decision should always be up to the parents.

'While parents have a crucial role in kids' education, school board members, educators, and school staff should likewise be dedicated to helping students succeed.

'Anyone who denies a young child the right to go to school, for non-compliance with an illegal mask mandate, does not care about education and certainly does not care about kids.'

Meanwhile, Florida's surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo told Fox News' Tucker Carlson last week that there's 'no evidence' school mask mandates protect kids from coronavirus.

'When you look at the evidence for mask mandates in schools it's actually very weak. The highest quality evidence we have, in fact, for masks...(is) that there's really no evidence of a health benefit as an improvement in a child's health outcome,' he said.

'And there's not even any solid evidence for cloth masks.'

Although he failed to cite specific studies that were conducted or exact figures, Ladapo said: 'We haven't asked enough about the high-quality data and it just doesn't support it'.

'Americans have unfortunately been just slammed constantly with this message that you must mask these children,' he added.

Just two months ago, Florida was experiencing the worst COVID-19 surge in the United States. Now, the COVID crisis looks really different in Florida.

Inexplicably, cases and deaths have been going down despite DeSantis implementing no new mitigation measures.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show Florida is recording one of the best case and death rates in the country.

FLORIDA CASES: During the peak of the recent COVID-19 surge in Florida, the state was recording 101 cases per 100,000, which has since declined to nine new cases per 100,000

FLORIDA DEATHS: Florida was recording 1.77 new deaths per 100,000 people during the peak of the surge, which has since fallen to fewer than 0.01 deaths per 100,000

Experts have suggested the declines seem to follow a familiar two-month cycle since the pandemic began with cases and deaths increasing for about two months before dropping, which as been seen in other states that experienced surges over the summer such as Alabama, Louisiana and Texas

This is similar to what's been seen nationwide as COVID-related infections and fatalities in the U.S. drop to the lowest levels recorded since April 2021.

Additionally, the state is doing just as well as California, despite the West Coast State taking a very strict approach including implementing mask mandates, limiting gatherings and closings bars and indoor dining at restaurants.

Experts say COVID waves usually occur in a two-month cycle - with infections rising for two months before declining - and instead of trying to prevent the cycle from occurring, DeSantis just let it ride out.

The declining rates could change as Floridians head inside for the winter months, potentially causing cases to rise again, but, as of now, it seems like Florida's downward trends will only continue.
A man arrested over the alleged kidnapping of Cleo Smith was allegedly attacked by another prisoner inside a police holding cell - and has been taken to hospital a second time.

Terry Kelly, 36, had only been at Carnarvon police station, in Western Australia, for a few hours on Wednesday when he was allegedly set upon by a prisoner.

Kelly was arrested over the alleged abduction of little Cleo who was missing for 18 days after disappearing from a campsite 75km from her home while on holiday with her family.

That prisoner's mother told Daily Mail Australia her son was 'furious' when he discovered why Kelly had been arrested.

'As soon as he heard this bloke was arrested over that little Cleo, he blew up, beat him black and blue,' the woman said.

'I tell you what, he (Kelly) got a real hiding... my son had to be taken out in shackles, and he (Kelly) was taken for treatment... he was in a bad way. He is a big bloke but he really copped it'.

A spokesman for the Western Australia Police Force said detectives would not be commenting on the woman's claims, but confirmed the man in custody had been treated in hospital for a range of injuries including some of self-harm.

Kelly was loaded into an ambulance outside the police station yesterday morning and taken to hospital for treatment. A large white bandage was wrapped around his head.

Terry Kelly, 36, had only been at Carnarvon police station, in Western Australia, for a few hours on Wednesday when he was allegedly set upon by a prisoner

Remarkable bodycam footage captured the moment Cleo was rescued by detectives, with the brave little girl clinging to her savior as she is gently spoken to and told she would soon see her 'mummy'

Cleo, four, was found by startled detectives in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a locked house in her hometown of Carnarvon, 18 days after she disappeared from a remote campsite while on holiday with her parents

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch told Sydney's Radio 2GB the alleged kidnapper was returned to hospital on Thursday morning, but his injuries are not serious.

Cleo, four, was found by startled detectives in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a locked house in her hometown of Carnarvon, 18 days after she disappeared from a remote campsite while on holiday with her parents.

Detectives used crowbars and battering rams to kick in the door and free Cleo about 12.46am Wednesday from a home just seven minutes away from where she lives with her mum Ellie, stepdad Jake Gliddon and baby sister Isla.

Remarkable bodycam footage captured the moment Cleo was rescued by detectives, with the brave little girl clinging to her savior as she is gently spoken to and told she would soon see her 'mummy'.

'Four fathers walked into that room they might have been wearing guns and detective suits but they were four fathers,' Mr Blanch said.

Shocked neighbours tell Daily Mail Australia they were first alerted to the commotion when police flood lights lit up their cul-de-sac, which is normally bustling with children playing in their front yards and at the park across the road during daylight hours.

'My nephews went up to see what was going on and then they saw cops leading out the little white girl,' a neighbour who has known Kelly for more than a decade said.

He described the accused as a 'loner' who never really made an effort to speak with people in the cul-de-sac, and never brought friends back to his house.

Others woke to the news that Cleo had been rescued, filing into the streets before the sun even rose to watch the scene unfold.

West Australian Police shared an adorable first photo of Cleo since she was rescued, smiling with an ice block in hospital. 'The miracle we all hoped for,' they captioned the picture

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

West Australian Police shared an adorable first photo of Cleo since she was rescued, smiling with an ice block in hospital in her Frozen pyjamas. 'The miracle we all hoped for,' they wrote.

The neighbour said he was a loner who 'kept to himself' and was not the type of person anyone else in the street would 'have a yarn with' despite being a long term resident.

He last saw Kelly just three days after little Cleo disappeared. Former friends say Kelly had not long been freed from jail.

Detectives allege Kelly was behaving suspiciously in the 18 days since Cleo vanished, doing laps of his street at all hours of the day and buying toddler nappies from his grocery store despite not being known to have children.

Dogs that he usually kept on the backyard of his home were also suddenly moved to the front of the home.

'His grandmother raised him... but after she died a year or so ago, nobody went over to yarn to him,' he said.

'He got a new car after he used to park it in the driveway and then close the gate, every day, always went and put the car in the same spot and closed the gate.'

Cleo was found alone in this suburban home in Carnarvon, in the north-west of Western Australia, shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster (pictured) was good as can be expected

Forensic officers in full protective gear including gas masks as they searched through rubbish left near the Blowholes campsite in remote WA - where Cleo went missing

That very car was reportedly crucial to cracking the case, with police revealing they received 'important information about a car' which they confirmed with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads'. Within hours, they'd raided Kelly's home.

'We've collected phone data, witness statements, DNA, fingerprints, rubbish along the highways, CCTV - we've collected everything,' Mr Blanch said.

It's not yet clear if Cleo was held at the home for the entire three weeks she was missing or if she'd been moved around several times.

The vital tip-off was the last piece of the puzzle in a case that until then frustrated and eluded detectives and had Australians fearing Cleo would never be found, let alone alive.

Neighbours would often see Kelly walking to and from the local grocery store, 'keeping his head down and talking to nobody'.

Neighbours would often see Kelly walking to and from the local grocery store, 'keeping his head down and talking to nobody'

Neighbours of the home where little Cleo Smith (pictured) was kept prisoner before she was rescued by police on Wednesday have revealed the tell-tale signs they missed.

A man arrested over the alleged kidnapping of Cleo Smith was allegedly attacked by another prisoner inside a police holding cell at Carnarvon police station (pictured)

But when one man saw Kelly buying toddler diapers, he was confused because he didn't know the 36-year-old to have any children.

Even though he knew it was strange, he didn't report his suspicions, police have confirmed.

'But we didn't click on what he was buying them for.'

He'd also been seen doing laps of the street at different times during the day, driving in and out repeatedly and at random hours.

'He doesn't have his dogs at the front [normally], he has his dogs out the back, but through this week he had his dogs out the front,' neighbour Henry Dodd told Nine News.

Mr Dodd revealed he watched Cleo come out on the shoulder of a detective in the middle of the night.

'I went closer to the detectives car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her. They put her in the back and I came over, rushed over here and seen her there. She looked at me, a bit scared.'

Mr Dodd said he was shocked he had been just metres away from her while the nationwide hunt was going on for her.

'I just can't believe it and get over the fact that she is just the house down from us and locked up here for a couple of weeks,' he added.

'Going on three weeks, she is straight across from us. I've got little sisters there.'

Cleo Smith, four, has been found alive and well, 18 days after she vanished from her family's tent at the remote Blowholes campsite in Western Australia

Suspect's suspicious behaviour led to his arrest, police say Police have confirmed there were several signs that led them to suspect Terry Kelly rather than one particular lead. Acting on community reports, detectives began to notice a pattern of suspicious activity from the 36-year-old. While he was not linked to the family, police say there were behaviours over the past 18 days since Cleo disappeared that were out of the ordinary. First, he started doing laps of his own street at all hours of the day or night. Neighbours were also confused when they saw Kelly buying toddler nappies at the local Woolworths, despite not having any children. He was also purchasing food he wouldn't normally buy. Finally, the man's dogs had recently been moved from the backyard into the front of the house. Data from his phone was also collected to track his movements in the days leading to his arrest, further solidifying the theories that were being fleshed out among detectives. Advertisement

Kelly's name was widely circulated among the local community within hours of his arrest, and he's now the subject of intense public outrage.

The 36-year-old has not been charged with an offence, and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest charges will be laid, only that he is assisting police.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the man has no connection to Cleo or her family.

After she was rescued, detectives took Cleo to the car and called her parents, saying 'we've got someone here that wants to speak to you'.

'It was a wonderful feeling to make that call. They were ecstatic.'

Cleo cried out 'mummy' as she finally returned to her mother's arms having not seen her family in an agonising 18 days.

Mr Blaine described the little girl as an 'energiser bunny' and confirmed she was physically unharmed when she was found.

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, the sergeant replied: 'without a doubt'.

'We wanted to take turns holding her.'

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Cleo was found 18 days after she disappeared from a tent she was sharing with her family at the Blowholes campsite, less than 75km from Carnarvon. Police said she was smiling when she was rescued, and is now in hospital being assessed with her parents at her side

Premier Mark McGowan said it was 'a lot of information' that had led to an arrest and thanked the police for their efforts over the past three weeks
A tradesman was rushed to hospital after reportedly falling 15 metres from workplace scaffolding on Tuesday night.

Queensland Ambulance Service has confirmed the man aged in his 20s was injured on Rich Lane in Brisbane's CBD about 8.05pm.

He is believed to have suffered multiple body fractures and also has a back injury stemming from the incident.

A tradesman was rushed to hospital after reportedly falling 15 metres from workplace scaffolding on Tuesday night in Brisbane's CBD (stock image)

The man aged in his 20s is believed to have suffered multiple body fractures and also has a back injury stemming from the incident (stock image)

The man was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital where he remains in a serious condition.

A duty officer from Queensland Police who was patrolling nearby attended the scene within minutes.

The Office of Industrial Relations, who oversee workplace health and safety for construction sites across Queensland, confirmed they were 'looking into' the incident when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
Joe Biden last night led the exodus of world leaders from Glasgow as they jetted home after just 48 hours at the Cop26 summit.

Heads of state from across the globe made their exit after an intense start to the week in the Scottish city, but left their negotiation teams behind to continue to thrash out the detail on how to save the world from the perils of climate change.

The US President was among those to depart on Tuesday evening, being pictured boarding Air Force One at Edinburgh airport.

He waved goodbye to the UK after saying he couldn't think of any two days when more progress has been achieved in dealing with climate.

At a press conference before leaving Glasgow, Mr Biden said it was important to step up the pace when it came to tackling global warming.

'Glasgow must be the start of a decisive decade of action so that we can keep 1.5 in the region. We have to keep accelerating our progress,' he said.

Joe Biden last night led the exodus of world leaders from Glasgow as they jetted home after just 48 hours at the Cop26 summit

The US President was among those to depart on Tuesday evening, after saying he couldn't think of any two days when more progress has been achieved in dealing with climate

'For our part, the United States is going to keep raising the ambition and delivering a goal that we are reducing US emissions by 50% from the 2005 level by 2030.

'I can't think of any two days more has been accomplished dealing with climate than these past two days.'

Mr Biden added that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a mistake in failing to appear at the Cop26 talks.

He said: 'We showed up. By showing up, I think we had a profound impact on the way, I think, the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership.

'I think it has been a mistake, quite frankly, with respect to China, not showing up.

'They have the lost the ability to influence people around the world and here in Cop. The same way I would argue with Russia.'

Elsewhere at the conference on Tuesday, Boris Johnson said he is 'cautiously optimistic' about the prospects for a deal at crucial international talks in Glasgow to curb global warming.

The Prime Minister welcomed a series of announcements by the assembled leaders on deforestation and emissions.

But he stressed there was still a long way to go if they were to get an agreement that would keep alive the prospect set out in the Paris Agreement of restricting world temperature rises to 1.5C.

Ahead of the summit, Mr Johnson suggested that humanity was 5-1 down at half-time in the battle against climate change.

Air Force One prepares to leave Edinburgh airport with Mr Biden on board on Tuesday night

But speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, he said: 'We've pulled back a goal, or perhaps even two, and I think we are going to be able to take this thing to extra-time, because there's no doubt that some progress has been made.'

He added that while the 'doomsday clock is still ticking', they now had a bomb disposal team on site and 'they're starting to snip the wires - I hope some of the right wires'.

The Prime Minister welcomed commitments made by scores of leaders attending the summit to halt and reverse deforestation and to cut methane emissions.

In particular, he highlighted a pledge by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to slash his country's carbon emissions by switching half its power grid to renewable sources.

He also acknowledged, however, that the issue of climate finance had yet to be resolved - despite a 10 billion dollar (7.3 billion) commitment from Japan over five years.

Mr Johnson said the richer nations were still behind on a commitment first made at Paris in 2015 to transfer 100 billion dollars (73 billion) a year to developing countries to support sustainable development and mitigate the inevitable effects of global warming.

'What I've been asking for, as you know, is action on coal, cars, cash and trees, and after just a couple of days we can certainly begin to tick three of those boxes,' the Prime Minister said.

Mr Johnson was returning to London after end of the two-day leaders' event which opened the summit, but he made it clear he would continue to be engaged.

In a message to the remaining teams who will get down to the task of detailed negotiations, he said: 'The eyes of the world are on you - the eyes of the British Government and all the other governments that care about this - and we have got your numbers.'

Downing Street said the talks were beginning to gather 'significant momentum' but cautioned that there was still some difficult negotiations ahead.

'What is vital is that we continue to use the entire two weeks of Cop to push forward to get success at all levels,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

'There will be some very difficult negotiations in the coming days. We are not complacent. This is not a done deal by any means.'

Environmental campaigners have repeatedly cautioned that the government's ambition should be turned into action.

Harriet Lamb, CEO of climate charity Ashden, said: 'We welcome the Prime Ministers ambition, but now its time for decisive action  including creating the workforce that will build warm homes and energy-efficient schools. Serious investment will deliver good green jobs right across the UK  and thats something the whole country can get behind.'

The scale of the differences between nations was underlined by Mr Modi demanding that developed countries make one trillion US dollars in future climate finance 'as soon as possible today'.

Mr Johnson said it was important not to get caught up in a mood of 'exaggerated enthusiasm' generated by a gathering like Cop26 and to guard against 'false hope'.

However, US climate envoy John Kerry said he had never seen such urgency, commitment or energy in climate talks.

'We've already achieved an enormous amount at Cop, in ambition, money, a whole bunch of new initiatives,' he said.

'Frankly, we're a day and a half into this and I've seen more energy and more commitment and more urgency than I've ever seen, and I've been doing this since 1988.'
Notorious members from rival street gangs have come together for a Covid-19 vaccination campaign urging New Zealand residents to get the jab.

Minister for Maori Development Willie Jackson commissioned the four-minute video in an effort to encourage Covid-19 vaccination in hard-to-reach communities.

The video features some of New Zealand's most notorious gang figures from the Head Hunters, Mongrel Mob, the King Cobras and Black Power.

Black Power life member Denis O'Reilly (pictured) featured in the video urging New Zealand residents to get the Covid-19 jab

In the footage Black Power life member Denis O'Reilly who joined the gang in 1972 at 19 years of age says:

'I've taken a few shots over the time. I've taken my two shots against Covid and I'm asking you to do the same.'

Stephen Daley of the Head Hunters, nicknamed 'Teflon 88' after being found not guilty for kidnapping in 2016, urged residents to make an 'informed decision'.

Stephen Daley of the Head Hunters (pictured) said he got vaccinated for his children but people should make an informed decision

'I myself have got the jab, I don't wish to put it on any of you but I wish for you all to have an informed decision,' he said.

'I've got it solely because I care about my children. I got it because I wish to protect my whakapapa.'

Mongrel Mob member Dennis Makalio said his thoughts around the Covid-19 jab was a 'no brainer'.

Mongrel Mob member Dennis Makalio (pictured) said getting vaccinated against Covid-19 was a 'no-brainer'

'At the end of the day, I'm looking at my mokos, my kids. Whether it works or it doesn't, you know, I'm not going to take that risk,' he said.

Minister Jackson said he approached gang leaders with the idea for the video after Cabinet discussed how to expand vaccine coverage in hesitant communities.

'I put my hand up to do it. I've been brought up around a lot of these guys,' Mr Jackson told the NZ Herald.

'The idea is to get them to mobilise their guys. It's not about supporting gangs, it's about supporting families. You can say anything you like about these guys they have a love for their people. It's good to see.'

While Mr Jackson came up with the idea, gang leaders provided the footage which was then edited by Mr Jackson's son Hikurangi.

'Not one cent of taxpayer money went into this. I'll buy my son lunch,' he said.

Ta'alili To'omalatai of the King Cobra (pictured) also featured in the video

Paula Ormsby of the Mongrel Mob (pictured) encouraged vaccine hesitant residents to reach out to indigenous doctors that specialise in Covid-19

The video comes as tough new vaccine mandates were introduced last week giving thousands of New Zealanders one month to get the jab or risk getting the sack.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that 40 per cent of the country's workforce must be fully vaccinated by the end of November.

People who work at hairdressers, gyms, nail salons, bars and restaurants are among those who will face losing their job if they don't roll up their sleeve for a jab.

Ms Ardern said by asking people who came into close contact with their customers to get vaccinated it would reduce the risk of community transmission of Covid-19.

Over 88 per cent of the the nation's eligible population have received one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and 76 per cent of residents are double-jabbed.
Westminster School has abandoned the creation of its first sister school in China after the countrys Communist Party ruled it must approve all lessons.

The regulations, announced earlier this year, mean they must teach the same lessons as state-run schools and uphold the leadership of the Communist Party.

In a letter to parents yesterday, seen by the Daily Mail, Westminster said it had scrapped its sister campus due to recent changes in Chinese education policy.

The move could be mirrored in future by other British public schools with campuses in China, such as Wellington and Harrow.

Westminster School (pictured) has abandoned the creation of its first sister school in China after the countrys Communist Party ruled it must approve all lessons

The new rules, which took effect in September, also limit foreign control and participation in the running of private schools and mandate that school board members are Chinese.

Westminster School said it now has no plans to license its name in China, or provide educational consultancy to any other projects there.

In the letter to parents, chairman of governors Mark Batten said the landscape for developing sister schools in China was different compared with a few years ago  which he described as unfortunate.

It comes after an investigation found Westminsters China project had links to the countrys communist government.

Westminster School said it now has no plans to license its name in China, or provide educational consultancy to any other projects there

Westminster originally planned to open six schools by 2028 in partnership with Hong Kong Melodious Education Technology Group (HKMETG), which would fully fund the project.

But it was reported last month that among HKMETG founders are David Mao, a former Peking University Communist Party secretary, and Xu Ouyang, a businessman who sits on a standing committee advising the administration in Tibet.

Chengdu Westminster School, in south-west China, was the first of the six planned. The proposed 2,000-pupil school aimed to offer a bilingual education to both Chinese and foreign pupils, aged three to 18.

However, in his letter, Mr Batten said: It is with great regret I write to tell you that this project has come to an end... In spite of a number of attempts [to] restructure and refinance the operations... this has proved not to be possible. Westminster School has been contacted for comment.
Meek Mill branded the flight attendant of a private jet racist and refused to fly after he and his entourage were asked if they were smoking weed as they boarded a flight out of New York City on Saturday.

The Philadelphia rapper uploaded a clip of the confrontation on his Instagram story, with the caption, 'He asked if we was smoking weed on his plane  we just got on 20 seconds ago  racist p***y slowed my whole day up??? I need to book a plane in NYC ASAP!!

'His energy from when we walked up I knew he racist! Just look what company is this jet under.'

It is unclear to which company the private jet belonged and what Mill meant by his comment about it. Dailymail.com has reached out to the company believed to have flown the rapper, but have not heard back.

Mill, born Robert Williams, also declined to share if he or anyone in his crew had weed on them or if they had smoked prior to boarding, which could have led to the flight attendant's accusation.

The video drew a mix of reactions from social media users, with some defending his actions and others calling him 'petty' and accusing him of 'playing the race card.'

Meek Mill called the flight attendant of a private jet racist for accusing he and his entourage of smoking weed

The 37-year old rapper was boarding the flight when the flight attendant asked if they were smoking marijuana

Mill ended up leaving the flight after confronting the apologetic worker

The video begins after the flight attendant allegedly pressed Mill and his friends about smoking weed.

'You just said we was smoking on a plane and we just came on here 30 seconds ago, and you're asking us if we were smoking on this plane,' Mill says, calmly, from his seat. 'We just stepped on here 30 seconds ago.'

The attendant apologizes and replies, 'Because I smell it.'

Mill says, 'But where we gonna smoke if we just stepped on here 30 seconds ago? Just look, where would a blunt be rolled up at?'

He moves the camera and shows his friends sitting in the cabin behind him before the attendant apologizes again and says, 'I'm going to try and fix the problem.'

However, Mill decides at that point that he would rather not stay on the flight and says, 'Let us get off the plane, just let us, I don't feel safe on this plane anyway. Yeah, come on let's open the door. You acting real racist right now, real crazy 'was we smoking weed?' F**k wrong with you?'

Meek Mill attended the Fabolous' Halloween Party at Harbor New York City on October 31

The attendant agrees and starts opening the hatch as the video ends.

Mill wrote on social media that he was going from New York City to Atlanta the night before Halloween, but ended up staying in Manhattan for the Fabolous Halloween Party at Harbor New York City on October 31.

The interaction split social media users as some supported Mill's handling of the situation and his decision to get off the flight. Twitter user Jordan Crypto wrote, 'Meek did the right thing here. Hope he got refunded though' and User kingsmom added, 'Smoking it before hand .. [is] NOT smoking on the plane.'

Social media users were split on their reactions, with some defending him and others calling him 'petty'

But others argued that Mill blew the situation out of proportion by bringing up race and that the flight attendant was doing his job. Twitter User L Bardsley wrote, 'Probably smoked it before and it's a disgusting smell that lingers on people' and User Certified Depressed Bears Fan wrote, 'If anything Meek Mill was being petty af.'

User TJ Stan added, 'So did u smoke before u got on the plane or did u carry it on just curious if not then maybe he has a problem but if u smell like herb why wouldn't he ask u hahahah.'

But Mill's confrontation with the flight attendant isn't the only grievance the rapper has aired in the past few days. The incident came just days after Mill claimed in a since-deleted tweet that he hasn't been paid for his music by his record label.

The tweet read, 'I haven't get paid from music and i don't know how much money labels make off me!!!!! i need lawyers asap!!!'

He continued, 'Ask the record label? how much have you spent on me as a artist? then you ask how much have you made off me as a artist?' I'm about to make my record deal public by monday just to let the world see what these people on!!!'

Its unclear if Meeks grievance is with Atlantic Records or Maybach Music Group, both of which he has been signed under. The tweets come nearly a month after he released Expensive Pain, his fifth album.
Premier Mark McGowan has joked about who would star in a movie about Cleo Smith's disappearance after the four-year-old girl was miraculously found by detectives.

Cleo had been reunited with her parents for only hours when the Western Australian leader held a press conference and talked about 'who would play who' in a film about the youngster's kidnapping ordeal.

Mr McGowan made the comments to a forensic analyst after Cleo was found in a locked house in Carnarvon, 900km north of Perth, at 12.46am on Wednesday.

'I said, "there'll be movies made about this",' he told reporters.

Cleo Smith has been found alive and well, 18 days after she vanished from her family's tent at the remote Blowholes campsite in Western Australia

'We were talking about who would play who.'

The Premier went on to say he had 'a few ideas' about his preferred cast list, but kept those details to himself.

Mr McGowan also praised detectives for their extraordinary efforts during the 18-day search, and recalled how 'excited and emotional' they were after finding Cleo.

'They put their heart and soul into it,' he said.

'They used the best of technology and all of their instincts and they didn't leave any stone unturned.

'I just want to acknowledge the analysts because they often don't get acknowledged, but also the police team on the ground.'

Mr McGowan said that 63 police officers had worked full-time on the case.

WA Premier Mark McGowan (pictured left) joked about 'who would play who' in a movie about Cleo's disappearance

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together, with Cleo's little sister Isla)

Cleo went missing from her family's tent after 1.30am on October 16 at the remote Blowholes campsite, on the state's north-west coast.

Her mother Ellie Smith and step-father Jake Gliddon realised she was missing when they woke up five hours later and called police.

Authorities had grave fears for the little girl's wellbeing, and were overjoyed when they found her alive inside a locked room in a house just 3km from her parents' home in Carnarvon.

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said an officer picked her up and asked 'what's your name?'

'She said: "My name is Cleo".'

A 36-year-old man was arrested at the home and taken into custody to be questioned by detectives. He has no connection to the family.

Mr McGowan said Cleo's abduction was 'awful', particularly because she was asleep inside the tent with her family when she was snatched.

Cleo has been reunited with her relieved parents 18 days after she was snatched from a tent

The home where Cleo was found is just a seven minute drive away from her parents' home in Carnarvon

'To go to someone's campsite and unzip their tent, take their little girl. It's beyond belief, really, that someone would do that,' he said.

'Like many people, I love going out in the tent and camping, particularly with my children, and the idea someone would come and steal your child away is beyond awful.'

Mr McGowan said he didn't know anything about Cleo's condition, but confirmed he saw a photo of her smiling from her hospital bed at 3am.

When asked whether he'd spoken with Cleo's parents, the Premier said he hadn't because they were 'spending time with their daughter'.

On Wednesday morning, Ellie Smith posted a screenshot to her Instagram page confirming her daughter was found 'alive and well'.

'Our family is whole again,' she wrote.

Mr McGowan said he had not spoken with Cleo's parents on Wednesday (Cleo's family pictured together)

Ellie Smith posted a screenshot to her Instagram stories early on Wednesday morning (pictured)

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ellie wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy at 4.50am and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

'Seeing Ellie saying her "beautiful girl is home" is nothing short of a miracle. We are so happy for her to be home.'

The Instagram post is the first the relieved mother-of-two has uploaded since she was reunited with her daughter.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson confirmed he watched the footage of her rescue, and said the little girl was smiling and 'as well as we could expect in the circumstances'.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said.

'She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He also said Cleo's mother and stepfather were feeling emotional, but are 'strong people'.

'They have good support around them,' he said.

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'
Senior Tory MPs last night launched a last-ditch attempt to spare Owen Paterson from a 30-day Commons suspension for an 'egregious' breach of lobbying rules.

In an unprecedented move, allies of the ex-minister will today refuse to accept the findings of a report by the anti-sleaze watchdog and instead call for a reform of the system.

Former business secretary Andrea Leadsom has tabled a parliamentary amendment that would see Mr Paterson's potential suspension paused pending a review.

Tory whips will back the Leadsom amendment when it comes to the vote today. Last night, a Government source said the amendment would get the PM's backing if it is selected.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards last week found Mr Paterson guilty of an 'egregious case of paid advocacy' on behalf of two companies, Randox and Lynn's Country Foods, for which he was acting as a consultant.

The plan being considered by the plotting MPs would ultimately be to disband the Commons committee on standards and replace it with a new body, and force the resignation of Commissioner Kathryn Stone, who some accuse of being biased against Tories and Brexiteers.

Reports suggest former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale is then being discussed as a potential chair for a new Government-nominated committee, set to redraw the rules on MPs' conduct.

Owen Paterson, pictured with his late wife Rose, claimed the 'biased' way the inquiry was carried out was a major factor in her suicide last year.

Former business secretary Andrea Leadsom has tabled a parliamentary amendment that would see Mr Paterson's potential suspension paused pending a review

Boris Johnson also supports the efforts to reform the House of Commons standards watchdog

In a damning report, Commissioner Kathryn Stone recommended Mr Paterson should be suspended for 30 days, which could trigger a by-election in his North Shropshire constituency.

Mr Paterson has maintained his innocence and claimed the 'biased' way the inquiry was carried out was a major factor in the suicide of his wife Rose last year.

His allies have since called for changes to be made to the system so politicians can appeal.

The Leadsom amendment will only be put to a vote if selected by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Last night, it was revealed that Government whips would tell Tory MPs to back the amendment that would effectively lead to the standards watchdog being disbanded.

It was suggested this could even lead to the resignation of Miss Stone. Sir Lindsay is reportedly concerned that overturning the Commissioner's recommendations risks bringing the House into disrepute.

But his predecessor, John Bercow, has said the process leading to the ban was 'indefensible' and was not 'conducted in accordance with natural justice'.

In a letter to Mr Paterson, Mr Bercow said: 'You have experienced a protracted, Kafkaesque process.'

And he said it was 'wrong and indefensible, 14 months after launching her investigation, that [Miss Stone] should write her first memorandum to you to announce that she considers you guilty of transgressions when she has not troubled to interview you', according to The Times.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday questioned the fairness of a probe into Mr Paterson. He expressed sympathy for the MP's claim that the Commissioner did not speak to 17 witnesses who came forward to support him, describing that decision as 'interesting'.

He told his Conservative Home podcast: 'It is always very important that systems appear to be fair, and therefore if somebody has witnesses, it would normally appear to be fair that those witnesses should be heard.

'The Commissioner in her report that was adopted... said the witnesses weren't needed because their evidence they gave wasn't relevant to the inquiry.

'And that is an interesting view to come to, because other people might say: 'How do you know whether it was relevant to the inquiry until you've taken their evidence and have found out the precise context of how things were done?'

In a damning report, Commissioner Kathryn Stone recommended Paterson should be suspended for 30 days, which could trigger a by-election in his North Shropshire constituency.

The plan being considered by the plotting MPs would ultimately be to disband the Commons committee on standards and replace it with a new body, and force the resignation of Commissioner Kathryn Stone, who some accuse of being biased against Tories and Brexiteers

Labour's shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said: 'The amendment tabled undermines the independent standards process including the Commissioner and the committee.

'The cross-party standards committee, including four Tory MPs, endorsed the Commissioner's 30-day sanction for a breach of the rule around paid advocacy.

'If the Government votes through this amendment, it sends a message to the public that Tory MPs are above the rules and just don't care.'

Standards Committee chairman Chris Bryant also defended the current process, writing in the Telegraph: 'Parliament has rightly banned MPs using their position to benefit those paying them in various forms ever since 1695.

'Voting down the report, or watering down the sanction, for such a serious breach would do great damage to Parliament. Our report was agreed unanimously. It is thorough and comprehensive. We urge everyone to read it with a fair and open mind.'

Downing Street refused to be drawn on whether Boris Johnson viewed the report as flawed, as Mr Paterson and his allies have claimed.

The Commissioner found that between November 2016 and November 2017 Mr Paterson made three approaches to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) relating to Randox and antibiotics in milk, in breach of the ban on paid advocacy.

He was also found to have made four approaches to ministers at the Department for International Development relating to the company and blood testing technology between October 2016 and January 2017.

And Mr Paterson was found to have made seven approaches to the FSA between November 2017 and July 2018 relating to Lynn's Country Foods.

The Commissioner further found that he failed to declare his interest as a paid consultant to Lynn's Country Foods in four emails to FSA officials and that he used his parliamentary office for business meetings with his clients on 16 occasions between October 2016 and February 2020.

He also sent two letters relating to his business interests on Commons headed notepaper  the only breach of the rules which he accepted.

The proposed Whittingdale Committee that senior Conservatives want in place of the current body would include nine members - four Tory MPs, three Labour representatives and one from the SNP.
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Little Cleo Smith was hidden in a locked home less than 3km up the road from her family's house while the nation was frantically searching for her.

The four-year-old girl was found alive and alone inside a room at a home on Tonkin Crescent, in Carnarvon, at about 1am on Wednesday when police rammed their way inside.

It had been 18 days since Cleo was last seen by her mother Ellie and step-dad Jake Gliddon inside their tent at the Blowholes campsite at 1.30am on October 16.

In an agonising twist, Cleo had been just seven minutes away from her mum's home during the three-week nightmare while her family along with police and thousands of Australians searched low and high for any signs she was still alive.

A map shows the house where missing Cleo Smith was found which was less than 3km away from her family's home in Carnavon, Western Australia

The four-year-old was found alive and alone inside a room at a home on Tonkin Crescent, in Carnarvon, at about 1am on Wednesday when police rammed their way inside

A 36-year-old man was arrested at the home and taken into custody to be questioned by detectives. He has no connection to the family.

Shocked residents had earlier spotted their 'quiet' neighbour buying nappies from the local Woolworths just two days before the little girl was found in her home.

The supermarket was just a five minute drive away from Cleo's home.

'The other day - on Monday - we saw him in Woolworths buying Kimbies [nappies] and that,' one local told Sunrise.

'But we didn't click on what he was buying them for.'

Neighbours described the man who lived at the home as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

Another man said everyone in the street is familiar with each other, but they tend to keep to themselves.

'Everyone knows the person who stays at that house, but no one would have thought it would be him,' he said.

'We were shocked.'

Cleo Smith has been found alive and well, 18 days after she vanished from a tent

A map shows how Cleo smith was found 73.7km south of the campsite she vanished from more than two weeks ago

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time.

'Not last night, the night before it I heard a little girl crying but I wouldn't expect it to be Cleo,' she told the West Australian.

'I didn't expect it would happen in this little neighbourhood, a lot of people know each other.'

Another local described the man in custody as an 'oddball'.

'He is a very quiet guy, bit of an oddball definitely wouldn't have picked him it has completely derailed me,' Rennee Turner told the publication.

Police officers used battering rams and crowbar to enter the house with one picking up Cleo in her arms and asking what her name was.

'My name is Cleo,' she responded.

Police officers used battering rams and crowbar to enter the house with one picking up Cleo in her arms and asking what her name was

WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the arrest came after detectives received information that led them to the house.

He said police will not be able to provide too many details as the investigation remains ongoing, but said 'phone data was critical' in cracking the case open.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon hearing the news the little girl had been found.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said.

'She's as well as we could expect in the circumstances

'She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

Cleo was reunited with her relieved parents a short time after being found and is now in hospital receiving care.

Cleo was reunited with her relieved parents a short time after being found and is now in hospital receiving care

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

The footage of the moment Cleo was rescued by police was captured on bodycam footage, WA Police acting commissioner Col Blanch said.

Speaking to 6PR Radio, Mr Blanch said he'd seen the footage which is now 'burned into my memory for life'.

'You cannot look at that and not just feel it in your heart, it was an unbelievable moment,' he said.

'I saw detectives who have worked for 18 days straight, 24/7, see little Cleo in a room, and just the look on their faces. Just the care that was expressed, the cuddling, the asking of her name.

'The little voice, she basically looked straight into the camera and said, 'My name is Cleo', I mean your heart breaks just hearing that because you know she's been there for 18 days.'

Daily Mail Australia understands a local police officer rang Cleo's mother Ellie Smith to break the incredible news.

Ms Smith said: 'Our family is whole again.'

Cleo disappeared from her family's tent between 1.30am and 6.30am on October 16 as her mother and step father, and baby sister Isla were sleeping nearby.

The home she was found in is just 73.7km south of the campsite she vanished from, raising the possibility the missing little girl was right under the noses of police for the entire 18 day period she was missing.

Police interviewed more than 110 people who were at the Blowholes campsite on the night Cleo arrived with her family on October 16.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster was good as can be expected
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Propped up on a hospital bed as she sucked on an icypole, Cleo Smith smiled from ear to ear in her first photo since she was rescued 18 days after being abducted on a camping trip.

The four-year-old girl excitedly waved to the camera as her relieved mother Ellie Smith lovingly touched her right foot as she sat on the side of the bed, just happy to see her alive.

Cleo was 'opportunistically abducted' on October 16 and was found alive at 12.46am on Wednesday when police stormed a public housing home in the Carnarvon suburb of Brockman in Western Australia after a sudden tip off.

'What's your name?' officers asked as they found the little girl alone in a bedroom and scooped her up into their arms. 'My name is Cleo,' she replied.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, who led the missing person investigation, said Cleo 'is physically OK' and had since been released from hospital to be with her mother and stepfather Jake Gliddon.

A 36-year-old man, who was not in the home when it was raided, not known to Cleo's family, and not a registered sex offender was arrested in connection with Cleo's abduction from the family's tent at Blowholes campsite.

Police feared the missing girl could have been spirited away to anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

The first picture of Cleo Smith, safe and sound in hospital, after she was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, in northwest Western Australia, where she was held for 18 days

The 36-year-old man (pictured) was taken to hospital after reportedly sustaining head injuries in custody on Wednesday

Neighbours of the home where little Cleo Smith (pictured) was kept prisoner before she was rescued by police on Wednesday have revealed the tell-tale signs they missed.

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her parents awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent.

Shocked neighbours tell Daily Mail Australia they were first alerted to the commotion when police flood lights lit up their cul-de-sac, which is normally bustling with children playing in their front yards and at the park across the road during daylight hours.

'My nephews went up to see what was going on and then they saw cops leading out the little white girl,' a neighbour who has known the man for more than a decade said.

Others woke to the news that Cleo had been rescued from the home 18 days after she disappeared from the Blowholes campsite, filing into the streets before the sun even rose to watch the scene unfold.

The neighbour said he was a loner who 'kept to himself' and was not the type of person anyone else in the street would 'have a yarn with' despite being a long term resident.

He last saw the man just three days after little Cleo disappeared. Former friends say the man had not long been freed from jail.

'His grandmother raised him... but after she died a year or so ago, nobody went over to yarn to him,' he said.

'He got a new car after he used to park it in the driveway and then close the gate, every day, always went and put the car in the same spot and closed the gate.'

Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine described the moment four police officers including himself burst inside and rescued Cleo

'[I was] shocked to start with. Quickly followed by elation. They could have been anyone of the team but it turned out that I was of four guys that was fortunate enough to go through that door and make that rescue,' he said.

'We had always hoped for that outcome but were not prepared for it was absolutely fantastic. Originally, to see her sitting there in the way that she was, it was incredible.

'I asked her what her name was. One of the guys jumped in front of me and picked up and I just wanted to be absolutely sure that, it certainly looks like Cleo.

'I wanted to be sure it was her. I said, "what is your name?" She didn't answer, I asked three times and then she looked at me and said "my name is Cleo." And that was it.'

Sergeant Blaine said the next task was to call Cleo's parents, which he and another officer did from the car. 'You can imagine, absolute surprise and they were ecstatic,' he said.

The moment Cleo was reunited with her mother was just as heartwarming, as she immediately shouted 'mummy!'

'A lot of kisses, hugs and tears,' Sergeant Blaine said - and that included hardened police officers.

'People were in tears. It is fair to say. It is an amazing outcome. We hoped, we kept working with that believe that we could get there, you could find Cleo. I don't know what happened but we were lucky,' he said.

Sergeant Blaine said Cleo was in good spirits and communicating well with officers, though there was more interviews to do in coming days.

'Having seen her a couple times this morning, she is a little Energiser bunny. How she has that much energy, I wish I did, I am about ready to go to sleep,' he said.

'Very sweet, energetic girl. Very trusting and very open with us. We all wanted to take turns holding her. It was a really good experience.'

Police received a sudden tip-off on Tuesday night containing 'really important information about a car', which they confirmed with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads' - and just hours later raided the house.

Detectives confirmed the tip they received with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads' - and just hours later raided the house.

There were other signs too, from the sound of a little girl crying heard by neighbours to the suspected kidnapper pacing around the street and buying nappies for a child he didn't have.

However, neighbours on Tonkin Crescent admit they didn't join the dots until after Cleo was rescued and failed to report suspicious behaviour to police that could have led them to her days earlier.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled hearing a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time.

'Not last night, the night before it... I heard a little girl crying but I wouldn't expect it to be Cleo,' she told the West Australian.

'I didn't expect it would happen in this little neighbourhood, a lot of people know each other.'

It's reported that police were tipped off to the address after neighbours spotted the suspect buying nappies.

One of them told Seven News she became suspicious after seeing the suspect buying Kimbies nappies from a supermarket.

'The other day, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'

Another neighbour told Nine he had spotted the arrested man behaving bizarrely in recent days, hooning through the streets with his dogs in the front seat of his car.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time

Latest on Cleo Smith found alive after 18 days A 36-year-old man with no connection to the familyis in police custody

Neighbours said the 'quiet man' was seen buying nappies at Woolworths

Cleo found alone inside the house when police broke down the door at 1am

Police were acting on a tip-off that led them to the housing commission home

The home is just seven minutes' drive from Cleo's family home

Cleo was smiling when she was rescued, the police commissioner confirmed

She is now in hospital for an assessment after being reunited with her family Advertisement

'He's been acting a bit strange lately,' Henry Dodd told Nine News. 'He will get in his car, drive that fast.

'He doesn't have his dogs at the front [normally], he has his dogs out the back, but through this week he had his dogs out the front and he has been acting weird.'

Henry Dodd said police spent several hours driving up and down the street before breaking into the home.

Neighbours described the man as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

'Everyone that knows the person that stays in that house, wouldn't think that it would be him,' he said.

'We got a shock ourselves that it was him.'

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S**t, she's been that close.'

Another local described the man in custody as an 'oddball'.

'He is a very quiet guy, bit of an oddball definitely wouldn't have picked him it has completely derailed me,' Rennee Turner said.

'I'd heard whispers I kind of figured the police might have had an idea of what was going on, because I have never seen such a massive amount of cops here for so long.'

Others said he in recent weeks bought food he didn't usually buy, and that he moved his dog that usually stayed in the backyard to the front yard.

Neighbours who witnessed the dramatic police raid, after which officers were seen carrying a crow bar and a battering ram out of the house, described how Cleo was carried to safety.

In the early hours of the morning, police smashed through the locked door of a home (pictured) in the Brockman suburb of Carnarvon, Western Australia, to rescue the four year old

One neighbour Henry (pictured) said he had spotted the arrested man behaving unusually in recent days, hooning through the streets in his car with his dogs in the front seat

'We stood back and waited but after that, we saw someone, on the detective shoulder. We thought it might be the little girl, which it was,' Henry Dodd told Seven News.

'I went closer to the detectives car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her. They put her in the back and I came over, rushed over here and seen her there. She looked at me, a bit scared.'

Mr Dodd said he was shocked he had been just metres away from her while the nationwide hunt was going on for her.

'I just can't believe it and get over the fact that she is just the house down from us and locked up here for a couple of weeks,' he added.

'Going on three weeks, she is straight across from us. I've got little sisters there...'

Cleo was found alone in this suburban home in Carnarvon, in the north-west of Western Australia, shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning

Deputy WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said Tuesday night's tip was the final piece of the puzzle that allowed detectives to finally track down Cleo.

'We've collected phone data, witness statements, DNA, fingerprints, rubbish along the highways, CCTV - we've collected everything,' he said.

'The million dollar reward helped us with collecting even more from the members of the public. Everyone came forward to helping us.

'There were car movements, there were phone movements, there were antecedents of people, the jigsaw fit the puzzle.

'We had to find that needle. Last night the needle in the haystack came out and they acted in a heartbeat.'

The vital tip-off was the last piece of the puzzle in a case that until then frustrated and eluded detectives and had Australians fearing Cleo would never be found, let alone alive.

Police said Cleo was smiling when she was rescued at the house, with the moment captured on police bodycam footage that brought a tear to his eye.

'Ive seen it. It's burned into my memory for life. You cannot look at that and not feel it in your heart. Unbelievable moment,' he said.

'I saw detectives that have worked for 18 days straight, 24/7 see little Cleo in a room, and just the look on their faces. The care that was expressed immediately, the cuddling, the asking of her name, her little voice.'

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

Daily Mail Australia understands a local police officer rang Cleo's mother to break the incredible news. She is now in hospital for assessment.

Ms Smith wrote on Instagram hours later: 'Our family is whole again.'

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ms Smith earlier wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result

'Seeing Ellie saying her 'beautiful girl is home' is nothing short of a miracle.'

In a local Facebook group, a concerned local suggested people in the small town remove 'missing' posters and stickers to prevent the family from suffering any more trauma.

But the youngster's mother Ellie Smith commented on the post to let people know it was unnecessary.

'Cleo has seen her photo. She thought it was beautiful,' Ms Smith wrote.

Cleo's biological father Daniel Staines, who lives with his parents about 1,000km south of Carnarvon in Halls Head, said he is 'overjoyed' that the little girl was found alive.

'We are all absolutely overjoyed at the good news this morning and so happy that Cleo has been reunited with her mum and dad,' the Staines family said in a statement to The West Australian.

'Thank you to everyone who helped look for her and bring her home, particularly the WA Police, SES and the Carnarvon community.'

They sent Cleo, her step-father Jake Gliddon and Ellie their 'best wishes'.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster (pictured) was good as can be expected

Cleo's mum Ellie Smith broke her silence on Wednesday morning, sharing a series of love heart emojis on Instagram after her daughter was found alive and well

What happened to Cleo in the house where she was held captive for more than two weeks, without her family, but psychologists said she would have a long road to recovery.

Police Air Wing PC12 picked up the suspect, who has no relation to Cleo's family, from Carnarvon and landed at Perth's Jandakot Airport late on Wednesday morning.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson was on board the plane and will spend the day meeting with police involved in the rescue and checking in with Cleo's family.

The police chief broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said Cleo was as good as can be expected.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said.

'She's as well as we could expect in the circumstances. She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He said Cleo's parents were emotional but doing well.

'They're strong people, they are really strong people. They have good support around them,' Commissioner Dawson said.

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'
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New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams threw a star-studded VIP victory party last night where he promised to embrace the city's financial leaders, drawing applause from some of the Big Apple's biggest movers-and-shakers after earlier slamming his predecessor, fellow Democrat Bill de Blasio, for his 'failure'.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker were among the VIP guests to join in the celebrations after the outgoing Brooklyn borough president and former cop convincingly beat his GOP opponent Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday's election.

'Can we hit reset with our business community? Can I say to you that this is going to become one of the most business-friendly cities?' Adams said at the victory party to enthusiastic applause.

Adams also promised his 100 guests to spend the city's almost $100billion budget more intelligently, while they enjoyed a selection of party food including sushi and sliders at Manhattan's Soho hot spot Zero Bond.

'Year after year after year, we're taking $97 billion dollars and giving you an inferior product and we're supposed to act like everything is all right? Damn it it's not alright,' Adams, wearing a blue flower-print sports jacket, said.

Speaking earlier after the results were announced, Adams promised to fight for all New Yorkers who had been failed by his predecessor.

Adams, 61, told his supporters on Tuesday night, after roundly defeating his Republican challenger, Curtis Sliwa, that his campaign 'was never, never, never about me'.

'This campaign was for those who have been betrayed by their government,' he said. There is a covenant between government and the people of our city: you pay your taxes, we deliver your tax dollars through goods and services. We have failed to provide those goods and services  Jan. 1, that stops. That stops!'

Adams has routinely vocalized his disapproval of de Blasio and took steps to distance himself from the city's leader while on the campaign trail.

He previously accused the progressive Democrat of not being 'committed and dedicated to the city.' Adams also alleged that New York needs to move away from de Blasio's policies which made it 'a city of disorder' and an 'enemy of business.'

Eric Adams (right) is joined by Jordan Coleman (left) Forest Whitaker (centre) at the Mayor Elect Eric Adams Celebration Party at Zero Bond on November 02, 2021 in New York City

Mayor-elect Eric Adams promised to fight for all New Yorkers while also taking a dig at the leadership of his predecessor, fellow Democrat Bill de Blasio, during his victory speech Tuesday night (pictured giving an election-night victory speech on Tuesday)

Adams alleged that de Blasio (pictured at the polls on Election Day after voting on Park Slope) failed his constituents, which served as the motivation behind his campaign

At the victory party, Schmidt called Adams 'total shift from Mayor de Blasio' - who once quoted Karl Marx to explain his aversion towards big business and the private sector - and hailed the election winner as a 'big deal'.

'New York doesn't work unless it grows because the costs are so high and the pressures are so great if you hold it flat it doesn't handle it correctly,' Google's former CEO told the New York Post. 'So you have to have a pro-growth mayor. He's clearly a pro-growth mayor which is why the business community came out so strongly for him.'

Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan called Adams' victory 'a great start,' sharing his desire for New York City to get back to normal after the pandemic. 'People aren't in their offices, the tourists aren't here yet,' he said.

Forest Whittaker hailed Adams for his rags-to-riches story. The new mayor grew up in abject poverty in Brownsville, Brooklyn and will begin his leadership of America's largest city from January 1.

'We have a leader that has some sense of community. He's somebody who is part of the community. He's somebody who has experienced some of the greatest hardships the country has to offer,' Whittaker told the Post.

'Now we have someone who understands, who's empathic. He is going to be able to work with us and lead us as a city,' the actor - who won his best actor Academy Award for his performance in 'The Last King of Scotland' - said.

Other big names at the party also joined in with the praise of Adams. Rapper Ja Rule called him 'an amazing new mayor,' while Jefferies Financial Group CEO Rich Handle said Adams would 'bring everyone together'.

During his victory speech on Tuesday night at a hotel in Brooklyn, Adams praised New Yorkers for electing 'one of their own.'

'The people of our city have spoken, and tonight, New York has chosen  one of you, one of your own. I am you,' he told the crowd. 'After years of praying and hoping and struggling and working, we are headed to City Hall.

Adams  a former policeman  alleged that under de Blasio's leadership New Yorkers were forgotten and neglected.

'This campaign was about this city and the people in it  from every corner and every background in this city. Those who have been left behind and believed they would never catch up. This campaign was for the underserved, the marginalized, the abandoned,' he said.

'It is the proof that the forgotten can be the future. It is the proof that this city can live up to its promise.'

Adams promised the 100 guests at his VIP party to spend the city's almost $100billion budget more intelligently

Denise Felipe-Adams, Eric Adams and Charle Webb attend the Mayor Elect Eric Adams Celebration Party at Zero Bond on November 02, 2021 in New York City

Jonathan Cheban, Mayor-Elect Eric Adams and Kamal Hotchandani attend the Mayor Elect Eric Adams Celebration Party

Governor Kathy Hochul, who joined the mayor-elect on the victory stage (pictured), issued her congratulations and support to Adams, promising cooperation among city a state officials

Adams won New York City's mayoral race on promises to boost public safety and give voice to working-class residents, drawing on his experience as a police captain and as a black man who experienced police brutality as a youth

He won New York City's mayoral race on promises to boost public safety and give voice to working-class residents, drawing on his experience as a police captain and as a black man who experienced police brutality as a youth.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who joined the mayor-elect on the victory stage, issued her congratulations and support to Adams, promising cooperation among city a state officials.

'There is a new day dawning  a whole new era of cooperation, where the only thing the City of New York and the State of New York are fighting about is fighting to make your lives better,' Hochul said, commenting on the notorious tensions between de Blasio and ex-governor Andrew Cuomo.

'We will fight for you, not fight each other anymore.'

Adams was declared the next mayor of America's largest city shortly after the polls closed at 9pm Eastern Time, with less than 30 per cent of the vote counted. Adams already had a 50 point lead, CNN reported.

He tweeted a message of thanks to his supporters, saying: 'The polls are officially closed in NYC.

'To our supporters, volunteers & endorsers of all backgrounds, faiths & from every corner of NYC: Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for being a part of our team.

'Tonight, we celebrate  because tomorrow, the real work begins!'

Adams becomes the second black mayor in the city's history, after David Dinkins, who ruled from 1990-93. Dinkins died in November 2020, aged 93.

He will takes over in January from de Blasio, who was term-limited after eight years in office.

He will face the task of overseeing the largest U.S. city's nascent recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as confronting wealth inequality, lack of affordable housing and struggling public schools.

Adams, a centrist, had been expected to win handily in the overwhelmingly Democratic city. He trounced Republican rival and volunteer crime fighter Curtis Sliwa in the liberal-voting bastion.

Sliwa, who founded the vigilante group Guardian Angels, showed up to vote on Tuesday with his cat - one of 17 he owns.

He has made animal welfare a pillar of his campaign.

The cat was denied entry to the polling station, but a poll worker held the animal while Sliwa went inside.

Adams, seen celebrating, had been the hot favorite to win the race in the strongly-Democratic city

Adams is seen at his victory party at the Brooklyn Bridge Hotel on Tuesday night

Supporters of the former NYPD officer are seen inside the Brooklyn Bridge Hotel on Tuesday. night

In a news conference after he cast his ballot, Adams was seen wiping away a tear

Adams was facing Republican Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa in the race. Pictured: Sliwa arrives to vote with a rescue cat named Gizmo in New York, Tuesday

Sliwa is seen arriving to vote with his wife, Nancy Regula, and a rescue cat named Gizmo

Mr Sliwa saw his ballot get jammed in the machine, and it needed to be fixed. Pictured: Poll workers and other officials try to fix a scanner after it jammed while mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa was voting in New York, Tuesday. Officials were able to fix the problem and Sliwa vote was eventually counted

He carried his kitten, Gizmo, in a blanket, as Sliwa described how he was almost euthanized after getting a fungus.

'Gizmo was on the kill list,' he told reporters outside of the polling site at the Louis D. Brandeis High School.

'Thank God my wife was able to save Gizmo.

'I know people have laughed at me, but as Gandhi said  go ahead laugh at Gandhi  a society that doesn't treat its animals well won't treat its people well,' he said, according to City and State reporter Jeff Coltin.

'We're going to rescue the emotionally disturbed and the homeless and the cats and dogs who got slaughtered.'

He soon quarreled with election officials, shouting 'Arrest me,' when they asked him to take off his red jacket with his name on it  a violation of electioneering laws.

Sliwa said he had been allowed to wear the jacket and bring Gizmo into the polling place earlier in the week during early voting, and apparently won the quarrel as he was seen still wearing his red jacket as he cast his ballot.

But the story didn't end there  Sliwa's ballot got jammed in the scanning machine, and it had to be repaired.

And an election workers who were upset with his outfit reportedly hurled an expletive at Sliwa while asking him to leave.

'They couldn't have been more hostile,' Sliwa said after he left the polling site more than an hour later, and was reunited with Gizmo, who was being watched by a staffer.

As he cradled Gizmo, he reportedly told the cat: 'You were shunned. You were exiled. You were told you were persona non grata.'

The bizarre set of events comes just days after Sliwa was hit by a taxi.

He was seen on Tuesday with a sling on his left arm, and told reporters that he was in pain from the accident, but he was far more concerned for city workers who were placed on unpaid leave this week for refusing to get vaccinated  an issue he has focused on in the final weeks of his campaign.

'If I'm fortunate enough to be elected mayor, on January 2, I will roll back the mandates.'

Rudy Giuliani, who was mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001, cast his vote on Tuesday at Hunter College on Lexington Avenue, on the Upper East Side

Poll workers help voters check in to cast their ballots in New York City on Tuesday

New Yorkers went to the polls on Tuesday to choose their next mayor and a host of other city officials

New York mayor is often described as the most difficult job in the United States after president.

When Adams takes his new office he will be tasked with managing the city's $99 billion budget, 300,000-strong workforce, educating nearly a million children in public schools.

A victory for Adams caps a remarkable rise for someone who was born in poverty in Brooklyn and briefly worked for a gang as a teenager before a beating by police officers spurred his determination to reform the NYPD from within.

'Because I'm standing here, everyday New Yorkers are going to realize that they deserve the right to stand in the city also. This is for the little guy,' said Adams, wiping away tears outside a polling station after casting his vote.

Adams cast his ballot at his Bedford-Stuyvesant poll site Tuesday morning while clutching a photo of his late mother Dorothy Adams. She died in March aged 83.

The 61-year-old will succeed unpopular progressive Bill de Blasio, whose two-term limit ends December 31.

As mayor for more than eight million people, Adams will oversee America's largest municipal budget, crippled by the Covid-19 crisis, and its biggest police force and public school system.

He will be tasked with leading the city's recovery after the pandemic, which has killed more than 34,000 residents and closed hundreds of thousands of businesses.

The moderate candidate defeated progressive rivals in June's Democratic primary by mainly pledging to crack down on violent crime that soared during the pandemic.

He promised to tackle wealth inequalities and reform the education system, as well.

Adams will also have to grapple with a severe lack of affordable housing, violent chaos at the notorious Rikers Island prison and the effects of more extreme weather events on New York's creaking infrastructure.

One of his trickiest balancing acts will be trying to reform police practices while keeping onside a heavily unionized force that feels it has been underappreciated during the de Blasio era.

Adams opposes defunding the police, a policy that is a rallying cry for many on the American left.

He is also seen as friendly towards the business community and has not called for higher taxes for wealthy residents.

The election also comes amid an increase in crime city wide

The election also comes as de Blasio's vaccine mandate for all city employees, ranging from police officers to parks employees, goes into effect.

On Monday, about 9,000 of New York City's 378,000 municipal employees were put on leave without pay as the vaccine mandate went into effect, de Blasio announced on Tuesday.

Under the mandate, all city employees had until 5pm Friday to show that they had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine or request an exemption.

About 92 per cent have now received at least one dose, including a large number of first responders, CNN reports, while about 12,000 other employees have applied for a religious or medical exemption.

City officials are expected to rule on those cases in the coming days, and those who requested exemptions can continue working at least until their case is decided.

The mandate has not resulted in any service interruptions for the city police, fire and sanitation departments, de Blasio said on Monday, but angry essential workers protested in Manhattan against the rule.

'When we go to calls, we don't judge and say are you worth saving?' said one protester, speaking to Fox News on Monday.

'But now our livelihoods and our families well being is a question, are we worth it? We never asked that question during the pandemic.

'Now we are being thrown to the trash like garbage. It's not right.'

Tensions are running high in the city and when Kamala Harris, who was in New York City on Monday evening for a gala at Carnegie Hall, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, ran into a group of angry anti-mandate protesters, she was heckled.

In Staten Island on Monday, five demonstrators were reportedly arrested for blocking sanitation trucks from leaving the station, in protest against the mandate.

Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY-Firefighters Association, told Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham on Monday night that they were not anti-vaccine, but they did not support a vaccine mandate.

He criticized the de Blasio administration for their timeframe, describing it as unworkable.

'When you tell someone they have nine days to make a decision for a vaccination or lose their job, they don't want to work with you,' he said.

'Teachers were given over a month, and corrections does not have to make the decision until December 1st.

'So once again, the mayor is showing that people that care for criminals have more rights than people who care for the average New Yorker.'

Ansbro said that he was unable to confirm the figure of 2,300 firefighters calling in sick over the mandate, because the fire department did not share their data with the union.

Outgoing mayor Bill de Blasio has filed paperwork to run for statewide office

Meanwhile, outgoing de Blasio filed paperwork that sets him up for a run for governor.

On October 27, Bloomberg reports, de Blasio filled out two out of three forms required to create a new committee called New Yorkers for a Fair Future.

Once he files the last of the paperwork, the committee can start fundraising for statewide office.

De Blasio said in an interview with New York 1 News on Monday that the committee is 'a vehicle that I'll be using to get the message out about things we need to do differently in New York City and New York state.'

He said he plans to continue in public service, but declined to go as far as to officially declare his candidacy in a Tuesday interview on MSNBC.

'There's a lot that needs to be fixed in Albany,' he said, instead.

'I look forward to being part of that discussion.'

He also told CNN viewers to 'draw your own conclusions' about his filing paperwork, and went on to agree with anchor John Berman's assessment that he's 'not not running.'

'I like that,' de Blasio said. 'Use the double negative. That always works.'

De Blasio used the opportunity on Tuesday morning to tout what he considers his successes as mayor, including establishing universal preschool, adding affordable housing and reforming the NYPD.

He also took credit for the city's handling of the pandemic, according to the New York Daily News, arguing his leadership made New York one of the safest places in the country.

He said in the interview that his decision to mandate vaccines is a crucial example of his willingness to make tough decisions.

'I say this to every mayor in America, every governor, every CEO of a company in America: Put vaccine mandates into effect. It works,' he told Berman.

'This is what is going to make us safe,' he added. 'You got to do it so that we can actually end the COVID era.'

If de Blasio does enter the race he would face Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom have already announced their candidacy.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Representative Tom Suozzi are also reportedly considering entering the race, and New York Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs has already endorsed Hochul, saying he was hoping to avoid a fractious primary.

On the Republican side, meanwhile, Representative Lee Zeldin, former Westchester Executive Rob Astorino and Andrew Giuliani are vying for the nomination.

De Blasio has previously brushed off his unpopularity with New Yorkers, even as polls showed that nearly half of New Yorkers disapproved of his job as mayor.

'I have seen polls like that literally every time I've run for office,' he said in a briefing two weeks ago. 'If I worried about stuff like that I wouldn't be sitting in this chair right now, literally.'

'If I had been daunted and overawed by early polling, I wouldn't have bothered to keep forging ahead - and I'm glad I forged ahead.'

Adams has vowed to reverse several of de Blasio's failed policing and school initiatives.

He said he will revive the NYPD's plainclothes anti-crime unit tasked with firearms arrests; tweak the Gifted and Talented program for elementary school students, which de Blasio proposed dismantling and integrating into regular classrooms; and make City Hall more business-friendly than it was under his predecessor.

Adams fought off fellow Democrats including Kathryn Garcia, a former sanitation chief, and Maya Wiley, a progressive who worked for de Blasio.
Old people rattling around in houses that are too big for them will be encouraged to downsize, the housing minister said yesterday.

Chris Pincher told the House of Lords that almost four in ten properties are under-occupied and could be better used by younger families with children.

And he said that the Government is keen to encourage housebuilders to create more developments suitable for pensioners, freeing up space in semis and in turn opening up more places for first-time buyers.

Chris Pincher, pictured, told the House of Lords that there is 'an opportunity to encourage downsizing, encourage the growth of the later living sector in order to free up homes in the middle of the market'

His comments to the Lords built environment committee come amid increasing concern that young people are unable to get on the housing ladder due to soaring prices and a huge shortage of suitable properties.

The Government has pledged to build 300,000 homes a year but radical plans to achieve this by shaking up the planning system are set to be watered down after a revolt by Tory politicians and voters in wealthy areas.

Mr Pincher was asked by Baroness Bakewell, former tsar for the elderly, what thought was being given to the increasing numbers of older people who may wish to downsize.

He replied: The challenge is that in the early 1990s, something like 31 per cent of properties were under-occupied: They were too big for the numbers of people rattling around inside them.

Old people rattling around in houses that are too big for them will be encouraged to downsize, the housing minister said yesterday

'And now that percentage is 38 per cent. So its a very significant number of properties where we see under-occupation.

He continued: So I think there is an opportunity to encourage downsizing, encourage the growth of the later living sector in order to free up homes in the middle of the market, those two, three-bedroom semis, so that those properties can be moved into.

If you open up a three-bedroom semi for occupation, two or three steps back in the chain, youre very likely to open up a first time buyer property.

Mr Pincher said measures to tackle the problem include a stipulation that one in ten properties built under the Governments 11.5billion Affordable Homes Programme must be specialist or adaptable, which includes later life.

But he was warned by peers that the punitive levels of stamp duty that must be paid by buyers are preventing older people from selling their large homes  downsizing has come to an end in some areas of London.

The minister replied: Im keen to make sure that we look at all the barriers that exist.
A 19-year-old at one of Britain's leading universities tried to kill herself after she accused four student sportsmen of gang rape including one undergraduate admitted to the course despite already being under investigation in the United States over other alleged sex attacks, it was revealed today.

The alleged British victim claims the international students at Oxford Brookes attacked her when she went to collect a pair of headphones from their house.

It is understood one of the accused was admitted to the university while under investigation in the United States over two allegations of rape by a female student. Oxford Brookes faces serious questions about why they allowed one of the international students to join when he had rape allegations hanging over him.

The university, which is a centre for elite sport, later expelled three of the four students after an internal investigation. One of these later had his punishment reduced to a term's suspension on appeal and was told to write a letter of apology to the alleged victim. A fourth was given a written warning.

The student tried to kill herself after the alleged attack, The Times reported. She took an overdose and spent seven weeks in a psychiatric hospital.

An investigation by Thames Valley Police was dropped without charges being brought after ambiguity over consent - but an investigation by an Oxford Brookes misconduct committee upheld the alleged victim's complaint that there had been a breach of university regulations by three of the four athletes by relying on 'balance of probability' as a burden of proof.

A 19-year-old woman claims four international students at Oxford Brookes (university is pictured) gang-raped her when she went to collect a pair of headphones from their house

The alleged victim said she had laughed off the subject of group sex when it was first raised by the men.

But when she returned to the room they were in she found furniture had been moved and bottles of alcohol produced.

'Suddenly the mood changed and it became less of a joke,' she told The Times. 'Rather, it was 'You've said this, you're all talk, you owe us, you promised this to us'.

'I just kept saying 'I said that a week ago, I don't owe you anything'. They were like 'No, you owe us group sex, you've agreed to it, we have the proof'.'

An investigation by Thames Valley Police was dropped without charges brought. Police said there was ambiguity over consent as the woman agreed to take part in some sexual activity

The men claim the woman had consented to group sex in earlier text messages and said she instigated the sexual activity.

An investigation by Thames Valley Police was dropped without charges being brought.

Police concluded there was ambiguity over consent because the woman agreed to take part in some sexual activity before and after the alleged rape.

An investigation by the Oxford Brookes misconduct committee upheld the alleged victim's complaint that there had been a breach of university regulations by three of the four athletes by relying on 'balance of probability' as a burden of proof.

It added the students 'had not taken appropriate care to establish that consent was present throughout the entire evening and this constitutes abuse'.

Oxford Brookes (pictured) expelled three students after an investigation. One's punishment was later reduced to a term's suspension on appeal and a fourth was given a written warning

The university inquiry does not imply any criminal behaviour.

A spokesman said: 'Sexual violence and harassment has no place at Oxford Brookes.

'We can confirm that in February 2018, the university received allegations relating to sexual violence involving a number of our students.

'These allegations were thoroughly investigated in accordance with the university's processes, appropriate liaison with the police took place and our internal conduct procedures were completed.

'Appropriate penalties, including the most severe penalties available to the university in relation to some of the students, were applied and were upheld on appeal.

'We recognise the very distressing nature of the allegations.'
Democrats were bracing for the prospect Tuesday night that the party's poor performance in Virginia compared to just a year ago could bode ill for the party's keeping control of the House and Senate.

Even before networks called the race for the Republican, Glenn Youngkin found ways be over-performing in rural areas carried by former President Donald Trump  while mitigating losses in suburban areas to assemble a lead over Democrat Terry McCauliffe.

It all happened in a 'purple' state where Democrat Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump just a year ago. Republicans haven't won a statewide race there since 2009.

Now, with networks calling the race for Youngkin, Democrats must assess whether Republicans have tapped into a new way to motivate voters by revving up cultural issues and opposing Democrats' unified control of government.

'Needless to say, tonight's results are consistent w/ a political environment in which Republicans would comfortably take back both the House and Senate in 2022,' wrote Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report Tuesday night.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to advance Biden's multi-billion spending packages. She holds just a three-seat majority in the House

The party has just a year to develop messaging and an agenda to help the party hang onto the Democrats' three-seat majority in the House and preserve control in the 50-50 Senate, in an off-year cycle where the president's party usually loses power.

Already anxious Democrats can look to 2009, when Republican victories in the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia presaged the Tea Party wave of 2010.

On Tuesday night, Republican Jack Jack Ciattarelli was narrowly leading Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in a state Biden won by 16 percentage points last year.

Members of the party's progressive wing, which has been battling a pair of Senate centrists over President Joe Biden's Built Back Better plan, were already trying to put the blame on establishment Democrats.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) retweeted a comment by Twitter user Secular Talk that said 'Cant wait for the left to be blamed for a not at all left democrat losing a D+10 state.' She added a face-smacking emoji.

Former Housing Secretary and defeated 2020 presidential candidate Julian Castro told MSNBC, 'There has been a lot of oxygen spent blaming the progressives, suggesting that perhaps our best bet is always a centrist candidate. I think that we need to rethink that.'

President Joe Biden had predicted a win for Terry McAuliffe in Virginia

'What happens in Virginia will in large part determine what happens in 2022, 2024, and on,' she said,' said Vice President Kamala Harris

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who recently announced he was forming a new party called Forward, wrote that the Democratic candidate was not the problem.

'Democrats will try to pin this on McAuliffe but the dynamics in VA will play out all over the country unless something very dramatic changes in the next number of months,' he tweeted.

Former President Biden himself had predicted 'We're going to win' just hours before the results came in. He spoke about the terrain McAuliffe had to overcome  although his statement could also apply to the next congressional elections in 2022.

'We all knew from the beginning it's gonna be a tight race. The off year is always unpredictable,' he said. Biden's own approval ratings have taken a dip in recent weeks and months, placing a burden on McAuliffe.

The Republican National Committee was already making hay Tuesday night of video of Vice President Kamala Harris from her October rally for McAuliffe: 'What happens in Virginia will in large part determine what happens in 2022, 2024, and on,' she said.

Republicans played up VP Kamala Harris' prior comments on the importance of the state

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and failed mayoral candidate called for 'dramatic changes'

Republican Glenn Youngkin (left) and Democrat Terry McAuliffe (right) continued to campaign on Tuesday after a full day of cross-state rallies on Monday

McAuliffe had urged Congress to act on stalled budget legislation  something lawmakers weren't able to do amid factional splits and a refusal by centrist Sens. Joe Manchin and Kystren Sinema to get behind a $1.75 trillion deal.

Even if it wasn't a major factor in the Virginia race, it wasn't immediately clear if the Virginia results would encourage holdouts to double down on their reservations  or see the risks of not giving lawmakers a clear platform to run on.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Tuesday there was no 'hurry' to act on the president's top priority.

The prospect of potential future losses, even if only on the surface, can have an impact on candidate recruitment, retirements, and fundraising in ways that can become self-fulfilling.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan will finally let some of his state's residents return home after easing border restrictions with NSW.

Certain exempted residents currently out of the state will be able to return home from 12.01am this Saturday.

Mr McGowan said NSW will be downgraded from extreme risk to high risk, based on health advice.

'Western Australia is now in a position to slightly ease our border restrictions with NSW,' Mr McGowan said at a press conference on Wednesday morning.

'A number of safeguards will still be in place to give greater certainty to West Australians who are approved travellers entering from NSW so they can do so safely.'

Mr McGowan announced a 'transition plan' for reopening the state would be released this Friday.

'Western Australia is now in a position to slightly ease our border restrictions with NSW,' Mr McGowan said at a press conference on Wednesday morning

Certain categories of 'approved traveller' will be permitted to enter Western Australia from Saturday, but tight Covid restrictions remain

To be given an exemption to enter WA from NSW, approved travellers include certain senior government officials. certain members of the military, people carrying out 'certain specialist functions' and some people involved in matters approved by the state's emergency co-ordinator.

'The final category includes those West Australians that may have travelled to NSW recently, have roots in WA, and have a legitimate right to return subject to relevant quarantine conditions and required evidence,' Mr McGowan said.

Exempted travellers must also be fully vaccinated, provide proof of a negative Covid test 72 hours before arrival and complete 14 days of home quarantine.

They must also undergo a further Covid test within 48 hours of arriving back in WA and on day 12.

Mr McGowan said the requirement of full vaccination to enter WA applied to all medium, high and extreme risk jurisdictions from this Friday.

'The same requirement comes into effect for low-risk jurisdictions on November 15,' he said.

Victoria remained 'extreme risk', while the ACT is considered 'medium'.

Quarantine-free travel to the state remained possible for 'low-risk' states - Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

Health care workers are seen checking passengers arriving from Sydney at Perth Airport. 'If the health advice changes we will not hesitate to do what is required to keep West Australians safe,' WA Premier Mark McGowan said

'If the health advice changes we will not hesitate to do what is required to keep West Australians safe,' Mr McGowan said.

The premier said a super vaccination weekend effort will take place this weekend with no appointment required at clinics and hubs.

West Australia's vaccination rate of those aged 12 or over is now 78.7 per cent having received a first dose, with 62.8 per cent now fully vaccinated.

Mr McGowan also announced a $400million funding boost for WA hospitals to 'cope with when Covid gets here next year'.

The WA premier continues to resist calls to fully open WA borders to states such as NSW and Victoria, despite their high vaccination rates and cases dropping rapidly in NSW.

'The NSW position is that Covid is just everywhere,' he said on Monday. 'Its in most communities, its certainly rife in the city.

'Here in WA, we dont have it at all - at all. Therefore we have a virtually unique opportunity to get to very high levels of vaccination before such a time as we allow Covid to come in.'

Yesterday racegoers hit Mr McGowan with a barrage of angry comments at a Perth horserace on Melbourne Cup Day

Yesterday racegoers hit Mr McGowan with a barrage of angry comments at a Perth horserace on Melbourne Cup Day - prompting his security to pull at least one punter aside.

'Build back better! How much did the new world order pay you?' one male crowd member can be heard yelling at Mr McGowan in a clip shared to TikTok on Tuesday.

While West Australians have enjoyed no lockdowns and the state has been booming thanks to the mining sector, Mr McGowan's recently announced widespread vaccine mandates have angered many.

'Mr McGowan did not get the warm reception he hoped for,' the caption to the clip reads.
An official Cop26 partner has been accused of not doing enough to tackle deforestation caused by palm oil.

Dettol, which has supplied hand sanitiser and handwash for the event, has been criticised for making claims to environmental sustainability while making little progress.

In a report this year, WWF awarded companies points out of 24 based on their practices in sourcing palm oil.

Dettol supplied hand sanitiser and handwash for Cop26. Earlier this year its parents company Reckitt was named as the hygiene partner forthe event

Dettols parent company Reckitt Benckiser was ranked 11.4 out of 24  below average for the 227 companies that were surveyed.

Palm oil is found in a wide range of goods but its production often means plantations replacing forests in south-east Asia.

WWF said: Our planet can no longer wait for palm oil buyers to turn promises into action.

Reckitt was named Cop26 hygiene partner as it vowed to protect, heal and nurture for a cleaner, healthier world.

A spokesman said: Reckitt is committed to zero deforestation and responsible sourcing, including for palm oil.

Peat land being burnt in preparation for the opening of a new palm oil plantation at a protected area of the Rawa Singkil wildlife reserve in Indonesia

A Cop26 spokesman said all sponsors met robust criteria.

The WWF added: Slow action by much of the industry means that sustainability efforts fall drastically short of what is needed to counteract the ongoing damage caused by unsustainable palm oil production.

A large number of companies also continue to avoid all responsibility and accountability by failing to disclose information on their palm oil usage and sustainability efforts.

A worker carry palm oil fruits in Indonesia. Palm oil is found in a wide range of goods but its production often means plantations replacing forests in south-east Asia

From deforestation to biodiversity loss to global warming, unsustainable practices by the palm oil industry have contributed to the climate and nature crises we currently face.

Tackling them calls for accelerated and concerted corporate action.

Earlier this year, Reckitt was named as the hygiene partner for Cop26 as it announced a sustainability plan in which it vowed to protect, heal and nurture for a cleaner, healthier world.

As Hygiene Partner for Cop26, Reckitt is committed to combatting climate change and will provide an unrivalled level of scientific and medical expertise to develop and implement- hygiene protocols of the highest standards, it said.
The French ambassador has accused the Australian Government of a 'stab in the back' for the way it cancelled a deal to buy 12 French submarines, causing an ongoing diplomatic crisis.

Jean-Pierre Thebault said Prime Minister Scott Morrison intended to deceive France before he scrapped the contract in favour of a nuclear submarine partnership with the US and UK in September.

'This decision was deliberately kept secret for months, even years,' Mr Thebault told the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday.

Jean-Pierre Thebault (pictured today) accused the Australian Government of a 'stab in the back' and said Mr Morrison intended to deceive his country's long-standing ally

Mr Thebault said Australia never consulted France about the possibility of nuclear-powered subs and instead turned its back on its ally to announce a new AUKUS partnership.

'The way this Australian Government decided to turn its back on our solemn and far reaching partnership without ever frankly consulting with France, when there were countless opportunities, without having shared frankly and openly, or having looked for alternatives with France, is just out of this world,' he said.

The deceit was intentional... the way it was handled was plainly a stab in the back Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault

Mr Thebault refuted concerns about cost blowouts and long delays in delivering the conventionally powered attack-class submarines.

'The program was acceptable, affordable and compliant,' he said, insisting the deal was still within its $50billion budget.

The ambassador, who was recalled to Paris in a highly unusual move after the deal was scrapped, explained why he thinks Mr Morrison did not tell President Emmanuel Macron in advance.

'Probably the reason for which the Australian Government did not want to be explicit was frankly explained by the Prime Minister himself on 16 September,' he said.

'I quote, ''there was never ever any certainty at the long and painstaking AUKUS process would result in where we are now. And indeed, if we were unable to access this technology, then the attack class submarine is the best submarine that we have been able to utilise''.'

An awkward handshake in Rome between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron (left) at the G20 summit this week

Mr Thebault explained: 'Confronted with the high uncertainties which are not finished surrounding the likely closure of an alternative deal, it was a necessary to continue the possibility of continuing the future submarine program.

'It was mandatory to keep us on the backburner. The deceit was intentional... the way it was handled was plainly a stab in the back.'

The ambassador explained that France was left furious because 'the attack class program was always far more than a contract.'

He described the deal, which was signed in 2016 and involved sharing 'one of most classified and sensitive defence programs' as an 'unprecedented act of trust'.

France's Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault arrives at Sydney Airport before leaving the country on September 18

'It was bringing our relationship with Australia to a level never reached before. Politically, and technologically. Fully complementing Australia's and France's historical alliance with the US,' he said.

'I do respect sovereign choices. But you have to respect allies and partners. And do I think what has happened is detrimental to the reputation of your country.'

Mr Morrison announced his decision to cancel French submarine contract in a joint press conference with the Boris Johnson and Joe Biden on September 16.

Mr Morrison wants US or UK-style nuclear-powered submarines, which are faster, stealthier and can stay at sea longer than conventional submarines, by 2040.

France was blindsided by the move and said it was 'stabbed in the back'.

After Mr Macron accused Mr Morrison of lying to him on Monday, the Prime Minister hit back saying he would not cop 'sledging.'

The French president had claimed he was not informed about Australia's plans to tear up the defence contract until moments before the AUKUS security pact was revealed to the world.

But in a message believed leaked by Mr Morrison's office to show President Macron knew the agreement was on shaky ground, the French leader wrote: 'Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarines ambitions?'

A secret leaked text message (pictured) appears to show that Emmanuel Macron was given warning that Australia would torpedo its $90billion submarine deal with France

Quizzed by reporters in Dubai on Thursday - on his way back from the Glasgow climate summit - Mr Morrison did not deny leaking the text.

'Claims had been made and those claims were refuted,' he said.

Mr Morrison had conceded Mr Macron was not aware of negotiations with the US and the UK, but said the French leader was told as early as June that Australia was consulting on other options for submarines.

He denied lying to President Macron but Mr Thebault said his leader was 'misled' and this amounted to a lie among allies.

'Was the president lied to? Yes, he was,' he said.

'Maybe there's a difference between misleading and lying. But, you know, among heads of states and governments, when you mislead a friend and an aIly, you lie to him.'

Mr Morrison claims France should have realised the deal was on the rocks - but Mr Thebault said this was 'fiction' and used a telling example to show that France was deceived.

'This is fiction. What is a hard fact is that still on August 30, French and Australian ministers of foreign affairs and defence had a dialogue, and they agreed a joint communique.

'It was available to the public and widely acclaimed for its ambition. It agreed the following sentence, ''the two countries underline the importance of the future submarine program''.

'Do you agree on such a communique when there's the slightest doubt on something so massive as the official backbone of your co-operation? Maybe on Mars, but not that I know on this planet,' he said.

Mr Thebault said France was 'not at all' aware that Australia was looking at other options.
With double vaccinated NSW residents finally allowed to travel to the regions after months of lockdown, in demand areas on the central coast and south coast are set to be brimming with eager holidaymakers this weekend.

Real estate agency Belle Properties launched Belle Escapes in 2019 on the central coast of NSW to cater to guests wanting a quick getaway - and come Friday afternoon, the company currently has just two homes available from their portfolio of 70 properties.

Ryan South, the general manager of Belle Escapes, told Daily Mail Australia the surge of interest in the region north of Sydney has been unprecedented.

'We tend to see an influx of people leading into Christmas and the New Year, but the past few weeks has been incredible,' he said.

'I would say we are close to capacity, I will be surprised if we have any remaining vacancies by Friday this week.

This property at Terrigal on the central coast of NSW is always popular given its proximity to the beach and local eateries

Belle Escapes also has a luxury property dubbed 'Northwind' at Macmasters Beach on the NSW central coast available

The expansive home at Macmasters Beach in NSW can cater for multiple families seeking a relaxing weekend away

'Places like Avoca and Terrigal used to be the "go to" suburbs, but in recent months we have seen people wishing to branch out and explore other areas the (central) coast has to offer.

'The likes of Ettalong, Blue Bay and Gorokan... the expression of interest has been enormous.

'At this stage, we will be flat out until at least February next year.'

Mr South also confirmed while the majority of local properties they manage are owned by Sydneysiders, they also oversee houses or apartments owned by people abroad from the likes of Dubai and Singapore.

'We are a boutique firm who offer a curated experience for our clients,' he said.

'Property interest in the entire region has been incredible, especially now that we are out of lockdown and (most) people can travel freely.'

On the south coast of NSW, countless weekend Airbnb's have already been snapped up for this Saturday and Sunday at the likes of Kiama and Wollongong.

In the same region, elite beachside tourist destinations such as Mollymook and Merimbula are equally popular - and have vacancies this weekend.

But the beachside experience won't come cheap - Booking.com is currently advertising a luxury apartment opposite the beach in Mollymook for a whopping $2,333 for a two-night stay.

Airbnb hosts in surrounding suburbs such as Ulladulla and Huskisson are also tipped to be increasingly busy as summer rapidly approaches.

Booking.com is also offering luxury style living at Mollymook on the NSW south coast for eager holiday goers

The luxury property in Mitchell Rd, Mollymook presents the ultimate weekend retreat for guests

Weekend getaways for families at Kiama, on the NSW south coast are proving to be popular

For many locals outside of Sydney holiday accommodation across the warmer months in NSW has become highly profitable - and for some, presents their chief source of income.

Other locations on the NSW south coast set to thrive over the next few months include Gerringong, Culburra Beach and Jervis Bay, famed for its glistening white sand.

In September vacation rental company Airbnb confirmed a huge spike in interest for December and January, with the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast topping the list of the most-searched destinations across Australia.

The next most popular options are Byron Bay on the NSW mid-north coast, followed by the Great Ocean Road and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

Australia's top travel agency Flight Centre also revealed previously locked-down Sydneysiders and Melburnians are hoping to head to the Sunshine State in large numbers once restrictions finally ease.
Thousands of Australians never gave up hope Cleo Smith would be returned to her family

For millions of Australians learning Cleo Smith had been found alive and well on Wednesday morning the news was as stunning as it was joyful.

As each of the 18 days since Cleo disappeared from a remote campsite in Western Australia passed the likelihood she would be safely located seemed even more remote.

Most of the nation had likely dismissed any chance the four-year-old would be returned to her family but enough of those who believe in miracles never gave up hope.

From Cleo's mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon to the strangers who volunteered to help search for the toddler, their faith never waivered for weeks.

After months of widespread despondency amid the Covid-19 pandemic the country needed a feel-good news story but this one almost defies belief.

Some of those who sought to assist in locating the missing girl sought divine intervention while others pursued more practical means.

Police Minister Paul Papalia said on Wednesday afternoon: 'If you feel the need to thank God today, thank God for the Western Australian Police Force.'

From Cleo's mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon (both pictured) to the strangers who volunteered to help search for their daughter, their faith never waivered for weeks

Thousands of stickers, flyers, posters and T-shirts appealing for information about Cleo were printed and distributed around the country and electronic billboards were installed in stores

As recently as Monday, Western Australia's Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said while time was every criminal investigator's enemy his officers would never abandon the hunt for Cleo

Last Thursday, family, friends and classmates of Cleo had gathered at St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Carnarvon, 900km north of Perth, to pray for her safety and wellbeing.

On Monday, Western Australia's Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said while time was every criminal investigator's enemy his officers would never abandon the hunt for Cleo.

'It's now been 16 days, and so clearly, every day that goes past is most difficult for Cleo's parents and loved ones,' Mr Dawson said.

'Obviously, we share their concern. We'll continue to walk with them.

'Again, I appeal to the community, if you have any information, please bring it forward. It's most important that we remain focused on the goal... to find Cleo.'

That a child could disappear from her parents' tent without anyone noticing raised immediate suspicions, some of it wrongly directed at Cleo's parents.

It was initially hoped when the alarm was raised on September 16 that the girl had merely wandered off and would soon be found.

But as time passed her disappearance appeared to be more sinister and the case dominated the news locally, while making headlines around the world.

The morning Cleo went missing from the Blowholes camp at Macleod, 75km north of Carnarvon, the search involved SES volunteers, boats, aircraft and drones

As time passed Cleo's disappearance appeared to be more sinister than her wandering off and the case dominated the news locally, while making headlines around the world

Concerns Cleo had been kidnapped grew when police revealed Cleo's sleeping bag was gone and that she could not have reached a zip that left the family's tent open.

From the start, authorities spared no resources.

The morning Cleo went missing from the Blowholes camp at Macleod, 75km north of Carnarvon, the search involved SES volunteers, boats, aircraft and drones.

By the next day the army's Pilbara Regiment was called in to help.

Three days after the last sighting of Cleo police issued a nationwide appeal for information on her whereabouts.

Almost 20 registered sex offenders in the Carnarvon area were investigated as Cleo's parents guaranteed she would not have wandered off by herself.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan made regular appeals for assistance and just six days after Cleo went missing announced a $1million reward.

'All Western Australians' thoughts are with Cleo's family during what is an unimaginably difficult time,' Mr McGowan said on October 21.

Last Thursday, family, friends and classmates of Cleo gathered at St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Carnarvon to pray for her safety and wellbeing

Cleo's mother Ellie Smith posted appeals for information on social media. A Facebook page called Bring Cleo Smith Home was created and attracted 65,000 members

While police were already working on the theory Cleo had been kidnapped her parents remained at the campsite with searchers in hope she would return.

'They dont want to leave and that is completely understandable... as you can imagine they dont know what to do, theyre distraught,' Inspector Jon Munday said at the time.

'We will be here until we are satisfied that Cleo is not in this area, we have searched thoroughly all the high probability areas... we are now extended into the further reaches of the places where Cleo could have possibly walked herself.'

An army of internet sleuths soured Outback satellite images for clues and followed every theory about the apparent crime as far as they possibly could.

A GoFundMe page created to support Cleo's family and search efforts raised more than $87,000 before Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon asked its organisers to stop accepting donations.

'Beautiful Cleo is still missing,' one Bring Cleo Smith Home group member wrote two days ago. 'But we aren't losing hope. The police and the whole community are still working very hard to get her home where she belongs'

A Bring Cleo Smith Home page set up by a mother on Facebook the day the little girl disappeared would eventually have 65,000 members.

Thousands of stickers, flyers, posters and T-shirts were printed and distributed around the country and electronic billboards were installed in stores.

'Beautiful Cleo is still missing,' one Bring Cleo Smith Home group member wrote two days ago. 'But we aren't losing hope.

'The police and the whole community are still working very hard to get her home where she belongs.

'We won't stop spreading awareness until Cleo is found. Please continue to share posters and flyers across Australia, let's help bring Cleo home!'

Mr McGowan issued a personal plea to Cleo's abductor to return the girl to her family, stating that like everyone else he was hoping for a 'good outcome'.

'If you've got her in your custody, please just give her back to her family,' Mr McGowan said on October 25.

Cleo disappeared while camping with her family at Blowholes, about 75km north of Carnarvon, on September 16. The popular Western Australian campsite is pictured

That a child could disappear from her parents' tent without anyone noticing raised immediate suspicions, some of it wrongly directed at Cleo's parents

He assured the public his police force had strong leads in the investigation and said the state's best detectives were among the 100 officers involved in the search.

At times, such as when police repeatedly returned to Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon's home at Carnarvon - despite excluding them as suspects - the direction of the operation seemed confusing.

While not being able to explain precisely what detectives were doing, Mr McGowan continually reiterated they were exploring every available avenue.

'There's a huge number of police allocated to this task and some of our best detectives are working on it,' he said at one press conference.

'We're hopeful that we'll work out what's occurred. If anyone knows, tell the police, you can get $1million for that.'

Ms Smith's desperate posts on Instagram appealed to whoever had taken her daughter to bring her home.

'Every day is getting harder without my shining bright light,' she wrote on Sunday.

'Today, she's missed Halloween with her family - her cousins, aunties, uncles, nannas and pop - but most of all, her parents and baby sister.

'She needs us and we need her. She is loved, she is happy, she loves dressing up, whether it be a princess or a doctor. I just want her to come home.

'I need my baby girl home, please I beg you!'

Mr McGowan had been forced to plead with internet trolls to stop making cruel claims about Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon, as well as Cleo's biological father Daniel Staines, who was never a suspect.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan made regular appeals for assistance and just six days after Cleo went missing announced a $1million reward

Mr McGowan announced Cleo had been found in a house at Carnarvon with a social media post on Wednesday morning

'They're going through a huge amount of angst and pain and suffering - they dont need this,' Mr McGowan said on Sunday.

'I just don't get why some people get all this courage when they get a keyboard, and they say the most horrible and shocking things that they would never say otherwise.

'I just urge people to go back to a sense of decency and civility towards one another, particularly people who are suffering.'

When news broke police had found Cleo in a house at Carnarvon and a 36-year-old man had been arrested, members of Bring Cleo Smith Home page were ecstatic.

'The universe heard us guys!!!' Ella Danson wrote.
Fish will be on the menu when Jacinda Ardern finally ties the knot with her partner of eight years.

Clarke Gayford has shared more details about his upcoming wedding to the New Zealand Prime Minister as the pair count down the days to the big day.

The couple remain tight-lipped about the actual date of but have previously announced they will marry this summer in Gisborne on the North Island.

The Fish of the Day television host and keen angler hinted a seafood feast will be served at the reception, depending on the weather and his catch of the day.

Clarke Gayford (left) has confirmed fish will be on the menu at his upcoming summer wedding to Jacinda Ardern (right)

'I hope so. We will see how it goes,' Gayford told the AM show on Wednesday.

'I think so. I think it's all still happening.'

He confirmed the wedding will be held in Gisborne and ruled out the New Years long weekend which coincides with Rhythm and Vines, New Zealand's biggest music festival.

'I think so. I think it's all still happening' Gayford added.

'We are all worried about R&V and events and we've got a goal to work towards so fingers crossed.'

Gayford revealed in a Valentine Day's tribute to his fiancee earlier this year he would turn up at her house with crayfish in the early stages of dating in 2013.

Ms Ardern originally planned to walk down the aisle earlier but has been set back by a series of tragedies including the Christchurch terror attack and the White Island volcano eruption in 2019 and the coronavirus pandemic in the last 18 months.

Fishing has been a big part of the Kiwi Prime Minister's (pictured) relationship, who is engaged to Fish Of The Day program host Clarke Gayford

Ms Ardern first met Mr Gayford at an awards event in 2012 but didn't begin dating until the following year.

The couple welcomed daughter Neve Te Aroha in June 2018.

Ms Ardern confirmed in April 2019 her partner popped the question over Easter after she was spotted wearing what appeared to be an engagement ring on her left hand.

The proposal took place at the top of Mokotahi Hill in Mahia on North Island's east coast with a ring that belonged to Gayford's grandmother.

'It was Clarke, myself, a member of the DPS (Diplomatic Protection Squad), a couple of locals from Mahia and a dog which tried to eat the chocolate that Clarke bought me at the same time, so it was very romantic,' she told reporters at the time.

'There are some things I don't mind keeping for ourselves.'

'This is a very public job and I'm quite happy to put quite a bit of ourselves out there. But there are some things I wouldn't mind keeping to ourselves.'

The couple have been together since 2013 and are parents to three-year-old Neve Te Aroha

Ms Ardern previously revealed honeymoon plans will be put on the backburner.

'I'll probably be going back to work,' she told MoreFM in July

'I guess it's my choice, for having major life events while in this job. So, no one's fault except my own. No complaints from us.'

Ms Ardern became only the second elected female leader to have a child while in office and the first since Benazier Bhutto in 1990.

Her fiance shared a gushing romantic tribute after she was elected as Prime Minister for a second term 12 months ago.

Her Labour Party won in a landslide with 49 per cent of the party vote in the NZ general election, the first time a party has won enough seats to govern alone since 1996.

'While the last three years have been a bit of a blur there are still moments like this where I wonder how on earth I ended up here hitched to the Jacinda Ardern express,' Gayford posted.
Kevin Rudd has demanded Scott Morrison apologise for scrapping a $90 billion submarine deal with France.

The twice-ousted leader joined fellow ex-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in ridiculing Mr Morrison's 'shameful' behaviour in how the deal was terminated.

The prime minister declared he wouldn't cop any 'sledging of Australia' after a furious French President Emmanuel Macron labelled him a liar.

'At a minimum he should consider apologising to the French for the way in which this has been handled,' Mr Rudd told the ABC on Wednesday.

'Scott Morrison is now digging an even bigger hole for himself and not just in relation to the French by accusing their President of lying.

'He also gave a briefing in which he outlined the failure of - in his view - American officials to not apprise the US President about the nature of the deal.'

French President Emmanuel Macron (pictured with wife Brigitte earlier this month) has accused Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison of lying

A secret leaked text message (pictured) appears to show that Emmanuel Macron was given warning that Australia would torpedo its $90billion submarine deal with France

Mr Rudd said Mr Morrison put 'short term political interests ahead of long term national security'.

He also said a leaked text message which appeared to show Mr Macron knew the submarine deal could be torpedoed illustrated the entire process was handled improperly.

'The subject of a $90 billion defence contract is not to be the stuff of text messages that's why you have formal correspondence between heads of government on matters of such fundamental importance,' he said.

He said the spat could easily be cleared up if Mr Morrison could produce a formal letter written to Mr Macron notifying him beforehand that their deal could be cancelled in favour of nuclear powered submarines provided by Britain and the US.

'But now we've got this rolling ambiguity about who said what when,' Mr Rudd said.

'Had this all been based on normal advice of dealing with matters of high national security we wouldn't be in this extraordinary mess.'

Mr Rudd added the French should have been asked to submit a tender along with Britain and America to build the nuclear submarines as they also have that capability.

Former PM Kevin Rudd said Mr Morrison should apologise to Emmanuel Macron over his handling of the $90billion submarine deal

Scott Morrison (pictured arriving at Cop26 on Monday) has defended his actions over the French submarine deal

An awkward handshake in Rome between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron (left)

Mr Morrison and Mr Macron were both in Glasgow this week for the Cop26 UN Climate summit with the issue simmering on the sidelines throughout the conference.

Mr Macron told Australian journalists at the G20 summit on Sunday: 'I don't think, I know' that the prime minister lied to him about the submarines.

Mr Morrison retaliated on Monday, detailing problems with the program during a news conference at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

'I can deal with that. But those slurs, I'm not going to cop sledging at Australia. I'm not going to cop that on behalf of Australians,' he told reporters.

Former PM Malcolm Turnbull, also at the Cop26 summit, chimed in overnight when asked about the spat by reporters saying that Mr Morrison has 'lied to me on many occasions'.

'I mean there's quite a few examples in my book, but he's... Scott has always had a reputation for telling lies,' he said.

Malcolm Turnbull has labelled Scott Morrison a 'habitual liar' over his handling of the Australia-France submarine deal

That prompted Queensland Senator Matt Canavan to fire back that Mr Turnbull was still bitter about being replaced as PM in 2018 by Mr Morrison.

'I thought Malcolm Turnbull went halfway around the world to save the planet, but apparently he's gone to just grind more axes',' the senator told the Today show on Wednesday.

'Obviously, three years on from losing his job it still hurts. He's trying to take it out here.

'He's just become a bit of a tosser, hasn't he? He just constantly seems to gripe about these things.

'He's gone all this way over to Glasgow, you'd think he would focus on those issues that are obviously very personally passionate to him.'

Queensland Senator Matt Canavan called Mr Turnbull a 'tosser' over the comments and said he was still bitter about being replaced as Prime Minister by Mr Morrison in 2018

An Australian Collins class submarine (front) and the UK nuclear-powered attack submarine, HMS Astute (rear) are seen at HMAS Stirling Royal Australian Navy base in Perth in October

The tensions with the French don't seem to show any sign of easing with French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault slamming the government's handling of the deal on Wednesday.

He said France was 'stabbed in the back' and brought into question Australia's word on the international stage.

'What can any partner of Australia now think is the value of Australia's signature and commitment?' he said in a National Press Club address on Wednesday.

Mr Thebault said the decision was made unilaterally by Australia and the French were not consulted despite 'countless opportunities'.

'Without having shared [information] frankly and openly, or having looked for alternatives with France, is just out of this world,' he said.

Mr Thebault was recalled to Paris in September after Mr Morrison revealed Australia would work with the US and UK on a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership.

Emmanuel Macron (pictured at Cop26 in Glasgow on Monday) has repeatedly claimed Scott Morrison gave him no warning the French submarine deal was to be scrapped

Mr Thebault said he returned to Australia to 'redefine the terms of our bilateral relationship considering... the major breakdown of trust with this Australian government'.

He said Australia had foregone diplomatic trust in Europe as the AUKUS announcement stands in stark contrast to Australia's strategy to get European allies more involved in the Indo-Pacific region.

'At the time of increased uncertainty, France is the only European country with permanent and significant assets in the Indo-Pacific region, and a capacity to rapidly step up its presence.'

The ambassador also appeared to take a veiled shot at Defence Minister Peter Dutton, who on Tuesday told 2GB Australia had 'factored in all along that the French were going to be upset about losing a contract of this size'.

Mr Thebault told the press club the decision to cancel the contract should have set off 'alarm bells... to the likely consequences'.

France's Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault arrives at Sydney Airport before leaving the country on September 18

'And if it was a case and they did ring, and they were disregarded, it's even worse,' he said.

The government was even accused of using the AUKUS announcement to make a political statement ahead of the upcoming federal election.

'Politicians and elections make an interesting mix,' Mr Thebault quipped.

Mr Thebault added leaking of texts was an 'unprecedented new low... in terms of truth and trust'.

'You don't behave like this,' he said.

'Doing so also sends a very worrying signal for all heads of state - be aware, in Australia, there will be leaks.

'What you say in confidence... will be eventually used and weaponised against you.'
Cleo Smith's biological father has broken his silence after the four-year-old was reunited with her family after disappearing from a campsite 18 days ago.

Daniel Staines, who lives about 1000km south of his daughter's Carnarvon home in in Western Australia, said on Wednesday he was 'overjoyed' the little girl was found alive.

'We are all absolutely overjoyed at the good news this morning and so happy that Cleo has been reunited with her mum and dad,' the Staines family said in a statement to The West Australian newspaper.

'Thank you to everyone who helped look for her and bring her home, particularly the WA Police, SES and the Carnarvon community.'

Mr Staines and his family sent Cleo, her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon their 'best wishes'.

Cleo's biological father Daniel Staines (pictured right) and his family are 'overjoyed' that the youngster was found alive

Cleo Smith thought the photo of her used in 'missing' posters was 'beautiful', her mum Ellie said

The preschooler was miraculously found on Wednesday morning in a rundown house just 3km from her home in Carnarvon and 75km from where she went missing at Blowholes campsite, on Western Australia's north coast.

In a local Facebook group, a concerned local suggested people in the small town remove 'missing' posters and stickers to prevent the family from suffering any more trauma.

But Cleo's mother commented on the post to let people know it was unnecessary.

'Cleo has seen her photo. She thought it was beautiful,' Ellie wrote.

It comes just hours after the mother-of-two broke her silence with a heartfelt Instagram post.

'Our family is whole again,' she wrote.

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ellie wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

Ellie Smith posted a screenshot to her Instagram stories early on Wednesday morning (pictured)

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy at 4.50am and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

'Seeing Ellie saying her 'beautiful girl is home' is nothing short of a miracle. We are so happy for her to be home.'

Other close friends and family members shared the happy news on social media.

Cleo's grandmother Kathy Smith said: 'Thank to all for bringing my beautiful granddaughter home.'

Another said she was 'literally balling my eyes out. Cleo is finally home'.

'We have the BEST police force in the world,' another family member wrote on Facebook. 'Thank you all soooo much.'

'The best news this morning, thank god,' a fourth relative shared.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster (pictured) was good as can be expected

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed just before 7am AEDT that Cleo was alive and well and had been reunited with her relieved parents.

One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her 'what's your name?' he said.

'She said: "My name is Cleo".'

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson confirmed he watched the footage of her rescue, and said the little girl was smiling and 'as well as we could expect in the circumstances'.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said. 'She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He also said Cleo's mother and stepfather were feeling emotional, but are 'strong people'.

'They have good support around them.'

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'

Cleo has been reunited with her relieved parents, 18 days after she disappeared from her family's tent

The home where Cleo was found is just a seven minute drive away from Cleo Smith's parents home in Carnarvon

Police broke into a locked house at about 1am on Wednesday in the one of the rooms of the property which is just seven minutes' drive away from Cleo's parents' home.

A 36-year-old man is currently in custody and being questioned by detectives. Commissioner Dawson told ABC radio the man has no connection to Cleo or her family..

The house has been cordoned off with tape and a neighbour told Nine's Today Show: 'S**t, she's been that close.'

A second neighbour claimed to have seen the arrested man buying nappies from the local Woolworths supermarket.

'The other day, like, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' they told Sunrise. 'Until now.'

They described the man who lived at the house as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

Cleo's mum Ellie Smith (pictured during her daughter's disappearance) has been regular public appeals for her daughter to be found

Cleo Smith (pictured) was kept prisoner in a rundown home near where her family lives

Thousands of overjoyed Australians flocked to Ellie's Instagram to say they were 'crying tears of joy'.

'Cried as soon as I turned the TV on and saw this on the news. So happy she is safe and well!' one woman wrote.

'I think a lot of people are crying with relief for you this morning! I can't imagine how you must be feeling. So happy for you,' another shared.

Someone else commented: 'Mums all over Australia are crying tears of relief for your family.'

A woman who followed the story from the UK said: 'Have been watching from UK and I'm so happy for you all. What an amazing job the police have done. Have an amazing reunion. You never gave up hope. Enjoy being whole again.'

Deputy Commissioner Blanch said: 'This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for.'

'It's the outcome we've achieved because of some incredible police work.

'I want to thank Cleo's parents, the Western Australian community and the many volunteers.

'And of course, I want to thank my colleagues in the Western Australia Police Force.'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted from Glasgow: 'What wonderful, relieving news.

'Cleo Smith has been found and is home safe and sound.

'Our prayers answered.

'Thank you to the many police officers involved in finding Cleo and supporting her family.'

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Cleo Smith has been found alive and well, 18 days after she vanished from a tent

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said it was one of the most memorable cases in his 45-year career.

'Oh, look, to find a little girl, a vulnerable little girl after 18 days, you know, obviously people think the worst, but importantly, hope was never lost and the fact she's been found alive,' he said.

'I think Australia is rejoicing, you know, it is such a wonderful outcome,' he said.

Police interviewed more than 110 people who were at the Blowholes campsite on the night Cleo arrived with her family on October 16.

The little girl was last seen in her family's tent, at the vast campsite on WA's northwest coast, at about 1.30am before his mother and stepfather realised she was missing five hours later.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said the family had stayed near their tent all evening and had not socialised with other campers.

'I think it's more than likely an opportunistic-type event,' he told Perth radio 6PR on Tuesday hours before Cleo was found.

'We know they got there on the Friday night, it was getting dark, and there would have been limited opportunity for people to observe Cleo at that time.'

Cleo Smith (pictured) has miraculously been found alive after vanishing from a remote campsite in Western Australia

Police this week collected more than 50 cubic metres of rubbish from roadside bins stretching from Minilya to Geraldton.

It was transported to Perth, where forensic officers and recruits sorted through hundreds of bags in search of items that may help them find Cleo.

The state government offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Cleo's location.

Detectives made several visits to Cleo's family home in Carnarvon, sought CCTV footage from a range of businesses in the area and collected samples from a campfire at the Blowholes site.
A senior doctor has been banned from practising for 12 years over a cluster of potentially avoidable baby deaths.

Dr Surinder Parhar was the director of obstetrics and gynaecology at Bacchus Marsh Hospital north-west of Melbourne between March 2008 and July 2015.

He surrendered his medical registration in October 2015 following a cluster of newborn and stillborn deaths at the hospital and has not practised since.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency investigated 43 registered practitioners who worked at Bacchus Marsh Hospital during the time of the deaths.

Ex-Victorian doctor Dr Surinder Parhar (pictured) has been banned from practising for 12 years over a cluster of potentially avoidable baby deaths

Following the investigation, Dr Parhar was referred to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in January 2019 by the Medical Board of Australia on nine allegations.

Those allegations related to his failure to ensure adequate clinical reviews of 19 deaths, failure to ensure adequate disclosure with patients in 15 perinatal deaths, and to ensure necessary policies were in place to improve patient safety.

Other accusations were that was inadequate supervision of three junior doctors, failing to improve or maintain his own professional performance, deficient record-keeping and deficient care for one patient.

Dr Parhar admitted each allegation and acknowledged they constituted professional misconduct and the tribunal found all allegations were proven.

'This was a tragic situation,' Medical Board chair Anne Tonkin said in a statement on Wednesday.

'While we recognise this decision may be of little comfort for the families who so sadly lost their babies, it highlights the importance of registered medical practitioners, especially those in senior positions, understanding and acting on their responsibilities to ensure safe patient care.'

Pictured: Bacchus Marsh and Melton Regional Hospital (pictured). Dr Parhar admitted each allegation and acknowledged they constituted professional misconduct

In 2015, health authorities announced seven of 10 stillborn or newborn deaths at the Victoria hospital in the two years before could have been avoided.

In 2013 five babies died, while two more died in 2014 in the 'catastrophic event,' Health Minister Jill Hennessy said.

The initial investigation began when a doctor lodged a complaint about Dr Parhar after his patient lost a baby.
A senior police officer has revealed the $1million reward for information leading to the discovery of Cleo Smith will not be claimed.

West Australian police officers found the missing four-year-old girl at a Carnarvon home about 1am on Wednesday, 18 days after she disappeared.

A 36-year-old man - who was not in the home when it was raided - has been arrested in connection with Cleo's abduction from her parents' tent at Blowholes campsite, 74km away, on October 16.

Acting Police Commissioner Col Blanch said detectives received new information about her location late on Tuesday and moved swiftly to rescue little girl.

Cleo Smith was miraculously found alive about 1am on Wednesday inside a Carnavon home after detectives received a tip off

A 36-year-old man with no connection to the family has been taken into custody. Pictured: The home where Cleo was found

'Intelligence led them to that house. They went into that house, Cleo was in the house alone,' he said.

However, Commissioner Blanch said no one is set to pocket the seven figure sum offered by the state government on the sixth day of the investigation.

Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he thought the reward would be claimed, he said: 'I dont believe so, no.'

The revelation has raised questions about how the intelligence fell into the hands of detectives and its potential source.

While police are remaining tight lipped about key details due to the ongoing investigation, Commissioner Chris Dawson said 'phone data was critical' in cracking the case open.

Police had toiled away with few leads until they received a sudden tip-off on Tuesday night containing 'really important information about a car'.

Detectives confirmed it with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads' - and just hours later raided the house.

Neighbours of the man who has been taken into custody have reported witnessing the 'quiet' man acting suspiciously in recent days.

WA Police acting Commissioner Col Blanch (pictured) said it is unlikely the $1million reward for information leading to the discovery of Cleo will be paid out

A sign offering a $1 million reward for information on missing girl Cleo Smith is displayed on a digital tower in Yagan Square digital in Perth on October 30

One man said he became alarmed after seeing the suspect buying Kimbies nappies from Woolworths on Monday - just two days before the little girl was found.

Premier Mark McGowan announced the landmark $1million reward on October 21 as police officers started winding down a land search to focus on the theory Cleo had been abducted.

It was the first time in the state's history that the seven-figure sum has been offered for help solving a case within the first week of an investigation.

Commissioner Blanch said the move played a crucial part in boosting leads about the case, and ultimately leading to the toddler's discovery.

'[The reward] raised the profile so much we have community come out strong support. Everybody looking for Cleo, everyone was rallying, everyone called up Crime Stoppers,' he told Sunrise.

The first picture of Cleo Smith, safe and sound in hospital, after she was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, in northwest Western Australia, where she was held for 18 days

Neighbours of the home where little Cleo Smith (pictured) was kept prisoner before she was rescued by police on Wednesday have revealed the tell-tale signs they missed.

'The information that came in as a result as a collective always helps point us in the right direction. It was a massive jigsaw puzzle, and we put it all together.'

The reward amount does not reflect the importance of a case or of the person missing but is selected based on the police tactics being used in each investigation.

Such large rewards are offered in the belief that someone knows critical information but considers the benefit of revealing it is outweighed by the downside, particularly if it implicates them in the crime.

The reward is designed to make the pros of giving information outweigh the cons, with $1million being the highest police will ever offer in exchange for information.

Cleo was reunited with her family shortly after being found before being taken to hospital to receive care.

Photos shared by Western Australia Police on Wednesday afternoon showed the toddler smiling from her hospital bed as she ate an icypole.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, who led the missing person investigation, said Cleo 'is physically OK' and had since been released from hospital to be with her mother and stepfather Jake Gliddon.

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her parents awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent.

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

Locals in the street where Cleo Smith was held prisoner for 18 days missed telltale signs their 'oddball' neighbour was allegedly keeping the little girl captive her after a brazen abduction.

Residents in Tonkin Crescent where she was imprisoned admit they didn't connect the dots and report key clues that could have led police to the home days earlier.

She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled hearing a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time.

'Not last night, the night before it... I heard a little girl crying but I wouldn't expect it to be Cleo,' she told the West Australian.

'I didn't expect it would happen in this little neighbourhood, a lot of people know each other.'

It's reported that police were tipped off to the address after neighbours spotted the suspect buying nappies.

One of them told Seven News he became suspicious after seeing the suspect buying Kimbies nappies from a supermarket.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster (pictured) was good as can be expected

'The other day, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'

Another neighbour told Nine he had spotted the arrested man behaving bizarrely in recent days, hooning through the streets with his dogs in the front seat of his car.

'He's been acting a bit strange lately,' Henry Dodd told Nine News. 'He will get in his car, drive that fast.

'He doesn't have his dogs at the front [normally], he has his dogs out the back, but through this week he had his dogs out the front and he has been acting weird.'

Henry Dodd said police spent several hours driving up and down the street before breaking into the home.

Neighbours described the man as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

'Everyone that knows the person that stays in that house, wouldn't think that it would be him,' he said.

'We got a shock ourselves that it was him.'

In the early hours of the morning, police smashed through the locked door of a home (pictured) in the Brockman suburb of Carnarvon, Western Australia, to rescue the four year old

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S**t, she's been that close.'

Another local described the man in custody as an 'oddball'.

'He is a very quiet guy, bit of an oddball definitely wouldn't have picked him it has completely derailed me,' Rennee Turner said.

Latest on Cleo Smith found alive after 18 days A 36-year-old man with no connection to the familyis in police custody

Neighbours said the 'quiet man' was seen buying nappies at Woolworths

Cleo found alone inside the house when police broke down the door at 1am

Police were acting on a tip-off that led them to the housing commission home

The home is just seven minutes' drive from Cleo's family home

Cleo was smiling when she was rescued, the police commissioner confirmed

She is now in hospital for an assessment after being reunited with her family Advertisement

'I'd heard whispers I kind of figured the police might have had an idea of what was going on, because I have never seen such a massive amount of cops here for so long.'

Others said he in recent weeks bought food he didn't usually buy, and that he moved his dog that usually stayed in the backyard to the front yard.

Neighbours who witnessed the dramatic police raid, after which officers were seen carrying a crow bar and a battering ram out of the house, described how Cleo was carried to safety.

'We stood back and waited but after that, we saw someone, on the detective shoulder. We thought it might be the little girl, which it was,' Henry Dodd told Seven News.

'I went closer to the detectives car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her. They put her in the back and I came over, rushed over here and seen her there. She looked at me, a bit scared.'

Mr Dodd said he was shocked he had been just metres away from her while the nationwide hunt was going on for her.

'I just can't believe it and get over the fact that she is just the house down from us and locked up here for a couple of weeks,' he added.

'Going on three weeks, she is straight across from us. I've got little sisters there...'

Daily Mail Australia understands a local police officer rang Cleo's mother to break the incredible news.

Ms Smith wrote on Instagram hours later: 'Our family is whole again.'

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ms Smith earlier wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

'Seeing Ellie saying her 'beautiful girl is home' is nothing short of a miracle.'

One neighbour Henry (pictured) said he had spotted the arrested man behaving unusually in recent days, hooning through the streets in his car with his dogs in the front seat

Police Air Wing PC12 picked up the suspect, who has no relation to Cleo's family, from Carnarvon and landed at Perth's Jandakot Airport late on Wednesday

What happened to Cleo in the house where she was held captive for more than two weeks, without her family, is yet to be determined, but psychologists said she would have a long road to recovery.

Police Air Wing PC12 picked up the suspect, who has no relation to Cleo's family, from Carnarvon and landed at Perth's Jandakot Airport late on Wednesday morning.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson was on board the plane and will spend the day meeting with police involved in the rescue and checking in with Cleo's family.

The police chief broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said Cleo was as good as can be expected.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said.

'She's as well as we could expect in the circumstances. She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He said Cleo's parents were emotional but doing well.

'They're strong people, they are really strong people. They have good support around them,' Commissioner Dawson said.

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'
Police video shows the dramatic moment an associate of the notorious Bandidos bikie gang refuses entry before officers attempt to drive through a roller door.

The footage was captured as detectives tried to enter a business premises at Logan Village, south of Brisbane, with a search warrant.

In the video three officers can be seen confronting a man at the property.

'Open the door, open the door,' the detectives tell the man through the steel bars of a security door.

'This is the warrant, I'll give it to you when we get inside,' a female detective tells the man.

A dark police vehicle is then seen to ram a roller door of the property, crumpling it to the extent that officers can enter.

During the search at the Logan business, and also at a residential address at nearby Flagstone, police located and seized quantities of methylamphetamine and cannabis.

Weapons including two handguns, a semi-automatic rifle, a flick knife and knuckle dusters, as well as ammunition and a Ducati Motorcycle stolen from a Nerang business, were also seized.

In the video three officers can be seen confronting a man at the property at Logan Village, south of Brisbane, Queensland. 'Open the door, open the door,' the detectives tell the man through the steel bars of a security door

Police located and seized quantities of methylamphetamine and cannabis at the property

Two people were arrested and face a combined 16 drug, firearm, and property related offences.

A 38-year-old Flagstone man identified as an associate of the Bandidos OMCG was charged with two counts of unlawfully possessing a dangerous drug, possession of utensils, unlawfully possession of category H and M weapons, possession of explosives, failure to comply with a direction, possession of tainted property and unlawful possession of a motorcycle.

He was due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today.

A 27-year-old Flagstone woman was also charged with possessing dangerous drugs, utensils, a category M weapon, failure to comply with a direction, possession of tainted property and unlawful possession of a motorcycle. She will appear at the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on December 15.

The raid was conducted by detectives from Maxima South East Region, the Logan District Criminal Investigation Branch and the Brisbane Dog Squad as part of Operation Tango Magnitude, targeting distribution of meth in the Logan area.

Weapons including two handguns, a semi-automatic rifle, a flick knife, knuckle dusters and ammunition where found at the business premises

A Ducati Motorcycle stolen from a Nerang business was also seized by detectives

'Using a business premises to conceal criminal activity will not avoid our attention,' Detective Senior Sergeant Troy Lehmann said in a statement.

'We will take every opportunity to ensure we disrupt and prevent your offending to uphold community safety.'

Taskforce Maxima was first created in 2013 at the height of bikie activity in Queensland. In 2017 it was expanded to be able to investigate all forms of organised crime, particularly that associated with crime gangs.

'I encourage anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers,' Detective Senior Sergeant Lehmann said.
A statement published after key discussions between Australian and French ministers two weeks before a major submarine deal was scrapped proves Scott Morrison lied to Emmanuel Macron, according to the French ambassador.

In an extraordinary speech on Thursday, ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault accused Australia of stabbing France in the back for the way it failed to tell France it was dropping a deal to buy 12 submarines in favour of a partnership with the US and UK.

Mr Morrison denies lying to President Macron before the announcement and claims France should have realised the $90billion deal was on the rocks - but Mr Thebault said this was 'fiction' and used a telling example to prove that France was deceived.

He referred to a joint statement released on August 30 after a video conference between French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly and their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton.

The statement said the ministers discussed the importance of the submarine deal - but at the same time Australian officials were planning to scrap the agreement and announce a new partnership with the US and UK.

An awkward handshake in Rome between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron (left) at the G20 summit this week

A joint statement (above) released on August 30 said Australia and France had discussed the importance of the submarine deal. Just two weeks later it was scrapped

'What is a hard fact is that still on August 30, French and Australian ministers of foreign affairs and defence had a dialogue, and they agreed a joint communique,' Mr Thebault said.

'It was available to the public and widely acclaimed for its ambition. It agreed the following sentence, ''the two countries underline the importance of the Future Submarine program''.

The deceit was intentional... the way it was handled was plainly a stab in the back Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault

'Do you agree on such a communique when there's the slightest doubt on something so massive as the official backbone of your co-operation? Maybe on Mars, but not that I know on this planet,' he said.

Mr Thebault insisted his leader was 'misled' and this amounted to a lie among allies.

'Was the president lied to? Yes, he was,' he said.

'Maybe there's a difference between misleading and lying. But, you know, among heads of states and governments, when you mislead a friend and an aIly, you lie to him.'

In a bid to prove he did not lie to President Macron, Mr Morrison's office earlier this week leaked a personal text between the leaders to show the French President knew the agreement was on shaky ground.

President Macron wrote: 'Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarines ambitions?'

A secret leaked text message (pictured) appears to show that Emmanuel Macron was given warning that Australia would torpedo its $90billion submarine deal with France

Quizzed by reporters in Dubai on Thursday - on his way back from the Glasgow climate summit - Mr Morrison did not deny leaking the text.

'Claims had been made and those claims were refuted,' he said.

Mr Morrison had conceded Mr Macron was not aware of negotiations with the US and the UK, but said the French leader was told as early as June that Australia was consulting on other options for submarines.

Mr Thebualt said France was 'not at all' aware that Australia was looking at other options.

In a savage speech at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, Mr Thebault accused Australia of 'treason'.

'This decision was deliberately kept secret for months, even years,' he said.

Mr Thebault said Australia never consulted France about the possibility of nuclear-powered subs and instead turned its back on its ally to announce a new AUKUS partnership.

'The way this Australian Government decided to turn its back on our solemn and far reaching partnership without ever frankly consulting with France, when there were countless opportunities, without having shared frankly and openly, or having looked for alternatives with France, is just out of this world,' he said.

Jean-Pierre Thebault (pictured today) accused the Australian Government of a 'stab in the back' and said Mr Morrison intended to deceive his country's long-standing ally

Mr Thebault refuted concerns about cost blowouts and long delays in delivering the conventionally powered attack-class submarines.

'The program was acceptable, affordable and compliant,' he said, insisting the deal was still within its $50billion budget.

The ambassador, who was recalled to Paris in a highly unusual move after the deal was scrapped, explained why he thinks Mr Morrison did not tell President Emmanuel Macron in advance.

'Probably the reason for which the Australian Government did not want to be explicit was frankly explained by the Prime Minister himself on 16 September,' he said.

France's Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault arrives at Sydney Airport before leaving the country on September 18

'I quote, ''there was never ever any certainty at the long and painstaking AUKUS process would result in where we are now. And indeed, if we were unable to access this technology, then the attack class submarine is the best submarine that we have been able to utilise''.'

Mr Thebault explained: 'Confronted with the high uncertainties which are not finished surrounding the likely closure of an alternative deal, it was a necessary to continue the possibility of continuing the future submarine program.

'It was mandatory to keep us on the backburner. The deceit was intentional... the way it was handled was plainly a stab in the back.'

The ambassador explained that France was left furious because 'the attack class program was always far more than a contract.'

He described the deal, which was signed in 2016 and involved sharing 'one of most classified and sensitive defence programs' as an 'unprecedented act of trust'.

'It was bringing our relationship with Australia to a level never reached before. Politically, and technologically. Fully complementing Australia's and France's historical alliance with the US,' he said.

'I do respect sovereign choices. But you have to respect allies and partners. And do I think what has happened is detrimental to the reputation of your country.'

Mr Morrison announced his decision to cancel French submarine contract in a joint press conference with the Boris Johnson and Joe Biden on September 16.

Mr Morrison wants US or UK-style nuclear-powered submarines, which are faster, stealthier and can stay at sea longer than conventional submarines, by 2040.

After Mr Macron accused Mr Morrison of lying to him on Monday, the Prime Minister hit back saying he would not cop 'sledging.'
Poll workers in a Virginia county were forced to rush to a copy shop and photocopy ballot papers after polling stations ran out Tuesday amid a record turnout.

Officials in Albemarle County, which surrounds Charlottesville, were unprepared for the huge turnout with a third of its 30 polling stations reporting issues.

A panicked Peter Wurzer, chairman of the Albemarle County Electoral Board, said he drove so fast around his county to deliver additional ballot papers that he called the police to register his license plate, giving them advance warning not to stop him as he sped around the area.

'We're cooked when these ballots are gone,' he said over the scanner at around 5:40pm, according to The Daily Progress.

Wurzer was racing in his car from Free Union to Baker-Butler Elementary.

An election official is seen frantically printing off ballot papers on Tuesday in Albemarle County

A voter is seen in Albemarle County, Virginia, on Tuesday using a voting machine

Jim Heilman, Secretary of the Electoral Board, said he did not remember a prior election where the county had to print emergency ballots.

The county's voter registrar's office said they had received more than 13,000 early voters - the highest ever total for a gubernatorial race.

Virginia on Tuesday saw an intensely-watched contest between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin - a battle that Youngkin appeared to be winning.

He becomes the first Republican to win statewide office in Virginia since 2009, in a major setback for Democrats.

And, with the nation's eyes on the close race, Virginians turned out in such high numbers that the polling stations in Albemarle County could not cope.

Voters are seeing lining up on Tuesday in Albemarle County, which saw a record turnout

Poll workers struggled to make the system work on Tuesday amid record turnout

A poll worker is seen scrutinizing a series of ballot papers on Tuesday

'We just got a turnout far in excess of what we expected,' said Jake Washburne, the registrar of Albemarle County.

He said the printer-paper ballots, rapidly fired off in copy shops, would have to be counted by hand.

Washburne said the county ordered ballots for 75 per cent of active voters in the county, but that apparently wasn't enough.

He said they sent out all ballots they had in reserve and there started to be issues at precincts such as Crozet and Red Hill.

'So we had to begin making emergency paper ballots that we'd get out to the precincts as rapidly as we could,' he said.

'And they will have to be hand counted when the polls close this evening.'

Albemarle County has 30 precincts, and Crozet, Red Hill and Baker-Butler reported issues.

NBC 29 reported that seven other county precincts also reported that they ran out of ballots: Jackk Jouett, Ivy, Country Green, Mountain View, Stone Robinson, Brownsville, and Mechums River, taking the total to ten.

Albemarle County was not alone.

State officials said other counties, including Appomattox, Chesterfield, Floyd, Powhatan and Madison, had issues and also had run out of ballots.
The death of a construction worker remains a mystery as police release CCTV footage in the hope of new information in the case.

Paul Browne, 33, was found dead a month ago on October 8 at an apartment complex on Dalmeny Ave at Rosebery in inner-Sydney.

His body was found in a fire escape of the complex by a resident of the building who alerted police.

It's believed Mr Browne, a construction project manager, had visited a female escort living at the apartment complex the night before his body was found.

Paul Browne, 33, was found dead a month ago on October 8 at an apartment complex on Dalmeny Ave at Rosebery in inner-Sydney

On Wednesday, NSW Police released CCTV footage showing a mystery man wearing a dark tracksuit, cap and white sneakers leaving the scene.

Officers from South Sydney Police Area Command had established Strike Force Bernacchi to investigate the suspicious death and are wishing to speak with the man as part of inquiries.

The man is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 170cm  180cm tall, and of large build.

An autopsy had been carried out on Mr Browne but no cause of death had yet been determined. The police investigation is considering whether Mr Browne's body was moved to the fire escape.

'A big part of our inquiry is how he [Mr Browne] came to be in that hallway and we believe the male depicted in this CCTV footage will be able to assist with that,' NSW Police Detective Inspector Phil Hallinan told The Daily Telegraph.

The police investigation is considering whether Mr Browne's body was moved to the fire escape where he was found

Police said they were desperate to piece together Mr Browne's last movements for his 'devastated' family.

It's believed Mr Browne was an innocent victim, police said.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online.
Virginia parents are hailing Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin's victory over Democrat Terry McAuliffe Tuesday night, saying his election was a win for education and parental rights.

Education became a key issue in the gubernatorial race in Virginia as Youngkin and McAuliffe clashed over hot button issues such as critical race theory and the recent sexual assault of a female student in the bathrooms by a boy wearing a skirt.

But it appears that voters chose to elect a public servant instead of a political servant,' Virginia mother Elizabeth Perrin told Fox News.

She supports Youngkins' pledge to ban CRT and support parental say in education.

'What we have seen is the importance of family values and parental rights in our education system.'

'Youngkin wants the best for our children, and I think he's going to thank Loudoun for all the work they did to make that the issue,' Patti Menders, a mother and president of the Loudoun County Republican Women's Club echoed.

Virginians say Glenn Youngkin's victory over Democrat Terry McAuliffe Tuesday night, saying his election was a win for education and parental rights (Pictured: Youngkin giving his victory speech early Wednesday morning)

Laura Zorc (pictured), director of education reform at Building Education for Students Together, argued: 'Parental rights in education were on the ballot this election'

Education has been a key issue throughout Virginia's race for governor, especially in battleground Loudoun County, which has been the state's epicenter of anger regarding school curriculum and policies.

Youngkin, while on the campaign trail, promised Virginia parents: 'We're going to take the power of our children's education.'

As the results rolled in and he was declared victor, Virginians celebrated what they believed to be 'a win for parents all over the Commonwealth.'

'Parental rights in education were on the ballot this election,' Laura Zorc, director of education reform at Building Education for Students Together, argued.

'Parents (Republican, Independent, and Democrat) across the country have been saying, 'We don't want your politics in our schools.' Tonight, parents delivered on their promises to vote these elites out of office.'

The parents allege that Youngkin's election means their voices were heard and 'that our children matter.'

'It has been great to see how the importance of our children's education and the parents matter movement has brought so many people together,' said Brandon Michon, a father of three who was spoken out at numerous Loudoun County School Board meetings.

'This is Virginia's opportunity to raise the bar, and we will be doing it with Glenn Youngkin as governor.'

Youngkin campaigned on a platform focused on school curricula and policies, supporting parental say in education and taking a stance against critical race theory. His supporters (pictured on Nov. 2) are calling his victory 'a win for parents all over the Commonwealth'

Youngkin shot up in the polls after Democrat Terry McAuliffe (pictured at a rally on Nov. 2) dismissed the existence of critical race theory in Virginia schools and said: 'I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach'

Youngkin shot up in the polls after McAuliffe played down concerns over critical race theory in Virginia schools and said: 'I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.'

Many parents opposed McAuliffe's stance, believing they should have a say in their children's education, especially if explicit material is being taught in the classroom.

The Republican echoed their claims and promised that not only would parents have say, but that Virginia's schools would not push political agendas.

'Our kids can't wait,' Youngkin said during his victory speech Tuesday night.

'On day one we're going to work. We're going to restore excellence in our schools. We will invest largest education budget in history of commonwealth.'

He continued: 'We're going to introduce choice in our public school system how about that? Choice in our public school system. We're going to embrace our parents, not ignore them.'

Nicole Neily, a Virginia mother and president of Parents Defending Education, argued that 'this election has demonstrated that education is a salient political issue, and one that is likely to persist for the foreseeable future. If politicians ignore it  or denigrate voters and parents  they do so at their peril'

Youngkin was declared governor around 1am Wednesday with 95% of precincts reporting. He lead McAuliffe by about 2%, 51.1% to 48.2%.

This is the first time Virginia has elected a Republican governor since 2009.

'This election has demonstrated that education is a salient political issue, and one that is likely to persist for the foreseeable future,' Nicole Neily, a Virginia mother and president of Parents Defending Education, stated.

'If politicians ignore it  or denigrate voters and parents  they do so at their peril.'

In addition to his education, Youngkin campaigned on plans for tax cuts, supporting law enforcement and reestablishing 'trust' between police officers and communities.

'We will reduce our cost of living ... We're going to eliminate the grocery tax, suspend the most recent hike in the gas tax ... We are going to save Virginia families $1500 year one. We are going to keep our communities safe,' he touted in his victory speech.

'The spirit of Virginia is coming together like never before, of Virginia taking our commonwealth back.'

Youngkin made no mention of his opponent, who has not yet admitted defeat in the race.

Hours earlier, McAuliffe had refused to concede the race when he took the stage at 10:20pm, saying: 'We're going to continue to count the votes because every single Virginian deserves to have their vote counted.'
Republican lieutenant governor candidate Winsome Sears appears to have won the race for the No. 2 spot in Virginia's state government, with almost all votes counted.

Unofficial results showed Sears, 57, with 1,591,434 votes, or 51.4 percent, with Democratic candidate Hala Ayala, 48, at 1,501,533 or 48.5 percent, CNN reported.

However, a handful of precincts have yet to be counted, including nine in Fairfax county and one on Tangier Island, as well as absentee ballots mailed by the Election Day deadline. Those dispatched ballots will be counted by November 5, the state Department of Elections said.

Sears will not only make history as the first woman to hold office, but also as the first woman of color.

The job of the state's lieutenant governor is frequently tipped as a launching pad to the governor's mansion. Half of the past 10 lieutenant governors went on to become governor.

Former Republican Delegate Winsome Sears celebrates winning the race for Lt. Governor of Virginia as she introduces Republican candidate for Governor Glenn Youngkin during an election night party in Chantilly, Virginia

Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin (left) speaks with running partner Lt. Gov. candidate Winsome Sears (right) after a rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia

Sears, a gun-loving former Marine, will not only make history as the first woman to hold office, but also as the first woman of color

Lieutenant Governor Elect Winsome Sears: "There are some who want to divide us and we must not let that happen. They would like us to believe we are back in 1963 when my father came...In case you havent noticed, I am black, and I have been black all my life." pic.twitter.com/NoJJc6qxBe  Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 3, 2021

The No. 2 spots also happens to lead the state Senate, in which neither Sears nor Ayala, have served before, and to be next in line if the governor dies or is impeached. That's never happened since the office was created in 1852.

Lieutenant governors can also be the decisive factor in tie votes on most bills, but not on the state budget. Democrats have a 21-19 majority in that body, but some issues do not split on strictly partisan lines.

That said, the lieutenant governor does not have the power to introduce legislation.

Both Ayala and Sears competed for votes on the same day Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin vied for the high-profile top seat on the ticket: the governor's office. Youngkin, 54, is believed to have won 1,677,276, or 50.67 percent of the state's votes, while McAuliffe, 64, took home 1,610,142, or 48.64 percent.

Terry McAuliffes camp was left shell-shocked by Youngkin's surge to victory in a state that President Biden won by 10 points just one year ago.

In the lieutenant governor's race, the Republican, Winsome Sears, is a former Marine who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica as a girl and vaulted to victory in a crowded primary on the enthusiasm generated by a campaign photo of her posing with a military rifle.

Sears is staunch defender of the 2nd amendment as she is pictured posing with a rifle that vaulted her to victory in the primary in April as a weapon against her

Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor Hala Ayala narrowly lost to Sears, who claimed 1,591,434 votes, or 51.4 percent, while she collected 1,501,533 or 48.5 percent of ballots. Here she is pictured speaking at a Get Out The Vote rally October 30, 2021 in Hampton, Virginia

The Democrat, Hala Ayala, claims African, Hispanic, Irish and Lebanese ancestry. She frequently refers to her 'lived experience' as a single mother who almost died in childbirth.

Sears had a brief stint in electoral politics 20 years ago as a one-term delegate in the General Assembly, representing parts of Hampton roads. Her return to politics after a two-decade absence began when she served as national chairperson for Black Americans to Re-Elect President Trump.

Ayala, on the other hand, was launched into public office by her organizing role in the resistance to President Donald Trump when he was inaugurated in 2017.

Ayala won election to the House in November 2017 and quickly rose through the Democratic ranks to serve as chief deputy whip, helping to shepherd a raft of legislation into law after Democrats took control of the legislature in 2020, including abolition of the death penalty, the legalization of marijuana, and election reforms.

Sears won the nomination by beating five other candidates, including two  former Del. Tim Hugo from Fairfax County and Virginia Beach Del. Glenn Davis  who were far more active in recent GOP politics.

Ayala, in an interview, emphasized the role the lieutenant governor plays as a tie-breaking vote in the state Senate, where Democrats currently hold just a 21-19 advantage.

Virginia Democratic lieutenant governor Hala Ayala was now-former governor Terry McAuliffe's running mate

Democratic nominee for Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe's loss will come as a crushing blow to the Biden administration, which won the state against former President Donald Trump during the 2020 election. Pictured: McAuliffe speaking to his election night party and rally in McLean, Virginia, on November 2nd

When it comes to abortion rights, the lieutenant governor's post is even more important, she said, because the chamber is essentially divided 20-20 on abortion issues  Democratic Sen. Joe Morrissey has voted against some legislation that would have expanded abortion rights in the state.

Ayala noted that abortion rights could become a key issues in state legislatures across the country if the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court weakens abortion protections.

'I am a firewall for reproductive health care, and empowering individuals to make their own choices about their own bodies,' she said.

Asked whether she believes abortion rights need to be expanded, she said she supports enshrining Roe v. Wade in the state Constitution. But she declined to say whether she would vote to eliminate Virginia's requirement for minors to obtain parental consent to get an abortion.

Sears' campaign declined to make her available for an interview, responding instead with requests for a list of written questions in advance. She has also refused to answer questions about whether she has gotten the coronavirus vaccine, something for which Ayala has criticized her.

Ayala supports vaccine mandates for state workers and mask mandates in schools, her campaign said.

During the primary, Sears ridiculed mask mandates put in place by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, posting a video in which she pulled a mask off a cardboard cutout of Northam and stomped it into the sand, with the Virginia Beach boardwalk in the background.

Until now, Sears may have be the most unconventional candidate on the statewide ballot this year. She speaks in a stream-of-consciousness style and loves to tell the story of her first campaign for office, when someone superimposed her face onto a pornographic photo.

'I looked good!' she jokes to the audience.

Sears was the first Black Republican, the first female military veteran and the first naturalized citizen to serve in the legislative body. She immigrated to the US from Jamaica as a young girl

Sears is often outspoken and loves to tell the story of her first campaign for office, when someone superimposed her face onto a pornographic photo. Here she is pictured celebrating the race for Lt. Governor of Virginia

But the story is emblematic, she says, of the obstacles she faced as a Black Republican who was taking on an establishment that expects Blacks to vote Democratic.

'The other side wants to use the problems of the past to define us and we shouldn't let them,' she told a crowd in rural Chesterfield County earlier this month. 'It is time for them to find another victim. ... Yes, we know that there are problems, but we can fix them.'

When she served in the legislature, she earned top ratings from anti-abortion and gun-rights organizations. She touted that record in her successful primary campaign, but has revised her website during the general election to remove those references.

Ayala says Sears is too extreme. In ads, Ayala uses the same photo of Sears posing with a rifle that vaulted her to victory in the primary as a weapon against her.

'My opponent has shown she's not a leader,' Ayala said. 'If somebody shows you who they are, believe them the first time.'
A suspicious package has prompted the evacuation of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' electorate office in Melbourne's southeast.

Emergency services were called to the Noble Park office on Wednesday afternoon following the discovery of the package.

'Safety checks are in the process of being conducted, with the building evacuated as a precaution,' Victoria Police said in a statement.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' Noble Park electorate office in Melbourne 's southeast has been shutdown and tapered off after a suspicious package was found on Wednesday (pictured)

'There is no threat to the community and no one has been injured.'

Footage uploaded online shows the Princes Highway office has been taped off, with multiple fire trucks and an ambulance parked outside

Fire Rescue Victoria has confirmed it is supporting police with a pumper and hazmat appliance on the scene.
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One of the police officers who found Cleo Smith has opened up about the incredible moment she was rescued which he has called the 'best moment' of his career.

The missing four-year-old was found at 12.45am on Wednesday alone in a bedroom in a locked and run-down house in the Carnarvon suburb of Brockman in Western Australia.

Police broke down the door and found the little girl alive and well before Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine, who was one of four officers to rescue the child, asked her three times to tell him her name.

'I just wanted to be absolutely sure that, it certainly looks like Cleo, I wanted to be sure it was her,' he told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

'I said, "what is your name?" She didn't answer, I asked three times and then she looked at me and said, "my name is Cleo." And that was it.

'Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that, we got into the car and the officer I was with called Cleo's parents and said ''we've got someone here that wants to speak to you''.

'It was a wonderful feeling to make that call. They were ecstatic.'

Cleo cried out 'mummy' as she finally returned to her mother's arms having not seen her family in an agonising 18 days.

Mr Blaine described the little girl as an 'energiser bunny' and confirmed she was physically unharmed when she was found.

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, the sergeant replied: 'without a doubt'.

'We all wanted to take turns holding her.'

WA Police have released the first photo of Cleo after she was found at a home in Carnarvon on Wednesday morning, having been missing for 18 days

Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine who was one of four police officers to rescue Cleo has opened up about the heartwarming moment they found her

Cleo, four, was described as safe and well but was immediately taken to hospital for further tests and to be reunited with relieved and overjoyed parents, Ellie and Jake.

A 36-year-old man - who was not in the home when it was raided - has been arrested in connection with Cleo's abduction from her parents' tent at Blowholes campsite, 74km away, on October 16.

Police feared the missing girl could have been spirited away anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

Detectives say they are still investigating to whether or not Cleo was held in the house for the entire time she had been missing.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said they were currently not looking at any other suspects and said the abduction appeared to be 'opportunistic'.

Police earlier shared a photo of a beaming little Cleo tucked up in a hospital bed eating an ice block after she was rescued.

When asked which officers shed a tear after hearing the news the four-year-old had been found, Mr Wilde said 'we all did'.

'Most definitely. It was an amazing moment, certainly after hearing that we were all on such a high. It was fantastic.'

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent at Blowholes camping grounds.

But residents in Tonkin Crescent where she was imprisoned admit they didn't connect the dots and report key clues that could have led police to the home days earlier.

Neighbours of the home where little Cleo Smith (pictured) was kept prisoner before she was rescued by police on Wednesday have revealed the tell-tale signs they missed.

Without these clues, police toiled away with few leads until they received a sudden tip-off on Tuesday night containing 'really important information about a car',

Detectives confirmed it with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads' - and just hours later raided the house.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time.

'Not last night, the night before it... I heard a little girl crying but I wouldn't expect it to be Cleo,' she told the West Australian.

'I didn't expect it would happen in this little neighbourhood, a lot of people know each other.'

It's reported that police were tipped off to the address after neighbours spotted the suspect buying nappies.

One of them told Seven News she became suspicious after seeing the suspect buying Kimbies nappies from a supermarket.

'The other day, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'

Another neighbour told Nine he had spotted the arrested man behaving bizarrely in recent days, hooning through the streets with his dogs in the front seat of his car.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time

Latest on Cleo Smith found alive after 18 days A 36-year-old man with no connection to the familyis in police custody

Neighbours said the 'quiet man' was seen buying nappies at Woolworths

Cleo found alone inside the house when police broke down the door at 1am

Police were acting on a tip-off that led them to the housing commission home

The home is just seven minutes' drive from Cleo's family home

Cleo was smiling when she was rescued, the police commissioner confirmed

She is now in hospital for an assessment after being reunited with her family Advertisement

'He's been acting a bit strange lately,' Henry Dodd told Nine News. 'He will get in his car, drive that fast.

'He doesn't have his dogs at the front [normally], he has his dogs out the back, but through this week he had his dogs out the front and he has been acting weird.'

Mr Dodd said police spent several hours driving up and down the street before breaking into the home.

Neighbours described the man as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

'Everyone that knows the person that stays in that house, wouldn't think that it would be him,' he said.

'We got a shock ourselves that it was him.'

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S**t, she's been that close.'

Another local described the man in custody as an 'oddball'.

'He is a very quiet guy, bit of an oddball definitely wouldn't have picked him it has completely derailed me,' Rennee Turner said.

'I'd heard whispers I kind of figured the police might have had an idea of what was going on, because I have never seen such a massive amount of cops here for so long.'

Others said he in recent weeks bought food he didn't usually buy, and that he moved his dog that usually stayed in the backyard to the front yarn.

In the early hours of the morning, police smashed through the locked door of a home (pictured) in the Brockman suburb of Carnarvon, Western Australia, to rescue the four year old

One neighbour Henry (pictured) said he had spotted the arrested man behaving unusually in recent days, hooning through the streets in his car with his dogs in the front seat

Neighbours who witnessed the dramatic police raid, after which officers were seen carrying a crow bar and a battering ram out of the house, described how Cleo was carried to safety.

'We stood back and waited but after that, we saw someone, on the detective shoulder. We thought it might be the little girl, which it was,' Mr Dodd told Seven News.

'I went closer to the detectives car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her. They put her in the back and I came over, rushed over here and seen her there. She looked at me, a bit scared.'

Mr Dodd said he was shocked he had been just metres away from her while the nationwide hunt was going on for her.

'I just can't believe it and get over the fact that she is just the house down from us and locked up here for a couple of weeks,' he added.

'Going on three weeks, she is straight across from us. I've got little sisters there...'

Cleo was found alone in this suburban home in Carnarvon, in the north-west of Western Australia, shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning

Deputy WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said Tuesday night's tip was the final piece of the puzzle that allowed detectives to finally track down Cleo.

'We've collected phone data, witness statements, DNA, fingerprints, rubbish along the highways, CCTV - we've collected everything,' he said.

'The million dollar reward helped us with collecting even more from the members of the public. Everyone came forward to helping us.

'There were car movements, there were phone movements, there were antecedents of people, the jigsaw fit the puzzle.

'We had to find that needle. Last night the needle in the haystack came out and they acted in a heartbeat.'

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said Cleo was smiling when she was rescued at the house, with the moment captured on police bodycam footage bringing a tear to his eye.

'Ive seen it. It's burned into my memory for life. You cannot look at that and not feel it in your heart. Unbelievable moment,' he said.

'I saw detectives that have worked for 18 days straight, 24/7 see little Cleo in a room, and just the look on their faces. The care that was expressed immediately, the cuddling, the asking of her name, her little voice.'

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

Cleo was taken to hospital for treatment with her mother Ms Smith writing on Instagram hours later: 'Our family is whole again.'

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ms Smith earlier wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result

'Seeing Ellie saying her 'beautiful girl is home' is nothing short of a miracle.'

In a local Facebook group, a concerned local suggested people in the small town remove 'missing' posters and stickers to prevent the family from suffering any more trauma.

But the youngster's mother Ellie Smith commented on the post to let people know it was unnecessary.

'Cleo has seen her photo. She thought it was beautiful,' Ms Smith wrote.

Cleo's biological father Daniel Staines, who lives with his parents about 1,000km south of Carnarvon in Halls Head, said he is 'overjoyed' that the little girl was found alive.

'We are all absolutely overjoyed at the good news this morning and so happy that Cleo has been reunited with her mum and dad,' the Staines family said in a statement to The West Australian.

'Thank you to everyone who helped look for her and bring her home, particularly the WA Police, SES and the Carnarvon community.'

They sent Cleo, her step-father Jake Gliddon and Ellie their 'best wishes'.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster (pictured) was good as can be expected

Cleo's mum Ellie Smith broke her silence on Wednesday morning, sharing a series of love heart emojis on Instagram after her daughter was found alive and well

Police Air Wing PC12 picked up the suspect, who has no relation to Cleo's family, from Carnarvon and landed at Perth's Jandakot Airport late on Wednesday morning.

Commissioner Dawson was on board the plane and will spend the day meeting with police involved in the rescue and checking in with Cleo's family.

The police chief broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said Cleo was as good as can be expected.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said.

'She's as well as we could expect in the circumstances. She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He said Cleo's parents were emotional but doing well.

'They're strong people, they are really strong people. They have good support around them,' Commissioner Dawson said.

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'
Exhausted but overjoyed police responsible for finding Cleo Smith carefully sidestepped key questions about her rescue on Wednesday - pointing to potential twists in the case.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, the lead investigator, fielded dozens of questions but refused to answer several about the 36-year-old male suspect they have in custody, as well as details about they saw in the house she was imprisoned in.

Senior members of the Western Australian Police team behind the miracle rescue fronted media on Wednesday afternoon to provide an update on the day's dramatic events.

Exhausted but overjoyed WA police responsible for finding Cleo Smith (pictured after her dramatic rescue) carefully sidestepped key questions on Wednesday - pointing to potential twists in the case

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blayne, one of the four officers who saved Cleo, was quizzed about what the team saw inside the house she was found in. He is pictured at the moment Cleo was removed by police

While little Cleo is safe and well, it is clear the investigation is far from over as police continue to piece together what happened after her terrifying abduction.

What they couldn't say was arguably as important as what they could say.

Several lines of questioning potentially held clues to what unfolded after she was taken from the family's tent at the Blow Holes campsite in the early hours of October 16.

Questioning appeared to suggest the suspect was not in the house when Cleo was saved by four WA officers shortly before 1am on Wednesday.

'No look I can't go into that at this time,' Det Supt Wilde replied when asked if the man was there.

QUESTIONS POLICE WON'T ANSWER ABOUT CLEO'S DISAPPEARENCE - Was Cleo in the house for the last 18 days? - Was she taken somewhere else? - Who is the man arrested in relation to her disappearance? - What tipped police off to the house? - Where was the 36-year-old man when he was arrested? - What other police matters has the suspect been involved in? Advertisement

Several reports have suggested Cleo was 'alone' in the house.

So if he wasn't there and Cleo was alone, where was he and how did police find him?

'It's not something that we can [talk about].'

Reporters also asked whether Cleo had remained in the house since being taken to Carnarvon - or been taken elsewhere.

'Again that's something that we are investigating,' Det Supt Wilde replied.

He was also quizzed over whether police had prior interest in the suspect over other matters.

'I can't go into that given the legal proceedings.'

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blayne, one of the four officers who found her, was quizzed about what the team saw inside the house Cleo was kept in.

WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson was determined not to 'elaborate' on the 36-year-old suspect but promised more information would come soon on him

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, the lead investigator fielded dozens of questions but refused several about the 36-year-old male suspect they have in custody and what they saw in the house she was imprisoned in

'I can't go into that,' he said. 'All of that is part of the investigations so I don't want to go into the details of what we saw.'

From the outset WA police were determined not to say much about the alleged offender.

'We have one 36 year old man in custody he is assisting police with our enquiries at the moment. I'm not going to elaborate further on that man other than saying he's a local man from Carnarvon,' said WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson.

'And we will be having something further to say later [about him].'

It was likely though, that charges would be laid against the man on Wednesday.

Police also shrugged at questioning he had been taken to hospital on Wednesday.

They did however quash several rumours circulating about how Cleo was located.

Those included a theory that local kids broke into the house and tipped off police that Cleo was inside.

Police also refused to go into much detail about the clearly crucial role technology - and the examination of data played.

Senior members of the Western Australian Police team behind the miracle rescue fronted media on Wednesday afternoon to provide an update on the day's dramatic events. Lead investigator Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde is pictured answering questions

They were also elusive on exactly what data helped locate Cleo.

Reporter: 'What was it that lead you to that house?'

'It was the hard work of the team that did it. Analysing all that information, gathering it and finding the needle in the haystack,' Det Supt Wilde said.

What did mobile phone data have to do with the arrest?

'We collected a lot of data. That is what we do in these situations.

'It is a thorough investigation. You would have seen officers going around to every single CCTV location around Carnarvon, within 1000km.

'That is the level of detail you go to in these kinds of investigations. We analyse, we find what we are looking for, and we are lucky that we found it.'
A four-year-old girl who went missing from an Australian outback campsite more than two weeks ago has been returned safely to her parents after she was rescued by police from a locked house.

Police broke into a house in Carnarvon, a town about 100km (62miles) south of the campsite, early on Wednesday, and found Cleo Smith in one of the rooms.

'One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her "what's your name?". She said "My name is Cleo",' Western Australia Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch told media.

A 36-year-old man has been taken into custody in relation to the disappearance, he said.

The man suffered injuries to his head when he was allegedly bashed by another prisoner while in a police holding cell.

The prisoner's mother told Daily Mail her son was furious when he heard what the man had been arrested for.

'As soon as he heard this bloke was arrested over that little Cleo, he blew up, beat him black and blue,' the woman said.

Cleo Smith (pictured) was found 'alive and well' by police locked in a house in her hometown - just seven minutes drive from her own family home - after a terrifying 18-day ordeal

The 36-year-old man (pictured) was taken to hospital after reportedly sustaining head injuries in custody on Wednesday

Cleo Smith's alleged abductor was not found in the home (pictured) after detectives kicked in the doors during a 1am raid to rescue the missing four-year-old

Cleo was last seen in her family's tent in the early hours of October 16 at the remote Blowholes Shacks campsite in Macleod, about 900km (560miles) north of Perth, the capital of Western Australia state.

When her parents woke in the morning, she was gone.

Police had feared the girl had been abducted and offered a $1million (US$743,000) reward for any information leading to her whereabouts.

'What a great day. We now have returned Cleo to her loving parents. It's a wonderful day for this little girl and her loving family,' the state police commissioner, Chris Dawson, told media.

A team of 140 people had been working on the case with police fielding more than 1,000 tips from the public.

Police said the abduction appeared to have been opportunistic and they expected to file charges later in the day.

'She is physically OK. That was evident from the start,' said state police homicide squad Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine, who was one of four people to rescue the child.

Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine is heard asking little Cleo if she is ok and reassuring her she would soon be reunited with her parents

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson described returning little Cleo to her grateful parents (pictured) as a 'wonderful day'

Cleo's miraculous recovery comes after 18 long days of searching and several desperate pleas for information from her mother Ellie Smith (pictured with partner Jake Gliddon)

'Taking her to the hospital we got assurance of that from people that know what they are doing.'

He said finding her was 'without a doubt' the best moment of his career.

'She is a very sweet, energetic girl, very trusting and very open with us,' he said.

Footage released by police showed the moment the girl was carried out of the house, her arms around a policeman.

After introducing himself, Blaine asked her: 'Are you OK? We are going to take you to see your Mummy and Daddy, OK? Is that good?' to which she smiled and nodded.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also welcomed the 'wonderful, relieving news'.

'Cleo Smith has been found and is home safe and sound. Our prayers answered,' Morrison said on Twitter.

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together with younger daughter Isla) after 18 agonising days of searching for their little girl

(Reporting by Renju Jose; Additional Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Richard Pullin and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
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The man suspected of kidnapping four-year-old Cleo Smith was not on the sex offenders register, police have revealed, as details begin to emerge about what happened to the toddler during her 18 day ordeal.

Investigators have revealed Cleo is 'physically ok', after being found in a locked house in her hometown of Carnarvon, nearly three weeks after disappearing from her family tent during a camping trip to the remote Blowholes site in Western Australia.

The incredible moment missing Cleo was rescued by startled police officers after they rammed their way into the house, just minutes from her own family home, has also been shared by proud detectives.

Cleo vanished in the early hours of Saturday October 16, with hopes fading fast that the toddler would be found alive.

But in a development which has shocked the world and led to celebrations across Australia, she was discovered in a house in her hometown of Carnarvon early on Wednesday morning, where she was picked up by police and taken to safety.

In bodycam footage, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine asks the four-year-old 'are you okay?' as she is carried out of the house.

The brave little girl, gripping onto her saviour, smiles and nods before Detective Sergeant Blaine says: 'We're gonna take you to see your mummy and daddy'.

Shocked neighbours (pictured) wake up to the news that Cleo Smith was found by WA police on their quiet street

An unremarkable house in the suburb of Brockman, Carnarvon, 900km north of the capital Perth in Western Australia (pictured), is now the scene of a major forensic investigation

Camera crews and police can be seen on the normally quiet street where missing four-year-old Cleo was rescued

The Homicide Squad veteran, who has been tirelessly working on the case every step of the way, described his adulation after Cleo was uncovered in a midnight raid following a 'tip off'.

'It was shock to start with. Quickly followed by elation. That could have been any one of the team, but it turned out I was of four guys that were fortunate enough to go through that door and make that rescue,' he said.

'We had always hoped for that outcome, but were not prepared for it, but it was absolutely fantastic to see her sitting there in the way that she was. It was incredible.

The 36-year-old man (pictured) was taken to hospital after reportedly sustaining head injuries in custody on Wednesday

'I wanted to be sure it was her. I said, "What is your name?" She didn't answer, I asked three times, and then she looked at me and said, "My name is Cleo".

'Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that we got into the car and the officer called Cleo's parents. It was a wonderful feeling to make that call.'

The preschooler was then immediately rushed to hospital for a welfare check, with detectives revealing she is 'physically unharmed'.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde confirmed the 36-year-old man being questioned over her disappearance was not on the sex offender's list.

He also said police 'haven't received that information' when asked by a reporter about his reputation among locals as having an 'unhealthy interest in children'.

Incredible bodycam footage shows the moment Cleo Smith was rescued by Western Australian Police (pictured)

Pictured: Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine tells Cleo: 'We're gonna take you to see your mummy and daddy'

Propped up on a hospital bed as she sucked on an icypole, Cleo Smith smiled from ear to ear in her first photo since she was rescued after being abducted on the family camping trip.

Cleo excitedly waved to the camera as her relieved mother Ellie Smith lovingly touched her right foot as she sat on the side of the bed, just happy to see her alive.

Police believe she was 'opportunistically abducted' on October 16 and was found alive at 12.46am on Wednesday when police stormed a public housing home in the suburb of Brockman after police received information from the public.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, who led the missing person investigation, said Cleo 'is physically OK' and had since been released from hospital to be with her mother and stepfather Jake Gliddon.

A 36-year-old man who was not in the home when it was raided and not known to Cleo's family was arrested in connection with Cleo's abduction from the family's tent at Blowholes campsite.

Charges are expected to be laid with investigators saying there are no other persons of interest.

The first picture of Cleo Smith, safe and sound in hospital, after she was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, in northwest Western Australia, where she was held for 18 days

Neighbours of the home where little Cleo Smith (pictured) was kept prisoner before she was rescued by police on Wednesday have revealed the tell-tale signs they missed.

Police feared the missing girl could have been spirited away to anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her parents awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent.

Shocked neighbours tell Daily Mail Australia they were first alerted to the commotion when police flood lights lit up their cul-de-sac, which is normally bustling with children playing in their front yards and at the park across the road during daylight hours.

'My nephews went up to see what was going on and then they saw cops leading out the little white girl,' a neighbour who has known the man for more than a decade said.

Others woke to the news that Cleo had been rescued, filing into the streets before the sun even rose to watch the scene unfold.

The neighbour said the suspect was a loner who 'kept to himself' and was not the type of person anyone else in the street would 'have a yarn with' despite being a long-term resident.

He last saw the suspect just three days after little Cleo disappeared. Former friends say he had not long been freed from jail.

'His grandmother raised him... but after she died a year or so ago, nobody went over to yarn to him,' he said.

'He got a new car after he used to park it in the driveway and then close the gate, every day, always went and put the car in the same spot and closed the gate.'

Forensic investigators are expected to remain at the taped off scene where Cleo was found (pictured) for several days

Officers are captured standing guard outside the house where missing Cleo was located in the suburb of Brockman, Carnarvon, WA

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said after Cleo's rescue officers called her parents from the squad car.

'You can imagine, absolute surprise and they were ecstatic,' he said.

The moment Cleo was reunited with her mother was just as heartwarming, as she immediately shouted 'mummy!'

'A lot of kisses, hugs and tears,' Superintendent Wilde said - and that included hardened police officers.

'People were in tears. It is fair to say. It is an amazing outcome. We hoped, we kept working with that believe that we could get there, you could find Cleo. I don't know what happened but we were lucky,' he said.

Superintendent Wilde said Cleo was in good spirits and communicating well with officers, though there was more interviews to do in coming days.

'Having seen her a couple times this morning, she is a little Energiser bunny. How she has that much energy, I wish I did, I am about ready to go to sleep,' he said.

'Very sweet, energetic girl. Very trusting and very open with us. We all wanted to take turns holding her. It was a really good experience.'

Police received a sudden tip-off on Tuesday night containing 'really important information about a car', which they confirmed with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads' - and just hours later raided the house.

There were other signs too, from the sound of a little girl crying heard by neighbours to the suspected kidnapper pacing around the street and buying nappies for a child he didn't have.

However, neighbours on Tonkin Crescent admit they didn't join the dots until after Cleo was rescued and failed to report suspicious behaviour to police that could have led them to her days earlier.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled hearing a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time.

'Not last night, the night before it... I heard a little girl crying but I wouldn't expect it to be Cleo,' she told the West Australian.

'I didn't expect it would happen in this little neighbourhood, a lot of people know each other.'

It's reported that police were tipped off to the address after neighbours spotted the suspect buying nappies.

One of them told Seven News she became suspicious after seeing the suspect buying Kimbies nappies from a supermarket.

'The other day, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'

Another neighbour told Nine he had spotted the arrested man behaving bizarrely in recent days, hooning through the streets with his dogs in the front seat of his car.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time

Latest on Cleo Smith found alive after 18 days A 36-year-old man with no connection to the familyis in police custody

Neighbours said the 'quiet man' was seen buying nappies at Woolworths

Cleo found alone inside the house when police broke down the door at 1am

Police were acting on a tip-off that led them to the housing commission home

The home is just seven minutes' drive from Cleo's family home

Cleo was smiling when she was rescued, the police commissioner confirmed

She is now in hospital for an assessment after being reunited with her family Advertisement

'He's been acting a bit strange lately,' Henry Dodd told Nine News. 'He will get in his car, drive that fast.

'He doesn't have his dogs at the front [normally], he has his dogs out the back, but through this week he had his dogs out the front and he has been acting weird.'

Henry Dodd said police spent several hours driving up and down the street before breaking into the home.

Neighbours described the man as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

'Everyone that knows the person that stays in that house, wouldn't think that it would be him,' he said.

'We got a shock ourselves that it was him.'

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S**t, she's been that close.'

Another local described the man in custody as an 'oddball'.

'He is a very quiet guy, bit of an oddball definitely wouldn't have picked him it has completely derailed me,' Rennee Turner said.

'I'd heard whispers I kind of figured the police might have had an idea of what was going on, because I have never seen such a massive amount of cops here for so long.'

Others said he in recent weeks bought food he didn't usually buy, and that he moved his dog that usually stayed in the backyard to the front yard.

Neighbours who witnessed the dramatic police raid, after which officers were seen carrying a crow bar and a battering ram out of the house, described how Cleo was carried to safety.

In the early hours of the morning, police smashed through the locked door of a home (pictured) in the Brockman suburb of Carnarvon, Western Australia, to rescue the four year old

One neighbour Henry (pictured) said he had spotted the arrested man behaving unusually in recent days, hooning through the streets in his car with his dogs in the front seat

'We stood back and waited but after that, we saw someone, on the detective shoulder. We thought it might be the little girl, which it was,' Henry Dodd said.

'I went closer to the detectives car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her. They put her in the back and I came over, rushed over here and seen her there. She looked at me, a bit scared.'

Mr Dodd said he was shocked he had been just metres away from her while the nationwide hunt was going on for her.

'I just can't believe it and get over the fact that she is just the house down from us and locked up here for a couple of weeks,' he added.

'Going on three weeks, she is straight across from us. I've got little sisters there...'

Cleo was found alone in this suburban home in Carnarvon, in the north-west of Western Australia, shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning

Deputy WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said Tuesday night's tip was the final piece of the puzzle that allowed detectives to finally track down Cleo.

'We've collected phone data, witness statements, DNA, fingerprints, rubbish along the highways, CCTV - we've collected everything,' he said.

'The million dollar reward helped us with collecting even more from the members of the public. Everyone came forward to helping us.

'There were car movements, there were phone movements, there were antecedents of people, the jigsaw fit the puzzle.

'We had to find that needle. Last night the needle in the haystack came out and they acted in a heartbeat.'

The vital tip-off was the last piece of the puzzle in a case that until then frustrated and eluded detectives and had Australians fearing Cleo would never be found, let alone alive.

Commissioner Blanch said seeing the police bodycam of Cleo brought him an other officers to tears.

'I've seen it. It's burned into my memory for life. You cannot look at that and not feel it in your heart. Unbelievable moment,' he said.

'I saw detectives that have worked for 18 days straight, 24/7 see little Cleo in a room, and just the look on their faces. The care that was expressed immediately, the cuddling, the asking of her name, her little voice.'

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

Ms Smith wrote on Instagram hours later: 'Our family is whole again.'

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ms Smith earlier wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result

'Seeing Ellie saying her 'beautiful girl is home' is nothing short of a miracle.'

In a local Facebook group, a concerned local suggested people in the small town remove 'missing' posters and stickers to prevent the family from suffering any more trauma.

But the youngster's mother commented on the post to let people know it was unnecessary.

'Cleo has seen her photo. She thought it was beautiful,' Ms Smith wrote.

Cleo's biological father Daniel Staines, who lives with his parents about 1,000km south of Carnarvon in Halls Head, said he is 'overjoyed' that the little girl was found alive.

'We are all absolutely overjoyed at the good news this morning and so happy that Cleo has been reunited with her mum and dad,' the Staines family said in a statement to The West Australian.

'Thank you to everyone who helped look for her and bring her home, particularly the WA Police, SES and the Carnarvon community.'

They sent Cleo, her step-father Mr Gliddon and Ellie their 'best wishes'.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster (pictured) was good as can be expected

Cleo's mum Ellie Smith broke her silence on Wednesday morning, sharing a series of love heart emojis on Instagram after her daughter was found alive and well

What happened to Cleo in the house where she was held captive for more than two weeks, without her family, but psychologists said she would have a long road to recovery.

Police Air Wing PC12 picked up the suspect, who has no relation to Cleo's family, from Carnarvon and landed at Perth's Jandakot Airport late on Wednesday morning.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson was on board the plane and will spend the day meeting with police involved in the rescue and checking in with Cleo's family.

The police chief broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said Cleo was as good as can be expected.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said.

'She's as well as we could expect in the circumstances. She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He said Cleo's parents were emotional but doing well.

'They're strong people, they are really strong people. They have good support around them,' Commissioner Dawson said.

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'
Cleo Smith's accused abductor was not on the sex offenders list, detectives have confirmed, as they reveal the four-year-old is 'physically OK' after more than two weeks away from her family.

The missing four-year-old was found at 12.45am on Wednesday alone in a bedroom in a locked and rundown house in the Carnarvon suburb of Brockman in Western Australia.

Police had rammed down the door to find the little girl alive and well before Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine, who was one of four officers to rescue the child, asked her three times to tell him her name.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde confirmed the 36-year-old man being questioned over her disappearance was not on the sex offenders list.

He also said police 'haven't received that information' when asked by a reporter about his reputation among locals as having an 'unhealthy interest in children'.

Cleo Smith is 'physically OK' according to police as the four-year-old is released from hospital and taken back to her family

Police say the 36-year-old man in custody was not previously on the sex offenders list despite locals saying he had an 'unhealthy interest in children'

Cleo has now been reunited with her family after being checked out at hospital, with police saying she is physically unharmed.

'She is out of hospital, back with her parents', Detective Superintedent Wilde told reporters.

He said the decision to raid the man's home came about 'rapidly' after receiving a tip off late on Tuesday that got the wheels in motion for her rescue.

'It happened fairly rapidly, as these things go. We plan around that. It is part of the operation,' Det. Sept. Wild said.

'We have planning if we identify a subject. We have a set of things we go through.

'The team was led well, they did a fantastic job. They rolled into that, they hadn't slept, they worked through the night. It was just a brilliant outcome.'

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde confirmed the 36-year-old man being questioned over her disappearance was not on the sex offenders list

WA Police have released the first photo of Cleo after she was found at a home in Carnarvon on Wednesday morning, having been missing for 18 days - police say she is 'physically OK'

Det Sgt. Blaine, the policeman who first found Cleo, said he asked for her name three separate times to confirm it was the missing girl.

'I just wanted to be absolutely sure that, it certainly looks like Cleo, I wanted to be sure it was her,' he said.

'I said, "what is your name?' She didn't answer, I asked three times and then she looked at me and said, 'my name is Cleo.' And that was it.

'Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that, we got into the car and the officer I was with called Cleo's parents and said ''we've got someone here that wants to speak to you''.

'They were ecstatic.'

Cleo cried out 'mummy' as she finally returned to her mother's arms having not seen her family in an agonising 18 days.

Mr Blaine described the little girl as an 'energiser bunny' and confirmed she was physically unharmed when she was found.

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, the sergeant replied: 'without a doubt'.

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine replied: 'without a doubt'

Cleo, 4, was described as safe and well but was immediately taken to hospital for further tests and to be reunited with relieved and overjoyed parents, Ellie and Jake.

A 36-year-old man - who was not in the home when it was raided - has been arrested in connection with Cleo's abduction from her parents' tent at Blowholes campsite, 74km away, on October 16.

Police feared the missing girl could have been spirited away anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

Detectives say they are still investigating to whether or not Cleo was held in the house for the entire time she had been missing.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said they were currently not looking at any other suspects and said the abduction appeared to be 'opportunistic'.

Police earlier shared a photo of a beaming little Cleo tucked up in a hospital bed eating an ice block after she was rescued.

When asked which officers shed a tear after hearing the news the four-year-old had been found, Mr Wilde said 'we all did'.

'Most definitely. It was an amazing moment, certainly after hearing that we were all on such a high. It was fantastic.'

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent at Blowholes camping grounds.

But residents in Tonkin Crescent where she was imprisoned admit they didn't connect the dots and report key clues that could have led police to the home days earlier.

Neighbours of the home where little Cleo Smith (pictured) was kept prisoner before she was rescued by police on Wednesday have revealed the tell-tale signs they missed.

Without these clues, police toiled away with few leads until they received a sudden tip-off on Tuesday night containing 'really important information about a car',

Detectives confirmed it with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads' - and just hours later raided the house.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time.

'Not last night, the night before it... I heard a little girl crying but I wouldn't expect it to be Cleo.' she told the West Australian.

'I didn't expect it would happen in this little neighbourhood, a lot of people know each other.'

It's reported that police were tipped off to the address after neighbours spotted the suspect buying nappies.

One of them told Seven News she became suspicious after seeing the suspect buying Kimbies nappies from a supermarket.

'The other day, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'

Another neighbour told Nine he had spotted the arrested man behaving bizarrely in recent days, hooning through the streets with his dogs in the front seat of his car.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time

Latest on Cleo Smith found alive after 18 days A 36-year-old man with no connection to the familyis in police custody

Neighbours said the 'quiet man' was seen buying nappies at Woolworths

Cleo found alone inside the house when police broke down the door at 1am

Police were acting on a tip-off that led them to the housing commission home

The home is just seven minutes' drive from Cleo's family home

Cleo was smiling when she was rescued, the police commissioner confirmed

She is now in hospital for an assessment after being reunited with her family Advertisement

'He's been acting a bit strange lately,' Henry Dodd told Nine News. 'He will get in his car, drive that fast.

'He doesn't have his dogs at the front [normally], he has his dogs out the back, but through this week he had his dogs out the front and he has been acting weird.'

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time.

'Not last night, the night before it I heard a little girl crying but I wouldn't expect it to be Cleo,' she told the West Australian.

'I didn't expect it would happen in this little neighbourhood, a lot of people know each other.'

Henry Dodd said police spent several hours driving up and down the street before breaking into the home.

Neighbours described the man as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

'Everyone that knows the person that stays in that house, wouldn't think that it would be him,' he said.

'We got a shock ourselves that it was him.'

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S**t, she's been that close.'

Another local described the man in custody as an 'oddball'.

'He is a very quiet guy, bit of an oddball definitely wouldn't have picked him it has completely derailed me,' Rennee Turner said.

In the early hours of the morning, police smashed through the locked door of a home (pictured) in the Brockman suburb of Carnarvon, Western Australia, to rescue the four year old

One neighbour Henry (pictured) said he had spotted the arrested man behaving unusually in recent days, hooning through the streets in his car with his dogs in the front seat

'I'd heard whispers I kind of figured the police might have had an idea of what was going on, because I have never seen such a massive amount of cops here for so long.'

Others said he in recent weeks bought food he didn't usually buy, and that he moved his dog that usually stayed in the backyard to the front yarn.

Neighbours who witnessed the dramatic police raid, after which officers were seen carrying a crow bar and a battering ram out of the house, described how Cleo was carried to safety.

'We stood back and waited but after that, we saw someone, on the detective shoulder. We thought it might be the little girl, which it was,' Henry Dodd told Seven News.

'I went closer to the detectives car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her. They put her in the back and I came over, rushed over here and seen her there. She looked at me, a bit scared.'

Mr Dodd said he was shocked he had been just metres away from her while the nationwide hunt was going on for her.

'I just can't believe it and get over the fact that she is just the house down from us and locked up here for a couple of weeks,' he added.

'Going on three weeks, she is straight across from us. I've got little sisters there...'

Deputy WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said Tuesday night's tip was the final piece of the puzzle that allowed detectives to finally track down Cleo.

'We've collected phone data, witness statements, DNA, fingerprints, rubbish along the highways, CCTV - we've collected everything,' he said.

'The million dollar reward helped us with collecting even more from the members of the public. Everyone came forward to helping us.

'There were car movements, there were phone movements, there were antecedents of people, the jigsaw fit the puzzle.

'We had to find that needle. Last night the needle in the haystack came out and they acted in a heartbeat.'

The vital tip-off was the last piece of the puzzle in a case that until then frustrated and eluded detectives and had Australians fearing Cleo would never be found, let alone alive.

Police said Cleo was smiling when she was rescued at the house, with the moment captured on police bodycam footage that brought a tear to his eye.

'I've seen it. It's burned into my memory for life. You cannot look at that and not feel it in your heart. Unbelievable moment,' he said.

'I saw detectives that have worked for 18 days straight, 24/7 see little Cleo in a room, and just the look on their faces. The care that was expressed immediately, the cuddling, the asking of her name, her little voice.'

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

Daily Mail Australia understands a local police officer rang Cleo's mother to break the incredible news. She is now in hospital for assessment.

Ms Smith wrote on Instagram hours later: 'Our family is whole again.'

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ms Smith earlier wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result

'Seeing Ellie saying her 'beautiful girl is home' is nothing short of a miracle.'

In a local Facebook group, a concerned local suggested people in the small town remove 'missing' posters and stickers to prevent the family from suffering any more trauma.

But the youngster's mother Ellie Smith commented on the post to let people know it was unnecessary.

'Cleo has seen her photo. She thought it was beautiful,' Ms Smith wrote.

Cleo's biological father Daniel Staines, who lives with his parents about 1,000km south of Carnarvon in Halls Head, said he is 'overjoyed' that the little girl was found alive.

'We are all absolutely overjoyed at the good news this morning and so happy that Cleo has been reunited with her mum and dad,' the Staines family said in a statement to The West Australian.

'Thank you to everyone who helped look for her and bring her home, particularly the WA Police, SES and the Carnarvon community.'

They sent Cleo, her step-father Jake Gliddon and Ellie their 'best wishes'.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster (pictured) was good as can be expected

Cleo's mum Ellie Smith broke her silence on Wednesday morning, sharing a series of love heart emojis on Instagram after her daughter was found alive and well

What happened to Cleo in the house where she was held captive for more than two weeks, without her family, but psychologists said she would have a long road to recovery.

Police Air Wing PC12 picked up the suspect, who has no relation to Cleo's family, from Carnarvon and landed at Perth's Jandakot Airport late on Wednesday morning.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson was on board the plane and will spend the day meeting with police involved in the rescue and checking in with Cleo's family.

The police chief broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said Cleo was as good as can be expected.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said.

'She's as well as we could expect in the circumstances. She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He said Cleo's parents were emotional but doing well.

'They're strong people, they are really strong people. They have good support around them,' Commissioner Dawson said.

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'
Loose Women star Kaye Adams said she was stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer at the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow yesterday for allegedly 'acting surreptitiously'.

The Scottish-born TV personality, 58, had been filming crowds outside the site of the UN-run global summit on her Instagram story when she was apparently approached by an undercover officer.

'Just slightly concerned to be stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer who thought I was dodgy', Ms Adams wrote on the Instagram story while she was being quizzed.

She later tweeted: 'Just got stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer near #COP26 for acting ''surreptitiously''. Never been accused of that before!'

When a Twitter user asked: 'Were you being suspiciously surreptitious?', the Loose Women panellist replied: 'Secretive filming apparently. I had my secretive iPhone in my secretive hand.'

Loose Women star Kaye Adams said she was stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer at the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow yesterday for allegedly 'acting surreptitiously'

The Scottish-born TV personality, 58, had been sharing videos from outside the site of the UN-run global summit on her Instagram story when she was apparently approached by an undercover officer (grab of the video above, not images of the plain clothes officer)

She later tweeted: 'Just got stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer near #COP26 for acting ''surreptitiously''. Never been accused of that before!'

People wait outside the security gates of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow

Though Ms Adams has been lighthearted about the incident, the policing of Cop26 has come under scrutiny, with an average of 10,000 officers from Police Scotland and forces around Britain on duty every day for three weeks - and the UK Government picking up the bill.

It comes as Police Scotland was obliged to apologise after scores of women were forced to walk home through a 'pitch black' park after the Cop26 road closures.

In statement to MailOnline, Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: 'Police Scotland is running Project Servator, a tactic proven to help disrupt a range of criminal activity, as part of the policing operation to provide a safe and secure COP26.

'Project Servator has been deployed successfully at major events in the past such as the Commonwealth Games and Edinburgh Festivals.

'As part of these deployments officers, both uniform and plain clothes, who are trained in spotting unusual behaviour, will proactively engage with people and will be happy to provide information and reassurance about the campaign.'

Ms Adams filmed activists who who had gathered in the Blue Zone on the north bank of the River Clyde, where the key negotiations between world leaders is taking place and where security is on high alert.

She then showed the gates guarding the Scottish Event Campus, where thousands of officers have formed a 'ring of steel' in a 100million policing operation - the biggest on record in the UK.

'Amazing to think the future of the planet is being discussed behind these turnstiles,' she wrote on her Instagram story.

However, she was stopped mid-video by someone she claims was a plain clothes police officer, who could be heard introducing himself to her.

As she filmed the ground, Ms Adams wrote on the Instagram story: 'Just slightly concerned to be stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer who thought I was dodgy' (grabs of the video, not images of the plain clothes officer)

Ms Adams filmed activists who who had gathered in the Blue Zone on the north bank of the River Clyde, where the key negotiations between world leaders is taking place and where security is on high alert (grab of the video not images of the plain clothes officer)

Police Scotland apologise after local women were forced to walk through 'pitch black' park on long detour so world leaders COP delegates could drive around in safety Police Scotland have issued an apology after scores of women were forced to walk home through a 'pitch black' park after the COP26 road closures last night. Residents in Glasgow described how they had been told by officers to use alternative routes, including Kelvingrove Park and the sidestreets, after cordons were put in place on the main roads to allow COP delegates to drive around in safety. The road closures came as hundreds of world leaders attended the biggest gathering of Government representatives since the birth of the United Nations at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum on Monday night. Taking to Twitter one woman wrote: 'Hey @GlasgowCC, we understand shutting down Kelvin Way for COP16 but being made to walk through Kelvingrove Park in darkness is not safe. 'So many generator lights are being used for the police, can you not light the main path for us at least?' Advertisement

Yesterday, Police Scotland apologised after scores of women were forced to walk home through a 'pitch black' park after the Cop26 road closures.

Residents in Glasgow described how they had been told by officers to use alternative routes, including Kelvingrove Park and the sidestreets, after cordons were put in place on the main roads to allow COP delegates to drive around in safety.

The road closures came as hundreds of world leaders attended the biggest gathering of Government representatives since the birth of the UN at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum on Monday night.

Taking to Twitter one woman wrote: 'Hey @GlasgowCC, we understand shutting down Kelvin Way for COP16 but being made to walk through Kelvingrove Park in darkness is not safe.

'So many generator lights are being used for the police, can you not light the main path for us at least?'

While another person said: 'Wow, Finnieston residents currently on the north side of the street who live on the south side of the street being told to walk through Kelvingrove, down to Byres road to Partick and then back to Finnieston to get to their flats 100 yards away. It's dark.'

Meanwhile another person wrote: 'I know that COP26 is a big logistical challenge but I've heard first hand that women on foot on their own are being diverted and directed to walk through Kelvingrove Park alone in the pitch black because Argyle St/Dumbarton Rd is close? Not safe.'

And another added: 'Walking through Kelvingrove Park in the dark on my own last night.

'All the police they'd got in from England having no clue about the area so responding to lone women asking them for directions with ''I don't know sorry just walk around and find out''.

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: 'Residents were diverted on their way home, including on foot through Kelvingrove Park, following real-time changes to operational plans on Monday night.

'While late changes and some level of disruption is inevitable when policing an event the size and scale of COP26, we understand and apologise for the concern these changes caused and for the inconvenience to those diverted.

'We do, in particular, recognise and acknowledge the commentary from some women who had to walk through the park on their own last night, we want to keep everyone safe and we know that the onus is on us to recognise when we could provide some more support and visibility to reassure people in our communities.

She then showed the gates guarding the Scottish Event Campus, where thousands of officers have formed a 'ring of steel' in a 100million policing operation - the biggest on record in the UK

Cordons were put in place on the main roads for the COP26 welcoming reception on Monday

'The diversion is no longer in place and there are no plans to reintroduce it. Should further diversions be required at short notice for operational purposes, we will look to establish additional patrols in the area to provide reassurance.

'We will work with Glasgow City Council to consider whether lighting in Kelvingrove Park can be improved.'

Police expect to make 300 arrests a day but sources warned if the number gets much higher, custody suites will be overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, a report revealed last week almost half of Scotland's police officers have experienced high levels of fatigue in the previous fortnight, which does not bode well for a three-week conference during which many will have to work 12-hour shifts.

Scotland's lawyers have also vowed to boycott weekend custody courts amid an ongoing row over legal aid cuts. This means the justice system could be plunged into chaos by the sheer number of people arrested at the event.
Carrie Bickmore burst into tears live on The Project talking about the moment she learned police had found Cleo Smith alive and safe.

The missing four-year-old was found at 12.45am on Wednesday alone in a bedroom in a locked and rundown house in the Carnarvon suburb of Brockman in Western Australia, after being missing for 18 days.

The host of The Project said the photo of Cleo smiling from her hospital bed 'broke' her and admitted to crying when she heard the incredible news.

'That photo broke me today. It was a collective sigh of relief and a quiet sob this morning,' Bickmore said. 'She's such a sweetheart.'

The host was later lost for words, wiping tears away from her eyes as her co-hosts continued to talk about the incredible work WA Police did in finding the lost child.

WA Police released the first photo of Cleo after she was found at a home in Carnarvon on Wednesday morning, having been missing for 18 days - police say she is 'physically OK'

The host of The Project said the photo of Cleo smiling from her hospital bed 'broke' her and admitted to crying when she heard the incredible news - before later breaking down again on the show

Pastor Brenden Law-Davis said Carnavon was still in 'disbelief' that it could happen in their community and said the now infamous Blowholes campsite is 'tainted'

After 18 long days, the Smith family have been reunited with little Cleo in a turn of events few saw coming.

Police had rammed down the door to find the little girl alive and well before Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine, who was one of four officers to rescue the child, asked her three times to tell him her name.

The coastal town's local pastor revealed there are signs and balloons set up around the town to celebrate her homecoming.

Pastor Brenden Law-Davis said Carnavon was still in 'disbelief' that it could happen in their community and said the now-infamous Blowholes campsite is 'tainted'.

'You go there with your family to spend lovely sunny days with your kids. It's a really special place,' he said.

'For that place to be tainted, it's not an easy thing.'

Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said there were 'tears from Commissioner Dawson all through WA Police'.

'We always hoped this would be the outcome, in our hearts,' he said.

'We know our colleagues got more desperate and they made the breakthrough when they needed to.'

Bickmore noted that although finding Cleo was fantastic news, there will almost certainly be long-term psychological damage for the four-year-old and her family.

'I don't think you can diminish or erase the trauma for that family,' The Project host said.

'There is this feeling of elation and joy but the emotions for that family must be more complicated.

'From a girl so little, can she even answer the questions?'

Police say the 36-year-old man in custody was not previously on the sex offender's list despite locals saying he had an 'unhealthy interest in children'

Det Sgt. Blaine, the policeman who first found Cleo, said he asked for her name three separate times to confirm it was the missing girl.

'I just wanted to be absolutely sure that, it certainly looks like Cleo, I wanted to be sure it was her,' he said.

'I said, "what is your name?' She didn't answer, I asked three times and then she looked at me and said, 'my name is Cleo.' And that was it.

'Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that, we got into the car and the officer I was with called Cleo's parents and said ''we've got someone here that wants to speak to you''.

'They were ecstatic.'

Cleo cried out 'mummy' as she finally returned to her mother's arms having not seen her family in an agonising 18 days.

Mr Blaine described the little girl as an 'energiser bunny' and confirmed she was physically unharmed when she was found.

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, the sergeant replied: 'without a doubt'.

Cleo Smith is 'physically OK' according to police as the four-year-old is released from hospital and taken back to her family

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine replied: 'without a doubt'

Cleo, 4, was described as safe and well but was immediately taken to hospital for further tests and to be reunited with relieved and overjoyed parents, Ellie and Jake.

A 36-year-old man - who was not in the home when it was raided - has been arrested in connection with Cleo's abduction from her parents' tent at Blowholes campsite, 74km away, on October 16.

Police feared the missing girl could have been spirited away anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

Investigators say they are still investigating to whether or not Cleo was held in the house for the entire time she had been missing.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde said they were currently not looking at any other suspects and said the abduction appeared to be 'opportunistic'.
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Royal Marines commandos 'dominated' US troops and forced them into a humiliating surrender just days into a mass training exercise in the Mojave desert, it has been revealed today.

British forces took part in a five-day mock battle at the US Marine Corps' Twentynine Palms base in southern California, one of the largest military training areas in the world, and achieved a decisive victory against their American counterparts.

The Royal Marines, along with allied forces from Canada, the Netherlands and the UAE, destroyed or rendered inoperable nearly every US asset and finished the exercise holding more than 65 per cent of the training area, after beginning with less than 20 per cent.

Combatants used paintball-style training ammunition, which fires with reduced pressure and velocity, along with hi-tech simulators for heavier firepower like artillery, and live ammo on expansive ranges.

Seeing no opportunity for victory, American combatants asked for the exercise to be 'reset' halfway through the five-day exercise, having taken significant casualties from British commandos.

Royal Marines 'dominated' US forces just days into a training exercise after eliminating nearly their whole unit. Pictured: A Royal Marines commando training in exercise Green Dagger at the US Marine Corps' Twentynine Palms base in the Mojave Desert in southern California

The Marines' 'kill board', which assesses damage done to enemy assets, had a tick against nearly all American assets at one point, meaning it had been rendered inoperable or destroyed

Exercise Green Dagger is designed to test the US Marine Corps prior to units deploying overseas, covers more than 3,500 square kilometres of mountainous and desert terrain

A comparison of Britain's Royal Marines and the United States Marine Corps, who faced off in the training exercise

Royal Marines, alongside allies from the Netherlands, Canada and the UAE, defeated the US Marine Corps in a training exercise

Combatants used training ammunition, which fires with reduced pressure and velocity, along with hi-tech simulators for heavier firepower like artillery, and live ammo on expansive ranges

Royal Marines using the 'Viking' transport during the exercise Green Dagger in southern California, where they defeated US forces

Pictured: US Marines with 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion alongside Royal Marines with Armoured Support Group Royal Marines 3 Troop, during Exercise Green Dagger at Twentynine Palms

Royal Marines are seen during exercise Green Dagger at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, California

British forces were trialing the new Littoral Response Group (LRG) structure, which will be the new template for commandos - who are to become more flexible and mobile under reforms directed by First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin. LRGs are Royal Navy task groups centred on commando forces set up to respond to world events

The exercise includes urban settings where actors, who are not following a script, play civilians who can choose to help or hinder the military forces

The Royal Marines trained with counterparts from the US, Canada, UAE and the Netherlands in the weeks before the main exercise

British forces, along with allies from Canada, the Netherlands and the UAE, won a decisive victory against US forces in a training exercise

British artillery units helped achieve victory by concentrated on eliminating enemy vehicles and opposing artillery

By the end of the exercise, the Royal Marines held more than 65 per cent of the training area, having begun with less than 20 per cent

A long-range commando assault with fighter jet support eventually defeated the American forces, who had launched a last-minute attack but were repelled

ROYAL MARINES: A HISTORY OF VICTORY 1664: As the Second Dutch War broke out, a special regiment of 1,200 men were trained for the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot - the Royal Navy's earliest form of raiding force and the foundation of today's Royal Marines. 1704: Six Royal Marrines regiments are raised for the War of Spanish Succession, fighting with a brigade of soldiers who attacked Gibraltar and held its fortress while under constant siege from the enemy. 1805: At the Battle of Trafalgar, Lord Nelson defeated French and Spanish troops off Cape Trafalgar on October 21 with Royal Marines making up more than 10% of his force. One officer, Second Lieutenant Roteley, described the scene as being 'like a hailstorm of bullets passing over our heads on the poop, where we had forty Marines with small arms'. 1915: The Ottoman Empire entered World War I in 1915, and the Royal Marines were part of the force tasked with opening the Dardanelles in the Gallipoli Campaign. Two battleships brought Marine detachments who accomplished their tasks and re-embarked. 1918: On St George's Day, 1918, British naval forces launched a raid on Zeebrugge to deny German U-boats, based in Bruges, access to the English Channel. A force of Royal Marines landed along the Zeebrugge Mole and destroyed German guns, leading to three ships being sunk, blocking the canal. 1942: Winston Churchill, trying to find a way to more effectively fight Hitler with fewer resources, ordered the creation of the commandos - highly-trained personnel who would go on to play crucial roles in the Arakan campaign, the Allied landings in Sicily and the 1944 invasion of Normandy. 1982: Royal Marines played an active role throughout Britain's defence of the Falkland Islands from Argentinian invasion. Towards the end of the crisis, M Coy Gp landed from a small task group to reclaim Southern Thule in the South Sandwich Islands. 2001: The Royal Marines are at the vanguard of the British war effort in Afghanistan, mounting a 13-year-long counter-insurgency campaign. 2003: 40 Commando is deployed to north west Iraq, secures initial targets and advances towards Basra, facing heavy fire for three days before taking over Saddam Hussein's palace. Just hours later, commandos were distributing crucial humanitarian aid in the country. 2017: After Hurricane IRMA in September 2017, personnel from 3 Commando took part in an international relief operation in the Caribbean. More than 400 men and women deployed in 72 hours, helping to repair 22 schools and five hospitals, and distribute 30 tons of food and 60,000 litres of water. Advertisement

Troops from 3 Commando Brigade and Taunton-based 40 Commando had spent the last two months in the Mojave Desert preparing for deployments next year.

Their time in the US culminated with the five-day simulated conflict Green Dagger, which is designed to test the US Marine Corps prior to units deploying overseas.

The mock battlefield covers more than 3,500 square kilometres of mountainous and desert terrain, including urban settings where actors, who are not following a script, play civilians who can choose to help or hinder the military forces.

The Royal Marines trained with counterparts from the US, Canada, UAE and the Netherlands in the weeks before the main exercise.

The British forces achieved their victory by targeting the American headquarters and equipment, severely hampering the ability of US combatants to launch counter-attacks.

Artillery units also concentrated on eliminating vehicles and opposing artillery.

A long-range commando assault with fighter jet support eventually defeated the American forces, who had launched a last-minute attack but were repelled.

British forces were trialling the new Littoral Response Group (LRG) structure, which will be the new template for commandos - who are to become more flexible and mobile under reforms directed by First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.

LRGs are Royal Navy task groups centred around commando forces and set up to respond to world events.

Following the restructuring of the Marines, Nato's northern and Baltic flanks will be covered by the UK-based LRG (North).

LRG (South), built around Taunton-based 40 Commando, will be based around Oman's port of Duqm, operating with a focus on British military activity in the Indo-Pacific.

Each LRG will be capable of working with the carrier strike group to assemble an expeditionary strike force which can operate anywhere in the world.

The exercise focused around three urban sprawls which were defended by allied forces, the largest of which consisting of 1,200 buildings purpose built for military testing.

The Marines won decisive battles early on and gained ground from their enemy, but amid a US Marines counter-attack, commandos carried out raids behind enemy lines.

The exercise concluded with a last-minute assault by US forces, which was repelled.

'Our success has proved the new commando force concept is more lethal and sophisticated than ever before and I am immensely proud of every member of the LRG and their vital contributions,' said Lieutenant Colonel Andy Dow, Commanding Officer of 40 Commando.

'Operating alongside our partners from the USA, Netherlands, Canada and the UAE gives us a fantastic opportunity to test, integrate and continue to push our capabilities in new and innovative directions.

'Throughout this deployment our focus has been on integrating game-changing capabilities from across the commando force to deliver disproportional effect in the face of a free-thinking peer adversary.'

Royal Marines 'dominated' US forces just days into a training exercise after eliminating nearly their whole unit

American combatants asked for a 'reset' halfway through a five-day simulated war exercise at the US Marine Corps' Twentynine Palms base in the Mojave Desert in southern California, having taken significant casualties from British commandos using a new battle structure

A mortar position is pictured during the five-day simulated war exercise at the US Marine Corps' Twentynine Palms base in the Mojave Desert in southern California

Following the restructuring of the Marines, Nato's northern and Baltic flanks will be covered by the UK-based LRG (North). LRG (South), built around Taunton-based 40 Commando, will be based afloat around Oman's port of Duqm, operating with a focus on British military activity in the Indo-Pacific. Each LRG will be capable of working with the carrier strike group to assemble an expeditionary strike force which can operate anywhere in the world

Exercise Green Dagger covers more than 3,500 square kilometres of mountainous and desert terrain

Royal Marines brought a decisive defeat of the American combatants, who asked for a 'reset' halfway through the five-day simulated war exercise in the Mojave Desert

A long-range commando assault with fighter jet support eventually defeated the American forces, who had launched a last-minute attack but were repelled
The father of a teenage drive-by murderer who blasted his enemy with a shotgun has gushed with pride as he praised his son's prison picture.

Taylor Meanley, 17, of Mexborough, South Yorkshire, was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years behind bars for shooting rival gang member Lewis Williams in the neck during a drive-by killing earlier this year.

While waiting to be sentenced, Meanley shared a picture of himself on Facebook with the caption: 'Just a prison photo of me'.

Writing on his son's post, father Mike Meanley said he was 'so proud' of the murderer and told Taylor to 'f*** them all'.

In others pictures shared on social media, Mike and Taylor can be seeing showing derogatory hand gestures while posing for photos together.

While waiting for to be sentenced for murder 17-year-old Taylor Meanley shared this picture of himself on Facebook with the caption: 'Just a prison photo of me'

Writing on his son's post, father Mike Meanley gushed that he was 'so proud' of the murderer and told Taylor to 'f*** them all'

In others pictures shared on social media, Mike and Taylor can be seeing showing derogatory hand gestures while posing for photos together

Taylor Meanley was sat in the passenger seat of a blue Jaguar when he fired the homemade shotgun that killed Lewis Williams in Mexborough on January 11, 2021.

Williams had been targeted because of his links to a Yorkshire-based gang known as the 'Pitsmoor Shotta Boys'.

Prosecutors described Meanley's actions as he drove down Wath Road in Meanley, hunting Mr Williams as a 'planned execution'. The car was later found burned out in Bolton upon Dearne.

Although members of the public rushed to perform CPR on Williams, he 'suffered catastrophic injuries' to his neck and chest, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

At Sheffield Crown Court last month, Meanley was jailed for a minimum term of 27 years for the murder of Williams.

He will also serve a concurrent 13 year sentence for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Mr Williams' mother Sandra said the family were 'totally broken' without their son.

Lewis Williams, 20, was shot dead outside a Farmfoods supermarket in Mexborough, Doncaster earlier this year

Prosecutors described Meanley's actions as he drove down Wath Road in Meanley, hunting Mr Williams as a 'planned execution'. Above: Forensics teams at the scene of the fatal drive-by shooting in Mexborough, South Yorkshire

In a statement shared after Meanley's sentencing, she said: 'To lose a child is something no parent should have to go through - I feel lost and as if a part of me is missing. I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to fix this.'

Detective Chief Insp James Axe, of South Yorkshire Police, said: 'I would like to offer my condolences to Lewis family and thank them for their continued support throughout these proceedings.

'I hope the sentences handed down by the judge today will help to provide them with some comfort.

'The absolute reckless nature of events that played out on the 11th January 2021 not only endangered the life of Lewis, but also his associates and the broader public, going about their lawful business.'

Claire MacDonald from the CPS said: "This was a calculated and cold-blooded drive-by gangland shooting which took place at rush hour on Wath Road.

"The prosecution team worked relentlessly to gather evidence to bring those responsible for the killing of Lewis Williams to justice.

"In his evidence during the trial the 17 year old admitted pointing the weapon, but claimed that he only meant to scare the victim and thought the gun wouldnt go off.

"All four defendants are now beginning extremely long prison sentences . We hope this will bring some comfort to the family of Lewis Williams."
Barnaby Joyce has slammed the French Government for calling Scott Morrison a 'liar', saying it is something a 'tin pot nation' would do.

The National's leader and deputy prime minister weighed in on the bitter diplomatic spat which played out at the G20 and COP26 Summits in Europe this past week.

French president Emmanuel Macron is furious at Mr Morrison for tearing up a $90billion defence contract for the French Naval Group to build Australia 12 conventionally-powered submarines without notice.

Mr Morrison denies lying to Mr Macron before the announcement and claims France should have realised the $90billion deal was on the rocks.

In an attempt to discredit the French leader's account, text messages were leaked to the media on Monday.

Mr Joyce on Wednesday defended the 'extraordinary' move in a TV interview that may trigger even further tension with the European powerhouse.

An awkward handshake in Rome between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron (left) at the G20 summit this week

'We had a major political leader call the prime minister of Australia a liar and you can't do that, diplomatically,' the cowboy hat-wearing politician told the ABC.

'You can't go around calling other leaders of other countries a liar.

'Not a great nation of France. Maybe if your some tin pot nation in the middle of nowhere, well, I suppose you can say what you like.

'But when a great nation comes out and says you're a liar, well what else do you do, you have to defend it and say we are not.'

In an extraordinary speech earlier today, French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault accused Australia of stabbing France by partnering with the US and UK on a deal for nuclear-powered submarines.

He used a joint statement released on August 30 after a video conference between French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly and their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton to highlight his claims.

The statement said the ministers discussed the importance of the submarine deal - but at the same time Australian officials were planning to scrap the agreement and announce a new partnership with the US and UK.

Barnaby Joyce (pictured) has slammed the French government for calling Australia's prime minister a 'liar', saying it's something a 'tin pot nation' would do

A joint statement (above) released on August 30 said Australia and France had discussed the importance of the submarine deal. Just two weeks later it was scrapped

'What is a hard fact is that still on August 30, French and Australian ministers of foreign affairs and defence had a dialogue, and they agreed a joint communique,' Mr Thebault said.

'It was available to the public and widely acclaimed for its ambition. It agreed the following sentence, ''the two countries underline the importance of the Future Submarine program''.

The deceit was intentional... the way it was handled was plainly a stab in the back Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault

'Do you agree on such a communique when there's the slightest doubt on something so massive as the official backbone of your co-operation? Maybe on Mars, but not that I know on this planet,' he said.

Mr Thebault insisted his leader was 'misled' and this amounted to a lie among allies.

'Was the president lied to? Yes, he was,' he said.

'Maybe there's a difference between misleading and lying. But, you know, among heads of states and governments, when you mislead a friend and an aIly, you lie to him.'

Mr Morrison's office earlier this week leaked a personal text between him and Mr Macron to show the French President knew the agreement was on shaky ground.

President Macron wrote: 'Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarines ambitions?'

A secret leaked text message (pictured) appears to show that Emmanuel Macron was given warning that Australia would torpedo its $90billion submarine deal with France

Quizzed by reporters in Dubai on Thursday - on his way back from the Glasgow climate summit - Mr Morrison did not deny leaking the text.

'Claims had been made and those claims were refuted,' he said.

Mr Morrison had conceded Mr Macron was not aware of negotiations with the US and the UK, but said the French leader was told as early as June that Australia was consulting on other options for submarines.

Mr Thebualt said France was 'not at all' aware that Australia was looking at other options.

In a savage speech at the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, Mr Thebault accused Australia of 'treason'.

'This decision was deliberately kept secret for months, even years,' he said.

Mr Thebault said Australia never consulted France about the possibility of nuclear-powered subs and instead turned its back on its ally to announce a new AUKUS partnership.

'The way this Australian Government decided to turn its back on our solemn and far reaching partnership without ever frankly consulting with France, when there were countless opportunities, without having shared frankly and openly, or having looked for alternatives with France, is just out of this world,' he said.

Jean-Pierre Thebault (pictured today) accused the Australian Government of a 'stab in the back' and said Mr Morrison intended to deceive his country's long-standing ally

Mr Thebault refuted concerns about cost blowouts and long delays in delivering the conventionally powered attack-class submarines.

'The program was acceptable, affordable and compliant,' he said, insisting the deal was still within its $50billion budget.

The ambassador, who was recalled to Paris in a highly unusual move after the deal was scrapped, explained why he thinks Mr Morrison did not tell President Emmanuel Macron in advance.

'Probably the reason for which the Australian Government did not want to be explicit was frankly explained by the Prime Minister himself on 16 September,' he said.

France's Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault arrives at Sydney Airport before leaving the country on September 18

'I quote, ''there was never ever any certainty at the long and painstaking AUKUS process would result in where we are now. And indeed, if we were unable to access this technology, then the attack class submarine is the best submarine that we have been able to utilise''.'

Mr Thebault explained: 'Confronted with the high uncertainties which are not finished surrounding the likely closure of an alternative deal, it was a necessary to continue the possibility of continuing the future submarine program.

'It was mandatory to keep us on the backburner. The deceit was intentional... the way it was handled was plainly a stab in the back.'

The ambassador explained that France was left furious because 'the attack class program was always far more than a contract.'

He described the deal, which was signed in 2016 and involved sharing 'one of most classified and sensitive defence programs' as an 'unprecedented act of trust'.

'It was bringing our relationship with Australia to a level never reached before. Politically, and technologically. Fully complementing Australia's and France's historical alliance with the US,' he said.

'I do respect sovereign choices. But you have to respect allies and partners. And do I think what has happened is detrimental to the reputation of your country.'

Mr Morrison announced his decision to cancel French submarine contract in a joint press conference with the Boris Johnson and Joe Biden on September 16.

Mr Morrison wants US or UK-style nuclear-powered submarines, which are faster, stealthier and can stay at sea longer than conventional submarines, by 2040.

After Mr Macron accused Mr Morrison of lying to him on Monday, the Prime Minister hit back saying he would not cop 'sledging.'

Emmanuel Macron is furious at Scott Morrison for tearing up a $90billion defence contract for the French Naval Group to build Australia 12 conventionally-powered submarines without notice
A gruesome 'rat king' where a group of rats' tails become intertwined has been spotted in Estonia in an 'extremely rare' sighting.

The skin-crawling discovery, which is said to be an omen of an impending plague, was made by Johan Uibopuu and his mother in their chicken coop in Tartu.

They found 13 rats, two of which were already dead, tied together by their tails as they struggled to free themselves.

A gruesome 'rat king', where a group of rats' tails become intertwined, has been spotted in Estonia

The skin-crawling discovery was made by Johan Uibopuu in Tartu in his mother's chicken coop

Johan said: 'I was making the most of a quiet morning in Tartu when my mother phoned me, sounding quite upset.

'She had gone to feed the birds at the chicken coop when she saw a bundle of rats right at the entrance as she opened the door.

'When the shock wore off, she went to investigate and tried to remove them from her way, but they were firmly stuck to the ground.'

According to superstition, rat kings are a sign of an imminent plague and this is one of the only live sightings in modern times.

Andrei Miljutin of the Natural History Museum at the University of Tartu, who had documented one previous encounter with a rat king in 2005, agreed to take the specimen.

They found 13 rats, two of which were already dead, tied together by their tails as they struggled to free themselves

Johan, a veterinarian, said he found a tunnel dug by the rats in the chicken coop (pictured) where there is ample food

He said of the two rats that had already died in the latest rat king: 'Rats within the rat king are sentenced to death.

'Even if they manage to escape from the narrow burrow, they can't move around normally, can't move to find food, and are completely unprotected.

'Their survival depends on concrete circumstances  usually they survive until the first encounter with a cat, dog or human.

'To kill the rat king is the usual reaction of people when they see one.'

Johan, a veterinarian, said it was obvious what had attracted the rats to the shed in Polva County, southern Estonia.

Dr Miljutin said that rat kings was an 'extremely rare phenomenon' with only 60 cases in almost 500 years of recorded history

But he and Dr Miljutin were puzzled by how the rats had become entangled.

The 28-year-old said: 'There was a tunnel dug by the rats from somewhere underground to the surface near the door.

'Since there is always ample food, water and bedding supply in the coop, it is a perfect place for rats.

'Maybe they clumped together on the surface to keep warm since it was the first day of autumn that the temperature went below zero degrees during the night.

'And as some of them tried to enter the tunnel all of them got stuck.

'In my opinion the tunnel itself was too small in diameter for the rats to emerge from below as a rat king.'

The 28-year-old said the tunnel (pictured) they found in the chicken coop was too small for the rat king to enter as one

Dr Miljutin had documented one previous encounter with a rat king in 2005 (pictured in the University of Tartu)

Dr Miljutin said that rat kings was an 'extremely rare phenomenon' with only 60 cases in almost 500 years of recorded history.

However, he added, it was possible that most rat kings were never found, or were disposed of without being reported, or that reports of them were never acted upon.

The museum decided to euthanise the rat king to end the suffering of the trapped animals.

Dr Miljutin said: 'We counted all possibilities and decided that it is more humane to euthanise the rats than increase their suffering by amputating their tails  it was impossible to untie the knot.

'Besides, what would we do after amputation? Rats can't survive in Estonia under natural conditions and nobody wants these pest animals in their house.

'On the contrary  people regularly kill rats with poison and traps.

'These animals can't be kept in an ordinary cage as a pet and usually never become tame.'

The specimen will now be kept at the museum.
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These photos show a British woman's final moments before she ended her life at an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland.

Images show Dawn Voice-Cooper, 76, in bed surrounded by friends and giving them a final hug before releasing a fatal dose of barbiturates into her bloodstream at the Lifecircle clinic in Basel.

The mother-of-one, who suffered from severe arthritis, repeated brain bleeds and epilepsy, enjoyed a final glass of champagne, listened to her favourite song - Nick Drake's Day is Done - and told tearful friends and medical staff 'thank you' before slipping into a deep sleep and passing away.

Ms Voice-Cooper had campaigned for the legalisation of assisted dying in the UK, which is currently punishable by up to 14 years in prison in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. She was a former mental health worker who lived alone in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Speaking to The Mirror, she said her life was 'endless, often difficult, and usually painful', and involved the 'daily management of several, incurable issues'.

Her death comes as campaigners marked World Right to Die Day, and as a YouGov poll found that a majority of MPs back changing the law to enable assisted dying in Britain.

Mother-of-one Dawn Voice-Cooper is seen in bed surrounded by loved ones at the Lifecircle clinic in Basel

She can be seen giving her friends a final hug before releasing a fatal dose of barbiturates into her bloodstream

The-76-year-old, who suffered from severe arthritis, repeated brain bleeds and epilepsy, enjoyed a final glass of champagne and told tearful friends and medical staff 'thank you' before slipping into a deep sleep

Ms Voice-Cooper is seen in bed surrounded by loved ones at the Lifecircle clinic in Basel

Ms Voice-Cooper's death comes as campaigners marked World Right to Die Day, and as a YouGov poll found that a majority of MPs back changing the law to enable assisted dying in Britain

Assisted dying in the UK Currently, those judged to have assisted the suicide or attempted suicide of another person in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be jailed for up to 14 years. In Scots law, assisted dying might constitute murder, culpable homicide or no offence depending on the nature of the assistance. Last month, medical professionals wrote to Health Secretary Sajid Javid saying will not cooperate with any new law on assisted dying. They spelt out their opposition in an open letter signed by 1,689 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical students, in which they insisted that 'the shift from preserving life to taking life was enormous and should not be minimised'. Last week a backbench Bill to allow assisted dying passed its first stage in the Lords. The crossbencher Baroness Meacher, chairman of campaign group Dignity in Dying, who tabled the Bill, proposed that only terminally ill patients with full mental capacity and who were not expected to live more than six months, would be eligible to apply for an assisted death. Downing Street has hinted that Tory MPs will be given a free vote when it comes to the Commons. Campaigners say it will give people with terminal illnesses greater choice and control over how and when they die, with safeguards to protect them and their loved ones. But opponents say it will put pressure on people to end their lives. The medics' letter reads: 'The prohibition of killing is the safeguard. The current law is the protection for the vulnerable. 'Any change would threaten society's ability to safeguard vulnerable patients from abuse. 'It would undermine the trust the public places in physicians, and it would send a clear message to our frail, elderly and disabled patients about the value that society places on them.' Faith leaders have also expressed 'profound disquiet'. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Roman Catholic Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis have written to Mr Javid warning him the safeguards are inadequate. Advertisement

The Assisted Dying Bill, which would allow terminally ill adults to legally seek assistance to end their lives, is currently going through Parliament.

A proposal for the law brought by Baroness Meacher will only be available for those with less than six months to live.

Last week it passed its second reading in the Lords, meaning it has progressed to the Committee stage for the first time in seven years.

But Ms Voice-Cooper said she thought the proposals were too restrictive. She wanted an evidence-based Parliamentary inquiry into assisted dying, with the hope of ultimately building a Canadian-style model - where those suffering with an irremediable and grievous condition can apply to die.

Critics of assisted dying fear legalisation could push disabled and elderly people into ending their lives rather than becoming a care burden.

Ms Voice-Cooper hoped she could show the safeguards in place to stop any abuse of the system, including requirements she submit her medical history, explain her reasons for wanting to die, and prove her mental competence.

Once in Switzerland she was assessed by two separate doctors and then taken to the Lifecircle clinic, where two people end their lives weekly.

Ms Voice-Cooper applied for an assisted death two years ago, after first considering her options in 2017 when her quality of life started to deteriorate.

At the more publicised Dignitas clinic, patients drink a lethal cocktail of medication, but at Lifecircle staff set up an IV drip which recipients operate themselves.

Ms Voice-Cooper said she had to die early because she was still fit to travel instead of continuing to live while her quality of life allowed her.

The former mental health worker said those who say she 'looked fine' didn't understand the 'difficulties' of her daily life.

Her friend Alex Pandolfo, who has early onset Alzheimer's and also intends to die at Lifecircle before he deteriorates, will now continue her battle to ask for an 'evidenced based parliamentary inquiry into humane voluntary assisted dying in the UK'.

Ms Voice-Cooper spent her last moments with her friends and fellow campaigners Mr Pandolfo and Miranda Tuckett, where her bed was positioned in front of a window to look out at the trees.

Lifecircle's president, Dr Erika Preisig, then asked Ms Voice-Cooper four final questions on camera: What is your name, what is your date of birth, can you tell me why you came here and do you know what's going to happen if you open this perfusion?

As she allowed the IV drugs into her bloodstream Ms Voice-Cooper listened to Nick Drake's Day is Done.

After a police report, which is carried out after every assisted death in the clinic, her body will be cremated and ashes scattered.

Up to one Briton a week is believed to travel to Switzerland to end their life, with the journey usually costing around 10,000. Any family members that help are then at risk of prosecution in the UK.

According to a YouGov poll, the number of MPs supporting the right for the terminally ill with less than six months to live to be allowed help to end their life has soared from 35 per cent to 58 per cent.

More controversially, 45 per cent of the MPs surveyed believe there should also be a broader change in the law to include those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.

Ms Voice-Cooper wanted an evidence-based Parliamentary inquiry into assisted dying, with the hope of ultimately building a Canadian-style model - where those suffering with an irremediable and grievous condition can apply to die

Ms Voice-Cooper applied for an assisted death two years ago, after first considering her options in 2017 when her quality of life started to deteriorate

Speaking to The Mirror, Ms Voice-Cooper said her life was 'endless, often difficult, and usually painful, daily management of several, incurable issues'

Final questions: What Dawn Voice-Cooper was asked before she died... Lifecircle's president, Dr Erika Preisig, asked Dawn Voice-Cooper four final questions on camera. What is your name? Dawn Voice-Cooper. What is your date of birth? 26th June 1945. Can you tell me why you came here to Lifecircle? I want an assisted death because the quality of my life is not good and it will get worse. We have set an intravenous needle. Dawn do you know what is going to happen if you open this perfusion? Yes the drug will go into my body and I will go into a deep sleep and then I will die. Dr Preisig then said: 'If this is your last wish you can open the perfusion.' Advertisement

In 2019, only 16 per cent of MPs said they would support a change for those suffering from incurable illnesses. The reason for the dramatic shift in sentiment can be traced back to the last election, with 140 MPs elected for the first time.

There were 312 under the age of 50, with the average age of the Commons now 52.

Younger MPs overwhelmingly favour an overhaul of the right to die legislation, with 86 per cent backing assisted dying for people with six months to live, and 69 per cent wanting similar rights for those with Alzheimer's.

Support is also strong among Tory MPs in Red Wall seats.

Currently, those judged to have assisted the suicide or attempted suicide of another person in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be jailed for up to 14 years.

Last month, medical professionals wrote to Health Secretary Sajid Javid saying will not cooperate with any new law on assisted dying.

They spelt out their opposition in an open letter signed by 1,689 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical students, in which they insisted that 'the shift from preserving life to taking life was enormous and should not be minimised'.

Last week a backbench Bill to allow assisted dying passed its first stage in the Lords.

The crossbencher Baroness Meacher, chairman of campaign group Dignity in Dying, who tabled the Bill, proposed that only terminally ill patients with full mental capacity and who were not expected to live more than six months, would be eligible to apply for an assisted death.

Downing Street has hinted that Tory MPs will be given a free vote when it comes to the Commons.

Campaigners say it will give people with terminal illnesses greater choice and control over how and when they die, with safeguards to protect them and their loved ones.

Opponents say it will put pressure on people to end their lives. The letter reads: 'The prohibition of killing is the safeguard. The current law is the protection for the vulnerable.

'Any change would threaten society's ability to safeguard vulnerable patients from abuse.

'It would undermine the trust the public places in physicians, and it would send a clear message to our frail, elderly and disabled patients about the value that society places on them.'

Faith leaders have also expressed 'profound disquiet'. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Roman Catholic Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis have written to Mr Javid warning him the safeguards are inadequate.
The parents of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe have expressed their heartfelt relief that missing four-year-old Cleo Smith was found 'physically unharmed'.

Bruce and Denise Morcombe took to social media on Wednesday after the little girl was uncovered in a midnight raid by Western Australian police three weeks after she disappeared from the remote Blowholes campsite near Carnarvon.

'Wonderful news to hear Cleo Smith has been found safe and well and reunited with her family,' they wrote on Facebook.

'Excellent detective work by West Australian Police and a vigilant community.'

The remains of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe (pictured) were found in August 2011 after he was abducted in 2003

The parents of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe have expressed their heartfelt relief that missing four-year-old Cleo Smith was found 'physically unharmed'

The Queensland couple suffered their own agonising wait after their 13-year-old son was abducted from a bus stop on the Sunshine Coast in 2003.

Their worst fears were eventually realised eight years later when Daniel's bones were discovered in the Glass House Mountains following a lengthy investigation which led to the prosecution of Brett Peter Cowan who received life behind bars.

In the wake of their horrific tragedy they set up a charity focused on supporting young victims of crime and teaching kids about how to stay safe in physical and online environments.

The disappearance of the preschooler, who vanished on October 16 while sleeping next to her parents and younger sister in a family tent, dredged up 'haunting' memories for the couple who said they felt like they were living through the trauma all over again.

'Honestly it was an immediate flashback. We could feel their (Cleo's parents) emotion as they were speaking because we have walked in their shoes. We have sat in that chair,' Bruce Morcombe told the West Australian recently when a frantic search was getting underway.

'We all hope that Cleo is found healthy and well. We genuinely wish and pray for a positive result.'

Incredible bodycam footage shows the moment Cleo Smith was rescued by Western Australian Police (pictured)

Cleo was found alone in this suburban home in Carnarvon, in the north-west of Western Australia, shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning

Latest on Cleo Smith found alive after 18 days A 36-year-old man with no connection to the familyis in police custody

Neighbours said the 'quiet man' was seen buying nappies at Woolworths

Cleo found alone inside the house when police broke down the door at 1am

Police were acting on a tip-off that led them to the housing commission home

The home is just seven minutes' drive from Cleo's family home

Cleo was smiling when she was rescued, the police commissioner confirmed

She is now in hospital for an assessment after being reunited with her family Advertisement

Those prayers were answered when police broke down the door of a house in Carnarvon early on Wednesday morning following a 'tip off' from the public.

Hopes were fading fast that the toddler would be found alive but shocked detectives discovered Cleo trapped inside the locked house.

In remarkable bodycam footage, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine asks the four-year-old 'are you okay?' as she is carried out of the house.

The brave little girl, gripping onto her saviour, smiles and nods before Detective Sergeant Blaine says: 'We're gonna take you to see your mummy and daddy'.

The Homicide Squad veteran, who has been tirelessly working on the case every step of the way, described his adulation after Cleo was uncovered in a midnight raid following a 'tip off'.

'It was shock to start with. Quickly followed by elation. That could have been any one of the team, but it turned out I was of four guys that were fortunate enough to go through that door and make that rescue,' he said.

'We had always hoped for that outcome, but were not prepared for it, but it was absolutely fantastic to see her sitting there in the way that she was. It was incredible.

'I wanted to be sure it was her. I said, "What is your name?" She didn't answer, I asked three times, and then she looked at me and said, "My name is Cleo".

'Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that we got into the car and the officer called Cleo's parents. It was a wonderful feeling to make that call.'

The pre-schooler was then immediately rushed to hospital for a welfare check, with detectives revealing she is 'physically unharmed'.

The first picture of Cleo Smith, safe and sound in hospital, after she was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, in northwest Western Australia, where she was held for 18 days

Propped up on a hospital bed as she sucked on an icypole, Cleo Smith smiled from ear to ear in her first photo since she was rescued after being abducted on the family camping trip.

Cleo excitedly waved to the camera as her relieved mother Ellie Smith lovingly touched her right foot as she sat on the side of the bed, just happy to see her alive.

Police believe she was 'opportunistically abducted' 18 days ago and was found alive at 12.46am on Wednesday when police stormed a public housing home in the suburb of Brockman after police received vital information from the public.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, who led the missing person investigation, said Cleo 'is physically OK' and had since been released from hospital to be with her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon.

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

A 36-year-old man who was not in the home when it was raided, not known to Cleo's family, and not a registered sex offender was arrested in connection with Cleo's abduction from the family's tent at Blowholes campsite.

He was reportedly beaten by another inmate when he arrived at the Carnarvon holding cells in the middle of the night after the other prisoner learned what he'd been arrested for.

Charges are expected to be laid later today with investigators saying there are no other persons of interest.
Curtis 'Cocky' Warren, 57, is a Liverpool-born gangster who became an international drug trafficker worth tens of millions of pounds

A drug baron who hid a 198million fortune from police is set for freedom after spending nearly half his life in jail.

Curtis Warren, 58, could be released next year after serving his latest 14-year term - but will face curbs on spending on assets costing more than 1000.

Warren, known by the nickname 'Cocky', spent the early 1980s as a nightclub bouncer before moving on to armed robbery and international drug trafficking through the 1990s.

The career criminal has spent the last 25 years in jail.

He was first sentenced to 12 years in 1996 for trying to move a 125million drugs shipment from the Netherlands to the UK, given another four years for killing a fellow prisoner and just weeks after being released in 2007, was arrested again for a plot to get drugs into Jersey, and jailed for a further 14 years.

Warren is currently understood to be at HMP Long Lartin, a category A jail in Worcestershire, but he may be moved to a lower category prison ahead of his release next November, reported The Mirror.

In 2007 Warren (right) was pictured being met by his childhood friend and crime partner John Welsh at Jersey airport, days after he was released from jail for a previous offence

Sources claim Warren will be automatically released in 12 months' time despite the fact 'many career criminals regard prison as an interruption which rarely marks the end of their involvement in organised crime,' according to Alison Abbot at the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Warren, who once had an estimated fortune of 300million, was jailed for 13 years in 2009 over a plot to smuggle 1million of cannabis into Jersey.

In 2007 Warren was pictured being met by his childhood friend and crime partner John Welsh at Jersey airport, days after he was released from jail for a previous offence.

He was given another ten years after he failed to pay a 198million confiscation order and has spent most of the last 25 years in jail.

Under a serious crime prevention order he will face curbs on foreign travel, as well as use of a phone, vehicles and the internet.

Cannabis seized during a States of Jersey Police investigation that brought down a drugs plot controlled from Merseyside

Ms Abbott described the measures as 'an extra layer of prevention'. She added: 'They ensure we firmly have these individuals on our radar, especially after prison, and anything that suggests that they're slipping into old ways can be detected early on.'

The NCA published Warren's name on a list of individuals issued with serious crime prevention orders.

The order, which will be in force for five years, will restrict his ability to buy cars and property, borrow money, make transfers, hold trusts or shares and use foreign or virtual currency.

The consequences of breaking the conditions will be a further jail term.

Stephanie Smithwhite, 40, former prison officer at HMP Frankland

After a drugs trial collapsed at Newcastle crown court in 1993, Warren reportedly told customs officers 'I'm off to spend my 87million from the first shipment and you can't f***ing touch me'.

Three years later he was sentenced to 12 years in jail for trying to move a 125million drugs shipment from the Netherlands to the UK.

Turkish prisoner Cemal Guclu was killed in the Nieuw Vosseveld maximum security jail after Warren kicked him in the head. He said Guclu attacked him and it was self-defence, but had four years added to his sentence.

In 2007 he was released and sent back to Liverpool, but was rearrested in Jersey within weeks.

When judge Sir Richard Tucker jailed him for 13 more years Warren closed the book he spent proceedings reading and was escorted out by prison guards.

And last year Prison officer Stephanie Smithwhite was jailed for two years after admitting misconduct in a public office over a sexual relationship with Warren at Frankland jail in Co Durham.
A second man in his 60s died at the ABBA tribute show after being fallen onto

A man in his 80s died after falling seven floors onto two people in Uppsala

Two people died and one was injured after an elderly man fell seven floors and hit two people at a concert hall in Uppsala, Sweden yesterday, police have said.

The man who fell was in his 80s and died alongside a man in his 60s who he fell onto at the Uppsala Konsert & Kongress.

A third person - a woman in her 60s - was also injured in the incident which took place before 7pm local time (8pm GMT), Swedish police confirmed.

Johan Thalberg, spokesperson for the local police, told Aftonbladet: 'We now have a good picture of what happened.

'It was not an accident that caused the man to fall.

'There is also nothing to indicate that the man wanted to harm others.'

The man in his 80s fell seven floors and landed on two people - one died from his injuries

Swedish authorities cordoned off the venue to interview witnesses before cancelling the concert

The Uppsala Konsert & Kongress has an open space in the foyer and the person fell from the seventh floor and hit two other people

Police first closed off the concert hall and interviewed witnesses before the cordon was lifted and people sent home.

The concert hall was hosting a tribute to ABBA legends Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson with covers of their famous songs attended by around 1,000 people.

The concert hall has an open space in the foyer and the person fell from the seventh floor and hit two other people.

The concert hall was about to host an ABBA tribute night when the man fell half an hour before it was due to start

The event was organised to pay tribute to ABBA legends Bjorn Ulvaeus (right) and Benny Andersson (left) (file photo)

Around 1,000 people had gathered at the hall that was hosting a tribute concert to ABBA legends Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson with covers of their famous songs from the group and various musicals.

The event was cancelled after the incident.

'We received a call about someone having either jumped or fallen from a high altitude inside the concert hall in central Uppsala,' police spokesman Magnus Jansson Klarin told AFP.

In a statement posted online late on Tuesday police said that they 'currently had no reason to think a crime had been committed in relation to the man's fall' though this conflicted with later statements.
A hospital in Connecticut began administering Covid-19 vaccines to children, aged between five to 11, just minutes after the CDC officially signed off on approval.

Hartford Hospital vaccinated six children with a low dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday evening and dozens more will get the shot today.

The decision has caused a storm of controversy with opponents pointing to the fact there is little evidence to suggest vaccinating children is necessary.

Data shows Covid poses a low risk to the age group, with children accounting for less than 0.1 percent of Covid deaths in America.

The decision means the US becomes one of the first countries in the world to officially approve jabs for this age group, with scientists in Britain warning officials against 'blindly' following America and recommending the jab to young children.

The Centers for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Tuesday unanimously voted 14-0 to recommend the Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid pediatric vaccine dose for five to 11-year-olds.

CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky then signed off on the vote, meaning that approximately 28 million children in the US are now eligible for the shots.

It was the final step in the process that will allow injections in young children to begin this week in the United States, with President Joe Biden issuing a statement calling the decision 'a turning point' in the battle against Covid-19 and said they had secured enough vaccines for every child in America.

Hartford Hospital in Connecticut vaccinated six children minutes after the CDC officially signed off on approval of the use of the Covid-19 vaccine for for five to 11-year-olds on Tuesday

There have been more than 1.9 million cases of Covid-19 among five- to 11-year-olds in the United States, and more than 8,300 hospitalizations, more than 2,300 cases of MIS-C (pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome), and about 100 deaths.

Polls suggest many parents are not likely to have their kids vaccinated, with one poll finding around a third would 'definitely not'.

A further third said in the poll they would 'wait and see' and five percent said they would 'only if required'. Meanwhile, just 27 percent of parents said they would get their children vaccinated 'right away'.

Despite this, immediately after the CDC approval was confirmed, a number of parents brought their children to Hartford Hospital to get the vaccine and six were vaccinated after 8pm on Tuesday night.

One young girl who got the shot, Kailyn Cronin, eight, told WFSB that she had been 'nervous' about getting the vaccine but was looking forward to the world going back to normal.

'I felt very nervous but now it's over. Now we're vaccinated. That's a big step into making the world normal again, so we all don't need to wear masks and for everyone to be safe and healthy,' she said.

By approving vaccines for five- to 11-year-olds, America becomes one of the first countries in the world to begin vaccinating young children.

China has reportedly started rolling out its own vaccines to three-year-old children, and Chile is vaccinating children aged six and older. Israel, meanwhile, is expected to follow the US' lead now the CDC has approved the jabs.

However, these countries are currently the exception, with countries still weighing up the risks and benefits of the decision. Most are only vaccinating children aged 12 and upwards.

In Britain, scientists have warned against officials 'blindly' recommending the jabs to young children without weighing up the risks 'extremely carefully'.

Professor David Livermore, a medical microbiologist at the University of East Anglia told the MailOnline last week: 'Vaccinating children to protect adults via herd immunity is ethically dubious and is scientifically weak.'

There are also still fears about myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation detected in children, mostly boys, in around one in 10,000 cases after vaccination.

Critics say children are better off catching Covid and getting protection naturally because the risk of being admitted to ICU is about one in 500,000.

There are signs that natural immunity in British youngsters is already slowing the epidemic. But some studies have suggested myocarditis is even more common after Covid infection itself, which complicates the matter further.

While most cases of myocarditis after the Covid jab are mild and treatable, the UK Government's scientific advisers say the long-term effects of the inflammation is not understood.

Data used to justify the FDA panel's decision showed nearly 180 children would be expected to suffer from myocarditis for every death the vaccine would prevent if the rollout went ahead.

But the side effect would not be expected to cause any deaths.

The rollout would stop over 200 hospitalisations and a handful of deaths over a six-month period, by comparison.

And the data showed it could stop tens of thousands of infections in the same time.

A ten year old child high fives Pharmacist Colleen Teevan after he received the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine for kids at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut

The Pfizer dose for children is only one-third of the original vaccine for adults and is about 91 percent effective against Covid. Pictured: Children queue for the shot in Connecticut

Pictures from Hartford Hospital in Connecticut on Tuesday night showed children queuing to get their vaccines, with Pharmacist Colleen Teevan being the one to administer the jabs.

'I could cry,' one mother, Liz Cronin, told AFP. 'We've all been waiting for it for so long for our kids to ... have this almost sense of normalcy back.'

Six-year-old Kareem Omar said the shot 'doesn't really hurt,' adding: 'Do it for the sake of America. Because it's helping America and the world, so, life is better for each and every person on Earth.'

The Pfizer dose for children is only one-third of the original vaccine for adults and is given in two doses, three weeks apart.

The lower dose was chosen to minimize side effects and still produce strong immunity, Pfizer says, and studies showed that it is about 91 per cent effective against Covid.

Stickers for children are seen ahead of full approval from the CDC for children to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut on November 2, 2021

A mother holds her childs hand as she prepares to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine for kids 5-11 at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut on November 2, 2021

The CDC had convened a panel of independent scientists on Tuesday to review the available data on the status of the outbreak in children, the effectiveness of Pfizer's vaccine, and its possible side effects during a day of live-streamed discussions.

The panel unanimously recommended the vaccine, and the CDC then endorsed that recommendation.

The main concern was the risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, detected in adolescents and young adults (mostly males) after vaccination with the Pfizer or Moderna shots.

Health authorities have confirmed nearly 880 cases in people under 30 years of age, of which approximately 830 required hospitalization.

Nine deaths are suspected to have been related to myocarditis after the vaccine.

But of six cases so far reviewed, vaccine-related myocarditis was ultimately not identified as the cause of death, pediatric cardiologist Dr. Matthew Oster said in a presentation.

'I'm much more worried about what would happen to their child if they get Covid, for patients who don't have heart disease, than I am if they were to get this vaccine,' he added.

New survey data published on Thursday from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 27 percent of parents with kids aged five to 11 say that their children will get vaccinated as soon as it's available.

Because of the low risk of severe illness, only a third of parents have said they would get their children vaccinated 'right away', with a further third saying they would 'wait and see'. Five percent said they would 'only if required,' while 30 percent said 'definitely not'

Meanwhile, 33 percent say they will 'wait and see' how the vaccine is working before deciding whether or not to immunize their kids.

Another five percent of parents say they will only get their children vaccinated if it is required by their schools and 30 percent say they will not get their kids vaccinated at all.

And a member of the FDA advisory panel abstained from a vote on recommending the shot to kids last week because he said there is not enough evidence that all children need the shot.

The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 17-0-1 that benefits of the vaccine for kids aged five to 11 outweigh the potential risks.

Dr Michael Kurilla (pictured) was the only member to abstain in the FDA's advisory committee vote of 17-0-1 to recommend approval of COVID-19 vaccines in children ages five to 11

Dr Michael Kurilla, the director of the Division of Clinical Innovation, at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, who was the only member to not vote 'yes', told DailyMail.com there were several reasons behind his abstention.

Kurilla says there are children at high-risk of severe Covid due to underlying conditions who would benefit from the shot, but he's not sure if this applies to all kids in this age group.

Additionally, he said that kids who have been infected with Covid in the past already likely have immunity because of it.

Kurilla added current data does not suggest the vaccine's protection will last long enough and he is worried that antibodies will wane in children as has been seen in adults.

The government was well ahead of the decision, procuring enough doses for the children in the 5-11 age group and beginning to ship them across the country.

'Today, we have reached a turning point in our battle against Covid-19,' President Joe Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

Vaccinating younger children will 'allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus,' the president continued.

Children watch as Pharmacist Colleen Teevan reconstitutes the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine for kids before administering it to six children waiting to be among the first 5-11 years olds in the US to receive the newly approved vaccine at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut on November 2, 2021

The caps on the children's vials will be orange, making them easily recognizable compared to the purple caps on the vials for older groups. Pictured: A vial of the new children's dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, seen at Hartford Hospital in Hartford on Tuesday

The government has already secured enough vaccine for every child in America, he said, adding that over the weekend officials began the process of packing and shipping millions of doses.

'The program will ramp up over the coming days, and (be) fully up and running during the week of November 8,' he said.

The vaccine will still be given in two injections, three weeks apart. The dosage has been adjusted to 10 micrograms per injection, compared to 30 micrograms for the older age groups.

The caps on the children's vials will be orange, making them easily recognizable compared to the purple caps on the vials for older groups.

'As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated,' CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

The expected benefits of vaccinating children also include fewer school closures, and a possible reduction in transmission of the epidemic into the general population.

'If I had a grandchild, I would certainly get that grandchild vaccinated as soon as possible,' said Beth Bell, an infectious disease specialist and committee member on the CDC's independent panel.

'We have excellent evidence of efficacy and safety. We have a favorable risk benefit analysis.'

What are other countries doing about Covid-19 vaccinations for children The United States is set to roll out Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 this week and the shots could be administered as soon as Wednesday. A panel of outside experts is due to meet on Tuesday to vote on how broadly the shot should be recommended in the age group by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The vaccine was authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the age group on Friday. But with many parts of the world still awaiting doses for more vulnerable people, the World Health Organisation has urged countries and companies that control the global supply of the vaccines to prioritize supply to COVAX. The following is a list of some countries that have approved or are considering vaccinating children: EU COUNTRIES On Oct. 18, the EU's medicines regulator said it had started evaluating the use of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine in 5 to 11-year-old children.

In June, Denmark said it would offer COVID-19 shots to children aged 12-15 to boost its overall immunity against the virus.

France has started vaccinating those from 12 years upwards, provided they have parental consent.

Germany in August agreed to make vaccination available to all children aged 12-17.

Austria has started vaccinating children aged 12-15.

Estonia could start vaccinating teenagers by the autumn, public broadcaster ERR reported, citing the head of the government's COVID-19 council.

Hungary started vaccinating 16 to 18-year-olds in mid-May, according to Xinhua news agency.

Italy on May 31 approved extending the use of Pfizer's vaccine to 12-15 year olds. On July 28, it also endorsed the use of Moderna's vaccine for 12-17 aged children.

Lithuania's prime minister said the country could start vaccinating children from age 12 in June, news site Delfi reported.

Spain begun vaccinating children between 12 and 17 years old around two weeks before the academic year in September, the health minister said.

Swedish PM says children aged 12-15 will be offered COVID vaccine later this autumn.

Greece in July said children aged 12-15 could be vaccinated against COVID-19 with Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots.

Finland's capital Helsinki in June said it will begin giving COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 12 to 15 who are at risk of contracting a severe coronavirus infection.

On July 27, Ireland lowered the age for COVID-19 vaccination to 12 years.

Poland started offering COVID-19 vaccines to children of ages 12-15. EUROPE (NON-EU) On Oct. 19, UK said it will open up COVID vaccine booking service to those aged 12-15.

Switzerland approved on June 4 vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds with Pfizer's shot, while Moderna's shot was approved in August for the age group.

In September, Norway started to offer one dose of Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children aged 12 to 15 MIDDLE EAST In August, Israel began offering a COVID-19 booster to children as young as 12.

The United Arab Emirates said in August rolled out China's Sinopharm vaccine to children aged 3-17. On Nov.1, UAE approved Pfizer-BioNtech shot for children aged 5-11 for emergency use.

Bahrain approved Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 3-11 from Oct. 27, while on Nov. 2, the Gulf state approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use for children aged between 5 and 11 years. ASIA-PACIFIC Indonesia on Nov. 1 authorised China's Sinovac vaccine for children aged 6 and above.

Malaysia on Oct. 29 said it would procure the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, following a U.S. expert panel's recommendation

Vietnam will begin inoculating children aged 16 and 17 with parental consent from next month using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

An advisory committee to the Indian regulator recommended emergency use of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 shot in the 2 to 18 age-group. The regulator's nod is awaited.

New Zealand's medicines regulator in June provisionally approved use of Pfizer's vaccine for 12-15 year olds.

Australia said on Sept. 12 it will expand its COVID-19 vaccination drive to include around one million children aged 12-15.

China on June 5 approved emergency use of Sinovac's vaccine for those between three and 17.

Hong Kong said on June 3 it would open its vaccine scheme to children over the age of 12.

Singapore opened up its vaccination programme to adolescents aged 12-18 from June 1.

Japan on May 28 approved the use of Pfizer's vaccine for those aged 12 and above.

The Philippines on May 26 decided to allow the Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for emergency use in children aged 12-15.

Jordan in July begun vaccinating children aged 12 years and older against COVID-19. AMERICAS The COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech will be the only one used in Mexico for at-risk children aged 12-17.

Brazil on June 11 approved use of Pfizer's vaccine for children over 12.

On Sept. 6, Chile approved the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd for use in children over 6 years of age.

U.S. FDA has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must make her recommendations before it can be rolled out.

Canada in early May approved use of Pfizer's vaccine for use in children aged 12-15 but the decision for children between 5 an 11 years is not likely to come before mid- to end-November.

Cuba's vaccination campaign includes children as young as two.

On Sept. 13, El Salvador cleared the use of COVID-19 vaccine in 6 to 11-year-old children. (https://bit.ly/30RiKe7)

Argentina is vaccinating children as young as three with Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. (https://bit.ly/3miSiCD)

Ecuador's vaccination includes kids as young as six with the China's Sinovac vaccine

Columbia is offering Pfizer, AstraZenenca, Moderna, Sinopharm and J&J's COVID-19 vaccines for children 12 years and above

Costa Rica is vaccinating 12 years and above AFRICA South Africa will start vaccinating children between the ages of 12 and 17 next week using the Pfizer vaccine Reporting by Reuters Advertisement
The Taliban government are reportedly keeping a 'kill list' of gay people in Afghanistan, forcing many to go into hiding.

The Islamist government's extremist interpretation of Sharia law means homosexuality is strictly prohibited and prohibited by death - often in particularly brutal ways.

And now, the director of a LGBT+ human rights group has claimed that the Taliban have created a list of gay people who they want to kill.

'This is a really scary time to be in Afghanistan,' Kimahliu Powell, executive director of the Rainbow Railroad, the only international LGBT+ organisation on the ground in Afghanistan, told France 24.

'We now know for sure the Taliban has a 'kill list' circulating, identifying LBTQI+ persons,' he said.

The future for the LGBTQ+ community in Afghanistan became particularly bleak when the Taliban seized power in August

Powell said the Taliban is likely to have paid close attention to the names of people that foreign rights groups tried to evacuate in the weeks leading up to the withdrawal of U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan.

'After the fall of Kabul, there was a lot of information sharing,' Powell said, adding that those who were unable to be evacuated are likely to have been added to the Taliban's 'kill list' as their identities were exposed.

Powell claimed the Taliban have added to the 'kill list' though 'entrapment' schemes and data leaks.

Kimahliu Powell (right), executive director of the Rainbow Railroad, said that his organisation had seen evidence that the Taliban had put together a 'kill list' of known LGBT Afghans

'Some individuals who have reached out to us have told us about how they've received a mystery email from someone claiming to be connected with Rainbow Railroad asking for their information and passport,' Powell said. 'That's how we know the information has been leaked.'

Under Taliban rule, LGBT people are among the most vulnerable in Afghanistan, with many facing increased levels of persecution.

The Rainbow Railroad, founded in 2006, is helping threatened members of the LGBT+ community find refuge in safe houses before taking them 'by land or by air' to permanent safety in a foreign country.

'I can guarantee you already right now, that the number of requests we will receive this year will spike'.

In 2017, the group shot to worldwide fame after helping more than a hundred people escape persecution during the deadly anti-gay purge in Chechnya.

The future for the LGBTQ+ community in Afghanistan became particularly bleak when the Taliban rose to power in August.

The Taliban interpretation of Sharia law is extreme and strictly prohibits homosexuality on punishment of death (pictured, an alleged murderer is executed in Kabul in 1998)

The Rainbow Railroad says it has recieved over 700 requests for help from LGBT+ Afghans this year after the Taliban seizing power put them in danger

Powell said the group has already received 700 requests for help this year and knows of around 200 more 'in need of immediate evacuation'.

Afghan laws already prohibited homosexuality, as people who engaged in same-sex sexual behaviour received prison terms and were widely persecuted.

But under the Taliban's extremist interpretation of Sharia Law, homosexuality is strictly prohibited and punishable by death - often in particularly brutal ways.

Taliban 'justice' recalls the worst atrocities under ISIS, who routinely executed gay men by throwing them off buildings and posted the footage online (pictured)

A man accused of harassment in beaten by members of the Taliban as punishment for his crime in neighbouring Pakistan

In an interview with Fox News in the aftermath of the West's withdrawal, US Special Forces sniper Tim Kennedy, who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, said he had personally seen Taliban fighters burning homosexuals alive and throwing them off of roofs.

Nancy Kelley, chief executive of LGBT rights charity Stonewall said: 'For years LGBTQ+ Afghans have had to endure routine discrimination, abuse and persecution, including by the state.

'With the Taliban in power we expect this situation to deteriorate further,' she told i News.

In July, a Taliban judge Gul Rahim, 38, spoke matter-of-factly about toppling walls on gay men as a form of execution in in central Afghanistan.

Judge Gul Rahim spoke matter-of-factly about executing gays and kidnappers while cutting hands and legs off thieves (pictured, a Taliban prisoner is executed in 2007)

A gay man was raped and beaten by the Taliban in August as the country returned to Islamist rule.

The man was lured out of hiding in the capital Kabul by two Taliban fighters who posed as a friend offering safe passage out of the country.

Instead, they beat and raped the man when he arrived to meet them - then took his father's number so they could tell him that his son is gay.
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Whilst Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are rightly hailed as being the first men to step on the moon, it was a stray mongrel named Laika who propelled the space race into new territory.

On November 3, 1957, the little part-husky dog  who was also known as Curly  became the first animal to orbit Earth when she flew out of the atmosphere in the Soviet Union's Sputnik 2 spacecraft.

At the time, the Russians told the world that, until her air supply ran out, the dog had survived for six days inside a capsule which provided her with food, water and oxygen.

Animal rights groups around the world, including in the UK, had fiercely protested the sending of a dog into space and it soon emerged that Laika had in fact passed away from either overheating or asphyxiation within a matter of hours  before she had been due to be poisoned after fulfilling her purpose.

Yet, despite the tragic end to her life, Laika had taken Communist Russia's fierce competition with the United States up another level.

Less than three years after her flight, two other Russian dogs  Belka and Strelka  became the first animals to go into orbit and return alive.

The following year, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to journey into outer space.

And then, most famously, the U.S. achieved the most coveted feat of all with their Apollo 11 mission: they put men on the moon and returned them to Earth, where they were rightly hailed as heroes.

Whilst Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are rightly hailed as being the first men to step on the moon, it was a stray mongrel named Laika who propelled the space race into new territory. On November 3, 1957, the little part-husky dog  who was also known as Curly  became the first animal to orbit Earth when she flew out of the atmosphere in the Soviet Union's Sputnik 2 spacecraft

At the time, the Russians told the world that, until her air supply ran out, the dog had survived for six days inside a capsule which provided her with food, water and oxygen. Above: Sputnik's launch

Laika's path to global recognition had several years of research and development behind it. The first animals in space were fruit flies, sent from a U.S.-launched V-2 rocket in 1947.

Then Albert II, a rhesus macaque, became the first monkey in space when, in 1949, he was also launched in a V-2 rocket.

The 1950s was even more fruitful for animal trips beyond Earth. In 1951, the Soviet Union sent two dogs  Tsygan and Dezik  into space, but not into orbit.

Other monkeys were also sent by the U.S. before the 1957 dog mission.

Three-year-old Laika's journey began when she was rescued from the streets of Moscow.

Scientists opted to use strays from the Russian capital for their missions because they were used to surviving extreme cold and hunger.

For the Sputnik 2 flight  which came a month after the empty Sputnik 1 was successfully sent into orbit  the Soviets also trained two other dogs: Albina and Mushka.

The Daily Mail reported at the time: 'In her hermetically sealed space suit Curly is fitted with tiny telemetering gadgets which radio back a running commentary on her behaviour. 'Her breathing, blood pressure and even heart-beats are flashed to Earth as Russia's second satellite, six times bigger than the first, whirls around nearly 1,000 miles up'

Three-year-old Laika's journey began when she was rescued from the streets of Moscow. Scientists opted to use strays from the Russian capital for their missions because they were used to surviving extreme cold and hunger

Laika, the first animal ever sent to space, rode to orbit in Sputnik II on the 3rd of November, 1957. Above: A mockup of Sputnik 2 and Laika

This image of another dog, taken in 1959, shows the kind of suit which Laika will have been wearing when she was sent into space

Canine cosmonaut: Malyshka, a Russian space dog, poses here in its snug-fitting space suit with a transparent space helmet beside it in 1957

The Daily Mail's coverage also depicted the Sputnik craft in the various stages of its flight in November 1957

The paper also produced an explainer for readers to answer questions including, 'how does the dog eat?' and 'can it return to the earth?'

Whilst the other two were not ultimately selected for the November 3 mission, they all underwent the same training.

They were forced to live in progressively smaller cages to make them used to Sputnik 2's cabin and were also placed in centrifuges to simulate the acceleration of a rocket launch.

Of the three dogs, it was Laika who was chosen to go into space, whilst Albina was selected as her back-up and Muskha selected to stay on the ground to undergo other useful tests.

What was the space race? The space race was a 20th-century competition between two super powers - the capitalist US and the communist Soviet Union. Each super power waged a bitter campaign to prove the superiority of their space technology in a race that became symbolic of the Cold War era. The race began in 1957 when a Russian ballistic missile launched the world's first ever man-made satellite to enter Earth's orbit, known as 'Sputnik'. Sputnik's launch took US military officials by surprise and in 1958 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) was created to take on the Russians' space superiority. But in 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth, traveling in the capsule-like spacecraft Vostok 1 - the US were still second in the space race. Later that year, then-President John F. Kennedy made the bold claim that the US would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade, and Nasa's budget was hiked by more than 500 per cent over the next four years. Advertisement

Dr Vladimir Yazdovsky, one of the scientists on the mission, later revealed in a book about the space race that he had taken Laika home to play with his children before the launch.

He wrote: 'Laika was quiet and charming. I wanted to do something nice for her: She had so little time left to live.'

For her one-way mission, Laika was fitted with a special harness and a bag was attached to her rear end to collect waste.

On the morning of November 3, she rocketed into orbit inside Sputnik 2 after it was launched from the Baikonur aerodrome in what is now Kazakhstan.

Whilst Laika survived the launch, the system which controlled the craft's temperature had been prevented from operating properly when part of the craft did not separate as planned.

The Daily Mail reported at the time: 'In her hermetically sealed space suit Curly is fitted with tiny telemetering gadgets which radio back a running commentary on her behaviour.

'Her breathing, blood pressure and even heart-beats are flashed to Earth as Russia's second satellite, six times bigger than the first, whirls around nearly 1,000 miles up.'

A comment piece on the same page said: 'Sirius, the Dog Star, was until yesterday the brightest in the heavens.

'But another has arisen to challenge his pre-eminence. Her name is Kudryavka [Curly]. She is a dog too.

'She is the mite of living flesh and blood who is the first to escape this mortal coil, to travel round it at astronomical speed and still to live.

'The shuddering thoughts of men and women dwell on this creature - this messenger from the warm and lovely earth condemned to sweep through space in a mindless, soulless orbit.

'The protests already voiced spring from a common humanity. But those who utter them must know they are useless. They are pitted against the remorseless march of Science - and Soviet science at that.

'They might as well batter their heads against the Iron Curtain.'

Although the animal was eating her supplied food, she was understandably terrified. The measuring devices attached to her body showed that her heart and breathing rates were well beyond normal.

It is not known exactly when she died, but it is believed that heat exhaustion brought an end to her life within the first few hours of the flight.

Initially, the Soviet Union told a different story to the world, claiming that she had survived for several days and only been euthanised before her oxygen had run out.

Less than three years after Laika's flight, two other Russian dogs  Belka and Strelka  became the first animals to go into orbit and return alive

The U.S sent Ham the Chimp into space on January 31, 1961. He went on to live for another 22 years. Pictured: He is seen with a handler shortly after the flight

Back in the UK, animal welfare organisations expressed fury at the news about Laika's flight.

According to the BBC's original news report, the National Canine Defence League called on dog lovers to observe a minute's silence for every day that she was in space and the RSPCA said they had received calls of protest before the radio announcement of the launch had even ended.

One scientist involved in the mission did later express his regret. Oleg Gazenko said in 1998. He said: 'The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it.

'We shouldn't have done it... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog.'

But, despite her demise, Laishka's journey sparked a series of further animal journeys into space, many of which ended successfully with their survival.

Despite her death, Laika was later memorialised on stamps, such as the one above

Another Russian stamp depicts Laika inside the Sputnik 2 craft whilst it orbits Earth. In 2008, Russia unveiled a memorial statue of Laika outside Russia's Star City research facility, where she was trained

After Belka and Strelka made it back to Earth in August 1960, the U.S sent Ham the Chimp into space on January 31, 1961. He went on to live another 22 years.

A little over three months after Ham's flight, Yuri Gagarin completed an orbit of the earth in the Vostok 1 capsule, becoming an international celebrity in the process.

And then, as the world watched on black and white television, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins made it to the moon in July 1969 with the U.S.'s Apollo space programme.

In 2008, Russia unveiled a memorial statue of Laika outside Russia's Star City research facility, where she was trained. The monument showed her poised on top of a space rocket.

Stamps and envelopes with Laika's image on were also produced.
A senior Metropolitan Police Commander accused of shouting at staff, calling a pregnant colleague a 'f****** nutter' in his 'boys club' force approved invalid expenses for alcohol and air travel, disciplinary proceedings have heard.

Chief Superintendent Paul Martin, West Area Borough Commander for Ealing, Hounslow and Hillingdon, faces accusations of gross misconduct, along with two other male officers.

The details emerge as the Met and its commissioner Dame Cressida Dick are mired in scandals involving crooked police officers.

Only yesterday she apologised for her staff's actions after PCs Deniz Jaffer, 47, and Jamie Lewis, 32, admitted misconduct over sharing images of the dead bodies of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27.

It prompted the victims' mother to urge Commissioner Dick to 'get the rot out' of the London force.

Ch Supt Martin's disciplinary hearing was told yesterday he was accused of approving thousands of pounds in his own invalid expense claims on the card of Sergeant James Di-Luzio, an officer who reported to him.

The commander used the derogatory slur during a conversation with a colleague which was covertly recorded and played during a disciplinary hearing on Monday.

Speaking at the hearing, barrister Matthew Butt QC, told the panel Ch Supt Martin admitted to using the words heard in the recording but said they were 'taken out of context and decontextualised.'

Chief Superintendent Paul Martin (pictured) has been accused of multiple misdemeanours including calling a pregnant colleague a 'f****** nutter' and approving invalid expenses for alcohol and air travel

Chief Inspector Davinder Kandohla (left) and Chief Superintendent Paul Martin (right) at work

Mr Butt said: 'He apologised for calling the female colleague a 'f****** nutter'. He admits that his comments were not optimal but denies discriminating against her.'

Ch Supt Martin allegedly claimed more than 5,500 in expenses while using a card owned by Police Seargeant James Di-Luzio on alcohol, travel insurance and flight upgrades on a week-long trip to a policing conference in Florida.

At the time, his line manager was only aware he had claimed 105.98 on expenses.

Mr Butt told the panel: 'He accepts that he used Sgt Di-Luzio's card on the Florida trip [but] he denies knowing it was embossed with his name, and says it was a genuine mistake.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick has come under heavy criticism over her officers' behaviour

Pc Jamie Lewis leaves the Old Bailey, after pleading guilty to misconduct in a public office

PC Deniz Jaffer arrives at the Old Bailey in London, charged with misconduct in a public office

Met Police chief's dossier of shame: From force believing a sex abuse fantasist to officers sharing dead bodies pictures In July 2005, Dame Cressida Dick was in charge of the operation which saw innocent electrician Jean Charles de Menezes shot dead on a Tube train after he was mistaken for a terrorist who was under surveillance. Pictured, a memorial to mark ten years since Mr de Menezes' death. In 2014, she sanctioned the creation of Operation Midland, the disastrous investigation into spurious VIP child sex abuse allegations that saw innocent men pursued by the force. Pictured, fantasist Carl Beech, whose false sex abuse claims were believed by police. In 2019, Dame Cressida's force was widely criticised for its 'light-touch' policing of Extinction Rebellion protests, which blocked several key areas of London. Picture, Oxford Street in April 2019 as the campaigners paralysed the capital. In March this year, the Met was criticised over its 'heavy-handed' policing of a vigil for murdered Sarah Everard at Clapham Common. But its tactics were later cleared by a watchdog. Pictured, campaigner Patsy Stevenson being arrested at the event. In June, she was accused of 'obfuscation' for thwarting the Daniel Morgan inquiry team's attempts to access sensitive documents, leading to delays that cost the taxpayer millions. The report found that her force was 'institutionally corrupt'. Pictured, Mr Morgan. Dame Cressida also faced criticism over July's security shambles which saw ticketless fans storm Wembley Stadium before the England-Italy Euros final. Pictured, fans outside the venue. Last month she apologised after a report by the IOPC found the level of services provided over the weekend when Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, went missing fell below standards. It was their family and friends who found their bodies before police, who bungled the search handover. Pictured, the two sisters. Yesterday Dame Cressida was told she should carry the can for officers who took pictures of the dead sisters by their grieving mother. It prompted a further apology from the commissioner. Pictured, Mina Smallman Today it emerges three more Met officers are being investigated over allegations pictures of a different dead boy was shared. Pictured, Cressida Dick this morning. Advertisement

'He emphatically denies approving his own expenses. He accepts that expenses in Florida were inappropriate.'

Ch Supt Martin faces accusations of gross misconduct, along with two other male officers - Chief Inspector Davinder Kandohla and Sergeant James Di-Luzio .

If the allegations are proven to be true, then their 'dismissals will be justified', the panel heard.

However, all officers deny gross misconduct.

The hearing in west London also heard that all three male officers are accused of running a 'boys club' which belittled female constables.

Ch Supt Martin allegedly told another colleague her predecessor had failed the loyalty tests he had set and said colleagues had to be loyal to him or 'face the consequences.'

The hearing was told he would 'bellow' demands that one junior female colleague should make his tea, porridge and wash up the bowl.

It is also alleged Kandohla called one colleague who told an officer he had seen him in a pub with a junior female officer a 'c**t' and said he wanted to 'sort it out in the locker room'.

Di-Luzio was often 'rude and dismissive', yelling at one colleague and telling another he wanted 'to make PCs cry', it was heard.

The hearing, which is due to last until December 3, continues.

A spokesman for the Met said: 'Chief Superintendent Martin has a case to answer for breaching standards of professional behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities, authority, respect and courtesy, discreditable conduct and equality and diversity.

'Chief Inspector Kandohla has a case to answer for breaching standards of professional behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity, authority, respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct.

Sergeant Jimmy Di Luzio has a case to answer for breaching standards of professional behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct.

'Police Constable Karina Kandohla has a case to answer for breaching standards of professional behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity, discreditable conduct and challenging and reporting improper conduct.

'A Chief Inspector, who was an Inspector at the time and who will not be named, has received management action for breaching standards of professional behaviour in relation to duties and responsibilities following the investigation.'

It comes just a day after PCs Jaffer and Lewis admitted misconduct for sharing pictures of two murdered sisters.

They were supposed to protect the scene after the sisters were found stabbed to death in Fryent Country Park in Wembley, north-west London.

But instead, they breached the cordon to take 'inappropriate' and 'unauthorised' photographs of the bodies, which were then sent 'to a dentist and doctor', and a WhatsApp group.

Jaffer took four photographs and Lewis took two - one of which was sent to a female colleague with Lewis's face superimposed onto it.

Police watchdog the IOPC later revealed Lewis also used 'degrading and sexist language' to describe the victims in the WhatsApp team group of 42 colleagues.

As Dame Cressida Dick apologised for the second time, Ms Henry and Ms Smallman's bereft mother Mina slammed the Met Commissioner for the botched investigation into her daughters' deaths.

She criticised, 'Her shoddy way of behaving and her response since all of this has come out' adding: 'She has not contacted us to say I am really sorry. She has not spoken into this story at all.

Ms Smallman said the Met was 'beyond hope', adding: 'You go to London to start to prepare the funeral of your dead children and are told that police officers that should have been protecting the area had actually taken selfies and sent them out to a dentist and a doctor and a WhatsApp group.'

Following their guilty pleas, the Met said it was taking 'immediate steps' to put former PC Jaffer, who has resigned from the force, and PC Lewis before accelerated misconduct hearings.

Met Commissioner Dick said yesterday: 'I deeply regret that at a time when they were grieving the loss of their loved ones who were taken in such awful circumstances, they faced additional distress caused by the actions of two police officers.

'What former PC Jaffer and PC Lewis chose to do that day was utterly unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply insensitive.

'I know that is the view of colleagues across the Met who utterly condemn this behaviour.

'They have pleaded guilty today to a serious criminal offence and sentencing will follow in due course.

'I apologised to Bibaa and Nicole's family in June last year and, on behalf of the Met, I apologise again today.

'Now that the judicial process has got to this stage, we are able to take the officers through an accelerated misconduct process.'

The charge against each of them stated that 'without authorisation he entered a crime scene he had been assigned to protect, sending information about his attendance at the scene to members of the public via WhatsApp and taking photographs of the crime scene'.

The sisters' mother Mina Smallman, who has described the officers as 'despicable', sat in court for the hearing.

Paul Goddard, from the CPS, said outside court: 'Pc Jamie Lewis and Pc Deniz Jaffer's senseless conduct fell way below that to be expected from police officers.

'These officers were tasked with protecting a tragic crime scene.

'But instead they violated it for their own purposes, with no regard to the dignity of the victims, or the harm they might do to a murder investigation.

'Their thoughtless and insensitive actions have no doubt caused immeasurable further distress and pain to the heartbroken family and friends of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.

'They were already left reeling from the loss of their loved ones. Our thoughts are very much with them at this time.'

The pair, attached to the Met's North East command unit, were both suspended from duty following their arrests on June 22 last year.
A company director attacked a 13-year-old boy and stamped on his mother's face because the teenager tore down his patriotic St George's flag decorations he had erected to commemorate VE Day.

Andrew Morris, 44, grabbed the boy as he cowered in a bathroom before ripping a mobile phone out his hand and dragging him along the floor at their Greater Manchester home on May 9 last year.

The graphic design expert, who was visiting the home to help put up the decorations, had been drinking heavily before he brutally beat up the boy's mother by knocking her to the floor and stamping on her neck and face.

She was left 'dripping in blood' and later required eight stitches to a cut on top of her head, further stitches for a 4cm laceration to the back of her head and significant bruising to her right arm.

Morris appeared at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday to be sentenced having earlier pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm, common assault and criminal damage.

He was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment, suspended for two years.

Andrew Morris, 44, pictured outside Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday. He was handed a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm, common assault and criminal damage

Morris, a company director, admitted he had been drinking heavily when he attacked a 13-year-old boy and his mother

The court heard that the incident took place 24 hours after the 75th anniversary of VE Day last year - marking the unconditional surrender of Germany and the end of World War Two.

Charlotte Rimmer, prosecuting, told the court: 'The boy ripped down VE Day Bunting Union Flags, which the defendant had helped put up outside her home the day before to celebrate the event.

'The defendant was upset by his behaviour had an argument with the boys mother called her son "a little c***" and said his behaviour was disrespectful.

'He left the property but later came back, smelling heavily of drink. The mother spoke to the defendant and asked him to leave and offered to drive him somewhere. But he then became aggressive and then began to cry.

'He then pushed her to the shoulders causing her to fall to the floor. The next thing she remembers is being on the floor with the defendants foot striking her to the back of her head. The defendant stamped on her neck and to the right side of her face.'

The court heard the mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, screamed for her son to lock himself in the bathroom and to call police.

However, as the boy did so, Morris kicked the door down and ripped the phone from his hand.

She described seeing her son being thrown to the floor before managing to grab a drunk Morris as he fell down the stairs.

Morris, of Heaviley, Stockport, eventually slumped out of the property.

Morris pictured outside court in a suit with a cigarette in hand. He has also been ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and was made subject to a restraining order from the mother and son

Morris became furious after the boy threw a tantrum and tore down VE day decorations, the court heard

A neighbour described the mother and son as 'very upset, crying and shaking'.

Morris was arrested at his father's property the following day.

Rachel Shenton, defending Morris, said in mitigation that he 'fully accepts this was wholly unacceptable violence which should never have happened'.

She added that he had 'expressed remorse' by writing 'heartfelt' letters and Morris is 'a good man who did a bad thing on one occasion'.

Passing sentence, Mr Recorder Carwyn Cox said: 'The ripping down of the bunting was the trigger for all this but on that evening, you were out of control, you completely lost all common sense which you usually have.

'It was a terrifying incident for anyone let alone a young 13-year-old boy but I accept this was wholly out of character and that it was a one off event. You are remorseful and you have taken some steps to address your behaviour.'

On top of the suspended prison sentence, Morris has also been ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and was banned from contacting the mother and son indefinitely under the terms of a restraining order.
Prince William has met Amazon chief Jeff Bezos at the Cop26 summit, days after urging space race billionaires to focus their minds and money on fixing planet Earth.

The Duke of Cambridge, 39, was pictured shaking hands with the American entrepreneur at the climate conference in Glasgow yesterday.

The pair are said to have discussed the newly launched Earthshot Prize, an environmental award scheme set up by the Cambridges' Royal Foundation.

The image, shared on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's official Twitter page, was accompanied with the caption: 'Great to meet Jeff Bezos earlier today to discuss the Earthshot Prize and how we scale up our Winners and Finalists incredible solutions.'

Last week, the prince criticised the race to leave Earth and said we instead need the world's greatest brains and minds 'fixed on trying to repair this planet'.

The comments, made in an interview with BBC Newscast's Adam Fleming at Kensington Palace, came hours after Bezos blasted Star Trek's William Shatner into space aboard his Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.

The Duke of Cambridge, 39, was pictured shaking hands with the American entrepreneur - the world's richest man - at the climate conference in Glasgow yesterday

The pair, who yet yesterday, are said to have discussed the newly launched Earthshot Prize, an environmental award scheme set up by the Cambridges' Royal Foundation

The comments, made in an interview with BBC Newscast's Adam Fleming at Kensington Palace, came hours after Bezos blasted Star Trek's William Shatner into space aboard his Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. Pictured: Jeff Bezos with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez in front of his New Shepard rocket

The royal's comments came as William Shatner, who is famed for his role as Captain Kirk in the 1960s sci-fi series, ventured 351,186 feet above Earth's surface in the New Shepard

Jeff Bezos is accused of being a climate hypocrite for lecturing COP26 about cutting emissions after flying in on his 48million private jet Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos has been accused of hypocrisy after telling world leaders that going to space made him realise 'how thin the globe's atmosphere is' and 'the private sector must also play its part to reduce carbon emissions'. The billionaire has been criticised by Prince William among others for the amount of fossil fuel that space exploration consumes - and arrived at the UN climate change summit in his 48m private jet, fresh from celebrating Microsoft founder Bill Gates' 66th birthday on a 2million-a-week superyacht off the coast of Turkey. Speaking today, billionaire Mr Bezos, who earlier this year made a short journey to space in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard, pledged $2billion (1.47 billion) for land restoration in Africa, paid as part of the Bezos Earth Fund. He told delegates: 'I was told that seeing the Earth from space changes the lens through which you see the world. But I was not prepared for how much that would be true. Looking back at earth from up there, the atmosphere seems so thin. The world so finite and so fragile. Now in this critical year, and what we all know is the decisive decade, we must all stand together to protect our world.' Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, was among Mr Bezos's critics today, calling him a 'hypocrite' and writing: 'Amazon has a carbon footprint larger than most countries.' US Republican Congress candidate Lavern Spicer said: 'While you're busy at home turning off lights and keeping your thermostat down, Jeff Bezos's $65m Gulf Stream just lead a parade of 400 private jets into COP26. WE are the joke they're LAUGHING at!' Other commenters told the tycoon to 'just pay your taxes' and said the fact that he was giving a lecture on green issues after going into space was 'an example of how the one per cent live differently to the rest of us'. Mr Bezos, who has not yet been since with the Duke of Cambridge at the gathering, had previously indicated the investment would be $1billion (732million) at an event with William's father the Prince of Wales on Monday. Advertisement

Days earlier, SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whose ambitious plans involve colonising Mars, revealed he would like to build Tesla cars on the Red Planet.

In his interview about climate change the duke said: 'We need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live.'

The royal's comments came as William Shatner, who is famed for his role as Captain Kirk in the 1960s sci-fi series, ventured 351,186 feet above Earth's surface where he spent three minutes in weightlessness with astronauts Chris Boshuizen, Glen de Vries and Audrey Powers.

As a shaky Shatner emerged from the capsule, he instantly wrapped his arms around the Blue Origin and Amazon founder and said he was struck by the vulnerability of Earth and the relative sliver of its atmosphere.

'Everybody in the world needs to do this,' he said.

'To see the blue colour whip by and now you're staring into blackness, that's the thing.

'The covering of blue, this sheath, this blanket, this comforter of blue that we have around, we say, ''Oh, that's blue sky.''

'And then suddenly you shoot through it all, and you're looking into blackness, into black ugliness.'

'As you look down, there's your blue down there with the black up there. There is Mother Earth and comfort and there is  is there death? I don't know. Is that the way death is?'

'I don't know. Was that death? Is that the way death is?'

Breaking into tears, Shatner told Bezos: 'I'm so filled with emotion with what just happened. I hope I never recover from this.'

'It's so much larger than me and life, and it hasn't got anything to do with the little green hand or the little blue orb.'

The space venture came just a week after Elon Musk, 50, whose SpaceX Mars programme aims to place humans on Mars, said that the idea of an 'off-planet factory' for his cars may not happen in the near future, but it was a possibility in his lifetime.

During Tesla's shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, Musk said: 'So, we are many years before Tesla's first off-planet factory.

'I mean, I would like to see one before I am dead. That would be cool.

'So, I don't know what we got like 40 years-ish. Hopefully, before I am dead, basically. That would be great.'

Currently, Tesla has four manufacturing facilities on Earth - Fremont, California, Sparks, Nevada, Buffalo, New York (focused on solar energy) and Shanghai, China.

During his interview Prince William spoke about the importance of our actions now - as he warned that inaction on climate change will 'rob from our children's future'.

Prince William criticised the race to leave Earth during an interview with BBC Newscast's Adam Fleming at Kensington Palace

Prince William (pictured right) said his father Prince Charles had a 'a really rough ride' but was 'well ahead of the curve' on the environment

The prince praised his father The Prince of Wales (pictured), 72, as he warned that inaction on climate change will 'rob from our children's future'

The royal's comments came just hours after Star Trek's William Shatner became the oldest person in space at the age of 90, following a journey aboard Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos's rocket

President Biden jokes with Prince Charles at COP26 as he praises the Royals for their dedication to climate change President Joe Biden met with Prince Charles and Bill Gates on the sidelines of GOP26 on Tuesday as America's billionaires jetted into Glasgow for the UN climate summit to mix with world leaders and royals. 'He commended the Royal Family for its dedication to climate issues, particularly Prince Charles environmental activism over the last half century,' the White House said of the meeting between Biden and Charles. Biden also thanked the United Kingdom for hosting COP26. Jeff Bezos - who flew to Glasgow on his $65million Gulf Stream private jet - elbow bumped with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, while Mike Bloomberg met with Prince William at the A-list climate event. The two-week long gathering in Glasgow has brought in world leaders, celebrity CEOs, A-list actors and climate activists to discuss ways reduce the planet's temperature by 1.5 degrees. A number of bold-faced named jetted in from Rome, where they were attending the G20 summit, to talk climate change. Many have their pet projects, which they are there to promote, and to chat with fellow stars on the sidelines of the climate sessions. Biden is pushing The First Movers Coalition - a clean energy technology program to combat climate change, a project Gates is supporting. The two men teamed up to promote the project. 'We need all of us working together. I know you're tired of hearing that said,' Biden said at the event. 'I want to thank all the private sector for their work.' Gates mingled and posed for photos in front of a race car that appeared to be papier-mache'd with recycled plastic before the event. Just days before, he was celebrating his birthday on Bezos' $2million-a-week rental superyacht Luna. Prince William joined Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, at a reception for his Earthshot Prize winners and finalists. He also met with John Kerry, the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. Advertisement

He said: 'I want the things that I've enjoyed  the outdoor life, nature, the environment  I want that to be there for my children, and not just my children but everyone else's children.

'If we're not careful we're robbing from our children's future through what we do now.

'And I think that's not fair. I want to use my little bit of influence... to highlight incredible people doing incredible things and will genuinely help fix some of these problems.'

Speaking ahead of the Cop26, he also raised his concerns about the climate conference.

He said: 'I think for COP to communicate very clearly and very honestly what the problems are and what the solutions are going to be, is critical.

'We can't have more clever speak, clever words but not enough action.'

The father-of-three, who shares Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, six, and Prince Louis, three, with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, said his father Prince Charles had a 'a really rough ride' but was 'well ahead of the curve' on the environment.

He said: 'It's been a hard road for [my father].

'My grandfather started off helping out WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) a long time ago with its nature work and biodiversity, and I think that my father's sort of progressed that on and talked about climate change a lot more, very early on, before anyone else thought it was a topic.

'So yes, he's had a really rough ride on that, and I think you know he's been proven to being well ahead of the curve.

'Well beyond his time in warning about some of these dangers.

'But it shouldn't be that there's a third generation now coming along having to ramp it up even more.

'And you know, for me, it would be an absolute disaster if George is sat here talking to you or your successor, Adam, you know in like 30 years' time, whatever, still saying the same thing, because by then we will be too late.'

He added that his viewpoint had changed since he had his own children, saying: 'I want the things that I've enjoyed - the outdoor life, nature, the environment - I want that to be there for my children, and not just my children but everyone else's children.

'If we're not careful we're robbing from our children's future through what we do now. And I think that's not fair.'

During his interview the duke also expressed his concerns about a rise in climate anxiety in young people.

He added: 'We are seeing a rise in climate anxiety. You know, people, young people now are growing up where their futures are basically threatened the whole time.

'It's very unnerving and it's very, you know, anxiety making,' he said.

The Amazon tycoon smiled at the Star Trek actor as he emerged from his capsule yesterday

THE 1MILLION EARTHSHOT WINNERS The Earthshot Prize Winners for 2021 are: Protect and Restore Nature The Republic of Costa Rica With an innovative policy paying citizens to protect the rainforests and restore local ecosystems, the people of Costa Rica and their Ministry for Environment have reversed decades of deforestation. Since the programme launched, Costa Rica's forests have doubled in size, leading to a boom in ecotourism and contributing 4 billion to the economy Through winning The Earthshot Prize, Costa Rica will expand their work to protect the ocean and support the replication of their approach in other countries, especially in the Global South. Clean our Air Takachar, India New Delhi-based Takachar has developed pioneering technology to help end the burning of agricultural waste, which causes severe air pollution. Their cheap, small-scale, portable technology attaches to tractors and converts crop residues into sellable products like fuel and fertilizer and helps reduce smoke emissions by up to 98%. By winning The Earthshot Prize, Takachar will expand its operations to more rural communities around the world with a goal to cut a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Revive our Oceans Coral Vita, Bahamas Coral Vita's innovative approach to coral farming of growing coral on land then replanting it in the ocean can grow coral up to 50 times faster than traditional methods and improves coral resilience to the impact of climate change. Winning The Earthshot Prize will accelerate Coral Vita's goal to establish a global network of coral farms to grow a billion corals each year. Build a Waste-free World The City of Milan Food Waste Hubs, Italy As the first major city to enforce a city-wide food waste policy, Milan's Food Waste Hub programme recovers food from local supermarkets and restaurants and distributes it to citizens in need, recovering about 130 tonnes of food per year, an estimated 260,000 meals equivalent. Through winning The Earthshot Prize, the city of Milan's model can be scaled to other cities. Fix our Climate AEM Electrolyser, Thailand/Germany/Italy The AEM Electrolyser from Enapter turns renewable electricity into emission-free hydrogen gas with a technology that has been developed quicker and cheaper than ever before and can transform how we power our homes and buildings and fuel transport. Funding from The Earthshot Prize will help scale mass production, making it universally easy to buy and install AEM Electrolysers wherever activities have high energy demand. Advertisement

Along with meeting Prince William, Bezos - who flew to Glasgow on his $65million Gulf Stream private jet - elbow bumped with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, while Mike Bloomberg met with Prince William at the A-list climate event.

But he was accused of hypocrisy after telling world leaders that going to space made him realise 'how thin the globe's atmosphere is' and 'the private sector must also play its part to reduce carbon emissions'.

He also arrived at the UN climate change summit in his 48m private jet, fresh from celebrating Microsoft founder Bill Gates' 66th birthday on a 2million-a-week superyacht off the coast of Turkey.

At Cop26, Bezos pledged $2billion (1.47 billion) for land restoration in Africa, paid as part of the Bezos Earth Fund.

He told delegates: 'I was told that seeing the Earth from space changes the lens through which you see the world.

'But I was not prepared for how much that would be true. Looking back at earth from up there, the atmosphere seems so thin.

'The world so finite and so fragile.

'Now in this critical year, and what we all know is the decisive decade, we must all stand together to protect our world.'

However Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, was among Mr Bezos's critics, calling him a 'hypocrite' and writing: 'Amazon has a carbon footprint larger than most countries.'

US Republican Congress candidate Lavern Spicer said: 'While you're busy at home turning off lights and keeping your thermostat down, Jeff Bezos's $65m Gulf Stream just lead a parade of 400 private jets into COP26. WE are the joke they're LAUGHING at!'

Other commenters told the tycoon to 'just pay your taxes' and said the fact that he was giving a lecture on green issues after going into space was 'an example of how the one per cent live differently to the rest of us'.

Bezos previously indicated the investment would be $1billion (732million) at an event with Prince William's father the Prince of Wales on Monday.

Last month Prince William held the first 50million Earthshot Prize, which aims to encourage the world's greatest problem-solvers to find answers to the planet's biggest environment problems.

The awards are organised by the Royal Foundation, the charity which supports the philanthropic efforts of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The five winners, which span the globe from Costa Rica to India, included transformative technologists, innovators, an entire country, and a pioneering city and were chosen for their ground-breaking solutions to the greatest environmental challenges facing our planet.

Each of the Earthshot prize winners will receive a grant worth 1million pounds.

In addition to the prize of the winners, 14 global companies and brands, including Microsoft, Unilever, Ikea and Walmart, have agreed to support and scale the ideas developed by the 15 finalists.

The award is the most ambitious project yet launched by Prince William, who has long supported conservation charities in Africa and led work to tackle illegal wildlife trafficking.

The prince has previously spoken about coming up with the idea for Earthshot following a visit to Namibia in 2018 and then being 'hit by a wave of global pessimism' at climate change talks, which he feared could foster a growing sense of despondency.

Last week SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whose ambitious plans involve putting humans on Mars, revealed he would now like to build cars on the Red Planet

'The headlines were dominated by a sense that world leaders were not moving fast enough,' he said.

'There was widespread finger pointing and political and geographical division. To those of us following at home, it wasn't an inspiring sight.'

He continued: 'It seemed to me, and this is backed up by my team's research, that there was a real risk that people would switch off; that they would feel so despondent, so fearful and so powerless, there was a risk that any real hope of progress would come to a halt.

'You could summarise this mood with a simple equation: urgency + pessimism = despondency.'

The Earthshot event was hosted by Clara Amfo and Dermot O'Leary, at Alexandra Palace in London last month.

The Duke of Cambridge announced the 15 finalists of his 50million Earthshot Prize last month

'The prize itself will stimulate solutions and action that a lot of people haven't necessarily produced yet, and so I'm hoping, you know, the prize will galvanise a lot of people in positions of responsibility to, you know, go further, bigger and actually start to deliver,' the duke said.

Cop26 is the deadline by which countries are expected to bring forward more ambitious plans, under a five-year cycle, to get the world on track to meet the Paris goals.

The 2015 Paris Agreement commits countries to keeping temperature rises to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit them to 1.5C - beyond which the most dangerous climate impacts will be felt.
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A female walrus has clambered aboard an aptly-named Walrus-class submarine where it has taken refuge in a Dutch port to the delight of the Netherlands Navy.

The Arctic walrus, who has been named Freya, was found snoozing on the vessel in Den Helder last week.

She has since returned to the submarine most days to take a breather from her fishing expeditions after boldly venturing south on her European jaunt, passing Denmark and Germany on her travels.

A female walrus has clambered aboard a Walrus-class submarine where it has taken refuge in a Dutch port

Jeroen Hoekendijk, a Dutch scientist who specialises in marine mammals, discovered Freya last week

Freya is the first of her species to be spotted in the Netherlands in 23 years with the animals normally seen hundreds of miles north.

It comes after Wally the wandering walrus captured the imagination of wildlife lovers with his European travels this summer, which included stops in France, Spain and the Isles of Scilly before he was last spotted in Iceland.

Jeroen Hoekendijk, a Dutch scientist who specialises in marine mammals, discovered Freya last week and said she appears to be in good health, despite a raw wound in her front flippers.

She is regularly seen bathing and sleeping on the back deck of HNLMS Dolfijn.

The Arctic Walrus, who has been named Freya, was found sleeping on the Netherlands Navy vessel in Den Helder last week

She has since returned most days to relax on the submarine, much to the amusement of the navy

She is regularly seen bathing and sleeping on the back deck of HNLMS Dolfijn

Freya has frequently disappeared for a swim only to return to lounge on the submarine days later

It is thought Freya may have been in Dutch waters for two months after a number of sightings and experts believe she got lost while looking for food.

The Arctic walrus has small tusks so is considered to be younger.

The Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service shared the news, saying: 'Look who surprised us with a visit.

'Welcome on board shipmate!'

Freya has frequently disappeared for a swim only to return to lounge on the submarine days later.

The navy has been updating keen followers about Freya's movements on their social media pages.

The walrus is often seen sleeping and enjoying a well-earned rest aboard the vessel

Marine chaplain Fred Omvlee shared a selfie with the animal sleeping next to a Dutch flag on the submarine

The walrus is often seen sleeping and enjoying a well-earned rest aboard the vessel.

HNLMS Dolfijn entered service in 1993 in the Dutch Navy's Walrus-class, alongside HNLMS Walrus and HNLMS Zeeleeuw.

The RNSS said: 'Wondering if Freya thinks it's such a beautiful spot when there's constant staff and boarding.'

It's thought she paddled down from her regular Arctic circle haunt, travelling via Denmark and Germany to reach the coast of Holland.

Wally started its European tour in March this year and was often seen hauling his 800kg body on to a boat for a snooze.
The British trawler at the centre of the Anglo-French fishing row was today released after a judge agreed it had been used as a political pawn in a bitter diplomatic spat.

Captain Jondy Ward began preparing the Cornelis Gert Jan for immediate departure from the dock at Le Havre, after hearing the verdict of the earlier court hearing.

The judge also cancelled a 125,000 (150,000) bail bond that had been imposed on the boat to ensure the captain would return to France in August to answer charges that he had been fishing illegally in French waters.

Mr Ward's Matthieu Croix explained: 'The court followed our arguments that the boat was caught up in the middle of a political game between Great Britain and France and cancelled the seizure.

'The boat is free to leave Le Harve immediately without having to pay any bail.'

The verdict was confirmed by the ship's owners MacDuff Fisheries.

Boss Andrew Brown told MailOnline: 'We have just been informed that the Cornelis is free to leave and no bond is due.'

The Irish skipper told how the boat would leave as soon as possible.

Captain Jondy Ward (pictured) began preparing the Cornelis Gert Jan for immediate departure from the dock at Le Havre, after hearing the verdict of the earlier court hearing

Mr Ward told MailOnline: 'We are waiting for the harbour master now but we will be leaving as soon as we can.

Standing on the deck of the scallop fishing boat with his crew the skipper added: 'We're all pleased to be going home.

'We won't be doing any fishing on the way back.'

Last night, the owners of the fishing trawler praised the captain and crew for their calm during the diplomatic storm they became embroiled in.

Macduff Fisheries said in a statement: 'We have just been informed that our vessel, the Cornelis Gert Jan, has been released by the French authorities.

'The Court determined that no bond was required for the release of the vessel.

'We are pleased to have this matter resolved and delighted that our crew and vessel are now able to return home.

'The crew have acted with calmness and professionalism throughout the entire incident.

'They are in good spirits, looking forward to returning home.'

The news comes after it emerged French fishermen have started selling their trawlers after accepting defeat in the fishing row between the UK and France.

The trawler was today released after a judge agreed it had been used as a political pawn in a bitter diplomatic spat

Mr Ward is pictured with his crew onboard the scallop trawler after a court ruled they could return home to Britain

Fisherman Loic Fontaine, from Calais, said he is planning to sell his boat because, cut off after Brexit from access to British waters where French fleets traditionally fished, the vessel can no longer earn its keep.

Fontaine, 45, admitted: 'The English are stubborn, they won't let go... it is better to stay friendly and to find a compromise. If we start a naval war, it won't end.'

The fisherman said he is holding off signing away his boat for a few days longer, while Britain and France try to resolve their row over fishing licences.

Tensions escalated last week after the Cornelis was held in the port of Le Havre and France said it would put in place increased checks on trucks and produce coming from Britain and that British trawlers would be barred from docking in French ports from midnight on Monday.

Skipper Mr Ward had headed to Rouen Appeal court this morning to seek the release of his scallop vessel.

His lawyer Mathieu Croix claimed the French authorities 'made an example' of the British vessel for 'politics'.

French fisherman Loic Fontaine, from Calais, said he is selling his boat because, cut off after Brexit from access to British waters where French fleets traditionally fished, the vessel can no longer earn its keep

Skipper Jondy Ward (pictured leaving the court today) must wait until midnight to learn whether his boat is free to go home after a judge at the Rouen Appeal court reserved the verdict in the case until the end of the day

The scallop trawler Cornelis Gert Jan pictured quayside at Le Havre on Wednesday

Mr Croix said: 'It's not uncommon for this type of procedure to occur.

'What is uncommon is the size of the bail, which the French administration clearly set to focus minds over the fishing row.

'The action taken by the French authorities have been over the top.'

Mr Croix added: 'We are clearly caught in the middle of a political game [between Great Britain and France].

'As there is a whole story spun around this entire case. Whereas in fact it is quite a mundane affair over-fishing in an area that is supposedly out of bounds. And about fishing licences that may or may not have been given. And amounts of seafood catch that are relatively modest.

'From then on, given the current political climate, the case blew up to levels that in our views are totally disproportionate.'

Mr Ward declined to comment earlier today when asked whether the Cornelis Gert Jan had the right licence. He said simply: 'Mmhmm.'

Britain, accused by France of not honouring a post-Brexit deal on access to British fishing grounds, has now been given until Thursday to come up with a solution.

Thirty five licences have been granted to fishing boats in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France and French fisherman Mr Fontaine's boat, the Sainte Catherine Labour, is one of 45 boats that is still waiting, according to a French tally.

These talks represent a last chance for Mr Fontaine, who says that it is not worth continuing in the profession without a licence to work in British waters. This year, he saw his profits drop by 60% compared to previous years.

Mr Fontaine says that it is not worth continuing in the profession without a licence to work in British waters

'(Now) we are all fishing in the same zone and it is getting less because we are going for the same resource, at some point we won't get anything,' he said.

In the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, fisherman Gaetan Delsart is also getting ready to watch his catch swim beyond his reach over the next months.

Like Mr Fontaine, he is counting on the two countries to come to a solution soon in order to continue to working.

'I will hang up the keys in less than a year I think,' said Mr Delsart, 35, who missed out on a licence as he did not have the approved tracking equipment installed on his boat to show he fished in British waters before 2016.

If he does have to sell, he is pessimistic he would get a decent price because, he said, 'who would buy a boat without a licence?'

In a sign of a potential breakthrough in the fishing row, French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said today the UK has shown a 'constructive' spirit in its talks with France over post-Brexit fishing licences.

'I spoke to my counterpart yesterday evening. The spirit is a constructive one on this topic,' Djebbari told Europe 1 radio. Talks would continue until Thursday, he added.

Today's hearing at the Rouen Appeal Court was an administrative one focusing on the immediate future of the British trawler.

Skipper Jondy Ward was picked up from the scallop vessel Cornelis Gert Jan in Le Havre by his French lawyer at 9.30am local time in time for a court hearing in Rouen

Recalling the day his boat was detained, Mr Ward said: 'We were just boarded as standard in the morning. Everything went fine. Then they came back around 5pm to say that we're going to be detained because our boat was not on a European register for licensed vessels, which we had no idea about.

'We had all our documents on the bridge all in order. We have our licence to fish, everything like this. I don't know if it was a clerical error or what caused it, but we weren't on the list.'

Asked if that was a mistake by the UK authorities, he said: 'I don't know whether it was by them or what.

'From our side of it, we had everything in order on the bridge. As far as I was concerned we had everything in place to be legal.'

He said they were fishing in the Baie de Seine about 24 miles away when it happened. 'Hopefully we'll get back out again,' he said with a smile.

Mr Ward added they had 'definitely' been caught up in the wider fishing row. Asked why, he said: 'Just with the argument with the licences for Guernsey for extra French boats and that. I think we're kind of caught in the middle of this. But I can't say too much about it.'

After returning to the boat after the court hearing, Jondy Ward said: 'We're just waiting on the decision now from the judges to see if we are free to go or have to pay bail to get the boat out.

'If it goes right, we will go out of here today. If not. It'll be tomorrow maybe, it depends.'

He said it would only take 'half an hour notice' to get the engine 'fired up' to leave so even if the decision did not come until late tonight they could leave quickly.

Asked about how the last week had been for him, he said: 'It's been strange. With yourselves all parked outside the boat here [the press]. I'm not used to this.'

And now, the vessel has been told it can leave by the French court which means Mr Ward and his crew can leave for Britain.

A legal source said before the case began: 'It will determine the circumstances under which the boat can or can't leave France.

'She may have to pay a 150,000 euros deposit (128,000), or she may be able to leave without any kind of bail.

'The other possibility is that she is seized indefinitely while the criminal side of the case is dealt with.'

Disagreements over fishing between London and Paris culminated last Wednesday in the French seizure of the British trawler the Cornelis Gert Jan in French waters near Le Havre

The French authorities, including gendarmes and prosecutors, believe that the Cornelis broke the law by catching two tonnes of scallops close to Le Havre without an EU license.

She was 'arrested' by the Maritime Gendarmerie vessel Athos on October 27, having arrived from Shoreham, Sussex.

According to the French, the trawler was not included in the license lists granted in the UK by the European Commission and France.

But Jondy Ward, the Cornelis skipper, has claimed he has a licence that is valid until December, but it was erroneously cancelled in May.

At present, a separate criminal trial in Le Havre is still scheduled for August 11, when Mr Ward will face a charge of 'acts of unauthorised sea fishing in French maritime salt waters by a third-party vessel to the European Union'.

This could be punished by a fine of up to 63,000 (75,000), together with other 'administrative sanctions,' according to prosecutors.

Captain Ward confirmed that he would return to France in August to answer the charges against him.

He said: 'I will be coming back for the court case. Hopefully that will go our way as well.'

Captain Jondy Ward seen leaving the Cornelis Gert Jan before heading to the Rouen Court of Appel

The boat was detained by gendarmes last Wednesday, and escorted to the quayside at Le Havre, where they have remained ever since. Pictured: Crew onboard the Cornelis Gert Jan

What is the fishing row between the UK and France about? - How did Brexit spark the fishing feud? When the UK left the EU, it also left the common fisheries policy, which since 1970 has allowed the bloc's members access to all European waters outside the first 12 nautical miles of each country's coastline. The Brexit deal outlined how EU boats could continue to fish in UK waters, but British fishermen would get a greater share of the catch from those domestic waters. Most of the share is being transferred to the UK this year, and there will be annual negotiations to decide how the catch is shared out going forwards. - Why has this inflamed tensions with France? The rollout of the post-Brexit arrangements has caused a row, with Paris accusing the UK of failing to grant permission to every eligible French boat to fish in British waters. But the UK is adamant that it is following the terms of the Brexit deal which requires trawlers to provide historical GPS data to prove they worked in those waters before Brexit. Some vessels have been unable to provide that data which has seen their applications for a licence be rejected. The Government has insisted 98 per cent of all EU fishing licence requests have been granted but France believes it is being shortchanged. - What is France threatening to do? French ministers have warned they will block British boats from some French ports and tighten checks on vessels travelling between France and the UK if the fishing licence dispute is not resolved. France's Europe minister, Clement Beaune, told French TV news channel CNews previously: 'We have been extremely patient. Our fishermen have been extremely responsible. And so, from November 2, it's over. We will engage in dialogue if the British want to, but we are taking retaliatory measures.' What does Britain say? Ministers have stressed that it is ready to grant more permits when boats can provide historical evidence. The government has warned that French reprisals would be a breach of the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, and they are ready to trigger the dispute mechanisms to punish France. Is the situation starting to cool? Last night Emmanuel Macron pushed back the deadline until at least Thursday, saying action will not be taken while negotiations are ongoing. Brexit minister Lord Frost and Mr Beaune are due to meet in Paris on Thursday. - Why was the British trawler detained? The scallop vessel Cornelis was ordered to divert to the port of Le Havre after the French authorities said it was fishing in French waters without a licence. The French said that another British trawler had been fined for obstruction after refusing to allow police to board to carry out checks. The owner of the Cornelis, Macduff Shellfish, said the vessel had been fishing legally in French waters and called on the British Government to protect the rights of British fishermen. Advertisement

It came after UK Environment Secretary George Eustice admitted he 'misspoke' yesterday when he claimed the boat had been released by France.

French prosecutors insisted the situation 'remains subject to legal negotiations' - with a deposit of around 125,000 (150,000) due before she can return home to Britain.

Mr Ward, who is accused of illegally fishing in French territorial waters for the valuable shellfish without a licence, faces a trial in August next year.

It came after Mr Macron said he would go back to the negotiating table with Britain rather than follow through on his extraordinary sabre-rattling.

He has shelved threats to block British trawlers from landing their catches in French ports, reduce electricity to Jersey and tighten customs checks until at least Thursday.

But despite the lull in hostilities, French fishing chiefs have warned trawlermen to stay away from British waters in case the spat blows up again.

On the surface the UK had refused to budge in the dispute over fishing rights, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss adamant Britain would 'not roll over'.

However, there have been gradually more being granted, with UK authorities insisting more evidence has been supplied that they used waters before Brexit.

Mr Macron told reporters at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow last night: 'It is not while we are negotiating that we are going to impose sanctions.

'Since this afternoon, discussions have resumed on the basis of a proposal I made to Prime Minister Johnson.

'The talks need to continue. We'll see where we are tomorrow at the end of the day, to see if things have really changed. The next few hours are important hours.' He added: 'I understood that the British were going to come back to us tomorrow with other proposals.'

The French also responded with fury to claims they had been caught out fabricating information in order to fish in UK waters following Brexit.

UK officials have used satellite data to contradict claims by French seamen that they have previously fished off the coast of Britain.

Under the terms of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, EU vessels must prove they operated in British waters between 2012 and 2016 before they can get a new a licence.

Small French trawlers under 12 metres were not equipped with GPS trackers and could not easily prove their whereabouts, the French argue.

Olivier Lepretre, head of the Hauts-de-France regional fishing association, said his members had honestly requested 80 licences to fish in UK waters but had so far been granted only 35.

Flatly denying any fabrications, Mr Lepretre said fishermen 'just want to go to sea and get on with their work'.

Frederic Cuvillier, the Mayor of Boulogne  France's biggest fishing port  meanwhile said: 'We are in the midst of the post-Brexit earthquake.'

Mr Cuvillier warned that the fishing sector was 'still in crisis,' and if the UK refused to grant more licenses to French fishermen many would go out of business.

Lord Frost, Britain's Brexit Minister, is due in Paris on Thursday to discuss the growing crisis with France's Europe Minister, Clement Beaune.

The Elysee Palace had originally stood firm, saying that if Britain refused to give ground on the number of licences it issued to French fishermen, it would implement its threats to British trawlers, to Jersey and on customs checks.

Ms Truss said, should France act, the UK would take legal action under the UK-EU Brexit trade deal, while Downing Street said it had 'robust' contingency plans in place.

At the Cop26 summit on Monday, Boris Johnson and Mr Macron shared a frosty greeting on stage in front of other world leaders.

The day before, at a G20 meeting in Rome, Mr Johnson had told the French leader it was up to Paris to step back.

At the Cop26 summit on Monday, Boris Johnson and Mr Macron shared a frosty greeting on stage in front of other world leaders

Despite a seeming lull in hostilities, a French fishing chief on Monday warned trawlermen to stay away from British waters in case the row blows up again.

Olivier Lepretre, chairman of the powerful northern French fisheries committee, said: 'I fear there might be some tit-for-tat measures. We need an agreement that works for both French and British fishermen.'
Social media has roasted liberal news hosts for their 'meltdown' as the results came in showing Republican Glenn Youngkin was going to be victorious in Virginia.

Youngkin, 54, last night pulled off a stunning upset to beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe, leading by 2.1 points with 99 percent of the vote counted. He is the state's first red Governor since 2009.

Hosts on MSNBC and CNN were unable to contain their shock at McAuliffe's defeat, with Jake Tapper looking at a map of the election results and saying flatly: 'Oh my God.'

Commentator Joy Reid joined Rachel Maddow on MSNBC and launched an astonishing tirade against 'dangerous' Republicans, warning that voting for Youngkin - 'a soft white racist' - was a gateway to more 'hardcore racism.'

Over on CNN, Van Jones said that Youngkin was to Trump what the Delta variant was to Covid-19, saying it's the 'same disease, but spreads a lot faster and can get a lot more places.'

Their shock and disappointment at the result gave conservative commentators on Twitter endless joy, with radio host Buck Sexton comparing it to the 'seven stages of grief.'

'MSNBC is currently going through the seven stages of grief on an endless loop in real time,' Sexton tweeted. 'It's great, highly recommend.'

Commentator Joy Reid (pictured) was joining Rachel Maddow on MSNBC and launched an astonishing tirade against 'dangerous' Republicans, warning that voting for Youngkin - 'a soft white nationalist' - was a gateway to more 'hardcore nationalism.'

Over on CNN, Van Jones said that Youngkin was to Trump what the Delta variant was to Covid-19, saying it's the 'same disease, but spreads a lot faster and can get a lot more places'

It was a different atmosphere over in the Youngkin campaign camp where celebrations look set to continue through the night after his shock win

McAuliffe has not yet admitted defeat in the race. Hours earlier, McAuliffe had refused to concede the race when he took the stage at 10:20pm, saying: 'We're going to continue to count the votes because every single Virginian deserves to have their vote counted'

'If you want to give yourself a treat, turn on MSNBC,' Ann Coulter tweeted as results began to favor Republicans in key races.

National Review critic Kyle Smith said: 'Every conservative I know is watching MSNBC.'

Pundit Stephen L. Miller joked, 'It's early yet but MSNBC is pulling a bit ahead in the election meltdown. Still waiting for returns from some of CNN's more loyal viewers and the late night returns but Joy Reid looks to be pulling away early. Still too close to call though.'

Meghan McCain added, 'MSNBC is on nothing short of an emotional journey to Narnia tonight.'

Other commentators shared their favourite GIFs of Donald Trump, the former President pointing at a reporter saying, 'Wrong,' or footage of him creasing up with laughter.

One user, named USA Live Free or Die, tweeted a series of laughing emojis with the caption: 'Melting down.'

Jones, a former Obama administration official, told CNN colleagues: 'The stakes are high. When this election is over in Virginia, we will know... have we seen the emergence of the Delta variant of Trumpism?

'In other words, Youngkin, same disease, but spreads a lot faster and can get a lot more places.'

He later took to Twitter to clarify his incendiary remark.

'My point is that playing on racial fears by demagoguing [critical race theory] furthers dangerous aspects of Trumpism, just in friendlier form,' he wrote. 'Did not mean to imply that human beings are diseases.'

Reid on MSNBC similarly attacked Youngkin for his stance against critical race theory being taught in schools, claiming that it revealed a thinly veiled racism.

Rachel Maddow appeared upset by the Republican victory in Virginia last night

'Republicans are dangerous,' she said. 'This isn't a party that's just another political party that disagrees with us on tax policy. That at this point, they're dangerous.

'They're dangerous to our national security because stoking that kind of soft white nationalism eventually leads to the hardcore stuff - it leads to the January 6 stuff.

'Because if people are tolerant of it in your party, they're tolerant of the soft racism, it's a really short trip to get to the January 6 insurrection.'
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Seven new 200,000 homes in a small village in rural Wales face being demolished after council officials ruled that their driveways are too steep.

Families in the village of Blaina, near Abertillery in Gwent, are fighting to prevent the smart row of brick houses - one detached and six semis - from being bulldozed over planning blunders.

Local authorities declared that the driveways are too steep and that cars parked on those driveways could roll down onto the road and into the water opposite. They also ruled that the garden walls are too high and there is no road crossing to safely access the properties.

The application to build the homes was originally refused by Blaenau Gwent Council in 2014, but was later overturned by Welsh Government planning inspectors and the homes were built in 2018.

However, following an anonymous complaint, officials ruled that the homes did not match the planning permission.

Owners blame mistakes by the developers and the local council for giving them several years of stress and worry. The mortified residents are now desperately hoping to reach a 'sensible solution' with Blaenau Gwent County Council.

At tomorrow's meeting of the council's planning committee, officials will have another look at the development on the former site of the village school. If planning permission is refused, the houses could end up being demolished, local media reported.

Homeowner Andrew Pugh, 57, insisted that the residents 'weren't to know' about the planning issues and are 'in a state of shock' about the dispute.

Speaking to MailOnline today, he said: 'We have been left piggies in the middle having to take the rap for their mistakes. In my view there's a vendetta going against the developer - it's a massive worry.'

He told local media: 'As you can imagine, the cost to ourselves if this gets turned down is going to be catastrophic, as we've all paid about 200,000 each for these houses. We weren't to know about these issues. We are in a state of shock at how this was allowed to happen. As far as we were aware everything was above board and legally transparent.'

Seven families in a small village in rural Wales are fighting to prevent their new 200,000 homes from being demolished after council officials ruled that their driveways are too steep

Local authorities declared that cars parked in driveways on the row of six semis and one detached home in Blaina, near Abertillery, Gwent could roll down onto the road and into the lake opposite

The application to build the homes was originally refused by Blaenau Gwent Council in 2014, but was later overturned by Welsh Government planning inspectors and the homes were built in 2018

This map shows the site of the row of six homes in Blaina, near Abertillery, Gwent

One homeowner, who asked not to be named, said: 'It is ridiculous really - we just hope that people see sense and the houses aren't demolished.

'We have been here three years and the houses are lovely. We are just trying to keep calm because there is not much we can do about the planning permission issue. It is a nice place to live and we wouldn't have moved in if we though the drive was too steep.'

Another neighbour who asked not to be named added: 'A lot of people feel this is just a fit of pique by the council. They weren't happy at the Welsh Government going over their head to approve the houses on the old school site. So now they are digging their heels in.

'There must be lots of solutions rather than knocking down the houses. That would just be a scandal in these times when people are homeless.'

Planning permission for the properties was originally turned down but the decision was overturned by the Welsh Government.

Builders D3 Property Developments finished the development in 2018 and the families, some with young children, moved in. But two months later they were told that the development breached 10 different planning laws.

One homeowner, a mother-of-two who didn't want to be named, said: 'They've sorted out seven of them but there are still concerns over the driveways, the walls and the road crossing.

However, following an anonymous complaint, council highways officials ruled that the homes did not match the planning permission and determined the driveways were too steep

Council officials also said that the driveways are surrounded by high walls which block the view of the road

Now the residents are facing the nightmare scenario of seeing their homes razed, and are hoping to reach a 'sensible solution'

'It's not out mistake, we bought the house in good faith and all the searches were done. But it turns out the local planning authority didn't even send someone out to view the site when it was being built.'

The planning row was started by a single anonymous objection to the seven houses built on the site of the much-loved loved Cwmcelyn Infants school and opposite pretty duck pond.

Two of the homeowners are twin brothers Jay and Joe Roberts, 34, who went to the infants school as children and now live next-door to on the site.

Jay's partner Stacie Clarke, 33, said: 'We were first to move in and was quite alarming when we heard our house could be knocked down. The planning issues have been hanging over us for more than two years and it's quite concerning. We put all our savings into the house, it's our little boy's home, we don't want to lose it. Some people are saying they should turn our homes into social housing - it's very upsetting. We've worked hard to buy our own home and it could be taken away from us.

'We've not had a single visit from the council to explain what's going on but we have heard that it may be up to us to pay to put things right.'

The couple paid 175,000 for the house, the same price as their neighbours except the family who live in the one detached house who paid more.

But all seven families fear they would never be able to see up because of the planning issues affecting the street called Rhes yr Ysgol - Welsh for School Rise.

Another resident said: 'The driveways are not even that steep - there are thousands of houses built on much steeper inclines in the Welsh valleys. The walls are apparently too high and block the view when you are reversing down your driveway but that can easily be put right.'

Homeowner Andrew Pugh, who has represented residents in the dispute with Blaenau Gwent Council, said they 'weren't to know' about the planning issues and are 'in a state of shock'

The homes in Rhes yr Ysgol - Welsh for School Row - were built on the site of the former village school in Blaina

Blaenau Gwent Council planning committee is due to meet tomorrow to decide the fate of the row of houses.

A villager, 64, who didn't want to be named, said: 'I went to the school on the site, it's a shame they demolished it. People have to live somewhere I suppose but if there are rules you have to stick by them.'

Peter Barnes, agent for D3 Property Developments, told councillors that the developer had agreed to lower the driveway walls to improve the road visibility.

'The alternative is to descend into chaos,' said Mr Barnes.

Councillor John Hill said: 'We're in a situation where we need to solve this and the answer can't be demolishing the houses, we have to figure out a way of looking after those people.'

But planning officers recommended refusal of planning permission because the steep driveways meant there was a risk that cars would roll into the road - and that visibility from the driveways is also hampered.

Blaenau Gwent council development team manager Eirlys Hallett said road safety issues were the major issue stopping planning permission for the houses.

Mrs Hallett said: 'Those issues are gradient of driveways and visibility.'

Her report explained that the steep driveways meant there was a risk that cars would roll back into the road.

Planning officer Jane Engel said: 'Consultation has been carried out with the owners/occupiers of all seven properties.'

She added that highways officers believe the issues had not been solved and the development 'remains a potential hazard to the public highway. '
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A migrant died when his boat capsized in the Channel today after hundreds more attempted the crossing.

The body of the man, who has not been identified, was recovered by the French authorities off Dunkirk.

He is believed to have drowned. An unknown number of migrants aboard the same dinghy were rescued, a government source said.

It was the second fatal incident in the past ten days, after at least one migrant was reported to have gone overboard by men rescued on a small boat off Harwich last Tuesday

It comes as new footage reveals the moment a Channel ferry was forced to stop and rescue migrants in a sinking dinghy - as the number of illegal crossings this year breached 20,000.

Photos taken from onboard the Isle of Ishinore show more than a dozen migrants on a packed boat being propelled through the world's busiest shipping lane by a single man holding a flimsy paddle.

The ferry stopped midway through a crossing from Dover to Calais after the craft was spotted drifting 10.45am, with the captain telling passengers: 'Apologies for the delay but we had to stop and rescue 13 migrants in distress who's boat had run out of fuel and was sinking'.

The ship dispatched a rescue craft which threw a rope to the stricken boat so it could be pulled alongside. The crew hauled all 13 migrants to safety and found two of them were without life jackets. They were all taken to Calais.

It comes a day after footage emerged of migrants celebrating arriving in Britain by chanting 'Yay, UK is good' as they being ferried into Dover on an RNLI lifeboat.

The video was taken yesterday as 456 more migrants arrived from France in 15 small craft, bringing the total number of people who have made the perilous journey so far this year to an astonishing 20,198.

This is more than double the 8,410 who arrived in Britain last year, and the figure will soon increase after more migrants were seen arriving today.

Numbers have risen dramatically despite Priti Patel vowing to make Channel crossings an 'infrequent phenomenon' by spring 2020.

Facing increasing pressure to 'get a grip' on the crisis, she recently agreed to hand a further 54million to Emmanuel Macron's administration in France to step up patrols on their coast.

'Pushback' tactics - to stop migrant boats and divert them back to France - have also been authorised by Miss Patel, but have yet to come into force. The French oppose these tactics, saying they breach maritime law.

The Isle of Ishinore stopped midway through a crossing from Dover to Calais after the craft was spotted drifting 10.45am today. It dispatched a boat (right) to rescue the migrants (left)

Shocking photos taken from onboard the ferry showed more than a dozen migrants on a packed dinghy being propelled through the world's busiest shipping lane by a single man holding a flimsy paddle

The ship dispatched a rescue craft which threw a rope to the stricken boat so it could be pulled alongside. The crew pulled all 13 migrants to safety and found two of them were without life jackets. They were all taken back to Calais

It comes a day after footage emerged of migrants celebrating arriving in Britain by chanting 'Yay, UK is good' as they being ferried into Dover on an RNLI lifeboat

Yesterday's arrivals brought the total of migrants who have crossed the Channel in 2021 so far to 20,198 - more than double the 8,410 who arrived in Britain last year

Migrants being brought into Dover today as the number of crossings for 2021 surpassed 20,000

A Group of migrants including some children are brought to shore this morning by Border Force vessel Hurricane

Today, more migrants were seen arriving onboard the Morrell, an RNLI lifeboat based at Dungeness, Kent, which brought the first group in to Dover Marina shortly before 7am.

Two men wearing lifejackets were seen being walked up the gangway by Immigration Enforcement for processing while their small black dinghy was towed into harbour.

Five suspected asylum seekers are found in a refrigerated lorry The group of five people, thought to have been suffering from hypothermia, were found in the rear of a loaded 44-tonne refrigerated lorry Five people believed to be refugees have been discovered in the back of a refrigerated lorry. Emergency services were called at around 8.10pm on Tuesday evening to the Poyle Interchange on the M25 Northbound. The group of five people, thought to have been suffering from hypothermia, were found in the rear of a loaded 44-tonne refrigerated lorry near to the Harmondsworth immigration removal centre. Traffic officers from Thames Valley Police were alerted to the find and called in firefighters to assist with oxygen and a specialist thermal imaging camera. A number of people were removed from the rear of the lorry and wrapped in silver space blankets before being taken to the hospital for a check-up. Those involved have now been handed over to UK border force. A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said one crew from Heathrow attended and used a thermal imaging camera to check the lorry to make sure there were no further stowaways aboard. A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: 'We were called by our colleagues in Surrey to reports of five people being inside a refrigerated lorry on the M25. 'Officers from Surrey Police stopped the lorry and Thames Valley Police arrested a 48-year-old man on suspicion of illegally helping asylum seekers to enter the United Kingdom. 'He remains in police custody at this time. 'In terms of an update on the five people inside the lorry, this is being dealt with by Surrey Police.' Advertisement

Approximately 40 more migrants were seen packed onto Border Force cutter Hunter before disembarking around 8am.

The Morrell returned to the harbour again with around 30 people on board half an hour later.

Border Force's largest catamaran Hurricane was also been bringing dozens of migrants to shore.

It had to double park with a lifeboat and wait to disembark its rescued occupants, draped in red blankets for warmth, around 10.30am this morning.

Many of the men carried their possessions in clear plastic bags.

The RNLI's Dungeness vessel was also said to be working through the night on search and rescue.

Onlookers monitoring activity in the Channel off the Kent coast predict today could see higher numbers of arrivals than yestersday.

People smugglers are using the brief break in bad weather to push as many boats from French shores as they possibly can after a week-long lull in crossings.

They appear to be unfazed by the added risk of using nighttime hours to send more migrants on the perilous voyage.

French authorities were called to rescue multiple boats in difficulty on Monday night continuing into Tuesday with the assistance of French Navy helicopter Dauphin to search for migrants in the dead of night.

The Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said French Navy rescue tug Abeille Languedoc saved 108 migrants in three rescue operations before dropping them off at Loon-Plage.

All-weather boat Jean Bart II of the National Society for Rescue at Sea rescued 32 more and took them to the port of Dunkirk.

The SNSM's Notre Dame du Risban vessel took a further 33 back to Calais port.

And the Dunkirk port security brigade recovered 36 migrants who were returned to Loon-Plage.

It comes after migrants arriving yesterday became the first to undertake the dangerous crossing in a week, and dozens were brought in to Dover Marina, Kent, before 9am.

Around 12 men were sat in a white and blue rigid hulled inflatable boat being towed into harbour by Border Force shortly after 8am.

They were followed by another 10 people draped in blue blankets for warmth around 45 minutes later.

A third group consisting of around eight migrants wearing orange lifejackets were brought in on a Border Force boat shortly afterwards.

They all disembarked at the harbour and were escorted up the gangway by Immigration Enforcement for processing.

The RNLI's Dover Lifeboat went out around 9.30am to rescue around 30 more migrants.

A girl of primary school age was on board when it returned to harbour again around noon.

Border Force cutter Valiant had been intercepting migrants in the Channel and transferring them onto smaller RHIBs.

Their vessel Hunter was also on search and rescue patrols off the Kent coast after around 25 migrants were spotted in a dinghy.

3/11 Dover Posted by Chris Johnson on Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Pictured: A group of migrants are brought to shore today by RNLI Dover Lifeboat/Hunter

Border Force out today as the number of migrants to have crossed the Channel passes 20,000

A mere 475 made the crossing in October 2020, compared to 2,669 that made the journey despite poor weather conditions last month. Above: Migrants in Dover, Kent on Tuesday

Pictured: Emergency services on the M25 Northbound after five people believed to be refugees were found with suspected hypothermia in the rear of a 44-tonne refrigerated lorry

Priti Patel says deaths of up to three migrants who are feared to have drowned in the Channel is an absolute tragedy Priti Patel last week said the deaths of up to three migrants who are feared to have drowned in the Channel after trying to reach Britain by boat was an 'absolute tragedy'. The individuals are still unaccounted for after trying to cross from France to the UK in a dinghy earlier this month . Two men - both Somali nationals - were rescued off the Essex coast last Monday and searches for any remaining survivors have now been called off. Speaking while visiting the Thames Valley Police Training Centre in Reading, Priti Patel said: 'It is a tragedy. It is an absolute tragedy, it really is. 'Clearly there are investigations taking place right now so we have to let that investigation process occur. 'But I can give everyone solid, solid assurance that my work with both France and other counterparts as well is very much based on stopping the loss of life.' Asked what she would say to their families, Ms Patel said: 'It is terrible, it is tragic and it is absolutely appalling. 'We want to stop the loss of human life, and everything that we are doing as a Government is focusing on ensuring that we work in joint co-operation with other governments and other countries to actually get to the source of these issues, which is to stop the people-smuggling.' Advertisement

Stormy weather has made the treacherous trip even more life-threatening - as tragically shown when at least one migrant was presumed dead in an emergency incident off Harwich, Essex.

Their very tiny boat is believed to have drifted off course in the high winds and could have been at sea for as long as 72 hours before two migrants were rescued.

October saw a total of 2,669 migrants make the Channel crossing in 92 boats.

Elsewhere, maritime gendarmerie coastal surveillance boat Escaut recovered 34 migrants while Customs Coast Guard patroller Jacques Oudart Fourmentinis saved 49 people in two operations.

That is six times more than the 463 who arrived in 33 boats in the same month last year.

Dan O'Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said: 'These journeys are illegal, dangerous, unnecessary and facilitated by violent criminal gangs profiting from misery.

'We are working with the French to stop boats leaving their beaches and crack down on the criminals driving these crossings.

'People should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. The Government's New Plan for Immigration will fix the system, making it firm on those who abuse it and fair on those in genuine need.'

The men were brought into harbour in the hull alongside a tropical-themed blow up boat decorated with pictures of colourful flowers and exotic parrots.

More migrants continued to make the perilous 21-mile journey across the Dover Strait into the late afternoon due to good visibility - but conditions at sea remained choppy.

They were among the first arrivals in a week since 145 arrived in five boats on October 26.

The Home Office confirmed figures late on Tuesday night.

It said French authorities also prevented an additional 343 migrants from reaching the UK by intercepting seven boats.

Masked migrants are brought to shore by Border Force officials aboard their cutter Hunter

The large group are taken ashore in Dover for processing by Border Force officials on Tuesday

More are expected to make the perilous 21-mile journey across the Dover Strait throughout the day due to good visibility - but conditions at sea remain choppy

A mere 475 made the crossing in October 2020, compared to 2,669 that made the journey despite poor weather conditions last month. Pictured: A group arrive in Dungeness last month
It is 'far too early' for the UK to follow the US in jabbing five year olds, one of No10's vaccine advisers cautioned today.

Professor Jeremy Brown, on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), argued there was a case for giving doses to vulnerable infants with medical conditions.

But he said Britain's medical regulator has yet to scrutinise data from the US to see whether the jab should be given the green light for any under-12s.

US health bosses last night approved controversial plans to vaccinate children aged five to 11, piling pressure on the UK to follow suit.

But England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said a move to mirror America's policy was 'some way down the track'.

Britain has so far limited its vaccine programme to healthy over-12s, after months of deliberating over the finely balanced risk/benefit ratio.

The CDC approved Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11 yesterday. Pictured: a 10-year-old boy receiving the jab yesterday at Hartford Hospital in Hartford in Connecticut

Professor Jeremy Brown, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said it is 'far too early to say' whether the UK will follow the US in vaccinating five to 11-year-olds

England's deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said today that expanding the rollout to under-12s in the UK is 'some way down the tracks'

Pfizer's Covid vaccines for kids aged 5-11 could start as early as TOMORROW in the US The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) advisory committee has officially recommended Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11 on Tuesday. The members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously that paediatric doses be distributed in this younger age group. It comes less than aw U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised the shots for youngsters. Until the FDA announced its decision, ACIP was unable to recommend doses for children, a necessary step before pharmacists or clinicians can immunize kids. CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky is not bound to follow the advisory group's recommendations, but the agency rarely goes against the guidance of ACIP, and she is expected to sign off on the recommendations tonight. This means 28million children will likely be able to get vaccinated starting on Wednesday. Parents have been split 50/50 over vaccinating children because kids rarely get severely ill and make up less than 0.1 percent of all Covid deaths. And a member of the FDA advisory panel abstained from a vote on recommending the shot to kids last week because he said there is not enough evidence that all children need the shot. Advertisement

The JCVI, which consists of some of the UK's leading scientists, advised ministers against the move because children face such a tiny threat from Covid.

The group also warned about the risk from a rare vaccine side effect called myocarditis, which can cause heart damage.

Critics say children are better off catching the virus and getting protection naturally because the risk of being admitted to ICU is about one in 500,000.

But the JCVI panel  who only looked at a rigid set of criteria  recommended the UK's chief medical officers were given the final say.

Professor Chris Whitty and colleagues ultimately decided to recommend jabs to 12-15 year olds because modelling showed it would prevent thousands from having to take time off school.

Asked whether the UK should follow the US' lead on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Professor Brown said: 'I think it is far too early to say that.

'At present, the vaccine is not allowed to be given to children under 12 years of age in this country.

'And the MHRA, the regulatory authorities, have not looked at the data coming from the US as yet to see whether it can be approved for that age group.'

Professor Brown, an expert in respiratory medicine from University College London, added: 'I think there's a case for using a vaccine on those children that have underlying diseases that make them more vulnerable to Covid, to having severe side-effects from the Covid infection. So that's possible.'

He pointed out that the body's decision to not recommend Covid jabs for healthy 12 to 15-year-olds was due to the consequences of Covid infection in that age group being 'pretty mild'.

Professor Brown said: 'Very few healthy adolescents [were] having severe problems and the same will be true for, in fact, probably more true, for the 11s and under.

'So the clinical indication for the vaccine is low.

'In fact, the vaccine is being used mainly to protect people in education, to prevent them having to take time off school, and all that disruption that has occurred as a consequence of Covid infection.'

He added: 'If we're thinking about the future and where we need to vaccinate 11s and under for their educational benefit, it really depends on how prevalent the infection is at that time.

'It may be that we're going through this large peak of infection at the present, but by the time it comes around to the vaccine being approved for under-12s, it may be that the infection rate in the community and amongst children is very low.

'And therefore the need to protect them against the disruption effect of Covid infection on their education becomes much less.'

There are some promising signs that natural immunity in British youngsters is already slowing the epidemic.

Cases fell among 10 to 19-year-olds in the week before half term, data from the UK Health Security Agency shows.

Asked whether he agreed with some experts that high infection rates among pupils has led to some level of herd immunity and caused infections to drop, Professor Brown said it 'is a bit of a difficult thing to predict how things will pan out in the future'.

But he said experts hope the latest big wave of infection in youngsters, coupled with high immunity among the population, 'would be high enough to limit the future possibility of big waves, like what we're seeing at the moment'.

Because of the low risk of severe illness, more than one-third of American parents with children in the 5-11 age range are not planning to get their kids vaccinated against Covid, a survey found

Pfizer released data last week showing its vaccine is 91% effective against infections in five to 11-year-olds after 16 cases of Covid were reported in the placebo group compared to three in the the group that received two kid-size doses

Pfizer set up six projections to determine the risk-reward outcomes of vaccinating children to prevent Covid cases, while also exposing them to the small likelihood of suffering heart inflammation. Scenario 1: Vaccine is 70 per cent effective against infection and 80 per cent effective against hospitalizations, only males between five to 11, who are most at risk for Covid, assuming the virus situation as of September 11 holds

Scenario 2: Same effectiveness as scenario one, though cases increase by 20 per cent, and hospitalizations by 30 per cent

Scenario 3: Covid cases decrease 95 per cent and hospitalizations decrease 90 per cent

Meanwhile, Professor Van-Tam told BBC Breakfast the US 'are in a different position to us' because they had already licensed the Pfizer vaccine in five to 11-year-olds.

He said: 'I would anticipate but don't know that the manufacturer Pfizer may well file in Europe and the UK in the next few months.

'But that's not a matter that I can influence in any way, it's up to the manufacturers.

'Then at that point, were it to be the case that the vaccine became licensed in five to 11-year-olds, there would need to be a JCVI consideration of this point.

'But that decision is some way down the tracks and the big priority is the people who need the boosters, the partially vaccinated and unvaccinated adults. But the JCVI will get to that in due course.'

Professor Van-Tam said he is sure the JCVI 'will be considering' whether to follow the US.

But he said they first need to monitor the effect of the booster campaign and decide whether any other Britons should be eligible for it.

It comes after the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention yesterday approved using Pfizer's vaccine to immunise children aged five to 11, concluding the benefits outweighed the risk.

Scenario 4: Vaccine is 90 per cent effective against cases and 100 per cent effective against hospitalizations

Scenario 5: Using the current death rate listed on the CDC tracker

Scenario 6: Risk of myocarditis is halved by 50 per cent

Members of its advisory committee unanimously voted 14-0 to approve the move.

CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky later signed off on the decision, meaning roughly 28million children in the US are now eligible for the shots.

Advisers ruled the jabs had a similar affect in young children as was seen in 16 to 25-year-olds.

Data used to justify the FDA panel's decision showed nearly 180 children would be expected to suffer from myocarditis for every death the vaccine would prevent if the rollout went ahead.

But the side effect would not be expected to cause any deaths.

The rollout would stop over 200 hospitalisations and a handful of deaths over a six-month period, by comparison.

And the data showed it could stop tens of thousands of infections in the same time.

The data used by the panel was based on Pfizer's Phase 3 clinical trial of 2,268 five-to 11-year-olds from March to September.
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Around 40 police, including officers from Scotland Yard, swooped today to seize a giant inflatable Loch Ness Monster near COP26.

Glasgow police were joined by Metropolitan Police officers and some from Merseyside on the raid. They were backed up by coastguard personnel.

The target was the 'Loch Ness Debt Monster', a 13ft high and 26ft long inflatable which had been commissioned by campaigners pressing COP26 to ease debt for poorer nations.

The giant toy had being situated beside the River Clyde - with permission - on private land owned by The Govan Wetlands Project since yesterday.

It was about half a mile from the venue for the summit, and campaigners had no plans to take it up the river. But police swooped at breakfast time and 'arrested' the toy.

One police officer told MailOnline: 'Step away from the monster. Anybody who obstructs will be arrested.' But another joked: 'We haven't got a cell big enough for it.'

Around 40 police, including officers from Scotland Yard, swooped today to seize a giant inflatable Loch Ness Monster at COP26

Glasgow police were joined by Metropolitan Police officers and some from Merseyside on the raid. They were backed up by coastguard personnel

The inflatable had being situated beside the River Clyde with permission on private land owned by The Govan Wetlands Project since yesterday

It was about half a mile from the venue for the summit, and campaigners had no plans to take it up the river. But police swooped at breakfast time and 'arrested' the toy

Senior police officers told activists from the Jubilee Debt Campaign 'Nessie' was being seized under section 20 of the police and fire reform act

Senior police officers told activists from the Jubilee Debt Campaign 'Nessie' was being seized under section 20 of the police and fire reform act.

JDC executive director Ms Heidi Chow said: 'I think that was completely overreaction, and over policing for a non violent harmless stunt to raise the issue of debt to address the climate crisis.

Loose Women star Kaye Adams says she was stopped and questioned by plain clothes police officer at COP26 for acting 'surreptitiously' Loose Women star Kaye Adams said she was stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer at the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow yesterday for allegedly 'acting surreptitiously' Loose Women star Kaye Adams said she was stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer at the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow yesterday for allegedly 'acting surreptitiously'. The Scottish-born TV personality, 58, had been filming crowds outside the site of the UN-run global summit on her Instagram story when she was apparently approached by an undercover officer. 'Just slightly concerned to be stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer who thought I was dodgy', Ms Adams wrote on the Instagram story while she was being quizzed. She later tweeted: 'Just got stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer near #COP26 for acting ''surreptitiously''. Never been accused of that before!' When a Twitter user asked: 'Were you being suspiciously surreptitious?', the Loose Women panellist replied: 'Secretive filming apparently. I had my secretive iPhone in my secretive hand.' Though Ms Adams has been lighthearted about the incident, the policing of Cop26 has come under scrutiny, with an average of 10,000 officers from Police Scotland and forces around Britain on duty every day for three weeks - and the UK Government picking up the bill. Advertisement

'This is a sad reflection of the way that debt is being sidelined in the main COP26 negotiations. They told us that waterways are all restricted because of COP26.

'It appears to me that our Nessie was seized under section 20 of police and fire reform act in suspicion of crime and that crime was simply being placed on restricted waters.

'We were not going to take the inflatable up the river.

'It is a bit ridiculous that there were so many police officers here. There were even some from Norfolk.'

Another activist said: 'All we want to do is highlight the debt that nations though.

'They seem to have bad talk about it at COP26 so at least we have a debate outside here. They didn't need to take Nessie though.'

One activist on Twitter said: 'We came this morning to inflate the Loch Ness Debt Monster and raise the importance of global South debt for the climate crisis.

Instead the police impounded Nessie and tried to block our message, just like debt is being blocked from the COP26 discussions!'

But asked if the number of officers who attended amounted to overkill, a Police Scotland spokesperson responded: Officers seized a large inflatable due to be launched on the River Clyde as it breached the maritime restrictions in place to maintain public safety and security close to the COP26 venue.

Today's police crackdown comes after activist Greta Thunberg was filmed leading protesters in a chant of 'you can shove your climate crisis up your a***' at COP26 in a rally earlier this week.

Outside in Festival Park on Monday, Miss Thunberg gave a passionate and foul-mouthed speech, telling demonstrators: 'Inside Cop, there are just politicians and people in power pretending to take our future seriously... No more blah blah blah, no more whatever the f*** they are doing inside there!'

As heads of Government from around the world discussed what could be done to save the planet from ruin, the Swedish eco activist appeared to lay the blame for looming natural disasters squarely on them as she riled up her fellow activists with a chant of: 'You can shove your climate crisis up your a***'.

A Scottish attendee had appeared to suggest singing 'you can shove your rules up your a***' before Miss Thunberg put her own spin on the popular melody of 'She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain When She Comes'.

It comes as UK chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled wide-ranging proposals to rewire the economy towards reducing global warming.

The package will see trillions of pounds of assets controlled by the City of London redirected away from carbon-intensive sectors like coal and oil towards initiatives such as electric car batteries.

It will also impose requirements on all UK-listed companies to set out proposals to transition towards net zero in the coming decades, with firms assessed annually against their published plans.

Those that fail to make enough progress, or whose plans are deemed too weak, could face sanctions including fines or even removal from the stock exchange.

Critics of Mr Sunaks plans fear they could lead to firms quitting the City of London to avoid the red tape.

The move comes after years of uncertainty for the financial centre in the wake of Brexit and the upheaval caused by Covid-19, which among other factors has seen millions of employees working from home rather than the heart of the City.

Greta Thunberg gave a passionate and foul-mouthed speech, telling demonstrators: 'Inside Cop, there are just politicians and people in power pretending to take our future seriously... No more blah blah blah, no more whatever the f*** they are doing inside there!'

. The target was the 'Lochness Debt Monster' a 13ft high and 26ft long toy which had been commissioned by campaigners pressing COP26 to ease debt for poorer nations. Pictured: Chancellor Rishi Sunak gave a speech to at the climate conference today

Ministers hope the scheme will lead to a rapid shift away from investment in polluting industries and help drive progress towards the Governments target of making the UK carbon neutral by 2050.

The Treasury said the plan would make the City the worlds first net zero-aligned financial centre.

But the compulsion is likely to prove controversial with some, and could have big consequences for firms in sectors such as oil, gas and mining  BP, Shell and mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore are among those listed in London.

The Confederation of British Industry gave the idea a cautious welcome last night, saying that business was already upping its game. But the trade body warned it was vital ministers work with colleagues abroad to produce globally consistent rules to prevent British-based firms being penalised.

City veteran Alasdair Haynes, chief executive of stock exchange Aquis, said it was good that climate disclosures are put into companies reports and accounts, but warned: You have to have proportionality.

'A lot of fast-growing companies are facing high costs to complete their reporting, especially when you look at the detail of whats needed.
Three more serving Met Police officers are under investigation over another photo of a dead body at a scene being guarded by the force.

One of them is suspected of taking and sharing a picture at the sudden death of a man they attended, whiled the other two either received or were aware of it.

It comes after two PCs were told they could face jail for WhatsApping colleagues pictures of two other bodies.

The new three officers were all investigated by the Independent Office of Police Conduct, who have now passed their findings to the Met Police.

The death happened in January 2020, but the suspected wrongdoing only emerged in the past few months.

They have been told by their Met bosses they are being investigated for possible breaches of standards of professional behaviour.

Their case was uncovered by investigators looking into the actions of PCs Deniz Jaffer, 47, and Jamie Lewis, 32.

They yesterday admitted misconduct after pictures were taken of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, and shared with 42 colleagues.

Details of this latest investigation heaps more pressure on Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, after she was told to 'get the rot out' by the victims' mother.

Separately three other officers are also facing misconduct proceedings over the image of Ms Henry and Ms Smallman.

Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has come under criticism over officers' crimes

Unmasked: PC Jaffer, 47, was charged with misconduct in a public office over the pictures

Pc Jamie Lewis leaves the Old Bailey, after pleading guilty to misconduct in a public office

PC Deniz Jaffer arrives at the Old Bailey in London, charged with misconduct in a public office

Met Police chief's dossier of shame: From force believing a sex abuse fantasist to officers sharing dead bodies pictures In July 2005, Dame Cressida Dick was in charge of the operation which saw innocent electrician Jean Charles de Menezes shot dead on a Tube train after he was mistaken for a terrorist who was under surveillance. Pictured, a memorial to mark ten years since Mr de Menezes' death. In 2014, she sanctioned the creation of Operation Midland, the disastrous investigation into spurious VIP child sex abuse allegations that saw innocent men pursued by the force. Pictured, fantasist Carl Beech, whose false sex abuse claims were believed by police. In 2019, Dame Cressida's force was widely criticised for its 'light-touch' policing of Extinction Rebellion protests, which blocked several key areas of London. Picture, Oxford Street in April 2019 as the campaigners paralysed the capital. In March this year, the Met was criticised over its 'heavy-handed' policing of a vigil for murdered Sarah Everard at Clapham Common. But its tactics were later cleared by a watchdog. Pictured, campaigner Patsy Stevenson being arrested at the event. In June, she was accused of 'obfuscation' for thwarting the Daniel Morgan inquiry team's attempts to access sensitive documents, leading to delays that cost the taxpayer millions. The report found that her force was 'institutionally corrupt'. Pictured, Mr Morgan. Dame Cressida also faced criticism over July's security shambles which saw ticketless fans storm Wembley Stadium before the England-Italy Euros final. Pictured, fans outside the venue. Last month she apologised after a report by the IOPC found the level of services provided over the weekend when Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, went missing fell below standards. It was their family and friends who found their bodies before police, who bungled the search handover. Pictured, the two sisters. Yesterday Dame Cressida was told she should carry the can for officers who took pictures of the dead sisters by their grieving mother. It prompted a further apology from the commissioner. Pictured, Mina Smallman Today it emerges three more Met officers are being investigated over allegations pictures of a different dead boy was shared. Pictured, Cressida Dick this morning. Advertisement

PC Jaffer and Lewis were supposed to protect the scene after the sisters were found stabbed to death in Fryent Country Park in Wembley, north-west London.

But instead, they breached the cordon to take 'inappropriate' and 'unauthorised' photographs of the bodies, which were then sent 'to a dentist and doctor', and a WhatsApp group.

Jaffer took four photographs and Lewis took two - one of which was sent to a female colleague with Lewis's face superimposed onto it.

Police watchdog the IOPC later revealed Lewis also used 'degrading and sexist language' to describe the victims in the WhatsApp team group of 42 colleagues.

As Dame Cressida Dick apologised for the second time, Ms Henry and Ms Smallman's bereft mother Mina slammed the Met Commissioner for the botched investigation into her daughters' deaths.

She criticised, 'Her shoddy way of behaving and her response since all of this has come out' adding: 'She has not contacted us to say I am really sorry. She has not spoken into this story at all.

Ms Smallman said the Met was 'beyond hope', adding: 'You go to London to start to prepare the funeral of your dead children and are told that police officers that should have been protecting the area had actually taken selfies and sent them out to a dentist and a doctor and a WhatsApp group.'

Following their guilty pleas, the Met said it was taking 'immediate steps' to put former PC Jaffer, who has resigned from the force, and PC Lewis before accelerated misconduct hearings.

Met Commissioner Dick said yesterday: 'I deeply regret that at a time when they were grieving the loss of their loved ones who were taken in such awful circumstances, they faced additional distress caused by the actions of two police officers.

'What former PC Jaffer and PC Lewis chose to do that day was utterly unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply insensitive. I know that is the view of colleagues across the Met who utterly condemn this behaviour.

'They have pleaded guilty today to a serious criminal offence and sentencing will follow in due course.

'I apologised to Bibaa and Nicole's family in June last year and, on behalf of the Met, I apologise again today.

'Now that the judicial process has got to this stage, we are able to take the officers through an accelerated misconduct process.'

Jaffer, 47, of Hornchurch, east London, and Lewis, 33, from Colchester, Essex, had been arrested as part of a criminal investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog.

The charge against each of them stated that 'without authorisation he entered a crime scene he had been assigned to protect, sending information about his attendance at the scene to members of the public via WhatsApp and taking photographs of the crime scene'.

The sisters' mother Mina Smallman, who has described the officers as 'despicable', sat in court for the hearing.

Paul Goddard, from the CPS, said outside court: 'Pc Jamie Lewis and Pc Deniz Jaffer's senseless conduct fell way below that to be expected from police officers.

'These officers were tasked with protecting a tragic crime scene.

'But instead they violated it for their own purposes, with no regard to the dignity of the victims, or the harm they might do to a murder investigation.

'Their thoughtless and insensitive actions have no doubt caused immeasurable further distress and pain to the heartbroken family and friends of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry who were already left reeling from the loss of their loved ones. Our thoughts are very much with them at this time.'

The pair, attached to the Met's North East command unit, were both suspended from duty following their arrests on June 22 last year.

Jaffer, of Hornchurch, east London, and Lewis, from Colchester, Essex, are on unconditional bail.

On Thursday the mother of Ms Henry and Ms Smallman vowed to stop their killer ever being released from prison.

Mina Smallman said justice had been done for her 'beautiful girls' as their 'deluded' killer was locked up for at least 35 years.

Mrs Smallman had looked on while Danyal Hussein sat with his back to the court as he was jailed for life via video link from Belmarsh prison.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey, in central London, Mrs Smallman condemned the 19-year-old, who had stabbed her daughters to death after making a pact with a devil.

On his behaviour in court, she said: 'It's all a performance. There is nothing wrong with him. He's just an obnoxious human being.'

She went on: 'He is a broken human being who, if he had not been caught, four other families may have been suffering what we have.

'Well he ain't out there now and I think he is so deluded, come 35 years' time they will not let him out.

'I will not let them.'

Mrs Smallman went on: 'There will be no celebrations here but justice has been done.'

She called for a review of the law, after the court heard that Hussein could not be handed a whole life order because of his youth.

She praised the Metropolitan Police for bringing Hussein to justice, saying she did not 'cast a whole organisation by one particular sort of incident'.

But in the wake of a critical police watchdog report on the handling of the sisters' missing persons report, she said there was an 'underground that has infiltrated and is growing in our Metropolitan Police'.

Artist impression of PC Jamie Lewis and PC Deniz Jaffer appearing at the Old Bailey yesterday

Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, who were stabbed to death in Wembley last year

Murderer: Danyal Hussein, 19, who killed sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, seen here in his police mugshot

The sisters (above), who had been celebrating Ms Henry's birthday with friends, were found the following day by Ms Smallman's boyfriend

Mina Smallman, mother of the two victims looking on as Danyal Hussein appears in the dock at the Old Bailey, where he would try to intimidate and provoke her. She refused and would smile and wink back

She also thanked the media who had followed the case, saying: 'Everybody is worth knowing about.'

On her daughters, she said: 'They were beautiful, beautiful girls.

'Bibaa left behind a daughter who has given birth to a son in the last year and I am a great grandmother.'

She said Ms Henry had been an 'amazing' social worker but she grieved for her younger daughter Ms Smallman more because 'she had 20 years less than Bibaa'.

She added: 'Good girls - I'm really proud of them.'
Rishi Sunak has been hounded by eco-zealots at COP26 as they slammed him over the government's stance on fossil fuels.

The Chancellor was heckled by two campaigners as he walked through the SEC in Glasgow on 'Finance Day' of the UN summit.

Mr Sunak, who was wearing a mask, engaged with them briefly before posing in front of cameramen with his special green ministerial box.

They challenged him over reports in August HMRC had given millions of pounds of public cash to ExxonMobil, Shell and BP.

It comes as economists warn his bid to force Britain's biggest businesses into eco-friendly industries will benefit foreign firms.

They said his shift to make London-listed companies ditch polluting sectors will initially be a boost for ventures based abroad.

Professor of Economics at Birmingham University John Bryson told MailOnline other countries could do well initially as they plug the gap left by the UK.

Businesses also warned Mr Sunak his plan to force 450 companies to go green risk driving them abroad.

The Chancellor, who showed off a green ministerial box at COP26 today, unveiled his proposals in more detail this morning.

The move will impose requirements on all UK-listed companies to set out maps to 'transition' to net zero in the coming decades, with firms assessed annually.

Meanwhile bankers were told they need to hit 'green targets' in future to get their bonuses.

Natwest boss Alison Rose revealed the 'Big Four' group would make remunerations for senior executives based on environmental work.



Rishi Sunak unveiled wide-ranging proposals to 'rewire' the economy towards reducing global warming

Footage emerged this afternoon of Mr Sunak being ambushed by the two young campaigners earlier in the day.

One of the girls asked: 'Hi Rishi, why are you giving tax breaks to fossil fuel companies?'

But they were forced to leave him as his security stopped them from ruining his photoshoot with his ministerial green box.

Yet they still heckled him from the sideline, shouting: 'There's not much in that suitcase is there. 'Where's the climate finance, Rishi?'

Fatima-Zahra Ibrahim of the Green New Deal Rising group later explained the hounding on social media.

She wrote: 'We just challenged Rishi on why he is subsidising fossil fuel companies.

'Not only did he refuse to answer us, he then banned us - the only young people in the room - from his talk.

'Is he that scared of young people asking him questions?'

Meanwhile economists warned Mr Sunak's plan to force businesses to shift to green industries would boost firms abroad.

Prof Bryson said: 'There will be a timing issue here. The shift away from carbon-intensive industries is on-going and will accelerate in response to government policies and alterations in consumer behaviour.

'The switch away from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles, for example, will increasingly alter the market for petrochemicals and one outcome will be increased volatility in the petrochemical industry and eventually reductions in margins.

'Thus, initially the market for non-eco industries will continue, but it will change as demand shifts towards more eco-friendly alternatives. Thus, initially other countries may benefit from the gaps left as UK firms focus on eco-sectors, but ultimately the primary markets are going to be based around eco-friendly industries.

'There will be significant first or early mover advantages for firms that will come with medium to longer-term benefits. There are direct and indirect drivers behind this.

'Direct reflect consumers who favour more eco-friendly goods and services combined with policy alterations encouraging or driving supply-side alterations.

'Indirect would include pension funds removing non-eco activities from their portfolios.

'In some sectors, there is race between companies to develop product/service differentiation based on the application of circular economy approaches.'

He went on: 'This type of eco-focussed competition will become much more common.

'There are many examples of firms benefiting from transitioning before they are forced to change.

'For example, one UK manufacturing firm shifted from a dependence on virgin metals as a core production input sourced from South America to using recycled metal.

'They set up their own refining plant based on reprocessing metal obtained from a 100 mile radius around the plant.

'The outcome is that this company avoided both price escalation in containers and delays at UK ports.

'Other companies invested in enhancing energy efficiency and initially this enhanced profits, and more recently has enabled these firms to continue to produce whilst their more energy-intensive competitors have experienced significant energy cost problems.

'The non-eco friendly activities will increasingly come with additional costs as the shift towards more carbon-light living intensifies.'

Associate Professor in Political Economy at Birmingham University Dr Huw Macartney said it was a 'possibility' firms from abroad could profit from the move.

Red tape that could see businesses flee Britain: What does Mr Sunak's plan force firms to do? Hundreds of Britain's biggest firms will be forced to go green under plans to tackle climate change. Rishi Sunak unveiled wide-ranging proposals to 'rewire' the economy towards reducing global warming. The package will see trillions of pounds of assets controlled by the City of London redirected away from carbon-intensive sectors like coal and oil towards initiatives such as electric car batteries. But it will also impose requirements on all UK-listed companies to set out proposals to 'transition' towards net zero in the coming decades, with firms assessed annually against their published plans. Those that fail to make enough progress, or whose plans are deemed too weak, could face sanctions including fines or even removal from the stock exchange. Ministers hope the scheme will lead to a rapid shift away from investment in polluting industries and help drive progress towards the Government's target of making the UK carbon neutral by 2050. The Treasury said the plan would make the City 'the world's first net zero-aligned financial centre'. But the compulsion is likely to prove controversial with some, and could have big consequences for firms in sectors such as oil, gas and mining  BP, Shell and mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore are among those listed in London. The deal with 450 of the world's biggest banks, pension funds and insurance firms will see almost 100billion worth of assets begin to 'transition' to lower carbon sectors. At present, firms are under no obligation to go green. A recent assessment found that barely half of all companies on the FTSE 100 have so far made any commitment to move to net zero. Advertisement

He added: 'But there is so much pressure on investors - all around the world - to shift towards green-er strategies, and for (all) industries themselves to re-think their 'eco' policies, that the risk of greater competition from non-UK firms is, in my view, negligible in the long-run.'

Elsewhere City veteran Alasdair Haynes, chief executive of stock exchange Aquis, said it was 'good climate disclosures are put into companies' reports and accounts'.

But he warned there needs to be 'proportionality' because fast-growing firms 'face high costs to complete their reporting'.

Planet Mark CEO Steve Malkin continued: 'The Chancellor is absolutely right to say it's essential for the UK's largest firms and financial institutions to go net zero, and that their efforts should be scrutinised.

'However, the government must also look to provide more practical support to all businesses, especially SMEs, so they can not only start reducing emissions but consistently do so, ideally getting every company to net zero by at least 2050 or sooner.

'Over the last three months leading to COP, thousands of businesses right across the UK have told us during our Zero Carbon Tour, supported by BEIS, that they want to play their part in the fight against climate change.

'They are being asked to respond to corporate and government demands for their own net zero commitments but many do not know where to start or understand the practical steps they must undertake to reduce, measure and report their emissions.

'There is an urgent need to provide more guidance and support on how all businesses across the UK, not just the largest corporates, can decarbonise to benefit the environment and society, especially hard pressed SMEs who doing so much for our economy and are here to support out zero carbon transition.'

Vice Chair of Metals and Mining at WoodMac Julian Kettle said: 'I've previously highlighted the implausibility of carbon emission reduction by 2030 that is consistent with achieving net zero by 2050.

'The deck is very much stacked against mining companies, who are aware of the challenges of developing supply, yet investors, policy-makers and wider society are seemingly unwilling to assist in enabling faster development.

'Greater recycling will undoubtedly be part of the solution, but primary extraction will carry the lion's share of the load.

'Even if all these stars were to align, the sheer number of projects that would need to be developed concurrently presents a new problem: it would stretch the capacity of every function required to deliver them.

'A perfect storm of demand for all disciplines, from mining engineers to regulatory and permitting departments, suppliers and contractors, would make the challenge insurmountable.'

And Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme Ben Caldecott added: '[It's] exciting to see the sheer quantity of new net zero commitments from banks and investors.

'$130 trillion of assets with net zero targets is a 25-fold increase since the UK took on the COP26 Presidency in 2019.

'But we urgently need to focus on the quality and integrity of these promises, not simply their quantity.

'And we need to ensure that commitments actually support the real economy transition.

'The @antonioguterres's announcement to convene a group to examine these issues is timely.

'I do urge some perspective on #GFANZ $130trn. Almost none of the assets are net zero today. $130trn hasn't been promised for deployment into climate solutions.

'These assets are not fossil fuel free and new fossil infra is still being financed. We have lots more to do together!'

Mr Sunak promised to turn the UK into what he said will be the world's first net-zero aligned financial centre.

He said listed companies in the UK will need to publish a transition plan that sets out their path to green their businesses.

Those that fail to make enough progress, or whose plans are deemed too weak, could face sanctions including fines or even removal from the stock exchange.

Critics of Mr Sunak's plans fear they could lead to firms quitting the City of London to avoid the red tape.

The Chancellor arrived in Glasgow with former Bank of England governor Mark Carney ahead of a speech to delegates this morning.

Boris Johnson clashes with Labour's Angela Rayner over climate change at PMQs Boris Johnson today clashed with Angela Rayner over climate change. The PM brushed aside the Labour deputy leader's claim he was failing to persuade world leaders of the importance of COP26. He said she was 'completely in ignorance of the basic facts' and added the UK has cut its emissions by 40 per cent since 1990. But he did welcome the 'broad thrust' of her comments, adding: 'There is a lot more to do, and there she is right.' Earlier Ms Rayner said Mr Johnson's party was 'failing to make up its minds' on coal mines in Britain. Meanwhile Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked the PM to confirm Britain's negotiation team were 'seriously concerned' about China's emissions targets not going 'fast enough or far enough'. Mr Johnson hit back: 'What is happening with China is very important, but it's a mixed picture. It's important not to be too negative at present. He's right about the domestic Chinese coal fire production and we're hoping for progress there. 'What is interesting is that when China made the commitment to stop the overseas financing on coal, that had an instant impact of many of China's friends and partners.' Advertisement

Ninety One Plc, a global investment manager based in London and Cape Town, warned a slow transition to tackle climate change was needed.

CEO Hendrik du Toit told Bloomberg: 'If we stop all financing of what I would call dirty assets, then other forms of finance will come in, own them and not transition at all. That is the real risk.'

Gunther Thallinger, the chair of the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance, said: 'The transformation way from fossil energy is driven by [these] science-based pathways.

'Such an approach allows for not only a viable, but also a just transition. A simple 'no investment in fossil energy - especially oil and gas' would create social and economic inequities, and thus would ultimately slow down the crucial transition into renewable energy.'

He added: 'Alliance members are already changing their investment decision-making, enabling them to work effectively with others on the transformation at the beginning of this decisive decade.

'With science-based short-term targets for portfolio emission reductions; sector emission intensity reductions; company engagement; and financing the transition, plus neutral target-monitoring established in the form of a UN-led secretariat, we have made robust first steps.'

Director of Sustainable Capital PLC Professor Kevin Haines said there was a risk smaller firms would not be able to make the leap as easily as large ones.

He said: 'While big corporations can dedicate whole teams to meeting net zero targets and complying with regulations, smaller businesses don't have the capacity to process this.

'The issue is that we have a web of regulations and goals at present that are challenging for businesses and investors to understand.

'If it is difficult for large companies to comply, it is virtually impossible for those with fewer staff and resources to do so.

'There are 5.5 million small businesses in the UK, accounting for three-fifths of employment and around half of the turnover in the UK private sector.

'We need to drive down the cost of technologies such as electric vehicles and heat pumps; small businesses have a crucial part to play in doing so due to their ability to be highly innovative and agile.

'Their capacity for innovation will be critical in producing the renewable technologies required to meet net zero targets.

'It is therefore vital that we place small businesses at the heart of the conversations around mobilising finance.'

He told the conference more public investment is needed to fight climate change, but that governments also need help from the private sector.

Global Witness warned the system needed regulation and called for the pledges to be monitored so it was not 'doomed to fail'.

Head of forests policy and advocacy Veronica Oakeshott said: 'Banks and financiers are the lifeblood of the fossil fuel companies and destructive agribusinesses fuelling the climate crisis - so it's right that focus should be on them at COP26.

'However, today's announcement by banks risks amounting to more greenwashing if it's not legally binding.'

Senior economist at Positive Money David Barmes companies were still 'pouring billions into environmentally harmful projects'.

Meanwhile founder of Carbon Tracker Initiative Mark Campanale called for more details of the plans.

He said: 'None of the financial assets announced are currently aligned with net-zero and no group of companies can say they are meeting the Paris target by continuing to invest in fossil fuels, so that needs to change considerably before London can be lauded as the world's first net-zero financial centre and a model for the world.'

Shaun Spiers, executive director of environmental think tank Green Alliance, said: 'Private sector investment is vital, but it will be much easier to achieve on the back of serious investment by the chancellor.'

Earlier chief executive of Natwest Ms Rose told the BBC they had started measuring emissions on a balance sheet.

She said it was working with oil and gas firms 'to develop credible transition plans so we can track progress and work with our customers'.

But she said its main aim was to help small firms where there were 'real business opportunities' in 'adopting sustainable supply chain [and] sustainable business practices'.

Mr Sunak's move comes after years of uncertainty for the financial centre after Brexit and Covid, which among other factors has seen millions of employees working from home rather than the heart of the City.

Ministers hope the scheme will lead to a rapid shift away from investment in polluting industries and help drive progress towards the Government's target of making the UK carbon neutral by 2050.

The Treasury said the plan would make the City 'the world's first net zero-aligned financial centre'.

But the compulsion is likely to prove controversial with some, and could have big consequences for firms in sectors such as oil, gas and mining  BP, Shell and mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore are among those listed in London.

The Confederation of British Industry gave the idea a cautious welcome last night, saying business was already 'upping its game'.

But the trade body warned it was vital ministers work with colleagues abroad to produce 'globally consistent' rules to prevent British-based firms being penalised.

Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief economist, said the moves were 'steps in the right direction' but that it was critical they did not apply only in the UK.

'These need to be followed up with further action from policy makers to develop globally consistent climate and sustainability disclosure standards,' she said.

Sam Alvis, of the Green Alliance, said 'trillions of dollars are still flowing to fossil fuels every day and voluntary measures have not got us far enough'.

He added the new system would have to have 'strict criteria with legal bite'.

The arrangement, known as the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, will see firms responsible for 40 per cent of all global investment sign up to net zero goals.

Mr Sunak's deal with 450 of the world's biggest banks, pension funds and insurance firms will see the assets begin to 'transition' to lower carbon sectors.

At present, firms are under no obligation to go green. A recent assessment found barely half of all on the FTSE 100 have made any commitment to move to net zero.

Under the new arrangement, a 'transition plan taskforce', composed of industry and academic leaders and regulators, will draw up standards that the plans must meet.

Sources said the quango is designed to prevent firms 'greenwashing' their records by adopting meaningless pledges. The rules will be introduced in 2023 following consultation with business.

The package will see trillions of pounds of assets controlled by the City of London redirected away from carbon-intensive sectors like coal and oil towards initiatives such as electric car batteries (stock image)

Mr Sunak also told the world this morning that more public money was needed to fund the global fight against climate change but the private sector needs to step up.

The Chancellor said developed governments are going to meet their six-year-old promise to send $100billion to developing countries in 2023.

He said: 'While we know we are not yet meeting it soon enough, we will work closely with developing countries to do more and to reach the target soon.'

But he added: 'Public investment alone isn't enough, so our second action is to mobilise private finance.'

The Chancellor announced financial institutions controlling 40 per cent of global assets will align themselves to the Paris Agreement's 1.5C limit for global warming.

He said: 'Six years ago Paris set the ambition. Today in Glasgow we're providing the investment we need to deliver that ambition.'

Mr Sunak was speaking ahead of Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, who said climate change is a huge opportunity for businesses.

She said: 'The old notions of why the private sector should decarbonise because the planet must be put before profit are no longer universally true.

'Green technologies have cost curves that continue to plunge, in many cases it is simply cost effective to go green.'

She added: 'Addressing climate change is the greatest economic opportunity of our time.'
While COP26 president Alok Sharma spearheads the response to the climate crisis in Glasgow and preaches to the world about cutting carbon emissions from cars, four hundred miles away he has two gas-guzzling SUVs parked on the driveway of his 1.6million Berkshire home, MailOnline can reveal.

As he pressed the flesh with world leaders and influential business figures to implement measures that could force the public switch to expensive electric cars, the two-diesel powered Volvo SUVs pictured on Mr Sharma's property barely meet current environmental standards for British roads.

A spokesperson for the COP26 President admitted to MailOnline: 'As he has said on several occasions, Mr Sharma has promised he will be getting rid of his diesel car and replacing it with an electric one as soon as he has time after the COP.'

Mr Sharma also revealed in an interview earlier this year on BBC Newsnight: 'I actually have a diesel car along with millions of other people.

'I don't drive it very much. I take public transport from Reading into London every day. I can assure you my next car will almost certainly be an electric vehicle.'

While COP26 president Alok Sharma spearheads the response to the climate crisis in Glasgow and preaches to the world about cutting carbon emissions from cars, four hundred miles away he has two gas-guzzling SUVs parked on the driveway of his 1.6million Berkshire home

Alok Sharma, President for Cop26, speaking at the summit at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow

Both vehicles seen on his drive fall miserably short of current CO2 emissions levels meaning that if Mr Sharma were to drive either of them to his central London Government office, he would have to pay 12.50 per car for entering the Ultra Low Emissions Zone, which is designed to penalise drivers of high polluting vehicles.

According to the DVLA vehicle checking website, one of the 2011 registered Volvo cars on Mr Sharma's drive emits 184 grammes of CO2 per kilometre while the other, a 2005 Volvo emits a whopping 239 grammes per kilometre.

Last year, the average British car emitted around 112.8 grammes of CO2 per kilometre with future targets set to bring that figure down to zero as the Government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

Motoring lobby groups accused Mr Sharma of 'blatant hypocrisy' for owning a diesel car while trying to implement COP26 polices to cut emissions and force many drivers to splash out on costly electric motors.

Brian Gregory, Policy Director of the Alliance of British Drivers said: 'Mr Sharma's ownership of a diesel car is a prime example of 'do as I say, not do as I do.'

COP26 President Alok Sharma wearing a face mask chairs the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow

'The Government is telling us to buy electric cars, but senior ministers don't have them themselves. It's blatant hypocrisy. The joke is that Mr Sharma wouldn't even be able to drive his car into central London without paying the ULEZ charge, so it doesn't surprise me that he gets the train to work. I would do the same.'

As Mr Sharma was locked in discussions on saving the planet during the two-week global climate summit, his wife Ingelawas seen by MailOnline driving one of the diesel-powered SUVs as she returned from home from a shopping trip.

Mr Sharma's admission to owning a diesel car is the latest in a string of controversies to have marred COP26 with leading politicians and influential business figures slammed for arriving in Scotland from around the world in carbon churning private jets.

According to some estimates, more than 400 private jets have ferried them to the two-week conference, with hundreds more delegates arriving on scheduled flights.

Mr Gregory added: 'There's a huge amount of hypocrisy about this whole climate crisis issue. People are jetting in from all over the world and causing more CO2 emissions. Why couldn't they have just done this on Zoom?

'Sadly, motorists are paying the price as more restrictions are introduced by politicians responding to climate change. My message to Mr Sharma is stop pulling the wool over our eyes and stop being a hypocrite.'
Jonathan Van-Tam today warned Britons that another Christmas lockdown could be on the cards if people act like the Covid crisis is over.

England's deputy chief medical officer said there were 'hard months to come' and the country's infection rate was 'running hot' already heading into what is expected to be a tough winter for the NHS.

In one of his now-famous analogies, he added: 'The final whistle on Covid hasn't blown yet.'

He urged the nation to behave responsibly and emphasised the importance of face masks  but did not outright call for their enforced return in public spaces.

Addressing the nation in a Q&A this morning, Professor Van-Tam told BBC Breakfast: 'Too many people believe that this pandemic is now over. I personally feel there are some hard months to come in the winter and it is not over.

'Christmas and indeed all of the darker winter months are potentially going to be problematic.'

Asked about how another festive lockdown can be prevented, he said it depended on 'how cautious we are' and the UK's vaccination drives. He urged people to come forward for their booster and flu jabs when invited.

No10 is rolling out booster vaccines to over-50s and vulnerable patients, as well as jabs for children aged 12.

But the Government has said it will have to implement its winter 'Plan B', including the return of coverings, working from home and vaccine passports at large events, if the NHS comes under 'unsustainable' pressure over the coming months.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, says there are still 'hard months to come' and the country was 'running hot' too early in autumn

No10's vaccine advisory panel member says it's 'far too early' to follow US in jabbing children as young as FIVE It is 'far too early' for the UK to begin jabbing children as young as five, a member of No10's vaccine advisory group said today, after the US yesterday confirmed it would press ahead with the rollout. Professor Jeremy Brown, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said the UK medicines regulator is yet to examine data on whether Britain should begin jabbing five to 11-year-olds. But he said there may be a case for jabbing vulnerable youngsters and the decision whether to vaccinate the whole age group will depend on infection rates at the time. It comes after the US last night said it would go ahead with vaccinating children aged five to 11 with the Pfizer jab. The UK has so far limited its vaccine programme to over-12s. The JCVI advised the Government against the move, finding the margin of benefit to jabbing everyone in the age group was too small. But the chief medical officers in the UK's four nations decided to go ahead with the jabs to reduce disruption to their education. Just one in five children aged 12 to 16 had received a single dose by October 24, according to the most recent official figures. And England's deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said today that expanding the rollout to under-12s in the UK is 'some way down the tracks'. Advertisement

There are signs infections are already starting to come down and No10's expert advisory panel has said that if people's behaviour remains cautious then the NHS should not be pushed to the brink by Covid this winter.

Daily infections in England fell below 30,000 yesterday for the first time in weeks and, across the UK, cases have fallen in nine of the last 10 days.

There is cautious optimism that rising immunity in children is starting to take effect.

Asked what stage of the 'game' Britain is with Covid, Professor Van-Tam told BBC Breakfast: 'I would say we're kind of half-time in extra time, and I think the final whistle in terms of  I can't predict it  but my personal view is that we've got a few more months to run, and I think we'll be in a much calmer set of waters by spring.

'But I think, until then  caution, be very careful, this is not quite over and vaccines, boosters, really important.'

He added: 'I think a whole range of behaviours, including the use of face coverings, but generally the caution that people take or don't take in terms of interacting with each other  that is going to be a big determinant in what happens between now and the kind of darkest months of the winter.

'The other things that are going to be really important are how people respond if they are in need of a booster, if they are in need of flu vaccine, if they are partially vaccinated, or indeed if they are unvaccinated  that will be another really important factor in terms of what happens over the next few months.'

The leading scientist said the UK still has 'very high' rates of Covid.

He said: 'It's of concern to scientists that we are running this hot this early in the autumn season.

'And so, from that perspective, I'm afraid it's caution, followed by caution, and we need to watch these data very carefully indeed over the next days and weeks.'

Turning specifically to the figures, Professor Van-Tam said hospital admissions have plateaued in the last four days, while there has been a small drop in the number of patients being treated for Covid on wards.

Official data shows there were 1,002 UK hospitalisations on October 29, which marked the fifth day in a row of four-digit admissions.

'What that tells me is that we have to just wait and see a bit longer  this could be a pause before things go up, it could be the very first signs that things are beginning to stabilise but at a high rate,' he said.

'On cases, they are now starting to fall, but that mainly reflects the fact that this big wave we've had in teenagers is now starting to slip away.

'But my worry is that the deaths are increasing and that shows that the infection is now starting to penetrate into those older age groups.

'And that's why the really key thing is that if you are called for your booster, if you are called for your flu vaccine, please go and get them  this could be really very important this winter, it is not the time to be complacent.'

Professor Van-Tam urged the NHS and the Government to make it clearer to people when their booster shot may be coming up, adding it is not yet known if people will need repeat boosters in the future.

He said 'of course everyone wants to go faster' on the booster programme, 'but we are now picking up really quite considerable momentum'.

Experts yesterday warned Britain's Covid booster jab drive is still going too slowly.

Official figures show 1.6million people in England were given their third dose last week, a slight improvement for the sluggish drive that was only reaching 1.1million every seven days at the start of October.

Professor Van-Tam said decisions on making face masks mandatory in England is a question for ministers, including in places such as the House of Commons.

He said: 'I don't think I'm in a position to judge every single type of interaction that occurs in any work premises, including the House of Commons.'

While he said he is in favour of masks being worn in some settings, he said the Department for Education advice is that, generally speaking, face masks should not be worn in schools.

He added: 'I can see that they could be quite inhibitory to the natural expressions of learning in children involving speech and facial expression. I think it's difficult for children in schools with face masks.'

And asked about whether 12- to 17-year-olds may be given a second dose in the future, he said the Joint Commission for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is still considering the decision.

He said the age group was recommended for just a single dose and second jabs would be given to 16- to 17-year-olds first if the JCVI recommend extra doses.

The JCVI is moving 'slowly and cautiously', he said, and there is 'plenty of time for decisions to be made on second doses'.
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Jeff Bezos's 48million Gulf Stream led a stampede of private jets out of COP26 last night, as the billionaire Amazon founder flew 4,442miles back to Seattle.

Joining the exodus of executive and government planes leaving the climate conference yesterday were the UAE and Bahrain royal families and delegations from Japan, India, Brazil, Israel, Russia and Australia.

Joe Biden's Air Force One forced six commercial flights to burn fuel as they circled Edinburgh for 30 minutes while waiting for it to leave.

Around a dozen private flights were within the UK - mainly to London - while others went to popular haunts of the super-rich such as Cannes and Bern, the capital city of Switzerland.

MailOnline observed 41 private planes leave yesterday between 2pm and 11pm  the majority of them rental services making it hard to identify who was on board.

Estimates suggest 400 have travelled to and from COP26 in total. The scenes have prompted claims of hypocrisy - particularly when most of the routes they are taking are already covered by commercial airlines.

Boris Johnson touched down in Stansted late last night after making the 400-mile flight from Glasgow in his Union flag-embossed Airbus A321.

The Prime Minister defended the decision, saying 'time constraints' ruled out taking the train. Flying between the two cities takes approximately an hour, versus four hours and a half using the direct rail route into Euston.

MailOnline observed 41 private jets leave in total yesterday between 2pm and 11pm  the majority of them rental services making it hard to identify who was on board

Amazon airways: Jeff Bezos' Gulfstream private jet - which reportedly cost him 48million - arrives at Prestwick Airport near Glasgow on Sunday

Mr Bezos met Prince Charles this week to discuss climate change. He tweeted: 'The Prince of Wales has been involved in fighting climate change and protecting our beautiful world far longer than most. We had a chance to discuss these important issues on the eve of #COP26  looking for solutions to heal our world, and how the @BezosEarthFund can help'

Heads of state from across the globe made their exit after an intense start to the week in Glasgow, but left their negotiation teams behind yesterday to continue to thrash out the detail on how to save the world from the perils of climate change.

Mr Biden was pictured boarding Air Force One at Edinburgh airport. He waved goodbye to the UK after saying he couldn't think of any two days when more progress has been achieved in dealing with climate.

At a press conference before leaving Glasgow, Mr Biden said it was important to step up the pace when it came to tackling global warming.

'Glasgow must be the start of a decisive decade of action so that we can keep 1.5 in the region. We have to keep accelerating our progress,' he said.

'For our part, the United States is going to keep raising the ambition and delivering a goal that we are reducing US emissions by 50% from the 2005 level by 2030.

'I can't think of any two days more has been accomplished dealing with climate than these past two days.'

Mr Biden added that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a mistake in failing to appear at the Cop26 talks.

Scores of private jets were pictured arriving for COP26 earlier this week. Pictured is one at Prestwick Airport

A Cessna 421C Golden Eagle lands at Prestwick Airport on Tuesday. Attendees have been accused of hypocrisy for using private jets on routes served by commercial aircraft

Jeff Bezos is accused of being a climate hypocrite for lecturing COP26 about cutting emissions after flying in on his 48million private jet Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos has been accused of hypocrisy after telling world leaders that going to space made him realise 'how thin the globe's atmosphere is' and 'the private sector must also play its part to reduce carbon emissions'. The billionaire has been criticised by Prince William among others for the amount of fossil fuel that space exploration consumes - and arrived at the UN climate change summit in his 48m private jet, fresh from celebrating Microsoft founder Bill Gates' 66th birthday on a 2million-a-week superyacht off the coast of Turkey. Speaking yesterday, billionaire Mr Bezos, who earlier this year made a short journey to space in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard, pledged $2billion (1.47 billion) for land restoration in Africa, paid as part of the Bezos Earth Fund. He told delegates: 'I was told that seeing the Earth from space changes the lens through which you see the world. But I was not prepared for how much that would be true. Looking back at earth from up there, the atmosphere seems so thin. The world so finite and so fragile. Now in this critical year, and what we all know is the decisive decade, we must all stand together to protect our world.' Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, was among Mr Bezos's critics today, calling him a 'hypocrite' and writing: 'Amazon has a carbon footprint larger than most countries.' US Republican Congress candidate Lavern Spicer said: 'While you're busy at home turning off lights and keeping your thermostat down, Jeff Bezos's $65m Gulf Stream just lead a parade of 400 private jets into COP26. WE are the joke they're LAUGHING at!' Other commenters told the tycoon to 'just pay your taxes' and said the fact that he was giving a lecture on green issues after going into space was 'an example of how the one per cent live differently to the rest of us'. Mr Bezos, who has not yet been since with the Duke of Cambridge at the gathering, had previously indicated the investment would be $1billion (732million) at an event with William's father the Prince of Wales on Monday. Advertisement

He said: 'We showed up. By showing up, I think we had a profound impact on the way, I think, the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership.

'I think it has been a mistake, quite frankly, with respect to China, not showing up.

'They have the lost the ability to influence people around the world and here in Cop. The same way I would argue with Russia.'

Elsewhere at the conference yesterday, Boris Johnson said he is 'cautiously optimistic' about the prospects for a deal at crucial international talks in Glasgow to curb global warming.

The Prime Minister welcomed a series of announcements by the assembled leaders on deforestation and emissions.

But he stressed there was still a long way to go if they were to get an agreement that would keep alive the prospect set out in the Paris Agreement of restricting world temperature rises to 1.5C.

Ahead of the summit, Mr Johnson suggested that humanity was 5-1 down at half-time in the battle against climate change.

He said yesterday: 'We've pulled back a goal, or perhaps even two, and I think we are going to be able to take this thing to extra-time, because there's no doubt that some progress has been made.'

He added that while the 'doomsday clock is still ticking', they now had a bomb disposal team on site and 'they're starting to snip the wires - I hope some of the right wires'.

The Prime Minister welcomed commitments made by scores of leaders attending the summit to halt and reverse deforestation and to cut methane emissions.

In particular, he highlighted a pledge by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to slash his country's carbon emissions by switching half its power grid to renewable sources.

He also acknowledged, however, that the issue of climate finance had yet to be resolved - despite a 10 billion dollar (7.3 billion) commitment from Japan over five years.

Mr Johnson said the richer nations were still behind on a commitment first made at Paris in 2015 to transfer 100 billion dollars (73 billion) a year to developing countries to support sustainable development and mitigate the inevitable effects of global warming.

'What I've been asking for, as you know, is action on coal, cars, cash and trees, and after just a couple of days we can certainly begin to tick three of those boxes,' the Prime Minister said.

Mr Johnson was returning to London after end of the two-day leaders' event which opened the summit, but he made it clear he would continue to be engaged.

In a message to the remaining teams who will get down to the task of detailed negotiations, he said: 'The eyes of the world are on you - the eyes of the British Government and all the other governments that care about this - and we have got your numbers.'

Joe Biden left Glasgow yesterday as he jetted home after just 48 hours at the Cop26 summit. Air Force One forced six commercial flights to burn fuel as they circled Edinburgh for 30 minutes while waiting for it to leave

The US President was among those to depart on Tuesday evening, after saying he couldn't think of any two days when more progress has been achieved in dealing with climate

Downing Street said the talks were beginning to gather 'significant momentum' but cautioned that there was still some difficult negotiations ahead.

'What is vital is that we continue to use the entire two weeks of Cop to push forward to get success at all levels,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

'There will be some very difficult negotiations in the coming days. We are not complacent. This is not a done deal by any means.'

The scale of the differences were underlined by Mr Modi demanding that developed countries make one trillion US dollars in future climate finance 'as soon as possible today'.

Mr Johnson said it was important not to get caught up in a mood of 'exaggerated enthusiasm' generated by a gathering like Cop26 and to guard against 'false hope'.

However, US climate envoy John Kerry said he had never seen such urgency, commitment or energy in climate talks.

'We've already achieved an enormous amount at Cop, in ambition, money, a whole bunch of new initiatives,' he said.

'Frankly, we're a day and a half into this and I've seen more energy and more commitment and more urgency than I've ever seen, and I've been doing this since 1988.'
Cleo Smith's elated mother has made a poignant edit to her 18-day-old Facebook post which put out an appeal for her little girl's disappearance, adding the final heartwarming message she was 'home with her family'.

The missing four-year-old was found at 12.45am on Wednesday alone in a bedroom in a locked and rundown house in the Carnarvon suburb of Brockman in Western Australia, after disappearing from her family's tent during a camping trip.

Police had rammed down the door to find the little girl alive and well before Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine, who was one of four officers to rescue the child, asked her three times to tell him her name.

Ellie Smith was regularly pleading for help from her followers as well as updating them with key information during her family's ordeal, updating a single post as the days ticked on.

On Wednesday evening she updated the message for the last time, adding in all caps: 'FINAL EDIT- HOME WITH HER FAMILY'.

Cleo's mother (pictured, together) subtly made a poignant edit to a long-running Facebook post when their nightmare ordeal was finally over

On Wednesday evening Cleo's mum updated the message for the last time, adding in all caps: 'FINAL EDIT- HOME WITH HER FAMILY'

Cleo Smith (pictured after being rescued by police) is 'physically OK' according to police as the four-year-old is released from hospital and taken back to her family

Ellie Smith and her partner Jake Giddon (pictured) had earlier made desperate attempts through the media for Cleo's abductor to bring the four-year-old home

Ellie's cousin also took to social media to celebrate the homecoming of the four-year-old after an 18-day ordeal that looked to be moving closer to tragedy.

'Cleo is finally home!!' Chelsea Smith posted to her Facebook account.

'Words can't describe the feeling to know she is safe & healthy & back where she belongs with her amazing mummy. Ellie finally has her princess back!'

The Smiths were inundated with ecstatic replies from friends and family who shared in the joy of seeing Cleo come home.

'CLEO is back with her family... The whole of Australia were behind you guys in tears & devastation & now it's thru tears & love that we wish you well for the future,' one person commented.

'The most beautiful news to wake up to this morning, thinking of you guys, it will only get better from here,' another friend replied.

'I have cried for you all today like this was my own child! I'm so glad she is safe now with her family, and the outcome is the one we all prayed for!' a well-wisher said.

Ellie's cousin (pictured) also took to social media to celebrate the homecoming of the four-year-old after an 18-day ordeal that looked to be moving closer to tragedy

WA Police released the first photo of Cleo after she was found at a home in Carnarvon on Wednesday morning, having been missing for 18 days - police say she is 'physically OK'

The host of The Project said the photo of Cleo smiling from her hospital bed 'broke' her and admitted to crying when she heard the incredible news - before later breaking down again on the show

Earlier on Wednesday night's The Project Carrie Bickmore burst into tears as the hosts discussed the incredible footage of Cleo being rescued by police officers.

The host of The Project said the photo of Cleo smiling from her hospital bed 'broke' her and admitted to crying when she heard the incredible news.

'That photo broke me today. It was a collective sigh of relief and a quiet sob this morning,' Bickmore said. 'She's such a sweetheart.'

She was later lost for words, wiping tears away from her eyes as her co-hosts continued to talk about the incredible work WA Police did in finding the lost child.

Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said there were 'tears from Commissioner Dawson all through WA Police'.

'We always hoped this would be the outcome, in our hearts,' he said.

'We know our colleagues got more desperate and they made the breakthrough when they needed to.'

Police say the 36-year-old man in custody was not previously on the sex offender's list despite locals saying he had an 'unhealthy interest in children'

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine replied: 'without a doubt'

Det Sgt. Blaine, the policeman who first found Cleo, said he asked for her name three separate times to confirm it was the missing girl.

'I just wanted to be absolutely sure that, it certainly looks like Cleo, I wanted to be sure it was her,' he said.

'I said, "what is your name?' She didn't answer, I asked three times and then she looked at me and said, 'my name is Cleo.' And that was it.

'Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that, we got into the car and the officer I was with called Cleo's parents and said ''we've got someone here that wants to speak to you''.

'They were ecstatic.'

Cleo cried out 'mummy' as she finally returned to her mother's arms having not seen her family in an agonising 18 days.

Mr Blaine described the little girl as an 'energiser bunny' and confirmed she was physically unharmed when she was found.

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, the sergeant replied: 'without a doubt'.
Working holidaymakers to Australia could be entitled to a tax refund, with the High Court deeming the government's backpacker levy discriminatory.

People on working holiday visas are required to pay a 15 per levy on income up to $37,000 under a controversial backpacker tax introduced in 2017.

British backpacker Catherine Addy on Wednesday succeeded in her High Court appeal against the Australian Taxation Office.

The court on Wednesday found the levy imposed a more burdensome tax requirement of Ms Addy because of her nationality.

Australian taxpayers are entitled to a tax-free threshold for the first $18,200 earned.

The backpacker rule was deemed to contravene a treaty with the United Kingdom requiring British nationals not be treated more onerously than Australians for tax purposes.

People on working holiday visas are required to pay a 15 per levy on income up to $37,000 under a controversial backpacker tax introduced in 2017 (stock image)

'The tax rate was more onerous for Ms Addy, a national of the United Kingdom, than it was for an Australian national in the same circumstances - doing the same work, earning the same income, under the same ordinary taxation laws,' the court said.

Australia has tax treaties with more than 40 countries and there are implications for those updated since 2003, when a non-discrimination clause was incorporated into agreements.

Tax law expert Mike Kobetsky says it means working holidaymakers who came to Australia from countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Chile, Turkey, Germany and Israel could be entitled to a refund.

'It was a tax that was improperly collected from them,' the Australian National University professor told AAP.

'The government would have received advice on the backpacker tax and it was obviously flawed advice.'

British backpacker Catherine Addy on Wednesday succeeded in her High Court appeal against the Australian Taxation Office (pictured, Sydney, where she had been working)

Ms Addy was in Australia on a working holiday visa between 2015 and 2017.

In 2017, she worked as a waitress in Sydney and was an Australian resident for tax purposes.

'(Ms Addy) paid around $5000 in tax under the backpacker scheme, and as a resident, I think it was a little bit under $2000,' Professor Kobetsky said.

'It's fairly minor amounts, but for individuals at the time they're relatively impecunious.'

The government has boosted funding to help renegotiate tax treaties and form new ones.

'It's not a good look that we're discriminating, we're allowing benefits to taxpayers from certain countries because they have new tax treaties with Australia.

'And we're saying to taxpayers who work here under the scheme from our older tax treaty countries you're going to be subject to a worse result.'

The Federal Court in 2019 ruled against the backpacker tax.

This was overturned in the ATO's successful appeal that the High Court ordered be dismissed.

The ATO said it was considering the latest decision and would provide further guidance as soon as possible.

'Most working holidaymakers will be non-residents as they are in Australia to have a holiday and working to support that holiday,' it said.

'This decision will not change the tax rates for the majority of working holidaymakers.'

It encouraged working holidaymakers who may have been affected to check with the ATO before lodging an amended tax return or objection.
Attempts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal will fail unless President Joe Biden can guarantee that the U.S. will not again walk away from an agreement, said the head of the country's Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday.

Biden arrived back at the White House in the early hours, after discussing how to handle Iran with other world leaders at the G20 summit over the weekend.

He said the U.S. would only renege on a deal if Iran did not meet its commitments.

But Ali Shamkhani, one of the country's most senior security figures who is seen as a modernizer and moderate, suggested that was not good enough and that talks would only succeed if Biden could guarantee he would not abandon a deal.

'The U.S. President, lacking authority, is not ready to give guarantees. If the current status quo continues, the result of negotiations is clear,' he wrote in a tweet.

Iran and six world powers began talks in Vienna in April to reinstate the deal, which President Donald Trump abandoned three years ago.

They were suspended after anti-Western hardliner Ebrahim Raisi won presidential elections in June.

Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Iran's Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said nuclear talks were doomed to fail without Biden guarantees he would not walk away from a deal

President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the U.S. would make Iran pay 'economically' if they do not restart negotiations on resuming the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

But negotiations are expected to resume later this month.

Biden and three European leaders signaled that they were ready to return to the 2015 deal, if Iran limited its nuclear program and opened itself up to Inspections.

But their joint statement also made clear they would not ease sanctions until Tehran had begun drawing down on work that the international community believes is directed a developing nuclear weapons.

'This will only be possible if Iran changes course,' Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a joint statement.

'We call upon Raisi to seize this opportunity and return to a good faith effort to conclude our negotiations as a matter of urgency.

'That is the only sure way to avoid a dangerous escalation, which is not in any country's interest.'

In reaction to Trump's reimposition of sanctions, Tehran breached the deal by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.

A major sticking point in Vienna has been over Iran's requirement for the United States to give guarantees that it would not renege on the nuclear agreement in the future.

Biden spoke with world leaders at the G20 in Rome, Italy on Saturday about continued commitments to diplomacy in Iran. L-R: U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joe Biden

Biden campaigned in 2020 on returning to the Iran nuclear agreement and criticized Trump's decision during his Europe trip.

'We're continuing to suffer from the very bad decisions President Trump made to pull out of the JCPOA,' he said at press conference at the G20 in Rome, using the acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

He was also asked whether his administration will respond if Iran launches drone strikes or other provocation.

He answered: 'We are going to continue to respond.'

Biden spent much of his six-day Europe trip - to Rome and Glasgow - hammering the message that America was back, and ready to take on a position of global leadership.

He promised to lead by example on climate change as he sought to reverse negative perceptions about the U.S. role after Trump had angered some allies with his American First foreign policy.
A mum has been slapped with a 60 fine for going over her allotted parking time outside a Home Bargains because she was breastfeeding her baby.

Katie Sim, 31, was visiting the discount store in South Shields in September, but was unaware that its car park had time restrictions in place.

The science teacher unknowingly stayed 45 minutes beyond the 90-minute time limit as she was breastfeeding her four-month-old son Bobby.

Despite appealing the fine and explaining the circumstances, though, Ms Sim was left furious at the manner in which the parking company initially dismissed her appeal.

Katie Sim, 31, was fined 60 by ParkingEye after staying beyond the parking time limit outside a Home Bargains store in South Shields because she was breastfeeding her four-month-old son

The Home Bargains store in South Shields. ParkingEye operates the car park outside the discount store

A stock image of a Home Bargains store. Ms Sim had parked outside the a South Shields branch of the discount giants

ParkingEye, who operate the car park, has since cancelled the fine 'as a gesture of good will' after first claiming that her reasoning did not fit their appeal criteria.

The parking operator has been the focal point of annoyance for many drivers who claim they have been unfairly ticketed.

A furious father claimed he was given a 70 parking fine by ParkingEye after being stuck in a queue waiting to get out of a hospital car park for 45 minutes - having just taken his one-year-old son to be treated for a broken leg.

The same company insisted on fining a company director 20 even though she was having an NHS scan at the time and patients were allowed to park fore free in 2019.

Ms Sim said she found ParkingEye to be 'very disrespectful'.

She added: 'I was really upset with their response after I explained the circumstances.

How to appeal a parking fine issued by a private enforcement company 1 - Check if the company who fined you is accredited by the British Parking Association or the International Parking Community by checking the member lists on their websites. 2 - Write to the parking company to appeal the ticket, including any evidence you have that it was wrongly issued. 3 - If you are unhappy with their response then you can appeal to the independent arbitrators. 4 - If your appeal is rejected then you should pay or the parking company will take you to court. When you can pay you should write that you are 'paying under protest' and keep a copy. If you still think you were wrongly fined you can take the firm to small claims court to try and reclaim the money. Advertisement

'The signage was poor and I didnt know there was a restricted time to stay but the way they worded the appeal upset me the most and I found it very disrespectful.

'Theres nothing more important than feeding your child. Bobby is my second child Ive breastfed and I think theres still a stigma around breastfeeding in public.

'I know a lot of people who feel reluctant to breastfeed in public but I think its important to have support out there and not feel embarrassed to do it if needed.'

Ms Sims added that she had to stay beyond the time limit because her baby 'wouldn't settle'.

She continued: 'I was there for over two hours because I was getting shopping and the baby wouldn't settle so I walked around for a while, went back to the car and fed him and then had to go back for my shopping.

'I thought it was really insensitive. I understand why I got the fine but on the appeal they said there was no evidence. I'm not sure what evidence I'm supposed to send.

"I just can't believe the way it happened.'

Although the fine was eventually dropped, the teacher said the parking firm had asked her 'not to do it again as if it was still my fault'.

A spokesperson for Parkingeye said: 'The car park at Home Bargains in South Shields is monitored by ANPR camera systems and has prominent and highly-visible signs throughout displaying the terms and conditions of the parking facilities.

'The motorist parked for longer than the maximum stay period of 1 hour and 30 minutes and therefore received a Parking Charge Notice.

'However, following a review of the circumstances we have cancelled the charge as a gesture of good will.

'Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their Parking Charge Notice.

'If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing. All motorists are also entitled to a further appeal via POPLA, the independent body which reviews all cases.'
Thousands of women told they have 'long Covid' may in fact be suffering from the menopause, experts say.

Long Covid is an umbrella term for a range of persistent symptoms that can linger for months after someone has fought off the virus.

Survivors have complained of lasting fatigue, sleep problems and brain fog, among hundreds of other warning signs.

But researchers at the universities of Manchester and Warwick believe some of the hallmark long Covid symptoms in women could be down to 'the change'.

Writing in a comment piece, the academics claimed these had a 'significant overlap' with the menopause.

Long Covid is an un-defined condition including a whole suite of symptoms. But experts say many of its warning signs 'overlap' with the menopause (stock image)

The piece in The Lancet Regional Health, Europe was written by Dr Stuart Stewart, a population health expert at Manchester University.

The co-authors included Dr Louise Newson, a menopause specialist at the National Institute for Health Research, and Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist from Warwick Medical School.

The opinion piece was not based on a new study.

What are the long-term symptoms of Covid? Most coronavirus patients will recover within a fortnight, suffering a fever, cough and losing their sense of smell or taste for several days. However, evidence is beginning to show that the tell-tale symptoms of the virus can persist for weeks on end in 'long haulers'  the term for patients plagued by lasting complications. Long term symptoms include: Chronic tiredness

Breathlessness

Raised heart rate

Delusions

Strokes

Insomnia

Loss of taste/smell

Kidney disease

Mobility issues

Headaches

Muscle pains

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The academics wrote: 'Many symptoms of long Covid have a significant overlap with the perimenopause and menopause, both of which affect women of all ages.

'Such overlap may create diagnostic uncertainty and requires clinicians to assess for this additional diagnosis as it offers an opportunity to treat perimenopause and menopause symptoms with safe and effective hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

'Failure to recognise this overlap misses an opportunity to treat many debilitating symptoms affecting both physical and mental health.

'[And] also to reduce some women's risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity and possible dementia  all of which increase after the menopause.

'Furthermore it could lead to women with symptoms of the perimenopause and menopause being misdiagnosed with long Covid.'

Treatment for long Covid focuses on helping recovered patients to manage their symptoms through rehabilitation.

The NHS says this can help to 'manage' lingering symptoms of the virus.

But menopausal symptoms, such as night sweats and mood swings, can be eased with hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

The treatment, usually given as pills, gels or creams, works by boosting levels of hormones such as oestrogen, which naturally deplete over time.

Official figures suggest long Covid affects some 1.1million people in the UK, with women and those aged 50 to 69 years old most likely to suffer the condition should they catch the virus.

But the true scale of the problem is shrouded in mystery because experts say many studies have overblown the toll of the condition.

The NHS considers long Covid to be when someone suffers symptoms of the virus for more than 12 weeks after they have fought off the virus.

Patients who say they are suffering from the condition can seek advice from their GP, who may refer them to specialist services for checks.

Most women in the UK experience the menopause when they are 51 years old, but one in 100 have it before they are 40 years old.

A paper from King's College London published in December last year suggested there may be a link between the menopause and Covid.

Its findings suggested that post-menopausal women  who had lower oestrogen levels  were at a higher risk of catching the virus.

Researchers suggested the drop in the female sex hormone levels could have left them less well protected against the disease, and said it should be investigated.
A California middle school teacher was recorded telling students that Hunter Biden had sex with his niece and that hospitals are stealing babies from unvaccinated parents.

In the seven-minute recording taken on October 18, the unidentified female history teacher at Anacapa Middle School in Ventura can be heard ranting at her eighth grade class on subjects ranging from vaccines and government, child pornography, the presidency - and even an alleged instance of incest by President Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

The teacher, whose wild theories are closely aligned with those of far-right group QAnon, also heavily implied to her students that Donald Trump is still president, according to mom Sarah Silikula, whose son recorded her outburst.

'People need to wake up and see the government has way too much power right now,' the educator can be heard saying in the clip.

'Hunter Biden, for example, is doing deals with China and Ukraine and all these places where he was funneling money illegally.

'He also had child pornography on his laptop. He was having sexual intercourse with his own niece.'

The educator, whose identity has not been released, told her eight grade class Hunter Biden engaged in incest with cousin, laundered money and was caught with child pornography

The teacher also touched on vaccines during the tirade, suggesting that hospitals were secretly stealing babies from unvaccinated parents.

'If you have a baby in the hospital, they don't want to give it back if you're not vaccinated. This is a complete power control threat,' the teacher declared to the room of puzzled pupils.

The Anacapa Middle School teacher also made comments about the US justice system and the 2020 presidential election, where, at one point, a teacher's assistant can be heard suggesting to her colleague that she not discuss the election.

What's more, the schoolteacher also implied to the class that Donald Trump was still president.

In the full recording, obtained by DailyMail.com, she could be heard disputing recounts in the 2020 election, saying: 'I'm not saying the entire election (was rigged) but the states where the audits were done, yes.'

Sarah Silikula, the mother of the student who recorded the concerning comments, who had previously instructed her son to pull out his phone and start videotaping if he ever felt uncomfortable in class, told Los Angeles' CBS 2 that the impromptu lesson left her child confused and 'damaged.'

The concerning incident occurred two weeks ago at Anacapa Middle School in Ventura

Sarah Silikula, the mother of the student who recorded the concerning comments, who had previously instructed her son to pull out his phone and start videotaping if he ever felt uncomfortable in class, told Los Angeles' CBS 2 that the impromptu lesson left her child confused and 'damaged'

The female teacher said Hunter Biden, pictured working on one of his paintings, had sex with his niece

'He first got in the car and said, "Dad, teachers know everything," Silikula recalled to the outlet, adding that her son 'was very upset.'

Silikula then detailed how her son absorbed the teacher's comments, growing defiant against vaccines and offering his mother a skewed perspective on the current political climate.

'I'm never getting vaccinated,' the boy reportedly told his mom, before adding, 'I'm never getting any more shots of any kind. Did you know Trump's still president?'

'"Shes right, Dad. You're wrong."'

Silikula also revealed how the history instructor's comments harmed her relationship with her child, explaining that the youth believed his teacher's questionable statements.

'Hes damaged. Hes hurt. Hes scared. He doesnt trust his parents now. He thinks we lied to him,' Silikula said of her son.

'I mean, why? Why does that need to be said in this classroom full of children?' Silikula asked the outlet in the Tuesday interview.

The teacher also touched on vaccines during the alarming tirade, suggesting that hospitals were secretly stealing babies from unvaccinated parents

Outraged and upset over the contents of her son's recording, Silikula revealed that she alerted the school that day.

Her son has not attended school since, SIlikula revealed, saying she does not want her son to see the teacher, who she referred to as 'his abuser,' ever again.

She further told DailyMail.com that her son is scared to return to school as well, telling his parents that he fears running into the teacher.

After speaking with staffers, Silikula revealed to DailyMail.com that the school's principal, Mayra Vega Manriquez, subsequently begged the concerned mother not to speak with anyone else about the incident and wait for the school to conduct an internal investigation, which Silikula was told would take two weeks.

However, once the designated deadline for the internal probe arrived on Tuesday and the mother had not heard back, she decided to go public with the troubling recording.

After speaking with several outlets, Silikula says she was contacted by Ventura County's assistant superintendent Tuesday night, who assured her that he had spoken to Anacapa's HR department, and offered the vexed mother some vague consolation.

According to Silikula, during the Tuesday phone call, the assistant principal assured her that her son did not need to worry about running into the teacher when her returned to school.

Silikula responded by asking the assistant superintendent to put his guarantee in writing, and has not heard back since.

'I trusted her to teach him the facts about history and she went off on this rant like a preacher on a pulpit,' Silikula remarked.

DailyMail.com has contacted Ventura County School District for further comment.

The mother told DailyMail.com that she was concerned and upset by the fact that other parents of children in the class were unaware of the teacher's political comments in the classroom, priming her to act when confronted by the contents of her son's recording.

'Whatever anybody's political belief is, I respect. It's their belief,' Silikula told DailyMail.com, before adding: 'Dont impose it on my child who I trusted in your care.'

The Ventura Unified School District announced that they conducted an investigation into the incident, and no charges against the teacher were filed.

The district, however, did tell CBSLA that they do not condone the discussion that took place, and said that they are following the 'progressive discipline policy,' citing an ongoing agreement with the teachers' union, which would have the teacher in question notified of her wrongdoings and instructed on how to rectify her behavior in the classroom.

The school's superintendent also told Silikula that her son's class was moved to a different teacher after the incident, she revealed Tuesday.

The peeved parent, however, told CBSLA that the lesson she wants people to take from the occurrence is that a teacher's opinion - political or otherwise - should not be taught in the classroom.

As of Wednesday, the unnamed history teacher is still employed at the school, and has reportedly accepted responsibility for her contentious comments.
In newly revealed text messages to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the CEO of McDonald's appeared to blame the parents of two children who were shot and killed in the city, which is experiencing a dramatic spike in violent crime.

CEO Chris Kempczinski sent the controversial message to Lightfoot on April 19, after meeting with the Democrat at McDonald's headquarters in Chicago, texts revealed in a public records request show.

The message references the slaying of seven-year-old Jaslyn Adams, who was shot dead as she sat in her father's car at a McDonald's drive-thru in an apparent gangland ambush targeting the dad, and the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who dropped a gun to the ground less than a second before a cop fatally shot him during a foot chase at 2.30am.

Kempczinski's text calls them 'tragic shootings' and adds: 'With both, the parents failed those kids which I know is something you can't say. Even harder to fix.'

The CEO of McDonald's Chris Kempczinski appeared to blame the parents of two children who were shot and killed in the city, which is experiencing a dramatic spike in violent crime

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot privately thanked Kempczinski in response to his text message, but publicly she disavowed his remarks

The message references the slaying of seven-year-old Jaslyn Adams (left), who was shot dead as she sat in her father's car at a McDonald's drive-thru in an apparent gangland ambush targeting the dad, and the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo (right)

Lightfoot responded: 'Thanks, Chris. Great to see you in person. Such a great work space, and your folks were terrific. I said to Joe I would be happy to reach out to the operator to offer support. He and his team members have got to be traumatized. Terrible tragedy. Thanks again, Chris.'

The messages were revealed in a public records request from independent researcher Michael Kessler, who is investigating a separate police matter in Portland, Oregon in collaboration with Lucy Parson Labs.

In an internal memo to McDonald's US corporate employees seen by DailyMail.com, Kempczinski said that his remarks were emotional and regrettable.

'When I wrote this, I was thinking through my lens as a parent and reacted viscerally. But I have not walked in the shoes of Adam's or Jaslyn's family and so many others who are facing a very different reality,' Kempczinski wrote in the memo.

'Not taking the time to think about this from their viewpoint was wrong, and lacked the empathy and compassion I feel for these families. This is a lesson that I will carry with me,' he added.

Mayor Lightfoot disavowed the sentiment in Kempczinski's text message in a statement through a spokesperson.

'As the Mayor has said previously, families do everything they can  moms, dads, grandparents  to love and support their children, and tragedies can still happen,' the statement to the Chicago Tribune said. 'Victim shaming has no place in this conversation.'

The shooting deaths of Jaslyn and Adam both made national headlines, and both of their parents have had to respond to public scrutiny over what role they may have played in how the tragic events unfolded.

'When I wrote this, I was thinking through my lens as a parent and reacted viscerally. But I have not walked in the shoes of Adam's or Jaslyn's family and so many others who are facing a very different reality,' Kempczinski wrote in an internal memo

Jaslyn's father Jontae Adams, 29, has admitted knowing that he was a potential target for gang retaliation, but didn't think anything would occur on the day he took her to get McDonald's.

Prosecutors say that Jaslyn and her father were in a McDonald's drive-thru in Homan Square on April 18 when three men pulled up in a silver Audi and riddled their vehicle with at least 28 bullets. Jontae Adams was shot once and injured, Jaslyn was hit multiple times and killed.

'My daughter wanted McDonald's. I tried to Uber McDonald's,' Jontae Adams said in an interview with WCGI-FM, referring to the food delivery service. 'But my baby wanted to see me.'

'As far as my actions or my past, maybe it had something to do with it. But I was a father the day my daughter died. That's all I remember being. I don't remember gang-banging. I don't remember what led to it,' he continued.

'I'd do it again. My baby wanted McDonald's, and I would take her to McDonald's again. Nothing is going to stop me from being a father and putting a smile on my baby's face.

Lewis is charged in the killing of Jaslyn Adams, left, who was shot April 18 while sitting in her fathers car at a McDonalds drive-thru on the citys West Side, Brown said. Her father, Jontae Adams, right, was seriously wounded in the attack

Police investigate a crime scene where Jontae Adams, 28, and his daughter Jaslyn, 7, were shot

Arrested in Jaslyn's slaying were (left to right) Devontay Anderson, 22, Demond Goudy, 21, and Marion Lewis, 18

'I hold myself accountable for making stupid decisions when I was younger, but not for being a father. I have nothing but good memories with my baby,' the grieving father explained.

Arrested in Jaslyn's slaying were Devontay Anderson, 22, Demond Goudy, 21, and Marion Lewis, 18, who was shot and injured by police and taken into custody after he crashed his vehicle trying to elude officers, and then tried to steal a family's car on the Eisenhower Expressway.

All three are being held without bond in the Cook County Jail.

Meanwhile, Adam Toledo's death in a police shooting has been the subject of intense factual, legal and moral disputes.

At around 2.30am on March 29, CPD Officer Eric Stillman was pursuing Adam on foot in Little Village after gunshots were fired nearby.

Authorities have said that a gun detection alerted police to a spot where a gun had been fired several times.

When cops arrived, an officer spotted the boy and 21-year-old Ruben Roman, the man they later said had fired the weapon, and chased them.

This video police body cam image released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) on April 15, 2021, shows a frame grab of 13 year-old Adam Toledo on the ground after he was shot by police in Chicago, Illinois on March 29, 2021

At around 2.30am on March 29, CPD Officer Eric Stillman was pursuing Adam on foot in Little Village when he fired the fatal shot. COPA cleared Stillman of wrongdoing

They said Adam, who had apparently been given the gun by the man after he fired it, ran into an alley.

Body camera video showed a portion of the foot chase, and the instant when Officer Stillman shot the teen in the chest less than a second after he either dropped or tossed the gun aside.

A Cook County prosecutor was later forced to apologize after wrongly implying in court that the gun was in the teen's hand when the fatal shot was fired.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), which reviews police shootings, did not recommend that the officer who shot Adam be relieved of his police powers.

After facing questions about why Adam was out so late, and after Mayor Lightfoot implied in public remarks that the boy was involved with gangs, the teen's family responded at a press conference in May.

'What I really want is to have Adam back, and we can't do that,' mother Betty Toledo wrote in a speech that was read on her behalf.

Esmaraldo Toledo, 24, right, sister of police shooting victim 13-year-old Adam Toledo sheds tears as family attorney Adeena Weiss-Ortiz speaks comforts her during a press conference

'We can try to help other families protect their sons from the temptations that took Adam into the street that night, the night he was killed.'

'He was a little kid, he made one mistake, and everyone is just judging him and assuming things from the last few moments and minutes of his life,' said Esmeralda Toledo, the boy's 24-year-old sister.

Nobody, she said, 'is deserving the way he died or the bad, negative things being said about him.'

Kempczinski's leaked text message drew strong reactions, including from Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, who told the Tribune the remarks were 'disrespectful'.

'He doesn't know what it is to be poor. People like him look at our community like garbage and at the same time want to sell us their products,' Enriquez told the newspaper. 'We give a lot of money to his corporation. He should put that money back into our community.'

Chicago, like many other cities across the country, has grappled with soaring violent crime since last spring.

Through the end of October, the city has recorded 678 murders, according to CPD data, a 3 percent increase from last year and 57 percent jump from 2019.

It puts the city on pace for the worst year of murders since 1996.
He saw his support drop in blue parts of the state that Biden did well in

Republican Glenn Youngkin stormed to victory in Virginia on Tuesday by taking votes away from Democrats with a surge in support from white women, the suburbs and areas where Donald Trump struggled when he lost the state by 10 points in 2020.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe also floundered in what were deemed blue strongholds in a bleak showing for his party and the Biden administration dealing with a drop in polls and mounting crises.

The party is now found itself in the middle of a crisis with 12 months to the midterms with progressives suggesting the party needs to move further left and moderates demanding an end to infighting that has stalled the domestic agenda.

Exit polls showed white women went for Youngkin after Biden carried them over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Turnout surged in the state, forcing precincts to print extra ballots, but a lower showing from black voters hampered McAuliffe.

Education also became a central issue to Virginia voters after Youngkin attacked the use of Critical Race Theory and McAuliffe rejected that parents should have more control in a child's education.

Republicans haven't won statewide in Virginia since 2009. That year Bob McDonnell was able to capitalize on a backlash against Barack Obama's presidential win to take the state. His victory preceded a GOP wave that gave Republicans control of the House in the 2010 midterms.

Virginia, however, also tends to elect a governor of the opposite party to whomever occupies the White House.

Republican Glenn Youngkin won white women and suburbs; Democrat Terry McAuliffe saw his support drop in blue parts of the state that Biden did well in

The record was broken only once in 40 years - when McAuliffe won the gubernatorial election in 2013. (Virginia elects governors in off years and does not allow them to serve consecutive terms).

McAuliffe could not manage a repeat victory, however.

Over all, white women and men along with rural voters and those in the suburbs went for Youngkin while McAuliffe's support among black voters, moderates, and voters under 45 wasn't enough to make up the difference. Youngkin won the race by 2 points.

Biden carried Virginia by 10 points over Donald Trump last year. He campaigned for McAuliffe - as did Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff - but it wasn't enough to secure a Democratic win.

Here's a breakdown of how voters went in Tuesday's contest:

WHITE VOTERS - PARTICULARLY WOMEN

White voters broke for Youngkin, particularly women.

White voters made up 74% of Virginia's electorate this year compared to 67% in the 2020 election.

And they backed Youngkin over McAuliffe, 60% to 40%. Youngkin did even better among white voters than Trump did: the former president only won 53% of white voters in Virginia last year.

Also helping the Republican, Youngkin won 57% of the female vote this year compared to McAuliffe's 43%. The Republican gubernatorial candidate made gains in that area over Biden, who won white women in Virginia by 50% in 2020 compared to Trump's 49%.

He also made gains among non-college education women. Youngkin won that group by 75% while Trump only carried it with 56% in 2020.

Youngkin also made gains with Latino voters - 55% backed him with 44% for McAuliffe.

Meanwhile, McAuliffe won black voters with 86% of their support. Turnout was down among that group, however, compared to 200.



TRUMP FACTOR

McAuliffe tried to tie Youngkin to Trump at every opportunity. But Youngkin didn't campaign with the former president and was careful to present his own credentials to voters.

The wealthy former private equity executive who had never before ran for political office presented himself as an outsider suburban-dad who wore a fleece vest.

A majority of Virginia voters said they disapprove of Trump, according to exit polls but only 4 in 10 said the same of Youngkin.

Glenn Youngkin presented himself as an outsider suburban-dad who wore a fleece vest and was careful not to tie himself to Donald Trump

And Youngkin won the support of 17% of voters who said they disapprove of Trump, a good sign for Republicans who are worried about how the former president will factor into next year's midterm election.

Most Youngkin voters - about 8 in 10 - said Youngkin supports Trump the right amount.

BIDEN FACTOR

Biden, who campaigned with McAuliffe, has a negative approval rating in Virginia: 56% disapprove of his job compared to the 43% who approve.

Meanwhile, about half of voters said that Biden was not a factor in their vote for governor, according to an NBC News exit poll.

But the other half of the electorate did have the presiden on their mind: 28% said they voted for governor to express opposition to Biden, while 20% said it was to support him.

President Biden campaigned with Terry McAuliffe a week before the election

Biden, on Tuesday ahead of the polls closing, expressed confidence Democrats would win.

'We're going to win,' he said at a press conference in Scotland where he attended COP26. 'I don't believe  and I've not seen any evidence that whether or not I am doing well or poorly, whether or not I've got my agenda passed or not is going to have any real impact on winning or losing.'

SUBURBS

Youngkin flipped the suburbs in Republicans favor, a group that helped Biden win the presidency in 2020.

Youngkin carried the suburbs 53% to McAuliffe's 47%. In 2020, Biden carried those same suburbs 53% to Trump's 45%.

Moreover, McAuliffe's support in key areas was downed compared to how Biden did in those same areas last year.

For example, in the heavily blue Northern Virginia area, McAuliffe's support margin was by 26 points compared to Biden's 38 points. In Richmond, the margin was 3 points for McAuliffe compared to 16 for Biden.

Loudoun county, just outside of Washington, D.C., went for McAuliffe by about 11 points - but Biden carried it by 25 last year.

And Youngkin outperformed Trump in some of the red areas of the state. His margin in the Tidewater area, for example, was 28 points compared to Trump's 16 points last year.

EDUCATION WAS WINNING ISSUE

Youngkin turned education into a winning issue, taking advantage of a McAuliffe faux pas to make gains among women and dads with kids. He said he would ban the teaching of critical race theory in Virginia classrooms even though it is not a part of the curriculum.

Exit polls showed a quarter of Virginia voters said the debate over teaching critical race theory in schools was the single most important factor in their vote - and 71% of those voters backed Youngkin.

And slightly more than 50% thought parents should have say over what their child is taught in schools - while 8 in 10 of Youngkin supporters think they should have 'a lot' of say. Only 25% of McAuliffe voters said the same.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Youngkin took advantage of McAuliffe's response during a debate on whether parents should be able to opt their children out of reading certain books.

'I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,' McAuliffe said.

Youngkin quoted McAuliffe repeatedly on the campaign trail and in ads, which boosted him among parents. Youngkin also won 58 percent of men with children, compared to the 49 percent Trump took last year.

Meanwhile, overall, 33% of Virginia voters called the economy the most important issue while 25% said it was education, about 15% chose taxes, and about 14% said the COVID-19 pandemic.

NEW JERSEY

In New Jersey, Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli and incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy were locked in a virtual draw as election night drew to a close.

That was a stunner as registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans there by more than 1 million.

Biden carried New Jersey by 16 points last year.
Eight men are on the run after storming a family home wielding machetes in a 'terrifying' attack.

Officers are appealing to the public to identify the masked gang members following the early morning break-in, which left two injured.

The Metropolitan Police issued CCTV images of four men they wish to speak to in relation to an aggravated burglary on Brookscroft Road in Walthamstow, North East London.

The group stormed the home at around 5am on April 1, it was reported.

The men can be seen obscuring their appearances with hats, hoods and Covid-19 face coverings in CCTV footage.

During the robbery, four people were threatened and demanded to hand over any valuables.

The Metropolitan Police issued CCTV images of four men they wish to speak to in relation to an aggravated burglary on Brookscroft Road in Walthamstow, North East London

The men can be seen obscuring their appearances with hats, hoods and Covid-19 face coverings in the CCTV footage

However, the residents were able to fight back and the suspects left empty handed.

Two of the victims received minor injuries following the struggle. Both were taken to hospital before later being discharged, the Met Police said.

Officers attended the scene and carried out a forensic examination, where they recovered CCTV footage and took statements from the victims.

The force is also investigating another aggravated burglary at a nightclub in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex which occurred on the same night.

A Met Police spokesperson said the attack was a 'terrifying' experience for the family

Officers attended the scene and carried out a forensic examination, where they recovered CCTV footage and took statements from the victims

If you recognise the men in the pictures you can call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD 1062/01Apr

PC David Havard, from the burglary and robbery team in Waltham Forest, said: 'This was a terrifying experience for the family involved and we are committed to tracking down those who carried out this awful crime.

'As part of our enquiries we can now share images of three men who we want to speak to. I would ask anybody who recognises the men in these images to contact police immediately.'

If you recognise the men in the pictures you can call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD 1062/01Apr.

To remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Greta Thunberg, who has turned the air blue while campaigning in Glasgow, has today promised to go 'net-zero' on swearing.

The teenage activist spoke about people being 'p****d off' by protests and was also filmed singing 'You can shove your climate crisis up your a**e' while outside COP26.

But the 18-year-old Swede, who is accompanied by PR advisers and supporters where ever she travels, today made a tongue-in-cheek pledge to compensate for her use of bad language.

She pledged to go 'net-zero' - a term commonly used by those aiming to balance out the harm they cause on the environment - by 'saying something nice' every time she swears.

Announcing her pledge to her five million followers on Twitter, the 18-year-old said: 'I am pleased to announce that I've decided to go net-zero on swear words and bad language.

'In the event that I should say something inappropriate, I pledge to compensate that by saying something nice.'

Greta Thunberg, who has turned the air blue while campaigning in Glasgow, has today promised to go 'net-zero' on swearing

The teenage activist spoke about people being 'p****d off' by protests while on the BBC and was also filmed singing 'You can shove your climate crisis up your a**e' while outside COP26

The Swede has pledged to go 'net-zero' - a term commonly used by those aiming to balance out the harm they cause on the environment - by 'saying something nice' every time she swears

It comes after the teen campaigner was filmed leading protesters in a chant of 'you can shove your climate crisis up your a***' at COP26 in newly emerged video from her rally on Monday.

Outside in Festival Park, Miss Thunberg gave a passionate and foul-mouthed speech, telling demonstrators: 'Inside Cop, there are just politicians and people in power pretending to take our future seriously... No more blah blah blah, no more whatever the f*** they are doing inside there!'

As heads of Government from around the world discussed what could be done to save the planet from ruin, the Swedish eco activist appeared to lay the blame for looming natural disasters squarely on them as she riled up her fellow activists with a chant of: 'You can shove your climate crisis up your a***'.

Forty officers are called in to seize a giant inflatable Loch Ness Monster near COP26 summit Around 40 police, including officers from Scotland Yard, swooped today to seize a giant inflatable Loch Ness Monster near COP26. Glasgow police were joined by Metropolitan Police officers and some from Merseyside on the raid. They were backed up by coastguard personnel. The target was the 'Loch Ness Debt Monster', a 13ft high and 26ft long inflatable which had been commissioned by campaigners pressing COP26 to ease debt for poorer nations. The giant toy had being situated beside the River Clyde - with permission - on private land owned by The Govan Wetlands Project since yesterday. It was about half a mile from the venue for the summit, and campaigners had no plans to take it up the river. But police swooped at breakfast time and 'arrested' the toy. One police officer told MailOnline: 'Step away from the monster. Anybody who obstructs will be arrested.' But another joked: 'We haven't got a cell big enough for it.' Advertisement

A Scottish attendee had appeared to suggest singing 'you can shove your rules up your a***' before Miss Thunberg put her own spin on the popular melody of 'She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain When She Comes'.

It was the second time in a week that Miss Thunberg had turned the air blue, after letting out an expletive on the BBC.

The activist was being interviewed by Andrew Marr when she was asked about the recent protests by eco-zealots Insulate Britain.

She said: 'To make clear, as long as no-one gets hurt, then I think sometimes you need to anger some people.

'Like, for instance, the school strike movement would never have become so big if there wasn't friction, if some people didn't get p***ed off.'

But the recorded pre-watershed broadcaster prompted complaints from viewers, with one saying: 'Did Greta just say 'p***ed off' on the BBC several hours before the watershed? It's not live, so not sure why the BBC didn't edit it.'

Another insisted: 'Erm "p***ed off" is unacceptable according to Ofcom pre-watershed.;

But a third tweeted: 'Greta saying "p***ed off" on the BBC - good on you girl - getting your point over.'

The teen campaigner is due to speak tonight at a high-brow climate event with the New York Times titled 'News Travels Fast - The Media's Role in Covering Climate Change.'

She is speaking alongside Professor Michael Mann of Pennsylvania University, Rebecca Blumenstein the deputy managing editor of the paper and Ugandan climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate.

Meanwhile, around 40 police, including officers from Scotland Yard, swooped today to seize a giant inflatable Loch Ness Monster near COP26.

Glasgow police were joined by Metropolitan Police officers and some from Merseyside on the raid. They were backed up by coastguard personnel.

The target was the 'Loch Ness Debt Monster', a 13ft high and 26ft long inflatable which had been commissioned by campaigners pressing COP26 to ease debt for poorer nations.

The giant toy had being situated beside the River Clyde - with permission - on private land owned by The Govan Wetlands Project since yesterday.

It was about half a mile from the venue for the summit, and campaigners had no plans to take it up the river. But police swooped at breakfast time and 'arrested' the toy.

One police officer told MailOnline: 'Step away from the monster. Anybody who obstructs will be arrested.' But another joked: 'We haven't got a cell big enough for it.'

Around 40 police, including officers from Scotland Yard, swooped today to seize a giant inflatable Loch Ness Monster at COP26

Glasgow police were joined by Metropolitan Police officers and some from Merseyside on the raid. They were backed up by coastguard personnel

The inflatable had being situated beside the River Clyde with permission on private land owned by The Govan Wetlands Project since yesterday

It was about half a mile from the venue for the summit, and campaigners had no plans to take it up the river. But police swooped at breakfast time and 'arrested' the toy

Senior police officers told activists from the Jubilee Debt Campaign 'Nessie' was being seized under section 20 of the police and fire reform act

Senior police officers told activists from the Jubilee Debt Campaign 'Nessie' was being seized under section 20 of the police and fire reform act.

JDC executive director Ms Heidi Chow said: 'I think that was completely overreaction, and over policing for a non violent harmless stunt to raise the issue of debt to address the climate crisis.

'This is a sad reflection of the way that debt is being sidelined in the main COP26 negotiations. They told us that waterways are all restricted because of COP26.

Loose Women star Kaye Adams says she was stopped and questioned by plain clothes police officer at COP26 for acting 'surreptitiously' Loose Women star Kaye Adams said she was stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer at the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow yesterday for allegedly 'acting surreptitiously' Loose Women star Kaye Adams said she was stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer at the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow yesterday for allegedly 'acting surreptitiously'. The Scottish-born TV personality, 58, had been filming crowds outside the site of the UN-run global summit on her Instagram story when she was apparently approached by an undercover officer. 'Just slightly concerned to be stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer who thought I was dodgy', Ms Adams wrote on the Instagram story while she was being quizzed. She later tweeted: 'Just got stopped and questioned by a plain clothes police officer near #COP26 for acting ''surreptitiously''. Never been accused of that before!' When a Twitter user asked: 'Were you being suspiciously surreptitious?', the Loose Women panellist replied: 'Secretive filming apparently. I had my secretive iPhone in my secretive hand.' Though Ms Adams has been lighthearted about the incident, the policing of Cop26 has come under scrutiny, with an average of 10,000 officers from Police Scotland and forces around Britain on duty every day for three weeks - and the UK Government picking up the bill. Advertisement

'It appears to me that our Nessie was seized under section 20 of police and fire reform act in suspicion of crime and that crime was simply being placed on restricted waters.

'We were not going to take the inflatable up the river.

'It is a bit ridiculous that there were so many police officers here. There were even some from Norfolk.'

Another activist said: 'All we want to do is highlight the debt that nations though.

'They seem to have bad talk about it at COP26 so at least we have a debate outside here. They didn't need to take Nessie though.'

One activist on Twitter said: 'We came this morning to inflate the Loch Ness Debt Monster and raise the importance of global South debt for the climate crisis.

Instead the police impounded Nessie and tried to block our message, just like debt is being blocked from the COP26 discussions!'

It comes as UK chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled wide-ranging proposals to rewire the economy towards reducing global warming.

The package will see trillions of pounds of assets controlled by the City of London redirected away from carbon-intensive sectors like coal and oil towards initiatives such as electric car batteries.

It will also impose requirements on all UK-listed companies to set out proposals to transition towards net zero in the coming decades, with firms assessed annually against their published plans.

Those that fail to make enough progress, or whose plans are deemed too weak, could face sanctions including fines or even removal from the stock exchange.

Critics of Mr Sunaks plans fear they could lead to firms quitting the City of London to avoid the red tape.

The move comes after years of uncertainty for the financial centre in the wake of Brexit and the upheaval caused by Covid-19, which among other factors has seen millions of employees working from home rather than the heart of the City.

Ministers hope the scheme will lead to a rapid shift away from investment in polluting industries and help drive progress towards the Governments target of making the UK carbon neutral by 2050.

The Treasury said the plan would make the City the worlds first net zero-aligned financial centre.

But the compulsion is likely to prove controversial with some, and could have big consequences for firms in sectors such as oil, gas and mining  BP, Shell and mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore are among those listed in London.

The Confederation of British Industry gave the idea a cautious welcome last night, saying that business was already upping its game. But the trade body warned it was vital ministers work with colleagues abroad to produce globally consistent rules to prevent British-based firms being penalised.

City veteran Alasdair Haynes, chief executive of stock exchange Aquis, said it was good that climate disclosures are put into companies reports and accounts, but warned: You have to have proportionality.

'A lot of fast-growing companies are facing high costs to complete their reporting, especially when you look at the detail of whats needed.
A black investment banker has sued for race discrimination after his colleagues suggested they hold a team meeting at Nando's because he 'liked chicken'.

George Gyimah accused coworker Bastian Buhlmann of racism because 'loving chicken was a derogatory caricature about black people'.

The 85,000-a-year Senior Vice President at Commerzbank also alleged Mr Buhlmann offered him poultry 'as a reward in a jovial manner' if he could have his window-facing desk.

An employment tribunal ruled the remarks were made not because Mr Gyimah was black - but because he liked chicken.

The panel said his colleagues at the bank were 'not aware' of any stereotype about black people loving chicken and dismissed his claims of race discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

George Gyimah accused coworker Bastian Buhlmann (pictured) of racism because 'loving chicken was a derogatory caricature about black people'

The London hearing was told Mr Gyimah joined Commerzbank as Senior VP Financial Crime Quality Assurance in July 2018.

Mr Buhlmann is the Financial Crime Quality Assurance functional lead at the company.

The tribunal heard he submitted a grievance to his bosses in February 2020 including allegations against fellow team member Mr Buhlmann.

It read: 'On two occasions within the last four months, Bastian Buhlmann has used comments that have a derogatory meaning towards me.

The London hearing was told Mr Gyimah joined Commerzbank as Senior VP Financial Crime Quality Assurance in July 2018 (file image)

'[He] referred to my choice of requiring a place that served fried chicken for a team lunch.

'[He] offered me chicken as a reward in a jovial manner when the team were having a discussion about our new desk location.'

Mr Buhlmann said during a team lunch in October 2019 there were large queues at all restaurants near the office except Nando's.

He said he suggested going there because Mr Gyimah liked chicken and said words to the effect of: 'Why don't we go to Nando's, George, you like chicken.'

Mr Gyimah also claimed after he had been allocated a desk in the office with a view, Mr Buhlmann made a further remark about chicken: 'Give me your desk and I will give you chicken,' in November 2019.

Mr Buhlmann denied this second comment was made, and insisted any reference about how Mr Gyimah liked chicken was because he had previously told them this and not because he was black.

The tribunal heard in February 2019 Mr Gyimah, Mr Buhlmann and fellow colleague Jose Arevalo were on a work trip to the Frankfurt head office.

The panel ruled his colleagues at the bank were 'not aware' of any stereotype about black people loving chicken and dismissed his claims of race discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Pictured, the Commerzbank London office

Mr Arevalo and Mr Gyimah ordered chicken burgers one evening at their hotel. Mr Buhlmann told the tribunal Mr Gyimah said 'he ordered a chicken burger as he loved chicken' in a humorous way.

Mr Buhlmann told the tribunal Mr Gyimah mentioned liking chicken several times in the office and gave an example where he commented on his wife cooking his favourite chicken dinner.

Mr Arevalo recalled a conversation when he was talking about attending a birthday meal for a friend at a restaurant with an 'all you can eat' buttermilk fried chicken buffet and Mr Gyimah said he liked chicken and asked for the name of the restaurant.

Bosses agreed the comments were made due to him liking chicken, not because he was black, and his grievance was dismissed.

He later resigned and took the German banking giant to a tribunal.

The tribunal accepted that there is a racist stereotype around black people liking fried chicken. However, it concluded this had nothing to do with the remarks made to Mr Gyimah.

Employment Judge Natasha Joffe said: 'None of the tribunal panel were aware of any stereotype about black people and chicken per se as opposed to fried chicken.

'That does not mean that there is no such stereotype, but we considered that it is certainly not so well known that a reasonable person could conclude that Mr Buhlmann must have chosen to speak of Mr Gyimah's professed liking for chicken because it played into a stereotype about black people.

'There was no relationship with race because Mr Buhlmann was not conscious of the stereotype about black people liking chicken.

'He did not make the remarks because Mr Gyimah was black but because he knew he liked chicken.'
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The man suspected of kidnapping little Cleo Smith from her parents' tent during a camping trip in remote Western Australia had been pulled over by police and arrested before the little girl was even found, as locals reveal their bizarre interactions with the 'loner' in the days before his home was raided.

When police rammed their way into a rundown house in Cleo's hometown of Carnarvon in the early hours of Wednesday morning, they found the little girl alone playing with toys.

But they had already rounded up her alleged abductor, 36, an hour before, pulling him over and bundling him out of a car just after midnight, with the man having since been been rushed to hospital with mysterious head injuries sustained in custody.

A massive investigation led police to the Tonkin Crescent house in the suburb of Brockman in the small coastal town 18 days after the preschooler vanished from the remote Blowholes camping site about an hour's drive away on October 16.

Hopes were fading fast the toddler would be found alive but a 'tip off' late on Tuesday night was the 'final piece of the puzzle' police needed to pounce.

The intel from the public contained 'really important information about a car' which was later confirmed with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads'.

Shortly after, officers slapped cuffs on the alleged kidnapper and police executed a search warrant at the nearby home where they uncovered Cleo.

Now astonished locals have described their bizarre run-ins with the arrested man, with a baker telling of the moment he waved at him just a day before the raid and a woman detailing a strange interaction at Bunnings where the man 'stared at her'.

The 36-year-old man (pictured) was taken to hospital after reportedly sustaining head injuries in custody on Wednesday

Cleo Smith (pictured) was found 'alive and well' by police locked in a house in her hometown - just seven minutes drive from her own family home - after a terrifying 18-day ordeal

Cleo Smith's alleged abductor was not found in the home (pictured) after detectives kicked in the doors during a 1am raid to rescue the missing four-year-old

Carnarvon baker Donald said he waved to the accused kidnapper in a polite exchange on the street a day before Cleo was found.

Donald told 6PR Radio he 'couldn't have imagined anything like this.'

'When he gets named, I don't know what the reaction is going to be,' he added.

A neighbour who has lived across the street from the suspect for years recalled how she also had her own bizarre interaction with the man.

Pricilla Milly-Milly said she saw him at the hardware store Bunnings just last week, Perth Now reported.

'He was in the car and he just kept staring at me,' she said.

Ms Milly-Milly remarked that he 'never let anyone into his house' even though they had been neighbours for such a long time.

The first images of the suspect have been revealed showing the man in the back of an ambulance with bandages wrapped around his head.

He spent the morning being interrogated by detectives before being rushed to Carnarvon Hospital where he is now being guarded by three police officers.

Police would not comment on the nature of the man's injuries or if he had been attacked by another prisoner, but have confirmed he injured his head inside his cell.

The 36-year-old suspect had already been rounded up moments earlier and taken into custody after being pulled over and bundled out of a car just after midnight (pictured, police stand guard at the home where Cleo was found as forensic teams comb the scene)

CLEO SUSPECT: WHAT WE KNOW A 36-year-old man has been arrested in relation to Cleo Smith's disappearance. He lives in Carnarvon, in Western Australia, only minutes away from Cleo's family home and an hour's drive from the Blowholes campsite where the preschooler vanished. His neighbours describe him as an 'oddball' that 'kept to himself' and was acting strangely in the days before his home was raided by detectives. One neighbour who lives opposite the man said he was a long term resident but would 'never let anyone inside his house'. She said in the days leading up to his arrest he 'stared at her' at Bunnings while sitting in his car. Another neighbour said he had moved his dogs from the backyard to the front yard recently and would cruise around the streets in his car 'hooning'. Police received a 'tip off' the man had started buying 'unusual food' and nappies from a supermarket - even though he doesn't live with any kids. Neighbours even reported hearing a little girl crying near the home in recent days. Investigators confirmed he was not on the sex offenders register and that Police had not received any information he had an 'unhealthy interest in children'. The man was arrested shortly before the raid after his car was pulled over at midnight. He was interrogated by detectives on Wednesday morning but was later rushed to hospital with a head injury. Police have not confirmed the nature of the wounds or whether he was attacked by another prisoner, but it's understood it occurred in his cell. It is also understood he underwent a psychiatric evaluation after being deemed mentally unstable. Charges are expected to be laid on Thursday. Advertisement

The man has undergone a psychiatric assessment after being declared not mentally stable, The West Australian reported.

Charges are expected to be laid on Thursday with investigators saying there are 'no other persons of interest'.

Police confirmed the suspect was not on the sex offenders register.

Stunned neighbours told Daily Mail Australia they were first alerted the blonde-haired girl was being held on their street when police flood lights lit up their cul-de-sac in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

'My nephews went up to see what was going on and then they saw cops leading out the little white girl,' a neighbour who has known the man for more than a decade said.

A reward poster for missing Cleo Smith is seen on Wednesday outside Carnarvon Airport (pictured) hours after the four-year-old was miraculously found alive and well

HOW POLICE KNEW CLEO SMITH'S PARENTS WERE INNOCENT FROM THE START By Peter Vincent for Daily Mail Australia A key part of the extraordinary investigation that led to the rescue of Cleo Smith was the clearing of her parents from any suspicion of guilt, after police monitored the couple and tapped their phones before concluding they were definitely not involved. After the four-year-old went missing in highly unusual circumstances from her mum and step father's tent while camping in Western Australia on October 16, suspicion unfairly - but inevitably - fell on them. Initially, police said they 'weren't ruling anything out' in relation to her bizarre disappearance, which took place in the middle of the night with nothing but a few shaky leads. But authorities, and even the West Australian Premier, Mark McGowan, definitively ruled out Ellie Smith and Jake Gliddon as suspects in the midst of epic investigations that will go down in police folklore. Cleo was rescued from a Carnarvon home on Wednesday before 1am in what is being regarded as a world-leading operation, bursting through a door and finding the little girl sat alone in a room playing with toys. A 36-year-old Carnarvon man, with no connection to the family, is in custody and due to face charges over her alleged abduction. So how and why were Cleo's parents definitively cleared before she was even found? Police were confident early on that Cleo's mum and step-father (pictured with the four-year-old) were innocent of any wrongdoing It is understood that as soon as Cleo disappeared, West Australian police began extensive surveillance on the parents. That involved WA Police tapping the phone calls of Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon for any conversations that might suggest guilt or show an inconsistency in their story - neither of which ever materialised. The surveillance is believed to have been standard procedure. Authorities are also understood to have monitored the anguished couple for suspicious remarks and behaviour, partly through ongoing interviews and contact with them. Police often ask persons of interest in a major crime investigation the same questions several times in different ways in an effort to find inconsistencies in their stories. Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon were understood to have been rock solid in their accounts and squeaky clean in all observed conversations. By the second week of the investigations, with hope fading and trolls beginning to point the finger at the parents, authorities were convinced they bore no guilt and were hiding nothing. 'We want to make it clear  they are not suspects in this investigation. They have been helping us,' the lead investigator, Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, said last week. Advertisement

Others woke to the news that Cleo had been rescued, filing into the streets before the sun even rose to watch the scene unfold.

The neighbour said the suspect was a loner and was not the type of person anyone else in the street would 'have a yarn with' despite being a long-term resident.

He last saw the suspect just three days after little Cleo disappeared. Former friends say he had not long been freed from jail.

'His grandmother raised him... but after she died a year or so ago, nobody went over to yarn to him,' he said.

'He got a new car after he used to park it in the driveway and then close the gate, every day, always went and put the car in the same spot and closed the gate.'

The first picture of Cleo Smith, safe and sound in hospital, after she was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, in northwest Western Australia, where she was held for 18 days

But there were more alarming signs that something was amiss.

A little girl was heard crying by neighbours near the suspected kidnapper's house and the man taken into custody was seen pacing around the street and buying nappies for a child even though he doesn't have any kids.

However, those living on Tonkin Crescent admit they didn't join the dots until after Cleo was rescued.

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled hearing a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time.

'Not last night, the night before it... I heard a little girl crying but I wouldn't expect it to be Cleo,' she told the West Australian.

'I didn't expect it would happen in this little neighbourhood, a lot of people know each other.'

One neighbour told Seven News she became suspicious after seeing the suspect buying nappies from a supermarket.

'The other day, I think it was Monday, we saw him in Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for,' she said. 'Until now.'

Sahntayah McKenzie recalled how she heard a little girl crying one night, but did not think anything of it at the time

Another neighbour told Nine he had spotted the arrested man behaving bizarrely in recent days, hooning through the streets with his dogs in the front seat of his car.

'He's been acting a bit strange lately,' Henry Dodd told Nine News. 'He will get in his car, drive that fast.

'He doesn't have his dogs at the front [normally], he has his dogs out the back, but through this week he had his dogs out the front and he has been acting weird.'

Henry Dodd said police spent several hours driving up and down the street before breaking into the home.

Neighbours described the man as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

'Everyone that knows the person that stays in that house, wouldn't think that it would be him,' he said.

'We got a shock ourselves that it was him.'

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S**t, she's been that close.'

Neighbours of the home where little Cleo Smith (pictured) was kept prisoner before she was rescued by police on Wednesday have revealed the tell-tale signs they missed

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together with younger daughter Isla) after 18 agonising days of searching for their little girl

Another local described the man in custody as an 'oddball'.

'He is a very quiet guy, bit of an oddball definitely wouldn't have picked him it has completely derailed me,' Rennee Turner said.

'I'd heard whispers I kind of figured the police might have had an idea of what was going on, because I have never seen such a massive amount of cops here for so long.'

Neighbours who witnessed the dramatic police raid, after which officers were seen carrying a crow bar and a battering ram out of the house, described how Cleo was carried to safety.

'We stood back and waited but after that, we saw someone, on the detective shoulder. We thought it might be the little girl, which it was,' Henry Dodd said.

'I went closer to the detectives car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her. They put her in the back and I came over, rushed over here and seen her there. She looked at me, a bit scared.'

Mr Dodd said he was shocked he had been just metres away from her while the nationwide hunt was going on for her.

'I just can't believe it and get over the fact that she is just the house down from us and locked up here for a couple of weeks,' he added.

'Going on three weeks, she is straight across from us. I've got little sisters there...'

Shocked neighbours (pictured) woke up to the news that Cleo Smith was found by WA police on their quiet street

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Police feared Cleo could have been spirited away to anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her parents Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent.

Police initially believed she had simply wandered off but investigators soon came to the worrying conclusion she had been snatched by a brazen child predator in the dead of night.

Attention now turns to little Cleo's mental welfare who is spending her first night with her parents since she was taken.

The child has not yet been interviewed about what happened in 18 days she was gone.

A specialist team of detectives from the child abuse squad will now travel up from Perth to take over that part of the investigation.

While psychologists say it will be a long road to recovery for the traumatised little girl, investigators revealed Cleo is 'physically okay'.

The incredible moment she was rescued by startled police officers after they rammed their way into the house, just minutes from her own family home, has also been shared by proud detectives.

In bodycam footage, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine asks the four-year-old 'are you okay?' as she is carried out of the house.

The brave little girl, gripping onto her saviour, smiles and nods before Detective Sergeant Blaine says: 'We're gonna take you to see your mummy and daddy'.

Incredible bodycam footage shows the moment Cleo Smith was rescued by Western Australian Police (pictured)

Pictured: Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine tells Cleo: 'We're gonna take you to see your mummy and daddy'

The Homicide Squad veteran, who has been tirelessly working on the case every step of the way, described his adulation after Cleo was uncovered in a midnight raid following a 'tip off'.

'It was shock to start with. Quickly followed by elation. That could have been any one of the team, but it turned out I was of four guys that were fortunate enough to go through that door and make that rescue,' he said.

'We had always hoped for that outcome, but were not prepared for it, but it was absolutely fantastic to see her sitting there in the way that she was. It was incredible.

'I wanted to be sure it was her. I said, 'What is your name?' She didn't answer, I asked three times, and then she looked at me and said, 'My name is Cleo'.

'Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that we got into the car and the officer called Cleo's parents. It was a wonderful feeling to make that call.'

The preschooler was then immediately rushed to hospital for a welfare check, with detectives revealing she is 'physically unharmed'.

Commissioner Dawson reportedly broke down in tears upon learning the heartwarming news. He said the youngster (pictured) was good as can be expected

Propped up on a hospital bed as she sucked on an icypole, Cleo was seen smiling from ear to ear in her first photo since she was rescued.

Cleo excitedly waved to the camera as her relieved mother lovingly touched her right foot as she sat on the side of the bed, just happy to see her alive.

Ms Smith wrote on Instagram hours later: 'Our family is whole again.'

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ms Smith earlier wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

'Seeing Ellie saying her 'beautiful girl is home' is nothing short of a miracle.'

Cleo's brave parents Ellie and Jake (pictured) did not give up hope on finding their daughter during the harrowing ordeal
A 98 year-old World War Two veteran who died of COVID donated his body to medical science - only for it to be dissected in front of a live audience at a $500-a-ticket event in a Portland Marriott hotel ballroom.

The body of David Saunders, of Baton Rouge in Louisiana, was sliced open and examined before a paying crowd in the conference room of a Marriott hotel in Portland on October 17. Audience members came to see a cadaver class put on by a group called Death Science, as part of an 'Oddities and Curiosities' event.

That dissection was open to all members of the public, and was not reserved solely for scientists with a professional interest in the autopsy.

Saunders' stunned widow Elsie, 92, says she had no idea her late husband's body would be used for a 'pay-per-view' autopsy. She has condemned the event, and says she is considering legal action over her partner's remains being treated like 'a piece of meat' for entertainment.

A lawyer told DailyMail.com that Elsie could have a strong case in civil court against both the private company to whom she donated her husband's remains as well as Death Science.

Her late husband served as a US Merchant Marine on the SS Mayo Brothers liberty ship during World War Two, with the supplies vessel deployed in European and Pacific waters.

The image above shows a live, pay-per-view autopsy held in a Portland, Oregon hotel room on October 17

Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired professor of anatomy who taught at the University of Montana in Missoula, dissected limbs and removed organs, including the brain, before a live audience of people who paid up to $500 per ticket

His corpse ended up in the ballroom after being donated to for-profit firm Med Ed Labs in Las Vegas, who then sold the remains to 'macabre artist' and Death Science founder Jeremy Ciliberto.

Ciliberto claimed that the company he bought the corpse from knew that it was going to be used for research, but the Las Vegas-based firm said that it was under the impression the body would be used to teach medical students.

Ciliberto added that serology tests were also performed on Saunders' remains to ensure there was no risk of COVID infection.

The autopsy was held as part of an 'Oddities and Curiosities' event series, whose titillating website describes its events as 'for lovers of the strange, unusual and bizarre'.

Grim video footage shot by an undercover journalist showed Saunders' remains being dissected under the spotlights of a ballroom normally used to host weddings and corporate events by an anatomist in a gray t-shirt.

The live autopsy on Saunders body was performed for an audience at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, KING 5 News was first to report.

It is unclear when Saunders died. He headed a Baton Rouge-based electrical firm and lived in a retirement village during his later years.

According to one of the attendees, a corpse draped in a white sheet was placed on a table in the center of the ballroom.

VIP customers who paid $500 per ticket sat in the front row just a few inches away.

Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired professor of anatomy who taught at the University of Montana in Missoula, removed the sheet from the body, exposing the corpse of a man who had donated his body to science.

Henderson then used a surgical knife to cut into the chest cavity, head, and limbs of the corpse.

The retired professor removed several limbs, organs, and the brain.

The event was staged by an organization called Death Science. According to its web site, Death Science is an educational platform focused on the scientific fields of forensic, medical, and mortuary science that collaborates with industry experienced professionals...to teach students around the world

The corpse was that of David Saunders, 98, a World War Two veteran who died of COVID-19 and donated his body to science

During the hours-long procedure, Henderson told the audience members that this was exactly how he taught medical students throughout his academic career.

According to Henderson's bio, he received his Ph.D. in biology from the University of New Mexico in 1985.

His expertise is one that is 'emphasizes the physiological ecology of insect and mammalian diet selection relative to plant biochemical defenses.'

Since 1986, he has taught anatomy and physiology courses to students majoring in the health professions.

Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases, told DailyMail.com that Death Science and Med Ed Labs could potentially be sued by Saunders' widow.

'It all comes down to consent,' he said.

'If Saunders widow consented to the pay-per-view autopsy, she has no claim.

'But assuming she did not and was told the body would be used for medical research, she has both breach of contract claims against Med Ed Labs and tort claims against both Med Ed Labs and Death Science.'

Rahmani said that any potential lawsuit hinges on what was agreed to between Elsie Saunders, Med Ed Labs, and Death Science.

'The agreement governing the body is critical to determining whether there was breach, negligent misrepresentation, or outright fraud,' he said.

'Once liability is established, the question is what are appropriate damages?

'The emotional distress of seeing a loved cut open in public is extreme, and would likely support a significant damage award, not to mention the disgorgement of ill-gotten profits from the event.'

According to its web site, Death Science is an educational platform focused on the scientific fields of forensic, medical, and mortuary science that collaborates with industry experienced professionals...to teach students around the world.

The event was held as part of the 'Oddities and Curiosities Expo', which bills itself as a show for 'lovers of the strange, unusual, and bizarre'

The expo's 'cadaver lab classes' feature real-life autopsies and dissections of human bodies performed before a live audience. The expo's October 31 show scheduled to take place in Seattle on Halloween was canceled due to the backlash

Jeremy Ciliberto, a macabre artist and founder of Death Science who organized the event known as the Oddities and Curiosities Expo, said he paid Med Ed Labs north of $10,000 for each cadaver

But Saunders widow Elsie is among those who have condemned the macabre event - which was taped by an undercover journalist, and says her family had no idea Saunders' remains would be used for a public for-profit pay-per-view autopsy.

The 92-year-old widow told KING-TV that she was horrified that her husband was treated like a piece of meat in front of a paying audience.

The body was prepared by undertakers in Saunders' native Louisiana, then given to Med Ed Labs, a Las Vegas-based for-profit company established to provide medical and surgical education and training for the advancement of medical and surgical innovation. DailyMail.com has contacted Med Ed Labs for a comment.

Mike Clark, a funeral director in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, handled the preparation of Saunders body for Church Funeral Services and Crematory.

He told KING 5 he and his staff were horrified by what happened.

'Our whole staff was horrified that this is what had happened to a gentleman that he and his family thought that his body was going for the advancement of medical students,' Clark said.

Greg Clark, one of the owners of the funeral home, told DailyMail.com: 'We are extremely saddened for Mr. Saunders widow and have no additional public comments concerning this case.

'The time and place of death is not information that we are allowed to share.'

People donate the bodies of their loved ones to companies like Med Ed Labs in order to avoid the high cost of burial, and receive an urn of ashes whenever the research is complete.

Ciliberto, a macabre artist and founder of Death Science who organized the event known as the Oddities and Curiosities Expo, said he paid Med Ed Labs north of $10,000 for each cadaver.

According to Ciliberto, Med Ed Labs was aware of his plans for the corpse.

Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases, told DailyMail.com that Death Science and Med Ed Labs could potentially be sued by Saunders' widow

'Yes, Med Ed Labs was aware of the course,' Ciliberto told DailyMail.com in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

'Death Science partnered with Med Ed Labs and was in direct contact with Med Lab Ed, specifically, Obteen Nassiri, for multiple months leading up to the course including, but not limited to, the fact that the attendees are not exclusively medical students and ticket sales.'

According to Ciliberto, Med Ed Labs provided the cadaver as well as the anatomist who performed the autopsy, Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired college professor.

Med Ed Labs also booked the venue for the cadaver class, according to Ciliberto.

The Death Science founder told DailyMail.com that Med Ed Labs 'was responsible for the handling of the cadaver before, during and after the event.'

When asked if Saunders' next of kin gave their consent to the autopsy, Ciliberto told DailyMail.com that his company 'does not have access to personal information for cadavers provided.

'The personal information including cause of death and donation agreement is only available to the medical partner and the funeral director.'

When asked if Death Science was aware that the cadaver belonged to someone who died of COVID-19, Ciliberto responded: 'Death Science is not provided with the cause of death, but, Med Ed Labs did complete and provide Death Science with a serology test confirming that the cadaver provided did not have any infectious diseases present.

'The anatomist provided by Med Ed Labs also confirmed this during the course.'

DailyMail.com has sought a response from Nassiri and Med Ed Labs.

The autopsy was performed by Dr. Colin Henderson, a retired science professor from the University of Montana in Missoula

The event was held at Marriott Downtown Waterfront in Portland after it was moved there from a different Marriott hotel.

The cadaver class was initially scheduled to be held at the Downtown Courtyard Marriott (above), but pressure from the county coroner led to its cancellation

But the chief medical examiner in Portland said this wasnt true.

Kimberly DiLeo, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner, said that a Med Ed Labs supervisor told her the company had no idea the body would be used for a live event.

Scientists don't know how long COVID-19 can last in a human corpse Researchers do not know how long the coronavirus can survive in human corpses It is unclear how long the coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19, can survive in a deceased human body. While some studies have indicated that the virus can persist for as long as five months in a living human, there are still no definitive studies as to how long the pathogen could last in a corpse. According to a May 2021 study by the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers discovered the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome in the corpse of an exhumed infected person one month after she died. 'The viral gene targets were still present in her lungs and heart, however, the virus was no longer alive,' according to the study. Nonetheless, 'infectious risks from human corpses should be considered.' Simple fragments of the genome do not constitute a threat to humans, according to the study. 'SARS-CoV-2 can survive in cadavers for a long time; it depends on the amount of virus detected before death, on which organ and tissue the virus had been detected in, and also on the burial process,' according to researchers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 'it is believed there is little risk of getting COVID-19 from a dead body.' The disease is spread through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. 'If somebody were to go and touch, hug or kiss a dead corpse [of someone who died of the coronavirus], then yes, there is a chance that they might catch the virus from contact,' Dr. Prakash Shrestha, an infectious disease physician with Covenant Health, told KAMC-TV. However, he said theres no need to worry. While it is possible to catch COVID-19 from a corpse, the chance of this kind of infection happening is low. Advertisement

'Their supervisor was unaware of the deceased being used for this event,' DiLeo said.

'We feel that this was not respectful and certainly not ethical. A Med Ed Labs spokesman told KING-TV that Ciliberto had been 'dishonest' when obtaining the corpse. DailyMail.com has contacted Med Ed and Ciliberto for further comment.

Ciliberto later told KING-TV: 'Any concerns about the cadaver have always been addressed by the lab.

'Again I am not the lab, I am the host.'

He also added: 'I can guarantee that that man knew his body would be used for medical research.'

But Ciliberto did not say that Saunders' knew his body would be dissected for a paying audience at a hotel, rather than in the expected setting of a private laboratory.

The cadaver class was initially scheduled to be held at the Downtown Courtyard Marriott, but DiLeo pressured the hotel to cancel it.

When the organizers moved the event to the Marriott Downtown Waterfront, DiLeo once again tried to persuade the managers at the hotel to not allow it to go forward. The hotel refused.

A subsequent autopsy scheduled by Ciliberto to be held at another Marriott in Seattle on October 31 - Halloween - has since been canceled amid outrage over the Portland event.

'We follow detailed protocols to protect safety,' Martin McAllister, the general manager of the Marriott Downtown Waterfront, told KING-TV.

'We are aware of concerns regarding a recent event and we are looking into them further, but as a matter of privacy, we do not discuss details of guests or groups.'

DailyMail.com has contacted Marriott seeking further comment.

Ciliberto told DailyMail.com that the hotel was aware there would be a live autopsy on a human body and that a paid audience was going to attend to see it.

He said Med Ed Labs booked the hotel.

'Yes, while the venue was booked by Med Ed Labs, Death Science was in direct contact with the hotel who provided full set up of the space the course was held in including the transportation of the cadaver, lighting, positioning the table, chairs, electronics and spoke directly with Med Ed Labs to confirm all safety precautions were in place and followed,' Ciliberto told DailyMail.com.

At least two attendees who saw the show told KING 5 TV that Henderson was respectful toward the corpse.

'It was very educational,' one attendee who goes by the name 'Monica' said.

'It was very respectful to the person that donated their body.'

Christine, a Portland resident, said: 'They're not doing anything that I would, if it was my own family member, be upset about.'

A similar event scheduled to take place on Halloween in Seattle was cancelled due to public reaction.

Death Science also offers 'eCourses' that are taught with 'hyperrealistic simulated scenarios on sets with actors, props, body paint, fake blood, FBI quality ballistics gel, handmade bones created with special resin that mimics human bone tensile strength, and more special effects.'

There's a forensic pathology eCourse that covers topics including 'autopsy basics,' death by poison gases, death by fire, toxicology and drug deaths, and electrocution.
The Rust camera assistant who quit on the night before Alec Baldwin accidentally shot the cinematographer recalled that there were only two safety meetings on set and said production did not take gun safety seriously.

Lane Luper, who served as the film's A-camera first assistant, said he quit because employees were being overworked, COVID-safety was not being enforced properly and gun safety was poor.

'I think with Rust, it was the perfect storm of the armorer, the assistant director, the culture that was on set, the rushing. It was everything,' he told Good Morning America about the events that led up to the fatal shooting.

'It wasnt just one individual. Everything had to fall into place for this one-in-a-trillion thing to happen.'

He then disputed the producers' claim that safety was a top priority on set, saying, 'I only personally remember two safety meetings that involved the entire crew.

Luper ultimately accused the film's production of breaking the cardinal rule of having guns on set, which he said was, 'There shall never be live rounds anywhere on a studio lot, or stage or set.'

He also choked up when describing the late Halyna Hutchins, saying 'She genuinely was something special.'

Luper Lane has criticized the film's production as one that created the perfect storm for the tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

Halyna Hutchins, center, was shot when a gun held by Alec Baldwin, to her left, went off in his hands. The gun was supposed to only only blanks, not live rounds

Baldwin has remained mostly quiet on set until he reposted a social media message from a fellow coworker slamming critics of Rust's production

FULL INTERVIEW: Former Rust first camera assistant Lane Luper speaks out about safety concern claims on the movie set. https://t.co/0czCkzo5Wu  Good Morning America (@GMA) November 3, 2021

In his letter of resignation, Luper said there had been two accidental weapon discharges on set and one accidental sound-effects explosion that went off around the crew.

'There have been NO explanations as to what to expect for these shots. When anyone from production is asked we are usually met with the same answers about not having enough time to complete the day if we rehearse or that 'this is a 21 day shoot,' Luper wrote in the letter.

He added that the crew grew exhausted of long commutes from the set to their lodging, which for some more than two hours away.

'In my 10 years as a camera assistant I've never worked on a show that cares so little for the safety of its crew,' Luper said.

Luper claimed that there were two previous accidents of a weapon discharge on set and said there were only ever two safety meetings that involved the whole crew

Luper said that Rust's production showed very little care for the crew and gun safety. Circled, Halyna Hutchins and Alec Baldwin with the crew

Much of the blame for the death on set has been directed towards Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, left, the armorer, and David Halls, the assistant director

Hutchins died on October 21 after Baldwin pointed and fired a Colt pistol at her during a scene.

Baldwin was handling the vintage gun on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when it accidentally discharged  killing the mom-of-one and wounding director Joel Souza.

The gun was supplied by the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and checked by the assistant director David Halls, who told Baldwin it was a 'cold gun,' meaning it had blanks.

Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer, Jason Bowles, told the Today Show that 'She's heartbroken, and she's just devastated by what's happened. '

Bowles previously told NBC News that the young armorer had 'no idea where the live rounds came from and never witnessed anyone shooting live ammunition on set.'

While Luper and other Rust crew members continue to slam the production of the western, Baldwin fired back on Tuesday by sharing a social media post from one crew member slamming her coworkers for painting a 'blatantly false' picture of the set as 'chaotic and unsafe'.

Pictured, Hutchins on set just before Baldwin's gun would go off

Luper said Hutchins, pictured, was 'genuinely was something special'

Baldwin shared a screenshot of the post written by costume designer Terese Magpale Davis to his Instagram account with the caption: 'Read this.'

'I am so sick of this narrative,' Davis wrote in her post. 'I worked on this movie. The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bull***t.'

Davis' post refuted many of the complaints of crew members - including that they routinely worked more than 12-hour days.

'We never worked more than a 12.5 hour shoot day. That was once,' Davis wrote.

'Most days were under 12. The day Halyna died we had come off of a 12 hour turnaround after an 11 hour shoot day. We had (including camera) gotten off by 6:30pm.

Davis continued, sharing that the fatal shooting that occurred on set will haunt her for a long time. She notes that she is angry at Dave Hall, the assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun, but would not accuse him of not caring about safety.

'I am heartbroken and furious,' she wrote. 'I will never get the sound of that gunshot or my director's screams out of my head as a result.'

'My friend is dead. Am I angry at him? Yes. But I won't jump on the bandwagon and pretend that he was uncaring about our safety the whole way through.'

Baldwin had remained silent about the incident on Rust prior to sharing the post.

He issued a public statement the day after Hutchins' death in which he indicated that he was cooperating with authorities and offered his condolences to her family. He also held an impromptu press conference with his wife on Saturday.

His silence was also reflected in his social media accounts, until Saturday when he appeared to return to some of his typical online behaviors.

His sharing of Davis' post is the first publicly-made indication that he doesn't agree with the narrative crew members have created.
An Iowa puppy mill agreed to surrender over 500 dogs on Tuesday after he had hoarded them in unsanitary conditions.

Daniel Gingerich, of Seymour, Iowa, faces criminal charges after failing to provide proper nutrition, water and veterinary assistance for the dogs while in his care.

Multiple dogs were discovered dead, malnourished, or injured at six of his mills across the state.

The ASPCA and ARL have been working together to remove the 514 suffering animals from the properties with over 200 being rescued so far.

Gingerich has reportedly racked up more than 100 violations of the Animal Welfare Act following 18 investigations from the USDA.

His license was suspended for 21 days and a federal indictment was filed for him in September.

Iowa dog breeder Daniel Gingerich is said to face criminal charges after 514 dogs were discovered in unsanitary conditions in at least six of his mills

Gingerich was slapped with 120 violations of the Animal Welfare Act following 18 investigations by the USDA that show he failed to provide the dogs with adequate nutrition, clean water and veterinary care

Animals were found dead, sick, or injured during the course of the six-month investigation

In a complaint filed on Friday, the Department of Justice described the harrowing conditions that the dog breeder had kept animals in.

Bug-infested beds, leaking ceilings, and gaping floors were spotted in the mills, according to the the federal indictment.

A caged poodle seen whining and barking in the 119 degree summer heat on the driveway.

A Golden retriever puppy with body extremities, including her ears, cold to the touch and her body hot was seen with barely any fat and sunken muscles .

The investigators had inspected an Australian Shepard with dark brown tartar-colored teeth and two dogs with overgrown toenails walking around gaping floors covered in urine and feces.

A female Bernese Mountain dog was also found with an abnormal condition that was spotted on her nose.

They also noticed malnourish puppies gasping for air and even witnessed a poodle die right in front of them during an August investigation.

The starving animals covered in matted fur and skin lesions, some with fresh blood, were also seen covered in fleas and eating mold-infested food.

Their beds distorted in dark color were also found covered in mold and dirt.

Gingerich had also allegedly hid animals that needed to be taken to the veterinarian for treatment in dirty horse stalls.

He had also failed to record medical records for the animals as well as neglecting to document dog sales.

The starving animals were also seen covered in matted fur and skin lesions

Gingerich kept sick animals in dirty feces infested horse stalls

A rescue organization also claimed they found 13 of Gingerich's dogs in poor condition after purchasing the animals from him.

The USDA, who are meant to oversee breeders and animal conditions, were criticized by the ASPCA for failing to address Gingerich's cruelty after giving him a license in October 2019.

The organization had also sued the department for not enforcing the AWA.

'(Gingerichs) shocking cruelty is a predictable result of the USDA,' ASPCA legal advocacy senior counsel Robert Hensley said.

'Allowing the very animals they have a legal and moral obligation to protect to endure prolonged and extreme suffering.'

The USDA had began investigating Gingerich's property in March after they were formerly denied opportunities to do so.

During a six-month investigation, the department discovered he had racked up 120 violations of the AWA.

The animal removal process began on October 14 with over 200 of them rescued in the course of a couple days.

'The light is shining on bad actors in the dog breeding industry as a result of this action by the Department of Justice,' Tom Colvin, CEO at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa said.

'A new approach of stopping them before animals suffer is long overdue.

'We are thankful to all our partners in putting an end to this operation specifically, and we look forward to making this a step toward large-scale change.'

Gingerich had operated six puppy mills across the state in Iowa

The ASPCA and ARL are working together to rescue the animals and bring them to proper shelters

A total of 275 dogs were uncovered at the main Seymour mill on 3125 Davis Road with breeds such as Toy Aussies, Cocker Spaniels, Labradoodles and Goldendoodles as well as others.

Another 161 dogs at 25316 Elk Chapel Road in Lamont, which had a Pomsky breed, were found as well.

Both the ASPCA and ARL are said to confiscate 33 animals from 28920 189th Avenue in Davis City, 23 at 12340 240th Street at another Lamoni site, 13 in from 1405 126th Street in Hazleton and 9 at 3002 Highway 2 in Promise City.

The rescued dogs will be brought to the Wayne County Fairgrounds and taken to a veterinarian for inspection before being take to shelters.

'I'm glad to get this part of it behind us,' Sheriff Keith Davis told KCRG.

'Then we'll go ahead and pursue the criminal charges which are going to come later on.'

Gingerich has said he has since felt remorse over the situation and takes responsibility for his actions. He has agreed to stop selling, breeding and brokering dogs.

'He apologized to me and said, you know, he's the one to blame for all this,' Sheriff Davis added. 'He's taking responsibility.'

The agreement settling the lawsuit between Gingerich and the DOJ has yet to be signed off by a judge.
Chris Appleby, 33, of Lawrence County was arrested and taken to jail after a search warrant led deputy officers to the weed, firearms and cash in two separate buildings.

Police in Tennessee arrested an Amish man after seizing 25 pounds of weed and several firearms in his home.

A search warrant was issued for Chris Appleby, 33, of Lawrence County that led to his arrest on Monday.

Lawrence County Sherrif's Office Deputies executed the search at his home on Denson Road in the northern side of the county.

A stash of at least 25 pounds of marijuana was seized in two separate buildings, News19 reported.

A picture of the stash provided by the Sherriff's office shows the weed stored in several glass jars, larger plastic containers and plastic bags.

Ten firearms and cash were also found on the property, according to police.

Appleby was charged with Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Possession of Schedule VI for Resale, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Alternation of Serial Numbers.

He did not resist the arrest and was taken to Lawrence County Jail.

A picture of the stash provided by the Sherriff's office shows the weed stored in several glass jars and larger containers

In recent years, growing hemp has become increasingly popular among farmer communities, like the Amish, in certain states in the US.

Hemp, however, contains significantly less percentage of THC - the chemical found in cannabis responsible for the 'high' - than marijuana.

Hemp is considered cannabis with less than .3percent of THC, and it can also be used for the production of clothing, plastics and biofuel.

Pennsylvania, a state with a large presence of the Amish community, approved the commercial production of hemp in 2018.

Meanwhile, marijuana can have anywhere from a 5 to 20percent concentration of THC.

While controlled hemp grows are allowed in Tennesse, marijuana, both for medical and recreational uses is illegal in the state.
A couple's dream Caribbean cruise holiday has been cancelled by P&O because their children are not double vaccinated - despite it being impossible for them to get the Covid jab.

Ally Keeting, 31, and her husband Joe, 35, had booked the 14,000 December Caribbean cruise with their two young children back in August.

But they were devastated when the holiday company called to say their children, Sofia, two, and Finley, five months, would need to be double vaccinated to get aboard.

The call came after the cruise firm last month changed its policy on its Caribbean cruises, meaning all passengers must be double vaccinated, irrespective of age.

However the UK's medicine regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has so far only recommended Covid jabs for children 12 and older.

That means it is currently impossible for the Keetings to get their children vaccinated against Covid in the UK.

The family from Leeds, West Yorkshire, have since had their holiday money refunded. But they have had to pay an extra 2,000 in order to travel with another firm.

Ally, a civil servant, said: 'We're just baffled and really upset. How can we achieve something that's unachievable?

Ally Keeting, 31, husband Joe, 35, had booked a 14,000 December Caribbean cruise with their two young children back in August. But they were devastated when the holiday company called to say their kids Sofia, two, and Finley, five months, would need to be double vaccinated to get aboard

'There's nowhere in the world that's vaccinating children that young - the vaccines aren't even licensed for that age group.

'It's like hitting your head on a brick wall. I just couldn't believe it.'

The couple and their children, were due to travel with his mother, sister and her two children from Manchester Airport on December 17.

From there, they were due to fly out to board P&O's Britannia ship in Barbados.

Joe's mother paid for it as a treat for her family to celebrate her 70th birthday.

They had started planning all their trips on the islands and even buying holiday clothes.

Ally looked online and all the Caribbean countries seemed to require was a Covid test for children, she said. The couple booked in August.

But P&O changed its policy last month. The line's president Paul Ludlow said its Covid-19 protocols 'needed to evolve to the changing public health situation' which had prompted the change in policy.

The family were given a refund and have booked another trip with Tui.

But Ally said: 'We just felt really sad. If they had to cancel it because of regulations you'd understand.

The couple and their children, were due to travel with his mother, sister and her two children from Manchester Airport on December 17. From there, they were due to fly out to board P&O's Britannia (pictured) ship in Barbados

'But when it's their own new policy that doesn't make sense: it's irritating and hurtful,' said Ally.

A spokesperson from P&O Cruises said: 'We are so sorry for the disappointment that this has caused.

'However, given the long-haul destinations and the number of different countries visited, combined with the current health protocols and various and evolving entry requirements in the Caribbean, all guests (irrespective of age) must have completed their vaccination course at least 14 days prior to travel for this season of Caribbean cruise holidays.'

It comes as one of No10's vaccine advisers cautioned today said it is 'far too early' for the UK to follow the US in jabbing five year olds.

Professor Jeremy Brown, on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), argued there was a case for giving doses to vulnerable infants with medical conditions.

But he said Britain's medical regulator has yet to scrutinise data from the US to see whether the jab should be given the green light for any under-12s.

US health bosses last night approved controversial plans to vaccinate children aged five to 11, piling pressure on the UK to follow suit.

But England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said a move to mirror America's policy was 'some way down the track'.

Britain has so far limited its vaccine programme to healthy over-12s, after months of deliberating over the finely balanced risk/benefit ratio.
BBC presenter Huw Edwards today hit out at 'censoring' history after a picture of a slave owner who was the most senior British officer to die at the Battle of Waterloo was removed from the Welsh national museum.

The 'heroic' portrait of lieutenant general Sir Thomas Picton has hung at the museum in Cardiff for 100 years, but will now be sent to its stores after it was reappraised in light of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Reacting to the news, the News At Ten host tweeted: 'As a journalist I feel uneasy about this element of ''censoring'' history. Should not Picton remain on display as a reminder to Wales of an aspect of its past - no matter how disgraceful?'

Picton is notorious for his cruel treatment of his slaves, including executing a dozen and torturing and mutilating others.

He was known to have used the slave trade to build up his considerable fortune and in 1806 was also found guilty of torturing Luisa Calderon, a 14-year-old mixed-race girl, during his rule of Trinidad.

The portrait will be replaced by Hedger and Ditcher: Portrait of William Lloyd, which was painted by Albert Houthuesen, a Dutch artist who became fascinated with the working life of Flintshire colliers while on holiday with his wife in the 1930s.

Curators are handing artists a 12,000 commission to produce new artworks that will 'reinterpret' Picton's life by telling it from the view of his victims. When these new works are finished a committee will decide whether Picton can be rehung as part of a new display.

The 'heroic' portrait of lieutenant general Sir Thomas Picton (right) will not be displayed again at the Welsh national museum until it is 'reinterpreted'). Pictured left: A statue of the slave owner that was removed from Cardiff city hall last year

Reacting to the news, Huw Edwards tweeted: 'As a journalist I feel uneasy about this element of ''censoring'' history'

Today, BBC presenter and Welshman Huw Edwards said he was 'uncomfortable' about the decision to remove the portrait

Sir Thomas Picton: 'Tyrant of Trinidad' whose last words were 'Charge!' Thomas Picton was born on August 24, 1758, in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He became the highest-ranking British Army officer killed at the Battle of Waterloo, shot through the temple while leading a bayonet charge against the enemy. His last words were reported to be 'Charge! Charge! Hurrah! Hurrah!'. The Duke of Wellington called him 'a rough foul-mouthed devil as ever lived', but described him as capable. A memorial to him was erected at St Paul's Cathedral while former prime minister David Lloyd George described him as one of the 'Heroes of Wales' in 1916. But he first came to the attention of the British public for his alleged cruelty during his governorship of Trinidad, where his motto was 'let them hate so long as they fear' Picton was accused of the execution of a dozen slaves while historians claimed others were tortured and mutilated under his watch. He was known to have used the slave trade to build up his considerable fortune and in 1806 was also found guilty of torturing Luisa Calderon, a 14-year-old mixed-race girl, during his rule of the Caribbean island. He tendered his resignation after an investigation reported some of the cruelty allegations against him. The Privy Council later tried him on the allegations of cruelty. He was at first found guilty of unlawful torture to extract a confession of Luisa Calderon, but was later cleared at a retrial. Picton successfully argued that arguing that Trinidad was subject to Spanish law, which permitted the use of torture. Advertisement

Despite being a war hero, Picton was also known as the 'Tyrant of Trinidad' and executed dozens of slaves while serving as the islands governor.

The National Museum Wales says new commissions will retell the story of Picton from the perspectives of the lives he affected.

Museum director of collections, Kath Davies, said: 'We've always recognised that Picton's history is difficult, it's complex, it's controversial and we wanted to work with the young people for them to decide how they wanted to reflect on that history and how they want to interpret that portrait.

'The work of the artists will go on display in August next year because it's the Trinidadian day of independence.

We'll be working on the interpretation of Picton with the young people over the next few weeks.'

The future of the painting will be determined by the Sub Sahara Advisory Panel, whose director Fadhili Maghiya welcomed its removal.

He said: 'It's almost like a new era in some ways, especially looking at who he was, what he stood for, what he did.

'It does bring a new chapter in terms of conversations about race, diversity, inclusiveness.'

Picton was born on August 24, 1758 in Haverfordwest, west Wales, and remains the only Welshman to be buried at St Paul's Cathedral following his death at Waterloo in 1815.

In July 2020 councillors voted to remove a statue of Picton in Cardiff City Hall amid a Welsh government probe into offensive statues.

Councillors said the statue was an 'affront' to black people in Cardiff and 'no longer acceptable'.

But last December counsellors in Carmarthen voted against removing or renaming a monument to the local hero.

The memorial has stood in Picton Terrace in the south-western town since 1888.

Reacting to demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd in the US in May, Carmarthenshire Council set up a taskforce to review matters relating to racial inequality.

Its remit included the 'interpretation and history of Sir Thomas Picton and the monument in Carmarthen'.

However, a majority of locals voted to keep the statue, arguing 'you cannot change or erase history' and calling the monument 'recognition' of a Carmarthen hero who helped save Britain from Napoleon.

The work has hung at the museum in Cardiff 100 years, but in recent years there has been growing scrutiny of Pictons legacy following the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement

In July 2020 councillors voted to remove a statue of Picton in Cardiff City Hall (left) amid a Welsh government probe into offensive statues. But last December counsellors in Carmarthen voted against removing or renaming a monument to the local hero (right)
A top criminal psychologist claims the man who allegedly abducted Cleo Smith is likely to be 'very bad, not very mad' - as Perth's Lord Mayor calls for the city to 'turn blue' to celebrate her homecoming.

The missing four-year-old was found at 12.45am on Wednesday alone in a bedroom in a locked and rundown house in the Carnarvon suburb of Brockman in Western Australia, after being missing for 18 days.

A 36-year-old man has been arrested over the alleged kidnapping from her family's tent at the Blowholes campsite on October 18, with psychology expert Tim Watson-Munro telling A Current Affair he believes whoever took her was likely meticulous and calculating.

'I think it's someone who's very bad, not very mad,' he claimed.

'A person capable of planning this crime, executing this crime, keeping this thing under wraps for nearly three weeks now and not really caring about the consequences.'

Meanwhile, Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zemplas has called on the major buildings around the city to light up blue to honour the tireless work of police officers who beat the odd to find Cleo alive and safe.

A top criminal psychologist says the man who allegedly abducted four-year-old Cleo Smith was likely to be 'very bad, not very mad', in his opinion

Police say the 36-year-old man in custody was not previously on the sex offender's list (pictured, the house where she was found)

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zemplas has called on the major buildings around the city to light up blue in support of Cleo being found alive and safe. Pictured: Council House in Perth

Cleo, 4, was described as safe and well but was immediately taken to hospital for further tests and to be reunited with relieved and overjoyed parents, Ellie and Jake.

Police feared the missing girl could have been spirited away anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

Investigators say they are still investigating whether or not Cleo was held in the house for the entire time she had been missing.

In Mr Watson-Munro's opinion the abduction was highly-planned over a significant period of time.

'He probably waited for the right opportunity to strike. They live in the same country town, he's probably thought about it for awhile,' he claimed.

'Clearly to have done what he did, in such a brazen way, to escape the crime scene the way he did and keep a lid on it, to me suggests a lot of planning.'

Cleo Smith is 'physically OK' according to police as the four-year-old is released from hospital and taken back to her family (pictured in the arms of a police officer in the early hours of Wednesday morning)

Criminal psychology expert Tim Watson-Munro (pictured) told A Current Affair the alleged kidnapper would likely be meticulous and calculating, in his opinion

WA Police released the first photo of Cleo after she was found at a home in Carnarvon on Wednesday morning, having been missing for 18 days - police say she is 'physically OK'

With Australia joined in celebration after the rescuing of little Cleo, Perth's Lord Mayor wants the city lit up to further commemorate the work of police.

Basil Zemplas took to Twitter on Wednesday night to thank WA Police for their tireless work in locating the four-year-old, asking major buildings across the capital to show their support.

'Thank you WA Police for your incredible efforts to find Cleo and reunite her with her family,' he wrote.

'Council House, The Bell Tower, Optus Stadium, Elizabeth Quay, Yagan Square, Perth Concert Hall. Can your building go blue to say thank you?'

The Council House was illuminated in blue on Wednesday night, with others around the city set to light up from Thursday night onwards.

Basil Zemplas took to Twitter on Wednesday night to thanks WA Police for their tireless work in locating the four-year-old, asking major buildings across the capital to show their support

The Council House was illuminated in blue on Wednesday night, with others around the city set to light up from Thursday night onwards

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, Detective Sergeant Cameron Blaine replied: 'without a doubt'

The VUE Tower in Adelaide terrace has confirmed it will light up pink for the little girl, while Fairlaines Ampitheatre will broadcast a large message reading 'Welcome Home Cleo'.

'The outpouring of emotion from people across Australia has been unprecedented since the news broke this morning that Cleo had been found,' Zemplas said.

'The tireless and amazing work by WA Police in solving this case has been inspirational and the entire state has been overjoyed at the news.

'Lighting up blue is just a simple gesture on our part to let WA Police, family and friends of Cleo and the Carnarvon community know that we are thinking of them and are relieved that Cleo has been reunited with her family.'
A British woman has won a legal battle against the Australian Taxation Office after the High Court of Australia ruled she had been subjected to a 'more burdensome taxation' due to her nationality.

Catherine Addy lived and worked in Australia between August 2015 and May 2017 while holding a working holiday visa.

She earned 26,576 Australian dollars (14,508) in 2017 while working as a waitress in Sydney and was an Australian resident for tax purposes that year.

In Australia, anyone on a working holiday visa is subject to a 15% tax on money they earn up to 37,000 dollars (20,200) however, Australian nationals get a tax-free threshold of 18,200 dollars (9,938).

Lawyers for Ms Addy successfully argued these 'backpacker tax' rules contravened a 'double taxation' agreement Australia has with the UK, which requires British nationals to be taxed equally to Australian nationals 'in the same circumstances, in particular with respect to residence'.

In a judgment handed down on Wednesday, the High Court of Australia said: 'The question is whether that more burdensome taxation was imposed on Ms Addy owing to her nationality. The short answer is "yes".

Ms Addy has won a legal battle against the Australian Taxation Office after High Court ruling

Catherine Addy lived and worked in Australia between August 2015 and May 2017

She earned 26,576 Australian dollars (14,508) in 2017 while working as a waitress in Sydney

'Ms Addy's circumstances in the 2017 income year including that of her residency in Australia for taxation purposes were relevantly the same as an Australian national.

'She did the same kind of work and earned the same amount of income from the same source; yet an Australian national was required... to pay less tax.'

The Mercury reports Ms Addy and TaxBack chief executive Joanne Murphy encouraged other backpackers to check their taxes.

TaxBack funded Ms Addy appeal and have told the tax office it could have other cases on the horizon.

In Australia, anyone on a working holiday visa is subject to a 15% tax on money they earn

The tax office on Wednesday did not immediately respond to the ruling and said employers should carry on as before.

'The ATO is currently considering this decision and will provide further guidance as soon as possible,' the tax office said.

'This decision is only relevant where the working holidaymaker is both an Australian resident for tax purposes and from Chile, Finland, Japan, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Germany or Israel.

'Working holidaymakers who may potentially be affected by this decision are encouraged to check the ATO website for updated guidance prior to lodging or amending a return or lodging an objection.'

Ms Addy worked as a waitress in two Sydney hotels for five months in 2017 and earned $26,576.
Four former female members of the Church of Scientology who say they were harassed by the secretive church after coming forward with rape claims against actor Danny Masterson are fighting to have their case heard in public court rather than by religious arbitration.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal took up the case Tuesday after the California Supreme Court ordered the appeals judges to reconsider their previous decision to let the church rule on their claims.

The women have accused the church of hiring people to follow them, photograph them, tap their phones and hack their emails and home security systems. One says the church killed her dog by leaving rat poison wrapped in raw meat on her lawn.

A judge previously said that Scientology has 'an expressly written doctrine' that 'not only discourages, but prohibits' people from coming forward with assault claims - a policy that likely kept the women silent for years and calls into question the integrity of an internal process.

The four women, and the husband of one, filed the civil harassment lawsuit in 2019, but the church says they signed agreements to settle any claims in front of a panel of Scientologists when they joined, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Actor Danny Masterson, 45, has been accused of rape by five women. Four have filed a civil lawsuit accusing him and the Church of Scientology of harassing them for coming forward

One of the women, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, says the church killed two of her pets. In January 2020, her husband shared photos of what he said was rat poison in raw meat left in his yard

Ex-girlfriend Bobette Riales tweeted in 2017: 'Danny Masterson repeatedly raped me. All I seek is justice and to prevent this from ever happening to anyone else as it has for some time'

Masterson, who starred in the hit TV comedy That 70s Show, has been accused of rape by five women. Four are involved in the civil harassment lawsuit and three are part of an ongoing criminal trial in which the actor faces 45 years in prison.

In January, a trial court judge ruled that the women have to let the panel of Scientologists decide their harassment claims because their arbitration agreement was binding.

The appeals court sided with the trial court, but the California Supreme Court ordered the appeals court to reconsider.

On Tuesday, the appeals court asked about the church's process and seemed inclined to let it take hold. One member of the appeals panel suggested that the plaintiffs could go to court if they find the process had been biased.

The women's lawyer, Marci Hamilton, argued that the religious panel would conduct an investigation 'solely according to Scientology cannon.'

She also said the women are no longer in the church and shouldn't have to abide by its rules.

'This would be traumatizing for my clients,' Hamilton said, according to WBRZ.

A court is now deciding whether a harassment case filed by four women should proceed in public court or in private religious arbitration within the church, above in Los Angeles

The women say the church and Masterson, of That 70s Show fame, hired people to follow them, photograph them, tap their phones and hack their emails and home security systems

'It would violate their First Amendment, absolute right to believe and practice whatever religion they choose and to escape the religion they do not want to be a part of.'

Scientology representative William Forman says that a 'Scientology justice officer' decides what evidence can be submitted in arbitration, but that the decision can be appealed to the arbitrators, who are members of the church in 'good standing,' according to the LA Times.

He also said the women in the lawsuit are not yet considered 'subversive persons.'

The civil complaint was filed in August 2019 by Chrissie Carnell-Bixler; her husband, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, frontman of Mars Volta; and three other women.

The harassment lawsuit, which also names Masterson, is separate from an ongoing criminal trial against Masterson.

The disgraced actor - who has been married to actress and model Bijou Phillips since 2011 - is charged with raping a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, raping a 28-year-old woman in April 2003, and raping another 23-year-old woman between October and December 2003.

Much of the abuse is said to have taken place in his Hollywood Hills home

Masterson was fired from Netflix's The Ranch, where he starred opposite fellow That 70s Show star Ashton Kutcher, in the middle of shooting the third season after the allegations resurfaced, according to Indiewire.

Masterson, 45, was also accused of sexual assault in two other cases but the DA's office said they declined to file charges on those, one for insufficient evidence and the other based on the statute of limitations.

Scientology is known for heavily courting celebrity members, an interest of founder L Ron Hubbard. It runs multiple 'Celebrity Centres,' including one in Hollywood.

In January 2020, Bixler-Zavala, the husband of accuser Carnell-Bixler, posted an image on Instagram of raw meat which he said had been contaminated with rat poison and placed in his yard by people hired by the church.

A day later, he said his family dog had died.

'This is the 2nd dog weve had to put down due to the harassment from private investigators and Scientologists. This only makes us stronger. My boys named her biscuit. They still dont understand whats happening. We said goodbye to her and let her go peacefully.'

Carnell-Bixler, who is part of both the civil and criminal proceedings, says she was dismissed by Scientology officials when she accused Masterson of anally raping her.

In May, she told the court that in November 2001, 'I was sleeping and I woke up and he (Masterson) was having sex with me.'

Accuser Chrissie Carnell-Bixler and her husband Cedric Bixler-Zavala say the church has killed pets by leaving poison wrapped in food on their lawn

'I decided I did not want to have sex with him and I fought him and told him to stop. He got angry and pushed all his weight down on my body. I tried to push him off,' Carnell-Bixler said.

'He would not stop so I did something I knew would make him angry, I pulled his hair. He has these rules.he has this thing about his hair ..and I know that if I pulled it really hard he would get off me.'

Masterson reacted violently, she said. 'He hit me,' she told the court, indicating that he had stuck her inn the cheek with an 'open fist.'

When he finally got off her, said Carnell-Bixler, 'He stood over me and spit on me and called me white trash.'

She went on to describe a second incident a month later in December 2001 which started with she and Masterson going out to dinner at a restaurant where she said she drank 'a glass or two' of wine.

'The last thing I remember from that night was standing up to leave the restaurant. I don't remember anything more.

Masterson has been married to actress Bijou Phillips since 2011. She has defended Masterson as well as her father, John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas, against rape accusations

Phillips, a model and socialite in the early 2000s, mocked one of Masterson's alleged victims

'When I woke up the next morning, I had no memory of the night before. I had no clothes on and I was confused.

'The first thing I noticed was that my whole body hurt and the back of my head hurt. I was injured in my rectal area. There was a little blood and I felt torn. It hurt to sit down and it hurt to go to the bathroom.'

She confronted Masterson, she said. 'I asked him what happened last night. I have no memory and my bottom is injured.

'He laughed at me and he said he had sex with me there (the rear area). I said. 'Was I unconscious the whole time and he sad 'yes.'

Carnell-Bixler - who Masterson recruited into the Church of Scientology - said she went to Church of Scientology officials Miranda and Chris Scoggins to report the alleged anal rape.

'I told Miranda "He raped me." And she told me, "You cannot rape someone you are in a relationship with. Don't say the word rape again."'

Carnell-Bixler said that the Scientology officials told her not to say anything to outsiders about the traumatic incident, making her fear that she could be declared a 'suppressive person'.

'That means that other Scientologists can lie to them, trick them, ultimately destroy that person.'

Another victim, named only as N. Trout, said the Scientologist actor commanded her to come to his Hollywood Hills home where he allegedly raped her in the shower, then moved to his bed where he sexually 'pounded' her from behind, 'like a jackhammer.'

'I started to vomit in my mouth...I get ravaged, like a rag doll. It was very rough sex. I was not in charge of all my facultiesI was spent.'

The church, known for courting known members, has a 'Celebrity Centre' in Hollywood, above

One of the actor's accusers says she was 'ravaged, like a rag doll' by his 'very rough sex'

She said Masterson ejaculated on her stomach then, trying to act like a gentleman,' wiped it off with a wet towel.

Trout ran into Masterson at an event five years later and when she said hi, he didnt respond. 'He was staring at me with kind of a death stare. He looked like he wanted to kill me.'

She added that she did not report the alleged rape to the Church of Scientology. Because I knew I would be in troubleI had been told previously that you dont report another Scientologist.

'You mustnt do that or you will lose everythingYou are excommunicated and you will lose everything.'

Religious arbitration expert and law professor Michael A. Helfand told the LA Times that the appeals court seemed inclined to let the harassment case go to religious arbitration once again.

'I think the court has an intuition that something is awry with this arbitration,' he said. But the plaintiffs' lawyers 'did not provide the court with an adequate way to differentiate this form of arbitration with other forms of permissible arbitration.'

He said the arbitration agreement is shifty because members must be 'in good standing' with the church, a vague description that could be interpreted in many ways.

Phillips has stood by her husband Masterson amid the various rape allegations and even took to Instagram to ridicule Carnell-Bixler's claims that Scientologists had her dogs killed.

Phillips also supported her father, John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas, against incest and sexual abuse claims by her sister Mackenzie Phillips.
By Olivia Day for Daily Mail Australia

Friday, October 15

Cleo along with her mother Ellie Smith, her partner Jake Gliddon and her little sister Isla Mae arrive at the Blowholes campsite around 6:30pm.

They had a 'quiet' night and arrived at sunset.

Saturday, October 16

1:30am: Parents' last sighting of Cleo in the tent she shared with her parents and baby sister when the four-year-old asks for some water.

6.23am: Ellie calls 000 to report her eldest daughter missing as she continues to search the camp ground.

6.30am: The first two officers are dispatched from Carnarvon police station. They travel to Blowholes as a matter of priority, with sirens and lights.

6.41am: A second police car with another two officers is sent to Blowholes, also with lights and sirens.

7.10am: The first police car arrives. The second is only minutes behind.

7.26am: Police on the scene establish a protected forensic area which is taped off to the public, surrounding the family tent where Cleo was last seen.

7.33am: A drone operator is called upon to search from the skies.

7.44am: A third police car is dispatched to the Blowholes.

8am: Family and friends of Cleo's parents begin to arrive to help with the ground search.

Another group of detectives briefly searches Cleo's home to make sure she's not there.

They then head to Blowholes and begin stopping cars coming into and leaving the area.

8.09am: A helicopter from a local company arrived at the scene and started searching as police request an SES team attend the Blowholes search.

8.24am: Police air-wing and volunteer marine searchers are called in to assist with the search.

8.34am: Roadblocks are set up at the entrance of Blowholes as detectives gather the names, registration details and addresses of people coming and going. Police search cars.

9.25am: Nine SES personel arrive at the Blowholes to assist with the search.

Investigators, bounty hunters and officers from the Australian Federal Police have spent two-and-a-half weeks searching for missing four-year-old Cleo (pictured)

9.30am: Detectives sit down with a distressed Ellie and remain by her side for the rest of the day while other search crews hunt for Cleo.

11am: Homicide detectives from the Major Crime Division are called and begin travelling from Perth to assist with the search.

1pm: More homicide detectives and search experts are flown in from Perth.

3pm: Officers and search experts arrive in Carnarvon to offer their expertise.

Sunday, October 17

Ms Smith takes to social media to plead for help finding her missing daughter.

A Facebook post uploaded at 1:45am on Sunday which said: 'It's been over 24 hours since I last seen the sparkle in my little girl's eyes.

'Please help me find her!

'If you hear or see anything at all please call the police!'

Police suggest Cleo may have been abducted.

Monday, October 18

Police release an image of the red and grey sleeping bag missing from Cleo's tent.

Cleo's biological father is interviewed by police in Mandurah and is asked to provide a statement, which he does so willingly.

WA Police with the help of SES members, volunteers and aircraft continue the land hunt for Cleo, with officers searching nearby shacks and vehicles in the area.

Tuesday, October 19

Cleo's mother Ellie Smith and her partner Jake Gliddon front the media for the first time and describe the terrifying moment they realised the little girl was missing.

Ms Smith says her four-year-old would never have left the tent by herself.

Police release new images of Cleo and the pink and blue one-piece she was wearing the night she went missing to aid the investigation.

Investigators urge anyone who was at the campsite or in the vicinity on October 15 to get in contact with police.

Wednesday, October 20

Police reveal the zip of the family tent, which was found hanging wide open by her mother at 6am on Saturday morning, was too high for Cleo to reach.

Officers say they 'haven't ruled out' reports from campers who heard the sound of screeching tyres in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Deputy Police Commissioner Daryl Gaunt confirms officers are investigating the whereabouts of 20 registered sex offenders in the Carnarvon area.

Thursday, October 21

The WA Government offers a $1million reward for information that leads to Cleo's location announced by WA Premier Mark McGowan.

'All Western Australians' thoughts are with Cleo's family during what is an unimaginably difficult time,' Mr McGowan said.

'We're all praying for a positive outcome.'

The speed of the reward being issued - within days of her disappearance - was unprecedented.

Pictured: Police are seen examining rubbish left near the Blowholes campsite in remote WA

Monday, October 25

WA Police confirm Cleo was definitely at the camp site - on CCTV footage on a camera installed inside a beach shack just 20 metres from the family tent she disappeared from.

Tuesday, October 26

Forensic officers and detectives spent much of the day at her home in Carnarvon, 900km north of Perth, on Tuesday and left with two bags of evidence.

Although investigators had been to the home before, this was the first time they thoroughly searched inside with a forensics team.

Acting WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the search of the family home was 'standard practice' and did not indicate they were suspects in Cleo's disappearance.

Wednesday, October 27

WA Police forensics officers return to the Blowholes campground and are seen collecting soil samples from a number of campfires near shacks in the area.

The federal government announce Australian Federal Police officers had been drafted in to support forensic and intelligence efforts.

Friday, October 29

Police return to the Blowholes camp to analyse the area with drones.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde returns to the Blowholes campsite to join the search for Cleo as the search hit the two-week mark.

He confirms national and international agencies are engaged in the search for Cleo.

Sunday, October 31

Detectives go door-knocking at a number of homes along the North West Coastal Highway in the North Plantations, 5km from Cleo's hometown on Sunday.

Monday, November 1

Detectives sort through mounds of rubbish from roadside bins located hundreds of kilometres away from the campsite she vanished from.

The material was transported to Perth, where forensic officers and recruits sorted through hundreds of bags in search of items that may have helped them find Cleo.

Officers issue a plea for dash cam and CCTV footage from within a 1000km radius of where the four-year-old disappeared.

Police renew an appeal for more businesses in Carnarvon to provide footage and go door to door in an industrial area on the outskirts of the town.

Her elated mother, Ellie, (pictured, with Cleo, her partner and younger daughter) broke her silence the morning Cleo was found, sharing a series of love heart emojis on Instagram

Wednesday, November 3

After two-and-a-half weeks of searching Cleo Smith is found alive and well in the early hours of November 3.

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed just before 7am AEST that little Cleo is alive and well and had been reunited with her relieved parents.

'One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her 'what's your name?' he said. 'She said: 'My name is Cleo'.'

Ellie Smith posted to social media: 'Our family is whole again'.

A Carnarvon man is currently in custody and being questioned by detectives.
Attorneys representing Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed suggested that a disgruntled film crew member may have planted the live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a box of prop ammunition in a bid to 'sabotage' Alec Baldwin's film.

In the wake of the fatal shooting that also wounded director Joel Souza, several crew members have come out claiming that they were overworked and denied hotel rooms in the vicinity of the New Mexico set.

Gutierrez Reed's attorneys floated the theory that one of those 'disgruntled' crew members may have planted the live round on set as an act of revenge, during an interview with the Today show's Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday.

'I believe that somebody who would do that, would want to sabotage the set, would want to prove a point, want to say they're disgruntled, they're unhappy,' Jason Bowles said.

'And we know that people had already walked off the set the day before... and the reason they are unhappy is they're working 12 to 14 hour days, they are not given hotel rooms in and around the area, so they had to drive back and forth an hour to Albuquerque, and they're unhappy.'

Attorneys Robert Gorence (left) and Jason Bowles (right), representing 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, appeared on the Today Show on Wednesday to discuss the fatal shooting

That is the central question to this case: How did a live round get on set?@SavannahGuthrie speaks exclusively with Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, attorneys for Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who are speaking out about the investigation for the first time. pic.twitter.com/qTNGiAK5h1  TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 3, 2021

Gutierrez Reed's lawyers claimed that she loaded the Colt used in the shooting with rounds from a box that was supposed to contain only 'dummy' ammunition

Bowles said his client was unaware that any live bullets were loaded into the gun before the deadly October 21 shooting near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Gutierrez Reed has not been named a suspect, or charged with any crime in connection with Hutchins' killing, but she retained legal representation.

'There was a box of dummy rounds, and the box is labeled "dummy,'" Bowles said. '[Gutierrez Reed] loaded rounds from that box into the handgun, only later to find out - she had no idea - that there was a live round.'

The armorer then handed the vintage Colt pistol to assistant director David Halls, who, in turn, passed it on to Baldwin and announced 'cold gun,' indicating that the weapon was safe to use, according to authorities investigating the deadly October 21 shooting near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

'We're assuming somebody put the live round in that box,' Bowles told Guthrie. 'The person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging the set. There is no other reason you would do that: that you would mix that live round in with the dummy rounds.'

The armorer's attorneys suggested that a disgruntled crew member on set near Santa Fe, New Mexico, may have planted the live round as an act of sabotage

Alec Baldwin (left) accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyn Hutchins (right) and wounded director Joel Souza

Baldwin, pictured after being questioned just hours after the shooting mourned the loss of Hutchins, whom he called his 'friend'

Gutierrez Reed's other attorney, Robert Gorence, revealed that while the Colt had been locked away in a safe, the box of dummy ammunition was in a prop truck, which was 'completely unattended at all times, giving someone access and opportunity.'

Gorence also said that after the armorer retrieved the gun and loaded it with the rounds from the box, it was left unattended on a trey for two hours ahead of an afternoon film shoot.

Gutierrez Reed's lawyers defended her actions that day, saying that the loaded gun was not in her care for the entire duration of the filming because she was expected to perform two jobs on set: as an armorer and a props assistant.

Lawyers said as Gutierrez Reed (pictured at her home in Arizona, left) handed the loaded gun to assistant director David Halls (right), she spun the chamber to show him the rounds, but did not inspect them

Bowels said that after lunch, Gutierrez Reed handed the gun she had loaded earlier to Halls and then went about performing her other duties as a props assistant.

As she handed over the Colt, the lawyer said Gutierrez Reed spun the chamber to show Halls the rounds inside.

'She did spin the cylinder for him,' Bowles said. 'She did show him each and every round in that chamber, which there were six.'

He added: 'The problem is, when you look at a dummy round and you look at their appearance, they have the same projectile tip; some of these do not have a hole in the side. They mimic and look like a real round.'

The armorer's legal team admitted that she did not inspect the gun to ascertain that the rounds inside the chamber were not live ammunition.

Gorence explained that Gutierrez Reed was not inside the church set at the time of the shooting because it took place while cameras were being set up, and not during filming,

'She wasn't there,' the lawyer stressed.

The armorer's attorneys said they are cooperating with the investigation, and are hoping that the FBI would be able to determine who had planted the live round.

The attorneys for Gutierrez Reed she is 'absolutely devastated.'

'She remains very emotional about everything that's happened,' Bowles said. 'Coming on the scene and everything that she saw, she is heartbroken and she is just devastated by what's happened.'

Meanwhile, 'Rust' camera assistant Lane Luper, who quit on the eve of the shooting, told Good Morning America that there were only two safety meetings on set and said production did not take gun safety seriously.

'I think with Rust, it was the perfect storm of the armorer, the assistant director, the culture that was on set, the rushing. It was everything,' he said.

Luper claimed the crew were overworked and exhausted from commuting to and from the set, and he also cited poor gun safety, which he said resulted in two accidental weapon discharges and one accidental sound-effects explosion.

Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Baldwin leave the bedroom home they are renting with their children in Manchester, Vermont on November 1

Baldwin has been largely silent about what happened on the set of 'Rust,' but on Tuesday he shared a social media post from one crew member slamming her coworkers for painting a 'blatantly false' picture of the set as 'chaotic and unsafe'.

Baldwin issued a public statement the day after Hutchins' death in which he indicated that he was cooperating with authorities and offered his condolences to her family.

Halls released a statement to the New York Post on Monday, saying he hopes the tragedy prompts the film industry to reevaluate its values and practices to ensure no one is harmed again.

Concerns have been raised about Halls safety record by colleagues on two previous productions.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said last week there was 'some complacency' in how weapons were handled on the set. Investigators found around 500 rounds of ammunition  a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and suspected live rounds  even though the sets armorer, Gutierrez Reed, said real ammo should never have been present.
Kyle Rittenhouse averted his eyes as harrowing scenes of Joseph Rosembaum taking his final breaths were played in Kenosha County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon.

Bystanders crowded Rosenbaum who groaned in a protracted death rattle in the moments after he was shot four times by Rittenhouse who had fled the scene.

Moments earlier, the court had watched further livestream footage from the night of August 25, 2020, in which Rittenhouse could be seen being chased by Rosenbaum, while Daily Caller reporter Richie McGinness followed on. McGinness was so close to the shooting Rittenhouse has been charged with reckless endangerment.

Rittenhouse sat before a monitor and watched those scenes, wiggling his pen rapidly. His discomfort during the barrage of video evidence entered after lunch was clear.

Looking back at the screen for a period of time Rittenhouse appeared emotional. At one point he put his hand to his cheek and wiped his eye.

Kyle Rittenhouse averted his eyes as harrowing scenes of Joseph Rosembaum taking his final breaths were played in Kenosha County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon

Looking back at the screen for a period of time Rittenhouse appeared emotional. At one point he put his hand to his cheek and wiped his eye

Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum (pictured), 36, with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on August 25, 2020

Rittenhouse sat before a monitor and watched those scenes, wiggling his pen rapidly. His discomfort during the barrage of video evidence entered after lunch was clear

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting as the narrator shouts, 'He shot him! He shot him!' McGinness is filmed taking off his shirt and attempting to stem Rosenbaum's bleeding. Meanwhile Rittenhouse, who had earlier walked the streets declaring himself a medic stands dumbly by, before turning and fleeing the scene, leaving others to call for medics.

In other chaotic footage the panicked crowd can be seen carrying the shirtless, dying man to a nearby vehicle and loading him into back in a bid to get him to medics.

Members of the jury were visibly disturbed as more footage showed Rittenhouse on the ground shooting up first at Anthony Huber then at Gaige Grosskreutz who was filmed howling in pain, screaming for a medic, having been shot in the arm.

Jurors at the Kenosha shooter's trial have heard jolting audio of the first four shots fired by Kyle Rittenhouse on the night of August 25, 2020

In scenes of violent confusion a man can be heard screaming, 'People are getting shot everywhere!' as Rittenhouse is seen, pointing his gun and walking away from the scene.

Under direct examination Detective Martin Howard, recounted how he had chronicled Rittenhouse's injuries when he saw him in the early hours of August 26, at Antioch Illinois, police station.

Detective Howard recalled that Rittenhouse had a scratch above his left eyebrow, a cut on his lower lip, some redness on his chest and near his belly button, redness on the tip of one thumb, a scratch on his back and two lumps, 'the size of a penny' on the back of his head behind his left ear, not visible through his thick hair but clear to the touch.

Defense attorney Richards returned to this theme during cross examination and neatly converted it to his cause, saying, 'I guess what the state is getting at is the injuries weren't serious he shouldn't have shot.'

He continued, 'When you're getting hit in the head you don't know what's going to happen do you? When somebody's hitting you again with their skateboard you don't know. When somebody puts their bare hand on your firearm you don't know if that person is going to get your gun, turn it and use it on you.'

He concluded, 'Sir if a weapon is taken from somebody it could be used against them as a deadly, dangerous weapon. Correct?'

Detective Howard agreed, 'Correct.'

Day three of the high-profile trial began with witness Koerri Elijah Washington back on the stand to complete testimony he began Tuesday afternoon

Richards play never-before-seen FBI surveillance footage that tracked body-heat using infrared technology. In it Rosenbaum and Rittenhouse can be seen, from a distance of 9000 feet, as two white blobs  Rittenhouse marked as person of interest 1, Rosenbaum as person of interest 2.

Rosenbaum can be seen walking parallel to Rittenhouse then disappearing between parked vehicles before he emerges behind Rittenhouse in apparent pursuit.

'Correct me if I'm wrong,' Richards said, 'But this looks like the perfect ambush.'

Richards highlighted the fact that the first shot of the night was not fired by Rittenhouse but by a man called Joshua Ziminski who was about 30 feet behind Rittenhouse when he fired one shot. Rittenhouse fired off four rounds seconds later.

And the defense circled back to some of the footage that had shocked jurors earlier, pointing to the bangs of bats being smashed against cars and pausing at a point where the words, 'Friendly! Friendly! Friendly!' can clearly be heard.

Those words were shouted by Rittenhouse as he was being chased by Rosenbaum who, it was noted was steadily gaining ground.

Rittenhouse turned to face Rosenbaum with his gun but, according to Howard, the man was deterred only briefly and pressed on.

After the jurors were dismissed for the day Binger rose to address the judge. He called for juror 7 to be dismissed for cause citing a joke that they had attempted to make to a deputy at the end of Tuesdays proceedings.

The judge will hear arguments and make a ruling Thursday morning.

Day three of the high-profile trial began with Koerri Elijah Washington back on the stand to complete testimony he began Tuesday afternoon.

Washington filmed much of the events of that night and streamed them on Facebook Live.

Pale and swallowing hard Rittenhouse looked on as jurors were played footage of the August night.

Rittenhouse widened his eyes, blinked and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. His jaw worked nervously. At one point a court official leaned in, apparently quietly checking if he was okay.

He nodded a small yes but looked for all the world like he might throw up as the footage was played on multiple large screens. One of them sat directly in front of where Rittenhouse sat with his attorneys.

All three of the men shot that night- Joseph Rosenbaum, Anthony Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz  were visible at various points in the video.

Washington recalled seeing Rittenhouse earlier in the evening and taking note of him  not, he said, because he seemed 'malicious' but because he, 'looked youngwas armedand was wearing [surgical] gloves.'

Under direct examination Assistant District Attorney sought to downplay the violence of the night, playing the footage at length.

Pale and swallowing hard on Wednesday, Kyle Rittenhouse looked on as jurors were played footage of the August night on which he shot two men dead and left another grievously wounded

Rittenhouse's mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, was in court to support the 18-year-old. He was seen speaking to her before the start of his trial

Stepping up to cross examine the witness, defense attorney Corey Chirafisi focused on the violence which he suggested had escalated across the previous two nights. He drew out testimony about dumpster fires, rocks and 'chunks of concrete' thrown as missiles and noted the 'opportunistic' destruction that saw Kenosha's Department of Corrections Parole office burn to the ground.

Moments later, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed Anthony Huber (pictured), 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin

According to Washington, Rosenbaum was 'acting erratic' whenever he saw him. But he said that he observed an oddness in Rittenhouse's behavior that night too.

He said, 'I mean he was chain-smoking with gloves onhe seemed nervous in the situation. I supposed a lot of people were nervous. It's not a slight at him, just a mental note.'

Washington observed, 'It just seemed like he was young and didn't know what was going on. If he didn't have the gloves on maybe I wouldn't have noticed so much.

'I'm not saying I thought, 'This is a guy who's going to mow a bunch of people down,' but I just thought this is interesting.'

When he saw him run by carrying a fire extinguisher Washington said that he followed, 'not necessarily focusing on him per se but on the situation.'

Rittenhouse's mother, Wendy, and sister, McKenzie, were once again in court to support the 18-year-old.

Many of the jurors  11 women and nine men  took notes during the morning's proceedings. They leaned into watch the video and one painstakingly sketched a copy of the satellite image of downtown Kenosha displayed on an easel in court. He drew in black ink, a red pen in one hand poised to mark places of significance.

The same juror struggled to silence his cellphone when it began ringing during testimony.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger points to a video screen as he questions Koerri Washington during Kyle Rittenhouse's trial

Rittenhouse is accused of gunning down three people with a military-style semi-automatic rifle last year, killing two and injuring one

Judge Bruce Schroeder halted proceedings shortly after court reconvened Wednesday afternoon as defense and prosecution butted heads over the admissibility of the audio that accompanied roaming video footage of August 25, 20202.

The video was being shown as Detective Martin Howard took the stand. Howard was the case's lead detective.

Some of the scenes featured Rittenhouse and the defense raised no objection to hearing his voice. But much of the video, in which the narrator repeatedly referred to 'militia' on the rooftops and in the streets did not feature he defendant at all.

Binger insisted that the footage spoke to Rittenhouse's state of mind because he must have seen and witnessed the events which were happening 'just feet away from him.'

For his part Richards dismissed this as, 'absurd.'

Schroeder asked the jury to leave to hear arguments between from both .Clearly irritated he took the opportunity to hammer home the importance not only of justice being done, but of it being seen to be done.

He said, 'Anything that undermines the public confidence in this case is important. It's important for this town. It's important for this country. Whatever it ispeople have to be confident.'

He added, 'We want this case to be fairly tried and we want to go forward from this case whatever its outcome.'

Visibly annoyed Schroeder called an abrupt hiatus in proceedings and retired to his chambers one hour into the afternoon's session.

In opening statements yesterday both sides agreed on one point; there is no mystery to this trial. 'I'm not going to ask you to solve a murder,' defense attorney Mark Richards told the court. 'It's not a who dunnit?'

In opening statements yesterday both sides agreed on one point; there is no mystery to this trial. 'I'm not going to ask you to solve a murder,' defense attorney Mark Richards told the court. 'It's not a who dunnit?'

Instead, this is a tale of competing narratives.

In the version offered by Kenosha Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, Rittenhouse is a 'chaos tourist' who recklessly wielded his AR-15, shooting two unarmed men and grievously wounding another. He was a fantasist, a wannabe vigilante and, of all the people in the streets that night, he alone fired his weapon at anyone.

To Rittenhouse's defense, he is a panicked 17-year-old who acted in self-defense. He believed his life was in danger, according to Richards; first from Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, who was intent on killing him and taking his gun.

In a moment of high drama Richards quoted from footage that showed Rosenbaum shouting, 'Shoot me n*****! Shoot me n*****!'

Rosenbaum had been released from a mental health facility earlier that day  information that the jury may not hear after the prosecution sought to exclude it. He had attempted to commit suicide.

Next came Anthony Huber, 26. and Gaige Grosskreutz, 27. All were part of what Richards characterized as a violent mob, with Huber and Grosskreutz attacking Rittenhouse as he lay on his back on the ground.

Huber wielded his skateboard in an attempt to 'decapitate' Rittenhouse, he said.

Grosskreutz came at him with a Glock.

Defense Mark Richards, center described a chaotic scene on the night of the protests that scared Rittenhouse and hindered his decision making that led to the two deaths that night. He showed photos of the moment Huber was shot

Under Wisconsin law when a self-defense claim is raised it falls on the prosecution to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt  a substantial burden.

Shortly after lunch the first witness took the stand. Dominick Black, 20, had known Rittenhouse

for approximately nine months during which he was dating his sister Mackenzie. It was Black who bought the AR-15 for then 17-year-old and had initially agreed to hold it in his stepfather's gun-safe until he turned 18.

In a moment of drama prosecutors produced the gun that Rittenhouse used that night, asking Black if he could identify it and holding it up for the jury to see.

Black told the jury of how he and Rittenhouse armed themselves with weapons and medical supplies and went to Kenosha to help clean up the aftermath of the two days of riots that had left swathes of business and property burned out, trashed and graffitied.

The focus fell on the local business Car Source which has three locations in Kenosha. One had been destroyed, its buildings and cars burned out. Another on 59th Street was damaged but mostly intact.

Black told the court how he, Rittenhouse and another friend, Nick Smith, took it upon themselves to protect this location.

He recalled scenes of chaos and violence and told how he climbed onto the business's roof because he feared the crowds below. 'It wasn't a safe place to be at all,' he said. There was, 'a lot of screaming, people throwing things and people who were there 'for not the right reasons.'

Kyle Rittenhouse, pictured yawning then smiling, began an expected two-week long homicide trial on Tuesday

Black, who was at the scene of the incident with Rittenhouse, purchased the rifle Rittenhouse used to kill two men. He said he was on the roof of a store when he got a call from the teen that he had killed someone

Black stated that he and Rittenhouse were part of a group of around six or seven people armed with AR-15s.

And he recalled the moment that he heard gunshots  not thinking for a moment that Rittenhouse was the shooter  until the younger man ran towards him, pale as a ghost and sweating 'like a pig' saying, 'I shot somebody. I shot somebody.'

According to Black, Rittenhouse told him, 'I had to do it. It was self-defense.'

On redirect Black told the court that, while he personally felt that he was 'in danger' amid the night's violence he never felt that his life was at risk and thought it 'not appropriate' for any of the group to point their guns at anyone.

Black himself is facing two felony counts for providing the gun to the Rittenhouse that was used to kill two people. That criminal case is still pending with each count punishable by six years in prison but the 20-year-old waived his fifth amendment right in order to testify.

The court also heard testimony from and were shown video footage filmed by Koerri Elijah Washington, who livestreamed many of the events of the night of August 25 and the preceding days and nights on Facebook Live.

The footage played at length showed relatively calm scenes and included several people armed with 'long rifles.'

The defense claims Rittenhouse tried to turn himself in for shooting Rosenbaum, but was seized by a mob, including Huber, who they claimed tried to 'decapitate' Rittenhouse

Asked how many people he saw armed in that way Washington said, '15 to 25 people.' Binger pointed to the fact that there were many people 'getting in the face' of people who were armed asking the witness if he saw any violence as a result. He did not.

Throughout direct examination Binger sought to diminish the danger of the night in a bid to portray Rittenhouse as the sole agitator who responded with lethal force to a situation that presented no significant threat.

Rittenhouse faces two homicide counts, one of attempted homicide and two of recklessly endangering safety for firing his weapon near others. He is also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.

The shootings occurred amid the civil unrest and Black Lives Matters protests that began August 23 when a Kenosha police officer shot a black man, Jacob Blake, several times in the back leaving him paralyzed.

Rittenhouse fatally shot Rosenbaum after Rosenbaum chased him across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on August 25, 2020.

Moments later as Rittenhouse was running down a street he shot and killed Huber, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, and shot and wounded Grosskreutz, a protestor from West Allis, Wisconsin.
This is the moment an ice-cool woman continues eating her hotdog while a robbery takes place around her and her boyfriend flees the table and abandons her.

The robbery was filmed at a cafeteria in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro while the woman was enjoying a meal with her boyfriend.

According to the news site Metropoles, the woman refused to let anything get between her and her hotdog and kept eating while the robbery took place around her.

When the thieves approached the woman's table, she reportedly handed them her boyfriend's mobile phone and motorbike keys as well as offering them his helmet, which they declined.

The woman was enjoying a meal with her boyfriend in Rio de Janeiro before he bolted at the sight of the armed robbers entering the restaurant

In the CCTV footage, two thieves are seen getting off a motorbike and entering the cafeteria wearing helmets.

As the couple eats at their table in the foreground, the two thugs target a table behind them and apparently gesture to the diners that they are carrying weapons.

After robbing the victims, the thieves then enter the cafe's interior and the boyfriend apparently notices the robbery in action.

Without word, he springs from his chair and sprints down the road, leaving his nonplussed girlfriend alone at the table.

The nonplussed woman immediately punished the fleeing man by giving his valuables up

The footage ends as the woman has a wry smile on her face while continuing to eat her hot dog

While enjoying her snack, she hands a mobile phone to the thieves as they pass before holding up a motorbike helmet for them to take, which they apparently decline.

As the two men flee the scene on their motorbike, the cool young woman adds some mustard to her hotdog and continues eating with a wry smile on her face.

It is unclear if the local police are investigating the robbery, and if the couple is on speaking terms after the incident.

One witness said: 'At least they didn't take her hotdog!'
Tonga's first ever case of Covid-19 was brought into the country by a Mormon missionary who had returned from Africa via New Zealand, local reports claim.

The Polynesian country's main island Tongatapu was plunged into lockdown this week after registering its first infection throughout the entire pandemic.

The archipelago's remote location in the Pacific Ocean had made it one of the only remaining places in the world yet to record a case of the virus.

Tonga's first ever case of Covid-19 was brought into the country by a Mormon missionary who had returned from Africa via New Zealand

Tonga's main island went into lockdown for a week after the South Pacific nation reported its first case of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic

But that came to an end last week after a traveller tested positive and was forced to isolate at a quarantine hotel.

The youth missionary with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been on mission in Africa and spent several weeks in New Zealand before returning to Tonga, Civil Beat reported.

He was among 215 passengers on a repatriation flight from Christchurch and had been double vaccinated with the Pfizer jab, had no symptoms and recorded two negative tests before the flight.

Christchurch had been free from the virus for months until last week, when several community cases were reported.

Upon landing, he had a 'weak positive' result and two further tests also came out positive.

The archipelago's remote location in the Pacific Ocean had made it one of the only remaining places in the world yet to record a Covid case

He was the only passenger on the flight to have recorded a positive test so far but the others have to remain in quarantine for 21 days and continue to be tested.

Tonga has one of the highest percentages of Mormons of any country in the world, with 66,000 members out of a country of just over 100,000, according to the Church of the Latter Day Saints.

The first Mormon mission to Tonga took place in 1891 and numbers have steadily grown, similar to other Polynesian island nations such as Samoa, the Cook Islands and Fiji.

Its lockdown sparked by the arrival of the missionary began just after midnight on Tuesday and applies only to the island of Tongatapu, where 70 per cent of the population live.

The nation's Cabinet ordered the move to 'ensure the safety and health of our people,' news website Matangi Tonga reported.

People will be required to isolate at home unless they are buying groceries or medicine, getting medical help, or accessing banking services (file image)

The lockdown means schools, bars and restaurants are closed, and nighttime curfews imposed.

People are required to isolate at home unless they are buying groceries or medicine, getting medical help, or accessing banking services.

News of the case prompted hundreds of Tongans to line up at vaccination sites around the country.

About 35 per cent of Tongans are fully vaccinated and 51 per cent have had at least one dose, according to research group Our World in Data.

Tonga was among the few remaining nations in the world that have avoided outbreaks of the virus due to its isolation.

The nearby nation of Fiji avoided significant outbreaks until April, when the delta variant ripped through the island chain, infecting more than 50,000 people and killing at least 673.

Tonga's frontline workers - including health staff, police officers and airport staff - who were on duty when the plane arrived have also been put into quarantine.
A controversial diversity scheme run by LGBT charity Stonewall has been dropped by the Department of Health as it became the latest group to walk from the initiative.

It comes after Ofcom, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and others quit the scheme.

Channel 4, Ofsted, the Ministry of Justice and the BBC have all abandoned the paid plan.

Diversity Champions is a programme where companies sign up and pay for advice from Stonewall on how to create an inclusive environment for LGBT workers.

But it was embroiled in controversy after Stonewalls chief executive Nancy Kelley claimed 'gender critical' beliefs  the belief that a person's biological sex cannot be changed  were like anti-Semitism.

And Matthew Parris, the journalist and former MP who co-founded it in 1989, accused it this year of becoming 'tangled up in the trans issue' and 'cornered into an extremist stance'.

Earlier this year Kate Grimes, a former chief executive of Kingston Hospital in South-West London, called for organisations to withdraw from the Stonewall scheme.

In an article for Health Service Journal, she wrote: I believe working with Stonewall is no longer compatible with NHS values and risks the reputation of the NHS and safety of our patients and staff.

At least eight major organisations have left the Stonewall group's controversial scheme

Stonewall's Diversity Champions is a programme where companies sign up and pay for advice from Stonewall on how to create an inclusive environment for LGBT workers

Hospital workers are losing their rights, enshrined in law, to separate bathroom and changing facilities. Anyone who speaks up may face disciplinary action, as policies are brought into line with Stonewalls view.'

The Department of Health said it had stopped the programme due to money concerns.

A spokeswoman said: Last year we conducted a full assessment of all our diversity and inclusion memberships and Stonewall was one of those we decided to not renew.

We informed Stonewall of our decision in October 2021.

Ofcom is understood to have been concerned that its relationship with Stonewall through the scheme could jeopardise its own reputation.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission also decided not to renew its membership earlier this year saying it did not constitute best value for money.

The image, which was presented to employees as part of an internal BBC course set up in conjunction with the lobby group, depicts sex as a spectrum and defines gender identity as 'how you think about yourself'

Stonewall's Nancy Kelley claimed 'gender critical' beliefs  were like anti-Semitism

Sources at Ofcom said it had now 'laid the foundations' to help it improve support for LGBT colleagues and was confident it could 'move ahead positively' outside the Stonewall scheme.

But it will remain in the charity's Workplace Equality Index, a benchmark tool for employers.

And the BBC is also understood to have quit the scheme.

It has emerged the broadcaster showed staff a controversial 'genderbread person' graphic in equality training using material from Stonewall.

An investigation by Nolan Investigates, a podcast run by 5 Live presenter Stephen Nolan, found that the image was presented to employees as part of an internal BBC course set up in conjunction with the lobby group.

The 'genderbread person' graphic depicts sex as a spectrum and defines gender identity as 'how you think about yourself'. It was apparently shown to BBC staff with no alternative explanations despite these ideas being contested.

A spokesperson for BBC said: 'The BBC acts independently in all our aspects of our operations, from HR policy to editorial guidelines and content.

'We aim to be industry leading on workforce inclusion and take advice from a range of external organisations, however we make the final decision on any BBC policies or practices ourselves.

'We do not take legal advice from Stonewall and we do not subscribe to Stonewall's campaigning. The charity simply provides advice that we are able to consider.

'As a broadcaster, we have our own values and editorial standards  these are clearly set out and published in our Editorial Guidelines. We are also governed by the Royal Charter and the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.'
Senate Republican on Wednesday launched an effort to use a congressional procedure to overturn President Biden's vaccine mandate for companies with more than 100 employees.

The mandate was among a suite of measures introduced by the Biden administration in September to improve vaccination rates.

It will affect roughly 80 million Americans.

Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, said he and 40 other Republican senators would begin the process of using the Congressional Review Act to overturn it.



'Last year we did everything we could to keep people in their jobs,' he tweeted.

'Now Joe Biden is doing everything he can to push them out.

'Today, I'm leading 41 of my colleagues to strike down his oppressive vaccine mandate for businesses.'

Republicans have been deeply critical of the mandate.

It has not yet gone into force.

Sen. Mike Braun, ranking Republican on the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, is leading an effort by 41 senators to nullify President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on companies with 100 or more employees

Biden announced the measure in September amid mounting concern that a reservoir of unvaccinated people meant the U.S. was unable to break free of the pandemic

Sen. Mike Braun is leading 41 Senate Republicans in trying to nullify President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for companies that have 100 or more employees

The mandate will apply to about 80 million Americans, who will have to prove their vaccination status to their employer or accept weekly testing instead

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is expected to issue detailed rules on how it will work in the coming days.

Some companies have introduced their own rules while others are waiting to see the federal mandate before acting.

And some businesses have asked that the new rules be delayed until after the busy holiday season.

'Now, when were finally at kind of an equilibrium, youre putting an ultimatum on them,' Braun, a businessman, told Fox News.

'Either get the vaccine or lose your job.'

He and his colleagues will launch their effort at a press conference on Wednesday morning.

They plan to use Congressional Review Act (CRA), a mechanism for Congress to overturn federal agency regulations and actions.

However, it requires a joint resolution from both chambers making it through the Democratic-controlled Congress.

Once OSHA publishes the details of the mandate it will be submitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate.

After 20 days, the Republican disapproval will be taken to the Senate floor for a vote, forcing members to put their views on the record.

Braun said: 'It will make them decide, "Am I going to follow a crazy mandate? Or am I going to save my political career?"'

Senator Rick Scott said the mandate was a 'gross overreach of power.'

I chose to get the vaccine and encourage others to speak with their doctor about the benefits about getting vaccinated,' he added.

'But, its something every American gets to decide for themselves and their families.'

Vaccine mandates have been controversial across the country and have impacted business and cities, including New York where 9,000 city workers have gone on unpaid leave to avoid getting the shot.

Biden's executive order requires all companies with at least 100 employees to check proof of vaccination from all their workers. Those who receive exemptions from their employees can opt for weekly testing instead.

The OSHA rules will also require employers to allow workers to take paid time off to to get Covid-19 vaccines.

The administration has threatened fines of about $14,000 for employers who do not comply.

Businesses and trade associations have warned of the impact.

The American Trucking Association has told White House officials they fear drivers will quit rather than get a vaccine - exacerbating the supply chain crisis.

'Placing vaccination mandates on employers, which in turn force employees to be vaccinated, will create a workforce crisis for our industry and the communities, families and businesses we serve,' the association's president and CEO Chris Spear wrote in a letter to the White House recently.
Second Covid vaccine doses will be approved for all 16 and 17-year-olds in the UK within days, it was claimed today.

Britain's jab watchdog, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), is expected to announce the move this week.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds will be able to come forward for their second Pfizer vaccine 12 weeks after having their first injection, if the plan goes ahead.

Around 1.4m Britons in the age group were invited for their first dose in August but were not recommended for a second dose.

Officials were monitoring safety data in other countries over fears about a rare form of heart inflammation that is slightly more common after the second jab.

A Whitehall source told the Independent that the concerns have been alleviated and an announcement is due by the end of the week.

About 55 per cent of the 16 and 17-year-olds in England have taken up the offer of a first dose.

The news comes as schools return from half-term and there are concerns cases could start to creep up again.

About 55% of 16 and 17-year-olds in England have had their first Covid jab (shown in dark yellow, right) according to the UK Health Security Agency

Daily infections have fallen nationally in nine of the previous 10 days which was initially believed to be due to children being out of the classroom.

But a 17 per cent week-on-week decline yesterday has raised hopes that growing natural immunity in youngsters could keep infections at bay.

Recently-published minutes from JCVI meetings show that 'most of the benefits' of vaccination in 16 to 17-year-old are gained by the first dose.

A source close to the discussions told MailOnline that about half of the cohort are believed to have already had Covid - which combined with a single jab offers 'very strong immunity'.

Healthy British children aged 12 to 15 will still only be offered a first dose of Pfizer's vaccine.

The US has already moved to jab even younger age groups, with five to 11-year-olds getting their Covid vaccines from today.

Because of the low risk of severe illness, more than one-third of American parents with children in the 5-11 age range are not planning to get their kids vaccinated against Covid, a survey found

Pfizer's Covid vaccines for kids aged 5-11 could start as early as TOMORROW in the US The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) advisory committee has officially recommended Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11 on Tuesday. The members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously that paediatric doses be distributed in this younger age group. It comes less than aw U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised the shots for youngsters. Until the FDA announced its decision, ACIP was unable to recommend doses for children, a necessary step before pharmacists or clinicians can immunize kids. CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky is not bound to follow the advisory group's recommendations, but the agency rarely goes against the guidance of ACIP, and she is expected to sign off on the recommendations tonight. This means 28million children will likely be able to get vaccinated starting on Wednesday. Parents have been split 50/50 over vaccinating children because kids rarely get severely ill and make up less than 0.1 percent of all Covid deaths. And a member of the FDA advisory panel abstained from a vote on recommending the shot to kids last week because he said there is not enough evidence that all children need the shot. Advertisement

One of No10's vaccine advisers cautioned that it was 'far too early' for the UK to follow the US.

Professor Jeremy Brown, on the JCVI, argued there was a case for giving doses to vulnerable infants with medical conditions.

But he said Britain's medical regulator has yet to scrutinise data from the US to see whether the jab should be given the green light for any under-12s.

US health bosses last night approved controversial plans to vaccinate children aged five to 11, piling pressure on the UK to follow suit.

But England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said a move to mirror America's policy was 'some way down the track'.

Britain has so far limited its vaccine programme to healthy over-12s, after months of deliberating over the finely balanced risk-benefit ratio.

The group, made up of some of the UK's leading scientists, advised ministers against the move because children face such a tiny threat from Covid.

Critics say healthy children are better off catching the virus and getting protection naturally because the risk of being admitted to ICU with Covid is one in 500,000.

The risk of getting myocarditis is around one in 10,000, but most cases are mild and treatable. However, the long term effects are not fully understood.

And some studies suggest myocarditis is more common after Covid itself, which complicates the matter.

But a decision was made by UK's chief medical officers to green-light the rollout to 12 to 15-year-olds to prevent further school disruptions.

Asked whether the UK should follow the US' lead on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Professor Brown said: 'I think it is far too early to say that.

'At present, the vaccine is not allowed to be given to children under 12 years of age in this country.

'And the MHRA, the regulatory authorities, have not looked at the data coming from the US as yet to see whether it can be approved for that age group.'

Professor Brown, an expert in respiratory medicine from University College London, added: 'I think there's a case for using a vaccine on those children that have underlying diseases that make them more vulnerable to Covid, to having severe side-effects from the Covid infection. So that's possible.'

He pointed out that the body's decision to not recommend Covid jabs for healthy 12 to 15-year-olds was due to the consequences of Covid infection in that age group being 'pretty mild'.

Professor Brown said: 'Very few healthy adolescents [were] having severe problems and the same will be true for, in fact, probably more true, for the 11s and under.

'So the clinical indication for the vaccine is low.

'In fact, the vaccine is being used mainly to protect people in education, to prevent them having to take time off school, and all that disruption that has occurred as a consequence of Covid infection.'

He added: 'If we're thinking about the future and where we need to vaccinate 11s and under for their educational benefit, it really depends on how prevalent the infection is at that time.

'It may be that we're going through this large peak of infection at the present, but by the time it comes around to the vaccine being approved for under-12s, it may be that the infection rate in the community and amongst children is very low.

'And therefore the need to protect them against the disruption effect of Covid infection on their education becomes much less.'
A shocking video captures a stunt plane crashing into a street in central Argentina before slamming into a woman and her daughter - leaving the pilot and the two pedestrians seriously injured.

Yesica Acuna, 27, and three-year-old Isabella Santiago were walking back to their home and stopped to watch two stunt jets perform maneuvers in the mountainous village of Villa General Belgrano on Saturday night.

The pilot, Fernando Endrigo, 35, was putting on an acrobatic display along with a second jet as part of a wedding festivities for Rodrigo Cerioni, a well-known stunt pilot, according to Infobae.

Video footage showed Endrigo repositioning the Rans S9 Chaos aircraft as part of a stunt in which he increased the altitude. He then pulled off an inside loop while the other jet performed the same trick.

Endrigo appeared to lose control of the plane as it dove straight down. The stunt plane hit a tree before ramming into Acuna and Santiago.

Fernando Endrigo is tended to after the Rans S9 Chaos he was piloting crashed while he was performing an acrobatic stunt in Villa General Belgrano, Argentina, on Saturday

A stunt plane piloted by Fernando Endrigo maneuvers in the sky before it plummeted to the a street and hit a 27-year-old woman and her three-year-old daughter

Firefighters to cut the plane open in order to remove Endrigo from the wreckage.

Endrigo, Acuna and Santiago were initially rushed to Eva Peron Hospital in Santa Rosa de Calamuchuta, and then transferred to other medical facilities in Cordoba.

Endrigo suffered 'blunt chest trauma, abdominal trauma, left ankle fracture and head trauma.' He is in critical condition while being cared for at Private University Hospital of Cordoba.

The Villa General Belgrano Fire Department had to cut a section of the aircraft to remove pilot after his stunt plane crashed while performing an acrobatic stunt for a wedding ceremony

Argentine newspaper La Voz reported that Transportation Safety Board is looking into what caused Saturday's stunt plane crash in the mountainous village of Villa General Belgrano

Acuna underwent emergency surgery for fractures to the femur and pelvic area at Misericordia Hospital, where she is in intensive care.

Santiago suffered an abdomen and hip injury, and is in stable condition at Cordoba Children's Hospital.

The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the accident, La Voz newspaper reported.
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In its heyday, it was a bustling centre of seaside fun where families would spend hours splashing about.

But now, more than 30 years after it closed, part of Margate's famous Lido complex has collapsed following heavy rain in the Kent town.

Dramatic photos taken after the drama unfolded on Monday show how part of the rooftop carpark has fallen in on itself, sparking safety fears for the whole building.

The Lido was built by John Henry Iles, the creator of Margate's celebrated Dreamland pleasure park, in the 1920s  when the town was a haven for Britons who went on seaside holidays in their droves.

It was a vibrant part of the town right up until the 1970s, when it was last used as a disco.

The swimming pool - where artist Tracey Emin apparently learnt to swim - was finally shut in the 1980s.

For decades, Margate has been one of the most deprived parts of the country, thanks in part to the decline of the traditional seaside holiday.

However, a recent revival has seen the town become a hub for trendy cafes, antique shops, art galleries and bistros, following an onslaught of young Londoners keen to escape sky-high mortgage rates in the capital.

In its heyday, it was a bustling centre of seaside fun where families would spend hours splashing about. But now, more than 30 years after it closed, part of Margate's famous The Lido complex has collapsed following heavy rain in the Kent town

Dramatic photos taken after the drama unfolded on Monday show how part of the rooftop carpark has fallen in on itself, sparking safety fears for the whole building

The Lido (pictured in 1936) was built by John Henry Iles, the creator of Margate's celebrated Dreamland pleasure park, in the 1920s  when the town was a haven for Britons who went on seaside holidays in their droves

The abandoned Lido site has a long history stretching back 200 years. Initially the site was home to the Clifton Baths, built in 1824.

They were listed in 2008 due to their importance in British seaside history as one of the earliest surviving sea bathing establishments in the country.

The remains of the baths are all subterranean but provide a fascinating reminder of the beginning of seaside tourism.

The Art Deco Lido was established in 1926 and was turned into a large modern seaside complex with bars, cafes and restaurants on several levels and a large open-air swimming pool.

These buildings were constructed onto and over the remaining parts of the Clifton Baths, laid out over a series of terraces.

In the 1930s the complex was renamed the Cliftonville Lido.

The Lido Cliff Bar on the site was popular with the area's alternative and underground music scenes through the 1970s and into the early 2000s, with local bands Deadpan, Company Policy, North by Northwest, Cut Your Own Head Off, and Bread Head taking the stage.

The site is in the hands of administrators Duff & Phelps and was previously run by private firm Stour Side Investments.

Finding a suitable scheme that preserves the history of the site and does not compromise the seafront position has proved tricky.

The artist Tracey Emin learnt to swim in the pool at the Lido. Above: The artist in 2019

It is not clear exactly what caused the collapse, but heavy rain is believed to have contributed. Above: A bird's eye view of the fallen-in roof section of the car park

A spokesman for Thanet District Council said: 'The Lido Car Park is privately owned, however, the council's Building Control team will be installing barriers in the car park and on the coastal path to ensure the safety of the public, and will be liaising with the owners'

The Lido's abandoned site has a long history stretching back 200 years. Initially the site was home to the Clifton Baths, built in 1824

In its heyday, the pool at Margate hosted the 'Miss Lido' contest for several years. Pictured: Pamela Harvey (left), 20, who was Miss Lido in 1953; Daphne Hickson from Barnet pictured at the Grace and Bearing Contest at Cliftonville Lido, Margate in 1949

Scores of people are seen sitting in stands at The Lido in Margate as others take a dip in the pool. The image was taken in 1950

Cliftonville Bathing Pool (Margate Lido), Kent, 1954. Margate's seafront Lido was built in 1926 by John Henry Iles

Entrants in the perfect leg contest at Cliftonville bathing pool in 1937. Margate was once a popular destination for Britons going on a seaside holiday

The Sunday Dispatch Pushball at Clifton Baths Bathing pool, Margate. The Lido was once enormously popular but then fell into decline along with the town

The seafront at Cliftonville, Margate, Kent, 1890-1910, before The Lido complex was built. Women are seen carrying parasols to shield themselves from the sun

The Lido is seen in its heyday. Scores of people line the edge of the pool to watch people enjoying themselves within

Options have included reviving The Lido and making it mixed use, with retail, food outlets and venue hire.

Even holiday accommodation has been considered, with one father and son developer duo keen to build a 110-bed hotel and 94 self-catering apartments.

A spokesman for Thanet District Council said: 'The Lido Car Park is privately owned, however, the council's Building Control team will be installing barriers in the car park and on the coastal path to ensure the safety of the public, and will be liaising with the owners.'

Ever since the early 18th Century, Margate had been a popular tourist destination for people travelling the short distance from London to Kent.

The town was heavily hit during the Second World War, with around 3,000 bombs raining down and destroying almost 300 buildings.

A major storm in 1953 did little to aid its recovery efforts but by the 1960s a good vibe had returned to the town, with families flocking to Margate to enjoy their holidays.

Arguably the main attraction was the Dreamland theme park, the centrepiece of which was the Scenic Railway, but a series of fires and declining numbers led to its closure in 2005.

The park re-opened ten years later following repeated wrangling over its future. Although it then fell back into administration, it did re-open once again in 2017.

Margate Lido in Kent, pictured in 2004 after it had been filled in with sand following its closure around two decades before

Dreamland, the town's famous theme park, closed in 2003, and after a failed relaunch, reopened to the public again in 2016. Following renewed interest in the town, the park reported its most successful year in 2019 with 700,000 visitors throughout the year. Arguably the main attraction was the rickety Scenic Railway. The Grade II listed rollercoaster opened in 1920, and until the 1990s, each train still had a driver who operated the brakes with a lever

A general view of Margate beach front on August 10, 2010 in Margate, England. The town went into steep decline after domestic seaside holidays became less popular

The derelict seafront Arlington Parade on August 2, 2011 in Margate, England. In 2012, more than 40 per cent of Margate's shops were closed. The concrete corridor, beneath the town's unsightly tower block Arlington House, was for years home to gift shops selling buckets and spades, sticks of rock and bargain knick-knacks. The arched precinct was always home to the town's famous Joke Shop

The town has also suffered for years from high unemployment and child poverty rates, which have hampered attempts to regenerate it. Margate High Street saw many shops close following the construction of the out-of-town Westwood Cross retail park. While the premises near the gentrified seafront area have found new trendy tenants, parts of the High Street continue to wait for the revival to reach it

The Parade, in Old town Margate with colourful housing, cafes and floral decoration. In recent years, smart boutiques, bistros and cafes have sprung up on the streets leading onto Margate's beach. Pete's Fish Factory, established on The Parade in 1984, has weathered the storm, and is now inundated with selfie-loving tourists in the summer

The town received a boost in 2011 when the Turner Contemporary art gallery was opened, attracting visitors from around the country. The gallery replaced seafront boozer The Ship Inn, the main rival music venue to The Lido, before its demolition

After the town went into decline when domestic holidays became less popular, it became a hive of unemployment and broken businesses, with nearly 40 per cent of shops lying empty and a similar number of people living on benefits.

Retail expert Mary Portas famously tried to help with the town's regeneration by offering her expertise.

She filmed a TV programme there and, in 2012, opened two shops as part of a scheme which saw 27 'Portas pilot' areas around the country receive a portion of a 1.2million pot of government cash to help them regenerate.

The town had received an earlier boost in 2011 when the Turner Contemporary art gallery was opened, attracting visitors from around the country and tourists from abroad.

In recent years, smart boutiques, bistros and cafes have sprung up on the streets leading onto Margate's beach.

Ian Dickie, the director of Margate Museum, told the Geographical website in 2019: 'Up until 2010, this place was really in the doldrums. Really from 1970 to 2010.

'Now tourists are coming back. 2011 saw the Turner Contemporary opening. It's not everybody's cup of tea.

'Not everybody likes the building or the concept. But it brings thousands and thousands of people to the town.

'The place is beginning to look alive again. Lots of art galleries around, lots of retro shops.

'We used to call them junk shops years ago, but they're retro now.'

The regeneration has recently attracted Londoners who are frustrated by the sky-high rents in the capital and looking for somewhere nicer, and cheaper, to live.

One, Amy Redmond, moved to there in 2014 and subsequently founded the trendy Margate Arts Club with her husband Luke Vandenberg.

She told the Evening Standard: The nature of artist-led regeneration is that we find places we can practice our art, be creative, put on parties and be ourselves, and Margate provides such a welcoming platform to do this.

'It has a stunning coastline, fresh air, culture, art, history; the town is filled with magic.'

Another, music agent Cecily Mullins, said: 'I came down to visit and thought I'd rather buy a home somewhere that I enjoy living, with a proper sense of community rather than on the outskirts of London, where I'd be able to afford.'
Ohio will pay out a record $17.5 million to a man convicted of child sex offences after he suffered spinal cord injuries when was tackled to the ground by prison guards, in a shocking prisoner abuse case.

Seth Fletcher, 21, became paralyzed after prison guards at Chillicothe Correctional Institution used 'sadistic and malicious force' when they tackled, handcuffed and dropped him on his face following a strip search last year.

Despite his pleas for help, his injuries were ignored and he lay limp in a cell overnight, unable to move, before he was finally taken to hospital in the morning.

One of the guards later bragged on Facebook about 'paralyzing the dude, LMAO,' according to the lawsuit that was filed days after the incident took place.

Seth Fletcher, 21, will be awarded $17.5m after he became paralyzed when prison guards at Chillicothe Correctional Institution in Ohio tackled him to the ground following a strip search in April 2020 (pictured in his wheelchair)

The incident began during a strip search on April 2, 2020, where guards reportedly discovered a cigarette on Fletcher, which they suspected also contained drugs.

Corrections Officers Dustin Knox and Christopher Coy handcuffed Fletcher and were escorting him to the segregated housing unit after 6pm when Officer Coy said he tried to pull away. He tackled him to the ground and in that moment, Fletcher suffered a severe spinal cord injury.

Fletcher said that he couldn't feel or move his legs but guards failed to take his complaints seriously and dropped him multiple times on his face after the initial injury as they carried him by his arms and legs to the cell, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

His requests for help to guards and nurses were ignored and he was deprived him of medical treatment. It wasn't until the following morning at 9.49am, when he was visited by psychologist Eric Anderson, that medical attention was called.

When Fletcher begged for a drink of water, guards poured water on his face and one later bragged that they had 'water boarded him LMAO.'

Fletcher said that he couldn't feel or move his legs but guards failed to take his complaints seriously and dropped him multiple times on his face after the initial injury. Pictured: Chillicothe Correctional Institution

One guard, Garrett Osbon, who later resigned from his corrections officer job amid Fletchers lawsuit, said in text messages and posted on Facebook: 'The dude I broke his nose is now paralyzed with a broken neck, and they say his face looks like he had been dropped and dragged through concrete, LMAO.

He also wrote: It feels good to know that I played a small part in paralysing a cho, LMAO.

'Cho' or 'chomo' is a prison slang term for child molester and 'LMAO' is an a texting abbreviation for 'laughing my a** off'.

The morning after the attack, Fletcher was taken to Ohio State Medical Center where he underwent emergency spinal surgery.

He suffered critical injuries that rendered him quadriplegic, meaning he is paralyzed from the chest down, and he is now confined to a wheelchair.

In details of the case released by CBS News, according to the complaint, the two officers, participated or failed to prevent 'sadistic, malicious and excessive uses of force' and acted with a 'callous disregard' for Seth Fletcher's constitutional rights.

Fletcher had been serving a two-year prison term at the facility (pictured) for pandering sexually-oriented material involving minors when he was 18 and and one guard later bragged about 'paralyzing a cho (child molester)' in text mesages

Fletcher's attorney announced the record payout of $17.5 million in a statment on Monday after the state of Ohio reached a settlement.

'The torture and crippling of a prisoner in America sounds medieval. Yet it happened, here, in America, in 2020,' said Fletcher's lawyer Geoffrey Fieger.

'As horrific as this case is, I want to thank the Ohio Attorney General's office and Governor Dewine for accepting responsibility in this most horrific of cases. This abuse should never happen again.'

Fletcher's attorney, James J. Harrington IV of Fieger Law in Michigan previously said: 'It is probably the most horrific case I've seen and I've been litigating police misconduct cases for 20 years.'

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction declined to comment to The Colombus Dispatch on the lawsuit, saying the details were still being finalized.

Fletcher had been serving a two-year prison term for pandering sexually-oriented material involving minors when he was 18 and was two months away from his release.

His attorneys allege the offense involved a consensually made videotape with his girlfriend, who was a couple years younger than Fletcher.

Fletcher is now living in an Alliance-area nursing home but his mother, April Jacobsen, said the settlement will go towards adapting her home to be wheelchair accessible so she can eventually care for her son there.
Progressive Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon announced his intent to vote down Rahm Emanuel's nomination to serve as President Joe Biden's Ambassador to Japan on Wednesday.

Merkley said he came to his decision after extensively speaking with civil rights leaders and others familiar with Emanuel who voiced concerns.

'Black Lives Matter. Here in the halls of Congress, it is important that we not just speak and believe these words, but put them into action in the decisions we make,' the Oregon lawmaker said in a statement.

'I have carefully considered Mayor Emanuels recordand the input of civil rights leaders, criminal justice experts, and local elected officials who have reached out to the Senate to weigh inand I have reached the decision that I cannot support his nomination to serve as a U.S. Ambassador.

'While I respect Mayor Emanuels many years of service, and the points of view of my colleagues who have come to a different conclusion, I will be voting "no" when his nomination comes before the committee.'

Merkley is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will be considering Emanuel's nomination. He's the first Democrat to say he'll vote against it.

Jeff Merkley of Oregon (left) is the first Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to oppose Rahm Emanuel's nomination

Progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York praised Merkley's statement on Wednesday.

'Thank you @SenJeffMerkley,' she wrote on Twitter. 'This was the courageous and right thing to do.'

Emanuel and Biden had previously worked together when the former served as Barack Obama's chief of staff.

But Emanuel's tumultuous tenure as mayor of Chicago after the Obama administration is what some speculated would have brought down his shot to represent Biden in Asia.

His eight-year tenure as mayor of Chicago was historically unpopular and marked by a number of high-profile scandals involving police shootings.

Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez praised Merkley's decision on Wednesday

Emanuel's administration refused to make public police dash cam video of the killing for more than a year and not until being compelled to do so by a state court.

The video's release proved that police lied about the details leading to McDonald's 2014 death, in which the 17-year-old was shot 16 times by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke.

He later apologized for his handling of the situation, which sparked weeks of mostly peaceful protests in the nation's third-largest city after the video's release.

Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder for McDonald's death and jailed for nearly seven years.

Merkley, who had a tense exchange with Emanuel during his confirmation hearing in late October, is further left than most of his colleagues in the Senate.

In 2016 he was the only member of Congress' upper chamber to endorse Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.

Laquan McDonald was 17 years old when he was gunned down by a white police officer in 2014

At the hearing on October 20, seven years to the day of McDonald's killing, confronted Emanuel about his city's decision to force McDonald's family to sign a non-disclosure agreement before they could see video of the teen's murder.

He questioned whether Emanuel knew more than he let on at the time - but the former mayor wouldn't give a direct answer.

'That's a pretty significant decision, you're saying you had no idea of the circumstances of the shooting?' Merkley asked.

'Senator, in that situation, the family approached the city about a settlement, an NDA is standard practice at that time,' Emanuel replied before venturing to explain the bureaucratic red tape that go into such agreements.

But Merkley pushed ahead, clarifying: 'Yes of course, I didn't ask about the NDA, I asked if at that point you had been briefed on the details of the shooting.'

Merkley stated that Emanuel's role in Chicago's handling of the teenager's death should not be overlooked at a time the country is grappling with 'the challenge of Black Lives Matter' and a nationwide racial reckoning, noting other officials have also spoken out on the issue.

'I think it's important for this committee to actually weigh this,' he said, adding to Emanuel: 'Thank you for addressing this now.'

He concluded, 'Just to clarify - because all of these things happened, the family requested the video, the city attorney reached out proactively before there was a lawsuit to ask for a settlement, the settlement was approved in a less than one minute meeting with no public discussion, it seems hard to believe that all those things happened but you weren't briefed on the details of the situation.'

Laquan McDonald (R) walks on a road before he was shot 16 times by police officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago, in this still image taken from a police vehicle dash camera video shot on October 20, 2014, and released by Chicago Police on November 24, 2015. Emanuel was widely criticized for the police department's delay in releasing the video

A CCTV image shows the fatal shooting of 17 year-old Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officers in Chicago, America. The officer was charged with first-degree murder on 24 November 2015

Emanuel had said of McDonald's death at the hearing, 'Seven years ago, a young man had his life taken on the streets of the city of Chicago. He had all the promise ahead of him and a police officer took his life, killed him. I said then, Im the mayor and Im responsible and accountable for fixing this so this never happens again.'

'And to be honest, theres not a day or a week that has gone by in the last seven years I havent thought about this and thought about that the what ifs and the changes, and what could have been.'

With an even split between Republicans and Democrats on the committee, Emanuel will need the backing of the minority party to sail through his confirmation vote.

But despite his scandal-ridden tenure as mayor, he's got the support of the White House and a number of other senators on a bipartisan basis.

GOP Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, refused to comment on Merkley's Wednesday statement but intends to vote for Emanuel's confirmation.

Former US ambassador to Japan and now GOP Senator from Tennessee Bill Hagerty called Emanuel a 'qualified and capable nominee' at the hearing.

Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia thanked Emanuel for discussing the teenager's murder at all.

'You cant be a mayor especially in a city like Chicago without picking up some scar tissue along the way,' he noted.
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'Suitcase killer' Heather Mack was arrested on Wednesday just moments after setting foot on US soil for the first time since helping to murder her socialite mother at a five-star Bali resort in 2014.

The 26-year-old arrived at Chicago O'Hare Airport accompanied by the little girl she bore behind bars only to find federal agents waiting for her at the gate.

The swoop was anticipated by her legal team who have vowed to wage 'war' to allow convicted killer Mack to start afresh, citing double jeopardy laws and the impact it will have on her six-year-old daughter, Stella.

Mack - 18 and pregnant when she helped murder Sheila von Wiese-Mack and stuff the corpse into a suitcase - was released early last week for good behavior, seven years and two months into a 10-year sentence.

She was arrested shortly after getting off a 13-hour flight from Seoul, South Korea at 9:30am CT, on charges stemming from a three-count federal indictment in 2017 that was briefly unsealed in federal court Wednesday.

Mack and boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 28 - who remains behind bars - are charged with two counts of conspiring to kill her mother and one count of obstruction of justice.

Heather Mack (pictured left after being released from prison in Bali last week) was arrested Wednesday morning moments after landing in the US or the first time since she was convicted of helping murder her mother in 2014. She was accompanied by the six-year-old daughter (right) she bore behind bars only to find federal agents waiting for her at the gate

Heather Mack, 26, left, was seen holding hands with her prison-born daughter Stella Schaefer as they were escorted through an airport in Indonesian to be deported to America on Tuesday

Mack and Stella headed through Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali as they got set to fly to Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, on Tuesday before heading to Chicago, where Mack lived before the murder

Mack was was arrested as she stepped off the Delta (Korean Air) flight in Chicago Wednesday morning, a rep for her lawyer Brian Claypool confirmed to DailyMail.com

The grand jury indictment was filed in July 2017 but remained under seal until Federal authorities caught wind of Mack's imminent return.

A government motion filed Wednesday morning said: 'The United States has learnt that defendant Heather Mack was released from prison in Indonesia on October 29, 2021, and plans to return to Chicago, Illinois on or about November 3, 2021.

'An arrest warrant has been issued for Heather Mack based upon the Indictment and the FBI intends to execute the warrant when the defendant arrives at O'Hare Airport.'

The order asked the US District Court for Northern Illinois to unseal the historic indictment immediately upon Mack's arrest.

Mack made a brief appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Federal courthouse in downtown Chicago where she pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and obstruction of justice.

US District Judge Charles Norgyle remanded her in custody to reappear before the court on November 10.

Mack has claimed that she was hiding in a bathroom when Schaefer, then aged 21, bludgeoned Sheila to death with a fruit bowl inside a room at a plush Regis resort in Bali in 2014.

But prosecutors say she helped him cram the body into a suitcase and wheel it downstairs where they hailed a cab and loaded it into the trunk. The pair ran away when the driver became suspicious but were arrested shortly afterwards at a nearby budget hotel and put on trial.

The indictment - which was resealed later Wednesday morning - includes a list of 'overt acts' by Mack and Schaefer allegedly conspiring to kill her mother, such as Mack arranging her boyfriend's travel to Bali on August 10, 2014, and the couple discussing how and when to kill her in messages two days later.

They are accused of obstruction justice by 'destroy[ing], mutilat[ing] and conceal[ing] objects' by stuffing von Wiese-Mack's body into a suitcase and removing it - as well as the 'linens and items of clothing worn during the killing' - from the scene.

Heather Mack and Tommy Schaefer were in a Bali when they murdered Heather's mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack in a hotel room

She was arrested on charges stemming from a three-count federal indictment in 2017 that was briefly unsealed in federal court Wednesday

Mack and boyfriend Tommy Schaefer, 28 - who remains behind bars - are charged with two counts of conspiring to kill her mother and one count of obstruction of justice

A rep for Mack's lawyer Brian Claypool confirmed to Dailymail.com that the convicted killer was arrested as she stepped off the Delta flight in Chicago.

Stella is being cared for by Oshar Putu Melody Suartama, an Australian woman married to a Balinese man, who has been raising Stella and escorted to mother and daughter back to the States.

Even before her arrival, DailyMail.com can reveal that Mack's legal team was prepping for a range of scenarios, fearing she could face arrest on the tarmac or have her daughter taken away by Child Protective Services (CPS).

A government motion filed Wednesday morning asked the US District Court for Northern Illinois to unseal the historic indictment immediately upon Mack's arrest

The Chicago native had begged Indonesian officials to let Stella escape her infamy by staying behind in Bali to be raised by foster parent and close friend Oshar Suartama.

But her plea was refused and the pair were reunited this week before embarking on the grueling 24-hour trip home taking in stops in Jakarta, Seoul and touching down in the US where agents and a government attorney were waiting for her at O'Hare's terminal five.

Attorney Brian Claypool sought an emergency hearing Tuesday to ensure that, in the event Mack was taken away, her daughter would instead be left in the care of Oshar, who accompanied the mom and daughter on their flight to the US.

Claypool told DailyMail.com he applied to Cook County for the emergency order after hearing that FBI agents boarded the same flights and shadowed the trio as they traveled half way around the world, though his claim is yet to be confirmed.

'We didn't want Stella going into CPS,' Claypool told DailyMail.com.

'First, she has a foster mom, who she considers to be mommy number two. They have a loving, caring relationship. 'Second, once a child gets into the foster care system it is a lot harder to extricate them.'

Claypool said that if the Feds decide to arrest Mack on new charges - perhaps some sort of conspiracy charge related to the plotting of her mother's death, rather than the act itself - he would fight any such charges on the basis of double jeopardy.

'It's gonna be a dog fight because they are being punitive towards Heather,' he told the Chicago-Sun Times.

Among those at international arrivals Wednesday awaiting a glimpse of Stella was Schaefer's mom Kia Walker, who told reporters she planned to fight for custody of the little girl.

'I'm Stella's grandmother and I want custody of my granddaughter,' she said, fighting tears.

WILL A FIFTH AMENDMENT CLAUSE SAVE HEATHER MACK? Heather Mack's attorney Brian Claypool says they plan to fight new charges related to the plotting of her mother's death on the basis of double jeopardy in the US. Double jeopardy is a clause in the Fifth Amendment designed to stop a person standing trial twice for roughly the same crime. It generally safeguards someone who has been acquitted - but it can also shield someone who has already served a sentence. However it is not a principle of international law and would not come into play unless there was a contractual agreement between the countries involved in the case. In the United States, it only applies to criminal cases. An example of double jeopardy would be a person who has been found not guilty, but then faces a slightly different charge over essentially the same crime. If the prosecution doesn't have to prove at least one extra fact in the new charge, that could be construed at double jeopardy for the accused. However, if someone convicted of murder was later accused of conspiracy to murder  where different facts would be introduced - that would not necessarily be double jeopardy. The Fifth Amendment clause states: 'Nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.' This protection covers retrial after an acquittal or conviction and retrial after a certain mistrials. It only comes into play once a trial jury has been sworn in or a court has unconditionally accepted a defendant's plea. OJ Simpson and the words double jeopardy were bandied about in 2016 after Los Angeles police confirmed they were investigating a knife they thought could be related to the slaying of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson. The NFL legend was famously acquitted of killing Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman in a sensational 1995 trial. However the knife, which detectives were investigating to see if it came from his former property, put Simpson back in the spotlight. It was then pointed out by Los Angeles Police Department and legal sources that Simpson could not be charged again for the murders because of double jeopardy. Advertisement

The mother of Tommy Schaefer, Kia Walker, arrived at the airport Wednesday telling reporters she planned to fight for custody of her granddaughter

'I want custody of my granddaughter. The lawyers don't need custody,' she said. 'Stella has family here. She has me.'

Stella has been living with a foster family since age two. Mack said she was considering leaving her with her Indonesian caretakers

'The question is, who's going to stop Heather Mack. Who's going to do it? Who's going to be the one?

'Because there was a circus in Indonesia and I don't want there to be a circus in America. I'm speaking up for my granddaughter. There is a lot of wrong going on here.

'I want custody of my granddaughter. The lawyers don't need custody. Oshar doesn't need custody. Stella has family here. She has me.

'All this craziness has to stop. I'm asking that we, the people of America, do this for Stella.'

At one point, Walker got her son on the phone from his jail cell in Bali but the killer said he didn't want to talk to the media and hung up.

She said Schaefer had suffered from a litany of health complaints including Covid and multiple organ failure while languishing behind bars but she stopped short of defending him.

'Sheila has always been first, always,' Walker added. 'My son knows how I feel about a woman putting their hands on a woman or a man putting their hands on a woman.

'My son deserves to be in prison. He knows how I feel, but he also deserves adequate medical care. He needs help.'

Eventually Walker gave up waiting after learning that Stella and Suartama had left via a US customs and Border Protection office situated elsewhere in the terminal.

Stella was born in prison while her mom and then-boyfriend Tommy Schaefer stood trial for murdering Sheila, 62, in August 2014.

Both were convicted of first degree murder and locked up in Kerobokan prison, where Mack's wannabe rapper ex is still serving out his 18-year stretch.

Judges were lenient towards Mack, however, because she had just given birth at the time and last week it was revealed she would be released three years early because of her good behavior and immediately deported.

Mack was sentenced to 10 years in 2015 for aiding in the murder of her mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, and then stuffing her body in a suitcase

Mack was escorted by security to the airport in Indonesia before she and her daughter Stella were deported

Mack gave birth to her daughter Stella during the trial and raised her in prison until she turned two when she was put into the foster care system in Indonesia

Stella arrived at the airport Tuesday with Mack's lawyer and was taken to a departure area to meet her mother. She had been staying with a friend for most of the time Mack was incarcerated

Heather Mack, 26, was driven away Tuesday as she prepared to begin her journey from Jakarta to Chicago on Delta Airlines. She has previously expressed her concerns over returning to her hometown

Under Indonesian law, Stella was allowed to live with her mother in her cell until she turned two when Mack gave custody of her to Australian native Suartama, whom she befriended during her trial.

Mack, who had not seen her daughter for 20 months because of Covid visiting restrictions, asked for the arrangement to continue only to be knocked back by the Indonesia government.

'Minors must be accompanied by their mothers when their mothers are deported. There is no policy that allows a mother to leave her underage child here,' said Amrizal, chief of the Bali immigration office.

Mack inherited a $1.6m fortune from her mom but she signed it over to her daughter in 2018. It's not clear if Mack is able to access any of that money herself to fund their new start in the States.

The agreement was brokered by Claypool, her attorney for the past six years, who said Mack could also head to Los Angeles to live with a friend.

She has half-siblings from her dad's side of the family, believed to be based in Texas, and is also said to have kept up with a handful of friends from her teens.

'I am fearful and nervous of returning to Chicago,' Mack told writer Andrea Dixon ahead of her release.

'I'm not worried about the idea that people cannot understand the tragedy for my sake. But I'm nervous for Stella. I'm scared that if she comes back to the States with me, she will be exposed to what happened.'

Mack is returning to Chicago with her six-year-old daughter Stella, seen here Tuesday, with whom she was pregnant at the time of von Wiese-Mack's murder

Stella was born during Mack's trial and raised in prison with her mother until she was 2-years-old then handed over to an Australian woman, Oshar Suartama, who befriended Mack during the murder trial in 2014

Mack is seen inside an immigration car, after being released from Kerobokan Prison in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Friday. She was released 34 months early for good behavior

Mack claimed in a previous interview with DailyMail.com that she would return to Bali, declaring: 'I might get deported on release but if that happens I hope it will only be for a maximum of six months. I'll return as quickly as I can.'

The chances of that looked this week bleak, however, after Jamaruli Manihuruk of Indonesia's Law and Human Rights Ministry told DailyMail.com earlier this week that steps were underway to stop Mack from re-entering Bali, which is part of Indonesia.

'We will propose a lifetime ban for heather. But the decision will be made by Immigration official in Jakarta,' he said, referring to the nation's capital.

Mack enjoyed a privileged upbringing in Chicago's upscale Oak Park suburb, growing up in a $1.5m mansion with political researcher mom Sheila and her father James L. Mack, a renowned jazz composer, who died in 2006 while the family vacationed in Greece.

During her incarceration Mack recalled how Sheila had left her husband's body in the morgue to go sailing in Santorini, triggering a simmering hatred that intensified when her mother tried to stop her dating Schaefer in high school.

When Mack dropped out and became pregnant Sheila flew her daughter to Bali to try to convince her to terminate the baby. But she stole her mom's credit card instead and used it to fly out Schaefer in a $12,000 business class seat, her trial was told.

In text messages presented in court Schaefer urged his teen lover to suffocate Sheila so they could claim her estate, which he believed was worth up to $11million.

He ended up doing the job himself in gruesome fashion - battering the political strategist with a metal bowl until she suffocated from a broken nose.

Schaefer testified that Sheila had racially abused him and tried to strangle him during an argument about the pregnancy.

In reality, the besotted lovers had plotted to kill her months and had already tried but failed to kill her by overdose.

They also enlisted advice from his US-based cousin Robert Bibbs, who was later jailed for nine years in the US for his part in the scheming  offering an avenue Feds could explore to bring a fresh prosecution.

Behind bars, Mack was said to have left her life of crime behind, however, going to church, organizing fashion shows and teaching other inmates to dance.

In her a 2019 interview with DailyMail.com Mack said she also felt 'more Indonesian than American', and could speak both the Indonesian language and the local Bahasa Balinese dialect

'My daughter is more Indonesian than American. She has a good life here,' Mack said.

But while Mack has expressed remorse over her mother's killing, Sheila's siblings don't buy it.

Her maternal uncle Bill Weise told DailyMail.com that releasing her soon was a 'joke' and a 'travesty of justice'. He said of Mack's stint behind bars: 'It seemed like she was having a party behind bars.'

Mack was seen holding hands with her prison-born daughter Stella Schaefer, 6, as they were deported from Indonesia to America on Tuesday.

The mother and daughter were escorted by a heavy security presence through Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali as they got set to fly to Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, on Tuesday before heading to Mack's hometown Chicago.

Stella arrived at the airport Tuesday with Mack's lawyer and was taken to a departure area to meet her mother. She had been staying with a friend for most of the time Mack was incarcerated.

Mack was escorted by immigration officers to Immigration detention center in Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia on Friday

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

Mack said Stella, now 6, does not know why both her mother and father are imprisoned, and she wants to keep it that way

Police inspect a bloodied suitcase containing von Wiese-Mack's broken corpse in August 2014

According to Jamaruli Manihuruk, head of Bali's Law and Human Rights Ministry, Mack had requested that her daughter remain in Bali, but that request was denied.



'She can't leave her daughter,' Manihuruk told DailyMail.com.

The badly beaten body of Mack's mother, wealthy Chicago socialite Sheila von Wiese-Mack, was found in a suitcase inside the trunk of a taxi parked at the upscale St. Regis Bali Resort in August 2014.

The killing generated national and international attention for years, in part because of photographs of the suitcase that appeared far too small to hold an adult woman's body.

Mack, who was almost 19-years-old and a few weeks pregnant, and her then-21-year-old boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were arrested a day later after they were found at a budget hotel about six miles from the St. Regis.

Their daughter, Stella Schaefer, was born shortly before her parents were convicted in 2015. Under Indonesian law, she was allowed to live with her mother in her cell in Kerobokan female prison until she turned two, when Mack gave custody of her young daughter to an Australian woman, Oshar Suartama, who befriended Mack during the murder trial in 2014, until her release from prison.

Her attorney, Yulius Benyamin Seran, said earlier that Mack had asked for the girl, who is now six-years-old, to remain with her foster family to avoid media attention in the U.S. However, Indonesian regulations refused.

'Minors must be accompanied by their mothers when their mothers are deported. There is no policy that allows a mother to leave her underage child here,' said Amrizal, chief of the Bali immigration office.

She expressed her fears of returning to Chicago with Stella to The New York Post: 'I am fearful and nervous of returning to Chicago. I'm not worried about the idea that people cannot understand the tragedy for my sake. But I'm nervous for [my daughter] Stella.'

'I'm scared that if she comes back to the States with me, she will be exposed to what happened.'

'I do not want anyone shoving a camera into Stella's face. I know that it will happen to me but I will do my best to protect Stella from that trauma.'

Mack's sentence was shortened by President Joko Widodo by a total of 34 months due to reductions often granted to prisoners on major holidays because of good conduct.

After being released, Mack stayed at an immigration detention center for four days while waiting for her flight tickets and travel documents to be ready.

She was closely escorted by immigration officers to Balis airport for a flight to Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.

Jamaruli Manihuruk, chief of the Bali regional office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said she would fly from Jakarta to Chicago on Delta Airlines. He said his office has asked the central government to ban Mack from Indonesia for life.

Mack previously said that she does not plan to stay in Chicago, where she will be living with a friend, for long.

'I might get deported (back to America) on release but if that happens I hope it will only be for a maximum of six months. I'll return as quickly as I can,' she told DailyMailTV.

Mack was taken aback by the media crowded outside the prison awaiting her release on Friday: 'Oh my God, you are crazy,' she said as she left.

Mack is pictured being led from court in Denpasar in 2015 after they were caught when a taxi driver noticed blood seeping out of the suitcase which contained Sheila's body

Mack is seen in April 2015 with baby Stella, who was born in prison. The child is now six and has been living with a foster family for the last four years

Lili, the prison chief warden, who goes by a single name, said that Mack was overjoyed at being released and also frightened, crying and almost fainting.

'All prisoners must be happy once they can leave the prison, including Heather,' Lili said.

'She felt happy, a little bit shocked, doubt, and a little bit worried when she found out she would leave the prison. But we tried to calm her down. She cried when she said goodbye to her friends inside.'

Wearing jeans and a t-shirt, with an orange safety vest on top, Mack was greeted by friends outside the prison, including the woman who raised her daughter.

She reportedly had a troubled relationship with her mother, with officials in the U.S. confirming that police had been called to the family's Oak Park, Illinois home dozens of times.

Von Wiese-Mack repeatedly filed and eventually dropped charges against her daughter throughout her teenage years. At one point, Mack spent a week in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in 2010 and placed on psychiatric holds due to her violent outbursts.

Mack dropped out of high school in 2014 and became pregnant while dating Schaefer, an unemployed aspiring rapper. Von Wiese-Mack reportedly booked the Bali vacation in an attempt to convince her daughter to terminate her pregnancy.

Bali police said the hotel's surveillance camera showed that Mack and Schaefer had argued with the girl's mother in the lobby shortly before the killing, which allegedly took place inside a room in the hotel.

The young couple allegedly plotted to murder von Wiese-Mack and split her $1.6million estate. Mack has since settled a legal battle with her mother's estate and will not receive 'any property, benefit, or other interest.'

The sole beneficiary on von Wiese-Mack's estate will be Mack's daughter.

Schaefer testified in court that von Wiese-Mack was angry at him when she learned about her daughters pregnancy. He said she insulted him and Mack, wanted her to get an abortion and strangled him in a heated argument before he beat her to death with a fruit bowl.

Prosecutors said Mack hid in the bathroom during the attack but later helped stuff her mother's body in the suitcase by sitting on it to enable Schaefer to close it.

Later video from the corridor showed Mack bringing a cart to move the suitcase and Schaefer carrying the suitcase to the cart. Video also showed the couple talking to a taxi driver. The two allegedly abandoned the suitcase in a taxi and left through the hotel's back door.
Shocking video has emerged of a fight aboard a Los Angeles-bound flight before take-off from Georgia after a man charged at a fellow passenger because he had placed something in the pocket of his seatback.

Curtis Maurice Clayton, 30, from South Carolina, was arrested at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for initiating the fight with German Montez, 43, on Friday, police said.

He reportedly damaged a police car while being taken into custody.

In the cellphone footage, a man in a black jacket can be seen punching a shorter man in a light-blue hoodie, before flight attendants and other passengers intervene and separate them.

The man in the black jacket then touches his left eye, black and bloody at that point, with his hand. Both men were unmasked.

Passengers of the Delta Airline flight, delayed roughly 30 minutes after its scheduled take-off at 7.15am, watched in horror as the two men scuffled in the aisle.

Passengers of the Los Angeles-bound Delta Airline flight, delayed roughly 30 minutes after its scheduled take-off at 7.15am, watched in horror as two men scuffled in the aisle

Curtis Maurice Clayton, 30, from South Carolina, was arrested at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for initiating the fight with German Montez, 43, on Friday, police said

The man in the black jacket then touches his left eye, black and bloody at this point, with his hand. Both men were unmasked

'I already missed a whole flight...Oh my God. It's literally f****** six am. Who's fighting at six am?' says one of the upset passengers growing frustrated with the flight before the video ends.

Atlanta Police said in a statement that Clayton was 'uncooperative with police and damaged a police vehicle during the investigation.'

Clayton was charged with battery and interference with government property, and booked into the Clayton County Jail. Bond has not been set yet.

Delta told Storyful that officers had 'responded to an unruly customer during the boarding process.'

The statement also said: 'Civility at our airports and on our flights is paramount and something our people and customers deserve without exception...Delta will always put safety and security above all else.'

The incident is the last in an alarming spike of disorderly passengers disrupting flights across the country.

'I already missed a whole flight...Oh my God. It's literally f****** six am. Who's fighting at six am?' says one of the upset passengers (pictured) growing frustrated with the flight before the video ends.

Atlanta Police said in a statement that Clayton was 'uncooperative with police and damaged a police vehicle during the investigation'

The Federal Aviation Authority said in August it had issued more than $1 million in fines to unruly passengers in 2021, and revealed there have already been more than 5,000 unruly passenger reports this year alone

Earlier this week, a California-bounded flight departing from New York had to do an emergency landing in Denver after one of the passengers assaulted a flight attendant and broke her nose.

Brian Hsu, 20, of Irvine, California, was charged with assault and interference with a flight crew for the alleged altercation on board an American Airlines flight from New York to Santa Ana, California on October 27.

The flight attendant inadvertently bumped into Hsu, who was flying first class, and he punched her at least twice.

Mackenzie Rose, a passenger on the flight, said she saw the flight attendant walk by after the incident 'with blood on her mask', and speculated that the attacker might have been drunk or high.

Meanwhile, a photo posted on Twitter appeared to show crew members and passengers duct-taping the man to his seat.

He appeared before U.S. District Judge Autumn Spaeth in Santa Ana on Monday and was released after paying a $10,000 bond. He is next due in court in Denver on November 15.

Hsu has been permanently banned from flying with America Airlines.

'This behavior must stop,' the company said in a statement.

Police met the plane at the gate and immediately apprehended Brian Hsu, 20, who was snapped sitting in Denver International Airport in handcuffs by fellow passenger Mackenzie Rose

An image snapped by a passenger and circulated on Twitter appeared to show crew members and other passengers on American Airlines flight 976 rallying to secure the man to an airplane seat using duct tape following the assault

Mackenzie Rose (pictured), a passenger aboard American Airlines flight 976, said: 'I understand that he actually punched her twice. I saw her walk back down the aisle afterwards and she had blood splattered on the outside of her mask.'

Following the altercation, the head of American Airlines, Doug Parker, called it 'one of the worst displays of unruly behavior we've ever witnessed,' in an Instagram post and video.

'Last night, American Airlines had one of the worst displays weve seen, when a passenger violently assaulted one of our flight attendants. Thankfully, our flight attendant is recovering and we are making sure she and her fellow crew members have the support they need.

'The passenger, however, will never be allowed to fly American again and we are doing everything we can to ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. But at the end of the day, while these interactions are not the norm, even one is too many, and they must stop.'

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) announced earlier this year that it would begin to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for unruly passengers after a rise in reports of aggressive behavior on flights.

The agency said in August it had issued more than $1 million in fines to unruly passengers in 2021, and revealed there have already been more than 5,000 unruly passenger reports this year alone.

Seventy-five percent of the altercations are mask-use related.
The Canadian professor who claimed to be of Indigenous descent but was outed by her sister and colleagues as being Eastern European and put on leave from her university continues to self-identify as a member of three tribes.

Carrie Bourassa, the scientific director of the Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, has claimed to be of the Metis, Anishinaabe and Tlingit tribes without ever actually presenting proof, only self-identifying.

Bourassa, or Morning Star Bear's, colleagues and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigated and failed to find any Indigenous relatives, and her sister, Jody Burnett said Bourassa's 'description of our family is inaccurate, not rooted in fact and moreover is irrelevant to the issue of whether or not [she] is Metis.'

But Bourassa, who was placed on leave from the University of Saskatchewan, said in a statement that there is no need provide proof to her claims, and accused investigations into her heritage as going against the customs of her tribe.

'It is apparent that I must adhere to Western ideologies, such as blood quantum, to prove something that the communities I serve, the Elders who support me, and myself already know,' Bourassa told the CBC, referring to the controversial method in which some tribes in the US acknowledge members through DNA percentages.

'Blood quantums are not our way, but I have been working with a Metis genealogist to investigate my lineage.'

She added that her own investigation began two years ago and was still on-going.

Carrie Bourassa has recently come under fire as her family, colleagues, and an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation claim she has no Indigenous heritage

Bourassa, pictured as a child, has claimed to be born of the Metis, Anishinaabe and Tlingit tribes without ever actually presenting proof. She later said she was adopted into the Metis tribe in her 20s by a friend of her grandfather

Jody Burnett, Bourassa's sister, released a statement on the family's behalf which stated the 'description of our family is inaccurate, not rooted in fact and moreover is irrelevant to the issue of whether or not Carrie Bourassa is Metis'

For nearly 20 years Bourassa, now in her late 40s, said that she was born into a family with Metis, Anishnaabe and Tlingit roots but later claimed that she was adopted into the Metis tribe by her late grandfather's friend, Clifford Laroque.

'Even though Clifford passed, those bonds are even deeper than death because the family has taken me as if I was their blood family. In turn, I serve the Metis community to the best of my ability,' she wrote in a statement.

'In our Metis ways, in the event of a loss, community members would adopt the individual who had no family and they would then automatically be seen as family,' she continued. 'We see this as custom adoption. Those adoptions were more meaningful and have stronger bonds than colonial adoptions.'

Bourassa has yet to explain why she claimed for the majority of her career that she was born into a Metis family.

Bourassa shared this slide of family photos during a 2019 Ted Talk when she discussed her difficult upbringing during which her Metis grandfather, Ladislav 'Laddie' Knezacek, (pictured right) inspired her to work hard to break the cycle of 'intergenerational trauma'

Bourassa linked the investigation into her heritage to the controversial quantum blood tests in the US that provides DNA percentages of a person's Indigenous heritage

Colleagues of the Indigenous public health expert grew skeptical of her Indigenous ancestry as she began to claim connections to more Indigenous communities and dress in more stereotypical Indigenous garb (Pictured: University of Saskatchewan professor Caroline Tait, left, Bourassa, center, and Marg Friesen, minister of health for the Metis Nation Saskatchewan, right)

Caroline Tait, a Metis professor and medical anthropologist at the University of Saskatchewan who has worked with Bourassa for over 10 years, said she began to question her colleague's ancestral claims as Bourassa began noting ties to the Anishinaabe and Tlingit communities and dressing in more stereotypically Indigenous styles.

Tait said she and other colleagues' doubts peaked when they learned that Bourassa's sister had stopped claiming Metis ancestry after looking further into her genealogy.

Winona Wheeler, an associate professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Saskatchewan, and Janet Smylie, a Metis family medicine professor from the University of Toronto who worked with Bourassa, joined Tait in her suspicions.

Tait confronted Bourassa about what she initially suspected were rumors. Bourassa replied in an email: 'I have twice done my genealogy and received Metis local memberships and I am accepted in the community.' She has never shared her genealogies.

Tait said Bourassa's roots come from Eastern Europe, namely Russian, Polish and Czechoslovakia.

'One of the most difficult challenges for all of us was that Carrie Bourassa was supervising students and giving lectures, going to conferences, and interacting with our elders,' Tait told the CBC.

'When the news came out, [we knew] that there would be people that were very hurt and particularly the students. The most difficult piece of this is the people who looked up to her.'

Carrie Bourassa has been placed on unpaid leave at the University of Saskatchewan, pictured

She said that while she is glad the University of Saskatchewan rescinded their initally support of Bourassa and placed her on leave, there needs to be a wider conversation on how Indigenous people are recognized.

'It has been heartbreaking to see so many incredible Indigenous academics leave our university because they did not feel safe and supported as First Nations and Metis people,' Tait wrote on Facebook.

Rob Innes, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at McMaster University, claimed the Canadian Institute of Health Research's system was flawed as it only asks members of its Indigenous Canada Research Chairs to self-identify.

'How many CRCs in the country are Indigenous? No one knows. How do universities know if their CRCs are even Indigenous? They dont know  they only know they self-identified. Even though universities say identity is a private matter [but] they also publicly boast about how many Indigenous CRCs they have,' he wrote in a Facebook Post.

He also commended Tait and her colleague's for speaking out, given that Bourassa enjoyed a powerful position in both the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the university, which touted her ancestry and accomplishments through podcasts, conferences and announcements.

'The repercussion for speaking out about someone like Carrie Bourassa who wields incredible influence in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the top organization in Canada that funds health and medical research, could be significant. Even though Tait and Smylie are highly regarded health researchers, speaking out could stall their careers or even worse, end it.'

The incident with Carrie Bourassa has opened discussions on what institutions can do to properly vet someone who claims to be of an Indigenous tribe

Bourassa claims that her great-grandmother, Johanna Salaba, was Tlingit and that: 'She married an immigrant. They moved from the far northern B.C. into Saskatchewan and they had a family.'

But CBC claims that the passenger manifest and Census records they examined show Salaba left Russia with her mother and sister in 1911 and was listed as a Czech-speaking Russian, unable to speak English.

Marie Salaba, a 99-year-old relative, confirmed that Bourassa's great-grandmother only spoke Czech.

Salaba married a Russian-born farmer with whom she shared 10 children, one of which was Ladislav 'Laddie' Knezacek- Bourassa's grandfather who she has repeatedly claimed was Metis.

'This grandfather that [Bourassa] was always talking about was not Indigenous,' Wheeler said.

Burnett, Bourassa's sister, told CBC: 'growing up as a child, I didn't identify as Metis.'

Carrie Bourassa's LinkedIn Resume EXPERIENCE: University of Saskatchewan Professor, Indigenous Health September 2018-Present Canadian Institutes of Health Research Scientific Director, Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health - Canadian Institutes of Health Research September 2018-Present Scientific Director, Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health February 2017-Present Infinity Consulting Owner/ President (Indigenous health consulting and research, education and development) August 2003-Present Health Sciences North Research Institute Chair in Northern & Indigenous Health, Senior Scientist October 2016-September 2018 First Nations University of Canada Indigenous Health Studies August 2001-September 2016 EDUCATION: University of Regina Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)Social Studies 2001-2008 Advertisement

She explained that she was first told of her alleged Metis ancestry in 2002 when her sister invited her to a meeting with Larocque when he 'provided confirmation that our family had [Metis] lineage in B.C.' and insisted she 'should be confident in representing myself as such.'

'I was not shown any documentation  rather, it was shared with me verbally.' Laroque then provided Burnett with a certificate of membership in a Metis local in 2006. For years Burnett claimed Metis roots even accepting scholarships due to her supposed Indigenous genealogy and writing her PhD dissertation on gambling issues in Indigenous communities.

But in 2014, Burnett stopped claiming Metis roots after her 'husband completed a family tree through a genealogical software program. From that point on, I did not feel certain of my heritage and as such, have stopped identifying as Metis.'

'She is not Metis. She is the modern-day Grey Owl,' Tait said referencing a famous British conservationist who convinced people in the early 1900s of his false Native American heritage.

Bourassa's colleagues, many who do belong to Indigenous communities, are highly offended by her claims and sent a letter with the information that they gathered to the U of S in an official misconduct complaint, which Bourassa said was dismissed.

A statement released by the university read: 'USask has placed Dr. Bourassa on leave and she is relieved of all her duties as professor in the USask College of Medicine in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology.

'Dr. Bourassa will not return to any faculty duties during this investigation.

'The University of Saskatchewan has carefully reviewed the information in interviews and responses from Dr. Carrie Bourassa to recent articles challenging her Indigenous identity,

'The university has serious concerns with the additional information revealed in Dr. Bourassa's responses to the media and with the harm that this information may be causing Indigenous individuals and communities.'

CIHR president Michael Strong also released a statement: 'Today I spoke with Dr. Carrie Bourassa, scientific director of the CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health (CIHR-IIPH), and we agreed that she will step away from all of her duties as scientific director of the Institute,

'As such, Dr. Bourassa will be on an indefinite leave without pay effective immediately.

'I acknowledge the pain experienced by Indigenous Peoples as a result of this matter, and would like to underscore CIHR's absolute commitment to reconciliation and continuing to accelerate the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples in health research,' the statement read.

In a statement released on October 27, following the publication of the CBC investigation, she accused the outlet of running a 'smear campaign' which she said left her 'shocked and dismayed at the recent attack on my identity.'
NSO Group, an Israeli tech firm, has been added to a US blacklist by the Biden administration

The US Commerce Department added Israel's NSO Group and Candiru to its trade blacklist on Wednesday, saying they sold spyware to foreign governments who used the equipment to target government officials, journalists and others.

Positive Technologies of Russia, and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE. LTD, from Singapore, were also listed.

The Department said they trafficked in cyber tools used to gain unauthorized access to computer networks.

The companies' addition to the list, for engaging in activities contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests, means that exports to them from US counterparts are restricted.

It for instance makes it far harder for US security researchers to sell them information about computer vulnerabilities, as well as hardware and software that will likely limit the firms' abilities to sell to other international customers.

Amnesty International and a consortium of global media outlets claimed that Pegasus software, which is manufactured by NSO, was actually being used by governments to spy on journalists, officials, royals and individuals including murdered Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi's widow.

The journalists targeted included Ben Hubbard, the New York Times' Beirut Bureau Chief, and Azam Ahmed, the Times' Mexico Bureau Chief, along with other journalists based in India, the Morocco, Mexico and Azerbaijan.

Others include reporters working for the Associated Press, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and CNN, but many have not been named. 189 journalists were targeted. The US government didn't name any of the countries said to have misused the software, and said they weren't taking any action against those nations.

NSO released a statement via its US-based lawyer, Clare Locke, to say it had nothing to do with any misuse of Pegasus, and that it had taken action against customers who'd used the product for nefarious purposes.

The US Commerce Department added Israel's NSO Group and Candiru to its trade blacklist on Wednesday, saying they sold spyware to foreign governments that used the equipment to target government officials, journalists and others

The journalists targeted included Ben Hubbard, the New York Times' Beirut Bureau Chief (left) and Azam Ahmed, the Times' Mexico Bureau Chief (right) along with other journalists based in India, the Morocco, Mexico and Azerbaijan.

Hanan El Atr, the widow of murdered Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was also targeted, according to the data

The Biden administration clarified on Wednesday that it was not sanctioning any of the foreign governments that represented the countries where these firms operated.

'We are not taking action against countries or governments where these entities are located,' said a spokesperson for the US State Department.

Suppliers will need to apply for a license before selling to them, which are likely to be denied.

In the past, the NSO Group and Candiru have been accused of selling hacking tools to authoritarian regimes.

NSO says it only sells its products to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and takes steps to curb abuse.

Earlier this year, WhatsApp announced it was suing NSO Group after 1,400 users of the messaging app were allegedly targeted

An NSO spokesperson said the company was 'dismayed' by the decision since its technologies 'support US national security interests and policies by preventing terrorism and crime, and thus we will advocate for this decision to be reversed.'

NSO will present information regarding its rigorous compliance and human rights programs, 'which already resulted in multiple terminations of contacts with government agencies that misused our products,' the spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.

The Israeli defense ministry, which grants export licenses to NSO, declined to comment on the matter.

Contact information for Candiru was not available.

The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Positive Technologies, a Russian cybersecurity firm, this year for providing support to Russian security services.

The company denies any wrongdoing.

Spokespeople for Positive Technologies and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE. LTD, also known as COSEINC, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A former US official familiar with Positive Technologies, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the firm had helped establish computer infrastructure used in Russian cyberattacks on US organizations.

Export control experts say the designation could have a far broader impact on the listed companies than simply limiting their access to US technology.

'Many companies choose to avoid doing business with listed entities completely in order to eliminate the risk of an inadvertent violation and the costs of conducting complex legal analyses,' said Kevin Wolf, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration during the Obama Administration.

The entity list was increasingly used for national security and foreign policy aims during the Trump administration.

Chinese telecom company Huawei was added in 2019, cutting it off from some key US suppliers and making it difficult for them to produce mobile handsets.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson was released from a Washington, DC hospital after the civil rights leader who suffers from Parkinson's disease fell and hit his head during a student protest at Howard University.

In a video thanking the hospital staff, Jackson, 80, announced his plans to return to support the students who are protesting the living conditions on the campus of one of the nation's top Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

'I want to get back to meet with the president of the university and meet with the students to work on reconciling their differences,' Jackson said Tuesday.

He also explained that his Parkinson's diagnosis, a chronic neurological disorder, causes movement and speaking difficulties which were connected to the fall. Jackson has been seeking outpatient care for Parkinson's for more than five years.

Rev. Jesse Jackson released a video statement on Tuesday announcing his release from Howard University Hospital after he fell and hit his head the previous day while protesting with students at the university, which he plans to return to immediately

Jackson, who has been meeting with students (pictured) and staff amid an accommodation dispute at Howard University, tripped and fell when entering a building on campus on Monday

Jackson posing with students on Monday before he had his fall. The Baptist minister suffers from Parkinson's disease and was admitted to hospital in August after catching Covid - despite receiving his vaccines in January

Jackson speaking with student activists on Monday before his fall

Jackson linking arms with students during a meeting on campus

The Reverend Jackson is pictured at a meeting with student protesters on Saturday

His daughter Santita Jackson said 'he's resting comfortably and doing well.' 'Fighting for you is what he'll always do. His goal is to ensure the well-being of HowardU students,' she added on Twitter.

Jackson was entering a campus building on Monday when he tripped and fell, cutting his head, according to his spokesman Frank Watkins.

He was rushed to Howard University Hospital for various tests, including a CT scan that came back normal. Watkins said Jackson would be kept at the hospital overnight for observation.

It was the third time Jackson has been hospitalized this year after he caught Covid-19 in August and underwent gallbladder surgery in January.

His daughter Santita Jackson assured people on Monday: 'he's resting comfortably and doing well.'

'Fighting for you is what he'll always do. His goal is to ensure the well-being of HowardU students,' she added on Twitter.

Jackson was attending a meeting with Howard President Wayne A.I. Frederick and the students, who were discussing their complaints about living conditions, according to Watkins.

'I think that we were very close yesterday,' he said as he left the hospital.

'The president had a good spirit yesterday, the students had a good spirit yesterday,' Jackson said in the video. 'I'd like to finish that process because I think Howard University has the maximum opportunity. It's at the top of the hill.'

Jackson was hospitalized in August after testing positive for Covid-19, despite receiving his jabs in January when he put out a statement urging black Americans, among whom there is a higher rate of vaccine hesitancy, to get the shot.

On January 29, he was admitted to hospital after suffering from 'abdominal discomfort' and later underwent gallbladder surgery.

He was released to a rehabilitation center for a 'short period of exercise and therapy,' because of his Parkinson's disease following the procedure.

Since being released from the hospital for Covid-19 treatment and physical therapy, Jackson has resumed an active travel and public speaking schedule.

The Baptist minister has been a civil rights leader since the 1960s, when he marched with Martin Luther King and helped fundraise for the cause.

He was the most prominent African American to run for the US presidency - with two unsuccessful attempts to capture the Democratic Party nomination in the 1980s - until Barack Obama took the office in 2009.

Students at Howard University have began protesting last month over their squalid living conditions, accusing college administrators of dismissing reports about mold, roaches and mice.

Members of the HBCU have organized in tents outside of campus and in sleeping bags inside the social hub and the university center.

On social media, students have said the issues at Howard University have been persistent for years and are long overdue. They've shared videos of the unsafe living condition in the dorms, showing cockroaches in the showers, walls with mold, mice making their way inside dorm rooms, and floodings from burst pipes

Members of the historically black university have organized in tents outside of campus and in sleeping bags inside the social hub and the university center

As of Saturday, October 23, the university had made attempts to stop students from entering the buildings where they had been protesting by placing campus officers outside

On social media, students have said the issues have been persistent for years and improvements are long overdue.

They've shared videos of the unsafe living condition in the dorms, showing cockroaches in the showers, walls covered with mold, mice skittering across dorm rooms, and flooding from burst pipes.

Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and NAACP President Derrick Johnson are among those to have praised the students for taking the action, along with the Jackson.

Protesters said the university had largely ignored their pleas.

Jackson had been helping students in their protest about housing conditions (pictured: tents set up on October 25 as part of demonstrations)

Tents are set up near the Blackburn University Center as students protest poor housing condition on the campus of at Howard University October 25, 2021 in Washington, DC

They demanded a town hall meeting with the university's president before October ends, the release of a housing plan that addresses their concerns, and the appointment of students to the board of trustees.

In an email, the university said: 'The university along with its campus housing are actively addressing the concerns our students have raised.

'While there have only been a small number of documented facilities reports, we are actively inquiring about reported issues that may be in the residence halls going door to door to interview each resident.'

'Additionally, members of the administration have also toured and inspected every residence hall on campus and are addressing any documented facility issues directly with our third-party housing managers,' the email read.
Ireland's prime minister today warned the UK against a 'reckless' attempt to throw out post-Brexit trade rules covering Northern Ireland.

The UK Government is said to be seeking fresh faces who could help Attorney General Suella Braverman provide a legal basis for abandoning the Northern Ireland Protocol.

It will fuel claims that the Government wants to use Article 16 of the protocol, which allows either side to suspend the agreement if it is deemed to be having a significant impact on everyday life.

But Taoiseach Micheal Martin warned Boris Johnson of far-reaching implications for its relations with the European Union if it seeks to suspend parts of the protocol.

Speaking after meetings with EU and US leaders at the COP26 Summit, Mr Martin described British actions in recent weeks as sabre-rattling and described current British/EU relations as 'very challenging and very serious.'

It comes as the Brexit Minister Lord Frost prepares to meet French Europe Minister Clement Beaune tomorrow.

A Government spokesman told the Financial Times it was 'normal practice to commission legal advice from a wide range of sources on matters of this significance'.

It comes as the Brexit Minister Lord Frost prepares to meet French Europe Minister Clement Beaune tomorrow.

Micheal Martin, speaking after meetings with EU and US leaders at the COP26 Summit, described British actions in recent weeks as sabre-rattling and described current British/EU relations as 'very challenging and very serious.'

Difficulties in sending some goods to British-run Northern Ireland have prompted London to repeatedly call for widespread changes to the protocol and threaten to trigger safeguard measures in the deal if the EU fails to agree to an overhaul.

'It would be unwise, and it will be reckless to invoke Article 16 (safeguard measures) as a response to the proposals from the European Commission,' Mr Martin told the Dail.

'I think if such an act was to be taken by the British government. I think it would have far reaching implications for the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.'

The European Commission last month offered Britain a package of measures it said could halve customs paperwork, cut checks on meat, dairy and other British food products by 80 per cent and ensure the undisturbed flow of medicines.

London has said the proposals do not go far enough.

Martin, who said the conditions exist for agreement between the two sides, said US President Joe Biden asked for a brief conversation at the climate summit. Biden, who is proud of his Irish heritage, has shown a keen interest in the protocol.

'He reiterated to me in the strongest possible terms, how the Good Friday Agreement matters very deeply to his administration as to President Biden himself and he said to me that he had made this unequivocally clear to the British government,' Martin said, referring to the 1998 peace deal.

Ahead of Lord Frost's trip to Paris tomorrow, The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'He will be discussing both the (Northern Ireland) protocol and the fisheries issues, we want to emphasise that our position as regards to how we grant licences has not changed in any way.

'But we are keen to discuss the broader issue of the protocol and come up with substantive changes.

'It's entirely up to the French government if they want to reimpose the threats that we saw they both announced and stood back from in recent days.'

Asked what success in Thursday's meeting in Paris looks like, the spokesman said: 'We're seeking substantive changes to the protocol with the EU and these changes are necessary because the protocol as it is being enforced is extremely challenging

'So we want to seek agreement from the EU that they will make the changes necessary so that it can be sustainable in the long term.'
China is suffering its most widespread Covid-19 outbreak since the virus first emerged at the beginning of the pandemic in Wuhan in 2019.

The country's new locally transmitted Covid cases have spiked to a near three-month high amid what the Chinese government called a 'serious' new outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant.

Now, more than 600 locally-transmitted cases have been found in 19 of the country's 31 provinces, reports Bloomberg.

The National Health Commission confirmed on Wednesday 93 new local symptomatic cases for Tuesday, up from 54 a day earlier and the highest daily count since August 9 at the peak of China's last major outbreak.

Most of the local cases were found in Heihe, a city in the northern province of Heilongjiang, where 35 infections were recorded on Tuesday. Three new provinces detected cases: central Chongqing, Jiangsu and Henan, reported Bloomberg.

The spread and rise in Covid infections comes despite the Chinese government enforcing tighter curbs to contain the cases.

China is suffering its most widespread Covid-19 outbreak since the virus first emerged at the beginning of the pandemic in Wuhan in 2019

Local residents queue up for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing at a temporary Covid-19 testing site on November 3, 2021 in Chongqing, China

The country's new locally transmitted Covid cases have spiked to a near three-month high amid what the Chinese government called a 'serious' new outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant

Officials have backed the government's with officials still sticking to their Covid zero approach, with one expert insisting the current outbreak will be contained 'within a month'.

Zhong Nanshan, a leading expert in China's respiratory disease research, told China Global Television Network that China will continue with its zero-transmission policy against Covid, because the global Covid fatality rate of 2% is too high.

'I think the zero-transmission policy will remain in place for a long time,' Nanshan said. 'Exactly how long depends on the global and regional Covid-19 control situations in coming months.'

Strict restrictions are expected in the capital Beijing in the run-up to a key gathering of the highest-ranking members of the Communist Party next week.

On Tuesday, China's government urged citizens to stock up on daily necessities and for authorities to take steps to ensure adequate food supplies as the country adopts increasingly tight measures to contain the latest outbreak.

A notice posted on the website of the Ministry of Commerce late on Monday urged 'families to store a certain amount of daily necessities as needed to meet daily life and emergencies'.

The directive made no mention of a food shortage or of whether the instructions were motivated by fears that Covid measures could disrupt supply chains or leave locked-down citizens in need of food.

But China, which has kept its infection numbers relatively low through a Covid-zero strategy of border closures, targeted lockdowns and long quarantine periods, is increasingly adopting tough measures to contain the latest outbreak, especially ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics beginning on February 4.

Workers arrange food supplies at the Tiantongyuan residential complex where residents are under lockdown to halt the spread of the Covid-19 on Wednesday in Beijing

On Tuesday, Beijing reported four cases of Covid-19 among one family - a couple, their daughter, and the daughter's grandmother.

The cases triggered an instant response, with a major primary school and a secondary schools conducting Covid tests for all teachers and students. Another 16 schools suspending in-person classes on Tuesday.

By Tuesday morning, 596 people from the primary school and 1,329 people from the middle school had tested negative. The remaining people were waiting for results.

The Commerce Ministry notice also told authorities to take measures to facilitate agricultural production, keep supply chains smooth, ensure that regional food reserves were adequate and maintain stable prices.

Besides Covid concerns, China has been hit hard over the past two years by heavy summer flooding that impacted agricultural output and drove up prices, raising concerns that the problem could worsen as climate change brings increasingly extreme weather.

The government last year launched a national campaign to curb food waste.

Average wholesale prices of 28 kinds of vegetables in October were up 16 percent from the previous month, state media reported on Monday, citing government numbers.

The government has restricted some inter-provincial travel, ramped up testing, and urged people to postpone social gatherings like weddings and banquets.

In an example of the extreme measures taken, the Shanghai Disneyland theme park closed temporarily from Sunday night and prevented visitors and park personnel from leaving until they underwent Covid testing, all due to a single coronavirus case.

More than 38,000 people were tested as a result.

China tells families to stockpile food triggering panic buying in supermarkets after floods and Covid lockdowns sparked fears of shortages

By Chris Jewers for MailOnline

China has told families to stockpile food and other daily necessities after floods and coronavirus lockdowns sparked fears over shortages of essential goods.

Beijing's commerce ministry directive on Monday stirred some concern on domestic social media that it may have been triggered by heightened tensions with Taiwan, while some said people were rushing to stock up on rice, cooking oil and salt.

'As soon as this news came out, all the old people near me went crazy panic buying in the supermarket,' wrote one user on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

The government typically makes extra efforts to boost fresh vegetable and pork supplies before China's most important holiday, Lunar New Year, which in 2022 falls in early February.

But this year those efforts have become more urgent, as the shoring up of supplies becomes more challenging.

China has told families to stockpile food and other daily necessities after floods and coronavirus lockdowns sparked fears of shortages of essential goods. Pictured: A woman buys vegetables at a market in Nanning, in China's southern Guangxi region, November 1

The directive is said to have sparked panic buying in some supermarkets. Pictured: shoppers stock up on cabbage at a shop in Beijing

Floods linked to global warming have killed hundreds of people and destroyed homes, while the prices of vegetables have increased.

In early October, extreme weather including a tornado destroyed crops in Shandong - the country's biggest vegetable growing region. Henan province, known as China's bread basket, was also hit with torrential rain over the summer.

Meanwhile, as outbreaks of COVID-19 cases are stretching from the northwest to the northeast of the country, authorities have imposed tough new Covid lockdowns in response, leading to potential delays in deliveries.

In a sign that the government is becoming increasingly concerned over the food shortages, Chinese authorities have recently revived an anti-food waste campaign that first launched last year.

Local media has also recently published lists of recommended goods to store at home including biscuits and instant noodles, vitamins, radios and flashlights.

The public response forced state media on Tuesday to try to soothe fears and clarify the ministry's statement.

The Economic Daily, a Communist Party-backed newspaper, told netizens not to have 'too much of an overactive imagination' and that the directive's purpose was to make sure citizens were not caught off guard if there was a lockdown in their area.

The People's Daily said the ministry issues such notices every year, but had issued its instruction earlier this year because of natural disasters, the surge in vegetable prices and recent COVID-19 cases.

A farmer tries to drain a corn field still water logged months after torrential rain flooded the region of Zhaoguo village in central China's Henan province on Friday, October 22, 2021. Heavy flooding and Covid lockdowns have lead to fears of shortages in the country

The ministry's statement late on Monday urged local authorities to do a good job in ensuring supply and stable prices, and to give early warnings of any supply problems.

Last week, prices of cucumbers, spinach and broccoli had more than doubled from early October. Spinach was more expensive than some cuts of pork at 16.67 yuan ($2.60) per kg, a vegetable price index in Shouguang, a trading hub in Shandong, indicated.

Although prices have eased in recent days, economists expect a significant year-on-year increase in consumer price inflation for October, the first in five months.

The pandemic has brought an increased focus on food security, with the government drafting a food security law and outlining new efforts to curb food waste.

The commerce ministry said local authorities should buy vegetables that can be stored well in advance and also strengthen emergency delivery networks. Information about prices and supply and demand of commodities should be released in a timely manner to stabilise people's expectations, it added.

China also plans to release vegetable reserves 'at an appropriate time' to counter rising prices, according to a state TV report late on Monday. It is not clear which vegetables China holds in reserves and how big those reserves are.

Some in China took to the internet to speculate over why the directive had been issued, with some suggesting Beijing was imposing emergency measures in preparation to invade Taiwan.

In a sign that the government is becoming increasingly concerned over the food shortages, Chinese authorities have recently revived an anti-food waste campaign that first launched last year. Pictured: A neighbourhood market in Beijing on November 2, 2021

The island country has its own democratic government, but Beijing insists it is part of its territory and has in recent months been ramping up pressure over the issue.

But in response to the speculation, state media warned against 'overactive imaginations' and told the public not to panic over the announcement, saying the government only wanted to ensure people were not caught off guard in the scenario of an emergency lockdown.

The state planning body has called for the timely replanting of vegetables, urging local governments to support fast-growing produce, according to the report.

China has about 100 million mu (6.7 million hectares) planted with vegetables, the agriculture ministry has said.

Three months after torrential rains flooded much of central China's Henan province, stretches of the country's flat agricultural heartland are still submerged in several inches of water.

It's one of the many calamities around the world that are giving urgency to the U.N. climate summit underway in Glasgow, Scotland.

'There is nothing this year. It's all gone,' farmer Wang Yuetang's said. 'Farmers on the lowland basically have no harvest, nothing.'

Local media has recently published lists of recommended goods to store at home including biscuits and instant noodles, vitamins, radios and flashlights. Pictured: Two grandmothers with their granddaughter trade vegetables at a market on the outskirts of Shanghai, June 3

He lost his summer crop to floods, and in late October the ground was still too wet to plant the next season's crop, winter wheat.

The flooding disaster is the worst that farmers in Henan can remember in 40 years, Wang said, but it is also a preview of the kind of extreme conditions the country is likely to face as the planet warms and the weather patterns growers depend upon are increasingly destabilized.

'As the atmosphere warms up, air can hold more moisture, so when storms occur, they can rain out more extreme precipitation,' said Richard Seager, a climate scientist at Columbia University.

'Chances are extremely likely that human-induced climate change caused the extreme flooding you saw this summer in places like China and Europe.'

China, the most populous country in the world, with 1.4 billion people, is now the planet's largest contributor to climate change, responsible for around 28 percent of carbon dioxide emissions that warm the Earth, though the United States is the biggest polluter historically.

As world leaders take part this week in the climate summit, China is being criticized for not setting a more ambitious timeline for phasing out fossil fuels.

President Xi Jinping, who has not left China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and will not be attending the summit but sent a veteran negotiator, has said the country's carbon emissions will level off before 2030. Critics say that's not soon enough.

Floords in china, linked to global warming, have killed hundreds of people and destroyed homes. Pictured: Rescuers repair a bridge damaged by flooding on October 7, 2021 in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province

Chinese government projections paint a worrying vision of the future: rising sea levels threatening major coastal cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and melting glaciers and permafrost imperiling western China's water supply and grand infrastructure projects such as the railroads across the Tibetan plateau.

Top government scientists also predict an increase in droughts, heat waves and extreme rainfall across China that could threaten harvests and endanger reservoirs and dams, including Three Gorges Dam.

Meanwhile, China's people are already suffering the brunt of climate change. And in a common pattern around the world, those who have contributed least to the warming and have the fewest resources to adapt often feel the pain most acutely.

In late July, Chinese news broadcasts carried startling footage of torrential rains swamping Henan's provincial capital, Zhengzhou - at one point, 8 inches (20 centimeters) fell in a single hour - with cars swept away, subways flooded and people struggling through waist-deep water.

More than 300 people died as the megacity turned into an accidental Venice, its highways transformed into muddy canals.

Even after the most dramatic storms ceased, the water continued to pool in much of the surrounding countryside, a flat and fertile region.

Henan's economy depends on corn, wheat and vegetables, and other regions of China depend on Henan for food.

The local government reported that nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of farmland were flooded - an area about the size of Northern Ireland - with damage totaling $18 billion.
Ministers will make Covid vaccines compulsory for all NHS staff in England from April, it was claimed today.

A source close to the negotiations said the move was a 'done deal' and that it could be unveiled as soon as Thursday.

But Health Secretary Sajid Javid is rumoured to still have reservations about the policy, with the insider describing him as 'genuinely split'  despite publicly saying he was 'leaning towards' the mandate.

Health officials, however, have told MailOnline 'no final decision' has been made and that there is unlikely to be an announcement until next week.

The Government has been considering the move for months in a bid to protect the NHS this winter.

But critics say it is 'neither necessary nor proportionate', given that 92 per cent of NHS staff are already jabbed.

And care bosses have warned the compulsory vaccine mandate in their sector has been futile, with just 30,000 coming forward after it was made a legal requirement.

Care home workers will be required to have two doses from November 11 in order to keep their jobs.

But figures suggest some 60,000 employees have not got their shots in time, with unions warning the mass exodus could leave some homes 'no longer able to operate'.

Some 100,000 NHS workers are yet to get at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, figures show. The above graph shows the percentage that have got their first dose (blue line) and the percentage that have got both doses (orange line)

A source involved in discussions told the i newspaper that the move to make jabs compulsory in the NHS was imminent.

They said: 'It sounded like a done deal based on the document we were shown by the Department of Health and discussions we had with them.

They added, however: 'But it did seem that Sajid Javid was genuinely split on the decision and they were going to watch what happened in New York.'

'This is all part of Javid's "I'm not taking any nonsense from doctors" stance.

Making Covid vaccine compulsory for care home workers had 'little' effect, industry insiders say Making Covid vaccines compulsory for care home workers had little effect on boosting uptake, industry insiders say amid fears forcing the jabs on NHS workers will also be futile. Ministers have made it a legal requirement for all care home staff to get their second jab by November 11 or face losing their job, with the hope of boosting uptake and protecting vulnerable residents. But care bosses told MailOnline today the policy failed in its main objective of boosting uptake and was enforced 'without considering' the consequences. Critics warn it will exacerbate staffing shortages. Latest figures suggest just 30,000 elderly care home workers have come forward for their first vaccine since parliament voted to make vaccination compulsory in July. Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group  which represents providers in Yorkshire, said making jabs compulsory only had 'a little bit of an effect' on the 1.5million-strong sector. Health chiefs are also on the verge of introducing the 'no jab, no job' policy in the NHS ahead of what is expected to be a challenging winter, despite calls to postpone the move until April to avoid a staff exodus. More than nine in 10 NHS staff are already jabbed. Care home employees will be required to be double-jabbed to keep working in the sector from next week, but a loophole could see unvaccinated employees continue working in the sector until two days before Christmas. Care bosses fear this could spark a 'mass exodus' just ahead of Christmas Day  derailing family plans. Advertisement

'He picked a fight with GPs [over remote consultations] he didn't need to have and could now be picking a fight with the wider health and care community.'

Mr Javid threatened to name and shame under-performing surgeries last month and send 'hit squads' to those who were not seeing enough people in person.

But the move led to an ugly row with GPs who said they had been 'insulted'.

The source suggested the Health Secretary was now seeking to soften his stance, after getting on to the wrong foot with the health service barely five months into the job.

Official documents, shown to the i, warned Covid and flu were set to add 'substantial pressure' to the NHS this winter.

They added there was 'unacceptable uncertainty' around whether un-vaccinated employees had given the viruses to patients in previous years.

Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, is reportedly already telling senior health figures to expect an announcement on Thursday.

But the Department of Health refused to recognise that timeline.

A spokesman told MailOnline: 'No final decisions have been made and we will set out our response in due course.

'Its never too late to take up the offer and we would urge everyone who is eligible to come forward as we head into the winter months.'

Questions have been raised about whether the move is necessary in the NHS because figures suggest some 92 per cent (1.34million) of the workforce in England have already got their first dose.

And 89 per cent of the workforce (1.3million) have got both doses.

There are also already more than 100,000 vacancies in the NHS - including more than 4,000 doctors and 18,000 nurses.

There are fears that imposing a 'no jab, no job' policy would exacerbate these numbers as the NHS heads into what is expected to be one of the toughest winters yet.

Mr Javid said he was 'leaning towards' making vaccines compulsory for NHS employees last month.

But he appears to have heeded calls from health chiefs to delay the policy until April because of the 'very, very' difficult winter ahead.

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers  which represents trusts, publicly called for the delay earlier this week.

But he did not rail against compulsory vaccinations, suggesting health leaders supported the measure. He said a small majority of hospitals had already signalled their support for the policy.

The above graph shows the proportion of staff working in care homes for the over-65s who have received their first and second doses of the vaccine. It reveals that there was no sharp surge in uptake when the jabs were made compulsory

The above map shows the five areas where more than one in five care home employees are still yet to get two doses of the Covid vaccine

Around 60,000 unvaccinated care workers face sack Tens of thousands of care home workers face being sacked within days because they are not fully vaccinated against Covid, unions have warned. Figures suggest some 60,000 employees in England  roughly a tenth of the entire workforce  are still yet to turn up for two jabs, and half of these have not even had their first dose. Homes in Manchester, Nottingham, Westminster and Birmingham face the biggest crisis, with around one in five employees still yet to be double-jabbed. Unions today warned a mass staff exodus could be the 'final straw' for the sector, and leave many homes 'no longer able to operate'. Some sites in the South West have already stopped taking patients from hospitals, leaving ward beds blocked. Elderly care home workers are legally required to have had both of their Covid jabs by November 11, next week, to keep working in the sector. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the measure in June, saying it would help to boost uptake and protect vulnerable residents. But care home sources have called for the deadline to be delayed, and said making them compulsory has only had 'a little' impact on uptake. Advertisement

A consultation on whether to make Covid  and flu  vaccinations compulsory for NHS staff concluded at the end of October.

But the i newspaper reports ministers have been waiting to publish the results until after the COP26 summit.

Some groups today opposed the policy being thrust on the NHS ahead of the winter.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, the chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said: 'We do not think that making the Covid vaccine mandatory for doctors is either necessary or proportionate.

'So if it's true that the Department of Health is pressing ahead with compulsory vaccination we would be very wary.'

She added: 'While we do think that it is the professional responsibility of doctors to get the jab, when we know that more than 92 per cent of them have already done so, you have to ask why such a heavy-handed approach is being taken.'

Unions have warned that some care homes face being crippled next week when it is made compulsory for their employees to have received two Covid jabs.

Figures suggest those in Manchester, Nottingham, Westminster and Birmingham face the biggest crisis with around one in five employees yet to be double-jabbed.

Some homes in the South West have already stopped taking patients from hospitals, leaving wards bed blocked.

Care home sources have called for the deadline to be delayed, and said making the jabs compulsory has only had 'a little' impact on uptake.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: 'We have taken action to introduce vaccination requirements in care homes and we recently consulted on extending this further across health and other social care services.

'No final decisions have been made and we will set out our response in due course.

'Vaccines are safe and effective and almost 4 in 5 people in the UK have already had both jabs to protect themselves against Covid.

'Its never too late to take up the offer and we would urge everyone who is eligible to come forward as we head into the winter months.'
A woman has fallen 100ft to her death while posing for a photo for her husband on the edge of a cliff in Belgium.

Zoe Snoeks, 33, was posing near the village of Nadrin in Belgium's Luxembourg province on Tuesday morning while touring the country with husband Joeri Janssen.

The keen explorer, who lived in the province of Limburg with her school sweetheart whom she married in 2012, slipped and plunged into a river below when his back was turned.

The keen explorer (pictured in the Mosel Valley during her travels), who lived in the province of Limburg with her school sweetheart whom she married in 2012, plunged into a river below when his back was turned

The couple (pictured together) always took their dogs Joy and Ivy as well as a drone for taking aerial images of their travels

Zoe Snoeks fell 100ft to her death while posing for a photo for her husband on the edge of a cliff in Belgium

Zoe Snoeks, 33, was posing on a cliff (pictured) near the village of Nadrin in Belgian Luxembourg on Tuesday morning

The public prosecutor's office in Luxembourg Province said she slipped on the cliff edge and fell into the Ourthe River.

Police, firefighters and scuba divers rushed to the scene along with a medical helicopter from Bra-sur-Lienne, and the rescue team later found her body.

Husband Joeri said: 'We only left on Sunday in our campervan. Since the pandemic, it was our little thing to drive across Europe in our van and take beautiful photos.'

The couple always took their dogs Joy and Ivy as well as a drone for taking aerial images of their travels.

They were due to return home to Limburg on the day Snoeks fell to her death and had awoken early to see a 4,500ft vertical rock face.

Janssen said: 'We got up very early to take pictures of the Herou. There is almost always mist there. It's great for photos. We arrived before 9am.'

He explained that his wife was posing for photos on the edge of the cliff when 'she told me to look out for the dogs'.

'I turned to the dogs and told them to wait. When I turned back to Zoe, she was no longer there. She had just vanished. It must have happened in less than five seconds.

'I didn't see or hear anything. No rustling, no screams or shouts. I looked up and saw only dust.'

The public prosecutor's office in Luxembourg Province said she slipped on the cliff edge and fell into the Ourthe River (pictured in the Parc Du Furfooz in Belgium)

'I called her, even though I knew it was hopeless. The chasm was several tens of metres deep.

'I immediately called the emergency services, but had almost no network. They didn't understand me, even though I speak a little French.'

He said he went to the nearby Le Belvedere Hotel to ask for help, adding: 'The rescue team could not find Zoe immediately, they said in French.

'Then they told me that unfortunately Zoe was dead, also in French, but I immediately understood what they meant.'

fThey were due to return home to Limburg on the day Snoeks fell to her death and had awoken early to see a 4,500ft vertical rock face

He added: 'Taking photos was her passion. I immediately unlocked her phone and saw that she had taken a photo on the cliff edge. Her very last selfie.

'Zoe is looking straight ahead. You can also see the mist and the river where they finally found her body.

'The emergency services said Zoe fell at least 30 metres. I saw this place with my own eyes. I even think it was more like 50 metres.'

It is not known if the local authorities are continuing to investigate the victim's death.
A fisherman has become the latest person to be attacked by hippos which once belonged to drug lord Pablo Escobar but now roam wild in the Colombian jungle.

Jhon Aristides Saldarriaga Marquez, 31, was attacked on October 31 near the town of Puerto Triunfo, near Escobar's old Hacienda Napoles compound.

Marquez was fishing with a group of friends and a young boy on a local lake when they were ambushed by a hippo which ran out of nearby bush and attacked them.

Jhon Aristides Saldarriaga Marquez, 31, was injured by one of Pablo Escobar's hippos which attacked him as he fished on a lake in central Colombia

Marquez was fishing with a group of friends when a hippo - believed to be a female with a calf - stormed out of the bush and trampled him, injuring his arm, head and torso (file image)

He told local media that the hippo 'hit' him in the eye, then injured his left arm and left side of his chest as he tried to run away.

Fortunately Marquez survived the attack, after which his friends ran to help and took him to a nearby medical centre.

Doctors then transferred him to a larger hospital because of the extent of his injuries, though they are not thought to be life threatening.

A picture of Marquez published by Colombian media shows him wearing a hospital hairnet while posing for the camera in bed.

Officials said it appears Marquez and his friends were fishing on a lake where hippos go to breed, and believe the hippo that attacked the group was a female with a calf.

They reiterated warnings to locals not to go near the hippos, saying that - despite their friendly appearance - the animals are territorial, fast-moving, and can be aggressive if they feel threatened.

There are thought to be around 90 hippos now living in the Colombian jungle, all of which are descendants of four animals kept by Escobar.

Dubbed the 'King of Cocaine', Escobar founded and ran the notorious Medellin Cartel which at one point was thought to be responsible for 80 per cent of all the cocaine consumed in the US.

He used this to amass a fortune of some $30billion - likely making him the richest criminal in history - which he used to fund an extravagant lifestyle centred around his Hacienda Napoles compound.

Officials say the hippos - which escaped from Escobar's nearby Hacienda Napoles compound after his death - use the lake as a mating spot, and told locals to stay away (file image)

Alongside a private airport, kart-racing track and a bull-fighting ring, Escobar built a private zoo that housed animals including elephants, giraffes and hippos.

After Escobar's death in 1993 - fatally shot by Colombian national police - some of the animals were killed or shipped abroad, but four hippos remained on the estate which was turned into a theme park.

But the animals escaped, and now live wild in the Colombian jungle where they began breeding and now number around 90.

Colombia has been pressed to do something about the animals, but has so-far failed to come up with a solution.

Plans to exterminate the hippos have been opposed by animal rights activists, while plans to relocate all of them abroad is considered too expensive and impractical.

And last month, a US court ruled the animals are legally 'people' in an attempt to save them from being culled.

They became the first non-human species to be recognised as interested persons by the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Colombia has been attempting to sterilize the animals to stop them breeding, but it can take months to successfully track, anaesthetize and then operate on even a single hippo.

While cheaper than relocating the animals, the surgery is also expensive with teams of vets given the task complaining they are badly under-funded.
A San Francisco cop has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after twice shooting an unarmed schizophrenic man on the doorstep of his own home, District Attorney Chesa Boudin has announced.

Kenneth Cha shot and wounded Sean Moore on January 6, 2017, after he attacked his partner, Officer Colin Patino, when they were responding to a call from Moore's neighbor who claimed he was pounding on the wall of his apartment.

Moore, 46, died of his injuries in San Quentin in January 2020 while serving out a sentence on unrelated charges.

Cha is the second San Francisco police officer in history to be charged with homicide while on duty - the first case was also charged by Boudin who has vowed to crackdown on bad cops. The latest prosecution is the DA's fifth alleging excessive force by the police.

In April, the city of San Francisco agreed to pay $3.25 million to Moore's mother, Cleo Moore, to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Moore, 46, died of his injuries in San Quentin in January 2020 while serving out a sentence on unrelated charged

Kenneth Cha (pictured) is the second San Francisco police officer in history to be charged with homicide while on duty - the first case was also charged by Boudin who has vowed to crackdown on bad cops

'We rely on officers to follow their training and to deescalate situations; instead, in just eight minutes, Officer Cha elevated a nonviolent encounter to one that took Sean Moore's life,' Boudin said in a statement. 'Sean Moore was unarmed and at his own home when Officer Cha shot him twice.'

Cha's attorney, Scott Burrell, called the decision to file charges surprising and disappointing. He noted that Boudin is likely to face a recall election soon.

Officer Colin Patino was shoved down a flight of stairs by Moore

'The facts of this case have never changed,' Burrell said in a statement. 'Officer Cha lawfully shot his firearm while defending himself and his partner against a dangerous and violent assault. Only naked politics at best are at play here.'

Cha shot Moore on the doorstep of his home after a neighbor called police to report that Moore was violating a temporary restraining order that prohibited noise harassment.

Body-worn camera footage shows Moore denying harassing his neighbor and repeatedly cursing at Cha and his partner, Officer Colin Patino, and asking them to leave.

The verbal confrontation escalates, according to the video, before Cha pepper-sprays Moore.

Both officers are seen running up the stairs to Moore's home with their batons raised and as Moore begins retreating up the steps, Patino hits him with his metal baton. Moore strikes back, and Patino falls down the stairs.

Cha then draws his gun and points it at Moore, who reacts by kicking in his direction. Cha then shoots Moore twice in the abdomen.

Moore was charged with various crimes including assault on a peace officer. But a judge later dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.

The San Francisco Police Officers Association said in a statement it will support Cha during the legal process.

Interim police chief Tony Chaplin holds a press conference in January 2017 following the incident, revealing body worn footage of the shooting

Chaplin (left) holding a press conference after the shooting in January 2017

'Officers responded to a call for service and encountered the very hostile Sean Moore who was accused of violating a restraining order,' union president Tony Montoya said in a statement. 'We support Officer Cha's constitutionally protected right to present his defense against these charges that stemmed from this extremely volatile incident.'

Moore was serving a sentence at San Quentin State Prison on unrelated charges when he died last January. The coroners' report indicated the cause of death was homicide and that he died from acute intestinal obstruction as a result of the bullet wounds.

Cha is charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, along with enhancements accusing him of inflicting great bodily injury.

Last year, Boudin charged Christopher Samayoa, a former rookie San Francisco police officer, with voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, assault by an executive officer, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and negligent discharge of a firearm in the 2017 killing of 42-year-old Keita O'Neil.

Samayoa fatally shot O'Neil, an unarmed carjacking suspect, on his fourth day on the job.
Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday morning that his vaccine mandate has had 'no effect' on the fire department despite 12 fire units going down yesterday, and is threatening to fire firefighters who he says are faking sick leave to avoid getting the shots or losing their pay.

As of yesterday, 23 percent of the FDNY's 11,000 firefighters are still not vaccinated and few have been given religious or medical exemptions, meaning 2,530 who haven't had the shots yet cannot report for duty.

2,300 are on sick leave, meaning nearly a third of the force's 11,000 uniformed firefighters aren't on the streets.

Of the 300 fire companies across the city, the Fire Commissioner said 12 were out of service yesterday - less than half of the 31 the unions claimed were down.

Firefighters across the board who are working say they are overstretched and understaffed. The FDNY has not released 911 response times for the three days since the vaccine mandate took effect, and it is the only agency that has the data.

One five alarm fire in Harlem which ripped through five businesses was dealt with quickly; units arrived within four minutes, a minute quicker than the average 5 minutes before the mandate came into effect.

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NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday morning there had been no effect on 911 response times as a result of his vaccine mandate that has taken more than 1,000 firefighters off the force

De Blasio has also threatened to fire firefighters who have called out sick but are 'faking it', a claim firefighter unions have strongly denied.

More than 2,000 firefighters are on sick leave and the FDNY said earlier this week the majority are unvaccinated, with some submitting bogus claims to avoid missing out on pay.

'We've got firefighters who are faking sick leave and leaving fellow firefighters in the lurch and creating a danger...that is unconscionable and they will face consequences for what they have done,' de Blasio said on Wednesday morning during an interview with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, who encouraged him to fire all 26,000 city workers who still haven't received the shot.

Later, de Blasio said at a press briefing: 'We're not seeing any noticeable impact response times, for first responders continue to be strong and where we need them to be.

'We're seeing no disruption to service, firehouses are open, everything's moving forward.'

However firefighters on the ground say the city is deliberately concealing response times and the total number of workers on unpaid leave to avoid panicking New Yorkers.

While 2,530 firefighters remain unvaccinated, the true number who are out of work is unclear because the FDNY won't confirm how many have taken unpaid leave.

It's unclear how many of the 2,300 out sick have other injuries too.

Firefighters across NYC are being sent home if they show up for work unvaccinated

Danielle Keating shared this photo of her husband, firefighter Mark Keating, and one of his brothers at a firehouse in NYC. They were sent home yesterday because they are unvaccinated

Ladder 106 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was closed on Tuesday because of the mandate which has taken firefighters out of work

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough - who earns $8million a year - encouraged de Blasio to fire all 26,000 city workers who still haven't received the shot

These were the total number of vaccinated cops, firefighters and EMTs on Tuesday morning

Fire unions on Tuesday said that the sick leave claims are genuine and include 9/11 survivors battling cancer.

Daniel Nigro, the fire commissioner, said 18 of the departments' 350 companies, or five per cent, were out of service on Monday. The Uniformed Firefighter's Association tweeted a photo of a protest sign and unused uniform on Monday

'We have firefighters that put their lives on the line that are battling cancers, some WTC-related. We also have some operating at a fourth alarm fire in the Bronx.

'We have a very dangerous job, firefighters get hurt in the line of duty... the assertion that thousands are faking medical leave, we reject,' Andrew Ansbro, President of the UFA, said.

Among the firefighters sent home on Tuesday was Mark Keating.

'Tonight my husband went in for his shift, like he has done over and over again throughout this pandemic. But today he was told to go home because hes fighting for his right to choose, and for the right to choose for our children.

'Im sick to my stomach over what this city has become,' his wife Danielle said in a Facebook post.

Thousands are expected to gather at a protest against the mandate on Wednesday near City Hall.

The unions warned on Tuesday that increased waiting times were inevitable as overworked firefighters who are vaccinated reach OT limits.

'Firefighters are beat up. They're working non-stop. They're not being allowed to go home. People are going to break down.

'We're worried about tragedy happening in New York City.

'It could be a citizen, it could be one of our own. But we want everyone to know it's not us creating this.'
Iran released a video Wednesday of their soldiers seizing a Vietnam-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and their troops training machine guns on two US destroyers that were deployed to the scene but did not intervene.

The dramatic takeover happened last week as tension between the countries intensifies, and reports of Iranian drones approaching a US warship in the Strait of Hormuz surfaced.

The Iranian government said in a statement Wednesday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was foiling a US attempt to seize an Iranian oil tanker.

US officials denied Iran's account, and said America did not try to take over the vessel, Reuters reported.

Sources said in reality, the Iranian forces took control of the Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker MV Southys on October 24 at gunpoint and still holds the vessel off Bandar Abbas.

U.S. forces had monitored the seizure, but ultimately didn't take action as the vessel went into Iranian waters.

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in a statement that Americans 'seized an Iranian oil tanker in the Sea of Oman, transferred its oil to another tanker, and taken the tanker to an unknown place.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps troops trained their guns on a massive US warship as they took over an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman

Not far from the Gulf of Oman, Iranian drones reportedly approached a US warship in an 'unsafe and unprofessional' manner in the Straight of Hormuz

'The IRGC forces in a heliborne operation took control of the tanker. Then the American forces pursued the tanker by helicopters and warships but failed to capture it.

Video footage of the takeover shows gun-toting IRGC troops landing a helicopter on the tanker and storming out to seize control of the oil carrier.

Another video showed the IRGC canvasing the waters in catamarans as troops pointed their machine guns on the USs massive warship, which dwarfed Irans vessels.

A Reuters report Wednesday indicated that Iranian drones had approached the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship Essex in the Strait of Hormuz.

The drones had unsafe and unprofessional interactions with the USS Essex warship, in the past 24 hours, Reuters reporter Idrees Ali said Wednesday morning on Twitter.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said Sunday that Iran will pay 'economically' if they do not resume negotiations on the nuclear deal.

Iranian troops are seen loading into a helicopter as they prepare to seize control of the tanker

Once they land on the vessel, they survey the grounds with guns drawn

A giant US warship dwarfs the Iranian military's catamaran votes, but does not intervene

The Iranian government said in a statement Wednesday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was foiling a US attempt to seize an Iranian oil tanker

The president's comments came after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Sunday morning that the US. isn't ruling out taking military action against Iran should they balk at nuclear talks.

'With regard to the issue of how we're going to respond to actions taken by them against the interest of the United States, whether they're drone strikes or anything else, is that we're going to respond, we're going to continue to respond,' Biden said, without going into any specifics.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or JCPOA, was reached in 2015 and the Trump administration withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018.

President Joe Biden said Sunday that Iran will pay 'economically' if they do not resume negotiations on the nuclear deal

Numerous Iranian drones reportedly approached the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship Essex in the Strait of Hormuz

But the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said Wednesday that attempts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal will fail unless Biden can guarantee that the U.S. will not again walk away from an agreement,

The president previously said the U.S. would only renege on a deal if Iran did not meet its commitments.

But Ali Shamkhani, one of the country's most senior security figures who is seen as a modernizer and moderate, suggested that was not good enough and that talks would only succeed if Biden could guarantee he would not abandon a deal.

'The U.S. President, lacking authority, is not ready to give guarantees. If the current status quo continues, the result of negotiations is clear,' he wrote in a tweet.

Iran and six world powers began talks in Vienna in April to reinstate the deal, which President Donald Trump abandoned three years ago.

Iran has released footage of IRGC naval assets intercepting U.S Navy vessels in the Gulf of Oman that were attempting to confiscate Iranian oil exports. pic.twitter.com/YucIcpeKrp  Global: MilitaryInfo (@Global_Mil_Info) November 3, 2021

They were suspended after anti-Western hardliner Ebrahim Raisi won presidential elections in June.

But negotiations are expected to resume later this month.

Biden and three European leaders signaled that they were ready to return to the 2015 deal, if Iran limited its nuclear program and opened itself up to Inspections.

The U.S. amphibious assault vessel Essex off Sasebo is shown leaving Japan in 2001

The oil tanker is now in Iranian waters, according to the Iranian government

But their joint statement also made clear they would not ease sanctions until Tehran had begun drawing down on work that the international community believes is directed a developing nuclear weapons.

'This will only be possible if Iran changes course,' Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a joint statement.

'We call upon Raisi to seize this opportunity and return to a good faith effort to conclude our negotiations as a matter of urgency.

'That is the only sure way to avoid a dangerous escalation, which is not in any country's interest.'

The latest events happened near the anniversary of the November 4, 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Iran by Iranian revolution supporters, which lasted 444 days.
A bystander's video shows a pair of thieves stripping the shelves of a Chicago Walgreens pharmacy of hundreds of dollars worth of cigarettes as lawlessness grips the city that refuses to prosecute low-level offenders.

The incident comes as crime rates soar in the Windy City, where small-time crooks seemingly have been emboldened by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's mandate that prosecutors only issue felony charges for theft of property over $1,000.

Shoplifting has emerged as a major scourge in Chicago in recent months, prompting more than a dozen top retailers to close their stores along its famed Magnificent Mile.

A bystander recorded video that shows a pair of brazen bandits ransacking a Walgreens in Chicago on Monday

The thieves hopped behind the counter and stripped the shelves off hundreds of cigarette packs worth more than $400

The incident took place at this Walgreens on North Nagle Avenue in Chicago

According to the description of the viral video that was shared on the news-oriented Instagram account PPV Tahoe on Monday, a pair of shoplifters went behind the counter at the Walgreens store on North Nagle Avenue and proceeded to steal cigarettes valued at more than $400.

'Every single one they're taking,' the eyewitness recording the video says off-camera. 'This is too close to home.'

The suspected thieves pay no attention to the onlooker as they methodically empty the shelves and place the pilfered merchandise into plastic shopping baskets.

At no time does a security guard show up to stop the looting.

According to the Instagram post, the bandits fled with their spoils in a car before police responded to the scene.

Video shows the crooks pay no attention to the onlookers recording them on his phone

At no time during the heist does a security guard show up to stop the shoplifters

The latest crime statistics in Chicago indicate that as of October 31, thefts were up 16 percent, compared to the same time last year. Murder rates climbed 3 percent, while criminal sexual assault rates seeing a 25 percent increase.

There has been a spate of high-profile shoplifting incidents along the luxury store-lined Magnificent Mile in recent months.

Shoplifting has been on the rise in Chicago since 2016, when State's Attorney Kim Foxx told prosecutors to file felony charges only for theft of property over $1,000

Between late September and mid-October, thieves ransacked the same Bottega Veneta store twice, getting away with tens of thousands of dollars worth of fine Italian leather goods, including dozens of handbags.

Also last month, a gaggle of seven to eight shoplifters were seen leaving a Bloomingdale's in suburban Chicago with an armful of expensive purses.

A Louis Vuitton store was also targeted by shoplifters in Northbrook Court in the North Shore of Chicago.

The problem of shoplifting has been on the rise in Chicago since 2016, when a motion from Foxx mandated that Chicago prosecutors only issue felony charges for theft of property over $1,000 in a bid to shift focus away from low-level offenses.

Crime rates have been on the rise in Chicago, with murder up 4 per cent and thefts 16 per cent

More than a dozen retailers, including Macy's, Uniqlo, Forever 21, Apple and Topshop, have shuttered their stores on the Magnificent Mile.

Walgreens cited the shoplifting issue as the reason it closed 17 stores and is planning to close another five throughout Chicago, the pharmacy chain announced last month, prior to Monday's cigarette heist.

'We recognize community concerns around crime, and the impact it can have on one's sense of safety as well as the economic stability of a business,' the State's Attorney's office wrote in a statement to CBS Chicago last month, following another recent shoplifting spree targeting 7-Eleven stores.

'We continue to prosecute retail theft cases as misdemeanors and felonies when appropriate to do so based on the facts and evidence,' the statement continued.

Video footage captured the moment a female Bottega Veneta employee was pushed to the side by two hooded suspects during a heist at a store on the Magnificent Mile in mid-October

The State's Attorney's office said that so far this year, its prosecutors have reviewed and issued 38 total charges for retail theft in areas of Chicago including the Magnificent Mile and Streeterville. Of that number, 18 were approved as felony charges, 10 were prosecuted and six were convicted.

The city's shoplifting issue could grow worse as the Chicago Police Department has started placing officers on unpaid leave for failing to report their vaccination status.

On Monday, a Cook County judge suspended Chicago's vaccination requirement for police officers.

About 58 per cent of the citys police force has reported being vaccinated against COVID-19, according to city data, but 27 per cent have yet to report their status.
Boris Johnson was accused of 'wallowing in sleaze' tonight after the Tories acting on his orders voted to block the suspension of lobbying shame MP Owen Paterson from the House of Commons and to overhaul Parliament's disciplinary processes.

Former minister Mr Paterson, the Tory MP for North Shropshire, was found to have committed an 'egregious' breach of standards rules by directly advocating for two companies while they were paying him more than 100,000 per year.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone conducted an investigation and the Committee on Standards then recommended Mr Paterson be banned from the Commons for 30 sitting days.

A vote on that recommendation was due to take place this afternoon but allies of Mr Paterson brought forward an amendment to block the suspension and see his case reviewed.

The amendment was backed by 250 votes to 232, a majority of 18, after the Prime Minister - who has himself been repeatedly censured by the commissioner - ordered Tory MPs to vote for it under a three-line whip in a stunning intervention in Parliamentary procedure.

Labour MPs could be heard shouting 'shame' and 'what have you done to this place' after the result was confirmed this evening.

Some 248 Tory MPs voted in favour of the amendment, along with ex-Tory and now independent MP Rob Roberts - who was recently suspended himself for sexually harassing a male staff member - and the DUP's Sammy Wilson.

Some 13 Tory MPs voted against the amendment despite the Government instructing them to vote for it. They were joined by 168 Labour MPs and 32 SNP MPs in opposing the move while 98 Tory MPs and 28 Labour did not record a vote.

Whole some of them will have been paired under voting rules coving MPs unable to attend Parliament, it shows the level of unrest in Tory ranks at the campaign.

Question marks will also be raised over the future of Ms Stone, after what is essentially a vote of no confidence in her conduct.

Mr Paterson was found to have committed an 'egregious' breach of standards rules as he lobbied for two companies paying him more than 100,000 per year. Mr Paterson, pictured with his late wife Rose, claimed the 'biased' way the standards inquiry was carried out was a major factor in her suicide last year

Tory MPs voted this afternoon to block the suspension of former minister Owen Paterson from the House of Commons

Some 13 Tory MPs voted against the amendment, along with 168 Labour MPs and 32 SNP MPs

What has Owen Paterson been accused of and what has he said? Owen Paterson was censured by the Commons standards watchdog last week for a series of breaches of lobbying rules on behalf of two companies he was paid to advise. Why do Mr Paterson's supporters think he has been wronged? Allies of Mr Paterson claim it was 'so amateurish it failed to interview witnesses'. They claim that he had 17 witnesses ready to give oral evidence on his behalf but complained they were never called. The Standards Committee however, pointed out that each of the 17 had supplied it with comprehensive written statements and 'did not see what further 'relevant information could usefully be gleaned by inviting oral evidence from the witnesses concerned'. Supporters believe the current standards system is flawed and must be overhauled to give MPs the ability to appeal. Former Brexit secretary David Davis said there are flaws that 'should not be allowed in any system of justice, let alone one that is central to the operation of our democracy'. He said MPs currently have 'no effective right of appeal' because 'this is a standards system where one person is chief investigator and prosecutor combined'. Tory MPs want to replace the current standards system with a quasi-judicial process and a 'proper' appeal system. Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs said the right of appeal is 'fundamental to the provision of justice, which is regrettably not genuinely provided by the matter coming to the floor of this House'. He also claimed Paterson was acting as a whistleblower, discussing matters with government officials that 'save lives'. Who is supporting him and what are they trying to achieve? Dame Andrea Leadsom, the Tory former Cabinet minister, tabled an amendment - later passed - blocking the suspension of Mr Paterson and overhaul the House of Commons' standards process. The amendment has been signed by dozens of Tory MPs. They are: Andrea Leadsom, Sir Bernard Jenkin, Robert Halfon, Richard Drax, Anne Marie Morris, Dr Jamie Wallis, Bob Stewart, Gary Sambrook, Duncan Baker, Damian Green, David Jones, Pauline Latham, Julian Sturdy, John Howell, Richard Bacon, James Gray, Laurence Robertson, Sir Robert Neill, Craig Mackinlay, Mark Menzies Philip Dunne, Shailesh Vara, Sir Robert Syms, Dr Liam Fox, Sir Roger Gale, Dehenna Davison, Derek Thomas, Julian Knight, Jeremy Hunt, Sir Paul Beresford, Sheryll Murray, David Morris, Andrew Mitchell, Crispin Blunt, Sir William Cash, Simon Baynes, Robert Buckland, Sir Desmond Swayne, Lee Anderson, Chris Grayling, Huw Merriman, Nusrat Ghani, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Caroline Dinenage, James Duddridge, Mark Francois, Jake Berry, Chris Green, Sir Graham Brady, Sir Edward Leigh, Karl McCartney, Ben Bradley, Greg Smith, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Bob Blackman, Steve Brine, Fiona Bruce, Neil Parish, and Sir Greg Knight. Who was he working for? Mr Paterson became a consultant to clinical diagnostics firm Randox - which sponsors the Grand National horse race - in August 2015, a year after he left Government after serving as Secretary of State for northern Ireland and the Environment under David Cameron. He has carried out a similar role for Lynn's Country Foods, a processor and distributor of meat products including 'nitrite-free' items, since December 2016. Both firms are based in Northern Ireland and between them him more than 112,000 a year on top of his 80,000 annual MP salary. What is he said to have done? Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone found that he breached paragraph 11 of the 2015 MPs' Code of Conduct that prohibits 'paid advocacy' - when he made three approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Randox and testing for antibiotics in milk in November 2016 and November 2017 Emails to the FSA read like marketing pitched on behalf of the firm, mentioning 'Randox's superior technology' in helping identify problems. He went on to suggest that 'once established the application of the technology could be discussed not just within the FSA but across the whole dairy industry,' something from which the company stood to make large sums of money. The hardline Brexiteer broke the same rules by making seven approaches to the FSA for Lynn's Country Foods in November 2017, January 2018 and July 2018 regarding a rival 'global food producer (who) was acting in breach of EU law by mislabelling a product'. And the same rules were breached in in October 2016 and January 2017 when he made four approaches to ministers at the Department for International Development relating to Randox and blood testing technology. Ms Stone also found that Mr Paterson had breached paragraph 13 of the 2015 MPs' Code of Conduct, on declarations of interest, by failing to declare his interest as a paid consultant to Lynn's Country Foods in four emails to officials at the FSA on 16 November 2016, 15 November 2017, 8 January 2018 and 17 January 2018. Lastly, she found that Mr Paterson breached paragraph 15 of the 2015 MP's Code of Conduct, on use of parliamentary facilities, by using his Westminster office on 16 occasions for business meetings with his paying clients between October 2016 and February 2020; and in sending two letters, on 13 October 2016 and 16 January 2017, relating to his business interests, on House of Commons headed notepaper. What punishment did he face? After receiving her report the Commons Standards Committee, made up of a cross-party group of MPs, recommended he serve a 30-day suspension that could trigger a recall petition in his seat. What does he say? Mr Paterson continues to deny any wrongdoing, saying he was acting on genuine concerns for public safety. Ahead of the release of the investigation last week he made an astonishing attack on the Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone, claiming her 'cruel' probe in to his activities contributed to the death of his wife, Rose, who took her own life last year. The 65-year-old North Shropshire MP believes the investigation against him was 'biased' and 'an absolute denial of justice'. After tonight's vote he said: 'The process I was subjected to did not comply with natural justice. 'No proper investigation was undertaken by the commissioner or committee. 'The Standards Commissioner has admitted making up her mind before speaking to me or any witnesses. 'All I have ever asked is to have the opportunity to make my case through a fair process. 'The decision today in Parliament means that I will now have that opportunity. 'After two years of hell, I now have the opportunity to clear my name. 'I am extremely grateful to the PM, the Leader of the House and my colleagues for ensuring that fundamental changes will be made to internal parliamentary systems of justice. 'I hope that no other MP will ever again be subject to this shockingly inadequate process.' Advertisement

The amendment, tabled by ex-Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom, will create a new committee with a Tory majority which will make recommendations for a shake-up of the current standards system. It is due to report by February 3 next year.

But Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats have vowed to boycott the new body, meaning it risks being seen as Tories 'marking their own homework'.

Labour research tonight suggested that of 59 MPs who signed the amendment, 14 had previously been censured by the watchdog.

Following the Commons vote, Mr Paterson - who voted for the amendment himself - said: 'After two years of hell, I now have the opportunity to clear my name.'

Mr Johnson had signalled at PMQs at lunchtime that the Government intended to support the amendment as he was grilled by Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner.

He had questioned whether Mr Paterson had the 'opportunity to make representations' during the investigation as the premier backed calls for reform of the system.

Ms Rayner hit back and said that blocking the suspension of the former minister would show it is 'one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us'.

Mr Paterson has angrily disputed the findings of the standards report, claiming the investigation was unfairly conducted.

Downing Street said in a statement issued this morning that the standards process needed to change as Number 10 insisted 'this isn't about one case'.

The passage of the amendment could prompt the resignation of Ms Stone who some Tory critics accuse of being biased against Conservative MPs and Brexiteers.

Allies of Mr Paterson admitted this morning the plan to block the suspension and overhaul the standards system 'looks terrible'.

But they insisted there was 'no alternative' because the current 'hopeless' system 'doesn't respect natural justice'.

Sir Bernard Jenkin, a friend of Mr Paterson, said there has been a 'bad system for years and years and years' and the crunch vote in the Commons was an 'opportunity to fix it'.

The row over this afternoon's vote dominated PMQs as Ms Rayner, who was standing in for Sir Keir Starmer who is still in Covid self-isolation, accused the Tories of 'wallowing in sleaze'.

Labour's deputy leader grilled Mr Johnson on whether he was going to support the Leadsom amendment.

The PM replied: 'Paid lobbying, paid advocacy in this House is wrong and let me make absolutely no bones about that and members who are found guilty of that should apologise and pay the necessary penalties.

'But that is not the issue in this case or this vote that is before us today. It is not.

'The issue in this case which involved a serious family tragedy is whether a member of this House had a fair opportunity to make representations in this case and whether as a matter of natural justice our procedures allow for proper appeal.

'That I think is something that should be of interest to members across this House and should be approached properly in a spirit of moderation and compassion.'

Ms Rayner hit back and said: 'Let me put this to him simply. If it was a police officer, a teacher, a doctor, we would expect the independent process to be followed and not changed after the verdict.

'It is one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us.'

Ms Rayner said of the Tories that 'when they break the rules, they just remake the rules'.

Earlier, Sir Bernard had told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there are 'long standing problems' with the standards system as he defended the move to reform it.

He admitted the circumstances mean it 'looks terrible' but he insisted there is 'no alternative'.

He said: 'This looks terrible. We have had a bad system for years and years and years. I just see this as an opportunity to fix it.

'We are not letting Owen Paterson off. We are not exonerating him. We are not condemning him.

'We are going to put his case in front of a proper judicial style panel where there can be proper hearing and proper cross-examination of witnesses and natural justice.

'Our present process doesn't respect natural justice. No where else in business would that be allowed.'

Sir Bernard said the current process is 'very unsatisfactory' because it requires the House of Commons as a whole to 'give a final opinion on whether this case has been handled properly'.

He added: 'That is a hopeless system. It looks terrible. I don't want to be here. But there is no alternative because that is the system we have got.'

Asked if he expects the Government to back the amendment to reform the system, he said that 'nothing has been decided'.

The Leadsom amendment will see the creation of a new committee that will examine  among other issues  whether the case against Mr Paterson should be reviewed.

Downing Street signalled its support for the amendment this morning as it said in a statement that the current standards system should be reformed.

A Number 10 spokesman said: 'It is essential that all in Parliament uphold the highest standards in public life. There must be tough and robust checks against lobbying for profit. There must be a proper process to scrutinise and  if necessary  discipline those who do not follow the rules.

'As in any normal workplace and all walks of life, people should be entitled to the right to appeal. This is sacrosanct in providing fairness and natural justice, and ensuring there is an opportunity to check due process and that the right procedures were followed.

'This isn't about one case but providing Members of Parliament from all political parties with the right to a fair hearing.

'Therefore the Commons should seek cross-party agreement on a new appeals process whereby the conclusions of the standards committee and the Commissioner can be looked at. This could include judicial and lay member representation on the appeals panel.'

A separate amendment proposed by Tory Julian Lewis said no further action should be taken 'on compassionate grounds' and this had been supported by fellow Conservatives William Wragg and Peter Bone, with a total of 13 MPs backing it as of last night.

Mr Paterson has said the manner in which the investigation was carried out had 'undoubtedly' played a 'major role' in the decision of his wife Rose to take her own life last year.

The Commons Speaker did not select the Lewis amendment.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday expressed sympathy for the MP's claim that the commissioner did not speak to 17 witnesses who came forward to support him, describing that decision as 'interesting'.

Mr Rees-Mogg told his ConservativeHome podcast: 'It is always very important that systems appear to be fair, and therefore if somebody has witnesses, it would normally appear to be fair that those witnesses should be heard.

Former victims' commissioner who investigated Boris's Mustique 'freebie' Kathryn Stone has proved a thorn in the side of senior MPs in her four years as Standards Commissioner. The former social worker investigated Boris Johnson's holiday to Mustique last year and also set her sights on John Bercow, now-disgraced former Labour MP Keith Vaz and the DUP's Ian Paisley Junior, for breaking parliament's rules. She replaced Kathryn Hudson in 2017, having previously served as Commissioner for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland, a commissioner for the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and Chief Legal Ombudsman. She earned the enmity of Mr Johnson last year when she investigated his controversial lavish Caribbean holiday with his now wife Carrie. He was dramatically cleared of breaking Commons rules over the 15,000 Mustique 'freebie' after the Standards Committee over-ruled her finding that it breach the Code of Conduct. The cross-party committee found the PM had made an 'accurate and complete' declaration about the holiday in December 2019, saying it was a donation from Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross even though the couple did not stay in his villa. Ms Stone had originally slammed the PM for 'not showing the accountability required of those in public life'. The report also suggested that the premier himself did not know exactly how the jaunt was being funded until after he arrived on Mustique and realised he was not staying in Mr Ross's own property. Advertisement

'The commissioner in her report that was adopted said the witnesses weren't needed because their evidence they gave wasn't relevant to the inquiry.

'And that is an interesting view to come to, because other people might say: 'How do you know whether it was relevant to the inquiry until you've taken their evidence and have found out the precise context of how things were done?'

As part of Dame Andrea's proposals, MPs on the Conservative-majority committee led by former culture secretary John Whittingdale will examine whether the standards system should mirror that of investigations of misconduct in other workplaces, including the right of representation, the examination of witnesses, and the right of appeal.

The committee will comprise of Mr Whittingdale and eight other MPs - four Tories, three Labour and one SNP.

Mr Whittingdale will have the casting vote in the event of a tie.

The Leadsom amendment was vehemently opposed by Labour, with the party having repeatedly warned against trying to overhaul the system.

Thangam Debbonaire, shadow Commons leader, had said: 'Let's not forget that the cross-party standards committee, including three Tory MPs, endorsed the commissioner's 30-day sanction for a breach of the rule around paid advocacy.'

She had said that 'the Tories want to jettison the system that has served us well and which has been a vital part of rebuilding public trust after the dark days of Tory sleaze this Government seems determined to return to'.

But Mr Rees-Mogg said there was 'precedence' for amending a motion to suspend an MP, saying it was last done in 1947.

Sir Lindsay's spokeswoman did not deny a report in The Times that suggested he believed blocking the suspension would bring the House into disrepute.

Ms Stone's investigation found Mr Paterson repeatedly lobbied on behalf of two companies for which he was acting as a paid consultant  Randox and Lynn's Country Foods.

But the MP struck back, saying the investigation finding he breached rules on paid advocacy by MPs was a 'biased process and not fair'.

Committee on Standards chairman Chris Bryant urged MPs to 'read the report in full, with a fair and open mind' and warned against voting it down in what would be an unprecedented move in the committee's roughly 36-year history.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Tory move showed it is 'one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us'

The passage of the amendment could prompt the resignation of Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone who some Tory critics accuse of being biased against Conservative MPs and Brexiteers

He told the House that if the Leadsom amendment was supported 'the public would think that we would be the Parliament that licensed cash for questions'.

He said: 'If the House were to vote down or water down the sanction or carry the amendment, it would be endorsing his action. We would be dismantling the rule on paid advocacy which has been around in some shape or form since 1695.

'I'm afraid the public would think that we would be the Parliament that licensed cash for questions.'

Mr Bryant said: 'It is the very definition of injustice that one should change the rules or the process at the very last moment, and to do so for a named individual, which is what the amendment does today.'

He said a Conservative colleague said to him on Monday that 'justice should always be tempered by mercy. I agree. But justice also demands no special favours'.
Chants of 'Let's go Brandon' broke out during a press conference held by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after he mocked President Joe Biden's White House as the 'Brandon administration' on Wednesday.

The anti-Biden phrase originated at a NASCAR race when a reporter lied to drown out chants from the crowd and quickly rose to the mouths of mainstream figures.

Republicans nationwide were in a buoyant mood after GOP businessman Glenn Youngkin scored an upset victory in the Virginia gubernatorial election over the state's popular former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday night.

DeSantis was holding a press conference at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport to push for new election security laws when he invoked the vulgar phrase.

'If you look at what's going on with some of the big corporations with their woke agenda, when you look at the Biden - the Brandon administration - in terms of what they're doing,' the Florida Republican said.

Cheers and applause broke out before DeSantis finished speaking, prompting him to trail off and laughs as chants of 'Let's go Brandon' filled the room.

It's supposed to be a stand-in for 'F**k Joe Biden.'

DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, became the latest high profile Republican to invoke the right-wing anti-Joe Biden meme

Instead of toning down the crowd's cheer, which is more commonly seen at sporting events than small-scale political remarks, DeSantis quietly nodded and allowed the crowd of mostly middle-aged and older adults grow louder with some people clapping and whooping along.

He then ventured to explain the origins of the phrase and defended it by saying Donald Trump endured worse criticism as president.

'Do you know how that started? Like it was - you have the media and their hand-wringing over this, but you know it was at a NASCAR race. They're doing the interview with the driver, I guess his name was Brandon,' DeSantis began as the crowd egged him on.

'And the crowd starts chanting very colorful language about Joe Biden. And it was obvious what they were doing, and you know it is what it is.'

He added, 'They said way worse about Trump for four years, we know that,' to more applause.

The Republican governor then turned the anecdote into an attack against the media, claiming that a reporter who mistook the chant for the now-viral 'Let's go Brandon' phrase was actually lying to protect the president.

'But so they're chanting this, and so you have a reporter from NBC, who knows that's what they're saying, and she's trying to cover for Biden so she says "Yeah, they're chanting let's go Brandon." And that was a lie,' DeSantis claimed.

'It was a lie, and so this chant, I think, has taken on a life of its own because it exposes the dishonesty of these corporate reporters and what they do everyday to try to lie - and now you see it.'

Republicans across the country were in a buoyant move after GOP businessman Glenn Youngkin scored an upset victory in Virginia's gubernatorial race against Democrat powerhouse and former state governor Terry McAuliffe

DeSantis is far from the first public figure to use the right-wing meme.

Members of Congress like GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia have frequently invoked it in recent weeks.

And DeSantis' fellow Republican governor, Greg Abbott of Texas, tweeted the phrase late last month when he shared a clip of himself talking about Biden's 'dangerous liberal policies' in an interview with Breitbart.

But DeSantis looks to be one of the most high-profile politicians to echo it, as a likely 2024 presidential candidate.

Trump appears to be cashing in on it too. Last week his campaign announced a special promotion in which anyone who donated at least $45 would receive a 'Let's go Brandon' t-shirt.

The meme worked its way into the mainstream beyond political figures as well. Southwest Airlines is investigating one of its pilots who said 'Let's go Brandon' over his intercom upon landing the plane.

He was apparently seen on a TikTok video telling passengers 'Let's go Brandon' at the end of the flight from Texas to New Mexico.

And a song by rapper Bryson Gray of the same name knocked superstar singer Adele off the top of the iTunes charts.

The controversial song, which contains provocative lyrics such as 'Joe is a crook', 'they buildin' back better, but only the Taliban', and 'pandemic ain't real, they planned it,' has been banned on YouTube for spreading 'harmful false information' about the coronavirus.

Also at his press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis pushed election reforms including new timeframes during which election supervisors would have to clean their voting rolls and upgrading ballot harvesting from a misdemeanor to a felony.

He also plans to create a separate state office to investigate allegations of election crimes, local station WPEC reported.
Lawyers for Prince Andrew's accuser will seek a deposition from him as part of her sex assault lawsuit against him, a hearing heard today.

Attorneys for Virginia Roberts, now known as Virginia Giuffre, will request for the Duke of York to give testimony under oath and could do so 'relatively promptly'.

Mrs Giuffre's lawyer David Boies said that he would seek to depose between eight and 12 people while the Duke's lawyers wanted to question a similar number.

During a 10-minute hearing before a federal court in New York, Mr Boies said that the case was 'moving along' after delays caused by the Duke refusing to accept service of the legal paperwork.

The judge set a tentative trial date of next September or October meaning that it will cast a shadow over The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, which will take place in June 2022 marking 70 years since she acceded to the British throne.

Prince Andrew is photographed riding around the grounds of his Windsor estate on Monday

The hearing came days after Andrew filed his response to Mrs Giuffre's lawsuit claiming she accused him for 'another payday at his expense'.

Andrew claimed that Mrs Giuffre has 'profited' for years by selling stories about her claim which were 'threadbare' and 'cobbled together'.

Mrs Giuffre filed the lawsuit in August alleging that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times under orders from the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2001 when she was 17.

Her formal allegations in the civil case, filed in a federal court in New York, are battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts, then 17, and Ghislaine Maxwell pictured in London in 2001

During the hearing Mr Boies said that his list of 8-12 witnesses included people he 'can't identify right now because I'm not sure who we will be able to get, and that investigation is ongoing'.

He said: 'We'd be prepared to start some of the depositions relatively promptly, some (targets) will not be identified for another two months'.

The Duke's lawyer Andrew Brettler said that he would be seeking a similar number of depositions.

Judge Lewis Kaplan asked if either side anticipated needing letters rogatory, or a formal request from him to the British legal authorities to get somebody to sit for a deposition.

Andrew has always denied claims by Virginia Giuffre (left) that she was trafficked by her abuser Jeffrey Epstein (right) to have sex with him on three occasions when she was 17

Mr Boies said: 'There are two people in the United Kingdom where it might be necessary for letters rogatory. We may be able to get them to appear voluntary. We ought to know that within the next 2-3 weeks

Mr Brettler said he was 'not ruling out the possibility' of making a similar request of the judge.

In an interview earlier this month Sigrid McCawley, another lawyer for Mrs Giuffre, suggested that one of the people who could be asked for a deposition is Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.

Judge Kaplan said he was 'looking at the possibility of September, in any case October to December' for the trial, though he couldn't set a firm date yet.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's alleged madam (pictured together) and former close friend of Andrew, is accused of procuring and trafficking underage girls to Epstein - which she denies

The hearing did not address the Duke's challenges to Mrs Giuffre's claims including a 2009 legal settlement she signed with Epstein which may give Andrew legal immunity.

Nor did the judge address any of the Duke's claims in his response including an article from the New York Daily News written in 2015 which quoted friends of Mrs Giuffre saying she was 'not a sex slave, but a money-hungry sex kitten'.

The hearing took place two weeks before the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's alleged madam and former close friend of Andrew, is due to begin.

Maxwell, 59, is accused of procuring and trafficking underage girls to Epstein knowing they were going to be abused. She denies all the allegations.
The president of one of Spain's main tourist regions has called for post-Brexit visa rules limiting the amount of time Brits can spend in the country to be scrapped.

Ximo Puig, president of the Valencia region where Benidorm and Alicante are located, issued the call after a huge drop-off in tourist numbers after Brexit.

He said the new rules - which limit Brits to a 90-day stay in every 180 days - are putting people off buying holiday homes, visiting their families and damaging the region's economy.

The Spanish region of Valencia has called for Britons to be allowed to spend more than 90 days at a time in the country after noticing a huge drop-in in numbers post-Brexit

Speaking at a tourism expo in London this week, he called for 'Brexit to be as Brexit-less as possible'.

Reyes Maroto, Spain's tourism minister, assured Mr Puig that a task force including diplomats from both the UK and Spain has already been set up.

The embassy teams have been told to work towards 'joint solutions' on 'mobility' issues, she said - without elaborating further.

Mr Puig issued his demand after the number of Britons visiting his region plunged post-Brexit, from 3million in 2019 to just 600,000 in 2020.

While the pandemic will be behind most of the decrease, Puig warned that it is unlikely figures will return to pre-pandemic levels due to Brexit travel restrictions.

Puig said he is particularly concerned about the effect of the new rules on retirees who own or were planning to buy holiday homes in the region.

Limiting the amount of time they can stay in the country may put people off buying or else convince those who have bought to sell up, Puig said, potentially causing prices to crash.

Ximo Puig, president of the Valencia region, fears that hundreds of thousands of Brits who might have visited and spent their cash there might now be put off coming

While the new rules do not affect the 380,000 Britons who hold full residency in Spain, Puig fears they will affect hundreds of thousands more people - including the families of those residents - who do not qualify for the same status.

Carlos Mazon, president of Alicante's tourism board, described British visitors as a 'fundamental' source of wealth for the region at the London expo

'We are working on reciprocity so that they can also be in our territory for six months in a row when they come to visit us, as these are the conditions that apply for people from Alicante and Spain when they visit the United Kingdom,' he said.

However, it is not clear exactly how Spain would do this. As a Shengen Zone country, its border policies are dictated by common EU treaties.

While states within Shengen do have the power to set some of their own border rules, this is generally only used in times of emergency - such as during Covid.
A diversity campaign in support of hijabs launched by Europe's leading human rights organisation has been pulled after a backlash in France.

The Council of Europe released a series of images last week as part of an anti-discrimination campaign in a bid to promote respect for Muslim women.

Tweeted images showed portraits of two smiling young women spliced in half and fused together to show one with hair uncovered and the other wearing the hijab.

A diversity campaign in support of Muslim headscarves launched by Europe's leading human rights organisation has been pulled after a backlash in France

The Council of Europe released a series of images last week as part of an anti-discrimination campaign in a bid to promote respect for Muslim women

Marine Le Pen said 'this European campaign promoting the Islamist veil is scandalous and indecent at a time when millions of women courageously fight against this enslavement'

One advert read: 'Beauty is in diversity as freedom is in hijab.

'How boring it would be if everyone looked the same? Celebrate diversity and respect hijab.'

Initially passing largely unnoticed, the campaign, co-financed by the European Union, was seized upon by anti-immigration extreme right contenders seeking to unseat President Emmanuel Macron in next year's vote, and who fiercely oppose hijab-wearing in public.

'Islam is the enemy of freedom. This campaign is the enemy of truth,' tweeted far-right commentator Eric Zemmour, who has yet to declare his candidacy, and who some polls predict could make it into a second round runoff against Macron.

'This European campaign promoting the Islamist veil is scandalous and indecent at a time when millions of women courageously fight against this enslavement,' added far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Macron's main rival in the 2017 polls.

The Council of Europe is one of the continent's oldest political institutions and aims to promote human rights and the rule of law.

It is distinct from but partly funded by the EU and the campaign was the product of two workshops held in September with Femyso, a forum of Muslim youth organisations.

The words in the campaign 'reflected individual statements from people who took part in one of the project's workshops', a Council spokesman told the BBC.

The images were seized upon by anti-immigration contenders seeking to unseat President Emmanuel Macron in next year's vote including Marine Le Pen

President of Femyso, Hande Taner, said it was 'really sad that the efforts of minority youth are being attacked and undermined' by politicians.

She said it was 'another example of how the rights of Muslim women are non-existent to those who claim to represent or protect notions such as liberty, equality and freedom'.

Muslim headscarves have been a thorny issue in France for many years and in 2010, a ban on face coverings was imposed.

In a country where secularism is a cornerstone of national values and the election campaign has been fought mostly on right-wing territory, the outcry went beyond extreme right-wing politicians.

Paris region chief Valerie Pecresse, a possible contender against Macron from the traditional right, said she was 'astonished' by the campaign and added the hijab was 'not a symbol of freedom but of submission'.

Former EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who is also seeking the right-wing nomination to stand for president, added: 'I would have wanted the people who had the bad idea of this campaign to have asked the women of (Taliban-ruled) Kabul who are fighting precisely not to have this veil.'

The online campaign, co-financed by the European Union, touched a nerve among the right in France including prospective candidate Eric Zemmour

Macron's government also weighed in, saying it had urged the Council of Europe to pull the campaign.

France is one of the 47 member states of the Council which acts as the guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights.

'I was profoundly shocked,' French Minister for Young People Sarah El Hairy told LCI TV. 'It is the opposite of the values that France defends, it is promoting the wearing of the hijab.

'This is to be condemned and because of this France made clear its extremely strong disapproval and hence the campaign has now been withdrawn as of today,' she said late Tuesday, confirming Paris issued an official protest through diplomatic channels.

'We have taken down these tweet messages while we reflect on a better presentation of this project,' a Council of Europe spokesman told AFP.

'The tweets reflected statements made by individual participants in one of the project workshops, and do not represent the views of the Council of Europe or its Secretary General' Marija Pejcinovic Buric, he added.

The Council did not confirm that the pulling of the campaign was a direct result of French pressure.
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New York City's next mayor Eric Adams has given the strongest hint yet that he'll reverse Bill de Blasio's widely-criticized vaccine mandate for city workers including firefighters, cops and EMTs.

Adams won yesterday's mayoral election with a landslide 68 percent of the vote over Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa's 28.8 percent.

The former cop doesn't take office until January 1, but he has already vowed to 'reset' the city and restore the faith of the NYPD in City Hall.

On Wednesday morning, after partying the night away at swanky members club Zero Bond then Cipriani's, Adams did the rounds on morning television.

During an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe, he said: 'The mask mandates we should keep in place because we're doing an amazing job on that.

'And we need to revisit how we address the vaccine mandates. What I'm going to encourage him to do is to sit down with the unions. We can work this out.

'This is a very difficult moment but there's an opportunity to sit down with the unions. I communicated with some of the union leaders yesterday and they are open to sit down.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams (left) told outgoing NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday to 'sit down with the unions' and negotiate the vaccine mandate with more than 26,000 city workers still refusing to get the shots

'I'm going to encourage him to do that, he said.

Adams is a former cop who campaigned on issues like putting more officers back on the streets, reducing overtime and cutting paperwork to allow cops to crack down on crime properly.

His promises have been largely welcomed by the NYPD unions which say de Blasio has betrayed them time and time again, by cutting budgets and imposing bail reforms that put more criminals back on the streets.

The outgoing mayor's most recent act against the emergency services is a sweeping vaccine mandate that came into effect on Monday morning.

Anyone who is unvaccinated but who wants to keep working for the city must file for a religious or medical exemption, get vaccinated or lose their job.

Earlier on Wednesday, de Blasio threatened to fire the firefighters who have called out sick since the mandate took effect, accusing them of faking illness to avoid getting the shots and avoid losing their pay.

As of yesterday, 23 percent of the FDNY's 11,000 firefighters are still not vaccinated and few have been given religious or medical exemptions, meaning 2,530 who haven't had the shots yet cannot report for duty.

2,300 are on sick leave, meaning nearly a third of the force's 11,000 uniformed firefighters aren't on the streets.

People attend a 'Worldwide Walkouts' anti-vaccine mandate protest outside of City Hall, Manhattan, New York. November 03 2021

Department of Sanitation workers were among those at the protest outside City Hall on Wednesday afternoon

People attend a 'Worldwide Walkouts' anti-Coronavirus Vaccine mandate protest outside of City Hall, Manhattan, New York

A five alarm fire in Harlem last night ripped through five businesses. There were enough firefighters on hand to battle the blaze

Firefighters across NYC are being sent home if they show up for work unvaccinated

Of the 300 fire companies across the city, the Fire Commissioner said 12 were out of service yesterday - less than half of the 31 the unions claimed were down.

Firefighters across the board who are working say they are overstretched and understaffed. The FDNY has not released 911 response times for the three days since the vaccine mandate took effect, and it is the only agency that has the data.

One five alarm fire in Harlem which ripped through five businesses was dealt with quickly; units arrived within four minutes, a minute quicker than the average 5 minutes before the mandate came into effect.

Daniel Nigro, the fire commissioner, said 18 of the departments' 350 companies, or five per cent, were out of service on Monday. The Uniformed Firefighter's Association tweeted a photo of a protest sign and unused uniform on Monday

De Blasio has also threatened to fire firefighters who have called out sick but are 'faking it', a claim firefighter unions have strongly denied.

More than 2,000 firefighters are on sick leave and the FDNY said earlier this week the majority are unvaccinated, with some submitting bogus claims to avoid missing out on pay.

'We've got firefighters who are faking sick leave and leaving fellow firefighters in the lurch and creating a danger...that is unconscionable and they will face consequences for what they have done,' de Blasio said on Wednesday morning during an interview with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, who encouraged him to fire all 26,000 city workers who still haven't received the shot.

Later, de Blasio said at a press briefing: 'We're not seeing any noticeable impact response times, for first responders continue to be strong and where we need them to be.

'We're seeing no disruption to service, firehouses are open, everything's moving forward.'

However firefighters on the ground say the city is deliberately concealing response times and the total number of workers on unpaid leave to avoid panicking New Yorkers.

While 2,530 firefighters remain unvaccinated, the true number who are out of work is unclear because the FDNY won't confirm how many have taken unpaid leave.

It's unclear how many of the 2,300 out sick have other injuries too.

'We have firefighters that put their lives on the line that are battling cancers, some WTC-related. We also have some operating at a fourth alarm fire in the Bronx.

'We have a very dangerous job, firefighters get hurt in the line of duty... the assertion that thousands are faking medical leave, we reject,' Andrew Ansbro, President of the UFA, said.

Among the firefighters sent home on Tuesday was Mark Keating.

'Tonight my husband went in for his shift, like he has done over and over again throughout this pandemic.

'But today he was told to go home because hes fighting for his right to choose, and for the right to choose for our children.

'Im sick to my stomach over what this city has become,' his wife Danielle said in a Facebook post.
Meek Mill is facing backlash after he branded the flight attendant of a private jet racist and refused to fly after he and his entourage were asked if they were smoking marijuana as they boarded a flight out of New York City on Saturday.

The Philadelphia rapper uploaded a clip of the confrontation on his Instagram story, with the caption: 'He asked if we was smoking weed on his plane  we just got on 20 seconds ago  racist p***y slowed my whole day up??? I need to book a plane in NYC ASAP!!

'His energy from when we walked up I knew he racist! Just look what company is this jet under.'

The video drew a mix of reactions from social media users, with some defending his actions and others calling him 'petty' and accusing him of 'playing the race card.'

One reader commented on DailyMail.com: 'Not everything is racist. OMG can we stop with this nonsense??'

Meek Mill called the flight attendant of a private jet racist for accusing he and his entourage of smoking weed

The 37-year old rapper was boarding the flight when the flight attendant asked if they were smoking marijuana

Mill ended up leaving the flight after confronting the apologetic worker

Twitter user Laura Lianne commented: 'Totally pathetic & nasty pulling the race card! Obviously the attendant smelt cannabis so has a right to ask.'

'Everything isnt racist meek,' Zurii tweeted in reply to the video.

Mill, born Robert Williams, also declined to share if he or anyone in his crew had pot on them or if they had smoked prior to boarding, which could have led to the flight attendant's accusation.

The video begins after the flight attendant allegedly pressed Mill and his friends about smoking weed.

'You just said we was smoking on a plane and we just came on here 30 seconds ago, and you're asking us if we were smoking on this plane,' Mill says, calmly, from his seat. 'We just stepped on here 30 seconds ago.'

The attendant apologizes and replies: 'Because I smell it.'

Mill says: 'But where we gonna smoke if we just stepped on here 30 seconds ago? Just look, where would a blunt be rolled up at?'

He moves the camera and shows his friends sitting in the cabin behind him before the attendant apologizes again and says: 'I'm going to try and fix the problem.'

However, Mill decides at that point that he would rather not stay on the flight and says: 'Let us get off the plane, just let us, I don't feel safe on this plane anyway. Yeah, come on let's open the door. You acting real racist right now, real crazy 'was we smoking weed?' F**k wrong with you?'

Meek Mill attended the Fabolous' Halloween Party at Harbor New York City on October 31

The attendant agrees and starts opening the hatch as the video ends.

Dailymail.com has reached out to the company believed to have flown the rapper, but have not heard back.

Mill, who was freed from jail in 2018 after a 12-year legal battle over drug and gun possession charges, wrote on social media that he was going from New York City to Atlanta the night before Halloween and was looking for a new private plane.

He ended up staying in Manhattan for the Fabolous Halloween Party at Harbor New York City on October 31.

A DailyMail.com reader questioned why Mill felt the need to get off the plane: 'You were asked and said no. Why go to the inconvenience of getting off the plane and delaying your day?'

Another reader noted that Mill often touts his marijuana use: 'This guy flaunts smoking weed all the time, it's not a race issue, it's a question and I'm sure the answer is yes.'

Others took to Twitter arguing that Mill blew the situation out of proportion by bringing up race and that the flight attendant was doing his job.

'Everything is not an attack. This could have been resolved with a simple no or we smoked before we got on. Buddy just doing his job,' a Twitter user named Titus wrote.

User Billy Badsworth wrote: 'Mans said I smell weed & Meek said thats racist.'

Rian tweeted: 'Yall know damn well he smelled weed. They prob wasnt smoking on it and just had it on him. Thats not a mistakable smell. He asked him nicely.'

L Bardsley wrote: 'Probably smoked it before and it's a disgusting smell that lingers on people' and User Certified Depressed Bears Fan wrote: 'If anything Meek Mill was being petty af.'

User TJ Stan added: 'So did u smoke before u got on the plane or did u carry it on just curious if not then maybe he has a problem but if u smell like herb why wouldn't he ask u hahahah.'

'He shouldve just answered the question. if you knew that you smelled like weed of course anybody else gone damn smell it' Twitter user Jay posted.

Trigga Mane claimed: 'Meek Mill always saying someone racist or the system tryna bring him down.'

Others came to Mill's defense.

Twitter user Jordan Crypto wrote: 'Meek did the right thing here. Hope he got refunded though' and user kingsmom added: 'Smoking it before hand .. [is] NOT smoking on the plane.'

User Alex Baldwin commented: 'They wouldnt have down that if it was Justin Bieber and crew, just saying '

But Mill's confrontation with the flight attendant isn't the only grievance the rapper has aired in the past few days. The incident came just days after Mill claimed in a since-deleted tweet that he hasn't been paid for his music by his record label.

The tweet read: 'I haven't get paid from music and i don't know how much money labels make off me!!!!! i need lawyers asap!!!'

He continued: 'Ask the record label? how much have you spent on me as a artist? then you ask how much have you made off me as a artist?' I'm about to make my record deal public by monday just to let the world see what these people on!!!'

Its unclear if Meeks grievance is with Atlantic Records or Maybach Music Group, both of which he has been signed under. The tweets come nearly a month after he released Expensive Pain, his fifth album.

Mill, raised by a single mother after his father was killed, was thrown into jail over his arrest on drug and gun possession charges in 2008, well before the rapper achieved stardom.

At what had looked like a routine hearing, Philadelphia judge Genece Brinkley handed Mill a term of between two and four years for violating terms of parole, including scheduling shows that conflicted with the court schedule and entering a publicized scuffle in St. Louis.

Ordering Mill out on bail, the state's Supreme Court cited 'credibility issues' over a police officer who was a witness.

Mill has said he was badly beaten during the 2008 arrest and placed a bloody mugshot of himself as the cover of his 'DC4' mixtape.
British Airways passengers smelt something fishy when they saw crates of frozen sea bass arrive at Heathrow instead of their luggage.

'At least 100' boxes of seafood were seen gliding around a luggage carriage at the airport's Terminal 5 on Monday night, leaving travellers 'baffled' as to where their belongings had gone.

Becca Braunholtz, from Sherborne, Dorset, told the BBC it was 'the weirdest thing' to see crates of sea bream instead of her luggage as she had landed shortly after 10pm following a holiday in Cyprus with her husband and two children, aged 11 and 7.

British Airways passengers were left shocked when they saw crates of frozen sea bass arrive at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 on Monday

'At least 100' boxes of seafood were seen gliding around a luggage carriage at the airport

Some passengers were 'irate', she said, adding: 'We thought our luggage was in the second wave of deliveries but it was just box after box of fish.

'Everybody was being quite British and polite about it but when more and more boxes started going round we all started to suspect something wasn't right.'

Mrs Braunholtz said there were at least 100 frozen fish boxes, all with stickers for JFK Airport in the US.

When she spoke to BA staff about the situation they were 'perplexed' and did not know how it had happened.

She added: 'We just can't fathom why, at some point, one of the people loading these boxes of fish didn't think ''this can't be right for Terminal 5''... it's baffling.'

Becca Braunholtz, from Sherborne, Dorset, said it was 'the weirdest thing' to see crates of sea bream instead of her luggage

Passengers were left perplexed as the crates of sea bream arrived on the conveyor belt

Empty-handed passengers were eventually given claim forms and advised to go home.

British Airways have since contacted the family and said their luggage would be returned later today.

BA apologised in a statement and said most passengers had received their bags as normal, and said that they have been reuniting travellers with their luggage 'after realising that something fishy was going on'.
Home Secretary Priti Patel read the riot act to police chiefs today as she branded the Met cops who took and shared pictures of two murdered sisters 'abhorrent and inhumane'.

The top level minister, 49, spoke out at the quarterly National Police Board, of which Commissioner Cressida Dick is a member.

She told the assembled policing heads they had to 'raise the bar' and make themselves 'beyond reproach'.

Mrs Patel spoke out after PCs Deniz Jaffer, 47, and Jamie Lewis, 32, admitted misconduct after pictures were taken of murdered Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, and shared with 42 colleagues.

Three more serving Met Police officers are under investigation over another photo of a different dead body from January 2020 at a scene being guarded by the force.

Another trio are also facing misconduct proceedings over the image of Ms Henry and Ms Smallman.

The Home Secretary's comments mark the Government's most senior intervention in the criticism engulfing Dame Cressida.

Yesterday she apologised for the second time over the sisters' murder investigation after their moth called her handling of the case 'shoddy' and told her to 'get the rot out'.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office told MailOnline: 'The actions of the police officers were abhorrent and inhumane.

'Our thoughts go out to Bibaa and Nicoles family, who have suffered so much and should never have been so badly let down by those involved.

'The police must raise the bar and ensure their actions are beyond reproach  the public expects nothing less and while work to put things right is underway, the Home Secretary has reminded them of their responsibilities at the National Policing Board today.'

They did not answer a direct question on whether Mrs Patel still had full confidence in Dame Cressida.

Home Secretary Priti Patel during a visit to Thames Valley Police Training Centre in Reading

Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick this morning has come under criticism of the force

Unmasked: PC Jaffer, 47, was charged with misconduct in a public office over the pictures

Pc Jamie Lewis leaves the Old Bailey, after pleading guilty to misconduct in a public office

Met Police chief's dossier of shame: From force believing a sex abuse fantasist to officers sharing dead bodies pictures In July 2005, Dame Cressida Dick was in charge of the operation which saw innocent electrician Jean Charles de Menezes shot dead on a Tube train after he was mistaken for a terrorist who was under surveillance. Pictured, a memorial to mark ten years since Mr de Menezes' death. In 2014, she sanctioned the creation of Operation Midland, the disastrous investigation into spurious VIP child sex abuse allegations that saw innocent men pursued by the force. Pictured, fantasist Carl Beech, whose false sex abuse claims were believed by police. In 2019, Dame Cressida's force was widely criticised for its 'light-touch' policing of Extinction Rebellion protests, which blocked several key areas of London. Picture, Oxford Street in April 2019 as the campaigners paralysed the capital. In March this year, the Met was criticised over its 'heavy-handed' policing of a vigil for murdered Sarah Everard at Clapham Common. But its tactics were later cleared by a watchdog. Pictured, campaigner Patsy Stevenson being arrested at the event. In June, she was accused of 'obfuscation' for thwarting the Daniel Morgan inquiry team's attempts to access sensitive documents, leading to delays that cost the taxpayer millions. The report found that her force was 'institutionally corrupt'. Pictured, Mr Morgan. Dame Cressida also faced criticism over July's security shambles which saw ticketless fans storm Wembley Stadium before the England-Italy Euros final. Pictured, fans outside the venue. Last month she apologised after a report by the IOPC found the level of services provided over the weekend when Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, went missing fell below standards. It was their family and friends who found their bodies before police, who bungled the search handover. Pictured, the two sisters. Yesterday Dame Cressida was told she should carry the can for officers who took pictures of the dead sisters by their grieving mother. It prompted a further apology from the commissioner. Pictured, Mina Smallman Today it emerges three more Met officers are being investigated over allegations pictures of a different dead boy was shared. Pictured, Cressida Dick this morning. Advertisement

PC Jaffer and Lewis were supposed to protect the scene after the sisters were found stabbed to death in Fryent Country Park in Wembley, north-west London.

But instead, they breached the cordon to take 'inappropriate' and 'unauthorised' photographs of the bodies, which were then sent 'to a dentist and doctor', and a WhatsApp group.

Jaffer took four photographs and Lewis took two - one of which was sent to a female colleague with Lewis's face superimposed onto it.

Police watchdog the IOPC later revealed Lewis also used 'degrading and sexist language' to describe the victims in the WhatsApp team group of 42 colleagues.

As Dame Cressida Dick apologised for the second time, Ms Henry and Ms Smallman's bereft mother Mina slammed the Met Commissioner for the botched investigation into her daughters' deaths.

She criticised, 'Her shoddy way of behaving and her response since all of this has come out' adding: 'She has not contacted us to say I am really sorry. She has not spoken into this story at all.

Ms Smallman said the Met was 'beyond hope', adding: 'You go to London to start to prepare the funeral of your dead children and are told that police officers that should have been protecting the area had actually taken selfies and sent them out to a dentist and a doctor and a WhatsApp group.'

Following their guilty pleas, the Met said it was taking 'immediate steps' to put former PC Jaffer, who has resigned from the force, and PC Lewis before accelerated misconduct hearings.

Met Commissioner Dick said yesterday: 'I deeply regret that at a time when they were grieving the loss of their loved ones who were taken in such awful circumstances, they faced additional distress caused by the actions of two police officers.

'What former PC Jaffer and PC Lewis chose to do that day was utterly unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply insensitive. I know that is the view of colleagues across the Met who utterly condemn this behaviour.

'They have pleaded guilty today to a serious criminal offence and sentencing will follow in due course.

'I apologised to Bibaa and Nicole's family in June last year and, on behalf of the Met, I apologise again today.

'Now that the judicial process has got to this stage, we are able to take the officers through an accelerated misconduct process.'

Jaffer, 47, of Hornchurch, east London, and Lewis, 33, from Colchester, Essex, had been arrested as part of a criminal investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog.

The charge against each of them stated that 'without authorisation he entered a crime scene he had been assigned to protect, sending information about his attendance at the scene to members of the public via WhatsApp and taking photographs of the crime scene'.

The sisters' mother Mina Smallman, who has described the officers as 'despicable', sat in court for the hearing.

Paul Goddard, from the CPS, said outside court: 'Pc Jamie Lewis and Pc Deniz Jaffer's senseless conduct fell way below that to be expected from police officers.

'These officers were tasked with protecting a tragic crime scene.

'But instead they violated it for their own purposes, with no regard to the dignity of the victims, or the harm they might do to a murder investigation.

'Their thoughtless and insensitive actions have no doubt caused immeasurable further distress and pain to the heartbroken family and friends of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry who were already left reeling from the loss of their loved ones. Our thoughts are very much with them at this time.'

The pair, attached to the Met's North East command unit, were both suspended from duty following their arrests on June 22 last year.

Jaffer, of Hornchurch, east London, and Lewis, from Colchester, Essex, are on unconditional bail.

On Thursday the mother of Ms Henry and Ms Smallman vowed to stop their killer ever being released from prison.

Mina Smallman said justice had been done for her 'beautiful girls' as their 'deluded' killer was locked up for at least 35 years.

Mrs Smallman had looked on while Danyal Hussein sat with his back to the court as he was jailed for life via video link from Belmarsh prison.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey, in central London, Mrs Smallman condemned the 19-year-old, who had stabbed her daughters to death after making a pact with a devil.

On his behaviour in court, she said: 'It's all a performance. There is nothing wrong with him. He's just an obnoxious human being.'

She went on: 'He is a broken human being who, if he had not been caught, four other families may have been suffering what we have.

'Well he ain't out there now and I think he is so deluded, come 35 years' time they will not let him out.

'I will not let them.'

Mrs Smallman went on: 'There will be no celebrations here but justice has been done.'

She called for a review of the law, after the court heard that Hussein could not be handed a whole life order because of his youth.

She praised the Metropolitan Police for bringing Hussein to justice, saying she did not 'cast a whole organisation by one particular sort of incident'.

But in the wake of a critical police watchdog report on the handling of the sisters' missing persons report, she said there was an 'underground that has infiltrated and is growing in our Metropolitan Police'.

Artist impression of PC Jamie Lewis and PC Deniz Jaffer appearing at the Old Bailey yesterday

Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, who were stabbed to death in Wembley last year

Murderer: Danyal Hussein, 19, who killed sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, seen here in his police mugshot

The sisters (above), who had been celebrating Ms Henry's birthday with friends, were found the following day by Ms Smallman's boyfriend

Mina Smallman, mother of the two victims looking on as Danyal Hussein appears in the dock at the Old Bailey, where he would try to intimidate and provoke her. She refused and would smile and wink back

She also thanked the media who had followed the case, saying: 'Everybody is worth knowing about.'

On her daughters, she said: 'They were beautiful, beautiful girls.

'Bibaa left behind a daughter who has given birth to a son in the last year and I am a great grandmother.'

She said Ms Henry had been an 'amazing' social worker but she grieved for her younger daughter Ms Smallman more because 'she had 20 years less than Bibaa'.

She added: 'Good girls - I'm really proud of them.'
A train involved in the Salisbury rail crash ran 240 yards past a stop signal before slamming into another service after its wheels slipped on the rails as the driver applied the brakes, investigators have said.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has said the 74-year-old driver of the South Western Railway (SWR) train, Robin Tandy, attempted to apply the brakes before reaching the signal.

However, despite the driver and the train's automatic protection system also requesting emergency breaking, it did not stop until it reached the junction outside Fisherton Tunnel.

The train subsequently smashed into the side of a stationary Great Western Railway (GWR) service.

In a preliminary report, investigators attributed this to the SWR train's wheels slipping on the rails.

The collision caused both trains to derail.

Passengers on the GWR service were thrown around their pitch-black carriages before it 'jolted' to a halt.

Investigators at the scene of a crash involving trains near the Fisherton Tunnel between Andover and Salisbury in Wiltshire

The SWR service, being referred to as 'Train 2', appears to be the most badly damaged of the two trains with carriages leaning at 45 degrees

Passengers on a Great Western Railways service from Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol Temple Meads were thrown around their pitch-black carriages after their train 'jolted' to a halt in the tunnel, sending it off the rails as it entered the 430-yard underpass. Around 50 people were stranded on the derailed train for seven minutes before a South Western Railway service from London to Honiton with around 50 more people on board then ploughed into the stationary train at around 6.45pm

As part of an ongoing probe into the incident, investigators have said they will examine how Network Rail managed the risk of 'low wheel/rail adhesion' where the collision took place.

It is understood that one of the trains was 'almost certainly' affected by 'low adhesion between the wheels and the track', which meant it was unable to stop at a red signal.

Low adhesion can be caused by 'contaminants' on the line such as leaves, moisture, oil and grease, is particularly common in autumn and can impact a train's ability to stop, according to the Rail Safety Standards Board.

The issue can be particularly severe in the autumn due to leaves falling from the trees onto the tracks.

The leaves created a thin, slippery layer which create a similar effect to that of black ice on roads.

In the aftermath of the crash, the South West Railway train (left) is seen with its cab mangled after hitting the back of the stationary GWR service, which had previously partially derailed in a tunnel close to Salisbury station

Emergency services personnel gather near the site where two trains collided near Salisbury

Police and firefighters at the scene of a crash involving two trains near the Fisherton Tunnel

It makes it more difficult for trains to accelerate and brake efficiently, leading to some operators producing special autumn timetables to allow extra time for trains to be driven at a more cautious speed.

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail's safety and engineering director, said on Tuesday night that the issue 'affects railways across the world'

He added that the annual problem is something that the industry bodies 'work hard to combat so that we can run trains safely and reliably throughout autumn'.

The RAIB has also said it will consider Network Rail and SWR's general policies towards the issue.

'It sounded like a bomb going off' Witnesses described hearing a massive bang 'like a bomb going off' as two trains collided in the tunnel near Salisbury last night. A local resident living near the tunnels said she was out with her children celebrating hallowe'en when they heard the noise of the train crash which she liked to thunder or a bomb going off.. Tamar Vellacott told reporters that she was out with her children and mother celebrating hallowe'en at the time of the crash. 'It was a noise we've never heard before, my young ones started panicking thinking it was a bomb and we said maybe a lorry had crashed on the London Road and not to panic,' said the 25-year-old. 'There was no screeching like brakes, just a long rumbling sound like thunder. It did spook us though, so we decided to get in our car and drive home. Three police cars passed us at speed.' Peter Golden, 52, from Laverstock, Wiltshire, said the collision 'sounded like something big collapsing - the sound of things falling into each other'. 'With the windy day we've had I first thought it was a big gust of wind that has knocked something heavy over. 'It wasn't till the helicopter arrived on station over the tunnel that I realised what I had heard. 'The first helicopter arrived on station and started hovering about 30 to 40 mins after the collision. 'There were lots of sirens and emergency vehicles on London Road. 'Emergency vehicles were coming from the west and east - presumably Andover - as well as Salisbury.' Advertisement

A total of 92 passengers were on both trains when they collided just outside Salisbury city centre.

Thirty passengers attended a casualty centre set up in a nearby church, 13 of whom were taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Passengers fearing they were about to die had called loved ones to say goodbye.

Mr Tandy, though, has suffered 'life-changing injuries', according to police.

SWR managing director Claire Mann said the driver, who continues to be treated in hospital, 'reacted correctly to the signals by braking to slow the train down'.

She added: 'We believe his actions went some way to preventing a much more serious incident and we wish him a speedy recovery.'

The rail operator said Mr Tandy has over 50 years' experience of driving on the route' and has 'an excellent professional track record'.

A statement said all drivers undergo regular assessments 'to the highest standards' and the injured driver 'fully satisfied all requirements'

There is no mandatory retirement age for train drivers in the UK.

Drivers can keep their licence for as long as they continue to pass regular medical and competence assessments.

Cameron Thrower, one of the passengers involved in the collision, described the 'extremely scary' moment he was suddenly 'thrown' onto the floor after the trains crashed.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast from his home in Dorset, he said: 'The next thing I know there's just an almighty noise, I'm being thrown about the joiner carriage.

'Worst of all, I turn around behind me and there's this huge whoosh of fire and sparks on the door outside.

'And the next thing I know I'm just in the dark on the floor wondering what's happened and realising that everything is definitely not quite as it should be and it was extremely scary in that moment.'

'Even in this horrible moment, the first thing everyone was doing was making sure their fellow man was OK and making sure that everyone else was fine, that no one was injured, and if they were that they were getting the help we could provide them in that moment.'

Another passenger, Dimitri Popa from Romania, was travelling on the train from London to Sherborne when the terrifying crash occurred.

The 17-year-old said: 'It all happened so fast... I was just sitting in the first carriage and there was a huge crash.

'Then I saw the flames and got pretty scared, and all the lights went out. The carriage was 45 degrees to the right. We didn't know where we were or anything... we were all just so shocked.'

Other witnesses recalled hearing a sound 'like a bomb going off' as the crash, one of the most serious in recent years on the UK rail network, took place.

Angela Mattingly, who was on the SWR train, said: 'Everything went black and there were red flashes and everything.

'There was suddenly a lot of jostling, possessions being thrown around and I think a few people went forward and hit their heads.

Driver of train left with 'life changing' injuries partially retired 74-year-old rail veteran and 'probably the most experienced in the country' The hero train driver who averted tragedy in Sunday night's rail collision at Salisbury is a 74-year-old veteran with years of rail driving experience, MailOnline can reveal. Robin Tandy had just six seconds to react and apply the emergency brakes before flinging himself away from the driver's side of his cab as his train collided with another in a tunnel. Hero train driver Robin Tandy (pictured), who averted tragedy in Sunday night's rail collision at Salisbury, is a 74-year-old veteran with years of rail driving experience, MailOnline can reveal Miraculously, no one was killed and Mr Tandy's quick-thinking actions have been hailed by colleagues for preventing a high number of casualties and deaths following the accident. But it came at a cost to him personally as he was airlifted to University Hospital Southampton with what police described as 'life-changing' injuries. Advertisement

'You just don't know for a couple of seconds what's happening. People started to panic but nobody was seriously injured.'

Tamar Vellacott was walking with her young children around half a mile from the scene when they heard the crash.

The 25-year-old said: 'It was a noise we've never heard before, my young ones started panicking thinking it was a bomb and we said maybe a lorry had crashed on the London Road and not to panic.'

Fisherton Tunnel is a major junction joining two lines as they approach Salisbury from the south and from the east.

Firstly the 5.08pm Great Western Rail service from Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol Temple Meads, which entered the junction from the south, is said to have hit an object in the tunnel  possibly material that fell from the tunnel roof, sources said  and the rear carriage derailed.

The train had been due into Salisbury at 6:28pm but bad weather was causing delays across the rail network.

Seven minutes later at around 6.45pm, the 5.20pm SWR train from London Waterloo to Honiton in Devon, which was due into Salisbury at 6.47pm, sped into the junction from the east.

For some reason signals had not alerted the driver of the obstruction  or had failed to stop his train if he missed the red lights.

The SWR train smashed into the stationary GWR service in the tunnel, derailed itself and skidded along the inside of the tunnel at 45-degrees, apparently being held up by the tunnel wall.

Its driver was trapped in his mangled cab and needed to be cut free by emergency workers. Only the last carriage remained upright.

British Transport Police Detective Chief Inspector Paul Langley said: 'This will no doubt have been an incredibly frightening experience for all those involved and our thoughts are with them and their families today.

'Specialist officers and detectives remain on scene in Salisbury and we are working closely alongside the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the Office of Rail and Road to establish exactly how these two trains came to collide.

'We are keeping an open mind but at this early stage there has been nothing to suggest the train struck an object or that there was any significant delay between the trains colliding and then one derailing'.

Disruption to services through Salisbury is expected to continue until at least the end of the day on Monday November 8.
China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and could have more than 1000 warheads by 2030, according to a Pentagon assessment published on Wednesday.

That's a faster buildup that U.S. officials forecast a year ago, suggesting Beijing could overtake American power by the middle of the century.

It comes a day after President Joe Biden said he did not want a war with China over Taiwan.

The U.S. has promised to help the self-governed island defend itself against Chinese claims.

But it follows a series of dire warnings from U.S. officials that China is racing to overtake U.S. military might by using its new economic power to drive investment in weapons and technology.

The Department of Defense report will add new urgency to American efforts to keep pace.

It suggests the number of Chinese nuclear warheads could increase to 700 within six years, before reaching 1,000 by 2030.

It did not offer a number for the current size of the arsenal but last year the Pentagon said it was in the 'low two hundreds' and would likely double by the end of the decade.

Xi Jinping has said China plans to become a global military power by 2049, a claim bolstered by the Pentagon assessment that it could have at least 1000 nuclear warheads by 2030

President Biden on Tuesday warned China to 'play by the rules of the road' as he said he did not expect competition to become conflict, amid tensions over the status of Taiwan

Maxar satellite imagery of one of hundreds of missile silos being constructed under inflatable domes at three missile fields and a training area in north-central China

The United States, by comparison, has 3,750 nuclear weapons and has no plans to increase. As recently as 2003 the U.S. total was about 10,000.

And it said China was building hundreds of underground silos.

The Biden administration is undertaking a comprehensive review of its nuclear policy and has not said how that might be influenced by its China concerns.

The report, entitled 'Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China' does not suggest conflict with Beijing. But it does fit an emerging picture of a People's Liberation Army that is intent on challenging U.S. dominance on land, sea and air.

'The PLAs evolving capabilities and concepts continue to strengthen (Chinas) ability to 'fight and win wars' against a 'strong enemy' - a likely euphemism for the United States,' the report said, adding that it makes China more capable of coercing Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its territory.

China and its threat was one of the underlying themes of President Biden's six-day trip to Europe.

He arrived back at the White House early on Wednesday morning after delivering a warning to China and its ambitions on Taiwan.

'I've made it clear, this is competition. It does not have to be conflict,' he said at a press conference at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

'There is no reason there need be conflict. But I've also indicated to him  that we expect him to play by the rules of the road.'

A senior defense official who briefed reporters on the contents of the report said China was developing options for military action toward Taiwan, including amphibious invasion.

'They could conduct air and missile strikes and cyber attacks,' said the official, according to Defense One.

'They could try to seize, you know, other islands that are not necessarily all of Taiwan, right, but maybe some of the offshore islands.'

Spectators wave Chinese flags as military vehicles carrying DF-41 ballistic missiles roll during a parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China

China, the US and Russia are engaged in a global arms race that now includes the development of hypersonic missile technology. Here, the MailOnline has compared (from left) each country's main nuclear weapon, the latest hypersonic technology they have tested, their most up-to-date aircraft carriers, main battle tanks, and cutting-edge jets

The report is the latest reminder to Congress, already leery of Beijing's military ambitions, that the Pentagon's frequent promises to focus more intently on countering China have moved only incrementally beyond the talking stage.

The Biden administration is expected to take a new step by following through on its announcement in September of plans to increase the U.S. military presence in Australia, in addition to a controversial decision to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

China's military modernization is proceeding on a wide front, but its nuclear advances are especially notable.

The Chinese may already have established what is known as a nuclear triad - the combination of land, sea, and air-based missiles that the United States and Russia have had for decades, the report said.

To its existing land- and sea-based nuclear forces China is adding an air-launched ballistic missile.

It recently emerged that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, designed to evade U.S. defenses, earlier this year.

Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the test and other advances demonstrated the high stakes in play.

'We are witnessing one of the largest shifts in global and geostrategic power that the world has witnessed,' he told the Aspen Security Forum shortly before the Pentagon assessment was published.

The report also said China was pursuing a network of overseas bases that 'could interfere with' U.S. military operations and could support Chinese operations against the United States.

USS Carl Vinson and the USS Chafee in the Pacific Ocean in September. A spate of Chinese military flights off Taiwan, and naval maneuvers by the United States and its allies to reinforce maritime routes are fueling increasing tensions in a region already on edge

President Xi Jinping has said China plans to become a global military power by 2049.

The Pentagon's wide-ranging assessment of China's military strategy and force development is the latest in an annual series of reports to Congress and in some respects was more detailed than previous versions.

For example, it questioned China's compliance with international biological and chemical weapons agreements, citing studies conducted at military medical institutions that discussed identifying, testing and characterizing groups of 'potent toxins' that have civilian as well as military uses.

The basis of the Pentagon's prediction that China will vastly increase its nuclear arsenal is not spelled out in Wednesday's report.

The senior defense official who briefed reporters in advance of the report's public release, said the forecast reflected several known developments, such as China's addition of a nuclear bomber capability, as well as public statements in Chinese official media that have made reference to China needing 1,000 nuclear weapons.

The report also asserted that China has begun construction of at least three new missile fields that 'cumulatively contain hundreds' of underground silos from which ICBMs could be launched.
A police officer left a suspect with multiple fractures and a collapsed lung because he drove 'too closely' to his bicycle in a chase, a court heard today.

PC Eugene Acheampong, 28, and a colleague were responding to reports of two men breaking into cars at Wood Green, north London, on August 3, 2019.

When Arnold Taylor tried to ride away on a bicycle, PC Acheampong collided with him and ran him over in his patrol car.

PC Acheampong had been engaged in a one minute pursuit, between 14.53 and 14.54, before hitting Taylor on Hawkepark Road.

Taylor was assisted by the police and ambulance, before being taken to the Royal London Hospital.

He suffered injuries including extensive soft tissues to the head and face, a displaced fracture to side arch of the jaw and dental fractures.

He also sustained rib and spine fractures along with a collapsed lung.

Daniel Fugallo, prosecuting, said the officer was at the wheel of a marked police BMW.

PC Acheampong, of Essex, denies charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving

The allegation is that PC Acheampong was following that man in his police car so closely right behind him and at such speed, that it was dangerous.

'And because he was driving dangerously in this way, he ended up knocking the bicycle over and driving his police car right over the bicycle and right over Mr Taylor, causing him serious injuries.

'That afternoon police officers received a report of two men walking along nearby Sirdar Road trying to break into parked cars,' Mr Fugallo added.

It was on Sirdar Road, officers heard a report that there were two men acting suspiciously around cars.

PC Acheampong, in a marked BMW, drove to the location in response to that report and had a colleague with him.

They made their way to Rusper Road and there they saw two men who fitted the descriptions of the two men they were told to look out for.

PC Acheampong stopped the car on Rusper Road and that his colleague got out to speak to the men before Mr Taylor cycled away.

Mr Fugallo continued: As the bicycle travelled along Sirdar Road towards Hawkepark Road, the car caught up with the bicycle so the bicycle was directly in front of the car.

He had appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court and had asked for a jury trial

He followed the bicycle down Hawkepark Road, reaching a speed of 29mph before he brakes and slows down to 27mph.'

He said the officer 'ran over' the cyclist.

PC Acheampong stayed at the scene and ambulance attended the scene and took Mr Taylor to the Royal London Hospital.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage capturing the moment in which Mr Arnold's bike went under the BMW.

Body worn footage from PC Acheampong was also shown, which records him following Mr Arnold in his car as well moment of collision and as his car comes to a stop.

Following an investigation Mr Acheampon was interviewed on 8 January 2020, the court heard.

Mr Fugallo said: He agreed that he hoped Mr Arnold would give up and stop.

He said he was just following him and regularly applying his brake and said Mr Arnold then just seemed to disappear.

'He felt his vehicle judder as it went over something and at all times, he felt he was driving a manner that was safe and sensible.

PC Acheampong accepts he was driving on road in question at time in question.

He agrees his driving caused injuries. He accepts those injuries are serious. The only question for you to decide, is was the driving dangerously?

The Crown say driving at the speed he is driving so close behind Mr Arnold meaning that if Mr Arnold suddenly slowed, a collision of the kind that happened was simply unavoidable.

'We say that the driving was far below what is expected of a careful and competent driver.

Reading out Mr Taylors statement, the prosecutor said: I was with a friend Christopher Beckwood. Chris was walking two or three metres ahead of me as I was riding the bicycle.

As we approached an intersection I saw a marked police car turn from Westbury Avenue.

'I saw a police officer step out the car and detain Chris. I turned round to cycle in the opposite direction.

I saw the police car which was speeding towards me. I do not remember the aftermath. After being hit from behind my next memory is waking up in hospital.

PC Acheampong, of Rainham, Essex, denies causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The trial continues.
Lame-duck Mayor Bill de Blasio again blamed the courts for New York City's skyrocketing crime numbers as he touted a small decrease in the murder rate while ignoring an 11 percent jump in overall crime.

According to the NYPD's latest monthly numbers, overall crime was up 11.2 percent last month compared with October 2020. Robbery was up by 15.8 percent and felony assault rose by 13.8 percent.

The mayor cited statistics claiming that felony trials are down 92 percent from 2019. He also said pleas in felony cases are down 53 percent and sentencing is down 55 percent.

'I'll tell you what's not working, and this is a profound problem: Our court system,' de Blasio said at his press conference Wednesday.

'After all the times that we've talked about the problems in the court system, we're still seeing vey little change.'

A spokesman for the city's court system slammed de Blasio's comments in a statement provided to DailyMail.com.

'Someone should alert the Mayor that Charles Lindbergh made it to Paris, since that would mirror how out of touch the Mayor is regarding activity in the New York Courts,' said spokesman Lucian Chalfen.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio touted lower rates of murder and shootings in New York City on Wednesday as overall crime, robbery and assault continue to rise

He also touted the lower number of shootings in Brooklyn, which is down 20 percent from last year. There have been 445 shootings in Brooklyn this year, up from 248 in 2019

Crime in NYC is up 1.3 percent year-to-date compared to last year. Crime in October rose 11.2 percent compared to October 2020 as the mayor talks about a return to 'pre-pandemic levels'

'Criminal Courts in New York City are functioning, active and increasingly busy,' he added.

Chalfen said the system has held 117 trials this year so far, compared to 600 at this time in 2019, and cited social distancing measures and 'prisoner production issues' as reasons for the shortfall.

'Defendants are not produced for either meetings with their attorneys while in jail, which delays the defense attorney to be ready for trial or appearances in court - in- person or at the video booths on Rikers Island,' Chalfen said.

He said half the trials have taken place in the past six weeks.

Chalfen added that more than 20 grand juries are sitting for felony presentations each week and that the court system had adjudicated 117, 413 felony and misdemeanor cases in NYC criminal Court and Supreme Court this year.

De Blasio, who will be replaced by the newly elected Eric Adams in January, focused in the drop in murders last month to 37, compared with 41 in October 2020, saying the minor reduction of 9.8 percent 'says a lot.'

However, both counts are higher than the number of citywide murders in October 2019 (29) and October 2018 (18).

The spike in overall lawlessness comes as the city grapples with an increase in visible, violent crime, including horrific subway and street attacks that have left New Yorkers terrified.

On Monday at around 10pm, a man wearing a grinning mask inspired by the film The Purge attacked a stranger on the street with an ax. The 51-year-old victim was taken to a nearby hospital with a deep cut in his arm.

On Saturday morning, a man threw a Molotov cocktail into a Brooklyn bodega after an argument with employees. The workers escaped as the arsonist was about to throw a second one, but he was stopped by a witness.

NYPD released this photo of a man who randomly attacked a stranger with an ax while wearing a Purge Halloween mask on Monday night

Surveillance footage caught a man throwing a Molotov cocktail into a Brooklyn deli Saturday

Despite the shocking scene, only one person was hurt with non-life-threatening injuries

On Wednesday, De Blasio said shootings are down in Queens and Staten Island compared to last year, and emphasized the decline in shootings in Brooklyn, which are down 20 percent from last year.

There have been 445 shootings in Brooklyn so far this year, down from 557 at this point in the year in 2020 but up significantly from 248 in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

'This is crucial. This is a big story in Brooklyn. The reality bares witness that there have been amazing efforts made even in the toughest of times by the NYPD.'

The mayor also blamed the city's court system, where he says felony trials are down 92 percent from 2019. 'This is a profound problem,' he said. Above, a protest in 2020

A court spokesman said the mayor is 'out of touch ... regarding activity in the New York Courts'

Shootings, however, continue to climb in other parts of the city.

'The Bronx is still a challenge - lots of resources being poured in to address Manhattan North as well,' the mayor admitted.

De Blasio said shootings were down in other boroughs thanks to community and precision policing, which depend on deep ties with the community, according to the Manhattan Institute.

'We've got to get the public more involved. We need people at the community levels to join those "Build the Block" meetings to get involved. Every New Yorker has information they can offer to the police that can be helpful to them,' he said.
Pictured: Terrorist Usman Khan was shot dead after killing two people at an event near London Bridge in 2019

Counter-terrorism police should be obliged to pass on information from undercover investigations to teams managing extremist offenders after their release from prison, a coroner has found.

Judge Mark Lucraft QC made a series of recommendations to prevent future deaths after earlier this year hearing the inquests into the 2019 terrorist murders of Cambridge graduates Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25.

In a report published on Wednesday, he laid out 22 areas of concern and proposed action he believes should be taken to prevent such an atrocity occurring again.

Miss Jones and Mr Merritt were murdered by extremist Usman Khan, 28, at an alumni event organised by prisoner education scheme Learning Together on November 29, 2019.

Khan strapped knives to his hands and killed them both as well as injuring three others in a rampage at Fishmongers' Hall in the City of London.

Wearing a fake suicide belt, he was chased out on to London Bridge by attendees armed with a narwhal tusk and a fire extinguisher, before being shot by police.

In May, jurors at the inquests concluded there were failings and omissions among probation, police and the security services.

Mr Lucraft, who was chief coroner and is now the most senior criminal judge at the Old Bailey, said measures must be put in place to ensure relevant information is passed on to multi-agency public protection arrangements (Mappa) panels that manage offenders.

Usman Khan stabbed Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, (left) and Saskia Jones, 23, (right) at a prisoner education event held at Fishmonger's Hall in Central London in November 2019

Usman Khan, 28, was sprayed with bullets by armed officers on London Bridge minutes after he murdered Cambridge graduates in Fishmongers' Hall on the banks of the River Thames

Khan spent eight years in jail for plotting to set up a terror training camp in Pakistan and on his release in December 2018, he was assessed as being a 'very high risk of serious harm' to the public.

MI5, which had already launched a covert investigation with West Midlands Police supported by Staffordshire Special Branch, had intelligence that Khan was planning to 'return to his old ways' and aspired to carry out an attack.

Yet this information was not passed on by police to others involved in Khan's management in the community.

Mr Lucraft said: 'This case gives cause for concern that counter-terrorism police may be in possession of intelligence or information which may be useful to the management of an offender by the Mappa panel, but that such intelligence or information may not be brought to the knowledge of or taken into account by Mappa agencies.

'This issue should be addressed, preferably by ensuring that a single police officer from any covert investigation... is responsible and accountable for ensuring that intelligence and information is properly shared and taken into account.

'Consideration should also be given to how intelligence known only to the Security Service may be taken into account for the purposes of Mappa.'

Usman Khan pictured at Bank station on his way to attend the prisoner rehabilitation event in central London, in a photo which was shown during an earlier inquest into the terror attack

He also raised concerns that a serious offender like Khan had been able to attend the event without Learning Together doing a formal risk assessment or clearly telling the venue a convicted extremist was on the guest list.

The report found the prisoner education scheme should also consider the risks posed by placing young students alongside hardened offenders as part of its courses.

It recommended that forensic psychologists should be heavily involved in assessing the risk posed by extremists on release from prison and not just probation officers.

Forensic psychologist Ieva Cechaviciute assessed Khan in early 2018 and warned he was likely to reoffend on release, but a later assessment carried out by a probation worker in 2019 was far less detailed and much more optimistic.

Mr Lucraft found probation staff put too much weight on the fact that Khan appeared to be polite and co-operative once he was out of jail.

He also called for better records to be kept of decisions to allow serious offenders to take part in certain activities.

An image released during the inquest showing armed police aiming their weapons at Khan on the ground as a bystander (with the pink colouring around their neck) runs away from him

Khan was allowed to travel alone by train to the event at Fishmongers' Hall, but there was no written record of this being positively approved by a Mappa panel.

It is believed he attached a fake suicide belt to his body while on the train, and carried knives in his bag.

Mr Lucraft said police should be given the power to search such offenders without needing to establish the legal grounds to do so.

He also recommended that plans be brought in for random drugs tests of serious offenders after release, because Khan was able to buy and take cocaine despite being under strict licence conditions.

Had he been caught, he would have been recalled to prison.
The Justice Department is suing to block a $2.2billion book publishing merger that would grant Penguin Random House - already the largest publisher in America - control over more than two-thirds of the US book market.

German media giant Bertelsmann's Penguin Random House wants to buy New York-based Simon & Schuster, whose authors include Stephen King, Hillary Clinton and John Irving, from TV and film company ViacomCBS.

The DOJ accused Penguin Random House's Global CEO Markus Dohle of privately scheming to partner with Amazon - the biggest rival for the print book publishing industry.

Dohle said that the one '[g]oal' after the merger is to become an '[e]xceptional partner' to Amazon, not to challenge the internet giant's power, according to the DOJ lawsuit.

The department added that the consolidation would reshape the industry, hurt authors and, ultimately, readers.

'American authors and consumers will pay the price of this anticompetitive merger - lower advances for authors and ultimately fewer books and less variety for consumers,' Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

Penguin Random House, already the largest publisher in America, wants to buy New York-based Simon & Schuster for $2.2billion

The group would have control over more than two-thirds of the US book market The department filed an antitrust suit in federal court in Washington, DC, Tuesday in the first major antitrust action by the Biden administration

The DOJ accused Penguin Random House's Global CEO Marcus Dohle of privately scheming to partner with Amazon - the biggest rival for the print book publishing industry. Dohle allegedly said that the one '[g]oal' after the merger is to become an '[e]xceptional partner' to Amazon, not to challenge the internet giant's power

The department filed an antitrust suit in federal court in Washington, DC, Tuesday in the first major antitrust action by the Biden administration, after pledging to reduce the trend in corporate consolidation in July.

The purchase of Simon & Schuster would reduce the so-called Big Five, which dominate American publishing and include HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan, to four.

The Department of Justice said the deal would give Penguin Random House 'outsized influence' over which books are published in the US and how much authors are paid.

'If the worlds largest book publisher is permitted to acquire one of its biggest rivals, it will have unprecedented control over this important industry,' Garland said.

'Authors are the lifeblood of book publishing. Without authors, there would be no stories; no poetry; no biographies; no written discourse on history, arts, culture, society, or politics,' read the DOJ's lawsuit.

'American authors and consumers will pay the price of this anticompetitive merger - lower advances for authors and ultimately fewer books and less variety for consumers,' Attorney General Merrick Garland said (file photo)

The Authors Guild has said it opposes the acquisition because there would be less competition for authors' manuscripts

The merge would be especially detrimental for the careers of first-time authors, but well-known and established writers would also be affected, the guild said

In a statement, Penguin Random House and Simon & Simon & Schuster said they would fight the lawsuit. They said blocking the deal would harm authors.

'DOJs lawsuit is wrong on the facts, the law, and public policy,' said Daniel Petrocelli, Penguin Random House's lawyer. 'Importantly, DOJ has not found, nor does it allege, that the combination will reduce competition in the sale of books.'

The deal raised concern from writers and from rival publishers.

The Authors Guild has said it opposes the acquisition because there would be less competition for authors' manuscripts.

'We look forward to working with the Biden Administration on antitrust reform that gets to the root of the problems in the industry, whereas the proposed merger was just a symptom,' the guild said in a statement.

The merge would be especially detrimental for the careers of first-time authors, but well-known and established writers would also be affected, the guild said.

'Lost in the battle of giants are the first-time authors and important mid-list books that never quite earn out  but that are so essential for a rich, diverse American literary culture to survive,' the guild said.

The average author's income has already decreased 42percent over the ten years from 2008-2018.

Because it targets the prices paid to authors as well as those paid by consumers, the suit shows a possible new direction for the antitrust regulators under the Biden administration, suggested Daniel Crane, a law professor at the University of Michigan who focuses on antitrust.

Penguin Random House and Simon & Simon & Schuster said they would fight the lawsuit. They said blocking the deal would harm authors

The Department of Justice said the deal would give Penguin Random House 'outsized influence' over which books are published in the US and how much authors are paid

'Theres a desire to think very comprehensively about all the interests that could be harmed,' he said. 'It raises lots of interesting questions about publishing and about competition in publishing.'

The governments case addresses a conventional market of five mammoth old-line publishing houses.

Overshadowing it is Amazon, which created an empire and ecosystem of digital books starting back in 1995, controlling not only the bookstore but also the dominant devices for reading e-books and listening to audiobooks, and eventually some of the content.

The e-books undercut the prices of conventional books, providing ammunition to the publishing houses in asserting that they have to bulk up to survive the competition.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which owns HarperCollins and had reportedly also been interested in buying Simon & Schuster, also slammed the deal.

Its CEO Robert Thomson said last fall that Bertelsmann was 'buying market dominance as a book behemoth.'

The new antitrust suit signals that the Justice Department 'is willing to use its full authority to combat the wave of consolidation swallowing the American economy,' said Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, an organization that advocates for government action against business concentration.

'Im a proud capitalist,' President Joe Biden as he signed a sweeping executive order meant to put more competition in U.S. industry on July 9

President Joe Biden signs an executive order on promoting competition in the American economy, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC

'This case also reflects how Amazons dominance looms as a predatory presence for most firms in the economy,' Miller said in a statement.

'The CEOs of the number one and number three publishers openly sought to use this merger to become an `exceptional partner to Amazon,' she added.

In July, Biden issued an executive order calling for tougher antitrust enforcement.

The order urged the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address increasing corporate consolidation.

Risk-management multinationals Aon PLC and Willis Towers abandoned a merger after being challenged by the DOJ in July.

In August, the FTC obtained a preliminary injunction to prevent Hackensack Meridian Health from acquiring Englewood Healthcare.
Scotland Yard will deploy undercover police officers outside bars and clubs in a bid to reduce violence against women and girls, it has been revealed.

The Metropolitan Police unveiled the move on Wednesday as part of a wider action plan, stressing the plain-clothes officers will operate in pairs and will not go inside the venues.

It comes after Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick announced last month that undercover officers will video-call a uniformed sergeant to prove their identity if they ever need to stop a lone woman.

Concerns were raised after serving officer Wayne Couzens staged a fake arrest to kidnap, rape and murder marketing executive Sarah Everard, 33, while she was walking home in Clapham, south-west London.

Advice from the force for women who feel unsure about someone claiming to be a police officer to flag down a passing bus or run into someone's house was heavily criticised.

On Wednesday, Dame Cressida, 61, met with community groups from Lambeth and Southwark to discuss the force's plans to tackle violence against women and girls, boost the number of criminals brought to justice and also tackle sexual misconduct and domestic violence by its own officers and staff.

Scotland Yard will deploy undercover police officers outside clubs in a bid to reduce violence against women and girls. Pictured: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick

As part of the plan, the Met will pilot a scheme in the two boroughs where teams of plain-clothed and uniformed officers will be deployed together to identify predators near pubs, bars and clubs.

The idea is the undercover officers identify 'anyone who may be displaying predatory behaviour' in public spaces and ask uniformed colleagues to step in when needed.

Force chiefs have already deployed 650 officers into new town centre teams while patrols in open spaces and at transport hubs have been increased.

Dame Cressida said: 'This plan details how we will do more and better to keep women and girls safe.

'It brings together all of our work to prevent male violence against women and girls, in public spaces as well as domestic settings and online; to target perpetrators, and with the wider criminal justice service, to improve outcomes for victims.

'We will increase officers' skills and maximise the impact of key units such as our predatory offender units, town centre teams, and other specialist units, and further improve digital investigation, intelligence and the quality of case files.'

The Metropolitan Police unveiled the move as part of a wider action plan, stressing the plain-clothes officers will operate in pairs and will not go inside the venues (stock image)

Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick announced last month that undercover officers will video-call a uniformed sergeant to prove their identity if they ever need to stop a lone woman

'We want the public's views and will update the plan following this engagement.'

The action plan aims to increase the amount of perpetrators brought to justice for violence against women and girls and reduce the likelihood of women and girls becoming repeat victims.

The Metropolitan Police also hope that the plan will increase women's confidence in the police force and improve the reporting of crimes in London.

It comes as part of the Met Police's plans to step up police activity in a bid to prevent night-time violence, including through the trialling of Project Vigilant.

Project Vigilant was developed by Thames Valley Police to tackle predatory offending at night and is now being piloted in Lambeth and Southwark, where plain-clothed and uniformed officers will be deployed in busy night-time spots.

Meanwhile, the Walk and Talk initiative, which began in south London, is also being rolled out across the capital, with women joining officers on patrol to allow officers to hear their views first-hand.

Following the murder of Miss Everard, it was announced that undercover officers will video-call a uniformed sergeant to prove their identity if they ever need to stop a lone woman.

Scotland Yard ended a policy of allowing plainclothes officers to patrol alone after Couzens used it to stage the arrest of Miss Everard on March 3.

Couzens used his job, police-issued badge, belt and handcuffs to coax Sarah Everard into his car in London before raping and murdering her. He then set fire to her body in Kent woodland.

Couzens was sentenced in September, with his whole-life term being the first imposed for a single murder of an adult which was not committed in the course of a terror attack.

But a Court of Appeal official confirmed Couzens has lodged an appeal against his sentence, saying: 'An application (for permission to mount an appeal against sentence) has been lodged.'

Parm Sandhu, who left the Met Police two years ago, told BBC Radio 4's World At One: 'I think that women would hesitate now to get in a car with a lone police officer who's not in a uniform.

Serving officer Wayne Couzens staged a fake arrest to kidnap, rape and murder marketing executive Sarah Everard, 33, while she was walking home in Clapham, south-west London

'I've been contacted all morning by other women to say 'what should we do'?

'My advice is - and I've said this to my own family members is  if you're stopped by a lone police officer, comply, check that they've got body-worn video, if you're unhappy, phone up 999 and say I'm unhappy and I'm scared.

'Do not get into a car unless it's a marked police vehicle, and insist on them calling another officer or transport so that you can get into a marked police vehicle.

'Police officers can't not arrest women  they still have to arrest women who are on their own who are committing crimes. But, we now need to build in this extra issue, this extra precaution just to make people feel safe and secure.'

Meanwhile, nightclubs across the country have introduced drink covers after reports of victims being injected amid concerns over a spiking 'epidemic'.

Nightclubs across the country have introduced drink covers as another spiking victim reported being injected while out with friends, as thousands of campaigners boycotted bars in cities across the UK last night.

National police figures confirmed there have been almost 200 confirmed cases of drink spiking in September and October alone, with 24 reports of 'spiking injection'.

Britain's biggest nightclub chain Rekom UK, which runs more than 40 venues across the country, announced plans to introduce drink covers and body searches in response to growing concerns over a spiking 'epidemic'.

Durham's Klute nightclub has also taken similar measures, writing on Facebook: 'Customer safety is our number one priority, so we will now be supplying drink covers for anyone that requests one'.

The Girls Night In movement saw women and men avoid going out to bars and clubs last month in Manchester, Nottingham and Bristol as they demanded better safety measures for customers.

Hundreds of cases, including drink spiking and injections, have been reported in recent months, causing growing concerns of a spiking 'epidemic'.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said there have been 198 confirmed reports of drink spiking in September and October across various parts of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, plus 24 reports of some form of injection.

Following the murder of Miss Everard (pictured), it was announced undercover officers will video-call a uniformed sergeant to prove their identity if they ever need to stop a lone woman

Constable Harwin, said: 'We have now had responses from all forces across the UK in relation to incidents involving some form of injection, with a total of 56 confirmed reports from across September and October.

'Police forces are investigating incidents and continue to work with pubs and clubs to increase searches and guidance to staff. We will continue to analyse the reports and work with police forces, plus other law enforcement partners including the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs), as investigations develop to build a problem profile and determine any further action by police or venues.

'We would encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim or witness to spiking, in any form, to contact their local police force. Any reports of spiking will be investigated and taken seriously. You should try and report it to police as quickly as possible to help officers carry out tests and gather the best evidence.'

According to the US National Center for Biotechnology Information Rohypnol and GHB are two of the most prominent 'date rape' drugs used by criminals.

According to the NCBI, with GHB, having as little as 2g of the drug - which is often a powder that can be mixed in an alcoholic drink - can result in deep sleep within minutes.

The half-life of the drug is 27 minutes and is almost impossible to detect after 96 hours.

Experts warn that Rohypnol is also a powerful sedative with legitimate uses as a pre-anaesthetic or a sleeping pill.

Used as a date rape drug, it can start affecting a victim within ten minutes and reaches a peak some eight hours later.

It comes after national police figures confirmed there have been almost 200 confirmed cases of drink spiking in September and October. Pictured: Anti-spiking protestors in Manchester

It is colourless, odourless and tasteless and causes sedation or euphoria within 20 to 30 minutes of ingestion.

Last month, it was also reported that a new emergency number to help protect lone women could be in operation by Christmas.

The 'walk me home service' is being developed in response to public outrage over the murder of Sarah Everard.

It would allow the vulnerable to have their journeys tracked, triggering an alert if they failed to reach home in time.

Priti Patel has approved the proposal submitted earlier this week by BT, which has run the 999 service for 84 years.

In a letter to the Home Secretary, chief executive Philip Jansen said technology should be used to tackle male violence.

He said it might cost as little as 50million and could be up and running by Christmas.

Miss Patel said last month: 'This new phone line is exactly the kind of innovative scheme which would be good to get going as soon as we can. I'm now looking at it with my team and liaising with BT.'

Users would download a mobile phone app and enter their home address and other favourite destinations. Before a journey they would call or text 888  or initiate the app  giving an estimate of how many minutes they expected to take.

The journey would be tracked by the phone's GPS system with the app sending a message to check the user had got home.

A failure to respond would trigger calls to emergency contacts and, finally, to the police.

Mr Jansen said the non-profit service could be used by anybody who feels vulnerable when walking home and not just women.
Tributes have been paid to a teenage couple who died in a crash outside their army barracks while travelling to a Halloween party.

Jack Paolucci, 19, and his fiancee Courtney Jennings, 18, who both served in the British Army, died when a Renault Clio they were travelling in veered off the road near Tidworth last Friday night.

The pair were both based at the military barracks in Tidworth, Wiltshire, and had spent weeks preparing their Halloween outfits they were wearing at the time of the crash.

Today, the parents of Ms Jennings paid tribute to their 'beautiful' and 'selfless' daughter and said 'we will forever miss our angel.'

Jack Paolucci (left), 19, and Courtney Jennings (right), 18, who both served in the British Army, died when a car they were travelling in veered off the road near Tidworth

Ms Jennings graduated in September 2020 and was part of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) corps.

Her family - from Staffordshire - say they have been left heartbroken by her loss, describing her as having an infectious laugh and had made everyone proud by following her aspirations of joining the army.

Two other passengers remain in hospital, with one, a 27-year-old man, in a stable but critical condition.

In a statement released by Wiltshire Police, the family of Ms Jennings said: 'Courtney lost her life far too soon.

'No parent should ever find themselves in this situation, but through all our heartache we have the memories of our daughter that will forever keep our hearts bright.

'Courtney was 14 when she decided she was going to join the Army, and through her own aspersion and determination she succeeded and left home at 16 to join Harrogate Foundation college to achieve her dreams.

'She made herself proud, and all around her as proud of her as they could be. She has the brightest smile and infectious laugh.

'Once she started you could not help joining in. She was selfless with the kindest heart and was extremely close to her family. She always showed her love to everyone.

The couple died when the Renault Clio they were travelling in veered off the road near Tidworth last Friday night. Pictured: GV of the road

'Courtney was determined and sometimes stubborn, but always saw the bigger picture. When she met Jack she was the happiest that we'd ever seen her. Jack truly looked after her, and that was reassuring to us as parents.

'Speaking to her on FaceTime on Friday she was beaming about them going out to a nightclub together to celebrate Halloween. Her costume took weeks to prepare.

'Unfortunately, she never made it and that breaks our hearts. We were really looking forward to her sending us pictures of the night.

'She sent us pictures before they left and she looked so beautiful. We will forever hold that in our thoughts. We cannot believe that we will never get to hear her voice or hug her again.

'It is absolutely tragic, and we will forever miss our angel.'

After the crash, two other men, aged 19 and 27, were taken to the regional major trauma centre at Southmead Hospital in Bristol with life-threatening injuries.

One was taken there via air ambulance.

A 29-year-old man suffered serious injuries, and the other occupant of the vehicle, a 20-year-old man, suffered minor injuries.

Fire crews from Dorset and Wiltshire and Rescue Service and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service all attended the incident.

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: 'At approximately 10pm we responded to the road traffic collision involving a Renault Clio which had struck a tree after leaving the road.'

The circumstances of the collision remain part of an ongoing investigation and anyone with any information is asked to call 101 and quote reference number 54210105760.
Two Oklahoma police officers have been charged with helping conceal evidence of a gang-related shooting involving a former officer who pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegally purchasing a gun for her boyfriend.

Lt. Marcus Harper and Officer Ananias Carson III have been charged as accessories to a felony after the fact, said Rogers County District Attorney Matt Ballard, who was appointed to the case when the Tulsa County district attorney recused himself from the case.

Harper declined comment to KTUL-TV. Court documents do not list an attorney who could speak on Carsons behalf.

They were both arrested Tuesday afternoon and were released after each posted $50,000 bond.

Harper, the husband of Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, and Carson went to the apartment of then-Officer Latoya Dythe on August 24, 2020, after the younger brother of her boyfriend, Devon Jones, was involved in what police said was a gang-related shooting while using Dythe's vehicle, an affidavit states.

Lt. Marcus Harper (left) and Officer Ananias Carson (right) were charged Tuesday, November 2, as accessories after the fact in what police say was a gang-related shooting

Johnathan Jones, Devon's younger brother, asked to take Dythe's car to Walmart and quickly grabbed his brother's firearm when he saw his friend and reputed gang member Edward Townsell arm himself while walking out the door, he told police according to the report.

Court documents do not list if Johnathan or Devon are gang members. However a social media account listed to Devon Jones is full of 'pictures of gang-associated items and has alluded in a comment to being a member of the same family of gangs as Townsell', according to Tulsa World.

Johnathan and Townsell ended up at the Kwik Stop convenience store where they were caught in a shootout with unidentified members of a rival gang, according to the affidavit.

Johnathan immediately returned to Dythe's apartment, leaving three or four cartridge casing in the dashboard and drivers seat floor board, he reported to police.

Dythe then contacted Harper and Carson in off-duty or unreported capacities.

Harper and Carson allegedly 'crawled around' while searching Dythe's vehicle and removed evidence before advising her to officially report the shooting, according to the affidavit.

Dythe told officers that she didn't see Harper and Carson remove anything from her car but she assumed they did. Carson insists that he did not enter the vehicle until officers responded to Dythe's call and Harper 'vehemently' denied taking any evidence from the car, according to the affidavit.

Harper and Carson told Dythe's boyfriend and his brother to dispose of the weapons used in the shooting, leave Tulsa and not disclose that they were at Dythe's apartment, then failed to reveal to investigators they had gone to Dythe's apartment, the document says.

Devon told officers Harper told him and his brother: 'You don't need to worry about us (Harper and Carson). You need to be worried about them (other members of TPD).'

Dythe called the police department three hours after the Jones brothers, Harper, and Carson left her apartment; Carson, who lives in the same apartment complex came to 'assist' searching the car while off-duty (no cartridge casings were found in the vehicle), the affidavit states.

Carson also allegedly deleted large amounts of evidence from his phone before it was taken into custody.

Harper later informed the department that he went to Dythe's apartment and took the first half of his shift off that day- which his supervisors claimed they did not remember approving- after he learned that Dythe's phone and home would be searched.

Townsell and Johnathan were initially charged in Tulsa County District Court each with one count of shooting with intent to kill. Their charges have since been amended to use of a vehicle in discharge of a weapon. Both men are scheduled for a jury trial in late January 2022.

Former Officer Latoya Dythe was sentenced to five years probation and a $1,000 fine after she pled guilty to illegally making false statements to a firearms dealer to purchase a gun for her boyfriend

Devon Jones was charged as a co-conspirator with Dythe in the indictment. It has not been determined in the gun Dythe illegally purchased for Devon was used by his younger brother in a gang-related shooting last year

Dythe was sentenced to five years probation and a $1,000 fine in August after she plead guilty to conspiracy to make a false statement to a firearms dealer and to false statement to a firearms dealer for purchasing a gun for Devon at a Bass Pro Shop.

Devon was charged as a co-conspirator with Dythe in the indictment and could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for early January.

It has not been confirmed if the gun Johnathan used in the shooting was the same firearm Dythe illegally purchased for Devon.

Harper and Carson, who were initially placed on paid leave, are now on unpaid leave, said Police Chief Wendell Franklin.

Harper joined the Tulsa Police Department in 1995 most recently serving as a Major Crimes Unit supervisor and previously as the president of the Black Officers Coalition.

Carson has been with the department since 2006 most recently working as a patrol officer in the Riverside Division.
A man is facing a possible life sentence after admitting possessing explosive substances.

Michael Pym-Nixson came to the attention of police after paramedics visited his flat in Kingston Upon Thames, south-west London, and treated his hand for burn injuries on the night of March 19.

After raiding the 54-year-old's home, counter-terrorism officers discovered black powder and other materials for explosives on March 22.

Michael Pym-Nixson, 54, today pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to two counts of possessing explosive substances

Pym-Nixson, of Kingston Upon Thames, south-west London, suffered burns to his hands on March 19 while handling explosive materials in his flat. He will be sentenced on December 10

Today, Pym-Nixson pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to two counts of possessing explosive substances contrary to Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883.

Prosecuting counsel Thomas Payne said: 'There is a history of mental health problems and drug abuse which impacts on the picture.'

Pym-Nixson was remanded into custody for sentencing on December 10.

He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, Mr Payne told the court.

Judge Gregory Perrins ordered a pre-sentence report, adding: 'I am not going to sentence you today, I would like to know a little bit more about you.

'You will come back in five weeks' time. You understand a custodial sentence is inevitable, but you will find out on that day how long it will be.'
Greta Thunberg was seen walking alone today after promising to go 'net zero' on swearing as Extinction Rebellion protestors were arrested during COP26 clashes with police.

The Swedish activist, 18, strolled into a debate alone on Wednesday, much to the surprise of police and security officials who had been expecting her in a car.

Greta, who is in Glasgow to raise climate change awareness as the COP26 summit gets underway, chatted on the phone as she arrived at the meeting wearing purple trousers, a green waterproof jacket, and a colourful green face mask.

Stella McCartney and Leonardo DiCaprio were also at the venue where the New York Times had invited her to speak.

Meanwhile, two Extinction Rebellion protestors were arrested during clashes with police officers near the SEC Centre in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Greta Thunberg strolled into a debate alone on Wednesday, much to the surprise of police and security officials who had been expecting her in a car

The Swedish activist, 18, chatted on the phone as she arrived at the meeting wearing purple trousers, a green waterproof jacket, and a colourful green face mask

It comes after Greta announced on Twitter that she would go 'net zero' on swearing after turning the air blue on multiple occasions

Her appearance comes after Greta announced that she would go 'net zero' on swearing after turning the air blue on multiple occasions.

She recently spoke about people being 'p****d off' by protests and was also filmed singing 'You can shove your climate crisis up your a**e' while outside COP26.

But Greta, who is accompanied by PR advisers and supporters where ever she travels, today made a tongue-in-cheek pledge to compensate for her use of bad language.

She pledged to go 'net-zero' - a term commonly used by those aiming to balance out the harm they cause on the environment - by 'saying something nice' every time she swears.

Announcing her pledge to her five million followers on Twitter, the 18-year-old said: 'I am pleased to announce that I've decided to go net-zero on swear words and bad language.

'In the event that I should say something inappropriate, I pledge to compensate that by saying something nice.'

Meanwhile, two Extinction Rebellion protestors were arrested during clashes with police officers in Glasgow on Wednesday

Extinction Rebellion climate activists are kettled by police officers during protests in Glasgow city centre during day four of the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference

On St Vincent Street, police and demonstrators were seen clashing as the two-week-long Cop26 summit got underway

Scuffles broke out during a demonstration outside the SSE energy company near the Charing X end of the city centre. Pictured: Protestors in Glasgow on Wednesday

A protester is seen next to an indigenous delegate outside the COP26 Summit on Wednesday as world leaders met to discuss climate change

It comes after the teen campaigner was filmed leading protesters in a chant of 'you can shove your climate crisis up your a***' at COP26 in newly emerged video from her rally on Monday.

Outside in Festival Park, Miss Thunberg gave a passionate and foul-mouthed speech, telling demonstrators: 'Inside Cop, there are just politicians and people in power pretending to take our future seriously... No more blah blah blah, no more whatever the f*** they are doing inside there!'

As heads of Government from around the world discussed what could be done to save the planet from ruin, the Swedish eco activist appeared to lay the blame for looming natural disasters squarely on them as she riled up her fellow activists with a chant of: 'You can shove your climate crisis up your a***'.

A Scottish attendee had appeared to suggest singing 'you can shove your rules up your a***' before Miss Thunberg put her own spin on the popular melody of 'She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain When She Comes'.

It was the second time in a week that Miss Thunberg had turned the air blue, after letting out an expletive on the BBC.

The activist was being interviewed by Andrew Marr when she was asked about the recent protests by eco-zealots Insulate Britain.

She said: 'To make clear, as long as no-one gets hurt, then I think sometimes you need to anger some people.

'Like, for instance, the school strike movement would never have become so big if there wasn't friction, if some people didn't get p***ed off.'

Police said two arrests were made after officers were sprayed with paint. Pictured: Protesters are seen wearing masks of world leaders at an anti-meat protest outside the COP26 Summit

As world leaders meet to discuss climate change at the Summit, many climate action groups have taken to the streets to protest for real progress to be made to reduce carbon emissions

A protester dressed as a character named Displaced Dora during an Extinction Rebellion protest on Wednesday

Protesters are seen wearing masks of world leaders at an anti-meat protest outside the COP26 Summit on Wednesday

Hundreds of police officers were deployed to contain protesters at the Cop26 climate change summit. Pictured: Protester points to fake 20 notes during an Extinction Rebellion protest

Flares were also set off outside JP Morgan bank in Glasgow on Wednesday. Pictured: Protesters are seen during an Extinction Rebellion protest in the city

But the recorded pre-watershed broadcaster prompted complaints from viewers, with one saying: 'Did Greta just say 'p***ed off' on the BBC several hours before the watershed? It's not live, so not sure why the BBC didn't edit it.'

Another insisted: 'Erm 'p***ed off' is unacceptable according to Ofcom pre-watershed.'

But a third tweeted: 'Greta saying 'p***ed off' on the BBC - good on you girl - getting your point over.'

The teen campaigner is due to speak tonight at a high-brow climate event with the New York Times titled 'News Travels Fast - The Media's Role in Covering Climate Change.'

She is speaking alongside Professor Michael Mann of Pennsylvania University, Rebecca Blumenstein the deputy managing editor of the paper and Ugandan climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate.

Elsewhere, two Extinction Rebellion activists were arrested in Glasgow after hundreds of police officers were deployed to contain protesters at the Cop26 climate change summit.

Scuffles broke out during a demonstration outside the SSE energy company near the Charing X end of the city centre.

A protester dressed as a tree is seen during an Extinction Rebellion protest on Wednesday in Glasgow

Members of the Red Brigade, who were created by Bristol street performance group the Invisible Circus and silently appear at XR protests, were seen in Glasgow on Sunday

Police in Glasgow had been preparing for widespread protests across the city during the three weeks that the climate change summit is underway

The Red Brigade often mime in slow-motion and paint their faces while to portray 'living statues'. The group joined XR's protests last year

Protesters are seen holding signs about 'greenwash services' during an Extinction Rebellion protest on November 3

Police expect to make 300 arrests a day during the COP26 summit. Pictured: Group of Extinction Rebellion protestors on Wednesday

On St Vincent Street, police and demonstrators, who brandished placards and banners, were seen clashing as world leaders met to discuss climate change at the nearby SEC Centre.

Activists tried to force their way into the building and were stopped by private security and police officers.

But the demonstrators locked themselves to each other outside.

Police said the arrests were made after officers were sprayed with paint.

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: 'During one of these protests, a number of officers were assaulted after being sprayed with paint.

'Two arrests have been made in relation to this so far and cans of spray paint have been seized.

'We will protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest or counter-protest at COP26, balanced against the rights of the wider community.

'We will provide a proportionate policing response to any protest and violence will not be tolerated.

'Assaults on officers, who put their safety at risk every day to keep the public safe and have adopted a facilitative and rights-based approach to protest, is totally unacceptable.'

Earlier in the day, flares were also set off outside JP Morgan bank on the same city street.

Amid the COP26 Summit, climate action groups are protesting for real progress to be made on cleaning up the oceans, reducing fossil fuel use and other issues relating to global heating

Police will deploy specially trained officers equipped with high-tech devices to bring down rogue drones amid the summit. Pictured: Protestors at an anti-meat protest in Glasgow

Climate change protesters are seen carrying placards reading 'stop climate crime' during an Extinction Rebellion protest on Wednesday

Police in Glasgow had been preparing for widespread protests across the city during the three weeks that the climate change summit is underway.

An average of 10,000 officers from Police Scotland and forces around Britain will be on duty every day during the conference.

In Glasgow, a ring of steel is being erected around the conference site on the north bank of the River Clyde as security forces brace for threats to the heads of state in attendance and potential disruption from climate change protesters.

And police will even deploy specially trained officers equipped with high-tech devices that can bring down rogue drones using electromagnetic pulses.

Police expect to make 300 arrests a day but sources warned if the number gets much higher, custody suites will be overwhelmed.

Earlier today, around 40 police, including officers from Scotland Yard, seized a giant inflatable Loch Ness Monster near COP26.

Glasgow police were joined by Metropolitan Police officers and some from Merseyside on the raid. They were backed up by coastguard personnel.

The target was the 'Loch Ness Debt Monster', a 13ft high and 26ft long inflatable which had been commissioned by campaigners pressing COP26 to ease debt for poorer nations.

The giant toy had being situated beside the River Clyde - with permission - on private land owned by The Govan Wetlands Project since yesterday.

A group of protestors dressed as Ghostbusters and carried signs and costumes reading 'Greenwash busters' during the demonstrations

Police and demonstrators clashed during an Extinction Rebellion protest in Glasgow amid the Cop26 summit on Wednesday

A protester is seen next to an indigenous delegate outside the COP26 Summit on November 3 in Glasgow

Protesters are seen wearing masks of world leaders at an anti-meat protest outside the COP26 Summit on Wednesday

It was about half a mile from the venue for the summit, and campaigners had no plans to take it up the river. But police swooped at breakfast time and 'arrested' the toy.

Senior police officers told activists from the Jubilee Debt Campaign 'Nessie' was being seized under section 20 of the police and fire reform act.

JDC executive director Ms Heidi Chow said: 'I think that was completely overreaction, and over policing for a non violent harmless stunt to raise the issue of debt to address the climate crisis.

'This is a sad reflection of the way that debt is being sidelined in the main COP26 negotiations. They told us that waterways are all restricted because of COP26.

'It appears to me that our Nessie was seized under section 20 of police and fire reform act in suspicion of crime and that crime was simply being placed on restricted waters.

'We were not going to take the inflatable up the river.

'It is a bit ridiculous that there were so many police officers here. There were even some from Norfolk.'

Another activist said: 'All we want to do is highlight the debt that nations though.

'They seem to have bad talk about it at COP26 so at least we have a debate outside here. They didn't need to take Nessie though.'

One activist on Twitter said: 'We came this morning to inflate the Loch Ness Debt Monster and raise the importance of global South debt for the climate crisis.

UK chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled wide-ranging proposals to 'rewire' the economy towards reducing global warming. Pictured: Protestors during an XR demonstration

Earlier today, around 40 police, including officers from Scotland Yard, seized a a 13ft high and 26ft long inflatable Loch Ness Monster near COP26 set up by campaigners

Members of the Red Brigade are seen during an Extinction Rebellion protest on November 3

A group of protestors dressed as Ghostbusters and carried signs and costumes reading 'Greenwash busters' during the demonstrations

Instead the police impounded Nessie and tried to block our message, just like debt is being blocked from the COP26 discussions!'

But asked if the number of officers who attended amounted to overkill, a Police Scotland spokesperson responded: 'Officers seized a large inflatable due to be launched on the River Clyde as it breached the maritime restrictions in place to maintain public safety and security close to the COP26 venue.'

It comes as UK chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled wide-ranging proposals to 'rewire' the economy towards reducing global warming.

The package will see trillions of pounds of assets controlled by the City of London redirected away from carbon-intensive sectors like coal and oil towards initiatives such as electric car batteries.

It will also impose requirements on all UK-listed companies to set out proposals to 'transition' towards net zero in the coming decades, with firms assessed annually against their published plans.

Those that fail to make enough progress, or whose plans are deemed too weak, could face sanctions including fines or even removal from the stock exchange.

Critics of Mr Sunak's plans fear they could lead to firms quitting the City of London to avoid the red tape.

Campaigners marched across the streets of Glasgow on Wednesday and were met by a high police presence after hundreds of officers were deployed

Police officers in high-vis jackets were seen completely surrounding a group of Extinction Rebellion protestors marching down Glasgow's St Vincent Street on Wednesday

Protesters are seen during an Extinction Rebellion protest on Wednesday as world leaders met to discuss global warming and climate change

Welsh Police officers with colleagues from around the UK wait for protesters at the entrance of the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow where the Cop26 summit is being held

The move comes after years of uncertainty for the financial centre in the wake of Brexit and the upheaval caused by Covid-19, which among other factors has seen millions of employees working from home rather than the heart of the City.

Ministers hope the scheme will lead to a rapid shift away from investment in polluting industries and help drive progress towards the Government's target of making the UK carbon neutral by 2050.

The Treasury said the plan would make the City 'the world's first net zero-aligned financial centre'.

But the compulsion is likely to prove controversial with some, and could have big consequences for firms in sectors such as oil, gas and mining  BP, Shell and mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore are among those listed in London.

The Confederation of British Industry gave the idea a cautious welcome last night, saying that business was already 'upping its game'. But the trade body warned it was vital ministers work with colleagues abroad to produce 'globally consistent' rules to prevent British-based firms being penalised.

City veteran Alasdair Haynes, chief executive of stock exchange Aquis, said it was 'good that climate disclosures are put into companies' reports and accounts', but warned: 'You have to have proportionality.

'A lot of fast-growing companies are facing high costs to complete their reporting, especially when you look at the detail of what's needed.'
A four-year-old Australian girl abducted from a campsite and missing for 18 days was discovered 'alive and well' during a raid on a locked house.

The dramatic rescue, which was filmed by Australian Police, has provided hope for the parents of Madeleine McCann, who has been missing since May 3, 2007.

Kate and Gerry McCann, 53, have continued the search for their daughter who turned 18 in May. The Metropolitan Police are continuing to treat Madeleine's disappearance as a missing person's enquiry.

A source close to the family said: 'Kate and Gerry knew about the case which has had a lot of publicity here and like many people were willing the child to be found safe and well.

'Its the news every parent of a missing child hopes and prays for no matter how long it has been.'

Sources close to Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing Madeleine said the couple have taken hope from the successful operation to find a four-year-old Australian girl, Cleo Smith, who was missing for 18 days

Cleo Smith, pictured, was kidnapped from her family's tent while on holiday in remote Western Australia. Police found the youngster following a tip off

Madeleine McCann, pictured, went missing while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3, 2007

The source told The Sun: 'They are thankful that she had been found, and share her parents joy and relief at the outcome.'

Madeleine McCann went missing while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz. The Metropolitan Police continues to treat her case as a missing persons inquiry, although German police suspect the youngster was murdered.

They suspect convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, who was in the area, is responsible for Madeleine's disappearance.

Cleo Smith was dubbed the 'Aussie Maddie' after she went missing from her family's tent in Western Australia on October 16.

The suspected abduction prompted a massive search which ended on a raid on a home in Carnarvon - a short drive from where the youngster vanished.

Detective Cameron Blaine, one of four officers who raided the home said: 'One of the guys jumped in front of me and picked her up.'

Blaine said that after the initial shock he asked the little girl her name three times before receiving her electrifying response: 'My name is Cleo.'

Police admitted 'seasoned detectives' were 'openly crying with relief' at the discovery and when Cleo was reunited with her parents at a hospital a short time later.

Her mother Ellie took to social media to express her relief. 'Our family is whole again,' she posted on Instagram under a photo of Cleo.

Police later released an image of the beaming youngster on a hospital bed holding an ice pop, waving and smiling.

Officers said she was in good spirits and bouncing around like 'a little energizer bunny.'

'It's very rare. It's something we all hoped in our hearts, and it's come true,' police deputy commissioner Col Blanch said.
Fox's Tucker Carlson claimed those imprisoned for their involvement in the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill are being tortured while waiting for trial.

In the latest episode of his new series, Patriot Purge, Carlson called the rioters 'American prisoners of war' and said the US has moved away from arresting foreign terrorist to focus on the ones at home.

'Suddenly America has political prisoners, American citizens. Some of whom committed no violence whatsoever on January 6, remain rotting in pre-trial detention in one of the worst jails in the country,' Carlson said in episode three of his documentary on Fox Nation.

Tucker Carlson claimed January 6 riot poisoners were being beaten and tortured by prison guards in politically motivated arrests in the latest episode of his Patriot's Purge series

Richard Barnett claims he and other prisoners were abused by guards at a Capitol prison

Carlson has controversially labeled those who took part in the January 6 riots are patriots

All three parts of Tucker Carlson Originals: Patriot Purge are available to stream now on @FoxNation.



Plus, watch the first five minutes of Part 3 and get free access to all Tucker shows and Fox Nation for 90 days exclusively on https://t.co/sLkXnGKCFd pic.twitter.com/bN7lojrgKd  Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) November 3, 2021

Carlson, who has received backlash for the controversial series, focused the episode on Richard Barnett, 61, who was photographed sitting on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk during the riot.

Barnett, from Gravette, Arkansas, called himself a political prisoner as he waits for trial inside his home.

'I've been physically abused. I've been slammed face-first on the concrete,' Barnett said.

'I had inmates wanting to stab me. They're telling me they're going to kill me. One of the guards at one point even threatened to come here and harm my wife... I'm not saying this for pity, I'm a strong man. You did not hurt my spirit.'

Barnett was released from a Washington D.C. jail after he claimed he was beaten by prison guards, held in 'disgusting unsanitary conditions' filled with black mold for 23 hours a day and denied medical help when he believed he was having a heart attack.

On another alleged occasion, a prison guard 'made a sexually threatening comment' toward him, the letter reads.

The guard then allegedly called Richard's wife by her first name and 'told Richard that he was going to get on a plane to Arkansas where he would sexually assault her as well,' his lawyer, Joseph McBride said.

In a third alleged incident, Barnett claims he was slammed into the concrete floor for asking a staff member to wear a mask in compliance with the COVID-19 rules in the jail.

Richard Barnett gained notoriety for the photo of him on US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's desk during the Capitol riot

Barnett was pictured going through Pelosi's desk

Five people died in the confrontation between rioters and Capitol police on January 6

Barnett flashed his ankle monitor after he was allowed to be in house arrest pending his trial

Barnett also claimed to have witness guards beating fellow Capitol rioter Ryan Samsel, who he claims was bound with zip ties and had a bag put over his head.

McBride compared Barnett's situation to those who were imprisoned by the US during the War on Terror.

'The DC facility where January 6ers are being held is Guantanamo Bay for American citizens,' McBride told Carlson.

Joseph McBride, the attorney representing Richard Barnett

'Now you have a group of people who went to exercise their constitutional rights in January 6 who are being held, absent due process, in a federal prison, for an undetermined period of time.'

McBride said the alleged treatment of Capitol rioters was politically motivated due to the 'left hunting the right.'

McBride had made an 'emergency request' on the Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union to help Barnett and the other men who were held in the prison under the alleged conditions.

The request included Samsel, Edward Jacob Lang, Scott Fairlamb and Emmanuel Jackson.

It said the Capitol rioters are held in a separate area of the jail dubbed the 'Patriot Unit,' which was previously defunct and was reopened specifically to house the people suspected in the January 6 attack.

'This is unprecedented, unconstitutional, un-American, offensive to all standards of common decency, illegal, and wrong,' the letter reads.

The DC Central Detention Facility did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.

The allegations were made in an 'emergency request' by Barnett's attorney Joseph D. McBride calling on Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union to investigate the treatment and alleged 'human rights violations' of Capitol rioters at the jail (above)

The riots took part as supporters of former President Donald Trump tried to stop the congressional certification of Joe Biden after the 2020 elections

Barnett is currently awaiting trial on several charges, including: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; entering and remaining in certain rooms in a capitol building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building; theft of government property; and obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting.

Carlson also interviewed, Micki Babbitt, the mother of Ashli Babbitt, one the rioters and one of the five people who died on January 6 when an officer shot her amid the chaos.

The teary-eyed Babbitt mourned her daughter's death criticized the media's portrayal of her as an 'insurrectionist'

Micki Babbitt, pictured, mourned the loss of her daughter, Ashli Babbitt

Ashli Babbitt, 35, was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer during the January 6 riot at the Capitol. The officer was exonerated of any wrongdoing

'When you wake up in the morning, there's a split second where you don't remember your child is dead and you sort of have to relieve it every single day,' Babbitt said.

Ashli, 35, was the only rioter killed on January 6 when the officer - who hasn't been named - opened fire at a mob of Trump supporters as they stormed through the Rotunda.

The commander of the Capitol Police's Office of Personal Responsibility said 'no further action will be taken in this matter' as the officer was exonerated, according to a memo obtained by NBC News

Ashli, an Air Force veteran, served multiple Middle East tours from 2004 to 2016.
The unsuspecting neighbors of slain drug kingpin Alberto 'Alpo' Martinez say that he lived a simple life in a modest Maine apartment and worked in construction, but some wondered how he afforded a fleet of vehicles that included a luxury sedan, Harley Davidson motorcycle and his 'souped-up' pickup truck.

Neighbors of Alberto 'Alpo' Martinez say they were surprised to learn the man who lived in a humble first-floor apartment in Lewiston was actually one of New York City's most notorious drug dealers.

Martinez, who was in witness protection for ratting out fellow drug dealers, was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting in Harlem after returning to his old haunts.

The 55-year-old had been living under witness protection after being released from prison in 2015 in a humble three-bedroom apartment in Lewiston, Maine (pictured)

Neighbors of Alberto 'Alpo' Martinez (pictured Left) say they were surprised to learn he was actually one of New York City's most notorious drug dealers

Martinez ran a drug ring that spanned from New York to Washington dealing cocaine and crack in the 1980s

The 55-year-old who the neighbors knew as Abraham Rodriguez had been given a new identity by the feds after being released from prison in 2015. He was serving a 35-year sentence at ADX Florence, a federal supermax prison in Colorado.

Following his death, his neighbors said it was 'surreal' to discover 'Abraham' was actually Alpo Martinez.

His upstairs neighbor Kaileigh Tara told the Lewiston Sun Journal that she didn't believe reports that the 'friendly' guy next door was the same man on the news until she saw pictures of 'his souped-up truck' shot up on the streets of Harlem, and that's when it dawned on her.

'Oh, my God, that's Abraham's truck!' she said she yelled.

Tara said the last time she saw Martinez was about two to three weeks ago when he packed up his belongings in a U-Haul.

'Then he drove off and that was the last of it,' Tara said.

Sunday's shooting took place on Frederick Douglass Boulevard and West 147 Street in Harlem

Martinez was killed last Sunday in a Harlem drive-by shooting after returning to his old Harlem Haunts

A Jay-Z produced film called Paid in Full was made in which rapper/actor Cam'Ron portrayed Martinez

Neighbors said that in the six years he lived in the Lewiston apartment he was a constant presence who always had multiple women around and that he was known to take frequent trips to New York as well as welcome visitors form the city, including kids.

Neighbors noted that the people who would visit usually had very nice cars and his upstairs neighbor Tara says she found herself questioning how he could afford his nice truck, luxury sedan and Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

One person who lived in a neighboring building said he was a bit of a recluse but still loyal.

'He kept to himself a lot,' Harold Hanlon told the Sun Journal, but 'he'd do anything for you.'

Despite spending big money for his vehicles, Martinez's three-bedroom apartment was sparsely furnished and barely decorated aside from a security system, Tara said.

Neighbors knew Martinez worked at a Pepsi distributor warehouse before getting into construction work, including a business that cleared out commercial space, the Sun Journal reported.

They said his most recent job was hanging Sheetrock in Scarborough and that he would come home looking like he put in long hours on the job.

Lance Brown, another of Martinez's neighbors, told the Sun Journal that every time he ran into Martinez he always asked 'How ya doing, neighbor?' and 'Can I help you in some way?'

Brown said that when he broke his leg, Martinez cooked meals for him and sent pizza to the hobbled neighbor.

'You couldn't have asked for a better neighbor,' Brown said.

Martinez ran a drug ring that spanned from New York to Washington dealing cocaine and crack in the 1980s.

After his 1991 arrest, he would eventually confess to 14 murders before becoming a government witness.

Martinez has had a minor influence on pop culture, immortalized by rapper and actor Cam'ron's portrayal of him in the 2002 Jay Z-produced movie Paid in Full.

Jay Z, Nas and 50 Cent have all written songs referencing Martinez.
A Republican truck driver who spent just $153 on his campaign may manage a stunning upset victory against the longest-serving legislative leader in New Jersey history in the state's elections on Tuesday.

The defeat could be another embarrassing upset for the Democrats following a night where they lost the Virginia gubernatorial election, struggled in the race for New Jersey governor and performed dismally in votes across the country.

As of Wednesday afternoon, GOP candidate Ed Durr was leading Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney in South New Jersey's 3rd Legislative District by 52 percent of the vote to 48.

Sweeney, an Ironworks union official and one of the most powerful politicians in the state, has been a state senator for nearly two decades. He became Senate President in 2010.

Durr, 58, is employed as a truck driver for furniture store Raymour & Flanigan. He grew up in South Jersey and has three children and six grandchildren.

Out of the $153, he spent $66.64 at Dunkin Donuts to buy food and drinks for his 'staff' and $86.67 for flyers and business cards.

Sweeney was also floated as a possible 2024 gubernatorial candidate, before facing a possible loss now.

But it appears now that Sweeney - who spent millions in 2017 on one of the most expensive state legislative races in US history - was bested by a trucker who only spent about $153 to try and unseat him.

Sweeney's likely defeat is shaping up to be part of a wider rebellion of suburban and working-class Americans against Democrats. The incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murphy is just barely ahead of his Republican challenger in a race that polls had indicated would be a blue landslide.

Durr posted a photo of himself to social media going to vote on Tuesday, hours before his potential victory

The 58-year-old truck driver appears to have shot his campaign video with very little assistance

And unexpected outcomes across local and state races have forced the state's Senate Democrats to postpone a leadership conference - until after they can figure out who survived the competition.

'Due to the closeness of several State Senate elections, the leadership caucus scheduled for tomorrow will be delayed,' Sweeney had announced in a statement. 'The caucus will be rescheduled once the result of every Senate election is determined.

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney is one of the most powerful elected officials in the state

It can even be seen in Virginia, where Republican first-time candidate Glenn Youngkin won the gubernatorial race against a former governor, Democratic powerhouse Terry McAuliffe.

He's never held elected office but said in a past interview that he was spurred to run in his blue collar and predominantly white area by being unable to get a concealed carry permit.

The trucker launched a failed bid for New Jersey's lower house in 2019.

But now for the first time since 2002, his legislative district will be represented by a pro-Second Amendment conservative Republican, rather than a Democrat who once reportedly called New Jersey's former GOP Governor Chris Christie a 'rotten bastard.'

Durr's campaign video, which he appears to have shot himself, paints Sweeney as complacent to Governor Murphy's actions leading the state through the COVID-19 pandemic and its high property taxes.

'In 2020, my opponent sat by and watched as Governor Murphy forced nursing homes to take in COVID-19 patients, resulting in the death of over 8,000 of our seniors,' Durr says while walking through a cemetery in broad daylight.

'He remained silent as Governor Murphy, with his lockdown and mandates, forced the closing of over one third of our small businesses costing New Jersey families thousands of jobs.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli has run a surprisingly competitive race against incumbent Governor Phil Murphy

'He has done nothing, as seven out of every ten moves are leaving the state, placing a heavier burden on those of us who remain. The Senate president has spent 20 years in Trenton - higher taxes, increasing debt and a rising cost of living. We deserve better. New Jersey, it's time for a change.'

Durr described himself to Politico as a 'constitutional conservative' who has backed cutting an array of different taxes for 'businesses to grow' and supports federal legislation to ban abortion.

He's also advocated for lowering the state's property taxes - the highest in the nation - which is also a frequent issue brought into the race by Murphy's challenger for governor, former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli.

Murphy has never sought to defend himself against the accusation, instead choosing to point out the quality of education, healthcare and other civil services those taxes can afford.

It may be why he and other Democrats were in tight spots on Tuesday.

Durr told Politico he picked up on feelings of discontent and distrust among South Jersians with the way Democrats were running the state.

'Just the constant nepotism, corruption, "if you take care of me, I'll take care of you" deals,' Durr said. 'You don't have evidence, you can't get anyone arrested or prove anything, but there's always "when there's smoke there's fire" kind of statements.'
US drone operators have been cleared of not spotting a child who was inside a Kabul compound two minutes before launching a bombing that killed 10 innocent people.

After an independent investigation conducted by the Department of the Air Force Inspector General, the Pentagon admitted Wednesday that the child, who was not identified, could be seen in video footage analyzed during the probe mere minutes before the August 29 drone strike.

The attack killed 43-year-old US aid worker Zemari Ahmadi and 9 members of his family - including 7 children.

Despite the shocking death toll, the classified probe concluded that the mismanaged campaign was not the result of misconduct or negligence, DailyMail.com has learned.

What's more, the report does not recommend any disciplinary action for those involved the mismanaged operation - which came the day before President Biden's August 30 deadline for US troops to withdraw from war-torn Afghanistan after two decades of conflict.

It was written in response to the August 26 suicide bombing outside Kabul airport by ISIS-K that looked to take advantage of a frantic US evacuation operation and killed 13 American troops and 170 Afghans.

The strike's intended target was a supposed ISIS-K operative - however, Ahmadi was the one caught in the crossfire, as well as his children, Zamir, 20, Faisal, 16, and Farzad, 10; Ahmadi's cousin Naser, 30; three of Ahmadi's nephews, Arwin, seven, Benyamin, six, and Hayat, two; and two three-year-old girls, Malika and Somaya.

Lt General Sami Said - Inspector General of the Air Force Department - said a drone operator had missed a child inside a Kabul compound before launching a strike that killed 10, adding that the mistake was not negligent, and that no action would be taken

According to Air Force Inspector General Sami Said, who penned the review, the botched bombing was the result of 'execution errors combined with confirmation bias and communication breakdowns,' in the process of identifying the target of the bombing.

Said made the declaration at a DC press conference Wednesday afternoon, where he also revealed there was video evidence that there was a child at the compound approximately two minutes before the trigger for the strike was pulled.

The Air Force lieutenant general said he analyzed the footage himself as part of the sprawling investigation, and revealed that the child was not noticed at the time of the strike by the force's drone operators.

The officer further discerned during the Wednesday conference that he did not find violation of any laws during the review, but stated that the report was now in the hands of several military commanders who would decide if any of the operators who missed the child would be held accountable.

That footage hasn't been shared.

Said also noted to attendees that the full report is classified, in order to protect the department's sources and methods used during the investigation.

PICTURED: The 10 victims mistakenly killed by a US drone strike which was targeting ISIS-K in Afghanistan

Moreover, a senior defense official familiar with the report told The Associated Press, under the condition of anonymity, Said concluded that the mistaken strike happened despite shrewd measures he said were taken by his team to prevent civilian deaths.

No further information on those 'shrewd measures' have been shared.

Said had no direct connection to Afghanistan operations and thus was deemed an independent judge of the matter.

Said's review further stated that the ill-fated strike should be considered in the context of the moment, as US forces under stress were being flooded by information about threats to troops and civilians at the Kabul airport, just days after the deadly suicide bombing.

Thousands of Afghans were swarming the airport, trying to get out of the country following the Taliban takeover.

According to the official, Said found that better communication between those making the strike decision and other support personnel might have raised more doubts about the bombing, but in the end may not have prevented it.

Said was asked to investigate the Aug. 29 drone strike on a white Toyota Corolla sedan that killed Ahmadi and his nine family members, including seven children. Ahmadi, 37, was a longtime employee of an American humanitarian organization.

The Pentagon shared this map in September while explaining how they'd botched the drone bombing and killed 10 innocent people

The intelligence about the car and its potential threat came just days after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. troops and 169 Afghans at a Kabul airport gate.

The U.S. was working to evacuate thousands of Americans, Afghans and other allies in the wake of the collapse of the country's government.

Said concluded that U.S. forces genuinely believed that the car they were following was an imminent threat and that they needed to strike it before it got closer to the airport.

The report, which has been endorsed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, made several recommendations that have been passed on to commanders at U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.

The official said the review recommends that more be done to prevent what military officials call 'confirmation bias' - the idea that troops making the strike decision were too quick to conclude that what they were seeing aligned with the intelligence and confirmed their conclusion to bomb what turned out to be the wrong car.

The review recommends that the military have personnel present with a strike team whose job it is to actively question such conclusions.

The report says using a so-called 'red-team' in such self-defense strikes that are being done quickly might help avoid errors.

Said also recommended that the military improve its procedures to ensure that children and other innocent civilians are not present before launching a time-sensitive strike.

For days after the strike, Pentagon officials asserted that they were 'confident' the operation 'disrupted an imminent ISIS-K threat' to Kabul's airport, with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley even referring to it as a 'righteous strike' -despite reports that multiple civilians and children had died and growing doubts that the car contained explosives.

Said's review concluded that officials made their initial assessments too quickly and did not do enough analysis.

While Said's report does not find individual fault or recommend discipline, officials said commanders may decide to take administrative actions once they review his report.

The US is currently working to pay financial reparations to the family, and potentially get them out of Afghanistan, but nothing has been finalized.

This is the aftermath of the US drone bombing that killed 10 innocent people in Kabul on August 29

A second defense official said Austin has asked that Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, and Gen. Richard Clarke, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, come back to him with recommendations for changes to address the gaps.

Said's review mirrors many of the findings outlined by McKenzie several weeks after the investigation.

The Central Command review found that U.S. forces tracked the car for about eight hours and launched the strike in an 'earnest belief' - based on a standard of 'reasonable certainty' - that it posed an imminent threat to American troops at Kabul airport.

The car was believed to have been carrying explosives in its trunk.

The airstrike was the last in a US war that ended days later, as the last American troops flew out of Kabul airport, leaving the Taliban behind to assume power.

This latest report of a possible misstep by US officials comes after Zemari's younger brother, Emal Ahmadi, demanded US officials 'find the person who did this,' declaring, 'I want him punished.'

The grieving father of strike victim Malika, 3 - and also a relative of the nine other victims - told The AP in September that an apology is 'not enough.'

'That is not enough for us to say sorry. The USA should find the person who did this,' he said.

Emal spoke out after the Pentagon made the extraordinary admission Friday that the man targeted in the attack was not an ISIS-K operative, as previously thought, but an aid worker.

Head of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie said in Friday's press conference the US carried out the strike in the 'earnest belief' it was preventing an imminent threat to Americans and Afghans evacuating Kabul airport during the US's withdrawal from the country.

However, the Pentagon made a 'tragic mistake' and he offered his 'sincere apology' to the victims.

Reports that a warning came too late to stop the strike leaves many questions still unanswered, in particular the exact timeline of the intel and how it was passed through the chain of command versus the timeline of the operative launching the missile and it hitting its target.

The single Hellfire missile was launched from an M-Q Reaper drone which had surveilled Ahmadi for eight hours, flying at a maximum altitude of 50,000 feet or 15,240 meters.

Hellfire missiles travel at speeds of up to Mach 1.3 or 997 miles per hour.

This means - if the strike was carried out when the Reaper was at its maximum altitude and the missile traveled at its maximum speed - there would have been only 34 second lapse between the missile's launch and it reaching its target.

It is still not clear if the military had communicated to the CIA it was firing the missile before it pulled the trigger, nor is it clear where the CIA gathered its intel of possible civilians at the kill site.
A convicted Florida murderer was found guilty on Wednesday after he had killed a cop who tried to arrest him for murdering his pregnant girlfriend.

The guilty verdict for Markeith Loyd, 46, was reached following a five-hour deliberation.

Loyd had shot and killed Orlando Police Lieutenant Debra Clayton outside of a Walmart on January 2017 as she attempted to arrest him for murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon, 24, who he had killed weeks earlier.

He was found guilty of Dixon's murder in October 2019.

However, Loyd denied murdering Clayton but has now been found guilty of her murder as well as the attempted murder of another police officer at the scene and for carjacking when he tried to escape.

Jurors will decide on Saturday if Loyd will face the death penalty or not.

Convicted Florida murderer, 46, was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering an Orlando police officer in January 2017 who attempted to arrest him for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend

Orlando Police Lieutenant Debra Clayton was shot three times in the thigh, hips and abdomen as well as a fatal shot to the neck by Loyd in a Walmart parking lot

Prior to the verdict, the court heard testimony from witnesses and the medical examiner during Loyd's second-murder trial on Wednesday.

The questions asked by the jury seemed keen on settling the debate over whether Loyd or Clayton had made the first shot on the night she was killed.

Loyd's defense attorney Terence Lenamon had claimed that Clayton had shot first that night and that his client had only shot back in self-defense.

Prosecutor Ryan Williams, however, debated the opposite as he claimed that Clayton had never fired at all, despite video evidence showing she appeared to have her arm out to open fire.

'If you can see her arm extended in that video, more power to you,' Williams said.

'I would submit to you its entirely unclear based upon the video quality that we have.'

Loyd tearfully rejected Williams' claims on Tuesday after he continued to put blame on him for Clayton's death.

Williams had said that Loyd would have killed any member of law enforcement that attempted to arrest him for his girlfriend's murder as he likely did not want to go back to jail.

Markeith Loyd knew he was being pursued by police after he fatally shot his ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon, 24, weeks before killing Clayton

He had previously been released in 2014 after he was convicted of felony battery of an officer in 1998 and was on probation at the time of his girlfriend's murder.

Clayton was said to have intended to hunt down Loyd for his girlfriend's murder and bring him into custody.

The prosecutor claimed that Clayton also could have survived the three shots she received to the thigh, hips and abdomen if he had not returned to make the final shot to her neck.

'Debra Clayton is dead because of anger,' Williams continued. 'Is dead because of hatred.'

'She is dead because a man valued his freedom more than he valued her life.'

Officers had been cleared to use force in Loyd's arrest following the fatal shooting of Clayton.

Loyd lost an eye after a mass of officers peppered him with punches, kicks and blows from rifle muzzles when he was located at an abandoned house in Carver Shores, weeks after Clayton's killing.

He had claimed in an emotional statement to Clayton's husband that he did not kill his wife and made it out to be that he was the victim of a rough childhood.

'As you saw in his testimony. The guy is a jerk,' Orange County Sheriff John Mina said.

'He is an evil person who did anything possible he could do to get away from law enforcement.'

Markeith Loyd had claimed that he had shot Clayton in self-defense after she had allegedly opened fire on him

Loyd was previously found guilty of his girlfriend Dixon's murder in October 2019.

In the earlier 2019 murder trial, Loyd and his defense argued that he went into 'warrior mode,' reacting to Dixon's brother Ronald Stewart attacking him, and that he was attempting to defend himself when he shot the woman eight times.

'I wanted my child,' Loyd said in his testimony. 'I never meant to kill my queen.'

He said that he went to Dixon's house on December 13, 2016, to try to convince her not to have an abortion.

Loyd said his ex-girlfriend then pulled a gun on him, which he then took and store with his two guns until her brother - Ronald Stewart - came to check on them.

Loyd was previously pronounced guilty in October 2019 for fatally shooting Dixon

Loyd is said to have shot Dixon and Stewart as they were walking back to their house.

Dixon was three months pregnant, according to News 6, and had 2 and 8-year-old children.

His lawyers argued that Stewart attacked Loyd, causing the gun to go off and hit him.

Loyd said that he believed Dixon picked up the gun, prompting him to go into 'defense mode' and open fire on her - he said it was 'life or death.'
A 15-year-old North Carolina girl was suspended from high school - and ordered to take a class called sexual harassment is preventable  after she reported being sexually assaulted by a male classmate, according to a report.

The Charlotte teen, whose identity was protected due to the nature of the case, told a local media station that she was harassed nearly every day by a fellow Hawthorne Academy High School student.

She reported his behavior after it escalated.

He would, like, come into the bathroom and he would push me into the stall, the girl told WBTV. He put his hands in my pants and then he was like touching my breasts.

She said she initially reported the assault to the school, which handed the file over to police, who confirmed to WBTV that a minor was charged with sexual battery as a result of her complaint.

A teenage girl, whose identity was protected due to the nature of the case, said she was suspended and ordered to take a course after reporting a classmate for sexually assaulting her

The formal charge didnt stop school administrators from accusing the victim of filing a false report and issuing a one-day suspension last month, the girls mother said.

The school did their investigation, gave me a phone call, and said, Hey, look, unfortunately, it looks like theres no evidence that shows that what your daughter saying took place, the mother said.

[They told me] Were going to have to give her a day of suspension, so then I asked the principal, Well if the police are telling me that he did do these things, he admitted to them, and that I have the right to press charges, youre telling me this didnt happen? And she said, Well, unfortunately, what the law does has nothing to do to do with CMS, so, unfortunately, we have nothing else that we can do about this.

Students gathered at the school Wednesday to support the girl and protest the school's response to the alleged incident.

She's a student at Hawthorne Academy High School in Charlotte, North Carolina

Students gathered at the school Wednesday to support the girl and protest the school's response to the alleged incident.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School district also ordered the girl to take a sexual harassment is preventable class, the girls mom said.

They are making her feel like she is being punished for coming forward, she told the station.

She said shes worried the case could discourage other sexual assault victims from coming forward.

That scares me because she told me how hard it was for her to come out and tell this story to me to the school, to the police, the mother said.

DailyMail.com reached out to each Charlotte-Mecklenburg trustee and did not receive a response by deadline.

Some members of the public took to social media to express their disdain for the districts behavior.

How about dont punish children that have been sexually harassed by another classmate by sending them to a sexual harassment is preventable class, one woman wrote on the districts Facebook page.

The girl's mom said she fears the district's response to the case will make other sexual assault victims afraid to come forward

What sort of archaic treatment is that? Youre enabling poor behavior from students who think the person theyre harassing is to blame for their actions.

Another woman agreed, adding: Abhorrent doesnt come close to describing the level of ignorance involved in the administrators response and allowance of this program.

'NO place for this behavior anywhere, much less in an educational environment. Hope the perp and board are both held accountable.
Alec Baldwin and the crew of Rust have been accused of breaking at least four key movie industry gun safety protocols before the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins.

Baldwin and his co-workers appear to have violated rules from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, against pointing a gun at a member of the cast or crew unless absolutely necessary.

The alliance's rules - last revised in April 2003 - warn: 'Refrain from pointing the firearm at anyone, including yourself. If it is absolutely necessary to do so on camera, consult the property master or other safety representative... Remember that any object at which you point a firearm could be destroyed.'

Baldwin is said to have broken that rule by pointing the gun at Hutchins and firing, killing her, having been told moments before that the gun was 'cold' - empty of rounds.

Guidance goes on to state that live ammunition must never be brought onto a set, with the document also warning 'BLANKS CAN KILL.'

It continues: 'TREAT ALL FIREARMS AS THOUGH THEY ARE LOADED. "LIVE AMMUNITION" IS NEVER TO BE USED NOR BROUGHT ONTO ANY STUDIO LOT OR STAGE.'

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the union representing workers on sets of films and television shows, issued an industry-wide set of safety standards and rules governing the use of guns. 'BLANKS CAN KILL. TREAT ALL FIREARMS AS THOUGH THEY ARE LOADED. "LIVE AMMUNITION" IS NEVER TO BE USED NOR BROUGHT ONTO ANY STUDIO LOT OR STAGE,' according to the guidelines

Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office say they believe a live round was loaded into the gun that killed Hutchins, 42, on October 21.

They are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the tragedy, amid recent claims the bullet feared to have killed Hutchins may have been deliberately loaded into the gun as an act of foul play.

Any weapons on set are also never to be used for 'horseplay', the alliance guidelines state, and must never be left attended.

But according to reports, the gun the 63-year-old actor used to accidentally kill Halyna Hutchins was used by crew members to shoot at beer cans just hours before the incident, in a game known as 'plinking.'

The weapon used in the deadly shooting is also said to have been left unattended for two hours beforehand.

The alliance, which serves as a union representing workers on sets of films and television shows, issued an industry-wide set of safety standards and rules governing the use of guns. Those have been obtained by Fox Digital.

The guidelines also state that firearms should never be pointed at anyone unless absolutely necessary during filming

The guidelines also warn against using blanks and against 'horseplay'

The fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin (right) of a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins (left), on the set of Rust could have been avoided if Hollywood guidelines regulating the use of weapons were followed, according to documents

In the days before the tragedy, IATSE had been threatening a large-scale strike that would have crippled Hollywood production.

Among the complaints were overworking staff and poor rates.

Baldwin recorded a video of himself encouraging the union members to strike if they felt they needed to, saying studio bosses dont give a f**k about you, that the union shared online.

Hutchins was shot and killed during rehearsals for the film in Santa Fe, New Mexico on October 21. The film set is seen on the day after the shooting as law enforcement officials launched an investigation that is ongoing

Guns should also never be pointed at anyone unless absolutely necessary to do so on camera, according to the guidance.

Those on the set must also never engage in any horseplay with the firearm.

Santa Fe Sheriff Adam Mendoza told reporters last week that a live bullet was loaded into the revolver used by Baldwin during rehearsals for the Western on October 21.

Baldwin held the gun when it discharged, firing a bullet that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.

According to investigators, David Halls, the assistant director, handed Baldwin the loaded .45 pistol during a scene rehearsal and told him it was cold - meaning safe.

According to investigators, David Halls, the assistant director, handed Baldwin the loaded .45 pistol during a scene rehearsal and told him it was cold - meaning safe

Lawyer Lisa Torraco, representing Halls, declared in a televised interview with Fox News Monday night that her client was not responsible for checking' whether the gun he allegedly handed to Alec Baldwin was safe to use or not. She also would not concede her client gave the actor the gun

Halls had reportedly declared it a 'cold' weapon, meaning it was loaded only with blanks, without having checked all the rounds in the gun barrel. Above, Alec Baldwin speaks on the phone in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in Santa Fe

Halls later told investigators that he did not know there was a live round inside.

The guidelines also state that someone trained in firearms safety procedures should be on site to guide actors and those handling the gun.

'No one shall be issued a firearm until he or she is trained in safe handling, safe use, the safety lock, and proper firing procedures,' according to guidelines.

According to an insider with knowledge of the set, several crew members on the set had taken several prop guns out the morning of the incident to go 'plinking' - a hobby in which people shoot at beer cans with live ammunition to pass the time.

The individual, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Wrap, added that the round of unsanctioned target practice occurred just hours before Baldwin discharged one of the weapons and shot both Hutchins and Souza.

The weapon was one of three prop guns that the film's rookie armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, had set up outside the set location on a gray cart, in the desert near the city of Santa Fe.

Attorneys representing Reed suggested that a disgruntled film crew member may have planted the live round that killed Hutchins inside a box of prop ammunition in a bid to 'sabotage' Baldwin's film.

In the wake of the fatal shooting, several crew members have come out claiming that they were overworked and denied hotel rooms in the vicinity of the New Mexico set.

Gutierrez Reed's attorneys floated the theory that one of those 'disgruntled' crew members may have planted the live round on set as an act of revenge, during an interview with the Today show's Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday.

That is the central question to this case: How did a live round get on set?@SavannahGuthrie speaks exclusively with Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, attorneys for Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who are speaking out about the investigation for the first time. pic.twitter.com/qTNGiAK5h1  TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 3, 2021

Sources on the set of Rust said the incident that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins could be tied to the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed

Attorneys Robert Gorence (left) and Jason Bowles (right), representing 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, appeared on the Today Show on Wednesday to discuss the fatal shooting

'I believe that somebody who would do that, would want to sabotage the set, would want to prove a point, want to say they're disgruntled, they're unhappy,' Jason Bowles said.

'And we know that people had already walked off the set the day before... and the reason they are unhappy is they're working 12 to 14 hour days, they are not given hotel rooms in and around the area, so they had to drive back and forth an hour to Albuquerque, and they're unhappy.'

Bowles said his client was unaware that any live bullets were loaded into the gun before the deadly October 21 shooting near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Gutierrez Reed has not been named a suspect, or charged with any crime in connection with Hutchins' killing, but she retained legal representation.

'There was a box of dummy rounds, and the box is labeled "dummy,'" Bowles said. '[Gutierrez Reed] loaded rounds from that box into the handgun, only later to find out - she had no idea - that there was a live round.'

The armorer then handed the vintage Colt pistol to assistant director David Halls, who, in turn, passed it on to Baldwin and announced 'cold gun,' indicating that the weapon was safe to use, according to authorities investigating the deadly October 21 shooting near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

'We're assuming somebody put the live round in that box,' Bowles told Guthrie. 'The person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging the set. There is no other reason you would do that: that you would mix that live round in with the dummy rounds.'

Gutierrez Reed's other attorney, Robert Gorence, revealed that while the Colt had been locked away in a safe, the box of dummy ammunition was in a prop truck, which was 'completely unattended at all times, giving someone access and opportunity.'

Gorence also said that after the armorer retrieved the gun and loaded it with the rounds from the box, it was left unattended on a tray for two hours ahead of an afternoon film shoot.

Gutierrez Reed's lawyers defended her actions that day, saying that the loaded gun was not in her care for the entire duration of the filming because she was expected to perform two jobs on set: as an armorer and a props assistant.

Bowels said that after lunch, Gutierrez Reed handed the gun she had loaded earlier to Halls and then went about performing her other duties as a props assistant.

As she handed over the Colt, the lawyer said Gutierrez Reed spun the chamber to show Halls the rounds inside.

Lawyers said as Gutierrez Reed (pictured at her home in Arizona, left) handed the loaded gun to assistant director David Halls (right), she spun the chamber to show him the rounds, but did not inspect them

'She did spin the cylinder for him,' Bowles said. 'She did show him each and every round in that chamber, which there were six.'

He added: 'The problem is, when you look at a dummy round and you look at their appearance, they have the same projectile tip; some of these do not have a hole in the side. They mimic and look like a real round.'

The armorer's legal team admitted that she did not inspect the gun to ascertain that the rounds inside the chamber were not live ammunition.

Gorence explained that Gutierrez Reed was not inside the church set at the time of the shooting because it took place while cameras were being set up, and not during filming,

'She wasn't there,' the lawyer stressed.

The armorer's attorneys said they are cooperating with the investigation, and are hoping that the FBI would be able to determine who had planted the live round.

The attorneys for Gutierrez Reed she is 'absolutely devastated.'

'She remains very emotional about everything that's happened,' Bowles said. 'Coming on the scene and everything that she saw, she is heartbroken and she is just devastated by what's happened.'

Meanwhile, 'Rust' camera assistant Lane Luper, who quit on the eve of the shooting, told Good Morning America that there were only two safety meetings on set and said production did not take gun safety seriously.

'I think with Rust, it was the perfect storm of the armorer, the assistant director, the culture that was on set, the rushing. It was everything,' he said.

Luper claimed the crew were overworked and exhausted from commuting to and from the set, and he also cited poor gun safety, which he said resulted in two accidental weapon discharges and one accidental sound-effects explosion.

Baldwin has been largely silent about what happened on the set of 'Rust,' but on Tuesday he shared a social media post from one crew member slamming her coworkers for painting a 'blatantly false' picture of the set as 'chaotic and unsafe'.

Baldwin issued a public statement the day after Hutchins' death in which he indicated that he was cooperating with authorities and offered his condolences to her family.

Halls' attorney this week says it was not her client's responsibility to confirm whether the weapon was safe to use or not - contradicting his previous admission that he should have checked the gun beforehand.

Luper Lane has criticized the film's production as one that created the perfect storm for the tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

Halyna Hutchins, center, was shot when a gun held by Alec Baldwin, to her left, went off in his hands. The gun was supposed to only only blanks, not live rounds

'He's not responsible for checking it,' declared Lisa Torraco, lawyer for Rust assistant director David Halls, in a televised interview with Fox News on Monday night.

'That's not the assistant director's job.'

Torraco then further clarified to interviewer Martha MacCallum: 'If he chooses to check the firearm because he wants to make sure that everyone's safe, he can do that, but that's not his responsibility.'

According to a search warrant executed by the Santa Fe County sheriffs last week, Halls acknowledged to police that he should have checked all the rounds loaded in the prop gun before it was given to lead actor Baldwin, who accidentally shot two crew members on the Santa Fe set.

Halls told investigator that he 'couldn't recall if he spun the drum' before the fatal shooting on October 21.

'David advised the incident was not a deliberate act,' one detective wrote in the report.

Souza also told Santa Fe police that his assistant director was supposed to check the gun before handing it to Baldwin, but could not recall if he had actually done it.

'He advised he should have checked all of them, but didn't,' the warrant read.

Torraco, however, says that Halls' job description as an assistant director did not require him to check the gun.

'Expecting an assistant director to check a firearm is like telling the assistant director to check the camera angle or telling the assistant director to check sound or lighting,' Torraco told MacCallum Monday night.

Torraco also insisted that Halls did not handle the gun the day of the incident - contradicting investigator's accounts detailed in the affidavit.

'This idea my client grabbed the gun and handed it to Baldwin absolutely did not happen,' the attorney attested in Monday's interview, before backtracking and deflecting questions concerning whether or not Halls physically passed the gun to the actor.

MacCallum then pressed the attorney, asking her point-blank if Halls 'doesn't know if he handed the gun to Alec Baldwin.'

Baldwin shared a screengrab of a post written by costume designer Terese Magpale Davis (pictured) to his Instagram account Tuesday with the caption: 'Read this'

Davis' post, which was several paragraphs long, provided alleged evidence against claims being made by crew members

'The armorer brought the weapon in,' Torraco replied, referring to the film's rookie gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, while dodging MacCallum's question concerning who handed the gun to Baldwin.

'The armorer opens the firearm,' Torraco continued. '[Halls] didn't load it.'

Torraco's televised spot came hours after her client spoke out about the incident for the first time.

In a statement Monday addressing the October 21 shooting, Halls called Hutchins his 'friend' and asked the industry to 'reevaluate' its values.

'I'm shocked and saddened by her death,' Halls said. 'It's my hope that this tragedy prompts the industry to reevaluate its values and practices to ensure no one is harmed through the creative process again.'

'Halyna Hutchins was not just one of the most talented people I've worked with, but also a friend,' he added.

Despite breaking his silence, the assistant director failed to address reports that he was one of the three people, aside from Baldwin, to handle the loaded gun before the tragic accident.

The other two were armorer Gutierrez-Reed and prop master Sarah Zachry.

During Monday's interview, however, Torraco stated that she and her team have interviewed another crew member - who she referred to as a 'he,' - who the lawyer says 'checked' the firearm before it was handed off to Baldwin.

Torraco did not provide any further details as to the mystery crew member's identity.

The revelation contradicts reports given by investigators, who have previously stated that only Halls, Baldwin, armorer Gutierrez-Reed and Zachry handled the gun in the hours before the shooting.

Torraco also stated that she has spoken to some crew members who were working on the film's Santa Fe set the day of the incident, who recall Gutierrez-Reed, not Halls, handing the weapon to Baldwin.

She then added that others recall seeing Halls pass it to the actor directly after being passed the weapon by Gutierrez-Reed himself.

According to several other reports and witness accounts, Baldwin received the gun from Halls.

Torraco, however, told MacCallum that that 'doesn't matter' - because it's 'not the assistant director's job' to check the gun.

Baldwin on Tuesday shared a social media post from a fellow Rust crew member slamming her coworkers for painting a 'blatantly false' picture of the set as 'chaotic and unsafe'.

Baldwin shared a screenshot of a post written by costume designer Terese Magpale Davis to his Instagram account Tuesday with the caption: 'Read this.'

'I am so sick of this narrative,' Davis wrote in her post. 'I worked on this movie. The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bull***t.'

Crew members began speaking out about the alleged conditions on set after Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming.

Davis' post refuted many of the complaints of crew members - including that they routinely worked more than 12-hour days.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured) died on October 21 after Baldwin pointed and fired a Colt pistol at her during a scene

We never worked more than a 12.5 hour shoot day. That was once,' Davis wrote.

'Most days were under 12. The day Halyna died we had come off of a 12 hour turnaround after an 11 hour shoot day. We had (including camera) gotten off by 6:30pm.

She continued: We had just had a 56 hour weekend right before that. No one was too tired to do their jobs.

This is all provable by daily time sheets.

Several Rust crew members also alleged that the production had promised to provide them with hotel rooms in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area - where the film was being shot - but said were later told they needed to make a 50-mile drive from Albuquerque each day instead.

According to Davis, these allegations were false.

The camera crew HAD hotels. They just didnt feel they were fancy enough. NOT that they were unsafe. You cant tell me that 6 big men felt so unsafe in their hotel but were fine sleeping in their cars in parking lots (which never happened) like they also claimed.
An anti-vaxxer Oklahoma nurse who wrote poetry about the 'plandemic' and 'healthcare genocide' died of complications from COVID-19, after claiming the vaccine killed people.

Steve Shurden, 58, from Tulsa, battled the virus for three weeks and eventually passed away on October 19.

Steve and his wife, Teresa, a vocational nurse, were very vocal on Facebook about their anti-vaccine stances, constantly sharing misinformation about COVID.

Steve also shared his right-wing, pro-Trump, politically charged poetry on a daily basis until his hospitalization on September 28.

After Steve's death, his wife did not seem regretful that her husband chose to refuse the vaccine, which could have increased his chances at survival while battling the illness.

Teresa shared that Steve had 'made it' to heaven and that she wished they had gone together.

Steven Shurden, 58, from Tulsa, battled the virus for three weeks and eventually passed away on October 19. Steve and his wife, Teresa, a vocational Nurse, were very vocal on Facebook about their anti-vaccine stances, constantly sharing misinformation about COVID

On Facebook, Steve shared his right-wing, pro-Trump, politically charged poetry on a daily basis until his hospitalization on September 28

The US has reported more than 745,000 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic started

One of Steve's poems read: 'They want to shutdown, & paste a mask on your face...those fools in DC, it is not their place. Their jabbing all arms, now we may need a booster...they came too late, to fool this savy rooster. Stick those masks up their nose, & their jab in their bu**...if you take the jab now, you are a nut..'

While in the hospital, Teresa shared updates on her husband's health condition and asked for prayers, but continued to post anti-vaccine content.

In early October, Steve's condition seemed to improve, before rapidly deteriorating.

'Steve is stable, vented, comfortable, he had a good day yesterday and last night,' Teresa posted on October 9.

He was briefly taken off the ventilator, but continued to experience respiratory distress and succumbed to COVID-19 complications.

Before Steve caught COVID, the couple had just purchased a new touring RV, which they seemingly wanted to travel around with, helping local clinics and in protest of the 'healthcare genocide.'

In his poetry, Steve featured political issues such as the Afghanistan debacle, the treatment of veterans in the US, and his opposition to the way the Biden administration was governing the country.

On Facebook, he announced he would publish a poetry collection book, and said that the last book in the series would be published at 'our real President's inauguration later this year,' supporting debunked claims that the 2020 Presidential election was rigged.

'Well...many of you have mentioned to me that I should put my Poems into a book...I've published my first of a series of books...it is called 'MAHGA Warriors'...it is a collection of daily events with the poem that the events inspired from the dates of Nov 6th thru Jan 31...it is for sale now!!!' Steve wrote.

Sixty-six percent of the population in the US has received at least one dose of the vaccine

Steve shared that even after losing his friend, Hector, to COVID, he refused to get the jab

In his poetry, Steve featured political issues such as the Afghanistan debacle, the treatment of veterans in the US, and his opposition to the way the Biden administration was governing the country

After Steve's death, his wife did not seem regretful that his husband had taken the choice not to vaccinate, which could have improved his chances at survival while battling the illness

In another post, Steve claimed that he had lost his mother after she had received the vaccine.

'This morning I weep, I just lost my mom...they jabbed her arm, & that was her bomb. We are in a war, of that there's no doubt...that's what this plandemic & jabs are about,' he posted.

However, he also shared about the passing of a friend of his named Hector, who died of COVID after, like Steven, refused to get vaccinated.

He blamed Hector's death on the 'healthcare genocide.'

'I've lost a dear friend, his name is Hector...he was a great man, & was Betty's protector.

'It makes my heart hurt, way deep down inside...his death was caused, by Healthcare genocide,' Steve wrote in August.

Before Shredden caught covid, the couple had just purchased a new touring RV, which they seemingly wanted to travel around with, helping local clinics and in protest of the 'healthcare genocide.'

His obituary said Steve shared three children with Teresa, his wife of 41 years

Steve opposed vaccine and mask mandates, despite being a trained nurse

'First I want to thank all of you prayer warriors for your diligence in praying for us. Steve made it! I am jealous that we did not go together. We always wanted it that way. After 46 years together a lifetime this journey is going to be different, not impossible because impossible is what my God specializes in,' she wrote.

Teresa also shared dangerous misinformation and headlines such as ' Antibodies are Probably Better than the [Pfizer] Vaccination,' 'We're Like Bred And Taught to be Like 'Vaccine is Safer Than Actually Getting Covid,' 'Our Organization is Run on Covid Money Now.'

During the summer, she posted a picture with egregious false claims that the Pfizer vaccine killed 40 times more people than the disease itself.

Meanwhile, Steve compared vaccination to the way Nazis tattoed serial numbers on the bodies of Jewishs kept at concentration camps.

'Those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it,' Steve captioned the photo.

There are currently more than 46million active COVID-19 infections in the country

Another poem, which tackled anti-abortion and false election claims read: 'There are two things, that this poem needs to focus...one is the Delta, & this jab Hocus Pocus.

'It's all a distraction, to muddy the waters...they want to hide, all their mass baby slaughters...

'On top of that, they lost this election...they don't want us looking, in that fraud filled direction...

After his death, many flooded Steve's comment section with pleads for others reading to stop listening to vaccine misinformation.

'Please let Steve's death be a reminder that medical misinformation kills. Let's not spread likw he did. And get vaccinated because it not only protects you, it protects your family, your community and your country,' a Facebook user wrote.

His obituary said Steve shared three children with Teresa, his wife of 41 years.

The US has reported more than 745,000 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic started. Sixty-six percent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

There are currently more than 46million active COVID-19 infections in the country.
An off-duty Chicago police officer shot and killed her husband, also a cop, as the two struggled over a gun during a domestic dispute on Tuesday, officials said.

According to the Chicago Police Department, the incident took place inside the married couple's home in the 8500 block of West Winona Street at around 7.15pm.

The 44-year-old male officer and his wife were both off duty when they got into an argument before the fatal shot was fired, officials said.

Police said the pair fought for control of the weapon before the wife pulled the trigger, shooting her husband once in the chest.

Two married off-duty Chicago police officers got into an argument in their home on West Winona Street, resulting in a fatal shooting on Tuesday

The female cop allegedly shot and killed her 44-year-old husband as the two struggled over a gun during a dispute

The victim was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The wife stayed at home and waited for detectives to arrive, reported Chicago Sun-Times. Neither cop has been identified as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) has launched an investigation into the use of force.

The female cop has been placed on routine administrative leave for 30 days. So far, no charges have been announced.

A neighbor who knew the husband and wife described them as a 'normal American family.'

the wife remained on the scene while the husband was taken to a hospital, where he died

A procession of police vehicles followed the slain officer's body as it was taken from the hospital to the medical examiner's office

The couple's home is located just two doors down from an elementary school, reported ABC 7 Chicago.

"I'm kind of actually really disappointed that it happened so close to the school; there's a lot of kids in this neighborhood," said Jacqueline Nugent, who works at Everette McKinley Dirksen Elementary.
Google is reportedly 'aggressively' seeking a lucrative Pentagon contract, despite prior employee protests that have forced it to drop certain projects with the Department of Defense.

The Google cloud unit's chief executive, Thomas Kurian, met with top Pentagon officials to make the case that the company is best suited for the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract, according to the New York Times.

JWCC is the successor program to the contentious $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud, or JEDI, contract, which the Pentagon canceled in July following a furious dispute between Amazon and Microsoft over how the contract was awarded.

Three years ago, employee protests forced Google to drop out of the running for the JEDI contract, as well as cancel its Project Maven program to use Artificial Intelligence to improve targeting in drone strikes.

In a statement to DailyMail.com on Wednesday, a Google spokesperson said that the company is 'firmly committed to serving our public sector customers, including the DoD' and added that 'we will evaluate any future bid opportunities accordingly.'

The Google cloud unit's chief executive, Thomas Kurian (left), reportedly met with top Pentagon officials including Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown, Jr (right) on Tuesday to make the case in the company's bid for the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract

In pursuing the new JWCC deal, Google now risks infuriating the left-leaning activists among its employees, who successfully torpedoed the prior deals with DoD.

In September 2017, Google won the Maven contract, but decided to keep the deal secret, even from its own employees.

As word of Maven leaked internally, employees began voicing outrage, citing the company's former slogan, 'don't be evil.'

The then-head of Google's cloud division, Diane Greene, responded by locking down mailing lists, deleting documents, or asking employees to redact Google+ posts, according to Wired.

The internal fallout from the imbroglio forced Google to later drop its JEDI bid, for which Maven was viewed as a chance to get a foot in the door at the Pentagon.

However, Google's cloud division has continued to pursue less controversial partnership opportunities with DoD.

Those projects include a virtual system for training Air Force pilots, a cloud management solution to combat cyber threats, and support for efforts to reduce maintenance costs for corrosion on Navy vessels.

Sources close to the company tell DailyMail.com that Google believes it has a strong bid to participate in JWCC, and plans to tout its data analytics capabilities that could help predict and monitor trends like global stability, the financial impact of pandemics, and climate change.

In pursuing the new JWCC deal, Google now risks infuriating the left-leaning activists among its employees, who successfully torpedoed the prior deals with DoD

JEDI eventually came down to two players, Amazon and Microsoft, before Microsoft's award was canceled amid a furious row.

The contract was coveted not just for its dollar value but also its prestige: Both companies for years have sought to persuade businesses and governments that it was safe to shift computing work into their data centers.

Meeting all the security requirements of the U.S. military would have been a visible stamp of approval likely to sway other corporate and government clients, analysts said.

But the Trump-era award to Microsoft sparked accusations of political retaliation against Donald Trump's nemesis, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Trump had publicly derided then-Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and repeatedly criticized the company.

Amazon said in 2019 the Pentagon award to Microsoft was full of 'egregious errors,' which it suggested were a result of 'improper pressure from Trump.'

The company cited a 2019 book that reported Trump had directed the Defense Department to 'screw Amazon'.

While the Trump administration wanted a single provider, the Biden administration has said it would likely parcel out the project to multiple companies, and canceled the JEDI deal in July.

Such a move would put the military more in line with private-sector companies, many of whom split up their cloud computing work among multiple vendors to avoid being locked in to any specific one.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is seen in a file photo. JEDI eventually came down to two players, Amazon and Microsoft, before Microsoft's award was canceled amid a furious row

When the Pentagon announced the new JWCC deal in July, DoD Chief Information Officer John Sherman said the department would be reaching out not just to Microsoft and Amazon, but also IBM, Oracle and Google.

The department hopes by April 2022 to have contracted for a multi-award, multi-vendor cloud solution with a performance period of no more than five years, consisting of a three-year performance base period and two one-year option periods, Sherman said.

A Google spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday: 'We strongly believe a multi-cloud strategy offers the department the best solution today and in the future.'

'We are firmly committed to serving our public sector customers, including the DoD, Department of Energy, NIH, and many other government agencies, and we will evaluate any future bid opportunities accordingly,' the statement added.

Microsoft said in a statement the company was confident it will 'continue to be successful as the DoD selects partners for new work'. Microsoft could submit a termination bid to recover costs of the scrapped project, Sherman said.

Amazon's cloud unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) said it agreed with the Pentagon's decision to cancel the contract.

Amazon said the initial award was 'not based on the merits of the proposals and instead was the result of outside influence that has no place in government procurement.'

AWS added it looks 'forward to continuing to support the DoDs modernization efforts and building solutions that help accomplish their critical missions.'
Boris Johnson took a private jet from the COP26 summit in Glasgow to London to attend a reunion dinner with Telegraph journalists at a private members club, it has been reported.

The Prime Minister attended the evening gathering with his former colleagues at The Garrick, in London's West End, after flying 400 miles from the climate change conference in Glasgow on Tuesday night.

Mr Johnson, who appeared to be wearing his rented 495 Oliver Brown suit from earlier that day, was seen leaving the exclusive club at 10pm last night alongside the former editor of the Telegraph Charles Moore, pictures obtained by The Mirror show.

A Downing street spokesperson said the PM, who previously worked as a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, travelled on 'one of the most carbon-effective planes its size in the world' which used 'the most sustainable aviation fuel available'.

Boris Johnson took a private jet from the COP26 summit in Glasgow to London last night

The PM reportedly took off from Glasgow Prestwick airport at 6.20pm before arriving at London's Stansted - where he was met by his security team who drove him to the club, according to the Mirror.

A Downing Street spokesperson told The Mirror: 'All travel decisions are made with consideration for security and time restraints.

'The prime minister returned on Tuesday night from four days of engagements in Rome and Glasgow, ahead of updating parliament on the important commitments secured both at the G20 and Cop26.

'The prime minister travelled on one of the most carbon-efficient planes of its size in the world, using the most sustainable aviation fuel possible. The UK will be offsetting all carbon emissions associated with running Cop26, including travel.'

Earlier this week Downing Street confirmed Mr Johnson would travel back to London by private jet due to 'time constraints' that mean he cannot use the direct train route between the two cities.

Pressed on why the Prime Minister could not go by train for a journey within the UK, the spokesman said it was important he was able to travel round the country while facing 'significant time constraints'.

Mr Johnson's charter aircraft produces less than half the emissions produced by the RAF Voyager which the Prime Minister sometimes uses for foreign travel.

But its use will embolden critics who say there is one set of rules for the global rich and another for everyone else, amid efforts to cut global air travel to cut emissions.

'Our approach to tackling climate change is to use technology so that we do not have to change how we use modes of transport, rather we use technology on things like electric vehicles so that we can still get to net zero,' the spokesman said.

The Prime Minister reportedly attended the evening gathering at The Garrick, in London's West End, after flying 400 miles from the climate change conference in Glasgow

Mr Johnson, who previously worked at the Daily Telegraph, was seen leaving the club alongside the former editor of the Telegraph Charles Moore. Pictured: Mr Johnson with Greg Clark, Charles Moore and Daniel Hannan in 2006

'That has very much been at the core of our approach.

'It is important that the Prime Minister is able to move round the country and obviously we face significant time constraints.

'The plane the Prime Minister used on his travels is one of the most carbon-efficient planes of its size in the world. It produces 50 per cent less CO2 emissions than, for example, the larger, Voyager plane.

'It uses a specific type of fuel that is a blend of 35 per cent sustainable aviation fuel and 65 per cent normal fuel, which is the maximum amount allowed.'

Mr Johnson used the aircraft, operated by Titan Airways, to fly out to the G20 summit in Rome on Friday and then carried on to Glasgow on Sunday.

The disclosure came after Chancellor Rishi Sunak faced accusations of hypocrisy when he announced a cut in air passenger duty on short-haul flights and a further freezing of fuel duty in his Budget last week, just days before the opening of COP26.
Billionaire Bill Gates reportedly shopped for 'hundreds of acres of farmland' in Turkey while vacationing aboard a superyacht that emits an estimated 19 tons of CO2 a day before heading to the climate change conference in Scotland.

The Microsoft founder, worth $138 billion according to Forbes, surveyed the land while he was on a trip to Turkey for his 66th birthday last week, where he celebrated alongside Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and toured the coast on a gas-guzzling vessel.

'He wants to create a large sustainable farm in Turkey,' a source told the New York Post.

Gates, 66, is already the largest farmland owner in the US with about 242,000 acres in 18 states.

Bill Gates reportedly shopped for 'hundreds of acres of farmland' while on a trip to Turkey for his birthday last week

Gates, the world's fourth richest man, toured the coast on the 107-meter-long LANA, above, a superyacht that likely emits 19 tons of CO2 per day

The tech entrepreneur and philanthropist has drawn criticism for his lavish lifestyle, which contributes to global carbon emissions at many times the rate of the average person, as he champions eco-friendly initiatives.

Gates reportedly shuttled Bezos and 50 guests from the massive LANA yacht to a restaurant in the Turkish city of Fethiye via helicopter for his birthday party last Thursday.

He had been vacationing off the coast of Turkey aboard the yacht for more than a week, according to the Post and Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

The 107-meter-long LANA boasts a master bedroom, seven VIP 'staterooms,' a cinema room, and a large pool on a sundeck, according to Imperial Yachts in Monaco, which rents the vessel for $2,110,500 a week.

Last week, Gates and about 50 guests, including Jeff Bezos, were flown via helicopter from the LANA to the Sea Me Beach in Turkeys southwestern province of Muglas Fethiye district

Gates celebrated his birthday at the restaurant for about four hours, according to local media

Gates is currently at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow and does not appear to have flown back to Turkey.

Representatives for Gates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com.

On Tuesday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it was pledging $315 million 'to help hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers adapt to a surge of climate threats now imperiling the global fight against hunger and poverty.'

Its total commitment to CGIAR, formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, now stands at about $1 billion.

'With this new pledge, CGIAR - which has been delivering high-impact solutions to farmers in low-income countries for 50 years - has secured over half a billion dollars in 2021 to develop a wide array of climate-smart innovations, like stress-tolerant crop varieties, climate forecasting services and new strategies for restoring degrading lands to improve productivity,' the Gates foundation said.

Highlights from a fascinating interview I did with Bill Gates for @Policy_Exchange: first of all a stark warning on how tough it will be to keep 1.5 alive. pic.twitter.com/0jDigpsrH0  Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) November 3, 2021

Last week's trip to Turkey, where Gates reportedly looked at land, was his second time visiting the country in four months, according to the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper.

Rumors swirled that he allegedly bought 22,000 acres in the Thrace region. His intentions to buy land momentarily raised prices, according to the newspaper.

'Landowners hoping to cash in on the opportunity are trying to sell their land at exorbitant prices, in particular to Turks abroad, with some listing up to 8,000 euro ($9,658.32) per parcel,' the Turkish newspaper reported.

Speaking with UK lawmaker Jeremy Hunt, Gates said he doubts the world will be able to meet the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

'Its all a matter of degrees, so to speak. That is, you know, hitting 2.5 is better than hitting 3, hitting 2 is better than hitting 2.5,' he said, according to video posted by Hunt on Twitter.

'1.5  will be very difficult, I doubt that well be able to achieve that.'

He added that there was 'no comparable feat that mankind has ever achieved to what we need to do for climate change,' but admitted that people as a whole are 'much richer today, far more knowledgeable today - we do have the digital tools that enable us to work on these things.

'What happened with solar panels, where they were very expensive and now theyre cheap, or lithium ion batteries, we need to do that for about six other technologies.'

Gate's purchases in Turkey would add to an already impressive land portfolio.

The tech billionaire has quietly bought up 242,000 acres of farmland in 18 states - and 268,984 of multi-use land in 19 states in total, making him the biggest agricultural landowner in the US

In 2014, Gates reportedly purchased more than 4,500 acres in Suwannee County, Florida, for nearly $28 million

In 2018, a 'Louisiana investor,' later revealed to be Gates, paid $171 million for a swath of farmland in the Horse Heaven Hill, one of the largest real estate purchases in recent memory

His largest holdings in the US include 69,071 acres in Louisiana, 47,927 acres in Arkansas, 25,750 acres in Arizona, 20,588 acres in Nebraska and 16,097 in Washington state.

But even then, Gates still doesn't rank in the Top 100 of private landowners overall in the U.S. - when considering owners of land of all types, not just agricultural.

The title for largest landholdings overall goes to US businessman John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media, who owns 2.2million acres.

Gates and Bezos have both been branded eco-hypocrites for lecturing the world on the need to combat the climate crisis by reducing carbon footprints, while at the same time vacationing off the coast of Turkey together on Gates's rental superyacht 'Lana'.

Superyachts emit 7,020 tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 19 tons per day.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Gates have been criticized for their lavish lifestyle while championing climate change mitigation efforts

'A superyacht with a permanent crew, helicopter pad, submarines and pools emits about 7,020 tons of CO2 a year  making it by far the worst asset to own from an environmental standpoint,' Richard Wilk and Beatriz Barros of the University of Indianas Department of Anthropology told the New York Post.

Wilk said the average persons CO2 emissions in a year are between 5 and 10 tons.

Bezos, now the richest man on the planet, flew into Glasgow on his $65 million Gulf Stream private jet on Monday.

The Amazon boss - who regularly lectures the world on climate change - reached Gates' boat by helicopter, according to reports.

It is unclear when Mr Gates arrived at Cop26, or what his method of transport was.

However, his superyacht was seen on Tuesday anchored off the coast of Mugla, a province in southwestern Turkey.
The watchdog at the heart of the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal insisted last night she wasn't going anywhere, despite the disgraced MP's calls for her to step down.

Former minister Mr Paterson, the Tory MP for North Shropshire, was found to have committed an 'egregious' breach of standards rules by directly advocating for two companies from which he has pocketed some 500,000.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone conducted an investigation and the Committee on Standards then recommended Mr Paterson be banned from the Commons for 30 sitting days.

A vote on that recommendation was due to take place on Wednesday, but allies of the MP brought forward an amendment to block the suspension and see his case reviewed, which was backed by a majority of 18.

But with a total of 51 Tories rebelling, Boris Johnson - who backed the move to block Mr Paterson's suspension - was last night accused of a 'colossal misjudgment' as a number of Conservatives claimed the government had created 'one rule for us, another rule for everyone else'.

Widespread criticism followed, including from the Labour benches where MPs could be heard shouting 'shame and 'what have you done to this place', but Mr Paterson doubled-down and insisted there was 'no question' he would do the same thing again.

He then told the Telegraph the commissioner and members of the Standards Committee should consider their position.

'Sadly they have not done a good job and come up with a rotten report which is full of inaccuracies... [they] all have to go,' he said.

But a defiant Ms Stone - who Tory critics have accused of being biased against Conservatives and Brexiteers - pledged to stay in the job for another year, despite the pressure from Mr Paterson's camp.

It comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made his fiercest statement yet, writing in the Guardian: 'I am sick of people skirting around calling this out for what it is: corruption.'

Mr Paterson was found to have committed an 'egregious' breach of standards rules as he lobbied for two companies paying him more than 100,000 per year. Mr Paterson, pictured with his late wife Rose, claimed the 'biased' way the standards inquiry was carried out was a major factor in her suicide last year

Tory MPs voted this afternoon to block the suspension of former minister Owen Paterson from the House of Commons

A defiant Kathryn Stone (pictured) pledged to stay on as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for another year, despite the pressure from Mr Paterson's camp and potential clashes with other Tory MPs, who have called for an overhaul of the standards process

Mr Paterson admitted last night he continues to work with Randox and Lynn's Country Foods - the two firms at the heart of the scandal.

He is said to have made three approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Randox and testing for antibiotics in milk in November 2016 and November 2017.

The emails are said to have read like marketing pitched on behalf of the firm, mentioning 'Randox's superior technology' in helping identify problems.

Quizzed over his actions, the MP told Sky News: 'No, I wouldn't hesitate tomorrow. Absolutely.

'When we found out about the milk I realised it was absolute dynamite. First of all it was very obvious that lives were at risk, and secondly, if it had been mishandled and had been leaked to keen media agents like you, we could have absolutely blown the UK dairy industry apart.

'So I had absolutely no hesitation whatever in calling a meeting very rapidly. And if you look at the witness statements, they are grateful that I did do that.

'As a result of those efforts, British milk is now safer. And we did it without disrupting the dairy industry. So I wouldn't hesitate to do it again tomorrow, absolutely no question.'

Meanwhile it emerged on Wednesday night that he had earnt more than 500,000 from the two companies, including a sum of 112,000 which he takes home every year  100,000 of which is from clinical diagnostics company Randox.

The other firm, Lynn's Country Foods, has paid him 2,000 a month  for four hours' work every other month  since January 2017.

Some 248 Tory MPs voted in favour of the amendment, along with ex-Tory and now independent MP Rob Roberts - who was recently suspended himself for sexually harassing a male staff member - and the DUP's Sammy Wilson.

Some 13 Tory MPs voted against the amendment despite the Government instructing them to vote for it. They were joined by 168 Labour MPs and 32 SNP MPs in opposing the move while 98 Tory MPs and 28 Labour did not record a vote.

While some of them will have been paired under voting rules coving MPs unable to attend Parliament, it shows the level of unrest in Tory ranks at the campaign.

Some 13 Tory MPs voted against the amendment, along with 168 Labour MPs and 32 SNP MPs

What has Owen Paterson been accused of and what has he said? Owen Paterson was censured by the Commons standards watchdog last week for a series of breaches of lobbying rules on behalf of two companies he was paid to advise. Why do Mr Paterson's supporters think he has been wronged? Allies of Mr Paterson claim it was 'so amateurish it failed to interview witnesses'. They claim that he had 17 witnesses ready to give oral evidence on his behalf but complained they were never called. The Standards Committee however, pointed out that each of the 17 had supplied it with comprehensive written statements and 'did not see what further 'relevant information could usefully be gleaned by inviting oral evidence from the witnesses concerned'. Supporters believe the current standards system is flawed and must be overhauled to give MPs the ability to appeal. Former Brexit secretary David Davis said there are flaws that 'should not be allowed in any system of justice, let alone one that is central to the operation of our democracy'. He said MPs currently have 'no effective right of appeal' because 'this is a standards system where one person is chief investigator and prosecutor combined'. Tory MPs want to replace the current standards system with a quasi-judicial process and a 'proper' appeal system. Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs said the right of appeal is 'fundamental to the provision of justice, which is regrettably not genuinely provided by the matter coming to the floor of this House'. He also claimed Paterson was acting as a whistleblower, discussing matters with government officials that 'save lives'. Who is supporting him and what are they trying to achieve? Dame Andrea Leadsom, the Tory former Cabinet minister, tabled an amendment - later passed - blocking the suspension of Mr Paterson and overhaul the House of Commons' standards process. The amendment has been signed by dozens of Tory MPs. They are: Andrea Leadsom, Sir Bernard Jenkin, Robert Halfon, Richard Drax, Anne Marie Morris, Dr Jamie Wallis, Bob Stewart, Gary Sambrook, Duncan Baker, Damian Green, David Jones, Pauline Latham, Julian Sturdy, John Howell, Richard Bacon, James Gray, Laurence Robertson, Sir Robert Neill, Craig Mackinlay, Mark Menzies Philip Dunne, Shailesh Vara, Sir Robert Syms, Dr Liam Fox, Sir Roger Gale, Dehenna Davison, Derek Thomas, Julian Knight, Jeremy Hunt, Sir Paul Beresford, Sheryll Murray, David Morris, Andrew Mitchell, Crispin Blunt, Sir William Cash, Simon Baynes, Robert Buckland, Sir Desmond Swayne, Lee Anderson, Chris Grayling, Huw Merriman, Nusrat Ghani, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Caroline Dinenage, James Duddridge, Mark Francois, Jake Berry, Chris Green, Sir Graham Brady, Sir Edward Leigh, Karl McCartney, Ben Bradley, Greg Smith, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Bob Blackman, Steve Brine, Fiona Bruce, Neil Parish, and Sir Greg Knight. Who was he working for? Mr Paterson became a consultant to clinical diagnostics firm Randox - which sponsors the Grand National horse race - in August 2015, a year after he left Government after serving as Secretary of State for northern Ireland and the Environment under David Cameron. He has carried out a similar role for Lynn's Country Foods, a processor and distributor of meat products including 'nitrite-free' items, since December 2016. Both firms are based in Northern Ireland and between them him more than 112,000 a year on top of his 80,000 annual MP salary. What is he said to have done? Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone found that he breached paragraph 11 of the 2015 MPs' Code of Conduct that prohibits 'paid advocacy' - when he made three approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Randox and testing for antibiotics in milk in November 2016 and November 2017 Emails to the FSA read like marketing pitched on behalf of the firm, mentioning 'Randox's superior technology' in helping identify problems. He went on to suggest that 'once established the application of the technology could be discussed not just within the FSA but across the whole dairy industry,' something from which the company stood to make large sums of money. The hardline Brexiteer broke the same rules by making seven approaches to the FSA for Lynn's Country Foods in November 2017, January 2018 and July 2018 regarding a rival 'global food producer (who) was acting in breach of EU law by mislabelling a product'. And the same rules were breached in in October 2016 and January 2017 when he made four approaches to ministers at the Department for International Development relating to Randox and blood testing technology. Ms Stone also found that Mr Paterson had breached paragraph 13 of the 2015 MPs' Code of Conduct, on declarations of interest, by failing to declare his interest as a paid consultant to Lynn's Country Foods in four emails to officials at the FSA on 16 November 2016, 15 November 2017, 8 January 2018 and 17 January 2018. Lastly, she found that Mr Paterson breached paragraph 15 of the 2015 MP's Code of Conduct, on use of parliamentary facilities, by using his Westminster office on 16 occasions for business meetings with his paying clients between October 2016 and February 2020; and in sending two letters, on 13 October 2016 and 16 January 2017, relating to his business interests, on House of Commons headed notepaper. What punishment did he face? After receiving her report the Commons Standards Committee, made up of a cross-party group of MPs, recommended he serve a 30-day suspension that could trigger a recall petition in his seat. What does he say? Mr Paterson continues to deny any wrongdoing, saying he was acting on genuine concerns for public safety. Ahead of the release of the investigation last week he made an astonishing attack on the Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone, claiming her 'cruel' probe in to his activities contributed to the death of his wife, Rose, who took her own life last year. The 65-year-old North Shropshire MP believes the investigation against him was 'biased' and 'an absolute denial of justice'. After tonight's vote he said: 'The process I was subjected to did not comply with natural justice. 'No proper investigation was undertaken by the commissioner or committee. 'The Standards Commissioner has admitted making up her mind before speaking to me or any witnesses. 'All I have ever asked is to have the opportunity to make my case through a fair process. 'The decision today in Parliament means that I will now have that opportunity. 'After two years of hell, I now have the opportunity to clear my name. 'I am extremely grateful to the PM, the Leader of the House and my colleagues for ensuring that fundamental changes will be made to internal parliamentary systems of justice. 'I hope that no other MP will ever again be subject to this shockingly inadequate process.' Advertisement

Former justice secretary Robert Buckland acknowledged it would have been better to seek reform to the standards system without it happening against the backdrop of the Paterson case.

'I can understand the strength of feeling today but these difficult moments do allow us a chance to make a meaningful reform which I think will be better in the long run,' he told ITV's Peston.

Mr Buckland, a former member of the Standards Committee, added: 'In a perfect world we should be doing this without events like the one of today. But this is how Parliament sometimes works, it's imperfect.'

Meanwhile, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the Government's decision to back Dame Andrea Leadsom's amendment was to ensure 'due process' in standards cases.

He insisted the move was not about whether Owen Paterson was in the right or wrong.

'What happened was that Owen was sanctioned and there was no right of appeal. What Andrea Leadsom's amendment was trying to do was essentially give some right of appeal in the process,' he told ITV's Peston.

'The point about the vote today wasn't to say whether Owen was in the right or in the wrong.

'What the vote was doing today was to try and bring some due process to where we were.'

The amendment will create a new committee with a Tory majority which will make recommendations for a shake-up of the current standards system. It is due to report by February 3 next year.

But Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats have vowed to boycott the new body, meaning it risks being seen as Tories 'marking their own homework'.

Labour research tonight suggested that of 59 MPs who signed the amendment, 14 had previously been censured by the watchdog.

Following the Commons vote, Mr Paterson - who voted for the amendment himself - said: 'After two years of hell, I now have the opportunity to clear my name.'

Mr Paterson's register of interests says he earns 12,000 a year from Lynn's as a 'consultant' to the sausage processing and distribution company.

Since August 2015, he has worked as a consultant to Randox Laboratories, for which he initially earned 4,166 a month for eight hours' work. This rose to 8,333 a month and his hours doubled to 16 a month in April 2017, the Committee on Standards said.

Its report, which relates to Mr Paterson's conduct between October 2016 and February 2020, said his remuneration from Randox and Lynn's amounted to nearly three times his annual parliamentary salary. As a backbench MP, Mr Paterson earns a basic annual salary of 81,932.

His work for Randox and Lynn's means he has earned more than 500,000 since 2015 on top of his salary as an MP. Mr Paterson told the inquiry he did not have written contracts with the two firms, the report said.

Mr Johnson had signalled at PMQs at lunchtime that the Government intended to support the amendment as he was grilled by Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner.

He had questioned whether Mr Paterson had the 'opportunity to make representations' during the investigation as the premier backed calls for reform of the system.

Ms Rayner hit back and said that blocking the suspension of the former minister would show it is 'one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us'.

Mr Paterson has angrily disputed the findings of the standards report, claiming the investigation was unfairly conducted.

Downing Street said in a statement issued this morning that the standards process needed to change as Number 10 insisted 'this isn't about one case'.

The passage of the amendment could prompt the resignation of Ms Stone who some Tory critics accuse of being biased against Conservative MPs and Brexiteers.

Allies of Mr Paterson admitted on Wednesday morning the plan to block the suspension and overhaul the standards system 'looks terrible'.

But they insisted there was 'no alternative' because the current 'hopeless' system 'doesn't respect natural justice'.

Sir Bernard Jenkin, a friend of Mr Paterson, said there has been a 'bad system for years and years and years' and the crunch vote in the Commons was an 'opportunity to fix it'.

The row over this afternoon's vote dominated PMQs as Ms Rayner, who was standing in for Sir Keir Starmer who is still in Covid self-isolation, accused the Tories of 'wallowing in sleaze'.

Labour's deputy leader grilled Mr Johnson on whether he was going to support the Leadsom amendment.

The PM replied: 'Paid lobbying, paid advocacy in this House is wrong and let me make absolutely no bones about that and members who are found guilty of that should apologise and pay the necessary penalties.

'But that is not the issue in this case or this vote that is before us today. It is not.

'The issue in this case which involved a serious family tragedy is whether a member of this House had a fair opportunity to make representations in this case and whether as a matter of natural justice our procedures allow for proper appeal.

'That I think is something that should be of interest to members across this House and should be approached properly in a spirit of moderation and compassion.'

Ms Rayner hit back and said: 'Let me put this to him simply. If it was a police officer, a teacher, a doctor, we would expect the independent process to be followed and not changed after the verdict.

'It is one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us.'

Ms Rayner said of the Tories that 'when they break the rules, they just remake the rules'.

Earlier, Sir Bernard had told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there are 'long standing problems' with the standards system as he defended the move to reform it.

He admitted the circumstances mean it 'looks terrible' but he insisted there is 'no alternative'.

He said: 'This looks terrible. We have had a bad system for years and years and years. I just see this as an opportunity to fix it.

'We are not letting Owen Paterson off. We are not exonerating him. We are not condemning him.

'We are going to put his case in front of a proper judicial style panel where there can be proper hearing and proper cross-examination of witnesses and natural justice.

'Our present process doesn't respect natural justice. No where else in business would that be allowed.'

Sir Bernard said the current process is 'very unsatisfactory' because it requires the House of Commons as a whole to 'give a final opinion on whether this case has been handled properly'.

He added: 'That is a hopeless system. It looks terrible. I don't want to be here. But there is no alternative because that is the system we have got.'

Asked if he expects the Government to back the amendment to reform the system, he said that 'nothing has been decided'.

The Leadsom amendment will see the creation of a new committee that will examine  among other issues  whether the case against Mr Paterson should be reviewed.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Tory move showed it is 'one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us'

Downing Street signalled its support for the amendment this morning as it said in a statement that the current standards system should be reformed.

A Number 10 spokesman said: 'It is essential that all in Parliament uphold the highest standards in public life. There must be tough and robust checks against lobbying for profit. There must be a proper process to scrutinise and  if necessary  discipline those who do not follow the rules.

'As in any normal workplace and all walks of life, people should be entitled to the right to appeal. This is sacrosanct in providing fairness and natural justice, and ensuring there is an opportunity to check due process and that the right procedures were followed.

'This isn't about one case but providing Members of Parliament from all political parties with the right to a fair hearing.

'Therefore the Commons should seek cross-party agreement on a new appeals process whereby the conclusions of the standards committee and the Commissioner can be looked at. This could include judicial and lay member representation on the appeals panel.'

A separate amendment proposed by Tory Julian Lewis said no further action should be taken 'on compassionate grounds' and this had been supported by fellow Conservatives William Wragg and Peter Bone, with a total of 13 MPs backing it as of last night.

Mr Paterson has said the manner in which the investigation was carried out had 'undoubtedly' played a 'major role' in the decision of his wife Rose to take her own life last year.

The Commons Speaker did not select the Lewis amendment.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday expressed sympathy for the MP's claim that the commissioner did not speak to 17 witnesses who came forward to support him, describing that decision as 'interesting'.

Mr Rees-Mogg told his ConservativeHome podcast: 'It is always very important that systems appear to be fair, and therefore if somebody has witnesses, it would normally appear to be fair that those witnesses should be heard.

Former victims' commissioner who investigated Boris's Mustique 'freebie' Kathryn Stone has proved a thorn in the side of senior MPs in her four years as Standards Commissioner. The former social worker investigated Boris Johnson's holiday to Mustique last year and also set her sights on John Bercow, now-disgraced former Labour MP Keith Vaz and the DUP's Ian Paisley Junior, for breaking parliament's rules. She replaced Kathryn Hudson in 2017, having previously served as Commissioner for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland, a commissioner for the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and Chief Legal Ombudsman. She earned the enmity of Mr Johnson last year when she investigated his controversial lavish Caribbean holiday with his now wife Carrie. He was dramatically cleared of breaking Commons rules over the 15,000 Mustique 'freebie' after the Standards Committee over-ruled her finding that it breach the Code of Conduct. The cross-party committee found the PM had made an 'accurate and complete' declaration about the holiday in December 2019, saying it was a donation from Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross even though the couple did not stay in his villa. Ms Stone had originally slammed the PM for 'not showing the accountability required of those in public life'. The report also suggested that the premier himself did not know exactly how the jaunt was being funded until after he arrived on Mustique and realised he was not staying in Mr Ross's own property. Advertisement

'The commissioner in her report that was adopted said the witnesses weren't needed because their evidence they gave wasn't relevant to the inquiry.

'And that is an interesting view to come to, because other people might say: 'How do you know whether it was relevant to the inquiry until you've taken their evidence and have found out the precise context of how things were done?'

As part of Dame Andrea's proposals, MPs on the Conservative-majority committee led by former culture secretary John Whittingdale will examine whether the standards system should mirror that of investigations of misconduct in other workplaces, including the right of representation, the examination of witnesses, and the right of appeal.

The committee will comprise of Mr Whittingdale and eight other MPs - four Tories, three Labour and one SNP.

Mr Whittingdale will have the casting vote in the event of a tie.

The Leadsom amendment was vehemently opposed by Labour, with the party having repeatedly warned against trying to overhaul the system.

Thangam Debbonaire, shadow Commons leader, had said: 'Let's not forget that the cross-party standards committee, including three Tory MPs, endorsed the commissioner's 30-day sanction for a breach of the rule around paid advocacy.'

She had said that 'the Tories want to jettison the system that has served us well and which has been a vital part of rebuilding public trust after the dark days of Tory sleaze this Government seems determined to return to'.

But Mr Rees-Mogg said there was 'precedence' for amending a motion to suspend an MP, saying it was last done in 1947.

Sir Lindsay's spokeswoman did not deny a report in The Times that suggested he believed blocking the suspension would bring the House into disrepute.

Ms Stone's investigation found Mr Paterson repeatedly lobbied on behalf of two companies for which he was acting as a paid consultant  Randox and Lynn's Country Foods.

But the MP struck back, saying the investigation finding he breached rules on paid advocacy by MPs was a 'biased process and not fair'.

Committee on Standards chairman Chris Bryant urged MPs to 'read the report in full, with a fair and open mind' and warned against voting it down in what would be an unprecedented move in the committee's roughly 36-year history.

Kathryn Stone has previously been accused by some Tory critics of being biased against Conservative MPs and Brexiteers

He told the House that if the Leadsom amendment was supported 'the public would think that we would be the Parliament that licensed cash for questions'.

He said: 'If the House were to vote down or water down the sanction or carry the amendment, it would be endorsing his action. We would be dismantling the rule on paid advocacy which has been around in some shape or form since 1695.

'I'm afraid the public would think that we would be the Parliament that licensed cash for questions.'

Mr Bryant said: 'It is the very definition of injustice that one should change the rules or the process at the very last moment, and to do so for a named individual, which is what the amendment does today.'

He said a Conservative colleague said to him on Monday that 'justice should always be tempered by mercy. I agree. But justice also demands no special favours'.

Disgraced MP Owen Paterson has earnt more than 500,000 from firms at the centre of lobbying scandal

By Harriet Line, Chief Political Correspondent for the Daily Mail

A defiant Owen Paterson insisted last night he would 'do it again' as it emerged that he had earnt more than 500,000 from two companies at the centre of the lobbying row.

The ex-Cabinet minister still earns 112,000 a year from the firms  100,000 of which is from clinical diagnostics company Randox.

The other firm, Lynn's Country Foods, has paid him 2,000 a month  for four hours' work every other month  since January 2017.

Mr Paterson was found to have repeatedly lobbied on behalf of the firms but last night he defiantly stood by his actions, saying that by raising concerns about carcinogenic products in milk and ham he had 'saved lives'. He told the BBC: 'If it happened again this morning, I would do it again.'

He added on Sky he would have 'no question' doing the same again. 'No, I wouldn't hesitate tomorrow. Absolutely,' he said.

And in a statement, he said: 'The process I was subjected to did not comply with natural justice. No proper investigation was undertaken by the commissioner or committee.

'After two years of hell, I now have the opportunity to clear my name. I hope that no other MP will ever again be subject to this shockingly inadequate process.'

Mr Paterson's register of interests says he earns 12,000 a year from Lynn's as a 'consultant' to the sausage processing and distribution company.

Since August 2015, he has worked as a consultant to Randox Laboratories, for which he initially earned 4,166 a month for eight hours' work. This rose to 8,333 a month and his hours doubled to 16 a month in April 2017, the Committee on Standards said.

Its report, which relates to Mr Paterson's conduct between October 2016 and February 2020, said his remuneration from Randox and Lynn's amounted to nearly three times his annual parliamentary salary. As a backbench MP, Mr Paterson earns a basic annual salary of 81,932.

His work for Randox and Lynn's means he has earned more than 500,000 since 2015 on top of his salary as an MP. Mr Paterson told the inquiry he did not have written contracts with the two firms, the report said.

The Standards Commissioner said she expressed 'surprise' to him and would have expected him to have written contracts. She added it was not clear 'what duties were expected' of him after the initial phase of his work for Randox or his work for Lynn's.
Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine has interrogated some of Australia's worst murderers and ensured they were brought to justice.

But nothing compares to Wednesday November 3 2021, the day the Western Australian cop rescued four-year-old Cleo Smith from a locked bedroom inside a rundown Carnarvon home, which he describes as the best moment of his distinguished policing career.

The top homicide detective has made headlines around the world, hailed as one of the officers responsible for the discovery of Cleo alive and well, 18 days after she was allegedly taken from a tent at a campsite 75km north.

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine (pictured left) was one of the officers involved in the rescue of Cleo Smith (right) who was found in a Carnarvon home 18 days after she vanished

Footage from body cameras shared by Western Australia Police shows the moment the little girl was carried out of the home and put at ease by Senior Sergeant Blaine, a dad himself.

'My name's Cameron, how are you? Are you alright?' he bends down to speak to Cleo in a gentle, soothing voice.

'We're going to take you to see your mummy and daddy, OK? Is that good?'

The little girl is seen nodding multiple times.

It's not the first time Senior Sergeant Blaine has been part of a high profile case.

He has been integral to some of Western Australia's biggest homicide investigations and ensured some of the state's worst killers were sentenced to life behind bars.

In 2017, Aaron Raymond Craig, now 50, was sentenced to a minimum 19 years behind bars for the murder 25-year-old Bradley Hoddy before burying him in a remote pine forest in 2006.

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine (right) has been part of some of Western Australia's biggest homicide investigations. He's pictured interviewing Aaron Raymond Craig (left) over the 2006 murder of Bradley Hoddy

Footage shows Craig later retracing his steps in the forest as part of the police investigation, telling Detective Blaine how he and two accomplices abducted Mr Hoddy and drove him to a remote pine plantation in Mount Cooke.

Justice Michael Corboy described it as a 'very brutal and pre-meditated killing' while sentencing Craig.

The investigator also interviewed housemates Jemma Lilley and Trudi Lenon over the murder of autistic teen Aaron Pajich-Sweetman, 18, in Perth in 2016.

The pair were later sentenced to life behind bars.

Senior Sergeant Blaine grilled Perth father Ernest Fisher over the murder his son, Matthew Fisher-Turner, found stabbed to death in the family home in 2016.

He was also one of the lead detectives who investigated the 2015 death of Travis Mills, who was bashed unconscious at his home and put in the boot of a car that was later set on fire.

Mills, 30, was found dead in the burned shell of his Ford Falcon Sedan in a vacant lot.

Five people were later convicted, including Mills' partner and her mother.

Senior Sergeant Blaine also interviewed Trudi Lenon (left) and Jemma Lilley (right) over the murder of autistic teen Aaron Pajich-Sweetman in Perth in 2016.

Detective Senior Sergeant Cameron Blaine (pictured) described rescuing Cleo as the best moment of his career

Senior Sergeant Blaine recalled the moment he and three colleagues broke into a home and found little Cleo in a locked bedroom shortly before 1am on Wednesday.

'I just wanted to be absolutely sure that, it certainly looks like Cleo, I wanted to be sure it was her,' he told reporters.

'I said, "what is your name?" She didn't answer, I asked three times and then she looked at me and said, "my name is Cleo." And that was it.

'Then we turned around and walked out of the house. Not long after that, we got into the car and the officer I was with called Cleo's parents and said ''we've got someone here that wants to speak to you''.

'It was a wonderful feeling to make that call. They were ecstatic.'

The detective described Cleo Smith (pictured in hospital after the rescue on Wednesday) as a an 'energiser bunny'

Detective Blaine described Cleo as an 'energiser bunny' and confirmed she was unharmed when she was found.

When asked if it was the best moment of his career, he replied: 'Without a doubt'.

'We all wanted to take turns holding her.'

A man, 36, remains in police custody and is yet to be charged.
A police superintendent who fiddled his expenses and used hire cars when he was not allowed to, was today convicted of gross misconduct and told he would have been sacked had he not already taken retirement from Dorset Police.

Michael Rogers was found guilty by a disciplinary panel which heard how he made inappropriate use of hire cars and made bogus expenses claims while serving with the force.

He appeared at the misconduct hearing at Dorset Police Headquarters in Winfrith over allegations he had breached the force's standards of professional behaviour relating to honesty and integrity.

A Dorset Police spokesman said tonight: 'It was found that between July 2015 and March 2019 Mr Rogers had used hire or pool vehicles for work and for private journeys when he knew that he should not do so and knowingly declared less private mileage than he had travelled and submitted claims for expenses that he had not incurred.

Michael Rogers was found guilty by a disciplinary panel at Dorset Police Headquarters in Winfrith (pictured) which heard how he made inappropriate use of hire cars and made bogus expenses claims while serving with the force

'The panel was told that between July 2015 and October 2016 Mr Rogers was claiming for essential vehicle user allowance, which compensated him for using his personal vehicle while carrying out his duties. However, he was still regularly using pool or hire vehicles at the Force's expense. He was also using these vehicles for private journeys.

'From November 2016 Mr Rogers took possession of a force vehicle, which he was free to use as he wished but was required to declare his personal mileage.

'It was alleged that Mr Rogers had substantially under-declared how much private mileage he had undertaken between November 2016 to March 2019. He faced further allegations in relation to making additional claims for expenses, such as meals where he claimed for more than he spent.

'The hearing panel determined that Mr Rogers had breached the standards of professional behaviour and was guilty of gross misconduct. It was determined that, had he still been employed by Dorset Police, he would have been dismissed.'

Following the hearing, Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya, Dorset Police's lead for professional standards, said: 'We expect the highest standards of professionalism and integrity at all times from our officers, particularly those in senior positions.

'It is hugely disappointing that a former superintendent has been found guilty of gross misconduct. Dorset Police expects everyone in the service to operate with honesty and integrity in everything they do.

A Dorset Police spokesman said tonight: 'It was determined that, had he still been employed by Dorset Police, he would have been dismissed' (stock image)

'The former superintendent was in a position of authority where they should have acted as a role model to others and led professional standards across their teams and the wider organisation.

'In this case their dishonest behaviour has been proven to have fallen short of our expectations. Had the individual not already left the organisation, the outcome of the hearing would have led to dismissal.

'I would like to assure the public that we respond decisively to allegations against officers and staff of all levels and ranks and we will hold them to account when they fail to adhere to the high standards the Force, our public and communities expect of them.

'If you have any concerns in respect of any member of the organisation, we encourage you to report them to Dorset Police so they can be thoroughly investigated.'
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Wednesday that 'conditions are likely to be set' in Afghanistan for ISIS or Al Qaeda to resurge, possibly in as little as six months.

'My own personal estimate is that the conditions are likely to be set for a reconstituted ISIS or Al Qaeda, I gave out windows of time - 6 months, I gave it out 36 months, somewhere in that window,' Milley told NBC's Lester Holt at the Aspen Security Forum.

'Does that mean they will attack the United States? Maybe, maybe not. That depends,' Milley said.

The chairman said that the Taliban are going to be 'challenged' as to whether they can 'adequately govern' or if Afghanistan is going to crumble into 'warring factions,' in which case ISIS and Al Qaeda would easily reconstitute.

Asked if US troops would have to reoccupy, Milley said: 'I think it's unlikely at this point.'

'With Al Qaeda, with ISIS and with the Taliban and other groups, until and unless that movement and ideology ceases, were going to be dealing with terrorism for a long time to come,' Milley said.

The chairman added that the US State Department is in talks with the Taliban 'day to day' on getting more Americans out of Afghanistan.

The Pentagon admitted last month that as many as 450 Americans are still in Afghanistan, more than the Biden administration has previously let on.

Colin H. Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said that the US is in contact with 196 Americans who are ready to depart and another 243 US citizens have been contact or are not ready to depart.

'My own personal estimate is that the conditions are likely to be set for a reconstituted ISIS or Al Qaeda, I gave out windows of time - 6 months, I gave it out 36 months, somewhere in that window,' Milley told NBC's Lester Holt

Taliban stands guard outside the military hospital, a day after bomb blasts and attack by IS militants, in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday

The chairman said that the Taliban are going to be 'challenged' as to whether they can 'adequately govern' or if Afghanistan is going to crumble into 'warring factions,' in which case ISIS and Al Qaeda would easily reconstitute

Taliban stand guard as people move forward to cross into Pakistan at Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan on Wednesday

Milley said the US is taking a 'whole of government' approach to looking out for warning signs of a reconstituted ISIS or al Qaeda. He said that if that were to happen, he would present the president with a 'variety of options' to 'delay, disrupt or destroy' the terrorist group.

Milley also said the US 'absolutely' has the capability to defend Taiwan from an encroaching China.

'We absolutely have the capability to do all kinds of things throughout the world, including to do that,' the chairman said. 'If required, those are presidential policy decisions, but we absolutely have the capability, there's no question about that.'

Milley maintained that US policy toward the island democracy was still based off the Taiwan Relations Act, and modeled after 'ambiguity.'

Milley said the US is 'witnessing one of largest shifts in global geostrategic power' due to China's fast-developing strategic capabilities.

'They are clearly challenging us regionally, and their aspiration is to challenge the US globally, they've been very clear about that.'

Last week, the chairman said China's missile development is 'very close' to another 'Sputnik moment.'

Tensions have increased around the island of Taiwan in recent weeks. China has stepped up military flights around the self-governed island and used increasingly bellicose language.

At the same time, the U.S. has made clear that will continue to help Taiwan defend itself.

Biden said the US was 'not going to change our attitude' on matters like sea lanes, international air space and cybersecurity.

'I'm not looking for, I don't anticipate there to be a need for armed conflict.'

Hours after Milley's remarks, a Pentagon report found that China could have as many as 1,000 nuclear warheads by the end of this decade.

Last year, the Department of Defense assessed that China's nuclear weapons stockpile was somewhere in the low-200s.
Cleo Smith was found 'alive and well' by police locked in a house in her hometown - just seven minutes drive from her own family home - after a terrifying 18-day ordeal

Little Cleo Smith will have a very clear recollection of parts of her 18-day ordeal but detectives face a race against time to extract key details from the youngster, a leading psychologist has warned.

The four-year-old was reunited with her family barely 24 hours ago after police rammed their way into a rundown house in Carnarvon just before 1am on Wednesday morning.

She went missing 18 days earlier from her family's tent at the remote Blowholes campsite 73km away from the town, sparking a massive police search operation.

Forensic psychologist Dr Celine Van Golde said Cleo may only remember specific 'events' during her abduction and should be interviewed as soon as possible to minimise any memory loss.

'If it was 10 years later, it would be a different question,' she told News Corp. 'But at this point if she's interviewed in an appropriate way, she can recall a lot of details.'

The University of Sydney senior lecturer said specially-trained officers who know how to interview children may get the best results by asking her about specific points during her abduction.

She said children often have very detailed memories of particular moments or events, rather than a general recollection of what happened to them.

The first picture of Cleo, safe and sound in hospital, after she was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, in northwest Western Australia, where she was held for 18 days

In Cleo's case, she may be able to clearly recall the finer details of being taken from her family's tent.

'What we find is that you are able to get very accurate details if you go for example by the event that happens,' Dr Golde said.

The youngster's memory may have been affected by any trauma she suffered, the expert claimed, but Cleo would be forthcoming if asked the right questions.

'She could have issues with remembering specific details. However, with appropriate interviewing techniques, details can be retrieved as well from a memory,' the expert said.

The police investigation into her disappearance dramatically shifted after officers raided the Tonkin Crescent house and found Cleo in one of the rooms at 12.46am on Wednesday morning.

Hopes were fading fast the toddler would be found alive but a 'tip off' late on Tuesday night was the 'final piece of the puzzle' police needed to pounce.

Her suspected abductor, a 36-year-old man (pictured), was taken to hospital after his arrest

Cleo's suspected abductor, 36, was arrested about an hour before she was found after being bundled out of a car in the town and rushed to hospital.

The intel from the public contained 'really important information about a car' which was later confirmed with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads'.

The first images of the suspect have been revealed showing the man in the back of an ambulance with bandages wrapped around his head.

He spent Wednesday morning being interrogated by detectives before being rushed to Carnarvon Hospital where he is now being guarded by three police officers.

A reward poster for missing Cleo Smith is seen on Wednesday outside Carnarvon Airport (pictured) hours after the four-year-old was miraculously found alive and well

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together with younger daughter Isla) after 18 agonising days of searching for their little girl

Neighbours who witnessed the dramatic police raid, after which officers were seen carrying a crow bar and a battering ram out of the house, described how Cleo was carried to safety.

'We stood back and waited but after that, we saw someone, on the detective shoulder. We thought it might be the little girl, which it was,' Henry Dodd said.

'I went closer to the detectives car and I saw her in the back of the car with the detective, he was holding her. They put her in the back and I came over, rushed over here and seen her there. She looked at me, a bit scared.'

Mr Dodd said he was shocked he had been just metres away from her while the nationwide hunt was going on for her.

'I just can't believe it and get over the fact that she is just the house down from us and locked up here for a couple of weeks,' he added.

'Going on three weeks, she is straight across from us. I've got little sisters there...'

Shocked neighbours (pictured) woke up to the news that Cleo Smith was found by WA police on their quiet street

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Police feared Cleo could have been spirited away to anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her parents Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent.

Police initially believed she had simply wandered off but investigators soon came to the worrying conclusion she had been snatched by a brazen child predator in the dead of night.
A 19-year-old suspected street racer appeared in Los Angeles court on Wednesday in connection with a deadly crash that killed three people, including the son of comedian Tony Baker.

Hamlet Arseni Aghajanyan was brought into the Los Angeles Superior Court handcuffed to a wheelchair for a preliminary setting hearing.

During his arraignment in August, Aghajanyan pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of reckless driving.

Hamlet Arseni Aghajanyan appears in Los Angeles Superior Court in a wheelchair before Judge Michael D. Carter on Wednesday

Aghajanyan, 19, is charged with murder and reckless driving in connection with the death of three people in a fiery crash in Burbank on August 3

Aghajanyan was allegedly street-racing with a younger teen at the time of the crash. Wednesday's hearing was to set a date for a preliminary hearing

Aghajanyan suffered multiple injuries in the crash that required several surgeries

According to prosecutors, on August 3, Aghajanyan and a 17-year-old boy were street-racing in Burbank when they smashed into a Volkswagen, killing Jaiden Kishon Johnson, 20, Natalee Asal Moghaddam, 19, and Cerain Baker, 21.

Baker was the son of comedian and actor Tony Baker. A fourth passenger who was riding in the Volkswagen survived and was hospitalized in critical condition.

Officials said Aghajanyan was behind the wheel of a Kia that was racing alongside a Mercedes-Benz when the two vehicles collided with the victims' car as it was making a left turn at an intersection shortly before midnight.

The impact tore the Volkswagen in half, causing three of its occupants to be thrown onto the roadway.

The silver Kia that was carrying the victims was torn in half, ejecting its occupants onto the roadway

Cerain Baker (pictured), the 21-year-old son of actor Tony Baker, was killed in the crash

Jaiden Johnson, 20, of Burbank (pictured left) and Natalee Moghaddam, 19, of Calabasas (pictured right) were also pronounced dead at the scene

'It feels like it's not real - we get waves of grief,' Baker, an actor who was in the movie 'Whiplash' and starred in a number of TV series, like 'A Black Lady Sketch Show,' told NBC 4 Los Angeles about his son Cerain. 'We sob uncontrollably. Then it's back to regular conversation.'

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said later the three people killed had died of 'multiple blunt-force injuries.'

'It feels like it's not real - we get waves of grief,' Baker, an actor who was in the movie 'Whiplash' and starred in a number of TV series, like 'A Black Lady Sketch Show,' told NBC 4 Los Angeles about his son Cerain. 'We sob uncontrollably. Then it's back to regular conversation.'

Aghajanyan's Kia burst into flames, inflicting injuries upon him that required several weeks of hospitalization and multiple surgeries.

The underage driver of the Mercedes Benz was unharmed. He has been detained at a juvenile facility, facing the same charges as Aghajanyan.

Aghajanyan's attorney George Mgdesyan previously said his client feels remorseful about the accident, reported ABC7.

'He feels very bad for what's happened,' Mgdesyan said.
Police had to force its way into a home in Sydney's west while after a man barricaded himself and two others inside.

It's understood police used flash stun grenades on entering the house in Blacktown, the Today Show reported.

A man was arrested at the scene shortly after 6am and taken to hospital for assessment.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia it was unable to comment further at the moment.

More to come.
WA's Police Minister has said Cleo Smith was not snatched as part of a paedophile ring but that one person acting alone was allegedly responsible.

The four-year-old has woken up at home this morning after being found alive and well in a Carnarvon house early on Wednesday morning, sparking a wave of relief across the nation.

'To our knowledge this is one individual, it's one person who has done this horrible thing,' police minister Paul Papalia told Sunrise on Thursday.

Mr Papalia added as the investigation is ongoing he has to be 'careful talking about the detail'.

'There is no reason to expect that anybody else has been involved.' he said.

The first picture of Cleo Smith, safe and sound in hospital, after she was rescued from a house in Carnarvon, in northwest Western Australia, where she was held for 18 days

Mr Papalia also said Cleo was found through solid police work rather than a tip-off from the public.

'What I can say is the result of this outcome was just hard police grind. It wasn't lucky observation by somebody or a tip-off or some clairvoyant calling in - although, there were hundreds of those,' he told Today on Thursday.

'It was just hard, solid police work and putting together information that they had managed to identify and ultimately leading to the arrest and the rescue of Cleo.'

A man, 36, is in custody and over the suspected kidnapping after Cleo was found in a locked room at the man's house but has not been charged.

Investigators said he was not at the house when the girl was found and has no connection to the family.

He reportedly suffered self-inflicted head injuries while in his holding cell and is under police guard in hospital.

The 36-year-old man (pictured) was taken to hospital after reportedly sustaining head injuries in custody on Wednesday

Police Minister Paul Papaila said one person is allegedly responsible for the abduction (pictured)

WA Police deputy commissioner Col Blanch told Sunrise the man would be interviewed when he recovers.

'We've got to make sure we give them the best opportunity to answer our questions, and that's to ensure the court process is validated if we get to that point.' he said.

He added specialist child interviewers would also speak to Cleo to ascertain what happened in the 18 days she was missing.

'Her physical well-being seemed ok, but there is a lot of work to be done with a child of such young age to understand what they've been through.

'It's not like you'd do an normal adult interview when you're basically straight into the 'what happened' - it's really about getting to know them, making them feel comfortable and they can talk when they're ready to talk.'

Forensic police transport carpet away from the Carnarvon property on Thursday (pictured)

On Wednesday, Cleo Smith's mother celebrated her daughter's discovery with a simple message shared with her family and friends.

Ellie Smith posted a screenshot to her Instagram page early on Wednesday morning confirming her daughter was found 'alive and well'.

'Our family is whole again,' she wrote.

A close family friend also revealed the emotional message Ellie wrote to her loved ones to let them know her 'beautiful girl is home'.

Ellie Smith posted a screenshot to her Instagram stories early on Wednesday morning (pictured)

'To be woken at 4.50am with my phone going crazy at 4.50am and see the words Cleo is home alive and safe,' she wrote on Facebook.

'Seeing Ellie saying her 'beautiful girl is home' is nothing short of a miracle. We are so happy for her to be home.'

The Instagram post is the first the relieved mother-of-two has uploaded since she was reunited with Cleo after the youngster was found inside a home in Carnarvon, Western Australia, following an extensive 18-day search.

Police broke into a locked house at about 1am on Wednesday in the one of the rooms of the suburban property which is just seven minutes' drive away from her mother Ellie and step-father Jake's house.

Cleo is now back in the arms of her mum Ellie and stepfather Jake (pictured together)

Other close friends and family members shared the happy news on social media.

Cleo's grandmother Kathy Smith said: 'Thank to all for bringing my beautiful granddaughter home.'

Another said she was 'literally balling my eyes out. Cleo is finally home'.

'We have the BEST police force in the world,' another family member wrote on Facebook. 'Thank you all soooo much.'

'The best news this morning, thank god,' someone else shared.

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed just before 7am AEDT that Cleo is alive and well and had been reunited with her relieved parents.

One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her 'what's your name?' he said.

'She said: 'My name is Cleo'.'

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson confirmed he watched the footage of her rescue, and said the little girl was smiling and 'as well as we could expect in the circumstances'.

'I saw the vision, Cleo is a beautiful little four-year-old girl,' he said. 'She's alive, well, smiling, so it is a wonderful, wonderful result.'

He also said Cleo's mother Ellie Smith and step-father Jake Gliddon were feeling emotional, but are 'strong people'.

'They have good support around them.'

'It's a wonderful result today but it'll be a tough journey for them.'

Cleo has been reunited with her relieved parents

The home where Cleo was found is just a seven minute drive away from Cleo Smith's parents home in Carnarvon

A 36-year-old man is currently in custody and being questioned by detectives. Commissioner Dawson told ABC radio the man has no connection to Cleo or her family.

The house has been cordoned off with tape and a neighbour told Nine's Today Show: 'S**t, she's been that close.'

A second neighbour claimed to have seen the arrested man buying nappies from the local Woolworths supermarket.

'The other day, like, I think it was Monday, we saw him in the Woolworths buying nappies but we didn't click on who it was or what he was buying them for, who was buying for,' they told Sunrise. 'Until now.'

They described the man who lived at the house as 'quiet' and said they wouldn't expect him to be involved.

Another neighbour told the Today show: 'S***, she's been that close.'

Cleo's mum Ellie Smith (pictured during her daughter's disappearance) has been regular public appeals for her daughter to be found

Thousands of overjoyed Australians flocked to Ellie's Instagram to say they are 'crying tears of joy'.

'Cried as soon as I turned the TV on and saw this on the news. So happy she is safe and well!' one woman wrote.

'I think a lot of people are crying with relief for you this morning! I can't imagine how you must be feeling. So happy for you,' another shared.

Someone else commented: 'Mums all over Australia are crying tears of relief for your family.'

A woman who followed the story from the UK said: 'Have been watching from UK and I'm so happy for you all. What an amazing job the police have done. Have an amazing reunion. You never gave up hope. Enjoy being whole again.'

Deputy Commissioner Blanch said: 'This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for.'

'It's the outcome we've achieved because of some incredible police work.

'I want to thank Cleo's parents, the Western Australian community and the many volunteers.

'And of course, I want to thank my colleagues in the Western Australia Police Force.'

The news has sparked an outpouring of relief worldwide.

'What wonderful, relieving news,' Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted from Glasgow.

'Cleo Smith has been found and is home safe and sound.

'Our prayers answered.

'Thank you to the many police officers involved in finding Cleo and supporting her family.

Cleo was found in her hometown of Carnarvon in Western Australia, 75km from where she went missing on October 16

Cleo Smith has been found alive and well, 18 days after she vanished from her family's tent at the remote Blowholes campsite in Western Australia

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said Wednesday was one of the most memorable in his 45-year career.

'To find a little girl, a vulnerable little girl, after 18 days .... people think the worst, but importantly hope was never lost and she's been found alive,' he said.

'Australia is rejoicing - it is such a wonderful outcome.'

Police interviewed more than 110 people who were at the Blowholes campsite on the night Cleo arrived with her family on October 16.

The little girl was last seen in her family's tent, at the vast campsite on WA's northwest coast, around 1.30am before his mother and stepfather realised she was missing five hours later.

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde says the family had stayed near their tent all evening and had not socialised with other campers.

'It's more than likely an opportunistic-type event,' he told Perth radio 6PR on Tuesday, just hours before Cleo was found.

'We know they got there on the Friday night, it was getting dark, and there would have been limited opportunity for people to observe Cleo at that time.'

Police stressed the girl's mother and her partner Jake Gliddon were not suspects, nor was Cleo's biological father.

Investigators have spoken to the vast majority of people who were at the campsite, but had not heard from the driver of a car seen leaving in the middle of the night.

Cleo Smith (pictured) has miraculously been found alive after vanishing from a remote campsite in Western Australia

Police this week collected more than 50 cubic metres of rubbish from roadside bins stretching from Minilya to Geraldton.

It was transported to Perth, where forensic officers and recruits sorted through hundreds of bags in search of items that may help them find Cleo.

The state government offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Cleo's location.

Police say the girl's disappearance was immediately treated with the highest priority, although it took two hours to establish a roadblock at the site.

Detectives have made several visits to Cleo's family home in Carnarvon, sought CCTV footage from a range of businesses in the area and collected samples from a campfire at the Blowholes site as the investigation continued.
Grant Shapps last night vowed to carefully study a damning report from MPs into smart motorways.

Significantly, the Transport Secretary did not rule out pausing their construction and said the inquiry had made a lot of great points.

He also praised the Mails undercover investigation into safety failures on the controversial roads.

But he said he would not take any action until next year, risking a backlash from campaigners who want smart motorways scrapped or put on hold immediately.

On Tuesday, MPs called for a halt to the construction of all-lane running motorways, where the hard shoulder is removed, until more data was available showing they are safe. The report from the Commons transport committee called for emergency laybys to be retro-fitted on existing schemes so they are closer together.

MPs have urged the government to stall the further roll out of smart motorways due to safety concerns associated with the removal of a hard shoulder

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, pictured, said he will 'carefully consider' the contents of the report by MPs

The MPs also accused road chiefs and ministers of ignoring safety concerns.

Mr Shapps told the Mail last night: Its been a great investigation and campaign from the Mail, and I take this incredibly seriously.

Weve warmly welcomed the transport select committee report, which makes a lot of great points. We now need to check their recommendations against the data.

One of the great recommendations is to use the Office of Rail and Road to check the data more broadly, and I agree with that as well.

So therell be more action on this and that action will start immediately, with a formal response in the new year.

Officials are understood to have advised against a knee-jerk reaction because pausing the rollout of ALR smart motorways could leave several stretches of unfinished road coned off  and potentially dangerous  until the end of 2024.

Tory MP Greg Smith, who sits on the transport committee, urged Mr Shapps to take action as soon as possible.

He said: The pressing and urgent concerns in the select committee report, coupled with the heartbreaking evidence from the families of those who lost loved ones on smart motorways, require a rapid response from government.

A former senior transport official yesterday said smart motorways had not improved journey times and could even be hurting the economy.

David Metz, who was chief scientist at the Department for Transport, accused road chiefs of using biased modelling to justify the 6billion investment. And he said the benefit-cost ratio was in fact likely to be negative for vast stretches of the network.

If better economic modelling and analysis had been done, we wouldnt have been investing so much money in these roads, he said. So to a degree, this money has been wasted.

Dr Metz said analysis by National Highways had failed to predict the scale of extra traffic using M-roads once the hard shoulder had been converted into an extra lane.

Data from freedom of information requests he filed showed daily traffic on one section of the M25 grew by 16 per cent  more than double the average elsewhere  three years after it became a smart motorway

Data from freedom of information requests he filed showed daily traffic on one section of the M25 grew by 16 per cent  more than double the average elsewhere  three years after it became a smart motorway. It meant the initial speeding-up of traffic seen in the first year after it opened in 2015 was wiped out by the third year.

He said this was probably because motorists were switching from smaller roads. His findings, which were submitted to the Commons committee, showed National Highways used consultancy firms to project extra traffic.

Dr Metz, who is now a visiting professor at University College London, said: Theres a lot of optimism bias in the modelling.

Consultants like to please their clients so theres a bias to provide the kind of outcomes expected.

Sarah Olney, Lib Dem transport spokesman, said: It would be ludicrous for the Government to press ahead with these plans when its abundantly clear that there are safety pitfalls.

Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason was killed on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder, said: We have had a report saying that safety on these roads is not guaranteed and now the benefit-cost ratio is not there, so its just an unpicking of the whole package. Its been coming slowly for a long time, but the whole package has failed.

She organised a coffin protest in Westminster on Monday demanding the reinstatement of the hard shoulder.
I write in my regular Thursday column to advise you that the management at Sky News have indicated to me that they will not renew my contract, which ends on November 30.

It is, of course, the prerogative of any employer to make such a decision; but, given this is the case, I feel an obligation to my viewers to make some observations to avoid certain misconstructions.

In all my broadcasting life, the ratings performances have been scrutinised.

I have no problem with that.

It may seem immodest to point out that the meeting I had with management on Friday, October 29, occurred the day after our program won the ratings in the 8PM slot.

Ratings are an erratic beast, and in the excellent team of broadcasters with whom I have worked, we have all done our share of winning.

But in today's world of social media, they only tell part of the story.

When I arrived at Sky News and was signed to a 17 month contract, it was made quite clear to me that the 8PM slot was, in the words of management, a 'dead' spot.

It was clear from the outset that my signing at Sky News brought over a new audience to the station.

Indeed, one observation was made last year that 'since the launch of Alan Jones on Sky News Australia, the network has seen major growth across its digital platforms.'

And, 'The launch of Alan Jones on Sky News Australia in July saw the channel's radio ratings double on the iHeart Radio app, making Sky News Radio the #1 Australian news/talk station on the platform.'

In my brief time that I have been at Sky News, the audience at 8PM has significantly increased.

I will come to that in a moment.

I should also point out that at the meeting on Friday October 29, I wasn't offered another slot with Sky News, but an alternative offer was made to me to appear once a week on the new streaming service, Flash.

I declined that offer.

In order to avoid any conclusion, contrary to the truth, I should point out here a few things in relation to my program.

Earlier this year, you might recall there was plenty of media noise over the fact that my regular column in Sydney's Daily Telegraph was 'cancelled.'

All sorts of reasons were proffered, including the fact that, after 35 years of radio success, I was being told that my work 'didn't resonate.'

Surprisingly to me, this led to an article by Crikey, with whom you would be familiar.

It said in part, 'Alan Jones has been dropped by Sydney's Daily Telegraph, which claims his columns are no longer resonating with its audience. But is this true? All available evidence points to no.'

This article was on August 2nd, 2021.

It further went on, 'The number of Facebook likes, shares and comments calculated by social media analysis tool Crowd Tangle can be a rough proxy for how many people on the platform are engaging with Jones' content. Facebook link-outs remain a major source of traffic for Australian publishers. A look at Jones' ten most recent columns show that they received an average of 3065 likes, shares and comments across Facebook; a significant number for any Australian publication. By comparison, fellow News Corp stablemate Miranda Devine's last ten columns had an average of 217 engagements and Piers Akerman's, 373.'

The story went on, 'The number of comments on each article can also be used as another rough proxy. Daily Telegraph articles are pay-walled and only paying subscribers can comment on these stories Alan Jones comes out on top again. His last ten pieces have received an average of 83 comments, more than Miranda Devine's 59 and Piers Akerman's 24. Beyond this, Jones' claims of enormous social media reach, ring true. Over the past six months, his personal Facebook page audience has grown to 140,000 followers. July has been the biggest month of growth, adding 10,000 followers as he stepped up his anti-lockdown content. Likewise, Jones' content has been a winner for Sky News Australia, too. Its top ten Facebook posts of the last month have all been from Alan Jones' segments'

When the announcement of the discontinuation of my column in the Daily Telegraph was made public, Campbell Reid, the Group Executive  Corporate Affairs, Policy and Government Relations, on behalf of Michael Miller, the Australian boss of News Corp issued a press statement which said, 'These decisions should not be confused with the company's corporate position, or, a signal that News Corp Australia no longer supports Alan. Alan is one of Australia's most accomplished broadcasters; his show on Sky News is achieving strong success and he has a widely read column in The Australian. He is a compelling voice that has long represented the values of many Australians and his relationship with News Corp remains strong.'

On the social media front, it was said that November 2020 was 'another extraordinary month for Alan Jones on social media.'

In that month, according to socialinsider.io, there were 12.6 million views of Alan Jones video on digital platforms, with 68% of the audience coming from YouTube.

I made mention of information on the US election being censored by 'powerful interests' in the media.

That post reached 4.2 million people on Facebook and delivered 2.4 million video views with 617,000 of those watching for longer than one minute, which was described as 'an extraordinary result' for Facebook where the audience typically has a short attention span.

That post on the US election had 41,300 comments and 78,000 shares of people sharing the post to their own Facebook page.

I remember interviewing Mick Mulvaney, the former Chief of Staff to Donald Trump and that interview had 1.3 million views, 11,500 comments and I was told it attracted 'more than 4000 new subscribers' to the Sky News Australia YouTube page. There are other metrics about which I feel obligated to inform you.

Sky News rightly boasts significant personalities with strong and legitimate opinions.

As a result, people often search the internet in order to refresh themselves with something we have said.

In other words, put simply, if you're not saying anything that is relevant to the viewer or the public, they are not likely to be much interested in checking out your content.

In the modern idiom, people Google whomever it is they want to access.

I have been fortunate in encountering some people who are remarkably au fait with this process, because, understandably, I wanted to monitor my own reach and judge the relevance of what I was saying.

The results are significant.

According to SEMRush, on average, the number of searches, per month, for Alan Jones, to date, is approximately 31,700.

My colleague, the gifted Andrew Bolt, is the only person with more Google 'searches' at 40,000.

But I am sure Andrew won't mind me pointing out that of the 31,700 searches for Alan Jones, 26,200 go straight to my SkyNews.com.au opinion page  26,200 out of 31,700.

By comparison, and I would never seek in any way to diminish Andrew, who does magnificent work, as he is also a splendid columnist and many may well be searching for something he recently wrote.

So, only 15,800 of his 40,000 searches go to SkyNews.com.au and seek his opinions.

My point is, the total who go to the Alan Jones opinion area is, pleasingly, greater than the aggregate of all other Sky News hosts.

This is a significant point because the bulk of the Sky News audience, and management have acknowledged this, comes from online viewing; or, put another way, direct viewing of programs constitutes about 25% of the way in which viewers access Sky News content.

The rest comes from online - Sky News YouTube, Sky News Facebook or the Sky News website, SkyNews.com.au.

In recent times my material hasn't been widely published on these sites as the company has felt under threat from being cancelled.

Nonetheless, the figure I have indicated above is significant.

People have been googling Alan Jones and immediately the bulk of them go to the Sky News website to access Alan Jones' opinions.

Another metric from the month of October indicates that my Facebook page's average engagement per post (Likes, Shares and Comments) is 1.473% compared to that of Sky News Australia's Facebook page, which is 0.052%, which is 28 times greater.

Again, my Facebook page's average engagement rate per page is vastly superior to that of Sky News Australia's Facebook page.

I am only offering all of this because, for most of my professional life, I have never defended myself against criticisms of my performance.

I merely let the figures speak for themselves, as they did in radio and, as I think you can see from above, they have, in my brief stint on television.

May I say, I have enjoyed my experience thoroughly.

I have had nothing but support from people in the backroom of Sky News who rarely get a mention; and, apart from my contribution towards raising the viewer numbers, I hope I have also contributed to the morale of the organisation.

In particular, I want to thank my sponsors for their support of the program.

I want to thank my fellow hosts, because no one knows more than I do how difficult it is to put a program together each night.

They are gifted, generous and decent friends who've all enjoyed significant success.

They make, and will continue to make, unselfish and nationally significant contributions to the world of the media and public information.

I have always been grateful for their support and I wish them and the organisation at Sky News the very best in the tasks and challenges ahead.
Lord Frost will demand France drops its threats over fishing 'once and for all' as he holds showdown talks in Paris today.

The Brexit minister will meet Emmanuel Macron's European minister Clement Beaune in an attempt to defuse the post-Brexit row.

But officials feared the talks could exacerbate the row as Lord Frost makes clear the Government will not back down on the issue of licences for French fishing boats.

Mr Macron (right) on Monday called off plans to block British trawlers from offloading catches in French ports and to introduce new checks on lorries arriving in the country

Paris yesterday suggested it could bring back its threat to wreak havoc on cross-Channel trade.

Mr Macron on Monday called off plans to block British trawlers from offloading catches in French ports and to introduce new checks on lorries arriving in the country. But French government spokesman Gabriel Attal warned Paris could press ahead with the sanctions unless Lord Frost offers concessions.

'All options are on the table', he said. 'We may need to implement those measures if we do not reach an agreement.'

Under the Brexit trade deal, French vessels are able to fish in the area between six and 12 miles from the UK's shores until 2026 if they can prove they had previously been operating in those waters.

But some boats have had their applications for permits refused because they have not provided sufficient documentation.

Lord Frost will demand France drops its threats over fishing 'once and for all' as he holds showdown talks in Paris

Downing Street insisted it was not looking at weakening the evidence requirements for granting licences as part of attempts to negotiate a solution in the dispute.

Asked if the threshold would be lowered, the Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'No, we remain confident that we are enforcing the rules as set out. We have taken a number of steps to assist the French fishing fleet in providing the necessary evidence.'

A Government source indicated that at the meeting in Paris, Lord Frost would urge the French government to remove its threats 'once and for all'.

'We are confident in our position,' they added. 'There is not going to be a shift in our position.'

Under the Brexit trade deal, French vessels are able to fish in the area between six and 12 miles from the UK's shores until 2026 if they can prove they had previously been operating in those waters. Pictured: The scallop trawler which was impounded by the French Gendarmerie Maritime

Fisheries minister Victoria Prentis published figures showing that 98 per cent of licence applications to fish in British waters have been granted. Of the 1,831 submitted, 1,793 licences have been issued with 38 pending further information.

However, only around half of the 217 applications to fish in the waters around Jersey have resulted in permanent licences being granted by its government.

French and EU officials moved to strike an optimistic tone that a truce could be brokered. French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari praised the 'constructive spirit' of the talks, while a European Commission spokesman said the negotiations had been 'positive'.
A three-year-old boy has died in a Perth hospital overnight after allegedly being hit by a teen driver.

The boy, who is yet to be identified, was crossing the street with at least one family member on Hancock Avenue in the city's north-eastern suburbs at about 5.15pm on Wednesday.

WA Police said they had identified a vehicle of interest overnight - a white Holden Commodore that was sighted fleeing the scene at speed - and have arrested an 18-year-old man.

An 18-year-old driver (pictured) has been charged by WA Police after a hit-and-run took the life of a three-year-old boy in Perth yesterday afternoon

The toddler was rushed to Midland Hospital yesterday afternoon and died overnight from his injuries.

Police charged the man with manslaughter, failing to stop and ensure assistance after incident occasioning death, and failing to report an incident occasioning death or GBH.

A police spokesperson said an investigation of the scene is underway and they are encouraging witnesses to come forward.

'Major crash investigators are conducting an examination of the scene and are appealing for any witnesses to call Crime Stoppers,' police said.

Police said the driver is due to appear in Midland Magistrates Court on December 3.
A version of this piece first appeared on UnHerd.com

The hounding of Kathleen Stock was supposed to be a warning to women everywhere: dare to speak out against transgender ideology and expect to be burnt at the stake.

But despite the hell unleashed by trans activists at the University of Sussex, the bullying campaign against this brave academic has backfired.

Those who sought to ruin her life and career, most of whom are not transgender, have been exposed as misogynistic totalitarians.

When Kathleen spoke to me yesterday for a video interview for the website UnHerd, she detailed the true extent of the aggressive campaign of targeted harassment she has recently had to endure at the furious hands of trans-rights activists.

'I went to work as normal and saw stickers all over my building about the 'transphobic s*** that comes out of Kathleen Stock's mouth,' she says. 'That was obviously distressing. But the next day, it escalated.'

The hounding of Kathleen Stock (pictured) was supposed to be a warning to women: dare to speak out against transgender ideology and expect to be burnt at the stake

As she walked to campus, she was confronted with posters calling for her to be sacked: 'Fire Kathleen Stock', 'Kathleen Stock's a Transphobe', 'We're Not Paying Our Fees For Transphobia With Kathleen Stock'.

'They were setting off flares,' she remembers. 'And they later took a picture of a man in a balaclava, all in black, looking just like [a member of the violent Left-wing anarchist group] Antifa.

'The imagery was obviously intimidating: holding a massive banner saying 'Stock out', while setting off pink and blue flares, because those are the colours on the transgender flag.

'I ran back to the station, got the train home, tried to teach a class on Zoom, burst into tears and my dear students said I must be having a tough day and they let me off,' she says.

'It was the beginning of the end of the campaign to intimidate me out of my job.'

That campaign clearly had a huge effect on her life. 'The entire situation was terrible and awful and dreadful,' she says.

A fellow feminist campaigner and, like her, a lesbian, I have known Kathleen since 2018 when I discovered her academic research on gender identity and women's rights.

We have remained close since then, and I have looked on with horror at the appalling treatment she has been forced to endure in recent years.

Kathleen might be a mild-mannered, liberal academic, but she is not one to shy from a fight. Nevertheless, last month she decided to leave Sussex after 18 years teaching: a move that shocked many.

But despite the hell unleashed by trans activists at the University of Sussex, the bullying campaign against this brave academic has backfired

So what was her crime? Earlier this year, Kathleen published a book, Material Girls: Why Reality Matters For Feminism, which bravely questioned the current orthodoxy that gender identity  whether you feel more male or female  is somehow more important than biological sex.

Feminists like Kathleen know that biological sex does matter  and that this has profound implications for whether or not trans women (who were born male but who live their lives as women) should, for example, have the right to share changing rooms with women.

For this thoughtcrime, she has faced a torrent of abuse which her book brought to a shocking and particularly ugly head.

The campaign began in 2018, after Kathleen published a number of blog posts criticising extreme transgender ideology.

She was concerned that most academics, including philosophers like her, were reluctant to criticise campaigns to introduce 'self-ID' for transgender people, which allows them to state that they 'are' the opposite sex, and use spaces such as changing rooms designed for that sex.

But to implement self-ID without question is to ignore a key safeguarding problem for women.

As Kathleen puts it: 'Self-ID policies trade on a fantasy that suddenly putting on a dress or saying 'I'm a woman' will change your basic nature. But, in fact, what was there before will be there after.

'Humans are humans, and if you make it the case that you can self-identify into a better situation than you were in  i.e. a woman's prison as opposed to a male prison, which are usually less intense, aggressive places  then some people will do it whether they're trans or not.'

And as both Kathleen and I keep saying, this isn't about stopping trans people from living their lives in peace. It's a safeguarding policy for women.

'These academics [who believed in self-ID] were not attending to the obvious consequences for women,' she says.

'Yet on the other hand, there were plenty of academics who were cheerleading self-ID, ostentatiously moralising about it, and talking about 'terfs' [trans-exclusionary radical feminists] and transphobia.'

What particularly baffled her was the claim, widely held by trans activists and academics, that a person's conviction about whether they are male or female is more important than their sex at birth.

As she puts it: 'It is a terrible pseudo-philosophy and would fail a first-year essay.'

She stresses: 'I absolutely believe that trans people should be protected in law, so I'm never going to waver from that.

'I just disagree about the laws that should be used.'

She was confronted with posters calling for her to be sacked: 'Fire Kathleen Stock', 'Kathleen Stock's a Transphobe', 'We're Not Paying Our Fees For Transphobia With Kathleen Stock'

Like a number of other women in the public eye who have been deemed transphobic, Kathleen is tired of being 'lumped in with Holocaust deniers' as somehow evil.

'All we're doing is insisting on basic, obvious facts of biology and their social significance,' she says.

'Nearly 99 per cent of the planet agrees with us [that sex is immutable]. The most I can get out of people is a tentative: 'Well, we absolutely support Kathleen Stock's right to say what she thinks,' but they won't say: 'And yeah, of course we agree with her because it's bloody obvious!'

And this insistence on keeping silent has had a toxic impact on the transgender debate, allowing small groups of vocal and aggressive activists to fill the gap.

For example, Kathleen firmly believes that the LGBT-rights organisation Stonewall is in large part responsible for the current witch-hunt mentality  a vitriol I have seen myself.

In the past few years, Stonewall's business model, which sees it invited into public and private bodies to vet those organisations on their LGBT-friendly policies, has prioritised a very narrow conception of trans rights.

'I would say these 'rights' don't benefit trans people,' says Kathleen. 'But [thanks to Stonewall] they were embedded in national institutions, Government departments, the Crown Prosecution Service, the European Court of Human Rights, almost all our universities, schools and local authorities.

'Our national institutions have almost unwittingly been instruments to be used by extremists.'

Those extremists are swift to accuse Kathleen of 'weaponising her trauma' if she ever dares talk about how the attacks have affected her personally. She insists on talking about it, though, because it's not just affecting high-profile characters like us two.

What was the final straw for Kathleen? She tells me it was when the Sussex branch of the University and College Union (UCU) put out a statement in support of 'our trans and non-binary students' and against 'institutional transphobia'.

'At that point I was just hanging on,' she says. 'I was teaching from home. I saw the posters. I was advised to stay at home for my own protection. The police were coming round. I'm getting security stuff delivered to my house, trying to think about the future.

'I thought I'd have to stay off campus for the rest of the term but at least I could teach on Zoom. I hoped they would support me.'

And then their union branch issued its damning statement. 'It was a pompous peroration about 'standing with our trans and non-binary students against institutional transphobia,' Kathleen explains. 'And all they could possibly mean by that was that I was there [teaching at the university].

'There's nobody else who speaks out like I do.

'Plus, every second communication that comes out of the university is about trans and non-binary spaces. There's a staff network; there's a Centre for Sexual Dissidence; there's a Centre for Gender Studies.

'It's literally saturated with positive messaging. It's in Brighton, one of the most queer-friendly places in the world.

'So all they could mean by institutional transphobia is: 'We haven't shut that b**** up yet.' It came through on my email and it just felt like a punch in the gut.'

Kathleen is not one to shy from a fight. Nevertheless, last month she decided to leave Sussex after 18 years teaching: a move that shocked many

As she points out: 'This is a union! They are supposed to protect employees from their bosses and to offer solidarity with anyone who is an employee  especially in a university.'

And, Kathleen tells me, this intolerance trickles all the way down from the top of UCU.

As far back as 2019, for instance, Jo Grady, UCU's general secretary, boasted that she had installed 'Terf-Blocker software' on her Twitter account, automatically blocking any account deemed transphobic.

'Grady is not unusual in academia,' says Kathleen.

'She has these relatively extreme views but they've become the norm. These people are a small number.'

As Kathleen says: 'Universities are supposed to be places of learning and exploring ideas, including controversial ideas, so it's a disgrace that this totalitarian approach seems to have replaced open debate and discussion.'

I ask Kathleen if there's anything we can do.

'What we can do is demand that universities reduce the influence of lobbying groups like Stonewall and insist that senior management do not make politically-loaded pronouncements in controversial areas.'

She explains that having transgender flags on campuses, holding quasi-religious ceremonies such as 'Trans Day of Remembrance' and so on are not neutral gestures: they are political gestures and managers should not be participating in them.

Yet despite all the abuse she's received, Kathleen believes there is better news on the horizon.

She has seen a tsunami of support from government ministers, students, feminists and liberals who are now less afraid to speak out, having been inspired by her and others who have put their heads above the parapet.

'We're obviously having some success because I see more and more people speaking out.

I think as the public becomes better-educated about the basic issues and our position, which is the opposite of how it has been represented.

'One thing that's happened recently is that The Guardian and the BBC are no longer presenting our views as 'anti-trans' or 'transphobic'. And at least some of the people working there seem aware that there's actually a proper intellectual dispute here.

'Beforehand, I honestly think Guardian readers hardly knew about any of the implications of self-identification.

'They just were being protected from that information, because it wasn't serving the newspaper's business model very well.'

What will Kathleen do next? 'I'm not going to stop,' she tells me with defiance.

'In leaving Sussex, I've become even more able to speak out and now I've got a bigger platform.'

What she does with that platform is yet to be seen. But I suspect it won't be long until we find out.
John Whittingdale has been brought in by Boris Johnson to devise a new MPs standards system  even though he has fallen foul of the process himself.

The former Culture Secretary will chair a committee investigating ways to bring in an appeals process when MPs are accused of breaking Commons rules.

The decision is controversial because in 2016 he was reprimanded by the standards commissioner at the time, Kathryn Hudson, for breaking the rules by failing to register a visit to the MTV Europe awards with his then girlfriend, a dominatrix sex worker, within the 28-day time limit set by the Commons.

And it later emerged that Mr Whittingdale had also had a two-year relationship with a former soft porn star, Stephanie Hudson, who claimed he showed her confidential papers at his constituency home.

The former Culture Secretary will chair a committee investigating ways to bring in an appeals process when MPs are accused of breaking Commons rules

At the time Mr Whittingdale refused to discuss his relationship with the married ex-Page 3 model, while a source close to him insisted she did not have access to Government papers.

Mr Whittingdale will chair the new committee thanks to the wording of a Parliamentary amendment yesterday  even though Commons committee chairmen are usually elected by other MPs.

The committee will operate for three months and will look at the standards system to see if it could be made fairer.

This could include the establishment of an appeals process for MPs found to have broken Commons rules. It will also consider if Owen Patersons case needs to be reviewed.

However, opposition parties said they would boycott the committee. The plan was for it to be made up of five Tory MPs including Mr Whittingdale  who would have the casting vote  three Labour and one SNP MP.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said: It would be laughable if it wasnt so serious.

This could include the establishment of an appeals process for MPs found to have broken Commons rules. It will also consider if Owen Patersons case needs to be reviewed. Mr Paterson is pictured above

The Labour Party wont have anything to do with this complete and utter sham process.

Mr Whittingdale entered Parliament in 1992 and was Culture Secretary under David Cameron. Most recently he was media minister under Mr Johnson but lost his job in the recent reshuffle. He also used to be the boss of Mr Johnsons wife Carrie  she was his special adviser when he was Culture Secretary.

In 2016 he was investigated by the standards commissioner after he did not declare a 1,500 trip to the MTV Europe awards in Amsterdam in 2013 with his then girlfriend, the dominatrix.

Mr Whittingdale said he had met the dominatrix on a dating website, and had ended the seven-month relationship after he learned from a national newspaper that she was a sex worker.

Mrs Hudson, the commissioner, said in her report that his failure to declare the MTV trip was a clear breach of the rules. Mr Whittingdale apologised.
Ministers claimed the end of coal was in sight last night after unveiling a major new agreement to phase it out  but they failed to win any movement from big polluters like China.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said 190 world leaders and bodies had agreed to stop using coal power and would end funding for new plants.

And the UK, USA, Poland, Vietnam, Egypt, Chile and Morocco were among more than 40 countries who signed up to a separate commitment to end investment in coal power plants at home and abroad.

Mr Kwarteng said it represented a milestone moment and that coal had no part to play in future power generation.

China has refused to commit to reducing its reliance on coal power after President Xi snubbed the Cop26 meeting in Glasgow

The new commitments did not include major polluters like China, India, Russia and Brazil, pictured an open-pit coal mine in Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China

But, crucially, the new commitments did not include major polluters like China, India, Russia and Brazil.

Britains two coal power plants are already due to be decommissioned by 2024. The UK is still considering plans to build a new coal power plant in Cumbria and awaiting the report from a public inquiry, but it would be for steel production rather than energy, so is not covered by the deal.

The coal agreement came as:

Thousands of delegates came to Cop26 in private jets, prompting warnings that it was turning into an extravagant eco-jolly.

Banks revealed that future bonuses could be linked to green targets.

Cop26 president Alok Sharma took a swipe at China as he said countries that hadnt shown up for the summit had failed to show leadership.

Mr Sharma told delegates they were the new Swampys in reference to the veteran environmental protester.

A major study suggested the worlds climate change pledges could limit warming to 1.9C on current estimates.

Meanwhile, ministers hailed their success in bringing together countries and organisations to sign up to the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement.

This requires signatories to meet four major pledges, including ending investment in coal power plants domestically and internationally, increasing the use of green power, and phasing out coal power in major economies in the 2030s and for other countries in the 2040s.

The development comes after the G20 group of the biggest economies agreed to end the funding of international coal power plants abroad.

China, Japan and Korea, the three largest public financiers of coal, committed to end overseas financing of coal generation by the end of 2021.

President Xi Jinping, pictured, did not attend the Cop26 meeting of world leaders in Glasgow

But there were no agreements on ending the use of domestic coal power, with Australia, China, India and Russia all said to have refused to move. Coal is the biggest single contributor to climate change and its eradication as a source of power is one of Boris Johnsons main ambitions for Cop26.

Of the two remaining coal power stations in the UK, one had to be fired up in September to relieve pressure on the national grid. But they are still due to be taken out of service in three years time..

Mr Kwarteng said: Today marks a milestone moment in our global efforts to tackle climate change as nations from all corners of the world unite in Glasgow to declare that coal has no part to play in our future power generation.

Spearheaded by the UKs Cop26 presidency, todays ambitious commitments made by our international partners demonstrate that the end of coal is in sight.

The world is moving in the right direction, standing ready to seal coals fate and embrace the environmental and economic benefits of building a future that is powered by clean energy.

But Ed Miliband, Labours business spokesman, said: Any progress towards powering past coal is welcome, but glaring gaps remain.

There is no commitment from large emitters like China to stop increasing coal at home, and nothing on the phase-out of other fossil fuels.

Whether its flirting with a new coal mine or licensing a massive oil field here at home, too often the government has been looking both ways on climate.

Ministers also announced that 60  more than half  of the Stock Exchanges FTSE100 companies have now made a commitment to achieving net zero carbon use by 2050 by signed up to the United Nations Race to Zero campaign.
1. THE RANDOX DEAL

After losing his job as environment secretary a year earlier, Mr Paterson is employed by Randox in 2015.

The clinical diagnostics firm, based in Northern Ireland, pays him 50,000 per year, rising to 100,000 in 2017.

MPs can accept other jobs as long as they don't lobby on behalf of that employer. Mr Paterson correctly declares his Randox income to the relevant authorities.

After losing his job as environment secretary a year earlier, Owen Paterson (pictured with wife Rose) is employed by Randox in 2015

Clinical diagnostics firm Randox, based in Northern Ireland, pays him 50,000 per year, rising to 100,000 in 2017

2. ANOTHER NEW JOB

Seventeen months later he takes another job, with Lynn's Country Foods. Also based in Northern Ireland, it pays him 12,000 a year.

In total he will receive more than 500,000 from these jobs.

3. THE LOBBYING BEGINS

In 2016, Mr Paterson makes several approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Randox and its testing of antibiotics in milk.

At one November meeting he talks of the high level of antibiotics in supermarket milk.

The next day he emails the FSA, saying that what Randox's 'superior technology' had uncovered was 'shocking'.

Years later, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner will say this clearly shows he promoted the company's products in writing.

In 2016, Mr Paterson makes several approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Randox and its testing of antibiotics in milk

4. MEETING MINISTERS

Mr Paterson makes four approaches in two years to ministers at the Department for International Development about Randox and its blood-testing technology.

This will later be viewed as a breach of rules as it was clear the company 'could only have benefited by promoting their technology to ministers'.

The Parliamentary Standards inquiry finds that Mr Paterson himself had described one of the DfID meetings as 'selling an idea' and 'get[ting] the technology into the minds of the officials'.

5. A ROW OVER RIVAL FIRMS

He then repeatedly approaches the FSA in 2017 and 2018, raising what he claims is a 'serious wrong'  that another global food producer was mislabelling a product as chemical-free.

He approaches the FSA in 2017 and 2018, raising what he claims is a 'serious wrong'  that another global food producer was mislabelling a product as chemical-free

He will later insist his bosses at Lynn's could not have benefited from this, as the product involved was not a direct rival.

Yet the inquiry found Lynn's did in fact stand to benefit, as its competitor 'would have been removed from the UK market'.

6. WESTMINSTER CHATS

From October 2016, Mr Paterson holds 16 meetings in his Commons office relating to his outside business interests.

He will insist that he kept his business interests entirely separate from his role as an MP, and that the meetings were held there as timings clashed with votes in Parliament.

The inquiry report points out that Mr Paterson could have conducted phone calls instead of hosting meetings in Westminster.

7. HIS 'MINOR' RULE BREACH

Mr Paterson fails to declare his interest as a paid consultant to Lynn's in four emails to officials at the FSA.

The Committee on Standards, which later reviews the Commissioner's findings, agrees that Mr Paterson breached the MPs' Code of Conduct  albeit in a 'minor' way.

8. HEADED NOTEPAPER

The Commissioner's inquiry also finds Mr Paterson sent two letters relating to his business interests on House of Commons headed notepaper  one in October 2016 and one in January 2017.

Commissioner's inquiry finds Mr Paterson sent two letters relating to his business interests on House of Commons headed notepaper, one in October 2016 and one in January 2017

Mr Paterson acknowledges this, and will ultimately apologise to the Commissioner for the rule breach.

9. WIFE'S DEAL

Mr Paterson introduced his wife Rose  then chairman of Aintree Racecourse  to Randox.

The firm goes on to sponsor the Grand National, having been founded by Dr Peter Fitzgerald, a keen horse-man.

Mr Paterson introduced his wife Rose  then chairman of Aintree Racecourse  to Randox. The firm goes on to sponsor the Grand National

Tragically, after the lobbying row erupts in 2019, Mrs Paterson takes her own life in June 2020.

10. THE 347MILLION COVID CONTRACT

In an unrelated development, Randox wins a 347million contract with NHS Test and Trace in autumn 2020.

The scheme was run by Dido Harding, a Jockey Club board member and friend of both Dr Fitzgerald and Mrs Paterson.

In an unrelated development, Randox wins a 347million contract with NHS Test and Trace in autumn 2020

11. HIS DEFENCE

The lobbying allegations are investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone.

Mr Paterson presents the only possible defence of paid lobbying  that his actions would protect the nation's health.

The inquiry rules that 'at best' Mr Paterson relied on an exemption he thought existed, but of whose terms he was unsure.

At worst, the report said, Mr Paterson was knowingly in breach of the lobbying rules.

12. HIS SUICIDE ANGUISH

Days before the final verdict is revealed, an emotional letter from Mr Paterson to the inquiry is leaked to the Daily Mail.

He says the investigation drove his wife to suicide  and presses for acquittal, as to find him guilty would be placing the blame for his wife's death at his door.

13. A DAMNING VERDICT

The inquiry finds against him, accusing Mr Paterson of an 'egregious' breach of lobbying rules.

The inquiry finds against him, accusing Mr Paterson of an 'egregious' breach of lobbying rules

It says 'no previous case of paid advocacy has seen so many breaches or such a clear pattern of confusion between the private and public interest'.

The Standards Commissioner recommends that Mr Paterson  whose pay from Randox and Lynn's is nearly three times his annual MP's salary  be suspended for 30 days for his actions.

The Standards Committee of MPs and lay members agrees.

14. HIS FIGHTBACK

After the findings are published, Mr Paterson raises a string of serious allegations relating to the inquiry process.

He claims the Commissioner had ignored 'unchallenged witness evidence', not followed 'a fair process' and appeared to be 'biased against me'.

He says he was 'driven to believe that the Commissioner determined my guilt long before her inquiry finished'.

He  and other MPs  point out that 17 witnesses in his corner were not interviewed. Their statements were, however, read as part of the inquiry.
A wicked mum who left her child in a hot car for five hours while she gambled at the pub later lied to police and paramedics as she tried to cover-up her crime.

In the ultimate betrayal of trust, Kaija Millar, 34, on Wednesday pleaded guilty in the County Court of Victoria to negligence causing serious injury to her then 14-month old baby Easton.

The court heard temperatures outside had reached 37.5C in Point Cook, in Melbourne's west, as Millar played bingo and the pokies inside the Brook Hotel.

Baby Easton (pictured, left) was found unresponsive and in a critical condition. Police allege his mother Kaija Millar (right) left him in the car

Kaija Millar also faces claims she tried to scam people out of thousands of dollars with a bogus dog sale

Steve Millar has revealed his son Easton has just a 50 per cent chance of survival after he was allegedly left in the car outside a pub in Point Cook, Victoria

The dead beat mum had rolled up all of the windows and left the air conditioning off as she blew what little cash the young family had inside.

For five long hours baby Easton sat strapped helplessly inside the boiling hot car before she decided to check on his welfare.

It was way too late.

The court heard Easton's internal temperature had skyrocketed to 40C, causing his fragile body to go into renal failure, deranging his liver, sending him blind and severely damaging his brain.

His body had turned a shade of 'grey blue' as Millar pleaded with witnesses not to tell her husband what she had done.

She told an emergency operator that Easton was simply suffering from smoke inhalation, from nearby bushfires.

When confused paramedics arrived, the desperate mum continued to cover her wicked behaviour.

She told emergency workers the windows had all been rolled down and that she had been conducting regular checks on her baby.

'I don't want to go to jail,' she squealed.

CCTV footage captured from the venue would later expose her cruel lies.

Millar continued to feed police misinformation, telling them she had left the car's air conditioner on, it was in the shade and she had checked on him.

Kaija Miller makes a dash from Melbourne Magistrates' Court in January under hot pursuit by a media pack. She made no comment and refused to answer questions

Kaija Miller or her lawyerr Cameron Allen (right) refused to comment on the tragedy that has seen Millar's baby hospitalised

Kaija Millar, 32, (pictured, left) is accused of leaving 14-month-old Easton (right) in her car and abandoning him while she went to play bingo

They were all lies, the court heard.

Crown prosecutor Neill Hutton said Millar had been routinely attending the pokies venue in the weeks before her tragic crime.

Millar had been failing to pay her way, leaving her husband to pick up the couple's bills.

By then, Millar had already been exposed as a lying cheat, who had narrowly escaped conviction for swiping a man's wallet while working as an Uber driver.

But she had scored big on the pokies just months earlier and had been keen to learn if lightning would strike twice.

Instead, her child will now live with permanent injuries that will affect everything from his speech to his capacity to move, see and eat.

The court heard Easton's brain injuries had left him in need of lifelong care, but even then, Millar's cruel act had shortened his expected time on Earth.

While Easton's injuries and their impact on his family will live forever, Millar faces at best five years in jail.

She will get nowhere near that maximum sentence.

Her barrister, Michael Allen, explained to Judge Felicity Hampel all of the good reasons Millar had for his despicable actions.

She had been bullied at school, she had a cognitive impairment and she had been 'utterly overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood'.

Her husband was allegedly 'controlling and critical' and she sought company from the elderly pokie venue crew, despite never actually interacting with them.

Mr Allen claimed his client had been deemed by doctors to be of extremely low intelligence.

Kaija Millar covers her face as reporters ask her questions as she left Melbourne Magistrates' Court in January

The 14-month-old fought for life after being was found unconscious in a car parked outside a pub (pictured)

She had been depressed about being a mum and had considered putting Easton up for adoption.

But the court heard she had the intelligence to commit previous crimes and still faces serious pending allegations she is a con woman who had duped unsuspecting victims in a 'puppy scam'.

Millar had tried to use her supposed low intelligence to riggle off the hook, but she was unable to convince the court she was unfit to stand trial due to mental impairment.

What happens to children left in hot cars? Children's bodies heat up three-to-five times faster than adults do The younger the child, the more vulnerable they are On a 29C day, temperatures inside a car can reach 44C in just ten minutes This can cause 'serious injury' and brain damage After 20 minutes, the temperature reaches a fatal 60.2C, which could kill Winding down the windows or parking in the shade will do little as it doesn't affect the car's core temperature Advertisement

Appearing in court via videolink, Millar appeared to cry as a summary of her shocking offence was read aloud to the virtual court.

The disability pensioner has not yet spent a single day behind bars over the crime.

Mr Allen said Millar had been deeply remorseful for her actions and accepted it was all her own fault.

'I didn't do this deliberately. I didn't do this to hurt my son,' Millar told police.

Mr Millar argued his client's moral culpability for the crime ought be reduced because of her mental issues.

Judge Hampel said Millar knew what she was doing was wrong when she left her baby alone.

At a previous hearing over the matter, the Melbourne Magistrates' Court was told Millar remained estranged from baby Easton's father Steve.

At the time, Mr Millar said Easton had only a 50 percent chance of survival.

Millar's face had gone viral upon being outed as Easton's mum at the time of the incident and was shared across the globe.

Speaking to the Herald Sun newspaper in January, Mr Millar said he was 'heartbroken and devastated'.

'It's still touch and go at the moment  it's 50-50 whether he'll pull through,' he said.

'He has shown a few signs to me, when I'm talking to him you can see his mouth trying to move.'

He said his parents and both his brothers had been accompanying him to the hospital daily as he held a bedside vigil for the youngster.

Mr Millar said he had cut himself off from the child's mother as she prepared to face court over the shocking allegations.

She will be sentenced later this month.

Kaija Millar (pictured) has pleaded guilty to harming her own child. Her baby, Easton, has been left with life long injuries
The world's largest whales eat three times more food than scientists had previously estimated, a new study has found.

Researchers said blue whales consume a whopping 16 tonnes of krill per day, while a North Atlantic right whale eats about five tonnes of zooplankton and a bowhead whale six tonnes per day.

By underestimating how much whales eat, scientists may also have overlooked the importance of the undersea giants to ocean health and productivity.

If whales eat more they also produce more excrement, which is a crucial source of nutrients in the open ocean.

The world's largest whales eat three times more food than scientists had previously estimated, a new study has found

Researchers said blue whales (pictured) consume a whopping 16 tonnes of krill per day, while a North Atlantic right whale eats about five tonnes of zooplankton and a bowhead six tonnes

By underestimating how much whales eat, scientists may also have overlooked the importance of the undersea giants to ocean health. A minke whale is pictured with a monitoring device

Scientists used data from 321 tagged whales spanning seven species living in the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans collected between 2010 and 2019. The tags are pictured

WHAT ARE BALEEN WHALES AND HOW DO THEY EAT? Baleen whales mostly eat small creatures such as zooplankton and small fishes, which they come across in large swarms in the ocean. All baleen whales have baleen instead of teeth which they use to collect shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish from the sea. These bristly baleen plates filter, sift, sieve or trap the whales favourite prey from seawater inside their mouths. Baleen is made out of keratin, the same protein that makes up our fingernails and hair. The baleen of the bowhead whale can be 13 inches (four metres) long. Baleen whales include the humpback, minke, fin and blue whales. They have clearly visible throat grooves which allow their mouths and throats to expand and balloon out as they gulp mouthfuls of seawater and food. Advertisement

By scooping up food and producing excrement, whales help keep key nutrients suspended close to the surface where they can power blooms of the carbon-absorbing phytoplankton that form the base of ocean food-webs.

Without whales, those nutrients more readily sink to the seafloor, which can limit productivity in certain parts of the ocean and may in turn limit the capacity of ocean ecosystems to absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide.

The findings in the University of Stanford-led study come as world leaders meet in Glasgow for the COP26 summit aimed at tackling climate change.

One consequence of global warming is that the oceans absorb more heat and become more acidic, threatening the survival of food sources that whales need.

Many species of baleen whales  which include blue, bowhead, right, humpback, minke and gray whale  also have not recovered from industrial whaling during the 20th century, remaining at a small fraction of their pre-whaling population sizes.

'Our results say that if we restore whale populations to pre-whaling levels seen at the beginning of the 20th century, we'll restore a huge amount of lost function to ocean ecosystems,' said Nicholas Pyenson, a co-author of the study and curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

'It may take a few decades to see the benefit, but it's the clearest read yet about the massive role of large whales on our planet.'

Marine ecologist Matthew Savoca, of Stanford University, led the study to find how much 30 to 100ft baleen whales eat each day.

He said the best estimates from past research were largely guesses that were not based on actual measurements.

To find the answer, he and his team used data from 321 tagged whales spanning seven species living in the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans collected between 2010 and 2019.

Many species of baleen whales  which include blue, bowhead, right, humpback (pictured), minke and gray whale  have not recovered from industrial whaling during the 20th century

One consequence of global warming is that the oceans absorb more heat and become more acidic, threatening the survival of food sources that whales need

HUMPBACK WHALE POPULATIONS AND THEIR THREATS Humpback whales live in oceans around the world. They travel incredible distances every year and have one of the longest migrations of any mammal on the planet. Some populations swim 5,000 miles from tropical breeding grounds to colder, plentiful feeding grounds  this is why it is difficult to estimate population size, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Of the 14 distinct populations, 12 are estimated to number more than 2,000 humpback whales each and two are estimated to number fewer than 2,000. Some populations (such as those off eastern and western Australia) are believed to number in excess of 20,000 animals  a remarkable recovery given that the same populations were almost eradicated by whaling almost sixty years ago. By contrast, the smallest known population is one which inhabits the Arabian Sea year-round, and may number as few as 80 individuals. Threats to humpback whales include decline in food like krill due to a combination of climate change and industrial-scale fishing. Humpback whales can become entangled by many different gear types including moorings, traps, pots, or gillnets. Once entangled, if they are able to move the gear, the whale may drag and swim with attached gear for long distances, ultimately resulting in fatigue, compromised feeding ability, or severe injury. There is evidence to suggest that most humpback whales experience entanglement over the course of their lives, but are often able to shed the gear on their own. Inadvertent vessel strikes can injure or kill humpback whales. Humpback whales are vulnerable to vessel strikes throughout their range, but the risk is much higher in some coastal areas with heavy ship traffic. Underwater noise threatens whale populations, interrupting their normal behaviour and driving them away from areas important to their survival. Sound has been shown to increase stress hormones in their system and mask the natural sounds humpback whales require to communicate and locate prey. Advertisement

Each of these tags, suction-cupped to a whale's back, was like a miniature smartphone  complete with a camera, microphone, GPS and an accelerometer that tracks movement.

The tags tracked the whales' movements, allowing the team to look for tell-tale patterns to figure out how often the animals were engaged in feeding behaviours.

Researchers also used drone photographs of 105 whales to measure their respective lengths.

This length could then be used to create accurate estimates of a whale's body mass and the volume of water it filtered with each mouthful.

Finally, the team were able to detect and measure the size and density of swarms of krill and other prey species with the help of echo-sounders attached to small boats.

This allowed them to estimate how much food the whales might be consuming.

The researchers then combined this information  how often whales were feeding, how much prey they could potentially consume and how much prey was available  to generate accurate estimates of how much whales eat each day.

To put into context quite how much scientists had previously underestimated how much whales eat, researchers cited a 2008 study.

It estimated that all of the whales in what is known as the California Current Ecosystem, which stretches from British Columbia to Mexico, required about two million tonnes of fish, krill, zooplankton and squid each year.

However, the new study suggests that blue, fin and humpback whale populations living in the ecosystem each require more than two million tons of food annually.

Researchers also calculated the amount of iron all this extra whale feeding would recirculate in the form of faeces.

The aim was to demonstrate how more prey consumption increases whales' capacity to recycle key nutrients that might otherwise sink to the seafloor.

Because whales eat so much, they end up ingesting and excreting substantial amounts of iron close to the surface, which provides important nutrients to help phytoplankton blooms.

The study calculated that whales in the Southern Ocean recycle roughly 1,200 tonnes of iron every year.

Researchers also wanted to investigate what their findings told them about the marine ecosystem before industrial whaling slaughtered up to three million whales over the course of the 20th century.

According to the analysis, minke, humpback, fin and blue whales in the Southern Ocean consumed some 430 million tonnes of krill a year at the beginning of the 1900s.

That total is double the amount of krill in the entire Southern Ocean today.

In terms of the whales' role as nutrient recyclers, the researchers estimate that whale populations, before losses from 20th-century whaling, produced excrement containing 12,000 tonnes of iron, 10 times the amount whales currently recycle in the Southern Ocean.

This suggests that when there were a lot more whales, there must have been more krill for them to eat.

Savoca said the decline of krill numbers following the loss of so many of their biggest predators is known to researchers as the krill paradox.

By scooping up food and producing excrement, whales help keep key nutrients suspended close to the surface where they can power blooms of the carbon-absorbing phytoplankton that form the base of ocean food-webs

Without whales, those nutrients more readily sink to the seafloor, which can limit productivity in certain parts of the ocean and may in turn limit the capacity of ocean ecosystems to absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide

He added that the decline in krill populations is most pronounced in areas where whaling was especially intense, such as the Scotia Sea between the Southern Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean southeast of South America.

'This decline makes no sense until you consider that whales are acting as mobile krill processing plants,' Savoca said.

'These are animals the size of a Boeing 737, eating and pooping far from land in a system that is iron-limited in many places.

'These whales were seeding productivity out in the open Southern Ocean and there was very little to recycle this fertiliser once whales were gone.'

The study concludes that restoring whale populations could also restore lost marine productivity and, as a result, boost the amount of carbon dioxide sucked up by the phytoplankton  which are eaten by krill.

'Our results suggest the contribution of whales to global productivity and carbon removal was probably on par with the forest ecosystems of entire continents, in terms of scale,' Pyenson said.

'That system is still there, and helping whales recover could restore lost ecosystem functioning and provide a natural climate solution.'

The study has been published in the journal Nature.
Europe will see extreme 50C heatwaves every three years if greenhouse gases continue rising, the Met Office has warned.

Unless the world takes action, Europe can expect 'Lucifer' heatwaves to take place by 2100, it said.

Professor Peter Stott told BBC's Panorama: 'The increasing chances of these extreme events continue to rise.'

Unless the world takes action, Europe can expect 'Lucifer' heatwaves to take place by 2100, the Met Office has warned (stock image)

The heatwaves were first named in Italy in 2017, called 'Lucifero', when a heatwave swept southern Europe with temperatures above 40c.

In August 2021, Italy, reported another, which was a European record high temperature of 48.8C.

Professor Stott from the Met Office said: 'We can be more confident than we've ever been about linking extreme weather events to climate change.

'The science is clear that the faster we reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases, the more we can avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.'

Scientists have said there needs to be a global goal to cut emissions to net zero by 2050 to avoid temperature rises above 1.5C (stock image)

The new analysis comes as leaders and policy makers from across the world come together for negotiations at Cop26 in Glasgow.

Several countries have outlined pledges at the conference, including India, which announced it would cut emissions to net zero by 2070, China, which has said it will achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 and a net zero commitment by 2050 from Vietnam.

Scientists have said there needs to be a global goal to cut emissions to net zero by 2050 to avoid temperature rises above 1.5C and to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates thinks the world is likely to miss the 2.7F (1.5C) climate change target, as set out in the aims of the Paris Agreement.

Gates, who was speaking to former UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt during COP26 in Glasgow, said that 'there's no comparable feat that mankind has ever achieved'.

Hitting the target  limiting the global temperature increase to 2.7F (1.5C) above pre-industrial levels  is seen as key to averting a planetary catastrophe, leading to devastation in the form of frequent climate disasters and millions of deaths.

However, Gates did have praise for the UK for its 'exemplary' use of green innovations, including off-shore wind farms, saying the country has a 'very good grade on climate change'.

Gates joined COP26 just days after toasting his 66th birthday with Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos on his $2million-a-week rental superyacht.

Superyachts emit 7,020 tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 19 tons per day, making the billionaire entrepreneurs the target of hypocrisy accusations.

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Bill Gates listens during the 'Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment' event at the COP26 UN Climate Summit, Tuesday, November 2, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland

WHAT IS THE PARIS AGREEMENT? The Paris Agreement, first signed in 2015, is an international agreement to control and limit climate change. It hopes to hold the global average temperature increase to below 2C (3.6F) 'and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C (2.7F)'. It seems the more ambitious goal of restricting global warming to 1.5C (2.7F) may be more important than ever, according to research that claims 25 per cent of the world could see a significant increase in drier conditions. Source: European Commission Advertisement

'There's no comparable feat that mankind has ever achieved to what we need to do for climate change,' the former Microsoft CEO said in the interview for Policy Exchange with Hunt on Tuesday.

'It's all a matter of degrees, so to speak. That is, hitting 2.5C is better than hitting 3C, hitting 2C is better than the hitting 2.5C.

'[Hitting] 1.5C will be very difficult. I doubt that we'll be able to achieve that.'

The Paris Agreement, which was first signed in 2015, is an international agreement to control and limit climate change.

It hopes to hold the increase in the global average temperature to below 2C (3.6F) 'and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C (2.7F)'.

But Gates called for 'rapid innovation' in green technologies if these ambitious targets are going to be hit.

This includes bringing down the costs of current green technologies, like solar panels and lithium-ion batteries, to enable mass roll outs in middle-income countries like China and India.

'What happened with solar panels where they were very expensive, and now they're cheap, or lithium-ion batteries,' said Gates, formerly the richest person in the world.

Bill Gates attends the World Leaders' Summit 'Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment' session on day three of COP26 on November 2, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland

JEFF BEZOS ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY FOR LECTURING COP26 ABOUT EMISSIONS Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos has been accused of hypocrisy after telling COP26 that going to space made him realise 'how thin the globe's atmosphere is'. The billionaire has been criticised by Prince William among others for the amount of fossil fuel that space exploration consumes. Bezos earlier this year made a short journey to space in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard. He told delegates: 'Looking back at earth from up there, the atmosphere seems so thin. The world so finite and so fragile. Now in this critical year, and what we all know is the decisive decade, we must all stand together to protect our world.' Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, was among Mr Bezos's critics today, calling him a 'hypocrite' and writing: 'Amazon has a carbon footprint larger than most countries.' Read more: Going to space gave Jeff Bezos a new climate perspective Advertisement

'We need to do that for about six other technologies  green steel, cheap hydrogen, offshore wind.

'It does require lots of money ... we have many paths of innovation, we're not just counting on one path. But we will have to see rapid innovation.

'Now, mankind is much richer today, far more knowledgeable today. We do have the digital tools that enable us to work on these things.'

Gates  who founded Microsoft with the late Paul Allen in 1975  pointed out that emissions in the world come from middle-income countries.

High income countries, such as the UK, the US and Australia, therefore have to work to reduce the cost of green products  what Gates calls a 'green premium'.

'We cannot afford to subsidise the green premiums to the middle-income countries,' Gates told Hunt. 'That would be trillions of dollars.'

Gates picked out the UK as a country that has helped 'bootstrap' some new green technologies, such as offshore wind farms.

Wind power is a sustainable source of energy and has a smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels.

'Wind is going to play a big role in that that much larger power generation network of the future, on a global basis,' Gates said.

Also on day three of COP26, Gates was seen mingling with world leaders including the Prime Minister of India at a 'clean technology' event.

He was later pictured with Prince Charles and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a reception inside Glasgow's Scottish Event Campus (SEC).

Offshore wind farms tend to be more efficient than those on land, as stronger winds cause the turbines to spin faster, meaning they generate more energy

Prince Charles, right, speaks with Gates as he co-hosts a reception for world leaders during the COP26 summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Bill Gates watches his friend and future Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen typing on teletype terminal at the Lakeside school in 1968. He was about 13 in this picture

Gates is currently ranked fourth on the list of richest people in the world  behind Bezos, SpaceX founder Elon Musk and French businessman Bernard Arnault.

Gates founded Microsoft with Allen after the two met at high school in Seattle in 1968. Both dropped out of university to found the company.

According to Allen's memoir, he and Gates shared a passion for computers and used to go dumpster diving for print-outs of computer programme code.
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An incredible 3D reconstruction has revealed what Scotland's largest Pictish fort would have looked like in its prime, more than 1,000 years ago.

The digital images of Burghead Fort on the coast of Moray were produced by experts led from the University of Aberdeen based on archaeological excavations.

It had long been thought that the remains of the fort  occupied from around 5001000 AD  were lost during development of modern Burghead in the 19th Century.

However, the team's efforts have painted a different picture, yielding what they call 'some of the most significant Pictish items and building remains ever uncovered.'

From the latter, the experts have brought the fort back to digital life, revealing the defensive stone ramparts  each 26' thick and 20' high  around the interior dwellings.

Within these fortifications was also enveloped an elaborate well, the remains of which can still be seen in the present day, the archaeologists said.

The team also included a chapel at the entrance to the site in their reconstruction, reflecting evidence of early Christian occupation found in past digs at the site.

According to archaeologists, Burghead Fort was some three times the size of any other enclosed site in Early Medieval Scotland.

The reconstruction was funded by Historic Environment Scotland as part of a wider video project aiming to engage the public with the country's Pictish past.

An incredible 3D reconstruction has revealed what Scotland's largest Pictish fort would have looked like in its prime, more than 1,000 years ago. Pictured: Burghead Fort brought to life

It had long been thought that the remains of the fort (left)  occupied from around 5001000 AD  were lost during development of modern Burghead (right) in the 19th Century. However, the team's efforts have painted a different picture, yielding what they call 'some of the most significant Pictish items and building remains ever uncovered'

The digital images of Burghead Fort on the coast of Moray were produced by experts led from the University of Aberdeen based on archaeological excavations

Destroyed by fire after 500 years of continuous occupation: The story of Burghead Fort After some 500 years of continuous occupation, Burghead Fort was destroyed by fire in the 10th century. It is possible that the inferno was set by Vikings  who were known to have raided the Moray coast in this period. After the fire, the site remained unoccupied until the 12th century. When the modern harbour was constructed in the 19th century, the landward ramparts and part of the seaward defences were levelled. During this work, 30 Pictish carved stones were uncovered from the fort site, but only six carved bulls and some fragments of early Christian sculpture ultimately ended up surviving. Advertisement

'Burghead fort was one of the most important places in Early Medieval Scotland, and was built to be dramatic and imposing,' said Historic Environment Scotland's archaeology manager, Kevin Grant.

'These reconstructions help us imagine experiencing this spectacular site in its hey-day,' he continued.

'We are also delighted to support these excavations, which are transforming our understanding of Pictish Scotland and saving important archaeological remains from being lost to the waves.'

'The scale of houses and buildings we have discovered evidence of show that this was a densely populated and important Pictish site,' said University of Aberdeen archaeologist Gordon Noble, who has been excavating Burghead for five years now.

'We have found many objects which have helped us to learn more about the everyday lives of Burghead's inhabitants between the 6th and 10th centuries AD.'

Among the finds, he explained, have been examples of metalworking, weaponry and even hair and dress pins.

'With each new dig we are finding out more about our ancestors who lived here,' Professor Noble continued.

'The foundations of the huge ramparts have survived far better than anyone anticipated, despite their wilful destruction over the centuries.

'The midden layers, which is effectively where the Picts threw their rubbish, have provided startling insights into the lives of the Picts.

'It wonderful to see the work of our excavations spanning more than five years brought together in these stunning reconstructions which offer an amazing insight into how Burghead may have looked.'

From their excavations, the experts have brought the fort back to digital life, revealing the defensive ramparts  each 26' thick and 20' high  around the interior dwellings. Within these fortifications was also embedded a well, the remains of which can still be seen in the present day, the archaeologists said

'Burghead fort was one of the most important places in Early Medieval Scotland, and was built to be dramatic and imposing,' said Historic Environment Scotland's Kevin Grant. Pictured: the remains of the ramparts of the fort's lower enclosure, as seen in the present day

The team also included a chapel (pictured) at the entrance to the site in their reconstruction, reflecting evidence of early Christian occupation found in past digs at the site

According to archaeologists, Burghead Fort was some three times the size of any other enclosed site in Early Medieval Scotland. Pictured: a plan of the remains of the fort, as drawn up in 1793 by one Major General William Roy of the Royal Society

After some 500 years of occupation, Burghead Fort was destroyed by fire in the 10th century. It is possible that the inferno was set by Vikings  who were known to have raided the Moray coast in this period. After the fire, the site was unoccupied until the 12th century

'Burghead has certainly been one of our most challenging projects to date,' said archaeologist and digital artist Alice Watterson of the University of Dundee, who coordinated the digital reconstructions of the fort.

'Not only has it been one of the largest sites I have reconstructed, but in order to model its full extent we had to completely remodel the landscape to remove the modern town and rebuild the eroded cliffs.

'For our team, capturing a sense of place for Burghead was particularly important. Its dramatic location on the Moray coast is key not only to its archaeological interpretation but also what makes it such a special place to visit today.'

With the reconstructions complete, the team are now undertaking more excavations  also funded by Historic Environment Scotland  which are hoped will further our understanding of how the Picts at Burghead connected to the wider world.

The efforts represent something of a race against time. Parts of the rampart wall are now just a few feet from the eroding cliff face  with the sea having already claimed the remains of a cemetery which once stood outside of the fort's enclosure.

'We have found many objects which have helped us to learn more about the everyday lives of Burghead's inhabitants between the 6th and 10th centuries AD,' said University of Aberdeen archaeologist Gordon Noble. Among the finds, he explained, have been examples of metalworking (pictured), weaponry and even hair and dress pins. 'With each new dig we are finding out more about our ancestors who lived here'

When the modern harbour was constructed in the 19th century, the landward ramparts and part of the seaward defences were levelled. During this work, 30 Pictish carved stones were uncovered from the fort site, but only six carved bulls (one of which is pictured) and some fragments of early Christian sculpture ultimately ended up surviving
Amazon is adding new features to Alexa that would allow the smart assistant to listen for the sound of kids turning on an Xbox, and automatically give them a chore list.

The latest move is part of a series of measures by Amazon designed to make it more 'passive', having it do more automatically without human intervention.

Speaking at Web Summit 2021, which is being held in Lisbon this week, Tom Taylor, Senior Vice President of the Alexa division, said the firm wants people to have to talk to Alexa less.

One of the new features taking it in this direction involves 'passive sounds,' made from audio files people record around their own home that then trigger a Routine.

'Lets say you are a parent and want to make sure your kids do their chores,' he explained.

'You could train Alexa to listen for the sound of Xbox turning on and have it automatically show your kids a to-do list on the Echo Show.'

Amazon is adding new features to Alexa that would allow the smart assistant to listen for the sound of kids turning on an Xbox, and automatically give them a chore list

'Lets say you are a parent and want to make sure your kids do their chores,' Mr Taylor said in his speech, 'you could train Alexa to listen for the sound of Xbox turning on and have it automatically show your kids a to-do list on the Echo Show'

HOW TO SETUP AN ALEXA ROUTINE Open the Alexa app Open the menu (three horizontal lines) and select Routines Select the Plus icon Select When this happens, and follow the steps in the app to choose what starts your routine. Select Add action, and follow the steps in the app to choose the action of your routine. You can select multiple actions for the same routine. Select Save Advertisement

'Historically you had to be a computer scientist to tailor AI to a specific task, but with self service AI anyone can enable it to their needs,' he explained.

'In the very near future, the devices and services we rely on will become much more proactive,' he said, adding that this is an industry wide change of direction.

'Instead of needing to reach for our phones or make a request to a voice assistant, AI will turn off the lights before bed, offer to start your coffee in the morning, or adjust the thermostat when you're away  all without being asked.'

In the past few years Amazon has been building out 'Routines' - sequences of tasks linked to Alexa and other smart devices that users can program.

'We have enhanced routines with pre-set triggers, where devices are designed to respond to events in specific way,' said Mr Taylor.

This includes playing soothing music when it hears the sound of a baby crying, turning off the lights if no movement is detected, or spotting a package on camera.

Amazon is enhancing this feature by allowing users to record their own sounds, such as children playing the Xbox, a dog barking or even the fridge opening.

'Customers will be able to teach Alexa to recognise distinct sounds in their own unique environment with just a few audio samples and then have the option for Alexa to begin a routine once that sound is detected,' Mr Taylor explained.

Other examples of this functionality could be a recording of a laptop startup sound for someone working from home, that automatically turns off the TV.

Amazon is also adding video and other triggers, such as detectors on Ring cameras specific to 'objects in their home that matter' such as a garage door opening.

Power state is another feature where a routine can be triggered if a light or plug has been left on for more than 30 minutes during the day when it shouldn't be.

The latest move is part of a series of measures by Amazon designed to make it more 'passive', having it do more automatically without human intervention

Amazon's new $1,500 robot Astro is deemed a 'disaster that's not ready for release' by its designers Designers of Amazon's new household robot have called it a 'disaster that's not ready for release', with one even claiming that it will throw itself down stairs 'if presented the opportunity'. The $1,450 (1,115) Alexa-powered bot called Astro was unveiled by the company yesterday as an autonomous device that can monitor a person's home while they are not there. It can be remote-controlled to check on pets, people and home security, and provide alerts about any disturbances. But it appears some of its designers are far from convinced the bot will live up to Amazon's billing. One person who worked on it called Astro 'terrible', while another dismissed Amazon's promotional pitch that it could help the elderly as 'absurdist nonsense', according to Motherboard. Advertisement

'Increasingly you don't have to ask Alexa to do these tasks around your house, Alexa and your devices are doing it on your behalf. You talk to Alexa less,' Mr Taylor said.

Other applications include playing the sound of a dog barking if the Ring doorbell detects a human and nobody is home.

'There are other applications to start feel like sci-fi movies and shows we grew up with,' said Mr Taylor, including the recently announced Alexa robot Astro.

It can interact with family members, learn where each family member hangs out in the house and show up without being asked.

'It can send you a message to confirm your grandma is up and about,' said Mr Taylor, adding that it is allowing AI to self learn and take action without the customer.

'Soon Alexa will be able to infer patterns and recommend specific routines based on those patterns. For example, if you listen to Justin Bieber every morning to start your day, Alexa will know to play Justin Bieber when you walk in.'

Amazon is also developing 'common sense' into the AI, such as knowing that if you enjoy a meal once, it doesn't mean you want it every day, and never to blast music in a room with a baby in the middle of the night.

Amazon, Google and Apple are all racing to have their virtual AI-assistant be the one used in future devices, and in people's homes.

Mr Taylor said in the future there will be multiple assistants, not just one like Alexa, that will play different roles in different context.

'There are other applications to start feel like sci-fi movies and shows we grew up with,' said Mr Taylor, including the recently announced Alexa robot Astro (pictured)

These will likely be based on existing assistance, such as Alexa, Google and Siri, but with a custom branding and narrow focus.

'A great example of how this can be done is Disney's new custom assistant Hey Disney. Starting next spring Alexa customers will be able to interact with Disney content simply by saying 'Hey, Disney',' he explained.

He said the future of artificial intelligence will be as a background tool that runs throughout our homes and lives - in every device we own from a washing machine and fridge, to door locks and light switches.

'This is the next big leap forward for technology inside and outside the home,' Mr Taylor said at the Portugal-based conference.

'It understands you and adapts accordingly. It's there when you need it, recedes into the background when you don't, and it's able to take action for you.

'Ultimately AI will enable people to influence and shape the future of AI development from a broader set of use cases, which will help drive future AI development.'
Mysterious shards of glass strewn across Chile's Atacama Desert were likely created by an ancient exploding comet, a study has claimed.

The pieces of dark green or black glass, which came to scientists' attention a decade ago, are clustered in a vast corridor that stretches almost 50 miles (75km) across.

Some are up to 20 inches (50cm big) and look as if they've been folded and twisted into their current forms.

It had been thought they could have been created by volcanic activity or ancient grass fires  because the region wasn't always a desert  but new research led by Brown University has come to a different conclusion.

The study discovered that the glass contained tiny fragments with minerals often found in rocks of extraterrestrial origin.

Discovery: Mysterious shards of dark green or black glass strewn across Chile's Atacama Desert (pictured) were likely created by an ancient exploding comet, a new study has claimed

The pieces of dark green or black glass, which came to scientists' attention a decade ago, are clustered in a vast corridor that stretches almost 50 miles (75km) across

Out of this world: The fragments of glass contain exotic minerals such as cubanite and troilite (pictured) only found in meteorites and other extraterrestrial rocks, the researchers said

WHAT WERE THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL MINERALS FOUND IN THE DESERT GLASS? Researchers led by Brown University collected more than 300 samples of the glass found in Chile's Atacama Desert before examining them under an electron microscope. They then analysed the objects' chemical composition through spectroscopy. Minerals in the glass called zircons decomposed to form baddeleyite, the study found, which would have required extremely hot temperatures of above 3,038F (1,670C). The fragments also contained exotic minerals such as cubanite and troilite only found in meteorites and other extraterrestrial rocks. They closely match the composition of material returned to Earth by NASA's Stardust mission, which sampled the particles from a comet called Wild 2, the authors said. Advertisement

Those minerals closely match the composition of material returned to Earth by NASA's Stardust mission, which sampled the particles from a comet called Wild 2, the authors said.

They concluded that the minerals are likely the remains of an extraterrestrial object  most likely a comet  streamed down after an explosion that melted the sandy surface below.

'This is the first time we have clear evidence of glasses on Earth that were created by the thermal radiation and winds from a fireball exploding just above the surface,' said the study's lead author Pete Schultz, of Brown University.

'To have such a dramatic effect on such a large area, this was a truly massive explosion.

'Lots of us have seen bolide fireballs streaking across the sky, but those are tiny blips compared to this.'

Researchers collected more than 300 samples of the desert glass before examining them under an electron microscope and analysing their chemical composition through spectroscopy.

The samples showed evidence of having been twisted, folded, rolled and even thrown while still in molten form.

According to the researchers, that is consistent with a large incoming meteor and airburst explosion, which would have been accompanied by tornado-force winds.

They added that the glass fragments 'indicate nearly simultaneous (seconds to minutes) intense airbursts close to Earth's surface near the end of the Pleistocene' 12,000 years ago.

The glass is in patches across the Atacama Desert east of Pampa del Tamarugal, a plateau in northern Chile nestled between the Andes to the east and Chilean Coastal Range to the west

The minerals closely match the composition of material returned to Earth by NASA's Stardust mission, which sampled the particles from a comet called Wild 2, the authors said

Researchers collected more than 300 samples of the glass before examining them under an electron microscope and analysing their chemical composition through spectroscopy

Minerals in the glass called zircons thermally decomposed to form baddeleyite, the authors said, which would have required extremely hot temperatures of above 3,038F (1,670C)

WHAT WAS NASA's STARDUST MISSION? The Stardust probe was launched back in 1999 with the primary goal of visiting the comet Wild 2. It completed this mission in 2004, capturing dust particles from around the comet nucleus that it later returned to Earth in a capsule for study. In 2009, this analysis revealed that a fundamental building block of life had been found in a comet for the first time, bolstering the theory that the raw ingredients of life arrived on Earth from outer space. Traces of the amino acid glycine were found, having been captured 242million miles from Earth by the Stardust spacecraft. However, with sufficient fuel supplies still in its tanks, NASA then decided to send the probe to the comet Tempel 1, which it swept past in 2011. Advertisement

During the Pleistocene epoch, there were fertile patches in the desert with trees and grassy wetlands created by rivers extending from mountains to the east.

It had been suggested that widespread fires may have burned hot enough to melt the sandy soil into large glassy slabs.

But the amount of glass present, along with several key physical characteristics, make this theory extremely unlikely, the new research found.

Minerals in the glass called zircons thermally decomposed to form baddeleyite, the authors said, which would have required extremely hot temperatures of above 3,038F (1,670C), which is far hotter than a wildfire.

The glass is concentrated in patches across the Atacama Desert east of Pampa del Tamarugal, a plateau in northern Chile nestled between the Andes mountains to the east and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west.

It contains exotic minerals such as cubanite and troilite only found in meteorites and other extraterrestrial rocks, the researchers said.

'Those minerals are what tell us that this object has all the markings of a comet,' said co-author Scott Harris, a planetary geologist at the Fernbank Science Center.

'To have the same mineralogy we saw in the Stardust samples entrained in these glasses is really powerful evidence that what we're seeing is the result of a cometary airburst.'

The pieces of dark green or black glass are clustered in a vast corridor that stretches almost 50 miles (75km) across Chile's Atacama Desert (stock image)

Researchers said more work is needed to establish the exact age of the glass, which would then help determine when the ancient comet exploded in the Atacama Desert (pictured)

Pictured is an artist's impression of the Stardust spacecraft approaching comet Wild 2 in 2004

More work needs to be done to establish the exact age of the glass, which would determine exactly when the event took place, Schultz said.

But experts believe the impact happened around the time large mammals disappeared from the region.

'It's too soon to say if there was a causal connection or not, but what we can say is that this event did happen around the same time as when we think the megafauna disappeared, which is intriguing,' Schultz said.

'There's also a chance that this was actually witnessed by early inhabitants, who had just arrived in the region. It would have been quite a show.'

The research has been published in the journal Geology.
The world's crop staples, including corn, wheat and soybeans, are likely to be drastically impacted by climate change as soon as 2030, 'several decades sooner than estimated,' according to a newly published study.

The research  stemming from NASA scientists  notes that in a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, corn crop yields will drop a staggering 24 percent.

Corn is considered 'the most important global crop in terms of total production and food security in many regions,' according to the study.

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Soybeans and rice are also set to be negatively impacted, though the models created by the researchers give varying levels of impact, ranging from a decline of 2 percent to as low as 21 percent.

Crop staples like corn, wheat and soybeans will be drastically impacted by climate change as soon as next decade

In a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, corn yields will drop 24 percent by 2030

Soybeans and rice are also set to be negatively impacted, though the models give varying levels of impact. Wheat crop yields could increase, but the output will be uneven around the globe and will not last forever

Rice could see a drop from 23 percent growth to 2 percent growth or as low as a 15 percent decline.

However, wheat crops could grow 17 percent, the researchers concluded.

'We introduce the concept of climate impact emergence to the field of agriculture impacts, highlighting that major shifts in global crop productivity due to climate change are projected to occur within the next 20 [years], several decades sooner than estimates based on previous model projections,' the authors wrote in the study.

The researchers used advanced climate and agricultural modeling to look for changes in yields based on several factors, including projected increases in temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and a rise in carbon dioxide concentrations.

'We did not expect to see such a fundamental shift, as compared to crop yield projections from the previous generation of climate and crop models conducted in 2014,' said the study's lead author Jonas Jagermeyr, a crop modeler and climate scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute, in a statement.

Jagermeyr was especially concerned at the projected decline in corn, adding, 'a 20% decrease from current production levels could have severe implications worldwide.'

The study's lead author Jonas Jagermeyr was especially concerned at the projected decline in corn, adding, 'a 20% decrease from current production levels could have severe implications worldwide'

Rice could see a drop from 23 percent growth to 2 percent growth or as low as a 15 percent decline. However, wheat crops could grow 17 percent, the researchers concluded

Although wheat crop yields will increase globally, it will be uneven and will not last forever, according to the study.

South Asia, the southern U.S., Mexico and parts of South America will be able to grow the crop longer, as will certain parts of the northern U.S., Canada and other East Africa.

However, the gains may start to 'level off mid-century,' NASA said in the statement.

Although wheat crop yields will increase globally, it will be uneven and will not last forever, according to the study. South Asia, the southern U.S., Mexico and parts of South America will be able to grow the crop longer, as will certain parts of the northern U.S., Canada and other East Africa. However, the gains may start to 'level off mid-century,' NASA said .

'Even under optimistic climate change scenarios, where societies enact ambitious efforts to limit global temperature rise, global agriculture is facing a new climate reality,' Jagermeyr added.

'And with the interconnectedness of the global food system, impacts in even one region's breadbasket will be felt worldwide.'

The researchers used the climate model simulations from the International Climate Model Intercomparison Project-Phase 6 (CMIP6) and simulations for 12 crop models from Columbia University's Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) to come up with their findings.

All five of the CMIP6 models looked at Earth's atmosphere to greenhouse gas emissions through the year 2100, while the MgMIP models were based on real-life biological responses to the crops in indoor and outdoor experiments.

In total, approximately 240 simulations were created for each crop.

'What we're doing is driving crop simulations that are effectively growing virtual crops day-by-day, powered by a supercomputer, and then looking at the year-by-year and decade-by-decade change in each location of the world,' the study's co-author, Alex Ruane, added.

The researchers also looked at what impact higher CO2 would have on photosynthesis and water retention and found it would be positive, though 'often at a cost to nutrition'

The researchers also looked at what impact higher CO2 would have on photosynthesis and water retention and found it would be positive, though 'often at a cost to nutrition,' particularly for wheat moreso than corn.

The scenarios put forth by the study suggest that 'current food production systems will soon face fundamentally changed risk profiles,' however, the researchers note this could change with different inputs, such as economic incentives, changing farming practices and breeding hardier crops.

The study was published earlier this week in the scientific journal Nature Food.

The study comes as governments around the world gather for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he thinks the world is likely to miss the 2.7F (1.5C) climate change target, as set out in the aims of the Paris Agreement.

Earlier this year, a significant portion of the globe dealt with a crippling heat dome exacerbated by climate change, causing temperatures to get as high as 114F in Italy, Spain and Greece and possibly resulting in the death of 1 billion sea creatures in the Pacific Ocean.

Last month, the medical journal Lancet said health problems linked to climate change are getting worse, creating a 'code red' situation where droughts impact food production and rising temperatures lead to diseases like malaria and cholera spreading around the world.
The Northern Lights may be visible over parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England and Wales tonight, after a solar flare was spotted heading to Earth.

According to the Met Office, a coronal mass ejection (CME) was seen leaving the Sun on November 2, and it should reach the Earth tonight or tomorrow.

When the charged particles from the Sun meet the Earth's magnetosphere, it generates a geomagnetic storm that can produce stunning light shows.

Usually these displays are restricted to high-latitude regions around the Arctic and Antarctic.

But when the solar flares or coronal mass ejections are particularly strong, these shows can appear at lower latitudes.

This means that as long as the sky is cloud free and you are in a low light pollution area, you could see the Northern Lights in Scotland, Northern Ireland and more northerly parts of Wales and England this evening.

The Northern Lights may be visible over parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England and Wales tonight, after a solar flare was spotted heading to Earth

According to the Met Office, a coronal mass ejection (CME) was seen leaving the Sun on November 2, and it should reach the Earth tonight or tomorrow

Another coronal mass ejection (CME) was observed leaving the sun on the 2nd November. Our forecasters have analysed this and are predicting an arrival at Earth later tonight or early tomorrow, as shown by our Enlil model. pic.twitter.com/FRdmhgDwlq  Met Office Space (@MetOfficeSpace) November 3, 2021

SOLAR FLARES AND CMEs A solar flare is a tremendous explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in 'twisted' magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released. In a matter of just a few minutes they heat material to many millions of degrees and produce a burst of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, including from radio waves to x-rays and gamma rays. Solar flares are different to 'coronal mass ejections' (CMEs), which were once thought to be initiated by solar flares. CMEs are huge bubbles of gas threaded with magnetic field lines that are ejected from the Sun over the course of several hours. Advertisement

This latest CME is expected to result in a minor to moderate event, with a 20 per cent chance there will be periods of stronger activity, the Met Office says.

'Aurora may be visible across Scotland and Northern Ireland, perhaps parts of Northern England and North Wales if these conditions are realised, if skies are clear,' the Met Office tweeted.

As well as more southerly light shows, a particularly strong CME could cause problems for people on the planet.

While not directly harmful to humans, they could knock out satellites, cause power outages and communications difficulties, although this isn't expected to be large enough to have that type of impact.

It is what is known as a Cannibal type of CME, that is it sweeps up any slower CMEs that were ejected before it as it races towards the Earth.

Combined, they create a mash of strong magnetic fields and plasma that then act to generate geomagnetic storms as they hit the atmosphere.

This mashup is expected to hit at 23:00 GMT tonight, with any light shows expected on November 4 and 5.

There has been a marked increase in larger flares that can cause more southerly aurora in recent months, with the most recent on Thursday, October 28 - known as the Halloween storm.

Unfortunately, for British skygazers, that proved to be a poor display.

The increase in solar activity is due to the fact the Sun has entered the more active phase of its 11-year cycle, according to astronomers.

Every 11 years, the polarity of the Sun's magnetic field shifts, and as it does so the forces in our star get tangled and punch through the surface - sending plasma into space as CMEs and solar flares.

The Sun moved into the active phase of its cycle in 2020, which has already resulted in an increase in flares and solar storms reaching the Earth.

It will peak around 2025, around the time the ESA Solar Orbiter is expected to fly within 26 million miles of our star.

The Met Office told MailOnline: 'We are seeing a gradual increase in solar activity and associated space weather.

'This is due to us moving away from solar minimum (late 2019/early 2020) and towards the next solar maximum (expected around mid-2025).

'Over the next few years we can expect increasing solar activity, with a corresponding increase in space weather events affecting Earth and the near-Earth space environment.'

We are expecting Minor to Moderate (G1-G2) geomagnetic storming, with a 20% chance of strong (G3) storm intervals. Aurora may be visible across Scotland and Northern Ireland, perhaps parts of Northern England and North Wales if these conditions are realised, if skies are clear. pic.twitter.com/3kRoQCi2lU  Met Office Space (@MetOfficeSpace) November 3, 2021

A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots (areas that appear dark on the Sun's surface).

Solar flares are different to CMEs, which were once thought to be initiated by solar flares. Both are types of solar storms.

NASA explains: 'We typically see a solar flare by the photons (or light) it releases, at most every wavelength of the spectrum.

'The primary ways we monitor flares are in x-rays and optical light. Flares are also sites where particles (electrons, protons, and heavier particles) are accelerated.

'Flares are our solar systems largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the sun and they can last from minutes to hours.'

In the Earth's north, the Northern Lights is officially known as the aurora borealis, while in the south it is called the aurora australis.

The Northern Lights has fascinated Earthlings for centuries, but the science behind it has not always been understood.

Earth has an invisible forcefield, the magnetosphere, that protects us from dangerous charged particles from the Sun.

The magnetosphere is the area around Earth controlled by the planet's magnetic field.

Science expert Marty Jopson explains: 'Whilst it shelters us, it also creates one of the most impressive phenomena on Earth  the Northern Lights.'

The Northern Lights seen over the Zapolyarnaya-2 mine of Vorkutaugol in the city of Vorkuta, northwestern Russia in April 2021

Pictured: photographer Jeanine Holowatuik posted this shot of the Northern Lights seen earlier in October 2021 over Saskatchewan, Canada

'When the deadly solar winds meet Earth's magnetosphere, some of the charged particles get trapped, and are propelled down the Earth's magnetic field lines straight towards the poles.

'And when they reach Earth, they strike atoms and molecules in our atmosphere, releasing energy in the form of light.'

Unfortunately, disruption to our magnetic field can also affect satellites in orbit, navigation systems, terrestrial power grids and data and communication networks.

'Harmful space weather has affected Earth before, but as we become increasingly reliant on systems and technologies vulnerable to the Sun's outbursts, future solar impacts could be even more disruptive,' says the European Space Agency (ESA).
Engraved chalk plaques from the Late Neolithic found in the Stonehenge area depict real objects  not only abstract patterns, as previously thought  a study has found.

Considered among the most spectacular examples of Prehistoric British engraved chalk, the four plaques were found within three miles of each other from 19682017.

Two of the stones, for example, were recovered from the so-called 'Chalk Plaque Pit' as a product of the construction work to widen the A303 back in 1968.

The subject of extensive study, the decorated stones have now been scanned using a special texture mapping technique by experts from Wessex Archaeology.

The imaging has revealed previously unseen elements in the artworks  most of which appear to be geometric designs  which exhibit a range of artistic abilities.

Specifically, the archaeologists said, the engravings on the chalk plaques demonstrate deliberate, staged composition, execution and detail.

And one of the carvings on 'plaque 1' from the chalk pit, in particular, appears to be a representation of a twisted cord  an object likely known to the artist in life.

The team believe the plaques' art styles may have been integrated into elements of Middle Neolithic culture, forming a 'golden age' of chalk art in the Late Neolithic.

Engraved chalk plaques from the Late Neolithic found in the Stonehenge area depict real objects  not only abstract patterns, as previously thought  a study has found

Considered among the most spectacular examples of British engraved chalk, the four plaques were found within three miles of each other in the Stonehenge (pictured) area from 19682017

Two of the stones, for example, were recovered from the so-called 'Chalk Plaque Pit' on King Barrow Ridge (pictured) as a product of the construction work to widen the A303 back in 1968

New scans have revealed previously unseen elements in the artworks  most of which appear to be geometric designs  which exhibit a range of artistic abilities. Furthermore, one of the carvings on 'plaque 1' from the chalk pit (left), in particular, appears to be a representation of a twisted cord (highlighted, right)  an object likely known to the artist in life

SCANNING THE CHALK In their study, Mr Davis and colleagues mapped the textures of each plaque using a technique called reflectance transformation imaging, or RTI. RTI is a non-destructive technique in which photographs are taken under varying lighting conditions  producing different highlights and shadows  as to reveal surface features that are otherwise invisible. An advantage of this approach is that it requires very little handling of the objects being studied  helping to ensure their conservation. Advertisement

'The Chalk Plaque Pit, discovered in 1968, was one of the most important discoveries of Late Neolithic chalk art in Britain,' said paper author and archaeologist Bob Davis.

'Over the last five decades we have seen additional plaques discovered from the Stonehenge region which have aided the study.

'Previously, the chalk plaques were documented using hand-drawn illustrations and were difficult to reconstruct due to erosion.

'However, the advancement of revolutionary technology has made it possible to understand previously unseen features of the plaques.'

This, he added, has helped them 'to understand the creative process of these Prehistoric artists.'

'Chalk has provided an attractive material for engraving for countless generations,' added fellow paper author and archaeologist Phil Harding, who first analysed the plaques in 1988, prior to the availability of the modern analytical tools used in the new study.

'It offers surfaces that can be smoothed, allowing designs to be sketched, reworked, altered or erased accordingly. Engraved chalk plaques were an important cultural marker in the Neolithic period.

'Utilising the advancement of photographic techniques, it is possible to suggest that Neolithic artists used objects known to them in the real world as inspiration for their artistic expression.'

The archaeologists said that the engravings on the chalk plaques demonstrate deliberate, staged composition, execution and detail. Pictured: close-ups of the engravings on plaque 1 the twisted cord motif can be seen in both insets B and C

The team believe the plaques' art styles may have been integrated into elements of Middle Neolithic culture, forming a 'golden age' of chalk art in the Late Neolithic. Pictured: the reverse side of each of the four engraved chalk plaques

In their study, Mr Davis and colleagues mapped the textures of each plaque using a technique called reflectance transformation imaging, or RTI. RTI is a non-destructive technique in which photographs are taken under varying lighting conditions  producing different highlights and shadows  as to reveal surface features that are otherwise invisible. In this close-up of plaque 1, for example, (left) the team were able to identify the order of each engraving (highlighted in order on the right as red, dark blue, yellow, green, light blue and orange)

'The application of modern technology to ancient artefacts has allowed us not only a better understanding of the working methods of the Neolithic artists,' began paper author Matt Leivers, also of Wessex Archaeology.

'But also a rare glimpse into their motivations and mindsets,' he concluded.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society.

Pictured: a map of the area around Salisbury Plain, showing the locations of Stonehenge and the sites where the four plaques were unearthed  King Barrow Ridge (plaques 1 & 2), Butterfield Down (plaque 3) and Bulford (plaque 4)
Roku is removing a loophole used by porn providers to target users on the streaming platform despite Roku's stance on banning the graphic content.

The ban, slated to happen on March 1, 2022, will block the worlds largest porn site, Pornhub, and similar services from offering their channels on the platform.

Porn services appear as private channels, which are also used by developers for testing purposes, allowing them to bypass approval needed to display channels in the Roku store to users.

However, Roku announced last month that it is removing the private channels and replacing them with beta channels that lets developers test with up to 20 users before publishing.

This is set to happen on March 1, 2022 and will block the worlds largest porn site, Pornhub, and similar services from offering their channels on the platform

The company held its annual developer conference last month where it announced new processes on how it will handle channels on its Channel Store going forward, but the under-the-radar-change was first reported by Protocol earlier this week.

A Roku spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'At our annual developer conference in October, we announced the launch of Beta Channels, a new feature that aligns with industry standards and offers a more dynamic and flexible environment for developers to test their channels prior to launching in our public channel store.

'With the launch of the Beta Channels feature, non-certified channels, which have previously been available to support development testing, are no longer necessary and will be removed by March of 2022.'

Roku has come under fire in the past for its private channels, due to illegal content being easily accessed.

In 2017, Roku lost a legal suit in Mexico over piracy, which resulted in the firms devices being banned in the country  however the ban was lifted in 2018, according to TechCrunch.

Porn services appear as private channels, which are also used by developers for testing purposes, allowing them to bypass approval needed to display channels in the Roku store to users

Roku announced that it is removing the private channels and replacing them with beta channels that lets developers test with up to 20 users before publishing. Roku currently shows warning messages when a user attempts to access private channels (pictured)

The issue stemmed from users watching pirated channels that were offered on the streaming platform as private channels.

Roku began showing warning messages following the legal battle, notifying users it may remove uncertified channels that contain illegal content without notice.

It also warned that it could ban repeat infringers from accessing other uncertified channels.

Apple TV also does not allow pornographic content, mainly due to the fact the device does not have a web browser.

However, users can mirror adult content through Apple TV and on to their television through AirPlay.

Roku has come under fire in the past for its private channels, due to illegal content being easily accessed. The issue was users were watching pirated channels that were offered on the streaming platform as private channels

Rokus announcement to remove the loophole could, however, send many users flocking to other smart TV platform providers that are strict when it comes to private channels.

Amazons Fire TV and Googles Android TV platform allow users to watch porn and do so anonymously because these services have a browser.

OnlyFans, which has become the go-to place for creators to post explicit photos and videos, made a similar announcement in August, but made a U-turn a few days later.

On August 19, the U.K.-based company said it was banning pornography starting October 1 'to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers,' an OnlyFans spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com in an email.

Chief executive Tim Stokely claimed the change was prompted by 'unfair' banks who were concerned about 'reputational risk.' He named three banks - Metro Bank, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of New York Mellon.

Then on August 25, the company dropped its plans.

Some Twitter users speculated that the whole series of events was a huge publicity stunt, but OnlyFans insisted that it had 'suspended' the change having 'secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community.'
Signs of water have been detected in a galaxy 12.8 billion light years from the Earth, making it the most distant, and earliest discovered so far, astronomers claim.

A number of molecules were found in SPT0311-58, a massive galaxy dating to when the universe was just 780 million years old.

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign astronomers found evidence of the water molecules, made of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, in the ancient galaxy.

This suggests the 'molecular universe got going very early', they said, going from helium and hydrogen, or helium hydride, to more complex combinations quickly.

Elements heavier than helium and hydrogen are fused in the core of a star as it comes to the end of its life, so this research suggests that the first stars formed, died and their deaths produced molecules within 800 million years.

This in turn led to everything we know today, including Earth, the Sun, the Solar System and humanity itself.

These images show the molecular lines and dust continuum seen in ALMA observations of the pair of early massive galaxies known as SPT0311-58

WHAT IS A MOLECULE? A molecule is two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds. They have no electrical charge and can consists of atoms of one chemical element, such as 02 with two oxygen. It can also be made up of more than one compound, such as H2O with two hydrogen and one oxygen atom. They are a common component of matter and make up most of the oceans and atmosphere on Earth and other worlds. The first molecules were born early in the history of the universe, shortly after the first stars began to die. NASA research suggests the first complex molecule may have been a combination of hydrogen and helium known as helium hydride. Advertisement

The new research involved some of the most detailed and complex studies of molecular gas in the early universe.

Finding evidence of water molecules so far into the past gave the team an insight into how quickly the universe changed, the team said.

The area the molecules were found, SPT0311-58, is made up of two galaxies, and was first seen by ALMA scientists in 2017.

It is 12.8 billion light years from Earth, meaning the light we are seeing is from 12.8 billion years in the past, during a time known as the Epoch of Reionization.

This epoch occurred at a time when the universe was just five per cent of its current age, when the first stars and galaxies were being born.

In the light we see it appears like the two galaxies are starting to merge, and their rapid star formation rate is using up their gas, causing them to eventually form ito a pair of massive elliptical galaxies.

'Using high-resolution ALMA observations of molecular gas in the pair of galaxies known collectively as SPT0311-58 we detected both water and carbon monoxide molecules in the larger of the two galaxies,' said lead author Sreevani Jarugula.

'Oxygen and carbon, in particular, are first-generation elements, and in the molecular forms of carbon monoxide and water, they are critical to life as we know it,' the astronomer and principal investigator explained.

SPT0311-58 is currently the most massive galaxy currently known from the time when the universe was young, and has more dust and gas than other early galaxies.

'This gives us plenty of potential opportunities to observe abundant molecules and to better understand how these life-creating elements impacted the development of the early Universe,' said Jarugula.

Water is the third most abundant molecule in the universe after molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide, with previous studies of galaxies in the local and early universe correlating water emission and the far-infrared emission from dust.

'The dust absorbs the ultraviolet radiation from the stars in the galaxy and re-emits it as far-infrared photons.

'This further excites the water molecules, giving rise to the water emission that scientists are able to observe. In this case, it helped us to detect water emission in this massive galaxy.'

This correlation could be used to develop water as a tracer of star formation, which could then be applied to galaxies on a cosmological scale.

The bright blue glow is the dust continuum with molecular lines for H20, seen in the galaxy from very early in the history of the universe

Studying the first galaxies to form in the universe helps scientists to better understand its birth, growth, and evolution - as well as what that led to, including the Earth and entire solar system.

'Early galaxies are forming stars at a rate thousands of times that of the Milky Way, said Jarugula.

'Studying the gas and dust content of these early galaxies informs us of their properties, such as how many stars are being formed, the rate at which gas is converted into stars, how galaxies interact with each other and with the interstellar medium, and more.'

According to Jarugula, there's plenty left to learn about SPT0311-58 and the galaxies of the early universe.

This artists conception shows the dust continuum and molecular lines of carbon monoxide and water seen in the pair of galaxies known as SPT0311-58

Among the questions they hope to answer are 'how has so much gas and dust assembled to form stars and galaxies so early in the Universe?'

'The answer requires further study of these and similar star-forming galaxies to get a better understanding of the structural formation and evolution of the early Universe,' Jarugula explained.

'This exciting result, which shows the power of ALMA, adds to a growing collection of observations of the early Universe,' said Joe Pesce, astrophysicist and ALMA Program Director at the National Science Foundation.

'These molecules, important to life on Earth, are forming as soon as they can, and their observation is giving us insight into the fundamental processes of a universe very much different from today's.'
Boomerangs were famously used by indigenous Australians for hunting animals like kangaroos and emus.

Now, researchers in South Australia show one particular collection was also used for fighting, digging, fire management and even in ceremonies.

The scientists used radiocarbon dating to learn more about the rare collection of sticks, comprised of four complete boomerangs and one wooden fragment.

They were recovered from Cooper Creek, near the town of Innamincka in South Australias far north-east.

The four boomerangs and one wooden fragment were discovered in the creek bed during drought conditions in 2017 and 2018

HOW DO BOOMERAGS RETURN TO THEIR OWNER? Boomerangs have two 'wings' that are spun powerfully around a centre of gravity. When a boomerang is thrown, the top wing is moving faster through the air as compared to the bottom wing. This is because the top wing is moving in the direction of the throw, while the bottom wing is moving in the opposite direction. So, the top wing generates more lift than the bottom wing. The difference in the lift between the top and the bottom wing creates a torque that makes the boomerang tilt and gradually return to the thrower. Source: ScienceABC.com Advertisement

The study, led by Flinders University in South Australia and published in Australian Archaeology, showed the items had 'a diverse past'.

The oldest Australian boomerangs used by native peoples are over 10,000 years old, although these ones are around 380 years old at the very most.

'This range of activities goes well beyond the stereotype of the returning boomerang known to most Australians,' said study author Dr Daryl Wesley at Flinders University.

Boomerangs have two 'wings' that are spun powerfully around a centre of gravity.

They're famous for their ability to return to the thrower, thanks to a quirk of aerodynamics.

However, the boomerangs in this collection are all non-returning boomerangs, which tend to be larger and heavier than returning boomerangs.

Queensland Museum explains: 'A common misconception is that all boomerangs are returning types.

'In fact most of the Aboriginal hunting and war boomerangs are designed to travel only in the direction thrown.'

The four boomerangs and one wooden fragment were discovered in the creek bed during drought conditions in 2017 and 2018 by Jason Litherland from National Parks and Wildlife South Australia and Katheryn Litherland, a traditional owner.

Cooper Creek, which dries up due to the Australian climate, is one of the most famous rivers in Australia due to its connection with ill-fated explorers, Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills

They were recovered from Kinipapa (Cooper Creek), near Innamincka in South Australias far north-east

To determine how the collection may have been used, researchers conducted a morphological analysis of their surface, identifying signs of cracking, charring or burning, likely gained from stoking fires, as well as size and shape.

'In order to understand their use and manufacture we carefully examined the artefacts (including with microscopes) as well as comparing them to known examples from ethnographic evidence and traditional owner knowledge,' study author Professor Amy Roberts of Flinders University told MailOnline.

Results of radiocarbon dating revealed that the boomerangs range in age from approximately 1650 to 1830 AD.

The year 1830 is just before European incursions into the region by explorers such as Charles Sturt in the 1820s, as well as Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, who led an ill-fated expedition in 1860.

Burke, an Irishman, and Wills, and Englishman, successfully crossed Australia from south to north, starting in Melbourne.

Along with two other men, they became the first Europeans to cross Australia south to north when they reached the Gulf of Carpentaria in February 1861.

Aboriginal Australians have been using non-returning boomerangs for many thousands of years

Robert O'Hara Burke (depicted left), William John Wills (right), John King and Charles Gray became the first Europeans to cross Australia south to north when they reached the Gulf of Carpentaria in February 1861

But on their return journey, Burke and Wills died within a few days of each other at the end of June 1861.

These boomerangs could have been thrown in Cooper Creek mere decades prior to the arrival of Burke, who established a depot camp at the creek during the expedition.

The creek, which runs through the states of both South Australia and Queensland, is one of the most famous rivers in Australia due to its connection with the explorers.
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Israel announced Wednesday it is preparing to launch a massive reconnaissance balloon over its northern borders with Lebanon.

The country's military defense ministry has not provided a specific date or location for deployment, but the news comes at a time when the Israeli Air Force (IAF) seeks to improve the country's air defenses due to the advancement of Iranian drones and cruise missiles.

Dubbed 'Sky Dew,' the High Availability Aerostat System (HAAS) resembles a giant blimp or zeppelin, and is equipped with an advanced missile and aircraft detection system.

Sky Dew is capable of soaring at high altitudes where it can spot incoming long-range missiles, cruise missiles and drones, the ministry said.

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Israel announced Wednesday it is preparing to launch a massive reconnaissance balloon over its northern borders with Lebanon. Dubbed 'Sky Dew,' the High Availability Aerostat System (HAAS) resembles a giant blimp or zeppelin, and is equipped with an advanced missile and aircraft detection system

Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) director, Moshe Patel: In several flight test campaigns conducted in recent months, we have demonstrated the outstanding capabilities of Israels multi-tier missile defense- including against cruise missiles.

This aerostat system will cruise at high altitudes and provide an exceptional, multi-directional detection capability against advanced threats.

Sky Dew is fitted with elevated sensors, which are specifically designed to detect ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles and other aerial targets at greater range.

'This technology also increases the engagement area by adding sensor coverage beyond the line of sight of terrestrial radars and by looking out, or down, over other terrain features that could obscure cruise missiles or small unmanned aerial system from view,' according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Sky Dew is fitted with elevated sensors, which are specifically designed to detect ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles and other aerial targets at greater range

Pictured is Sky Dew before it is inflated

IAF Commander, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin said in a statement: 'The ES [elevated sensors] system will be a significant component in strengthening our capabilities to defend the country's borders against a variety of threats and will enable us to build a more accurate and broader air surveillance picture.

'The IAF has both the defensive and offensive systems to defend the State of Israel and its sovereignty.'

The HAAS was developed in partnership with U.S.-based TCOM, a company specializing in aerostat surveillance solutions, and the radar system was a joint project between IMDO and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

MDA director, Vice Admiral Jon Hill said in a statement: 'The Elevated Sensor is another great example of cooperation between the Missile Defense Agency, IMDO and industry partners.

Sky Dew is an inflatable balloon capable of soaring at high altitudes where it can spot incoming long-range missiles, cruise missiles and drones

The country's military defense ministry has not provided a specific date or location for deployment, but the news comes at a time when the Israeli Air Force (IAF) seeks to improve the country's air defenses due to the advancement of Iranian drones and cruise missiles

'The co-developed technology and research is a benefit to both nations. Additionally, this system will further enhance Israel's advanced threat detection capabilities to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge.'

Israel has moved aggressively in recent years to counter potential threats from Iran, the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers, all of which boast large arsenals of rockets capable of hitting major cities.

During the Gaza war, Hamas fired barrages of rockets at Tel Aviv in an attempt to overwhelm Israel's Iron Dome defense system, but Israeli officials say it shot down around 90 percent of the projectiles it targeted.

Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes against what it said were militant targets. The fighting killed more than 250 Palestinians, including 129 civilians, according to the United Nations. There were 13 deaths on the Israeli side.
NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered previously unknown organic molecules, ammonia and benzoic acid, on Mars that could be possible indicators of ancient life.

The findings stem from a new technique used by the American space agency in 2017 when the rover's drill stopped working, but the team re-routed Curiosity to place dirt samples into cups pre-filled with a chemical mixture instead of the typical empty containers.

The dirt showed traces of benzoic acid and ammonia, both of which occur naturally in plants and animals, including humans.

The molecules are not biosignatures, evidence of past or present life, but according Maeva Millan, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center, they are good indicators of the presence of biosignatures.

'One of the things that we were trying to look for [when searching for] organic molecule on Mars is to understand the past habitability of Mars and to look for bioindicators,' Millan told Inverse.

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NASA's Curiosity has discovered previously unknown organic molecules on Mars that could be possible indicators of ancient life (stock). Sample dirt collected by the rover showed traces of benzoic acid and ammonia

Curiosity touched down on the Red Planet on August 6, 2012 to investigate the Martian climate and geology, along with determining if the Gale Crater was once home to life.

Five years after making landfall, Curiosity was collecting soil samples from the Bagnold Dune, a 22-mile-long group of gray dunes inside Gale, when its drill stopped working.

In order not to waste the samples, Millan and her colleagues rerouted them.

There are 74 cups housed in the belly of Curiosity that are used to hold soil samples  nine of which contain a chemical mixture.

The findings stem from a new technique used by the American space agency in 2017, while the rover was exploring the Bagnold Dunes, when the rover's drill stopped working, but the ground team rerouted Curiosity to place dirt samples into cups pre-filled with a chemical mixture

Curiosity was collecting soil samples from the Bagnold Dune, a 22-mile-long group of gray dunes inside Gale, when its drill stopped working. In order not to waste the samples, Millan and her colleagues rerouted them

Samples are usually dropped in empty cups, but the NASA team decided for the first time to use the pre-filled containers instead.

While researchers did not find evidence of life, such as amino acids, the results prove 'wet chemistry derivatization' experiments are capable of uncovering such signs.

'This experiment was definitely successful,' Millan told Inverse.

'While we haven't found what we were looking for, biosignatures, we showed that this technique is really promising,' she added.

There are 74 cups housed in the belly of Curiosity that are used to hold soil samples  nine of which contain a chemical mixture. Samples are usually dropped in empty cups, but the NASA team decided, for the first time, to use the pre-filled containers instead

The wet chemistry experiment is going to be used by Europe's upcoming Rosalind Franklin Mars rover (pictured) that is launching in September 2022

The experiment 'has expanded the inventory of molecules present in Martian samples and demonstrated a powerful tool to further enable the search for polar organic molecules of biotic or prebiotic relevance,' Millan and her team concluded in their paper published in Nature Astronomy.

The wet chemistry experiment is going to be used by Europe's upcoming Rosalind Franklin Mars rover, set to launch in September 2022.

It was originally scheduled to head to Mars last summer, but coronavirus restrictions delayed tests required for it to launch.

Like the NASA Perseverance rover, which launched in July 2020, Rosalind Franklin will search Mars for signs of ancient life.

The rover is equipped with a unique drill that will bore down to six and a half feet below the Martian surface and return samples for analysis.
A group of hackers linked to Iran started leaking Tuesday what they claimed are private messages and information from a popular gay dating app in Israel.

The hackers, known as Black Shadow, said they were posting personal information from users of the app Atraf because the $1 million digital-currency ransom demand they made on Sunday had gone unmet, according to The Jerusalem Post.

'48 hours ended! Nobody send us money,' Black Shadow purportedly posted on Telegram. 'This is not the end, we have more plan.'

The group initially hacked into CyberServe, the Israeli internet hosting company that hosts servers for Atraf and other sites.

The hackers posted purported screenshots showing a representative agreeing to pay $500,000 to the blackmailers, though CyberServe has denied negotiating with Black Shadow.

By Tuesday evening, Black Shadow had also leaked detailed medical records from an Israeli hospital.

Black Shadow, a hacker collective with links to Iran, has begun leaking personal information belonging to users of Atraf, a popular Israeli gay dating site. The leak started Tuesday after the cyber attackers' $1 million wasn't met

Atraf, Hebrew slang for 'craziness,' launched in 2002 as a Tel Aviv-based gay website and now includes an app that offers geolocation-based dating and a nightlife index.

It's become something of the default dating site for gay Israelis: the company claims some 3 million messages are sent by 250,000 active users each day. Members can also purchase tickets to parties and other events.

As the ransom deadline passed on Tuesday, Black Shadow uploaded dating-app info, including chats and ticket purchases, and threatened to out closeted celebrities.

'Atraf's team did not contact us for any deal's yet so we collected 50 famous Israeli that were surfing and we leak their videos,' the hackers threatened on Telegram, according to The Times of Israel.

The Atraf app and website are down and developers did not immediately respond to inquiries from DailyMail.com.

The group initially hacked into CyberServe, the Israeli internet hosting company that hosts servers for Atraf and other sites, including two bus companies, a children's museum and a tour-booking firm

Atraf claims some 3 million messages are sent by 250,000 active users each day on its app. Both the app and Atraf website are down as a result of the cyberattack

'We still don't know what they have,' one user posted on Facebook. 'Pictures? Correspondence? Credit details? Phone numbers? Mail and home addresses? What did they manage to take?'

While Israel is far more LGBTQ-friendly than its Middle Eastern neighbors, some Atraf members are worried family members and friends learning about their sexual orientation, kinks or even their HIV status.

'It's awful to break into my personal space and threaten to reveal my correspondence and pictures,' One closeted twentysomething from Tel Aviv told Ynet News.

'My family and friends know nothing [about my being gay],' he added. 'It's very problematic for me, and I'm really helpless these days and do not know what to do.'

Black Shadow screenshots of what it said were negotiations over the ransom on Telegram, though its not clear who the hackers are interacting with. CyberServe has denied negotiating with Black Shadow

In an alleged Telegram conversation posted by Black Shadow, the hackers push back against a $500,000 ransom offer

As the ransom deadline passed on Tuesday, Black Shadow uploaded dating-app info, including chats and ticket purchases, and threatened to out closeted celebrities. Pictured: Revelers at Tel Aviv Pride in 2019

Yoram Hacohen, head of the Israel Internet Association, told Ynet it was 'one of the most serious attacks on privacy that Israel has ever seen.'

This is terrorism in every sense and the focus now must be on minimizing the damage and suppressing the distribution of the information as much as possible,' Hacohen said.

In a translated series of messages on Facebook, Atraf said it quickly contacted government authorities as soon as it was made aware of the blackmail plot.

'We alerted the authorities in the state of Israel about the intention of the hackers to publish the records, and asked for the immediate removal of the Telegram accounts,' it wrote.

'The motive of the terrorist group is not economic but national, so we are following the directives of the [National Cyber Directorate].'

The company recommended users report any suspicious turn to law enforcement and avoid direct contact 'with the Iranian attack group.'

'Since this is a nationalist terrorist group that does not prevent a monetary motive, it is estimated that any details to them will be exploited for bad morals,' the post read.

Hours after releasing the Atraf data, Black Shadow leaked detailed information on blood tests, CT scans, gynecology appointments, vaccinations and more for some 290,000 patients at Machon Mor medical institute in Bene Beraq

Hours after releasing the Atraf data, Black Shadow leaked detailed information on blood tests, CT scans, gynecology appointments, vaccinations and more for some 290,000 patients at Machon Mor medical institute in Bene Beraq, YNet reported.

WHAT IS RANSOMWARE? Cybercriminals use 'blockers' to stop their victim accessing their device. This may include a mesage telling them this is due to 'illegal content' such as porn being identified on their device. Anyone who has accessed porn online is probably less likely to take the matter up with law enforcement. Hackers then ask for money to be paid, often in the form of Bitcoins or other untraceable cryptocurrencies, for the block to be removed. In May 2017, a massive ransomware virus attack called WannaCry spread to the computer systems of hundreds of private companies and public organisations across the globe. Advertisement

The ransomware attack hit other CyberServe clients, according to The Jerusalem Post, including a children's museum, a public broadcasting company, tour booker Pegasus, and Israeli bus companies Kavim and Dan  shutting down their sites and leaking data related to their clients.

At one point, claiming it had not been contacted by CyberServe or the Israeli government, Black Shadow said the silence meant it was 'obvious [the hack] is not an important problem for them.'

Google has blocked sites related to Black Shadow, the Israeli Ministry of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday, and Telegram had also removed accounts related to the cyberattack gang.

Last week, the Iranian government blamed Israel and the US for a cyberattack that forced gas stations across the regime to shut down.

'We are still unable to say forensically, but analytically I believe it was carried out by the Zionist regime, the Americans and their agents,' Iran's Civil Defense Organization leader, Gholamreza Jalali, told state TV.

In March, Black Shadow hacked the servers of KLS Capital, an Israeli car-financing firm, and demanded $570,000 in Bitcoin in return for not uploading customer data. (KLS did not meet their demands.)

Last December, the group took credit for infiltrating servers for Israel's Shirbit insurance firm.

When the company refused to pay its million-dollar ransom, it began leaking client information, according to Haaretz.
The longest-lasting patch of snow in Britain has melted for just the eighth time in the past 300 years, according to experts monitoring the Cairgnorm phenomenon.

Known as 'The Sphinx', the 13ft strip is the 'most durable patch of snow' in Britain, but the rate of melting appears to be increasing - four times in the past five years.

Found at Braeriach, in the Cairngorms, there are fears it could become a victim of climate change, with warmer summers, wetter autumn and colder winters, causing it to get smaller, says mountaineer and author Iain Cameron.

It lasted most of 300 years without melting in the summer, but in four of the last five years it has disappeared by the start of autumn, experts explained.

Records show that The Sphinx melted fully in 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2017, 2018 and 2021, but before 1933, it last fully melted in the 1700s.

It shrunk to the size of an A4 piece of paper in the past few weeks, before finally disappearing in milder weather earlier this week.

The so-called Sphinx, at Braeriach, in the Cairngorms, has survived virtually every summer since records began in the 1700s. This was taken in October

Known as The Sphinx, the 13ft strip of snow at Braeriach, in the Cairngorms (pictured in October), is known to have survived virtually every summer since records began

WHAT IS A LASTING SNOW PATCH? A snow patch, such as The Sphinx in the Cairngorns, is a lasting strip of snow that survives the summer. They are often at a higher altitude, with overhanging rocks to reduce sunlight. Int he case of the Sphinx, it has only melted in the summer seven times in 300 years, re-freezing the next winter. They have been actively studied for more than 100 years, but records of their extent started in the 1700s. Recent years have seen the extent of these patches decline, and seen them melt more frequently. There is concern they will disappear completely as the world warms up. Advertisement

Scotland has a number of hardy snow patches, but they melt frequently throughout the summer, returning with increased snowfall in the winter.

There are no lasting glaciers in the country, but these snow patches can last throughout the summer, clinging on until the first flurries of winter.

Most of these are on Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, with others in the Cairngorms, a mountain range in the eastern Highlands.

Experts are worried that its permanent demise may be imminent for all of the snow patches, including the iconic Sphinx.

Mr Cameron is Scotland's leading snow patch expert, having studied them for decades, and written a book on their history.

He pointed out that four of its disappearances have been within the last 20 years.

'It was thought never to melt, or at least very infrequently,' he said, 'but this will be the third time in five years, which is unprecedented.'

'I'm not a climatologist but I think it's a safe assumption to say that rising temperatures are what is ultimately behind this,' the author added.

The Sphinx - so-called because of the rock climb directly above it - is the UK's oldest patch of 'permanent' snow and since the 1700s has melted in 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2017, 2018 and 2021.

Mr Cameron explained that it's the closest thing Scotland has to a glacier and, as a result, is the most closely-studied patch of snow in the British Isles.

The patch can be found along the lip of the ridge of Braeriach, which is the UK's third-highest mountain, sitting in a very isolated part of the Cairngorms

It can be found along the lip of the ridge of Braeriach, which is the UK's third-highest mountain, sitting in a very isolated part of the Cairngorms.

It lies in a hollow under the mountain's ridge, meaning it gets very little sunlight, which allows it to stay frozen, even in the heat of summer.

'There is a lot of snow there over winter and spring, so as a result there are huge build-ups of snow on the hills which take a long time to melt,' Mr Cameron said.

The Sphinx has been studied seriously for about 100 years and especially closely since about the 1980s.

It can be found along the lip of the ridge of Braeriach, which is the UK's third-highest mountain, sitting in a very isolated part of the Cairngorms. Pictured last month

It lies in a hollow under the mountain's ridge, meaning it gets very little sunlight, which allows it to stay frozen, even in the heat of summer. Pictured last month

The snow of recent years has melted to expose harder, older layers which are now melting too, prompting Mr Cameron to say it now 'looks inconsequential.'

However, despite the way it looks today, what is left 'can tell us a lot more than we might first think,' he explained.

'Snow patches like this act as a barometer for what the wider climate is doing and I think that's borne out by the evidence we are seeing.

'Just the minimal amount of patches are surviving these days compared to how they used to. The amount of snow that falls in winter seems to be less and less, so as far as I'm concerned there's definitely a trend taking place there.'

The snow of recent years has melted to expose harder, older layers which are now melting too, prompting Mr Cameron to say it now 'looks inconsequential'. Pictured in October, it has since disappeared

Records show that The Sphinx melted fully in 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2017, 2018 and 2021, but before 1933, it last fully melted in the 1700s. This is from October

Each year Mr Cameron writes a paper for the Royal Meteorological Society regarding the condition of snow patches across Scotland.

'I'm not a climatologist or even an academic, but it's one of these strange things that when you do the research you become curiously attached to,' he said.

'Of course from a pragmatic point of view it doesn't really matter at all if they melt, but from a philosophical and scientific perspective they do matter.

'These things can tell us what is happening in the wider climate and we would be wise to pay heed to what these snow patches are telling us.

'They are small in size but their size belies their importance.'
Tottenham are reportedly already closing in on their first signing of the Antonio Conte era in AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie.

The midfielder has attracted interest from all around Europe including Manchester United and Barcelona ahead of his contract expiring at the San Siro next summer.

However, according to CalcioMercato via The Sun, the 24-year-old is now 'close' to securing a move to north London worth 8.5million per year following talks with the player's agent George Atangana.

Tottenham are reportedly closing in on a free transfer for AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie

The report indicates that the deal would be subject to Atangana receiving maximum commission, with Kessie's wages working out to just shy of 165,000 per week.

The central midfielder is free to sign a pre-contract with any European club in January which would set in place a move for the following season.

Conte only took charge of Spurs on Tuesday but already he is hoping to start a revolution at the club who have steadily declined in the last three years under three different managers.

These including Mauricio Pochettino's poor final year, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo, who was brutally sacked after just four months in charge on Monday following Sunday's 3-0 defeat at home by Manchester United.

New Spurs boss Antonio Conte is already looking to make moves in the transfer market

Kessie has previously attracted interest from Spurs with managing director Fabio Paratici having reportedly met with Atangaga back in the summer over a potential move.

Back then reports claimed that Kessie had been offered a five-year-deal worth 128-per-week - 37,000 less on what he could now earn at Spurs.

Although Kessie can clinch a free transfer next summer, AC Milan could try to sell him in January to recoup a small transfer fee.

Kessie will be out of contract at Milan next summer and has attracted interest across Europe

Milan though are refusing to give up hope of keeping Kessie, with manager Stefano Pioli outlining his desire for the player to stay recently.

'I would like Kessie to sign,' he told the Italian media. 'The negotiations go on between the club and his agent, and I don't think it's the time to worry.

'With Franck, I only talk about matters relating to the pitch and I always see him as positive and serene, there are no problems.'
Newcastle fans have been expressing their anger and sheer disbelief after the club seemingly messed up the appointment of Unai Emery as the leader of a fresh era under the Saudi Arabian owners.

On Tuesday it emerged that Emery had been identified as the prime candidate to succeed Steve Bruce and become the first manager under the new Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund ownership, yet just 24 hours later a deal was off.

Emery had been contacted by Newcastle representatives and spoke openly about considering the offer and ruling nothing out. Yet things would soon change.

Newcastle fans are burying their heads in hands right now after being snubbed by Unai Emery

The Spaniard has turned down the chance to be the first boss under the Saudi Arabian owners

Speaking in a press conference former Arsenal and now current Villarreal boss Emery said he was not 'closing any doors' and was widely expected to be appointed ahead of Newcastle's Saturday trip to Brighton.

Now, however, uncertainty looms. In a statement, confirming he would not be heading to Newcastle, Emery said: 'No matter how much noise there was yesterday in another country, within the club there was transparency and loyalty with the [chairman] Roig family and with my squad, which is the most important thing.

'Villarreal CF is my home and I am 100 per cent committed. Honestly, I am grateful for the interest of a great club, but even more grateful to be here and that is why I communicated to Fernando Roig my decision to want to continue being part of this project because of the commitment and respect that I perceive from the club and from my players, which is mutual and reciprocal.'

On hearing the news, many Newcastle fans took to social media to make their feelings known

Upon hearing the news, many Newcastle fans quickly took to social media to make their feelings known. One in particular couldn't help but point the finger at the owners and compare the failure to get a deal done to the previous Mike Ashley regime.

Twitter user @ant_g1 wrote: 'New owners same old story!! #JokeClub'

Another fan noted that the nature in which the Emery link came and went carried a very 'Mickey Mouse' feeling and should not be the way a club with major aspirations conducts itself.

Some were much more pessimistic, with one fan simply writing: 'We're going down, it's as simple as that. Emery was the only chance we had of survival.'

Despite the uncertainty shrouding the club, one fan managed to see the lighter side and quipped that a very familiar face could be making a return - Sam Allardyce.

User @toongirl83 pondered: 'We're going to end up getting Big Sam aren't we!'
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg rushed to the aid of a collapsed man outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night as the midfielder was confronted with another distressing health drama.

The 26-year-old Spurs midfielder  who was playing for Denmark when his team-mate Christian Eriksen suffered his harrowing collapse at Euro 2020  was praised by worried onlookers in the moments following the 3-0 defeat by Manchester United, racing out of his car to offer his help to the stricken individual on the perimeter of Tottenhams home ground.

Having played the full 90 minutes against Ole Gunnar Solskjaers side, whose emphatic victory cost Nuno Espirito Santo his job, Hojbjerg encountered the upsetting episode as he drove out of the stadium and stopped after seeing the man.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg rushed to the aid of a collapsed man outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night

The 26-year-old was playing for Denmark when his team-mate Christian Eriksen suffered his harrowing collapse at Euro 2020

Onlookers complimented Hojbjerg for remaining at the scene and hailed him as a hero  but Hojbjerg is understood to have played down his role, insisting he was simply doing what anyone else would do.

The London Ambulance Service was called to the incident but an emergency vehicle was not required as there was already one on site.

The man was treated by medical staff before being transferred to nearby North Middlesex Hospital.

Hojbjerg encountered the upsetting episode as he drove out of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Saturday night

Sportsmail has contacted the hospital to obtain an update on the mans condition, but they were unable to comment due to confidentiality protocols.

The episode comes two weeks after a supporter collapsed at St James Park during Tottenhams 3-2 win over Newcastle in which Hojbjerg played.

Eric Dier and Sergio Reguilons quick thinking then helped save the fans life.
Libya has hosted its first group of foreign tourists in a decade, with an excursion to an oasis town deep in the desert previously off-limits to visitors due to years of war.

French traveller Jean-Paul, who first visited Libya more than a decade ago, was among some 100 mostly European tourists on the trip.

He said he had long wanted to return to the 'magnificent country, with extraordinary scenery and very welcoming people'.

European tourists, escorted by security personnel, visit the old town of Ghadames, a desert oasis some 650 kilometres (400 miles) southwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli, on October 19, during an organised tour in the town

'Events meant for 10 years that wasn't possible - then we were told we could finally come back on a supervised trip, with a security detail,' the 57-year-old said.

'People here are very welcoming and you get the feeling that Libyans really want to see tourists again.'

Police sirens echoed around the oasis of Ghadames, its old white buildings set amid a sea of palm trees, as the convoy of dozens of four-wheel-drives ferried the Italian, French, Icelandic and Swiss tourists through town.

Libya had been mostly off-limits to tourists throughout the four-decade rule of Moamer Kadhafi.

When the dictator was overthrown in a 2011 uprising, foreign visitors mostly continued to stay away as the country plunged into lawlessness and armed conflict.

Today, thanks to a year of relative calm following an October 2020 ceasefire and a United Nations-led peace process, the first group of tourists since 2012 were able to visit, on a tour paid for by the state.

It was the first organised leisure tour for foreign visitors in the wartorn country in a decade

Tour guide Ali al-Kouba says he wants to 'break the wall of fear' for foreigners wanting to visit the vast Libyan Sahara.

Italian traveller and tour operator Giovanni Paolo, who wore a Tuareg-style yellow scarf against the desert wind, agreed.

'We were sure we'd be welcome in this wonderful country,' he said.

The visitors arrived via a border crossing with Tunisia which had opened in September after months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

They spent a night under the stars before heading deep into the dunes and rocky stretches of the southern Libyan wilderness.

Finally, they reached Ghadames, the 'pearl of the desert' some 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital, Tripoli.

The Unesco-listed oasis city, a pre-Roman Berber settlement and a key stop on Saharan trade routes, has unique multilevel architecture with whitewashed, covered alleyways beyond the reach of the brutal summer sun.

The tourists were escorted in four-wheel-drive vehicles by armed guards

The tourists wandered through the old city taking photos of its traditional houses, propped up with palm trunks.

They also visited the newer part of town, where a mosque with striking minarets faces modern villas echoing the style of the old town.

Jean-Jacques Sire, a 67-year-old Frenchman with a white beard, said he had visited Libya twice in the 1990s and 'met an exceptionally welcoming population'.

Ghadames is a desert oasis that endures as a thriving population centre, in the modern day as well as in pre-Roman times

'When I found out that there was a group of people ready to come back, I didn't hesitate,' he said.

Tourism has been a tiny industry in Libya, whose economy has been dominated by oil and gas since the mid-20th century.

But it did see a brief uptick in the 2000s as the Kadhafi regime mended ties with the outside world, spurred by the UN in 2003 lifting sanctions that had included a flight ban.

Tripoli also created a ministry for the sector and issued tourist visas for the first time, allowing some 110,000 foreign visitors to holiday in the country in 2010, bringing in $40million (34million euros/28million).

But all that came to an abrupt halt with the outbreak of an armed revolt in 2011.

Craftspeople are among those to have been hit by another decade of lost tourism potential in Libya

And despite a year of relative calm, the country still sees localised outbursts of fighting and most countries advise their citizens against visiting.

But Khaled Derdera, who organised the tour, said he wanted to challenge the idea that Libya is 'a country in decline'.

'The idea of the trip was to bring back European tourists - and today, here they are, on Libyan soil,' he said.
Captain Lee Rosbach has piloted many vessels in his time, but now he's headed on a very different voyage.

The Below Deck star, 71, went on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen to announce his intention of creating a rehabilitation center at sea.

The facility will accommodate up to 200 patients at a time on a 470-foot barge with its purpose being to not only help people get clean but get jobs once the ship docks.

Taking on a new venture: Captain Lee Rosbach announced his intention to start a rehab center on a 470-foot barge during Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen

Personal tragedy: Rosbach's son Josh died in 2019 of a drug overdose after battling addiction for 20 years

'We're also converting it into a vocational rehabilitation center so that not only do we try to get them clean, but we try to get them back into the mainstream of the community with an ability to make a living,' Captain Rosbach said.

He added, 'Usually when they get out...they've burned all of their bridges when it comes to employment because of drug use, and they have nothing to fall back on.

'So, you can't really just kick them back out into society and say "Hey, you're on your own."

'We want to give them something viable that they can count on, and they can go out there and be productive members.'

Captain Rosbach's passion for this project comes from a personal tragedy that befell him and his family in 2019.

Looking to help people get clean and go back in the world: Rosbach said that he wants the center to be both a rehab center with a vocational aspect

Doesn't want to leave people on their own: The star said they 'can't really just kick them back out into society and say "Hey, you're on your own"

One of his sons, Josh, died of a drug overdose after battling addiction for more than 20 years. His father discovered the body of his child who was 42 when he died.

While Cohen complimented Captain Rosbach on using his platform as an advocate, the captain simply said he was happy he got the opportunity to help other people struggling with addiction.

'It's incredible that I get this opportunity because there are so many parents out there like [my wife] Mary Anne and I who have lost  not only parents, but husbands, wives, the list is endless  that just don't get a voice,' Rosbach said.

The captain recently addressed Congress about ending the opioid crisis.

Happy to help people out: The captain simply said he was happy he got the opportunity to help other people struggling with addiction and wasn't looking for glory

'I'm not here because I'm a doctor, a statistician, or psychologist,' Captain Rosbach said. 'I'm simply a dad who's lived through the horrors that come from the opioid crisis that's devastating our nation.

'I didn't agree to be here today to make anyone feel all warm and fuzzy. When I'm done, it's my hope you'll have a very different view of this crisis that's so tremendously misunderstood.'

He also talked about finding his son after the day after he died saying, 'I remember every second of that day, like a horrific, devastating movie scene playing over and over in my head. Except it's no movie, it's my reality. The sight of my son on the sofa is the first image I see every day when I wake up, and it's the last thing I picture every night before I fall asleep.'

'This is how I've spent every night and every day for the last two years. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine finding someone you love more than your own life itself dead and cold on their couch?' he added.
Seven West Media, the parent company of Channel Seven, has entered into a share sale agreement to acquire Prime Media Group.

If successful, the proposed $131.9million deal would see Seven take full control of Prime's television business and all of its subsidiaries.

SWM Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, James Warburton, released a statement about the deal and acquisition of the regional broadcaster.

New deal: Seven is initiating a new attempt to acquire full control of regional broadcaster Prime Media Group with an offer of $132M. Pictured: Seven West Media CEO James Warburton

'This proposal is an important step forward for both companies. SWM and PRT are great partners and have a long, successful relationship,' Mr Warburton said.

'Together, they will offer the best content for our national audience and unmatchable premium revenue opportunities for our clients.'

Mr Warburton said taking full control of Prime would give Seven a reach of more than 90 per cent of the Australian population.

Inclusions: If successful, the proposed $131.9million deal would see Seven take full control of Prime's TV business and all its subsidiaries. Pictured: Prime Broadcast Centre in Watson, ACT

'The acquisition means SWM will become Australias leading commercial premium broadcast, video and news network, with the potential to reach more than 90 per cent of Australias population each month,' he continued.

'The proposed transaction is an exciting and transformative development for advertisers and media buyers. It means we will be able to give advertisers easy and seamless access via a single platform to capital city and regional markets.'

Seven has offered $131.9million in the deal to take full control of the network.

Further reach: SWM Chief Executive Officer, James Warburton, said the deal 'means SWM will become Australia's leading commercial premium broadcast, video and news network, with the potential to reach more than 90 per cent of Australias population each month'

It's the second attempt by Seven West Media to acquire Prime Media Group.

A previous 2019 proposal broke down after it was voted against by key Prime Media shareholders Bruce Gordon and Antony Catalano.

The new proposal put forth now reportedly has the support of the two businessmen.

The acquisition by Seven West Media will be subject to a vote of the Prime Media Group shareholders in December.
She's no stranger to power dressing while in character as the businesswoman Shiv Roy on Succession.

And Sarah Snook looked powerful as she wowed in a plunging black jacket and matching suit trousers in the December issue of Harper's Bazaar UK on Wednesday.

In an accompanying interview, the 33-year-old actress revealed she had no clue how to play her billionaire character when she first read the Succession script.

Power dressing: Sarah Snook looked powerful as she wowed in a plunging black jacket and matching suit trousers in the December issue of Harper's Bazaar on Wednesday

Sarah explained: 'When I first read the script, I thought, "This is not me, I dont know what a billionairess is like, I cant play it."

'So, I said, Ill give you what I can do.' she added of taking on the acclaimed performance won her the Television Actress award at the Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards on Tuesday night.

Known for her roll neck jumpers, silk blouses and monochrome blazers, Sarah's character Shiv has rapidly become a style icon.

The actress said of her fashion influence: Its so wild, and very amusing to me because I am not a style icon at all.'

'I dont know what a billionairess is like': The actress told the magazine she had no idea how to play her much-loved character when she read the Succession script

In the show: 'So, I said, Ill give you what I can do.' she added of taking on the acclaimed performance won her the Television Actress award at the Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards on Tuesday night'

Coming soon: The December issue of Harpers Bazaar UK is on sale from 05 November

The star continued: 'I have had a few instances where people have recognised me from the show and gone, Oh, no it couldnt be because Ive not lived up to the expectation!

'Really Im nothing like Shiv,' she added.

Sarah revealed earlier this month that she proposed to her partner Dave Lawson, and couldn't believe she was able to marry her best friend.

On adding children to their family, the actress said in the candid interview: 'Whens the right time to have kids? Its the age-old question for women and there is no answer.

'I definitely would like to have children, if Im lucky enough to be able to, but it is about managing that balance.

'I, maybe naively, would like to keep as much going forward as I can career-wise, but thats about the support you have around you and the partner youre doing that with.

The Succession star secretly married Dave in the backyard of her home in Brooklyn, New York, in February.

Reflecting on the magical day, the Australian actress spoke with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on Morning as she gushed their partnership 'works so well'.

Sarah said: 'Both of us cringe about the "Im so happy, I married my best friend." Were like, "Oh God, are we one of those people?" But it works so well.'

'Ill give you what I can do': Sarah's acclaimed performance won her the Television Actress award at the Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year Awards on Tuesday night

She went onto reveal that she took matters into her own hands with the proposal, and she was the one to get down on one knee.

The Australian star said: 'It was that or nothing. It was like, "Ive got to be in. Im all in and Im here."'

Sarah added that the newlyweds weren't expecting to fall in love and that it happened quite naturally: 'Were very blindsided by it, we fell in love and it was the only option - we couldnt be apart.'

Sarah first revealed she'd tied the knot with Dave in an interview with Vogue Australia this month.

Newlyweds: The Succession star spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about tying the knot, to her now husband Dave Lawson, pictured right

She told the publication: 'At the beginning of the pandemic last year, I got locked down in Melbourne with one of my best mates and we fell in love.

'We've been friends since 2014, lived together, travelled together, always excited to see each other, but totally platonic.'

Sarah added that the stars aligned and a romance between the pair arose.

'We've just never been single at the same time,' she explained. It's been a ride. There's so much heartache and sadness in the world, but on a micro personal level, I've been very fortunate.'

The December issue of Harpers Bazaar UK is on sale from 05 November.
Today host Allison Langdon breathed a sigh of relief as she reported that missing four-year-old Cleo Smith had been found alive and well on Wednesday.

Cleo was found 18 days after vanishing from her family's tent in a remote campsite in Western Australia, in a disappearance that made headlines around the world.

'This is huge news. She's been missing for about three weeks now,' a stunned Langdon told viewers as WA Police confirmed the discovery at 7:20am.

Breaking: Today host Allison Langdon delivered the emotional news that missing four-year-old Cleo Smith had been found alive and well on Wednesday

Her co-host Karl Stefanovic continued: 'It's breathtaking news. After what has been a tortuous couple of weeks for her mum, stepdad and her father. The searches, the not knowing, all the speculation... we don't know what happened to her.'

An emotional Langdon agreed, saying: 'Oh my goodness, [I feel for her] mother Ellie who has been at that search site every single day.'

'For her to be found alive and well, that is incredible news,' the mother of two added, before placing a hand on her heart and saying: 'They've got their little girl back.'

The story no doubt affected Langdon personally because she has a son Cleo's age, named Mack, as well as a younger daughter, Scout.

'My goodness': The story no doubt affected Langdon personally because she has a son Cleo's age, named Mack, as well as a younger daughter, Scout. Left: her co-host Karl Stefanovic

Cleo was miraculously found alive on Wednesday, 18 days after vanishing from her family's tent in a remote campsite in Western Australia.

Police broke their way into a locked house in Carnarvon, 75km from where she went missing, about 1am on Wednesday and found the girl in one of the rooms.

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed just before 7am AEST that little Cleo is alive and well and had been reunited with her relieved parents.

'One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her "what's your name?",' he said.

'She said: "My name is Cleo".'

Miracle: Cleo was miraculously found alive on Wednesday, 18 days after vanishing from her family's tent in a remote campsite in Western Australia

A man from Carnarvon was taken into custody to be questioned by detectives.

'This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for,' Deputy Commissioner Blanch said.

'It's the outcome we've achieved because of some incredible police work. I want to thank Cleo's parents, the Western Australian community and the many volunteers.'

'And of course, I want to thank my colleagues in the Western Australia Police Force.'

Police will provide more details on the rescue of Cleo later on Wednesday.

'For now - Welcome home Cleo,' Deputy Commissioner Blanch concluded.
Richard Madeley has been confirmed as Piers Morgan's replacement on Good Morning Britain.

Piers, 56, quit in March in the wake of his reaction to Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey, and now daytime icon Richard, 65, is finalising a 300,000 deal following a trial stint over the summer.

Richard will start his new role after appearing on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! which starts on November 21, and will appear alongside a revolving team of guest presenters.

Revealing he is headed for Abergele's Gwrych Castle, Richard told viewers during Wednesday's show: 'I've got places to go, people to see and things to eat... interesting things to eat, so I'll be back very shortly after Christmas. This is my last show for a while.'

New role? Richard Madeley has been confirmed as Piers Morgan's replacement on Good Morning Britain

While Susanna quipped: 'How do we say goodbye in Welsh? I don't know but I'm sure you'll find out in the next couple of weeks.'

Richard himself confirmed he would be staying with the show, saying: 'I'm doing the show down the line along with other people.'

The star - who co-hosted This Morning with Judy from 1988 until 2001 - is expected to host for two or three days a week.

A representative for GMB told MailOnline: 'Richard is one of a host of guest presenters on GMB.'

Back in April it was reported Richard was being lined up as Piers' replacement.

Ahead of his stint on I'm A Celebrity, insiders claim his appearance in the Welsh castle will be the 'perfect launch pad' for the new presenting gig.

Explosive: Piers, 56, quit in March in the wake of his reaction to Meghan Markle 's interview with Oprah Winfrey, and now daytime icon Richard, 65, is finalising a 300,000 deal following a trial stint over the summer

It had been claimed by The Sun that Richard came to the decision after a 'heart to heart' with his wife Judy Finnigan.

A source told the newspaper: 'Richard has always maintained he would never do GMB full-time, as he loves his life as it is.

'But as the weeks have gone by, and he's proven a constant hit with viewers, he's really got into his stride and has been enjoying it more and more. He polls really well with fans and ratings have steadily been on the rise again over the past six months...

'After a couple of meetings with ITV bosses, he was offered a full-time contract. And after consulting with his family, especially wife Judy, he decided 'sod it'  and to go for it.'

Career: Richard will start his new role after appearing on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! which starts on November 21, and will appear alongside a revolving team of guest presenters (pictured with co-host Susanna Reid)

According to the publication, bosses tested out Richard with a guest stint over the summer, and hoped he'd be a good fit to replace Piers thanks to his background in journalism and no-nonsense approach during interviews.

A source said: 'Piers is nigh-on impossible to replace and GMB execs accept this, but Richard has his own inimitable style.

'Like Piers, he's a trained journalist who knows how to press guests and get a decent 'line' from interviewees.

'He shoots from the hip, says what he thinks, and is a genuinely brilliant, likeable chap off air  so it's very much a ''watch this space''

The reports came after Richard himself said he would be open to filling Piers' seat on GMB and would be 'bonkers' to turn down the opportunity,

He told Metro: 'If the phone went and they said, 'Would you come in and talk?' of course I would talk to them. It would be bonkers not to. But I very much like sitting in for people. I have all the fun and very little of the responsibility or flak.'

Storming off: Earlier this year Piers announced he had quit GMB after Alex Beresford, 40, challenged his comments about the Duchess of Sussex, 37, and her interview with Oprah, 67

And while Piers is regularly seen going toe-to-toe with trolls on Twitter, Richard insists he 'doesn't give a f**k' about what they'd say about him should he leave himself open to criticism by sharing his views on the show.

He said of the possibility of facing trolls: 'I personally couldn't give a f**k. Far too many younger presenters have been affected by Twitter and cowed by it.

'I remember when I started sitting in for Piers on Good Morning Britain, I'd have a look at Twitter after I'd done a programme and, yes, you get some nice comments but you also get horrendous abuse and, from time to time, death threats.'

Earlier this year Piers announced he had quit GMB after Alex Beresford, 40, challenged his comments about the Duchess of Sussex, 37, and her interview with Oprah, 67.

Exit: Piers, who refused to apologise, later announced his resignation and tweeted his thanks to the GMB team, praising them for their 'hard work and dedication'

The outspoken GMB host left the daytime show after he insisted he 'didn't believe a word' of Meghan's account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism at the hands of the royal family.

Piers then walked off set after a fierce debate with Alex, in which the weather presenter accused Piers of unfairly 'trashing' Meghan, and branded him 'diabolical'.

Piers, who refused to apologise, later announced his resignation and tweeted his thanks to the GMB team, praising them for their 'hard work and dedication' that led to them beating their main breakfast TV rival.

Since Piers' exit from the show he has received messages from several stars, naming Jeremy Clarkson and Bear Grylls, who have said he had a 'right' to say his mind.

Sharon Osbourne also voiced her support for Piers during an appearance on The Talk, though she has since parted ways with the CBS show.

Following Piers' departure, a number of stars have stepped in to co-host the show alongside Susanna Reid, including Adil Ray, Alex Beresford, and Ben Shephard.
She's the demure weather presenter who has grown a huge fan following since starring on Channel 7 News.

And on Tuesday, meteorologist Jane Bunn showed off her extra fun side as she cut loose during Melbourne Cup Day celebrations.

The 40-year-old was feeling the party spirit by pouring rose champagne into the mouth of a girlfriend in photos she posted on Instagram.

Bottoms up! Channel Seven weather presenter Jane Bunn showed cut loose during Melbourne Cup celebrations on Tuesday. The 40-year-old was feeling the party spirit by pouring rose champagne into the mouth of a girlfriend in photos she posted on Instagram

'Cup day done right with the girls,' she captioned the cheeky montage of pictures.

The Melbourne-based weather presenter has gained a huge following on social media over the years - and it's not just for her meteorological talents.

In July last year, she sent her Instagram followers into a frenzy when she shared a stunning photo from the Seven News studio.

At the time, Jane looked very glamorous as she posed in a skintight orange frock, which drew attention to her voluptuous figure.

Popular lady! The Melbourne-based weather presenter has gained a huge following on social media over the years - and it's not just for her meteorological talents

Wow! She recently sent her Instagram followers into a frenzy on Wednesday when she shared this stunning photo from the Seven News studio

She styled her signature blonde hair in loose curls, and also opted for glossy makeup.

Proving herself to be a ray of sunshine, Jane captioned the photo: 'Guess what? There's only one more grey day... until the sun comes out.'

Jane was soon flooded with comments from her fans, who praised her for her bright disposition and sensational figure.

'Making meteorology sexy again': Jane was soon flooded with comments from her fans, who praised her for her bright disposition and sensational figure

'Do you come with the weather?' one follower boldly asked, while another added: 'Making meteorology sexy again. Love your weather reports.'

A third fan commented: 'Wow, great dress.'

It comes after Jane debuted an entirely new look when she got her hair cut into a funky new style earlier this month.

New hair, we care! It comes after Jane debuted an entirely new look when she got her hair cut into a funky new style earlier this month (right). Left: Jane with longer hair before her chop

'I'm a bit excited about my new hair!' Jane captioned the post.

'We changed the colour and kept cutting it every few days so no one at home got freaked out by a sudden change,' she said, adding the hashtag #TVlife.

She concluded: 'It takes a full team to get me not looking like I just fell out of bed.'

There's probably a contractual reason why Jane had to cut her hair gradually.

Television presenters often have clauses in their contracts stating that they can't change their appearance overnight in case it confuses viewers.

Jane is a talented meteorologist best known for presenting Melbourne's daily weather report on Channel Seven.

She has become one of Australia's most popular TV stars on social media thanks to her cult following among middle-aged men.
Married At First Sight's Melissa Rawson and Bryce Ruthven faced backlash earlier this week for seemingly implying their twin sons were born prematurely because she had received the Covid-19 vaccine while pregnant.

But Melissa put the controversy behind her on Tuesday as she celebrated a milestone moment for her babies, who are in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after being born 10 weeks early last month.

Melissa revealed she was able to hold her sons, Levi and Tate, together for the first time, admitting on Instagram she broke down in tears during the emotional moment.

Milestone moment: Married At First Sight's Melissa Rawson broke down in tears of joy on Tuesday as she cradled her newborn twins, Levi and Tate, together for the first time

'The first time ever holding my babies together. Of course I absolutely sobbed (happy tears),' she wrote.

'I love you now and forever, Levi and Tate.'

Melissa beamed while cradling her boys, who were wrapped in a hospital blanket and wore cute knitted beanies.

Backlash: It comes after Melissa and Bryce fiance (left) were criticised for appearing to suggest their twin sons were born prematurely because she had received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine while pregnant

It comes after Melissa and fiance Bryce were criticised for appearing to suggest their sons were born prematurely because she had received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine while pregnant.

The pair shared a video to Instagram on Monday in which they discussed their twins' progress in the NICU after they were born 10 weeks premature on October 16.

But their suggestion the boys arrived early as a result of Melissa having her second Pfizer jab angered some fans, who said this was highly unlikely to have been the case.

Many critics pointed out that twins are often born premature and there is no evidence whatsoever the Covid-19 vaccine affects pregnancy.

Backlash: Their suggestion the boys arrived early as a result of Melissa having her second Pfizer jab angered some fans, who said this was highly unlikely to have been the case

They also feared Bryce and Melissa's video could discourage pregnant women from getting the vaccine, putting them at risk of becoming seriously ill with coronavirus.

'Are you blaming the Covid jab for the twins being born prematurely? Lots of twins are premature. Your post already has people talking about pregnant women not getting the jab. Just wondering was that your intention?' one person commented.

'Correlation doesn't equal causation. This is dangerous to suggest it had anything to do with a very normal twin birth which after 28 weeks is absolutely expected they could arrive early,' another said.

In the video, Melissa said there was 'no medical indication' her children would be premature - then appeared to suggest her second Pfizer jab had caused the twins to be born 10 weeks early.

'Friday the 15th [of October], I actually had my second Pfizer jab booked in and, yeah, I obviously had gone to the doctors and spoken to my obstetrician and they had all said that it's safe for pregnant women to get their Pfizer jab,' Melissa said.

'Yeah, I had mine done and 14 hours later I had gone into labour.'

'I had mine done and 14 hours later I had gone into labour,' she said of her second Pfizer jab

Bryce later told Daily Mail Australia he hadn't been made aware of any backlash and clarified: 'We also haven't blamed the Covid vaccine for Melissa giving birth early.'

'It's safe for pregnant women to receive it from a particular point during their pregnancy,' he added.

'That short video is from an extended video being released tonight, which will make it very clear for everyone to know our thoughts on the matter.'

There is no evidence the Covid vaccine causes children to be born premature.

More than 50 per cent of twins are born before 37 weeks, and up to 15 per cent before 32 weeks, so Bryce and Melissa's sons being born early is hardly unusual.
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Alicia Keys and her husband Swizz Beatz gave fans a personal tour of their nearly 11,000 square-foot cliffside mansion, which they snapped up for over $20million in 2019 after eight years of 'manifesting' the purchase.

The La Jolla, California property - famously dubbed the Razor House - was born from the mind of architectural designer Wallace E. Cunningham and is said to have inspired Tony Stark's futuristic residence in Marvel's Iron Man.

Speaking to Architectural Digest, Alicia and her husband of 11-years have since renamed the home 'Dreamland' and, with the help of interior designer Kelly Behun, have made it a 'warm' place to raise their family.

Home sweet home: Alicia Keys and her husband Swizz Beatz gave fans a personal tour of their nearly 11,000 square-foot cliffside mansion, which they snapped up for over $20million in 2019 after eight years of 'manifesting' the purchase

Famous: The La Jolla, California property - famously dubbed the Razor House - was born from the mind of architectural designer Wallace E. Cunningham and is said to have inspired Tony Stark's futuristic residence in Marvel's Iron Man

Warmth: Speaking to Architectural Digest , Alicia and her husband of 11-years have since renamed the home 'Dreamland' and, with the help of interior designer Kelly Behun, have made it a 'warm' place to raise their family

Alicia, 40, confessed to the outlet that the mansion's recognizable exterior has made it a draw for hardcore Iron Man fans - young and old.

'Kids who love Iron Man, they're like, "That's the Iron Man house!" Not only kids,' Alicia said, to which Swizz added: '[It's also] Grown ups.'

Despite the attention, Swizz confessed that he 'don't blame' those involved in the franchise's creation for drawing inspiration from Razor House and aligning it with Stark's desire to 'save the world.'

The couple, who share two sons Egypt and Genesis, started their home tour with the living area, which boasts a circular shape with an awe-inspiring ocean view.

Featured: Alicia and Swizz' out-of-this-world abode is the latest to be featured in Architectural Digest

'We wanted something that felt warm, something that feels like placed we've traveled around the world,' said the 43-year-old record producer in regards to the contrast between the modern furnishing and the historic cultures they've grown to love.

Giving her husband a lot of the credit for crafting the space, Alicia said that Swizz 'loves clean lines and everything feeling clean' and that he was the one to reach out to Kelly Behun on Instagram.

'There are many designers who know how to put expensive things into your house, but the soul is missing. Kelly has soul,' he explained.

Alicia and Swizz's favorite 'room' in the house is the 'open layout' located downstairs, which connects the kitchen, dining area, and a sort of living room.

Big draw: Alicia, 40, confessed to the outlet that the mansion's recognizable design has made it a draw for hardcore Iron Man fans young and old

Totally gets it: Despite the attention, Swizz confessed that he 'don't blame' those involved in the franchise's creation for drawing inspiration from Razor House and aligning it with Stark's desire to 'save the world'

'We wanted something that felt warm, something that feels like placed we've traveled around the world,' said the 43-year-old record producer in regards to the contrast between the modern furnishing and the cultures they've grown to love

Clean: Giving her husband a lot of the credit for crafting the space, Alicia said that Swizz 'loves clean lines and everything feeling clean' and that he was the one to reach out to Behun on Instagram

'We play boardgames. And sometimes we just casually eat at the [kitchen] counter. It all just depends on what is happening,' said the If I Ain't Got You songstress, trying to give viewers a taste of the family's day-to-day use of the space.

One piece of furniture that has earned the most love from the couple is the cozy dining table, which Alicia says 'feels simple yet very luxurious at the same time and has a great amount of seats for entertaining friends and family.'

Being that it's a 'family home' and a place where their 'kids have their friends over,' Keys noted how important it is to have a functional dining table that isn't just a set piece.

For a more intimate experience, the home also features a 'formal dining room' and what the couple refer to as 'the family room.'

Favorite: Alicia and Swizz's favorite 'room' in the house is the 'open layout' located downstairs, which connects the kitchen, dining area, and a sort of living room

Best of both worlds: One piece of furniture that has earned the most love from the couple is the cozy dining table, which Alicia says 'feels simple yet very luxurious at the same time and has a great amount of seats for entertaining friends and family'

Family room: For a more intimate experience, the home also features a 'formal dining room' and what the couple refer to as 'the family room'

Balance: The room is special to the family because it provides the perfect balance of 'art and life and experience' and gives their children the opportunity to grow up with such 'dynamic' around them

'It's a beautiful structure, but it's also quite casual, too. We mix the spaces together. The formal dining room is in the family room, so we're watching TV in this room, we're playing movies, falling asleep on the couch, having holiday dinners, whatever the case is,' explained Keys.

The room is special to the family because it provides the perfect balance of 'art and life and experience' and gives their children the opportunity to grow up with such 'dynamic' art around them.

Alicia revealed that they happen to own the 'largest collection of Gordon Parks,' who is famous for highlighting civil rights, poverty and the lives of African-Americans in the United States with his photography.

'We are very proud of that,' Alicia gushed, while marveling over one particularly moving photograph.

Multi-use: 'We play boardgames. And sometimes we just casually eat at the [kitchen] counter. It all just depends on what is happening,' said the If I Ain't Got You songstress, trying to give viewers a taste of the family's day-to-day use of the space

Collectors: Alicia revealed that they happen to own the 'largest collection of Gordon Parks,' who is famous for highlighting civil rights, poverty and the lives of African-Americans in the United States in his photography

Views: Glass walls provide a jaw-dropping view of the pair's resort-like backyard from the family room, as well as the infinity pool overlooking the ocean

Glass walls provide a jaw-dropping view of the pair's resort-like backyard from the family room, as well as the infinity pool overlooking the ocean.

Speaking of the backyard, Alicia noted how easy it is to maneuver in and outdoors whether they want to 'dine outside' after enjoying some couch time or 'jumping into the pool' in the midst of playtime with the kids.

Alicia and Swizz then climbed the glass staircase to showcase some more of their favorite art pieces, as well as a special place they call 'the library.'

The library, which is also referred to as 'the piano room,' is a place where the family goes to 'relax, lounge, read, chill' or take in the view.

Outdoors: Speaking of the backyard, Alicia noted how easy it is to maneuver in and outdoors

Whatever the occasion: Whether they want to 'dine outside' after enjoying some couch time or 'jumping into the pool' in the midst of playtime with the kids, the ease access allows for endless possibilities

'Egypt practices piano here,' said Alicia, which Swizz equates to 'free concerts every day.'

The piano is actually Keys' 'first piano ever, so my son gets to play on my first piano when I first was signed to Columbia records.

'This was the piano that they gave me and, at the time, it might as well had been $20million. I felt so excited and I didn't have anything that looked like this ever.

'I've always kept it. It's always been with us. And now that Egypt plays on this piano, it's pretty amazing.'

Artsy: Alicia and Swizz then climbed the glass staircase to showcase some more of their favorite art pieces

The library: They also took fans to a special place they call 'the library'

Music: 'Egypt practices piano here,' said Alicia, which Swizz equates to 'free concerts every day'

Special: The piano is actually Keys' 'first piano ever, so my son gets to play on my first piano when I first was signed to Columbia records.'

Although it's the 'Iron Man' house, Swizz stressed the importance of maintaining warmth throughout its interior to contrast with its 'industrial' or 'cold' design.

'We wanted to warm it up and bring the energies with the rugs and the different tones that we purposely picked to just make it feel like a home and not only a sculpture.

'But marry them both together.'

Contrast: Although it's the 'Iron Man' house, Swizz stressed the importance of maintaining warmth throughout its interior to contrast with its 'industrial' or 'cold' design

Feels like a home: 'We wanted to warm it up and bring the energies with the rugs and the different tones that we purposely picked to just make it feel like a home and not only a sculpture.'
Legendary country crooner Dolly Parton shared a very rare photograph on Tuesday of herself with her elusive husband of 55 years, Carl Thomas Dean.

The 75-year-old national treasure - who boasts 17.4M social media followers - captioned the sixties-era couple snap: 'Find you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does.'

The romantic post was basically a promotion for the Dolly 'Vintage Collage Tee' superimposed on Carl, which is currently on sale for $35 on her website.

Holding hands: Legendary country crooner Dolly Parton shared a very rare photograph on Tuesday of herself with her elusive husband of 55 years, Carl Thomas Dean

The 75-year-old national treasure - who boasts 17.4M social media followers - captioned the sixties-era couple snap: 'Find you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does'

Dolly previously honored the retired asphalt road-paver's 79th birthday on July 20 by recreating her 1978 Playboy cover for him.

Parton was only 18 when she first met Dean at a laundromat the day after moving to Nashville, and they renewed their wedding vows in 2016 for their 50th wedding anniversary.

'We still have our little times, like in the springtime when the first yellow daffodils come out. Even if there's still some snow around it, my husband always brings me a bouquet. And he'll usually write me a little poem. Which to me, that's priceless. That's like a date in itself,' the 10-time Grammy winner gushed to People last year.

'I'll cook the stuff that I know we love. And I pack it up in a picnic basket. And then we'll go find some riverbank somewhere with our little camper, park, have a picnic. Or we'll pull up to some little Days Inn motel, go in as long as the bed's clean and there's a bathroom. We just do our little things like that.

Merchandise: The romantic post was basically a promotion for the Dolly 'Vintage Collage Tee' superimposed on Carl, which is currently on sale for $35 on her website

Surprise! Dolly previously honored the retired asphalt road-paver's 79th birthday on July 20 by recreating her 1978 Playboy cover for him

'My husband always brings me a bouquet. And he'll usually write me a little poem': Parton was only 18 when she first met Dean at a laundromat the day after moving to Nashville, and they renewed their wedding vows in 2016 for their 50th wedding anniversary

'Or I'll do a candlelight dinner. We don't make an issue of it. It's like certain days, you feel a certain way. And I'll say, "I'm going to surprise him. And we're going to have real cloth napkins and real crystal. I'm going to put the real china out" instead of the paper plates we usually eat on because we don't want to have to wash dishes.'

Dolly and James Patterson co-authored her first novel Run, Rose, Run - which will be published on March 7 as well as release an accompanying 12-track album.

The $30, 448-page thriller will mark Parton's eighth book to be published and her 48th solo studio album to be released.

'I can't slow down,' the Tennessee native told WBIR.com on Monday.

Storyteller: The 10-time Grammy winner and James Patterson (pictured August 11) co-authored her first novel Run, Rose, Run - which will be published on March 7 as well as release an accompanying 12-track album

'I can't slow down. That's why I would never retire': The $30, 448-page thriller will mark Parton's eighth book to be published and her 48th solo studio album to be released

'That's why I would never retire because I always make the statement that is so true "that I've dreamed myself into a corner" and all my dreams have come true. Now I have to be responsible for all those things. So it requires a lot of work.'

Fans can expect Dolly to reunite with her 9 to 5 castmates Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin for the 16-episode seventh (and final) season of Grace and Frankie, which resumes next year on Netflix.

'When Covid's over! I've been trying to do Grace and Frankie for years. We worked so well together on 9 to 5,' Parton told Lorraine in February.

'It's a crazy, wonderful show and we've been trying to write me in somehow. So when it's safe to actually do a production, I'll probably get around to doing that.'

Resumes next year on Netflix! Fans can expect the Tennessee native to reunite with her 9 to 5 castmates Jane Fonda (L) and Lily Tomlin (R) for the 16-episode seventh and final season of Grace and Frankie
Her husband Offset bought her a $1.5 million investment property in the Dominican Republic as a birthday present earlier in October.

And now Cardi B and Offset are expanding their real estate holdings by purchasing a new house in New York City.

The 29-year-old rap sensation shared a photo of herself taking in the view by her new grand staircase on Tuesday as she celebrated finally having a house of her own in her 'home city.'

Movin' on up: Cardi B, 29, revealed Tuesday on Instagram she and her husband Offset had purchased a home in her hometown of New York City.

Cardi had toned down her often-color looks with black slacks and knee-high black boots, though she added an eye-catching leopard-print hooded coat and a matching beret to her look.

She stood with her back to the camera but turned her head to face it as she raised her hands toward the elegant staircase surrounding her.

The WAP rapper appeared to be standing in the home's front entrance, which featured pale hardwood floors and had two curving staircases on either side of her leading up to a balcony overlooking the entrance.

The space featured brilliant white walls, but it was clearly ready for a makeover, as buckets of paint were stacked against a wall in the background.

Close to home: Cardi wrote that it was her dream to have a home in expensive New York City so that she could 'get together' with her family regularly

Taking her time: Later on Tuesday in a since-deleted tweet, she shared an exterior photo of the property's guest house and revealed she had been negotiating on the property since May

Cardi wrote in her caption that it was a dream come true to have a place to herself in her hometown, though her busy touring schedule made it hard to classify any city as her home base.

'These days I dont just live one place, Im everywhere due to my work,' she explained. 'One thing for sure I needed a home in my home city of NY!

'Im soo proud of myself,' she gushed. 'I work so hard for my children to be comfortable everywhere they are regardless of work. Me and my husband have always dreamed of having a crib in NY, and we have decided to add to our portfolio of homes, along with Atlanta and LA.'

Part of the appeal of a New York home was being so much closer to family.

'Now having a home in NY, I can have get togethers with my family all the time!!' she wrote. 'I have accomplished so many things yet I still feel far from all the goals I want to accomplish. This is one dream I can cross off..'

Cardi joked at the end that her fans should 'Let me know if yall want a mini tour!'

Later on Tuesday in a since-deleted tweet, she shared an exterior photo of the property's guest house and revealed she had been negotiating on the property since May.

She was quoting an earlier tweet noting that some social media users had complained about Cardi's home purchase and the news that she would host the American Music Awards.

Happy birthday! Cardi and Offset seem to be on a buying spree, as the Migos member presented her with an investment property in the Dominican Republic earlier this month as a birthday present

Done deal! Offset bought the enormous residence via Brandi Hunter Luxury Group and posed with company owner Brandi Hunter-Lewis for a snap to celebrate the purchase

'Really ?been in negotiations of this house since May !' she tweeted.

'This is in July as the date shows when the guess [sic] house finally was finish(yes this is the guess [sic] house),' she wrote, adding that she had 'been in talks about Amas since September.'

So far, Cardi hasn't shared any more views of her new home, though she may be waiting until it's renovated to her liking.

The new home comes at a perfect time, as she and Offset welcomed their second child, a baby boy whose named hasn't yet been revealed, in early September.

The couple already share their three-year-old daughter Kulture.

Cardi and Offset seem to be on a buying spree, as the Migos member presented her with an investment property in the Dominican Republic earlier this month as a birthday present.

Their new $1.5 million villa is located in a tony neighborhood and features six bedrooms and an equal number of bathrooms across 7,000 square feet, along with a separate studio and two pools on the 0.37-acre property to help beat the heat.

Offset bought the villa via the Brandi Hunter Luxury Group, and he posed with company owner Brandi Hunter-Lewis in an Instagram photo to celebrate his wife's gift.

Growing family: The new home comes at a perfect time, as she and Offset welcomed their second child, a baby boy whose named hasn't yet been revealed, in early September

On Instagram, Cardi revealed that she'd been hoping to focus on 'short term home rental properties,' which her husband's gift would help her accomplish.

'For a hot minute now I've been telling Set that I really want to invest in short term home rental properties in the DR and other Caribbean countries (since people vacation all year around in those locations), but I felt like he didn't agree with me and would rather put money into other investments,' she wrote.

'Well, I was wrong. I just can't believe this! This was sooo amazing to me,' she gushed. 'For one, Im so happy that you were actually really listening to me and not just smiling and nodding your head so I could stop talkin to you about it.

'Two, you dont think my investment ideas are wack and three, I love that you asked my dad to work with you on this. You and my dad (and the [mother holding baby emoji]) are the most important men in my life and it makes me so happy that you guys are close and have your own bond and relationship,' she concluded.

Luxurious: Back in 2019, the rapping couple purchased an enormous mansion in Atlanta for just under $5.8 million; seen Tuesday in New York City

Back in 2019, the rapping couple purchased an enormous mansion in Atlanta for just under $5.8 million.

Although she mentioned a home in Los Angeles in her caption, it's not clear that the two have purchased a West Coast home yet, though it may be next in their sights.

Back in 2017, Cardi described living in an apartment in Edgewater, New Jersey, in a profile for The Fader.

The apartment was a half-hour drive from New York under the best traffic conditions, and her rent was $3,000 per month, far less than she would have paid for an apartment of similar size in New York.

However, as Cardi has had several hit singles and the acclaimed album Invasion Of Privacy, she can now afford more lavish homes across the country.
When top model and actress Cara Delevingnes mother, Pandora, chose to pen a revealing memoir about her struggle with drug addiction, she hoped to help those in similar situations find a way out.

Sadly, I hear the society stylist has been forced to delay the books publication as stories from her painful past have proved too hurtful for the family.

Its all done, but Ive put it on hold because its upsetting my loved ones, she tells me.

Pandora Delevingne, 62 (left), pictured with her daughters Poppy (centre) and Cara (right) in 2015. She chose to delay publishing a revealing memoir about her struggle with drug addiction

Its hard. I dont mind for myself, but its difficult for my family.

Pandora, 62, whos advised the Duchess of Cambridge on her outfits, is married to property developer Charles Delevingne, 72, and the mother of Chloe, 36, actress Poppy, 35, and Cara, 29.

While they were growing up, Pandora would sometimes move out of their home to spare them the distress of seeing her at rock-bottom.

Poppy Delevingne (left) with her sisters Cara and Chloe (right) and mother Pandora pictured in 2014

Often, shed stay with zoo owner and gambler John Aspinall.

The children know a lot because they were there for it, but theres a lot they dont know, and Im checking it out slowly with each of them, she explains.

Im doing this with all my loved ones.

Pandora is the daughter of late publishing magnate Sir Jocelyn Stevens and Jane Sheffield, 84  erstwhile It-girl and former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret.

Pandora with her daughters when they were children. While they were growing up, she would sometimes move out of their home to spare them the distress of seeing her at rock-bottom

My mother was so sad when I told her about some of the stories and described what I was going through  but shes very happy that Im better, of course, she adds.

When I saw Chloe at a party last week, she told me the book wasnt coming out  but Pandora insists: It will come out next year. Ive had a lot of interest from publishers.

'I dont mean to sound arrogant, but its too important a book not to publish. It would help so many people.

'It would give people inspiration: it is possible to lead a normal life again, like I do.

Prince Charles has raised thousands for charity by selling his watercolours, but not many know his wife is a dab hand with a brush, too. And now the Duchess of Cornwall has paid glowing tribute to Neil Forster, who taught them to paint. Shes written the foreword to the catalogue which accompanies a new exhibition of the late artists work at the Osborne Studio Gallery in Belgravia. Neil was an extraordinary man: an artist through and through, with the soul, the temperament and the frayed clothes to match, Camilla says. His outstanding skills were equalled by his gifts for living and for teaching.

Getting the hang of being married

Couples who swing together, stay together. At least thats what society model Sabrina Percy hopes.

The Tatler cover star, 31, wed Franco Manca pizza heir Phineas Page, 39, less than two months ago and shes already signed them up for classes at the 2,500-a-year Arts Club in Mayfair.

Just trying to get back into the swing of things post-wedding and, of course, loved hanging out with Phineas, she says, sharing a picture of them hanging upside down in hammocks.

Sabrina Percy and Phineas Page practicing aerial yoga, which is said to be good for improving flexibility, together

The Tatler cover star and Franco Manca pizza heir got married to each other less than two months ago

Aerial yoga, which is said to be good for improving flexibility, has attracted devotees including Gwyneth Paltrow and Sir Mick Jagger.

Sabrina, a distant relation of the Duke of Northumberland, says of her husbands performance: I was pleasantly surprised.

No time to try! Dame Eileen shuns Bond

HER first husband, Julian Glover, played a Bond villain in For Your Eyes Only, but Dame Eileen Atkins has revealed that she hasnt sat through a single 007 outing.

Ive never seen a James Bond, admits the celebrated actress. I saw a bit of one and couldnt bear it.

She made an effort to watch her fellow dame, Judi Dench, who played MI6 chief M in the secret agent films.

I tried to watch the one with Judi, Dame Eileen says of Dench, who co-starred with her in the hit BBC period drama Cranford.

[After] Ten minutes, I thought: I cant stand this!

I cant bear screeching of brakes and cars flying. I just cant bear it.

Follow that cab ! 007s girl loving London

She moved to the capital from the Bahamas this summer, but Sir Sean Connerys granddaughter is still shaken and stirred by London life.

Swimwear designer Saskia Connery, 25, is particularly impressed with the capitals black cabs.

And while most women dread the pitfalls of clambering out of vehicles in short skirts, Saskia  whose father, Stephane, was a stepson of the late James Bond star  turned a taxi into her private photo booth on a night out this week by posing in a 562 minidress.

Saskia is to wed banking heir Phillip Thomas Muhr, 31, next spring.

Saskia Connery, 25, is particularly impressed with the London's black cabs after moving to London from the Bahamas this summer

Whod believe Downton cant get the staff?

YOU just cant get the staff . . . I hear Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed, has cancelled all big events for the next six months because of staff shortages.

The sprawling Hampshire estate has become the latest business to be hit by the effects of the pandemic and Brexit. In common with many other businesses, we cant get enough part-time staff for the busy weekends ahead, so, sadly, as a result we have decided not to offer any large events for the next six months for fear we will not be able to staff them, confirms the stately homes chatelaine, the Countess of Carnarvon. It would bring a tear to the eye of the costume dramas butler, Carson.

Misha Nonoo, pictured with Meghan Markle, says she was unable to hold her baby new Marina 'for weeks' after she was rushed to intensive care

Hospital baby drama for Meghans friend

The Duchess of Sussexs close friend Misha Nonoo has revealed that the life of her baby daughter was saved by staff at a hospital in America.

She arrived while I was away from home and without any family around me, says the fashion designer, 36, who reportedly played matchmaker to Meghan and Prince Harry.

Misha says the baby, Marina, who arrived just weeks after the Duchess and Harrys daughter Lilibet, was rushed to an intensive care unit and underwent surgery several times for an undisclosed condition.

I was unable to hold her for weeks, adds Misha.

Known as the austerity Chancellor, George Osborne let himself go with friends on a blow-out meal at a trendy restaurant near his Somerset home.

Osborne was joined by his fiancee, Thea Rogers, and six other friends including TV presenter Mariella Frostrup at the trendy Roth Bar and Grill.

The former MP bought a 1.6 million house in Bruton last year.

Roth, where a fillet steak costs 38, is a favourite for locals in the area which has become a hotbed of stars, art dealers and internet billionaires.
Teresa Giudice, in an advertisement on Instagram, said she gave her friend Dolores Catania helpful suggestions as to replacing her breast implants.

The Bravo beauty, 49, opened up about the suggestion Tuesday as she sat on a couch in a living room donning a long-sleeved red top and black pants with black boots.

'So Dolores and I were speaking and she wanted to replace her breast implants,' The Real Housewives of New Jersey star said Tuesday in the promotional clip for the breast augmentation and reconstruction brand Sientra.

The latest: Teresa Giudice, 49, in an advertisement on Instagram, said she gave her friend Dolores Catania, 50, helpful suggestions as to replacing her breast implants

Giudice continued, 'So I did a ton of research and it got me thinking from when I got my breast implants replaced, so I spoke to my board certified plastic surgeon, and we were speaking and what sold me on Sientra was that she said they have a low complication rate, great safety profile and they're warrantied for 20 years, so that definitely sold me.'

In a text overlay on the clip, Giudice wrote, 'Dolores is my partner in crime and now were "breast friends." Her recent decision to have her breasts redone has got me thinking about my own #breastaugmentation and decision to get @Sientrainc implants.'

Giudice has past been candid about her history with breast augmentation, as she opened up in a January 2020 Instagram post about a procedure she had with Dr. Aviva Preminger.

'I believe its important to always stand strong and feel like your best most confident self,' she said, adding that she 'decided to have [her] breasts re-done' 10 years after an earlier procedure.

The Bravo beauty opened up about the suggestion as she sat on a couch in a living room donning a long-sleeved red top and black pants with black boots

In the clip, the RHONJ personality explained how she chose to suggest the breast augmentation and reconstruction brand Sientra

Giudice said she 'could not be happier with the results' of the procedure, adding that while she 'was very nervous to re-do [her] breasts,' she 'felt it was necessary for me to feel like [her] best self.

'I encourage anyone who doesnt feel their best self to work on feeling better. Even if it is the smallest thing every day. If it is something that requires cosmetic surgery to feel better.'

She said in a November 2018 edition of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that she had 'changed out [her] implants,' and also had filler work on her face.
Hailey Bieber recently spoke about not wanting to 'give up' on her husband Justin as they endured emotional obstacles at the start of their marriage.

And on Tuesday, the 24-year-old model continued to show her love and devotion for the 27-year-old pop star as she stepped out in West Hollywood.

Hailey accessorized with a chainlink necklace that featured diamond pendants of Justin's first, middle, and last initial.

Her man: Hailey Bieber showed her love and devotion for husband Justin as she stepped out in West Hollywood on Tuesday afternoon

Justin, whose full name is Justin Drew Bieber, famously wed Hailey at an NYC court house in mid-September 2018, before holding an elaborate ceremony in South Carolina the following September.

For Tuesday's shopping trip, Hailey added a bit of edge to her cozy silhouette by throwing on a pair of oversized faux leather pants.

She styled her trendy trousers with a grey, black, and white argyle sweater and a black tank top.

Hailey, who was joined by BFF Justine Skye, finished off the look with some white sneakers.

Custom creation: Hailey accessorized with a chainlink necklace that featured diamond pendants of Justin's first, middle, and last initial

In good company: Hailey was joined by her BFF Justine Skye during Tuesday's shopping trip

The daughter of Stephen Baldwin's golden hair was wore up in a claw clip and she kept her eyes hidden behind a pair of black shades.

She accessorized with a single choker necklace and a pair of her signature chunky gold hoops.

As her and Skye moved from store-to-store, Bieber kept her cellphone in her hand and a black purse tucked under her arm.

Justine showcased her curvaceous figure in a skintight olive green bodysuit, which she styled with a black puffer jacket and high top sneakers.

Edgy: Hailey added a bit of edge to her cozy silhouette by throwing on a pair of oversized faux leather pants

Stunner: Justine showcased her curvaceous figure in a skintight olive green bodysuit, which she styled with a black puffer jacket and high top sneakers

A little over a month after celebrating their third wedding anniversary, Justin and Hailey appeared on the In Good Faith with Chelsea & Judah Smith podcast to talk about their relationship.

Though things couldn't be better, Hailey recalled an emotional phone call she had with her mother Kennya during a difficult time in her marriage to Justin.

'I remember I called her a few different times, one particular time when we were in Brooklyn and I was calling her, I was crying, and I was like, "I just can't do it. There's no way that I'm going to be able to do this if it's going to be like this forever,"' the model remembered.

But Kennya, who has been married to Hailey's father Stephen Baldwin for over 30 years, was not fazed by the confession, and reminded her daughter that the rough patch was only temporary.

The Biebers: A little over a month after celebrating their third wedding anniversary, Justin and Hailey appeared on the In Good Faith with Chelsea & Judah Smith podcast to talk about their relationship

'And I just remember she was so calm on the phone and she was like, "It's going to pass, and you're going to be fine and he's going to be healthy and we're here for you,"' she said.

Hailey believes overcoming the rough patch would have been '10 times harder' had it not been for the support her mother.

'And I do feel like we just had a lot of support. I feel like if I didn't have support, it would've been 10 times harder, and it was already the hardest thing in my life at the time.'

Hailey also said she was glad to have stuck by him despite all their trials and tribulations.

Emotional: Though things couldn't be better, Hailey recalled an emotional phone call she had with her mother Kennya during a difficult time in her marriage to Justin

Lending her support: Kennya, who has been married to Hailey's father for over 30 years, was not fazed by the confession, and reminded her daughter that the rough patch was only temporary (Kennya and Stephen Baldwin pictured in 2007)

'I was in it. I made a decision. I know for a fact that I've loved this person for a very long time and now would not be the time to give up on him. I just wouldn't do that to him,' she admitted.

'Imagine abandoning somebody in the middle of the worst time of their life, potentially. I'm not that type of a person. So I was going to stick it out no matter what the outcome was going to be.'

Before that Justin got candid about his struggles with mental health which he was battling leading up to their wedding in September 2018.

The two had been dating for years prior but had split in 2016 before rekindling their romance in 2018 before getting engaged in July of that year.

He said: 'I had experienced so many things in my life. So many milestones and traveled the world and seen everywhere in the world. And I just got to a place where I was lonely, and I just didn't want to do it all alone.

'I was in it': Hailey also revealed she was glad to have stuck by him despite all their trials and tribulations; pictured 2018

'I realized there was some serious healing I needed to go through in order to get to a place where I could be in a healthy, serious relationship because I had a lot of trauma and scars. So I just committed to working on those things and getting healthy.'

Justin ultimately sought treatment in early 2019 for his mental health and bravely spoke publicly about his depression which led him to cancel his Purpose world tour two years prior.

The Purpose hitmaker said: 'Luckily, Hailey accepted me as I was. Even when we got married, there was still a lot of damage and hurt that I still needed to work through, but you've seen my heart through it all.'

Communication seems to be one of the key things in their relationship as Hailey admitted: 'We always had so many conversations about, "What were our goals? Where did we want to end up at a certain age?"

'We always talked about wanting to be married and be young, and have a young family, and have kids young.'
Australian actor Henri Szeps has been diagnosed with early onset dementia.

Henri, who played dentist Robbie Beare in 1980s sitcom Mother and Son, discussed his ongoing struggles on the ABC TV series Just Between Us.

Joined by his son, ABC broadcaster Josh Szeps, the pair spoke about how his condition had affected their family.

Struggles: Australian actor Henri Szeps, who played dentist Robbie Beare in 1980s sitcom Mother and Son, has revealed his battle with Alzheimer's disease

'Dad has dementia, technically Alzheimer's,' Josh said in the documentary, which is about different families sharing their 'intimate stories, secrets and truths'.

'For us, it's about understanding how to support him and, most of all really, support mum in her support of him, so that we can sustain a normal life for all of us as long as humanly as possible.'

The filmmakers recorded Henri watching an episode of Mother and Son in the family home.

'I refuse to hide behind it': Henri discussed his ongoing struggles on the ABC TV series Just Between Us. Pictured with wife Mary Ann Severne on June 6, 2004, in Sydney

'I don't know,' he said when asked about his condition. 'I refuse to hide behind it, it's there. All I can say is, all's well that ends well.'

Josh explained his father had been born in a refugee camp in Switzerland and raised by a foster family before he was 'sent back to his mother in Paris'.

He eventually settled into Australia as part of the wave of migrants that immigrated to the country following World War II.

Life story: Henri was born in a refugee camp in Switzerland and raised by a foster family before he was 'sent back to his mother in Paris'. He eventually settled into Australia as part of the wave of migrants that immigrated into the country following World War II

Josh said his father was still a 'barrel of laughs' who 'makes fun of himself constantly' after his dementia caused habitual forgetfulness.

Henri added: 'Everybody around me might know that it's going, the brain's going, but I don't. I still think I'm right on the ball!'

He emphasised his son's point about staying positive in regard to his condition and said the best way to cope is to 'take it as it is and love it'.
This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby looked effortlessly chic as she hosted an intimate evening at London's Barbican for her new book Reflections on Tuesday.

The TV favourite, 40, looked gorgeous in a purple mid length tweed dress that boasted s plunging neckline to which revealed a hint of her ample cleavage,

She paired the look with a pair of high heeled pointy shoes that strapped across the ankle.

Chic: Holly Willoughby looked effortlessly chic as she hosted an intimate evening at London's Barbican for her new book Reflections on Tuesday

The star opted to wear her blonde chin length tresses down to frame her beautiful face,

Holly chose a natural palette with a barely there eye shadow and a soft pink blush on the cheeks.

She finished the look with a pink gloss on the lips which accentuated her warm smile.

The TV presenter oozed confidence as she took to the stage to discuss her new book with fellow TV host Christine Lampard.

New book: The TV presenter oozed confidence as she took to the stage to discuss her new book with fellow TV host Christine Lampard

Holly took to the stage to draw on her own experience as she reflects on what it means to live a full life, treat yourself with kindness, and make your life beautiful inside out.

Untangling issues such as body-image, burnout and control, Holly spoke about her moving and inspiring journey of self-discovery.

She candidly spoke on topics like how to reclaim your sexuality, and how to know and celebrate yourself.

All eyes on me: The This Morning host said that being in the public eye 'there is a lot of me out there'

About the book Holly said on the The One Show last week that 'being in the public eye, there's a lot of me out there,'

'I am probably boring most people, but there's definitely been pieces of me that I haven't been ready to share yet.[

She continued 'Up until now I've probably been terrified of the reception of being brave enough to write this all down and put myself out there.

Centre stage: Holly waa joined on the stage at this intimate event by fellow TV host Christine Lampard

Support: On screen partner Phillip Schofield came out to support Holly at the sold out event

'[The] fear of being judged in some way, and it actually doesn't matter, because it had to happen and I feel good about it.'

Holly was supported by celebrity friends and family alike including co-host Phillip Schofield and Nicole Appleton.

Holly also admitted that looking inwards has been a 'painful' process after losing who she was while focusing on her career and being a mum of three.

The presenter - who shares Belle, Chester and Harry with husband Dan Baldwin - confessed that 'shining a light into those dark corners is hard' but wanted to get to know herself again after basing her life on others' expectations.

Best pals: All Saint band member and best friend Nicole Appleton also came out to support Holly

Speaking on the Lorraine show last week she revealed what led her to creating Reflections.

Holly explained: 'For me it felt like the right time to write this book. Working none-stop and, being a mum of three. I'd almost high five myself on the back for it.;

She added 'That's great, fine, doable. But when I'd stop I'd lost a sense of who I was.

'It was born out of me getting to know myself again. Trusting myself a little more rather than listening to the noise around me.'

Holly also revealed that it was her time hosting I'm A Celebrity back in 2018 which made her realise that she had some important things to work through.

The presenter said of her time in Australia: 'It was like that moment in Home Alone where 'I made my family disappear.'

I've got space and time to just be me. There was an opening up sorts. A Pandora's box of sorts.
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Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein) and Linda Tripp (Sarah Paulson) tell their own sides to the epic Bill Clinton saga to the Grand Jury in the penultimate episode of Impeachment: American Crime Story.

The episode, entitled The Grand Jury, finds the former friends telling 23 strangers in the Grand Jury what happened in the world-shaking scandal that led to the demise of the President.

In clear discomfort over the grilling, Monica is asked about performing oral sex on the President while the Defense Department whistleblower slams his 'cheating' in tension laden scenes.

Meanwhile, after her explosive confrontation with Bill (Clive Owen), Hillary (Edie Falco) seems ready to forgive her husband as they take on their many enemies together.

Grand jury: Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein) and Linda Tripp (Sarah Paulson) tell their own sides to the epic Bill Clinton saga to the Grand Jury in the penultimate episode of Impeachment: American Crime Story

The episode begins in a cafeteria of some sort, with people making breakfast, when Linda tries to help a woman make waffles. Two men in suits whisper behind her, as the woman thanks her for helping her make the waffles, and as the woman goes back to her friends, she whispers, 'That's Linda Tripp.'

She calls her boss to complain about creating a manual for her old job, as we cut between her on the phone and her interactions with people at the hotel she's staying at.

Linda is seen cutting newspaper articles out of the paper when she gets a visit from her daughter Allison (Emma Malouff) comes by with her mail.

She tells her daughter that the judge has told her not to talk to anyone, which is why she's staying at the hotel before revealing that she's going to give a speech, once she's 'free' of all this and ready to tell my side of the story.'

Real Monica: The real Monica Lewinsksy leaves her vehicle to testify to the grand jury in early August 1998

Help: The episode begins in a cafeteria of some sort, with people making breakfast, when LInda tries to help a woman make waffles

Complain: Linda calls her boss to complain about creating a manual for her old job, as we cut between her on the phone and her interactions with people at the hotel she's staying at

Mother and daughter: Linda is seen cutting newspaper articles out of the paper when she gets a visit from her daughter Allison (Emma Malouff) comes by with her mail

The episode picks back up with Monica getting ready for the Grand Jury, as her mother Marcia (Mira Sorvino) checks in on her, saying it's not 'fair' that the President got to testify from home and not 'paraded' out like she will be soon.

Monica is getting ready to leave when she sees that Bill is wearing a tie she gave him, but Monica insists she's, 'not gonna let it mess me up.'

She arrives at the courthouse with a throng of press awaiting as she walks by them all without saying a word.

Getting ready: The episode picks back up with Monica getting ready for the Grand Jury, as her mother Marcia (Mira Sorvino) checks in on her, saying it's not 'fair' that the President got to testify from home and not 'paraded' out like she will be soon

Tie: Monica is getting ready to leave when she sees that Bill is wearing a tie she gave him, but Monica insists she's, 'not gonna let it mess me up'

Inside, Mike Emmick (Colin Hanks) is getting set up with a female member of the team, Karen Immergut (Lindsey Broad), who says this is the first thing beyond secretarial work she's been allowed to do by Starr.

Emmick says that Starr is 'old-fashioned' and adds that some of these questions are going to sound better being asked by a woman.

Monica arrives, takes the oath, and asks if she's going to know anybody's names, but there can be no identifying data for the jury, which seems to disappoint her.

Karen: Inside, Mike Emmick (Colin Hanks) is getting set up with a female member of the team, Karen Immergut (Lindsey Broad), who says this is the first thing beyond secretarial work she's been allowed to do by Starr

Old fashioned: Emmick says that Starr is 'old-fashioned' and adds that some of these questions are going to sound better being asked by a woman

Monica reveals that they kissed the first time they met, during the government shutdown, as Karen presses for details.

Karen asks flat out if she performed oral sex on the President, as Monica says it's embarrassing, but she swears they won't 'dwell on it.'

Monica admits they did, and they present a detailed chart with a number of sexual encounters, as Monica says she's so embarrassed she wants to 'hide under the table.'

Shutdown: Monica reveals that they kissed the first time they met, during the government shutdown, as Karen presses for details

Flat out: Karen asks flat out if she performed oral sex on the President, as Monica says it's embarrassing, but she swears they won't 'dwell on it'

Monica is asked if there was any non-sexual aspects of the relationship, which she explains briefly, adding, 'I think back on it and... He always made me smile when I was with him.'

Karen calls for a break, which is granted by the grand jury.

Monica is in the hallway during the break as she gets an odd look from one of the Black female Grand Jury members.

Non-sexual: Monica is asked if there was any non-sexual aspects of the relationship, which she explains briefly, adding, 'I think back on it and... He always made me smile when I was with him'

Mike Emmick asks why she lied about her relationship under oath, and she makes it clear that the President didn't ask her to lie, nobody did.

The Grand Jury has questions of their own, as they ask why she kept the dress, adding that Linda told her she looked heavy in it and she never wore it again.

Another jury member asked if her mother discouraged it, and she said yes, but she said she loved him.

Lied: Mike Emmick asks why she lied about her relationship under oath, and she makes it clear that the President didn't ask her to lie, nobody did

Jury questions: The Grand Jury has questions of their own, as they ask why she kept the dress, adding that Linda told her she looked heavy in it and she never wore it again

The woman who exchanged a look with Monica in the hallway angrily asks about her relationship with another married man, and asks if she believed it was wrong.

'My intention, when I came to Washington was to start over. I did not want to have another affair with a married man because it was horrible,' she says

The woman brings up her previous relationship with Andy Bleiler, with Monica adding that what Kate and Andy Bleiler said on TV wasn't exactly true.

Angry: The woman who exchanged a look with Monica in the hallway angrily asks about her relationship with another married man, and asks if she believed it was wrong

Start over: 'My intention, when I came to Washington was to start over. I did not want to have another affair with a married man because it was horrible,' she says

She wants them to call her Monica, as they share a bit of a rapport with the jurors when one asks if she still loved him.

She said that, in the end, 'It turns out he's not who I thought he was.'

One juror wants to know about when Mike Emmick encountered her, but he tries to stall, and they all want to hear about it.

Loved: She wants them to call her Monica, as they share a bit of a rapport with the jurors when one asks if she still loved him

One juror asks why she didn't ask for her lawyer, and she said she did but they said she'd get in trouble.

They ask what happened when she got up there, but Monica wants Mike to leave the room, though Karen can stay.

He reluctantly agrees and leaves the room, as Monica says that if she called her lawyer it could not be good for her immunity.

Leave: They ask what happened when she got up there, but Monica wants Mike to leave the room, though Karen can stay

The more she tells the Grand Jury they are definitely sympathetic with her, as she tells them they said she could get 28 years in jail.

She says she was mad, 'mostly at myself,' but also for putting the 'President at risk,' as one of the jurors says they 'put you in a trap,' with another adding, 'that's what they do.'

They ask her if there is anything that she wants to say, because they want her to have her full side of the story told.

Mad: She says she was mad, 'mostly at myself,' but also for putting the 'President at risk,' as one of the jurors says they 'put you in a trap,' with another adding, 'that's what they do'

Full side: They ask her if there is anything that she wants to say, because they want her to have her full side of the story told

'I guess I want to say that no one asked me to lie. And I was never promised a job for my silence. Mostly I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for everything that happened. And I hate Linda Tripp,' Monica says, as the jurors certainly agree.

Paula Jones (Annaleigh Ashford) is in Beverly Hills, getting her nose job explained by Dr. Loeb, who Susie (Judith Light) says does 'wonderful work.'

Susie asks why Steve (Taran Killam) isn't there, and she asks if he's still mad about losing his job at the airport and she says she is.

Hate Linda: 'I guess I want to say that no one asked me to lie. And I was never promised a job for my silence. Mostly I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for everything that happened. And I hate Linda Tripp,' Monica says, as the jurors certainly agree

Nose job: Paula Jones (Annaleigh Ashford) is in Beverly Hills, getting her nose job explained by Dr. Loeb, who Susie (Judith Light) says does 'wonderful work'

Susie asks if she's nervous, and Paula says, 'I just hope people stop making fun of my big old awful nose.'

Linda Tripp returns to her home and finds no reporters there, so she goes through her mail over some soup, when she finds an envelope with The New Yorker.

She starts reading the piece, featuring a caricature of her, though she doesn't react much.

Nervous: Susie asks if she's nervous, and Paula says, 'I just hope people stop making fun of my big old awful nose'

New Yorker: Linda Tripp returns to her home and finds no reporters there, so she goes through her mail over some soup, when she finds an envelope with The New Yorker

Bill and Hillary Clinton are smiling and clapping along to some piano accordion musicians, before Hillary gives a brief speech and introduces her husband.

Later in the Oval Office, he asks Betty (Rae Dawn Chong) to have the First Lady come see him as he goes through a list of some kind.

Hillary arrives and Bill says he wanted to say something, as he opens up about why he did what he did with Monica.

Smiles: Bill and Hillary Clinton are smiling and clapping along to some piano accordion musicians, before Hillary gives a brief speech and introduces her husband

Say something: Hillary arrives and Bill says he wanted to say something, as he opens up about why he did what he did with Monica

'Most men of our age, they... They find their wives so dull they cringe when she talks at dinner. I pity those men. They don't have what I do. I gave in to a disgusting impulse. Because I didn't know how to walk down the hall and say to my best friend that this job is lonely and I'm worn to the bone... ...And I'm dead inside half the time,' he begins.

'There's been hell raining down on us from the day we walked into this place. You know, every move we make-- the right, the press, they seize, attack and drag us through the streets over nothing...

'And I know it's stupid, but when Newt shuts down the government, and Starr has slithered into our lives to look for malfeasance in every line of every receipt of every piddly thing we've ever bought, I thought I had to be strong for us,' he adds.

'And instead, I f***ed it all up. When it first came out, I was so ashamed I wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear. I couldn't bear what I'd done to you and Chelsea. I couldn't face telling you, I just couldn't...

'So I made it worse and I lied. Everything good in my life comes out of us together. I don't know who I am without you. I know you said you didn't care why it happened. But I wanted you to know,' he concludes.

Pity: 'Most men of our age, they... They find their wives so dull they cringe when she talks at dinner. I pity those men'

Every move: 'There's been hell raining down on us from the day we walked into this place'

Ashamed: 'And instead, I f***ed it all up. When it first came out, I was so ashamed I wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear'

Hillary asks, 'Is that all?' And Bill replies, 'No. I love you. That's all,' but Hillary just calmly walks out of the office.

Linda is going through a box of papers at home when Allison asks about the article in The New Yorker, where it's revealed she was arrested for a teen prank, but Linda is extremely upset about the box - which is all wrong for what she needs.

Linda takes the box into the office to see Ken (Jim Rash), asking if he oversaw sending this package.

That all?: Hillary asks, 'Is that all?' And Bill replies, 'No. I love you. That's all,' but Hillary just calmly walks out of the office

Linda and Allison: Linda is going through a box of papers at home when Allison asks about the article in The New Yorker, where it's revealed she was arrested for a teen prank, but Linda is extremely upset about the box - which is all wrong for what she needs

Oversaw: Linda takes the box into the office to see Ken (Jim Rash), asking if he oversaw sending this package

Ken lets it slip there is going to be an investigation on her, because The New Yorker article revealed she was arrested as a teen and lied about it on her application.

Two FBI agents visits Juanita Broaddrick (Ashlie Atkinson), asking if she was 'truthful' when she signed her name to that statement.

Paula is back at home with Steve, with Paula saying the judge did a 'summary judgment' and they threw out the case.

Investigation: Ken lets it slip there is going to be an investigation on her, because The New Yorker article revealed she was arrested as a teen and lied about it on her application

Summary: Paula is back at home with Steve, with Paula saying the judge did a 'summary judgment' and they threw out the case

Steve angrily asks how much money they're getting, but she says they get nothing, as Steve gets angry, saying he wanted the money from the Clinton deal as they get into an argument.

Paula is angered because she only did this because he wanted her to, and he says she sounds, 'pretty f***ing stupid' right now, with her nose bandaged from the nose job.

For the first time on the show, she starts to fire back at Steve, angrily telling him she, 'got a bad nose, which I didn't even know I had until you made me do this and be on TV and people laughed at me, but... But I did it, like I always do what you say.'

Deal: Steve angrily asks how much money they're getting, but she says they get nothing, as Steve gets angry, saying he wanted the money from the Clinton deal as they get into an argument

Stupid: Paula is angered because she only did this because he wanted her to, and he says she sounds, 'pretty f***ing stupid' right now, with her nose bandaged from the nose job

Angry: For the first time on the show, she starts to fire back at Steve, angrily telling him she, 'got a bad nose, which I didn't even know I had until you made me do this and be on TV and people laughed at me, but... But I did it, like I always do what you say'

'You think I liked moving to California, where I've never seen so many people who smile while they hate you and it makes my skin f***ing crawl and it's sunny all day?'

Steve wonders if it would be better back home where, 'everyone knows exactly who you are and what you did?'

This is the final straw for Paula Jones, as she realizes that her own husband doesn't believe her.

Skin crawl: 'You think I liked moving to California, where I've never seen so many people who smile while they hate you and it makes my skin f***ing crawl and it's sunny all day?'

Exactly: Steve wonders if it would be better back home where, 'everyone knows exactly who you are and what you did?

'You think I did it. You think I went up there and I gave him a blow job. Yeah, okay, okay. I can take this from Jay Leno and people laughing at me at Vons, but... from you? You're supposed to believe me! We are fighting to show people that he did me wrong!' she says.

'All this is... all the press conferences and all the magazines and-and the TV shows and the lawyers and more lawyers and more lawyers-- it's just me trying to get you to believe me! Which we both know you never did, so you know what? If you want to say I'm stupid, well, f**k you! But most of all, if I'm stupid on one thing, it was believing that you were any more than a chickens**t a**hole who cared about me at all!' she screams at her husband.

Steve starts to leave but he stops and looks back, which makes Paula laugh, as she adds, 'Oh you think I'm gonna ask you to stay?' before he leaves.

Wrong: 'You think I did it. You think I went up there and I gave him a blow job. Yeah, okay, okay. I can take this from Jay Leno and people laughing at me at Vons, but... from you? You're supposed to believe me! We are fighting to show people that he did me wrong!' she says

Not staying: Steve starts to leave but he stops and looks back, which makes Paula laugh, as she adds, 'Oh you think I'm gonna ask you to stay?' before he leaves

The show cuts back and forth between Monica listening to the tapes that Linda recorded, while Linda testifies about these tapes during her Grand Jury testimony.

They both listen to one of the earlier tapes where Monica jokes it's her 'fantasy' to have him wear one of her ties every day.

Linda started to describe what would happen on the calls, when one of the jurors asks if she wanted Monica to stop calling her.

Tapes: The show cuts back and forth between Monica listening to the tapes that Linda recorded, while Linda testifies about these tapes during her Grand Jury testimony

Stop: Linda started to describe what would happen on the calls, when one of the jurors asks if she wanted Monica to stop calling her.

Linda says yes, but the juror asks why didn't you just tell her to stop calling?

'Well, at a, at a certain point, you can't unring a bell. You talk like this was a grave situation and harmful for Monica, right?' Linda says, but the juror points out they were joking about it on the tape as they wonder if it was serious or joking.

The jurors start to ask why she would record the conversations in the first place, and why she would come forward at all since it was a 'private matter.'

Stop: Linda says yes, but the juror asks why didn't you just tell her to stop calling

Serious or joking: 'Well, at a, at a certain point, you can't unring a bell. You talk like this was a grave situation and harmful for Monica, right?' Linda says, but the juror points out they were joking about it on the tape as they wonder if it was serious or joking

Why: The jurors start to ask why she would record the conversations in the first place, and why she would come forward at all since it was a 'private matter'

'This was a very young staffer in a workplace with the most senior official in that workplace making choices that were causing her severe distress. She told me on more than one occasion she wanted to kill herself. And still, the president of the United States used her to meet his needs. He had total control. His behavior was unconscionable. It was an abuse of power. I had to end it,' Linda said.

Emmick asks when she began to 'document' Monica she was under enormous stress, and she said if she didn't have proof they would come after her, but they all scoff at her.

She insists that the President's lawyer made a 'defamatory statement' about her in Newsweek and she was 'sure' she was going to be subpoenaed in the Paula Jones case.

End it: 'This was a very young staffer in a workplace with the most senior official in that workplace making choices that were causing her severe distress. She told me on more than one occasion she wanted to kill herself. And still, the president of the United States used her to meet his needs. He had total control. His behavior was unconscionable. It was an abuse of power. I had to end it,' Linda said

Defamatory: She insists that the President's lawyer made a 'defamatory statement' about her in Newsweek and she was 'sure' she was going to be subpoenaed in the Paula Jones case

She thought she might lose her job, 'or worse,' if she told the truth under oath, insinuating she might be killed, which the jurors find incredulous.

She gives an example of what happened to her former boss, Vince Foster, who killed himself, but she insinuated maybe he didn't, but they'll never know.

'And I was angry. And I resented it. And still do,' Linda says, but a juror asks, 'Did you ever think about what would happen to Monica when all this came out?' but she doesn't answer.

Worse: She thought she might lose her job, 'or worse,' if she told the truth under oath, insinuating she might be killed, which the jurors find incredulous

Never know: She gives an example of what happened to her former boss, Vince Foster, who killed himself, but she insinuated maybe he didn't, but they'll never know

Her daughter Emma is waiting outside, and she says she doesn't have to do this right now, as she goes onto the courthouse to make her now-infamous statement.

'I understand that there's been a great deal of speculation about just who I am and how I got here. Well, the answer is simple. I'm you. I'm just like you. I'm an average American who found herself in a situation not of her own making,' she began.

'Because I am just like you, I ask you to imagine how you would feel if someone you thought was a friend urged you to commit a felony. Imagine how you would feel if your boss's attorney called you a liar in front of the whole country. And imagine if that boss was the president of the United States,' she adds.

Statement: Her daughter Emma is waiting outside, and she says she doesn't have to do this right now, as she goes onto the courthouse to make her now-infamous statement

Speculation: 'I understand that there's been a great deal of speculation about just who I am and how I got here. Well, the answer is simple. I'm you. I'm just like you. I'm an average American who found herself in a situation not of her own making,' she began

'Imagine how you would feel if your employer demoted you and cast you aside, for daring to tell the truth. Imagine how it would feel to see the pain in your children's eyes when they hear a seemingly endless barrage of lies about their mother. A mother who is not going out to defend herself. I've been vilified for taking the path of truth. I've been maligned by people who have chosen not to tell the truth, and who know they are not telling the truth,' she said.

'To cast me in the role of the villain, they have enlisted legions of paid prevaricators. Not surprisingly, many from the entertainment industry have chosen to ridicule me as well. Going so far as to even make fun of my appearance in a manner so mean and so cruel that I pray none of you is ever subjected to it. Despite all of that, I bear no malice towards anyone in this case. I believe in our country. As I said, I am no different than any of you. I believe you have the right to tell the truth under oath without fear of retribution or worse. (Sighs) I hope that when all the facts are revealed, you'll understand that it is a right all of us should be fighting for. Thank you,' she concludes.

While it was said before she won't be taking any questions, she's asked right away why she betrayed Monica Lewinsky, as she walks away.

Imagine: 'Imagine how you would feel if your employer demoted you and cast you aside, for daring to tell the truth. Imagine how it would feel to see the pain in your children's eyes when they hear a seemingly endless barrage of lies about their mother

No surprise: 'To cast me in the role of the villain, they have enlisted legions of paid prevaricators. Not surprisingly, many from the entertainment industry have chosen to ridicule me as well

Betrayed: While it was said before she won't be taking any questions, she's asked right away why she betrayed Monica Lewinsky, as she walks away.

Back at the Oval Office, Bill is watching news programs which all say that he lied to the country, which would clearly necessitate impeachment proceedings.

Bill Clinton talks about Andrew Johnson, 'the worst leader this country has ever seen,' and he was the only one to be impeached 'until now.'

Hillary says there are, 'forces who have been trying to take my husband down and I won't let them.'

Worst leader: Bill Clinton talks about Andrew Johnson, 'the worst leader this country has ever seen,' and he was the only one to be impeached 'until now'

Won't let them: Hillary says there are, 'forces who have been trying to take my husband down and I won't let them'

Hillary mentions that the polls go up but Bill says nobody is looking at the polls, as Hillary says she can forgive him.

'They just need permission to forgive you. Which is something that you can't give them. But I can,' Hillary says.

Karen interviews Monica privately, but they're still under oath, as Monica needs to give her details about each physical interaction.

Polls: Hillary mentions that the polls go up but Bill says nobody is looking at the polls, as Hillary says she can forgive him

Monica can't remember if he unhooked her bra whispering to Karen that 'This is embarrassing,' as Karen whispers, 'I know.'

Karen keeps asking specific details as Monica just thinks about how many people are going to read this, but she has to answer pursuant to the agreement.

'The president... Uh, got a call, so we moved into a back office. While he was on the phone... ...He put his hand, uh, down my pants and he... Stimulated that area,' she said.

Details: Karen keeps asking specific details as Monica just thinks about how many people are going to read this, but she has to answer pursuant to the agreement

Call: 'The president... Uh, got a call, so we moved into a back office. While he was on the phone... ...He put his hand, uh, down my pants and he... Stimulated that area,' she said

She added it was, 'through my underwear at first and then he placed his hand under my underwear' adding he brought her to orgasm.

Karen moves to March 31, 1996, where they detail the now-infamous 'cigar' incident, as she explained how that happened.

'We were talking, um, in the Oval Office... One day and he was, uh, he-he was chewing on a... cigar and he looked at it in a sort of... ...naughty way and I said, 'We can do that sometime.' So we did,' she said.

Cigar: Karen moves to March 31, 1996, where they detail the now-infamous 'cigar' incident, as she explained how that happened

Talking: 'We were talking, um, in the Oval Office... One day and he was, uh, he-he was chewing on a... cigar and he looked at it in a sort of... ...naughty way and I said, 'We can do that sometime.' So we did,' she said

She added after he did that, he put the cigar in his mouth and tasted it, with Monica saying, 'He said it tasted good.'

Karen has just one last question for Monica, which, 'goes to your motivation. Do you for any reason want to hurt the president?'

'No, that's the last thing I want,' Monica says somberly.

Motivation: Karen has just one last question for Monica, which, 'goes to your motivation. Do you for any reason want to hurt the president?'

Karen says she's done, saying she did a great job, but when she goes to leave, Monica asks if Karen is having a boy or a girl.

Karen says she's having a boy, and Monica says, 'Mazel tov,' as Karen says, 'For your sake, I hope this is goodbye.'

Back in Starr's office, he says he wants the full report ready for Congress in just two weeks, by Labor Day, when a staffer comes back with Juanita Broaddrick's new interview, where she's changing her statement.

Great job: Karen says she's done, saying she did a great job, but when she goes to leave, Monica asks if Karen is having a boy or a girl

Goodbye: Karen says she's having a boy, and Monica says, 'Mazel tov,' as Karen says, 'For your sake, I hope this is goodbye.

Statement: Back in Starr's office, he says he wants the full report ready for Congress in just two weeks, by Labor Day, when a staffer comes back with Juanita Broaddrick's new interview, where she's changing her statement

Starr asks what she's saying, as he says, 'That Bill Clinton raped her.'

He adds there was no 'quid pro quo' and no one from the Clinton's pressured her and she hasn't had contact with them since the 80s... but Starr doesn't want it in the report.

'We can't be cluttering the report with all the various sexual experiences from his past,' but he begs Ken to read it.

Cluttering: 'We can't be cluttering the report with all the various sexual experiences from his past,' but he begs Ken to read it'

'Perjury and obstruction of justice. Those are our grounds for impeachment, not some lady who changes her mind about what happened one night,' Starr adds, telling him he can, 'put her in a footnote' if he wants to, as the episode comes to an end.

The preview for the Impeachment finale teases the Clinton's preparing for impeachment as Monica says she would have done anything to protect him, while Linda calls him a cheater and a liar who ruins lives and will do anything to get away with it.

The finale of Impeachment: American Crime Story airs Tuesday, November 9 at 10 PM ET on FX.

Adaptation: Impeachment is based on Jeffrey Toobin's book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President

Scandal: The real-life scandal first unfolded in January 1998 on The Drudge Report website, which was later picked up by mainstream media outlets like The Washington Post

Evidence: While Clinton, who was in his second term as President at the time, denied the allegations at first, more and more evidence came to light
She recently served as a secret agent in Miami as part of Michael Kors x 007 James Bond themed collaboration.

And Elsa Hosk was back to business as usual as she stopped by the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on Tuesday afternoon.

The 32-year-old supermodel dressed in head-to-toe winter whites for meetings off Melrose Avenue after celebrating Halloween with her daughter, Tuulikki.

Fashion forward: Elsa Hosk was back to business as usual as she stopped by the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on Tuesday afternoon

Elsa layered up wearing a crisp white blazer with thick gold buttons and matching tailored trousers under a long white coat, all of which are part of her recent collaboration with fashion brand 4th & Reckless.

She kept things casual with a simple white T-shirts and wore a pair of chunky black leather loafers with gold chain clasps.

Hosk juggled an iced coffee in one hand while resting a black leather purse across her forearm as she pounded the pavement outside of the center.

Seasonally chic: The 32-year-old supermodel dressed in head-to-toe winter whites for meetings off Melrose Avenue after celebrating Halloween with her daughter, Tuulikki

Spy mode: She recently served as a secret agent in Miami as part of Michael Kors x 007 James Bond themed collaboration

Her bright blonde hair was worn parted down the middle and slicked back into a messy bun, and she shielded her eyes from the bright sun with a pair of rectangular frames.

Elsa welcomed her little girl into the world on Feb. 11 with her longtime partner, Tom Daly, by her side.

Hosk explained her daughter's unusual moniker in an Instagram post announcing her birth, as she said the name is a blend of her mother's and her grandma-in-law's names.

Sweet moments: Motherhood certainly looks good on Elsa as she shared a few sweet snaps with her little one from their first Halloween together

'Tuulikki is the name of a Finnish forest fairy so we had to do a last min fairy costume,' she captioned the sweet series. 'Happy Halloween everyone!!'

'Happiest day of my life meeting you. Proudest moment in my life giving birth to you,' she wrote. 'Named after two strong women, my mom and my grandma-in-law, you came into this world like super-woman with your fist next to your face. We will love you forever, baby Tuuli.'

And motherhood certainly looks good on Elsa as she shared a few sweet snaps with her little one from their first Halloween together.

'Tuulikki is the name of a Finnish forest fairy so we had to do a last min fairy costume,' she captioned the sweet series. 'Happy Halloween everyone!!'
Kim Kardashian showed off her impeccable fashion sense in her second look of the day on Tuesday in New York City.

The 41-year-old business woman stepped out in an oversized, full-length brown Balenciaga coat, a black top, and black leggings.

Continuing to rep the luxury fashion house, Kardashian finished off her look with a pair of thigh-high Balenciaga boots made to resemble denim jeans.

Look number two: Kim Kardashian showed off her impeccable fashion sense in her second look of the day on Tuesday in New York City

The SKIMS founder carried a furry black handbag as she exited her hotel.

When her hands poked out of her long sleeves, black leather gloves could be seen on them.

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star covered her brown eyes with a pair of rectangular-shaped black sunglasses.

Large, sparkling, drop-down pendant earrings hung from her earlobes.

Nighttime style: The 41-year-old business woman stepped out in an oversized, full-length brown Balenciaga coat, a black top, and black leggings

Skintight: Continuing to rep the luxury fashion house, Kardashian finished off her look with a pair of thigh-high Balenciaga boots made to resemble denim jeans

Kim's glossy brunette hair was dramatically long and she flaunted an enviable, perfectly-straight and sleek blowout by Chris Appleton.

Her tresses were separated by a precise center part, making for a satisfyingly symmetrical look.

Underneath her obscured visage was a flawlessly made up face with help from friend and makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic.

Staying warm: The SKIMS founder carried a furry black handbag and when her hands poked out of her long sleeves, black leather gloves could be seen on them

Adoring supporters: And once again, a crowd of fans awaited the cultural icon as she left Manhattan's swanky Ritz-Carlton

Flowing locks: Kim's glossy brunette hair was dramatically long and she flaunted an enviable, perfectly-straight and sleek blowout by Chris Appleton

And once again, a crowd of fans awaited the cultural icon as she left Manhattan's swanky Ritz-Carlton.

The mom-of-four remained cool, calm, and collected as she is well-accustomed to life in the spotlight since amassing a legion of fans in the fifteen years since her family rose to fame on TV and the internet.

Earlier in the day she set pulses racing when she took on the Big Apple wearing a dark Balenciaga jumpsuit and mask-like sunglasses.

Composed: The mom-of-four remained cool, calm, and collected as she is well-accustomed to life in the spotlight

Beauty: Underneath her obscured visage was a flawlessly made up face with help from friend and makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic

Kardashian was headed to the trendy restaurant Zero Bond, where her sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner were seen dining in recent weeks.

Her outing comes amid rumors that she's dating SNL star Pete Davidson.

Despite a source claiming the two are just friends, fans are still speculating that there's a romance brewing between the two celebs.

It began after a photo surfaced of the pair holding hands while on a ride at Knotts Berry Farm over Halloweekend.
Millie Bobby Brown has gone Instagram official with Jake Bongiovi.

On Tuesday, the 17-year-old Stranger Things actress shared a photo of herself and the 19-year-old son of Jon Bon Jovi aboard the London Eye.

In the sweet snap, Millie had her arms wrapped around Jake's neck as he planted a kiss on her cheek.

Official! Millie Bobby Brown has gone Instagram official with Jake Bongiovi; Millie pictured in 2020

Millie looked cozy in a brown and white striped shirt and denim jeans, while Jake donned a patterned sweatshirt and black textured trousers.

Brown is currently in London shooting the highly-anticipated sequel to her 2020 Netflix film Enola Holmes, which follows the antics of Sherlock Holmes' little sister.

Millie has featured Jake on her Instagram Story in the past.

Sweet: On Tuesday, the 17-year-old Stranger Things actress shared a photo of herself and the 19-year-old son of Jon Bon Jovi aboard the London Eye

Though this is Jake's first time on Millie's official feed, the aspiring actor has posted his famous girlfriend three times since they started dating in June.

The first snapshot came on June 3, the second on October 20, and the most recent one was shared with his 285,000 followers on Monday, November 1.

In the caption of the June 3 snapshot, Jake referred to Millie as his 'BFF.'

They'd go on to spark dating rumors just weeks later when they were spotted holding hands during a stroll through New York City on June 18.

Longtime coming: Though this is Jake's first time on Millie's official feed, the aspiring actor has posted his uber famous girlfriend three times since they started dating in June; seen June 3

Smitten: The first snapshot came on June 3, the second on October 20 (pictured), and the most recent one was shared with his 285,000 followers on Monday, November 1

In the November 1 shot, Millie and Jake can be seen enjoying tea together outdoors at a cafe in London.

Notably, Bongiovi appears to be wearing the same sweatshirt as the one featured in the snap of them on the London Eye.

Prior to Jake, Millie was famously linked to fellow child star Jacob Sartorius, 19, who has since found a resurgence of fame due to his popularity on TikTok.

Tea time: In the November 1 shot, Millie and Jake can be seen enjoying tea together outdoors at a cafe

They dated for just seven months in 2018.

Jacob and Millie each confirmed their split in July of that year by publishing statements to their respective Instagram Stories.

'The decision with Jacob and i was completely mutual. We are both happy and remaining friends,' read the actress' post.
Paris Hilton loves being herself, and she doesn't shy away from that even on Halloween.

The reality star, 40, wore an outfit she donned on her reality show The Simple Life which ran from 2003 to 2007.

Her outfit consisted of a pink and blue top which covered just her cleavage and a matching skirt.

An absolute icon: Paris Hilton wore an outfit she donned on her reality show The Simple Life which ran from 2003 to 2007

She didn't skimp out on the accessories either. Hilton wore a pink choker around her neck and had a small plush chihuahua in her right hand.

The Cooking With Paris host posted a video in which she posed next to a mannequin wearing the same outfit as her.

She captioned the video, 'Theres nothing more #iconic when you can dress up as yourself for #Halloween. #TheSimpleLife #ThatsHot.'

Throwback: A photo of Hilton in the outfit way back when shooting The Simple Life (Nicole Richie stands to the left)

Twins! Hilton posed next to a mannequin wearing the same clothes as her

Tons of accessories: Hilton's outfit came with a pink choker, plush chihuahua and a hat though she did not wear it

The video opens with the world, 'When The Simple Life is so iconic they sell your costume,' written across the screen in white lettering.

She accidentally knocked off on the of the mannequins legs in the Instagram post as well, after which she giggled up a storm.

She also posed for a few snaps with the plush dog that came with the costume she wore.

Missing leg: She accidentally knocked off on the of the mannequins legs in the Instagram post as well, after which she giggled up a storm

Posing with pooch: Hilton took a number of pictures with the fake dog she carried

The Saturday Night Live host has been busy recently with multiple documentary projects.

Her documentary This Is Paris came out last year and her Netflix show Cooking With Paris was released this past summer.

She also had a part in the TaylorXO music video titled Do You Like To Party? She's made a number of appearances in music videos over the years including in Eminem's Just Lose It and Demi Lovato's Sorry Not Sorry.
She has an enviable wardrobe stuffed full of designer outfits and accessories.

And P.E Nation designer Pip Edwards added to her haul on Tuesday, when she was gifted a Prada leather mini bag worth a whopping $3000.

The fashionista flaunted the beautiful handbag on her Instagram page.

Lucky thing! P.E Nation designer Pip Edwards was gifted a Prada leather mini bag, worth aw whopping $3000

Nice gift! The fashionista flaunted the beautiful handbag on her Instagram page

The shiny and tiny tote is made of buttery soft black leather and features the iconic Prada logo on the front.

Pip said she was about to embark on a trip and was taking the new accessory with her.

It comes after the socialite's boyfriend Michael Clarke spent an eye-watering $13million on an extravagant mansion in Sydney's upmarket suburb of Vaucluse last month.

The two-storey home has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and four parking spaces.

Luxury: The shiny and tiny tote is made of buttery soft black leather and features the iconic Prada logo on the front

It also boasts formal and casual living areas, a media room, gourmet kitchen, spacious master suite and study.

There is a large swimming pool surrounded by a chic patio in the backyard, which has already featured on the sportsman's Instagram account.

The home is punctuated by grand French doors and limestone flooring, while exposed stone walls provide a rustic touch.

Pup and Pip's palace! It comes after Pip's boyfriend Michael Clarke spent an eye-watering $13million on an extravagant mansion in Sydney's upmarket suburb of Vaucluse last month

Frequent visitor: While Michael has bought the home himself, he will no doubt be inviting his on-off girlfriend Pip round on a regular basis. Pictured together on October 17, 2020, in Sydney

Chic: Michael's bachelor pad has formal and casual living areas, a media room, gourmet kitchen, spacious master suite and study

Stunning: The home is punctuated by grand French doors and limestone flooring, while exposed stone walls provide a rustic touch

Elegant: There is a large swimming pool surrounded by a chic patio in the backyard

While Michael has bought the home himself, he will no doubt be inviting his on-off girlfriend Pip around on a regular basis.

Vaucluse is just a few minutes' drive from Rose Bay, where the P.E Nation founder recently bought a mansion of her own.

Michael is set to renovate his new pad after picking up the keys this week, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Making themselves at home: The pool has featured on Michael and Pip's Instagram accounts

The purchase comes after the retired batsman sold the marital home he once shared with ex-wife Kyly in May.

He pocketed about $12million from the sale, reported The Sunday Telegraph.

The Clarkes had bought the property, also in Vaucluse, for $8.3million in 2014.

Sold! The purchase comes after the retired batsman sold the marital home he once shared with ex-wife Kyly Clarke (left) in May

Michael and Pip have been dating on and off for well over a year, and most recently got back together in September after calling it quits in February.

They appeared to confirm their reconciliation when they were pictured buying acai bowls in Bondi Beach with Michael's daughter, Kelsey Lee.

They have subsequently been spotted spending time on Michael's boat and dining together at eastern suburbs restaurants.
Jackie 'O' Henderson couldn't hide her relief after learning missing girl Cleo Smith had been found alive while live on air during Wednesday's episode of The Kyle & Jackie O Show.

'Oh, those parents must be so relieved! Oh, what they've been through is every parents' worst nightmare. It's so nice that she's been found alive,' said the 46-year-old veteran radio host.

Jackie is a single mum to daughter Kitty, 10, and admitted that like so many others, the case had resonated with her.

Incredible discovery: Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) couldn't hide her relief after learning missing girl Cleo Smith had been found alive while live on air during Wednesday's episode of The Kyle & Jackie O Show

But Jackie admitted she still had some concerns after the four-year-old was found in a man's home, 18 days after she disappeared from a campsite in Western Australia.

'You just hope that nothing's happened to her in that time. I don't know what the hell his motives were or how that happened. We don't know the story obviously,' she said.

Cleo disappeared on October 16 and was found alive at 12.46am on Wednesday when police stormed a public housing home after a sudden tip off with a 'needle in haystack' clue.

Found: Jackie is a single mum to daughter Kitty, 10, and admitted that like so many others, the case had resonated with her. Pictured, Cleo Smith

Police feared the missing girl could have been spirited away anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along in a rundown house just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

'What's your name?' officers asked as they scooped her up into their arms. 'My name is Cleo,' she replied.

That rundown house on Tonkin Crescent in Brockman, in the northern suburbs of Carnarvon in northwest Western Australia, is just kilometres from where she lived in South Carnarvon.

'Oh, those parents must be so relieved! Oh, what they've been through is every parents' worst nightmare. It's so nice that she's been found alive,' said Jackie. Pictured with daughter Kitty

Right in the middle is the town's main shopping centre where the 36-year-old resident of the house was seen by neighbours buying Kimbies nappies at Woolworths.

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent at Blowholes camping grounds.

Police received a sudden tip-off on Tuesday night containing 'really important information about a car', which they confirmed with phone data and 'a lot of forensic leads' - and just hours later raided the house.

Missing without a trace: Cleo disappeared on October 16 and was found alive at 12.46am on Wednesday when police stormed a public housing home after a sudden tip off with a 'needle in haystack' clue. Pictured, Cleo's mother Ellie Smith and partner Jake Gliddon

Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde, who led the missing person investigation, said Cleo 'is physically OK' and had since been released from hospital to be with her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon.

WA police later shared a photo of Cleo enjoying an icypole as she sat propped up on a hospital bed on Wednesday.

Cleo excitedly waved to the camera as her relieved mother Ellie Smith lovingly touched her right foot as she sat on the side of the bed, just happy to see her alive.
Ashley Darby has been married to her millionaire real estate developer husband Michael for seven years now.

But the Real Housewives of Potomac star, 33, admits that she still gets called a gold digger due to the 29-year age gap between herself and Michael.

Speaking to the Shine It Up podcast, Ashley said: 'I'm used to that, "Oh you're a gold digger." I've always heard that.'

'You're a gold digger!' Real Housewives of Potomac's Ashley Darby says she still has to defend her marriage to Michael Darby due to their 29-year age gap

She explained that the age difference confuses people because it's outside the norm.

'It's different and anything that's different, people have to somehow make it make sense in their mind. "Oh, she's with him for his money! That gold digger lying on her back collecting them cheques." Whatever.'

Ashley and Michael, 62, welcomed their first child, a son named Dean, in July, 2019.

She gave birth to their second child, another son named Dylan, in March, while she was still filming season six of the Real Housewives of Potomac.

The reality star suffered postpartum depression after Dean's birth, but was able to avoid it with Dylan, partially due to eating her placenta.

'She's with him for his money!' Ashley explained that the age difference confuses people because it's outside the norm

'I feel like I was more aware on what to look for this time, rather than it sneaking up on me,' she told Daily Mail Australia in August.

'I was more aware of what to look for, the early signs, and I'm really thankful and appreciative that, even though it was a rough journey, at least it helped me prepare for this one.

'I did a few things differently this go round. Eating my placenta for example, I think really helped. I'm a huge advocate for it!'

Baby joy: Ashley and Michael, 62, welcomed their first child, a son named Dean, in July, 2019

Former pageant contestant Ashley met Melbourne-born businessman Michael while she was working as a bartender in a lounge he co-owned in Washington, D.C.

He proposed to the stunner in a helicopter ride in 2012, and the couple officially tied the knot in 2014.

Michael has two children from his previous marriage, but he separated from his ex-wife in 2010 after 20 years of marriage.
US actresses Kaitlyn Dever and Billie Lourd recently completed their two-week mandatory hotel quarantine in Sydney.

On Wednesday, the pair were spotted at Sydney Airport about to board a flight to Queensland ahead of filming the romantic comedy, Ticket to Paradise, with George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

Billie, 29, was seen checking into departures carrying her son Kingston, 13 months, who she shares with fiance Austen Rydell.

Ready to fly: Billie Lourd was seen at Sydney Airport with her son Kingston on Wednesday preparing to fly to Queensland to film the rom-com Ticket to Paradise

The actress, who is daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, donned a face mask and opted for a dark floral dress which she paired with a black cardigan.

She accessorised with a gold chain necklace, that her son played with, and a red crossbody bag.

Following behind at the check-in was Kaitlyn, 24, who pushed a cart laden with luggage as she prepared to board the flight.

In town: Joining the actress was Kaitlyn Dever (pictured), who will also join the cast of Ticket to Paradise in Queensland

Checking in! Billie was seen checking into the flight at Sydney Airport while carrying her son who she shares with fiance Austen Rydell

Dressed for the flight: The actress, who is the daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, donned a face mask and opted for a dark floral dress

The actress opted for a casual look in a gingham jacket, a vintage shirt, black track pants and New Balance trainers.

She wore a purple face mask and completed her look with a Laval crossbody bag and a Los Angeles Kings cap.

After checking in the stars were seen making their way down an escalator with a friend.

Extra baggage: Following behind at the check-in was Kaitlyn, who pushed a cart laden with her suitcases as she prepared to board the flight

Ready to go: After checking in, both Billie and Kaitlyn were seen making their way down an escalator with a friend

Entourage: The actresses were joined by a friend after completing a mandatory fortnight in hotel quarantine

They walked past a cafe on their way to their gate, ahead of their flight.

Billie went back to order something for herself and while waiting she and Kaitlyn appeared to have a lively conversation.

At one point, her son tried to grab the straw out of his mother's mouth as she took sips of her beverage before their flight.

This is not the first time Billie and Kaitlyn have worked together.

The two co-starred in the 2019 comedy Booksmart, directed by Olivia Wilde.

Low key look: Kaitlyn opted for a casual look in a gingham jacket, a vintage shirt, black track pants and New Balance trainers

Friends: Billie went back to order something for herself and while waiting she and Kaitlyn appeared to have a lively conversation

Caffeine: She pulled down her mask to take a sip of her iced coffee

Cheeky! At one point, her son tried to grab the straw out of his mother's mouth as she took sips of her beverage before their flight

Ticket to Paradise centres on George Clooney and Julia Robert who play a divorced couple who travel to Bali in a desperate bid to stop their daughter, played by Kaitlyn, from getting married.

Kaitlyn and her friend Wren, played by Billie, travel to Bali after graduating from university.

The movie will be filmed entirely in Queensland, with the picturesque Whitsundays doubling for Bali.

Soon: Ticket to Paradise centres on George Clooney and Julia Roberts (pictured) who play a divorced couple who travel to Bali to stop their daughter from getting married

The shoot is scheduled for two months from mid-November, with locations on The Gold Coast and Brisbane.

The production is expected to generate $47million for the Australian economy and create more than 270 jobs.

The project received a $6.4million grant from the federal government's Location Incentive Program.

The feature has a release date of October 21, 2022, according to Deadline.
Whether you're there for the fashion or the betting, the Melbourne Cup is the race that stops the nation.

And while most A-listers had their Melbourne Cup Day outfits sorted weeks in advance, The Project star Tommy Little opted for something a little surprising.

Posting to his Instagram Stories on Tuesday evening, the 36-year-old donned a white business shirt, salmon tie, navy blue blazer up top - and a pair of shorts.

Missing something? White most A-listers had their Melbourne Cup Day outfits sorted weeks in advance, Tommy Little opted for something a little surprising - the comedian decided to go sans formal pants to on the big day

Adding to the hilarity of his outfit, The Project host accessorised his look with a pair of Crocs styled with white socks underneath them.

'Cup day farshun... knob shot,' he simply captioned his mirror selfie.

In the past, he has attended Melbourne Cup days, with his pants on.

However, this incident is not the first time Tommy has got his kit off.

He does wear pants! In the past, he has attended Melbourne Cup days, with his pants on. Pictured, at Melbourne Cup in 2019 with fellow radio and tv host Carrie Bickmore

In 2018, the handsome star took his charity fundraising to extremes on an episode of The Project when he stripped off and bungee jumped naked.

At the time, he jumped from a platform at a bungee centre in Cairns, Queensland, with a beanie covering his manhood, and nothing else on but a harness.

The comedian made the jump for his co-host Carrie Bickmore's brain cancer charity, Beanies 4 Brain Cancer.

Risque! Tommy Little took his charity fundraising to extremes on a 2018 episode of The Project when he stripped off and bungee jumped naked wearing a beanie on his crotch

And it was one of the charity's beanies that The Project host was wearing over his crotch region.

Tommy stripped off one item of clothing for every fundraising milestone the charity reached throughout that evening's special episode of The Project.

'One item of clothing is coming and usually the person will take the jacket off,' he said, before revealing he'd taken his pants off.

'I thought I could take one item off because I found a use for your beanie,' Tommy told Carrie via the live cross.

Naughty: 'This look is called porky pigging. Clothes up here, but nude down here,' he joked

He then revealed that the beanie was covering his genitals, his bare legs poking from other side of the woollen hat.

'I have worked out your campaign for next year, introducing Carrie's ball bags for brain cancer,' he joked.

Tommy went on to explain he had a special name for the unusual look.

'This look is called porky pigging. Clothes up here, but nude down here,' the TV host joked.

At the end of episode, the TV personality was nude but for the beanie, and jumped off a platform into the darkness below.
Roxy Jacenko has gotten back on horse 18 months after fracturing her pelvis during a horse riding accident.

The 40-year-old Sweaty Betty founder shared an image standing next to a horse at Centennial Park stables in Sydney on Wednesday.

Roxy gently patted the horse with her gazing at it adoringly before going on a ride.

Back at it! Roxy Jacenko found the 'courage' to saddle up and get back on a horse on Wednesday - 18 months after suffering horrific injuries during a riding accident

'A year ago a fractured my pelvis and hip horse riding,' Roxy began.

'Today I found the courage to get back on and channeled my inner Beth to celebrate the brand new season of Yellowstone,' she added.

'[It] premieres on the same days as the U.S only on Stan Australia this coming Monday,' she finished.

Focused: 'Today I found the courage to get back on and channeled my inner Beth to celebrate the brand new season of Yellowstone,' Roxy said

Roxy is an ambassador for streaming service Stan and Yellowstone follows the conflict of ranchers, land developers and native Americans.

In June 2020, Roxy detailed her fall from the horse while she was spending time with billionaire chicken heiress, Jess Ingham, explaining the saddle slipped.

'My saddle slipped which is why I fell - of course only me whilst doing a live Insta video. It's extremely painful,' she said.

Accident: Before the accident last year, Roxy had shared a photo of herself in her Western-inspired outfit, with herself and Jess pretending to be from the show Yellowstone

The PR star later spent time in hospital with her detailing the intensity of her injuries after quitting SAS Australia.

'[The following day I] took myself to emergency where I spent the next two days,' she said in a fiery Instagram post.

'Followed by 6 weeks on my back with daily Clexane injections and physio, orthopedic surgeon appointments etc.'

Ouch! After the first episode of SAS Australia, Roxy defended herself in a lengthy Instagram post, revealing she had actually fractured her hip and pelvis on the horse

She then hit out at detractors who said she quit the show too soon.

'If weak and pathetic is showing up to SAS Australia because I had committed to it 6 months prior and put 6 days a week training into it no matter what my injuries were well then so be it,' she wrote.

'I think what it shows was, I had a commitment, I showed up and I tried my very best - which given the circumstances was a hell of a lot given my situation.'

The brand new season of Yellowstone premieres Monday, November 8 on Stan
He's on track to become the UK's best paid television personality after reportedly signing a 15million, two-year deal with US TV chiefs.

And James Corden mingled with Hollywood's elite as he sat front-row at Gucci's runway show in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Joined by wife Julia Carey, the Londoner, 43, looked suave in an olive green three-piece suit at the event also attended by Gwyneth Paltrow and Dakota Johnson.

His polished best: James Corden, 43, looked suave as he attended Gucci's star-studded runway show in Los Angeles on Tuesday with his stunning wife Julia Carey

James teamed the tailored ensemble with a crisp white dress shirt, a navy blue tie and black leather boots.

The comedian embraced his stunning wife Julia on the red carpet, with the beauty opting for a chic black dress, black strappy heels and a forest green Gucci clutch.

She swept her blonde locks back off her face into an elegant style, and enhanced her striking facial features with a glamorous makeup palette.

Mixing with Hollywood's elite: The Londoner donned an olive green three-piece suit at the event also attended by Gwyneth Paltrow and Dakota Johnson

In style: Julia stunned in a chic black dress and strappy heels, teamed with a forest green Gucci clutch. The couple are pictured with fashion guru Derek Blasberg

The sighting comes after a report last month suggested James could surpass Ant and Dec as the UK's highest earning TV star, with his potential 7.5million annual income topping the duo's 6.6million for their stints on ITV.

James' deal with television network CBS expires next year, after six years of being the acclaimed host of The Late Late Show.

However, according to reports in The Sun, industry sources are keen to keep the A-lister on board as the face of the talk show.

Star-studded: James and Julia sat next to Sienna Miller and Normal People's Paul Mescal (both right)

Glamorous: Sienna looked sensational in a glitzy jacket and black sheer Gucci tights. She added an extra touch of glam in the form of stylish dark sunglasses

An LA TV insider said: 'CBS has no plan B, James is their guy and who they see staying with them.

'He is one of the faces of the network, he fronts a massively successful show and drives lots of traffic to them online. The figures that are being discussed are around 15million for two years.'

MailOnline contacted representatives for James and CBS for comment at the time.

Cashing in: The sighting comes after a report last month suggested James could surpass Ant and Dec as the UK's highest earning TV star, with his potential 7.5million annual income topping the duo's 6.6million for their stints on ITV

Reports: James' deal with television network CBS expires next year, after six years of being the acclaimed host of The Late Late Show. However, according to reports in The Sun , industry sources are keen to keep the A-lister on board as the face of the talk show

James' successful spell on the renowned show has seen him bag three awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special.

Yet it is not just this that makes him appealing to the television industry, as the star's online segments such as Carpool Karaoke and Crosswalk Musical rake in further revenue.

Presenting Friends: The Reunion in May was also another milestone moment in his highly successful career.

Carpool Karaoke has become a global phenomenon, with James taking a whole range of famous faces for a sing-along car ride.

Acclaimed: James' successful spell on the renowned show has seen him bag three awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special

Adele, Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran and Will Smith are just a few of the showbiz stars who were willing to go for a spin - and sing - with the multi-talented star.

James' last deal with US chiefs amounted to a little over 5m annually, which was a rise from his debut appearance which earned him 3million a year back when he started in 2015.

Back in February it was reported James had more than doubled his wealth to a whopping 50m after moving to Hollywood.

Popular: Yet it is not just this that makes him appealing to the television industry, as the star's online segments such as Carpool Karaoke and Crosswalk Musical rake in further revenue

Ratings hit: Carpool Karaoke has become a global phenomenon, with James taking a whole range of famous faces for a sing-along car ride

The comedian relocated from the UK to Los Angeles six years ago to anchor The Late Late Show, which he started fronting in March 2015.

Since the move, the Gavin & Stacey star has become one of the partners at film production company Fulwell 73 and seen his assets swell.

James was previously estimated as being worth around 22m, however in the latest accounts from his company the business' assets are declared as 140m.

The star also has earnings from his film and TV roles, with him thought to earn $7m for The Late Late Show, as well as millions of dollars tied up in his properties.
Sam Frost's ex-boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek has announced his engagement to girlfriend, Carly Cottam.

The 36-year-old former Bachelorette star shared a photo of himself on bended knee in Queensland to Instagram on Wednesday.

'She said "You'll do!" Im claiming it as a yes,' the overjoyed reality star wrote.

She's The One! Sam Frost's ex Sasha Mielczarek proposed to Carly Cottam (both pictured) in Queensland on Wednesday

'Cheers to the most beautiful, kind and caring person I know. My best mate. I love you all the world Carly and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!'

The handsome star finished with a joke about his surname.

'Oh and good luck learning to spell my last name,' he finished.

He later shared a black and white photo carrying Carly up a hill.

Debut: The former Bachelorette star debuted his stunning girlfriend Carly in December last year, after turning his back on fame following his split from Sam

'Why do they call it one tree hill babe?! I bloody love ya!' he captioned the snap.

Sasha debuted his relationship with Sam in December last year, admitting at the time he was 'punching' above his weight.

'Weekends away with this one. Can't wait for many more to come,' Sasha captioned the snap, which was taken at Brunswick Heads, near Bryon Bay.

Case of the ex: Sasha and Sam Frost, now 31, met and fell in love on The Bachelor in 2015

They pair recently bought a $2.15million Burleigh Heads property together.

Sasha rose to fame on The Bachelorette Australia in 2015, where he met and fell in love with Sam Frost.

The couple had an acrimonious split and are believed to no longer be in contact.

Since their split, Sasha has largely remained out of the limelight.
Alice Evans has continued to find support in her followers following the breakdown of her marriage to estranged husband Ioan Gruffudd.

On Tuesday, the actress, 50, laughed as one fan told her his new girlfriend Bianca Wallace, 29, is 'not even that hot' in a supportive message under her Instagram selfie.

Alice has been documenting her separation from Ioan on her social media pages, offering candid insights into her thoughts and feelings with her followers.

Support network:Alice Evans has continued to find support in her followers following the breakdown of her marriage to estranged husband Ioan Gruffudd

Many of her fans have offered words of encouragement as she struggles with the end of her marriage and her husband moving on with a new woman, while others have criticised her for being so public.

Under a new selfie, one kind fan wrote, 'Rise above it, he's so not worth it', and underneath another added 'And she's not even that hot.'

Alice responded by sharing a laughing face emoji underneath the comment.

In a separate post, Alice again accused the Liar star of having an extramarital affair with Bianca - which has been denied by his friend Amy Douglas.

Alice wrote: 'It's been 15 months since he came back and told me he didn't love me anymore.

Ha: On Tuesday, the actress, 50, laughed as one fan told her his new girlfriend Bianca Wallace, 29, is 'not even that hot' in a supportive message under her Instagram selfie

Sharing her thoughts: Alice has been documenting her separation from Ioan on her social media pages, offering candid insights into her thoughts and feelings with her followers (pictured Bianca Wallace)

'He swore on the lives of his kids that he'd just fallen out of love. He spent most of his time on the phone to Australia. He said it was just friends. And I, stupidly, believed him.'

Ioan and Bianca made their relationship Instagram official last week, with both parties sharing the same loved-up photo and caption on their respective pages.

The new couple worked together on Australian TV series Harrow and Alice has accused them of having a three-year affair.

They are yet to comment on how long they have been together, but wardrobe assistant Amy recently denied they were romantically involved for a long period.

On Twitter, she wrote: 'They didn't even speak to each other until the end of season three. Don't buy into the lies you are being fed.'

Married:The former coupleshare daughters Ella, 12, and Elsie, eight

Alice's latest comments come after she gave a shocking insight into their parenting arrangements during her latest Twitter tirade. The former coupleshare daughters Ella, 12, and Elsie, eight.

In her latest blistering attack, Alice hit back at Twitter users who accused her of making the split 'all about money' and also suggesting it was 'her choice' to quit her career and become a stay at home - something she staunchly denied.

Alice explained that she 'altruistically' allowed Ioan to continue working, while staying at home with the girls, despite battling chronic pain and tiredness in fibromyalgia - making it hard for her to even get out of bed at times.

Devastating: Alice's latest comments come after she gave a shocking insight into their parenting arrangements during her latest Twitter tirade

Last week, Alice revealed that she was was 'heartbroken' and felt 'dead' after Ioan went Instagram official with his new love Bianca, 29, prompting Alice to accuse her ex of having a three-year romance.

She has now continued in her Twitter tirades against both Ioan and his supporters.

On Tuesday, Alice responded to a follower who claimed it was her choice to become a stay at home mother and allow Ioan to work.

She said: 'I did NOT make that choice. Two actors cannot both work because it's impossible to work in the same city. Just like two war-reporters or two overseas volunteers. I accepted to step down cos he earned more...

I realised he was sitting next to a young girl I'd never seen before. She was tagged in the post @iambiancawallace. Then I got that feeling. The feeling nobody in a relationship - even one that's seen better days -wants to feel: My God. They are a couple. Pictured: Ioan and Bianca together in an Instagram post

'It was hard. Really hard. I felt I was doing my bit for the family... every time I came to near breaking I told myself I would get back out there once they were older and that at least my husband was getting the opportunity to do the stuff he wanted...

'Rather than the stuff which shoots here, which is very limited. everything I did was altruistic... It was so freaking hard during the early years...

'I have fibromyalgia so sometimes it was hard to move or get out of bed. But I brought the girls on planes to wherever he was and TRIED to do the occasional guest spot. I felt a bit sad when I saw my friends doing amazing'.

Hitting back: She was hitting back at Ioan's supporters in explosive style

Alice's tangent began when a follower wrote: '@AliceEvansGruff I get your hurting and your angry etc. So are your kids, concentrate on them, not posting on SM bashing the now ex hubby...

'All your new supporters will forget about you in time and what will you do then ? Life can be cruel at times. I wish you well'

In response, she penned: 'Let's dissect it. 1) Concentrate on my kids: I am with my kids 24.7. I am trying to make for the fact that their father has forgotten he has them. 2) He's not my ex-hubby. He's my husband. 3) "ur new supporters will forget about you" OK 4) I wish you well? BULLS**T. 5) GO AWAY'.

Lashing out: She hit back at a fan who accused her of bashing Ioan

WHAT IS FIBROMYALGIA? Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition defined by widespread pain and fatigue. It affects up to 2.7 per cent of people worldwide, with three women suffering for every one man, studies suggest. Fibromyalgia is often triggered by a trauma, such as a car accident or childbirth, as well as infections. Why this occurs is unclear. The discomfort tends to be felt as aches and burning from head-to-toe. And the fatigue ranges from feeling sleepy to the exhaustion of having the flu. Severe sufferers are often unable to work or socialise. The pain can be worse at some times than others and may change location, such as becoming more severe in parts of the body that are used the most. Other symptoms can include headaches; IBS; diarrhoea or constipation; poor concentration; dizziness; allergies and stimuli sensitivity, such as to light or heat. Studies suggest the average patient waits five years to be diagnosed, which is thought to be due to X-rays and other medical tests not picking the condition up. It is generally defined as pain that lasts for more than three months and affects 11 or more out of 18 tender points when pressed. Treatment aims to relieve pain and aid sleep. Source: Fibromyalgia Action UK Advertisement

Another follower then accused Alice of defamation, to which she responded: 'It's not defamation if it's true. You're definitely no lawyer.'

It was then alleged that it was 'all about money' and she was told to move on, to which Alice responded: 'Sweetheart I can't move on until he decides to wrap up the divorce...

'At the moment he's poncing around in the South or France with the new love while I am 24.7 with the kids. I want to know that me and the kids have a roof over our heads.'

Ioan filed for divorce from Alice in March, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason behind their split.

The document, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on March 1, revealed the former couple separated on New Year's Day - a month before they went public with their relationship status.

At the time, they had shared a joint statement that read: 'As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for our family and we remain committed to our children. Thank you for respecting our privacy.'

It was also reported the divorce papers state the exes are in a 'collaborative process and intend to resolve all issues including spousal support by written agreement'.

Alice, meanwhile, had addressed the pair's split in a shock statement shared to Twitter in January in which she claimed Ioan had 'mentally tortured' her.

The mum-of-two also accused her estranged husband of 'winding the s**t up me' as she posted a vitriolic video about their 'collaborative divorce' talks.

Alice and Ioan met on the set of 102 Dalmatians in 2000, when Alice was in a relationship with Pablo Picasso's grandson Olivier.

She and Ioan became engaged six years later after she gave him an ultimatum about their relationship, and they tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Mexico in September 2007.

Ioan hasn't publicly addressed the couple's divorce.
He's one of the most acclaimed directors in Hollywood, having won a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Rome Film Festival.

And Tim Burton took time out from his schedule to enjoy a casual stroll with a mystery woman in Rome, Italy on Wednesday.

The 63-year-old looked cool and casual in a black ensemble, consisting of a suit jacket, jeans and sneakers, teamed with a fedora hat and reflective sunglasses.

Taking in the surrounds: Director Tim Burton, 63, showed off his sense of style in a black fedora hat and reflective glasses as he enjoyed a casual stroll with a mystery woman in Rome, Italy on Wednesday

The director of 2010's Alice in Wonderland film appeared in great spirits as he enjoyed a casual stroll in the historic city with a mystery brunette and a cute dog.

Tim's companion showed off her quirky sense of style in a sleeveless black top, paired with a plaid skirt, black socks and sneakers.

She styled her locks into a sleek plait, concealed her gaze behind trendy sunglasses, and at times, was engrossed on her phone.

Classic black: The director of 2010's Alice in Wonderland donned an all-black ensemble, consisting of a suit jacket, jeans and sneaker combination

Pals: He appeared relaxed as he enjoyed a casual stroll with a brunette companion, who walked a cute dog and dressed in a quirky ensemble

Tim was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 16th Rome Film Festival last month.

In a statement, he said, 'To receive this honour from the Rome Film Festival is very special for me.

'Fellini, Mario Bava, Dario Argento have all been major inspirations in my life and receiving [the award] in Rome, a place I love, a city where you feel like you're starring in your own film, is very emotional.'

Famous ex: Tim famously dated Helena Bonham Carter, 55, from 2001 to 2014, after having met on the set of Planet of the Apes. The former couple are pictured in March 2013

Tim has also made headlines for his love life, having begun dating Helena Bonham Carter, 55, in 2001 after meeting on the set of Planet of the Apes.

They share two children, son Billy Ray, 18, and daughter Nell, 13.

Helena went on to star in six of Tim's films - Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows.

However their romance wasn't to be, with the couple announcing their 'amicable separation' in 2014.

Tim was previously married to German artist and special effects technician Lena Gieseke from 1987 to 1991.
Johnny Depp's Pirates Of The Caribbean co-star Kevin McNally has spoken out in defense of the actor and insisted he must return to the franchise.

The star, 65, who played Johnny's character Captain Jack Sparrow's first mate Joshamee Gibbs across all five movies, spoke to Express about the disgraced actor, who has come under fire for his bitter spat with his ex Amber Heard.

Amid ongoing discussion of the possibility of the return of Jack Sparrow, Kevin insisted he is an integral part of the franchise, and insisted: 'I have never seen a hint of a dark side to him', in the wake of 'woman beater' allegations.

He said: 'I think there was a general feeling that without Jack there is no Pirates franchise. And there's probably a lot of truth in that.'

Here he is! Johnny Depp's Pirates Of The Caribbean co-star Kevin McNally has spoken out in defense of the actor and insisted he must return to the franchise

When asked about the possibility of a return from Johnny, Kevin said: 'Definitely. I've never seen a hint of any dark side to Johnny...

'I see a great humanitarian and a beautiful human being. I don't see any impediment for him coming back and playing Jack Sparrow.'

He conceded that if it was not possible for Mr Gibbs and Captain Jack to return, then they could return as different characters in a spin-off.

He said: 'I think there was a general feeling that without Jack there is no Pirates franchise. And there's probably a lot of truth in that...

Starring role: The star, 65, played Johnny's character Captain Jack Sparrow's first mate Joshamee Gibbs across all five the movies

'But now there have been questions about that, certainly why not have other Pirate films and certainly then why not have Jack back or Jack playing a different part.

'I mean I was musing about this the other day and you can easily think of stories in which maybe somebody is looking for Jack and come to Mr Gibbs and say, 'How would I find Jack?'

'And so have a whole bunch of people on a trek to find the legendary Jack Sparrow. You can certainly keep those names alive, even in a film that doesnt necessarily contain the [original] characters too much.

Depp had previously claimed he is a victim of cancel culture, warning that 'no one is safe' and urging those affected to 'stand up' for themselves.

Stars: Amid ongoing discussion of the possibility of the return of Jack Sparrow, Kevin insisted he is an integral part of the franchise, and insisted: 'I have never seen a hint of a dark side to him', in the wake of 'woman beater' allegations

In July 2020, he lost a high-profile case at the High Court in London, after The Sun newspaper described him as a 'wife beater' and he sued.

His ex-wife Amber Heard filed for divorce in 2016, accusing him of verbal and physical abuse, and she testified in London. Depp lost his lucrative role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise in the aftermath of the case.

Speaking at the festival last month, Depp said: 'It can be seen as an event in history that lasted for however long it lasted, this cancel culture, this instant rush to judgement based on what essentially amounts to polluted air.

'It's so far out of hand now that I can promise you that no one is safe. Not one of you. No one out that door. No one is safe. It takes one sentence and there's no more ground, the carpet has been pulled.

'It's not just me that this has happened to, it's happened to a lot of people. This type of thing has happened to women, men.

'It doesn't matter if a judgement, per se, has taken some artistic license. When there's an injustice, whether it's against you or someone you love, or someone you believe in  stand up, don't sit down. Cause they need you.'

Confident: Depp is pictured on July 29, 2020, outside the High Court in London during the case

Back in the U.S., Depp has recently won the right to proceed with a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard.

In August, a Virginia judge ruled that he can proceed with the litigation, based on a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote saying she was a domestic violence survivor.

She did not mention Depp in the story, though she publicly accused him of abusing her in their 2016 split.

The actor is trying to clear his name after losing a defamation suit against The Sun.

His U.S. suit, filed in Fairfax County, Virginia, accuses Heard of creating a 'hoax' account of abuse.

Heard had requested the libel suit against her, filed in March 2019, be thrown out, claiming the ruling in the UK case should swing any new cases in her favor because they both relate to domestic abuse allegations against Depp.

Shock: Heard claimed that Depp had attacked her, and her legal team showed photos alleging abuse (pictured in 2016)

But Judge Penny Azcarate ruled the statements made by The Sun and Heard were 'inherently different', and said the case should proceed.

The ruling stated: 'The Sun's interests were based on whether the statements the newspaper published were false.

'[Heard's] interests relate to whether the statements she published were false.'

The ruling also noted that Depp filed the defamation suit against The Sun before Heard's op-ed was published - and that she was not named in the case against the British paper.

In the December 2018 op-ed, the actress wrote: 'I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out.'
Amir Khan has made a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia with his wife Faryal Makhdoom.

The boxer, 34, took to Instagram on Tuesday and shared a photo of himself in front of the Kaaba, a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, the Masjiid al-Haraam in Mecca.

Alongside the photo, he wrote: 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to him we will return. Umrah completed, Alhumdulilah'.

Emotional: Amir Khan has made a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia with his wife Faryal Makhdoom

The Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of the year, a shorter version of the annual Hajj gathering.

A person who performs it is said to be cleansed of their sins.

Amir wore Ihram clothing, a requirement for the pilgrimage, the object of which is to avoid attracting attention.

Ihram is a sacred state Muslims must be in to complete either the Hajj or the Umrah.

Spiritual: The boxer, 34, took to Instagram and shared a photo of himself in front of the Kaaba, a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, the Masjiid al-Haraam in Mecca

Faryal took to Instagram and shared snaps from the pilgrimage to her Stories.

It comes after Amir claimed he was 'picked on' and 'treated so badly' when he was kicked off an American Airlines flight by US police after an alleged row about face coverings in September.

The 34-year-old had been flying to a training camp in Colorado from New York when he and a friend were removed by police after someone on the plane is said to have complained his colleague's mask 'was not high enough'.

But the boxer said his 'mask was always up' and he 'did not argue' with flight attendants when they asked his friend to lift his mask up.

Travel: Amir wore Ihram clothing, a requirement for the pilgrimage, the object of which is to avoid attracting attention

Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News, Amir continued to maintain that he had 'done nothing wrong' during the incident.

He also said it took place a week after the anniversary of the September 11 attacks and 'things were a little bit tense.'

He said: 'I got on the plane and I was sat on seat number 1A and 1B was for my friend who was coming to train with me.

'As soon as I was on the plane I was on a phone call and the stewardess said to put my phone call down - which I did. I put it down I didn't argue. I had my mask on and everything was fine.

Couple: Amir's wife Faryal joined him on the pilgrimage

'My friend must have been drinking some water and put his mask down a little bit. The lady then came and said ''please you need to put your mask up''. It must have been a little bit lower, just below his nose and he fixed that.

'And then the plane is moving now so I'm leaning on the side of the window and trying to fall asleep. I was on my way to Colorado for my training camp and then the plane for some reason stops and when it stops I pull up the window to see what has happened.

'Before I know it the doors open up and three officers walk in and the air stewardess tells says me and my friend need to leave.

'I hadn't done anything wrong, my mask was always up and I just feel that I got treated so badly.

Amir Khan claimed he was 'picked on' and 'did nothing wrong' when he was kicked off an American Airlines flight by US police

'It was quite embarrassing standing up in front of a full plane and I think even they were shocked thinking ''why are the police on the areophane?''.

'We got taken out and they just said that we were not paying attention to instructions they had given us.

'They said that my bag was out and I wasn't listening and argued with them which I never did. I didn't argue with them and my bag was in the storage area at the top of the luggage area.'

The boxer went on to say that he and his friend were both 'picked on' and 'treated very badly'.

He added: 'I just feel like I was treated very badly. It was a week after 9/11 and I do feel like things were a little bit tense. To be picked on, two Asian boys sat at the front. Being pulled off the plane, it was quite embarrassing really.'

The boxer said his 'mask was always up' and he 'did not argue' with flight attendants when they asked his friend to lift his mask up

Last week Khan said he was 'disgusted' by his alleged treatment onboard the flight.

In a video on social media he said: 'Obviously a complaint was made by American Airlines staff, they said that my colleague's mask was not high enough and not up, that they had to stop the plane and take me and my friend off when I did nothing wrong.

'They kicked us both off, I was sat on 1A, he was sat on 1B - I find it so disgusting and so disrespectful, I was supposed to go to Colorado springs for a training camp and now I'm back in New York for another day.

'Now I have to reschedule another airplane to travel back to training camp which is really upsetting, for no reason this was and I'm just so disgusted that American Airlines would do this to us and ban me from travelling.

Khan went on to say that the incident took place a week after the anniversary of the September 11 attacks and 'things were a little bit tense'

'I'm sure there must be cameras on the airplane that they could see, or someone should see, to see that if my colleague really was bad in anyway or caused a scene in a way where he had to be taken off the plane - I've never seen this happen before.'

The boxer, who has appeared on reality television shows including I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, also claimed he had been 'banned' by the carrier.

An American Airlines spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Prior to takeoff on Sept. 18, American Airlines Flight 700, with service from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), returned to the gate to deplane two customers who reportedly refused to comply with repeated crew member requests to stow luggage, place cell phones in airplane mode and adhere to federal face covering requirements.

'Our Customer Relations team has reached out to Mr. Khan to learn more about his experience and reinforce the importance of policies implemented for the safety of our customers and crew.'

Last week the boxer said he was 'disgusted' by his alleged treatment on the flight
Damian Lewis was seen in character as MI6 agent Nicholas Elliott when he filmed scenes for his upcoming Cold War drama, A Spy Among Friends, in London on Wednesday.

The actor, 50, donned a smart grey pinstripe suit and burgundy tie, both of which were layered beneath a sweeping black coat.

Elliott was an officer noted for his close association with British double agent Kim Philby, with the forthcoming six-part Britbox series being based on Philby's defection to the Soviet Union.

On set: Damian Lewis, 50, was seen in character as MI6 agent Nicholas Elliott when he filmed scenes for his upcoming Cold War drama, A Spy Among Friends, in London on Wednesday

History: Elliott (right) was an officer noted for his close association with British double agent Kim Philby, with the forthcoming series being based on Philby's defection to the Soviet Union

Lewis was also sporting a smart black hat and Elliott's circular spectacles.

His hands were tucked into black leather gloves and the actor was surrounded by the series' crew, most of whom wore face masks.

The capital's streets had been transported back to the 1950s and were dotted with vehicles reminiscent of the era.

Lewis' portrayal of Elliot - who died in 1994 aged 77 - marks his first role since confirming his departure from the hugely popular Showtime series Billions.

Smart: The actor donned a smart grey pinstripe suit and burgundy tie which were layered beneath a sweeping black coat

Uncanny: Lewis was also sporting a smart black hat and Elliott's circular spectacles

Back in time: The capital's streets had been transported back to the 1950s and were dotted with vehicles reminiscent of the era

Crew: His hands were tucked into black leather gloves and the actor was surrounded by the series' crew, most of whom wore face masks

Animated display: Lewis put on an animated display while filming scenes for his new project in the capital

Guy Pearce will star opposite Lewis and play Philby.

The new show is based on the bestselling book of the same name by author Ben Macintyre, and will focus on Elliot's friendship with former colleague Philby.

Elliott's intelligence career was marked by two publicly noted events; the death of Commander Lionel Crabb and the flight of traitor Kim Philby to Moscow.

Philby gained notoriety in 1963 after he was exposed as a prominent member of a British spy ring responsible for sharing British secrets with the Soviet Union during the early years of the Cold War, including a plot to subvert the communist regime of Albania.

Premise: The new show is based on the bestselling book of the same name by author Ben Macintyre, and will focus on Elliot's friendship with former colleague Philby

Known as the Cambridge Five, the group also included Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross - although none were ever prosecuted for spying.

Philby was responsible for tipping off two other spies under suspicion of espionage, Donald and Guy, both of whom subsequently fled to Moscow in May 1951.

The defections of Maclean and Burgess cast suspicion over Philby, resulting in his resignation from MI6 in July 1951.

The double agent escaped to Moscow in 1963 before he could face trial, having finally been unmasked as a Soviet agent, and would spend the rest of his life in Russia, where he would die aged 76 in 1988.

Elliott and Philby had been friends after working together in Beirut in 1955, and so when he fled to Russia, Elliott felt his betrayal bitterly.

Running lines: Lewis was seen running lines in the streets of London as he glanced over what appeared to be a script

In an attempt to get a written confession from Philby admitting he had leaked valuable secrets to the Soviet Union, Elliott offered to confront him.

And while Philby confessed in person to Elliott, he delayed writing his written confession and immediately fled to Moscow.

There have been theories that there was a collusion to allow Philby to escape.

In the book, author Ben records suspicions that a typical British Establishment old boy network had intervened for the mutual convenience of MI6 and Philby to avoid the embarrassment of a trial.

Off he guys: Hopping into a vintage vehicle, the actor whizzed past cameras

Closed: The usually busy streets of London had been closed off to the public so filming could take place without interference

Spray: A crew member was seen spraying a liquid onto Lewis' fedora

Anna Maxwell Martin, Stephen Kunken and Adrian Edmondson are also expected to star in the new drama, with Nick Murphy serving as executive producer and director.

A Spy Among Friends will reunite Lewis with Alexander Cary, an executive producer who previously worked with the British star on Homeland.

'How could I resist the opportunity to dramatize the true story of Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby  two spies and lifelong friends, one of whom was betraying the other all along?' Cary told Deadline.

Wet look: Lewis' shoulders were also sprayed with the liquid by a member of crew

Chatting away: Lewis was seen in conversation with a member of the series' crew

Official: The first official movie snap shows Damian Lewis as Nicholas Elliot and Guy Pearce as Kim Philby

Leading role: Australian actor Guy Pearce will play Philby in the forthcoming new drama

Old times: Philby (pictured) gained notoriety in 1963 after he was exposed as a prominent member of a British spy ring responsible for sharing British secrets with the Soviet Union during the early years of the Cold War

'A friendship that resulted in the gutting of British and American intelligence at the height of the Cold War and shaped the field of play for the dangerous game against Russia that we're still trying to win today.

'Macintyre's books about spies from recent history are relevant and exciting because they examine the larger universal themes of human behavior that drive individuals among us, and like us, to excel in the murky world of espionage and, for better or worse, leave a lasting impact on the world.'

Lewis has previously played a spy in John Le Carre's Our Kind of Traitor, while also expressing a keen interest in playing a 'better' spy than fictional MI6 agent James Bond.

A Spy Among Friends is expected to air in autumn 2022 via Britbox in the UK and Spectrum's On Demand platform in the U.S.

Successful: The new show is Lewis' first role since confirming his departure from the hugely popular Showtime series Billions
Pete Davidson is pulling out all the stops to woo Kim Kardashian, including wining and dining her in his hometown of Staten Island on Tuesday.

In a surprising turn of events since her split with rapper Kanye West earlier this year, the 40-year-old reality star reportedly enjoyed a meal with the SNL star, 27

The pair - who are said to be 'just friends right now' - enjoyed a secret dinner date at one of his favorite pizzerias, Campania restaurant, last night, according to TMZ.

Venturing out of Manhattan: Pete Davidson is pulling out all the stops to impress Kim Kardashian, including a date in Staten Island; here Kim is seen in midtown NYC on Tuesday evening

Hometown date! Proud Staten Island native Pete took the reality star to his favorite pizza joint. The SNL star is seen here in May

To ensure their privacy, the mom-of-four and actor entered through the backdoors, before indulging in a few decadent Italian dishes.

The outing comes after shocking the world when they shared a kiss during a skit, last month, as she hosted Saturday Night Live.

Ahead of the romantic dinner, a massive bouquet of roses arrived to Kim's hotel just as she was about to meet Davidson.

On Friday, they fueled romance rumors after they were seen holding hands on a ride at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

The two are said to be enjoying each other's company, according to a new report from People on Tuesday.

A source for the publication said the two stars 'have chemistry' and are having 'fun' together.

'Pete can be super charming and Kim loves the attention,' an insider added.

Hometown spot: The pair - who are said to be 'just friends right now' - enjoyed a secret dinner date at one of his favorite pizzerias, Campania restaurant, last night, according to TMZ

Dinner: To ensure their privacy, the mom-of-four and actor entered through the backdoors, before indulging in a few decadent Italian dishes

Change of scenery: The inside of Campania Restaurants is pictured

Romantic: Ahead of dinner a huge bunch of red roses, which were delivered by her security, arrived at Kim's hotel just as she was about to meet Davidson

Kim filed for divorce from husband Kanye West in February after almost seven years of marriage and seems primed to finally enjoy the single life.

The source for People said: 'She is having fun and enjoying life. Her focus is still on her kids and work, but you can tell that she is ready to date.

'She is very happy and in a good place. She has moved on from Kanye and feels it's for the best,' they noted.

Locked lips: Eyebrows were first raised when the two kissed on the lips during an early October SNL skit when she played Princess Jasmine and he Aladdin as the sat on a flying carpet

Previously, People reported he and Kim simply 'hang in the same circles so they will be together from time to time.'

'It's just friends hanging out,' a source said of their double date with Kim's newly-engaged sister Kourtney and Travis Barker at Knott's Berry Park on Friday.

She shares her four children North, eight, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and and two-year-old Psalm with her estranged husband.

Quite the honor: This comes after a day after Kim arrived in Pete's hometown of New York City as she accepted the WSJ. Innovator Award at a glitzy event on Monday night

The report comes a day after Kim arrived in Pete's hometown to accept the WSJ. Innovator Award at a glitzy event on Monday night in New York City.

Her rumored love interest has also landed back in Manhattan to prepare for this week's episode of Saturday Night Live, according to PageSix.

Adding fuel to the fire, they are both single at the moment, following his breakup with Phoebe Dynevor in August, after five months of dating.

He's back! Her rumored love interest Pete Davidson has also landed back in Manhattan to prepare for this week's episode of Saturday Night Live , according to PageSix

Their split occurred just a month after putting on a loved-up display at Wimbledon.

A source claimed that the former lovebirds called it quits after trying to make things work long distance 'put a strain' on their relationship.

A source told The Sun: 'Pete and Phoebe's romance was a real whirlwind and from the start they were both totally committed.

'It was wild while it lasted... But the distance has put a strain on them. They will remain close but unless something drastic changes their relationship won't recover.'

Most recent girlfriend: Adding fuel to the fire, they are both single at the moment, following his breakup with Phoebe Dynevor in August, after five months of dating; seen in July

The source continued that both of the stars have very busy schedules at the moment, with Phoebe filming Bridgerton series two in the UK and Pete working on Saturday Night Live in the US as well as filming a movie called Meet Cute.

It is also thought that travel restrictions have added a further pressure to their romance as it isn't easy to just 'jump on a plane' and see each other.

Phoebe and Pete are thought to have started dating in February, with her taking a trip to NYC the same month, and they confirmed their romance in April.

It has been previously reported that Pete fell for her after watching her raunchy love scenes on Bridgerton.

The Saturday Night Live star is said to have told pals he thought the actress was 'hot as hell' over her character Daphne's intimate scenes with Simon, The Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page).

A Los Angeles based friend of Pete's told The Mirror: 'Pete just loved Bridgerton and just got totally tripped out by Phoebe.

'She was totally his type - fresh faced, youthful, innocent looking beauty.

'We all joked with him about the naughty scenes, and of course he confessed he found them hot. He binge watched the show and felt it was his destiny to meet her.'

Dream girl: It has been previously reported that Pete fell for her after watching her raunchy love scenes on Bridgerton

Despite living in his mother's basement until this April, his past romances include Kate Beckinsale, Margaret Qually, Kaia Gerber, Cazzie David and a brief engagement to Ariana Grande.

In 2018, Grande claimed in a since-deleted that Davidson has a ten-inch penis, which sent social media into a frenzy and to describe him as having 'big d**k energy (BDE).'

BDE, as explained by The Cut, is 'a quiet confidence and ease with oneself that comes from knowing you have just an enormous penis and you know what to do with it.'

Short-lived engagement: In 2018, Ariana Grande claimed in a since-deleted that Davidson has a ten-inch penis, which sent social media into a frenzy and to describe him as having 'big d**k energy' (seen in 2018)

Player: Despite living in his mother's basement until this April, his past romances include Kate Beckinsale, Margaret Qually, Kaia Gerber, Cazzie David and a brief engagement to Ariana Grande; pictured in 2019

Seven months ago, he revealed he 'just moved out' of the Staten Island home he purchased with his mother, Amy, on social media.

Pete's shared living quarters with his mother for the last few years after splitting up with his ex-fiancee and moving out of their $16million massive apartment in Manhattan.

His father Scott - a firefighter - died during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

During an interview with Variety in 2018, he revealed his dad's death caused his depression to become so severe that he tried to drown himself as a child.

Pete has been open about mental health issues and previously revealed that he suffers from borderline personality disorder.

A look back at Kim Kardashian's love life As the reality star is linked to SNL funnyman Pete Davidson, DailyMail.com takes a look back at Kim Kardashian's relationship history and her celebrity romances. Damon Thomas (2000-2004) At just 19, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star married producer Damon Thomas, who is ten years her senior. Their short-lived marriage only three years before she filed for divorce, which she later revealed to be quite turbulent as he allegedly subjected her to physical abuse. The KKW Beauty mogul, who admitted to being high on ecstasy when they eloped during a chat with Scott Disick back on her reality show in 2018, claimed in divorce papers he 'punched' her, to which he has denied. She also accused him of slamming her against a wall and throwing 'throw her across the room, leaving her bruised and battered.' Additionally, he reportedly made her quit her job, according to their divorce papers, which were filed at Los Angeles Superior Court back in 2003. Toxic relationship: At just 19, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star married producer Damon Thomas, who is ten years her senior (pictured) Ray J (2003 to 2006) Just one year after her divorce, she began a relationship with singer Ray J after working as a stylist for his sister. While the pair's relationship only spanned less than three years, it remains one of her most notable romances as a sex tape of them leaked, which propelled her to stardom. Despite never initially suing Vivid Entertainment to prevent its release, they came to an agreement and settled for a 'financial arrangement' the company's co-chairman told TMZ, at the time. While the former couple have rarely spoken about their relationship, Ray J described Kim as 'the same kind of player' as him and they they 'were both cheaters' on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017. Three years together: She and Ray J dated on and off from 2002 to 2006 (seen together in March 2006) Nick Lachey (2006) Next, she began seeing Nick Lachey, who stated in 2019 they were never serious. While speaking of their 'one date together' to watch The Da Vinci Code in 2006, the ex-husband of Jessica Simpson said calling her an ex of his would be 'a little bit of a liberal use of the term.' 'She left about halfway through and went to the restroom and then shockingly there were 25 paparazzi when we left the theater,' he said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. I 'think there were other things in play on our little rendezvous.' Regardless, he said Kim couldn't have been 'a nicer girl' and they had a 'great time.' Casual: Next, she began seeing Nick Lachey, who stated in 2019 they were never serious as they only went on one date; seen in 2009 at Derby Spectacular Celebration in Louisville, Kentucky Kim Kardashian and Nick Cannon (2006 to 2007) Despite describing the mother-of-four as 'one of the nicest people youll ever meet,' they ended things over a discussion about her sex tape, which he claims Kim denied entirely. During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, the ex-husband of Mariah Carey said: 'This was my issue. We talked about this tapeAnd she told me there was no tape.' 'The fact that she lied and told me that there was no tape?' he said was his deal-breaker. ''I still think she might have even had a part to play with [its release].' Hurtful: Despite describing the mother-of-four as 'one of the nicest people youll ever meet,' they ended things over a discussion about her sex tape, which he claims Kim denied entirely; seen in 2006 Reggie Bush (2007 to 2010) Kim and the NFL star were on-and-off from 2007 until 2010, as her fame rose on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Despite a promising romance, they ultimately parted ways because they weren't able to spend enough time together. Toward the end of their relationship, he made the decision as Kim began 'pushing for marriage' after seeing younger sister tie the knot with then-husband Lamar Odom, according to RadarOnline.com. At the time, he reportedly told her that he wants a wife 'that is a support system to him' and 'stay at home mom to his children.' Knowing her 'drive and ambition,' Bush knew she was 'just not the right kind of girl for him to marry.' Kim and Reggie Bush were on-and-off from 2007 until 2010, as her fame rose on KWUTK. Despite a promising romance, they split because they weren't able to spend enough time together; seen in 2010 Miles Austin (June 2010) Kim and Miles Austin embarked on a brief summer romance, which fizzled out pretty quickly due to long distance. Most of their relationship was spent apart due to his schedule with the Dallas Cowboys and hers to filming KUWTK. By September, they mutally went 'their separate ways,' according to People. A week before the breakup, however, they were said to be 'the real deal' and stronger than ever, which raised eyebrows. What could have been: Kim and Miles Austin embarked on a brief summer romance, which fizzled out pretty quickly due to long distance Kris Humphries (2010) Kim infamously wed basketball star Kris Humphries for 72 days in 2011. During the Keeping Up With The Kardashians reunion, which aired in June 2021, she admitted to having cold feet the night before the wedding, but felt it was too late to back out. The aspiring lawyer said she feared that if she left that she would be known forever as the runaway bride and that 'it will be a huge joke.' She then confessed that the TV wedding did push her down the aisle as she didn't want to 'let everyone down.' Humphries, evangelical Christian, petitioned for an annulment after Kardashian filed divorce papers because he felt defrauded. Regrettable romance: Kim infamously wed basketball star Kris Humphries for 72 days in 2011; seen in 2011 Kanye West (2012-2021) In February, Kim filed for divorce after six years of marriage from the father of her four children North, eight, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and two-year-old Psalm. They had reportedly been living separately for some time and have plans to share legal and physical custody of their youngsters. A source also confirmed to DailyMail.com that Kim has filed for divorce. 'The split is amicable and there is no drama,' the insider shared. The tension reportedly started in July 2020 when he decided to run for President of the United States and ranted he wanted North aborted, but Kim refused. He also called Kim's mother Kris Jenner 'Kris Jong Un.' Tragic: In February, Kim filed for divorce after six years of marriage from the father of her four children North, eight, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and two-year-old Psalm; pictured in 2012 Advertisement
Strictly Come Dancing's John Whaite initially asked to dance with a female on the show as he was scared of being bombarded with hate for dancing with a male.

The former Great British Bake Off champion, 32, is appearing with Johannes Radebe, 34, this year as part of the first ever all-male couple to compete on the BBC ballroom dance contest.

But John was 'anxious' about dancing with a male because he believes gay people are 'conditioned' to expect 'hate and flack', and he thought he would be targeted by trolls.

Pushing boundaries: The former Great British Bake Off champion spoke to the December issue of Attitude about his pairing with Johannes Radebe, 34, as part of Strictly's first male couple

He told the December issue of Attitude magazine: ' As soon as I found out, I felt a little bit anxious.

'I think as gay people, we have to choose the places we go to, we have to choose the people we speak to, who we even look at, because we have been conditioned to kind of expect hate and flack.

'So honestly, I was quite anxious about it. I knew that it was an important thing to do, that it was hopefully going to change the way TV is, change the way that children feel when they watch TV  its massive  but I was expecting to get a lot of hate, like [people] sliding into the DMs and saying, "Youre disgusting" and that kind of thing.'

Anxious: Strictly Come Dancing's John Whaite, 32, initially asked to dance with a female on the show as he was scared of being bombarded with hate for dancing with a male

He added: 'At first, I said, "Can you put me with a straight partner?" because I [believed] that that would be the only way it would be accepted, and then, about a month before we were partnered up, I [thought], actually, I want it to be Johannes; it has to be Johannes it would be wrong for it to be anyone but Johannes.'

The baker explained that he feels uncomfortable with people calling him and Johannes 'role models' as they have people helping them behind the scenes from make-up artists to costume designers, insisting they're 'lucky' to be 'representing for our people'.

Meanwhile, Johannes recently revealed he feels the need to change how he dresses after he was accosted by the police.

Fear: John said: 'I think as gay people, we have to choose the places we go to, we have to choose the people we speak to... because we have been conditioned to kind of expect hate'

During an appearance on Channel 4's Stephs Packed Lunch last month, the South African stressed that it is crucial it is to consider both his location and appearance when out and about.

Johannes recalled his 'terrible' experiences and admitted that he now avoids wearing a leather jacket and cap.

He said: 'Im going to stop wearing a cap and a black leather jacket. I say that because I get stopped all the time, and they [the police] go, "Oh sorry, its not you."

Speaking out: Johannes recently said he tries to dress in a 'civilised' way after getting stopped by the police, saying he's ditched his leather jacket and hat in public

The December issue of Attitude is out now

'Im tall, Im black its important who you are and what you do and where you hang around.'

The talented dancer revealed how he has to make an effort to dress 'civilised' in a bid to prevent being stopped by the police.

He said: 'Its terrible, it really is terrible, you dont get to experience it often where I come from, thats probably because 90 per cent of the population is black, I dont know.

'You travel the world and thats always the case  I have to be careful of how I dress. Thats my reality.' He said: "I do try and look more civilised so to speak  Its a reality for many people.'

The December issue of Attitude is out now.
Tilly Ramsay showcased her chic style at the studios of Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show It Takes Two studios with her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin on Wednesday night.

The social media star, 19, wore a red and black plaid jacket and edgy leather skirt which she teamed with a pair of matching heels.

The daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay could be seen clutching her phone in her hand as she carried bags full of her belongings after training earlier in the day.

On with the show: Tilly Ramsay, 19, cut a casual figure at the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show It Takes Two studios with her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, 23, on Wednesday

Tilly could be seen wearing a circular pair of sunglasses while she donned a face covering to protect herself and others from coronavirus.

She walked alongside Nikita, 23, who wore an on-trend trench coat which different shades of beige panels.

The twinkle-toed star wore a navy hoodie with the words 'underestimate me, that'll be fun' across it.

Casual chic: The social media star, 19, wore a red and black plaid jacket and edgy leather skirt which she teamed with a pair of matching heels

All smiles: Tilly was in a good mood as she left the studios after talking about her appearance on Strictly and how training had been going so far this week

Laugh a minute: The pair were in a jovial mood as they laughed outside the studios before heading home to rest

He wore a black beanie hat on his head which matched his dark jeans and trainers.

The pair impressed the Strictly judges on Saturday, scoring 35 points for their Cha-cha-cha.

Tilly was painted a bright green for the Halloween special for which she performed as as Frankenstein's bride.

Keeping it casual: The social media star wrapped up in a white hoodie which she teamed with a pair of black leggings

Rising star: The daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay could be seen clutching her red and black plaid jacket in her hand as well as a bag packed full of belongings

Undercover: Tilly could be seen wearing a circular pair of sunglasses while she donned a face covering to protect herself and others from coronavirus

In style: She walked alongside Nikita, 23, who wore an on-trend trench coat which different shades of beige panels

Bold words: The twinkle-toed star wore a navy hoodie with the words 'underestimate me, that'll be fun' across it

Fashion forward: He wore a black beanie hat on his head which matched his dark jeans and trainers

Success story: The pair impressed the Strictly judges on Saturday, scoring 35 points for their Cha-cha-cha

Her famous father Gordon appeared via video link on the show to give her a heartfelt message but ended it by reprimanding Nikita to tell him to do his shirt up.

This is not the first time the high-powered cook has asked of this, as at the start of this series he made a comment about the same thing.

Restaurant owner Gordon said on this week's show: 'One little issue, Nikita, you and I have been talking for many months now but, you know Frankenstein always has his top button done up! Come on man, get rid of the six pack! It's a family show!'

Born to perform: Tilly was painted a bright green for the Halloween special for which she performed as as Frankenstein's bride

Speaking out: Her famous father Gordon appeared via video link on the show to give her a heartfelt message but ended it by reprimanding Nikita to tell him to do his shirt up

Taking a stand: This is not the first time the high-powered cook has asked of this, as at the start of this series he made a comment about the same thing

Twinkle-toed stars: The dancing duo performed the Latin dance to Spooky Movies by Gary Paxton as they dressed as Frankenstein and Frankenstein's bride for the Halloween special

Demanding: Gordon said on this week's show: 'One little issue, Nikita, you and I have been talking for many months now but, you know Frankenstein always has his top button done up!'

Tilly and Nikita took Gordon's words in good nature, though, as they both laughed off his comments.

The dancing duo performed the Latin dance to Spooky Movies by Gary Paxton as they dressed as Frankenstein and Frankenstein's bride for the Halloween special.

The pair impressed the judges with their dance and scored an amazing 35 points, leaving them third on the leaderboard.

Star power: Karen Hauer, 39, showed off her chic but glamorous style as she wore all black for her appearance on Strictly: It Takes Two

Looking good: The star could be seen wearing a halter neck top which gave onlookers a slight glimpse at her midriff

Roar! Strictly professional Nancy Xu, 30, could be seen stepping out of the car in animal print trousers and black boots as she arrived at the studios

Famous friends: The dancer could be seen walking ahead of her celebrity partner, television presenter Rhys Stephenson, 28

Above them were AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington with 37 points after their viennese waltz to Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande.

Topping the leaderboard with a perfect 40 points are Rose Ayling Ellis and Giovanni Pernice who performed a tango to Shivers by Ed Sheeran.

Gordon's appearance on the show comes after he revealed he is 'very proud' of his daughter Tilly for standing up to LBC host Steve Allen.

Catching the eye: Professional dancer Dianne Buswell, 32, stood out thanks to her bright red hair as she arrived at the television studios

Seasonal style: The star wore autumnal colours with a red, orange, black and white checked skirt which reached down to the floor

Style queen: Dianne could be seen wearing green pendulum earrings as she arrived at the studios

Fashion focus: It Takes Two presenter Janette Manrara, 37, showed off her edgy style credentials in a brown leather shirt and leggings

Stand-out style: The TV-host completed her look with a long black coat and a brown bag to match her top

He spoke for the first time since the radio host, 67, mocked his daughters weight on Strictly Come Dancing.

In an Instagram live Gordon said: 'It made me feel very proud that she stood up and said, 'I'm not taking this.'

Gordon went on to talk about his own struggle with his weight saying he 'always struggled' with his weight.

He continued: 'It is a very sensitive issue whether you are a girl or a guy. I am someone who has always struggled with their weight.'

'I have to train, we eat all day. I pick, we graze, we are around food 24/7. If we don't train I'd be 350-400 pounds  so all credit to her.'
Brad Pitt has been linked to model Nico Poturalski since he split from Angelina Jolie in 2016.

But the Oscar-winning actor, 57, has not made dating a 'priority' these days as he feels he has a 'huge cloud hanging over him' amid his prolonged custody battle with his ex.

The Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star is 'just not mentally ready and doesn't know when he next will be,' according to a Wednesday report from UsWeekly.

Hard to cope: Brad Pitt has not made dating a 'priority' these days as he feels he has a 'huge cloud hanging over him' amid his prolonged custody battle with his ex Angelina Jolie

It was also shared that he is trying his best to cope with every day life. 'Brad is working hard and staying as positive as he can be right now,' said a source.

The Fight Club actor and the Maleficent beauty split in September 2016.

And ever since they have been arguing over custody of Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 13.

Their eldest child, Maddox, is now 20.

'This whole war with Angelina has really taken its toll [on Brad],' the source added.

'Thankfully he has his own incredible willpower to count on, plus a wonderful support group and the tools he's learned in recovery when times get super tough.'

His 'support group' includes director David Fincher, actors Edward Norton and Ryan Gosling and British artist Thomas Houseago.

Down in the dumps? Seen in May 2019 in Venice, Italy. 'This whole war with Angelina has really taken its toll [on Brad],' the source added

A brief romance: Pitt was linked to fashion model Nico Poturalski in 2020

Pitt also recently dropped out of the Fincher directed movie The Killer, and was replaced by Michael Fassbender.

The drama with Jolie is intense.

In late October the California Supreme Court refused Pitt's appeal of a court ruling that disqualified the judge in his long-running custody battle with Jolie.

The actor's legal team filed a petition to raise an objection to the recent disqualification of private Judge John Ouderkirk from their case, which effectively voided a previous ruling that granted the Troy star more time with the former couple's five younger children.

Not ready to move on: According to UsWeekly, the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star is 'just not mentally ready and doesn't know when he next will be.' Seen with Jolie in 2015, which was their last red carpet appearance together

Angelina's team had sought to have the judge - who was hired in 2016 - removed because they felt he could be biased in his rulings as he had failed to disclose continuing or new cases he'd been hired by Brad's lawyers to oversee and the three judges who oversaw a hearing on the matter agreed Ouderkirk's 'failure to make mandatory disclosures' about the work he was doing on other cases involving the 'Moneyball' star's team 'might cause an objective person, aware of all of the facts' to doubt his impartiality.

And after the court rejected the plea, Angelina's attorney, Robert Olson, welcomed the decision and said his client is glad 'that her children's well-being will not be guided by unethical behaviour.'

He told USA Today of the court's decision to not hear the request for review: 'Ms. Jolie is focused on her family and pleased that her children's well-being will not be guided by unethical behaviour.

She stays close to her kids: The Fight Club actor and the Maleficent beauty split in 2016. And ever since they have been arguing over custody of Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 13. Their eldest child, Maddox, is now 20. Seen on October 27 in London

Before the split: Seen in 2014. Pitt, Jolie, Maddox, Shiloh, Pax, Knox and Zahara at LAX airport

'As reinforced by California's appellate courts, our judiciary prioritizes ethics and children's best interests, and won't tolerate judicial misconduct to reward the interests of a party. Ms. Jolie is glad for the family to now move forward cooperatively.'

The Eternals star filed for divorce back in 2016.

Brad's team had said in a statement they wanted the review because: 'The temporary judge, who had been appointed and repeatedly renewed by both sides, was improperly disqualified after providing a detailed, fact-based custodial decision, following a lengthy legal process with multiple witnesses and experts.'

And Angelina's team branded the move to have the judge reinstated 'disturbing'.

A new hit: Jolie has been working on her acting career. Her latest movie is The Eternals

Meanwhile, Jolie has been trying to help children in Yemen with the BBC.

'One of the worst places on earth to be a child. Yemen is facing one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. At least 10,000 children have been killed or maimed since the conflict began in 2015, and millions more are at risk of starvation.

'What started off as a civil war has become a proxy battle for global powers, and its Yemenis who are caught up in the crosshairs, including more than 11 million children in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.'
Lala Kent's ex-fiancee Randall Emmett has reportedly been attempting to 'win her back' after they split amid claims he cheated on her.

'Randall did not want to split but it was Lala's decision. The trust is gone. He's been trying to win her back,' a source told Us Weekly.

The source also alleges the movie producer has been posting photos of their seven-month-old daughter Ocean on Instagram as part of his 'good father act.'

Attempting to reconcile: Lala Kent's ex-fiancee Randall Emmett has reportedly been attempting to 'win her back' after they split amid claims he cheated on her; pictured 2019

'He's constantly posting about Ocean in hopes of getting Lala's attention and putting on the "I'm a good father" act,' the insider added.

While Randall has been posting numerous photos of their daughter on Instagram, Lala hasn't posted any photos of Ocean to her account since news broke of their split last month.

In fact, she's only posted four times since the break-up emerged, including a post celebrating three years of sobriety.

The source added that the Vanderpump Rules star is currently not wearing her ring and is 'truly focused' on Ocean and her other projects.

'He's constantly posting about Ocean': The source also alleges the movie producer has been posting photos of their seven-month-old daughter Ocean on Instagram as part of his 'good father act'

'She's trying to keep everything private,' the insider added.

Meanwhile, Lala addressed their break-up on the latest episode of her podcast Give Them Lala... with Randall.

While Lala was not ready to get into much detail about the matter, she did reveal Alcoholics Anonymous had been serving her at this time.

She also said her daughter Ocean was her top priority.

Speaking up: Meanwhile, Lala addressed their break-up on the latest episode of her podcast Give Them Lala... with Randall

'I want to acknowledge that I'm sure everyone knows what is going on between Randall and myself and just in my personal life,' Lala said. 'There will be a time where I feel comfortable enough to open up and share. Today is definitely not that day. It's been a lot, I'm going through a lot.

'I just at this point in time want to protect my child, she's my number one priority, and I know what I signed up for. I'm on a reality television show, but in this moment, it's not about me, it is about my kid and privacy is the only thing that I'm looking for for her sake.

'And with that being said, I'm kind of putting my steps into play that you know we work on in AA, which is one day at a time  sometimes it's one minute at a time  and that doesn't just apply to me with drinking, which, surprisingly, even with everything that's going on, I've never felt stronger in my sobriety.'

'It's not about me': She also said her daughter Ocean was her top priority

Last month Page Six alleged Randall had cheated on his partner - who temporarily moved into the Beverly Hills Hotel - while on a work trip in Nashville, Tennessee.

'Randall always lives a double life,' a source claimed to the outlet. 'He lives the life of a husband or boyfriend, and then he lives the life of a serial partier and then goes on a bender.'

Amid the claims, Kent purged her social media pages of her husband-to-be. And she liked a post that accused him of cheating on her following video posted to social media of him partying in Nashville.

She even took to Instagram to share a video of herself moving into the BHH while Beyonces Sorry played.
Travis Barker of Blink-182 fame has signed 'pop-punk princess' Avril Lavigne to his music label DTA Records.

Avril, 37, made the big announcement on Twitter and hinted to her fans that she may already have cut a record for her new label.

'Lets f*** s*** up! Just signed a record contract to Travis Barkers record label DTA Records! Should I drop my first single next week ?' she tweeted Wednesday.

Ready to roll: Travis Barker of Blink-182 fame has signed 'pop-punk princess' Avril Lavigne to his music label DTA Records

'Lets f*** s*** up!': 'Just signed a record contract to Travis Barkers record label DTA Records! Should I drop my first single next week ?' she tweeted Wednesday.

Travis, 45, also celebrated the new arrangement on Instagram gushing: 'Welcome to @dtarecords @avrillavigne !'

He included a Boomerang that showed himself and Avril playfully spraying freshly popped bottles of champagne at each other.

Both of them fired up their social media to post a slew of pictures of them celebrating their new creative venture.

The duo were holding cakes with: 'DTA,' frosted on top and in one goofy snap they flung their desserts at one another.

Having a ball: Avril, 37, made the big announcement on Twitter and hinted to her fans that she may already have cut a record for her new label

Such fun: Travis, 45, also celebrated the new arrangement on Instagram gushing: 'Welcome to @dtarecords @avrillavigne !'

Only the best: The dynamic duo posed for a picture with themed cakes

Avril showed off her taut midriff in a Breton striped crop top while Travis bared his sprawl of tattoos by going shirtless as they both flipped the camera off.

Their announcement comes after Travis featured as a drummer on Avril and Willow Smith's song Grow from Willow's album Lately I Feel Everything.

Grow first appeared in the public eye when the album dropped in July, and then in the middle of last month the music video dropped.

Travis' drumming could be heard as Avril and Willow were seen singing alongside one another and dancing in giant size through a cityscape.

Ready to party: Both of them fired up their social media to post a slew of pictures of them celebrating their new creative venture

Goofing around: The duo were holding cakes with: 'DTA,' frosted on top and in one goofy snap they flung their desserts at one another

Pulling out the stops: Balloons spelling 'DTA' and 'AVRIL' celebrated the new collaboration

If Avril releases a single next week it will be her first as a lead artist since We Are Warriors which she dropped last April.

However she has been busy musically since then as well, as at the start of this year she featured on the song Flames by her boyfriend Mod Sun.

Travis' new musical adventure with Avril comes amid his high-profile engagement to Kourtney Kardashian with whom he is known for his public displays of affection.

Mod has had Avril's name tattooed onto his neck while Travis has gotten Kourtney's name inked prominently on his chest.
Model and footy WAG Jesinta Franklin appears to have deleted her Instagram post about missing girl Cleo Smith highlighting the 'disparity' in media coverage of missing children who are white and those who are black or Indigenous.

Four-year-old Cleo was found alive and well early Wednesday morning, 18 days after vanishing from her family's tent in a remote campsite in Western Australia in a disappearance that made headlines around the world.

Jesinta, 30, who is married to Indigenous AFL superstar Lance Franklin, shared her thoughts on the media's response to missing persons cases on Instagram Stories at about 2:12pm on Wednesday.

Deleted: Model and footy WAG Jesinta Franklin (right, with husband Buddy Franklin) appears to have deleted her Instagram post about missing girl Cleo Smith highlighting the 'disparity' in media coverage of missing children who are white and those who are black or Indigenous

Instagram Stories expire after 24 hours, meaning in normal circumstances the post should have remained visible until 2:12pm on Thursday. However, it seems to have been removed overnight.

Daily Mail Australia understands Jesinta's post attracted some backlash on social media, and several comments were of a racist nature.

Jesinta's thoughtful post had addressed the 'disparity' between press coverage of missing white children and Indigenous children.

'Without taking away from the joy of finding a missing child alive and well, I can't help but think about the disparity that exists in this country between missing children who are white and Indigenous children when it comes to the visibility and coverage of the case,' she began.

Miracle: Four-year-old Cleo was found alive and well early Wednesday morning, 18 days after vanishing from her family's tent in a remote campsite in Western Australia in a disappearance that made headlines around the world. She is pictured smiling in hospital after her rescue

Weighing in: Jesinta, 30, shared her thoughts on the media's response to missing persons cases on Instagram Stories at about 2:12pm on Wednesday. Stories expire after 24 hours, meaning in normal circumstances the post should have remained visible until 2:12pm on Thursday. However, it seems to have been removed overnight

'I have read so many heartbreaking stories of missing Indigenous children that garner hardly any media coverage or the social media coverage that a case like Cleo's did.

'I have no doubt the widespread broadcasting of information in regards to the case assisted the phenomenal efforts of the WA police force in locating this beautiful little girl and reuniting her with her family.'

She added: 'Posting this because I think we need to do better for all children who go missing and their families.'

At a disadvantage: Jesinta's thoughtful post (pictured) had addressed the 'disparity' between press coverage of missing white children and Indigenous children

'I have read so many heartbreaking stories of missing Indigenous children that garner hardly any media coverage or the social media coverage that a case like Cleo's did,' wrote Jesinta. Pictured: a photo of Cleo that was widely disseminated in the media during her disappearance

Jesinta is mother to daughter Tullulah, 20 months, and son Rocky, seven months.

Her husband is Sydney Swans star Lance 'Buddy' Franklin, a proud Noongar-Wajuk man whose ancestors hail from south-west Western Australia.

Indigenous people account for 17.5 per cent of all unsolved missing persons cases in Western Australia, despite making up just three per cent of the local population.

In August 2019, the families of 15 missing Aboriginal children united for a state-wide rally in NSW to raise awareness for Indigenous cases.

Family: Jesinta is mother to daughter Tullulah, 20 months, and son Rocky, seven months. Her husband is Sydney Swans star Lance 'Buddy' Franklin (pictured), a proud Noongar-Wajuk man whose ancestors hail from south-west Western Australia

Cleo disappeared on October 16 and was found alive at 12.46am on Wednesday when police stormed a public housing home after a sudden tip off with a 'needle in haystack' clue.

Police feared the missing girl could have been spirited away anywhere in the country - but instead she was under their noses all along in a rundown house just 3km from her home and 75km from the campsite.

'What's your name?' officers asked as they scooped her up into their arms. 'My name is Cleo,' she replied.

Found: Cleo disappeared on October 16 and was found alive at 12.46am on Wednesday when police stormed a public housing home after a sudden tip off with a 'needle in haystack' clue

That rundown house on Tonkin Crescent in Brockman, in the northern suburbs of Carnarvon in northwest Western Australia, is just kilometres from where she lived in South Carnarvon.

Right in the middle is the town's main shopping centre where the 36-year-old resident of the house was seen by neighbours buying Kimbies nappies at Woolworths.

Cleo was likely already locked up in the house when her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon awoke at 6am to find she was no longer lying next to them and her baby sister Isla in their tent at Blowholes camping grounds.
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Gillian Anderson dazzled in a sequin floral gown as she led the A-list arrivals at the star-studded Fashion Trust Arabia Awards in Qatar on Wednesday night.

The Sex Education actress, 53, stepped out in the glittering dress with the Italian fashion designer Pierpaolo Piccioli as she joined a slew of models at the bash.

Brazilian beauty Adriana Lima wowed in a plunging black maxi dress with chiffon sleeves at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha, while Mikhaila 'Coco' Rocha arrived in a striking white gown with a silver feathered train.

Wow: Gillian Anderson (L) dazzled in a sequin floral gown as she joined models Adriana Lima (C) and Mikhaila 'Coco' Rocha (R) at the Fashion Trust Arabia Awards in Qatar on Wednesday

Gillian looked sensational in the gold sequin gown that was adorned with coral and deep red leaves and flowers.

The star swept up her blonde tresses into a stylish slicked back look and accentuated her eyes with lashings of dark kohl liner.

She posed next to her pal Pierpaolo who beamed in a pair of dark shades as he cut a laidback figure in an blue smock and a navy blazer.

Meanwhile, Adriana arrived with her boyfriend Andre Lemmers and the pair sweetly posed cheek to cheek as they headed into the lavish event.

Stunning: Gillian looked sensational in the gold sequin gown that was adorned with coral and deep red leaves and flowers

Glam: The star swept up her blonde tresses into a stylish slicked back look and accentuated her eyes with lashings of dark kohl liner

Stepping out: The actress twirled in her glittering gown for the cameras as she wowed onlookers with her elegant style and posed next to her pal Pierpaolo who beamed in a pair of dark shades as he cut a laidback figure in a navy blazer

Adriana looked flawless as she fixed the camera with a pensive stare in the gold embellished gown which featured busty cut-out details.

The model wore her raven tresses swept away from her face and accessorised with a pair of large diamond drop earrings.

She was nothing short of elegant as she posed alongside her beau in the elegant monochrome number with her arm around his waist.

Loved-up: Adriana arrived with her boyfriend Andre Lemmers and the pair sweetly posed cheek to cheek as they headed into the lavish event

Beautiful: Adriana looked flawless as she fixed the camera with a pensive stare in the gold embellished gown which featured busty cut-out details

Coco commanded attention in her chic white floor-length dress as she showed off her sheer white cape to onlookers.

The Canadian model worked her angles for the cameras and wafted her striking sleeves with sparkling embellishments from side to side.

She wore her aubern tresses up in a plaited bun and opted for a dramatic winged eyeliner makeup look.

And Irina Shayk showcased her edgy sense of style in a black ruched longe-sleeved ress as she smouldered with her chestnut tresses cascading behind her.

Work it: Coco commanded attention in her chic white floor-length dress as she showed off her sheer white cape to onlookers

Smoudler: Irina Shayk showcased her edgy sense of style in a black ruched longe-sleeved ress as she smouldered with her chestnut tresses cascading behind her

Rose Bertram wowed as she flashed a grin in a pleated shimmering two-tone aqua floor-length gown.

The Belgian beauty showcased her fun outfit by twirling around and fanning out the layers of her skirt as she span.

She accessorised with a sequin hair accessory and let her blonde tresses cascade past her shoulders in pretty loose waves.

Golden girl: Rose Bertram wowed as she flashed a grin in a pleated shimmering two-tone aqua floor-length gown

Sabrina Elba made a style statement as she arrived in a strapless gown with structured flowers sewn across the chest.

Idris Elba's wife looked radiant as she posed for cameras with her raven tresses styled into a short sleek bob.

The stunning producer let the colourful outfit speak for itself as she forewent accessories for the outing.

Design: Sabrina Elba made a style statement as she arrived in a strapless gown with structured flowers sewn across the chest

Glowing: Idris Elba's wife looked radiant as she posed for cameras with her raven tresses styled into a short sleek bob

Alexa Chung looked stereotypically chic in a powder blue blazer for the event, which she styled with a pair of mom jeans and satin yellow heels.

The fashion favourite wore her short chestnut locks in a relaxed touselled style and accentuated her natural beauty with a sweep of copper toned eyeshadow.

Tania Fares also opted for a blue blazer, which she layered over a matching waistcoat and suit trousers and completed the ensemble with a pair of silver thong heels.

Trendy: Alexa Chung looked stereotypically chic in a powder blue blazer for the event, which she styled with a pair of mom jeans and satin yellow heels while Tania Fares also opted for a blue blazer with a matching waistcoat and suit trousers

Effortlessly chic: The fashion favourite wore her short chestnut locks in a relaxed touselled style and accentuated her natural beauty with a sweep of copper toned eyeshadow

Jefferson Hack and Anna Cleveland matched in all-white ensembles as they posed for cameras in their fashion-forward looks.

They were joined by Afef Jnifen and Remo Ruffini who looked similarly stylish in a burnt orange dress and dapper navy blazer.

Afef and Tania looked every inch the fashionistas as they posed alongside eachother in their perfectly tailored outfits.

Edgy: Jefferson Hack and Anna Cleveland matched in all-white ensembles as they posed for cameras in their fashion-forward looks

Pals: They were joined by Afef Jnifen and Remo Ruffini who looked similarly stylish in a burnt orange dress and dapper navy blazer

Fashionistas: Afef and Tania looked every inch the fashionistas as they posed alongside eachother in their perfectly tailored outfits

The star-studded event comes after Gillian previously vowed to never wear a bra again after lockdown because they are too uncomfortable and joked she doesn't care if her breasts 'reach her belly button'.

Hosting an Instagram Live, on which she answered various questions from her 1.8million fans Gillian, 52, revealed she is now 'too lazy' to wear a bra.

One fan asked The Crown star to explain what her go-to outfit was during lockdown and she provided a very comical response.

Liberating: The event comes after Gillian vowed to never wear a bra again after lockdown because they're uncomfortable and she doesn't care if her breasts 'reach her belly button'

As she sat on her sofa in Atlanta, she explained: 'It's probably the same one as my out of lockdown outfit 'I mean, I've gotten so lazy and I don't wear a bra any more. I can't wear a bra. I can't, no, I can't. I'm sorry.

'I don't care if my breasts reach my belly button, I'm not wearing a bra any more. It's just too f***ing uncomfortable.

'So yeah, comfortable black track pants and a matching hoodie. I'd wear that every day if I could.'
Tiger King's Joe Exotic has revealed that his health has taken yet another hit as he has an aggressive form of cancer and is asking for a prison release in order to seek treatment.

The 58-year-old former zoo owner - real name Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage - took to his Instagram on Wednesday to reveal the troubling diagnosis and even said he believes that his rival Carole Baskin will celebrate the bad news.

He wrote to his 336K followers: 'Update [sad face emoji] Everyone, It is with a sad face that I have to tell you the doctors called me in today to break the news that my prostate biopsy came back with an aggressive cancer, I am still waiting on the results from other test as well.

'Right now I don't want anyone's pity and I'm sure Carole Will have her own party over this! What I need is the world to be my voice to be released, they have the proof I DID NOT DO THIS!'

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Not easy: Tiger King's Joe Exotic has revealed that his health has taken yet another hit as he has an aggressive form of cancer and is asking for a prison release in order to seek treatment

Last laugh? The 58-year-old former zoo owner - real name Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage - took to his Instagram on Wednesday to reveal the troubling diagnosis and said he believes that his rival Carole Baskin (seen in the trailer for Tiger King 2) will celebrate the bad news

He concluded by asking to be released from prison - where he is serving a 22 year sentence - so he can seek proper treatment for his medical condition.

Exotic wrote: 'And there is no reason for the district attorney to drag this out, So I can go home and get treatment on my own or enjoy what life I have left with my loved ones! Say a prayer everyone & be my voice [sad face with tear emoji] love #joeexotic #exclusive #breakingnews #freejoeexotic #justiceforjoeexotic.'

His lawyer John Phillips told TMZ on Wednesday that he plans on filing a motion requesting compassionate release from his federal prison in Texas.

In January 2020, a federal jury found him guilty on two counts of hiring someone to murder Baskin in Florida, on eight counts of violating the Lacey Act by falsifying wildlife records, and on nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act by killing five tigers and for selling tigers across state lines

Back in August, he revealed that his prostate cancer may have spread to his stomach and pelvis and prefers to die if it is stage three or four as he criticized the US criminal justice system over lack of medical treatment for prisoners.

He wrote to his 336K followers: 'Update [sad face emoji] Everyone, It is with a sad face that I have to tell you the doctors called me in today to break the news that my prostate biopsy came back with an aggressive cancer, I am still waiting on the results from other test as well'

At the time, the zoo owner said that he has not had any treatment in jail - as he serves a 22 year prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas - since his diagnosis months ago and fears that the cancer has spread.

On August 9, Exotic told The Sun : 'I have been waiting for a colonoscopy and endoscopy since October. Medical treatment in a prison is worse than at any humane society for dogs.'

The American media personality was 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, Carole Baskin in 2019.

Tough times: Exotic is serving a 22 year prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas as a federal jury found him guilty on two counts of hiring someone to murder Baskin in Florida, on eight counts of violating the Lacey Act by falsifying wildlife records, and on nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act by killing five tigers and for selling tigers across state lines

The case was the focus of highly-popular 2020 Netflix series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness.

Exotic explained that he was recently forced to undergo a CT scan last week and the results were not encouraging.

He said: 'They are concerned it is in my stomach and pelvis. I have not had any treatment or anything since May. I puke when I pee - the pain is that bad.

'I'm losing weight all the time and the pain in my hip and pelvis hurts. I limp to walk. And my stomach has hurt for over a year.'

The Netflix star said that he hopes to be taken to a specialist medical center for 'many tests' including a 'biopsy of my prostate and bladder, colonoscopy and endoscopy.'

However, Exotic says that he will refuse medical treatment if the disease has progressed to stage three or four.

He explained: 'When we find out where and how bad it is I will decide if I am going to do treatment. If it's stage three or four I am going to let it take me.'

Exotic also criticized the US criminal justice system over lack of medical treatment for prisoners as he accused prison doctors of 'not giving a s***.'

He told the publication: 'This is crazy how they put people in here and just let you die.

'The things that I've seen and the dead people I've seen wheeled out of here is outrageous and it's time that our president and our politicians hear the truth.'

Back in May he took to Twitter to share his cancer diagnosis and once again pleaded for a pardon from President Joe Biden in the wake of his illness.

Diagnosis: Back in May he took to Twitter to share his cancer diagnosis and once again pleaded for a pardon from President Joe Biden in the wake of his illness: 'My PSA count came back very high for prostate cancer. The prison has approved testing to verify what stage it is in'

In his social media post, Exotic wrote: 'John Phillips [Joe's lawyer] has received my medical records from FMC Fort Worth and my PSA count came back very high for prostate cancer.

'The prison has approved testing to verify what stage it is in. My body is tired, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight, the mouth sores are out of control, I throw up more than I eat.'

He added that he didn't 'want anyone's pity' but was instead keen for a pardon from 'President Biden, VP Harris and the Attorney General', and he accused the police and the Department of Justice of corruption.

Exotic went on: 'Make this right and sign that pardon that Trump left behind so I can go home and get proper medical care and proper food.

'Thank you for all the love and support from all over the world. I love you all. Wish me luck#JusticeForJoeExotic #TigerKing #JoeExotic @JohnPhillips.'

The Kansas native requested a pardon from one-term President Donald Trump back in September, sending him a handwritten letter, later suing the Justice Department in December as a last-ditch effort - but this failed.

He most recently hired a new legal team, as they plan to use unaired Tiger King footage to push for a new trial.

Jailed: Exotic was 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, Carole Baskin in 2019 - and sentenced to 22 years in prison

Attorney John Phillips of Phillips & Hunt, who previously represented the family of Baskin's missing husband Don Lewis, made the announcement in a video on Joe's Twitter.

He said: 'We are honored to announce that Joe has retained our firm. We're going to seek a new trial, and justice in the criminal and civil courts.'

Joe has also promised some juicy secrets in Tiger King: The Official Tell-All Memoir, which is set to set to be published in November.

He told E! News of the book: 'It's going to be a truth-tell book... Everybody that's ever done anything good, it's going to be in there and anybody that's got bones in your closet, you better look out.'

His nemesis: Carole Baskin is pictured with husband Howard at Big Cat Rescue

In April, Exotic claimed he has been 'kidnapped for a political agenda' in a furious audio recording as he continues to push for a presidential pardon.

In an audio recording for the Social Media Superstar Awards and obtained by The Sun, the former zoo owner said his conviction cast 'a black cloud over our entire justice system in America' and claimed he had 'compassion for zoo animals and humanity.

He said: 'What has been done to me puts a black cloud over our entire justice system in America and our leaders of this great country should be ashamed that our own Department of Justice can take part in kidnapping me for a political agenda to only end big cats in America.

'The real guy who has compassion and love for zoo animals, for the homeless, and for the sick, but most of all for humanity as a whole.

'I intend to use my new platform to speak for justice and prison reform and speak for the thousands of men and women in this country who have been wrongfully convicted or over sentenced in this country for simply no reason other than for profit.'

Exotic said his conviction was a 'conspiracy' and an 'obstruction of justice' - as he continues to push for a presidential pardon, this time from President Biden.

He continued: 'To all of the people in the streets of America trying to end racism; slavery is very much alive in America, folks. It is camouflaged by prison walls.

'Please ask President Biden to make history and sign every pardon on his desk and every compassionate release at the beginning of his term, not at the end.'

Presidential pardon: The Kansas native requested a pardon from one-term President Donald Trump back in September, sending him a handwritten letter, later suing the Justice Department in December as a last-ditch effort (pictured in August, 2013)
She regularly inspires fashionistas on her Instagram account with her trendy outfits.

And Sofia Richie put her eye for style on full display while out in West Hollywood on Wednesday.

The influencer, 23, was spotted on two separate occasions, looking her best in an all-black athleisure look which drew attention to her legs.

Working it! Sofia Richie put her eye for style on full display while out in West Hollywood on Wednesday

Richie was spotted doing a spot of shopping at Maxfield wearing a sleek black bomber jacket and a pair of leggings which accentuated her body.

She rocked a pair of chunky white trainers and carried a colorful Fendi bag.

Slowing the spread of COVID in style, she armed herself with a sleek leopard print face mask.

Sofia was also spotted enjoying some quality time with her boyfriend Elliot Grainge.

Just the two of us! Richie was also spotted with her boyfriend Elliot Grainge

Taking precautions! Slowing the spread of COVID in style, she armed herself with a sleek grey face mask

Her jacket was now long gone, and her long brunette hair billowed with the crisp autumnal breeze.

Sofia's boyfriend bundled up against the cool air with a dark blue cap and grey hoodie covering up his head.

He rocked a pair of black joggers and blue trainers.

Sofia, who broke up with Scott Disick after a three-year romance in 2020, has been happily dating music executive Elliot for the past few months.

Shop 'til you drop! Richie was spotted doing a spot of shopping at Maxfield in West Hollywood wearing a sleek black bomber jacket and a pair of leggings which accentuated her body

After she and Scott Disick broke up last summer  just days shy of her 22nd birthday  Sofia was linked to a slew of eligible bachelors including Cha Cha Matcha founder Matthew Morton and Israeli shipping heir Gil Ofer.

By March, however, Sofia posted her first snap of Elliot to her Instagram and they have continued to take their love all over as they've vacationed in St. Tropez, Santa Barbara and Palm Springs.

One month after they debuted their romance a source told Us Weekly that the pair were 'very happy together,' and things were getting more 'serious.'

Fall fashion: Her jacket was now long gone, and her long brunette hair billowed with the crisp autumnal breeze

'They started out as friends before they became a couple, and are now getting serious. Their relationship took off and they have been getting closer and closer and spend practically every day together.'

It was also noted that her family approved of the relationship after having concerns over she and Scott's age difference  which ultimately contributed to their split.

Meanwhile, Disick has been 'slowly been dating' after parting ways with Amelia Gray Hamlin after 11 months together, according to People.
Today show host Allison Langdon apologised on Thursday after swearing during a pre-recorded interview.

She spoke to Carnarvon Shire President Eddie Smith via Zoom on Wednesday night about the miracle rescue of missing four-year-old Cleo Smith - but producers forgot to edit out the word 'b*****d' when the segment aired the following morning.

During the interview, mother-of-two Langdon, 42, spoke about the now-viral photo of little Cleo eating an icy pole in hospital after her discovery, commenting: 'You'd have to be a tough b*****d not to cry when you saw that.'

'I thought we chopped that out!' Today show host Allison Langdon apologised on Thursday after swearing during a pre-recorded interview

Later in the show, Langdon explained: 'My apologies there when I used the B-word. I thought we chopped that out before it went to air this morning!'

In the interview, Mr Smith said it was his best day in the job when he received the call saying Cleo had been found safe and well.

'Her parents, they have been to hell and back. But at the end of the day, they got their girl back,' he said.

'And at the end of the day, that's all that matters,' Langdon responded.

Emotional: She spoke to Carnarvon Shire President Eddie Smith via Zoom on Wednesday night about the miracle rescue of missing four-year-old Cleo Smith - but producers forgot to edit out the word 'b*****d' when the segment aired the following morning

He continued: 'It's absolutely amazing. I'm just so proud of everybody. I'm still getting emotional talking about it nine or ten hours after being told. It's just wonderful.'

Following Langdon's comment about the photo of Cleo in hospital, Mr Smith added: 'There was a tear in the eye, there's no doubt about that.

'You'd be pretty heartless if you didn't.'

Cleo was miraculously found alive on Wednesday, 18 days after vanishing from her family's tent in a remote campsite in Western Australia.

All smiles: Police had released this photo of little Cleo eating an icy pole in hospital after her miraculous rescue, 18 days after going missing

Police broke their way into a locked house in Carnarvon, 75km from where she went missing, about 1am on Wednesday and found the girl in one of the rooms.

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed just before 7am AEST that little Cleo was alive and well and had been reunited with her relieved parents.

'One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her "what's your name?",' he said.

'She said: "My name is Cleo".'

Miracle: Cleo was miraculously found alive on Wednesday, 18 days after vanishing from her family's tent in a remote campsite in Western Australia

Langdon was clearly emotional as she announced the news on Wednesday, saying: 'This is huge news. She's been missing for about three weeks now.'

Her co-host Karl Stefanovic continued: 'It's breathtaking news. After what has been a tortuous couple of weeks for her mum, stepdad and her father. The searches, the not knowing, all the speculation... we don't know what happened to her.'

Langdon agreed, saying: 'Oh my goodness, [I feel for her] mother Ellie who has been at that search site every single day.'

'For her to be found alive and well, that is incredible news,' she added, before placing a hand on her heart and saying: 'They've got their little girl back.'

The story no doubt affected Langdon personally because she has a son Cleo's age, named Mack, as well as a younger daughter, Scout.
Outside the Longacre Theatre on Broadway the vaxxed and masked queue is four deep for the opening of Diana The Musical.

On this cold New York night, the air is thick with sugar fumes from the doughnut shop on the corner and freighted with expectation.

Here, a post-covid crowd clamour for glamour, they're in the mood for feel good  and what better than to revisit the life of the former Princess of Wales, played out in a rock opera that purports to be 'about a woman who chose to be fearless, and as a result became timeless'.

Is that entirely true? For the moment it hardly matters because when the curtain comes down over two hours and two dozen musical numbers later, a state of Di-infused delirium prevails in the 1,000-seat auditorium.

Outside the Longacre Theatre on Broadway the vaxxed and masked queue is four deep for the opening of Diana The Musical. Pictured: : Jeanna de Waal as Princess Diana

The audience are on their feet cheering, as bouquets thump down around the feet of Jeanna de Waal, the actress who plays Diana from the ages of 19 to 36 in a fevered biographical arc that runs the gamut from innocence to icon, from overwrought to underpass while barely pausing for breath.

Diana is written by Joe DiPietro (book and lyrics) and David Bryan (music and lyrics), and directed by Christopher Ashley, whose credits include the Broadway versions of Memphis and Xanadu.

It originally ran for nine performances before being shut down by the pandemic last year and a filmed version has been streaming on Netflix for a few weeks.

Yet to experience Diana in all its queasy glory you have to be in a theatre, sandwiched between grown men sobbing and someone shouting 'Go Diana!' every time the Princess shows a spark of pluck.

Now I want to be honest. This American production is deft and energetic with terrific costumes, but it isn't the greatest musical ever made.

Some of the lyrics are not sublime, but a crime against rhyme for which someone should do time.

The life of the former Princess of Wales is played out in a rock opera 'about a woman who chose to be fearless'. Pictured: Judy Kaye as the Queen and Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles

'Oh Harry my ginger- haired son, you will be second to none,' Diana sings at one point.

Later she wants to tell 'the truth about Charles and his mistress Camilla  he's a third rate Henry VIII and she's Godzilla.'

Yet the audience laps up every pantomime moment and tortured lyric. They gasp when Charles is seen onstage in bed with Camilla and cheer when our heroine insists that Camilla address her correctly.

'Actually, it's your royal highness,' she sniffs. ('Go, Diana!') There is even much mocking laughter when HRH hints that her husband Charles is a little lacking in the lovemaking department.

'He's not very good,' she trills, as she romps instead with a topless James Hewitt, oiled up like a Chippendale for her delectation.

It's meant to be fun, but much of it is rather sad and reductive  these are real people after all, with real feelings.

Diana's life, like others in her inner circle, was a richly textured narrative fraught with joys and sadness, with bravery and calamity  but there is no room for delicacy of purpose here.

Prince Charles (Roe Hartrampf) bumbles around onstage in silken dressing gowns like a paisley patterned Dalek, wringing his hands and longing for 'unfiltered conversations' about architecture.

Camilla (Erin Davies) is a dilute Cruella, plotting and moaning about not getting to spend Sundays with her royal lover.

Diana herself is little more than a martyr in the making, simplistic and silly. Oh yes she is! Oh no she's not!

'You thought I was a ninny, you could mould me as you like, well the skinny on the ninny, is that she's really rather bright,' she sings. Well excuse me for having a whinge, but that's really rather cringe.

Almost a quarter of a century has passed since Diana died, yet her haunting presence across stage, screen and page is stronger than ever.

Remarkably, 40 years after she married Prince Charles, her face is once more on freshly printed tea towels and crockery; in the Longacre theatre shop, fans snap up the towels for 17 each, alongside Diana mugs at 18, fridge magnets for 7 each and a zip up hoodie for 43.

Diana is certainly having a moment. Played by Emma Corrin, she featured heavily in the fourth series of The Crown (Netflix) where her unhappiness rises like marsh gas above the swamp of royal life.

In the film Spencer, which opens in the UK this week, Hollywood actress Kristen Stewart plays the Princess unravelling over Christmas at Sandringham. At one point she eats a necklace and then throws herself in front of the guns on a pheasant shoot as the uncaring Windsors look on with disgust.

Was she really that mad? Were the Royals really that bad?

Spencer is beautifully shot, but it is a horror film, rather like The Shining. Directed by Pablo Larrain, it has the Princess throwing up in the Sandringham loos in the first five minutes, later she self-harms with a pair of wire cutters.

'Mummy, what happened to make you so sad?' asks little Prince William at one point. Well, quite. 'I've been wondering how they will write about me in a thousand years,' she says in another scene.

The audience laps up every pantomime moment and tortured lyric. They gasp when Charles is seen onstage in bed with Camilla (pictured: played by Erin Davie)

No one will have to wait that long. But are these fevered depictions of her character what she would have wanted?

Just when one thinks that the bottom has been scraped in the Diana heritage industry, something new floats up from the deep unknown.

Next year there is to be an 'explosive' new memoir from Lee Sansum, a bodyguard who was part of Dodi al-Fayed's protection team 'and also had to protect Princess Diana'.

Before you ask the obvious, it was apparently only 'by a stroke of luck that he was not in the car the night Diana died'. But despite the fact that he wasn't there, his book will offer 'fresh insight on that tragic night in Paris'.

It is endless. Relentless. Diana The Musical has a good heart, but even here there are some scenes of dubious good taste.

She visits patients in an Aids ward and sings to them. Later she wears a revenge outfit to upstage her husband, referred to as her 'F*** You Dress'. What?

Sitting in the darkness of the stalls, I found this one dimensional depiction of mean girl Diana completely unrecognisable and even laughable, but the audience couldn't get enough of her.

After the show, some were in tears, others were confused. 'Wait, what? You mean she died?' said one young woman on the way out. A theatre student called Rachel Siegel told me that: 'I love learning things through music and art.'

Did she think everything she learned tonight was true? 'Oh yes, of course,' she nodded.

Elisabeth Adkins from New Jersey had a different view. 'I am in the same circle of life as Diana,' she says. 'We are the same age, we married in the same year to the same kind of powerful men who cheated on us. I identify with her.'

Perhaps that is it. People either identify with Princess Diana, or project onto her in an indulgent way. In a magazine interview, Jeanna de Waal said she believed Diana would 'definitely' enjoy the show and that William and Harry would be sure to watch it, too.

Her portrayal of the princess, she added, was informed by studying YouTube clips 'over and over again'.

Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart said that her performance in Spencer was inspired by Dianas over the years, real or imagined, plus her own 'obsession' with watching The Crown.

All these Dianas, past and present, whirling by on a carousel of fable and fantasy, informing the creation of all the faux Dianas to come. Something is cracking in this royal hall of mirrors. And for once it isn't the Princess of Wales.
All eyes were on Julianne Hough as she arrived to the Fashion Trust Arabia awards ceremony in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Tuesday evening.

For the glamorous event held at the National Museum of Qatar, the 33-year-old Safe Haven actress looked incredible in a flowing floor-length gown.

She accessorized her long sleeve sequined dress with a pair of statement earrings and a glamorous makeup look, which included a bold lipstick, as she said she was happy to be at the 'stunning event.'

Glowing: All eyes were on Julianne Hough as she arrived to the Fashion Trust Arabia awards ceremony in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday evening

The Dancing with the Stars alum wore a sparkly headdress called a Shayla.

While non-Qatari women are not required to cover their bodies or hair, they are expected to dress modestly so as not to offend the local community.

As she posed on a blue carpet in front of a wall decorated with beautiful pink and orange flowers, Hough looked over her shoulder and smiled.

Sparkly: For the glamorous event held at the National Museum of Qatar, the 33-year-old Safe Haven actress looked incredible in a flowing floor-length gown

The Kinrgy founder looked radiant as she sported a sun-kissed glow from her travels in the Middle East, which she been documenting via Instagram.

On Tuesday, she shared a video of herself in an another sparkly dress ahead of the FTA Gala, which began with a look of her oceanview hotel room.

After changing out of a white robe and towel on her head, she appeared in front of a pool at nighttime before browsing a fashion collection.

Having fun: The Kinrgy founder looked radiant as she sported a sun-kissed glow from her travels in the Middle East, which she been documenting via Instagram

Traveling: On Tuesday, she shared a video of herself in an another sparkly dress ahead of the FTA Gala, which began with a look of her oceanview hotel room

The younger sister of Derek Hough appeared to be having the time of her life while twirling around and getting her picture taken.

She captioned the footage: 'Excited to be in Qatar honoring Fashion Trust Arabia, a non-profit organization with a mission to provide financial support and global recognition to emerging designers in the Middle East and North African region.'

'I cant wait to witness these beautiful designers and exceptional advisory board members tomorrow night at the FTA Gala! Thank you to Her Royal Highness and @maisonvalentino for this stunning kick off event at the Museum of Islamic Art! What a great start to such a beautiful week that lies ahead!' she gushed.

Night out: After changing out of a white robe and towel on her head, she appeared in front of a pool at nighttime before browsing a fashion collection

Posing away: The younger sister of Derek Hough appeared to be having the time of her life while twirling around and getting her picture taken

Two weeks ago, she opened up about the controversy she was involved in regarding The Activist, the scuttled reality show CBS had planned until a backlash led network officials to repackage it as a documentary.

'I think the greatest thing that I learned is to listen to what's happening, to gather information and to really try to learn,' the star told People last month while appearing at the EMA Awards Gala in Van Nuys, California.

The performer said that she now has 'more of a fire to focus on the things that need attention' in the wake of the pushback over the show, which she had been set to be a judge on.

Blissful: She captioned the footage: 'Excited to be in Qatar honoring Fashion Trust Arabia, a non-profit organization with a mission to provide financial support and global recognition to emerging designers in the Middle East and North African region'

'I cant wait to witness these beautiful designers and exceptional advisory board members tomorrow night at the FTA Gala! Thank you to Her Royal Highness and @maisonvalentino for this stunning kick off event at the Museum of Islamic Art! What a great start to such a beautiful week that lies ahead!' she gushed

Hough said that 'the greatest thing you can do is to just learn and to grow and to be open to different perspectives.'

Hough told the publication that she spoke with multiple activists about the situation, and that many showed 'their deepest kindness by sharing and opening up' amid the time.

'I reached out to so many people who offered their knowledge and their perspective in a way that was inviting and welcoming versus being judgmental,' she said.

She said the response she received 'was kindness at its finest and it really showed that humans really do want to unify and help each other and that touched my heart.'
Channel Seven has announced a female farmer will be joining next year's season of dating show Farmer Wants a Wife.

Paige, a 27-year-old sheep and cattle farmer from Cassilis, NSW, is set to begin her quest for love alongside five male suitors.

She is looking for a partner who is 'honest, driven and shares similar interests like horse riding and campdrafting'.

Looking for love: Paige, a 27-year-old sheep and cattle farmer from Cassilis, NSW, will be joining next year's season of Channel Seven dating show Farmer Wants a Wife

She will be joining farmers Benjamin (33, Guyra, NSW), James (28, Tarnook, VIC), Ben (27, Wingham, NSW), Harry (23, Kyabram, VIC) and Will (26, Berriwillock, VIC).

Back when Farmer Wants a Wife aired on Channel Nine, it featured a female farmer during the 2008 season.

Jenny Geppert (nee Blake) had a short-lived romance with contestant Owen.

Coming soon: She will be joining farmers Benjamin (33, Guyra, NSW), James (28, Tarnook, VIC), Ben (27, Wingham, NSW), Harry (23, Kyabram, VIC) and Will (26, Berriwillock, VIC)

She went on to find love with her now-husband Mark, and they live together on a farm in Sandigo, NSW, with their children.

Meanwhile, former Sunrise presenter Sam Armytage is also joining the upcoming season of Farmer Wants a Wife as a guest star.

Sam, who married wealthy farmer Richard Lavender late last year, will assist with the matchmaking process alongside host Natalie Gruzlewski.

Popular: Farmer Wants a Wife is one of the few dating shows known for producing long-lasting couples. Pictured Farmer Will

Another contestant: Farmer James is pictured here

Her guest role will involve hosting a segment called Sam's Choice, in which she introduces the farmers to a 'new lady based on her own expertise and experience'.

'I'm thrilled to be joining Farmer Wants a Wife in 2022,' she said.

'I've always been a huge fan of the show and of country people, and I know first-hand that falling in love with a farmer is just about the most wonderful thing you can do.'
She's made a career out of her breathtaking good looks.

And Candice Swanepoel proved she was her own best advertisement while modeling looks from her swimwear brand Tropic of C on Instagram Wednesday.

The 33-year-old supermodel and former Victoria's Secret Angel looked like a natural beauty in the outdoorsy shots, which were taken in an undisclosed tropical location.

Hot stuff! Candice Swanepoel showed off her eye-catching physique in a duo of promotional shots for her swimwear brand Tropic of C

Swanepoel sported a revealing black bikini top that prominently showcased her toned tummy and chiseled arms.

The South African supermodel also sported a matching bottom that placed her toned thighs and legs on nearly full display.

The fashion industry figure accessorized with a single necklace and several rings, both of which gave her monotone outfit a little bit of shine.

Her lovely blonde locks remained free-flowing and cascaded onto her backside and shoulders.

Eye-catching outfit: Swanepoel sported a barely-there black bikini top and a matching bottom that showed off her curvy hips and thighs

Swanepoel was also pictured in a solo shot that was shared to Tropic of C's official Instagram account on Wednesday.

The blonde bombshell sported a driftwood brown Ischa top and a matching bottom in the smoking shot.

She also added a little bit of lightness to her clothing ensemble with a patterned white cover-up that contrasted beautifully with the light shade of her outfit.

The model also sported a few pieces of jewelry, and her gorgeous locks provided an element of bright color to her clothing ensemble.

Doing what she does best: Swanepoel was also pictured in a solo shot that was shared to Tropic of C's official Instagram account on Wednesday

Swanepoel founded Tropic of C in 2018 and initially announced that the brand was finally available to the public through a post that was shared to her Instagram that year.

The brand was started with the intention of constructing fashionable swimwear that was produced in an environmentally friendly manner.

The supermodel previously spoke to the Daily Front Row and told the media outlet that she was happy to see Tropic of C's products being worn by customers worldwide.

'The brand keeps evolving, and it's so rewarding to see that every day we reach more women in all corners of the world,' she said.

Starting off strong: Swanepoel founded Tropic of C in 2018 and initially announced that the brand was finally available to the public through a post that was shared to her Instagram that year

Swanepoel went on to explain the motivations behind her company's environmentally-conscious working methods.

'I really wanted to create a brand that was conscious of its impact on the planet and use new innovations to create products that continually aim to reduce the environmental impact of our production,' she stated.

The fashion industry personality also noted that, although they did have to spend a little bit more based on their methods, they were not willing to compromise their values as a company.

Intentions: During an interview with Daily Front Row, Swanepoel expressed that she 'really wanted to create a brand that was conscious of its impact on the planet'

'We spent a lot of time on these details, and we do pay a premium, but we know our customer cares and it fulfills the promise we made on our mission as a brand and a team,' she remarked.

Swanepoel then pointed out that she filled multiple roles while working on the company's projects.

'I'm not only the model but also the art director on our shoots, so I get to apply all I learned working with so many amazing photographers, stylists, and creatives. My work in front of the camera is only a piece,' she said.
Will Smith revealed he once considered killing his father as a way to 'avenge' his mother.

The Philadelphia-born actor, 53, reflected on his complicated relationship with his father in an excerpt of his forthcoming memoir Will released by People on Wednesday, describing the late Willard C. Smith Sr. as a 'violent' alcoholic who was dedicated to his family.

In the except, Will remembers a time when he contemplated pushing his drunken father down the stairs as retribution for the 'decades of pain, anger, and resentment' Will Sr. caused.

Greek drama: Will Smith revealed he once considered killing his father as a way to 'avenge' his mother. They're seen in 2015 together, not long before Smith Sr.'s 2016 death from cancer

Pages: The Philadelphia-born actor, 53, reflected on his complicated relationship with his father in an excerpt of his forthcoming memoir Will released by People on Wednesday

'My father was violent, but he was also at every game, play, and recital,' Smith wrote.

'He was an alcoholic, but he was sober at every premiere of every one of my movies. He listened to every record. He visited every studio. The same intense perfectionism that terrorized his family put food on the table every night of my life.'

Recalling an early memory of violence, Will went on: 'When I was nine years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsed. I saw her spit blood.

'That moment in that bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am.'

Smith said that the trauma of that incident resonated through the rest of his life.

'Within everything that I have done since then  the awards and accolades, the spotlights and attention, the characters and the laughs  there has been a subtle string of apologies to my mother for my inaction that day,' he wrote. 'For failing her in the moment. For failing to stand up to my father. For being a coward.'

He described his bombastic public persona as a facade, writing: 'What you have come to understand as "Will Smith," the alien-annihilating MC, the bigger-than-life movie star, is largely a construction  a carefully crafted and honed character  designed to protect myself. To hide myself from the world. To hide the coward.'

Darkness: In the except, Will remembers a time when he contemplated pushing his drunken father down the stairs as retribution for the 'decades of pain, anger, and resentment' Will Sr. caused. Above, the father and son are seen in a vintage shot with Will's eldest Trey

Traumatic: Recalling an early memory of violence, Will said, 'When I was nine years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsed. I saw her spit blood. That moment in that bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am'

But Will remembered one time time he was almost overtaken by a 'darkness,' writing: 'One night, as I delicately wheeled him from his bedroom toward the bathroom, a darkness arose within me.'

'The path between the two rooms goes past the top of the stairs. As a child I'd always told myself that I would one day avenge my mother. That when I was big enough, when I was strong enough, when I was no longer a coward, I would slay him.'

'I paused at the top of the stairs. I could shove him down, and easily get away with it,' he wrote.

'As the decades of pain, anger, and resentment coursed then receded, I shook my head and proceeded to wheel Daddio to the bathroom.'

Will Sr. would die of cancer at age 76 in 2016.

Reflecting on the loss and how he made peace, the actor wrote: 'There is nothing that you can receive from the material world that will create inner peace or fulfillment.'

'In the end, it will not matter one single bit how well [people] loved you  you will only gain "the Smile" based on how well you loved them.'

Smith went on to raise three of his own children: sons Trey, 28, and Jaden, 23, as well as daughter Willow, 21.

Will Smith's memoir Will comes out November 9th.
She's the mother of two young boys.

And on Wednesday Amber Rose, 38, appeared on Instagram to share that she planned to undergo liposuction to enhance her post-pregnancy figure.

The outspoken feminist told her 21.5 million fans: 'Im so excited!!!'

News: Amber Rose, 38, appeared on Instagram to share that she planned to undergo liposuction to correct her post-pregnancy figure

In the short, 35-second video clip the short-haired vixen used a dramatic face-filter as she donned a hospital gown and lay on a bed at a medical facility.

Her surgeon, David Matlock, was nearby as she brought her fans up to speed on the imminent proceedings.

She looked beautiful and bright-eyed despite not being in her usual jewelry, makeup, and fashion.

Soft-spoken, the blonde influencer said, 'Hey, guys, so I'm here with Dr. Matlock,' before telling the doctor to, 'Say "hey."'

Feeling positive: The outspoken feminist told her 21.5 million fans: 'Im so excited!!!'

Then she continued: 'So today I'm getting - I have, umm, a lot of scar tissue from my c-sections. I had two c-sections with my boys and it kind of makes my stomach poke out a little bit so [Dr. Madlock]'s gonna break that up and give me some lipo, which I'm super excited about.

'My stomach is gonna be really flat and pretty and I'm about to go in for surgery so wish me luck 'cause...'

Quickly backtracking, the entrepreneur added, 'I'm with the best doctor in the world so I really don't need [luck] but I love you guys.'

Ready to go under: In the short, 35-second video clip the short-haired vixen was seen in a hospital gown as she lay on a bed at a medical facility

Her trusted doctor was seen in black scrubs and leaned in to assure Amber's supporters that he'd 'take care of her,' as he flashed two thumbs up gestures at the camera.

The Philadelphia native echoed his sentiment, giving her own thumbs up with a single finger and quietly saying 'Bye' as she smiled and ended the recording.

Despite feeling unhappy with her body enough to turn to surgical technology, the curvy stunner famously flaunts her shape.

Most recently she was seen in a topless catsuit while attending Maxim's Halloween party on Sunday at The Highlight Room in Hollywood.

Halloween celebration: Amber was seen in a topless catsuit while attending Maxim's Halloween party on Sunday at The Highlight Room in Hollywood

The model, who used to date Kanye West, revealed her bust in a risque black catsuit with a large cut-out at the front, protecting part of her modesty with just black star nipple pasties.

Amber wed rapper Wiz Khalifa in 2013 but they separated after one year of marriage, finalizing the divorce in 2016. They share son Sebastian Taylor Thomaz, eight.

And the megastar also has Slash Electric Alexander Edwards, two, with ex-boyfriend A.E. Edwards.
Prince Andrews ill-judged friendship with Jeffrey Epstein has left his reputation in tatters, but he wasnt the only member of the Royal Family to have been targeted by the late sex offender.

A new book includes a previously unpublished interview with Epstein in which he claims that he knew Princess Diana and had accompanied her to a number of events.

The allegation is made in Too Famous, a new collection of work by the distinguished American journalist Michael Wolff. He asks Epstein  who was found dead in a prison cell in 2019 at the age of 66  if he went out with Diana.

A new book includes a previously unpublished interview with Epstein in which he claims that he knew Princess Diana (pictured) and had accompanied her to a number of events

The super-rich financier replies: I escorted her on occasion.

Epstein does not give details of where his outings with the Princess took place, and there is no known photographic evidence, but they may have been during her visits to New York, where Epstein owned a 37million town house.

Of course, any relationship between Diana, who died in 1997, would have been long before he was convicted in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute.

By contrast, Dianas former brother-in-law, Andrew, remained friends with Epstein after he was released from jail, having served almost 13 months in custody. The Queens second son stayed with Epstein at his New York home as recently as 2010.

Epstein (right) does not give details of where his outings with the Princess took place, and there is no known photographic evidence, but they may have been during her visits to New York, where Epstein owned a 37million town house

Through his friendship with Andrew, Epstein went on a shooting weekend to Sandringham, the Queens Norfolk retreat. He even helped pay off some debts owed by Andrews ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York.

Last year, this newspaper revealed that Epstein had befriended Princess Dianas bridesmaid Clementine Hambro. She worked for Christies auction house when she was invited to Epsteins Santa Fe home in 1999 to discuss art. A month later, as his guest, she flew aboard his jet to Little Saint James in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Clemmie, who is Winston Churchills great-granddaughter, said: I was not abused, nor did I see anyone abused. I was clearly very lucky.
JoJo Siwa is clearly taking her breakup with girlfriend Kylie Prew in stride.

On Wednesday, the 18-year-old pop star flashed a huge smile after wrapping u[ another Dancing With The Stars rehearsal in Los Angeles.

The outing comes just one day after Siwa officially confirmed her and Kylie's split on the most recent episode of Paris Hilton's podcast This Is Paris.

Beaming: JoJo Siwa flashed a huge smile after wrapping another Dancing With The Stars rehearsal in Los Angeles on Wednesday

JoJo - who is set to compete in the dance competition series' semifinals with partner Jenna Johnson - looked patriotic in a sporty red, white and blue getup.

The Dance Moms alum rocked a windbreak, a bright red tee, and a pair of black dance shorts.

She finished off the look with some white crew socks and sneakers.

Siwa sported her signature high ponytail and carried her rehearsal essentials in a black backpack.

Patriotic: JoJo - who is set to compete in the dance competition series' semifinals with partner Jenna Johnson - looked patriotic in a sporty red, white and blue getup

Sporty: The Dance Moms alum rocked a windbreak, a bright red tee, and a pair of black dance shorts

Before zooming away in her vehicle, JoJo gave a friendly wave in the direction of fans eager to catch a glimpse of the young star.

On Tuesday, Siwa spoke candidly about her and Prew's shock split, citing her 'hectic schedule' as the main reason for the relationship's end.

'I have yet to talk about this officially, publicly, but we broke up,' she confirmed to Paris.

JoJo and Kylie were first romantically linked this past February when the Dancing With The Stars cast member initially gushed about her then-girlfriend during a sit-down on The Tonight Show.

Hydrate: With hours of dancing under her belt, Siwa made sure to rehydrate

All packed up: The 18-year-old pop star carried her rehearsal essentials in a black backpack

Ciao! Before zooming away in her vehicle, JoJo gave a friendly wave in the direction of fans eager to catch a glimpse of the young star

JoJo spent part of the conversation discussing her love life and spoke to the host about her relationship with her former partner, which she stressed was still amicable despite their split.

Siwa made a point of expressing that she and Prew were still on good terms and remained close despite their breakup.

She noted that Prew 'is literally still my best friend. I talked to her yesterday. She just got a new puppy. She's awesome. She's having the time of her life, I'm having the time of my life.'

She added: 'I'm really lucky that I didn't lose her completely because, you know, even though relationships end, friendships don't have to end and I think that's something I didn't know could happen.'

Confirmed: The outing comes just one day after Siwa officially confirmed her and Kylie's split on the most recent episode of Paris Hilton's podcast This Is Paris; they are seen in April

Letting everyone know: Siwa began the conversation by stating 'I have yet to talk about this officially, publicly, but we broke up'; she is pictured earlier this month

The social media personality then remarked that she was grateful for all of the positive experiences that she and Prew shared.

'I was very happy...because that's all I wanted. But I'm really happy that I remember all the fun times, all the good times, and nothing bad happened,' she stated.

She also attributed her breakup to a classic case of 'right person, wrong time...but everything's good. I'm good.'

Remembering the good times: The social media personality notably remarked that she was grateful for all of the positive experiences that she and Prew shared; they are seen in September

Siwa and Prew were initially romantically linked after the former appeared on The Tonight Show in February and discussed her budding romance with her now-ex-girlfriend.

The pair previously met while spending time on a cruise that took place in December of 2019 and remained close after the excursion ended.

She went Instagram official with her partner that same month and revealed that they had been friends for an extended period of time prior to the official start of their relationship.

The two remained together for much of the year before they began spending less time together during the production of the most recent season of Dancing With The Stars, in which Siwa currently appears.

Starting off strong: Siwa and Prew were initially romantically linked after the former appeared on The Tonight Show in February and discussed her budding romance with her now-ex-girlfriend; they are seen in September

The professional dancer has previously spoken about the support that her dancing partner, Jenna Johnson, had provided during the process of her breakup with Prew.

The television personality previously spoke to Page Six and told the media outlet: 'One thing that she's done for me is made me happy with being me.'

She then pointed out that her family members had taken notice of Johnson's affable personality.

'That's something that my mom actually said to me yesterday. She said, "I just love that you have Jenna in your life, as your friend, as your big sister because she just isn't trying to change you"... It's something that I'm forever grateful for,' she said.
14 years after the controversial series finale of The Sopranos, series creator David Chase is finally opening up about his original plans for the death of James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano.

The series finale, which aired in June 2007, ended with a controversial scene where Tony met his family for dinner at Holsten's, with Tony continually looking up at the door when anyone enters, before the show cuts to black.

While the ending has still remained a controversial topic to this day, Chase, 76, revealed in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter that the cut to black was not his original plan.

Finale: Tony's death: 14 years after the controversial series finale of The Sopranos, series creator David Chase is finally opening up about his original plans for the death of James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano

Final dinner: The series finale, which aired in June 2007, ended with a controversial scene where Tony met his family for dinner at Holsten's, with Tony continually looking up at the door when anyone enters, before the show cuts to black

Plan: While the ending has still remained a controversial topic to this day, Chase, 76, revealed in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter that the cut to black was not his original plan

'Because the [death] scene I had in my mind was not that scene. Nor did I think of cutting to black, Chase said.

'I had a scene in which Tony comes back from a meeting in New York in his car. At the beginning of every show, he came from New York into New Jersey, and the last scene could be him coming from New Jersey back into New York for a meeting at which he was going to be killed,' Chase added.

Still, Chase wouldn't definitively state if Tony Soprano is dead or not, but he also revealed when he had the idea for the finale to be in a diner came a few years earlier, during a random encounter.

Not that scene: 'Because the [death] scene I had in my mind was not that scene. Nor did I think of cutting to black, Chase said

'I was driving on Ocean Park Boulevard near the airport and I saw a little restaurant. It was kind of like a shack that served breakfast. And for some reason I thought, 'Tony should get it in a place like that. Why? I dont know. That was, like, two years before,' Chase said.

When asked about reactions to the finale, Chase added, 'Yeah, nobody said anything about the episode. No, it was all about the ending.'

'I had no idea it would cause that much  I mean, I forget what was going on in Iraq or someplace; London had been bombed! Nobody was talking about that; they were talking about The Sopranos,' Chase added.

Tony: 'I was driving on Ocean Park Boulevard near the airport and I saw a little restaurant. It was kind of like a shack that served breakfast. And for some reason I thought, 'Tony should get it in a place like that. Why? I dont know. That was, like, two years before,' Chase said

'It was kind of incredible to me. But I had no idea it would be that much of an uproar. And was it annoying? What was annoying was how many people wanted to see Tony killed. That bothered me,' he said.

He added, 'They wanted to know that Tony was killed. They wanted to see him go face-down in linguini, you know?'

'And I just thought, God, you watched this guy for seven years and I know hes a criminal. But dont tell me you dont love him in some way, dont tell me youre not on his side in some way. And now you want to see him killed? You want justice done? You're a criminal after watching this shit for seven years. That bothered me, yeah,' Chase admitted.

Uproar: 'It was kind of incredible to me. But I had no idea it would be that much of an uproar. And was it annoying? What was annoying was how many people wanted to see Tony killed. That bothered me,' he said

He also spoke about the now-infamous ending in the new book Woke Up This Morning by The Sopranos stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa.

'No. I really shouldnt talk about it at all because when I say anything, people interpret it in some way, and then it starts up again,' he said.

'For a long time, I was really upset because thats all they talked about, they didnt talk about the rest of the episode,' Chase said.
Gillian Anderson has vowed to never wear a bra again after lockdown because they are too uncomfortable and joked she doesn't care if her breasts 'reach her belly button'.

Hosting an Instagram Live on Monday in which she answered various questions from her 1.8million fans Gillian, 52, revealed she is now 'too lazy' to wear a bra.

One fan asked The Crown star to explain what her go-to outfit was during lockdown and she provided a very comical response.

Liberating: Gillian Anderson has vowed to never wear a bra again after lockdown because they are too uncomfortable and joked she doesn't care if her breasts 'reach her belly button'

As she sat on her sofa in Atlanta, she explained: 'It's probably the same one as my out of lockdown outfit 'I mean, I've gotten so lazy and I don't wear a bra any more. I can't wear a bra. I can't, no, I can't. I'm sorry.

'I don't care if my breasts reach my belly button, I'm not wearing a bra any more. It's just too f***ing uncomfortable.

'So yeah, comfortable black track pants and a matching hoodie. I'd wear that every day if I could.'

Her words have since sparked a flurry of people on social media explaining they plan to follow in her footsteps and ditch their bras.

Honest: Hosting an Instagram Live on Monday in which she answered various questions from her 1.8million fans Gillian, 52, (pictured in April) revealed she is now 'too lazy' to wear a bra

One person wrote: 'If two time Golden Globe and Emmy winning actress Gillian Anderson says no more bras who are we to disagree.'

Another said: 'I never wear a bra and I get a lot of distasteful comments about it, so knowing Gillian Anderson doesnt wear a bra anymore is information most pleasing to me!'

It comes after the actress delighted fans when she reunited with former X-Files co-star David Duchovny, 60, who played Dana Scully and Fox Mulder respectively, earlier this year.

The Crown actress took to Instagram to share a duo of snaps showing her and her former partner in crime, as he was introduced to her dog.

Hilarious: One fan asked The Crown star to explain what her go-to outfit was during lockdown and she provided a very comical response about never wearing a bra again

Gillian and David became household names in the '90s thanks to the roles as FBI Special Agents in the beloved sci-fi series The X-Files.

A host of her 1.8million Instagram followers soon swarmed the comments section to delight in the reunion - stating they were 'getting the band back together'.

Instagram users penned: 'Getting the band back together... the way you knew this would break the internet... Ive just died a thousand deaths from one photo!!...

'cuties!! currently watching x files as we speak, what a duo!... Omgggg this photo is everything... HELL YEA KING AND QUEEN ARE BACK... I still love these two after all these years. Forever my OTP.'

All together: Gillian and David Duchovny, 60, who played Dana Scully and Fox Mulder respectively, were once again delighting viewers as they reunited

Way back when: Gillian and David became household names in the '90s thanks to the roles as FBI Special Agents in the beloved sci-fi series The X-Files

Last year, Gillian reflected on her decision to leave Hollywood and move to London at the height of her fame.

'I had a complicated relationship with becoming so famous so young and seeing the worst part of what the industry can be. I really hated it and wanted to get away,' she told Australia's TV Week magazine.

'Now I'm older, I can put it all in perspective. The rewards that I've been blessed with for following my instincts are many, and I never got to the point of even considering moving back to America,' she added.

Excitement! A host of her 1.8million Instagram followers soon swarmed the comments section to delight in the reunion - stating they were 'getting the band back together'

Gillian, who spent years living in England as a child, explained that she 'always missed the UK and always knew she was going to end up back here'.

The Emmy winner was born in Chicago, and her family later relocated to Puerto Rico for 15 months and then London.

The Sex Education star returned to the United States with her family at the age of 11 and they settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Kolina Koltai, a postdoctoral scholar in the Information School, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis at the Nov. 17 Combating Coronavirus Cons and the Monetization of Misinformation hearing.
Dancehall deejay Devin Di Dakta has made it clear that he remains unimpressed with persons in Jamaica, who are referring to themselves as music producers, without even knowing or understanding even the basics of music production.

The 2017 Reggae Grammy nominee was responding to a statement made by producer Germaine Clarke, that juggling riddims should be in the quest for Grammy wins, in an article which was published by the Star on Monday.

Clarke had also said that he had officially submitted the Truthful riddim compilation album for consideration for the Best Reggae Album at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

However Devin, who copped his Grammy nomination for the 2017 album titled Sly and Robbie PresentsReggae for Her, which featured JL, pointed out that the solution to being considered for nomination, lies in producers taking artists under their wings and grooming them musically.

Find young talents, help develop dem craft, produce albums with them and then submit dem for Grammy consideration, the System Matic artist advised.

He then pointed out that despite this being the ideal, it was not realistic, since the music industry is overrun with wanna-bes who have no idea of what it takes to produce quality music.

But how many PRODUCERS actually know how to PRODUCE MUSIC? All Im seeing is people calling themselves producers, buying beats, pay artists to record and send it to distributors hoping that the artists clout will make the songs go viral so dem (the Producers) can collect a $200 Cheque a month time till it stop, the St. Mary native said.

Devins sentiments are almost similar to that of another veteran artist, Mr. Vegas, who in 2019 had said that many of the current batch of young producers have no knowledge of how to play any musical instrument nor the difference between an artist being on-key or off-key. He said they rely totally on computer software such as Keyfinder, Autotune, and Mellodyne to produce music.

Nuff a di man dem weh seh dem a producer, dem cant play music. So how yuh seh yuh a producer? Yuh a sampler, Vegas had said.

He had also lamented what he described as the woeful deficit in stagecraft of some of Jamaicas prominent upcoming artists, and laid the blame at the feet of the producers.

Yuh not even know when man deh pon key. Dem use di Keyfinder, but the artiste, when him go pon stage, him cant find back the key. Keyfinder and call yourself a producer? Producer wha man? he had said.

Di man dem not even now when di artiste dem deh pon key So when di artiste dem go pon stage dem cant sing it the artiste no know how fi find back di key pon stage show, so di music sound good and nice when you hear it enuh, but listen it a stage show and a run yuh waa run outta di dance, he added.

Generally, music producers are expected to be at least familiar with the fundamentals of music sound, various families of musical instruments, the human voice and have good ear training.

Ear training enables them to identify intervals, as well as notes and chords and hear minor changes or minute nuances in the music as they listen, so that they really understand what they are hearing and perfect the mix of the sound, according to the Minneapolis-based IPR College of the Creative Arts.

As it relates to producers buying beats, amidst concerns about producers claiming music created by beatmakers as their own, veteran music producer Gussie Clarke in January 2017, had said it was against the law for as Copyright Law gives clear protection to composers of beats and other types of intellectual property.

In a Gleaner article, Clarke had said that although the problem was not new, it had escalated in recent times, with beat makers growing extremely frustrated with the way they have been treated by producers.

Declaring it a wicked criminal act that had been going on for quite some time now, Clarke had said these miscreants were stealing peoples works, and not giving them any credit, nor earnings from the projects.

Many of these persons (beat makers) are approached by these producers and are asked to create a rhythm for them. He (the beat maker) then sells them the rhythm. But what he has sold is the master, which is the right to take that rhythm and voice as many people on it as he (the producer) wants, Clarke had stated.

He has not sold his copyright. Some producers dont know this and think they bought the copyright. The copyright is not transferable by word of mouth. It has to be contractual, he added.
McALLEN, Texas (AP)  For about four months before President Joe Biden took office, advisers engaged in intense internal debate about how quickly they should undo his predecessor's hardline border policies.

The answer, almost always, was that Donald Trump's mark couldn't be erased soon enough.

Immigration advocates on the transition team defiantly shot down a detailed memo circulated among top aides that called for turning back some migrants who cross illegally by making them seek protection in other countries. They pushed back against estimates of soaring migration flows if Trumps policies were dismantled.

In the end, Biden recognized predictions that more migrants might come to the border, but he was firm that policies instituted by Trump were cruel and inhumane and had to be jettisoned.

Biden took office on Jan. 20. Almost immediately, numbers of migrants exceeded expectations. Plans outlined in a December document to fully resume asylum processing at land crossings were soon overtaken by events.

Children traveling alone shattered previous highs in March, making up most of the more than 4,500 people housed in temporary tents that were designed for 250 under COVID-19 standards. The Border Patrol encountered migrants in South Texas more often than ever in June and July, dashing expectations for a common summer slowdown.

In September, about 15,000 mostly Haitian refugees were camped under a bridge in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas. The chaotic scene stretched on for days as migrants waded back and forth across a river for supplies and families slept in squalor. Images of agents on horseback corralling refugees went viral.

The administration began a massive expulsion of Haitians while allowing thousands to remain in the U.S. Its uneven response after months of rising arrivals sparked sharp criticism from both the right and left, illustrating the consequences of scrapping Trump's policies without a new asylum system in place.

Some key developments could not have been predicted by any administration, and predating Biden was a major structural problem of immigration courts taking nearly four years on average to decide cases of immigrants not in custody.

But a close review of the last year  based on internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and AIM Media Texas and dozens of interviews with current and former U.S. and Mexican officials, migrants, shelter managers, advocates and others  shows how an administration stacked with seasoned immigration advocates was unprepared for the huge increase in people seeking refuge at the border. Many interviewed for this reconstruction spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized or comfortable discussing private deliberations.

When presented with specifics of the reconstruction, the White House defended its record.

After four years of the Trump administrations chaos, cruelty and misplaced priorities, the work to build a fair, orderly and humane immigration system will take time and wont happen overnight," said spokesman Vedant Patel. "In a short period of time, the Biden administration continues to make considerable progress delivering on its plan.

BROKEN ASYLUM SYSTEM

While the Biden administration would work to undo policies put in place during and after a 2019 spike in arrivals at the border, it inherited an asylum system that has been broken for years. It sorely tested Bidens immediate predecessors.

In the summer of 2014, large numbers of unaccompanied children from Central Americas Northern Triangle countries  Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras  showed up along the Texas border in the Rio Grande Valley, a profound demographic shift from predominantly Mexican men that created what then-President Barack Obama called a humanitarian crisis and left a deep impression on more enforcement-minded aides who went on to serve in the Biden administration. Spikes have since occurred periodically.

Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras accounted for about two of every three border arrests and people who came in families made up more than half in the governments 2019 fiscal year, both all-time highs. In a throwback to earlier times, encounters with single adults soared during Trumps final year in office after the launch of Title 42 authority, which allowed migrants to be expelled without a chance to seek asylum on the basis of coronavirus. They also faced no legal consequences, encouraging repeat attempts.

Against that daunting backdrop, Biden took office surrounded by immigration experts steeped with advocacy backgrounds. Esther Olavarria, an immigration attorney who worked for former Sen. Ted Kennedy and the Obama administration but spent much of her career as a Miami-based organizer, took a top spot on the White House Domestic Policy Council with Tyler Moran, who was then executive director of The Immigration Hub, a group of pro-immigration strategists.

Influential, more enforcement-minded voices included David Shahoulian, who resigned last month for personal reasons as assistant Homeland Security secretary for border security and immigration, and Roberta Jacobson, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico and career diplomat in Latin America who agreed to serve 100 days on the National Security Council as coordinator for the Southwest border.

REMAIN IN MEXICO WINDS DOWN

Despite concerns, Biden was adamant about his campaign promise to start reversing Trumps border policies by ending Remain in Mexico, known officially as Migrant Protection Protocols, under which about 70,000 asylum-seekers were made to wait outside the country for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

Crossings fell sharply after Trump expanded the policy in 2019, but migrants were forced to wait in dangerous and unfamiliar Mexican border cities where finding steady work was difficult and finding attorneys was nearly impossible. Human Rights First, an advocacy group, documented 1,544 examples of violent assaults, including murder, rape, torture and kidnapping.

During the transition, advocates pushed for the policys immediate reversal, but consensus emerged for a more gradual winding down.

The complicated logistics of allowing up to 26,000 asylum-seekers with active cases to return to the United States and remain free while their cases wound through the courts was a high priority in the administrations first weeks.

All records were on paper, with few working phone numbers or addresses listed, posing a challenge on how to get the word out. U.S. authorities, working closely with United Nations organizations, worried about a rush to the border exacerbating public health and security concerns  and at the same time, sending a message to asylum-seekers who had returned to Central America to make the dangerous journey back north.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights website for asylum-seekers with active cases went live Feb. 12 and was overwhelmed with technical glitches. Multiple dropdown boxes created confusion and led to a site redesign.

Despite the early hiccups, more than 11,000 asylum-seekers had returned to the United States by June 1, when Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas officially declared the policy was over after a review found it yielded only mixed effectiveness on border security. Others whose asylum cases were dismissed or denied under Trump were allowed in starting in late June.

As border crossings soared beyond expectations, Amy Pope joined the White House staff in March after having advised Biden on immigration during the campaign and working closely with him in 2014 when he was tasked by Obama with the unaccompanied children on the Texas border. Her mandate was to bridge internal rifts between advocacy- and more enforcement-minded aides while her nomination to the second-highest position at the International Organization for Migration awaited approval from other member nations at the U.N. agency.

UNACCOMPANIED MINORS

Some White House and Homeland Security officials were frustrated by how woefully unprepared the Department of Health and Human Services was to handle unaccompanied children. As required by law, it was supposed to take custody within 72 hours and then place them in a home, usually with a parent or close relative.

Participants in early interdepartmental meetings said Health and Human Services officials raised few warnings. On Feb. 7, U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a large complex of white tents in the Rio Grande Valley, cramming more than 500 children into spaces designed for 32 under COVID-19 guidelines. Thick plastic curtains replaced chain-link fences used as barriers in the Obama and Trump administrations, but massive overcrowding was the same or worse.

If (Health and Human Services) were able to take these kids off our hands, then it would be better for everybody, Oscar Escamilla, acting executive officer of the Border Patrols Rio Grande Valley sector, said during a media tour of the Donna, Texas, facility on March 30. At the time, unaccompanied children were being held an average of 61 hours over the 72-hour limit and as long as 20 days. Were forced into the (child detention) business because we cant turn them over to anybody.

Health and Human Services belatedly sprang into action, aided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It opened about a dozen emergency holding centers within about a month to process unaccompanied children, renting space at a San Antonio concert venue and at military bases and convention centers in Dallas, San Diego and Long Beach, California.

By late April, the department had more than 22,000 children in its custody, but even more arrived as others were released to family in the United States during asylum proceedings. July broke Marchs record number of unaccompanied children.

On March 19, the Border Patrol for the first time ever began releasing families with notices to report to an immigration office within 60 days, instead of releasing them with more time-consuming notices to appear in immigration court. With processing taking up about 40% of Border Patrol resources, the agency concluded it had no choice. Troy Miller, the acting CBP commissioner, said in congressional testimony that the change cuts the paperwork in half.

As of Sept. 10, CBP had released 107,817 people without formal notices to appear in court, according to an internal document. Of those, 29,863, or 28%, did not report to ICE by their deadlines.

SUMMER INCREASE IN CROSSINGS

Once in office, Biden attended weekly meetings to discuss the border. However, the high-level gatherings became less frequent as COVID-19 travel restrictions eased and arrivals of unaccompanied children fell after March. Any sense of relief evaporated when the Border Patrols daily reports showed dramatic increases in migration flows in late June, bucking a pattern of declines during the summer heat.

The Border Patrols Rio Grande Valley sector stopped more than 20,000 migrants for the first week ever from July 18-24, smashing previous highs. Four of its five busiest weeks on record were in late June and July, the other one coming in March.

Brian Hastings, who heads the sector, wrote senior Border Patrol officials on July 26 that Catholic Charities of Rio Grande Valley was full and could no longer provide temporary shelter to migrants, which forced the agency to release thousands at a McAllen, Texas, bus station. He also said Health and Human Services was prioritizing children who would be easiest to place in homes over those who had been in Border Patrol custody the longest, specifically older teens and pregnant girls.

I know that you are overwhelmed there, but we need to get (unaccompanied children) moving, the Border Patrols deputy chief of operations wrote the same day. This issue is reaching the top level of this Administration again. Just want to make sure we are full court press on (unaccompanied children). (I get it ... along with everything else.)

MEXICO SURPRISE

The Biden administration underestimated migration flows, but Mexico popped a surprise that severely undermined Title 42, which had been the most significant victory for enforcement-minded aides who fought during the transition to temporarily maintain it. Advocacy groups have repeatedly called to end the public health measure, which was invoked on grounds of preventing the coronavirus from spreading.

On Jan. 23, U.S. authorities were taken aback when Mexican officials in the state of Tamaulipas said they would no longer accept Central American families expelled from the United States.

Mexican officials in other border states continued taking expelled families, but Tamaulipas borders most of South Texas, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings by far. It resulted in crossings being even more concentrated in South Texas. The Border Patrols Rio Grande Valley and Del Rio sectors accounted for more than half of all migrant encounters in August, compared with less than one-third a year earlier.

There was great frustration and irritation with Mexico at the administrations highest levels, according to one person with direct knowledge of discussions with high-ranking officials. Border Patrol officials who work with Mexican authorities on more routine operational issues also pressed for change in long, daily conversations. U.S. authorities had trouble getting on the phone with Tamaulipas Gov. Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca.

Mexican diplomats were sympathetic but said the change was linked to a child welfare law that took effect in January. The law prohibited its immigration agency from detaining children and required state officials to determine in each case what was in a childs best interest.

U.S. officials asked Mexico to delay implementation and consider adding more shelters for child migrants to meet its detention ban. When their pleas went unheeded, U.S. officials concluded Garcia Cabeza de Vaca was trying to stymie President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a political rival.

Hastings, a career Border Patrol official, contacted other sector chiefs about sending families to them. On a Sunday in early March, he secured twice-daily flights to El Paso, Texas, for families to be expelled to the adjoining Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez. But that number was cut back within days because Mexican authorities there said they could take only 100 people a day. Once-daily charter flights continued from the Rio Grande Valley to El Paso and to San Diego, where families were sent across the border to Tijuana, Mexico.

Tamaulipas authorities quickly relented by agreeing to accept families with children 7 years or older, but the impact was limited. In July, only 12% of the more than 83,000 family encounters on the border resulted in expulsion under Title 42 authority.

TOUGH TALK BUT INCREASED ARRIVALS

On Jan. 29, a federal appeals court authorized immediate expulsion of unaccompanied children under Title 42. As a father and grandfather, Biden couldnt go forward with it, unable to bear sending minors to dangerous Mexican border cities without their parents, even while recognizing the vast majority were 15 to 17 years old.

Mexicos reluctance to take families and Bidens exemption of unaccompanied children largely turned Title 42 into a tool for removing single adults.

The Rio Grande Valley, a citrus-growing delta of 1.3 million people, came alive each night with inflatable rafts carrying families across the meandering river.

Smugglers lifted families into knee-deep water  some spanning three generations and with infants and toddlers  careful not to step on U.S. soil where Border Patrol agents could arrest them. Agents watched rafts go back and forth between patches of sand on gnarly riverbanks, then escorted passengers to vans that carried them to an international bridge in Hidalgo, Texas, to await processing.

If there were no agents, migrants walked under cool, moonlit skies on dirt paths amid thick brush with scorpions and snakes, looking to surrender.

Biden and senior officials talked tough  Do not come, Vice President Kamala Harris warned on a June visit to Guatemala, repeating herself for emphasis  but migrants who kept coming spoke of the change in presidential administrations and stories from friends and relatives who were quickly released in the United States.

Jenny Clemente, a 29-year-old Salvadoran mother, said she left home Aug. 1 after seeing TV reports showing lots of families entering the United States. Maria Serrano, a 40-year-old Salvadoran mother departed her hometown with a 10-year-old daughter on July 18 after she was told Biden would let families cross with minors. Another mother from El Salvador, who preferred not to share her name for safety reasons, packed up and left a week later with her 12-year-old daughter after hearing a neighbor was allowed into the U.S. with her child.

All of them would end up expelled to Mexico by Aug. 21, struggling to determine their next steps.

ENFORCEMENT INCREASED

By midsummer, the pendulum swung to enforcement as patience wore thin in the presidents inner circle. The White House regularly consulted with pro-immigration groups, but relations deteriorated to the point that advocates abruptly ended an off-the-record call with Olavarria on a Saturday morning in October.

In August, the U.S. began flying Central Americans deep into Mexico to hand them off to Mexican authorities who, in turn, deported them to Guatemala. U.S. authorities initially decided on 24 such flights a month, but Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flights, tallied 36 in August and 44 in September.

The administration then faced the arrival of nearly 15,000 migrants, mostly Haitians in Texas. Mexico refuses to take back anyone who is not from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador, giving rise to growing numbers from other countries. Ecuadorians surpassed El Salvadorans as the fourth-largest nationality arriving at the border in July.

Mayorkas said the Haitians arrivals was unusually swift, but people with direct knowledge say Colombia provided intelligence that large numbers were moving on to Panama on their way to the U.S. border. One U.S. official said the Border Patrols acting chief in Del Rio, Robert Garcia, asked headquarters for reinforcements 2 weeks before the Haitian crowd peaked on Sept. 18.

The U.S. has flown about 8,000 Haitian migrants back to Haiti since Sept. 19, one of its swiftest, large-scale expulsions of refugees or migrants in decades. The mass expulsions, along with treatment of some migrants at the border, led to sharp criticism of the Biden administration, even from fellow Democrats.

WHAT BORDER REFORM?

Immigration doesnt command the attention with Biden that it did with Trump, and there is no parallel to Stephen Miller, Trumps powerful aide whose relentless focus on immigration prompted him to call career officials several times a day for updates. Pope, a close Biden confidante, left in July for her post at the U.N. migration agency in Geneva.

A December 2020 internal document estimated the authorities could process 3,000 asylum-seekers a month at land crossings with Mexico and 12,000 a month within 180 days. It never happened.

The administration has taken modest steps, such as establishing a rocket docket for asylum-seeking families at the border and restoring an Obama-era program for unaccompanied children to apply in Central America to join their parents in the U.S. instead of making the perilous journey to the border. Its most ambitious proposal  adapted from the Migration Policy Institute think tank  is to assign asylum officers to the border to more quickly decide cases than immigration judges. Seemingly technical, it may have impact.

Despite that proposal, which wasnt published until August, the administration has yet to release detailed plans of the humane asylum system that Biden promised during his campaign.

___

This report is a collaboration between The Associated Press and AIM Media Texas, publisher of The Monitor in McAllen, Texas, and other newspapers. Spagat, a San Diego correspondent, is the AP's U.S. immigration beat team leader. Gonzalez is an investigative reporter for The Monitor.
BAGHDAD (AP)  More than three weeks after Iraqis voted in parliament elections, pro-Iran Shiite militias that emerged as the biggest losers are still rejecting the outcome of the vote, thrusting the country into uncertainty and political crisis.

Militia supporters have pitched tents near the entrance to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in an ongoing sit-in, threatening violence unless their grievances are addressed.

The unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud are casting a shadow over an election that was praised by the United States, the U.N. Security Council and others for being the smoothest in years and without major technical glitches. The standoff is also increasing tensions among rival Shiite factions that could reflect on the street and threaten Iraqs newfound relative stability.

The Oct. 10 vote was held months ahead of schedule in response to mass protests in late 2019 that saw tens of thousands of people in Baghdad and predominantly Shiite southern provinces rally against endemic corruption, poor services and unemployment. They also protested against the heavy-handed interference of neighboring Iran in Iraq's affairs through Iran-backed militias.

The election results further exposed the dangerous political divisions among Shiite factions. Shiite Muslims make up the majority of Iraqs estimated 40 million people.

The biggest election gains were made by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who won 73 out of 329 parliament seats. While he maintains good relations with Iran, al-Sadr publicly opposes external interference in Iraqs affairs. The Taqadum party led by Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, a Sunni, came second with 37 seats, while former Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikis State of Law bloc won 35 seats.

Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Fatah Alliance that represents the Shiite paramilitary group known as the Popular Mobilization Forces lost two-thirds of its parliament seats, dropping from 48 to around 16  a stunning defeat. The alliance had made big gains after participating in elections for the first time in 2018. At the time, it was riding a wave of popularity after playing a major role, alongside Iraqi security forces and a U.S.-led coalition, in the defeat of Islamic State group extremists across the country in 2017.

But the mood changed. Some began questioning the need for the PMF, an armed militia force that increasingly challenged the states authority. The force itself has splintered, with some factions aligned with top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani breaking away. The militias also lost some popularity in the past two years, alienating many after taking part in brutally suppressing the youth-led protest movement in late 2019 and early 2020.

Iraq is entering a new phase in its political history that the PMF and its Iranian sponsors are ill-equipped to manage, one in which coercive power may not be sufficient, wrote Ranj Alaaldin, a nonresident fellow at Brookings Institution, Together with Iran, the PMF is learning the hard way that power through the barrel of a gun is not sustainable.

Election results reflected not only the losses of Iran-allied parties. They showed that even politicians who distanced themselves from Tehran several years ago, such as former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and cleric Ammar al-Hakim, fared poorly, said political analyst Tamer Badawi, an associate fellow with the Bonn-based CARPO research center.

The streets backlash is multilayered and broadly against old guard parties inability to provide benefits and good governance, said Badawi. He said many Iraqis also blame Iran for Iraq's dire situation.

It's unclear when the final election results will be announced. The higher election committee is currently looking into more than a thousand appeals, although results are not likely to change significantly.

Iraqi troops have been on alert since the election, as militia members and their supporters take to the street, denouncing the election as a fraud and raising the prospect of clashes. The demonstrators have chanted slogans against the U.S. and denounced U.N. officials, who monitored the election.

The protests appear to be aimed at pressuring al-Sadr to ensure that Iran-aligned factions are part of the next Cabinet, regardless of the number of seats they won. Since it got the largest number of seats, al-Sadrs bloc will seek coalition partners and name the prime minister.

If they are outside of the government, they will lose financial resources and this will weaken them, a senior Shiite official said, adding that Fatah Alliance leaders were stunned by their electoral loss. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to divulge sensitive information.

Al-Sadr has kept quiet about plans for coalition negotiations, pending final results. But he has announced the closure of the offices of his Saraya al-Salam fighters in various provinces  a largely symbolic move apparently meant to show he is serious about bringing all arms under state control. He has also called for new dialogue about the ongoing American troop presence and condemned strikes against diplomatic missions that were believed to have been carried out by PMF groups.

Shiite factions will need to find some common ground to prevent a resurgence of IS, a Sunni group, Badawi said. Last week, suspected IS militants attacked a predominantly Shiite village in Diyala province, killing 11 civilians and spurring a revenge attack on a nearby Sunni village.

But analysts say the threats from Fatah-linked groups will likely persist until they reach a power-sharing deal with al-Sadr.
DARIEN  The town will see its new first selectman in a decade, with Republican Monica McNally appearing to win election to the seat Tuesday night, according to unofficial results from the Darien Republican Town Committee.

Though absentee totals are not yet counted, McNally out-performed Tara Ochman, the Democratic candidate, for the towns top position in what has been a relatively high-profile race. McNally had 64 percent of the votes on Tuesday night compared with Ochmans 36.8 percent.

Terrie Wood

Christian Noe, who appeared on the ballot as a petitioning candidate for first selectman, received 16 votes, about .3 percent of the tally. Voters were asked to choose one first selectman candidate.

After five terms, Republican incumbent Jayme Stevenson announced she was not seeking re-election last summer. Stevenson was first elected to the Board of Selectmen in 2009 and was elected to the towns head office in 2011.

Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media

Dariens four polling locations saw a steady stream of voters Tuesday, with many voters noting it was an especially high-energy election day.

With 36.9 percent of the town voting, turnout as of 7 p.m. had already eclipsed total turnout from the 2019 municipal election, according to a tally from the Town Clerks office. In 2019, total turnout was 27.4 percent.

Both Ochman and McNally had run campaigns largely centered around issues of local control, infrastructure and flooding damage and recovery. They were both outside the Darien Town Hall on Tuesday with their respective supporters.

Ochman had said she had kept her campaign focused on infrastructure and town development. She wanted to keep taxes under control and had leaned on her service on the Board of Education.

During a victory speech, McNally thanked campaign volunteers and said the town will continue to be run the way we love it.

This town is a family and weve shown that in this election, McNally told a roomful of more than 100 Republican attendees.

McNally had previously said her priority items were ongoing flood mitigation, deployment of federal COVID-19 funds and fiscal responsibility.

Both candidates said during previous interviews that the towns flood mitigation plans needed to be upgraded, and that residents needed more help with cleanup.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Oklahoma health officials said Wednesday they are prepared to begin COVID-19 vaccinations to children aged 5-11 as soon as the vaccines arrive.

Child-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday  a recommendation from Centers for Disease Control advisers and approval by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
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Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and others pay their last respects to the mortal remains of Kannada film actor Puneeth Rajkumar at the Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru. (PTI)

Bengaluru: Thousands of grieving fans continue to flock the city's Kanteerava stadium on Saturday to pay their final respects to Kannada film star Puneeth Rajkumar, whose last rites is likely to be performed by this evening.

Considered as the Kannada cinema's reigning star, Puneeth, youngest of the five children of thespian and matinee idol Dr Rajkumar, passed away at the age of 46, after suffering a cardiac arrest on Friday.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Rajkumar, the family has donated Puneeth's eyes.

Mortal remains of the actor, wrapped in the national tri-colour, have been kept at the Kanteerava Stadium, to enable fans and well-wishers to pay homage all day on Saturday. A steady stream of people from across the state have been pouring into the arena since last evening.

Several film and political personalities also paid their respects to the departed soul.

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot accompanied by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and other ministers of the state cabinet, Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, ace choreographer Prabhu Deva, were among those who paid their respects today.

"The feeling is like losing a son of our house," a tearful elderly woman fan said here.

"Our Appu (as Puneeth is fondly called by fans) might have physically gone, but he will remain with us through his acting and the impact he has left on us because of his good and friendly nature," said a young fan.

The state government has announced that Puneeth's last rites will be conducted with state honours at Dr Rajkumar Punyabhoomi in Kanteerava Studio, next to his father and mother.

According to sources, Puneeth Rajkumar's daughter is abroad and is expected to reach the city by evening, following which last rites will be held, as per the family's wishes.

The mortal remains will be taken in a procession from Kanteerava stadium at about 3 pm to Kanteerava studio, where the last rites will be performed.

The late actor is survived by wife Ashwini Revanth and daughters Drithi and Vanditha.

Speaking to reporters Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the last rites will be performed after Puneeth Rajkumar's daughter arrives from the US, and called on the people to maintain peace and see off their "favourite actor" in a dignified way.

"There is a sea of people descending to pay last respects to Puneeth Rajkumar and the government has made arrangements for it at Kanteerava Stadium. As we want the further process also to go on smoothly, police and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike officials are at work. Necessary works are on at Kanteerava Studio for last rites, where only family members and dignitaries will be allowed," he said.

Necessary arrangements have been made for quick immigration clearance and others procedures, as soon as Puneeth's daughter reaches Delhi from the US. Bommai further said depending on her arrival, the timing of the final rites will be decided, and route by which the mortal remains will be taken to final resting place is being worked out.

"My only appeal is, yes, Appu's death has caused us a lot of pain, but it is our duty to send him off peacefully and with utmost respect, so everyone should cooperate. Without getting emotional everyone should behave responsibly. People have cooperated in a good way so far, continuing in the same way will be our true tribute to Dr Rajkumar and Appu," he added.

The CM's request for peace comes in the backdrop of the large-scale violence that took place in the city, following the death of Puneeth's father Dr Rajkumar in 2006.
In this Sept. 14, 2021, file photo, a syringe is prepared with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: India's COVID-19 tally reached 3,43,08,140 with a single-day rise of 11,903 new infections, while the number of active cases declined to 1,51,209, the lowest in 252 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The death toll has climbed to 4,59,191 with 311 daily fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 26 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 129 consecutive days now.

The number of active cases has declined to 1,51,209, comprising 0.44 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.22 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

A decline of 2,567 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.11 per cent. It has been less than 2 per cent for the last 30 days. The weekly positivity rate was also recorded at 1.18 per cent. It has been below 2 per cent for the last 40 days, according to the Health Ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,36,97,740, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.34 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 107.29 crore.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed one crore on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore COVID-19 cases on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

The 311 new coronavirus-linked fatalities include 187 from Kerala and 48 from Maharashtra.

Of the 187 deaths, 45 were reported over the last few days, 87 were those which were not confirmed until June 18 last year due to lack of adequate documentation and 55 were designated as COVID deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and Supreme Court directions, a Kerala government release said on Tuesday.

A total of 4,59,191 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,40,274 from Maharashtra, 38,089 from Karnataka, 36,157 from Tamil Nadu, 32,236 from Kerala, 25,091 from Delhi, 22,901 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,160 from West Bengal.

The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
The Telangana government urged the GRMB to refer its DPRs to Central Water Commission (CWC) for according clearances without any further delay. (Photo:PTI)

HYDERABAD: The Telangana state government urged the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) not to share its DPRs (detailed project reports) of six irrigation projects being constructed on the Godavari with the Andhra Pradesh government.

It also requested the GRMB to follow the stand being adopted by the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) on AP's Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS), the DPR of which was not shared with the Telangana government, despite it being a new project grounded by the AP government. The Telangana government urged the GRMB to refer its DPRs to Central Water Commission (CWC) for according clearances without any further delay.

In a letter written to the GRMB chairman, the Telangana irrigation engineer-in-chief C. Muralidhar said, "The six DPRs submitted by the Telangana government, namely, Choutpally Hanmanth Reddy lift irrigation scheme (CHRLIS), Chanaka-Korata, Chinna Kaleshwaram (Mukteswar) LIS, Tupakulagudem, Sitarama LIS and Modikuntavagu are all not new projects attracting the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. All these projects are ongoing projects since 2010 and were grounded by the then government in the erstwhile AP. In order to overcome the defective planning in such ongoing projects, the Telangana government has undertaken re-engineering of certain existing and ongoing projects so as to ensure the optimum utilisation of the Godavari water under these projects."

He brought to the notice of the GRMB that all the ongoing projects, together with the completed projects, were well within the entitled/planned utilisation of 967.94 tmc ft as applicable based on the grounded projects in the erstwhile AP.

"The erstwhile AP government undertook the above projects within the earmarked utilisation of 967.4 tmc ft in the Godavari waters allotted by GWDT only duly ensuring that they did not negatively impact the projects downstream (Andhra region wherein the project was grounded with planned utilisation of 518 tmc ft)," Muralidhar noted.

Pointing out that these six projects of the Telangana government had been wrongly shown as unapproved projects in the recent Centre's gazette notification, he said the Telangana government submitted DPRs of these unapproved projects to the CWC for technical clearance within the period of six months as mandated in the gazette.

"Since these projects are taken up prior to formation of Telangana state in June 2014, the GRMB is not mandated to look into aspects such as irrigation planning, cost, cost economics, designs etc, which are to be looked at by the CWC as per the existing procedure for earlier projects," he added.
K.T. Rama Rao, who returned from a successful tour of France, visited the Niloufer hospital where the Dalit minor girl is undergoing treatment and interacted with her parents. (DC Image)

Hyderabad: Stating that law would act tough against the culprit for raped on six-year-old Dalit girl, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development K. T. Rama Rao on Wednesday promised the parents of the victim better medical facilities at the Niloufer hospital.

The Minister, who returned from a successful tour of France, visited the Niloufer hospital where the Dalit minor girl is undergoing treatment and interacted with her parents. He inquired about the case and promised the parents that stern action would be taken against the accused for committing a heinous crime.

Later, Minister Rama Rao enquired with the doctors about the health conditions of the victim and directed them to provide good medical facilities. Mr Rao also gave assurances of financial help to the family of the victim.

On October 27, the six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by TRS farmers coordination committee (FCC) mandal president Radharapu Shankar (40). He was subsequently arrested by the police. Shankar's wife is the sarpanch of Almaspur village. The rape took place in Yellareddypet mandal of Rajanna Sircilla district.

The girl was initially admitted to a local hospital but was later referred to Niloufer hospital in the city for better treatment. She was refused admission initially but after pressure was admitted.

The doctors assured the Minister that the girl's health is stable and she is recovering. A psychologist is providing counselling to her.
Chief Minister M K Stalin issued an order on Wednesday to facilitate weekly off for the police personnel. (Photo: PTI)

Chennai: A Government Order allowing weekly off for police personnel was issued on Wednesday following Chief Minister MK Stalin's order, the Tamil Nadu government said.

The order is applicable to personnel from Grade-II level constables to head constables and the one day off in a week would help police personnel to refresh and continue their challenging work with enthusiasm, an official release here said.

Stalin had on September 13 announced weekly off for police personnel in the Assembly while replying to the discussion on Demand for Grant to police department.

He had said that it would help them take care of their health and spend time with their families.

Implementing the announcement, the Chief Minister issued an order on Wednesday to facilitate weekly off for the police personnel, the release added.
HYDERABAD: Uncertainty prevails over Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao attending the 29th Southern Zonal Council meeting to be chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah in Tirupati on November 14. This meeting was supposed to be held on March 4 this year but was eventually postponed due to the Covid second wave.

Chief Ministers of Telangana state, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which are the member states, and Lieutenant Governors of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, which are special invitees, have been invited for the meeting.

Besides around 100 senior officials including chief secretaries, government advisors and heads of various departments were also invited for the meeting, aimed to discuss and resolve the disputes among member states and also issues between the Centre and member states.

Official sources said the Chief Minister had not conveyed his decision so far on whether he would attend the meeting or not.

The Centre holds these meetings once in two years. The meeting could not be held in 2020 due to Covid pandemic. After Chandrashekar Rao became Chief Minister of Telangana in 2014, two such meetings were held in Thiruvanathapuram in 2016 and Bengaluru in 2018 which were chaired by the then Union home minister Rajnath Singh.

Rao skipped both the meetings. In 2016, he deputed then home minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy on his behalf while in 2018 he deputed none as he was busy with Assembly elections.

With Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy issuing a media statement on Wednesday that AP would raise long-pending AP bifurcation issues and Krishna water dispute with Telangana state in the Tirupati meeting, senior Telangana officials feel that Rao's presence is of utmost importance this time to present Telangana's arguments effectively.

Jagan has announced to raise the issue of Telangana owing arrears of Rs 6,300 crore to AP Discoms, Telangana civil supplies corporation arrears to AP, Telangana freezing fixed deposits lying in banks and also bifurcation of assets pertaining to common institutions in Hyderabad listed under Schedule IX, X of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Telangana state has been denying owing any arrears to AP and also opposing division of assets in Hyderabad. Jagan also announced to raise the demand of bringing Jurala dam in Telangana under the control of KRMB, which is being opposed by Telangana.

Against this backdrop, officials feel that the presence of the Chief Minister is of utmost importance to counter AP CM's claims before Centre and member states.

Rao and Jagan last met at Pragathi Bhavan in January 2020. They exhibited unusual bonhomie by meeting over half a dozen times in less than eight months after Jagan became the Chief Minister of AP in May 2019 to hold talks to resolve several contentious issues between both the states post bifurcation of state in 2014. This bonhomie ended after Jagan issued orders in May 2020 to construct Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) over Krishna diverting Srisailam water.

Soon after, both the states filed cases in courts and tribunals accusing each other of taking up illegal projects on the Krishna. There have been no meeting between the two since then.
For the past two years, I have been conducting field surveys and ground research on Taiwans foreign policy and India-Taiwan relations. One question that has dominated my interactions with scholars and officials in the Republic of China is: Why is India so cautious with Taiwan?. While India-Taiwan civil society engagement is at an all-time high, the government-to-government interactions still remain limited within the scope of advancing commercial and cultural ties.

In 2018, when Air India started referring to Taiwan as Chinese Taipei on its website, the Indian government backed the airlines decision by saying that Air Indias decision to rename the destination of Taiwan as Chinese Taipei is entirely consistent with international norms, and our own position on Taiwan since 1949. This came at a time when India and China were trying to manage tensions and India was hopeful of achieving a breakthrough in its border dispute with China. However, now, much has changed not only in India-China relations but there is also a remarkable shift in Indias Taiwan policy.

For instance, in October 2020, when the Chinese embassy in India tried to issue an unprecedented diktat to the Indian media asking them not to refer to Taiwan as a country or a nation while reporting on it, Indias ministry of external affairs spokesperson said: There is a free media in India, that reports on issues that they see fit. This year, in April, when the fatal Hualien crash happened, Indias external affairs ministry spokesperson expressed condolences on the social media, saying: We are deeply saddened by the loss of so many lives in the railway accident in Taiwan. Our deepest condolences to the families. And our prayers for the early recovery of the injured. Taiwans ministry of foreign affairs responded to the tweet, that became the first social media exchange between the two foreign ministries.

While these developments do not seem to be momentous enough, for a country like India that is dealing with a seven-decade border dispute with China, this demonstrates a policy shift. India ought to be cautious and its approach will remain covert, given that it shares a huge disputed border with China, but theres a definite rethink in Indias Taiwan policy.

Having worked closely with Indias ministry of external affairs and researched on foreign policy-making, I can say with confidence that there is definitely scope and appetite for the advancement of ties in India, but it is Taiwan that needs to walk an extra mile. Taiwan has gained bipartisan support in the United States and its relations with the European Union are also improving, but this has been an outcome of consistent lobbying with the legislators and policymakers in the West. This is missing in the case of India. India is a key player in the Indo-Pacific region, and Taiwans policies and approaches align with that of Indias. Taiwan should reach out to India as waiting for the latter to be proactive will be another missed opportunity.

After a gap of three years, the India-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Forum was revived in October 2020 that highlighted the cherished ideals of democracy. Convening the meetings of the parliamentarians from both sides will be beneficial for understanding each others perception and interests. Second, there is a dire need for the think tanks from the two countries to institutionalise their interactions with each other. India and Taiwan should initiate a think tank network for giving a platform to the strategic thinkers from the two countries to interact freely. In the absence of formal diplomatic ties, the Indian diaspora has played a crucial role in building bridges between the two countries. A diaspora-led initiative will lead to greater synergies between India and Taiwan.

As Taiwans New Southbound Policy enters its second phase, it is crucial that Taiwan considers placing India and its people at the centre of the policy and find ways to elevate ties. For Taiwan, the key to elevating ties with India is parliamentarians, think tanks and the diaspora.

For India, it is a good time to acknowledge that Taiwan, in no way, is Chinas internal matter, and its security is directly linked to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific. Keeping silent on Taiwan means buying into Chinas so-called narrative on Taiwan that will only bolster the Communist Party of China (CPC). Apart from Taiwan, India is another country that is embroiled in a protracted standoff. In such a situation, who other than India is familiar with a challenge of dealing with an aggressive neighbour. India must show support for Taiwan, and a message of solidarity should be sent to Taiwan.

It is time for India to start engaging Taiwan meaningfully through mechanisms such as the Taiwan-led Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) and even consider talks between the two ruling parties -- National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The two countries have to accept that without interacting at different levels and understanding each others perceptions, a milestone in their relations cannot be achieved.
By Zheping Huang

ByteDance Ltd.s billionaire founder Zhang Yiming has stepped down as chairman, moving further away from the TikTok owner after announcing he was stepping down as chief executive officer in May.

New CEO Liang Rubo has replaced Zhang on the five-member board that also includes representatives from investors Susquehanna International Group and Sequoia Capital China, according to a person familiar with the matter. Zhang, 38, will still be involved in formulating the Chinese tech firms longer-term strategy, the person said, asking to not be identified discussing private matters.

Representatives with ByteDance and TikTok declined to comment.

The worlds most valuable startup has been undergoing a major restructuring and making a bigger push into enterprise software after Beijings year-long crackdown on the consumer internet. Shouzi Chew has stepped down as chief financial officer of the social media giant to focus on running its hit global product TikTok, as part of the reorganisation, ByteDance told employees in a Tuesday memo.

Also Read | ByteDance to reorganise, CFO Liang Rubo steps down to focus on TikTok

ByteDance had kicked off initial preparations for public listing of its domestic assets, Bloomberg News reported in April. Since then, regulatory changes in China meant Zhangs company has had to proceed cautiously, even before the IPO of Didi Global Inc. in New York sparked a backlash in Beijing. The company has repeatedly said its not ready for an IPO.

The board change, first reported by Chinese tech outlet Late Post, marks a further retreat by the tycoon, who has an estimated fortune of $44.5 billion, from the app factory that he created nearly a decade ago. When Zhang said he would step down as CEO in May, he told employees that he felt he hadnt achieved as much as he had hoped to in areas like strategic opportunities and social responsibility.

Other tech founders in China have also retreated from their creations in recent months. Kuaishou Technology founder Su Hua said last week he will cede the CEO role to fellow co-founder Cheng Yixiao, while JD.com Inc. in September named a new president, saying that Chairman Richard Liu will concentrate on long-term strategies. Pinduoduo Inc.s Colin Huang also gave up both CEO and chairman titles at the e-commerce firm.

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The seminal reforms announced by the government for the telecom sector will help preserve cash flows and enable the industry to drive investments, Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal said on Wednesday.

Vittal, who was speaking at Airtel's Q2 earnings call, said that while over the next 3-4 years, 5G will be present on ubiquitous basis in most key cities, in the immediate short term much will depend on the pace of regulator's consultation and the actual timing of the auction.

"As you are aware, the government announced seminal reforms that will help preserve cash flows and enable the industry to drive investments. There have also been substantial steps taken to simplify the way we do business by cutting back on several needless approvals and easing the customer on-boarding processes," he noted.

To a question on deferment of payments, Vittal explained that upon opting for the moratorium (as Bharti has), the interest payable on moratorium is converted to a net present value (NPV), with 1-2 choices.

"One, is to defer the payout at the end of the four-year period or to actually pay it every year in the anniversary period that comes in, or to convert into equity. All options are still open," he said.

The decision on converting to equity has to be taken in January but the other two decisions are calls that can be taken every year. The company will continue to be fiscally prudent and ensure that business continues to invest in areas of massive growth such as broadband, data centres, enterprise business, digital assets and rolling out of 5G networks.

Also read: SC rejects Bharti Airtel's claim for Rs 923 cr refund in GST returns

To a question on timelines for 5G rollout, Vittal said the industry has urged telecom regulator to look at all spectrum bands.

"You need to look at all spectrum bands to see what is the totality of spectrum that will be available in India...much of it is sitting with defense so that has to be unlocked, to make sure that we are able to, as operators, understand what should our spectrum strategy be," he said.

The 700 MHz band spectrum was "very high priced" and saw "three failed auctions" and those need to get "substantially moderated in terms of price", he said.

"Then there is 3.5 GHz where a lot of spectrum is lying with defense, how much spectrum is going to be available is another question and, of course, there is mmwave (millimetre wave)band...so all of this spectrum will have to be put on the block and I don't know whether that can happen soon," Vittal said.

These deliberations could take some time, Vittal said adding "but we will wait and see when that consultation gets concluded, then it comes to DoT (Department of Telecom) and then, of course, spectrum will be put on the block".

The company continues to believe that the mobile industry ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User) are not sustainable and should improve to Rs 200 in the near term, and Rs 300 in the longer term.

Airtel on Tuesday reported a net profit of Rs 1,134 crore for the September 2021 quarter, and said it is witnessing strong business momentum with growth in 4G customers and increase in mobile ARPU.

This is against a loss (attributable to owners of the parent) of Rs 763.2 crore during the year-ago quarter.

The Q2 numbers were bolstered by an exceptional gain (after tax) of Rs 540.4 crore. Bharti Airtel in August announced the closure of an agreement with Reliance Jio Infocomm to transfer the 'Right to Use' of its 800-MHz spectrum in three circles to Jio.

Airtel's consolidated revenues for the second quarter of FY21 stood at Rs 28,326.4 crore, up 18.8 per cent year-on-year (on a comparable basis) and 13 per cent y-o-y on a reported basis.

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Actor Alec Baldwin on Tuesday shared a message on social media disputing reports of chaos and a lax attitude toward safety on the set of Western movie "Rust" before he accidentally shot and killed a cinematographer.

Writing "Read this," Baldwin reposted lengthy remarks from Terese Magpale Davis, who worked in the wardrobe department on "Rust."

"I'm so sick of this narrative," Davis wrote. "The story of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bullshit."

On Oct. 21, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a bullet discharged from a gun Baldwin was using to rehearse a scene on the "Rust" set in New Mexico. The "30 Rock" actor had been told the weapon was "cold," or safe to use, according to court filings by the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the incident.

Camera operators had walked off the "Rust" set before the incident to protest working conditions, authorities have said. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza last week said he believed there was complacency on the production regarding safety.

Attorneys for the armorer in charge of the weapons used in the filming said the production was unsafe due to various factors, including a lack of safety meetings.

Davis, however, said the crew had several safety meetings, "sometimes multiple per day." The production team "were some of the most approachable and warm producers I have ever worked with," she added. "Concerns were heard and addressed."

Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Baldwin, who also served as one of the movie's producers, has said he is heartbroken and will support limits on the use of real guns on film and TV sets.

Production company Rust Media Productions has said it had not been made aware of any official complaints and has hired a law firm to investigate the incident.

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As the world leaders gathered in Glasgow to negotiate the nitty-gritties of the climate actions, a young activist has urged them to not ignore Tibet, a region from where 10 major rivers of Asia originate and currently undergoing massive environmental damages.

"The Tibetan plateau is melting yet the world remains silent. If I were Greta Thunberg, I would say, 'How dare you ignore Tibet?' Glaciers in Tibet are melting, rivers in Tibet are shortening," Yeshi Dawa, the activist based in Dharmshala, Himachal Pradesh, said in a video sent out on his social media handle.

"Dear world leaders, always remember that Tibet's environment belongs to the whole world and not just China. It affects all 7.9 billion people on this planet. Please think about Tibet for the sake of this planet," he further said.

Also read: COP26: Climate change must be addressed on cooperative global level, says Dalai Lama

Stating that there is no institutional support, Dawa, the Tibetan-in-exile, said he has been working all alone to spread awareness about the cause of Tibet's environment. He went all the way to the top of Triund, the highest trekking point near Dharmshala and photographed with a message to the COP leaders to not forget Tibet.

In Glasgow till November 12, leaders, and negotiators from across the globe would be deliberating on reducing carbon emissions to restrict the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.

Two days ahead of the COP26 inaugural, the Dalai Lama, in a video message, had reiterated similar concerns about the effects of climate change impacting the Tibetan Plateau -- the world's 'third pole'.

"At least in Asia, Tibet is the ultimate source of water. We should pay more attention to preservation of Tibetan ecology," the Tibetan spiritual leader said.

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Aref Mohammads war against the Islamic State group ended earlier this fall when his unit of Taliban fighters was ambushed by the terrorist group in eastern Afghanistan. A bullet shattered his femur, leaving him disabled and barely able to walk, never mind fight.

But for the Taliban movement he served under, now the government of Afghanistan, the war against the Islamic State was just beginning.

If we knew where they were from, we would pursue them and destroy them, Mohammed, 19, said from his hospital bed in Jalalabad, the capital of Afghanistans eastern Nangarhar province where the Islamic State has maintained a presence since 2015.

In the two months since the Taliban took control of the country, the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan  known as Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K  has stepped up attacks across the country, straining the new and untested government and raising alarm bells in the West about the potential resurgence of a group that could eventually pose an international threat.

The attacks have been aimed mostly at Taliban units like Mohammads and at Afghanistans Shiite minorities. Suicide bombings in Kabul, the capital, and in important cities including Kunduz in the north and Kandahar in the Talibans southern heartland have killed at least 90 people and wounded hundreds of others in the span of just several weeks. And Tuesday, Islamic State fighters carried out a coordinated attack with gunmen and at least one suicide bomber on an important military hospital in the capital, killing at least 25 people.

This has placed the Taliban in a precarious position: After spending 20 years fighting as an insurgency, the group finds itself wrestling with providing security and delivering on its hallmark commitment of law and order. This has proved especially challenging for the Taliban as they try to defend themselves and civilians in crowded cities against almost daily attacks with an army that was trained for rural guerrilla warfare.

The surge in attacks has fueled growing unease among Western officials, with some predicting that the Islamic State  often considered a regional threat  could gain the capability to strike international targets in a matter of six to 12 months.

Colin Kahl, US undersecretary of defense for policy, told lawmakers last week that the Talibans ability to pursue the group is to be determined.

Kahls sentiments underline the core concern of Western intelligence communities: There is little way to measure the Talibans effectiveness against ISIS-K. There is no longer reliable access to intelligence, as limited drone flights provide piecemeal information given the distance they have to fly just to get to Afghanistan, according to US officials, and the established network of informants has collapsed.

The Taliban, who have refused to cooperate with the United States in countering the Islamic State, instead are fighting the war on their own terms, with tactics and strategies that look far more localized than a government campaign against a terrorist organization.

The Taliban became accustomed to fighting as insurgents, relying on a range of asymmetric attacks to target Afghan and U.S. forces, said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York. But it seems clear that the Taliban has not given much thought at all to how the equation changes as a counterinsurgent, which is effectively the role they are playing now against the Islamic State.

But where the Taliban have changed their strategy to fight against the Islamic State  once working together with the Americans and the former government to contain the terrorist group in the east  is on the diplomatic stage.

As the Taliban seek international recognition, the group has used the resurgence of the terrorist group as a bargaining chip for more financial aid, according to Qatari officials, reminding other countries that a powerful Islamic State poses a threat to them as well.

Recognizing the potential threat along its shared border with Afghanistan, Pakistan is feeding some intelligence to the Taliban about the Islamic State, according to U.S. officials.

Basir, the head of the Talibans intelligence arm in Jalalabad who goes by one name, is one of the groups leaders adapting to fighting a war he was once on the other side of as a Taliban insurgent. He is now responsible for defending and securing a city of several hundred thousand people.

In the last several years, Jalalabad has been an easy target for the Islamic State, which has dispatched cells of fighters into the city from surrounding districts, carrying out assassinations and bombings at will.

But the group has taken advantage of the weeks during which the new government was coming together and has drastically widened its reach.

Between Sept. 18 and Oct. 28, the Islamic State has carried out at least 54 attacks in Afghanistan  including suicide bombings, assassinations and ambushes on security checkpoints, according to an analysis by ExTrac, a private firm that monitors militant violence in conflict zones. It amounts to one of the most active and deadly periods for the Islamic State in Afghanistan.

Most of those attacks have targeted Taliban security forces  a marked shift from the first seven months of the year, when the Islamic State primarily targeted civilians, including activists and journalists.

In countering the Islamic State, Basir said his men had adopted methods similar to the previous government, even relying on equipment used by the former intelligence service to intercept communications and radio traffic  tools gifted by the West over the last two decades in an effort to surveil the Taliban.

But he insisted that the Taliban have what the last government and Americans did not: the broad support of the local population, which has been a boon for the type of human intelligence capable of alerting authorities of attacks and fighter locations that had always been difficult to obtain in the past.

That level of trust and cooperation could wane, security analysts say, as there is increasing fear that the Taliban could use the ISIS-K threat as an excuse to carry out with impunity state-sponsored violence on certain segments of the population, such as members of the former government.

Theres also a bit of a hubris and overconfidence because they think ISKP has such limited appeal in country  that, according to the Taliban, it is so beyond the pale that it will never have that widespread appeal, so they think they can afford to ignore the threat, said Ibraheem Bahiss, an International Crisis Group consultant and an independent research analyst.

In 2015, the Islamic State in Khorasan was officially established in Afghanistans east by former members of the Pakistani Taliban. The groups ideology took hold partly because many villages there are inhabited by Salafi Muslims, the same branch of Sunni Islam as the Islamic State. A minority among the Taliban, who mostly follow the Hanafi school, Salafi fighters were eager to join the new terrorist group.

The draw of young fighters to the Islamic State is especially pronounced in Jalalabad, where Salafi mosques have sprung up in growing numbers in recent years, providing ample recruiting grounds for the terrorist group.

The Taliban have made a show of openness to the Salafists, accepting a pledge of allegiance from some Salafi clerics earlier this month. But there is still widespread unease within their community, especially in Jalalabad.

At one Salafi religious school in the city, the Taliban cracked down on the ideology by forcing the schools founder to flee. They have allowed boys to continue their Quranic studies but have banned Salafist works from the curriculum.

For Faraidoon Momand, a former member of the Afghan government and a local power broker in Jalalabad, the worsening economic situation in the country is also driving the Islamic States recruitment.

In every society, if the economy is bad, people will do what they have to do to get by, Momand said.

As dusk fell over Jalalabad on a recent day in October, a unit of Taliban fighters belonging to the intelligence agency rode through the streets in a modified Toyota pickup, a machine gun mounted in its bed, as the streets filled with commuters and evening shoppers.

The Talibs pulled up at key intersections and checkpoints, jumping out and assisting with the screening of cars and the ubiquitous yellow three-wheeled rickshaws that jostle and honk as they throng streets. They poked their heads in, shining flashlights inside, questioning passengers, and waved them on.

We have a court for every criminal, said Abdullah Ghorzang, a Taliban commander. But there is no court for ISIS-K. They will be killed wherever they are arrested.

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A group of Torres Strait Islanders living off Australia's north coast filed a court claim against the Australian government on Tuesday, alleging it has failed to protect them from climate change which now threatens their homes.

The case brought on behalf of the remote islands of Boigu and Saibai in the Torres Strait is the first climate class action brought by Australia's First Nations people, its backers said.

It happened to be filed the same day that Canberra adopted a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The case is being modelled on one that environmental group Urgenda Foundation led against the government of the Netherlands, saying it had a legal responsibility to protect Dutch citizens from climate change.

That case resulted in the Dutch High Court ordering the government to cut carbon emissions faster than planned.

The Torres Strait Islands, dotted north of Australia, face the threat of floods and salt ruining their soil as global warming leads to more storms and rising sea levels.

"There is high confidence that Torres Strait Island communities and livelihoods are vulnerable to major impacts of climate change from even small sea level rises," the claim filed with the Federal Court said.

One of the two plaintiffs, Paul Kabai, said his people have lived on the islands for more than 65,000 years, but communities there might be forced to leave if they face more flood and storm damage.

"Becoming climate refugees means losing everything: our homes, our culture, our stories and our identity," Kabai said in a statement.

The case is being supported by a non-profit advocacy group, Grata Fund, and Urgenda and is being run by class action firm Phi Finney McDonald.

Grata said it expects the case will be heard in the third quarter of 2022 with a decision likely to take up to 18 months.

In another climate claim, a separate group of Torres Strait islanders filed a human rights complaint to the United Nations two years ago which has yet to be resolved.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has been absent from the Group of 20 summit in Rome and this week's global climate talks in Scotland, drawing criticism from US President Joe Biden and questions about China's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

China is the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide and has pledged to begin reducing that output by 2030 and obtaining carbon neutrality by 2060. The US and others have urged Beijing to make bigger commitments, but Xi's administration has strongly implied those will only come in exchange for political concessions.

China has enforced tight travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic and Xi hasn't left the country since making a January 2020 trip to neighbouring Myanmar.

Also Read | China says Xi was given no option for video address to COP26

That was just weeks before the outbreak, believed to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, spread worldwide. China has come under heavy pressure to reveal more information about the origin of the pandemic and has been accused of mismanaging the outbreak and then seeking to cover up its mistakes.

China has also come under heavy criticism over its policies toward Muslims in its Xinjiang region and its crackdown on civil rights in Hong Kong. Like all Chinese leaders, Xi is extremely image-conscious and his public appearances are carefully choreographed to avoid potentially embarrassing confrontations.

His formerly heavy travel schedule took him across continents, with first lady Peng Liyuan, an accomplished musician, on hand to add a bit of glamour and a human touch.

Those travels included trips to several African nations and a meeting with the former Japanese emperor in Tokyo. Xi rode in a gilded carriage with Britain's Queen Elizabeth and paid a visit to North Korea's capital that included a ride through city streets lined by tens of thousands of cheering citizens of the hard-line communist state.

Also Read | China's Xi calls for mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccines

Such travels have underscored China's more assertive foreign policy, as the world's second-largest economy seeks to exert its influence beyond East Asia with Xi's signature Belt and Road" overseas infrastructure investment program.

The president's decision not to attend the meetings in Rome and Glasgow seems at odds with that policy, although Xi isn't alone in staying away. Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has aligned with China in opposing US influence in world affairs, also remained at home.

"I think it's been a big mistake, quite frankly, for China, with respect to China not showing up," Biden said Monday at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

"They've lost an ability to influence people around the world and all the people here at COP  the same way, I would argue, with regard to Russia," Biden said.

Responding to Biden's remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday said China's response to climate change is concrete" and pointed to recent achievements in reforestation and renewable energy.

Also Read | Pakistan PM Khan dials China's Xi, vows to boost bilateral, economic ties

Friction in bilateral relations is complicating cooperation on climate change between the two countries, said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Beijing's Renmin University.

Biden has taken COP26 as an important occasion for China and the U.S. to compete for global influence, ideology and image," said Shi, who attributed Xi's absence from the meetings to China's zero tolerance" approach to dealing with the pandemic, which has been largely controlled within the country.

Despite not leaving China, Xi has remained in contact with foreign heads of state through virtual meetings, said Zhao Kejin, who teaches international relations at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

The US wants Chinese cooperation in responding to climate change, but Beijing is also looking for changes in US policy, including its support for the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, Zhao said.

"This result was produced by the US failing to integrate ties with China into its overall multilateral relationships," Zhao said.

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The United States is set to start vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 as soon as Wednesday with Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine.

On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the shot for broad use in that age group after a panel of outside advisers voted in favour of it

The vaccine was authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration on Friday.

But with many parts of the world still awaiting doses for more vulnerable people, the World Health Organisation has urged countries and companies that control the global supply of the vaccines to prioritise supply to COVAX.

Also Read | WHO approves Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for Emergency Use Listing

The following is a list of some countries that have approved or are considering vaccinating children:

EU countries

* On Oct. 18, the EU's medicines regulator said it had started evaluating the use of Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine in 5 to 11-year-old children.

* In June, Denmark said it would offer Covid-19 shots to children aged 12-15 to boost its overall immunity against the virus.

* France has started vaccinating those from 12 years upwards, provided they have parental consent.

* Germany in August agreed to make vaccination available to all children aged 12-17.

* Austria has started vaccinating children aged 12-15.

Also Read | Covaxin shelf life extended to 12 months from manufacturing date

* Estonia could start vaccinating teenagers by the autumn, public broadcaster ERR reported, citing the head of the government's Covid-19 council.

* Hungary started vaccinating 16 to 18-year-olds in mid-May, according to Xinhua news agency.

* Italy on May 31 approved extending the use of Pfizer's vaccine to 12-15-year-olds. On July 28, it also endorsed the use of Moderna's vaccine for 12-17 aged children.

* Lithuania's prime minister said the country could start vaccinating children from age 12 in June, news site Delfi reported.

* Spain begun vaccinating children between 12 and 17 years old around two weeks before the academic year in September, the health minister said.

* Swedish PM says children aged 12-15 will be offered Covid vaccine later this autumn.

* Greece in July said children aged 12-15 could be vaccinated against Covid-19 with Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots.

Also Read | Country by country, scientists eye beginning of an end to the Covid-19 pandemic

* Finland's capital Helsinki in June said it will begin giving Covid-19 vaccines to children aged 12 to 15 who are at risk of contracting a severe coronavirus infection.

* On July 27, Ireland lowered the age for Covid-19 vaccination to 12 years.

* Poland started offering Covid-19 vaccines to children of ages 12-15.

Europe (Non EU)

* On Oct. 19, the UK said it will open up Covidvaccine booking service to those aged 12-15.

* Switzerland approved on June 4 vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds with Pfizer's shot, while Moderna's shot was approved in August for the age group.

* In September, Norway started to offer one dose of Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to children aged 12 to 15

Middle East

* In August, Israel began offering a Covid-19 booster to children as young as 12.

* The United Arab Emirates said in August rolled out China's Sinopharm vaccine to children aged 3-17. On Nov.1, UAE approved Pfizer-BioNTech shot for children aged 5-11 for emergency use.

Also Read | Country by country, scientists eye beginning of an end to the Covid-19 pandemic

* Bahrain approved Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 3-11 from Oct. 27, while on Nov. 2, the Gulf state approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use for children aged between 5 and 11 years.

Asia-Pacific

* Indonesia on Nov. 1 authorised China's Sinovac vaccine for children aged 6 and above.

* Malaysia on Oct. 29 said it would procure the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, following a U.S. expert panel's recommendation

* Vietnam will begin inoculating children aged 16 and 17 with parental consent from next month using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Also read: World 'One Health' Day: Covid-19 helped cause but uncharted turf ahead

* An advisory committee to the Indian regulator recommended emergency use of Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 shot in the 2 to 18 age group. The regulator's nod is awaited.

* New Zealand's medicines regulator in June provisionally approved the use of Pfizer's vaccine for 12-15-year-olds.

* Australia said on Sept. 12 it will expand its Covid-19 vaccination drive to include around one million children aged 12-15.

* China on June 5 approved emergency use of Sinovac's vaccine for those between three and 17.

* Hong Kong said on June 3 it would open its vaccine scheme to children over the age of 12.

* Singapore opened up its vaccination programme to adolescents aged 12-18 from June 1.

* Japan on May 28 approved the use of Pfizer's vaccine for those aged 12 and above.

* The Philippines on May 26 decided to allow the Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for emergency use in children aged 12-15.

* Jordan in July began vaccinating children aged 12 years and older against Covid-19.

America

* The Covid-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech will be the only one used in Mexico for at-risk children aged 12-17.

* Brazil on June 11 approved the use of Pfizer's vaccine for children over 12.

* On Sept. 6, Chile approved the Covid-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd for use in children over 6 years of age.

* US FDA has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years. The director of the U.S. CDC on Tuesday backed broad use of the shot and nearly 28 million school-age kids are now eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness.

* Canada in early May approved the use of Pfizer's vaccine for use in children aged 12-15 but the decision for children between 5 and 11 years is not likely to come before mid- to end-November.

* Cuba's vaccination campaign includes children as young as two.

* On Sept. 13, El Salvador cleared the use of the Covid-19 vaccine in 6 to 11-year-old children.

* Argentina is vaccinating children as young as three with the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine.

* Ecuador's vaccination includes kids as young as six with China's Sinovac vaccine

* Columbia is offering Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinopharm and J&J's Covid-19 vaccines for children 12 years and above

* Costa Rica is vaccinating 12 years and above

Africa

* South Africa will start vaccinating children between the ages of 12 and 17 next week using the Pfizer vaccine

Sources: Press releases, government notices and Reuters reporting

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Vaccine maker Bharat Biotech on Wednesday said the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved the extension of shelf life of its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin up to 12 months from the date of manufacture.

Also Read | Country by country, scientists eye beginning of an end to the Covid-19 pandemic

Bharat Biotech was initially given permission for the sale and distribution of Covaxin with a shelf life of six months, which was later extended to nine months, a company spokesperson told PTI.

"The CDSCO has approved the extension of shelf life of Covaxin up to 12 months, from the date of manufacture. This approval of shelf life extension is based on the availability of additional stability data, which was submitted to CDSCO," Bharat Biotech said in a tweet. The shelf life extension has been communicated to "our stakeholders," it added.

The approval for the extension of shelf life of the vaccine comes ahead of crucial World Health Organisation (WHO) meeting for a final risk-benefit assessment for the emergency use listing (EUL) for the vaccine.

Also Read | Covid-19 vaccination drive needs to be taken door-to-door: PM Modi

The WHO's Technical Advisory Group for EUL last week had sought additional clarifications from Bharat Biotech for Covaxin.

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Covid-19 vaccination to be halted at state govt, BMC centres from Nov 4-7 owing to diwali. PM Modi met with DMs of districts having low vaccination coverage. Over 40 districts with low Covid-19 vaccination coverage in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and the Northeast participated via video-conferencing. Meanwhile, India on Wednesday recorded 11,903 new Covid-19 cases and 311 more deaths. The country's active cases dropped further by 2,567 to 1,51,209, which was the lowest in 252 days. Stay tuned for live updates.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought an action taken report from Tripura Chief Secretary and director general of police within four weeks, related to November 26 communal violence and alleged attack on workers of Trinamool Congress.

The NHRC issued the order on Monday based on a complaint lodged by Saket S. Gokhale, national spokesperson of All India Trinamool Congress.

Gokhale sought the commission's intervention alleging that leaders and workers of the opposition party were attacked by workers of ruling BJP in the state. He also mentioned about the communal tension that took place at Chamtilla in North Tripura district on November 26, in which a Masjid was vandalised and two shops belonging to minority community were burnt down during a protest march organised by Viswa Hindu Parishad.

He alleged that the administration acted like a bystander and sided with the rioting mob and there is an atmosphere of fear among minority communities.

"The Commission has considered the complaint and directs its Registry to transmit the copy of complaint to the Chief Secretary, Government of Tripura and the Director General of Police, Tripura to submit an action taken report within four weeks. The concerned authorities shall also intimate the commission, if any, notice, order etc. has been received by him/them in the instant matter from the State Human Rights Commission. If yes, a copy of such order be also sent to the commission within four weeks," said the NHRC in its order.

The BJP-led government in the state, however, denied initial reports about burning of the Mosque and claimed that some miscreants misused the social media platforms to spread misinformation to create communal tension. The state police registered five cases against 72 persons in connection with the allegation.

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Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday termed the alleged suicide of a "debt-ridden" farmer in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district as "heart-wrenching" and said that the condition of farmers under the BJP rule is "exposing all lies" of the government.

The 45-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday at Biharipur village in Baghpat as he was depressed for not being able to repay his loan, according to his relatives.

Also Read | Listen to people to understand plight: Varun Gandhi

"The incident of suicide by a debt-ridden farmer in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh is extremely heart-wrenching! Such conditions of farmers under BJP rule are exposing all the lies of the government. After all, till when will the farmers of the state endure all this?," Akhilesh said in a tweet in Hindi with hashtag #Nahi_Chahiye_BJP.

The farmer, Chaudhary Anil Kumar, was found hanging from a tree in his neighbour's field.

Relatives of the deceased had told reporters that he had taken a bank loan of about Rs 7 lakh and Rs 3 lakh from a local moneylender. They said he was being asked to repay his loan but as he was not in a condition to repay it, he committed suicide.

Also Read | Govt appeals to farmers not to hoard fertilisers as supply in November more than demand

Kotwali police station in-charge Ajay Kumar Sharma had however said they were told that he was depressed but nobody informed them about his loan.

In a separate tweet, Yadav appealed to the people of Uttar Pradesh, wellwishers of farmers, workers of the SP and its allies to observe "Lakhimpur Kisan Smriti Diwas".

"Light a 'Kisan smriti deep' (light an earthen lamp in the memory of farmers and honour them," the former chief minister said.

Also Read | Farmers threaten to step up protests by November end

The Samajwadi Party had on Tuesday asked all its workers and allies to observe "Lakhimpur Kisan Smriti Diwas" on the third of every month to remind people about the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence and the "brutality of the BJP".

Eight people died in the violence and four of them were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. Infuriated farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles. The other dead included two BJP workers, their driver, and a journalist.

Also Read | Centre should open passage for fulfilment of farmers' demand on agri laws: SKM

Farmers claimed that Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles, an allegation denied by him and his father who say they can produce evidence to prove he was at an event at that time.

Several of the people accused in the case, including Ashish Mishra, are in jail.

Following the incident, the BJP, which is in power in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre, is under attack by the Opposition, which is demanding the sacking of the Union minister for a fair probe into the matter.

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World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said he is glad to see Covaxin get the Emergency Use Listing approval, as he underlined that the more products the world has to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the better it is.

The approval came after the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), an independent advisory committee of WHO recommended EUL status for Covaxin.

Glad to see one more vaccine, #Covaxin, being granted @WHO emergency use listing. The more products we have to fight #COVID19, the better, but we must keep up the pressure to deliver VaccinEquity & prioritize access to vulnerable groups who are still waiting for their 1st dose, Ghebreyesus said in a tweet.

Read more: Emergency Use Listing nod to Covaxin expands availability of vaccines: WHO official

India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Indramani Pandey also hailed the WHO's decision and thanked Dr Tedros.

"We thank @DrTedros, DG, WHO, and his Team for their contribution in grant of EUL to Covaxin, a step towards fulfillment of the shared goal of India and @WHO of early vaccination and vaccine equity," Pandey said in a tweet.

Following the EUL approval for Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan also congratulated India on getting the approval for Covaxin.

"One more vaccine gets @WHO emergency use listing. Congratulations India @BharatBiotech @ICMRDELHI @MoHFW_INDIA for successful development of indigenous vaccine #Covaxin as well as for a massive vaccination program!, she said.

Covaxin was found to have 78 per cent efficacy against Covid-19 of any severity, 14 or more days after the second dose, and is extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements, it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met WHO Director General Ghebreyesus on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome recently.

Besides demonstrating 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19, Covaxin has shown 65.2 per cent protection against the new Delta variant.

In June, the company said it concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 trials.

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.
The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday deputed central teams of experts in nine states and Union Territories to assist them in providing technical guidance, including public health measures, for managing dengue outbreak.

The move came amid Haryana, Punjab, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir recording a considerable number of dengue cases.

Expert teams include officials from the National Centre for Disease Control and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme.

"It has been decided by the competent authority to depute central teams to the identified states to assist the state governments by providing technical guidance, including public health measures, for managing the ongoing outbreak of dengue," an office memorandum sent to principal secretaries (Health) and directors general of health services of the nine states and Union Territories.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday had directed the Union Health Secretary to identify and send teams of experts to states with a high active caseload of dengue as he reviewed the dengue situation in Delhi for control and management of the disease.

Over 1,530 cases of dengue have been reported in Delhi this year so far, of which nearly 1,200 were recorded in October alone, the highest count for the month in the last four years.

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Political strategist Prashant Kishor may be roped in to develop the election campaign of the Congress for next year's Assembly polls, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has indicated.

Channi, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and the incharge of the state affairs at the AICC, Harish Chaudhary, held a meeting of party MLAs and other senior leaders in Chandigarh Tuesday evening to discuss the strategy for the elections.

In a short video of the party meeting, Channi is heard saying that "Harish Chaudharyji was even advising to hire Prashant Kishor".

Channi was also seen discussing recent decision of his government to reduce power tariff and how it had received positive response from people.

There is enthusiasm among people and the party workers, Channi said.

Also read: Amarinder 'coward', 'crybaby', says Navjot Singh Sidhu

"As per suggestions from you all, power tariff was reduced. We still have a couple of months (before code of conduct comes into effect in view of polls) and I will ensure that whatever you suggest will be done," he said.

Earlier this year, Kishor had resigned as former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's principal adviser.

Kishor is currently lobbying for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the upcoming Goa Assembly elections.

Earlier, Kishor had crafted Amarinder Singh's campaign in 2017 assembly polls.

The Congress had stormed to power with an overwhelming majority in the 2017 polls in Punjab.

Channi recently replaced Amarinder Singh as chief minister following unceremonious exit of the veteran leader, who on Tuesday quit the Congress and announced the name of his own political outfit to contest the upcoming state polls.

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Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday accused AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal of copying his government-sponsored pilgrimage scheme as a pre-poll promise ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.

"I had announced it in the budget and my scheme was ready and has been notified too. Registration has begun for those who want to undertake teerth yatra. He is copying my schemes... He is a copymaster," Sawant alleged, two days after the Delhi CM, during his visit to Goa, promised to implement a special pilgrimage package to Hindus, Muslims and Christian voters of the coastal state, if the party comes to power in 2022.

Sawant claimed that the 'original' pilgrimage scheme was first announced by him in his budget speech for the year 2021-22.

Also read: Kejriwal promises pilgrimages galore for Goans if AAP wins power

On November 1, Kejriwal announced that if AAP comes to power in Goa, Hindus, Muslims and Christians would be allowed to perform a government-funded pilgrimage at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Ajmer Sharif and Vellankani.

While Sawant claims that Kejriwal's announcement in Goa was modelled on the scheme 'Mukhyamantri Devdarshan Scheme' introduced in his budget scheme, the AAP government in Delhi had first rolled out the pilgrimage package in its 2018-19 budget, for which Rs 53 crore had been allocated.

This is not the first time that the two chief ministers have had a go at each other.

After the AAP announced free power to the tune of 300 units to domestic households in the state, the BJP-led coalition government in Goa had subsequently announced 16,000 free litres of water in every household.

Kejriwal had then accused Sawant of duplicating innovative policies and schemes introduced by the Delhi government.

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BJP general secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya has claimed opposition leaders in West Bengal are being forced to join the Trinamool Congress at "sword-point, by implicating them in false cases, and that Islam also came to the country in a similar manner.

Vijaywargiya, who was the BJP's main strategist for the West Bengal polls held earlier this year, made the comments on Tuesday while responding to a question from reporters on a number of his party leaders switching over to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in that state.

I am reminded of an incident that Islam entered the country at sword-point and in Bengal also, people are being forced to join the Trinamool Congress at sword-point. I feel both the incidents are similar, the BJP leader claimed.

Also Read | TMC turncoat Rajib Banerjee returns to Didi's force

He further claimed that the law and order had "totally collapsed" in West Bengal and BJP leaders there were being implicated in false and serious cases of dacoity, murder and corruption. There are 20 cases going on against me alone (in West Bengal). When the government is hellbent on murdering the opposition, then how will a person live there (in West Bengal)? he said.

Attacking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Vijaywargiya said In the history of the country, if a name of a dictator will be written who has no faith in democracy, then Banerjee's name will figure in it.

India's democracy is being praised the world over, but I can say it with full responsibility in my capacity as the BJP's general secretary that there is no democracy in West Bengal, he added.

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Uttar Pradesh Minister Anand Swarup Shukla has alleged that Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav enjoys the patronage of Pakistan spy agency ISI and said he may even go for religious conversion to appease Muslims.

He may also be getting economic support from the neighbouring country's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the minister alleged while talking to reporters at his residence on Tuesday.

"Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has become a challenge for the Islamic world. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is getting all support from them. Akhilesh is getting 'sanrakshan aur sujhav' (patronage and advice) from the ISI. It is possible that he might also be getting economic support from it," Shukla, who a BJP leader, said.

Also Read | Adityanath hits out at Akhilesh Yadav for 'comparing' Jinnah with Sardar Patel

Shukla's remarks come after Yadav in a speech in Hardoi on Sunday spoke of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the same breath as leaders who fought for India's independence.

"To appease Muslims, Yadav had performed 'namaz' and observed 'roza' (fast). He can also go for 'matantaran' (religious conversion) and 'khatna' to get their votes," he said, adding that the former chief minister was doing so at the behest of Pakistan.

In his speech, Yadav praised India's 'Iron Man' Vallabhbhai Patel on his 146th birth anniversary but raised eyebrows when he appeared to equate the four leaders, including Jinnah.

"On the directions of the ISI, Yadav is glorifying Jinnah. He is issuing such statements that Pakistan and the Taliban want," Shukla, who is the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, alleged.

He claimed that Yadav's comparison of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel with Jinnah was condemnable and that he should regret it.

During the public meeting in Hardoi, the SP leader had said, "Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah studied in the same institute and became barristers. They helped (India) get freedom and never backed away from any struggle."

Yadav had also referred to the ban imposed on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh by Patel, the then home minister, following the assassination of Gandhi in 1948.

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With just about one-third of Indian adults getting fully vaccinated against Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the state and district administrations to take the help of religious leaders at the local level to convince more people to come forward for the jab.

In an interaction with top officials of 45 districts where the first dose coverage remains less than 50%, the Prime Minister asked the officials to be innovative with their strategies to deal with challenges like rumours and misconceptions.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak in India, click here

"You (officials) can create small videos with religious leaders and circulate them locally (to convince people). All religious leaders support the Covid vaccination, Modi said.

A similar strategy was adopted during the polio campaign to convince some of the communities that were hesitant to take the two drops of the polio vaccine.

Nearly 78% of the Indian adults have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine more than ten months after the campaign rolled out whereas 35% are fully vaccinated.

Also Read | Centre's vaccination scheme has created two classes of citizens in India: Kerala HC

As many as 28 out of 45 low-coverage districts are in the North East with Manipur and Nagaland accounting for eight such districts each. Other states housing such districts are Arunachal Pradesh (6), Assam (1), Chhattisgarh (1), Delhi (1), Haryana (1), Jharkhand (8), Maharashtra (5), Meghalaya (4), Mizoram (1) and Tamil Nadu (1).

With the Centre launching a door-to-door campaign for Covid-19 vaccination, the Prime Minister asked the officers to focus on the second dose as a section of the people might become complacent after taking the first dose and delay the second dose.

The Union Health Ministry last week said more than 10.34 crore Indians who received the first dose of the vaccine, didnt take the second shot. The states have been asked to follow up on such persons.

Also Read: Nearly 112 crore Covid vaccines given to states, UTs so far

Modi advised the officials as well as the Chief Ministers who also attended the meeting, to organise special camps, involve NCC and NSS cadres and rope in women officials including those from the police force to win over those who avoided the vaccination so far.

India had set a target of vaccinating its 94.47 crore adult population by December 2021, which now looks nearly impossible. But there is a realistic possibility of covering the population with at least one dose of the vaccine.

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The Centre has approved the induction of 41 officers of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) into Indian Administrative Service (IAS) following which they will get AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territories) cadre.

It will be after a gap of almost a decade that the induction process has been done and among the officers to be inducted, a few have already retired from the service.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) have already given approval for the inductions and the matter will shortly go to the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) for final approval.

It might take a month or two as the UPSC has to complete the formalities before convening a meeting with representatives of the J&K government for formal induction of JKAS officers into the IAS, official sources said and added the year of allotment of IAS will be allotted by the MHA once the inductions are finally cleared by the UPSC.

Besides benefiting the JKAS officers, their induction into IAS will also help the J&K government to overcome the shortage of IAS officers in the UT. Till the end of last year, out of the stipulated cadre strength of 137 IAS officers, there were only 58 serving officers in J&K and of these, at least nine were on deputation to the government of India.

After the revocation of special status under Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile J&K state into two union territories (UTs) in 2019, the Union Home ministry merged the J&K cadre into AGMUT in January this year.

Sources said once the process of inductions of previous years is completed by the UPSC, the government proposes to make it a regular feature every year so that the JKAS officers are timely inducted into the IAS like other states and union territories.

Earlier this year in July, the Centre had approved the induction of 27 J&K Police Service (JKPS) officers into the Indian Police Service (IPS) which included 13 serving and 14 retired officers.

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A young Muslim man was allegedly assaulted and robbed by two men after he refused to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' at a village in Aligarh.

Circle officer Atrauli, S P Singh said that an FIR has been registered at Harduaganj police station on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim Aamir Khan's father, two days after the incident.

The circle officer said that Rahissuddin did not mention that his son was forced to raise slogans by the accused Devendra and his father Raju.

Police claimed that the man was beaten up following a clash between the two sides after an argument over the price of clothes.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh: Muslim man forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', cops arrest two men

The accused have been booked and arrested under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of IPC.

Aamir, however, claimed that the father-son duo first asked him his name, then beat him with sticks and forced him to chant "Jai Shri Ram" when he reached his neighbouring village Nagla Khema to sell clothes.

"They also snatched Rs 10,000 and my mobile phone," he alleged, adding that he had made a video of the incident.

When police took the accused into their custody, they started chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and threw stones at a person who was filming their arrest.

In August, a Muslim e-rickshaw driver was publicly assaulted and allegedly asked to chant "Jai Shri Ram" even as his minor daughter tried to save him. The video of this incident went viral on social media.

In another incident in June, an elderly man, Abdul Sarad Saifi, accused four men of beating him up, clipping his beard and asking him to chant "Jai Shri Ram" in Ghaziabad.

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In another interesting development, President of the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Om Prakash Rajbhar had a long meeting with mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari inside the Banda prison, where the latter is presently jailed.

During the meeting which took place on Tuesday, Rajbhar was accompanied by Abbas and Umar, the two sons of Mukhtar Ansari.

According to sources, Rajbhar offered Mukhtar to contest the 2022 Assembly elections on an SBSP symbol.

Mukhtar's brother Sigbatullah Ansari has joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) but Akhilesh Yadav is apparently averse to bringing the mafia don into his party fold since that would invite unnecessary controversy and flak from other political circles.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Polls: Former BJP ally SBSP extends support to Akhilesh Yadav

The tiff between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal began in 2016 when the latter allowed the merger of Mukhtar Ansari's Qaumi Ekta Dal into the SP.

Akhilesh Yadav and Rajbhar have, therefore, hit upon the formula under which Mukhtar Ansari could contest the Assembly polls on an SBSP ticket and he would automatically get Samajwadi support since SP and SBSP have already announced their alliance for the elections.

Mukhtar Ansari wields considerable influence in nearly a dozen Assembly segments in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The coming together of Muslims, Rajbhar and Yadav votes in the region would undoubtedly prove to be a winning combination and could upset the ruling BJP's calculations in the area.

Mukhtar Ansari, who is presently a BSP MLA, has reportedly agreed to the proposal since party president Mayawati has already said that she would not give a ticket to the Ansari brothers.

Mukhtar's elder brother, Afzal Ansari, is a BSP MP at present.

Rajbhar, when contacted, refused to comment on the outcome of the meeting but his party sources said that the "results were positive and encouraging".

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In a relief to an assistant professor whose service was terminated in March 2007, the Supreme Court has directed an Uttar Pradesh-based university to reinstate him, holding that his termination was illegal.

A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud allowed an appeal filed by the man who had challenged the February 2008 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which had held that there was neither any illegality nor any infirmity in the universitys order for abolishing the post and terminating his service.

The bench, also comprising Justices Vikram Nath and B V Nagarathna, set aside the high court order and directed the university to reinstate him and also grant him the benefit of continuity of services only for the purpose of pension and retiral benefits, if any.

Also Read | Delay in conveying bail orders affects liberty, needs redressal at 'war footing': Justice Chandrachud

In view of the aforesaid discussion, we find that the termination of the services of the appellant was illegal and not in accordance with the law. Consequently, we set aside the impugned order passed by the high court and allow the appeal, the bench said in its October 29 judgement.

The top court said that the petitioner would not be entitled to any disbursement of salary for the period from March 31, 2007, till the date of reinstatement as he has not worked for the said period on the principle of no work, no pay.

It said that he is entitled to notional fixation of salary and other benefits in the event other persons, similarly situated to the petitioner, have been extended such benefits by the university.

In its verdict, the bench noted the facts according to which the varsity was established in 2001 and was included in the list of universities eligible to receive assistance from the central government under section 12(b) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 and relevant rules with effect from May 20, 2003.

In April 2004, the UGC, under its Tenth Plan, issued grants to the university including the grant in respect of financial support for one lecturer in the department of political science, it noted.

The petitioner told the top court that the university had in July 2004 advertised for filling up of vacancy in the department of political science after which he had applied and was selected to the post of assistant professor and an appointment letter was issued in December 2004.

According to the appellant, every month he was forced to pay Rs 5,000 from his salary to the university as a donation to which he objected but nevertheless continued to pay the amount to the university, the bench noted in its verdict.

The petitioner said that he had written to the vice-chancellor of the university to grant him PhD incentive as admissible under the UGC grant and in July 2006, the registrar of the varsity replied that since his post was only for the Tenth Plan which was going to expire on March 31, 2007, his services would be automatically terminated on that date.

He said he had received another communication in March 2007 from the registrar of the university that his services were no more required with effect from March 31, 2007, as his post was abolished.

The petitioner said, on the one hand, the university had stated that his post had been abolished while on the other hand, the varsity had requested the UGC for the continuation of grant for all the posts under the Tenth Plan even under the Eleventh Plan by showing that he was working in the department of political science as on April 6, 2007.

Contending that service of the petitioner was rightly terminated, the counsel appearing for the university had told the apex that his appointment was under a scheme of the UGC sanctioned under the Tenth five-year plan and it was to come to an end on the expiry of the plan on March 31, 2007.

The apex court noted that his appointment was not contractual in nature and he was being paid annual increments also.

But, since he protested regarding the deduction of Rs 5,000 from his salary every month, the increments were stopped and later, his services were also terminated, the bench noted, adding that there was adequate strength of students for the continuation of the department of political science by the university.

While directing that the petitioner be reinstated, the bench said there was neither any abolition of post held by him nor the department was abolished by the university.

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The Supreme Court has decided to examine whether education is a service within the Consumer Protection Act, enabling a person to claim compensation in case of deficiency and negligence.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and B V Nagarathna pointed out that a similar legal issue is pending adjudication in another case and tagged the matter along with it.

Having regard to the pendency of Civil Appeal No 3504 of 2020 (Manu Solanki and Others vs Vinayaka Mission University), the issue as to whether education is a service within the Consumer Protection Act, is pending before this Court. Leave granted. Tag with Civil Appeal, the bench said in its October 29 order.

A Lucknow resident, Rajendra Kumar Gupta, challenged an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of February 2, 2021, before the top court.

The Commission said educational institutions do not fall within the ambit of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and education which includes co-curricular activities such as swimming, is not a service within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

In this case, the man's son was studying at a school that offered various 'Summer Camp' activities in 2007 including swimming and invited students to participate by paying Rs 1,000 as fees.

On May 28, 2007, at about 9.30 am, he received an urgent call from the school requesting him to come immediately as his son was unwell.

Upon reaching the school, the man was informed that his son had been taken to hospital as he had drowned in the school's swimming pool. He then rushed to the hospital where he learnt that his son was brought dead.

Thereafter, he filed a consumer complaint in the State Commission alleging negligence and deficiency in service on part of the School and claimed Rs 20 lakh as compensation for the death of his son as well as Rs 2 lakh on account of mental agony suffered by him and Rs 55,000 towards the cost of litigation.

The State Commission dismissed the complaint on the ground that the complainant is not a consumer. This order was challenged in NCDRC.

In its decision, the NCDRC held that education which includes co-curricular activities such as swimming, is not a service within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. It concurred with the State Commission's view that the complainant is not a consumer and the complaint, not being covered under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, is not maintainable.

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As the debate on ban on firecrackers hots up in the country, Isha Foundation founder and spiritualist Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev on Wednesday opposed the blanket ban on firecrackers and offered a simple alternative.

Concern over air pollution is not a reason to prevent kids from experiencing the joy of fire-crackers... Let them have the fun of bursting fireworks," he said in a message on the eve of the festival.

Also Read | Diwali 2021: Can you burst crackers in your state?

Extending greetings to everyone for Deepavali, he said, Lighting up in joy, love, and consciousness is vital in times of crisis that could dump you in darkness." "This Deepavali, light up your humanity to its full glory. Love and blessings," he said.

The Supreme Court had said a blanket ban on fire-crackers may not be possible and termed the earlier Calcutta High Court order for a complete ban as extreme. The measures ought to be in place are to prevent the use of toxic chemicals in fireworks, the apex court noted.

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A female research student in Kerala is on an indefinite stir in front of the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala.

She has said that the university authorities have been deliberately delaying completion of her PhD course.

Deepa P Mohanan, who is from the dalit community, has also alleged caste discrimination by a section in the university over the last ten years.

Read more: Six arrested in Gujarat for assaulting Dalit family over visiting village temple

With her protest reaching its sixth day on Wednesday, Mohanan has received support from various quarters. A group of known social activists and writers also urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to initiate in addressing the woes of Mohan.

On Wednesday, she also raised a fresh allegation of sexual harassment from couple of persons in the university earlier. Though she said that she had informed the university authorities about this, the university authorities denied it.

A native of Kannur district in Kerala, Mohanan joined the Kottayam district headquartered MG University in 2011-12 for doing MPhil in Nanoscience.

Mohanan said that since then she has been facing discrimination especially from a section of top faculty members of the International and Inter University Centre or Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IIUCNN).

She said that she was denied facilities for doing projects and her MPhil certificate was delayed in a bid to sabotage her admission. She was also not allowed to use the lab and was denied basic facilities like a seat in the university she has reported.

Mohanan had earlier approached court and also a panel appointed by the university had looked into the issues she raised. Even as the court and panel responded positively to her concerns and directed that she should be provided adequate facilities to complete her PhD, the university authorities were turning a deaf ear to her woes, she lamented.

University authorities were unavailable for comment.

Sources in the university said that Mohanan was insisting that a top faculty member of the IIUCNN should be removed from the post, which was not technically possible.

The University vice chancellor Sabu Thomas had initiated a talk with Mohanan on Monday and assured that she would have every academic freedom in the university and there would not be any hindrance in using the facilities like library.

As Mohanan went ahead with the stir, the district administration also chipped in. Assuring that the district collector would hold talks with her, Mohanan was shifted to hospital by Tuesday evening. But she again returned to resume her stir in front of the university.

According to a joint statement by over 60 known social activists and writers, it was very unfortunate that Kerala that boasts of many progressive initiatives was witnessing a student from the dalit community staging a stir against the discriminations she was facing in completing her doctoral studies. The Chief Minister should initiate steps to address the woes of the student, they urged.

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The opposing sides in the faction-ridden Congress in Kerala appear to be in no mood to lie low as was seen at the first meeting of the newly-constituted committee of the party which met here on Tuesday.

Since the defeat of the Congress-led UDF in the April 6 Assembly polls, the party party high command has literally taken over the affairs of the party and brought in those they wished  K. Sudhakaran was appointed the new state President and V.D. Satheesan the Leader of Opposition.

This irked the traditional faction managers in the party  Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, who have literally been sidelined by the high command and this forced the two to unite to take on their "common enemy".

However, Sudhakaran by now has given enough hints that he wouldn't mind taking on his adversaries, even if it comes to resorting to the ballot, as the organisational polls to elect the national President of the party are round the corner, and he is ready to contest for the state President's post.

Also Read | Kerala Congress leadership struggles to please members in party reconstitution

The last time a state President came through the ballot was in the early 1990s when Vayalar Ravi thumped A.K.Antony and since then the state party chief has always been nominated by the high command.

According to a source who did not wish to be identified, those leaders who are known supporters of the Chandy-Chennithala duo appear to have declared war on Sudhakaran and it surfaced in the meeting as well.

Sudhakaran, who is known for his tough demeanour, made it clear in the meeting that indiscipline would not be tolerated and public utterances will be treated toughly and asked all to air their views and opinion in the party forum only.

The first meeting of the newly-constituted organisational body of the state unit saw two former state Presidents  immediate former incumbent Mullapally Ramachandran and V.M.Sudheeran  missing, as they are not on the same page with Sudhakaran, nor are they close to the Chandy-Chennithala group.

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Sam DSouza, whose name had cropped up in connection with the pay-off allegations surrounding the Cordelia cruise ship raid, has alleged that no drugs were found on Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khans son Aryan. However, he indicated a trail of money transfers.

DSouza, who was seen in a viral video of Aryan Khan with witness Kiran Gosavi, claimed that he was innocent while speaking to local TV news channels.

Even though DSouzas name does not figure in the list of nine independent witnesses in the case, he seems to know many of them.

Kiran Gosavi told me that no drugs were found on Aryan he told me that we can help him, DSouza claimed. He further said that Gosavi, Shah Rukh Khans manager Pooja Dadlani, her husband and a man called Chikki Pandey had met at Lower Parel area of Mumbai. Later I came to know through a man called Sunil Patil that a token amount of Rs 50 lakh is being paid, he said.

Also Read  Sameer Wankhede raised 'private army' for drug peddling, accuses Nawab Malik

When asked more about Patil, he said that he was a power broker.

Sam DSouza's name also emerged in NCB's witness Prabhakar Sails affidavit. Sail had stated in a notarised affidavit that he overheard Gosavi and D'Souza say that "you put a bomb of Rs 25 crore, let's settle for Rs 18 crore and give 8 crore to Sameer Wankhede.

Sail claimed that Gosavi directed him to collect Rs 50 lakh from a spot near Indiana Hotel and asked him to give the bags to DSouza near Trident Hotel, where he discovered that it contained Rs 38 lakh. Sail further stated that he has seen Dadlani talking to Gosavi.

Aryan Khans legal team have distanced themselves from the statement of witness Prabhakar Sail, who has claimed about pay-offs.

The issue has snowballed into a major controversy involving NCBs Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.

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An Urdu phrase, a same sex couple and a mangalsutra sans demureness these were the buttons of unconventionality that led to ads hoping to package tradition and the diverse shades of this festive season with that extra edge being withdrawn within days of each other.

That the ads, each showcasing a different mood of inclusivity, were for a FabIndia clothing collection, Dabur Indias Fem bleach cream and designer Sabyasachi Mukherjees mangasutra, the biggest brand names in their sectors and therefore powerful in their own right, point to a dangerous trend of intolerance, say society watchers and industry insiders.

Also Read | Dabur's same-sex couple ad withdrawn due to 'public intolerance', says Justice Chandrachud

According to adman Piyush Pandey, it is difficult for advertisers to continue with their campaigns "unless the law and order situation protects the people".

"Advertisers don't want people to get hurt so withdraw the ad not because it was wrong but because it was a threat to their people," Pandey told PTI. The government and legal system, he added, have to "wake up to this".

As the polarising debate gathered steam, Abhijit Prasad, an advertising professional, said his industry is trying to show a world you want to live in", one that corrects inequality. But that was not to be.

Read | What shall we do with 'Azadi' then?

And so it was that Sabyasachi, a favourite with the swish set, on Sunday rolled back his ad showcasing his mangalsutra, the black bead-gold chain traditionally worn by married Hindu women, the design varying according to region.

The designer sought to give the neckpiece, viewed as a symbol of a womans marital fidelity and also of patriarchy, a spin by putting out ads showing couples from the LGBTQ community and women in deep necklines in positions of intimacy looking unapologetically into the camera.

The series prompted Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra to issue the designer a 24-hour ultimate to withdraw the ads or face consequences. On Monday, he added that there will be direct action without any warning if the designer repeats something similar.

Also Read | After Dabur, MP minister targets Sabyasachi over 'objectionable' mangalsutra ad; gives 24-hour ultimatum

Withdrawing his ad, a deeply saddened Sabyasachi said in a statement, "In the context of making heritage and culture a dynamic conversation, the Mangalsutra campaign aimed to talk about inclusivity and empowerment. The campaign was intended as a celebration and we are deeply saddened that it has instead offended a section of our society.

The week before, Dabur India withdrew its ad for Fem bleach. In a curious amalgam of ritual, patriarchy and pushing societal boundaries for a product that many women find problematic, it showed a lesbian couple celebrating Karwa Chauth, a Hindu festival where women fast for the long lives of their husbands.

Also Read | Sabyasachi withdraws Mangalsutra campaign advertisement amid controversy

The ad, which tried to be unconventional within a deeply conventional structure, immediately came under social media fire. The Madhya Pradesh minister was again at the forefront, saying he had directed the state police chief to convey to Dabur that the objectionable" advertisement should be withdrawn.

The company initially tried to defend the ad, saying the brand strived for "diversity, inclusion and equality" but later complied.

And shortly before that, was FabIndias Jashn-e-Riwaaz collection that attracted ire because it used an Urdu phrase that means celebration of traditions and also led to debate on why the women in it were not sporting bindis, once a Hindu symbol of matrimony and now a fashion accessory for women, married or not.

Read | BJP MP Anantkumar takes dig at Aamir Khan's ad, says it's creating 'unrest among Hindus'

The brand was accused of "defacing" the Hindu festival of Diwali. It was also heavily trolled for what some said was unnecessarily uplifting secularism and Muslim ideologies in a Hindu festival. BJP Yuva Morcha president Tejasvi Surya described the advertisement as the "Abrahamisation of Hindu festivals" and tweeted that brands like FabIndia "must face economic costs for such deliberate misadventures".

FabIndia issued a clarification stating that 'Jashn-E-Riwaaz' was not its Diwali clothing collection, which was the 'Jhil Mil se Diwali' collection that was yet to be launched.

Pandey said the ads should not have been cancelled. The aggrieved parties, he added, have the option of approaching the Advertising Standard Council or the courts.

Referring to the angry debate and the backlash on social media platforms, he said, "I don't take social media seriously. It should come under the scanner of the Advertising Standard Council or the courts. So groups of people pressuring and taking law in their hands is a very dangerous trend in the society."

Also Read | If he repeats such a thing...: BJP minister's warning to Sabyasachi

"The anger can come from groups of motivated people. It is not about community or group...no one has the license to take law in their hands," Pandey said.

Others also weighed in with their views, saying that brands being forced to pull out their ads in face of threats shows there is little tolerance towards even the slightest deviation from existing norms and practices. In some cases, there was pushback and in some none at all.

"Seems like this country does not have a judiciary/police or state since goons give out diktats accompanied by threats NO LONGER VEILED. Democracy-indeed!!!" wrote filmmaker Onir, tagging a news article about ads facing trouble in the country.

Prasad added that advertisers have to toe a "very fine line" and maybe Sabyasachi shouldn't have withdrawn the ad.

"But it's ok for one's safety. The situation is bad, we all know that. It's not the safest time to make any commentary on Hinduism," he added.

Criticising the controversy over the FabIndia ad, lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar wrote, "I failed to understand why some people have any problem with FabIndia's Jashn-e-Riwaj. Which in English means nothing but 'a celebration of tradition.' How and why anybody can have a problem with that. It is crazy (sic)."

Read | The reach of bleach: Fem bleach ad failed in its gay rights message

In brand strategist Siddhant Lahiris view, what is being targeted is thinking that lies outside conventions. There is an overall societal trend globally where "we are becoming increasingly intolerant of points of view which are dissimilar to ours, the Singapore-based professional said.

"Be it Nike or be it FabIndia, social media has equipped the masses with expressing their displeasure very vociferously. And that is fine, of course  it is only through discourse that we progress  however when discourse becomes prohibitive, there is a problem. It is fine to say that I disapprove of something  it is a little dangerous to say that you cannot do something because I disapprove of it," Lahiri told PTI.

Days before the FabIndia, Dabur, Sabyasaachi series, an ad for clothing brand Manyavar featuring Alia Bhatt as a bride questioning the ritual of kanyadaan, the giving away of the bride by the father in a traditional Hindu wedding, was under attack. And last year, jewellery brand Tanishq faced a backlash for showing an inter-religious family.

Supreme Court judge D Y Chandrachud last week commented on the gap between laws aiming at removing social inequities and the ground reality while giving the example of the Dabur ad.

"There are real-life situations which show that there is great divergence between ideals of the law and the real state of the society today," Justice Chandrachud said at an event themed on legal awareness for women.

"Just two days ago, all of you would know, of this advertisement which a company was required to pull down. It was an advertisement was for Karwa Chauth of a same-sex couple. It had to be withdrawn on the ground of public intolerance!" he remarked.

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In September, the Karnataka Assembly passed a bill to amend the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920. The amended law has the potential to transform policing in Karnataka and will have ramifications for privacy and the criminal justice system.

The Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 is a central legislation that empowers the police to take measurements, finger impressions, foot impressions and photos of convicted persons. Similarly, the police may collect finger impressions and foot impressions of a person who has been arrested but not convicted yet. The Act also empowers a Magistrate to permit the police to click photographs, take foot impressions and finger impressions of any person while investigating a crime.

Karnataka's amendment drastically alters the scope of the Act. The amendment allows a police officer to collect blood samples, DNA samples, voice samples and Iris scan samples of arrestees and convicts. While speaking in the Assembly, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that the data collected from these samples will be stored in a database linked to the Criminal Tracking System in Bengaluru. Section 4 of the 1920 Act allows the police to take measurements, foot impressions and finger impressions of an unconvicted person only if he had been arrested for an offence punishable with rigorous imprisonment for more than one year. However, the amendment empowers the police to exercise this power on a person arrested for an offence punishable with even one-month simple imprisonment.

The amendment confers vast powers and discretion on Superintendents of Police and Deputy Commissioners of Police. Section 5 of the Act which empowers Magistrates to order any person to be photographed or measured during the investigation of a crime has been amended to confer the same power on SPs and DCPs. These officers will also have the power to direct any person to allow the police to collect samples of his blood, DNA, voice and Iris scan. Clause 7 of the amended law stipulates that if the samples of a person previously not convicted for any offence were collected but he/she is eventually acquitted, the samples shall be returned or destroyed after 10 years from the date of acquittal or when the person attains the age of 60, whichever is earlier. Despite this, SPs and DCPs may direct retention of the data after recording reasons.

Through these sweeping changes, the State can enhance its surveillance powers and dominance over citizens. In fact, the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the amendment bill declared that it intends to facilitate "effective surveillance". A cursory glance may induce a belief that the new provisions merely facilitate greater use of technology in detecting crimes and tracing criminals. However, there are serious constitutional concerns plaguing the amended law.

Firstly, the fundamental right to privacy enshrines bodily integrity and sovereignty over one's body. Under our constitutional scheme, the State may intrude into privacy only when there is a "compelling State interest". Any intrusion pursuant to a compelling State interest must satisfy the test of proportionality which requires the intrusive measure to be the least restrictive measure to achieve the objective. Therefore, even when there is a compelling State interest, such as the need to detect crimes, an unreasonable intrusion into privacy is unconstitutional.

This being the case, empowering police officers to collect DNA samples and other sensitive data from even people accused of trivial offences is problematic. For instance, even persons arrested for allegedly insulting or defaming others may be asked by the police to provide DNA samples as these are offences punishable with imprisonment for more than one month. It is unreasonable to presume that every person who gets arrested -- rightly or wrongly -- may commit another offence and genetic information would be vital to investigate that offence.

Creating a DNA databank is fraught with risks when India lacks a robust and comprehensive data protection law. Furthermore, a DNA databank is not a panacea for the criminal justice system as there are risks of false identification and matches. There have been instances of people -- including relatives of the actual offender -- being wrongly charged and convicted pursuant to partial DNA matches. Carelessness in storing and analysing DNA samples has led to erroneous convictions as well. In the United States, African-Americans have often borne the brunt of false positives as they are disproportionately represented in the databanks.

A law like this can exacerbate the power asymmetry between the State and citizens. By diminishing bodily autonomy and empowering the State to intrude into the privacy of citizens on flimsy grounds, such laws erode constitutional values. Justice Antonin Scalia had described the attempt to create DNA databanks by recklessly collecting samples as an attempt to create a genetic panopticon. If intrusive surveillance is not nipped in the bud, it will render citizens docile and vulnerable to miscarriage of justice.

(The writer is an advocate)
By David Fickling

For a world that needs its carbon emissions to diminish to nothing within the next 30 years, the announcement by Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi of a 2070 net-zero target might sound profoundly disappointing.

The worlds biggest emitter, China, isnt promising zero before 2060. The second-largest, the US, is unlikely to be able to pass legislation through Congress sufficient to fortify President Joe Bidens 2050 target against unpicking by future administrations or the courts. Now the third-ranked polluter is out with a promise thats 20 years too late. After a lacklustre communique on climate from the Group of 20 meeting in Rome, the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow might appear to have already failed.

That view fails to recognise how far India has moved to come to this point  and how far it could still go. Indeed, its possible, based on Modis other promises, that the countrys emissions have already peaked, or come close to it. If thats so, the largest remaining piece of the puzzle in tackling climate change is coming into focus.

Until recently, it was conventional to regard India as the next China in terms of emissions, much as boosters used that phrase to characterize its potential economic growth.

Read | 'For net-zero, India needs 5,600 GW of solar capacity'

Just as China accounted for the bulk of the worlds increase in emissions during the 2000s and 2010s, so would India in the 2020s and 2030s. About 65% of the additional greenhouse gases pumped between 2013 and 2040 would come from there, according to the International Energy Agencys 2015 World Energy Outlook.

That situation was well-suited to New Delhis long-held stance on international climate negotiations. From the first glimmerings of climate diplomacy in the 1980s, the government has consistently argued that developing nations that bear little of the historical responsibility for global warming shouldnt be constrained in their ability to pollute. When Modis predecessor Manmohan Singh signed up to a 2009 declaration stating the importance of keeping to two degrees Celsius of warming or less, it was enough to cause significant upset domestically because of the perceived constraint the acknowledgement imposed.

The change since then has been profound. At the time of the 2015 Paris climate conference, Indias two major energy targets pointed to increasing renewables deployment and rapid emissions growth. Coal output would double to 1.5 billion metric tons by 2020. Installations of wind, solar and other renewable generations would quadruple to hit 175 gigawatts by 2022.

Read | 6 charts show how hard it is for India to hit net zero

At the time, it was the renewables target that was widely dismissed, labelled as incredible by a 2016 Brookings Institution report. In practice, though, while coal production has barely budged  increasing in line with consumption roughly 12% between 2015 and 2019  renewables installations are now close to the finish line. Installed capacity was 96GW in May, with a further 51GW under approval or construction and 30GW under bidding  enough to hit 176GW when its completed.

Thats still not good enough. To hit Modis new target of 500GW by 2030, Indias renewable installers will need to quadruple their rate of deployments to 45GW or so every year over the rest of this decade  equivalent to building the UKs entire renewable fleet every year for the best part of a decade.

Still, if that target comes close to success, then emissions from Indias power sector, already slowing, will have stopped rising and entered decline more than a decade earlier than most analysts expected. BloombergNEF research indicates that generation from coal and gas peaked in 2018; if renewable installations exceed its 2030 estimate of 380GW, the decline in fossil power will be even faster.

That still leaves substantial emissions from other parts of the economy, to be sure. Power is the biggest slice of Indias emissions and the one contributing the bulk of the increase in the total, but manufacturing, transport and agriculture are nearly as important.

Even there, theres the prospect that India will bend the curve. Billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani have set their sights on turning India into a superpower of green hydrogen, much as Ambanis Jamnagar oil refinery, the worlds biggest, turned it into a player in crude oil processing in the 2000s.

That offers the prospect to decarbonize key industrial sectors such as steelmaking  where Indias shortage of high-quality coal and expertise in producing pig iron without blast furnaces, plus a coming glut of Chinese scrap metal, suggest a lower-emissions pathway for ferrous metal production.

In transport, too, electric vehicles are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Low taxes and charging costs mean electric two- and three-wheelers are already cheaper to operate than conventional vehicles.

Local consultancy JMK Research & Analytics estimates electric two-wheelers will hit a 17% share of their domestic market by 2026, and Piaggio & C. expects electric vehicles to have a 20% to 30% share of three-wheelers in the next two to three years. (Four-wheeler cars only comprise around 15% of Indias vehicle sales).

Most importantly, 2070 isnt the end of the process. In just over a decade, India has gone from a position of accepting no limits on the worlds greenhouse emissions to setting a constraint on even its own carbon footprint.

If investment dollars flow from rich countries into Indias booming low-emissions sector, industries that seem as hard to decarbonise now as the power sector seemed in 2015 will be the next to move. Indias path to zero is just beginning.

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Russia's one-dose Sputnik Light vaccine had a good safety profile and induced strong immune responses especially in people who had already encountered Covid-19, according to the results of phase I and II trials published in The Lancet medical journal.

The vaccine, a single-dose version of the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine unveiled last year, has already entered later phases of studies and is widely used in Russia, but the publication of the early research in a top Western journal is a milestone as Russia moves towards making Sputnik Light its main vaccine for export.

Scientists from the vaccine's developer, the Gamaleya Institute, oversaw 110 volunteers aged 1859 in St Petersburg, who were inoculated in January 2021, looking at the response of the immune system and the main side effects.

Also read: Country by country, scientists eye beginning of an end to the Covid-19 pandemic

The results analysed virus neutralisation against the original variant and showed a slight but statistically significant decrease in the antibody response for the Alpha and Beta strains. Russia's dominant strain is now the Delta variant.

Russia has already said that subsequent research showed Sputnik Light demonstrated 70% effectiveness against the Delta variant three months after injection.

"Sputnik Light might be considered not only for primary vaccination, but also could be useful as an efficient tool for further revaccination or vaccination after previous Covid-19 infection," the study said.

Also read: WHO approves Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for Emergency Use Listing

Last week, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that with the spread of the Delta variant, the ministry recommended the usage of Sputnik Light for re-vaccination only.

The Kremlin later said Sputnik Light was a standalone Covid-19 vaccine, but some Russian regions reported that they had begun to administer it only to people with antibodies.

Sputnik Light was approved for clinical use in Russia on May 6 based on the results of trials published in The Lancet and Gamaleya has started an international and placebo-controlled phase III study with 6,000 participants.

"We believe Sputnik Light vaccine could contribute towards accelerating the pace of vaccination in Russia as well as in other countries that are lacking sufficient vaccine supply," the scientists wrote.

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Davangere police nabbed 18 inter-district thieves and confiscated 67 kg pangolin scales on charges of transporting them and violating the norms.

Pangolins are believed to be the world's most trafficked mammal, accounting for as much as 20% of all illegal wildlife trade.

Acting on a tip-off, the police team led by DySP B S Basavaraju rushed towards Shiva Basava daba on Harihar-Shivamogga road seized two vans, a car used to transport them.

A case has been registered against them under The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. They had been remanded in judicial custody.

Police sources stated that pangolins are trafficked by poachers all over the world due to their highly coveted scales which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. "This illegal trade makes them vulnerable to extinction."

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Reacting to Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah's tweet that anti-incumbency against the state government has commenced with the defeat of BJP in by-polls for Hangal assembly constituency, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa said, voters of Hangal backed Congress in the by-elections out of sympathy as it was a sinking boat in the state.

Speaking to media persons, here on Wednesday, he said that just one defeat in the by-polls can't be considered as anti-incumbency against the Bommai-led government in the state. BJP has emerged victorious in 25 by-polls out of 28.

Also Read | Siddaramaiah dubs BJP's loss in Hanagal as Chief Minister Bommai's defeat

He admitted that BJP should not have lost the Hangal seat as it is in Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's home district. But BJP won the Sindhagi seat by a margin of 31,185 votes. Congress leader Siddaramaiah himself was defeated in Mysuru, home district, during 2018 assembly polls, he taunted.

Referring to groups in the Congress party, he suggested Siddaramaiah and KPCC President D K Shivakumar focus on resolving internal issues that are affecting their party first before commenting on BJP.

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Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday termed the Janasevaka scheme of the state government delivering 58 services including ration at the doorstep, a gimmick.

"Supplying ration is the primary duty of the government. What they (government) are doing is a drama, a gimmick," Siddaramaiah told reporters. He was referring to the 'Janasevaka' scheme launched in Bengaluru by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai offering 58 services at the doorsteps of citizens.

Bommai had said that the same would be implemented across Karnataka January 26 onwards. He also sought to know what the BJP government was giving to the public after stopping the previous Congress government's populist programmes.

"They (BJP) reduced the rice quantity from seven kilograms to five kilograms to each individual a month under Anna Bhagya scheme. They closed Indira Canteens, stopped Shoe Bhagya, Shala Bhagya, Krishi Bhagya and Vidyasiri scholarships. So what are they giving to the public?" Siddaramaiah asked.

Siddaramaiah again challenged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to come to a common platform for debate with him on the achievements of the government.

He said, "I had twice challenged him (Bommai) in Hangal (where bypoll was held on October 30 and which Congress won) for debate but he did not turn up." Demanding that the next assembly session be held at Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi, the Congress leader said for the past three years no session took place there. Siddaramaiah said he used to hold the session there every year.

To a query on BJP staging demonstration against him in Bengaluru on Wednesday for allegedly insulting Dalits during his public speech in Sindgi on October 26, Siddaramaiah alleged that the accusations were baseless as he never spoke anything against Dalits.

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County Derry could be on the way to adding a second city to its roster after a local council confirmed it would be seeking the status for one of its towns.

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council confirmed it would be bidding for city status for Coleraine after taking a vote on the issue at tonight's full council meeting.

The item had previously been discussed at a meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee, but councillors had deferred the decision to full council.

Cllr Darryl Wilson

"There are plenty of fence kickers and nay-sayers."

"I'll grasp the nettle," said Cllr Darryl Wilson as he opened the debate.

"I had assumed that for somewhere to apply for city status, it needed to be a sprawling metropolis with a university and a cathedral and everything absolutely perfect.

"When I started to research I found a number of places that have had city status bestowed were small to medium-sized towns, one of which had 1,600 inhabitants.

"I think we should be aiming high and aspiring for better. When places are granted city status, there is a buzz that surrounds it which adds an extra element to the area."

Cllr Wilson was then interrupted by DUP councillor Adrian McQuillan, who suggested he may be electioneering, a claim Cllr Wilson rejected.

"It's nothing to do with an election," he said.

"We don't need any back-chat, we're in council, and some of us at least are aspiring to make the place better instead of making jibes and comments from the sidelines.

"It's our job as elected representatives to improve all the areas in this Borough. There are plenty of fence kickers and nay sayers, but I think we should be aspiring for better."

Cllr William McCandless

"We are the cradle of civilisation."

Independent councillor for Coleraine, William McCandless, said the bid was about the community's vision for the town, rather than its current state.

"City status is a mark of prestige and pride for its citizens," he said.

"This is about vision, about where we see ourselves, not just now. This dovetails in with so many other projects and aspirations we have.

"We have a rich history; we are the cradle of civilisation in Ireland with evidence of mesolithic man at the Mountsandel site. This is about vision and hope. Is there any other town more deserving in Northern Ireland? I don't think so."

The meeting then discussed the possibility of the entire Borough seeking city status. A council official said this would be possible, and mooted Causeway Coast and Glens City Council as a possible re-naming option.

After the cost of the bid was confirmed to be 1,500, PUP councillor Russell Watton said he was 'open-minded' about the bid.

"I wasn't too sure last week. I wanted to know if it would bring any benefit to the town," he said.

"Would it alleviate the absolutely dire social housing situation? If I thought there was any chance of it making a difference to us, I'd be well for it."

Council took a five-minute recess to allow councillors to discuss the issue among themselves, before returning to the chamber.

Cllr George Duddy

"I hope this comes to fruition."

DUP councillor George Duddy confirmed his party would support the bid, and hoped it would come with a revamped transport system for Coleraine.

"The vision of city status being bestowed upon Coleraine and the aspirations we're building up by applying for this, I hope they come to fruition," he told the meeting.

"Every town centre at this moment is suffering, but if we are successful, one would hope the traffic system in and around Coleraine becomes more than what was described here two months ago.

"DfI (Department for Infrastructure) said if Coleraine ever bid for city status, we would hope that the 'one-horse town' traffic system would be greatly improved.

"If we are successful, we have to ensure all the funding we can get goes into the largest town, but we need to ensure our smaller towns and villages do not suffer as as consequence."

After the disuccsion ended, the council voted on the motion to bid for city status.

25 councillors voted for the proposal and one against, while eight councillors, including all Sinn Fein representatives, abstained from the vote.
Foyle MP Colum Eastwood, has applauded SDLP Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallons announcement of 30million of investment to provide new emission zero battery electric buses for Derry.

The SDLP leader, who is currently at the COP26 Conference in Glasgow, said the move would make Derry cleaner and greener as well as improving the city's air quality.

He also said the announcement was further proof that the SDLP were delivering in Government.

Mr Eastwood said: The time for talking is over. Now is the time for action. With the clock ticking down on the climate crisis, the SDLP at every level is pushing for radical rapid reform to protect our local environment.

Today, our Minister has once again proved that the SDLP is delivering in Government. While others talk the talk, the SDLP is walking the walk.

This 30million for Derry will see our city have a fully zero emission bus fleet in service by 2023.

This will make our city cleaner and greener, improving local air quality and making a positive impact on the climate crisis.

In Glasgow at COP26 the SDLP is pushing others to step up and work with us. Now is time for all shoulders to the wheel to end the crisis facing our planet.

The SDLP is ready and willing to continue to play our part by acting now.

Mayor Graham Warke also welcomed the announcement saying the investment is in line with the Council's ongoing commitment to climate action.

He said This is fantastic news for the city and for all public transport users.

By replacing the current Foyle Metro fleet with new zero emission battery electric buses the Department and Translink are providing cleaner and greener transport facilities for our city and helping make a positive impact on our air quality and our ongoing commitment to protecting our local environment.

I strongly believe that low emission public transport in our city will make it more accessible to local communities.

The announcement today of this investment is in line with the Councils ongoing commitment to climate action and the work we are doing to ensure the protection of our environment is included in all our strategies and plans going forward.

Sustainable transport is also a key element of our Strategic Growth Plan and a key objective of our ambitious City Deal plans, so this announcement is very timely.

The electric buses will see Derry's entire urban fleet, Foyle Metro, replaced with electric buses making it one of the first cities in both Ireland and Britain to have a fully zero-emission bus fleet when all the vehicles go into passenger service in 2023.

Ms Mallon made the announcement during a virtual address to the United Nations COP26 Global Climate Conference in Glasgow at an event hosted by Translink who were invited to share their experiences on the transformative journey to de-carbonise the North of Ireland's public transport.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said: I have an ambitious vision for a low carbon future and I am committed to delivering cleaner, greener, sustainable infrastructure.

I have been clear that tackling the climate crisis is a priority for me and I am committed to building a better future where we make zero/low emission public transport accessible to communities across the North.

My Department previously allocated funding of almost 74million for the purchase of 145 zero and low emission buses for the Translink fleet.

I am delighted today, at COP26, to announce additional funding of 30million for the purchase of 38 new zero emission battery electric buses for the Foyle Metro fleet which will allow Derry to have a fully zero-emission bus fleet when all the vehicles go into passenger service in 2023.

Their arrival will herald a new cleaner and greener era in transport for the city and will make a positive impact on the climate emergency and help enhance air quality.

These are the changes we need to see to help us tackle climate change and contribute to better health outcomes for all our population. I will continue to make positive steps to choose cleaner, greener travel.

Translink Group Chief Executive Chris Conway added: Today marks a further milestone in the journey to achieve our ambitious targets to make public transport carbon net zero by 2040 and go beyond to be climate positive by 2050.

We have been delighted to make this announcement at COP26 and showcase the actions we are taking to tackle the climate emergency and drive positive change for a healthier and more sustainable transport for future generations to come.

We will have over 100 zero emission buses in passenger service next spring making up over a third of our Metro fleet.

Now this latest order will mean 100 per cent of urban bus services within the city of Derry will be zero emission not only making bus travel even more attractive and efficient but enhancing local air quality for everyone that lives, works and visits the city.

There will be a mix of both single and double decker buses bringing enhanced capacity and with the latest passenger comfort features including WiFi, USB chargers and accessibility features like audio visual next stop announcements, this is great news for everyone.

We would like to thank the Minister and the Department for their ongoing vision and support. We will continue to work with all stakeholders collaboratively to harness a shift in attitude and behaviour towards more sustainable transport for a better future for everyone.

All the new zero emission electric buses are due to be in service during 2023.
Hansal Mehta recalls how Shah Rukh Khan helped a child with life-saving surgery 'without any fuss or publicity' as he wishes him a happy birthday

Shah Rukh Khan celebrated his birthday yesterday. He is King Khan, who rules the hearts of millions and had inspired many to take up a career in acting. He is the Badshah, the king of romance who has taught generations how to love and embrace the feeling with open arms. But, what we often miss is his philanthropic side. Now, filmmaker Hansal Mehta recalled the time when SRK had helped a child with a life-saving surgery, but did that quietly without drawing any attention or publicity.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk)

Wishing the actor a happy birthday, Hansal Mehta tweeted, "Why @iamsrk is a superstar forever and why I love him. Ive interacted with SRK thrice - once on twitter and on another occasion briefly at a party. Nice, polite and warm interactions. But the third interaction is why for me he will always be a true star... " In the tweet, he wrote, "I was seeking help for a child who was suffering from a tumour and needed urgent financial support for a life-saving surgery I weeted about this around midnight and then slept as I was shooting early mornings in Haryana I was on shoot and I had 3 missed calls from a number I did not recognise. I had a very polite sms from the number asking me to call back. The message was from SRK I called him not knowing why he wanted to speak to me. It was about the child. He said whatever they need will be taken care of. In less than a few hours the hospital was contacted funds were transferred Somebody got a new life Quietly, gently without fuss a life was saved. This happened once again few months later. Another life was saved Quietly and without any fuss or publicity. A man idolised by millions and with whom I have almost zero personal or professional connect has a permanent place in my little heart because of his big heart and his humanity." See the tweet here:

Why @iamsrk is a superstar forever and why I love him.Ive interacted with SRK thrice - once on twitter and on another occasion briefly at a party. Nice, polite and warm interactions. But the third interaction is why for me he will always be a true star... pic.twitter.com/dNlGmmcSyE  Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) November 2, 2021

Indeed, SRK has a heart of gold and it is because of this that he is loved and idolised by millions.
Shehzada: Kartik Aaryan to dedicate half a year to the film as director Rohit Dhawan aims for a continuous shoot schedule

Kartik Aaryan has had a very busy year. The actor signed on for multiple films and is gearing up for his first release of the year. The actor who is currently promoting the film Dhamaka, has no free time as he is simultaneously working on his film Shehzada. Source shares, "Rohit Dhawan is wanting to make the film on a very big scale. A massive set has been put in place at the Film City in Goregaon."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by KARTIK AARYAN (@kartikaaryan)

A source close to the project shared, Kartik will sport a different look from anything that we have seen before. The security on sets had been kept tight to make sure there are no leaks. Everyone including the actors has been told to not click photos and post on social media or anywhere else. The director is aiming for a continuous shoot schedule and so the actor is on board with the idea of dedicating a stretch of 6 months. Currently, an extensive schedule is planned for city and post that the team will head to Delhi." The actor today wrapped up the first schedule of the film and shared the update on his social media.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by KARTIK AARYAN (@kartikaaryan)

Recently Kartik's movie Dhamaka gave the fans a Dhamakedar trailer and then the actor straight away headed to shoot for Shehzada. The actor has been juggling with the shoot of Shehzada and promotions of Dhamaka.

Kartik's long list of lined-up films includes Dhamaka, Captain India, Freddy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Shehzada.
Vicky Kaushal's post with parents makes fans miss Katrina Kaif in the picture; Yami-Aditya's Diwali post showered with love

Vicky Kaushal, amidst rumours of his wedding to Katrina Kaif doing the rounds, took to social media today and shared a special picture with his parents. The actors mother Veena Kaushal turned 60 today while also celebrating her 35th wedding anniversary with husband Sham Kaushal.

The actor wrote sweet note for his parents on this special occasion wishing them. She turned 60. They turned 35. Quite a special day for the Kaushal household!!! #blessedwiththebest. Vickys post was no doubt loved by his followers who simply couldnt stop showering love on the post. A few of the comments on the post were also about missing Katrina in the family photo who the actor is apparently dating and will be tying the knot with in December.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vicky Kaushal (@vickykaushal09)

Another post that won the internet over today was Yami Gautam and Aditya Dhars photo which the actress shared to wish her fans a very happy Choti Diwali. Yami and Aditya who celebrate their first Diwali post their wedding in June this year were seen smiling blissfully for the camera.

Every year, Diwali brings new memories and new beginnings. Happy Chhoti Diwali to you and your family. Wish you a year full of happiness, health and success, Yami wrote in the post. Aditya Dhar re-shared Yamis post wishing his followers on the festive occasion.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Yami Gautam Dhar (@yamigautam)

Yamis no make-up look and the candid picture won her fans over who showered the couple with love on the post.
Minster Coveney welcomes decision by Swedish Government to reopen Dublin Embassy in 2022

Press release

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence, Simon Coveney, T.D., has warmly welcomed the decision of the Swedish Government to reopen its Embassy in Dublin in 2022.

The Minister said, I was delighted to receive this good news in a call from my friend and colleague, Foreign Minister Ann Linde today. Ireland and Sweden have traditionally enjoyed warm and friendly relations with shared values; strong advocacy for the role of the United Nations and we enjoy a close partnership and shared perspectives as members of the European Union. The re-establishment of the Embassy means that by the end of 2022, all other 26 EU Member States will be represented by resident Ambassadors in Dublin. This is testament to the strong bilateral relations that Ireland enjoys with its EU partners and enables close engagement with them on key EU priorities such as EU-UK relations, Climate Change, the Single Market and the Digital Single Market.

The Minister also recalled that the Government launched the Nordic Strategy earlier this year and noted that the reopening of the Swedish Embassy in Dublin will further strengthen our bilateral links and more broadly with the Nordic region as we seek to deliver the ambitious goals set out in our Nordic Strategy.

ENDS

Press Office

3 November 2021

Notes for Editors The Swedish Embassy in Dublin was closed in 2010 along with a number of other Swedish missions in the European Union. Since then, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Ireland has been based at the Foreign Ministry HQ in Stockholm while Swedish consular affairs in Ireland have been overseen by an Honorary Consul in Dublin.

The reopening of the resident Embassy in Dublin was announced by the Swedish Government today.

The Nordic Strategy is an ambitious whole of Government Strategy which seeks to deepen our engagement with the Nordic Region by 2025.





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The Metaverse is all anyone can talk about, and rightly so: the concept has the power to change communications as we know it. Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity, Microsoft recently announced that it will be launching its own Metaverse, and users will be able to access business tools like MS Excel and Powerpoint on it.

Microsofts version of the Metaverse will be apt for professionals

Microsoft has already begun working on its first offering - a virtual version of Microsofts Team Chats, which will have digital avatars and the MS Office Suite. The company claims that this will be available by the first half of 2022.

This pandemic has made the commercial use cases much more mainstream, even though sometimes the consumer stuff feels like science fiction, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Talking about the way the Metaverse is perceived by the average consumer, Nadella said There is nothing creepy about visiting a Covid ward remotely for a doctor to be able to help their patients, or to be able to do remote assistance in a manufacturing line in a time of Covid crisis when that manufacturing line needs to be fixed by an engineer working from home,

What is Microsofts Metaverse?

Microsoft talked about the new Teams feature during its conference, Ignite, and said that users will be able to create a virtual space where they can meet and discuss ideas. It leverages Microsofts own technology, Mesh, which combines virtual and augmented reality through the use of specific goggles, including the brands HoloLens.

You could, for instance, experience a Best Buy store in the metaverse and check out displays and devices, Microsofts Vice President, Jared Spataro said. Today when you think of a website, it is not very well connected to the physicality of what we experience.

Also Read: Windows 11: Is it worth the upgrade?
AKS Engineering & Forestry

Stull

Steigleder

Marquis

Joki

Hollenbeck

AKS Engineering & Forestry welcomed five new employees to the company: Tim Hollenbeck, Tyler Joki, Julie Marquis, Matt Steigleder, and Paul Stull III.

Tim Hollenbeck, PLS, is a Washington-registered professional land surveyor, drone specialist, and FAA-certified Remote Pilot. He earned a BA in geography at Western Washington University and brings 22 years of experience in traditional and high-tech surveying for residential and commercial land development to AKS' Vancouver office. Tyler Joki comes to AKS with 13 years of experience in natural resources conservation and project management. He has worked for private engineering groups and local and federal agencies in the Portland area with a focus on wetlands restoration, aquatic resources monitoring, and feasibility assessment of environmentally sensitive projects. He is also a licensed landscape contractor and holds a BS in biology from Portland State University.

Julie Marquis recently joined AKS as Marketing Proposal Manager. Marquis has broad experience across the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. She has 13 years of marketing expertise under her belt, nine of which were acquired with engineering firms. Marquis brings strong leadership, strategic planning, communications, and research abilities to the AKS marketing team. Matt Steigleder, PE, is a project manager and transportation engineer with nine years' experience designing and managing urban and rural roadway projects. Steigleder earned his BS in civil engineering at Oregon State University. He has extensive experience working on traffic engineering projects for the Oregon Department of Transportation, working on every part of the process from conceptual design alternatives through construction support.

Paul Stull III, PE, has joined the AKS team in Tualatin as a project engineer. Stull III holds a BS in civil engineering and an MS in environmental engineering from Oregon State University. He has nearly 30 years' combined experience managing commercial, industrial, private, and public projects, with a focus on environmental and water resources. He is a licensed environmental engineer in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.




Carney Badley

Miller

Vial

Seattle law firm Carney Badley Spellman has hired Tierney Vial and Marguerite Miller. Vial is an appellate attorney, whose practice focuses on appeals. During law school, Vial assisted in representing an elderly incarcerated client through the Washington Innocence Project in a case that established a new Washington standard for cruel punishment in conditions of confinement. After her first year of law school, Vial interned in the Violence Against Women Act Unit at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Before studying law, Vial taught high school English literature at Casablanca American School in Morocco and English as a second language at a primary school in Vigo, Spain. Miller's practice focuses on corporate and business law, mergers and acquisitions, and privacy law. During law school, Marguerite was a summer associate with Carney Badley Spellman, and gained experience working on corporate transactions, privacy issues, and ongoing corporate governance matters. Additionally, Miller interned with two early-stage startups and two publicly traded companies, where she counseled on anti-corruption and privacy compliance.




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Photo from Mammoet [enlarge] Four strand jacks were used to lift the 320-foot center span into place. Photo from Mammoet





Mammoet's United States team won a Rigging Job of the Year award at the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association's annual conference, held last week in San Antonio.





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SEATTLE  A midblock development site at 4009 Stone Way N. sold for nearly $5.4 million, according to King County records.

The buyer was Blueprint 4007 LLC, associated with Blueprint Capital, which with Cone Architecture is planning a five-story, 126-unit apartment project.





. . .
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KENT  A cold storage warehouse at 8220 S. 212th St. in Kent sold for $62 million, according to King County records.

The seller was Olympic Steamship Co., which acquired the property in 1983 for over $6.4 million.





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Udaras na Gaeltachta and Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which looks to examine opportunities for the sharing of resources to assist each of the partners to improve service provision and collaborate on the promotion and use of the Irish language in training and development activities.

Furthermore, both organisations will collaborate to promote community development and social enterprise in the Donegal Gaeltacht and identify and advance emerging sectors which can assist in the sustainable development of the region.

LYIT is delighted to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with @UdarasnaG recognising the responsibilities that both organisations have in delivering on national and regional policy objectives.

Read more here https://t.co/WlrGqvHjeW pic.twitter.com/dVGgUPuakl  LYIT (@LYIT) November 3, 2021

This Memorandum of Understanding recognises the responsibilities that both Udaras na Gaeltachta and LYIT have in delivering on national and regional policy objectives and both organisations wish to further develop their capacities to achieve their respective missions via enhanced cooperation through this MoU. The initial aims of the partnership are consistent with Udaras na Gaeltachtas Strategic Plan 2021 - 2025 and LYITs Strategic Plan 2019 - 23. Both organisations aim to work to develop remote working opportunities through the gteic network and CoLab. The promotion of sustainable economic development and job creation by working with stakeholders to address their various education and training needs is at the strategic core of both organisations.

This agreement further enhances the close working relationship that has been built up between Udaras na Gaeltachta and LYIT over the years. Both bodies are leaders in pursuing national policy objectives in relation to regional development with a specific focus on the Irish language. Both bodies will continue the development of strategic international partnerships particularly through the Donegal Diaspora initiative and the Gaeltacht Diaspora Initiative.

LYIT President Paul Hannigan said:We are delighted to be formally recognising our engagement with Udaras na Gaeltachta through this MoU. Our partnership spans many years and previously as a long-standing member of our Governing Body. We look forward to the future as we move towards Technological University (TU) status.

Udaras na Gaeltachtas Chief Executive Officer Micheal O hEanaigh added:We are pleased to place on official record this memorandum of understanding between our organisation and LYIT, both organisations are committed to ensuring Gaeltacht life and the Irish language will be safe for generations to come. Our working relationship over the years has flourished and we hope to further enhance that as we move forward and work strategically together on regional development and the Irish language.

The MoU will support the further development of the local education infrastructure to enhance the regions reputation as a leading location for education provision and develop the regions capacity for research and innovation. It will also promote and support entrepreneurship, investment and enterprise.
Lance Lowry, a recently retired corrections officer with the Texas State Penitentiary, holds his ID badge on the front porch of his home, Oct. 27, 2021, in Huntsville, Texas. Lowry, an officer for 20 years, became disheartened watching friends and coworkers die from COVID-19, along with dwindling support from his superiors. He left the prison system this summer for a job in long-haul trucking.
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
WASHINGTON  A Clovis physician who pleaded guilty to entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 events at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Friday to 24 months probation, a $500 restitution charge and a $3,000 fine, according to court documents.

Leonard Gruppo, 56, pleaded guilty Aug. 18 to a charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building after turning himself in early June. He was allowed to go free on a personal recognizance bond while awaiting trial.

As part of the plea deal, Gruppo admitted knowing it was illegal to enter the U.S. Capitol building without permission but did it anyway.

Gruppos attorney, Dan Lindsey, told The News he and his client were pleased with the sentence. Gruppo, Lindsey said, was a Green Beret and a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army with no criminal record and was only in the Capitol for a few minutes.

Mr. Gruppo was there to support the president of the United States, Lindsey said. The president didnt show up.

The Department of Justice did ask for a 30-day jail sentence, arguing in a sentencing memo Gruppos military service rendered his participation in the Jan. 6 events more egregious.

Prior to the sentencing, Gruppo wrote a letter to D.C. District Court Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell expressing his remorse.

I have served my country in four wars, Gruppo wrote. I have put my life on the line countless times for my country in those wars and many other deployments with the Special Force and other elite units I should have known better but somehow did not, and I have already paid a very heavy price for that lapse in judgment.

The probation sentence includes a 90-day home detention condition; Gruppo will be confined to his home during the detention, except for authorized absences.

Presbyterian Healthcare told The News following the guilty plea that Gruppo was an employee of an external vendor, and that he last worked in its facilities in April.
By the Staff of The News

SANTA FE  The New Mexico Department of Transportation District Two is holding a State Transportation Commission meeting 8 a.m. Nov. 16 at Center of Recreational Excellence (CORE) in Hobbs, according to an NMDOT release.

The DOT holds six STC meetings annually, with one held in each district. District Two includes Curry and Roosevelt counties. The oversight group is comprised of Jennifer Sandoval (District One, vice chair), Bruce Ellis (District Two), Hilma Chynoweth (District Three), Walter Adams (District Four, chair), Thomas C. Taylor (District Five) and Charles Lundstrom (District Six).

Elected officials and community members are invited to attend, and the meeting will be livestreamed on the NMDOTs Facebook page and YouTube account. Those who wish to provide public comment must sign up on site before the meeting begins. Face coverings are mandatory.

The CORE building is located at 4827 N. Lovington Highway.

The meeting agenda will be posted on the NMDOT website by Nov. 15.
Clovis voters allowed a change to incentivize retail businesses with economic development dollars, and welcomed a new school board member to the fold in Tuesdays general election.

Results, available at the New Mexico Secretary of States office website, are considered unofficial until they are canvassed by their respective county commissions. Most of the Tuesday night races were uncontested, covering school boards, soil and water conservation districts and hospital districts. Results reported by The News are as of 10:30 p.m.

By a 954-349 count, Clovis citizens allowed a change to its Local Economic Development Act, allowing taxpayer dollars that are currently used to incentivize industry to incentivize retail in the same way. Mayor Mike Morris, who helped push passage of state legislation allowing the change for municipalities of 35,000 or more, has said the city will not raise taxes as a result of the measure and will not recruit businesses that provide services already well-established in the city.

In the Clovis Municipal School district, former teacher Sharon Epps was the clear winner in a three-way race, taking 488 votes versus 216 for incumbent Kyle Snider and 49 for former teacher Rosa Sanchez.

In Roosevelt County, Braden Fraze claimed a tight four-way race for Position 4 of the Portales school board. In a four-person race, Fraze took 68 votes, compared to 56 for Meredith Seifert, 52 for incumbent Antonio SAnchez and 10 for William Hillard. The position 3 race was won by Jimmie Standifer, who took 92 votes against Angela Smiths 69.

Mark Peabody easily won a three-way race for the Texico school boards Position 4 seat. Peabody took 91 votes, versus 30 for Troy Teague and eight for Dustin Ptolemy.

In Floyd, Kenny Reed toppled Jeffrey Essary for Position 2 on the school board, taking 85 votes to Essarys 29. Charlsea Lee retained her Position 5 seat, beating Adam Burns 71-59. Vicki Banister ran unopposed for her Position 1 spot. The board is currently suspended by the Public Education Department for July and August votes to make COVID-19 mitigation practices optional at Floyd Schools. A hearing for the board members is scheduled for January, and attorneys for both parties have declined to comment on the ramifications of the election on the board and the hearing.

Dora retained Jana Roberts for Position 4, with 61 votes versus Shawna Wades 52.

Voters in both counties overwhelmingly approved capital improvement taxes and mill levy questions in Portales, Texico, Melrose, Elida, Grady and Dora.
Art Schaap said that he's had to exterminate more than half of his 4,000 cattle so far due to PFAS and PFOA contamination of the groundwater at his former Highland Dairy.

CLOVIS - The owner of a now-shuttered Clovis dairy said he is pleased the Environmental Protection Agency has announced its intent to list several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous chemicals under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Art Schaap is also pleased with a rule change that clarifies a state's authority to require cleanup of any waste that meets the RCRA standard.

All of it should have happened years ago, Schaap said.

"It's about time the government is doing its job," said Schaap, more than three years after the dairy he and Renee Schaap owned stopped delivering milk and shut down due to groundwater contamination that spread to the dairy's cattle. Highland Dairy was comprised of 640 acres the Schaaps control of 2,000 acres contiguous to and bordering Cannon Air Force Base.

The base is one of more than 100 military installations dealing with ramifications of the chemicals, which were used in firefighting foam for decades by military fire departments. The reason the chemicals are useful for firefighting foams and in other ways - because they don't break down easily - is the same reason they're a concern in water supplies.

Because of their pervasiveness, the Centers for Disease Control has estimated 95% of Americans have some level of PFAS in their bodies.

On Oct. 26, the EPA sent a response letter to a June petition from New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The petition noted state efforts to push the Department of Defense to clean up contamination near military installation had been met with a lawsuit challenging the state's authority in such matters.

Schaap said he owned 4,000 cattle, all contaminated by the PFAS that traveled beyond the base. Because of the contamination, he cannot sell the milk they produce or sell the cattle as meat.

"I have not exterminated all of my cattle but about half of them have died so far," Schaap said. "The (government's) inaction has allowed these animals to suffer. If the animal rights people saw the mess I have, it would be overwhelming for these people."

Schaap said he has spoken with Cannon leadership, and has been told the base is limited to addressing human consumption of drinking water because there is no EPA standard. Once an EPA standard is set, Schaap said, the RCRA Superfund could be tapped to defray cleanup costs.

"They know they've exposed everybody (but) a standard had not been set," Schaap said. "They have been kicking the can down the road.

"But now the standard is going to be set. It will be in law and whoever represents the people who have been affected can put pressure on the polluters to clean up the pollution. The sad part is that it has been only an advisory (to this point). "

Cannon's Public Affairs office referred questions to the Department of Defense's office, which subsequently referred questions to the EPA.
RESIDENTS in Passage West joined forces over Halloween to raise funds for Marymount University Hospital and Hospice.

Sightings of an alligator, a swamp, and a bayou shack were met with universal acclaim by locals and tourists alike.

One of the residents Johneric Leach said the main reason for the Halloween display was to raise as much funds as possible.

We enjoyed putting on the display, but the main objective was to raise as many donations as possible for Marymount.

Locals in a residential estate in Passage West teamed up to create a haunted bayou to raise funds for Marymount which epitomises the strong community spirit in the picturesque town.

A huge community effort was involved in staging this years display over the weekend of October 30 and 31.

Residents in Passage West joined forces over Halloween to raise funds for Marymount University Hospital and Hospice.

The collaboration involved a core display team and assistance from Passage West Mens Shed and Passage West Creates. Cork band The Dagenham Yanks also recorded a spooky version of Blue Bayou.

Several companies donated materials and resources to support the construction which proved a resounding success.

Donations can still be made directly to the following link here.


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News of direct-to-consumer (D2C) prescription glasses retailer Warby Parker and its IPO in late September put all eyes on the D2C pioneer's business model. Warby reached a $6 billion valuation, 50 percent higher than its valuation in 2020, with much fanfare and anticipation for similar IPOs like that of D2C sneaker retailer Allbirds.

Selling directly to people online rose significantly through the pandemic, with 78 percent of consumers valuing convenience even more now than before Covid-19, according to Salesforce's State of the Connected Consumer report.

The future looks bright for the Warby Parkers of the world that are built on the consumer direct selling model. What does this mean for enterprise retailers, heavily reliant upon global distribution networks?

Let's first explore why D2C businesses have advantages over incumbent companies. The easiest way to explain it is that they operate with higher margins and lower prices because they've eliminated supply chain intermediaries. Yet there's more to it than the fact that they lower prices for high value items like prescription glasses, mattresses, and luggage.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T





Know Thy Customer

What draws the consumer to a D2C brand over traditional businesses? Two words: customer closeness. That is, the ability for organizations to feel directly connected to the users of their products or services -- understanding their motivations, lifestyles, opinions, and attitudes.

D2C businesses are able to get personalization right with customized experiences built on customers awareness, closeness and empathy. They don't rest on their laurels and depend on brand awareness. Instead, they keep the pulse of the consumer through feedback at every stage of the customer lifecycle, creating a strong CX that can strengthen brand loyalty over time.

Strong CX is increasingly critical in retaining a loyal consumer base, particularly in times like these when consumers are pointing the finger at retailers amid supply chain disruptions. Although incumbent businesses are gaining steam on D2Cs in terms of social media word-of-mouth marketing, purchases made through D2C companies are on the rise.

In a U.S.-based survey earlier this year, 69 percent of American consumers purchased at least one D2C brand in 2020, and 79 percent of those familiar with D2C brands said they plan to increase their D2C purchases in 2021, Diffusion's2021 Direct-to-Consumer Purchase Intent Index.

D2C Best Practices

Here are five ways that traditional companies can borrow the best business practices of D2C brands:

1. Engage with customers directly: In addition to providing strong lines of communication through customer support, companies must continue to communicate through follow-up emails, post-purchase surveys and customized promotions to provide a steady stream of feedback.

2. Track both quantitative and qualitative data: In the D2C space, the only thing that separates consumers from products is a website that tracks a consumer's every purchasing choice. Offering even more ways for prospective customers to interact with a product pre-purchase can give a business new avenues for tracking customer information and understanding their preferences.

When they first started the business, Warby Parker did something that no other online glasses retailer was doing at the time. They offered a risk-free option for prospective customers to try glasses on at home and send the frames back before making a purchasing choice. This popular feature gave the company even more information on customer preferences.

3. Become more value-centric: Aligning your brand with the values that consumers hold dear isn't just a nice-to-have, it's an imperative. Also from the Salesforce State of the Connected Consumer report, 62 percent of customers claim to have stopped buying from companies whose values didn't align with theirs.

"Consumers have raised the bar and are looking to companies to advance progress on important issues within and outside of their operational footprint," Alison DaSilva, managing director, purpose and impact of Zeno Group told Forbes.

4. Close the empathy gap: Again, according to the Salesforce report, 68 percent of customers expect brands to demonstrate empathy while 37 percent of customers say brands generally demonstrate empathy.

Consumer insights must be shared across an organization at all levels to close this empathy gap. Teams on all levels must have the ability to speak to their consumers directly rather than keeping those conversations in customer support or marketing.

The only real way to better understand consumers and to gain empathy is to walk in their shoes. New tech innovations for online qualitative researchers are being developed each day to help businesses do this. Utilizing mobile shop alongs to understand mobile UX pain points is just one way that competitive enterprise brands are getting closer to consumers to better understand their experiences.

5. Re-evaluate your offering to solve consumer problems: In the boom and bust environment of D2C brands, the companies that have staying power understand customers the best and offer them a product or service to solve their problems in a way that no other brand can. Speaking directly with people that use products just makes businesses more proactive, agile, and hyper responsive to changes in consumer needs.

Conclusion

We all know that shopping behavior has changed; there are less and less brick-and-mortar stores, and online commerce is the future. In times like these, where we've seen an unprecedented digital transformation of the marketplace, it's imperative that organizations use every tool at their disposal to have a window into consumers' perspectives, opinions and attitudes.

Ultimately, consumer closeness is the key to thriving in this environment. Understanding people's lifestyles and how they're evolving only leads to better customer experiences and more empathy. To truly stay ahead, businesses need to understand consumers to know where they'll go next.

Jim Longo is the co-founder and chief strategy officer at Discuss.io, a consumer-connection platform for market research. He brings over 25 years of domain expertise in the market research industry. Jim is considered a thought leader with regards to online behavior and market research technology. He has consulted with brands and research agencies around the world on how to have insightful online conversations and was instrumental in building the first global online qualitative research practice at Harris Interactive (acquired by Nielsen). There, he led a team that conducted more than one thousand online groups in the first three years of its existence.




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We are often faced with similar choices at first glance that later turn out to be very different.

Looking at the latest iPhone and Pixel smartphones' launches on the surface, both products seem to embrace beautiful screens, advanced cameras, and differentiated designs.

Still, Apple's strategy is all about status and making you stand out as an Apple user, while Google's strategy is more about features and what you can do with its phones. In effect, Apple is more about form, appearance, and ease of use, while Google is more about function.

Even economically, the two firms are very different. Google doesn't care that much about initial profit margins on its devices because it makes money from advertising and selling customer information. However, Apple lives on margins. The company generates revenue by forever lowering costs while raising prices.

Customers well suited to either line are generally pleased with the outcome. Though historically (as long as they are not concerned with cost), iPhone users are more loyal than Pixel users.

Still, Pixel users aren't as locked in and can move to a host of well-differentiated Android phones and manufacturers if they want a change. These Android alternatives include foldable and twin-screen phones. Apple users are locked in and enjoy a far more limited set of choices, which can be an advantage if you don't want to anguish over that choice.

Let's contrast Apple and Google smartphones this week. Then we'll close with my product of the week, a new and nearly-affordable semi-pro VR headset from Varjo called the Aero.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T





Apple vs. Google

These two companies are vastly different.

Apple was created during IBM's dominance and reflects the now primarily obsolete "lock-in" strategy that IBM used. That strategy has the customer effectively locked out the competition, allowing Apple to dictate prices and features.

This strategy can, and should, result in a more profound knowledge about the customer, a more focused line, and a far less risky product development because, without choice, the customer will generally choose what you offer. At Apple, the product is king, and users are driven to the products Apple makes.

Google came to market when Microsoft was under fire and, to a certain extent, reflected a mirror image of what Microsoft was then. Though, over time, Microsoft has evolved to arguably be a better alternative to what it once was than has Google. This period was when lock-in had primarily failed as a strategy and customers wanted choices.

So, like Microsoft, Google licensed out its technology. Still, unlike Microsoft at the time, it championed concepts like open source and high interoperability. IBM and Microsoft both adopted these concepts in subsequent years, proving that Google initially went, to some degree, where most of the rest of the computer industry later headed.

iPhone vs. Pixel

iPhones cost more and do look more expensive than Pixel phones.

Both iPhone and Pixel have multiple cameras with a significant focus on taking impressively good pictures and videos.

Apple's A15 Bionic also has AI capabilities, but Apple isn't as aggressive about using them. Among other things, for instance, Pixels' AI does a better job of real-time translation, on-device automatic speech recognition, and creating live captions for media. Pixel tends to have more robust editing tools and, with the latest release, a Tensor-dedicated AI processor.

Revenue differences typically mean that for similar performance, you'll pay substantially less for the Pixel phone than an equivalent iPhone. The underlying strategy is that Apple is more interested in you buying new phones while Google has been transitioning to more of a long-term support model where enhancements, where possible, are more aggressively pushed out to users.

So, the Pixel phones should cost less and last longer than their Apple equivalents.

I expect this differentiation to extend as Google focuses more on sustainability than Apple, possibly because Google's model favors sustainability since it is more service-centric. Apple, which is focused more on product sales than services, conflicts with sustainability at the moment because its model is founded on device replacement.

Interestingly, both phone makers are using unusually robust but very different glass for their screens.

Apple uses a ceramic display that, like Sapphire, is more resistant to scratches than glass and more brittle. Google uses Corning's most advanced solution, Victus, which promises scratch resistance in line with ceramics, but it should be more resistant to cracking than ceramics.

I expect Apple picked the ceramic approach because it was cheaper, while Google chose Corning because it was technically better, reflecting both companies' priorities.

For the money, you get more capability with Pixel but less status. The iPhone costs more but gives you the Apple ecosystem, and it does convey status better than the Pixel.

Wrapping Up

Users who are very status oriented are likely to be happier with the Apple line, as are those who don't want to learn new skill sets.

Those who are more function oriented, like to learn new things, consider the phone more of a tool than personal jewelry, and who want more phone choices will typically prefer the Android ecosystem and Pixel.

I'd take the Pixel over the iPhone any day of the week, however just as consistently, my wife would take the iPhone, and both of us would undoubtedly be happier with our choices than if we switched sides.

For those willing to put in the time to learn how to use advanced tools, want a lot for a low price, and who want a lot of choices, Android and, especially, the Pixel line would be the best bet. For those locked into the Apple ecosystem (moving from Apple to Android is painful) and particularly those who want a straightforward phone to use and that conveys status, then the iPhone line would be better.

Finally, for those that think of the smartphone as a tool, Pixel is the best choice, while those that think of the smartphone as more of an accessory and personal statement will prefer the iPhone. Overall, you'll be happiest if you pick the phone that best matches both what you've done in the past and your approach to personal technology.

Varjo Aero

Varjo arguably makes the best VR headsets in the market, but they are wickedly expensive.

Historically, Varjo's target customers were the professional market and the military who need very high resolution, image accuracy, and can afford this offering class. Varjo headsets are not a cheap date, typically costing far more than any of us mortals would be willing to spend.

When coupled with software that will support them, these headsets do live up to expectations. Still, they are not only too expensive for consumers, most consumer-focused software just isn't designed for the level of performance these headsets put out.

Last week Varjo launched its Aero headset.

The Aero sets a new bar for high-end consumer and semi-pro VR headsets; with more reasonable PC hardware requirements, no monthly fees, and a far lower $1,990 price. This price is a fraction of the cost of Varjo's professional line, yet it's still one of the most expensive general-use headsets.

Features that justify this higher price are automatic motorized IPD adjustment (lens width), variable resolution aspheric lenses with edge-to-edge clarity, no reflections, no ghost rays, and 2880x2720 per eye resolution at 150 nits.

It has built-in eye tracking, supports Steam VR for a wide variety of content (and Steam VR controllers), and has active cooling because these headsets can get uncomfortably warm if used for long periods.

The Varjo Aero is tethered, and you'll still need a decent gaming rig with relatively current discrete graphics to drive it (Nvidia GPU only now, AMD in the future). It doesn't have cameras, so making sure you have a safe space to use it is critical.

This headset focuses on genuinely immersive VR like flight and driving simulators and driving where you have defined PC-connected controllers, and you are generally sitting down. I'm thinking of this for my home car racing simulator as it would be an improvement over the aging Samsung headset I now have.

As VR and mixed reality in general mature, we'll see more stratified products like this to address the unique needs of serious gamers or those who use simulators to keep their flight and track costs down as I do.

Because the Varjo Aero addresses a need that I have, it is my product of the week.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network.

Rob Enderle has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2003. His areas of interest include AI, autonomous driving, drones, personal technology, emerging technology, regulation, litigation, M&E, and technology in politics. He has an MBA in human resources, marketing and computer science. He is also a certified management accountant. Enderle currently is president and principal analyst of the Enderle Group, a consultancy that serves the technology industry. He formerly served as a senior research fellow at Giga Information Group and Forrester. Email Rob.


Effingham, IL (62401)

Today

Cloudy and damp with rain in the morning...then becoming partly cloudy. High 54F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Clear skies with a few passing clouds. Low around 25F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Washington, MO (63090)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 60F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low 27F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Washington, MO (63090)

Today

Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 27F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Three years after its involvement with the militarys controversial Project Maven program led to employee strife within its walls, Google reportedly hopes to once again work with the Pentagon. According to The New York Times, the company is aggressively pursuing the Defense Departments Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability cloud contract. A Google spokesperson confirmed to Engadget it was pursuing a bid.

Announced at the start of July, the program is a replacement for the militarys cancelled $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure initiative. With JEDI, the Pentagon had planned to modernize its IT infrastructure with help from Microsoft. However, the contract stalled after Amazon challenged it in court, in part over allegations former President Donald Trump had interfered with the evaluation process.

Unlike JEDI, JWCC is a multi-vendor contract that will see the military eventually working with more than one company. When the Pentagon announced the program, it said it would collect proposals from both Amazon and Microsoft. At the time, it said they were the two vendors best suited to meet its needs, but noted it was also open to working with other companies. Google did not bid on JEDI in part because of what happened with Project Maven.

The program, with help from Google, saw the military use machine learning to interpret drone footage. When the company confirmed its involvement in Maven, it said its technology was involved in non-offensive uses only, and that it was flagging material for human review. Outrage within the company quickly grew. Approximately 4,000 employees petitioned Google CEO Sundar Pichai to pull the company out of the project. Some workers even left Google over the episode. In the aftermath of the protest, the company did not renew its contract with the Pentagon.

It also established a set of ethical principles to guide its military AI work. Those guidelines prohibit the company from using machine learning in relation to weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people. When Google established the principles, Pichai reportedly told workers his hope was they would stand the test of time.

In spite of those guidelines, Google is pursuing the JWCC contract. According to The Times, the company has raced to prepare a proposal to present to Pentagon officials on why it should be involved in the project. The contract is reportedly a priority for the company, with the outlet reporting that Google pulled employees off other assignments to work on its bid.

We strongly believe a multi-cloud strategy offers the department the best solution today and in the future, a spokesperson for the company said. We are firmly committed to serving our public sector customers, including the DoD, Department of Energy, NIH, and many other government agencies, and we will evaluate any future bid opportunities accordingly."

Google will reportedly find out if it qualifies to make a bid sometime in the next few weeks. The question then becomes if the contract is compatible with its AI guidelines, and what effect that will have on its employees. Those principles leave room for it to work with the military on projects that involve things like cybersecurity, and it already has contracts in place to help the Defense Department with pilot training and Navy ship maintenance.

If it obtains the contract, Engadget has learned the company anticipates it could help the Defense Department with cloud services like hosting, storage and networking, in addition to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Specifically, the Pentagon could use Google's data analytics capabilities to predict and monitor forces like climate change and the current pandemic. Any custom AI work the job involves will need to be vetted through the company's guidelines. It also expects it could work with the Pentagon on more prosaic issues like security, employee travel and finance.
By next summer, the city of Enid could go to a jury trial to settle an eminent domain dispute, officials said, rather than pay a Garfield County landowner $2.755 million recently awarded as just compensation for his property.
January 2, 1942 - November 20, 2021 Meron Kay Highfill Burleson went home to her Lord on November 20, 2021. She will be cremated at her request. There will be no memorial service at this time. A private memorial service to celebrate her life and going home will be held at a later date. Meron
Duff Goldman is one of the popular famous chefs on Food Network. He often posts his dessert creations and family on Instagram. Recently, one photo struck his fans, which led them to be concerned about his baby; what happened?

In a recent post shared on the social media platform, Goldman took a photo of his baby watching Elmo from a giant TV.

"It's amazing. It seems like yesterday that Josephine couldn't even hold her own head up and now she's sitting on her own and watching @sesamestreet and clapping at Elmo!" he wrote (check out the image below)

Following this, eagle-eyed fans noticed the furniture placement in the room, which appears to be a loft, saying it's dangerous for his child.

They mentioned that the sofa chairs were placed right beside the railings, deeming unsafe for the child when she climbs up.

"Soon she's going to be able to climb those wires! It happens quickly." one fan wrote.

"Omg please move those chairs away from the railing, she will climb on them before you even notice!!! Sweet little Josephine such a cutie." one pointed out.

"My toddlers would be climbing those little chairs and flinging themselves over that ledge." another one wrote.

At the time of this writing, the "Ace of Cakes" star has yet to address the concern he got from fans.

READ NOW: Prince William, Kate Middleton Have an 'Exciting Secret' They've Been Keeping For Long-Here are the SIGNS! [Report]

Josephine Is Duff Goldman's First Child With Wife Johanna Colbry

Duff Goldman and wife Johanna Colbry welcomed their first daughter named Josephine earlier this year.

The celebrity chef shared a photo of his newborn child in January with the caption, "Her name is Josephine and she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in the whole world."

Today, their baby is now eight months old. At the time of her birth, Goldman said he's been telling Josephine the beautiful things she could get in life like "pizza, candy, swimming, concerts, and riding a bike."

He mentioned that Josephine loves to listen to music, and the first song she heard was "I'll Fly Away" by Allison Kraus. Some of her favorite musicians include James Brown, Led Zeppelin, and the Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer.

"She was 8# 2oz and 21 inches long and she was born at 5:13 on 1/31/21. I'm so in love I can't stand it. I have the two best ladies in the whole world." he added. (via ET Online)

READ ALSO: Prince Andrew Receives Warning After Playing Offense In Legal Battle With Accuser Virginia Giuffre: 'It Could Backfire'
Unacceptable delays and the pace at which essential improvements in waste water treatment are being delivered is too slow, says EPA

34 towns and villages release raw sewage into the environment every day, and a third of these will continue to do so after 2024.

12 large towns and cities did not meet waste water treatment standards set to protect our environment. These areas generate half of Irelands waste water.

Ireland will need substantial and sustained investment to bring public waste water treatment up to standard

The EPA report on Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2020, released today, shows that the pace at which essential improvements in waste water treatment are being delivered is too slow. Irish Water is making progress in resolving environmental issues and the number of priority areas has reduced from 148 to 97 over the past four years. However, there is still a long way to go to bring all deficient treatment systems up to standard.

There have been further delays in providing treatment for many of the 34 towns and villages discharging raw sewage, and as a result over one third of these areas will not receive treatment until after 2024.

Investment in waste water infrastructure is bringing environmental benefits to some areas. The number of large towns and cities failing to meet EU treatment standards is down from 28 in 2017 to 12 in 2020. However, the final deadline for all large urban areas to meet these treatment standards was 2005.

Commenting on the report, Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPAs Office of Environmental Enforcement said:

It is unacceptable that 15 years after the final deadline to comply, half of Irelands urban waste water is still not treated to the basic EU standards. There are repeated delays in providing proper treatment at many areas, and this continues to put our environment and peoples health at risk. It is clear that Ireland will still need substantial investment over many years to bring our public waste water treatment plants and public sewers up to standard. Irish Water must deliver the essential infrastructure in as timely a manner as possible and resolve the underlying causes for the delays in upgrading treatment systems.

The EPA report identifies the priority areas where improvements are most urgently needed and will deliver the greatest environmental benefits.

Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager said:

While we are seeing progress at some areas, it is very concerning that Irish Water still has no clear action plans setting out when and how it will improve treatment at many of the priority areas where waste water is threatening the quality of our rivers and coastal waters. It is essential that Irish Water improves treatment to resolve the environmental issues highlighted by the EPA and provides clear, site specific action plans and time frames to carry out this work.

The report contains key actions recommended for Irish Water as follows:

Direct resources to the priority areas and ensure there is a clear plan and time frame to resolve the environmental issues at each area.

Resolve the underlying causes for delays in upgrading treatment systems and deliver upgrade works in as timely a manner as possible.

Complete the impact assessments for shellfish waters and address the information shortfalls on the condition and performance of collecting systems.

The report is now available on the EPA Website

Further information: Emily Williamson / Aileen Moon , EPA Media Relations Office 053-9170770 (24 hours) or media@epa.ie

Notes to Editor

Environmental priorities

While there has been progress recently, waste water treatment at many areas is still not as good as it needs to be. Based on current investment levels and rates of delivery of waste water infrastructure it will take two decades to fix all the problems. Priority must be given to areas where improvements are most needed and will bring the greatest benefits. The EPA identifies the following as the priority areas:

34 towns and villages that released raw sewage into the environment in 2020 because they did not have treatment plants. The second largest of these, Cobh in County Cork, was connected to a treatment plant in August 2021.

towns and villages that released raw sewage into the environment in 2020 because they did not have treatment plants. The second largest of these, Cobh in County Cork, was connected to a treatment plant in August 2021. 12 large towns and cities that did not treat waste water to EU standards set to protect the environment. These include Dublin, served by an overloaded plant at Ringsend that treats almost half (43%) of Irelands urban waste water.

large towns and cities that did not treat waste water to EU standards set to protect the environment. These include Dublin, served by an overloaded plant at Ringsend that treats almost half (43%) of Irelands urban waste water. 42 areas where waste water is a significant pollution pressure on rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters at risk of pollution. Irish Water has no clear action plan or time frame to improve treatment at over two thirds of these.

areas where waste water is a significant pollution pressure on rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters at risk of pollution. Irish Water has no clear action plan or time frame to improve treatment at over two thirds of these. 12 towns and villages where waste water treatment must improve to protect endangered freshwater pearl mussels living in nearby rivers. Pearl mussel populations are declining globally due to deteriorating river quality.

towns and villages where waste water treatment must improve to protect endangered freshwater pearl mussels living in nearby rivers. Pearl mussel populations are declining globally due to deteriorating river quality. 7 large towns and cities where collecting systems (sewers) need to be upgraded to address a judgement from the European Court of Justice and to ensure waste water is retained in the sewers and conveyed for treatment.

The full list of priority urban areas and the environmental issue at each area is available on the EPA website. This also shows when and how Irish Water plans to resolve the priority issue at each area.

34 towns and villages that released raw sewage into the environment every day in 2020 because they did not have treatment plants.
Pfizer said it expected 2021 sales of the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with German partner BioNTech to reach $36 billion and forecast another $29 billion from the shot in 2022, topping analyst estimates for both years.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021

The Herman Trend Alert

November 3, 2021

Feeling the Heat

The planet is warming, and although I still have some readers who do not believe it, the cause is conclusively human produced. We all saw what happened when many countries locked down. Not only did those cities become more livable, but the quality of the air we breathed got better. This Herman Trend Alert details most recent climate study from The US National Academy of Sciences---actually submitted for review in December 2020.

A Rising Threat to Cities Worldwide



According to this new study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the urban poor are at the greatest risk. And as more people move to cities and the climate warms, the extreme heat will likely hurt and kill more people, decrease worker productivity, and negatively affect economies.

An Impressive Sample and Methodology



Having assessed more than 13,000 cities, the study found that from 1983 to 2016, global extreme heat exposure increased nearly 200 percent! The study concluded the reasons included population growth, climate change, and the fact that city infrastructure absorbs more heat. Almost 25 percent of the global population lives in areas where extreme heat exposure is rising.

People Flocking to Cities



Areas such as southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are seeing rapidly urbanization and are increasingly vulnerable to soaring temperatures and high humidity. The danger of extreme heat has become a rising threat to fast-growing cities around the world. Until recently, researchers have been missing heat's full impact due to the fact that some of these regions do not have reliable weather station data. Moreover, climate models used to forecast temperatures have tended to skim over city hot spots.

A Novel Approach to Collecting the Data



Using satellite data to measure heat worldwide gave researchers a better global view of the problem. This report also details that climate change is reversing global progress in delivering food and water security to those in need, as well as intensifying exposure to wildfires. As if that were not enough, this study revealed increasing conditions suitable for infectious disease pathogens---the concept of "spillover" outlined in the previous Alert about Climate Migration.

Heat Can Challenge the Body



Heat is harmful to the body multiple ways. If the body loses the ability to regulate its temperature, the body's organs can overheat dangerously, risking death. Patients with cardiac disease, diabetes, or kidney problems are also at increased risk for additional complications. Last June, a record heatwave in the Pacific Northwest killed hundreds of people when the Seattle's temperature topped 108 degrees Fahrenheit and Portland Oregon's topped 116. As humans continue to burn fossil fuels and warm the planet scientists expect more frequent and intense heat waves. The Cooling Center in Portland was a very popular place for days. Areas in British Columbia saw record-breaking temperatures even higher than those in the US with Lytton smashing its previous record to reach 121.3 degrees Fahrenheit. During that 4-day period, over 70 locations in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada have already tied or set new all-time heat records.

Bucking the Trend and Naming Heatwaves



Unlike most, some cities are preparing. The mayor of Seville, Spain, announced recently that his city will name and categorize heat waves, like the way we treat hurricanes. In partnership with the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, the Mayor's goal is to raise the public recognition of heat waves and better communicate their imminent threat.

Breaking Records: there's no end in sight



In the past, we had heatwaves in the US that did not get to the temperatures of the four-day period this year. However, it won't be the last year. The good news is that we humans will adapt. Across the warmer states, in the near-term future, you may expect more flights cancelled during the days and in the long-term, the flights will only be scheduled during the cooler hours---as is already being done in the Middle East. Finally, expect to see more communities built in the mountains to escape the heat. People who can afford it will choose to live outside of the urban centers with their heat and humidity. The trend towards remote work will support people being able to work anywhere there is enough bandwidth.

Special thanks to NBC News and Evan Bush for this important coverage. To read the entire story, go here.

Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: Rethinking Employment



Taking a lead from 4-day workweek proponent Thomas Michael Hogg, we will examine the necessity for CEOs to rethink their workforce models and cultures. Given the current workforce crisis, this transformation will not be optional.

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 Copyright 1998-2021 by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurist. 336-210-3548 or https://hermangroup.com. To sign up, visit https://HermanTrendAlert.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc."

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Washington, DC, November 3, 2021More than 300 guests representing leaders in government, the arts, education, community and media attended the official Grand Opening of Swahili Village's "The Consulate" Washington DC location last Tuesday night where they enjoyed the soon-to-be world famous dish nyama choma cooked specially for the event by Swahili Village's Founder, CEO and Master Chef Kevin Onyona.

Guests included over 40 diplomats from around the globe as well as ambassadors from African nations including the evening's chair, Her Excellency Hilda Suka-Mafudze, Ambassador of the African Union Mission representing 55 African countries; His Excellency Lazarus Amayo, Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya; and Dr. Ky Dele, Founder and President of The Made Man Foundation (TMM) & Principal of BluePoint Group Global. Dr. Benjamin F Chavis, Jr, served as Master of Ceremonies.

"I am absolutely stunned by the number of people that came to show their support but especially by their enthusiasm for our endeavor" Onyona said later. "We want to be more than just another business but a real part of the community and I think this demonstrates we have become that."

At the event, Swahili Village COO Emad Shoeb, a son of an Egyptian diplomat and successful entrepreneur, announced plans to open dozens of more restaurants, with several locations already in the works including Newark, New York City, National Harbor Maryland and Tyson's Corner in Virginia, to name a few.

"Eventually, we have plans for 50 restaurants all over the country and then we plan on taking it abroad," Shoeb said. "This is with the expectation that the Swahili Village brand will stand for the most respected restaurant and hospitality brand globally. This respect, we will earn, because our company would always focus on doing the right thing, the right way. The corporate sales and profit will follow."

A highlight for Swahili Village included the proclamation of "Swahili Village Day" as announced by Kimberly A. Bassett, Secretary of State for the District of Columbia.

Reading on behalf of Mayor Muriel Bowser, Bassett told the crowd "Whereas Swahili Village has created a prominent social venue for global learning through which the community can contribute to global education and obtain a better understanding of our interconnected world, I, the mayor of the District of Columbia, do hereby proclaim the 26th of October as "Swahili Village Day" in Washington, D.C., and call upon all our citizens to salute this important contribution to the city."

###
An affiliate of Pearl developer Silver Ventures is seeking to have a building at the mixed-use site designated as a historic landmark and to turn it into a market with restaurants, offices and storage.

Rio Perla Properties LP, which owns the Pearl complex, got the green light Wednesday from the citys Historic and Design Review Commission to rehabilitate the wedge-shaped Samuels Glass Co. building.

The one-story structure at 221 Newell Ave. was constructed in 1948 as a warehouse and office for Samuels Glass Co., which relocated in 2017, according to architecture firm Clayton Korte.

Rio Perla purchased the property in 2015. Its currently used for storage. The developer wants to convert the site into space for a market, restaurants, offices and storage, Korte said in documents submitted to the city.

Renovations will include repairing the roof and facade, replacing windows, creating new entrances and adding a patio terrace. Plans show four restaurant tenants, one bar tenant and a market kitchen.

Rio Perla is also looking to have the building designated as a historic landmark, which would make it eligible for local, state and federal tax incentives.

Lawrence Samuels founded Samuels Glass in San Antonio in 1914; the company is still owned by the same family, according to the developers application.

Courtesy of Clayton Korte

The HDRC supported the buildings historic designation Wednesday, which will be considered next by the Zoning Commission and later the City Council. Elizabeth Fauerso, the Pearls chief marketing officer, declined to provide further information about the plans.

The HDRC also OKd Rio Perlas proposal to add a bar, food service structure with a kitchen and outdoor seating and dining areas near the Stable venue at the Pearl.

Another affiliate of Silver Ventures, Broadway SA Investors GP LLC, also received approval Wednesday for designs for a mixed-use development across the San Antonio River from the Pearl.

The seven-story building at 1126 E. Elmira St. would include 263 residential units, live-work units on the ground floor, retail and parking.

The developer is set to receive about $3.6 million worth of subsidies for the development through the Center City Housing Incentive Policy, including a 10-year tax increment reimbursement grant. It will contribute about $1 million to the citys affordable housing fund over that span, a requirement of the program.

madison.iszler@

express-news.net
Last month, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the results of a multiyear, 600-journalist, 130-institution investigation of offshore accounts it dubbed the Pandora Papers.

The review is based on 11.9 million documents leaked from 14 financial services providers in offshore havens and is larger than the better-known Panama Papers, which came from a single law firm in Panama, Mossack Fonseca, in 2016.

The Pandora Papers named dozens of current or former world leaders, hundreds of public officials, 130 billionaires, well-known businesspeople and celebrities who have hidden wealth from their national authorities.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blairs wife was one. The current leaders of Jordan, Chile, Kenya, Ukraine, Qatar and the UAE were, too.

We learned that although Colombian pop-star Shakiras hips dont lie, Spanish authorities had found she underpaid $16.4 million in taxes, so maybe her tax attorneys and accountants did lie? The Pandora Papers showed that even while Shakira was on trial for tax evasion in Spain she was creating new offshore entities.

It is not illegal to be wealthy. Nor is it illegal to own property or wealth offshore. However, offshore entities are often useful for either hiding income from taxing authorities or hiding assets illegally acquired. And when they belong to public officials, undisclosed assets are a major red flag for corruption or tax avoidance. The investigative consortium estimates between $5.6 trillion and $32 trillion in wealth globally is held offshore, away from where the money originated.

According to Mexican journalists leading a webinar hosted by Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy, the Pandora Papers present Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obredor with a particular political conundrum. In his rise to power as a left-wing populist, he made fighting financial corruption in Mexico a central promise. And yet three key allies  the presidents now former attorney, a powerful senator from his party and the head of the national electricity institute  have all been implicated in the Pandora Papers.

When fighting corruption is your political brand, what happens if you mostly ignore whats happening inside your inner circle? To date, Obredor has not responded meaningfully to the disclosures.

A couple of thoughts bring this into sharper focus for U.S. citizens.

I was most interested in how little use Americans seem to make of these offshore hiding places. My speculation about why the Pandora Papers hasnt made a bigger splash in the United States is because there are so many ways to minimize taxes for the very wealthy right here at home.

Indeed, the challenge of taxing wealth is at the very heart of political fights being waged right now in our country. And the central subtext of recent wrangling within the Democratic Party over President Joe Bidens infrastructure programs is the question of societal fairness and how to tax wealth.

The Biden administration has developed two key talking points for its discussion of income, wealth and taxation. One was used by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in congressional testimony: We have a $7 trillion estimated tax gap that we have a great deal of tax avoidance by individuals and businesses  typically very high net worth, high income individuals and businesses that have opaque sources of income that are not paying the taxes that are due.

Thats a big number, and it deserves further explanation. Does she mean legal tax minimization? Does she mean illegal tax avoidance? The $7 trillion Yellen referred to is regarding high corporate and individual earners who may fail, prospectively, to pay all they owe in the coming decade. Its a powerful talking point used numerous times in public communications, but it really needs a bit of fleshing out.

The other talking point is about the $160 billion the top 1 percent of earners dont pay annually in income taxes  a second version of a tax gap. A beefed-up IRS, as well as additional compliance requirements for banks, are the administrations two main proposed solutions to that problem.

How you feel about these tax gaps, tax avoidance and societal fairness could determine how you feel about shoring up the IRS to the tune of $80 billion over the next decade.

We in the United States are in the midst of figuring out whether wealth at the highest levels should and could be taxed.

A recently debated billionaire tax is a way to directly address the growing realization about the difficulty of taxing wealth. As of this writing, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has rejected specifically targeting the richest Americans for their wealth, so it appears to be off the table for the moment. But it will come back.

Of course, as soon as we figure out how to tax wealth, we should expect more American names to appear in future reports like the Pandora Papers. It is an axiom of tax policy that the more you tax, the more people will engage in tax avoidance  both legal and illegal.

On ExpressNews.com: Taylor: The U.S. does tax wealth  just not for the super-rich

The legal part we should care about from a fairness and good society standpoint. This is the implication of Pro Publicas bombshell report (propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax) a few months ago about how billionaires indefinitely avoid paying taxes in the United States. Currently, if you can avoid taking a salary, not sell assets and borrow money to live on until death, the IRS can hardly find any ways to tax you. This is the buy, borrow, die strategy.

The illegal part we should care about from a rule-of-law perspective.

The ICIJ engaged with 600 journalists worldwide to pursue the Pandora Papers investigation primarily because it is very difficult to do all the legwork required to track offshore assets and unpaid taxes.

Many countries have neither the taxing authority nor the rule-of-law powers to enforce the law against tax cheats or corruption. It seems the U.S. should aspire to have both the means to tax and the means to enforce tax compliance.

Michael Taylor is a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News and author of The Financial Rules for New College Graduates.

michael@michaelthesmart

money.com |twitter.com/michael_taylor
San Antonio public health officials have declared the areas COVID-19 risk level to be low for the first time since early July, as Bexar County prepares to vaccinate children 5 to 11 years old.

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District has five COVID-19 risk levels depicted on the citys coronavirus website  low, mild, moderate, severe and critical. They are meant to reflect the danger of contracting the deadly coronavirus based on positivity rate, hospital stress score and the number of cases per 100,000 people.

Things really have substantially improved. Were moving in the right direction, but you still need to be careful out there, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said Tuesday night during a televised COVID-19 briefing.

Currently, 200 coronavirus-positive patients, including 10 children, are being treated in area hospitals, with 88 of them in intensive care units and 38 relying on ventilators to breathe.

The majority, 79 percent, of these patients are unvaccinated against COVID-19.

Hospitalizations last peaked during the citys third surge, when 1,466 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized on Aug. 23. Since then, the number of hospital admissions has declined steadily.

The seven-day rolling average of cases has also dipped  it is currently 185. On Aug. 16, the seven-day average reached a summer high of 1,646 cases.

On ExpressNews.com: COVID risk level explainable; recommended behavior less so

Despite the falling numbers, people are still dying from the disease caused by the coronavirus. Metro Health reported three new deaths on Tuesday, plus 45 previously unconfirmed deaths, bringing Bexar Countys COVID-19 mortality toll to 4,876.

Wolff warned that a lot of people are still going to get sick, and many of them are going to die.

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg agreed that the pandemic is not over. He encouraged viewers to continue wearing face masks and to get vaccinated.

On Tuesday, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, approved the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old. The child-size dose was recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a CDC advisory panel.

Nearly 6.4 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, with 1 million of those infections occurring since early September, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The availability of vaccines for young children, along with the recent authorization of booster shots for adults, should help combat the spread of the virus, which mutated into the more contagious delta variant over the summer.

Wolff said the countys hospital system, University Health, has received 5,000 vaccine shots for children and can start administering them as early as Thursday.

Metro Health Director Claude Jacob estimated that 330,000 children now will be eligible for the vaccine.

On ExpressNews.com: Metro Health releases Halloween guidelines as COVID-19 hospitalizations dip under 300

In addition, 107,482 people in Bexar County have received a booster shot since mid-August.

Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna COVID-19 booster shots are available at Metro Healths pop-up vaccination clinics. The drive-thru clinic at the Alamodome will give only Pfizer shots.

Boosters are recommended for certain populations  people 65 and older and those with underlying medical conditions or who work or live in high-risk settings  six months or more after completing the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series.

People who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine two or more months ago can also get the booster shot. The CDCs recommendations allow for mix-and-match booster shots from different manufacturers.

Those who still need their first or second COVID-19 shots are eligible for a $100 H-E-B gift card at Metro Health-run sites. Go to covid19.sanantonio.gov or call 311 and select option 8 for vaccine clinic locations.

Children who get their COVID-19 vaccine at Metro Health clinics will also be eligible for the incentive, but those getting booster shots are not.

laura.garcia@express-news.net
With a cool nip in the air and San Antonians pulling their sweaters out of storage, the time has arrived for hearty soups and stews. And theres no more soul-satisfying or historically significant brothy concoction than pozole.

That rich pot of love has been a New World staple for centuries, dating back to precolonial times in Mexico. At the heart of that dish is hominy, or nixtamalized corn kernels  an absolutely essential part of the Mesoamerican diet.

But simmering a good pot of pozole requires more than corn. Its a complex dish of herbs, spices, chiles and other ingredients that requires time and care to make it right.

Pozole isnt a complicated thing, Dave Terrazas, a culinary instructor at The Art Institute of San Antonio. I think what really sets a good one apart is the ingredients youre using in the beginning. The aromatics. The onions. The chiles. Thats where youre really going to develop your flavor.

Terrazas says home cooks can achieve an ideal pozole by starting with quality ingredients. Use fresh dried chiles that still have some flex to them instead of old, stale and brittle peppers. The onions and garlic should be pungent and crisp. Any dried herbs, such as bay leaf or Mexican oregano, should be deeply aromatic.

How to make hominy at home To nixtamalize corn at home, place 3 cups of large, dried white corn kernels in a large pot and cover with about 6 inches of water. Stir in 1/4 cup slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), which you can find in Mexican grocery stores, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the corn until it's almost completely tender, about 1 hour. Let the pot cool completely then refrigerate it overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain the corn kernels and rinse thoroughly, rubbing them vigorously to remove the softened skins. If desired, remove the hard tip on each kernel. See More Collapse

On ExpressNews.com: Cold-weather Mexican soups and stews with a modern twist

And the toppings matter, as well.

Its kind of like when you go to a Vietnamese restaurant and they bring you all the condiments for pho, Terrazas said. To me, when youve got such a rich broth with the chiles and meat and youre adding aromatics with the garnishes, thats a lot of flavor on the spoon.

Terrazas said those toppings  finely shredded cabbage, radishes sliced paper thin, heady fresh cilantro, slivers of green onion and more  are best purchased at area farmers markets. And this time of year is perfect for experimentation, he noted, with area growers currently providing a wide range of radishes with varying degrees of sweetness and peppery bite.

Of less concern to Terrazas is whether the hominy is freshly nixtamalized or out of a can. Both products behave in very similar ways in the pot, he noted, essentially serving as a blank starchy canvas to absorb the other flavors in the soup. Either way, he says keep an eye on it as your pozole cooks to prevent the kernels from getting too mushy.

While hominy and broth are the elemental parts of pozole, the dish can be made in a number of ways. This week we have four recipes that demonstrate just how diverse pozole can be.

Our classic pozole rojo is made with two types of chile  ancho and arbol  simmered with pork, cumin, bay leaf and Mexican oregano for a distinctly rich and traditional taste. Terrazas said cooks should feel free to experiment with a number of different chiles including chile pequin, ghost peppers or others to give the dish a customized flavor.

On ExpressNews.com: Carne guisada is the simple stew you need right now

Weve also made a vegan version of pozole rojo, with mushrooms standing in for the meat. Theres no sacrificing flavor here with ancho, guajillo, pasilla and arbol chiles marrying with the meaty mushrooms for a satisfying bite.

Pozole verde is a different creature entirely, relying on the bright and vegetal flavors of green chiles such as poblano and jalapeno and the tang of tomatillos. Our version is made with chicken, but Terrazas said he likes to substitute freshly made turkey broth and shredded turkey thighs as a way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers.

While traditional pozole is a time-consuming labor of love, theres no reason it cant be a weeknight meal with the right equipment. Weve made a pozole blanco  a simple stew that doesnt contain chiles  in an Instant Pot. The whole dish can be done in about an hour with minimal active time.

Recipe: Instant Pot Pork Pozole Blanco, Verde and Rojo

Recipe: Pork Pozole Rojo

Recipe: Chicken Pozole Verde

Recipe: Vegan Pozole Rojo

pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP)  African leaders and campaigners are pressing the international community to do more to help poorer and vulnerable nations adapt to climate change, seizing on evidence showing the continent to be the most endangered by the effects of global warming.

The head of the African Union, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, said other parts of the world must contribute half of the $25 billion the continent needs to run an adaptation program over the next five years. The balance will come from the African Development Bank.

Tshisekedi spoke Tuesday before an Africa-focused summit at the U.N. climate conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow. He was one of several leaders who highlighted Africa's plight in the face of climate change despite being the populated continent least responsible for global emissions.

Tshisekedi noted that the global effort on climate change cant be won unless it is won in Africa," which is home to 1.3 billion people. Africas 54 nations contribute only about 3% of global emissions, a fact that surprises some ordinary Africans when they find out.

It is a starting point rather than a ceiling, and it will contribute to building trust and confidence, Tshisekedi said of the $12.5 billion Africa needs to raise for climate-adaptation projects.

He said he hoped the money would be raised before the next annual climate conference, to be held in Africa.

World leaders are already pledging toward adaptation efforts, and it remains to be seen how much will be raised for Africa when the two-week Glasgow conference ends.

In the meantime, some African leaders and campaigners are applying pressure, noting that a previous pledge to raise $100 billion for Africa was never honored.

We dont need more facts. We need more finance, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said.

Patrick Verkooijen, chief executive of the Netherlands-based Global Center on Adaptation, said the situation for Africa is adapt or die, noting that the effects of climate change are at Africa's doorsteps today.

Alok Sharma, a British official who is leading the climate conference known as COP26, spoke of Malagasy women in Madagascar facing a bleak future of being unable to farm because of challenges stemming from climate change.

The need is great, and the injustice is stark, he said.

Others who spoke Tuesday included U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said adaptation efforts were a priority for Washington. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva called for the removal of obstacles to the empowerment of women as part of broader efforts to strengthen Africa's resilience amid climate change.

Eze Christiana, a Nigerian living in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, said she doesn't think it is important to gather and talk about climate change.

"We just need to adapt to it and take it the way we see it, she said of global warming.

According to a report last month from the World Meteorological Organization and other U.N. agencies, Africa's people remain extremely vulnerable as the continent warms more and at a faster rate than the global average.

The International Rescue Committee said Tuesday that in Somalia and some other African countries where it operates, people face the sharp end of the climate crisis, including emergency conditions from the current levels of global warming.

The international community must invest in climate resilience and famine prevention, the humanitarian group said in a statement.

Were extremely worried about the impact of continuing drought and conflict on vulnerable populations throughout the horn of Africa, where a large proportion of the population relies heavily on crops to eat and sell for their livelihoods, Kurt Tjossem, the groups vice president for East Africa, said in that statement.

In Somalia, for example, 3.5 million people face hunger after a failed harvest, with farmers who depend on livestock seeing their animals die from thirst daily, he said.

____

Associated Press journalist Josphat Kasire in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
An increase in domestic violence fatalities in Bexar County has focused attention on the problem and sparked renewed efforts to combat it.

One of the most comprehensive is the Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence, created in July 2019 by then-District Court Judge Peter Sakai in partnership with city officials. The commission brings together judges, prosecutors, policymakers and leaders in health care, law enforcement and the nonprofit sector.
Marisela Cadena was terrified. The boyfriend who claimed to love her had beaten her time and again.

She had called San Antonio police, but the experience hadnt inspired confidence in the justice system. After one attack, it took four months for prosecutors to file a misdemeanor assault charge against Andrew Munoz.

Ten more months went by before police arrested him, and by then he had assaulted her once more, punching her in the head and stomach.

Despite his lengthy criminal record, Munoz was released from jail the next day on a $3,500 bond.

Courtesy of Gamez and Sons Funeral Home

When Cadena blocked his calls, he turned more violent. He kidnapped her at gunpoint and forced her to drive to a remote ranch in southern Bexar County. On the way, he fired a gun through the roof of the car, leaving no doubt he was serious about his threats to kill her and her family.

Cadena, then 43, grew desperate. She tried to hide. She had moved out of her home on the far East Side and was getting ready to move again. She switched cars with one of her daughters. She applied for a protective order.

But Munoz knew where to find her: at the Subway restaurant on South Roosevelt and Loop 410, where she had worked her way up to manager.

Bob Owen /Staff photographer

* * * THE PROBLEM

After declining for decades, intimate partner homicides increased across the United States beginning in 2015. The jump in both intimate partner killings and family violence homicides overall has been particularly stark in San Antonio  and it has proved persistent.

To understand the problem, the Express-News conducted more than 75 interviews with police, prosecutors, judges, experts in the field and others. Reporters sought out survivors of abuse and listened to their stories. They scoured police reports, court files and other records to create a comprehensive database of family violence fatalities.

The investigation found that:

In 2016, 27 people in Bexar County were killed in family violence assaults, eight more than the year before, according to the Express-News database. In 2017, the death toll climbed to 35. It hovered around that level for two years before shooting up to 43 during the pandemic year of 2020.

Family violence killings have been climbing faster than homicides overall. In 2016, they accounted for 16 percent of all homicides recorded by the San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County Sheriffs Office. Last year, they represented 33 percent of all homicides.

In 2017, women in Bexar County were killed by intimate partners at the highest rate among Texas most populous counties, according to the nonprofit Texas Council on Family Violence. In 2020, Bexar had the second highest rate, trailing only Tarrant County.

The death count barely hints at the magnitude of the problem. For every family violence killing, there are thousands of non-fatal assaults. In 2020, SAPD officers filed 14,050 reports on incidents of family violence  55 percent more than in 2014.

Family violence involves assaults on spouses, intimate partners, ex-lovers, children or other members of the same family or household. Intimate partner killings account for about half of all such fatalities in Bexar County. Most common are cases in which a man fatally shoots a woman.

A city-county commission created two years ago has marshaled broad political support and funding to study the problem and seek solutions. The task is daunting. The Express-News investigation found that San Antonio is behind the curve in addressing family violence in significant ways.

Hear Emilie Eaton explain the reporting behind the series Nowhere to Hide.

* * * THE FLAWS IN THE SYSTEM

Accountability is weak

The Bexar County justice system secures few convictions for domestic violence compared with other urban centers in Texas.

From 2011 through 2020, just 21 percent of misdemeanor family violence assault cases filed by prosecutors in Bexar County courts ended with a conviction, an Express-News analysis of state court data found.

In Harris County, Texas most populous, the conviction rate was 41 percent. In Dallas and Travis counties, it was 27 percent.

For the state as a whole, it was 35 percent.

Sixty percent of Bexar Countys misdemeanor family violence cases were dismissed over the same 10-year period. That was the highest dismissal rate among the states five most populous counties.

Bexar County does better at prosecuting felony cases, which make up just 15 percent of the family violence caseload. But in that category, too, the county is far behind the states other major urban areas.

About 35 percent of defendants charged with felony family violence assault were convicted in Bexar County, compared with 47 percent in Harris County, 44 percent in Dallas County and 58 percent in Travis County.

Innovation is lacking

While police, prosecutors and judges in other cities were experimenting and fine-tuning new approaches, their counterparts in San Antonio stood still.

Other Texas cities have fatality review boards made up of key stakeholders  police, prosecutors, court officials, probation officers and victim advocates  who examine domestic homicides to gain insight into how the system failed and how future deaths might be prevented.

For years, some members of San Antonios board routinely failed to attend meetings or declined to provide pertinent information for the group to review, people involved told the Express-News.

The Bexar County Fatality Review Board also never issued reports to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, as required every two years under state law.

The board finally stirred to life in the last few years  only to have the COVID-19 pandemic bring its work to a halt.

The boards current chair is Leslie Schultz, director of clinical services at Family Violence Prevention Services, the nonprofit that runs San Antonios Battered Women and Childrens Shelter. She said recently that the board was resuming its work and was identifying cases to review. Schultz said she planned to submit a report to the state by the end of next year.

Now Playing: Enrique Mendez was charged with beating and choking his girlfriend, Lori Rodriguez. In this video from August 2015, he describes the incident to a detective. Mendez pleaded no contest to a felony count of family violence assault and was granted probation. He never spent a day in jail. Video: Monte Bach

High risk teams are another widely adopted tool for preventing domestic homicides.

At least 10 Texas cities have them. Theyre made up of police, prosecutors, social workers and medical providers. They meet regularly to share information about women who have suffered domestic assaults and appear to be in imminent danger of severe injury or death.

For each case, the team creates a plan to interrupt the violence and hold the abuser accountable.

Federal money is available to support such teams. Tarrant County has had one for four years. Harris Countys was created three years ago, Austins in 2017.

For years, Bexar County failed to get on board. In 2020, the county finally established a high-risk team with a $330,000 grant from the Texas Council on Family Violence.

Were lagging behind, said Patricia Castillo, co-founder of the P.E.A.C.E Initiative, a nonprofit that helps victims of family violence. We should have been doing this work 40 years ago. We waited too long to take this seriously, and thats why its out of our hands now.

Its not like we dont know how these (abusers) operate. Its not like we need a crystal ball or have to reinvent the wheel. Weve been talking about these issues for years. Why havent we made progress?

Josie Norris / Staff Photographer

Victims arent supported

To protect an abuse victim and secure her cooperation, a prompt, sympathetic response by law enforcement is essential.

But in San Antonio, women beaten by spouses or boyfriends have waited days, weeks or even months for police and prosecutors to reach out with information about their cases and about support services such as counseling, legal representation and housing assistance.

In 2016, auditors looked at a random sample of domestic violence 911 calls referred to the SAPDs Crisis Response Team, made up of sworn officers and civilian caseworkers.

Members of the team were supposed to contact victims within 24 hours of when they called 911. In 38 of 56 cases  nearly 70 percent  they did not do so within that time period, the audit found. In some cases, it took them more than 11 days to make contact.

That wasnt the only shortcoming. In other cities, risk assessments are considered a critical tool for protecting the most vulnerable women. In SAPD, they were often viewed as an afterthought, the audit found.

The Crisis Response Team often failed to document whether it conducted a risk assessment  a questionnaire completed with the victims help to identify women most in danger of being killed by their abusers.

A 2017 audit reported improved response times by the team but provided no supporting statistics.

When the Express-News asked for more information, SAPD compiled a sample of 150 domestic violence cases from 2019. It showed improved response times, but the data were limited to three of SAPDs six substations. The department said it could not provide citywide data because of discrepancies in how officers input the information and flaws in the citys electronic records system.

Lt. Jesse Salame, a department spokesman, said detectives with expertise in domestic violence have been added to the Crisis Response Team to work nights and weekends, among other improvements.

The teams civilian caseworkers were moved last year to the Metropolitan Health District, the citys public health authority, to give them better training and greater access to support services for victims. There are plans to expand their hours. The city also is adding six case management positions in Metro Health to focus on cases of severe domestic abuse.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

The next key link in the chain, the district attorneys office, also has been sporadic or ineffectual in supporting victims.

District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales said that when his term began in January 2019, it took as long as six weeks for prosecutors to reach out to the victims in domestic violence cases. Gonzales has added domestic violence prosecutors and victim liaisons to reduce such delays.

But even now, four liaisons are responsible for contacting thousands of victims every year, Gonzales said. Their workload has more than doubled over the last five years, officials at the DAs office said this year in a memo to Bexar County Commissioners Court seeking funds to hire more personnel.

Delays reduce the likelihood of victim cooperation, making these cases very time-sensitive, the officials wrote. Victims in delayed cases often return to an abuser out of fear and lack of perceived accountability. Proving a case without victim cooperation is often impossible.

Gloria Terry, CEO of the Texas Council on Family Violence, said time is the critical factor in successfully prosecuting domestic violence.

The further away you get from the date of the incident, the less likely people feel engaged, she said. If you put off a case for a year, victims are going to say, The system didnt care.

Bob Owen /Staff photographer

Abusers have an out

The district attorneys office files an average of 400 new misdemeanor domestic violence assault cases every month. Because of the sheer volume of work, the goal for prosecutors in most cases isnt a trial. Its a plea.

As a result, many defendants are granted deferred adjudication, which bypasses a trial, conviction and possible jail sentence. Thats how 19 percent of misdemeanor family violence assault cases filed in Bexar County courts were resolved from 2011 through 2020, according to the Express-News analysis of court data.

In deferred adjudication, defendants typically plead no contest and agree to pay fines, submit to regular alcohol and drug screening, and meet other conditions.

Those conditions usually include completion of the Batterers Intervention and Prevention Program, or BIPP, an 18-to-20-week class (conducted online during the pandemic) that is designed to change patriarchal beliefs thought to fuel violent and controlling behavior.

Bob Owen /Staff photographer

There are four BIPP programs in San Antonio, all accredited by the state. Only one, offered by Family Violence Prevention Services, receives state funding. The others are for-profit businesses.

Even as BIPP has gained popularity, evidence that it actually works remains thin: Nearly 60 percent of abusers in Bexar County failed to complete the program during the countys 2017 fiscal year. Those who drop out are more than twice as likely to re-offend, compared with those who finish, one Texas study found.

Offenders who fail to finish the program are allowed to re-enroll repeatedly.

The thinking is that some exposure to the course is better than none, said Marta Prada Pelaez, president and CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services.

If we are ever going to address domestic violence, she said, we have to be equally involved with the perpetrator as we are the victim.

* * * TRAPPED

Marisela Cadena and Andrew Munoz met around 2013 at a Subway restaurant on the South Side where they both worked.

The violence started early on. On June 13, 2014, Cadenas daughter, Maribel Lerma, called 911 to report that Munoz was attacking Cadena. By the time officers arrived, he had left.

Cadena told officers that he hit her, and she hit him back. Police labeled the incident a disturbance. No arrest was made.

Around this time, Munoz was arrested for driving while intoxicated  his third DWI arrest. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. After his release, he and Cadena resumed dating.

On Feb. 17, 2017, Cadena called 911. She told police Munoz had threatened to beat her after she refused to give him money. Again, the responding officers did not arrest Munoz. Salame, the SAPD spokesman, said he could not explain the decision because the officers did not write a report.

The next eruption of violence that drew law enforcement attention was on June 16, 2018. Court and police records provide the following account:

Munoz and Cadena were in the drive-thru lane of an ATM on the far East Side. Munoz was drunk. He became enraged when Cadena accidentally handed him her ID instead of his as he tried to deposit a check.

Munoz punched Cadena several times and then drove off, abandoning her. When SAPD officers arrived, they found her waiting outside a Taco Bell. The right sleeve of her blouse was torn, and there were scratches on her chest.

San Antonio Police Department

Officers offered to take her to a battered womens shelter, but she declined. They took her home instead. Later, officers with the Crisis Response Team followed up to offer assistance.

Police had two options. They could refer the case to the district attorneys office for review, a process that can take weeks or months before prosecutors decide whether to file charges.

Or officers could have quickly obtained an arrest warrant from a judge. Theyre allowed to do that when they can show probable cause that a crime was committed. The process is called walking a warrant, because an officer can walk out of a courtroom with a warrant in hand.

Police opted to forward the case to the DAs office on July 11, 2018, nearly a month after the assault.

Asked why, Salame said: Walking a warrant is always an option, but we balance that with the issues facing the complainant. Some of the questions we might ask are: Does she live with the suspect? Does she have a good support system in place? Will walking a warrant make her more or less safe?

At the DAs office, it took nearly four months for prosecutors to file a charge of misdemeanor family violence against Munoz. A judge signed a warrant for his arrest on Nov. 13, 2018, and it was issued on Dec. 10, nearly six months after the alleged assault.

Christian Henricksen, chief of litigation at the district attorneys office, said such delays in bringing charges stem from prosecutors heavy caseloads. From 2015 to 2020, the number of misdemeanor family violence cases filed with the DAs office for review more than doubled, records show.

At least there was a warrant out for Munozs arrest. But it vanished in a huge backlog at the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, where a unit of eight deputies is responsible for serving as many as 28,000 warrants at any given time.

Nine more months went by, and Munoz remained free.

On Sept. 14, 2019, he assaulted Cadena again. This time, he punched her in the head and stomach. She escaped to his mothers house and called police. Officers noted cuts on her face and stomach.

The next day, police escorted her to her house so she could pick up her belongings. Officers found Munoz there and arrested him on the outstanding warrant for the assault at the ATM  15 months after the fact.

Josie Norris / Staff Photographer

Then-County Court Judge Crystal Chandler set Munozs bail when she signed the warrant back in November 2018. The amount: $3,500, even though Munoz had a lengthy criminal record that included convictions for burglary, evading arrest and driving while intoxicated.

After his arrest, he was brought before a magistrate, who left bail at $3,500.

He was freed the next day.

Chandler, asked for comment, said she could not recall the case but said she probably set bail at $3,500 because Munoz did not have prior arrests or convictions for family violence and his past felony convictions were for non-violent offenses.

Court records do not indicate the name of the magistrate.

As a condition of release, first Chandler and later the magistrate prohibited Munoz from contacting Cadena, but they did not require him to wear a GPS tracker.

Nor was he required to surrender any firearms in his possession, court records show.

Chandler, whose involvement in the case was limited to signing the arrest warrant and setting the initial bail, said she likely didnt include a firearms prohibition because Munoz, as a convicted felon, already was barred from having guns. But in such cases judges can impose a firearms prohibition anyway, and some do.

Even if Munoz had been ordered to give up his guns, its unlikely to have made any difference.

In Texas, when someone charged with domestic violence is released from jail, police and judges have no authority to search the suspects home for firearms  even if the person is prohibited from having them as a condition of bail. Its up to the suspect to willingly surrender a gun.

Cadena broke up with Munoz in November 2019 and did all she could to avoid him. She moved out of her home on the East Side. She ignored his text messages and calls. But he was relentless.

On Feb. 16, 2020, she arrived home from work and found him waiting for her outside her apartment near Brooks City Base.

Here is what unfolded next, according to her daughter, Maribel Lerma; a police report; and an affidavit Cadena wrote to obtain a protective order:

Munoz lifted his shirt, revealing a gun. He gestured toward a passerby. He told Cadena hed kill the man if she didnt get in the car with him.

Ill shoot you and Ill shoot him, Lerma said, recounting what her mother told her. Youre going to make me kill somebody else over you? Now get in the car.

Munoz led her to the car, put the gun to her head and forced her to drive to a ranch in southern Bexar County about an hour away, Cadena wrote in the affidavit. The ranch belonged to Munozs boss.

He kept yelling at me, saying I betrayed him, Cadena wrote. All the time we were in the car, he was pointing the gun at me or putting it to my head.

At one point, she wrote, Munoz insisted she place her hand on the dashboard so he could shoot it.

I begged him to stop, she wrote. He said it was going to hurt like I had hurt him.

Munoz fired the gun into the ceiling of the car  making Cadenas ears ring.

After several hours, she persuaded him to take her home. He continued to call her all week, at one point begging her to sign paperwork denying that the 2018 assault at the ATM had ever happened. He was facing trial in the case and had a court date coming up.

Lerma encouraged her mother to go to the police. She resisted. She had four grown children and four grandchildren and was afraid of what Munoz might do to them.

The police arent going to do anything, Lerma recalled her mother saying. Why am I going to call the cops and risk my life and risk my kids life? If they didnt help me before, why would they help me now?

Cadena finally relented. After her daughter reached out to SAPD on her behalf, she spoke to a civilian employee of the Crisis Response Team and decided to seek a protective order. With guidance from police officers, she set up a safety plan, a personalized guide to help a woman escape a dangerous or abusive situation.

Police increased patrols near the Subway restaurant where she worked. They obtained a warrant for Munozs arrest on a charge of aggravated kidnapping, and they began searching for him.

Around 7:40 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2020, Lerma dropped off her oldest daughter at school. With her 3-year-old daughter, she stopped by SAPDs South Substation to pick up some documents that would help her mother end her lease early.

Lerma noticed that the substation seemed unusually busy. Officers were rushing back and forth behind the receptionists desk.

Hey, Im here for Dalia, Lerma told the receptionist, asking for a civilian caseworker with the Crisis Response Team. Im trying to get some papers.

Oh no, Im sorry, the receptionist responded. Something happened, and shes really busy right now. Can you come back later please?

Lerma thanked the woman and got ready to leave. Then she heard Dalia Rivas voice over the intercom.

Maribel, is that you? Come to the back.

Lerma followed Rivas to her office. A police officer stopped them on the way.

Are you Marisela? he asked.

No, thats my mom, Lerma responded, puzzled.

Whats going on, Dalia? Lerma asked.

Rivas led Lerma into her office and told her to stay calm.

We got a call that Andrew is at your moms Subway, Rivas told her. I think shes OK. We have the Subway surrounded.

Lerma sent her mother a text. No response.

She took her daughter to the restroom and called her husband, then her father-in-law. She returned to Rivas office several minutes later.

This time, Rivas asked her to sit. Lerma gripped the sides of the chair.

We just got word that your mom was shot, Rivas said.

Rivas kept talking, but Lerma couldnt take it in. Her mind was racing.

Taylor Pettaway / Staff

Around the time Lerma was dropping off her daughter at school, Munoz had entered the Subway. Cadena was there alone. The two fought, and Munoz dragged her around the restaurant, according to a medical examiners report. He shot her twice  once on the left side of her head and once in the abdomen.

A maintenance worker arrived at 8:10 a.m. and found Cadena slumped face-down in a pool of blood. She was still alive. She moaned as the worker called 911. When paramedics and officers arrived, they tried talking to her, but she couldnt respond. They rushed her to Brooke Army Medical Center.

A few days later, police found Munoz dead in a ditch behind the restaurant. Police believe he shot himself. An autopsy found traces of alcohol and meth in his system.

At the hospital, Lerma was allowed into her mothers room. She was still alive. Lerma barely recognized her.

Cadena had black hair that went down to her waist and a small piercing next to her right eye. She had a matching piercing on her chest. Now, the piercings had been removed, and her hair had been shaved off. Her face was swollen, and blood leaked from her lower abdomen and head.

Three of Cadenas four children were beside her when she died a few hours later.

Unaware of her death, prosecutors filed Cadenas application for a protective order in the 438th District Court that day. Prosecutors in another unit were still reviewing the assault case from September 2019.

Angela Alcala-Bach / Staff

Salame said the tragedy revealed gaps in the system, but also the difficulty of thwarting a determined abuser.

Why do we make arrests only to see offenders released the same day? Why are so many cases dismissed? he asked. I dont say this to blame anyone. Its just emblematic of the systemic issues with domestic violence cases.

She did everything she could have done to reach out, and we provided the outreach we could, and in spite of all of our efforts, we still couldnt prevent what happened, Salame said.

District Attorney Gonzales said its hard to predict which of the thousands of domestic violence cases his prosecutors handle every year will turn deadly.

Theres always anecdotal evidence of something that could have been done better, and were always striving to improve the way we handle these cases, Gonzales said. Its unfortunate that sometimes, no matter what we do, this happens.

People who know her say Dalia Rivas was shattered by Cadenas slaying. She did not respond to a request to be interviewed.

Josie Norris / Staff photographer

At a news conference three days after the killing, SAPD Chief William McManus said his departments handling of the case had been unerring.

Was there something more we could have done? Was there something that we missed? There wasnt, McManus said. Weve gone over it over and over again. The reality is we have to be absolutely perfect, and sometimes we need some luck to avoid these tragedies.

Lerma was staying with in-laws when she heard the police chief on the television.

I wish my mom had made it out alive and they had that press conference, Lerma said. She would have stood up for herself and said, No, you didnt. You failed me this way, this way, and this way. Because they did. Other than Dalia, nobody helped her.

Luke Whyte contributed data reporting.

To share your story, contact reporter Emilie Eaton at eeaton@express-news.net.

Lead image: A scrolling list of victims of fatal family violence in San Antonio and Bexar County from 2014 through 2020, as compiled by the Express-News. (Credit: Angela Alcala-Bach, Monte Bach)
Teetering on a ledge as a crowd materialized behind him, Mark Henick felt the damp metal of the bridge railing pressing into his back and adjusted his footing slightly. Jolted loose, several pebbles tumbled the indeterminate distance to the earth below.

Right as the 15-year-old stepped off the concrete and into thin air, a man in a light brown jacket wrapped his arms around Henicks chest and pulled him back to safety.

Nearly two decades have passed since a strangers random act of kindness saved Henicks life. In the interim, Henick has made a career out of raising awareness of mental illness and suicide prevention.

To this day, I get messages fairly frequently  from young people who tell me that I have been their man in the light brown jacket, he said.

Henick will be the keynote speaker Friday at the Clarity Child Guidance Centers ninth annual Claritycon, a conference that spotlights childrens mental health. Based on the Northwest Side of San Antonio, Clarity Child Guidance Center is a nonprofit mental health treatment facility that specializes in treating children.

In addition to Henick, psychiatrist Candace Romo; clinical social workers Rachael Sherman and Michelli Ramon; and Connie Soria, San Antonio Metropolitan Health Districts adverse childhood experiences coordinator, will be speaking at the upcoming session. Discussion topics include the effects of trauma on the adolescent brain and the signs and symptoms of an impending psychotic episode, according to Jessica Knudsen, the centers President and CEO.

Henick will discuss his recently published book, So-Called Normal: A Memoir of Family, Depression and Resilience. While Henicks suicide attempts figure prominently in So-Called Normal, they are not its focal point.

My story isnt really about how I tried to kill myself. My story is about how I didnt, Henick said.

Henicks work differs from many of his peers in that it is informed by firsthand experience.

The product of a broken home, Henick suffered from anxiety and depression. His father abandoned the family when Henick was 4, and his mother took up with another man. However, her new partner emotionally abused her and her children to the point that Henicks older siblings moved out.

I felt completely hopeless and helpless, Henick said.

To make matters worse, he had been taught speaking openly about mental health was taboo.

There was a sense that you had to be a man and suck it up. Boys dont cry, all of that kind of stuff. So it turns out if you dont express your emotions, they dont just go away. They come out in more creative ways, often more troubling ways. And thats exactly what happened to me, Henick said.

After that fateful night on the bridge, he began sharing his story far and wide to inspire kids and adults in similarly dire circumstances to reach out for help. He has made television appearances, spoken at TEDxToronto and written for CNN and the Chicago Tribune.

His message may be especially pertinent in the wake of a pandemic that has devastated the economy, fueled widespread social isolation and killed and disabled millions worldwide.

Rates of pediatric anxiety and depression have soared over the last 20 or so months. Research published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates mental health-related emergency department visits increased by about 24 percent among children ages 5 to 11 and about 31 percent among children ages 12 to 17 between March and October 2020.

In Bexar County, 20 children, six 18-year-olds and two 19-year-olds died by suicide in 2020. Fifteen children, one 18-year-old and three 19-year-olds have died by suicide in 2021 so far, according to the local medical examiners office.

Clarity Child Guidance Center itself has recorded a spike in the number of teenagers suffering from anxiety and depression and even considering taking their own lives. Knudsen said the demand for inpatient services, which are typically reserved for kids in imminent danger, has risen exponentially. She hopes teens will find solace in Henicks story of recovery.

I think it is always really powerful when someones willing to stand up and share their own story because one of the terrible things about these disorders is theyre very isolating. For whatever reason, people dont feel comfortable talking about it, (which) makes you feel like youre the only one going through it, Knudsen said. So having someone stand up and say, Ive been there. Ive been suicidal  this is how I changed direction; this is how I got there in the first place, can be really empowering to people because it tells you youre not alone.

Knudsen said it is especially important to discuss mental health with children and adolescents because the majority of mental illnesses first manifest during what she calls this very vital window of time.

We should be talking about that just like we talk about our blood pressure and our cholesterol level. We have to normalize that these are issues that kids go through and adults go through, Knudsen said.

caroline.tien@hearst.com
Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the Texas Association of School Boards to determine the extent to which pornography or other inappropriate content exists in public schools across the state and to remove it if found.

A growing number of parents of Texas students are becoming increasingly alarmed about some of the books and other content found in public school libraries that are extremely inappropriate in the public education system, Abbott wrote to Dan Troxell, the groups executive director, in a letter dated Monday.

Abbott, who did not cite examples in his letter, said the organization has an obligation to Texas parents and students to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school.

The school organization said it was confused why the letter was sent to the association, which has no regulatory authority over school districts and does not set the standards for instructional materials, including library books.

The role of a school board primarily includes establishing a strategic plan for the district, adopting policies in public meetings, approving the districts budget, and selecting and evaluating a superintendent, a spokesperson for the group said in a statement. In most school districts, the review and selection of individual library materials traditionally has been an administrative responsibility managed by professional district staff.

Abbotts letter comes on the heels of an inquiry launched by state Rep. Matt Krause, a Fort Worth Republican running for Texas attorney general. Krause sent a letter to certain school districts with an 850-book list that included novels about racism and sexuality.

Krauses letter asked the districts whether they had those books, how many copies they had and how much money was spent on them. The lawmaker has since declined to offer specifics beyond that, saying he does not want to compromise a pending or potential investigation.

Krauses list of titles includes a number of bestsellers and award winners, including the 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron and Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The list includes books that help kids respond to bullying and others that center on LGBTQ characters, in addition to telling stories about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Democrats have accused Krause of trying to censor progressive literature after the Legislature passed two laws this year restricting how teachers can talk about race-related subjects in school. GOP lawmakers pushed for the legislation under the mantle of objecting to what they called critical race theory. Critical race theory is an academic discipline that holds that racism is embedded in legal systems and not limited to individuals. Its taught at the university level, though it has become a common phrase used by some Republicans to include anything about race taught or discussed in public secondary schools.

School districts have so far been split over how to respond. Fort Worth Independent School District has said it will comply, while the Austin, Houston and Dallas school districts have dismissed Krauses inquiry. Other major school districts in the state have said they are still reviewing the letter.

Last week, Keller ISD removed a book from one of its high school libraries after parents voiced concerns over the books graphic images.

The book Gender Queer: a Memoir by Maia Kobabe, was mentioned by another Texas House Republican  state Rep. Jeff Cason of Bedford  who called on state Attorney General Ken Paxton to launch a statewide investigation into that novel and others of similar matter. Cason also asked Paxton to examine the legal ramifications to school districts that approved of these types of books.

In his letter to Troxell, Abbott said that parents have the right to shield their children from obscene content used in schools.

You have an obligation to Texas parents and students to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school, Abbott wrote.

Disclosure: Texas Association of School Boards has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism.

The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
The San Marcos Police Department refused to provide an escort or assistance for a Biden campaign bus after it was surrounded by Trump Train cars on Interstate 35 last year, according to a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of campaign staffers.

Whats more, the Biden staffers contend that when they called 911 and begged for help from San Marcos police, members of the department privately laughed and joked about the victims and their distress, including by calling them tards, making fun of a campaign staffers hard breathing, and retorting they should just drive defensively or leave the train.

Thats according to a civil lawsuit filed in the San Antonio-based U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The complaint was filed in June on behalf of four staffers or volunteers who were on the campaign bus on Oct. 30, 2020, as it headed to last-minute stops on the final day of early voting in the 2020 election between Joe Biden and then-President Donald Trump.

An amended complaint file last week contained new information, including the alleged derogatory remarks by San Marcos police officers. The details were first reported by the Texas Tribune.

The city of San Marcos released a statement Tuesday denying the allegations and declining to comment further.

However, the city did appear to acknowledge a series of text messages between the citys public safety director, Chase Stapp, and members of the police department that were included in the plaintiffs amended filing.

In the process of preparing documents to turn over to the plaintiffs in this case as part of the discovery process in late October 2021, we have learned of some insensitive comments made between employees, the citys statement said. These are not in keeping with the values of our organization, so San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge is addressing those comments according to normal disciplinary procedures.

According to text messages obtained by the plaintiffs lawyers and included in the revised complaint, Stapp exchanged messages with Assistant Police Chief Brandon Winkenwerder and other officers on the night of the incident.

In one exchange, an officer asked did Kamala show?  a reference to Bidens vice-presidential running mate, Kamala Harris  and Stapp answered, no, just a couple other yards, which the plaintiffs lawyers claim was a misspelling of his intended word, tards.

In another text, Stapp said: from what I gather, the Biden bus never even exited I-35 thanks to the Trump escort.

Lawyers for Stapp filed an answer to the complaint in July, contesting some of the allegations and maintaining that Stapp didnt have enough information about the other allegations to respond.

Winkenwerder and Police Corp. Matthew Daenzer were served with the revised complaint on Monday and have not yet filed a response.

All six San Marcos city council members and Mayor Jane Hughson did not respond to emails requesting comment on the matter.

The lawsuit was filed by lawyers for the Texas Civil Rights Project, the Protect Democracy Project Inc. and Willkie, Farr and Gallagher, LLP, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm.

In addition to Stapp, Winkenwerder and Daenzer, the suit names the city of San Marcos as a defendant.

Jared Davidson, an attorney for Protect Democracy, said the case was filed to seek accountability for political violence.

It seeks to send a strong message that in a democracy, political intimidation along the lines of what the Trump Train perpetrated in San Marcos will not be tolerated, he said.

In the initial complaint, the four plaintiffs claim they suffer from ongoing psychological and emotional injury as a result of the events of Oct. 30, 2020. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages, including attorneys fees and litigation costs. The plaintiffs include former state Sen. Wendy Davis, who was running for Congress at the time.

According to the complaint, the Biden staffers and volunteers were headed to a campaign stop at Texas State University in San Marcos for a planned last-minute event before the polls closed. As it headed north on I-35 in New Braunfels, the bus was surrounded by dozens of Trump Train drivers.

The lawsuit alleges that the pro-Trump motorists apparently had been goaded by the Presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., who told Texas supporters in a tweet on Oct. 28 supporters to have some fun and give the Biden-Harris campaign a nice Trump Train welcome.

The lawsuit says the Trump Train participants drove recklessly, swerving from lane to lane, braking suddenly in front the bus and trying to force it off the road.

Members of the New Braunfels Police Department escorted the bus on I-35 after it was surrounded.

Emergency dispatchers in New Braunfels called San Marcos police as the bus approached the city line, warning about the Trump Train and attempting to arrange a hand-off to San Marcos police escorts, according to the lawsuit.

But the San Marcos escorts never arrived, the lawsuit says.

Video and photos posted to social media and included in the complaint show 40 to 50 Trump Train vehicles surrounding the Biden bus.

Staffers on the bus and a Biden volunteer traveling behind it called 911 and spoke to San Marcos dispatchers, asking for police assistance. They said they feared for their lives, but they received no help until the bus crossed into Kyle city limits and Kyle police escorted the bus, according to the lawsuit.

The Biden campaign canceled events at Texas State and in Austin as a result of the incident.

One car was damaged when a truck driven by a Trump supporter allegedly collided with a rental car driven by a Biden staffer.

Annie Blanks writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. annie.blanks@express-news.net.
When a trickle of Air Force recruits in basic training refused the militarys new requirement that all personnel must get vaccinated against the coronavirus, commanders realized they had a problem.

So last month, they started making enlistees sign a document, DD Form 4, before being sworn in and put on a plane to San Antonio, acknowledging that, yes, following orders includes getting your shots.

Its close to a non-issue now, said Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service.

On ExpressNews.com: Defense Secretary Austin orders mandatory COVID vaccinations for all troops

Basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland graduates about 37,000 new airmen per year, so the scale of refusal there was miniscule, with just 23 who had already arrived being told to leave.

Tuesday was the Air Force and Space Force deadline for active-duty service members to be vaccinated under a militarywide directive issued in August by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

About 3 percent in the Air Force have not complied, the service said Wednesday. They include 800 personnel who have flatly refused and almost 5,000 who have sought  but so far not received  religious exemptions. Some have received medical exemptions.

Fifteen airmen in technical training schools around the country decided not to take the shot. Another 62 recruits awaiting training were discharged after telling commanders they did not want to be vaccinated, Thomas said.

Decisions about how to handle each refusal to take the vaccine will be nuanced and depend partly on service records, with some receiving exemptions and those who leave the Air Force likely to get varying types of discharges, he said.

Those in basic training or anyone in the Air Force for 180 days or less who abruptly terminate their fledgling military careers qualify for an entry-level separation with no characterization of their discharge, which for active-duty troops can range from honorable to dishonorable.

In Thomass own command, only two airmen out of 2,500 serving in the JBSA-Randolph-based recruiting service objected to the vaccine mandate and asked for voluntary separation from the Air Force. They will be required to pay back bonuses or other financial incentives they might have received, he said.

I dont think that is probably out of step with most of the broader Air Force right now, Thomas added.

Vaccine-driven discharges had minimal impact on our training effort, he said. Basic training was off to a strong start for the new fiscal year, with a recruiting goal similar to the one that just ended: 26,151 active-duty enlisted airmen, 8,000 Reservists, 8,000 Air National Guardsmen, and 500 members of the fledgling Space Force.

The service also plans to bring on 1,500 officers from college ROTC programs, 1,000 from the Air Force Academy and another 1,000 in Officer Candidate School.

On ExpressNews.com: Masked and made over

Until the defense secretarys directive, vaccinations against the coronavirus had been available and recommended but optional for Air Force personnel, basic trainees included.

Thomas said the recruiting service and Air Education and Training Command had received regular medical intelligence briefings for months so commanders could be as up to date as possible on the latest COVID-19 vaccine research. The idea, he said, was to give airmen solid sources of information so they could make informed decisions.

Now, Im specifically talking about those people who have demonstrated hesitancy or concern, but at the same time, make no mistake, this is a lawful order, Thomas said. We made it clear to our airmen. Weve directed them to be vaccinated, we do believe its a matter of military readiness, but at the same time we want to be as understanding as we can as we carry out the program.

The recruits refusal to take the COVID vaccine at Lackland came to Thomass attention in mid-September, when Maj. Gen. Michele Edmondson, commander of the 2nd Air Force, asked him about it. Her command oversees 2,300 active training courses given to around 150,000 Defense Department and international student graduates every year.

The COVID vaccine has been the target of hyperpartisan debate as well as criticism from those concerned about its safety and some who oppose vaccinations outright. So far 192 million Americans have been fully immunized, about 58 percent of the U.S. population. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

About 97 percent of military personnel have been vaccinated with at least one dose, including 99 percent of all sailors, 97 percent of airmen, and 93 percent of Marines, a Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, said this week.

The vaccination rate for the Army now stands above 90 percent. Army spokesman Bruce Anderson said all active-duty units are expected to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 15, with Reserve and National Guard units to be immunized by June 30.

Soldiers are required to receive the vaccine when available and directed by their commander, and our order authorizes command actions establishes consequences for those who fail to do so without an authorized exemption, he said in an emailed statement.

On ExpressNews.com: Ready for the shot: At Fort Sam, arguments over COVID vaccine are mostly over

The Air Force set the earliest vaccine deadline for active-duty service members. The Navys 350,000 active-duty sailors will have to be fully immunized by Nov. 28 and its 50,000 reservists by Dec. 28. The deadline for the nations 180,000 active-duty Marines is Nov. 28, and Dec. 28 for reservists.

Thomas echoed Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, who said Austin has been very clear with the leaders of the military departments that he wants them to execute the mandate with a sense of compassion and understanding.

We understand theres a lot of sensitivity, Thomas said. This has been a highly publicized issue. Ive got members in my own family who are hesitant about the vaccine.

Thomas said those who refuse will subject to a full range of actions, from letters of counseling, admonishment or reprimand to separation from the Air Force.

Each of these cases is unique. Were considering their service, their record, what their trend line has been in terms of their performance, are there other extenuating circumstances in their life or their career, he said. So just like any other infraction or just like any other failure to obey an order, were looking at each of those based on the unique merits of the case.

In the end, however, some airmen will remain defiant, Thomas warned.

Ive talked to very intelligent, committed people who are passionate about this and as a commander or family member Ive done my best to try be able to unemotionally convey facts, be able to talk about this logically, he said. Were not going to convince everyone.

sigc@express-news.net
Parents of children 5 to 11 in Bexar County can now get them vaccinated against COVID-19  starting this week at some providers  after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday approved the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for that age group.

Claude Jacob, director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, estimated that 330,000 children now will be eligible for the vaccine.

The child-size dose, which was recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a CDC advisory panel, comes as nearly 6.4 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. About 1 million of those infections have occurred since early September, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

More than 900 health care providers across Texas will receive 1.3 million doses of Pfizers pediatric COVID-19 vaccine over the next week. Thirty-four providers in Bexar County will receive the shots, with 5,400 allocated to University Health.

As distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine for children ramps up in the coming days, heres what parents need to know.

Where to get vaccinated

Parents are encouraged to contact their childs pediatrician to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

The Childrens Hospital of San Antonio began administering the COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 17 on Wednesday. Schedule an appointment online or by calling 210-704-2011.

University Health will begin vaccinating children Thursday at the Wonderland of the Americas mall at 4522 Fredericksburg Road. Appointments are required for children 5 to 11 and can be scheduled at University Healths website. For those 12 and older, appointments are not necessary.

On ExpressNews.com: Where Texans can find the COVID vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds

Pharmacies, such as CVS and Walgreens, will be accepting appointments for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for children 5 to 11 starting Saturday. Parents can sign their children up for appointments at Walgreens at Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine or at CVS on its COVID website.

H-E-B will begin offering the pediatric vaccine in select stores starting Monday. Appointments can be scheduled online at heb.com/vaccine.

Children can receive the COVID-19 vaccine at Metro Healths drive-thru site at the Alamodome and at its various vaccine pop-up clinics starting Nov. 10. Register for a vaccination at the Alamodome at Metro Healths website.

A list of Texas providers is available here. Parents can also check vaccines.gov.

Also, San Antonio Independent School District is working with South Texas Allergy & Asthma Medical Professionals to hold vaccine clinics for children 5 to 11. The clinics will be held from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 and Nov. 19, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. Information is available at www.saisd.net.

Why should I vaccinate my child?

Children who contract the coronavirus may get COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, which can sometimes require hospitalization and in rarer cases lead to death. They could also develop long-term complications known as long covid. Since the delta variant emerged, the CDC reported that COVID-19 hospitalizations in children increased fivefold. Children 5 to 11 make up 39% of cases among those under 18, and 8,300 COVID-19 cases in that age range have resulted in hospitalization. As of Oct. 17, the CDC reported 146 deaths of children 5 to 11.

Is it safe to vaccinate your child?

Yes. The Food and Drug Administration concluded that the Pfizer vaccine is nearly 91% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children and that the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh its risks. Roughly 3,100 children 5 to 11 received the vaccine during trials, and there have been no serious side effects.

The Pfizer dose is lower for young children  10 micrograms instead of 30 micrograms. The child vaccine will be administered in two doses, three weeks apart.

Are there side effects?

In clinical trials, side effects from the child vaccine were mild and similar to those seen in adults and with other vaccines recommended for children. The most common side effect was a sore arm, while some experienced headaches, fatigue, joint pain, chills, fever and nausea. Most children reported side effects after the second dose rather than the first.

Side effects tend to subside within two days.

What about severe allergic reactions?

A registered nurse or doctor will administer the vaccine to children and will wait 15 to 30 minutes to monitor for adverse reactions. If a child has an allergic reaction  such as anaphylaxis  an emergency team will be close by to help.

Severe reactions from the COVID-19 vaccine have been rare.

Can I get Moderna or Johnson & Johnson for my children?

As of right now, Pfizer is the only vaccine approved for children 5 to 11.

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

Cayla Harris reports from the Express-News Austin Bureau. cayla.harris@express-news.net

laura.garcia@express-news.net
San Antonio is suing McKinsey & Co., a consultant to blue-chip corporations and governments around the world, accusing the firm of unlawfully helping pharmaceutical companies increase sales of opioids and creating and deepening the addiction to the drug.

The federal lawsuit accuses the firm of violating the federal Racketeer Influence Corrupt Organizations Act. The federal law is normally used to dismantle criminal racketeering conspiracies, like the mafia. On the civil side, RICO lawsuits have been used to highlight wrongdoing at corporations and allow plaintiffs to recover three times the damages if their litigation is successful.

The state of Texas had already reached a $38.4 million settlement in February in its legal battle with McKinsey  a piece of the more than $640 million that McKinsey agreed to pay to all 50 states. But San Antonio  like other local governments  is moving forward with its own suit against McKinsey.

The settlements came after lawsuits unearthed piles of documents showing how McKinsey worked to drive sales of Purdue Pharmas OxyContin painkiller amid an opioid crisis that has contributed to the deaths of more than 450,000 people over the past two decades.

McKinseys extensive work with Purdue included advising it to focus on selling lucrative high-dose pills, the records show, even after the drugmaker pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal criminal charges that it had misled doctors and regulators about OxyContins risks. The firm also told Purdue that it could band together with other opioid makers to head off strict treatment by the Food and Drug Administration.

Since the state agreements were announced earlier this year, more than 20 cities, counties and Native American tribes have sued the consultant, hoping for their own payouts. Many are at odds with their state governments about how the $641.5 million settlements will be divvied up.

Some local governments want to avoid opioid litigation becoming a repeat of the 1998 settlement that ended lawsuits against big tobacco, where much of the $246 billion that tobacco makers paid ended up in state general funds.

San Antonios lawsuit says that in the years following Purdues 2007 guilty plea, McKinsey specifically sought to maximize OxyContin sales by working around the requirements of a corporate integrity agreement that Purdue entered as part of its guilty plea.

McKinsey also performed related work for other manufacturers of opioids, including Johnson & Johnson, the suit says.

Through the conduct described in (the) complaint, McKinsey participated in and helped orchestrate a broad scheme to deceptively market opioids, the citys lawsuit says. McKinsey knew of the dangers of opioids and of Purdue's prior misconduct, but nonetheless advised Purdue to improperly market and sell OxyContin, supplying granular sales and marketing strategies and remaining intimately involved throughout implementation of those strategies. McKinsey's actions resulted in a surge in sales of OxyContin and other opioids that fueled and prolonged the opioid crisis.

A spokesperson for McKinsey said in an emailed statement that it intends to defend itself against municipal lawsuits over its work with pharmaceutical companies .

McKinsey believes that work was lawful and has denied allegations to the contrary, the statement said. The recent settlements with state attorneys general provided us an opportunity to be part of the solution to the opioid epidemic and contained no admission of wrongdoing or liability.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
Recently, the Department of Homeland Security announced a 60-day public comment period in efforts to strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, as the initiative approaches its 10-year anniversary this summer.

Dreamers, and those who rely on them, continue to face inaction. This rulemaking also comes as a federal judge in Texas ruled against the programs legality, suspending new DACA applications from being processed earlier this year. A permanent solution that allows individuals living under these temporary restraints is needed to secure their legal status. This isnt a solution the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, or the courts can provide. Its one only Congress can deliver.

A large part of what makes Texas successful is the competitive and diverse business environment weve fostered. This has attracted workers of all backgrounds and across all industries who are the backbone of our states success; they include 390,000 Dreamers.

On ExpressNews.com: Ayala: DACA doesn't just benefit Dreamers; in the long run, we benefit, too

Dreamers came to the United States at a young age and know no other place as home. In fact, a new analysis shows many Dreamers have experienced important life milestones in the U.S., such as starting a family, pursuing higher education and buying a home. This is due in large part because of the protections and opportunities DACA provides. More than 85 percent of DACA recipients arrived before they were teenagers and have grown to become graduates, professionals and parents to more than 400,000 U.S. citizens. Currently, 77 percent of DACA recipients are participating in the labor force with more than 30,000 in Texas working in essential industries, including farming, food service, health care and education.

Although DACA offers temporary deportation protections and not all Dreamers may qualify, the program has undeniably changed the course of young immigrants lives while simultaneously benefiting our economy and workforce. Despite these benefits, Congress has yet to pass immigration reform that provides permanent relief for DACA recipients and all Dreamers.

Each year, the Dreamer population in Texas adds $7.3 billion to our economy and pays $900 million in federal taxes  not to mention the hundreds of millions in state and local taxes, which help fund our infrastructure, schools, emergency response programs and more. Theyre also business owners, entrepreneurs and innovators, helping to diversify Main Street and create jobs. This type of support for Texas business landscape is something we at the Texas Business Leadership Council have been monitoring, and we have been persistently vocal in our support for Dreamers.

As Congress works to evaluate various legislative avenues to pass immigration reform, I am calling on the Texas delegation in Congress to stand up for Dreamers. Legislation such as the bipartisan Dream Act could allow a majority of Texas Dreamers to adjust their status, a legislative fix that is long overdue. A congressional solution is critical to ensuring that Dreamers can continue living in and contributing to the country and state they call home, and it is my hope that our elected leaders in Washington do not let the opportunity to protect these young immigrants slip by.

On ExpressNews.com: Showing its age, DACA can't protect many Dreamers heading to college in San Antonio

Further, I encourage business leaders, employers and all Texans to take the time to submit a comment to DHS explaining how important DACA is for diversity and innovation within our states labor force. DACA recipients and all Dreamers offer invaluable contributions and, while temporary, we must strengthen the program until a broader bipartisan solution is found.

Justin Yancy is the president of the Texas Business Leadership Council.
In 2017, after the shock of Brexit and then Donald Trumps election, Christopher Bail, a professor of sociology and public policy at Duke University, set out to study what would happen if you forced people out of their social media echo chambers.

Bail is the director of the Polarization Lab, a team of social scientists, computer scientists and statisticians who study how technology amplifies political divisions. He and his colleagues came up with a simple experiment. As Bail writes in his recent book, Breaking the Social Media Prism, they recruited 1,220 Twitter users who identified as either Democrats or Republicans, offering to pay them $11 to follow a particular Twitter account for a month. Although the participants didnt know it, the Democrats were assigned to follow a bot account that retweeted messages from prominent Republican politicians and thinkers. The Republicans, in turn, followed a bot account that retweeted Democrats.

At the time, a lot of concern about the internets role in political polarization revolved around what digital activist Eli Pariser once called filter bubbles, a term for the way an increasingly personalized internet traps people in self-reinforcing information silos. The echo chamber idea was reaching its kind of apex in terms of its public influence, Bail told me. It nicely explained how Trump had won, how Brexit had happened. Bails team wanted to see if getting people to engage with ideas they wouldnt otherwise encounter might moderate their views.

On ExpressNews.com: Goldberg: The intolerable wait for a kids' vaccine

The opposite happened. Nobody became more moderate, Bail said. Republicans in particular became much more conservative when they followed the Democratic bot, and Democrats became a little bit more liberal.

Social media platforms have long justified themselves with the idea that connecting people would make the world more open and humane. In offline life, after all, meeting lots of different kinds of people tends to broaden the mind, turning caricatures into complicated individuals. Its understandable that many once believed the same would be true on the internet.

But it turns out theres nothing intrinsically good about connection, especially online. On the internet, exposure to people unlike us often makes us hate them, and that hatred increasingly structures our politics. The social corrosion caused by Facebook and other platforms isnt a side effect of bad management and design decisions. Its baked into social media itself.

There are many reasons Facebook and the social media companies that came after it are implicated in democratic breakdown, communal violence around the world and cold civil war in America. They are engines for spreading disinformation and algorithmic jet fuel for conspiracy theories. They reward people for expressing anger and contempt with the same sort of dopamine hit you get from playing slot machines.

As the recent Facebook leaks reveal, Mark Zuckerberg has made many immoral and despicable decisions. But even if he were a good and selfless person, Facebook would still probably be socially destructive, just as most other big social media platforms are.

It turns out that in a country as large and diverse as ours, a certain amount of benign neglect of other peoples odd folkways is more conducive to social peace than a constant, in-your-face awareness of clashing sensibilities. Little is gained when people in my corner of Brooklyn gawk at viral images of Christmas cards featuring families armed to the teeth. And people in conservative communities dont need to hear about it every time San Francisco considers renaming a public school.

Right-wing politics has come to revolve around infuriating imagined liberal observers. Its as if angry conservatives live with hectoring progressives in their heads all the time. Social media may not have created this mentality, but it badly exacerbates it. After all, theres no point owning the libs if none are watching.

On ExpressNews.com: Goldberg: Loneliness is breaking America

The value of psychic distance can apply within communities as well as between them. In 2017, Deb Roy, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Constructive Communication and former chief media scientist at Twitter, held informal meetings in small towns to talk to people about social media. Several times, people told him they had given up speaking to neighbors or others in town after seeing them express their opinions online.

Roy believes that the potential for a healthy social media exists  he points to Front Porch Forum, the heavily moderated, highly localized platform for people who live in Vermont. But its notable that his best example is something so small, quirky and relatively low-tech. Sure, there are ways of communicating over the internet that dont promote animosity, but probably not with the platforms that are now dominant. In a country descending into a perpetual state of screeching acrimony, we might be able to tolerate each other more if we heard from each other less.
After nearly three hours of oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, it appears the majority of Supreme Court justices are poised to overrule Texas draconian abortion law.

Its a fools game to predict any Supreme Court decision, but the critical and skeptical line of questioning from many of the justices, particularly conservatives Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, underscored serious concerns about the laws unique and troubling structure.

Texas newest abortion law allows any private citizen to sue an abortion provider or any other person, including a driver, who helps a woman obtain an abortion. If successful, they can collect a bounty.

On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: Troubling implications of egregious abortion law

Its a blatantly unconstitutional law, upending decades of precedent. The law bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy  before most women even know they are pregnant. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. The Supreme Court erred in allowing it to take effect and should quickly overturn it.

While the Texas law has enormous implications for abortion rights and womens health  this is a brazen effort to hollow out the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling  the Supreme Courts focus is on the unique and troubling structure of the law, known as Senate Bill 8.

Justices focused on the question from abortion providers as to whether the state can insulate from federal-court review a law that prohibits the exercise of a constitutional right by offloading its enforcement to the general public.

In other words, SB 8 has created an unprecedented vigilante system that provides incentives for anyone to sue abortion providers, who then must defend themselves in court at enormous cost. The chilling effects arent hypothetical. Its virtually impossible for a woman to have a legal abortion in Texas.

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar called the statute unprecedented, extraordinary, and extraordinarily dangerous for our constitutional structure.

Prelogar explained the law was designed to thwart the supremacy of federal law in open defiance of our constitutional structure. ...

As the Department of Justice argued, under such a structure, no constitutional right is safe.

On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: Heartbeat bill can't be fixed, must be overturned

Kavanaugh appeared particularly concerned about this, emphasizing how the laws structure could open the door for other states to pass laws that would intrude on constitutionally protected rights: It could be free speech rights. It could be free-exercise-of-religion rights. It could be Second Amendment rights, he said.

As if on cue, the Texas Tribune reported Tuesday night that a gun rights group filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to Texas abortion law, fearful that similar statutes could be crafted in other states to target gun ownership.

This case is about how far a State may go in deterring the exercise of any and all individual constitutional rights, they asserted.

This alone is ample reason for the Supreme Court to quickly overturn SB 8.

The Supreme Court should never have allowed this law to take effect. While the line of questioning from a majority of justices suggests the Texas law will be overturned, the fate of abortion rights is still precarious.

When justices hear arguments in a restrictive 2018 Mississippi law that seeks to ban abortions at 15 weeks, they should weigh it is as another dangerous measure that not only chips away at womens rights to abortion  but to all of Americas sacred constitutional protections.
Zachary Sutterfield and his parents were hoping a jury trial would give them answers and help educate the public about safety lapses at a San Marcos apartment building where an arsonist set a catastrophic fire that critically burned him and killed five people.

But those expectations were dashed Wednesday when they learned the trial was called off because the last remaining defendant in a civil lawsuit reached a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs.

As a result, the Sutterfields said, the public might never learn what went wrong at Iconic Village Apartments near Texas State University on July 20, 2018  or why flames swept so quickly through a 28-unit building, giving sleeping college students very little time to escape.

The civil case that appeared headed for trial argued that the owner and managers of the apartments, among other defendants, were responsible for the disaster and should pay damages because they allowed unsafe conditions, such as a lack of fire sprinklers, unreliable smoke detectors and a flawed roof design that fed oxygen to the fire.

That lawsuit was lodged by the parents of James Phillip Miranda, 23, one of the five young adults killed, and 13 tenants who were injured or suffered lingering ailments from the fire.

Because so many defendants reached settlements to resolve the lawsuit before a courtroom trial  and since the terms of such agreements are confidential  Sutterfield, 23, of San Angelo, feels there is no accountability.

Theres no justice  theres just been payouts, said the Angelo State University student, who suffered third-degree burns to almost 70 percent of his body and a traumatic brain injury as he fled the burning building and leaped from a second-story balcony. Theres no one thats going to be held responsible or held accountable.

Just to know that there isnt going to be anybody that takes blame or takes fault for this  and its not going to lead to any change, these payouts, these settlements  if no ones going to be held accountable, then its more likely to happen again, this exact situation.

On ExpressNews.com: Accelerant used in deadly San Marcos fire

The inferno erupted at 4:27 a.m. on July 20, 2018, as most residents were asleep at the apartments at 222 Ramsay St. It swiftly engulfed an entire building, killing the victims who lived in four separate upstairs apartments there  Dru Estes, 20, of San Antonio; Belinda Moats, 21, of Big Wells; Haley Michele Frizzell, 19, of San Angelo; David Angel Ortiz, 21, of Pasadena; and Miranda, who was from Mount Pleasant.

All of their deaths were ruled homicides.

More than three years later, that crime is still unsolved. The arsonists identity and motive remain a mystery.

And the Sutterfields fear people wont learn about the lack of safety measures at other older apartment buildings across San Marcos, Texas and the nation  protections such as fire sprinklers, central fire alarms and firebreaks in attics, none of which was found at Iconic Village.

Deona Jo DJ Sutterfield, Zachary Sutterfields mother, expressed disappointment that the public wont get answers from a civil jury trial.

I wish that people could see the testimonies and the information on how unsafe this building was so that they could actually protect their family members, she said.

I dont know that well ever have closure because there are still five kids dead. There are still many suffering.

The Sutterfields werent part of the lawsuit. They previously filed a separate lawsuit and settled out of court with the apartments owner and managers.

Sutterfield was staying with his friends, Frizzell and Ortiz, when the catastrophe occurred. All three of them ran outside together to try to escape.

On ExpressNews.com: A fire killed his friends, a leap saved his life  Zachary Sutterfield wonders why he was the lucky one

Investigators concluded someone intentionally set the fire. In the three years since, no one has been arrested or charged.

In pretrial testimony earlier this year, a real estate investor who manages the partnership that owns the apartments claimed the arsonist used an accelerant to ignite the inferno.

Investigators declined to comment on his allegation. Nothing else surfaced in public court filings related to the lawsuit to support his claims that an accelerant was used.

A Houston-area fire expert hired by the plaintiffs, Michael Chaney of Premier Claims Investigations, concluded through his own investigation that the blaze started at the southeast quadrant of the victims building  an area near an alleyway and another apartment building. Chaney documented his conclusions in a report recently made public as an exhibit in the lawsuit file.

The fire raged for hours and eventually spread to two nearby apartment buildings.

Some survivors said they never heard their smoke detectors sound off or that they began beeping well after the danger began, but the defendants contested claims that the devices didnt work.

The apartments also lacked a central fire alarm, and no firebreaks were installed in an attic-like space that was created when a pitched metal roof was built on top of the pre-existing shingle roof a year before the disaster, pretrial testimony and court documents revealed.

And the apartments had no fire sprinklers. Iconic Village was built in 1970 when the city of San Marcos followed a building code that didnt require new buildings to install them.

At the time of the disaster, the city followed the International Fire Code, which didnt require retrofitting existing buildings with sprinklers unless the structure underwent significant renovations.

On ExpressNews.com: Victims families stunned that deadly apartment fire was deliberate

After the deaths, San Marcos fire code was changed to require fire sprinklers in any older apartment buildings that experience a fire displacing one or more residents.

Many defendants targeted by the lawsuit reached settlements with the plaintiffs in recent weeks, effectively resolving the claims lodged against them. Those defendants included the corporate owner of the apartments, its property management firm, a regional operations manager, a leasing manager and other companies.

The last defendant in the case, CBRE Loan Services, reached a settlement agreement Tuesday, on the eve of trial. Jury selection was supposed to begin Wednesday.

Attorneys for the company  a subservicer of the owners loan on the Iconic Village property  didnt respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Neither did attorneys for the plaintiffs who sued.

Like the Sutterfields, families of the other victims  Estes, Moats, Frizzell and Ortiz  settled out of court after filing lawsuits against the apartment complexs owner and managers.

San Antonio resident Troy Estes, whose son, Dru Estes, was among the five victims killed, wasnt surprised the lawsuit was resolved and didnt think a trial would reveal any new details on who started the fire.

He and his wife, Cheryl, remain focused on their desire for the person who set the fire to be arrested and charged.

We just want whoever is responsible, whoever set the fire, whoever killed our kids to be held accountable, Troy Estes said Wednesday. Thats what we want. I dont think any information that would have come out (in a civil trial) would have pointed in that direction.

On ExpressNews.com: Families, investigators hope dramatic boost in reward helps solve mystery of deadly San Marcos fire

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives continues leading the criminal investigation into who set the fire. The San Marcos Fire Marshals Office is supporting that effort.

ATF officials recently said they remain optimistic the person or people responsible for the crime will be brought to justice. The bureau is following up on every lead, they said.

A $110,000 reward is still being offered for information leading to the identification or arrest of the person who ignited the blaze. Investigators urge anyone with information to call 1-888-ATF-TIPS or to email ATFTips@atf.gov.

The Sutterfields have started a nonprofit, Brighter Than The Fire, which aims to educate the public about fire safety and the need for renters to check apartments for fire sprinklers, central fire alarms and firebreaks in attic spaces before signing leases.

The lawsuits resolution and the lack of a courtroom trial wont slow their mission, they said.

Were going to keep pushing the retrofitting of buildings, DJ Sutterfield said. Were going to keep knocking on doors, and were going to keep nagging people, and were going to keep speaking about what happened that day.

Zachary Sutterfield wishes there was more legislative action requiring older apartment buildings to be equipped with fire sprinklers and other fire protection measures. He believes the public would be better educated on the issue had a civil trial occurred.

I wish there was more that came from this, he said. Theres things that I still want to know (in this case) that Ill never be able to know. Thats saddening as I wont be able to close that book or that chapter.

pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: Peggy_OHare
Voters in Connecticut had until 8 p.m. to cast their ballots on Tuesday to decide on local leaders in hundreds of contested races.

This election focused on local offices from top municipal executives, such as mayors or first selectmen, to boards of education, zoning boards and town clerks. There were a number of closely watched races across the state, including the mayoral elections in Stamford and Danbury.
DETROIT (AP)  Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan easily defeated attorney Anthony Adams in Tuesdays election to win a third four-year term leading the Motor City.

Duggan was the clear favorite after first winning in 2013, taking over in January 2014, just after the city emerged from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. He easily won a second term in 2017.

The incumbent won more than 72% of the votes in the August primary in which the top two vote-getters in the nonpartisan primary moved on to the general election.

The people of the city have just been tremendously supportive of me for the last eight years. It meant a lot, Duggan said ahead of the vote.

Duggan is a former county prosecutor and medical center chief executive and the citys first white mayor since the early 1970s. The majority-Black city has posted balanced budgets and improved services to residents following the bankruptcy and during Duggans tenure.

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic Duggan pushed for mass COVID-19 testing for Detroit residents and began mass vaccinations when vaccines became available last winter.

His administration has tackled blight, demolishing about 19,000 vacant and abandoned houses since 2014, but most of that work was paid with federal funds.

Adams was an executive assistant under Coleman A. Young, Detroits first Black mayor, and was deputy mayor under Kwame Kilpatrick. In more recent years, Adams has been interim director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, general counsel for Detroit Public Schools and an elected school board member and board president.

Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey had said a turnout of about 15% to 20% of the citys 500,000 registered voters was expected Tuesday. That percentage is on par for a mayoral election, Winfrey said.
MANILA, Philippines (AP)  Human rights groups asked the Philippine Commission on Elections to disqualify the son and namesake of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos from running for president in next years elections, saying he was convicted of tax evasion, could no longer hold public office and kept the damaging details from the public.

Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr.s spokesman, Victor Rodriguez, on Wednesday called the petition propaganda and said they would address this predictable nuisance when they receive a formal copy of it. The issue, which should be resolved by elections commissioners before the May 9 vote, could spark a legal battle that could go all the way to the Supreme Court.

Marcos Jr. registered his candidacy early last month, angering activists who recalled the widespread human rights atrocities and plunder that marked the martial law era under his father, who was toppled in an army-backed people power revolt in 1986. The ousted president died in exile in Hawaii three years later without admitting any wrongdoing, including accusations that he and his family amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.

Marcos Jr. has called the allegations against his father lies.

At least six groups of petitioners asked the elections commission Tuesday to either cancel or reject Marcos' candidacy because of false material representation for declaring his eligibility to run despite his 1995 tax evasion conviction.

Petitioners claim that Marcos is not eligible to run for any public office as he is, plainly, a convicted criminal, the groups said in their joint petition. His declaration of eligibility to seek public office was made with the deliberate intent to mislead, misinform and deceive the electorate.

Marcos Jr. was convicted in July 1995 of failing to file mandatory income tax returns from 1982 to 1985, a decision which was upheld by Manilas Court of Appeals. The conviction became final in 2001, when he withdrew his appeal before the Supreme Court, making him ineligible to hold any public office under the law, according to the petitioners and their lawyer, Theodore Te.

Its unclear how Marcos Jr. managed to stay as governor of northern Ilocos Norte province until 2007, unless his conviction was overlooked by the government or nobody challenged it. In 2010, he successfully ran for a Senate seat, and in 2016, he sought the vice presidency but was narrowly defeated and then unsuccessfully challenged the results.

The petitioners also accused Marcos Jr. and his family of failing to pay estate taxes with penalties and interests of more than 203 billion pesos ($4 billion) following his fathers death in 1989 in Hawaii despite repeated government demands. The crime involved moral turpitude, which should be another reason for him to be barred from any government post, the petitioners said.

Ferdinard Marcos placed the Philippines under martial rule in 1972, a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress and newspaper offices, ordered the arrest of political opponents and ruled by decree.

A Hawaii court found him liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.

His widow, Imelda Marcos, and her children were allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991, and have since made a political comeback, winning seats in Congress and powerful provincial posts and laying the ground for a return to the presidential palace and the top job they felt was stolen from them.

Marcos Jr., 64, is one of at least five key candidates who have declared their intention to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been in the crosshairs of human rights groups himself for a brutal crackdown on illegal drugs that has left thousands of suspects dead.

The aspirants include Vice President Leni Robredo, the opposition leader who narrowly defeated Marcos Jr. in the 2016 vice presidential race. She has criticized him for his refusal to apologize and express remorse for the massive abuses under his fathers brutal dictatorship.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday while attending the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, an event that has drawn world leaders and tens of thousands of other people from around the world.

His office announced a positive test result in a tweet, adding only: He is feeling good and isolating in his hotel room. He is fully vaccinated.

The climate summit is taking place at a time of very high coronavirus rates in the United Kingdom. The conference's United Nations organizers laid down rigid rules to guard against infection, including requiring each attendee to wear a mask and show daily proof of a negative result to enter the venue each morning.

Garcetti arrived Monday on a train with other mayors from around the world, including from London, Paris, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Freetown, Sierra Leone. Garcetti has been among countless political and science leaders giving speeches, appearing on panels, posing for group photos and conferring with others at the climate talks.

Like many other participants, Garcetti varied between wearing a mask and not, photos from the summit show.

In an interview from his hotel room with KNX radio in Los Angeles, Garcetti said he was experiencing a mild scratchy throat and slightly runny nose but otherwise was feeling good.

He said he was hoping the test was incorrect  a so-called false positive -- but planned to keep up a regular work schedule if required to continue a quarantine at his hotel.

President Joe Biden nominated Garcetti as ambassador to India and he is awaiting confirmation in the Senate.

Garcettis 9-year-old daughter contracted coronavirus last December, when Los Angeles was experiencing its worst surge. Garcetti and his wife never got it but were forced to quarantine with their daughter.

Summit spokesman Alexander Saier declined comment, saying officials were not speaking on individual cases.

About 25,000 people picked up badges at the summit, Laura Lopez, conference affairs director for the summit, said Wednesday before news of Garcetti's positive test. Of them, 97% have been vaccinated.

Lopez said there had been roughly eight COVID cases, including one U.N. employee.

On Monday, the day world leaders spoke at the summit, about 1,000 people came to the front turnstiles without doing their lateral flow tests, she said. They were taken to a separate site and tested before being allowed in.

Organizers briefly closed the entry points that same day when the number of people inside hit 10,000, another precaution against infection.

Britains government recorded 33,865 infections Tuesday and 293 deaths, the highest daily death figure since February. While the number of cases have been coming down from a peak of around 46,000 a day in October, the countrys case rates are still much higher than in most of Europe.

So-called breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated people are rare, although vaccinated people can spread the virus to others.

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Michael Blood in Los Angeles, California, contributed to this story.

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Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate.

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Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
LANSING, Mich. (AP)  Top state health officials, pediatricians and vaccine advocates on Wednesday urged parents to get Michigan's 825,000 children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated against COVID-19, as appointments began opening after the U.S. gave the final signoff to Pfizer's kid-size shots.

More than 450 children under age 12 are becoming infected with the coronavirus each day in the state. The risk of severe disease and death is low in young children. But experts said there is no way to know how serious an individual case will be, saying vaccinations are the way out of the pandemic.

Yesterday's decision will help move us forward towards safer classrooms, family gatherings, participation in sports, celebrations and all kinds of other milestones," said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state's chief medical executive. She said one of the biggest benefits of the vaccine will be fewer students quarantining and missing classes due to outbreaks.

Pharmacies, local health departments and other providers have begun receiving the doses, which are a third of the amount given to teens and adults. The 5- to 11-year-olds will receive two shots, three weeks apart.

Dr. Matthew Hornik, a pediatrician in West Bloomfield and president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said about one-third of the 8,300-plus kids in that age group in the U.S. who have been hospitalized for COVID-19 required intensive care.

Our goal for our patients is to promote health and do what we can to prevent infection and illness. And we know what has worked for decades and continues to work. And that's vaccines, he said. The benefits of the vaccine greatly outweigh the risks.

State officials did not estimate how many children ages 5 to 11 may get the shots. About 62% of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated, below the 68% figure nationwide. Roughly 38% of kids 12 to 15 have been fully vaccinated since becoming eligible nearly six months ago.

Some counties' school masking requirements are set to end a certain amount of time after vaccines are available to children in kindergarten through fifth grade, typically 45 or 60 days later.

We are tremendously excited to be able to provide this next wave of vaccines to younger children.  Vaccinating just one child has the potential to save many lives, said Mary Wisinski, immunizations supervisor for the Kent County Health Department.

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Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexico health officials on Wednesday applauded the federal governments move to clear the way for COVID-19 vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11, saying the rollout will involve a robust team of physicians, pharmacies, hospitals and other health clinics.

Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Laura Parajon said children who don't get the shots will remain vulnerable.

This is really important because even though children dont usually get as sick, there are still children who can get sick from COVID and get hospitalized. Even five children have died in New Mexico, so we really want to prevent that, she said during a briefing.

The latest state data shows about one-quarter of the confirmed coronavirus infection cases reported in New Mexico over the past week were among children, but the number of hospitalizations among children has remained small. Officials also noted that there have been no deaths among children in recent weeks.

Health officials in New Mexico said they expect to receive an allocation of 90,000 doses of the pediatric vaccine over the next week. That will be enough to cover almost half of the states children ages 5 to 11.

State officials are planning to have vaccine clinics for youngsters in several cities around New Mexico in the coming weeks.

Many parents have indicated that they are reticent about getting their children inoculated. Almost two-thirds of parents in the U.S. recently polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they would either wait or not seek out the vaccines for their kids.

The vaccine for children is one-third of the dose given to older children and adults and administered with kid-sized needles. It requires two doses three weeks apart, plus two more weeks for full protection to take effect.

Parajon said there's data that shows the vaccines are safe for children, and the state will be working with providers and others on messaging aimed at easing parents' concerns. She pointed to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that estimates for every 10 children who are vaccinated, one case of COVID-19 can be prevented in another child.

Part of the goal is to reduce the opportunities the virus has to spread and mutate, state officials said.

The state Public Education Department is embarking on a new federally funded $63 million program for boosting testing in schools as a way to identify cases early on and avoid quarantines for students who have been exposed to someone who has been infected. The program is launching in Alamogordo, and numerous other schools have applied to participate.

Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus said it could take three to five weeks for schools to implement because training and certification will be required. In some cases, districts plan to hire additional staff for the program.

He said the testing program will allow students to stay in school as well as participate in extra-curricular activities and school-related competitions. He also said it will be flexible to accommodate the needs of individual districts.

The goal is to keep New Mexico students and staff safe. That's what we're working on, and we're getting better at it every week," he said. We want to minimize quarantine times, and we want to keep our kids engaged in in-person learning.

New Mexico is one of three states working with the CDC on the project. Officials said it's possible it could be expanded to pre-kindergarten programs and child care centers.

Overall, New Mexico is seeing its confirmed coronavirus infections increase, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said.

We need to be even more careful because the spread of delta is much more robust. Delta seems very effective at finding pockets in families and workplaces of unvaccinated people and spreading quite rapidly," he said, adding that booster shots and precautions such as mask wearing, social distancing and hand-washing still are important because the virus can spread among the vaccinated.

State data shows more than 27% of cases reported in New Mexico over the last four weeks were among vaccinated people. While hospitalization rates were higher among the unvaccinated, 12 vaccinated people were among those who died because of COVID-19 in the past month.
(The Center Square)  House Republicans are demanding answers from the IRS on whether millions in taxpayer dollars are being lost to waste and fraud through a new Biden administration payment plan.

House Republican leadership on Ways and Means sent a letter to the IRS with questions about the child tax credit payments, which began this year. President Joe Biden has championed the plan, which expands the child tax credit and distributes it to families usually in the form of a monthly check or direct deposit.

Republicans, though, point out that tens of billions of dollars have been lost to fraud and waste through IRS programs in recent years. They argue that is happening again with this latest program.

Approximately 4 million taxpayers who received a CTC payment via direct deposit in July were sent a paper check in August due to a programming glitch, the letter read. This has led to numerous problems with individuals not receiving the paper checks. The IRS announced that it had resolved a technical issue that caused fewer than 2%' of CTC recipients not to receive their September payment. While this statement is framed as if it is a small issue, the IRS stated that about 35 million families received payments. Two percent of 35 million equals about 700,000 families. That is not a small problem.

Data is changed and set up through an online portal, and critics say the infrastructure was rushed, making these kinds of problems inevitable.

Biden has pushed for an extension of the plan in the negotiations over reconciliation spending, but now it appears unclear whether that will happen.

Our offices have received numerous calls about these problems and of course the IRS remains unable to provide timely customer service to resolve these problems, adds the letter, which was led by Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Mike Kelly, R-Penn.

The monthly child tax credit is not the only federal payment program under scrutiny. Congress enacted federal weekly unemployment payments of $300 to combat COVID-era joblessness. Those payments expired in September, though there is a push in Congress to reinstate them.

Watchdogs say much of those funds were lost to waste and abuse.

The Government Accountability Office released a report in July that reported states and territories overpaid by nearly $13 billion between March 2020 and April 2021. Some critics say that in addition to these accidental errors, the amount lost to fraud was much higher.

In light of that data, Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office earlier this year calling for an investigation into the level of fraud and how it occurred. They estimate between $89 billion and $400 billion was lost.

It is concerning that responsibility for determining how much fraud has occurred lies scattered throughout a web of bureaucracies, the letter read. The scattering of responsibilities suggests that Congress will be ill equipped to have adequate information to assess future unemployment insurance responses to large economic shocks; and, at the same time, ensure they are not plagued by gaping security holes that allow fraudsters an open window to use to unlawfully obtained taxpayer funds.
An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) has been declared across the whole of Britain following a number of detections of bird flu in wild birds recently.

The AIPZ means that from today, there is a legal requirement for all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures as a way to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading.

Keepers with more than 500 birds will need to restrict access for non-essential people on their sites, the government said on Wednesday evening (3 November).

The introduction of the AIPZ comes just days after avian influenza was detected in captive birds at premises in Wales, England and Scotland.

The highly-pathogenic disease has also been recorded in wild birds at multiple sites across the country.

As part of the AIPZ, the government explained that workers will now need to change clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures.

Site vehicles will also need to be cleaned and disinfected regularly to limit the risk of the disease spreading, it added.

Avian influenza circulates naturally in wild birds and when they migrate to the UK from mainland Europe over the winter they can spread the disease to poultry and other captive birds.

The government said that backyard owners with smaller numbers of poultry including chickens, ducks and geese must also take steps to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

The UK health agencies advise that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the UK food standards agencies say it poses a very low food safety risk for consumers.

In a joint statement the Chief Veterinary Officers for Wales, England and Scotland said: "All bird keepers must take action now to prevent the disease spreading to poultry and other domestic birds.

Whether you keep just a few birds or thousands, you are now legally required to introduce higher biosecurity standards on your farm or small holding.

"It is in your interests to do so in order to protect your birds from this highly infectious disease," the CVOs explained.

The UK health agencies have confirmed that the risk to public health is very low and UK food standards agencies advise that bird flu poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers.

The introduction of an AIPZ zone follows a government decision to raise the risk level for avian influenza incursion in wild birds in Britain from medium to high.

For poultry and captive birds the risk level has been raised from low to medium at premises where biosecurity is below the required standards, but remains low where stringent biosecurity measures are applied.

While the AIPZ does not include a requirement to house birds, the government said this was being kept under 'constant review'.

What does the prevention zone mean?

The Avian Influenza Prevention Zone means farmers and bird keepers across Great Britain must:

 Keep domestic ducks and geese separate from other poultry

 Ensure the areas where birds are kept are unattractive to wild birds, for example by netting ponds, and by removing wild bird food sources

 Feed and water your birds in enclosed areas to discourage wild birds

 Minimise movement in and out of bird enclosures

 Clean and disinfect footwear and keep areas where birds live clean and tidy

 Reduce any existing contamination by cleansing and disinfecting concrete areas, and fencing off wet or boggy areas.

 Keep free ranging birds within fenced areas, and that ponds, watercourses and permanent standing water must be fenced off

Poultry keepers and members of the public have been told to report dead wild birds to Defras national dead wild bird helpline on 03459 33 55 77 (option 7).

Farmers and bird keepers should also report suspicion of disease to APHA on 03000 200 301.
Carbon footprint labels on food served at COP26 in Glasgow have shown that a plant-based croissant has a bigger impact on the environment than a bacon sandwich.

BBC News correspondent Adam Fleming highlighted the finding on a social media post that has gone down extremely well with pig producers and the wider sector.

He posted images showing the carbon footprint of an Ayrshire bacon Scottish morning roll to be 0.4kg CO2, while a plant-based croissant with 100% Scottish ingredients was 0.5kg CO2.

Mr Fleming said: "They have got carbon counts on all the dishes on the menu - and it turns out that a croissant, which is plant-based, which we are all told is better for the environment, actually has a slightly bigger carbon footprint than a bacon roll. Who knew?"

Here is the evidence that a croissant has a higher carbon footprint than a bacon roll, according to the @COP26 cafe menu. @BBCBreakfast @NinaWarhurst pic.twitter.com/QDqLFcgeoj  Adam Fleming (@adamfleming) November 2, 2021

The post was welcomed by pig producers, with BQP's Mark Jagger, who tweeted the original clip, saying: "Ohh, bacon roll better for the environment."

Welsh sheep farmer Gareth Wyn Jones joked that the finding was 'one positive' from the COP26 climate summit.

And Irish pig producer Shane McAuliffe added: "We pig farmers knew this all along! #Sustainability #COP26."
A new project will bring together farmers and engineers to demonstrate a novel farm-focused solution for the harvesting of green ammonia from pig waste.

PigProGrAm - Developing a Circular Economy for UK Pig Production Through Green Ammonia Harvesting - has received 600,000 Defra funding to reduce the environmental impact of ammonia emissions.

The on-farm project will investigate the potential to harvest green fuel from livestock slurry, helping to mitigate ammonia emissions from pig farming.

Project leader Richard Cinderey from Beta Technology said: Harvesting ammonia from livestock waste not only reduces local environmental impacts but provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to reducing climate change.

"The governments Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution promotes the growth of low carbon hydrogen as part of the move towards net-zero by 2050.

"Ammonia is a carbon-free molecule with a high weight fraction of hydrogen making it an excellent candidate for its storage and transportation.

According to AHDB, the project will help create a more sustainable livestock industry by reducing the environmental impact of production by lowering ammonia emissions and creating an additional resource that can be used to produce hydrogen.

The AHDB added: The generation of green ammonia and conversion to hydrogen from agricultural waste streams delivers valuable products used to decarbonise power and transportation.

The research project will be delivered via the AHDB, Beta Technology, Duynie, Projex Solutions, the University of Leeds and a commercial pig unit in North Yorkshire.

The progress and results from the project, which launched in October, will be communicated via digital and physical events over the next 18 months.
The novel use of genetic contact tracing to identify the source of a bovine TB outbreak could signal a new approach in managing the disease, a study suggests.

In response to a rise in TB rates among wildlife in an area of East Cumbria with no previous infections, experts examined the DNA of the bacteria that causes the disease taken from cows and badgers that had tested positive.

All bacteria were found to be closely related to each other, pointing to a single purchase of cattle as the most likely source of infection.

Scientists say routine monitoring of both cows and badgers could help to manage early outbreaks of the disease, for which control measures cost 100m each year in England alone.

Bovine TB is an infectious respiratory disease of cattle that is mainly spread through inhaling virulent particles in the air.

It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis, which can also infect and cause disease in other mammals, including humans, deer, wild boar, goats, pigs, cats and dogs.

Experts from the Universities of Edinburgh and York, University College Dublin, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency developed a method of tracking the outbreak by integrating genetic data with spatial locations and contact tracing.

This allowed the researchers to compare small changes in the DNA as it spread from one animal to the next.

The outbreak began with an infected cow brought to a farm in the region from Northern Ireland, according to the research.

Disease passed among cattle, infecting an increasing number of cows, then spread throughout the local badger population, before being passed back to cows in a cycle of infection.

Experts suggest that their approach is an effective way to model the spread of infectious disease, and might be applied to understand the complex spread patterns of other diseases.

Professor Rowland Kao is Chair of Veterinary Epidemiology and Data Science at the Roslin Institute, and leader investigator of the project.

This was an unusual outbreak in that we were able to trace the infection to a single source  as close to a smoking gun as you can get," he said.

"Badgers are becoming more populous, and farms are becoming bigger and more complex, so the risk of disease spreading from livestock to wild animals will probably persist and even increase as these trends are likely to continue into the future.

"Our findings are very useful for understanding transmission of TB, and infection spread in general.

The study, funded by the BBSRC and Defra, is published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
The Lambing List for the 2021-2022 season has opened for those farmers who need to source some extra help with lambing.

The initiative, created by the National Sheep Association (NSA), connects sheep farmers who need assistance at lambing time.

Producers are paired with agricultural and veterinary students looking for a work experience placement as part of their studies.

To ensure both safety to both farmers and students, Covid-19 guidelines have been made available.

Katie James, NSA communications officer, said the List had become the trusted method for many of the group's members to source extra lambing help.

"Its a very simple but effective process  we collate a list of NSA members looking for help at lambing time and produce an advert so students can approach them directly to ask for a placement.

Farmers wanting to advertise on the list must complete an application form providing details of their lambing system and the experience and position they can offer, including details of accommodation and meals.

Adverts are listed in the order they are submitted, so the NSA encourages farmers to get adverts in as early as possible.

Sheep farmers who are interested in using the list but are not yet NSA members can find a membership application form on the group's website.

For students looking for a placement, adverts are split into regions to highlight positions available in different areas of the UK and overseas.
2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning --

4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS.

We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover.

We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.
The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike.

We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve.
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Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - November 2, 2021) - Sayward Capital Corp. (TSXV: SAWC.P) ("Sayward") is pleased to announce that it has successfully held its annual general and special meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") on November 2, 2021.

Shareholders approved all of the matters brought before the Meeting, including: (i) fixing the number of directors of Sayward as more particularly described in Sayward's management information circular dated October 5, 2021 (the "Circular"); (ii) electing the directors of Sayward as more particularly described in the Circular; (iii) appointing MNP LLP as auditor of Sayward; (iv) authorizing the amendment of the articles of Sayward to effect the change of Sayward's name to "Field Safe Solutions Ltd.", or such other name as the board of directors, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate or as may be required or permitted by applicable regulatory authorities; (v) authorizing a consolidation of the outstanding common shares of Sayward ("Sayward Shares") as more particularly described in the Circular; (vi) approving the option plan of Sayward; and (vii) approving the adoption of an amended and restated by-law no. 1.

A total of 3,100,000 Sayward Shares were represented by proxy at the Meeting, representing approximately 38.75% of the issued and outstanding Sayward Shares.

Qualifying Transaction Update

Further to its news release dated September 21, 2021, Sayward, Field Safe Solutions Inc. ("Field Safe") and Sayward's wholly-owned subsidiary, 2372845 Alberta Ltd., have entered into an amending agreement dated effective October 27, 2021 to the previously executed amalgamation agreement dated September 20, 2021, extending the outside date for completion of the proposed business combination between Field Safe and Sayward (the "Qualifying Transaction") to December 17, 2021.

Sayward and Field Safe are continuing to work together to complete the requisite due diligence, filings and submissions required to obtain the TSX Venture Exchange's (the "Exchange") acceptance of the Qualifying Transaction.

About Sayward

Sayward is incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) (the "ABCA") and is a capital pool company within the meaning of the policies of the Exchange. Sayward has not commenced operations and has no assets other than cash. Sayward's principal business is the identification and evaluation of assets or businesses with a view to completing a "Qualifying Transaction" under Policy 2.4 - Capital Pool Companies of the Exchange.

About Field Safe

Field Safe is a privately-held corporation existing under the ABCA, incorporated on March 20, 2014. Field Safe is a Canadian software as a service company located in Calgary, Alberta that provides an easy-to-use worker safety platform that connects workers, improves safety, optimizes operations and lowers costs. Field Safe has been experiencing rapid growth which is illustrated through a 2,225% revenue increase from 2017 to 2020. Field Safe is a leader in the digital safety space and has 10 Fortune 1000 Companies that currently use their digital safety platform, including one of Canada's largest LNG projects.

Further Information

All information contained in this news release with respect to Sayward and Field Safe was supplied by the respective party, for inclusion herein, without independent review by the other party, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party.

Completion of the Qualifying Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to Exchange requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. The Qualifying Transaction cannot close until the required Field Safe shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Qualifying Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular of Field Safe or filing statement of Sayward to be prepared in connection with the Qualifying Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Qualifying Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Sayward should be considered highly speculative.

The Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed Qualifying Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement. 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 jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

For further information, please contact:

Luke Caplette, Director

Sayward Capital Corp.

Email: lukecaplette@hotmail.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 news release.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or information include but are not limited to statements or information with respect to the closing of the Qualifying Transaction. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of words such as "continue" and comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information.

With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, Sayward and Field Safe have made numerous assumptions including among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions of Field Safe and the market in which it operates. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

Although management of Sayward and Field Safe believe that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or information herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to: risks relating to the receipt of all requisite approvals for the Qualifying Transaction, including the approval of Field Safe shareholders and the Exchange; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of technology or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters); changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; changes in laws; risks related to the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 pandemic including, but not limited to, its impact on general economic conditions; the ability to obtain financing as required; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time in Sayward's amended and restated final prospectus dated June 29, 2021 and other documents available under Sayward's profile at www.SEDAR.com. Sayward and Field Safe do not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101806
PROVO, UT / ACCESSWIRE / November 2, 2021 / When it comes to pest control, Moxie has been an industry leader since its founding in 2001. From providing a premier service, to its training and core values, Moxie has always been a hotbed for success. Given its pedigree, it may come as no surprise that the Royal Region has dominated since coming onto the scene in 2020. Founded by Jordan Johnson, and led together by him and his leadership team, the Royal Region continues to produce top performing sales reps and leads the way in a growing industry.

The Moxie Royal Regions success speaks for itself. The region generated upwards of 3.5 million dollars in revenue through general pest control sales during the summer of 2021. Over the course of the summer, the average experienced representative earned over $125,000 while first year reps brought in around $35,000. Out of the 29 reps that comprised the region in 2021, 21 of them were first year reps ranging in age from 17 to 32. "We push each other." Team leader Christopher Mander-Jones said, "The numbers speak for themselves."

When asked why he does what he does, founder Jordan Johnson notes the satisfaction in seeing his team and friends change for the better as the summer progresses. "We are not out there to be victims of circumstance." Johnson says, "We are out there to take souls." This is a reference to former Navy SEAL David Goggins.

Goggins uses the concept of taking souls, meaning to use your passion and perceived doubt from your critics to fuel yourself when things get hard. Likewise, Johnson and the Royal Region leadership have instilled this concept to motivate the region not only to survive, but to thrive as they work through the summer months. Team Manager Marshall Hunt says "It's a gateway into a fruitful career and lifestyle built on solid principles. In the Royal Region, you surround yourself with people who you aspire to become, and they become close mentors and friends." This mantra continues to prove successful as the Royal Region defies the standard summer sales experience.

One shining example of this is Team Leader, Brent Larsgard. Larsgard's start in summer sales was anything but typical. In an industry long thought to be dominated by young college students, Larsgard didn't start knocking doors until 2019 when he was nearly 30 years old. Married with a family, Larsgard took the leap of faith, leaving behind a promising corporate career at Goldman Sachs. Lasgard hasn't looked back. In his best year, Larsgard generated over $402,000 in personal revenue. Lasgard was named rookie of the year in 2019, and he has since finished every season as one of the top 5 reps in the company. Beyond his success on the doors, Lasgard also learned how to build a quality team. Lasgard recruited Landan Gollaher after his first summer to join the region. Gollaher has been a force to be reckoned with in his own right from bringing on other top talent to generating over $350,000 in personal revenue his best season.

Another example of the region's success came during the summer of 2021, rookie sales rep Christopher Hall generated over $128,000 in personal revenue. In doing so, Hall finished the summer not only as one of the top rookies within the Royal Region, but as the 7th best rookie company wide.

While Larsgard, Gollaher, and Hall's success are nothing short of amazing, under Johnson's leadership these results are hardly unusual. The Moxie Royal Region is far from being the first team that Johnson has elevated to new heights. Before founding the Royal Region in 2020, Johnson recruited and trained both Matt B. and Dayne S. not only teaching them how to sell but how to build and develop their own successful teams during the off season. Since working with Johnson, Matt and Dayne now run offices for Moxie in St. Louis and Minneapolis respectively.

With the financial benefits alone making this a compelling career opportunity, the educational and social benefit for students is unmatched. Not only can a summer spent with the Royal Region be customized to meet internship requirements and in some cases even count towards college credit, but working for the Royal Region can be fun too. Team leader Shea Hildebrandt said of his experience "Going to work doesn't even feel like work! It feels like hanging out with friends while making a difference." As well, the Royal Region is adamant that every rep on every team only knocks in safe areas in whatever city they may be in.

There is no mystery surrounding the Royal Region's notable achievements. As McKay Ordyna put it, "No business is successful if integrity isn't present." Integrity, a consistent work ethic, and a "can do" attitude, have been paramount in replicating their success year after year. They are always searching for new talent to join their team. The Royal Region seeks out individuals unafraid of hard work and centered on good principles who desire to develop valuable life and sales skill

About

Jordan Johnson, founder of the Moxie Royal Region, leads a team of more than 20 men and women. Johnson began selling for Moxie pest control in 2013. As a rookie rep, Johnson sold 300 accounts sowing the seeds for what would become the Royal Region. Johnson has proven time and time again that he has what it takes to succeed in this industry. In his best year Johnson sold over 500 accounts and has generated over $300,000 in revenue from personal sales. Prestigious as his personal accolades may be, what Johnson takes the most pride in are the people that he has been able to help replicate his success. Johnson believes the job helps people improve their lives and grow into better people through integrity and hard work. If you're interested in learning more or working with Jordan and the Royal Region, be sure to visit their website.

Point of Contact: Jordan Johnson

Email: jordan@friendlyexperts.com

Phone: (801) 874-5611

Website: https://royalsummersales.com

Social Media Links:

https://www.instagram.com/moxie.royal/

https://www.instagram.com/jordanmjohnson/

https://www.instagram.com/brentlarsgard/

https://www.instagram.com/landan_gollaher/

https://www.instagram.com/mckayordyna/

https://www.instagram.com/marshallhunt33/

https://www.instagram.com/sheamajik/

https://www.instagram.com/christopher.mander/

https://www.instagram.com/chrishall_21/

SOURCE: Moxie Royal Region

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/669334/Moxie-Royal-Region-Has-Record-Setting-Year--Hiring-New-Talent-to-Join-the-Team
LISBOA, Portugal, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GoParity , a Portuguese startup for sustainable investments, developed a tool that allows companies to simulate the carbon dioxide emissions from the transport of orders, the car fleet and air travel of employees or the energy consumption of offices. Once measured, companies can find out how much to invest in sustainability projects to compensate for their carbon footprint. The feature was presented today at the Web Summit, in Lisbon.

"With this new tool, companies committed to sustainability can compensate for their carbon footprint with a bonus that this implies an investment and not a cost for the company. It's a real and circular impact for the company, the projects invested in and the environment." explains Nuno Brito Jorge, CEO of GoParity.

GoParity is a platform where positive social and environmental impact projects seek funding and appeal to civil society to invest in the creation and growth of these green businesses. The impact is measured in sustainability metrics so it's always visible what one has contributed, such as CO2 avoided, planted trees and clean energy generated, and impacted lives.

From the various projects: solar power projects for self-consumption, contributing to the decarbonisation of the economy; reforestation projects, allowing CO2 capture as a result of tree planting; energy efficiency projects that reduce CO2 by reducing consumption. Whenever an investment is made through GoParity, one can monitor its positive impact of CO2 avoided and the percentage of footprint reduced.

"This is another step towards the decarbonisation of the economy. Offsetting the carbon dioxide emitted is an innovative approach and allows companies to invest with return in projects that avoid CO2 emissions, instead of paying." says Brito Jorge.

In four years, GoParity has already generated more than 9M for +125 projects, which were invested by more than 15.5 thousand users, with a return of 4-7% per year, representing more than 2M returned to investors. In total, the projects avoided an annual average of 22.000tons of CO2 emissions, and impacted around 60 thousand people through the creation of jobs, better financial living conditions and education.

The new feature was presented today at the Web Summit, at Casa do Impacto stand, the innovation and entrepreneurship hub where GoParity is incubated.
- The Mars bar will be carbon neutral in the UK and Ireland from January 1st, 2023

- Making it the first carbon neutral chocolate bar produced by a top 5 confectionery company to appear on shelf

- Mars bar's carbon footprint is set to be slashed by over 20% by 2023 in a demonstration of concrete climate action from the confectionery giant today, to deliver a sustainable future tomorrow

- The business will work with an independent auditor and use the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality



SLOUGH, England, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars Wrigley UK has announced that Mars bars sold in the UK and Ireland will be certified as carbon neutral by January 1st, 2023.

This move will make the Mars bar, which has annual sales of over 200 million bars in the UK alone, the first carbon neutral chocolate bar to appear on British and Irish shelves that is produced by a top 5 confectionery company.

The new pledge, that also includes Mars bars sold in Canada, represents tangible climate action less than a month after Mars, Incorporated, Mars Wrigley's parent company, announced its commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its full value chain by 2050.

Mars Wrigley is committed to doing more and aims to reduce the Mars bar carbon footprint by over 20% in the UK and Ireland by 2023. This will be a result of the company supercharging its efforts to sustainably transform supply chain agricultural practices, including using satellite data to geomap cocoa farms and accelerated partnerships with suppliers to produce dairy more sustainably.

Mars Wrigley UK has also announced that the Mars bar will be trialed in fully recyclable paper packaging starting in 2022.

Any emissions that cannot be eliminated will be offset by high quality carbon removal credits based on climate solutions like reforestation and land restoration.

The greenhouse gas reductions and high-quality offsets used for Mars bar to go carbon neutral in 2023 are expected to be roughly equivalent to charging more than 13 billion smartphones, or the same amount of carbon sequestered by around 135,000 acres of forest in a year.

The world's largest chocolate manufacturer will work with an independent auditor to certify the Mars bar as carbon neutral and will be adhering to the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality, which provides radical transparency and is widely considered to be the leading standard of carbon neutral specification.

Adam Grant, Mars Wrigley UK General Manager said:"At Mars, we believe that actions speak louder than words and, to create a world tomorrow where our planet is healthy, we are clear that bold action must be taken today. Our pledge to deliver a certified carbon neutral Mars bar in the UK and Ireland by January 1st, 2023, supported by significant reductions in the near term, is the kind of immediate climate protection intervention needed to deliver a sustainable tomorrow."

Mars has been driving climate action for more than a decade. The Mars bar, which has been manufactured in Slough for nearly 90 years, is already produced in a factory that sources 100% renewable electricity.

Purposeful climate interventions such as these have led to Mars in the UK reducing its absolute greenhouse emissions from direct operations by 67% since 2015.

For further information on Mars, Incorporated's climate commitments and Sustainable in a Generation Plan, visit www.mars.com/sustainability-plan .



Notes to editors

In 2016 Mars in the UK began purchasing its electricity from the Moy Wind Farm near Inverness in Scotland . This means that owned factory operations in the UK, including Slough - the home of the Mars bar - source 100% renewable electricity [Drone video and photo assets available upon request]

in . This means that owned factory operations in the UK, including - the home of the Mars bar - source 100% renewable electricity [Drone video and photo assets available upon request] Mars Wrigley UK purchases waste 'green' steam from the power station next to its Slough factory

factory Deforestation and land-use change are significant drivers of carbon emissions in the agricultural supply chain. To deliver on Mars' ambition of a deforestation-free supply chain for cocoa, we are using satellite data to geomap cocoa farms and have already mapped over a third in their supply chain. This enables monitoring and management of the cocoa supply chain through near constant satellite surveillance. Transparency is important to Mars, and we make our progress publicly available through an interactive map.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676974/Earth.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676975/Mars1.jpg
Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 2, 2021) - Metalo Manufacturing Inc. (CSE: MMI) (the "Issuer") announces that it has completed a non-brokered private placement of a convertible debenture (the "Convertible Debenture") for maximum proceeds of $400,000 (the "Offering").

A trust controlled by an unrelated party (the "Subscriber") has fully subscribed to the Offering. The Convertible Debenture will mature on November 2, 2022 (the "Maturity Date") and will bear interest at a rate of 12% per annum payable monthly. The Convertible Debenture shall be convertible at the option of the holder into common shares of the Issuer (the "Shares") on or prior to the Maturity Date. The conversion price will be $0.55 per common share. At the option of the Issuer, interest accrued will be converted by the Issuer into Shares at a conversion price equal to the 20-day trading average price prior to issuance to the volume-weighted average trading price of the common shares of the Issuer for the 20 consecutive trading days prior to conversion. The Convertible Debenture will not be listed on the CSE, however the Shares issuable upon any conversion will be listed and will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of closing. The Issuer intends to use the proceeds for general working capital requirements. The Corporation will issue 40,000 share purchase warrants to the Subscriber (the "Warrants") and each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Corporation at an exercise price of Cdn$0.55 for a period of two years. Upon conversion, the shares issued will have a 4 month hold period. The Offering is subject to fulfillment of the requirements of the CSE.

The Issuer also announces that it has issued 57,508 common shares to Forest Lane Holdings Limited ("FLH"), a company controlled by an insider of the Issuer, in satisfaction of its quarterly interest payment of $25,000 due pursuant to the terms of the previously announced convertible debenture. This issuance is made at a deemed price of $0.4347 per share which is the volume- weighted trading price for the 20 trading days ending October 8, 2021. The securities will be subject to a four month hold period.

ABOUT METALO MANUFACTURING INC.

MMI's principal focus is an investment in two low CO2 emission projects in Canada. The development of a plant to produce high purity pig iron for steel mills and foundries. Secondly, mining mineral sands to produce ceramics and glass products. MMI is a 44% shareholder of Grand River Ironsands Incorporated ("GRI"). GRI owns a 100% interest in Pure Fonte Ltee (producing pig iron). Labrador Sands Inc. (previously North Atlantic Iron Corporation) is 90% owned by GRI and the mining rights for a resource near Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL and the follow-on production of products. The Corporation has 19,744,876 issued and outstanding common shares.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The Corporation seeks Safe Harbour.

For additional information contact:

Liz MacKenzie, Corporate Communications (902) 233-7255

info@metalo.ca

(NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION VIA U.S. NEWSWIRE)

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101812
International institutions signed an IDB led joint-statement at COP26 and announce plan to mainstream nature into policies, analysis, and investments

GLASGOW, Scotland, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) led by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) pledged today to mainstream nature across their policies and to significantly boost nature finance for member countries. The banks' joint statement "Nature, People, and Planet" commits support for countries to define and enact sustainable strategies.

IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone led the announcement during the World Leaders Summit event on Forests and Land Use at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26.

"Natural capital is critical in post-COVID-19 recovery for Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world. It creates jobs, generates income, leverages private-sector investment, and resiliently protects critical ecosystem services. That's why the IDB has redoubled its work on climate change and biodiversity in the last year, and why it constitutes a core pillar of our Vision 2025 for the recovery of the region," Claver-Carone said.

The MDBs' commitment focuses on five pillars:

Leadership: Setting out institutional strategic approaches to further mainstream nature into analysis, assessments, investments, and operations by 2025;

Setting out institutional strategic approaches to further mainstream nature into analysis, assessments, investments, and operations by 2025; Fostering 'nature positive' investments: Developing projects and financing instruments to support economic activity that seeks to reverse the drivers of nature loss and promote its protection and regeneration;

Developing projects and financing instruments to support economic activity that seeks to reverse the drivers of nature loss and promote its protection and regeneration; Fostering national and regional level synergies: Encouraging public and private sector and international organizations to work together and supporting governments to revise their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans;

Encouraging public and private sector and international organizations to work together and supporting governments to revise their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans; Valuing nature to guide decision making: Using existing and new tools for public and private sector clients to better value, sustainably manage, protect, and restore nature and its natural assets to deliver development benefits;

Using existing and new tools for public and private sector clients to better value, sustainably manage, protect, and restore nature and its natural assets to deliver development benefits; Reporting: Aligning objectives and developing collaborative tools and methodologies for tracking 'nature positive' investments across portfolios and enhancing public reporting on efforts and initiatives to mainstream nature in analyses and operations.

The MDBs signing the statement along with IDB are the African Development Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the World Bank Group. The statement is available here.

Yesterday IDB announced that its loans and projects will be fully aligned with the Paris climate agreement by 2023.

Press Contact

Janaina Goulart

janainag@iadb.org

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677114/MCC_World_Leaders_Summit.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677113/Inter_American_Development_Bank_Logo.jpg
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 2, 2021) - Hank Payments Corp. (TSXV: HANK) ("Hank" or the "Company"), a North American financial technology company that acts as a consumer's financial concierge, using a powerful technology to automate the complexities of personal cash flow management, announced the filings of its financial statements and management discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for the twelve month period ending June 30, 2021.

Financial Highlights:

During the period ended June 30, 2021, the Company's revenue increased by 36% to U$3.4 million compared to revenue of U$2.5 million for the previous twelve months. Despite a year in which the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic had material impacts on the American auto market supply chain, Hank was able to continue its growth through this important channel and others. The Company's gross margins increased to 85% compared to the previous year of 79% driven in part by more automation and adding higher margin relationships.

"Considering the challenges faced by many Fintech's and other businesses throughout the course of 2021, we are very pleased to deliver successive growth years leading into our public listing." said Michael Hilmer, CEO of Hank. "Business conditions have improved quickly with increasing tailwinds to support the Company's long-term growth strategy."

Subsequent event:

The Company completed its qualifying transaction with Nobelium Tech Corp. on October 13, 2021, that included a subscription receipt financing in the amount of C$3.1 million. The proceeds will be allocated to execute on Hanks growth strategy and to continue to build out the Hank platform to create consumer and shareholder value.

A comprehensive discussion of Hank's financial position and results of operations is provided in the financial statements and MD&A for the year ending June 30, 2021, filed on SEDAR.

About Hank Payments Corp.

Hank is a financial technology company. The Hank software platform (the "Hank Platform") acts as a consumer's personal, financial concierge using a powerful technology to automate the complexities of personal cash flow management. Through its FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insured bank partners in the United States, Hank helps consumers in every state find funds in their existing cash flow and speed up the retirement of liabilities. The Hank Platform debits consumers when they have cash, stores the cash with partner banks, then automatically instructs partner banks to pay bills and loans as they come due, and often sooner than required. Approximately half of Hank's customers are financially sound and use the Hank Platform for convenience, while the other half improve their payment performance through use of the Hank Platform. One hundred percent of Hank's customers are in the USA and pay setup and ongoing monthly processing fees while remaining on the Hank Platform for an average of three years. Hank continues to innovate and anticipates launching more expansive features to its expected growing customer base that will provide greater visibility into their cash flow, credit performance, and viability to borrow or refinance at lower rates, including introducing Hank customers to interested lenders.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) which reflect the Corporation's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate" and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Corporation's expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the future success of the Corporation's business.

The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions, including without limitation the Shares beginning trading on the TSXV. The forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Corporation assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

For more information regarding Hank Payments Corp., please contact: Investor Relations, ir@hankpayments.com and visit the Company's website at www.hankpayments.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101816
- Merck to work with SaudiVax to design best-in-class facility for Saudi-based manufacturing of life-saving biotherapeutics

- SaudiVax selects Merck for its expertise in GMP manufacturing, biopharmaceutical manufacturing equipment, consulting services, and product testing and development

- The Merck-SaudiVax collaboration underscores both companies' commitment to expand access to life-saving and life-enhancing biologic therapies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that it will support SaudiVax Ltd., based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to design a best-in-class, multi-modality manufacturing facility to localize manufacturing of biologics and vaccines for the MENA region.

SaudiVax is positioned to become the first developer and manufacturer of Halal vaccines and biotherapeutics in Saudi Arabia, leveraging Merck's integrated Contract Development Manufacturing Services (CDMO), innovative product offerings and single-use technologies.

"With more than 30 years of experience designing, building and operating our own global CDMO network, we are pleased to support SaudiVax in fulfilling its mission to localize the development and manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics in Saudi Arabia," said Sebastien Ribault, Head of End-to-End Contract Development Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) Services, Life Science business sector at Merck. "This partnership brings together our shared commitment to expand access to life-saving and life-enhancing therapies."

The first phase of this collaboration will focus on conceptual and equipment selection studies, followed by facility fit-out, consulting, and process development services to enable SaudiVax to achieve self-sufficient cGMP manufacturing that meets international regulatory requirements. As part of this first phase, Merck will support the training of SaudiVax employees in its M Lab Collaboration Center in Molsheim, France, and on its End-to-End GMP site located in Martillac, France. Merck and SaudiVax formalized their collaboration with a signing ceremony on October 24.

"Merck's comprehensive expertise, services, and bioprocessing products, coupled with its focus on both the customer and international regulatory requirements, makes them the ideal strategic partner to enable us to localize the manufacturing of high-quality, Halal, and affordable vaccines and biotherapeutics in Saudi Arabia for distribution throughout the MENA region," said Mazen Hassanain, Managing Director of SaudiVax.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices - the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck generated sales of  17.5 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck's technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676792/Merck_SaudiVax.jpg
MONTREAL, Nov. 03, 2021, a leader in monitoring and analytics, announces today it has signed a partnership with ADAPTERA, an expert provider of integrated visibility, performance optimization and advanced security solutions. According to the reseller agreement, ADAPTERA becomes a Unryo Platinum Partner for Europe.



"Today, organizations are faced with the challenge of modernizing their monitoring and analytic solutions, while keeping all the instrumentations and dashboards they've built over years," says Nicolas Souty, CEO of Unryo. "To be successful in this, you need a partner that is highly experienced in Service Assurance deployments. That's why we're excited to work with ADAPTERA on bringing Customers a solid platform along with a disciplined approach for their monitoring projects."

"ADAPTERA is committed to provide its customers with continuously improving, future proof visibility and service assurance solutions," says Stefanos Anastasiou, Managing Partner of ADAPTERA. "We are convinced that Unryo provides the technology platform and deep expertise that ensures smooth transition into the cloud era."

Powered by a 100% container architecture, the Unryo Platform works by consolidating all relevant monitoring data - metrics, logs and application traces - across data centers, cloud resources and third-party OSS, then delivering real-time visibility into the IT infrastructures. The platform provides all the important features for organizations and CSPs to efficiently manage complex networks, in particular:

Pre-built instrumentations and dashboards across a variety of technologies





Flexible reporting engine, with exporting and scheduling capabilities





Root-Cause Analysis and Impact Analysis





Business Views and SLA monitoring





Alert Notifications





API for southbound and northbound integrations





Secure and Scalable container architecture, with Kubernetes integration





Control Console, Multi-tenant stack

About Unryo

Unryo is a modern performance monitoring and analytics platform that lets organizations gain full visibility into all the layers of their infrastructure, from the network all the way up to deep inside their applications. Unryo detects problems across virtual, physical, and multi-cloud networks, then it uses correlation to identify the root cause and impacts, so organizations reduce the service outages and ensure strong customer satisfaction. The platform is available as a deployable solutionor follow Unryo on LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/Unryo.

About ADAPTERA

ADAPTERA specializes in the provision of monitoring & optimization solutions of its customers' ICT infrastructure & applications. Its mission is to provide solutions that will enable its customers to align their Information Technology & Communicationsor follow ADAPTERA on LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/ADAPTERA

All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Contact:

Unryo

info@unryo.com
TheraVet and Graftys extend their partnership

Regulatory News:

TheraVet (ISIN: BE0974387194 ticker: ALVET) (Paris:ALVET) (Brussels:ALVET)a pioneering company in the management of osteoarticular diseases in pets,announces today the renewal and extension of the exclusive worldwide licence with Graftys and the addition of a highly injectable bone substitute to its portfolio.

Thanks to the extension of the partnership with Graftys, TheraVet is adding a highly injectable bone cement to its BIOCERA-VET product line. This new bone substitute, as compared to the products already in TheraVet portfolio, will offer very low viscosity to facilitate remote injections into closed bone cavities, perfectly suited for minimally-invasive bone graft surgeries. This bone substitute is a macroporous resorbable self-hardening cement with unparalled injectability increasing the surgeon comfort in specific surgical procedures. Despite its high injectability, this product presents mechanical resistance similar to that of trabecular bone while being fast resorbed and replaced by new quality bone. Adding this new product in the portfolio of TheraVet is a new stepping stone in Theravet's continuous efforts in improving its offer to its network of vet orthopedic surgeons. The renewed and extended agreement retains the same principles of the previous one, with a shift for the product supply from a cost plus price model to a price list model added to low digit royalties.

The renewal and extension of the partnership with Graftys also concludes any divergence in position regarding each company's IP that were communicated previously, with no change related to TheraVet's IP.

About TheraVet SA

TheraVet is a veterinary biotechnology company specialising in osteoarticular treatments for animals. The Company develops targeted, safe and effective treatments to improve the quality of life of pets suffering from osteoarticular diseases. For pet owners, the health of their pets is a major concern and TheraVet's mission is to address the need for innovative and curative treatments. TheraVet works closely with international opinion leaders in order to provide a more effective response to ever-growing needs in the field of veterinary medicine. TheraVet is listed on Euronext Growth Paris et Brussels, its head office is in Gosselies, Belgium, and it has a subsidiary in the US.

For more information, visit www.thera.vet

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211102006439/en/

Contacts:

TheraVet

Sabrina Ena

Chief Operating Officer

sabrina.ena@thera.vet

Julie Winand

Chief Corporate Officer

julie.winand@thera.vet

NewCap

Investor Relations and Financial Communications

Louis Tilquin Olivier Bricaud

theravet@newcap.eu

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

Press Relations

Arthur Rouille Ambre Delval

theravet@newcap.eu

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 00 15
Zhengzhou, China--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - The 2021 World Sensors Summit (2021WSS) press conference was held in the Information Office of Henan Provincial People's Government on October 22. The 2021 World Sensors Summit will be held in Zhengzhou, Henan Province from November 1st to 3rd, 2021.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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The Summit is hosted by China Association for Science and Technology and the People's Government of Henan Province, organized by the People's Government of Zhengzhou, Henan Association for Science and Technology, Department of Industry and information Technology of Henan Province, Henan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Henan Provincial Department of Science and Technology, Office of Foreign Affairs Working Committee Office of CPC Henan Provincial Committee, China Instrument and Control Society and specifically executed by Administration Committee of Zhengzhou Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Zhengzhou Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Zhengzhou Science and Technology Association, Henan Intelligent Sensor Industry Association and Henan Intelligent Sensor Innovation Center.





Press conference site

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With the theme of "Sense the world, Create the future", the summit invites representatives of international and domestic organizations and well-known enterprises from developed countries and regions including the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, Italy, South Korea and other developed countries and regions to gather in Zhengzhou to discuss the development trend of sensors in various fields, the development plan of the sensor industry, promote the construction of Zhengzhou's 100 billion-level national smart sensor industry base, and create the "Zhengzhou symbol" of the global industry.

Since the World Sensors Summit located in Zhengzhou, it has been successfully held for two consecutive years. Based on the good response of the 2018-2019 World Sensors Summit and the continuous improvement of Zhengzhou's industrial foundation and policy advantages, the 2021 World Sensors Summit is composed of three major sections: the Sensor Summit, the Sensor Industry Exhibition, and the Final Competition Sensor Innovation. It will return with a higher specification, a larger scale, a wider influence, and a more mature international style. Here are five highlights:

Higher specifications and wider international attention. The 2021 World Sensors Summit will set up the guest country-Japan to create the conference's brand label with international, professional and innovative characteristics and 10-15 international organizations from around the world will participate in the summit, further enhancing the internationalization of the meeting and the city Zhengzhou, and attracting international companies and institutions to settle in Zhengzhou.

Attending guests are unprecedented, gathering biggest names. A total of 16 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Sciences are currently participating in the summit. In addition, senior executives from well-known companies in the sensing field such as Siemens, Panasonic, Honeywell, Qualcomm, Johnson Controls, Huawei, Chint, Dassault, and Phoenix will attend this meeting.

More prominent theme and more focused on the professional field. This summit closely follows the strategic deployment of "Innovation China", and arranges keynote lectures, special conferences, innovation competitions and other activities to further promote the development of the smart sensor industry.

An innovative model and a broader exhibition area. The summit has arranged an exhibition area with an area of 9,000 square meters. At the same time, an exhibition service model combining "online + offline" has been constructed to realize the digital precipitation of industrial resources and create a never-ending virtual exhibition.

Detailed content and increasingly perfect industrial ecology. This summit will have a number of blockbuster "good shows" in turn to build an ecological platform for China's smart sensor industry, and realize the large-scale, characteristic, and high-end development of the smart sensor industry.

Media contact

Contact: WSS project team

Company Name: China Instrument and Control Society

Website: www.china-wss.com

Email: wss@cis.org.cn

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101828
Beckley Psytech, a privately owned, clinical stage, biotechnology company dedicated to addressing neuropsychiatric disorders through the novel application of psychedelic medicines, has today announced the appointment of Frank Wiegand MD. PhD. as Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Wiegand, a trained neurologist and neuroscientist, joins Beckley Psytech after more than 20 years with Janssen (a Johnson Johnson company), where he most recently held the position of Vice President, Global Medical Affairs in Neuroscience. Over his two decades at J&J, he has held positions of increasing responsibility in marketing and sales, global strategic marketing, medical affairs, and market access in addition to extensive research and development experience across the organisation.

During this time, Frank has worked on more than 30 different new molecular entities across multiple neurological and psychiatric conditions, most recently contributing to the development and subsequent approval of esketamine, which was approved for the treatment of treatment resistant depression and suicidality. His broad experience leading multiple functions across the continuum of pharmaceutical research, development and commercialisation brings extensive knowledge and knowhow to the Beckley Psytech executive team, where he will be responsible for all aspects of the clinical development of the company's assets.

Dr. Wiegand received his M.D. and PhD. from the Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf, Germany and completed his fellowship training as a neurologist at the University of Essen, Germany. Dr. Wiegand completed his post-doctoral fellowship in neuropharmacology, specifically cerebral ischemia, at the Humboldt University Berlin, Germany with funding from the German Stroke Research Foundation. In 2002 he received a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration from the Herriot Watt University, Scotland.

Frank joins the company at an exciting time following the upsized and oversubscribed Series B fundraise in August 2021 and as the lead psychedelic compounds, low-dose psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT, are entering phase 1 clinical trials.

Cosmo Feilding Mellen, CEO of Beckley Psytech, said: "Following our highly successful series B fundraise and as our lead psychedelic compounds begin to enter the clinic, we are thrilled to be welcoming Dr. Wiegand as our Chief Medical Officer. Frank brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise alongside extensive leadership experience to Beckley Psytech and his involvement and experience in developing and commercialising esketamine for treatment resistant depression will be invaluable as we progress through our clinical trials and continue our rapid growth as a leader in psychedelic medicine."

Dr. Frank Wiegand, CMO of Beckley Psytech, said: "I am truly excited to be joining the leadership team at Beckley Psytech as we usher in a new age in the research, development and delivery of psychedelic medicines. Bringing novel and more effective patient-centered solutions to devastating neuropsychiatric diseases has been the focus of my entire career. I am thrilled to be joining the inventive and passionate team at Beckley Psytech, where we will work relentlessly to make this dream a reality."

-Ends-

Beckley Psytech - www.beckleypsytech.com

Beckley Psytech is a clinical stage privately held company dedicated to helping patients suffering from neurological and psychiatric disorders by developing a broad pipeline of psychedelic compounds in rare and more common diseases. Our vision is for clinically validated psychedelic medicines to be integrated into modern medical practice in order to help patients with high unmet medical need around the world, suffering from Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks (SUNHA), treatment resistant depression and other profoundly debilitating conditions. Beckley Psytech was founded in 2019 leveraging some of the expertise developed over more than 20 years by the Beckley Foundation, an independent non-profit and world leader in psychedelic medicine research, and is based out of Oxford, United Kingdom.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005056/en/

Contacts:

For more information please contact:

Beckley Psytech

Cosmo Feilding Mellen

Chief Executive Officer

info@beckleypsytech.com

Communications

FTI Consulting

Ben Atwell Mike Trace

+44 (0)20 3727 1000

beckleypsytech@fticonsulting.com

Investor Relations

LifeSci Advisors

Guillaume van Renterghem

+41 76 735 01 31

gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com
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 due to supply-chain issues affecting its drug-supply manufacturer, the start date of its two upcoming NOX-A12 clinical trials will be delayed by up to 3 months until Q3 2022. The affected trials are the Phase 2 trial (OPTIMUS) with NOX-A12 in combination with MSD's (Merck Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J. USA) anti-PD-1 therapyKeytruda (pembrolizumab) as second-line therapy in pancreatic cancer, and the planned pivotal Phase 2/3 trial of NOX-A12 in combination with radiotherapy in first-line brain cancer (glioblastoma) patients.

Due to a shortage in the US of dichloroacetic acid, a key chemical reagent necessary to synthesize NOX-A12, NOXXON has been informed by its contract active ingredient manufacturer that the NOX-A12 batches needed to initiate these two studies will only be available in Q2 2022 with first patients therefore expected to be dosed in early August 2022. These delays have impacted the overall approval timelines of NOX-A12 in glioblastoma, pushing it into early 2026, while market approval in pancreatic cancer remains unchanged and is planned in 2027.

Aram Mangasarian, CEO of NOXXON commented: "The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to impact the healthcare industry in many areas, including the most essential ones like manufacturing supply chains. The NOX-A12 studies in pancreatic and brain cancer are our key clinical programs; the pancreas cancer trial is our second collaboration with MSD, a global leader in the immuno-oncology space, and the pivotal brain cancer trial is expected to deliver the data base for our first marketing authorization. We have worked with our contract manufacturer to overcome the unexpected shortages of what are usually easily sourced chemical reagents affecting these batches of NOX-A12 and are doing everything to ensure these batches will be released as soon as possible with the usual high standards of quality. We look forward to getting the trials underway and examining the potential clinical benefits of NOX-A12 in combination with Keytruda or radiotherapy for patients suffering from highly aggressive cancers."

With 13.7 million in cash and cash equivalents on June 30, 2021 and available secured financing of 10.45 million (nominal) drawable at the company's discretion as reported on October 22, 2021 with the Half-Year Financial Report 2021, updated timing of commitments for manufacturing and clinical trials extends NOXXON's financial visibility into July 2022.

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/20211103005444/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
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / FALCON GOLD CORP. (TSXV:FG)(FSE:3FA)(OTCQB:FGLDF); ("Falcon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of the 2021 prospecting and backpack drilling program at the Spitfire-Sunny Boy Gold Project (the "Property"). Highlights include:

Grab samples on the Master Vein ranging from 1.09 g/t Au to 168 g/t Au, 17.5 g/t Ag and 0.7% Cu. Backpack drilling from surface of 68.7 g/t Au and 11.8 g/t Ag over a drilled intersection of 0.47m. A grab sample from Vein 2 reporting 1.52 g/t Au. A grab sample from Vein 3 reporting 2.58 g/t Au and 1.2 g/t Ag.

The program was designed to test the 6 subparallel vein structures identified at Spitfire-Sunny Boy from previous exploration efforts. Results were very positive with anomalous gold values for almost every sample. Geologists and prospectors collected rock samples over 300m strike length along the Master Vein and up to a 250m strike length over other veins at Spitfire-Sunny Boy. Highlights are tabled below:

Sample Number Vein Sample Type Width (m) Assay 00843 Master Grab 168 g/t Au, 17.5 g/t Ag, 0.7%Cu SB-06 Master Backpack 0.47 68.7 g/t Au, 11.8 g/t Ag SB-09 Master Backpack 0.20 66.3 g/t Au, 8.3 g/t Ag SB-10 Master Backpack 0.86 29.7 g/t Au, 2.1 g/t Ag 00817 Master Grab 24.8 g/t Au, 3.9 g/t Ag 00808 Master Grab 24.2 g/t Au, 3.1 g/t Ag 00840 Master Grab 22.1 g/t Au, 1.5 g/t Ag 00818 Master Grab 18.9 g/t Au, 1.2 g/t Ag 00810 Master Grab 13 g/t Au, 5.3 g/t Ag 00813 Master Grab 8.73 g/t Au, 1.4 g/t Ag 00816 Master Grab 7.34 g/t Au, 5.1 g/t Ag 00811 Master Grab 6.22 g/t Au, 1.4 g/t Ag SB-08 Master Backpack 0.75 5.13 g/t Au, 1.3 g/t Ag 00838 Master Grab 5.12 g/t Au 43073 Master Grab 4.66 g/t Au, 1.1 g/t Ag 00809 Master Grab 4.23 g/t Au, 1.5 g/t Ag 00814 Master Grab 3.89 g/t Au, 1.9 g/t Ag SB-03A Master Backpack 0.44 3.57 g/t Au 00846 Vein 3 Grab 2.58 g/t Au, 1.2 g/t Ag SB-02 Master Backpack 0.34 1.69 g/t Au 00836 Vein 2 Grab 1.52 g/t Au 00851 Master Grab 1.52 g/t Au, 2.5 g/t Ag 00819 Master Grab 1.09 g/t Au

Table 1. Highlights of the Sunny Boy prospecting and backpack sampling program, 2021.

Due to visible gold noted in many of the samples, Falcon has commissioned total metallics gold analyses to determine the effect of the nuggety nature of gold may have had original fire assay method results. These values will be released once they have been obtained. Grab samples are select samples and may not necessarily be representative of the mineralization on the property. Backpack drilling is a portable drill utilizing chips of rock from a small-sized diameter hole drilled from surface.

Falcon's Chief Executive Officer, Karim Rayani commented, " The sampling and backpack drill program has been a success - this further validates the theory of an epithermal gold system by past operators with its high-grade nature. We have identified multiple parallel gold-silver bearing vein structures over impressive strike lengths. We will continue to evaluate the property in preparation for an inaugural drilling program where historical drilling intersected 3.77 grams per tonne gold, 0.24 % copper, and 32.9 grams per tonne silver over 13.4 meters."

The Spitfire-Sunny Boy Gold Project

High grade gold values have been reported at 124 to 127 g/t gold (Au) and 309 to 514 g/t silver (Ag) in quartz vein material from underground workings by Quilchena Mining and Development Company Ltd. The narrow but high-grade veins have been trenched, pitted, blasted, and drilled but have never been commercially mined. The main showing, Master Vein, boasts high-grade gold mineralization up to 50.53 oz/t as sampled by Ken Sanders, P. Eng in 1974. To the south-west of the Sunny Boy Zone in an area referred to as the "AL" showing soil geochemistry, geophysics (magnetometer/VLF), trenching, sampling and diamond drilling have been performed on the mineralized veins. The best drill result was 3.77 grams per tonne gold, 0.24 % copper, and 32.9 grams per tonne silver over 13.4 meters (AR #8494, AR# 15572 AR#1582, AR#18887).

The Spitfire-Sunny Boy discovery has been referred to as an epithermal gold discovery by past operators and is hosted within the Quesnellia terrane, characterized by submarine volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Nicola group to the south and the Takla group in the north. Gold mineralization and the geological setting of the project bears similarities to other developed projects in the region such as the epithermal gold deposits, Prospect Valley and Shovelnose, currently being explored by Westhaven Ventures Inc.

Qualified Person

Mr. Mike Kilbourne, P. Geo, an independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this news release on behalf of the Company.

About Falcon Gold Corp.

Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. Falcon's flagship project, the Central Canada Gold Mine, is approximately 20km southeast of Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef Gold Deposit which has currently estimated 3.32 million ounces of gold (123.5 million tonnes grading 0.84 g/t gold) mineral reserves, and 2.3 million ounces of measured and indicated mineral resources (133.4 million tonnes grading 0.54 g/t gold). The Hammond Reef gold property lies on the Hammond shear zone, which is a northeast-trending splay off the Quetico Fault Zone ("QFZ") and may be the control for the gold deposit. The Central Gold property lies on a similar major northeast-trending splay of the QFZ.

The Company holds 8 additional projects. The Esperanza Gold/Silver/Copper mineral concessions located in La Riojo Province, Argentina. The Springpole West Property in the world-renowned Red Lake mining camp; a 49% interest in the Burton Gold property with Iamgold near Sudbury Ontario; and in B.C., the Spitfire-Sunny Boy, Gaspard Gold claims; and most recently the Great Burnt, Hope Brook, and Baie Verte acquisitions adjacent to First Mining, Benton-Sokoman's JV, and Marvel Discovery in Central Newfoundland.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Falcon Gold Corp.

"Karim Rayani"

Karim Rayani

Chief Executive Officer, Director

Telephone: (604) 716-0551

Email: info@falcongold.ca

Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements

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, 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 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, 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.

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: Falcon Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670889/Falcon-Receives-High-Grade-Gold-Results-from-Sampling--Backpack-Drill-Program-Spitfire-Sunny-Boy--Merritt-BC
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Spearmint Resources Inc. (CSE: SPMT) (OTC Pink: SPMTF) (FSE: A2AHL5) (the "Company" or "Spearmint") wishes to announce the Company has contracted Harris Exploration Drilling and Associates Inc. ("Harris") to begin a drill program shortly on the 'McGee Lithium Clay Project' in Clayton Valley, Nevada directly bordering Cypress Development Corp. and Pure Energy Minerals Limited. Earlier this year, on June 11, 2021, Spearmint received the technical report on its 100-per-cent-owned 'McGee Lithium Clay Project' which included a maiden resource estimate of 815,000 indicated tonnes and 191,000 inferred tonnes for a total of 1,006,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). The technical report was prepared in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 by Stantec Consultant Ltd.'s qualified persons (Allan Turner, PGeol, and Derek Loveday, PGeo). The goal of the upcoming drill program will be to increase the maiden resource estimate by following the drilling recommendations provided by Stantec in the Technical Report. Spearmint's two other lithium projects in Clayton Valley, Nevada include the recently acquired 'Green Clay Lithium Project' comprised of 97 contiguous claims totaling approximately 2,000 acres, and the 'Elon Lithium Brine Project' which has access to some of the deepest parts of the only lithium brine basin in production in North America. Lithium prices have once again broken out to all-time highs, having seen an approximate 100-percent surge since August 1, 2021, and are now up over 300-percent in 2021.

On October 13, 2021, Cypress Development Corp announced, "The assembly of the pilot plant for the company's 100-per-cent-owned Clayton Valley lithium project in Nevada is complete." As seen on the map below, Cypress Development Corp. and Spearmint share this blanket-like, lithium-bearing claystone formation. Also, on August 17, 2021, Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. partner Schlumberger New Energy announced receiving approval from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a plan of operations covering the construction and operation of a pilot plant at Pure Energy's Clayton Valley, Nevada, lithium brine project, which Spearmint directly borders. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Spearmint may not necessarily be indicative to the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties.





Clayton Valley Map

To view an enhanced version of this map, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4360/101811_a43c6a5e14a71be9_002full.jpg

James Nelson, President of Spearmint Resources, stated, "We are very pleased to have contracted Harris for the upcoming drill program on the 'McGee Lithium Clay Project' in Clayton Valley, Nevada. Harris Exploration is not only familiar with our project, having conducted our first drill program, but is one of the most reputable and professional drilling companies operating in Nevada with extensive knowledge and experience drilling for lithium. There has been massive market attention focused on lithium in Nevada recently, as such, drill rigs are at a premium and Spearmint will be one of the few companies to have secured a drill rig within this current lithium exploration rush. Since August 1st, 2021, lithium prices have gone parabolic, increasing over 100% and are now up over 300% since the beginning of 2021. Clearly, this is an opportune time to be recommencing operations on our lithium holdings in Clayton Valley, Nevada. This upcoming drill program will use the recommendations provided by Stantec in the Technical Report, with the goal to increase our maiden resource estimate. Spearmint still has approximately $3 million in the treasury; we are well funded for multiple planned drill and work programs in the US and Canada with no need to raise additional funds. We look forward to building upon an already active and successful year and we are about to enter a major news flow cycle. The remainder of 2021 and beyond will be an extremely active period for Spearmint with potential catalysts coming ahead on multiple projects."

Qualified Person

Mr. Frank Bain, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained within this news release.

About Spearmint Resources

Spearmint's primary projects include three lithium projects in Clayton Valley, Nevada; the 'McGee Lithium Clay Project' which has a maiden resource estimate of 815,000 indicated tonnes and 191,000 inferred tonnes for a total of 1,006,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), directly bordering Pure Energy Minerals & Cypress Development Corp.; the 'Elon Lithium Brine Project' which has access to some of the deepest parts of the only lithium brine basin in production in North America; and the recently acquired 'Green Clay Lithium Project' comprised of 97 contiguous claims totaling approximately 2,000 acres.

Spearmint's other primary projects include the 'Goose' Gold project directly bordering New Found Gold Corp. where Spearmint has sampled up to 973 ppb gold, and the Perron-East Gold Project consisting of 5 mineral claim blocks covering 11,608 acres located in the Abitibi greenstone belt of northwestern Quebec in the direct vicinity of Amex Exploration Inc.'s Perron property and past-producing Normetal mine. For a complete list of Spearmint's projects please visit spearmintresources.ca. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Spearmint may not necessarily be indicative to the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties.

If you would like to be added to Spearmint's news distribution list, please send your email address to info@spearmintresources.ca

Contact Information

Tel: 1604646-6903

www.spearmintresources.ca

"James Nelson"

President

Spearmint Resources Inc.

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101811
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - TeamViewer (TMVWF.PK, TMVWY.PK) confirmed its preliminary third quarter results. The company stated that it is not satisfied with the results, and will address this by reconfiguring some of the growth initiatives and cost structure. The company will provide more detail at its Capital Markets Day. Third quarter adjusted EBITDA decreased to 42.3 million euros from 58.2 million euros, previous year. Profit for the period declined to 3.7 million euros or 0.02 euros per share from 31.6 million euros or 0.16 euros per share. Revenue increased to 127.7 million euros from 117.2 million euros. Billings were up 18% to 125.8 million euros. TeamViewer confirmed its outlook. Full year 2021 billings are anticipated in a range between 535 million euros to 555 million euros, and revenue between 495 million euros to 505 million euros. The company increased its subscriber base by 11% year-over-year to 628,000 at quarter end. Total subscriber churn improved to 14.6% from 15.7%, prior year. 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.
MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - German luxury carmaker BMW AG (BMW.L, BAMXF.PK, BAMXY.PK) reported Wednesday that its third-quarter net profit climbed 42.4 percent to 2.58 billion euros from last year's 1.82 billion euros. Earnings per share grew to 3.89 euros from 2.71 euros a year ago. Group profit before tax amounted to 3.42 billion euros, up 38.7 percent from 2.46 billion euros. Group profit before financial result or EBIT rose 50 percent from last year to 2.88 billion euros. Revenues were up 4.5 percent to 27.47 billion euros from last year's 26.28 billion euros. The company noted that lower sales volume was more than offset by the continuation of positive pricing effects for new and pre-owned vehicles as well as a favourable product mix. Revenues grew 3.5 percent adjusted for currency factors. The company delivered a total of 593,177 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles, down 12.2 percent from last year's 675,592 units due to the supply situation. Looking ahead, BMW continues to forecast a Group profit before tax that is significantly higher than in the previous year. 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. - November 3, 2021) - Defence Therapeutics Inc. (CSE: DTC) (OTC Pink: DTCFF) (FSE: DTC) ("Defence" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company working on the development of next generation cancer therapeutics and infectious disease vaccines is pleased to announce the successful completion of its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine (AccuVAC-PT001) toxicology studies in non-rodent rabbit model.

The AccuVAC-PT001 vaccine is an injectable vaccine capable of inducing a powerful and sustainable antibody response in both rodent and non-rodent models. The vaccine proprietary recipe consists of chemically modifying the COVID-19 Spike protein with the AccumTM moiety. Once delivered in animals, the protein accumulates very efficiently in target antigen presenting cells leading to extremely high antibody titers. Extensive analyses conducted on vaccinated rabbits showed no effects induced by the vaccine on animal behaviour, food intake, body weight, skin at injected sites and liver enzymatic function amongst other investigated organs. Defence is currently working on two different protein-based vaccine candidates.

"We are continuously working to move our lead compounds forward to bring products with stronger and more precise efficacy. The AccuVAC-PT001 is one the two COVID-19 vaccines currently being developed in parallel by our team. A GLP study is currently underway and is one of the few remaining steps needed to fulfill all the requirements of regulatory agencies prior to initiate a Phase I trial in 2022," says Mr. Plouffe, CEO of Defence Therapeutics.

Defence Therapeutics is currently working on developing both a vaccine to block COVID-19 infection and pathophysiology as well as an intranasally-delivered vaccine designed to completely block viral transmission. The developed "know-how" combined to the versatility of the AccumTM technology position Defence as a leading biotech company with its AccumTM platform to rapidly face current and future possible pandemics based on both injectable and non-invasive vaccine formulations.



Additional Information:

The Company makes no express or implied claims that it has developed a vaccine to treat COVID-19 (or SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time.

Dr. Moutih Rafei, Defence's VP Research and Development, has reviewed and approved the scientific disclosure contained in this press release. Dr. Rafei has a PhD in Experimental Medicine from McGill University and received his post-doctoral training at Universite de Montreal. He is an immuno-oncologist who specializes in the fields of T-cell development, stem cell biology, cancer immunotherapy and autoimmune diseases.

About Defence:

Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded biotechnology company working on engineering the next generation vaccines and ADC products using its proprietary platform. The core of Defence Therapeutics platform is the ACCUMTM technology, which enables precision delivery of vaccine antigens or ADCs in their intact form to target cells. As a result, increased efficacy and potency can be reached against catastrophic illness such as cancer and infectious diseases.

For further information:

Sebastien Plouffe, President, CEO and Director

P: (514) 947-2272

Splouffe@defencetherapeutics.com

www.defencetherapeutics.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the CSE nor its market regulator, as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101605
NUR-SULTAN, Republic of Kazakhstan, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IG Global Group LLC ("IGG") and RLS Metals Ltd ("RLS"), together "The Companies", are pleased to announce the signing of a partnership and collaboration agreement for mineral exploration in the Republic of Kazakhstan.



IGG has entered into an exclusive agreement to invest in RLS Metals, which holds numerous mineral exploration tenements representing over 3,500 square kilometers of highly prospective copper and gold targets. The transaction brings the strength and depth of the IG team into the RLS Metals exploration endowment.

Both IGG and RLS believe the Republic of Kazakhstan to have exceptional opportunities for the discovery and development of world-class copper and gold deposits. The Companies are committed to strategic planning and cooperation for the joint optimal exploration of these mineral assets, and each have highly experienced teams in place that are now focusing on identifying numerous flagship deposits.

Thomas E. Bowens, President & CEO of IGG and Travis Naugle, Managing Director of RLS Metals Ltd stated, "This strategic partnership solidifies our goal to target high value gold and porphyry copper gold assets for exploration and development. We are confident that the combined expertise of our companies, and our shared track records of achievement, make this a powerful combination for success. Thanks to the vision and foresight by the leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan, we believe that Kazakhstan's rich mineral endowment has become uniquely positioned to supply strategic metals needs for the renewable energy economy."

On the Republic of Kazakhstan

The Republic of Kazakhstan is extremely rich in mineral resources thanks to the very favourable geographical position of the country. It has a very diverse geological composition, including: gold, copper, chrome & iron ore deposits, polymetallic deposits, tungsten, molybdenum and uranium ores, as well as a large supply of oil and natural gas resources.

Kazakhstan has spent the last five years establishing an efficient mining investment framework. In 2016, Kazakhstan became a member of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Standards, and in 2017 it adopted simplified mineral licensing after the Australian model, ensuring open access to geological data and its digitization, as well as a simplified procedure for providing subsoil use rights, establishing and classifying mineral resources.

Some of the very large, modern projects being developed in Kazakhstan are Aktogay (large scale open pit mine located in the East Kazakhstan Region (KazMinerals), Bozshakol (large scale open-pit copper mine in the Pavlodar Region (KazMinerals), and Koksay (copper mine development project in south-eastern Kazakhstan).

About IG Global Group LLC

IGG is a private international holding company focused on the exploration and development of world class mineral deposits. The Company's collective activities consist of mineral exploration, mining operations and mining service companies, with projects and clients in the United States and the Russian Far East. IGG was founded in 2010 by Thomas E. Bowens, a Certified Professional Geologist, with degrees in Economics, Geological Engineering.

About RLS Metals Ltd

RLS is a private holding company focused on the identification and development of mineral deposits in the Republic of Kazakhstan with a mission to deliver precious and strategic metals to the global market in support of the new energy economy. Founded by managing director Travis Naugle, a licensed Professional Engineer with MBA from the University of Chicago Booth and a degree in Mining Engineering from Montana Tech, the RLS team has led numerous industrial successes in Kazakhstan, the Russian Far East and China. RLS applies best business practices in all areas of safety, environment, sustainable operations and development, optimizing both local and international expertise for the benefit of the Republic of Kazakhstan and all stakeholders. For more information, visit: www.rlsmetals.com

Contact:

info@igglobalgroup.com

info@rlsmetals.com




Regulatory News:

As part of Apollo's1 sale of its remaining stake in Verallia (Paris:VRLA) by way of a private placement with accelerated book building, Verallia has bought back 3.7 million of its shares at a unit price of 30.50 on November 3, 2021. The settlement of the transaction will take place on or about November 5, 2021. This 112,850,000 transaction is financed with the Group's available cash (580.3 million as at September 30, 2021) and is carried out as part of the share buyback program authorized pursuant to the 10th resolution approved by the shareholders' general meeting held on June 15, 2021. The completion of this transaction will not impact Verallia's credit profile.

Bought-back shares will not be cancelled and will be held for delivery as payment or exchange in relation to a potential external growth transaction.

About Verallia At Verallia, our purpose is to re-imagine glass for a sustainable future. We want to redefine how glass is produced, reused and recycled, to make it the world's most sustainable packaging material. We work in common cause with our customers, suppliers and other partners across the value chain to develop new healthy and sustainable solutions for all.

With around 10,000 people and 32 glass production facilities in 11 countries, we are the leading European and the third largest producer globally of glass containers for food and beverages, providing innovative, customized and environmentally-friendly solutions to more than 10,000 businesses around the world.

Verallia produced more than 16 billion bottles and jars and achieved revenues of 2.5 billion in 2020. Verallia is listed on compartment A of the Euronext Paris stock exchange (Ticker: VRLA ISIN: FR0013447729) and belongs to the SBF 120, CAC Mid 60, CAC Mid Small et CAC All-Tradable indexes. For more information, visit www.verallia.com

Personal data protection

You can unsubscribe from our press release distribution list at any time by sending your request to the following email address: investors@verallia.com. Press releases will still be available to access via the website https://www.verallia.com/en/investors/ .

Verallia SA, as data controller, processes personal data for the purpose of implementing and managing its internal and external communication. This processing is based on legitimate interests. The data collected (last name, first name, professional contact details, profiles, relationship history) is essential for this processing and is used by the relevant departments of the Verallia group and, where applicable, its subcontractors. Verallia SA transfers personal data to its service providers located outside the European Union, who are responsible for providing and managing technical solutions related to the aforementioned processing. Verallia SA ensures that the appropriate guarantees are obtained in order to supervise these data transfers outside of the European Union. Under the conditions defined by the applicable regulations for the protection of personal data, you may access and obtain a copy of the data concerning you, object to the processing of this data and request for it to be rectified or erased. You also have a right to restrict the processing of your data. To exercise one of these rights, please contact the Group Financial Communication Department at: investors@verallia.com. If, after having contacted us, you believe that your rights have not been respected or that the processing does not comply with data protection regulations, you may submit a complaint to the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertes (French regulatory body).

1 Through Horizon Investment Holdings S.a. r.l., a company owned by Horizon Parent Holdings S.a. r.l., which is itself indirectly controlled by AIF VIII Euro Leverage, L.P., an investment fund managed by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005499/en/

Contacts:

Verallia Investor Relations contact

Alexandra Baubigeat Boucheron - alexandra.baubigeat-boucheron@verallia.com

Press contacts

Brunswick Benoit Grange, Hugues Boeton, Tristan Roquet Montegon verallia@brunswickgroup.com+33 1 53 96 83 83
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.
PRAGUE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the missions that Zentiva has consistently pursued is to connect Academia and the Pharmaceutical Industry to accelerate drug development innovation and meet the unmet needs of the patients. Our company is pleased to resume the scientific exchange program as part of the ORBIS project, which was created within the largest EU grant programs HORIZON 2020, to connect European and American universities with Industrial partners at the scientific level.

Thanks to the experience gained in the health and safety of the working environment during the covid-19 pandemic as well as to massive roll-out of vaccination programs after 1,5 years Zentiva is reopening its laboratories to promising European scientists to further move pharmaceutical research ahead. In October, Zentiva welcomed its first of several new students who will be conducting their company research. Jernej Stukelj, who arrived in Zentiva for a three-month study stay from the University of Helsinki will dedicate his work in Prague to test novel dissolution methods that have been developed at his home university, using real-life examples provided by Zentiva.

"The cooperation within ORBIS represents an excellent opportunity for all partners. While academic research aims to increase understanding on the fundamental levels, the industry is providing real-life examples where academic hypotheses can be tested and further developed, providing new opportunities to learn to all involved partners. This is further increasing our innovation power aimed to develop difficult to make generics and value-added medicines, meeting currently unmet needs in healthcare," comments Pavel Sebek, Development Director at Zentiva.

Since the beginning of the partnership in 2018, Zentiva has offered sixteen medium-term research stays - so-called secondments, thanks to which both parties have been enriched with novel scientific and industrial approaches and procedures that will in the long-term help patients. Zentiva's strong involvement in the ORBIS project was also confirmed through the co-organization of a summer school in 2019. It was organized together with the University of Helsinki and strongly focused on dosage forms and novel drug delivery systems. In 2020, although the coronavirus pandemic significantly reduced cross-border exchanges within ORBIS, the partners managed to adapt and continue the work up to the extent it was possible to reach under given circumstances. From our company's side two scientific papers, authored by the visiting scientists and experts from Zentiva, were published based on collaborative research activities.

Already now, the results of the research performed within ORBIS reached thousands of people. As a long-term result of ORBIS, all the partners believe that deeper scientific understanding and a strong network between academia and industry will shorten the drug product development process, mitigating the risk of failures, making new drug products more accessible and affordable for society.

About ORBIS

The overarching objective of ORBIS is to form an international and inter-sectoral academic and industrial network. The action is aimed at improving the preclinical pathway of medicine development concentrating on processes and technologies. The goal is to integrate multidisciplinary research by involving the academia and the industry from EU (Poland, Ireland, Finland, Germany, and the Czech Republic), EU-associated countries (Ukraine) and US. Find out more at www.orbisproject.eu.

About Zentiva

Zentiva is a producer of high-quality affordable medicines serving patients in Europe and beyond. With a dedicated team of more than 4,500 people and a network of production sites - including flagship sites in Prague, Bucharest, and Ankleshwar - Zentiva strives to be the champion of branded and generic medicines in Europe to better support people's daily healthcare needs. At Zentiva it is our aspiration that healthcare should be a right and not a privilege. More than ever, people need better access to high-quality affordable medicines and healthcare. We work in partnership with physicians, pharmacists, wholesalers, regulators, and governments to provide the everyday solutions that we all depend on. Visit us at www.zentiva.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/788903/Zentiva_Logo.jpg

Media Contact

Mounira Lemoui

Head of Communications

ZENTIVA GROUP, a.s.

U kabelovny 529/16, Dolni Mecholupy, 102 00 Prague 10

Mobil: (+420) 727 873 159

E-mail: mounira.lemoui@zentiva.com
It is time to rethink democracy

MADRID, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the conclusion of its Annual Policy Dialogue 2021 'Rethinking Democracy' , Club de Madrid , the largest forum of democratic former Heads of State and Government working to strengthen inclusive democratic practice, calls citizens and leaders to protect, nurture and promote democracy. In the Dialogue's Concluding Document 'Club de Madrid's Commitment to Democracy' , the organization offers actionable proposals to 'rethink' democratic systems.

Twenty years after its foundation, Club de Madrid is set on changing the notion that democratic systems cannot deliver anymore. Lack of trust in institutions, increasing inequality, persistent patterns of social exclusion, self-serving elites, lower social mobility, political polarisation and rising authoritarian tendencies, are only some examples of the challenges confronting democracy worldwide. While all of it precedes COVID-19, the pandemic has exacerbated these challenges.

By organising this Policy Dialogue in collaboration with the Bertelsmann Stiftung and a wide array of partners including the Alfred Landecker Foundation, the German Federal Foreign Office, Boston Global Forum and Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and the EU, Club de Madrid presents a set of far-reaching proposals to adapt our leadership styles, information ecosystems and institutional settings to the realities of the 21st Century.

In the Dialogue's Concluding Document, Club de Madrid reaffirms its conviction that liberal democracy is the best system of government. Club de Madrid welcomes the upcoming US-led Summit for Democracy and as a member of the Summit's civil society working group on authoritarianism, invites organisers to extend its objectives beyond the immediate geopolitical interests of any country.

The Concluding Document calls for the creation of an international peer-review mechanism on democratic practice and the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur for Democracy. Democratic states and the international community must be more proactive in countering democratic backsliding and should act sooner at signs of concentration of power, erosion of the rule of law, attempts to undermine the judiciary, attacks on media and civil society organizations, among other authoritarian practices. Responding to democratic backsliding before it is too late requires early warning mechanisms followed by decisive action.

Contemporary authoritarianism is an existential test for democratic societies. To that end, Club de Madrid expresses concern over how illiberally inclined states increase their influence in regional and international organizations. Democracies should work together in opposing and countering interferences from authoritarian regimes - transnational repression, cyberattacks, disinformation, digital authoritarianism and economic coercion.

Democratic governments must work to make sure multilateral institutions reflect the values and principles of democracy, particularly fundamentalhuman rights. Their promotion should be at the center of all domestic and foreign policy. Following this commitment, Club de Madrid asks democratic nations to tread carefully when engaging with authoritarian regimes, as the latter can often seek legitimacy and perpetuation by offering small concessions.

Corruption remains a dangerous threat. At a time of massive investment from COVID-19 recovery funds, governments must reaffirm their commitment to ending impunity for corruption offences. Club de Madrid's Concluding Document calls for strengthening international cooperation in combating corruption and invites states to consider proposals for establishing an International Anti-Corruption Court.

Excessive polarisation and populist movements can cripple a democracy, endangering neutral political institutions and norms. Political nationalism and the increasing use of divisive rhetoric threaten democratic societies. It is important to prevent these from leading into any form of authoritarianism.

Club de Madrid encourages governments and international organisations to address unattended social problems fuelling polarisation. In line with UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres' demands for a renewed social contract, Club de Madrid advocates for a 2025 World Social Summit to better advance the international development agenda.

Online disinformation and hate speech also drive and feed political polarisation. Democracies must establish information ecosystems that support a safe, healthy, and fully functioning society. The Concluding Document calls for democratic nations to support high-quality journalism, public interest media and radical transparency in the access to information. States should also work together to guarantee users' rights and adopt rules that limit monopolistic practices of social media companies.

Responsible political leadership is crucial to combating democratic backsliding, so is corporate and civil society leadership. Club de Madrid sees the need for far-reaching changes in the culture and practice of leadership recruitment. There should be more emphasis on ethical convictions, integrity, commitment to the common good and team building.

Democracy also requires a culture based on principles and values. Club de Madrid calls on the establishment of civic education in early childhood, primary and secondary education to achieve greater civic literacy. Democracies should put forward mechanisms to build citizens' capacity to engage in policymaking, particularly youth's engagement in politics, including young women and girls, and the promotion of intergenerational dialogue.

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95AdMejeirU

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677226/Club_de_Madrid_Logo.jpg
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

VANCOUVER, BC and UTTENWEILER, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. (CSE:XPHY)(OTCQB:XPHYF)(FSE:4XT) ("XPhyto" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Dr. Thomas Beckert as the managing director of XP Diagnostics GmbH, a 100% owned subsidiary of XPhyto.

With the next phase of growth and development, Prof. Dr. Thomas Beckert will be appointed to the position of managing director of XP Diagnostics GmbH to run XPhyto's operations in Germany and to oversee the integration of 3a-diagnostics GmbH ("3a"). Prof. Dr. Beckert is a world-renowned expert in thin film drug delivery systems and the managing director of Vektor Pharma TF GmbH, a 100% XPhyto owned German drug manufacturer, developer, and research organization located in the district of Biberach, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. His expertise includes formulation and machine development for transdermal and oral dissolvable therapeutic systems. For over a decade, Prof. Dr. Beckert and his team have been leaders in the design, testing and manufacture of thin film drug formulations, particularly transdermal patches and sub-lingual (oral) strips for the delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients for the treatment of pain and neurological indications.

Wolfgang Probst, previously COO of XPhyto, will continue as a Director of XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. This strategic change allows for the Company's transition and integration of 3a-diagnostics GmbH.

Hugh Rogers stated, "We are extremely pleased with this appointment of Prof. Dr. Thomas Beckert as Managing Director. He, along with his team, will ensure the seamless integration of 3a-diagnostics and the development of the Company's novel biosensor. 3a's innovative biosensor system in particular, is a promising and reliable platform technology for accurate, early screening and diagnosis of diseases. This strategically combines Vektor Pharma's thin film technology and 3a-diagnostics Biosensors to create a novel and exciting product pipeline.

The Company will also launch a non-brokered private placement of common shares (the "Offering") and unsecured convertible debentures (the "Debentures"). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company has arranged a non-brokered private placement of up to 5,000,000 common shares of the Company (the "Shares") at a price of $1.00 per Share for total gross proceeds of up to $5,000,000.

The Company has arranged the issue of up to $2,500,000 of unsecured convertible debentures and 2,000,000 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants"). The Debentures will bear interest from the date of issuance at a rate of 8.0% per annum, payable semi-annually, and will mature on the date that is two years from the date of issuance. The principal amount of the Debentures is convertible at the option of the holder into common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Common Shares") at any time prior to the Maturity Date at a conversion price of $1.25 per Common Share. Conversion of the Debentures may be forced at the option of the Company if the 15-day volume weighted average price of the Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange exceeds 250% per share of the exercise price. Each Warrant is exercisable by the holder into one common share of the Company at a price of $1.50 per share for a period of two years from the date of issuance.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering and Debentures for research and development, inventory purchases, general working capital purposes, and to complete the acquisition of 3a, as first announced July 20, 2021 (the "Acquisition"). Further to the Acquisition agreement between XPhyto and 3a, the parties have agreed to extend the closing terms which is expected to complete on or around December 1, 2021.

Completion of the Offering and Debentures is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including notice to the CSE. The securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a statutory four month hold period. Finder's fees will be paid in connection with the Offering pursuant to applicable CSE policies and Canadian securities regulations.

About XPhyto Therapeutics Corp.

XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. is a bioscience accelerator focused on next-generation drug delivery, diagnostic, and new active pharmaceutical ingredient investment opportunities, including: precision transdermal and oral dissolvable drug formulations; rapid, low-cost infectious disease and oral health screening tests; and standardization of emerging active pharmaceutical ingredients for neurological applications, including psychedelic compounds and cannabinoids. The Company has research and development operations in North America and Europe, with an operational focus in Germany, and is currently focused on regulatory approval and commercialization of medical products for European markets.

XPhyto Therapeutics Corp.

Hugh Rogers, CEO and Director

Investor Inquiries:

Mr. Knox Henderson

T: 604-551-2360

E: info@xphyto.com

Forward looking statements

This news release includes statements containing forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "develop", "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "potential", "propose" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and in this release include the statement regarding the Company's goal of building a successful diagnostic, drug delivery, and medical cannabis company. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including: that the Company may not succeed in developing a commercial product; that the sale of products may not be a viable business; that the Company may be unable to scale its business; product liability risks; product regulatory risk; general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; currency risks; competition; international risks; and other risks beyond the Company's control. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE: XPhyto Therapeutics Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670920/XPhyto-Announces-Managing-Director-Appointment-Financing-and-3a-diagnostics-Development
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - MAX RESOURCE CORP. (TSXV: MXR) (OTC Pink: MXROF) (FSE: M1D2) ("Max" or the "Company") is pleased to report high-grade assay results at CONEJO, located along the CESAR North 90-kilometre-long copper-silver belt, within the wholly-owned CESAR project in North Eastern Colombia (refer to Figure 1).

The CONEJO high-grade zone now extends over 3.7-km with average grade of 4.9% copper using 2% cutoff (refer to Figure 2).

To date, 13 rock samples returned values greater than 8.0% copper; 53 returned values greater than 5.0% copper; 93 returned values of 2.0% copper and above; 36 returned values greater than 20 g/t silver over widths ranging from 0.5 to 20.0m. Highlight values of 12.5 % copper and 126 g/t silver (refer to Table 1).

In addition, composite results include 7.5% copper and 86 g/t silver over widths of 6.0m (878814 to 878816); 5.2% copper and 46 g/t silver over widths of 10.0m (878820 to 878824) and 3.2% copper and 32 g/t silver over widths of 10.0m (878804 to 878808) (refer to Figures 2 to 8).

Highlights:

- 9.9% copper and 50 g/t silver over widths of 2.0m chip channel (878823)

- 9.3% copper and 126 g/t silver over widths of 2.0m chip channel (878814)

- 7.5% copper and 93 g/t silver over widths of 2.0m chip channel (878839)

- 7.3% copper and 100 g/t silver over widths of 2.0m chip channel (878816)

- 7.0% copper and 56 g/t silver over widths of 2.0m chip channel (878751)

Highlights 2021 :

- 12.5% copper and 84 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m panel (878335)

- 10.5% copper and 50 g/t silver over 3.0m by 2.0m panel (878603)

- 10.4% copper and 95 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m panel (878338)

- 10.2% copper and 62 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m panel (878334)

- 10.0% copper and 80 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m panel (878363)

- 8.6% copper and 89 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m panel (878336)

- 8.4% copper and 60 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m panel (878337)

The CONEJO mineralization is hosted in a stockwork within igneous host rock and is associated with the presence of epidote. Observed minerals include: chalcocite, native copper, cuprite and copper oxides.

"The presence of high-grade copper in both the stratabound horizon and within the igneous hosted stockwork cutting the copper horizon suggest CONEJO to be a significant stand alone copper target capable of hosting a substantial copper deposit," commented Max CEO, Brett Matich.

"In addition, the Max technical team has commenced a targeted exploration program over the 48-km URU zone, located 30-km south of CONEJO," he continued.

"In 20 years, BloombergNEF says copper miners need to double the amount of global copper production, just to meet the demand for a 30% penetration rate of electric vehicles from the current 20Mt a year to 40Mt. Max shareholders are well positioned to take advantage, with significant potential for district-scale discoveries throughout the CESAR basin," he concluded.





Figure 1: CONEJO Location



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/101818_c69198cd94217970_002full.jpg





Figure 2: CONEJO 3.7-km >2.0% copper (refer to Table 1)



To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/101818_c69198cd94217970_003full.jpg





Figure 3: (878814-816) and (878820-824)



To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/101818_c69198cd94217970_004full.jpg





Figure 4: (878804-808)



To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/101818_c69198cd94217970_005full.jpg





Figure 5: (878603)



To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/101818_c69198cd94217970_006full.jpg





Figure 6: (876823)



To view an enhanced version of Figure 6, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/101818_c69198cd94217970_007full.jpg





Figure 7: (878617,619,620,621)



To view an enhanced version of Figure 7, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/101818_c69198cd94217970_008full.jpg





Figure 8: (878751)



To view an enhanced version of Figure 8, please visit:

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Copper (%) Silver (g/t) Width (m) Sample Type Sample No. 9.9 50 2.0 Chip channel 878823 9.3 126 2.0 Chip channel 878814 7.5 93 2.0 Chip Channel 878839 7.4 75 1.2 Chip Channel 878830 7.3 100 2.0 Chip channel 878816 7.0 56 2.0 Chip Channel 878751 6.9 29 2.0 Chip channel 878821 6.6 66 1.2 Chip Channel 878801 6.5 49 1.2 Chip channel 878810 5.7 32 2.0 Chip channel 878815 5.6 57 2.0 Chip Channel 876804 5.3 66 2.0 Chip Channel 878836 4.7 52 1.2 Chip Channel 876836 4.3 46 1.6 Chip Channel 878831 4.0 43 1.0 Chip channel 878818 3.5 44 0.6 Chip channel 878826 3.5 30 0.5 Chip Channel 876840 3.4 66 2.0 Chip Channel 878820 3.4 54 2.0 Chip channel 878822 3.4 54 1.5 Chip Channel 878757 3.4 28 0.5 Chip Channel 876171 3.1 38 2.0 Chip Channel 876806 3.1 35 1.5 Chip Channel 876809 2.9 27 2.0 Chip Channel 876807 2.6 36 2.0 Chip Channel 876805 2.6 28 1.7 Chip Channel 876834 2.5 23 5.0 Chip Channel 878807 2.4 18 0.5 Chip Channel 876839 2.3 23 3.0 Chip Channel 878804 2.3 10 2.0 Chip channel 878824 2.1 16 2.0 Chip channel 878809 12.5 84 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878335 10.7 52 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878389 10.5 50 3.0 x 2.0 Panel 878603 10.4 95 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878338 10.2 62 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878334 10.0 80 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878363 9.5 120 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878390 9.0 67 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878391 8.8 66 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878386 8.6 89 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878336 8.4 60 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878337 7.9 21 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878368 7.7 84 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878373 7.4 47 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878333 7.3 80 3.0 x 3.0 Panel 878394 7.0 45 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878352 6.0 29 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878356 5.8 16 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878348 5.5 84 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878388 5.5 64 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878393 5.3 19 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878349 5.0 54 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878604 4.9 36 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878625 4.9 11 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878347 4.7 32 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878362 4.6 29 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878351 4.5 21 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878620 4.4 26 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878614 4.2 41 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878387 4.1 16 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878381 3.9 31 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878353 3.8 18 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878617 3.8 4.6 1.0 x 0.5 Panel 878602 3.6 15 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878619 3.5 19 3.0 x 3.0 Panel 878359 3.5 19 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878364 3.4 17 3.0 x 3.0 Panel 878358 3.3 5 15.0 Representative 876847 3.3 8 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878427 3.3 29 3.0 x 3.0 Panel 878360 3.1 15 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878621 3.0 23 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878469 3.0 45 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878496 2.9 23 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878605 2.8 13 20.0 Representative 876823 2.7 8 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878346 2.7 20 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878361 2.6 30 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878606 2.6 29 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878607 2.5 21 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878610 2.5 15 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878354 2.4 3 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878382 2.4 13 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878345 2.4 14 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878000 2.3 13 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878460 2.3 3 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878424 2.1 6 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878601 2.1 6 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878461 2.0 6 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878419 2.0 21 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878379 2.0 13 5.0 x 5.0 Panel 878628 2.0 5 1.0 x 1.0 Panel 878551

Table 1. Rock assays >2.0% copper collected from the 3.7-km high-grade zone (refer to Figure 2 to 8). Max cautions investors that panel and representative grab sampling can be selective and may not be representative of mineralization at CESAR.

Max interprets the CONEJO sediment-hosted stratabound copper-silver mineralization in the Cesar basin to be analogous to both the Central African Copper Belt (CACB). Almost 50% of the copper known to exist in sediment-hosted deposits is contained in the CACB, including Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (TSX: IVN) 95-billion-pound Kamoa-Kakula copper deposits in the Congo.

Source: Central African Belt Descriptive models, grade-tonnage relations, and databases for the assessment of sediment-hosted copper deposits with emphasis on deposits in the Central Africa Copperbelt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia by USGS 2010. Kamoa-Kakula by OreWin March 2020. Max cautions investors that the presence of copper mineralization of the Central African Copper Belt are not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization at CESAR.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

All CESAR rock chip samples are shipped to ALS Lab's sample preparation facility in Medellin, Columbia. Sample pulps are then sent to Lima, Peru, for analysis. All samples are analyzed using ALS procedure ME-MS41, a four-acid digestion with inductively coupled plasma finished. Over-limit copper and silver are determined by ALS procedure OG-62, a four-acid digestion with an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish. ALS Labs is independent from Max.

Max uses standard chip and channel sampling where possible, but also relies on composite grab sampling. Max considers composite grab samples to be representative but cautions investors that individual grab samples can be selective and may not be representative of continuous mineralization at CESAR.

QUALIFIED PERSON

The Company's disclosure of a technical or scientific nature in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Tim Henneberry, P Geo (British Columbia), a member of the Max Resource Advisory Board, who serves as a qualified person under the definition of National Instrument 43:101.

CESAR COPPER-SILVER PROJECT IN COLOMBIA - OVERVIEW

CESAR lies along the copper-silver rich 200-kilometre-long Cesar Basin in northeastern Colombia. This region enjoys major infrastructure resulting from oil & gas and mining operations, including Cerrejon, the largest coal mine in Latin America, now held by global miner Glencore (refer to Figures 1 and 5).





Figure 9. CESAR Project location.



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Due to the district-scale and copper-silver prospectivity of the Cesar Basin, Max has implemented a multi-faceted exploration program for 2021:

Advanced Drill Core Analysis and Modelling: ongoing interpretation of seismic sections and analysis of historical drill holes are all being integrated into our structural modelling of the Cesar Basin, in collaboration with Ingenieria Geologica Universidad Nacional de Colombia ("IGUN") in Medellin (January 7, 2021 NR).

Geochemical and Mineralogical: research programs by the University of Science and Technology ("AGH") of Krakow, Poland. AGH bring their extensive knowledge of KGHM's world renowned Kupferschiefer sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits in Poland to the CESAR project.

Geophysical: Fathom Geophysics is interpreting seismic data, funded by the Company in collaboration with one of the world's leading copper producers.

Proprietary Field Exploration & Techniques: Max's in-country exploration teams continue to target new copper-silver stratabound mineralized zones.

CESAR North 90-kilometre-long-copper-silver belt:

- In 2020, Max discovered both the copper-silver rich AMS (previously named AM South) zone and the AMN (previously named AM North) zone 40-km north, collectively spanning over 45-km. Highlight values of 1.0 to 34.4% copper and 5 to 305 g/t silver. Intervals range 0.5 to 25.0m

- In March 2021, Max's announced the CONEJO discovery, now spanning 3.7-km of strike and open in all directions. To date, 13 rock samples returned values greater than 8.0% copper; 53 returned values greater than 5.0% copper; 93 returned values 2.0% copper and above; 36 returned values greater than 20 g/t silver over widths ranging from 0.5 to 20.0m. Highlight values are 12.5 % copper and 126 g/t silver CONEJO (November 3, 2021 NR):

- 12.5% copper + 84 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m

- 10.5% copper + 50 g/t silver over 3.0m by 2.0 m

- 10.4% copper + 95 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m

- 10.2% copper + 62 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m

- 10.0% copper + 80 g/t silver over 5.0m by 5.0m

- 9.9% copper and 50 g/t silver over widths of 2.0m

- 9.3% copper and 126 g/t silver over widths of 2.0m

- The 2021 URU discovery is located 30-km south of CONEJO, now expanded to 48-km and open in all directions. URU appears to have major-scale potential; Highlight values of 0.5 to 14.8% copper and 5 to 132 g/t silver. Widths range 1.0 to 10.0m (October 7, 2021 NR):

- 14.8% copper and 132 g/t silver outcrop over 1.5m x 0.8m

- 6.5% copper and 6 g/t silver outcrop over widths of 1.0m

- 5.6% copper and 87 g/t silver outcrop over 1.0m by 1.0m

- 4.3% copper and 8 g/t silver outcrop over widths of 10.0m

- 3.9% copper and 7 g/t silver outcrop over widths of 10.0m

- 3.6% copper and 12 g/t silver outcrop over widths of 10.0m

- 3.0% copper and 6 g/t silver outcrop over widths of 10.0m

- 3.0% copper and 37 g/t silver outcrop over widths of 10.0m

- By late April 2021, at CESAR North 90-km belt MAX had identified five copper discoveries URU, CONEJO, SP, AMN and AMS

- The new SP target reconnaissance composite grab sampling over a 25.0m outcrop averaging 4.8% copper and 51 g/t silver is considered very significant (September 7, 2021 NR)

- Exploration continues on the CONEJO and URU zones

- In addition, Max has initiated the process of mineral claim approval

ABOUT MAX RESOURCE CORP.

Max Resource Corp. is a copper and precious metals exploration company, engaged in advancing both the newly discovered district-scale CESAR copper-silver project (100% owned) in Colombia and the newly acquired RT Gold project (100% earn-in) in Peru. Both projects have potential for the discovery of large-scale mineral deposits; both stratabound-type copper-silver in Colombia and high-grade gold porphyry and massive sulfide in Peru.

Max Resource was awarded a Top 10 Ranked Company in the Mining Sector on the TSX Venture 50 for 2021, achieving a market cap increase of 1,992% and a share price increase of 282% in 2020.

For more information visit: https://www.maxresource.com/

For more information visit: www.tsx.com/venture50

TSX Venture 50 for 2021 video: MAX Resource Corp. (TSXV: MXR) - 2021 TSX Venture 50 - YouTube

For additional information contact:

Max Resource Corp.

Tim McNulty

E: info@maxresource.com

T: (604) 290-8100

*The Venture 50 ranking is provided by TSX Venture Exchange Inc. ("TSXV") for information purposes only. Neither TMX Group Limited nor any of its affiliated companies guarantees the completeness of this information and are not responsible for any errors or omissions in or any use of, or reliance on, this information. The Venture 50 program is not an invitation to purchase securities listed on TSX Venture Exchange. TSXV and its affiliates do not endorse or recommend any of the referenced securities or issuers, and this information should not be construed as providing any trading, legal, accounting, tax, investment, business, financial or other advice and should not be relied on for such purposes"

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.

Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the commercialization plans for Max Resources Corp. described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101818
MOSCOW, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) announces a new publication by the Gamaleya Center in The Lancet, one of the world's most respected medical journals, showing the one-shot Sputnik Light vaccine against coronavirus demonstrates a high safety profile and induces a strong humoral and cellular immune response. RDIF has sponsored the study.

The article in The Lancet is available at:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00227-1/fulltext

The study on safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the Sputnik Light vaccine has confirmed that the vaccine induces strong humoral and cellular immune response both in the seronegative and seropositive groups.

Most of the solicited adverse reactions observed during the study were mild or moderate. No serious adverse events were detected.

One-shot Sputnik Light is a highly effective vaccine when used both on standalone basis and applied as a booster. Sputnik Light has been authorized in more than 15 countries with the registration process ongoing in a further 30 countries.

The earlier findings by the Gamaleya Center based on data from 28,000 subjects in Moscow have demonstrated the Sputnik Light vaccine administered standalone has 70% efficacy against infection from the Delta variant of coronavirus during the first three months after vaccination. The vaccine is 75% effective among subjects under the age of 60.

Efficacy of one-shot Sputnik Light as a booster against Delta variant for other vaccines will be close to the efficacy against the Delta variant of the Sputnik V vaccine: over 83% against infection and over 94% against hospitalization.

Sputnik Light has demonstrated a superior efficacy compared with some two-shot vaccines, which have shown a major decline in efficacy against the Delta variant to less than 50% five months after injection. Standalone use of Sputnik Light also provides much higher efficacy against severe disease and hospitalizations.

Sputnik Light is a safe and highly effective vaccine against COVID as confirmed by the real-world vaccination data:

In particular, the vaccine has demonstrated efficacy of between 78.6-83.7% among the elderly as confirmed by the Ministry of Health of Buenos Aires, Argentina .

. Paraguay's Ministry of Health found Sputnik Light to be 93.5% effective during the country's ongoing vaccination campaign.

The vaccine is tested as a booster shot in a number of clinical trials around the world. In particular, a combination of AstraZeneca/Sputnik Light show higher immunogenicity levels than the original AstraZeneca vaccine.

RDIF and the Ministry of Health of Argentina are co-sponsoring the first multivaccine combination trial targeting 2,800 subjects (560 in each of the 5 provinces: City and Province of Buenos Aires, as well as Cordoba, La Rioja and San Luis).

Interim results of the study in Argentina on heterologous regimens combining Sputnik Light and vaccines produced by AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna and Cansino from over 1,000 volunteers show Sputnik Light is an effective universal booster for these vaccines. Each "vaccine cocktail" combination with Sputnik Light provided higher antibody titer on 14th day after administering the second dose as compared to original homogenous (same vaccine as first and second dose) regimens of each of the vaccines.

The data from Argentina also demonstrated high safety profile of using Sputnik Light in combinations with all other vaccines with no serious adverse events following the vaccination in any combinations.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO.L), a British multinational software and information technology company, said Wednesday it has agreed to sell its Digital Safe business to Smarsh Inc., an electronic communications archiving solutions, for $375 million in cash. The transaction is expected to complete in the first three-month period of the next calendar year.



Stephen Murdoch, Micro Focus CEO commented: '.Looking ahead, Archiving and Risk Management is changing rapidly and becoming an increasingly specialised area. We believe that by combining the Digital Safe business with Smarsh, a leading innovator in this area, our Digital Safe customers and employees will see significant benefits and be better served for the long term.'



The UK-based seller aims to use the net proceeds of the transaction to reduce its gross debt. It said, it is the intention of the Board to use the net proceeds of the transaction, estimated at $335 million net of fees, taxation and separation costs to reduce gross debt.



For the fiscal 2021, the Digital Safe business is expected to generate about $109 million in revenue, a decline of approximately 11 percent at constant currency compared to the prior year. The business is also expected to contribute $30 million of adjusted EBITDA less cash costs associated with lease payments for the current fiscal.



As of April 30, the half year, the total gross assets of the Digital Safe Business were about $373 million and net assets were about $277 million, including lease obligations totaling $43 million. The transfer of these lease obligations are expected to reduce the Group's net debt accordingly, Micro Focus said in a statement.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

MICRO FOCUS INTERNATIONAL-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
A private collection comprising internationally renowned and up and coming artists in your own personal art gallery need not be a dream any longer, thanks to KULTURA, an online art platform and its Artificial Intelligence assistant.

KULTURA.art allows you to virtually travel the world to choose and curate your own unique online art collection that can be publicly shared.

Hosting more than 20,000 works of art from over 2,700 artists in more than 100,000 3D parallel galleries, thanks to DAISY, the AI powering KULTURA, you can find what you like without spending hours looking at what you don't like.

DAISY is based on a unique dataset of millions of interactions between people and artworks. It generates personal recommendations based on behaviour and KULTURA's growing collection and its art-matching capabilities get better over time.

Designed to help users easily discover new art, create and share high resolution collections, and enjoy them in beautiful 3D virtual spaces, KULTURA is also a place for artists to showcase their work and have it promoted intelligently through AI.

For the first time, thousands of artists from across the world can for free be discovered, enjoyed and shared anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. The social media element of KULTURA means friends near and far can come together to discuss and appreciate collections, or discover new stories about art and artists.

KULTURA.art was founded by London-based start-up KULTURA ex Machina which is led by Yarden Yaroshevski, who wants to democratise art and make it both more sociable and appealing.

He says: "Platforms like Spotify make music more accessible, while Netflix gives us access to hundreds of shows. What the world lacks is a smart, easy to use, dedicated way to enjoy what should be a part of everyone's life art."

The platform has been piloted by Birmingham Museums Trust. Linda Spurdle, Digital Development Manager, says: "The pandemic could have held the collections at BMAG captive, locked up and away from an audience. KULTURA unlocked a world of access to BMAG, which ultimately helped raise awareness for both the trust and the artists behind the art."

Search classical works, discover new art, collect, curate and share your galleries art appreciation really couldn't be easier: https://kultura.art/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005136/en/

Contacts:

Nic Corns

nic.corns@makehoney.com

07954 390 132
 New StoreDot technology allows electric vehicle owners to have the same driving range through the life of a vehicle, improving ownership experience and protecting future values

 All-new system developed by StoreDot will be open-source, available to any other technology provider

 StoreDot is a pioneer and leader of extreme fast charging battery technologies, allowing a 50% reduction in charging time for the same cost

 StoreDot gives automotive manufacturers a clear technology roadmap for seamless and rapid transition to electrification to help create a cleaner world

HERZELIYA, Israel, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- StoreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs), is furthering its mission to enhance the entire electric vehicle ecosystem with an approved patent for a transformational technology, giving automotive batteries fixed capacity and driving range throughout their lifespan.

This revolutionary 'digital battery' breakthrough, achieved through a combination of patented software and cell chemistry management, gives an EV owner a fixed battery driving range for the duration of its useful service life, thus overcoming another aspect of the known Range Anxiety. It manages both charging voltages and StoreDot's XFC silicon-based cell chemistry to stress a battery less at the start of its life and balance its performance across the battery's life to deliver a driving experience with predictable and consistent range.

Until this StoreDot innovation, battery capacity, and therefore driving range, degrades over the life of the vehicle, making it one of the major frustrations of EV ownership. The certainty and consistency that this advancement provides could also improve residual values of vehicles, lowering leasing costs and further benefitting both consumers and global automotive manufacturers utilizing the technology.

As with previous patented technologies StoreDot is making this technology for improved driving experience available to other organizations to help speed up the global adoption of electric vehicles and a future zero-emissions world.

Dr Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO "Our development of extreme fast charging batteries is aligned with our commitment to the holistic improvement of the EV battery ecosystem. We want to make it more attractive for consumers to adopt zero-emissions electric vehicles. This new patent, which we will make available to any organization as open-source, is another great example of that commitment. Our new digital battery software, aligned with our leading silicon-based cell chemistry, will give all EV owners guaranteed battery performance and range throughout the ownership of their vehicles. Battery degradation is one of the main bugbears of long-term EV ownership and it's essential that we all do everything we can to promote the mass adoption of EVs, on our critical path to live in a cleaner world."

StoreDot's new digital battery patent comes shortly after its announcement of an application for ground-breaking charging booster technology, which will reduce vehicle charging times in limited charging stations. The system analyzes the charging station power in real-time allowing the XFC battery to accept higher charging rates without overheating. The company is also making this technology available to other organizations as open-source.

StoreDot is now making rapid advancements in extreme fast charging lithium-ion batteries for use in the automotive sector, increasing the number of miles per minute of charge. It is currently shipping samples to global car makers for real-world testing and remains firmly on track to deliver mass-produced XFC batteries, which deliver a 50% reduction in charging times at the same cost, by 2024.

The company presents a clear roadmap also for its next generation XED, extreme energy density solid state technologies which will enter mass production in 2028.

About StoreDot:

StoreDot is a pioneer and leader of extreme fast charging (XFC) batteries that overcome the critical barrier to mainstream EV adoption - range and charging anxiety. The company has revolutionized the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, making it possible to fully charge an EV in just five minutes - the same time it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle. StoreDot's battery technology is optimized for best driver experience with XFC in Li-ion batteries, as well as future technologies for extreme energy-density (XED).StoreDot's strategic investors include BP, Daimler, Samsung Ventures and TDK. In 2019, the company achieved a world first by demonstrating the live full charge of a two-wheeled EV in just five minutes. In 2020, the company demonstrated the scalability of its XFC batteries for other industries, by fully charging a commercial drone in five minutes in another world first. Moving XFC battery technology from the lab to a commercially-viable product for the first time, StoreDot has launched engineering samples of its Si dominant anode EV batteries that are manufactured at scale on traditional Li-ion production lines.

For more information see: www.store-dot.com .

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676970/StoreDot_1_Infographic.jpg

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676971/StoreDot_2_Infographic.jpg
Institutional Traders Can Rest Assured Their Fiat and Digital Assets Are Safe and Secure

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Apifiny, a global digital asset trading network, today announced it has partnered with leading global custody provider, Etana, to further strengthen Apifiny's institutional-grade security and compliance by ensuring traders' idle digital assets are safe and secure. In addition to its network of renowned partners and secure infrastructure, Etana distinguishes itself from other global custody providers via robust compliance as a Colorado-chartered trust company regulated by the Colorado Division of Banking.

Apifiny's mission is to build a unified, global digital asset trading network. The company believes that all institutions and all traders should have access to one, global crypto trading marketplace that's fully compliant and highly cost-effective. However, many global traders with idle digital assets do not have a regulated, secure custody solution.

Etana meets this critical need for traders (including those using Apifiny) by providing regulated, global custody solutions for G10 fiat currency pairs and digital assets, including BTC, ERC-20 and many other leading blockchain tokens. The Etana platform is integrated with a wide array of SOC-compliant wallets. Multiple security and insurance levels are available, from cold storage to advanced MPC technology, that creates cold wallet safety with the immediate trading access of a hot wallet.

"Our partnership with Etana as a market leading, regulated custodian demonstrates our continued commitment to further enhance trust and confidence throughout our trading network," said Haohan Xu, chief executive officer of Apifiny. "Our institutional traders can have peace of mind knowing that their Apifiny digital assets are safe and secure with a highly regarded, trusted partner in Etana."

Etana + Apifiny? Connect

Apifiny? Connect enables institutions to execute global, multi-exchange strategies with one account, at a lower cost than trading directly on individual exchanges, from one interface or a single set of APIs. Etana further enhances the value of Apifiny? Connect by providing seamless access to a trusted custody solution, which is especially valuable when digital assets are idle.

"We are excited to deliver an enhanced custody service to Apifiny's institutional traders," said Brandon Rusell, chief executive officer at Etana Custody. "Apifiny shares our vision in creating a safe, secure, and regulated marketplace for institutional and retail crypto investors. As the industry evolves, we look forward to delivering institutional-grade solutions with our new partner."

Etana's custody solution also integrates seamlessly with Apifiny's instant transfer of funds feature between select premier exchanges on its network, including Apifiny HEX, the company's new class of hybrid exchange. Instant transfers enable traders to act on the best available price, exploit more arbitrage opportunities, and improve capital utilization by cutting cross-exchange transfer times from hours and minutes to just seconds.

Instant transfers significantly enhance Apifiny Connect, allowing traders to more efficiently buy and sell on 25 connected markets across six continents. Importantly, the Instant Transfer Service utilizes Apifiny's own assets (i.e., no third-party pool capital) to enable traders to move their assets between exchanges more swiftly than through on-chain transactions.

This translates to Apifiny's mantra: One World. One Market. One Book

One World: Unify trading markets across 6 continents.

One Market: Make trading accessible on a single, highly liquid marketplace.

One Book: Create a single, unified order book.

Apifiny is growing rapidly and the company's connected exchanges include over 20 of the top 100 global digital asset exchanges by trading volume across 12 countries and 6 continents.

Apifiny connects institutional and retail digital asset traders with 25 exchange partners to help execute global trading strategies at the best global prices. Connected partners include Crypto.com, Huobi Global, OKEx, Kucoin, AscendEX, OKCoin and Blockchain.com's Exchange among others.

About Apifiny

Apifiny is a global digital asset trading network. Apifiny HEX (Hybrid Exchange) is designed to provide institutional traders with the best of centralized and decentralized trading, including zero taker fees, global price discovery, and deep liquidity from automated market making (AMM) and 25 centralized exchangers that collectively capture the majority of global spot trading volume. Apifiny HEX will combine centralized and AMM orders into one global order book. Apifiny also allows institutions to trade directly on 25 leading exchanges through its website or a single set of APIs. The company empowers institutional traders to execute global, multi-exchange strategies and access normalized market data, tighter spreads, and higher fill rates and capital utilization. Headquartered in the Greater NYC Area, Apifiny is a regulated trading platform with institutional-grade security and compliance. For more information, visit https://www.apifiny.com/.

About Etana

Etana Custody is a regulated trust company providing institutions, exchanges, and individuals global custody, market access, and trade settlement solutions for fiat and digital assets. Etana's industry-leading suite allows clients to manage their fiat and digital assets from a secure environment linked to many service providers. Our high compliance standards give clients peace of mind, knowing their assets will stay protected and secure. For additional information, please visit www.etana.com.

Contact:

Eric Doyle

marketing@apifiny.com

SOURCE: Apifiny

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670909/Apifiny-Partners-with-Etana-to-Enhance-Regulated-Global-Custody-for-Its-Institutional-Crypto-Traders
Sergey Yeskov, Managing Director of Central and Eastern Europe, to transition into the role

Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE: TAP) (NYSE: TAP.A) (TSX: TPX.A) (TSX: TPX.B) today announced the retirement of Simon Cox, president and CEO of Molson Coors European business unit. Sergey Yeskov, the company's current managing director of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), will transition into Cox's role on January 1, 2022.

"Sergey's well-rounded experience across geographies and business functions, along with his people-first approach, will be an asset to our Europe team and for our entire global business," said Molson Coors president and CEO, Gavin Hattersley. "Under Sergey's leadership, Molson Coors will continue to build strength for our people and for our business throughout the Europe business unit."

Hattersley made the announcement from the company's United Kingdom's head office this morning and was joined by Cox and Yeskov.

A native of Ukraine, Yeskov has held senior leadership positions for Molson Coors throughout the world delivering impressive business results and building a strong reputation for his people-first approach. Prior to serving as managing director of CEE, he served as the president and CEO of Molson Coors International where he lived in the United States and oversaw operations in India, Africa, Latin America, Japan and many more markets throughout the world. He also served as chief sales and commercial officer in Molson Coors Canada. Prior to that, he led Molson Coors' businesses in Croatia and Bosnia.

Cox retires after more than three decades in the beer industry. A master brewer by training, he worked for Molson Coors for 16 years where he led both supply chain and on trade sales teams, as well as the strategy function in the UK before going on to successfully run the UK business. He was subsequently selected to run Molson Coors Europe. During that time, he built an impressive record of success, including the acquisitions of Cobra, Sharp's Brewery and Aspall Cyder.

"Simon has brought our European business to where it is today, and all of us owe him a debt of gratitude for what he has helped us deliver and who he has helped us become," said Hattersley. "We will miss his conviction in our values and his unwavering commitment to prioritizing our people, but I couldn't be happier that he will be able to relax, unwind and travel with his wife and kids."

Molson Coors' Europe business has performed strongly through September 30, 2021, essentially reaching 2019 revenue levels in the third quarter. The business plans to keep this momentum up by stepping up its European marketing investments.

About Molson Coors

For more than two centuries Molson Coors has been brewing beverages that unite people to celebrate all life's moments. From Coors Light, Miller Lite, Molson Canadian, Carling, and Staropramen to Coors Banquet, Blue Moon Belgian White, Blue Moon LightSky, Vizzy, Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, Creemore Springs, Hop Valley and more, Molson Coors produces many beloved and iconic beer brands. While the company's history is rooted in beer, Molson Coors offers a modern portfolio that expands beyond the beer aisle as well. Our ESG strategy is focused on People and Planet with a strong commitment to raising industry standards and leaving a positive imprint on our employees, consumers, communities and the environment. To learn more about Molson Coors Beverage Company, visit molsoncoors.com, MolsonCoorsOurImprint.com or on Twitter through @MolsonCoors.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release contains 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. From time to time, the Company may also provide oral or written forward-looking statements in other materials the Company releases to the public. Such forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Statements that refer to future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements, and include, but are not limited to, the Company's, projections of future financial performance, our anticipated results and leadership expectations. In addition, statements that the Company makes in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may also be forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "intend," "goals," "plans," "believes," "continues," "may," "anticipate," "seek," "estimate," "outlook," "trends," "future benefits," "potential," "projects," "strategies," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from those indicated (both favorably and unfavorably). These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, expectations regarding the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on our business, smooth transition of leadership, our ability to deliver against the revitalization and the factors discussed in Part I-Item 1A "Risk Factors" in the Company's 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021, and those described from time to time in the Company's past and future reports filed with the SEC. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update 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/20211103005302/en/

Contacts:

News Media

Marty Maloney, (312) 496-5669
Regulatory News:

TotalEnergies (Paris:TTE) (LSE:TTE) (NYSE:TTE), Iberdrola and Norsk Havvind have joined forces to respond to the Norwegian authorities' call for tenders for the development of floating and bottom-fixed wind projects for a cumulated capacity of 4.5 GW at two offshore sites in southern Norway.

The consortium will leverage in its offer the proven technical expertise of its members in both bottom fixed and floating offshore wind, as well as its in-depth knowledge of the challenges, territories and stakeholders in Norway. Besides, on successful award, the consortium will focus on strengthening the local industrial competencies and ensuring the successful development of the Norwegian offshore wind supply chain.

"Investing in energy projects in Norway and the North Sea has been at the heart of TotalEnergies' history for several decades, especially in developing the offshore industry. As a global multi-energy company, TotalEnergies is therefore delighted to join forces with Iberdrola and Norsk Havvind to develop Norway's great offshore wind potential". said Olivier Terneaud, VP offshore wind at TotalEnergies. "The energy transition is gathering speed and Norway, with its world-class wind resources, is a great place to invest in new energy".

"This agreement in Norway fits with Iberdrola's strategy to consolidate its position as the world's largest renewable energy company and builds on previous transactions and investments in offshore wind carried out by the company in recent years. We see very good long-term potential for offshore wind projects in the Norwegian market and are determined to strengthen skills and the supply chain in the North Sea offshore wind industry," said David Rowland, Offshore Wind Business Development Director at Iberdrola.

"Together with our partners Iberdrola and TotalEnergies we will work hard to develop the Norwegian offshore wind industry, reduce emissions and create new jobs for the Norwegian supply chain", said Peder Sortland, CEO at Norsk Havvind.

TotalEnergies and offshore wind

TotalEnergies is already developing a portfolio of offshore wind projects with a total capacity of more than 6 gigawatts, of which 2/3 are bottom-fixed and 1/3 are floating. These projects are located in the United Kingdom (Seagreen project, Outer Dowsing, Erebus), South Korea (Bada project), Taiwan (Yunlin project), and France (Eolmed project). The Company has also been qualified to participate in competitive tenders in the US, UK, France, Denmark and Norway.

TotalEnergies and renewables electricity

As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, TotalEnergies is building a portfolio of activities in renewables and electricity. At the end of September 2021, TotalEnergies' gross renewable electricity generation capacity is 10 GW. TotalEnergies will continue to expand this business to reach 35 GW of gross production capacity from renewable sources by 2025, and then 100 GW by 2030 with the objective of being among the world's top 5 producers of electricity from wind and solar energy.

About TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.

@TotalEnergiesTotalEnergiesTotalEnergies TotalEnergies

About Iberdrola

Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies, a leader in renewables, which is spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. It carries out renewables, networks and commercial activities in Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, and, as growth platforms, it is present in markets such as Japan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.

With a workforce of more than 37,000 and assets in excess of 122.5 billion, in 2020, it achieved a turnover of 33 billion and a net profit of over 3.6 billion. The company contributes to sustain 400,000 jobs along its supply chain, with annual procurement of 14 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, it has allocated more than 120 billion over the last two decades to building a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.

About Norsk Havvind

Norsk Havvind is a newly formed independent project developer for offshore wind. The company is majority owned by Valinor. Valinor, through its subsidiary Norsk Vind, has been the leading private developer of onshore wind parks in Norway. Valinor has also invested in early-stage investments in cutting-edge technology companies to enable solutions for tomorrow. The now listed Zaptec AS is one example.

Cautionary Note

This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TotalEnergies SE has no liability for their acts or omissions. The terms "Company" or "TotalEnergies company" refer collectively to the company TotalEnergies SE and the companies it controls directly or indirectly. Such terms are used solely for the sake of convenience for purposes of the present communication. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005540/en/

Contacts:

TotalEnergies

Media Relations: +33 1 47 44 46 99 l presse@totalenergies.com l @TotalEnergiesPR

Investor Relations: +44 (0)207 719 7962 l ir@totalenergies.com

For more information, please call

CEO Norsk Havvind AS Peder Sortland, 47 902 81 801, peso@norskhavvind.com

TotalEnergies Corporate Affairs Communications Director Henning Eide, +47 918 66 728, henning.eide@totalenergies.com

Iberdrola Communications, Eduardo Gonzalez +34 638 146 175 egonzalezf@iberdrola.es

https://www.iberdrola.com/about-us

https://norskhavvind.no/en/about-us/

https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/about-us

https://valinor.no/en/about-us/

https://www.vindenergi.no/en/home
TRUU OPENS EUROPEAN ENGINEERING HUB IN PRAGUE

Company Expands Its Presence on the Continent at Grand Opening Event Welcoming Members of the Technology, Business, and Media Communities

Hub to Fuel Customer Growth throughout the Region and Provide Support for Existing European Workforce

TruU, the leader in continuous identity for Zero Trust, today announced that it is expanding its European presence with a new design and development hub based in Prague, Czech Republic.

TruU is making significant investments in Prague to increase access to top cybersecurity talent, accelerate its product development cycle, and firmly establish its global footprint. Initially, the company's focus will be on hiring cybersecurity-savvy data scientists skilled in AI-based deep learning and neural networks and software engineers for Java in AWS, iOS and Android, Windows and Mac OS, QA, SRE, and DevOps. The new center in Prague will become the nexus for all of TruU's European operations, with an initial focus on product development and engineering, to augment U.S.-based business and engineering centers.

"We're thrilled to join the ranks of technology giants like Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP by growing our operations in Prague," said TruU Founder and Chief Executive Lucas Budman. "The startup scene is thriving, the city is close to all major European and West Asian markets, and the time zone can support customers and team members in Canada and Singapore with equal ease. We hope you'll join us on November 08 at 5:00pm CET to learn more about TruU and our long-term vision for growth in Czech Republic."

WHO Lucas Budman, TruU founder and CEO Jiri Kopsa, TruU product manager and Prague group lead Dave Pasirstein, TruU chief product officer and head of engineering WHAT TruU Prague Grand Opening Event WHERE Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvce-vqzgiHNVMHP9kUWvHtLD_FPIjKZwh WHEN Monday, November 08, at 5:00 p.m. CET

TruU offers a patented, purpose-built AI that powers TruIdentity Cloud, the first-of-its-kind continuous adaptive trust (CAT) platform, to continually receive signals from a user's smartphone, computer, network, and proximal environment to make highly secure decisions on identity and authentication. It also uses patent-pending multipath optimization technology to find the most secure path to communicate identity to systems, applications, and resources. Importantly, TruU integrates out of the box with dozens of popular solutions for fast, secure deployment.

Join us in Prague by registering and learn more about TruU and TruIdentityCloud by visiting https://truu.ai/.

About TruU

TruU is on a mission to protect identities with security that learns and experiences users love. We remove the biggest enterprise security risk, compromised credentials, with the industry's first passwordless authentication solution that deploys in minutes and at scale. Our award-winning AI engine ingests environmental factors, behavioral biometrics, and user proximity signals for adaptive decision making and risk scoring for the best continuous identity available. No other provider can match our ability to improve security with each user experience. TruU is based in Palo Alto with operations around the world. Learn more at www.truu.ai.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005269/en/

Contacts:

KC Higgins

TruU Media

kc@truu.ai

+1 303.434.8163
The Bright Initiative, an organisation that focuses on using data for good, was joined last month by Microsoft Israel R&D Centre's Chief Scientist to lead an ethics workshop for the students and alumni of King's College London. The session formed part of the Bright Initiative's extensive global education programme and took place during King's College's Focus on Technology, Engineering and Data Week 2021.

The Bright Initiative partners with top academic institutions worldwide to promote web transparency, fight social injustice, and encourage data-driven expertise through education and research.

During the session at King's College London, Microsoft Israel R&D Centre's Chief Scientist, Dr. Tomer Simon, and Bright Data's CEO, Or Lenchner, discussed the need for a global ethical framework to support the use of advanced automation tools and bots. The pair also fielded questions from students around the potential applications of bots in different business sectors and functions.

"These educational sessions are vital in helping future tech professionals understand complex and crucial ethical questions related to the use of emerging technologies," explained Dr. Simon. "Since it's now clear that automation is essential to driving forward today's real-time economy, it's up to all of us in the business sector to create practical ethical guidelines that are available to all."

"It was an honour to once again connect with the next generation of technology, engineering and data innovation talent," said Or Lenchner. "Given that data and automation are now playing a core role in many organisations, it's crucial to define clear ethical guidelines in this area as soon as possible. The brilliant students at King's College had lots of great questions surrounding this subject! As the leading web data collection platform, Bright Data will continue working closely with our partners to spearhead critical research and support education in the areas of data and automation."

To learn more and join the Bright Initiative visit: brightinitiative.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005545/en/

Contacts:

Keren Pakes

kerenp@brightdata.com

Jacob Greenwood

brightdata@rlyl.com

Mark Fuller

mark@showrunnercomms.com
LEA Partners GmbH (LEA), a private equity and venture capital investor based in Karlsruhe, Germany, today announced the acquisition of Base-Net Informatik AG (Base-Net), a Swiss software provider leading in the field of credit and mortgage management.

Board Advisors Deutschland AG acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to the shareholders of Base-Net. The team of Christoph Loslein, Urs Niederberger, Felix Brokatzky and Federico Arcelli was able to successfully complete the transaction in less than five months.

"I am extremely pleased that, through the efforts of Board Advisors, we were able to find a new majority shareholder that is equally beneficial to the customers and employees of Base-Net Informatik AG. Despite a complex transaction structure, the advisors of Board Advisors had the mandate under control at all times, were able to successfully complete the project in a record-breaking time and to the full satisfaction of the shareholders."

Stefan Hermann, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Base-Net Informatik AG

Base-Net, headquartered in Sursee in the canton of Lucerne, was founded in 1994. With its WinCredit software it is the leading Swiss software provider in the field of credit and mortgage management. Currently, over 400 banks, insurance companies, pension funds and financial intermediaries use the company's software. In addition, Base-Net develops and operates a state-of-the-art platform for credit and mortgage refinancing.

"The market for credit management software is continuously growing and is highly attractive for us. Therefore, we are very pleased to have gained Base-Net, another leading and long-established company, for us. With this, we are taking another step in building a leading financial services platform in the DACH region."

Philipp Hertel, Partner at LEA

About Base-Net

Base-Net is the leading Swiss software provider in the field of credit and mortgage management. In addition to its loan management software, its solutions for refinancing and exchanges with the Swiss Pfandbriefbank are among the standard solutions in the Swiss financial sector. Founded in 1994 and based in Sursee, the company now serves around 400 banks and insurance companies. For more information, please visit www.basenet.ch.

About LEA Partners

LEA Partners is an entrepreneurial equity partner supporting founders and management teams in different stages of development to grow and achieve a leading market position. Based in Karlsruhe, one of the largest technology clusters in Europe, LEA Partners has managed investments in numerous technology companies since 2002. Following the merger of PROCAD, keytech and ACATEC in May 2021 and that of TAIFUN, M-Soft and PinnCalc in October 2021, the establishment of a buy-and-build platform in the financial services sector, which already includes the b+m Group in addition to Base-Net Informatik AG, represents the next significant transaction for the LEA B2B Tech funds focused on software companies from the DACH region. For more information, please visitwww.leapartners.de.

About Board Advisors

Board Advisors is a Management Consulting and M&A advisory firm founded in 2005 by Christoph Loslein and is today headquarted in Freiburg im Breisgau. Board Advisors currently has own operations in Berlin, Zurich, Sursee, Basel, Nice, Munich and Manchester and has a network of international cooperation partners.

Board Advisors has in-depth expertise in the health and technology sectors and has successfully completed numerous business development projects, buy- sell-side transactions and fundraising mandates in recent years. For further information, please visit www.boardadvisors.de.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005562/en/

Contacts:

Board Advisors Deutschland AG

Gunterstalstrae 11-13

79102 Freiburg

Christoph Loslein

Telefon: +49 761 881 4074 0

Email: info@boardadvisors.de
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Lamar Advertising Company (LAMR) said it is pleased with third-quarter results and the robust recovery in the US advertising market. The company expects 2021 billboard revenue to exceed 2019 total. Also, Lamar increased its guidance for full-year AFFO to $6.35 to $6.50 per share. Third quarter net income per share was $1.05 compared to $0.62, prior year. Adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, was $192.5 million, an increase of 44.3%. AFFO per share increased 43.9% to $1.90 from $1.32. On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $1.15, for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Net revenues were $476.9 million, a 23.5% increase. Analysts on average had estimated $458.940 million in revenue. 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.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 03, 2021 Trustees (Trustees) announce three significant developments to provide the global financial markets with high-quality disclosures on climate and other sustainability issues:



The formation of a new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop-in the public interest-a comprehensive global baseline of high-quality sustainability disclosure standards to meet investors' information needs;

A commitment by leading investor-focused sustainability disclosure organisations to consolidate into the new board. The IFRS Foundation will complete consolidation of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB-an initiative of CDP) and the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF-which houses the Integrated Reporting Framework and the SASB Standards) by June 2022;

The publication of prototype climate and general disclosure requirements developed by the Technical Readiness Working Group (TRWG), a group formed by the IFRS Foundation Trustees to undertake preparatory work for the ISSB. These prototypes are the result of six months of joint work by representatives of the CDSB, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the Financial Stability Board's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the VRF and the World Economic Forum (Forum), supported by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and its Technical Expert Group of securities regulators. The TRWG has consolidated key aspects of these organisations' content into an enhanced, unified set of recommendations for consideration by the ISSB.



Together, these developments create the necessary institutional arrangements, set out in the Foundation's revised Constitution, and lay the technical groundwork for a global sustainability disclosure standard-setter for the financial markets. They fulfil the growing and urgent demand for streamlining and formalising corporate sustainability disclosures.

The ISSB will sit alongside and work in close cooperation with the IASB, ensuring connectivity and compatibility between IFRS Accounting Standards and the ISSB's standards-IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. To ensure public interest legitimacy, both boards will be overseen by the Trustees, who are in turn accountable to a Monitoring Board of capital market authorities responsible for corporate reporting in their jurisdictions. The ISSB and the IASB will be independent, and their standards will complement each other to provide comprehensive information to investors and other providers of capital.

Proven demand

Financial markets need to assess the risks and opportunities facing individual companies which arise from environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, as these affect enterprise value. This is driving significant demand for high-quality information. Investors and other providers of capital want global sustainability disclosure standards that meet their information needs. Voluntary reporting frameworks and guidance have prompted innovation and action, although fragmentation has also increased cost and complexity for investors, companies and regulators.

Many investors and regulators have called for the IFRS Foundation to build upon market-led initiatives and to use its experience in creating accounting standards used in more than 140 jurisdictions to bring globally comparable reporting on sustainability matters to the financial markets.

The Trustees' decision to create the ISSB is informed by the feedback received in their two public consultations, discussions with advisory groups, frequent dialogue with the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, and with support from IOSCO and others.

Comprehensive global baseline

The ISSB will develop IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, including disclosure requirements that address companies' impacts on sustainability matters relevant to assessing enterprise value and making investment decisions. The ISSB's standards will enable companies to provide comprehensive sustainability information for the global financial markets. The standards will be developed to facilitate compatibility with requirements that are jurisdiction specific or aimed at a wider group of stakeholders (for example, the European Union's planned Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive as well as initiatives in the Americas and Asia-Oceania).

The G20 Rome Leaders' Declarationand the Financial Stability Boardhave both welcomed the IFRS Foundation's work programme to develop global baseline standards for sustainability disclosures.

Consolidating and building on existing initiatives

Consistent with feedback received through consultation, the ISSB will build on the work of existing investor-focused reporting initiatives to become the global standard-setter for sustainability disclosures for the financial markets. To achieve this goal, the IFRS Foundation has reached commitments with the CDSB, whose secretariat is hosted by CDP, and the VRF to consolidate their technical expertise, content, staff and other resources with the IFRS Foundation. It is intended that the technical standards and frameworks of the CDSB and the VRF, along with those of the TCFD and the Forum Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, will provide a basis for the technical work of the new board.

Recognising the urgency and the desire to provide the ISSB with a solid foundation on which to start its work, the Trustees created the TRWG - comprising representatives from the CDSB, TCFD, IASB, VRF and the Forum - to provide recommendations to the ISSB. The TRWG has concluded its work on two prototype documents published today - one which focuses on climate-related disclosures that build on the TCFD's recommendations and includes industry-specific disclosures, and a second that sets out general sustainability disclosures. The ISSB will consider the prototypes as part of its initial work programme.

Informed by expert advice

The ISSB will draw upon expertise from several advisory groups. Technical advice on sustainability matters will be provided to the ISSB by a new Sustainability Consultative Committee, whose members will include the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations, the World Bank and additional expert members drawn from public, private and non-governmental organisations.

The remit and expertise of the IFRS Advisory Council will be extended to provide strategic sustainability-related advice and counsel to the ISSB, as well as the Trustees and the IASB. Finally, the Trustees have formed a working group to create a mechanism for formal engagement on standard-setting between the ISSB and jurisdictional representatives, including from emerging markets (similar to the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum, which fulfils this role for the IASB).

The Foundation intends to leverage the existing CDSB and VRF advisory groups, which include investors and other experts who have demonstrated long-standing support for improved sustainability disclosure. As well, the Forum's private sector coalition will be engaged. The Foundation also intends to use the International Integrated Reporting Council to provide advice on establishing connectivity between the work of the IASB and the ISSB via the fundamental concepts and guiding principles of integrated reporting.

Global footprint

The ISSB will have a global and multi-location presence. All regions-the Americas, Asia-Oceania and EMEA (Europe, the Middle-East and Africa)-will be covered. Engagement with developing and emerging economies will be an important priority.

Offices in Frankfurt (the seat of the Board and the office of the Chair) and in Montreal will be responsible for key functions supporting the new Board and deeper co-operation with regional stakeholders. Offices in San Francisco, following the consolidation with the VRF, and London will also provide technical support and platforms for market engagement and deeper cooperation with regional stakeholders.

Based on expressions of interest received, the IFRS Foundation will engage without delay with Frankfurt and Montreal to make the necessary arrangements to enable the ISSB to commence work early in 2022. Further discussions will continue with proposals for offices from Beijing and Tokyo to finalise the new Board's footprint in the Asia Oceania region. Timely actions are needed to respect the urgency expressed by IOSCO and other important stakeholders.

Next steps

The Trustees are at advanced stages in appointing a Chair and Vice-Chair(s) to the ISSB. The Trustees will commence shortly a search for the additional board positions, up to the full complement of 14 members.

The ISSB's work is expected to commence as soon as the Chair and Vice-Chair(s) have been appointed and to begin with public consultations to inform the ISSB's work plan and on proposals informed by recommendations from the TRWG. Following these consultations, the ISSB's work will follow the IFRS Foundation's rigorous due process, including public discussions by the ISSB of feedback received to the consultations and possible improvements to the proposals prior to their finalisation as standards. The entire process will be overseen by the Trustees' Due Process Oversight Committee.

Erkki Liikanen, Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, said:

'Sustainability, and particularly climate change, is the defining issue of our time. To properly assess related opportunities and risks, investors require high-quality, transparent and globally comparable sustainability disclosures that are compatible with the financial statements. Establishing the ISSB and building on the innovation and expertise of the CDSB, the Value Reporting Foundation and others will provide the foundations to achieve this goal.'

Mary Schapiro, Head of the TCFD Secretariat, said:

'Development of the ISSB's global baseline will deliver transformative change in sustainability disclosures for the financial markets. The TCFD welcomes the formation of the ISSB, which builds upon the foundation of the globally accepted TCFD framework and the work of an alliance of sustainability standard setters. The ISSB represents a major step forward in establishing consistent, comparable global reporting standards.'

Richard Sexton and Robert K Steel, Co-Chairs of the Value Reporting Foundation Board, commented:

'Today's announcement is a reflection of the changed world we live in - a world in which sustainability and long-term thinking are increasingly at the heart of business and investor decision-making. This is a transformation that both the IIRC and SASB helped lead, made possible by the many thousands of stakeholders who volunteered time and offered resources to develop the Integrated Thinking Principles, Integrated Reporting Framework and SASB Standards that are today used by businesses and investors around the world. The Value Reporting Foundation Board believes the consolidation announced today will help deliver effective disclosures to drive global sustainability performance. We count on your continued collaboration as we embark on this exciting next step.'

Richard Samans, Chairman of CDSB, and Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP said:

'CDP pioneered environmental disclosure twenty years ago and has hosted CDSB since its formation in 2007. CDSB's global partnership of business and environmental organisations supported by the international accounting community was formed to create a generally-accepted framework for corporate reporting of material climate, environmental and social information to investors and regulators.

We are delighted that the IFRS Foundation is forming the ISSB to drive forward the development of global standards for sustainability-related financial disclosures. The ISSB's integration of CDSB will ensure that the new board has a strong foundation and can move rapidly building on existing best practice. CDP looks forward to supporting the ISSB process with its global market led environmental disclosure mechanism and expertise on data.'

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, said:

'Creating long-term value requires both a focus on financial and sustainability performance. This means we need tools for measuring sustainability performance just as we have for financial performance. The World Economic Forum and its private sector coalition made a contribution on this front, proposing a core set of 'Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics'. We are pleased that this effort will provide a basis for the technical work of the ISSB. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the IFRS Foundation in support of the ISSB, during its establishment and as it delivers on its historical mandate.'

IFRS Foundation Trustee Chair Erkki Liikanen will announce the ISSB as part of the COP26 Finance Day Presidency event: 'A Financial System for Net Zero' which begins at 10:15 GMT on 3 November 2021. The event will be livestreamed and available to watch on the COP26 website.

The IFRS Foundation will also be hosting its own live broadcast at 14:30 GMT on 3 November, providing further information about the proposed ISSB. The event will be livestreamed on our site and via the IFRS Foundation's LinkedInand YouTubechannels.

Notes to editors

The IFRS Foundation Trustees carried out two rounds of global public consultation, which confirmed an urgent demand for global sustainability disclosure standards and extensive support for the Foundation to play a role in developing such standards. The Trustees have today published a revised Constitution to facilitate the formation of the ISSB and a feedback statement summarising 177 comment letters received during the Trustees' second consultation.

Media contacts

IFRS Foundation: Kirstina Reitan, Head of Communications

Email: kreitan@ifrs.org, Mob: +44 7894 573721

CDSB: Patrick Hanrahan, Head of Communications, CDSB

Email: Patrick.Hanrahan@cdsb.net, Mob.: +44 (0) 792 9414191

VRF: Europe: Katie Riminton, FleishmanHillard katie.riminton@fleishmaneurope.comMob: +32 4 78 70 19 83. Other regions: Taylor Fenske, Stern Strategy: Tfenske@sternstrategy.comMob: +1 973-477-4983

About the IFRS Foundation

The IFRS Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organisation, overseen by a Monitoring Board of public authorities. Its vision of a single set of global financial reporting standards is supported by G20 leaders and other international organisations with responsibility for the global financial system.

The mission of the IFRS Foundation is to develop IFRS Standards that bring transparency, accountability and efficiency to financial markets around the world, fostering trust, growth and long-term financial stability. The International Accounting Standards Board is the independent standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation, made up of experts from diverse professional and geographical backgrounds.?IFRS Standards are required by over 140 countries globally.

For detailed information on the organisation's structure, standard-setting and the adoption of IFRS Standards, visit www.ifrs.org .

About the Climate Disclosure Standards Board and CDP

The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) is an international consortium of business and environmental NGOs, hosted by CDP. We are committed to advancing and aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model to equate natural and social capital with financial capital.

We do this by offering companies a framework for reporting environment- and social-related informationwith the same rigour as financial information. In turn this helps them to provide investors with decision-useful environmental information via the mainstream corporate report, enhancing the efficient allocation of capital. Regulators have also benefited from CDSB's compliance-ready materials.

CDP is a global non-profit that runs the world's environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental impacts. Over 14,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2021, including more than 13,000 companies worth over 64% of global market capitalization. Fully TCFD aligned, CDP holds the largest environmental database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used to drive investment and procurement decisions towards a zero carbon, sustainable and resilient economy.

About the Value Reporting Foundation

The Value Reporting Foundation is a global nonprofit organization that offers a comprehensive suite of resources designed to help businesses and investors develop a shared understanding of enterprise value - how it is created, preserved or eroded over time.

The resources - including Integrated Thinking Principles, the Integrated Reporting Framework, and SASB Standards - are already adopted in over 70 countries. They comprise the 21st century market infrastructure needed to develop, manage and communicate strategy that creates long-term value and drives improved performance. To learn more, visit www.valuereportingfoundation.org.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Silver Wolf Exploration Ltd. (OTCQB:SWLFF)(TSXV:SWLF) ("Silver Wolf" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of a high resolution aeromagnetic, radiometric and matrix electro magnetic geophysical survey on the Ana Maria property. The Ana Maria Property is located 21 kilometres (km) northwest of the City of Gomez Palacio and the adjacent City of Torreon. The property consists of 9 mining concessions encompassing 2,549 hectares (ha).

A total of 1,800 line kilometers will be flown over the entire property, as well as adjacent areas where Silver Wolf has submitted an application to the Mexican Public Registry of Mining to expand its land package, and to identify different anomalies on the property. There have been no previous geophysical surveys performed on the property. The survey will be performed by Terraquest Ltd, a geophysical company established in 1984, that has completed surveys for notable companies such as Teck, Rio Tinto, and De Beers.

"The geophysics represents an important step in our targeting process before we start drilling" said Peter Latta, President, Silver Wolf. "We will use the maps generated from this airborne survey and overlay them with the grade contour maps we've generated as well as the detailed topographic maps made from the ongoing field work. This will form the basis for prioritizing the initial drill program which we look forward to kicking off in Q1 2022. We are excited to work with Terraquest and use the data generated to help make a potentially significant discovery at the Ana Maria Project".

Ana Maria Exploration Work

The main focus of the mapping and sampling to date has been on the Ana Maria Central claim group as a skarn structure has been identified outcropping on surface with widths ranging from 0.5 - 60 m along the 4.1 km long contact. In addition, the lower claim hosts structures that are consistent with the carbonate replacement deposit (CRD) model and displays mineralization that may be related to the intrusive which warrant further investigation. A detailed list of the work performed at the property to date, as well as recent results from our sampling program, can be viewed on our website at Silverwolf.com/news releases. In summary, the Silver Wolf team has been following the plan laid out in the NI 43-101 technical report as filed on SEDAR. Updates will be provided as the information becomes available.

Corporate Update

Silver Wolf is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Rodney Stevens as Vice President, Finance for the Company, subject to any required regulatory approvals. Mr. Stevens is a Chartered Financial Analyst ("CFA") charter holder with over a decade of experience in the capital markets, first as an investment analyst with Salman Partners Inc. and subsequently as a merchant and investment banker. While at Salman Partners, he became a top-rated analyst by StarMine on July 17, 2007 for the metals and mining industry. Mr. Stevens was also a Portfolio Manager registered with Wolverton Securities Ltd. and over the course of his career, he has been instrumental in assisting in financings and mergers and acquisitions activities worth over $1 billion in transaction value.

Peter Latta also stated, "I'm excited to expand our team with the addition of Rodney. He is a seasoned analyst in the silver space and his experience will be a big asset to Silver Wolf as we grow the company."

Qualified Person

Mr. Garth Kirkham P. Geo., Independent Consultant for Silver Wolf, is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release.

For further information please contact Silver Wolf Exploration Ltd. at ph. (604) 682-3701 or visit our website at www.silverwolfexploration.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Peter Latta"

Peter Latta, P.Eng.

President

Cautionary Note

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on numerous assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including risks inherent in mineral exploration and development, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any projected future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE: Silver Wolf Exploration Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670875/Silver-Wolf-Engages-Terraquest-to-Perform-Geophysical-Survey-and-Appoints-Vice-President-Finance
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / EonX Technologies Inc. (CSE:EONX), ("EonX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a contract with Lincoln Sentry Group Pty Ltd ("Lincoln") to deliver payment and loyalty solutions to thousands of end customers.

Lincoln Sentry is one of Australia's leading suppliers and distributors of hardware and components to the building industry. Lincoln Sentry is part of the Dulux Group that was acquired by Japanese listed firm Nippon Paint Company (TKS:4612) for AUD $3.8 billion in 2019. EONX will provide an integrated loyalty and payments program which enables Lincoln Sentry customers to be rewarded for each transaction and help grow Lincoln Sentry's market share. Customers will earn points from their spending activity that can be redeemable on a wide selection of products and services via the EONX rewards store. Furthermore, customers will also have the ability to transfer points to cash when making other bill payments through the platform.

With estimated annual revenues of AUD $2 Billion1, the contract with Lincoln Sentry provides a large market opportunity for EONX to increase its transaction processing volumes. EONX will receive transaction fees on VISA, MASTERCARD and AMEX payment processing, marketplace fees and fees on reward points for every transaction on its platform. EONX will also receive a software platform fee of $150,000 for the term of the 60-month contract.

Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Kallen, said "We are excited to be delivering our solution to the building trade via Lincoln Sentry. This the second major customer contract EONX has won in the building industry and is well positioned to take advantage of this growing market segment that is now representing circa 9% of the Australian economy2."

EONX will provide further updates on transactional revenue received from this contract in the next quarter results.

https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.lincoln_sentry_group_pty_ltd.8774c9a0930b4974ab0395d9f0713e7b.html https://nationalindustryinsights.aisc.net.au/industries/construction#:~:text=The%20Construction%20industry%20generates%20over,in%20the%20next%20five%20years.

About EONX

EonX is a financial technology company powering the next generation of eWallet, Payments & Loyalty platforms which enable business, consumers and employees to better engage and transact in today's digital world.

On behalf of the board of directors of

EONX TECHNOLOGIES INC.

"Andrew Kallen"

Andrew Kallen, CEO

For more information about EonX, contact:

Andrew Kallen

Chief Executive Officer

EONX Technologies Inc.

Telephone: +18036767776

Email:investors@eonx.com

Website: www.eonx.com

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Notice regarding Forward Looking Statement

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties as described in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

SOURCE: EonX Technologies Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670960/EonX-Technologies-Inc-Signs-Lincoln-Sentry
VANCOUVER, WA / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / ORCHID VENTURES, INC. (CSE:ORCD)(OTC PINK:ORVRF) (the "Company" or "Orchid") announces its audited annual financial results for twelve-month period ended June 30, 2020 ("Fiscal 2021"). All amounts, unless specified otherwise, are expressed in United States Dollars.

Financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Detailed information regarding the Company's financial results as well as management's discussion and analysis can be found at https://sedar.com/ and https://ir.orchidventures.com/.

Fiscal 2020 Financial Highlights



Year ended Thirteen months ended

June 30, 2021 June , 2020 Revenues $ 3,720,366.00 $ 1,568,276.00 Cost of goods sold $ 2,521,704.00 $ 1,720,742.00 Gross profit /(loss) $ 1,198,662.00 $ (152,466.00 ) Expenses including non-cash items $ 3,951,165.00 $ 5,448,865.00 Loss from discontinued operations $ (16,414.00 ) $ - Net loss for the year $ (3,150,866.00 ) $ (7,051,457.00 ) Wtd. Avg. common shares outstanding $ 29,602,304.00 $ 21,472,483.00 Loss per share $ (0.11 ) $ (0.33 ) Cash $ 1,276,435.00 $ 76,017.00 Working capital (deficit) $ (1,567,696.00 ) $ (1,786,153.00 ) Total assets $ 2,182,197.00 $ 1,488,021.00 Shareholders' equity (deficiency) $ (1,541,874.00 ) $ (1,445,434.00 ) Long-term financial liabilities $ 154,329.00 $ 211,896.00 Dividends paid per share $ - $ -



Results Of Operations

During the year ended June 30, 2021 ("2021"), the Company reported revenues of $3,720,366 compared to revenues of $1,568,276 for the thirteen months ended June 30, 2020 ("2020"), an increase of 137%. The Company also reported gross profit of $1,198,662 in 2021 compared to a gross loss of $152,466 in 2020, or an increase of 886% year-over-year. The Company reported a net loss of $3,150,866 in 2021 compared to a net loss of $7,051,457 in 2020. The net loss reported fell by 55% year-over-year.

During the current reporting period the Company continued its fundamental shift in its business strategy and operations, through which the Company is transitioning away from cannabis touch activities and toward manufacture of hardware delivery systems and licensing the Orchid brand. As a result of the Company's strategic shift, and despite the impact of COVID-19 on the market, the Company's revenues increased significantly, resulting in the Company reporting a positive annual gross profit.

In addition to improved sales and margin for the current reporting period, the Company successfully reduced total operational expenses during the period. The Company reported operational expenses of $3,951,165 for 2021, compared to $5,448,865 in operational expenses during fiscal year 2020, a 27% cost savings year-over-year. Operational expense savings resulted from the Company's improved management of operations and tightened focus on the Company's shift in its business objectives. It should be noted that included within the operational expenses for 2021 are several non-cash expense items such as depreciation and amortization of $148,264 (2020 - $267,157) and share-based payments of $1,295,382 (2020 - $1,105,474).

The Company also reduced Other Expenses by 74% during the current reporting period.

Other factors reported in the net loss for YTD 2021 include a non-cash Fair value change in warrant liability $333,475 (2020 - $63,243) relating mostly to extending the term and reducing the exercise price of warrants issued on October 24, 2019.

Management Commentary

Total assets of the Company increased from $1,448,021 at June 30, 2020 to $2,182,197 at June 30, 2021, an increase of $734,176. At June 30, 2021, the Company had cash of $1,276,435, trade receivables of $51,084, GST receivable of $3,705, prepaids of $176,395 and inventory of $294,863, compared to cash on deposit in the amount of $76,017, trade receivables of $69,750, GST receivable of $194, prepaids of $172,388 and inventory of $567,157 at June 30, 2020. The most significant liabilities at June 30, 2021 were warrant liability $1,910,291 (2020 - $185,959) and trade payables of $985,697 (2020 - $1,216,503).

The Company's primary sources of revenue are from its vaporizer cannabis products and licensing revenues generated from the Orchid Essentials brand. The Company can for the near term generate the necessary capital resources required to finance operations by way of the sales of its products. Management takes all necessary precautions to minimize risks however additional risks could affect the future performance of the Company.

Path to Profitability

With fifteen states opening up to the recreational sale of cannabis, sales will continue to grow as new population groups, like Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials, realize the magnitude of cannabis applications and cannabis is accepted by more demographics. Expectation is that both medical and recreational Cannabis legislation will continue to open up new markets, accelerating the growth of Cannabis throughout North America, South America and Europe. Orchid plans to capitalize on the opportunity by launching several new initiatives, including the expansion of the Orchid Essentials Brand franchise through a licensing model and by expanding their vaporizer product portfolio, plus leveraging new technologies.

The Company has continued to focus on their strategy to build an Orchid Ecosystem that is non-cannabis touching and better focused on leveraging the Company's core strengths, capabilities and product innovations in order to better differentiate within markets and disrupt the status quo. The key pillars to the strategy involve 1) licensing the Orchid Essentials brand in the North America and Europe, expanding the Orchid product portfolio and commercializing new product innovation, 2) diversification beyond making cannabis products to servicing the cannabis industry with differentiated and disruptive hardware delivery systems, intellectual property development and strategic opportunities, plus 3) leveraging the Company's core capabilities to provide go-to-market services like marketing, sales and retail expertise, e-commerce, plus packaging and distribution.

To support this strategy, Orchid has either fully developed or secured exclusive access to highly impactful product innovations and intellectual property, which forms the foundation of the Orchid Collective. This Collective consists of 2 wholly owned subsidiary companies, Orchid Brands and Purtec Delivery Systems, forming a dynamic network, interacting with each other to create and exchange sustainable value for consumers and ultimately shareholders.

Orchid Brands

Based on Orchid's branding, marketing and overall Cannabis experience and operational expertise the Company will continue to create opportunities for licensing the Orchid Essentials brand in order to expand reach into new markets and build strategic partnerships with high quality and respected local operating companies in the Cannabis industry. These licensees will use their operational strength and core capabilities to penetrate new markets by leveraging the Orchid Essentials brand and portfolio of products to accelerate growth and secure market share.

PurTec Delivery Systems

PurTec Delivery Systems ("PurTec"), sells vaporizers and other delivery systems that are highly differentiated based on 4 key product imperatives: Design, Quality, Technology, and Safety. Importantly all Purtec products go through extensive quality control and durability testing, plus they are emissions tested against the strictest standards in the world, set by AFNOR for the European Union. In addition, the Company will continue to focus on driving operational efficiencies and cost control measures as the new strategic shift proceeds and begins to gain traction in terms of revenue generation and product/technology advancements. Investment will focus on People, Process and Technology to better position the Company for growth moving forward.

Fiscal 2021 Key Developments

Orchid Line Extensions

In September, 2020 the Company launched three new product lines in California and Oregon:

Orchid Vibes, featuring a newly developed PurTec Summit cartridge and introducing more contemporary terpene profiles such as Mimosa and Purple Punch.

Improved Orchid Classic line up, which are mid-tier products featuring their classic Orchid Essential formulations like Jack Herer and Dutch Treat.

Orchid Gold live resin, full spectrum, seasonal craft strains and flavours that rotate throughout the year, launched in Oregon through licensee, Tine Trading Company.

PurTec New Products and Technology

In early 2021 PurTec announced the launch of two new technology platforms, PurCore R1 Cartridges and Disposables powered by the new uKera Notch Coil technology and the PurCore F1 POD featuring the new uKera Ultra Nano technology, an innovative ceramic film atomization heating system. Both are the world's first cotton-free vaporizer platforms. These truly NexGen technologies are expected to be highly differentiated and disruptive within the cannabis and CBD vaporizer markets in terms of quality, safety and performance. PurTec will also be leveraging their new PurGuard Age Verification and User Data software platform to ensure greater safety by restricting minors from being able to use vaporizer products. This will be a major advancement in terms of addressing an ongoing consumer and regulatory concern regarding underage access to vaping products.

These new patent pending technologies were developed by our strategic partner, JWEI Group Advanced Technology Research Institute and are exclusively marketed and sold by PurTec. The Company experienced a slowdown from supply chain partners in China amidst the Covid pandemic but much less than other manufacturers. JEWI and their supply chain manufacturing partners have been fully operational and active since March 3rd, 2021.

Gold Flora Licensing Agreement

On May 4, 2021, the Company entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Gold Flora, a vertically integrated California company with operations in cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, delivery, and retail. Gold Flora will assume all production, sales, and distribution of Orchid Essentials products throughout the state of California and will purchase all hardware, packaging, and terpenes through PurTec Delivery Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

1933 Industries - Nevada Licensee Agreement

On October 20, 2020, the Company entered into a Supply and Licensing Agreement with 1933 Industries Inc. to manufacture, distribute, market and sell Orchid Essential products in the regulated Nevada cannabis market. The Company intended to leverage 1933's extraction and formulation expertise, plus their well-established sales and distribution channels in the state. However, as of May 2 2021, the licensing agreement with 1933 Industries was formally terminated. 1933 Industries informed the Company that there had been a change in leadership and that they had decided to adjust their strategic focus. As this new strategic direction did not include the licensing of brands, they informed us that they decided to opt-out of their agreement with the Company in order to focus on new strategic priorities. The Company, in conjunction with 1933 Industries, had not launched the Orchid Brand in Nevada, as planning and timelines were just finalized, but execution had yet to commence. There was no financial impact of this event, nor any outstanding commitments to the Company, or to 1933 Industries. They remain a viable prospect for PurTec and for any potential contract manufacturing needs moving forward. The Company is currently in discussions with other viable licensing candidates that have the infrastructure and capabilities to operate and grow the Orchid brand in the state of Nevada.

Sale of Cannabis License for the State of California

On September 29, 2020, the Company agreed to sell their Bureau of Cannabis Control Distributor License for the State of California: License No. C11-0000967 for CA Forrest Green Distribution, LLC at 2338 Anaheim Street East, Suite 201C, Long Beach, CA 90804-573 to the Tine Trading Company, LLC.

Discontinued Operations

In August 2021 the Company proposed selling 80% equity interest in CA Forrest Green Distribution, LLC to Tine Trading Company, LLC for a price of $500. A draft agreement in this regard was drafted but is still under consideration. As on June 30, 2021 the Company recognized CA Forrest Green Distribution, LLC as a discontinued operation, removing all its assets and liabilities from the consolidated financial statements and recognizing $16,414 as loss from discontinued operations. Sale price proposed $500 is included in assets held for sale

Capital Raise and Share Consolidation

On April 1, 2021, The Company closed a non-brokered private placement of units of the Company by the issuance of 16,838,000 Units at CAD$0.25 per unit for gross proceeds of CAD$4,209,500. Each Unit consists of one post Consolidation Share and one-half of one transferrable common share purchase warrant. Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional post Consolidation Share at a price of $0.40 on or before April 1, 2023.

The Company paid eligible finders cash commission in the total amount of CAD$276,850, being 7% of the aggregate proceeds from the sale of Units to purchasers introduced by the finders. The Company has also issued non-transferrable common share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") to the finders for the purchase of up to a total of 1,107,400 post Consolidation Shares, being 7% of the number of Units sold under the Offering. Each Finder's Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one post Consolidation Share at a price of CAD$0.25 on or before April 1, 2023.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day ending on August 2, 2021. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for general working capital.

Weedbox Licensing Agreement

On January 20, 2021 the Company entered into a licensing agreement with Weedbox, a licensed Canadian cannabis retail and technology Company. The licensing agreement states that Weedbox has secured the exclusive Canadian rights to manufacture, market and sell the Orchid Brand according to the laws and regulations set forth both federally and provincially. This licensing agreement is currently being reviewed as the licensee is in breach of contract based on performance metrics that were stipulated in the agreement. Issues pertaining to the changing regulatory environment and market dynamics, plus the licensees inability to secure the necessary funding required, has the Company re-evaluating the contract to determine the appropriate course of action. No products have yet been launched and no capital resources have been invested by the Company to date. The Company is also investigating other alternative opportunities to launch the Orchid Essentials brand in Canada.

Additional Key Developments

Orchid Ventures has not renewed its exclusive license with the parent company of Ashford Pines Limited & Pulpo, LLC. but is still working with CELLg8 and acting as a reseller. This is not a core focus of the business as the shift in strategy has narrowed the focus exclusively to PurTec and Orchid Brand Licensing.

The Company remains in the arbitration process with Greenbloom and is confident that it's position in the case is strong and the Company's legal defense team is steadfast in their resolve and belief in the Company's strategy. Furthermore, the Company's insurance provider has engaged legal counsel to assist in the arbitration process, which the Company believes will add more strength to the legal team.

In October 2020, Mathew Lee, the Chief Financial Officer tendered his resignation from the Company, due to his desire to pursue other opportunities. His resignation was accepted and was effective January 15, 2021. The Company has filled the CFO role, having hired Yousuf Jaffar, FCA who is a Chartered Accountant (ICAP) with thirty years of post qualification experience in corporate finance. Mr. Jaffar was appointed as CFO effective January 15, 2021.

Outlook

Management expects that their continued commitment and execution to their strategic priorities, driven by further developing and fine-tuning their product offerings and go-to-market strategies, will place them on a consistent path to revenue and profit growth in FY 2022. Efforts will continue to focus on creating differentiation with superior, high quality and safe products combined with leveraging new technologies and innovations to disrupt markets, attract more consumers and build market share. The Company believes that the new business model and strategy will establish a more viable and attractive option for not just consumers, but for employees and investors as well.

ABOUT ORCHID ESSENTIALS

Orchid Essentials is a California-based cannabis innovation company that has developed a mass-market brand and loyal consumer following with its premium cannabis products and unique vape hardware delivery systems. Orchid also owns 100% of PurTec Delivery Systems, a company that produces, markets and sells clean vaporizer hardware that has been emissions tested against the most stringent standards in the world set forth by the EU and has unrivaled product quality and value pricing. Orchid's management brings significant branding, product development and distribution experience with a proven track record of scaling businesses and building sustainable revenue growth through value-generating partnerships and innovation that creates enterprise value. Learn more at https://orchidessentials.com/

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS - ORCHID VENTURES, INC.

Corey Mangold

CEO and Chairman

investors@orchidessentials.com

Investor Relations

Corey Mangold

949-357-5818

corey@orchidessentials.com

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information contained herein, statements in this release may be forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions, as they relate to Orchid Ventures, Inc. and Orchid Essentials any of its affiliates or subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company") or its management, identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and probably will, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those described above and those risks discussed from time to time in the Company's Canadian securities regulatory filings with sedar.com, Factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include such factors as (i) the development and protection of our brands and other intellectual property, (ii) the need to raise capital to meet business requirements, (iii) significant fluctuations in marketing expenses, (iv) the ability to achieve and expand significant levels of revenues, or recognize net income, from the sale of our products and services, (v) the Company's ability to conduct the business if there are changes in laws, regulations, or government policies related to cannabis, (vi) management's ability to attract and maintain qualified personnel necessary for the development and commercialization of its planned products, and (vii) other information that may be detailed from time to time in the Company's Canadian securities regulatory filings with sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE: Orchid Ventures, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670898/Orchid-Ventures-Reports-Annual-Financial-Results-for-Fiscal-Year-2021
WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / TDG Gold Corp. (TSXV:TDG) (the "Company" or "TDG") is pleased to provide a second update on the ongoing resource definition drilling underway at its Shasta gold-silver project, located in the 'Toodoggone Production Corridor' of north-central British Columbia.

Following the exploration update provided on September 28, 2021, wherein TDG reported intercepts of up to 70 metres ("m") of quartz breccia and stockwork veining at its Shasta project, the ongoing drill program continues to intersect significant thicknesses of quartz breccia and stockwork-composite style veining, mineralogically comparable to historically mined material. These intercepts support the geological model prepared by Moose Mountain Technical Services ("Moose Mountain") that is being used to direct the drill campaign; however, the quartz veining/stockworking appears to continue deeper than predicted and well below the pit outline used to limit the geologic potential estimate announced May 5, 2021. Assay results are pending, with assay laboratories taking significantly longer than typical to process submitted samples due to significant backlogs. First drill core assays are expected by the end of 2021, and final assays in the first quarter of 2022. It is therefore too early to confirm if the deeper mineralization encountered will contribute to the pit-constrained mineral resource estimate being prepared by Moose Mountain and targeted for publication by TDG by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

2021 Drilling & Exploration Update

Diamond drill hole ("DDH") SH21-027 (Figures 1-2) was drilled to test mineralogical continuity and verify historical assay grades of adjacent historical drill holes in preparation for resource modelling. DDH SH21-027 intersected the Shasta fault at depth of 34.4 m and, once past the fault, encountered broad zones of silicified volcaniclastics with stockwork quartz veining, variable intensity potassic alteration with a sulphide assemblage comprised of pyrite and acanthite (a silver-rich mineral, Ag2S; see Figures 3-5).

For comparison, historical DDH SH04-023 intersected mineralization over a 20.3 m interval* (from 14.7 m) grading 1.98 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold ("Au") and 12.5 g/t silver ("Ag"). This included an interval near surface of 2.7 m (from 14.7 m) grading 9.75 g/t Au and 5.3 g/t Ag. In addition, historical DDH SH04-020 intersected mineralization over a 26.8 m interval* (from 18.0 m) grading 0.69 g/t Au and 28.8 g/t Ag.

* Note 1: drill holes and/or composite intervals with an asterisk denote that assay results are recorded from written reports and government filed assessment reports. Laboratory certificates in these examples have not yet been found in historical data search. Some records also show that samples were assayed at the Baker Mine Site Laboratory, where no individual assay certificates are recorded.

Figure 1. Drill section plan map of Central Deposit area ("JM" Zone locality).

Figure 2. Showing Shasta cross-section at 6,347,225N.

Figure 3. Core photo showing silicified potassic-altered volcaniclastics with quartz vein stockwork (intersected between 31.2 -37.7 m in hole SH21-027).

Figure 4. Core photo showing silicified potassic-altered volcaniclastics with quartz vein stockwork (intersected between 57.2 - 63.6 m in hole SH21-027).

Figure 5. Core photo showing silicified potassic-altered volcaniclastics with quartz vein stockwork / breccia (intersected between 133.4 - 143.2 m in hole SH21-021).

TDG has also received the first processed data from a 2021 LiDAR ("Light Detection and Ranging") and Orthophoto survey that was flown over TDG's Baker-Shasta mining leases and mineral claims. The LiDAR survey was conducted by McElhanney Ltd. and provides high-resolution topographic data (2.5 points per square metre) for engineering and resource modelling in addition to high-resolution orthophoto images (approximately 50cm pixel resolution) to enhance project planning and validate historical geological and geophysical work. Approximately 4 square-kilometres of survey data over the Shasta mine area (4 x 1 sq.km tiles) has been received and integrated into the Baker-Shasta geospatial database.

Next Steps

TDG expects its drill program at Shasta to be completed by early December 2021, with first assay results expected in late 2021. TDG's Baker Camp has been fully winterized to enable continuation of exploration at its Toodoggone projects later into 2021 and to recommence exploration activities earlier in 2022 than would be otherwise possible.

Cautionary Statements

The economic significance of interpreted mineralization must be treated with caution as assay results are still pending. In some intersections, the mineralization appears to extend below the pit used to constrain the estimate of geologic potential for the Shasta area (see news release dated May 5, 2021). While deeper mineralization is geologically significant, there is no guarantee that it would fall within a pit-constrained NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate (being prepared for TDG by Moose Mountain; targeted for publication at the end of Q1/22).

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Steven Kramar, MSc., P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

This news release includes historical drilling information that has been reviewed by the Company's geological team. The Company's review of the historical records and information reasonably substantiate the validity of the information presented in this news release; however, the Company cannot directly verify the accuracy of the historical data, including the procedures used for sample collection and analysis. Therefore, the Company encourages investors to exercise appropriate caution when evaluating these results. Further data review is underway, in order to verify the validity of the data for the anticipated NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate.

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 65,000 m of historical drilling. In 2021, TDG has advanced the projects through compilation of historical data, new geological mapping, geochemical and geophysical surveys, and, for Shasta, drill testing of the known mineralization occurrences and their extensions. The Company has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Nueva Esperanza silver-gold advanced exploration and development project located in the Maricunga Belt of northern Chile, subject to closing conditions being satisfied. TDG currently has 70,867,903 common shares issued and outstanding.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Fletcher Morgan

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, contact TDG Gold Corp. at:

Telephone:+1.604.536.2711

Email: info@tdggold.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 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. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to exploration and development and the results thereof, including the results of the recently completed drill holes, the impact on future mineral resource estimates as well as the ability of TDG Gold to obtain additional financing, the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations, fluctuations in the prices of commodities, operating hazards and risks, competition and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in TDG Gold's financial statements available under the TDG Gold's profile at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. 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/670917/TDG-Gold-Corp-Continues-to-Intersect-Significant-Thicknesses-of-Mineralization-at-Its-Shasta-Gold-Silver-Project-Toodoggone-District-BC
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Negev Capital, a psychedelic medical intervention investment fund will present at the inaugural psychedelic medicine real-world event Wonderland Miami, Nov. 8-9, 2021 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. The event is a thought-leadership platform and an opportunity to connect with influential leaders in science, policy, and business.

Among Wonderland: Miami's impressive group of global psychedelic medicine leaders, scientists and researchers, investors and entrepreneurs, therapists and patients, government officials and media, Ken Belotsky, Negev Capital's partner will join the conference line up. The fund will also host private meetings in activation room number 3016.

Ken Belotsky, Negev Capital's partner, is participating in the Finance and Psychedelics Panel on Tuesday, November 9th at 10:10 am.

Where: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132

Details: Ken Belotsky, Negev Capital's partner will discuss Finance and Psychedelics with other leading VC's in the space Can consciousness and capitalism coexist?

'Wonderland Miami is championing the growth of the psychedelic medicine industry. We look forward to meeting in person.' - Ken Belotsky, Negev Capital, Partner.

For more information, please visit https://microdose.buzz/wonderland/.

This press release (i) is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security or investment, and (ii) does not constitute tax, legal or investment advice.

Notes to Editor

About Negev Capital

Negev Capital is a psychedelic medical intervention investment fund with assets of USD$25+ million. We invest in drug discovery, with a focus on preclinical and/or Phase 1 stages of development. We aim to support those early stage companies in need of capital that promote the thoughtful, responsible, medical use of psychedelic medication for psychiatric disorders, and who have excellent management and science teams, and solid IP.

We believe that psychedelic medications will be not only disruptive to the practice of psychiatry, but hold the potential to reduce enormous amounts of human suffering, and we are committed to helping the field mature, and further promote ways for these treatments to reach all of those in need.

For further information, please visit https://negevcap.com/

Contacts

kristina@negevcap.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101685
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Royal Road Minerals Limited (TSXV: RYR) ("Royal Road" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Ana Gabriela Juarez and Roderick Corrie have been appointed as new directors of the Company and Jon Hill has been appointed as the Company's non-executive Chairman. The Company also announces that it has established a specialist advisory board (the "Specialist Advisory Board") and appointed experienced advisors, Hugh Devlin and Guy Wallis, as its members.



Director Appointments

Ana Gabriela Juarez has joined the Company's board of directors as a non-executive director. Ana has more than 15 years of management, leadership, consulting, and auditing experience in Environmental and Social Management, Environmental and Biological Monitoring, and Permitting in compliance with IFC performance standards, Equator Principles, Towards Sustainable Mining and The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, across mining projects in Latin America. Ana also has experience supporting banks as an auditor, ensuring that operations are in compliance with their international financial commitments. Ana is the President of the Canadian Operations of CTA Environmental Consultants, where she leads the team consulting to major resource projects mainly in Latin America. Ana is also the founder of Women in Mining Central America, a non-for-profit organization focused on promoting and empowering women, as well as education in respect of mineral resources, and advocating for the sector in Central America. Ana has a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Berlin, Germany; an MSc in Environmental Water Management from the University of Cranfield, UK; and a Certification in Sustainable Finance from Cambridge University, UK.

Roderick Corrie has joined the Company's board of directors as a non-executive director and will serve as Chair of the Company's Audit Committee. Roderick is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Banking (ACIB). He has been a strategic adviser and financier with a variety of companies and holds or has held executive or non-executive roles in corporate finance, strategic advice, TV advertising, financial services, health, property, internet services, mineral and oil exploration & development, investment and manufacturing companies. Roderick was a founding shareholder and director of Royal Road and served as CFO until 2014 then briefly again in 2018. Roderick has a BA and MA from Cambridge University, UK.

Jon Hill was appointed as non-executive Chairman of the Company. Jon has been a director of Royal Road since 2017. He has over 35 years of experience globally, in exploration, project development and mining operations and has been directly involved in the discovery of several world-class projects within both greenfield and brownfield areas. As Principal Advisor at Exploration Outcomes, which he founded in 2017, Jon provides specialist support to a number of companies including Jaguar Mining Inc, Giga Metals - Brazil and Sanatana Resources. Jon is also a director of Stratabound Minerals. He holds a BSc (Hons) Economic Geology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and a BAppSc. Applied Geology from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

"We are pleased that Ana and Roderick have joined Royal Road's board of directors and that Jon will now serve as Chairman. Each of them brings a wealth of experience to their leadership roles and their appointments reflect the Company's commitment to sustainability performance and good corporate governance. I am confident that this board will ensure the Company meets the expectations of its shareholders and exceeds its obligations in respect of the performance standards to which it is bound both ethically and under contractual arrangement with communities, NGO's and post-conflict cooperatives in Colombia and Nicaragua," said Dr. Tim Coughlin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Specialist Advisory Board

The Advisory Board will work closely with the Company's board of directors and management and advise on various corporate and strategic matters, including with respect to the Company's commitments as a signatory to the British Embassy's Business and Peace Initiative in Colombia.

Hugh Devlin has joined the Company's Advisory Board. Hugh is a former officer in the Royal Marines with over 20 years of military experience. A specialist background in intelligence, military diplomacy, and international arms control. As a Marine Commando he has served on operational tours in various countries and taken part in counter terror and counter narcotics operations in Belize and Northern Ireland. On leaving the Marines, Hugh worked in security, land and community relations and operations for mineral exploration companies and went on to become one of the co-founders and an original member of the executive board of Royal Road. Hugh has been involved in establishing sustainable community development programs in Armenia, Kosovo, Georgia, Turkey and Ethiopia, focused on training and development of workplace skills for local employees and providing opportunities for disadvantaged minority groups. Past experience includes several years as a security and risk consultant specializing in resilience planning, disaster recovery and operational logistics. Hugh is currently employed by the UK Ministry of Defence as a Regional Employer Engagement Director. Hugh is a competent and experienced Russian interpreter and trained negotiator.

Guy Wallis has also joined the Company's Advisory Board. Guy served with British Armed Forces for 35 years, including 19 with UK Special Forces (UKSF) before joining the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. In the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, his team provides analysis to senior decision makers within the Ministry of Defence and Other UK Government Departments. While in the Armed Forces, Guy served with the US Manoeuvre Warfare Centre of Excellence, establishing collaboration on manoeuvre warfare doctrine, policy, training (including simulation) and equipment capability development. In Afghanistan he served with the US Marine Corps Headquarters based in Helmand providing critical planning advice and coordinating operations. He has also served with the US Special Operations Command providing operational and policy advice on counter-terrorism working with US Special Operations Forces, intelligence and law enforcement agencies and completed a tour of Iraq coordinating the UK & US Global Counter Terrorism strategy. Guy has also served in the Ministry of Defence, providing specialist input to key policy documents and has represented UKSF at cross-Government meetings and provided support to Cabinet Office Briefing Room 'A' (COBRA) and the Defence Crisis Management Centre during operations and domestic incidents. Guy has an MSc in Security Management, is a Fellow of the Security Institute and is a Chartered Security Professional. He is also a PRINCE2 Practitioner and Member of the Association of Project Management.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary statement:

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") describing the Company's future plans and the expectations of its management that a stated result or condition will occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or developments in the Company's business or in the mineral resources industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that is based on assumptions about, among other things, future economic conditions and courses of action, and assumptions related to government approvals, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The words "plans", "prospective", "expect", "intend", "intends to" and similar expressions identify forward looking statements, which may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the Company's exploration plans.

The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. There is no guarantee that the anticipated benefits of the Company's business plans or operations will be achieved. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: economic market conditions, anticipated costs and expenditures, government approvals, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators or other applicable regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements included herein are based on the current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions of the Company management and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.



For further information please contact:

Dr. Timothy Coughlin

President and Chief Executive Officer

USA-Canada toll free 1800 6389205

+44 (0)1534 887166

+44 (0)7797 742800

info@royalroadminerals.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101729
Emerald partners with HYTN to sell and distribute HYTN's calorie-free, fast-acting THC-infused sparkling cannabis beverages as new alternative in the rapidly growing cannabis beverage market

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (CSE: EMH) (OTCQX: EMHTF) ("Emerald") and HYTN Cannabis Inc. ("HYTN") have signed a definitive agreement under which Emerald will co-launch, sell and distribute HYTN's proprietary new sparkling cannabis beverages, which employ fast-acting Elevation Technology, across Canada. This partnership will leverage Emerald's established cannabis sales license, sales team and infrastructure, and provincial cannabis wholesale and retail distribution relationships to sell HYTN's products. Emerald will receive a double-digit percentage fee on total gross sales revenue (less excise tax) of HYTN products in Canada.

HYTN intends to launch its cannabis beverages this quarter. Emerald has secured an initial purchase order for HYTN cannabis beverages in British Columbia.

HYTN's proprietary Elevation Technology combines nanoemulsification technology with a proprietary process to deliver consistent and stable active cannabis emulsions, allowing HYTN to deliver a more consistent product experience with fast and predictable onset and offset of effects. HYTN's proprietary process results in clear, odorless cannabis emulsions that blend flawlessly into finished beverages.

HYTN's initial product line of THC-infused sparkling water combines all-natural ingredients with zero calories and zero carbs. The products are sugar-free and gluten-free, with 10 mg of THC per 355 ml container (5 mg of THC for the planned market launch in Quebec). The initial product flavours are Blood Orange, Lemongrass Ginger, Rosewater Lemonade and Watermelon Mint.

"Partnering with Emerald allows us to rapidly reach a national audience which is looking for better tasting, better acting and better formulated cannabis 2.0 products. Our singular objective is to be the market leader in cannabis beverages and are confident HYTN 's Elevation Technology combined with a taste profile and format consumers are familiar with will help drive continuing growth of this market segment," said Elliot McKerr, CEO of HYTN. "With the unique positioning of this product line, we look forward to leveraging Emerald's well-established nation-wide provincial distribution relationships and sales team to launch and grow our business in Canada."

"The HYTN team's expertise and focused effort has resulted in a beverage product line that taps into multiple consumer trends and leverages proprietary technology. We believe this cannabis beverage product line is well-positioned for success and fits well with Emerald's focus on science- driven product innovation," said Riaz Bandali, President and Chief Executive Officer of Emerald. "We look forward to seeing HYTN products on store shelves before year-end."

About HYTN

HYTN produces innovative consumer products by combining breakthrough technologies with carefully crafted beverages and edibles. HYTN products allow consumers to experience cannabis in a new, more appealing way.

HYTN was created by experts with extensive beverage, alcohol, and other complementary expertise. CEO Elliot McKerr's extensive beverage background in new product creation, marketing and category management coupled with COO Jason Broome's cannabis operations and quality systems expertise round out a full team with extensive CPG and service industry expertise.

HYTN has a purpose-built and licensed manufacturing facility in Kelowna, BC, to manufacture its beverages, nanoemulsions, edibles, and topicals for the Canadian market.

About Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc.

Emerald is committed to creating new consumer experiences with distinct recreational, medical and wellness-oriented cannabis products, with an emphasis on science-based innovation and product excellence.

Please visit www.emeraldhealth.ca for more information or contact:



Riaz Bandali, Chief Executive Officer

1(800) 757 3536 Ext. #5

Emerald Investor Relations

(800) 757 3536 Ext. #5

invest@emeraldhealth.ca

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions, both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include: the sale of cannabis beverage products; and the success of the partnership between Emerald and HYTN.

We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Such statements include uncertainty as a result of COVID-19 including any continued impact on production or operations; changes of law and regulations; changes of government; failure to obtain regulatory approvals; regulatory changes; receipt of amounts owing to Emerald; strategic development of Emerald; production and processing capacity of various facilities; expansion of facilities; failure to obtain necessary financing; results of scientific research; expectations around market and consumer demand and other patterns related to existing, new and planned product forms; timing for launch and shipment of new and existing product forms; ability of new product forms to capture sales and market share; results of production and sale activities; sales volumes; estimates around incremental sales and more generally estimates or predictions of actions of customers, suppliers, partners, distributors, competitors or regulatory authorities; changes in prices and costs of inputs; demand for labour; demand for products; failure of counter-parties to perform contractual obligations; statements regarding the future market of the Canadian cannabis market; statements regarding Emerald's future economic performance; as well as the risk factors described in Emerald's annual information form and other regulatory filings. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent management beliefs regarding future events, many of which, by their nature are inherently uncertain and beyond management control.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our expectations as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to obtain a better understanding of our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Emerald undertakes no obligations to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur, unless required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101826
COSTA MESA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Charlie's Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:CHUC) ("Charlie's" or the "Company"), an industry leader in the premium, nicotine-based, e-cigarette space, today announced that Charlie's Board of Directors will transition to a board with a majority of independent directors as required by the national securities exchanges. Effective November 3, 2021, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Company co-founder, Brandon Stump has resigned for personal reasons and to allow Charlie's to appoint an independent director in his place. Mr. Stump will continue as the Company's single largest shareholder. Effective, November 3, 2021, inside directors Keith Stump and David Allen will also step down from the Company's Board in order to make room for additional independent directors. In preparation for the Company's proposed uplist to a national securities exchange, Charlie's intends to appoint one new independent director before January 1, 2022 and has initiated a search for additional distinguished candidates.

"As the co-founder of Charlie's, Brandon was the Company's creative visionary. He spearheaded development of some of our Company's most popular brands and flavors," explained Jeff Fox, independent director of Charlie's Holdings, Inc. "Brandon's passion and charisma inspired not only Charlie's, but much of the vapor products industry. Our Company and our shareholders are enormously thankful to Brandon for his leadership and I, for one, will continue to lean into Brandon's insights for Charlie's future vision. In his pursuit of new, independent ventures, we wish Brandon and his family the very best."

"Co-founding and leading Charlie's - from a startup in my kitchen to a public company that distributes products in dozens of countries around the world - has been enormously rewarding to me," said Brandon Stump. "I am proud to have worked with an incredibly talented Charlie's team, outstanding retail and distributor partners, and a whole host of advisors and other professionals who have helped position the Company as an undisputed leader in the vapor products industry. Rest assured, I am not abandoning Charlie's. Having recently invested an additional $3 million in the Company, I remain solidly bullish on Charlie's! My family and I remain the Company's largest shareholders and we intend to remain so because we have the utmost confidence in Ryan Stump, COO and Henry Sicignano, President."

Mr. Fox explained, "In order for the Company to uplist to a national securities exchange, a majority of Charlie's Board of Directors must be 'independent.' To facilitate this change, inside directors Keith Stump and David Allen have also agreed to resign from the board. We extend our sincere thanks to Keith and Dave for their distinguished service and for their willingness to step down to allow for the future growth of the Company under a board comprised of a majority of independent directors."

Scot Cohen, independent director of Charlie's Holdings, Inc. said, "As Charlie's transitions to an independent board - that will include at least one distinguished expert on the FDA's PMTA pathway - we are very pleased with the Company's executive management team. Ryan Stump, Chief Operating Officer and a director, is a Company founder and nicotine expert. Henry Sicignano, President, is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in brand development, competitive strategy, and capital markets. Both strong, proven leaders, Henry and Ryan are uniquely qualified to continue to lead Charlie's, to launch new products, to establish strategic partnerships, and to grow significantly the Company's revenue base. We have a truly outstanding team great things ahead!"

About Charlie's Holdings, Inc.

Charlie's Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:CHUC) is an industry leader in the premium, nicotine-based, vapor products space and the hemp-derived CBD wellness market. The Company's products are sold around the world to select distributors, specialty retailers, and third-party online resellers through subsidiary companies Charlie's Chalk Dust, LLC and Don Polly, LLC. Charlie's Chalk Dust, LLC has developed an extensive portfolio of brand styles, flavor profiles, and innovative product formats. Don Polly, LLC creates innovative wellness products and brands in the hemp-derived CBD marketplace.

For additional information, please visit our corporate website at: CharliesHoldings.com and our branded online websites: CharliesChalkDust.com and PachamamaCBD.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements regarding the Company's overall business, existing and anticipated markets and expectations regarding future sales and expenses. Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "should," "believe," "target," "project," "goals," "estimate," "potential," "predict," "may," "will," "could," "intend," variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company's control. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: the Company's ongoing ability to quote its shares on the OTCQB; whether the Company will meet the requirements to uplist onto a national securities exchange in the future; the Company's ability to successfully increase sales and enter new markets; whether the Company's PMTA's will be approved by the FDA, and the FDA's decisions with respect to the Company's future PMTA's; the Company's ability to manufacture and produce products for its customers; the Company's ability to formulate new products; the acceptance of existing and future products; the complexity, expense and time associated with compliance with government rules and regulations affecting nicotine and products containing cannabidiol; litigation risks from the use of the Company's products; risks of government regulations; the impact of competitive products; and the Company's ability to maintain and enhance its brand, as well as other risk factors included in the Company's most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, annual report on Form 10-K, and other SEC filings. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations.

Investors Contact:

IR@charliesholdings.com

Phone: 949-570-0691

SOURCE: Charlie's Holdings, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670904/Charlies-Holdings-Announces-Board-Changes-in-Preparation-for-Uplist-to-National-Securities-Exchange
Next Generation Battery Technology Disrupter to Trade under the Ticker "LIM" on the CSE

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Li-Metal Corp. (CSE:LIM) ("Li-Metal" or the "Company"), a leading developer of scalable lithium anode and lithium metal technologies critical for next generation batteries, announces that, as of today, November 3, 2021, the common shares of the Company will begin trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") under the ticker "LIM".

Founded in Toronto by Maciej Jastrzebski, the Chief Executive Officer of Li-Metal and Tim Johnston, a director of Li-Metal and the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Li-Cycle Corp., Li-Metal addresses a pressing underlying technology trend in global electrification - the development and adoption of next generation batteries. It is imperative that the battery supply chain adapts as the world transitions from conventional lithium-ion batteries to next generation batteries.

"We are thrilled to make our debut as a publicly traded Canadian company on the CSE and are positioned to scale our breakthrough metallic lithium anode and metal production technologies," said Mr. Jastrzebski. "Producing next generation batteries for electric vehicles with existing technologies can be costly, as they use more lithium than needed and the production costs are high. By utilizing Li-Metal's technologies, battery cell manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers will be able to produce advanced batteries with less lithium, reducing the need for a finite resource, powering more cost-effective, longer range and safer electric vehicles."

Li-Metal sits at the epicenter of three heavy macroeconomic trends: the need to support the mass adoption of next generation batteries, a North American supply shortage of critical battery materials and the need for environmentally friendly solutions supporting the electric vehicle revolution. Li-Metal is developing two scalable, cost effective, safe and sustainable technologies that address these core megatrends:

Lithium Anode Technology - low-cost, high performance, and highly scalable technology for producing lithium metal anodes for next generation batteries.

- low-cost, high performance, and highly scalable technology for producing lithium metal anodes for next generation batteries. Lithium Metal Technology - an improved lithium metal production process utilizing abundantly available chemical sources that eliminates lithium chloride, produces no toxic chlorine off-gas and minimal emissions.

Retains Investor Relations Consultant

Li-Metal is also pleased to announce that it has retained Target IR & Communications ("Target IR"), a full-service investor relations consultancy based in Toronto. Target IR will provide investor relations services for the Company with the aim of increasing Li-Metal's visibility in the investment community and will engage with analysts and investors and communicate key events to shareholders.

Target IR will provide investor relations services to Li-Metal for a 12-month period and will be paid C$8,000 on a monthly basis, exclusive of applicable taxes and certain expenses incurred. Target IR will also be granted options to purchase up to 20,000 common shares of the Company, half of which will vest and become exercisable 12 months after the date of issuance, the other half of which will vest and become exercisable 24 months after the date of issuance.

About Li-Metal Corp.

Li-Metal is a Canadian-based company developing lithium metal anodes and lithium metal production technologies for use in next generation batteries. Our production methods are significantly more sustainable than existing products and offer lighter, more energy dense and safer batteries that are critical to tomorrow's electric vehicles. For more information visit, www.li-metal.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the Company. Any such forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans" and similar expressions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements about, among other things, the Company's strategic plans are forward-looking information. 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. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that the development of the business of the Company will be completed as described above. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by applicable law.

Investor Contact

Salisha Ilyas

ir@li-metal.com

Media Contact

Harry Nicholas

Li-MetalPR@icrinc.com

SOURCE: Li-Metal

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670891/Li-Metal-Begins-Trading-on-the-Canadian-Securities-Exchange
Haskel's Hydrogen Systems Group, a business of the Precision and Science Technologies Segment at Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR), is pleased to announce a long-term agreement with Hiringa Refuelling NZ (Hiringa) to supply hydrogen refuelling stations across New Zealand.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005414/en/

Haskel Hydrogen Geno refuelling station. (Photo: Business Wire)

In conjunction with the supply agreement, Hiringa has issued orders for the first four high-capacity refuelling stations for its nationwide green hydrogen network, to be delivered and commissioned in 2022.

Stephen Learney, Haskel's Global Managing Director, stated: "New Zealand is starting to scale up its hydrogen mobility infrastructure, and we are proud to be working with Hiringa in delivering this ambitious roadmap.

"Working in partnership with Hiringa, we will utilize compression, storage and dispensing equipment specifically designed and optimized for the New Zealand network. The partnership leverages on Haskel's 75 years' experience and industry leading technology and Hiringa's business model specifically designed for the local market."

Hiringa's Chief Technology Officer, Dan Kahn stated: "After a competitive selection process in 2019, we've been working with Haskel over the past two years to jointly develop a high-capacity, network focused design to meet the demands of the heavy transport industry in New Zealand.

"We are pleased to announce these first orders, and our partnership to ensure successful delivery of New Zealand's nationwide hydrogen refuelling network."

As the first company in New Zealand dedicated to the supply of green hydrogen, Hiringa has been developing a hydrogen production and refuelling network to support large-scale refuelling for heavy-duty vehicles with investor partners and funding support from the New Zealand government. Haskel's hydrogen compression system provides high capacity fuelling for buses and trucks up to 350 bar working pressure.

Phase 1 of the development includes four refuelling stations, selected to provide coverage for the major heavy freight routes in the North Island. The network is planned to expand into the South Island through 2023, providing full coverage of all New Zealand's heavy freight routes. As demand for zero-emission transport grows, over 24 Hiringa high-capacity refuelling stations are expected to come online across New Zealand in the next 4-5 years.

Haskel Hydrogen Systems' is well-versed in large-scale refuelling station installations, having customized its Geno Range to fit refuelling needs of large fleets in a diverse set of projects. Haskel's portfolio of work in hydrogen refuelling positions them as an ideal partner on challenging initiatives that advance the hydrogen mobility market. To learn more about Haskel's hydrogen refuelling infrastructure capabilities for both large and small-scale fleets, visit: https://www.haskel.com/en-us/products/hydrogen-refueling.

Together with partners, Hiringa is developing one of the world's first nation-wide hydrogen refuelling networks in New Zealand. To learn more about Hiringa's plans to enable the adoption of hydrogen solutions, visit: https://www.hiringa.co.nz/refuelling-network.

About Haskel

Haskel, a business of the Precision and Science Technologies Segment at Ingersoll Rand, is the global leader in high-pressure liquid and gas transfer and compression technology solutions for critical applications in hydrogen mobility, aerospace and defence, energy and other industries. The organization's Hydrogen Systems Group, based in Sunderland, U.K., supports the development of global refuelling infrastructure, including hydrogen fuelling stations and hydrogen dispensing solutions. With 75 years of expertise, Haskel's leadership in the market is built on a reputation of safety, reliability and the highest quality. Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR), is a global leader in mission-critical flow creation and industrial technologies. For more information, visit www.IRCO.com.

About Hiringa Refuelling New Zealand

Hiringa Refuelling New Zealand is a subsidiary of Hiringa Energy, a next generation energy company. Founded in 2016, Hiringa Energy is dedicated to building green hydrogen production projects using renewable energy to displace the use of fossil fuels for transport and industrial feedstock as well as working with technology suppliers to introduce a full suite of hydrogen powered transport solutions to customers.

Hiringa Refuelling New Zealand is focussed on rapidly deploying a nationwide high capacity, open access hydrogen refuelling network to remove barriers and accelerate the adoption of green hydrogen applications across multiple sectors including road transport, aviation, rail, marine, materials handling, off highway and remote use. For more information, visit www.hiringa.co.nz.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005414/en/

Contacts:

Media Contacts:

Hoda Awad Mark Fulker

Madano

haskel@madano.com

Investors:

Christopher Miorin

christopher.miorin@irco.com
CHICAGO and DENVER, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CQG, a leading global provider of high-performance technology solutions for traders, brokers, commercial hedgers, and exchanges, today announced the launch of a comprehensive suite of exclusive execution technologies designed to give market participants new tools to achieve greater efficiencies and optimal trade execution, particularly for large or complex order types.

The new initiative builds an entire suite of functionality off of the infrastructure of cutting-edge software assets CQG acquired from Blue Trading Systems (BTS) in June 2020. It also leverages technology CQG has been developing in recent years - all aimed at providing smart trade execution opportunities for buy-side and sell-side firms that can improve pricing, provide increased visibility of aggregating different markets, and enable large global firms to efficiently match client orders in a regulatory-compliant fashion. CQG Vice President of Execution Technologies Kevin Darby, formerly co-founder of BTS who joined CQG last year to lead the integration of the software, is leading the new Execution Technologies business unit.

CQG President Ryan Moroney said: "We're really excited to bring this new offering to market this week, based on an effort that has been years in the making. The Execution Technologies suite gives buy-side institutions such as hedge funds, large insurance companies, and commercial hedging operations that utilize the industry's biggest banks and brokerage firms the ability to execute large, complex orders as efficiently as if they were trading a handful of contracts. We have also further strengthened capabilities for the professional trading community reflecting the myriad sophisticated order types they want to employ."

The offering is available through multiple platforms, including CQG Integrated Client, CQG Desktop and various CQG-supported application programming interfaces (APIs). The suite includes numerous components now available to all interested clients, including:

CQG Algos - A comprehensive set of pre-built algorithmic order types, employing a co-located low latency trading engine, for optimal server-side execution of Arrival Price, VWAP (volume-weighted average price), TWAP (time-weighted average price) and other algorithms. Each algorithm is built to track or beat benchmarks with specific implementations dedicated to in-depth analysis of microstructure, resulting in more passive order fills;

Custom Algo SDK - A software development kit allowing users to mix and match CQG Algos with their own custom C++ algorithms, minimizing development and testing cycles;

Algo API - A client-side interface used to control and compose server-side algorithms running inside of Custom Algo SDK, coupled with an evolving set of back-testing and analysis tools;

AlgoAnalytics - An augmented transaction cost analysis (TCA) tool that provides a transparent view into the core value proposition of the offering, with benchmark and micro-structure analysis;

Internalization Engine that allows large banks and brokerage firms to match orders from different clients internally, giving them cross-trade opportunities that reduce exchange fees and compliance risk, and providing a file or audit records of internalized orders to post to back-office systems;

Server-side Aggregation that provides a pooled liquidity view of cross-listed, fungible assets while allowing smart order routing into the constituents of the pool, according to user preferences.

Also in the works are new components slated for introduction later this year and in 2022, including:

Additional algorithmic order types for multi-leg futures trading and a suite of options algorithms;

CQG Spreader 2.0 - a sophisticated new version of the firm's existing functionality, which will include new low latency spread routing, with considerably faster execution times that allow users to employ their existing CQG Spreader interface.

Darby said: "Our core technology for CQG Algos facilitates ultra-low latency access to markets with an emphasis on strong, lightning-fast analytics, as well as flexible, reliable algorithms. Through novel implementation of order types, we're able to deliver high-quality fills with the goal of reducing implicit trading costs and market impact involved in accumulating a listed derivatives position for buy-side firms. The SDK allows us to partner with long-time clients like proprietary trading groups for high-value trading strategies, while respecting the sanctity of their intellectual property."

About CQG

CQG provides the industry's highest performing solutions for traders, brokers, commercial hedgers, and exchanges for their market-related activities globally, including trading, market data, advanced technical analysis, risk management, and account administration. The firm partners with the vast majority of futures brokerage and clearing firms and provides Direct Market Access (DMA) to more than 45 exchanges through its global network of co-located Hosted Exchange Gateways. CQG technology serves as the front end for a variety of exchanges and is increasingly employed as the over-the-counter matching engine for important new markets. CQG's server-side order management tools for spreading, market aggregation, and smart orders are unsurpassed for speed and ease of use. Its market data feed consolidates 85 sources, including exchanges worldwide for futures, options, fixed income, foreign exchange, and equities, as well as data on debt securities, industry reports, and financial indices. One of the longest-serving technology solutions providers in the industry, CQG has won numerous awards for its trading software, technical analysis and multi-asset trading platform. CQG is headquartered in Denver, with 16 sales and support offices and data centers in key markets globally. For more information, visit www.cqg.com .

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Sun Summit Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SMN) (OTCQB: SMREF) ("Sun Summit" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a corporate update and inform shareholders on drilling progress at its 100% controlled Buck Property, central British Columbia. Two drill rigs are currently operating on site.

Highlights

Strengthens executive team by appointment of Sharyn Alexander to the position of President: Ms. Alexander brings a wealth of experience in mineral exploration including most recently Vice President Technical Services for Sun Summit.





Ms. Alexander brings a wealth of experience in mineral exploration including most recently Vice President Technical Services for Sun Summit. Systematically testing the lateral and vertical extent of high-grade gold mineralization: Twenty holes have been drilled so far in the Trench Zone targeting vein-hosted high-grade gold mineralization (e.g., 31.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 4.0 metres including 246 g/t gold over 0.5 metres; BK21-020, see news release dated May 11 th , 2021).





Twenty holes have been drilled so far in the Trench Zone targeting vein-hosted high-grade gold mineralization (e.g., 31.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 4.0 metres including 246 g/t gold over 0.5 metres; BK21-020, see news release dated May 11 , 2021). Expanding the footprint of near-surface, bulk tonnage-style gold mineralization: Eight holes have been drilled so far in the Horseshoe and Trench zones stepping-out from known zones of near-surface, bulk tonnage-style gold mineralization (e.g., 1.07 g/t gold over 109 metres including 7.17 g/t gold over 5.2 metres; BK21-017, see news release dated May 11 th , 2021).





Eight holes have been drilled so far in the Horseshoe and Trench zones stepping-out from known zones of near-surface, bulk tonnage-style gold mineralization (e.g., 1.07 g/t gold over 109 metres including 7.17 g/t gold over 5.2 metres; BK21-017, see news release dated May 11 , 2021). Assay and geochemical analyses underway: Core samples from 15 holes have been sent to the lab for assay with additional core shipments being sent bi-weekly.

"We are very pleased to appoint Ms. Alexander to co-lead our executive team," Bob Willis, Sun Summit's CEO, stated. "Over the past few years, she has been instrumental in her role as Vice-President, Technical Services in facilitating and managing numerous aspects of our corporate and exploration activities. I look forward to working closely with her as our company continues to systematically advance the Buck Property while maintaining the Company's standards and best practices."

Sharyn Alexander, Sun Summit's President, commented, "I am very excited to take on new challenges and lead the company through a very exciting time of growth and discovery. We are aggressively drilling at Buck with two rigs and the program is moving along as planned. I look forward to continuing to closely work with the executive team on the implementation of various strategic initiatives with the goal of delivering additional exploration success."

Drill Program

The current drill program has three primary objectives (see news release dated October 13th, 2021), 1) investigate the extent and continuity of high-grade gold mineralization characteristic of the Trench Zone, 2) investigate the strike-extent of near surface, bulk-tonnage gold mineralization characteristic of the Horseshoe Zone, and 3) investigate the limits of the mineralized hydrothermal footprint. All three objectives are being systematically addressed with two diamond drill rigs and a team of experienced exploration geologists continuously evaluating and amending the exploration model.

Over 10,000 metres were initially planned to be drilled within a footprint of approximately 600 metres by 300 metres (see news release dated September 28th, 2021). Twenty-eight holes totalling over 8,000 metres have been completed so far. Based on encouraging visual observations from numerous holes, multiple new holes are being planned.

Intervals of pervasive silica and sericite alteration peripheral to quartz-feldspar porphyritic dykes with associated quartz-sulfide veinlets and stockworks have been observed in multiple holes in the Trench Zone. These prospective zones are hosted in fine grained sedimentary and intermediate volcaniclastic rocks. The contact of these bedded rocks with thick sequences of poorly-sorted and chaotic dacitic lapilli tuffs is interpreted to be a partial control on the distribution of gold-bearing, sphalerite-rich sulfide-cemented breccias of the Horseshoe Zone. This interpreted structural contact has been modelled to be northwest trending. Additional drilling is planned to test along this trend between the Trench and Horseshoe zones with the aim of expanding zones of near-surface mineralization while investigating the relationships between the two mineralization styles.

Core samples are being dispatched from the Company's core logging facility in Houston, B.C. to ALS Global preparation facilities in Kamloops, Langley and North Vancouver, B.C. Samples from the first 14 holes are in the lab, and more are anticipated to arrive in the coming days.

Sharyn Alexander

Ms. Alexander is a geologist with over 15 years of experience in mineral exploration and mining. She has worked with a number of companies such as B2Gold, Barrick (Australia), and SRK Consulting. Her diversified skillset includes project management, business development, strategic planning, relationship building, social responsibility, investor relations, and marketing. Ms. Alexander earned her Bachelor of Science (Geology) from McMaster University, her Masters of Science (Geology) from the University of Toronto, and she holds an Advanced Diploma in GIS from BCIT.

Buck Property

The ~33,000 hectare property is located approximately 12 kilometres south of Houston, British Columbia, has excellent nearby infrastructure and allows for year-round road-accessible exploration.

National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure

This news release has been approved by Sun Summit's CEO, Robert D. Willis, P. Eng. a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has also verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical and test data, underlying the technical information in this news release.

Community Engagement

Sun Summit is engaging with First Nations on whose territory the Buck Property is located and is discussing their interests and identifying contract and work opportunities, as well as opportunities to support community initiatives. The Company looks forward to continuing to work with local and regional First Nations as the project continues.

Health and Safety

The Company's exploration programs are being carried out in full compliance with federal, provincial, and municipal guidelines established in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Sun Summit has a rigorous infection prevention and control protocol in place to protect the health of employees and contractors, as well as surrounding communities in which the Company works.

About Sun Summit

Sun Summit Minerals is an exploration company focused on expanding its epithermal gold discovery at its flagship Buck Project located in north-central British Columbia.

The Company is exploring multiple high priority gold and silver targets through methodical, well-funded exploration campaigns with year round drilling access. The Project has high-grade and bulk-tonnage gold and silver potential and is located in a mining-established region that includes many former operating mines and current exploration projects.

Sun Summit is committed to environmental and social responsibility with a focus on responsible development to generate positive outcomes for all stakeholders.

Further details are available at www.sunsummitminerals.com

For further information, contact:

Sharyn Alexander, M.Sc.

President

Nancy Curry

Corporate Communications

info@sunsummitminerals.com

Tel. 778-588-9606

Forward-Looking Information

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences, without limiting the generality of the following, include: risks inherent in exploration activities; volatility and sensitivity to market prices; volatility and sensitivity to capital market fluctuations; the impact of exploration competition; the ability to raise funds through private or public equity financings; environmental and safety risks including increased regulatory burdens; unexpected geological or hydrological conditions; changes in government regulations and policies, including trade laws and policies; failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; weather and other natural phenomena; and other exploration, development, operating, financial market and regulatory risks. Except as required by applicable securities laws and regulation, Sun Summit Minerals Corp. (SMN) 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 the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada 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/101718
LONDON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Boclips, the world's leading educational video platform, today announced the acquisition of Listenwise, the US market leader in curriculum-geared podcasts for grades 2 to 12. The acquisition creates a unique offering of video and audio content for global education providers, and positions the combined business for accelerated growth in the US and worldwide.

Boclips manages the largest educational video resource in the world. Providing access to more than two million rights-cleared clips from over 350 trusted sources, ranging from news programming from The Wall Street Journal through Ted Talks to specialist tutorial videos from The Smithsonian. Its AI-driven content management system enables users to easily locate the right video for every stage of the school or university curriculum. Customers include courseware developers, EdTech solutions providers as well as Ministries of Education across the Middle East and Asia.

Listenwise offers a library of podcast lessons designed to engage students in learning with their real-world relevance and storytelling. The curriculum-aligned podcasts are paired with learning tools and listening comprehension assessments to transform them into rigorous academic content for classroom grades 2 to 12. Listenwise's leading podcast partner is National Public Radio (NPR).

"The extraordinary team who have developed Listenwise share Boclips' mission to make learning more captivating for all age ranges through the power of rich media," said Boclips CEO David Bainbridge. "We look forward to adding their podcasts to our vast library of millions of curated videos, which are aligned to both subject and age-level."

"By teaming up with Listenwise we will be able to provide our rich media library directly to school districts, digital teaching platforms, and learning institutions of all kinds around the world," he added.

"We're thrilled to join forces with Boclips to accelerate the impact of audio for students in every market," said Monica Brady-Myerov, CEO and founder of Listenwise. "Boclips and Listenwise share a mission to captivate students by curating the best media for learning and making them easy to integrate into instruction. I am excited to be able to grow that mission. Bringing together the leaders in audio and video is an ideal combination for educators and course developers."

Listenwise's built-in literacy and language supports allow teachers to differentiate instruction for different learners, including English learners and striving readers.

Learning from home during pandemic lockdowns has accelerated the digitization of education material worldwide and significantly increased demand for video and audio content. Boclips primarily supplies digital curriculum platforms, while Listenwise currently sells directly to teachers and school districts across the US.

Boclips also announced the appointment of two EdTech visionaries as observers on its Board of Directors: Felipe Sommer, founder of Nearpod, and Jean Hammond, co-founder and general partner of LearnLaunch Accelerator and prolific education investor.

About Boclips

Boclips is on a mission to educate, enlighten, and inspire learners of all ages with video. Since the company's foundation in 2014, the Boclips video platform has offered education providers a single procurement point to find, license, and incorporate video aligned to their courseware. The platform features over 2 million educationally relevant videos including animations, short-form docs, historical footage, and breaking news from 350 of the world's most trusted content producers, including TED Talks, PBS, The Smithsonian, and AP, as well as teacher-favorites like Crash Course, Minute Earth, and The School of Life. The platform uses machine learning to curate to academic standards and is free from advertising, inappropriate content, and data security concerns. For more information, visit https://boclips.com .

About Listenwise

Listenwise is an award-winning listening comprehension platform for grades 2-12. We harness the power of listening to advance literacy and learning in all students. Our collection of Lexile leveled podcasts keeps teaching connected to the real world and builds student listening skills at the same time. Listenwise offers the world's largest library of listening comprehension assessments available for the classroom. For more information visit https://listenwise.com .

Media Contact:

Michael Macfarlan

michael@boclips.com

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Using AI analysis of patient cough recordings, AcuScreen is a discreet, feasible, and accurate screening tool.

WATERLOO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Cloud DX (TSXV:CDX) (OTCQB:CDXFF). A study in Mozambique using AI to analyze smartphone audio recordings of patient coughs shows promising outcome for screening and diagnosis of active tuberculosis. The trial, led by Celso Khosa M.D. at the Instituto Nacional de Saude (INS), sought to determine the feasibility of front-line tuberculosis triage using AcuScreen, the smartphone component of Cloud DX's winning Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE technology, Vitaliti. The research team recently presented preliminary results at the 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health.

The cause of 1.4 million deaths annually, tuberculosis (TB) is the world's deadliest respiratory infection (after COVID), yet it is an entirely treatable and preventable disease. As infection and deaths climb this year and are projected to grow again in 2022, the need for innovation in TB diagnosis, treatment, and care is ever-pressing. AcuScreen or similar mobile tools to support public health facilitate systematic and discreet screening in mobile clinics and other in-field uses. In line with the encouraging results, Dr. Khosa says "Our data shows that acoustic cough analysis and symptom detection exceed the World Health Organization requirements for a community-based triage system. Such a tool is essential for low resource and high burden areas. I look forward to expanding AcuScreen's use."

"AcuScreen is an important initiative. The team has developed a mobile and digital health technology that countries with challenges in their health care delivery and disease prevention desperately need," says Anousheh Ansari, XPRIZE CEO. "This project embodies Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE's mission; tackling tuberculosis with an affordable mobile screening tool is what we would consider a breakthrough for humanity."

"AcuScreen's success is a milestone event for technology, healthcare, and society," says Robert Kaul, CEO of Cloud DX. "This is the first Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE-winning technology to be validated in the field, showing the path forward for our innovations from concept to commercialization. More importantly, AcuScreen can help combat the spiraling global tuberculosis crisis. AcuScreen is more accessible and accurate, and less expensive, than x-ray screening. With a stigmatized illness such as TB, it's important that any solution be handheld, like AcuScreen, for discretion and privacy. This is technology that virtually every public health or medical clinic can use in front-line triage to test an estimated 3 million undiagnosed TB patients, and to expedite confirmation tests such as GeneXpert.

"Cloud DX and the Roddenberry Foundation have taken the next great step in using smart phone based health technology for medicine", says Erik Viirre M.D. Ph.D., Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego and Medical Director of the AcuScreen project and of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE. "The device that you hold in your hand will now be useful for screening for a global health scourge. With a world-wide program with socially appropriate outreach, we will help people get screened and routed to care at practically no cost to them."

The trial, named 'Acoustic analysis of cough as a novel technology for the screening and diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB)' was funded by the Qualcomm Foundation and the Roddenberry Foundation with the support of University of California, San Diego, and the Instituto Nacional de Saude (INS). The research team included Dr. Celso Khosa, Dr. Erik Viirre, Dr. Sonny Kohli, Bindiya Meggi, Ilesh Jani, Yara Voss De Lima, Lamiaa Amzil, Isthi Paul, Sara Ross-Howe, and Antonio Machiana.

* "Tuberculosis screening costs and cost-effectiveness in high-risk groups: a systematic review", BCM, Sept 8, 2021.

About Instituto Nacional de Saude

Instituto Nacional de Saude (INS) is an autonomous government institution under the tutelage of the Minister of Health. Its mission is to generate and promote the incorporation of scientific and technologic solutions for the main health conditions and problems in Mozambique. The INS conducts research, training and implements public health activities.

The Polana Canico Health Research and Training Center (CISPOC) is a research center affiliated to the INS. The center was established in 2011 and is experienced in conducting bio-medical research, cohort studies, surveillance and program evaluation.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE is a global future-positive movement of over 1M people and rising, delivering truly radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. XPRIZE inspires and empowers a global community of problem-solvers to positively impact our world by crowdsourcing solutions through large-scale competitions, tackling the world's grandest challenges in exploration, environment and human equity. Active competitions include the $100 Million XPRIZE Carbon Removal with Elon Musk, $15 Million XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, $10 Million XPRIZE Rainforest, $10 Million ANA Avatar XPRIZE, $5 Million XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling and $1 Million Digital Learning Challenge. Donate, sign up or join a team at xprize.org.

About University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or, colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is the southernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California, and offers over 200 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, enrolling 33,343 undergraduate and 9,533 graduate students. UC San Diego is ranked among the best universities in the world by major college and university ranking.

The University of California San Diego School of Medicine is the graduate medical school of the University of California, San Diego. It was the third medical school in the University of California system, after those established at UCSF and UCLA, and is the only medical school in the San Diego metropolitan area

About Cloud DX

Accelerating virtual healthcare, Cloud DX is on a mission to make healthcare better for everyone. Our Connected Health TM remote patient monitoring platform is used by healthcare enterprises and care teams across North America to virtually manage chronic disease, enable aging in place, and deliver hospital-quality post-surgical care in the home. Our partners achieve better healthcare and patient outcomes, reduce the need for hospitalization or re-admission, and reduce healthcare delivery costs through more efficient use of resources. Cloud DX is the co-winner of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, a 2021 Edison Award winner, a Fast Company "World Changing Idea" finalist, and one of "Canada's Ten Most Prominent Telehealth Providers."

Cloud DX Investor Site https://ir.clouddx.com/overview/default.aspx

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

# # #

Social Links

Twitter https://twitter.com/CloudDX

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/clouddxinc/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cloud-dx/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cloud.dx/

Twitter https://twitter.com/instituto_ins

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ins.gov.mz

For media inquiries please contact:

Janine Scott

Marketing Lead

888-543-0944

janine.scott@CloudDX.com

For investor inquiries please contact:

Jay Bedard

Cloud DX Investor Relations

647-881-8418

jay.bedard@CloudDX.com

SOURCE: Cloud DX Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670906/AcuScreenTM-Qualcomm-Tricorder-XPRIZE-Winner-Can-Help-Address-Global-Crisis-of-3-Million-Undiagnosed-Tuberculosis-Cases
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - U.S. ADP private payrolls data for October 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, it fell against the rest of major counterparts. The greenback was worth 113.76 against the yen, 1.1588 against the euro, 1.3652 against the pound and 0.9114 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.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of October. ADP said private sector employment jumped by 571,000 jobs in October after surging by a revised 523,000 jobs in September. Economists had expected private sector employment to climb by 400,000 jobs compared to the addition of 568,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. 'The job market is revving back up as the Delta-wave of the pandemic winds down,' said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. 'Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies,' he added. 'As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months.' 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.
SHANGHAI, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Argentum Apothecary, one of the fastest growing luxury skincare brands from London, has received a new round of financing from China's leading luxury brand management group, USHOPAL.

Founded by Joy Isaacs in 2011, Argentum is becoming a leading skincare brand in China in the super luxury category through their globally patented formulation based on the work of Nobel Prize-winning scientists. Through USHOPAL's own luxury retail chain, Bonnie&Clyde, this injection of capital will help further propel the brand in Asia and reinforce its position in the global market.

"We have always had a strong connection with China, and we've seen incredible brand growth in the past few years. As one of the leading brand management groups in China, we believe the forge of this partnership will shape the future of ARgENTUM in Asia and the world." - Founder & CEO Joy Isaacs

Company: ARgENTUM is a multi award-winning skincare brand, that emits the timeless strength of silver. After many years of research in the field of dermo-cosmetics, they have formulated a patented fusion of two vital ingredients ~ Silver Hydrosol & DNA HP. The result is a natural, super hydrating range of products that improves fine lines, wrinkles and the overall texture of your skin. Inspired by the Chinese philosophy of yin-yang, ARgENTUM balances their ground-breaking science with the psychology of beauty by using symbolism and poetry through their 12 archetypes to inspire beauty through balance.

Company: USHOPAL Group is China's leading luxury brand management group, partnering and investing in the next generation of luxury brands in the beauty and wellness space. Successfully developed brands such as Chantecaille, Natura Bisse, and Juliette has a gun. USHOPAL also owns the retail chain Bonnie&Clyde, in China as the leading luxury multi-brand beauty retailer. Located in the top tier department stores across China, they work with brands exclusively sold at high-end retail outlets such as Harrods from London, Le Bon Marche from Paris, Neiman Marcus from New York.

According to news, the China-based brand management group announced on Mar. 8 the completion of a $100 million round of financing with FountainVest and Cathay Capital to support its portfolio expansion in China and the Asia Pacific.

Website: www.ushopal.com

Contact: Cherry Yu

Email: pr@ushopal.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677574/1.jpg
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE: OILS) (OTCQB: OILFF) (FSE: L0MA) ("Nextleaf", "OILS", or the "Company"), a federally regulated producer of cannabis oil that owns one of the largest portfolios of U.S. patents for the extraction and distillation of cannabinoids, announced today the launch of Distilled CBD 100 Oil & Distilled CBD 200 Oil under the Company's prohibition-era brand Glacial Gold.

Glacial Gold Distilled CBD 200 Oil is a first in Canada's adult-use and medical markets, with the highest amount of CBD in a single unit (5700 mg), highest potency of CBD available in an ingestible oil format (200 mg/g = 20 %), and best dollar value per milligram for CBD in both the legal and illicit markets in Canada.





Glacial Gold Distilled CBD 100 Oil & Distilled CBD 200 Oil

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5347/101830_7c37128fd436f93a_001full.jpg

The Company's multi-patented winterization and filtration technology is the secret behind producing high-purity CBD distillate free of waxes, sugars, and other undesirable compounds.

A recent CBC Marketplace investigation report showed that the unregulated market for CBD is rife with misleading claims and contaminants that are harmful for consumers and would not meet standards within the regulated market[1].

"We are proud to be the first Company to launch a high-potency CBD product in Canada. By leveraging Nextleaf's competitive advantage producing high-purity distillate at scale, we are able to offer the lineup of Glacial Gold CBD products at disruptive price points," said Nextleaf CEO and co-founder Paul Pedersen. "When consumers purchase Glacial Gold products, they have a confidence that every millilitre is standardized for a predictable, safe, and repeatable outcome that simply cannot be guaranteed in products available from illicit sources, including unregulated CBD products produced in the United States".

Based on the early success of Glacial Gold Distilled CBD 50 Oil through retailers in British Columbia, Nextleaf is launching its new Glacial Gold Distilled CBD 100 & Distilled CBD 200 Oils. This expands the Glacial Gold lineup of Distilled CBD Oil offerings into a range of potencies for low, medium, and high dose CBD consumers. All Glacial Gold CBD Oil products are produced by Nextleaf using sun-grown hemp.

Glacial Gold CBD and THC products are currently sold across British Columbia, with plans to expand nationally next year.

Glacial Gold products are being made available to medical cannabis patients across Canada through mendocannabis.ca.

Glacial Gold 60 Day Review

Nextleaf launched its prohibition-era brand Glacial Gold in British Columbia, the Company's home province, in early September. After two months of sales, the brand continues to garner national attention for its quality distillate and accessible pricing from consumers, patients, and retailers, alike. Nextleaf continues to see increased demand within the province of British Columbia including higher volume purchase orders. A few key milestones and metrics over the September and October months:

Launched 7 SKUs of Glacial Gold THC and CBD products in B.C., consisting of four 1-gram vape SKUs and three distilled oil SKUs

THC and CBD products in B.C., consisting of four 1-gram vape SKUs and three distilled oil SKUs The addition of Distilled CBD 100 & CBD 200 Oils amounts to 9 Glacial Gold SKUs listed in B.C. within the first 60 days of initial launch

amounts to 9 SKUs listed in B.C. within the first 60 days of initial launch 60%+ retail penetration rate with Glacial Gold in B.C.

in B.C. Top value 1g vape cart in Canada (Anytime 1:1 Vape)

Top value CBD oil in Canada (Distilled CBD 50 Oil)

Signed an agreement with Quebec-based medical cannabis platform Mendocannabis.ca for distribution of Glacial Gold to medical cannabis patients across Canada

to medical cannabis patients across Canada Signed agreement with National Cannabis Distribution Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kiaro Holdings Corp., for distribution of Glacial Gold in Saskatchewan

About Nextleaf

Nextleaf is a federally regulated producer of cannabis oil that owns one of the largest portfolios of U.S. patents for the extraction and distillation of cannabinoids. Nextleaf distributes cannabis vapes and distilled oils under its award-winning prohibition-era brand, Glacial Gold, and supplies cannabis distillate to its wholesale customers. Nextleaf's proprietary closed-loop automated extraction plant in Metro Vancouver efficiently transforms cannabis and hemp grown in B.C. and throughout Canada into high-purity cannabis distillate at an industrial scale. Nextleaf is developing delivery technology and differentiated cannabinoid-based formulations through its Health Canada Research Licence with sensory evaluation of cannabis via human testing. The Company owns 17 U.S. patents and has been issued 90 patents globally.

Nextleaf Solutions trades as OILS on the Canadian Securities Exchange, OILFF on the OTCQB Market in the United States, and L0MA on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Follow the Company across social platforms: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

www.nextleafsolutions.com

Follow Glacial Gold across social platforms: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. www.Glacial.Gold

For more information please contact:

Jason McBride, Corporate Development

604-283-2301 (ext. 219)

jason@nextleafsolutions.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

Paul Pedersen, CEO

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's ability to capitalize on its IP portfolio, the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's MD&A for the most recent fiscal period. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. The CSE has not reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.

[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/illegal-cbd-marketplace-1.6217192

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101830
Manchester & London Investment Trust Plc - Result of AGM

MANCHESTER AND LONDON INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

Results of Annual General Meeting

3 November 2021

The Company announces that at the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of the Company held today Resolutions 1 to 15 contained in the Notice of AGM were duly passed on a poll.

M&M Investment Company, the controlling shareholder of the Company undertook not to vote on the resolutions dealing with the re-election and election of the independent Directors. The proxy votes below therefore reflect the votes submitted by independent shareholders as indicated.

The proxy votes received in relation to the resolutions passed were as follows:

Resolution Votes for Votes Against Votes at Chairman's Discretion Shares Marked As Votes Withheld / Abstentions 1. To receive and accept the Annual Report 25,369,853 2,264 900 7,020 2. To approve the Directors' Remuneration Report 25,347,778 27,862 900 3,497 3. To declare a final ordinary dividend of 7.0p per Ordinary Share 25,377,410 692 900 1,035 4. To re-elect David Harris as a Director (independent shareholders) 1,772,707 536,663 900 23,069,767 5. To re-elect Brett Miller as a Director 2,296,903 17,638 900 23,064,596 6. To re-elect James Waterlow as a Director (independent shareholders) 2,310,982 3,559 900 23,064,596 7. To re-elect Daniel Wright as a Director (independent shareholders) 2,305,812 8,729 900 23,064,596 8. To re-appoint Deloitte LLP as Auditor of the Company 25,367,058 10,699 900 1,380 9. To authorise the Directors to determine the Auditor's Remuneration 25,375,838 2,264 900 1,035 10. To authorise the Directors to offer holders the right to elect to receive newly issued Ordinary Shares 25,355,810 19,888 1,718 2,621 11. To authorise the Directors to allot Ordinary Shares 25,357,008 20,323 900 1,806 12. To disapply statutory pre-emption rights in relation to the issue of Ordinary Shares 25,346,737 30,594 900 1,806 13. To authorise the Directors to sell, transfer and allot Ordinary Shares from Treasury at a discount to the net asset value 25,014,219 359,723 900 5,195 14. To authorise the Company to make market purchases of Ordinary Shares 25,366,586 11,516 900 1,035 15. To authorise the Company to hold general meetings on 14 clear days' notice 25,330,867 43,325 900 4,945

The Board is pleased with the support from shareholders for the resolutions, but notes the minority votes (representing 23.23% of votes from independent shareholders), against resolution 4: the re-election of Mr David Harris. The Board takes the views of its shareholders seriously and the Company intends to engage with shareholders to better understand their concerns with a view to identifying how such concerns can be addressed. The Board looks forward to engaging with shareholders and an update on the results of this engagement and the actions to be taken will be published in due course.

In accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.2, copies of all resolutions passed as Special Business at the Meeting will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

LEI: 213800HMBZXULR2EEO10
84.51 Collaborative Cloud is the go-to resource for Conagra Brands' most complex analyses

CINCINNATI, OH / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / The 84.51 Collaborative Cloud is helping the CPG industry unleash the potential of their data science teams with a groundbreaking new platform. Powered by 84.51, the most robust first-party data source in grocery retail, 84.51 Collaborative Cloud puts clean, unaggregated, transaction-level data for 60 million deidentified households-updated weekly-in an easy-to-use, privacy-compliant, hosted environment that has been built to the individual client's specifications and data needs.

Major brands like Conagra Brands, one of North America's leading branded food companies, have already put 84.51 Collaborative Cloud to the test. With 24/7 access to data, data scientists can execute innovative analytics their organization's business leaders can use to understand the evolving landscape, strengthen their strategies, and drive transformative growth.

"84.51 Collaborative Cloud has become a go-to resource for my team's most complex analyses. It covers the bases for our modern, data-driven approach for innovation, offering speed, compatibility with our tech stack and a robust national footprint of household purchase behavior," said Brian Archey, senior director, data science and analytics for Conagra Brands.

84.51 Collaborative Cloud offers unmatched features including:

Scale: 2 billion annual transactions from nearly 60 million households-half the households in the U.S.

Granularity: UPC-level unaggregated data with an encrypted, anonymized, persistent household ID

Omnichannel view: Includes in-store, pickup and delivery transactions

Longitudinal: Users can access data up to a four-year history

Science: the platform is designed for clients to build their own science, while also benefitting from the decades of 84.51 data science expertise

"CPG business decision makers know data can help them achieve their goals around sales, penetration, share of cart, shelf space and more, and have invested in building teams of in-house experts with the skills and desire to do cutting-edge work. 84.51 Collaborative Cloud maximizes that investment, putting at their fingertips the high-quality, granular data they need to innovate and transform their business," said Patrick Kelly, vice president, product at 84.51.

84.51 Collaborative Cloud delivers for one of North America's leading branded food companies

After the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 impacted every aspect of the grocery industry, from supply chain issues to shopper behavior, Conagra Brands' data science team turned to 84.51 Collaborative Cloud to make sense of their 2021 forecast, evaluate shopping behavior changes across numerous commodities and predict which new behaviors would stick. The transaction-level data with built-in privacy controls has enabled the team to present better demand projections for their portfolio, make more informed assumptions about demand for innovation, and make smarter decisions on production levels, shopper retention efforts and other marketing spend-all of which have helped Conagra Brands attract and retain new brand buyers at disproportionately high numbers.

"More than a platform, 84.51Collaborative Cloud is a partnership bringing together a client's business leaders and data science team with our own experts, backed by 20 years of data science experience," Kelly continued. "The client decides what transactions they want, what to include from those transactions and how they want to be able to tie transactions together, and we build an individual environment to meet those priorities. From that point, we offer a flexible engagement model that can range from answering questions and providing guidance as the client needs it to having our own experts work shoulder-to-shoulder with the client team to co-develop science within the platform."

About 84.51

84.51 is a retail data science, insights and media company helping The Kroger Co., consumer packaged goods companies, agencies, publishers and affiliated partners create more personalized and valuable experiences for shoppers across the path to purchase.

Powered by cutting edge science, we leverage 1st party retail data from nearly 1 of 2 U.S households and 2BN+ transactions to fuel a more customer-centric journey utilizing 84.51 Insights, 84.51 Loyalty Marketing and our retail media advertising solution, Kroger Precision Marketing.

Media Contacts:

Jamie Scalici / John O'Hara

Mower

212-980-9194 / 315-413-4212

jscalici@mower.com / johara@mower.com

SOURCE: 84.51

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670661/Introducing-8451-Collaborative-Cloud-Data-Science-Platform-Gives-CPGs-Access-to-the-Grocery-Industrys-Most-Robust-Transaction-Data-Enabling-Transformative-Growth
Kristen Hammer named director of strategy, as fintech momentum grows in West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, WV / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Vantage Ventures , the leader of a series of audacious initiatives to welcome innovative technology companies to West Virginia, today announced the addition of Kristen Hammer, a seasoned business development expert from transformative transportation pioneer Virgin Hyperloop, to its leadership team.

As Vantage's director of strategy, Hammer will help develop and implement the strategies to continue to position West Virginia as a location where transformative companies and entrepreneurs will receive the resources and support to thrive. She also will seek to capitalize on the increasing momentum surrounding innovation in West Virginia.

Hammer's background with Virgin Hyperloop will be particularly valuable, as the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package recently approved by the U.S. Senate includes provisions that will support further development and deployment of emerging surface transportation innovations such as hyperloop technology in the U.S.

"At Vantage Ventures, I'll be executing on the organization's strategy to support entrepreneurs and help them build and grow scalable, investable companies in West Virginia," Hammer says. "After several rewarding years at Virgin Hyperloop, I am excited about this opportunity to help bolster entrepreneurship and innovative technology and manufacturing in the Mountain State."

Hammer joined Virgin Hyperloop in 2015, as one of its earliest employees. She started as a welding engineer, leading welding and inspection efforts at the company's Devloop test track, the world's first full-system hyperloop. She then led the materials engineering team before serving as a business development manager on the U.S. Projects, where she worked closely with local transport agencies, business partners, members of Congress, and federal regulators to move hyperloop projects forward in the U.S. Prior to joining Virgin Hyperloop, Hammer worked at leading companies, including SpaceX and GKN Aerospace, in the aerospace industry.

"We are thrilled to have Kristen on the Vantage Ventures team," says Sarah Biller, executive director of Vantage Ventures. "Her wealth of experience at cutting-edge companies, including SpaceX and Virgin Hyperloop, and her passion for using technology to solve issues and benefit communities, like those unique to Appalachia, will greatly assist our mission to help entrepreneurs excel and transform West Virginia into a start-up state."

Hammer is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders and encouraging underrepresented students to explore careers in STEM. She also is a passionate advocate for technology that makes the world a better place by creating opportunities for vulnerable people and communities and environmentally sustainable solutions that can serve the planet for generations to come.

About Vantage Ventures

Housed at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University, Vantage Ventures provides a bold new generation of entrepreneurs with a systematic and repeatable process to transform their world-changing ideas into scalable businesses. Vantage Ventures leverages its network of mentors, talent, capital allocators, academics, and committed industry partners, including entrepreneurs and the innovation engines of large companies, to forge a new path of economic growth. It is backed by globally influential technology leaders, Fortune Class companies, venture investors, and an unexpectedly cool R1 Institution. For more information, visit: https://vantageventures.io or follow Vantage Ventures on Twitter: @VantageWV , Instagram: @VantageVentures , and LinkedIn .

Media Contact:

Kyle W. Kempf

Caliber Corporate Advisers

kyle@calibercorporate.com

888.550.6385 ext.19

SOURCE: Vantage Ventures

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670628/Vantage-Ventures-Adds-Virgin-Hyperloop-Alumna-To-Leadership-Team
- One of the largest US industrial real estate transactions ever, the portfolio consists of 328 high-quality, modern supply chain and e-commerce facilities totaling 70.5 million square feet, assembled through more than 100 transactions over three years

- EQT Exeter raised occupancy in the constructed and standing assets from 55 percent initially to 95 percent at sale and increased the average unleveraged yield on cost from 4.8 percent initially to 6.9 percent

- EQT Exeter, with its unique operating capabilities in the industry, will continue to lease, property manage, and asset manage the portfolio

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT Exeter is pleased to announce it has closed a USD 6.8 billion, 70.5 million square foot portfolio sale on behalf of its private real estate funds, EQT Exeter Industrial Value Fund IV and related investment vehicles. The portfolio is comprised primarily of logistics properties that serve the supply chains of major corporations, including facilities for "big box" regional distribution, e-commerce fulfilment, and last mile distribution. The portfolio spans the Top 5 US distribution hubs of New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles and the key e-commerce and air cargo hubs of Memphis, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Louisville.

With 20 offices across the US alone, EQT Exeter mobilized its deep local market knowledge and expansive industry relationships to assemble the portfolio through more than 100 transactions executed over three years. These investments were made on behalf of industrial value fund investors who sought value growth through development and leasing activities. Differentiated by its fully in-house execution of property design, development, and leasing, EQT Exeter: developed 15 million square feet of the portfolio, with an additional 7 million square feet under construction; leased 45 million square feet of vacancy; and signed 28 million square feet in renewals during the funds' period of ownership. This vertical integration allowed EQT Exeter to add significant value, raising occupancy from 55 percent initially to 95 percent at sale, thus increasing the unleveraged yield on cost from 4.8 percent initially to 6.9 percent at sale.

In line with EQT Exeter's commitment to sustainability, the 22 million square feet of newly constructed properties are equipped with the newest renewable design features in the industry. As part of the reletting of existing space, EQT Exeter has taken a number of steps to reduce environmental impact, including installing LED lighting, reflective roof materials, and clerestory natural light features, and introducing pervious parking and trailer areas and onsite stormwater retention.

The portfolio was marketed for sale to global institutional buyers who have grown accustomed to EQT Exeter providing the marketplace with the most modern, sustainable, diversified, and high-quality portfolios that provide stable cash flow from a strong credit tenant base. The buyer is a newly formed global partnership, which has engaged EQT Exeter to continue operating and managing the properties.

Ward Fitzgerald, Partner and Head EQT Exeter, said, "We are grateful to have the opportunity to deliver this transformational deal for our investors in the US industrial value funds, which have the #1 performance among all private real estate funds invested during the same time periods. We are humbled to serve the teachers, firefighters, public workers, and so many others whose retirements depend on EQT Exeter's commitment to success. I am extremely proud of the entire US EQT Exeter team for their tireless, gritty efforts in acquiring, developing, leasing, and stabilizing this high-quality portfolio, enabling us to continue our track record as one of the highest-performing real estate investment managers in the world."

Fitzgerald continued, "Furthermore, we are excited to continue collaborating with the buyers, our partners in a new venture as we operate the assets moving forward. Today's transaction is the fourth multi-billion-dollar portfolio sale for EQT Exeter. Throughout our team's long history, we have been laying the bricks of design excellence, leasing execution, and strong corporate tenant relationships to serve such partners with large-scale portfolios of the highest quality and the active management expertise to produce steady income and asset appreciation."

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP advised EQT Exeter, and Eastdil Secured LLC served as the procuring broker in this transaction.

Contact

US media inquiries: Mathilde Milch, Director, Communications, EQT mathilde.milch@eqtpartners.com, +1 (917) 510-6626

International: EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Integral Molecular said that it reached an exclusive worldwide antibody license agreement with AstraZeneca (AZN, AZN.L) to develop therapeutics for multiple cancers. As per the terms of the deal, Integral Molecular will provide an exclusive license to AstraZeneca for a collection of monoclonal antibodies for use in oncology. AstraZeneca will be solely responsible for all research, development, and commercial activities. The antibodies licensed by AstraZeneca were discovered and characterized using Integral Molecular's platforms designed to yield antibodies against structurally complex membrane proteins. The MPS Antibody Discovery platform, Lipoparticles, Membrane Proteome Array, and Shotgun Mutagenesis Epitope Mapping technologies were used to generate diverse antibodies with exceptional specificity. 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.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / The Australian NFT marketplace NFT STARS prepares for the launch of an innovative product called NFT Radio, which promises to be a big breakthrough in the music industry. NFT Radio is the first ever radio station to stream unique content 24/7 and sell all the audio related content as non-fungible tokens. Powered by NFT and blockchain technologies, the new service addresses many of the issues that creators and musicians currently face.

All-in-One: a Radio Station, Music Marketplace and Podcast App

NFT Radio takes the best from the music industry and blockchain technology, packaging it all into one product. It's a blockchain-based radio station, an audio NFT marketplace and a creative platform for musicians, producers, DJ's and radio hosts.

The platform consists of two major moving parts: a radio station streaming unique content (handpicked by die-hard music lovers) and an audio marketplace where listeners can purchase NFT tracks. The radio will feature a variety of promising artists from international labels, DJs and young stars putting together their first shows. NFT Radio will host its own talk shows and interviews, saving them for users to enjoy later. The talk shows will cover topics that are relevant to blockchain enthusiasts and musicians making their career in the digital space, touching on all points where music and blockchain overlap. The service has no boundaries in terms of format and the team is ready to explore the possibilities of music tokenization, together with the community of creators and market experts.

The service will kick off with radio streaming and from day one, will be introducing the audience to an awesome lineup. The first artists to appear on NFT Radio come from all corners of the world. Expect to hear from Doug Brennan a.k.a DJ Lost from Berlin; London-based electro-head Tadan; a new project from Russian producer Volta Cab - Rambal Cochet; the producer Tito Van from Jakarta... and many others. In about 2-3 months, the NFT Radio team will launch the audio NFT marketplace where users will have the chance to list their artwork and sell it as non-fungible tokens.

Blockchain, the Secret Sauce to NFT Radio

The revolutionary nature of NFT Radio is hidden in the blockchain technology that powers it. Each music track played on the air, each show hosted by the station will be represented as an NFT (which stands for Non-Fungible Token). Each NFT is present on the blockchain and has a unique identifier that holds information about the file it is associated with (i.e. a show, a song). Thus, NFT Radio addresses the copyright problem many artists face and makes the industry more transparent.

NFT also changes the way musicians promote and monetize their creative offerings. NFT Radio has its own music marketplace where artists can list and sell their tracks. This cuts out any intermediaries from the process, so the musician, DJs and content creators are paid directly for their original productions. Besides that, NFTs can be programmed to collect royalties from all secondary resales and credit it to the creator of the content. With each sale, the author nets a certain percentage of the revenue. Listeners and visitors to the platform can purchase any track they like in two clicks. It's a great new way for music lovers to discover new artists and industry trends.

The NFT Radio team aims to partner up with music labels, festivals, clubs and artists who, just like the platform's developers, are optimistic that the integration of new technologies into the creative process has the power to start a new revolution in music and broadcasting.

About NFT STARS, Creators of NFT Radio

NFT STARS is the first Australian NFT marketplace that provides its users with a unique set of products and services. The marketplace follows a strict selection approach to artists. Every creator featured on the platform is either chosen by the executive board or voted for by the community. Thus, the NFT STARS team is able to provide truly special treatment to the chosen few NFT 'stars'. The marketplace supports the free flow of ideas and enables artists to mint artwork as a team via the collective NFT ownership feature and share the proceeds from its sale equally. Among other things, NFT STARS is launching its own NFT avatar collection - SIDUS: NFT Heroes - which features unique characters that can be used as a social media avatar or be transformed into a gaming character in the SIDUS DAO metaverse.

Social Links:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nft-radio

Media Contacts:

Company: NFT Stars

Contact: Vladimir Henris, Product Manager

E-mail: hi@nft-radio.com

Website: https://nft-radio.com/

SOURCE: NFT Stars

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/669473/NFT-STARS-the-leading-NFT-Radio-Station-Is-Poised-to-Change-the-Music-Industry-Once-and-for-All


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The number of people hospitalized due to coronavirus infection in the United States has fallen below 50,000 Tuesday, marking the lowest figure in three months.



48,930 people are currently treated in U.S. hospitals, according to latest data compiled by New York Times. This is 16 percent less than the number of hospitalizations recorded a fortnight ago.



Other Covid metrics also are on the downturn. The weekly average of Covid cases fell by 8 percent, while the seven-day average of deaths due to the pandemic fell by 18 percent.



With 72754 new cases reporting on Tuesday, the total number of Covid infections in the country rose to 46,135,516, as per the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.



An additional 1461 Covid deaths on the same day took the total number of people who died due to the pandemic to 748,621.



Minnesota reported the most number of cases - 7031 - while Ohio - 236 - reported most Covid-related deaths.



37,009,990 people have so far recovered from the disease in the country.



As per the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 192,726,406 people in the United States, or 58.1 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. This includes 85.4 percent of people above 65.



221,961,370 people, or 66.9 percent of the population, have received at least one dose.



422,070,099 vaccine doses have been administered so far nationally.



423,942,794 people have so far received booster doses, which accounts for 10.3 percent of the population.



Meanwhile, the U.S. Defense Department set a deadline of November 22 for its civilian workforce to get fully vaccinated against Covid.



The November 22 mandate applies to all non-exempt federal employees regardless of whether they telework or work in a DOD office. Exemptions for medical or religious reasons should be filed by November 8, says a memorandum from Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., Under Secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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DGAP-News: Nofar Energy Ltd.

Nofar Energy expands the collaboration with Tesla



03.11.2021 / 14:53

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Nofar Energy expands further its collaboration with Tesla: the company reported today it had entered a second framework agreement with Tesla on purchasing battery stored power systems with a total capacity of 200 megawatts for $54 million. Under the agreement, Nofar will pay 5% of the consideration on the contract signing date and the balance according to predefined milestones. The storage systems will be supplied from January 2023 through March 2024.

This second agreement entered by Nofar and Tesla brings the total capacity of the storage systems to be built as part of the collaboration to 300 MW/h. Most of the storage systems covered by the first agreement entered in February 2021 for 100 MW/h are under or nearing construction. Given the fast implementation pace of the first agreement and the considerable demand, Nofar Energy decided to expand the collaboration with an additional contract for a larger capacity.

Nofar estimates its EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) revenues from the second agreement will total ~ NIS 250 million. The annual revenues from power sales (arbitrage and grid services) are expected to total NIS 20-50 million.

Moreover, the construction of the storage systems will enable building additional solar systems at high rates in areas characterized by overloaded grids, which could not be achieved in the absence of the storage systems. Nofar Energy plans to develop and manage the storage systems for existing and new partnerships the company and its partners own, including kibbutzim, real estate, commercial, and industrial companies.

Several weeks ago, Nofar completed the construction and connection of Tesla's first storage facility in Israel, in Kibbutz Shoval. Next week, the facility will be inaugurated at a ceremony attended by Tesla executives and representatives of Israel's energy ministry and Electric Authority. Offering a capacity of 2.718 MW/h, the new facility allows overcoming the constraints placed by the local power grid through connecting additional photo-voltaic systems with significant capacity at a high rate of NIS 0.45 per each Kw/h produced. Moreover, the storage system offers additional economic value due to the planned raising of electricity prices. An independent management system developed by Nofar Energy ensures the facility runs according to the needs and chosen strategy. The project was co-built by Nofar Energy's partnership with Kibbutz Shoval.

Nofar concurrently advances the construction and connection of dozens of other power storage systems on lands owned by Kibbutzim and real estate companies already over the coming year as part of the existing or new partnership. In addition, the signing of the second framework agreement with Tesla allows Nofar to proceed with its action plan while promoting additional procurement agreements with other manufacturers.

Nofar CEO Nadav Tenne commented, 'I welcome the expanded collaboration with Tesla and thank its representatives for the professional and effective interface. Having projected the upcoming shortage of the power grid in extended areas over a year ago, we prepared accordingly with professional capabilities and control systems, pilots, and strategic collaboration agreements with equipment makers and suppliers. As a result, we can leverage the partnerships we put in place to build and connect tens of storage facilities with significant capacity over the next 12 months. These facilities will generate revenues from power sales, enabling the construction and connection of tens of additional solar systems at high rates independently of the grid's resources. We plan to initiate similar storage facilities through the growth platforms we own in Europe and the USA. We are proud to be the leaders of Israel's power storage revolution.'

Nofar Energy

Dikla Ivry Pardnoy

+972 52-380-4085

dikla@ivripr.com

https://www.nofar-energy.com/

03.11.2021 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




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Novavax Inc. (NVAX) said that it has filed for provisional approval of its COVID-19 vaccine to the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (Medsafe).



The company said it has now completed the submission to Medsafe of all modules required for the regulatory evaluation of NVX-CoV2373, a recombinant nanoparticle protein-based COVID-19 vaccine with Matrix-M adjuvant.



The submission includes clinical data from PREVENT-19, a pivotal Phase 3 trial of 30,000 participants in the U.S. and Mexico that demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe disease and 90.4% efficacy overall.



Clinical data from a pivotal Phase 3 trial of 15,000 participants in the U.K. were also previously submitted to Medsafe, in which NVX-CoV2373 demonstrated efficacy of 96.4% against the original virus strain, 86.3% against the Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant and 89.7% efficacy overall. In both trials, NVX-CoV2373 demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile.



Novavax recently announced regulatory filings for its vaccine in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, and the completion of all data and modules in the European Union.



The company also expects to complete an additional supplemental filing for its vaccine for Emergency Use Listing with the World Health Organization shortly. Novavax expects to submit the complete package to the U.S. FDA by the end of the year.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

NOVAVAX-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
Kirkland Lake, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - RJK Explorations Ltd (TSXV: RJX.A) (OTC Pink: RJKAF) ("RJK" or "the Company') has received results from CF Mineral Research in Kelowna BC, from seven large-tonnage, on-surface kimberlite discoveries. Kimberlite samples totalling 12.2 tonnes combined were tested to determine the variability of the geochemistry, to develop preliminary comparisons to other kimberlite fields, and to determine the most promising locations suitable for excavating large tonnage bulk samples. RJK is pleased to report that CF Mineral Research confirms the Lorrain Twp. kimberlite discoveries host lherzolite-type kimberlite where large diamonds (50 carats+) are typically found. The unique geological setting presents the availability of unconsolidated near-surface kimberlite material that is amenable to exceptional low cost processing wherein minimum 50 tonne bulk samples, from multiple locations, can be used to determine the large diamond potential.

Synopsis

The indicator mineral geochemistry from all 7 kimberlite bodies indicates the kimberlite magma has incorporated lherzolitic peridotite enriched in olivine, orthopyroxene along with chromium and aluminum spinels and garnets. This region at the base of the lithosphere and upper mantle is conducive for the growth of large diamonds in the diamond stability field at depths of 150 km to 200 km. The high temperature ilmenite peridotites contain megacrysts favouring larger diamond overgrowths forming at temperatures ranging from 1200 Co to 1400 Co. The proto-kimberlite magma indicates an origin of deeper levels in the upper mantle as down to the Transition Zone, from 200 km to 400+ km, based on preliminary whole rock analysis. Samples taken from RC 4 RC drill holes from the Paradis, Robin's Place, Gleeson and HSM kimberlites returned average compositions as follows: SiO 2 : 46.8%, CaO: 16.9%, Al 2 O 3 : 8.8%, Fe 2 O 3 : 3.2%, K 2 O: 1.9%, MgO: 4.3%. Na 2 O: 1.9%, Cr 2 O 3 : .04%, Mn 2 O 3 : .06%, TiO 2 : .29%.

Visual Model Explanation:

Source: Oceanic and super-deep continental diamonds share a transition zone origin and mantle plume transportation; Luc S. Doucet, Zheng-Xiang Li & Hamed Gamal El Dien; www.nature.com/scientificreports/ published on-line: Aug 20,2021; modified by RJK Expl Geology

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1526/101850_0fda8f4a84715959_001full.jpg

Oceanic and super-deep continental diamonds form in the mantle transition zone using subducted carbon, and brought to the lithospheric levels by mantle plumes. Lithospheric Diamonds and Diamonds of Mixed Origin (as rims over the super-deep diamonds) develop in the continental lithosphere. Geochemistry of RJK's KIMs suggest possible origins as deep as the transition zone, based on temperature and pressure lab determinations. High quantities of olivine silicates suggest a very deep magma source, arguably where large diamonds originate.

Comparisons

Dr. Charles E. Fipke previously stated RJK's Paradis Kimberlite hosts diamond inclusion lherzolite indicators such as those contained at the Victor diamond mine in Ontario and other diamond mines in Lesotho and elsewhere. This statement was also true for surrounding kimberlites, with emphasis on the Nicol Kimberlite body. The picro-ilmenite plots show similarities to the Yakutia Kimberlite Fields in Siberia showing peridotite magma affinity. Cr-poor ilmenites (0.04 to 0.23 wt%Cr2O3; 9.7 to 11.3 wt% MgO) occur as intergrowths with type II diamonds, and the Lorrain Kimberlite Field ilmenite plots display these same ranges. Comparisons were also made to De Beers Victor Lherzolite Diamond Mine, which was unique in its chemistry, yielding exceptional quality diamonds, but also hosting very few microdiamonds. Victor lherzolitic garnet inclusions have unusually high MnO contents, with 88% exceeding the MnO cut-off >.36 weight% MnO for diamond facies garnets. (Refer to following histograms). The Lorrain Twp. kimberlite results suggest a certain level of diamond resorption (especially for any smaller stones), the kimberlite magma also has experienced a reducing environment conducive for diamond preservation based on picro-ilmenite geochemistry. The picro-ilmenite plots from the Lorrain Twp. kimberlites compare favourably with the Yakutia kimberlite field plots depicted in the Geotechnical Discussion.

Source: RJK Expl Geology

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Source: The Victor Mine (Superior Craton, Canada): Neoproterozoic lherzolitic diamonds from a thermally-modified cratonic root; T. Stachel et al; Article in Mineralogy and Petrology  May 2018

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Geotechnical Discussion

Dr Charles Fipke's lab, CF Mineral Research in Kelowna BC and Microlithics in Thunder Bay Ontario processed 12.2 tonnes of kimberlite recovered by bulk sampling, diamond drill coring and reverse circulation drilling methods from 7 kimberlite bodies over 10 months. A summary of kimberlite indicator mineral and diamond results are presented below:

Paradis Pond and Beaver Dam

From 156 kgs of drill core, samples were selected from 4 drill holes (PP-20-03,04,08,09) and were processed by CFM for a concentrate weight of 341 g from which 179g were picked. A total of 1,914 grains were picked and 283 grains probed and classified into 6 diamond indicator minerals: 18 were diamond inclusion olivine/forsterite; 2 were G9 eclogitic garnets believed to originate between 150 km to 200 km depths; 8 were diamond inclusion clinopyroxenes; 17 kimberlite chromites including 7 high titanium chromites, 10 were G10 peridotitic garnets; 2 were diamond inclusion G11 garnets, Of importance is that 18 olivine/forsterite grains classify in all diamond inclusion fields and 2 G9 eclogitic and 16 high pressure megacrystic garnets are associated with diamond formation at depths of about 200 km or more. A total of 5 microdiamonds were recovered and all stones are described as: natural, white, chip with adamantine lustre, very strong colour emission with no inclusions. One diamond from holes PP-20-03/04 is described as an irregular crystal with fractured surface, weakly yellow with adamantine lustre, very strong colour emission with no inclusions. Of particular significance is the diamond bearing Paradis kimberlite may have originated in the upper mantle passing through both group 1 and group 2 eclogitic magma fields and therefore can assimilate both group 1 and group 2 eclogitic clinopyroxenes and garnets.

A 16 hole RC drilling campaign was initiated in the vicinity of drill hole PP-20-04 using a 16 m x 16 m testing array. RC drilling using 3.5" rod diameter recovered 1,070 kg which was processed by Microlithics using their DMS plant. A 36 kg concentrate was produced and then fired in a caustic fusion process to recover diamonds. No diamonds were recovered but note, that given the size of the microdiamonds discovered in the Company's diamond drill core, the possibility exists that microdiamonds were lost in the RC drilling process which extracts the cuttings through a 1" annulus inside the rods.

Paradis Dam

From A 864 kg RC samples, 717 g of heavy mineral concentrates were then picked for a weight of 179 g , of which 1,311 grains were picked and 243 grains probed and classified into 6 diamond indicator minerals: 2 were diamond inclusion olivine forsterites, 3 were G9 eclogitic garnets, 1 was a diamond inclusion G11-1 garnet, and 1 was a diamond inclusion chromite, all formed in the diamond stability field along with the diamonds. There were no microdiamonds recovered from the 864 kg RC drilling sample. Analysis of the 1,267 picro-ilmenite microcrysts indicate reducing conditions suitable for diamond preservation in the magmas of kimberlite and lamproite affinity with crystallization temperatures ranging from 669 Co to 1411 Co.

Nicol

From a 56 kg RC sample, a picking weight from 670 g of heavy mineral concentrates, 3,386 grains were picked and 171 grains probed and classified into 6 diamond indicator minerals: 14 were diamond inclusion olivine forsterites, 5 were G10-2 peridotitic garnets, 1 was a diamond inclusion G11 garnet, 4 were diamond inclusion clinopyroxenes and 5 were diamond inclusion chromites, all formed in the diamond stability field along with the diamonds. There were no microdiamonds recovered from the 56 kg RC drilling sample.

Nicol's Forsterite megacrysts suggest a very deep source, based on the Mg vs. Fe content of the olivine. Analysis of the 102 picro-ilmenite microcrysts indicate reducing conditions suitable for diamond preservation in the magmas of kimberlite and lamproite affinity with crystallization temperatures ranging from 1174 Co to 1318 Co. Refer to attached Cr2O3 / MgO plot

Source: CFM Mineral Research

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Gleeson

A 1,536 kg RC sample was processebd by Microlithics and a 54 kg core sample by CFM, for a a picking weight from 157 g of heavy mineral concentrates, 1,412 grains were picked and 193 probed and classified into 6 diamond indicator minerals: 8 were diamond inclusion olivine forsterites, 3 were G9 eclogitic garnets, 4 were diamond inclusion clinopyroxenes and 2 were diamond inclusion chromites, all formed in the diamond stability field along with the diamonds. There were 3 (.106 microns} microdiamonds recovered from the 54 kg drill core sample. Analysis of the 64 picro-ilmenite microcrysts indicate reducing conditions suitable for diamond preservation in the magmas of kimberlite and lamproite affinity with crystallization temperatures ranging from 669 Co.to 1411 Co. Refer to attached Cr2O3 / MgO plot.

A 20 hole RC drilling campaign was initiated over the Gleeson conductance anomaly utilizing a N/S and E/W drill fence array with 200 m spacing between holes. RC drilling using 3.5" rod diameter recovered 1,509 kg which was processed by Microlithics using their DMS plant. A 31 kg concentrate was produced and then fired in a caustic fusion process to recover diamonds. No diamonds were recovered.

Source: CFM Mineral Research

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Robin's Place

A 1,119.7 kg RC sample was processed at Microlithics to a concentrate along with a 26 kg core sample by CFM for a picking weight of 104 g of heavy mineral concentrates. 1,673 grains were picked and 142 grains probed and classified into 6 diamond indicator minerals, 1 was a G9 eclogitic garnet, 10 were diamond inclusion clinopyroxenes, all formed in the diamond stability field along with the diamonds. There were 2 (.106 microns} microdiamonds recovered from the 26 kg drill core sample. Analysis of the 48 picro-ilmenite microcrysts indicate reducing conditions suitable for diamond preservation in the magmas of kimberlite and lamproite affinity with crystallization temperatures ranging from 788 Co.to 1098 Co. Refer to attached Cr2O3 / MgO plot.

A 6 hole RC drilling campaign was initiated over the Robin's Place conductance anomaly utilizing a N/S and E/W drill fence array with 200 m spacing between holes. RC drilling using 3.5" rod diameter recovered 1,131 kg which was processed by Microlithics using their DMS plant. A 16.5 kg concentrate was produced and then fired in a caustic fusion process to recover diamonds. No diamonds were recovered.

Source: CFM Mineral Research

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Lightning

A picking weight from 405 g of heavy mineral concentrates was taken from a 22 kg core sample. 1,609 grains were picked and 258 grains probed and classified into 6 diamond indicator minerals: 14 were diamond inclusion olivine forsterites, 5 were G9 eclogitic garnets, 12 were diamond inclusion clinopyroxenes, all formed in the diamond stability field along with the diamonds. There were no microdiamonds recovered from the 22 kg drill core sample. Analysis of the 1,267 picro-ilmenite microcrysts indicate reducing conditions suitable for diamond preservation in the magmas of kimberlite and lamproite affinity with crystallization temperatures ranging from 744 Co.to 1481 Co. Refer to attached Cr2O3 / MgO plot.





Source: CFM Mineral Research: Modified by RJK Expl Geology

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HSM

From a 2,522 kg RC sample, a picking weight from 935 g from 41 kg of heavy mineral concentrates, 1,272 grains were picked and 478 grains probed and classified into 6 diamond indicator minerals: 31 were diamond inclusion olivine forsterites, 22 were G9 eclogitic garnets, 1 was a diamond inclusion G11-1 garnet, and 1 was a diamond inclusion chromite, all formed in the diamond stability field along with the diamonds. There were no microdiamonds recovered from these concentrates. Analysis of the 127 picro-ilmenite microcrysts indicate reducing conditions suitable for diamond preservation in the magmas of kimberlite and lamproite affinity with crystallization temperatures ranging from 669 Co.to 1411 Co. Refer to attached Cr2O3 / MgO plot

Source: CFM Mineral Research: Modified by RJK Expl Geology

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Source: Picroilmenites in Yakutian kimberlites: variations and genetic models I. V. Ashchepkov et al, Solid Earth, 5, 915-938, 2014: Modified by RJK Expl Geology

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Gravel Pit

From a 1,266 kg RC sample, a picking weight from 538 g from 14 kg of heavy mineral concentrates, 1,156 grains were picked and 582 grains probed and classified into 6 diamond indicator minerals: 25 were diamond inclusion olivine forsterites, 37 were G9 eclogitic garnets, 6 were diamond inclusion G11-1 garnets, 5 were diamond inclusion clinopyroxenes and 1 was a diamond inclusion chromite, all formed in the diamond stability field along with the diamonds. There were no microdiamonds recovered from these concentrates. Analysis of the 333 picro-ilmenite microcrysts indicate reducing conditions suitable for diamond preservation in the magmas of kimberlite and lamproite affinity with crystallization temperatures ranging from 918 Co.to 1105 Co.

The Company has updated the Investor presentation with some of the preliminary results, and the complete CF Mineral Research report will be posted to RJK's website once all dot plot diagrams are completed.

2020 Trench Excavation Sampling

In November 2020, RJK excavated 3 batches of kimberlite material from 3 trenches in the Paradis Pond area totalling 3,583 kg. The trenches were selected in areas where overburden depths were drill indicated at 3 to 4 m. The reach of the excavator bucket was able to cut into the top layer of the kimberlite body approaching 4 meter depths but also encountered fluvial outwash mixed with kimberlite olivine matrix at 3m level. When the samples were processed by Microlithics Lab, it was determined that significant dilution of overburden (30%) was incorporated into the sample. RC drilling in 2021 confirmed that significant erosion of the upper kimberlite contact exists with mixed unconsolidated fluvial outwash, however the kimberlite substrate is weakly indurated with a recognizable bedding foliation in clay-rich sections. No diamonds were recovered after processing the 3 batches and the samples were not representative of the main kimberlite body. RJK anticipates employing larger excavators to extend the depth reach up to 6m from surface.

Bulk Sampling

RJK recently took an approximate 40 tonne initial kimberlite test sample in one day using an excavator and a twenty tonne tandem truck. The Company intends to test concentration methods that could yield to discovery of valuable diamonds. The volcanic kimberlite ash and the country and mantle-derived oversize clasts must both be screened out at the first stage. On average 40% of the kimberlite consists of olivine sand with volcanic ash that is <3 microns in size. This will be collected for analysis with additional potential applications due to its carbon capture chemistry.

Glenn Kasner, President of RJK, stated, "With modest expenditures over the past 22 months, we feel we have created a tremendous opportunity for our shareholders. The Nipissing Diamond project started as a theory, and now we have 9 potential large tonnage kimberlite bodies, 7 of which have been determined as lherzolitic-type kimberlites from the diamond stability field. After months of sampling programs, it is thrilling for us to learn our kimberlites host the correct chemistry to find 50+ carat diamonds, and therefore, could represent the source of the 800 Carat Nipissing Diamond. Our kimberlites originate from an exceptionally deep source, which is conducive for large diamond formation. They are situated very close to the surface, within the Historic Cobalt Mining Camp, enabling easy access, and extremely cost effective bulk sampling. Now that the discoveries are made, yielding similar chemistry to other large, lherzolitic diamond mines in the world, we have initiated research into the most efficient methods to process bulk samples to attempt to find large diamonds. RJK has been referred to a team of experts in lherzolites to help us with that task."

Mr. Peter Hubacheck, P. Geo, Project Manager for RJK and the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 has approved the technical disclosure in this release.

Contact Information

Glenn Kasner, President

Mobile: (705) 568-7567

info@rjkexplorations.com

Website: https://www.rjkexplorations.com/

Company Information: Tel: (705) 568-7445

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 includes certain forward-looking statements, which may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning future mineral exploration and property option payments. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "propose" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in this news release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in this news release include, but are not limited to, the financial resources of the Corporation being inadequate to carry out its stated plans. RJK assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101850
The Concerned Shareholders are highly supportive of Dr. Fedikow continuing in his role as technical expert and recognize that he deserves past credit for progress achieved in development of the Company's assets.

The Concerned Shareholders' director Nominees are highly qualified and independent directors who collectively have the required mining, capital markets and corporate governance experience, as well as having an aggressive plan to dramatically develop the company's robust portfolio of assets and deliver a considerable difference in value creation for the benefit of FAR shareholders.

The Concerned Shareholders demand that the entrenched Board and Management stop stonewalling and resign from the Board of FAR immediately to end the value destruction.

The Concerned Shareholders, together with other shareholders who are supportive of change at FAR, have already received expressions of support from shareholders holding over 45% of the shares entitled to be voted at the Meeting.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - This release is provided by Scott Taylor, who, together with joint actors Christina Barnard, Jason Barnard and affiliates (collectively, with Mr. Taylor, "we" or the "Concerned Shareholders"), hold directly and indirectly approximately 7.7%% of the issued and outstanding common shares of FAR Resources Ltd. (CSE: FAT) (FSE: F0R) (OTC Pink: FRRSF) ("FAR" or the "Company") that are entitled to be voted at the Company's annual general meeting scheduled to be held December 7, 2021 (the 'Meeting As a result of discussions with shareholders who are supportive of change at FAR, the Concerned Shareholders, who have already received expressions of support from shareholders (themselves included) holding over 45% of the shares entitled to be voted at the Meeting, acknowledge and hereby respond to the press release recently issued by FAR announcing the Board's decision to nominate Dr. Mark Fedikow, HB.Sc. M.Sc. Ph.D. P.Eng. P.Geo. (Manitoba, Northwest Territories) C.P.G. (U.S.A.). The Concerned Shareholders are highly supportive of Dr. Fedikow continuing in his role as the technical expert responsible for the development of the company's various mineral assets. Dr. Fedikow's credentials are impressive and we recognize that he deserves credit for any past progress achieved for moving the Company's lithium assets forward. Upon successfully forming a new Board of Directors at the December 7th, 2021 shareholders Meeting, the Concerned Shareholders nominees are committed to working with Dr. Fedikow to create shareholder value.

It is notable that the current entrenched Board of Directors comprised of Messrs. Gammack and Dinning only saw fit to consider Dr. Fedikow a suitable noteworthy member of FAR's leadership upon learning that the Concerned Shareholders had nominated individuals to replace the incumbent Board and are now desperately attempting to move the company forward.

Given the lack of progress achieved by the Company, the Concerned Shareholders question why it took a threat of a pending proxy fight for the incumbent Board to recognize and acknowledge the value of adding Dr. Fedikow to the Board. While we have a high degree of confidence in Dr. Fedikow's technical expertise, we believe the current Board has opted for Dr. Fedikow joining the Board as the least intrusive step in entrenching themselves and continuing in their current roles. The Concerned Shareholders remind all shareholders that the incumbent Board has spent the past 18 months self-enriching themselves while doing virtually nothing to develop assets and create shareholder value.

In its November 1st, 2021 press release, the Company suggests the Concerned Shareholders Nominees lack experience. We flatly reject that assertion as a feeble attempt by the incumbent Board to cowardly hold onto their jobs. The Concerned Shareholders are completely confident their nominees provide a holistic solution to what currently ails the Company and we offer the following insight on who we are proposing and what they will bring to the shareholders of FAR.

With your support, the Concerned Shareholder nominees are Scott Taylor, Pierre-Yves Tenn and Andrew Lyons (the "Shareholder Nominees"). The Shareholder Nominees are highly qualified and independent nominees who collectively have the required mining, capital markets and corporate governance experience, as well as having an aggressive plan to dramatically develop the company's robust portfolio of assets and deliver a considerable difference in value creation for the benefit of FAR shareholders:

Scott Taylor, nominee, born and raised in Vancouver and is a successful entrepreneur who brings years of financial and mining experience starting his career raising money for both public and private markets as well as mining projects and in commodities trading. Scott's experience also includes five years starting in 2005 for an engineering company in the mining and energy space which included resource development and drill programs on mines. He was blessed to be able to work hands-on in the field on drill programs which brought old mines into productions using current geo-physical and modern techniques. Presently, Scott is co-founder of Reservoir Imaging which provides cutting edge fiber optic based subsurface diagnostics to the oilfield and geothermal sectors.

Pierre-Yves Tenn, nominee, offers 20 years of proven experience in the development of international strategies, business, and commerce. Pierre-Yves spent over a decade in Asia working with Canadian entities to create joint ventures with Asian private and state-owned enterprises for the advancement of natural resource projects promoting Canadian mining and exploration projects with a focus on accessing Asian investment funds as well as soliciting support from Canadian provincial and federal representatives for the securing of off-take agreements and partnership initiatives. Pierre-Yves' global experience will be invaluable to the Company for the promotion of Far Resources in accessing global capital markets.

Andrew Lyons, nominee, has over 30 years' experience in program and project management in the public markets, financial and technology sectors. Recently he consulted with several mining companies, working with senior management and boards consulting on optimization of capital market proceeds. Andrew has experience with Canadian mining companies as he was on the pre-IPO advisory board of Lida Resources and is currently on the advisory board of Lakestone Resources.

The Shareholder Nominees, Scott Taylor, Pierre-Yves Tenn and Andrew Lyons want to assure FAR shareholders they offer a very different strategy from the incumbent Board. They are committed to:

URGENCY AND ACTION:

On the Lithium assets, The Nominees, plan to immediately meet with the Far Resources technical team comprised of Dr. Fedikow, geologists and technical experts, to plan and execute a meaningful winter drill program in Manitoba partially funded by the $300,000 The Manitoba Mineral Development Fund's ("MMDF") Grant from the Province of Manitoba. Create and deliver an aggressive program focused on the Company's three (3) lithium assets to delineate more tonnage and a higher-grade resource as well as to ensure exploration and drilling on the Company's gold/silver assets.

TRANSPARENCY AND MARKETING:

Maintaining effective communication with the capital markets is critical to protecting and building investor confidence. The Nominees intend to engage current and historical shareholders as well as create visibility in the market for new investors. Shareholder engagement is hard work. It takes a team of professionals who are committed to an effective shareholder communication strategy, including transparency, new protocols, and high standards. There is simply no room in capital markets for disclosure mistakes, apathy and being unresponsive to shareholders. Our team will operate with these fundamental beliefs as core elements of a professional shareholder engagement strategy. We believe the incumbent Board either doesn't know or care about the need for shareholder engagement. We will also consider a name change to incorporate lithium and take advantage of market interest in this critical mineral.

DELIVER WORKING CAPITAL:

An effective working capital program requires securing financing utilizing activities such as conducting investor road shows, building strategic partnerships with both domestic and foreign investors, and leveraging current nominee's experience working in Asia to secure financing through (offtake) agreements in the development of FAR's lithium properties as well as in the future production of lithium.

Our Shareholder Nominees' comprehensive business plan is in fact a massive overhaul of the current situation, whereby FAR has no plan and arguably a limited future. The Shareholder Nominees are excited about the opportunities and the massive potential FAR assets represent. We believe a dedicated, professional team with feet on the ground and committed to rapid asset development is the path forward to realizing FAR's maximum potential and materially increase shareholder wealth.

The Concerned Shareholders look forward to putting an immediate end to the entrenched incumbent Management and Board's irresponsible destruction of shareholder value.

The Concerned Shareholders, together with other shareholders who are supportive of change at FAR, have already received expressions of support from shareholders holding over 45% of the shares entitled to be voted at the Meeting. The Concerned Shareholders demand that Messrs. Gammack and Dinning resign from the board of FAR immediately. The Concerned Shareholders highlight that the entrenched Management and Board are responsible for share underperformance and significant value destruction. The incumbent Board have no coherent strategy, notwithstanding they have been in their current roles for approximately 18 months. In that time, they have mismanaged assets and failed to adopt basic corporate governance practices.

The Key reasons for replacing the incumbent Board at FAR Resources include:

The Company's current Board and Management lack relevant experience and more importantly have failed to show any progress in developing the Company's promising assets since taking the reigns of the company 18 months ago. Ultimately, the entrenched senior officers and Board bear responsibility for share value, or unfortunately in this instance, share value destruction. In their 18 months at the helm, the incumbent directors can point to virtually no accomplishments and their tenure has been defined with questionable decisions.

The Company's current Board and senior officers are responsible for a total lack of shareholder engagement and we believe the current share price is representative of the apathy demonstrated by this incumbent management and Board. It is a sad situation that FAR's share price has languished and declined under the poor stewardship of the entrenched Management and Board while comparative companies in FAR's peer group, with lithium assets, have seen significant increases in shareholder wealth. WHY NOT US?

The incumbent Board have no coherent strategy notwithstanding they have been in their current roles for approximately 18 months. In that time, they have mismanaged assets and failed to adopt basic corporate governance practices including holding its Annual Shareholder Meeting which is a bedrock of shareholder democracy.

The Company has only two (2) named Officers: Mr. John Gammack, as President & Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Mr. Robert G. Dinning, CPA as Chief Financial Officer who was appointed by Mr. Gammack himself. The Company has only two (2) Directors: Messrs. Gammack and Dinning. A key fiduciary role for Directors is to provide oversight of management. Clearly, Messrs. Gammack and Dinning are in an inescapable conflict situation in that they can hardly provide effective oversight of themselves in their dual roles as Directors and Officers.

Proper disclosure of corporate events has been an abysmal failure under the current Board. Retractions and corrections or late disclosure have been commonplace over the past 18 months.

The Concerned Shareholders question Mr. Gammack's experience overseeing a public exploration company, as there doesn't appear to be any discernable evidence to suggest Mr. Gammack is qualified to steward your investment. Additionally, we raise questions about Messrs. Dinning and Gammack's relationship as they have had a decades long friendship and there is no independence or oversight whatsoever from the current Board of Directors, demonstrating them to be clearly interlocked.

As such, this raises serious questions of conflicts of interest, with only two board members, all decisions are self-directed and self-approved by the same two board members who simply cannot be believed to be acting independently in their decisions on such issues as asset development, compensation, risk taking, negotiations on M&A activity, and use of proceeds.

The Concerned Shareholders Have Ensured ALL SHAREHOLDERS Interests are Aligned with Their Shareholder Nominees

The Shareholder Nominees are committed to move FAR forward by executing a comprehensive exploration program designed to produce meaningful results and create shareholder value for all FAR stakeholders. The Concerned Shareholders believe that the Shareholder Nominees individually and collectively possess the experience and skills required to create a business plan focused on value creation and begin exploration on all the company's assets. It is this execution and value creation that will unlock the Company's full potential and restore shareholder confidence.

Time is a luxury in short supply at FAR. The Concerned Shareholders Nominees intend to move swiftly, and shareholders can take confidence in knowing that meaningful, progressive change will commence immediately upon the election of the Concerned Shareholders' Shareholder Nominees. Given their individual and collective experience and skills, the Concerned Shareholders believe the Shareholder Nominees will lead FAR forward and deliver maximum long-term value and wealth to shareholders.

As previously mentioned, the Concerned Shareholders have engaged Gryphon Advisors Inc, who are acting as strategic shareholder communications and proxy advisor. Gryphon's responsibility will include providing strategic advice and advising the Concerned Shareholders with respect to the December 7, 2021 annual meeting and proxy protocol. Farris LLP have also been hired and are acting as legal advisors to a Concerned Shareholder.

For more information regarding the Concerned Shareholders' position please contact:

Gryphon Advisors Inc.

Tel: 1.833.292.5847

Email: inquiries@gryphonadvisors.ca

Information in Support of Public Broadcast Solicitation

The information contained in this press release does not and is not meant to constitute a solicitation of a proxy within the meaning of applicable securities laws. As disclosed in the Concerned Shareholders' news release and Notice of Nominations dated October 7, 2021 (as confirmed October 12, 2021) the Concerned Shareholders have submitted nominees for election to the Company's board of directors at the Meeting of shareholders scheduled for December 7, 2021 (the "Meeting"), shareholders are not being asked at this time to execute a proxy in favour of any matter. In connection with the Meeting, the Concerned Shareholders will file a dissident information circular in due course in compliance with applicable securities laws. In the meantime, for information regarding the Concerned Shareholders Nominees, please refer to the Concerned Shareholder's news release dated October 7, 2021. Any right for revocation of a proxy submitted in connection with the election of the Nominees will be set out in the dissident information circular or a document referred to therein.

The information contained herein, and any solicitation made by the Concerned Shareholders in advance of the Meeting, is or will be, as applicable, made by the Concerned Shareholders and not by or on behalf of the management of FAR. All costs incurred for any solicitation will be borne by the Concerned Shareholders, provided that, subject to applicable law, the Concerned Shareholders may seek reimbursement from FAR of the Concerned Shareholders' out-of-pocket expenses, including proxy solicitation expenses and legal fees, incurred in connection with a successful reconstitution of the Company's board of directors. The Concerned Shareholders are not soliciting proxies in connection with a general meeting of shareholders of the Company at this time.

The Concerned Shareholders may engage the services of one or more agents and authorize other persons to assist in soliciting proxies on behalf of the Concerned Shareholders. Any proxies solicited by or on behalf of the Concerned Shareholders, including by any other agent retained by the Concerned Shareholders, may be solicited pursuant to a dissident information circular or by way of public broadcast, including through press releases, speeches or publications and by any other manner permitted under Canadian corporate and securities laws. Any such proxies may be revoked by instrument in writing executed by a shareholder or by his or her attorney authorized in writing or, if the shareholder is a body corporate, by an officer or attorney thereof duly authorized or by any other manner permitted by law.

The registered address of FAR is located at Suite 400 - 725 Granville St., Vancouver, BC, V7Y 1G5, Canada and its head office is located at #510 - 580 Hornby St., Vancouver, BC, V6C 3B6, Canada. A copy of this press release may be obtained on FAR's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Mr. Taylor is a resident of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA, and the other Concerned Shareholders are each of resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101852
SHANGHAI, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Digital Economy Summit for Small and Medium Enterprises 2021 (DES2021) kicked off in Shanghai on November 1. The summit was hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology, and co-organized by the China Centre for International Science and Technology Exchange, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, and Yangpu District People's Government of Shanghai Municipality.

Themed around "Staying Open and Cooperative for a Better Digital Ecosystem", the organizers invited top scientists, economists and entrepreneurs to attend the Summit. WAN Gang, President of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), and GONG Zheng, Deputy Party Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mayor of Shanghai, were present and delivered speeches during the summit.

Thomas J. Sargent, Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Economics, Henning Kagermann, Chair of the acatech Board of Trustees acatech Senator and Chair of Steering Committee of NPM, RONG Chunming, Academician of the Norwegian Academy of Engineering and Chairman of Blockchain Committee of IEEE Computer Association, Toshio Fukuda, Academician of the Engineering Academy of Japan and Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and WU Zhiqiang, Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Member of German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), respectively made keynote speeches around the following themes: Helping SMEs to Adopt New Digital Tools, Success Factors of Digital Collaborative Innovation, Manufacturing Distributed Federal Industrial Chains, AI and Robotics for SMEs, and Future City Empowers Innovation and Development of SMEs.

At the Entrepreneurs' Panel, Hermann Simon, Management Thinker and Founding Father of "Hidden Champions", YIN Zheng, Global Executive Vice-President and President of China Operations, Schneider Electric, CUI Dongshun, Co-founder & CTO, Mind PointEye Ltd., ZHAO Bin, Founder & CEO, Agora, and CHEN Jingye, CEO, Shanghai Wanwuxinsheng Environmental Protection Technology Group Co., Ltd., had in-depth discussions upon frontier topics regarding SMEs and digital economy.

DES2021 also included a launching ceremony of the Yangtze River Delta Community of SMEs in Digital Economy, and 7 Sub-forums focusing on topics such as "Digital Scenarios: Global Industrial Innovation".

DES2021 was broadcast live globally and received a total of 20 million global audiences prior to 18:00 on November 1.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In a major political upset, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the gubernatorial election in Virginia. Democrat candidate Terry McAuliffe conceded defeat on Wednesday morning. With almost all the votes counted, Youngkin was 2.1 points ahead of the former Virginia governor. The embarrassing result for Democrats is seen as a political setback for President Joe Biden, who won a convincing 10 points lead in the state in the presidential election last year. Virginia gubernatorial was seen as a referendum on Biden's presidency nearly one-year of the presidential election. A Republican Party financier, Youngkin resigned as CEO of the private-equity firm The Carlyle Group last year to make his first run for political office. During the campaign, the 54-year-old businessman-turned politician had promised to ban the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. He also vowed to push back against certain Covid-19 mandates and restrictions, and advocate for a low tax and small government agenda within the state of Virginia during his term in office. In New Jersey, Democratic governor Phil Murphy was locked in a tight race with Republican Jack Ciattarelli with 88 percent of votes reported. The election is too close to call as narrow lead is criss-crossing as counting progresses. Democratic Party's Eric Adams won New York City's mayoral election, while Democrat Ed Gainey was elected as the first black mayor of Pittsburgh. 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.
GUESS, a global lifestyle fashion brand, moves forward with its sustainability commitment to be part of the climate solution, as detailed in its industry-leading sustainability report published earlier this year. GUESS joins over 600 businesses around the world in signing an open letter to G20 leaders, urging them to fulfill their obligations outlined in The Paris Agreement. The letter, organized by the We Mean Business Coalition and addressed to leaders attending COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, identifies key requests to keep the planet habitable and world economies flourishing for generations to come. Specifically, the letter calls for policies that will slow the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, cut global emissions by 50% by 2030, and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005186/en/

GUESS Furthers its Sustainability Commitment to Climate Action Signs Letter to World Leaders, Supports Youth Movement, and Sets Ambitious Goals (Graphic: Business Wire)

GUESS is also announcing its support of the United Nations 16th Conference of Youth, a group of over 150 young leaders from around the world, traveling to Glasgow (in person and virtually) to ensure the collective youth voice on climate negotiations is heard. By providing supplemental funds for five youth delegates of diverse backgrounds across the United States, GUESS is proud to take a small role in supporting the young people determined to be a part of the climate solution for their generation and those that follow.

"The time to act is now, we still have time to transform business for good. At GUESS, we are committed to being part of the solution to climate change. We are making courageous choices and finding creative solutions. We also must support this inspiring younger generation in leading us to a brighter future. Everyone must do their part to ensure we keep this beautiful world as we know it, or better yet, as we dream of it!" says Carlos Alberini, Chief Executive Officer, GUESS?, Inc.

"I'm so honored to have the opportunity to represent the United States as a Country Coordinator and delegate for COY16. Youth know that we need to push for bolder goals and more strategic plans to design inclusive climate solutions that will provide our generation, and those that follow, a clean and healthy planet. We know that in order to achieve our ambitious goals, we need collaboration from NGO's, the public sector, and the private sector to make these goals a reality. We're grateful for GUESS's support to elevate youth voices in the fight against climate change," says Monica Dwight, USA Country Coordinator, COY16 Delegate.

Watch Video Here

In 2019, GUESS had its ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative, a non-profit that supports global businesses to set GHG reduction targets necessary to slow global warming. GUESS's targets are to reduce corporate greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, and supply chain emissions by 30% by 2030, and to achieve net zero by 2050. The company is actively working on its Climate Action Roadmap that includes store efficiency measures, investments in renewables, and changes to the way they create and produce their product. In addition to the We Mean Business Coalition and Science Based Targets Initiative, GUESS is also an active member of the United Nations Fashion Charter on Climate Change, and reports annually to CDP, a global non-profit that runs the world's leading environmental disclosure platform.

For more information about GUESS Sustainability and to download their latest sustainability report, visit sustainability.guess.com.

About GUESS?, Inc.

Established in 1981, GUESS began as a jeans company and has since successfully grown into a global lifestyle brand. Guess?, Inc. designs, markets, distributes and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, eyewear, footwear and other related consumer products. Guess? products are distributed through branded Guess? stores as well as better department and specialty stores around the world. As of July 31, 2021, the Company directly operated 1,046 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Company's partners and distributors operated 551 additional retail stores worldwide. As of July 31, 2021, the Company and its partners and distributors operated in approximately 100 countries worldwide. For more information about the Company, please visit www.guess.com.

About We Mean Business Coalition

We Mean Business is a global nonprofit Coalition working with the world's most influential businesses to take action on climate change, accelerate the transition to a fair and resilient zero-carbon economy. We Mean Business Coalition's purpose is to promote collaborative leadership to face the climate crisis.

About Conference of Youth (COY)

COY is the biggest and most substantial youth conference related to the multilateral UN climate processes. It is recognized by the UN as the youth convergence of the Conference of the Parties and occurs a couple of days before at the same location. COY serves as a space for capacity building and policy training, in order to prepare young people for their participation at COP. COY delegates also collaborate to design the cohesive Statement of Youth policy paper that brings together all collected inputs from youth voices throughout the world, which will feed directly into the COP climate negotiations.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005186/en/

Contacts:

Kaitlyn Quail

GUESS?, Inc.

212.852.0568

kquail@guess.com
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Alto Verde Copper Inc. ("Alto Verde" or the "Company"), a private copper-focused mineral exploration company, is pleased to announce that Mr. Mike Ciricillo is joining the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Ciricillo is a seasoned mining executive with almost 30 years of operational and project experience, having lived and worked on 5 continents.

He began his career at INCO Ltd in Canada and later joined Phelps Dodge, which was acquired by Freeport-McMoRan. There he served in positions of increasing responsibility in the United States, Chile, The Netherlands, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the DRC, Mike served as President of Freeport-McMoRan Africa and spent 5 years at Tenke Fungurume from the construction phase into the operations phase. In 2014, Mike joined Glencore as Head of Copper Operations in Peru, followed by the role of Head of Copper Smelting Operations, and eventually, he was elevated to the role as Head of Glencore's Worldwide Copper Assets.

"We are very pleased to have Mike join us at Alto Verde Copper. As a seasoned mine builder and operator, he has a wealth of knowledge and international experience that will benefit our company. This is exceptionally true of his experience in Chile where he was the general manager of Freeport-McMoRan's El Abra mine and later served on the board of directors for the Collahuasi mine complex while at Glencore. We look forward to continued success in Chile and abroad with Mike's support," stated Chris Buncic, President and CEO. He continued, "Mike joins a very accomplished group of Directors at Alto Verde Copper, which collectively has raised more than $3.6 billion to advance or build more than 19 mines. Together, we are building something very special here."

About Alto Verde Copper Inc.

Alto Verde Copper Inc. is a private mining company focused on its portfolio of highly prospective exploration assets located in the Central Volcanic Zone, within a prolific Chilean Copper belt.

Alto Verde's portfolio includes three copper exploration projects: Tres Marias and Zenaida in Antofagasta Region, and Pitbull in Tarapaca Region. The Company now holds a significant land package covering an area of 16,250 hectares with the projects situated amongst several of the world's largest mines owned by the largest global mining companies including Glencore, Anglo American, Teck Resources and BHP among others.

Alto Verde's leadership team is comprised of senior mining industry executives who have a wealth of technical and capital markets experience and a strong track record of discovering, financing, developing, and operating mining projects on a global scale. Alto Verde is committed to sustainable and responsible business activities in line with industry best practices, supportive of all stakeholders, including the local communities in which we operate.

Contact Information

For further information please visit our website at www.altoverdecopper.com or contact:

Investor Relations:

investors@altoverdecopper.com

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All information contained in this news release, other than statements of current and historical fact, is forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "guidance", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "strategy", "target", "intends", "objective", "goal", "understands", "anticipates" and "believes" (and variations of these or similar words) and statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" "occur" or "be achieved" or "will be taken" (and variations of these or similar expressions). Forward-looking information is also identifiable in statements of currently occurring matters which may continue in the future, such as "providing the Company with", "is currently", "allows/allowing for", "will advance" or "continues to" or other statements that may be stated in the present tense with future implications. All of the forward-looking information in this news release is qualified by this cautionary note.

Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the exploration activities and the results of such activities at the Company's Projects, and the ability of the Company to fund the exploration activities. Forward-looking information is based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates and analyses that, while considered reasonable by Alto Verde Copper at the date the forward-looking information is provided, inherently are subject to significant risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results and events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. The material factors or assumptions that Alto Verde Copper identified and were applied by Alto Verde Copper in drawing conclusions or making forecasts or projections set out in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the success of the exploration activities at the Company's projects, the ability of the Company to fund its exploration programs, and other events that may affect Alto Verde Copper's ability to develop its projects; and no significant and continuing adverse changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets.

The risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to, risks generally associated with the mining industry, such as economic factors (including future commodity prices, currency fluctuations, energy prices and general cost escalation), uncertainties related to the development and operation of Alto Verde Copper's projects, dependence on key personnel and employee and union relations, risks related to political or social unrest or change, rights and title claims, operational risks and hazards, including unanticipated environmental, industrial and geological events and developments and the inability to insure against all risks, failure of plant, equipment, processes, transportation and other infrastructure to operate as anticipated, compliance with government and environmental regulations, including permitting requirements and anti-bribery legislation, volatile financial markets that may affect Alto Verde Copper's ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, the failure to obtain required approvals or clearances from government authorities on a timely basis, uncertainties related to the geology, continuity, grade and estimates of mineral reserves and resources, and the potential for variations in grade and recovery rates, uncertain costs of reclamation activities, tax refunds, and hedging transactions.

Should one or more risk, uncertainty, contingency, or other factor materialize, or should any factor or assumption prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Accordingly, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Alto Verde Copper does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this news release or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101819
GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Artequick artemisinin and piperaquine tablets have once again become buzzwords across the globe, as most recently, their effectiveness in treating COVID-19 was hotly debated by live streamers on overseas social media and we media platforms. These drugs first came to the industry's attention after the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents published a paper titled "Safety and Efficacy of Artemisinin-Piperaquine for Treatment of COVID-19".

As the fourth-generation artemisinin compound, artemisinin-piperaquine had been registered in dozens of countries, said Wang Xinhua, former president of Guangzhou Medical University, senior consultant at Guangdong New South Traditional Chinese Medicine Institute, and leading member of the group for artemisinin's clinical research and application in China, adding that for decades, it has been widely used as an effective cure for malaria, particularly falciparum malaria. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the devoted team of scientists has examined the compound's efficacy against the virus, and their breakthrough has unleashed a hot debate overseas. This implies how the scientific community and the general public are in desperate need of effective drug treatments for COVID-19.



Jointly developed by Artepharm Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Guangdong New South Group, and the Professor Li Guoqiao-led research team at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Artequick artemisinin and piperaquine tablets were certified by China's National Medical Products Administration as a Category I new drug in 2006. And they have been the drug of first choice recommended by the National Health Commission of China since 2009. Under patent protection in 40 countries, including the U.S., and a registered trademark in 29 nations, Artequick has been registered and licensed to sell in 24 states, and is now among major antimalarials in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya. That being so, the medication has contributed to a malaria-free world at a fast pace by preventing tens of millions of people from contracting the disease.

Since last year, Guangdong New South Group, together with scientists from the Artemisinin Research Center of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, has conducted clinical trials for artemisinin-piperaquine in treating COVID-19 at Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital in Guangdong Province and Hongqi Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University in Heilongjiang Province. The study found that it took 8.3 days on average for the nucleic acid test results of all 85 observation cases (who were treated with the compound) to turn negative. And when observed on the 21st day, 98.8% of them saw a negative result, and on the 28th day, 100%, compared to 14.3% and 58.7%, respectively, for the control group of 63 infections not on artemisinin-piperaquine medication. According to an in vitro experiment by Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the highest non-toxicity concentration of artemisinin-piperaquine stands at 125 micrograms per milliliter, which helps inhibit HCoV-229E from causing a cytopathic effect in HuH-7 cells.



In many African countries, the personnel of local Chinese-funded institutions and enterprises had produced a significant result, as they adopted artemisinin-piperaquine to prevent and treat the coronavirus, Ms. Huo Jiangtao, head of Africa Guangdong Business Association noted. No COVID-19 cases treated with the drug in the Comoros, Kenya, and some other nations have died from the disease.



The progress was lauded by Zhong Nanshan, China's top respiratory expert. The experiment had produced "some preliminary positive results", he said, adding that the efficacy of artemisinin-piperaquine in treating the virus should not just be based on the rate of nucleic acid tests conversing negative, but the holistic observation of genetics and meticulous verification.



"Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been a highlight of China's response to COVID-19. Artemisinin and piperaquine tablets are derived from TCM. Artemisinin is extracted from the plant Artemisia annua, an herb employed in TCM, and with years of experience, proves to be safe and effective in curing malaria. Going ahead, the drug is expected to have a greater role to play in the treatment of other diseases," said Zhu Layi, president of Guangdong New South Group.



The research on using artemisinin-piperaquine to treat COVID-19 has now been steadily advanced.

Image Attachments Links:



Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=406302

Caption: Artequick artemisinin and piperaquine tablets developed by Artepharm Co., Ltd.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677706/Medicine.jpg
SOFIA, Bulgaria, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Brands Magazine, a leading brand magazine headquartered in the United Kingdom, awarded Fibank (First Investment Bank) the prestigious Best Digital Bank - Bulgaria award for 2021.

The Global Brands Awards 2021 are being held for the ninth consecutive year and distinguish companies that have performed best in their field.

Fibank was awarded the high distinction for its outstanding contribution to the development of innovations in the country, for the quality of its customer service and for ensuring a secure and reliable digital banking system.

Keeping pace with innovative trends, in just a few months Fibank became the only bank in Bulgaria to offer its customers the full range of mobile payments: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Garmin Pay and Fitbit.

Last year First Investment Bank launched its Video Consulting service for retail customers, also providing them with the option to apply for consumer loans fully online. Subsequently the service was upgraded to include online mortgage loan applications. Customers can submit their electronic applications using the My Fibank website or the mobile app. The platform also enables them to remotely sign all documents relating to granting of consumer loans or issuance of credit cards.

In addition, My Fibank mobile app customers can apply for and receive MyCard virtual credit cards. Those are issued fully online and credit limits are granted automatically within minutes. Virtual cards can be used with My Fibank, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Garmin and Fitbit, on contactless POS and ATM terminals, or for making payments over the Internet.

Another completely new service for the Bulgarian market that can be accessed via My Fibank is the Gold Account. It enables Fibank customers to keep balances and perform transactions in gold.

Fibank closely monitors the ever-changing needs of its customers, aiming at saving their time and money, while also offering them a unique customer experience in the digital environment.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1134349/Fibank_Head_Office_Bulgaria.jpg
Nassau, Bahamas--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Dreamr (Ticker: DMR on Bittrex Global) announces its first B2B product offering, giving brands ranging from startups to the Fortune 500 the ability to turn their vision or mission statement into a Dream Declaration, which will benefit from the same algorithms used by Dreamr to help its users quickly build an engaging community. The company has opened a pre-registration that will offer a free 30-day trial period for brands who express interest prior to launch.

Dreamr

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Ashish Bagrecha, Dreamr's CTO, stated "The Dreamr community has grown to be one of the most powerful communities in the world, and we wanted to be thoughtful about how we let brands interact in our sacred space for dreams. Truthfully brands, especially startups, all start out as dreams that a person or group is working to bring to life. Helping brands turn their mission into a dream declaration, will help them communicate their "why" to relevant audiences who can then interact with them, and this process happen automatically."

Essentially, and in contrast to the brand experience on most other social platforms, this offers brands a way to set up their profile once and sit back as the brand's dream starts to get shown to a targeted audience in the app's Dream Connect feature. Dreamr reported adding over 50,000 new users in just the last month since the launch of its DMR cryptocurrency, with more joining every day.

The launch of business profiles in the Dreamr app is a significant opportunity for brands to create visibility early-on within what Dreamr claims to be the most powerful community in the world. Platform users will be able to direct message brands, and follow them, which will create more ways for users to interact with brands when Dreamr launches its upcoming storytelling features. Pricing and availability of the B2B product will be announced soon, along with an interest form.

ABOUT DREAMR

Dreamr is an ecosystem of social networking and financial tools designed specifically to make practical the pursuit of our biggest dreams. The Dreamr platform is a positive and powerful space for users to declare their dream and build a supportive community of new, like-minded connections. With web3 integration, the community-based network is thoughtfully designed into an easy-to-use mobile app experience. Financial tools are in development to help users monetize their dream-network include the new DMR token, Dreamr Crowdfunding, P2P Service Marketplace, and P2P payments.

Founded in July 2015 and operated in stealth until 2019, the Dreamr app officially launched on iOS & Android in September 2020. Its team of technologists, entrepreneurs, and creatives have come together around a mission to make the pursuit of our biggest dreams and aspirations more practical for everyone - already raising nearly $2 million to build upon the vision of a digital ecosystem comprised of mobile networking & decentralized financial tools. As a brand, Dreamr is known for infusing a community-first, philanthropic spirit into everything it does.

MEDIA CONTACT

Company: Dreamr

Email: press@dreamr.app

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101843
The "Global Functional Drinks Market 2021-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The publisher has been monitoring the functional drinks market and it is poised to grow by $46.11 billion during 2021-2025, progressing at a CAGR of almost 8% during the forecast period.

The report on the functional drinks market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.

The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by the health benefits of functional drinks and increasing consumption by millennials.

The functional drinks market analysis includes the product segment and geographic landscape. This study identifies the new product launches as one of the prime reasons driving the functional drinks market growth during the next few years. Also, new product launches will lead to sizable demand in the market.

Companies Mentioned

Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Danone SA

Monster Beverage Corp.

Nestle SA

PepsiCo Inc.

Red Bull GmbH

Suntory Holdings Ltd.

The Kraft Heinz Co.

Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd.

The report on functional drinks market covers the following areas:

Functional drinks market sizing

Functional drinks market forecast

Functional drinks market industry analysis

The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.

The publisher presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research both primary and secondary. The market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast the accurate market growth.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

Market overview

2. Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

3. Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 2025

4. Five Forces Analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

5. Market Segmentation by Product

Market segments

Comparison by Product

Energy beverages Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Functional fruit and vegetable juices Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Sports beverages Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Prebiotic and probiotic drinks Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Others Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Product

6. Customer landscape

7. Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC Market size and forecast 2020-2025

North America Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Europe Market size and forecast 2020-2025

South America Market size and forecast 2020-2025

MEA Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity By Geographical Landscape

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

8. Vendor Landscape

Landscape disruption

9. Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors.

10. Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hc17eg

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005950/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

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
Revenue: +10.8% to 1,110 million

Solid organic growth of +5.7%

Acceleration in facility openings with more than 1,000 new beds over the quarter

2021 revenue growth guidance increased to +9% vs. 2020, from +7.5% previously

2021 revenue 4,275 million

Stronger-than-expected organic growth

Regulatory News:

The ORPEA Group (Paris:ORP), a world leader in long-term care (nursing homes, assisted living, post-acute and rehabilitation hospitals, mental health hospitals, home care services), today announces its revenue for the third quarter of 2021 to 30 September and increases its 2021 revenue guidance.

Yves Le Masne, Chief Executive Officer of ORPEA, commented:

"ORPEA has recorded very strong third-quarter growth, with revenue increasing by 10.8% and solid and better-than-expected organic growth of 5.7%. This performance is the result of excellent momentum in all geographical regions in terms of occupancy rates in nursing homes, rehabilitation hospitals and mental health hospitals.

As well as the general increase in occupancy rates, this performance is also the result of ORPEA's operating model:

- quality: a demanding care and services offer, meeting the expectations of stakeholders;

- premiumisation of facilities, notably regarding the most recent openings, with close to 2,500 new beds since the start of the year;

- geographical diversity: activity is up across all geographical regions, notably with double-digit growth rates in France Benelux and Central Europe;

- the day-to-day commitment of all its teams.

On the back of these achievements, ORPEA is in a position to raise its 2021 annual revenue guidance: growth is now expected to exceed 9% with revenue of over 4,275 million. This substantial increase of 3 percentage points compared with the initial target announced in March 2021 is primarily a result of the ramping up of the Group's organic growth throughout the year.

Further strong growth in activity in Q3 2021

In m Quarterly Q3 2021 Q3 2020 Total change Organic growth1 France Benelux 681.7 602.2 +13.2% +7.9% Central Europe 282.6 257.0 +10.0% +1.8% Eastern Europe 100.8 99.7 +1.0% +2.5% Iberian Peninsula and Latam 44.5 41.9 +6.2% +5.8% Other countries 0.8 0.9 NS NS Total revenue 1,110.4 1,001.7 +10.8% +5.7%

Composition of the geographical regions: France Benelux (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland), Central Europe (Germany, Italy and Switzerland), Eastern Europe (Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Latvia, Croatia), Iberian Peninsula and Latam (Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile), Other countries (China).

Continuing the previous quarter's trend, Q3 2021 revenue was up strongly, increasing by 10.8% compared with Q3 2020 to 1,110.4 million. The revenue does not include any State-paid compensation. Quarter-on-quarter, revenue increased by almost 70 million, +6.6% compared with the second quarter of 2021. This third quarter's strong momentum is a result of a combination of the Group's two key factors of success:

external growth of over 5 percentage points, notably with the contribution of Swiss nursing home group Sensato, the acquisitions in Ireland (Brindley Healthcare, FirstCare and Belmont House) and targeted acquisitions in various geographical regions;

greater-than-expected organic growth of 5.7%, driven by both the increase in occupancy rates in every region and a good price dynamic.

As anticipated, activity is returning to normal. All geographical regions and activities are seeing strong growth, notably organic, as in the Iberian Peninsula and Latam region, which recorded organic growth of 5.8% after five quarterly decreases due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the third quarter, the number of new beds opened as a result of construction projects accelerated with 1,060 new beds opened, versus an average of just over 600 during the two previous quarters. The Group notably opened a 94-bed nursing home in the Swiss canton of Bern, the first rehabilitation clinic in the centre of Warsaw including 168 beds and the latest technological innovations in physiotherapy, notably in orthopaedics and neurology, as well as two facilities in Bilbao and Girona, Spain.

Over the first 9 months of the year, revenue was up 9.4% at 3,179.4 million, with almost 60% of this momentum resulting from organic growth (+5.4%).

In m 9 months (30.09.21) 2021 2020 Total change Organic growth France Benelux 1,959.4 1,738.7 +12.7% +7.9% Central Europe 798.8 756.6 +5.6% +0.8% Eastern Europe 293.4 270.0 +8.7% +7.8% Iberian Peninsula and Latam 125.5 138.4 -9.3% -6.8% Other countries 2.3 2.5 NA NA Total revenue 3,179.4 2,906.2 +9.4% +5.4%

This growth in activity over the first 9 months of 2021 was the result of a number of factors:

the further strong pace of new nursing home admissions in June and July;

a solid level of activity in rehabilitation and mental health hospitals;

a commercial policy to maintain prices, a corollary of a Quality approach that is fully integrated within ORPEA's development model;

the upscaling, initiated in recent years, of facilities and openings in the best locations;

the opening of 2,336 new beds, corresponding to new facilities and extensions across its four geographical regions. This programme is in line with the one announced at the start of the year that forecast the opening of 4,055 beds over the year as a whole.

ORPEA: a partner of the Sommet de l'Inclusion Economique

Within the framework of its CSR policy, ORPEA is a partner of the first Sommet de l'Inclusion Economique (social inclusion summit) organised by the Mozaik Foundation at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and the Recovery, under the distinguished patronage of Minister of the Economy, Finance and the Recovery Bruno Le Maire and in the presence of numerous other Ministers and more than 50 companies and institutions already mobilised.

Diversity, Integration and Inclusion are issues that the Group promotes on a daily basis, in its hiring policy but also its HR development policy, and that ORPEA strives to make a reality in every region in which it operates by being an inclusive and responsible economic player.

Indeed, ORPEA is committed to:

developing gender equality at work (65% of positions of responsibility within the Group are held by women);

promoting the integration of young people in the workplace (10% of employees are under 25) whilst keeping senior staff in work in order to ensure the transfer of skills and knowledge (19% of employees are over 55);

fostering internships and apprenticeships (8,500 people were thus welcomed into the Group in 2020);

supporting, notably via the ORPEA Foundation, charity associations that work for equal opportunities in the workplace or professional insertion (Rev'Elles, Nos quartiers ont du talent and La Cravate solidaire, amongst others);

encouraging the integration and retention of disabled staff.

2021 revenue guidance raised to over 4,275 million (+9%)

In view of these excellent third-quarter performances and the continuing strong momentum seen in October 2021, the Group is raising its 2021 revenue growth target to at least +9.0%, versus +7.5% previously. ORPEA is now expecting 2021 annual revenue to exceed 4,275 million. This increase primarily reflects the stronger-than-expected rise in organic growth. ORPEA is also reaffirming its target of an improvement in the EBITDAR margin in the second half of 2021.

Next press release: Full-year 2021 revenue

8 February 2022 after market close

About ORPEA (www.orpea-corp.com)

Founded in 1989, ORPEA is one of the major world leaders in comprehensive long-term care, with a network of 1,156 facilities comprising 116,514 beds (26,359 of which are under construction) across 23 countries, which are divided into five geographical regions:

- France Benelux: 586 facilities/49,207 beds (5,672 of which are under construction)

- Central Europe: 268 facilities/28,419 beds (5,828 of which are under construction)

- Eastern Europe: 142 facilities/15,255 beds (4,101 of which are under construction)

- Iberian Peninsula/Latin America: 158 facilities/23,108 beds (10,373 of which are under construction)

- Rest of the world: 2 facilities/525 beds (385 of which are under construction)

ORPEA is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN code: FR0000184798) and is a member of the SBF 120, STOXX 600 Europe, MSCI Small Cap Europe and CAC Mid 60 indices.

1 Organic growth of Group revenue reflects the following factors: 1. The year-on-year change in the revenue of existing facilities as a result of changes in their occupancy rates and per diem rates; 2. The year-on-year change in the revenue of redeveloped facilities or those where capacity has been increased in the current or year-earlier period; 3. Revenue generated in the current period by facilities created during the year or year-earlier period, and the change in revenue of recently acquired facilities by comparison with the previous equivalent period.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005912/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations

ORPEA

Steve Grobet

EVP Communication and Investor Relations

s.grobet@orpea.net

Benoit Lesieur

Investor Relations Director

b.lesieur@orpea.net

Investor Relations

NewCap

Dusan Oresansky

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

orpea@newcap.eu

Media Relations

Image 7

Laurence Heilbronn

Tel.: +33 (0)6 89 87 61 37

lheibronn@image7.fr

Charlotte Le Barbier

Tel.: +33 (0)6 78 37 27 60

clebarbier@image7.fr
TAIPEI, TAIWAN / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / In September 2021, a guard warmly greeted and thanked Angelo Koo, Chairman of CDIB Capital Group, as he returned to his home in New Jersey. The guard said that his neighbors had all received surgical masks donated by Koo last year and that the residents of New Jersey were able to have the most basic protection when the pandemic first came to New Jersey in 2020.

China Development Foundation Chairman and CDIB Capital Group Chairman Angelo Koo. (Courtesy of China Development Foundation)

When the outbreak was the most serious in 2020, countries across the world faced shortages of materials needed to fight the pandemic. Even surgical masks were hard to find. CDIB Capital Group Chairman Angelo Koo personally donated 1 million masks to New Jersey. "We stand with you! Lots of care and love from a little island on the other side of your world," Koo wrote on the package of surgical masks delivered to New Jersey.

New Jersey Government Phil Murphy publicly expressed his gratitude at a daily COVID-19 press conference and on Facebook, saying that he was very grateful for the help of the people of Taiwan on April 24, 2020.

(Captured from Facebook @governorphilmurphy)

New Jersey Government Phil Murphy thanks Angelo Koo for donating surgical masks. (Captured from Youtube channel: New Jersey Office of the Governor)

In addition to New Jersey, Koo also donated mask to Japan through the KGI Charity Foundation, which is chaired by him. Japan's then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed gratitude to the mask donation. He said that the mask would be distributed to medical workers in Japan and thanked the Taiwanese people and enterprises.

Japan's then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga thanks Angelo Koo for donating surgical masks to Japan during a press conference. (Captured from the Japan Government Internet TV)

The KGI Charity Foundation also donated 1.85 million masks to remote regions across Taiwan to help underprivileged people fight the pandemic. Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan thanked the Foundation for its involvement in caring for the disadvantaged.

Koo's donation of masks is based on the spirit of pandemic prevention without borders. He believes that viruses know no borders. He hopes to contribute a little to the fight against COVID-19 epidemic at home and abroad. Furthermore, he also hopes that by donating masks, he will help Taiwan make friends internationally.

Media Contacts:

Raymond Wu, Mobile: +886-929-028107

Website: https://www.cdfholding.com/en/

SOURCE: China Development Foundation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/671035/Taiwanese-Entrepreneur-Angelo-Koo-Spreads-the-Love-to-Help-Fight-COVID-19
Regulatory News:

Vicat (Paris:VCT):

Consolidated sales in the nine months to 30 September 2021 of 2,354 million, up +19.7% at constant scope and exchange rates

Solid business growth in all regions

In the third quarter, sales rose +8.5% at constant scope and exchange rates despite an unfavourable basis of comparison in certain regions

Consolidated sales ( million) Nine-months

2021 Nine-months

2020 Change

(reported) Change

(at constant scope and

exchange rates) France 824 713 +15.5% +14.8% Europe (excluding France) 301 317 -4.8% +4.5% Americas 500 471 +6.2% +14.6% Asia 320 245 +30.6% +39.0% Mediterranean 166 122 +36.3% +64.3% Africa 242 198 +22.3% +22.4% Total 2,354 2,066 +13.9% +19.7%

Commenting on these figures, Guy Sidos, the Group's Chairman and CEO said:

"Vicat's performance in the nine months to 30 September reflects the dynamism of its markets amid the gradual recovery from the pandemic. The Group records solid growth when compared to the same period of 2020, but also compared to 2019 (+14.9% at reported rates). Business trends in the third quarter held up at a strong level, with the Group's sales posting another increase despite an unfavourable basis of comparison in France, the Americas and India. Against this backdrop, the Group continues to take financial and industrial measures to achieve its operational, environmental and social objectives."

Disclaimer:

In this press release, and unless indicated otherwise, all changes are stated on a year-on-year basis (2021/2020), and at constant scope and exchange rates.

The alternative performance measures (APMs), such as "at constant scope and exchange rates", "operational sales", "EBITDA", "EBIT", "net debt", "gearing" and "leverage" are defined in the appendix to this press release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements do not constitute forecasts regarding results or any other performance indicator, but rather trends or targets. These statements are by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties as described in the Company's annual report available on its website (www.vicat.fr). These statements do not reflect the future performance of the Company, which may differ significantly. The Company does not undertake to provide updates of these statements.

Further information about Vicat is available from its website (www.vicat.fr).

The Vicat Group's consolidated sales in the first nine months of 2021 totalled 2,354 million, up +13.9% on a reported basis and up +19.7% at constant scope and exchange rates compared with the same period of 2020. This increase on a reported basis reflects:

a negative currency effect of -4.9% given the appreciation in the euro against all the other currencies to which the Group has exposure;

a small negative scope effect resulting from the sale of Creabeton in Switzerland, partly offset by an acquisition in Concrete and Aggregates in France;

and organic growth of +19.7%.

Over the first nine months of the year, the hike in selling prices fully offset the impact of higher energy costs.

In the third quarter of 2021, the Vicat Group's consolidated sales came to 794 million, up +4.2% on a reported basis and up +8.5% at constant scope and exchange rates compared with the same period of 2020. This performance confirms the strength of the Group's business trends in a quarter when the basis of comparison was highly unfavourable in France, the Americas and India. Last year, activity in the third quarter of 2020 was boosted by a catch-up in these regions after the pandemic had taken a heavy toll in the first six months of 2020. Against this backdrop, selling prices moved significantly higher in the third quarter of 2021, partly offsetting higher energy costs during the period.

1. Analysis of consolidated sales in the first nine months of 2021 by geographical region

1.1. France

( million) Nine-months

2021 Nine-months

2020 Change

(reported) Change

(at constant scope and

exchange rates) Sales 824 713 +15.5% +14.8%

The Group's performance in France over the first nine months of the year improved substantially, boosted by significant growth in demand, compared not only with 2020 but also with 2019. Although the pandemic's effects again dragged down performance, the favourable basis of comparison for sales in the first six months of the year, the government measures and the steps taken by the Group enabled it to seize all the growth opportunities available and to report a strong performance across all its business areas in the first nine months of the year. In the third quarter, sales declined -3.3% at constant scope. This decline reflects an unfavourable basis of comparison reflecting the exceptionally strong recovery in the same period of 2020, which was only partially offset by a still highly supportive industry environment.

In the Cement business , operational sales rose +10.8% at constant scope over the period as a whole. This performance is the result of a dynamic industry environment in all the Group's markets and a more favourable basis of comparison than in the first six months of 2020, which helped to make up for the expected volume contraction in the third quarter. Amid these supportive conditions, selling prices and volumes rose significantly during the first nine months of the year. In the third quarter, operational sales declined -9.3% at constant scope.

, operational sales rose +10.8% at constant scope over the period as a whole. This performance is the result of a dynamic industry environment in all the Group's markets and a more favourable basis of comparison than in the first six months of 2020, which helped to make up for the expected volume contraction in the third quarter. Amid these supportive conditions, selling prices and volumes rose significantly during the first nine months of the year. In the third quarter, operational sales declined -9.3% at constant scope. The operational sales recorded by the Concrete Aggregates business rose +19.5% at constant scope. This trend was underpinned by firmer activity trends in concrete and in aggregates. Selling prices moved higher in aggregates and were stable in concrete. In the third quarter, operational sales grew +2.6% at constant scope despite an unfavourable basis of comparison.

rose +19.5% at constant scope. This trend was underpinned by firmer activity trends in concrete and in aggregates. Selling prices moved higher in aggregates and were stable in concrete. In the third quarter, operational sales grew +2.6% at constant scope despite an unfavourable basis of comparison. In the Other Products Services business, operational sales advanced +19.9% at constant scope over the period. In the third quarter, operational sales rose +1.8% at constant scope.

1.2 Europe (excluding France)

( million) Nine-months

2021 Nine-months

2020 Change

(reported) Change

(at constant scope and

exchange rates) Sales 301 317 -4.8% +4.5%

The Swiss market, which was barely affected by the pandemic in 2020, recorded growth at the start of the year. Italy benefited from a highly favourable basis of comparison given the very challenging pandemic and macroeconomic situation in 2020. It delivered solid growth throughout the period thanks to strong demand. In the third quarter, business trends in Europe remained firm both in Switzerland and in Italy, with consolidated sales up +3.2% at constant scope and exchange rates.

In Switzerland, the Group's consolidated sales rose +3.6% at constant scope and exchange rates (down -6.0% on a reported basis). In the third quarter, consolidated sales increased by +3.2% at constant scope and exchange rates. On a reported basis, they fell -17.8% owing to the deconsolidation of Creabeton, the precast business sold on 30 June 2021.

In the Cement business , operational sales grew +2.8% at constant scope and exchange rates thanks to the healthy market performance. In the third quarter, the operational sales recorded by this business declined by -3.2% at constant scope and exchange rates.

, operational sales grew +2.8% at constant scope and exchange rates thanks to the healthy market performance. In the third quarter, the operational sales recorded by this business declined by -3.2% at constant scope and exchange rates. In the Concrete Aggregates business , operational sales declined -5.1% at constant scope and exchange rates as a result of less favourable weather conditions at the beginning of the year. In the third quarter, operational sales declined by -2.3% at constant scope and exchange rates.

, operational sales declined -5.1% at constant scope and exchange rates as a result of less favourable weather conditions at the beginning of the year. In the third quarter, operational sales declined by -2.3% at constant scope and exchange rates. In the Other Products and Services business, operational sales rose by +10.2% at constant scope and exchange rates. Third-quarter operational sales rose +7.6% thanks to an encouraging level of deliveries by the Rail business to the state operator and a favourable product mix. On a reported basis, business declined -49.0% largely as a result of the sale of precast business on 30 June 2021.

In Italy, consolidated sales advanced by +25.4%. Business trends and selling prices moved significantly higher throughout the period. In the third quarter, the basis of comparison was significantly less supportive than it was in the first six months, but the industry environment remained upbeat, with selling prices continuing to move upwards. As a result, consolidated sales rose +4.9%.

1.3 Americas

( million) Nine-months

2021 Nine-months

2020 Change

(reported) Change

(at constant scope and

exchange rates) Sales 500 471 +6.2% +14.6%

In the United States and in Brazil, construction sector trends remain upbeat, providing support for price increases. In the third quarter, consolidated sales rose +3.2% at constant scope and exchange rates despite a highly unfavourable basis of comparison after the exceptionally strong business upswing recorded in the same period of 2020.

In the United States, the macroeconomic and sector environment again remained supportive throughout the period. Trends in the second and third quarter were affected by an unfavourable basis of comparison in California and poor weather conditions in the South-East region. Nonetheless, consolidated sales recorded an increase at constant scope and exchange rates of +8.4% in the first nine months of the year and of +3.2% in the third quarter.

The construction of the new kiln line at the Ragland plant (Alabama) made progress during the year, and it is scheduled to enter service in the first quarter of 2022. The new installation will help meet the strong market demand by increasing the plant's capacity and sharply reducing production costs, and it will help lower the Group's CO2 emissions.

In the Cement business , operational sales rose +2.0% at constant scope and exchange rates over the first nine months of the year thanks to upbeat trends in the markets in which the Group operates and a rise in selling prices over the period. In the third quarter, operational sales declined by -3.5% at constant scope and exchange rates. The downturn in business during the quarter was the result of an unfavourable basis of comparison in 2020 in California and poor weather conditions in the South-East region. Selling prices rose in both regions during the quarter.

, operational sales rose +2.0% at constant scope and exchange rates over the first nine months of the year thanks to upbeat trends in the markets in which the Group operates and a rise in selling prices over the period. In the third quarter, operational sales declined by -3.5% at constant scope and exchange rates. The downturn in business during the quarter was the result of an unfavourable basis of comparison in 2020 in California and poor weather conditions in the South-East region. Selling prices rose in both regions during the quarter. In the Concrete business, operational sales rose +13.7% at constant scope and exchange rates as further upbeat market conditions provided a boost, especially in the residential and commercial sectors. Against this backdrop, selling prices moved significantly higher. Business trends in the third quarter were again solid despite the storms in the South East region. Operational sales moved up +11.3% at constant scope and exchange rates, supported by a steady increase in selling prices and delivery volumes.

In Brazil, consolidated sales totalled 136 million, up +34.4% at constant scope and exchange rates. In the third quarter, consolidated sales rose +10.4% at constant scope and exchange rates despite the highly unfavourable basis of comparison arising from the dynamic sales performance of 2020.

In the Cement business, operational sales totalled 111 million, up from 93 million in the first nine months of 2020 and up +33.3% at constant scope and exchange rates. This performance reflects the dynamic market conditions in which the Group operates and positive pricing trends. In the third quarter, operational sales rose +6.2% at constant scope and exchange rates against the unfavourable basis of comparison, supported by the increase in selling prices.

In the Concrete Aggregates business, operational sales were 39 million, an increase of +44.1% at constant scope and exchange rates, mirroring trends in the Cement business. The improvement in market conditions was accompanied by a rise in prices, both in concrete and in aggregates. In the third quarter, operational sales rose by +7.4% at constant scope and exchange rates on the back of a solid increase in selling prices and sales volumes in concrete.

1.4 Asia (India and Kazakhstan)

( million) Nine-months

2021 Nine-months

2020 Change

(reported) Change

(at constant scope and

exchange rates) Sales 320 245 +30.6% +39.0%

The Asia region, and particularly India, was again severely affected by the pandemic, but to a far lesser extent than in 2020. Contrary to early 2020, the measures taken by the Indian government to address the situation enabled the Group to continue operating.

In the third quarter, business trends remained brisk across the region, with consolidated sales up +20.1% at constant scope and exchange rates despite a high basis of comparison.

Business in India grew sharply throughout the period, supported by strong demand supported by government contracts. As a result of these conditions, prices held up well during the period and the Group posted consolidated sales of 268 million in the first nine months of 2021, up +45.7% at constant scope and exchange rates. In the third quarter, sales rose +22.1% at constant scope and exchange rates despite an unfavourable basis of comparison.

Consolidated sales in Kazakhstan came to 52 million, up +13.4% at constant scope and exchange rates. This performance was achieved through further expansion in the Group's business in its domestic market, which helped to make up for the fall in exports. Given this favourable geographical mix and the dynamic trends in the Kazakh market, prices recorded a significant increase. In the third quarter, sales rose +12.6%, with the hike in prices making up for a slight decline in sales volumes.

1.5 Mediterranean (Egypt and Turkey)

( million) Nine-months

2021 Nine-months

2020 Change

(reported) Change

(at constant scope and

exchange rates) Sales 166 122 +36.3% +64.3%

The Mediterranean region remains affected by a downbeat macroeconomic and sector situation with reduced visibility, although the environment and market conditions are gradually improving in both Turkey and Egypt. The trend carried through into the third quarter, with consolidated sales rising +52.9% at constant scope and exchange rates.

In Turkey, while the macroeconomic and sector environment remains uncertain, the recovery in the construction market remains on track. Consolidated sales in the first nine months of 2021 totalled 113 million, up +63.2% at constant scope and exchange rates. In the third quarter, the environment continued to improve, with consolidated sales rising by +51.4% at constant scope and exchange rates.

In the Cement business , the firmer trends observed since the end of 2020 carried through into the first nine months of this year. As a result, business trends and selling prices posted a significant increase compared with the same period of 2020, paving the way for an increase in operational sales of +64.6% at constant scope and exchange rates. Operational sales moved up +52.7% at constant scope and exchange rates in the third quarter.

, the firmer trends observed since the end of 2020 carried through into the first nine months of this year. As a result, business trends and selling prices posted a significant increase compared with the same period of 2020, paving the way for an increase in operational sales of +64.6% at constant scope and exchange rates. Operational sales moved up +52.7% at constant scope and exchange rates in the third quarter. In the Concrete Aggregates business, operational sales rose +62.2% at constant scope and exchange rates. The business was boosted by the ongoing improvement in market and weather conditions in the first nine months of the year supporting higher prices. Operational sales moved up +58.4% at constant scope and exchange rates in the third quarter.

In Egypt, consolidated sales totalled 53 million, up +67.3% at constant scope and exchange rates. The market regulation agreement between the Egyptian government and all producers entered force in July 2021. It paved the way for an improvement in selling prices in the domestic market during the third quarter as consolidated sales increased by +57.5% at constant scope and exchange rates, with selling prices well above the levels recorded in the third quarter of 2020.

1.6 Africa

( million) Nine-months

2021 Nine-months

2020 Change

(reported) Change

(at constant scope and

exchange rates) Sales 242 198 +22.3% +22.4%

In Africa, the Group continues to reap the benefit of favourable sector demand despite the pandemic, backed up by improvements in performance at the Rufisque plant and by the ramp-up of the new mill in Mali. Sales moved up +28.9% at constant scope and exchange rates in the third quarter.

In the Cement business , operational sales in the Africa region grew +23.3% at constant scope and exchange rates, with a boost provided by the dynamic trends in the West African market, especially in Senegal, and the ramp-up in the new mill in Mali. Selling prices in Senegal were consistently lower than in the year-earlier period given the introduction of the new tax on cement in May 2020. It should be noted that this unfavourable basis of comparison came to an end in the second quarter of 2021. Pricing conditions in Mali and Mauritania are positive. In the third quarter, operational sales moved up +31.2% at constant scope and exchange rates.

, operational sales in the Africa region grew +23.3% at constant scope and exchange rates, with a boost provided by the dynamic trends in the West African market, especially in Senegal, and the ramp-up in the new mill in Mali. Selling prices in Senegal were consistently lower than in the year-earlier period given the introduction of the new tax on cement in May 2020. It should be noted that this unfavourable basis of comparison came to an end in the second quarter of 2021. Pricing conditions in Mali and Mauritania are positive. In the third quarter, operational sales moved up +31.2% at constant scope and exchange rates. The Aggregates business in Senegal recorded consolidated sales of 21 million, up +18.0% at constant scope and exchange rates over the period as a result of the gradual resumption of major government projects. In the third quarter, sales rose +21.3% at constant scope and exchange rates.

2. Financial position at 30 September 2021

The dynamic business trends recorded across the various markets, the positive trend in selling prices and a persistently tight grip on costs helped to offset the rise in energy costs throughout the period. Operating profitability improved significantly over the first nine months of the year.

At 30 September 2021, the Group's shareholders' equity was 2,544 million, up from 2,381 million at 30 September 2020. The Group's net debt came to 1,269 million, compared with 1,265 million at 30 September 2020.

3. Outlook for 2021

Over 2021 as a whole, the Group anticipates an increase in its full-year EBITDA based on its performance in the first nine months of 2021 and the following factors:

The dynamic market conditions in which the Group is operating, with a significant rise in sales volumes

Positive trends in average prices

These factors will help to offset:

Unfavourable currency effects. The Group wishes to reiterate that its currency risk is predominantly a currency translation risk;

A significant increase in energy costs in the second half, which are expected to increase by around +14% over the year as a whole, compensated by a marked increase in selling prices over the full year.

During 2021, the Group is keeping up its investment drive focusing chiefly on:

The construction of the new kiln at the Ragland plant in the United States;

A drive to incrementally boost capacity at production facilities in India and to invest in new terminals to expand its market and lower logistics costs;

And, lastly, the ramp-up in projects to meet the carbon footprint reduction targets and in line with its environmental actions.

Accordingly, capital expenditure committed to production facilities is expected to be higher than in 2020 at around 410 million, with the Group adjusting the pace of its investment projects to its cash generation trends.

The Group is issuing the following guidance about the performance expected over the full year in the various countries in which it operates. It wishes to make clear that these trends are intimately linked to developments in the pandemic crisis and the latter's impact on each of them:

In France, activity levels are expected to remain on a growth trajectory over the year as a whole. The Group expects less dynamic growth in the second half than in the first, given the very strong recovery seen in the second half of 2020;

In Switzerland, the Cement and the Concrete Aggregates businesses should reap the benefit of upbeat conditions in the construction sector. The Other Products Services business will of course be affected by the deconsolidation of the Precast business, following completion of the latter's disposal on 30 June 2021;

In the United States, activity levels are expected to keep growing as a result of higher selling prices, despite volumes coming up against an unfavourable basis of comparison in the third quarter. The roll-out of the economic stimulus plan presented by the new US administration is unlikely to have much of an impact until 2022;

In Brazil, the environment is expected to remain supportive. That said, given the basis of comparison for the second half of 2020, the Group expects its performance there to stabilise progressively in 2021;

In India, subject to developments in the pandemic, the Group expects to reap the benefit of the market growth forecast in 2021. Amid these supportive conditions, pricing trends are expected to be positive, but volatile;

In Kazakhstan, performance in 2020 provides a high basis of comparison, but market conditions are forecast to remain favourable nonetheless;

In Turkey, given the stabilisation in the industry environment and the stirrings of a recovery in Turkey seen in 2020, the situation is expected to continue improving gradually in the second half, despite the persistent currency weakness;

In Egypt, the uptrend in volumes and selling prices from the second quarter onwards is likely to make further progress in the new regulatory framework established for the industry;

In West Africa, business trends are expected to remain strong in Cement. The basis of comparison for prices will be more favourable in the second half and is likely to be supported by further growth in sales volumes. The Aggregates business in Senegal is likely to continue its recovery;

Conference call

To accompany the publication of its nine-month 2021 sales, the Vicat group is organising a conference call in English on 4 November 2021 at 3pm CET (2pm London time and 9am New York time).

To take part in the conference call live, dial one of the following numbers:

France: +33 (0)1 70 37 71 66

United Kingdom: +44 (0)33 0551 0200

USA: +1 212 999 6659

You may also access a live audio webcast of the conference, together with the presentation, on the Vicat website or simply by clicking here.

A replay of the conference call will be immediately available for streaming via the Vicat website or by clicking here.

Next report:

2021 results on 15 February 2022 after the market close.

About Vicat

The Vicat Group has over 9,000 employees working in three core divisions, Cement, Concrete Aggregates and Other Products Services, which generated consolidated sales of 2.805 billion in 2020. The Group operates in twelve countries: France, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Kazakhstan, India and Brazil. Some 64% of its sales are generated outside France.

The Vicat Group is the heir to a family industrial tradition dating back to 1817, when Louis Vicat invented artificial cement. Founded in 1853, the Vicat Group now operates three core lines of business: Cement, Ready-Mixed Concrete and Aggregates, as well as related activities.

About the Louis Vicat Foundation

Created in 2017 on the occasion of the bicentenary of the invention of artificial cement, the Foundation's objectives are: the promotion of scientific and technical culture, the preservation and enhancement of heritage, education and solidarity. To this end, in 2020 the Foundation carried out a series of inclusive actions for the benefit of people with disabilities and those far from employment. The year 2021 will be the Year of Women.

Vicat group Financial data Appendix

Definition of alternative performance measures (APMs):

Performance at constant scope and exchange rates is used to determine the organic growth trend in P&L items between two periods and to compare them by eliminating the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and changes in the scope of consolidation. It is calculated by applying exchange rates and the scope of consolidation from the prior period to figures for the current period.

is used to determine the organic growth trend in P&L items between two periods and to compare them by eliminating the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and changes in the scope of consolidation. It is calculated by applying exchange rates and the scope of consolidation from the prior period to figures for the current period. A geographical (or a business) segment's operational sales are the sales posted by the geographical (or business) segment in question less intra-region (or intra-segment) sales.

are the sales posted by the geographical (or business) segment in question less intra-region (or intra-segment) sales. Value-added : value of production less consumption of materials used in the production process.

: value of production less consumption of materials used in the production process. Gross operating income : value-added, less staff costs, taxes and duties (other than on income and deferred taxes) plus operating subsidies.

: value-added, less staff costs, taxes and duties (other than on income and deferred taxes) plus operating subsidies. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation): sum of gross operating income and other income and expenses on ongoing business.

(earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation): sum of gross operating income and other income and expenses on ongoing business. EBIT: (earnings before interest and tax): EBITDA less net depreciation, amortisation, additions to provisions and impairment losses on ongoing business.

(earnings before interest and tax): EBITDA less net depreciation, amortisation, additions to provisions and impairment losses on ongoing business. Cash flow from operations : net income before net non-cash expenses (i.e., predominantly depreciation, amortisation, additions to provisions and impairment losses, deferred taxes, gains and losses on disposals and fair value adjustments).

: net income before net non-cash expenses (i.e., predominantly depreciation, amortisation, additions to provisions and impairment losses, deferred taxes, gains and losses on disposals and fair value adjustments). Free cash flow: net operating cash flow after deducting capital expenditure net of disposals.

net operating cash flow after deducting capital expenditure net of disposals. Net debt represents gross debt (consisting of the outstanding amount of borrowings from investors and credit institutions, residual financial liabilities under finance leases, any other borrowings and financial liabilities excluding options to sell and bank overdrafts), net of cash and cash equivalents, including remeasured hedging derivatives and debt.

represents gross debt (consisting of the outstanding amount of borrowings from investors and credit institutions, residual financial liabilities under finance leases, any other borrowings and financial liabilities excluding options to sell and bank overdrafts), net of cash and cash equivalents, including remeasured hedging derivatives and debt. Gearing is a ratio reflecting a company's financial structure calculated as net debt/consolidated equity.

is a ratio reflecting a company's financial structure calculated as net debt/consolidated equity. Leverage is a ratio reflecting a company's profitability, which is calculated as net debt/consolidated EBITDA.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005982/en/

Contacts:

Investor relations:

Stephane Bisseuil:

Tel.: +33 1 58 86 86 05

stephane.bisseuil@vicat.fr

Press:

Marie-Raphaelle Robinne

Tel.: +33 (0) 4 74 27 58 04

marie-raphaelle.robinne@vicat.fr
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

For immediate release

3 November 2021

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES

The Company announces that it has today purchased 29,721 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 889.89p per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company.

The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 17 February 2021.

Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 531,696; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 224,459,607.

The figure of 224,459,607 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For and on behalf of

Frostrow Capital LLP

Company Secretary

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Hale

Frostrow Capital LLP

Tel: 020 3 170 8732
Regulatory News:

SFL (Paris:FLY):

Rental income: 130.0 million

Consolidated revenue by business segment (000's) 2021

(9 months) 2020

(9 months) Rental income 129,982 137,667 o/w Paris Central Business District 105,571 121,877 Paris Other 22,842 25,786 Western Crescent 1,569 1,407 Other revenue 0 0 Total consolidated revenue 129,982 137,667

Consolidated rental income for the first nine months of 2021 amounted to 130.0 million, down 7.7 million or 5.6% from the 137.7 million reported for the same period of 2020:

On a like-for-like basis (i.e., excluding all changes in the portfolio affecting period-on-period comparisons), rental income climbed 2.9 million, up 2.4%, buoyed by higher rental income from the Edouard VII, Rives de Seine and 106 Haussmann properties.

Rental income from units being redeveloped or renovated in the periods concerned was down by 6.1 million, due to the renovation of several floors that were vacated in late 2020, mainly in the Cezanne Saint-Honore and Washington Plaza buildings, partially offset by initial revenues from the 83 Marceau property.

The sale of the 112 Wagram and 9 Percier buildings in early 2021 led to a 4.5-million contraction in rental income for the period.

The rent recovery rate currently stands at 98%, a very satisfactory level, confirming that the vast majority of SFL's clients are seeing a return to normal levels of activity.

Business review

In a rental market significantly affected by a lacklustre four months at the start of the year, SFL maintained a strong level of business, signing leases on some 37,000 sq.m. in the first nine months. The main leases concerned:

Cezanne Saint-Honore: lease on 3,700 sq.m. signed with Wendel and a lease on 3,300 sq.m. with Lacourte Raquin Tatar, bringing the pre-lease rate for units scheduled for delivery in 2022 to 72%;

Cloud.paris: new lease and extensions signed with an existing tenant, for a total of nearly 13,700 sq.m.;

Washington Plaza: leases signed on 8,600 sq.m., with four main agreements;

Edouard VII: leases signed on 3,600 sq.m., with two main agreements;

103 Grenelle: three leases signed on 2,000 sq.m.;

92 Champs-Elysees: commercial lease on 900 sq.m. signed with PSG.

The new office leases were signed at an average nominal rent of 776 per sq.m., corresponding to an effective rent of 656 per sq.m, for an average non-cancellable term of 7.5 years, demonstrating that the rental conditions for the Group's properties are holding firm.

The physical occupancy rate for revenue-generating properties rose to 93.9% at 30 September 2021 compared with 93.7% at 31 December 2020. The remaining vacant units are located mainly in the Le Vaisseau building in Issy-les-Moulineaux and at Washington Plaza. The EPRA vacancy rate was 5.5%, versus 6.0% at 31 December 2020.

SFL/Predica partnership Colonial transaction involving SFL shares

Operations relating to the change in the partnership between SFL and Predica were finalised on 4 August 2021 (see SFL press release of 4 August 2021) and the simplified mixed tender offer launched by Colonial for the SFL shares not yet held by Colonial and Predica closed on 25 August 2021.

Following these operations:

SFL took over 100% of the former partnerships for the Washington Plaza, 106 Haussmann, 90 Champs-Elysees and Galerie des Champs-Elysees properties and entered into new partnerships for Cloud.paris, Cezanne Saint-Honore, 92 Champs-Elysees and 103 Grenelle of which it sold 49% to Predica while retaining overall control.

Colonial holds 98.33% of SFL's share capital and voting rights.

Financing

SFL's consolidated net debt at 30 September 2021 amounted to 1,790 million, compared with 1,890 million at 31 December 2020, representing a loan-to-value ratio of 22.8% based on the portfolio's appraisal value at 30 June 2021. The average cost of debt after hedging was 1.1% and the average maturity was 3.8 years. At end-September 2021, the interest coverage ratio stood at 4.6x.

In addition, SFL had 890 million in undrawn lines of credit at 30 September 2021.

About SFL

Leader in the prime segment of the Parisian commercial real estate market, Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise stands out for the quality of its property portfolio, which is valued at 7.3 billion and is focused on the Central Business District of Paris (cloud.paris, Edouard VII, Washington Plaza, etc.) and for the quality of its client portfolio, which is composed of prestigious companies in the consulting, media, digital, luxury, finance and insurance sectors. As France's oldest property company, SFL demonstrates year after year an unwavering commitment to its strategy focused on creating a high value in use for users and, ultimately, substantial appraisal values for its properties.

Stock market: Euronext Paris Compartment A Euronext Paris ISIN FR0000033409 Bloomberg: FLY FP Reuters: FLYP PA

S&P rating: BBB+ stable outlook

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103006025/en/

Contacts:

SFL Thomas Fareng T +33 (0)1 42 97 27 00 t.fareng@fonciere-lyonnaise.com

Evidence Gregoire Silly T +33 (0)6 99 10 78 99 gregoire.silly@evidenceparis.fr
3 November 2021, 18:35 CET



At an event held at COP26 today, ArcelorMittal ('the Company') and the government of Quebec announced a CAD$205 million investment by ArcelorMittal Mining Canada ('AMMC') in its Port-Cartier pellet plant, enabling this facility to convert its entire 110 million tonne annual pellet production to direct reduced iron ('DRI') pellets by the end of 2025.



The investment, in which the Quebec government will contribute through an electricity rebate of up to CAD$80 million, will enable the Port-Cartier plant to become one of the world's largest producers of DRI pellets, the raw material feedstock for ironmaking in a DRI furnace. The project includes the implementation of a flotation system that will enable a significant reduction of silica in the iron ore pellets, facilitating the production of a very high-quality pellet.

The project will deliver a direct annual CO 2 e reduction of approximately 200,000 tonnes at AMMC's Port-Cartier pellet plant, equivalent to over 20% of the pellet plant's total annual CO 2 e emissions. This reduction in CO 2 e emissions will be achieved through a reduction in the energy required during the pelletising process.

A DRI plant uses natural gas to reduce iron ore, resulting in a significant reduction in CO 2 emissions compared with coal-based blast furnace ironmaking. In Hamburg, Germany, ArcelorMittal is trialing replacing natural gas with hydrogen to make DRI, with its industrial scale pilot project anticipated to be commissioned before the end of 2025. The DRI installations the Company has announced it is developing in Belgium, Canada and Spain are all being constructed to be hydrogen-ready, so as and when green hydrogen is available in sufficient quantities at affordable prices the Company can produce DRI with near zero-carbon emissions.

Approximately 250 jobs are expected to be created during the construction phase of the project in Port-Cartier, which is scheduled to be begin mid-2023 and complete before the end of 2025.

Expressing the Quebec government's support for the project, PremierFrancois Legault said:

"With this project, the Port-Cartier plant will become one of the world's largest producers of direct reduction pellets. The market is increasingly evolving towards this technology. We are therefore ensuring that ArcelorMittal will continue to create wealth in Quebec for many years. We are positioning our regions at the heart of the green economy of tomorrow. My message to companies looking for a place to reduce their GHG emissions is come and see us. We'll help you carry out your projects promptly. Quebec is the best place in the world to invest in the green economy. To build together a greener, more prosperous and prouder Quebec.'

Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal CEO, said:

"This project has an important role to play in our efforts to reduce our group's CO 2 e emissions intensity by 25% by 2030, and our longer-term ambition to reach net zero by 2050. Not only does it deliver a significant reduction in our emissions at AMMC, but it also expands our ability to produce high-quality direct reduced iron pellets, which we will need in significant volumes as we transition to DRI-EAF steelmaking at our steel plants in Canada and Europe.

"I am grateful to Premier Legault and his government for the support it is providing in realising this project. It is the first significant decarbonisation project we have announced for our mining business and fitting that we are able to make this announcement at COP26 as it exemplifies the transformational change we need to deliver this decade as we move towards becoming a carbon-neutral business."

Mapi Mobwano, CEO, ArcelorMittal Mining Canada, added:

"This investment will see us become one of the biggest direct reduction pellet producers in the world, thereby propelling ArcelorMittal Mining Canada into the forefront of mining and steel decarbonisation. From 2025 onwards we will have the capacity to produce ten million tonnes of very high-quality iron oxide pellets, with low silica content and high iron density, which will be highly strategic in the years ahead. This transformation will enable us to reduce our own current emissions by 200,000 tonnes of CO 2 e per year - equivalent to removing 57,600 cars from the road each year. Moreover, it will support a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of primary steelmaking. These pellets are the feedstock for DRI-EAF steelmaking, which given its significantly lower carbon footprint is expected to replace a significant amount of blast furnace capacity in the coming decades. It also provides a boost to the local economy and community as 250 jobs will be created for the construction phase which will start in the summer of 2023."

ENDS

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 17 countries. In 2020, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $53.3 billion and crude steel production of 71.5 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 58.0 million metric tonnes.

Our goal is to help build a better world with smarter steels. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future.

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit:http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/



Contact information ArcelorMittal Investor Relations General +44 20 7543 1128 Retail +44 20 3214 2893 SRI +44 20 3214 2801 Bonds/Credit

E-mail +33 171 921 026

investor.relations@arcelormittal.com (mailto:investor.relations@arcelormittal.com) Contact information ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications



Paul Weigh

Tel:

E-mail:







+44 20 3214 2419

press@arcelormittal.com (mailto:press@arcelormittal.com)





1 AMMC's pellet plant currently produces 10 million tonnes of pellets annually, of which 7 million tonnes are blast furnace pellets and 3 million tonnes are direct reduced iron pellets
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 October 31, 2021 689,979,985 Total number of theoretical voting rights (1): 728,813,238 Total number of voting rights that may be exercised (2): 716,441,366

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 October 31, 2021 (38,833,253 shares) and the number of treasury shares held as of October 31, 2021 (12,371,872 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 October 31, 2021).

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Contacts:

Veolia Environnement
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Despite languishing in negative territory till nearly a couple of hours past noon, the Switzerland stock market found some support later on to end on a firm note on Wednesday. The benchmark SMI, which drifted down to 12,277.32 around mid morning, ended the day with a gain of 62.27 points or 0.51% at 12,383.27. ABB climbed 2.25%. Nestle, Givaudan, Sika and Swiss Re gained 1.37 to 1.51%. Richemont gained about 1.1%, while Swiss Life Holding, Alcon, SGS and Holcim moved up 0.7 to 1%. Credit Suisse declined 1.7%. Geberit and Lonza Group closed lower by 1.2% and 1.03%, respectively. UBS Group and Novartis posted modest losses. Among the stocks in the Swiss Mid Price Index, Adecco gained 3.86%. OC Oerlikon Corp and Lindt & Spruengli Part gained 3.5% and 3.4%, respectively. Schindler Ps, Schindler Holding, SIG Combibloc and Zur Rose moved up 2.1 to 2.8%. Straumann Holding, BB Biotech, Swatch Group and Cembera Money Bank also ended with strong gains. AMS, Dufry and Galenica Sante closed lower by 1.9%, 1.4% and 1%, respectively. In Coronavirus news, Virginie Maaserey, a top federal health official said on Tuesday that it is difficult to predict how the health system will be affected this winter. The concern is due to the continued rise in the number of new reported Covid infections since mid-October. 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.
Regulatory News:

Verallia (Paris:VRLA) announced today that it successfully priced a new Sustainability-Linked Bond for an aggregate amount of EUR 500 million with a 10-year maturity with a coupon of 1.875%. With this second Sustainability-Linked Bond issuance in less than a year, Verallia is confirming its sustainability leadership in the Glass packaging industry and the very favourable perception of its credit quality by investors.

Michel Giannuzzi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: "We are proud of this second sustainability-linked bond issuance of which marks our financial alignment with the Group's ESG strategy and ambition. The transaction, more than 2.5 times oversubscribed, demonstrates the confidence of investors in the Company's financial strength, strategy and ability to deliver on its sustainability targets."

The proceeds of the transaction will be used to refinance part of the existing financial indebtedness of the Group. This landmark transaction enables Verallia to (i) lengthen its debt maturity profile, (ii) continue the diversification of its sources of funding and (iii) further reinforce the visibility of its commitment to sustainability.

The Sustainability-Linked Notes are fully aligned with Verallia's ESG ambitions and were issued in accordance with the ICMA Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles. In its Second Party Opinion, V.E. is of the opinion that Verallia's Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework is aligned with the core components of the Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles 2020. V.E. rates both KPI's relevance and target's ambition as advanced, the highest rating on its scale. The Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework and the Second Party Opinion can be found here.

The coupon amounts depend on the achievement of the two following Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs):

SPT 1: Reduce Verallia's annual CO2 emissions (scope 1 and 2) to 2,625kt CO2 for the year 2025 (15% decrease vs 2019 baseline), and

SPT 2: Reach a 59% rate of external cullet usage by 2025 (+10 pts increase vs 2019 baseline).

This is in line with Verallia's 2030 plan aiming to reduce scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions and increase its cullet rate usage on all furnaces. This objective is in line with the Paris COP 21 goals to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and has been validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

BNP Paribas, Santander Corporate Investment Banking and Societe Generale Corporate Investment Banking acted as Joint Global Coordinators on the bond issuance. Credit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, La Banque Postale and Raiffeisen Bank International acted as joint bookrunners.

About Verallia At Verallia, our purpose is to re-imagine glass for a sustainable future. We want to redefine how glass is produced, reused and recycled, to make it the world's most sustainable packaging material. We work in common cause with our customers, suppliers and other partners across the value chain to develop new healthy and sustainable solutions for all.

With around 10,000 people and 32 glass production facilities in 11 countries, we are the leading European and the third largest producer globally of glass containers for food and beverages, providing innovative, customized and environmentally friendly solutions to more than 10,000 businesses around the world.

Verallia produced more than 16 billion bottles and jars and achieved revenues of 2.5 billion in 2020. Verallia is listed on compartment A of the Euronext Paris stock exchange (Ticker: VRLA ISIN: FR0013447729) and belongs to the SBF 120, CAC Mid 60, CAC Mid Small et CAC All-Tradable indexes.

For more information, visit www.verallia.com.

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Certain information included in this press release does not constitute historical data but constitutes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, expectations and assumptions, including, without limitation, assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which Verallia operates, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results or other events, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified under Chapter 3 "Risk Factors" in the Universal Registration Document approved by the AMF and available on the Company's website (www.verallia.com) and the AMF's website (www.verallia.com). These forward-looking information and statements are not guarantees of future performances.

This press release includes only summary information and does not purport to be comprehensive. No reliance should be placed on the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this press release.

This press release does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale or an invitation or inducement to invest in securities in France, the United States or any other jurisdiction.

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You can unsubscribe from our press release distribution list at any time by sending your request to the following email address: investors@verallia.com. Press releases will still be available to access via the website https://www.verallia.com/en/investors/.

Verallia SA, as data controller, processes personal data for the purpose of implementing and managing its internal and external communication. This processing is based on legitimate interests. The data collected (last name, first name, professional contact details, profiles, relationship history) is essential for this processing and is used by the relevant departments of the Verallia group and, where applicable, its subcontractors. Verallia SA transfers personal data to its service providers located outside the European Union, who are responsible for providing and managing technical solutions related to the aforementioned processing. Verallia SA ensures that the appropriate guarantees are obtained in order to supervise these data transfers outside of the European Union. Under the conditions defined by the applicable regulations for the protection of personal data, you may access and obtain a copy of the data concerning you, object to the processing of this data and request for it to be rectified or erased. You also have a right to restrict the processing of your data. To exercise one of these rights, please contact the Group Financial Communication Department at investors@verallia.com. If, after having contacted us, you believe that your rights have not been respected or that the processing does not comply with data protection regulations, you may submit a complaint to CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertes French regulatory body).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103006054/en/

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Verallia |Alexandra BAUBIGEAT-BOUCHERON - alexandra.baubigeat-boucheron@verallia.com
QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / CGS International, Inc. (the "Company" or "CGSI") (OTCMarkets:CGSI), a publicly traded, fully reporting emerging growth company doing business as World Agri Minerals focused on the development and sale of organic plant enhancers, today announced a new appointment to its executive team - Mr. Bernardo Raymundo will serve as CGSI's Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Raymundo brings more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience in various industries, with a proven track record of driving organizational change and corporate turnaround. Since 2017, and prior to joining CGSI, Mr. Raymundo served as the Operations Manager at CropBioLife which operates in the agriproduct sector as a distributor of an organic foliar spray from Australia. Previously, Mr. Raymundowas the President of Wynergy Asia Pacific Corporation, where he led the company and oversaw business-wide changes to modernize corporate procedures and organizational mandates. Additionally, he successfully developed and implemented new strategies and policies in collaboration with executive partners establishing and achieving long-term business objectives. Mr. Raymundo holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Mechanical from the University of Perpetual Help System located in Las Pinas City, Philippines.

"At this pivotal moment in CGS's history, we are elevating and enhancing our team to include the critical skills and high caliber leadership experience we need to effectively propel the company towards its vision of developing additional ocean based mineral plant foods to revolutionize the way that the agricultural industry grows and fertilizes products," said Ramon Mabanta, Chief Executive Officer of CGS.

Mabanta concluded by adding that "[w]ith the addition of Bernardo's management and organizational expertise, and his strong and proven track record in the agricultural industry, we believe we are assembling the right team to drive the company into its next phase of its evolution."

ABOUT US:

CGS International, Inc. (d.b.a. World Agri Minerals) manufactures, markets, and sells a premiere proprietary commercial Agri-product known world-wide as GENESIS 89. After years of research and development, GENESIS 89 has been formulated to contain over 80 different trace minerals and contains a unique proprietary blend of these organic trace minerals. World Agri Minerals GENESIS 89 product line boasts the highest concentration of seawater-harvested minerals available on the commercial and even the retail market. The proprietary extraction of these minerals provides the GENESIS 89 product a unique blend of organic trace minerals and boasts the highest concentration of seawater-harvested minerals available on the market. All World Agri Mineral products consist of organic plant nutrients that hope to change the way the agriculture industry grow and fertilize products. Our GENESIS 89 premium organic growth supplement can be applied as a soil amendment and/or foliar spray. We are confidently pressing forward as the premier ocean-based mineral plant food on the market.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This release contains "forward-looking" statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in, or anticipated by, the forward-looking statements. Factors that could materially affect such forward-looking statements include certain economic, business and regulatory risks and factors identified in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

For more information:

Contact us via:

info@cgsintl.com

SOURCE: CGS International Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/671045/CGS-International-Announces-Bernardo-Raymundo-as-Chief-Operating-Officer
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with Filament Health, Kidoz Inc., Falcon Gold, Psyched Wellness, Maven Brands Inc., and Xali Gold Corp. discussing their latest press releases.

The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives.

Filament Health (NEO:FH)(OTCQB:FLHLF) receives FDA authorization for psychedelic clinical trial

Filament Health has received FDA authorization to initiate the first clinical trial using naturally sourced psychedelic substances. The phase 1 trial will include 20 healthy subjects and examine the effects of Filament's three proprietary botanical drug candidates. CEO Benjamin Lightburn sat down with Caroline Egan to discuss the clinical trial.

For the full interview with Benjamin Lightburn and to learn more about Filament Health's clinical trial, click here.

Kidoz Inc. (TSXV:KIDZ)(OTC PINK:KDOZF) shares its success with the investment community

Kidoz Inc. has released its Q3 2021 network growth and corporate update. Highlights include 345 million monetized impressions delivered during the quarter and on November 9th Kidoz will co-host their first-ever live webinar in both Mandarin and English with TopOn. Tarrnie Williams, Executive Chairman at KIDOZ sat down with Dave Jackson to discuss the company's results and opportunities within the Chinese market.

For the full interview with Tarrnie Williams and to learn more about Kidoz Inc.'s Q3 update, click here.

Falcon Gold (TSXV:FG)(OTCQB:FGLDF) shares results from a drilling program at the Spitfire-Sunny Boy Gold Project

Falcon Gold has announced the results of a successful backpack drilling program at the Spitfire-Sunny Boy Gold Project. Geologists and prospectors collected rock samples over 300m strike length along the Master Vein and up to a 250m strike length over other veins. Falcon's Chief Executive Officer, Karim Rayani sat down with Caroline Egan to discuss the results.

For the full interview with Karim Rayani and to learn more about Falcon Gold's drilling results, click here.

Psyched Wellness (CSE:PSYC)(OTCQB:PSYCF) announced the Amanita Muscaria mushroom has been added to the Natural Health Products Ingredients Database (NHPID) of Canada

Psyched Wellness has received Health Canada approval to have the Amanita Muscaria mushroom added to the NHPID. This approval moves the company closer to bringing its Amanita-based CPG products to market to promote stress relief, relaxation and assist with restful sleeping. Jeff Stevens, CEO of Psyched Wellness sat down with Caroline Egan to elaborate on this achievement.

For the full interview with Jeff Stevens and to learn more about Psyched Wellness' approval from NHPID, click here.

True Leaf Brands completes name change to Maven Brands Inc. (CSE:MJ)(OTC PINK:TRLFF)

True Leaf Brands has completed its corporate name change to Maven Brands Inc., reflecting the company's deep roots in the cannabis industry. Andrew Gordon, VP, Strategic Growth sat down with Caroline Egan to share the exciting news. True Leaf is a licensed producer of cannabis preparing to launch a program to provide path-to-market services for micro-cultivators and the company has recently launched a $1.5M private placement.

For the full interview with Andrew Gordon and to learn more about Maven Brands' latest announcements, click here.

Xali Gold (TSXV:XGC) shares exploration results from the Victoria Property

Joey Freeze, President & CEO of Xali Gold Corp sat down with Caroline Egan to outline initial exploration results from the Victoria Property. The Victoria Property in Newfoundland sits near the Cape Ray fault. Several companies drilling in and around the property have found large quantities of high-grade gold.

For the full interview with Joey Freeze and to learn more about Xali Gold's exploration results, click here.

Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit The Power Play by The Market Herald.

About The Market Herald

The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets.

DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca. Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website (themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

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SOURCE: The Market Herald

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/671062/The-Power-Play-by-The-Market-Herald-Releases-New-Interviews-with-Filament-Health-Kidoz-Inc-Falcon-Gold-Psyched-Wellness-Maven-Brands-Inc-and-Xali-Gold-Corp
Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - November 3, 2021) - Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTCQX: RAFFF) ("RFG" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a collaboration agreement with PrimaryMarkets Limited as at today's date (the "Collaboration"). PrimaryMarkets Limited is an independent Global Trading Platform, using first-class technology to provide end to end solution for trading existing securities, liquidity and enabling the trading of securities and shares in unlisted companies.

In this Collaboration, RFG will provide PrimaryMarkets with corporate clients that will be added to their global trading Platform which will provide 110,000+ investors with additional access to pre-IPO and other investment opportunities.

Jamie Green, Chairman of PrimaryMarkets said:

"PrimaryMarkets collaboration with Singapore's leading financial service company, will provide a significant opportunity for our investors to trade and invest in a much broader range of investment opportunities from Asia, Canadian and the USA."

"We are delighted to collaborate with PrimaryMarkets, the leading trading platform for unlisted companies, to help our Asian clients to reach out to a wider international investor base to raise the funds to expand their business," said Dr Charlie In, RFG Chairman.

About Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTCQX: RAFFF)

Raffles Financial Group is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the stock symbol (CSE: RICH), the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the stock symbol (FSE: 4VO) and the OTC Markets under the stock symbol (OTCQX: RAFFF)

Please visit www.rafflesfinancial.co for more information.

Raffles Financial Private Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Raffles Financial Group Limited) is an exempt corporate finance advisory firm, registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which provides public listing advisory and arrangement services. RFP serves as advisor for family trusts, family offices and investment funds.

For more information, please contact:

Dong Shim

CFO

604-283 9853

Monica Kwok, Investor Relations

Phone: +65 6909 8765

Email: monica@rafflesfinancial.co

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 Canadian securities 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/101911
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures settled sharply lower on Wednesday after data showed a significant jump in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended October 29th. Reports saying new locally transmitted coronavirus cases in Chine spiked to a near three-month high and a warning by Premier Li Kequiang about a downward pressure on the economy weighed as well on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down by $2.74 or about 3.3% at $81.17 a barrel. Brent crude futures were down $3.08 or 3.65% at $81.64 a barrel a little while ago. Data released by Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil stockpiles in the U.S. increased by 3.3 million barrels to 434.1 million barrels last week, rising by more than twice the expected level. Oil stored at Cushing, the delivery point for U.S. stocks, fell by 916,000 barrels from the previous week, to 26.4 million barrels, the EIA said in its weekly report. The EIA report also said crude oil production in the U.S. increased by 200,000 barrels a day last week to 11.5 million barrels a day. Gasoline stockpiles declined by 1.5 million barrels last week, while distillate stocks climbed by 2.2 million barrels in the week.s week. The American Petroleum Institute had reported late Tuesday that crude oil inventories increased by 3.6 million barrels last week, more than two times the expected increase of 1.6 million barrels. Traders also looked ahead to the OPEC+ meeting on Thursday. The alliance is expected to stick to the gradual, monthly production increases of 400,000 barrels per day. 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.
New Partnership with Reforestation Non-profit 'One Tree Planted' Underscores a Global Commitment to Environmental Sustainability

NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyndryl, the independent public company that will be created following the separation of IBM's Managed Infrastructure Services business, today announced a global sustainability initiative to commemorate the launch of the new business. The program, in partnership with One Tree Planted, will involve planting 88,449 trees around the world.

Each tree planted represents a Kyndryl professional and the roots they are establishing to help grow the new company. The outdoor plantings enable employees in more than 60 countries to come together in the spirit of camaraderie and establish strong kinship with each other and the critical roles they play in powering human progress.

At a time when celebrating the start of a new company together is complicated by safety restrictions due to the pandemic, the unifying initiative underscores Kyndryl's commitment to building a purpose-driven, people-centric culture for employees - no matter where they live.

"This program aligns perfectly with our Kyndryl values. The roots of trees provide strength to grow tall and strong, but we know they don't act alone. Their roots intertwine to create vibrant ecosystems that support a diverse array of life around them," said Maria B. Winans, Chief Marketing Officer, Kyndryl. "Every tree represents a Kyndryl, the people who work with our customers at the heart of progress, powering the vital systems that keep entire industries moving forward."

With a global base of 4,600 customers - including 75 of the Fortune 100 companies, Kyndryl is trusted by the world's leading enterprises to design, build, manage, and modernize the vital technology systems the world depends on every day. The company partners with customers to ensure the processes people and business depend on run smoothly and securely - from airline travel to mortgage payment processing, to online retail deliveries.

"Trees are essential to the health of our planet, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and biodiversity," said Matt Hill, Chief Environmental Evangelist, One Tree Planted. "Reforestation is consistently identified by scientists as one of the top solutions to the climate crisis, so we're thrilled to partner with Kyndryl in planting trees to honor each employee and the important impact they make on the world around us."

As part of its broader Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, Kyndryl will invest in sustainable technologies and renewable energy to reduce emissions across Kyndryl's global operations and drive greater energy efficiencies for customers.

About Kyndryl

Kyndryl designs, runs and manages modern, efficient and reliable technology environments for the world's most important businesses and organizations, with the industry's most experienced services experts. For more information, visit www.kyndryl.com.

About One Tree Planted

One Tree Planted is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees. Their projects span the globe and are done in partnership with local communities and knowledgeable experts to create an impact for nature, people, and wildlife. Reforestation helps to rebuild forests after fires and floods, provide jobs for social impact, and restore biodiversity. Many projects have overlapping objectives, creating a combination of benefits that contribute to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. To learn more, visit onetreeplanted.org.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1678131/Kyndryl_employees_plant_trees.jpg
ST. PETERSBURG, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / GoZone WiFi, a U.S. marketing, analytics, and advertising platform, has released new Smart WiFi outcomes to help restaurants gather information, increase loyalty, and advertise to customers in a time when many businesses are still reeling from COVID.

Given the fact that 84% of restaurant-goers base their decision to patronize a restaurant upon the presence and quality of its WiFi, it's never been more important to integrate Smart WiFi.

GoZone WiFi solutions provide restaurants with various tools needed to succeed at getting customers to patronize their businesses.

Each option provides different outcomes to bolster a specific part of a restaurant's plan to offer a unique customer experience that keeps people coming back while increasing revenue pathways.

Marketing4Wifi simplifies the marketing experience, empowering restaurants to:

Entice customers with free access to WiFi Gain valuable information upon customer logins, such as email address, surveys, or SMS Restaurants may then use data to send targeted emails and SMS to engage customers at opportune times, providing reminders or deals for birthdays or simply to get a repeat visit Brand a customers' entire WiFi experience to promote deals, events, and offerings like delivery

With this setup, everyone gets what they want. Customers get WiFi to use while they dine, and the business obtains valuable data that it can use to increase return visits, learn about customer demographics, and attract new patrons.

A hallmark of successful restaurants in the post-COVID world will be the opportunity to regain customer loyalty. The past year has been a trying time for all businesses, and restaurants continue to face difficulties. Fortunately, Smart WiFi can rise to the challenge to help restaurants overcome many of the most significant problems.

For starters, analyzing WiFi login data can help a business determine its busiest times and then use that data to aid with traffic flow and seating in a building. This can promote overcrowding and promote feelings of safety among patrons.

Smart WiFi is also a valuable tool for creating a customer loyalty program. The SMS numbers and emails gathered during WiFI logins can be directly integrated into a business's CRM software, providing businesses with a direct link to customers' information.

That data can be used to incentivize customers to return at opportune times by sending direct messages while also providing them with individualized offers that are most likely to get them into the restaurant. Birthdays, anniversaries, or other regular interactions can each be added to the CRM and utilized to promote sales.

Furthermore, a business gains the ability to directly request customer reviews which have greater potential to be positive, thereby increasing the likelihood that more people will come to the restaurant.

Utilizing GoZone's WiFi for restaurants will promote safety and sales side by side while also generating a significant ROI, minimizing the relative cost of engaging GoZone WiFi's Smart system.

GoZone's Smart WiFi framework is already established; restaurants can start setting up their WiFi systems right now to gain customers, actionable data, and an edge in their market.

About GoZone WiFi

GoZone WiFi is a SaaS company providing guest engagement and advertising solutions to businesses large and small. The GoZone's Smart WiFi Suite helps companies innovate as they reach out to their customers and advertising partners. You can contact GoZone WiFi at (877) 554-WiFi or info@gozonewifi.com

SOURCE: WheelHouse IT

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/671010/GoZone-WiFi-Continues-to-Support-the-Restaurant-Industry


SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - The Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday that more than 140,000 Amazon Inc. (AMZN) drivers will be repaid around $60 million in tips, which the company illegally held from the drivers. An agreement to the same was reached upon by the FTC with the retail giant in February to re-distribute the tips to Amazon Flex Drivers.



The FTC said that the average cheque for Amazon Flex drivers in the settlement would be $422, but the highest amount distributed to a single driver would total over $28,000. Around 19,980 drivers would get cheques for amounts more than $600, as part of the agreement. The drivers must cash in their cheques before January 7, 2022.



Amazon Flex is a part of the company's delivery operations, which uses individual drivers to deliver packages instead of company vehicles.



According to the FTC, in February, Amazon had told Flex Drivers they would earn $18 to $25 per hour, and in addition, they would keep 100 percent of the tips they earned.



The FTC said that in 2016, Amazon started paying drivers a lower hourly rate and used their tips to make up for the difference and the drivers were not made aware of the changes.



In the settlement agreed upon with the FTC, Amazon decided to give back all the money held back from the drivers. The company was not available for comment on the issue.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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LOUISVILLE, KY / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Charah Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:CHRA) (together with its subsidiaries, "Charah Solutions" or the "Company"), a leading provider of environmental services and byproduct sales to the power generation industry, announced today that it will conduct a conference call on Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its third quarter 2021 financial results.

To register to participate live on this conference call, please use this link using conference ID 7580579. After registering, a confirmation email will be sent, including dial-in details and a unique code for entry. We recommend registering a day in advance, or, at a minimum, 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the call. Participants may also listen to the conference call via webcast by visiting the Investor Relations section of the Charah Solutions website at ir.charah.com.

A webcast replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Charah Solutions website at ir.charah.com after 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, November 11, 2021. In addition, an audio replay will be available for one week following the call and will be accessible by dialing (800) 585-8367 within the United States or (416) 621-4642 outside the United States. The replay ID is 7580579.

About Charah Solutions

With 30 years of experience, Charah Solutions, Inc. is a leading provider of environmental services and byproduct sales to the power generation industry. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Charah Solutions assists utilities and independent power producers with all aspects to sustainably manage and recycle ash byproducts generated from the combustion of coal in the production of electricity. The Company also designs and implements solutions for ash pond management and closure, landfill construction, fly ash sales, and structural fill projects. Charah Solutions is the partner of choice for solving customers' most complex environmental challenges, and as an industry leader in quality, safety, and compliance, the Company is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions for a cleaner energy future. For more information, please visit www.charah.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "may," "expect," "estimate," "project," "plan," "believe," "intend," "achievable," "anticipate," "will," "continue," "potential," "should," "could," and similar terms and phrases. These statements are based on certain assumptions made by the Company based on management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, anticipated future developments, and other factors believed to be appropriate. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. See the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and other periodic reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further information regarding risk factors.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Investor Contact

Roger Shannon, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Charah Solutions, Inc.

ir@charah.com

(502) 245-1353

Media Contact

Tamara Davis

PriceWeber Marketing

media@charah.com

(270) 202-8516

SOURCE: Charah Solutions, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/670890/Charah-Solutions-Inc-Schedules-Third-Quarter-2021-Earnings-Call
CHICAGO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today reported October monthly trading volume statistics across its global business lines.

The data sheet "Cboe Global Markets Monthly Volume & RPC/Net Revenue Capture Report" contains an overview of certain October and year-to-date trading statistics and market share by business segment, volume in select index products, and RPC/net capture, which is reported on a one-month lag, across business lines.

Trading Volume for Current Month Year-To-Date

Oct Oct % Sep % Oct Oct % 2021 2020 Chg 2021 Chg 2021 2020 Chg Multiply-listed options ADV (contracts, k) 10,289 7,820 31.6% 10,092 2.0% 9,968 8,148 22.3% Index options ADV (contracts, k) 2,047 1,598 28.1% 2,228 -8.1% 1,918 1,858 3.2% Futures ADV (contracts, k) 210 151 39.6% 259 -18.9% 229 208 9.9% U.S. Equities - On-Exchange ADV (matched shares, mn) 1,395 1,443 -3.3% 1,436 -2.8% 1,655 1,739 -4.8% U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange ADV (matched shares, mn)1 76 N/A

72 5.7% 82 N/A

Canadian Equities ADV (matched shares, k)2 44,292 37,796 17.2% 42,801 3.5% 51,345 39,227 30.9% European Equities ADNV (, mn) 8,574 5,819 47.3% 8,180 4.8% 7,465 6,868 8.7% EuroCCP Total Cleared Trades (k)3 109,318 93,486 16.9% 112,404 -2.7% 1,008,429 348,780 NM EuroCCP Total Net Settlements (k) 3 834 671 24.3% 844 -1.1% 8,109 2,624 NM Australian Equities ADNV (AUD, mn)4 821 N/A

887 -7.5% 788 N/A

Japanese Equities ADNV (JPY, bn)4 109 N/A

107 1.9% 94 N/A

Global FX ADNV ($, mn)5 35,071 30,944 13.3% 34,870 0.6% 34,058 34,627 -1.6%

1U.S. Equities Off-Exchange data reflects Cboe's acquisition of BIDS Trading effective on December 31, 2020. 2Canadian Equities data reflects Cboe's acquisition of MATCHNow effective on August 4, 2020. 3EuroCCP data reflects Cboe's acquisition of EuroCCP effective on July 1, 2020. 4Data reflects Cboe's acquisition of Chi-X Asia Pacific effective on July 1, 2021; Australian Equities volumes exclude Trade Reporting. 5Global FX metrics continue to include Spot and as of January 2021 include SEF products.

ADV= average daily volume ADNV= average daily notional value NM= Not Meaningful

October 2021 Trading Volume Highlights

Cboe LIS, Cboe's European block trading platform powered by BIDS technology, was the region's largest platform of its type during October, with a market share of 30.2 percent (source: big XYT).

MSCI EAFE Index (MXEA) options set a new daily volume record with 6,474 contracts traded on October 8 , and a new monthly ADV record with 1,966 contracts traded per day during the month.

, and a new monthly ADV record with 1,966 contracts traded per day during the month. Cboe SEF set a seventh consecutive monthly ADNV record in Non-Deliverable Forwards (NDFs) with approximately $902 million traded in October - up 58 percent from the previous monthly record set in September, and nearly 5x the ADNV traded in October 2020 .

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.

Media Contacts

Analyst Contact







Angela Tu Tim Cave

Kenneth Hill, CFA +1-646-856-8734 +44 (0) 7593-506-719

1-312-786-7559 atu@cboe.com tcave@cboe.com

khill@cboe.com









CBOE-V

Cboe, Cboe Global Markets, Cboe Volatility Index, and VIX are registered trademarks and Cboe Futures ExchangeSM is a service mark of Cboe Exchange, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Any products that have the MSCI Index or Indexes as their underlying interest are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by MSCI Inc. or Cboe and neither MSCI Inc. nor Cboe make any representations or recommendations concerning the advisability of investing in products that have MSCI indexes as their underlying interests. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates do not recommend or make any representation as to possible benefits from any securities, futures or investments, or third-party products or services. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. is not affiliated with MSCI. Investors should undertake their own due diligence regarding their securities, futures, and investment practices. This press release speaks only as of this date. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. disclaims any duty to update the information herein.

Nothing in this announcement should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell any securities or futures in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Nothing contained in this communication constitutes tax, legal or investment advice. Investors must consult their tax adviser or legal counsel for advice and information concerning their particular situation.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates make no warranty, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties as of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness or timeliness, the results to be obtained by recipients of the products and services described herein, or as to the ability of the indices referenced in this press release to track the performance of their respective securities, generally, or the performance of the indices referenced in this press release or any subset of their respective securities, and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies, errors. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates have not calculated, composed or determined the constituents or weightings of the securities that comprise the third-party indices referenced in this press release and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies or errors in any of the indices referenced in this press release.

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all market participants. Prior to buying or selling an option, a person should review theCharacteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD), which is required to be provided to all such persons. Copies of the ODD are available from your broker or from The Options Clearing Corporation, 125 S. Franklin Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60606.

Futures trading is not suitable for all investors and involves the risk of loss. That risk of loss can be substantial and can exceed the amount of money deposited for a futures position. You should, therefore, carefully consider whether futures trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You should put at risk only funds that you can afford to lose without affecting your lifestyle. For additional information regarding futures trading risks, see the Risk Disclosure Statement set forth in Appendix A to CFTC Regulation 1.55(c) and the Risk Disclosure Statement for Security Futures Contracts.

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Company Is One of the First to Seek $5 million Under New Crowdfunding Rules

BOULDER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Rasa, maker of the world's first energizing, caffeine-free coffee alternative, is announcing that they are now officially a Public Benefit Corporation. According to an entry on their blog, as a Public Benefit Corporation, they are legally and fiduciarily required to prioritize a public benefit that is not just profit for shareholders. This Public Benefit needs to be in alignment with their stated mission: "Sourcing sustainable herbs from traditional growing regions and promoting quality herbal education."

Among the actions they are taking as a newly formed PBC, Rasa is spearheading a multi-year, multi-company effort with several widely respected companies to get Fair Wild certification for eleuthero, which is becoming increasingly at-risk due to popularity. They are also supporting Jordan's largest date seed supplier to become certified organic and are switching from wildcrafted Rhodiola to support sustainable Canadian-cultivated Rhodiola to protect rapidly dwindling wild populations. Co-founder & Chief Herbalist Ben LeVine said, "We're very proud of the sustainability work we've been able to do across our 50-herb supply chain and raising capital will allow us to continue to scale our business and make a bigger positive impact."

Rasa is seeking to raise up to $5M in capital with equity crowdfunding under the new crowdfunding regulations. They are looking for equity crowdfunding investors and everyday people who want to invest in a disruptive company that's scaling fast. Rasa has bootstrapped its way to over $10M in cumulative revenue and 10M cups served. They currently have a $5 million revenue run-rate and 515% subscription growth year-over-year. RASA was GAAP profitable last year, with nearly triple-digit year-over-year growth against the $465B global coffee market. People can find out more about the crowdfunding campaign here and follow the campaign to receive updates. Since launching the crowdfunding, Rasa has remained in the top trending campaigns.

Rasa Founder and CEO Lopa van der Mersch spoke about the company's growth and future goals, "I started Rasa as a stressed-out mom who needed a more nourishing way to energize than coffee. What started with me elbow-deep blending herbs in my kitchen is now a successful company serving 100,000+ customers worldwide with $5M in revenue. Our mission is to transform the way we energize, while setting a new standard for sustainable, radically transparent business. With our herbs, you can energize in a way that also calms your nervous system, reduces stress, and boosts moods. We often hear it's "life-changing" for customers. After 3 years of bootstrapping, we are excited to become a community-owned business via crowdfunding. This capital will allow us to seize the low-hanging fruit we have in front of us, from hiring our first sales team and a PR agency to doing clinical trials. Most importantly, we will be spreading the word to millions of potential customers who are going to love our product."

Follow their Wefunder campaign to stay in the know about the exciting developments at Rasa.

ABOUT RASA

Rasa is the first coffee alternative that uses herbs instead of caffeine to energize. Their delicious, robust blends provide smooth, steady energy with no burnout, crashes, or jitters. Their herbalist-formulated blends have between 1,600-9,700 mg of adaptogens per cup, the highest on the market. Rasa offers its product line both as a direct-to-consumer subscription, or wholesale to stores and restaurants. They are a Public Benefit Corporation, with a commitment to every part of their equitable supply chain, sourcing sustainable herbs from traditional growing regions and pioneering compostable packaging in their category.

CONTACT:

Lopa van der Mersch

EMAIL: atyourservice@wearerasa.com

SOURCE: RASA

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/671038/Coffee-Alternative-Maker-Rasa-Is-Now-a-Public-Benefit-Corporation
HANGZHOU, China, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China National Silk Museum recently organized the second Biennale of Natural Dyes (BoND) held from October 22 to 26 in Hangzhou, featuring exhibitions, symposiums and workshops.

The event themed, Reproducing Color Palette of the Past, attracted around 100 participants covering a broad spectrum. On the morning of October 22, audiences visited a contemporary BoND art exhibition which showcases 80 pieces of artwork mostly made from natural dyes, in Fashion Gallery of China National Silk Museum. This exhibition highlights the mixture of tradition and innovation- all artworks were produced based on traditional dyeing and printing techniques by artists and artisans, while the artistic expression of the objects is full of modern tastes.

An international symposium with the same theme was held the following day. Thirteen Chinese speakers gave fascinating presentations on natural dyes from several perspectives, including history, art, ethnology and industrialization. Five international speakers from India, UK, Japan, Australia and Nigeria gave their presentations over video link due to the pandemic. Dr. Zhao Feng, the Director of China National Silk Museum remarked in closing: "I am highly impressed by those presentations combining multi-dimensional visions. They made great use of textile objects in the museum that inspire us to properly utilize natural dyes in various distinctive fields."

Natural dyeing and printing workshops have increasingly gained attention since the last BoND. Three workshops, clamp-resist dyeing, block-printing, and patchwork, were all packed out events during the weekend. All trainees adored the workshops, particularly a patchwork workshop which successfully combined needlework with the Qianlong Color Palette (a series of colors reproduced according to Qing Dynasty archives, has been shown in a historical exhibition in Textile Conservation Gallery since the last month). A participating film and television stylist showed off her work - a coin-patterned ornament - and proudly commented: "Our team joined all three workshops and got quite a lot of information about ancient colors and motifs that will be extremely helpful for our designs in costume dramas."

The next BoND will be held in autumn of 2023, which is expected to have even more domestic and oversea participants participating. The search for a theme for the event is already in progress.

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SEVEN concept previews design and technology innovations of Hyundai Motor's upcoming all-electric SUV

New SUV typology optimized for dedicated BEVs, combined with new interior architecture evoking a premium lounge experience

Hyundai to debut SEVEN concept during AutoMobility LA press conference at 9:55 a.m. , Nov. 17 (PT)

SEOUL, South Korea and FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Company today revealed teaser images of the sleek and spacious SEVEN, an all-electric SUV concept to be fully unveiled at AutoMobility LA later this month.

SEVEN captures Hyundai Motor's future design and technology innovation in the electric mobility era and hints at a new SUV model coming to the IONIQ family, the company's dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV) brand.

The teased images reveal a form following function design that dares to diverge from traditions of the internal combustion engine era. SEVEN's lighting architecture is defined by Parametric Pixels, IONIQ's unique design identity connecting analog with digital emotions.

SEVEN's interior suggests a premium and personalized lounge ambience, deepening the space innovation that Hyundai Motor has shown with IONIQ 5. Furnishings trimmed in sustainable materials offer a refined, eco-friendly mobility experience that reflects the changing lifestyles of its customers.

Hyundai Motor will debut SEVEN during the AutoMobility LA press conference at 9:55 a.m., November 17 (PT). Journalists can attend the conference by visiting Hyundai's booth at the LA Convention Center or watch it digitally. SEVEN will remain on display from November 19 to 28 for the general public to view.

About Hyundai Motor Company

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is present in over 200 countries with more than 120,000 employees dedicated to tackling real-world mobility challenges around the globe. Based on the brand vision 'Progress for Humanity,' Hyundai Motor is accelerating its transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider. The company invests in advanced technologies such as robotics and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to bring about revolutionary mobility solutions, while pursuing open innovation to introduce future mobility services. In pursuit of sustainable future for the world, Hyundai will continue its efforts to introduce zero emission vehicles equipped with industry-leading hydrogen fuel cell and EV technologies.

More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at: http://worldwide.hyundai.com or http://globalpr.hyundai.com

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2021 / Zimtu Capital Corp. (TSXV:ZC)(FSE:ZCT1) (the "Company" or "Zimtu") announces it has signed an agreement with Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXV:CCE)(OTCQX:CMRZF)(FSE:D7H0) to provide its ZimtuADVANTAGE program (https://www.zimtu.com/zimtu-advantage/). Zimtu shall receive $12,500 per month for a period of 12 months for the duration of the contract.

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 Commerce Resources

Commerce Resources Corp. is a junior mineral resource company focused on the development of the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit located in Quebec, Canada. The Company is positioning to be one of the lowest cost rare earth producers globally, with a specific focus on being a long-term supplier of mixed rare earth carbonate and/or NdPr oxide to the global market. The Ashram Deposit is characterized by simple rare earth (monazite, bastnaesite, xenotime) and gangue (carbonates) mineralogy, a large tonnage resource at favourable grade, and has demonstrated the production of high-grade (>45% REO) mineral concentrates at high recovery (>70%) in line with active global producers. In addition to being one of the largest rare earth deposits globally, Ashram is also one of the largest fluorspar deposits globally and has the potential to be a long-term supplier to the met-spar and acid-spar markets. For more information, please visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com or email info@commerceresources.com

About Zimtu Capital

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

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/671093/Zimtu-Capital-Announces-Contract-with-Commerce-Resources
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Australia will on Thursday release September figures for imports, exports, trade balance and retail sales, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In August, imports were down 1.0 percent on month and exports were up 4.0 percent for a trade surplus of A$15.077 billion. Retail sales are expected to rise 1.3 percent on month after sinking 1.7 percent in August. Japan will see October results for the services and composite indexes from Jibun Bank; in September, their scores were 47.8 and 47.9, respectively. Thailand will see October figures for its consumer confidence index; in September, the index score was 41.4. Finally, the markets in Malaysia and Singapore are closed on Thursday for Diwali and will re-open 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.
illumigyn, a Neve Ilan, Israel-based developer of a gynecological platform, raised $33m in funding to date.

Backers included the Yozma Group Korea and Ubicom Holdings Japan.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its plans to bring gynecological imaging to women across the globe, starting this month with deployments in the United States, United Arab Emirates, India, Singapore, and South Korea.

Founded by Ran Poliakine and Lior Greenstein, illumigyn is a remote gynecological imaging platform featuring the Gynescope System, an FDA cleared gynecology endoscope and a cloud platform service with an accompanying mobile application.

The first FDA-cleared remote gynecological platform, the Gynescope, digitally documents the cervix, vagina, and external genitalia. High-quality resolution and magnification enhance details beyond the capabilities of traditional cervix exams, enabling more accurate pap smears. The illumigyn Gynescope can be handled by any trained caregiver (OB/GYN, GP, Midwife, Nurse Practitioner, and Physician Assistant) so that women of all individual sensitivities can be assessed in a safe space. The HIPAA-compliant solution automatically uploads and securely stores images to the cloud. This allows a doctor or specialist to view the images remotely and provides women with access to their scans and doctors recommendations.

FinSMEs

03/11/2021
Mynt, a Manila, Philippines-based digital financial solutions provider behind the GCash payment services app, raised over $300m in funding, valuing it at over $2 billion.

The round was led by Warburg Pincus, Insight Partners, and Bow Wave Capital, with participation from Itai Tsiddon and Amplo Ventures as well as capital from Globe and Ayala.

The company intends to use the funds to further expand its digital financial services offerings and support the Philippines financial inclusion agenda.

Led by Martha Sazon, President and CEO, Mynt is a go-to payment and financial services solution for over 48 million users. The company offers a full array of financial services, spanning credit, savings, insurance, loans, and investments.

GCash is the #1 Financial App in the Philippines. Through the GCash App, customers can purchase prepaid airtime, pay bills at over 600 partner billers nationwide, send and receive money anywhere in the Philippines, even to other bank accounts, purchase from over 3M partner merchants and social sellers, and get access to savings, credit, insurance and invest money, all via their smartphones. GCash has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.) since 2015. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Fuse and other banking partners, the company also offers credit to its users, on the back of its proprietary trust and scoring platform. GCredit disburses over P1 billion worth of loans each month, with P15 billion worth having been disbursed as of June 2021. Mynt also piloted GLoan, a cash loan product that allows qualified users to borrow as much as P25,000, with repayment spread over 12 months. The company is looking to launch Buy Now, Pay Later products within the year.

GCash has also launched a sustainability initiative in the country via its GForest feature, a gamified environmental stewardship program where users can convert their green points acquired from using GCash into a virtual tree, which in turn would be planted as an actual tree in critical locations within the Philippines. To date, there are over 8.7 million users of the GForest feature within the app.

The company is on track to reach PHP3 trillion of gross transaction value.

FinSMEs

03/11/2021
owl.co, a North American provider of an insurance claims monitoring platform, raised $30M in Series B funding.

The round, which brought overall funding to $40m, was led by Cota Capital with participation from Sorenson Ventures, FUSE, Impression Ventures, Luge Capital and Plug and Play Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to scale its insurance claims monitoring platform and expand its team, increasing its full-time staff in the U.S. and Canada by 20% before the end of 2021, with additional hiring planned for 2022.

Led by Sean Merat, CEO, owl.co provides an insurance claims monitoring platform that enables insurance providers to stop unwarranted claim payments, release reserves, and adjust expenses, helping keep premiums down, ultimately saving consumers money. The system automatically detects significant losses from malingering, exaggerated, or non-eligible claims.

Founded in 2018, the company has offices in Vancouver, B.C., Toronto, New York and Seattle.

FinSMEs

03/11/2021
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realme launched the 4K Smart Google TV Stick as the Indias first 4K Google TV Stick last month. It has HDR 10+ support, has dual-band Wi-Fi, HDMI 2.1 and comes with a Bluetooth voice remote control. Is this worth the price? Is this a better deal compared to Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Mi Box 4K? Let us dive into the review to find out.

Box Contents

realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick

Remote

Power Supply (5V-1A)

micro USB Cable

HDMI Extender

User Guide

The realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick is a tiny little stick that is made of plastic and is similar to other TV sticks available in the market. It has a realme logo on the front along with an LED indicator. It measures 29.8 x 90 x 14.5 mm and weighs 30 grams.

You can see the model number RMV2105, Made in India branding, and it also mentions 5V-1A input on the back of the stick.

There is an HDMI port on the left side, and the company says that it supports HDMI 2.1. You can also see the micro USB power port on the side. Even though you can power the stick using the micro USB port on the TV, the company recommends using the power adapter since some TVs might not offer 5W output. It doesnt have any other ports.

The remote resembles the one that comes with realme TVs with power button, microphone hole, mute button and nav pad, but this comes with Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video and even YouTube music shortcut buttons. You can also see back, Home and settings button, and the Google Assistant button is present between the volume buttons. The microphone on the remote picks up the voice commands clearly.

Software and apps

This is the first Android streaming stick to run on the latest Google TV platform that runs above Android TV, where you will find curated content from your multiple streaming services like Netflix, Prime, etc. This uses Googles knowledge graph and users experience in creating personalized content, Google TV curates and organizes movies, shows, and more from across your apps and subscriptions into one place.

It runs Android TV OS 11 with August security patch.

You can find Search, Home, Apps and Library sections. The settings option give a notification panel on the side, similar to what you find on phones. The watchlist feature that lets you quickly bookmark and save any content that you plan to watch later. Watchlists can also be updated from the Google app on your smartphone.

There is Ambient mode that can show art gallery from curated images, weather, time, portrait Google photos from your profile, and can also automatically curate photos and display them as a screensaver.

Clicking the apps shows all the apps installed. It has Netflix, YouTube, Hotstar, Zee5, Voot, MX Player, Sunnxt, Sony Liv, Apple TV, Alt Balaji and YouTube Music pre-installed. You can download more apps and games from the Google Play Store.

Performance

The stick is powered by Amlogic Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A35 processor clocked at up to 2GHz and Mali G31 dual-core GPU. Navigation with the remote is smooth without any lags. The Google TV UI takes some time to get the best experience after turning on, and there is a slight lag when you open several apps in the background. It is not as smooth compared to Amazon Fire TV stick. Hope realme can fix it with an update.

The manufacture of the stick is Skyworth Digital. Out of 2GB of RAM you get 1.9GB of RAM. Out of 8GB of internal storage, only 4.49GB is usable.

It supports a lot of audio and video codecs and can play 4K video at up to 60fps. This includes H.265 HEVC, H.264 as well as MPEG 1/2/4. It natively supports RM, MOV, VOB, AVI, MKV, TS, Mp4 and 3D video formats, MP3, APE and FLAC audio formats with DOLBY and DTS.

The stick has HDR support, but it doesnt have Dolby Vision. 12-bit color format is default, and there is no option to switch from SDR to HDR.

Since it has Widevine L1 certification, it can play up to 4K content on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other streaming apps, but we had issues with Netflix which didnt play 4K content properly, but Amazon Prime didnt have issues. However, Prime video doesnt support Dolby 5.1 channel audio. We didnt test it, but users have reported that Hotstar doesnt support 4K. Hope realme will fix these issues in the future update.

Connectivity

It has Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4GHz/5GHz) and Bluetooth 5.0 (AIDA64 shows it has Bluetooth 4+). There is an HDMI 2.1 port. Since it is a streaming stick, there is no audio out or an option to connect external drives. In 5GHz Wi-Fi, it clocked 355Mbps download speed and 152Mbps upload speed in an 1Gbps connection, which is better than the Wi-Fi speed in some TVs.

Conclusion

So, should get the realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick? If you already have an old 4K non-smart TV that doesnt run any streaming apps, this is a decent pick, but only after realme fixes the existing issues in the software. The new Google TV experience is good, and it has HDR support, but there is no Dolby Vision.

However, there is Amazon Fire TV stick that is selling an offer price of Rs. 2,999 instead of Rs. 5,999 launch price, and also comes with Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and doesnt have any 4K or HDR streaming issues. The Mi Box 4k with audio out and a USB port is also a good option.

Availability

The realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick is priced at Rs. 3999, but it is available at an offer price of Rs. 2999 from Flipkart and Rs. 3499 from realme.com for a limited period.
Bettina Lerman was on a ventilator for weeks after getting COVID-19 and hadn't responded to doctors' efforts to wake her from a coma when her family made the difficult decision to take her off of life support.
Artal Perfumes: A New Omani Brand

Fragrance Reviews

At BeautyWorld Middle East 2021, I met several new niche brands of the region. One of them, the Omani brand Artal Perfumes (not to be confused with the eponymous perfume brand from Qatar), was introduced to me by Shadi Samra, formerly the Fragrance du Bois perfumer and manager who is an independent perfumer now.

SHADI SAMRA: The owners of the Artal Perfumes brand are three young men from Oman. They started their acquaintance with the perfume business in the UK, after which they started in Oman. The brand entered the perfumer market in February 2021. So far, their products are available mainly on online resources and on Instagram, plus on the shelves of several perfumery boutiques in Oman. They approached me to create something special for their brand.

I am often meeting with new brands which ask me to create fragrances, but what I liked about the Artal Perfumes owners is that they are very ambitious and they have a clear vision of their future. They decided to release unique, special fragrances using high quality oud oil. They want to repeat the success of the most famous Omani perfume brand Amouage, but with a different business strategy. They represent the highest quality at an affordable price to make a good impression. So I agreed to work with them.

The first Artal fragrance is a very commercial scent, a tribute to popular perfumery profile. When you smell it, you will immediately feel what I mean. But it has its own special vibe and difference as well.



Rooted in Oman, the land of frankincense, we at Artal Perfumes aim to stay true to the meaning of our name Beauty within everything.



We aim to bring the beauty in all the notes that the perfumery world has to offer and blend it into perfumed messages that are encapsulated within our bottles.



 brand's mission





Three fragrances of Artal Perfumes have a clear color code of bottles and boxes: Lavish Lazuli, as befits lapis lazuli, has a deep blue color; Marque De Rubis is painted in ruby shades; and Elixir De Esmeralda is emerald-colored. As you can see, all fragrances are associated with precious stones, and they form the Wahaj ("shining," or "very bright") collection.

I started my acquaintance with the Artal Perfumes collection with Lavish Lazuli, and it really turned out to be a very rich and generous oriental scent. Yes, its connection with the inspiring fragrance is obvious enough  only those who have never smelled Baccarat Rouge 540 will not be able to find out the characteristic profile (saffron, Hedione, Ambroxan, Evernyl). But it's not a copy; there are also differences aside from the color code. For example, a characteristic trait of Omani fragrances is the cloudy, woody smell of Omani frankincense. An interesting effect lurking in the perfume heart  a sudden green, fresh note reminiscent of mint against a background of ambergris. But the main difference is the solid, rich note of Cambodian oud oil, which fills the opening accord of Lavish Lazuli with a soft animal warmth and complements the sweet amber base with its dry wood smoke. Those looking for "Baccarat Rouge without the medicine accord"...here you are.

Lavish Lazuli Artal Perfumes

Top notes: Saffron and Nagarmotha;

Middle notes: Frankincense;

Base notes: Oud, Ambergris, and Musk.

The next fragrance, Marque De Rubis, was not such an obvious dedication to international success, at least for me. A transparent citrus beginning is brightened with a spicy accord of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The spices extend deep into the perfume heart, meeting the leathery, light powdery accord and chocolate-like patchouli. And then  a dry, gray-brown massive base made of frankincense, cedarwood, ambergris, leather, and oakmoss. Of course, again the warm and homey smell of the stable in the soft animalic shade of Cambodian oud. With its dry, spicy woody scent, Marque De Rubis seems very familiar.

There is something of Interlude Amouage in its calmness and poise, but not so fluffy and annoyingly sweet. There are parts from Tuscan Leather and Oud Wood in it. In general, its familiar profile can be compared to so many fragrances, from Black Afgano to natural oud oil. But I cannot put my finger on the exact starting perfume. Marque De Rubis has all 50+ shades of gray and ends with black  with quinolines leather, mosses, Ambrocenide, Cashmeran, and oud oil. The ideal evening masculine fragrance  not very loud or bright, reliable, rough and a little prickly, like an unshaven cheek. Almost eternal in lasting power, as well.

Marque De Rubis Artal Perfumes

Top notes: Ambergris and Saffron;

Middle notes: Oud and Woody notes;

Base notes: Incense and Leather.

The newest fragrance, Elixir De Esmeralda, went on sale just a week ago, but perfumer Shadi Samra introduced me to it long before the official launch. It is as rich, oriental and dark as the first two, but much colder, metallic fresh, and even with a touch of green in the beginning. This is the most saffron-laden perfume of all three; only in this fragrance did I notice that saffron runs like a red thread through the entire Artal Perfumes collection, as does the accord of Omani incense and Cambodian oud. This makes Elixir De Esmeralda an austere rigid masculine scent, a dark mysterious representative of the woody-leather family. It reminds me of dry night sand or Sahraa, the bestselling Fragrance du Bois fragrance, without the rose or any other floral notes.

After smelling Elixir De Esmeralda, I formulated for myself the general message of the collection: Darkness. Mystery of the deep caves. Black shadows of the night. If all the fragrances in the collection are dedicated to precious stones, then the stones do not have enough sunlight to shine in full force. These perfumes are reminiscent of the treasures of Ali Baba's cave, which recall the daylight when they sparkled happily, giving happiness and delights, and now mysteriously flicker in the darkness...

Elixir De Esmeralda Artal Perfumes

Top notes: Black Currant, Saffron, Bergamot, and Grapefruit;

Middle notes: Oud, Frankincense, Violet, and Leather;

Base notes: Cambodian Oud, Musk, Ambergris, and Olibanum.

Artal Perfumes are available in Eau de Parfum concentration, in 100 ml bottles at the price of 33-36 Omani rials (USD 78-93), via the official Instagram account of the brand @Artalofficial (worldwide delivery). In addition, the brand offers oud oil at a very appealing price (28-30 rials for quarter tola, or three grams of oil). By purchasing Artal Perfumes, you are helping the Nidaa Charity organisation.


A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children five to 12 years old is shown at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga.,Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.(AP Photo/Ben Gray)
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Work with your past self, create paradoxes to use to your advantage, and defeat an evil wizard (easy, right?)
A vote deciding the fate of a proposed expansion of the Coffin Butte landfill has been put off until at least December  or perhaps into next year if, as expected, the decision results in an appeal.

The Benton County Planning Commission's public hearing Tuesday on Republic Services proposal to expand its landfill required nearly 4 hours  and the matter remains unresolved.

Requests by Republic and others to hold the record open, meanwhile, meant that no deliberations or vote were held on the controversial proposal.

Deliberations on the application are now set for Dec. 7 (see the information box for the schedule). Even then, the decision may not be final: Any outcome is subject to possible appeals to the Benton County Board of Commissioners or the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

Last month the county's Solid Waste Advisory Council voted 5-1 to recommend approval of Republic Services conditional use permit. The recommendation was forwarded with concerns and stipulations for the Planning Commission to consider.

Republic hopes to expand its north Benton County landfill across Coffin Butte Road and vacate the road. A new road would be built south of the expanded landfill area that would dead-end at Soap Creek Road. The trash hauler, which is based in Phoenix, said the expansion would add 30-plus years of life to the regional landfill, which largely serves Benton, Linn, Polk, Lincoln, Lane and Marion counties.

The company says it needs the expansion because the current landfill site will fill up in approximately four years, with the adjacent Knife River quarry not available to accept waste for perhaps another eight to 10 years. The quarry, Republic officials said, has a potential lifespan of 15 years before it reaches capacity.

Tuesdays public hearing featured a staff report, more than an hour of questions from commissioners, a report from Republic officials and consultants and approximately 80 minutes of testimony from 13 members of the public.

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All those testifying oppose the granting of the conditional use permit that Republic needs to expand the landfill. The residents said their key concerns were that other roads leading out of the area are inferior to Coffin Butte Road, potential groundwater and well contamination, the possibility of cancer clusters among nearby residents, flaws in the process and the undue burden of having the landfill in Benton County.

The groundwater issue is particularly sticky because it is out of the county's jurisdiction. The state Department of Environmental Quality is charged with reviewing that piece of the Republic proposal, although the DEQ only will be involved if the county approves the application.

"That's a difficult question," Greg Verret, Benton County community development director, said of the groundwater discussion. "We're relying on the DEQ and their monitors and their rules. Groundwater, yeah, that's a consideration, but it's not in our code and we don't have the experience."

One of the reasons Republic requested to hold the record open was to complete work on and analyze the results of a noise study. Consultant Greg Blackmore of Blackmore Planning and Development Services of Bend noted that the study will not be "accepted, reviewed and analyzed" and forwarded to the county until Nov. 19.

Republic also agreed to "stop the clock" on the 150-day rule that aims to ensure quick action on land-use applications.

The evening had its share of glitches and challenges. Some folks who had signed up for the virtual event had trouble seeing the video  or having their video or slide show appear on the shared screen. Weird squalls of feedback often interrupted speakers. At one point commissioner John McEvoy went "missing," but he popped back into view moments later, saying he had just stepped away from his camera for a moment.

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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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is awarding a grant of $1.7 million to build an activities room for the memory care unit at the Edward C. Allworth Veterans Home in Lebanon, according to an announcement from U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield.

DeFazio said that he believes there is an obligation to properly care for those who served in the nations military.

Memory care facilities require accommodations that cant be provided by normal assisted living facilities, DeFazio said in his announcement. These funds will help improve quality of care for the residents of the Lebanon Veterans Home by expanding their activities room for the memory care unit  helping senior veterans struggling with memory disorders stay active.

Kelly Fitzpatrick, director of Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, which owns the states two veterans homes, said the state agency is grateful for the federal grant.

This funding will improve the quality of life for our honored residents in Lebanon at a time when they need hope and support, Fitzpatrick said in a statement included in DeFazios announcement.

Fitzpatrick later said by email that the new activity room will improve care for the residents in several ways, offering a change of scenery and the opportunity to interact with others in engaging, innovative ways. She said spaces such as this one are critical to the overall health and well-being of long-term care residents.

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The recreation team at our veterans homes has done a phenomenal job  particularly during the challenges of the pandemic  finding safe, socially distanced activities for our residents that help improve their mobility and enrich their lives, and this dedicated space will give them more room to work with, Fitzpatrick wrote.

The new addition is expected to be complete by the end of November 2021, according to an ODVA spokesman.

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Corvallis voters strongly backed the three city charter amendments on Tuesday nights ballot, according to unofficial returns from the Benton County Elections office.

City voters also elected Tracey Yee to fill a vacancy on the City Council for Ward 8. Yee, who previously ran for the seat in 2014, is a retired human resources administrator for Oregon State University who also served as the first chair of the Community Involvement and Diversity Advisory Board.

She ran without opposition and will be sworn in at the first council session after the vote is certified, perhaps as early as Nov. 15. Yee received more than 96% of the vote in the northwest Corvallis precinct.

The three measures deal with filling council vacancies (Measure 2-132), hiring the city manager (Measure 2-131) and changing the pronouns used in the city charter (Measure 2-133. All three measures were leading comfortably, with more than 60% of voters backing them  66.46% for 131, 60.13% for 132 and 67.56% for 133.

Ward 4 Councilor Gabe Shepherd, the director of the political action committee which worked to support the measures, issued the following statement Tuesday night about the results:

"I am grateful to the voters of Corvallis for their overwhelming support of measures that will improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of our local government. The residents of Corvallis should be proud that they voted in three policies of good governance this evening."

Here is a look at the three measures, all of which were forwarded to the ballot by unanimous votes of the Corvallis City Council:

Measure 2-132

This measure creates an appointments process for filling vacancies on the City Council. Currently, a special election must be held when vacancies occur.

The issue has come up three times in recent years. Mark Page moved out of Ward 8 in May of 2018, but he was able to retain his seat until the next election, in November 2018, installed Ed Junkins. Bill Glassmire left Ward 7 in August, 2019, for health reasons. He was replaced by Paul Shaffer, who was elected in a five-way race in November, 2019. The city paid the cost of that election because it came outside the usual state ballot cycle.

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Junkins then left in June to take a position at his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

In all three cases either Ward 8 or Ward 7 residents spent months without representation. And the council was reduced to eight members, making ties more likely.

The charter amendment calls for filling vacancies within 60 days via a council vote after nominations from the ward and a public hearing.

The goal of Measure 2-132, according to the statement in the voters pamphlet, will be to limit the amount of time a ward is without direct representation on the council, vital during controversial votes and issues.

Measure 2-131

This measure changes the recruiting process for the city manager position. Currently, the charter requires an opening be filled within six months, a challenging task in modern municipal hiring.

The mandate changes to two years and extends the amount of time someone can serve in an interim role.

The issue came up in Corvallis before Mark Shepard was hired to replace Jim Patterson. Patterson left in August 2013, with Shepard assuming the position in May 2015. The recruitment required two candidate pools, with city Finance Director Nancy Brewer serving as city manager pro tem and then interim city manager because the city had to act once six months had passed.

Measure 2-133

This measures calls for changes in pronoun use in the charter to update the document to modern usage and also remove ambiguity.

When possible, said the statement from measure backers in the pamphlet, gender specific and binary pronouns would be replaced with the noun, title or position from the same sentence, paragraph or section. Where using a pronoun is necessary, the pronouns they or their are used as the singular non-gender specific pronoun.

The charter as currently composed has 30 such instances.

The political action committee, called Good Governance Corvallis, formed to promote the three initiatives, led by Shepherd and Mayor Biff Traber (treasurer for the PAC).

The group raised approximately $1,150 and spent $900 on statements for the voters pamphlet in favor of the three measures. No statements were filed against any of the measures.

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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With children ages 5 to 11 now eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines, Oregon expects to make doses available as soon as this week.

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 14-0 to recommend the pediatric Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 through 11.

In a news release issued Tuesday afternoon, the Oregon Health Authority said it expects the CDCs director to endorse the committees decision. At about the same time, CDC director Rochelle Walensky issued the recommendation.

We are excited to be able to start immunizing school-age children against COVID-19, which should bring relief to many parents and guardians, and those who work in education and child care, OHA Director Patrick Allen said in a news release. We hope vaccinating kids will help our communities continue to build population immunity that will protect our children, help keep them in school and ultimately bring this pandemic to an end.

The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, which is composed of Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada health experts, was set to meet Tuesday night to consider the recommendation.

As early as Wednesday, state health officials may begin issuing standing orders that will allow providers to start administering vaccinations to children five years and older.

OHA is assisting with preparations at provider sites around the state.

The Food and Drug Administration previously authorized the vaccine for children ages 5 through 11 on Oct. 26.

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According to OHA, around 120,000 initial, pre-order doses are headed to Oregon and have been ordered by vaccination providers. Delivery is expected to happen this week through Nov. 8 with supplies going to about 350 provider locations throughout the state. Every county in the state has sites that will receive pre-order shipments.

The federal government also offered 60,000 doses to pharmacy chains. There are orders going to 87 pharmacy sites in Oregon.

OHA estimated the 180,000 in total Pfizer doses will last four to six weeks.

OHA is also working with the Oregon Department of Education, local public health authorities, the health care industry, community-based organizations and additional vaccine providers to make doses readily available at public and private schools, child care facilities, community sites and other locations easily accessible to families and education providers, Allen said.

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UNITED NATIONS (AP)  China and Russia are urging the U.N. Security Council to end a host of sanctions against North Korea including a ban on exports of seafood and textiles, a cap on imports of refined petroleum products and a prohibition on its citizens working overseas and sending home their earnings.

A draft resolution circulated to council members and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press stresses the economic difficulties in North Korea and says these and other sanctions should be lifted with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population.

The Security Council initially imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test in 2006 and made them tougher in response to further nuclear tests and an increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile program. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in 2018 that the sanctions had cut off all North Korean exports and 90% of its trade and disbanded the pool of workers which North Korea sent abroad to earn hard currency.

The draft resolution expands on a similar resolution Russia and China circulated in December 2019. It faced opposition from Western nations when it was discussed and was never formally introduced at the council for a vote.

Several U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the draft has not been made public, indicated it would likely face a similar uphill struggle, pointing to North Korea's continuing violations of U.N. sanctions.

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said North Korea has failed to comply with sanctions on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the Biden administration remains committed to the sanctions regime" and calls on all member states to enforce the measures.

On Oct. 19, North Korea fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine in its fifth round of weapons tests in recent weeks, all of which violated U.N. sanctions. It was the Norths first underwater-launched test since October 2019 and the highest-profile test since President Joe Biden took office in January.

The China-Russia draft resolution makes no mention of the missile tests. Instead, it notes that North Korea has refrained from conducting nuclear tests since September 2017, has kept to a moratorium on further nuclear tests and test launches of intermediate-range and intercontinental missiles from April 21, 2018, and has taken additional denuclearization measures since.

The proposed resolution underscores the necessity to respect the legitimate security concerns of the DPRK and ensure the welfare, inherent dignity and rights of people in the DPRK," using the initials of North Korea's official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. It reaffirms that U.N. resolutions are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences and notes the serious impact of sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic" within the country.

North Korean is struggling to deal with soaring prices of goods and shortages of medicine and other essential supplies that have accelerated the spread of water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever. The country has yet to report any cases of the coronavirus though experts have questioned its claim of a perfect record.

The China-Russia draft calls on all U.N. member nations to intensity their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, including but not limited to food, fertilizer and medical supplies, and to provide goods, materials, technology and financial services needed by North Korea to combat COVID-19, improve livelihoods and develop the economy.

The draft resolution would lift a ban on North Korea importing some industrial machinery and transport vehicles used to build infrastructure that cant be diverted to the countrys nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The long list of construction and humanitarian items that would be exempt from sanctions includes bulldozers and firefighting vehicles; materials for railways and traffic control; air conditioners and radiators for heating; iron or steel parts for roofs and windows; screws and bolts; sewing needles and vacuum cleaners; kitchen utensils and equipment; agricultural equipment, bicycles and fire extinguishers.

The draft would end a ban on North Korean government representatives or groups engaging in scientific and technical cooperation. It would also allow a resumption of exports of giant statues produced in the North.

On the political front, the China-Russia draft welcomed the positive outcomes of talks between North and South Korea and between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At Kims second summit with Trump in Hanoi in February 2019, negotiations faltered after the U.S. rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of the Norths nuclear capabilities.

The proposed resolution calls on the U.S. and North Korea to resume dialogue aimed at building lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. It calls on all parties to consider taking further steps to reduce military tension and the risks of military confrontation, including by adopting a declaration or peace treaty formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War. The war ended with an armistice, leaving the peninsula technically in a state of war.

South Korea, which has expressed a desire for engagement with North Korea within the boundaries of the U.N. sanctions, did not immediately react to China and Russias proposals for lifting sanctions on the North.

During a period of diplomacy in 2018, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met three times with North Korea's leader and vowed to resume inter-Korean economic cooperation when possible, expressing optimism that the sanctions would end and allow such projects.

But North Korea cut off cooperation with South Korea as its diplomacy with the Trump administration derailed in 2019.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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

Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 52F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Steady light rain in the evening. Showers continuing late. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Gettysburg, PA (17325)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 31F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 31F. Winds light and variable.
SEATTLE, Nov. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corum announces today that their client, Texas-based AVATA, a leading services provider for supply chain management, enterprise resource planning and enterprise performance management solutions, has been acquired by Rockwell Automation, Inc., based in Wisconsin. AVATA will be integrated into Rockwells Lifecycle Services business, Kalypso, expanding their supply chain consulting services to support end-to-end digital transformation solutions across the enterprise and onto the plant floor and beyond to the extended supply chain.



Rockwell Automation is the recognized leader in industrial digital transformation. Their LifecycleIQ Services help manufacturing facilities work faster, smarter and with greater agility at every lifecycle stage, said Allan Wilson, Corum Senior Vice President who led the deal. The acquisition of AVATA will deepen their expertise in supply chain innovation. It was an honor to facilitate this transaction.

Corums facilitation of the acquisition created the optimal outcome for the shareholders and employees of AVATA, stated Anil Thomas, CEO of AVATA, adding, Being part of the Rockwell Automation team will allow us to help even more companies use digital transformation initiatives to drive value and competitive advantage throughout the extended supply chain.

Corum is the world's leading educator on tech trends, valuations, growth strategies and Tech M&A. Allan Wilson will host a 90-minute executive seminar and Tech M&A update, Merge Briefing, on November 4th, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM PDT. To register, visit www.corumgroup.com/events.

About Corum Group

Corum Group is the global leader in merger and acquisition services, specializing in serving sellers of software and related technology companies worldwide. With offices globally, Corum has completed over $10B in software M&A transactions over the last 36 years. Corum's M&A advisors are highly experienced former tech CEOs, supported by industry-leading researchers, writers and valuators. For more information, visit www.corumgroup.com.

About AVATA

AVATA is a leading strategic partner of Oracle and is recognized for its global capabilities in helping companies solve critical business challenges through people, processes, and technology. AVATA offers the unique blend of real-world industry experience, best practices, and software expertise that sets them apart from pure system integrators. Leveraging Oracle SCM, ERP, and EPM Cloud solutions, they provide clients with a strategy that fits their organization and competitive processes that differentiate them in their respective markets and successfully deliver rapid improvements impacting bottom-line performance. AVATA is headquartered in the US with resources throughout the USA, Australia, India, and Europe. For more info, visit www.AVATA.com.

About Kalypso

Kalypso, a Rockwell Automation company, is a professional services firm helping clients discover, create, make and sell better products with digital. The firm provides consulting, digital, technology, business process management, and managed services across the innovation value chain. For more information, visit www.kalypso.com.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc. is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. Rockwell Automation connects the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 24,000 problem solvers dedicated to customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about Rockwell Automation, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.

Contact:

Heidi Owen

+1 425-526-3107

heidio@corumgroup.com
English French

TORONTO, Nov. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noranda Income Fund (TSX: NIF.UN) (the Fund) today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021. Except where otherwise indicated, all amounts in this press release are expressed in US dollars.



Third Quarter 2021 Highlights (compared to same period in 2020)

Earnings before income taxes of $5.9 million compared to a loss of $4.1 million

Adjusted EBITDA 1 of $5.7 million compared to $14.3 million

of $5.7 million compared to $14.3 million Zinc metal production of 64,063 tonnes compared to 64,748 tonnes

Zinc metal sales of 63,676 tonnes compared to 64,749 tonnes

Sulphuric acid sales of 95,821 tonnes compared to 93,588 tonnes



Our third quarter financial results reflect both higher zinc and by-product prices and suppressed treatment charges in what remained a tight zinc concentrate market, said Paul Einarson, Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Limited, the Funds manager. From an operational standpoint, we are on track to achieve our 2021 zinc production and sales target of between 260,000 and 270,000 tonnes and continue to move forward with our strategic expansion projects. While labour and supply chain challenges are putting pressure on our budget and timeline, these continue to be manageable and to date, have not impacted the planned gradual ramp up of our zinc production by an additional 10,000 tonnes in 2022, added Mr. Einarson.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year and 2022, our sector continues to be impacted by global supply chain pressures, rising energy prices in Europe, anticipated metal production curtailments and power availability concerns in China. While this has led to an increase in commodity prices, it has not yet translated into an increase in spot treatment charges. In this context, there is uncertainty if there will be a meaningful increase in this key revenue driver for the Fund before 2022 when the projected zinc concentrate market surplus materializes, concluded Mr. Einarson.

Executive Officer Appointments

The Fund also announced today the appointment of Paul Einarson as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Sylvain Lirette as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Funds manager.

Both Paul and Sylvain bring a deep understanding of our industry as well as the unique nature of the Fund, and have been instrumental in supporting the Fund in the achievement of its business objectives over the last several years, with the support of CEZIncs management team. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I wish to congratulate them on these well-deserved appointments and look forward to their continued leadership as we work diligently to improve the Funds long-term profitability, said Anthony Lloyd, Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Paul Einarson, CPA, CA, has been interim CEO of the Funds manager since early 2021, and CFO since 2018. A seasoned finance executive, Mr. Einarson has spent over 20 years in senior management positions with various publicly traded companies, including the last 15 years in the resource sector. He joined Glencore Canada Corporation in 2014. Mr. Einarson holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Manitoba.

Sylvain Lirette, CPA, CA, has been Manager of Finance and Administration of the Funds manager since joining CEZinc in 2014. Prior to that, Mr. Lirette held senior finance roles for over 15 years in various industries. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration and Accounting from Universite Laval.

Financial Results for the Third Quarter 2021

Revenues were $204.8 million compared to $136.5 million for the same period of 2020. The increase of 50% is mainly due to higher zinc and by-product prices.

Revenues less raw material purchase costs and derivative financial instruments loss (gain) (Net Revenues) were $44.9 million compared to $39.1 million for the same period of 2020. The increase was a net result of higher zinc prices, lower treatment charges and the loss on derivative instruments in 2021 versus a gain in 2020.

Adjusted Net Revenues2 were $41.0 million compared to $49.3 million in the same period last year. Lower Adjusted Net Revenues reflect lower treatment charges partially offset by higher zinc prices compared to 2020.

Production costs before change in inventory were $32.8 million, $1.4 million higher than the $31.4 million recorded for the same period in 2020.

Unit production costs3 were $512 per tonne for the three months ended September 30, 2021 compared to $485 per tonne in the same period of 2020, mainly explained by the impact of the strengthening of the Canadian dollar compared to the US dollar.

Liquidity Position and Distribution Policy

As at September 30, 2021, the Funds asset-based revolving credit facility (the ABL Facility) was $132.4 million, down from $141.8 million at the end of December 31, 2020. The Funds senior secured metal liability, as at September 30, 2021, was $45.1 million, up from $31.1 million as at December 31, 2020. The Funds cash as at September 30, 2021 increased to $1.0 million from $0.2 million as at December 31, 2020.

Cash provided by operating activities for the three months ended September 30, 2021 was $29.8 million, including a positive $21.3 million decrease in non-cash working capital mainly due to a decrease in inventories and a decrease in accounts receivables. In the same period of 2020, cash used in operating activities was $3.1 million, including a positive $18.6 million decrease in non-cash working capital due to an increase in accounts payables and a decrease in inventories partially offset by an increase in accounts receivables.

Based on the Funds current liquidity position and capital requirements, as well as continued challenging market conditions, the Fund has limited ability to pay regular distributions, which are subject to the approval of its ABL Facility lenders. The Board continues to carefully monitor and review the Funds financial performance, capital requirements, business environment and prospects on a periodic basis as well as its required levels of reserves and expected future cash flows, in order to determine its ability to pay distributions to unitholders in future.

Production and Sales Outlook for 2021 & 2022

The Funds annual production and sales target for 2021 is between 260,000 to 270,000 tonnes. For 2022, the Fund expects its annual production and sales target to be between 270,000 to 280,000 tonnes, reflecting the planned gradual production ramp up following the commissioning of its strategic expansion projects, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, barring any additional delays due to materials and contractor availability.

For more information on the Funds ongoing expansion projects and the impact of COVID-19, please consult our latest Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A, available on SEDAR and our corporate website.

Market Outlook

The general global economic disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a tight global concentrate market that until this point in 2021 has suppressed treatment charges. As per Wood Mackenzie, the indicative spot treatment charges on Chinese imported concentrates have remained relatively flat, finishing 2020 at $85 per tonne, and are reported at similar levels in September 2021 ($80 per tonne). Over the same period, the prices of zinc, copper and sulphuric acid have increased. Most recently, there has been an increased level of discussion on the impact of supply chain pressures, energy price increases in Europe and the availability of power in China. Specifically in Europe, there have been news reports of zinc smelters constraining production due to the high power costs. Similarly, there is discussion that Chinese zinc production has also been affected by power availability, which is related to coal availability and carbon emission controls. As a result, zinc and copper prices increased sharply in October 2021 even in the absence of a clear quantification of potential or actual production curtailment. There is limited evidence to date of the actual or potential impact of smelter production cuts on spot treatment charges. However, prior to the news of European smelters curtailing production, industry experts were forecasting improved treatment charges, on the basis that their supply and demand analysis projected a concentrate surplus in 2022.

Zinc premiums are also being impacted. North American zinc producers have experienced disruptions in 2020 such as Tecks Trail smelter in British Columbia being affected by forest fires. In 2022, HudBay will close their Flin Flon smelter. Further, there is concern that the zinc volumes previously imported to North America from Europe will no longer be available in the same volumes as in the past. Finally, the transportation industry is also experiencing labour shortages and cost increases. With these contributing factors, CRU is indicating the premium for zinc in North America has doubled since the end of 2020. As well, in their market outlooks, many analysts are of the opinion that the zinc metal market is transitioning from a surplus in 2021 to a deficit in 2022.

The same supply chain and energy challenges that are affecting the zinc smelting industry are also expected to have an impact on other sectors and potentially on the demand for other commodities. As an example, zinc galvanizers in China, another energy-intensive industry and an important end user of zinc, were asked to curtail production in September by 10-15%. Overall, Chinese manufacturing is experiencing challenges due to a slowdown in the real estate sector, supply chain disruptions and power shortages. Chinas National Bureau of Statistics manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index has been decreasing over the last six consecutive months to 49.6% in September, the first time the index has been below 50% since February 2020. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction.

Readers should be advised that the summarized communication presented in this press release is limited in its disclosure. It is not a suitable source of information for readers who are unfamiliar with the Fund, and it is not in any way a substitute for reading the Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A because a reader relying on this summary alone might overlook decision critical information.

Third Quarter 2021 Results Conference Call

When: Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. ET



Dial-in: 1-877-291-4570 (toll-free North America) or 647-788-4919



To access webcast: http://www.norandaincomefund.com/investor/conference.php or

https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=85F1FA23-78FA-4F92-88BA-76845ED9A481

The recording will be available until midnight on November 10, 2021, conference ID 2177923 at 1-800-585-8367 (toll-free North America) or 416-621-4642.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this press release, including statements regarding the Funds production and sales, future business plans and operation of the Processing Facility, future liabilities and obligations of the Fund (including capital expenditures), the ability of the Fund to operate profitably, the dependence upon the continuing supply of zinc concentrates and competition relating thereto, the ability of the Processing Facility to treat a more varied feed quality stream, anticipated trends in zinc concentrate supply and demand, smelting capacity, sulphuric acid market demand and supply, zinc concentrate treatment charges, the anticipated financial and operating results of the Fund, distributions to Unitholders, the scope, timing and completion of the Expansion Projects, the impact of the Expansion Projects on the operations of the Processing Facility, the operating and financial results of the Fund, and the impact of the amendments to the SPA, the Operating and Management Agreement, the Management Services Agreement, the Administration Agreement and the agreements relating to purchases of zinc concentrate and sale of zinc metal are forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of the Funds Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2021 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and the Funds other periodic filings available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Fund; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Fund expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

About the Noranda Income Fund

Noranda Income Fund is an income trust whose units trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NIF.UN. Noranda Income Fund owns the electrolytic zinc processing facility and ancillary assets (the Processing Facility) located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. The Processing Facility is the second-largest zinc processing facility in North America and the largest zinc processing facility in eastern North America, where the majority of zinc customers are located. It produces refined zinc metal and various by-products from sourced zinc concentrates. The Processing Facility is operated and managed by Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore Canada Corporation. Further information about Noranda Income Fund can be found at: www.norandaincomefund.com

For more information: Paul Einarson

Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Limited, Noranda Income Funds Manager

Tel.: 514-745-9380

info@norandaincomefund.com

Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures

1Adjusted EBITDA is used by the Fund as an indication of cash generated from operations. Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized measure under International Financial Reporting Standards and therefore the Funds method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA is unlikely to be comparable to methods used by other entities. The Funds Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by starting from earnings before finance costs and income taxes and adjusting for non-cash items such as depreciation, gain or loss on the sale of assets and changes in fair value of embedded derivatives. In addition, an adjustment is made to reflect the net change in the rehabilitation liabilities (reclamation (recovery) expense less site restoration expenditures), the increase (decrease) in inventory margin and the net change in employee benefits (non-cash employee benefit expenses less employer contributions).





Adjusted EBITDA

For the three months ended September 30 ($ millions) 2021 2020 Earnings (loss) before finance costs and income taxes $ 7.8 $ (2.6 ) Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 3.7 3.5 Net change in residue ponds rehabilitation liabilities (0.6 ) (0.6 ) Senior secured metal liability - embedded derivative change in fair value (2.0 ) 2.9 Derivative financial instrument loss 0.1 0.3 Change in fair value of embedded derivatives (1.9 ) (1.0 ) (Decrease) increase in inventory margin net of change in fair value of embedded derivatives (2.0 ) 11.2 Loss on sale of assets 0.1 0.1 Net change in employee benefits 0.5 0.5 $ 5.7 $ 14.3



2Adjusted Net Revenues is not a recognized measure under International Financial Reporting Standards and therefore the Funds method of calculating Adjusted Net Revenues is unlikely to be comparable to methods used by other entities. Adjusted Net Revenues means net revenues less raw material purchase costs plus (minus) derivative financial instrument gain (loss) (Net Revenues) excluding change in fair value of embedded derivatives and after the change in the inventory margin. The Fund uses Adjusted Net Revenues as it believes it provides the best indication of the net revenues generated in a period and provides the ability to compare net revenues generated in different periods.





Reconciliation of Net Revenues to Adjusted Net Revenues For the three months ended September 30 ($ millions) 2021 2020 Net Revenues $ 44.9 $ 39.1 Change in fair value of embedded derivatives (1.9 ) (1.0 ) (Decrease) increase in inventory margin net of change in fair value of embedded derivatives (2.0 ) 11.2 Adjusted Net Revenues $ 41.0 $ 49.3



3Unit production costs is not a recognized measure under International Financial Reporting Standards and therefore the Funds method of calculating unit production costs may not be comparable to methods used by other entities. Unit production costs means production costs divided by total tonnes of zinc produced. The Fund uses unit production costs as it believes it provides the best indication of the costs of production in a period and provides the ability to compare production costs in different periods.
HOUSTON, Nov. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KA Fund Advisors, LLC ("Kayne Anderson"), which serves as the adviser to Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE: KYN) and Kayne Anderson NextGen Energy & Infrastructure, Inc. (NYSE: KMF), announced that it will host a virtual investor update for KYN and KMF on November 18, 2021.



When: Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time

Where: For registration and event access, visit virtual.kaynecapital.com.

Why Attend? KYN and KMFs fund management team will provide an update on performance, portfolio positioning, and will discuss recent industry events.

Replay: An on-demand replay will be made available shortly following the event at kaynefunds.com.

Submit a Question: If you would like for a specific question to be addressed during this event, please email your question to cef@kaynecapital.com by 3:00 p.m. CT on November 10th.

Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE: KYN) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, whose common stock is traded on the NYSE. The company's investment objective is to provide a high after-tax total return with an emphasis on making cash distributions to stockholders. KYN intends to achieve this objective by investing at least 80% of its total assets in securities of Energy Infrastructure Companies. See Glossary of Key Terms in the company's most recent quarterly report for a description of these investment categories and the meaning of capitalized terms.

Kayne Anderson NextGen Energy & Infrastructure, Inc. (NYSE: KMF) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, whose common stock is traded on the NYSE. The fund's investment objective is to provide a high level of total return with an emphasis on making cash distributions to its stockholders. KMF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its total assets in securities of Energy Companies and Infrastructure Companies. The fund anticipates that the majority of its investments will consist of investments in" NextGen" companies, which we define as Energy Companies and Infrastructure Companies that are meaningfully participating in or benefitting from the Energy Transition. See Glossary of Key Terms in the fund's most recent quarterly report for a description of these investment categories and the meaning of capitalized terms.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer or sale is not permitted. Nothing contained in this press release is intended to recommend any investment policy or investment strategy or consider any investor's specific objectives or circumstances. Please consult with your investment, tax, or legal adviser regarding your individual circumstances before investing.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This communication contains statements reflecting assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions, or beliefs about future events. These and other statements not relating strictly to historical or current facts constitute forward-looking statements as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties. These risks include but are not limited to changes in economic and political conditions; regulatory and legal changes; energy industry risk; leverage risk; valuation risk; interest rate risk; tax risk; and other risks discussed in detail in the company's filings with the SEC, available at www.kaynefunds.com or www.sec.gov. Actual events could differ materially from these statements or our present expectations or projections. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Kayne Anderson undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein. There is no assurance that the company's investment objectives will be attained.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Affinor Growers Inc. (Affinor or the Company) (CSE: AFI OTCQB: RSSFF) is pleased to announce that Ben Hogervorst has joined the Companys Advisory Board to assist with the Companys business execution and 5-year growth plan in Canada and internationally.



Ben Hogervorst is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Britespan Building Systems Inc. Ben and his wife Jenny have been in the fabric building business for over 25 years. In 1995, they became the owners of Cover-All Building Systems of Ontario. In June 2010, Ben partnered with Rob Stute and formed Britespan Building Systems Inc. Under Bens leadership, Britespan has experienced rapid growth and success since its inception and has become an industry leader in providing innovative building solutions, expanding into markets across North America, including the agricultural, commercial, and public works sectors.

Affinor CEO - Nick Brusatore commented: Having Mr. Hogervorst on our advisory team adds building structure manufacturing experience and further design capabilities to Affinor. The possibilities for innovation in agriculture are endless and extremely exciting from a design standpoint. I expect that this relationship will add considerable value to Affinors scaleup plans.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it has granted 5,000,000 stock options (the Options) to two consultants of the Company to purchase 5,000,000 common shares (the Shares) in the capital of the Company pursuant to the Companys share option plan. 4,000,000 Options, which vest immediately, are exercisable at a price of $0.03 per Share and 1,000,000 Options, which vest over the course of their term, are exercisable at a price of $0.05 per Share. The Options have a term of ten (10) years from the date of grant.

About Affinor

Affinor is a publicly traded company listed on the CSE under the symbol AFI and on the OTCQB under the symbol RSSFF. Affinor is focused on developing vertical farming technologies and using those technologies to grow fruits, vegetables, and cannabis in a sustainable manner.

To learn more about Affinor, visit: www.affinorgrowers.com

Nick Brusatore, CEO / Director

604-356-0411

nick@affinorgrowers.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements. All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could or should occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

The securities of the Company referred to in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities of the Company may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
Today, the Board of Directors of The Drilling Company of 1972 A/S (Maersk Drilling) has adopted the trading statement for the third quarter of 2021 (Q3 2021):

Performance highlights for Q3 2021 (Q2 2021 in brackets)

Revenue of USD 333m (USD 350m)

Contracted days were 1,520 (1,520) resulting in a utilisation of 83% (80%)

Average day rate of USD 219k (USD 230k)

Financial uptime of 99.2% (99.8%)

Secured contracts with a total contract value of USD 81m (USD 129m)

Revenue backlog of USD 1.5bn at 30 September 2021 (USD 1.6bn at 30 June 2021). Forward contract coverage for the remainder of 2021 of 73% and 37% for 2022

Divestment of Mrsk Inspirer completed subsequent to quarter end. Pro-forma, revenue backlog decreased to USD 1.0bn and forward contract coverage for the remainder of 2021 is 72% and 34% for 2022.

Guidance 2021

The full-year guidance for 2021 as revised on 19 August 2021 is maintained:

Profit before depreciation and amortisation, impairment losses/reversals and special items (EBITDA before special items) is expected to be in the range of USD 290-330m.

Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of USD 110-130m.

The guidance range reflects ordinary operational and performance uncertainties.

CEO Jrn Madsen quote

I am pleased with our strong operational performance and high-quality service delivery across the Maersk Drilling rig fleet, which keeps us on track to deliver as promised in 2021. The successful closing of the Mrsk Inspirer transaction has significantly bolstered our balance sheet and provides financial flexibility in a market that continues to show clear signs of recovery, albeit with a challenging short-term outlook in the Norwegian jack-up sub-segment.

Webcast

In connection with the release of the Q3 2021 trading statement, a conference call for investors and analysts is scheduled today at 10:00 (10:00 a.m.) CET. On the call, CEO Jrn Madsen and CFO Christine Morris will present the Q3 2021 trading statement. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

The conference call can be followed live via webcast here .

The presentation slides for the conference call will be available beforehand here .

A replay of the conference call will be available afterwards on the Investor Relations site .

For further information, please contact:

Michael Harboe-Jrgensen

Head of Investor Relations

+45 2328 5733

Michael.Harboe-Jorgensen@maerskdrilling.com

Kristoffer Apollo

Head of Media Relations

+45 2790 3102

Kristoffer.Apollo@maerskdrilling.com

Attachments
Company announcement 09/2021: Financial report for the first nine months of 2021

Revenue increase of 6.1% and an operating profit margin before special items of 3.0% related to Q3 2021

Performance highlights for Q3 2021

Revenue increased to DKK 698m, up 6.1% (-1.5% organic) from Q3 2020, driven by: Life Sciences (excluding Novo Nordisk Group) grew to DKK 246m, up 36% (13% organic). The increase was related to the continued significant growth of the Life Sciences International business, where revenues increased by 53% (20% organic) to DKK 187m, while revenue from Life Sciences Denmark was on par with Q3 2020 at DKK 59m. Novo Nordisk Group revenue declined 12.9% to DKK 142m mainly explained by the Global infrastructure management agreement effective from July 1, 2021. Private & Public business revenue declined by 1.3% to DKK 310m, reductions mainly driven by lower activity level in the Infrastructure Operations business area. Winning Solutions constitute 54% of total revenue, up from 46% in Q3 2020.



Operating profit margin before special items was 3.0%, down from 3.8% in Q3 2020. To establish visibility and accelerate cost reductions, a process of separating the NNIT Infrastructure activities into a dedicated business unit is initiated.

Special items amount to DKK 23m. These relate to the continuous efforts in relation to efficiency improvements and restructuring.

Net result is a loss of DKK 10m, compared to a profit of DKK 9m in Q3 2020.

Order backlog for 2021 at the beginning of Q4 2021 amounted to DKK 2,790m, an increase of 3.7% compared to the same time last year.

Outlook for 2021:





Guidance as of November 3, 2021:

Revenue growth of 1-4%

Operating profit margin before special items of around 5%

Investment level of 5-7% of total revenue excluding acquisitions





Par Fors, CEO of NNIT, comments: "Q3 performed below previous quarters, which was in line with expectations and previous years. International Life Sciences continued at high growth rates and is now the largest segment in the Group and Winning Solutions performed satisfactorily. P&P was impacted by a weaker performance within the infrastructure business and focus is now on separation of the infrastructure operations into a dedicated business unit to enhance efficiencies and reduce costs. We are confident in our strategy and maintain our guidance for the year".

Conference call details

NNIT will host a teleconference on November 3, 2021 at 9:30 CET to present the financial report for the first nine months of 2021. Please visit the NNIT website www.nnit.com to access the teleconference, which can be found under Investors  Events & Presentations. Presentation material will be available on the website approximately one hour prior to the start of the presentation

Conference call details:

https://streams.eventcdn.net/nnit/first-ninemonths-of-2021

Participant telephone numbers:

Denmark: +45 82333194 United Kingdom: +44 333 300 9035 Sweden: +46 856 642 692 United States: +1 6467224902

Financial calendar 2022

January 25, 2022 Deadline for NNIT shareholders to submit resolutions to be considered by the Annual General Meeting January 28, 2022 Annual report 2021 March 10, 2022 Annual General Meeting May 6, 2022 Interim report for the first three months of 2022 August 12, 2022 Interim report for the first six months of 2022 November 2, 2022 Interim report for the first nine months of 2022

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Words such as believe, expect, may, will, plan, strategy, prospect, foresee, estimate, project, anticipate, can, intend, outlook, guidance, target and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the future are subject to risks and uncertainties that may result in considerable deviations from the outlook set forth. Furthermore, some of these expectations are based on assumptions regarding future events which may prove incorrect.

Please also refer to the overview of risk factors in the risk management section on page 41-43 of the Annual Report 2020.

Contacts for further information

Media relations: Pernille Fabricius Tina Joanne Hindsbo EVP & CFO Media Relations Manager Tel: +45 3077 9500 Tel: +45 3077 9578 pnfa@nnit.com tnjh@nnit.com

The NNIT Group provides a wide range of IT and consulting services internationally.

In Denmark, where the Group HQ is based, we are one of the leading IT companies, servicing both private and public sector customers across all industries. In the rest of Europe, Asia and USA, we are solely focused on companies within life sciences.

Supporting the entire supply chain, we help optimize internal company processes, production, sales and customer experiences:

We advise, build, operate and support, enabling digital transformation and customers to reap the full potential of their organizations. Our role is to foster innovation and make the mark our customers and we aspire to.

The NNIT Group consists of group company NNIT A/S and subsidiaries Valiance, SCALES Excellis Health Solutions and SL Controls. Together, these companies employ over 3,000 people in Europe, Asia and USA. Read more at www.nnit.com.

Attachment
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zahid Group is proud to announce the launch of its NO TO SINGLE-USE PLASTIC initiative, a commitment to eliminating the use of single-use plastic across Group companies in and out of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the end of 2022. As a leading organization, Zahid Group recognizes the importance of setting the standard and doing its utmost to protect the communities it impacts and the planet.



In line with the Groups ongoing enhancement of sustainable practices, single-use plastics have been identified as an area where significant results can be achieved. The elimination of single-use plastics from all facets of all Group companies and their replacement with environmentally friendly solutions will help protect our seas, oceans, and land.

Mr. Zayd M. Zahid, Zahid Groups Chief Executive Officer commented, We all see the harm single-use plastics have on our environment and we can no longer afford to not be part of the solution. The effects of single-use plastics are far reaching - damaging our environment, adding to the climate change problems, destroying marine life, damaging landscapes and coastlines and ultimately harming each of us and our loved ones. Left unchecked, the harmful impact we are witnessing today, will have devastating effects on our planet and future generations. In achieving our stated goal of removing single-use plastics from all our operations, we will have a significant, positive impact on our families, communities, and planet.

The goal is clear, the commitment is second-to-none and the work has already started. Every Zahid Group employee and their families are part of the solution. Their efforts will have a direct impact in reducing the pollution to the planet and protecting the environment; therewith setting an example for others to follow.

About Zahid Group

Zahid Group is a privately held organization headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for over a century. It employs more than 5,000 people and is a leading player in multiple industries that include, energy & utilities, heavy machinery, financial services, industrial manufacturing, transport, and hospitality. The Zahid Group partners with leading global brands including Caterpillar, Volvo and Renault trucks, and Total.

Contact Information:

Mrouj Barefah

SUPLess@zahid.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a1ee69df-958d-4889-8304-d36522d92f82
Portland, OR, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the India disposable syringes market was estimated at $148.00 million in 2020 and is expected to hit $385.5 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 10.3% from 2021 to 2030. The report provides a detailed analysis of the top investment pockets, top winning strategies, drivers & opportunities, market size & estimations, competitive landscape, and evolving market trends.

Rise in prevalence of needle stick injuries, surge in healthcare expenditure, favorable government initiatives, and increase in the incidence of chronic conditions and infectious diseases drive the growth of the India disposable syringes market. On the other hand, high cost of disposable syringes and availability of alternative modes of delivery restrain the growth to some extent. Nevertheless, high growth potential in India is expected to create lucrative opportunities in the industry.

Download Comprehensive Analysis of four Regions- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/14418

What is the Impact of COVID-19 on Disposable Syringes Market in India?

As the pandemic has resulted in an increase number of studies for the development of vaccines to cure and prevent the spread of the disease, theres been a steep rise in demand for disposable syringes that are used in administration of vaccination.

Till date, more than millions of patients have taken vaccines using disposable syringes. Manufacturers have also amplified their production capacities to cater to the rising requirements for the syringes.

Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the India Disposable Syringes Market- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/14418?reqfor=covid

The India disposable syringes market is analyzed across product type, application, and end user. Based on product type, the safety disposable syringes segment contributed to nearly three-fifths of the total market share in 2020, and is anticipated to lead the trail by the end of 2030. The same segment would also register the fastest CAGR of 10.7% during the forecast period.

Based on end user, the hospital segment accounted for around one-fourth of the total market revenue in 2020, and is expected to dominate by 2030. The diagnostic segment, however, would cite the fastest CAGR of 10.5% throughout the forecast period.

Based on application, the immunization injections segment held more than two-thirds of the total market share in 2020, and is projected to maintain the lions share by 2027. The same segment would also exhibit the fastest CAGR of 11.2% from 2021 to 2030.

For Purchase Inquiry- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/14418

The key market players analyzed in the India disposable syringes market report include Albert David, Baxter International India Pvt. ltd., B. Braun Medical India Pvt. ltd., Becton, Dickinson India Pvt. ltd., Cardinal Health India Pvt. ltd., Hindustan Syringe and Medical Co. Ltd, Nipro Medical Corporation India Pvt. ltd., Novo Nordisk India Pvt. ltd., Terumo Corporation India Pvt. ltd. and Teleflex Medical Pvt. ltd. These market players have incorporated several strategies including partnership, expansion, collaboration, joint ventures, and others to brace their stand in the industry.

Official Press Release- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/press-release/india-disposable-syringes-market.html

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Dublin, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "3PL Market Research Report by Transport, Service, End-user, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Global 3PL Market size was estimated at USD 966.27 billion in 2020, is expected to reach USD 1,035.58 billion in 2021, and projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.51% reaching USD 1,492.25 billion by 2026.



Market Statistics

The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2018 and 2019 are considered historical years, 2020 as the base year, 2021 as the estimated year, and years from 2022 to 2026 are considered the forecast period.



Market Segmentation & Coverage

This research report categorizes the 3PL to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:

Based on Transport, the market was studied across Airways, Railways, Roadways, and Waterways.

Based on Service, the market was studied across Dedicated Contract Carriage (DCC), Domestic Transportation Management, International Transportation Management, and Warehousing and Distribution.

Based on End-user, the market was studied across Automotive, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Retail.

Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

Competitive Strategic Window

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.



FPNV Positioning Matrix

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the 3PL Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Market Share Analysis

The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.



Competitive Scenario

The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitor's strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service.



Company Usability Profiles

The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global 3PL Market, including Agility Public Warehousing Company, AmeriCold Logistics LLC, BDP International, Burris Logistics, C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) Inc., CEVA Logistics, DB Schenker, Deutsche Post AG, DSV Panalpina A/S, Echo Global Logistics, Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., FedEx Corporation, Flexport Inc., GEODIS Group, J. B. Hunt, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., Kerry Logistics Network Limited, Kuehne + Nagel International AG, Landstar System, Inc., Nippon Express Co., Ltd., Penske Logistics, Inc., Ryder System, Inc., Schneider National, Inc., Total Quality Logistics, Inc., Unyson Logistics, Inc., UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc., XPO Logistics, Inc., and Yusen Logistics Co. Ltd.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global 3PL Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global 3PL Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global 3PL Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global 3PL Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global 3PL Market?

6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global 3PL Market?

7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global 3PL Market?



Key Topics Covered:



1. Preface



2. Research Methodology



3. Executive Summary



4. Market Overview

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19



5. Market Dynamics

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Drivers

5.2.1. Rapid development of logistics infrastructure in developing countries

5.2.2. Boosting e-commerce sector growth

5.2.3. Increasing company's focus to enhance operation and reduce operational cost

5.2.4. Globalization leads to logistic management services

5.3. Restraints

5.3.1. Lack of logistics control

5.3.2. Economic downturn can affect the market

5.4. Opportunities

5.4.1. Government initiatives encouraging Asia Pacific industrial growth

5.4.2. Technology advancement to provide service enhancement

5.5. Challenges

5.5.1. Complexity associated with cross border transportation



6. 3PL Market, by Transport

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Airways

6.3. Railways

6.4. Roadways

6.5. Waterways



7. 3PL Market, by Service

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Dedicated Contract Carriage (DCC)

7.3. Domestic Transportation Management

7.4. International Transportation Management

7.5. Warehousing and Distribution



8. 3PL Market, by End-user

8.1. Introduction

8.2. Automotive

8.3. Healthcare

8.4. Manufacturing

8.5. Retail



9. Americas 3PL Market

9.1. Introduction

9.2. Argentina

9.3. Brazil

9.4. Canada

9.5. Mexico

9.6. United States



10. Asia-Pacific 3PL Market

10.1. Introduction

10.2. Australia

10.3. China

10.4. India

10.5. Indonesia

10.6. Japan

10.7. Malaysia

10.8. Philippines

10.9. Singapore

10.10. South Korea

10.11. Taiwan

10.12. Thailand



11. Europe, Middle East & Africa 3PL Market

11.1. Introduction

11.2. France

11.3. Germany

11.4. Italy

11.5. Netherlands

11.6. Qatar

11.7. Russia

11.8. Saudi Arabia

11.9. South Africa

11.10. Spain

11.11. United Arab Emirates

11.12. United Kingdom



12. Competitive Landscape

12.1. FPNV Positioning Matrix

12.1.1. Quadrants

12.1.2. Business Strategy

12.1.3. Product Satisfaction

12.2. Market Ranking Analysis

12.3. Market Share Analysis, by Key Player

12.4. Competitive Scenario

12.4.1. Merger & Acquisition

12.4.2. Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership

12.4.3. New Product Launch & Enhancement

12.4.4. Investment & Funding

12.4.5. Award, Recognition, & Expansion



13. Company Usability Profiles

13.1. Agility Public Warehousing Company

13.2. AmeriCold Logistics LLC

13.3. BDP International

13.4. Burris Logistics

13.5. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) Inc.

13.6. CEVA Logistics

13.7. DB Schenker

13.8. Deutsche Post AG

13.9. DSV Panalpina A/S

13.10. Echo Global Logistics

13.11. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.

13.12. FedEx Corporation

13.13. Flexport Inc.

13.14. GEODIS Group

13.15. J. B. Hunt

13.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

13.17. Kerry Logistics Network Limited

13.18. Kuehne + Nagel International AG

13.19. Landstar System, Inc.

13.20. Nippon Express Co., Ltd.

13.21. Penske Logistics, Inc.

13.22. Ryder System, Inc.

13.23. Schneider National, Inc.

13.24. Total Quality Logistics, Inc.

13.25. Unyson Logistics, Inc.

13.26. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc.

13.27. XPO Logistics, Inc.

13.28. Yusen Logistics Co. Ltd.



14. Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dyynnm
EDMONTON, Alberta and NEW YORK, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TSX, NYSE:STN



Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering , has deepened its energy transition expertise in the Netherlands with the acquisition of Driven by Values. The 28-person engineering and consulting firm is a trusted partner for governmental and utility clients navigating the transition toward sustainable energy generation, sustainable building design, energy infrastructure upgrades, sustainable district heating networks, and e-mobility. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Known as a pioneer in the energy transition sector, Driven by Values reflects Stantecs commitment to designing with community in mind by delivering creative solutions and meaningful stakeholder engagement. In addition to expanding our presence in the Netherlands, Driven by Values enhances our ability to support commercial and government clients through policy development and the application of innovative tools designed for the full energy transition cycle, said Pieter van der Zwet, Stantecs Regional Leader for Continental Europe. This acquisition creates exceptional opportunities for our team both locally and across the European Union, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.



With offices in Eindhoven and Sittard, Driven by Values has built a strong presence across the countrys southeastern region. The firm brings a proven track record of success consulting public and private clients on the most effective methods to navigate the energy transition and manage change. By leveraging cutting-edge knowledge and proprietary tools, the team effectively engages with impacted communities and stakeholders.

Our partnership with Stantec provides an incredible opportunity to expand the impact of our tools and services in a global context, where the need to manage emissions has increased in urgency, said Dennis Fokkinga, Managing Partner of Driven by Values. With shared values related to sustainable community-centric development, we are confident that this strategic alignment will deliver great value to our employees, clients, and the communities we serve.

Recent Driven by Values projects in the Netherlands include:

Guidance for Netbeheer Nederland , the national organization of Dutch electricity and gas network operators, in the search for sustainable gas solutions. The Driven by Values team has helped develop a Roadmap Hydrogen research agenda, which is being used as a steering tool to facilitate the transport and distribution of hydrogen.





, the national organization of Dutch electricity and gas network operators, in the search for sustainable gas solutions. The Driven by Values team has helped develop a Roadmap Hydrogen research agenda, which is being used as a steering tool to facilitate the transport and distribution of hydrogen. Development of an energy transition vision for Stein , a municipality in the countrys southeast region. Stein is one of many municipalities that Driven by Values supports across the country in the development of programs to fulfill the EUs vision for climate neutrality by 2050.





, a municipality in the countrys southeast region. Stein is one of many municipalities that Driven by Values supports across the country in the development of programs to fulfill the EUs vision for climate neutrality by 2050. Policy development and implementation guidance for large-scale solar and wind energy projects in the municipality of Echt-Susteren . As part of the program, the Driven by Values team established a framework and roadmap for wind energy and is supporting development preparations for solar parks and wind turbines.





. As part of the program, the Driven by Values team established a framework and roadmap for wind energy and is supporting development preparations for solar parks and wind turbines. Game simulations for energy transition education and awareness for the municipality of Maastricht. Over 1,500 municipal employees, residents, stakeholders, and grid administrators have participated in Driven by Values physical and virtual inspiration sessions and custom game simulations over the past two years. For Maastricht, the Climate Chase Game was used to create awareness with political leaders about the necessary steps toward energy neutrality, as well as the choices between energy saving, local energy generation, and switching to sustainable heat.

The acquisition of Driven by Values advances Stantecs strategic growth plan in the Netherlands. Late last year, the firm acquired AGEL adviseurs, increasing the total number of employees based in the Netherlands to 320.

A leader in the energy transitionlocally and globally



Stantec is creating a sustainable future by transforming the energy market. Contributing to the companys focus on the energy transition as outlined within its Strategic Plan, Stantecs portfolio includes large scale energy storage projects like the Gregory County Pumped Storage feasibility study in the United States; the completed Gull Bay First Nations Diesel Offse t Microgrid in Canada; and the recently awarded  EU leading the Global Energy Transition  project in Europe. To learn more, visit: www.stantec.com/en/markets/energy-transition

About Stantec

Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

We care about the communities we servebecause they're our communities too. This allows us to assess what's needed and connect our expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision what's never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so we can collaborate toward a shared success.

We're designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

Stantec trades on the TSX and the NYSE under the symbol STN. Visit us at stantec.com or find us on social media.

Media Contacts

Danny Craig

Stantec Media Relations

Ph (949) 923-6085

danny.craig@stantec.com

Dennis Fokkinga

Driven by Values

Ph +31 6 4625 7100

d.fokkinga@d-bv.nl



Investor Relations Contact

Tom McMillan

Stantec Investor Relations

Ph (780) 917-8159

tom.mcmillan@stantec.com

To subscribe to Stantecs email news alerts, please fill out the subscription form , which is available on the Contact Information page of the Investors section at Stantec.com .

Design with community in mind
- CST will be the worlds first commercial, emission-free cryptocurrency mining solution, capable of paying for itself in 24 months

- Pre-orders are open with fully refundable deposit and deliveries commencing in 2023

TORONTO, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daymak Inc., a pioneer in personal Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs), today announced the addition of the patent-pending CryptoSolarTree; the worlds first commercial, emission-free cryptocurrency mining solution, to its Daymak ecosystem of products. The CryptoSolarTree is a 5G-enabled, on-grid/off-grid-compatible alternative energy crypto mining solution capable of generating up to 11 kW of renewable energy while also serving alternative uses as an EV charging station or backup electricity source for up to two days.

As demand for both green energy and crypto mining solutions rise, the CryptoSolarTree is the ideal alternative for those trying to achieve zero emissions while mining without breaking the bank. The CryptoSolarTree can mine a variety of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Kadena, and Dogecoin, with mining results expected to cover the cost of the CryptoSolarTree in just 24 months. As mining will only take up a fraction of the energy output, daily electricity needs can also be handled.

The CryptoSolarTree is designed to be a versatile, renewable energy source with a variety of potential use cases, including private residences, farms, remote/off-grid locations, urban plazas, and more. For remote areas without access to clean running water, the CryptoSolarTree also offers a water collection and purification system, converting to a holistic utility package and income source for those in need.

As part of my personal commitment to decreasing my carbon footprint, I spent close to $100,000 dollars on a solar system for my house, said Aldo Baiocchi, President of Daymak. By selling surplus power to the grid, I expect to cover the cost of my purchase in just over 20 years. The CryptoSolarTree, on the other hand, is projected to achieve break-even in just two years, which removes the main hurdle for many people from switching over to renewable energy sources; economic viability. We are privileged to be at the twilight of a blockchain revolution where, by the time the CryptoSolarTree is delivered, will be a financial no-brainer for those who have realized their fossil-fuel power sources are outdated.

The CryptoSolarTree consists of a solar power source, a wind power source, a high-capacity energy storage system (ESS), and a cryptocurrency mining unit powered by Daymak Nebula. Daymak plans to integrate the IONiX Pro ESS as part of Daymaks ongoing partnership with EV Battery Tech (CSE: ACDC), who are developing blockchain-enabled ESSs. Crypto-savvy consumers will also have the option of installing their own pre-existing mining rig, GPU (graphic processor unit) or ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), which will seamlessly integrate with Daymak Nebula to increase mining profits.

Our team has spent the last few years fine-tuning ideas that maximize the utility of todays technological breakthroughs, creating solutions that put our customers at the forefront of technology all while making the planet a greener place, continued Baiocchi. The CryptoSolarTree is a natural addition to the Daymak ecosystem, acting as renewable charging stations for our vehicles as one of its many applications. Additional electricity generated can be used to mine crypto or be sold back to the grid, making these trees a source of passive income. And to those who believe that all crypto mining is detrimental to the environment, the CryptoSolarTree should be a big step in the right direction.

The CryptoSolarTree is available in three models:

Standard (MSRP: $14,999): 1 kW wind turbine; 3 kW solar panels; 12 kWh batteries; app-controlled Nebula miners generating $16/day, capable of paying off the system in 29 months; with aftermarket mining support of up to 2 kW power draw

1 kW wind turbine; 3 kW solar panels; 12 kWh batteries; app-controlled Nebula miners generating $16/day, capable of paying off the system in 29 months; with aftermarket mining support of up to 2 kW power draw Deluxe (MSRP: $29,999): 2 kW wind turbine; 5 kW solar panels; 20 kWh batteries; app-controlled Nebula miners generating $36/day, capable of paying off the system in 27 months; with aftermarket mining setup support of up to 3.5 kW power draw

2 kW wind turbine; 5 kW solar panels; 20 kWh batteries; app-controlled Nebula miners generating $36/day, capable of paying off the system in 27 months; with aftermarket mining setup support of up to 3.5 kW power draw Ultimate (MSRP: $49,950): 5 kW wind turbine; 6 kW solar panels; water purification unit; 25 kWh batteries; app-controlled Nebula miners generating $68/day, capable of paying off the system in 24 months; with aftermarket mining setup support of up to 5 kW power draw



The CryptoSolarTree can be pre-ordered with a $5,000 fully refundable deposit. Deliveries will commence in 2023. For more information, or to pre-order, visit https://cryptosolartree.com. For more information about Daymak Nebula, visit https://daymakavvenire.com/nebula.

About Daymak, Inc.

Daymak, Inc, founded in 2002 with headquarters in Toronto, is a pioneer in personal light electric vehicles (LEVs). Daymak has a world-class global distribution network including 150 dealers and big-box retailers like Walmart, Costco, and Best Buy. Daymak is the number one distributor and developer of LEVs in Canada with more than 100,000 vehicles sold, and is known for cutting-edge designs like the world's first fully wireless e-bike and Canadas first solar-powered, off-road e-bike.

The Companys Daymak Avvenire series is a comprehensive line-up of ground-breaking personal mobility vehicles including everything from electric cars to electric flying vehicles, set for production starting in 2022. Daymak Ondata, Daymaks patent-pending wireless charging technology, is a more compact, cost-effective, and scalable solution than any other wireless charging technology available on the market today.

Daymak continues to redefine powered mobility, empowering individuals to make statements, not emissions, on their way to a connected, accessible future. To explore that future please visit https://daymak.com/.

To reserve your vehicle, visit https://daymakavvenire.com/.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Nicole Robinson

Skyya for Daymak

nicole@skyya.com

INVESTOR RELATIONS:

To request a copy of audited financials please contact:

Aldo Baiocchi

ab@daymak.com

416.658.3993 ext. 1114

A video accompanying this announcement is available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05b75483-6667-4748-a0d4-227862d1eb00

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d12cbf53-441d-4037-adf3-ccc5feb0552f

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f7bf8faa-9e63-418f-9f24-44134b4545f6
BANGOR, MAINE, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Husson University announced that it entered into a partnership with MMG Insurance and the Maine School Administrative District #1 (SAD 1) to open The Work Shop, a new interactive learning space in Aroostook County. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new space took place on Thursday, October 14, 2021 at SAD 1 Adult & Community Education. The building is located in Presque Isle, Maine.

This new multi-purpose facility offers Aroostook County residents easier and greater access to higher education learning opportunities, said Marie Hansen, JD, PhD, SHRM-SCP, dean of the College of Business and New England School of Communications (NESCom) at Husson University. Husson is a longtime supporter of higher education in Aroostook County. This new space is now being used for day and evening classes. It is also providing access to leadership training and other smaller credential opportunities.

The Work Shop is designed to provide high school students, college students and professionals with access to education and training. Leadership Aroostook, a talent development program designed to increase leadership skills and community, recently begun its yearlong training program at this location. In addition, college level classes for high school students and adult learners are being delivered by Husson University throughout the year at The Work Shop. Guest speakers and networking opportunities at this location will engage the future workforce of The County.

The facility includes new video conferencing technology that helps take the distance out of distance learning. Students in Aroostook County can now participate in a variety of face-to-face Husson University coursework and professional development opportunities without the need for travel. The technology purchased by MMG Insurance includes ViewSonic visual displays, camera equipment and microphones.

Area high school students will be able to use this facility to earn college credits through Husson Universitys Early College Access Program (ECAP), said Ben Greenlaw, superintendent for SAD 1. This will save County students time and money as they pursue their undergraduate degrees.

Providing County students with facilities like this will also make it easier for them to complete their undergraduate degrees. Husson and SAD 1 both agree that creating a well-educated, highly trained workforce helps to meet the needs of existing and future employers. Successful employers provide job creation and economic growth. Growing economies help slow the out-migration of local residents. Making Aroostook County a vibrant economic community all starts with education.

Employers interested in relocating also appreciate having access to a highly-educated local workforce, said Hansen. Its one of the important factors that determines whether a company will move into a specific geographic area.

Matt McHatten, the chief operating officer for MMG Insurance expects many positives for established businesses as well. The technology at The Work Shop is facilitating corporate training and education, said McHatten. Access to education allows the Countys workforce to remain competitive in todays fast-paced business environment. At MMG Insurance, we believe that by investing in education, we are opening the door to a wide range of opportunities for our employees and our community.

LeRae Kinney, the director of adult education for SAD 1 sees benefits for students of all ages. SAD 1 provides Aroostook County students with access to quality education through our K-12 schools and our adult education, said Kinney. The Work Shop makes it easier to provide adult learners with personal attention at times that conveniently fit into their individual schedules. This gives adult learners the opportunity to balance their professional and family obligations with their educational commitments as they work to improve themselves.

For more than 120 years, Husson University has shown its adaptability and strength in delivering educational programs that prepare future leaders to handle the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson University has come to represent a superior value in higher education. The hallmarks of a Husson education include advanced knowledge delivered through quality educational programs in business; health and education; pharmacy studies; science and humanities; as well as communication. According to a recent analysis of tuition and fees by U.S. News & World Report, Husson University is one of the most affordable private colleges in New England. For more information about educational opportunities that can lead to personal and professional success, visit Husson.edu.

# # #

Attachments
New York, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Interior Design Software Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06179109/?utm_source=GNW

The increase in usage of cloud-based software and rising demand for better interior design and decoration are expected to drive the growth of the market.



Key Highlights

- With interior design software, architects can take preventive measures, thus reducing the need for remodeling and rebuilding. The number of interior design firms is increasing significantly across the world, and with it, the revenues generated by the firms are increasing as well.

- One of the major drivers behind the demand for interior design software is the improved productivity gained by reducing dependency on paperwork and documentation. This also helps the organizations reduce their overall cost related to interior design by offering enhanced budgeting tools. Moreover, the software enables architects to prepare a detailed layout of the floor, including accurate measurements, flooring, windows, walls, doors, lighting, cabinets, and furniture.

- Virtual walkthroughs are increasingly becoming common among architecture firms, as it helps convert the businesses and gain a correct point of view of the clients. For instance, WHA Architecture in the United States uses Autodesk CAD, Sketchup, Lumion, and Vray solutions and enables its clients to visualize the project via a 360-degree rendering virtually.

- With the advent of 5G and the increasing power of computational devices, VR application in interior design solutions is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period, and this allows graphics to become more realistic and render fast.

- While the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of many small and large enterprises, many others reacted by switching to virtual mode. Interior design is one such field that has managed to avoid a complete shutdown by adjusting to the current climates demands. Interior designers have started taking virtual tours of the spaces for which their clients are looking for a design. Zoom calls are used for consultations and discussions, and transactions are made. The commercial building sector is expected to be the worst hit due to slumping revenues and closure of their businesses during the lockdown period.



Key Market Trends



Residential Sector to Witness the Highest Growth



- The residential sector is expected to have the highest growth rate over the forecast period, owing to the growing population and rising demand for a pleasant and comfortable living space. Residential design involves the design of the interior of private residences. The interior designer might work on a project from the initial planning stage or may work on remodeling an existing structure.?

- With the increasing technological innovations, setting up a home is no longer a household affair. In the current scenario, many millennials who have unconventional living patterns consider their home decor as a reflection of their personality. Most homeowners prefer designing firms that can understand their vision and curate cost-effective designs for kitchens, living rooms, wardrobes, etc.

- Furthermore, interior designing companies are using augmented and virtual reality, cloud computing, and 3D technology to capture the growing demand to offer customers seamless home interiors and renovation experiences. Also, catching on the trend, startups like Livspace, HomeLane, Bonito Designs, Infurnia, and Spacejoy are eyeing significant growth in the segment by leveraging the funds to increase their user base.

- Moreover, with the upcoming smart cities and smart homes projects in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions, the residential segments market is all set to grow over the forecast period.?



Asia Pacific to Register the Highest Growth



- The Asia Pacific segment is expected to have the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Building infrastructure plans in the countries such as China and India are anticipated to be a significant contributor to the growth of the Asia-Pacific segment. According to the market study, India is expected to rank third in terms of volumes of constructions by 2030 with a target of 11 million buildings to be constructed, therefore highlighting bright prospects for the market studied.

- Growing urbanization and population growth in major cities in the Asia-Pacific, such as Beijing, China, Tokyo, Japan, and Mumbai, India, led to an augmented increase of residential apartments. For instance, according to a draught framework of the 14th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social growth and long-range targets until the year 2035, China plans to increase its urbanization rate to 65 percent between 2021 and 2025.

- Start-ups are disrupting the interior design ecosystem in the region. For instance, Livspace has grown to become one of Indias largest home interiors and renovation platforms. The company has designed over 5,000 homes, a whopping 2 million square feet, and works with over 2,000 design partners. The company partnered with Brand Capital, the strategic investment arm of The Times Group, and was able to create a strong brand presence.

- Southeast Asia is particularly expected to have the potential for market expansion due to its burgeoning population, increasing urbanization, and economic growth in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. For instance, according to Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik), the construction sector is predicted to revive in 2021, with a growth of 7.1 percent, providing operations in Indonesia to return to normal levels.



Competitive Landscape



The interior design software market is moderately competitive. The regional vendors focus on providing cost-effective solutions with limited operational capabilities and comparatively lower prices than the international players. Major players in the market are Autodesk Inc., Dassault Systemes SE, Trimble Inc., among others.



- October 2021 - SmartDraw updated its interior design software to include Google Sheets connectivity, which allows users to create charts or enrich shapes with data. It allows users to build data-driven diagrams and link data to specific shapes for further information.

- September 2021 - Trimble Inc. released a beta version of SketchUp for iPad that enables interior designers, engineers, architects, and construction professionals to build, modify, and collaborate on SketchUp models at any time from anywhere.



Additional Benefits:



- The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format

- 3 months of analyst support

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06179109/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Saint Louis, MO, October 2021  ButcherJoseph & Co. (ButcherJoseph) advised Fred Weber, Inc . (Fred Weber or the Company) on the sale of its aggregates and asphalt assets to New Frontier Materials (New Frontier). The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction closed in July of 2021.



Fred Weber is sharpening its strategic focus by spinning off its aggregates and asphalt assets. The company will concentrate its resources on overseeing concrete pipe producer, Fred Weber Reinforced Concrete Products as well as its growing contract services business.

Doug Weible, Chairman & CEO of Fred Weber, explained, This transaction represents an important step in our years long effort to reposition Fred Weber for sustainable long-term growth. We have appreciated the hard work and dedication that the New Frontier team demonstrated in pursuing the transaction and have every hope that they will continue to deliver the same high-quality products and services that our customers have come to expect over the years. Now that the transaction is complete, we are looking forward to the next stage of Fred Webers trajectory as we focus on providing our expertise to mining and quarry operations throughout the country.

Mike Clarke, a 35-year industry veteran who became CEO of New Frontier upon completion of this transaction said, "I am excited and honored to lead New Frontier. These operations have served the St. Louis community for decades and we will faithfully build on that commitment. We bring a long-term perspective and intend to grow by focusing on premium products and delivering superior customer service. I look forward to advancing the New Frontier philosophy with a continued focus on employee safety, environmental stewardship, and community relations. I am humbled to step into the shoes of accomplished CEO Doug Weible and wish him much continued success at Fred Weber."

ButcherJoseph Managing Partner Keith Butcher commented, We were grateful to have been able to advise Fred Weber as they executed a transaction that permitted them to achieve several critical strategic objectives at the same time. The team at Fred Weber worked incredibly hard to identify the right buyer and negotiate terms that would be acceptable to the stakeholders involved. Having witnessed the impressive results of their hard work and dedication first hand, we are excited to see what they will accomplish next.

About Fred Weber, Inc.

Fred Weber, Inc. is a full-service construction materials expert headquartered in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The Company supplies and delivers various grades of crushed stone, sand, asphaltic concrete as well as a wide range of surface and underground mining services.

About New Frontier Materials

New Frontier Materials was formed in 2020 to partner with, acquire, and grow companies in the aggregates and construction materials industry. The company believes in responsible ownership and stewardship of the local workforce, environment, and community.

About ButcherJoseph & Co.

ButcherJoseph & Co. is a boutique investment banking firm specializing in ESOPs , mergers and acquisitions , private debt & capital sourcing and valuation advisory services for middle market companies. Our industry recognized team of professionals has executed 200+ transactions exceeding $15 billion in total value. ButcherJoseph is headquartered in St. Louis with a presence in Washington, DC and offices in Chicago, Charlotte, Scottsdale, and Nashville.

###


Dieppe, NB, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jeremie Fontaine, a sales representative with EXIT Realty Associates in Dieppe, received the Top Lister Award during EXIT Realty Corp. Internationals annual awards event recently broadcast across the US and Canada. He was also honoured with the Titanium Award in recognition of closing more than 150 real estate transaction sides. Awards were tabulated for the production period of July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.

Jeremie started his real estate career with EXIT Realty in the spring of 2018 and what he has accomplished in such a short period of time is nothing less than outstanding, said Joyce Paron, CEO of EXIT Realty Corp. Internationals Canadian Division. He is a shining example of the opportunity for younger people to consider a career in the real estate industry. Jeremie brings tremendous service to all that he does and it's no surprise his star is rising so quickly.

Founded in Canada in 1996, EXIT Realty Corp. International is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021.

About EXIT Realty: EXIT Realty is a company founded and built on human potential. A full service, forward-thinking, real estate franchisor with offices across North America, EXIT has to-date paid out more than a half a billion dollars in single-level residual income to its associates. The Expert Marketing Suite including geolocation Smart Sign technology gives sellers an edge in a competitive marketplace. A portion of every transaction fee received by EXIT Realty Corp. International is applied to its charitable fund, and to-date, $6 million has been allocated to charity. For more information, please visit www.exitrealty.com and www.joinexitrealty.com.

Attachment
New York, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sam Kardon, an experienced capital markets attorney with a particular emphasis on the real estate industry and real estate investment trusts, has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as Counsel in New York.

Kardon joins the firms capital markets practice and will continue to advise on all aspects of underwritten public offerings as well as a wide range of other public and private securities offerings, including PIPEs, private fund offerings, non-listed REIT offerings and at the market programs.

He also advises issuers in connection with ongoing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reporting obligations; counsels boards of directors, management teams and board committees on corporate governance matters; and advises on mergers, acquisitions, tender offers and similar transactions.

Sam brings more than a decade of experience handling complex public and private securities transactions, making him an excellent complement to our nationally recognized capital markets and real estate capital markets teams, said real estate capital markets partner Rob Smith. The global economic recovery continues to drive increased capital markets activities by our clients, and we are thrilled to welcome Sam to the firm.

Kardon joins the firm from Proskauer Rose LLP where he was a special counsel in the Real Estate Capital Markets group. Earlier in his career, he was an associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York and Latham & Watkins LLP in Singapore. Kardon earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Hunton Andrews Kurth has a long history of representing issuers, investors and underwriters in a wide range of public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, with a particular focus on the real estate, financial services, energy (including oil and gas and midstream, power, renewables and utilities) and consumer products industries. Over the last five years, the firm has handled more than 850 equity and debt capital markets transactions aggregating over $485 billion. Our clients include publicly-traded entities, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), publicly traded partnerships (MLPs) Fortune 500 companies and middle-market entities.

With lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. For more information, please contact Jeremy Heallen at +1 713 220 3713.

Attachment
New York, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) Market - Global Outlook & Forecast 2021-2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06179129/?utm_source=GNW

80 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 6.22%.



The following factors are likely to contribute to the growth of the active pharmaceutical ingredients market during the forecast period:



 The invention of new generation API

 Increase in Demand for Generic Drugs

 High Adoption of Mergers and Acquisitions

 Impact of API Outsourcing



ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENT MARKET OUTLOOK



Digitalization, big data, and artificial intelligence are accelerating the transformation of the pharmaceutical industry. The growing trend toward new high-tech therapeutics, with the emergence of novel and innovative delivery systems, the evolution of personalized medicines, will emphasize the growing demand for advanced APIs further. Innovative and Biotech APIs are fueling the demand for APIs across the globe. The global active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) market is set to have significant growth in the forecasted period. The growth of the market can be amplified by the growing geriatric and aging population globally. Manufacturers are significantly investing in Research and development and must continue spending on research and development initiatives. As the industry is getting fragmented and profit margins are thin, there is a need for constant innovation.



SNIPPETS



 Based on Molecule type, the small molecule is the largest segment with a 5.82% growth rate in 2021 and is projected to show a 6.95% growth rate in 2026.

 Current trends like an increase in demand for biopharmaceuticals and naturally derived APIs will increase the demand and growth in the market.



ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS MARKET SEGMENTATION

This research report includes a detailed segmentation by



 Application

 Molecule Type

 Type of manufacturers

 Type of drugs

 Synthesis Type



ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS MARKET SEGMENTS



 The increasing awareness of various APIs improved efficacy on targeted cancerous cells is also propelling their demand for oncology drugs. Oncology API will register a growth rate of 7.33% in 2021, and it will increase up to 8.18% in 2026.

 The rise in internet penetration enables various online platforms to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies to deliver drugs such as analgesics at the doorstep of consumers. The global active pharmaceutical ingredients industry by pain management API will grow at a CAGR of 5.76% during the forecast period.



Market Segmentation by Application

 Oncology

 Cardiovascular Disease

 Anti-infectives

 Central Nervous System

 Respiratory diseases

 Diabetes

 Pain management

 Others



Market Segmentation by Molecule Type

 Small

 Large



Market Segmentation by Type of manufacturers

 Captive

 Merchant



Market Segmentation by Type of drugs

 Prescription

 Over the counter



Market Segmentation by Synthesis Type

 Synthetic

 Biotech



GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

The North American region is highly fragmented, and many global and regional players are present in the active pharmaceutical ingredient industry. Pharmaceutical manufacturers have increased the investments in R&D for the development of better-quality APIs since it has a direct effect on the safety and efficacy of the drug. The North American API industry is anticipated to show increasing growth in the forecasted period.



Market Segmentation by Geography



 North America

o US

o Canada

 Europe

o United Kingdom

o Germany

o France

o Italy

o Spain

o Russia

 APAC

o China

o India

o Indonesia

o Japan

o Singapore

 Latin America

o Brazil

o Mexico

 Middle East & Africa

o Saudi Arabia

o South Africa

o UAE



VENDORS ANALYSIS



The global API market is highly concentrated and competitive. Pfizer, Cipla, Novartis AG, Mylan NV, and Sun Pharmaceuticals are prominent vendors in the industry. Over the past decade, several companies have engaged in mergers and acquisitions to establish their presence in the industry. Mergers and acquisitions offer several benefits, such as better access to procuring raw materials, distribution, and R&D, and are largely driven by consolidation. Manufacturers must always keep pace with the latest industry regulations for manufacturing APIs to avoid penalties and criminal sanctions. The demand for APIs is expected to accelerate due to the increase in the geriatric population and the increase in awareness for better healthcare.



Key Vendors



 Pfizer Inc.

 Cipla Inc.

 Novartis AG

 Mylan N.V.

 Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd.



Other Prominent Vendors



 Albemarle Corporation

 AbbVie Inc.

 Reddys Laboratories Ltd.

 Eli Lilly and Company

 Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd.

 Bristol-Myers Squibb

 Aurobindo Pharma limited

 Sanofi

 Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

 BASF SE

 Lupin

 Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.

 Abbott

 Biocon

 Amgen Inc.

 GlaxoSmithKline Plc

 Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

 Merck KGaA

 Viatris Inc.,

 Glenmark Pharmaceuticals



KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED:



1. How big is the active pharmaceutical ingredient market?

2. What are the different applications in the global active pharmaceutical ingredient market?

3. Who are the key players in the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) market?

4. What are the latest trends in the active pharmaceutical ingredient market?

5. What are the key driving factors in the global API market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06179129/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
Manhattan, New York, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healixa, Inc. (OTC Pink: EMOR) (Healixa, or the Company), a technology company focusing on building and acquiring innovative and disruptive technologies in the health-tech, clean water, and green-tech industries, is pleased to announce, the company has been invited and will attend the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland from Nov. 2 - Nov. 12.



This is a privilege granted by the United Nations to certain organizations to collaborate with policy makers, industry, and world leaders in an effort to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This will be the first time Healixa has formally participated as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and an official COP special guest.



Through its visit with COP, Healixa will have the opportunity to discuss and present its community sustainability technologies and provide both policymakers and practitioners with a better understanding of the Companys ability to positively impact the environment and the people in it. Healixas focus at COP26 will be establishing new partnerships with policymakers and industry leaders to ensure that we are aggressively moving the needle towards fortifying water security.



Ian Parker, CEO of Healixa, stated: We are honored to have been invited to such a momentous event and are looking forward to the contributions our technologies, such as Atmospheric Water Harvesting, can provide towards global sustainability. We believe, Healixa is well on its way to deploying technologies that will make a major impact on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, one of which aim to provide universal access to clean water and sanitation by 2030.



About Healixa Inc.

Healixa is a technology company focusing on building and acquiring innovative and disruptive technologies in the health-tech, clean water generation and green-tech industries. Healixa embraces innovation by combining its intellectual properties, patents, strategic collaborations, and partnerships to create a LaunchPad of disruptive sustainable products.



About Solar Integrated Roofing Corp.

Solar Integrated Roofing Corp. (OTC Pink: SIRC), is an integrated, single-source solar power and roofing systems installation platform company specializing in commercial and residential properties throughout the United States. The Company serves communities by delivering the best experience through constant innovation & legacy-focused leadership. The Company's broad array of solutions include sales and installation of solar energy systems, battery backup and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to roofing, HVAC and related electrical contracting work. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.solarintegratedroofing.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 research and development programs, and more. 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 but not limited to the risks and uncertainties related to the progress, timing, cost, and results of Partnerships and product development programs; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approval or patent protection; and competition from other companies. Except as otherwise required by law, Healixa Inc., f.k.a. Emerald Organic Products, Inc., undertakes no 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.



Healixa Inc Contact

Bret Hedges

SVP Global Relations

833-432-5492

invest@healixa.com



Investor Relations Contact

Scott Powell

Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC

scott@skylineccg.com



Solar Integrated Roofing Corp Contact

Lucas A. Zimmerman

Director

MZ North America

Main: 949-259-4987

SIRC@mzgroup.us

www.mzgroup.us
BREMERTON, WA, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CGrowth Capital, Inc. (OTC Pink: CGRA) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with WBS Organization (WBS), a multinational business services organization specializing in funding, collateralization, and associated services, to acquire the rights, title and interest in their Bahamian Petroleum Project (the Project). The Project includes long-term leases of land situated within the Bahamas (in excess of 8,000 acres) at the target site and necessary one-off project specific Government Permissions. Together, these form a unique opportunity in the Bahamas to conduct further advanced exploratory operations leading to anticipated drilling and oil extraction  while recent explorations have now been conducted, advanced studies have not taken place around the islands for several decades.

The Project is to be purchase for $15,000,000 utilizing the Companys Series A Preferred Stock. In advance of a closing, the Company will immediately begin processing and file a Tier 1 Regulation A to raise up to $20,000,000. The funds are to be used to conduct further seismic research on a 3D basis in the Project zone, quantify oil availability and projected reserves, advance drilling and well workovers at the Companys current Wyoming oil and gas property, and set up infrastructure for the further extraction of oil, by incorporating potential in the Bahamas. The Company anticipates being ready to file its initial Form 1-A within 45-days.

In support of the overall project funding, WBS has leveraged its extensive contacts and influence in the region to securitize this investment with free and clear real estate, to the extent necessary. The off-balance sheet pledge of this security which would support large early investments, is to be addressed in separate independent agreements and are expected to be key components to an early adoption and full capital raise.

Proton Magnetic Imaging performed in 2018 indicated oil reservoir shows under the target area in The Bahamas to be the same as that of the Venezuela Orinoco Oil Belt. The USGS 2012 petroleum assessment of the Bahamas Platform estimate total undiscovered resources at the P50 level of approximately 1,600 million barrels of oil, 2,000 BCFG and 126 million barrels of natural gas liquids. With successful advancements in exploration, production, and exporting of oil over multiple Caribbean Island the prospect of a successful Bahamian project is exciting.

It is time to pound our stake in the ground! stated Bill Wright, CEO of CGrowth Capital, Inc. Countless weeks of wading through opportunities has culminated in an extremely unique opportunity with nearly unlimited potential for us. The creativity of both CGrowth and the WBS Organization has not only opened up a win for this Project, but looking forward, we have an endless number of business opportunities that we can look to in the future. We feel blessed to be in the right place at the right time in history  especially as oil prices look to only move up from here!

About CGrowth Capital, Inc.:

CGrowth Capital, Inc. The Company continues to serve as an alternative asset management company for businesses and assets focused on all aspects of mining, minerals, exploration, and commercial real estate. The processing of metal ore mining, mineral and specialty rock extraction, as well as oil and gas production, are multi-billion dollar market opportunities which is capitalized on through processing, sales, contracting and licensing of assets. CGrowth Capitals services and solutions are designed to assist land owners with monetizing undervalued assets by bringing commodities such as gold, silver, oil and gas, and dolomite to market. CGrowth Capital will focus on acquiring land assets, while also providing partners and affiliates with management services, capital, contract management and logistical services necessary for the successful execution of operations.

For more information and updates about CGrowth Capital, follow the Company on Twitter @CGRAOTC , or visit their website or Facebook page:

http://www.CGrowthCapital.com

https://www.facebook.com/CGrowthCapital



Investor Inquiries:

CGrowth Capital, Inc.

info@CGrowthCapital.com

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: CGrowth Capital, Inc.
New York, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Canada Data Center Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2021-2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05934700/?utm_source=GNW

38 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 10.13% during 2021-2026



Increased digitalization, excellent fiber connectivity, and reserves of renewable energy resources make Canada an attractive market for data center investment. Most facilities in Canada are green data centers, powered through 100% renewable energy. Though Canada has a significant landmass, data gravity is higher in major cities with a higher population, such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. These cities have witnessed more development of data centers. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was minimized by new data center investments and announcements. Colocation providers actively invested in data center development in the country.



CANADA DATA CENTER MARKET INSIGHTS



 In 2020, Canada data center market size witnessed an investment of USD 3.02 billion.

 Mergers & acquisitions and joint ventures are strategies used by data center investors to increase their foothold in Canada. Equinix acquired 13 data centers from Bell in October 2020, whereas eStruxture Data Centers acquired eight data centers from Aptum in March 2021.

 In 2020, retail colocation contributed to around 79% of Canadas colocation market revenue, with wholesale colocation accounting for the rest.



KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT



 Global cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft, and Oracle have a strong presence in Canada. For instance, Google opened a new cloud region in Toronto, Canada, in 2021.

 With the increased investment by hyperscale operators, the land cost in other cities in Canada is likely to increase during the forecast period.

 The rapid growth and the development of data center projects will allow new players to enter the Canadian industry.



CANADA DATA CENTER MARKET VENDOR LANDSCAPE



Adastra Group, Denologix, Pontem Innovations, Ample Insight, Guarana Technologies, and INGENO are some of the big data and IoT companies across Canada.



IT Infrastructure Providers



 Arista Networks

 Atos

 Broadcom

 Cisco Systems

 Dell Technologies

 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

 Huawei Technologies

 IBM

 Inspur

 Lenovo

 NetApp



Construction Constructors & Sub-Contractors



 Black & Veatch

 Computer Room Services Corporation (CRSC)

 DPR Construction

 Ehvert

 EllisDon

 First Gulf

 Karbon Engineering

 PCL Construction

 Salute Mission Critical

 Turner Construction

 Urbacon

 WZMH Architects



Support Infrastructure Providers



 ABB

 Arctic Chiller Group

 ATEN

 Caterpillar

 Chatsworth Products

 ClimateWorx

 Cummins

 CoolIT Systems

 Dataprobe

 Eaton

 Generac Power Systems

 KyotoCooling

 Legrand

 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

 Panduit

 Rittal

 Rolls-Royce Power Systems

 Schneider Electric

 STULZ

 Toshiba

 Trane

 Vertiv



Data Center Investors



 Cologix

 Compass Datacenters

 Digital Realty

 Enovum Datacenters

 Equinix

 eStruxture Data Centers

 STACK INFRASTRUCTURE

 Urbacon Data Centre Solutions

 Vantage Data Centers



REPORT COVERAGE:

This report analyzes the Canada data center market share and elaborative analysis of the existing and upcoming facilities, investments in terms of IT, electrical, mechanical infrastructure, general construction, tier standards, and geography. It discusses market sizing and investment estimation for different segments. The segmentation includes:



EXISTING VS. UPCOMING DATA CENTERS



 Existing Facilities in the region (Area and Power Capacity)

 Toronto

 Montreal

 Vancouver

 Other Cities

 List of Upcoming Facilities in the region (Area and Power Capacity)



CANADA DATA CENTER INVESTMENT COVERAGE



 Infrastructure Type

o IT Infrastructure

o Electrical Infrastructure

o Mechanical Infrastructure

o General Construction



 IT Infrastructure

o Server

o Storage Systems

o Network Infrastructure



 Electrical Infrastructure

o UPS Systems

o Generators

o Transfer Switches and Switchgears

o PDUs

o Other Electrical Infrastructure



 Mechanical Infrastructure

o Cooling Systems

o Rack Cabinets

o Other Mechanical Infrastructure



 Cooling Systems

o CRAC & CRAH Units

o Chillers

o Cooling Towers, Condensers, and Dry Coolers

o Economizers & Evaporative Coolers

o Other Cooling Units



 General Construction

o Building Development

o Installation and Commissioning Services

o Building & Engineering Design

o Physical Security

o Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)



 Tier Segments

o Tier I & Tier II

o Tier III

o Tier IV



 Geography

o Montreal

o Toronto

o Other Cities



WHY SHOULD YOU BUY THIS RESEARCH?



 Market size available in the investment, area, power capacity, and colocation revenue.

 An assessment of the investment in Canada by colocation, hyperscale, and enterprise operators.

 Data center investments in the area (square feet) and power capacity (MW) across cities in the country.

 A detailed study of the existing market landscape, an in-depth industry analysis, and insightful predictions about the size of the market in Canada during the forecast period.

 Snapshot of existing and upcoming third-party facilities in Canada

o Facilities Covered (Existing): 112

o Facilities Identified (Upcoming): 3

o Coverage: 21+ Cities

o Existing vs. Upcoming (Data Center Area)

o Existing vs. Upcoming (IT Load Capacity)

 Data center colocation market in Canada

o Market Revenue & Forecast (2020-2026)

o Retail Colocation Pricing

o Wholesale Colocation Pricing

 Classification of the Canada data center market investments into multiple segments and sub-segments (IT, power, cooling, and general construction services) with sizing and forecast.

 A comprehensive analysis of the latest trends, growth rate, potential opportunities, growth restraints, and prospects for the industry.

 Business overview and product offerings of prominent IT infrastructure providers, construction contractors, support infrastructure providers, and investors operating in the industry.

 A transparent research methodology and the analysis of the demand and supply aspect of the industry.



KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED:



1. How big is the Canada data center market?

2. What are the investment opportunities in Canada data center market?

3. Who are the key investors in the data center market in Canada?

4. What is the COVID-19 Impact on the data center market in Canada?

5. What are the different segments covered in the Canada data center market report?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05934700/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
MONTREAL, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunshine Biopharma Inc. (OTC PINK: SBFM), a pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of oncology and antiviral drugs, today announced that it has expanded its board of directors from three to five and has appointed three new, independent directors. The three new directors are: Mr. Andrew Tesley, Esq, Mr. JD Kish, CPA and Dr. Rabi Kiderchah, MD. They bring legal, accounting and medical expertise to the Company. The following are their brief biographies:



Andrew Telsey is an AV rated attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Colorado since 1980. Since 1984, Mr. Telsey has been President and sole shareholder of Andrew I. Telsey, P.C., Centennial, Colorado, a law firm emphasizing securities law, business transactions, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters for public and privately held development stage and emerging growth companies throughout both the US and internationally, including Russia, China, England, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Germany and several other countries. He has been Sunshines legal counsel since its inception.

James (JD) Kish has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant and President of KLA PC, Centennial, CO, an accounting firm, since 1982. He has worked with Sunshine since its inception.

Dr, Rabi Kiderchah is a licensed physician in Canada. From 2000 until August 2021, he was working at Argenteuil Hospital, Lachute, Quebec, Canada, as an emergency room physician. He has also worked as what is referred to in Canada as a medecins depanneurs, working in rural areas where there are not enough ER doctors. Since August 2011 he has worked at Rabi Kiderchah Medecin Inc. as a freelance physician in the Quebec, Canada area.

We are delighted to have Andy, JD and Dr. Kiderchah join our team. We welcome them on board and look forward to calling on their expertise in our ongoing efforts to take the Company to new heights, said Dr. Steve Slilaty, CEO of Sunshine Biopharma.

The Company accepted the resignation of Mr. Camille Sebaaly as a director. Mr. Sebaaly will continue as Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

About Sunshine Biopharma

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 5 million people worldwide since it first appeared in December 2019. There are currently no drugs that can effectively arrest replication of the virus in people who have contracted the illness. Sunshine Biopharma has completed the synthesis of four potential inhibitors of PLpro and subsequently identified a lead compound, SBFM-PL4. On February 1, 2021, Sunshine Biopharma entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of Georgia for two Anti-Coronavirus compounds which the University of Georgia had previously developed and patented. The Company is currently advancing the development of these two compounds in parallel with its own SBFM-PL4 by conducting a transgenic mice study in collaboration with the University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy. The mice being used in the study have been genetically engineered to express the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) transmembrane protein in their lungs making them susceptible to lethal infection by SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses the hACE2 receptor to gain entry into human cells to replicate. The goal of the study is to determine if these protease inhibitors will protect the hACE2-transgenic mice from disease progression and death following infection with SARS-CoV-2. Should these mice studies prove successful, Sunshine Biopharma plans to submit the results to the FDA for authorization to conduct testing on actual COVID-19 patient volunteers in a Phase I clinical trial setting.

In addition, to working on the development of a treatment for COVID-19, Sunshine Biopharma is engaged in the development Adva-27a, a unique anticancer compound. Tests conducted to date have demonstrated the effectiveness of Adva-27a at destroying Multidrug Resistant Cancer Cells, including Pancreatic Cancer cells, Small-Cell Lung Cancer cells, Breast Cancer cells, and Uterine Sarcoma cells. Clinical trials for Pancreatic Cancer indication are planned to be conducted at McGill Universitys Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Canada. Sunshine Biopharma is owner of all patents and intellectual property pertaining to Adva-27a.

Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues statements related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Among other matters, the Company may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based upon many factors including but not limited to general stock market conditions. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Company's most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in our expansion of our existing as well as new service lines noting there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. Additional service offerings may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s) based upon the various geopolitical locations we will be providing services in, the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time.

For Additional Information Contact:

Camille Sebaaly, CFO

Sunshine Biopharma Inc.

Direct Line: 514-814-0464

camille.sebaaly@sunshinebiopharma.com

www.sunshinebiopharma.com
English Finnish

TELESTE CORPORATION STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 3.11.2021 at 18:40 EET

Teleste appoints Esa Harju as CEO



Teleste's Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Esa Harju (born 1967) as the new President and CEO of Teleste Corporation. Esa Harju will take up his post as CEO on 1 January 2022. Teleste's current CEO, Mr. Jukka Rinnevaara, will retire from the company in 2022, in accordance with his contract, after a transition period.



Esa Harju has been a member of Teleste's Management Group since 2016 in the role of Senior Vice President, Video Security and Information. Before joining Teleste, Esa was the CEO of Ixonos Plc and, prior to that, the CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks Finland Oy. He has also held various international executive positions at Nokia. He holds a M.Sc. Degree in Engineering.

I want to wish Esa Harju the best of luck and success in his role as our President and CEO. Esa has extensive experience in the technology sector and international business. Telestes primary markets are in the middle of a technological transformation and we are in the process of opening up new markets, especially in North America. I'm convinced that, under Esa's leadership, Teleste will continue its renewal and strategic growth, says Mr. Timo Luukkainen, Chairman of Teleste's Board of Directors.

"I'm proud and motivated to become Teleste's CEO," Esa Harju says. Teleste has a strong market position in its business segments, including European market leadership in cable network technologies as well as significant growth in public transport and security sector. While there are surely many challenges ahead, we also see significant growth opportunities in line with our strategy. Teleste has world-class expertise and I have full confidence in our ability to create shareholder value through growth, Harju adds.

Jukka Rinnevaara will step down from his role as CEO at the end of 2021. His contractual age of retirement is 60 years, which he reached last spring. Jukka has agreed to complete certain strategic projects specified by the Board of Directors and, during the early part of next year, he will focus on supporting the smooth transition of CEO duties to Esa. I'm very pleased that the Board of Directors has chosen Esa as the new CEO. He has everything it takes to achieve success in this position, Rinnevaara says.

Jukka Rinnevaara is a highly regarded leader among Teleste's employees, Board of Directors, shareholders and other stakeholders. Teleste has grown stronger and achieved significant growth during his long tenure as CEO. Just like mobile telecommunications operators have transitioned from 2G to 3G, 4G and now to 5G networks, so have the cable TV and broadband operators seen transition and evolution of several technology generations. During Jukka's time in his position, we have navigated several technology cycles while strengthening our position as Europe's leading technology company in our operating segments. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire company, I want to take this opportunity to thank Jukka for his long and very valuable contribution to Teleste and wish him the best of luck and success in the future, Timo Luukkainen concludes.





Inquiries for more information and interview requests:

Hannele Ahlroos

Executive Assistant

Email: hannele.ahlroos@teleste.com

Tel. +358 40 721 2900
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (Teck) today announced it has committed to the Copper Mark, a voluntary assurance framework to promote responsible production practices and demonstrate the industrys commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Highland Valley Copper Operations is Tecks first copper operation to sign up for Copper Mark with plans for each of Tecks copper operations to be verified.

Copper is critical for the transition to a low-carbon economy and we have outlined near-term plans and future opportunities for significant copper production growth in the years ahead, and we are focused on being a responsible producer of this essential metal, said Don Lindsay, President and CEO, Teck. Our participation in the Copper Mark is another way were enhancing transparency and ensuring customers have the information they need on our performance as a responsible copper producer.

Copper has a critical role to play in the green transition as a vital material in clean energy technologies, said Michele Brulhart, Executive Director of the Copper Mark. The Copper Mark sets out a framework to verify that copper producers operate responsibly while contributing to the development of the low-carbon economy.

To achieve the Copper Mark, Tecks Highland Valley Copper operations in Canada will be assessed and independently verified against 32 responsible production criteria this year. Teck currently plans for its Carmen de Andacollo operations in Chile and the QB2 project in Chile, which is expected to begin production in the second half of 2022, to begin the Copper Mark assurance process in 2023.

Tecks approach to operating responsibly is underpinned by a long-term sustainability strategy which sets out goals in the areas of Health and Safety, Climate Change, Responsible Production, Our People, Water, Tailings Management, Communities and Indigenous Peoples, and Biodiversity and Reclamation. Learn more about Tecks sustainability strategy here.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information as defined in the Securities Act (Ontario). The forward-looking statements relate to our long-term sustainability strategy, our expectations with respect to achieving Copper Mark verification at Highland Valley Copper and Carmen de Andacollo operations and the QB2 project, and our estimated timing of first production from QB2. 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. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on assumptions regarding commodity prices, general economic conditions and the performance of our business, our ability to achieve our sustainability goals, as well as there being no unexpected material and negative impact to the various contractors, suppliers and subcontractors for the QB2 project relating to COVID-19 or otherwise that would impair their ability to provide goods and services as anticipated, among other matters. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Factors that may cause actual results to vary include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity prices or general economic conditions, actual climate-change consequences, adequate technology not being available on adequate terms, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, political risk, social unrest, changes in laws and governmental regulations or enforcement thereof that impact our operations or strategy, and our continued ability to successfully manage through the impacts of COVID. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required under securities laws.

Further information concerning risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements can be found in our annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed under our profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under cover of Form 40-F, as well as subsequent filings under our profile.

About The Copper Mark

The Copper Mark is an assurance framework to promote responsible practices and demonstrate the copper industrys contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Copper Mark uses a rigorous site-level assessment process to independently verify whether individual copper producing sites have responsible production practices.

The Copper Mark is built on a genuine commitment to responsible production as we aim to mitigate the environmental and social impact of the copper industry, and positively contribute to sustainable development goals and the green transition.

The Copper Mark framework involves a robust three-year re-evaluation process conducted by independent external auditors at site-level for participants. Participants commit to continual improvement, building the management systems necessary to ensure ongoing legal compliance. To achieve Copper Mark verification, operations also need to demonstrate efforts to achieve Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and maintain trusted, collaborative relationships with local Indigenous communities.

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:

Fraser Phillips

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis

604.699.4621

fraser.phillips@teck.com

Media Contact:

Chris Stannell

Public Relations Manager

604.699.4368

chris.stannell@teck.com




NEW YORK, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The KoreSummit, an event created by KoreConX to explore major aspects of the capital raising journey, Equity Crowdfunding and technology with experts, was held last week. Partners included Moxie, Crowdcheck Law, Carman Lehnhof Israelsen, Dalmore Group, Rialto Markets, New Direction Trust, Ext-Marketing, and DNA (Digital Niche Agency). More than 116 companies interested in raising capital in Cannabis attended this virtual event.

Guests discussed how Cannabis and Regulation A+ fits and how to create a capital raising journey for their business. Experts from different sectors shared their experience and knowledge about all the stages in using Regulation A+ to create a successful campaign for Cannabis companies and investors. It's important to note that this business is expanding and creating more space - as more states continue to legalize this sector, more opportunities for investments to come.

"The idea of our KoreSummit is to demystify the capital raising journey opportunities and provide education to anyone who wants to raise money for their business. With more than 11 years of living and learning how crowdfunding works, we at KoreConX want to offer free education to entrepreneurs and companies seeking to raise capital," says Oscar Jofre, CEO and Co-founder of KoreConX. "I am an enthusiastic learner. I believe that knowledge is a key to empowering people. In addition, our partners bring a broad base of expertise that can help people who are looking for reliable information on creating crowdfunding campaigns."

The Cannabis KoreSummit covered all the stages of raising money and had the collaboration of lawyers, broker-dealers, compliance, and marketing experts to help participants understand this Regulation. KoreConX's team members discussed the requirements of an "All-in-One" technology platform with solutions that unify all parts of the Reg A+ offering process.

KoreConX will hold two more KoreSummits until December this year. These KoreSummits will bring focus to diverse themes and sectors, such as Digital Securities. Participation is always free.

About KoreConX

Founded in 2016, KoreConX is the first secure, All-In-One platform that manages private companies' capital market activity and stakeholder communications. With an innovative approach and to ensure compliance with securities regulations and corporate law, KoreConX offers a single environment to connect companies to the capital markets and now secondary markets. Additionally, investors, broker-dealers, law firms, accountants and investor acquisition firms, all leverage our eco-system solution. For investor relations and fundraising, the platform enables private companies to share and manage corporate records and investments: it assists with portfolio management, capitalization table and shareholder management, virtual minute book, security registration, transfer agent services, and virtual deal rooms for raising capital. The All-In-One platform manages the full life cycle of digital securities, including their issuance, trading, clearing, settlement, management, reporting, corporate actions, and custodianship.

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Media Contacts:

KoreConX

Carolina Casimiro

carolina@koreconx.com

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Beverly Hills , Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Higher education expert Bakhtiyor Isoev released two new episodes of the Education & Empowerment Podcast. The episodes feature interviews with Dr. Tom Harnisch, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO)'s Vice President for Government Relations, and Michael Akin, the President of LINK Strategic Partners, a "strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and social impact consulting firm" based in Washington, DC.

In the just-released episodes, Harnisch and Akin emphasize the importance of collaboration and strategic partnership when it comes to the post-pandemic future of higher education policy.

"Game-Changing" Higher Education Reform on the Horizon

"It's an incredibly exciting time to be working in Higher Education policy," says Dr. Tom Harnisch, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO)'s Vice President for Government Relations. Though the pandemic continues to challenge colleges and universities in unprecedented ways, Harnisch believes that opportunities abound.

The most significant obstacle facing the higher education sector right now is a lack of resources for public colleges and universities, which, Harnisch points out, serve 75% of college students. State budget cuts have hurt many of states' most vulnerable students--or those who have the fewest resources and the highest needs. This is where SHEEO comes in.

As the Vice President for Government Relations, Harnisch's job is to "build a cohesive policy architecture" between state and federal government in order to amplify the voices of state leaders and address these funding and accessibility gaps. Harnisch is optimistic about the Biden administration's approach to higher education policy reform. "If realized", he says, "[several proposed pieces of legislation] would be the most sweeping reform of higher education since the Higher Education Act."

Listen to the full interview of Dr. Tom Harnisch with Bakhtiyor Isoev on 4stay.

How to leverage "Town and Gown" Partnerships

"Innovation is about learning the moment you're in", says Michael Akin, a self-described "community builder and changemaker" and the President and CEO of LINK Strategic Partner. Akin's interest in higher education comes from early hands-on experience developing the "community" arm of George Washington University's Office of Government and Community Affairs.

According to Akin, the pandemic has given us the "opportunity to build back not just to normal, but to something that is a better, more equitable version of normal." He believes the key to this new normal is strategic partnership, particularly between colleges and universities and the cities and communities they're a part of. "We need to physically and literally take down the walls", Akin says. His firm helps higher education institutions and their partners cultivate and sustain these partnerships. "What is the most authentic and effective way to engage stakeholders...in decision-making?" he asks.

Ultimately, Akin says, it's important to first "embrace uncertainty" when it comes to forging new partnerships. But it's equally important to take steps towards formalizing that partnership in due time.

Listen to the full interview of Michael Akin with Bakhtiyor Isoev on 4stay.

About: The Education & Empowerment Podcast explores success and advancement through education by interviewing today's top leaders in the fields of education, business and technology. This show is brought to you by 4stay, a SaaS-enabled Online Booking marketplace for student and intern housing. Learn more at: https://4stay.com/

Want to partner with 4stay? Explore our Turnkey All-in-One Solutions at offcampus.4stay.com or landlords.4stay.com.

Email us at ibr@4stay.com or learn more at 4stay.com

More episodes may be found here:https://podcast.4stay.com/

Media Communications

Inquiries: adamtorres@missionmatters.com

Publicist for Adam Torres and Mission Matters Media KISS PR Brand Story PressWire

Brand Publicity Partners KissPR.com



For more details, visit Kisspr.com [PR Distribution]. KISS PR Digital PR & Marketing powers the Mission Matters Business podcast with brand storytelling. T: 972.437.8942

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Under Mr. Raines leadership, TELUS Agriculture will continue its focus on leveraging technology to digitally enhance food quality and security, with the goal of increasing food availability for communities across the globe.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following an extensive global search, TELUS today announced that John Raines is joining the organization as President, TELUS Agriculture, effective November 29, 2021. A global-leading agriculture technology company, TELUS Agriculture provides innovative connected technology solutions and leverages real-time data to optimize the food value chain.

I am thrilled to welcome John as a vital member of our TELUS senior leadership team, said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO, TELUS. With over 20 years of global experience in the agriculture sector, John is exceedingly well-positioned to lead the ongoing evolution of TELUS Agriculture. Indeed, leveraging his tremendous expertise in respect of data science and digital agriculture, in concert with his genuine passion for farming and agriculture, John will further progress our goal of connecting the entire agricultural value chain with smart, secure, end-to-end technology software solutions to ensure a safer and more nutritious food supply for citizens around the world.

Raised serving farmers, Mr. Raines has more than two decades of leadership experience in the agricultural sector. His considerable tenure and expertise in the digitization of agriculture data have resulted in numerous achievements, including the completion of multi-billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions within North America and around the globe. He also led the global commercialization of the largest digital agriculture platform in North America, South America, and Europe, and established high-performing, international operations across the agriculture sector.



Im very proud to be joining one of the world's largest, pure-play agriculture technology teams, with a scope that covers over 50 countries worldwide and some of the best minds in the business, said Mr. Raines. Im very inspired about TELUS Agricultures absolute commitment to feed the world by building a more sustainable, abundant, and secure food supply for generations to come, and I look forward to leading our digital agriculture team in realizing our collective goals.

About TELUS Agriculture

TELUS Agriculture leverages technology and data to enable a better flow of information across the agriculture and food industry. We deliver better food outcomes for consumers, while enabling cross-industry collaboration, with solutions that drive efficiencies and profit for farmers and ranchers, agribusinesses, and food, beverage, consumer goods and retail companies. TELUS Agricultures growing list of solutions includes farm management software, precision agronomy, traceability, supply chain and trade promotion management. TELUS Agriculture is backed by a team of over 1,500 experts across Canada, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Armenia, Germany, China, and Australia.

For more information please visit telus.com/agriculture, follow us @TELUS_Ag on Twitter and TELUS Agriculture on LinkedIn.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a dynamic, world-leading communications technology company with $16 billion in annual revenue and 16 million customer connections spanning wireless, data, IP, voice, television, entertainment, video, and security. We leverage our global-leading technology and compassion to enable remarkable human outcomes. Our longstanding commitment to putting our customers first fuels every aspect of our business, making us a distinct leader in customer service excellence and loyalty. In 2020, TELUS was recognized as having the fastest wireless network in the world, reinforcing our commitment to provide Canadians with access to superior technology that connects us to the people, resources and information that make our lives better. TELUS Health is Canadas leader in digital health technology, improving access to health and wellness services and revolutionizing the flow of health information across the continuum of care. TELUS Agriculture provides innovative digital solutions throughout the agriculture value chain, supporting better food outcomes from improved agri-business data insights and processes. TELUS International (TSX and NYSE: TIXT) is a leading digital customer experience innovator that delivers next-generation AI and content management solutions for global brands across the technology and games, ecommerce and FinTech, communications and media, healthcare, travel and hospitality sectors. TELUS and TELUS International operate in 25+ countries around the world. Together, lets make the future friendly.

Driven by our passionate social purpose to connect all citizens for good, our deeply meaningful and enduring philosophy to give where we live has inspired TELUS, our team members and retirees to contribute more than $820 million and 1.6 million days of service since 2000. This unprecedented generosity and unparalleled volunteerism have made TELUS the most giving company in the world.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com , follow us @TELUSNews on Twitter and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.
Chia Min Tan joins EV Cargo as Global CFO



Role is responsible for leading all EV Cargo finance functions on a global basis

Hire comes as EV Cargo continues rapid global growth





HONG KONG, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Headquartered in Hong Kong, EV Cargo, a leading global freight forwarding, supply chain and technology company, has announced the hiring of a new Global CFO. Ms. Chia Min Tan will be based in Hong Kong and will be responsible for leading all EV Cargo finance functions on a global basis.

Ms. Tan brings a wealth of experience to this newly created role. Prior to joining EV Cargo, Ms. Tan was Group CFO at Fullerton Health, a healthcare group providing healthcare management and delivery across 10 markets in Asia Pacific. In that role, she led the core Group finance functions and provided strategic recommendations to members of the executive management team and country leaders on commercial insights and long-term business and financial planning.

Before that, Ms. Tan served as alternate chief executive of Goldman Sachs Asia Bank Limited from 2017 to 2020. She was managing director at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong from 2014 to 2020, having joined as an executive director in 2007 in their finance function. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Ms. Tan was Vice President at JP Morgan Chase Bank in Hong Kong and Singapore in the Finance and Business Management team within the Corporate and Investment Bank division from 2002 to 2007. Earlier in her career, she was a manager at Arthur Andersen in Transaction Advisory Services. Ms. Tan holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from Nanyang Technological University and is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of Singapore with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

EV Cargo, which manages supply chains for the worlds leading brands, is targeting to grow from its current base of $1.4bn and surpass $3bn of revenue by 2025 through organic growth and M&A. With an active pipeline of acquisition candidates and well-developed M&A capabilities, EV Cargo plans to build on its strong existing geographic footprint in Asia and Europe, as well as expand into the USA. With ongoing opportunities and challenges across global supply chains, EV Cargo continues to invest in building a global team positioned for growth and resilience.

Heath Zarin, Founder and CEO of EV Cargo, said: I am absolutely delighted that Chia Min has joined EV Cargo as Global CFO. The new role will be critical for supporting our ambitious global growth plans and she brings enormous and extremely senior experience to the position. She joins a superb senior leadership group who will drive our next phase of development.

Chia Min Tan, Global CFO of EV Cargo, added: I am thrilled to join EV Cargo as it continues its rapid international growth. The firm has very exciting plans which I am very glad to be part of and plays a crucial part in powering the global economy by providing technology-enabled supply chain services at a time of dramatic change in the space.

Notes for editors

About EV Cargo:

Headquartered in Hong Kong, EV Cargo is a leading global freight forwarding, supply chain and technology services company with over $1.4bn in revenue. EV Cargo powers the global economy by managing supply chains for the worlds leading brands, with a vision to transform logistics into a technology industry.

EV Cargo was created in 2018 by Hong Kong-based growth-oriented private equity investment group EmergeVest, facilitating a step-change in value creation via a sizeable, scalable and diversified logistics-technology company, well-positioned for future growth. Now a global leader, EV Cargo is driving the transformation of logistics into a technology industry, underpinned by its core values of growth, innovation, and sustainability as a signatory to the UN Global Compact.

Media contact:

For further information please contact:

Christen Thomson, Senior Director, Citigate Dewe Rogerson: christen.thomson@citigatedewerogerson.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/85ac689a-c89b-450e-9f7d-78775bb99ab8
Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Osborne Mint is the oldest and longest-operating private mint in the United States of America. This is the first time since the mints founding in 1835 that they have opened a competition to place anyones creative onto a real silver collectible round, but the deadline to enter is rapidly approaching, this Friday, November 5, 2021. This opportunity is for any designer, artist or doodler to see their work become metallic art, being embossed forever on a one troy ounce .999 pure silver collectible round, measuring 39 mm (1.54) in diameter and 0.12 thick.

The competition has received a true variety of entrants already; however, there is still time to get your entry in queue, as long as you upload your work by 5 p.m. this Friday, November 5, 2021 (Eastern Standard Time).

Here at Osborne Mint the entries have been overwhelming, not only in numbers but, more so in creativity. The variety of designs, the culmination of colors, the imagery, the topics and the beauty of the art is amazing. The competition is going to make selecting the winners extremely difficult, stated Gibson Olpp, Marketing Manager at Osborne Mint, this diversity is exactly what we had hoped for at the conception of the contest and there is still time for more entries.

After this Fridays, November 5, 2021, 5 p.m. EST deadline all the entries will be reviewed by the team at Osborne Mint to select the winners. After a consensus of the winners, Osborne Mint will make a formal announcement before Thanksgiving 2021, via the Osborne Mint website and across their social media platforms  Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, to celebrate the winners.

There is still time to capture this great opportunity to dazzle the team at Osborne Mint with your creativity. Participants can enter the competition by completing the entry form on the Osborne Mint website and then loading their artwork with a simple click (acceptable formats include eps, pdf, jpeg and tiffs). Design work can include sketches, drawings, paintings, digital designs, photography. The competition is open to most anything  however you choose to share your creativity. Multiple designs can be loaded from the portal with a maximum of three pieces per entry. The three uploads per entry can represent a matching series, individual designs or completed unrelated art. Each entry will receive a confirmation email upon completion of the entry form and upload. There are no limits to the number of designs you can enter, so start your entries now. Remember the deadline is this Friday, November 5, 2021 at 5 p.m.

Visit the award entry webpage for more information on the regulations, requirements and production specifications that accompany the competition. Please only submit art created by you and with which you hold all rights. To avoid disqualification, do not submit copyrighted or trademarked materials of any kind. Designs including logos, known persons (living or dead), profanity or vulgarity are not accepted. All submitted artwork and designs become the property of Osborne Mint. For more details on the competitions terms and conditions, please visit the bottom of the contest website page: www.osbornemint.com/your-art-on-a-coin-contest.

Remember the deadline is this Friday, November 5, 2021 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Osborne Mint will feature this unique award-winning collectible for sale through certified distribution partners.

Osborne Mint products are proudly made in the USA and every purchase of an Osborne Mint product supports American jobs.

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About Osborne Mint: www.OsborneMint.com / #OsborneMint

Established in 1835, Osborne Mint is Americas oldest continuously operating private mint. Osborne Mint is part of the Osborne Coinage family, which includes Osborne Coinage, TokensDirect and Van Brook of Lexington. The mint, a 60,000 square foot facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, houses the development, engraving and manufacturing of numismatic quality collectible rounds, bars and coins. Products manufactured by Osborne hold to strict standards for metal purity, weight and dimensions. Osborne Mint strikes thousands of collectible rounds annually and circulates them to the public through certified distributors. Featured collections include; our Aliens Series, The Galaxies and Nebulae, The Fight for Freedoms Sake, and The American Legacy Collection. Gold plate, fine silver, copper and brass collections from Osborne Mint are truly pieces of art and are 100% Made in America.

Stay in the know, follow our hashtag: #OsborneMint

For more information on Osborne Mint visit our website: www.OsborneMint.com

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Charlotte, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ms. Transformed Clothing Boutique, a womens clothing boutique in Charlotte, North Carolina, is offering a plethora of womens clothing options such as dresses, tops, bottoms, jumpsuits, sets, coats, fitness wear, and jackets for sale online. The boutiques selection of womens wear is handpicked to appeal to the tastes of the discerning, style-conscious shopper.

The boutique is women-owned and Black-owned. The founder uses her design sensibilities and stylistic choices to give the boutiques ideal sophisticated clientele a selection that they will find appealing. The clothing is curated with an eye on the needs of the modern woman who would like to make a statement in both her personal and professional life. The wide range of clothing on offer can be worn in a number of situations, in daily life as well as on special occasions that call for choosing the pick of the wardrobe.

When asked about the motivation behind setting up the store, Linda Scott, the spokesperson for the boutique says, We started with a vision to provide an outlet for women to express and treat themselves. Facing lifes challenges can be tasking and can easily take a toll on ones mental health and wellbeing. We wanted to offer women from all walks of life and purchasing power to find the right clothes that not only encapsulate their mood for the day or week but also give them a chance to pamper and spoil themselves, regardless of their budget. As a minority-owned and operated business, we are doing our best to stay true to that vision and, so far, we have been succeeding with flying colors. We invite every woman who finds us online to take the time to browse our carefully selected directory of clothing options to find the item that perfectly captures her essence. When you are done browsing our listings, follow us on the Ms. Transformed Boutique - Facebook page to stay updated with the new designs that we regularly add to our collection.

The boutiques eclectic selection of dresses includes head-turning designs such as Abigail Black Dress, Addison Wrap Dress, Adley Sparkling Red Dress, Alex Ruffled Wrap Dress, Amanda Royal Blue Dress, Amara Antique Green Dress, Amelia Ruffle Midi Dress, Ashley Mermaid Maxi Dress, Barbara Rhinestone Dress, Belinda Bodycon Dress, Belle Shimmer Midi Dress, and Bianca Cream Pink Dress, just to name a few.

The store is filled with positive reviews that praise the quality and designs of the dressed available. One of the reviews for the Amanda Royal Blue Dress says, I love the color and fit of the Amanda dress. The neckline is designed to be worn with or without a necklace. If youre looking for a beautiful church, work, or cocktail dress, select the Amanda dress.

Its selection of tops includes show-stopping designs such as Alina Sunshine Bodysuit, Angel White Bodysuit, Angela Button-Down Top, Ann Collared Sweater Top, Ann Metallic Top, Anna Long Sleeve Bodysuit, Anna V-Neck Bodysuit, Anna White Bodysuit, Aspen Black/White Crop Top, Aubree Super Soft Crop Top, Ava Green-Black Mock-Neck Sweater, and Beatrice Off The Shoulder Bodysuit, just to name a few.

Ms. Transformed also has a special Divas on a Budget section that is home to a number of clothing options that can be had for as little as $12. The store says that a price-conscious consumer is assured to find something in that section that can give her wardrobe a nice boost for a bargain price. The Divas on a Budget section contains items such as Amy Knit Legging, Betty Faux Leather Crocodile, Camilla Bodycon Midi Dress, Candy Camouflage Mini Dress, Carla Contrast Zipper Jacket, Charlie Navy Skirt, Charlotte Strapless Dress, Claire Long Sleeve Transparent Sleeve, Daisy Skirt, Davia Square Neck Long Sleeve Body Dress, Dee Camouflage Slit Skirt Set, and Elaine Pencil Skirt, just to name a few.

Readers can find out more about the store by heading over to its website at https://mstransformedboutique.com. The boutique can also be contacted at the phone number (704) 572-4052 or at the email address mstransformedclothingboutique@gmail.com.

###

For more information about Ms. Transformed Clothing Boutique, contact the company here:



Ms. Transformed Clothing Boutique

Linda Scott

(704) 900-8120

mstransformedclothingboutique@gmail.com

5009 Beatties Ford Rd Ste 104

Charlotte, NC 28216
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021. The Company reported a net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Normalized FFO for the three months ended September 30, 2021 totaled $62.4 million, or $0.43 per diluted common share.



Salient quarterly highlights include:

Normalized FFO per share totaled $0.43, an increase of 6.4% from $0.41 in the third quarter of 2020.





Same store cash NOI for the third quarter increased 1.8% over the third quarter of 2020. For the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2021, same store cash NOI grew 2.1%.





Predictive growth measures in the same store portfolio include:



Average in-place rent increases of 2.91%



Future annual contractual increases of 3.0% for leases commencing in the quarter



Weighted average cash leasing spreads of 3.0% on 360,000 square feet renewed:



6% (<0% spread)



12% (0-3%)



62% (3-4%)



20% (>4%)



Tenant retention of 84.2%





Portfolio leasing activity in the third quarter totaled 626,000 square feet related to 179 leases:



395,000 square feet of renewals



231,000 square feet of new and expansion leases





During the third quarter, the Company acquired ten medical office buildings in eight transactions for $164.6 million totaling 532,000 square feet. Subsequent to the end of the third quarter, the Company acquired one 57,000 square foot medical office building for $23.0 million.



In Denver, the Company acquired five buildings for $113.7 million totaling 400,000 square feet. The Company now owns eighteen properties in the Denver market.



Three buildings totaling 260,000 square feet for $70.4 million on AA rated AdventHealth's Porter Adventist Hospital campus, operated by Centura Health.



An 84,000 square foot property for $20.3 million on AA rated AdventHealths Parker Adventist Hospital campus, operated by Centura Health.



An off campus 57,000 square foot property for $23.0 million leased to a diverse mix of tenants. The investment was made through the TIAA joint venture.



In Colorado Springs, the Company acquired two buildings for $42.5 million totaling 93,000 square feet. The Company now owns eight properties in the Colorado Springs market.



A 70,000 square foot building for $33.4 million on BBB+ rated CommonSpirit Health's Penrose Hospital, operated by Centura Health.



An off campus 24,000 square foot property for $9.1 million, which included a three-acre land parcel for future development. The building is anchored by Centura Health and is located near the Penrose Hospital campus. The investment was made through the TIAA joint venture.



In Raleigh, the Company acquired two buildings for $15.8 million totaling 47,000 square feet. The Company now owns four properties in the Raleigh market.



A 29,000 square foot building for $10.0 million adjacent to A2 rated WakeMed Cary Hospital.



An 18,000 square foot property for $5.8 million, less than one mile from WakeMed Cary Hospital.



In Birmingham, a 30,000 square foot building for $9.3 million adjacent to publicly traded Community Health Systems flagship Grandview Medical Center. The Company now owns two buildings in the Birmingham market.



In Greensboro, an 18,000 square foot building for $6.4 million adjacent to AA- rated Cone Health's Alamance Regional Medical Center. The Company now owns eight buildings in the Greensboro market.





Year-to-date, the Company has acquired twenty-six buildings in twenty-one transactions totaling 1.3 million square feet for $481.1 million at a weighted average cap rate of 5.3%. Of this, the Company's joint venture partner, TIAA, has funded $61.6 million in seven buildings.





Year-to-date, the Company has sold twelve medical office buildings totaling 642,282 square feet for $127.9 million at a weighted average cap rate of 4.1%.





During the third quarter, the Company settled 2.0 million shares through its forward equity program, generating $61.3 million in net proceeds.



The Company currently has approximately 3.7 million shares to be settled through forward equity contracts and expects gross proceeds of approximately $115.9 million, before cost of borrowing under the forward contracts.





As of September 30, 2021, the Company had cash of $16.0 million and $609.5 million available on its revolver.





Net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 5.3 times at the end of the quarter.





A dividend of $0.3025 per share was paid during the quarter, which equaled 90.6% of FAD. Year to date, dividends paid equaled 87.0% of FAD.





A dividend of $0.3025 per share is payable on November 30, 2021 for stockholders of record on November 15, 2021.





On October 25, 2021, the Company released its third annual Corporate Responsibility Report. The Company also participated in the 2021 GRESB Assessment and was recognized as a Green Star rated entity.

Healthcare Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust that integrates owning, managing, financing and developing income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services throughout the United States. As of September 30, 2021, the Company was invested in 245 real estate properties in 24 states totaling 17.4 million square feet and had an enterprise value of approximately $6.1 billion, defined as equity market capitalization plus the principal amount of debt less cash. The Company provided leasing and property management services to 13.8 million square feet nationwide.

_____________________

Additional information regarding the Company, including this quarter's operations, can be found at www.healthcarerealty.com. Please contact the Company at 615.269.8175 to request a printed copy of this information.

In addition to the historical information contained within, the matters discussed in this press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks are discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Healthcare Realty Trust, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 under the heading "Risk Factors," and other risks described from time to time thereafter in the Company's SEC filings. Forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements. A reconciliation of all non-GAAP financial measures in this release is included herein.

Consolidated Balance Sheets 1 DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA ASSETS SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 DECEMBER 31, 2020 Real estate properties Land $375,342 $362,695 Buildings, improvements and lease intangibles 4,383,314 4,220,297 Personal property 11,555 11,195 Investment in financing receivable, net 104,806  Construction in progress 1,546  Land held for development 27,232 27,226 Total real estate properties 4,903,795 4,621,413 Less accumulated depreciation and amortization (1,322,577 ) (1,239,224 ) Total real estate properties, net 3,581,218 3,382,189 Cash and cash equivalents 16,000 15,303 Assets held for sale, net 13,603 20,646 Operating lease right-of-use assets 128,945 125,198 Financing lease right-of-use assets 20,760 19,667 Investments in unconsolidated joint ventures 122,345 73,137 Other assets, net 186,328 176,120 Total assets $4,069,199 $3,812,260 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 DECEMBER 31, 2020 Liabilities Notes and bonds payable $1,691,433 $1,602,769 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 79,381 81,174 Liabilities of properties held for sale 766 1,216 Operating lease liabilities 95,913 92,273 Financing lease liabilities 20,460 18,837 Other liabilities 65,913 67,615 Total liabilities 1,953,866 1,863,884 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders' equity Preferred stock, $.01 par value; 50,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding   Common stock, $.01 par value; 300,000 shares authorized; 147,542 and 139,487 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively 1,475 1,395 Additional paid-in capital 3,882,572 3,635,341 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (12,413 ) (17,832 ) Cumulative net income attributable to common stockholders 1,244,551 1,199,499 Cumulative dividends (3,000,852 ) (2,870,027 ) Total stockholders' equity 2,115,333 1,948,376 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $4,069,199 $3,812,260

The Consolidated Balance Sheets do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for complete financial statements.

Consolidated Statements of Income 1 DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 2020 2021 2020 Revenues Rental income $131,746 $123,384 $388,620 $368,385 Interest from financing receivable, net 1,917  2,426  Other operating 2,969 1,868 7,347 5,364 136,632 125,252 398,393 373,749 Expenses Property operating 55,518 50,171 159,241 146,305 General and administrative 8,207 7,299 25,251 23,498 Acquisition and pursuit costs 974 440 2,388 1,621 Depreciation and amortization 50,999 47,143 150,904 142,331 115,698 105,053 337,784 313,755 Other income (expense) Gain on sales of real estate assets 1,186 2,177 41,046 70,395 Interest expense (13,334 ) (14,154 ) (39,857 ) (42,556 ) Impairment of real estate assets (10,669 )  (16,581 )  Equity loss from unconsolidated joint ventures (183 ) (66 ) (404 ) (194 ) Interest and other income (expense), net  74 239 419 (23,000 ) (11,969 ) (15,557 ) 28,064 Net Income (loss) ($2,066 ) $8,230 $45,052 $88,058 Basic earnings per common share - Net income ($0.02 ) $0.06 $0.31 $0.65 Diluted earnings per common share - Net income ($0.02 ) $0.06 $0.31 $0.65 Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic 143,818 134,309 141,521 133,662 Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted 143,818 134,357 141,613 133,736

The Consolidated Statements of Income do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for complete financial statements.

Reconciliation of FFO, Normalized FFO and FAD DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA - UNAUDITED THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 2020 2021 2020 Net income (loss) ($2,066 ) $8,230 $45,052 $88,058 Gain on sales of real estate assets (1,186 ) (2,177 ) (41,046 ) (70,395 ) Impairment of real estate asset 10,669  16,581  Real estate depreciation and amortization 52,390 48,215 154,899 145,324 Proportionate share of unconsolidated joint venture adjustments 1,558 80 3,726 240 Funds from operations (FFO) $61,365 $54,348 $179,212 $163,227 Acquisition and pursuit costs 1 974 440 2,388 1,621 Lease intangible amortization 48 (35 ) (30 ) 694 Forfeited earnest money received   (500 )  Debt financing costs   283  Proportionate share of unconsolidated joint ventures 54  136  Normalized FFO $62,441 $54,753 $181,489 $165,542 Non-real estate depreciation and amortization 586 785 1,900 2,430 Non-cash interest amortization 2 720 934 2,511 2,715 Provision for bad debt, net 25 (144 ) 3 718 Straight-line rent income, net (1,171 ) (543 ) (3,459 ) (1,600 ) Stock-based compensation 2,538 2,445 8,183 7,449 Proportionate share of unconsolidated joint venture (341 ) 8 (1,051 ) 23 Normalized FFO adjusted for non-cash items 64,798 58,238 189,576 177,277 2nd generation TI (6,219 ) (5,323 ) (16,156 ) (17,368 ) Leasing commissions paid (4,531 ) (1,999 ) (9,528 ) (7,081 ) Capital additions (5,443 ) (4,580 ) (13,539 ) (12,827 ) Maintenance cap ex (16,193 ) (11,902 ) (39,223 ) (37,276 ) Funds available for distribution (FAD) $48,605 $46,336 $150,353 $140,001 FFO per common share - diluted $0.42 $0.40 $1.26 $1.21 Normalized FFO per common share - diluted $0.43 $0.41 $1.27 $1.23 FFO weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted 3 144,807 135,159 142,488 134,537

Acquisition and pursuit costs include third party and travel costs related to the pursuit of acquisitions and developments. Includes the amortization of deferred financing costs and discounts and premiums. The Company utilizes the treasury stock method which includes the dilutive effect of nonvested share-based awards outstanding of 911,594 and 874,189, respectively for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.



Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA - UNAUDITED

Management considers funds from operations ("FFO"), FFO per share, normalized FFO, normalized FFO per share, funds available for distribution ("FAD") to be useful non-GAAP measures of the Company's operating performance. A non-GAAP financial measure is generally defined as one that purports to measure historical financial performance, financial position or cash flows, but excludes or includes amounts that would not be so adjusted in the most comparable measure determined in accordance with GAAP. Set forth below are descriptions of the non-GAAP financial measures management considers relevant to the Company's business and useful to investors.

The non-GAAP financial measures presented herein are not necessarily identical to those presented by other real estate companies due to the fact that not all real estate companies use the same definitions. These measures should not be considered as alternatives to net income (determined in accordance with GAAP), as indicators of the Company's financial performance, or as alternatives to cash flow from operating activities (determined in accordance with GAAP) as measures of the Company's liquidity, nor are these measures necessarily indicative of sufficient cash flow to fund all of the Company's needs.

FFO and FFO per share are operating performance measures adopted by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc. (NAREIT). NAREIT defines FFO as net income (computed in accordance with GAAP) excluding depreciation and amortization related to real estate, gains and losses from the sale of certain real estate assets, gains and losses from change in control, and impairment write-downs of certain real assets and investments in entities when the impairment is directly attributable to decreases in the value of depreciable real estate held by the entity. The Company defines Normalized FFO as FFO excluding acquisition-related expenses, lease intangible amortization and other normalizing items that are unusual and infrequent in nature. FAD is presented by adding to Normalized FFO non-real estate depreciation and amortization, deferred financing fees amortization, share-based compensation expense and provision for bad debts, net; and subtracting maintenance capital expenditures, including second generation tenant improvements and leasing commissions paid and straight-line rent income, net of expense. The Company's definition of these terms may not be comparable to that of other real estate companies as they may have different methodologies for computing these amounts. FFO, Normalized FFO and FAD do not represent cash generated from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP and are not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs. FFO, Normalized FFO and FAD should not be considered an alternative to net income as an indicator of the Companys operating performance or as an alternative to cash flow as a measure of liquidity. FFO, Normalized FFO and FAD should be reviewed in connection with GAAP financial measures.

Management believes FFO, FFO per share, Normalized FFO, Normalized FFO per share, and FAD provide an understanding of the operating performance of the Companys properties without giving effect to certain significant non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization expense. Historical cost accounting for real estate assets in accordance with GAAP assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. However, real estate values instead have historically risen or fallen with market conditions. The Company believes that by excluding the effect of depreciation, amortization, gains or losses from sales of real estate, and other normalizing items that are unusual and infrequent, FFO, FFO per share, Normalized FFO, Normalized FFO per share and FAD can facilitate comparisons of operating performance between periods. The Company reports these measures because they have been observed by management to be the predominant measures used by the REIT industry and by industry analysts to evaluate REITs and because these measures are consistently reported, discussed, and compared by research analysts in their notes and publications about REITs.

Cash NOI and Same Store Cash NOI are key performance indicators. Management considers these to be supplemental measures that allow investors, analysts and Company management to measure unlevered property-level operating results. The Company defines Cash NOI as rental income and less property operating expenses. Cash NOI excludes non-cash items such as above and below market lease intangibles, straight-line rent, lease inducements, lease termination fees, tenant improvement amortization and leasing commission amortization. Cash NOI is historical and not necessarily indicative of future results.

Same Store Cash NOI compares Cash NOI for stabilized properties. Stabilized properties are properties that have been included in operations for the duration of the year-over-year comparison period presented and include redevelopment projects of existing same store properties. Accordingly, stabilized properties exclude properties that were recently acquired or disposed of, properties classified as held for sale, reposition properties and newly developed properties. The Company utilizes the reposition classification for properties experiencing a shift in strategic direction. Such a shift can occur for a variety of reasons, including a substantial change in the use of the asset, a change in strategy or closure of a neighboring hospital, or significant property damage. Such properties may require enhanced management, leasing, capital needs or a disposition strategy that differs from the rest of the portfolio. To identify properties exhibiting these reposition characteristics, the Company applies the following Company-defined criteria:

Properties having less than 60% occupancy that is expected to last at least two quarters;

Properties that experience a loss of occupancy over 30% in a single quarter; or

Properties with negative net operating income that is expected to last at least two quarters.



Any recently acquired property will be included in the same store pool once the Company has owned the property for eight full quarters. Newly developed properties will be included in the same store pool eight full quarters after substantial completion. Any additional square footage created by redevelopment projects at a same store property is included in the same store pool immediately upon completion. Any property included in the reposition property group will be included in the same store analysis once occupancy has increased to 60% or greater with positive net operating income and has remained at that level for eight full quarters.

Kara Smith

Investor Relations Manager

P: 615.269.8175
English French

MONTREAL, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stella-Jones Inc. (TSX: SJ) (Stella-Jones or the Company) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase the shares of Cahaba Pressure Treated Forest Products, Inc. (Cahaba Pressure) through its U.S. subsidiary for US$66 million, including working capital, which is currently estimated at US$8 million.



Cahaba Pressure manufactures, distributes and sells treated and untreated wood poles, crossties and posts and provides custom treating services, primarily utilizing creosote, copper naphthenate and pentachlorophenol at its wood treating facility in Brierfield, Alabama. The consolidated sales for the year ended December 31, 2020 totaled approximately US$56 million.

This acquisition will enhance Stella-Jones offerings and expand our capability to supply the needs of North Americas utility pole industry, said Eric Vachon, President and CEO of Stella-Jones. The addition of Cahaba Pressure will add to our capacity, further support the preservative offering to our customers and optimize the overall efficiency of our continental network.

The transaction is scheduled to close prior the end of December 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions. Stella-Jones intends to finance the transaction with its existing credit facilities.

ABOUT STELLA-JONES

Stella-Jones Inc. (TSX: SJ) is a leading producer and marketer of pressure-treated wood products. The Company supplies North Americas electrical utilities and telecommunication companies with utility poles, and the continents railroad operators with railway ties and timbers. Stella-Jones also manufactures and distributes residential lumber and accessories to retailers for outdoor applications, as well as industrial products for construction and marine applications. The Companys common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Except for historical information provided herein, this press release contains information and statements of a forward-looking nature concerning the proposed acquisition described herein. These statements are based on suppositions, risks and uncertainties as well as on management's best possible evaluation of future events. Such risks and uncertainties include, without excluding other considerations, the failure to satisfy closing conditions and the failure to complete or delay in completing the proposed acquisition for any other reason. As a result, readers are advised that actual results may differ from expected results and should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
TORONTO, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (Kirkland Lake Gold or the Company) (TSX:KL) (NYSE:KL) (ASX:KLA) today announced the Companys financial and operating results for the third quarter (Q3 2021) and first nine months (YTD 2021) of 2021. The results included record quarterly earnings driven by strong operating results, including record quarterly production and all-in sustaining costs(1) at Detour Lake and continued grade outperformance at Fosterville. The Company also reported solid earnings growth in YTD 2021 compared to the first nine months of 2020 (YTD 2020), resulting largely from increased revenue. The Companys full financial statements and management discussion & analysis are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Companys website at www.kl.gold . All dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.



Tony Makuch, President and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold, commented: Q3 2021 was a quarter of substantial progress, highlighted by record quarterly earnings, solid year-over-year production growth as well as unit costs significantly better than full-year guidance. We also released encouraging exploration results at all three of our cornerstone assets and remained on track with our key growth projects, including the #4 Shaft project at Macassa. A clear demonstration of the success of our exploration programs came in early September when we announced an increase of 10.1 million ounces in open-pit Measured and Indicated (M&I) Mineral Resources at Detour Lake. Tripling the open-pit M&I Mineral Resources is a critical milestone for the operation and is expected to contribute to strong growth in Mineral Reserves as we make further progress towards transforming Detour Lake into one of the worlds largest and most profitable gold mines.



On September 28, 2021, we announced an agreement to combine in a merger of equals with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (Agnico Eagle). Through this transaction, we will create a new leader in the gold mining industry, with the lowest unit costs, best risk profile, leadership in key areas of ESG and an extensive project pipeline to drive future growth. The combined company, to continue under the name Agnico Eagle, will have the financial strength to fund its extensive list of internal growth projects and ESG initiatives, pursue additional external value-creation opportunities, while also continuing to return substantial amounts of capital to shareholders. The new Agnico Eagle will warrant a premium valuation, given its increased scale, low-cost and low-risk operations and superior financial performance and strength, and will be ideally positioned to generate superior long-term returns for shareholders going forward.

RECORD NET EARNINGS AND EPS IN Q3 2021

Net earnings of $254.9M ($0.96/share), 26% increase from Q3 2020, 4% higher than Q2 2021; Adjusted EPS ( 1) of $241.3M ($0.91/share) in Q3 2021





Net earnings of $254.9M ($0.96/share), 26% increase from Q3 2020, 4% higher than Q2 2021; Adjusted EPS of $241.3M ($0.91/share) in Q3 2021 SOLID PRODUCTION GROWTH FROM Q3 2020

370,101 oz in Q3 2021, up 9% from Q3 2020, similar to record production of 379,195 oz in Q2 2021





370,101 oz in Q3 2021, up 9% from Q3 2020, similar to record production of 379,195 oz in Q2 2021 STRONG UNIT-COST PERFORMANCE IN Q3 2021

Op. cash costs ( 1) of 438/oz sold, AISC (1) of $740/oz





Op. cash costs of 438/oz sold, AISC of $740/oz ON TRACK TO ACHIEVE FY 2021 GUIDANCE

Company targeting top half of production guidance (1.3  1.4M oz); On track to achieve op. cash costs/oz ( 1) guidance ($450  $475/oz) and AISC per/oz (1) guidance ($790  $810/oz)





Company targeting top half of production guidance (1.3  1.4M oz); On track to achieve op. cash costs/oz guidance ($450  $475/oz) and AISC per/oz guidance ($790  $810/oz) STRONG CASH FLOW GENERATION IN Q3 2021

Op. cash flow of $323.0M ($861.7M YTD 2021) with free cash flow ( 1) of $141.8M ($315.7M YTD 2021)





Op. cash flow of $323.0M ($861.7M YTD 2021) with free cash flow of $141.8M ($315.7M YTD 2021) RETURNED $333.9M TO SHAREHOLDERS (YTD 2021)

$183.6M used to repurchase 4,466,200 shares, $150.4M paid in dividends; $333.9M equates to $1.28/share and $317/oz produced





$183.6M used to repurchase 4,466,200 shares, $150.4M paid in dividends; $333.9M equates to $1.28/share and $317/oz produced SIGNIFICANT EXPLORATION SUCCESS ACHIEVED

Results at all three cornerstone assets highlight potential for continued growth in Mineral Reserves





Results at all three cornerstone assets highlight potential for continued growth in Mineral Reserves 10.1M OZ INCREASE IN OPEN-PIT M&I MINERAL RESOURCES AT DETOUR LAKE

Open-pit M&I Mineral Resources tripled to 14,718,000 oz (572.0M tonnes @ 0.80 g/t); increase in Mineral Resources expected to drive strong growth in Mineral Reserves





Open-pit M&I Mineral Resources tripled to 14,718,000 oz (572.0M tonnes @ 0.80 g/t); increase in Mineral Resources expected to drive strong growth in Mineral Reserves PROGRESS WITH ESG INITIATIVES

Additional investments made in support of local communities; further progress achieved towards net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier

STRONG TRACK RECORD FOR RETURNING CAPITAL TO SHAREHOLDERS

I n YTD 2021, the Company continued its strong track record for returning capital to shareholders, returning a total of $333.9 million, representing $1.28 per share and $317 per ounce produced in YTD 2021. Of the $339.9 million returned, $183.6 million of cash was used for the repurchase of 4,466,200 shares through the Companys normal course issuer bid (NCIB) (of which 3,392,100 shares were repurchased for $137.2 million through the Automatic Share Purchase Plan (ASPP)). An additional $150.4 million of cash was used for three quarterly dividend payments, each totalling $0.1875 per share, with the Q2 2021 dividend paid on July 14, 2021 to shareholders of record on June 30, 2021.

With the addition of share repurchases and dividend payments in YTD 2021, the Company has now returned a total of $1.36 billion to shareholders since the Company first introduced its NCIB in May 2017 and dividend policy in March 2017. Of this amount, $1.05 billion has been used to repurchase 31.5 million shares, while $315.2 million has been used to make 17 quarterly dividend payments, with the quarterly dividend having been increased seven times. In addition, since the middle of 2016, the Company has repaid or converted $190.4 million of debt, including repaying $98.6 million of debt held by Detour Gold Corporation shortly after its acquisition on January 31, 2020 and used $30.3 million to close out Detour Golds hedge positions relating to forward gold sales as well as hedges on currencies and diesel fuel. A substantial return was earned on the $30.3 million used to close out the hedge positions in 2020 given changes in gold and commodity prices and exchange rates during the year. The Company also repurchased a Net Smelter Return royalty at Macassa for $36.0 million. In aggregate, these uses of capital have provided over $1.60 billion of value to shareholders since the middle of 2016 at the same time that the Company has established one of the industrys strongest and cleanest balance sheets, with cash at September 30, 2021 of $822.4 million and no debt.

SUMMARY OF PERFORMANCE

Q3 2021

Net earnings totalled a record $254.9 million ($0.96 per share), a 26% increase from $202.0 million ($0.73 per share) in Q3 2020 and 4% higher than the previous quarterly record of $244.2 million ($0.91 per share) in Q2 2021; Adjusted net earnings ( 1) totalled $241.3 million ($0.91 per share) compared to $254.0 million ($0.92 per share) in Q3 2020 and $246.9 million ($0.92 per share) the previous quarter.

totalled a record $254.9 million ($0.96 per share), a 26% increase from $202.0 million ($0.73 per share) in Q3 2020 and 4% higher than the previous quarterly record of $244.2 million ($0.91 per share) in Q2 2021; Adjusted net earnings totalled $241.3 million ($0.91 per share) compared to $254.0 million ($0.92 per share) in Q3 2020 and $246.9 million ($0.92 per share) the previous quarter. Cash flows included net cash provided by operating activities of $323.0 million and free cash flow ( 1) of $141.8 million.

included net cash provided by operating activities of $323.0 million and free cash flow of $141.8 million. Revenue of $667.0 million, 5% increase from Q3 2020 and 1% higher than $662.7 million the previous quarter; Revenue of $667.0 million reflected gold sales of 372,100 ounces and an average realized gold price ( 1) of $1,791 per ounce.

of $667.0 million, 5% increase from Q3 2020 and 1% higher than $662.7 million the previous quarter; Revenue of $667.0 million reflected gold sales of 372,100 ounces and an average realized gold price of $1,791 per ounce. EBITDA ( 1)(2) of $451.6 million, 18% higher than $384.3 million in Q3 2020 and unchanged from $451.3 million in Q2 2021.

of $451.6 million, 18% higher than $384.3 million in Q3 2020 and unchanged from $451.3 million in Q2 2021. Capital expenditures totalled $157.9 million (excluding capitalized exploration expenditures), with sustaining capital expenditures ( 1) accounting for $69.4 million and growth capital expenditures (1) totalling $88.5 million.

totalled $157.9 million (excluding capitalized exploration expenditures), with sustaining capital expenditures accounting for $69.4 million and growth capital expenditures totalling $88.5 million. Exploration expenditures totalled $39.4 million in Q3 2021, including $31.5 million of capitalized expenditures and $7.9 million of expensed exploration expenditures.

Committed to returning capital to shareholders : $175.3 million returned to shareholders during Q3 2021 through share repurchases and dividend payments; 3,092,100 shares repurchased for $125.3 million through the Automatic Share Purchase Plan (ASPP), with $50.0 million being paid for the Q2 2021 quarterly dividend, paid on July 14, 2021 to shareholders of record on June 30, 2021; ASPP suspended on September 29, 2021 following the announcement of the Companys planned merger of equals with Agnico Eagle.

: $175.3 million returned to shareholders during Q3 2021 through share repurchases and dividend payments; 3,092,100 shares repurchased for $125.3 million through the Automatic Share Purchase Plan (ASPP), with $50.0 million being paid for the Q2 2021 quarterly dividend, paid on July 14, 2021 to shareholders of record on June 30, 2021; ASPP suspended on September 29, 2021 following the announcement of the Companys planned merger of equals with Agnico Eagle. Solid operating results Production 370,101 ounces compared to 339,584 ounces in Q3 2020 and quarterly record production of 379,195 ounces the previous quarter Production costs of $164.6 million Operating cash costs per ounce sold ( 1) of $438 compared to $406 in Q3 2020 and $431 in Q2 2021 AISC per ounce sold ( 1) of $740 , 16% improvement from $886 in Q3 2020 and 5% better than $780 the previous quarter.



(1) See Non-IFRS Measures in this press release and on pages 37  44 of the MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.

(2) Refers to Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.

YTD 2021

Net earnings totalled $660.3 million ($2.48 per share), a 19% increase from $555.1 million ($2.06 per share) in YTD 2020; Adjusted net earnings ( 1) of $656.0 million ($2.46 per share) versus $657.1 million ($2.43 per share) in YTD 2020.

totalled $660.3 million ($2.48 per share), a 19% increase from $555.1 million ($2.06 per share) in YTD 2020; Adjusted net earnings of $656.0 million ($2.46 per share) versus $657.1 million ($2.43 per share) in YTD 2020. Cash flows included net cash provided by operating activities of $861.7 million and free cash flow ( 1) of $315.7 million.

included net cash provided by operating activities of $861.7 million and free cash flow of $315.7 million. Revenue of $1,881.6 million, an increase of $113.0 million or 6% from $1,768.6 million in YTD 2020; Revenue of $1,881.6 million reflected gold sales of 1,044,704 ounces and an average realized gold price ( 1) of $1,798 per ounce.

of $1,881.6 million, an increase of $113.0 million or 6% from $1,768.6 million in YTD 2020; Revenue of $1,881.6 million reflected gold sales of 1,044,704 ounces and an average realized gold price of $1,798 per ounce. EBITDA ( 1)(2) of $1,243.8 million, 15% higher than $1,085.5 million in YTD 2020.

of $1,243.8 million, 15% higher than $1,085.5 million in YTD 2020. Capital expenditures of $428.6 million (excluding capitalized exploration expenditures), with sustaining capital expenditures ( 1) accounting for $211.2 million and growth capital expenditures (1) totalling $217.3 million.

of $428.6 million (excluding capitalized exploration expenditures), with sustaining capital expenditures accounting for $211.2 million and growth capital expenditures totalling $217.3 million. Exploration expenditures totalled $127.5 million, including $107.1 million of capitalized expenditures and $20.4 million of expensed exploration expenditures.

totalled $127.5 million, including $107.1 million of capitalized expenditures and $20.4 million of expensed exploration expenditures. Solid YTD 2021 operating results versus full-year 2021 guidance Production 1,052,143 ounces , a 5% increase from YTD 2020 (Full-year 2021 guidance: 1,300,000  1,400,000 ounces). Production costs of $494.4 million Operating cash costs per ounce sold ( 1) of $466 compared to $407 in YTD 2020 (Full-year 2021 guidance: $450  $475 per ounce sold) AISC per ounce sold ( 1) of $785 versus $804 in YTD 2020 (Full-year 2021 guidance: $790  $810 per ounce sold).



(1) See Non-IFRS Measures in this press release and on pages 37  44 of the MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.

(2) Refers to Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.



Q3 2021  Other Key Highlights

Significant exploration success at all three of its cornerstone assets

Detour Lake : New drill results provided additional evidence of a broad and continuous corridor of mineralization extending from the Main Pit through the Saddle Zone to the planned West Pit to a depth of at least 800 metres.





: New drill results provided additional evidence of a broad and continuous corridor of mineralization extending from the Main Pit through the Saddle Zone to the planned West Pit to a depth of at least 800 metres. Macassa : New drill results highlighted the potential to add significant new Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources in the South Mine Complex (SMC), with high-grade intersections reported outside of the existing deposit to the east, south and north, as well as up and down dip; The new results also included high-grade intersections in the area where the SMC merges with the Amalgamated Break, as well as the identification of potential new high-grade lenses to the southeast and in the footwall of the main SMC structure.





: New drill results highlighted the potential to add significant new Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources in the South Mine Complex (SMC), with high-grade intersections reported outside of the existing deposit to the east, south and north, as well as up and down dip; The new results also included high-grade intersections in the area where the SMC merges with the Amalgamated Break, as well as the identification of potential new high-grade lenses to the southeast and in the footwall of the main SMC structure. Fosterville: New exploration results demonstrated the substantial potential to discover new high-grade mineralized areas and extensions; The results included the intersection of high-grade quartz with visible gold (VG) down-plunge of the Swan Zone up to 500 metres from existing Mineral Reserves in the Lower Phoenix system, as well as at Cygnet 150 metres footwall to Swan Zone, and 1,000 metres down-plunge of existing Mineral Reserves at Robbins Hill.

10.1-million-ounce increase in Measured and Indicated (M&I) Mineral Resources at Detour Lake*: Open-pit, M&I Mineral Resources at Detour Lake increased 10,061,000 ounces or 216% to 14,718,000 ounces as at July 26, 2021 (572.0 million tonnes at average grade of 0.80 g/t) as part of a Mid-Year 2021 Mineral Resource update; New open-pit M&I Mineral Resource estimates include 12,214,000 ounces (386.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.98 g/t) at a cut-off grade of 0.50 g/t, with an additional 2,505,000 ounces (185.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.42 g/t) of low-grade Mineral Resources at a cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t/; The significant increase in Mineral Resources is expected to drive solid growth in Mineral Reserves as part of the December 31, 2021 Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource statement to be released in the first quarter of 2022.



* Readers are referred to the Companys Press Release dated September 2, 2021 and the Companys NI 43-101 Technical Report entitled Detour Lake Operation, Ontario, Canada, NI 43-101 Report effective as of July 26, 2021 as filed with the applicable regulatory authorities and the detailed Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates and footnotes set out therein.

MERGER OF EQUALS AGREEMENT WITH AGNICO EAGLE MINES LIMITED

On September 28, 2021, Kirkland Lake Gold and Agnico Eagle announced that the two companies had entered into an agreement to combine in a merger of equals (the Merger), with the combined company to continue under the name Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. The Merger is expected to create an industry leader among senior gold producers with low unit costs, high margins, the most favourable risk profile and industry-leading best practices in key areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG). Upon closing of the Merger, the new Agnico Eagle is expected to have $2.3 billion of available liquidity, a mineral reserve base of 48 million ounces of gold (969 million tonnes at 1.53 grams per tonne), which has doubled over the last 10 years, and an extensive pipeline of development and exploration projects to drive sustainable, low-risk growth.

The Merger will result in consolidation within one of the worlds leading gold regions, the Abitibi-Greenstone Belts of northeastern Ontario and northwestern Quebec, which will provide the new Agnico Eagle with significant value creation opportunities through synergies and other business improvement initiatives. Additionally, the Company will be uniquely established as the only gold producer in Nunavut and will also be well positioned internationally with profitable and prospective assets in Australia, Finland, and Mexico.

The combination of Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold brings together two leading producers in growing per share value in key metrics such as production, mineral reserves, cash flow and net asset value. Both companies also share a strong commitment to returning capital to shareholders, with a total of $1.6 billion being returned through dividend payments and share repurchases since the beginning of 2020 (on a pro forma basis).

The Merger will be effected by way of a plan of arrangement (the Arrangement). At closing, all Kirkland Lake Gold common shares will be exchanged for the 0.7935 of an Agnico Eagle common share, for each Kirkland Lake Gold common share held, with existing Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold shareholders expected to own approximately 54% and 46% of the combined company, respectively. The joint management information circular dated October 29, 2021 has been posted to the Companys website and filed on its profile on SEDAR. The Arrangement will require the approval of at least 66 2/3% of the votes cast by the shareholders of Kirkland Lake Gold voting at a special meeting of shareholders on November 26, 2021. The issuance of shares by Agnico Eagle under the Merger is subject to the approval of a simple majority of votes cast by Agnico Eagle shareholders at a special meeting of shareholders, also to be held on November 26, 2021.

Canadian Competition Act approval was received on October 4, 2021. Additionally, Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold have received relief from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission from compliance with the prospectus and secondary sale requirements of Part 6D.2 and Part 6D.3 of the Australian Corporations Act. The Merger is also subject to other closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature, including receipt of Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) (Australia), Ontario court approval and applicable stock exchange approvals. Subject to shareholder approval and the satisfaction of all other conditions, the Merger is expected to close either in December 2021 or in the first quarter of 2022.



REVIEW OF FINANCIAL AND OPERATING PERFORMANCE

Table 1. Financial and Operating Performance

(in 000's of dollars, except per share amounts)



Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30,

2021 September 30,

2020 June 30,

2021 September 30,

2021 September 30,

2020 Revenue $666,978 $632,843 $662,736 $1,881,560 $1,768,556 Production costs 164,620 136,023 159,726 494,427 439,030 Earnings before income taxes 341,485 295,316 339,126 916,594 815,123 Net earnings $254,946 $202,022 $244,167 $660,306 $555,132 Basic earnings per share $0.96 $0.73 $0.91 $2.48 $2.06 Diluted earnings per share $0.96 $0.73 $0.91 $2.47 $2.05 Cash flow from operating activities $322,993 $431,119 $330,571 $861,737 $894,859 Cash investment on mine development and PPE $181,203 $155,428 $199,344 $546,022 $394,220





(in 000's of dollars, except per share amounts)



Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30,

2021 September 30,

2020 June 30,

2021 September 30,

2021 September 30,

2020 Tonnes milled 6,454,757 6,144,753 6,143,064 18,549,961 16,126,140 Average Grade (g/t Au) 1.9 1.8 2.0 1.9 2.0 Recovery (%) 94.9 % 95.3 % 95.3 % 94.7 % 95.6 % Gold produced (oz) 370,101 339,584 379,195 1,052,144 1,000,218 Gold Sold (oz) 372,100 331,959 364,575 1,044,704 1,017,935 Averaged realized price ($/oz sold)(1) $1,791 $1,907 $1,814 $1,798 $1,734 Operating cash costs per ounce sold ($/oz sold)(1) $438 $406 $431 $466 $407 AISC ($/oz sold)(1) $740 $886 $780 $785 $804 Adjusted net earnings(1) $241,312 $254,003 $246,937 $656,019 $657,088 Adjusted net earnings per share(1) $0.91 $0.92 $0.92 $2.46 $2.43 Free cash flow(1) $141,790 $275,691 $131,227 $315,715 $500,639

(1) Non-IFRS - the definition and reconciliation of these Non-IFRS measures are included on pages 37  44 of the MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021







Table 2. Review of Earnings Performance

(in thousands of dollars, except per share amounts)



Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended September 30,

2021 September 30,

2020 June 30,

2021 September 30,

2021 September 30,

2020 Revenue $666,978 $632,843 $662,736 $1,881,560 $1,768,556 Production costs (164,620 (136,023 ) (159,726 ) (494,427 ) (439,030 ) Royalty expense (22,457 (21,481 ) (22,369 ) (63,220 ) (61,988 ) Depletion and depreciation (108,956 (86,707 ) (111,348 ) (324,404 ) (262,132 ) Earnings from mine operations 370,945 388,632 369,293 999,509 1,005,406 Expenses General and administrative1 (17,775 ) (20,409 ) (20,184 ) (50,302 ) (53,108 ) Transaction costs (989 ) 707  (989 ) (33,131 ) Exploration (7,902 ) (2,498 ) (7,079 ) (20,467 ) (10,813 ) Care and maintenance (3,580 ) (14,256 ) (4,093 ) (11,869 ) (23,716 ) Rehabilitation costs (864 ) (32,626 ) (286 ) (390 ) (35,074 ) Earnings from operations 339,835 319,550 337,651 915,492 849,564 Finance and other items Other income (loss), net 2,526 (23,453 ) 2,016 3,118 (31,412 ) Finance income 266 1,524 297 810 5,239 Finance costs (1,142 ) (2,305 ) (838 ) (2,826 ) (8,268 ) Earnings before income taxes 341,485 295,316 339,126 916,594 815,123 Current income tax expense (68,437 ) (66,097 ) (45,279 ) (156,687 ) (195,247 ) Deferred tax expense (18,102 ) (27,197 ) (49,680 ) (99,601 ) (64,744 ) Net earnings $254,946 $202,022 $244,167 $660,306 $555,132 Basic earnings per share $0.96 $0.73 $0.91 $2.48 $2.06 Diluted earnings per share $0.96 $0.73 $0.91 $2.47 $2.05 Weighted average number of common shares outstanding (in 000's) Basic 265,268 275,280 267,074 266,477 269,941 Diluted 265,375 275,471 267,189 267,294 270,146

(1) General and administrative expense for Q3 2021 (Q3 2020 and Q2 2021) include general and administrative expenses of $14.3 million ($11.2 million and $16.9 million) and share based payment expense of $3.5 million ($9.2 million and $3.3 million).







FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

After weakening sharply against the US dollar in Q1 2020, concurrent with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian and Australian dollars began strengthening against the US dollar starting in Q2 2020 with this trend continuing through the remainder of 2020 and into Q2 2021. As a result, the average exchange rates for Q3 2021 included C$ to US$ of $1.26 and A$ to US$ of $1.36. These exchange rates compared to $1.33 and $1.40, respectively, in Q3 2020 and $1.23 and $1.30, respectively, in Q2 2021. Compared to Q3 2020, changes in exchange rates in Q3 2021 resulted in an increase in operating cash costs(1) of approximately $7 million, operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) of $20, and AISC per ounce sold(1) of $28, sustaining capital expenditures(1) of approximately $3 million and growth capital expenditures(1) of approximately $5 million. Compared to Q2 2021, exchange rate changes increased operating cash costs(1) by approximately $4 million, operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) by $12 and AISC per ounce sold(1) by $16, sustaining capital expenditures(1) of approximately $2 million and growth capital expenditures(1) of approximately $3 million. For YTD 2021, the average exchange rates included C$ to US$ of $1.25 and A$ to US$ of $1.32, which compared to $1.35 and $1.48, respectively, in YTD 2020. Compared to YTD 2020, exchange rates in YTD 2021 increased operating cash costs(1) by approximately $35 million, operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) by $33 and AISC per ounce sold(1) by $44, sustaining capital expenditures(1) of approximately $16 million and growth capital expenditures(1) of approximately $24 million.

(1) The Foreign Exchange Rates discussion includes references to Non-IFRS measures. The definition and reconciliation of these Non-IFRS measures are included on pages 36  43 of the MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.







Review of Financial Performance

Revenue

Revenue in Q3 2021 totalled $667.0 million, a $34.2 million or 5% increase from Q3 2020. The increase in revenue from Q3 2020 resulted from a $77 million favourable impact from higher gold sales, which was only partially offset by a $43 million reduction related to rate factors, reflecting a lower average realized gold price(1) in Q3 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 ($1,791 per ounce versus $1,907 per ounce in Q3 2020). Gold sales in Q3 2021 increased 12% to 372,100 ounces from 331,959 ounces in Q3 2020, with the increase largely reflecting record production at Detour Lake. Gold sales at Detour Lake in Q3 2021 totalled 180,016 ounces, an increase of 42,384 ounces or 31% from Q3 2020. Gold sales at Macassa totalled 45,484 ounces, 5,896 ounces or 15% higher than the same period in 2020. Gold sales at Fosterville totalled 146,600 ounces compared to 154,739 ounces in Q3 2020. The reduction in gold sales at Fosterville was consistent with the plan to transition to a lower production profile to create a more sustainable operation while the mine continues to advance its extensive exploration programs.

Q3 2021 revenue of $667.0 million compared to revenue of $662.7 million the previous quarter, as a $14 million favourable impact from higher gold sales (372,100 ounces in Q3 2021 versus 364,575 ounces in Q2 2021) was largely offset by a $10 million unfavourable impact from rate factors mainly due to a lower average realized gold price(1) ($1,791 per ounce in Q3 2021 versus $1,814 per ounce the previous quarter). Gold sales at Detour Lake in Q3 2021 increased 13,642 ounces or 8% from 166,374 ounces in Q2 2021, with gold sales at Fosterville increasing to 146,600 ounces from 142,600 ounces the previous quarter. Gold sales at Macassa totalled 45,484 ounces compared to 55,601 ounces in Q2 2021 with the reduction mainly reflecting the impact of lower mill throughput on production and sales volumes.

Rate factors include the impact of changes in the average realized gold price(1) as well as any impact related to changes in foreign exchange rates. In Q3 2021, rate factors reduced revenue by approximately $43 million versus Q3 2020, virtually all of which related to the impact from an reduction in the average realized gold price(1). Compared to Q2 2021, rate factors reduced revenue by approximately $10 million, approximately $9 million of which related to a lower average realized gold price(1) compared to the previous quarter, with approximately $1 million due to exchange rate changes. Non-IFRS - the definition and reconciliation of these Non-IFRS measures are included on pages 37-44 of this MD&A.



Revenue in YTD 2021 totalled $1,881.6 million, an increase of $113.0 million or 6% from $1,768.6 million in YTD 2020. Of the increase in revenue, $67 million related to a favourable impact from rate factors, reflecting a 4% increase in the average realized gold price(1), to $1,798 per ounce in YTD 2021 from $1,734 per ounce for the same period in 2020. The remaining $46 million increase of revenue growth resulted from a 9% increase in gold sales, to 1,044,704 ounces in YTD 2021 versus 1,017,935 ounces for the same period in 2020. Of the 1,044,704 ounces of gold sales in YTD 2021 487,502 ounces was from Detour Lake, which compared to 384,270 ounces for the eight months from January 31, 2020 to September 30, 2020. Gold sales from Fosterville totalled 406,650 versus 465,742 ounces in YTD 2020, reflecting the impact of higher average grades on production and sales volumes in 2020. Gold sales at Macassa totalled 150,552 ounces, 12% higher than 134,681 ounces a year earlier, when production and sales were impacted by both reduced operations in Q2 2020 as part of the Companys COVID-19 response and excessive heat in the mine in Q3 2020. Also contributing to gold sales in YTD 2020 were 33,242 ounces of gold sales from the Holt Complex related to production prior to operations being suspended effective April 2, 2020.

Rate factors include the impact of changes in the average realized gold price(1) as well as any impact related to changes in foreign exchange rates. In YTD 2021, rate factors increased revenue by $67 million versus YTD 2020, virtually all of which related to an increase in the average realized gold price(1). Non-IFRS - the definition and reconciliation of these Non-IFRS measures are included on pages 37-44 of this MD&A.



Net Earnings and Adjusted Net Earnings(1)

Net Earnings and Earnings Per Share

Net earnings in Q3 2021 totalled a record $254.9 million ($0.96 per share), a 26% increase from $202.0 million in Q3 2020 ($0.73 per share). The 26% increase in net earnings from Q3 2020 was driven by revenue growth, reflecting higher gold sales, lower rehabilitation costs, a reduction in the effective tax rate, the favourable impact of other income of $2.5 million in Q3 2021 versus other loss of $23.5 million for the same period in 2020 and lower care and maintenance costs. On an after-tax basis, the increase in revenue contributed $23.4 million or $0.08 per share to net earnings growth. The reduction in rehabilitation costs had a $21.7 million or $0.08 per share favourable impact on net earnings compared to Q3 2020 and related to the $32.6 million increase in environmental remediation provisions in Q3 2020 resulting from a new three-year water rehabilitation program in the Northern Territory assets. The reduction in the effective tax rate, to 25.3% from 31.6% in Q3 2020, also increased net earnings by $0.08 per share and related mainly to the $15.6 million net tax recovery from maximizing the use of deductions under the Ontario Mining Tax following a restructuring of the Company's Canadian corporate entities effective January 2, 2021. The $26.0 million pre-tax change in other income/loss compared to Q3 2020 increased net earnings by $21.7 million or $0.06 per share on an after-tax basis and mainly resulted from $23.6 million of pre-tax foreign exchange losses recorded in Q3 2020 reflecting the strengthening of the Canadian and Australian dollars against the US dollar during the quarter. Lower care and maintenance costs in Q3 2021 had a favourable after-tax impact of $7.3 million or $0.03 per share and largely reflected the impact of severance and restructuring costs in Q3 2020, mainly related to the Holt Complex. In addition, a reduction in average shares outstanding, to 265.3 million in Q3 2021 from 275.3 million for the same period in 2020, increased earnings per share by $0.03 compared to Q3 2020. The reduction in average shares outstanding versus Q3 2020 mainly resulted from the repurchase of 12.3 million shares from the beginning of Q3 2020 to the end of Q3 2021 through the Companys NCIB, including the ASPP as of June 2021.

Partially offsetting the favourable impact of these factors were higher production costs and depletion and depreciation expense, largely reflecting higher business volumes compared to Q3 2020. On an after-tax basis, higher production costs reduced net earnings by $19.5 million or $0.07 per share, while higher depletion and depreciation expense lowered net earnings by $15.2 million or $0.06 per share.

Net earnings in Q3 2021 of $254.9 million ($0.96 per share) increased 4% from $244.2 million ($0.91 per share) in Q2 2021. On an after-tax basis, the $10.8 million or $0.05 per share increase in net earnings from the previous quarter mainly resulted from a lower effective tax rate, which increased net earnings by $9.1 million or $0.03 per share, a $3.1 million or $0.01 per share impact from higher revenue versus Q2 2021, as well as lower depletion and depreciation expense and Corporate G&A costs, which both increased earnings by $1.7 million or $0.01 per share. Partially offsetting these favourable factors was a $3.5 million or $0.01 per share reduction from higher production costs.

Net earnings in YTD totalled $660.3 million ($2.48 per share), a 19% increase from $555.1 million ($2.06 per share) in YTD 2020. The increase in net earnings compared to the same period a year earlier mainly reflected revenue growth, a lower effective tax rate, a reduction in rehabilitation and transaction costs, lower care and maintenance expense and the impact of other income of $3.1 million in YTD 2021 versus other loss of $31.4 million in YTD 2020. On an after-tax basis, increased revenue had a $77.0 million or $0.29 per share favourable impact on growth in net earnings in YTD 2021. A lower effective rate (28.0% in YTD 2021 versus 31.9% in YTD 2020) increased net earnings by $36.1 million or $0.13 per share. The lower effective tax rate mainly resulted from a $15.6 million net tax recovery in Q3 2021, as well as the impact of favourable adjustments resulting from re-assessments of prior year tax returns in Q2 2021. Other factors contributing to net earnings growth year over year were a $23.6 million or $0.09 favourable after-tax impact from the $32.6 million increase in environmental remediation provisions in Q3 2020, included in YTD 2020 rehabilitation costs, as well as a $21.9 million or $0.08 per share impact related to the $33.8 million of pre-tax transaction fees in YTD 2020 mainly related to the Detour Gold acquisition on January 31, 2020. The $34.5 million pre-tax change in other income/loss compared to YTD 2020 increased YTD 2021 net earnings by $23.5 million or $0.09 per share on an after-tax basis and mainly resulted from $23.5 million pre-tax of foreign exchange losses recorded in Q3 2020. Also having a favourable impact on the change in net earnings in YTD 2021 versus YTD 2020 were the impact of lower COVID-19 related costs in YTD 2021 ($3.5 million after tax in YTD 2021 compared to $9.8 million after tax in YTD 2020), as well as a reduction in average shares outstanding (266.5 million shares in YTD 2021 versus 269.9 million shares in YTD 2020). Both factors contributed $0.02 per share to the increase in earnings per share year over year.

Partially offsetting the favourable impact of these factors were higher production costs and depletion and depreciation expense, largely reflecting higher business volumes in YTD 2021 compared to YTD 2020. On an after-tax basis, higher production costs reduced net earnings by $37.7 million or $0.14 per share, while higher depletion and depreciation expense lowered net earnings by $42.4 million or $0.16 per share.

Adjusted Net Earnings (1)

Adjusted net earnings(1) in Q3 2021 totalled $241.3 million ($0.91 per share) compared to $254.0 million ($0.92 per share) in Q3 2020 and $246.9 million ($0.92 per share) the previous quarter. The main difference between net earnings and adjusted net earnings(1) in Q3 2021 was the exclusion from adjusted net earnings(1) of the $15.6 million net tax recovery related to maximizing the use of eligible tax deductions under Ontario Mining Tax following a restructuring of the Company's Canadian corporate entities effective January 2, 2021. In addition, also excluded from adjusted net earnings(1) in Q3 2021 were foreign exchange gains of $6.0 million ($4.2 million after tax), as well as costs attributed to non-operating assets, mainly in the Northern Territory, of $3.6 million ($2.5 million after tax), system implementation costs of $2.7 million ($2.0 million after tax) and COVID-19 related costs, including donations, of $2.3 million ($1.6 million after tax). The difference between net earnings and adjusted net earnings(1) in Q3 2020 mainly related to the exclusion from adjusted net earnings(1) of the $32.6 million pre-tax ($22.8 million after tax) increase in environmental remediation provisions; $23.6 million ($18.0 million after tax) of foreign exchange losses, as well as the $8.1 million ($5.6 million after tax) of restructuring and severance costs mainly at the Holt Complex, included in care and maintenance expense. The small difference between net earnings and adjusted net earnings(1) in Q2 2021 reflected the exclusion from adjusted net earnings(1) of systems implementation costs of $4.1 million ($3.0 million after tax), costs attributed to non-operating assets of $4.1 million ($2.9 million after tax), COVID-19 related costs of $0.9 million ($0.6 million after tax) and severance expense of $1.3 million ($1.0 million after tax). These factors were largely offset by the exclusion from adjusted net earnings(1) of $2.6 million ($1.8 million after tax) of foreign exchange gains and $3.5 million ($3.1 million after tax) of unrealized gains on warrants issued.

Adjusted net earnings(1) in YTD 2021 totalled $656.0 million ($2.46 per share) similar to the net earnings for the period of $660.3 million ($2.48 per share) and compared to adjusted net earnings(1) in YTD 2020 of $657.1 million ($2.43 per share). The small difference between net earnings and adjusted net earnings(1) in YTD 2021 related to the exclusion from adjusted net earnings(1) of the $15.6 million net tax recovery related to optimizing processing allowance deductions under the Ontario Mining Tax following a restructuring of the Company's Canadian corporate entities effective January 2, 2021, $14.2 million ($10.0 million after tax) of foreign exchange gains and gains on warrants totalling $4.0 million ($3.5 million after tax). Largely offsetting the impact of these factors was the exclusion from adjusted net earnings of costs attributed to non-operating assets of $11.9 million ($8.3 million after tax), systems implementation costs of $6.8 million ($5.0 million after tax), write-offs related to property, plant and equipment at Holt Complex of $6.5 million ($4.5 million after tax), COVID-19 related costs, including donations, of $7.5 million (5.2 million after tax) and severance costs of $1.6 million ($1.1 million after tax). The difference between net earnings and adjusted net earnings (1) for YTD 2020 related to the exclusion from adjusted net earnings(1) of the $33.8 million ($24.9 million after tax) of transaction costs mainly related to the Detour Gold acquisition, the $32.6 million ($22.8 million after tax) of environmental remediation provisions in Q3 2020, $23.5 million ($21.9 million after tax) of foreign exchange losses, $14.2 million ($9.8 million after tax) of COVID-19 related costs and $17.2 million ($11.9 million after tax) of restructuring and severance costs related to the Holt Complex and Northern Territory assets.

Cash and Cash Flows

The Companys cash balance at September 30, 2021 totalled $822.4 million, which compared to $858.4 million at June 30, 2021. Net cash provided by operating activities totalled $323.0 million compared to $431.1 million in Q3 2020 and $330.6 million the previous quarter. The change in net cash provided by operating activities versus Q3 2020 mainly resulted from higher income taxes paid in Q3 2021, the impact of changes in non-cash operating working capital and an increase in cash reclamation expense, which more than offset the favourable impact of increased net earnings. Compared to the previous quarter, the change in net cash provided by operating activities was mainly due to changes in non-cash operating working capital, which more than offset the impact of lower income taxes paid. During Q2 2021, a $98 million tax payment was made in Australia representing the final tax instalment for the 2020 tax year.

Net cash used in investing activities in Q3 2021 totalled $180.9 million versus $25.1 million in Q3 2020 and $200.8 million in Q2 2021. The change in net cash used in investing activities compared to Q3 2020 mainly reflected the receipt in Q3 2020 of $107.7 million of proceeds from the sale of the Companys 32.6 million shares of Osisko Mining Inc. (Osisko) and $75.0 million received from Newmont Canada FN Holdings ULC (Newmont) through a strategic alliance agreement involving the Companys Holt Complex. Also contributing to higher net cash used in investing activities in Q3 2021 was the impact of increased additions to mining interests in line with higher growth capital expenditures(1) in Q3 2021 in support of the Companys growth projects and ongoing operations. The change in net cash used in investing activities versus Q2 2021 mainly reflected reduced additions to mining interests resulting from lower sustaining capital expenditures(1) in Q3 2021 compared to the previous quarter, which was only partially offset by higher growth capital expenditures(1) quarter over quarter.

Net cash used in financing activities in Q3 2021 totalled $177.6 million, mainly reflecting $175.3 million of cash returned to shareholders. The $175.3 million included $125.3 million used to repurchase 3,092,100 shares through the Companys ASPP program as well as $50.0 million used for the Q2 2021 quarterly dividend of $0.1875, paid on July 14, 2021 to shareholders of record on June 30, 2021. Net cash used in financing activities in Q3 2020 totalled $145.7 million, which included $107.4 million of cash used to repurchase 2,139,300 shares through the Companys NCIB and $34.5 million used for a quarterly dividend payment of US$0.125 per share paid on July 13, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 30, 2020. Net cash used in financing activities in Q2 2021 totalled $64.3 million, mainly reflecting the use of $50.1 million for the Q1 2021 quarterly dividend of $0.1875, paid on April 14, 2021 to shareholders of record on March 31, 2021, as well as $12.0 million used to repurchase 300,000 shares through the Companys ASPP.

The Companys cash balance of $822.4 million at September 30, 2021 compared to cash of $847.6 million at December 31, 2020. Net cash provided by operating activities in YTD 2021 totalled $861.7 million compared to $894.9 million as the impact of increased net earnings in YTD 2021 was more than offset by higher income taxes paid and an unfavourable impact from changes in non-cash operating working capital. Net cash used in investing activities totalled $545.9 million in YTD 2021 versus $42.6 million in YTD 2020. The significantly higher level of cash used in investing activities in YTD 2021 resulted from an increase in additions to mining interests and plant and equipment in YTD 2021 reflecting higher growth capital expenditures(1) reflecting the advancement of a number of key projects at Detour Lake and Macassa, as well as the impact on YTD 2020 net cash used in investing activities of proceeds from the sale of the Companys Osisko shares and proceeds from the Newmont strategic alliance agreement. In addition, YTD 2020 cash used in investing activities was also reduced by the receipt of $173.9 million of cash acquired as part of the Detour Gold acquisition in Q1 2020. Net cash used in financing activities in YTD 2021 totalled $340.2 million, which included $333.9 million of cash returned to shareholders. The $333.9 million was comprised of $183.6 million used to repurchase 4,466,200 shares through the Companys NCIB (including 3,392,100 shares repurchased for $137.2 million through the ASPP), as well as $150.4 million used for three dividend payments of $0.1875 per share. Net cash used in financing activities for YTD 2020 totalled $710.3 million, of which $568.9 million was returned to shareholders. Of the $658.9 million of cash returned to shareholders, $487.2 million was used to repurchase 13,198,400 shares through the Companys NCIB, with $81.7 million used for three quarterly dividend payments. Also contributing to cash used in financing activities for YTD 2020 were $98.6 million to repay Detour Golds outstanding debt during Q1 2020, $30.3 million to close out Detour Golds hedge positions relating to forward gold sales as well as hedges on currencies and diesel fuel and $11.1 million for the payment of lease obligations.

Free cash flow (1)

Free cash flow(1) totalled $141.8 million in Q3 2021 compared to $275.7 million in Q3 2020 and $131.2 million the previous quarter. The change from Q3 2020 mainly resulted from a reduction in net cash provided by operating activities, due mainly to higher income taxes paid in Q3 2021, the impact of changes in non-cash operating working capital and higher cash reclamation costs. Also contributing to the change in free cash flow(1) from Q3 2020 were higher mineral property additions in Q3 2021 reflecting increased growth capital expenditures(1). The increase in free cash flow(1) from the previous quarter mainly related to lower mineral property additions in Q3 2021 mainly reflecting a reduction in sustaining capital expenditures(1) quarter over quarter. For YTD 2021, free cash flow(1) totalled $315.7 million versus $500.6 million in YTD 2020 with the reduction due to lower net cash provided by operating activities, reflecting higher income taxes paid in YTD 2021 and an unfavourable impact from changes in non-cash operating working capital, as well as increased mineral property additions and additions to property, plant and equipment reflecting significantly higher growth capital expenditures(1) in YTD 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Mineral property additions in YTD 2021 totalled $237.7 million, while additions to property, plant and equipment totalled $308.3 million, which compared to $175.7 million and $218.5 million, respectively, in YTD 2020.

(1) The Review of Financial Performance section includes references to Non-IFRS measures. The definition and reconciliation of these Non-IFRS measures are included on pages 37  44 of the MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.







Review of Operating Mines

Detour Lake

Detour Lake achieved record quarterly production in Q3 2021 of 189,233 ounces based on processing 6,197,915 tonnes (67,368 tonnes per day) at an average grade of 1.04 g/t and average recoveries of 91.6%. The 189,233 ounces of production was 35% higher than the 140,067 ounces produced in Q3 2020 and increased 14% from the previous quarterly record of 165,880 ounces in Q2 2021. The increase in production quarter over quarter mainly reflected a 5% increase in tonnes processed as well as an 8% improvement in the average grade with mining during the quarter focused largely on high-grade areas as part of the Phase 2 mining plan.

Production costs at Detour Lake in Q3 2021 totalled $109.5 million (including $1.2 million of COVID-19 related costs) compared to $87.4 million in Q3 2020 and $102.6 million the previous quarter. The increase compared to Q3 2020 largely related to higher consumable costs, including diesel and electricity, as well as increased maintenance and contractor costs, in addition to the impact of a stronger Canadian dollar in Q3 2021, while the increase from the previous quarter mainly related to lower deferred stripping in Q3 2021 and higher levels of ore mined resulting in reduced capitalization of costs. Operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) averaged $601 in Q3 2021 versus $634 in Q3 2020 and $610 the previous quarter. The improvement in operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) compared to both prior periods largely reflected the favourable impact of a higher average grade and increased tonnes processed on sales volumes as well as the impact of changes in gold inventories. AISC per ounce sold(1) in Q3 2021 achieved quarterly record at $937, a 26% improvement $1,259 in Q3 2020 and 6% lower than $996 the previous quarter. Sustaining capital expenditures(1) at Detour Lake in Q3 2021 totalled $51.8 million ($288 per ounce sold) compared to $80.7 million ($586 per ounce sold) in Q3 2020 and $55.6 million ($334 per ounce sold) in Q2 2021. Lower sustaining capital expenditures(1) in Q3 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier mainly related to lower deferred stripping, with most of these expenditures included as growth capital expenditures(1) in Q3 2021 as well as reduced expenditures related to tailings management, largely reflecting expenditures in Q3 2020 related to the Cell 2 starter dam, which was completed in Q4 2020. The change in sustaining capital expenditures(1) compared to the previous quarter mainly reflected lower expenditures related to tailings management.

Production at Detour Lake for YTD 2021 totalled 501,844 ounces, which resulted from processing 17,781,572 tonnes at an average grade of 0.96 g/t and average recoveries of 91.8%. Production in YTD 2021 increased 38% from 363,614 ounces for the eight months following the acquisition of Detour Lake on January 31, 2020 to September 30, 2020 and was 22% higher than the 410,110 ounces produced for the full nine-month period ending September 30, 2020.

Production costs at Detour Lake in YTD 2021 totalled $320.4 million (including $4.7 million of COVID-19 related costs), which compared to $260.9 million (including $7.7 million of COVID-19 related costs) for eight months in YTD 2020, from January 31, 2020 to September 30, 2020. Operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) averaged $647 in YTD 2021 versus $630 in YTD 2020. Excluding the impact of a stronger Canadian dollar in YTD 2021, operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) improved from YTD 2020 as the favourable impact of a higher average grade and tonnes processed on sales volumes more than offset higher mining costs, related to increased total tonnes mined (ore and waste), the impact of higher diesel prices and a lower proportion of mining costs being allocated to deferred stripping in YTD 2021 versus YTD 2020, as well as higher milling costs largely related to increased maintenance expense. AISC per ounce sold(1) averaged $994 in YTD 2021 compared to $1,156 in YTD 2020. During YTD 2021, sustaining capital expenditures(1) at Detour Lake totalled $144.9 million ($297 per ounce sold) compared to $188.8 million ($491 per ounce sold) for the same period in 2020. The reduction in sustaining capital expenditures(1) versus YTD 2020 largely reflected lower deferred stripping costs, which were mainly included in growth capital expenditures(1) in YTD 2021, and reduced expenditures for tailings management, largely reflecting expenditures related to the Cell 2 starter dam in YTD 2020.

Growth projects: Growth capital expenditures(1) at Detour Lake in YTD 2021 totalled $137.0 million ($56.3 million in Q3 2021), including $66.4 million related to deferred stripping with the remaining $70.6 million related to the procurement of mobile equipment and projects involving the tailing management area, process plant as well as construction of a new assay lab and airfield.

Macassa

Production at Macassa in Q3 2021 totalled 46,097 ounces based on processing 76,587 tonnes at an average grade of 19.1 g/t and average recoveries of 98.2%. Q3 2021 production compared to production of 38,028 ounces in Q3 2020 and 55,322 the previous quarter. The increase in production from Q3 2020 mainly reflected a higher average grade in Q3 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier when operations were impacted by excessive heat in the mine and ongoing protocols related to the Companys COVID-19 response. The reduction in production from Q2 2021 reflected lower tonnes processed due largely to higher levels of underground maintenance and reduced equipment availability, as well as the impact of a lower than planned average grade due mainly to mine sequencing.

Production costs in Q3 2021 totalled $30.2 million versus $26.0 million in Q3 2020 and $34.1 million the previous. Operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) averaged $657 versus $648 for the same period in 2020 and $586 the previous quarter. Excluding the impact of changes in exchange rates, operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) improved from Q3 2020 mainly due to the favourable impact of a higher average grade and tonnes processed on sales volumes in Q3 2021 more than offset by increased operating costs related to mine development and maintenance. The 12% increase in operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) from Q2 2021 resulted from the impact of lower ounces sold compared to the previous quarter, with operating cash costs(1) 9% lower compared to the previous quarter. AISC per ounce sold(1) averaged $859 in Q3 2021, a 21% improvement from $1,081 in Q3 2020 largely reflecting the impact of lower sustaining capital expenditures(1) in Q3 2021 versus the same period in 2020 as well as the impact of higher sales volumes. Sustaining capital expenditures(1) in Q3 2021 totalled $6.0 million or $133 per ounce sold versus $14.1 million or $357 per ounce sold in Q3 2020 with the reduction mainly related to lower capital development and equipment procurement. AISC per ounce sold(1) $859 in Q3 2021 compared to $848 the previous quarter with the change mainly reflecting lower sales volumes, largely offset by the impact of a reduction in sustaining capital expenditures(1), which in Q2 2021 totalled $10.9 million or $197 per ounce sold. Lower sustaining capital expenditures(1) in Q3 2021 compared to the previous quarter mainly related to the timing for mobile equipment procurement and lower capital development metres being completed in Q3 2021.

Production at Macassa for YTD 2021 totalled 148,855 ounces, based on processing 243,614 tonnes at an average grade of 19.4 g/t and average recoveries of 98.0%. The 148,855 ounces of production for YTD 2021 increased 14% from 130,754 ounces for the same period in 2020 mainly reflecting an increase in the average grade, which increased 11% from 17.5 g/t in YTD 2020. Both average grades and tonnes processed in YTD 2020 were impacted by reduced operations during Q2 2020 as part of the Companys COVID-19 response, as well as reduced workforce productivity and equipment availability caused by excessive heat in the mine during Q3 2020. Production in YTD 2021 was below expected levels due largely to reduced equipment availability caused by increased maintenance requirements, poor battery performance and delays in receiving new batteries, with the result being lower tonnes produced, reduced operating development metres and a lower average grade resulting largely from changes to mine sequencing.

Production costs for YTD 2021 totalled $99.2 million versus $80.2 million (including $3.3 million related to the Company's COVID-19 response) in YTD 2020 with the increase largely related to a higher proportion of underground mining costs being allocated to operations versus capital expenditures as well as the impact of a stronger Canadian dollar in YTD 2021. Operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) averaged $645 compared to $573 for the same period in 2020 with the impact of higher operating cash costs(1) being partially offset by the benefit of increased sales volumes, mainly resulting from an increase in the average grade. AISC per ounce sold(1) averaged $884 for YTD 2021 versus $915 a year earlier, with the reduction mainly reflecting lower sustaining capital expenditures(1) as well as higher sales volumes in YTD 2021 versus the same period in 2020. Sustaining capital expenditures(1) totalled $26.3 million ($175 per ounce sold) compared to $39.0 million ($290 per ounce sold) in YTD 2020 with the reduction largely resulting from lower levels of capital development and reduced expenditures for equipment procurement.

Growth projects: Growth capital expenditures(1) at Macassa for YTD 2021 totalled $72.2 million ($29.2 million in Q3 2021). Of total growth expenditures(1) for YTD 2021, $32.7 million ($10.9 million in Q3 2021) related to the #4 Shaft project. During Q3 2021, the shaft advanced approximately 500 feet and had reached a depth of 6,100 feet as of September 30, 2021, with development of the 6,100 Level station also being completed. The project ended Q3 2021 ahead of schedule on track for completion in late 2022. An additional $12.9 million ($3.0 million in Q3 2021) of growth capital expenditures(1) in YTD 2021 related to a ventilation expansion project, involving the development of two new ventilation raises. The first raise was completed in June 2021, with the second expected to be completed in the first half of 2022. The two new raises will add approximately 200,000 cfm of additional ventilation into the mine. The remaining growth capital expenditures(1) in YTD 2021 mainly related to a number of underground projects, including lateral development from the mine towards the #4 Shaft.

Fosterville

The Fosterville Mine produced 134,772 ounces in Q3 2021 based on processing 180,255 tonnes at an average grade of 23.6 g/t and average mill recoveries of 98.7%. Production in Q3 2021 exceeded expected levels mainly due to continued grade outperformance in the Swan Zone. The 134,772 ounces of production in Q3 2021 compared to 161,489 ounces produced in Q3 2020 and 157,993 ounces the previous quarter. The change in production from Q3 2020 resulted from a lower average grade largely related to mine sequencing within the Swan, Audax, Benu and Raptor zones. The change in production from Q2 2021 largely reflected a greater impact from grade outperformance during the previous quarter as well as well as changes to mine sequencing with high-grade Swan Zone stopes initially planned for Q4 2021 being advanced into Q2 2021.

Production costs were $25.0 million in Q3 2021 versus $22.7 million in Q3 2020 and $23.0 million the previous quarter. Operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) averaged $170 versus $142 in Q3 2020 and $162 in Q2 2021. The increase from both prior periods largely resulted from higher tonnes mined and milled in Q3 2021 as well as the impact of a higher average grade on sales volumes in both Q3 2020 and Q2 2021. AISC per ounce sold(1) averaged $337 compared to $349 in Q3 2020 and $353 the previous quarter. Sustaining capital expenditures(1) totalled $11.4 million ($78 per ounce sold) in Q3 2021 versus $18.1 million ($117 per ounce sold) in Q3 2020 and $14.5 million ($102 per ounce sold) the previous quarter. The reduction in sustaining capital expenditures(1) from Q3 2020 mainly reflected lower levels of capital development in Q3 2021 and reduced expenditures related to mobile equipment procurement. Lower mobile equipment expenditures largely accounted for the reduction in sustaining capital expenditures(1) compared to the previous quarter.

Production at Fosterville for YTD 2021 totalled 401,445 ounces, significantly higher than target levels for the first nine months of the year, largely reflecting grade outperformance in multiple Swan Zone stopes during YTD 2021. Production in YTD 2021 compared to production of 476,459 ounces for YTD 2020, with the reduction reflecting a lower average grade consistent with the Companys previously stated plan to reduce production with the intention of creating a more sustainable operation over a longer period while the mine continues its extensive exploration program. Partially offsetting the impact of a planned reduction in the average grade was a 28% increase in tonnes processed, to 524,776 tonnes in YTD 2021.

Production costs were $74.8 million for YTD 2021 versus $61.9 million for the same period in 2020, with the increase from YTD 2020 largely resulting from the impact of a stronger Australian dollar in YTD 2021, as well as significantly higher mining and milling rates in YTD 2021 versus YTD 2020. Operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) averaged $184 versus $132 in YTD 2020, while AISC per ounce sold(1) averaged $367 compared to $311 in YTD 2020. The increases in operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) and AISC per ounce sold(1) versus levels in YTD 2020 mainly resulted from higher operating cash costs(1), largely reflecting higher mining rates in YTD 2021 and exchange rate changes year over year, as well as the impact of lower sales volumes in YTD 2021 versus YTD 2020. Sustaining capital expenditures(1) totalled $38.3 million ($94 per ounce sold), unchanged from $45.0 million ($97 per ounce sold) in YTD 2020. The reduction in sustaining capital expenditures(1) in YTD 2021 mainly reflected lower levels of capital development included in sustaining capital expenditures(1) compared to YTD 2020, with there being a greater focus on development in support of exploration activities in YTD 2021 compared to the prior year.

Growth projects: Growth capital expenditures(1) at Fosterville for YTD 2021, excluding capitalized exploration, totalled $6.8 million ($3.1 million in Q3 2021), mainly related to construction of a surface refrigeration plant, power transformer station and land procurement.

(1) The Review of Operating Mines section includes a number of Non-IFRS measures. The definition and reconciliation of these Non-IFRS measures are included on pages 37  44 of the MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.







FULL-YEAR 2021 GUIDANCE

The Companys full-year guidance for 2021 was announced in a press release dated December 10, 2020 and was maintained at both the Companys Q1 2021 and Q2 2021 board meetings. Included in the Companys consolidated guidance for the year is target production of 1,300,000  1,400,000 ounces (1,369,652 ounces produced in 2020), operating cash costs per ounce sold(1) of $450  $475 ($404 in 2020) and AISC per ounce sold(1) of $790  $810 ($800 in 2020). After the first nine months of 2021, the Companys YTD 2021 results included AISC per ounce sold(1) averaging better than the guidance range for the year, operating cash costs per ounce(1) in line with guidance and production on track to achieve the top end of full-year 2021 guidance. Also included in full-year 2021 consolidated guidance is higher growth capital expenditures(1), with the expected increase mainly at Detour Lake reflecting a shift of deferred stripping costs from sustaining capital expenditures(1) to growth capital expenditures(1), resulting from a significant stripping campaign being completed in 2021 as part of Phase 4, which will support production in future years. In addition, also contributing to higher expected growth capital expenditures at Detour Lake were a number of growth capital projects, including investments in mill improvements, increased tailings capacity, completion of an assay lab (construction commenced in 2020), and air strip and other enhancements to site infrastructure. In aggregate, the Company's total capital expenditure(1) guidance for full-year 2021, including both sustaining capital expenditures(1) and growth capital expenditures(1) totalled $530 - $585 million. The Company entered the final quarter of the year on track to achieve this guidance range despite a $40 million unfavourable impact on capital expenditures(1) from exchange rates in YTD 2021. Exploration expenditure guidance for full-year 2021 totals $170  $190 million, with extensive exploration programs being carried out at all three of the Companys cornerstone assets. The Company ended YTD 2021 on track to achieve the low end of full-year 2021 guidance for exploration expenditures.

Full-Year 2021 Guidance

($ millions unless otherwise stated)(1) Macassa Detour Lake Fosterville Consolidated Gold production (kozs) 220  255 680  720 400  425 1,300 - 1,400 Operating cash costs/ounce sold ($/oz)(2) $450 - $470 $580 - $600 $230 - $250 $450 - $475 AISC/ounce sold ($/oz)(2) $790 - $810 Operating cash costs ($M)(2) $600 - $630 Royalty costs ($M) $82 - $88 Sustaining capital ($M)(2)(3) $280 - $310 Growth capital ($M)(2)(3) $250 - $275 Exploration ($M)(4) $170 - $190 Corporate G&A ($M)(5) $50 - $55

(1) The Companys 2021 guidance assumes an average gold price of $1,800 per ounce as well as a US$ to C$ exchange rate of 1.31 and a US$ to A$ exchange rate of 1.39. Assumptions used for the purposes of guidance may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ from those anticipated.

(2) See Non-IFRS Measures set out starting on page 37 of this MD&A for further details. The most comparable IFRS Measure for operating cash costs, operating cash costs per ounce sold and AISC per ounce sold is production costs, as presented in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income, and total additions and construction in progress for sustaining and growth capital.

(3) Capital expenditures exclude capitalized depreciation.

(4) Exploration expenditures include capital expenditures related to infill drilling for Mineral Resource conversion, capital expenditures for extension drilling outside of existing Mineral Resources and expensed exploration. Also includes capital expenditures for the development of exploration drifts.

(5) Excludes share-based payment expense (including expense related to share price changes).







YTD 2021 Results

($ millions unless otherwise stated)(1) Macassa Detour Lake Fosterville Consolidated Gold production (kozs) 148,855 501,844 401,445 1,052,144 Operating cash costs/ounce sold ($/oz)(2) $645 $647 $184 $466 AISC/ounce sold ($/oz)(2) $785 Operating cash costs ($M)(2) $487.2 Royalty costs ($M) $63.2 Sustaining capital ($M)(2)(3) $211.3 Growth capital ($M)(2)(3) $217.3 Exploration ($M)(4) $127.5 Corporate G&A ($M)(5) $44.7

(1) Average exchange rates in YTD 2021 included a US$ to C$ exchange rate of $1.25 and a US$ to A$ exchange rate of $1.32.

(2) See Non-IFRS Measures set out starting on page 37 of this MD&A for further details. The most comparable IFRS Measure for operating cash costs, operating cash costs per ounce sold and AISC per ounce sold is production costs, as presented in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income, and total additions and construction in progress for sustaining and growth capital.

(3) Capital expenditures exclude capitalized depreciation.

(4) Exploration expenditures include capital expenditures related to infill drilling for Mineral Resource conversion, capital expenditures for extension drilling outside of existing Mineral Resources and expensed exploration. Also includes capital expenditures for the development of exploration drifts.

(5) Excludes share-based payment expense (including expense related to share price changes). 







Gold production in YTD 2021 totalled 1,052,144 ounces, with the Company ending the first nine months of 2021 on track to achieve of the top half of the full-year 2021 consolidated production guidance of 1,300,000  1,400,000 ounces. Production at Fosterville of 401,445 ounces, significantly higher than target levels for the first nine months of the year, largely driven by grade outperformance in the Swan Zone. At September 30, 2021, Fosterville had already achieved the low end of the full-year 2021 guidance of 400,000  425,000 ounces, with the mine now expected to end the year with production of approximately 500,000 ounces or higher. Production at Detour Lake in YTD 2021 totalled 501,844 ounces, in line with expected levels, with the mine now targeting the top half of the full-year 2021 production guidance range of 680,000  720,000 ounces. Production at Macassa in YTD 2021 totalled 148,855 ounces, below target levels for the first nine months of the year due largely to reduced equipment availability caused by increased maintenance requirements, poor battery performance and delays in receiving new batteries, with the result being lower tonnes produced, reduced operating development metres and a lower average grade resulting largely from changes to mine sequencing. While production is expected to increase from the Q3 2021 level in the final quarter of the year, the mine is not expected to reach the low end of the full-year 2021 guidance range of 220,000 - 255,000 ounces, with the mine now targeting 190,000  210,000 ounces of production for the year.





in YTD 2021 totalled 1,052,144 ounces, with the Company ending the first nine months of 2021 on track to achieve of the top half of the full-year 2021 consolidated production guidance of 1,300,000  1,400,000 ounces. Production at Fosterville of 401,445 ounces, significantly higher than target levels for the first nine months of the year, largely driven by grade outperformance in the Swan Zone. At September 30, 2021, Fosterville had already achieved the low end of the full-year 2021 guidance of 400,000  425,000 ounces, with the mine now expected to end the year with production of approximately 500,000 ounces or higher. Production at Detour Lake in YTD 2021 totalled 501,844 ounces, in line with expected levels, with the mine now targeting the top half of the full-year 2021 production guidance range of 680,000  720,000 ounces. Production at Macassa in YTD 2021 totalled 148,855 ounces, below target levels for the first nine months of the year due largely to reduced equipment availability caused by increased maintenance requirements, poor battery performance and delays in receiving new batteries, with the result being lower tonnes produced, reduced operating development metres and a lower average grade resulting largely from changes to mine sequencing. While production is expected to increase from the Q3 2021 level in the final quarter of the year, the mine is not expected to reach the low end of the full-year 2021 guidance range of 220,000 - 255,000 ounces, with the mine now targeting 190,000  210,000 ounces of production for the year. Production costs for YTD 2021 totalled $494.4 million, while operating cash costs ( 1) totalled $487.2 million, with operating cash costs (1) increased $35 million due to stronger Canadian and Australian dollars compared to the assumed exchange rates in the Companys guidance. Based on the impact of exchange rates, the Company expects operating cash costs ( 1) to end the year somewhat higher than the full-year 2021 guidance range of $600 - $630 million, though the Company remains well positioned to achieve full-year 2021 guidance for operating cash costs per ounce sold (1) (see below).





for YTD 2021 totalled $494.4 million, while operating cash costs totalled $487.2 million, with operating cash costs increased $35 million due to stronger Canadian and Australian dollars compared to the assumed exchange rates in the Companys guidance. Based on the impact of exchange rates, the Company expects operating cash costs to end the year somewhat higher than the full-year 2021 guidance range of $600 - $630 million, though the Company remains well positioned to achieve full-year 2021 guidance for operating cash costs per ounce sold (see below). Operating cash costs per ounce sold ( 1) for YTD 2021 averaged $466, better than planned levels for the nine months of the year and in line with full-year 2021 guidance of $450  $475 despite a $33 per ounce unfavourable impact from stronger Canadian and Australian dollars versus levels assumed in the Companys full-year 2021 guidance. Operating cash costs per ounce sold ( 1) at Fosterville averaged $184 in YTD 2021 compared to full-year 2021 guidance of $230  $250, with the significant outperformance largely related to the favourable impact of significant grade outperformance on production and sales volumes. Fosterville entered the final quarter of the year on track to beat its operating cash costs per ounce sold guidance for full-year 2021. Operating cash costs per ounce sold ( 1) at Detour Lake averaged $647, higher than the guidance range of $580  $600, due largely to the impact of exchange rates as well as higher diesel and electricity costs and increased costs for mill maintenance. Operating cash costs per ounce sold at Detour Lake in Q4 2021 are expected to improve from the Q3 2021 level of $601, with full-year 2021 operating cash costs per ounce sold ( 1) expected to end the year at or slightly above the top end of the guidance range for full-year 2021. Operating cash costs per ounce sold ( 1) at Macassa averaged $645 in YTD 2021 versus full-year 2021 guidance of $450  $470. Macassa is not expected to achieve full-year 2021 guidance due largely to the impact of exchange rates as well as lower than planned production and sales. As outlined above, the Company remains on track to achieve full-year 2021 consolidated operating cash costs per ounce sold ( 1) guidance of $450  $475.





for YTD 2021 averaged $466, better than planned levels for the nine months of the year and in line with full-year 2021 guidance of $450  $475 despite a $33 per ounce unfavourable impact from stronger Canadian and Australian dollars versus levels assumed in the Companys full-year 2021 guidance. Operating cash costs per ounce sold at Fosterville averaged $184 in YTD 2021 compared to full-year 2021 guidance of $230  $250, with the significant outperformance largely related to the favourable impact of significant grade outperformance on production and sales volumes. Fosterville entered the final quarter of the year on track to beat its operating cash costs per ounce sold guidance for full-year 2021. Operating cash costs per ounce sold at Detour Lake averaged $647, higher than the guidance range of $580  $600, due largely to the impact of exchange rates as well as higher diesel and electricity costs and increased costs for mill maintenance. Operating cash costs per ounce sold at Detour Lake in Q4 2021 are expected to improve from the Q3 2021 level of $601, with full-year 2021 operating cash costs per ounce sold expected to end the year at or slightly above the top end of the guidance range for full-year 2021. Operating cash costs per ounce sold at Macassa averaged $645 in YTD 2021 versus full-year 2021 guidance of $450  $470. Macassa is not expected to achieve full-year 2021 guidance due largely to the impact of exchange rates as well as lower than planned production and sales. As outlined above, the Company remains on track to achieve full-year 2021 consolidated operating cash costs per ounce sold guidance of $450  $475. AISC per ounce sold ( 1) for YTD 2021 averaged $785, better than the full-year 2021 guidance range of $790  $810 despite a $49 per ounce sold unfavourable impact from exchange rate movements. The better than expected AISC per ounce sold ( 1) in YTD 2021 resulted from higher than planned sales volumes and lower than expected sustaining capital expenditures at Fosterville, where AISC per ounce sold (1) averaged $367 in YTD 2021. AISC per ounce sold ( 1) in YTD 2021 averaged $994 at Detour Lake and $884 at Macassa. Both operations are targeting improved levels of AISC per ounce sold during the final quarter of the year. At September 30, 2021, the Company remained on track to meet, and potentially beat, full-year 2021 consolidated AISC per ounce sold ( 1) of $790  $810.





for YTD 2021 averaged $785, better than the full-year 2021 guidance range of $790  $810 despite a $49 per ounce sold unfavourable impact from exchange rate movements. The better than expected AISC per ounce sold in YTD 2021 resulted from higher than planned sales volumes and lower than expected sustaining capital expenditures at Fosterville, where AISC per ounce sold averaged $367 in YTD 2021. AISC per ounce sold in YTD 2021 averaged $994 at Detour Lake and $884 at Macassa. Both operations are targeting improved levels of AISC per ounce sold during the final quarter of the year. At September 30, 2021, the Company remained on track to meet, and potentially beat, full-year 2021 consolidated AISC per ounce sold of $790  $810. Royalty costs for YTD 2021 totalled $63.2 million and continues to target full-year 2021 royalty costs of $82  $88 million.





for YTD 2021 totalled $63.2 million and continues to target full-year 2021 royalty costs of $82  $88 million. Total capital expenditures ( 1) in YTD 2021 totalled $428.6 million, with sustaining capital expenditures (1) accounting for $211.2 million (versus guidance of $280  $310 mililon) and growth capital expenditures (1) totalling $217.3 million (versus full-year 2021 guidance of $250  $275 million). Sustaining capital expenditures were lower than planned despite a $16 million unfavourable impact from stronger Canadian and Australian dollars largely reflecting timing differences in completing capital development and equipment procurement at Fosterville and Macassa. Of the $217.3 million of growth capital expenditures ( 1) , which included a $24 million unfavourable impact from exchange rates, $137.0 million were at Detour Lake, including $66.4 million related to deferred stripping with the remaining $70.6 million related to the procurement of mobile equipment and projects involving the tailing management area, process plant as well as construction of a new assay lab and airfield. Growth capital expenditures ( 1) at Macassa totalled $72.2 million, with $32.7 million related to the #4 Shaft project, which reached 6,100 feet of advance as at September 30, 2021, and $12.9 million for a ventilation expansion project involving development of two ventilation raises, with an additional $11.6 million related to lateral development from the mine towards the #4 shaft location. Growth capital expenditures ( 1) at Fosterville totalled $6.8 million largely related to construction of a surface refrigeration plant and land procurement. In aggregate, including both sustaining and growth capital expenditures ( 1) , the Companys guidance for total capital expenditures in full-year 2021 is $530 - $585 million, with the Company entering the final quarter of the year on track to achieve the top end of the guidance range, despite the impact of exchange rates.





in YTD 2021 totalled $428.6 million, with sustaining capital expenditures accounting for $211.2 million (versus guidance of $280  $310 mililon) and growth capital expenditures totalling $217.3 million (versus full-year 2021 guidance of $250  $275 million). Sustaining capital expenditures were lower than planned despite a $16 million unfavourable impact from stronger Canadian and Australian dollars largely reflecting timing differences in completing capital development and equipment procurement at Fosterville and Macassa. Of the $217.3 million of growth capital expenditures , which included a $24 million unfavourable impact from exchange rates, $137.0 million were at Detour Lake, including $66.4 million related to deferred stripping with the remaining $70.6 million related to the procurement of mobile equipment and projects involving the tailing management area, process plant as well as construction of a new assay lab and airfield. Growth capital expenditures at Macassa totalled $72.2 million, with $32.7 million related to the #4 Shaft project, which reached 6,100 feet of advance as at September 30, 2021, and $12.9 million for a ventilation expansion project involving development of two ventilation raises, with an additional $11.6 million related to lateral development from the mine towards the #4 shaft location. Growth capital expenditures at Fosterville totalled $6.8 million largely related to construction of a surface refrigeration plant and land procurement. In aggregate, including both sustaining and growth capital expenditures , the Companys guidance for total capital expenditures in full-year 2021 is $530 - $585 million, with the Company entering the final quarter of the year on track to achieve the top end of the guidance range, despite the impact of exchange rates. Exploration expenditures for YTD 2021 totalled $127.5 million and ended Q3 2021 on track to achieve the low end of full-year 2021 guidance of $170 - $190 million despite a $10 million unfavourable exchange rate impact during YTD 2021. Of the $127.5 million of exploration expenditures in YTD 2021, $63.2 million was at Fosterville where drilling and development continued in the Lower Phoenix System, as well as at Robbins Hill, Cygnet and Harrier. Exploration expenditures at Macassa in YTD 2021 totalled $30.1 million with drilling mainly targeting the continued expansion of the SMC and testing targets along the Amalgamated Break. Detour Lake accounted for $29.3 million of exploration expenditures in YTD 2021, with remaining exploration expenditures mainly related to drilling at Holt Complex and regional targets in Northern Ontario.





expenditures for YTD 2021 totalled $127.5 million and ended Q3 2021 on track to achieve the low end of full-year 2021 guidance of $170 - $190 million despite a $10 million unfavourable exchange rate impact during YTD 2021. Of the $127.5 million of exploration expenditures in YTD 2021, $63.2 million was at Fosterville where drilling and development continued in the Lower Phoenix System, as well as at Robbins Hill, Cygnet and Harrier. Exploration expenditures at Macassa in YTD 2021 totalled $30.1 million with drilling mainly targeting the continued expansion of the SMC and testing targets along the Amalgamated Break. Detour Lake accounted for $29.3 million of exploration expenditures in YTD 2021, with remaining exploration expenditures mainly related to drilling at Holt Complex and regional targets in Northern Ontario. Corporate G&A expense for YTD 2021 totalled $44.7 million, with the Company continuing to target full-year 2021 Corporate G&A costs of $50  $55 million.





(1) The Full-Year 2021 Guidance section includes references to Non-IFRS measures. The definition and reconciliation of these Non-IFRS measures are included on pages 37  44 of the MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.





Q3 2021 Financial Results and Conference Call Details

A conference call to discuss the Q3 2021 results will be held by senior management on Thursday, November 4, 2021, at 8:00 am ET. Call-in information is provided below. The call will also be webcast and accessible on the Companys website at www.kl.gold .

DATE: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2021 CONFERENCE ID: 5247974 TIME: 8:00 am ET TOLL-FREE NUMBER: 1 (888) 510-2008 INTERNATIONAL CALLERS: 1 (646) 960-0306 WEBCAST URL: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/3409441/D4EE6E4AC4888EFEC13099ED652C32DE

About Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.

Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. is a low-cost senior gold producer operating in Canada and Australia that is targeting 1,300,000 - 1,400,000 ounces of production in 2021. The production profile of Kirkland Lake Gold is anchored by three high-quality operations, including the Macassa Mine and Detour Lake Mine, both located in Northern Ontario, and the Fosterville Mine located in the state of Victoria, Australia. Kirkland Lake Gold's solid base of quality assets is complemented by district scale exploration potential, supported by a strong financial position, extensive management expertise and an overriding commitment to safe, responsible mining.

For further information on Kirkland Lake Gold and to receive news releases by email, visit the website www.kl.gold .

Qualified Persons

The technical contents related to Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. mines and properties in this press release, have been reviewed and approved by Natasha Vaz, P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer and Eric Kallio, P.Geo, Senior Vice President, Exploration. Ms. Vaz and Mr. Kallio and are qualified persons as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and have reviewed and approved disclosure of the technical information and data in this press release.

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company has included certain non-IFRS measures in this document, as discussed below. The Company believes that these measures, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, provide investors an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. The non-IFRS measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore may not be comparable to other issuers.

Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow

In the gold mining industry, free cash flow is a common performance measure with no standardized meaning. The Company calculates free cash flow by deducting cash capital spending (capital expenditures for the period, net of expenditures paid through finance leases) from net cash provided by operating activities.

The Company discloses free cash flow as it believes the measure provides valuable assistance to investors and analysts in evaluating the Companys ability to generate cash flow after capital investments and build the cash resources of the Company. The Company also discloses and calculates adjusted free cash flow by excluding items from free cash flow. The most directly comparable measure prepared in accordance with IFRS is net cash provided by operating activities less net cash used in investing activities.

Operating Cash Costs and Operating Cash Costs per Ounce Sold

Operating cash costs and operating cash cost per tonne and per ounce sold are non-IFRS measures. In the gold mining industry, these metrics are common performance measures but do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. Operating cash costs include mine site operating costs such as mining, processing and administration, but exclude royalty expenses, depreciation and depletion and share based payment expenses and reclamation costs. Operating cash cost per ounce sold is based on ounces sold and is calculated by dividing operating cash costs by volume of gold ounces sold.

The Company discloses operating cash costs and operating cash cost per tonne and per ounce as it believes the measures provide valuable assistance to investors and analysts in evaluating the Companys operational performance and ability to generate cash flow. The most directly comparable measure prepared in accordance with IFRS is total production expenses. Operating cash costs and operating cash cost per ounce of gold should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Sustaining and Growth Capital

Sustaining capital and growth capital are Non-IFRS measures. Sustaining capital is defined as capital required to maintain current operations at existing levels. Growth capital is defined as capital expenditures for major growth projects or enhancement capital for significant infrastructure improvements at existing operations. Both measurements are used by management to assess the effectiveness of investment programs.

AISC and AISC per Ounce Sold

AISC and AISC per ounce are Non-IFRS measures. These measures are intended to assist readers in evaluating the total costs of producing gold from current operations. While there is no standardized meaning across the industry for this measure, the Companys definition conforms to the definition of AISC as set out by the World Gold Council in its guidance note dated June 27, 2013.

The Company defines AISC as the sum of operating costs (as defined and calculated above), royalty expenses, sustaining capital, corporate expenses, lease payments relating to sustaining assets, and reclamation cost accretion and depreciation related to current operations. Corporate expenses include general and administrative expenses, net of transaction related costs, severance expenses for management changes and interest income. AISC excludes growth capital expenditures, growth exploration expenditures, reclamation cost accretion and depreciation not related to current operations, lease payments related to non-sustaining assets, interest expense, debt repayment and taxes.

Average Realized Price per Ounce Sold

In the gold mining industry, average realized price per ounce sold is a common performance measure that does not have any standardized meaning. The most directly comparable measure prepared in accordance with IFRS is revenue from gold sales. Average realized price per ounce sold should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. The measure is intended to assist readers in evaluating the total revenues realized in a period from current operations.

Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Net Earnings per Share

Adjusted net earnings and adjusted net earnings per share are used by management and investors to measure the underlying operating performance of the Company.

Adjusted net earnings is defined as net earnings adjusted to exclude the after-tax impact of specific items that are significant, but not reflective of the underlying operations of the Company, including foreign exchange gains and losses, transaction costs and executive severance payments, purchase price adjustments reflected in inventory and other non-recurring items. Adjusted net earnings per share is calculated using the weighted average number of shares outstanding for adjusted net earnings per share.

Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA)

EBITDA represents net earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is an indicator of the Companys ability to generate liquidity by producing operating cash flow to fund working capital needs, service debt obligations, and fund capital expenditures.

Working Capital

Working capital is a Non-IFRS measure. In the gold mining industry, working capital is a common measure of liquidity, but does not have any standardized meaning.

The most directly comparable measure prepared in accordance with IFRS is current assets and current liabilities. Working capital is calculated by deducting current liabilities from current assets. Working capital should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute from measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. The measure is intended to assist readers in evaluating the Companys liquidity.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward looking statements, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words may, would, could, will, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the development of the Companys properties and the anticipated timing thereof, expected production from, and the further potential of, the Companys properties, the anticipated timing and commencement of exploration programs on various targets within the Companys land holdings and the implication of such exploration programs (including but not limited to any potential decisions to proceed to commercial production), the anticipated impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, the anticipated overall impact of the Companys COVID-19 response plans, including measures taken by the Company to reduce the spread of COVID-19, including but not limited to the rapid testing implemented at various sites, and whether such measures taken by the Company or others, in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID 19 may affect the Company, whether directly or results in effects on employee health, workforce productivity, contractor availability, supply chain or other aspects of the Companys business, the anticipated closing date of the Merger with Agnico Eagle and anticipated benefits and potential synergies associated therewith, the expectations regarding the effects of the Merger, including the ability of the combined company to successfully achieve its business objectives, including integrating the companies and the anticipated timing regarding the realization of certain potential synergies, or the effects of unexpected costs, liabilities or delays, the potential impact of the Merger on relationships including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers and competitors, risks relating to the re-rating potential of the Combined Company following the Merger, the ability to lower costs and gradually increase production, the ability of the Company to successfully achieve business objectives, the ability of the Company to achieve its longer-term outlook and the anticipated timing and results thereof, the performance of the Companys equity investments and the ability of the Company to realize on its strategic goals with respect to such investments, the effects of unexpected costs, liabilities or delays, the potential benefits and synergies and expectations of other economic, business and or competitive factors, the Company's expectations in connection with the projects and exploration programs being met, the timing of the new life of mine plan at Detour Lake Mine and the anticipated results thereon, the release of the updated technical report with respect to the Detour Lake Mine and anticipated impact thereof, the impact of general business and economic conditions, global liquidity and credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of assets and liabilities based on projected future conditions, fluctuating gold prices, currency exchange rates (such as the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar), mark-to-market derivative variances, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in accounting policies, changes in the Company's corporate mineral resources, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, changes in project development, construction, production and commissioning time frames, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, higher prices for fuel, power, labour and other consumables contributing to higher costs and general risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, unexpected changes in mine life, seasonality and unanticipated weather changes, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, risks related to information technology and cybersecurity, timing and costs associated with the design, procurement and construction of the Companys various capital projects, including but not limited to the #4 Shaft project at the Macassa Mine, the ventilation, paste plant, transformer and water treatment facility at the Fosterville Mine, the ability to obtain all necessary permits associated with the Detour Lake mine, the ability to obtain the necessary permits in connection with all of its various capital projects, including but not limited to the rehabilitation of the Macassa tailings facility and the development of a new tailings facility and the anticipated results associated therewith, mill improvements, increased tailings capacity, completion of an assay lab and other enhancements to site infrastructure at the Detour Lake mine and the anticipated results thereon, the ability to obtain renewals of certain exploration licences in Australia, native and aboriginal heritage issues, including but not limited to ongoing negotiations and consultations with the Companys First Nations partners and the anticipated impacts and timing thereof, risks relating to infrastructure, permitting and licenses, exploration and mining licences, government regulation of the mining industry, risks relating to foreign operations, uncertainty in the estimation and realization of mineral resources and mineral reserves, quality and marketability of mineral product, environmental regulation and reclamation obligations, risks relating to the Northern Territory wet season, risks relating to litigation, risks relating to applicable tax and potential reassessments thereon, risks relating to changes to tax law and regulations and the Company's interpretation thereof, foreign mining tax regimes and the potential impact of any changes to such foreign tax regimes, competition, currency fluctuations, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, and limitations on insurance, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the AIF of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves, and do not have demonstrated economic viability, but do have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Measured and indicated resources are sufficiently well defined to allow geological and grade continuity to be reasonably assumed and permit the application of technical and economic parameters in assessing the economic viability of the resource. Inferred resources are estimated on limited information not sufficient to verify geological and grade continuity or to allow technical and economic parameters to be applied.
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
Waukesha, WI (53187)

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Cloudy in the morning followed by partly cloudy skies and gusty winds during the afternoon. High 47F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

A mostly clear sky. Low 16F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
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Goshen, IN (46526)

Today

Snow showers this morning. Peeks of sunshine later. High 44F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 34F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
In recent years we have already seen several historic circuits return to the calendar such as Imola, Portimao and Mugello. Not only the drivers, but also the fans were very happy to see these tracks making a comeback. Because of the special calendar last year the drivers might have to travel to Jerez again, according to Motorsport.com.

The coronavirus crisis forced a complete change in the Formula 1 calendar. Calendar wise this was not very convenient, but the return of historic circuits was not a problem for the drivers and sometimes even a welcome challenge.

The Spanish circuit Jerez de la Frontera also saw this and wants to return to the Formula 1 calendar. At this moment they are already ready to replace other circuits: "We are the first reserve. As soon as an event falls off the calendar we can step in", says Spanish politician Juan Marin who is responsible for tourism in that area.

Two races in Spain

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is already on the 2022 calendar so Jerez would then ensure two races in Spain in the future. Good news for Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, as it means they would get another home race. However, nothing is certain yet as there is a lot of interest and there are few places on the calendar.
Yes, I rarely travel over the bridge anyway

Yes, I've sought an alternative route

Yes, it hasn't been bad whenever I travel over the bridge

No, I've been stuck in traffic way too much

No, it's sometimes OK and sometimes not

I use Harbor Transit

I never leave my home

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Incorporating energy efficiency measures can reduce the amount of storage needed to power the nations buildings entirely with renewable energy, according to analysis conducted by researchers at the US Department of Energys (DOEs) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

As more communities plan to eventually rely on 100% renewable energy, the researchers offer a strategy that shifts away from long-duration storage.

Minimizing long-duration storage is a key element in trying to achieve the target cost-effectively. Sammy Houssainy, co-author

An open-access paper on the work, Optimal Strategies for a Cost-Effective and Reliable 100% Renewable Electrical Grid, appears in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.

The researchers considered solar and wind as the source of renewable energy, given that most plans for meeting the 100% target take those into account. They also used the Department of Energys EnergyPlus and OpenStudio building energy modeling tools to simulate energy demand, considering such factors as building size, age, and occupancy type. Data from the US Energy Information Administration informed the scientists about the existing building stock characteristics and energy load used by the buildings.

Further, the researchers separated the country into five climate zones, ranging from the hot and humid (Tampa, Florida) to the very cold (International Falls, Minnesota). The other zones encompassed the cities of New York, El Paso, and Denver. Knowing the extremes of heating and cooling demands in each zone enabled the researchers to select the appropriate mix of renewable power sources to minimize any needed storage.

While varying definitions exist in the literature, for purposes of this study the researchers define long-duration storage as energy storage systems that meet electricity demands for more than 48-hour durations. Therefore, long-duration energy storage provides power days or months after the electricity is generated. However, most long-duration storage technologies are either immature or not available everywhere. The two NREL researchers calculated reaching the last 75% to 100% of renewable energy would result in significant increases in costs associated with long-duration energy storage.

Instead of focusing on storage, the researchers emphasized the optimal mix of renewable resources, oversized generation capacities, and investments in energy efficiency. The researchers note that multiple pathways exist to reach 100% renewable and, as the costs and performance of technologies change, new pathways will emerge, but they identified a key pathway that is achievable today.

They also determined that oversizing renewable capacities by a factor of 1.4 to 3.2 and aiming for 52% to 68% in energy savings through building energy-efficiency measures lead to cost-optimal paths depending on region of the country. Houssainy said making homes and offices more energy-efficient reduces the amounts of renewable resources needed, decreases the amount of storage, and cuts transmission costs, ultimately supporting the implementation of a carbon-free energy system.

Whats included in the paper is really a multistep process to follow. That process is applicable to large cities, as well small cities. Now, the end result will change, city to city, as this multistep process is followed to cost-optimally achieve the target. William Livingood, co-author

For example, Tampa would generate all of its electricity from solar panels, while International Falls would receive 100% from wind turbines, the researchers calculated, in order to have the least reliance on storage.

It is not intended to replace the need for site-specific, detailed engineering design and planning processes for buildings, electric grid, and energy infrastructure, but we believe that our novel calculation methodology yields overarching concepts and conclusions that are broadly relevant and applicable. For cost-effectively achieving 100% renewable scenarios, our newly developed calculation methodology provides general principles that help guide these detailed engineering design and planning processes. William Livingood

DOEs Building Technologies Office funded the research, under the advisement of Andrew Burr (formerly DOE).

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Greensburg, IN (47240)

Today

A steady rain in the morning. Showers continuing in the afternoon. High 44F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 24F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
GREENWICH  Fred Camillo, who successfully faced the challenges of COVID-19 in his first term as first selectman, was reelected in a landslide to a second term Tuesday as part of a Republican sweep in the local election.

Selectwoman Lauren Rabin was also reelected to the Board of Selectmen as the GOP made a strong showing down the ticket as results came in Tuesday night.

Early results showed Camillo won 69 percent of the vote over his Democratic challenger, William Kelly.

I think we put the schools and the infrastructure at the top of the agenda, Kelly said in his concession speech as the Democrats gathered at the Old Greenwich Social Club. Hopefully the message resonates.

Kelly said he was happy with his campaign, saying, I did what I could.

Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

The third seat on the Board of Selectmen will be filled by Democratic selectman candidate Janet Stone McGuigan, who had the third highest vote total among the four candidates for the board.

Camillo and Rabin, who both grew up in Greenwich, campaigned on their strong connections to the community.

Just after polls closed, Republican Town Committee Chair Dan Quigley was quick to project optimism as a loud, festive crowd gathered at GOP headquarters. It was decorated with red, white and blue balloons and celebratory music played.

Ive been optimistic, Quigley said of the election results. The Republicans had run a very positive campaign based on the issues, he said. All of the GOP candidates had been working very hard to deliver a message that he said was resonating with voters, who he believes are tired of negative campaigns.

Quigley said Camillo and Rabin had done a great job in their two years in office, particularly during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and earned the trust and broad support of the voters. And Quigley also said they had worked together as partners on the Board of Selectmen, building on a friendship that had begun when both were children growing up in Greenwich.

I think the fact that they grew up together and were friends as kids is such an incredible story, Quigley said. When they first told me that in 2019, I couldnt believe it and I told them they had to put it everywhere in the campaign literature.  They both got to know so many people in the town living here and getting involved in the community that they built so much goodwill here. They also play off each other so well. Fred is a big-picture guy and thinks boldly, and Lauren is very focused and looks at the details. I think they complement each other. Theyre very likable, and were very lucky to have them.

At the close of polls, the registrar of voters office in Greenwich said voter turnout was at 40.32 percent, down nearly 7 percentage points from 2019, when Camillo and Rabin were first elected to the Board of Selectmen.

Democrats have not won the election for first selectman since 2001, when Richard Bergstresser defeated incumbent Republican Lolly Prince. That was also the last time that the Democrats held the majority on the Board of Selectmen, with Bergstresser and Penny Monahan.

Tale of the campaign

Fred Camillo, who served as state representative for the 151st District in the state House for 11 years until he was elected first selectman in 2019, is a town native. He was the first person in town history to be elected first selectman, state representative and to the Representative Town Meeting.

Much of his first term as first selectman was dominated by issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, Camillo said during the campaign that he was still able to accomplish many of his goals. He cited expanding outdoor dining to boost local restaurants, securing a $5 million private contribution to build a new Eastern Greenwich Civic Center and pushing forward with improvement and beautification projects in town.

Also, Camillo received high marks from many, including from Democrats, about his handling of the pandemic crisis. He worked closely with Gov. Ned Lamont as well as state and local health officials in putting together temporary mask mandates as well as other regulations.

Camillo ran against Kelly, a Democrat who has previously been a member of the RTM, the Board of Education and the Board of Estimate and Taxation.

File / Carol Kaliff / For Hearst Connecticut Media

In his first run for Greenwichs highest elected office this year, Kelly ran a spirited campaign by criticizing Camillo for relying on public-private partnerships to make capital projects happen and taking aim at the Republican-led BET for not funding the Greenwich Public Schools adequately.

Kelly said school spending is a personal issue for him because his granddaughter attends North Mianus School where a ceiling collapsed in a classroom causing widespread flooding and damage. It could have been worse had students been in class when it happened, he said. Kelly also had repeatedly said he would look to prioritize repairs at Central Middle School, where structural concerns have been pointed out.

In the Board of Selectmen race, Rabin, a Republican seeking her second term, faced a challenge from Stone McGuigan, a Democrat.

File / Ken Borsuk / Hearst Media Connecticut /

Rabin has had an active role on the board for the past two years, chairing the Re-Imagine Greenwich Committee, which has prioritized promoting and improving downtown as well as pushing an active social media campaign. She said she has also been active in helping with senior issues and creating more affordable housing in Greenwich.

Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

Stone McGuigan, who was a member of Greenwichs RTM, has also been a member of the towns PTA Council and the League of Women Voters of Greenwich. She had past experience working as a mediator in Washington, D.C., and in developing environmental policy.
ANDERSON, Ind. (AP)  A central Indiana school district cancelled all classes Wednesday as officials said about 20% of its teachers called off work amid contentious contract negotiations.

The decision by the Anderson Community Schools followed the district closing schools and holding an e-learning day for its 6,500 students Friday after similar widespread teacher call-offs.
ATLANTA (AP)  Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore emerged Tuesday as the clear leader in the mayor's race in Georgia's largest city, advancing to a Nov. 30 runoff with about 40% of the vote in the nonpartisan race.

Moore's opponent remained unclear early Wednesday, as City Council member Andre Dickens sought to deny former Mayor Kasim Reed the second runoff spot.

I am confident that people have heard our message for change and agree with us that Atlanta deserves more, Moore told supporters Tuesday night.

Reed's faltering comeback bid had turned into a fight for his political life by the time he told supporters after midnight Wednesday that he wasn't giving up, even as more than three-quarters of city voters chose someone else.

We have been in close elections before, Reed said. We have won close elections before. Just remember it's not easy."

Dickens said he moved ahead among the 14 candidates as polls showed 40 percent of voters undecided until the final weeks of the race.

I made the case about improving Atlanta in a way thats inclusive for everyone, solving our crime problem, and leading us into the future, and people actually listened, and they got involved, Dickens said in a WSB-TV interview early Wednesday. There was a lot of voter fatigue, we voted a lot during COVID, and folks started paying attention in October, and Im glad they did and it got me to where I am today.

Attorney Sharon Gay and council member Antonio Brown were trailing in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced in May that she wouldnt seek a second term, creating a wide-open race to succeed her.

Confronting rising crime was a major focus, but candidates also addressed concerns about affordable housing, bolstering struggling city services and keeping the wealthy Buckhead neighborhood from seceding.

Meanwhile, Republicans were watching for any mistakes in Atlanta that could justify a state takeover of elections in heavily Democratic Fulton County, under a sweeping new state law approved amid unproven claims of fraud by former President Donald Trump and his allies.

Like many cities across the country, Atlanta has experienced a spike in killings. Several high-profile homicides have captured attention.

We all want to live in an Atlanta, I think we all do, where it's safe to jog down the street, where it's safe to pump your own gas, where it's safe to even sleep in your own bed without bullets flying through the windows, Moore told supporters.

Moore was first elected to council in 1997 and was elected citywide as council president in 2017. She touted her legislative record, and promised greater accountability and transparency. Moore entered the race before Bottoms bowed out, and is a longtime critic of Reed, who she said led the most corrupt administration in Atlanta history.

Reed, who served two four-year terms beginning in 2010, left office amid a federal investigation into corruption at City Hall. A half-dozen members of his administration have been indicted. Some pleaded guilty and others await trial.

Reed was never charged, and his lawyers said federal prosecutors told them in August that the inquiry into Reed had been closed. Federal officials have not commented on that claim.

Others argue that even if Reed wasnt indicted, the fact that so much malfeasance occurred during his tenure should disqualify him. In an Oct. 12 debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club, Moore said Reed led the most corrupt administration in Atlanta history.

Moore was also focused on city services, saying the city needs to reinvest in its people and facilities to make sure taxpayers get what they pay for, amid complaints about faltering services such as yard debris pickup.

Reed argued hes uniquely qualified to confront crime, pledging to increase the number of officers as he did earlier when he was mayor and crime rates were lower.

I ran for mayor because I love Atlanta and it was breaking my heart to see what was happening to a city that had given me everything as a young man, Reed told supporters Wednesday.

Dickens was endorsed by former Mayor Shirley Franklin and promised to increase the number of officers, arrest gang leaders and implement community policing. He also aimed to increase affordable housing, improve infrastructure and ensure current residents qualify for high-paying jobs.

Voting in Buckhead, Timothy Haidara, a 25-year-old engineer, said he cast his ballot for Reed.

I have a son who is being raised in the city, and I think Kasim will bring a better Atlanta, he said, adding that he thinks the former mayor is the best person to get the economy going after COVID and to get more people working.

Amber Williams, a 32-year-old self-employed artist, also voted in Buckhead and said she voted for Moore.

Shes very relatable and has that loving aspect I think the city needs," she said. She looks out for the community and the children the most, and thats very important to me.

___

Associated Press writer Jeff Martin contributed reporting.



Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
BOSTON (AP)  Boston voters, marking a key milestone in the city's long political history, for the first time elected a woman and an Asian American as mayor on Tuesday, tapping City Councilor Michelle Wu to serve in the citys top political office.

Wus victory marks a turning point for the city. Boston had only elected white men as mayor before her.

One of my sons asked me the other night if boys can be elected mayor of Boston," Wu told supporters. They have been, and they will again someday, but not tonight.

The choice of Wu over fellow Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George is just the latest marker of how much the Boston of not-so-long-ago  known for its ethnic neighborhoods, glad-handing politicians and mayors with Irish surnames  is giving way to a new Boston.

Wu wont have much time to revel in her win. She will be sworn in on Nov. 16.

We are ready to meet this moment. We are ready to become a Boston for everyone. Were ready to be a Boston that doesnt push people out, but welcomes all who call our city home, Wu said.

Just before Wu spoke, Essaibi George conceded the race.

I want to offer a great big congratulations to Michelle Wu. She is the first woman, the first person of color and, as an Asian American, the first elected to be mayor of Boston, Essaibi George told her supporters. I know this is no small feat.

Wu had racked up a series of high-profile endorsements, including support from acting Mayor Kim Janey, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a former Boston city councilor and member of the Squad in Congress.

The election marks a pivotal moment for Boston, which has wrestled with racial strife throughout its history. Tensions spilled over into violence in the 1970s, when court-ordered desegregation of the citys public schools led to the busing of Black students to predominantly white schools and white students to mostly Black schools.

Each of the five main mayoral candidates  all Democrats  had identified as a person of color.

The 36-year-old Wu, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan, grew up in Chicago and moved to Boston to attend Harvard University and Harvard Law School.

Essaibi George, 47, a lifelong Boston resident and former public school teacher, describes herself as a first-generation Arab-Polish American. Her father was a Muslim immigrant from Tunisia. Her mother, a Catholic, immigrated from Poland.

With her victory in hand, its now up to Wu to try to make good on some of her sweeping proposals.

Two of Wus most ambitious pledges focus on housing and public transportation, familiar themes for the citys 675,000 residents.

To help push back against soaring housing costs that have forced some former residents out of the city, Wu has promised to pursue rent stabilization or rent control. The biggest hurdle to that proposal is the fact that Massachusetts voters narrowly approved a 1994 ballot question banning rent control statewide.

Another of Wus top campaign promises is to create a fare free public transit system. Wu has said the proposal would strengthen the citys economy, address climate change and help those who take the bus or subway to school or work.

Like the rent control pledge, Wu cant as mayor unilaterally do away with fares on the public transit system, which is under the control of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Wu said she would try to work with partners in state government to make each proposal a reality.

We dont have to choose between generational change and keeping the streetlights on, between tackling big problems with bold solutions and filling our potholes," she said.

Other challenges that Wu will have to grapple with as mayor include public education, policing, the citys ongoing struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the long-term effects of climate change on the coastal metropolis.

The election was also a test of whether voters in a city long dominated by parochial neighborhood politics was ready to tap someone like Wu not born and raised in the city.

Wu was first elected in 2013 at age 28, becoming the first Asian American woman to serve on the council. In 2016, she became the first woman of color to serve as president. Essaibi George was first elected to the council in 2015.

The election reflects an increasingly diverse Boston.

The latest U.S. Census statistics show Boston residents who identify as white make up 44.6% of the population compared to Black residents (19.1%), Latino residents (18.7%) and residents of Asian descent (11.2%).

The citys previous elected mayor  Democrat Marty Walsh  stepped down earlier this year to become U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Joe Biden. Walsh was replaced on an acting basis by Janey, sworn in March 24 as Bostons first female and first Black mayor.
Deere executives said Wednesday that the company wouldn't return to the bargaining table with striking workers because it wouldn't offer a better contract than one they rejected that included immediate 10% raises.

Marc Howze, the chief administrative officer of Deere & Co., said the deal the United Auto Workers union rejected on Tuesday represented the most it could offer and still keep its costs competitive.

Howze declined to discuss how much the ongoing strike is costing Deere, which will release its next earnings report later this month. The disputed contract would cover more than 10,000 Deere workers at 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, who make the companys iconic John Deere green tractors and other equipment.

The company plans to reach out to employees directly now to stress the virtues of its offer while it tries to keep its plants running with salaried employees and other workers to meet customer commitments. Other Deere plants globally are also working to pick up the slack.

We want to make sure they understand the value of the agreement, to make sure they understand that there is nothing to be gained by continuing to hold out, Howze said. To some degree, because we were able to come to a resolution as quickly as we were, I think theres some folks who believe there must be some more available.

In addition to the initial raises, this weeks offer included 5% raises in the third and fifth years of the six-year deal, and it would have provided an $8,500 ratification bonus, preserved a pension option for new employees, made workers eligible for health insurance sooner and maintained their no-premium health insurance coverage.

UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg said union leaders were meeting to discuss their next moves. With a majority of workers voting against the latest offer, union officials face demands to deliver more but that might be difficult given the Moline, Illinois-based companys stance. And pressure to reach a settlement will mount the longer workers go without pay.

The vote Tuesday was much closer than when 90% of the workers rejected the company's first offer last month, but 55% of the workers still rejected the latest offer. Workers have been encouraged to seek more now because of the current worker shortages and Deere's strong profits.

It seems general membership feels emboldened by this current political moment of labor power. Theyre pushing things further than the union leadership apparently wants to go, said Victor Chen, a sociologist at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies labor. Its a gamble, but the economic wind is against their backs, given widespread supply chain problems and the current worker shortage.

Deere officials, who have predicted that the company will report record profits of between $5.7 billion and $5.9 billion this fiscal year, dont want to miss out on sales to farmers who are ready to buy thanks to strong crop prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that farmers net income will increase by nearly 20% this year, to $113 billion.

Observers say the rejection of the deal shows pent-up anger among Deere workers over how much of its profits the company has been willing to share with workers.

Although the proposed contract was a significant improvement over the previous offer, the Deere workers evidently felt that the company could afford more, Fordham University sociologist Chris Rhomberg said. For decades, wages across the economy have lagged behind productivity growth, and workers may be tired of seeing the gains from their efforts go predominantly to corporations making record-breaking earnings.

Now the challenge for the UAW and Deere will be finding a way to resolve their differences in a way that workers will accept, said Todd Vachon, a former member of a carpenter's union who now teaches about labor relations at Rutgers University.

There is always the risk of overplaying ones hand  on both sides, really, Vachon said. It appears the final mile will likely involve some changes to work rules and working conditions in addition to just wage increases.

The longer the strike continues, the more painful it will become for everyone, Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said.

During the dragging on, both sides lose, Goss said. Workers are looking at lost income. John Deere is looking at lost sales. So they both have sort of guns pointing at each others heads, economically speaking.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  Conservative Christians gathered on Friday cheered North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who pledged to fight on for their principles and remain on the job despite recent calls by LGBTQ advocates and others for him to resign.

Speaking at a large Stand Up for America rally behind the Legislative Building in downtown Raleigh, Robinson referred repeatedly to his Christian faith and used military themes while calling on the crowd to remain courageous in expressing their beliefs.
CAIRO (AP)  Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday joined calls for the immediate restoration of a civilian-led government in Sudan after a military coup in the African nation.

A joint statement by the two nations, plus the United States and the United Kingdom, also urged the military to release those detained in connection to the takeover and lift the state of emergency imposed across the country since Oct. 25.

The statement will likely put pressure on Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the coup leader, and his deputy Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, to give concessions during ongoing negotiations to find a way out of the crisis. Both Burhan and Dagalo are close allies with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

We encourage an effective dialogue between all parties, and we urge all to ensure that the peace and security for the people of Sudan is a top priority, the four-nation statement said.

Buhan, head of the Sudanese military, dissolved the transitional government and detained many other government officials and political leaders. The coup, widely condemned by the U.S. and the West, has come more than two years after a popular uprising forced the militarys removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019.

The takeover has threatened to derail Sudans already fragile transition democracy and further inflame the volatile Horn of Africa.

Burhan met Wednesday in Khartoum with Nigerias former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the African Union envoy for the Horn of Africa, to discuss mediation efforts. The Sudanese leader said the military would name a prime minister who will appoint a technocratic Cabinet, without mentioning Hamdok as a candidate, according to the state-run SUND news agency.

Burhan has claimed that the takeover was necessary to prevent a civil war, citing what he said were growing divisions among political groups. However, the coup came less than a month before he was to have handed some power to a civilian.

The U.S., the U.K., Saudi Arabia and the UAE has also called for further dialogue about how to restore and uphold a genuine civil-military partnership for the remainder of the transitional period, pending elections, in accordance with the 2019 constitution document and a peace deal with rebel groups last year.

The document was reached in August 2019 after months of torturous negotiations between the military and the protest movement that led the uprising against al-Bashir. It established a transitional government that include a civilian-military Sovereign Council and a Cabinet, led by former U.N. economist Abdalla Hamdok, to run the day-to-day affairs.

Since last week, U.N. representatives have shuttled between the military and pro-democracy leaders. U.S. President Joe Bidens administration has engaged with regional powers in efforts to restore the civilian-led government.

Volker Perthes, the U.N. envoy in Sudan, has said Monday that mediation efforts were ongoing in Khartoum by a host of actors, with both Hamdok and Burhan are interested ... in mediation.

The contours of an agreement seem within reach, but we cannot speculate when a deal will be reached, Perthes told a group of journalists in Khartoum Wednesday.
It seems that Google has taken a page out of Apples playbook at tied the fingerprint reader on every Pixel 6 and 6 Pro to the original motherboard (or more likely, to the Titan M2 security chip on said motherboard). This means that if you replace the screen in a non-official repair shop, the fingerprint reader will have to be removed from the old screen and placed on the new one, which carries the risk of damaging it.

There is hope of an easier solution. Google added a new feature to the Google Pixel Update and Software Repair tool - while it doesnt have the most imaginative name, it can rescue your Pixel from a botched firmware install.

The new feature is dubbed the Fingerprint Calibration Software and it is not a mere app, it is something you need to install through Fastboot using a computer. The info button next to install link gives a terse explanation: "Install the under-display fingerprint scanner calibration software. This is required if your display is replaced. The software supports Pixel 6, 6 Pro."

YouTuber PBKreviews updated his Pixel 6 Pro disassembly video (embedded below) with a link to the Repair tool and says that a factory reset is also required after the calibration does its job, a key detail not mentioned by the info button, so make sure to back up your data first.

PS. you may have heard some complaints about the speed of the Pixel 6 series fingerprint reader and, despite what its name sounds like, the Fingerprint Calibration Software will do nothing to help that.

Via
Former Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center psychiatrist, Dr. Abner Pasatiempo is scheduled to appear at a hearing regarding his extradition to Guam connected to complaints of misconduct.

Pasatiempo will appear at a hearing regarding his extradition in Alaska on Nov. 10 after being served a Governors warrant, according to Carlina Charfauros, spokeswoman for the Office of the Attorney General.

The Guam OAG prepared and sent documents to Alaska which include identifying information, the Governors Demand for Extradition Letter, and Letter of Appointment of Agent, Charfauros said.

The AGs office filed a criminal complaint in February against Pasatiempo, accusing him of engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with patients.

Once Pasatiempo arrives on Guam, a hearing will be held for the arrest warrant and it will be decided whether to confine or release him, Charfauros added.

An arrest warrant was made for Pasatiempo after he failed to appear for hearings at the Superior Court of Guam.

He was then arrested in Alaska and ordered not to leave the state, according to the AGs office.

Complaints

Six women in Guam filed complaints against Pasatiempo in December 2019, alleging inappropriate sexual conduct. A seventh patient filed a complaint in January 2020, according to a release sent by the AGs office.

Pasatiempo was immediately suspended and later allowed his Guam medical license to expire.

The complaint includes details stating Pasatiempo asked several female patients sexually explicit questions that made them feel uncomfortable and touched a patient in a way that made her feel uncomfortable, the release stated.

The Superior Court of Guam held hearings regarding the complaints. However, after Pasatiempo failed to show up, it was reported he was trying to get his Guam medical license back to allow him to work in Alaska.

This should send a clear message that we are carrying through on our commitment to take action against individuals who are alleged to have committed a crime through the abuse of their position with the government, Attorney General Leevin Camacho said.
The numbers used to calculate the rate of hospitalization for vaccinated and unvaccinated residents are inaccurate. The unvaccinated category should include people who are ineligible for vaccination. In addition, the total number of people in the three categories exceeds Guams population by more than 14,000 people.




Haiti - FLASH : Irritated response from Claude Jospeh to President Abinader





The last intervention Monday, of Dominican President Luis Abinader on the networks stressing "that Haiti is a problem due to insecurity" and asking the international community in particular the United States, Canada, France and the European Union, to act and help Haiti urgently to stem the deep instability that the country is experiencing due to the political crisis and armed gangs, has had the redult of irritating Haitian Chancellor Claude Joseph.



Joseph, to remind President Abinader, (on social media), that the Dominican Republic is also experiencing an increase in crime, citing the US State Department in its latest travel warning because of the rise of crime in neighboring land (the Dominican Republic is at level 3: Reconsider your trip and at level 4: Do not travel)



Moreover Chancellor Joseph still in his response to the neighboring Nation, in an interview with the Voice of America the same day recalled "the island has no President. The Haitian Prime Minister does not pass himself off as the spokesperson for the island, this must be equally valid for the Dominican President."



Following statements by Chancellor Jospeh implicating a travel warning from the State Department, the United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic clarified "This warning was based on an increase in Covid cases, and not on an increase in the crime rate This warning was not a comment on the crime rate, [...] it was simply an information to travelers that the cases of Covid-19 in the Dominican Republic are on the increase."



Reacting to these exchanges between the two countries, Jose Valenzuela, the Dominican Consul General in Ounaminthe, described the response of Minister Joseph to President Abinader as "not very diplomatic" stressing "the only thing the Dominican President did was to give the alert to the international community to dissipate the crisis in Haiti" recalling that the Dominican President has maintained a policy of open and direct collaboration with Haiti at all levels, and that he has vehemently defended Haiti every time he had to intervene in international forums. Concluding "The truth is that President Abinader raised the right thing, the urgent action of the United States, Canada, France and the European Union is imperative to bring tranquility and peace to Haiti. It is also a common wish of other nations."



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35114-icihaiti-politic-the-dominican-president-will-not-go-to-cop26-because-of-haiti.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35079-icihaiti-insecurity-president-abinader-warns-the-dominicans-not-to-go-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35049-haiti-dr-abinader-call-for-disarmament-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34822-haiti-dr-president-abinader-urges-un-countries-to-assume-haiti-once-and-for-all.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34795-icihaiti-dr-haiti-generates-a-danger-for-the-region-and-in-particular-for-the-dr.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34270-haiti-politic-ithere-is-no-dominican-solution-to-the-haitian-situation-dixit-the-dominican-government.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34229-haiti-dr-abinader-calls-on-the-international-to-take-responsibility-for-the-crisis-haiti-is-going-through.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





The Prime Minister condemns

Prime Minister Ariel Henry vehemently condemns the criminal attacks perpetrated against Milot hospital by armed individuals early in the morning of November 1st https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35143-haiti-flash-bandits-attack-and-vandalize-the-sacre-coeur-hospital-in-milot.html . Such barbaric and reprehensible acts are only intended to sow anarchy in our environment and to endanger lives and property. The public authorities have been instructed to launch an investigation to prosecute the criminals and bring them to justice, in accordance with the laws of the Republic.



"Haiti is dying..."

"Haiti is dying. It is not a mono or two-headed government that will change the situation in this unspeakable disaster. The Haitian pact must be made around the disinterested reunification of Haitians, the restoration of security for all first, the rest will come then," declared the former Senator and former President of the Senate Carl Murat Cantave.



The opposition threatens to take again the streets

Signatories to the 9/11 accord urge Prime Minister Ariel Henry to form new government. Opposition political organizations threaten to take the streets on November 7 if they are not satisfied.



Death of the talented sculptor Ronald Laratte Joseph

Monday, November 1st, 2021, the talented sculptor Ronald Laratte Joseph (68), recipient of numerous awards for his works during his career, died in Gressier.



Scholarship holder in Qatar

It is with great satisfaction that the Embassy of Haiti in Qatar welcomed Wilbert Fils Pierre Louis. First recipient of a full scholarship from the University of Qata via the "Qatar Fund For Development".



"This blind violence that destroys the Haitian self..."

"This blind violence which destroys the Haitian self in its essence must stop. Bearer of the torch of united humanism and civilizing freedom, the Haitian people have never been characterized by such savagery, nor should they allow themselves to be led by such outbursts ! The peace situation is one of the essential vectors for sustainable development, notably through Culture. If culture can be weakened in the context of conflicts, it can paradoxically be a factor of national reconciliation," Jean Emmanuel Jacque Minister of Culture



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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Published on 2021/11/03 | Source

New stills added for the upcoming Korean-Japanese documentary "I Am Chosun People" (2020)

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Directed by Kim Cheol-min

Synopsis

In October 2002, a South Korean documentary film director Kim Cheol-min attends an event hosted at Mt. Geumgang: National Rally for Reunification by Students and Youths from South and North Korea and Abroad. It was influenced by the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration. In the hope of contributing to the nation's reconciliation, unity, and reunification, around 500 students and youths from South and North Korea and abroad attended the event. Here, Kim encounters the Korean Japanese (Zainichi) for the first time. To get to know them better and deeper, he grabs his camera and heads to Japan. The Korean Japanese are neither 'South Korean' nor 'North Korean'. They refer to themselves as 'Chosun people'. Many people find the term difficult and awkward because the word 'Chosun' cannot be defined simply. Multiple discussions intertwine the word. In Japan, 'Chosun' is consciously and unconsciously connected with North Korea, making the word a form of hate speech. When the Korean Japanese say "I Am Chosun People", they are making a declaration or pledge to proactively rescue the word that is engraved with a history of oppression and ordeal. LEE Jong-chan

Diaspora Film Festival 9

Release date in Korea : 2021/12/09
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LOWELL  A 19-year-old man died Thursday after a crash on the east side of town, officials said.

Marcus Demitroulas, of Crete, was taken to St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago after the crash about 1:35 a.m. in the 17800 block of Holtz Road in Lowell, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, Chicago police and Lowell police.

Watch Now: Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops: School resource officer Cpl. Jerry Patrick

Demitroulas was transferred to the University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago's South Side Hyde Park neighborhood, where he was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, officials said.

The Lake County Sheriff's Department was investigating the crash, Lowell Police Chief James Woestman said.

Lake County Sheriff's Department officers did crash reconstruction at the scene, spokeswoman Pamela Jones said.

"There was a front-seat passenger with minor injuries and a rear passenger with trauma to the foot and face," she said. "A white BMW was the only vehicle involved."

No further information about the passengers or their conditions were immediately available, Jones said.

Police continue to investigate what caused the fatal accident.

Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail
Record numbers of Americans have quit their jobs in recent months. In what has been dubbed "The Great Resignation," one-in-four U.S. workers left their job in 2021. Much of the exodus is being driven by employee burnout, which often results from spending too much time at work.

Partly in an effort to reduce the likelihood of employee burnout, governments and companies are experimenting with four-day workweeks. Following successful trial runs in Iceland and New Zealand, Scotland is set to implement its own four-day workweek trial period, without pay reduction. The Japanese government actively encourages companies to use the four-day workweek model. Here is a look at how long the typical work week is around the world.

In the United States, meanwhile, the five-day workweek remains the norm. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, American workers in the 16 to 64 age group usually work an average of 38 hours and 48 minutes per week. But how much time people spend at work could depend on where they live, as in some parts of the country, the typical workweek is far longer.

Michigan City-La Porte is the only metropolitan area in Indiana to rank among the U.S. cities with longest workweeks. The average workweek in Michigan City-La Porte is 39 hours and 36 minutes, almost an hour more than the national average. The workweek is longer than average in the metro area partially because the manufacturing sector accounts for the largest share of employment. Nationwide, those employed in manufacturing work an average of nearly 40 hours a week -- more than in most other sectors.

Despite longer than average working hours, incomes are not especially high in the Michigan City metro area. Average income per capita in the area is just $28,484, well below the $35,672 national average.

Metro areas are ranked on mean hours worked per week among full time and part time workers in the 16 to 64 age group with data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey. Because working-day length can vary considerably for U.S. service members, metro areas where 10% or more of the labor force are in the military were excluded from analysis. Supplemental data is from both the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the ACS. In the case of a tie, the metro area with the longer average commute time ranked higher.
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Sophia Voight is a reporter for the Hastings Star Gazette. She is from Oshkosh, WI and graduated from the UW Oshkosh with a bachelor's degree in Multimedia Journalism in 2021. She can be reached with any news tips at svoight@orourkemediagroup.com

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Expect to resume by end of month, victims urged to call national hotline

A shortage of employees hitting the area, state and nation has impacted victim services in this part of Montana.

District 4 Human Resources Development Council Executive Director Carilla French issued a notice that, due to lack of staff, HRDC will be suspending all victim services including the local crisis telephone line until the end of November.

HRDC 4 sincerely apologizes for the great inconvenience this will bring to the community, the notice said. Your understanding and continued support is greatly appreciated.

The notice said victims of violence are encouraged to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233.

Businesses and organizations in the area, including the schools, have been telling Havre Daily News that they are having difficulties filling open positions, a problem hitting the entire nation as job openings remained unfilled.

Local businesses in the past year have had at times to reduce hours or services due to staff shortages.

French said in the notice that HRDC will have a new program director starting soon and its services should resume before the end of November.
From MSU News Service

BOZEMAN  Three graduate students from Montana State University and the University of Montana have joined Montana PBS for the 2021-22 school year to create original digital content for pre-K through second grade teachers and students to be published on PBS LearningMedia.

The new venture for Montana PBS will allow the graduate teaching assistants to work with the Montana PBS education department to conduct an assessment of educator needs across the state and determine the content needs of teachers and students in pre-K through second grade. The graduate teaching assistants will then create original digital content to meet those needs.

Our projected outcome of this program is to have these students develop a new collection of eight or more free media resources  videos, images, interactive lessons  aligned to state and national standards to be published on PBS LearningMedia for preK-2 teachers to use in their classrooms, said Nikki Vradenburg, director of education at Montana PBS.

The teaching assistants are Alec Nehring, who is pursuing a masters degree from MSU in educational leadership; Grace Weikert, who is pursuing a masters degree from MSU in natural history filmmaking; and Jordan Parker, who is pursuing a masters degree from UM in early childhood education.

The program is made possible through a collaboration between MSU, UM and the Friends of Montana PBS.

To learn more about Montana PBS LearningMedia, people can visit http://montana.pbslearningmedia.org .
Volk, Smith and Roundtree win in Hendersonville

Hendersonville mayor pro tem Jerry Smith poses with his wife, Dr. Anne Smith, at a candidate meet and greet in October.

Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk defeated challenger D.J. Harrington to win a fourth term while incumbent Jerry Smith and perennial candidate Debbie Roundtree won council seats on Tuesday. Chelsea Walsh, the former Henderson County Republican Party chair whose slogan was "don't Asheville my Hendersonville," finished third.

Volk defeated Harrington with 64 to 36 percent of the vote, while Smith received 40 percent, Roundtree 31 percent and Walsh 25 percent in unofficial results.

"I'm just very grateful for all people that came out and voted," Volk said. "We had a pretty good turnout considering it's an off-year election. I think part of it was just experience and qualifications and I certainly appreciate that. I know Mr. Harrison was really concerned about housing and that's something we're going to continue to work on."

With the re-election of Volk and Smith and Roundtree joining Lyndsey Simpson, the City Council is likely to tilt progressive. Volk, though, said she did not see city policy through a partisan lens.

"One of the core values we voted on last January, February, March (in visioning sessions) is non-partisan elections," she said. "We're all just looking for what's going to be the best thing for the city of Hendersonville, not trying to tie it to either party (and decide) what can we do best for our citizens, our community and make this the best place that we can."

She thanked voters who turned out and her campaign supporters who worked the polls from early on Election Day until after dark.

With her win, Roundtree, who has run three times for the City Council and once for the Henderson County Board of Commissioners, showed that persistence pays off.

"I've been at the door and I walked on through," she said in an interview. Asked why she won, she said, "I'm a people person and I've been out here when I wasn't running for something and I have a compassion to want to help people. I never gave up. Representation is my No. 1 thing. What's good for one is good for all. We need to represent everyone. We all need to eat at the same table." Affordable housing, she said, is a top priority.

THE LIGHTNING IS DELIVERING REAL TIME COVERAGE OF THE ELECTION. RETURN TO THE LIGHTNING FOR MORE.
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Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly in the morning. High around 45F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 23F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

A steady rain in the morning. Showers continuing in the afternoon. High 46F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 23F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
St. Joseph, MI (49085)

Today

A shower or two possible early with partly cloudy skies in the afternoon. High near 50F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds early. Low 29F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Uniontown, PA (15401)

Today

Showers early, becoming a steady rain later in the day. High 49F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers late. Low 34F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Lima, OH (45805)

Today

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 45F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph..

Tonight

A chance of a lone shower in the early evening. Low 29F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Anchor/Multimedia Journalist

Hello! I am the weekend anchor as well as a reporter for Your News Now! You can reach me with news tips (or just to say hello!) at khonigford@wlio.com.
Now Open

3 November 2021

Ocean Hotels Group, the family-owned collection of Barbados hotels and resorts, celebrates the opening of O2 Beach Club & Spa, a new five-star all-inclusive luxury boutique resort located in St Lawrence Gap on the South Coast of Barbados.

After months of transforming the previous Ocean Two Resort & Residences and expanding the property with 42 new oceanview and oceanfront suites, the new resort has been aptly named "O2" as a nod to the symbol of oxygen, the element as natural and life essential as the act of breathing. The O2 Beach Club & Spa has 130 luxurious rooms and suites in three distinct "Collections": Club, Luxury and Concierge. Guests can enjoy the resort's variety of amenities with three scenic pools, including one of the only rooftop pools on the island; six dining experiences; seven bars with the new Brisa rooftop lounge; and the full-service Acqua spa, with inspiration from oSea Malibu and featuring the only Hamman treatments in Barbados.

The Club Collection rooms feature king or twin beds with en-suite bathrooms and invigorating rainfall showers, while the Luxury Collection is comprised of adult-only suites that offer chic contemporary design and private balconies with views of the Caribbean Sea. Options in the Luxury Collection include oceanview or oceanfront suites, as well as swim-up rooms with direct access to the adult-only river pool, where guests can also easily access H2O, the new swim-up bar. The Concierge Collection provides more spacious luxury with one or two-bedroom suites and fully equipped designer kitchens.

The resort tapped local Caribbean designer Michelle Leotaud to bring the vision of authentic Caribbean laid-back luxury to life and give a true sense of place. The Trinidad-based interior designer and director of Apple and Iron Concepts made it a priority to make sure guests feel like they are in the Caribbean, and more specifically, in Barbados. There are natural elements throughout the hotel including wood, marble and leaf motifs found on king room headboards, lobbies and public areas. Michelle tried to purchase as much as possible from local vendors and commissioned Bajan artists to create original pieces and prints for the guest rooms and suites.

The resort's stunning new Acqua spa features the only Hammam treatment room on the island of Barbados and breathtaking ocean views from its eighth-floor location. Acqua's signature treatments are inspired by healing through water. Guests can experience personalized wellness journeys, and all treatments offered in Acqua will utilize seaweed-infused oSea products. Acqua spa's services are not included in the all-inclusive offering.

The culinary heart of O2 is Elements, where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in an open-air space with a stunning crescent-shaped bar overlooking the beach, and a fabulous sun terrace with cabanas and jacuzzi tubs to laze away the days. Bluefin Beachside Grill offers swimsuit-friendly, toes-in-the-sand daytime dining, while Brisa is a rooftop tapas lounge with endless ocean views, shady pergolas, and comfortable poolside seating, perfect for sunset cocktails and star-gazing nights. The ninth floor is where you will find Oro, a fine dining experience offering modern fusion European cuisine with a Caribbean twist and 360-degree views of the south coast. Evenings at Oro will include a nightly sunset celebration featuring Champagne and canapes on the sky terrace. For an even greater dining selection, O2 guests will also have access to all five restaurants at Sea Breeze Beach House, O2's sister hotel located just a two-minute transfer away.
Now Open

3 November 2021

Best Western Hotels & Resorts' latest property in Vietnam, the brand-new 1,008 room and suite Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long, is now open and welcoming travelers for refined travel experiences in the world-famous UNESCO World Heritage destination of Ha Long Bay.

Nestled on the coast at Ha Long city ("Descending Dragon") in Quang Ninh Province, northeast Vietnam, Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long is a spectacular waterfront hotel that overlooks the iconic, island-studded seascape. Initially open every weekend during November onwards, this 31-story property is the perfect place to stay for those visiting Ha Long for leisure and business.

Travelers who want to experience this exceptional hotel and explore the local area can take advantage of the "Perfect Staycation" offer, which promises unbeatable rates, half-board dining and other exclusive benefits. Available to book from now until 31 December 2021, for stays through 31 March 2022, this enticing offer from Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long will treat you and your loved ones to a stylish staycation, complete with daily international breakfast buffet, a set lunch or dinner, and a free upgrade to the next available room category. Every stay will also be extended with early 12pm check-in and late 6pm check-out.

Guests at the Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long can expect outstanding accommodation in its 1,008 spacious rooms and suites, featuring private balconies with panoramic views of Ha Long Bay. Blending timeless Vietnamese style decor with contemporary flair and upscale amenities, each room has been meticulously designed to exude an enchanting ambiance.

Highlights of the rooms and suites at the Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long include:

Premier Rooms: Elegantly furnished with rich woods and colorful accents, the 38-square meter Premier Rooms reflect the joy of modern comfort in every corner of living space. Out on the private balcony, guests can see soothing views of the bay and its iconic limestone islands.

Premier Studios: Styled with warm hues, wooden flooring and tasteful furnishings, each Premier Studio features an open-plan living space and plush king-size bed. The balcony and large picture window highlight the scenic bay views while adding an air of spaciousness to every stay.

Premier Suites: These tempting two-bedroom suites promise the perfect seaside retreat. Guests can make themselves at home in the spacious living areas, adorned with modern luxury and home comforts. With 68 square meters of space, it can accommodate three adults and two children, while the private balcony offers panoramic bay views.

The Premier Life' experience at Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long is further elevated by world-class facilities such as a heated indoor pool and seasonal outdoor lap pool, a fully-equipped fitness center, kids' club and a spa, which is scheduled to open in 2022. The hotel's two onsite restaurants and lobby bar offer a variety of culinary delights, including Vietnamese, Asian and international cuisines. An executive lounge, business center and meeting facilities with video conferencing also enable corporate guests to stay fully connected. So, whether you're planning a serene solo escape, a fun-filled friends' getaway or a relaxing family retreat, Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long is sure to satisfy your holiday cravings.

Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long ensures the highest standards of health and hygiene with Best Western's We Care CleanSM program, which is based on expert advice from governmental agencies and independent bodies. This comprehensive program addresses every aspect of the hotel experience, from guest room and common area cleanliness to contactless procedures and more, while maintaining our industry-leading guest service.
Pipeline

3 November 2021

SLS Hotels & Residences, a brand from Ennismore, in collaboration with The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), which spearheads the development of The Red Sea Project, today announced SLS Red Sea will open its doors in Q1 2023. The project will bring 150 hotel rooms including 12 suites and 15 villas spanning over 800,000 square feet of single story accommodation. The property will feature expansive one, two, three and four bedroom Pool Villas each with ample space and the privacy afforded with one's own private swimming pool. Ennismore's top culinary and mixology experiences including Seabird, Fi'lia and Floating World will ensure this phenomenal new property speaks to the most discerning guests. The Ciel Spa, a state of the art fitness center and Altitude Pool along with a ballroom for special occasions and meeting rooms complete this distinguished offering.

SLS is part of Ennismore, a creative hospitality company rooted in culture and community, with a global collection of entrepreneurial and founder-built brands with purpose at their heart. Ennismore is a joint- venture with Accor, formed in 2021.

The property's opening and involvement in this exceptional new development is a testament to the SLS Hotels & Residences brand's long-standing experience in delivering unforgettable, experiential and timeless experiences.

The Red Sea Development Company has an uncompromising commitment to protect and enhance the natural, historical and cultural environments that will make this destination unique. Leading the global transition towards regenerative tourism, the project is going beyond sustainability to have a regenerative impact on not only the environment, but also on society and the economy too. 22 islands will be developed, leaving 75 percent of the islands untouched and only 1 percent of the entire destination will be developed. Nine islands will be designated as special conservation zones to protect the species that live and thrive there. Part of The Red Sea Project's regenerative approach will be achieved by exploring new technologies, such as 3D coral printing and coral farming processes to boost coral populations. Additionally, the project is investigating suitable carbon sequestration techniques to help reduce the overall carbon footprint, such as marine algae farms, expansion of seagrass and mangrove habitats and mechanical trees, as well as sustainable drinking water production technology.

Architectural design for the property is led by London based Foster + Partners who designed the "Coral Bloom" concept for the resort, which will be operated by 11 international hotel brands including SLS. Shurayrah Island forms the hub island of The Red Sea Project and is inspired by the island's natural state, with each of its hotels designed to give the impression that they have washed up on the beaches and nestled among the dunes like driftwood. The resorts on Shurayrah will be created using lightweight materials with a low thermal mass and manufactured offsite, meaning more energy efficient construction and less impact on the environment. Interior Design is being handled by Milan and New York based Lissoni + Partners.
Appointment

3 November 2021

Interstate Hotels & Resorts has named hospitality leader David Anderson as its new executive vice president - international, following the announcement that Nicholas Northam will retire from the role at the end of the year.

Anderson joins Interstate - the international division of Aimbridge Hospitality - with extensive industry experience in luxury resorts and midscale hotel portfolios throughout Europe and the UK, as well as the Indian Ocean, in both branded and independent properties.

Following three years as CEO of Sun Ltd (Hotels & Resorts) Mauritius, David returned to the UK earlier this year.

His previous roles also include managing director of Dolce Hotels, regional vice president for Wyndham Hotel Group and vice president for the Louvre Hotel Group in Paris.
Author

Adam Harris is the co-founder and CEO of Cloudbeds, the software solution to help hoteliers and hosts effectively run all aspects of their hospitality business in one place. Today Cloudbeds is recognized as one of the fastest-growing travel technology companies, powering over 20,000 hotels, hostels, inns, and vacation rentals in 157 countries. Adam started his career as an investment banker until his love of entrepreneurship and travel pulled him from Wall Street to found multiple technology start-ups. Adam is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in San Diego with his wife Kelly, son, and his two dogs Maggie and Dillan.
Author

Jonathan Humphries has more than two decades of experience in the hotel and real estate sectors. Jonathan began his career in luxury hospitality and market research, and from 2000 to 2004, he worked in hospitality and real estate consulting at Arthur Andersen and Deloitte. For the next 11 years, Jonathan served as VP Development and Planning EMEA for Marriott International. During this time, he oversaw the expansion of 15 brands and delivered the companys first ever comprehensive development strategy for the African continent, and created and launched Marriotts Residence Inn concept for Europe. Jonathan joined the faculty of Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL) in 2015, where he developed courses on hotel development and asset management. He also taught as a guest lecturer at the University of Zurich and the Beijing Hospitality Institute. Today, Jonathan is Chairman and Owner of HoCoSo (Hospitality Consulting Solutions), a Swiss-based company he founded in 2016 that specializes in the hospitality alternatives sector, including co-living, serviced apartments and resorts. Jonathan was appointed Senior Lecturer and Head of International Hotel Development and Asset Management Specialization at Glion Institute of Higher Education in December 2017. He leads the specializations in the MSc in Finance, Real Estate and Hotel Development, as well as the Bachelors degree Specialization in International Hotel Development and Finance. He is also a member of the European Hotel Asset Managers Association. Jonathan holds an EMBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, an MSc in Business Administration from Napier University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from Chartered Institute of Marketing and a BSc in Engineering from the University of Edinburgh.
Supplier News

3 November 2021

Quick  whats the most important ingredient for a successful hotel property? The location? The architecture? The amenities?

Those certainly play a role, but you must look deeper to find the truth. The most important ingredient to success is the team behind the brand. Whats more, its the amount of creativity they can bring to bear and their freedom to exercise that creativity.

Why is creativity important? How does it tie into building a thriving hotel brand or problem-solving in the hospitality industry? Lets take a deeper look.

Why Do Creative People Matter in the Hospitality Sector?

There isnt an obvious connection between the hotel industry in the USA and creative people. After all, there are many rules and limitations here that dictate what you can and cannot do. The truth is that creativity is vital.

Creative people birth ideas that matter  ideas that can transform a hotel and accelerate brand growth. Its all about thinking outside the box and coming up with unique ideas and answers to problems. Creative people are dreamers and visionaries.

Important Qualities of Creative People

To really explore why creative people matter so much in the hospitality industry, lets look at a few of the important qualities they embody. Creative people tend to be:

Excellent problem solvers who arrive at unique answers to challenges that would not be apparent to others

Personally responsible when it comes to tasks and duties within the hotel

Open to new ideas and inspiration from all sources

Able to take new information and glean insights that others would not see

Open to new roles and responsibilities within the hotel

Able to face challenges with an optimistic attitude

Able to find the positives in even less-than-ideal situations

Able to empathize with others, including guests and other staff members

Now, how might those qualities fit into your hiring plan for the property? You need to hire employees who are dedicated to satisfying your guests, right? You also need to hire people who have innate leadership capabilities and great communication skills. Finally, you need people who can keep your hotel competitive and move it forward.

Creative people fit the bill.

Why Is Creativity More Important Than Ever Before in the Hotel Industry?

Why is creativity in such high demand within the hotel industry today? There are a few factors at play. One of those is the pandemic and the lingering effects its had on hotels in the US and around the world. Another is the increasingly competitive nature of the industry, in which hotels of all types and sizes are forced to compete for the same guests.

It takes creativity to envision answers to these challenges. Its about innovation, vision, and the ability to think around corners. As such, creativity has a role to play in both guest-facing situations and behind the scenes.

Guest-Facing Solutions

With the right team (one comprised of creative people free to ideate), it becomes possible to devise a creative hotel strategy. This can drive the creation of unique services, deals, and experiences that act as key differentiators between your hotel and competitors. Its the difference between a guest booking a room and a guest seeking out an experience with your hotel specifically.

Creative people can envision any number of ways to create unique stays and experiences for guests. It could be something simple, such as leaving a flower on the pillow each day. On the other hand, it could be something more substantive, such as the creation of unique guest experiences that include things not found at other properties. Think themed dinners in the room, exclusive tours through local partners, tickets to events and festivals, and other examples.

Behind the Scenes Solutions

To enable amazing guest experiences, you need the right team in place and your hotel must run smoothly. Creative people can help you build the strongest team through unique solutions that not only help you find the right team members but streamline the hiring process itself.

For instance, a creative person could help you conduct interviews faster by moving to an open interview format in which several applicants are interviewed at the same time or in quick succession. They could also implement referral programs that encourage your current team members to refer others (and earn a bonus for doing so if their referrals stay with the hotel for a specific amount of time). They could devise ways to encourage your team to perform better and even increase employee retention through recognition and reward programs, too.

How to Attract Creative People to Your Property

As you can see, having creative people on your team is crucial. How do you attract them, though? How do you convey the idea that your property is a great place for those who like to dream big and have the vision necessary to change things for the better?

First, make sure theyre not already there. Encourage your existing employees to share ideas on how to improve the guest experience. Solicit suggestions on developing packages and experiences that make your hotel stand out. Ask for their help in building your brand so that it attracts guests.

Often, youll find that when you let your current employees be free to exercise their creativity, it has a transformative effect. Not only will your existing staff become invaluable resources, but your culture will change, as well. That drives better hiring  creative people seek out environments where they feel comfortable and they know their ideas will be welcomed. A culture of creativity and innovation goes a long way toward attracting those types of people.

Make sure to take this stance when hiring at all levels. Creativity matters as much in your front desk staff and housekeeping team as it does with management. And make sure that youre open to ideas from all corners  the most important vision may come from the most unexpected source.

In Conclusion

Set your team members free to exercise their creativity. Identify key skills and characteristics that you want to see in new applicants that point to their creativity and then actively use those metrics in your hiring process. Change your culture, embrace innovation, and you might be surprised at not only the calibre of the people you attract, but at the hidden strengths within your own team, and the impact these changes have on your hotels success.

Hotelogix Editorial Desk

Hotelogix's team of researchers and writers are constantly innovating to share the latest trends from the travel and hospitality space. Got suggestions? Write to us on [email protected]
Press Release

3 November 2021

Accor, Australia & New Zealands Largest Hotel Operator, Faces A Critical Shortage Of Workers As Tourism Begins To Bounce Back

Accor Launches Work Your Way Program To Lure Top Talent To Take Up Over 1,200 Jobs Available Across Australia & New Zealand

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With Australia and New Zealand on the cusp of reopening to the world, and in readiness for the tourism rebound, Accor has launched a new talent attraction program, Work Your Way, to lure great talent to its workforce that will enrich the tourism industrys future.

Accor is forecasting that over the coming months it will need to bolster its current workforce of 18,000 team members across Australia and New Zealand by up to 15%, whether thats for a gap year or a career, as lockdowns end and borders reopen.

Accors Work Your Way program revolutionises recruitment in the tourism sector through:

Same day hire: Accor has introduced a new same day hire process for frontline roles, such as food and beverage attendants, receptionists and housekeeping attendants to simplify and fast track the hiring process. Put simply, a candidate can walk or phone in, be hired, and start working all on the very same day. Personalised benefits: Accors already generous team member benefits have been bolstered with each hotel now offering a selection of additional perks personalised by their location and team preference, including travel allowances, birthday leave and sabbaticals. Open pathways to travel and work around the Pacific: Future and current team members now have greater opportunity to work and travel their way around Accor properties in the Pacific region than ever before. Advanced career development: A rewarding career is for everyone at Accor. Accors industry-leading training academy, Accor Academy, supports every team members career development with easy access to qualifications, practical skills and leadership programs. Flexible working for all: Accor believes every role, from housekeeping to management, should have flexibility so it has implemented new policy to ensure greater flexibility is available to all employees.

Accor Pacific CEO, Simon McGrath, said: The hospitality industry has an exciting future ahead, and our guests are telling us that they cannot wait to start travelling again. As domestic, and soon international tourists, flock back to hotels and restaurants across Australia and New Zealand, the industry needs talented individuals who wish to build a rewarding career. I could never give back to the industry what it has given me in terms of career development and learning opportunities. I have worked for Accor for a long time, because you can be yourself and take your career wherever you want. Our teams bring diversity, experiences and stories to our culture, which makes Accor a community for all to excel. If you are passionate about caring for guests and doing your best, you will go far in our business.

Accors Work Your Way program is about meeting people where theyre at. Its about doing what matters in every part of a team members life  whether thats finding time for 8am swimming lessons, 3pm school pick-ups, or facilitating their dream of working in outback Australia or the snowfields of the South Island.

Accor Pacific Senior Vice President Talent & Culture, Sarah Derry, said: Lives and dreams dont always fit neatly around working hours and current roles  thats why weve introduced Work Your Way at Accor. This program will create dramatic positive change by attracting great talent that will enrich our industrys future. We recognise that greater flexibility in the workplace creates a fulfilling and inclusive team member experience where our team can contribute in a healthy, stimulating and productive way, while advancing their career with the largest hotel operator in Australia and New Zealand.

Accor is currently recruiting for more than 1,200 new career opportunities at most of its 400 hotels in Australia and New Zealand. Anyone interested in career opportunities at Accor should visit Accors global career page Accor Careers.

Earlier this year, Accor launched its Accor Internship Program, which works with 22 hospitality institutions across Australia and New Zealand to provide fully paid on the job training for 100 students. And, for two decades, the Accor Indigenous Programs have been a talent initiative playing a key role in empowering indigenous success within Australias hospitality industry.

Across all workplaces and spaces, there is one thing that binds the Accor team together  Heartist culture  which is their shared and unwavering obsession with the joys of human connection. Every Accor team member is trained in Heartist culture and its guiding principles. It is these principles that help the team to make all people feel valued and welcome.

Accor brands across the Pacific region include SO/, Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissotel, Movenpick, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Novotel, Mercure, Tribe, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis budget.
Press Release

3 November 2021

IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the worlds leading hotel companies, has launched franchise sales in the United States for its newest brand  VignetteTM Collection  providing an opportunity for independent hotel owners in markets across the country. IHG unveiled the highly anticipated Luxury & Lifestyle collection brand in August, along with the first properties to join the collection in Australia and Thailand.

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Vignette Collection is the latest offering in IHGs Luxury & Lifestyle portfolio in recent years, which now includes more than 400 hotels and 100,000 rooms  the second largest portfolio in the industry globally. Vignette Collection builds on the heritage and reputation of brands such as InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, which marked its 75th anniversary this year, and IHGs world class systems and capabilities, including dedicated resources and a luxury loyalty offering for guests and owners.

Julienne Smith, Senior Vice President, Development, Americas commented: Vignette Collection gives owners and guests an inspiring new choice and, while each hotel in the collection will maintain its unique story and guest experience, guests will also enjoy the assurance of a consistent and high-quality experience backed by IHG. There is outstanding potential in the Americas region for this brand, specifically in urban and resort locations, with Vignette Collection offering high value and flexibility for hotel owners.

IHG is inviting interested hotel owners and operators in the U.S. to learn more about Vignette Collection by attending a complimentary virtual development symposium on Tuesday, December 7. Register for the event here. Those interested can explore more branding opportunities with IHG by visiting https://development.ihg.com/.
Opinion Article

3 November 2021

Dubai has a reputation for constantly reinventing itself to retain relevance in an evolving global travel industry. While the past 18 months have been plagued by COVID-19-related challenges, the pandemic has also provided Dubais tourism industry with numerous opportunities. Indeed, the UAE was quick to establish guidelines and procedures, allowing tourism to safely continue while many other holiday and business destinations had to shut their borders.

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As the world has adapted to living and working in a pandemic, vaccinations and several other guidelines have meant that Dubai can host Expo 2020. Taking place from October 2021 until March 2022, the exhibition is set to welcome around 25 million visitors from all over the globe. It will deliver a much-needed boost to the UAEs travel and tourism sector. In anticipation of this boost, we share our thoughts on what the UAEs hotel sector can expect from Expo 2020 by looking back at the previous two world exhibitions in Milan and Shanghai.

Expo 2010  Shanghai

In 2010, the Expo was hosted in Shanghai on the theme Better City, Better Life aiming at sustainable urban development and showcasing solutions for urban life. With a total of 73 million visitors, it was the most visited World Expo ever, also holding the record for the most visitors in one day, with 1.03 million attendees on October 16, 2010. While being the most visited Expo ever, about 200 million Chinese live within a two-hour drive of Shanghai, which resulted in about 85 percent of domestic Chinese visitors during the six-month event. About 11.4 million visitors came from abroad and booked hotel accommodation in the city. At the time, Shanghai had a hotel inventory of approximately 192,000 rooms available each night. Over the course of the event, the city experienced a 39 percent increase in demand when compared to the same period the year before. The average daily rate (ADR) during Expo 2010 was 30 percent higher than the previous year, with rates decreasing again post Expo by 26 percent in 2011. According to a Bloomberg report, the event may have generated tourism spending of more than 80 billion yuan (USD 13 billion) for Shanghai and neighboring cities along the Yangtze River.

Given its proximity to Shanghai, Hangzhou has observed similar demand patterns during the Expo period but equally witnessed declines in average rates and occupancies the following year. This could be an indicator of things to come for Abu Dhabi, which is only a one-hour drive from the Expo site and is hoping to be positively impacted by the event.

Expo 2015  Milan

The Expo was hosted in Milan in 2015. With 22 million visitors, Milans hotel sector experienced a significant boost in the six months between May and October. With only 34,000 available rooms to sell each night, Milan had a significantly smaller pool of inventory, representing about 20 percent of the available rooms in Shanghai. Milans Expo 2015 relied on both visitors from within Italy as well as tourists coming from abroad. In total, 22 million attendees visited the exhibition within the six month period. While attracting a higher percentage of international visitors than Shanghai, about 70 percent of Milans Expo attendees came from within Italy. A more internationally driven demand pattern is expected for the upcoming Expo 2020 in Dubai. Organizers expect around 70 percent of visitors to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 170-year history of World Expos. Overall, 2015 was a strong year for Milans hotel industry. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by 28 percent and inventory was driven by strong average daily rates, which were up 18 percent on the previous year. Like Shanghai, the year following the Expo was characterized by a decline in demand, resulting in a correction of RevPAR by 24 percent. Expo has also impacted hotel values. In Milan, the average value per key increased by 6 percent in the year before the event, with another increase of 10 percent during the year of the Expo. The post-Expo decrease was comparably moderate, with a drop of 4 percent for the full year.

Expo 2020  Dubai

Although Dubai is different from Shanghai and Milan, economic patterns and demand upturns are expected to be repeated. Expo 2020 is set to attract about 11 million visitors from the region and another 14 million from overseas. In total, 191 countries are taking part in Expo Dubai, the first mega event of its kind in the Middle East. While COVID-19 remains a factor to consider when forecasting attendance, research carried out after events such as Gulfood and Gitex helped Dubai officials gauge confidence levels among attendees, with surveys showing that almost 90 percent felt safe at every stage of the journey. Hotel room inventory has increased rapidly in Dubai, with an average annual growth rate of 5 percent since 2015. By the end of 2021, the city will have over 132,000 hotel rooms. Hoteliers are anticipating the recuperation of some of the losses incurred by the pandemic, with average occupancies of about 75 percent predicted over the six-month period. Equally, average daily rates are expected to rise by about 20 percent when compared to the full year of 2019, reaching AED 640 as an average daily rate throughout all hotel classifications. Although hotels may be the most obvious beneficiaries, many industries and businesses are looking forward to the Expo. Besides the short-term benefits for the hospitality industry, this Expo is expected to give exposure to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates on a huge scale. The world will be watching.

Originally published on hospitalitynewsmag.com; https://www.hospitalitynewsmag.com/the-expo-effect/.
(Bloomberg) -- Walmart Inc. told customers to immediately stop using a household spray, double-bag it, put it in a cardboard box and return it because the product might contain a rare and dangerous bacteria.

The aromatherapy spray, a Better Homes and Gardens-branded product labeled Lavender & Chamomile with Gemstones, was linked to a cluster of cases in the U.S. this year of melioidosis, a dangerous bacterial infection normally found in tropical climates. Wal-Mart licenses the Better Homes and Gardens name for the product, which is manufactured in India, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Tuesday that its lab tests had genetically matched the bacterial strains of patients in Kansas, Minnesota and Texas to a spray bottle in the home of a Georgia patient who was one of two people to have died in the cluster. One of those who died was a child.

USA Today reported that the Texas case was a girl named Lylah Baker, who was hospitalized in Dallas with an infection that spread to her brain. Months later, Lylah is still unable to talk and goes to therapy several days a week, her family told USA Today.

Walmart said Tuesday it immediately pulled the product from about 55 stores in 18 U.S. states and stopped online sales. The retailer emailed customers who purchased the spray online and tracked down more than 2,000 people who bought it in stores to inform them of the recall. Customers who return the product get a full refund and a $20 gift card.

In all, the company has recalled about 3,900 spray bottles in six different scents. The product was manufactured by closely-held Flora Classique Inc., Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart said.

We are committed to providing safe, high-quality products to our customers, said Walmart. Our sympathies go out to the four families that have been impacted by this situation.

The CDC warned against even pouring the product down the drain or throwing it away. The bacteria -- Burkholderia pseudomallei -- isnt common in the U.S., and itd be better to keep it that way, the agency said.

2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Exxon Mobil, the nations largest oil company, for the first time on Wednesday warned investors that it may have to write down the value of its oil and gas assets because of climate change.

The Irving company said in a federal filing Wednesday that its board is evaluating climate change as a business risk, similar to other operational, strategic and financial risks. If the world shifts away from fossil fuels more quickly than anticipated, Exxon warned, the value of its oil and gas assets could fall, although the company said it could not now estimate if or how much it could fall.

It's a remarkable admission of climate change risks from one of the most recalcitrant oil giants, which has long told investors that the worlds growing population will fuel an insatiable thirst for fossil fuels and dismissing growing concerns about climate change.

RECKONING: Big Oil confronted with 'day of reckoning' on climate change after Exxon board shake-up

Environmental groups for decades have criticized Exxon for downplaying climate change and moving too slowly on climate concerns while European rivals such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell have pledged to reduce carbon emissions by reducing oil and gas production and investing more in wind and solar power.

Carbon Tracker, a London-based financial think tank that studies the risk of climate change on energy companies, in September said Exxon was materially exposed to climate-related matter, including declines in oil and gas prices.

Exxon in 2020 wrote down the value of its property, plants and equipment by $25.9 billion, or more than 10 percent, after crude prices crashed during the pandemic. The company, however, didn't disclose how climate change could affect the economics of its oil projects or the value of its oil and gas assets, according to Carbon Tracker.

Declining demand for oil and gas, the switch to renewable energy for power, regulations to limit emissions, and the phase out of internal combustion engines are examples of climate-related risks that can directly and significantly affect financial statement results, Carbon Tracker said in its September report. They can shorten the estimated useful lives of productive assets, or change the assumptions used to determine expected future cash flows for impairment testing, resulting in impairments and altering the reported amounts of assets and liabilities.

Exxon appears to be taking climate risks more seriously as the oil industry faces mounting pressure from governments, corporations and the public to change course to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. The acknowledgment of climate risks comes after Exxon and its peers faced unprecedented challenges to oil's supremacy over the past two years.

The global pandemic gave the company a glimpse into a world with little demand for fossil fuels and dealt the blue-chip company its worst financial performance in 40 years. It lost $22.4 billion in 2020 after its stock fell by more than 40 percent during the pandemic.

The International Energy Agency, a respected energy authority on whose forecasts Exxon has heavily relied, warned this year that the world would need to stop drilling new oil and gas wells durign 2020 to meet net-zero emissions targets by 2050. Many of the world's largest corporations and industries that rely on petroleum have pledged to become net-zero emission companies during the coming decades.

A climate-minded activist investor in May won a quarter of the seats on Exxon's board, stunning corporate leadership. The shakeup of Exxon's board sent an unequivocal message that investors demanded that the company take the threat of climate change more seriously.

The company in its Wednesday filing said its annual review will examine the effect of technological advancement, government regulations, climate change and greenhouse gas restrictions and other economic factors on oil demand and supplies.

The Corporation views climate change risks as a global issue that requires collaboration among governments, private companies, consumers and other stakeholders to create meaningful solutions, Exxon wrote in its filing. These should meet the worlds increasing demand for affordable and reliable energy while creating opportunities to transition to a lower-carbon emissions future.
WASHINGTON  Over the past decade, oil and gas operators have steadily reduced the amount of methane  the main component of natural gas  that escapes from their wells and pipelines into the atmosphere.

Now, President Joe Biden wants the industry to accelerate efforts to nearly eliminate releases of the potent greenhouse gas, as he tightens up federal climate regulations and leads an international charge to reduce global methane emissions 30 percent over the next eight years.

Reining in emissions to that degree would require going much further than former president Barack Obama did in his climate efforts. New rules announced by Biden on Tuesday would expand methane regulation to include not just new wells, but also an estimated 1 million existing oil and gas wells, many of which are decades old. That would require the industry to modernize equipment and operations as well as closely monitor a pollution problem that has long been seen as too costly to address.

The main problem is nobody knows exactly how much methane they are unintentionally releasing, said Raoul Leblanc, a vice president at the consulting firm IHS Markit. In order to really know that, you would need continuous sensors or inspectors out there with cameras and we just dont have that yet. Some companies are spending a lot of money in this area, but in the meantime its going to be hard to know how big the problem is.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Ahead of climate summit, nations struggle to turn goals into reality

Bidens methane announcement comes as countries from around the globe meet in Scotland for COP26, to try to negotiate a way to move countries past climate pledges to policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the oil and gas industry released more than 157 million metric tons of carbon equivalent methane into the atmosphere in 2019. Thats down 16 percent since 1990, but the EPA proposal would go much further, requiring methane emissions to fall 74 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

To get there, the EPA is proposing that oil and gas companies replace old storage tanks and other equipment that by design or wear and tear leak methane. The rules also would mandate regular inspections of oil and gas facilities with methane-detecting sensors or infrared cameras.

Wells that produce small volumes of gas or oil would be exempted, but operators that produce above those low thresholds would have difficulty staying in operation under the new rules due to increased costs, said Lee Fuller, of the Independent Petroleum Producers of America, a trade group representing smaller oil and gas companies.

The tricky part is going back and retrofitting an old facility because theres so much less production, Fuller said. Whats cost effective at 10,000 (million cubic feet) a day isnt effective at 22 (million cubic feet), which is the average low production natural gas well.

Easy target

With scientists warning the world needs to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid cataclysmic climate change, methane has become an easy target for government regulators. Emissions primarily come from just three industries, cattle farming, oil and gas production and trash dumps, and while relatively small in volume compared to carbon dioxide emissions, methane has 25 times the warming effect.

The opportunity is there to get significant reductions from the oil and gas sector, and thats critical if the country is going to meet the aggressive methane emissions goals the Biden administration has set, said Jon Goldstein, senior director of legislative and regulatory affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy group. The industry sees the writing on the wall, and if they want to continue their business theyre going to have to clean up.

More: Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com

So far large oil and gas companies and their lobbyists, including the American Petroleum Institute, have been receptive to Bidens bid to increase methane regulations, as investors and customers increase pressure on the industry to reduce emissions. But oil and gas companies are still likely to try to chip away at some of the tougher parts of the regulations, such as a provision allowing private citizens to monitor and report emissions to government,either through lobbying or litigation, according to industry officials.

Meanwhile, Republican politicians from energy producing states are already pushing back. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year promised to go to court to protect the states oil and gas industry from climate regulation.

Texas is not going to stand idly by and watch the Biden administration kill jobs in Midland, in Odessa or any other place across the entire region, Abbott said in January.

Abbott did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Commercial pressure

But the momentum to rein in methane emissions extends far beyond Texas, with 90 countries agreeing Tuesday to sign on to Bidens pledge to lower global emissions by nearly a third by the end of the decade. And if companies want to sell their gas abroad  a growing business with the advent of LNG tankers  there is growing pressure from foreign buyers to prove that gas produced minimal methane emissions. For those that do not or cannot reduce emissions sufficiently, time is running out, said Leblanc, the IHS Markit analyst.

I think they just go out of business or they shut in their wells earlier than planned, he said.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter.com/@osborneja
Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer

U.S. crude inventories increased by 3.3 million barrels last week as oil prices fell Wednesday morning, trading at $81.96 at 9:30 a.m. Central.

The nations commercial crude inventories increased to 434.1 million barrels during the week ended Oct. 29 from about 430.8 million barrels the previous week, the Energy Department said Wednesday. With the inventory increase, the country has about 6 percent less crude on hand than the five-year average for this time of year, the Energy Department said.
GLASGOW, Scotland  World leaders gathered at a crucial climate summit secured new agreements Tuesday to end deforestation and reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane, building momentum as the conference prepared to shift to a more grueling two weeks of negotiations on how to avert the planets catastrophic warming.

Capping off two days of speeches and meetings, President Joe Biden Tuesday said the United States pledged to be a partner with vulnerable countries confronting climate change, while expressing confidence that his own domestic climate agenda is on track to pass Congress despite the wobbling of a key Senate Democrat this week.

Biden told reporters the meeting had reestablished the United States as a leader on what he has called an existential threat to humanity, saying America would keep raising its climate ambitions and that his engagement on the issue had drawn thanks from other heads of state.

He also reproached President Xi Jinping of China, the worlds largest emitter of greenhouse gases, along with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, for not attending the summit.

We showed up. We showed up, Biden said at a news conference at the United Nations summit on climate change, known as COP26. The fact that China is trying to assert, understandably, a new role in the world as a world leader, not showing up? Huh. The single most important thing thats gotten the attention of the world is climate.

The most consequential agreements reached Tuesday came in areas where Biden said the United States was poised to move aggressively: reducing methane emissions and protecting the worlds forests.

The Biden administration announced Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency intends to limit the methane coming from about 1 million existing oil and gas rigs across the United States, as part of a larger climate-focused plan to protect tropical forests and a push to speed up clean technology.

Soon after that announcement, administration officials said that 105 countries had signed the Global Methane Pledge, a commitment to reduce methane emissions 30% by 2030, including half of the worlds top 30 methane-emitting countries, and that they expected the list to grow.

Notably absent from those signing on, however, were some major methane polluters such as China, Russia, Australia and India.

Leaders of more than 100 countries also pledged Tuesday to end deforestation by 2030, agreeing to a sweeping accord aimed at protecting some 85% of the worlds forests, which are crucial to absorbing carbon dioxide and slowing the rise in global temperatures.

Millions of acres of forests are being lost to global demand for soy, palm oil, timber and cattle, most notably in Brazil, which has seen a surge in deforestation of the Amazon since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019. Brazil is among the signatories of the agreement.

Boris Johnson, the British prime minister who has played host and master of ceremonies for the gathering of leaders, called countries to action on forests by invoking a horror movie. Lets end this great chain saw massacre, he said.

The plan is focused on an effort to reduce financial incentives to cut down forests, with 12 governments committing $12 billion and private companies pledging $7 billion to protect and restore forests.

But some environmental organizations criticized Tuesdays agreement, saying it would allow deforestation to continue and noting that similar efforts have failed in the past.

At an event unveiling the methane pledge, Biden and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission and a partner in hosting the event, framed the agreement as one of the most effective ways countries around the world could quickly begin fighting the effects of climate change.

Emissions of methane, which is produced from oil and natural gas operations, livestock and landfills, can warm the atmosphere 80 times as fast as carbon dioxide in the short term.

Biden said the United States was prepared to meet the methane goal and could probably go beyond that by 2030.

The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group that represents the oil and natural gas industry, called the EPA proposal sweeping and pledged to work with the agency to help shape a final rule that is effective, feasible and designed to encourage further innovation.

Before he left Glasgow Tuesday to return to Washington on a late-evening flight, Biden hailed progress on multiple fronts from the second day of meetings with heads of state, including initiatives to reduce emissions from agriculture. John Kerry, Bidens special envoy on climate change, said he expected new financial commitments to fulfill a long-delayed promise to provide $100 billion a year in aid for developing countries to fight and adapt to global warming.

There were private commitments as well: Jeff Bezos, one of the richest people on the planet, pledged $2 billion to restore natural habitats and transform food systems to reduce their footprint and make them more sustainable in a warming world.

The pledges on Tuesday offered glimmers of some concrete progress after a pessimistic start, which included repeated warnings that the world was running out of time to solve an existential crisis for humans  along with anger from leaders of developing countries who called on wealthy countries to do more, faster, to reduce the fossil fuel emissions that are warming the planet.

Yet the hardest work at the conference will begin after the top leaders have left for home.

Over the next week and a half, diplomats will have to hammer out rules around international carbon markets and figure out how to deliver on a still-unmet promise from more than a decade ago to deliver $100 billion annually by 2020 to help poor countries pivot away from fossil fuels and prepare for the impact of climate change.

Most critically, vulnerable countries are pressing major emitting nations to agree to raise their climate targets each year in order to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above levels before the Industrial Revolution.

China, before the summit, announced it would peak its emissions before 2030  a target that is essentially the same as the one it issued six years ago. The countrys presence at the Glasgow conference has been muted. While Chinas top negotiator Xie Zhenhua will be in Glasgow throughout the two-week conference, several diplomats said privately they dont anticipate major new announcements from the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitter.

At his news conference, when Biden was asked about China, he was sharp in his critique. I think its been a big mistake for China not to show up at the conference, he said. Theyve lost their ability to influence people around the world.

Biden had similarly harsh words for Putin. His tundra is burning, Biden said. Literally, his tundra is burning. He has serious climate problems. And he has been mum on his willingness to do anything.

The criticisms of China from U.S. officials  including Bidens national security advisers comment that the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitter had an obligation to step up  drew a lengthy rebuke from Chinas foreign ministry and some Chinese media outlets Tuesday.

China sticks to its word, and its actions bear fruit, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the ministry, told reporters in Beijing.

Wang criticized the United States for having constantly flipped and flopped and gone backward on climate change and said it should do more to support poorer countries that have been worst hit by the consequences of global warming.

The Global Times, a pugnaciously nationalist Chinese newspaper, went further, warning that the Biden administrations climate change promises were likely to come to nothing if Republicans regain control of Congress in midterm elections.

If he is not qualified to lead his own country, how are he and his administration going to lead in global climate change action? the paper said in an editorial.

Biden said in his news conference that he expected to lead his $1.85 trillion climate change and social safety net bill climate bill through Congress and into law. He said he felt certain a key holdout, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., would ultimately vote for the bill.

I believe that Joe will be there, Biden said. I think well get this done.

He also said he had received thanks from other leaders for bringing the United States back to negotiations after disengagement under former President Donald Trump, echoing comments he made at the end of a meeting of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations in Rome on Sunday.

We showed up, Biden said Tuesday, shortly before returning to Washington. And by showing up, weve had a profound impact.
While many celebrities have poured their lives into memoirs, Tamron Hall had a different story to tell.

The Emmy-winning host and executive producer of the Tamron Hall show leaned on her 30 years experience covering crime stories to write her debut thriller novel, As the Wicked Watch (HarperCollins).

I wasnt interested at this point of my life in writing a memoir, said Hall, who also has hosted Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall on Investigation Discovery since 2013. I thought about writing a mini memoir about the break when I exited the Today show (in 2017) and created this show (in 2019). But we were in the middle of the pandemic, and I didnt know if my show was returning. So I didnt feel comfortable writing that story yet. But this, I felt compelled to write. This is the biggest part of my professional journey  30 years of reporting, much of that reporting on stories like this.

As the Wicked Watch is told through protagonist Jordan Manning, who is in many ways like Hall, a tenacious journalist with a flair for fashion, specifically stilettos, and a dedication to bringing justice. Manning is also a forensic scientist who leaves her hometown in Texas for a TV reporting job in Chicago and searches to solve the murders of two Black girls by serial killer. In Halls book much like in real life, Black girls who go missing often dont make the headlines.

Sewing: Two new Black bookstores bring connections and superheroes to Third War

Hall, a native of Luling who wrote the book with former newspaper reporter T. Shawn Taylor, recently has done virtual talks with Houston book stores, Kindred Stories and Murder by the Book. In this Houston exclusive interview, she talked about her novel, the heartache of covering crime stories and the best part of motherhood during the pandemic.

Why did you choose the title As the Wicked Watch?

It was something that came to me in my mind when I was thinking about my years of covering crime and about individuals watching the coverage. I did a story many years ago in Texas where a man who had murdered someone barricaded himself inside of his home. The police in this small town asked us to back off and not have too much information on air because they believed he was watching. That has happened many times in my career, where weve wondered out loud or talked about it behind the scenes, Was the wicked watching?

Your protagonist, Jordan Manning, grapples with her emotions in covering crime stories. Has that been your experience?

I have had this combination of heartache and confusion on how I, as a reporter, should handle crime stories, particularly when the victims are women and/or children. I had a folder with the photo and the life of that person that I would meditate over. I would pray, and I would actually ask the universe to help me. I didnt want a family to ever watch a report that I did and feel hurt and pain from how I handled the story. The night before a shoot, I would really soak in that person and remind myself every step of the way that this was someones loved one whos not going home, who they wont hug again, and honor that persons life as I reported what happened to them.

With your second book in the works, did you set out to have a crime series like author Walter Mosleys character Easy Rawlins?

Yes, I did. Honestly, Easy Rawlins is one of my inspirations, and Nancy Drew. As a child, I grew with a Nancy Drew series under my bed, and so it was really both. Jordan is a protagonist that we have not seen before, truly fleshed out. Its not just a novel about a reporter, she is in so many ways, a superhero. She is fighting for justice, and she wants answers for these Black families and for these Black girls.

How much of Jordan is you?

At her age, I wished that I was as fearless as Jordan. Shes a lot more forceful and more confrontational because, unlike me, she really doesnt have to suffer the real ramifications of being called the angry, difficult Black woman. I live in the real world, where that can hurt your career and hurt your reputation. I would say about 40 percent me and a mix of all of these women who Ive watched over the years in local and national news, who I knew personally and who had similar stories.

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.

With the issue of how the media values cases of missing Black women, do you see this changing?

Behind the scenes, reporters and women of color are speaking up about it in ways that viewers have no idea. Viewers often think they are the ones sounding the alarm, but it is happening in newsrooms. I think that we might see a change because more people of color, Black, brown, Latino, Asian, are now in higher decision making roles. I dont know how anyone can watch the coverage (of missing women) right now and not see the disparity and not ask, Why is this happening?

Whats the most fun thing about having your own talk show?

Its like brunch with friends  and two mimosas in. The people we dont like are gone, and were just really good friends having a conversation. That means having tough conversations like the mask debate and why wouldnt you want a child to wear a mask, to love advice, real life relationship dilemmas and dating.

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Youve always had an incredible sense of style. Is it your Texas roots?

My grandfather is from Luling, and every Sunday, even though he worked in the back of a grocery store at the barbecue pit, hed walk out in his Stacy Adams shoes, his suit with his beautiful felt hat. My grandmother, also from Luling, was never seen without a beautiful hat on Sunday. So my family took great pride in presentation. They werent wealthy people, many of them wore uniforms every day to work, but at a Sunday service, they were unmistakable. So its really in my blood, I think. I love supporting fashion.

Is it important to you to support people of color in the fashion industry?

I know that some of the bigger brands we talk about are Italian brands and French brands, but at the end of the day, those industries are greatly supported and sustained by Black creatives. Ive been very vocal and a very strong advocate for makeup and hair creatives of color because they are often paid less and can do more. I love the fashion, but its also about celebrating, which is why we do an up-and-coming fashion designer series inspired by my aunts, family and friends who used to make my little outfits when my mother couldnt afford it.

Although youre back in the studio now, what was best thing about doing your show from home?

I think it was not missing milestones. A lot of the times you hear working parents say, I missed his first step or I missed her first word. I had prepared myself, honestly, for that. I work a lot. Were in studio as early as 7 a.m., and some days I dont get home until my son (2-year-old Moses) is already in bed. So not missing the milestones  that I had resigned myself to the fact that I would miss  was the biggest benefit.

What brings you joy?

Sunday morning in the bed with my son and my husband eating Cheerios and watching whatever is keeping him quiet in the bed. Its our cuddle time. It brings me great joy.

joy.sewing@chron.com
Nurses need a laugh  and a night out.

Now more than ever, Blake Lynch added.

And hes standing by with the antidote. Lynch is known as Nurse Blake, an internet sensation turned comedic performer with more than 2.4 million followers, tons of skits on YouTube and his own podcast.

Hes currently on his 50-city PTO Tour and will appear in Houston at the Cullen Performance Hall on Nov. 6. The venue is located on the University of Houston campus at 4300 University.

Hes a real, registered nurse, Cullen Performance Hall theater director Carrie Miller said. And his comedy is really relevant to folks in that industry.

She added that Cullen Performance Hall has ideal acoustics for comedians.

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Weve got a great stage, she said. We love bringing in comedians.

Nurses have always worked above and beyond, around the clock, Lynch notes. During the pandemic, that went into overdrive.

Nurse Blake: The PTO Comedy Tour When: 8 p.m. Nov. 6 Where: Cullen Performance Hall, 4300 University Details: Tickets start at $26.50; uh.edu/cullen-performance-hall See More Collapse

Its challenging how dark this time has been, he said. To find things to laugh at, to remember why we got into nursing in the first place, thats what the show is all about.

And while his shows are full of laughter, his comedy definitely has an edge.

Everything I made has some underlying meaning to it, Lynch said.

Take the shows title, for example: PTO refers to paid time off, a concept nurses know well, he explained.

We nurses accrue paid time off, but it hardly ever gets approved, Lynch said.

He wants to send nurses a message.

Use your PTO, because you deserve it, Lynch said. And if it gets denied, go tell your manager to get ready because you aint coming in.

He laughs  and then admits that hes addressing a serious problem.

Burnout is definitely real in nursing, he said. The hospitals push us to our limits, and we often dont have the resources we need.

Lynch would know. His repertoire is based on personal experiences in the field and those of nurses he met along the way. Born and raised in Orlando, Fla., he graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2014 with a bachelors degree in nursing.

Nursing was always the route I wanted to take, said Lynch, who never even considered other careers.

My dad is a respiratory therapist. Hes been in health care for 30 years, Lynch said.

He also was touched by the attention and help his grandfather received in hospice.

I remember the nurses caring for him, Lynch said. Now he counts 13 years in health care himself. Here I am.

Lynch has worked as a registered nurse in trauma centers across the country. He also served as a surgical assistant and a clinical ICU tech. His first job at a hospital was in patient transport when he was 17.

I can look at health care and nursing through many different lenses, which helps me relate and understand, he said.

And there are a lot of nurses who relate to the stories he shares on stage.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, there are about 4 million nurses in the U.S. The U.S. Census Bureau counts 22 million individuals in the health care industry, one of the largest workforce sectors in the country.

But Lynchs shows are accessible even if you have no experience in the industry.

You definitely dont need to be a nurse to go, he said.

During each performance, he finds someone in the audience who isnt in the field.

I walk them through the whole show, Lynch said. I break it all down.

Comedy is now his full-time gig  and one that he never imagined.

I never, ever thought Id being doing comedy shows, he said. It just kind of happened.

And it happened right here in Space City.

Houston is where it all started, he said.

In 2017, he was working in an extremely busy hospital in Texas Medical Center. One day, driving home, he had a panic attack.

I needed an outlet, he recalled.

It started with a joke  what if drab scrubs met the fashionable romper. The result, he explained, is the scromper.

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His husband, Brett Donnelly, filmed him wearing the creation, dancing around the pool.

It didnt take long to go viral.

It was a shock, Lynch said. It was shared so widely.

The video was even picked up by news agencies.

You realize that once you post something, you cant take it down, Lynch said.

But other nurses loved the video  and they too were in need of a humorous outlet for their stress at work.

The character of Nurse Blake was born, and he created more skits. In the past four years, Lynch said a community of supportive nurses grew around his comedy.

I dont feel alone anymore, he said. My followers inspire me to keep going.

Besides, nurses like to share a laugh, Lynch added.

Nurses are just funny people, he said. We have a crude, dark sense of humor. We have to use it to get through our shifts.

In Houston, Caspar Cordovez was one of his partners in crime. Cordovez was his preceptor at the ICU in the Medical Center.

Everyone loved him in the unit, Cordovez recalled. Comedy is just a natural thing for him.

Cordovez laughed at the first scromper video.

Since then, the gate was flung wide open, he said. And the rest is history.

Cordovez enjoys seeing his friend on stage.

Hes so relatable to nurses; its hilarious to see, Cordovez said. And its heartwarming to see that hes using this massive platform to speak on our behalf.

Before his Nurse Blake fame, Lynch was center stage for another important cause. In 2013, he started Banned for Life, after being denied the chance to donate blood for being gay.

Two years later, the Food and Drug Administration lifted its ban, with restrictions.

Its taken a lot of baby steps, Lynch said. Change doesnt happen overnight. It takes a lot of dedication  and its not over.

He currently is participating in the Food and Drug Administrations ADVANCE (Assessing Donor Variability And New Concepts in Eligibility) study, which focuses on gay and bisexual male donors.

The hope is to end all deferrals, Lynch said.

He explained that establishing Banned for Life provided unique insight into the power of social media to do good for others.

Now, he uses the platform to spread joy and laughter to health care workers  and to spark important conversations.

In my performance role, I always try to give back to nurses in some way, he added.

In the past two months, he launched the NurseCon app, which offers required continuing nursing education (CNE) courses free of charge, with on-demand videos developed by qualified nurse educators.

We just hit 50,000 active users, Lynch said.

He is also hosting the fourth annual Nurse Blake Awards, a sweepstakes for nurses and nursing students with a Tesla and thousands in cash as prizes. The prize was designed as a way to offer hope after a challenging COVID-19 year, Blake said.

Just like the upcoming performance at Cullen Performance Hall.

Come to the show, Lynch said. Its going to be amazing.

Hes looking forward to it, as well.

Since I lived in Houston and worked in Houston, its like going back to my stomping grounds, he said. Im so excited. I cant wait.

Lindsay Peyton is a Houston-based freelance writer.
Residents of The Woodlands on Tuesday struck down a pair of proposals to incorporate as a city with overwhelming opposition, meaning the master-planned community north of Houston will remain a township.

The measure failed by a 2-1 margin with all precincts reporting, according to Tuesday night results from Montgomery County Elections. Early voting results in Harris County, which encompasses a small portion of The Woodlands, showed the measures failing, as well.

The proposal to convert to a city drew heated debate in recent months as the Howard Hughes Corp., owner of the Woodlands Development Co., backed well-funded anti-incorporation efforts while elected officials hosted numerous meetings to combat what they called disinformation from the company.

Opponents said they believed incorporation would be costly, risky and unnecessary at this time, while advocates said becoming a city would empower residents with more local control and could be accomplished without raising taxes.

Ann Snyder, a township board member, said Tuesday night that she was overwhelmed by the wisdom of The Woodlands residents. The townships energy and resources should be focused elsewhere, she said.

I would like to thank The Woodlands residents for ratifying our successful form of government, she said.

Snyder was one of two board members who voted against putting incorporation on the ballot, citing concerns about holding such a consequential vote during an odd-numbered year when low turnout is expected at the polls.

Incorporation, Snyder previously said, is trying to solve a problem that we do not haveWhy would we want to change?

Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack celebrated the election results in a Tuesday night Facebook post.

In The Woodlands, we still believe in smaller government, fiscal responsibility, and limited power, which is why voters were overwhelmingly against incorporation all along, Noack said. Im proud we will remain a Township, as well as the best place in America to live, and I know our best days are still ahead.

Residents were asked to vote on two propositions concerning incorporation. The first would authorize the township to incorporate into a Type-A General Law City and adopt an initial property tax rate of 22.31 cents per $100 of assessed value. The companion measure would transfer the authority to issue bonds and impose taxes, among other government functions and responsibilities, from the township district to the City of The Woodlands.

Nearly 19,000 people voted on the incorporation propositions, according to Montgomery County.

The Woodlands, located roughly 30 miles north of downtown Houston, was founded in 1974 by Texas billionaire oilman George Mitchell. The population has grown to more than 118,000 people who are attracted by residential villages, green parks and the Market Street shopping district.

As a township, The Woodlands contracts for law enforcement, infrastructure maintenance and other core services from Montgomery and Harris counties. It has its own fire department. The township governance structure began as a community improvement district in 1993, and expanded to an elected board of directors in 2010.

If voters had approved the incorporation measure, the city of The Woodlands would have created its own police department over five years and gained control over traffic, roads, community ordinances and drainage, according to township officials.

The townships board voted on Aug. 13 to put incorporation on the ballot for the Nov. 2 election. The decision came after a consulting firm hired in 2018 completed a study showing that incorporation would not require a tax rate increase.

Soon after the initiative was placed on the ballot, however, the Hughes Corp. released its own report saying that the township grossly underestimated the costs of incorporation  meaning the proposed city would have to raise taxes or cut services, jeopardizing public safety.

Among the critics of incorporation were Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson, Precinct 3 Constable Ryan Gable and The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce.

The township began to consider its future after the city of Houston annexed Kingwood in 1996, prompting concern among some residents that The Woodlands could meet a similar fate. In 2007, however, the township entered into agreements with the cities of Houston and Conroe ensuring that it could not be annexed for the next five decades.

Gordy Bunch, a resident of The Woodlands for 26 years and current chairman of the township board, was a vocal proponent of incorporation. If the township were incorporated, he said, residents would have more say over infrastructure and development projects and access to federal funding that the township missed out on during the pandemic.

We still dont have Election Day results, Bunch said earlier Tuesday night. We expect better results from todays turnout that will show as voters get more informed, the vote moves towards incorporation.

anna.bauman@chron.com
A Quran teacher found guilty of sexually assaulting three of his students has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for his crimes.

Mohammed Omar Ali, a 61-year-old religious leader in the close-knit Muslim Somali community, was found guilty on Oct. 29 of aggravated sexual assaut of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact.

At the time of his arrest in January of 2020, all three victims were children under the age of 14. Ali is a Somalian national who was living in the U.S. illegally, said Troy Nehls, who was the sheriff of Fort Bend County at the time of Alis arrest.

More by Claire Goodman: Rosenberg man sentenced to 10 years for bank robbery

According to Sgt. Michael Alexander of the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office, Ali gained access to his alleged victims by gaining the trust of the victims families, who invited him into their homes to teach the Quran to their children.

Surveillance of Ali began in September of 2019, after victims reported the abuse to the FBI, but investigators stated that the alleged crimes date back to 2013.

Shariq Abdul Ghani, Director of the Minaret Foundation and representative of the Muslim community, added that Ali was not an employee or official volunteer of any particular mosque, but he traveled to different mosques and schools in the area, establishing himself as a defacto religious leader. He has a very fluent understanding of the Quran, and hes fluent in Arabic, which makes him an ideal teacher, he said.

Alis jury trial was held in the 400th District Court. Ali elected to have the trial judge assess his punishment. After hearing testimony from a fourth child victim, Fort Bend County Judge Tameika Carter sentenced Ali to 35 years for the offense of aggravated sexual assault and 10 years for each charge of indecency with a child by sexual contact. The sentences will run concurrently.

More often than not, child victims dont disclose sexual abuse, said lead prosector Charann Thompson. They fear they will not be believed, or worse, they will be believed but nothing will be done to protect them.

Thompson praised the child who came forward with the first allegations against Ali. In this case, the bravery of one child coming forward had the domino effect of inspiring other children to do the same, she said. Because of the childrens bravery, Mohammed Omar Ali was brought to justice and was held accountable for his horrible behavior.

People with easy access to children; such as relatives, friends, or neighbors, can take advantage of their relationship to abuse children. In this case, the offender hid behind the cloak of providing religious education, Fort Bend District Attorney Brian Middleton added. The abuse he committed was an abominable betrayal of the trust and innocence of the children he hurt, and an aberration to all religions, including Islam.

On HoustonChronicle.com: See the Editorial Board's full list of recommendations for the 2021 election

For years, Mr. Ali used his position of trust in the community as a ruse to prey on our most vulnerable population, said Mark Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Houston. Thanks to the strength and resilience of the victims who came forward to report the abuse to law enforcement, we were able to secure a conviction and he will no longer be free to victimize another innocent child.

Aggravated sexual assault of a child in this case is a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years, or life, in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Indecency with a child by sexual contact is a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and the same fine, said Wes Wittig, Fort Bend County Assistant District Attorney.

I am grateful for the courage and fortitude of the young witnesses who testified at this trial. Justice was served because of their courage, Middleton said. Due to the collaboration of federal and local law enforcement during the investigation and prosecution of this case, Mohammed Ali will never be able to hurt another child.
The holidays are here, so Missouri City Police, Fire and Rescue Services invite the community to help their neighbors in need through the 13th Annual Operation Thanksgiving: Stuff the Squad Car & Fire Truck event.

The drive-thru event will collect nonperishable items to help people who could use a little extra support this year have a joyful holiday season. It is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Public Safety Headquarters, located at 3849 Cartwright Road.
SOUTH PARIS, Maine (AP)  Authorities in Maine said Tuesday they were investigating a fire in South Paris that killed a 5-year-old child.

The State Fire Marshal's Office said the child died at a hospital after the Tuesday afternoon fire, WGME-TV reported. Authorities did not release the name of the child or a potential cause of the fire on Tuesday.
ATLANTA (AP)  Georgia lawmakers returned to the Capitol Wednesday with maps on their mind, beginning a special session called by Gov. Brian Kemp to redistrict Georgia's congressional delegation, state Senate and state House.

The General Assembly must redraw electoral districts at least once every decade to equalize populations following the U.S. Census. Georgia added more than a million people from 2010 to 2020, swelling some districts and draining others.

Republicans face obstacles to continued dominance as more of the states population becomes concentrated in metro Atlanta and around Savannah. GOP-dominated rural areas, especially in southern parts of the state, will see decreased representation.

I think it's no secret that Republicans are stronger in rural Georgia than they are in metro areas, House Speaker David Ralston, a Blue Ridge Republican, told reporters. Some of our Republican colleagues may end up being left behind, and thats a tough part of this.

This will be the first time in decades that Georgia lawmakers wont be required to get federal approval of their maps after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Act.

CONGRESS

The headline-grabbing issue for lawmakers will be whether Republicans target suburban Democrats Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux, whose congressional victories reduced the delegation's partisan balance to 8-6 Republican from the 10-4 advantage Republicans had when they drew the current map.

Early maps have suggested the GOP will only go after one of McBath and Bourdeaux in an attempt not to overreach. A Senate Republican map aims to recapture McBath's seat by adding Republican Forsyth County to the 6th District. The flip side of that plan creates a safe Democratic seat in southern Gwinnett County that Bourdeaux could hold.

With U.S. Rep Jody Hice running for Secretary of State, there's no incumbent to protect in his seat, so his Republican colleagues could sharply shift his 10th District northward.

While the House and Senate traditionally defer to each other on drawing their chambers, both are interested in the congressional map. The state House has yet to release a congressional proposal, so it's not clear how far apart they are.

STATE SENATE

Senate Republicans hold a 34-22 edge, and the map they released Tuesday seeks to protect incumbents. Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee Chairman John Kennedy of Macon said the panel would hold hearings beginning Thursday and could vote to send a plan to the full Senate on Friday.

To offset population losses in south Georgia, the proposal removes Sen. Tyler Harper's district and relocates it to Gwinnett County. Harper, of Ocilla, is running for agriculture commissioner. The plan also dismantles Sen. Bruce Thompson's district and relocates it from Cherokee and Bartow counties to Roswell and Sandy Springs in north Fulton County. Thompson, from White, is running labor commissioner.

Both those new districts might be won by Democrats, but Republicans shifted a district held by Democrat Michelle Au of Johns Creek to take in more Republican territory, possibly imperiling her. Republicans would use what's left of Thompson's district to aid suburban GOP incumbents whose districts have been getting more Democratic.

Fair Districts GA, a group that tries to prevent gerrymandering, gives the Senate proposal an F, saying that its likely 33-23 split is far too Republican to reflect the state's overall partisan balance. The group also faults the map for having only one district where parties are expected to be competitive.

STATE HOUSE

The plan House Republicans proposed Tuesday could sacrifice five GOP-held seats in an attempt to help their remaining incumbents. The GOP now has a 103-77 margin in the House. The map draws a number of Republicans and Democrats into shared districts, which guarantees one won't win reelection. And because Georgia state lawmakers must live in their districts for at least a year before they're elected, incumbents drawn into unfavorable districts won't have the option of moving before the vote on Nov. 8, 2022.

The plan creates a number of new Democratic-leaning districts that don't have incumbents. Only one new clearly Republican district would be created, in fast-growing Forsyth County.

Fair Districts GA gives the House Republican map a B, saying its likely 98-82 Republican majority is within the range of projected outcomes based on simulations of what maps could look like, although it could be better.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Lawmakers must at some point redraw the state's five Public Service Commission districts. Those utility regulators run statewide, but must live in a particular district. It's unclear if that will happen in the special session or later.

Senators have said they will hold hearings on whether Atlanta's wealthy Buckhead neighborhood should be allowed to secede from the city, but no final vote on the issue is expected before the 2022 regular session.

Some conservative activists rallied Wednesday to demand that Kemp let lawmakers decide on a further review of Donald Trump's 2020 loss in Georgia to President Joe Biden. Kemp has shown little inclination to allow such a review.

___

Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
Josh Hawley is coming to the defense of the American male.

The Republican senator from Missouri spoke Sunday night at the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida. According to a text of his speech provided by his office, Hawley accused liberals in government, the media and entertainment of defining the traditional masculine virtues  things like courage, and independence, and assertiveness  as a danger to society.

Hawley said the same masculine qualities being vilified have long been regarded as vital to self-government. Liberty, he said, requires virtue. And in particular, it requires the manly virtues.

We need men who will shoulder responsibility, men who will start and provide for families, men who will enter the covenant of marriage and then honor it, Hawley said.

The first-term senator has often been a polarizing figure. His fist pump toward protesters descending on the Capitol on Jan. 6 drew strong consternation from many in his home state, including calls for his resignation. But he remains popular in conservative circles and is often seen as a potential future presidential contender.

Hawley said the backlash against masculinity can be seen in elementary schools, where rambunctious boys are diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder and medicated into submission.

For decades, he said, government policy has worked against male-dominated industries such as manufacturing. Today, he said, men are more apt to be jobless, less likely to be married, less likely to be fathers. Conversely, he said, they're more likely to suffer from depression and turn to substance abuse.

Hawley said men must take responsibility for their own actions.

Still, he said, can we be surprised that after years of being told they are the problem, that their manhood is the problem, more and more men are withdrawing into the enclave of idleness, and pornography, and video games?

The question is, how are we going to raise up good men today? Hawley asked. We can start by repudiating the lie that America is a systemically oppressive nation and that men are systemically responsible.

Hawley said his message to men is simple. You can be a tremendous force for good. Your nation needs you. The world needs you."
MIAMI (AP)  The key witness against a Colombian police captain who leaked sensitive information about U.S. anti-narcotics investigations has been given a sharply reduced sentence Tuesday for his help in a case that has highlighted concerns about the Drug Enforcement Administration's operations overseas.

Judge Robert Scola sided with federal prosecutors in Miami who found that Juan Carlos Davila-Bonilla's cooperation merited a 40% reduction from sentencing guidelines recommending a minimum 57 month sentence for obstruction of justice.

Instead, the judge ordered he be freed immediately under supervised release after spending 33 months in custody since his January 2019 arrest in Colombia on a U.S. warrant.

Davila-Bonilla's testimony helped convict Juan Pablo Mosquera, a once-r ising star in Colombia's police who headed an anti-narcotics squad in the city of Cali overseen by the DEA's Sensitive Investigative Unit, the gold standard of its partnerships abroad.

Mosquera, who pleaded guilty in the U.S. to two counts of obstructing justice, was charged with trying to sell information about what he thought was an impending narcotics indictment against an American who had ditched probation decades earlier and was believed to be living in Colombia.

Mosquera's police unit was one of many vetted by the DEA under a program meant to help conduct drug investigations in foreign countries where U.S. agents face more restrictions than local officers.

The program has led to the arrests of hundreds of drug capos in more than 20 countries.

But a scathing U.S. Inspector General report this summer blasted the DEAs leadership in Washington for failing to properly oversee its foreign law enforcement partners even in the aftermath of a string of well-publicized scandals.

The case against Mosquera arose from a tip that he was trying to sell information through his representative, Davila-Bonilla, a previously convicted Colombian drug trafficker, to targets of U.S. law enforcement investigations.

When the DEA found out, it organized a sting in which it shared false information with Mosquera about an indictment out of Miami against an American fugitive identified in court papers as P.L.

Less than a week later, Davila-Bonilla was recorded on a phone call with someone he thought was a drug-trafficking associate of P.L. but in reality was a DEA confidential source. Davila-Bonilla told him that the Miami extradition request was imminent and that the American should leave Colombia

Prosecutor Joseph Schuster said that Davila-Bonilla's role in the conspiracy was minor compared to that of Mosquera. And he said that Davila-Bonilla had also helped with investigations against two other drug kingpins, neither of whom were identified by name. He said one of those had already been indicted and the other was under investigation by prosecutors in New York.

Also weighing in Davila-Bonilla's favor was the fact that he has no previous criminal record in the U.S., although he has been convicted twice before for distributing cocaine in Germany and Italy.

Id like to say to this honorable judge and court how much I apologize for this mistake," Davila-Bonilla said in brief remarks before Scola imposed the light sentence, adding that he hoped the court would give him an opportunity to rebuild my life.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  Missouri Supreme Court judges on Tuesday heard arguments over whether parts of a sexual assault victims rights law are unconstitutional.

The Legislature in 2020 passed the law, also known as the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights. Part of the law requires defense attorneys to remind their clients' alleged victims of their right to have a support person present while being questioned.

Missouri State Public Defender Director Mary Fox and several other public defenders sued, claiming that provision constitutes compelled speech and violates their freedom of speech. A lower court judge ruled that part of the law must not be followed, and the state appealed in defense of the law.

Jeff Esparza, who represented public defenders in court, told Supreme Court judges during arguments that the requirement also creates a conflict of interest as it forces defense attorneys to look out for the interests of their clients and those raising claims against them.

The defense attorney is one of the few people in the system that is dedicated to protecting the rights of the accused, and this statute requires that defense attorney to no longer be solely dedicated to that purpose," he said.

He also said that since the circuit judge blocked that section of the law, no one has suffered because of it, particularly because police and prosecutors also remind assault victims of their rights.

Sitting here, as a defense attorney, it makes me cringe a little bit to think that I have to walk into a room and give my clients accuser a warning of that nature, Esparza said.

Deputy Solicitor General Jeff Johnson, who is defending the law in court, told judges that sexual assault victims can be retraumatized by repeated interviews while their case plays out in court. He said thats why the law directs defense attorneys to remind them of their rights during questioning.

But Judge Mary Russell questioned the constitutionality of requiring defense lawyers to give survivors those warnings.

Its specific speech thats required to be given, Russell she told Johnson. Sounds like compelled speech.

Judges did not indicate when they might rule.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  Voters in Iowa's eighth-largest city, Waterloo, reelected the city's first Black mayor and chose three Black candidates for City Council, which will have its Black majority for the first time ever.

The historic outcome of Tuesday's election followed a campaign marked by bitter debates over policing and race in the city, where less than 17% of roughly 67,300 people are Black.

Quentin Hart, who became Waterloos first Black mayor in 2015, won a fourth two-year term to lead the city by defeating a white challenger, Margaret Klein, who campaigned as a champion of the police.

The four City Council seats that were on the ballot were won by three Black newcomers  pharmacist Rob Nichols, music educator John Chiles and artist Nia Wilder  and a white incumbent, Ray Feuss. All four defeated candidates that were endorsed by Cedar Valley Backs the Blue, a political action committee that formed in May to oppose Harts reelection and support what it called pro-law enforcement candidates.

The outcome means four of the council's seven members will be Black and it could help the city's first Black police chief, Joel Fitzgerald, keep the job he assumed last year. Fitzgerald faced criticism and calls to resign from Klein, who was also backed by the pro-police group.

Critics accused the group of using misinformation and racist campaign tactics to falsely paint Hart as an opponent of law enforcement who was allowing crime to spiral out of control.

This community chose working together, a message of unity, a message of hope and a message that is love for the city and not just division, Hart said told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday, acknowledging that the campaign took a toll on him and his family.

Hart said he and his supporters celebrated Tuesday by dancing to the Montell Jordan song This is How We Do It, which featured prominently in one of the many attacks he faced. The mayor last year made a video of himself lip-syncing the song for a local contest, and the Back the Blue group used the clip in Facebook ads to criticize Hart as a wannabe rapper.

Growing up in Waterloo, Hart said he never saw a day when Black people would make up a majority of city leadership, calling it incredible and landmark. But he said the candidates won because of their qualifications and a vision for the city that appealed to voters across racial and economic lines.

Yes they are African Americans, but they are incredible, smart and talented, and they have something to offer to the city. The expectations are high, Hart said.

Hart won 58% of the vote against Klein out of 13,400 ballots cast. Klein, a retired Catholic school worker and two-term City Council member, congratulated Hart and noted that her campaign had been outspent significantly.

Lynn Moeller, the chairman of the Back the Blue group, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. On Facebook, the normally outspoken group wrote only that the voters had spoken and it was time to move forward.

The group, which was formed by retired officers, criticized the citys decision to remove the police departments longtime emblem  a mythical winged creature known as a griffin that had adorned officers' uniforms since the 1960s.

Critics said the emblem had long evoked fear and distrust in the Black community given its resemblance to a Ku Klux Klan dragon. Those who wanted to keep the emblem, including the police union, said it was a symbol of vigilance and not rooted in racism.

The group also argued that morale among officers was at an all-time low, noting that some had resigned to take other jobs and blaming Fitzgerald, who previously served as the police chief in Fort Worth, Texas. Since taking the Waterloo job, Fitzgerald has changed many department policies in an effort to improve relations between the police and the community and to hold officers to higher standards. Fitzgerald called the attacks racially-motivated.

Hart defended Fitzgerald, saying the department has adopted a popular community policing approach that promotes decency and respect during traffic stops.

Nichols, one of the newly elected council members, wrote on his campaign website that he saw himself in the many Black men who have been shot by police and that he once feared making a late-night medication delivery to a patient out of fear of trouble.

My vision for public safety is for all people of Waterloo to know that our public safety service will be there in our time of need, he wrote.
Its been a tumultuous few years for the Republican Party. Many Texans no longer recognize the party they grew up with.

And yet some Republicans are still, at some level, the town council from the 1984 film Footloose  you know, the scolds who ban dancing and rock music.

These days, the thought police are focused on that age-old source of social discord and unrest: Books.

To be clear, these Republicans claim they are merely targeting that subset of books that can be considered or construed as critical race theory  a once-obscure academic discipline that has been dragged into the nations culture wars by conservatives, and Fox News in particular, in recent months. Lawmakers passed two laws seeking to keep CRT out of Texas classrooms this year.

But the dragnet now descending on Texas schools is both more invasive and broader than that, reaching into school libraries as well as classrooms, and encompassing books on an array of topics.

We should all be alarmed by that.

Books are something that unite us in common empathy and experience. They illuminate the interior of our lives in ways that allow us to feel shared experiences, said Carolyn Foote, who retired last year after 29 years as a librarian at Eanes ISD in Austin and remains active in policy debates. They help young people feel less alone, less different, less stranded.

Last week state Rep. Matt Krause, a Republican from Tarrant County who chairs the Texas Houses General Investigating Committee, launched an investigation into school libraries across Texas.

In a letter to school superintendents, he asked that they report whether school libraries in their districts include any books that address human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases as well as any that contain material that might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex or convey that a student, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.

He appended a list of books that might be considered questionable. It wasnt short.

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In fact, it included more than 800 books. Many were authored by women, people of color, or LGBTQ writers. Most of them deal in some way with gender, sexuality, or race. Some are undisputed classics, like William Styrons The Confessions of Nat Turner. One, puzzlingly, is about quinceaneras.

Another is a young-adult novel called The Year They Burned the Books. History sometimes rhymes with hope, to paraphrase the Irish poet Seamus Heaney  and sometimes, it rhymes with something else.

In any interview with north Texas radio host Mark Davis, Krause suggested that many, many more books could end up getting pulled.

That book list isnt exhaustive. Its not exclusive, Krause said.

He added that hes taking a shoot-first, ask-questions-later approach: The mere presence of a book on that list does not mean it is problematic.

By this logic, we should consider taking all the books out of school libraries as a precaution  although one hesitates to make such a suggestion, as Republicans might think its serious.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who rarely misses an opportunity to join the culture wars, got in on the action Monday, sending a letter to Dr. Dan Troxell, the executive director of Texas Association of School Boards, trying to enlist the organization in the cause.

You have an obligation to Texas parents and students to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school, Abbott wrote.

He didnt provide any specific examples of that actually happening, nor did he explain why a growing number of parents of Texas students are becoming increasingly alarmed about the books their children might encounter during the course of their education in this state.

This inquisition is politically motivated as well as racially charged. A focus on critical race theory and challenging books taught in high schools helped fuel the candidacy of Virginias candidate for governor, Glenn Youngkin, even though CRT isnt taught in that states public schools. It has emerged as a potent issue in school board races across Texas, as well.

Do you want NONSENSE or COMMONSENSE? Houston voters were asked, on the eve of Election Day, in a text message sent in support of three school board candidates. Critical Race Theory and Mask Mandates for 5 year olds is (sic) NONSENSE.

Krause, for his part, is also seeking the Republican nomination for attorney general next year. A new poll from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation finds him polling at 2 percent support among likely primary voters, trailing embattled incumbent Ken Paxton, Land Commissioner George P. Bush and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman.

It is not censorship for a parent to say, Id rather my child not read this book. Thats not censorship. They have every right to have a concern about something their child is reading, Foote said. However, when a parent or legislator or anyone implies that they dont want anyone to read something, thats censorship.

It is. And its a particularly insipid form of censorship, to boot  one that gives short shrift to the intellectual freedom of Texas students, as well as the professionalism of our states educators and librarians.

If theres a silver lining here, its that efforts to crack down on free expression are often counterproductive.

Republicans might learn that lesson from Footloose  that is, if they havent banned the film yet.

erica.grieder@chron.com
Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

A Houston man was indicted on federal charges after he was accused of fraudulently preparing tax returns that produced higher refunds for clients.

David Wright was charged with 14 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false income tax returns, according to a Tuesday release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Elliott Reed of Seabrook said he was out for his typical morning bike ride to keep his blood sugar down on Oct. 29 when he was brutally attacked, leaving his eye cut open and in need of stitches.

Another man with an address in the same Seabrook neighborhood, 25-year-old Collin Fries, has been charged with misdemeanor assault in the incident, Harris County court records show. But Reed said he feels he was targeted because he is Black, and he and his wife, Angie Reed, want the Harris County District Attorney's office to upgrade the charge against Fries.

Reed, 50, recounted on Tuesday that he was riding around his neighborhood in the Lakepointe Forest subdivision of Seabrook Friday morning and stopped to take a break at a stop sign near Hampton Springs Drive and Lakeside Drive. As he was resting, he said Fries approached him and said Reed did not live in the neighborhood, that he needed to leave and that he was "making a lot of people nervous."

Reed said he ignored Fries, who he said then drove around, parked about 50 feet down the street and began walking towards him. Reed alleges Fries called him the n-word as he continued to yell that he didn't belong there. Fox 26 also reports that neighbors who witnessed the incident said they heard racist remarks.

Reed said he took out out his phone to record the interaction and get the other man's license plate number. A video shared with the Chronicle shows Reed approaching the man yelling "I got to get the license plate" and asking him "are you the law?" The man's response is unclear, but Reed is heard reiterating that he lives in the neighborhood.

The video cuts off shortly after, which is when Reed said Fries smashed his phone, tackled him and hit his head on the concrete. "I was out cold," Reed said.

Reed has a fractured cheekbone and had to get five stitches, four on the right side of his face and one on his right ear, and is waiting to hear from an eye specialist to determine if he'll need eye surgery, Angie Reed said.

Fries was arrested and posted a bond of $100, court records show.

Fries' attorney, Michael Elliott of Ibrahim & Elliott LLP, has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Reed said he does not know Fries. He and Angie said they have dealt with incidents with other neighbors that they believe have been racially motivated since moving to the neighborhood in 2019.

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Angie cited various incidents including neighbors constantly calling the police, once pointing AR-15s at their house and an incident when she says a neighbor tried to run her over. "But this is the most severe."

Seabrook Police Chief Shawn Wright did not address the Reeds' accusations regarding racist events in an email to the Chronicle, but a public Seabrook police report from the Oct. 29 incident states that the alleged attack was not hate or bias motivated.

Dane Schiller, a spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney's office, told the Chronicle via email Tuesday afternoon that "prosecutors are at the beginning of their review of all the evidence in this case and it is too soon to know whether or not that review will impact charges."

Regardless of what the DA's office decides, Angie says she plans to notify the Department of Justice and the local NAACP of the incident she calls her "worst nightmare."
A veteran Houston Police Department officer has been charged in connection to the sexual assault of a child after an investigation by authorities in Hedwig Village.

Tung Tran, 50, faces two counts of sexual assault of a child under 14 and two charges of indecency with a child, according to court documents with the Harris County District Clerk. Records show the accuser is the same in each of the charges.

Authorities believe Tran touched the child's chest and genitals during separate incidents in December 2020 and March and September of this year, court records show. Hedwig Village investigators on Sept. 23 learned of the allegations.

Prosecutors described the girl as the daughter of a family friend and that grooming behavior preceded the abuse. Text messages from Tran were found on the girl's cell phone, authorities said.

"There is no indication that he used his status as a police officer to commit this crime," Hedwig Village police Chief David Gott said in a statement.

Houston police on Tuesday arrested the sergeant. HPD Chief Troy Finner tweeted about the charges on Wednesday.

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I am deeply troubled by the alleged actions of this 23-year veteran HPD employee, who was immediately relieved of duty when the accusations were brought to our attention, Finner said.

Hedwig Village police are conducting the criminal investigation, while HPDs Internal Affairs Division is conducting an administrative investigation, he added.

Due to the ongoing investigations, I want to respect the judicial process and will not comment further," Finner said.

Tran remained in the Harris County Jail as of Wednesday afternoon with bail set at a combined $260,000 for the four charges.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
Mayor Sylvester Turner is in Glasgow, Scotland, this week to meet with world leaders and other mayors at the United Nations climate summit, according to his office.

Turner, who chairs a national network called Climate Mayors, attended a breakfast Wednesday morning with counterparts from across the world and John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate.

The mayors office said Turner is scheduled to attend panels and other engagements during the event to discuss reaching net zero emission targets, advancing adaptation projects, and other topics.

Mayors cannot properly address the crisis alone, though. That's why mayors from around the world are coming together in Glasgow to deliver a resounding message to national governments, business executives, youth activists, and other leaders at COP26, Turner said in a statement. Cities around the world are delivering the climate solutions and level of ambition needed to tackle the climate crisis and create a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable future.

Turner left Monday and will return this weekend, his office said.

Houston has formulated and released several aspirational documents in recent years to lay out the citys climate plans and resilience to storms and other weather events.

The plans recommended city actions that have to come back for votes in the future, such as removing all homes from the floodway, adopting a new building code, and converting the citys fleet entirely to electric vehicles by 2030.

One of the early achievements of those efforts was the citys commitment last year to use 100 percent renewable energy to power municipal facilities.

dylan.mcguinness@chron.com
Hannah Spinner is looking forward to an unusual gift for her fifth birthday: a COVID-19 vaccine.

The preschooler has spent much of the last 20 months in her familys backyard, swinging, watching butterflies in the garden and climbing on her playset. She understands that, with the shots protection, hugging family members and playing indoors with friends will become a normal part of life.

On Nov. 12, she enters an age group that on Tuesday became eligible for a COVID vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky backed an advisory panels recommendation to administer the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 years old, giving millions of children their first opportunity to receive the vaccine as early as Wednesday.

Were very fortunate that there is now going to be a vaccine available that is extremely safe and extremely effective that will prevent these children from becoming sick, said Dr. Joseph Spinner, Hannahs father and a pediatric cardiologist at Texas Childrens Hospital. This really will become a vaccine-preventable disease.

Texas Childrens Hospital last Friday began taking appointments to administer the Pfizer shot at multiple hospitals and clinics, including those in The Woodlands and Texas Medical Center. The hospital system expects to have 17,400 doses ready to administer this week and next week plans to partner with churches and school districts  including Fountain of Praise Church on Nov. 9  to offer pop-up vaccine clinics.

The Memorial Hermann Health System will offer the vaccine to walk-ins at all hospital locations by Thursday morning. . The Houston Health Department ordered 4,800 vaccine doses for children and will spread them among its vaccination sites at multi-service centers, parks and schools. CVS Pharmacies in Houston also will offer the vaccine by appointment later this week.

The Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective for children, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The child vaccine is administered with a smaller needle and with one-third of the dosage used for adults. Each dose is given 21 days apart. About 3,100 kids participated in an ongoing study, with no serious side effects recorded; research shows the vaccine is about 90 percent effective at preventing COVID in children.

Hannah may already be protected from the virus. Her parents enrolled her and her nearly 2-year-old sister in the Pfizer vaccine trials at Texas Childrens Hospital, but the family does not yet know whether they received the placebo or the vaccine. Spinner said the hospital will notify them of Hannahs status on her birthday, so she can receive the shot if necessary.

In any case, the shots availability assuages the concerns of Spinner and other worried parents who watched case counts climb as kids returned to school in August.

For us, we will feel much better knowing that Hannah has been vaccinated, Spinner said.

The highly contagious delta variant led to a surge that hospitalized a record 345 children in Texas in early September. Some Houston-area school districts temporarily shut down or shifted learning online as politicians engaged in a legal tug-of-war with the states largest school systems to prevent mask requirements.

While pediatric cases and hospitalizations have fallen nationwide, doctors continue to uncover cases of a mysterious virus-linked illness called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children or MIS-C. Long COVID, while rare in children, leaves some feeling stubborn fatigue, headache, difficulty concentrating and insomnia months after infection.

In the U.S., COVID cases in children 5 to 11 years old comprise 39 percent of all cases in children younger than 18, according to the CDC. About 8,300 children in the age group were hospitalized from the virus with 146 deaths as of Oct. 17.

Some experts worry the relatively low death rate among young children who get COVID will deter parents from seeking the shot.

Some parents will say Well with my child the risk of dying is very low, said Dr. Annamaria Macaluso Davidson, associate vice president of medical operations at Memorial Hermann Medical Group. Its wonderful weve seen the risk of death in children overall is low with COVID, but vaccination is more about preventing illness and disease overall.

Common side effects from the shot were generally mild to moderate and went away within two days. Researchers did note an increased risk of myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, or inflammation of tissue surrounding the heart, following a Pfizer series  especially among teenage boys. But further analysis showed the risk of catching COVID without the vaccine outweighs the risk from the shot, according to the FDA.

Its a very small number (who reported heart problems), and its far less than those who actually got COVID, said Dr. Anthony Flores, division director of pediatric infectious diseases at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. So I say as a parent with two boys, if my boys were in the same age group, would I still get them vaccinated? Absolutely.

Its unclear how much the newly eligible age group will boost vaccination rates in Texas, which hover slightly below the national rate with 64 percent of the eligible population fully vaccinated. The national rate stands at about 67 percent, and children remain the least vaccinated group.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll of 1,159 U.S. adults found that about 34 percent of parents with children in the 5 to 11 age group were eager to seek out the vaccine for their kids as of September. The majority, however, said they were reluctant or opposed to vaccinating their children.

Houston-area mother Emily Johnson falls into the reluctant group. She said her four children caught COVID in June of 2020 and continued to test positive for antibodies as recently as last month. She believes the kids immune systems can handle it again and therefore do not need the vaccine. She also cited one FDA panel member who appeared to be uncertain about the vaccines safety in public comments.

Like him, I question if the risk of this new vaccine, and he acknowledges there is a risk, is necessary on children, considering children are very rarely effected by COVID, she said in an email.

Misinformation fueled by the far-rights politicization of the pandemic also is expected to steer parents away from the shot, said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director Texas Children's Hospitals Center for Vaccine Development.

I think this is going to be a battle, he said.

Among a chorus of medical experts touting the vaccines safety, Hotez urged parents to protect your child from getting COVID-19.

julian.gill@chron.com
Harris County is among the top counties in the nation when it comes to the number of pending deportation cases in court, second only to Los Angeles County, according to a new report.

In Harris County, where most of the city of Houston is located, 68,595 immigrant residents were following pending deportation proceedings as of Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year, according to a new report from The Transactional Research Access Clearinghouse, a research organization at Syracuse University.

Los Angeles County has almost 73,000 residents with pending deportation cases. In Texas, Dallas County is also among the top 10 counties with the most immigrants in deportation proceedings, with a total of 29,266.

Immigration courts completed nearly 145,000 cases nationwide during the recently ended fiscal year. However, that figure represents less than half the number of new immigration cases filed during the same period, 315,491.

When incoming cases exceed the capacity of the courts to adjudicate those cases, the Immigration Court backlog continues to grow, says the report.

The logjam nationwide grew more than 15 percent to 1.46 million pending cases at the end of fiscal year 2021, from 1.26 million at the same time the previous fiscal year.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted immigration court operations, as proceedings were suspended last year for unauthorized immigrants who were not detained. These are immigrants who are allowed to stay in U.S. communities with family members or sponsors waiting for their day in court, instead of in detention centers.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Impact of the pandemic among ICE detainees in Houston and Texas

Immigration courts subsequently began a phased reopening in some parts of the country with modified and reduced operations through July, including in Houston. Full operations then resumed.

Besides the challenges posed by the pandemic, immigration courts were also affected by policy inconsistencies, slow integration to online operations and managerial shortcomings from the previous administration of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, according to an investigation by the Government Accountability Office. The EOIR, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, manages the countrys 66 immigration courts.

The backlog in immigration court is huge, said Carolina Ortuzar-Diaz, an attorney at Monty and Ramirez LLP, a Houston-based firm specializing in immigration. It has been almost impossible to expedite cases in court, even when the judge agrees to expedite the case in view of humanitarian medical grounds, and COVID has made things worse.

Texas has the largest backlog of such immigration cases in the nation, with more than 87,000 pending in Houston alone.

Among immigrants without legal permission to live in the U.S. who have been placed in detention centers, fewer are fighting their detention in court since the beginning of the pandemic, according to TRAC.

The number of petitions for release filed in courts has dropped from 439 in April 2020 to 32 in September of the current year. Such petitions spiked at the beginning of the pandemic as detainees sought humanitarian release while detentions became virus super-spreaders, particularly in Texas. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency in charge of immigration detention centers, drastically reduced its confined population.

But while the immigrant population has rebounded as ICE operations have generally returned to normal, petitions for release havent increased. This could be due to a significant reduction of the average time that unauthorized immigrants are spending in detentions centers under the Biden administration. It went from 86.5 days in October 2020 to 20.3 days in September 2021.

With shorter stays, the report said, may come less need and opportunity to file petitions in court to release detained persons.

olivia.tallet@chron.com

Twitter.com/oliviaptallet
Houstons finance director said Wednesday the city will move forward on a stalled effort to provide more robust information about its finances online, but it will cost more and take longer than the original plan tabled by the administration.

Controller Chris Brown, the independently elected financial watchdog who originally proposed the program with Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin, called the news a delay tactic, a charge Finance Director Tantri Emo denied.

Funding for the platform, dubbed Checkbook, was included in Browns budget and the city secured an $80,000 contract with a software consultant to create it. It would provide more detailed information on city spending, budgeting and payroll online than currently available.

Halfway through the work earlier this year, the Turner administration halted the project and offered differing explanations for the stoppage. Mayor Sylvester Turner said he needed a more detailed analysis from the finance department.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Click here to read more stories by Dylan McGuinness

Emo told council members at their Wednesday meeting the mayor has green-lit the project again, but that it will cost between $200,000 and $500,000 and take five to 11 months to complete. She cited concerns about accuracy and security.

We are now in the process to bring this project forward. We all understand the need of financial transparency for the city of Houston, but we also understand the need to provide accurate information to the public and being able to sustain that system going forward, Emo said.

Brown said the consultant who had been working on the platform could finish it in a matter of weeks if the city gave it the option.

Some council members were perplexed at the difference between the numbers. When questioned, Emo deferred to the citys Information Technology department about the time and cost estimates. The citys chief information officer, Lisa Kent, had signed off on Browns plan before it proceeded earlier this year.

Kent was not immediately available for comment.

I dont think this will be done in 11 months. I think this is a delay tactic, for whatever reason. I cannot figure out why you would not want this, Brown told council members. I think this body needs to hold this administration accountable.

Emo denied that charge. She said IT laid out the timeline and said if the IT department is able to complete it sooner, it will.

Of course theres no delay. If there was a delay, I wouldnt be here today, Emo said. This will move forward.

Turner missed the discussion and Wednesdays meeting. He is in Glasgow, Scotland, for the United Nations climate summit.

The finance director said she could not speak to whether IT has pursued a separate vendor for the project, apart from the vendor Browns office secured with ITs help previously. Emo and Martin, who presided over the meeting in Turners absence, said the IT director would give more information to council members Wednesday. As of 6 p.m., that information had not been sent to council members.

Council Member Sallie Alcorn said she does not want the $40,000 already spent on Browns project to go to waste.

Id like for the work thats already been done on this and the money already spent on it to be included in this, Alcorn said.

Houston posts its budgetary documents online, and Browns office offers a database for vendor disbursements online. Payroll data is available only via open records request.

The new system would compile all of that information and make it readily available in a more detailed fashion.

Martin first proposed the system as a 2019 budget amendment he formulated with Brown.

The controller, city staff and a city-hired consultant began work on it earlier this year.

Brown has noted that every other major city in the country already has a similar system.

dylan.mcguinness@chron.com
Republican former firefighter John Lujan narrowly won his second race in a Democratic district on San Antonios South Side on Tuesday night to become the next representative for Texas House District 118.

Lujan, who is 59 and owns an information technology company, is the only Republican who has ever won election in the 118th District, and held the seat for just under a year after he won it in a January 2016 special election. The seat will be up for election again in November, when Lujan will defend it as an incumbent.

The win came on a strong night for Republicans across the country, with better-than-expected performances from gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia. The 118th is a majority-Hispanic district, and Texas Republicans had targeted it as a pickup opportunity based on a surge in support among Hispanic voters throughout the Sun Belt in the 2020 elections.

Democrat Frank Ramirez jumped out to a slim lead as early voting and absentee ballots were counted, but Election Day returns put Lujan over the top, according to unofficial results posted by the Bexar County Elections Department. It made for a tense night at his campaigns watch party, Lujan said in a phone call just before midnight.

He said his campaign team had predicted a win if it was close after the early votes were counted.

They were smiling so I was smiling, Lujan said. Election day we figured we would do better, and we did, and it ended up pretty good.

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Republicans hoped that a Lujan win would highlight the partys popularity among Latinos while helping the GOP retain its control of the Legislature. House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, recruited Lujan to run again for the seat, and he raised more than $500,000  more than twice as much as Ramirez.

I had said I wasnt going to do it again because its such a battle, and this isnt one of those races thats really, really big Republican or really, really big Democrat, Lujan said. This was a battle, it was not one of those easy races.

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Macarena Martinez said Lujans victory forecasts a bright future ahead for Republicans in 2022 and pointed specifically to gains for the GOP among Hispanic voters in South Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott also tweeted his congratulations: I'm confident John will fight tirelessly on behalf of Texans in the Bexar County area, & I look forward to working alongside him again as we keep Texas the best state in the nation.

Ramirez, 27, had hoped to capitalize on his familiarity with the district, where he worked as chief of staff to former Rep. Thomas Uresti. In the first round of the election, Ramirez was one of three Democrats and won less than half as many votes as Lujan. The runoff was necessary because no candidate received over half the vote.

In the runoff, Ramirez accused Abbott and Republican political leaders of intentionally waiting until the last minute to set the election date, forcing the local election administrators to put the District 118 race on a ballot separate from local elections and statewide constitutional amendments. Ramirez called the odd and unprecedented setup a form of voter suppression.

Republicans used national big donor money to outspend our grassroots movement two to one, said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa. Tonight we saw Texas GOPs big money and corrupt dealings hold our state back once again  and deny Texans a shot at better leadership, and a better future.

Both candidates expressed concerns that the confusion surrounding early voting would be particularly harmful to their campaigns.

Yet turnout for the runoff election was very high, with the early and absentee totals alone surpassing the total votes cast in the first round.

Ramirez could not be reached for comment early Wednesday.

Lujan complimented Ramirez for running a strong campaign and thanked him for his sportsmanship.

I think both of us can be a good example to South Side politics, which tends to be pretty brutal sometimes, Lujan said.

edward.mckinley@chron.com
Long before Texas became the nations leader in wind power, an 11,355-acre section of the Gulf of Mexico was to be the keystone to the states renewable energy ambitions.

In 2005, then-Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson announced that the state had signed an agreement with a Louisiana-based company to develop a $300 million offshore wind farm  the first of its kind in the nation  seven miles off the coast of Galveston. The wind farm was expected to produce enough electricity to power about 40,000 homes and generate as much as $26.5 million in revenue.

By 2012, the Galveston project had fallen through. Natural gas prices tanked following the hydraulic fracking revolution, and suddenly offshore wind was considered too expensive to pursue as a viable alternative energy source.

Finally, 16 years later, that has begun to change: the nation has two offshore wind farms up and running, a third fully permitted and expected to be completed in 2024  and more than 30 other projects in the pipeline. None of them, however, are in the Gulf.

In part, thats because investors were drawn to the Northeast, where the offshore winds are strongest and most consistent. Americas largest, and oldest, offshore wind farm is off of Rhode Island and a second, smaller farm came online fully earlier this year off of Virginia. Together these farms have 42 megawatts of wind power capacity, a fraction of what theyve got in China (11,000 megawatts) and the United Kingdom (10,383 megawatts).

President Biden has vowed to catch up, and for the first time has set a goal for America  30,000 megawatts by 2030  that brings a gust of opportunity for Texas. Our state has already achieved roughly that capacity through land-based wind farms over the past decade. Just one megawatt is enough to power 200 Texas homes.

The opportunity for Texas is two-fold. First, it can take advantage of the Gulf winds and pick up where Pattersons plans dropped off. The federal government has identified key areas, especially off Corpus Christi and Brownsville, where winds are strong enough to produce significant wind power.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Biden eyes Gulf for offshore wind power

Last week, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) invited the offshore wind industry to propose areas for potential leasing across a 30-million-acre swath of the Gulf of Mexico. A 45-day period for public comment and submissions indicating interest in commercial leasing began on Monday and ends Dec. 16.

Secondly, Texas workforce includes thousands of skilled workers with experience building, operating and maintaining the thousands of offshore oil and gas drilling platforms already in the Gulf.

As America transitions away from fossil fuels, finding ways to keep the highly trained workforce that has made the Gulf region a global energy capital employed is vital to Houston economy.

Wind energy jobs will be particularly critical as the oil and gas industry has learned to siphon more profits from fewer workers. Between 2014 and 2018, Texas crude oil production shot up by 60 percent while jobs in extraction fell by 30 percent. And in 2020, as Texas billionaires raked in COVID-19 relief dollars, they fired 60,000 Texan oil and gas workers. Only about a third of those jobs have returned  and with oil majors planning to use big profits this year to buy back stock and pay dividends, the remaining jobs might never come back in their current form.

Even just a 600-megawatt offshore wind farm in the Gulf would bring some 4,470 jobs and $445 million in gross domestic product during construction by 2030, according to a 2020 study commissioned by BOEM. A study last year by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found the Gulf had the potential for more than 500,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy.

Texas wind ambitions will have to contend with offshore Gulf winds not blowing as hard, or as consistently, as winds elsewhere.

That shouldnt keep Texas on the sidelines. Other states, including our Gulf Coast neighbor Louisiana, are way ahead.

In November, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards launched a task force to coordinate commercial leasing proposals for wind energy. New Jersey has recently set a goal of 7,500 megawatts offshore capacity by 2035. Virginia last week feted a new project that could add 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity, and begin manufacturing giant wind turbine blades domestically as well. California just passed a law mandating a strategic plan for maximizing its offshore wind generation by 2023.

Texas? Were not even trying. Gov. Greg Abbott should follow Louisianas lead in launching a Texas-centric task force to solicit offshore wind leasing proposals. The General Land Office has ample experience siting wind farms throughout the state. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has already recommended three different sites  Port Arthur, Port Isabel, and Galveston  to BOEM for a more detailed cost analysis. Texas broad nautical border  up to 10 miles from the shore, compared with 3 miles for every other coastal state  gives us even more offshore options.

Texas onshore wind facilities already generate over $40 million in annual lease payments, provide over $26 billion in capital investment, and support 17,000 wind-related jobs, according to the land office.

Do you know where that project officials in Virginia touted last week is being built? And where a 470-foot, $500 million ship is coming together that will enable crews to install the wind turbines in the Atlantic? Brownsville.

Texas has the biggest electric energy demand in the country and a plethora of coastal cities that could benefit from power generated from offshore winds in the Gulf that typically gust during peak demand hours.

Bidens big push for offshore wind power allows us to imagine a Texas where oil and gas workers have new options for energy-related careers and plentiful wind helps keep the lights on across the state, even in Houston, without harming the environment.

Its not a pipe dream. Its a sturdy lifeline and a platform for growth. Texas must climb aboard while we still can.
Its difficult for many of us to conceive, but when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968, he had a 75 percent public disapproval rating. Many white Americans resented his condemnation of the Vietnam War and his Poor Peoples Campaign seeking economic justice. Public leaders had long labeled him a communist and a radical, attempting to discredit the entire racial equality movement. Only after his death did he gain full recognition and respect for his nonviolent approach for civil rights. It took decades for many white Americans to admit that MLK Jr.s goals werent extremist, but rather fundamentally righteous.

Today we see echoes of this fight in school board meetings as parents mount an attack on critical race theory. This manufactured crisis claims that teachers indoctrinate students by teaching the history of racism. Local and national results from this weeks elections demonstrate that this fear tactic is working to energize voters and elect right-wing candidates. Several of these candidates ran on anti-critical race theory platforms that aim to achieve wider conservative agendas including the governor-elect of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin. If they are successful, this will set back years of progress toward educational equity. Rather than be distracted by the debate of what is and is not critical race theory, we must not lose sight of the real issue at hand: Centuries of slavery and segregation in America have caused enduring educational inequities.

Why does this matter? It took Houston 30 years for schools to fully comply with the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing school segregation. This stalled integration, coupled with real estate and credit lending redlining, limited racial minorities access to equality in education. The results of this remain in our schools today. Researchers have documented an achievement gap, or opportunity gap, between white students and students of color for many years. On the 2019 STAAR exam, the last pre-pandemic year it was administered, results showed that while 69 percent of Houston ISDs white students in third grade met grade-level reading, this was only true for 39 percent of Hispanic and 29 percent of African American children. The gaps were similar for third-grade math. Children who cannot read at grade-level in third grade are at higher risk of later dropping out of school.

Children are also at a higher risk of dropping out if they experience a disciplinary incident before the eighth grade. In HISD, Black children  representing about a quarter of students  are suspended at rates seven times as high as their white peers. When students arent in school, they are not afforded the opportunity to learn  only compounding the aforementioned gaps. We must better serve these children, beginning with acknowledging long-standing disparities and working toward a more just system.

This is the kind of work many school districts are engaged in under a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office. Like most corporations today, DEI administrators conduct staff training sessions on implicit bias  not because they think their employees are racists, but rather because they recognize that racism exists on a continuum and we all need to make ourselves more aware of the stereotypes we form. For example, a 2019 study found that, despite being presented with the same math work, some teachers (of all races) made higher estimations of the overall mathematical ability of males or white students compared with the ability of female, Black or Hispanic students.. Students who dont have adults who believe in them may internalize these doubts, diminishing their own aspirations.

Critical race theory is a red herring used to divert our conversation from the real work at hand. Students of all backgrounds deserve classrooms that not only provide equitable resources but also include their histories. This includes the history of racism. Moreover, all kids benefit from hearing the stories of people of color  even when those stories are hard to hear. In understanding the unsavory parts of our history, we have the opportunity to build a better citizenry. Our students become stronger leaders who refuse to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Widespread anti-critical race theory propaganda aims to discredit DEI efforts, claiming that pointing out these racial patterns and experiences is reverse racism that discriminates against white students and makes people hate their country. We argue that nothing is more American than ensuring children have an equal opportunity in life no matter the color of their skin or their zip code. All children should receive equitable resources at school, and be surrounded by adults who make them feel safe and valued. They should learn the most accurate version of U.S. history that we can provide them. History will not judge kindly those impeding these efforts.

Jennifer Moren Cross holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Duke University and teaches graduate school courses on the sociology of education. Kristen Contos-Krueger, Ph.D. is a professor of history with a specialty in 20th century public policy.
Last month, just outside of Van Horn, four private crewmembers  including actor William Shatner  lifted off in a rocket built by Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos space flight company. This follows the historic launch of a SpaceX flight in September, the first with an all-civilian crew.

It is the dawn of a new space era.

With it, a new race has emerged between states over the fast-growing private-sector space industry  and Texas should be well positioned for it.

Even though Houston is a NASA callsign, home to the Johnson Space Center and synonymous with space travel  and even with the emergence of new launch sites in the Lone Star State  its far from certain that Texas will lead the pack.

From Colorado to Alabama to Florida, other states are aggressively pursuing what Morgan Stanley estimates could be a $1 trillion industry by 2040. Those states offer incentives and resources to match their ambitions. But more than that, they provide companies and entrepreneurs with public-sector coordination, a unified message and a capable workforce.

To compete, Texas must organize for success.

Fortunately, we have a head start, even beyond SpaceX and Blue Origins high-profile launches from Texas. Aerospace companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have a significant presence in North Texas. Houstons investments to turn Ellington Field into a spaceport attracted emerging leaders, Axiom Space and Intuitive Machines. El Paso and Austin are preparing students for future high-wage jobs with UTEP and UT Austin joining the Space Force University Partnership Program to help build the next generation of space capabilities.

The benefits are real. The SpaceX expansion in Brownsville has created good-paying jobs  many of the companys roughly 1,500 employees live there  and focused investments in the city, including strengthening the pipeline of high school and college students to ensure local talent fills future high-skill positions.

To create such dividends across the state, Texas needs to act decisively. Blue Origin selected Alabama for the site of its rocket production facility, and other states are positioning to claim larger pieces of this fast-growing industry. To stay ahead in this race, Texas needs a strategic plan that explores the enormity of this opportunity and sets out steps to capitalize on it.

A Lone Star space plan should start with three key steps:

First, Texas needs to align and coordinate state and local governments, identifying ways to streamline regulation and processes. Texans resourcefulness, innovation and entrepreneurial approach can give this nascent industry the speed and flexibility to thrive.

Second, the state needs to look hard at how it can attract industry leaders. That doesnt mean reckless corporate giveaways; it means being realistic about assessing the support other states offer and making sure that Texas is keeping pace  at least to the point that our unique strengths, resources and attributes provide a competitive advantage.

Finally, and most importantly, attracting and growing the space industry requires a strong education-to-workforce pipeline. Private-sector leaders in this and other industries can provide valuable insight into the jobs of the future and the skills Texans will need to fill them.

In the end, the states that lead in the space-age economy wont be the ones with the most eye-popping incentive packages  theyll be the ones that compete most strongly on the fundamentals of talent, resources and can-do government capabilities.

If Texas charts the right course in this space race, the benefits will go far beyond the space industry. Indeed, an advanced and well-planned workforce strategy will propel every part of our economy and fortify Texas strength and leadership for another century.

This one small step could create a Texas-sized leap forward.

Margaret Spellings is CEO and President of Texas 2036 and former Secretary of Education. Retired Colonel Tim Kopra is Vice President for Robotics and Space Operations at MDA. Mayor Trey Mendez, who represents the City of Brownsville, and Maynard Holt, CEO of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. also contributed to this op-ed.
In many ways, Texas largest detention facility looked like any other polling place, with signs outside urging social distancing and poll workers directing voters toward voting machines in the lobby.

But behind locked doors at the Harris County Jail, 96 inmates also cast their ballots in Tuesdays elections, helping decide the fate of constitutional amendments and school board races from the states first-ever polling site located at a county-run detention center.

Margaret King, an election judge who had worked the polls at churches and community centers in previous elections, said she was surprised when county election officials asked her if she would mind staffing the new jail site.

I thought it was a joke at first, King said.

For years, eligible voters who land in the Harris County Jail and other facilities across Texas have been allowed to mail in their ballots, though few exercise the option, in many cases lacking information about how to vote absentee  or even the knowledge they are eligible. And those who are detained after the deadline to request a mail-in ballot, which falls 11 days before Election Day, are unable to vote by mail.

The jail polling site instantly expanded voting access for the thousands of Harris County inmates awaiting trial or serving misdemeanor sentences, all of whom are eligible to vote unless previously convicted of a felony. Voting rights activists had pushed for the change in recent years, even as Sheriff Ed Gonzalez opened the jail to an advocacy group that distributed voter registration forms and mail ballot applications to detainees ahead of the 2018 and 2020 elections.

Gonzalez said he had pushed to create the jail site even as the process was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, various storms and a number of bureaucratic obstacles.

Many individuals come here for a number of different reasons, he said. We have veterans here, we have individuals that have degrees, we have individuals that unfortunately have been in the throes of addiction and mental illness and other things. But it doesnt remove the right to vote.

Harris County officials began seriously weighing the idea of creating a jail voting site in late 2019, around the same time Illinois lawmakers authorized a voting site at the similarly sized Cook County Jail. But the proposal stalled under former County Clerk Diane Trautman, who said it faced too many hurdles.

One concern: State law requires voters to present one of several forms of identification at the polls, yet jail officials confiscate inmates IDs when they are booked. Trautman had also questioned how the county would comply with the requirement that all voters be allowed to access the polling site, including noninmates.

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said officials have ensured inmates would have the form of ID needed to cast their ballot. And they found that state law does not require voters to access every machine at a polling site, allowing some to be located in a secure location inside the jail and others to be publicly accessible in the jail lobby.

The jail voting site was the latest measure pioneered by election officials in Harris County, where voters cast ballots from their vehicles and overnight during the 2020 election as part of the countys efforts to drive turnout and limit voter contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The innovations were challenged in court and later banned by Republicans in the state Legislature, though Harris County officials have continued to offer drive-thru and 24-hour voting for the November election, with about a month left before the new voting laws take effect.

The new polling site came together through a joint effort by the offices of Menefee, Gonzalez and Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria, who helped implement the 2020 voting innovations while working in the county clerks office before she was tapped for the newly created administrator role.

If you are a voter, you deserve the same level of service, and that is jumping through every hoop we can to make sure that you get to the polls and get to vote your way in a safe, accessible manner, Longoria said. Thats what were providing, whether it be these voting services at a (jail), whether it be drive-thru voting, expanded hours, whatever it may be.

Menefee said he and other county officials are confident theres nothing in Texas election code that outlaws the jail voting site.

As of Monday, 7,990 of the 9,282 inmates at the Harris County Jail were still awaiting trial, meaning they were eligible to vote unless convicted of a prior felony offense. A chunk of the remaining population had been convicted of a misdemeanor and was also eligible.

Ivylee Terrill, 23, of Spring, was booked into the jail Oct. 29 for an aggravated assault.

A restaurant manager in the free world, shed been placed in an isolation cell for much of the time since her arrest, meaning she was let out for just an hour a day. Terrill said she was feeling low, alone and sad, when three election workers approached her in the days before the election with a question: Did she want to vote?

Ive never been taken out of a quarantine tank and asked if I wanted to vote, Terrill said.

She leaped at the chance. Terrill had voted in the two most recent presidential elections and felt the gravity of the moment then. Tuesday served as a reminder of that experience.

It was a great feeling, she said. I knew that I was doing something for the better of me  (and) when I actually got there they told me that Im one of the first women to have been able to vote (in person at the jail). And when they told me that, I just thought, Well, Im making history.

Jail staff had spent several months working with county election officials to prepare for the election, make sure voters were registered or had the information they needed, and to identify potential inmates who were actually eligible to vote and to ask them if they wanted to cast ballots, said Maj. Phillip Bosquez, one of the supervisors of the 701 N. San Jacinto building  one of three buildings that make up the countys sprawling lockup.

Though just 96 inmates used the new polling site Tuesday, Bosquez said several hundred others had also voted by mail, a massive uptick from previous elections.

Troy Jones, 30, had arrived at the jail Oct. 25 on an assault charge. A self-described geek when it comes to law, and a social media manager, Jones first thought the invitation to vote was a bad joke.

Ive been a part of many jokes, but this is not funny, he recalled thinking.

Jones father spent a lengthy stint in prison and isnt eligible to vote. So the chance to cast a ballot felt particularly special, he said.

He started tearing up, said Bryce Randall, the election official who had spoken with Jones. I think he felt like he was seen.

Early Tuesday, jail staff woke Jones up and brought him to a secure area where poll workers had set up a bank of polling machines. An election judge checked his voter registration and showed him a sample ballot. And then he voted.

jasper.scherer@chron.com

St.John.Smith@chron.com
More than 900 health care providers across Texas will receive 1.3 million doses of Pfizers pediatric COVID-19 vaccine over the next week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds on Tuesday, just days after the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization. Texas had pre-ordered its shots, which will be distributed to hospitals, pediatricians and pharmacies in 155 counties.

That includes more than 140 providers in Harris County, with 10,500 doses headed to Texas Childrens Hospital. Thirty-four providers in Bexar County will receive the shots, with 5,400 allocated to University Health System.

Parents hoping to vaccinate their children can find the full list of Texas providers here. They can also call their pediatricians office or check vaccines.gov, which should be updated shortly.

San Antonio-based H-E-B will begin offering the pediatric vaccine in select stores starting Monday. Appointments can be scheduled online at heb.com/vaccine.

More than 400,000 doses have already arrived in the Lone Star State, with the remaining supply expected in the coming days, state health officials said.

Dr. John Hellerstedt, the commissioner of the Department of State Health Services, said the new vaccine helps to protect all Texans from COVID-19. Twenty-two Texas children in that age group have died from COVID-19, and 118 have been diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, he added.

The pediatric vaccine will further help reduce the spread of disease and prevent the rare but serious complications of COVID-19 in this age group, Hellerstedt said in a release.

There are roughly 2.9 million children between the ages of 5 and 11 in Texas. The pediatric vaccine, like its adult counterpart, requires two separate shots for full immunization, though it contains just a fraction of the dosage.

cayla.harris@express-news.net
Five- to 11-year-olds can get and are getting vaccinated against COVID-19, changing the game once again in the course of the worst pandemic in
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The BTS Army and what really defines popularity

Taking fandom to another level, BTS ARMY has been both praised and critiqued by Western media. In this piece, member Ami Patel details just what exactly BTS ARMY is.

Guest post by Ami Patel of Chartmetric

Fans are the core of the music industry. Whether casual followers or enthusiastic stans, fans contribute to an artists success by attending concerts, buying albums, and expressing their love on social media. When an artist has an impact on their audience, it goes beyond primary music consumption. It ripples into creating an interactive community of inclusion, diversity, and passion.

There have been conversations regarding what defines success and popularity. Many will claim you need to have mainstream success to be considered popular. This is questionable, considering traditional popularity consists of passive listeners who arent actively participating with an artists release. On the other hand, fans are long-term followers who support artists by buying music, sharing their excitement with every rollout, and connecting with other fans over similar interests.

For BTS fandom, aka ARMY, they arent just listening to the music but actively participating in events and conversations, generating an ecosystem filled with rich and creative content spreading across a network of fans worldwide. Thus, it makes sense that BTS have been able to host stadium tours since 2018, pull 2M concurrent viewers for Bang Bang Con (a free streaming event of their past concerts on Youtube), sell 1.33M tickets from 195 different regions around the world for their virtual SOWOOZOO Muster concert, have McDonalds attribute a 26.9 percent boost in sales to the BTS meal, and have fans raise $100k to support three different charities over the excitement and support of a collaboration between BTS and Megan Thee Stallion.

Listen to our conversation with Ami about BTS ARMY below.

Who Is Allowed to Work the System?

Singling BTS ARMY out for mass buying or bulk buying BTS music persists with the most unusual takes. In reference to Lil Nas X, a Billboard writer claimed, As long as BTS is going to sell as many copies as they need to stay on top each week, No. 2 debuts are basically the new No. 1 debuts. Not only does a take like this undermine BTS success, but it also devalues Lil Nas X and his passionate fanbase. Both artists have hits, videos, live performances, personalities, and the social media presence to be considered the biggest Pop acts of 2021.

Another recent Billboard piece suggests, Through above-board means, ARMY has long exploited loopholes in music chart rules (including those of Billboard) to propel BTS singles performance. Thats an interesting critique when fans are just following the rules set by Billboard. Claiming that ARMYs efforts have helped BTS despite BTS weaker streaming numbers and radio airplay than some of its Pop contemporaries means overlooking industry practices implemented to keep those Pop contemporaries at the top precisely because they dont have the same organic pull as BTS do with ARMY.

In response to critiques similar to those above, BTS leader RM replied eloquently, If there is a conversation inside Billboard about what being No. 1 should represent, then its up to them to change the rules and make streaming weigh more on the ranking. Slamming us or our fans for getting to No. 1 with physical sales and downloads, I dont know if thats right. It just feels like were easy targets because were a boy band, a K-pop act, and we have this high fan loyalty.

Another critique from Billboard relates to how BTS typically releases multiple versions of a particular single  including both digital and physical  that can add up to multiple sales per consumer. (Butter, for instance, had six digital versions plus two physical singles.) The irony with this particular argument is that Western artists and labels have long pulled many different strings to help increase sales and streams, including bundling random merch with singles and albums. For example, Dua Lipa has six versions of her single Levitating, Taylor Swift has nine different vinyls for her album Folklore, and The Jonas Brothers bundled their album Happiness Begins with their concert tickets in 2019. While these strategies have been common practice within the industry, persistently, non-Western acts are deprecated for implementing the same strategies that American Pop has been doing for years.

Back in 2019, when Indian rapper Badshah (Forbes Indias Celebrity 100 and regular YouTube, BBC, and Billboard charting artist) broke the 24-hour YouTube record for his track Paagal, YouTube failed to acknowledge the achievement for unstated reasons. Badshah claimed he had used Google Ads to boost views just like many other prominent Pop stars. Months after the release, YouTube clarified they are no longer counting paid advertising views on YouTube in the YouTube Music Charts calculation. Still, whether you agree or disagree with his methods, it is interesting that he didnt get recognition for his milestone despite many other acts receiving praise while also utilizing Google Ads.

All Global Platforms Skew Geographically

Some mainstream artists pull in substantial airplay and playlisting numbers but ironically arent replicating those same numbers offline or on other platforms globally, so it is essential to consider other platforms on which users are consuming music worldwide.

Most notably, YouTube is gaining popularity in many major markets like the US, India, and France, based on a recent study conducted by YouGov. When looking at the top artists on YouTube, Indian artists occupy seven out of 10 spots, with Alka Yagnik at No. 1 and BTS, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin at No. 2, No. 4, and No. 8, respectively.

In Japan, Line Music is considered the top domestic streaming service, and BTS dominates the platform with the third most Artist Likes and the most track likes and plays.

Reach Does Not Equal Engagement

Although Spotify features a large user base of 365M monthly active users, it makes more sense to analyze fan behavior at the artist-level. BTS trails behind Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo when it comes to Spotify Monthly Listeners (a reach metric). The latter two artists have a higher playlist reach than BTS, suggesting that these artists have the potential to reach a larger audience as a function of being included in more editorial playlists with higher follower counts. However, that doesnt necessarily mean these artists are converting those potential listeners into followers or fans.

If we consider fan conversion rate, aka Spotify follower ratio, which is calculated by dividing followers by monthly listeners, BTS towers over most artists with a 113.95 percent rate of conversion. In comparison, the rest are under the 40 percent mark. In other words, though Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo are reaching a large audience, they arent necessarily converting those audience members into followers and, consequently, an engaged fandom.

These conversion rates are significant when we consider engagement across various platforms. Platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and SoundCloud, to no surprise, have high BTS follower engagement compared to other artists.

Even considering Chartmetrics Cross-Platform Performance rank, which looks at an artists performance across 16 social and streaming platforms worldwide, BTS has been within the Top 5 from May to August 2021.

This isnt to say Dua and Olivia dont have fans. They most certainly do. Their fans are engaging creatively on multiple platforms, but they do not pull the level of engagement that ARMY does.

Radio as a Popularity Standard

Radio culture has long been considered a barometer of popularity since it contributes to chart rankings and artist recognition despite excluding specific genres, languages, and non-Western acts. K-Pop acts rarely, if ever, have a chance of their music being played on the radio regardless of their growing popularity and passionate fanbase.

BLACKPINK

TWICE

MonstaX

TOMORROW X TOGETHER

As an example, despite Butter being a record-breaking track sung in English and credited with Western producers and songwriters, it still does not receive the same airplay numbers as other artists like Dua Lipa or Olivia Rodrigo.

This is an issue that many artists from the Latin music industry have also faced. Global artists like Bad Bunny and J Balvin have a massive following, but they arguably dont receive the amount of airplay they deserve.

Except for Dakiti by Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez, the only tracks that received a fair amount of airplay comparable to Western artists are tracks with English features. This raises the question: Why is radio considered a channel for popularity when language seems to be an apparent barrier? How can the discussion around needing mainstream success exist when notable acts like BTS, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin arent getting the same exposure as their peers despite having a comparable following and global presence?

Radio is a passive form of consumption that does not always equate to fan conversion, and because specific genres and languages are restricted or underplayed, radio becomes a dated measurement of popularity. These inherent structural limitations mean non-Western artists face greater difficulties ranking on charts, opening up more opportunity for critics to question the legitimacy of their popularity. However, acts like BTS are a sign of globalization and the decreasing importance of traditional radio in an increasingly virtual world, as Aja Romano points out.

Ultimately, it makes sense why a fanbase would want to work hard to overcome these structural inequities and inherent industry obstacles by implementing strategies like hosting streaming parties on StationHead, a platform started with the vision to democratize the airwaves and give the power back to the people. Results show fanbases like Bardigang for Cardi B generating 137K streams in March 2021 and ARMY generating 5.4M streams in May 2021 through the platform. Fandoms are utilizing the necessary tools and resources to help their favorite artists succeed while simultaneously enjoying the music they want to listen to  radio airplay or not.

Maybe 1K True Fans Was Right.

Kevin Kellys theory of cultivating 1K True Fans may hold true for artists trying to navigate the overly saturated and competitive music market. Instead of focusing on the next viral hit, Kelly argues you need to acquire only 1K True Fans to make a living. A true fan, according to Kelly, is defined as someone who will purchase and support anything an artist produces. To retain these fans support, an artist needs to maintain direct contact with them, which can further help artists nurture and establish a strong relationship with their fanbase.

Ultimately, popularity comes down to impact. An artist connecting with 1K fans who wholeheartedly support their music is arguably more meaningful than a viral track flaming out after a month of entertaining 1M passive listeners. Music that transcends language and resonates with fans worldwide is louder than a sea of ARMY critiques. Theres no better definition of popularity than fans doing what they love: celebrating an artist and their music.

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Becket, Peru Awarded $2M in MassWorks Grants

BECKET, Mass.  Several Berkshire towns are getting more than $2 million in MassWorks funding, largely for road repair.

The funds were part of $66.5 million in grant awards to 50 communities announced last week by the Baker-Polito administration. The administration also kicked off the first series of grant awards made through the Community One Stop for Growth program, which total a combined $88 million for projects in 122 communities across the commonwealth, including MassWorks awards.

"MassWorks and the programs accessed through One Stop support local infrastructure projects that spur housing, workforce development and private investment," said Gov. Charlie Baker. "We appreciate the partnership with the Legislature and local leaders to make these investments possible and look forward to our continued collaboration."

The town of Becket received the largest award for the Berkshires: $1 million to reconstruct McNerney Road, a local connector between Route 8 to the south and the town of Washington to the north. Improvements will include full-depth reclamation, road widening, and shoulders for bike accommodations.

McNerney Road provides an alternate route for regional and commercial traffic traveling north to the towns of Washington and Dalton and the city of Pittsfield. The roadway is used year-round by Becket emergency vehicles, Washington residents, and provides the most direct travel route for emergency responders to the western portion of Washington. Project improvements will address poor pavement conditions as well as narrow lanes that presently impact response times and cause hazardous travel conditions.

Peru received $927,000 for a resurfacing project on East Windsor Road. This project will reconstruct three miles of the road, a conduit between Route 143 and the towns of Peru and Windsor. Improvements will include full-depth reclamation along with replacement of drainage culverts.

East Windsor Road is the principle north-south route between Windsor and Route 143 via Peru. Poor pavement and drainage conditions make travel hazardous during storm events, especially when temperatures are below freezing. Emergency vehicles are required to reduce speeds for safe travel. Improvements will increase transportation safety as well as emergency responsiveness.

Hancock will use $169,000 to pave Dee, Goodrich Hollow and Tower Mountain roads, three dirt and gravel roads that can only be accessed from New York State. The grant will only cover the cost of paving; the town intends to do other work including replacing culverts and adding gravel prior to paving. In addition to making the roads safer and easier to plow, paving will also offer increased economic opportunities for Hancock from revenue generated by new housing that can be built along them. Along with recent high speed internet service, the town believes the area these three roads serve will only increase in popularity and demand.

Town of Great Barrington was awarded $69,000 toward its Housatonic Homeownership Project. The housing project on North Plain Road is a collaboration of Great Barrington and Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity. The Great Barrington Affordable Housing Trust Fund purchased 7.25 acres last year and awarded development rights to Habitat to develop 20 affordable homes.

As part of the Community One Stop for Growth program, Windsor was awarded $32,000 to hire the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to assist in a master planning process. The town's goal is to have a plan to present to the annual town meeting in May 2022.

Baker made the annoucements in Lowell after canceling a trip to Charlemont last Wednesday because of the severe damage from a storm in the Boston area. Charlemont received $720,000 to realign a portion of Route 8A, North Heath Road, 550 feet to the east to eliminate a sharp curve. Route 8A is the main access road between Charlemont and Heath and is a popular connector to portions of Vermont. A new catch basin will be constructed and an existing culvert over Mill Brook will be upgraded to improve water quality to the town. The existing portions of the roadway abutting the portion to be shifted will be repaved.
Jennifer Macksey speaks to supporters at her victory party at Mingo's on Tuesday night.

Jennifer Macksey Makes History as North Adams First Woman Mayor



State Rep. John Barrett III hugs Macksey. The former mayor had kept in the background of her campaign. Macksey had worked under him in her finance positions in the city. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The results came within minutes of the polls closing on Tuesday and the victor by fewer than 200 votes was Jennifer Macksey.

The city's former treasurer will be the first woman to take the corner office and only the fourth mayor in more than 30 years.

Macksey won in a close vote against Lynette Bond, director of grants at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and a member of the Planning Board.

Surrounded by cheering supporters at her victory party at Mingo's  and getting a hug from her biggest supporter, state Rep. John Barrett III, who's kept to the background  she thanked the team that helped her win.

"You all made something so challenging just come naturally and when I said on the campaign trail that I represent the people, you damn well I do," she said. "We knew we were going to win but we didn't want to be conceited about it. It comes down to hard work and I first want to thank my family  my mom for praying for me every single day and my sister for swearing at me every day, and for my boyfriend for making sure I went to bed but on time, but he didn't know I got up after he went to sleep, and to my committee who has been right beside me every day. You're the best damn team you could ever ask for."

She added that her opponent "ran a great campaign, and I wish her all the best. I hope we can work together in the future."

Macksey also laid out her priority for the coming year  an issue that very likely got her votes from the public safety sector. She was supported by both the former police chief and fire chief, along with a number of former city colleagues.

"First, we're gonna start by evaluating that public safety building and get right on that. And then we're gonna focus on infrastructure. But my first thing is to work with the City Council and start establishing those relationships," she said. "I think the message people wanted is they wanted experience, and they want to build community back, and I'm ready to represent them."

One issue that seemed to separate her and Bond in the last debate between the two was the reform efforts being implemented by District Attorney Andrea Harrington. Asked if she thinks this vote was a signal to the DA, Macksey said her focus was a safe community.

"I want to work with the DA. She's a great person, and we need to work together," she said. "The people in North Adams want safe communities, and that's what we're going to have."

Both candidates had been optimistic of their chances during the day. Supporters had lined the sidewalk in front of St. Elizabeth's, but the turnout was slightly above average at 3,151 votes cast, or about 34 percent.

This selection of the city's first woman mayor didn't generate as much excitement as might have been imagined. The turnout was lower than in 2017, when some 3,400 votes were cast in the election that brought Thomas Bernard to the corner office, the first election in more than 30 years in which an incumbent was not running.

"Let me congratulate Jen Macksey. You know, I've known Jen for many, many years, and she's a true professional. And I'm sure the city will be well served by Jennifer," said Richard Alcombright, former mayor and newly elected School Committee member at Bond's much quieter get-together at 413 on Main Street. "Yeah, I'm disappointed that Lynette didn't pull this off, but again, I have to look at it as her first. Her first run for public office to be a couple 100 votes short ... Yeah, it was really quite a thing. ...

"I think that people need to realize particularly such a divided country, that as a small city, we have so much opportunity so much in front of us and that if we all kind of tomorrow, wake up and say let's get on the train. Let's all move the train forward."

Alcombright said he was glad to see younger people getting involved in the city boards and committee and people coming to the city to get involved.

"Your voice is no less important, or no more important than someone who's been here forever," he said." ... Don't be afraid to come out. Don't be afraid to go to public meetings. Don't be afraid to approach your counselors. Don't be afraid to knock on the mayor's door."

Alcombright will be joined on the School Committee by Joshua Vallieres, an MCLA student who will complete the two years left on Moulton's term; incumbent Emily Daunis, who was appointed to Moulton's term last year; and David Sookey, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2019 election. There were no races for the committee or for the McCann School Committee, to which Gary Rivers won re-election and Diane Gallese Parsons was newly elected.

Bond said she was proud of her supporters and of the community for coming out and voting.



Lynette Bond, with her campaign manager and brother-in-law David Bond at right, speaks to supporters after her loss in Tuesday's election. "This is the will of the city, and I will continue to be part of it. I want our supporters, I want everyone to take part in our city. We have a bright future, and I just I can't wait to see what's next for North Adams," she said. "People probably didn't have enough chance to get to know me, and that's OK. You know, we put it out there, and we had a good time. I'm just so proud of all our supporters and all the people who really took a stand and decided what they wanted for this city." She added, "We want to wish Jennifer all the best because if her administration succeeds, obviously we all succeed and we want the best for our neighbors, are friends are families."

There had been a low-level call in recent days to vote out of the incumbents and to have two former councilors  Robert Moulton Jr. and Jason LaForest, both of whom quit the council during their terms  to be written in. Also running a write-in campaign was Roger Eurbin, who has run for council in the past and missed the deadline for signatures this year.

That write-in revolt did little to sway any numbers and all five incumbents  Lisa Blackmer, Keith Bona, Peter Oleskiewicz, Bryan Sapienza and Wayne Wilkinson  were all returned to office.

Joining them will be Marie T. Harpin, who quit the council in August but then indicated in the short weeks before the election that she was still interested in serving. Because she resigned, she could not run as an incumbent but still scored enough votes to place fifth and return to a board she said was too toxic to function.

Three new faces will join the council  Michael Obasohan, Ashley Shade and Jennifer Barbeau. Obasohan and Harpin were the top non-incumbent vote-getters and will join the council at its next meeting on Nov. 9. This is because the council decided to wait until after the election to fill the two seats left open when LaForest and Harpin quit in August.
Mayor Linda Tyer congratulates winners in the Pittsfield council races on Tuesday.

One Incumbent Loses Seat in Pittsfield Election



Council President Peter Marchetti says he looks forward to two more years serving on the council. Marchetti hosted a celebration and watch party at the Polish Falcons Club.

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Four of the city's seven wards saw new leadership in the 2021 municipal election and familiar faces were voted into the at-large seats.



Peter Marchetti, Peter White, and Earl Persip III will return as at-large councilors but there was one upset with Karen Kalinowsky ousting incumbent Yuki Cohen.



Marchetti came out on top with 22 percent of the votes (3,881) followed by White with 20 percent (2,664.) Persip followed closely behind with 19 percent of the votes (3,314) and Kalinowsky, a retired police officer, received 15 percent of the votes (2,664.)



Cohen and challenger Craig Benoit did not make the cut, with Benoit getting 14 percent of the vote (2,575) and Cohen coming in last with 10 percent (1,839.)



"It is my honor to be elected to my eighth term on the Pittsfield City Council," Marchetti said to family and friends at the Polish Falcon Club. "It has been a pleasure to serve as the City Council president the last six years and I hope on Inauguration Day, I will once again be elected as council president to lead the council and the city forward over the next two years."



White believes that listening to his constituents is what got him re-elected.



"I'm grateful that the citizens of Pittsfield felt that I was doing a good enough job to be re-elected," Persip said. "We'll celebrate tonight and we'll be back to work tomorrow."



Kenneth Warren took the victory for Ward 1 against Andrea Wilson with 70 percent of the vote (453.) Wilson received 192 votes.



He will be replacing Helen Moon, who decided not to run for a third term. In the 2019 election, Moon was victorious over Warren in securing the Ward 1 seat.



Warren said he is very thankful for his constituents' support and commended Wilson for "running a very good campaign."



Charles Ivar Kronick secured representation of Ward 2 with 60 percent of the vote (371.) His opponent Matthew Kudlate received 248 votes.



Both candidates were newcomers to the political scene.



Kronick will fill the empty Ward 2 seat being left by longtime Councilor Kevin Morandi.



James Conant was voted to represent Ward 4 with 56 percent of the vote (627,) a seat that was vacated by Chris Connell. His opponent Andrew Wrinn earned 499 votes.



Connell and Morandi announced together that they would not be seeking re-election after representing their wards for five consecutive terms over nearly a decade.



"I am very excited and happy, I am looking forward to the challenges ahead," Conant said. "I think people look at my experience on the boards and commissions I've served on, I've had a long successful history of serving Pittsfield and I think that people recognize that and they reward that with their confidence and their vote."

Conant is chairman of the Conservation Commission; Wrinn is a retired firefighter and consultant.

Dina Lampiasi will be resuming her seat as the Ward 6 councilor for a second term after coming out on top of challenger Edward Carmel with 66 percent of the vote (437.) Carmel received 230 votes.

Sherman is a former councilor and will fill the seat vacated by Nicholas Caccamo, who did not seek a fifth term.



Kavey will resume leadership of Ward 5 for his second term and Maffuccio will be serving his fifth non-consecutive term in Ward 7. The councilor was re-elected to office in 2019 after taking about a decade off.



There was no election for mayor, which is now a four-year position. Michele Benjamin ran unopposed for city clerk and received 4,342 votes.



School Committee incumbents William Cameron, Mark Brazeau, Alison McGee, and Daniel Elias will continue to represent the Pittsfield Public School district.

Newcomer Vicki Smith was elected as a new face to the School Committee and Sarah Hathaway, the former mayor, will return to the committee.



Brazeau came out as the top vote earner with 14 percent of the vote (3,243) and William Cameron and Sara Hathaway were close behind with 13 percent each (3.072 and 3,067.)



Daniel Elias, Vicki Smith, and Alison McGee each represented 12 percent of the vote (2,810 for Elias, 2,691 for Smith, and 2,669 for McGee.)



Cameron will be in his third term and McGee and Mrazeau in their second terms. Elias has been on the committee for the past 24 years with 18 years as vice-chairman.



Bill Tyer, Karen Reis Kaveney Murray, Nyanna Slaughter, and Kate Lauzon were not elected; both Slaughter and Lauzon both indicated they did not wish to serve after the deadline passed to remove their names from the ballot.



Tyer earned 8 percent of the vote (1,737,) Murray and Lauzon earned 6 percent (1,467 and 1,400 respectively) and Slaughter earned 5 percent (1,095.)

Turnout was low with only about 21 percent of the city's 27,031 eligible voters casting ballots. In 2019, during the highly contested mayor election between Tyer and Melissa Mazzeo, there was a 43 percent turnout.





Pittsfield Election Results 2021 by iBerkshires.com on Scribd
Eagles Band Returns To The Colonial Stage

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The Eagles will perform a free community concert at the Colonial on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 P.M.

"I encourage people to go. People get there and they realize how much they missed the opportunity to just get out of the house to see something new," Conductor Carl Jenkins said. "It is so much better to see and hear things live."

The concert will feature music by John Philip Sousa. Serendipitously this is not the first time many of these arrangements have been brought to the Berkshires.

"We did a little research on Sousa and found that he did play with his band here when he was on tour. He played at the Colonial in 1916 and in 1920 they did a show at Drury," Jenkins said. "We were able to find those programs so we are copying some of that music at Friday night's concert. We will be playing music that was done at those two concerts 100 years ago."

The upcoming concert will also feature music by Leroy Anderson, Berlioz, and selections from the Broadway Musical "Les Miserables".

The group will perform a suite of music by John Williams from the movie "Catch Me If You Can."

"It really is a cool piece by John Williamsthe first time I saw the movie I had to sit around and wait to see the credits because the music was so cool," he said. "It was John Williams, but it was like no Williams music I ever heard before."

As in the past, the Eagles band will feature soloists. In this suite David Jenkins, a Gunnery Sergeant in the United States Marine Band "President's Own" in Washington, will be the featured saxophone soloist accompanied by the Eagles Band.

David is a graduate of Mount Greylock Regional High School., U. Mass Amherst, Arizona State University, and he did his post-graduate work at the University of Minnesota.

David is Jenkins' son.

This concert is a somewhat return to normalcy as the community band has been mostly sidelined during the pandemic.

"Before the pandemic, we had a concert in January and then we didn't play after that in 2020 until mid-June this year. So it has been about a year and a half," Jenkins said.

He said usually they would play 12 times during the summer.

Jenkins said the group is close and even though they were unable to meet throughout much of the pandemic, as the ensemble playing of wind instruments was considered a high-risk activity, they met remotely.

"We had communications...the group really does care for each other and we really stayed in touch," Jenkins said. "There is really a wide range of ages in the group. Some of them are 15 years old and we have 95-year-olds. So we all got together on zoom every few weeks just to check up on each other."

He was happy to report that when the Eagles first started performing again once some of the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, it was all hands on deck.

"When I went to the first rehearsal I did not know if we would just have five or ten people or 50 or 60," he said. "But we had almost everybody. Everyone was really anxious to get back."

Tickets will be limited and must be reserved in advance. Masks and proof of vax/neg test required.

Tickets can be reserved here

The Eagles Band was founded in 1936 and is the oldest continuing performance ensemble in the Berkshires. The band was originally sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #358, but traces its roots to the 390th Field Artillery Band (1918).
WRL Lecture Series

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  Williamstown Rural Lands (WRL) is launching TALKS on the HILL, a free monthly lecture series for the greater Berkshire community on a variety of environmental and land-use topics.

These talks draw on the expertise of residents of Western Massachusetts, The Berkshires as well as neighboring Vermont and New York. WRL aims to provide a space for regional thinkers: writers, scientists, historians, creative producers, and others to elucidate on diverse subjects.

The topics of the talks are diverse, yet each speaker will invite the audience to consider issues, conundrums, initiatives, queries, and findings from a particular point of view and then open 'the floor' to questions and discussion.

The first six months are scheduled and include a presentation by Williams students working with the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Historic Preservation Office on a project about the Mohican Nation in Williamstown, a ski-buff turned historian who has researched about the lost ski areas of New England, a Williamstown farmer and chef originally of Vietnam, and his quest to create a sustainable, intensively-farmed flower and vegetable CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), a hiking devotee and 20-year Appalachian Trail volunteer who takes us behind the scenes of managing such an iconic trail.

Premiering Thursday, Nov. 4, the first talk will be presented by Hank Art, Chair of the Lands Committee at WRL, Research Associate at the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College and Robert F. Rosenburg Professor of Biology & Environmental Studies, Emeritus, Williams College. Professor Art will be discussing the initiatives of the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership.

The Mohawk Trail Woodland Partnership was established to be a shared forest stewardship collaboration among the US Forest Service, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, 17 municipalities and a dozen public and non-governmental organizations in Western Massachusetts. This program, funded through grants from the U.S. Forest Service and the MA Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, is now into its third cycle of project awards, one of which was given to Williamstown for planting climate adapted trees on the Town Common (cost for the trees only  planting is being done with local matching funds).

Talks on the Hill happen every first Thursday of the month from 7  8:15 pm. Visit www.rurullands.org for details and to register for a zoom link. A calendar of the upcoming 6 months of talks is available for download.

Although the talks are currently held on zoom, they are intended eventually to be live in-person and recorded for streaming.
Eaten chicken in the last decade? State lawsuit alleges youve likely been duped by these poultry producers
Authorities searching for person who fled after causing rollover crash near Belfair on Tuesday
On the evening of 21 September 1999, UNMIK (United Nations in Kosovo) police responded to a call reporting that something terrible was happening in the family house of photojournalist Momir Stokuca, in the Pejton neighborhood of Pristina. When law enforcement officers arrived, a side door was open. On the bedroom floor they found Momirs lifeless body.

Photo: In the fight against oblivion, the Journalists Associations of Serbia placed a commemorative plaque at the scene of the abduction of Radio Pristina crew with the following inscription in Serbian and Albanian: Our colleagues uro Slavuj and Ranko Perenic were abducted at this place on 21 August 1998. We are looking for them.

Stokuca was 50 years old when he was murdered. A longtime associate of the Serbian daily newspaper Politika, and photojournalist for the weekly magazine Vreme, one of the few independent media in the early 90's in Serbia, he was a passionate book reader, described as a person who loved photography and who loved Kosovo.

A police investigation into his killing was never launched. The case was lost  the report of the murder disappeared from the UNs records. Stokuca's family was never summoned by any police official or prosecutor. It was as if the crime had simply never happened.

Marjan Melonashi had just finished a half-hour show on Radio Kosovo. At 2:10 p.m. he left the building located in the center of Pristina and got into an orange taxi. It was 9 September 2000 and this was the last time his family ever heard of him.

Melonashi was a 179cm-tall young man, with wavy brown hair and green eyes. He was an English language student at the University of Pristina, a dreamer, an in-love twenty-four-year-old, with plans for marriage. Melonashi was also a journalist, a reporter for Radio Kosovos Serbian desk.

In UNMIKs documentation there are no investigation files that would indicate that the police questioned anyone in connection with this case. An UNMIK policeman opened the file with Melonashis name only in 2005, five years after the young journalist disappeared, and only to close it later the same day.

Such tragic cases are not the only ones.

While performing their duties, between 1998 and 2005, 20 Albanian and Serbian journalists and media workers, as well as the team from German magazine Stern, were killed, kidnapped or disappeared in Kosovo. Only one case was resolved through proceedings in the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia).

The other 19 remain unresolved. For more than two decades no one has been held accountable for these crimes. How can that be?

Lost responsibility

The crimes were perpetrated during the conflict in Kosovo between 1998 and 1999 and after the arrival of NATO forces and the United Nations (June 10, 1999).

While examining what happened through police investigations of killed and missing journalists, the conclusion became obvious and devastating: international authorities in Kosovo did not make any substantial efforts to investigate these crimes against media workers, be they Albanian, Serbian, German, or other nationalities.

They did not conduct efficient investigations, nor did they assume their responsibilities towards the rule of law, or even to the families of the killed, kidnapped and disappeared.

There were a lot of hints that the investigations were hindered or obstructed, but not enough voices to ask if there was such a thing as institutional responsibility?

This is why we still do not know the identity of the killers and the kidnappers. We only know that the perpetrators remain at large and unpunished.

This occurred in Europe in our time

Responsibility for this is held by all those who were charged with upholding the rule of law in Kosovo in the period from 1998 to 2005.

The rule of law and the investigation into the killings, kidnappings and disappearances of journalists and media workers was the direct responsibility of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which had executive power under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 from 1999 to 2008. In this period, the police and judicial authority were in the hands of the UN mission in Kosovo.

From 2008, the executive branch of the rule of law and thus the responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of these crimes passed into the hands of the European Union Mission (EULEX). The files and the responsibility to investigate was thus transferred from UNMIK to EULEX.

International institutions in charge or associated with the rule of law in Kosovo at the time told me they did not have, or did not know the whereabouts of, possible documents concerning the killings and kidnappings of journalists and media workers during the period of their respective responsibility. Instead of looking for the documents themselves, responsible authorities have had to be told that they indeed did possess some documents.

Searching for files within the UNMIK, I took the case numbers, as they were recorded in their archives - but even then, despite having archive numbers, UNMIK staff were unable to find the documents in their archives.

Ultimately, UNMIK would explain that those who work there today do not know what was done a few years ago, that is, for some reason, those who were responsible at the time did not do a good job.

Disappearance of police reports such as the one related to the killing of Momir Stokuca was explained away by a change of duty and relocation of UNMIK staff.

UNMIKs lack of effective investigation into the disappearance of journalist Marjan Melonashi is shown in the Opinion of the Human Rights Advisory Commission (HRAP).

HRAP was established in 2006 as a result of human rights violations noted by UN human rights treaty bodies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and major criticism from the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), which in its Opinion adopted in October 2004 noted a wide array of human rights problems under UNMIKs stewardship in Kosovo.

Indeed, HRAPs establishment at that time constituted an unprecedented development in the context of the UN.

The HRAP was limited to the examination of complaints brought before it by individuals or groups, essentially responding to complaints made by families who felt that the UN mission in Kosovo had conducted inadequate investigations into the killings and abductions of their loved ones.

In most cases, in its opinions published in the period from 2010 to 2016, HRAP assessed that the complaints were justified. HRAP recommended that the head of the UNMIK mission publicly apologize to the families (including some families of killed and missing journalists), and that the mission itself take all necessary steps to ensure that investigations continue under the auspices of EULEX. That never happened.

Fighting impunity

Out of 20 killings, kidnappings and disappearances of journalists and media workers between 1998 and 2005 in Kosovo, the only killing solved in the context of the ICTY, was the murder of professor Shaban Hoti, a journalist and translator working for Russian state television who was killed on 21 July 1998.

Every bullet shot at a journalist is an attack on democracy, an attack against freedom of speech, freedom of information and against our profession. Behind every unsolved murder, after all the questions put to the authorities, there is still one left - did we, as colleagues and journalists, do everything we could to end impunity?

In May 2018. the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) adopted a motion on investigations into the killings of journalists in Kosovo, tabled by the Journalists Association of Serbia (UNS), the Kosovo Journalists Association (AGK), the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and Journalists' Union of Serbia (SINOS).

Unfortunately, there has been no action from the authorities to follow up this resolution and to bring the perpetrators to justice. There were no effective investigations even after information on most of these crimes was included on the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists in August 2018.

There is, however, no shortage of declarations supporting and promoting the protection of journalists and their right to work in conflict situations.

In December 2018, the OSCE Ministerial Council adopted a Declaration calling for a public and unequivocal condemnation of attacks and violence against journalists and for effective measures to end impunity for crimes against journalists. Years earlier United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1738 (2006) and 2222 (2015) condemned violence and abuses committed against journalists and media workers in situations of armed conflict, emphasizing the international obligation to end impunity and prosecute those responsible for such serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Yet, for families and colleagues of the killed and missing journalists in Kosovo, all these important documents remain inconsequential words on paper. The criminals were not brought to justice. Impunity remains unchallenged.

Bearing in mind that the fight against impunity for crimes against journalists and media workers is crucial and essential for the administration of justice, but also necessary for the further protection of media professionals, and that bringing to justice those responsible for these crimes is a key element in preventing future attacks, the Journalists Association of Serbia (UNS) at the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (Zagreb, October 2021), the IFJs European group, presented a new motion, calling for the prompt establishment of an International Commission of Experts to investigate the killings, kidnappings and disappearances of journalists and media workers in Kosovo between 1998 and 2005.

The text of the resolution contains a total of nine requests including a demand for the EFJ Steering Committee members to actively engage, in cooperation with affiliates, in raising awareness and informing the public

By passing this resolution, IFJ and EFJ members demonstrated a commitment and determination to end impunity for crimes against journalists and media workers by encouraging investigations. This was also an act of solidarity with colleagues killed, kidnapped or disappeared in the past and a sign that they will not be forgotten, that they will not again be disappeared.

Killed and missing journalists in Kosovo, whatever their nationality, should not be allowed to be forgotten. Crimes should not be allowed to go uninvestigated, unindicted and unprosecuted.

To learn more about IFJ Campaign against impunity click here.

Author: Jelena L. Petkovic is an investigative journalist. She has been conducting research for many years into the killing and disappearance of journalists in Kosovo. Her work included interviews with at least 200 interlocutors: relatives, colleagues, acquaintances and members of international missions. Her work has contributed to disclose new information on the disappearances and killings.
On October 29, three journalists from Finlands largest national daily Helsingin Sanomat were charged with attempted disclosure of a security secret and face jail term. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined their affiliate in Finland, the Finnish Journalists Union (UJF), in expressing solidarity with the journalists and condemning Finlands deputy prosecutor generals decision to prosecute them.

Laura Halminen, Tuomo Pietilainen and Kalle Silfverberg face four months to four years in prison for publishing in December 2017 an article about the Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency (VKoeL), at a time when a constitutional change gave the Finnish security services increased surveillance powers.

Following publication of the story, authorities opened an investigation into the newspaper for allegedly disclosing state secrets that would endanger national security. On 17 December 2017, police raided the apartment of Laura Halminen, seizing her computer as well as flash drives.

Pre-trial investigations found out that the editorial team did not obtain information through illegal means. According to Helsingin Sanomat, all information made public was available in public sources.

Following a four-year investigation, Finlands prosecutor decided to prosecute three of the five journalists involved and to hold most of the trial  the date of which is not known yet behind closed doors.

In an editorial, Helsingin Sanomat editor-in-chief Kaius Niemi warned that the threat of imprisonment for investigative journalists is conducive to creating fear and self-censorship throughout the Finnish media field.

This is unique in the history of Finland and even highly exceptional in Western democracies, said UJF president Hanne Aho. The prosecutor has so far been very tight-lipped in explaining the grounds for the charges. This is a matter of such international importance for freedom of expression that the trial must be public. This will also allow the journalists to prove their innocence not only to the court but to the public, added Aho.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger, said: "Laura Halminen, Tuomo Pietilainen and Kalle Silfverberg are being tried while they have obtained their information legally. Investigative journalists do incredible work to keep governments accountable, their rights must be respected and this case should be closed immediately."

EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregard said: Journalists should be rewarded, not prosecuted, for doing investigative journalism for citizens, in the public interest. It is shocking to see now that Finland attacks press freedom and thereby sends a wrong signal to all Finnish journalists doing investigation.
Legal submissions alleging that there are strong grounds to conclude that Israels systematic targeting of journalists working in Palestine and its failure to properly investigate killings of media workers amount to war crimes, are to be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), working with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), has retained leading human rights lawyers from Bindmans and Doughty Street Chambers to submit the complaint to the ICC.

The complaint will detail the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists on behalf of four named victims  Ahmed Abu Hussein, Yaser Murtaja, Muath Armaneh and Nedal Eshtayet  who were killed or maimed by Israeli snipers while covering demonstrations in Gaza. All were wearing clearly marked PRESS vests at the time they were shot.

The complaint will also include the targeting of media and bombing of the Al-Shorouk and Al-Jawhara Towers in Gaza City in May 2021 including the cases of Alam News, Al Hayat Newspapers, Mayadeen Media, Al Bawaba 24 and others.

The IFJ has repeatedly condemned the deliberate targeting of journalists and media facilities by Israel. At least 46 journalists have been killed since 2000 and no one has been held to account.

In December 2020, the IFJ and PJS submitted complaints to the UN Special Rapporteurs (UNSR) setting out how the systematic targeting of journalists working in Palestine and its failure to properly investigate killings of media workers violates the right to life and freedom of expression, is in breach of international humanitarian law, and may amount to war crimes.

The UNSR complaint also raised broader issues affecting Palestinian journalists, including discrimination, violations of freedom of movement and restrictions on press accreditation.

With ongoing impunity, the targeting has continued. In May 2021, Israel bombed media facilities in Gaza. At least two journalists were killed and another 100 injured in separate incidents.



IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: The targeting of journalists and media organisations in Palestine violates the right to life and freedom of expression. These crimes must be fully investigated. This systematic targeting must stop. The journalists and their families deserve justice and the IFJ working with the PJS, ICJP, Bindmans and Doughty Street Chambers is determined to ensure those responsible for crimes against journalists are held accountable.
On October 30, Philippines reporter Orlando Dinoy was murdered in his home by a gunman in the southern province of Davao del Sur. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), strongly condemn the murder of Orlando Dinoy and call on authorities to expedite investigations into his death and charge the perpetrator.

Filipino reporter Orlando Dondon Dinoy died instantly after he was shot six times at close range in his apartment in Bansalan, Davo del Sur at 6pm on October 30. According to the NUJP, Dinoy was killed inside a makeshift recording booth when his assailant forcibly entered his home. Dinoy was a well-known community reporter for Newsline.Ph and a block time anchor for Energy FM, covering community development and crime.

Bansalan police chief Major Peter Glen Ipong said investigations were underway to establish the killers identity and motives. As yet, authorities have not confirmed whether Dinoy was murdered due to his profession.

Journalists in the Philippines are subject to frequent attacks and ongoing antagonism from authorities, with 21 journalists murdered since president Rodrigo Duterte assumed power in 2016 according to the NUJP.

Dinoy was killed just days before the International Day to End Impunity Against Journalists on November 2. In a statement the NUJP said, Impunity for attacks on journalists highlights the urgent need for reforms in the justice system to send the message that perpetrators will be found, charged and held accountable.

The NUJP said: While there is no good time for an attack on a journalist, Orlando Dinoys killing so close to the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists highlights the need for quick government action on attacks against us.

The IFJ said: The IFJ strongly condemn the murder of Orlando Dinoy and call on authorities to promptly and thoroughly investigate his death. Given the precedent of impunity for crimes against journalist in the Philippines, the IFJ urges authorities to duly consider the likelihood that Dinoys death was work-related.
On October 28, a court in the city of Can Tho in south Vietnam sentenced five journalists to prison following their convictions in 2020 under Article 331 of the Penal Code for criticising the Vietnamese government. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the journalists detainment and severe sentences and calls for their immediate release.

All five journalists worked for independent news outlet Bao Sach (Clean Newspaper), which is hosted on Facebook, with the court ruling that the page published alleged misinformation and content that defamed the government.

Founder and editor, Truong Chau Huu Danh, was sentenced to four and half years in prison, while journalists Doan Kien Giang and Le The Thang were given three-year long sentences. Nguyen Thanh Nhe and Nguyen Phuoc Trung Bao were both sentenced to two years imprisonment. The journalists are also prohibited from participating in any journalistic activity for three years following the completion of their prison term.

Pro-government media outlet Trelang Blog reported that the sentences against the five journalists had been issued by the Thoi Lai District Peoples Court following a three-day hearing.

Radio Free Asia reports that Article 331 of the Penal Code is an anti-state provision that works to penalise those who abuse the rights to freedom and democracy to violate the States interests and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals.

The sentence, especially for Truong Chau Huu Danh, was too severe, and the sanctions used under Article 331 are too harsh, independent journalist, Duong Van Thai told Radio Free Asia. Authoritarian countries will give someone a harsh verdict if they want to destroy them, he said.

The sentencing has been met with condemnation from human rights groups and international governments. On October 29, the United States Department of State stated it was deeply troubled by the convictions. The five convictions are the latest in a troubling trend of detentions and convictions of Vietnamese journalists and citizens exercising their rights to freedom of speech and of the press, as enshrined in Vietnams constitution, said the statement.

The severe jail terms follow the Vietnamese governments shifting approach towards independent journalism and continuing suppression of press freedom, due to the general secretary of Vietnams Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trongs, successful introduction of his conservative hard line within the party in early 2021.

The IFJ said: Authorities in Vietnam continue to stifle independent journalism and legitimate reportage, with dire implications for press freedom. The IFJ calls on the government to immediately release the five detained journalists and repeal Article 331 of the Penal Code so that the media may continue to work without fear of persecution.
Leading building solutions provider Holcim Philippines, Inc. and waste management unit Geocycle inaugurated on September 30 new storage and processing facilities at its Bulacan plant that further strengthens its position as the industry frontrunner in using alternative fuels and raw materials in cement production.

Executives of Holcim Philippines led by President and CEO Horia Adrian (middle) inaugurated on September 30 new facilities that will drive up usage of alternative fuels at its Bulacan plant to improve business and sustainability performance.

The company completed a new 5,400-square meter-warehouse to house its shredding equipment that converts qualified post-consumer and municipal solid wastes to alternative fuels. The warehouse also keeps the processed materials dry and suitable for feeding at its cement kiln.

Holcim Philippines President and CEO Horia Adrian: This initiative is part of our bigger commitment to make our operations more sustainable. These facilities will further reduce our carbon footprint and energy costs while providing our partners a safe and environmentally-sound waste management option though our co-processing technology. We are excited to continue these projects to help us get closer to our long-term ambition of using 70% alternative fuels in cement production instead of coal."

The project is part of Holcim Philippines Php121.5 million investment at its Bulacan plant to reduce carbon footprint and improve circularity of operations or the reuse of materials to lessen consumption of natural resources.

Also in September, Geocycle agreed to provide waste management services to the Municipality of Boac, Marinduque by using its qualified sorted municipal wastes as alternative fuel and raw materials in its Bulacan plant. Boac is the 12th municipality that Holcim Philippines and Geocycle is providing waste management support through co-processing. The company has added eight Luzon municipalities and another from Mindanao as waste management partners this year from three in 2020.

Albert Leoveras, Vice President of Geocycle: We are happy to see more local governments partnering with us as they recognize the benefits of co-processing in waste management. With our new facilities, we look to further expand our network of partners and help them in managing their wastes sustainably.

The use of alternative fuels and raw materials in producing cement is a key focus of Holcim Philippines to lower the carbon footprint and consumption of non-renewable resources in its operations. This is aligned with the goals of the global building materials leader Holcim Group to further make operations sustainable.

Holcim Philippines is a pioneer in using qualified wastes such as non-recyclable plastics and biomass as alternative fuels in cement manufacturing through co-processing technology since 2003. Qualified waste materials are pre-processed for conversion into alternative fuel and raw materials suitable for co-processing in cement kiln. During co-processing, the mineral value inherent in the waste is recycled, while the energy value is recovered. The technology is recognized globally and is approved by the Philippine authorities due to its proven advantages in environmental and safety performance.

In 2020, Holcim Philippines co-processed close to 130,000 tons of qualified wastes from local governments, industry partners and agricultural processors in its plants in Luzon and Mindanao. Geocycle has been ISO certified since 2010 and was recertified last year for ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001 (Environment Management System) and OHSAS 18001 (Safety) by third-party certification body Certification International Philippines.
Robert Greene is an internationally best-selling author, most famous for penning The Art of Seduction and The 48 Laws of Power, but success was something that came to him a bit later in life, after many years of hard work. As a young man, Greene was an aspiring screenwriter and novelist living in Los Angeles. It wasn't until he experienced some professional stagnation that the idea for his first book came to him in a moment of desperation.

"I was in Italy on yet another job and I met a man there who was a producer of books," he says. "One day we were in Venice and he just asked me a question, 'Do you have any ideas for a book, Robert?' And suddenly -- I don't know what it was, it was a sunny day, and the gods were smiling on me -- all of my pain and everything I had been through in life, it just welled up in me and I improvised a pitch. Probably the greatest pitch I've ever done about a book about power."

The book that Greene pitched was what ended up being his first international bestseller, and possibly what he's best known for: The 48 Laws of Power. The book has sold over 2 million copies and has influenced many notable celebrities, entrepreneurs, athletes, and creatives worldwide.

Greene tells me that that chance encounter, meeting the man who would ultimately help him produce his first book, was the streak of luck that changed everything for him, but it was a lucky moment that was colliding with years of hard work and preparation.

Today, Robert Greene has written six books. His newest, The Daily Laws, just came out a couple weeks ago.

"I was always drawn towards words and language," he says. "I was obsessed with words from a very early age. And then suddenly around the age of 9 or 10 I got really in love with books. And I knew by the time I was in high school that I wanted to be a writer. It was very clear to me. I was reading a lot of novels like Fyodor Dostoevsky.... I read a lot of novels of Theodore Dreiser. I read Machiavelli's The Prince when I was 15. I was even reading Nietzsche when I was in high school. These were some of my main influences, among many, many others."

Greene grew up in Los Angeles and went on to study English at UC Berkeley. He describes his mom and dad as traditional Jewish parents who might have loved to have seen him grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer, but even so, they were supportive of his dream. After college, Greene went and lived in Europe for several years and worked a litany of odd jobs in places like France, Greece, Spain, Ireland, England, and Italy. He gained a ton of life experience, met a huge number of people, and, as he describes it, had a blast.

"After that I went back to New York -- I'd never lived in New York before -- thinking I would get into journalism, because I had to make a living. I couldn't just write poetry and novels and such. So I got into journalism, and I got a job at Esquire. So that was legitimate -- my parents, you know, they could be proud of that. And I got that job for my writing skills. I sent them a short story. I was in journalism for many years...it wasn't a good fit."

At that time, Robert had a lunch that he tells me he'll never forget. "An editor took me to lunch...and he was going to talk about an article I'd written," he says. "And basically, he had had his third vodka gimlet, or whatever he drank, and he said, 'Robert you're not going to make it as a writer. You don't have the talent, you're too undisciplined. Your writing is too all over the place. You don't know how to communicate. Go to law school; go to business school. I'm telling you I'm going to save you a lot of pain.' And instead of getting all upset and angry -- I was initially, I don't deny it -- it kind of sunk in that maybe because I wasn't excited about this career, it was showing up in my work. It was maybe my fault."

After that, Greene tried to find that excitement, and he spent some more time searching. He went back to Europe for a time to attempt to write more novels, and then ultimately back home to Los Angeles to try out a career working in Hollywood. He worked for a famous director as his assistant, and he says he learned a lot about making things dramatic, but the biggest thing he observed was the power moves that were happening amongst powerful people in the industry, and those experiences got the wheels turning for what would ultimately become his first massively successful book.

"I knew deep down inside of myself that I was a good writer and that I was worth having some kind of success in life," he says. "I didn't get down [on myself] on that part. I doubted whether I could be a screenwriter, or a novelist, etc..... But I knew deep down that it was the only thing that I'm good at. When I look back on it, maybe it's a skewed perspective but it seemed almost like fate. That I had to go through all of these kind of lost moments, but they were teaching me. They had a reason behind them. I was almost being directed in this way."

Greene tells me that he's had at least 60 different jobs in his lifetime, but he counts it all as valuable experience, especially given the subject matter he's made his living writing about.

"I've seen every different kind of power maneuver," he says. "I've had the worst bosses in the history of mankind. I have all kind of experiences, and I had learned in journalism how to write snappy, how to write well under a deadline. It all came together when I had to write The 48 Laws of Power. All those awful bosses that tortured me. I could put them in the [book] completely disguised by kings and princes etc..... Nothing was wasted."

The interesting thing about talking with Greene is that for such a wholesome and genuine guy, his work has gotten a bad rap over the years. The 48 Laws of Power has been banned in many prisons because the tactics discussed in it are viewed as dangerous ideas to give to criminals or people who are considered high-risk as far as society is concerned.

The book is a favorite of powerful and influential people like Jay-Z, Kanye West, Brian Grazer, Will Smith, and even Fidel Castro. There are many who will say that Greene's books are ostensibly handbooks for teaching manipulation techniques, but Greene defends his work saying he's only written about the things he's observed in the world. They're not tactics or techniques that he's creating. He wasn't happy with how The 48 Laws, as well as The Art of Seduction, were perceived -- as a quick fix to get what you want -- and it was one of the reasons he wrote Mastery.

I ask Greene how he feels about critics. He's clearly had his share of them over the years. He deals with them by remaining true to himself and the path that he's chosen.

"You have to have a sense of knowing your life's task," he says, which is an idea he talks about in Mastery. "This was what you were meant to accomplish in life. And you're very firm about it and you feel very confident about it. And so, when people come, like that editor did, and tell me that you shouldn't be a writer, you're able to deflect it because you have a dream, and nothing will get you to sidetrack from that dream. But also, having a sense of accomplishment. It's not that you're a bullshit artist, it's not that you're a con artist, you've actually accomplished A, B, and C in life. So, if people come and attack me, I don't really care because I have this [career] that I can always fall back on. I have a book that sold 2 million copies, how many people can say that? Bring it on. I'm fine with that."

Greene tells me that of all the 48 laws he talks about in his first book, the one he feels is most important is making yourself indispensable.

"You don't want to appeal to people's love, [or] to the fact that they like you," he says. "You want to appeal to the fact that they need you. Because love is a very tenuous emotion. In fact, it doesn't work very well in the work situation. It causes all kinds of problems. They'll get rid of you tomorrow even though they like you. But if they need you, it's like pulling out all of these roots of a plant to get rid of you. It's going to cause all kinds of damage. They need you and they can't get rid of you. So you need to make sure with your position in a company -- in life in general -- that you're the only person who can do [what you do]."

I ask Greene how people can make themselves indispensable to a company, and he says it depends on the nature of your work. In a corporate setting, he says it's wise to spread your talents around the company. Make yourself indispensable to multiple people or departments.

"You get a sense of how the whole company is functioning," he says. "You have your roots in this place, in this place, and this place. So you have more knowledge that's kind of spread around, and to get rid of you is going to cause a lot of problems, because you're not only involved here but you're involved [in multiple places] and you have knowledge that nobody else has. So you want to have a kind of knowledge and skill-base that makes you unique."

Greene suggests not just cultivating a single skill, but many skills. The more skills you may possess, the more people need you and the more indispensable you truly are.

Greene surprises me by telling me that he views it as the same for entrepreneurs. "The way you make yourself necessary and others dependent on you is to be the only person who can do this job. You are so unique! There's only one Elon Musk, there's only one Steve Jobs, right? They're irreplaceable. They're not afraid to be themselves; to have their own style...and so that's what secures their position. If I wrote books like everybody else, I wouldn't have that position of power. But because I'm the only one, for better or for worse, who can write books the way I do, I have secured a position in the publishing world. So it's a law that applies everywhere."

More of my conversation with Robert Greene here:
While managing private wealth at J.P. Morgan, Andre Swanston saw clients withdrawing funds to angel-invest in startups. "I thought most of them were the stupidest, worst ideas I'd heard in my life," he says. Spotting an opportunity, he resolved to do a tech startup -- but better. In 2013, he co-founded the Stamford, Connecticut-based data marketplace Tru Optik, which helps businesses target consumers in 80 million homes across streaming services and cloud-based gaming. As the pandemic kept people home and glued to their devices, the company began attracting attention of its own.

FROM NIGHTLIFE TO NETFLIX Swanston, a former partner in restaurants and nightclubs, founded Tru Optik when he saw a business opportunity in aggregating insights on online services, gaming, and streaming customers. FUNDING THE VISION He and his co-founder, Alex Geis, self-funded Tru Optik with help from a few angel investors and VC firm Connecticut Innovations. THE LEG UP TransUnion made a strategic investment in Tru Optik in 2019, and the companies developed a rapport. The credit reporting agency acquired Swanston's company the following October.

Did you raise venture capital to fund Tru Optik?

Through the first two and a half years, we had no traditional VC investment. In fact, a lot of the big blue-chip firms wouldn't even take meetings with me. We were grossly undercapitalized, because the venture community for the most part doesn't invest in people who look like me. I think we had to prove ourselves more than other startups do.

When did you start thinking of selling?

By the summer of 2018, we'd already had several companies approach us. We knew that was a viable path. Then, when the pandemic hit, there was this huge explosion of connected TV and streaming video consumption. We grew in six weeks as much as we had expected to grow in 18 months.

Did the acquisition happen quickly at that point?

Oh, it was a time of huge uncertainty. It was one of the more difficult decisions I've made. We were evaluating some opportunities for a pretty large capital raise to go at it on our own. Then several other suitors were interested in acquiring us. And TransUnion had already invested in us.

Was there a turning point for you, when you knew what you should do?

It was around the time of the George Floyd protests, and I'd been vocal about it. None of the executives from the other companies that were entertaining buying us said anything. The man who's now my boss at TransUnion sent me a supportive message. I remember texting our investment banker and board chairman, and I was like, "Done. Deal's over. This is what we're doing." Emotionally, I made my decision that night. Knowing that culturally it would be a welcoming place for my employees put it over the top for me.
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John Donahue, 68, of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., is an environmental consultant and a retired national park superintendent. He posed recently for a portrait near the Raymondskill Falls at the Delaware Water Gap in Milford, Pa.


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MAM | Marketing This Diwali 'it's all about loving one's family': Brands celebrate the joy of homecoming It's that time of the year when advertisers spend the major portion of their annual ad spends in going all out to woo the Indian consumer. With the Festival of Lights upon us, marketers and brands are doing everything they can to unlock the year's biggest festive blitzkrieg by ensuring their campaign stands out this Diwali. Read More...

MAM | Marketing Godrej Consumer Products elevates Somasree Bose Awasthi to CMO Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) has elevated Somasree Bose Awasthi to chief marketing officer. previously, she was the head of marketing, homecare Clcategory. Somasree has been with GCPL for nearly two decades, having joined the company as a management trainee in 2003, initially as part of Sara Lee business. Read More...

MAM | Marketing Subway partners with Everstone Group to expand presence in India Restaurant brand Subway has signed one of its largest master franchise agreements with Everstone Group, a South Asia-focused leading private investment firm to bolster its presence in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Read More...

MAM | Media and Advertising Vinay Surya named MD of Surya Roshni Surya Roshni, a steel pipes, lighting and consumer durables company has announced the appointment of Vinay Surya, the whole time director as managing director, effective from 26 October. Read More...

MAM | Marketing Arshad Warsi says 'Aish Karo' via CashKaro this Diwali For this Diwali, cashback & coupons site CashKaro has launched the #CashKaroAishKaro campaign in association with Actor Arshad Warsi, which depicts how the homegrown app helps shoppers save on their online shopping. Read More...
Over 100 countries including the US, Russia, China and Brazil on Tuesday signed the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, an initiative launched by the United Kingdom to protect and restore the earth's forests and end deforestation by 2030 at the COP26 climate summit.

One of the most notable absentees, however, was India, due to reported concerns around linkages made in the final text with trade.

AP

Other than India, Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Africa are the G20 countries that did not sign the declaration.

The text of the final declaration covers transformative action in the interconnected areas of sustainable production and consumption; infrastructure development; trade; finance and investment; and support for smallholders and local communities.

We will strengthen our shared efforts to facilitate trade and development policies, internationally and domestically, that promote sustainable development, and sustainable commodity production and consumption, that work to countries' mutual benefit, and that do not drive deforestation and land degradation, the text notes in reference to trade which is likely to have caused some concern on the Indian side.

Reuters

Recognise that to meet our land use, climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals, both globally and nationally, will require transformative further action in the interconnected areas of sustainable production and consumption; infrastructure development; trade; finance and investment; and support for smallholders, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities, who depend on forests for their livelihoods and have a key role in their stewardship, it said.

But according to India, the declaration interlinks trade to climate change and forest issues. Trade falls under the WTO and should not be brought under climate change declarations and wanted the word trade to be removed.

BCCL

The issue of deforestation in India is a hotly contested one. The government has repeatedly said that the tree cover and forest cover in India have increased over the past few years.

However, environmentalists have long pointed out that the government is busy diluting existing environmental protections to open them up for mining and other infrastructure projects that will alter the forests, wildlife, and the people living around it forever.

BCCL

Last month so 350 people from tribal villages in Hasdeo Arand forest area spanning Korba and Sarguja districts of Chhattisgarh had marched for ten days to the capital to protest against a mining project that will affect their lives and livelihoods.

The Hasdeo Bachao Padyatra that began on October 3 from Fatehpur in Ambikapur of Sarguja district covered over 300 kms on its way to Raipur.

They are demanding the cancellation of all coal mining projects in the region, stating that permissions granted were illegal and that the damage caused would be irreparable.

Save Hasdeo

According to Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, the Hasdeo Aranya region is the states lungs and allowing coal mining there will have an adverse effect on the ecology and the livelihoods of the locals, who fear that their land will be taken over for the project.

Hasdeo Arand, one of central India's largest intact forests, is home to indigenous people, including the Gond tribe, and has a rich biodiversity with an elephant corridor cutting through it.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.
Last week, the Supreme Court observed the variations in reacting and coping up with mental health issues. The apex court, remarkably, noted the mental health of a person cannot be compressed into a one size fits all approach.

The court made this observation while ruling in a suicide case.

Earlier, the Karnataka high court made a wide off-the-mark observation. It had termed a person who died by suicide a weakling and commented on how people with depression ought to behave.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna, objected to this notion. It noted that such an articulation of a person with depression diminishes the gravity of mental health issues.

Individual personality differences manifest as a variation in the behavior of people, the court said. How an individual copes up with a threat  both physical & emotional, expressing (or refraining to express) love, loss, sorrow, and happiness, varies greatly in view of the multi-faceted nature of the human mind and emotions, the judges added.

Unsplash

In simple terms, the court observed that each individual experiences and responses to depression differently.

The observation is significant to break the stigma associated with mental health, and that "strong people" don't have mental health issues and aren't depressed.

Most often, the complexity of human emotion and mental health conditions are ignored.

Calling out gaps in mental health infrastructure

The Indian legal system is finally taking note of rising mental health issues and the importance of creating awareness around them.

In November last year, the Madras High Court called out the lack of government spending on mental health infrastructure.

It noted the "need of the hour" is to have sufficient psychiatrists and departments at each level.

Mental Healthcare Act (MHCA)

Mental health issues are complicated, distinct, and come in various forms and sizes and mental health laws across the world have evolved over the years. The provisions of the previous and now-repealed Mental Health Act 1987 focused mostly on administrative procedures, instead of an individual approach.

The Mental Healthcare Act (MHCA) 2017 entered into force in May 2018 and has a rights-based approach to regulate mental healthcare and treatment in India.

The MHCA is a milestone because it marks the first time an Indian law recognised the right of all persons to access state-funded mental healthcare services and facilities, without discrimination on any basis.

Insurance cover for mental illness

For a long time, mental health issues were not covered in insurance. However, with time, things changed.

The coronavirus pandemic exacted a heavy toll, and there has been a significant rise in mental health issues throughout the world. It has become imperative that insurance policies cover mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

Representational Image

In June 2020, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) mandated insurance providers to include mental illnesses under the scope of health cover.

According to IRDAI, all insurance providers must offer coverage to persons diagnosed with mental illnesses. It gave all insurance companies in the country be it life, health, or general insurers  to comply with its instructions by October 1 last year.

The issue of mental illness  widely prevalent in India  emerged again after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput was widely reported in the media. One in five Indians faces depression in their lifetime, according to the World Health Organisation.

In September 2021, the Supreme Court expressed serious concern over mental health facilities across the country and ordered states in India to make Covid-19 vaccinations available to everyone detained in a mental health facility and to the staff.

Mental health issues are diverse and complex, and there is no one fixed approach that suits everyone. Healthy discourse is the need of the hour to de-stigmatise mental health issues and highlights how important it is to talk about them.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.
India-made Covaxin is now approved by the World Health Organization after the health agency's advisory body green-lit the vaccine for emergency use listing on Wednesday.



Agencies

Covaxin was made by India-based Bharat Biotech and was approved for emergency use listing by the WHO's technical advisory team on Wednesday. Now, Covaxin is officially approved for emergency use for all aged 18 and above.

For months, India's Bharat Biotech had been seeking approval for its Covid-19 vaccine "Covaxin" by the World Health Organization. Created in Hyderabad, Telangana, the vaccine was developed jointly by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Covaxin was supposed to receive emergency listing in October, but faced a delay after the WHO's technical advisory group sought more details about Covaxin's final risk assessment. On Wednesday, the group met to decide the fate of Covaxin, after which it was officially recommended for emergency use listing.

An independent advisory body, the technical advisory group gives suggestions to WHO about vaccines that should be approved for emergency listing. Earlier, the body met on October 26 to discuss the future of Covaxin, after which they decided that they required more information.

Agencies

They met again on November 3, when the nod was given to Covaxin after reviewing more data. Now, under WHO's emergency use listing (EUL) procedure, Covaxin may be recommended for emergency use among adults.

Any vaccine with efficacy 50 per cent or above is deemed effective enough to prevent serious illness among its recipients. Covaxin has an efficacy of 77.8 per cent, according to Bharat Biotech. In terms of the more infectious Delta variant, Covaxin provides 65.2 per cent protection, Bharat Biotech ascertained after Phase 3 trials of the vaccine.

So far, WHO has given approval to the following Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use, with Covaxin the newest entry into its coterie - Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Covishield, Janssen by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Sinopharm.

This approval means that Covaxin has unofficially received approval from the World Health Organization, more details about which will be revealed by the agency in the coming days.

Which vaccine did you get - Covaxin or Covishield? Share with us in the comments below. For more in the world of science and technology, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
A team of treasure hunters in Finland think they are on the "brink" of unearthing the worlds largest treasure hoard said to be worth over $20 billion.

The team, known as the Temple Twelve, have been searching in Finland for the Lemminkainen Hoard, which consists of gold, jewels and artefacts, since 1987, The Sun reported.

SWNS

It is believed that the treasure if found, would be valued above $20 billion, making it the most valuable find to ever be discovered. According to researchers and historians, the hoard contains more than 50,000 gems such as diamonds, sapphires, and ancient artefacts.



The group have been spending their summers searching for the treasure, working six-hour days, seven days a week.



After 34 years of work, the Temple Twelve now believe they are a matter of months from making a breakthrough but will have to endure a long winter before they can once again access the caves that fill with freezing rainwater each year.



SWNS

Members of the group have travelled from all over the world, including Russia, Australia, the US, Sweden, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands, to join in the hunt.



The world-leading authority on the Lemminkainen Hoard, Carl Borgen, has detailed the lives of the hunters and the treasure in his book Temporarily Insane.

"I understand that significant progress at the temple has been made and that the crew are feeling especially excited about the months ahead, Borgen told The Mirror.

"There is now talk in the camp of being on the brink of a major breakthrough, which in real terms could be the discovery of the world's largest and most valuable treasure trove," he added.



SWNS

The existence of the treasure was first acknowledged in 1984 when landowner Ior Bock claimed his family were direct descendants of Lemminkainen, who appear in Finnish pagan mythology.



Bock claimed the chamber on his estate had been sealed up with stone slabs in the 10th century to protect the treasure from invaders.

Just three years later, as many as 24 people joined forces with Bock to find the treasure. Now, just two members of the original team of 24 diggers remain. The rest have either died or retired.


Habisreitinger spoke the day after a news release from its holding company announcing new names for former Noranda operations in the United States and Jamaica.



The Gramercy refinery - the last alumina refinery in the US - was in the path of Hurricane Ida. The Category-4 storm hit the New...
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Local Twin Cities artists Enzyrose, Eyenga Bokamba, Noah Lawrence-Holder, LeShon Lee, and Meadow Gillispie, talk about their reaction to the murder of George Floyd, the trial of Derek Chauvin, and life as a black artist during this time.
An insurance company has agreed to pay $625,000 to settle allegations that it used deceptive and illegal practices to sell health insurance plans to Massachusetts residents, the state attorney generals office said Monday.

Under terms of the settlement, Florida-based Health Insurance Innovations will repay customers $515,000, pay $100,000 in civil penalties to the state, and $10,000 to cover the cost of the investigation, officials said.

The insurer sold health insurance plans to Massachusetts residents from Unified Life Insurance Company that were not authorized for sale, according to the complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court.

Deceptive sales practices included claiming that the unauthorized health insurance covered services that it actually excluded, describing limited health insurance as comprehensive, and calling coverage limitations as positives, rather than negatives, authorities said.

Massachusetts has strict regulations regarding the marketing and sale of health insurance for a reason: to prevent companies like this one from taking advantage of people regarding something as serious and essential as healthcare, Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement.

An email seeking comment was left with Health Insurance Innovations.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Carriers Claims Massachusetts
A Kansas City jury decided in favor of the insurer in the nations first jury trail of a lawsuit that sought coverage for business-interruption losses caused by the coronavirus.

The jury for the U.S. District Court for Western Missouri on Thursday returned a verdict in favor of Cincinnati Insurance Co. in a lawsuit filed by K.C. Hopps. The chain of nine bars, restaurants, catering services and event spaces had argued coverage was owed for lost income because SARS-CoV-2 had caused a direct physical loss or damage.

We thank the jury for their time and attention through the trial, Cincinnati said in a statement on Friday. We are pleased that they unanimously agreed with us that our commercial property insurance policy does not provide coverage for these Covid-19 losses.

U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough was one of the few federal judges who allowed COVID-19 business-interruption claims to proceed to trial, after ruling that the policy could be interpreted to provide coverage. In 90% of the cases decided in federal court so far, district court judges granted insurers dismissal or summary judgment motions.

The 6th and 11th and 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled in favor of insurers in COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuits.

Plaintiffs attorneys lauded the victory when Bough on Aug. 12 denied Cincinnatis motion to dismiss K.C. Hopps lawsuit. But attorneys for the restaurant chain were disappointed when Bough denied their motion on Oct. 22 to prohibit Cincinnati from telling the jury that exclusions in the policy do not apply to the business-interruption claims.

K.C. Hopps on Oct. 23 filed a motion seeking an order regarding the courts policy interpretation and to revise proposed jury instructions, stating that Bough had ruled previously that the exclusions do not apply.

Plaintiff reasonably took the courts statement that the exclusions do not apply to mean that they were inapplicable as a matter of law, the motion says.

The complaint filed by K.C. Hopps states that the nine businesses within the chain were expecting to earn $17 million in 2020, but government closure orders had drastically reduced revenues. The plaintiff presented evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can linger on surfaces and spread through ventilation systems, meeting the definition of a direct physical loss.

One other COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuit has gone to trial, but that case was decided from the bench. New Orleans Parish Judge Paulette R. Irons ruled on Feb. 10 in favor of Lloyds of London in a lawsuit filed by Cajun Conti, which owns a restaurant in the New Orleans French Quarter.

Topics Carriers COVID-19 Legislation Missouri
The Supreme Court is declining to wade into a case involving transgender rights and leaving in place a lower court decision against a Catholic hospital that wouldnt allow a transgender man to have a hysterectomy there.

The high court turned away the case Monday without comment, as is typical. Three conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch  said they would have heard the case.

Mercy San Juan Medical Center near Sacramento declined to allow the procedure to be performed at its facility saying it was an elective sterilization that violated the hospitals ethical and religious obligations.

The patient, Evan Minton, got the surgery three days later at a different hospital. He sued under a California law that bars discrimination. A trial court agreed with the hospital that a three-day delay in the procedure did not involve a denial of full and equal access to health care under California law. An appeals court reversed that decision.

The high courts decision not to step in is the latest win recently for transgender rights groups at the court. In June, the justices declined to weigh in on a different case involving transgender rights. In that case, the justices rejected a Virginia school boards appeal to reinstate its transgender bathroom ban. Transgender rights groups and a former high school student had fought in court for six years to overturn the ban.

In 2020, the high court ruled that a landmark civil rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment. The 6-3 decision was a resounding victory for LGBT rights from a conservative court. The court said a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 known as Title VII that bars job discrimination because of sex, among other reasons, encompasses bias against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
In Wichita, Kansas, nearly half of the roughly 10,000 employees at aircraft companies Textron Inc. and Spirit AeroSystems remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, risking their jobs in defiance of a federal mandate, according to a union official.

Were going to lose a lot of employees over this, said Cornell Beard, head of the local Machinists union district. Many workers did not object to the vaccines as such, he said, but were staunchly opposed to what they see as government meddling in personal health decisions.

The union district has hired a Texas-based lawyer to assist employees and prepare potential lawsuits against the companies should requests for medical or religious exemptions to vaccination be denied.

A life-long Democrat, Beard said he would no longer vote for the party. Theyll never get another vote from me and Im telling the workers here the same thing.

The clock is ticking for companies that want to continue gaining federal contracts under an executive order by Democratic President Joe Biden, which requires all contractor employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8.

That means federal contract workers need to have received their last COVID-19 shot at least two weeks before the deadline to gain maximum protection, according to U.S. government guidance.

With a three-week gap between shots of the Pfizer /BioNTech vaccine, workers must get the first jab by Wednesday. If the government holds fast to its deadline, it is already too late to choose Modernas vaccine, which is given in two doses four weeks apart. Workers could opt to get Johnson & Johnsons single-shot vaccine until Nov. 24 to meet the deadline.

Vaccines remain by far the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, particularly faced with the extremely contagious Delta variant of the virus that can cause infections even among those fully vaccinated.

Despite vocal opposition from some, vaccine mandates have been effective at shrinking the rates of the unvaccinated and convincing the reluctant to roll up their sleeves.

Several big employers such as Procter & Gamble, 3M and airlines including American Airlines and JetBlue have imposed mandates. In some industries, including among food workers, unions have supported vaccine requirements.

But the mandate has stirred protests from workers in industries across the country, as well as from Republican state officials.

Opposition to the mandate could potentially lead to thousands of U.S. workers losing their jobs and imperil an already sluggish economic recovery, union leaders, workers and company executives said.

More legal clashes are likely over how companies decide requests for vaccination exemptions.

For the companies, time is getting tight, though the Biden administration has signaled federal contractors will not have to immediately lay off unvaccinated workers who miss the Dec. 8 deadline.

Under government guidance https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/faq/contractors published on Monday, companies will have flexibility over how to implement the mandate, which may allow them to avoid mass firings.

A covered contractor should determine the appropriate means of enforcement with respect to its employee, the guidance said.

For Boeing Co in the United States, more than 7,000 workers have applied for religious exemptions and around 1,000 are seeking medical exemptions, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. That amounts to some 6% of the planemakers roughly 125,000 U.S employees.

ILLEGAL, IMMORAL AND IMPRACTICAL

At a rally last week outside Boeing property in Auburn, south of Seattle, many of the three dozen workers gathered in driving rain said they would rather be escorted off Boeing property on Dec. 8 than take a vaccine. Others said they would pursue early retirement.

The mandate is illegal, immoral and impractical, said one veteran Boeing program analyst who attended the rally. We are standing together against a company and government trampling on our rights.

Many legal experts have said vaccine mandates in the interest of public health are legal. The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected several challenges to mandates, with the high court last week turning away a healthcare worker who sought a religious exemption to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The rebellion has put Boeing executives in a bind. The company could lose skilled staff, but must comply with a presidential order.

A Boeing spokesperson said the company was committed to maintaining a safe working environment for its employees.

The orders provision for religious and medical exemptions is causing more tension.

Two Textron workers who requested religious exemptions told Reuters the companys human resources representatives quizzed them on the name of their church leaders and asked detailed questions about their faith.

Textron declined to respond to questions, but in a statement said it was obligated to comply with Bidens order and was taking steps to do so.

Employees who are unable to receive the COVID-19 vaccination due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief are being provided an opportunity to request an accommodation from this requirement, Textron said.

Spirit AeroSystems did not respond to a request for comment.

Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes last week warned the U.S. defense firm will lose several thousand employees because of the mandate.

A group representing FedEx Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and other cargo carriers said it would be virtually impossible to have all their workforces vaccinated by the deadline.

Some companies have imposed vaccine mandates even absent immediate government regulation.

Mercedes-Benz USA, the U.S. unit of German carmaker Daimler AG which is not a U.S. government contractor, told employees in an October email seen by Reuters that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 would become a condition of employment beginning Jan. 4.

The carmaker said it implemented the move in anticipation of a separate U.S. government vaccine mandate that would apply to businesses with at least 100 employees, affecting some 80 million workers nationwide.

Less than half of the companys workers at U.S. import processing centers are vaccinated and many refuse to get a shot, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Mercedes USA in a statement said it had given employees 90-day notice to fulfill the requirement, adding that two thirds of its U.S. employees  not including factory workers in Alabama  have provided proof of vaccination to date.

We expect that the vast majority of our employees will provide proof of vaccination before the deadline, the company said.

(Reporting by Tina Bellon in Austin, Texas and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle, Washington; Editing by Joe White and Bill Berkrot)

Topics Contractors
A Delaware judge dismissed a suit by Chemours Co. shareholders alleging directors misled them about the companys financial health and legal liabilities when it was spun off from a predecessor of DuPont de Nemours Inc.

Chemours shareholders cant show misleading statements by directors left them facing a substantial likelihood of liability, a Delaware Chancery Court judge concluded on Monday. The company was created in large part to wall off the rest of DuPont from lawsuits over environmental harm and health risks from a class of chemicals known as PFAS.

I find that the facts pled in the investors suits dont lay out evidence of willful or negligent misconduct, Judge Sam Glasscock III said in his 63-page ruling. Greg Varallo, a lawyer for some of Chemours investors, declined to comment on Glasscocks ruling.

Following the ruling, Chemour shares were up nearly 4% to $29.10 at mid-day on Monday.

Chemours was sued by investors after agreeing earlier this year to a $4 billion settlement with DuPont and Corteva Inc. to cover liabilities tied to PFAS, a chemical used in making DuPont products such as Teflon. Under the agreement, DuPont and Corteva will split certain qualified expenses 50-50 with Chemours, the companies said. They specified expenses incurred over 20 years or totaling $4 billion at most.

Series of Verdicts

PFAS are widespread in the environment and human blood after decades of use to make things slippery, nonstick or waterproof. Their bonds are so stable theyre known as forever chemicals. Employed to make items such as carpets and firefighting foams, theyve been found at high levels around airports and U.S. Air Force bases, prompting drinking-water concerns. Researchers have linked them to cancer, liver and kidney problems.

DuPont has been hit with a series of verdicts in PFAS suits. An Ohio jury in 2020 ordered the company to pay $50 million to a couple who blamed their cancers on PFAS-tainted drinking water. DuPont and Chemours agreed to a $670 million settlement in 2017 to resolve PFAS suits filed by 3,500 people in Ohio.

In the suit dismissed on Monday, disgruntled Chemours investors had alleged DuPonts decision to saddle the spin off with more than $2.5 billion in environmental liabilities crippled it from the start. They also claimed Chemours directors covered up the chemical companys impaired financial health through stock buybacks and dividends.

Glasscock said the directors followed Delaware law in setting up a stock-buyback program and objecting investors also benefited from dividends they targeted in the suit. I find that the complaint does not allege with particularity the stock repurchases and dividend payments ran afoul of Delaware corporate statutes, the judge noted.

Investors also didnt produce enough evidence to show Chemours was insolvent at any time and directors assessment the chemical company had a sufficient surplus to warrant dividends and stock repurchases was flawed, Glasscock wrote.

The case is In RE The Chemours Company Derivative Litigation, No. 2020-0786, Delaware Chancery Court (Georgetown)

Photo by Bloomberg.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation
Orion 180, a homeowners insurtech company, has expanded into Georgia and will soon move into South Carolina, the company said this week.

Orion, based in Melbourne, Florida, uses technology to allow homeowners to find coverage and connect with agents. The firm now operates in Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and now Georgia. The company received notice this week that it can move into South Carolina as soon as it is admitted.

The company said it enables real time quoting, binding, and issue functions in a few minutes. It has appointed some 3,500 agents at more than 1,200 insurance agencies. With its expansion into Georgia, more than 650 additional independent insurance agencies will be able to offer Orion180s products, the company said in a news release.

Orion has an A- rating from A.M. Best rating agency.

Topics InsurTech Tech Georgia Homeowners South Carolina
The South Carolina Department of Insurance is reminding people that it has taken over responsibility for investigating and prosecuting suspected cases of insurance fraud in the state.

Until July, the cases were handled by the state attorney generals office. But the SCDOI created its own fraud bureau this year and will work closely with the attorney general and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Insurance Department Director Ray Farmer said in a bulletin. Citizens and stakeholders should report suspected fraud to the DOI now.

Insurance fraud is a big problem for South Carolinians and the problem is only getting bigger, said Joshua Underwood, who heads the new bureau. Our state currently ranks 8th in the nation for staged car accidents, which ultimately drives up the cost of insurance for law-abiding citizens, not to mention these fake accidents tie up valuable first responder resources as well.

The fraud bureau prosecuted its first criminal case in October, resulting in a conviction. Nia Polidore, along with several co-defendants in Orangeburg County, conspired to stage an accident with injuries. As a result, USAA Insurance paid the co-defendants more than $43,000 and Polidore received about $5,000, the DOI reported.

Polidore pleaded guilty to presenting false claims and was sentenced under the states Youthful Offender Act to no more than six years, suspended upon the service of three years probation, and was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution.

The department also announced that license renewals for pharmacy benefit managers must be done by Feb. 15. A renewal application window will be included on the DOI website starting Dec. 1. PBMs issued an initial license within 90 days of the renewal deadline are not required to renew until next year, the agency said.

Topics Fraud South Carolina
Few things enrage insurers more than what appear to be exorbitant attorney fees, and Florida may be ground-zero on that issue, thanks in part to the states fee-multiplier statute. So, industry advocates were heartened to see a recent ruling by Floridas 3rd District Court of Appeal, which held that fees that were four times the amount of the settlement were too much.

In Citizens Property Insurance Corp. vs. Casanas and Cervantes, the appeals court found that the Miami trial court had erred in allowing a $150,600 fee on a $35,000 settlement for a roof that was damaged in Hurricane Irma in 2017. The fee included $9,360 in litigation costs and $13,800 for the plaintiffs fee experts.

We approve the trial courts findings, based on the evidence in the record, that the hourly rates billed for each attorney were reasonable, Appeals Court Judge Monica Gordo wrote in the Oct. 27 opinion. We cannot, however, affirm the Lodestar amount because the record does not contain competent, substantial evidence that the number of hours billed were reasonable.

Lodestar. That was the name of a federal court case that set out a formula for determining reasonable attorney fees for the prevailing litigant, in some types of cases. The Florida Supreme Court modeled its own formula on Lodestar in a 1985 decision. The method considers a number of factors, including the likelihood that the attorney would have to give up other work to focus on the case at hand, and the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation.

Florida law also allows a multiplier for fees. Its original intent, decades ago, was to assist small businesses and rural litigants in finding a lawyer, who may have had to travel for hours to handle the case, attorneys have explained. Insurance industry advocates have said the multiplier has added unnecessary loss cost expenses, driving up rates for homeowners. They are urging lawmakers to again consider limits when the Legislature convenes in January.

In the Citizens vs. Casanas case, the trial court allowed a Lodestar fee amount of $70,800, then added a multiplier of 1.8, to reach a total attorney award of $127,440 in a case that was minimally litigated.

Citizens argued that the Lodestar amount and the multiplier were unwarranted because the relevant market did not require it. The 3rd District Court of Appeals agreed, noting that a similar, 2020 case, Universal Property & Casualty vs. Deshpande, reached the same conclusions.

Accordingly, we reverse the Lodestar amount with instruction for the court to reduce the number of hours billed to 81.1 hoursthe only number for which there is competent, substantial evidence adduced by the defendants fee expert following a line-by-line accounting of the compensable hours, Judge Gordo wrote.

The plaintiffs counsel did not establish that there was a risk of nonpayment, or that there was difficulty finding an attorney in the Miami market, the court said. On the litigation costs, the plaintiffs submitted two invoices for experts, but no evidence on the reasonableness of the costs or if they planned to call the experts as witnesses at trial.

We agree with the ruling, said Michael Peltier, a spokesman for Citizens. The multiplier was created to address especially difficult or complex cases. As the ruling notes, this case did not meet any of those criteria.

The plaintiffs counsel, Paul Feltman of Alvarez, Feltman, Da Silva and Costa, in Miami, said he will ask the 3rd DCA to reconsider, partly because the trial court may have made an error. The Miami-Dade Circuit Judge, Martin Zilber, adopted a blanket 10% reduction in the experts hours. But Feltman said the judge, after an unusual closed-door conference with another judge, actually reduced the expert hours by 17%. Yet, the DCA went further.

And while a number of recent court decisions may appear to some to be swinging in the insurers favor, Feltman pointed out that in Universal Property & Casualty vs. Celestrin, handed down in March, the same appeals court awarded his firm almost the full Lodestar amount on attorney fees, as well as the maximum multiplier amount  2.5.

Is it a trend toward insurance defense victories? I dont know, Feltman said.

Topics Carriers Florida
The assistant director who handed Alec Baldwin the gun that killed a cinematographer says he hopes the tragedy prompts the film industry to reevaluate its values and practices to ensure no one is harmed again.

David Halls released a statement to the New York Post, breaking his silence following the Oct. 21 fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins and the wounding of director Joel Souza during production of the Western Rust in New Mexico.

Halls said Hutchins was a friend and one of the most talented people he has worked with.

Im shocked and saddened by her death, he said in the statement. Its my hope that this tragedy prompts the industry to reevaluate its values and practices to ensure no one is harmed through the creative process again.

Halls didnt provide any details of what he thinks might be reformed or how changes might have helped avoid what happened on the set of Rust.

Concerns have been raised about Halls safety record by colleagues on two previous productions. Halls has not returned phone calls and email messages seeking comment, and his attorney did not immediately return messages left Monday by The Associated Press.

Court records have provided details about the death of Hutchins on the set of Rust near Santa Fe. Authorities have said that Halls handed the weapon to Baldwin and announced cold gun, indicating that the weapon was safe to use.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said last week there was some complacency in how weapons were handled on the set. Investigators found around 500 rounds of ammunition  a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and suspected live rounds  even though the sets firearms specialist, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, said real ammo should never have been present.

Gutierrez Reed said through her attorneys that she didnt know where the live rounds came from and blamed producers for unsafe working conditions.

Souza told detectives that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene in which he drew a revolver from his holster and pointed it toward the camera, which Hutchins and Souza were behind. Souza said the scene did not call for the use of live rounds.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have said much work needs to be done before getting to a point where charges could be considered.

Hollywood professionals have been baffled by the circumstances of the movie-set shooting. It already has led to other production crews stepping up safety measures.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Mexico
A judge has dismissed a civil-rights lawsuit filed by the mother of a 19-year-old Seattle man fatally shot during last years Capitol Hill Organized Protest.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said Donnitta Sinclair, mother of Horace Anderson, could not show that the decision by city officials to vacate the precinct during unrest after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police created circumstances that led to Andersons shooting, the Seattle Times reported.

Coughenour cited law that states members of the public have no constitutional right to sue (city officials) who fail to protect them against harm inflicted by a third party, unless they can prove action by the city created a danger would not have otherwise existed.

Sinclairs lawsuit alleged the citys decision to abandon the precinct and surrounding area, invited lawlessness and a foreseeable danger that led to Andersons death.

The city said it could not have foreseen that Anderson would run into a rival, Marcel Long, on Capitol Hill early on June 20, 2020. Long was arrested in July and faces murder charges.

Sinclairs lawyer, Mark Lindquist, said he expects to appeal.

Dan Nolte, a spokesman for the Seattle City Attorneys Office, declined to comment because Andersons father and estate have filed similar claims that remain pending.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Washington Civil Unrest
Meat processors in Great Britain are having to export carcasses destined for domestic consumption to the EU for butchering because of the shortage of skilled workers in the industry.

Beef producers are exporting carcasses to Ireland for butchering and packing, says Nick Allen, the chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, before the products are brought back to Great Britain to be sold in supermarkets.

Meanwhile, pork processors are looking into shipping pig carcasses to the Netherlands to be butchered, as first reported by the Financial Times. This is despite the government announcing a post-Brexit immigration policy U-turn last month that would temporarily extend the seasonal worker visa scheme to include pork butchers.

The move was aimed at preventing a widespread cull of healthy pigs on farms because of a lack of capacity at abattoirs and meat processing plants. However, 10,000 of the animals have been killed so far, according to the National Pig Association, and the cull continues.

After last months visa change, 800 pork butchers are to be allowed to enter the country for six months. Yet farmers and meat processors are still waiting for the workers to arrive and do not expect any of them before the end of November at the earliest.

One problem for pork producers is that any meat exported to the EU for butchering would not be allowed to be labelled as British pork when reimported to the UK for sale.

Its a sign of how desperate things are getting, Allen said. On the beef side, the Irish have access to plenty of workers. They have been granting visa licences to do what we have been asking to do and bring in butchers from abroad. They have got the plants and they are approved for the supermarkets. The move to export meat for processing will cost an additional 1,500 for each lorryload of carcasses, including fees for transport, as well as customs requirements introduced since Brexit, such as an export health certificate for each consignment.

Currently, meat is checked in the EU when it is exported from Great Britain but not when arriving in the UK because the introduction of post-Brexit import controls on food and animals products has been delayed twice by the government and will now begin in July 2022.

Its not too bad at the moment because there are no checks coming into this country but once they start to do the checks it might not be such a good idea as a long-term solution, depending on how the customs work, Allen said.

Meat processors have been reporting widespread shortages across the industry for some time, and caution that a six-month temporary visa may be too short to improve the situation.

We have been saying we are between 10,000 and 12,000 short of these type of workers, 800 doesnt go very far, it has been made very clear it is only for six months and they go again, Allen said. We are looking at 18 months or longer to train these people.

Recent government initiatives have not made a difference yet for pig farmers struggling to house and feed large pigs that should have gone to slaughter already, said Zoe Davies, the chief executive of the National Pig Association.

We are in limbo, Davies said. Some processors are saying they wont come until mid-December, and then they are worried they wont come as it is just before Christmas.

Butchers are the most meaningful thing we can have. If we get them on the floor we will start moving more pigs. Davies added that pork producers are concerned that the minimum salary requirement for temporary butchers has been set at 25,600, while the firms bringing workers would also be required to pay for their flights to the UK and accommodation in the country.

Guardian Service
There has been a broad welcome for the draft new bus network plan for Cork with advocates calling for swift and coherent delivery to ensure buy-in from the public.

But it has emerged that only 5% of people who fed into the public consultation on the draft plan since July were aged over 65, despite this cohort comprising 13% of the population. People aged 66 and over enjoy free public transport.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) said additional efforts will be made to gather input from this age group on the draft network proposals which were published today for a new round of public consultation.

The draft network follows a blank slate review of the citys existing bus network and represents one of the biggest overhauls of the citys bus routes, timetables and fares structure in decades.

It is proposed to increase bus services by over a third, to bring a more frequent service closer to more people who will face shorter wait times for buses running on a simplified route network, with a simpler fares structure to make interchange seamless.

Passengers wont have to pay extra to change between bus, rail or future light rail services within a 90-minute period.

Ciaran Meers, chairperson of the Cork Commuter Coalition, an advocacy group which promotes public transport and sustainable mobility in the region, described the proposals as a positive set of changes which will transform how the people of Cork use public transport.

Dr Darren McAdam OConnell, coordinator of the Transport Mobility Forum in Cork, also welcomed the proposals and encouraged people to engage again in public consultation as the network is finalised.

The more eyes and brains examining this, the greater chance there is to ensure this is as good a network as it can possibly be, he said.

The draft plan includes a revision to the pattern of cross-city services through routing for the most frequent bus routes, replacing it with an east-west Ballincollig to Mahon Point route, to encourage patronage on the indicative route for the citys light rail system, and linking Hollyhill and Carrigaline with a north-south route.

This would have the effect of lengthening some journeys that are made on the existing through-routes, the report says.

However, by increasing frequencies, the negative impacts on those journeys can be kept modest.

It would also have the effect of shortening journeys that people are currently making between east and west, or between north and south.

The overnight service between Carrigaline and Ballincollig will continue from midnight to 5am, with a Carrigaline to Cork city centre service every 10 minutes, Monday-Saturday, and every 15 minutes on Sundays.

New services are planned for the metropolitan city area, including Blarney, Ballincollig, Glanmire, Carrigaline and Little Island.

The report says more routes would offer high frequency all week long, so interchange between them would require a reliably short wait, with some routes being scheduled to pulse together, with co-ordinated arrivals and departures.

But these improvements to interchange depend on improvements to reliability, speed and technology, some of which are beyond the NTAs control, the report says.

Making interchange easier for passengers in certain busy places  such as Cork city centre, Carrigaline town centre, Blackpool, CUH and Douglas  will require more space for bus stops as well as bus-only lanes and other priority measures, it says.

If implemented, the new network will mean the average resident could reach 17% more jobs within an hours commute (including all waiting time), and 11% within a half hours commute, meaning large employment hubs like Little Island, Hollyhill, Mahon Point, the airport, Blackpool and the city would gain access to more workers.

The number of education places the average resident could reach within an hours journey (including all waiting time) would increase by 10%.

The CEO of the NTA Anne Graham (left) was joined by the CEO of the Bus Eireann Stephen Kent (right) and Bus Eireann Training Supervisor, Denis McCarthy, in Cork city centre today to launch the National Transport Authoritys Draft New Bus Network for Cork. Photo: Gerard McCarthy

NTA CEO, Anne Graham, said there has been 50% growth in public transport usage in Cork from 2013 to 2019 but there is room for more improvement, with just 5% of daily journeys in Cork made by public transport - 74% are by car.

Were confident this new network along with the other changes being introduced through BusConnects Cork will make travelling on public transport a convenient and sustainable option for more people across the city, she said.

The redesign of the bus network is one of the nine key elements of BusConnects Cork - the near 200m plan which aims to transform the citys bus system, making public transport more useful to more people.

The infrastructure element of BusConnects Cork, the delivery of over 100kms of bus lanes, is being addressed through a separate process.
Over five days abroad at two global summits, US president Joe Biden has shown a new willingness to openly confront China over climate change and its lack of leadership on the global stage.

Mr Biden ended his time at the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow on Tuesday by chastising Chinese president Xi Jinping for failing to appear at the event and not making the level of commitment shown by roughly 100 other nations to curb greenhouse gases.

Mr Xi also avoided the earlier G20 summit in Rome, allowing Mr Biden to dominate the conversation as he met with his French, Italian, British and German counterparts.

The US leader told a news conference at the end of his trip to Glasgow: We showed up, and by showing up weve had a profound impact on the way I think the rest of the world is looking at the United States in its leadership role.

Mr Biden added that China had made a big mistake in bypassing the events because theyve lost an ability to influence people around the world.

But Mr Bidens global progress and willingness to challenge China  a stance that was critical to the rise of his predecessor Donald Trump  may be lost in the fog of domestic US politics.

Mr Biden jetted back to Washington to confront his deepest challenge yet as he struggles to pass three trillion dollars (2.2 trillion) in new government spending, including 555 billion dollars (407 billion) to combat climate change.

His poll numbers are flagging, and the headwinds could worsen in US congress, where a wave of retirements bodes poorly for holding onto Democratic majorities in next years mid-term elections.

And another blow greeted his arrival: Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the race for Virginia governor, an outcome widely thought to cast another shadow on the 2022 elections and reflect poorly on Mr Bidens own agenda as well as his efforts to campaign for Mr McAuliffe.

Mr Biden arrives back at the White House (AP)

The president stressed that he wants to compete against China, rather than have conflict. But he also showed a new strategy of using climate as a cudgel against Beijing.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters during the trip that China has an obligation to step up on climate and the US will keep pressing Beijing.

One tool might be economic penalties: Mr Biden has brokered a deal with the European Union to block dirty steel made possible by Chinese coal plants.

A demonstration in Glasgow during the climate summit (Owen Humphreys/PA)

The president outlined his thinking by quoting his father at Tuesdays news conference.

My dad had an expression. He said the only conflict worse than one thats intended is the one thats unintended, the president said, adding that he wants to make sure in an upcoming virtual meeting with Mr Xi that there are no misunderstandings.

Mr Biden was well-received on the world stage, where he shared backslaps, handshakes and elbow-bumps with global leaders across two major international summits, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyden referring to him as dear Joe.

He scored victories on key priorities like a global minimum tax on corporations and boosted global commitments to combat climate change.

Mr Biden insisted no world leaders had been pressing him on the fate of the budget and climate legislation back in Washington and he expressed confidence in its passage. But members of his own party are growing impatient at the delays in settling intra-party conflicts over the matter.

Since he launched his presidential campaign in 2015, Mr Biden has cast the 21st century as a generational struggle between democracies and autocracies  principally the rising threat from China.

As much as the five-day European trip was meant to promote Mr Bidens message that America is back, it also was meant to highlight why he believes the US must re-engage with the world after four years of isolation under Donald Trump.

What is Cop26? - COP stands for Conference of the Parties - It refers to annual meetings of the 197 countries who are party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - The 26th COP is in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12 - COP26 aims to make progress on delivering the objective of the Paris Agreement to keep global warming below 2C above pre-industrial times, and to aim for 1.5C - Each country must submit its climate plans  called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - The NDCs published in advance of the COP would result in warming of 2.7C - Ireland negotiates as part of the EU at COP meetings

The president worked to forge new alliances and coalitions meant to contain Beijing from all sides, and on a host of economic, security and environmental issues.

Asked why American should commit to cutting emissions when China and Russia have not done likewise to the same degree  a frequent complaint that his predecessor cited to justify withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate accord  Mr Biden answered forcefully: Because we want to be able to breathe, and we want to be able to lead the world.

Mr Biden issued a rare public mea culpa during the climate summit for Americas step away from leadership on climate during the Trump administration.

Those of us who are responsible for much of the deforestation and all of the problems we have so far, Mr Biden said, have overwhelming obligations to the poorer nations that account for few of the emissions yet are paying a price as the planet has grown hotter.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Biden at Cop26 (Jeff J Mitchell/PA)

As for Mr Trumps action, he said: I shouldnt apologise, but I do apologise for the fact the United States, the last administration, pulled out of the Paris accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball a little bit.

Mr Biden also eased a trade war with Europe that threatened to raise prices on goods in the US and harm American exports ranging from motorcycles to whiskey.

The new agreement would still block Chinese steel production that is coal-dependent and allow his administration to devote its focus to renewed trade talks with China, as Mr Biden maintains Mr Trumps pressures in a simmering economic conflict.

But the fundamental challenge between China and the US on climate might be an incompatible set of world views. Mr Biden sees the efforts to limit global warming as an opportunity to create jobs and boost economic growth as the US becomes more innovative. He pronounced the next decade crucial for getting climate change under control.

China, for its part, still sees coal and oil as necessary to keep fuelling an economy that is now the second-largest in the world.

Xie Zhenhua, the countrys lead negotiator at the UN summit, said China must first become wealthier before it can transition faster to renewable energy.

Regarding the fact that China is the current largest emitter, its because China is at a special development stage, he said.

China, Mr Xie added, can accelerate its emission cuts later.

- Associated Press
Australian police have rescued a four-year-old girl whose disappearance from her familys camping tent on the countrys remote west coast more than two weeks ago horrified the nation.

Officials wept with relief after seeing body camera video of a police officer scooping up the girl, Cleo Smith, and hearing her say: My name is Cleo.

A 36-year-old local man was arrested after a late-night raid at the house in the coastal town of Carnarvon, which followed a tip to police on Tuesday.

The moment Cleo was rescued  pic.twitter.com/arusYi9kCa  WA Police Force (@WA_Police) November 3, 2021

The girl was reunited with her mother Ellie Smith and stepfather Jake Gliddon soon after her rescue.

Our family is whole again, the mother said on social media.

Western Australia state police commissioner Chris Dawson said the girl is as well as you can expect, adding: This has been an ordeal. I wont go into any more details, other than to say were so thankful shes alive.

Mr Dawson said dogged, methodical police work led to the girl being found.

4-year-old Cleo Smith was found alive and well early in the morning on 3 November 2021. Details: https://t.co/3efooXRDgN  WA Police Force (@WA_Police) November 2, 2021

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison reacted from the United Arab Emirates on his way home from the Cop26 climate summit in Scotland, thanking police for finding Cleo and supporting her family.

Its every parents worst nightmare. The fact that that nightmare has come to an end and our worst fears were not realised is just a huge relief, a moment for great joy, Mr Morrison told reporters.

This particular case, obviously, has captured the hearts of Australians as we felt such terrible sorrow for the family, he added.

Ellie Smith and her partner Jake Gliddon (AAP Image/Pool via AP)

Cleos family lives in Carnarvon, a community of 5,000 people, and the girl had disappeared with her sleeping bag on the second day of a family camping trip at Blowholes Campground, 47 miles north of Carnarvon, on October 16.

A massive land and sea search was initially mounted in the sparsely populated region on the assumption that she had wandered from the tent. But more evidence began to support the theory that she had been abducted.

A vehicle was reported speeding away from the area in the early hours of the morning. A zip on a flap of the tent compartment where Cleo and her sister were sleeping was too high for the girl to have reached.

Forensic scientists examined the exterior of the familys home to see if a predator had stalked Cleo and attempted to break in.

A moment for great joy. https://t.co/b2BoPA9wTB  Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) November 3, 2021

A distraught Ellie Smith made emotional public appeals for information on her daughters whereabouts that were broadcast across Australia.

New South Wales police commissioner Mick Fuller said Mr Dawson told him he had broken down in tears when she was found.

Mr Fuller had called across the country from Sydney on the east coast, to Perth in the west, to congratulate Mr Dawson on the outcome.

He broke down and cried, which for a veteran in policing, you rarely see that, Mr Fuller told Sydney Radio 2GB. It speaks volumes in terms of the amount of effort they put into finding her.

Whilst we were all hoping and praying as the days went on, I think the chances of finding her alive were so slim, he added.

A media conference will be held in Carnarvon at 1pm today in relation to the rescue of 4-year-old Cleo Smith. The conference will be livestreamed on the WA Police Force Facebook page: https://t.co/DjgWhxI94B  WA Police Force (@WA_Police) November 3, 2021

Mr Dawson said body camera video of four police officers breaking into the house with a search warrant and finding the girl made him emotional.

Its a really joyous occasion. We dont always get these sort of outcomes, and while we were very, very concerned, we didnt lose hope, Mr Dawson said.

Western Australia police deputy commissioner Col Blanch described seeing seasoned detectives openly crying with relief.

We were  looking for a needle in a haystack and we found it, he told Perth Radio 6PR.

Four-year-old Cleo Smith waves as she sits on a bed in hospital (Western Australia Police/AP)

When she said: My name is Cleo, I dont think there was a dry eye in the house. To see Cleo rescued this morning, Im speechless.

The state government had offered a one million Australian dollar (643,000) reward for information five days after her disappearance, but Mr Blanch said the money was not expected to be claimed.

Police had received intelligence on Tuesday guiding them to the house, but the breakthrough was the result of investigators piecing evidence together, Mr Blanch said.

There were lots of things. There were car movements, there were phone movements, there were antecedents of people, he said.

Carnarvon Shire president Eddie Jones said the local community would be elated, thankful when they heard the good news.

Im beyond relieved. The nightmare is now finally over for Cleo and her family, Western Australian premier Mark McGowan posted on social media.
Burma Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Breaching COVID-19 Restrictions

Myanmar's detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. / State Counselors Office

Myanmars detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has denied two charges that she allegedly breached COVID-19 restrictions during last Novembers general election campaign.

After Myanmars military detained her during the Feb. 1 coup, the 76-year-old has been under house arrest and now faces 11 charges, including the possession of imported walkie-talkies, sedition, the alleged violation of COVID-19 restrictions and corruption.

She is facing up to 102 years in prison.

On Tuesday, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told the court that she didnt commit the offense when she was asked why she pleaded not guilty, according to the source.

The defense lawyer cross-examined three witnesses: complainant U Nyi Nyi, prosecution witness U Wai Lwin Oo and investigation officer Lieutenant Colonel Than Aye.

The two charges under Article 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law refer to when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi waved at a campaign convoy of National League for Democracy supporters passing her residence in Naypyitaw.

These cases are heard every Monday and Tuesday at the special court in Zabuthiri, Naypyitaw.

She said she followed COVID-19 restrictions when the convoy passed her home.

On Tuesday, Naypyitaw Council chairman Dr. Myo Aung testified regarding the sedition charge against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and himself. The judge said the next hearing would be on Nov. 16.

Sources said both Dr. Myo Aung and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi testified that the accusations against them over NLD central executive committee statements from mid-February were irrelevant as they were detained on Feb. 1.

The Nobel peace laureate also gave testimony at last weeks hearing.

The details of their trials are no longer publicized as the junta issued a gagging order on her legal team, preventing them from speaking to the media after U Win Myints details of the Feb. 1 coup were reported.

The ousted president testified last month that the military threatened to force him to resign during the coup. His testimony made headlines globally as it was seen as confirming the illegality of the military takeover.



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Burma Myanmar Junta Aims to Wipe Out Armed Resistance in Three Months

Local PDF troops in Kayah State / Loikaw PDF

Myanmars military rulers are confident they can wipe out armed civilian resistance against them in three months, after instructing commanders and all forces to annihilate Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs)guerrilla-style resistance groups that have been active locally across the country.

Last month, the juntas second most influential figure, Vice Senior General Soe Win, issued an order to find out and take action against the insurgents and PDF immediately and arrest all the people from their hideouts in villages.

The areas affected by the order include Yangon, Sagaing and Magwe regions, and Chin and Kayah states, where months of hit-and-run attacks and ambushes by PDFs have inflicted significant casualties on the juntas troops.

The Myanmar regime has been struggling to contain the civilian resistance sparked by the armys deadly crackdowns on anti-junta protesters following the coup in February. At the same time, the army has been warring against some ethnic armed groups who oppose the coup and support the PDFs near the Chinese border, leaving China nervous about instability on the border.

In August, Chinese authorities sent a complaint letter to the Myanmar military after an artillery shell and gunfire from Myanmar struck the Chinese border town of Wanding in Yunnan Province on two occasions. The incidents occurred amid fierce fighting between regime troops and ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State.

In the letter, Chinese authorities said they were highly concerned about the incidents, describing them as breaches of the China-Myanmar border agreement. China also warned the regime that if stray bullets and artillery landed in Chinas territory again, it would make the necessary response, as the lives and properties of Chinese civilians in border areas were threatened.

This time, according to informed sources in Naypyitaw, the Myanmar regime has assured Chinese security officials on the border that the fighting will not affect border stability, saying the military campaign against the PDFs would only take place in the interior of the country, and not along the frontier, and that the civilian resistance would be rooted out in three months. In other words, it is likely that the regime will focus more on civilian resistance fighters for some time, rather than ethnic armed groups.

With the rainy season coming to an end, the regime has since last month deployed thousands of troops in Chin State and Sagaing and Magwe regions in upper Myanmar. With its assurances to China of border stability and more troop mobilization upcountry, the regime seems determined to clear the areas in three months, as it said.

At the same time, there has been fighting on the ground nearly every day.

On Friday, regime troops attacked Thantlang in Chin State, where the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) and local PDFs are active. Junta shelling of the hill town resulted in a fire that burned down at least 160 of its 2,000 homes. The junta blamed local PDFs for the blaze.

The US has condemned the Myanmar juntas horrific use of violence in Chin State and called for urgent international action to hold the Myanmar military accountable for its brutality.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press statement that such brutal actions by the military regime against people, their homes and places of worship lay bare the juntas complete disregard for the lives and welfare of civilians.

This week, the Kachin Independence Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Taang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army all condemned the juntas artillery strikes on Thantlang.

Salai Issac Khen, a former Chin State municipal minister under the ousted civilian National League for Democracy government, condemned the militarys shelling of Thantlang, saying that the regime must be held responsible for the horrific act.

Junta forces have also intensified their efforts to arrest PDF leaders, with several people detained in Yangon.

In late October, veteran Myanmar democracy activist Ko Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, one of the leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group, was arrested. He was suspected of having connections with PDFs and the shadow National Unity Government. Both have been branded as terrorist organizations by the junta.

For all their determination to wipe the PDFs out, its too early to gauge the success of their efforts, as they have sustained huge casualties on the ground. Recently, 85 regime soldiers were killed during clashes with local PDFs in three days in Sagaing.

Analysts said the regime is facing a new kind of armed conflict that the military is not prepared to counter, and that the junta is incapable of containing the growing insurgency and resistance.

The junta has suffered an increasing number of attacks from the PDFs across Myanmar, especially since the countrys parallel NUG declared war on the regime in September. Enjoying popular support at home and abroad, the civilian fighters subsequently purchased automatic rifles, sniper rifles, grenades and RPGs from several ethnic insurgent sources.

The NUG claimed that 768 regime soldiers were killed in September alone. The Irrawaddy has not been able to independently verify the number.



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Burma Myanmar Junta Leader Hands Out Cash and Food to Arts Sector

Dictator Min Aung Hlaing meets artists and writers. Dictator Min Aung Hlaing meets artists and writers.

Myanmars junta leader Min Aung Hlaing on Sunday met artists and writers in Yangon and presented 100 million kyats (US$55,500) each to the film, music, performing arts and literature sectors.

The senior general also presented 100 rice sacks, cooking oil and around 500kg of chickpeas at the headquarters of the Yangon Region Command.

According to the juntas website, representatives of the Myanmar Writers Association, Myanmar Motion Picture Organization, Myanmar Thabin Artists Association and Myanmar Music Association attended the meeting to receive the handouts.

Artists present included directors Sithu, Ko Zaw (Ar Yone Oo) and Kyi Soe Tun and actors Yan Aung, Moe Yan Zun, Aung Khaing, Yone Lay, Melody, Jenny, Yin Lett and Tekkatho Lei Lei.

The regime also presented 100 million kyats last month to elderly film industry staff.



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Myawaddy Township.

Myanmar junta soldiers on Tuesday raided the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) office in Myawaddy, Karen State, on the Thai border.

Four ABSDF members were detained and the reason for their detention remains unclear, said an ABSDF official.

According to the Karen Information Center media group, the liaison office was raided at around 5pm and four staff were taken to the junta commanders office in the town.

On the 33rd anniversary of its founding on Oct. 31, the ABSDF stated that it would join hands with anti-regime forces to fight the military dictatorship.

Founded by student exiles after the pro-democracy uprising in 1988, the group signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015 with then President Thein Seins quasi-civilian government.

The group was criticized after an ABSDF representative attended an event to mark the sixth anniversary of the signing of the NCA held by the junta in Naypyitaw on Oct. 15.

The groups leadership has since tried to distance itself from the event, saying the supposed representative at the meeting did not represent them.

The ABSDF is based in territory controlled by the Karen National Union in Karen State with some bases in areas held by the Kachin Independence Army in Kachin State.



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The houses of NUG Minister of Federal Union Affairs Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong (left) and Mahn Johnny, who served as chief minister of Ayeyarwady Region under the ousted civilian government, were seized by the junta this week.

The Myanmar junta has confiscated houses and other property from activists and those associated with the National Unity Government (NUG) and its related organizations.

In the latest cases this week, the houses of Mahn Johnny, who was the chief minister of Ayeyarwady Region under the ousted civilian government, and Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, the NUGs minister of federal union affairs, were seized by the junta.

On Oct. 31, junta forces asked family members of Mahn Johnny, who is also a member of the National League for Democracys Central Executive Committee, living in his house in Kyonpyaw Township, Ayeyarwady Region, to evacuate overnight and seized the house.

The 80-year-old former chief minister has announced he will fight against the junta to defend civilians against its atrocities. The three-time election winner was most recently re-elected to an Upper House seat representing Kyonpyaw in the 2020 general election, the results of which were annulled by the junta.

Troops had already raided Mahn Johnnys house in August, after a photo of him holding a large rifle in a liberated area was posted on Facebook. Troops detained a number of his relatives and confiscated some belongings at that time. After their release from detention, family members were warned not to go anywhere without reporting to the authorities.

In Chin States capital Hakha, the house of Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, who heads the NUGs Federal Union Affairs Ministry and is also vice chairman of the Chin National Front, was also confiscated this week.

Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong reported the seizure on Saturday. My house in Hakka is confiscated or stolen by Min Aung Hlaing and his army, he wrote on his Facebook account.

They can steal our homes or our properties but they shall never be able to steal or break up our spirit, the minister added.

On Oct. 24, the military also seized the property of U Zaw Win, a member of the NLD Tanintharyi Region Executive Committee, though he was not arrested.

The junta has branded the NUG, along with its parliamentary committeeknown as the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)and the Peoples Defense Force (PDF) as terrorist organizations, and warned that anyone who makes contact with them will have their property seized and face prosecution under the countrys counterterrorism law.

The CRPH was formed mostly by NLD lawmakers who won seats in the 2020 general election but were prevented from taking them up by the Feb. 1 coup. The CRPH set up the NUG, which includes ethnic groups, to rival the military regime. The PDF was formed to organize armed resistance to the regime.

According to sources, at least 20 houses have been seized by the junta since the coup.

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The house of a wanted-anti-regime protest leader being burned down by regime troops at Sit Pyae Village in Launglon Township, Tanintharyi Region on early Tuesday morning. / CJ

Myanmar junta forces burned down the house of a wanted anti-coup protest leader on Tuesday in Tanintharyi Region, and abducted the mother of another protester as a hostage, according to the Democracy Movement Strike Committee Dawei.

Arrest warrants for the two activists were issued in mid-March for their part in leading peaceful anti-regime demonstrations in Dawei, the spokesperson of the committee told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

On Monday night, junta troops raided the houses of protest leader Ko Wai Yan Soe, a member of the Democracy Movement Strike Committee Dawei, and his aunt in Sit Pyae Village in Launglon Township, Tanintharyi Region, according to the committee.

During the raids, regime soldiers destroyed belongings and confiscated two motorbikes, the committee said in its statement.

Military regime forces also threatened to return to burn down Ko Wai Yan Soes house after failing to find him during their raid, according to a local news agency, The Tanintharyi Times.

At about 1am early Tuesday morning, around 20 junta troops returned and set fire to the house, according to the strike committee and The Tanintharyi Times.

Also on Monday evening, regime forces raided the house and destroyed the belongings of Ko Min Lwin Oo, another member of the Democracy Movement Strike Committee Dawei, in Pyine Htein Village in Launglon Township.

After failing to find Ko Min Lwin Oo, junta troops took his mother, Daw Cho Than, 56, as a hostage, according to the committee.

Our committee is leading peaceful protests against the military regime without any violence, said the committees spokesperson.

Torching houses and taking hostages are cowardly and vulgar acts by the junta forces, he added.

Between February 1 and September 8, the regime detained as hostages around 177 people, including children as young as two-years-old and senior citizens, who are relatives of wanted anti-regime activists.

On Monday alone, at least 33 people from Bago and Mandalay regions and several townships in Yangon were arrested by military regime forces, according to a statement issued by the Defense Ministry of the parallel National Unity Government.

Currently, the junta is also confiscating the houses of people accused of having ties to Peoples Defense Forces or helping them with supplies.

As of Monday, 9,592 people including elected government leaders have been arrested by the junta since their coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) which records deaths and arrests.

Over 7,000 people are being detained by the regime, while 1,229 have been killed by junta forces, AAPP said.



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Junta troops arrest a civilian in Yangon in early March. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmars junta has escalated its campaign against anti-coup opponents nationwide by stepping up its arrests, torture and killings, while ignoring calls from the international community to end all violence and release political prisoners.

On Monday alone, around 30 young people including teenagers were arrested in Yangon as junta forces raided several residential areas around the city.

15 youths including a 16-year-old boy were arrested during separate raids in Botahtaung, East Dagon, South Dagon, Thingangyun and Ahlone townships on Monday.

The military regime accused all of them of being involved in a deadly attack on a railway official at Yangon Railway Station, who was shot dead by an unidentified man on October 13 while he was on a ferry.

Two railway staff at Yangon Railway Station who had left to join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), as well as elected lawmakers of the ousted National League for Democracy government  Daw Lei Lei Win and U Phyo Zeya Thaw  and three others are also accused of involvement in the incident and have been targeted with arrest warrants.

Nine youths, including three teenagers, were also arrested at a house in Yangons Thingangyun Township. Junta-controlled TV reported the arrests on Tuesday night.

In the report, they claimed that a 17-year-old boy, the youngest of the group to be detained, had made a confession, leading to the arrest of four more people and the seizure of weapons on Monday.

All those detained are accused of being involved in several bombing incidents and attempted attacks against junta forces in Yangon.

Regime media said in the report that the group included two members of the Burmese Revolution Force and two members of the Yangon Anti-Dictatorship Force, two civilian resistance groups. Two of those arrested are accused of raising funds online for armed resistance against the junta.

In southern Myanmars Tanintharyi Region, over a dozen residents of Dawei and Launglon townships were reportedly arrested this week.

The most recent arrest included three relatives of Ko Lu Lu Zaw, an activist who is wanted by the military regime for his involvement in peaceful anti-regime demonstrations in Launglon Township. Early on Wednesday morning, junta forces arrested the activists wife, two-year-old child and uncle as they couldnt find Ko Lu Lu Zaw at his home.

Earlier on Monday, the junta also raided the houses of two wanted anti-coup protest leaders in Launglon Township. The junta forces burned down the house of one activist after failing to find him and arrested the mother of another protest leader as a hostage.

The death toll of civilians murdered by the regime also continues to increase. Recent deaths include a striking teacher and Ko Phyo Wai Tun, the head of a boarding school who was living in Gway Pin Kwet Thit Village in Chauk Township, Magwe Region.

Ko Phyo Wai Tun died during his interrogation, hours after his arrest, from injuries consistent with torture, the rights group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said in their most recent report.

He was arrested together with his two younger brothers on the night of October 31 by Infantry Battalion 13 based in Chauk Township, and accused of supporting the local Peoples Defense Force. His family were told to collect his body the following day.

U Win Lwin, a teacher at the Basic Education High School in Sintgine, Magwe Region, who was involved in the CDM, also died from injuries consistent with torture, AAPP stated in their report.

At around 3am on November 1 at around 3am, junta soldiers arrested five villagers including U Win Lwin for questioning. Three out of the five were released that evening, but U Win Lwin and U Yan Aung Win, a tutor, were kept in detention. On November 2 at 7am, U Win Lwins family were told to collect his body.

At least 1,179 people have been killed by junta forces since their February 1 coup and over 9,500 people were arrested according to AAPP.



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A Karenni resistance fighter from the Loikaw People's Defense Forces in September. / Loikaw PDF

More than 12 Myanmar regime troops were reportedly killed during ambushes by civilian resistance forces in Sagaing Region and Chin and Kayah states on Tuesday and Monday.

On Tuesday morning, 15 members of the Pale Peoples Defense Force (PDF) ambushed about 30 regime troops in the west of the Sagaing Region township.

The PDF claimed the troops were returning to Pale after raiding a village about 6km from the town.

During the 15-minute ambush, a police officer was reportedly killed and many others injured.

The PDF commander told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that his group escaped without casualties.

On Tuesday morning, the Chin Defense Force (CDF) in Mindat reportedly attacked a military convoy of 75 vehicles, including a bulldozer, on the Mindat-Matupi highway near the mountaintop town of Mindat in Chin State.

The bulldozer was destroyed and two troops were injured, according to the media.

On Sunday, the Mindat CDF attacked regime forces patrolling Mindat in response to the juntas bombardment and burning of Thantlang, another Chin mountaintop town, on Friday.

In that attack, three junta soldiers were killed and a Chin resistance fighter was injured, said the CDF.

Tigyaing Revolution, a media partner of the Tigyaing PDF, claimed a tank fell into a ravine after hitting a PDF mine near Mount Mawku in Tigyaing Township, Sagaing Region, on Monday night.

The group reported around 40 military casualties on Monday afternoon when the PDF used six landmines on around 300 troops climbing Mt Mawkun.

The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the reports.

Myaing Villages Revolution Front, a civilian resistance force, claimed to have killed a junta police officer when his vehicle hit a landmine near Kangyidaw village in Myaing Township, Sagaing Region, on Monday morning.

The combined Karenni Nationalities Defense Forces (KNDF) and Karenni Army, the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party, attacked junta troops deployed in a residential area of Demoso in Kayah State on Monday.

During eight hours of fighting, at least 8 junta soldiers were killed and a Karenni resistance fighter suffered minor injuries, according to the KNDF.

With exception of Rakhine State, the regime is facing increasingly fierce attacks from the PDFs and some ethnic armed forces across the country.

Meanwhile, regime atrocities have increased, including raids, arrests, the arbitrary killing of civilians, bombarding and burning down houses, especially in Magwe and Sagaing regions and Chin, Shan and Kayah states.

By Monday, 1,229 civilians have been slain by regime forces since the Feb. 1 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which records deaths and arrests.

Another 9,592 people have been detained by the junta with over 7,000 still in custody.



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Myanmars first solar power plant in Minbu Township, Magwe Region.

Just six companies, including Chinese firms and local companies with connections to the military regime, have made bids for the 12 solar power projects Myanmars junta put up for tender in May, although some 40 firms including Thai companies have expressed interest in the projects.

The projects are planned to be built in Mandalay, Bago, Magwe and Sagaing Regions and Shan State, with each one expected to generate between 20 to 40 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Five of the projects are in Mandalay, three in Magwe, two in Sagaing and one each in Bago and Shan. Only two of the three projects in Magwe received bids.

Among the companies that have made bids are the Singapore-based MCM Pacific Pte. Ltd, owned by arms dealer U Aung Hlaing Oo, and Gold Energy, a subsidiary of the Asia World Group of Companies owned by crony U Tun Myint Naing, also known as Steven Law.

IGE Power Ltd, which is owned by U Nay Aung, a brother of the Myanmar Navy chief Admiral Moe Aung, has also bid for the projects. Chinese companies that made bids include the joint venture of HK New Energy Investment Holdings Limited and Sepco Electric Power Construction Corporation China, and China ITS, according to documents seen by The Irrawaddy.

U Aung Hlaing Oos MCM Pacific Pte. Ltd and the Chinese joint venture have submitted bids for ten projects.

The majority of domestic energy firms are not interested in bidding for the projects as the price of raw materials for solar power production is soaring in the global market. At the same time, domestic electricity demand is unlikely to increase significantly as Myanmar is barely receiving new foreign investment amid the post-coup turmoil, a director of a local energy company told The Irrawaddy.

Even the Chinese companies that won tenders in previous projects are planning to withdraw from Myanmar. Those projects still cant start. I doubt if the bidders for current projects can make profits, he said.

Previous solar power projects in Myanmar attracted dozens of Chinese companies, but only two Chinese companies made bids this time, a sign perhaps of limited access to loans for projects in Myanmar, the director suggested.

Since the February 1 coup, the junta has encouraged the development of solar power as hydropower is the main source of electricity in Myanmar and the power supply declines during the hot season when water levels fall in rivers.

Hong Kong-listed VPower has suspended operations of two power plants in Yangon since July as they have become financially unsustainable.

In September, VPower announced that it had pulled out of two power projects, each with a capacity of 200MW, in Rakhine States Kyaukphyu and Mandalay Regions Myingyan.



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Mobye residents in southern Shan State close to the Kayah State border flee their homes on Oct. 24 after the town was bombarded by junta forces. / John Alben.

Nearly 4,000 villagers in Pekon Township, southern Shan State, are fleeing their homes following fresh fighting between the junta and Karenni forces in Kayah and Shan states that left five soldiers dead.

The junta is continuously facing fierce attacks from People Defense Forces (PDFs) and some ethnic armed forces across the country, except in Rakhine State. Fighting in Kayah State has spilled across the border into Pekon in Shan State, where most of the villagers are ethnically Kayah.

Junta troops launched offensives in Pekon and eastern Mobye this week and an estimated 500 soldiers are now stationed in Pekon, said the Karenni Nationalities Defence Forces (KNDF).

The combined forces of the KNDF, PDF and Karenni Army, the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party, clashed with junta troops advancing from Pekon and Lwel Whel and Pinlon villages.

A KNDF spokesman said five junta soldiers died and four resistance fighters suffered minor injuries during the shootouts on Tuesday.

The junta on Wednesday burned houses in Lwel Whel village in Pekon Township where hundreds of junta troops were deployed.

Fire was visible from other villages but we dare not return to see how many houses have been destroyed, said a villager.

He said nearly 4,000 residents of Lwel Whel and other villages have fled their homes.

Junta atrocities have increased, including raids, arrests, the arbitrary killing of civilians, bombardment and burning down houses, especially in Magwe and Sagaing regions and Chin, Shan and Kayah states.

The junta recently burned down more than 160 houses in Thantlang, Chin State, according to residents.

The civilian National Unity Government said on Oct. 30 that since the February 1 coup, around 267 houses in Loikaw and Demoso townships in Kayah State and 58 houses in Pekon Township were burned down. It said the junta attacks are increasing.

In Sagaing Region, some 30 soldiers died in a mine attack by the PDF in the wee hours of Wednesday, according to Tigyaing resistance forces. A PDF member died and three others were injured, the Tigyaing Revolution said.

A member of the group told The Irrawaddy the townships resistance has been performing guerrilla-style attacks against the junta in the area.

He said the junta has deployed more troops with daily clashes since Oct. 30.

We were managed to stop them deploying from our town to other townships like Kawlin and some 150-200 soldiers have been killed in our mine attacks in recent days, he said on Wednesday.

The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the reports.

Military tensions have been intense in Katha, Kawlin and Pale townships in Sagaing Region this week. Pale PDF said one soldier died in its mine attacks on military vehicles and motorcycles on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, junta forces shot and killed four civilians from a village in Kawlin Township while deploying to Kantbalu, a Kawlin resident told The Irrawaddy.

He said soldiers were deployed in large numbers in Kawlin and at least eight military trucks were heading to Wuntho and Pinlebu and clashes were heard in Katha.

By Tuesday, junta forces killed 1,229 civilians and detained 9,626 people since the Feb. 1 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group that records deaths and arrests.



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More than 160 houses in mountain-top town Thantlang, Chin State, burned down after junta artillery strikes. / Thantlang CDF

Washington has condemned the Myanmar juntas horrific use of violence in Chin State and called for urgent international action to hold the Myanmar military accountable for its brutality. The United States (US) intervention comes after regime forces shelled the Chin State town of Thantlang again last Friday, destroying over 160 houses and buildings including two churches.

On Sunday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press statement that such brutal actions by the military regime against people, their homes and places of worship lays bare the juntas complete disregard for the lives and welfare of civilians.

These abhorrent attacks underscore the urgent need for the international community to hold the Burmese [Myanmar] military accountable and take action to prevent gross violations and abuses of human rights, including preventing the transfer of arms to the military, the spokesperson said in the statement.

At least 164 houses out of 2,000 homes in Thantlang burned down after junta artillery strikes on Friday. The fires started after the bombardment and engulfed the town until Saturday morning, as the towns residents have largely fled and any attempt by people in surrounding villages to extinguish the fires would have been a risk to life, according to the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).

The majority of Thantlangs population had already evacuated the mountain-top town due to earlier artillery strikes. Around 20 buildings burned down in late September after junta shelling, while a Christian pastor who tried to help put out the fires was killed by regime troops.

Many people in Thantlang have now lost not only their homes, but all their belongings.

Junta forces also deliberately torched houses after the artillery strikes, according to local resistance groups. The shelling is said to have started after a soldier who was looting a shop was shot dead by civilian resistance fighters.

During the latest bombardment on Friday, the Church on the Rock and the Presbyterian Church caught fire, along with a building attached to the Thantlang Baptist Church, the largest congregation in the town, CHRO said in their statement.

Save The Children also reported that their office was destroyed in the blaze. The London-based charity said in a statement that it is concerned for the safety of 20 children and their teachers in an orphanage located at the entrance of the town.

Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun disputed the reports and accounts by locals of the militarys role in Thantlangs razing as groundless. He accused local Peoples Defense Forces of setting fire to the houses.

Salai Issac Khen, a former Chin State municipal minister under the ousted civilian National League for Democracy government, condemned the militarys shelling of Thantlang, saying that the regime will have to take responsibility for the horrific act.

It is not easy to build a house in mountainous Chin State. Chin people have no reason to burn down their houses, the former minister wrote.

Dr. Sa Sa, an ethnic Chin and the parallel National Unity Governments Minister of International Cooperation, said he was shocked by the sheer level of brutality and the cruel disregard for humanity displayed by the junta forces.

He said his homeland has been subjected to an extreme campaign of violence and terror for standing strong in the struggle for democracy and freedom.

Without the support and intervention of the international community, the fires lit in Chin State by the murderous military regime will engulf the entire nation, Dr. Sa Sa said in a urgent appeal letter.

The minister called on the international community to take immediate and decisive action to cut off the juntas access to money, financial services, fuel, weapons and ammunition and, most all, international legitimacy.



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Myanmar coup leader Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing meets with Bill Richardson on Nov. 2, 2021 in Naypyitaw. / Cincds

At first glance, it was a meeting between a former US ambassador to the UN and the Myanmar military junta chief in the countrys capital, Naypyitaw.

To some politically aware souls, coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaings reception of Bill Richardson on Tuesday appeared significant: The former New Mexico governor is, after all, the first US non-state figure to pay a visit to the Myanmar regime, which has been shunned internationally for seizing power from the democratically elected government of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in February, and for its subsequent deadly crackdowns on anti-regime protesters. It raised more than a few eyebrows to see the coup leader welcoming the former US diplomat after repeatedly turning away ASEANs special envoy, who was appointed by the bloc to help find a resolution to the post-coup turmoil. Myanmar is an ASEAN member.

In fact, the two men who met in the Credentials Hall of the regimes office on Tuesday have something in common: Both seek to keep Myanmars ousted democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi out of the countrys politics.

Since day one of the coup on Feb. 1, she has been detainedalong with the countrys President U Win Myintby Min Aung Hlaing and charged in 11 absurd criminal cases. If found guilty of all charges, the 76-year-old would spend 102 years behind bars. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a towering political figure who has been highly revered by the majority of the countrys people for the sacrifices she has made on behalf of the Myanmar democracy movement since 1988. Her political popularity has been unrivaled since then. Take her National League for Democracy (NLD)s electoral victories in 1990, 2015 and 2020. One of her missions has been to root out the militarys long involvement in the countrys politicswhich dates back to 1962because its simply undemocratic. Unsurprisingly, she has been a thorn in the generals side.

Richardson, a onetime friend and supporter of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, clearly stated his stand against her on the first day of the coup in a Twitter post.

The Myanmar military must show the utmost restraint in any further use of force. B/C of Suu Kyis failure to promote Democratic values as Myanmars de facto leader she should step aside & let other Myanmar democratic leaders take the rein w/ international backing and support, he tweeted.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Richardsons friendship dates back to 1994, when she was under house arrest and he was one of her first visitors outside of her immediate family. When her NLD government established an advisory board to help solve the Rohingya issue in 2017, the former New Mexico governor was among five prominent international figures appointed to it.

However, he became a hater of the State Counselor the following year when he abruptly quit the body after clashing with her over his attempt to secure the release of two Reuters journalists detained for their reporting on a massacre of Rohingya committed by the army. The military chief at the time wasand remainsthe current coup leader, Min Aung Hlaing.

Richardson said at the time that the panel was engaged in a whitewash of military atrocities and he did not want to be part of a cheerleading squad for the government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he accused of lacking moral leadership in her handling of the crisis.

More than two years later, the former US diplomat met with the general who bears ultimate responsibility for the soldiers atrocities against the Rohinyga. It would be interesting to know whether the former governor tried to raise the issue with Min Aung Hlaing, as his Richardson Center also works for the wellbeing of Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh.

Richardson said his Myanmar trip this time was a humanitarian mission to discuss pathways for the humanitarian delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, medical supplies and other public health needs.

The State Department said the trip was not an effort sponsored by or on behalf of the US government, but added, We hope his trip contributes to improve humanitarian access (to the country).

While the humanitarian issue is important for Myanmar, the US shouldnt forget that the root causes of the crisis were mostly political and sparked by the coup. So, we shouldnt expect any positive outcomes from the meeting of these two birds of a feather.

Another interesting question is whether he asked the regime for permission to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Allowing the detained State Counselor to meet with foreign diplomats seems to be a very sensitive issue for the junta. The ASEAN special envoys visit to the country has been blocked by the regime as he made the same request. On Wednesday, the regimes No. 2 leader, Vice Senior General Soe Win, insisted that allowing a foreigner to meet someone charged with crimes was unlawful.

Currently all eyes are on the case of Danny Fenster, a US journalist detained by the junta for incitement since May, as Richardson is known for his previous attempts to negotiate the release of international hostages and US citizens in rogue nations around the world. Given his previous efforts on behalf of the Reuters journalistsand no doubt looking to maintain his negotiator reputationit is reasonable to assume the ex-governor tried his luck with the regime to secure the release of the journalist, as well as that of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis Australian economic adviser Sean Turnell, who has been detained since February and is accused of breaching the countrys Official Secrets Act.

It is known only to Richardson whether he requested the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyiif only for the sake of their former friendship.

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Former US Diplomat Bill Richardson to Visit Myanmar
Analysis US Hopes Richardsons Quiet Visit Can Produce Results

Bill Richardson in 2007 / EPA

News of former US ambassador to the UN Bill Richardsons visit to conflict-torn Myanmar has not generated excitement among the public. Reports suggest that Richardson is scheduled to meet the regimes health and foreign ministers, and that he is likely to meet coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The Biden administration welcomed former New Mexico governor Richardsons private mission as a possible way of speeding up the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.

Governor Richardson has extensive experience working on humanitarian issues, the US State Department said. While this is not an effort sponsored by, or on behalf of, the United States government, we hope his trip contributes to improved humanitarian access.

The humanitarian and health needs in Burma are extraordinary, it said, using Myanmars other name. We continue to call on the military regime to cease its violence, release those unjustly detained, allow unimpeded humanitarian access, and ensure the safety of health and humanitarian workers, AP quoted it as saying.

In a statement announcing his trip, the ex-governor said his nonprofit organization, The Richardson Center, had a long history of involvement in Myanmar, but he did not mention the coup or provide details on whom he planned to meet. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was aware of the mission, according to Richardson spokesperson Madeleine Mahony.

In a visit to Myanmar in 1994, the former US congressman met with high-ranking junta officials including then Secretary One Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, who was at the time the countrys feared military intelligence chief.

Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt was then in his mid-50s and a protege of former dictator General Ne Win.

During that trip, Richardson was allowed to meet with detained democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at her lakeside residence, becoming the then dissidents first non-family visitor since 1989.

Through Richardsonas well as a correspondent from The New York Times who was allowed in to interview herthe democracy icon was able to get her message out to the world.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who had made repeated calls for dialogue with her captors, told Richardson during their meeting, I dont see any problem with sitting down with anybody.

Following the visit, Richardson remarked, I think the future of Burma will be determined by two peopleKhin Nyunt and Aung San Suu Kyi.

In his second visit to Myanmar, Richardson had less success, as the junta refused to allow him to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Then, to the surprise of the world, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was freed in 1995, though she would return to house arrest some five years later.

Throughout the turbulent years that followed, Richardson maintained strong ties with both U Khin Nyunt and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and as the country began to open up, Richardson came back to Myanmar.

In 2018, he was appointed to an international panel set up by Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government to address the Rohingya crisis, but later resigned over what he called a whitewash of military atrocities.

Richardson said at the time that he did not want to be part of a cheerleading squad for the government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he accused of lacking moral leadership in her handling of the crisis.

Richardson has remained in touch with both the current regimes advisers and U Khin Nyunts former fellow intelligence officers. Khin Nyunt and his entire intelligence apparatus were purged in 2004.

After the Myanmar military overthrew Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government and detained her in February this year, Richardson said in a tweet that was widely shared by military regime supporters: Because of Suu Kyis failure to promote Democratic values as Myanmars de-facto leader she should step aside & let others take the rein with international backing and support.

Richardson has shown he is capable of cultivating durable friendships with both Myanmars military leaders and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, though in the case of the latter it ended on a sour note. This time, should the junta leaders decide to allow him to meet the detained State Counselor, we may be in for a playback of Richardsons 1994 visit.

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Guest Column Cambodia Set to Take Global Stage Again as ASEAN Chair

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares to cast his vote during the general election in 2018. / AFP via Bangkok Post

For the next 365 days, every move Cambodia, especially Prime Minister Hun Sen, makes or takes will be scrutinized by strategists and political pundits around the world. Phnom Penh will be the new fulcrum in the post-pandemic era to which global leaders can converge and discuss their future, which could further intensify cooperation or tension. After nearly four decades of continuous power, Hun Sens brinkmanship is well known and most of all, he knows exactly what he wants to say and do. Uniquely, none of the regional leaders knows the regions pulse and global politics as well as Hun Sen.

At last weeks ASEAN summit, he minced no words saying that the absence of Myanmar was the result of its own doing. It is not because of ASEAN, but because of Myanmar, he reiterated. His government will set up a special task force to tackle the Myanmar crisis. In addition, given his longstanding experience in dealing with challenges related to peace and conflict, he will use all available tools, both quiet and back door diplomacy, to share lessons and experiences to end the quagmire.

Furthermore, in the preceding month, numerous comments and assessments were made over the 30th anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreements (PPAs), which brought the Buddhist kingdom to where it is today. Peaceful and constantly developing, the country is a member of the young tiger economies with a GDP per capita exceeding US$1,500, making it a low middle-income nation. Back then, no one would have imagined this once war-torn country would come this far.

Even though three decades have elapsed since the peace accords, the current administration is still grappling with plenty of work in progress, especially issues related to governance, income distribution and the social well-being of its citizens. As envisaged back in 1991, Cambodia should have been an inclusive, fully liberal democracy today given the enormous efforts and financial assistance provided by the United Nations and international community in the nation-building process.

Beyond that, there are plenty of reasons for watching Cambodias brinkmanship. First of all, Cambodia is hosting the 13th Asia Europe Meeting (Asem) on Nov. 25-26. The meeting comes at a time when Europe is looking for new partnerships to strengthen strategic assets around the world. Its Indo-Pacific strategy has made clear the importance of Southeast Asia in the scheme of strategic matters for Europe. The region also wants a strong European presence to counterbalance other major powers.

Indeed, cross-Atlantic ties between the US and Europe have been badly bruised by the ripple effects caused by the cancellation of the submarine deal between France and Australia. The latter decided to enter into a new deal with the US and UK and form a new security alliance, known as AUKUS. Reactions from Europe and Southeast Asia were equally strong and this is likely to induce more and broader cooperation between the two regions.

With its huge population of 656 million and future economic potential, Europe will certainly not give Southeast Asia a miss. But first Europe has to engage Hun Sen in a more holistic way, instead of focusing solely on norms and values as well as European demeanors. Both sides will not want to miss the opportunity to cement their common strategic visions at the upcoming Asem.

In addition, Cambodia is the new ASEAN chair. Although its official duties will only begin on Jan. 1, the chairs informal activities will start right away. Obviously, Cambodia has a lot to chew on as the chair at this critical juncture. Equally, the failure to issue a joint communique in 2012 when the country last held the chair of ASEAN is likely to continue to haunt Cambodia. Phnom Penh has pointed out that it was a matter of principle and not at the behest of China as widely reported and assumed, that the joint communique was not issued due to the disagreement over the nature of the conflicting parties in the South China Sea.

This time, Cambodia and Hun Sen will have ample opportunity to prove all past and current critics wrong. Even though Hun Sen has pursued the so-called Cambodian style of permanent neutrality and non-alignment as King Norodom Sihanouk did during the Cold War, he is considered more adroit and pragmatic in managing ties with great powers especially where national interests and survival are concerned. He is nobodys bogeyman.

The ASEAN chair will be his third, presumably his last. Hun Sen has said he will retire from politics soon  he wants to ensure that his legacy within his country and the ASEAN family is safely embedded. The ongoing crisis in Myanmar will be fittingly a test case for the new chair. Hun Sen has already established a rapport with the head of the Myanmar military regime, Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, when they met at the first ASEAN summit on April 24 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta to discuss the aftermath of the Feb. 1 coup. He was the only leader to speak out urging Myanmar to get help from ASEAN. He stressed that Cambodia benefited from the assistance from the ASEAN family.

For one thing, under the Cambodian chair, there will be more communication and consultation among the ASEAN leaders as well as with their dialogue partners to work out timelines and frameworks for future humanitarian and development assistance for Myanmar. Cambodia has been through such efforts before and during the nation-building process right after the PPAs were signed three decades ago. It was not surprising that Hun Sen told Min Aung Hlaing during their first meeting Myanmar in Jakarta in April that he should allow ASEAN to help out with the peace process in his country.

The progress of negotiating the code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea will be another barometer of the chairs effectiveness. Progress on the COC negotiations has been slow due to COVID-19. But the future prospects have improved as China and ASEAN will soon meet face to face to complete the reading of the first single draft text. Phnom Penh hopes to issue a statement to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Declaration of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (DOC) on its achievements to provide further impetus for conflicting parties to expedite their negotiations.

Most importantly, Cambodia would like to enlarge the blocs membership to include Timor Leste, after years of delay. At the ASEAN summit in Brunei, the leaders took note of the progress the Dili government has made so far. Concerned ASEAN bodies are carefully vetting the countrys preparedness before the decision is made. Having the regions youngest democracy as its 11th member will strengthen the agendas advocated by the blocs small developing members.

By the end of next year, the threat of COVID-19 should have greatly subsided as the populations of all the ASEAN members become vaccinated. As the ASEAN chair, Hun Sen expects to welcome all leaders in person who are scheduled to attend the ASEAN-related summits, especially the members of the East Asia Summit. It will be the first in-situ meeting in two years. (These leaders have to consider the possibility of making back-to-back trips to the region as Thailand is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Leaders Meeting at years end).

Finally, a Cambodian candidate is also next in line to succeed the current ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi, when his term expires at the end of next year under his watch. All things considered, it is all up to Hun Sen with his actions and words.

Kavi Chongkittavorn is a veteran journalist on regional affairs.

This article first appeared in The Bangkok Post.

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Specials Myanmar and Russias Close Post-Coup Relationship

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing inspecting an honor guard prior to their talks in Moscow on June 22, 2021. / AFP

While the international community continues to condemn Myanmars military for overthrowing the civilian National League for Democracy (NLD) government in its February 1 coup, bilateral ties between Myanmar and Russia have strengthened since the military takeover. Now, as well focusing on military cooperation, the two countries are seeking closer social and economic ties.

Although there has been no face to face meeting between Russias President Vladimir Putin and coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, there have been numerous exchange visits between senior military officers from the two countries. Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and his deputy Vice Senior General Soe Win have both visited Russia since the coup.

March 26: While the international community including the West is condemning the military regime, Russian deputy defense minister Colonel General Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin arrives in Naypyitaw to attend the 76th Anniversary of Armed Forces Day.

The coup leader shows the Colonel General swords, axes and slingshots which he describes as home-made weapons being used by those trying to create instability in Myanmar. He promises to build stability and discusses cooperation between the two armies. In an interview with Russian news agencies, the coup leader reveals his plans to promote Myanmar-Russia economic ties. The deputy Russian minister attends the Armed Forces Day parade the following day, so publicly recognizing the junta.

May 20-22: Myanmar Air Force chief General Maung Maung Kyaw attends the HeliRussia exhibition, Russias largest helicopter exhibition, in Moscow. His trip is part of a goodwill visit to promote Myanmar-Russia ties. Some two weeks before the General attends the exhibition, the ethnic armed group the Kachin Independence Army shot down a junta helicopter.

June 20: Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing embarks on a week-long visit to Russia to attend a conference on international security in Moscow, his second visit to the country since the coup.

The visit comes just days after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a halt in arms sales to Myanmar in response to the regimes violent crackdown on peaceful anti-coup protesters.

During his trip, the coup leader grants interviews to TV stations Russia 24 and RIA, visits military academies, arms manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and government officials including the Russian Defense Minister. The Russian Military University confers an honorary professorship on Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. After the ceremony is shown on Myanmars state broadcaster, it prompts Myanmar people to troll the coup leader for looking awkward in an oversized academic gown.

Russia promises to continue cooperation with Myanmars military in the fields of defense and science and technology. The two sides vow to cement ties in various other fields.

The coup leader also travels to Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, to visit helicopter, watercraft and automobile plants. He holds talks with Tatarstan President Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov and discusses opportunities to boost bilateral trade and investment and cooperation in the sectors of natural gas exploration, manufacturing and education.

Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has visited Russia numerous times. Despite that, Russias President Putin has never received the Snr. Gen. However, President Putin did meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in China in 2019 and former President U Htin Kyaw during his visits to Russia in 2016.

August 24: A Myanmar military delegation led by General Maung Maung Aye, chief of the general staff, attends the International Military Technical Forum Army 2021 and participates in the International Army Games.

The general holds talks with Russian army officers to acquire air defense systems. Russia sells an additional US$2.3 billion worth of weapons during his trip, according to Russian news agencies.

September 1-7: Deputy army chief Vice Snr. Gen. Soe Win attends the closing ceremony of the International Army Games. The juntas deputy leader meets civilian and military officials during his week-long visit, and holds talks to bolster military, technical and cultural cooperation between Myanmar and Russia, reports junta-controlled newspapers.

The Myanmar tank team is ranked third in the tank competition at the International Army Games, but fails to attract the support of the Myanmar people. Influential Buddhist monk Sitagu Sayadaw accompanied Vice Snr. Gen. Soe Win on his Russia trip.

September 5: The juntas planning and finance minister attends the 6th Eastern Economic Forum in Russia and holds separate talks with the Director-General of Interstate Corporation for Development and the Chairman of the Russia-ASEAN Economic Council. According to junta-controlled newspapers, Russian businessmen are interested in investing in the production of value-added agricultural produce, electricity generation, crude oil exploration and port industries in Myanmar.

October 24: A Russian military delegation led by the deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Vice Admiral Vladimir Kasatonov, arrives in Yangon to attend the two-day science and technology conference at the Defense Services Academy. It is the second visit of a Russian Navy leader after the Russian Navy chiefs visit to Myanmar in June.

The conference discusses science and technology, disaster management, information technology and communications and transportation technology.

October 27: Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing meets representatives of the Russia-Myanmar Association for Friendship and Cooperation to discuss Russias potential investment and cooperation in the production of fuel, natural gas, cement, steel fertilizer, electricity supply and electric public transport in Myanmar, as well as the running of direct flights between the two countries and cooperation in the tourism, health, education and culture sectors.

This indicates that the coup leader is relying on Russia to realize his unrealistic plans such as the running of electric buses and trains and the domestic production of fertilizer, cement and steel to try and cut expenditure on imports.

Moreover, the planning and finance minister and the governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar also hold talks with a delegation from the Russia-Myanmar Association for Friendship and Cooperation on the progress in establishing a Russia-Myanmar financial cooperation committee. The militarys mouthpiece Myawaddy TV is also airing propaganda, describing Russia as a superpower. The regime is already taking steps to restart No. 2 Steel Mill (Pinpet) in Taunggyi in Shan State, which was suspended under the now ousted NLD government due to the environmental impact and problems with commercial viability.

October 29: The coup leader visits the visiting Russian Warship Gremyashiy at Thilawa Jetty in Yangon and meets the deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vice-Admiral Vladimir Kasatonov and delegation members on board. The Snr. Gen. was accompanied by navy and air force chiefs.

The two sides discuss the exchange of maritime technology and information and technical cooperation to build warships. The Gremyashiy with 115 Russian military personnel on board arrives at Thilawa Port on October 28 and stays for three days.



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Ithaca, NY (14850)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 34F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 34F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
TPG Telecom has announced it has reached over 85 per cent 5G population coverage in ten of Australias largest cities and regions as it delivers a smarter 5G network faster following last years merger.

The milestone has been achieved with the launch of the TPG Telecom's 5G standalone core, which connects devices directly to 5G without the need for a 4G connection, leveraging its 700MHz spectrum holdings, TPG Telecom says.

TPG says the mobile network key facts are:

Over 85 per cent 5G population coverage in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong and NSW Central Coast

5G capable of delivering speeds of more than 400Mbps (in areas with 3.6GHz spectrum)

5G standalone core triples average site coverage footprint, increases the addressable market for 5G fixed wireless, improves latency by around 30 per cent, and provides a more consistent 5G experience

Strong national 5G spectrum holdings with 700MHz and 3.6GHz spectrum deployed

26GHz (mmWave) spectrum acquired and now in testing phase

Around one million 5G-enabled devices on the network and standalone capability upgrades for major 5G devices due in coming weeks

More than 100 5G sites being added each month, with around 160 sites to be upgraded in November

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5G coverage tripled to reach 2 in 3 Australians

TPG Telecom chief executive officer Inaki Berroeta said the 5G standalone core is a game-changer for the company and its mobile and home internet customers.

This is truly a pivotal moment for TPG Telecom and sets us up to deliver 5Gs full potential, Mr Berroeta said.

The upgraded core network has amplified our 700 MHz spectrum, tripling our 5G coverage and giving us greater reach across suburbs and in densely populated areas.

This will give us a competitive boost going forward, with our 5G coverage on par or ahead of other mobile networks in many areas.

It not only means more coverage in more places for mobile customers, it also significantly increases our 5G fixed wireless footprint.

Two in three Australians are now covered by our 5G where they work and live, and with the first major device due to be upgraded to work with standalone 5G in just a few weeks, the new coverage is ready.

A smarter network

Mr Berroeta said the coverage milestone was a key merger integration achievement.

The merger has enabled us to build a better and smarter 5G network faster than we otherwise would have, delivering one of the biggest and most tangible benefits for customers, he said.

Since the merger, we have integrated our spectrum, fibre and small cells to create our best ever mobile network.

The combination of the 700 MHz low band spectrum holdings of the pre-merged businesses has enabled us to deliver an outstanding 5G network and means we are strongly-positioned for the future.

Using innovative approaches such as our 5G factory-assembly, we have also significantly increased our speed of site delivery, switching on more than 100 5G sites per month.

We will deliver around 160 5G sites in November. No other carrier has achieved that with a full upgrade like ours and we are now delivering more sites a month than the others combined.

Our 5G upgrade rollout has been in full swing for months and we will keep that momentum as we complete the program.

On the 5G map

Mr Berroeta said the 5G standalone core was a multi-year project as part of the companys 5G network roadmap.

This puts us firmly on the 5G map, and the project completion is a testament to our network team who skillfully navigated challenges including lockdowns and the 5G vendor restrictions, he said.

The future of 5G

TPG Telecom executive general manager mobile and fixed networks Barry Kezik said the standalone architecture is the future of mobile connectivity.

Not only have we significantly increased our network footprint, this paves the way for customer uses which arent yet a reality or havent even been dreamt up, Kezik said.

Were talking about a new world of possibilities such as smart training, remote control for mining and industry, and smart city applications.

One of the most transformative capabilities is it enables network slicing which will allow us to deliver a range of new services to Enterprise customers by setting specific connectivity, speed and capacity requirements for individual applications.

Through cloud-based technologies, we will be able to manage the network more effectively and ultimately offer customers a better experience.

Im very proud of the expertise, skill and professionalism of our teams to deliver one of the worlds most significant network transformation programs in such a short timeframe.

The major benefit of 5G especially in stand alone mode will be a significant drop in latency, allowing 5G networks to rival fixed access networks on this critical measure. The amount of 700MHz spectrum is relatively low compared to the higher mid-band and mmWave spectrum holdings, but 700MHz 5G has a far greater reach than these higher frequency bands. Around 50Mbps download speeds can be expected in areas that are only covered by 700MHz.

TPG Telecom is accelerating the deployment of 5G in the mid-band with innovative deployment processes and solutions, such as the integrated 5G passive active antenna reported here. High speed, low latency fixed wireless and mobile access to rival fixed networks is fast approaching the hands of most Australians.

TPG Telecom says it partnered with Ericsson and Nokia to build its 5G standalone core, with Ericsson providing the packet core solution and Nokia providing the subscriber data management solutions.

Smartphone manufacturers are expected to start pushing out updates to enable 5G standalone compatible handsets within weeks, TPG Telecom said.

This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 15 November 2021.
WatchGuard's new AP130, AP330, and AP430CR access points support Wi-Fi 6 and WPA3, and are aimed at small to midsize companies and distributed enterprises.

Details of the new models can be found here.

WatchGuard Cloud provides a single pane of glass experience of the company's Unified Security Platform, now including Wi-Fi devices.

Features include multi-tier and multi-tenant capabilities (especially relevant to MSPs), detailed reporting and visibility, troubleshooting support, enterprise-grade Wi-Fi security, a captive portal with custom branding to block guest access until users accept the terms and conditions, and integrations with WatchGuard's complete product range plus APIs for integration with third-party management platforms.

"The MSP market continues to grow at an accelerated pace, driving partners to look for centralised solutions that simplify deployment and management for customers while delivering the highest levels of security. Wi-Fi in WatchGuard Cloud  and the new APs  give partners the ability to layer on Wi-Fi-as-a-Service for customers and integrate it with our complete portfolio of security services like firewall, endpoint protection, MFA, and more," said WatchGuard senior vice president of product management Andrew Young.

"Wi-Fi is an integral part of our Unified Security Platform, and now that it's integrated with WatchGuard Cloud, it will help further scale business growth for MSPs and further reduce costs."
GUEST RESEARCH: A new study has revealed almost half of Australians (48%) wont work for a business that doesnt address climate change while seven out of eight Australians think businesses need to do more to take action on climate change.

Conducted by Lonergan Research for ELMO Software, the Climate at Work Report has explored Australians attitudes towards climate change action and what it means for employers.

Key findings of the study are:

Almost half (48%) of Australians - 71% of Gen Z and 52% of Millennials - would not work for a business that did not take action to address climate change.

Seven out of eight (84%) Australians believe Aussie businesses should do more to reduce their emissions and carbon footprint.

Climate change makes almost three out of four (74%) Aussies worry about the future with 46% worried about their own, and their families, physical and mental wellbeing.

Four out of five (82%) Australians believe the Federal Government should do more to address climate change.

Over two fifths (44%) of Australians rated the Federal Government efforts in addressing climate change as poor.

Three quarters (75%) of Aussies believe that climate change action could generate new jobs

The report found 84 per cent of Australians are looking to big businesses to do more to reduce emissions and carbon footprints.

In a warning sign for employers, half (48%) of Australians say they will not work for a business that is not doing enough to address climate change. Gen Z (71%) are the most likely to refuse to work for a business that does not take action to address climate change followed by Millennials (52%), Gen X (36%) and Baby Boomers (37%).

A business environmental credentials also influence the amount of support they can expect from the community. Close to two thirds (64%) of Australians' level of support for a business is influenced by their environmental credentials. This is higher among Gen Z (83%) and Millennials (70%) while Gen X and Baby Boomers were slightly less influenced at 62 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.

It wasnt just businesses that were told to do more, the Federal Government and State Governments efforts to address climate change are rated behind community groups and Australian businesses.

Almost half of Australians 44 per cent rate the Federal Governments efforts to address climate change as poor. The dissatisfaction is higher among people outside the capital cities with 45 per cent of respondents from regional and rural communities rating the Federal Governments efforts as poor (43% in capital cities).

Meanwhile, State Governments also face criticism for their perceived lack of effort. Queenslanders are most likely to rank their Governments efforts as poor (40%) followed by New South Wales and the ACT (36%), South Australia (35%), Victoria (34%) and Western Australia (24%).

In another warning sign for employers juggling their employees wellbeing, the report found climate change is causing three out of four Australians (75%) to worry about the future. The personal impact of climate change is a concern for 86 per cent of Australians with 58 per cent concerned about future generations standard of living.

Close to half (46%) of Australians are concerned about the wellbeing of themselves or their family. The generation most worried about their wellbeing is Gen Z at 61 per cent followed by Millennials (48%), Gen X (44%) and Baby Boomers (39%).

While they are worried about the impacts of climate change, three quarters (75%) of Australians believe that climate change action could generate new jobs while more than half (52%) believe climate action will positively impact the economy.

Job security and salaries are also expected to benefit by achieving globally agreed emissions targets. Two fifths of Australians (42%) believe hitting globally agreed emissions targets will have a positive impact on job security and a third of Australians (35%) believe it will even benefit the salaries/pay of workers.

ELMO Software CEO and Co-founder Danny Lessem says the report is a reminder to employers and businesses that external factors have a huge influence on how people view and interact with an organisation.

Australians have sent a clear message to the business community, they need to do more to address climate change or risk waning support and even greater challenges recruiting new employees.

In fact, nearly half of Australians refuse to work for businesses that wont take action on climate change with Gen Z and Millennials most likely to avoid unsustainable businesses.

Gen Z and Millennials will soon make up the vast majority of the workforce so its important to listen to their message that organisations need to put the effort in to be a sustainable and environmentally conscious business. In the midst of a nationwide skills shortage the last thing a business should do is get potential employees offside by not taking climate change seriously.

Unsurprisingly, climate change is weighing heavily on the minds of Australians. The impacts of climate change is making 86 per cent of Australians worried.

Employers need to take stock of this heightened sense of anxiety and understand that while certain stressors might not originate in the workplace they can certainly impact the attitudes and actions when people are on the job.

While Australians want businesses to do more, businesses are still rating better than the Federal Government and State Governments for their action on climate change. In fact, nearly half of Australians think the Federal Governments action on climate change has been poor.

About the Climate at Work Report Methodology

The ELMO Climate at Work Report was conducted to gain data and insights into the attitudes, actions and concerns of Australians in regards to climate change and climate change action. The research was commissioned by ELMO Software and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard.

Lonergan Research surveyed 1,009 Australians aged 18 years and over, between 22 October and 26 October, 2021. The research was conducted through a 5-question online survey. Respondents were members of a permission-based panel, geographically disbursed throughout Australia including both capital city and non-capital city areas. After surveying, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

About ELMO Software

Established in 2002, ELMO is a cloud-based HR, payroll, expense management and rostering / time & attendance software provider. The company offers customers across Australia, New Zealand and the UK a unified platform to help organisations streamline their people, process and pay. ELMO operates on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model based on recurrent subscription revenues. For more information, please visit
Heidi Badgery: "Many companies are looking to unlock the value of their data to drive growth and transformation initiatives."

Analytics automation firm Alteryx has appointed a new managing director for its Australia and New Zealand operations, with former Adobe official Heidi Badgery to take up the post.

A statement from the company said Badgery would look after Alteryx's company strategy, business activities and operations in the region, building on existing business momentum and speeding up digital business transformation for customers.

Badgery formerly worked as head of Professional Services for Adobe Asia Pacific, prior to which she held senior leadership roles in companies like Gartner, where she was director of International Executive Forums, and Symantec Corporation.

"We are thrilled to welcome Heidi to the Alteryx team," said Julian Quinn, senior vice-president of Alteryx APJ.

"Heidi's extensive experience in enterprise software business development and passion for customer-centric technology will help to accelerate Alteryx's growth strategy and empower more organisations to use their data to make decisions at pace and scale, to achieve business outcomes."

Alteryx recently acquired Sydney-based artificial intelligence company Hyper Anna.

Badgery will work with companies in the financial services, retail and telecommunications space among others.

"We're seeing an explosion of data, which is both a pertinent issue and an exciting opportunity for businesses," said Badgery.

"Many companies are looking to unlock the value of their data to drive growth and transformation initiatives.

"The Alteryx platform is well-placed to help businesses automate analytics and data-driven business processes to deliver faster, actionable insights across the organisation.

"I look forward to working with customers and partners to help realise its potential and deliver transformative business results."
London's Daily Mail does not normally receive praise for the journalism it produces, but it has recently been lauded by an unlikely source: the Conti ransomware gang.

In a tweet, the gang, which recently conducted a hit on UK jeweller Graff Diamonds, underlined its antipathy to the US and the EU, praising the Daily Mail for its report on the attack as "analysis... done with the highest standard of reporting and uncovered things that we [the Conti gang] have unfortunately missed".

The Daily Mail normally earns the scorn of other media outlets because it publishes content from other publications without attribution.

The Conti gang had, on 15 October, published a list of the material it stole from Graff following an attack and subsequent encryption of data.

The Daily Mail'sabout the attack said among the customers was the current crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and also the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.

Also cited as customers of Graff were Bahraini prime minister Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the former prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani (the Mail got the name of the Qatari official mixed up).

Conti say thanks to the Daily Mail. "US-UK-EU Neo-liberal plutocracy." LOL! Oh, boy. pic.twitter.com/uqbAaOEmu8  Brett Callow (@BrettCallow) November 2, 2021

The attackers behind Conti appeared to be upset about the data of people from the Gulf states being among the victims, saying they would delete all information about the Graff attack from their website.

"Conti guarantees that any information pertaining to members of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar families will be deleted without any exposure and review. Our team apologises to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman and any other members of the royal families whose names were mentioned in any publication for any inconvenience," it said.

The gang said no further information about the attack had been published, adding that it would implement a more stringent process in future when publishing data after attacks.

"We want to thank the Daily Mail for investigative coverage and great journalist work, especially regarding the US and UK individuals in the Graff files," Conti said.

"As long as the truth is overt, it prevails! As for the Graff Diamond case, we will conduct our own review that will focus exclusively on US and EU citizens."

It said the gang's goal was to publish as much information from Graff about financial declarations made by "the US-UK-EU neo-liberal plutocracy which engages in obnoxiously expensive purchases when their nations are crumbling under the economic crisis, unemployment and COVID".

There was more in the same vein, with the gang adding in conclusion, "we hope to see more great coverage from the Daily Mail".
The Government says it has successfully blocked scammers from sending text messages appearing to come from legitimate government sender IDs, including Centrelink, myGov, and the Australian Taxation Office.

Minister for Communications Urban Infrastructure Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher, welcomed the success of the initiative and said the Morrison Government is committed to reducing phone scams.

The blocking of scam texts follows the success of a pilot program to capture phishing texts appearing to originate from government agencies that blocked more than 2,500 scam texts over the past 12 months.

In addition, as a result of the Governments Reducing Scam Calls Code. more than 214 million scam calls have been blocked since December 2020, the Minister said.

I am very pleased that so many scam texts appearing to come from legitimate government sender IDs, including Centrelink, myGov and the ATO are being blocked, Fletcher said.

The success of this initiative is timely, given the use of MyGov has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have written to NBN Co, Australia Post and the banks strongly encouraging them to apply the same process to text messages they send.

Minister for Defence Peter Dutton said, that phishing messages were one of the most common ways for cybercriminals to compromise users and the initiative had been successful in preventing such messages from getting through to phones.

This collaboration between the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Services Australia and Telstra and the telecommunications sector is an excellent example of the Australian Government and industry working together to develop solutions to stop cybercriminals from exploiting Australians en masse, Dutton said.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre is continuing to work with the telecommunications sector for an industry-wide solution to increase that protection.

Minister for Government Services Senator Linda Reynolds CSC, said the success of the pilot is an important milestone upon which the Government could now build.

One year on from the pilots launch, 2,500 SMS scams that would have otherwise circulated in the community have been blocked, Reynolds said.

Services Australia is continuing to develop and refine security measures to prevent against scams, which have the potential to cause such enormous harm, particularly to those not overly familiar with technology.

This is a welcome step as we continue to work with law enforcement agencies and industry to keep Australians safe from harm.

This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 28 October 2021.
FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 file photo, Christian Schmidt, new head of Bosnia's Office of the High Representative, or OHR, speaks during a ceremony in the capital Sarajevo. The chief international representative in Bosnia has on Tuesday, Nov. 2 warned that the war-scarred Balkan state could face the biggest existential threat of the post war period if Bosnian Serb separatist moves are not curbed by international community. In a report which he is scheduled to deliver to the UN Security Council this week, High Representative for Bosnia Christian Schmidt said that if Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik carries out his separatist threats, including the withdrawal of Serb troops from the joint Bosnian army and the creation a separate Serb force, the prospects of further division and conflict are very real.
Jackson, GA Robbie Lou Foster Powell, age 77, peacefully passed away at Wellstar Sylvan Grove Hospital Monday morning November 1, 2021. She was born in Griffin, GA to the late Robert Abner & Minnie Lou Brooks Foster on Wednesday December 22, 1943. Robbie was married to Riley Sanford Powell, who passed away in December of 2019 for 45 years, they had one son; Jason Robert Powell, who also precedes her in death.

Robbie was a member of the Jackson High School Class of 1962. She had retired from American Mills after a long career that began shortly after graduation from High School. Robbie loved God and was a member of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church where she loved to sing in the Choir, she was a former Sunday School and Bible School teacher, assistant pianist and helped with Missions. She was a very generous person. She was a huge Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta Braves fan; she enjoyed researching genealogy and particular enjoyed Family Reunions and Church Homecomings. She dearly loved spending time with her granddaughter, Emily and other family and friends.

Robbie is survived by granddaughter; Emily Rose Powell, her Aunt; Margie Brooks Brinkley and numerous cousins and friends.

Funeral Services for Robbie Lou Foster Powell will be Thursday November 4, 2021 at 2:00 PM in the Chapel of Haisten Funeral Home. The Family will receive friends from 1:00 PM until 1:45 immediately prior to the Service. Interment will follow in the Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery, Rev. Michael Saffels and Mr. Rudy Mangham will officiate.

Recommended for you +26 Vet costs for dogs in 25 U.S. cities Ollie used data from Banfield Pet Hospitals price estimator tool to break down the costs of seeing a veterinarian for routine dog care in the 25 most populous U.S. cities. Click for more.

The family respectfully asks that flowers be omitted and you consider donations to Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, PO Box 198, Jackson, GA 30233 or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl, Memphis, TN 38105 or charity of your choice.

You can leave condolences online by visiting www.haistenfuneral.com

Haisten Funeral Home of Jackson is serving the Powell Family.
Jackson, GA Robert Arnold Brown, a beloved family man, friend, tractor tinkerer, primitive cast-iron cook and outdoor enthusiast with an easy smile and a disarming demeanor, died Sunday, October 31, 2021, at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta. He was 70. Bobby, as he was known to most, was a lifelong resident of Butts County, born at home on March 2, 1951, to Buster and Jane Brown, who lived on a dirt road flanked by trees and pastures not far from Old Bethel Church. The towheaded youngster spent countless days toiling alongside his parents picking beans in the field, shelling pecans on their front porch, and hammering nails on job sites, learning from an early age how to use his hands and the value of a hard day's work. After graduating from Jackson High School in 1969, he put his strength and dexterity to use unloading short-haul freight trucks at Overnite Transportation on Moreland Avenue in Atlanta, where he spent three-decades earning a living and providing for his family. He took pride in his work at the truck terminal, learning to navigate cargo quickly around a dock and mastering how to reverse a large tractor trailer into a tight spot. It was on a blind double date arranged by an Overnite coworker where he met Elaine Kirby. They were engaged after two weeks and married for 45 years, together raising their son and daughter. Few people met Bobby without learning of his love of the outdoors, particularly hunting white tailed deer and wild turkey, a craft he learned from his father. For Bobby, autumn was synonymous with hunting season, and the offseason was spent sharpening arrowheads, pouring lead for black powder rounds and practicing his turkey calls. In his later years, Bobby reveled in the stillness and quiet of a tree stand and spent more time observing wildlife than hunting it. While Bobby lived for seven decades on the same road on which he was born, he took the opportunity to see the world when it came, traveling numerous times out west to Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. He crisscrossed the country from California to Virginia, spent time on Caribbean beaches, hunted elk with his daughter in New Mexico, witnessed sunsets over the Gulf of Alaska and flew thousands of miles to visit Sao Paulo and the hilly wine country of southern Brazil. But it was his love of his family and desire to share the outdoors with them that will remain Bobby's enduring legacy, from teaching his son how to track a deer through the woods, showing his grandsons how to bait a fishing hook and cast a line, or demonstrating the simple joy that comes from refilling a homemade corn deer feeder in hopes of later catching a glimpse of big buck. Bobby is survived by his wife Elaine, son Joshua, sister Ibra Osa, brother-in-law Todd Osa, Aunt Virginia Moss, nephew Jared Osa, as well as his beloved grandsons and daughter-in-law. He is predeceased by his father and mother Buster and Jane and daughter Megan. A graveside funeral service for Bobby will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Old Bethel Church cemetery with Rudy Mangham officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides once-in-a-lifetime dream hunting and fishing trips to children across the United States and Canada, age 18 and younger, who suffer from life-threatening illnesses. Donations can be made online at www.catchadream.org. Those who wish may sign the online guest registry at www.sherrell-westburyfuneralhome.com. Sherrell-Westbury Funeral Home, 212 E. College Street, Jackson, GA, is serving the Brown family.

Recommended for you +26 Vet costs for dogs in 25 U.S. cities Ollie used data from Banfield Pet Hospitals price estimator tool to break down the costs of seeing a veterinarian for routine dog care in the 25 most populous U.S. cities. Click for more.
Sweaters, scarfs and jackets should be the norm in East Texas for the next couple of days as cold and rainy weather is predicted to move in sometime after 1 a.m. this morning. Thursday's low is expected to sink into the high 30s.
Jacksonville, TX (75766)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.




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.
Joplin, MO (64801)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 48F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 48F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Betty Jean Pulley, 95, passed away November 4, 2021, at Windridge Nursing Home, Miami, Oklahoma. Betty was born September 7, 1926, at home in Riverton, Kansas, to Albert Petty Cutright and Alta Elizabeth (Newkirk). She graduated from Riverton High School Class of 1944, and attended Joplin Ju
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.
WINDSOR LOCKS RESULTS

Winners indicated in italics.

FIRST SELECTMAN

Democrat

J. Christopher Kervick 1,444

Republican

Paul M. Harrington 1,672

SELECTMEN

(Two elected)

Democrat

J. Christopher Kervick 1,444

Jonathan Savino 1,271

Republican

Scott A. Storms 1,828

TOWN CLERK

Democrat

Scott A. Nolan 1,518

Republican

Christopher P. Latournes 1,585

TOWN TREASURER

Democrat

Bill Hamel 1,401

Republican

Christopher P. Latournes 1,679

TAX COLLECTOR

Republican

Peter F. Juszczynski 2,487

BOARD OF FINANCE

(Two elected)

Democrats

David Weigert 1,506

Patty Murphy 1,588

Republican

Norman H. Boucher 1,733

BOARD OF EDUCATION FULL TERM

(Two elected)

Democrats

Jim McGowan 1,324

C. Glenn Flanders 1,243

Republicans

Dennis A. Gragnolati 1,764

Kylee E. Christianson 1,685

BOARD OF EDUCATION TO FILL A VACANCY FOR TWO YEARS

Republican

Joseph J. Tria Jr. 2,316

BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS

Democrat

Richard Pease 1,254

Republican

Lori S. Quagliaroli 1,757

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FULL FIVE-YEAR TERM BEGINS 2021

Democrat

Neal Cummingham 1,277

Republican

James E Cannon III 1,751

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FULL FIVE-YEAR TERM BEGINS 2022

Republican

Douglas C. Glazier Sr. 2,315

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS TO FILL A VACANCY FOR FOUR YEARS

Democrat

Ron King 1,420

Republican

Robert W. Glamuzina 1,555

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS TO FILL A VACANCY FOR THREE YEARS

Democrat

Alba Osorio 1,289

Republican

Michael R. Forschino 1,673

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS ALTERNATE

Republican

Ricardo F. Rachele 2,272

POLICE COMMISSIONERS FULL TERM

(Two elected)

Democrat

Andrew Kulas 1,651

Republicans

Timothy J. McGrath 1,660

Robert E. Crochetiere 1,778

POLICE COMMISSIONER TO FILL A VACANCY FOR TWO YEARS

Republican

Douglas C. Glazier Sr. 2,274

FIRE COMMISSIONERS

(Two elected)

Democrats

Guido Montemerlo 1,501

Bill Hamel 1,505

Republican

Dennis A. Gragnolati 1,774

PARK COMMISSIONERS

(Two elected)

Democrat

Lisa Babella Oney 1,479

Republicans

James E. Cannon III 1,798

Norman L. Wiegert Jr. 1,827

PARK COMMISSIONER TO FILL VACANCY FOR FOUR YEARS

Democrat

Jacob LaValley 1,301

Republican

James A. Tarbell 1,668

SEWER COMMISSIONERS

(Two elected)

Democrats

Doug Wilson 1,239

Brenda Frawley Wojtas 1,436

Republicans

Daniel A. Flanagan 1,625

Brian Pham 1,452

CONSTABLES

(Seven elected)

Democrats

Michael Biedrzycki 1,251

Peter Lambert 1,463

Shane OConnor 1,419

Alan Gannuscio 1,316

Republicans

Roger Nelson 1,573

Ian D. Gragnolati 1,686

Daniel A. Flanagan 1,579
Ethiopias capital Addis Ababa could fall within months if not weeks, an Oromo group allied with Tigrayan rebels told AFP Wednesday, as the fighters advanced southwards.

The Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds government for a year, has claimed significant territorial gains in recent days, along with its ally the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).

As fighting has dragged on, reports of massacres, mass rapes and a starvation crisis have emerged, with the UN rights chief on Wednesday denouncing the extreme brutality on display, after a joint UN-Ethiopian report warned of possible crimes against humanity by all sides.

Earlier on Wednesday OLA spokesman Odaa Tarbii said his group intended to topple Abiys government, calling his removal a foregone conclusion.

If things continue in the current trajectory, then we are talking about a matter of months if not weeks, he said, referring to OLAs move on Addis Ababa.

The comments came hours after Ethiopia declared a nationwide state of emergency Tuesday and ordered residents of Addis Ababa to prepare to defend their neighbourhoods.

In a statement released Wednesday, Abiy urged citizens to support the war effort and accused the rebels of trying to turn Ethiopia into Libya and Syria, adding: They are set to destroy a country  not to build it.

Under the state of emergency, authorities can conscript any military-age citizen who has weapons or suspend media outlets believed to be giving moral support directly or indirectly to the TPLF, according to state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.

In the capital, anxious residents voiced support for the governments measures.

They are enemies of Ethiopia and they need to (be) dismissed, and to do that all of us need to cooperate with the state of emergency, said Azmeraw Berhan, a self-employed man.

But TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda said the measures amounted to a carte blanche to jail or kill Tigrayans at will.

While the regime is teetering on the brink of collapse, #Abiy & his lieutenants are unleashing a reign of terror with a vengeance, he tweeted Wednesday.

 Crimes against humanity 

A joint investigation by the office of UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published Wednesday found evidence of serious abuses and violations by all sides in the conflict.

The gravity and seriousness of the violations and abuses we have documented underscore the need to hold perpetrators accountable on all sides, Bachelet said.

The report, which covers the period from November 3, 2020, through June, pointed to extra-judicial executions, endemic torture and sexual violence among other abuses, and said that a number of these violations may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.

It detailed reports of gang rapes by various parties against women and girls, as well as men and boys.

It also recorded the deaths of at least 29 civilians in shelling by federal forces targeting Tigrays capital Mekele on November 28, as well as revenge killings in Mai-Kadra following the towns capture by Ethiopian and Amhara forces after a massacre of ethnic Amhara residents last year.

Abiy said the report presented no evidence of genocide but Bachelet said the findings were not so clear-cut and called for further investigation.

 International alarm 

Abiy sent troops into Tigray a year ago in response, he said, to TPLF attacks on army camps.

The 2019 Nobel Peace laureate promised a swift victory, but by late June the rebels had retaken most of Tigray and expanded into the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara.

In recent days the TPLF has claimed control of two key cities in Amhara, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Addis Ababa.

The government has denied claims of TPLF territorial gains which, if confirmed, would represent a major strategic advance.

Much of northern Ethiopia is under a communications blackout and access for journalists is restricted, making battlefield claims difficult to verify independently.

The escalating conflict has sparked alarm among the international community, with thousands killed and hundreds of thousands forced into famine-like conditions, according to the UN.

The African Union, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa, expressed deep concern and urged all parties to work toward a resolution.
The UN rights chief on Wednesday slammed the extreme brutality of the year-long war in Ethiopias Tigray region, voicing alarm that a recent state of emergency would inflame the situation.

Speaking in Geneva, Michelle Bachelet insisted on the need to bring to justice perpetrators of a vast array of rights abuses, including horrific killings and the gang rape of mothers in front of their children.

Civilians in Tigray have been subjected to brutal violence and suffering, she told reporters.

The extreme brutality underscores the need to hold perpetrators accountable on all sides, she said.

A joint investigation by her office and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into abuses warned of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all sides during the the Tigray conflict.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into the northern region in November 2020 to detain and disarm the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), whom he accused of attacking army camps.

Since then, thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, and hundreds of thousands of others have been forced into famine-like conditions, according to the UN.

Wednesdays joint report, which covers the period from last November through June, when the Ethiopian government declared a unilateral ceasefire, found evidence of serious abuses and violations by all sides.

There were reasonable grounds to believe that a number of these violations may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes, it added.

Bachelet voiced alarm that the situation has since deteriorated, particularly since Ethiopia declared a nationwide state of emergency on Tuesday amid fears Tigrayan rebels were heading for the capital.

 Over the edge 

This risks compounding an already very serious human rights situation in the country, Bachelet said.

The risks are grave that these extremely broad measures  will deepen divisions, endanger civil society and human rights defenders, provoke greater conflict and only add to the human suffering already at unacceptable levels.

Bachelet said most of the violations documented in Wednesdays report were carried out by Ethiopian forces and Eritrean troops, who have provided military support to Addis Ababa.

But since June an increasing number of violations by the TPLF had been documented, she said.

In response, Abiy said his government took seriously the troubling allegations of violations committed by Ethiopian forces and was committed to bring perpetrators to justice but rejected allegations of genocide.

The findings have clearly established the claim of genocide as false and utterly lacking of any factual basis, he said.

Bachelet insisted further investigation was needed.

Investigators say they faced significant security, operational and administrative challenges and were unable to carry out all planned visits in parts of Tigray.

 Gang rapes 

The TPLF branded EHRC involvement an affront to the notion of impartiality, before the report came out.

The Ethiopian government said its participation proved it is serious about addressing rights abuses.

Ethiopia expelled seven UN officials last month, including one of the UN investigators.

The report, based on 269 interviews with victims and witnesses, described endemic torture, people beaten with electric cables and metal pipes, intentionally starved, and the gang rapes of children, men and women.

It detailed how thousands of civilians were forced to flee as a result of killings, rapes, destruction and looting of property, fears of reprisals and ethnic and identity-based attacks, particularly in western Tigray.

The report highlighted abuses carried out by Eritrean troops who forcefully returned Eritrean refugees in Tigray to Eritrea.

The investigators reported that a 16-year-old boy was allegedly raped by nine Eritrean soldiers and later committed suicide.

The report urged Eritrea to release all Eritrean refugees forcibly returned to the country and recommended that the UN consider creating an international team tasked with gathering evidence for possible future criminal prosecution.
Beth Graham

The story behind Fijis most magical resort, Turtle Island, is as unique as the island itself. In 1972, U.S. cable TV exec Richard Evanson was looking to escape the frenzy of corporate life and a sour divorce. He wound up in a bar in Fiji and after a night of heavy drinking, found himself the proud (perhaps hungover) owner of a 500-acre barren and deserted island. Days later, he journeyed to the island with nothing but a generator, refrigerator, and tent with plans to live in seclusion. A villager from a neighboring island saw his helicopter land and, out of curiosity, made his way over by boat. They became fast friends and together, they, along with other villagers, planted over 500,000 trees and began transforming the island into Richards own private, tropical paradise. He loved the seclusion but in the late 1970s, Columbia Pictures took notice of the island while scouting for a destination to film a remake of Blue Lagoon. He was ambivalent, but soon found himself building wood and straw huts, or Fijian bures, for the film crew. He realized the potential of the island, and in 1980, welcomed his first guests to Turtle Island. With only 14 bures today, the island maintains its charm as a secluded, authentic and preserved destination.

Beth Graham

Arriving on Turtle Island is an experience unto itself. The island is so remote that its only accessible by seaplane; the 30-minute flight was breathtakingly beautiful, flying low over the Pacific dotted with tiny islands. As we coasted into the dock at Turtle Island, we were met with music and singing from the islands staff. Two of the islands warriors scooped me up and carried me off the plane across the water, a long-standing tradition, while my husband waded in. Instantly, we were greeted with their traditional Bula welcome and warm, genuine happy-to-meet-you hugs.

Beth Graham

We were introduced to our Bure Mama for the week, Elle, our personal concierge who did everything from stock the room daily with fresh baked goods to intuitively bringing us cocktails as we hung out on our hammocks to packing our beach bag for daily excursions. Bures are the private villas  there are only 14 on the entire island so it truly is a private escape.

Theres not much to daily life on Turtle Island. And thats perhaps the best thing about this place. This was by far the most relaxing trip Ive ever taken. And my high-strung, type A husband fell into this groove as well. Wed join the other guests for a communal breakfast at a table on the beach then retreat to our own private beach to lounge in hammocks at the waters edge. Periodically, Elle would show up and offer us fresh coconut water, in the coconut of course, or offer a snack or cocktail. Following a communal lunch of local delicacies, wed retreat to the outdoor daybed on our bures front porch for a boozy nap.

Beth Graham

This was pretty much my daily routine. Dont get me wrong. There are plenty of activities if you choose. My husband went scuba diving several times, lots of guests snorkeled each morning, there are private beach excursions, horseback riding, hiking, and plenty of island life to explore.

As I mentioned, there are only 14 bures on the island and with the exception of a couple of family weeks, its a couples-only resort. That means that there are only 28 guests on the island any given week. So privacy and solitude are the islands attraction.

We had one of the last bures on the island and I could seriously go hours without seeing another person. So if youre looking for a place to get away from it all, this is it.

And while the destination itself is simply magical, its the local people who make the resort so incredibly amazing. And I dont say that lightly. I wont say they go above and beyond to make you feel welcome, its simply part of their culture. It comes naturally for all of them. They genuinely want you to have the time of your life. Every staff member, there are over 100 to take care of the 28 guests (do the math), learns each guests name and youre greeted throughout the day with Bula, Beth, or the occasional Bula Bula!

Beth Graham

Its just one of those special places where I truly left a piece of my heart. And I absolutely plan to return someday. Many of the guests we met are return visitors, some making their first trip there over a decade ago, but they return every few years, to the same staff, to the same bure. Its like a home away from home.

Beth Graham

Turtle Island at night

Beth Graham

The hospitable team on Turtle Island
LAFAYETTE, La (KADN)- Although weve been experiencing a few cold fronts in Acadiana, some of us may think its too soon to turn on the heaters in our homes.

Slemco shares that lowering your heater to 62-68 degrees can help keep the price of the electric bill down during the cooler months.

There's an old saying you know what's the temperature going to be like in Louisiana I don't know let me tell you it's winter in the morning and summer in the afternoon. So, and that's really true. It's not uncommon to see us running a heater, the heater at some part of the day and then in the air conditioner the next, Mary Laurent, a spokesperson of SLEMCO, said.

Laurent believes its a personal choice to turn the heater on during fall but if you are switching your thermostat over its best to monitor how much energy youre using.

Electric heating actually costs three times as much as electric air conditioning  So for every hour that your unit is running on the heating side, it's actually using more electricity than it would be on the air conditioning side, Laurent shared.

According to Slemco, 60% of your electricity bill is cooling and heating, 25% of it is your water heating system, and the remainder is day-to-day electricity use.

So, if you can cut back on the amount of heat you use, you may have a better chance at a cheaper bill.

We have seen people who are very frugal, who do everything that they can who put that heater down to 60 or 62 or don't run it at all versus a family who likes it. It's 72 or 74 that makes a huge difference, she said.

When you keep your heater on a lower setting, you may not feel as warm as you should. So, Slemco recommends keeping blankets around, wearing warm clothing such as socks and a sweater, and keeping a small space heater nearby.

If you like it warm in the house and you have a sunny window going ahead and open those shades. In the summertime, we tell people to close the shades to keep the sun from coming in. You can do the opposite in the wintertime, she added.

Some people may think using an oven as a source of heat is a good idea, but Laurent shares that this can be very dangerous.

"They actually open up the oven, turn the oven on and open it up to try to warm the house or the burners on the stove. You want to make sure that you use those appliances just exactly what they're used for, she said.

She added that closing a vent in less-used rooms isnt a good idea either.

"Because what the heater does is it removes the moisture from the house. So that also brings about sinus problems. nasal problems, that kind of thing, she said.

Slemco also recommends making sure your heater and cooling systems are serviced at least once a year to make sure everything is running smoothly.
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
"Yumi's Cells" cast Kim Go Eun, Ahn Bo Hyun, GOT7 Jinyoung, Park Ji Hyun and more officially bid goodbye but hints about the soon-to-air season 2.

The Friday and Saturday drama is based on a webtoon written by Donggun Lee and helmed by the "Shopping King Louie" PD Lee Sang Yeob.

It depicts the journey of Kim Yumi, an ordinary office girl who lived an extraordinary life and her adventure of finding her true love.

Interestingly, "Yumi's Cells" is the first Kdrama that combined live-action and 3D animation featuring the adorable cells at Sepho Village, led by Yumi's primary cells, Love.

As her love journey continues, Yumi meets several people, including her second boyfriend, Goo Woong, played by Ahn Bo Hyun.

'Yumi's Cells' Cast Thanks Fans for the Overwhelming Support

In a short clip, the cast members express their gratitude to viewers after successfully wrapping up the "Yumi's Cells" finale with a slight increase of 2.5 percent.

On the set, Kim Go Eun, who played the titular role of Yumi, began by sharing how "happy" and "fulfilled" she is for the audience's positive response.

In addition, the "Goblin" star also teased her on-screen partner, Ahn Bo Hyun saying, "Woong. I loved you without regret."

In the tvN drama, the "My Name" star took on the character of Yumi's recent boyfriend.

As for the time they spent together, the actress mentioned that it took them six to seven months to film "Yumi's Cells"; hence, she has parting words for Ahn Bo Hyun, whom she hilariously called "darling."

"I hope you are always happy and healthy. Bye, darling," said the actress.

The same goes for the "Itaewon Class" star who admitted that he felt a bit "emotional" that the drama has come to an end; however, he explained that he feels "refreshed" knowing that they have successfully concluded the series.

"To be honest, a few days ago, while filming the ending to Season 1, I got really choked up. Since I really felt like I had become Woong in real life, I really got choked up while filming the cafe scene and I got very teary-eyed, so I struggled trying to hold it in," the actor said in the video, adding that he felt "proud" playing Goo Woong.

Cast Members Gave Hints at the Possible Story of 'Yumi's Cells' Season 2'

While the cast members bid their farewell, Kim Go Eun invited the viewers for the upcoming sequel, hinting at "new stories" for the second season.

Meanwhile, GOT7 Jinyoung, who played campus crush, Yoo Bobby, expressed his heartfelt thanks to the viewers saying and regret that Season 1 has ended.

"Thank you so much for giving it so much love. Please look forward to Season 2!"

Lastly, Park Ji Hyun revealed that she had "lots of fun" filming alongside "various seniors, actors, and staff members" and was honored to work with them.

Moreover, she joked about the viewers hating her role, saying, "Please don't hate [my character] Se Yi too much."

The actress portrayed Seo Sae Yi, who has been Goo Woong's longtime friend and secretly admired him.

KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
The viewers start to love the chemistry between Lee Se Young and 2PM's Junho, and to spoil them about the drama, this is the newly unveiled teaser that displays the adorable romance of court lady Seong Deok Im and Crown Prince Yi San.

On November 3, MBC dropped a new video teaser of their forthcoming historical romance drama, "The Red Sleeve Cuff." Since the promotion for the series began in early October, international audiences were already introduced to the new Kdrama tandem of Lee Se Young and 2PM's Junho.

Sneak Peek to Lee Se Young and 2PM Junho's Chemistry in 'The Red Sleeve Cuff' Teaser

At the beginning of the clip, Seong Deok Im (Lee Se Young) is happily enjoying the day outside the palace, while Crown Prince Yi San (2PM Junho) is busy teaching his people about the events that occurred in their family.

When she arrives at the palace, Seong Deok Im secretly watches the crown prince from afar while he is working on his room. During her ordinary days, the court lady stayed inside the library, which she considered as her comfort place.

She is busy reading a book when Yi San enters the library, Seong Deok Im seems pissed off because the crown prince forgot to remove his shoes while entering the place. Their first encounter may not be as good as what she expected, but it will be the start of their growing romance with each other.

The following days, the two spend more time inside the library, where they exchange knowledge and stories about their personal lives. As they have the complete opposite lives, Yi San starts to realize his feelings towards Seong Deok Im.

'The Red Sleeve Cuff' Updates

Originally, MBC announced that "The Red Sleeve Cuff" will be released on November 5. But recently, they released a statement that due to some production concerns, the drama will officially air its pilot episode on November 12 occupying the 10 p.m (KST) slot.

In addition, due to the overwhelming support and interest of the overseas fans, "The Red Sleeve Cuff" was sold to more than 20 countries including the US, Japan, Europe, Japan, and Taiwan ahead of its scheduled premiere.

Now that a week is left before the series meets the viewers, the production is making efforts to give the latest updates about the drama.

Are you excited to see the romance between Lee Se Young and 2PM's Junho in "The Red Sleeve Cuff"? Let us know in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars.

Kdramastars owns this article.

Written by Shai Collins.
Ahn Bo Hyun and Jo Bo Ah will headline the upcoming Kdrama "Military Prosecutor Doberman."

tvN officially announced the new team-up over Instagram alongside the cast lineup of the forthcoming series.

Meet the Cast of tvN's 'Military Prosecutor Doberman'

Helmed by "Bad Papa" director Jin Chang Gyu and penned by "Confidential Assignment" and "Lawless Lawyer" screenwriter Yoon Hyun Ho, the series is slated to broadcast in the first half of 2022.

Following this, the broadcast also announced the roster of stars who will be joining the "My Name" star and the 30-year-old beauty.

"Military Prosecutor Doberman" cast also includes Kim Young Min, Oh Yeon Soo, and Kim Woo Seok, who will be starring in Korea's first military court drama.

According to an outlet, the production team lauded the brilliant cast lineup, saying that the combination of stars syncs well to their respective characters.

"It is a reliable casting just with the presence of the actors. The perfect synchronicity of actors and characters as well as what kind of ensemble will be completed when they act together," said one of the representatives from the production team.

Get to Know More About the 'Military Prosecutor Doberman' Characters

The soon-to-be-released tvN series follows the story of two military prosecutors who live with a different mission--one is for money while the other is for vengeance.

In the drama, Ahn Bo Hyun will take on the role of a military prosecutor named Do Bae Man, who only chose the job for money.

The South Korean heartthrob is headlined in a slew of remarkable dramas this 2021--this includes the webtoon-based series "Yumi's Cells" with Kim Go Eun and the action-packed "Netflix" original "My Name" with Han So Hee and Park Hee Soon.

Meanwhile, Jo Bo Ah is set to play the revenge-driven military prosecutor Cha Woo In who grew up under a chaebol family.

Her character is described as someone who harbors a bold persona with a dignified attitude who fears nothing.

In the Kdrama "Military Prosecutor Doberman," the actress will showcase her outstanding acting skills portraying a three-dimensional character.

On the other hand, after years of hiatus, Oh Yeon Soo will return as the first female division commander Noh Noh Yeong.

Her overwhelming charisma and extraordinary talent will surely pique the interstate of viewers through her mysterious character.

To recall, this is Oh Yeon Soo's comeback drama after starring in the 2017 mystery series "Criminal Minds."

As for Kim Young Min, he will portray special division prosecutor lawyer Yong Moon Gu.

Viewers would recognize him for his appearance in "The World of the Married," where he took on the character of Ye Rim's husband, Son Je Hyuk.

Lastly, Kim Woo Seok will play the third generation chaebol Roh Tae Nam, who became the chairman of a leading conglomerate in his late 20s.

Following the confirmation of the cast, viewers could expect a series of exhilarating stories in "Military Prosecutor Doberman" that focuses on the unknown revelation in the military.

KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
MEDFORD, Ore.  Upwards of 200 employees of Asante in southern Oregon have either resigned or lost their jobs after refusing to get vaccinated against Covid-19, a representative of the healthcare provider confirmed on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Asante senior public relations specialist Lauren Van Sickle reiterated to NewsWatch 12 that 58 workers had resigned their positions, citing the Covid-19 vaccine mandate. This was true when the deadline for vaccination arrived on October 18.

Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center

At that time, nearly 500 Asante employees had received a religious or medical exception to vaccination. However, Asante's policy regarding the state's vaccine mandate was that all workers within a medical facility be vaccinated  meaning that all those who were unvaccinated as of October 18, including those with exceptions, were either set up with remote work or placed on unpaid administrative leave.

Under Asante's policy, workers who still had not been vaccinated as of October 31, exception or otherwise, could have their employment terminated.

Van Sickle confirmed Wednesday that 163 employees lost their jobs on Sunday because they did not get vaccinated or start the process. While they could be subject to re-hire if they were to get vaccinated, there is no guarantee that their positions will still be there.

Asante's staffing has certainly been in flux over the past month. In addition to the more than 200 employees who resigned or lost their jobs in connection with the vaccine mandate, about 250 contracted workers provided by the state of Oregon during the Delta variant surge finished up their terms and left Asante facilities as of this week.

Regardless, Van Sickle said Monday that Asante hired about 100 new employees in October  a record number of hires. There are also still about 180 traveling medical staff working at Asante through their normal contracting service.

Meanwhile, the surge of Covid-19 patients has significantly diminished. As of Tuesday, there were 48 coronavirus patients between Asante's facilities, 11 of them in intensive care and three on ventilators.

Van Sickle underlined that medical staffing shortages were an issue even before the advent of Covid-19. The upside, she says, is that patients can walk into an Asante facility and know that all of the staff they interact with are vaccinated,

"We're finding that there might be some delays as far as a few services  maybe a lab result, instead of being processed in 1-2 hours, maybe takes 3 or 4 hours, depending on really what the capacity is at that time," Van Sickle told NewsWatch 12 on Monday. "But for the most part all the critical services that we provide for the community will remain intact and will move forward."
MEDFORD, Ore.  Jackson County Public Health has reported about 15 more deaths attributed to Covid-19 over the past week, despite the ostensible slump in cases and hospitalizations. One of the deaths, reported Wednesday, was that of a 33-year-old woman.

Public health officials put out an update on Tuesday with information about 10 of the deaths, indicating that the report covered the previous five days. A subsequent update on Wednesday added five more deaths, bringing Jackson County's total to 328 since the pandemic began.

While the majority of recent Covid-19 deaths were over the age of 70, there have been a number of younger victims: a 43-year-old woman who died October 30, a 47-year-old man who died October 27, a 56-year-old man who died October 28. All of them had underlying conditions, and all passed away at Providence Medford Medical Center.

According to JCPH's most recent report, the 33-year-old woman tested positive October 1 and died November 1 at Providence. She also had underlying health conditions.

With the news that the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine received approval from Oregon's regional advisory board on Wednesday, public health officials were quick to underline the need for more widespread vaccinations.

Vaccination is our way out of this pandemic. It is the safest and most effective way to obtain protection against COVID-19 for all individuals 5 and over, said Dr. Jim Shames, health officer for Jackson County Public Health. The greater the number of people who are immune to the virus, the quicker we can get back to our normal way of life."

JCPH underlined that though the approval process is now complete, vaccines for those ages 5 to 11 may not be available right away. Local vaccine providers are expected to receive doses sometime this week or into next week.

"Remember, kids can get COVID," Dr. Shames continued. "Some may need to be hospitalized to recover, a very traumatic event for a child. Children can have long-lasting effects from COVID, just like adults. And children can carry and spread the disease to others. I am so thankful that we now have a way to protect our children from COVID.

A new study from the CDC found that vaccination offers higher protection than previous COVID-19 infection. Study participants were over five times more likely to have COVID-19 if they were unvaccinated and had a prior infection.
GRANTS PASS, Ore.  Police arrested a Grants Pass woman on Friday in connection with a fatal crash that occurred back in July, the result of a months-long investigation.

According to Grants Pass Police, officers and firefighters responded to a single-vehicle crash in the 300-block of SW L Street on July 2 of this year. Upon arrival, officers found an "extensive crash scene" with an SUV on its side and a man pinned under the vehicle.

Firefighters and medical personnel from AMR arrived and used special equipment to extract the man from under the vehicle, but he did not survive the ordeal. Court documents identify him as Nathaniel Vincente Contreras Jr.

Now a fatal crash, Grants Pass Police detectives responded to the scene to begin a major crash investigation. Virginia Richardson was identified as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the crash, GPPD said. Though she was interviewed at the scene by officers before detectives arrived, she was not detained.

"Due to the extensive amount of damage and evidence at the scene, no arrests were made at that time pending further follow up and investigation into the cause of the crash," the agency said.

In the wake of the crash, detectives and a GPPD crash reconstructionist worked closely with Oregon State Police to continue the investigation and conduct a forensic examination of the SUV. The case was then referred to the District Attorney's office for charges.

A grand jury returned a true bill, and the Josephine County Circuit Court issued a secret indictment of Richardson on October 22. She was arrested Friday after turning herself in at the Grants Pass Police station.

Richardson was lodged in jail on charges for Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Reckless Driving, Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree.

"Our condolences go out to all of those involved in this incident," GPPD said. "We would like to thank citizens who assisted with the investigation, as well as our partner agencies in Josephine County. Due to the level of crimes, any further questions on this case should be referred to the Josephine County District Attorneys Office."
GRANTS PASS, Ore.  The dust is beginning to settle after a 2021 Special Election with a few consequential ballot measures hanging in the balance for southern Oregon. Unofficial results started coming in just after 8 p.m. on Tuesday night. Results are current as of 10 a.m. Wednesday.

With the preliminary results, Josephine County voters appear to have overwhelmingly renewed levies to support the adult jail and juvenile detention center, the Illinois Valley Fire District, Williams Rural Fire Protection, and even swung in favor of a new levy to establish an animal shelter and animal control.

Measure 17-101 to renew a current five-year local option tax to maintain fire/EMT services with Illinois Valley Fire District ($.50 per $1000 assessed property value, averaging approx. $408,000 per year) Yes: 80.69% No: 19.31%

to renew a current five-year local option tax to maintain fire/EMT services with Illinois Valley Fire District ($.50 per $1000 assessed property value, averaging approx. $408,000 per year) Measure 17-102 to renew a five-year local option tax for adult and juvenile detention, services and administration ($.93 per $1000 assessed property value, averaging approx. $8.8-million per year) Yes: 66.23% No: 33.77%

to renew a five-year local option tax for adult and juvenile detention, services and administration ($.93 per $1000 assessed property value, averaging approx. $8.8-million per year) Measure 17-103 to levy a five-year local option tax for animal shelter and animal control ($.11 per $1000 assessed value, averaging approx. $1.06-million per year) Yes: 63.82% No: 36.18%

to levy a five-year local option tax for animal shelter and animal control ($.11 per $1000 assessed value, averaging approx. $1.06-million per year) Measure 17-104 to renew a current local option tax to maintain funding for Williams Rural Fire Protection District operations ($.65 per $1000 assessed property value, averaging approx. $145,000 per year) Yes: 79.27% No: 20.73%

to renew a current local option tax to maintain funding for Williams Rural Fire Protection District operations ($.65 per $1000 assessed property value, averaging approx. $145,000 per year)

Jackson County had only one county-wide measure, asking whether voters would like to change the County Assessor to an appointed, rather than elected, position. With preliminary results in, voters appear to have rejected the change. The only other item on some ballots was for Shady Cove City Council, where candidate Tanda Murders posted an early lead.

Measure 15-201 should the Jackson County charter be amended so that the County Assessor is not elected? Yes: 45.06% No: 54.94%

should the Jackson County charter be amended so that the County Assessor is not elected? Shady Cove City Council member candidates - Tanda Murders: 51.44% Paige Winfrey: 47.59%

member candidates -

Curry County did not have any county-wide measures or candidates, but one measure on the ballot for the Brookings area will determine whether a parks & recreation district is established  a proposal that voters appear to have roundly rejected.

Measure 8-102 to form a South Coast Parks & Recreation Special District to develop and fund rec programs, services and facilities with a maximum permanent tax rate of $.33 per $1000 assessed property value. If passed, a board gets elected May 2022.

to form a South Coast Parks & Recreation Special District to develop and fund rec programs, services and facilities with a maximum permanent tax rate of $.33 per $1000 assessed property value. If passed, a board gets elected May 2022. Yes: 38.64%



No: 61.36%

In Siskiyou County, California, there was only one competitive race on the ballot, which was for directors of the Hornbrook Community Services District. Voters were allowed to vote for three candidates.
MEDFORD, Ore.  Moving to a new living situation is a hectic experience, no matter the circumstances. But it's much more stressful if the "movers" you hire are actually scammers, looking to extort you for money or steal your property.

While the worst case scenario isn't the most likely, state officials warn that it can happen when the movers you hire don't have the proper certification.

"When individuals move from one home to another, they need to work with fully licensed household good movers in order to protect themselves from the unscrupulous companies that take advantage of being in possession of their belongs in order to extort additional fees, or even worse, steal their belongings," said Jana Jarvis, president of the Oregon Trucking Association.

On Wednesday, officers from the Medford Police Department worked with ODOT to set up a sting targeting illegal movers. They camped out at a vacant house southwest of Phoenix, called the suspected illegal movers to come pick up items supposedly ready for a move, then confronted them on arrival. The Jackson County Sheriffs Office, US Marshals Service, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration were also involved in the sting.

"These operations conducted by the Commerce & Compliance Division of ODOT serve not only to catch these unethical companies, but highlight to the public the value of working with companies that can be trusted, Jarvis continued.

In all, three companies were cited for multiple violations each under state and federal law: Advanced Moving Solutions LLC, Almighty Movers, and Rogue Valley Professonal Movers. ODOT said that the driver from Advanced Moving Solutions was placed out of service, and the driver from Rogue Valley Professional Movers was arrested on a federal probation violation for a weapons offense.

The movers were provided with information about how to become legal in Oregon. Legitimate movers have to be certified through ODOT's Commerce and Compliance Division, which means that they have to go undergo criminal background checks.

"The rules have been established to both provide oversight and monitoring of regulated and licensed companies operating in the market, as well as to identify and prevent operations conducted by unlicensed and, in some cases, unscrupulous individuals that use the access to a consumers home necessary to perform moving services as an opportunity to steal or otherwise hold an owners belongings hostage in order to receive excessive payment for services rendered, said Diane DeAutremont of Lile Moving & Storage. Operations conducted by ODOT are a valuable tool used periodically to identify, eliminate, and discourage these unethical practices and these efforts are enthusiastically supported by the Oregon Moving & Storage Association."

ODOT recommends that before you hire a mover, check their certification with the state, make sure that they have vehicles in good working condition, read reviews and gather information, and ensure that they have a storefront. Victims of illegal movers can file a complaint with the Department of Justices Consumer Protection Division.
Direct connections between Kelowna and Seattle via Alaska Airlines will start again in mid-December now that Transport Canada has cleared the way for resumption of international flights at YLW, effective Nov. 30.
Ontario premier Doug Ford announces an increase to the minimum wage to $15 an hour at a press conference in Milton, Ont., on Tuesday, November 2, 2021. Families, advocates and opposition politicians argue Ontario should transition away from for-profit ownership of long-term care homes after the pandemic that devastated the sector, with a particularly deadly impact in for-profit homes THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
A 64-year-old Oak Park, Ill., woman faces a felony charge of stalking for allegedly harassing a man beginning in June 2020.

Ada R. Patete made her initial appearance Monday in Kenosha County Circuit Court. Commissioner Larry Keating set a $1,500 signature bond for Patete, who will return for a preliminary hearing Nov. 16.

If convicted, she faces a fine of $10,000 and three years, six months in prison.

According to the criminal complaint: Kenosha Police met with a man, who stated the defendant came to his residence last June, asked why he had been ignoring her and why he would not talk to her.

The incidents continued four times in October, the 27th through the 30th, when the victim saw the defendant parked in front of his home, which had happened several times previously. The victim also told police that Patete had contacted his co-workers about him.

The victim stated that Patete's behavior "made him feel nervous and paranoid."

When police spoke to Patete, she stated she did not know the victim and did not know how to contact him. Police found a pair of binoculars in her vehicle.
Ketchikan, AK (99901)

Today

Windy at times with rain likely. Low 43F. SSE winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch..

Tonight

Windy at times with rain likely. Low 43F. SSE winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.
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It was as if my four-day-old daughters condition was not critical. It was as if I was not a clinician who could confidently assess and identify seizure episodes. It was as if there were no monitors blatantly showing critically low oxygen levels.

Nine long hours and still no response. I felt like I was begging for eternity. I had repeatedly approached the nurses station to get their attention and assess my daughter, but all they did was record the desaturations as they happened. In medicine, we usually intubate when oxygen levels are in the 80s. However, my precious babys oxygen levels fell to an alarming 51 percent so many times, and yet  still no course of action.

It was not until I called a friend, another female, Black pediatrician, who was not on call. I explained my current situation, and she immediately called up the attending physician regarding my daughters status.

If I were white, would the situation change? Would I need to call a friend just to be granted the right to proper medical care?

You see, things like this arent new. Racism has become deeply ingrained not just in history but even in day-to-day living. Racism has established its roots in so-called white supremacy  even in the realm of medicine  and this has become so authentic to me. So real that discriminative acts like this did not only happen to me once. So real that I could still vividly remember my first pregnancy when I needed to undergo an emergency C-section after a failed trial of labor. It was the most horrible experience for a first-time mother.

I was given a poor choice for anesthesia. Despite screaming in pain and begging multiple times for more pain medications, they, white female obstetricians, went along with their business of digging and cutting in my belly despite breakthrough pain. And after what seemed like an eternity, the white male anesthesiologist finally gave me the pain medications I needed to dull the pain.

And it did not stop there. I had a massive postpartum bleed right after the delivery. When I bled the second time, I immediately told the nurse on duty. To my frustration, she didnt check on me, told me, I was fine, I just checked you, and simply walked out of the room while I lay helpless in a pool of postpartum blood. My nurse was white.

I could not believe I experienced firsthand the impact of systemic racism. A specific kind of bigotry catches us off-guard at one of a females most vulnerable moments  during childbirth. Black women are three times more likely to die after birth than white women in the United States. It is a fact too difficult to ignore. Everyone is too aware of it such that we do our best to avoid certain hospitals and providers in an attempt to prevent adverse outcomes.

I can count numerous other stories where the voices of Black women were largely ignored. The New York Times article from December 25th, 2020, describes, Dr. Susan Moore died of COVID-19 after complaining of racism at Indiana hospital. Or perhaps the story of Dr. Chaniece Wallace, a fourth-year pediatric chief resident who died after pregnancy complications. Or maybe the story of Sha-Asia Washington, in NYC, who died during an emergency C section. Sha-Asia, too, had voiced her concerns multiple times, and she was ignored over and over again. Kiara Dixon Johnson, age 39, died April 13th, 2016, after begging for her life for more than 10 hours. She was bleeding internally from a massive bleed after a routine c-section. Countless other Black women have had similar stories, but I only shared a few. Racism and discrimination come in many facets, but the systemic consequences remain the same  it is contagious, and it takes lives.

According to the CDC, most pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S., 60 percent or more, could have been prevented. Also, the challenges for Black women increase by age and are not affected by education, location, or status. Even celebrities like Serena Williams and Beyonce have voiced their concerns about their deliveries and poor treatment. If these celebrities are affected, then no woman is exempt.

But what makes this prejudice more difficult to swallow is that it does not recognize educational and professional backgrounds, intellectual capacities and even your contribution to society. Your color decides whether you get the proper treatment, the right provider or whether you have the right to live. And even Black female doctors  Black females who chose to go after a very noble and self-sacrificial profession  are not exempt from it.

It is what makes being a Black female doctor more agonizing.

We would be naive to think an MD after our name would protect us from the reality of being Black. It simply accents our Blackness. The pressure of being a professional in a very biased world can be utterly suffocating.

We have come to terms with Blackness all our lives. We have to teach our children, from an early age, that they are Black and that they must hold themselves to a higher standard than their non-Black peers.

And the stories do not end there. For instance, the feeling of being passed over is all too common. I have personally experienced flying in the United States, where a flight attendant made it evident that she had no intention to serve me  but made the deliberate effort to acknowledge other guests around me repeatedly.

Nonetheless, I have become all too familiar with the probing stares and the rude questions. To add more salt to the wound, your non-Black peers will attempt to gaslight you and tell you that your reality isnt real. When you take the high road and work harder, you are a bigger target. This is a sentiment I have shared with other Black women, and I am very confident that I am not alone with these thoughts.

Black women in America are some of the most stressed and abused groups. Even though Black female doctors represent only 2 percent of all U.S.-based physicians, we experience a disproportionate amount of discrimination. We receive treatment from our peers, which any other group would not tolerate. Microaggressions such as derogatory references or mockery are common to them compared to white male doctors who receive apologies for wrongdoing.

Whether or not an attempt to eliminate these biases is made, we can never be sure. The existence of this type of prejudice in todays modern society explicitly shows that first, these biases were allowed to exist, and second, attempts to eliminate them must not be that strong as to create a profound and lasting impact from generation to generation.

Way back in 2020, I was in an abyss after a decade of practice. After years of feeling the blatant double standards being myself and my white colleagues, frustrations spilled over. Having a constant microscope on me and having unreasonable expectations forced on me worn out every fiber in my body.

My experiences were nothing new, as countless Black women and men had experienced this. However, in 2020, the brutal murder of George Floyd must have caused the world to take notice and for tens of thousands, globally, to say that we have had enough.

Last year, the world as a whole received a considerable jolt. Many people of color were not immune. Black doctors watched in horror as they saw their fellow Black men being murdered by police officers. They felt frustrated when visiting injured protestors at the emergency room who looked like them. Still, they had to remain neutral while treating injuries that could have been inflicted on them. For many people of color, that rude awakening exposed the pain and frustration they had attempted to bury as deep as possible- the painful truth that discrimination was alive and well in America.

The words of George Floyd haunt me as a woman, as a mother, and as a person of color. After the initial shock and numbness from the global display of grief and anger, I wept for him as I could relate to him on many levels. His experience of begging for his life, crying out, and saying I cant breathe triggered a myriad of memories.

Georges crying for his late mother struck a chord deep inside my soul. It brought my mind to a memory that I had so desperately wanted to forget  begging in a hospital, where I once worked, to get the nurses attention that was supposed to be looking after my four-day-old child. At that moment, I was not just a Black mother, but I was also a Black doctor who knew when her child needed help and immediate medical attention.

As a Black woman in the medical field, I carry extra weight on my shoulders. I must prove to others that I am good enough for this profession. I must let them see that I am competent and that I have something to give and offer. This is a fact that most people do not understand because they have never had to deal with our struggles firsthand.

If, as a Black person, I had to prove myself worthy of being given attention, now, as a Black physician, I had to prove myself worthy of being recognized as a professional who could offer something of value to humanity.

The agonizing trauma of racism must be endured along with the excruciating truth: our medical degrees as Black physicians are not enough to shield us from the metaphorical knee on our necks.

Being a woman is also difficult in society, but we are often all too aware of the apparent display of unfair racial disparities as Black female doctors. Women face sexism and discrimination while still earning less than their male counterparts who do the same work- and change must be initiated. In a profession where voicing your concerns could mean immediate dismissal and forfeiting advancement in ones career, being Black further amplifies the difficulty of having a voice in society.

As physicians, we are reminded to stay in our lane and be constantly aware not to seem bossy or pushy when speaking is necessary. It has been instilled in us that the strong woman stereotype means suck it up instead of standing with authority on what you believe needs addressing.

This pervasive ideology continues here  with the idea being pushed onto us by men who hold positions above ours. It is hurtful because, if these ideologies had been appropriately addressed, they would never have become an issue at all. As a clinician for over ten years, I can assure you that the struggle against the ideology continues to persist, and we need autonomy from this narrative imposed upon us by those who think they know better than we know ourselves.

Youve heard of the glass ceiling, but what about that invisible weight on your back? As Black women doctors, we have to carry a burden sometimes just for being who we are. When we walk into any room and meet a new patient for the first time, they often expect more from us  not because our qualifications arent as good or different from others but because society has told them so many negative things about African Americans womanhood.

Then you speak of a pandemic, where people are making issues with regards to wearing a mask, citing an issue of violation of human rights. Internally, I wince because I feel so many people use the term recklessness in denial of their unique privilege that many Black physicians do not have.

This is the hard truth. Black female doctors are standing at a precipice, and its undeniable.

We are in the most undesirable position: many of societys negative preconceptions are being thrown our way with little to no control over this situation that we find ourselves in.

The pandemic has heightened our and societys awareness of our concerns. Black is synonymous with lower status in society. Females are considered a lesser of the sexes. Doctors are placed in an unpleasant situation to be superhuman and work at the highest level, under constant pressure, with little regard for our self-care.

Writing these words is not easy, as it forces me to come to terms with a deep betrayal and the flood of emotions that go with it. Serving a system that we have made countless sacrifices for, yet does not live up to its responsibility, feels like a betrayal. Imagine working in a scenario where you know you would go the extra mile to be attentive and caring towards your patients and team members, but deep inside, you know you might not be given a fraction of the care you provided.

And the irony is: this betrayal is not at all surprising.

I have been a practicing physician for over ten years, but I grew tired after countless hours of service and dedication to the profession. I left clinical practice to pursue other ventures because I needed to remain authentic to my truth. The agony, betrayal, and gaslighting were too much for me, so I left clinical practice. Working in a system that threatens your sense of safety, over and over again, is mentally and physically exhausting.

The system betrayed me repeatedly until I was fed up with everything it claimed to stand for. At first, this anger manifested in feelings of betrayal, which then yielded to mental and physical exhaustion. I felt alone, as it wasnt as if I received much, if any, support and acknowledgment from my so-called colleagues.

Then I realized that not only are Black female physicians affected by these problems, but we are also more acutely aware because we often lack support networks or mentors from within our own demographic. This explains why many of us feel our voices will never be heard.

Regardless, I say this: I am a woman of history who stands up and tells the truth, irrespective of what other people say. I remember the words of the late Representative John Lewis, Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year. It is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.

Black female physicians are not OK, but it is our collective duty to do something about it. It is our collective duty to go against the tide. It is time to take a stand and institute change that we need to initiate ourselves.

Tomi Mitchell is a family physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
EUGENE, Ore.  Local law enforcement, school districts and more are seeking funding through measures in the November election.

Ballots must be turned in at an official drop-off site by 8 p.m. tonight to be counted.

Western Lane Ambulance District is seeking to pass a five-year option levy for services. The first levy was passed in 2012 in response to an increased 911 call volume and need for additional medical staff. The levy costs homeowners 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value, which is around $90 each year for a $200,000 home. The levy expires next year unless voters renew it.

Mike Caven, president of Lane Professional Firefighters IAFF-851 which represents the medical workers in the district, said renewing the levy is vital to keeping current levels of service.

We're not asking for more money or to increase the tax. We're asking to maintain an operational levy that's almost a decade old, and maintain the high level of service that our members provide to the Florence community, Caven said.

READ ON: VOTERS TO DECIDE ON RENEWING TAX FOR WESTERN LANE AMBULANCE DISTRICT

Meanwhile in Linn County, voters will decide whether to renew a law enforcement levy and raise the amount that gets collected in property taxes each year. The four-year levy that funds much of the Linn County Jail, sheriffs office, district attorneys office and juvenile corrections is set to expire next June, according to Linn County Sheriff Jim Yon.

We've all experienced the cost of things going up, and we're no different here at the sheriff's office, Yon said. But the way that I look at it, for $28 or $40 a year that the increase is, you get to keep all of the services that we provide.

MORE: LINN COUNTY VOTERS TO DECIDE ON PROPERTY TAX INCREASE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY

City charter amendments are also showing up on some ballots this year. Corvallis voters are weighing whether the city should amend its charter to remove gender-specific and binary pronouns. There's also a five-year local option tax on the ballot for Benton County area voters that would fund the McDonald Forest Estates Road District. In North Albany, the rural fire protection district is asking voters to approve a five-year levy.

Two school bonds are on the ballot in Coos County, one to fund repairs and updates in the North Bend School District and one to construct, renovate and improve Coquille School District facilities.

In Douglas County, some voters will be deciding whether to approve a bond for the Winchester Water Control District.

To find an official drop box site, CLICK HERE, and to check the status of your ballot, CLICK HERE.
ALBANY, Ore. -- Initial results are rolling in across western Oregon, and a law enforcement levy for Linn County looks to be passing.

As of 9 p.m. on election night, the four-year law enforcement local option tax levy had won 62% of the vote, wtih just 38% voting no. Votes are still being counted, and up-to-date numbers will be provided as they are released by elections officials.

The levy would renew the existing one that is set to expire next June, but it would also increase the amount residents pay in property taxes each year to fund services.

RELATED: LINN COUNTY VOTERS TO DECIDE ON PROPERTY TAX INCREASE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY

Officials said they are facing rising costs and the extra money is needed to help fund the Linn County Jail, sheriffs office, district attorneys office and juvenile corrections.

The replacement levy would set a fixed rate of $2.98 per $1,000 of assessed value and raise about $147 million over four years. For the average homeowner, thats about $551 each year, and almost $28 more than before.

We've all experienced the cost of things going up, and we're no different here at the sheriff's office, Sheriff Jim Yon said. But the way that I look at it -- for $28 or $40 a year that the increase is -- you get to keep all of the services that we provide.
SALEM, Ore.  Following an endorsement from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday, Oregon's regional vaccine advisory group has confirmed that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is "safe and effective" for kids between the ages of 5 and 11  meaning that Covid-19 vaccinations for kids have cleared their final hurdle for West Coast states.

The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup completed its review of the federal process on Tuesday night, according to Governor Kate Brown's office, providing its confirmation to the governors of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington on Wednesday morning.

With that, the Oregon Health Authority plans to begin informing healthcare providers that vaccinations for kids ages 5-11 can begin throughout the state immediately.

The FDA gave emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine in the 5-11 age group on October 29, which was followed on Tuesday by a recommendation from the CDC's vaccine advisory panel and Walensky's sign-off.

While that process was enough for most of the US, the aforementioned Western States formed an independent advisory group early in the pandemic to review safety data, "including the absence of any severe adverse events among vaccine recipients in the clinical trial."

"Reactions were mild and similar to those seen in adolescents and adults and with other vaccines routinely recommended for children and were less common at ages 5-11 years than at 16-25 years," Gov. Brown's office said.

The workgroup is made up of scientists with expertise in immunization and public health, and they've been tasked with reviewing the federal process for authorization of Covid-19 vaccines.

This is great news for Oregon children, parents, and families. Vaccination is the best tool we have to protect ourselves and our loved ones," said Governor Brown in a statement. "With todays review by leading doctors, pediatricians, and health experts, Oregon parents and children can be confident in the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 5-to-11-year-olds. It is completely normal for parents and kids to have questions about vaccinesI urge you to reach out to your family doctor, health care provider, or pharmacist and get your questions answered today.

Wednesday's development is even more significant in California, where Governor Gavin Newsom has mandated Covid-19 vaccination for school children as vaccines gain full approval for different age groups  though the Pfzer vaccine still only has emergency use authorization for kids 5 through 15, and full approval for those 16 and up.

This expanded eligibility for lifesaving vaccines moves us closer to ending the pandemic, which has taken a heavy toll on the wellbeing of our kids," Newsom said Wednesday. "California is leading the nation in vaccinations, with 54 million administered and 87 percent of the eligible population having received at least one dose, and were moving swiftly to implement a robust vaccination program for 5-11-year-olds. I urge families to get the facts on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and take action to protect themselves and loved ones from COVID-19, especially as we head into the winter months.
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In this Aug. 17 file photo, nursing coordinator Beth Springer looks into a patients room in a COVID-19 ward at the Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport, La. A decline in COVID-19 cases in the United States over the last several weeks has given overwhelmed hospitals some relief, but administrators are bracing for yet another possible surge as cold weather drives people indoors.
Investment in wastewater infrastructure in Freshford, Stonyford, Goresbridge and Johnstown has led to improvements in water quality, while also supporting housing and economic development in these areas.

The latest EPA Urban Wastewater Treatment Report, published today, shows progress being made, while also highlighting the need for continued investment in our essential wastewater services. Nationally, the report shows 34 towns and villages release raw sewage into the environment every day.

Irish Water says its consistent progress in upgrading wastewater treatment and eliminating the discharge of raw sewage to Irelands rivers, lakes and coastal areas is benefiting communities and enhancing the environment throughout Ireland.

In the last six years, Irish Water has prioritised areas where it can support housing and development and have the greatest environmental impact, particularly in locations where raw sewage was discharging into our rivers and seas.

Over 60% of raw sewage discharges have been eliminated since 2015  and replaced with treatment capacity for the equivalent of 120,000 people. As a result of the targeted investment in wastewater infrastructure, communities around Ireland are now reaping the rewards of a cleaner environment, safer bathing waters and greater opportunities for the development of new homes, businesses and tourism.

To date new wastewater treatment plants have been built in 17 locations where raw sewage had been discharged into the sea for decades. By the end of this year construction will have started in an additional 14 locations, with a further eight projects due to get underway next year and the remaining nine from 2023 onwards. This means that the majority of raw sewage discharges are on track to be removed by the end of 2025.

In addition to ending the discharge of raw sewage by building infrastructure where none previously existed, Irish Water has also been continuing with its programme of upgrading existing wastewater treatment plants and networks in towns and villages throughout Ireland. In 2020, a total of 10 wastewater treatment plants were built or upgraded (two built and nine upgraded), directly benefiting the equivalent of over 20,000 people in these communities while also protecting our wider environment. The number of plants on the Environmental Protection Agencys Priority Action List is also continuing to fall, currently down to 97 from 148 in 2017.

Speaking about the progress being made, Michael Tinsley of Irish Water commented: Having a modern, sustainable and functional wastewater network is critical in order to protect our environment and to support housing and economic growth in the years ahead. Irish Water is working closely with the EPA and our other partners, including local authorities, to ensure this can be delivered in the most efficient and sustainable way through the use of cutting-edge technologies, science and engineering expertise, and meaningful engagement with local communities around Ireland.

There is no doubt that challenges remain. Much of the infrastructure for safely collecting and treating wastewater around the country has suffered from decades of under-investment. But Irish Water has a plan in place to address these deficiencies and we are making real progress. Continued investment will be required in the coming years to build a modern, fit-for-purpose wastewater network but we are confident that we are on track to achieving that aim.

One of the key priorities in Irish Water is compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. Due to the work undertaken to address long-standing issues with many wastewater treatment plants, the compliance rates have increased from 71% in 2014 to 93% in 2020.
Students at IT Carlow are patrolling bars after a reported "surge" in drink-spiking reports.

According to IT Carlow Students' Union (SU), the Spike-Watch initiative involves SU staff and volunteer students forming a visible presence at bars to prevent spiking.

Volunteers on patrol will act as a point of contact for anyone worried they may have been spiked, or who feels unsafe.

SU President, Thomas Drury, said, "We feel it should be a priority of ours to ensure students can feel safe on a night out without having to worry about themselves or their friends being spiked. This campaign steps up our efforts in putting an end to this drink-spiking crisis."

Individual students are also doing their part, with student Alex Kelly providing the SU with a simple device to help prevent spiking; a small circular card to place over an individual's drink.

Common symptoms of spiking include lowered inhibitions, difficulty concentrating or speaking, loss of balance, memory loss, blurred vision, hallucinations and/or unconsciousness.

Bars popular with students around Carlow Town have reportedly pledged their support to end the crisis.
A young mother of four, who is facing homelessness, has gone public with her plea for a house.

Toni Powell and her partner, along with their 4 young children, have applied to over 70 properties to rent after being given notice to leave their current rental property due to the landlord selling the house.

Speaking with Liveline recently, Toni said: "I really don't know where else we need to turn to try and find somewhere for us to have a home."

Toni and her partner have applied for properties to rent in Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford and nothing has been available for the young family.

Wexford County Council will supply emergency accommodation for Toni and her children, but she has not been told where.

As a result of the situation, her seven-year-old daughter has gotten bad anxiety. For her eighth birthday, she wants a house. She wrote a Christmas List asking Santa to get her a forever home for Christmas.

"My kids as of Friday will be living out of backpacks. They have their favourite teddies packed, but there is a lot of stuff they cannot bring as we do not know where we will end up." she added.

Most of the properties she viewed were taken before she had a chance to make an offer.

"I'm not sure if this is legal or not but for a few of them, once we mention we have 4 kids under 7, we are told it is not suitable," added Toni.

The family are looking for properties located in Wexford, Waterford, and Kilkenny, and are hoping to secure a rental property.

Toni's story is similar to many families across Ireland who are facing homelessness in the current housing crisis.

Assistant Professor of Social Policy in Maynooth, Rory Aherne said: "This is a powerful indication of how desperate and devastating the Housing Crisis is, it is out of control."
The team at Waterford Treasures, Five Museums in Waterfords Viking Triangle, has been informed by Senator John Cummins, that the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has approved two further donations to the Irish Silver Museum in Waterford.

One of the donations is valued at 850,000 and the second donation valued at 750,000. These donations will ensure that the Irish Silver Museum in Waterford will have one of the largest collections of antique Irish silver in the world and will be the only museum in the world dedicated solely to celebrating the virtuoso craftsmen and women who over the centuries produced magnificent works of art in silver.

Minister Donohoe opened the Irish Silver Museum in June this year in the presence of Noel Frisby (Mullinavat) and Stephanie Frisby, two local philanthropists, who financed the transformation of the former Motor Tax office on the ground floor of the Deanery into a must-visit celebration of Irish craft.

The two new donations together with earlier donations of furniture, paintings and other relevant and complementary museum objects will allow Waterford Treasures expand the displays in the Deanery as soon as suitable office accommodation can be secured and thus making it possible to create museum galleries in the upper floors of the Deanery.

Mr McEneaney also thanked the Executive in Waterford City and County Council, and the Board of the Museum for their enormous support for the development of the cultural offering in the Viking Triangle. Since opening in May this year the public reaction to the Irish Museum of Time has been phenomenal with over 36,000 fee-paying visitors. Mr McEneaney added that a critical mass of cultural attractions has been developed in the Viking Triangle thus giving Waterford the unique distinction of having the only dedicated museum quarter in Ireland.

International interest in the museum has been very encouraging with an early booking for 2022 of over thirty visitors from the Belgian Silver Society who will be over-nighting in the Granville Hotel in the city.
Teams and individuals from schools all across Kilkenny have qualified to represent the county at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2022.

Submitted by talented students from Castlecomer Community School, Colaiste Pobal Osrai, Loreto Secondary School, Meanscoil na mBraithre Criostai and St Kierans College, 25 local entries made the final cut this year.

These projects will now feature in the national competition, running from January 12-14, 2022.

Below is a list of Kilkenny entries - organised by school name, project title, project category and project type:

Castlecomer Community School

Can food waste from restaurants be used to increase organic matter and as a result worm population in soils?

Biological & Ecological

Group



Castlecomer Community School

Personality and film taste

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Individual



Castlecomer Community School

Investigation of the prominence of long term Covid-19

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Castlecomer Community School

How Supermarkets Attempt To Manipulate Their Customers

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Castlecomer Community School

Does the amount of time teenagers spend online affect their internet safety?

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Colaiste Pobal Osrai

An feidir caisearbhan a cuir chun cinn i gcomhair saothru san Afraic fho-Shaharach?

Biological & Ecological

Individual



Colaiste Pobal Osrai

Animal welfare during Covid/ leasainmhithe I ndiaidh Covid

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Loreto Secondary School

Does Copper Eliminate Microbes on Used Face Masks?

Biological & Ecological

Group



Loreto Secondary School

Trash in the Skies: Towards the Prediction of Space Debris in Low Earth Orbit

Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences

Individual



Loreto Secondary School

Methods of neutralising the acidic properties of nettles which cause the skin to sting

Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences

Group



Loreto Secondary School

You may be left handed, but are you always right?

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Loreto Secondary School

An investigation into how a new scent can affect your memory.

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Loreto Secondary School

The effectiveness of high and low complexity video games on experienced pain.

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Loreto Secondary School

How Cancel Culture Influences Irish Teenagers

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Meanscoil na mBraithre Criostai

Do gas densities affect electromagnetism?

Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences

Individual



Meanscoil na mBraithre Criostai

Exploring Irish Childrens Cognitive Development Through An Analysis Of Their Conceptualisation of Conservation of Quantity Across Age, Gender and Socio-Economic Background

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Individual



Meanscoil na mBraithre Criostai

The Effects of Lockdown on Introverted and Extroverted People

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Individual



Meanscoil na mBraithre Criostai

An analysis of the effect of social cliques on male adolescents today: a key aspect of society or a detriment to identity?

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



Meanscoil na mBraithre Criostai

PTO Safety stopper

Technology

Group



St Kierans College

Finding an easier way to peel egg shells

Biological & Ecological

Individual



St Kierans College

Temporal Mechanics: The Hidden Theoretical

Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences

Individual



St Kierans College

The impact of contactless payments on consumer spending.

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Individual



St Kierans College

How has Covid-19 affected GAA players injuries, fitness and health

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



St Kierans College

Does music help cows to produce more milk?

Social & Behavioural Sciences

Group



St Kierans College

Is hydrogen power usage within transport part of the solution for the current global climate crisis?

Technology

Group

Nationally, entries were received from over 2,700 students, with 1,440 brilliant project ideas. The shortlisted entries span 219 schools from 29 counties.

Following the success of the first ever virtual BTYSTE in January, which reached more than 77 countries around the world; this years finalists will once again compete on a virtual stage to both a national and international audience.

This year, new and adapted technologies featured in a fifth (110) of all project entries across the four project categories  Social and Behavioural Science, Technology; Chemical, Physical and Mathematics Science; and Ecological Science.

In an ever-increasing digital world, students demonstrated their curiosity and imagination for new technologies and how they can assist in our daily lives, with projects ranging from assisted living devices to apps that help us live more sustainably.

Climate change and the environment were featured in over 150 projects, indicating how our young students have their finger on the pulse of one of the most critical issues dominating our planet today. Students continue to ask questions and investigate the impact, causes and solutions to this global crisis.

Other areas with a strong focus in finalist projects this year include health, where students investigate the longer-term impact of Covid on our lives, along with the ways we look after our mental and physical health. Over 140 projects examined either Covid-19 or other health-related issues.

Mari Cahalane, Head of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition said, Following an incredibly challenging 18 months for schools, teachers and wider communities, I am delighted to see the volume and the quality of entries coming through for this years exhibition. The ideas are excellent and the ambition is strong, a testament to the dedication and resilience of schools and students across Ireland.

The BTYSTE is a hallmark of the school calendar year and alongside the projects, we will have an exciting line-up of events for everyone including teachers, schools, businesses and wider global and local communities to enjoy.

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will be delivered across a virtual platform from January 12-14, 2022.
MASON CITY, Iowa - A Cerro Gordo County man is pleading not guilty to check and credit card fraud.

Ryan David Ihde, 41 of Plymouth, was arrested in October and charged with ongoing criminal conduct, second-degree theft, and unauthorized use of a credit card.

Authorities say Ihde and another person deposited four counterfeit checks into an account and then used a stolen bank card over 20 times to withdraw money and buy things. Court documents state these crimes took place between January 18 and January 22 and involved the theft of $7,401.50.

After entering a not guilty plea, Ihde is now set to stand trial beginning November 30.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Gov. Tim Walz says health care providers and others will begin vaccinating 5- to 11-year-old children this week, now that the Pfizer coronavirus shot has received federal approval for that age group.

Walz says the vaccine will arrive in waves this week and that Minnesota providers have ordered as many doses as possible from the federal government. More than 500,000 children across Minnesota are now eligible for the vaccine.

The state has launched a new webpage to help parents and guardians of 5- to 11-year-old children find a vaccine and answer questions they may have. The website is mn.gov/vaxforkids.
ORONOCO TOWNSHIP, Minn.  Crews were called to a large shed fire around 11:35 am Tuesday.

The Pine Island Fire Department says it happened in the 8500 block of 11th Avenue NW. Firefighters initially tried to enter the shed to extinguish the flames but withdrew because of extreme heat and dangerous conditions. Officials say part of the sheds roof collapsed shortly after firefighters arrived.

With the assistance of the Rochester and Oronoco fire departments, water was shuttled to the scene and the flames were put out. Police tell KIMT one team prevented the fire from spreading by dousing a propane tank near the shed. The shed and its contents, including two vehicles, are considered a total loss with a damage estimate of about $800,000. The State Fire Marshals Office is investigating the cause.

The Pine Island Fire Department sent an engine crew, three tenders and utility truck with the Rochester Fire Department adding two engines and a tender and the Oronoco Fire Department responded with two tenders. A tender is a type of firefighting apparatus that specializes in the transport of water from a water source to a fire scene.

Fire crews remained at the scene of this blaze until around 5:30 pm.
DECORAH, Iowa  Four people have now been sentenced over the discovery of a large amount of narcotics in Winneshiek County.

The Sheriffs Office said it was called about a disturbance in Ossian on April 12. Deputies said they found Michael Foland and Joshua Koller intoxicated and in possession of a loaded firearm. That led to the search of an apartment and vehicle where investigators said a large amount of marijuana and prescription pills along with scales and packaging materials were found.

Two other people were ultimately arrested in connection with this case. They have all now pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

Foland entered a guilty plea to possession with intent to deliver Xanax and failure to use a drug tax stamp. He received three to five years of probation.

Koller pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver drugs and was sentenced to two years of probation.

Sydney Michial Winter pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver marijuana and failure to use a drug tax stamp and was sentenced to three to five years of probation.

Carson Marie Larson entered a guilty plea to possession of marijuana. Larson was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $430.

All four received deferred judgments, meaning these convictions will be removed from their records if they successfully complete their probation.
SEYMOUR, Iowa (AP)  An Iowa man who violated federal animal welfare laws 120 times since March has been permanently barred from selling, breeding, or brokering dogs.

A federal judge on Tuesday approved an agreement that ends a lawsuit filed against Daniel Gingerich on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Gingerich agreed to give up 514 dogs, which the Animal Rescue League of Iowa is gathering from several properties this week. His main facility was in rural Seymour.

Investigators said Gingerich failed to provide adequate nutrition, potable water and veterinary care for his dogs, which caused unnecessary suffering and death. Wayne County Sheriff Keith Davis says Gingerich will eventually face criminal charges.
CARLISLE, Iowa  Governor Kim Reynolds announced several new steps Wednesday to improve child care in Iowa and continue the states economic recovery.

Reynolds says Iowa leads the nation in the share of households where both parents work but 23% of Iowans, including 35% of rural Iowans, live in areas lacking adequate child care supply. Reynolds says the child care shortage costs the Iowa economy approximately $935 million a year.

We know that the key to economic growth is a highly skilled and qualified workforce, says Governor Reynolds. A child care shortage that prevents parents from entering or remaining in the workforce hinders our ability to meet this challenge.

Based on the final report of the Governors Child Care Task Force, Reynolds says she is implementing the following steps:

- Implementation of a childcare management system. This statewide, web-based platform will enable providers to leverage a shared services model for many business operations such as administrative tasks, group purchasing, and professional development. This system will be available in 2022.

- Creation of a Best Place for Working Parents designation. This designation will recognize employers that go above and beyond to accommodate their employees with children. The new, public designation will help job seekers quickly identify family-friendly employers and will encourage businesses to invest in childcare. This program will begin in January 2022.

- Additional $10 million in funding for the Child Care Challenge Grant Program. To support the expansion of existing childcare facilities or construction of new centers that will increase the number of childcare slots available to Iowa families, Iowa Workforce Development, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services, has launched another round of funding for the Childcare Challenge Grant Program, available today.

- $100,000 for integrated model of child care and preschool learning opportunities. The Iowa Department of Education, through ESSER III funds, is making available $100,000 for grants that will advance planning efforts for blended childcare and preschool learning opportunities.

- $200 million for funding stabilization grants for financial loss due to the pandemic. The Iowa Department of Human Services is providing up to $200 million in federal funding to assist eligible childcare providers who can verify financial loss due to the pandemic. This will ensure that Iowa providers are stable, can support expansion, and continue to serve the needs of Iowas working families.

Were not finished yet, this is only the beginning, says Reynolds. These new initiatives are going to support our working families and ensure Iowa has the child care system needed to unleash our states incredible workforce and set our economy on a path to long-term, broad-based prosperity.
RIVERSIDE, Iowa  Iowas only starship is in need of a little TLC.

Organizers of Trekfest, the annual Star Trek celebration in Riverside, have started a GoFundMe campaign for repairs to one of the centerpieces of their festivities. The fundraising webpage states:

After thirty-six years of Trekfest, the U.S.S. Riverside (NCC-1818) and her shuttle craft are in desperate need of dry dock. (for the non-nautical people, that means repair) Like all small towns across this great nation, funding for any discretionary projects can be a challenge. The responsibility of upkeep for the U.S.S. Riverside and other assets for Trekfest fall upon the 100% volunteer organization called the Riverside Area Community Club (RACC).

While the City of Riverside does supply some financial support for events, RACC is responsible for the maintenance of assets and the actual festival operations. We do not have the manpower to do fundraising all year round. Just like you, we have homes and families to take care of as well other commitments to contend with (Church, school, children, jobs, and much more). Please consider our request seriously. We need your help!

Riverside was officially referenced as the birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk in 2009, when it was mentioned in that years Stark Trek film, but the city council had unofficially claimed Kirk as the towns future favorite son in 1986.

To donate or find out more, click here.
MASON CITY, Iowa - The results have been tabulated for a few races in Mason City.

One key race this election cycle is the director at-large race, as well as for two other positions, on the Mason City school board. Carol Dettmer has won the director at-large vote with 24% of the vote. In addition, incumbent Alan Steckman won 23% of the vote, and will retain his seat, while newcomer Cindy Garza also received 23% of the vote. Incumbent member Jacob Schweitzer received 21% of the vote, and Connie Dianda received 9%.

Steckman has personally seen the changes in the school system; his daughter attended school in Mason City, and his granddaughter currently goes to school here.

"I'm very grateful to everyone who has voted for me. This is an important job. It requires somebody with skills. I think I have them, and they voted for me and said, 'I have them.'"

Steckman is ready to continue the board's work, including the ongoing natatorium and fieldhouse project at Mason City High School, and attract new students by promoting programs the district has to offer.

"I'd like to see what we're able to do to attract people to come to this school district other than the new pool and new gym. We need to take the programs we have like music and emphasize them, and possibly a STEM program."

This was Dianda's first time running for an elected position, and the experience has inspired her.

"It's been a learning experience for the next time if I decide to run. We learned a lot through this experience, me and my team."

"I tell people, win or lose, I'm still going to be attending the school board meetings, and I'm still going to be very involved with Mason City schools."

Another school board race was a position to fill a vacancy; incumbent Peterson Jean-Pierre won that vote at 76%. Cristy Tass also ran for the seat, and received 24% of the vote, despite previously announcing she was dropping out of the race.
CHATFIELD, Minn. - Voters are heading to the polls to decide whether to approve a Chatfield School District Referendum.

The district is asking voters to approve its referendum which would provide $430,000 a year over a seven-year period; that would result in a little more than $3 million.

Superintendent Ed Harris says given early positive polling results hes hopeful the community will show their support.

He explained, We're fairly happy to say we didn't need to ask for any additional funds and we feel that's a

pretty reasonable ask so I'm hopeful and I'm anxious to see the final results when they come.

The district says the money would be used to help support the day-to-day needs of the school including teacher and staff salaries, classroom supplies, and program costs.

Harris added, The discussions I've had with people or with people who have come to me have been supportive and understanding. I think they know in general this isn't extra revenue. This is revenue we count on in a yearly basis for operations much like 70% of the other districts in the state do.

The polling hours run until 8 p.m. at Chatfield City Hall located on 21st Street.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 56F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low 34F. Winds light and variable.
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Kokomo, IN (46901)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly in the morning. High 46F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low 23F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Kokomo, IN (46901)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 36F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 36F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Kokomo, IN (46901)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low near 35F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low near 35F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Kokomo, IN (46901)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low around 35F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low around 35F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
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Ghanaian Ambassador to South Korea Charis Margaretha Obetsebi-Lamptey Zwennes poses near a table showcasing cultural products of her country which will be sold during Seoul International Women's Association's online bazaar to be held at siwakorea.com from Nov. 8 to 21. Courtesy of Nora Gyuris









By Kang Hyun-kyung







Bottles of baobab oil, shea butter in plastic containers, chocolate bars and pieces of colorful fabric are placed on a small table in a corner of the Azaleas Room of the brand-new Fairmont Ambassador Hotel on Yeouido, Seoul.







Also placed behind them are three oil paintings created by Ghanaian artist Nsiah.







One after another, Ghanaian diplomat Isabella Sauponey was putting items in place attentively and trying to make room for another item she had brought from her embassy in Seoul.







"These are $150 each," she said, pointing to one of the oil paintings. "The artist used real sand here as a material. Try it and you can feel the rough texture."







The Ghanaian second secretary then showed a colorful yellow fabric to this reporter. "This is Kent cloth. Kent is a particular style of woven fabric which originates from Ghana. Kent is associated with the Ashanti tribe and their culture," she said.







Items on the table are to be sold during the forthcoming bazaar to be held online from Nov. 8 to 21. It's the biggest annual charity event prepared by Seoul International Women's Association (SIWA) in collaboration with the diplomatic community in Seoul.







The small table featuring iconic Ghanaian cultural items was set up there as a reminder to participants of the 59th SIWA and Diplomatic Community online bazaar opening ceremony that the charity event is just around the corner, so be prepared.







Representing their countries, embassies are blending charity with cultural diplomacy.







The Embassy of Hungary, which also showcased in advance some of its donations at a booth, prepared a small table featuring Hungarian wine also to be sold during the upcoming online bazaar.







Sun-mi Nam, the Korean wife of Hungary's ambassador to South Korea, said Hungarian wine is world-class but lesser-known among Korean consumers. "This white Tokaji wine is a favorite of female consumers. It's a great dessert wine," she said in praise of the country's wine.







In a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Song Hyeon-ok, the wife of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, expressed her gratitude to the dedicated SIWA members who prepared for this year's event, despite the pandemic. Song said she was touched by the international women's association's six decades of unwavering dedication to helping disadvantaged Koreans.







Song Hyeon-ok, center, the wife of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and SIWA President Veronica Koon, fifth from left, cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony for the 59th SIWA and Diplomatic Community online bazaar held at Fairmont Ambassador Hotel on Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. From left are SIWA Special Events Chair Eunice Go; Fairmont Ambassador Hotel in Seoul Sales & Marketing Director Jason Kim; Seoul Foreign School Assistant Head Dawn Stark; Song; Koon; Konnul Teymurov, the wife of Azerbaijan ambassador to South Korea; and SIWA Fundraising Vice President Lee Bock-hee. Courtesy of Nora Gyuris





The opening ceremony was held on Tuesday, days before the start of the online bazaar in order to inform the Korean public of the event, so they can join the group's cause-driven activities.







"The bazaar was held online last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time to host the event online since the creation of SIWA and we learned a lot. With fewer donors participating and fewer people that knew about our online event, last year's event was not as successful as it had been in the past," said Lee Bock-hee, vice president of fundraising. "So, this year, SIWA board members agreed to beat the drum earlier by holding an opening ceremony and actively engaging with media to promote the annual event."







The lingering pandemic is a stumbling block to SIWA's annual bazaar which had been held in person for decades.







"The bazaar is all about gathering. To be successful, people need to come to the event. Due to the pandemic, however, we were unable to hold the event in person," Lee said. "Our decision to hold the bazaar online means a lot to us. This indicates our will and uncompromising spirit that the show must go on despite the pandemic, because it has been held for 58 years."







SIWA President Veronica Koon said there was a consensus among SIWA board members about the need to continue its six-decades-long mission to help those in need through the charity event.







"SIWA has not stopped charity and philanthropy work since 1962 and the pandemic wouldn't stop us, either," she said. "Over the years, SIWA and the embassies that supported us have developed trust and support on the issues we presented since my presidential term started in 2019. Going forward, SIWA would like to be in a role that embraces and supports international women and those in need in Korea."







Koon said this year's event will feature a "gourmet" theme, as SIWA members learned from last year's event that food and beverages were especially popular. Under her leadership, there has been a meaningful membership change in SIWA. The Chinese Embassy has joined the international women's group's charity event.







Lee noted the SIWA bazaar is much more than a platform for buying and selling products to raise money to help others. "Some of the visitors come all the way up to Seoul from Busan for the bazaar. There's something that makes them keep visiting. Each embassy's booth has its own, unique cultural products. If you go to the booth run by the French Embassy, you'll meet French-speaking people and get a glimpse of their culture, too. SIWA bazaar is a rare place where you can meet the world," she said.







This year, 21 embassies will join the online bazaar. The participating embassies are Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Ghana, Georgia, France, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Latvia, Thailand, Tunisia and Turkmenistan.







SIWA will sell the donated products on its website and have them delivered to buyers.







All revenues earned from the sales of the products will go directly to underprivileged people, including single mothers, the disabled and children in need, according to Sunghwa Han, a Korean American who chairs SIWA's welfare committee.







The bazaar is one of the two big annual charity events hosted by the organization. The other is the SIWA Gala held in the first half of year.







Launched in 1962 by several female leaders, SIWA has responded to the changing needs of Korean society through money raised for charity.







In the 1960s when the nation was mired in poverty, the international women's group prioritized feeding hungry children. In the 1970s and 1980s, SIWA provided scholarships for children who were unable to continue their studies due to poverty. Single mothers, the disabled and children from working-class families who cannot afford to attend after-school programs have benefited from SIWA's charity events.







The focus of the international women's group has changed since its founding.







SIWA was initially established as a multicultural group where women from Korea and other countries could socialize to help adjust to Korean culture and develop ties.







Soon the organization became a high-profile platform for gatherings and cultural interactions between like-minded Korean and foreign women. First ladies and wives of Cabinet members and Seoul mayors have participated in the opening ceremonies of SIWA's annual bazaars.







Its membership is largely composed of spouses of foreign executives and ambassadors and Korean women who are educated abroad, as well as those who are interested in cross-cultural exchanges. The group currently has nearly 300 members, about 30 percent of whom are Korean citizens.










Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, is seeking to join Slovakia's $500 million project to procure 10 trainer jets, the state arms procurement agency said Wednesday.







KAI is set to sign an arrangement with Slovakia's state-run defense firm LOTN on Wednesday (Hungary time) to ensure smooth bilateral cooperation over its efforts to export homegrown FA-50 fighters, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said.







DAPA Minister Kang Eun-ho will attend the signing event in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Budapest is the venue for Thursday's summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his counterparts from the Visegrad Group of four central European states  Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.







Slovakia has been pushing for the defense project to replace its aging fleet of L-39 trainer aircraft. The country is expected to issue a request for proposals in the first half of next year, a DAPA official said.







The FA-50 is a light attack variant of the T-50 trainer jet that KAI has developed with technological cooperation with the U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin. The FA-50 can be used for both training and operational purposes.







The FA-50 gained media spotlight last month after Moon flew aboard it during a defense exhibition for the first time as a South Korean president  in a symbolic move to highlight his confidence in the warplane.







While in Hungary, DAPA chief Kang plans to meet military officials from Hungary to discuss bilateral cooperation in the defense industry, officials said. (Yonhap)






President Moon Jae-in paid tribute on Tuesday to the Korean and Hungarian people killed in a 2019 boat sinking, as he began a state visit to Hungary for a series of summit talks with Eastern European leaders.







The accident happened on the Danube River on May 29, 2019, when the sightseeing boat Hableany (Mermaid) carrying 33 Koreans and two Hungarian crew members collided with a cruise ship. The sinking left 25 Koreans and the two Hungarians dead. One of the 33 Koreans remains missing.







Shortly after his arrival in Budapest, Moon visited a memorial site in central Budapest.







After laying flowers and paying a minute of silent tribute to the victims, Moon thanked the Hungarian government for making utmost efforts for search and rescue at the time of the accident.







Hungary erected the monument, which was set up near the accident site on the Danube River, in memory of the Korean and Hungarian victims earlier this year.







Moon also thanked the Hungarian government for building the memorial sculpture, saying it will provide "eternal condolences" to the victims.







On Wednesday, Moon will hold bilateral meetings with Hungarian President Janos Ader and Prime Minister Viktor Orban.







Also scheduled are meetings with business leaders from Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which form the Visegrad Group.







In Budapest on Thursday, Moon will hold a summit with the prime ministers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia in the second summit between South Korea and the group.







The Visegrad Group is the second-largest market in Europe, and the visit is expected to help South Korean companies make inroads into the European market in the fields of electric cars and batteries.







Hungary is the final leg of Moon's three-nation swing through Europe that already took him to Italy for the Group of 20 summit in Rome and Britain for the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow. (Yonhap)


Korea and a group of Arab countries have agreed to push for the resumption of their free trade talks that have been suspended for a decade in a move to forge deeper economic ties, Seoul's industry ministry said Wednesday.







The announcement was made during the meeting between Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)'s Secretary General Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf held in Riyadh earlier in the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.







The GCC has six member nations  the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.







Korea and the GCC agreed to push for a free trade agreement (FTA) in 2007 and had three rounds of talks between 2008 and 2009. But the negotiations have since stalled after the council announced the suspension in 2010.







"The Gulf region is a crucial market for Korea given its population, income and growth potential. The agreement for the resumption of FTA talks is expected to serve as a chance to boost trade, investment and overall cooperation with the six nations," the ministry said in a release.







Trade volume between the two came to $46.6 billion in 2020.







Yeo also held separate talks with Saudi Arabia's Commerce Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, during which the two sides vowed to expand bilateral industry cooperation to create new business opportunities.







The trade minister is in Saudi Arabia for a five-day overseas trip, which will later take him to Britain, his office said. (Yonhap)


By Park Jung-won





In his speech at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 21, President Moon Jae-in once more proposed a declaration to formally end the Korean War and asked for the international community's support. That he would make a desperate attempt to rekindle a spark in the peace process before his term of office ends in May 2022 is quite understandable, yet in actuality this was an admission that his policy toward North Korea has failed.



Aside from historical ideological disagreement, the greatest obstacle to peace with North Korea is now the nuclear issue, which can be divided into the periods before and after Nov. 29, 2017. This was the day when North Korea demonstrated its nuclear capability to strike the United States with the launch of the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile and declared the completion of its nuclear force.



Since then, the nuclear issue has taken on a totally different dimension. North Korea is no longer just a problem between the two Koreas or a regional security problem in Northeast Asia, but rather a global issue. North Korea's external strategy is now driven by the confidence it derives from this enhanced nuclear capability.



More than a few pro-Moon policy analysts have argued that the current stalemate between the two Koreas stems from the U.S.'s failure to be fully cooperative with the inter-Korean peace process initiated in 2018 through the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration, the June 12 Singapore Joint Statement and the Sept. 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration.



According to these analysts, the underlying cause of the stalemate is the absence of genuine will on the part of the U.S. to sustain and advance the denuclearization process. In particular, they point to the U.S.'s walking out of talks at the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi on Feb. 28, 2019, as the key cause. But is that really the case?



The reason the Hanoi summit collapsed was because of the divergent understandings North Korea and the U.S. held of what the denuclearization of North Korea means. As North Korea understood it, the core of the deal in Hanoi was that it would give up its Yongbyon nuclear complex, with the removal of U.N. sanctions in return. However, for its part, the U.S. wanted North Korea to give up more than Yongbyon because it knew that North Korea possessed additional, undeclared uranium-enrichment plants.



Immediately after the Hanoi talks broke down, then North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met with South Korean reporters and expressed dissatisfaction, describing the U.S.'s logic as strange. North Korea had ceased nuclear weapons and missile tests, so why wasn't the U.S. lifting sanctions? But this characterization was flawed.



The sanctions were not imposed because of nuclear and missile tests per se, but rather were a response to the enhancement of nuclear capabilities demonstrated by those very tests. Therefore, sanctions will not be eased until the reduction of this nuclear capability is implemented; a mere suspension of testing is insufficient. It was North Korea, and not the U.S., that had got its logic wrong.



Pro-Moon policy experts say that a promise to declare an end to the war affirmed in the aforementioned declarations and statements was not kept. It is theoretically possible to achieve denuclearization by first declaring an end to the war as a gateway toward an eventual peace process. However, this scenario entails peace being "secured" despite North Korea being able to keep its nuclear weapons for some indefinite period.



Moreover, North Korea is not offering to "end the war" at the stroke of a pen. It demands conditions: the elimination of "double standards," such as the disparate treatment of each side's missile launches, and the ending of the so-called "hostile policy," which includes joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea and raising North Korean human-rights issues.



Why are North Korea's missile launches considered a provocation, whereas South Korea's missile launches are just a normal part of a military build-up? Because North Korea has developed nuclear weapons that have been outlawed by U.N. Security Council resolutions. This is the fundamental reason why the "denuclearization of North Korea," and not the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," has become the key issue at the U.N. Nevertheless, Moon mentioned but failed to demand the denuclearization of North Korea in his speech at the U.N.



Certain government practices can develop and eventually become established through continued justification backed by persuasive arguments. Moon's administration has failed to persuade the South Korean people why its policies and actions toward North Korea, at every stage of the so-called peace process, are justified.



North Korea's destruction of a joint liaison office, largely paid for by South Korea, in Kaesong on June 16, 2020, in protest of the South's failure to stop anti-North Korean leaflets from being sent over the border is a typical example. Moon's administration has not asked the North for compensation nor an apology.



The pursuit of a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue has now shifted back to a long-term trajectory; there can be no quick fix. If Moon rushes to hold another summit with the North Korean leader, it will be a meaningless political stunt. Since the perception of "North Korea" in South Korean society has long been discussed within the framework of biased ideological thinking, or "camp logic," the problem of inter-Korean relations has also been framed according to progressive and conservative viewpoints rather than an accurate assessment of the situation. Now is the time to abandon this lunacy.





Park Jung-won (park_jungwon@hotmail.com), Ph.D. in law from the London School of Economics (LSE), is professor of international law at Dankook University.


Microsoft's data center in Wyoming / Courtesy of Microsoft Korea



By Baek Byung-yeul



Microsoft has announced a plan to meet its carbon negative goals by 2030. In line with this, the tech giant has been conducting extensive research and investing to make data center operations more eco-friendly.



Based on its research results, the company announced recently how it will reduce water use and carbon emissions at data centers.



First of all, Microsoft said it will reduce the amount of water used globally in its evaporative cooled data centers by 95 percent, or an estimated 5.7 billion liters annually, by 2024.



"Through our extensive global research on server performance in warmer temperatures, we're able to create higher set points for a variety of different climates for when water-based, evaporative cooling is necessary to preserve server performance and reliability," the company said.



"We expect this project to be fully implemented by 2024, and it has the potential to eliminate water use for cooling in regions like Amsterdam, Dublin, Virginia and Chicago, while reducing water use in desert regions like Arizona by as much as 60 percent."



The company is also conducting research and development activities for waterless cooling options and liquid immersion cooling. By using alternate cooling systems, the company found that for some chipsets, performance can be increased by 20 percent.



The company also emphasized that it puts importance on supporting local ecosystems in which it operates data centers all over the world.



Microsoft said it has been benchmarking the ecosystem performance in 12 data center regions, to be completed by the end this year. Through this research, it will quantify ecosystem-friendliness in terms of water quantity and quality, air, carbon, climate, soil quality and many other indexes.



Regarding the company's effort Microsoft Korea CEO Ji-eun Lee said, "We are holding ourselves accountable by looking at all of Microsoft's data center operations through a critical lens to understand and measure our carbon footprint. We believe that this new approach to our data centers will help us reach our goals and have a wider impact on the planet."



Including the plan to have sustainable eco-friendly data centers, Microsoft has been pushing for achieving carbon neutrality in its other business operations.



In January 2020, the company announced it aims to go "carbon negative" by 2030, meaning that by that date it will be removing more carbon from the environment annually that it emits. By 2050, the company also plans to remove from the environment all the carbon that it has emitted directly or through electricity use since the company was founded in 1975.



Microsoft reported in January that from 2020 to 2021 it had reduced its carbon emissions by 6 percent or roughly 730,000 metric tons. Also, the company purchased carbon credits equivalent to a 1.3 million metric ton reduction in pollution.


A fence is splattered with raindrops near the venue for the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday. The U.N. COP26 conference starts Sunday. AP-Yonhap





China's carbon trading market needs some fine-tuning to help the nation achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, industry experts said ahead of the COP26 summit where global leaders are expected to discuss policies to avert the disastrous consequences of climate change.



Adjustments such as tightening quotas allocated to power plants and widening trading scope to include more emissions sectors could greatly help the "national carbon emission exchange" play a bigger role in using market forces to guide decarburization in the most cost-effective way, analysts said.



"The current design of the national ETS [emissions trading scheme], especially the intensity-based target and lax benchmarks, is hampering its effectiveness," said Yan Qin, lead carbon analyst at data provider Refinitiv. "This could be for the purpose of a soft start, but the current design has caused low liquidity and low prices in the ETS due to oversupply."



China's national ETS kicked off July 16 and is overseen by the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange. The trading scheme currently only applies to power generators [plants] and includes about 2,200 electricity companies which together are responsible for over 4 billion tons a year of carbon dioxide emissions, roughly over 40 percent of the country's total emissions.



"The ETS design needs to be transformed to a system with an absolute cap and also a tighter benchmark for the producers," said Qin. Auctioning should also be gradually introduced so that producers face true carbon costs, incentivizing them to switch to low-carbon generation, she said.



There is also an urgent need to tighten the generous quota allocations for power producers, according to analysts. The generously allocated allowances meant very few quotas needed to be bought and sold in the first year, and to be effective in reducing emissions, the cost of carbon needs to be higher than the cost of mitigating emissions.



"Most of the over 2,000 enterprises have rather abundant allowances for the first compliance period from 2019-2020 and the oversupply is really weighing on market liquidity and carbon price," said Qin, noting that the low price is having little impact on promoting emission reduction measures, which is what the ETS is supposed to do.



China's ETS could play an important role in the country's carbon-neutrality drive by potentially reducing carbon emissions by 30 percent to 60 percent of current levels by 2060, according to a report released in August by the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) and global asset management company Schroders. But that could be realized only under the right settings, when the cost of carbon on China's ETS rises to at least $34 per ton, according to the report.



The price of carbon allowances in the ETS is estimated to rise to 71 yuan ($11.1) per ton by 2025 and 93 yuan per ton by 2030, according to a report last December by the China Carbon Forum and global consultancy firm ICF.






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WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) - The Washington County Board of Commissioners voted 3 to 2 in favor of an ordinance banning the sale of all flavor tobacco products, the first county in Oregon to do so.

After more than three hours of debate and public testimony, the decision was made to pass the ordinance despite heavy resistance from the business community.

A majority of public comment were from those who opposed the measure including Plaid Pantry CEO, Jonathan Polonsky. He said there should be other ways to stop teens and children from getting their hands on tobacco products.

To do something in a prohibition type mentality has failed many times in the past," Polonsky said. "Theres a better way to do this.

Polonsky said his stores, including 24 in Washington County, use age verification technology. According to Polonsky, it's been 98% effective in stopping the sale of tobacco products to underage customers.

The new law will go into effect 30 days from its passing on Tuesday, but will start being enforced on January 1, 2022. Stores can no longer sell flavored e-cigarettes, cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, synthetic tobacco and hookah. Polonsky said he's expecting a 20% reduction in overall revenue, forcing him to lay off some employees.

Cigarette sales went up for the first time in 20 years during the pandemic We all had to find our own ways to cope with the pandemic lockdowns last year. Some people bought Pelotons and baked bread. Others took a slightly less healthy route.

On the other hand, a handful of parents and medical professionals testified in support of the ordinance. They said this ban will improve the health of the public and keep children from getting addicted to nicotine.

One speaker said she has heard stories of school lockers being cleared out and hundreds of e-cigarette devices being found.

"I'm truly afraid if we don't act now, we will be at a point of no return," the speaker said. "If we don't act now, Im truly terrified for the future of my four-year-old and my unborn baby and all the local kids in our community."

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network applauded the passing of the law saying in a statement:

ACS CAN thanks Commissioner Nafisa Fai for urging the Board of Commissioners to remove all exemptions to this policy and Chair Kathryn Harrington and Commissioner Pam Treece for trusting the science on the dangers of menthol and other flavored tobacco products. We look forward to working with other local and state leaders to follow Washington Countys leadership so we can keep flavored tobacco products off store shelves statewide.

The law also bans the sale of tobacco products under the age of 21 and the use of coupons to buy tobacco products.
(KPTV) - In Your Vote, FOX 12 is tracking the results of the Nov. 2, 2021 special election.

One important race on the ballot in Clark County is the Vancouver mayoral race between incumbent Anne McEnerny-Ogle and Earl Bowerman. As of Wednesday morning, McEnerny-Ogle had 67 percent of the vote, while Bowerman had 32 percent.

In Battle Ground, voters weighed in on a replacement levy for the school district. Fifty-two percent of voters have said yes to the levy, while 48 percent voted no. The replacement levy is not a new tax - it would replace a four-year levy that is set to expire at the end of 2021.

Washington Election Results

In Oregon, voters in Lake Oswego are deciding on bonds for improvements to the curriculum to support facilities, upgrade safety measures, and address overcrowding. So far, it has 54 percent support with 46 percent of voters saying no.

Voters being served by Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue are deciding on a $122 million bond measure. Preliminary results show it passed with 75 percent support. TVF&R would use the money for various things including replacing response vehicles like fire trucks and rebuild the King City Fire Station.

Oregon Election Results

Voters on the coast weighed in on whether to put a five percent tax on all prepared foods in Cannon Beach. Supporters point out that is would bring in nearly $2 million in its first years. So far, over 51 percent are in favor, while 48 percent have voted against it.

Effort to change border between Oregon and Idaho gaining traction PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - An effort to expand Idahos border into Oregon is gaining traction. The initiative was on the ballot in five Oregon coun

A push to redraw Oregon's borders is gaining more traction: Harney County held a vote on a measure that would require county court meetings to discuss moving the Oregon-Idaho border. At last check, 63 percent of voters there voted in favor, while 36 percent disapproved.

If approved, Harney would become the eighth Oregon county to explore the idea of leaving Oregon to become part of Idaho. In Nov. 2020, two counties voted in favor, then in May of this year, five other counties voted in favor.
Pharmacist Patrick Nam Nguyen prepares an IV of REGEN-COV, a monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19, at an infusion center at Ochsner Medical Center's main campus in Old Jefferson on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. (Photo by Max Becherer, The New Orleans Advocate)
UPDATE: NOV. 3 AT 7:01 P.M.

Crow Nation News - CNN reports, Angie has been found and is safe.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

BIG HORN COUNTY, Mont. - The Big Horn County Sheriff's Office is investigating a report of a missing woman.

Angie Rose Littlelight, 43, is described as Native American; standing 5-feet, 5-inches feet; weighing 185-pounds; has black hair and brown eyes.

According to the Montana Department of Justice, the date of her last contact was Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Anyone with information is asked to call their local law enforcement office or the Montana Missing Persons Clearing house at (406)444-2800.
BILLINGS, Mont. - Governor Greg Gianforte announced in a press conference in Billings Tuesday a new health care staffing recruitment program geared towards improving Montana's health care system.

A release from the governor's office said the health care staffing recruitment program is a long-term solution to confront the state's persistent health care staffing shortage.

For too long, Montana has struggled to attract and retain health care providers, and the pandemic has only exacerbated this longstanding issue, Gianforte said in a release. With this innovative new program, were inviting qualified doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to move to Montana, serve in our communities, alleviate some of the burden on existing workers, and help us build capacity so Montanans have greater access to care.

The new program allows participating employers to reimburse employees' moving costs of up to $12,500. Thirty-five-percent of the total reimbursement cost will cancel out the anticipated payroll tax deductions employers collect for eligible moving and relocation costs, the governor's release said.

Health care providers are required to pledge to relocating to Montana and stay employed for at least one consecutive year in order to be eligible for the program.

SLC Health released the following statement regarding the new program announcement in a release received by Montana Right Now:

"We appreciate and applaud the focus Governor Gianforte is placing on the acute-care workforce shortage that healthcare facilities throughout Montana are currently experiencing. The initiatives announced today are certainly a step in the right direction and will bring additional resources to our state that we hope will help ease the current labor shortage challenges.

SCL Health continues to support its associates and providers in innovative ways throughout its three Montana care sites. The focus on recruitment, retention, and resiliency includes:

 Offering attractive sign-on and retention bonuses

 Offering unique support services through a program called Enhancing the Caregiver Experience

 Offering incentives to associates

 Supporting our associates by hiring traveling healthcare workers to help fulfill staffing needs

SCL Health is also committed to helping fill the healthcare worker pipeline by helping to meet the unmet demand for skilled medical professionals in Montana and northern Wyoming by continuing our healthcare training partnerships with Montana State University College of Nursing, Rocky Mountain College Master of Physician Assistant Studies, WAMMI through the University of Washington School of Medicine, Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine, and other educational programs in Montana."

The program is expected to begin in late November and will be carried out by the Department of Labor and Industry and Department of Commerce.

The deadline to obligate grants is Dec. 31, 2024, and they must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
After traveling over 1,800 miles from Virginia to Wyoming with only faith and his dog, a veteran now has a roof over his head and even a driver's license thanks to Volunteers of America Northern Rockies (VOA).

"When Mark and his dog Deacon came to our office, they hadnt eaten in a week. We got them into emergency housing, got Mark some food and, with the generous help of a local veterinarian, got Deacon a hearty meal as well," VOA wrote in a release.

Mark put everything he had into making the journey to Wyoming in search of a better life. Though he was receiving disability payments for injuries sustained while he served, they were still being sent to his old address in Virginia.

Luckily, after connecting with VOA, they went to work on helping him achieve his goals.

Hes a real go-getter, Mark's case manager, who has been meeting with him regularly, said. He really stuck to his goals.

With their help, Mark was able to open a bank account, set up direct deposit, and get the checks that had been sent to the wrong address re-issued. He was then able to buy a truck and get his drivers license.

Though Mark and Deacon have a roof over their heads and know where their next meal will come from, Mark still comes in almost daily to visit the VOA team.

We became his family, Mark's case manager said. Thats how it is with a lot of these Veterans: You develop a relationship and they keep coming back to visit even after theyve gotten help and have stability.

VOA operates Veterans Services programs across Wyoming, Montana and Western South Dakota. Last year, they served 2,708 Veterans in our region.
UPDATE: NOV. 3 AT 10:45 A.M.

Yellowstone County Deputy Coroner Rich Hoffman has identified the three victims in Monday's fatal crash on I-90 in Billings.

The three victims are driver Joshua Wayne Orcutt, 38, passenger Nickolas James Turner, 40, and passenger Alan Bryant Winslow Jr., 44.

Their cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, and all three died at the scene.

UPDATE: NOV. 1 AT 2:15 P.M.

Trooper Brennan Plucker, with Montana Highway Patrol, tells us three men were killed in the crash on I-90 in Billings.

The men, traveling in a suburban, allegedly pulled over on the side of I-90 to check on an abandoned vehicle. They then pulled back out into traffic and, for an unknown reason, did a 180 degree turn against traffic before coming back across the road, exposing the passenger side of the vehicle to traffic.

An oncoming semi t-boned the suburban. The three men in the suburban were pronounced dead on scene.

Trooper Plucker says no injuries were reported from the driver of the semi truck.

Authorities are working to open both lanes and remove the semi and suburban from the median.

It is unknown if alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash.

It appears that none of the occupants of the suburban were wearing their seatbelts.

Montana Highway Patrol is handing an investigation into the crash.

UPDATE: NOV. 1 AT 1:15 P.M.

Our reporter on scene said traffic is moving again on I-90 westbound in Billings after it was fully blocked due to a fatal crash.

BILLINGS, Mont. - Interstate-90 westbound in Billings is fully blocked due to a fatal vehicle crash.

According to the Montana Department of Justice, first responders arrived to the crash near mile-marker 448 at around 12:16 p.m.

The Montana Department of Transportation advises drivers to seek a detour at this time.

Traffic is diverted to Exit 450 on S. Twenty-seventh Street.
Facebook said it plans to delete the data it had gathered through its use of this software, which is associated with over a billion people's faces. Mark Zuckerberg is the CEO of the company.
Have you seen the proposed redistricting maps for New Hampshire? What do you think of the plans?
A ribbon cutting sponsored by Halifax EMC and the Lake Gaston Regional Chamber of Commerce took place on Thursday, October 28 to unveil the DC fast charger to the community. Also in attendance were staff from Senator Tillis office, Lake Gaston Foundation, the NC Department of Environmental Quality, and NCs Electric Cooperatives.
Perhaps thinking it was one last chance at freedom, the suspect in a shooting at Benson Corners in Bristol last month attempted to escape from police custody last weekend at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital.

And now he has another pending charge to the already eight felony counts filed against him Tuesday in Kenosha County Circuit Court.

At his initial appearance Tuesday, held via video from the Racine County Jail, where hes being held, Allan M. Brown, 33, of Countryside, Ill., was ordered held on a $1 million bond by Commissioner Larry Keating. Brown is due back in court Nov. 12 for a preliminary hearing.

Brown is charged with three felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with the use of a dangerous weapon, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one count of firing a dangerous weapon on a police K-9 causing injury, one count of mistreatment of a law enforcement animal with the use of a dangerous weapon, one count of failing to comply with an officers attempt to take a person into custody and one count of operating a motor vehicle without owners consent with the use of a dangerous weapon.

The three first-degree recklessly endangering safety charges relate to shots allegedly fired by Brown against a trio of Kenosha County Sheriffs Department deputies on Oct. 21 at Benson Corners, located at 20000 75th St. (Highway 50). He also fired, struck and seriously injured Sheriffs Department police dog Riggs in the incident. Deputies were trying to detain Brown at the request of Chicago police, who were seeking him in connection with two homicides in the city that day.

If convicted of all the charges, minus the impending escape charge that has yet to be filed, Brown faces a maximum fine of $140,000 and 71 years, six months in prison.

Handcuffed to bed

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said Wednesday that Brown had been handcuffed to the hospital bed at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital. The handcuffs were removed as deputies prepared to transport Brown to jail after he received medical clearance for injuries he suffered during the shootout with police.

He was just in leg irons at that point, and he shoved a female deputy sheriff from Racine and took off running in the hospital, Graveley said. He was apprehended shortly after, because he was still in leg shackles.

State law requires an outside agency to investigate police shootings, and Racine County is handling the investigation in the Benson Corners case. The three Kenosha deputies involved were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

The attempted escape from the hospital, along with the shootout, led Graveley to ask Keating to impose the $1 million bond. Brown originally had been held on a $500,000 bond, but Graveley requested to increase that amount after the attempted escape.

This is a person who has not only tried to shoot officers and did shoot a K9 officer to try and avoid being taken into custody, but he has continued that pattern even after receiving wounds and being hospitalized, Graveley said.

Brown remains in custody in the Racine County Jail.

Long criminal history

In court Tuesday, Graveley detailed Browns criminal history. Brown, who has served two prison sentences for assault-type offenses, has been convicted of felony battery and three previous resisting arrest charges.

He has attempted to fight his way out of custody three separate times in his history, Graveley said.

Brown is also the primary suspect in two homicides in Chicago, one at a bus stop in the citys Logan Square neighborhood and the other after a carjacking.

Graveley said he spoke to the lead detective in both cases, and video surveillance from the bus stop showed no altercation between Brown and the victim prior to that shooting.

There was no struggle, Graveley said. Simply, that other individual at the bus stop was shot and killed by a person they believe to be the defendant.

In the second homicide, Brown allegedly attempted to stop three passing vehicles at gunpoint before a fourth driver stopped.

The individual was complying with the carjacking, Graveley said. Even at that point, he was complying with the carjacking, a person they believed to be the defendant fired a shot and killed that individual, who I believe was a disabled person.

Chicago Police tracked that vehicle to Kenosha County and asked the Sheriffs Department to check at the Benson Corners Shell Station, where they found the defendant.

Graveley said that Brown has yet to be charged in either homicide case in Chicago, as police there are continuing their investigation.

Regardless of how that investigation plays out, Graveley said his office fully intends to prosecute this case.

We made it very clear to Chicago that we intend to have the behavior of the defendant in our county accounted for first, he said. I anticipate that we will handle our case before Chicago handles theirs.

The only situation where that would differ is if I would be told at some point that their case was only going to be possible for a short window of time. You might let them go first if a key witness was fatally ill or something like that. But aside from those extreme circumstances, clearly the conduct that happened in Kenosha is very serious, and were planning on going first.

Graveley said Brown is among the most dangerous kinds of defendants.

You can hardly be more dangerous than an individual who is willing to stop a person simply driving in traffic, ending their life, going to a public gas station in our county, and at a point when officers try to intercept you, youre willing to fire shots that essentially go through the entire parking lot of that gas station, Graveley said.

Youre willing to endanger the lives of civilians and officers. From my perspective, you can hardly demonstrate a higher degree of danger than that kind of behavior.

Complaint offers details

The criminal complaint in the Benson Corners incident, filed Tuesday, stated that after they received information from the Chicago Police Department, deputies arrived at Benson Corners at 11:15 a.m. on Oct. 21. The first deputy on the scene located the stolen vehicle, with Brown inside.

After additional deputies arrived, they attempted to take Brown into custody, but he exited the vehicle and ran eastbound. While deputies and K-9 Riggs pursued, they observed the defendant with a gun in his right hand.

Brown then allegedly fired one round behind him in the direction of the three deputies and Riggs, who took the defendant to the ground. Body camera footage showed Brown fire his gun two more times, once striking Riggs directly in the head.

Deputies returned fire and struck Brown in his left thigh, abdomen and bicep.

Riggs was first transported to a local veterinary hospital, then to another one in Buffalo Grove, Ill. He spent about two weeks in the hospital before his release. The complaint states that Riggs will be unable to continue as a police K9 and will be forced into early medical retirement.
RACINE COUNTY  Sheriff Christopher Schmaling is recommending five members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, three appointed by Democrats and two by Republicans, be criminally charged for having waived the law requiring the use of Special Voting Deputies during elections in 2020, he announced in a Wednesday afternoon news release.

Schmaling, a Republican, criticized Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, in the news release for not having launched a statewide investigation following the Racine County Sheriffs Office Oct. 28 disclosure of allegations of election fraud having occurred at Mount Pleasants Ridgewood Care Center after SVDs were not sent in.

Ridgewood staff collected the residents votes, which typically isnt allowed, but the WEC voted to make a statewide exception due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based upon the failure of Attorney General Josh Kaul to initiate a statewide investigation, I have forwarded charging recommendations to the Racine County District Attorneys Office for their review, states a release signed by Schmaling and Sgt. Michael Luell, who led the investigation into Ridgewood and also is the RCSOs public information officer. The recommended charges are for Commissioners Margaret Bostelmann, Julie Glancey, Ann Jacobs, Dean Knudson and Mark Thomsen.

Charges were not recommended against Commissioner Bob Spindell, a Republican appointee who repeatedly voted against waiving the SVD law after he initially voted in favor.

According to reporting from WISN-TV, the Sheriffs Officer said: Commissioner Spindell did vote to give the illegal advice on March 12, 2020. However, he voted against giving the illegal advice on June 24, 2020, September 25, 2020, and January 15, 2021. Therefore, the Sheriffs Office did not feel it was appropriate to referrer (sic) a charging recommendation on Commissioner Spindell.

Kaul fired back Wednesday afternoon, saying in a statement This disgraceful publicity stunt shows an appalling lack of judgment. This is a transparently political effort and an abuse of authority.

During the Oct. 28 news conference, Schmaling said repeatedly that he was not yet recommending charges, but that he might do so later. Schmaling also repeatedly said he was not trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and that his staff has no idea how the eight Ridgewood voters at the center of the investigation  whom the investigators allege did not have the mental capacity to vote  voted.

The WEC and other elections officials, including Dane County Elections Management Specialist Rachel Rodriguez and Wisconsin's former top elections official Kevin Kennedy, have asserted that the Racine County Sheriffs Offices conclusions are wrong and that no crimes were committed. They argued that, under Wisconsin law, SVDs are not always necessary to be sent into nursing homes to execute the vote. Under the law, SVDs must make two attempts to execute the vote at nursing homes, and after that those living at nursing homes  regardless of their mental status  can mail in their ballots.

As such, the WEC argued that the law was still followed since it was deemed not possible to both have SVDs go into nursing homes while also following health and safety protocols in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe was not mentioned in Wednesdays release as someone to be charged.

Riley Vetterkind, spokesman for the WEC, said in an email Wednesday afternoon that he did not have a comment at this time. He referred back to a statement signed by Bostelmann, Glancey, Jacobs, Knudson and Thomsen that argued the Sheriffs Offices conclusions were incorrect. Those commissioners have repeatedly asserted that their votes were done in public and that ignoring the SVD law was necessary to preserve the right to vote.

We knew that for the protection of residents, only essential workers  which did not include SVDs  were being allowed into facilities across the state, Glancey said in a statement. As such, we knew it was essential to preserve the right to vote for those residents, so rather than require the absurdity of sending SVDs to knock on a locked door, we pivoted to the absentee voting process.

The Journal Times has reached out to the District Attorneys Office and state Department of Justice, which is headed by Kaul, for comment.

The charges laid out by the Sheriffs Office would be:

Misconduct in public office (felony)

Election fraud as an election official assisting with violations (felony)

Party to the Crime of Election Fraud  Receive Ballot Non-Election Official (misdemeanor)

Party to the crime of election fraud-solicit assistance in violation of Wisconsin statute (misdemeanor)

The Racine County investigation of Ridgewood is not connected to the state probe ordered by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and led by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. However, Vos said he, as well as Racine County County Executive Jonathan Delagrave, were made aware of the local investigation in its early days. The Sheriffs Offices investigation lasted nearly a year, Luell said.

It is not uncommon for the RCSO to make public announcements when certain charges are referred to the District Attorneys Office.
NEW YORK (AP)  Former police captain Eric Adams easily won the race for New York mayor Tuesday, and Boston elected its first woman and Asian American to the citys top job as voters across the U.S. picked local leaders who were largely defined by their stances on police and crime.

Adams, who will become the second Black mayor of the nation's largest city, first triumphed this summer in a crowded Democratic primary after he struck a nuanced stance on law enforcement issues. His message on crime and his experience as a police officer largely insulated him from attacks from his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol.

He described being beaten by police officers as a teenager when he was arrested for trespassing. When he later became a cop, he was a vocal critic of the police department, advocated for Black officers and spoke out about injustices. But he did not embrace calls from some progressives to defund the police by shifting money from law enforcement to social work and other programs aimed at addressing the root causes of crime.

In Boston, Michelle Wu espoused a more liberal approach to policing and called for bigger reforms, but her history-making win came in a campaign dominated more by debates about issues such as affordable housing.

Police and crime issues came to the forefront in cities big and small after the death of George Floyd last year led to a national reckoning on racial injustice and law enforcement. The debate centered on questions of when and where police are needed  or sometimes whether theyre needed at all. It also unfolded amid an increase in homicides in the wake of the pandemic.

In some big cities, fear or a desire for a middle-ground approach elevated candidates seen as more supportive of law enforcement or who rejected liberal calls to defund the police. In Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed, voters were picking a new mayor. They also rejected a proposal that would have upended law enforcement practices by replacing the police department.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, defended the police department against calls to dismantle it. On Tuesday, he was fighting to keep his job against 16 challengers, with the most serious contenders running to his left. Frey had about 43% of the vote Tuesday, well ahead of the closest challengers but still short of the 50% needed to win outright.

Under the city's ranked-choice system, election officials were to begin sorting second and third-place choices Wednesday to allocate them to candidates.

Freys prospects may be linked to the ballot question that asked voters whether they want to replace the police department with a Department of Public Safety. Frey opposed the change, but his top two challengers supported it.

On the other side of New York state, the mayoral race in Buffalo put India Walton, a democratic socialist, in a rematch with incumbent Mayor Byron Brown, the citys first Black mayor and a Democrat who lost the primary to Walton this summer.

Brown ran as a write-in candidate with support from law enforcement and criticized Walton for her plans to cut $7.5 million from the police department budget. She said the plan was aimed at addressing the root causes of crime. Brown said the move is clearly defunding police.

Brown gave a victory speech Tuesday night, though it was still too early for The Associated Press to declare a winner. He said voters had spoken against those calling for ill-conceived policies that would reverse our progress and undermine the future stability of our city, our state and in fact, our nation.

In Atlanta, City Council President Felicia Moore advanced to a runoff in the mayoral contest that was dominated by fears over rising crime rates and a spate of high-profile killings. Moore cited rising crime as a motivation for her campaign.

She will compete in a Nov. 30 runoff, but it was not clear Tuesday night who would grab the second spot. Former Mayor Kasim Reed, who is seeking a return to office, also cited the crime surge as motivation for his campaign for a third term. He told voters that the low crime rate during his tenure and the hundreds of police offices he once hired make him the best choice.

Other major candidates spoke about adding more police officers and stressed the need to focus on the root causes of crime, such as affordable housing and unemployment.

In Seattle, mayoral candidate Bruce Harrell, a former city council member who has called for hiring more police officers to stem a rise in shootings, was leading opponent M. Lorena Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, the city council president, has called for an overhaul of the police department, which is under federal supervision for a pattern of excessive force and evidence of biased policing.

While Harrell held a strong lead Tuesday night, it could be days before theres a clear winner as mail-in ballots, which tend to favor liberal candidates, are received and counted in the coming days.

In Boston, Wu and her opponent, fellow council member Annissa Essaibi George, chiefly clashed over issues such as affordable housing, public education and transportation. But differences on policing and crime also emerged between the two Democratic women in the nonpartisan race.

Wu, a daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and a protege of liberal Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, had called for major police reforms. Before she was a candidate, Wu joined other city council members in calling for a 10% cut to the police departments budget.

Essaibi George, who describes herself as Polish-Arab American, had opposed reallocating the money and has called for hiring several hundred more police officers. She was endorsed by former Boston police Commissioner William Gross.

Even in Waterloo, Iowa, with a population of about 68,000, policing and race became a flashpoint in the mayoral race.

The citys first Black mayor, Quentin Hart, won reelection despite being falsely painted by critics as an opponent of policing. Hart faced vicious criticism for months from a political action committee called Cedar Valley Backs the Blue, which was formed by retired Waterloo police officers.

The group blasted the citys move this year to retire the police departments longtime griffin logo  which looks similar to a KKK dragon  and sought the resignation of the citys first Black police chief, a close Hart associate.

Harts opponent, white city council member Margaret Klein, campaigned as a supporter of police officers and won the groups endorsement.



Associated Press writers Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa; Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York; Chris Grygiel in Seattle and Steve LeBlanc in Boston contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Vaccinations finally are available to U.S. children as young as 5, to the relief of some parents even as others have questions or fears.

Late Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final OK for youngsters age 5 to 11 to get kid-size doses of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. Pediatricians and other doctors' groups praised the move and are gearing up to help families decide whether to vaccinate their children.

Like COVID-19 vaccines for adults and teens, they are free.

Here are some things to know:

SHOULD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN GET VACCINATED?

Yes, according to U.S. health authorities and leading doctors groups. Even though the virus tends to be more severe in adults than children, COVID-19 is causing plenty of preventable suffering among youngsters. About 1.9 million kids ages 5 to 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Some 8,300 have been hospitalized, about a third needed intensive care, and at least 94 deaths have been verified.

Thats not counting the risk of a serious complication called multisystem inflammatory syndrome that can hit kids several weeks after they recovered from even a mild infection.

Vaccination also promises to help kids more safely resume school and social activities.

ARE KID DOSES THE SAME SIZE AS ADULT ONES?

No. Children ages 5 to 11 will receive a third of the dose given to teens and adults. Thats 10 micrograms per shot for youngsters, compared to 30 micrograms per shot for everyone 12 and older. Like everybody else, the younger kids will get two shots, three weeks apart.

HOW WELL DO THE SHOTS WORK?

In a study, Pfizers pediatric vaccine proved nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. Vaccinated youngsters developed levels of virus-fighting antibodies as strong as teens and young adults whod received the full-strength dose.

ARE THERE SIDE EFFECTS?

In the trial, the 5- to 11-year-olds had some annoying post-shot reactions, including sore arms and fatigue, similar to teens and young adults but were less likely to have fevers. Altogether, the study includes 4,600 youngsters, 3,100 of them given the vaccine and the rest dummy shots. The FDA found no safety concerns.

WHAT ABOUT RARE PROBLEMS?

Tens of millions of the larger doses have been given safely to Americans 12 and older. One very rare serious side effect has come to light: heart inflammation.

These rare reactions have occurred mostly in young men or teens boys, usually after the second dose, and they tend to recover quickly. To put the risk in context, doctors say COVID-19 infection can cause more serious heart inflammation. One theory is that testosterone and puberty play a role, which is partly why experts expect any risk to younger kids would be even lower.

WHERE ARE THE SHOTS AVAILABLE?

The shots are being offered at pediatricians' offices, health clinics and pharmacies. Some school systems also plan to host vaccination clinics, too. Two drugstore chains will start giving the shots this weekend: Walgreens on Saturday and CVS on Sunday.

CAN MY CHILD GET A FLU SHOT AT THE SAME TIME?

Yes, the CDC says COVID-19 shots can be given at the same visit as vaccines for the flu, or other routine vaccinations a child  or anyone else  may require.

WHAT IF MY CHILD IS ABOUT TO TURN 12?

CDC said children should get the dose thats right for their age on the day of vaccination. So if a child gets the 10-microgram dose for the first shot and then turns 12, the second shot should be the 30-microgram dose.

SHOULD I JUST WAIT UNTIL THEIR 12TH BIRTHDAY SO BOTH SHOTS ARE THE BIGGER DOSE?

Pediatricians say not to postpone vaccination because the kid-size dose is effective in that age group.

IS THE CDC'S MOVE A MANDATE?

No. The CDC has not mandated vaccinations for youngsters, but recommended them.

AREN'T ONLY SOME KIDS AT HIGH RISK OF SERIOUS COVID-19?

Nearly 70% of 5- to 11-year-olds hospitalized for COVID-19 have had other medical problems, including obesity and asthma. But sometimes the otherwise healthy get seriously ill, too. And given the profound social, mental health and educational impact the pandemic has had on youngsters, health authorities made clear that all children should be vaccinated. There also are equity concerns, as more than two-thirds of youngsters whove been hospitalized are Black or Hispanic.

WHAT IF MY CHILD ALREADY HAD COVID-19?

They still should be vaccinated once theyve recovered, according the CDC. Its clear that prior infection does provide some protection against another bout but that immunity can vary depending on how seriously ill someone was, and how long ago. Studies of adults have found that vaccination after infection can dramatically boost protection.

IS PFIZER'S VACCINE THE ONLY CHOICE FOR CHILDREN?

In the U.S., for now, it is. Modernas similar vaccine is used by teens in some other countries and is being tested in younger children but isnt yet available for Americans under age 18. A few other countries have used other kinds of COVID-19 vaccines in young children, including China, which just began vaccinations for 3-year-olds.

WHAT ABOUT VACCINATIONS FOR U.S. CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 5?

Stay tuned: Pfizer and Moderna are testing low doses in babies and preschoolers.



The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Eric Hurlock is digital editor at Lancaster Farming and host of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast. He can be reached at (717) 721-4462 or ehurlock@lancasterfarming.com
With nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer prices extending to the highest levels we have seen in recent years, now is a good time to consider the stock of nutrients already in the soil and the value that nutrients in manure can provide.


Statement by H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa

President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

at the General Debate of the Seventy-Sixth Session of the

United Nations General Assembly

22 September 2021

Mr. President,

Secretary General,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Ayubowan,

I am honoured to represent Sri Lanka at this august gathering today.

Let me first congratulate His Excellency Abdulla Shahid on being elected President of the 76th session of the General Assembly.

Mr. President, you have long been a friend of Sri Lanka. We look forward to working closely with you in the year ahead.

I also take this opportunity to convey our appreciation of His Excellency Volkan Bozkirs stewardship of the previous session of the General Assembly, and to commend Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his leadership in these difficult times.

Mr. President,

The COVID19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on humanity.

I sympathise deeply with all who have lost their loved ones during the pandemic.

I thank frontline healthcare and essential workers around the world for their dedication and commend the World Health Organisation for its crisis response.

I also greatly appreciate the rapid advances made by the scientific and medical communities in devising vaccines and treatment protocols to combat the virus.

At the same time, we must recognise that the challenges surrounding production, distribution, deployment and acceptance of vaccines must be overcome urgently if the spread of dangerous new virus strains is to be prevented.

Ensuring that everyone, everywhere, is vaccinated is the best way out of the pandemic.

Although still a developing nation, Sri Lanka has been very successful in its vaccination programme. We have already fully vaccinated nearly all those above the age of 30. Everyone over the age of 20 will be fully vaccinated by the end of October. We will start vaccinating children over 15 years of age in the near future.

The rapid progress of vaccinations was enabled by coordinated efforts between healthcare workers, Armed Forces and Police personnel, Government servants, and elected officials.

In collaboration with the WHO, Sri Lanka is establishing a Regional Knowledge Hub to facilitate exchange of lessons learnt from COVID19 and support countries to recover better.

Sri Lanka also benefitted greatly from financial and material support provided by bilateral and multilateral donors to manage the pandemic. I thank these nations and institutions for their generosity. The increased global cooperation visible during this ongoing crisis is greatly encouraging. However, there is still more to be done.

Mr. President,

The economic impact of the pandemic has been especially severe on developing countries.

This has placed the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals at considerable risk.

It is vital that more initiatives including development financing and debt relief be adopted through international mechanisms to support developing nations and help them emerge from this uncertain situation.

Sri Lanka too has suffered greatly due to the pandemic. In addition to the tragic loss of life, our economy has been deeply affected.

The lockdowns, together with general movement restrictions, reduced international travel, and slower global growth have affected nearly all sectors of our economy.

Tourism, one of Sri Lankas highest foreign exchange earners and a sector that supports nearly 14% of the population, has been devastated.

This industry, together with small and medium businesses in many other sectors, received Government support through interest moratoriums and other financial sector interventions.

Daily wage earners and low-income groups were also supported through grants of cash and dry rations during lockdowns, adding significantly to state expenditure.

In addition to their immediate impact, these economic repercussions of the pandemic have limited the fiscal space available to implement our development programmes.

Mr. President,

As devastating as the consequences of the pandemic have been to humanity, the world faces the even greater challenge of climate change in the decades to come.

As emphasised in the recent report by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, the unprecedented effect of human activity on the health of the planet is deeply worrying.

Addressing the grave threats posed by climate change and the loss of biodiversity requires decisive and urgent multilateral action.

As a climate-vulnerable country, Sri Lanka is deeply aware of the dangers of climate change.

Sri Lankas philosophical heritage, deeply rooted in Lord Buddhas teachings, also emphasises the vitality of preserving environmental integrity.

It is in these contexts that Sri Lanka is a Commonwealth Blue Charter Champion and leads the Action Group on Mangrove Restoration.

Through the adoption of the Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, which seeks to halve nitrogen waste by 2030, Sri Lanka has also contributed to global efforts to reduce environmental pollution.

Having participated virtually in the Pre-Summit held in April, I trust that the United Nations Food Summit later this month will result in actionable outcomes to promote healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food systems globally.

Such outcomes will be crucial to human health as well as to the health of our planet.

Sustainability is a cornerstone of Sri Lankas national policy framework. Because of its impact on soil fertility, biodiversity, waterways and health, my Government banned the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and weedicides earlier this year. Production and adoption of organic fertiliser, as well as investments into organic agriculture, are being incentivised.

I appreciate the encouragement received from many global institutions and nations for our efforts to create a more sustainable agriculture in Sri Lanka.

The conservation of our environment is one of our key national priorities.

We aim to increase forest cover significantly in the coming decades. We are also working to clean and restore over 100 rivers countrywide, and to combat river and maritime pollution. We have also banned single use plastics to support ecological conservation.

Sri Lanka recognises the urgent need to reduce use of fossil fuels and support decarbonisation. Our energy policy seeks to increase the contribution of renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydropower to 70% of our national energy needs by 2030.

Mr. President,

Sri Lanka welcomes the support of the international community as it engages in the task of reviving its economy and carrying out its national development programme. We intend to make full use of geostrategic location and our robust institutions, strong social infrastructure, and skilled workforce, to attract investment and broaden trade relationships.

My Government is focusing on extensive legal, regulatory, administrative and educational reforms to facilitate this, and to deliver prosperity to all our people.

Sri Lanka has enjoyed universal adult franchise since pre-Independence.

The democratic tradition is an integral part of our way of life.

My election in 2019 and the Parliamentary election in 2020 saw Sri Lankan voters grant an emphatic mandate to my Government to build a prosperous and stable country, and uphold national security and sovereignty.

In 2019, Sri Lanka experienced the devastation wrought by extremist religious terrorists in the Easter Sunday attacks. Before that, until 2009, it had suffered from a separatist terrorist war for 30 years. Terrorism is a global challenge that requires international cooperation, especially on matters such as intelligence sharing, if it is to be overcome. Violence robbed Sri Lanka of thousands of lives and decades of prosperity in the past half century.

My Government is committed to ensuring that such violence never takes place in Sri Lanka again.

We are therefore acting to address the core issues behind it.

Fostering greater accountability, restorative justice, and meaningful reconciliation through domestic institutions is essential to achieve lasting peace.

So too is ensuring more equitable participation in the fruits of economic development.

It is my Governments firm intention to build a prosperous, stable and secure future for all Sri Lankans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or gender.

We are ready to engage with all domestic stakeholders, and to obtain the support of our international partners and the United Nations, in this process.

However, history has shown that lasting results can only be achieved through home-grown institutions reflecting the aspirations of the people.

Sri Lankas Parliament, Judiciary and its range of independent statutory bodies should have unrestricted scope to exercise their functions and responsibilities.

Mr. President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,

If, in keeping with the theme of our General Debate today, we are to truly build resilience through hope, we must all strive towards the common good.

It is the role of the United Nations to facilitate this by treating all sovereign states, irrespective of size or strength, equitably, and with due respect for their institutions and their heritage.

I request the United Nations and the international community to ensure the protection of the Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan.

I call on the member states of this august Assembly to work together in a spirit of true cooperation, generosity, goodwill, and mutual respect to foster a better and more sustainable future for all humanity.

Thank you.

View Statement in English - PDF

View Statement in Sinhala - PDF

View Statement in Tamil - PDF

The video can be viewed through the following link: https://youtu.be/0yttqpTMkvQ




Ayubowan,

It gives me great pleasure to address you this evening and I am very happy to see such an illustrious turnout at this event.

As we are all aware, climate change is one of the greatest crises the world currently faces.

The leaders of nearly all countries are meeting over the next two days to discuss and hopefully commit to actions that will start leading us out of it.

In doing so, one of the key issues that Sri Lanka and some other countries will rightfully draw attention to is that of sustainable nitrogen management.

In October 2019, fourteen nations joined the Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Management.

This important declaration encourages nations to develop national roadmaps for sustainable nitrogen management, with a view to reducing nitrogen waste in half by 2030.

I thank the nations already associated with this declaration and encourage others to do the same.

Nitrogen is an abundant element that is essential to the sustenance of all living things.

However, reactive nitrogen generated by human activity and released into ecosystems worsens climate change.

Overuse of nitrogen, especially in fertilisers, has adverse impacts on soil, water, air, and human health.

For decades, chronic kidney disease has been a serious issue in Sri Lankas agricultural heartland.

The overuse of chemical fertilisers has contributed significantly to this problem.

It is in this context that my Government took firm steps to reduce imports of chemical fertilizer, and strongly encourage organic agriculture.

Although this action has been broadly appreciated, it has also met with some criticism and resistance.

In addition to chemical fertilizer lobby groups, this resistance has come from farmers who have grown accustomed to overusing fertilizer as an easy means of increasing yields.

This is particularly unfortunate considering Sri Lankas rich agricultural heritage.

Sri Lanka was known in historic times as the granary of the East.

This reputation was achieved in part due to the sophistication of our ancient hydraulic civilization.

It was also supported by the traditional wisdom and practices inherited by our farmers in the past, who understood the importance of respecting nature and worked hard to sustain it.

The challenge facing us now is to use modern scientific techniques and practices to enhance agricultural production without causing environmental degradation.

We require a new agricultural revolution that has sustainability at its core.

Sri Lankas philosophical heritage, enriched by the teachings of Lord Buddha, has always encouraged us to balance ecological concerns with human needs.

Humans must be in sync with nature, rather than work against it.

My Governments policy frameworks emphasizes sustainability.

This is reflected in Sri Lankas ambitious updated Nationally Determined Contributions to the UNFCC Mechanism.

These include increasing the contribution of renewable energy sources to 70% of national needs by 2030, achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and ensuring no more new coal power projects.

Sri Lanka is proud to be a co-lead of the Energy Compact for No New Coal Power.

We also play a leadership role in mangrove restoration and conservation, including through the Commonwealth Blue Charter.

Sri Lankas progressive agenda on the environment is despite the resource constraints it faces as a developing nation.

Sustaining such an agenda alongside development programmes is challenging for all developing nations, especially following the pandemic.

I therefore hope that developed countries will extend their fullest support to such nations through development assistance, technology transfers, skills development, investment and financing support.

There is also a significant role for businesses in this endeavour, and significant returns to be made in investments into sustainability.

Sri Lanka especially welcomes investments into renewable energy as well as organic agriculture and is prepared to support their success through incentives and appropriate policy interventions.

I therefore hope that greater cooperation in this regard will be forthcoming in the future.

All of us alive today are custodians of this planet on behalf of future generations.

We must all work together towards ensuring its health by contributing in whatever way we can.

If we all do this in a spirit of togetherness and good will, I am certain we will succeed in effecting positive change for our people and our planet.

Thank you.

The video can be viewed through the following link: https://youtu.be/qc0x6AO2W_k

View Speech PDF
New Delhi [India], November 3 (ANI): President Ram Nath Kovind greeted citizens on the eve of Deepawali urged them to celebrate the festival in a clean and safe manner.

The President said that Deepawali symbolizes the victory of good over evil and light over darkness and gives a message of mutual affection, fraternity and brotherhood.

Also Read | Kali Puja 2021: Calcutta High Court Restricts Entry of Visitors in Pandals.

"On the auspicious occasion of Deepawali, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to all our fellow citizens living in India and abroad. Deepawali festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil and light over darkness," the President said.

He said the festival is an occasion to share "our prosperity and happiness with each other".

Also Read | Centre Reduces Excise Duty on Petrol, Diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 on Diwali Eve, Urges State Govts To Bring Down VAT.

"This festival is largely celebrated by people following different beliefs across various sections of our society. The auspicious occasion of Deepawali gives message of mutual affection, fraternity and brotherhood. In fact, it is an occasion to share our prosperity and happiness with each other. Let us, celebrate this festival together in a clean and safe manner and resolve to contribute in conservation and protection of environment," the President said.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu also greeted the people on the eve of Deepawali.

"Celebrated with traditional fervour and zeal, Deepawali is associated with Shri Rama's return to Ayodhya with Maa Sita and Laxmana after the exile of fourteen years. Signifying the victory of good over evil, the festival reaffirms our belief in the noble ideals of Shri Rama's life," Naidu said.

"Shri Rama is the embodiment of truth, Dharma, courage and compassion in our culture. The 'Maryada purushottama' is revered as an ideal king, obedient son, invincible warrior and a role model for all. Celebrations of Deepawali include the worship of Maa Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity. May this festival that brings light, harmony, prosperity and peace into our lives usher in a new enthusiasm to make our lives more fulfilling and bring happiness to everyone around us," he added. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at the Centre over price rise amid Diwali celebrations and said he wished that the Modi government had a sensitive heart for the people.

"It is Diwali. Prices are at their peak. It's not a matter of sarcasm. I wish the Modi government had a sensitive heart for the public," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Also Read | Bandi Chhor Diwas 2021: Eco-Friendly Celebration Planned At Golden Temple For Diwali.

Gandhi and the Congress have been extremely critical of the government over the rise in fuel prices. The opposition party has accused the government of extortion in the name of taxes on petrol and diesel.

It has also charged the government with "profiteering" from fuel tax and "fleecing" the common people.

Also Read | Microsoft Teams Gets Mesh Technology for Holographic Experience During Video Chats: Report.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) IT services firm Tech Mahindra on Wednesday said it has been awarded the Terra Carta Seal in recognition of the company's commitment to creating a sustainable future.

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has -- through the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) -- launched the Terra Carta Seal, which recognises private sector companies that are leading their peers in creating genuinely sustainable markets.

Also Read | Centre Reduces Excise Duty on Petrol, Diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 on Diwali Eve, Urges State Govts To Bring Down VAT.

Tech Mahindra is the only Indian company out of the 44 firms that have been awarded the Terra Carta Seal, it said in a statement.

The inaugural 2021 Terra Carta Seal recognises global companies which are driving innovation and demonstrating their commitment to, and momentum towards, the creation of genuinely sustainable markets.

Also Read | WhatsApp Introduces Special Diwali Stickers Pack, Here's How To Download & Send.

It is being awarded to companies whose ambitions are aligned with those of the Terra Carta, a recovery plan for nature, people and planet, launched in January 2021.

"The pandemic allowed us to step back, introspect and reassess priorities to build a sustainable and futuristic world with equitable opportunities. Tech Mahindra has been a forerunner towards delivering innovative solutions to effectively respond to climate change and drive towards a greener digital economy," Tech Mahindra Chief Sustainability Officer Sandeep Chandna said.

He added that the company's emphasis on clean energy and optimum use of resources helps it in accelerating its transition towards a low carbon economy, while also creating sustainable value for its stakeholders.

****** Infobip to acquire Peerless Network *

Infobip Group, a global cloud communications solutions firm, on Wednesday said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire global VoIP provider Peerless Network for an undisclosed amount.

The transaction is expected to complete upon receipt of regulatory approvals in 2022 and will be financed with a combination of Infobip shares and cash, a statement said.

Peerless Network management will roll parts of its holdings into Infobip, it added.

"The deal extends Infobip's voice presence in the US and makes its world class suite of CPaaS products available to Peerless customers, driving high quality conversation across the entire customer journey," it added.

The acquisition builds on Infobip's ongoing investments and earlier acquisition of US messaging firm OpenMarket, which closed in December 2020.

Other acquisitions include the developer Shift Conference franchise (purchased in April) and SMS firewall provider Anam in May this year.

"In September 2021, Infobip also secured, through direct loan placement, additional funding in the amount of USD 500 million, advised by Morgan Stanley, and led by funds managed by the Credit Group of Ares Management Corporation, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock," the statement said.

The direct loan placement puts Infobip alongside an exclusive group of high growth, high value technology companies, which utilised the same structure, it added.

This is Infobip's second funding round, following One Equity Partner's 300 million euros investment in the second half of 2020.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tokyo [Japan], November 3 (ANI/Xinhua): The number of young people diagnosed with the eating disorder anorexia in Japan newly increased around 60 per cent in fiscal 2020 compared with a year earlier, likely due to growing anxiety and pressure amid the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported Wednesday.

A survey released last month by the National Center for Child Health and Development found that 28 boys and 230 girls under 20 years old were newly diagnosed with the eating disorder in fiscal 2020 through March this year, both up over 60 per cent from the previous year.

Also Read | China, Pakistan Intelligence-Sharing Partnership May Exploit For Private Firms: Study.

Nine boys and 132 girls were newly hospitalized for anorexia, increased from six and 93 respectively compared with the previous year.

The survey also found some hospitals lacked available beds for those in severe conditions despite the uptick in patients, as their beds were used to treat COVID-19 patients.

Also Read | Taliban Bans Use of Foreign Currency in Afghanistan.

The center conducted the survey in two months through the end of June with the effort of 26 medical institutions in 19 of the nation's 47 prefectures.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight, an obsessive fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of weight. It can lead to a life-threatening condition or even death.

An official of the center believed the increase in young people diagnosed with anorexia was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted the lives of students at elementary, middle and high schools.

"Because many schools suspended activities as a measure against the coronavirus, a lot of young people felt a greater level of stress and anxiety," the official said.

A series of other surveys conducted by the same center on parents and their children also found that many young people expressed worries and discontent over their school life due to the pandemic.

In the survey, a boy in the fifth grade of an elementary school wondered if people are going to spend the whole life not going outside and not doing anything, and a girl in the second grade of a middle school said she wants to live a normal life as soon as possible.

The center said there should be more medical institutions that can treat patients with eating disorders. It also called on parents and schools to pay attention to any children who are suffering weight loss and refer them to the hospital before their health deteriorates. (ANI/Xinhua)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
By Reena Bhardwaj

Edinburgh [Scotland], November 3 (ANI): US President Joe Biden on Tuesday (local time) was disappointed with China's President Xi Jinping for not attending the COP26 climate summit.

Also Read | COP26: Climate Finance Cannot Continue at Levels Decided in 2009, Says Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

Speaking at his closing press conference at the COP26 Summit, Biden expressed disappointment over with Chinese actions on climate in Rome, and also the lack of willingness for Chinese President Xi Jinping to show up at either the G20 or COP26 summit. He said, "It was a "big mistake" for China's President Xi Jinping not to attend COP26. The rest of the world will look to China and ask what value-added are they providing and they have lost in building influence people around the world and all the people here at COP."

Biden said that staying at home may have cost Xi some influence on the world stage.

Also Read | China: Families Asked To Stockpile Food and Daily Necessities Leading to Panic Buying Amid Surging Vegetable Prices, COVID-19 Outbreak.

"By showing up we've had a profound impact on the way I think the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership role. I think it's been a big mistake quite frankly for China," Biden said.

Amid the tense relations between US and China, the US President also hit out at Beijing. President Biden said that he is not concerned with the possibility of an armed conflict with China, adding that he's made clear to Chinese President Xi that this is "competition" not "conflict."

"Am I worried about an armed conflict or something happening accidentally with China? No, I'm not. But as I have said before, and I think we have talked about this. I look at China, and I have spent hours of conversations with Xi, both in person when I was Vice President and since I have been President, at least five or six hours where the conversations on the telephone and I am going to be having a virtual Summit. With him. I have made it clear. This is competition. It does not have to be conflict. I have also indicated to him. I am not reluctant to say publicly that we expect him to play by the rules of the road."

Biden also said that the US would not change its stance on several issues, including international sea lanes.

"We are not going to change our attitude toward the constitution and the national airspace, international sea lanes, etc. We also made it clear that we have to work on dealing with things like cybersecurity and a whole range of other issues," said US President.

"I am not looking for, I don't anticipate there will be a need for physical conflict, but you know, as you have heard me say this before, my dad had an expression, 'The only conflict worse than one that's intended, is one that's unintended," Biden added.

Asked about China, Russia and Saudi Arabia not attending the COP26 Summit in person, Biden said that it was a "problem" but that the US doing so had "a profound impact on the way the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership role."

Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend either major summit this week - G20 and COP26 summits.

The given reason for Xi and Putin's absences at the summits is the ongoing COVID pandemic. Cases are spiking in Russia, and Xi has not left China in 21 months as the virus spread across the world. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ulan Bator [Mongolia], November 3 (ANI/Xinhua): Mongolia reported 1,434 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, bringing the national caseload to 363,960, the country's health ministry reported Wednesday.

In addition, 12 more people aged over 40 died from the viral disease in the past day, pushing the death toll to 1,694, it added.

Also Read | Accident in Pakistan: 22 Killed, 8 Injured After Bus Falls into Ravine in PoK.

Some 65.8 per cent of Mongolia's total population of around 3.4 million have received both shots of COVID-19 vaccines, while more than 425,800 Mongolians have taken a booster dose.

Amid a resurgence of COVID-19 in the country due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the Mongolian government has urged the public to avoid mass gatherings, wear masks in public and receive a booster dose.

Also Read | Fact Check: 500 Tonnes of Somali Bananas Arrive in Abu Dhabis Market Contain Helicobacter Worm? UAE Authority Terms Viral Video False And Misleading.

At least 50 per cent of the Mongolian population need a booster, according to the ministry. (ANI/Xinhua)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad [Pakistan], November 3 (ANI): The authorities of Pakistan's Punjab have released more than 800 workers of a radical Islamist group, days after reaching an agreement with the banned party to end nearly two weeks of protests and clashes.

Punjab Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat said the people who were released were those arrested during crackdowns on the protests -- which started on the 12th of Rabiul Awwal -- and raids, Dawn reported.

Also Read | COP26: Climate Finance Cannot Continue at Levels Decided in 2009, Says Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

They were released after scrutiny was completed, Basharat said, adding that workers against whom first information reports (FIRs) were registered would have to obtain bail from courts.

The minister said it was yet to be decided whether Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers who were detained under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) 1960 would also be released.

Also Read | China: Families Asked To Stockpile Food and Daily Necessities Leading to Panic Buying Amid Surging Vegetable Prices, COVID-19 Outbreak.

In a statement, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Punjab for Information Hassan Khawar said more than 1,800 people had been taken into custody under MPO, of whom 860 had been released. He added that the remaining marchers would be released soon as well.

He further said meetings of the government's steering committee were being held to devise the plan for the implementation of the agreement inked with the TLP.

The release comes after an agreement was reached between the TLP and the Pakistan government. Hundreds of TLP members had taken to the streets throughout the country recently to exert pressure on the government for the release of its chief Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi.

A government team comprising Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan and other ministers held talks with the top leadership of the banned outfit, which reached a positive conclusion. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], November 3 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached New Delhi after concluding his five-day foreign visit to Italy and the UK on Wednesday where he enhanced India's self-declared renewable energy commitments at COP26 in Glasgow and outlined India's position on global issues at G20 Summit.

At the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, PM Modi delivered a "seminal" statement at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) and highlighted the range and depth of climate actions taken by India along with future goals that the country has set for itself.

Also Read | COP26: Climate Finance Cannot Continue at Levels Decided in 2009, Says Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

During his COP26 address on Monday, Prime Minister Modi announced five "amrit tatva" including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070. He declared that India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030.

Highlighting India's efforts to combat climate change, PM Modi stated that India is the only major economy that has worked and delivered on the Paris commitments both in letter and spirit.

Also Read | China: Families Asked To Stockpile Food and Daily Necessities Leading to Panic Buying Amid Surging Vegetable Prices, COVID-19 Outbreak.

He also participated in the Build Back Better for the World (B3W) event and laid stress on four aspects in infrastructure creation including sustainable and transparent finance that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi and British Prime Minister Johnson launched the Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative in Glasgow. The launch was part of the India-UK Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

PM Modi also attended the launch event of Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States and announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will build a special data window for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring through satellite.

The 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) is the first major summit that was held physically, where more than 120 countries participated after the COVID-19 pandemic.

PM Modi also held various bilateral meetings with several heads of the state on the sidelines of the G20. He met German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Pope Francis, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In Rome, Prime Minister also met Indonesia President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister also met French President Emmanuel Macron. Emmanuel Macron and the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership.

"Departing from Glasgow after two days of intense discussions about the future of our planet. India has not only exceeded the Paris commitments but has now also set an ambitious agenda for the next 50 years," tweeted PM Modi. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata, November 3: After Durga Puja, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday barred the entry of visitors inside the pandals for Kali Puja and Jagadhatri Puja. Hearing a PIL filed by an environmentalist, the division bench of Justice Rajasekhara Mantha and Justice Kesang Doma Bhutia directed that all necessary steps be taken to prevent the crowd from entering the pandals.

Warning the police to be more cautious while managing the crowd, the bench asked the police and the administration to be more proactive so that the crowd can be stopped before entering the pandals. "During Durga Puja, there was a huge rush of visitors and this led to the increase of Covid infection," it said.

Citing his personal experience, Justice Mantha said: "It is difficult to stop people at festivals like Sabarimala, Jalikattu, Durga Puja. My colleagues got held for two-three hours because of the 'Burj Khalifa' Durga pandal. The same thing happened in Deshapriya Park several years ago." Kali Puja 2021 Date, Shubh Muhurat & Kali Chaudas Tithi: From Puja Vidhi to Amavasya Time & Significance, Everything You Need To Know About Shyama Puja Celebrated During Diwali.

The court observed that people will have to show more civic sense and responsibility. Being fully vaccinated or wearing a mask does not give one the freedom or unchecked entry into pandals during the pujas, it added. Ensure Only Green Crackers Used on Diwali-Kali Puja: HC to Bengal Govt.

The bench was referring to the crowd during Durga puja where despite the High Court order, over-enthusiastic people thronged several puja pandas in the city. The court asked the administration to control the crowd in the same way they controlled during Kali Puja and Jagadhatri Puja last year.

In a separate order, the High Court cited the Supreme Court's verdict and allowed the bursting of 'green crackers' for two hours - between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. It had earlier put a blanket ban on the sale and use of crackers in the state. However, the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed green crackers following which a bench of the high court allowed environment-friendly crackers, giving relief to the businessmen.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2021 09:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Naraka Chaturdashi, also known as Kali Chaudas, Roop Chaudas, Choti Diwali, Naraka Nivaran Chaturdashi or Bhoot Chaturdashi is the second day of five days long Diwali festival. According to the Hindu literature, Narakasura was killed on this day by Krishna, Satyabhama and Kali. Choti Diwali 2021 Wishes & Naraka Chaturdashi Greetings: Wish Happy Choti Diwali to Family and Friends by Sending Beautiful GIFs, Messages, Quotes and SMS.

Chhoti Diwali is the fourteenth day of Krishna Paksha in the Shalivahan Shaka Hindu calendar month of Ashwin. This year it will fall on November 4th, Thursday. It is a day to abolish laziness and evil which create hell in our lives and shine a light on life. As we observe Kali Chaudas, we at LatestLY, have curated a collection of messages that you can send to wish one and all on this auspicious day. What Is Abhyang Snan Muhurat or Oil Bath Time, Significance of Chhoti Diwali and Puja Rituals.

Bhoot Chaturdashi is celebrated by early morning religious rituals and festivities follow on. The puja is performed with Oil, flowers and sandalwood. It is believed that on the eve of this dark night, the souls of the deceased come down to earth to visit their near and dear ones. Many people also believe that fourteen forefathers of a family visit their living families on this day, therefore fourteen diyas are places around the house to guide them towards the house and to chase away the evil ones. Bhoot Chaturdashi is basically observed by the people of West Bengal. Here are the messages that you can send to your friends and family to greet on this day with WhatsApp stickers, GIF Images and HD wallpapers.

Naraka Chaturdashi (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: Heres Wishing You and Your Family a Great Naraka Chaturdashi Filled With Health, Wealth, and Prosperity. Happy Naraka Chaturdashi.

Naraka Chaturdashi (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: Ganesha Will Add to Your Prosperity, Maa Lakshmi Will Bring You Wealth, I Pray This Naraka Chaturdashi To Be the Reason for Your Good Health. Have a Bright Day and a Bright Future.

Naraka Chaturdashi (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: Like Lord Krishna Attained Victory Over Narkasur, on This Naraka Chaturdasi, May the Lord Bless You, and You Attain Victory Over All Evils. Happy Naraka Chaturdasi.

Naraka Chaturdashi (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: With Lamps, Colors of Happiness Let It Happen, but New Excitement Many Wishes of Happy Naraka Chaturdashi to You.

Naraka Chaturdashi (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: The Festival of Lights Is Here Again, So Celebrate With Joy, Forget the Pain. May This Naraka Chaturdashi Bring You Luck, and You Keep Prospering Again and Again.

On Naraka Chaturdashi, people observe Abhyanga Snan which holds special significance in their lives. It is done with ubtan made with sesame oil and it protects one from poverty, unforeseen events, misfortune etc. In Karnataka, the festival of Diwali starts from this day. As we observe festivities for the five days, here are messages that you can send to wish and greet your family and relatives. Happy Naraka Chaturdashi 2021!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2021 10:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Since last week, Flipkart Big Diwali Sale 2021 has been live, and today is its last day. The sale organised by the e-commerce company aims at providing its customers with their desired products at a discount price. This sale brings exciting offers and deals on smartphones, earbuds, appliances and more. Flipkart has partnered with SBI Bank to provide a 10 percent instant discount to bank cardholders. If you are looking to buy a smartphone this Diwali then this is the right time. Let's take a look at the top deals from Flipkart Big Diwali Sale 2021. Flipkart Big Diwali Sale To Begin on October 28, 2021.

Apple iPhone 12 & iPhone 12 Mini:-

Flipkart Big Diwali Sale 2021 (Photo Credits: Flipkart)

iPhone 12 is now available at Rs 42,099 for the 64GB storage model. The 128GB and 256GB models are being sold at Rs 48,249 and Rs 58,249 respectively.

Customers can also avail 5 percent unlimited cashback on Flipkart Axis Bank credit cards, 15 percent instant discount on first Pay Later and up to Rs 15,000 off via exchange offers. On the other hand, iPhone 12 Mini is listed at Rs 42,099 for the 64GB model, whereas the 128GB and 256GB models are now available at Rs 48,249 and Rs 58,249, respectively.

Google Pixel 4a:-

Flipkart Big Diwali Sale 2021 (Photo Credits: Flipkart)

Google's Pixel 4a is listed on Flipkart at Rs 25,999. Buyers will also get an additional Rs 2,000 off on debit, credit cards, 5 percent unlimited cashback on Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card, Lenovo Smart Clock Essential at 1999, Pixel Buds A-Series at Rs 6,999 and up to Rs 14,950 off via exchange deals. The Pixel 4a comes with a 5.81-inch display, 12.2MP rear camera, a 3,140mAh battery and more.

Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G Majestic Gold:

Flipkart Big Diwali Sale 2021 (Photo Credits: Flipkart)

The Reno6 Pro 5G Majestic Gold is listed on the e-commerce platform at Rs 41,990. Customers purchasing the device will get Rs 4,000 off on credit, debit cards, Google Nest Mini at Rs 1,499, 15 percent instant discount on first Pay Later order of 500 and above, Lenovo Smart Clock Essential at Rs 1,999 and up to Rs 19,000 off by exchanging an old smartphone. These offers will bring the effective price down from Rs 41,990.

Samsung Galaxy F42 5G:-

Flipkart Big Diwali Sale 2021 (Photo Credits: Flipkart)

The GalaxyF42 5G is now available at Rs 17,999 for the 6GB + 128GB variant, whereas the 8GB + 128GB model is listed at Rs 19,999. Buyers can also avail an additional Rs 1,500 off on debit and credit cards, 5 percent unlimited cashback on Flipkart Axis Bank credit cards and up to Rs 14,950 discount via exchange deals.

In addition to this, Flipkart is also offering several other smartphones such as Motorola e40, Poco C31, Realme 8i, Realme 8s 5G, iPhone SE, Narzo 50i and more at a discount price.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2021 02:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
The shooting massacre of 17 people this month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., not only reignited the debate over gun control but also launched a group of teenage activists.

Students from the school have given dozens of interviews, gained hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter and visited the White House and the Florida state Capitol. Theyve challenged senators and congressional representatives on live television and gone viral in videos of their pleas to prevent another slaughter.

Here are some key figures in the #NeverAgain movement.

Emma Gonzalez addresses a rally about the mass shooting at her high school. Rhona Wise / AFP-Getty Images

Emma Gonzalez, 18

Gonzalez, a senior, gave an impassioned speech Saturday at a Ft. Lauderdale rally for gun control.

Every single person up here today, all these people should be home grieving, Gonzalez said. But instead we are up here standing together because if all our government and president can do is send thoughts and prayers, then it's time for victims to be the change that we need to see.

They say no laws could have prevented the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred, Gonzalez later added. We call b.s.

At a CNN town hall Wednesday, Gonzalez pressed National Rifle Assn. spokeswoman Dana Loesch on whether she believed it should be harder to obtain semiautomatic weapons and modifications, like bump stocks, that make them fully automatic.

I don't believe that this insane monster should have ever been able to obtain a firearm, ever, Loesch responded. I do not think that he should have gotten his hands on any kind of weapon.

Kelsey Friend and David Hogg. Mark Wilson / Getty Images

David Hogg, 17

Hogg, a senior who directs the schools television station, interviewed other students about the shooting while they were under lockdown.

In a widely seen interview on CNN the day after the shooting, Hogg implored lawmakers and the president to take action.

Were children. You guys are the adults, he said. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together, come over your politics and get something done.

Hogg, who now has more than 140,00 followers on Twitter, has become a leading face of the student activist movement. Appearing on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday, he criticized President Trump for asking why Democrats hadnt passed gun control legislation when they controlled both houses of Congress under President Obama.

You're the president, he said. You're supposed to bring this nation together, not divide us. How dare you.

Sam Zeif during a listening session with President Trump. Mandal Ngan / AFP-Getty Images

Sam Zeif, 18

During the shooting, Zeif, a senior, exchanged text messages with his 14-year-old brother, Matthew, who was in a classroom one floor up. Matthews teacher, Scott Beigel, was shot dead after ushering students to safety. Sam later shared the exchange on Twitter, where it was liked more than 150,000 times.

I didnt plan for them to go viral, Zeif said at the White House meeting with Trump. I just wanted to share with the world because no brothers, or sisters, or family members or anyone should ever have to share those texts with anyone.

Zeif lost Joaquin Oliver, a friend he described as practically a brother.

I turned 18 the day after the shooting, Zeif told Trump. Woke up to the news that my best friend was gone. And I dont understand why I could still go in a store and buy a weapon of war.

Julia Cordover, the senior class president at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, at the White House. Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press

Julia Cordover, 18

Cordover, the senior class president, told Trump at the White House meeting that she hoped a compromise could be reached to prevent further mass shootings.

I was lucky enough to come home from school, unlike some of my other classmates and teachers. And its very scary, she said.

Cordover called Trumps move to ban bump stocks a step in the right direction, but said there was more work ahead.

Im confident that youll do the right thing, she told the president.

Cameron Kasky addresses students who rallied after a school walkout in Parkland, Fla. Rhona Wise / AFP-Getty Images

Cameron Kasky, 17

Kasky, a junior, was part of a group text that began after the shooting and became a way for friends to support one another and discuss how to respond to the violence.

Those students went on to start the "Never Again" movement. Kasky has said the name was his suggestion.

He also started a GoFundMe page that has raised nearly $2 million for the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., on March 24 and for sister marches across the country.

Angry, scared, confused, grieving, and sick of the NRA fostering and promoting this gun culture, says Kaskys Twitter profile, which has grown to have more than 150,000 followers.

Cameron Kasky, who survived the school shooting: Sen. Rubio, can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the NRA?

Rubio: People buy into my agenda, and I do support the Second Amendment #StudentsStandUp https://t.co/ucmVB74g1C  CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 22, 2018

On Wednesday, Kasky got into a heated exchange with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at the CNN town hall, where he repeatedly asked the Republican if he would refuse donations from the National Rifle Assn.

So, Sen. Rubio, can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the NRA in the future? Kasky asked.

The answer to the question is that people buy into my agenda, Rubio replied. And I do support the 2nd Amendment. And I also support the right of you and everyone here to be able to go to school and be safe.

Jaclyn Corin, 17

Corin, a junior, hid in a classroom during the shooting. Afterward, she helped organize a bus trip for dozens of classmates to the state Capitol in Tallahassee to rally for gun restrictions.

I knew that I wanted to change something, Corin told the Naples Daily News. Im the type of person, when something bad happens to me, I cant just sit back and cry and go in a ball. I like to speak out and I like to act and distract myself from pain.

Students teared up as they watched the Florida House of Representatives vote down a motion to consider a bill to ban assault rifles. The vote in the Republican-dominated House was 36 to 71.

Kyle Kashuv, 16

A self-described Republican and Trump supporter, Kashuv told CNN after the shooting that he still supported gun rights but believed there should be some restrictions.

"We have such a limited government that should not be totally reliant on ... the police. We should be able to defend ourselves as citizens. I still totally believe that, but I think that there should be a limit to who could acquire such weaponry, he said. If you're not of the right mind-set, you're not mentally stable, then you should not be able to acquire that.

Kashuv traveled to Tallahassee with his classmates. Something has to be enacted to make sure this never happens again, he said in an interview on the bus.

He created his Twitter account, @KyleKashuv, during the trip with a one-word bio that reads #MDSstrong.

Ariana Klein meets Trump at the White House. In the middle is shooting survivor Carson Abt. Mandal Ngan / AFP-Getty Images

Ariana Klein

Klein, a junior, called Trump a great leader at the White House meeting on Wednesday and urged ideological enemies to talk more with one another.

I just want to say that everybody right now is so stuck on what they believe, that theyre not even listening to what other people believe. We need to listen to the other points of views, she said. We all need to realize that we all have different points of views and that we need  this solution is not going to be a singular thing. Its going to be multifaceted and its going to be created by a collection of different people working together.

And we all have to realize that we all have our opinions, and together were going to be able to work to a solution. And this is not just Parkland anymore; this is America. This is every student in every city, everywhere. Its everybody. Its not small. Its everything.

Alfonso Calderon at the Florida state Capitol. Colin Abbey / EPA-Shutterstock

Alfonso Calderon, 16

Calderon made headlines after giving an impassioned speech during a televised news conference as students rallied in Tallahassee. He defended students against critics who said they were too young to understand politics.

We will not be silenced. It has gone on long enough, he said. Just because we are kids we are not allowed to understand but, trust me, I understand. I was in a closet, locked for four hours with people who I would consider almost family crying and weeping on me begging for their lives.

I understand what its like to text my parents, Goodbye, I might never ever get to see you again. I love you. I understand what its like to fear for your life. And I dont think we should ever be discredited because of that. I dont think we should ever be silenced because we are just children.

Lorenzo Prado at the Florida state Capitol. Don Juan Moore / Getty Images

Lorenzo Prado, 17

Prado, a junior, was near tears as he spoke at the same Tallahassee news conference and described hiding in his schools auditorium sound booth and getting pinned down after a SWAT team mistook him for the shooter.

SWAT comes in, and I thought they were here to rescue me. But then as I go down the stairs, I find out that I was wrong, he said. I found out that they thought it was me that killed the 17 people. I go down the stairs, they tell me to put my hands up. I, being the fool that I was, tried putting my phone back in my pocket. They demanded again, and I, not trying to be one of those news stories of someone dying wrongfully because they refused to put their hands up, I just dropped my phone at that moment and kept going.

When I went out those doors, I had six SWAT members pointing their guns at me. I was tossed to the ground. I was unjustly cuffed and held at gunpoint for the degrading and depreciating action of the disturbed individual Nikolas Cruz. I was then put in a corner with a policewoman guarding me. I knew any move I made would be the end of my life. Throughout the entire event, I only felt two things: I felt fear, as I did not know my future. I did not know if I was going to be let go. I did not know where the terrorist was. The second thing was guilt.

Lane Murdock, 15

Murdock doesnt attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but she said the violence there prompted her to call for a national high school walkout on April 20 that has gained hundreds of thousands of followers and supporters on social media and through a Change.org petition. The date marks the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado that left 13 people dead.

A sophomore at Ridgefield High School in Connecticut, a 20-minute drive from Sandy Hook Elementary School, Murdock hopes teenagers around the country will take part in the walkout to honor those who have died in school shootings.

Were neutral. Some people who are trying to help and support us naturally assume were politically aligned. We want April 20 to be a day of solidarity for the lives lost. Its about paying our respects, Murdock told the Hartford Courant. But we also want it to be a day of discourse. Adults fight on the internet, in the press, in politics. A lot of kids dont, and its because were open to listening.

A youth movement of the Womens March called EMPOWER is also pushing for a national school walkout at 10 a.m. March 14 among students, teachers, school administrators, parents and allies. The group is suggesting those who walk out stand in silence for 17 minutes, one for each person who died in the Florida massacre.
Myawady Sayadaw, a crimson-robed monk whose eyes dance behind round spectacles, casts himself as a genial warrior in Myanmars long struggle against military rule.

Inside his monastery stands a tall stone monument to students killed in pro-democracy protests. In 2007, he and tens of thousands of monks marched peacefully in streets nationwide, staring down columns of soldiers in what was dubbed the Saffron Revolution.

Today, with the military having yielded some powers to an elected government, Myawady Sayadaw peppers his sermons with references to human rights and interfaith understanding. But when it comes to Myanmars most explosive political issue  the army-led purging of Rohingya Muslims  the outspoken monk becomes taciturn.

Buddha loves all people and teaches us to try to resolve suffering, but we have a duty to protect our country at the same time, he said at his simple monastery outside the northern city of Mandalay.

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Most of the Muslims, he went on, are extremists.

In Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, hatred for the Rohingya runs far deeper than the fears over Islamist terrorism that the army has used to justify a ruthless, four-month crackdown in the western state of Rakhine. Soldiers have killed, raped or maimed thousands of Rohingya, according to international human rights groups, and more than 640,000 have fled across the border to refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The antipathy toward the small Muslim minority  in a country that is 90% Buddhist  is a virulent brew of ethnic, economic and religious nationalism promulgated for decades by the military, and spread easily via social media across a population with some of the lowest education levels in Southeast Asia.

It is built fundamentally on racial differences: The Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in Myanmar, are physically and culturally more similar to the peoples of Bangladesh and India than to Myanmars ethnic Bamar majority. Scholars say they descend from Arab and Persian traders who arrived in what is now western Myanmar more than 1,000 years ago.

Those differences have driven a deep wedge through this country of 50 million. Of all the monks, student activists, ethnic guerrillas and other dissidents who once opposed the armys abuses, almost none have spoken up for the countrys most beleaguered people.

All these democratic activists, when they talk about human rights and citizens rights, they have a prejudice  the Rohingya are not included, said Thet Swe Win, director of the Center for Youth and Social Harmony, a Myanmar nonprofit.

No one is on the Rohingyas side. That is the tragedy here.

Myawady Sayadaw, abbot of a monastery outside Mandalay, says most of the Muslims expelled from Myanmar are extremists. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times )

For years, Myanmars army has rallied Buddhists by claiming a Muslim plot to overtake the country. It rewrote the countrys arcane citizenship laws to exclude the Rohingya, and routinely ignored hardline monks who spewed hatred toward Muslims.

The propaganda was seemingly confirmed after a small insurgent group  the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA  rose up last year and began attacking Myanmar security forces. Now monks such as Myawady Sayadaw freely reconcile Buddhas nonviolent teachings with a military offensive that some call a possible genocide.

Once ARSA emerged, it allowed even pro-peace, pro-interfaith people in the country to write off the Rohingya as a terrorist threat, no matter how implausible that is, said Matthew Walton, a professor and Myanmar expert at the University of Oxford.

In this case, government officials have a very good sense of what public sentiment is, so almost no one is going to object to something nasty about the Rohingya.

There was little outcry in October after one of the countrys most influential monks, Sitagu Sayadaw, gave a speech at a military base in which he appeared to justify ethnic cleansing. He invoked a parable about an ancient Sri Lankan king who was advised not to grieve for the many Hindus he killed in battle because non-Buddhists were not human beings.

Myawady Sayadaw said his fellow clergymans words were dangerous. But in the next breath he accused the international media of exaggerating the violence against the Rohingya.

Outsiders shouldnt blame our country so easily, he said. We need to search for the truth in Rakhine state. I dont believe the media reports, and our people dont believe them either.

Bangladeshs Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, seated at right, and his Myanmar counterpart U Myint Thu reaffirm their commitment on Dec. 19 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to begin repatriating Rohingya in January despite rights groups warning that their safety is still not assured. (Sam Jahan / AFP/Getty Images )

No one is on the Rohingyas side. That is the tragedy here. Thet Swe Win, activist

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who spent years under house arrest and now heads the civilian government, has been pilloried internationally for defending the military, but remains Myanmars most popular politician.

Of the dozens of ethnic minority groups that long battled the army for greater rights, only one  a womens organization representing ethnic Karen, many of whom are Christians  has issued a statement condemning the militarys campaign against the Rohingya.

As one of the few Myanmar activists to champion the Rohingya cause, Thet Swe Win, 31, has come under attack on social media. Nationalist groups have labeled him a maggot and accused him of taking bribes from Muslim countries.

His mother said she couldnt support his work. Friends have deserted him.

Most of the people inside Burma, all the information they get is from government propaganda and from nationalist groups, he said. So this is how most Burmese people believe that those Rohingya are not from our country.

When the army took power in 1962, it began pushing the narrative that the Rohingya had been brought into Myanmar illegally by British colonial rulers, who used laborers from present-day India and Bangladesh to build roads and infrastructure. The generals created an educational system that inculcated bigotry in generations of schoolchildren.

One Rohingya, Wakar Uddin, remembers such lessons from his days as a sixth-grader in Rakhine in the late 1960s. His class read a story that described Indians as filthy street-sweepers with monstrous features; Uddin recalled liberal use of the slur kalar  used to describe dark-skinned people  and that when the teacher read from the book, Buddhist students laughed and applauded.

That book was poison, said Uddin, a biology professor at Penn State who directs the Arakan Rohingya Union, an advocacy group.

Over 50 or 60 years, the army provided fertile ground for hate, and putting that into the mind of a third- or fourth-grader brings you the results we are seeing today, he said.

Rohingya refugees on the move near the Bangladesh and Myanmar border in October. (Munir Uz Zaman / AFP/Getty Images )

Even as the Myanmar government and Bangladesh pursue a plan to repatriate Rohingya refugees starting in January, the state-supported climate of hate makes it all but impossible to imagine that many could return.

If we were Buddhists, the whole Bamar majority would take our side. But we are Muslims, said Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist who fled Myanmar at 16 and now lives in Germany. They dont want this population in the country. This is the national policy.

Public officials can say just about anything about Rohingya without fear of it diminishing their stature. In 2009, Myanmars consul general in Hong Kong wrote a letter to foreign diplomats calling the Rohingya ugly as ogres with dark brown skin. (By contrast, he said, his own skin was fair and soft  and good looking as well.) The remark did not hurt his career; the military government later appointed him ambassador to Switzerland.

This year, when a Rakhine state lawmaker was asked by a BBC journalist about soldiers sexually assaulting Rohingya women, he giggled. Soldiers could not have committed mass rapes, he explained, because Rohingya women were very dirty.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia
QAnon believers gathered on Tuesday morning waiting for the return for John F. Kennedy, Jr., who was killed in a plane crash in 1999, over a belief of QAnon conspiracy theory that former President Donald Trump is awaiting to be reinstated as the president.

The crowds place themselves around the large white "X," a spot where his father, former President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963, according to a Rolling Stone report

One known QAnon influencer with more than 250,000 followers on the encrypted messaging app Telegram said that Trump will be placed once again as the president of the United States and calling for a new vice president, who would be JKF Jr.

The post went on to say that Trump will step down and JFK Jr. will become the president. JFK Jr. will then appoint QAnon celebrity Michael Flynn as his new vice president.

Flynn was also a former National Security Adviser during Trump's administration.

READ NEXT: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Falsely Claims Guam a Foreign Land; Governor Offers Her History Book

QAnon Gathering Waiting for JFK Jr.

The QAnon theory focuses on their loyalty to Trump, believing he will dismantle a "Deep State," which they believe is composed of leftist politicians and celebrities who are pedophiles, The Dallas Morning News reported. The crowd also believes that Trump would ultimately become the "king of kings."

Experts who have been following QAnon said that they were surprised by the number of people who showed up in Dallas.

Jared Holt, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, said that he is kind of shocked at how many people turned out for this. Holt researches domestic extremism.

JFK Jr. has been a long center of attention for QAnon supporters, including the theory that the former president's son had faked his 1999 plane crash.

QAnon promoter Michael Brian Protzman claimed that the Kennedys are descendants of Jesus Christ, using numerology to support his claims, according to The Daily Beast report. Protzman wore a pin that said "I'm Just a Dumb Ass" during the gathering.

The Dallas QAnon believers also believe that the Kennedys would unveil themselves on November 2, right around the hour of Kennedy's assassination. They also believe that other dead celebrities would appear, having faked their deaths to avoid the deep state.

The crowd also picked out random people they saw in the Dallas area as celebrities in disguise, such as one man as comedian Robin Williams and another man as Richard Pryor.

One woman had cut off the host livestreaming the gathering, saying that she just cannot wait to see Kobe Bryant.

QAnon

Law enforcement groups, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned about the danger of real-world violence by followers of the group. QAnon supporters were present during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. One supporter of the movement reportedly killed a reputed underboss of the Gambino crime family.

Holt noted that QAnon is an umbrella group, wherein different segments do not always agree on ideologies. He said that he believes that the Tuesday event grew out of chat channels focused on numerology.

Holt said that the group's claims might be laughable, but it was concerning that such a large group could mobilize in person.

He noted that it scares him to think what happens "when they get real power."

READ MORE: Twitter Permanently Suspends Accounts of Trump, Flynn, and Powell

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: QAnon Believers Gather In Dallas Awaiting Return Of Long-Dead JFK Jr. - from Forbes Breaking News






Texas radio host William Neil "Doc" Gallagher was given a life imprisonment sentence, adding to another 30-year prisons sentence from state District Elizabeth Beach for his guilty pleas. He was found to have defrauded elderly listeners out of millions of dollars.

Gallagher's sentences are to be served concurrently, according to a CBS News report.

More than a dozen senior victims testified during the hearing on Gallagher's case, saying they lost around $50,000 to $60,000 invested in the Gallagher Financial Group. Some said they had to sell their homes, borrow money from their children, or take part-time jobs to supplement their Social Security benefits.

Lori Varnell said that Gallagher is one of the worst offenders she has seen. She is the chief of the Tarrant County District Attorney's Elder Financial Fraud department.

READ NEXT: Fort Hood Soldier Found Dead Near Barracks; Army Officials Say Investigation Underway

Doc Gallagher's Fraud Scheme

Gallagher was known to have defrauded more than 190 listeners for at least $23 million, The New York Times reported.

He targeted older investors and promoted his company, Gallagher Financial Group, in churches and on the radio. His company had offices in Dallas and Hurst.

A Dallas County judge sentenced the fraud suspect to 25 years in state prison last March. He was also ordered to pay more than $10 million in restitution to the victims of his fraud.

A spokeswoman for the Tarrant County Criminal District's Office, Anna Tinsley Williams, said that 192 victims had claimed they lost $38 million.

In March 2019, the Security and Exchange Commission charged Gallagher with running a Ponzi scheme, shutting down his operations.

Federal court records noted that a lawyer at Brown Fox in Dallas, Cort Thomas, has been appointed by a federal judge to recover losses, estimated at more than $23 million.

Thomas has distributed about $3.3 million to the victims, as well as suing Salem Media, which owns the radio stations on which Gallagher hosted his show.

A huge majority of Gallagher's clients were in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Most of them are middle-class people who were not looking for enormous returns but a stable retirement fund.

The money he got from investors was deposited in a single account, which Gallagher can only control.

Thomas noted on the lawsuit filed against Salem Media that it was "a classic Ponzi scheme."

Doc Gallagher's Victims

The victims had spoken about losing trust in people and of the depression they now suffer because of losing their money through Gallagher's company, according to a CBS Local report.

One of the victims, Judy Dewitt, said that she is afraid her money is going to run out. She added that it is a very scary thing.

Another one of the victims, 74-year-old Susa Pippi, said that she and her husband lost their entire savings, amounting to around $600,000.

Pippi said that they learned this happened around the time her husband was about to retire from being a commercial sandblaster.

Pippi's husband continued to work while having nerve damage and experiencing collapsed disks.

She said in an interview that Gallagher had ruined them for the rest of their lives.

READ MORE: Foul Play Suspected as Another Missing Fort Drum Soldier Found Dead

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Victims Of Ponzi Scheme Reach Out To Investigators After 'Money Doctor' Arrest - from CBSDFW






A Facebook official announced their plan on Tuesday about terminating the social media giant's facial recognition system, citing "societal concerns."

The move was confirmed and announced by Facebook through Jerome Presenti, Meta's vice president for artificial intelligence, in the company's Blogspot.

"We're shutting down the Face Recognition system on Facebook," the Facebook official said.

According to Presenti, the reason they will remove facial recognition is that they need to "weigh" the positive uses of the feature as "societal concerns" continues to grow.

Furthermore, Presenti also mentioned that regulators are still "in the process of providing a clear set of rules" governing the use of facial recognition, USA Today reported.

"Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate.

READ NEXT: Mark Zuckerberg Rebrands Facebook to Meta as tech Company Dives Into Metaverse

Changes in Removing Facial Recognition on Facebook

The said move will affect over a billion people. Presenti said that the move will change technology's history.

"This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in technology's history," Presenti said.

One of the changes that will be affected by the removal of facial recognition is that people who opted to use the said feature will no longer be automatically recognized in the photos and videos.

Presenti furthered that this will happen because their company will delete more than a billion individual facial recognition templates of users who used the said feature.

The shutting down of facial recognition will also affect the Automatic Alt Text (AAT), a feature that creates image descriptions for blind and visually impaired individuals.

"After this change, AAT descriptions will no longer include the names of people recognized in photos but will function normally otherwise," Presenti underscored.

Despite concerns, Presenti said that they still see facial recognition technology as a powerful tool, mentioning that the said technology allows individuals to verify their identity and prevent fraud or impersonation, CNN reported.

"Every new technology brings with it potential for both benefit and concern, and we want to find the right balance," Presenti underscored, adding that they will converse with and work with civil society groups and regulators while the long term role of Facial recognition is debated.

Thoughts on the Removal of Facebook's Facial Recognition

Different groups and experts expressed their thoughts on Facebook's decision to remove facial recognition.

This is a good start toward ending dangerous uses of facial recognition technology.



Now its time for enforceable rules that prohibit companies from scanning our faces without our consent.



Looking at you, Congress. https://t.co/SnSu8wUW7V  ACLU (@ACLU) November 2, 2021

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lauded the move, calling it a "start toward ending dangerous uses of facial recognition.

Meanwhile, Electronic Privacy Information Center President and Executive Director Alan Butler said that Facebook's move is a good one for users.

"It is welcome news that Facebook is not only shutting down facial recognition on its platform but also deleting the face scan data that it improperly obtained from more than a billion users," Butler said.

Law and computer science professor, Woodrow Hartzog from Northeastern University, called Facebook's decision a "win."

The fact that a company as big and influential as Facebook is coming out and acknowledging the harms of facial recognition is definitely a sign of the times," Hartzog said.

READ NEXT: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Wife Priscilla Chan Face Lawsuit From Ex-Household Staffers for Allowing 'Sexism and Racial Discrimination'

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Facebook to No Longer Use Facial Recognition Technology - From Bloomberg Technology
One Florida homeowner from Seagrove Beach is facing off with county code enforcement officials after hanging banners at his home, reading "Let's Go Brandon" and "Trump Won."

Officials are fining him $50 for each day the banners are left hanging, according to The Hill report.

The Florida man is identified as Marvin Peavy. He believes that being forced to remove his banners is a violation of his freedom of speech.

He was told to remove his banners during a code enforcement hearing last month. Officials determined that those displays violated the county's land development code.

Peavy said that he's on the beach, getting him a lot of traffic. He added that people needed to see what he believes in, noting that it's free speech.

He also said that he wanted people to know that he is a Republican and he is supporting former U.S. President Donald Trump.

READ NEXT: Southwest Airlines Investigates Pilot's Anti-Biden 'Let's Go Brandon' Chant Over Intercom

"Trump Won" and "Let's Go Brandon" Banners

A compliance magistrate noted at a code enforcement hearing last month that the "Trump Won" banner violates the country's land development code.

Peavy's "Trump Won" banner was up since May, according to The Blaze report.

The official added that Peavy added another banner saying, "Let's Go Brandon."

A number of folks showed up in front of Peavy's house to support him. Bill Fletcher, chairman of the Walton County Republican Executive Committee, said that people admire people that stand up and have got to start standing up.

Fletcher added that Peavy is the epitome of somebody who will stand up for his First Amendment right.

One supporter named Tabitha Howard said that she attended the code of enforcement meeting when the issue with Peavy was brought up.

Howard said that she was quite shocked when they announced Peavy will be fined $50 a day for a banner that's installed on his private property.

Peavy said that he is not a "troublemaker," saying that he is not intending to cause problems but will fight for what is right, according to an Orlando-Sentinel report.

The rules from enforcement officials do not have anything to do with political content signs. Rather, they said they prohibit any kind of signs or flags on the property along the beachfront yard.

Trump and his supporters had claimed that the election was stolen from him, pushing for audits led by people who share the same views.

Recently, Trump and his allies pressured the Justice Department to investigate unsubstantiated claims of widespread 2020 election fraud.

U.S. President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election with a solid majority of 306 electoral votes as compared to Trump's 232.

Meanwhile, the "Let's Go Brandon" phrase has become a popular alternative for another anti-Biden chant with an expletive.

It started after a reporter reportedly misheard NASCAR stock car race fans who were shouting "F*** Joe Biden."

Recently, a Southwest Airlines pilot had made the headlines by saying "Let's Go Brandon" over the onboard PA system during a flight.

READ MORE: 'F--k Joe Biden': NASCAR Fans Join Chanting Expletives Against Pres. Joe Biden

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Florida man faces daily fines for massive 'Let's Go Brandon' sign and pro-Trump sign - from News 12 PM






The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave a green light Tuesday for the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine for children ages five to eleven years old.

The recommendation from the CDC came after a panel of advisers for the agency also gave their endorsement on the said vaccine for children in the announced age bracket, The Daily Wire reported.

According to reports, advisors for the CDC voted unanimously to recommend the jabs, which will affect 28 million kids aged 5-11 years old.

READ NEXT: U.S. FDA to Allow Americans With Different Brand of Booster Vaccine Shot

CDC Recommends Pfizer COVID Vaccines to Kids

The CDC also echoed what the advisory panel said.

"CDC now expands vaccine recommendations to about 28 million children in the United States in this age group and allows to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible," CDC said in a statement.

The agency did not deliberately announce the exact date of vaccination among kids ages 5-11, but they highlighted that the distribution of the pediatric vaccinations across the country started this week, and they plan to scale up to "full capacity" starting on the week of November 8.

CDC also said that the vaccines will be available at "thousands of pediatric healthcare provider offices, pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and more."

The CDC then emphasized the importance of getting children vaccinated, arguing that the jab can protect them from getting COVID-19. The agency furthered that the Pfizer COVID vaccine is also 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among children aged 5-11. They highlighted that the most common side effect of the jab was "sore arm."

Although with the same efficacy, CNBC mentioned that the Pfizer COVID vaccine for the children in the said age bracket will come in smaller doses, as it only consists of one-third of the dosage of the jab given to American teens and adults.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky urged the parents to engage in a conversation with their healthcare provider in case there are having second thoughts about the jab.

"As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse, or local pharmacists to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated," Walensky underscored.

Children and COVID

In meeting with the CDC advisory panel, Walensky acknowledged that children are generally less likely than adults to suffer severe cases of COVID-19. The CDC director, however, acknowledged that a small portion of the demographics can still suffer from it.

Data shared at a CDC meeting revealed that at least 2,316 children ages 5-11 suffered multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a rare but serious COVID-related complication.

Furthermore, CDC Advisor Dr. Matthew Daley said that the said age group recorded at least 1.9 million COVID cases with 8,300 hospitalizations and 94 deaths.

"Too many children have either lost a parent or become orphaned in this pandemic, which is incredibly tragic... As an infectious disease specialist and a mother who has vaccinated both of her children, I am fully supportive of recommending this vaccine for this age cohort," Committee member Dr. Kamille Kotton said.

READ NEXT: Ex-FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb Says New Delta Plus Variant Would Not Change U.S.' Virus Trajectory Amid Pandemic

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Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: COVID Vaccine for Kids 5 to 11: Here's What to Expect This Week - From Click on Detroit
The $24 million drug empire of a drug kingpin extending from Alabama to Texas crumbled after the discovery of his drug business and his admission of accountability to 4,000 kilos of cocaine leading to his imprisonment for several decades.

$24 Million Drug Empire Collapses

According to WKRG News 5, they had been following the case of Darrin Southall over the past year, and this week the drug kingpin reached a plea deal.

The plea deal of Southall was granted after he admitted that he was accountable for almost 4,000 kilograms of cocaine and 24 kilograms of heroin. Southall also admitted that he took in about $24 million during the time of his operation. Based on the court documents, Southall even extended some of his business in states like Mississippi and Texas.

Meanwhile, Southall had a long criminal history that could be dated back to the 1990s. Federal prosecutors labeled him a ringleader in a multi-state, multi-million dollar drug organization since 2016.

READ MORE: 'Drug Kingpin' With Ties to Mexico's Gulf Cartel Convicted in Massive Cocaine Bust in Georgia

Drug Kingpin's Plea Gives Safety to Public: Police

Based on the police, putting someone like Southall behind bars was not only big news for the city but also for other states where he extended the operations of his drug empire.

The public safety director for the city of Mobile, Lawrence Battiste, said that it was a great day in the city of Mobile because of the magnitude of Southall's impact in the streets. Battiste was also happy because the drug trade was stopped in the area.

Moreover, Southall would be off the streets after he entered a plea deal, where he would only face anywhere from 30-35 years behind bars for his committed crimes.

Battiste added that having Southall taking a plea with significant jail time associated with that plea meant a lot to the community. The public safety director said that for someone like Southall not to be able to be back on the streets would also mean safety to the public.

Battiste added that authorities needed to hold Southall accountable because the drug trade has driven other types of crime, burglaries, homicides, and assaults.

Mobile police stated that the arrest would make an impact because a major head of an organization was taken out. There were people that were vying for positions to maybe take over the area or role that particular person served in, but for them, it would only have a short-term impact on the disruption.

Furthermore, the drug kingpin was also named as a person of interest in a double homicide earlier this year. The grandparents of a local rapper known as HoneyKomb Brazy were found dead in their home after it caught fire in February. No one has been arrested in connection with those deaths, but authorities linked the name of Southall to the crime.

Southall's sentencing for the federal case was set for February 18, 2022.

READ NEXT: Pharmacist Arrested for Distributing Drugs Out of His Drugstore in Exchange for Sex

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: $24 million drug empire crumbles: Kingpin cops to 4,000 kilos of cocaine -WKRG5


Facebook has accused the government of Nicaragua of running an internet troll farm ahead of the presidential elections this weekend.

BBC News reported that the company behind Facebook and Instagram has got rid of over 1,000 fake accounts in Nicaragua, which were allegedly part of a disinformation campaign by the government.

Meta said those who ran the accounts included employees at the telecoms regulator and the Supreme Court.

The government-ran internet troll farms issue comes before the presidential elections on Sunday, with the president's primary challengers jailed. The U.S. has described the election as a sham.

READ NEXT: Warning Made on Behalf of Jalisco Cartel Boss: TV Reporter Azucena Uresti Threatened To Be Killed for Alleged Unfair Coverage

Shutting Down Nicaragua's Internet Troll Farm

The social media company said Monday the troll farm was intended to amplify pro-government and anti-opposition content, Al Jazeera reported.

The company noted that the campaign was a coordinated effort to manipulate public discourse using fake accounts.

The government of President Daniel Ortega and the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front Party operated the accounts, according to Ben Nimmo, a threat intelligence lead for Meta.

Nimmo said it was a cross-government operation, with the troll farm consisting of several clusters ran from multiple government entities at once.

The threat intelligence lead officer noted that Meta closed 937 accounts, 140 pages, and 24 groups on Facebook last month, while 363 accounts were removed on Instagram.

Facebook added that the Supreme Court, which is an Ortega ally, also ran smaller clusters of fake accounts. The Nicaraguan Social Security Institute was also doing the same, Reuters reported.

Facebook's investigators said it was one of the most cross-government troll operations that they've disrupted to date.

The operation of the government of Nicaragua also ran a network of blogs, websites, and other social media assets across TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram.

A spokesperson for Alphabet Inc's Google, which owns the YouTube, said the company had terminated 82 YouTube channels and three blogs as part of its ongoing investigation linked to Nicaragua's internet troll farm.

They noted that the channels had fewer than 1,500 subscribers, primarily uploading spammy content in Spanish about gaming and sports.

They added that a small subset uploaded content showing support of Ortega and Sandinista party and criticizing the U.S.

Reuters reported that YouTube concluded that the campaign was consistent with the similar findings reported by Facebook. Meanwhile, other social media companies have yet to comment on the matter.

The troll farm networks had started in April 2019 when student-led protests against the Nicaraguan government erupted.

More than 300 people were killed in shutting down the protests, with tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have gone into exile. BBC News reported that analysis suggests that people were posting on the accounts as their day job.

The EU's foreign policy chief noted that Nicaragua is one "of the worst dictatorships in the world." Facebook has also taken down other government-run networks from Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, Thailand, and Azerbaijan.

They said that it all broke its rules against so-called coordinated inauthentic behavior. The company called it an "especially troubling trend."

READ MORE: Clashing Mexican Drug Cartels Leave 2 Police and 7 Others Dead in Mexico

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Nicaragua: Daniel Ortega Is Nominated for Presidential Candidate - From TeleSUR English






An expert said the DNA found on Gabby Petito's body could provide a "huge clue" as law enforcement officers continue to find out who killed her.

The Sun reported that the investigation over Petito's death is still ongoing, weeks after coroners in Teton County, Wyoming concluded that she died due to manual strangulation.

Former lieutenant of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office Paul Belli said he thinks Petito's killer could have left DNA on her body.

Belli told CNN that one "would expect DNA on either one of them from the other." He added that if "there's DNA maybe where it shouldn't be," that could be kind of a clue as to what may have happened.

Thus, he noted that "there are ways to absolutely, at least get you to a point where you're like 'Ok this definitely makes sense, this is the person who did this crime."

A preliminary autopsy revealed that the manner of Petito's death was homicide before coroners concluded that she died from strangulation.

READ NEXT: Gabby Petito Case: Moab Police in Utah Allegedly Profited From Brian Laundrie's Fiancee Bodycam Video

Gabby Petito's Autopsy Results

An autopsy was performed on Gabby Petito's remains after her body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19.

Teton County, Wyoming coroner Brent Blue earlier said that Petito was strangled to death by "human force," and the manner of death was homicide. The cause of death was officially listed as "manual strangulation/throttling."

During an appearance on CNN, Blue noted that throttling means that "someone was strangled by human force" and "no mechanical force" was involved. He explained that people could be strangled by other means, like individuals on snowmobiles who run into a wire.

"That would be strangling by a mechanical event. But this was, we believe was strangling by a human being," he said.

When asked how they knew it was a human responsible for Petito's killing, Blue answered, "because only humans have opposable thumbs." He added that there was no evidence it was "done by any animal as far as the cause of death."

According to Blue, they conducted a "detailed investigation" in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that included a full-body computed tomography scan and examinations by a forensic pathologist and a forensic anthropologist.

The coroner also said that Petito was not pregnant at the time of her death, and her body was left in the wilderness for three to four weeks.

The Wyoming coroner has declined to answer if he suspects that Brian Laundrie was responsible for his fiancee's homicide, saying it will be up to law enforcement to determine that.

Laundrie's attorney, Steve Bertolino, maintained that Petito's fiance has not been charged and was not even a suspect in Petito's homicide. The FBI has issued a federal arrest warrant for Laundrie but over debit card fraud.

Psychic Medium Claims to Have Made Contact With Brian Laundrie's Fiance

A psychic medium told The Sun that Gabby Petito was showing many signs of forgiveness and compassion.

The unidentified medium, who reportedly "communicates with souls on the other side," said that despite not following the case closely, they have managed to communicate with Petito's spirit through her pictures since the YouTuber has a strong "spiritual energy."

The medium noted that Petito has "forgiven what has happened... or is at peace with the fact she's not going to be brought to justice."

The medium added that they were seeing Petito appearing in a dream for her mother like "there's going to be some visitation," and "seeing a lot of butterfly symbolism."

The medium noted that there's a connection to butterflies, and Petito was also showing her a cat. According to the medium, Petito was also concerned about her grandfather's health and his deteriorating health.

The medium claimed that Petito was showing them something that's going to happen or "maybe has not happened yet." Gabby's stepfather, Jim Schmidt, earlier said that Petito was always with them every day, adding that she was giving them signs.

Gabby Petito disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie. The couple was traveling to Oregon when the YouTuber stopped communicating with her family in Wyoming in late August.

Laundrie was named a person of interest by North Port police in Florida after returning home on September 1 or 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family.

After a month-long manhunt, law enforcement officers found Laundrie's remains at a swampy area of the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20.

The Sarasota County medical examiner said the skeletal remains found at the park were confirmed to belong to Laundrie based on "comparison to known dental records."

However, the initial autopsy of Brian Laundrie's remains did not uncover a cause or manner of his death, so his remains were sent to a forensic anthropologist for further examination.

READ MORE: Brian Laundrie Manhunt: Parents of Gabby Petito's Fiance Change the Date of Florida Fugitive's Disappearance

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: BREAKING: Huge 'Clue' Could Prove Who Killed Gabby Petito, Expert Says - From Gabby Petito Breaking News






Officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Texas had intercepted more than $50 million worth of methamphetamine in their two last operations, authorities said.

According to Fox News, the officers of the Border Protection situated in Texas had seized over $1.5 million in methamphetamine after they busted a U.S. citizen attempting to haul the illegal drugs into the U.S. last week.

Authorities said it happened just days after intercepting a Mexican smuggling 1.2 tons or $48 million worth of the illicit drug.

Over $1.5 Million Meth Intercepted by CBP Agents in Texas

In a statement released on Monday, the CBP said the recent seizure happened at the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville last Thursday when a woman applied for entry into the U.S.

The 44-year-old female U.S. citizen was driving a 2008 Ford pickup. During an inspection of her vehicle, CBP officers found 24 packages hidden inside the pickup.

The agency said the packages contained a total of 76.54 pounds of alleged methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $1,530,874.

The CBP noted that the officers seized the narcotics along with the vehicle. The officers also arrested the woman and turned her over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation.

READ NEXT: 'Drug Kingpin' With Ties to Mexico's Gulf Cartel Convicted in Massive Cocaine Bust in Georgia

CBP Officers in Texas Seize $48 Million Worth of Methamphetamine

In a separate statement released on October 28, the CBP said the first interception happened on October 22, when officers busted another driver transporting a load of methamphetamine hidden inside a 1997 Freightliner truck.

The agency said the 60-year-old driver, a Mexican citizen, had applied for entry into the U.S. at the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville.

During the truck inspection, the CBP noted that officers discovered 62 buckets that contained a total of 2,444.92 pounds of alleged meth. The alleged illicit drugs had an estimated street value of $48,898,072.

The CBP said the officers confiscated the narcotics and the vehicle. The Mexican driver was also arrested and was turned over to the custody of the HSI's special agents.

Brownsville Port of Entry Director Tater Ortiz said the officers had used their "experience and inspection skills to intercept this significant load of prohibited narcotics, delivering another significant blow to illicit drug trafficking" in their area.

Ortiz further noted that "this substantial seizure illustrates the importance of remaining vigilant" and in keeping the dangerous narcotics from entering the country.

In both cases, the CBP officers used the aid of a non-intrusive imaging system (NII) and a canine unit in inspecting the vehicles.

The CBP said the NII technology enables its officers to detect contraband such as narcotics and weapons from sea containers, trucks, cars, and rail cars without physically opening or unloading them.

In fiscal year 2012, the CBP noted that its large-scale NII systems were used to conduct more than 7.6 million examinations, and it resulted in more than 1,500 seizures and interception of more than 212,000 pounds of narcotics.

READ MORE: Pharmacist Arrested for Distributing Drugs Out of His Drugstore in Exchange for Sex

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Texas Border Protection Officers Seize Over $50M in Meth Being Smuggled - From News Pilot
A gun was found in a Florida park where Dog The Bounty Hunter had earlier looked for Brian Laundrie.

The Sun reported that a fisherman named Christopher Sacco found the gun at Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County on October 23. At first, the 35-year-old fisherman thought the firearm was a large fish but later discovered it was an abandoned gun.

Sacco and his friend were fishing near a playground area at the park at the time when they found the black revolver inside a Publix shopping bag, Tampa Bay Times reported.

The fisherman then called the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office to report the gun at around 11:46 a.m., and some officers rushed to the area.

A sheriff's office spokesperson said the deputies took possession of the firearm and placed it in property and evidence. The spokesperson noted that the gun was entered into the Florida Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center.

WFLA-TV reporter Josh Benson tweeted Tuesday that the sheriff's office currently has the gun, but it has not provide any further updates.

Benson also said the fisherman confirmed that he found a gun at Fort De Soto Park, and he took a pic of it before he turned it over to authorities.

GUN. Checked in with the man who found the gun in #FortDeSoto more than a week ago. Says he only took one pic and turned gun over to Pinellas County authorities. Sheriff's Office tells me they have it in evidence and there's been no update just yet. https://t.co/wenPxlwA78  Josh Benson (@WFLAJosh) November 2, 2021

READ NEXT: Brian Laundrie Family 'Furious' at Woman Claiming to Be Ex-Girlfriend of Gabby Petito's Fiance

Dog The Bounty Hunter Searches for Brian Laundrie at Fort De Soto Park in Florida

It was still unclear if the gun was connected to Brian Laundrie or not. But the Fort De Soto Park was one of the areas that Dog The Bounty Hunter was previously looking for Laundrie.

The 68-year-old reality star, whose real name is Duane Chapman, has started searching for Gabby Petito's fiance in late September.

He began searching the area around the Fort De Soto campground after receiving tips that Petito's fiance could be there. However, he was not lucky enough to find Laundrie in the park.

Dog the Bounty Hunter earlier told Fox News that he had received a tip that Laundrie's parents spent the night in Fort De Soto Park with their son twice in early September.

He claimed the family took two trips to Fort De Soto, September 1-3 and September 6-8. However, he said on the Laundries' second trip, three people went into the park and only two left.

Earlier, Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney, said that Laundrie went camping with his parents at Fort de Soto Park five days before Petito was reported missing on September 11.

He said the Laundries camped together at Fort De Soto from September 6, and they all left the park the next day. Fort De Soto Park is about 75 miles away from the Laundries' home.

Brian Laundrie has also visited Fort De Soto with Gabby Petito. One of Petito's Instagram posts showed that they went to Fort De Soto Historical Fort in February.

Dog the Bounty Hunter has called off his search after officials confirmed that the remains found at a swampy area in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park on October 20 belonged to Laundrie.

Dog The Bounty Hunter Blames Brian Laundrie's Parents

Dog the Bounty Hunter said Brian Laundrie's parents were partially to blame for what happened to their son. Chapman earlier told InTouch that Laundrie "might still be alive" if his parents had fully cooperated with authorities sooner.

"I believe if the Laundrie parents had fully cooperated from the beginning, Brian Laundrie might still be alive," the reality star said.

The "skeletal" remains were confirmed to be Gabby Petito's fiance after a review of dental records. Dog the Bounty Hunter said he hopes the discovery of Laundrie's remains will bring "closure" to Petito's family.

"The positive ID of Brian Laundrie's remains gives some measure of closure to this case, if not to Gabby's family, who will likely now never know what truly happened," Chapman noted.

"We are praying for Gabby's family... As a parent who also lost a child, I know there's no ending to this story that brings Gabby back. But now the family can begin the process of grieving. Our thoughts are with them," he added.

Laundrie was named a person of interest by North Port police after returning home on September 1 or 10 days before Petito was reported missing by her family.

Gabby Petito disappeared on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie. The couple was traveling to Oregon when the YouTuber stopped communicating with her family in Wyoming in late August.

Gabby Petito's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19.

A Teton County, Wyoming coroner said the YouTuber was strangled to death by a "human being," and the manner of death was homicide.

READ MORE: Dog the Bounty Hunter Is Served With $1.3M Lawsuit During Brian Laundrie Search at Florida Park Over 'Racist Behavior'

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: The Little-Known History of Fort De Soto Park - From FOX 13 Tampa Bay
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Michael Costello - Portarlington

The death took place on Tuesday, November 2 of Michael Costello of Banagher, and late of Bracklone Street, Portarlington.

Ex Irish Army Q.M.S. Peacefully, at St James's Hospital, Dublin. Deeply regretted by his loving partner Kathleen, son Nigel and his wife Nichola, daughter Michelle and her partner Eddie, grandchildren Michaela, Devan, William and Conor, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.

Reposing at Maher's Chapel of Rest, Portarlington, on Sunday from 4pm with rosary at 6pm (please wear face coverings and adhere to Social Distancing guidelines). Removal on Monday at 11.20am (travelling via Bracklone Street) arriving at St John's Church, Killenard, Portarlington, for Requiem Mass at 12 noon. Interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.



Mary O'Byrne - Timahoe

The death took place on Monday, November 1 of Mary O'Byrne of Aughoney, Timahoe.



Mary died in the loving care of The Community Nursing Unit at Abbeyleix Hospital. Deeply regretted by Management and Staff of The Community Nursing Unit, Nora Tobin, neighbours and friends.

Reposing at The Church of The Most Holy Rosary, Abbeyleix, on Tuesday evening with rosary at 7pm. Funeral Mass on Wednesday at 12 noon in The Church of The Most Holy Rosary and burial afterwards in The New Cemetery, Timahoe.

Joe O'Toole - Stradbally

The death took place on Sunday, October 31 of Joe O'Toole of Killeen, Stradbally.



Suddenly. Deeply regretted by his loving wife Teresa, family Jonathan, Sarah, Aisling and Stephen, sisters Bernadette and Anne, grandchildren Little Joe and Grace, daughter-in-law Ann Marie, sons-in-law Bo and Eoin, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and many friends.

Reposing at his residence on Tuesday from 2pm till 8pm (Eircode R32 V1Y2). (Please wear face coverings and adhere to Social Distancing guidelines). Removal on Wednesday at 11.10am arriving Church of the Sacred Heart, Stradbally for Requiem Mass at 12 noon. Funeral afterwards to the Heath Cemetery (travelling via the Vicarstown Road and his residence).

Joe's Requiem Mass will be streamed live on

https://laoisfuneralslive.com/johnmaherfuneraldirector

House Private on Wednesday morning, please.

Linda Moloney - Mountrath

The death took place on Friday, October 29 of Linda Moloney of Huntsgrove, Ashbourne, Meath and Mountrath.



Peacefully at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown. Predeceased by her daddy Donal. Sadly missed by her family, her loving partner of 32 years Maureen, her mother Gladys, brothers Donal, Mark and Declan, nieces, nephews, relatives and her many dear friends and work colleagues in the Dept Of Health.

Linda will be reposing at Ryan's Funeral Home, Ashbourne, from 5pm to 7pm this Tuesday evening. Removal on Wednesday morning to the Church of The Immaculate Conception, Ashbourne, arriving for Funeral Mass at 11.30am. Cremation afterwards in Dardistown Crematorium at 2pm. Strict Covid restrictions will be adhered to at all times.

Linda's Funeral Mass can be viewed live on http://www.ashbourneparish.ie/news/church-services-tv/
Laois will be represented at this two schools and five projects at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in January.

Entries from students Heywood Community School and Mountrath Community School are among the 550 shortlisted projects to be showcased at the virtual exhibition.

There are two individual and one group projects from Heywood Community School.

'We know that sugar increases energy, but does sugar intake increase speed?' is the name of one project in the Biological & Ecological.

Are we desensitized to homophobia and misogyny is the second individual project from Heywood and it is listed in the Social & Behavioural Sciences section.

The group project from the Ballinakill secondary school is called Pet Patrol. It has made it to the Technology category.

Meanwhile, two individual projects have made it from Mountrath Community School. 'To investigate the views of different Irish youths on flags and symbols' is the name of one entry in the Social & Behavioural Sciences section.

A statistical analysis on the influence of anti- racist education on TY students has made it to the same Social & Behavioural Sciences shortlist.

Over 1,000 students from around Ireland will represent their schools and communities at the virtual exhibition which runs from Wednesday to Friday, January 12-14, 2022.

Entries were submitted by over 2,700 students, with 1,440 project ideas. The shortlisted entries span 219 schools from 29 counties.

This year, new and adapted technologies featured in a fifth (110) of all project entries across the four project categories  Social and Behavioural Science, Technology; Chemical, Physical and Mathematics Science; and Ecological Science.

BT say students demonstrated their curiosity and imagination for new technologies and how they can assist in our daily lives, with projects ranging from assisted living devices to apps that help us live more sustainably.

Climate change and the environment were featured in over 150 projects.

Other areas with a strong focus in finalist projects this year include health. More than 140 projects examined either Covid-19 or other health-related issues.

The finalists will be interviewed by a panel of over 90 judges. The Exhibition offers a chance to win one of the most coveted awards with a substantial prize fund and the BTYSTE perpetual trophy, as well as over 200 prizes for individuals, groups, and teachers.

Mari Cahalane, Head of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition said: Following an incredibly challenging 18 months for schools, teachers and wider communities, I am delighted to see the volume and the quality of entries coming through for this years exhibition. The ideas are excellent and the ambition is strong, a testament to the dedication and resilience of schools and students across Ireland.

The BTYSTE is a hallmark of the school calendar year and alongside the projects, we will have an exciting line-up of events for everyone including teachers, schools, businesses and wider global and local communities to enjoy.

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD said: I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all students that entered the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2022. The exhibition continues to provide a real opportunity to our young people to engage in so many diverse aspects of science and technology. I look forward to learning more about the findings and exciting creative solutions that have been uncovered in our students work. Supporting the exhibition as a key partner is an important part of the Departments strategy for STEM education.

Also, in recognition of the Departments priority to contribute to the achievement of the UNs 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) I am delighted to provide, for the first time, a special award for the best Education for Sustainable Development project at the BTYSTE exhibition. I would like to also extend my thanks to BT Ireland and all those involved in the exhibition for the huge effort that is put in each year to organise this event.

For more information on this fantastic family event, visit www.btyoungscientist.com , or follow @BTYSTE on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte r, YouTube or Snapchat (username: BTYSTE).

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition calls upon students aged 12-19 years from all over the island of Ireland to showcase innovative science and technology project. In 2021, visitors from 77 countries accessed the students projects and the on-line portal.

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is supported by several valued partners including the Department of Education & Skills, Analog Devices, Stripe, Perrigo, and RTE.
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Investment in wastewater treatment infrastructure in Mohill, Manorhamilton and Drumshanbo has led to improvements in water quality.

The latest EPA Urban Wastewater Treatment Report, published today, Wednesday, November 3 shows the progress being made, while also highlighting the need for continued investment in our essential wastewater services.

Irish Water note works on upgrading the wastewater treatment network in Ballinamore commenced in October 2021 and are due to be completed within nine months. Once operational, the upgraded plant will improve water quality, safeguard the environment and provide for future growth and development in the area.

Previously, Irish Water upgraded plants in Mohill, Manorhamilton and Drumshanbo, increasing the capacity of all plants to support social and economic development.

Anthony Skeffington, Irish Waters Regional Operations Manager, commented: Having a modern, sustainable and functional wastewater network is critical in order to protect our environment and to support housing and economic growth in the years ahead. Irish Water is working closely with the EPA and our other partners, including local authorities, to ensure this can be delivered in the most efficient and sustainable way through the use of cutting edge technologies, science and engineering expertise, and meaningful engagement with local communities around Ireland.

There is no doubt that challenges remain. Much of the infrastructure for safely collecting and treating wastewater around the country has suffered from decades of under-investment. But Irish Water has a plan in place to address these deficiencies and we are making real progress. Continued investment will be required in the coming years to build a modern, fit-for-purpose wastewater network but we are confident that we are on track to achieving that aim.
Sligo Leitrim TD Marc Mac Sharry has issued a statement in support of the Treasure Leitrim campaign opposing the granting of a prospecting licence for gold in North Leitrim by Environment Minister, Eamon Ryan.

Deputy MacSharry said  It defies logic that amidst a housing crisis nationally and indeed locally, families are prohibited from getting planning permission for a modest family home in rural County Leitrim but yet Green Partys Environment Minister Eamon Ryan is preparing to grant prospecting licences to Flintridge Resources Limited for gold.

As a nation we declared a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency in 2019, in recent weeks we have issued Carbon budgets and this very week our Taoiseach & Government will participate in the CAP26 Global conference on our global warming crisis. It beggars belief that we are contemplating permitting Gold prospecting in a County which with the support of many others succeeded in outlawing fracking in 2017 after a decade long fight to protect ground water and the local environment.

The people of North County Leitrim must be listened to by Minister Ryan and Government. They have a vision for their county, one which is sustainable, promotes environmental best practice in farming and the rural economy and one which is very far removed from the blind profitability of multinational prospecting companies. Mining practices employed are among the highest contributors to emissions and can lead to substantial waste including deposits of mercury and cyanide which are used to extract the gold from the rock. This can threaten air and ground water quality which will spread far beyond North Leitrim.

The BBC broadcast their investigation into this issue on their Spotlight show and its impact on the community throughout County Tyrone. Deputy MacSharry says  Everyone needs to look at this documentary to appreciate the experiences of our neighbours. There is simply no way given the challenges posed to our health, and the environment and water and air quality that we should contemplate prospecting or mining for gold in our region

There should be a moratorium on all such mining in all of Ireland at a minimum until European Proposals on the Circular Economy are debated, agreed and transposed into Irish Law in order to embrace best practice climate change management strategies. I would encourage everyone to lodge their own submission in opposition to the proposed gold prospecting and mining in North County Leitrim. A template can be accessed here: www.foe.ie/takeaction/object-to-mininglicences-inleitrim/.

In conclusion Deputy MacSharry said  Minister Ryan must not grant these Licences. He must respect the will of the people of County Leitrim in this regard. 
Just one month after the untimely death of Ann Foley, Croghan Road, Carrick-on-Shannon her family has raised close to 40,000 in aid of Mayo Roscommon Hospice and the Irish Cancer Society.



Ann's sons David, Dermot and Karl ran 20km from Rooskey to Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday, October 30 in an effort to raise funds in their mother's memory.

The Foley family are heartbroken by the loss of Ann, the most wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, cousin and friend the world has ever known.

Ann lost her fight to cancer on October 1. She died at home surrounded by her loving family, just 11 weeks after she had a brain tumour removed.

Ann didn't fight alone. The family will be forever grateful to the Roscommon Palliative Care Team who helped to fulfill Ann's wishes to be at home at the end of her life.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, fundraising for Hospice and Cancer charities has been hugely impacted and the Foley family feel lucky they received nursing support from the Irish Cancer Society, without whom Ann could not have been at home in her last days.

The family say Ann touched the lives of all who knew her in a very special way. Our aim now is to help other families in Ann's memory.

The fundraiser remains open for one more week, so anyone who wants to give any donation big or small can do so at www.gofundme.com/f/i-didnt-fight-alone-ann-foley-memorial-run


Speaking at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said that Ireland's food production sector was "one of the mort efficient in the world".

This follows comments from Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue yesterday that cattle should be slaughtered earlier in their life to help achieve a reduction in methane emissions adding that this would have a "significant impact" on reducing emissions "without necessarily reducing the herd'".

Martin added the size of the country's cattle population should "remain stable" but that other approaches should be introduced to reduce emissions from the farming sector.

Recent figures have shown the national herd has grown by nearly 80,000 in the last year which questioned whether the Government will seek to reduce the number of cattle in Ireland, which is one of the foremost contributors to methane in the atmosphere, an approach the Taoiseach has denied.

Our approach has been that the herd would remain stable but food security is important as well within a European context, he said.

"Ireland is one of the most efficient food production systems in terms of carbon emissions globally and even within Europe. So that has to be in the balance in terms of any decisions we take. The grass based nature, the pastoral based nature of our farming is a plus and thats important.

But I think if we can do those other elements, I think we can rebalance our overall contribution and in terms of reducing the emissions from agriculture and food production but theres a lot of work to be done" he added.




A missing four-year-old girl has been located safely in Australia today.

Cleo Smith went missing almost three weeks ago in the middle of the night while at a campsite with her family in Australia.

Four police officers broke down the door of a house in Carnarvon and found four-year-old Cleo in a bedroom during the early hours of the morning, approximately 1am.

One of the police officers, Cameron Blane asked the little girl what her name was and she responded by saying: "My name is Cleo."

The moment Cleo was rescued pic.twitter.com/arusYi9kCa  WA Police Force (@WA_Police) November 3, 2021

Cameron said it was 'absolutely fantastic' to see her sitting in the house and it was 'the outcome we were all hoping for'.

The police officers took her out of the house, rang Cleo's parents, and said: "We have someone here who wants to speak with you."

Minister Paul Papalia said Cleo's rescue was not the result of an accidental sighting or a suspicious event, it was the result of hard police grind.

"From the moment this incident began, the Western Australia Police Force conducted themselves to the absolute highest level of professionalism." he added.

Western Australia Police Commissioner, Chris Dawson said he is 'the proudest police commissioner' and paid tribute to the team that 'worked tirelessly'.

"What a great day, we have returned Cleo to her loving parents." he said.

Commissioner Chris Dawson extended his thanks to the state government, the immediate family, the town of Carnarvon, and the media for keeping the story running and 'keeping the hope of finding Cleo alive'.

Chris Dawson said there is a lot of work to be done and the police force will be working on the case for the next two weeks.

The Western Australia Police have a local 36-year-old man in custody who is assisting the police with their inquiries at present.

The police force believes that Cleo was abducted from the campsite and it appears to be 'opportunistic'.

Cleo's mother said her family is whole again.
MORE than 30 projects from Limerick students have been shortlisted for next year's BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.

BT Ireland has announced details of the 550 shortlisted projects which will be showcased at the virtual event which will take place between January 12 and January 14, 2022.

Entries were received from over 2,700 students across the country and the shortlisted entries span 219 schools from 29 counties including Limerick which will be represented by Desmond College, Newcastle West (eight projects); Ardscoil Ris (five projects); John The Baptist Community School, Hospital (five projects); Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ (five projects); Colaiste Nano Nagle (four projects); Mungret Community College (four projects); Scoil Pol, Kilfinane (four projects); Colaiste Chiarain, Croom (two projects) and Scoil Mhuire agus Ide, Newcastle West (one project).

We are absolutely delighted to learn that we have 4 projects through to the @BTYSTE Finals in January. Well done to the students involved and to your teachers @MsKWalshScience and @Prior_Samantha pic.twitter.com/9P2j4TqgA9  Colaiste Nano Nagle (@colnanonagle) October 18, 2021

All smiles in Scoil Pol today - 4 projects through to the BT Young Scientist! well done to everyone!!! @BTYSTE pic.twitter.com/qLD6QPt99c  ScoilPolScience (@pol_scoil) October 18, 2021

Following the success of the first ever virtual BTYSTE last January, which reached more than 77 countries around the world; this years finalists will once again compete on a virtual stage to both a national and international audience.

This year, new and adapted technologies featured in a fifth (110) of all project entries across the four project categories  Social and Behavioural Science, Technology; Chemical, Physical and Mathematics Science; and Ecological Science.

In an ever-increasing digital world, students demonstrated their curiosity and imagination for new technologies and how they can assist in our daily lives, with projects ranging from assisted living devices to apps that help us live more sustainably.

Climate change and the environment were featured in over 150 projects, indicating how our young students have their finger on the pulse of one of the most critical issues dominating our planet today. Students continue to ask questions and investigate the impact, causes and solutions to this global crisis.

Other areas with a strong focus in finalist projects this year include health, where students investigate the longer-term impact of Covid on our lives, along with the ways we look after our mental and physical health. Over 140 projects examined either Covid-19 or other health-related issues.

Commenting following the publication of the shortlisted entries, Mari Cahalane, Head of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition said: Following an incredibly challenging 18 months for schools, teachers and wider communities, I am delighted to see the volume and the quality of entries coming through for this years exhibition. The ideas are excellent and the ambition is strong, a testament to the dedication and resilience of schools and students across Ireland."

Minister for Education Norma Foley added: I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all students that entered the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2022. The exhibition continues to provide a real opportunity to our young people to engage in so many diverse aspects of science and technology. I look forward to learning more about the findings and exciting creative solutions that have been uncovered in our students work. Supporting the exhibition as a key partner is an important part of the Departments strategy for STEM education.

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will be delivered across a virtual platform between January 12 and January 14 2022. The finalists will be interviewed by a panel of over 90 judges who will select the various winners.

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THE PEOPLE of Limerick are being urged to dress up in their festive finest for this year's Christmas Jumper day for sick children.

Rugby legend Rob Kearney joined little friends Thea, Amelia, Olivia, Alex and Kai to launch the fundraiser fit Children's Health Foundation.

The Christmas Jumper Day will be held on Friday December 10 and will raise vital funds to support hospitals and urgent care centres across Crumlin, Temple Street and Connolly.

Rob is an ambassador for the Children's Health Foundation and he is asking families, communities, schools and workplaces to host a Christmas Jumper day to raise funds for sick children and their families.

Commenting at the launch Rob Kearney said, I am delighted to be involved in Christmas Jumper Day again for 2021, which is a fun way to support sick children across Childrens Health Ireland.

"This campaign is a great way to have a laugh, and wear your tackiest, cheesiest or gaudiest Christmas Jumper for a fantastic cause. Help us create some magic for sick children in hospital this Christmas by signing up today!

Denise Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of Childrens Health Foundation said, Its the most magical time of year once again and we need you to put on your silliest sweaters, raise vital funds and help make a real and lasting difference to the lives of sick children and their families across Childrens Health Ireland hospitals and urgent care centres.

"By taking part in this years Christmas Jumper Day you will help fund vital equipment, essential patient supports, ground-breaking research and new services.

She added, Our huge thanks to our wonderful ambassador Rob Kearney for taking the time to join us for the launch of Christmas Jumper Day once again this year  thank you for your ongoing kindness to sick children!

For more information and to sign up today for your free Childrens Health Foundation Christmas Jumper Day pack, check out their website or call 01 709 1700.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin states he did not use Ireland's government jet to attend the COP26 conference in the UK.

The Taoiseach confirmed this when asked directly by Deputy Michael McNamara in the Dail today.

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) took place in Glasgow this week with leaders from over 100 countries in attendance to discuss global environmental concerns.

Speaking in the Dail today, Taoiseach Martin said, "I didn't use the government jet to go."

He spoke of the need to stay in Edinburgh for the duration of his visit, and to journey on to Glasgow due to the "enormous" crowds in the host city.

He said, "The government jet isn't being used that frequently, and that's not by design to be frank."

Deputy McNamara also asked the Taoiseach to confirm he wouldn't use the jet when there are commercial flights available.

However, Taoiseach Martin ran out of allotted time before answering this question.
BY OLIVIA BUGAULT | UPDATED NOV 03, 2021 05:59 AM EDT

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is trading higher on Wednesday after it swung to a positive adjusted operating profit for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic as bookings rose and it continues to restore capacity.

At 0921GMT, shares at Lufthansa are 5.4% higher at EUR6.22.

At the end of the third quarter, new bookings had already reached around 80% of the 2019 level," the company said. Recovery in business travel--an important source of profit for the company--as well as increasing long-haul demand are boosting bookings, helping the airline to recover from more than a year of weak activities and heavy losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The planned reopening of the EU-U.S. route on Nov. 8 for vaccinated European travelers led to a recent boom in demand," showing that bookings are returning quickly once travel restrictions are eased, it said.

On the back of these trends, Lufthansa plans to continue to ramp up capacity with a target of more than 70% of 2019 levels for 2022.

The German carrier said it targets capacity of roughly 65% of pre-pandemic levels for the first quarter of 2022, with a ramp up to about 80% for next summer and the second half of 2022. It also said it still expects capacity of around 60% of 2019 levels for the fourth quarter and about 40% for the full year.

For the last three months of the year, Lufthansa targets positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which should prevent operating cash drain during a quarter that is typically more challenging for airlines, it said.

The airline booked a third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, also referred to as operating profit, of EUR17 million ($19.7 million), the first time it turned positive since the pandemic began, the company said. Excluding restructuring costs, adjusted EBIT was EUR272 million.

Its European peer Air France-KLM, which reported third-quarter results last week, also returned to a positive operating result during the July-September period for the first time since the crisis started.

Lufthansa arguably faces a tougher battle, given its higher reliance on corporate travel than Air Frances more leisure-centric network," Bernstein said.

Revenue at Lufthansa rose to EUR5.21 billion from EUR2.66 billion, and adjusted free cash flow was positive at EUR13 million.

Net loss stood at EUR72 million compared with a loss of EUR1.97 billion a year earlier, it said.

Lufthansa made further progress in its restructuring plan and measures have already been implemented that will eliminate costs of around EUR2.5 billion annually," it said. The company previously said it was targeting costs savings of roughly EUR3.5 billion by 2024 compared with 2019 in order to return to profitability and stop burning cash. It has therefore already achieved more than 70% of the planned savings, it said.

However, there is as yet no news on agreement with German pilots, a key outstanding area with significant cost implications, and one where the group has previously outlined an idea to move to hours that flex with production in the recovery," Bernstein said.

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MUMBAI : Adani Group has applied for a licence from the Reserve Bank of India to open an asset reconstruction company (ARC) that will acquire distressed assets in infrastructure and real estate, two people familiar with the matter said.

The plan has been in the making for at least eight months, and the application was filed earlier this year. The group is waiting for the nod from RBI," one of the two people cited above said. The ARC will buy bad loans in distressed entities where the group has a strategic interest, the second person added.

The Adani Group owns Adani Capital, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), which is allowed to purchase bad loans under RBI norms. However, using an NBFC for this purpose would lead to the accumulation of NPAs in its book; so typically, corporates set up special purpose vehicles for buying NPAs. Generally, most bad assets on sale are bought by ARCs.

View Full Image The groups real estate business is housed under Adani Realty.

An email sent to an Adani group spokesperson remained unanswered.

In the past two years, the Adani group has profited significantly by acquiring distressed assets in infrastructure, specifically ports. Its flagship companyAdani Ports and Special Economic Zones Ltd (SEZ)in February completed the acquisition of Dighi Port Ltd under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code for 705 crore. In 2021, it bought the Krishnapatnam and Gangawaram ports. With these additions, Adani Ports now controls 30% of Indias port traffic.

A similar story has played out in airports.

The Adani group acquired a controlling stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) after its debt burden became unsustainable, and the company attracted a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation.

In late June 2020, CBI filed a first information report alleging fraud by MIALs then promoters, the GVK group, including chairman G.V.K. Reddy and his son G.V. Sanjay Reddy, and unnamed employees of the Airports Authority of India.

In real estate, the Adani group was one of the bidders for Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL) under IBC, though ultimately, the company was acquired by Piramal Enterprises Ltd for 34,250 crore.

The groups real estate business housed under Adani Realty is involved in the development of residential and commercial real estate projects spanning 69 m sq. ft in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, Kochi and Mundra.

In a report released on Tuesday, an RBI committee proposed to allow ARCs to act as resolution applicants in the IBC process, a plus for the Adani groups ARC if it is approved.

The report was critical of the performance of existing ARCs in India.

Banks and other investors could recover only about 14.29% of the amount owed by borrowers in respect of stressed assets sold to ARCs during the FY2004 - FY2013 period," the report said. It also said that 80% of the recovery made by ARCs has come through measures that did not necessarily lead to the revival of businesses.

The RBI committee has recommended that the scope of Section 5 of the SARFAESI Act will be expanded to permit ARCs to acquire financial assets from all regulated entities, including alternative investment funds, foreign portfolio investors, asset management companies investing on behalf of mutual funds, and all NBFCs, including housing finance companies.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a "fruitful" first meeting with his Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit on Tuesday during which they reviewed the bilateral ties besides exchanging views about expanding cooperation in areas of high-technology and innovation.

A video of their interaction was tweeted by the official Twitter account of the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel. In the video, Bennett praised PM Modi saying: "You are the most popular person in Israel".

Bennett also invited the Indian Prime Minister to come join my party" and the two were seen sharing a laugh.

Prime Minister Modi and Bennett's maiden formal meeting came after their brief interaction on Monday during the climate conference.

Excellent meeting with @NarendraModi at @COP26.



Narendra, I want to thank you for your historic role in shaping the ties between our countries.



Together, we can bring India-Israel relations to a whole new level and build a better & brighter future for our nations.

 pic.twitter.com/sfRk7cNA7d  Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 2, 2021

Earlier, recalling their brief meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Modi said that the people of India deeply value the friendship with Israel.

"Glad to have met, yet again, PM @naftalibennett. We had fruitful talks on boosting India-Israel friendship in sectors such as research, innovation and futuristic technologies. These sectors are critical for empowering our youngsters," Modi tweeted.

"Enhancing friendship with Israel. Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @naftalibennett had a fruitful meeting in Glasgow. Both leaders discussed deepening various avenues of cooperation for the benefit of our citizens," the Prime Ministers Office tweeted.

"Furthering ties with our Strategic Partner. PM @narendramodi met PM of Israel @naftalibennett in Glasgow today," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a tweet.

"In their first such engagement, the two leaders reviewed our bilateral ties and discussed expanding cooperation in areas of high-technology & innovation," it said.

Later in a brief statement, the MEA said that the two leaders reviewed bilateral strategic partnership and expressed satisfaction over the progress made in diverse sectors.

"They agreed on further expanding cooperation, especially in the areas of high-technology and innovation," it said.

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LONDON : Englands deputy chief medical officer said Wednesday that too many people believe the pandemic is over, warning that the UKs very high coronavirus rates and rising deaths mean that there are hard months to come in the winter."

Jonathan Van-Tam also said he was worried that increasing numbers of deaths showed infections were now starting to penetrate into older age groups."

Coronavirus rates are still very high at the moment. They are higher than in most of Europe," Van-Tam told the BBC. We are running quite hot. And, of course, its of concern to scientists that we are running this hot this early in the autumn season."

I personally feel there are some hard months to come in the winter and its not over," he added.

Britains government recorded 33,865 infections Tuesday and 293 deaths, the highest daily death figure since February. While the number of cases have been coming down from a peak of around 46,000 a day in October, the countrys case rates are still much higher than in most of Europe.

Van-Tam said the drop in case numbers mainly reflected the ebbing of a surge recently seen among teenagers. He warned that while hospital admissions have plateaued and total numbers of patients in hospitals have slightly gone down, the overall picture was still worrying.

This could be a pause before things go up, it could be the very first signs that things are beginning to stabilize but at a high rate," he said. But my worry is that the deaths are increasing and that shows that the infection is now starting to penetrate into those older age groups."

The UK got a head-start in rolling out its vaccination program, and most adults have been fully inoculated. A booster shot is being offered to millions, including everyone over 50. But the government has been cautious about vaccinating teenagers and younger people, authorizing jabs for healthy children between 12 to 15 years old only this September.

Jeremy Brown, a member of the governments vaccination advisory committee, said it was far too early" to follow the lead of the United States in vaccinating children 11 years old and under.

The government lifted almost all coronavirus restrictions in July, including mandatory face coverings and social distancing. Nightclubs and crowded venues were allowed to fully open and the work from home advice was scrapped. Authorities have resisted calls to reimpose restrictions like mandatory mask-wearing.

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The United States can now start giving children aged 5-11 the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid vaccine, US health authorities said Tuesday as they gave final approval to this new phase of fighting the pandemic .

Days after gaining authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, the vaccine was endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, clearing the way for the vaccination of up to 28 million children.

The government was well ahead of the decision, procuring enough doses for the children in the 5-11 age group and beginning to ship them across the country.

Since the FDA approval, "there hasn't been a moment that teams have not been picking, packing and shipping vaccines," Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic coordinator, said Monday.

"We are planning on some vaccinations towards the end of this week," he said, adding that the program will be "really hitting full strength the week of November 8."

The CDC had convened a panel of independent scientists on Tuesday to review the available data on the status of the outbreak in children, the effectiveness of Pfizer's vaccine, and its possible side effects during a day of live-streamed discussions.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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NEW DELHI : The CBI has filed a charge sheet against 18 people, including an Indian Bank branch manager, in connection with the 45.40-crore fixed deposit fraud of Chennai Port Trust, officials said on Wednesday.

A Sarmathi Raja, then branch manager of Koyambedu branch of Indian Bank, and 17 other accused have been named in the charge sheet for allegedly cheating Indian Bank by pre-closing term deposit accounts (fixed deposits) standing in the name of Chennai Port Trust, they said.

"It was alleged that the accused committed the offence of criminal conspiracy, impersonation, fabrication of false documents, submission of forged documents, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, fraudulent transactions, etc. and caused wrongful loss of 45.40 crore (approximately) to the bank," CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said.

Chennai Port Trust regularly invested in term deposits for which it had open tenders, which was bagged by the Koyambedu branch of Indian Bank, officials said.

The CBI in its probe found that the accused allegedly exploited the situation of investment of surplus cash available with Chennai Port Trust in the form of term deposits/fixed deposits with the bank for earning interest through limited tender process and also the willingness of the bank to attract investment in the form of term deposits, Joshi said.

"In that process, a total of 100.57 crore (approximately) was transferred from CPT in five investments against which 45 term deposits of different amounts were created. Out of the total amount invested, 55.19 crore could be freezed after the detection of the fraud and the remaining 45.40 crore were swindled by the accused," Joshi said.

Sources in the agency said the siphoned off amount was allegedly invested in properties and money lending business.

Once the deposits were created, the alleged mastermind went to the branch introducing himself as the Deputy Director (Finance) of Chennai Port Trust, where he opened a fake current account in the name of CPT at the branch on the basis of forged documents.

"After the receipt of investment from CPT on every occasion, the bank created term deposit receipts (Bond) against the said investment and the said bond was received by the accused from the bank directly. Instead of delivering the original bond to CPT, the accused made duplicate bonds and submitted the forged bonds to CPT," the CBI had said after registering the FIR in July 2020.

With original bonds in possession, the mastermind accused allegedly approached the bank and pre-closed deposits within days of their creation.

The amount was transferred to fake accounts of CPT created in the bank and further it was transferred to different accounts, they said.

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Yahoo Inc. said it was pulling out of China, citing an increasingly challenging business and legal environment, the latest foreign company to be caught up in Beijings toughening rules for businesses.

Yahoo said it had ceased to offer its services from Nov. 1, becoming the second well-known U.S. technology firm to downsize China operations in less than a month following the closure of Microsoft Corp.s LinkedIn social-networking site.

In recognition of the increasingly challenging business and legal environment in China, Yahoos suite of services will no longer be accessible from mainland China as of November 1," a Yahoo spokesman said.

Yahoos pullout coincided with the implementation of Chinas Personal Information Protection Law, a privacy law that will curb data collection by technology companies that went into effect on Nov. 1, though Yahoo didnt refer directly to it.

Yahoos China departure was largely symbolic, as the company had already begun shutting down its main services such as email, news and community services in China starting in 2013. Still, Yahoos exit is a reminder of the increasing challenges foreign companies face in operating in China, including tighter data security and privacy regulation, geopolitical tensions and tough Covid-19-related rules.

LinkedIn said it had made the decision to shut down its operations in China after facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements."

Fast-fashion company Hennes & Mauritz lost sales after it was targeted in March for a boycott months after raising concerns about forced-labor allegations in Chinas Xinjiang region. Shanghai Disneyland was temporarily closed this week after a visitor was found to have Covid-19.

Many foreign multinational companies also face hurdles trying to bring in new staff or host visiting executives because of Chinas closed borders policies.

On Tuesday, Chinese internet users browsing websites run by Yahoo such as AOL.com, and media outlets TechCrunch and Engadget, were told that Yahoos services will no longer be accessible from mainland China. Chinese users of apps such as Yahoo Weather also received prompts beginning in October that the apps would be discontinued from Monday.

In addition, Applecensorship.com, a website run by anonymous anticensorship activist group GreatFire, showed other Yahoo apps such as Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Mail had been unavailable on Apples China app store as early as Oct 14. The companys platforms arent widely used by regular Chinese citizens.

The newly introduced regulations governing privacy and data security have increased the uncertainty and compliance costs of operating in China, and some companies are preferring to pull out rather than deal with the added business risk, said Cameron Johnson, a Shanghai-based management consultant at FAO Global.

Modeled after the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation, Chinas new privacy regulations kicked in on Monday, and require organizations and individuals that handle the personal information of Chinese citizens to minimize their collection and obtain user consent.

Last weekend, Apple Inc. sent an email to users of its Chinese App Store informing them about the companys preparations for the privacy law and explaining a new privacy policy rolled out Oct. 27. Other legal requirements include the need to localize data, which companies such as Apple and Tesla Inc. have sought to comply with by building data centers in China to store Chinese data.

The regulations are part of a broader crackdown by Beijing on big tech this year, which has swept up Chinas largest internet companies in its wake. Alibaba was fined a record $2.8 billion in April for antitrust violations.

China has also tightened gaming regulations. Tencent Holdings Ltd. said Oct. 31 that it is shutting down Fortnite, the videogame developed by Epic Games Inc., from Nov. 15 in the country. China introduced new rules that severely restrict young gamers playtime in August and has put new game approvals on hold.

Tencent, which operates Fortnite in China, didnt give a reason for the shutdown. The game has been running under a test mode for three years, but Tencent never received approval to sell in-app items and monetize from the game, which has also failed to prove as popular as similar types of videogames such as League of Legends.

Once dominant in the early internet boom, Yahoo has since seen its market share eroded by rivals globally. It now runs niche news distribution platforms such as Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, and owns media outlets such as TechCrunch. The firm has about 900 million monthly active users.

Yahoos announcement brings to an end a sometimes turbulent more than two-decade relationship between the former search giant and China.

Yahoo entered the Chinese market in 1999, launching email and search directory services, and offering translations of U.S. news articles. Since 2005, following a partnership agreement, most of the companys Chinese operations had been run by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which has gradually phased out Yahoos platforms.

More than a decade ago, the company was Exhibit A of the reputational risks and content challenges U.S. technology and social media companies might face operating in China. In 2007, Yahoo was blasted in a congressional hearing by lawmakers after data shared by the company with Chinese authorities led to the imprisonment of at least two dissidents in China.

Jerry Yang, the companys co-founder and then chief executive officer, apologized to the mother of journalist Shi Tao, who was jailed after Yahoos China unit handed information about him to Chinese authorities in 2004. Mr. Shi was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for allegedly sharing government secrets based on the data Yahoo China had shared.

Alibaba shut down Yahoos email, Chinese music, news and community services in 2013. Two years later, Yahoo pulled the plug on its Beijing research and development center, laying off between 200 and 300 staff.

Yahoo was acquired by Verizon Communications Inc. in 2017 and more recently was sold off to private-equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. Apollo agreed to pay about $5 billion to acquire Yahoo and AOL from the wireless company in September this year.

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Filming fishermen working on dark Gloucestershire waterways at night is challenging enough technically for most cinematographers. But this feat, brought off with panache by The Elvermen DP Anna MacDonald  competing in the Camerimage Documentary Shorts section this year with an atmospheric account of obsessive amateur eel hunters  was just half the battle.

A substantial additional challenge, says MacDonald, is that the eels in question, a catch once prized at more than their weight in gold, are tiny, nearly transparent offspring like the size of a glass noodle.

Theyve been known as elvers for millennia and just about everything about them is mysterious  even how the spawn of the European eel ended up in Britains West Country is a tale for the ages (and they apparently have a different name from eels because the young of the species are so distinct in appearance from adults that it was believed they were a separate species).

So it was important to director Isla Badenoch, working with Glass Onion Films, to capture on screen the magical mystique of the tradition of eel hunting, MacDonald says.

She felt like the back story of the elver is like theyre very other-worldly so that was basically how we wanted to capture it  following that.

Thus they set about figuring out how to get the slithering creatures a fine, flattering close-up.

Knowing they did not want to shoot through a microscope, says the Canadian-American DP, they eventually settled on a Red Dragon camera and a 50mm Arri macro lens and a technique of filming backlit elvers from below through glass, she says.

Lighting the nocturnal slitherers, which works in a way that also catches floating elements in the water around them, creating an other-worldly effect, had to be done in a way that blended in with the footage of fishermen working in the dark, only illuminated by their headlamps  and occasionally their mobile phones.

It was quite fun, though  and very experimental, MacDonald says. And what was amazing about it was Isla and I had one moonlit night with Dave and then we had lots that was happening.

Climate change was driving flooding in Gloucester, says MacDonald, and Brexit was pending, which upended a centuries-old trade for elvers with Europe. To make matters more complicated still, elvers were listed as endangered for a time and hunting them was politically delicate  though the filmmakers point out that their subjects are often supplying the young eels to groups who are seeding populations abroad that have dwindled.

From a visual point of view, at least, the fisherman whose story drives the film is ideal. A quiet, even-tempered sort, Dave, the protagonist the director and MacDonald settle on, is, fortunately, fond of checking in with his mates via phone, which illuminates him regularly in a pink-blue glow as he sets about running a large net rig through the waters  the only legal way to hung elvers in the U.K.

The Elvermen follows the resourceful hunter, whose day job in a print factory in Gloucester is just a preview to his real passion  one shared by a score of others who spend their nights when the River Severn spring tide is right trying to divine the spot where their nets will fill with kilos of eel fry.

The drive of the hunters, along with the opaque world they inhabit as they take their chances on striking it rich after a nightlong stake-out is echoed in the audio track, crackling with phone calls of frustration and joy.

MacDonald, who has filmed dozens of shorts, is now at work on a feature-length project shooting in The Philippines, a road movie hybrid doc focused on climate refugees called ASOG, directed by Sean Devlin.

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Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin has won over Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe in Virginias gubernatorial election, as reported by AP and The New York Times.

Polls closed in the state on Tuesday night. As the current results stand, Youngkin has drawn 50.9% of the vote with over 95% of polling stations reporting. McAuliffe has drawn 48.4% of the vote.

The race will be widely interpreted as one of the first gauges of support for the countrys two major political parties after last falls election of President Joe Biden. The gubernatorial vote is also seen as a bellwether for Democratic strength ahead of next years midterm elections, in which the party will defend thin majorities in both houses of Congress.

McAuliffe, who served as Virginias governor from 2014 to 2018, aimed to return to the office. State laws prevent incumbent governors from seeking consecutive terms. McAuliffe is close to both former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, having served as a leading fundraiser for both for decades.

Youngkin is new to politics. The 54-year-old is coming off of a 25-year tenure at the global investment firm Carlyle Group. His campaign has exceeded expectations, toppling a Democratic winning streak in Virginia statewide races that began in 2012.

The two candidates continued to poll evenly in the weeks leading up to the vote. Youngkin and McAuliffe clashed over matters ranging from Virginias economy to COVID-19 to education.

Both the McAuliffe and Youngkin campaigns frequently attacked one another for their ties to President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump, respectively. Though Biden won Virginia in last falls presidential election, the states population is currently split in their opinion of his job performance, with only 48% approving.

While Trump endorsed Youngkin, the candidate has distanced himself from the former President throughout the race. For this reason, Youngkins victory is also seen as an indication of the GOPs ability to unite both pro- and anti-Trump factions in the party.

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In early April, when Netflix and Shondaland announced that Rege-Jean Page, everyones favorite duke, wouldnt be returning for the second season of Bridgerton, the news caused an explosion of grief on the internet. Bridgerton, after all, was a sensation as soon as it hit Netflix on Christmas Day 2020, and a significant number of the shows fans had fallen in love with Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings (Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor). How could he be leaving?!?

Rhimes was surprised by the surprise, she said during an interview for Varietys Show Woman of the Year cover story  she assumed that more people would be familiar with the structure of Julia Quinns Bridgerton romance series. Every season were telling a different romance story of a different couple, she said. There are eight Bridgerton siblings, and as far as Im concerned, there are eight Bridgerton seasons. And maybe more.

Nevertheless, after everybody lost their minds about Page leaving, Rhimes did ask him whether hed want to return. Rightfully, he said, I signed up to do this one lovely story, this closed-ended storyline. Im good! Rhimes said. And I dont blame him for that. I think that he was really smart to leave the perfection as the perfection.

After all, that had been the plan all along. Rhimes, who invented couples such as #MerDer (Meredith and Derek) on Greys Anatomy and #Olitz (Olivia and Fitz) on Scandal, wanted to do something different with Bridgerton. Along with the shows creator, Chris Van Dusen, and Betsy Beers, Rhimes longtime producing partner, their plan for Simon and Daphne was actual happiness. For once in television, they were going to get to have their happily ever after versus  well, you know! In network television, you have to come up with 15 years of why a couple has to be apart.

Bridgerton was one of the first projects Shondaland developed for Netflix, after Rhimes company moved its deal from ABC to the streamer in 2017. The Bridgerton books are witty  theyre witty and theyre funny, and they have sort of a take on feminist romance that I hadnt really seen before, Rhimes said. I could feel the series within them.

She continued: If I could see myself in the character of Daphne Bridgerton, then almost anybody could see themselves in those characters. And it felt very universal to me in a way that felt modern.

As for the phenomenon of the audience falling in love with a couple  well, of course Rhimes understands. Peoples attachment to couples is real  I mean, I know that better than anybody, she said. Nevertheless, Bridgerton is trying to do something different  I think peoples expectations of storytelling have become very  everyones just very trained, she said.

We get to do it again the next season, Rhimes said. And then were going to do it again in Season 3. And were going to do it again in Season 4.

And so on. Production recently completed on the shows second season, and it will premiere next year. Would Rhimes preview whats to come?

The spoiler-phobic Rhimes offered a brief forecast about the central couple of Season 2, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). I think theres a powerful, interesting, romantic couple at the heart of it, she said. Theyre an incredibly interesting and exciting pair. I like to watch them.

Our goal, if we do our job correctly, Rhimes added, is you are going to be as invested and excited by that couple as you were by the couple of Season 1.

There are the women of Bridgerton as well, who have become fan favorites. I love the evolution of Lady Whistledown, and whats going on with Penelope and with Eloise, Rhimes said of the characters played by Nicola Coughlan and Claudia Jessie, respectively. And Im obsessed with Queen Charlotte.

So obsessed, Rhimes said, that when Netflixs co-CEO Ted Sarandos asked her to write a prequel series about Queen Charlotte, she readily agreed. She calls her the Beyonce of the show, and is currently writing it as her next project for Netflix.

Queen Charlotte, of course, is an actual historical figure  one who doesnt appear in Quinns books. But as portrayed by Golda Rosheuvel, shes both imperious and fabulous.

So will she be in the spinoff series, Rhimes said: Were telling the story of the Queen Charlotte as weve imagined her in our world.

And Rhimes loves being immersed in that world.

Part of what Im enjoying about that is it feels almost old fashioned, to be able to write without any pop culture references, she said. Its been very, very oddly freeing. I feel like E.M. Forster or something.

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Dia de los Muertos returned to Laredo bigger and better than ever in 2021 as large gathering events finally came back to the city after a year of lockdowns by the pandemic.

Sames Auto Arena provided its venue to honor the dead and provide a space where people could remember those who have gone before and during the pandemic in their second annual Recuerda Fest. The event featured the traditional altars created by people for loved ones, costume contests for the best Catrina costume and also a truck n treat event con los muertos.

Representatives of the arena said they were thrilled to once again have this major event in their venue  especially considering it had to close its doors for more than a year due to the pandemic.

Celebrating Dia de Los Muertos is celebrating life and death, Sames Auto Arena Marketing Manager Jorge Quijano said. We remember those we lost but forever cherish the memories we built with our loved ones when they lived.

People in attendance all voiced their enthusiasm for being part of the event. And they also said it was something they would like to continue being a part of for a long time.

I celebrate el Dia de Los Muertos because it helps honor those who have gone before us, and also allows us a day to celebrate those who are not with us, and not just remember them but also remember their favorite thing to do and their favorite thing to eat, Clarissa Pena said. Some people even say that at night you can come back and see that cup of coffee or whiskey you poured in for your love one, and it will no longer be filled to the top. Whether real or not, one thing for certain is that we yearn for our passed loved ones.

Pena says she took several pictures of her family members to put around the area. She did so for people to see them and honor them, as they also did for the rest of the photos others placed.

Just being able to be here and celebrate death is a remarkable thing to do, especially considering in the tough times we find ourselves right now, Pena said.

The pandemic was certainly a major theme of the night. Some shared how they were glad to finally be out of their homes this Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, while others said they were saddened by the fact so many people have died because of the pandemic.

This pandemic has affected us all in some shape or form. However, it must be inconceivable to talk to somebody who lost (a loved one) because of this virus, especially early on in the pandemic, Monica Sanchez said. Losing someone very unexpectedly and in a way that you cannot even see them or even bury them, as it was early in the pandemic, is something just frightening and terrible.

Others said they did not just go to pay respects to people who they knew died but also to honor those they heard about and even famous celebrities they cared for. This was because they feel that it is a day of honoring all those who are no longer in the world.

We all have celebrities that we like, and we must also pay respects to them, Julieta Ramon said. Especially if they are Mexican, then this feels normal, but actually paying respect to them is what matters the most. I feel that this event is about (our loved ones), for all that have died, and I think that death alone is something that we all go through, and celebrating them is celebrating ourselves as well.

Some of the people most content about finally getting out of the home were the children who also attended Tuesdays event. They were there to not just honor the dead but also to get more treats and the traditional calaveritas, or little skulls, that are given out in places in Mexico.

I just think that it is fun that we can get dressed up in our costumes this year and go out and get candies, Gustavo Limon said. Also glad of celebrating our Hispanic heritage.

Other children like Limon said they enjoyed seeing the skulls and skeletons that filled the room, as they thought it was something that allowed them to see the Mexican Halloween, as some children like Limon called it, and they want to continue to be a part of it going forward.

Meanwhile, Pena says that the day is important as it is truly about celebrating tradition and culture.

I am glad that this event seems to be becoming a tradition here in the arena, because we need to showcase and celebrate more of this beautiful tradition in the city, Pena said. It is something that all people must at least come and see the beautiful altars, colors, and taste the treats, even if they do not believe in celebrating or know much about this holiday.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
Courtesy photo /

A man was to be paid $900 for transporting eight migrants to a location off of U.S. 83 north, according to an arrest affidavit.

On Oct. 28, agents conducting surveillance in the 6400 block of Casa Del Sol Boulevard observed a white Ford F-150 arrive at about 11:14 a.m. and reverse into the driveway. Authorities would identify the driver as Maurilio Juarez Jr. Several people were seen entering the Ford.
A woman tried to smuggle a child she claimed was her niece via a Laredo international bridge, according to an arrest affidavit.

Elizabeth Cruz, a U.S. citizen, along with the child arrived at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in a private vehicle at about 1:55 p.m. Nov. 1. Cruz identified the child as her niece and added that she was taking her to Kentucky.
The Department of Public Safety presented to Laredo City Council on Monday night a request for the opportunity to build a border fence being offered by the state of Texas.

This border fence would intend to dissuade human smuggling, human trafficking and drug trafficking. The state offered to build the border fence at no cost to the city to provide security for the residents of Laredo.

This border fence would be built on private property, meaning landowners could agree or disagree to have it built. Owners could also have the installation put up on their property and later take it down, although the landowner would have to take care of that themselves.

What were doing is were going to install a fence.  Once that fence is up, its yours. It belongs to the city at no cost to the city, a representative for DPS said during the meeting. It gives us the opportunity to get to them before they can make it completely across.

Ive contacted more than half of property owners within Webb County, and the vast majority have agreed to the border fence.

Gov. Greg Abbott has attempted to take up President Donald Trumps mission of providing a border wall separating the U.S. and Mexico  at least in the state of Texas  as hes pledged to do just that. Recently, state officials narrowed firms to design and build the wall down to five.

Nearly a month ago, it was revealed that Texas had raised $54 million in private donations for the wall, with nearly 98% of the funds coming from Timothy Mellon, the Wyoming-based grandson of banking tycoon Andrew Mellon. Previous reports stated that the cost to build a mile of Trumps border wall ranged from $6 million up to as much as $34 million depending on the area.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration stating that it broke the law by halting Trumps wall construction.

Abbotts proposed fence discussed at council on Monday would be built on properties that were volunteered by the landowners to donate for the project. However, it was clear that if owners declined the wall, it would be skipped on their property while leaving an open perimeter.

A video from Rep. Henry Cuellar was played on the proposal, as he described the idea as a 14th-century solution. He also questions how the state can spend millions or billions of dollars on a fence, but if people want to cross, they could spend less than $100 on a ladder to get over the fence.

Meanwhile, one of Cuellars competitors for the Democratic nomination in District 28 was on hand at the meeting. And Tannya Benavides said the matter confused her, stating that the item was supposed to be a presentation by the DPS requesting an opportunity to present the border fence but instead seemed to be something already advanced and in the works. She also questioned what was the point of the wall if there would just be open spots anyway.

To give landowners that option that you can take it up, you can put it down, you can (say) yes or no  whats the point then? she said. We have better opportunities and investments that we can be focusing on.

Another individual present was No Border Wall Coalition Co-Founder Melissa Cigarroa. And she questioned the immigration process itself and how incoming migrants were being portrayed.

This plan to include willing landowners to partnership with the state is being broadcast as a solution to the dangers of migrants crossing the border, casting as hero our Gov. Abbott and as villain the thousands of migrants who seek employment and safe harbor here, Cigarroa said. Our immigration process is broken, and this feudal attempt to grab headlines does absolutely nothing to fix it. They are turning our border into a militarized zone, and they are doing it with candy by saying, Well provide you the fence, and then you do with it what you want, while they are patrolling, while they have DPS come down and the National Guard, and then people from all across this country who are coming down.

As for Laredo officials, councilmembers met in executive session to discuss the proposal. Following those private discussions, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz asked DPS members to return in two weeks as no action had been decided on.

Additionally, DPS announced at the meeting that a leasing agreement is in the works to set up base camps for soldiers equipment. The size of said project is from 700 to 1,000-man bases on private land owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in the northwest and south areas of Laredo.

Laredo City Council will next meet Nov. 15 to discuss the border wall situation further.

cecilia.trevino@lmtonline.com
PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  Mainers voiced their disapproval Tuesday for a 145-mile (233-kilometer) conduit for Canadian hydropower that was billed as either a bold step in battling climate change or unnecessary destruction of woodlands.

Utilities have poured more than $90 million into the battle over the $1 billion project ahead of the referendum on Tuesday, making it the most expensive referendum in Maine history.

However, the statewide vote wont be the final word. Litigation over the project will continue long after the votes are counted.

Sandi Howard, director of the of No CMP Corridor, called on Central Maine Power to respect the peoples will and to halt the project.

The vote sends a message to CMP that Mainers want to reject this corridor. They want to preserve the integrity of western Maine, she said. Mainers clearly dont trust CMP to develop a project of this magnitude."

Clean Energy Matters, which supports the project, vowed to continue the effort to move forward with the project.

We believe this referendum, funded by fossil fuel interests, is unconstitutional. With over 400 Maine jobs and our ability to meet our climate goals on the line, this fight will continue, Jon Breed, executive director, said in a statement.

Funded by Massachusetts ratepayers, the New England Clean Energy Connect would supply up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid. Thats enough electricity for 1 million homes.

Supporters said the project would remove carbon from the atmosphere and stabilize electricity rates across the entire region while helping Massachusetts reach its clean energy goals.

Critics contended the environmental benefits are overstated, and that it would forever change the forestland.

Some Mainers were frustrated that the referendum took place at all, saying it was bad public policy to retroactively vote down a project that already was approved by multiple state and federal agencies.

Three-quarters of trees already have been removed for the project, which calls for a transmission line that mostly follows existing utility corridors. But a new section needed to be cut through 53 miles (85 kilometers) of woods to reach the Canadian border.

The project divided the environmental community and made for strange political bedfellows, with some owners of fossil fuel-powered plants aligning themselves with environmental opponents.

The parties were also divided, with some Republicans and Democrats opposing it, while current Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage both supported the project.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy narrowly won reelection Wednesday, eking out a victory that spared Democrats the loss of a second gubernatorial seat.

Hes the states first Democratic governor to get a second straight term in 44 years, defeating Republican former Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli.

AP called the race Wednesday evening when a new batch of votes from Republican-leaning Monmouth County increased Murphys lead and closed the door to a Ciattarelli comeback.

Ballots remaining to be counted included a significant number of votes from predominantly Democratic Essex County, along with mail-in votes spread across other counties. Murphy has won the mail-in vote by a wide margin even in Republican leaning counties like Monmouth.

Ciattarelli spokesperson Stami Williams disputed the call because of the close margin, calling it irresponsible.

Murphy delivered a brief speech in Asbury Park's boardwalk convention hall, nodding to the race's narrow margin by saying he would work for both those who voted for and against him. But there was no trace he planned to scale back the left-leaning positions he's taken during his first term.

We shall be judged in the long run not by how we fared in elections, but by what we did as an administration, Murphy said, quoting Brendan Byrne, the last Democratic governor to be reelected in the state. Those words will always remind us to always, always, always keep moving forward.

Ciattarelli waged a formidable campaign in heavily Democratic New Jersey, his spending nearly equaling the governors and outpacing the GOPs performance four years ago. But Murphys advantages, including 1 million more registered Democrats, proved too much for the Republican to overcome.

The victory gives Democrats a silver lining after GOP businessman Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe in Virginias gubernatorial race  exacerbating worries that President Joe Bidens sagging approval ratings are hurting the party. This years elections were the first major tests of voter sentiment since Biden took office and pointed to a potentially painful year ahead for Democrats as they try to maintain thin majorities in Congress.

The closeness of the race has surprised experts, who watched public polls showing Murphy leading comfortably and looked to his party's registration advantage.

If you asked anybody several months ago within the state, I think anyone would have predicted a high double digit landslide for Murphy, said Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University.

Voters came out at much higher rates for Ciattarelli this year than they did for his GOP predecessor in 2017. While campaigning, he walked a line between standing up for the moderate stances he had in the Legislature  like supporting Roe v. Wade  and appealing to Republicans who embraced Trump, particularly on cultural issues that have captured attention across the country.

Ciattarelli, who stepped down as state Assembly member in 2018 to run for governor, founded a medical publishing company called Galen Publishing, and held local and county positions in Somerset.

Murphys win also ends the more than three-decade-old trend of the party opposite the presidents winning in New Jerseys off-year governors race.

The 64-year-old governor said he was acutely aware of the political trends, calling them an animating force for his reelection effort that spurred him to run as if he were 10 points behind.

Murphy built his campaign around the progressive accomplishments he signed into law  like a phased-in $15 an hour minimum wage and paid sick leave along with taxes on the wealthy  and brought on Democratic allies, like progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, to campaign for him.

With a Democrat-led Legislature, Murphy achieved most of the promises he made in his first run four years ago when he vied to succeed Republican Chris Christie. Taxpayer-financed community college and some pre-K, tighter gun laws, expanded voting access, recreational marijuana, more state aid for schools and a fully funded public pension  all promised and all delivered during the first term. A proposal for a public bank to finance projects went unfulfilled.

Murphy is a former Goldman Sachs executive and served as ambassador to Germany under former President Barack Obama, who campaigned for Murphy in the weeks before Election Day.

He has said his next term will be about enacting a Reproductive Freedom Act aimed at codifying Roe v. Wade in the state as well as additional gun control laws and the expansion of taxpayer-financed pre-K for 3-year-olds.

Headwinds facing Democrats, like President Joe Biden's falling approval ratings and congressional Democrats' struggles to enact their agenda, didn't factor heavily enough into some experts' preelection analysis, said Ben Dworkin, the director of Rowan Universitys Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship. He counted himself among them.

A spokesperson for Ciattarelli said Wednesday that the campaign was focused on the vote count and said a possible legal pursuit of a recount was on the table. Murphy also called Wednesday morning for every vote to be counted.

New Jersey does not have an automatic recount law, but the candidates are permitted to request one. The party that wants a recount must file a suit in State Superior Court in the counties where they want to contest tallies. That has to be done within 17 days of Election Day.

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Associated Press writer Christina Paciolla contributed to this report.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Iran seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman last month and still holds the vessel, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press, revealing the latest provocation in Mideast waters as tensions escalate between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard troops on Oct. 24 took control of the MV Southys, a vessel that analysts suspect of trying to transfer sanctioned Iranian crude oil to Asia, at gunpoint. U.S. forces had monitored the seizure, but ultimately didn't take action as the vessel sailed into Iranian waters.

Iran celebrated its capture of the vessel in dramatic footage aired on state television, the day before the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Officials at the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ship-tracking data analyzed by the AP from MarineTraffic.com showed the vessel still off Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday. A satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc. also showed the vessel off Bandar Abbas in recent days.

The two U.S. officials on Wednesday spoke on condition of anonymity as the information had yet to be made public amid ongoing attempts to restart talks over Iran's tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Negotiations have stalled in Vienna since the election of hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi in June, allowing Iran to press ahead with its nuclear program and raising alarm in Western capitals.

The European Union, Iran and the U.S. all said late Wednesday that the indirect talks between Tehran and Washington would resume Nov. 29 in Vienna.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri, said in a tweet that talks aimed for the removal unlawful and inhumane" sanctions. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Iran continued to take provocative nuclear steps" and that this window of opportunity will not be open forever.

The officials spoke to AP after Iranian state TV offered a series of contradictory reports about a confrontation between the Guard and the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet. State TV sought to cast the incident as an act of American aggression against Iran in the Gulf of Oman, with the U.S. Navy detaining a tanker carrying Iranian oil and the Guard freeing it and bringing it back to the Islamic Republic.

Asked about Iran's assertion of U.S. aggression, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said it was false and that it was Iran that had seized what he described as a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Oct. 24.

It's a bogus claim, Kirby said of the Iranian assertion. The only seizing that was done was by Iran." He declined to cite the nationality of the vessel that was seized, saying it was up to that country to discuss it.

Kirby said Iran's boarding and seizing of the vessel constituted a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce.

Tehran also did not provide the ships name, or other details, nor any explanation of why the Navy might target it. Irans mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iranian officials heralded the ship's impoundment as a heroic act, with Raisi lauding the Revolutionary Guard on Twitter. The country's oil minister, Javad Owji, thanked the Guard for rescuing the Iranian oil tanker from American pirates."

State TV released footage showing an Iranian surveillance drone monitoring a hulking red tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Heavily armed Iranian commandos then rappelled onto the boat from a helicopter as small speedboats surrounded the vessel and an Iranian catamaran ship patrolled the waters.

The video appeared to show Iranian Guard troops pointing uncovered deck-mounted machine guns at the USS The Sullivans, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. Photos released by the U.S. military show The Sullivans recently in the Arabian Sea near the Gulf of Oman.

The status and makeup of the Sothys' crew wasn't immediately known. A shipping database showed the vessel's last registered owner as OPEC Petrol Transportation Co., a firm with a Hanoi address. On Thursday, a worker at the office acknowledged an incident involving the Southys but referred questions to another employee who wasn't there. That employee did not immediately return a request for comment.

However, the Southys had been on the radar of United Against a Nuclear Iran, a New York-based advocacy group long suspicious of the Islamic Republic. In a letter dated Oct. 11 addressed to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the group said its analysis of satellite photos showed the Southy received a ship-to-ship transfer of oil in June from an oil tanker called the Oman Pride.

The U.S. Treasury identified the Oman Pride in August as being used to transport Iranian oil as part of a smuggling scheme to enrich the Guard's expeditionary Quds Force. That Iranian oil ends up being sold into East Asia, the Treasury alleged, without identifying a specific country.

Iran's seizure of the Southys would be the latest in a string of hijackings and explosions to roil the Gulf of Oman, which sits near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all traded oil passes.

The U.S. Navy blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers in 2019, as well as for a fatal drone attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members earlier this year. Just a few months ago, Iranian hijackers stormed and briefly captured a Panama-flagged asphalt tanker off the United Arab Emirates.

Tehran denies carrying out the attacks, but a wider shadow war between Iran and the West has played out in the region's volatile waters since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Irans nuclear deal in 2018 and imposed crushing sanctions on the country.

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Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Robert Burns and Matthew Lee in Washington and Hau Dinh in Hanoi, Vietnam, contributed to this report.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Republican Mike Carey, a Trump-backed coal lobbyist, bested a two-term state lawmaker to win an open U.S. House seat in central Ohio on Tuesday, while Democrat Shontel Brown coasted to victory in a second up-for-grabs congressional district in the Cleveland area.

The election results will leave Democrats with a 221-213 advantage over Republicans in Congress, with Brown and Carey each retaining a seat for their respective party. A third open congressional seat in Florida, where primaries were being held Tuesday, also is very likely to remain status quo and in Democratic hands.

Carey, 50, defeated Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo, a public health policy consultant, in the 15th Congressional District, after the most competitive race there in years. The previous officeholder, Republican Steve Stivers, resigned in April to become CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce after a decade in Congress.

Carey told celebrants at a victory party Tuesday: We have too many career politicians in Washington. That's the last thing that I will ever be.

Brown, 46, a Cuyahoga County Council member who also chairs the county Democratic Party, won the Cleveland-area House seat formerly held by Marcia Fudge, who stepped down to become housing and urban development secretary in the Biden administration.

Brown defeated Republican Laverne Gore, a business owner and activist, in the heavily Democratic district that stretches from Cleveland to Akron. She said she is ready to get to work.

I am committed to going to Washington as a unifier, and will work with President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress to lead a swift health and economic recovery from the pandemic for Ohioans, Brown said in a statement.

Both winners will fill the remainder of their predecessors' terms, which run until January 2023. They must face reelection again next year under a congressional map that's being redrawn to hold onto the seat.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Carey, calling him a courageous fighter and visiting the state to campaign for him, as did former Vice President Mike Pence. Trump congratulated Carey in a statement Tuesday, saying he was proud to have endorsed him early and strongly and saying he would be a great congressman! President Joe Biden endorsed Russo, who raised more money in the district than any Democrat in history.

Browns election marks a win for establishment Democrats, who sought to defend the district against a takeover by progressives. Her backers included Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn and several labor unions.

But victory may be short-lived.

Already, Browns defeated primary opponent, progressive Nina Turner, has begun campaigning for the full congressional term up for grabs in 2022. A former state senator, she was a national mouthpiece for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential bids and remains one of the progressive movements hardest-working congressional hopefuls.

In Florida, 11 Democrats were on the ballot in Tuesday's primary special election for the seat of Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in April after suffering from pancreatic cancer. One of the candidates is state Rep. Omari Hardy, who was 3 years old when Hastings was elected in 1992. Hastings was the longest-serving member of Floridas congressional delegation.

Republican Jason Mariner won the Republican nomination to run for the 20th Congressional District seat, but the district is heavily Democratic. The winner of the Democratic primary is considered a lock for January's general election, but results were too close to call Tuesday night after most of the votes had been counted in the South Florida district.

With nearly 99% of the vote counted, fewer than 100 votes separated the two leaders in a field of 11 Democrats. Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness and health care company CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick led the crowded primary, each with nearly 24% of the vote.

The district is a majority Black and covers parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.

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Associated Press writer Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Fla., contributed to this report.
A 20-year-old man has spoken of how he is lucky to be alive after falling 20 feet from an apartment complex in Longford town at the weekend.

Slovakian national Robert Makula (pictured) was rushed to hospital last Friday evening after falling from the second floor of a building along Great Water Street.

He was taken by ambulance to Mullingars Midland Regional Hospital where he spent two nights undergoing a range of tests and medical examinations before being discharged on Sunday.

In a miraculous chain of events, Robert said he slipped after attempting to climb through an upstairs window after finding himself locked out.

I dont know (what happened), said Robert, in an exclusive interview with the Leader on Monday.

I cant remember anything, I was in a coma.His girlfriend Michaela raised the alarm after finding a stricken Robert lying on the floor at the rear of the complex.

I looked down and he was just on the floor and couldnt get up so I ran to the next door neighbour, she said.

Gardai and emergency services attended the scene and have since ruled out any foul play or criminal element being involved in the lead up to the incident.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has thrown his weight behind calls for local authority chiefs to snap up Bank of Irelands former headquarters in Granard.

The Fine Gael leader said moves to give council bosses the green light to acquire the building were very much on Rural Affairs Minister Heather Humphreys agenda.

Mr Varadkars comments come after the Leader told last week of how the three storey building was being viewed as a possible and significant addition to the councils property portfolio.

The Minister for Enterprise was in Longford last Thursday to speak to local businesses and interest groups over ongoing challenges posed by Covid-19 and how counties like Longford were attempting to readjust economically.

Its definitely something we are considering, said Mr Varadkar, when asked by the Leader if government bosses were supportive of those calls.

We have seen a lot of bank closures in the last year or so, both Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland and some of those buildings are a heritage building in the middle of a town.

It would be a shame to see them fall into disuse or to be used for something inappropriate and one of the things Minister Humphreys is doing as Minister for Community and Rural Development is examining those properties and seeing if there is a possibility to take them into public ownership.

Mr Varadkars comments would appear to override those of a senior council official who approached the Leader during the Fine Gael leaders visit to insist the local authority were not looking at the former bank offices.

Fine Gael Senator Micheal Carrigy welcomed those remarks, saying the vacancy left by Bank of Irelands departure earlier this month had provided an ideal opportunity to address some of the north Longford towns longest standing problems.

We have had serious parking issues in the town that we have been looking at for a long number of years and I think that and the adjacent site of the old Houricans Hotel is an opportunity for the local authority to maybe take them into ownership and solve that traffic problem but also making office space available in the town, he said.

The Ballinalee postmaster was nonetheless at pains to stress whatever purpose is made of the now vacant bank offices, its presence does not fly in the face of separate moves to establish a remote working hub at the towns one time Ulster Bank building.

We have seen the successful project that Co:Worx is in repurposing the (former Ulster) bank (in Edgeworthstown) but in Granard the Ulster Bank building that was bought privately is in a redevelopment phase at the minute to be turned into a Co working hub, he said.

Its important that whatever purpose the Bank of Ireland building is used for that its not in competition to another development of the same.

Its very important that that building be repurposed for the town of Granard.

The former county council cathaoirleach was equally wholesome in his praise of the towns local credit union in its attempts to provide an alternative source of on street banking facility for locals.

I would compliment local credit union for taking the initiative and putting in for planning a cash machine unit at their premises which should be in place in the next two months so as to ensure the people of the town are not left without that facility, he added.

Senator Carrigys remarks were comparable to those of local councillors Cllr PJ Reilly and Turlough Pott McGovern.

The latter said it was his view both Houricans and the former Bank of Ireland building could possibly provide a definitive solution to Granards long term parking issues.

I would be hoping that when the opportunity arises, we (Longford County Council) will get the backing and necessary funding from Minister Humphreys department to develop a huge car park and maybe OPD (Older Persons Dwellings) in Granard, he said.

That would, I believe, solve that particular issue once and for all.
Due to treatment issues at the Lough Forbes Water Treatment Plant (caused by deteriorated raw water conditions) the drinking water quality entering the Longford Central Public Water Supply has been affected.

As a result, and following consultation with the Health Service Executive, Irish Water and Longford County Council are issuing a Boil Water Notice with immediate effect to protect the health of consumers.

This notice applies to all consumers supplied by the Lough Forbes Water Treatment Plant.

All consumers affected by this notice must boil their water before drinking.

A map of the Longford Central Public Water Supply detailing the areas affected, is available on www.water.ie

Areas Affected:

All customers supplied by the Lough Forbes Water Treatment Plant

1: Water must be boiled (rolling boil for 1 minute and then cooled) for:

 Drinking

 Preparing Drinks made with water

 Preparation of salads and similar foods, which are not cooked prior to eating

 Brushing of teeth and/or gargling

 Making of ice. However, ensure you first discard all existing ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges

IMPORTANT: Boil water by bringing to a vigorous, rolling boil and allow to cool. Cover and store in a refrigerator or cold place. Water from the hot tap of kitchen or bathroom sinks is not safe to drink.

2: You do not have to boil your water for the following:

 Personal hygiene, baths and showers

 Flushing of toilets

 Watering plants and flowers

3: Caution:

 Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink

 Caution should be taken when bathing children to ensure that they do not swallow the bathing water

 Discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges. Make ice from cooled boiled water

 If you have pets and are concerned about the impact of providing mains water while this BWN is in place, you should ask your local vet for advice

4: Only use Prepared Water (boiled and cooled) for the following situations.

 When preparing foods that will not be cooked (e.g. washing and preparing salads)

 Preparing Infant Formula. Where a Boil Water Notice is in place, you can prepare infant formula from tap water that has been boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute) and cooled beforehand. Bottled water can also be used to make up infant formula. All bottled water, with the exception of natural mineral water, is regulated to the same standard as drinking water. It is best not to use bottled water labelled as Natural Mineral Water as it can have high levels of sodium (salt) and other minerals, although it rarely does. Natural Mineral Water can be used if no other water is available, for as short a time as possible, as it is important to keep babies hydrated. If bottled water is used to make up infant formula it should be boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute), and cooled in the normal way. Ready-to-use formula that does not need added water can also be used.

5: Always Take Care:

Care should be taken with boiled water to avoid burns and scalds. Accidents can easily happen, especially with children.

6: How long before the boil water notice can be lifted?

We do not know at present, but Irish Water will continue to liaise and consult with the Health Service Executive with a view to lifting the Boil Water Notice as soon as practicable

7: How will we keep you informed?

You will be kept informed through the following media:

Website: www.water.ie

Irish Water Customer Contact Centre: 1800 278 278

Vulnerable customers who have registered their details with IW will be directly contacted, but if you require additional assistance please contact Irish Water to discuss them with us

8: Awareness for commercial premises

Irish Water requests that this Boil Water Notice is placed in a prominent position within your commercial premises

Remember to boil water as advised until further notice
17,500 people in Longford, almost half the county's entire populated, has been impacted by the immediate boil water notice announced this evening.

Following consultation with the Health Service Executive, Irish Water and Longford County Council have issued a Boil Water Notice for the area supplied by the Longford Central Public Water Supply to protect public health.

This notice is being issued because the cryptosporidium barrier at the treatment plant was compromised following a deterioration in the raw water quality of the lake source.

The areas affected include all customers in

Longford Town,

Newtownforbes,

Ballinalee,

part of Edgeworthstown,

part of Drumlish,

part of Killashee and surrounding areas.

A map of the area will be available to view on the supply and service section of water.ie tomorrow morning (Thursday).

Experts from Irish Water and Longford County Council are assessing the situation with a view to having the notice lifted as quickly as possible. In the meantime, all customers of this supply are advised to boil water before use until further notice.

John Gavin, Asset Operations Lead, Irish Water, has acknowledged the impact this notice will have on the community and apologised for the inconvenience to customers.

We are working closely with Longford County Council to restore drinking water quality for all impacted customers. We will monitor the supply over the coming week and will seek to lift the notice in consultation with the HSE as quickly as it is safe to do so. Works are underway at the Lough Forbes plant to increase its capacity, provide increased resilience, and safeguard the supply for the future, he added.

Vulnerable customers who have concerns can contact our customer care team on 1800 278 278.

For customers who wish to check if their property is on the Boil Water Notice themselves, please go to the water quality section of water.ie, enter the propertys Eircode, click more details and you will then see if your property is on the Boil Water Notice.

Updates will be available on the Irish Water Supply Updates section on water.ie including a map of the affected area, on Twitter @IWCare and via our customer care helpline, open 24/7 on 1800 278 278. Customers are advised to set their location on water.ie to view updates specific to their water supply. Further information in relation to the boil water notice is available from https://www.water.ie/water-supply/water-quality/boil-water-notice/
The Department of Health has today confirmed there are 3,174 new cases of Covid-19.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan also reported there has been 56 deaths since last Wednesday, bringing the total number of Covid related deaths in Ireland to 5,492.

The increase in new infections is being linked to the volume of people who came forward for testing at the end of last week and over the Halloween weekend.

Watch: NPHET briefing live from the Department of Health. | Read more: https://t.co/5cMQjuHRps https://t.co/pxGznm6TVl  RTE News (@rtenews) November 3, 2021

At today's NPHET briefing, Prof Philip Nolan said the 14-day cumulative incidence is now approaching 700 per 100,000.

He said 4 weeks ago, there were around 1,500 cases a day, while yesterday, the 7-day average was 2,612.

He said the number of people in hospital on average over the past 7 days was 493 with the number of people being admitted to hospital to hospital per day is averaging around 60 per day, up 50% compared to 4 weeks ago

As of this morning, there were 460 patients in hospital with Covid-19, 86 of which are being treated in ICU.

Dr Holohan said it is important for people to take basic measures over the next few weeks and cut contacts to help bring Covid-19 numbers down.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: November 03 2021

Initiative will connect thousands of homes to sewer systems to reduce nitrogen loading and improve water quality.

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the start of construction of the $408.8 million Suffolk County Coastal Resiliency Initiative, which includes wastewater conveyance and treatment upgrades along with sewer system connections for more than 4,000 homes in the Town of Babylon, with connections for an additional 1,700 homes in Mastic-Shirley set to begin later this year. This innovative project leverages federal and state resources with local funding to prevent nitrogen and other contaminants from pollution Long Island's coastal waters. Other environmental benefits to this critical project include improving water quality, restoring ecosystems, and bolstering natural coastal barriers to protect communities from future flooding and severe storms fueled by climate change.

"As we recognize the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, we are reflecting on the ways in which that storm exposed the need for New York to be resilient in the face of Mother Nature," Governor Hochul said. "The Coastal Resiliency Initiative is a comprehensive series of projects which will go great lengths towards improving the resiliency of thousands of homes in Suffolk County that are currently relying on septic tanks. With construction now underway, New York is continuing to build on our goals of combatting the impacts of climate change and ensuring communities have the modern infrastructure they need to withstand extreme weather."

Thousands of homes in the Carlls River and Forge River Watersheds are unsewered and manage wastewater via on-site systems like septic tanks and cesspools. The outdated septic tanks and cesspools are prone to capacity failure as residents frequently need to limit household tasks such as dishwashing and laundry. The wastewater systems also cause ecological harm to the waterways as untreated sewage can inundate the watersheds with nitrogen and other harmful pollutants, and result in coastal ecosystem degradation. A 2014 report issued by DEC detailed the adverse impacts of nitrogen pollution on the region's natural coastal defenses and served as a catalyst for advancing funding for this project.

The announcement also comes on the ninth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which inundated approximately half of the areas' existing wastewater systems with flood water. To improve coastal resilience in the face of sea level rise and more intense storms fueled by climate change, the reduction in nitrogen and pollutants in the watersheds will help build back natural coastal wetlands that serve as barriers to storm surge and flooding along the South Shore.

The Carlls River project is anticipated to be completed in 2024, with Forge River to follow in 2026.

Through the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSES) and Governor's Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR), these projects leverage $243.5 million of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and $66.4 million of Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding from US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In addition to the start of construction in Babylon and Brookhaven, DEC is providing the village of Patchogue with $21 million to connect an additional 248 homes to sewer systems to reduce the flow of harmful nitrogen and other contaminants originating from cesspools and septic tanks into vital water sources such as Long Island's aquifers, coastal bays, lakes, and waterways.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "Improving coastal resilience in the face of climate change requires all hands on deck, and we are proud to work with Governor Hochul, Suffolk County, and our partners in the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery to make projects like this a reality. DEC's coastal and water quality experts continue to work directly with communities across Long Island to finance and advance critical projects that protect our waters and reduce nitrogen pollution, and today's groundbreaking is a critical milestone in these efforts. The additional $21 million in DEC investment to help the village of Patchogue connect an estimated 248 homes to sewers is just another example of Governor Hochul's commitment to helping communities across Long Island protect our waters for future generations of New Yorkers."

New York State Division of Homeland Security Executive Deputy Commissioner Terence J. O'Leary said, "As extreme weather continues to impact the lives of New Yorkers, projects like this will provide a tremendous benefit in re-establishing natural coastal barriers which will ultimately mitigate storm surge and floodwaters from damaging personal property and critical infrastructure. I am proud of the Division's Disaster Recovery team's dedicated efforts and collaboration with Suffolk County and other state agencies to make this project a reality"

Deputy Executive Director of the NY Rising Community Reconstruction and Infrastructure Programs at the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery Eileen Meus said, "In addition to the ecological and quality of life benefits, the reduction in nitrogen in Suffolk County's waterways will build back stronger wetlands, providing a natural coastal barrier from storm surge and flooding. We are thrilled to join Governor Hochul and County Executive Bellone in celebrating this critical milestone."

Senator Chuck Schumer said, "Suffolk County's lack of modern wastewater infrastructure leads to vast nitrogen pollution in our waterways, degrades our coastal defenses, threatens public health, and stifles sustainable, economic growth. I'm proud to have fought tooth-and-nail to deliver a massive $300-million-plus federal investment for this vital resiliency project, and to have urged FEMA and OMB earlier this year to swiftly approve the release of funds for these contracts. County Executive Bellone is wisely allocating an additional $46 million in American Rescue Plan funding that I secured for Suffolk County to fill funding gaps and keep this initiative moving forward. This project will create hundreds of good-paying construction jobs, clean our environment, enhance resiliency efforts, and provide for Suffolk County's largest sewer expansion in four decades, improving Suffolk County and its residents' quality of life for decades to come."

Representative Lee Zeldin said, "COVID-19 impacted so many aspects of our way of life, and it was absolutely critical that we save local infrastructure projects that experienced unexpected delays due to the pandemic. The Forge River and Carlls River sewer projects are critical to our quality of life in Suffolk County, and I'm honored to have worked across the aisle with House and Senate leadership, as well as the White House, in December to secure an extension of the funding deadline, save these projects and ensure that they get across the finish line. That this announcement comes on the ninth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy and all the devastation it caused serves as just another reminder of how important these projects are to the safety of our communities."

Representative Andrew Garbarino said, "Suffolk County has long required this sewer expansion. Sewers are the lynchpin on which the revitalization of our community rests. There is much more to be done but I'm proud to see the investment in Suffolk County that ensures it gets the wastewater treatments and sewer system upgrades it needs."

County Executive Steve Bellone said, "On the ninth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, we are taking a huge step forward in our efforts to make Long Island more resistant to climate change. Thanks to the strong support we have received from Senator Chuck Schumer and our partners in New York State government, we have reached an important milestone as we bring these historic projects to the point of construction. To simply call these projects a win-win does not adequately describe the magnitude of the benefits they will bring to our region. Injecting $400 million into the regional economy will help boost our economic recovery from the COVID pandemic. Not only that, but this project will eliminate nearly 6,000 of the cesspools and septic systems that scientists tell us are killing our bays and harbors. This a tremendous victory for our economy and our environment."
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: November 03 2021

Increased rail capacity will reduce crowding on trains, subways and in Penn Station.

Governor Kathy Hochul recently joined the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to take a special Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) test train to Grand Central Terminal and gave the public one of the first-ever looks at the new 350,000-square-foot East Side Access passenger terminal there.

This is the largest new train terminal to be built in the United States since the 1950s and the first expansion of the LIRR in more than 100 years. Together with the LIRR third track project, the new connection will add 50 percent to the LIRR's capacity into Manhattan with up to 24 trains per hour and cut travel time for Queens and Long Island commuters traveling to the east side by 40 minutes per day.

It will also reduce crowding on commuter rail, at Penn Station and on the subway by dispersing commuters and allowing passengers to go directly to Grand Central Terminal from destinations across Queens and Long Island. The new commuter rail route and concourse officially open in December 2022.

"The East Side Access concourse is a model for modern transportation systems as we look to the post-pandemic future," Governor Hochul said. "As the first modern train terminal to be built in more than a half century, the East Side Access concourse will expand rail service, cut down on travel times into East Manhattan from Queens and Long Island, and reduce crowding. This is yet another example of New York leading the way as we recover from the pandemic, and I look forward to the East Side Access concourse and route fully opening in December 2022."

MTA Acting Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, "The East Side Access project will deliver faster, direct service for Long Island and Queens commuters to the East Side of Manhattan, the densest job hub in North America. This smart, transit-oriented developmentwill help spur economic growth, provide better connections to Metro-North Railroad and lead to reduced automobile traffic and improved air quality in the region."

LIRR President Phil Eng said, "It is perfect synergy that we have Governor Hochul here today as she leads the charge to improve and innovate New York's future and the MTA is ever closer to ushering in a new chapter in LIRR history.I'm thankful for her leadership and proud of LIRR's role in helping to deliver the East Side Access Project providing new service to Grand Central Terminal for all of Long Island. In 2022, not only will we provide more options for our riders to the East Side of Manhattan, but we will be giving them a state-of-the-art facility beneath the existing Grand Central Terminal. The LIRR continues to be a leader in reducing pollution and stimulating New York State's economy by getting people out of their cars and back to work across Long Island and New York City."

The East Side Access concourse at Grand Central Terminal includes a 350,000-square-foot LIRR passenger concourse just below street level that will offer new entrances along Madison Avenue, 25 retail storefronts,WiFi and cell service, new art installations anddigital signage with real-time train information. The entrance at347Madison Avenue being built at 45th Street as part of the redevelopment of the MTA's former headquarters alone is expected to serve 10,000 people a day.

Seventeen hi-rise escalators, 182 feet in length and the longest in the MTA system, will connect commuters between the new world-class concourse and mezzanine of the train terminal 140 feet below Park Avenue.The mezzanine in turn leads to an upper train level that has two platforms and four tracks, and a lower train level that similarly has two platforms and four tracks.

Trains will enter the concourse from a newly activated tunnel that carries two tracks as it passes under the East River at 63rdStreet. The two tracks then fan out to four, then eight on the two levels.

In Queens, crews have built a new yard with space for up to 300 rail cars, and fully updatedHarold Interlocking, the busiest passenger railroad intersection in North America, including the installation of97new track switches, 295 poles that carry overhead wires used by Amtrak, five new steel railroad bridges, and 8,445 feet of retaining walls. Overall, the project includes more than 40 miles of new track, nearly 13 miles of newly excavated tunnels, 44 ventilation fans, 550 miles of cable and 975 security cameras, 15 overhead gantries that display train control signals, and 14 huts alongside the tracks containing signal system components.

Originally conceived of in the 1960s, the project was developed in the 1990s with work beginning in earnest in Queens and Manhattan in 2006. East Side Access contractors have accomplished several engineering feats over the years, including blasting under Grand Central Terminal with limited impact to rail operations, mining under both Northern Boulevard and the elevated and underground subways in Queens and expanding the capacity of Harold Interlocking.

In addition to relieving congestion at Penn Station, East Side Access will enhance New York's competitive standing in the global economy by providing a new link to business centers on the East Side and supporting job growth around Grand Central Terminal. When the project is complete, operational efficiency through Harold Interlocking will be greatly improved, benefiting travelers all along the Northeast Corridor. For the first time, ADDRD tracks will make reverse commuting from New York City to Long Island a realistic option for the region and will allow East Midtown and Metro-North Railroad customers to be able to connect to JFK Airport via the Long Island Rail Road and the Jamaica AirTrain.
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As the economy flirts with the three day week of 1974, Sarah talks about how plumbers and bin men are delivering in wage increases and investor payouts. And how the fuel crisis is accelerating ...
KOSMOS Energy ACQUIREs Additional GHANA INTERESTS

FOR $550 MILLION

Assets acquired at compelling valuation with a significant enhancement to the five-year plan

DALLAS, Texas, October 14, 2021 - Kosmos Energy (NYSE/LSE: KOS) ("Kosmos" or the "Company") announced today that it has acquired an additional 18.0% interest in the Jubilee field and an additional 11.0% interest in the TEN fields in Ghana from Occidental Petroleum ("OXY") for a purchase price of $550 million with an effective date of April 1, 2021. Consideration due to OXY at completion was approximately $460 million after taking into account closing adjustments.

Key Highlights

 Accelerates Kosmos' strategic delivery

o Delivers near-term cash generation from high-margin oil with the acquired assets expected to generate ~$1 billion of free cash flow by year-end 2026 at $65/barrel Brent

o Underpins transition to balanced oil and gas portfolio

 Acquiring assets at a compelling valuation

o 2P reserves expected to deliver ~3x purchase price at $65/barrel Brent

o Simplified partnership with the aligned objective to maximize the value of the assets

o Limited integration risk or incremental G&A costs

 Highly accretive across all key metrics

o Attractive acquisition price drives significant net asset value accretion

o Cash consideration equivalent to ~1.4x 2022E EBITDAX of the assets being acquired at $65/barrel Brent

o Expected payback of less than 3 years at $65/barrel Brent

o Resilient at lower oil prices with all key metrics accretive at $45/barrel Brent

 Enhances free cash flow and accelerates de-leveraging

o Significant free cash flow generation expected to accelerate de-leveraging (targeting less than 2.0x net debt/EBITDAX by year-end 2022 at $65/barrel Brent) and fund remaining Tortue capital expenditure to first gas

 Supports Kosmos' ESG agenda

o Growing investment in Africa aligned with Kosmos' objective to support the "Just Transition" and deliver tangible economic and social benefits in Ghana

o Partnership working to drive down CO2 emissions and enabling developmentof gas resources to provide lower cost, lower carbon power

Andrew G. Inglis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kosmos said: "This is a compelling transaction for Kosmos that accelerates our strategic delivery and is expected to provide long-term sustainable cash flow from fields where we have a deep understanding of the value and future upside.

We expect the additional Ghana interests to generate around $1 billion of incremental free cash flow by the end of 2026 at $65 Brent with upside given current prices. We plan to use the additional cash flow from these assets to reduce absolute debt levels and fund our growth in LNG.

Financially, the transaction is highly accretive across all key metrics, including free cash flow, and accelerates our committed path to deleveraging the balance sheet. With significant net asset value accretion for the company, we believe that this transaction will deliver substantial returns to our shareholders.

The transaction creates a simplified and aligned partnership in both the Jubilee and TEN fields, with both Kosmos and GNPC increasing their ownership. The partnership is committed to investing in both fields to maximize the value of the assets and reduce the carbon intensity of operations for the benefit of all stakeholders."

Interests acquired

Kosmos has acquired an additional 18.0% interest in the Jubilee field and an additional 11.0% interest in the TEN fields in Ghana. This transaction increases Kosmos' interests in Jubilee to 42.1% and in TEN to 28.1%. The transaction is subject to a 30-day pre-emption period, which, if fully exercised, could reduce Kosmos' ultimate interest in Jubilee by 3.8% to 38.3%, and in TEN by 8.3% to 19.8%. Prior to closing the transaction, OXY resolved certain historical tax claims related to the sold interests.

Using Kosmos' year-end 2020 reserves report, prepared by independent reserve auditor Ryder Scott, estimated 2P reserves being acquired as part of today's transaction were approximately 104 million barrels of oil equivalent at year-end 2020. The assets being acquired have a proved and probable (2P) post-tax NPV10 valuation of around $1.6 billion[1]. The acquired assets are currently producing approximately 17,000 barrels of oil per day net and are expected to generate approximately $325 million of EBITDAX in 2022 at $65 Brent.

Kosmos has worked closely with the operator and joint venture partners in 2021 to drive higher reliability and improve operational performance in Ghana. Significant progress has been made with new wells delivering higher production, high levels of FPSO uptime, near-record water injection and materially higher gas offtake.

Transaction Financing

The transaction has an effective date of April 1, 2021. The Government of Ghana has approved the transaction, which closed on October 13, 2021. To fund the transaction, Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank have provided Kosmos with a $400 million bridge loan, which the Company expects to refinance with the proceeds from a future senior notes offering. The remaining consideration was funded from available liquidity, which the Company expects to re-finance with the proceeds from the equity offering of approximately $100 million announced today.

The Company plans to provide updated full-year 2021 guidance alongside third quarter 2021 results to take account of this transaction and the impact of the recent hurricane-related downtime in the Gulf of Mexico. With Gulf of Mexico production now returned to pre-hurricane levels, we expect the impact of the unplanned downtime to be approximately 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter or 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent to the full year compared to our previous production forecasts for 2021.

Barclays is acting as financial adviser to Kosmos on the transaction with Slaughter and May serving as Kosmos' legal counsel on the transaction.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Kosmos will host a conference call and webcast to discuss today's announcement on October 14, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Central time (10:00 a.m. Eastern time). The live webcast of the event can be accessed on the Investors page of Kosmos' website at http://investors.kosmosenergy.com/investor-events. The dial-in telephone number for the call is +1-877-407-0784. Callers in the United Kingdom should call 0 800 756 3429. Callers outside the United States should dial +1-201-689-8560. A slide presentation to accompany the webcast will be available on the company website shortly.

About Kosmos Energy

Kosmos is a full-cycle deepwater independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused along the Atlantic Margins. Our key assets include production offshore Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and U.S. Gulf of Mexico, as well as a world-class gas development offshore Mauritania and Senegal. Kosmos is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol KOS. As an ethical and transparent company, Kosmos is committed to doing things the right way. The Company's Business Principles articulate our commitment to transparency, ethics, human rights, safety and the environment. Read more about this commitment in our Corporate Responsibility Report. For additional information, visit www.kosmosenergy.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

EBITDAX, free cash flow and net debt are supplemental non-GAAP financial measures used by management and external users of the Company's consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, lenders and rating agencies. The Company defines EBITDAX as Net income (loss) plus (i) exploration expense, (ii) depletion, depreciation and amortization expense, (iii) equity based compensation expense, (iv) unrealized (gain) loss on commodity derivatives (realized losses are deducted and realized gains are added back), (v) (gain) loss on sale of oil and gas properties, (vi) interest (income) expense, (vii) income taxes, (viii) loss on extinguishment of debt, (ix) doubtful accounts expense and (x) similar other material items which management believes affect the comparability of operating results. The Company defines free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less oil and gas assets, Other property, and certain other items that may affect the comparability of results. The Company defines net debt as the sum of notes outstanding issued at par and borrowings on the RBL Facility, Corporate revolver, and GoM Term Loan less cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash.

We believe that EBITDAX, free cash flow, Net debt and other similar measures are useful to investors because they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in the oil and gas sector and will provide investors with a useful tool for assessing the comparability between periods, among securities analysts, as well as company by company. EBITDAX, free cash flow, and net debt as presented by us may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

This release also contains certain forward looking non GAAP financial measures, including free cash flow. Due to the forward looking nature of the aforementioned non GAAP financial measures, management cannot reliably or reasonably predict certain of the necessary components of the most directly comparable forward looking GAAP measures, such as future impairments and future changes in working capital. Accordingly, we are unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of such forward looking non GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward looking GAAP financial measures. Amounts excluded from these non GAAP measures in future periods could be significant.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that Kosmos expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Kosmos' estimates and forward-looking statements are mainly based on its current expectations and estimates of future events and trends, which affect or may affect its businesses and operations. Although Kosmos believes that these estimates and forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to several risks and uncertainties and are made in light of information currently available to Kosmos. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "expect," "plan," "will" or other similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Kosmos, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. Further information on such assumptions, risks and uncertainties is available in Kosmos' Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings. Kosmos undertakes no obligation and does not intend to update or correct these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release, except as required by applicable law. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Management does not provide a reconciliation for forward looking non GAAP financial measures where it is unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the occurrence and the financial impact of various items that have not yet occurred, are out of our control or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, management is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Forward looking non GAAP financial measures provided without the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures may vary materially from the corresponding GAAP financial measures.

###

Source: Kosmos Energy Ltd.

Investor Relations

Jamie Buckland

+44 (0) 203 954 2831

jbuckland@kosmosenergy.com

Media Relations

Thomas Golembeski

+1-214-445-9674

tgolembeski@kosmosenergy.com
As of today, Spain will accept the UKs COVID-19 vaccination record. If you are travelling with a printed PDF proof of vaccination status, it must date from 1 November to ensure that the certificate can be scanned successfully. Your NHS appointment card from vaccination centres is not designed to be used as proof of vaccination and should not be used to demonstrate your vaccine status.

Certificates of recovery - a medical document certifying that you have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 6 months prior to travel - is not currently accepted for arrivals from the UK. See the Spanish Ministry of Health Travel and COVID-19 page for details.

Documents can be in either English, Spanish, French or German and in paper or electronic format.

All documents must specify the name and surname of the passenger. See Entry requirements for entry in Spain from third countries section k. on the Spanish Ministry of Health Travel and COVID-19 page for details regarding proof of vaccination and the types of diagnostic tests that can be presented when travelling to Spain from the UK.
The following editorial was published in the Oct. 28 edition of the Detroit News:

(AP) The commission redrawing Michigans political boundaries made a critical mistake in closing to the public a portion of a meeting this week. We hope its one they wont repeat.

Transparency is very much a part of the mission of the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, established by a ballot initiative to take politics and politicians out of setting the next decades legislative and congressional district maps.

The panel Wednesday abruptly ordered the public and the media out of their meeting hall so it could have a secret discussion with its attorneys. The doors remained shut for an hour and 40 minutes.

Commissioners explained they wanted to be able to freely and openly discuss attorney-client matters with their lawyers. At issue was a report from the attorneys on the history of the Voting Rights Act and balloting inequities in Michigan.

Invoking attorney-client privilege could possibly be justified if the conversation centered around a personnel issue or legal action against the panel.

But a discussion of a report prepared for the commission that may factor in to how and why they adjust the versions of their draft maps is certainly of interest of the public. Interested parties should have been able to hear the report, and give their opinions on its accuracy and impact. Closing the doors was not justified.

Commissioners offered the defense that the information under discussion is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Thats quite likely not true. Just because a memo comes from a lawyer does not make it off-limits from FOIA requests.

The constitutional amendment that created the commission specifically states it shall conduct all of its business at open meetings. Thats the only guidance commissioners should follow.

Having an unelected panel draw political lines is a new experience for Michigan voters. It is essential commissioners do everything possible to maintain trust in the process.

Booting the public out of meetings when discussions are being held on matters critical to the final decision-making breeds suspicion.

Had voters wanted back-room dealing and secrecy, they could have left redistricting in the hands of politicians.
Mankato, MN (56001)

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Windy with a few clouds from time to time. Morning high of 37F with temps falling to near 25. Winds NW at 25 to 35 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

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Mankato, MN (56001)

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Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 30F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Mankato, MN (56001)

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Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 30F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 30F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Mankato, MN (56001)

Today

Mostly sunny skies with gusty winds. Morning high of 37F with temps falling to near 25. Winds NW at 25 to 35 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

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Stimulus checks have come to the aid of millions of people across the United States, with lower- and medium-income being given financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now the responsibility of state governments to supply stimulus checks and financial aid packages now, rather than federal government, and these include unemployment benefits, tax credit breaks and more.

Below, we have outlined states where stimulus checks are either being prepared or debated, or where money is already being given out to residents. We'll also explain how to qualify for these fourth stimulus checks.

With November having arrived, this means some changes are coming in, so we'll outline the stimulus checks situation for November 2021.

Stimulus Checks status

Various states are already in the process of sending out checks to ease some of the financial pain brought upon by COVID-19 and the subsequent lasting measures. In addition, every new month can bring fresh updates, so here comes a look at the stimulus check situation in every state for November 2021.

Below, we take a detailed look at the various states and what they are currently proposing in terms of stimulus check support to citizens.

Alabama Stimulus Checks

It looks as though Alabama residents will not receive further COVID-19 relief checks, at least not directly.Alabama's high unemployment rate has led the state government to opt against new stimulus check payments. The latest news out of the state with regard to the COVID-19 relief funds is that Gov. Kay Ivey has signed into law numerous bills that would pave the way for the state to start the construction of new prisons using federal aid money

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the Alabama Stimulus

Alaska Stimulus Checks

Alaska residents might be in line to receive financial aid through the Federal State Extended Benefit program, which could bring another 13 to 20 weeks of checks. This, though, is only possible for certain residents and it depends on how much of this pot of money has already been claimed. Furthermore, Alaskans are waiting for updates regarding what will happen with the annual oil wealth checks.

Arizona Stimulus Checks

There is little sign of Arizona offering a new form of financial aid amid COVID-19, with Governor Doug Ducey set to use federal money to encourage people to find employment rather than paying people not to work. The state's Back to Work Program is offering a one-off 1,000 dollar payment for unemployed persons who accept part-time work and 2,000 dollars to anyone unemployed person who takes on a full-time post.

Arkansas Stimulus Checks

Talk of a fourth stimulus check in Arkansas will have to wait, as the state government is currently involved in a legal battle with its own residents over the end of the federal unemployment benefits that were worth 300 dollars per week. Until that battle is resolved, a fourth check is unlikely.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the Arkansas Stimulus

California Stimulus Checks - Golden State Stimulus II

As things stand, California is the only state that have sent a stimulus check from their own money in the form of the Golden State Stimulus, as the state has a budget surplus due to their tax system. Residents earning 30,000-75,000 dollars a year are entitled to 500 or 600 dollars, as well as 500 dollars to be paid to households with dependent children.

Beginning on September 17, these Golden State Stimulus payments have begun to be sent out to eligible citizens across California, however if you are expecting to receive the check via mail, these will be sent from October 5. An important thing to remember with California is that by midnight on Friday, October 15, you must have filed your 2020 tax return in order to gain access to the Golden State Stimulus payments.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the California Stimulus

Colorado Stimulus Checks

People who received at least one unemployment payment between March 15, 2020, and October 24, 2020, will receive 375 dollars. However, those on higher incomes who qualified for more than 500 per week in employment benefits will not be eligible.

Connecticut Stimulus Checks

Connecticut's "Back to Work" plan involved the provision of a 1,000 dollar check to eligible applicants who get back into the workforce after eight weeks off of unemployment, as announced by Governor Ned Lamont in September 2021.

Delaware Stimulus Checks

Delawareans who do not typically file federal income tax returns are being urged to keep an eye out in their mailboxes for a letter from the IRS notifying them that they may qualify for a federal Economic Impact Payment (EIP).

"According to the IRS, letters are going to 32,875 Delawareans who don't have to file a return. 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," State Treasurer Colleen Davis said.

Florida Stimulus Checks

Most teachers and administrators were allocated a 1,000 dollar payment, though things are still in development. Curiously, if you are a police officer who is now unable to work in another state due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Florida's governor will offer these unvaccinated officers 5,000 dollars to move to his state.

Georgia Stimulus Checks

Georgia's plan is generous, and full-time teachers and administrators will pocket 1,000 dollars, while part-time teachers will take 500 dollars. Pre-K educators will also likely have payments to claim.

Hawaii Stimulus Checks

In Hawaii, lawmakers sought to offer 2,200 dollars to teachers, yet it was vetoed by Governor David Ige, as he said that lawmakers didn't have the authority to instruct the Department of Education on how to utilise federal money.

Idaho Stimulus Checks

According to Boise State Public Radio, some Idaho residents are expected to receive a one-time tax rebate in the coming months. This financial rebate will be sent to full-time residents who sent in their income tax returns in 2019 and 2020, and will receive either a minimum of 50, in addition to a further 50 for each dependent, or nine percent of the state income tax that they paid in 2019, depending on which is the greater sum.

Illinois Stimulus Checks

Illinoisans have been entitled for stimulus checks from the government like any other state but with such payments ceasing from the federal level, it appears as that there are no plans for for an all-encompassing stimulus check to be issued, which means that citizens in cities like Chicago will miss out.

People from Illinois, however, can still apply for a Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit should they be eligible.

Indiana Stimulus Checks

Indiana governor Eric Holcomb ended unemployment benefits early, doing so on June 19. That was well ahead of the September 6 end date that was written in the American Rescue Plan. Jobseekers in Indiana took action against the state and a legal battle broke out. After much toing and froing, the end result is that Indiana will keep paying federal unemployment benefits to those eligible.

Iowa Stimulus Checks

While there is not a clear stimulus check on the way, current and prospective college students are able to make an application for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) ahead of the 2021-22 school year. This could save families as much as 30,000 dollars.

Kansas Stimulus Checks

According to Internal Revenue Service records, the state of Kansas either refused, paid back or failed to cash over 17 million dollars in stimulus checks (12,921 checks). There is currently no new information on whether Kansas will be offering further stimulus checks.

Kentucky Stimulus Checks

Local reports suggest that new stimulus payments could be distributed in Kentucky due to a drastic rise in jobless claims, although nothing concrete has yet been announced.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the Kentucky Stimulus

Louisiana Stimulus Checks

Unemployment has shot up in Louisiana, in large part due to the recent Hurricane Ida, and calls for additional assistance in this regard is mounting, yet no official word has been given in terms of amounts or payment dates.

Maine Stimulus Checks

Maine does not appear to be planning another round of stimulus payments before the year's end.

Maryland Stimulus Checks

All state and local taxes on unemployment benefits have been repealed, and stimulus payments of 500 dollars for families and 300 dollars for individuals who filed for the Earned Income Tax Credit were also passed in the legislation.

Some 700m dollars have been set aside for farmworkers and meat packers and around 20 million of that will go to grocery store workers, with the funds provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Massachussetts Stimulus Checks

It seems that Massachussetts does not have another stimulus payment coming, with much of the coronavirus relief money in recent months having gone towards areas such as housing.

Michigan Stimulus Checks

In a bid to boost the locals' economic situation in Michigan, the state has started to send 500 dollar hazard pay bonuses to their teachers.

Minnesota Stimulus Checks

Some 116,000 Minnesotans are being called to register for their COVID-19 stimulus check for up to 1,200 dollars.

Mississippi Stimulus Checks

Mississippi was one of the first states where the unemployment benefits stimulus payments ended early and there are currently no plans for more stimulus checks to be paid out, which is a contrast to many states across the USA. This is one of the states where a fresh round of payments looks unlikely. Yet, there are increasing calls for more money to be distrubted to citizens in Mississippi.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the Mississippi Stimulus

Missouri Stimulus Checks

Missouri families in the low-income category who are unemployed as a result of COVID-19 are now entitled to a temporary Child Care Subsidy benefit for up to 60 days while they look for work. This benefit is available through May 31, 2021.

Montana Stimulus Checks

Funding from Montana's share of the March federal coronavirus relief bill will go towards a variety of local infrastructure projects, including 86 water and sewer projects around the state.

Nebraska Stimulus Checks

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has allocated 1,099,058 dollars to the state of Nebraska, although there has been no update in the last month on whether any new financial assistance will be given to residents in need.

Nevada Stimulus Checks

The Child Tax Credit sees between 3,000 and 3,600 dollars per child handed to almost all working families in Nevada. Half of the credit is going out in monthly payments, which has started going out since July and will continue until December 2021, while the remaining half will be given through 2021 tax refunds. The state of Nevada is doing very well in terms of its response from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the gaming industry in the state bringing in around a billion dollars a month, although they recognise that once stimulus checks are a thing of the past this may decrease.

New Hampshire Stimulus Checks

An American family of three with no income in New Hampshire receives a grant worth 1,086 dollars per month.

New Jersey Stimulus Checks

A fourth stimulus check is not expected in New Jersey, but residents could be entitled for 500 dollar tax rebates.

New Mexico Stimulus Checks

The state of New Mexico has set aside five million dollars for its citizens to cope with the economic pain caused by COVID-19. This will be a one-time payment which will prioritise households with the lowest incomes before a limited number of applicants are accepted based on funding availability.

New York Stimulus Checks

In New York, there is a 2.1 billion dollar fund for undocumented workers who were unable to claim financial aid via the federal stimulus. In order to qualify, you will need to be a resident of the state and have made less than 26,208 dollars in 2020.

Furthermore, the New York City Artist Corps will be supporting local artists in the form of a one-off payment set to be distributed in the month of October.

North Carolina Stimulus Checks

There is currently no information out of North Carolina regarding stimulus payments and other forms of financial aid.

North Dakota Stimulus Checks

In August 2021, the US Department of Education gave the green light to North Dakota to use its American Rescue Plan funds to support K-12 schools and students, with 101m dollars allocated to the state in this area.

Ohio Stimulus Checks

In September, the state of Ohio announced that 46m dollars would be allocated to support students in need, with grants of 250 dollars to 3,000 dollars handed out depending on each individual's need.

Oklahoma Stimulus Checks

The Oklahoma State Department of Education will allocate 13 million dollars of its COVID-19 relief money to pay student teachers.

Oregon Stimulus Checks

There have been no new updates since August on COVID-19 related relief funds for Oregon residents.

Pennsylvania Stimulus Checks

Pennsylvania is not among the states to have given extra stimulus payments or relief money to its residents.

Rhode Island Stimulus Checks

Workers in Rhode Island are hoping that Congress can deliver legislation that would provide a fourth stimulus check of 1,400 to Social Security recipients, yet despite online campaigns, it has not yet been seen.

South Carolina Stimulus Checks

South Carolina is among the slowest states in terms of COVID recovery, yet no additional relief has been announced.

South Dakota Stimulus Checks

South Dakota was the only state that chose not to receive the federally funded 300 dollar weekly unemployment benefit, in the form of the Lost Wages Assistance, which was issued for up to six weeks starting in August.

Tennessee Stimulus Checks

Checks of 1,000 dollars will be sent to teachers, labelled as hazard pay bonuses, and part-time teachers will get 500 dollars.

Texas Stimulus Checks

Nothing state-wide has been confirmed, but Fort Worth and Arlington will increase the pay of district employees by four percent. Denton and Mansfile will increase pay by two percent, while Denton employees will also be given a bonus of 500 dollars.

In Irving, a 2,000 dollar payment will be given to staff who return to classrooms in September.

Utah Stimulus Checks

In July, it was announced that Utah households received the most valuable stimulus checks in the third round of payments, with the average check worth 2,784 dollars.

Vermont Stimulus Checks

Vermont is trying to incentivise people to move to its state by offering to reimburse up to 7,500 dollars in moving expenses when relocating for a job in a selection of industries. And in February 2022, this will also apply to remote workers.

Virginia Stimulus Checks

In West Virginia, around 7,700 stimulus checks remain unclaimed and residents could receive additional payments if the state is holding onto any of that money from either stimulus checks or child tax credit money, according the US Sun. Meanwhile, the town of Boyce in Virginia is planning to provide a stimulus check for its residents by using the ARPA funds.

Washington Stimulus Checks

Despite calls for a fourth round of checks in Washington, the state has cooled talks of such a possibility.

West Virginia Stimulus Checks

In West Virginia, there are more than 7,700 unclaimed stimulus checks, Child Tax Credit and others.

The question, of course, is whether any of those stimulus checks can be recovered.

"If you haven't you need to file one, or you can go to IRS.GOV, 'Where's my Stimulus Check?', and look on there and enter your information and that may be able to help you, but filing a tax return will help and if you don't have any taxable income you can still file a tax return electronically, and that's the best way to get one soon," said John Empson, a Certified Public Accountant.

Want to know more? Find out the latest news about the West Virginia Stimulus

Wisconsin Stimulus Checks

In Wisconsin, the expanded federal child tax credit will supplement families of more than 1.15 million children which will receive the money, and it is estimated that some 46,000 families will rise above the federal poverty line as a result.

Wyoming Stimulus Checks

Wyoming discontinued its additional relief in the summer of 2021.
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

Cloudy with occasional rain in the afternoon. High 43F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers in the evening with precipitation turning to a mixture of rain and snow overnight. Low 28F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 60%.
Meadville, PA (16335)

Today

Cloudy with rain developing later in the day. High 43F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Rain showers in the evening with precipitation turning to a mixture of rain and snow overnight. Low 28F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 60%.
Shah Rukh Khan is not someone who needs a hundred stories being churned out only to call him a messiah. SRK has always kept himself connected to his roots while helping people in need and always done so silently without any PR machinery promoting such incidents. From helping the victims of the Chennai floods to sending PPE kits to the hospital staff in times of pandemic, he has never shied away from helping people. This is why the superstar is revered so much.

Director Hansal Mehta has reaffirmed Shah Rukh's knack for doing charity silently. He recently posted a long note elaborating why he loves SRK and respects him as a superstar. He also narrated an incident wherein the Khan reached out to him for helping a child.

Hansal Mehta wrote, Why @iamsrk is a superstar forever and why I love him. I've interacted with SRK thrice- once on Twitter and on another occasion briefly at a party. The third time is why for me he will always be a true star. I was seeking help for a child who was suffering from a tumour and needed urgent financial support for life-saving surgery.

 Twitter/Hansal Mehta

He recalled that he had tweeted about it at midnight and then slept as he had to go for an early morning shoot in Haryana. I was on a shoot and I had 3 missed calls from a number I did not recognize. I had a very polite area from the number asking me to call back. The message was from SRK. I called his not knowing why he wanted to speak to me. It was about the child. He said whatever they need will be taken care of. In less than a few hours the hospital was contacted funds were transferred. Somebody got a new life. Quietly, gently, without fuss, a life was saved. This happened once again a few months later. Another life was saved. Quietly and without any fuss or publicity.

He also added, A man idolized by millions and with whom I have almost zero personal or professional connect has a permanent place in my little heart because of his big heart and his humanity. A star is loved for his films, his persona, his charisma but for me, a superstar is somebody who possesses that rare compassion and unlikely humility when helping somebody in need. When I thanked him all he said was something like I have a lot and this is the least I can do. Shahrukh Khan, you are my star. Forever. Happy birthday, SRK.

Hansal was one of the very first people in the industry who came out in support of SRK when Aryan Khan was arrested in connection with the possession of drugs after a cruise raid. He had written, It is painful for a parent having to deal with a child getting into trouble. It gets compounded when people begin to arrive at judgements before the law takes its course. It is disrespectful and unfair to the parent and to the parent-child relationship. With you @iamsrk.

It's truly heartwarming to read about such incidents and to see that SRK has a true supporter in Hansal Mehta.
It really has been a testing month for Aryan Khan, the eldest son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Having spent almost a month in jail after being arrested by the NCB in the cruise chip drug bust, things had become very hard for Aryan whose bail was repeatedly denied by the court.

 Twitter

However, just before Shah Rukh's 56th birthday, the Bombay High Court announced its decision to release Aryan on bail, so that he can be reunited with his family. This was the same in the case of Aryan's best friend Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha and others, who too were released from Arthur Road jail on the condition that they had to follow certain set rules in order to stay out of prison.



Now, with Aryan back home, you'd feel things would be back to normal. Well, not really.

Seem like all is not well with Aryan and best friend Arbaaz, whose father Aslam Merchant has revealed that the two friends have not been talking to each other since being released.

 BCCL

In an interview given by Aslam, he said that the actual reason as to why the two have not kept in touch is not because there is a rift between them. It is merely because of the conditions of their bail.



According to Aslam, the duo is not allowed to communicate post their bail, and are following suit as they don't want to go back to 'hell'.

It is tough for him but Arbaaz told me he will follow the system. 'Who wants to go back to hell? I will follow the court conditions religiously. He is best friends with an Aryan and will never do anything that will get him or Aryan into any kind of trouble. So they will stay away from each other. said Aslam.

He also revealed how the whole experience gave Arbaaz a reality check.

He has learned the real facts of life and the reality he saw inside the jail, the pitiful conditions of prisoners inside the cell. He has vowed never to come across any situation that may get him into trouble with the law.
For years, the women in the industry have talked about pay disparity in Bollywood and how actresses have always been paid less for the similar amount of hard work they put in. They might not have been at par with the men in the industry when it comes to income from movies but they have managed to crack some crazy endorsement deals and have also invested in fruitful businesses.

Heres a look at the net worth of five of the richest Bollywood actresses.

1. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has made a fruitful career and has been a part of the industry for over two decades now. In total, she has a net worth of $100 Million, according to a report in Celebrity Net Worth. She has been a LOreal global brand ambassador for over a decade now which has added to her net worth, making her one of the richest Bollywood actresses despite not being very active on the acting front. She has also invested around $650,000 in a nutrition-based health care company, reports Economic Times India.

2. Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Its actually no surprise that she's made it to the list. From being an outsider to representing India globally, Priyanka Chopra Jonas has come a long way. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the actor has a reported $70 million fortune with a $10 million annual income of late. She was also recently appointed a global ambassador for Bulgari. She has invested in tech companies like Bumble and is also the owner of a new haircare brand called Anomaly besides a swanky Indian restaurant called Sona in New York.

3. Kareena Kapoor Khan

From working during her pregnancy to being one of the actors who spoke about pay disparity in Bollywood, Kareena has been a trendsetter in many ways. According to a report in IBTimes, she has an estimated net worth of $60 million. The report also suggests that she's endorsing more than 15 brands now.

4. Anushka Sharma

Anushka Sharma has made a strong statement with her successful career that outsiders too can make a mark in an industry filled with competition. According to DNA, she has an estimated net worth of $46 million. The report also said that she charges around Rs 15 crores ($2 million) per film. In 2013, Sharma co-founded Clean Slate Filmz with her brother Karnesh Ssharma.

5. Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone has also endorsed big brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, LOreal Paris, Chopard and Tissot. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Padukone has an estimated net worth of around $40 million.
Meridian, MS (39302)

Today

Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 72F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Rain. Low 49F. WSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Meridian, MS (39302)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 72F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Rain. Low 49F. WSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., speaks during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine nomination of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich., to be Secretary of Energy Jan. 27, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Arrangements are currently incomplete at Berry and Gardner Funeral Home for Mr. William "Sonny" McGruder, 71, of Enterprise, who passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, at his residence.
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In-warehouse premiums in Rotterdam and Baltimore drop slightly amid more supply and lower offers

LME stocks at 645 tonnes, the lowest since 1989, with 445 tonnes on-warrant and available to market

Cash-to-three-month backwardation trades between $1,000-2,000 per tonne in the past fortnight

Malaysian Smelting Corporation expected to lift force majeure by end of November, the company told the International Tin Association

Tin premiums in the United States declined on slightly more supply; some sellers lowered offers to exit punishing positions in a backwardation.However, the market remains tight, and with LME prices near historic highs and traders' costs rising, sources said there will be little decline in premiums.Fastmarkets assessed the tin 99.85% ingot premium, in-whs Baltimore at $2,300-3,450 per tonne on Tuesday November 2, down from $2,500-3,800 per tonne on October 19.

The US...
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus M.Barysevich receives the Ambassador of Syria

On November 3, 2021, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Mikalai Barysevich received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Republic of Belarus Mohammad Aloumrani.

During the meeting topical areas of Belarusian-Syrian cooperation in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian fields were discussed.

A particular attention was paid to the exchange of visits, preparation of the 8th meeting of the Joint Belarusian-Syrian Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation, further mutual support in the international arena.

The Syrian Ambassador expressed gratitude for the humanitarian aid provided by the Republic of Belarus to the Syrian people.

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There has been a rise in sightings of all-black American flags in Florida and across the country. While not only sinister in appearance, the meaning is even more so: no quarter. Their sharp spike began with a tweet about a police officer in Illinois who hung this flag outside his house and
Miami, FL (33127)

Today

Overcast with showers at times. Low near 75F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Overcast with showers at times. Low near 75F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Wayne County Attorney Pleads Guilty to Embezzling from Client's Trust

Wayne County Attorney Pleads Guilty to Embezzling from Client's Trust

Attorney General

Media contact: Lynsey Mukomel 517-599-2746

Public inquiries: 517-335-7622

November 3, 2021

LANSING - A Detroit-area attorney charged with embezzlement for allegedly stealing funds intended for the Michigan Humane Society from the trust of his deceased client pleaded guilty, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced today.

Anthony Semaan, 64, of Grosse Pointe Park, was charged in April.

Semaan drafted the victim's trust in 2011 and the individual later passed away in 2013. Fifty percent of the victim's trust was allocated to the Michigan Humane Society and because those assets were intended for a charity, charitable trust provisions required that the Attorney General's office be involved.

In 2016, after all expenses were paid, Semaan was tasked with distributing the funds according to what was specified in the trust. He placed a total of $262,732.68 into his lawyer's trust/escrow account, distributed two payments to individuals named in the trust, but did not provide the Michigan Humane Society with a notice of their interest in the trust or with the 50% disbursement.

Tuesday afternoon before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Noah Hood, Semaan pleaded guilty as charged to embezzlement $50,000 to $100,000, a 15-year felony. His conviction will be reported to the State Bar of Michigan.

"Older individuals who use professionals for estate planning should be able to rely on those professionals to follow the law and make sure the money is distributed in accordance's with their wishes. When those professionals misappropriate those funds, my department stands ready to hold them accountable," Nessel said.

Semaan's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 9.
Numerous resources available to residents during Thursday's City of Benton Harbor Water Resource Fair

Free bottled water distribution continues, over 124,000 cases provided to date

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 3, 2021

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. - City of Benton Harbor residents will have access to information and resources on a variety of topics during the City of Benton Harbor Water Resource Fair on Thursday, Nov. 4, from 4 to 7 p.m.

Attendees can get assistance with health services and Medicaid; apply for food assistance and the Women, Infants and Children program; obtain additional information on drinking water testing and how to obtain ready-to-feed formula for infants; get help signing up for home lead abatement services; and learn about mental health resources (available in both English and Spanish), nutrition options and how to become a paid community ambassador.

The resource fair is being hosted for City of Benton Harbor residents to learn about the health impacts of lead and resources available to help reduce or eliminate lead from their homes. The event is a collaborative effort that will include information and representatives from local community organizations, the City of Benton Harbor, Berrien County Health Department, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, MDHHS and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

It is being held at the Benton Harbor Housing Commission/Virginia Edwards Community Center, 721 Nate Wells Drive in Benton Harbor. Attendees are asked to wear masks and masks will be available at the event.

Distribution of free bottled water continues with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and volunteers providing 124,263 cases at community distribution sites and through deliveries to residents who are homebound or lack access to transportation.

Free bottled water is being provided by the state as residents are being encouraged to use bottled water for cooking, drinking, brushing teeth, rinsing foods and mixing powdered infant formula. This action is part of an accelerated, across-the-board effort to reduce the risk of exposure to lead in drinking water while the city replaces all lead service lines.

To arrange water delivery to homebound or residents without transportation in the city of Benton Harbor, contact 211, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The upcoming schedule for bottled water pickup is:

Thursday, Nov. 4

Ebenezer Baptist Church, 214 E. Britain Avenue, 10 a.m. - noon.

CORRECTED TIME - Southwest Community Action Agency, 331 Miller Street, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Self-service)

Brotherhood of All Nations, 1286 Monroe Street, 4 - 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 5

Southwest Community Action Agency, 331 Miller Street, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Self-service)

Saturday, Nov. 6

Boys & Girls Club of Benton Harbor, 600 Nate Wells Sr. Drive, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Harbor of Hope Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 769 Pipestone Street, 4 - 6 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 7

Abundant Life Church of God, 693 Columbus Avenue, 3 - 5 p.m.

Brotherhood of All Nations, 1286 Monroe Street, 4 - 6 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 8

Southwest Community Action Agency, 331 Miller Street, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Self-service)

Abundant Life Church of God, 693 Columbus Avenue, noon - 2 p.m.

The ongoing response in Benton Harbor includes the city, Berrien County Health Department, local community organizations, MDHHS and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Additional dates and locations for bottled water pick up will be added to make sure community needs are met. Information will be posted on Michigan.gov/MiLeadSafe.

To ensure the continued success of bottled water distribution locations in Benton Harbor and to recognize the city residents who have been stepping up to donate their time and talent, the State of Michigan has partnered with local agencies and will begin paying city residents who work at state-supported bottled water distribution sites. Individuals who want to serve as community ambassadors to help distribute water should connect with an established distribution site. Individuals or groups who want to serve as unpaid volunteers can sign up on the United Way's online platform.

MDHHS is engaging in a long-term effort to eliminate lead action level exceedances, educate communities on the effects of lead in drinking water, and remove lead service lines. These efforts also include recently approved funds to remove lead from homes in the city. Families living in Benton Harbor can apply for this service by filling out and mailing in an application that is available online. Residents also can call 866-691-5323 to obtain information.

For questions about lead, MDHHS can be reached at 866-691-5323 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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Note to media: Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad is attending the City of Benton Harbor Water Resource Fair at 4 p.m. and will be available for interviews at that time.

City of Benton Harbor Water Resource Fair flyer

City of Benton Harbor Water Resource Fair flyer Spanish

Mental Health Resources

Mental Health Resources Spanish
$2.5M MI Tri-Share Child Care Investment Brings Expansion Opportunities

$2.5M MI Tri-Share Child Care Investment Brings Expansion Opportunities

Applications sought for four new regional facilitator hubs, continued investment coming to initial pilot regions

November 3, 2021

Media Contact: Erica Quealy, 517-582-2961

As part of the state's efforts to increase access to high quality, affordable child care for working families, while also helping to retain talent and remove a major barrier to employment, the Michigan Women's Commission (MWC) is accepting proposals to lead regional program management of the MI Tri-Share Child Care (Tri-Share) pilot program expansion thanks to a $2.5M investment included in the FY 22 budget.

Through Tri-Share, the cost of child care is shared equally by an eligible employee, their employer and the State of Michigan, with coordination being provided regionally by a facilitator hub.

"Every family in Michigan deserves access to quality, affordable childcare that meets their needs," said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. "As we emerge from the pandemic and usher in a new era of prosperity for our families, communities and small businesses, we have to understand just how essential childcare is for the economy as a whole. I'm proud of the investments that we have made and continue to make to expand access to childcare so more families can benefit."

The legislature included $2.5M in the FY 22 budget to expand the Tri-Share pilot program following Gov. Whitmer's recommendation. Current pilot regions will receive additional funds to expand their work through Sept. 30, 2022, and a new Request for Proposals (RFP) seeks applications to serve as new regional facilitator hubs for four new pilot regions.

"The staggering cost of child care is one of the biggest economic burdens facing Michigan families," said LEO Director Susan Corbin. "By continuing to invest in child care, we are not only removing barriers for families, we're also investing in the future of our state. We must prioritize this issue today to ensure the flourishing of the next generation while meeting the needs of working parents and the businesses that seek to employ them."

Employees eligible to participate in the Tri-Share pilot must be employed by a participating employer, have an income above 185% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) and below 285% FPL, and not otherwise be eligible for the Child Development and Care Program (commonly called the state child care subsidy). The role of the facilitator hub is to act as a regional intermediary between employers, families, child care providers and the State of Michigan, and to provide overall program management.

"We know that child care is a big issue in getting women back into - and remaining in - the workforce. The pandemic really shines a light on the impacts child care costs have on both employees and employers," said Cheryl Bergman, MWC CEO. "The continued funding for and bipartisan approach to the Tri-Share cost-sharing program has the potential to expand the program to more regions and to help more working families. We look forward to continuing to educate policymakers about the positive impact access to high quality, affordable child care has for both employees and employers."

A coalition of business and advocacy leaders, led by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and Representative Greg VanWoerkom (R-MI-91), championed funding for the pilot program. "The Tri-Share program is having a meaningful impact on working families," said Rep. VanWoerkom. "I am excited to see more communities, employers and families engage in this program to see how we can continue to create affordable and accessible child care."

"We continue to hear from our members that child care is key in helping families and businesses thrive," said Rick Baker, CEO of the Grand Rapids Chamber. "We continue to support the expansion of Tri-Share and additional investments in child care throughout Michigan."

Last month, Gov. Whitmer signed the state budget for Fiscal Year 2022, which included a historic investment in child care, allocating $1.4 billion of federal COVID funds to help support childcare providers, reduce costs and expand subsidies to another 105,000 Michigan families. The result is that not only will thousands of parents be able to re-enter the workforce after the disruptions of COVID, but the State is laying the foundation for a more equitable and sustainable long-term base of support for early childhood in Michigan.

The MWC is accepting proposals to lead regional program management of the Tri-Share pilot expansion until 12:00PM (Noon) on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. This RFP seeks applications to serve as new regional facilitator hubs.

Download the full RFP, program description and proposal template.
MIOSHA grants award to Humanetics for exemplary safety and health commitment to employees

MIOSHA grants award to Humanetics for exemplary safety and health commitment to employees

November 3, 2021

Media Contact: Tanya Baker, 517-284-5601

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) today presented its Consultation, Education and Training (CET) Silver Award for maintaining an exemplary safety and health record with no lost time accidents, while demonstrating a strong commitment to a culture of safety over the past year to The Humanetics Group facility in Farmington Hills, MI. Humanetics is best known around the world as the pioneer of the iconic crash test dummies.

"MIOSHA is thrilled to recognize Humanetics' Farmington Hills facility for their exceptional safety and health performance," said MIOSHA Director Bart Pickelman. "This award honors their well-developed safety and health system and dedication to protecting all employees."

The MIOSHA CET Division recognizes the safety and health achievements of Michigan employers and employees through CET Awards, which are based on excellent safety and health performance. The CET Silver Award recognizes an outstanding safety record of one year without a lost time accident.

"Our mission is to save lives and protect people in critical environments, so the safety and wellbeing of our employees in in our own facilities has always been a cornerstone of our operations," said President and CEO of Humanetics, Christopher O'Connor. "To have been without an incident for over 500 days is a great credit to our employees. We are delighted to accept the award and are very proud of the commitment and focus of our employees that has been recognized by MIOSHA. This is an award for their hard work. Next year we look forward to our opportunity to earn a gold award!"

The CET Silver Award criteria includes:

Developing and implementing a comprehensive Safety and Health Management System (SHMS) - MIOSHA staff consult with silver awardees and evaluate their SHMS to ensure that key elements are implemented;

Establishing a safety and health committee, with both employee and management participation;

Developing an employee training system, with an emphasis on how to do the work in a safe and healthful manner; and

Working diligently to change the workplace culture to reflect the importance of worker safety.

MIOSHA Senior Industrial Hygienist Kristin Osterkamp worked closely with Humanetics for the past three years, providing consultations, conducting exposure monitoring and hazard surveys at the facility, and giving the employer the opportunity to work collaboratively with MIOSHA to correct problem areas. Humanetics has utilized both MIOSHA CET safety and health consultation services at their Farmington Hills location since 2018.

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About The Humanetics Group

The Humanetics Group is a leading provider of crash test systems, computer-aided engineering simulation models, precision sensors and cutting-edge photonic solutions through its subsidiaries Humanetics, HITEC Sensors, Fibercore and OpTek Systems. The group has over 850 employees across 24 facilities strategically located around the world with the global corporate headquarters located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA. Although each company operates as a separate entity, they leverage synergies in their relationships, engineering capabilities, research and business systems to support the group as a whole. The Humanetics Group drives the innovations that protect human potential.
Gov. Whitmer, AG Nessel Announce Jobs Court Proposal

Gov. Whitmer, AG Nessel Announce Jobs Court Proposal

Attorney General

Media contact: Lynsey Mukomel 517-599-2746

Public inquiries: 517-335-7622

November 3, 2021

DETROIT - After months of discussions and planning, today Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a new proposal to put Michiganders accused of low-level, nonviolent offenses in good-paying jobs to reduce recidivism and help businesses staff up: Jobs Court. The proposal was unveiled this afternoon at Goodwill Flip the Script North End Career Center alongside Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II and other community stakeholders.

The new proposal, part of the larger MI Safe Communities framework the governor laid out in August, would make a $5.5 million investment to establish Jobs Court, a pilot program to give up to 450 eligible defendants in Wayne, Genesee and Marquette Counties accused of low-level, nonviolent crimes an opportunity to obtain and maintain gainful employment. Eligible Jobs Court participants would be matched with employers to work a good paying job with benefits, opportunity, and training to learn transferable career skills.

"Jobs Court is an innovative program that checks all of the boxes: it's smart on crime, reduces the burden on our criminal justice system, puts offenders on a permanent path to success, helps our local businesses, and makes our communities safer," AG Nessel said. "I am grateful to Governor Whitmer for including my proposal as part of her MI Safe Communities framework and I look forward to working with the Legislature and our local law enforcement partners on this groundbreaking new initiative."

"Today's announcement is an important step forward in our efforts to reform Michigan's criminal justice system," Lt. Gov. Gilchrist said. "Jobs are the key to success, and Jobs Court will support eligible Michiganders by connecting them with good-paying jobs, benefits, and the social services assistance they need to support themselves and their families. With today's proposal we are addressing a root cause of public safety issues while also providing life-changing paths to employment in the state."

"The Jobs Court proposal we unveiled today will make a crucial difference for Michiganders, their families, and communities," Gov. Whitmer said. "Jobs Court will help address the backlog in our court system, fill job openings across the state, grow our economy, and connect those in need with critical resources. I'm thankful for the hard work of Attorney General Nessel in putting this proposal together and look forward to working with the legislature to get it done."

Jobs Court participants would also be able to use wraparound social services, such as mental healthcare, transportation to and from work, and access to a social worker. Participants would be monitored for one year and be required to maintain frequent and open lines of communication with the employer and wraparound services from the state of Michigan to ensure accountability and compliance with the requirements of the program. Prosecutors would have the option to dismiss charges against Jobs Court participants who successfully complete the program, which will be dependent on legislative action to launch.

"I know Jobs Court is a winning idea because the proposal builds on the super successful model of Michigan's 200 problem-solving courts," Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Clement said. "When Jobs Court becomes a reality, Michigan will take another big step forward in helping courts become community resources and places of healing and transformation for our neighbors in need. I am honored and thankful to the Attorney General for the opportunity to work on this project and look forward to visiting Jobs Court and congratulating the first graduates."

"Jobs can be the answer to many of society's ills. Jobs create opportunity. Jobs create hope. Jobs create growth. Jobs create stability. A common dominator to success, even in the criminal justice system is a good job," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "For certain lower-level crimes, instead of jail or prison, you get a job. In Wayne County this will be a 200-defendant pilot. Stay in the job for a year, or whatever period of time that a judge proscribes, and my office will dismiss your case. This is yet another first-of-its-kind and innovative project where I am honored to be working with Attorney General Nessel. I thank Governor Whitmer for striving to fund this, as well as our job providers for their interest in this inaugural project."

"This program is exactly what is needed to break the cycle of challenges individuals transitioning out of custody face when they're trying to move forward," Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington said. "Too often individuals have overlapping difficulties dealing with a variety of issues and if they do wind up in the legal system it often fuels more problems coping with life. I applaud this effort to eliminate those hurdles because the goal is to reduce interactions with the courts and get these men and women--who want to be employed--successfully entrenched in the marketplace."

"As the Sheriff of Genesee County, I'm witnessing the combined effort of Governor Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel blazing more trails. This trail leads to the restoration of real people," Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson said.

"Any time we can steer a bad situation toward a positive outcome that will help an individual get on the right track in life and be a productive member of our community, I am all for it," Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said.

"Giving people an opportunity to be productive allows them to prove that they deserve a second chance," Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese said. "This innovative program will ultimately reduce crime, save money for the criminal justice system, and most importantly, the person charged with a crime will end up with a good paying job to support them self and their family rather than a criminal conviction. I am happy that Governor Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel recognize the value that this type of program can bring to the people of Marquette County and the Upper Peninsula."
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announces non-binary option for driver's licenses and state identification cards

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announces non-binary option for driver's licenses and state identification cards

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson today announced that, effective Nov. 10, Michigan residents will be able to select a non-binary option - marked with an "X" - as the sex on their driver's licenses and state identification cards.

"I am proud to support Michiganders across the state who for many years have called on the Department of State to provide a non-binary sex marker on their ID that matches their lived reality," said Benson. "We have been working toward this goal since 2019, when we first removed the barriers for residents to change their sex marker in order to help protect their safety and accurately reflect their identity."

In 2019, Benson reinstituted a previously long-standing department policy that enabled residents to change their sex marker without providing documentation from a medical practitioner or obtaining a court order. At the time, the department's technology was not capable of providing a third, non-binary option, but the department worked toward overhauling the core technology behind its driver's licenses and IDs, which it finished in March of 2021. The new system expanded the number of online transactions available to residents and also made the non-binary option feasible with additional programming, which is now nearly complete.

Residents who wish to change their sex-marker to "X" will be able to do so by visiting any Secretary of State office, starting on Nov. 10, 2021. They are encouraged to schedule a visit for a license or ID correction by visiting Michigan.gov/SOS or calling 888-SOS-MICH.

Benson made the announcement shortly after the United States Department of State announced that it is working to enable Americans across the country to select a non-binary sex marker on their U.S. passports. Currently, 20 other states and the District of Columbia already allow their residents to do so on their state licenses and IDs.

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For media questions, contact

Tracy Wimmer at 517-281-1876.

We welcome questions and comments at the Contact the Secretary of State page.

Customers may call the Department of State Information Center to

speak to a customer-service representative at 888-SOS-MICH (767-6424).
Gov. Whitmer Announces 'Jobs Court' Pilot Program to Keep Communities Safe by Putting Michiganders to Work

Gov. Whitmer Announces 'Jobs Court' Pilot Program to Keep Communities Safe by Putting Michiganders to Work

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 3, 2021

Contact: Press@Michigan.gov

Gov. Whitmer Announces 'Jobs Court' Pilot Program to Keep Communities Safe by Putting Michiganders to Work

Part of Administration's $75 million MI Safe Communities Framework to reduce crime and protect public safety

LANSING, Mich. -- Today, as part of Governor Whitmer's MI Safe Communities Plan, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II joined Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, Detroit Manufacturing Systems, Goodwill Industries, the United Auto Workers, other businesses across state, and representatives from the law enforcement and criminal justice communities to announce a new proposal called Jobs Court, which would put Michiganders accused of low-level, nonviolent offenses in good-paying jobs to reduce recidivism and help businesses staff up.

"The Jobs Court proposal we unveiled today will make a crucial difference for Michiganders, their families, and communities," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "Jobs Court will help address the backlog in our court system, fill job openings across the state, grow our economy, and connect those in need with critical resources. I'm thankful for the hard work of Attorney General Nessel in putting this proposal together and look forward to working with the legislature to get it done."

The new proposal, part of the larger MI Safe Communities framework the governor laid out in August, would make a $5.5 million investment to establish Jobs Court, a pilot program to give up to 450 eligible defendants in Wayne, Genesee and Marquette counties accused of low-level, nonviolent crimes an opportunity to obtain and maintain gainful employment.

"Today's announcement is an important step forward in our efforts to reform Michigan's criminal justice system so that it is focused on rehabilitation and positioning people for success," said Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. "Jobs are the key to success, and Jobs Court will support eligible Michiganders by connecting them with good-paying jobs, benefits, and the social services assistance they need to support themselves and their families. With today's proposal we are addressing a root cause of public safety issues by connecting eligible offenders with the support they need to find and maintain employment."

"Jobs Court is an innovative program that checks all of the boxes: it's smart on crime, reduces the burden on our criminal justice system, puts offenders on a permanent path to success, helps our local businesses, and makes our communities safer," said Attorney General Dana Nessel. "I am grateful to Governor Whitmer for including my proposal as part of her MI Safe Communities framework and I look forward to working with the Legislature and our local law enforcement partners on this groundbreaking new initiative."

Individuals who qualify and are selected for Jobs Court would be matched with participating employers to work a good-paying job with benefits, opportunity, and training to learn transferable career skills. They will be required to maintain frequent and open communication with their employer and with the State of Michigan to ensure accountability and compliance with the requirements of the program and will be eligible for wraparound services such as mental healthcare, transportation to and from work, and access to a social worker. Prosecutors will be offered the option to dismiss charges against Jobs Court participants who successfully complete the one-year program.

"Survey after survey tell us that the public wants courts that are engaged with local communities and connected with the people they serve," said Chief Justice Bridget M. McCormack. "Jobs Court provides exactly what the public is asking for - courts that are community resources, helping to connect people with jobs and the support they need to get their lives back on track. This is not a free ride but a common sense approach that solves problems and strengthens communities."

The Jobs Court proposal is modeled in part on the successful programs the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) has launched to provide prisoners with education, skills, and job training in high-demand fields. Since 2016, MDOC programs such as Vocational Village have delivered training in automotive technology, welding, robotics, computer coding, commercial truck driving, forklift operation, carpentry, plumbing, electrical trades, and concrete and masonry work. MDOC's work in this field has resulted in higher employment rates for released prisoners and Michigan's lowest recidivism rate in state history.

"What an amazing opportunity! A good-paying job with benefits is everything," said N. Charles Anderson, President/CEO of the Urban League of Detroit & Southeastern Michigan. "This Jobs Court prosecutorial diversion program will help Michiganders who have committed nonviolent offenses earn a good wage with benefits, learn new employable skills, and get back on their feet, setting them up for success, period. This is a bold initiative that targets criminal justice issues at their roots. We're very appreciative for the partnership of Attorney General Nessel and Governor Whitmer in proposing this crucial, much needed reform to our criminal justice system."

"Today's announcement is a welcome step forward for Michiganders," said Dan Varner, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit. "Not only will this proposal help clear up the court backlog and help employers fill job openings, it will mean a path forward for Michiganders who have made mistakes. It's a step towards a healthier, better justice system focused on reducing recidivism. We're thankful for the partnership of Governor Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel in making this proposal."

"Governor Whitmer's Jobs Court proposal will make a difference on the ground for both business owners and Michiganders," said George Wilkinson, President of NorthGate. "By giving Michiganders who have committed low-level, nonviolent offenses a second chance, and helping business owners fill job openings, this groundbreaking program will be beneficial for everyone. NorthGate appreciates the vision and focus of this program and we look forward to continuing to work with legislative representatives to get this program enacted."

"At DMS, we are passionate about helping others reach their full potential to succeed in life," said Bruce Smith, Majority Owner, Chairman & CEO of Detroit Manufacturing Systems (DMS). "Having the opportunity to partner with the MI Jobs Court to provide program participants with an opportunity to obtain gainful employment is exciting because we enjoy helping people grow, rise and give back. Accordingly, we are grateful to be a part of the Governor and Attorney General's MI Jobs Court program."

"Providing people with another chance in life and an opportunity to contribute to society is good for businesses and communities throughout Michigan," said Glenn Stevens, Executive Director of MICHauto and Vice President of Automotive and Mobility Initiatives Detroit Regional Chamber. "MICHauto is proud to support the Jobs Court initiative and applauds Gov. Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel for their leadership in developing the program. Companies throughout our state need talent, and this pilot program has the potential to change the trajectory of people's lives, and help grow Michigan's economy and labor force."

"The Michigan Jobs Court Pilot Program represents a tremendous opportunity to curb recidivism and help fill the gap in Michigan's skilled-trades workforce," said Tom Lutz, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights. "We know the transformative power of giving someone the skills and the opportunity to work for a better life, and we are proud to give this program our full support."

MI Safe Communities

The $75 million MI Safe Communities proposal was the result of hundreds of conversations the governor and her team had with law enforcement officers, community leaders, faith leaders, and families over several months. Based on those conversations, the governor announced the three-pillar MI Safe Communities framework in July.

MI Safe Communities would:

Invest more money into Michigan's police departments to strengthen training policies and programs and foster collaboration between the Michigan State Police and local departments on specialty services.

Increase the number of visiting judges with funding for prosecution and defense to tackle the backlog of criminal cases that has piled up during the pandemic, to protect the rights of defendants and help the justice system operate more efficiently while maintaining public safety.

Make comprehensive investments to expand opportunity through Michigan's education, jobs, and justice system including Collaborative Community Violence Intervention Programs, counseling, peer support, mediation, and social services to hospital patients recovering from violent injuries and prevent further violence and injuries.

The administration will make additional announcements on MI Safe Communities in early November.

Funding Law Enforcement

Since taking office, Governor Whitmer has signed budget bills delivering $1.4 billion to local governments to help them fund local police, fire departments, and emergency medical services. She has also delivered $40 million in COVID hazard pay for local officers and first-responders and over $10 million premium pay for MSP troopers. These dollars help ensure police are better equipped to fight crime today and have the resources to fight crime tomorrow.

Budget

Earlier this month, the governor signed the Fiscal Year 2022 budget bill that delivers more resources to state police to help them hire more troopers and expand and improve training. The latest budget also invests in 911 system upgrades and delivers on the kitchen-table fundamental issues that make our communities stronger: putting 167,000 Michiganders on a tuition-free path to higher-education or skills training, expanding low or no-cost childcare to 105,000 kids, repairing or replacing 100 bridges while creating 2,500 jobs, and more.

Earlier this year, Governor Whitmer and legislature worked together to put Michigan students first and passed the largest significant education investment in state history, closing the funding gap between schools in Michigan and including a historic amount of resources for schools to hire more nurses, counselors, and social workers. Early investments in mental and social health help reduce crime in the long run.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Two men died when one of them jumped or fell from the seventh floor of a culture center in Sweden and landed on the other, police said.

The 80-year-old man who crashed into the lobby of the Uppsala Konsert and Kongress venue Tuesday night died at the scene north of Stockholm, and the 60-year-old man he struck died later, police said.

A woman who was with the 60-year-old man was hurt but her injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said.

A tribute concert to the two male members of ABBA, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, had been scheduled at the culture center on Tuesday night, but the event was canceled, according to Swedish media.

The culture center in the city of Uppsala hosts concerts and other meetings in an eight-story building with a mirrored facade and angled metal sheets reminiscent of crystal. The venue's website said it would be closed from Wednesday until Friday because of the deaths.

"We are all shocked by the tragic accident and our thoughts go to the deceased, their relatives and their families," a message on the website said.

Police said they have no reason to suspect foul plan in the 80-year-old's descent from the 7th floor.

The organizers of an upcoming ABBA concert tweeted Wednesday that they were holding off on releasing a promotional trailer for the show until Thursday in light of the tragic news at the tribute concert in Sweden last night.

In September, the Swedish quartet known for hits like Dancing Queen, Waterloo and Fernando" said they would be putting out their first new music in four decades and performing a virtual concert.

The forthcoming album Voyage, to be released Nov. 5, is a follow-up to 1981s The Visitors, which until now had been the group's swan song. The virtual version of the band will begin a series of concerts in London on May 27.

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This version has been corrected to show that concert organizers, not the band, tweeted about holding off on a promotional trailer.
PRAGUE (AP)  A cable car crashed in the northern Czech Republic, killing one person Sunday, officials said.

One of the two cabins of the cable car crashed to the ground in the afternoon. The only person onboard, a staff member, was killed, said Martin Puta, the head of the regional government. Puta said he hoped the cause will be investigated soon.

Rescuers said none of the 15 people from the second cabin were injured.

It was the first such accident involving the Czech Republic's oldest cable car, which dates to 1933.

Operated by the Czech Railways, it leads almost to the top of Jested Mountain, near the city of Liberec.

The crash took place the day before the cable car was scheduled to undergo a planned two-week maintenance.
MIAMI (AP)  Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who elevated his national profile over the past year with a push to transform the city into a tech hub, declared a reelection victory Tuesday after amassing a huge lead over challengers who were not well known.

Suarez, a 44-year-old real estate attorney, built a big lead in the vote count with 79% of the vote and about 85% of precincts reporting, according to the Miami-Dade County supervisor of elections. His nearest challenger, Max Martinez, drew 11% of the votes.

Today we embark on a new chapter  a journey together to finish what we started, to create the most fair and successful city in our country, to create a model that can be scaled into an agenda for America, Suarez said in a speech.

The first-term Cuban American politician has been profiled by national magazines, and he raised more than $5 million for the race, far more than he spent on the contest. Suarez, whose father was the citys first Cuban-born mayor, told the AP he was hoping to replicate the results from 2017, when he won with 86% of the vote.

The Miami mayoral race is nonpartisan, but Suarez is a Republican. He has been critical of former President Donald Trump and has pushed back against the pandemic policies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, including his decision to prevent local communities from instituting mask mandates.

Next year, Suarez is set to become the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, gaining a bigger platform for people to meet him in other cities and states. He has not ruled out White House aspirations, saying the pandemic and social media have made national mayors stand out more.

Suarez enjoys the name recognition he gets from leading the city of Miami, with a population of 450,000 and a $1.3 billion budget. For comparison, Miami-Dade County, which covers Miami and 33 other municipalities such as Miami Beach, Key Biscayne and Homestead at the edge of the Everglades, has 2.7 million people and a $9 billion budget.

In the past 10 months, Suarez has met with Big Tech players and investors such as PayPal founder Peter Thiel, who bought a house in Miami Beach. Some analysts say Suarez was smart to seize the moment when tech investors were already looking at Florida for tax reasons and its lack of COVID-19 restrictions.

Miami also hosted a Bitcoin conference earlier this year, and started accepting funds generated through a cryptocurrency, named MiamiCoin. Earlier on Tuesday, Suarez said he would take his next paycheck in Bitcoin.

Its not yet clear how the push has led to migration and job creation patterns as census numbers do not yet include data for 2021.

Raul Marrero, a maintenance worker, went to a polling station Tuesday to vote for the mayor for the second time, after supporting him in 2017.

I like the ideas and innovation that he is bringing to Miami, Marrero said. He is trying to make this into Silicon Valley. And I say, Why not?
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP)  Bumping their elbows in greeting, European lawmakers met with Taiwan's premier on Wednesday in the first official visit of a European Parliament delegation to the self-ruled island, which is also claimed by China.

Seven members of the European Parliament committee on foreign interference in democratic processes are visiting Taiwan, after the parliament passed a resolution last month calling for the body to intensify EU-Taiwan political relations."

Although we are geographically very far away, between our two sides, we share the same values, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law. ... In those regards, we are actually very close, Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang said.

The European delegation will also meet President Tsai Ing-wen and Digital Minister Audrey Tang, and visit Taiwanese think tanks, NGOs and others working on countering disinformation.

The visit comes amid growing support for the democratic island, which China claims as part of its territory to be annexed by force if necessary, and rising negative perceptions toward Beijing in Western countries.

The flourishing of your democracy is formidable and this is why we are so happy to be here, said Raphael Glucksmann, the chair of the foreign interference committee. You have shown that in this region democracy can flourish and that authoritarian regimes are not the future."

Lithuania, an EU member, accepted Taiwan's request in July to open a representative office in its capital city that will act as a de facto embassy. It has also donated hundreds of thousands of vaccines to the island this year, provoking China's displeasure. In August, China withdrew its ambassador to Lithuania in protest and expelled Lithuania's ambassador from Beijing.

In October, the EU Parliament voted to pass a resolution on Taiwan issues, noting tensions in the South China Sea.

The non-binding resolution, which passed with 580-26 votes and 66 abstentions, calls on the EU to immediately begin taking steps to establish a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan. It also proposes the politically symbolic gesture of changing the name of the representative office in Taiwan from the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan to the European Union Office in Taiwan.

The report also calls on China to put an immediate end to its "ongoing intrusions into Taiwans air defense identification zone, saying that the EU greatly values security in the Taiwan Strait.

China has sent an increasing amount of fighter jets toward the island in a prolonged campaign of military harassment since at least last year, when Taiwan began publicly releasing the data. China has said it sends the planes as a warning to Taiwan separatists and to safeguard its sovereignty.

The report also echoed the U.S. stance, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently called for other members of the United Nations to back Taiwan's independent participation in international groups.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu visited the Czech Republic and Slovakia last week on a tour to step up cooperation with the two countries.

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This story was first published on November 3, 2021. It was updated on November 6, 2021 to correct the number of parliamentarians in the delegation. There were seven, not 13.
BAMAKO, Mali (AP)  Malian authorities said Wednesday they are searching for a French woman who spent four years as an al-Qaida hostage and who now has returned to the West African country despite being denied a visa.

Sophie Petronin, 76, spent years working in Mali before her 2016 abduction and apparently crossed a land border back into the country in March, about five months after she was freed.

French media reported that she had returned to reunite with her adopted daughter after difficulties adjusting to life back in Europe. French and Malian authorities both expressed dismay about her decision to return, fearing for her safety.

An Oct. 29 message distributed to Malian police that was obtained by The Associated Press indicated that Petronin was headed toward the town of Sikasso. Authorities called for her to be brought back to Bamako if located.

Sophie (Petronin) is wanted by the gendarmerie. And as it is an investigation, I do not want to talk about the reason for this search, but the judicial authorities have many questions to ask her, said Amadou Sangho at the Ministry of Internal Security.

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal also expressed alarm about Petronin's return to Mali, where foreigners remain at risk of being abducted.

We deplore the return of Sophie Petronin to Mali. Its a form of irresponsibility toward her own security and that of security of our troops.

When we have citizens who are taken hostage, it is our troops who save them, at a risk to their own lives," he added. "There were soldiers who were killed in operations to save hostages imprisoned in foreign countries. You have to have respect for our soldiers.

In an interview with the French news outlet Mediapart, Petronin said she has been in Mali since March, having crossed the land border with Senegal after the Malian Embassy in Switzerland refused to issue her a visa.

After her release, Petronin said she had converted to Islam while in captivity and called her detention a spiritual retreat. She asked to be called by the name Mariam, not Sophie.

French journalist Anthony Fouchard, who stayed with her after her release, told French broadcaster France Info that Petronin had longed to return to West Africa and had been living a rather peaceful retirement in Bamako until last week.

Her life for the last 25 years has been devoted to Mali, he told France Info. She has her adopted daughter who is still there and she wanted to find her and I think that this can be understood by the majority of people.

Petronin had lost a son years ago in a mountain accident and then vowed never to return to Europe, Fouchard said. The adjustment after being repatriated following many years in Mali was a difficult one for her, he added.

She is ending her life where she always wanted to end it, he said.

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Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed.
LANSING, Mich. (AP)  The primary funder of a ballot drive to toughen Michigan's voter identification law and restrict mass mailings of unsolicited absentee ballot applications is Ron Weiser, chairman of the state Republican Party.

Secure MI Vote filed a statement Tuesday showing that Weiser donated $80,000 out of roughly $85,000 the committee raised between Sept. 30 and Oct. 26.

The group needs about 340,000 valid voter signatures for the initiative, which the GOP-controlled Legislature would likely pass into law rather than let it go to the November 2022 ballot. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed similar legislation last week but could not veto the new measure.

Ballot committees typically need millions of dollars to pay people to circulate petitions, so Secure MI Vote's fundraising is expected to continue.

An opposition group has raised $2.5 million from a liberal nonprofit and is encouraging voters to decline to sign the petition.

The proposal would require that absentee voters provide a copy of their photo ID with the application or include their drivers license number, state ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. The ability for in-person voters without an ID to sign an affidavit and cast a regular ballot would be eliminated.

Instead, they  and absentee voters who fail to attach ID information to their application  could cast a provisional ballot and have to verify their identity within six days of the election for it to count.

The initiated legislation also would require the last four digits of a Social Security number to register to vote. The secretary of state and local clerks would be prohibited from sending absentee applications to people who did not request them, a strategy they used to promote mail voting during the coronavirus pandemic.

Supporters say the initiative proposes commonsense changes to make elections more secure, though election fraud is extremely rare. Opponents say it would erect unnecessary barriers to voting and disenfranchise some people.

The measure also would specify minimum times that clerks must accept absentee ballots for in-person or drop-box delivery, prohibit the use of private donations to administer elections and create a fund to waive ID fees for low-income people.

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Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00
Republican Glenn Youngkin mobilized voters concerned about education and race, while making small gains with suburban voters and other key groups to help his party rebound from Donald Trumps poor showing in Virginia last year and win the governors race.

The former private equity executives victory came even as Trump remains broadly unpopular in the commonwealth.

Youngkin managed to keep Trump at arms length without angering Trumps base. A year after Democrat Joe Biden dispatched Trump in Virginia by 10 percentage points, it was Youngkins supporters, not Democrat Terry McAuliffes, who were more fired up  74% of them said they were extremely interested in the election, compared with 63% who voted for McAuliffe. Thats according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters.

Both Democrats and Republicans pulled together familiar coalitions. Men, rural and small town voters and white evangelicals were squarely in Youngkins corner, while McAuliffe was the choice for Black voters, moderates, and voters under 45. Women were only slightly more likely to back the Democrat than the Republican, 53% to 46%.

But small shifts added up to make a difference. In 2020, voters ages 45 and older split about evenly between Biden and Trump. This year they were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe, 55% to 45%.

Youngkin also performed better with suburban voters, a group that helped Democrats win elections across the country during the Trump era.

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MORE ON ELECTION 2021:

 The Virginia governor's race emerges as a test of how voters feel about Joe Bidens presidency

 Key takeaways from the elections in Virginia and New Jersey

 Republican Glenn Youngkin makes slight gains with some key voter groups when compared with former President Donald Trump in his 2020 loss

 School board races become the new front in a culture war as resentments over coronavirus restrictions and anti-racism curriculum reach a boiling point

 Elections are held for three open congressional seats in Ohio and Florida

 Voters in Minneapolis reject a proposal to replace the police department after the death of George Floyd

 Mayoral races are huge milestones for Asian Americans

 Election officials deliver a relatively smooth Election Day after a year of dealing with false claims and death threats

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HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

NEW YORK  Republican former U.S. Rep. Vito Fossella has been elected Staten Island borough president.

Fossella left Congress over a decade ago after a scandal. It involved a drunken driving arrest and revelations he had a secret second family.

He defeated Democrat Mark S. Murphy in the election Tuesday and is making his first return to elected office since he left in 2009. He was once seen as a potential candidate for New York City mayor, but his political career cratered after the revelations about his personal life. Fossella was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in the primary.

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STAMFORD, Conn.  Democratic state Rep. Caroline Simmons has been elected mayor of Stamford, Connecticut.

She defeated former Major League Baseball manager and player Bobby Valentine, who conceded defeat in a speech to his supporters.

Simmons will be the first woman to serve as mayor of Stamford, the states second-largest city. The 35-year-old legislator had defeated the two-term incumbent Democratic mayor in a September primary.

She touted her experience in both state and federal government and argued she was better suited for the job than her celebrity opponent. The election Tuesday was the first political campaign for Valentine, a 71-year-old former Republican who ran as an unaffiliated candidate.

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RICHMOND, Va.  Republican former business executive Glenn Youngkin has won Virginias governors race, a major political turnabout in a state that had been trending increasingly blue.

The win is sure to alarm national Democrats already nervous about holding their partys narrow control of Congress in next years midterm elections.

The 54-year-old Youngkin is a political newcomer and was a virtual unknown at the start of the race. He beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who served as governor from 2014 to 2018.

President Joe Biden won Virginia by a comfortable 10 percentage points last year, but that disappeared as Youngkin beat back the Democrats efforts to portray him as a clone of former President Donald Trump.

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PORTLAND, Maine  Maine voters passed the nations first right to food constitutional amendment.

A statewide referendum asked voters on Tuesday if they favored an amendment to the Maine Constitution to declare that all individuals have an inherent right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing.

Supporters said the amendment would ensure the right to grow vegetables and raise livestock in an era when corporatization threatens local ownership of the food supply.

Mainers on Tuesday also voted against building a 145-mile conduit for Canadian hydropower. The project was billed as either a bold step in battling climate change or unnecessary destruction of woodlands. But Tuesday's vote wont be the final word as litigation over the project continues.

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DEARBORN, Mich.  A state lawmaker has won the mayoral race in Dearborn, Michigan, making him the citys first Arab American mayor.

A final unofficial vote count on the citys website shows Abdullah Hammoud defeated Gary Woronchak, a former state representative and former Wayne County commissioner, by a 55% to 45% margin in Tuesdays election.

Hammoud, who is Muslim, is serving his third term in the Michigan House. His parents immigrated to the United States from Lebanon.

Dearborn is a city of over 100,000 people and has one of the largest Arab American populations in the nation. But the citys past includes efforts by longtime segregationist Mayor Orville Hubbard to keep Black families from moving into the then-mostly white community.

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BUFFALO, N.Y.  The mayor of New Yorks second-largest city has declared victory in his write-in campaign as early results showed him with a possible lead over the democratic socialist who beat him in the Democratic primary.

Tuesdays election between Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and challenger India Walton remained too early to call, and in fact it was unknown how many people had voted for Brown because his name didnt appear on the ballot.

Early returns showed Walton trailing the number of write-in votes cast. But a full tabulation of those write-in votes wont begin for days. Thousands of absentee ballots also have yet to be counted. Walton says she is proud of the race she has run and is waiting for a full count.

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BOSTON  Boston voters for the first time elected a woman and an Asian American as mayor, tapping City Councilor Michelle Wu to serve in the citys top political office.

Throughout its long history, Boston had previously only elected white men as mayor.

Wu defeated fellow Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George on Tuesday. The two Democrats faced off against each other after defeating several other mayoral hopefuls in a September preliminary election.

The election of Wu, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan, marks another break from tradition in Boston. Wu grew up in Chicago, only moving to Boston to attend Harvard University and Harvard Law School. Boston typically elects mayors with lifelong Boston roots.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio  Longtime coal lobbyist Mike Carey held an open U.S. House seat in central Ohio for Republicans in Tuesdays special congressional election.

Carey defeated two-term Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo, a public health policy consultant, in Ohios 15th Congressional District. Russo had raised more money in the district than any Democrat in history.

Former President Donald Trump had endorsed Carey to succeed veteran U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers, a centrist Republican who resigned in April to become CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Trump called Carey a courageous fighter and visited the state to campaign for him, as did former Vice President Mike Pence.

Carey has been vice president of government affairs for American Consolidated Natural Resources, formerly Murray Energy, since 2012. He also chairs the board of the Ohio Coal Association.

Murray was among corporate contributors involved in an elaborate $60 million bribery-for-legislation scheme alleged by federal prosecutors. The coal giant has not been charged with a crime. The investigation is ongoing.

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MINNEAPOLIS  Minneapolis voters have rejected a proposal to replace the citys police department with a new Department of Public Safety  an idea that arose from the May 2020 death of George Floyd under an officers knee.

The initiative would have changed the city charter to remove a requirement that the city have a police department with a minimum number of officers.

Supporters of the proposal said a complete overhaul of policing was necessary to stop police violence.

Opponents said the proposal had no concrete plan for how to move forward and could make communities already affected by violence more vulnerable as crime is on the rise.

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DETROIT  Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has easily defeated attorney Anthony Adams to win a third four-year term leading the Motor City.

Duggan was the clear favorite to win Tuesdays election after first winning in 2013 and taking over in January 2014. That was just after the city emerged from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Duggan had won more than 72% of the votes in the August primary, in which the top two vote-getters in the nonpartisan primary moved on to the general election.

Adams was a former deputy mayor in the early to mid-2000s under Kwame Kilpatrick.

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A year after Donald Trump lost Virginia by 10 percentage points, Republican Glenn Youngkin is in a tight race for governor against Democrat Terry McAuliffe thanks to shifting support from some key voter groups.

Youngkin has made slight gains with suburbanites, voters 45 and older and voters in households earning $50,000 or less when compared with Trump in his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Thats according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters.

Both Democrats and Republicans pulled together familiar coalitions. McAuliffe is the clear choice of voters under 45, women, Black voters, moderates and college graduates, while men, rural and small town voters and white evangelicals are squarely in Youngkins corner.

But small shifts with other groups could make a big difference. Tuesdays race is tighter than originally expected, sparking concern among Democrats and potentially giving Republicans a playbook for competitive battlegrounds as they look to the 2022 midterm elections.

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NEW YORK  Alvin Bragg has been elected Manhattans first Black district attorney.

The 48-year-old Democrat easily defeated Republican Thomas Kenniff on Tuesday to join a wave of progressive, reform-minded prosecutors in several big U.S cities.

When Bragg takes office in January, hell inherit an ongoing investigation of former President Donald Trump. Manhattan prosecutors this year charged Trumps company and its longtime finance chief with tax fraud.

Bragg campaigned partly on a promise to change the culture of the district attorneys office. He said he wants to shrink the system and look for alternatives to prosecuting small crimes of poverty.

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NEW YORK  Democrat Eric Adams has been elected New York City mayor after handily defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Adams is the Brooklyn borough president and a former New York City police captain. He will become the citys second Black mayor and must steer the damaged metropolis through its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Adams victory Tuesday seemed all but assured after he emerged as the winner from a crowded Democratic primary this summer in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 7 to 1.

Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol. He ran a campaign punctuated by stunts and his signature red beret.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio  Democrat Shontel Brown won the Cleveland-area U.S. House seat formerly held by Biden Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge in Tuesdays special election.

Brown is a Cuyahoga County Council member who also chairs the county Democratic Party. She defeated Republican Laverne Gore, a business owner and activist, in the 11th Congressional District. The district is a heavily Democratic area that stretches from Cleveland to Akron.

Brown will fill the remainder of Fudges term, which runs until January 2023, facing reelection again next year to hold the seat.

Her election marks a win for establishment Democrats, who sought to defend the district against a takeover by progressives. Her backers included Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn and several labor unions.

But victory may be short-lived. Already, Browns defeated primary opponent, progressive Nina Turner, has begun campaigning for the full congressional term up for grabs in 2022.

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Republican Glenn Youngkin did his best to keep former President Donald Trump at arms length in his competitive race for Virginia governor against Democrat Terry McAuliffe. The strategy appears to have had the intended effect.

A majority of Virginia voters say they have an unfavorable view of the former president, but Youngkin fares better, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters. About half have a favorable opinion of the former private equity executive.

The economy ranked as the top issue facing the commonwealth, with the coronavirus pandemic and education trailing, and voters were split in their opinion of President Joe Bidens performance.

Tuesdays election is the most closely watched contest since Biden defeated Trump last year. It is widely seen as a gauge of how voters are feeling ahead of next years midterm elections, and for both parties it could provide a blueprint for campaigning in competitive states.

Biden won Virginia by 10 percentage points last year. Now, 48% of Virginias voters approve of Bidens job performance, while 52% disapprove.

Voters who ranked the economy and education as the top issues were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe. Voters who identified COVID-19 as the top issue supported McAuliffe over Youngkin. McAuliffe also earned the majority backing of the roughly 2 in 10 who ranked health care, climate change or racism as the top issue.

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Voters casting ballots in the tight race for Virginia governor rank the economy as the top issue facing the commonwealth, with the coronavirus pandemic and education trailing.

In the contest between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, 34% of Virginia voters say the economy and jobs was the most important issue facing the state. Seventeen percent name COVID-19 and 14% choose education. Thats according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters.

Health care (7%), climate change (7%), racism (5%), immigration (5%), abortion (5%) and law enforcement (4%) were all lower-tier issues.

The race is the most closely watched and competitive contest since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump last year, and is seen as a gauge of voters feelings ahead of next years midterms.

Youngkin, a former private equity executive, often asserted Virginias economy was in the ditch, but a majority of voters disagreed. Fifty-six percent said the states economy is in good shape, compared with 44% saying economic conditions are poor.

Schools became a focus of the race in its final weeks. A quarter of Virginia voters say the debate over teaching critical race theory in schools was the single most important factor in their vote for governor, but a similar percentage identified the debate over handling COVID-19 in schools as most important.

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There were three new COVID deaths and 156 cases reported in the Upper Thumb by the state Nov. 3.

Since Monday, Tuscola County saw the largest increase in cases an additional 64 reported, plus one death, bringing the county to 6,446 cases and 186 deaths.

Huron County's numbers weren't much better, with an additional 53 cases and one death reported. Since the start of the pandemic the county has had 3,771 cases and 91 deaths due to COVID.

Sanilac County saw the region's lowest increase, with 39 new cases and one death, bringing the county to 4,423 confirmed cases and 128 deaths.

State testing data showed a statewide test positivity average Nov. 2 of 14.6%, up three points over the average leading into this week. Locally, Huron County led the region, followed by Sanilac County. In Huron County 28 people out of 84 tested positive for COVID, resulting in a 33% positivity rate. Sanilac County had 29 people out of 93 test positive, for a positivity rate of 31%. Despite having the largest number of new cases in the region, Tuscola County saw its positivity rate at 24%, based on 52 positive tests out of 214 processed.

State hospital data showed facilities in Preparedness Region 3, which includes the Upper Thumb, had 485 inpatient hospital beds and 59 intensive care unit beds available as of Nov. 3. Facilities in the region reported treating 359 patients for COVID, including one pediatric patient, 43 patients on ventilators, and 94 patients in ICU.

The state saw a two-day increase of 9,764 new cases and 137 deaths, of which 75 were identified during a review of vital records. To date the state has had nearly 1.15 million coronavirus cases and more than 22,000 deaths due to the disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Michigan no longer leads the nation for the number of new coronavirus cases in the last seven days after being bumped by California. California had 61,160 new cases in the past week, followed by Michigan at nearly 30,000 and Pennsylvania at nearly 27,000.

For more information on the coronavirus visit www.michigansthumb.com.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP)  The fires are out, but the destruction in East Lansing on Halloween weekend could haunt college students and others.

Police asked for the public's help Tuesday in identifying people responsible for couch and mattress fires and other damage Saturday after Michigan State defeated Michigan in a stirring battle of top 10 teams.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  A San Francisco police officer was charged Tuesday with voluntary manslaughter after a man he shot in 2017 died from his injuries, District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced.

San Francisco Police Officer Kenneth Cha was charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, along with enhancements accusing him of inflicting great bodily injury, in the death of Sean Moore, an unarmed man he shot on Jan. 6, 2017. Moore died from his injuries last year.

We rely on officers to follow their training and to deescalate situations; instead, in just eight minutes, Officer Cha elevated a nonviolent encounter to one that took Sean Moores life," Boudin said in a statement. "Sean Moore was unarmed and at his own home when Officer Cha shot him twice."

Cha's attorney, Scott Burrell, called the decision to file charges surprising and disappointing. He noted that Boudin is likely to face a recall election soon.

The facts of this case have never changed," Burrell said in a statement. Officer Cha lawfully shot his firearm while defending himself and his partner against a dangerous and violent assault. Only naked politics at best are at play here."

Cha shot Moore, who had schizophrenia, on the doorstep of his home after a neighbor called police to report that Moore was violating a temporary restraining order that prohibited noise harassment.

Body-worn camera footage shows Moore denying harassing his neighbor and repeatedly cursing at Cha and his partner, Officer Colin Patino, and asking them to leave. The verbal confrontation escalates, according to the video, before Cha pepper-sprays Moore.

Both officers are seen running up the stairs to Moore's home with their batons raised and as Moore begins retreating up the steps, Patino hits him with his metal baton. Moore strikes back, and Patino falls down the stairs.

Cha then draws his gun and points it at Moore, who reacts by kicking in his direction. Cha then shoots Moore twice in the abdomen.

Moore was charged with various crimes including assault on a peace officer. But a judge later dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.

The San Francisco Police Officers Association said in a statement it will support Cha during the legal process.

Officers responded to a call for service and encountered the very hostile Sean Moore who was accused of violating a restraining order," union president Tony Montoya said in a statement. We support Officer Chas constitutionally protected right to present his defense against these charges that stemmed from this extremely volatile incident.

Moore, 46, was serving a sentence at San Quentin State Prison on unrelated charges when he died last January. The coroners report indicated the cause of death was homicide and that he died from acute intestinal obstruction as a result of the bullet wounds.

In April, the city of San Francisco agreed to pay $3.25 million to Moore's mother, Cleo Moore, to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit.

The case is the second homicide prosecution against an on-duty law enforcement officer in San Francisco history.

Last year, Boudin charged Christopher Samayoa, a former rookie San Francisco police officer, with voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, assault by an executive officer, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and negligent discharge of a firearm in the 2017 killing of 42-year-old Keita ONeil.

Samayoa fatally shot O'Neil, an unarmed carjacking suspect, on his fourth day on the job.
CROMWELL  Republican Allan Spotts beat out his two opponents to become Cromwells second ever mayor, with the town council adding two members from each party.

Spotts earned 2,010 votes, while Democrat Aigne S. Goldsby earned 1,857, and Independent candidate Jamin Deproto, 361.

The three individuals were vying for the mayors post to replace Enzo Faienza, who did not seek reelection.

Spotts is the former town councilman and Board of Finance vice chairman. Spotts, 76, moved to Cromwell in 1985, and began his service in 1999, when he became a member of the towns anniversary committee in preparation for its 150th anniversary celebration. As a longtime resident, Spotts said he is happy to be a part of the towns history.

Im proud of the team that Ive run with, Spotts said.

Local attorney, Goldsby, is chairwoman of the towns Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She also serves on the board of directors for the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, and is involved with the Connecticut Bar Association. She said she put in a lot of time and energy, but she is glad she will still be able to serve in her current role.

Im excited to continue to serve in my capacity, Goldsby said.

Jamin DeProto, a Cromwell native and owner of Jefferson Fry Co. in town, ran as an independent. He said that not aligning with a party would allow him to solve issues without a political motive or bias behind it.

There were eight candidates running for the Town Council. Vying for the four open seats were Democratic incumbents Al Waters and James Demetriades, and Republicans Jack Henehan, Steve Fortenbach and Jennifer Donohue, who was also the deputy mayor. Their challengers are Democrats Paula Luna and Charles Epstein, and Republican Lou Menendez.

The four highest vote-getters for council positions were Waters, with 2,199 votes, and Demetriades, with 2,250, and Republicans Fortenbach, with 2,007 and Donohue, with 2,246.

As the only polling station in town, the parking lot of Cromwell High School saw a steady stream of residents coming to submit their ballot throughout the day.

Inside the school gymnasium, voters filed in, eventually arriving at one of the 31 available voting booths to fill in their ballots.

Outside of the building, candidates from all parties lined the front sidewalk welcoming and thanking voters, and answering any last-minute questions they had.

Weve gotten some really good questions, Donohue said.

As of 5 p.m., almost 3,000 ballots had already been counted, not including the more than 500 absentee ballots that had been counted at that point.

Demetriades said he was very happy with the turnout. We are having a very healthy off-year election, he said just after 5 p.m.
Jonathon Gruenke/AP

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden has nominated Navy Adm. Christopher Grady to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

If confirmed, Grady, who currently heads the U.S. Navys Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., would become the nations number two military officer, replacing Air Force Gen. John Hyten. Hyten is retiring later this month.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP)  A former inmate at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, claims in a lawsuit that he was left untreated for days after suffering a paralyzing injury.

The Kansas City Star reports that the lawsuit filed last week on behalf of 58-year-old Brent Kehler names several prison officers and medical staff.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australia leaking French President Emmanuel Macrons text messages to the media was a new low and a warning to other world leaders that their private communications with the Australian government could be weaponized and used against them, the French ambassador said on Wednesday.

French Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault used an address to Australias National Press Club to make a withering attack on Canberras surprise decision to scrap a 90 billion Australian dollar ($66 billion) contract with France to build a fleet of 12 diesel-electric submarines.

The extraordinarily bitter bilateral spat is heightened by both national leaders seeking reelection early next year. Doubts are growing about how the relationship can be effectively reset if both Marcon and Morrison remain in charge.

France is undermining international confidence in Australia as its government tries to finalize a free trade deal with the European Union.

Australian media on Tuesday reported the contents of a text message from Macron to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in September in which the French leader asked: Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarines ambitions?

Morrison used it as proof that Macron knew the deal was in doubt after Macron accused the Australian leader of lying during a Paris dinner in June. Macron said Morrison gave him no indication the deal would not go ahead.

France has condemned the leak as a further breach of trust.

This is an unprecedented new low, in terms of how to proceed and also in terms of truth and trust, Thebault said.

Doing so... sends a very worrying signal for all heads of state: Beware, in Australia there will be leaks and what you say in confidence to your partners will be eventually used and weaponized against you, Thebault added.

Rather than proof that Morrison hadnt lied to Marcon, the message suggested Australia had left France in the dark.

It completely demonstrates that until the last minute, we didnt know where things were heading to, Thebault said. It completely demonstrates that nothing has ever been told to us.

Australia canceled the deal when it formed an alliance with U.S. and Britain to acquire a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines built with U.S. technology.

Morrison maintains that he did not lie to the French leader and had been clear that conventional submarines would not meet Australias evolving strategic needs.

Thebault rejected Morrison's account.

"The deceit was intentional, Thebault said. The way it was handled was plainly a stab in the back.

The French ambassador agreed with Macrons assessment that he had been lied to by Morrison on multiple occasions.

Maybe there is a difference between misleading and lying, Thebault said.

But, you know, among heads of states and governments, when you mislead a friend and an ally, you lie to him, Thebault added.

Malcolm Turnbull, the Australian prime minister who signed the French submarine contract and considers Macron a personal friend, joined the attack on his successor's credibility.

Scott has always had a reputation for telling lies, Turnbull told reporters. He's lied to me on many occasions.

Asked if the prime minister's office had leaked Macrons text, Morrison did not directly answer.

I dont think theres any profit for anyone in continuing down this path, Morrison told reporters in the United Arab Emirates, where he is visiting on his way home from Scotland.

Claims were made and claims were refuted, Morrison said. Australia made the decision not to go ahead with a contract for a submarine that was not going to do the job that Australia needed it to do, and Ill never make any apologies for that decision.

Damien Kingsbury, a Deakin University expert on international politics, described the French envoy's strident criticisms, extraordinary for an ambassador of a host nation, as hugely embarrassing for the government.

But Kingsbury ruled out Australia reacting by sending Thebault home.

Anything the Australian government does now in response would be seen to be at a minimum engaging in tit for tat and that would just prolong the dispute and thats the last thing the Australian government wants, Kingsbury said.

Thebault and French Ambassador to the United States Philippe Etienne were recalled to Paris after Australias new nuclear propulsion alliance was announced.

Etienne returned to Washington in September, but Thebault did not come back to Canberra until last month.

Thebault said France had found again the path to acting together with the United States.

The broken submarine contract had led to postponements in the European Unions negotiations with Australia on a free trade agreement that had been scheduled to resume last month.

France had no reason to interfere with the European Commissions negotiations on behalf of the 27 member countries, Thebault said.

One of the considerations in reaching such a trade deal was the quality of the signature of your partner, he said.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  Gov. J.B. Pritzker and an entourage of top state officials planned to depart for the United Kingdom Tuesday on a weeklong hunt for climate-friendly investment and to tout Illinois' new clean-energy law at the global climate change summit in Scotland.

Pritzker's group will start in London, spending three days meeting with government and industry leaders to encourage expansion in Illinois' green-energy economy, particularly a burgeoning electric-vehicle industry, spokeswoman Emily Bittner said. She did not identify any of the British participants.

The group will continue on to the Scottish city of Glasgow on Friday for the COP26 climate summit, where Bittner said the Democratic governor will deliver a speech at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions on Nov. 7.

Illinois is leading the Midwest on climate action and building a green energy economy and I am eager to tout our success abroad, Pritzker said in a statement last week announcing the trip. Our historic clean energy legislation, talented workforce, and role as a transportation hub for the nation makes our state a top destination for international companies looking to do business in the U.S."

The Clean Energy Jobs Act, which Pritzker signed into law Sept. 15, pledges to make Illinois carbon free by 2045. It provides a $700 million subsidy to two unprofitable nuclear plants to keep them operating, closes coal-fired power plants by 2045, provides rebates for purchases of electric cars and more.

Accompanying the governor will be his chief of staff Anne Caprara, deputy governors Andy Manar and Christian Mitchell, first assistant deputy governor Christy George and deputy policy director Jessica Himes.

Five other governors  all Democrats  have announced plans to attend: Jay Inslee of Washington, New Mexico's Michelle Lujan Grisham, Hawaii's David Ige, Louisiana's John Bel Edwards and Oregon's Kate Brown. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that family obligations will keep him home, but his lieutenant governor will attend.

Maryland and Massachusetts, states led by Republican governors, will also send representatives.

Bittner said Pritzker is paying his own expenses. Airfare for staff members will be paid by Intersect Illinois, a business ambassador group financed by Illinois corporations to spur new development. Staff members' lodging will come from the state budget. Bittner did not estimate total budget costs.

Democratic House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch will join the group in London on Wednesday and pay his own expenses, spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll said. He will not go to Glasgow, returning to the U.S. on Saturday.

___

Follow Political Writer John OConnor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor
CHICAGO (AP)  A Chicago woman who served more than seven years in an Indonesian prison for killing her mother at a luxury resort on the island of Bali has been indicted on murder conspiracy charges in the United States and taken into federal custody.

FBI agents took Heather Mack, 26, into custody on her arrival at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago

Mack has been charged with conspiring to kill her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack in a U.S. indictment that was unsealed Wednesday. Also charged is Mack's former boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, who was also convicted of murder in Indonesia and is still imprisoned there.

With the indictment in which they are charged with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, Mack and Schaefer are also charged with obstruction of justice in the three-count indictment.

At an arraignment on Wednesday afternoon, Mack pleaded not guilty to the charges and U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle ordered that she remain in custody until a detention hearing on Nov. 10.

Brian Claypool, Macks attorney, said Wednesday that the federal charges are clearly a witch hunt in response to public pressure after Macks release from prison.

Speaking by phone from California, Claypool said he will ask the court to throw out the new charges, arguing that conspiracy was included in the charges that Mack was convicted of in Indonesia.

The U.S. government had a choice to make in 2015, he said. They could have fought to extradite ... and try her in the U.S. court. They didnt do that.

Macks daughter, Stella Schaefer, who is 6 years old, was on the plane with her mother, according to Claypool, who said the little girl was excited about her first trip to the United States. He declined to say who took custody of the girl when FBI agents took Mack away but said she was not handed over to child protective services. Court records show a Cook County probate judge issued an emergency order Tuesday appointing one of Macks attorneys, Vanessa Favia, as the girls guardian. Favia could not be reached for comment.

Schaefers mother said she was angry that she was not given custody of her granddaughter.

The lawyers dont need custody, Kia Walker told reporters at the airport. Stella has family here. She has me. I want my granddaughter. I want this craziness to stop.

According to the indictment, Mack flew from Chicago to Indonesia on Aug. 2, 2014, and Schaefer arrived on a flight from Chicago eight days later. On Aug. 11, Schaefer communicated in messages with Robert Ryan Justin Bibbs in Chicago about different ways to kill Von Wiese." The next day, according to the indictment, Schaefer and Mack exchanged messages about how and when to kill Von Wiese.

According to the indictment, the two killed Von Wiese-Mack on or about that same day, then stuffed the body into a suitcase and loaded it into the trunk of a taxi cab. It says Mack and Schaefer tried to cover up what they had done by removing items of clothing worn during the killing.

Von Wiese-Mack's badly beaten body was later discovered in the taxi parked at the upscale St. Regis Bali Resort.

In 2016, Bibbs, who was identified as a cousin of Schaefer, pleaded guilty to helping to plan the killing in exchange for $50,000 from Macks expected inheritance. That cousin was sentenced the next year to nine years in prison. In 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported that court documents revealed the FBI was investigating whether others were involved in the the conspiracy.

According to the indictment, the murder was part of the conspiracy that Heather L. Mack and Tommy E. Schaefer concealed, misrepresented and hid.

Mack was almost 19 and a few weeks pregnant at the time of the killing. She and Schaefer, then 21, were arrested a day later at a hotel about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the St. Regis.

The killing generated international attention, in part because the suitcase appeared too small to hold an adult womans body. The couple were convicted in 2015; Mack was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Schaefer received an 18-year sentence.

Indonesian officials announced in August that Mack would be released in October. She was freed from prison on Friday and deported to the United States this week.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Kia Walker is Schaefers mother.
WATERBURY  Police are investigating a shooting that involved a 14-year-old boy this afternoon, a department spokesperson said.

Bessette said a 14-year-old boy was shot in the area of Congress Avenue earlier this afternoon. The teenager was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition, Lt. Ryan Bessette said.

Police responded to the scene around 1:30 p.m., Bessette said.

Anyone with information related to this shooting should contact Waterbury Crime Stoppers at 203-755-1234. Callers can remain anonymous.

This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.

liz.hardaway@hearst.com
MADISON - Incumbent First Selectman Peggy Lyons beat challenger Republican Bruce Wilson by 700 votes, a Democratic Town Committee spokesperson announced in unofficial results at 11:30 p.m.

Republican Town Committee Chairman Amy Stefanowski confirmed the unofficial results.

Results trickled in for the First Selectmans race, which was too close to call at 10 p.m. as party officials waited for some 1,450 absentee ballots to be counted. While Wilson won at the polls with 2,647 votes to 2,606 votes for Lyons, the absentee ballots put Lyons on top.

Board of Selectmen candidates vote totals from highest to lowest, based on in-person unofficial vote counts were: Republican Noreen Kokoruda with 2,813, Democrat Scott Murphy with 2,555, Joe Bunovsky, 2,447 and Al Goldberg at 2,412, also unofficial. Absentee counts for the underticket were not available.

For five open seats on Madisons Board Of Education include Mary Ann Connelly 2,821; Jennifer Gordon, 2,773; incumbent Christine Maisano, 2,639; incumbent Emily Rosenthal, 2,564 and Democrat Maureen Hackett Lewis 2,483; and Democrat Steven Pynn, 2,457.

Across the shoreline many leaders kept their offices, as a few were unopposed.

In Guilford, Democrat First Selectman Matthew Hoey ran unopposed. All four incumbents on the Board Of Selectman won re-election . They include Democrats Louis Federici and Sandra Ruoff, along with Republicans Susan Kock Renner and Charles Havdra. Green Party candidate Justin Paglino failed in his bid with 324 votes.

But Guilford had the highest turn-out in the state at 50.62 percent at 7 p.m.

The Old Saybrook Board of Selectman candidates ran unopposed. First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Republican Selectman Scott Giegerich and Matthew Pugliese Democrat.

In Westbrook, Republican John L. Hall, II, a selectman, defeated Democrat Chet Bialicki, 1,495 to 915. Former First Selectman Noel Bishop did not seek reelection. Republican Joseph Campbell defeated Democrat Vince Gentile, 1,193 to 904, according to unofficial results.

While running for reelection, Lyons said her biggest accomplishment in her first term was leading the town safely through COVID-19.

Four months into Lyons first term, Madison, along with the rest of the world, was dealing with the pandemic and Lyons went from being a change maker to crisis leader, she said.

I think the town has come through this in a pretty good place, as well as can be expected given the dramatic circumstances that weve had, she said.

She said her motivation is to continue a lot of the promises I made when I ran two years ago, she said. I feel in a good place right now.

While the pandemic delayed decisions on the future of Island Avenue School, Academy Street School and the Schools Renewal Plan, Lyons ran her last campaign on lets get some things accomplished, and now she is looking forward to seeing these projects move ahead, she said.

Slated to go to referendum in February 2022, the public will have the chance to vote on the future of these town buildings.

Wilson had complained about lack of follow through and had said the town under Democratic leadership had stalled any plans or action on bringing the issue of Academy School and Island Avenue to a vote.

The first selectman is the CEO and chairman of the board, which sets the direction and strategy - the board goes back to the taxpayers, Wilson said.
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday recommended a prison sentence of nearly four years for a New Jersey gym owner who is on track to be the first person sentenced for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Scott Fairlamb's sentencing, scheduled for next Wednesday, could guide other judges in deciding the appropriate punishment for dozens of other rioters who engaged in violence at the Capitol that day.

Prosecutors said Fairlamb, one of one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol, incited and emboldened other rioters around him with his violent actions.

Law enforcement officers were overwhelmed, outnumbered, and in some cases, in serious danger. The rule of law was not only disrespected; it was under attack that day, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

If U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth adopts the Justice Department's recommendation for a 44-month prison term, Fairlamb's sentence would be the longest for a rioter. An 8-month prison term is the longest sentence among the nearly two dozen rioters who have been sentenced so far. A man who posted threats connected to Jan. 6 but didn't storm the Capitol was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Defense attorney Harley Breite said during an interview Wednesday that he intends to ask Lamberth to sentence Fairlamb to the time he already has served in jail, allowing for his immediate release. Fairlamb has been jailed since his Jan. 22 arrest at his home in Stockholm, New Jersey.

Had this not occurred on federal property, my client would be facing a trespassing and simple assault (case) in any municipal court in this country, Breite said. Most importantly, my client has expressed sincere remorse for his actions of that day. And those actions are not indicative of who he really is."

Fairlamb, a 44-year-old former mixed martial arts fighter, owned Fairlamb Fit gym in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. He is the brother of a Secret Service agent who was assigned to protect former first lady Michelle Obama, according to defense attorney Harley Breite.

Fairlamb picked up a police baton as he joined the mob that broke past a line of police officers and breached the Capitol, according to prosecutors. A video showed him holding the collapsible baton and shouting, What (do) patriots do? We f disarm them and then we storm the f Capitol!

After he left the building, Fairlamb shoved and punched a Metropolitan Police Department officer in the face, an attack captured on video by a bystander. The officer said he didn't suffer any physical injuries, according to prosecutors.

Fairlamb pleaded guilty to two counts, obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting the police officer. The counts carry a maximum of more than 20 years in prison, but sentencing guidelines calculated by the court's probation department recommend a term of imprisonment ranging from 41 to 51 months. Lamberth isn't bound by any of the recommendations.

More than 100 law enforcement officers were injured during the deadly insurrection, according to prosecutors. At least nine people who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 died during or after the rioting, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who collapsed after he was sprayed by rioters with a chemical irritant. Four other police officers have died by suicide.

Fairlambs social media accounts indicated that he subscribed to the QAnon conspiracy theory and promoted a bogus claim that former President Donald Trump would become the first president of the new Republic on March 4, prosecutors wrote. QAnon has centered on the baseless belief that Trump was fighting against a cabal of Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cannibals, including deep state enemies, prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites.
A Defense Department review found that a U.S. airstrike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians during the chaotic final days of the Afghanistan war in August was the fault of poor intelligence and rushed decision-making, but it did not violate any laws.

"It's not criminal conduct or negligence," Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said, who led the review, told reporters Wednesday during a Pentagon press briefing, but was short on the specifics on how the airstrike failed. No enemy combatants were killed, and the deaths of innocent civilians marred the conclusion of a two-decade war.

Although the review found no criminal actions, those involved in the strike still can face disciplinary actions by their chain of command, Said said.

Read Next: Thousands of Airmen and Guardians Defy Services' Vaccine Order

On Aug. 29, the day before all U.S. forces pulled out of Afghanistan, the Pentagon was tracking multiple potential threats to Hamid Karzai International Airport -- where U.S. and allied forces were dug in and frantically trying to evacuate tens of thousands of Afghans after the Taliban swiftly took control of the country while facing little resistance.

One of those supposed threats was a white Toyota Corolla driven by Zemari Ahmadi, who worked for Nutrition & Education International, an aid organization. Drone operators and mission planners believed that the car was carrying explosives and that it was going to be used as a bomb at one of the airport's gates. They hit it with a Hellfire missile, killing three men, including Ahmadi, and seven children.

The Pentagon later admitted that the vehicle posed no threat, after originally claiming the missile impact triggered multiple explosions, suggesting the vehicle was equipped with bombs. Further investigation revealed no explosive payload.

Investigators interviewed 29 individuals, including 22 who were directly involved in the strike, operating out of Qatar at the time. They found no violation of any laws and mostly laid the blame on confirmation bias and a rushed timeline of several hours to gather intelligence, access to fewer intelligence assets in the country, and a chaotic urban environment that can make tracking and identifying potential targets more difficult than in more open rural areas. However, Saids briefing on the investigation was short on specifics, due to the report itself being classified.

Pentagon officials have historically been reluctant to acknowledge civilian casualties tied to drone strikes, with official estimates varying widely from those produced by non-governmental groups. Former President Barack Obama issued an executive order in 2016 requiring the disclosure of very limited details about civilian casualties, an order that was reversed when former President Donald Trump took office.

A report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence estimated that, between 2009 and 2015, drone strikes killed between 64 and 116 noncombatants in areas outside the war zones of Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria -- mostly referring to Pakistan and parts of Africa.

Data from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism -- a nonprofit organization based in London -- estimates that since 2015, between 300 and 900 civilians have been killed by airstrikes in Afghanistan. Most drone strikes in Afghanistan occurred in rural areas that were difficult to access by journalists or military investigators, meaning that often assessments of casualties were left to military analysts reviewing video footage without on-the-ground information, and human rights groups following up long after the strikes themselves.

The Aug. 29 strike was a marked departure from that pattern, in that the strike occurred in the country's largest city with many journalists nearby covering the final U.S. evacuation.

Immediately after the Aug. 29 strike, Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor, deputy director for regional operations and force management, told reporters that the vehicle was "known to be an imminent ISIS-K threat," saying the "self-defense strike" caused "significant secondary explosions" from the vehicle.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley publicly described the bombing as a "righteous strike," before the Pentagon backtracked, admitting that only civilians had been killed.

The botched airstrike came three days after a devastating attack by ISIS-K suicide bombers that killed 13 U.S. troops and killed and wounded scores of Afghan civilians, marking one of the bloodiest days of the war.

"You have to put yourself in the conditions at the time," Said urged, highlighting that chaotic environment and the fog of war.

Said did not recommend that any individuals involved in the strike be disciplined, saying he found an "aggregate process breakdown." However, he said the chain of command still can take action, which could include firing or demoting those involved.

When asked who gave the final approval for the strike, Said named Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who was the commander of the forces on the ground at the time and serves as commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: House Votes to Award Congressional Gold Medal to Troops Killed in Kabul Airport Blast
Nearly 96% of all active-duty Air Force and Space Force members met the services' tight Nov. 2 deadline for being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with an additional 1% receiving at least one dose.

But according to data released Wednesday by the Air Force, a total of 8,486 airmen and Guardians remain unvaccinated, including nearly 5,000 who have asked for a religious exemption; 2,753 who "haven't started the series" or had their vaccines properly entered into their records; and 800 who have outright refused the shots.

In a press release issued Wednesday, Air Force officials said little about those who have decided not to get the vaccinations and focused instead on the 97% who followed orders.

"I am incredibly proud of our Airmen for coming together and getting vaccinated," Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass said. "This is about readiness, and ensuring our Air Force can continue to defend the homeland."

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"A vaccinated force is a protected force, better able to deploy and to defend our interests anywhere at any time," said Department of the Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek. "Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is a necessary requirement to keep our people safe and healthy."

The Department of the Air Force, which includes the Space Force, has granted 1,866 waivers, including 1,634 where a physician recommended against vaccination and 232 for airmen who retired or separated from the service by the deadline.

The 4,933 members who have requested a waiver based on religious beliefs face an uphill battle: The service has yet to approve a single religious accommodation, according to the department.

The Department of the Air Force has set a deadline of 30 business days for commands to process religious accommodation requests. Under Air Force policy, religious accommodations fall under the category of an administrative exemption, with commanders deciding the outcome.

Chaplains and staff judge advocates can provide input on any appeals but, ultimately, the surgeon general of the Air Force and Space Force, Lt. Gen. Dorothy Hogg, will render the final decision, according to the department.

Individuals are exempt from the vaccination requirement while their request is being adjudicated, but they will face weekly COVID-19 screening, as will all who are exempted from the vaccine, according to the services.

Last month, the Air Force separated 40 basic and technical trainees for refusing the vaccine -- the first known discharges for not following a mandate issued in August by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Air Force officials said in late October that anyone who has decided against following the order and is not seeking a medical exemption or religious accommodation will face disciplinary action under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice -- failure to obey an order or regulation.

The Air Force notified commanders that they can use a range of actions to discipline vaccine holdouts, including reprimands, nonjudicial punishment and court-martial.

Austin has said that he prefers that punishment for troops who refuse the vaccine be left to local commanders, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

"Each service, each unit within each service, has a different set of operational requirements and demands, deployment schedules, [operations] tempo," Kirby said during a press briefing Monday. "The secretary very much doesn't want to be in the business of telling commanders at local levels exactly how, if they have resolved themselves to using administrative or punitive measures, how exactly they should do that."

That means each branch and even individual commanders potentially could choose different punishments for disobeying the vaccine order.

"Can we promise you that there will be absolute uniformity across the board? No, and we wouldn't want to promise that because it wouldn't be the same way we handle orders violations for other offenses as well," Kirby said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Air Force and Space Force have seen 43,717 cases of COVID-19, and six members have died.

Across the services and components, including the Reserves and National Guard, there have been 250,902 cases of COVID-19, and 73 troops have died, according to data released Wednesday by the Pentagon.

According to Kirby, 97% of the active-duty force had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as of Monday, including 99% of the Navy, 97% of the Air Force, 93% of the Marine Corps, and "in the 90th percentile" for the Army.

The active-duty Navy and Marine Corps face the next deadline for being fully vaccinated -- Nov. 28 -- while active-duty Army soldiers must be vaccinated by Dec. 2.

"Just in terms of first dosage, there's been a lot more progress, and we continue to see the men and women of the force doing the right thing, which is getting vaccinated," Kirby said.

As of Wednesday, 94.2% of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Those components face a Dec. 2 deadline to be fully immunized.

-- Travis Tritten can be reached at Travis.Tritten@Monster.com.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: As Vaccine Deadlines Near, Navy and Marines Grant Few Exemptions
The Defense Department's latest report on Chinese military power paints a picture of a country largely unaffected by the biggest issue of 2020 -- the COVID-19 pandemic -- and aggressively building its nuclear stockpile while training up its armed forces.

"Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing continued its efforts to advance its overall development including steadying its economic growth, strengthening its armed forces, and taking a more assertive role in global affairs," said the almost 200-page report, released Wednesday.

The annual report is mandated by law and has been presented to Congress since 2000.

The pandemic, which showed up first as a cluster of infections in China and brought much of the world to a standstill, also ended up being "a driving force behind [China's] foreign policy efforts," the report said. "Beijing sought to deflect any culpability for the virus and its initial spread, and to capitalize on its narrative of domestic success and foreign assistance."

The DoD found that the Chinese military used the pandemic to deploy overseas and build closer ties to foreign militaries through COVID-19 related aid.

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Meanwhile, the Chinese Army, despite the pandemic and clashes in India, managed to speed up training and fielding gear "from the already fast pace of recent years."

As a result, the Pentagon believes that China's leaders "are increasingly willing to confront the United States," which they see as "as increasingly determined to contain" them.

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The report echoes the concerns of senior leaders in the U.S. military about the pace at which China is developing.

The report says that China aims to improve its armed forces to make them among the best in the world by 2049.

Aside from military projections, the report also sheds more light on how U.S. officials interacted with their Chinese counterparts in 2020. Specifically, it gives more detail on the circumstances behind Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley's calls to his Chinese counterpart in the turbulent, final months of Donald Trump's presidency.

The report explains that two calls occurred "at the direction of then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper" and that, in his call, Milley was addressing "widespread speculation in [Chinese] media that the United States would deliberately instigate a conflict ... in the South China Sea."

Milley's call followed one made 10 days prior by the deputy assistant secretary of defense for China.

Pentagon officials also highlighted the report's findings on China's nuclear arsenal, which is "exceeding the pace and size the DoD projected in 2020."

The document says that China could have "up to 700 deliverable nuclear warheads by 2027" and is shooting for "at least 1,000 warheads by 2030."

Currently, China's nuclear arsenal is estimated by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute at 320 warheads, while the United States and Russia have about 6,000 each.

In recent months, private satellite imagery has revealed large additions of missile silos that outside experts have called an "unprecedented nuclear buildup."

The latest DoD report confirms that China "is building hundreds of new ICBM silos, and is on the cusp of a large silo-based ICBM force expansion comparable to those undertaken by other major powers."

Ultimately, the DoD's 21st report on China's military might paints a picture of a rapidly modernizing and growing force that is far from the "sizable but mostly archaic military that was poorly suited to [China's] long-term ambitions" described in the first report to Congress in 2000.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Pentagon Rattled by Chinese Military Push on Multiple Fronts
Granby Field (Granby Camp; Granby Mining District), Tri-State Mining District, Newton County, Missouri, USAi

Key

According to Arthur Winslow (1894): "The mines about Granby, as already stated, have been worked for nearly 40 years, and have been large producers. They were described briefly by Swallow in his Pacific railway report of 1858, and received full examination in 1872 and 1873 by the State Geological Survey. Mining was very active here about that time, and the whole country immediately about the town was honeycombed with diggings. An idea of the density of mining at that period may be gathered from the preceding cut, reproduced from a map accompanying the Survey report of 1873. It shows all shafts which had been open up to that time within the area represented. Since then, many more have been sunk, and the aggregate number is now legion. The majority of these were mere shallow, open pits, and only part of them were operated at any one time. Some, however, were quite deep and operated by machinery, and, during recent years, this has been more common, as mining extended to greater depths.



Detailed figures of production of this camp, extending over many years, could not be obtained. Mr. John P. Neville, president of the company, informs us, however, that during the past 25 years the production has averaged 1250 tons of lead ore and 6250 tons of zinc ore annually."

Select Mineral List Type Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Dana Chemical Elements

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts  Galena 2.CD.10 PbS  Greenockite 2.CB.45 CdS  Marcasite 2.EB.10a FeS 2  Pyrite 2.EB.05a FeS 2  Sphalerite 2.CB.05a ZnS Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides  Hematite 4.CB.05 Fe 2 O 3  Pyrolusite 4.DB.05 Mn4+O 2 Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates  Aurichalcite 5.BA.15 (Zn,Cu) 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6  Calcite 5.AB.05 CaCO 3  Cerussite 5.AB.15 PbCO 3  Dolomite 5.AB.10 CaMg(CO 3 ) 2  Hydrozincite 5.BA.15 Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6  Leadhillite 5.BF.40 Pb 4 (CO 3 ) 2 (SO 4 )(OH) 2  Malachite 5.BA.10 Cu 2 (CO 3 )(OH) 2  Smithsonite 5.AB.05 ZnCO 3 Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates  Anglesite 7.AD.35 PbSO 4 Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates  Mimetite 8.BN.05 Pb 5 (AsO 4 ) 3 Cl  Pyromorphite 8.BN.05 Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Cl Group 9 - Silicates  Hemimorphite 9.BD.10 Zn 4 Si 2 O 7 (OH) 2  H 2 O Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc.  'Calamine' -  'Limonite' -

List of minerals arranged by Dana 8th Edition classification Group 2 - SULFIDES A m X p , with m:p = 1:1  Galena 2.8.1.1 PbS  Greenockite 2.8.7.2 CdS  Sphalerite 2.8.2.1 ZnS A m B n X p , with (m+n):p = 1:2  Marcasite 2.12.2.1 FeS 2  Pyrite 2.12.1.1 FeS 2 Group 4 - SIMPLE OXIDES A 2 X 3  Hematite 4.3.1.2 Fe 2 O 3 AX 2  Pyrolusite 4.4.1.4 Mn4+O 2 Group 14 - ANHYDROUS NORMAL CARBONATES A(XO 3 )  Calcite 14.1.1.1 CaCO 3  Cerussite 14.1.3.4 PbCO 3  Smithsonite 14.1.1.6 ZnCO 3 AB(XO 3 ) 2  Dolomite 14.2.1.1 CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 Group 16a - ANHYDROUS CARBONATES CONTAINING HYDROXYL OR HALOGEN  Malachite 16a.3.1.1 Cu 2 (CO 3 )(OH) 2  Aurichalcite 16a.4.2.1 (Zn,Cu) 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6  Hydrozincite 16a.4.1.1 Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 Group 17 - COMPOUND CARBONATES Miscellaneous  Leadhillite 17.1.2.1 Pb 4 (CO 3 ) 2 (SO 4 )(OH) 2 Group 28 - ANHYDROUS ACID AND NORMAL SULFATES AXO 4  Anglesite 28.3.1.3 PbSO 4 Group 41 - ANHYDROUS PHOSPHATES, ETC.CONTAINING HYDROXYL OR HALOGEN A 5 (XO 4 ) 3 Z q  Mimetite 41.8.4.2 Pb 5 (AsO 4 ) 3 Cl  Pyromorphite 41.8.4.1 Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Cl Group 56 - SOROSILICATES Si 2 O 7 Groups, With Additional O, OH, F and H 2 O Si 2 O 7 Groups and O, OH, F, and H 2 O with cations in [4] coordination  Hemimorphite 56.1.2.1 Zn 4 Si 2 O 7 (OH) 2  H 2 O Unclassified Minerals, Mixtures, etc.  'Calamine' -  'Limonite' -

List of minerals for each chemical element H Hydrogen H  Hemimorphite Zn 4 Si 2 O 7 (OH) 2  H 2 O H  Leadhillite Pb 4 (CO 3 ) 2 (SO 4 )(OH) 2 H  Hydrozincite Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 H  Aurichalcite (Zn,Cu) 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 H  Malachite Cu 2 (CO 3 )(OH) 2 C Carbon C  Cerussite PbCO 3 C  Leadhillite Pb 4 (CO 3 ) 2 (SO 4 )(OH) 2 C  Smithsonite ZnCO 3 C  Hydrozincite Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 C  Dolomite CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 C  Calcite CaCO 3 C  Aurichalcite (Zn,Cu) 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 C  Malachite Cu 2 (CO 3 )(OH) 2 O Oxygen O  Hemimorphite Zn 4 Si 2 O 7 (OH) 2  H 2 O O  Cerussite PbCO 3 O  Leadhillite Pb 4 (CO 3 ) 2 (SO 4 )(OH) 2 O  Mimetite Pb 5 (AsO 4 ) 3 Cl O  Smithsonite ZnCO 3 O  Hydrozincite Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 O  Pyromorphite Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Cl O  Dolomite CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 O  Calcite CaCO 3 O  Aurichalcite (Zn,Cu) 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 O  Anglesite PbSO 4 O  Hematite Fe 2 O 3 O  Malachite Cu 2 (CO 3 )(OH) 2 O  Pyrolusite Mn4+O 2 Mg Magnesium Mg  Dolomite CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 Si Silicon Si  Hemimorphite Zn 4 Si 2 O 7 (OH) 2  H 2 O P Phosphorus P  Pyromorphite Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Cl S Sulfur S  Galena PbS S  Greenockite CdS S  Sphalerite ZnS S  Leadhillite Pb 4 (CO 3 ) 2 (SO 4 )(OH) 2 S  Anglesite PbSO 4 S  Marcasite FeS 2 S  Pyrite FeS 2 Cl Chlorine Cl  Mimetite Pb 5 (AsO 4 ) 3 Cl Cl  Pyromorphite Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Cl Ca Calcium Ca  Dolomite CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 Ca  Calcite CaCO 3 Mn Manganese Mn  Pyrolusite Mn4+O 2 Fe Iron Fe  Hematite Fe 2 O 3 Fe  Marcasite FeS 2 Fe  Pyrite FeS 2 Cu Copper Cu  Aurichalcite (Zn,Cu) 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 Cu  Malachite Cu 2 (CO 3 )(OH) 2 Zn Zinc Zn  Hemimorphite Zn 4 Si 2 O 7 (OH) 2  H 2 O Zn  Sphalerite ZnS Zn  Smithsonite ZnCO 3 Zn  Hydrozincite Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 Zn  Aurichalcite (Zn,Cu) 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 As Arsenic As  Mimetite Pb 5 (AsO 4 ) 3 Cl Cd Cadmium Cd  Greenockite CdS Pb Lead Pb  Galena PbS Pb  Cerussite PbCO 3 Pb  Leadhillite Pb 4 (CO 3 ) 2 (SO 4 )(OH) 2 Pb  Mimetite Pb 5 (AsO 4 ) 3 Cl Pb  Pyromorphite Pb 5 (PO 4 ) 3 Cl Pb  Anglesite PbSO 4

References

Sort by Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A) In-text Citation No.

Dana, E.S. (1892) System of Mineralogy, 6th. Edition, New York: 1084. Foote, W. M. (1895) Note on the Occurrence of Leadhillite Pseudomorphs at Granby, Missouri. American Journal of Science, 3rd series, No. 296: 99-100. Buckley, E.R., and Buehler, H.A. (1906), The Geology of the Granby Area (Missouri): Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines, 2nd. series, volume 4, 120 pp. Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II: 156. USGS (2005), Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS): U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, deposit ID #60000897. McKnight, E.T., Newman, W.L., and Heyl, A.V., Jr. (compilers) (1962), Zinc in the United States, Exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii, USGS Mineral Investigative Resource Map MR-19, Separate text, 18 p. USGS MRDS ID #K003369. Winslow, Arthur (1894) Lead and Zinc Deposits (Section 2). Missouri Geological Survey, Volume VII: 602.

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS: 60000897

External Links

Localities in this Region

Local rocks include rocks of the Meramecian series.
How to use the mindat.org media viewer

Click/touch this help panel to close it.

Welcome to the mindat.org media viewer. Here is a quick guide to some of the options available to you. Different controls are available depending on the type of media being shown (photo, video, animation, 3d image)

Controls - all media types

Zoom in and out of media using your mousewheel or with a two-finger 'resize' action on a touch device.

Use the mouse or your finger to drag the image or the view area of the image around the screen.

< and > at the left and right hand side of the screen move forwards and backwards for the other images associated with the media you selected. Usually this is used for previous/next photo in a gallery, in an article or in search results. Keyboard shortcuts: use shift + the left and right arrow keys.

< and > in the bottom center are used for switching between the photos of the same specimen. Keyboard shortcuts: use the left and right arrow keys.

> in the bottom center, raises the information box giving details and further options for the media, < at the top of this box then hides it. Keyboard shortcuts: use the up and down arrow keys.

? opens this help window. Keyboard shortcuts: use the H key or the ? key.

Other keyboard shortcuts:

1 Fit image to screen 2 Fill screen with image 5 Display at full resolution < Make background darker > Make background lighter space Hide/dim titles and buttons

Scalebar

If the field of view (FOV) is specified for the photo, the scalebar appears in the left bottom corner of the viewer. The scalebar is draggable and resizeable. Drag the right edge to resize it. Double click will reset the scalebar to it's default size and position. If the scalebar is in default position, double click will make it circular.

Controls - Video

Video files have a standard set of video controls: - Reset to start, - Skip back, - Play, - Pause, - Skip forwards. Keyboard shortcuts: You can stop/start video play with the P key.

Controls - Animation (Spin Rotation)

Animation (usually 360 degree spin rotations) have their own controls: - enable spin mode. Note that while images are loading this option will not be available but will be automatically activated when the animation has loaded. Once active you can spin the image/change the animation by moving your mouse or finger on the image left/right or by pressing the [ or ] keys.

The button switches to move mode so that you can use your mouse/fingers to move the image around the screen as with other media types.

The button, or the P key will start playing the animation directly, you can interrupt this by using the mouse or finger on the image to regain manual movement control.

Controls - 3D Stereoscopic images

If a stereoscopic 3D image is opened in the viewer, the 3D button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "3D settings" menu. The 3D images can be viewed in several ways:

- without any special equipment using cross-eyed or parallel-eyed method

- with stereoscope

- with anaglyph glasses.

- on a suitable 3D TV or monitor (passive 3D system)

For details about 3D refer to: Mindat manuals: Mindat Media Viewer: 3D

To enable/disable 3D stereo display of a compatible stereo pair image press the 3 key. If the left/right images are reversed on your display (this often happens in full-screen mode) press the 4 key to reverse them.

Controls - photo comparison mode

If a photo with activated comparison mode is opened in the viewer, the button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "Comparison mode settings" menu.

Several layouts are supported: slider and side by-side comparison with up to 6 photos shown synchronously on the screen. On each of the compared photos a view selector is placed, e.g.: Longwave UV . It shows the name of currently selected view and allows to select a view for each placeholder.

Summary of all keyboard shortcuts
Fort Madison, IA (52627)

Today

Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 55F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 23F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
The Tigers have a new catcher, announcing a deal this afternoon to acquire veteran Tucker Barnhart from the Reds. Infield prospect Nick Quintana is headed back to Cincinnati in return.

Barnhart had been a career-long member of the Reds, who selected him in the 2009 draft. The switch-hitting backstop made his MLB debut in 2014 and has served as Cincinnatis primary catcher for much of the past seven seasons. Barnhart has established himself as a capable backstop on both sides of the ball, combining nearly league average offense for the position with well-regarded defense.

The 2021 season was generally par for the course for Barnhart, who hit .247/.317/.368 with seven homers over 388 plate appearances. Thats right in line with his career offensive marks, with his 81 wRC+ a few points shy of the leaguewide mark (89) for catchers. Barhnarts greater value lies on the other side of the ball. Generally well-regarded as a game manager, hes also posted above-average pitch framing metrics over the past few seasons after rating poorly in that regard early in his career. Hes also done well at controlling the running game, cutting down a strong 32.1% of base-stealers over the course of his career  although his 28.3% rate this past season was closer to average.

That kind of steady but unspectacular production on both sides of the ball holds value, but the Reds have looked likely to move on from Barnhart this winter for quite some time. 25-year-old backstop Tyler Stephenson hit .286/.366/.431 over 402 trips to the plate in 2021, and its apparent the Reds would like to give Stephenson everyday run. Barnhart remains controllable next season via a $7.75MM club option, but that seemed a bit higher than the Reds would be willing to pay for a #2 backstop. It stands to reason Cincinnati will look for a cheaper veteran option to complement Stephenson this winter.

Detroit, on the other hand, didnt enter the offseason with an obvious answer behind the plate. Tigers general manager Al Avila acknowledged as much last month, and the front office struck on the first day of the offseason to address that need. The Tigers will certainly exercise that option, and he now looks likely to receive the bulk of playing time behind the plate in 2022. Dustin Garneau, Grayson Greiner, Eric Haase and Jake Rogers (when he returns from September Tommy John surgery) are also on hand as potential depth options, although its likely at least one of that group gets bumped from the roster now that Barnhart is in the fold.

Exercising Barnharts option will bring Detroits payroll up to around $94MM, including arbitration projections, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Thats already north of the clubs season-opening mark in 2021 but nowhere near the franchise record levels of spending. Avila and CEO Christopher Ilitch have already suggested the club would expand payroll this winter, and the Barnhart acquisition shouldnt have much of an effect on Detroits pursuit of further upgrades around the diamond. The Tigers are widely expected to look for help at shortstop and in the starting rotation, and theyve been often speculated upon as a landing spot for one of the top free agent shortstops hitting the market.

In exchange for parting ways with their longtime catcher, the Reds will pick up a 24-year-old third base prospect. The Tigers selected Quintana in the second round of the 2019 draft. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs called him a potential everyday third baseman over the 2020-21 offseason, but hes since stumbled to a .196/.329/.346 line over 347 plate appearances in Low-A. The Reds will take a shot on a hopeful turnaround with a change of scenery, but the seemingly light return suggests that Cincinnati was likely to decline Barnharts option within the next few days had they not found a trade partner.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network first reported the sides were nearing agreement on a trade. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported the deal was completed and Quintanas inclusion.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday granted Emergency Use Listing approval to India's indigenously-developed Covid vaccine, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

The global health group's Technical Advisory Group (TAG) issued the final decision.

The WHO, in a tweet, said: "WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of Covid 19".

The source said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pushed for Covaxin approval at G20 meet with WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The emergency listing got delayed as the TAG sought some additional information from vaccines manufacturers for final risk assessment.

The TAG last met on October 27 and had agreed upon to conduct the final risk assessment after receiving additional data from the manufacturer. Bharat Biotech was expected to submit the additional data by this weekend.

Covaxin, which was co-developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the government's Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), was granted emergency authorisation in the country in January.

It has demonstrated 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19 and 65.2 per cent protection against the new Delta variant. Bharat Biotech said that it concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 trials.

The global health body has so far approved Covid-19 vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, Johnson 7 Johnson - Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm for emergency use against Covid-19.

Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article.
In order for arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms to become true alternatives to the court system, State policy must work towards improving the courts system rather than pushing ADR at the cost of courts, writes AJAY KUMAR.

To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice is a commitment that comes from the Magna Carta in England, and today is reflected in various constitutional provisions guaranteeing access to free, fair and independent courts. However, whether the courts are able to live up to these promises is something that is a subject matter of study and debate.

Without the real ability to recover costs in Indias court system, going to court is invariably expensive for ordinary people.

This means that there is a large middle section for whom justice becomes inaccessible due to legal fees that they will have to incur. Further, the quantum of these fees gets compounded by the delays faced by litigants when they are in the court system.

To the ordinary litigant in Indias courts, reading the phrase To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice will seem sarcastic at best and taunting at worse.

A while ago, the present Chief Justice of India openly encouraged the adoption of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a means of settling disputes. This has become common now with ADR becoming firmly entrenched with judicial institutional support. Commercial Disputes now have to mandatorily go through a pre-dispute mediation stage, and Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) has entrenched ADR as a legally sanctioned means of justice delivery.

This has been done with an overall objective of reducing the pendency of cases in the court system. While on a first glance this may seem to be an ideal situation, does the push towards ADR hold up to closer introspection?

The costs of arbitration incurred by the court system

In the court system, a dispute is born with a plaint on which there is a court fee that is stamped. The fee is taken bearing in mind the cost that the court will incur in the dispute, and in most states is contingent on the claim amount.

To secure relief, in the court system, you need to file a plaint, pay the court fee, take out an application in the plaint, and pay a separate fee for that.

Except if you go for arbitration. In which case, in most states, to get interim relief from a court, in order to challenge your award or appeal an order in court, you pay a small, fixed nominal fee. The same is the case with a challenge or appeal under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, irrespective of the quantum of your dispute.

In the case of arbitration, parties may gain most of the benefits of the court system without ever having to actually pay into it.

This gets compounded by the social cost that is incurred. If big disputes dont go to court, the development of the law suffers. It is safe to say that a majority of commercial jurisprudence that now arises in this country arises from ad-interim orders or final hearings on interim reliefs. With the amendment to the Act excluding a review on merits of a challenge to an award, arbitral award challenges, which were one of the last avenues for the further development of commercial law, are now producing very little in the way of jurisprudence.

In a common law country, if issues of law dont come before courts, precedent can seldom find space to develop. In India, the courts have a role in actively advancing the development of the law. If parties, who have large disputes and thereby the financial capacity to appeal, go for private dispute resolution, then the development of jurisprudence will be consequently stalled, harming everyone in the long run.

But does arbitration in India actually even help the parties? As described above, arbitration, while taking the meat out of the court system, still leaves a whole bunch of sides for the judiciary to munch on. As a result, arbitral tribunals outside an institutional framework increasingly adopt the CPC with modifications while conducting proceedings.

Arbitration is supposed to be an alternative to CPC-style litigation, but it appears that the only purpose arbitration serves today is to act as a private court, where parties are able to control timelines to some extent. It is just like a court, but instead of sweating and standing on your legs, you end up in nice conference rooms, some equipped with high quality biscuits.

How push towards ADR weakens courts system

But then there is the other objection: why be encouraged to go for an alternative anyway? For something to really be an alternative to a status quo, the status quo must be working. But right now, our courts are notoriously understaffed and heavily over-worked. However, instead of increasing judicial capacity, reforming the costs regime, making legal aid meaningful and improving the infrastructure of courts, the policy seems to be to make courts irrelevant via ADR. It can be seen in the standard form arbitration clause that has now emerged in contracts that cover a range of issues from consumer services to expensive outer space projects.

In India, a person has a constitutional right to seek justice from a court. This is a fundamental norm in how India operates as a State, as the ability to dispense justice is a core feature in the State retaining its legitimacy. Free, fair, and transparent justice allow for people and businesses to go about their affairs with an element of certainty.

The push towards ADR in some semblance weakens this right, and this is reflected in CPC style arbitration. In such arbitration, parties effectively are guided by the CPC and therefore the expectation of justice from a public court is transferred onto a private body. If justice is the basic feature of the Constitution, then parties preferring arbitral tribunal to courts is the antithesis of the same.

For example, my maid and her family are fighting over a property. Her lawyer has advised her to settle with the family so that they can get something quickly instead of spending years in litigation. My maid asked me if she should settle, and I was quick to agree with her lawyer. But then she asked me, if she was in the right, why should she settle? And I wasnt in a position to give her a proper answer. Ideally, I should have been able to tell her to pursue her rights in court, but you cant as in most cases, for ordinary people that is not the logical course of action.

Courts should be accessible, quick, speedily and efficient. It is only then ADR will truly develop into an alternative, rather than a privatised means of dispute resolution.

While courts can, should, and do often encourage parties to settle, for settlements to be truly free, the court system ought not to be hung like a sword of Damocles on the heads of average people like my maid. But the fact is that it does and what has happened as part of the push to promote ADR is a general semblance of giving up on the court system. This is a dangerous trend for our legal system.

Parties now generally put in conciliation and arbitration clauses in contracts by default. There is a lack of confidence in the ability of the judicial system to deliver justice. Instead of devoting time trying to make ADR work, maybe it is time that the powers that be reorient their priorities and make the court system work instead. Maybe then, ADR will actually be an alternative.

(Ajay Kumar is an Advocate practising at the Bombay High Court. The views expressed are personal.)
After warning the registered investment advisers (IAs), market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has asked debenture trustees to disassociate themselves from undertaking activities related to unregulated products, such as digital gold.

In a release, SEBI says, It has come to the notice of SEBI that some registered debenture trustees are undertaking activities related to unregulated products such as acting as a trustee for digital gold. Undertaking activities related to unregulated products such as digital gold is not in accordance with the provisions of Section 12(1) of the SEBI Act, 1992 read with the SEBI (Debenture Trustees) Regulations,1993.

Debenture trustees are, hereby, advised to disassociate themselves from undertaking activities related to unregulated products such as digital gold, the market regulator says, adding, Any dealing in activities related to the unregulated product by debenture trustees may entail action as deemed appropriate under the SEBI Act, 1992 and regulations framed thereunder.

Last month, SEBI had warned registered IAs not to engage in the unregulated activity by providing a platform for buying, selling or dealing in unregulated products, including digital gold.

In September 2021, SEBI had banned buying digital gold from stockbrokers.

In August this year, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) had asked its members, including stockbrokers, to discontinue the sale of digital gold on their platforms by 10th September.

In its letter dated 3 August 2021, SEBI had informed NSE that the said activity is in contravention of SCRR (Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules) and the members should refrain from undertaking any such activities.

The SCRR rules restrict all members from engaging, either as principal or employee, in any business other than that of securities or commodity derivatives, except as a broker or agent, not involving any personal financial liability.

A circular issued by NSE on 10th August said, ...It has, however, come to the notice of SEBI/Exchange that certain members are providing a platform to their clients for buying and selling of digital gold. SEBI vide a letter dated 3rd August has informed the Exchange that the said activity is in contravention of Rule 8 (3) (f) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 (SCRR), and members should refrain from undertaking any such activities.

Accordingly, NSE directed members not to carry out such activity and comply with the regulatory requirements at all times. It is reported that all leading exchanges have issued similar notices in India in recent weeks.

All the listed products have a settlement guarantee by the Exchange and carry a different risk profile. If an investor loses money due to digital gold, neither the regulator nor the exchanges can be held responsible. Hence, SEBIs action is only restricted to the extent that one cannot use SEBI-licensed platforms to sell such products.

Market experts say digital gold units are not issued by any regulated entity. There is no method to check whether the digital gold certificate is backed with physical gold or not. A few jewellery companies like Titan and some banks were known for selling digital gold.

Digital gold does not come under the definition of securities as defined in the Securities Contract (Regulations) Act 1956, and market experts say brokers cannot offer such unregulated products through their SEBI-registered entity or platform.

The SEBI circular only prohibits the dealing or offering of digital gold via SEBI registered entities, as it is not a security as defined under SCRR. It may continue to be sold by the unregulated entities, subject to RBI (Reserve Bank of India) directions, if any.
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Yamaha Motor Europe announced a new XSR900 model, giving the retro-styled roadster updates similar to the changes received by the MT-09 last year. That includes an 889cc inline Triple and new Deltabox-style frame. As of this writing, the new 2022 Yamaha XSR900 has not been announced for the U.S., but we expect to get news on that front soon.

Visually, the XSR900 received a makeover even more drastic than the one Yamaha gave the MT-09. When combining pictures for our image juxtaposition sliders like the one below, I try to find some common points to get the two scaled and lined up to form a good comparison. Usually, I rely on the crankcases, engine mounting points or frame as points of reference. In this case, the only common element I could reliably use was the 17-inch front wheel.

The 2022 XSR900s design was styled after Yamahas race bikes from the 80s, with Christian Sarrons Team Gauloises Yamaha OW81 in particular inspiring the Legend Blue livery. Even the shape of the saddle and the blocky tail have the same silhouette as the OW81, completely changing the look from the 2021 models slender tail.

The new Deltabox frame is the same as the one introduced on the MT-09, but aesthetically, it might be better suited to the XSR900s lines than the more modern-looking bike. The new aluminum frame is more compact than the previous design, with Yamaha claiming increased longitudinal, lateral and torsional rigidity. The head pipe is 1.2 inches lower than on the old XSR900, translating to lower handlebars and a more aggressive riding position.

The rear subframe is unique to the XSR900, helping shape its new silhouette. The seat is 31.9 inches from the ground, 0.8-inch lower than the previous model, but also set further back behind the fuel tank. Yamaha says this layout contributes to the XSR900s riding character while providing more comfortable ergonomics (and hopefully compensating for the lower hand controls).

With the seat farther back, Yamaha gave the XSR a new swingarm that is 2.2 inches longer than on the 2021 model, increasing the wheelbase to 58.9 inches so youre not sitting directly on top of the rear wheel while also improving straight-line stability.

The XSR900 claims the same claimed 117 hp at 10,000 rpm and 69 lb-ft. at 7,000 as the MT-09. This represents a 4-hp increase, with maximum torque increasing by 6% and arriving 1,500 rpm earlier. To handle the increased torque, the XSR900 receives an updated assist and slipper clutch and revised gear ratios.

A new six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) collects data for the XSR900s electronics package, which includes lean-sensitive traction control, slide control and anti-wheelie control. The Brake Control system offers two ABS modes: standard and lean-sensitive. Other electronic features include cruise control, an up-and-down quickshifter and four engine modes. The previous models circular LCD unit may have been a better fit for the retro vibe, but the more complicated electronics resulted in a switch to a rectangular 3.5-inch TFT display.

The braking system is similar to the MT-09s Nissin set-up with the exception of a Brembo front master cylinder. The suspension is also similar, with a fully-adjustable KYB inverted fork and a KYB rear shock with adjustable preload and rebound damping. The 10-spoke aluminum wheels are also the same as on the MT-09.

Other features include a round LED headlight, LED taillight, 3.7-gallon fuel tank and a claimed curb weight of 425.5 pounds.

The 2022 Yamaha XSR900 will arrive in European showrooms in February, 2022, with a choice of Legend Blue or Midnight Black. We await word on U.S. availability.

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Can Christmas come too early? When it comes to the 1994 pop song played annually around the holiday season, the answer is yes - according to a bar in Texas.

"All I want for Christmas is You," a well known earworm by Mariah Carey, was banned in the "Stoneleigh P" bar in Dallas before Dec. 1.

A sign on its jukebox last week said the catchy tune "will be skipped" if played before then, and after that date it can be played but only "one time a night."

The bar did not immediately respond to The Washington Post's request for comment but the general manager told CNN she did not "hate Mariah Carey and I don't hate Christmas" - though the song gets played too frequently, jarring staff. She added that the sign was intended to be lighthearted and had been put up in the bar for the last few years.

A picture of the sign, shared by a National Review reporter on Twitter, has sparked a social media debate, with the musician herself weighing in late Monday.

Carey posted an image of herself dressed for battle in armor, amid flames after someone on Twitter asked whether the jukebox sign signaled a war on Christmas.

Carey also later shared a video of herself clad in a sparkly red Christmas dress, using a giant candy-cane baseball bat to smash Halloween pumpkin lanterns, exclaiming: "It's time."

Her fans shared their delight with her response on social media, dubbing her "the queen of Christmas" and teasing that she had been "defrosting" since October in preparation for her upcoming ubiquity.

One tweeted: "Imagine owning a whole holiday," while others posted memes of Carey appearing to count piles of cash at the end of each year.

Others were more sympathetic with the bar, condoning its actions: "This is an acceptable practice for that song." Another lamented: "I hate that song, I can't stand it!!"

The chorus on social media, however, does not appear to have affected the mainstream popularity of the tune, which on Tuesday had already entered Apple Music's Top 100 most-played songs in the United States. Last year, by 1 Dec. it was the second most listened to song in America according to the music streaming service Spotify.

In 2017, the "modern yuletide classic" entered the Billboard Hot 100s top 10 for the first time, more than 20 years after its release, becoming one of the few Christmas songs to do so. It has also been awarded a Guinness World Record for being the highest-charting holiday song on the Billboard US Hot 100 by a solo artist and continues to delight and vex listeners across the globe.
Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Schoolchildren who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic.

Health officials hailed shots for kids ages 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.

Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday  a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At a Decatur, Georgia, pediatricians office, 10-year-old Mackenzie Olson took off her black leather jacket and rolled up her sleeve as her mother looked on.

I see my friends but not the way I want to. I want to hug them, play games with them that we dont normally get to, and have a pillow fight with her best friend, Mackenzie said after getting her shot at the Childrens Medical Group site.

With the federal government promising enough vaccine to protect the nations 28 million kids in this age group, pediatricians offices and hospitals began inoculating children. Schools, pharmacies and other locations plan to follow suit in the days ahead.

The atmosphere surrounding the launch of shots for elementary-age students was festive in many locations. California vaccine sites welcomed children with inflatable animals and handed out coloring books and prizes. Vehicles lined up before dawn at an Atlanta site.

Many pediatricians offices expected strong interest in the shots at least initially, but health officials are worried about demand tapering off. Almost two-thirds of parents recently polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they would wait or not seek out vaccines for their kids.

Brian Giglio, 40, of Alexandria, Virginia, brought his 8-year-old son, Carter, in for vaccination at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, where kids with underlying conditions got first dibs. Carter has Type 1 diabetes that puts him at risk for complications if he were to become infected.

Giglio said the vaccine was like a hallway pass for us to begin living life again. And Carter said he cant wait to leave masks behind once hes fully vaccinated, so he can smell the things he used to be able to smell without it.

Im ready to trash it, he said, though the CDC still recommends masks in schools and indoor public spaces where virus activity is high, even for the fully vaccinated.

Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, was first in line Wednesday for a drive-through vaccination at Viral Solutions in Atlanta. The girl enthusiastically bounced around the car before the shot, which she broadcast live on her computer during morning announcements at her elementary school.

Afterward, Cate said she was looking forward to hugging her friends and celebrating her birthday indoors next month instead of having a freezing cold outside birthday party.

Hartford Hospital in Connecticut vaccinated seven youngsters Tuesday night, minutes after the CDCs director gave the OK, and three more early Wednesday. As they got their shots, one girl squeezed her eyes shut and a boy barely flinched, and other waiting kids applauded.

The vaccine  one-third the dose given to older children and adults and administered with kid-sized needles  requires two doses three weeks apart, plus two more weeks for full protection. That means children who get vaccinated before Thanksgiving will be covered by Christmas.

The timing before winter holidays is very fortunate, said Dr. Jennifer Shu, whose Childrens Medical Group office in Decatur, Georgia, began vaccinating first thing Wednesday. This age group will be able to spend holidays with friends and family more safely than they have been able to since the start of the pandemic.

Thousands of pediatricians pre-ordered doses, and Pfizer began shipments soon after the Food and Drug Administrations decision Friday to authorize emergency use. Pfizer said it expects to make 19,000 shipments totaling about 11 million doses in the coming days, and millions more will be available to order on a weekly basis.

Authorities said they expect a smooth rollout, unlike the chaos that plagued the national one for adults nearly a year ago.

Asked about parents having trouble finding vaccine appointments, White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said the vaccines.gov website will be updated by Friday for parents to search for locations near them. He said the kid vaccination campaign will be at full speed next week as Pfizer continues to ship millions more doses to locations around the country.

More than 6,000 vaccination clinics are being planned at schools around the country before the winter holiday break, he said.

Walgreens planned to start kids vaccinations Saturday and said parents could sign up online or by calling 1-800-Walgreens. CVS was also accepting appointments online and by phone at select pharmacies starting Sunday.

Despite the initial enthusiasm, not everyone is rushing out to get shots.

Hannah Hause, a Colorado mother of four children ages 2, 5, 7 and 8, is herself vaccinated, but wants to see how the child vaccines play out and are studied in the larger childhood population.

Its not studied long-term. It just makes me nervous, she said. As long as I can wait, I will wait.

At a White House briefing Wednesday, Walensky said authorities thoroughly reviewed all available data on the vaccines safety, efficacy and the immune response it generates before recommending shots for kids.

Dr. Ada Stewart, a Black family physician in Columbia, South Carolina, and past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said shes seen the toll the virus has taken on younger children  not just in family illness and death but with school disruptions, slipping grades and mental strain.

School closures throughout the pandemic have disproportionately burdened children of color, widening academic gaps and worsening mental health, according to data presented Tuesday to CDC advisers. It showed more than 2,000 COVID-related school closures in just the first two months of the current school year.

A Pfizer study of 2,268 children found the vaccine was almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections. The FDA examined 3,100 vaccinated kids in concluding the shots are safe.

Some skeptics have questioned the need for kids to get vaccinated since they are less likely than adults to develop severe COVID-19. But with the delta variant, they get infected and transmit just as readily as adults do, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a recent White House briefing.

Infected kids have also contributed to the U.S. toll  almost 46 million infections and more than 740,000 deaths.

Since the pandemic began, at least 94 children ages 5 to 11 have died from COVID-19, more than 8,300 have been hospitalized and over 5,000 have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to the coronavirus. Black and Latino youngsters and those with chronic conditions are among the hardest hit.

Kyevontay Jordan, 7, who is Black, has diabetes and got his shot at Childrens National Hospital in Washington. The vaccine gave his dad peace of mind.

Now I can sleep not worrying about him going to school, said Brian Jordan. Being exposed to the coronavirus could really affect him and mess him up.

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Associated Press writers Patty Nieberg in Denver, Angie Wang in Washington, Lauran Neergaard in Alexandria, Virginia, and Kate Brumback and Ron Harris in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at https:(backslash)(backslash)twitter.com(backslash)LindseyTanner.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Hungary's president Wednesday in Budapest, where the two leaders committed to achieving carbon neutrality in their countries by 2050.

At a news briefing following talks with Hungarian President Janos Ader, Moon said bilateral trade between Hungary and South Korea broke records last year despite the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Relations between the countries will be elevated to a strategic partner status, Moon said, adding that significant South Korean investments into the manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries in Hungary could be expanded.

Moons visit was part of a nine-day European tour that includes a Thursday summit in Hungary's capital with the leaders of the Visegrad Group, a pact of four countries that includes Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Moon visited Italy and the United Kingdom earlier in his trip.

He was expected to hold a closed-door meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban later Wednesday, according to an official with the prime ministers office.

It was the first state visit of a South Korean president to Hungary since 2001.

Hungarian president Ader said he and Moon also met Tuesday at the ongoing U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

We have two common points concerning climate change," Ader said. "We both agreed that our countries will be carbon-neutral by 2050, and we both think that climate neutrality cannot be achieved without nuclear energy.

South Korea is one of Hungary's most important investors, Ader said, adding that the country had invested more than $5 billion in Hungary to date and that capital investments in 2019 had surpassed those of Germany, a key trade partner for Hungary.

We trust that this tendency will continue, Ader said.

Earlier Wednesday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a statement that bilateral trade between the two countries approached $4.5 billion in 2020.
BANGKOK (AP)  Police in Thailand announced Wednesday the arrest of the head of a company suspected of cheating overseas buyers of millions of dollars they paid for undelivered medical rubber gloves during the coronavirus pandemic.

Thai authorities have been cracking down on a surge in rubber glove fraud, including the sale of substandard and used gloves.

Police Lt. Gen. Jirabhob Bhuridej said Florida-based company Rock Fintek filed a complaint that Thailands Sufficiency Economy City Co. failed to deliver 2 million boxes of nitrile gloves worth $15.5 million for which it had paid a 40% deposit.

He said two other companies, from France and Hong Kong, also filed complaints about Sufficiency Economy City Co., which marketed gloves branded SkyMed.

The Thai company's CEO, Kampee Kampeerayannon, was arrested Tuesday on charges of fraud and posting false information online, he said. Kampee could not be contacted Wednesday and his company declined to comment.

In a separate case Tuesday, the Thai attorney-generals office announced that a Thai employee of Paddy the Room Trading Co., Pipatpon Homjanya, was sentenced to four years in prison.

The company had exported millions of substandard and in some cases secondhand gloves to the United States which were packed without permission in boxes of a legitimate glove producer, Thai officials said.

Pipatpon was found guilty of producing and trading substandard medical gloves and medical equipment and of using the trademark of other companies without permission, Thai media reported.

The managing director of Paddy the Room, Luk-fei Yang Yang, identified by police and corporate records as Chinese, left Thailand before prosecutors were able to formally charge him in court.

The dealings of Paddy the Room attracted public attention in May when an American businessman who had filed a complaint about being cheated by the company was himself arrested.

Louis Ziskin and several associates were arrested for allegedly detaining a Taiwanese representative of another company, Collections Enterprise, to unsuccessfully pressure it to refund money after Paddy the Room's gloves proved to be low grade. Collections Enterprise had handled the payment for the deal.

Ziskin, who denies involvement in the alleged detention, had paid $2.7 million for gloves to be delivered to his Los Angeles-based company, AirQueen. He filed a complaint with Thai police in March against Paddy the Room.

Ziskin and his associates left Thailand when police failed to provide evidence in time to apply to a court to hold them for further investigation, police commissioner Jirabhob said.

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Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
Midland County Records

Death row inmate Clinton Lee Young has been transported back to Midland County to await his new trial, according to Midland County Jail records.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Sept. 22 tossed a capital murder conviction and granted a new trial for Young, the death row inmate who was convicted by a Midland County jury in 2003, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram article.
79, formerly of Muskogee left us November 15, 2021 in Nebraska. Her Service of Memory will be on Tuesday, 12pm at Worship Community Center 820 E. Okmulgee. Keith D. Biglow Funeral Directors, Inc- Muskogee
Two Loris City Council members were re-elected and a newcomer was elected Tuesday night after an uncontested race, according to unofficial results.

Incumbents Carroll Padgett and Michael Suggs and newcomer Andrea Coleman will serve the next three years on Loris City Council.

The election was uncontested and Councilman Terrence Hardee did not seek reelection.

According to unofficial results, 346 votes were cast in the city election. There were 80 absentee votes.

Here are the totals:

Coleman: 91

Padgett: 110

Suggs: 131

Coleman, originally from New City, New York, has lived in Loris since 2018. She is a political newcomer and this term will be her first as an elected official. Coleman said she decided to run because she wanted to make a difference and be involved in her community.

"I'm excited," she said after results were in Tuesday. "I can't really wait to learn more and become more involved."

Coleman said she looks forward to advocating for citizens of Loris, though this is her first political experience.

"I don't have the political background," she said. "I just have a passion."

City council members are paid $3,120 per year and all council members are elected at-large. The upcoming term begins Jan. 1, 2022.

The election results will be certified at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center superintendent Brian Brown had a hunch that his countys detention rates might be disproportionately higher than those of similar-sized counties, but he didnt have the data at his fingertips to make comparisons and advocate for needed reforms.

That began to change in 2019, when a task force appointed by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission issued a report on the admissions to counties juvenile detention facilities from 2017 to 2019. During that time, Peoria County had taken into custody 90 children under the age of 13  significantly more than any other county.

More Information The entire report is available at the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission website. See More Collapse

It was alarming to say the least. Not only were we the leader in a very bad category  we were leaps and bounds above everybody else, said Brown, who has worked in juvenile justice for 23 years and served as superintendent of Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center for the past 13 years.

Brown said the data were an eye-opener for us, and served as a catalyst for change.

As of the most recent report, issued in June, Peoria County had detained only one child under age 13 during 2021, said Douglas C. Smith, director of the Center for Prevention Research and Development at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The center operates the Juvenile Monitoring Information System that collects the data from county juvenile detention facilities. All 16 juvenile detention centers in Illinois are required to enter their facilities admissions data into the system at least monthly. Smith is the principal investigator on the Juvenile Justice Systems Improvement grant that supports the system. The grant is funded by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission.

Going from 37 to one in a year is pretty remarkable and an amazing success story, Smith said. It takes a lot of courage to take a good look at the data and have discussions with all the stakeholders about these difficult issues.

The commission partnered with the Center for Prevention Research and Development and Loyola University Chicago to research the issues giving rise to detention of children 10-12 years old and to develop strategies to reduce those detention admissions and address the pronounced racial inequities while enhancing the well-being of youths, families and communities.

Peoria County officials reform efforts included revising the intake policy to reduce the number of offenses that were mandatory admissions. They also revamped the screening instrument that includes data such as the presenting offense that brought the child into contact with authorities, whether the child was wanted on a warrant or had a history of other offenses and their age  all of which factor into a composite score that may influence the decision to detain them.

We started focusing a bit more on the presenting offense and less on some of their history and other factors, Brown said. We also added some mitigating factors that took points away based on their age.

By revamping the screening instrument, Peoria County began chipping away at its admissions rates and began making progress toward the end of 2019, Brown said.

He chairs the Illinois Probation and Court Services Associations Detention Committee, which is developing a universal screening form for use by all Illinois counties.

In a report issued in February, the task force pointed to Juvenile Monitoring Information System data demonstrating various problems with juvenile detention in Illinois, including counties inconsistent use of it, widely varying lengths of stay for similar offenses and racial disparities in detention rates.

While state law requires every juvenile detention facility to have a scorable screening instrument to admit youths to secure juvenile detention centers, admissions practices vary from county to county. A domestic battery charge might be a mandatory detention in one county but not in another, regardless of the childs age or history of prior offenses, Brown said.

Detention of juveniles ages 10-12 shows the racial and ethnic disparities found in adult incarceration. While Black children currently represent about 15% of Illinois youths, they accounted for 71% of the admissions to juvenile detention facilities in 2019, Smith said.

While annual detention admissions of children ages 10-12 declined by about 32% from 2017 to 2019, the task force said detention is a life-altering, traumatizing and often stigmatizing experience that is associated with poorer physical and mental health and higher rates of substance abuse and incarceration as an adult.

Lisa Jacobs, vice chair of the commission and manager of the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy and Practice at Loyola University, has been instrumental in examining whether detention is necessary for young children, Smith said.

Our mission is to improve youth outcomes and to enhance public safety. We want to utilize juvenile detention as a last resort and for the shortest time possible. The research is pretty clear regarding the possible long-term detrimental effects that juvenile detention may have on children, Brown said.

Research on the detention of 10- to 12-year-old children compiled by the Center for Prevention Research and Development indicated that nearly half of these children have unmet medical needs, and more than two-thirds of them have at least one psychiatric disorder. The task force suggested a range of programs and services that Illinois could utilize to deflect children from entering the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and better address their mental health and physical problems or family conflicts.

House Bill 3767, a bill currently before the Illinois Senate, would amend the Juvenile Justice Act to raise the minimum age for detention from 10 to 13. Task force members suggested that, if the bill passes, a planning period should be utilized prior to its implementation to address resource gaps and develop alternatives to detention that attend to childrens well-being and to public safety.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  World leaders promised to protect Earth's forests, cut methane emissions and help South Africa wean itself off coal at the U.N. climate summit Tuesday  part of a flurry of deals intended to avert catastrophic global warming.

Britain hailed the commitment by more than 100 countries to end deforestation in the coming decade as the first big achievement of the conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow, known as COP26  but experts noted such promises have been made and broken before.

More than 120 world leaders were heading home after two days in which they received stark warnings about the state of the Earth from Johnson, naturalist David Attenborough, Queen Elizabeth II and  most powerfully  the people of countries and regions already facing climate upheaval.

Johnson said at a news conference that it was important to guard against false hope, but added that he was cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the talks. The conference aims to keep the world on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels  the goal set at the Paris climate conference six years ago.

Johnson had a message for negotiators from around the globe who will strain over the next 10 days to turn politicians' climate promises into reality: The eyes of the populations of the world are on you.

The U.K. said it has received pledges from leaders representing more than 85% of the worlds forests to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Among them are several countries with massive forests, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the United States.

More than $19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged toward the plan.

Experts and observers said fulfilling the pledge will be critical to limiting climate change, but many noted that such grand promises have been made before  to little effect.

Signing the declaration is the easy part, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter. It is essential that it is implemented now for people and planet.

Alison Hoare, a senior research fellow at political think tank Chatham House, said world leaders promised in 2014 to end deforestation by 2030, but since then deforestation has accelerated across many countries.

Forests are important ecosystems and provide a critical way of absorbing carbon dioxide  the main greenhouse gas  from the atmosphere. But the value of wood as a commodity and the growing demand for agricultural and pastoral land are leading to widespread and often illegal felling of forests, particularly in developing countries. Indigenous peoples are often among the hardest hit.

We are delighted to see Indigenous peoples mentioned in the forest deal announced today, said Joseph Itongwa Mukumo, an Indigenous Walikale and activist from Congo.

He called for governments and businesses to recognize the effective role Indigenous communities play in preventing deforestation.

These are billions in investment towards environmental preservation, but its very difficult for this money to reach Indigenous communities, reach traditional communities, said Chief Ninawa, a leader of the Huni Kui people from the Amazon attending the summit.

Some campaigners said the forests pledge was a step forward. Luciana Tellez Chavez, an environmental researcher at Human Rights Watch, said there were quite a lot of really positive elements.

She said it was positive to see China and Brazil pledging to protect forests, but noted that Brazil's public statements don't yet line up with its domestic policies and warned that the deal could be used by some countries to greenwash their image.

Brazil's government has been eager to project itself as a responsible environmental steward in the wake of surging deforestation and fires in the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands that sparked global outrage in recent years. Critics caution that its promises should be viewed with skepticism, and the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, is an outspoken proponent of developing the Amazon.

On Tuesday, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden launched a plan to reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. The announcement was part of a broader effort with the European Union and other nations to reduce overall methane emissions worldwide by 30% by 2030.

Clamping down on methane flaring and leaks from oil wells and gas pipelines  the focus of the Biden plan  is considered one of the easiest ways to cut emissions. Reducing methane from agriculture, in particular by belching cows, is a trickier matter.

Helen Mountford, a climate expert at the World Resources Institute, said the agreement sets a strong floor in terms of the ambition we need globally.

Separately, the U.S., Britain, France and Germany announced a plan to provide $8.5 billion in loans and grants over five years to help South Africa phase out coal.

South Africa gets about 90% of its electricity from coal-fired plants, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

But campaigners say the worlds biggest carbon emitters need to do much more. Earth has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2F). Current projections based on planned emissions cuts over the next decade are for it to hit 2.7C (4.9F) by the year 2100.

Increased warming over coming decades would melt much of the planets ice, raise global sea levels and greatly increase the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather, scientists say.

I dont think that activists are being heard here," said Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a climate activist from the Philippines.

We have to make sure that we really rally together and make sure that were so loud that the world leaders cant keep ignoring us, she said. "Because every fraction of a degree, every step towards the right direction is what matters here.

At his end-of-summit news conference. Biden acknowledged the fierce skepticism from climate activists who say world leaders are not moving with enough haste.

He insisted that climate activists have been a vital voice, and expressed optimism that the world is waking up to understanding that the issue is not just a moral imperative but also an enormous opportunity to spur economies.

Even if the funding didnt come from some of the governments, you have the private sector now engaged where theyre talking about investing literally the need to invest over trillions of dollars off the sidelines, Biden said.

So things are changing., he added. We just have to have the right stewardship and enough sense as world leaders to get it right.

Some 25,000 people are expected to attend the vast COP26 gathering, from heads of state to activists and charity workers. Attendees on Tuesday included Leonardo DiCaprio, who drew a crowd of journalists and fans. The Hollywood star, who is a U.N. climate change representative, visited an exhibition highlighting the role plants can play in providing solutions to climate change.

One not there was Chinas Xi Jinping. Biden said the leader of the worlds biggest greenhouse-gas-emitting country made a big mistake with his absence.

Theyve lost an ability to influence people around the world and all the people here at COP, Biden said

As countries announced major initiatives, those attendees appeared ready to do their small part: For a few minutes Tuesday, the vegetarian version of haggis  a Scottish delicacy typically made with sheep's lungs  was sold out. It was outselling the traditional version, servers said  perhaps unsurprising in a crowd well aware of the impact of meat-eating on the climate.

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Follow AP's climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate
Francesco Carta | Getty Images

Santa Stroll hats will be available for purchase starting Friday ahead of the 12-day shop-local event that leads up to Small Business Saturday on Nov. 27.

The hats, which will be sold for $10 through Nov. 15, are stuffed with coupons offering hundreds of dollars in savings at more than 35 Jacksonville businesses. They will be available at Jacksonville Main Street, Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce, Jacksonville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau offices and County Market in Jacksonville. Quantities are limited.
Most workers at Deere & Co. rejected a contract offer Tuesday that would have given them 10% raises and decided to remain on strike in the hopes of securing a better deal.

The raises in the new agreement reached over the weekend were twice as big as the ones in the original offer United Auto Workers union members rejected last month, but those raises and improved benefits weren't enough to end the strike that began on Oct. 14. The new agreement also would have provided an $8,500 ratification bonus, preserved a pension option for new employees, made workers eligible for health insurance sooner and maintained their no-premium health insurance coverage.

The disputed contract covers more than 10,000 Deere workers at 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas. A smaller group of about 100 workers at two Deere facilities in Colorado and Georgia voted to accept an identical deal.

The union said 55% of its members at the 12 main plants voted against this latest contract offer Tuesday.

Last month, 90% of union members also rejected a proposed contract that included immediate 5% raises for some workers and 6% for others, and 3% raises in 2023 and 2025.

Deere officials said they were disappointed the agreement was voted down.

Through the agreements reached with the UAW, John Deere would have invested an additional $3.5 billion in our employees, and by extension, our communities, to significantly enhance wages and benefits that were already the best and most comprehensive in our industries, said Marc A. Howze, Deere's chief administrative officer. This investment was the right one for Deere, our employees, and everyone we serve together."

Employees would have received wages between $22.13 an hour and $33.05 an hour under the latest rejected contract, depending on their position.

Tuesday's vote means that the first major strike since 1986 will continue at the maker of agriculture and construction equipment. Currently, many companies are dealing with worker shortages, making workers feel emboldened to demand more.

Douglas Woolam told the Des Moines Register that he voted against the contract because he didnt think it provided enough for the majority of workers who are on the lower end of the pay scale.

Woolam, who has worked for the company for 23 years in Moline, Illinois, said members of his family have been working for the company for 75 years, beginning with his grandfather. He said his father retired from Deere making a higher wage than he earns now.

Forklift operator Irving Griffin, who has been with Deere for 11 years, told the newspaper Monday that he planned to vote against the contract because he believed the company can offer even more.

Griffin said he thought workers should hold out for a better offer even though workers are receiving only $275 a week from the union while theyre on strike.

Now is the best time to strike and take a stand for what were really worth, he said to the newspaper.

Sales have been strong at the Moline, Illinois-based company this year as the economy continued to recover from the pandemic. Deere has predicted it will report record profits this year between $5.7 billion and $5.9 billion.
LONDON (AP)  A British-registered scallop boat caught up in a post-Brexit spat between the U.K. and France over fishing licenses has been released by French authorities, its owner said Wednesday.

Andrew Brown, head of public affairs for Macduff Shellfish, which owns the scallop dredger, said the Cornelis Gert Jan had departed Le Havre in northern France. French maritime police seized the vessel off the Normandy coast last week and detained its skipper and crew.

The boat, which was detained over a paperwork infraction, has become a symbol of a bigger feud between the U.K. and France over fishing rights in the English Channel since the U.K. withdrew from the European Union..

We are pleased to have this matter resolved and delighted that our crew and vessel are now able to return home, Brown said. The crew have acted with calmness and professionalism throughout the entire incident. They are in good spirits, looking forward to return to their loved ones and are grateful for all the messages of support received from the British public.

The French and British governments have traded threats and allegations for weeks over French demands for licenses to fish in U.K. waters. France complained that dozens of its boats were denied licenses to fish in waters around Britain and the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, which are self-governing British Crown dependencies close to the coast of northern France.

Fishing is a tiny industry economically for both countries but with outsized political importance, and the dispute has mushroomed into an important test for Britains relations with the European Union after Brexit.

France has threatened to close its ports to some British boats and to impose strict checks on boats and trucks carrying U.K. goods, if more licenses are not granted. Paris also at one point suggested it might restrict energy supplies to the Channel Islands, which are heavily dependent on French electricity.

The French government originally said it would impose the sanctions if no resolution on the license dispute emerged by Tuesday. It pushed back the deadline, and then said Wednesday that the measures were on hold at least through Friday, while talks involving French, British and EU officials continue.

Britain says a blockade would breach the Brexit withdrawal agreement and that the issue behind the dispute is is a technical one related to some French boats lack of paperwork to prove they have traditionally fished in the areas where they want to keep working.

But France sees it as a matter of principle, and has accused Britain of breaching its legally binding divorce deal with the European Union, which sets the rules for fishing in the post-Brexit era..

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were peppered with questions about the diplomatic dustup as they attended a Group of 20 summit in Rome and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow over the past week.

The impounded trawler is not one of the vessels involved in the licensing dispute, according to the captain's lawyer. Mathieu Croix, the lawyer for skipper Jondy Ward, said a French court on Wednesday ordered the boat's release.

The court in Rouen annulled last weeks seizure, Croix told The Associated Press. French maritime authorities, who seized the boat in the Le Havre port last week, did not immediately respond to the ruling.

Croix said the dredger was caught in a political game

There is a whole story spun around this entire case, whereas in fact, it is a rather mundane affair over fishing in an area that is supposedly out of bounds and about licenses that may or may not have been given and catch amounts that are relatively modest, Croix said.

From then on, given the current political climate, the case blew up to levels that in our view are totally disproportionate, he said.

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Charlton reported from Paris.

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Follow AP's Brexit coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/brexit
NEW YORK (AP)  To a fascinated outside world, Huma Abedin was always the elegant woman standing at the back of the room, not speaking.

An ever-loyal aide to her boss of 25 years, Hillary Clinton, for whom she would walk to the ends of the earth. (Spoiler alert: she still would.) And an ever-suffering wife to Anthony Weiner, who brought her endless public shame in cascades of scandal. (Spoiler alert: it was as bad as we thought.) Always there, and always silent.

Until now.

Im ready for this, she tells The Associated Press in an interview, almost literally rolling up her sleeves in anticipation of the release of her memoir, Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds, on Tuesday. Im actually not nervous! Abedin, 46, says she's relieved to be finally telling her own story, after years of reading everyone else's version. So Im feeling really good.

In a jam-packed volume of just under 500 pages, Abedin, born in Michigan to Muslim academics from India and Pakistan and raised largely in Saudi Arabia, dissects and illustrates the three relationships that have framed her life.

First up: her family, with a special focus on her adored late father, who died before she started college and whose advice about being true to herself, scrawled in a handwritten note, begins the book.

Second is Clinton, whom Abedin has served her entire professional life, through the first lady years to the Senate, from the State Department to that turbulent presidential campaign in 2016, and still today. And third, the section to which all readers will quickly turn: her husband. In the book, she does not hold back. Nor does she in the interview.

You know, he broke my heart, she says. He ripped it out and stomped on it, over and over again. And I lived in so much shame for so long, so confused, so alone, not really knowing the way out, just trying to do what was best for my child.

Despite many reports to the contrary, the couple is not yet divorced, though lawyers are in the final stages, Abedin says  a full 10 years after Weiners sexting scandal first upended her life. Abedin had married the New York congressman, a rising political star, a year earlier and was in the early, blissful stages of pregnancy when, she writes, her world came crashing down with an obscene photo that Weiner intended for a woman but mistakenly sent on his Twitter feed.

He resigned from Congress, but launched a mayoral bid two years later  a forgiving Abedin at his side  and seemed headed toward victory when the scandal surfaced anew, with more revelations of sexting under the can't-make-this-up moniker of Carlos Danger, a development excruciatingly recounted in the searing documentary Weiner. (Abedin, who appears in shock throughout, has never watched the film.)

And then, scandal erupted a third time when a lurid photo surfaced of Weiner lying next to the couples toddler son. Abedin announced a separation. But the couple continued to live in the same home, on different floors. Why, asked the tabloids  and others more politely  did she stay?

Abedin is now explaining. A lot had to do with the day-to-day realities of being a parent, and making sure her son had two of them  especially after shed lost her own father early on.

People can make their own judgments, she told the AP. But when youre IN it, youre not thinking in terms of the grand plan. Youre just trying to get through the day. Weiner, she says, was a hands-on dad who did pickups and made lunches and scheduled playdates. And their son needed him.

Its also instructive to learn that Weiner was the first man in Abedins life. He was my first love," she says. The first man I had ever been with. And once I had become a mother, it really did become about my child. I didn't have a choice about not having my father in my life, and I wasn't going to do that to my kid.

Of course, that same question  why stay?  was lobbed at Hillary Clinton, during the impeachment scandal involving her husband and Monica Lewinsky. Abedin thinks the world missed the obvious explanation, because it was too simple: She did it because she believed it was the right thing to do for herself and her family  and for her country.

Asked if she looks back at the scandal differently through a #MeToo lens, Abedin notes her allegiance was always to Hillary. As for Bill: There was no excusing his behavior. But he would be the first to say that.

Speaking of #MeToo, one episode in the book has gotten much attention, but takes up only a few paragraphs. Abedin recounts that a U.S. senator invited her to his apartment for coffee and kissed her forcefully, then apologized when she rebuffed him, saying hed misread her. Abedin never describes it as an assault, and doesn't name the senator.

Throughout, Abedins unstinting allegiance to Hillary Clinton is paramount. She recalls thinking, early on: I would walk to the ends of the earth if you asked!! Asked if the two ever had a dispute in all those years, she replies: Youve stumped me.

Except certain fashion choices. Like an overly puffy black coat Clinton seemed to favor, and Abedin so disliked she actually tried to hide it, without success: Clinton fished it out and wore it to the inauguration of George W. Bush.

There are other humorous moments in the book  like the time the first lady overslept, and an over-eager Abedin, tasked with getting her day started, actually tiptoed into the pitch-black presidential bedroom and shook her boss awake, startling the sleeping president as well, and creating a ruckus.

Theres also the time Abedin, amid a bad public moment with Weiner, was approached by a woman in a store, pointing to a newspaper photo. Bracing for a hateful remark, she was delighted to realize the woman thought she was Amal Clooney.

Indeed, so accustomed had Abedin become to bracing for bad news, she initially called her book Bracing. But no amount of bracing could have prepared her for the moment, late in the 2016 campaign, when her two worlds collided to disastrous effect. FBI director James Comey (briefly) reopened the investigation into Clintons emails because of Abedin emails found on Weiners laptop through his sexting investigation.

If she loses this election, it will be because of you and me, a livid Abedin told Weiner.

When Clinton did lose, it was "a great trauma that took me a very long time to process, she says now. Finally, though, she came to believe the burden should rest on Comey, not her. She says Clinton herself never blamed her. (She also didn't ask her to leave anything out of the book, Abedin says.)

The shame Abedin experienced through Weiners behavior is the most absorbing part of the book, and the hardest to read. She was subjected to a child services investigation, with the threat of her son being removed. Social invitations were withdrawn. A neighbor complained when the couple used their buildings swimming pool for their son's birthday.

And yet in her book's acknowledgements, Abedin includes a thank-you. To Weiner.

Asked why, she explains she came to believe through joint therapy that her husband, who went to prison in 2017 for sexting with a 15-year-old girl, suffered from an illness, that his behavior was not controllable, but compulsive.

And, she says, he gave her a son  my reason for living now.

Finally, and most surprisingly: It's about love. I know what its like to be loved," she says. "Ive had it. It was short, it was very fleeting, but its a pretty extraordinary experience ... And he is the only man who ever gave that to me.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli were virtually deadlocked early Wednesday after a campaign centered on the incumbents progressive policies and handling of the pandemic.

The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the race as votes from Tuesday's election were still being tallied on a night that imparted some bad omens for Democrats. Incomplete returns showed Ciattarelli and the first-term governor were separated by about 1,200 votes out of more than 2.3 million cast.

Murphy had been leading in the polls, has a 1 million-voter registration advantage and had more cash in his campaign coffers than Ciattarelli in the final days of the race. But the Republican has far surpassed the Republican nominee from four years ago in fundraising and has seen the gap in public polls move in his favor  if only by a few points.

At Murphy's election night party in Asbury Park's convention hall, the crowd went from cheering early results reported on TV to milling around the cavernous venue and checking their phones. At Ciattarelli's camp in Bridgewater, the crowd was breaking out into periodic cheers.

At 12:30 a.m., Ciattarelli said he couldn't yet declare a victory because votes remained to be counted, but said he fully expected to make a victory declaration once that happens.

Weve sent a message to the entire nation. This is what I love about this state: Every single time it's gone too far off track, the people of this state have pushed, pulled and prodded it right back to where it needs to be," he told the crowd.

While a Ciattarelli win would send a jolt through state and national politics, a win by Murphy would also break some historical trends.

No Democrat has won reelection as governor in New Jersey since Brendan Byrne in 1977, and the party opposite the president's has won the New Jersey governorship going back to 1985.

An enthusiastic Murphy also appeared onstage, hopeful for a win.

When every vote is counted, and every vote will be counted, we hope to have a celebration, he said.

New Jersey does not have an automatic recount law, but the candidates are permitted to request one. The party that wants a recount has to file a suit in State Superior Court in the counties where they want to contest tallies. That has to be done within 17 days of Election Day.

Murphy has campaigned as a solid progressive, with a record to show for it. He signed bills into law that expanded voting access, provided for taxpayer-funded pre-K and community college, hiked the minimum wage to $15 an hour over time along with opening up the state to renewable energy like wind power.

Ciattarelli's campaign seized on comments Murphy made that New Jersey probably isnt for voters whose top issue is taxes, casting the governor as out of touch with a concern many prioritize.

He also sought support from those who disagreed with Murphy's handling of COVID-19. At a recent campaign rally in Hazlet when someone in the audience asked about mandates, Ciattarelli said there'd be none under his administration  an allusion to mask and vaccination mandates.

He also implicitly criticized critical race theory in schools, saying that we are not going to teach our children to feel guilty. Critical race theory is a method of thinking of Americas history through the lens of racism that has become a political lightning rod of the Republican Party.

Polls showed Murphy got solid support for his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, which hit New Jersey hard in early 2020 and resulted in the deaths of more than 25,000 people. About a third of those deaths occurred in nursing and veterans homes. But the state also excelled at getting people vaccinated and was quick to become one of the states with the highest percentages of eligible people to be fully vaccinated.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday evening by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, based on social media posts and local news reports, alleged that dozens of voters were turned away from polls. In some places, that was because electronic tablets used to check in voters struggled to connect to the internet.

The suit, which had sought to extend voting until 9:30 p.m., was denied by the court, the civil rights organization said. A message seeking comment was left with the secretary of states office, which oversees elections in the state.

___

AP writers Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill and Wayne Parry in Bridgewater contributed to this report.
At some level, Attorney General Merrick Garland can be excused for being ignorant about two of the most important influences in determining successful schools. However, teachers in all schools should feel embarrassed for the National School Boards Association members or any local school board member who does not know that local control and parental involvement are major factors in creating good schools.

For almost a decade after the 1980s call for public school reform (A Nation at Risk), two researchers from the Brookings Institute reviewed robust surveys of students, teachers, and administrators in high schools to help answer a major question: What makes for effective and high achieving schools? In their 1990 book Politics, Markets & Americas Schools, John Chubb and Terry Moe concluded the variables that make for good schools are those that allow for a high level of parental involvement, support innovative school leaders, competition, and parental school choice.

Muzzling parents who question what is taught to their children is antithetical to educational research findings for what makes for good schools and flies in the face of the countrys tradition of local control of public education. Garlands directive to FBI agents and a list of other federal entities on parents who express their concern about what is taught in their tax-supported school is a major abuse of governmental power.

Since its inception, public education has been run locally, i.e. by the districts, with less power as you move up to the state and federal levels. Education policy is the quintessential example of authentic federalism. Local school district leaders, and if relevant, state education officials have not hesitated to thumb their noses at federal policies and programs. For example, the major federal initiative, No child left behind, got little traction as state and local school authorities had little interest in what the policy wonks from Washington, D.C., thought would work to improve public education.

Residents and local officials should be asking themselves what possibly could be getting parents so riled up that they are turning out to speak up at school meetings in unprecedented numbers. The Department of Justices memo to local police runs roughshod over citizens rights to assemble, petition the government, and freedom of expression.

School board meetings are for the most part uneventful; few residents show up to speak. Raising school taxes can draw a spirited crowd; but what gives when school board officials think they need the support of police to maintain order? Taxpayers should go to these meetings to find out.

Politicians, teachers, and pundits who argue that citizens should not question school curricula because they are not subject matter experts should attend a civics course and learn about the historical and philosophical foundations of public education in this country.

Horace Mann, credited as the founder of public education in the U.S., set as one of his aims to form students that would participate in enlightened public opinion. As with today, the common schools  aim was to form law-abiding and productive citizens for the betterment of society.

The three Rs help build the habits of industry and the habits of the mind for students. However, the habits of the heart and soul should come mostly from the home; no institution should assume this role or try to indoctrinate students with questionable content.

Actually, the list of the best schools in the county identified by Chubb and Moe in their study were religious-sponsored schools, as these had local control and saw education as a partnership between teachers and parents.

A significant number of parents see what schools are teaching their children today as way off-script. To them, the newfangled indoctrination does not comport with their understanding of truth, justice, and the American way. Parents, at the least, deserve the respect, and the right, to be called on, to question what educators are teaching their children. The federal government has no authority to ring a bell to dismiss parents who care about what is being taught in todays public schools.

Stephen F. Gambescia is professor of health services administration at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He is also author of the book Every Child, No Matter How Many, Is Special. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
To the editor:

With the recent passage of new congressional maps, it is time for a change in our redistricting process.

The new congressional districts, that look like a jigsaw puzzle gone wrong, are now awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzkers signature. We can all agree that these maps show how much of a disaster redistricting can be when you let the party in power, Republican or Democrat, completely control the process.

New maps that have no logical boundaries confuse not only voters, but those running for elected office.

I believe it is time to learn from our mistakes and take a page out of Iowas book for redistricting. Under Iowas model, new maps are drawn by a bipartisan commission made up of citizens, but the state legislature can approve or reject the proposals. Additionally, if the legislature rejects the first two proposals, they can marginally alter the third and final map.

Ultimately, this process allows the General Assembly to continue to have their voice heard while allowing maps to be drawn based on fairness to all voters and keeping communities together. This process would create districts with normalcy in size and shape instead of districts that look like the alphabet.

No one should be happy with the new maps; they make Illinois the joke of the redistricting process. Princetons Gerrymandering Project gave our final congressional maps an F in Partisan Fairness, Competitiveness, and Geographical Features, and that is something we can all agree needs to change.

Although the next time we redraw districts will be in 2031, we should all focus on reforming the broken system before this topic drifts into the background again.

If you would like to show support, you can go to change.org/illinoisredistricting and sign the petition. Lets reform Illinois.

Josh Millard

Arenzville
Watertown, SD (57201)

Today

A few clouds from time to time. Gusty winds diminishing in the afternoon. High 32F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Low 18F. Winds light and variable.
EU lawmakers meet Taiwan premier in first official visit View Photo

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP)  Bumping their elbows in greeting, European lawmakers met with Taiwans premier on Wednesday in the first official visit of a European Parliament delegation to the self-ruled island, which is also claimed by China.

Seven members of the European Parliament committee on foreign interference in democratic processes are visiting Taiwan, after the parliament passed a resolution last month calling for the body to intensify EU-Taiwan political relations.

Although we are geographically very far away, between our two sides, we share the same values, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law.  In those regards, we are actually very close, Taiwans Premier Su Tseng-chang said.

The European delegation will also meet President Tsai Ing-wen and Digital Minister Audrey Tang, and visit Taiwanese think tanks, NGOs and others working on countering disinformation.

The visit comes amid growing support for the democratic island, which China claims as part of its territory to be annexed by force if necessary, and rising negative perceptions toward Beijing in Western countries.

The flourishing of your democracy is formidable and this is why we are so happy to be here, said Raphael Glucksmann, the chair of the foreign interference committee. You have shown that in this region democracy can flourish and that authoritarian regimes are not the future.

Lithuania, an EU member, accepted Taiwans request in July to open a representative office in its capital city that will act as a de facto embassy. It has also donated hundreds of thousands of vaccines to the island this year, provoking Chinas displeasure. In August, China withdrew its ambassador to Lithuania in protest and expelled Lithuanias ambassador from Beijing.

In October, the EU Parliament voted to pass a resolution on Taiwan issues, noting tensions in the South China Sea.

The non-binding resolution, which passed with 580-26 votes and 66 abstentions, calls on the EU to immediately begin taking steps to establish a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan. It also proposes the politically symbolic gesture of changing the name of the representative office in Taiwan from the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan to the European Union Office in Taiwan.

The report also calls on China to put an immediate end to its ongoing intrusions into Taiwans air defense identification zone, saying that the EU greatly values security in the Taiwan Strait.

China has sent an increasing amount of fighter jets toward the island in a prolonged campaign of military harassment since at least last year, when Taiwan began publicly releasing the data. China has said it sends the planes as a warning to Taiwan separatists and to safeguard its sovereignty.

The report also echoed the U.S. stance, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently called for other members of the United Nations to back Taiwans independent participation in international groups.

Taiwans Foreign Minister Joseph Wu visited the Czech Republic and Slovakia last week on a tour to step up cooperation with the two countries.

___

This story was first published on November 3, 2021. It was updated on November 6, 2021 to correct the number of parliamentarians in the delegation. There were seven, not 13.

By HUIZHONG WU

Associated Press
CAIRO (AP)  Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday joined calls for the immediate restoration of a civilian-led government in Sudan after a military coup in the African nation.

A joint statement by the two nations, plus the United States and the United Kingdom, also urged the military to release those detained in connection to the takeover and lift the state of emergency imposed across the country since Oct. 25.

The statement will likely put pressure on Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the coup leader, and his deputy Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, to give concessions during ongoing negotiations to find a way out of the crisis. Both Burhan and Dagalo are close allies with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

We encourage an effective dialogue between all parties, and we urge all to ensure that the peace and security for the people of Sudan is a top priority, the four-nation statement said.

Buhan, head of the Sudanese military, dissolved the transitional government and detained many other government officials and political leaders. The coup, widely condemned by the U.S. and the West, has come more than two years after a popular uprising forced the militarys removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019.

The takeover has threatened to derail Sudans already fragile transition democracy and further inflame the volatile Horn of Africa.

Burhan met Wednesday in Khartoum with Nigerias former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the African Union envoy for the Horn of Africa, to discuss mediation efforts. The Sudanese leader said the military would name a prime minister who will appoint a technocratic Cabinet, without mentioning Hamdok as a candidate, according to the state-run SUND news agency.

Burhan has claimed that the takeover was necessary to prevent a civil war, citing what he said were growing divisions among political groups. However, the coup came less than a month before he was to have handed some power to a civilian.

The U.S., the U.K., Saudi Arabia and the UAE has also called for further dialogue about how to restore and uphold a genuine civil-military partnership for the remainder of the transitional period, pending elections, in accordance with the 2019 constitution document and a peace deal with rebel groups last year.

The document was reached in August 2019 after months of torturous negotiations between the military and the protest movement that led the uprising against al-Bashir. It established a transitional government that include a civilian-military Sovereign Council and a Cabinet, led by former U.N. economist Abdalla Hamdok, to run the day-to-day affairs.

Since last week, U.N. representatives have shuttled between the military and pro-democracy leaders. U.S. President Joe Bidens administration has engaged with regional powers in efforts to restore the civilian-led government.

Volker Perthes, the U.N. envoy in Sudan, has said Monday that mediation efforts were ongoing in Khartoum by a host of actors, with both Hamdok and Burhan are interested  in mediation.

The contours of an agreement seem within reach, but we cannot speculate when a deal will be reached, Perthes told a group of journalists in Khartoum Wednesday.

BY SAMY MAGDY

Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Consumer advocates said Tuesday that they will ask the California Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court ruling they said undermines the states ability to order billions of dollars in insurance company refunds.

A San Diego-based state appeals court on Friday rejected a California insurance commissioners finding from 2016 that State Farms California subsidiary was overcharging on its homeowners insurance rates.

Dave Jones, who was insurance commissioner at the time, ordered the company to refund more than $100 million to its California policyholders, a decision reversed by the appeals court.

More broadly, Consumer Watchdog founder Harvey Rosenfield said the decision also imperils current Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Laras order that insurance companies refund as much as $3.5 billion he says they overcharged California motorists who dramatically curtailed their driving during the coronavirus pandemic as the state imposed sweeping stay-at-home orders last year.

Rosenfield said the ruling undermines the 1988 voter-approved ballot proposition he authored, which created Californias elected insurance commissioner and has allowed the commissioner to reject proposed rate increases and order refunds.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael Soller had a narrower interpretation, that the decision was specific to State Farm and the states attempt to prevent the company from manipulating its corporate investment policies in order to increase insurance premiums for California consumers  a claim the court also rejected.

The three-judge panel of the 4th Appellate District Court of Appeal ruled that the retroactive rate and refund were impermissible under its interpretation of the powers imposed by Proposition 103.

The initiative was meant to ensure fair and reasonable rates and the insurance commissioner has broad discretion in adopting regulations to administer the initiative, the judges found.

But that allows for a prior-approval system in which companies apply for rate changes that are reviewed by the insurance commissioner before they take effect  not the kind of open-ended enforcement power the Commissioner appears to be asserting, the court found before rejecting the method Jones used to assert that the company had overcharged its policyholders.

Californians passed Proposition 103 to protect themselves against arbitrary rates and discriminatory practices by requiring insurance companies to keep rates and premiums fair, Rosenfield said. The appeals courts decision has stripped the Insurance Commissioner of the powers the voters gave him to protect Californians against excessive rates.

He said the state Supreme Court has already twice upheld the commissioners authority to order refunds, though the lower court said the justices were addressing related issues and not the Commissioners discretion generally.

State Farm said it was pleased with the courts decisions on both the retroactive refund and its rejection of the way Jones determined how much he believed the company owed.

State Farm created a California-only subsidiary for its non-automobile insurance lines in 1998, citing the unusual risks presented by Californias exposure to catastrophes. By the time of Jones order, the subsidiary insured about 20% of California homeowners.

The company in 2014 had applied for a 6.4% rate increase for its home and renter insurance policies.

Two years later, Jones instead ordered the refund based in part on his calculation of how much State Farm had earned by investing consumers insurance payments nationwide.

The appeals court said he could only consider the subsidiarys income, a decision that Rosenfield argued opens the door to bookkeeping tricks that underreport the subsidiarys true profitability.

But the court said opponents of its interpretation did not establish that limiting rate manipulation was a purpose of Proposition 103. It specifically rejected the argument that because of its ruling, multistate insurers can in the future be expected to cook the books.

By DON THOMPSON

Associated Press
LONDON (AP)  South African writer Damon Galgut won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction on Wednesday with The Promise, a novel about one white familys reckoning with South Africas racist history.

Galgut had been British bookmakers runaway favorite to win the 50,000-pound ($69,000) prize with his story of a troubled Afrikaner family and its broken promise to a Black employee  a tale that reflects bigger themes in South Africas transition from apartheid.

Galgut took the prize on his third time as a finalist, for a book the judges called a tour de force. He was previously shortlisted for The Good Doctor in 2003 and In a Strange Room in 2010, but lost both times.

Despite his status as favorite, Galgut said he was stunned to win.

Galgut said he was accepting the prize on behalf of all the stories told and untold, the writers heard and unheard, from the remarkable continent that Im part of. He noted that this years Nobel literature laureate, Zanzibar-born writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, was also African.

Please keep listening to us  more to come, Galgut added.

His novel paints a troubling picture of modern-day South Africa, though Galgut said he did not set out to be negative.

I didnt plan for the overall trajectory of the book to be a downward one, he said  though thats how it turned out.

I think the portrait it paints of modern South Africa is not a happy one, he said. I had no agenda in describing it that way, but things are not great with us right now. You could read that as a warning or a portrait, I dont know, but South Africa has seen better days.

Historian Maya Jasanoff, who chaired the judging panel, said The Promise was a profound, forceful and succinct book that combines an extraordinary story, rich themes -- the history of the last 40 years in South Africa -- in an incredibly well-wrought package.

Galguts ninth novel traces members of the Swart family  the word is Afrikaans for black  haunted by an unkept promise to give their Black maid, Salome, her own house. The book is structured around a series of funerals over several decades; Galgut has said he wanted to make readers fill in the narrative gaps themselves.

He is the third South African novelist to win the Booker Prize, after Nadine Gordimer in 1974 and J.M. Coetzee, who won twice, in 1983 and 1999.

The Promise was selected over five other novels, including three by U.S. writers: Richard Powers Bewilderment, the story of an astrobiologist trying to care for his neurodivergent son; Patricia Lockwoods social media-steeped novel No One is Talking About This and Maggie Shipsteads aviator saga Great Circle.

The other finalists were Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasams aftermath-of-war story A Passage North and British/Somali writer Nadifa Mohameds The Fortune Men, about a Somali man falsely accused of murder in 1950s Wales.

Jasanoff said many of the shortlisted novels, including Galguts, reflected on the relationship between past and present.

This is a book thats very much about inheritance and legacy, she said of the winner. Its about change over a period of decades. And I think its a book that invites reflection over the decades and invites and repays rereading.

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers careers and was originally open to British, Irish and Commonwealth writers. Eligibility was expanded in 2014 to all novels in English published in the U.K.

The judging panel winnowed their list from 158 novels submitted by publishers. Only one British writer, Mohamed, made the final six, a fact has renewed debate in the U.K. about whether the prize is becoming U.S.-dominated.

Last year there also was only one British writer on a U.S.-dominated list of finalists, Scotlands Douglas Stuart. He won the prize for Shuggie Bain, a gritty and lyrical novel about a boy coming of age in hardscrabble 1980s Glasgow.

For a second year, the coronavirus pandemic has scuttled the prizes usual black-tie dinner ceremony at Londons medieval Guildhall. The winner was announced in a ceremony broadcast live on BBC radio and television.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  China and Russia are urging the U.N. Security Council to end a host of sanctions against North Korea including a ban on exports of seafood and textiles, a cap on imports of refined petroleum products and a prohibition on its citizens working overseas and sending home their earnings.

A draft resolution circulated to council members and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press stresses the economic difficulties in North Korea and says these and other sanctions should be lifted with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population.

The Security Council initially imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test in 2006 and made them tougher in response to further nuclear tests and an increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile program. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in 2018 that the sanctions had cut off all North Korean exports and 90% of its trade and disbanded the pool of workers which North Korea sent abroad to earn hard currency.

The draft resolution expands on a similar resolution Russia and China circulated in December 2019. It faced opposition from Western nations when it was discussed and was never formally introduced at the council for a vote.

Several U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the draft has not been made public, indicated it would likely face a similar uphill struggle, pointing to North Korea's continuing violations of U.N. sanctions.

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said North Korea has failed to comply with sanctions on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the Biden administration remains committed to the sanctions regime" and calls on all member states to enforce the measures.

On Oct. 19, North Korea fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine in its fifth round of weapons tests in recent weeks, all of which violated U.N. sanctions. It was the Norths first underwater-launched test since October 2019 and the highest-profile test since President Joe Biden took office in January.

The China-Russia draft resolution makes no mention of the missile tests. Instead, it notes that North Korea has refrained from conducting nuclear tests since September 2017, has kept to a moratorium on further nuclear tests and test launches of intermediate-range and intercontinental missiles from April 21, 2018, and has taken additional denuclearization measures since.

The proposed resolution underscores the necessity to respect the legitimate security concerns of the DPRK and ensure the welfare, inherent dignity and rights of people in the DPRK," using the initials of North Korea's official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. It reaffirms that U.N. resolutions are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences and notes the serious impact of sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic" within the country.

North Korean is struggling to deal with soaring prices of goods and shortages of medicine and other essential supplies that have accelerated the spread of water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever. The country has yet to report any cases of the coronavirus though experts have questioned its claim of a perfect record.

The China-Russia draft calls on all U.N. member nations to intensity their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, including but not limited to food, fertilizer and medical supplies, and to provide goods, materials, technology and financial services needed by North Korea to combat COVID-19, improve livelihoods and develop the economy.

The draft resolution would lift a ban on North Korea importing some industrial machinery and transport vehicles used to build infrastructure that cant be diverted to the countrys nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The long list of construction and humanitarian items that would be exempt from sanctions includes bulldozers and firefighting vehicles; materials for railways and traffic control; air conditioners and radiators for heating; iron or steel parts for roofs and windows; screws and bolts; sewing needles and vacuum cleaners; kitchen utensils and equipment; agricultural equipment, bicycles and fire extinguishers.

The draft would end a ban on North Korean government representatives or groups engaging in scientific and technical cooperation. It would also allow a resumption of exports of giant statues produced in the North.

On the political front, the China-Russia draft welcomed the positive outcomes of talks between North and South Korea and between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At Kims second summit with Trump in Hanoi in February 2019, negotiations faltered after the U.S. rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of the Norths nuclear capabilities.

The proposed resolution calls on the U.S. and North Korea to resume dialogue aimed at building lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. It calls on all parties to consider taking further steps to reduce military tension and the risks of military confrontation, including by adopting a declaration or peace treaty formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War. The war ended with an armistice, leaving the peninsula technically in a state of war.

South Korea, which has expressed a desire for engagement with North Korea within the boundaries of the U.N. sanctions, did not immediately react to China and Russias proposals for lifting sanctions on the North.

During a period of diplomacy in 2018, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met three times with North Korea's leader and vowed to resume inter-Korean economic cooperation when possible, expressing optimism that the sanctions would end and allow such projects.

But North Korea cut off cooperation with South Korea as its diplomacy with the Trump administration derailed in 2019.
Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefits have been extended for November.

Governor Greg Abbotts Office announced the extension Tuesday morning.

Texas Health and Human Services Commission will provide more than $310 million in emergency SNAP assistance to help an estimated 1.5 million Texas households.

The Health and Human Services Commission received federal approval from the United States Department of Agriculture to extend the maximum allowable SNAP benefits based on family size, according to a news release from Abbotts office.

Recipients should see the allotment hit their accounts by the end of November.

SNAP is a federal program administered by HHSC to provide food assistance to eligible low-income households in Texas.

Those interested in applying for SNAP or Medicaid can do so at YourTexasBenefits.com. Texans who already have them can check them online or through the Your Texas Benefits mobile app.
GLEN ALLEN, Va. (AP)  Republicans have won at least 50 seats in the Virginia House, ensuring at least a tie with Democrats who had fought to retain control.

Several races were still too early to call, but the GOP also declared victory in some of those, with party leaders saying they were confident they had flipped control of the House.

The Republican gains are part of a seismic win for the GOP in Virginia, as Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin captured the governors office, Republican Winsome Sears won the lieutenant governors race, and Republican Jason Miyares won the attorney general's seat.

Youngkin defeated former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Sears beat Democrat Hala Ayala and Miyares denied two-time Democratic incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring a third term. Sears will become the states first female lieutenant governor and the first woman of color to win statewide office in Virginia.

Tuesdays election was seen as a referendum on a series of progressive reforms that Democrats have enacted over the past two years, including the repeal of the death penalty, the legalization of marijuana, a loosening of abortion restrictions and a series of police reforms.

Otto Wachsmann, a Republican who defeated Democratic incumbent Roslyn Tyler in the 75th District, said he believes the strong showing by Republicans in part represents a backlash against a Democratic party that he says has moved too far to the left in once-conservative Virginia.

The average person wasnt satisfied with that; they were looking for a voice of reason, Wachsmann said.

Every Republican House incumbent won reelection, including eight whose seats were uncontested. The party flipped at least five Democratic seats, including those in two of the last remaining districts held by Democrats in predominantly rural districts.

A surprise win by Republican Kim Taylor over three-term incumbent Democratic Del. Lashrecse Aird in the 63rd District gave Republicans their 50th seat. Aird claimed victory late Tuesday, but a late surge by Taylor gave her a 741-vote win.

Garren Shipley, a spokesman for House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert, said Republicans believe they have flipped several seats in races where vote tallies show the two candidates extremely close, including in District 85 in Virginia Beach, where Democratic Del. Alex Askew was ahead of Republican challenger Karen Greenhalgh by less than 100 votes.

Gilbert said in a statement Wednesday that Republicans believe Greenhalgh has won the race by more than 200 votes.

We are very confident that there will be 52 Republicans seated when the House convenes in January, Shipley said.

House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn acknowledged that the results were not what Democrats were hoping for but said there are still several tight races that will determine the majority as votes continue to be counted. The state Department of Elections has said that ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 will be counted through noon on Friday.

We are going to make sure every Virginians voice is heard and every vote is counted, Filler-Corn said in a statement.

Democrats held a 55-45 majority heading into Tuesdays election, but Republicans waged an aggressive campaign to flip up to 13 seats held by Democrats whom they considered vulnerable. The GOP needs to flip at least six seats to regain the majority the party lost in 2019. Democrats still hold a slim 21-19 majority over Republicans in the Senate. Senators are not up for reelection until 2023.

Republicans had controlled the House since 2000, but Democrats won back 15 GOP-held seats in 2017, helped by voter hostility toward then-President Donald Trump. In 2019, Democrats took full control of the legislature by wiping out slim Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

In other tight House races this year, two-term Democratic incumbent Chris Hurst lost to Republican challenger Jason Ballard in the 12th District and first-term Democratic Del. Joshua Cole was defeated by Republican challenger Tara Durant in the 28th District, which includes the city of Fredericksburg and parts of Stafford County.

In District 83, which includes parts of the cities of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Republican challenger Tim Anderson, an attorney and gun shop owner, ousted Democratic incumbent Nancy Guy.

___

Associated Press writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.
Chuck Blount /Staff file photo

Black Rifle Coffee Company in jumping on the latest investment trend and going public by way of a merger with another company. The Utah-based coffee company, which has a store in San Antonio (and a square on the Alamo City Monopoly board), announced that it was going public via a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, called SilverBox Engaged Merger Corp, according to a November 2 news release.

A SPAC is a company created to raise capital though an initial public offering and then acquires a private company, which in this case will be Black Rifle. Once the acquisition is complete Black Rifle will be known as BRC Inc.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  World leaders turned up the heat and resorted to end-of-the-world rhetoric Monday in an attempt to bring new urgency to sputtering international climate negotiations.

The metaphors were dramatic and mixed at the start of the talks, known as COP26. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described global warming as a doomsday device strapped to humanity. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told his colleagues that humans are digging our own graves. And Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking for vulnerable island nations, added moral thunder, warning leaders not to allow the path of greed and selfishness to sow the seeds of our common destruction.

Amid the speeches, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his coal-dependent country will aim to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by 2070  two decades after the United States and at least 10 years later than China. Modi said the goal of reaching net zero by 2070 was one of five measures India planned to undertake to meet its commitments under the Paris climate accord.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel avoided soaring rhetoric and delved into policy.

"Theres no more time to sit back," Biden said in a more measured warning that also apologized for his predecessor's decision to temporarily pull the U.S. out of the historic 2015 Paris agreement, something he said put the country behind in its efforts. Every day we delay, the cost of inaction increases.

In a recorded welcome message, Queen Elizabeth II said she hoped the conference would be one of those rare occasions where everyone will have the chance to rise above the politics of the moment."

History has shown that when nations come together in common cause, there is always room for hope, she said in the video, which was recorded on Friday at Windsor Castle.

One of the United Nations biggest concerns is that some countries are more focused on amorphous long-term net-zero goals instead of seeking cuts this decade that could prevent temperature increases that would exceed the Paris goal.

Modi also outlined shorter-term goals for the worlds third-biggest carbon emitter: raising its goal for non-fossil energy production, meeting half of its energy needs with renewable sources, cutting carbon emissions by 1 billion tons compared with previous targets and reducing the carbon intensity of its economy by 45%  all by 2030.

While 2070 sounds far off for Indias pledge, four outside experts from think tanks and universities said India's new short- and long-term goals are significant, while not huge, because of that nation's development status. Ulka Kelkar, who directs India climate policy analysis for the World Resource Institute, said a lot depends on details, but the 2070 goal would be similar to the U.S. and Europe adopting net-zero goals 20 years ago.

Still, European officials privately expressed disappointment at Indias late target, but declined to comment publicly.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen touted already announced efforts to make Europe the first net-zero continent in the long-term and cut emissions 55% in this decade. She pushed for other rich countries to aid poorer nations as much as Europe does and put a price on carbon emissions because nature cannot pay that price anymore.

Bolivia President Luis Arce said the speeches from developed countries sought to portray them as climate change leaders but this is far from the truth. He said rich nations need to face their historic responsibilities for causing the warming problem and not fix it by forcing rules on poor countries. The real solution, he said, is an alternative to capitalism and unfettered consumerism.

Johnson pointed out that the 130-plus world leaders gathered for the leaders' summit portion of the conference had an average age of over 60, while the generations most harmed by climate change arent yet born.

Outside the negotiations, youth climate activist Greta Thunberg accused world leaders of pretending to take our future seriously.

Change is not going to come from inside there, Thunberg said, We say no more blah, blah, blah.

The conference aims to get governments to commit to curbing carbon emissions fast enough to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. The world has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit). Current projections based on planned emissions cuts over the next decade are for it to hit 2.7C (4.9F) by the year 2100.

Increased warming over coming decades would melt much of the planets ice, raise global sea levels and greatly increase the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather, scientists say. With every tenth of a degree of warming, the dangers soar faster, they say.

The other goals for the meeting are for rich nations to give poor nations $100 billion a year in climate aid and to reach an agreement to spend half of the money to adapt to worsening climate impacts.

But Mottley, of Barbados, warned that negotiators are falling short.

"This is immoral and it is unjust," Mottley said. "Are we so blinded and hardened that we can no longer appreciate the cries of humanity?"

We are already gasping for survival, chimed in President Wavel John Charles Ramkalawan of the Seychelles, another island nation. Tomorrow is not an option for it will be too late.

Guterres struck an equally gloomy note.

We are digging our own graves, said the U.N. secretary-general. Our planet is changing before our eyes  from the ocean depths to mountaintops, from melting glaciers to relentless extreme weather events.

The speeches will continue through Tuesday, then the leaders will leave.

The idea is that they will do the big political give-and-take, setting out broad outlines of agreement, and then have other government officials hammer out the details. Thats what worked to make the historic 2015 Paris climate deal a success, former U.N. Climate Secretary Christiana Figueres told The Associated Press.

For heads of state, it is actually a much better use of their strategic thinking, Figueres said.

Thousands lined up in a chilly wind in Glasgow on Monday to get through a bottleneck at the entrance to the venue. But what will be noticeable are a handful of major absences.

Xi Jinping, president of top carbon-polluting nation China, is not in Glasgow. Figueres said his absence is not that significant because he isn't leaving the country during the pandemic and his climate envoy is a veteran negotiator.

Biden has chided China and Russia for their less-than-ambitious efforts to curb emissions and blamed them for a disappointing statement on climate change at the end of the meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 major economies in Rome this weekend.

Perhaps more troublesome for the U.N. summit is the absence of several small nations from the Pacific islands that couldnt make it because of COVID-19 restrictions and logistics. Thats a big problem because their voices relay urgency, Figueres said.

In addition, the heads of several major emerging economies beyond China are also skipping Scotland, including those from Russia, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa. That leaves Modi the only leader present from the so-called BRICS nations, which account for more than 40% of global emissions.

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Associated Press writers Jill Lawless, Frank Jordans and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report. Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate. Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP)  Maintenance and service union workers at a West Virginia hospital went on strike Wednesday after their contract expired.

About 1,000 members of the the Service Employees International Union District 1999 walked off the job at noon at Cabell Huntington Hospital, one of the largest employers in Huntington.

In a statement, union district secretary-treasurer Joyce Gibson said hospital officials have repeatedly made it clear that they value profits over workers and patients.

Cabell Huntington Chief Operating Officer Tim Martin said the hospital was disappointed that workers rejected a wage and benefits offer.

Cabell Huntington Hospital has worked in good faith since August, throughout the demands of COVID, to reach a fair contract with a generous package of benefits, Martin said in a statement.

The hospitals offer included 3% average annual wage increases, increased shift differentials, an enhanced uniform allowance and continued automatic annual contributions to eligible employees retirement accounts.

Service employees also were asked to begin paying health insurance premiums. Under the hospitals latest offer, it would have contributed more than 90% of health care costs for employees and their dependents.

Martin said replacement service workers are now assisting with daily hospital operations.

Gibson said the hospital is paying contracted outside workers who are not invested in our community, rather than take care of their dedicated long-term employees.
If you find yourself in Confluence Park at sunset, biking past Roosevelt Avenue Bridge at the right time of the month, you may catch a glimpse of a live concert reverberating from the concrete along the water's edge. The Echo Bridge Appreciation Society, named for the bridge's acoustic quality, is a collaboration between local artists Justin Parr and Jeff Wheeler. Since its infancy as an underground live music pop-up in March 2021, it has rapidly gained recognition as a special San Antonio experience.

"It's been a pretty fun ride and exciting for both Justin and I, because it's all been grassroots, just us with a dream we had to share that spot with everybody. And it's just sold out every damn time. So it's been really fun to watch," says Wheeler, who also owns Space C7 Gallery. "We both are no strangers to putting on stuff like this, but this one's really kind of got legs of its own,"

For anyone who has had the pleasure of attending an Echo Bridge show, it's clear that Parr and Wheeler have created a sacred space  the sort of venue that is devoted to communal yet intimate experiences with live art.

Camille Sauers/MySA

After a performance by Grupo Tan Tan was busted by park police for being unpermitted in August, the San Antonio River Authority helped the project continue operations by assisting with the permit process. Though it meant departing from its cherished underground roots, the newly legal outdoor DIY venue is thriving, and hosts an average of two highly anticipated shows a month.

And the spotlight is poised to get even brighter. Echo Bridge is set to be featured on the San Antonio episode of the PBS travel show Samantha Brown's Places to Love. The episode will air in February, during the show's season finale, featuring a musical performance by Grammy-nominated conjunto musician Santiago Jimenez.

It was through a string of serendipitous events that host Samantha Brown, who was in town scouting locations for her show, ended up at an Echo Bridge performance.

"It was a magical night, the show that she came to see," says Parr, owner of Fl!ght Gallery and former keeper of Hot Wells Springs. "She told us that night, 'I'm not sure what is going to be in this episode about San Antonio, but I know that for sure, we're gonna do the Echo Bridge.' And we were like, okay, cool!"

Soon after, she arranged the taping. The pair already knew they wanted Jimenez to play a show, but when they heard about the news, the stars aligned. They swiftly booked him with help from local musician and Lonesome Rose owner Garrett T. Capps.

"I started thinking about the best San Antonio acts to have. Through friends of friends, I had been close to getting Santiago before and I figured this is the perfect opportunity. I always wanted to meet him too, I've just always been a big fan," says Wheeler.

Camille Sauers/MySA

The performance, taped in front of a crowd on Saturday, October 9, captures drone footage of the 80-year-old accordion player and his partner cracking jokes, retelling family history, and playing hits like "Volver, Volver".

"That night was just real special, not only being able to share it with Samantha, but then she's gonna share it with all her fans. It just bodes well for us moving forward, how quickly it's been able to kind of grow legs," explains Wheeler.

Along with the PBS spotlight, more developments are underway for the Echo Bridge. Currently, the co-conspirators are in the process of converting into a nonprofit organization in order to grow programming and run a better oiled, better financed machine.

"It won't just be music, you know, there's also theater, there could be a number of different things that happen under that bridge. But as far as being a nonprofit for us, it gives us the ability to get funding from the city if we need it. It makes things easier, to have money," says Parr.

Camille Sauers/MySA

Since all proceeds from the shows go directly to the performers, the pair want funds to be able to pay bands outright without having to wait on ticketing companies. While the bridge has already hosted an eclectic and exciting variety of acts (everyone from the previously mentioned conjunto legend to experimental noise musicians Claire Rousay and country mainstays like the Texas Belairs) the hope is to one day be in the position to land a few high profile acts in the mix. When big time acts are rolling through town, Parr and Wheeler envision booking them for a quiet, more exclusive show. One side of the bridge only seats about 30 people, after all.

Their last show, featuring Black Angels member Christian Bland, was a dual benefit concert for RAICES and for their own legal fees bridging the project into a nonprofit organization. It was sponsored by Black Matter Coffee.

Wanting to continue being a presence for local arts, the organizers have also discussed the possibility of a day-long Echo Bridge festival to allow more San Antonio musicians stage time.

"Ultimately, I think the long game for it is to is to see it get used by a lot of different groups and, you know, different media," says Parr.

At the end of the day, while they're currently doing exactly what they love, the pair's loftier dreams are encompassed by a running joke they share.

The pair says they will know they've really made it when they hear Eddie Veder from Pearl Jam wailing under the Echo Bridge.

"We do think that would be pretty special. And of course, it's just a joke," says Wheeler. "But we do have friends of friends. So who knows, we'll just keep aiming for that."
Steven Pizzini

Southside Tex-Mex joint Lala's Gorditas will be popping up to serve theatergoers for the duration of The Lion King's run, beginning Tuesday, November 2, through Sunday, November 7.

The culinary event will be located on Houston Street, next to the Majestic Theater. It will open at 11 a.m. and run until 3 p.m. on matinee days and operate from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during evening shows.
Mike Sutter

One of San Antonio's favorite downtown pizza joints is planning a new nightlife project. On social media, the minds behind Playland on Houston Street announced a new underground club called Playcave, set to open within the next two months.

Playland chef and owner Stefan Bowers writes that operating hours will be from 10 p.m to 4 a.m., Thursday through Saturday. The menu has not been released yet, but Bowers says it's "basically" inspired by Waffle House, complemented with plenty of booze.
Update: A representative with the Miracle pop-ups confirmed San Antonio is not "activating" for a 2021 event, but is working on returning next year.

"There is not one specific reason, but many hurdles operators sill face in the rebuild after the realities of a COVID world," the statement says.

Original story continues below.

When it comes to holiday-themed pop-ups, San Antonio appears to be getting a hefty lump of coal. Miracle, an over-the-top cocktail event that brings a stocked sleigh of adult drinks, fun, and Insta-worthy photo opps, left the Alamo City off its list of Texas stops. Since at least 2018, Christmas connoisseurs could expect the Miracle brand to transform a downtown bar into a tinsel-topped wonderland. Patrons would unwrap themed cocktails while listening to all the "All I Want for Christmas is You" you could want.

This year's list of locations dot the globe, from England to Austin, but it appears that despite taking over Houston Street bar Jet-Setter in past years, Santa will not be coming down San Antonio's metaphoric chimney.

3 1 of 3 Paul Stephen /Staff Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Melissa Hom / Miracle Show More Show Less 3 of 3





The rest of Texas' major cities will host a Miracle pop-up (Houston gets two) but San Antonio seems to be left out in the cold. Sippin' Santa, a companion pop-up to Miracle, is also not coming to San Antonio. The closest opportunity local elves have to partake in the fun is Austin's Miracle on 5th Street at The Eleanor, which is about 80 miles from city center.

We reached out to Miracle on the San Antonio omission. They made their list, but have they checked it twice? Could St. Nick add us in the nick of time?

We haven't heard back yet, but we will update when we learn why San Antonio ended up on Miracle's naughty list.
Update: On Thursday, Shea Serrano announced Hip Hop (And Other Things) earned the distinction of being a New York Times best seller, marking his fourth book to land on the list.

Original story continues below:

If the gloomy skies over San Antonio have you down, Shea Serrano's latest thread of good people doing good things might lighten your mood. The proud San Antonian, writer and acclaimed author is celebrating the release of his latest book, Hip Hop (And Other Things) by mobilizing his followers to spread kindness.

Serrano's Twitter presence is known for lauding all things San Antonio, especially the Spurs and Southside tacos, as well as jokes, and philanthropy. In times of devastation, like Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Serrano became a resource in connecting Texans with help. He helped raise $130,000 for victims of the natural disaster.

In December 2019, his "Good Energy Gang" raised $50,000 to donate to support the Martinez Street Women's Center, RAICES and the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Paying it forward, laughing, book-reading, honoring the GOAT, and booing Spurs naysayers are the tenets Serrano has built his FOH Army on. It's clear he can count on them to help fans get access to his new book.

The concept is simple, a reader who wants a book but isn't in the position to buy one responds to his original post asking for help and another person willing to gift the book (which sells for about $21), matches up with the first person and says something along the lines of "Hey, I've got you." The two strangers coordinate via direct messages to send the book or transfer the amount of money needed.

"Broke and in college Ill pay it forward in the future if someone can hook me up," one person says.

Two minutes later, a fellow FOH Army member (what Serrano calls his fans) was ready with said hook up.

Interactions like the above conversation piled on to Serrano's original post throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday.

Serrano watched his internet community spread the love from above, like the Teletubbies Baby Sun. He said the generosity always makes him "smile."

"Look how ducking [we're not sure if this is a typo] dope the team is," a recent Serrano tweet says. "Buying books for strangers on the internet just to spread good vibes."

If Hip Hop (And Other Things) becomes another best-seller, it'll join Serrano's previous AOT books, as well as make him and illustrator Arturo Torres the first Mexican Americans with three books on the NYT Best-Seller List. Do it for Shea, y'all.
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP)  Authorities in Nigeria have arrested the owner of a high-rise apartment building in the country's largest city that suddenly collapsed, killing at least 14 people and leaving dozens still missing Tuesday beneath the rubble.

Nine people have been pulled out alive, an official said, but relatives were angry at what they called the slow pace of the rescue effort that began hours after the collapse on Monday.

Meanwhile, officials said the property's developers had added six more floors than what was originally approved under their building permit in the city of Lagos, fueling speculation that the additional weight could have contributed to the collapse. The government-run News Agency of Nigeria reported that the building's owner had been arrested on undisclosed charges.

I am on the ground here and the materials he used are so inferior and terrible, Gbolahan Oki, general manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, told the News Agency of Nigeria. "He got approval for 15 floors but built 21."

Hours later, the Lagos state governor announced Tuesday that Oki had been suspended from his position indefinitely.

Co-workers say they believe dozens of people remain trapped in the debris, and only nine people have been pulled out alive over the last 24 hours, Lagos commissioner for information Gbenga Omotoso said.

More equipment and personnel have been deployed in the site to save more lives, he said.

On Tuesday, distressed relatives whose loved ones were missing sat together by the road consoling one another. Afolabi Sunny said his 25-year-old sister, Oyindamola, had only recently started to work at the construction site as a participant of the National Youth Service Corps just months after she graduated from school.

They are trying. Everybody is just trying, he said of the rescue operation. But as far as my sister is not one of those brought out, they are not trying."

Others at the scene shouted in anger, saying the rescue operation was too slow and that they should be allowed to join the effort. It took about three hours before the first excavator arrived at the scene Monday afternoon.

Some of us have our brothers there," one man shouted. "They are not doing much inside there, so why cant they allow us?

Mama Segun said her son had only been making a brief visit to see a friend at the construction site when the building came down.

He wanted to go back yesterday to the United States, so he said he should come and see the landlord" before heading to the airport, she said. He never made the flight and has not been heard from since.
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP)  Montana's elected education leader has said she is crafting a rule that would give parents the ability to opt out of some local school board policies, including mask requirements, after a temporary rule adopted by the health department at the beginning of the school year had little effect.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen spoke about her proposal on Monday evening with about 75 people gathered in Missoula for a discussion of parental rights at Crosspoint Community Church, a Southern Baptist Church. The Western Liberty Coalition conservative group that promotes constitutional rights in Montana sponsored the gathering.

The Department of Public Health and Human Services rule, issued on Aug. 31, said schools should consider parental concerns when adopting mask mandates to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and should provide parents the ability to opt out of health-related mandates for several reasons, including physical and mental health and developmental needs.

School leaders across the state said they had taken parental concerns into account and continued with their mask mandates while offering remote learning for students who did not want to wear masks.

Arntzen said her office wants to make a rule with more force than the health departments rule which said schools should" consider parental concerns  not that they "must consider them.

It's unclear whether Arntzen has the authority to create such as rule.

Any rule put in place by a state schools superintendent that undermines the authority of the state's locally elected school boards would likely be void on its face, said Lance Melton, the executive director of the Montana School Boards Association.

School boards have constitutional authority to supervise and control each school district, Melton said, adding that the the state superintendent has no constitutional authority over the districts.

Arntzen said she was working with the state attorney generals office on the proposal, which she said could take effect in April, the Missoulian reported.

This is a governmental action and it will have the force of law until it has a court action or else we can get it put into any framework with the Legislature, meets in 2023, she said.

Under the proposal, parents would have the option to opt out of school board policies, such as those that address health issues, such as masks or vaccines, Arntzen said. Montana's Legislature passed a law that prevents discrimination based on vaccine status, she noted. The law is being challenged in court.

Arntzen said she asked her staff in early October to determine possibilities for an agency rule change so parents have an opportunity for their voices to be heard through exemptions of school board policies. That process, which is a thorough and deliberate one, is continuing at the OPI, she said in a statement Tuesday.

At the state Department of Justice, "attorneys have been providing legal counsel to the Office of Public Instruction about the scope of the superintendents rulemaking authority regarding parental rights, Emilee Cantrell, spokesperson for Attorney General Austin Knudsen, said Tuesday.

Melton argued the rule is not needed.

Community elected school boards already have this issue well in hand, having offered opportunities for reasonable accommodations of disabilities and exceptions based on sincerely held religious beliefs and alternatives for accessing curriculum through distance learning since the beginning of the pandemic," Melton said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Local school boards are trying to ensure student and staff safety using various federally recommended precautions including social distancing, frequent hand washing, cleaning and disinfecting and, in some cases, masks, Melton said.

Arntzen, a Republican, has also spoken against school mask requirements at rallies in Billings and Helena.

Quentin Rhoades, an attorney for parent groups who have filed lawsuits to challenge school mask mandates in Missoula and Gallatin counties, told the gathering at the Missoula church that he plans to appeal rulings that denied requests for preliminary injunctions and allowed schools in those counties to continue their mask requirements.

Missoula school board trustee Mike Gehl asked Rhoades to recall a conversation they had at a similar meeting at the same church in late August.

What is it you said about what to do with these two superintendents? Gehl asked Rhoades. He did not specify which two superintendents he was speaking about.

Shoot em? Rhoades replied, prompting laughter from the audience.

You said, fire em, Gehl corrected.

After the meeting, Rhoades said he was joking when he made the comment and that the audience took it that way.

"The entire audience seemed to accept and appreciate the light-hearted intent of the exchange, Rhoades said in an email to the Missoulian. Of course, it was not intended to offend anyone, and, moreover, it clearly did not.

Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Watson, in a social media post on Wednesday, said he wanted to know if Arntzen had laughed.

Arntzen issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying she had been unaware of any comments made after she spoke on Monday because she had gone out into a hallway to talk individually with people. She learned about Rhoades' comments in a newspaper story, she said.

These types of comments serve no purpose in championing parent voice in our public education arena, she said, adding that she condemns statements or actions of violence, regardless of the context, and said she had spoken with superintendents in Missoula to express her disdain for the comments.
Matt Rourke/AP

Tesla will be relocating its headquarters from the Bay Area to Austin, Texas, sometime in the near future, and CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to take another swipe at San Francisco on his way out.

In response to a Fox News article about a Tuesday special election in Austin to restore police department funding after it was cut last summer, Musk tweeted, "Austin should be its city, not a San Francisco copycat."
NEW BRAUNFELS  The Refinery Mens Grooming Lounge in the Gruene Lake Village shopping center in New Braunfels is a far cry from the traditional no-frills mens barbershop.

While getting a haircut, Refinery customers can pamper themselves with a hot-lather neck shave, a scalp or neck massage, a paraffin wax treatment for their hands or a facial that includes cleansing, exfoliation, vacuum extraction of pores and a custom face mask  all while enjoying a whiskey or a local beer on tap.

Owner Vicki Tefteller opened the shop after spending five years cutting hair, including in a barbershop in San Antonio. During that time, she began to question the way many barbershops shuttle their customers in and out to see as many as possible in one day  a practice known in the industry as turn-and-burn, she said.

I realized the need for the full service, the need for facials oriented towards men, and the more pampering-type services versus just the in-and-out, she said. I wanted to get away from that and focus more on the quality of the experience versus the quantity of customers coming through.

Tefteller, who grew up in La Vernia, entered the cosmetology industry because it required only one year of schooling, unlike many college degrees for which the pricing just seemed outrageous, she said. Her first job was as the assistant to a woman who did skin care.

Honestly, it was a practical choice. In the beginning I was like, Hey, look, I could do this and pay my bills, she said. And then I got into it. And I just really fell in love with the human aspect of taking care of people.

Billy Calzada /Staff photographer

Tefteller and a business partner opened the Refinery in November 2019 after getting crucial guidance from the Spark Small Business Center, a program linked with the University of Texas at San Antonio that connected her with a mentor, New Braunfels businessman Larry New. He gave us a huge dose of reality, she said.

The shop was only 4 months old when the COVID-19 pandemic forced Tefteller, her business partner and their two employees to stop accepting appointments. But she said they made it through, thanks in large part to support from the community, including their competitors.

Tefteller is now sole owner of the shop, which has seven employees, including her.

She recently sat for an interview to discuss the pleasures of barbering, the growth of the mens grooming industry and the difficulties of finding retail space in fast-growing New Braunfels. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: What do you mean when you say that you like the human aspect of your work?

A: Its not only the practical hands-on aspect of the job that I enjoy; its meeting people, building relationships, building that trust. If you think about it, you get your hair cut every two weeks, youre seeing these people twice a month. Thats more than you see most of your family members, you know? I dont see my cousins twice a month, or my aunts and uncles.

Its a very up-close-and-personal type job. You know, were all in peoples bubbles, if you will. The trust of not only making sure that your hair comes out well but of just being that close to somebody. Under other circumstances, you would probably never stand that close to somebody or have somebody touching you. Ive always thought that was really cool.

Photos by Billy Calzada /Staff photographer

Q: It seems like the mens grooming industry has expanded in recent years.

A: I would definitely agree. I feel that in the grooming industry men are often overlooked. I think that for a long time theres been this stigma of, Oh, its feminine. Or, you know, Youre a certain type of guy if you go and do these services. Then I think weve seen this whole revelation of men waking up and going, Man, if Im going to go spend $20 and not enjoy my service that I have to go do every two weeks, I might as well spend $30 and go like it.

Q: You were open for only four months before the pandemic shutdown in March of last year. How did you make it through that?

A: We made it through really by just leaning on our community. There was a lot of outreach from other businesses, other barbershops, local people that live in the community, as well as the little bit of government assistance we were able to receive. And just working hard at home  we were taking photos, we kept marketing, we kept people on the books for when we thought we would be reopened. We had a lot of customers that jumped online, and they were nice enough to prepay for services or buy gift cards, buy T-shirts.

You know, it was almost a blessing in disguise that we were only 4 months old, because we had been so conservative with opening, with our money. We were so nervous about opening that we didnt go all in right at first.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Staff photographer

Q: You had help during that time from competitors?

A: Yeah, definitely. There was a gentleman that owns a barbershop in town who came by and bought T-shirts from us. He was doing shoutouts for us on Instagram.

Q: Was there a moment of inspiration when you had the idea for your business?

A: It was kind of a progression. It was through some of the trials of working in different shops that it came about slowly. You know, it was like, Why do we do things this way? This doesnt make anybody happy. One thing I kept running into was: This doesnt serve the customers; this doesnt serve the stylist. I think we should work smarter, not harder, you know?

I was drawing on my experiences from working in day spas, where you might be with one person for two or three hours. To me, that just makes so much more sense because its easier on the stylist and the customers having a way better time.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Staff photographer

Q: Are you excited to now be sole owner of the business?

A: Yeah, extremely so. I have a great vision for where we want to go. I want to lean into building a really strong company culture so that this is not only a place to come to get your services, but its also a great place to come to work every day. Ive got the girls excited  were going to be naming an assistant manager and a team manager to help with the day-to-day.

Q: How did you raise the capital to start your business?

A: We actually used Spark (Small Business Center). They are through UTSA. Its a consultant here in town, and theyre free, paid for through our taxes. I took some of the free classes. The capital was a personal savings investment supplemented by a loan from a local bank that we got using Spark.

We kept coming back to Larry (New) and going, OK, now what? What do you think about this? There were a couple times where he said, I think you need to suck it up. I think that this is normal. Whenever we felt like we were between a rock and a hard place he was very instrumental, all the way up until we opened our doors.

Q: Apart from the pandemic, what were some other instances when you were between a rock and a hard place?

A: Because New Braunfels and Comal County were growing so fast, and because we were a startup business without a big checkbook to walk in somewhere and just sign a lease, one of the things that was really challenging was we would go look at a building and then decide we liked it, try to get back with the bank, type it into the business plan; we had to wait four or five days to hear back and by the time we were like, OK, cool, were ready, we can get that one, it was gone. That happened to us like five times.

I went (to Spark) and I was like, What are we supposed to do? Because the bank just doesnt front you (the money), you have to tell them what youre spending it on, when youre spending it, how youre spending it before they give it to you. And (Larry New) just said, If you want to be involved in this city, then youve got to get realistic on how long this is going to take and how hard this is gonna be.

Q: It seems like you found a good location, though.

A: Yeah, the village is awesome. (When looking for a location), I drove through this center and the first building right off the main road had a for-rent sign. I pulled in so fast  my car was running, I ran up and called the number on the sign. The man answered  he was the landlord  and he said, Youll never believe it, but I put that sign up 45 minutes ago and five people have already called me.

I said, OK, well, if you hear me out, I have a really good idea. He was like, All right, lets hear it. He felt that of all the other things that had been proposed, it would have been the best fit for the space. And here we are!

Q: New Braunfels is changing so fast  how do you feel about that?

A: I think that for a lot of people it makes them uncomfortable because theyre losing their small-town atmosphere, but theres so much opportunity here for everybody and its been really, really cool to see the local community members and business owners come together. And  how can I word this right?  its growing in a really positive and high-quality way. The businesses that are coming into town are so thought-out and well-executed, and Im just proud to be part of that.

Every day, were meeting new people that are coming into the shop, whether from surrounding cities or other states. I think that thats great  it leaves so much opportunity for growth. If you get nervous about it and you dont welcome it with open arms, its going to happen anyways and its probably going to run you over.
Deere workers are standing firm in their demands not just for better pay, but also for improved workplace conditions. Deere union members in 12 plants voted down managements second offer; employees in two other plants under a different contract agreed to the same terms that the bulk of Deere workers rejected, 55% to 45%. From the Wall Street Journal:

The proposal for a new six-year contractwould have given more than 10,000 Deere workers on strike an immediate 10% pay raise and an $8,500 bonus for each worker if the deal had been ratified Tuesday. The company also offered 5% raises in 2023 and 2025. For the other three years of the contract, Deere employees would receive lump-sum bonuses amounting to 3% of their pay Deere also agreed to provide lump-sum bonuses to employees pensions and backed off an earlier attempt to enroll future employees in a 401(k)-style pension program. In the future, new Deere hires would have had a choice of enrolling in the companys traditional pension program for hourly workers that guarantees income levels or the 401(k).

The fact that the union rejected a deal with what on the surface are big increases points to how much simmering resentment Deere has generated over now decades via too clever heads I win, tails you lose incentive pay schemes and shoddy management treatment of employees, contrasted with Deeres skyrocketing profits and executive pay. It cant have been lost on line workers that Deeres profits last year equalled, per employee, their total wage compensation. Profits absent a more equitable deal with labor should be even higher. Its obvious that Deere can pay more but chose not to.

Before the strike, the Guardian, in a story Lambert highlighted, pointed to the long history of Deere workers seeing how management shaved their pay to pad their and shareholder wallets:

David Schmelzer, a quality control inspector at John Deere in Milan, Illinois for 24 years and former chairman of UAW Local 79, said that in 1997 workers took several concessions from John Deere in contract negotiations at the time, which included creating a two-tier system of employees, with workers hired after 1997 receiving fewer benefits. We sacrificed, and we want that back now, said Schmelzer. During the pandemic, Schmelzer said workers have been forced to work overtime consistently, with 10- to 12-hour days through the week and Saturdays. Through that time, John Deere has reported record profits in 2021, with a $4.7bn profit in the first three quarters of this year, compared to their previous record profit year of $3.5bn in 2013. The company spent over $1.7bn on stock buybacks in the first nine months and paid out $761m in dividends to shareholders. A lot of whats been going on in the country over the last couple of years has definitely made people more aware of the disparity between corporate and income inequality. Just massive amounts of corporate greed, added Schmelzer. The majority of people want a bigger share of the success of this company, the success that weve been a major part of.

A point that might be lost on non-hourly workers: regularly requiring factory staffers to do successive >8 hour shifts is a classic management tactic to drive out older workers, who are at higher wage rates, who just cant take the physical demands.

Contrast that picture with the new story from the Journal:

Deeres sales through the first three quarters of its current fiscal year increased 27% from last year, and net income more than doubled to $4.7 billion. For the full year, Deere expects to earn about $5.8 billion.

Perhaps as important, management didnt concede enough to union demands for improved conditions and better healthcare. That is mentioned only in passing in the Journal:

Union members have been urging their negotiators to broaden the scope of the bargaining to include work rules, scheduling and other compensation that workers say have eroded in recent years and werent adequately addressed in the failed proposals.

The US press has chosen to avert its eyes from the sour relationship between Deere management and front line employees. Back to the Guardian:

This goes beyond numbers. Its just as much about how people are treated, said a John Deere employee in Illinois who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. Respect from management no longer exists. You can feel the tension in the air. Everybody has been on edge for quite some time. Nearly every day, I would lift my weld hood up to hear employees and managers screaming at each other. They have put highly paid managers on certain operators to watch them and just bird dog them all day.

As weve chronicled, including one from Deere union member TroyIA, striking Deere workers have tremendous leverage in contract negotiations by virtue of having a large strike fund and Deere workers having been able to save a lot due to all that overtime. By contrast, the strike may already be in the terrain of costing Deere orders for the next year:

"If, God forbid, this strike goes on long enough for the next build cycle of combines to start (November 1 or 15, can't remember) it will be a horror show. All of the skilled welder, machinists, and assemblers who normally make these half-million dollar machines will be gone"  Jonah Furman (@JonahFurman) October 14, 2021

The fact that the Deere offer included a bribe of $8500 per worker for ratification by next Tuesday confirms its eagerness to get the factories back on line.

We said that the Deere strike could be a turning point for labor and so far that is panning out.

Wish Deere workers the best. The time is long overdue for executive and top manager rent extraction to be reined in.
(Natural News) I have a simple question for every expert who thinks they understand the root causes of the shipping crisis:

(Article by Ryan Johnson republished from Medium.com)

Why is there only one crane for every 50100 trucks at every port in America?

No expert will answer this question.

Im a Class A truck driver with experience in nearly every aspect of freight. My experience in the trucking industry of 20 years tells me that nothing is going to change in the shipping industry.

Lets start with understanding some things about ports. Outside of dedicated port trucking companies, most trucking companies wont touch shipping containers. There is a reason for that.

Think of going to the port as going to WalMart on Black Friday, but imagine only ONE cashier for thousands of customers. Think about the lines. Except at a port, there are at least THREE lines to get a container in or out. The first line is the in gate, where hundreds of trucks daily have to pass through 510 available gates. The second line is waiting to pick up your container. The third line is for waiting to get out. For each of these lines the wait time is a minimum of an hour, and Ive waited up to 8 hours in the first line just to get into the port. Some ports are worse than others, but excessive wait times are not uncommon. Its a rare day when a driver gets in and out in under two hours. By rare day, I mean maybe a handful of times a year. Ports dont even begin to have enough workers to keep the ports fluid, and it doesnt matter where you are, coastal or inland port, union or non-union port, its the same everywhere.

Furthermore, Im fortunate enough to be a Teamster  a union driver  an employee paid by the hour. Most port drivers are independent contractors, leased onto a carrier who is paying them by the load. Whether their load takes two hours, fourteen hours, or three days to complete, they get paid the same, and they have to pay 90% of their truck operating expenses (the carrier might pay the other 10%, but usually less.) The rates paid to non-union drivers for shipping container transport are usually extremely low. In a majority of cases, these drivers dont come close to my union wages. They pay for all their own repairs and fuel, and all truck related expenses. I honestly dont understand how many of them can even afford to show up for work. Theres no guarantee of ANY wage (not even minimum wage), and in many cases, these drivers make far below minimum wage. In some cases they work 70 hour weeks and still end up owing money to their carrier.

So when the coastal ports started getting clogged up last spring due to the impacts of COVID on business everywhere, drivers started refusing to show up. Congestion got so bad that instead of being able to do three loads a day, they could only do one. They took a 2/3 pay cut and most of these drivers were working 12 hours a day or more. While carriers were charging increased pandemic shipping rates, none of those rate increases went to the driver wages. Many drivers simply quit. However, while the pickup rate for containers severely decreased, they were still being offloaded from the boats. And its only gotten worse.

Earlier this summer, both BNSF and Union Pacific Railways shut down their container yards in the Chicago area for a week for inbound containers. These are some of the busiest ports in the country. They had miles upon miles of stack (container) trains waiting to get in to be unloaded. According to BNSF, containers were sitting in the port 1/3 longer than usual, and they simply ran out of space to put them until some of the ones already on the ground had been picked up. Though they did reopen the area ports, they are still over capacity. Stack trains are still sitting loaded, all over the country, waiting to get into a port to unload. And they have to be unloaded, there is a finite number of railcars. Equipment shortages are a large part of this problem.

One of these critical shortages is the container chassis.

A container chassis is the trailer the container sits on. Cranes will load these in port. Chassis are typically container company provided, as trucking companies generally dont have their own chassis units. They are essential for container trucking. While there are some privately owned chassis, there arent enough of those to begin to address the backlog of containers today, and now drivers are sitting around for hours, sometimes days, waiting for chassis.

The impact of the container crisis now hitting residencies in proximity to trucking companies. Containers are being pulled out of the port and dropped anywhere the drivers can find because the trucking company lots are full. Ports are desperate to get containers out so they can unload the new containers coming in by boat. When this happens there is no plan to deliver this freight yet, they are literally just making room for the next ship at the port. This wont last long, as this just compounds the shortage of chassis. Ports will eventually find themselves unable to move containers out of the port until sitting containers are delivered, emptied, returned, or taken to a storage lot (either loaded or empty) and taken off the chassis there so the chassis can be put back into use. The priority is not delivery, the priority is just to clear the port enough to unload the next boat.

What happens when a container does get to a warehouse?

A large portion of international containers must be hand unloaded because the products are not on pallets. It takes a working crew a considerable amount of time to do this, and warehouse work is usually low wage. A lot of it is actually only temp staffed. Many full time warehouse workers got laid off when the pandemic started, and didnt come back. So warehouses, like everybody else, are chronically short staffed.

When the port trucker gets to the warehouse, they have to wait for a door (youve probably seen warehouse buildings with a bank of roll-up doors for trucks on one side of the building.) The warehouses are behind schedule, sometimes by weeks. After maybe a 2 hour wait, the driver gets a door and drops the container  but now often has to pick up an empty, and goes back to the port to wait in line all over again to drop off the empty.

At the warehouse, the delivered freight is unloaded, and it is usually separated and bound to pallets, then shipped out in much smaller quantities to final destination. A container that had a couple dozen pallets of goods on it will go out on multiple trailers to multiple different destinations a few pallets at a time.

From personal experience, what used to take me 2030 minutes to pick up at a warehouse can now take three to four hours. This slowdown is warehouse management related: very few warehouses are open 24 hours, and even if they are, many are so short staffed it doesnt make much difference, they are so far behind schedule. It means that as a freight driver, I cannot pick up as much freight in a day as I used to, and since I cant get as much freight on my truck, the whole supply chain is backed up. Freight simply isnt moving.

Its important to understand what the cost implications are for consumers with this lack of supply in the supply chain. Its pure supply and demand economics. Consider volume shipping customers who primarily use general freight, which is the lowest cost shipping and typically travels in a space available fashion. They have usually been able to get their freight moved from origination to delivery within two weeks. Think about how you get your packages from Amazon. Even without paying for Prime, you usually get your stuff in a week. The majority of freight travels at this low cost, no guarantee of delivery date way, and for the most part its been fine for both shippers and consumers. Those days are coming to an end.

People who want their deliveries in a reasonable time are going to have to start paying premium rates. There will be levels of priority, and each increase in rate premium essentially jumps that freight ahead of all the freight with lower or no premium rates. Unless the lack of shipping infrastructure is resolved, things will back up in a cascading effect to the point where if your products are going general freight, you might wait a month or two for delivery. Its already starting. If you use truck shipping in any way, youve no doubt started to see the delays. Think about whats going to happen to holiday season shipping.

What is going to compel the shippers and carriers to invest in the needed infrastructure? The owners of these companies can theoretically not change anything and their business will still be at full capacity because of the backlog of containers. The backlog of containers doesnt hurt them. It hurts anyone paying shipping costs  that is, manufacturers selling products and consumers buying products. But it doesnt hurt the owners of the transportation business  in fact the laws of supply and demand mean that they are actually going to make more money through higher rates, without changing a thing. They dont have to improve or add infrastructure (because its costly), and they dont have to pay their workers more (warehouse workers, crane operators, truckers).

The experts want to say we can do things like open the ports 24/7, and this problem will be over in a couple weeks. They are blowing smoke, and they know it. Getting a container out of the port, as slow and aggravating as it is, is really the easy part, if you can find a truck and chassis to haul it. But every truck driver in America cant operate 24/7, even if the government suspends Hours Of Service Regulations (federal regulations determining how many hours a week we can work/drive), we still need to sleep sometime. There are also restrictions on which trucks can go into a port. They have to be approved, have RFID tags, port registered, and the drivers have to have at least a TWIC card (Transportation Worker Identification Credential from the federal Transportation Security Administration). Some ports have additional requirements. As I have already said, most trucking companies wont touch shipping containers with a 100 foot pole. What we have is a system with a limited amount of trucks and qualified drivers, many of whom are already working 14 hours a day (legally, the maximum they can), and now the supposed fix is to have them work 24 hours a day, every day, and not stop until the backlog is cleared. Its not going to happen. It is not physically possible. There is no cavalry coming. No trucking companies are going to pay to register their trucks to haul containers for something that is supposedly so short term, because these same companies can get higher rate loads outside the ports. There is no extra capacity to be had, and it makes NO difference anyway, because If you cant get a container unloaded at a warehouse, having drivers work 24/7/365 solves nothing.

What it will truly take to fix this problem is to run EVERYTHING 24/7: ports (both coastal and domestic),trucks, and warehouses. We need tens of thousands more chassis, and a much greater capacity in trucking.

Before the pandemic, through the pandemic, and really for the whole history of the freight industry at all levels, owners make their money by having low labor costs  that is, low wages and bare minimum staffing. Many supply chain workers are paid minimum wages, no benefits, and theres a high rate of turnover because the physical conditions can be brutal (there arent even bathrooms for truckers waiting hours at ports because the port owners wont pay for them. The truckers arent port employees and port owners are only legally required to pay for bathroom facilities for their employees. This is a nationwide problem). For the whole supply chain to function efficiently every point has to be working at an equal capacity. Any point that fails bottlenecks the whole system. Right now, its ALL failing spectacularly TOGETHER, but fixing one piece wont do anything. It ALL needs to be fixed, and at the same time.

Nobody is compelling the transportation industries to make the needed changes to their infrastructure. There are no laws compelling them to hire the needed workers, or pay them a living wage, or improve working conditions. And nobody is compelling them to buy more container chassis units, more cranes, or more storage space. This is for an industry that literally every business in the world is reliant on in some way or another.

My prediction is that nothing is going to change and the shipping crisis is only going to get worse. Nobody in the supply chain wants to pay to solve the problem. They literally just wont pay to solve the problem. At the point we are at now, things are so backed up that the backups THEMSELVES are causing container companies, ports, warehouses, and trucking companies to charge massive rate increases for doing literally NOTHING. Container companies have already decreased the maximum allowable times before containers have to be back to the port, and if the congestion is so bad that you cant get the container back into the port when it is due, the container company can charge massive late fees. The ports themselves will start charging massive storage fees for not getting containers out on time  storage charges alone can run into thousands of dollars a day. Warehouses can charge massive premiums for their services, and so can trucking companies. Chronic understaffing has led to this problem, but it is allowing these same companies to charge ten times more for regular services. Since theyre not paying the workers any more than they did last year or five years ago, the whole industry sits back and cashes in on the mess it created. In fact, the more things are backed up, the more every point of the supply chain cashes in. There is literally NO incentive to change, even if it means consumers have to do holiday shopping in July and pay triple for shipping.

This is the new normal. All brought to you by the experts running our supply chains.

Read more at: Medium.com
(Natural News) Families all across America are coming forward to tell all about how the medical system killed off their loved ones under the guise of fighting the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19).

Numerous recordings reveal the horrors taking place at Americas hospitals, where sick and dying patients are being kept away from their families while being administered deadly drugs, deprived of nutrients and hydration, and put on ventilators, which quickly kill them.

Prisoners in Americas jails do have more rights right now than COVID patients in Americas hospitals  its unheard of, said Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet, president and chief executive of the Truth for Health Foundation (THF), at an October 27 press conference.

THF is leading the charge to address the horrific hospital violations of human rights that are occurring all around the country. The groups website explains that it aims to provide truthful, balanced, medically sound, research-based information and cutting-edge updates on prevention and treatment of common medical conditions, including COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, that affect health, quality of life and longevity.

Americas Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) is also involved with pursuing justice. Ali Shultz, its legal director, has a personal motivation because her father-in-law is someone who allegedly suffered harm while admitted as a covid patient at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Im doing my job has never been a defense to crimes against humanity, Shultz said, referring to those in the medical profession who are going along with this mass genocide because their paychecks depend on it.

Western medicine is a death trap

In trying to see her father-in-law, Shultz was told that despite her medical power of attorney she could not see him. No matter what she did, from sending a letter to emailing them, nothing worked.

I was literally carried out in handcuffs under color of law, she says. I was assaulted under color of law. I was deprived access to their health records, I was deprived access to them, and I was lied to. But thats absolutely nothing compared to what happened to Chuck.

Shultz says that Chuck was kept from hydration and nourishment for at least six days. Only once did he receive a single bag of five-percent dextrose water. Chuck was also secretly experimented on with a rheumatoid arthritis drug called baricitinib.

Another expert, Dr. Bryan Ardis, warns that the use of remdesivir on covid patients at hospitals is likewise a problem. The drug does not work and often leads to mortality, but hospitals everywhere have been giving it to their sick patients.

Why? Because the federal government is bribing them to do this by offering a 20 percent bonus reimbursement on medical coding claims. Tony Fauci is personally invested in remdesivir, so this is not at all surprising.

In another recording, a woman named Mary Ann talked about her Marine Corps veteran father who was killed at a hospital in Bozeman, Mont. Mary Ann was not allowed to visit him and had to watched him convulse and die, masked, through a glass barrier.

None of this should be happening. Patients and their families need to know they have rights. The world needs to know that it must stand up to this tyranny now to nip it in the bud before it gets any worse.

You have the right to refuse treatment, you have the right to request treatment, you have the right to have an advocate when you are in the hospital, Vliet says. When those rights are denied, your civil rights, human rights, and constitutional rights are being overridden  and you will need an advocate.

More related news about how the Chinese Virus is a cover story for mass genocide can be found at Genocide.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Special Counsel for the Department of Justice John Durhams investigation into the corrupt handling of former President Donald Trumps alleged connection to the Russian government is approaching a monumental and biblical phase, according to author and conservative political commentator Melissa Red Pill. Durham recently stated that his work reviewing the Russia investigation is not done.

Durhams investigation began in May 2019 when former Attorney General William Barr tapped him to look into the origins of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) fabricated allegations regarding Trumps connections to the Russian government. Since then, he has been working hard to uncover any potential corruption involved in the FBIs handling of the case. (Related: Melissa Red Pill: Raid on Russian oligarchs properties first domino to fall that brings down the corrupt diseased cabal.)

Durhams investigation covers both pre- and post-election matters and some of its highlights include the unmasking of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynns fabricated assessment that Russia aided the Trump campaign in 2016.

Clinton campaign attorney lied about Trump-Russia connection

More recently, Durham stated in a virtual status hearing his intention to call former FBI General Counsel James Baker to testify in the case against Hillary Clintons former campaign attorney Michael Sussmann, who was recently indicted for lying to the FBI.

According to Durhams indictment, Sussmann contacted Baker in Sept. 2016 to h0ld a meeting with him. He claimed he was not working for any client at the time despite being part of Clintons presidential campaign.

During the meeting, Sussmann presented information that supposedly proved then-candidate Trumps organization had a secret server he and his team used to communicate with Alfa-Bank, a private Russian bank that allegedly has ties to the Kremlin.

Durhams indictment states that Sussmann lied to Baker about his connections to the Clinton campaign and the so-called information he presented to the federal agent. The indictment further indicates that Durham may expand his investigation to bring multiple charges against Sussmann and possibly against other people connected to him.

Durhams team presented the indictment to District Judge Christopher Cooper on Tuesday, Oct. 26. The judge asked both the government and Sussmanns defense to move forward in the discovery process. This phase in the trial could take months because Durhams team provided Sussmanns attorneys with over 6,000 documents totaling up to 81,000 pages of evidence.

These 6,000 documents were presented to the court and Sussmanns team on Oct. 20. Durhams team described the evidence as documents received in response to grand jury subpoenas issued to 15 separate individuals, entities and organizations  including, among others, political organizations, a university, university researchers, an investigative firm and numerous companies.

Durhams investigation is still ongoing. His next court date with Sussmann is on Dec. 8. Cooper stated that he is giving the defense and Durham enough time to figure out a strategy, but both the defense and the prosecution must come up with a target date for a trial either this year after Dec. 8 or early next year.

Durham and Sussmanns teams have signaled they are aiming for a trial to begin no later than spring 2022.

Red Pill asks viewers to wait for the results of Durhams investigation and trust the plan

During her program Freedom Force Battalion on Brighteon.TV Wednesday, Oct. 27, Red Pill noted that Durham already has a lot of evidence on decades of malfeasance, corruption, tax evasion and more.

They have all the evidence in detailed chronological order. This is very encouraging for us. We want this done yesterday, we want all of this done. And we have to be patient and trust the plan, said Red Pill.

There is zero doubt that Durham and company are going for the whole ball of wax. Were going to take down the entire diseased, corrupt criminal operation. Thats what weve got to do. You see what theyve done with this election and all that. So theres no other option.

Melissa Red Pill has more to say about Durhams investigation. Watch the Oct. 27 episode of Freedom Force Battalion here:

Freedom Force Battalion with Melissa Red Pill airs every Wednesday at 11-12 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

Learn more about Durhams investigation into all allegations of corruption thrown at Trump by reading the latest articles at Corruption.news.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

FoxNews.com

LawfareBlog.com
(Natural News) Pastor Scott Lively looked back on his fight against an LGBT mafia, which traces its roots in Uganda, during the Oct. 27 edition of his Brighteon.TV program Prophecy and Politics. Livelys actions in Uganda led to a six-year lawsuit, which was eventually dismissed.

The pastor has been on the receiving end of persecution by the LGBT movement for more than a decade. Nevertheless, Lively stands firm on his views about the movement. I believe that the gay theology really is the heresy of the last days and that the phenomenon of rampant sexual perversion is an indicator of the closeness of the end of the age.'

A last-minute speaking engagement in 2002 led to Lively stepping into the Ugandan capital of Kampala. He served as a substitute speaker during the countrys national pro-family conference with 400 officials and religious leaders in attendance.

Lively returned to Uganda in 2009 upon the invitation of Stephen Langa of the Kampala Pentecostal Church. He served as a speaker for a three-day conference about LGBT during that year, this time with LGBT representatives in attendance. He also spoke before lawmakers in the Ugandan Parliament in 2009.

Five years after Livelys appearance in Ugandas legislature, President Yoweri Museveni signed the so-called Kill The Gays Bill into law. However, the Constitutional Court of Uganda overturned the law in August 2014 as it was apparently passed without meeting the required quorum.

Lively said because of his actions in Uganda, he has been attacked by different individuals and entities. Psychology professor Warren Throckmorton joined the ranks of the pastors staunchest detractors, even claiming that Lively was calling for forced therapy of homosexual couples in the African country.

[Its] absolutely not true [and] it was a mischaracterization at best. Overnight, I became an international pariah being accused of being the mastermind of the so-called Kill The Gays Bill.'

Lively gets sued but is eventually exonerated

To make matters worse, the Ugandan LGBT activist organization Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) filed a lawsuit against Lively in U.S. federal court in 2012. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) assisted SMUG in filing the case. On the other hand, religious freedom nonprofit Liberty Counsel (LC) represented Lively in the 2012 lawsuit.

In June 2017, U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor dismissed the suit citing a 2013 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 2013 ruling stated that the obscure Alien Tort Statute (ATS), which SMUG and CCR based their lawsuit on, was never intended to allow foreign citizens to sue Americans in U.S. court over alleged violations of international law.

I thank God for His deliverance from this outrageous and malicious litigation, designed solely to silence my voice for biblical truth on LGBT issues and to cause me pain and suffering for daring to speak against the gay agenda, Lively said at the time of the cases dismissal. He also thanked LC attorneys Horatio Mihet and Roger Gannam, alongside the groups chairman Mat Staver. The pastor also thanked Ponsor for overcoming his clear ideological bias enough to acknowledge the legal deficiency of SMUGs case and bring it to a close.

That lawsuit lasted for six and a half years. The first four years of it were the actual trial, and then we had to file an appeal, Lively recounted.

This was [a] totally bogus lawsuit in the first place. They claim my First Amendment free speech activities in Uganda  such as my seminar and conversations with legislators so overwhelmed their own constitutional duty to make laws for their own country, that I was responsible for a bill that say caused harm to homosexuals in that country. You dont lose your free speech in U.S. courts when you leave the the country.

Lively explains why the globalists behind the LGBT mafia targeted Uganda

Lively explained why the LGBT mafia and their globalist backers have set their sights on Uganda. (Related: Dr. Scott Lively talks about the LGBT mafias oppression of Christians  Brighteon.TV.)

Uganda actually has a Christian government for quite some time. The country is very morally conservative. However, there had been this sudden rise of sexual perversion. All of a sudden, there was pornography popping up in the form of topless women in the news paper. [The] sexual revolution was being pushed on the Ugandan people, and it never happened before. The long and the short of it is: Uganda had become a major threat to the globalist agenda, Lively said.

This was happening in Uganda because [it] had largely conquered its AIDS problem by not following the globalists condom approach  which is part of the sexual revolution. Its part of the promotion of the legitimization of fornication. Instead, they were using abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage. By having the Christian sexual ethic, at the core of their response, they went from having the highest to the lowest level of AIDS in all of Africa.

Lively noted that sexual revolution is central to the to the system of breaking down the resistance of the nations to a one world government.

If you have a strong family network in a society, people are going to be far more independent and self-sufficient. So you have to break down the family and the way you do that is with sexual promiscuity. Heterosexual promiscuity, mostly, and then more and more extreme perversions, he said.

Thats really what the LGBT agenda does. It pushes heterosexual promiscuity first, in order to pave the way for the acceptance of same-sex relationships and other things  trans-sexuality and all that. And they were at a very early stage of it there. (Related: The LGBT movements destructive history and legacy.)

Watch the full Oct. 27 episode of Prophecy and Politics below. Catch Prophecy and Politics with Scott Lively every Wednesday at 4-5 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

Resist.news has more articles about people such as Scott Lively pushing back against the LGBT mafia.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

BBC.com

LC.org
(Natural News) Germanys Federal Ministry of Health, in a survey carried out by Forsa, found that 90 percent of Germans who havent received Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines are sticking with their decision to not get vaccinated. The remaining 10 percent said they will probably get it or will remain undecided.

About 65 percent of unvaccinated Germans said that there is no way they will get the COVID-19 vaccine over the next two months. A further 23 percent said they would probably not get the COVID-19 vaccine in the near future, while 2 percent said they would definitely not get the jab at any point.

Out of 3,000 respondents, only 10 percent were still undecided or said they will probably get vaccinated in the near future. The poll results meant that people who have until now chosen to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 are unlikely to be convinced to have the vaccines.

In contrast, Thomas Mertens from the Standing Vaccinations Committee (STIKO) claimed that unvaccinated Germans were not hardliners but were merely sitting on the fence and could be convinced.

Mertens is grossly underestimating the resistance of the Germans. Only five percent of respondents said they would get the jab if hospitals were overwhelmed with patients, while 89 percent said they wouldnt change their mind even if intensive care units reached their capacity.

Vaccine passports actually hardened the peoples opposition to getting vaccinated. Twenty-seven percent said imposing restrictions on the unvaccinated would make them even more determined not to get vaccinated, while only five percent said it would encourage them to get the vaccine.

Last January, German authorities threatened to arrest COVID lockdown rulebreakers. The same authorities said that unvaccinated Germans will be deprived of basic lifestyle activities like visiting cinemas and restaurants. (Related: After throwing them in COVID quarantine camps, German government also strips prisoner of compensation payments to bankrupt them.)

The editor-in-chief of Germanys top newspaper Bild shocked some people by apologizing for the news outlets fear-driven coverage of COVID, specifically to children who were told that they were going to murder their grandma.

Chaotic vaccine rollout exposes flaws in Europes communal system

Meanwhile, the chaotic vaccine rollout in the European Union (EU) is exposing flaws in the communal system as several members of the bloc suspended the use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine over safety concerns.

According to several European officials, the decisions taken in capitals from Copenhagen to Rome were made without any coordination with each other or the EU executive in Brussels.

It looks like quite an uncoordinated, spontaneous decision, perhaps out of political nervousness, Guntram Wolff, director of the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, told Bloomberg on Oct. 26, referring to the original suspensions. He said such moves were devastating for a rapid vaccine rollout.

The 27-nation bloc was slow out the gates to begin vaccinating 450 million Europeans, especially in comparison to the post-Brexit United Kingdom. The relative speed at which the U.K. has inoculated its population, offering the prospect of reopening shops and businesses and even travel abroad, has been a key driving force behind the pounds rally this year.

Sterling rose to a one-year high against the euro in February, threatening the further indignity for Europe of soon witnessing Britons able to holiday on the continent and getting a bargain while doing so.

With COVID deaths on the rise again and governments prolonging or re-tightening lockdowns, the political ramifications of the mess that Europe finds itself in are profound. (Related:Lockdown-free Sweden has fewer excess coronavirus deaths than most of Europe.)

Follow Immunization.news for more news and information related to coronavirus vaccines.

Sources include:

Infowars.com

Bloomberg.com
(Natural News) Standing strong against Mayor Bill de Blasios tyranny, one in six public workers in New York City reportedly did not show proof of Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination before the October 30 deadline.

While there was supposedly a rush of last-minute jabbings that occurred just before the 8pm deadline last Friday, many stood their ground and followed Nancy Reagans advice to Just Say No when offered strange drugs from shady dealers (i.e., the government and Big Pharma).

Losing roughly 17 percent of its public workforce, the Big Apple is now bracing for closed firehouses, fewer police officers and ambulances, and another big one that many people have overlooked: less-than-optimal trash pickup.

Twenty-three percent of the workers in the fire and sanitation departments refused to take the vaccine by the Friday deadline, reported NTD. The vaccination rate jumped 8 percent for the fire department and 10 percent for the sanitation department on Friday.

Similarly, the New York Police Department (NYPD) had 16 percent of its personnel decline the shot, down from 21 percent last Thursday, the day before the deadline.

The fire department said it was prepared to close up to 20 percent of its fire companies and have 20 percent fewer ambulances in service while also changing schedules, canceling vacations, and turning to outside EMS providers to make up for expected staffing shortages, NTD added.

To fix the problem, de Blasio says remaining fully vaccinated workers need to work massive overtime

Rather than relent on his ridiculous and tyrannical demand that all public workers get injected in order to remain employed, de Blasio has said that trash crews must now work 12-hour shifts instead of the usual eight-hour shifts.

What this means, of course, is that the fully vaccinated who were able to keep their jobs will now have to work themselves to the bone in order to keep trash from piling up all over NYC.

Meanwhile, the number of fully vaccinated hospital cases  meaning the number of people who took the jabs and are still getting seriously ill  continues to rise.

The latest data shows that the number of fully vaccinated cases per 100,000 people jumped from 12.3 in late June to 121 in mid-August. This is a nearly 10-fold, or 1,000 percent, increase.

Around the same time, COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in that population rose from 8.9 per 100,000 to 75. CCP virus deaths jumped from 0.1 per 100,000 to 1.1, NTD added.

Pleased with everything going on, de Blasio is patting himself on the back for his tyranny. He stated publicly that everything is going as planned, and that human reality suggests that more people will continue to obey his orders rather than lose their paychecks.

We expected that a lot of the vaccinations would happen toward the end of the deadline, he said smugly. We also know a lot of people make the decision once they really realize that theyre not going to get paid.

I hope all the first responders walk off and leave NYC, a Natural News commenter wrote in response to the news.

How can people not see how well-planned all of this is and how all prongs of these attacks converge to destroy our nation? asked another.

Another suggested that this is all part of the plan to diminish the population of large urban centers, which seem to be where most of these types of mandates are being imposed.

Klaus Schwab of the WEF (World Economic Forum) said his Great Reset will reduce the population of urban centers like New York and Chicago, this person wrote. The pandemic hoax is merely an excuse for this; a pretext.

The latest news about the breakdown of public services due to the jab mandates can be found at Fascism.news.

Sources for this article include:

NTD.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Ann Vandersteel talked about federal lawsuits against the Biden administrations vaccine mandate during the Oct. 29 episode of her Brighteon.TV program Steel Truth.

Fox News reported on the same day that a group of state attorneys general (AGs) have sued the Biden administration to stop Executive Order 14042. Led by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the lawsuit by the AGs claimed that Bidens order is unconstitutional.

Defendants, through their vaccine mandate, have exercised power far beyond what was delegated to the federal government by constitutional mandate or congressional action. The power to impose vaccine mandates, to the extent that any such power exists, is a power reserved to the states, the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit also warned of the effects of the vaccine mandate on federal contractors. Far from increasing economy and efficiency in procurement, the contractor vaccine mandate will have deleterious effects on economy and inefficiency by causing the large-scale resignations of unvaccinated employees of federal contractors, it stated.

The suit filed by the attorneys general is not the only complaint filed in response to the vaccine mandates.

A class action lawsuit was being leveled  because while they havent really provided the proper paperwork for religious exemptions, and theres a whole bunch of disputes going on about whether or not these religious exemptions were even going to be upheld, they werent being processed in a timely fashion, Vandersteel said.

The good news is  it appears that more people are jumping on this class action bandwagon. So many lawsuits are coming to the Biden administration over these forced clot shots that I dont believe theres enough people on their side to take all thats incoming. (Related: Bidens mandate madness is socialist tyranny.)

Meta: New name, same old Zuckerberg

Vandersteel also mentioned Facebooks name change in her show. The parent company behind social media platforms Facebook and Instagram and messaging platform WhatsApp changed its name to Meta amid its many scandals.

The New York Post reported that the name change forms part of the companys long-term plan to create a metaverse. This metaverse is a virtual reality world where users can socialize, work, play games and create art.

With all the scrutiny and public debate, some of you might be wondering why were doing this right now. Some people will say that this isnt a time to focus on the future, and I want to acknowledge that there are important issues to work on in the present. There always will be. For many people, Im not sure there will be a good time to focus on the future, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, alluding to his critics.

The Steel Truth host took a swipe at the name change. Facebook, if you havent heard, changed [its] name to Meta. You know what that actually stands for? Make Everything Trump Again. Interesting choice, by the way.

Vandersteel furthermore pointed out a much more sinister reason for the name change.

To me, it refers to metadata  which really is the LifeLog. Isnt that where this all started? Facebook was originally LifeLog, a [Central Intelligence Agency] and [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] operation. Theyve now consumed all of our metadata, and theyre going to be open and bold about it and change their name to Meta. Bravo, Zuckerberg, Vandersteel said.

Well, a name change is not going to be enough to stop whats coming. Nothing can stop whats coming. They think that this name change to Meta is going to be enough to shield Facebook from the latest wave of backlash. (Related: Revealed: Facebooks secret blacklist of dangerous individuals and organization.)

Watch the full Oct. 29 episode of Steel Truth below. Tune in to Steel Truth with Ann Vandersteel from Monday to Friday at 8-10 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

Freedom.news has more articles about the fight against oppression by Big Government and Big Tech.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

FoxNews.com

NYPost.com
(Natural News) Another ostensibly American corporation is taking aim at its white employees with a program aimed at making them feel ashamed and guilty simply because of their skin color  a program that would land every one of the companys executives in court if they directed it towards employees of color.

The program was discovered by renowned critical race theory researcher and whistleblower Christopher Rufo, who wrote about his findings in a piece for City Journal, a publication of the Manhattan Institute:

AT&T Corporation has created a racial reeducation program that promotes the idea that American racism is a uniquely white trait and boosts left-wing causes such as reparations, defund police, and trans activism.

I have obtained a cache of internal documents about the companys initiative, called Listen Understand Act, which is based on the core principles of critical race theory, including intersectionality, systemic racism, white privilege, and white fragility. CEO John Stankey launched the program last year and, subsequently, has told employees that private corporations such as AT&T have an obligation to engage on this issue of racial injustice and push for systemic reforms in police departments across the country.

A senior AT&T employee who spoke to Rufo on the condition of anonymity said that managers at the telecom giant are assessed annually now on so-called diversity issues and they must take part in mandatory programs to include book clubs, discussion groups, race reeducation exercises and discussion groups.

White employees, said the senior staffer, are more or less required to confess to being complicit in white privilege as well as systemic racism or theyll be penalized in performance reviews (again  just imagine if these programs were required of black, brown, or Asian workers; senior AT&T executives would already be subjected to lawsuits and federal prosecutions).

As part of the program, company employees are pressed to sign a document pledging they will keep pushing for change, as intentions such as reading more about systemic racism and challenging others language that is hateful.

If you dont do it, according to the senior AT&T employee, youre [considered] a racist.

Rufo noted that the cowards at the telecom giant would not respond to a request for comment.

On page one of AT&Ts Listen Understand Act internal portal, the telecom pushes white workers to study a curriculum called White America, if you want to know whos responsible for racism, look in the mirror. The resource claims, of course, that the U.S. is a racist society and clearly lays out that thesis: White people, you are the problem. Regardless of how much you say you detest racism, you are the sole reason it has flourished for centuries.

Dahleen Glanton, the author, states that American racism is a uniquely white trait and that Black people cannot be racist. In addition, Glanton states, incredibly, that white women have been telling lies on black men since they were first brought to America in chains. They, along with white males, enjoy the opportunities and privileges that white supremacy affords [them].

Rufo also notes:

In the Act section of the training program, AT&T encourages employees to participate in a 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Challenge that relies on the concepts of whiteness, white privilege, and white supremacy. The program instructs AT&T employees to do one action [per day for 21 days] to further [their] understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity. The challenge begins with a series of lessons on whiteness, which claims, among other things, that white supremacy [is] baked into our countrys foundation, that Whiteness is one of the biggest and most long-running scams ever perpetrated, and that the weaponization of whiteness creates a constant barrage of harm for minorities.

Natural News reported in March that merely questioning woke corporate pabulum is very often grounds for being fired from your job  again, another blatant violation of civil rights statutes that, interestingly, white lawmakers were primarily responsible for passing in the mid-1960s.

This garbage is pure poison for a multicultural society like America, which is why it is being introduced everywhere by the militant left: They want to tear down America as founded.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

City-Journal.org
(Natural News) Just two days after Beijing imposed price controls on its coal rationing, the country is facing another crisis: gas shortage. Many stations across the country are running out of diesel due to supply constraints.

As the Chinese economy aggressively reopened following the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdowns, the supply of fossil fuels started to dwindle amidst the green crackdown and supply bottlenecks. Demand for thermal power also soared to an all-time high.

While Beijing sought to conserve coal, diesel and other fossil fuels, consumers and gas stations in some provinces had to deal with empty pumps for days due to the constraints and the booming demand for coal transportation and diesel supplies. With no gas to sell, station owners had to ration what is available at their disposal.

Each customer can only buy a fixed amount because there isnt enough at the moment, an employee from a gas station in Shijiazhuang said. Another employee from a different gas station noted that the diesel price increased recently.

Han Xiaoping, chief analyst at energy industry website China5e.com, noted that the diesel price hike is driven by demand due to booming transportation of bulk cargo, which has now entered its peak season. Some factories have also increased their use of diesel to generate electricity to complete orders amid tight power supplies, he said.

China relies on imports for most of its crude oil, making its energy market vulnerable to supply shocks that can ripple across its entire economy.

The good news, according to Han, is that at the very least China will make it through whats expected to be a cold winter. The tight situation is expected to be a temporary one that will be largely eased after the heating season this winter, Han said.

Truck drivers bear the brunt of diesel price hike

The diesel crisis also hit the cargo business, especially smaller operators with limited cash flow. An employee from a logistics company based in Qingdao in Eastern China said that they had to turn down new orders that involve long-distance transport due to the skyrocketing diesel prices.

Truck drivers are sensitive to diesel prices because they bear the brunt of price changes. The price for domestic refined oil soared in October, and the domestic 92-octane gasoline price stands at 9,062 yuan per ton  a monthly increase of 19.07 percent as per industry data.

Oil prices have also continuously hit multi-year highs, with Brent crude hitting $86.70 a barrel  the highest since October 2018. (Related: Oil price jumps to over $80 per barrel due to energy supply shortages.)

With 70 percent reliance on imports, the Chinese oil market is vulnerable to international market changes. The National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice recently that raised gasoline prices by 300 yuan per ton and 290 yuan per ton for diesel.

Diesel continued to drain at a rapid rate, with estimated stockpiles at their lowest in at least a year. Some local pump stations are even limiting sales to trucks to 100 liters per vehicle.

To stabilize supplies, state-run refining companies like Sinopec increased the monthly distribution of domestic diesel by a monthly average of 20 percent compared to the previous three quarters. They plan to continue to increase distribution by 18 percent more to ensure domestic diesel supplies.

Sengyick Tee, an analyst with Beijing-based SIA Energy, said: The Chinese government cannot afford a diesel crisis after power shortages and sky-high gas prices. State refiners need to fill the huge supply gap.

Read more about how diesel and other fossil fuel shortages are affecting the economy at Bubble.news.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

GlobalTimes.cn

Bloomberg.com
(Natural News) The year was 2013, and it was a widely-known conspiracy theory to say that the US government was spying on its own citizens via Google, Yahoo, Apple, Skype, YouTube, phone calls, emails and all social media posts. Then came Edward Snowden, a contractor who walked out of NSA with a thumb drive that changed the world forever, proving the conspiracy theory was true all along.

Snowden leaked top secret slides mapping out exactly how NSA was indeed spying on American citizens by collecting mass swaths of data, and mass media (fake news) had no choice but to admit, finally, that truth news was right (it all started with the Patriot Act). Now, pay it all forward to the Covid pandemic with the Snowden whistleblower story in mind.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, most Americans (as usual) believed the narrative on mass media that the virus broke out in humans because people in China were eating infected bats at some wet market. Only truth news (alternative news) suspected that the CCP and the CDC worked in tandem to create the mysterious SARS-CoV-2 gain of function virus and released it from a lab (most likely on purpose).

Sure enough, we find out the virus genetic signature came from the Wuhan lab, and Fauci helped fund the research for it. Turns out its no conspiracy theory at all, and now a Snowden-like whistleblower, with inside information about exactly how mRNA vaccines function, is telling the world exactly how the Covid vaccines are creating a pandemic of their own.

Anyone living in denial of this needs to watch the embedded video below of Dr. Paul Cottrell. Like Snowden, the man is obviously well-versed in the language of the perpetrators, but this time the technology isnt being used for spying on Americans (and the world) but rather vaccine and virus technology is being manipulated to systematically dismantle and disable (he calls it down-regulation) the human immune system via vaccines and lab-made Covid variants. Dr. Cottrell explains the plandemic and maps it out on a dry-erase board like its the NSA spying map PRISM.

Moderna working with CDC and CCP to perfect bioweapons using AI, bad anecdotes (vaccines) and cancer-causing pathogens

Using the Jurassic Park movie as an analogy/reference, Dr. Paul Cottrell describes how the Chinese Communist Party and the CDC are collaborating to tinker with virus genetic structures that can easily elude their anecdotes and also be used as biological weapons of mass destruction. What were seeing, he describes, is how these mRNA vaccines are responsible for T-cell and B-cell reduction, so the vaccines are causing a down-regulation of the immune system, which over time creates an AIDS-like syndrome.

The vaccines for Covid are causing autoimmune disorders and antibody-dependent enhancement syndrome. Heres how. After 2.5 months, theres a lag where the vaccine antibodies wane, lose strength and the immune system is compromised just enough for elusive variants to attach and attack your whole system. This is how the vaccinated masses are MORE vulnerable to disease and new mutations of SARS-CoV-2.

In other words, the vaccines are shutting down the innate immune system, and so almost any virus or bacterial infection for the immune-compromised masses will be serious, if not deadly, including the common cold, flu, infections from e-coli or salmonella, MRSA or staph infections in hospitals, etc.

Covid Plandemic compared to other conspiracy theories that came true, like cigarettes causing cancer and the US government spying on its own citizens

Dr. Cottrell compares the whole scandal of the scamdemic to carcinogens in cigarettes leading to lung cancer. Remember when doctors were endorsing their favorite cigarettes, claiming they were good for digestion, when all along, for 30-plus years (1935  1965), the doctors were well aware cigarettes led to chronic emphysema and lung cancer, per the science.

As the Covid-vaccinated get more shots, more boosters, they are exiting homeostasis and entering into an ADE world where only the shots will save them, and thats if the government decides you can access them, or if you get placebo (essentially a death jab or kill shot) that does nothing to save you from some infection, variant or new cancers.

Infections will no longer be able to be treated with antibiotics. The doctor tells us we will see infections that recur, they come back, as people relapse, and its worse each time. Then, if doctors prescribe antibiotics, they are literally ADDING to the problem of the ADE (antibody dependent enhancement syndrome) and strengthening the antibody resistant bacteria in the process.

What may be good from a military standpoint (for survival of bioweapons attack) may be horrible from a civilian standpoint due to short and long-term health defects and auto-immune disorders. Bottom line: The China Flu jabs are turning on oncogenes and turning off tumor/cancer suppressor genes. This is worth viewing in its entirety.

Tune your truth news dial to Pandemic.news to stay informed of the engineered pitfalls of the Covid scamdemic. It doesnt take a scientist or doctor to see that Covid vaccines, Remdesivir, masks and ventilators are compounding the problems of the pandemic, creating a pandemic of their own.

Sources for this article include:

Pandemic.news

TruthWiki.org

NaturalNews.com

ZeroHedge.com
(Natural News) Former National Security Advisor and retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn told host Pastor David Scarlett during the Oct. 29 episode of HIS Glory on Brighteon.TV that Christian pastors should not be afraid of using the pulpits in their congregations to defend the Constitution.

The general talked about the different ways people can serve their country.

Flynn believes the one thing Christians can do is to uphold the Constitution at all times. Flynn made this comment as he was talking about the Johnson Amendment, a provision in Americas tax code that prevents nonprofit organizations from either endorsing or opposing political candidates.

Johnson took the ability from our religious, faith-based leaders  their ability to talk about politics because of this Johnson Amendment, said Flynn. He pointed out that former President Lyndon Johnson created the amendment in the tax code out of vindictiveness because of a pastor in his own community that went against him when he was trying to run for Congress.

Well, pastors, you can talk about the Constitution from the pulpit, said Flynn. You can clearly talk about the Constitution from the pulpit. Do not be afraid. In fact, be fearless about it, Flynn said. Those pastors who have spoken up about our Constitution in there and the abilities that the Constitution gives us, their congregations have grown. And we need more of them to do more of that.

Scarlett, a pastor himself, said: I keep the Constitution with me everywhere I go. And this country was founded on Judeo-Christian values, the Bible, the Ten Commandments. And we, as pastors, have to stand in the gap. We have to tell the truth.

Flynn pointed out that many Christians go to Church on Sunday and perhaps go to a Bible study meeting, and then afterward they just go home and go about their daily life.

Maybe thats okay, if your daily life includes serving our nation in some small capacity, with whatever capability that God has given you, said Flynn. But for many other Christians, Flynn said they need to do more.

People come up to me all the time and they tell me  they give me some excuse about how they didnt serve in the military. Look, not everybody is designed to serve in the United States Armed Forces, not everybodys designed to serve in the military unless we have to for the good of the country. We dont have a draft, we have an all-volunteer force, Flynn said.

Dont worry about not serving in the military. How do you serve yourself? How do you serve your community? How do you serve in your congregation?

Flynn: Be wary of the deep state

In mid-October, Flynn went on Tucker Carlson Today on Fox News to talk about how powerful Americas deep state has become.

Flynn told Carlson that former President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned future generations about the potential of the military-industrial complex to be co-opted by deep state actors.

If you fast forward to today, 2021, you can add a component to that, said Flynn of todays national security apparatus. The security state of this country has grown probably by five times in the last 25 to 30 years. (Related: Archbishop Vigano: The vaccine victims are sacrificed at the altar of Moloch. We are in a war of good vs evil, the deep state and deep church conspire against humanity.)

Flynn said the Defense Intelligence Agency had around 3,000 employees in the early 2000s. When former President Barack Obama appointed Flynn to be the director of the agency in 2012, the office had ballooned to about 20,000 employees.

I think what happened was, over time, this security-state complex really joined with this military-industrial complex that Eisenhower talked about, said Flynn. These are big structures. And theyre unwieldy.

Flynn also said that he believes the U.S. is controlled by two separate governments. We have the one that actually gets elected and goes into office. And then you have a government inside of Washington, D.C. that operates under no rules, no authorities other than their own, said Flynn.

Watch the entire Oct. 29 episode of HIS Glory here:

HIS Glory with Pastor David Scarlett airs live every Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

Learn more about how powerful the deep state is at DeepState.news.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

FoxNews.com
(Natural News) A number of mental health experts warned that the blatant panic-mongering during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have serious psychiatric effects on the population.

In an Evie Magazine article last year, S. G. Chea discussed the emergence of mass psychosis caused by delusional fear of COVID-19. Chea wrote that the young and the healthy are being terrorized by the chokehold of irrational fear despite statistics pointing to low fatality rate among children and young adults.

Instead of facing reality, the delusional person would rather live in their world of make-believe. But in order to keep faking reality, theyll have to make sure that everyone else around them also pretends to live in their imaginary world. In simpler words, the delusional person rejects reality. And in this rejection of reality, others have to play along with how they view the world  otherwise, their world will not make sense to them. Its why the delusional person will get angry when they face someone who doesnt conform to their world view, Chea wrote.

Dr. Mark McDonald, psychiatrist and medical legal expert, said in December 2020 that the true public health crisis lies in the widespread fear which morphed and evolved into a form of mass delusional psychosis.

Epidemic of madness during plandemic

Mass psychosis is defined as an epidemic of madness that occurs when a large portion of society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions. This happened during the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Its one of the reasons why youre seeing so many people who would happily approve the silencing of medical experts whose views contradict the World Health Organization (WHO) or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Obeying the rules becomes more important than questioning if the rules were legitimate to begin with.

After 19 months of abnormal pandemic life, the data are proving that McDonald is correct.

In the U.K., psychiatric referrals for first-time psychotic episodes have skyrocketed. The Guardian reported that cases of psychosis have soared over the past two years in England as an increasing number of people experience hallucinations and delusional thinking amid the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a 29 percent increase in the number of people referred to mental health services for their first suspected episode of psychosis between April 2019 and April 2021, National Health Service (NHS) data shows. The rise continued throughout the spring, with 9,460 referred in May 2021  up 26 percent from 7,520 in May 2019.

Brian Dow, deputy chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, noted that the number of mental health referrals remains so high. He called the outside of his home or office as outdoor insane asylum, where he must assume that any person that I run into is insane unless they prove otherwise. Dow said additional funding for mental health and social care must be given to frontline workers to help meet new demands.

To address this, Rethink Mental Illness is urging the government to invest more in early intervention for psychosis to prevent further deterioration of peoples mental health from which it could take years to recover. It says the statistics provide some of the first concrete evidence to indicate the significant levels of distress experienced across the population during the pandemic.

According to a spokesperson for the British Department of Health and Social Care, the agency will expand the NHS mental health services budget by 2.3 billion ($3.1 billion) per year by 2023/2024. Theyve also added 500 million ($691 million) to the 2021 budget to provide services to those hit hardest by pandemic measures.

Worldwide increase in anxiety and depression

In another study, lead author Damian Santomauro of the University of Queensland and his team found that the rates of anxiety and depression worldwide increased dramatically.

According to the team, COVID pandemic resulted in an additional 76 million cases of anxiety and 53 million cases of major depressive disorder  over and above annual norms, with women and younger individuals being disproportionally affected.

We believe that is because women are more likely to be affected by the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. Women are more likely to take on additional care and household responsibilities due to school closures or family members becoming unwell, Santomauro said.

Women also tend to have lower salaries, less savings, and less secure employment than men, and so are more likely to be financially disadvantaged during the pandemic. Youth have been impacted by the closures of schools and higher education facilities, and wider restrictions inhibiting young people from peer interactions.

As noted by McDonald, adults are inflicting emotional trauma on an entire generation. The widespread insanity on display among adults can have severe and lasting effects on children as they grow up, he said.

McDonald stressed that the mental states of the children hes treated during this pandemic are far worse than what hes used to seeing in these age groups. This tells us the trauma inflicted by pandemic measures is very serious. (Related: Experts warn impact of coronavirus pandemic on childrens mental health is increasingly alarming.)

Adults have twisted irrational fear into a virtue, which is doubly tragic and wrong. Wearing a mask has become a way to demonstrate that youre a good person, someone who cares about others, whereas not wearing a mask brands you as an inconsiderate lout, if not a prospective mass murderer, simply by breathing.

By encouraging us to remain in fear and allow it to control and constrain our lives, the fear has become so entrenched that anyone who says we need to be fearless and fight for our freedoms is attacked for being both stupid and dangerous, McDonald said.

Follow Pandemic.news for more news and information related to the coronavirus pandemic.

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(Natural News) When Donald father of the vaccine Trump first unveiled Operation Warp Speed as the solution to the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, many were confused at how quickly the 45th president got it all done. It normally takes years to develop a new vaccine, and somehow the process was fast-tracked from start to finish (or so we were told) in a matter of months.

Well, it turns out that these so-called vaccines are not vaccines at all. And Congress knew about them long before the Chinese Virus made its first mysterious appearance in the United States.

In fact, Congress paved the way for the introduction of these abominations as the cure for the Chinese Virus. Under the old rules, a vaccine had to meet certain strict requirements in order to be considered an actual vaccine. What they are calling covid vaccines did not qualify.

Towards the end of 2019, however, the federal government addressed this little problem by completely redefining the word vaccine to include novel biological products like mRNA (messenger RNA), for instance.

The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, as the legislation is called, amended Section 351(i)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(i)(1) to strike the words except any chemically synthesized polypeptide from SEC. 605. BIOLOGICAL PRODUCT DEFINITION.

Thus, prior to the 2019 change which was made soon before the reported outbreak of COVID-19, any chemically synthesized polypeptide would not be regulated by the FDA as a biological product. This could be interpreted to mean that if a supposed vaccine was a chemically synthesized polypeptide, then apparently it would not be regulated as a biological product, reported LifeSiteNews.

But chemicals labeled as vaccines require biologic product license applications; thus, it seems that according to the previous definition of biological product, any chemical entity that is a chemically synthesized polypeptide could not be labeled as a vaccine.

Trump knew about all this and signed his name onto it

Since mRNA injections contain chemically synthesized spike proteins, they never would have qualified as vaccines under the old rules. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress made sure to change that, and Trump then signed off on it, paving the way for the plandemic to go just as, well, planned.

Trump can only be given a free pass so many times before it just gets silly. Trying to argue that he must not have known what was written in the thing he signed is a stretch. He either knew what he was signing and was in on it all along, or he did not know what he signed and reneged on his responsibility as president to protect We the People against bad legislation, not sign it into law.

Some do not want to hear this, but it is the truth. None of what we are experiencing right this moment would have been possible had Trump and Congress not made these key legal changes in the final hours of Trumps presidency, passing the baton off to Joe Biden.

The chaos of that transition coupled with the powder keg of extreme political division that had been fueled all throughout Trumps presidency created the conditions necessary for obfuscating the fact that both sides appear to have been in on all this, Trump included.

That would explain why so many so-called Republicans in Congress are staying quiet and not speaking out against the mandates and vaxxes, one commenter at Natural News wrote.

Without a doubt that is a condemning piece of evidence, and it is good to see all of this coming to light, added a commenter at LifeSiteNews to the conversation.

The latest news about Chinese Virus plandemic deception can be found at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

LifeSiteNews.com

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(Natural News) A drug industry whistleblower has come forward with leaked evidence showing that Pfizer falsified data, broke fundamental rules and delayed reporting adverse reactions in its Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine trials.

Brooke Jackson, who was recently fired from her position as regional director at the Ventavia Research Group, a Pfizer contract partner, told the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that multiple trials at several research sites in Texas produced flawed results based on these poor practices.

Not only was Pfizer slow to report problems during the trials, but it also unblinded patients, hired on inadequately trained vaccinators, and cut corners to produce desired results rather than accurate results.

Jackson says that staff members who were involved in quality control checks became overwhelmed at the sheer volume of problems that arose because of the companys tampering with the normal standards for trials of this type.

Concerned about everything she was witnessing, Jackson tried to approach her superiors about it. She also emailed a complaint to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before being promptly fired that same day.

After this occurred, Jackson proceeded to send a trove of incriminating evidence to the BMJ, including internal company documents, photos, audio recordings and emails.

One photo  showed needles discarded in a plastic biohazard bag instead of a sharps container box, reports indicate. Another showed vaccine packaging materials with trial participants identification numbers written on them left out in the open, potentially unblinding participants.

Rather than take her concerns seriously when presented with the facts, Ventavia instead questioned Jackson for taking photos of the incriminating evidence.

FDA always sides with Big Pharma, not We the People

Another problem Jackson revealed about the Pfizer contract companys trial protocols involved data entry, which was not properly maintained throughout the process.

The expectation was that all queries would be addressed within 24 hours, however there were more than 100 of them older than that, a later investigation revealed.

Subject has reported with Severe symptoms/reactions  Per protocol, subjects experiencing Grade 3 local reactions should be contacted, one query for two separate individuals read.

Please confirm if an UNPLANNED CONTACT was made and update the corresponding form as appropriate.

Upon receipt of this query, investigators should have made phone contact to ascertain further details and determine whether a site visit is clinically indicated. Instead, nothing was done.

At least three employees at Ventavia were also identified by company executives as problematic due to suspicions that they were involved with falsifying data. One of these employees was reportedly verbally counseled for changing data and not noting late entry.

The FDA, it was feared, might come in to conduct an audit, which apparently petrified Ventavia because it knew its protocols were not up to proper standards.

People working in clinical research are terrified of FDA audits, stated someone named Jill Fisher who is involved with all this. I dont know why theyre so afraid of them  You would think if theres a specific and credible complaint that they would have to investigate that.

Other problems outlined by Jackson include:

 Trial participants placed in a hallway post-injection without any monitoring by clinical staff

 Lack of timely follow-up of participants who experienced adverse events

 Deviations from protocol not being reported

 Injection vials not being stored at proper temperatures

 Mislabeled laboratory specimens

 Staff members being targeted by Ventavia for bringing up issues and problems

Jackson was told by the FDA in response to her complaints that no comment would be provided. It was later discovered that the FDA looked into just nine of the trials 153 sites, and not a single one involving Ventavia was investigated.

The latest news about Chinese Virus injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
The term "social distance" has become all too common in the last 18 months. But it seems out we're not the only ones that avoid our colleagues when their health is in jeopardy: study reveals honeybees do it as well.

When a hive of honeybees is threatened by the mite Varroa destructor - a pathogen associated with beehive colony collapse - scientists have discovered that the bees adapt by altering how they communicate with one another.

"If you believe humans have a brain, we're conscious, but it took us a long time to modify our everyday behavior [in reaction to Covid], I think it's wonderful to discover that other animals are doing something similar," said University College London co-author Dr. Alessandro Cini.

Cini and colleagues describe how they initially looked at beehives in Sardinia, Italy, and compared the behavior of bees in hives that were naturally infected with the mites to those in hives that had been treated to get rid of the parasites in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.

Related Article: Sick Bats Observe Social Distancing Naturally to Avoid Spreading Diseases



Mites Infesting Bees

The team discovered that when the hive is infested with mites, foraging bees - which tend to be older members of the colony - performed important dances to indicate the direction of food sources, such as the waggle dance, away from the center of the colony, where the young bees, the queen, and brood cells are found when the hive is infested with mites.

According to Cini, this might help keep the infection at a manageable level, reducing the amount of harm. "One of the primary access ways for the mites is through foragers," Cini explained. "As a result, the more they remain away from the brood and young individuals, the better the colony's mite population will be prevented."

Honeybee Healthcare

The researchers also discovered differences in where bees groomed one another: in uninfected colonies, grooming is concentrated among the young in the hive's center, but when mites were present, it was even more so. "They're presumably focusing their attention [efforts] on the more vital aspect of the colony, leaving forager grooming to the foragers," Cini explained.

Next, the researchers conducted studies in the lab, infecting small groups of around 12 juvenile bees with the mites intentionally and comparing them to uninfected groups. This time, the researchers saw no increase in social separation among infected groups, which Cini believes might be since foragers and immature bees need to keep their distance when mites are present and that bees rely on one another.

"Social distancing is likely too straining on a small scale," he added.

Socially Distanced Hives

However, there were changes in grooming behavior: infected bees were brushed, examined, and had food shared with them more frequently than uninfected bees.

The findings, according to Cini, demonstrated the importance of natural selection in the evolution of social behavior. He said, "As well as dynamic change in social behavior to adapt to an ever-changing environment."

Also Read: Why Researchers Want to Put Thousands of Beehives in Solar Parks Across UK

Fore more news about the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
The lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands' island of La Palma have destroyed over 2,500 houses, caused over 7,500 people to evacuate, and brought a variety of lethal threats to the region since it erupted on September 19.

"Blast the crap out of it"

Because the lava isn't slowing down or stopping, a local politician gets a wonderful idea: what if we just bomb it? Casimiro Curbelo, the head of the La Gomera Municipal Council, proposed the suggestion last week.

"Doesn't there exist a plane that can fly and drop...? Today's technology is highly dependable, and then, whoosh! Also, how about directing the lava in a different direction?" he remarked in an interview with Radio Faycan, a Canary Islands radio station. "Perhaps that's craziness, but from a technological standpoint, it seems like it should be tried."

Related Article: Experts Warn of 'Explosions and Toxic Gases' if Lava From Volcanic Eruption in Canary Islands Reach Atlantic Ocean



Not a far-fetched idea

Curbelo's notion isn't the first to come up with it, and it's even been tried previously. Lava flows are difficult to halt, according to Shannon Nawotniak, an Idaho State University professor of geology, who noted in a BBC interview that humans had had a "spectacularly poor success record" in stopping lava.

In addition, lava frequently flows via lava tubes formed when molten lava is enclosed by a hard, protective, and cooled crust. As a result, using explosives to break them up isn't necessarily a terrible idea; it would break through the hard outer crust and expose the lava flow to the air, cooling it and maybe diverting it to a different path.

It has even been attempted in the past. The United States of America declared war on Germany in 1935. Between 1935 and 1936, the Army dropped a cluster of bombs onto the active Humu'ula lava flow on Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano, which erupted for nearly a month. The bombs were carried out in an attempt to prevent the lava flow from reaching Hilo.

The aerial bombardment effort failed, but the lava flow ultimately slowed, and Hilo was saved. However, the concept was not conscripted into history. Instead, engineers built a tunnel with more than 15,400 pounds (7,000 kilograms) of explosives to safeguard a tiny Italian village from a Mount Etna eruption in the early 1990s.

Desperate Measures

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and things on La Palma have recently become relatively savage. Some of the lava flows of Cumbre Vieja are currently over 130 feet (40 meters) tall. Last week, earthquakes measuring up to 4.9 on the Richter scale jolted La Palma and its adjacent islands up to 60 miles (96 kilometers) distant.

Experts believe that earthquakes of up to magnitude six on the Richter scale might occur, causing a new wave of destruction even outside of the lava flow zones. (Volcanoes and earthquakes are frequently linked.)

The sky has also been lighted up by dramatic lightning linked to the volcano. According to scientists from the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, lightning observations in the ash column have been increasingly regular in recent days.

For example, in a 2020 blog post for Vaisala, Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist at the private weather firm Vaisala (which extensively maps lightning), wrote: "During an explosive volcanic eruption, ash, rock, lava, and sometimes water collide, creating an electrical charge in the eruption plume, and if the charge build-up is high enough, lightning occurs."

When will the eruptions end?

Predicting when the volcano will stop erupting is a difficult task. According to Cornell University geochemist Esteban Gazel, who has been extracting samples from the volcano, the Canary Islands "are strongly tied to thermal anomalies that run to the core of the planet." "It's similar to a patient."

You can keep track of its progress, but predicting when it will die is quite tricky. It's a process that's linked to so many different aspects of the planet's interior."

Also Read: Satellite Images Show Europe's Most Active Volcano Mt. Etna as it Erupts for 50th Time This Year

For more news updates about what's happening to our environment, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
San Diego Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers are canceling appointments that allow asylum seekers into the United States. These appointments are specifically designed to allow asylum seekers at high risk of death or danger in their home countries to seek refuge in the United States. While COVID-19 already restricted border policies, these last-minute cancellations force many to scramble for housing, jobs, and food.

Many of these families are currently holding up in Tijuana, waiting for their appointment date to enter the country legally.

Leading Up to the Appointment Cancellations

The appointment system started when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched a lawsuit against the federal government challenging Title 42. This title allows border officials to immediately expel any asylum seekers or other migrants back to their country of origin without reason.

When challenging this lawsuit, the ACLU and the American federal government came to an agreement. This agreement allows the ACLU to identify asylum seekers at high risk of death or danger if they return to their home country.

Once an asylum seeker requests a Title 42 exemption, they go through the ACLU's approval process before an appointment is set. This appointment lists a date, time, and port of entry into the United States. One of the most famous entry points is San Ysidro Port, which canceled several appointments.

Currently, families seeking asylum are waiting in Mexico and are fleeing from nearby countries such as Honduras or Haiti. Though reasons for applying for asylum differ, it is most commonly because their life is threatened if they stay in their home country. This can include threats of violence, medical conditions that require inaccessible care in their home country, and other urgent issues.

Now that several appointments have been canceled, asylum seekers are at risk of death or danger in their current situation. CBP officers have claimed these cancellations are due to capacity issues at San Ysidro Port, though they have not provided further information on the situation.

The capacity issue will be solved by Thursday, says the CBP. However, they have canceled appointments to enter scheduled over the following weekend as well. Though many of these canceled appointments have been rescheduled, it still leaves asylum seekers in a vulnerable position waiting until that day. To better understand what this means on the ground level, here is an in-depth look at what this means for asylum seekers as told by those with canceled appointments.

What this Means for Asylum Seekers

Those that have canceled appointments are stuck in border cities like Tijuana, waiting for their new due date. Though most have been given new entry dates, they are weeks or months off, leaving many in dire financial situations. This includes a woman from Honduras who has asked not to be named. Her family was scheduled to enter the United States on Saturday, but their appointment was canceled.

To prepare for the move from Tijuana into the United States, her husband had quit his job mere days before they were set to transfer. Now that they will be stuck in Mexico for another month, it will be difficult to make ends meet.

It is especially hard for their children. One child is an infant in need of diapers the family cannot afford. The second - a 12-year-old girl - was almost kidnapped during their stay in Tijuana. These kidnappings are common, and usually, the girls are found dead days after their taking. For this reason, their daughter refuses to go outside.

The mother is determined to get her family into the United States, where she can adequately care for her infant and 12-year-old daughter. Her husband is trying to find another job to last them until their new appointment, but few are willing to hire someone for such a short period of time.

A man from Haiti also had his appointment canceled, which has led to complications for his disabled son's medical treatment. The father and son were supposed to cross at the beginning of the week, but they were turned away upon arrival at the port of entry, citing overcapacity.

They returned home when roughly 20 people carrying guns and machetes broke down his door and told him to leave. He fled, carrying his disabled son. Upon return to their home, everything was taken.

Now, the father is left with his passport and $20 to last for the next month until their next appointment. Currently, they have been living with friends in the area but have to leave by Saturday and return to their empty home.

Considering how quickly their first appointment date was taken away, the father may have to wait longer than that month to enter the United States and get the treatment needed for his disabled son.

There are always crises at the border, and immigration is always a messy topic. Hacking Immigration Lawyers located in San Diego have been handling immigration cases to help those seeking the American Dream to enter the United States legally. Other organizations such as the ACLU are also on the case to try and support asylum seekers to get the help they need.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was reelected to a second term, surviving a bitter challenge in a race that focused on calls for changes to policing and racial justice, elections officials announced Wednesday.

Seventeen candidates ran in the race, including many who took issue with the way Frey has handled changes to the police department since one of its officers killed George Floyd last year. Frey, a Democrat, risked his political future and drew the ire of the citys most liberal voices by opposing a ballot question asking voters to eliminate the police department.

Voters soundly defeated that ballot question on Tuesday but left Frey guessing until Wednesday about his own fate. Frey had 43% of the vote after the first count Tuesday night, which was more than double the support of his closest challengers but short of the more than 50% needed to win outright under the citys ranked-choice voting system.

Frey told reporters he won by assembling a diverse coalition with support from across the city, and that the backbone of his support came from the heavily Black north side and from the Somali and Latino communities. He said he plans to roll out details in the coming weeks of a vision for public safety and police accountability.

This is a moment of transformation in our city if we can actually come together, recognizing the magnitude of this particular moment," Frey said. "And the moment is bright. The bright lights of the national press and the world have been shining down on Minneapolis now for, gosh, about a year and a half. And what we are seeing right now is that Minneapolis is shining back even brighter. We are well poised for the progress that we need to see."

Frey was announced the winner after city officials allocated voters second- and third-place choices when their first choices were eliminated. The city said Frey won with 49.1%, or 70,669 votes, to runner-up Kate Knuth's 38.2%, or 55,007 votes.

Only a handful of candidates were thought to be serious threats to Frey, with two  Knuth and Sheila Nezhad  teaming up on a strategy that urged voters to leave Frey off their ballots entirely. The pair had the backing of U.S. Rep. llhan Omar.

Frey, a Democrat in a liberal-dominated city, faced sharp pressure from competitors on his left flank. Seventeen candidates had entered the race for mayor, including many who took issue with the way Frey has handled changes to the police department since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis officer last year. Frey positioned himself as an opponent of an effort to eliminate the police department and of the most vocal liberals who were seeking a symbolic victory in Floyds city.

Voters soundly defeated the proposal to replace the department, with about 56% opposed. Four council members who backed elimination were ousted by challengers, including one who lost to a fellow supporter of the charter amendment. However, two candidates who backed the proposed overhaul won open seats.

Knuth, 40, is a former state representative and environmental justice activist. Nezhad, 33, is a community organizer who worked as a policy analyst for one of the leading groups out to eliminate the police department. Both women also supported rent control, another proposal on Tuesdays ballot, in contrast to Freys general opposition.

Under the ranked-choice system, candidates with no chance to win after the first round of counting are eliminated. A voter who backed such an unsuccessful candidate would then have his or her second choice tabulated, presuming that candidate remained in the race. The process is repeated until a candidate is declared the winner.

Frey late Tuesday called it a really good night but stopped short of claiming victory. By remaining in office, he stands to benefit from voters' approval of another ballot question Tuesday  one that moves the city to a strong-mayor form of government. Critics have long said the city's weak-mayor system sometimes meant confusion over who has clear authority over city departments and staff.

Frey was the face of Minneapolis during some of its darkest days, including Floyds May 2020 death and the rioting that marred ensuing protests and led to the burning of a police precinct after Frey ordered officers to abandon it. Floyds death sparked the most widespread unrest in the U.S. since the Rodney King riots.

During the worst of the Minneapolis unrest, conservatives accused Frey of failing to stem the riots and crack down on soaring crime and gun violence. Meanwhile, the left criticized him for not doing enough to overhaul the police department.

Frey, a lawyer by training and a Virginia transplant, first won a City Council seat in 2013. He ascended to the mayors office in 2017 by ousting incumbent Betsy Hodges in a race also roiled by police accountability issues, including the 2015 shooting of Jamar Clark, a Black man, in a struggle with white officers and the 2017 shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a white woman, by a Black officer.
NEW HAVEN  Movers from Southbury-based Maries Movers began unloading their truck of carefully wrapped, donated items from Quinnipiac University Wednesday and bringing them up to a second-floor apartment on Scranton Street.

Over the past two weeks, the company has helped move items into the homes of Afghan refugees coming to Connecticut, settling in New Haven and the shoreline region. And with a number of refugees still set to come to the state this year, state officials Wednesday put out the call for landlords to come forward to help house them.

Deidre Gifford, state commissioner of the Department of Social Services, said Wednesday there are now 214 Afghan refugees in Connecticut, with 510 refugees set to arrive through December.

Those 510 new refugees are set to come to the state through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services office of refugee resettlements official process, but the state may see more outside of the official process, Gifford said.

The vast majority that have arrived so far are under the age of 30, quite a few children, quite a few younger adults. Older individuals are a smaller percentage, Gifford said.

Gov. Ned Lamont said the state has a task force providing support for housing, education and jobs, but that thats only part of the story.

We can provide a lot of supports but we still need beds and warm homes to go with these big hearts, Lamont said, asking landlords also to step up. Were going to make it work for you, make it work for you financially. Its really the right thing to do.

Leaders of two organizations that help refugees find housing, jobs, education and more once they enter the state have said they are struggling to find affordable housing for refugees.

Susan Schnitzer, president and CEO of the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, said that when people are resettled, many had fled their homes with bags and had been in military bases for weeks or months.

This is the first time they can sit and they can breathe and we are asking for landlords, large landlords, individual landlords to please contact our agencies, please open more doors to our clients, Schnitzer said.

When youre helping us resettle these folks, these Afghan evacuees, youre not just getting tenants, youre getting a team of people behind each person, she said.

Chris George, executive director of New Haven-based Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, shared a personal story about how he used to work to find homes for refugees and would be asked whether they had a credit history, a job, whetehr they speak English and more.

We ask a lot of landlords, no doubt we ask a lot of them but we stand behind these refugee families, George said.

We will make sure they pay the rent in full on time. We are so confident that we will cosign the lease, he said. So please landlords, were not asking you to put refugees to the front of the line. We just want them to be in line.

State Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said Lamont called her a few months ago on a Sunday to ask what the state was doing with the families, so they provided resources.

We have provided enough state resources for the security deposit, past two months rent for the families that are coming in, state funding, while we prepare them to apply to UniteCT so that they can have another 12 months of assistance, Mosquera-Bruno said.

The commissioner said 800 units of affordable housing are being developed in New Haven but said statewide there are about 2,000 units under construction.

Landlords are asked to contact CIRI or IRIS if they would like to help. Currently, refugees coming into the state through CIRI are resettling in Bridgeport or New Haven if they have family in one of those cities. CIRI sees about three to five families per week. In the future, CIRI is looking to expand to Norwalk.

IRIS currently helps people get settled in the New Haven and Hartford areas and will need at least 100 apartments for refugees while CIRI will need about 40.

The rest of the refugees will be settled by community groups who find their own apartments in West Hartford, Branford, Middletown, Westport and other municipalities.

I think this is what America is all about and I hope it reminds people how immigration and folks are fleeing persecution have always looked to the United States of America as an ideal and I hope were continuing that fight every day, Lamont said.

christine.derosa@hearstmediact.com
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed ready to strike down a restrictive New York gun permitting law, but the justices also seemed worried about issuing a broad ruling that could threaten gun restrictions on subways, bars, stadiums and other gathering places.

The court was hearing arguments in its biggest guns case in more than a decade, a dispute over whether New York's law violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The laws defenders have said striking it down would lead to more guns on the streets of cities including New York and Los Angeles.

Supreme Court decisions in 2008 and 2010 established a nationwide right to keep a gun at home for self-defense. The question the court is now confronting is about the right to carry a gun outside the home.

During two hours of arguments conservative members of the court, where they have a 6-3 majority, suggested New York's law and perhaps others like it in half a dozen other states go too far. Why, Chief Justice John Roberts asked, does a person seeking a license to carry a gun in public for self defense have to show a special need to do so.

The idea that you need a license to exercise the right, I think, is unusual in the context of the Bill of Rights, he said.

But Roberts was also among the justices who pressed a lawyer for the law's challengers on the places where guns might be prohibited. Could a football stadium or a college campus be off limits, he asked. Could a state say you cannot carry your gun at any place where alcohol is served?

Paul Clement, arguing on behalf of New York residents who want an unrestricted right to carry concealed weapons in public, replied that while restrictions on carrying a weapon at government buildings and schools are likely fine, as the court suggested in 2008, bars might be a tougher case for the government.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett told Clement that there's a history of states outlawing guns in sensitive places. Can't we just say Times Square on New Year's Eve is a sensitive place...people are on top of each other...so we're making a judgment, it's a sensitive place.

Clement acknowledged that might be fine. In response to other questions, he said restrictions on guns in the New York City subway system and Yankee Stadium might also be okay.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested that difficult questions about where exactly guns can be prohibited might be left for another day. We dont have to answer all the sensitive places questions in this case, some of which will be challenging no doubt, is that accurate?" he asked Clement, who agreed.

In most of the country gun owners have little difficulty legally carrying their weapons when they go out. But about half a dozen states, including populous California and several Eastern states, restrict the carrying of guns to those who can demonstrate a particular need for doing so. The justices could decide whether those laws, known as may issue laws, can stand.

New York's law has been in place since 1913 and says that to carry a concealed handgun in public for self-defense, a person applying for a license has to demonstrate proper cause, an actual need to carry the weapon.

The Biden administration, which is urging the justices to uphold New Yorks law, says California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island all have similar laws that could be affected by the court's decision. Those states make up about a quarter of the U.S. population. Arguing for the federal government, Brian H. Fletcher called New York's law consistent with the Second Amendment because it is firmly grounded in our nations history and tradition of gun regulations.

The courts liberal justices seemed willing to allow the state law to remain in place. Justice Elena Kagan called it completely intuitive that different states would have different gun laws, and that it is harder to get a license to carry a gun for self-defense in New York City than in a more rural area of the state. And Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that in her view, looking at the history and tradition of the Second Amendment, states get a lot of deference on restrictions.

Justice Stephen Breyer asked what kind of license the laws challengers were asking for. Is the license supposed to say you can carry a concealed gun around the streets or the town or outside just for fun? I mean, they are dangerous, guns, he said.

But the courts conservatives suggested New Yorks requirements are unduly restrictive.

Justice Samuel Alito asked whether New York's law would allow a person to get a license to carry a gun if they get off work late and have to travel through a high crime area to get to a subway or bus. New York Solicitor General Barbara D. Underwood, arguing for the state, said no; that person has no specific need for a weapon that's different from the general public.

But how is that consistent with the core right to self-defense, which is protected by the Second Amendment? Alito asked. He said there are many people with illegal guns walking around the streets in New York while the ordinary, hard-working, law-abiding people I mentioned, no they cant be armed?

Underwood said that there's no right to be armed for all possible confrontations in all places. She also said that allowing New York only to limit the carrying of guns in sensitive places would be inadequate.

In principle it has an attractive quality to it, but in implementation I think it would be unsuccessful, she said.

The arguments at the high court come as gun violence has surged. New York has told the justices that if they side with the laws challengers it would have devastating consequences for public safety. Gun control groups say if a high court ruling requires states to drop restrictions, the result will be more violence.

Gun rights groups, meanwhile, say the risk of a confrontation is precisely why they have a right to be armed for self-defense. Clement, arguing for the law's challengers, said the nation's founders envisioned people making their own decisions about carrying a firearm outside the home for self-defense.

In 43 states, people are able to do that, he said, adding it doesn't mean that those 43 states have any more problems with violent crimes than the states like New York.
New Castle, PA (16103)

Today

Rain showers in the morning will evolve into a more steady rain in the afternoon. High 44F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 29F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
New Castle, PA (16103)

Today

Rain likely. High 42F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

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Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 28F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
New Castle, PA (16103)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. High 43F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 28F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.


Charity fundraising book shows Norfolk at its best Charity fundraising book shows Norfolk at its best

The Matthew Project is among a hundred charities showcased in an illustrated book produced by a local businessman to shine a light on inspirational communities in Norfolk.

Norfolk at its best was created by Kevin Keable after he was inspired by the work of local charities in the county and by the Norfolk Community Foundation, which provides funding and support to charities and community groups in the county.



Many of the charities featured in book are rooted in Norfolks Christian community. They include Hebron House, Christians Against Poverty, Community Action Norwich, Kings Lynn Night Shelter, St Martins Housing and YMCA Norfolk.



Kevin was previously involved in fundraising for local charities and recognises the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on communities. He saw the rise in cases of domestic abuse, those struggling with mental ill health, isolation and the increased use of food banks. He made the decision to put the book together to help give back by raising vital funds and awareness of the people and charitable organisations representing Norfolk at its best.



A single copy of Norfolk at its Best 18.20 and you can purchase it here .



100% of sales go to the Norfolk Community Foundation to support the work of local charities and community groups. The book is also on sale at The Matthew Project Charity recovery hub, the Book Hive and Jarrolds in Norwich.



Pictured above are pages from the Matthew Project section of Norfolk at its Best.









Eldred Willey, 03/11/2021
By: Nav Chander, Sr. Director of Service Provider Marketing at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

The consequence of the global pandemic exacerbated the importance of accelerating cloud and digital transformation, resulting in more than 90 percent of enterprises purporting to now have a multi-cloud strategy in place, according to the Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report.

As enterprises accelerate their transformation to a cloud-first strategy, IT teams have to manage the complexity of connecting resources across on-prem locations and the cloud to ensure access to all workloads from anywhere.

Google Cloud is one of the leading public cloud providers that enterprise customers rely on for hosting their cloud workloads, and Aruba is already a Google Cloud partner. Google Cloud has certified Aruba EdgeConnect and Aruba SD-Branch SD-WAN platforms for deployment on Google Cloud. Also, Arubas new one-click automation enhancement in the Aruba Orchestrator makes it simpler for enterprises to deploy virtual EdgeConnect SD-WAN appliances in Google Cloud without otherwise having to manually create Google Cloud resources.

EdgeConnect and SD-Branch are available for download from Google Cloud Marketplace using a bring your own license model.

Aruba SD-WAN Integration to Google Network Connectivity Center

Today, Aruba is announcing the integration of our Aruba EdgeConnect and Aruba SD-Branch SD-WAN platforms to the Google Cloud Network Connectivity Center. With this integration, Aruba delivers the advanced SD-WAN application performance, network control and secure connectivity for enterprises to host and access their cloud workloads in Google Cloud in an automated, dynamic manner from any WAN edge.

The Aruba integration with Google Cloud enables dynamic edge-to-edge and edge-to-cloud secure connectivity with Aruba and the industrys most advanced SD-WAN platforms; Aruba EdgeConnect and Aruba SD-Branch, optimizing application and network performance for any legacy or cloud-hosted application over any network and from anywhere.

EdgeConnect unique capabilities include:

Path Conditioning: improves application performance with private-line-like user experience over the public internet by overcoming the adverse effects of dropped and out-of order packets that can occur with broadband internet and MPLS connections

First-packet iQ Application Classification: identifies over 10,000 applications on the first packet to deliver trusted SaaS and web traffic directly to the Internet while directing unknown or suspicious traffic to the data center firewall or IDS/ IPS

Tunnel Bonding: optimizes real-time traffic performance by steering applications over bonded links or tunnels to form a single logical overlay connection applied over any broadband or MPLS link, or any combination of links based upon business intent

Aruba Boost WAN optimization allows companies to accelerate performance of latency sensitive applications and minimize transmission of repetitive data across the WAN in a single, unified SD-WAN edge platform.

SD-Branch unique capabilities include:

Centralized ManagementA single pane-of-glass provides unified management, AIOps, and security for wired, wireless, and SD-WAN and includes a centralized software licensing model.

Zero Trust Securityembraces a scalable security methodology from edge to cloud for consistent role-based enforcement and context-aware controls in a variety of branch networking requirements.

Dynamic Segmentationenforces context-aware zero trust policies for users and IoT  eliminating manual configuration of numerous VLANs with a single VLAN deployment.

End to End QoSprovides application visibility and policy enforcement for over 3200 apps from Wi-Fi to WAN to the cloud.

The two platforms support built-in automation and orchestration of SD-WAN connectivity across the Google Cloud global infrastructure backbone, allowing for unparalleled secure access speeds and capabilities.

Google Cloud Network Connectivity Center Benefits

Network Connectivity Center helps customers improve the cloud-connected SD-WAN experience to create, connect and manage cloud networks on Google Clouds infrastructure.

Network Connectivity Center simplifies deployment, configuration, and management of on-premises networks and cloud connectivity. It provides a centralized management model, allowing connectivity between on-premises locations to application workloads hosted in Google Cloud, using connectivity types such as a cloud VPN, cloud Interconnects, and third-party router appliances.

Aruba and Google Cloud customer eSilicon, highlights this shift to public cloud for a company that designs and coordinates the manufacturing of custom integrated circuits for todays leading-edge semiconductor markets such as high-performance computing, 5G infrastructure, networking and artificial intelligence.

eSilicon had a traditional MPLS-based WAN connecting its global locations with applications and services running in a corporate data center. However, when eSilicon decided to migrate all of their corporate applications to run on Google Cloud, a traditional WAN approach no longer made sense. eSilicon chose an EdgeConnect platform to accelerate WAN access to the Google Cloud-hosted cloud applications with the EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform along with Boost, enhancing end-user productivity and accelerating time to market.

Why Aruba and Google Cloud

For enterprise organizations, the goal is to simplify cloud operations and support with the highest application performance for any application on any cloud and to deliver superior quality of experience (QoE) of applications, no matter where the application is deployed. With the integration of Network Connectivity Center, Aruba continues this mission and empowers Google Cloud customers to more effectively interconnect applications and WAN Edge workloads running on Google Cloud for hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud deployments. Together, Aruba and Google Cloud provide a cost-efficient, reliable, and operationally simple network for connecting branches, data centers, and cloud workloads around the globe.

https://www.arubanetworks.com/partners/google-solutions/
ROXBURY  The town has a new First Selectman for the first time in more than 20 years, and his name is Patrick Roy.

A little more than 1,000 residents went to the polls Tuesday to exercise their right to vote, favoring the Democratic candidate to lead Roxbury over the next four years. The towns current First Selectman Barbara Henry is retiring after 24 years of service.

I stand in support with how the people voted today, and support the new Board of Selectmen, she said. I think theyll do a great job for the town.

Henry announced that she would not seek re-election earlier this year. She first served two years on the Region 12 Board of Education and then four years as a Roxbury selectman.

Of the towns 1,821 registered voters, 1,065 came out to vote, which accounts for more than 58 percent of the electorate.

Roy, previously a member of the Board of Finance, came away with almost 691 votes, according to Town Clerk Peter Hurlbut. His Republican challenger, Bruce Tuomala, Danburys former economic development director, earned 364 votes.

Tuomala has also worked as a corporate executive, strategy consultant, government official, nonprofit consultant and volunteer, entrepreneur and business owner, and has served as a member of numerous boards.

Id like to thank everyone who supported and voted for me, he said.  I wish Patrick and Kim all the best, and Ill be rooting for them.

Joining Roy and current Selectman Russell Dirienzo on the board is incoming Selectwoman Kim Tester, who earned 630 votes.

Roy spoke with Hearst Connecticut Media shortly after his win.

Honestly Im just very appreciative for everybody that came out in support of this campaign, he said. We ran a clean campaign, which we wanted to do, and Roxbury spoke. We did what we needed to do and were looking forward to serving our town.

As first selectman, Roy plans to address the towns bridges and culverts, which experienced some issues during storm Ida earlier this year, he said. He also wants to take a look at the towns finances, but didnt delve into specific details.

During a recent debate at Shepaug Valley High School in Washington, Roy reiterated to voters that he wasnt a politician.

Its not about what Im going to do, he had said. Its what were going to do together.

Henry offered some words of advice for her successor: Patrick just has to be himself. Sometimes the best advice is none at all. I hope hell stand up for what he campaigned on  promises made should be promises kept.
Queen Letizia is making a 4-day working and cooperation visit to the Republic of Paraguay to receive information about the work that the Spanish Cooperation carries out in Paraguay in the fields of health, education, culture and women. The Queen is being accompanied by Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Pilar Cancela Rodriguez.

On the first day of the working visit, Queen Letizia visited the headquarters of the Spanish Agency of Development Cooperation in Asuncion. Afterwards, the Queen visited the Encarnacion Workshop School which operates with funds of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) in Encarnacion.

This is the sixth cooperation visit that the Queen has made to Latin America and Africa. The previous visits were to Honduras and El Salvador (2015), Senegal (2017), Dominican Republic and Haiti (2018), Mozambique (2019) and again Honduras (2020 ).

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Ollie used data from Banfield Pet Hospitals price estimator tool to break down the costs of seeing a veterinarian for routine dog care in the 25 most populous U.S. cities. Click for more.
Reporter

Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).
Champaign, IL (61820)

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Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 52F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

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Cloudy skies with periods of rain after midnight. Low 37F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Our County Editor

Dave Hinton is editor of The News-Gazette's Our County section and former editor of the Rantoul Press. He can be reached at dhinton@news-gazette.com.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 39F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

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Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 39F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain early. A mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon. High 53F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

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Partly cloudy skies. Low 21F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in New York State after heart disease among adults and the second cause of death among children after injuries. And the number of people diagnosed with the disease increases every year.

When looking at the borough of Brooklyn, the mortality rates are ever higher. This is mainly due to health disparities caused by economic status and the fact that people of different ethnicities and countries of origin-;including undocumented populations-;are less likely to have information and access to prevention, diagnosis, and potential free treatments.

As one of Brooklyn's largest anchor institutions located in one of the most diverse places in the nation, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York (CUNY) is proud to announce the official launch of the Brooklyn College Cancer Center-BCCC-CURE (CommUnity Outreach, Research and Education). BCCC-CURE's mission is to enhance the lives of patients affected by cancer with a special focus on underserved Brooklyn residents, while focusing on three main areas: research, education, and community service.

Located at the college's main campus in the borough's Midwood neighborhood, the Center was established at Brooklyn College last year. Funding to date for BCCC-CURE is approximately $9 million, which represents seed funding from the Brooklyn College Foundation and individual donors, as well as funds that researchers affiliated with BCCC-CURE have been awarded for cancer and cancer-related research since 2018 from government and foundation sources.

Driven by diversity to address healthcare inequities

The engine driving BCCC-CURE's success is the diverse people and partnerships that will serve and empower underserved communities in and around Brooklyn-;as well as the diversity of Brooklyn College itself. For the past three years, Brooklyn College has been named the most ethnically diverse campus in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

A cancer survivor herself, Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson is proud that the center will focus on serving underrepresented communities and will educate the next generation of cancer experts.

No one should have to look outside of Brooklyn for these resources, particularly people in underserved communities. By combining the expertise that already exists at Brooklyn College in cancer research with the leading healthcare facilities in New York, BCCC-CURE will connect these anchor institutions and build relationships to make Brooklyn a leader in cancer research and care." Michelle J. Anderson, Brooklyn College President

The center's leadership group includes the following faculty members at Brooklyn College: Professor Dr. Maria Contel, director, research area leader and professor of chemistry; Dr. Jennifer Basil, associate director of community outreach and professor of biology; and Dr. Brian Gibney, associate director of education and professor of chemistry.

Since its inception, Brooklyn College scientists reached out to other Cancer Research Centers in the NYC area including National Cancer Institute's "Designated Cancer Centers," recognized for their leadership in laboratory and clinical research such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.

"We wanted a diverse group for the BCCC-CURE advisory board, ideally scientists and physicians from Brooklyn-based centers like SUNY Downstate Medical School, Maimonides Cancer Center, and the NCI Designated Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who had experience working in healthcare disparities or a particular interest in the health of women and people of color," Contel said. This includes Dr. Carol Brown, the senior vice president, chief health equity officer, and Nicholls-Biondi Chair for Health Equity at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Dr. Moro Salifu, chair of the Department of Medicine at SUNY Downstate and director of the NIH-funded Brooklyn Health Disparities Center. Dr. Jason Lewis, the Emily Tow Jackson Chair in Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and now a member of the BCCC-CURE advisory board, helped to introduce the BCCC-CURE leadership team to like-minded people in the field.

Lewis believes BCCC-CURE is revolutionary in that it will bring a diverse team of experts together to serve underrepresented communities on so many different levels.

"There is nothing like this in Brooklyn," Lewis said. "The wealth of research, knowledge and experience, along with the capacity for community outreach and educational opportunities, will allow BCCC-CURE to address health disparities in the fight against cancer. I am excited to be a part of it and help move the effort forward."

Empowering the next generation of cancer fighters in Brooklyn

As associate director of education, Brian Gibney's eye is always on finding opportunities for Brooklyn College students, particularly undergraduates. The professor of chemistry says these may be in-classroom but will more likely be chances for enrichment outside the campus walls. A medical translation course for bilingual undergraduate students in partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering has been a great success.

"This spring, we had 19 students learning how to interpret and bridge patient-top physician communication in the clinic," said Gibney. "So, if somebody comes in who speaks Creole as a first language, then a person fluent in the language, who is also trained to interpret and translate medical terms, can explain symptoms and pass other vital information between doctor and patient."

Students who receive training in medical translation-;and Brooklyn College has a student body that speaks more than 90 languages-;receive a certificate that can gain them employment in a city of many cultures and ethnicities.

Jennifer Basil, community outreach director, was diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer in her 30s. After finding treatment in Brooklyn, she is healthy now and promoting BCCC-CURE is a personal labor of love. She began organizing, in collaboration with BCCC-CURE partners, outreach events, which kicked off this spring. Two recent events included a screening by Jody Steinhardt, coordinator of the Lung Cancer Screening at Maimonides, and a seminar for students on cervical cancer, which, Basil noted, is rising in younger people.

The center also held a half-day symposium with Maimonides on colorectal cancer. The larger vision for BCCC-CURE is to expand outreach by informing communities about access to clinical trials and creating partnerships with hospitals that are looking for diversity in their populations for those trials. Partnering with healthcare professionals and community leaders who are trusted is critical. A series of seminars, lectures, and outreach events have also been held online for the community, students, and the extended Brooklyn College family.

Brooklyn-based, world-class research

Twenty-five faculty members are focused on cancer and cancer-related research at BCCC-CURE in one of three main areas: the biology and biochemistry of cancer, the underlying mechanisms of the disease, and drug development and delivery systems. Contel said the center is already developing potential drugs for different types of cancer or delivery systems for FDA-approved drugs.

Researchers are using some compounds developed at Brooklyn College as potential probes and biomarkers to identify biological targets and develop improved cancer treatments.

Contel, an organometallic chemist, has already successfully used metal-based compounds to combat different types of cancer and holds a patent for gold-and titanium compounds used to battle renal cancer. She holds a second patent for a ruthenium-based compound that will help fight triple-negative breast cancer, a tough one that does not respond to traditional treatments. Contel was also part of a multi-institutional research team that has designed nanoparticles that can communicate with and slow the development of cancer cells. The work -; detailed in a newly published paper in the science journal "Advanced Materials" -; has uncovered a novel framework for the potential development of drug-free cancer therapies. Fellow CUNY professor Dr. Rein V. Ulijn was the principal investigator for the paper and graduate student Richard Huang and doctoral student Nazia Nayeem were among others who contributed to the work.

Several other Brooklyn College-based researchers from the center also hold patents for potential treatments for cancer or related diseases: Ph.D. chemistry professors Alec Greer has a patent on a singlet oxygen device for destruction of pathogens; Peter Lipke has one on preventing biofilms (including cancer-associated fungal infections); and Professor Ryan Murelli has a patent on compounds to treat hepatitis B.

Part of the work carried out by these and other BCCC-CURE researchers is done in collaboration with many prestigious institutions in the United States and abroad.

"In the Chemistry Department we are developing potential drugs for different types of cancer or delivery systems for FDA-approved drugs," said Contel, explaining that they have done a lot of research on nanocarriers, microscopic materials used to transport a substance more safely such as a drug through the body. This work has the potential to revolutionize chemotherapy and was also used to develop the COVID-19 vaccine. The third area of research at BCCC-CURE is more outward-facing and patient-oriented.

"We have a computer scientist who is interested in doing an analysis of large data related to cancer patients and we have three faculty members from the psychology department who have projects they are working on for patients of other diseases that could be easily translated into research benefiting cancer patients," said Contel.

"We also plan on supporting researchers in other diseases. Many are connected, there are a lot of comorbidities. Recently the outcomes for cancer patients with COVID-19 have been terrible because they had to delay care."
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese technique that has been used for millennia to treat chronic pain and other health problems associated with inflammation, yet the scientific basis of the technique remains poorly understood.

Now, a team of researchers led by neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School has elucidated the underlying neuroanatomy of acupuncture that activates a specific signaling pathway.

In a study conducted in mice and published Oct. 13 in Nature, the team identified a subset of neurons that must be present for acupuncture to trigger an anti-inflammatory response via this signaling pathway. The scientists determined that these neurons occur only in a specific area of the hindlimb region-;thus explaining why acupuncture in the hindlimb works, while acupuncture in the abdomen does not.

This study touches on one of the most fundamental questions in the acupuncture field: What is the neuroanatomical basis for body region, or acupoint, selectivity?" Qiufu Ma, lead investigator, HMS professor of neurobiology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

One area of particular interest to the research team is the so-called cytokine storm-;the rapid release of large quantities of cytokines that frequently drives severe, systemic inflammation, and can be triggered by many things, including COVID-19, cancer treatment, or sepsis.

"This exuberant immune response is a major medical problem with a very high fatality rate of 15 percent to 30 percent," Ma said. Even so, drugs to treat cytokine storm are lacking.

Adapting an ancient technique to treat aberrant inflammation

In recent decades, acupuncture has been increasingly embraced in Western medicine as a potential treatment for inflammation. In this technique, acupoints on the body's surface are mechanically stimulated, triggering nerve signaling that affects the function of other parts of the body, including organs.

In a 2014 study, researchers reported that electroacupuncture, a modern version of traditional acupuncture that uses electrical stimulation, could reduce cytokine storm in mice by activating the vagal-adrenal axis-;a pathway wherein the vagus nerve signals the adrenal glands to release dopamine. In a study published in 2020, Ma and his team discovered that this electroacupuncture effect was region specific: It was effective when given in the hindlimb region, but did not have an effect when administered in the abdominal region. The team hypothesized that there may be sensory neurons unique to the hindlimb region responsible for this difference in response.

In their new study, the researchers conducted a series of experiments in mice to investigate this hypothesis. First, they identified a small subset of sensory neurons marked by expression of the PROKR2Cre receptor. They determined that these neurons were three to four times more numerous in the deep fascia tissue of the hindlimb than in the fascia of the abdomen.

Then the team created mice that were missing these sensory neurons. They found that electroacupuncture in the hindlimb did not activate the vagal-adrenal axis in these mice. In another experiment, the team used light-based stimulation to directly target these sensory neurons in the deep fascia of the hindlimb. This stimulation activated the vagal-adrenal axis in a manner similar to electroacupuncture. "Basically, the activation of these neurons is both necessary and sufficient to activate this vagal-adrenal axis," Ma said.

In a final experiment, the scientists explored the distribution of the neurons in the hindlimb. They discovered that there are considerably more neurons in the anterior muscles of the hindlimb than in the posterior muscles, resulting in a stronger response to electroacupuncture in the anterior region. "Based on this nerve fiber distribution, we can almost precisely predict where electrical stimulation will be effective and where it will not be effective," Ma explained.

Together, these results provide "the first concrete, neuroanatomic explanation for acupoint selectivity and specificity," Ma added. "They tell us the acupuncture parameters, so where to go, how deep to go, how strong the intensity should be." He noted that while the study was done in mice, the basic organization of neurons is likely evolutionarily conserved across mammals, including humans.

However, an important next step will be clinical testing of electroacupuncture in humans with inflammation caused by real-world infections such as COVID-19. Ma is also interested in exploring other signaling pathways that could be stimulated by acupuncture to treat conditions that cause excessive inflammation. "We have a lot of tough chronic diseases that still need better treatments," he said, such as inflammatory bowel syndrome and arthritis. Another area of need, he added, is excessive immune reactions that can be a side effect of cancer immunotherapy.

Ma hopes that his research will ultimately advance scientific understanding of acupuncture and provide practical information that can be used to improve and refine the technique.

The work was primarily supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant R01AT010629), and partially supported by Harvard/MIT Joint Research Grants Program in Basic Neuroscience and the Wellcome Trust (grant 200183/Z/15/Z). For further information on salary support for the researchers, please refer to the paper.
After an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery, its common to experience quadriceps weakness, which was thought to be caused primarily by muscle atrophy, or shrinkage.

But researchers at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology have found an additional cause, which could help clinicians design more effective rehabilitation programs.

They found that besides muscle loss, the quadricep musclespecifically, the fibers within that musclecontract differently. Taken together, these deficits result in a muscle that is weaker and behaves like that of someone much older.

This is the first human-based paper that is focused on proving that muscle is not just smaller after injury, but it also contracts differently. This is a key new discovery that helps explain the persistent weakness that is so commonly observed. Lindsey Lepley, assistant professor and corresponding author on the study

Lepley said her group follows the aging literature and that many of the factors that plague aged muscle also emerge after ACL injury.

Generally our group has been saying that an ACL injury prematurely ages the limbthe joint itself often shows signs of arthritis within 10 years and the muscle also exhibits factors like aged muscle tissue, Lepley said.

ACL is a common musculoskeletal injury, with about 300,000 occurring annually in the United States. Yearly treatment costs exceed $2 billion.

The study compared 14 people recovering from ACL injuries to healthy subjects. They used ultrasonography to image the quadricep muscle during knee extension movements in an isokinetic dynamometer, a machine that can measure muscle strength. They looked at the vastus lateralis, which sits on the outer thigh and is the largest of the quadricep muscles.

The surgical leg contracted differently, meaning that bundles of muscle fibers in the quadriceps were slower and lengthened less. Essentially, these fibers rotate less during a contraction, and when they rotate less, they ultimately position themselves in a way that results in less force productionin other words, this underlying behavior of muscle fibers can lead to muscle weakness.

Muscle atrophy can play a role, but it is also possible that other noncontractile elements of muscle are clogging up the system and not allowing it to contract effectively, Lepley said. The tissue left behind may be more fibrotic or have more fat infiltration, hence the contractile nature of the muscle may change.

Next, Lepleys team will test subjects with a history of ACL injury while theyre walking.

Well build on this by taking what we learned in this more stationary experiment, where we looked at participants on a strength machine, and move it to a more dynamic condition with people walking, she said. We will be actively recruiting for this walking study in the coming weeks.
Scientists have homed in on a crucial step within the sequence of chemical reactions that govern regulation of cell division, proliferation and death, and whose malfunction contributes to the growth of tumors.

The research appears in the journal Communications Biology on Nov. 1, 2021.

Within biology, the term signalling pathways describes the cascade of chemical reactions whereby particular molecules work to govern a cell's function. The 'Hippo' signalling pathway in animals is one of these and controls organ size via the regulation of cell division, proliferation and death (apoptosis). It takes its name from one of its main components, the Hpo or 'hippo' kinase. A kinase is a type of protein that adds or removes phosphate groups to other molecules, a process known as phosphorylation. Phosphorylation works as a sort of biological on/off switch and plays a critical role in the regulation of many cellular processes including cell cycle, growth, and apoptosis.

As many cancers are the product of uncontrolled cell division, researchers have increasingly focused a lot of attention on the hippo pathway, which when malfunctioning results in irregular activity of a pair of its downstream targets, the Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with PDZ binding motif (TAZ). YAP/TAZ act to regulate the transcription of genes (copying their information from DNA form to RNA form) that are involved in cell proliferation. When the Hippo signalling pathway is active, YAP is inhibited, thus playing a role in control of tumor suppression. On the other hand, when Hippo signaling is inactive, YAP becomes persistently active and promotes cell proliferation.

But the precise mechanisms of YAP/TAZ activation remains poorly understood. It is known that the gene that encodes epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a protein that helps cells grow, is often over-activated, especially in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and EGFR is often mutated and activated in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAC).

As a result, EGFR is a common target of anti-cancer therapies, either using kinase inhibitor drugs, or blocking antibodies. Yet here too, whether EGFR controls YAP/TAZ activation has been an open question.

"EGFR fails to reduce phosphorylation of YAP in some cellular systems, but inhibits the Hippo pathway to activate YAP in others," said Toshinori Ando, a main researcher working on the study and Assistant Professor at the Center of Oral Clinical Examination at Hiroshima University Hospital (with a cross-appointment as a post-doctoral scientist in the University of California, San Diego). "If EGFR is being targeted by therapeutics, we really should know a bit more about why we're doing this."

So the researchers carried out a series of investigations of Hippo pathway mechanisms, including via comparisons of EGFR gene activation (expression) and activation of YAP in a series of HNSCC cancer cells; cells that showed the most expression of EGFR amongst HNSCC cells; an analysis of all cancer types; and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA)a technique of identifying groups of genes that are over-represented within a large set and may be associated with certain diseases.

They found that EGFR activation promotes tyrosine phosphorylation of one of the core Hippo pathway components, called MOB1. This is a gene that directs activation of particular kinases, LATS1 and LATS2, which modulate the function of the YAP/TAZ. The EGFR-promoted MOB1 tyrosine phosphorylation followed by LATS1/2 inactivation leads to aberrant YAP/TAZ activation in many cancers harboring EGFR alterations such as HNSCC and LUAC.

Emerging evidence have shown that YAP is overexpressed and contributes to cancer growth, poor prognosis, and acquired resistance to EGFR-targeted drugs in HNSCC and LUAC, although the mechanism of YAP re-activation is unclear." J. Silvio Gutkind, Lead Researcher and Professor, University of California, San Diego

This EGFR-MOB1-YAP/TAZ signaling axis may represent a novel target for cancer therapies. In addition, a combination of EGFR targeting therapy and YAP/TAZ targeting therapy could prevent cancer cells from acquiring resistance that might have occurred if just one or the other therapies were used on their own.

A drug targeting YAP/TAZ has yet to be approved for the treatment of cancer patients. The researchers consider the development of such a drug to be an urgent priority as well as to clarify the unknown mechanism of YAP re-activation.
At the height of the pandemic, news and policy media focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic was contributing to poor mental health, a hypothesis confirmed by several studies. However, few studies examined whether the reverse might be true, that prior poor mental health may be associated with higher rates of COVID-19 infection. A novel study using nationwide population data at the county level found that areas with greater vulnerability in poor mental health prior to the pandemic have a greater burden of COVID-19. These results appear in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier.

The inspiration to conduct this study came early on during the height of the pandemic. Several studies showed that the pandemic was taking a devastating toll on people's mental health and impacting other psychiatric conditions, but we wanted to look at things from a different direction. Only a handful of studies examining small fragments of the population had considered the possibility that poor mental health could be contributing to a higher burden of infection rather than vice versa. We wanted to examine whether these relationships also existed in the general population, address the lack of studies with an ecological-level focus, and produce evidence to strengthen calls for interventions." Yusuf Ransome, DrPH, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA

The investigators found that the pandemic itself was not causing 'new problems' but was in fact revealing gaps across multiple systems and social determinants of health that had been ignored or insufficiently addressed previously and were manifesting as high population burden of illness and mortality.

Using aggregated survey data from 2,839 US counties from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), researchers determined that between 2010 and 2019, a total of 2,172 counties (77%) experienced significant increases in the average number of poor mental health days including depression, stress, and problems with emotions. Further analysis revealed that higher days of poor mental health in 2019 had a robust association with the rate of COVID-19 infections in 2020.

Additional analysis to identify state variations showed that association between poorer mental health days and COVID-19 infection was not stronger across counties in the Southern states and was being driven by a few states, at least statistically - Arizona, Montana, and Nevada. These results held even after considering indicators of socioeconomic vulnerability such as income inequality and other stressors such as violence.

"Our study is important because it provides empirical evidence to support ongoing conversations about the urgent need for mental health care to be delivered at the community level," commented Dr. Ransome. "We call for policies that strengthen surveillance systems to better capture a range of mental health outcomes in the population, address social inequalities that give rise to poor mental health, and funding to create, sustain, and equitably distribute mental health resources, including wellness care centers across US communities."
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in Wuhan, China, in 2019. It is the causal agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition to SARS-CoV-2, six other coronaviruses are known, among which four are seasonal human coronaviruses and cause mild self-limiting upper respiratory tract infections.

Study: Humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal coronaviruses in COVID-19 patients. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/ Shutterstock

In a new study published in the Journal of Medical Virology, scientists conducted a cohort study and measured the prevalence and the levels of antibody responses to the nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2 and four seasonal human coronaviruses.

Background

The protective effect of previous human coronavirus infections against SARS-CoV-2 infection and less severe COVID-19 disease have been described by scientists. Description of the former has mainly been based on presumed infections, while for the latter case, PCR-proven infections have been associated with less severe disease manifestations. However, more research is needed to determine the effect of previous infections on disease severity. In the current study, scientists used ELISA-based immunoassays to detect antibodies against five human coronaviruses. They also tested sera from SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma donors and a control group (SARS-CoV-2 unexposed).

A new study

The current study was approved by the local ethics committee at Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf, and informed consent was obtained from 115 SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma donors. The control group (N=114) excluded patients with known underlying chronic diseases or immunosuppression. The basic demographics were similar for both groups.

The severity of disease was classified as 0 for patients without any symptoms (n=5), 1 in patients with only mild symptoms and no restriction on activities (n=28), 2 for patients with restriction of activities (n=44), and 3 for patients with more severe symptoms (n=16). Classification information was not available for 20 patients, none of whom were hospitalized.

All blood samples were collected between March 2020 and July 2020, and for ten patients, it was possible to collect sera for up to six months after the onset of symptoms. Researchers used a two-step capture ELISA protocol for the analysis, where the antigens used were affinity-purified SARS-CoV-2, HCoV-HKU1, HCoV-OC43 HCoV-229E, and HCoV-NL63-Nucleocapsid (N), expressed as GST fusion proteins in E. coli BL21 cells in situ on glutathione casein-coated ELISA plates.

Main findings

Scientists found a correlation between the level of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of the disease. However, they found no correlation between the severity and the level of antibodies to seasonal coronaviruses. The reason for the latter finding could be that in some viral infections, non-neutralizing antibodies may enhance infection and not protect against reinfection. Based on the available data, researchers concluded that there was not enough evidence to prove that previous infections with seasonal coronaviruses had an impact on the severity of COVID-19 disease.

In the ten donors with consecutive sera, researchers observed that in most cases, antibody levels against seasonal coronaviruses were high in the initial serum and decreased in the subsequent follow-ups, which could be owing to a cross stimulation of B cells. As this was observed in many cases with antibodies against more than one coronavirus, it is unlikely to be caused by pure cross-reactivity of antibodies.

The waning of antibodies has been documented in previous studies, but in the current study, scientists showed that this decline also affected antibodies against seasonal coronaviruses. However, scientists stated that they possess no information on whether this cross-stimulation of antibodies also occurs against epitopes of other viral proteins.

The most significant finding of the study was the highly significant correlation of antibody levels among all coronaviruses. The correlation with SARS-CoV-2 was slightly lower, possibly because COVID-19 patients were still in the post-infectious period when factors, such as the time of blood collection and the severity of the disease, could influence antibody levels.

Consistent with previous studies, researchers observed that in the post-COVID sera, individual differences in the level of antibodies were large. It was not clear whether the decline in antibodies also translated to lost protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2. Based on the findings of this paper, scientists argued that there could be an individually adapted humoral immune response against the entire family of human coronaviruses. This observation could inform the assessment of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced protection by the humoral immune system.

Conclusion

An alternative interpretation of the data could hint towards trained immunity. Some evidence suggests that the influenza vaccine could result in protection against COVID-19 by inducing trained immunity. It could therefore be sensible to determine pre-existing immunity against seasonal coronaviruses before vaccinating individuals against SARS-CoV-2. This will help researchers and policymakers understand whether the low responsiveness to the vaccine is simply because the individual is a coronavirus low-responder.
In a recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv*, researchers evaluate the safety and immunogenicity profiles of a high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine and a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine that were administered concomitantly to older adults. The findings demonstrate that co-administration of two vaccines is safe, well-tolerated, and does not cause any immune interference.

Study: Safety and immunogenicity of a high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine administered concomitantly with a third dose of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in adults  65 years of age: a Phase II, open-label study. Image Credit: CROCOTHERY / Shutterstock.com

Background

The influenza virus is a seasonal respiratory virus that affects all age groups and can cause serious complications in older adults. Influenza infections in older adults aged 65 years and older are associated with excess mortality rates of 3 to 44 per 100,000 individuals. Besides respiratory complications, influenza infections can lead to aggravation of preexisting health conditions, functional disabilities, and cardiovascular complications.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of COVID-19, is another type of respiratory virus that causes severe and often fatal infections in older adults, immunocompromised patients, and those with preexisting health conditions. However, the rapid development and rollout of several different COVID-19 vaccines have made it possible to control the viral spread and prevent disease severity.

Because of the prioritization of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign to control the pandemic, a significant reduction in the influenza vaccination rate has been observed in many countries. This may potentially increase influenza-related morbidity and mortality among older adults. To increase influenza vaccine uptake and reduce the burden on healthcare systems around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended co-administration of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines.

In the current study, the scientists have evaluated the safety and immunogenicity profiles of a high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine concomitantly administered with the third booster dose of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 in older adults aged 65 years and above.

Study design

The current study is an ongoing Phase II, multiple-center, open-level clinical study conducted in six regions throughout the United States. Older adults who had received the second dose of the mRNA-1273 vaccine at least five months prior were selected for the study. The participants were categorized into three groups, with one group receiving both influenza and mRNA-1273 vaccines concomitantly and the other two groups receiving either of the two vaccines.

The safety and tolerability of vaccines and antibodies developed against the respective vaccine antigens were assessed at baseline and at day 22 post-vaccination.

Important observations

A total of 296 older adults aged 65 years and above were enrolled for the current study. Of the participants, 100 were co-administered with both vaccines, 92 received only the influenza vaccine, and 104 received only the mRNA-1273 vaccine.

Safety profile

Injection site pain and erythema were the most commonly reported side effects in each vaccination group. In the co-vaccination group, the most commonly reported systemic reactions were malaise, fatigue, and myalgia.

In the mRNA-1273 vaccination group, the most common systemic reactions were malaise, fatigue, headache, and myalgia. In the influenza vaccination group, only one participant reported fatigue.

The percentage of participants spontaneously reporting adverse events (unsolicited) was similar in the co-vaccination and mRNA-1273 vaccination groups. However, participants in the influenza vaccination group less frequently reported unsolicited adversities. In this context, the most commonly reported side effects were hypertension, chemical burns to the eyes, and pruritis at the injection site.

The frequency of reporting unsolicited systemic adversity was highest in the mRNA-1273 vaccination group, followed by the co-vaccination and influenza vaccination groups. This adversity was muscle spasms. Importantly, no serious adversities or death occurred throughout the study period.

Solicited injection site reactions and systemic reactions occurring up to 7 days post-injection (immunogenicity analysis set).

Immunogenicity

The high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine evaluated in the current study contains influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2, B/Yamagata, and B/Victoria strains. On day 22 post-vaccination, the levels of antibodies against each influenza strain increased significantly compared to the baseline level. The antibody levels were comparable between the co-vaccination and influenza vaccination groups at day 22, indicating similar seroconversion rates between the two groups for each viral strain of the vaccine.

The levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG)-specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike binding antibodies increased significantly at day 22 post-vaccination compared to that at baseline. Notably, these antibody levels were comparable between the co-vaccination and mRNA-1273 only vaccination groups, indicating similar seroconversion rates.

Study significance

The current study reveals that the influenza vaccine and mRNA-1273 vaccine can be co-administered in older adults without causing any severe side effects and immune interference. This can help to improve current influenza vaccination rates, shorten the vaccination period, and reduce the number of visits to healthcare providers.

*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
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte's administration quashed plans for a public service campaign to promote covid-19 vaccinations for eligible teenagers over the summer, a former state health official said. That has caused public health and medical experts to plan their own ad campaigns in anticipation that the administration won't publicly back shots for kids as young as 5 when doses for young children roll out.

A state endorsement and ad campaign on television, radio and the internet could encourage and persuade undecided parents to get their kids vaccinated. The lack of one could contribute to Montana's continuing lag in vaccination rates and high ranking in covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Jim Murphy, a former communicable disease bureau chief for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, said state health officials began discussing plans to launch public service campaigns for the vaccine under former Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat. The plans included promotion of the vaccine for eligible teenagers, Murphy said.

Gianforte, a Republican, took office in January as the vaccines were rolling out around the country. In the months that followed, Murphy and other officials in the state health department began drafting language encouraging parents to get their teens vaccinated, he said. The governor's office had the ultimate say over what ended up in the ads and in late spring, Murphy said, the Gianforte administration scrubbed references promoting vaccines for kids.

"The word that our team got was that those scripts were being revised and we wouldn't be directly promoting teen vaccination for covid from a state level," Murphy said.

Murphy said the Gianforte administration expressed concern that the ads could be viewed as undermining parental consent. Many officials inside DPHHS thought the concern was unfounded as medical providers, pharmacies and public health departments administering shots all regularly deal with parental consent, he said.

Murphy retired from the agency at the end of June, and recently pointed out that the state's TV and radio ads since then lack any direct promotion for children and their parents. The first vaccine for children 12 and older was authorized in May.

Gianforte's office declined to make the governor available for an interview, but in a written statement spokesperson Brooke Stroyke said Murphy wasn't involved in the creation of promotional materials for covid vaccines under the Gianforte administration. Murphy disputed that assertion, and said many divisions within the health department, including the communicable disease and laboratory sections under his watch, helped craft vaccine public service announcements sent to the governor's office.

Stroyke said in the statement Gianforte encourages parents to talk to their health care providers about getting their children vaccinated against covid.

Gianforte's office said DPHHS will continue to revise its vaccine awareness campaign but did not say whether the state would promote vaccines for kids.

During a news conference last month, when asked, Gianforte also declined to say whether his office had plans to promote shots for teens or the estimated 90,000 5- to 11-year-olds in the state.

"We will have to see what guidance we get that accompanies the approval and we'll make decisions based on that," Gianforte said.

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of lower doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The U.S. government and states are now preparing to roll out the shots after Tuesday's official recommendation from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 55% of eligible Montanans are fully vaccinated, compared with 68% of people nationally age 12 and up. Roughly 40% of eligible 12- to 17-year-olds have received both of their shots, according to state data. Nationally, nearly 50% of kids 12-17 are fully vaccinated, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Public health and medical experts worry the 5- to 11-year-old group in Montana will also lag behind national averages in the absence of a coordinated vaccination campaign targeting skeptical parents.

Hayley Devlin is the spokesperson for the Missoula City-County Health Department, one of the largest health departments in the state. She said typically it's the state health department that creates content for public health campaigns like social media ads, video or audio that can be repackaged at the local level.

"We haven't received any promotional materials from DPHHS as far as encouraging child vaccinations goes," Devlin said.

In the absence of a state-coordinated vaccine promotion for kids, Devlin has spearheaded the launch of the county health department's covid vaccination campaign for parents and kids.

However, Matt Kelley, CEO of the nonprofit Montana Public Health Institute, said smaller county or tribal health departments don't have the resources to undertake their own campaigns.

"We're working to find ways to help them increase their capacity by helping to provide some of that messaging, but also building their own skill sets so they can do it themselves," Kelley said.

The Montana Medical Association is also launching a statewide campaign aimed at parents of children ages 5 to 17.

Kelley said finding effective messages that boost vaccine uptake among kids, especially younger ones, is particularly important ahead of the winter, when conditions will become more ideal for the highly infectious delta variant to spread.

"Any parent knows how much crud comes home with kids when sick season hits in the winter. Covid is no exception to that," he said.

Montana schools saw nearly five times as many covid cases statewide during the first month of school this fall compared with last year's. Public health experts said that's largely due to fewer schools imposing mask mandates and other precautions. Kelley and others said this next round of kids becoming eligible for vaccines could help lower that transmission rate.

Jen Kates, a senior vice president and the director of global health and HIV policy at KFF, said, nationally, parents' feelings about getting their 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated are similar to those expressed when shots were approved for kids 12 and up.

"About a third of parents say they're ready to go, rush out and get their kid vaccinated as soon as it's authorized and then there's a lot of wait-and-sees," Kates said.

Another third of parents don't plan to get their younger children vaccinated, and the rest say they're in the wait-and-see crowd, she said.

Kates said those wait-and-see parents largely decided to get their 12- to 15-year-olds vaccinated once their questions were answered.

Public vaccine campaigns for younger kids will be helpful in getting parents with questions to seek out pediatricians, which will be important for the upcoming rollout, she said.

Dr. John Cole, president of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who practices in Kalispell, said his members have been having these conversations and will remind parents that while most kids infected with the covid virus do well, it's hard to predict who will be seriously affected.

He has seen children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, a rare covid complication in children that can be life-threatening.

"We need a consistent message," Cole said. "When we're hearing silence or not much of a message from the state level, I think that breathes a sense of nervousness or insecurity about the vaccine."
A new study in Health Economics finds that sugary drinks impact behavior and math scores of preschool children.

In the study, investigators randomly assigned 462 children to receive sugary drinks or artificially sweetened drinks, and they collected data before and after consumption.

Consuming one sugary drink tended to induce an initial 'relaxing' effect for boys, before making them more restless. Girls' behavior was not significantly affected.

Also, consuming one sugary drink seemed to have a negative effect on student achievement in math for boys and a positive effect for girls.

Our study is the first to provide large-scale experimental evidence on the impact of sugary drinks on preschool children. The results clearly indicate a causal impact of sugary drinks on children's behavior and test scores." Fritz Schiltz, PhD, corresponding author, KU Leuven, Belgium

"The associated effects on in-class performance have major policy implications, as sugary drinks are still ubiquitously sold in schools and as the consumption of sugary drinks is typically higher among children from low-income households and among boys," added co-author Kristof De Witte, a professor at KU Leuven.
These days, workers who refuse to get vaccinated against covid-19 may face financial repercussions, from higher health insurance premiums to loss of their jobs. Now, the financial fallout might follow workers beyond the grave. If they die of covid and weren't vaccinated, their families may not get death benefits they would otherwise have received.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority no longer pays a $500,000 death benefit to the families of subway, bus and commuter rail workers who die of covid if the workers were unvaccinated at the time of death.

"It strikes me as needlessly cruel," said Mark DeBofsky, a lawyer at DeBofsky Sherman Casciari Reynolds in Chicago who represents workers in benefit disputes.

Other employers have similar concerns about providing death or other benefits to employees who refuse to be vaccinated.

In Massachusetts, the New Bedford City Council sought to extend accidental death benefits to city employees who died of covid, but the mayor didn't sign that legislation because, among other things, it didn't prohibit payment if the worker was unvaccinated.

President Joe Biden has leaned hard on businesses to make sure their workers are vaccinated. In September, the administration announced all employers with 100 or more workers would be required to either ensure they're vaccinated or test employees every week for covid.

Among employers, "there's a frustration level, particularly at this point when these vaccines are fully approved," said Carol Harnett, president of the Council for Disability Awareness, an industry group. "You're trying to protect yourselves and your employees, both from themselves and the general public."

The New York transportation authority is the highest-profile employer to take this action. Since the pandemic crisis began in 2020, 173 MTA workers have contracted covid and died. Five of those deaths occurred after June 1 of this year, when the policy changed, according to the MTA.

"We are not aware they have been vaccinated," an MTA spokesperson said of the five workers who died since the policy took effect.

The transit authority's policy was a shift from an earlier pact with workers. In April 2020, as covid ravaged New York, transit officials and the labor unions representing employees reached agreements that workers who died of covid would be eligible to receive a $500,000 lump-sum death benefit, just like payments to which families of MTA workers who have other job-related deaths are entitled. The program will continue through the end of this year.

But with covid vaccines now widely available and fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the MTA Board determined that, starting June 1, workers who died of covid had to have been vaccinated for their families to be eligible for the payment.

The change comes as the MTA has struggled to improve vaccination rates among its roughly 67,000 workers. More than 70% of transit employees are estimated to be vaccinated, according to MTA officials.

A spokesperson for the MTA stressed that the program remains in effect, and noted that it has been extended past its original one-year term. The only change is the vaccination requirement.

"The program is not being revoked," the MTA spokesperson said in an email. "In fact, the MTA has twice extended it."

Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, which represents roughly 38,000 MTA workers, pushed hard to negotiate the benefit. "No other workforce in the city, probably the country, secured what TWU secured: a $500,000 payment from the employer to the families of workers who died after getting covid," said Pete Donohue, a union spokesperson. "We look at it that during a terrible time, we got [the benefit] for people."

It's not unusual for employers of workers in risky occupations  such as police, firefighters, utility company workers and transit workers, who could succumb to an industrial accident or get hit by a train on the tracks  to offer extra insurance coverage that pays if they die on the job. The coverage is often provided in addition to a regular life insurance policy.

These so-called line-of-duty or accidental death and dismemberment policies typically don't pay out if someone dies of a disease. How can it be proved that someone picked up a deadly infection at work rather than at the supermarket?

But with covid, some front-line workers have been considered eligible for accidental death benefits because they are presumed to have gotten sick on the job, DeBofsky said.

Workers may be denied death benefits, however, if they didn't follow established safety protocols, said John Ehrlich, the national lead consultant at Willis Towers Watson on group life insurance. Failing to wear a bulletproof vest, a helmet or other safety equipment, for example, might make their families ineligible for payment under a policy.

Now that vaccines are widely available, some employers have considered limiting other benefits paid to unvaccinated workers, including reducing short-term disability payments, said Rich Fuerstenberg, a senior partner at benefits consultant Mercer. But Fuerstenberg said he had not heard of other employers eliminating death benefits for unvaccinated workers.

In the New Bedford case, the City Council unanimously passed a petition in August stating the covid death of any city employee would be considered to have occurred in the line of duty, enabling family members to receive accidental death benefits.

Mayor Jon Mitchell, however, objected for several reasons  the question of vaccination among them.

"As I am certain the Council would agree, it would be inappropriate to extend accidental death benefits where the employee refused to take a vaccine that had been found to be nearly 100% effective," Mitchell said in a letter to the council. The proposal has been tabled for further negotiation, according to a spokesperson for the mayor.

For more than 17 years, Joseph Fletcher worked for the MTA in Brooklyn, doing body work and other maintenance on buses.

When he died of covid on April 11, 2020, at age 60, he left behind his wife, Veronica, a former high school teacher who was disabled after a car accident, and three children, now 9, 13 and 16.

Coping with his death was hard enough, but looking toward the future has been overwhelming, Veronica said.

"How am I going to keep afloat financially?" she worried. "Everything about this journey is terrifying."

The $500,000 death benefit helped cover the family's regular bills and pay the mortgage on their Brooklyn home. But she's aware it will go only so far, and her three children need to go to college.

If the MTA vaccination requirement had been in place when her husband died, it wouldn't have been a problem, Fletcher said.

"I wish that my husband were able to have been vaccinated," she said. "Knowing my late husband, he would have taken the opportunity to protect himself and his family."
Jeffersonville, IN (47130)

Today

Periods of rain. High 48F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy early, becoming mostly clear after midnight. Low 29F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Goldsboro, NC (27530)

Today

Mainly cloudy. High 68F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers later at night. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
(Newser)  Update: Celebrity chef Mario Batali's trial on a sexual misconduct charge in Boston has been set for April 11, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins' office said Tuesday after a hearing. Batali pleaded not guilty to indecent assault and battery on allegations that he forcibly kissed and groped a woman after taking a selfie with her at a Boston restaurant in 2017. His lawyers didn't respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday but have previously said the charge filed in 2019 is "without merit," per the AP. Our original story from May 2019 follows:

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Celebrity chef Mario Batali, whose career crumbled amid several sexual misconduct accusations, pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge he forcibly kissed and groped a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. Batali, 58, didn't speak during the brief hearing but nodded as the judge ordered him to stay away from the woman. The court entered a not guilty plea on Batali's behalf to a charge of indecent assault and battery, the AP reports. It's the first criminal charge levied against Batali following sexual harassment and assault allegations that first surfaced in 2017.

The woman says Batali noticed her taking a photo of him at the restaurant and invited her to take a selfie with him. She says Batali then groped and kissed her repeatedly without her consent. The woman filed a civil suit against Batali in August, seeking unspecified damages for "severe emotional distress." Batali didn't comment as he walked through a slew of reporters to leave the courthouse Friday. His lawyer said earlier this week that the charge is "without merit." "He intends to fight the allegations vigorously and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate Mr. Batali," attorney Anthony Fuller said in an emailed statement.

The woman's attorneys applauded the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office for bringing the case. "Mr. Batali must be held accountable criminally and civilly for his despicable acts," her lawyers said in an email to media. Batali could face up to 2 1/2 years in jail if convicted and would also have to register as a sex offender. He was released on his own recognizance and will not have to appear at the next hearing, scheduled for July 12. (Read more Mario Batali stories.)
(Newser)  A Polish hospital said Tuesday that doctors and midwives did everything they could to save the lives of a pregnant woman and her fetus in a case that has put the spotlight on a new restriction on Poland's abortion law. The 30-year-old woman died of septic shock in her 22nd week of pregnancy. Doctors did not perform an abortion, even though her fetus was lacking amniotic fluid, according to a lawyer for the family. Reproductive rights activists say she is the first person to die as a result of a recent restriction of Polands abortion law, the AP reports. Some who supported the new abortion restriction said there is no certainty that it led to the woman's death and accused women's rights activists of exploiting the situation.

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The woman, identified only as Izabela, died in September but her case was only made public Friday, triggering protests in Warsaw, Krakow, and elsewhere on Monday. People lit candles for her in an evening vigil. Before the new restriction, women in Poland could have abortions only in three cases: if the pregnancy results from a crime like rape; if the woman's life is at risk; or in the case of severe fetal deformities. But the Constitutional Tribunal, under the influence of Polands conservative ruling party, ruled last year that abortions for congenital defects were not constitutional. Women's rights activists say doctors in Poland now wait for a fetus with no chance of survival to die in the womb rather than perform an abortion.

The hospital where the woman died issued a statement Tuesday saying they were "joined in pain" with her loved ones and others mourning her, and insisted that its staff had done everything to save her and the fetus. The family lawyer said the woman left behind a husband and a daughter. "The only factor guiding the medical procedure was concern for the health and life of the patient and the fetus. Doctors and midwives did everything in their power, they fought a difficult battle for the patient and her child," said the County Hospital in Pszczyna in southern Poland. The hospital added that prosecutors were investigating the case but said "all medical decisions were made taking into account the legal provisions and standards of conduct in force in Poland." (Read more abortion stories.)
(Newser)  Successful, well-liked jockey Miguel Mena was killed in what police are calling a "pedestrian" accident in Louisville six days before his 35th birthdayand his friends are trying to figure out why. Mena's agent, Tim Hanisch, tells the Louisville Courier-Journal that Mena was on his way home in a Lyft vehicle Sunday night when he inexplicably left the car and set out on foot. He was hit by a vehicle after walking up a ramp and trying to cross the westbound lanes of I-64, police says. "I don't know how or why he got up there or what he was doing," Hanisch says.

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Hanisch says Mena's behavior is especially puzzling because the jockey "didnt like to walk much" after a fall three years ago that broke eight bones in his right ankle and heel. Hanisch says he had a few beers with Mena earlier Sunday. Nobody has been charged in connection with Mena's death, which has been ruled an accident. Jeffersontown Police Chief Rick Sanders says the jockey may have made some "bad decisions" after drinking. Mena, who came to the US from Peru when he was 17, won 2,079 races in North America and earned $72,483,396 in prize money, People reports.

Mena had a total of 481 wins at Churchill Downs, making him the 15th-winningest jockey in the track's history. His final race was the day before his death. In a statement, Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson said is the death is "absolutely shocking, terrible, and heartbreaking," per CNN. "We'll miss his bright smile. Our deepest condolences are extended to his many friends, fellow riders, and family, and our immediate thoughts are with his wife April and his daughters Naelah and Montserrat." (Read more jockeys stories.)
(Newser)  Update: A 36-year-old man has been charged in the case of a 4-year-old Australian girl found safe Wednesday after vanishing 18 days earlier. Terence Darrell Kelly appeared Thursday in a Carnavon court, where he was charged with forcibly or fraudulently taking or enticing a child under 16, per the BBC. Before his hearing, police say Kelly had been taken to the hospital with self-inflicted injuries that were not said to be life-threatening. He'll be kept in custody until Dec. 6, when he's due to appear again in court. Meanwhile, authorities say that Cleo is doing well, considering what she's been through. "She has done a bit of sleeping and a lot of eating, a lot of lying around and cuddling," Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said Thursday after meeting with the little girl and her family, reports CNN. Our original story from Tuesday follows:

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"Our family is whole again," mother Ellie Smith said after she was reunited with daughter Cleo18 days after the girl vanished from a campsite in a remote part of Western Australia. WA Police Deputy Commissioner Col Blanc said officers found Cleo in a room when they broke into a locked house in the town of Carnarvon early Wednesday, the BBC reports. "One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her 'whats your name?'" Blanch said. "She said, 'My name is Cleo.' Cleo was reunited with her parents a short time later." Police say a 36-year-old man has been taken into custody.

"This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for," Blanch said, per the West Australian. "Its the outcome weve achieved because of some incredible police work." Carnarvon is around a seven-minute drive from the Quobba Blowholes coastal campsite, where Cleo disappeared from her family's tent in the early hours of Oct. 16. A neighbor tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the man who lived in the house where Cleo was found was "quiet" and he had recently noticed him buying diapers in the local supermarket. Police say the man in custody has no connection to Cleo's family. WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson told reporters that forensic leads led them to the house.

Cleo was "smiling" and "as well as we could expect in the circumstances," said Dawson. He said he is proud of his team, Cleo's parents, and the many volunteers who assisted the massive search effort. "This strikes at the heart of every parent, of every Australian, to have a young child abducted from an iconic location, camping with the family, it touches everyone," Dawson said. "To find a vulnerable little girl after 18 days ... obviously people think the worst, but hope was never lost. Australia's rejoicing." (Read more Australia stories.)
(Newser)  Update: This file has been updated after the race was called. Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin were locked in a tight race for Virginia governor Tuesday night, the most closely watched contest in an off-year election that could prove a referendum on President Bidens first year in office. The Washington Post and the AP called the race for Youngkin early Wednesday. Our previous rundown follows:

The Biden lens: The initial results are a stark departure from 12 months ago, when Biden captured the state by 10 points. A loss in a state that has trended toward Democrats for more than a decade would deepen the sense of alarm inside the party heading into next years midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. But the AP reports Biden expressed optimism going into the evening while acknowledging that "the off-year is always unpredictable."

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Inside the campaign: The bruising campaign centered on issues including Youngkin's ties to former President Trump, abortion rights and culture war battles over schools. Youngkin, a former business executive, has never held public office. Voters saw the economy as the top issue, followed by the coronavirus pandemic, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of statewide voters.

The bruising campaign centered on issues including Youngkin's ties to former President Trump, abortion rights and culture war battles over schools. Youngkin, a former business executive, has never held public office. Voters saw the economy as the top issue, followed by the coronavirus pandemic, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of statewide voters. Virginia election trivia: The Post notes that Virginia bars governors from holding consecutive terms. Since the Civil War, only a single governor has managed to serve two terms in the state.

The Post notes that Virginia bars governors from holding consecutive terms. Since the Civil War, only a single governor has managed to serve two terms in the state. Elsewhere: The only other state that will elect a governor Tuesday is New Jersey, where Gov. Phil Murphy is trying to win reelection against Republican former State Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli. If successful, Murphy will be the first Democrat reelected as the states governor in 44 years. With 51% of the vote in, Murphy was trailing 48.3% to 50.9%.

(Read more Glenn Youngkin stories.)
(Newser)  One of Canada's leading experts in Indigenous health issues gave a TEDx talk in 2019 dressed in a shawl and Metis sash. Holding a feather, Carrie Bourassa identified herself as "Morning Star Bear," before describing Metis, Anishinaabe, and Tlingit heritage. In a shocking twist, a CBC investigation has determined Bourassascientific director of the Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a federal agencyis of Russian, Polish, and Czechoslovakian descent. Bourassa's great-grandmother, whom she has claimed was Tlingit, actually migrated to Canada from Russia and married a Russian-born farmer around 1913, according to the CBC. The Guardian notes the case is drawing comparisons to Rachel Dolezal in the US.

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In response, Bourassaalso a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, where she runs the Indigenous community-based health research lab known as Morning Star Lodgetold the CBC that she was "deeply offended by anyone disputing my links to the Metis community," though she previously acknowledged that she does not appear on the Metis NationSaskatchewan Citizenship Registry. "'Who is a Metis citizen' is the sole determination of the Metis NationSaskatchewan and no one else," its president, Glen McCallum, told CTV Saskatoon. But Bourassa claimed she was adopted into the Metis community (and five other communities) by a friend of her late grandfather, and "the family has taken me as if I was their blood family."

"You've got no right to tell people that's who you are in order to gain legitimacy, to get positions and to get funding," counters Winona Wheeler, an associate professor of Indigenous studies at U of S and a member of Manitoba's Fisher River Cree Nation, per the CBC. "When I saw that TEDx, to be quite honest, I was repulsed by how hard she was working to pass herself off as Indigenous." Though the CIHR and the university initially supported Bourassa, both announced she was on immediate leave Monday, per the CBC. The university has launched its own investigation, acknowledging "serious concerns with the additional information revealed in Dr. Bourassa's responses to the media and with the harm that this information may be causing Indigenous individuals and communities." (Read more Canada stories.)
(Newser)  On Monday at COP26, President Biden had harsh words for a former US leader. On Tuesday, before heading back to the US, he reserved his criticism for two current world leaders, slamming them for not making an appearance at the United Nations climate summit in Scotland. "Not showing up, come on!" Biden said of China's Xi Jinping, calling that president's move a "big mistake," considering Xi wants to become a bigger player on the world stage, per Al Jazeera. On Russia's Vladimir Putin, Biden added, "His tundra is burningliterally, the tundra is burning. He has serious, serious climate problems, and he is mum on [his] willingness to do anything."

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And then, on both of his foreign counterparts: "It just is a gigantic issue and they walked away. How do you do that and claim to be able to have any leadership?" The BBC notes that both China and Russia did send delegations to the summit, but as China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide (Russia comes in after the US, the EU, and India), Biden had hoped the leaders from those two countries would join the 120 others from around the planet in helping to figure out what to do about global warming and related environmental issues, such as deforestation and methane emissions. Politico reports that the US president similarly blasted Saudi Arabia for not playing a more active role.

There's been no word from China on Xi's absence. On Monday, a day before Biden publicly aired his criticisms, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov weighed in. "Russia as a country is making enormous efforts and will continue to do so ... but this is a process that requires adequate measures on the part of all states," Peskov said, per Al Jazeera. Also before Biden's speech, Putin himself had reacted to a COP26 forest management gathering, noting in a release that his country takes "the strongest and most vigorous measures to conserve" its woodlands and supports the world's overall efforts "to fulfill the objectives of reducing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere set out in the Paris Agreement." (Read more UN climate summit stories.)
(Newser)  Jurors heard starkly different portrayals of Kyle Rittenhouseinstigator or victimin opening statements at his trial Tuesday on charges of shooting three people on the streets of Kenosha during a turbulent protest against racial injustice, the AP reports. A prosecutor said Rittenhouse set the bloodshed in motion when he triggered a confrontation with a man that night and then killed him with a bullet to the back. But Rittenhouse's attorney told the jury that his client acted in self-defense after the man tried to grab Rittenhouse's gun and others kicked the then-17-year-old in the face and clubbed him in the head with a skateboard. Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with killing two men and wounding a third during the summer of 2020 with an assault-style rifle. The one-time aspiring police officer could get life in prison if convicted.

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The first witness called after opening statements was Dominick Black, who was dating Rittenhouse's sister at the time. Black faces charges he bought the rifle for Rittenhouse months before the shootings because the teen was not old enough to own one at the time. Black testified that he and Rittenhouse went to downtown Kenosha to help protect a car dealership after vehicles were burned the night before. Black said he thought nobody would start trouble if they saw him with his assault-style rifle. He also said Rittenhouse helped give medical aid and put out fires. After the shootings, Black said, Rittenhouse was freaking out. He was really scared. He was pale, shaking a lot. Black said Rittenhouse told him that he acted in self-defense because people were trying to hurt him. Testimony is expected to continue Wednesday.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger said that it is not known exactly what words were said, but it is clear that Rittenhouse started a confrontation that led Joseph Rosenbaum to begin chasing Rittenhouse across a parking lot. Binger emphasized that Rosenbaum, 36, was killed by a shot to the back after he threw a plastic bag. The first two bullets hit Rosenbaum in the lower extremities, causing him to fall forward, the prosecutor noted. But Richards, the defense attorney, argued that it was Rosenbaum who lit the fuse that night." Rosenbaum yelled an expletive at Rittenhouse and lunged for his gun before Rittenhouse fired at him, according to the defense. Moments after shooting Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wis., who was seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. The defense attorney portrayed Rittenhouse as the victim, saying Huber was trying to separate the head from the body with the skateboard.

(Read more Kyle Rittenhouse stories.)
(Newser)  Update: He's sorry. The CEO of McDonald's is apologizing for comments in which he blamed bad parenting after two children were fatally shot in Chicago. The comments were "wrongpure and simple," wrote Chris Kempczinski in an email to staff, per the Wall Street Journal. "I am learning from this," he added. "I believe that starts with more listening and learning from more people whose life experiences are different from my own." Our original story from Nov. 2 follows. (Note: the reader opinion poll reflects that original story):

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McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski made some ill-advised comments about two children who were fatally shot in Chicago earlier this year, and now local activists and McDonald's workers are planning a protest. In an April 19 text message to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot after she visited McDonald's headquarters that day, Kempczinski wrote, "tragic shootings in last week, both at our restaurant yesterday and with Adam Toldeo [sic]. With both, the parents failed those kids which I know is something you cant say. Even harder to fix." The first incident he was referring to was the April 18 death of Jaslyn Adams, 7, who was shot and killed as she sat in her father's car at a McDonald's drive-through in what is believed to have been a gang-related incident.

The second was the death of Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old killed by police during a late-night foot chase in March. The text exchange with Lightfoot was uncovered by an activist who filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the city of Chicago, WBEZ reports. Lightfoot did not push back in her response, simply offering offer support to workers at the restaurant where Adams was killed, the Chicago Tribune reports. Critics of Kempczinski's take pointed out he has no idea what struggling parents, sometimes single moms, go through to raise their kids, and is unfairly blaming them for street violence. This is particularly upsetting coming from the CEO of McDonald's, one worker says, because the fast food giant doesn't treat employees well: "Oftentimes we have to work two jobs because the wages are so low; were forced to sometimes leave our kids at home alone to go to work," she says.

She's among the workers and activists planning to protest at McDonald's headquarters Wednesday. In an open letter they're planning to send him the same day, his comments are decried as racistand "unacceptable coming from anyone, let alone the CEO of McDonalds, a company that spends big to market to communities of color and purports to stand with Black lives. Says the president of the Little Village Community Council, "If he really feels that its the mothers fault, of them being the culprits of their kids deaths, then he should fund our communities with all the profits that he takes." The organizers are calling on Kempczinski to come up with a plan to address systemic racism at his company. In a statement, Kempczinski apologized and promised he had learned a lesson. Lightfoot's rep also issued a statement criticizing Kempczinski's "victim shaming." (Read more McDonald's stories.)
(Newser)  Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison shared a private text message from French President Emmanuel Macron in an attempt to defend himself from Macron's claims that he's a liarwhich only further widened the rift between the two countries. "You don't behave like this on personal exchanges of leaders who are allies. But maybe it is just confirmation that we were never seen as an ally," French ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault said Wednesday, per AFP. He added Tuesday's leak, representing an "unprecedented new low," should serve as a warning to other heads of state that what is said in confidence will be "weaponized against you one day."

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In the text, sent two days before the announcement of the Australia-UK-US security pact, Macron had asked Morrison whether he could expect good or bad news on a $66 million deal that would've seen France provide 12 conventionally-powered submarines to Australia. The leak appeared to be an attempt by Morrison to suggest Macron had prior knowledge that that deal would be torn up since Australia will be provided with its first nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact, reports the Guardian. But a Macron adviser told Le Parisien that it instead showed Macron, who claims he was blindsided, did not yet know the outcome.

Morrison's response to the text wasn't provided, but Aussie officials said there were multiple attempts to contact Paris before the announcement. Macron's adviser, however, said only one call came in during Macron's weekly cabinet meeting, on the morning of the announcement, when Morrison "knew very well the president was unavailable." "Confidence has been completely shattered," the source said. Morrison might've made up for the blunder in seeking a meeting with Macron at the G20 in Rome or the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the adviser added. But "the president was waiting for a proposition from the prime minister, which did not come." (Macron and President Biden appear to be on better terms.)
(Newser)  New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was "once seen as a shoo-in" for another go-round as governor, reports NJ.com. Even as his hefty edge narrowed in recent days, polls still had him up 4 to 11 percentage points over Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, the state has 1 million more registered Democrats than registered Republicans, and he had more cash. The reality looks a whole lot different. As of this writing, the state's governor race remains "virtually deadlocked," as the AP puts it, with Ciattarelli ahead by 0.1 percentage points, or about 1,200 votes.

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Some 98% of precincts are in, but it's possible Wednesday could end without the race being decided: There are thousands of votes still expected from Democrat-heavy areas, and the number of uncounted vote-by-mail or provisional ballots is unclear. The AP has more on the mood: "At Murphy's election night party in Asbury Park's convention hall, the crowd went from cheering early results reported on TV to milling around the cavernous venue and checking their phones. At Ciattarelli's camp in Bridgewater, the crowd was breaking out into periodic cheers."

Ciattarelli called out the implications of the results, saying on Wednesday, "The great news, guys, is we have sent the message to the people of New Jersey. And although it was not my intention, we have sent the message to the entire country." Indeed, Politico notes Joe Biden won the state with a 16-point edge over Donald Trump just a year ago. The last time a Democrat was reelected governor in the state was in 1977. (The only other state to elect a governor on Tuesday was Virginia, with stunning results.)
(Newser)  For just the second time, an on-duty law enforcement officer in San Francisco is being prosecuted for a homicide, according to the district attorney's office. Officer Kenneth Cha faces charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, among others, after allegedly shooting an unarmed Sean Moorewho had schizophrenia, per the APon the doorstep of his home in the early hours of Jan. 6, 2017. Cha and his partner, Colin Patino, had been responding to a report that Moore had violated a restraining order related to noise harassment when Cha shot the man twice, according to the DA's office.

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Moore died three years later on Jan. 20, 2020, at the age of 46, of what a coroner determined was "acute intestinal obstruction" caused by bullet wounds to his abdomen. He'd denied violating the restraining order and asked the officers to leave, per the New York Times. Instead, a fight broke out with Cha pepper-spraying Moore and Patino hitting him with his baton, according to the DA's office. Moore then struck back, causing Patino to fall down some stairs, at which point Cha allegedly fired his weapon. "The shooting lacerated Moore's liver and struck his right colon, scarring internal organs and causing severe abdominal adhesions," per KPIX.

"In just eight minutes, Officer Cha elevated a nonviolent encounter to one that took Sean Moore's life," DA Chesa Boudin said Tuesday. He added Cha "lacked a lawful basis to even arrest" Moore, who died in prison while serving time for an unrelated offense. Boudin said a judge reviewed the evidence and put out a warrant for the officer's arrest. Three courts previously found the officers used unlawful force against Moore. San Francisco settled a lawsuit brought by Moore's family for $3.25 million in June, per the Times. Moore's mother said she was "very happy" to learn of the charges, while the San Francisco Police Officers Association said it would support Cha. It described Moore as "very hostile," per the AP. (Read more homicide stories.)
(Newser)  Zillow has decided to cut its losses and get out of the home-flipping business, which it described as "one-click nirvana" when it expanded the "Zillow Offers" operation earlier this year. The real estate company said Tuesday that it is shutting down Zillow Offers and laying off around a quarter of its 8,000 employees. The New York Times describes the announcement as as a "black eye" for chief executive Richard Barton. Two weeks ago, the company said it was going to pause buying homes until the end of this year because it had a huge backlog of renovations and was dealing with supply and labor issues, the AP reports.

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Last year, Barton predicted Zillow Offers could make up to $20 billion a year, but the company disclosed Tuesday that it had lost $422 million in the third quarter of this year. Barton told CNBC Tuesday that Offers failed because the company was unable to accurately predict housing prices "within a narrow margin of error," making it hard to turn a predictable profit from buying houses, making improvements, and putting them back on the market. The company's share price has dropped by almost a third over the last week.

"We could blame the current losses on exogenous market events," Barton said Tuesday. "But it would be naive to predict that unpredictable events wont happen in the future." Bloomberg reports that the company, which now has a large number of homes worth less than it paid for them, is trying to sell around 7,000 homes to institutional investors. The Times notes that the Offers debacle has raised concerns about Zillow's main business, which is based on providing accurate real estate estimates. (Read more Zillow stories.)
(Newser)  A Southwest Airlines flight crew was enjoying an evening at a hotel bar in California last month when a mask dispute erupted between a flight attendant and a pilot, who's now accused of assault. An airline rep told USA Today there was a "crew disagreement during an overnight trip" in San Jose on Oct. 18 but didn't go into particulars. Sgt. Christian Camarillo of the San Jose Police Department said only that "the event involved a disagreement over mask wearing or masks."

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The unidentified pilot was cited for alleged assault and battery. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office will now determine whether charges should be laid. Southwest confirmed the pilot is on leave while it investigates. The airline had put out an Oct. 22 statement referring to employee confrontations, though it made no mention of this particular event.

"Many of our people have been faced with an uncomfortable situation where their beliefs are not shared by someone else, resulting in a confrontation of some kind," the memo read, per USA Today. "It is vital that we treat everyone with respect and honor our differences without pushing our ideals on someone else" as "crossing the line in a heated conversation can be a violation of our guidelines for employees and can even end in loss of job." Meanwhile, per CBS News, a flight attendants union said, "As with all flight attendants we represent, we will support our member." (Read more Southwest Airlines stories.)
(Newser)  Talking heads are trying to figure out what the world's richest man meant in tweeting lines from an ancient Chinese poem on Tuesday. Elon Musk caused a stiron Twitter, where the Tesla and SpaceX CEO counts 62 million followers, and on Chinese social media site Weibo, where he has another 1.9 million followerswhen he wrote the English word "Humankind" followed by an abbreviated version of the Quatrain of Seven Steps in Chinese characters. The highly allegorical poem, widely known in China, centers around a spat between two royal brothers and serves as a lesson on the importance of getting along, per Reuters.

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The lines Musk tweeted translate to "Beans asimmer on a beanstalk flame / From inside the pot expressed their ire: / 'Alive we sprouted on a single root / What's your rush to cook us on the fire?'" per the Washington Post. Discussions on the post were viewed more than 100 million times on Weibo, where some saw a link to Musk's recent tussle with David Beasley, head of the UN's World Food Program, who encouraged him to donate $6 billion to efforts to address world hunger, per Reuters. Musk had followed up the post on Weibo with another in which he reiterated that he would donate the money if the WFP could "accurately explain how more than $6 billion will solve the global famine problem."

Others thought Musk might have been referring to rival cryptocurrencies, Shiba Inu and Dogecoin. Musk has backed Dogecoin, named after a meme of a Shiba Inu dog called Doge, though the newer cryptocurrency Shiba Inu, named after the dog breed, has recently overtaken Dogecoin in market value, leading to tensions between proponents of each, per Fortune. But as cryptocurrency trading is banned in China, CNN has a different take, seeing Musk's message as part of a "charm offensive in China." Both CNN and Reuters note Musk often praises the country on social media. He has said China will be become "the biggest economy in the world" as well as Tesla's most important market. The car maker operates a factory in Shanghai. (Read more Elon Musk stories.)
(Newser)  Biologists in Maine think the best way to save its 65,000-strong moose population might be to kill off more of it, and they're engaging in an experiment to that end. As the Wall Street Journal explains, moose are currently dying at the hands of ticks, and climate change plays a big role. The Bangor Daily News reports those ticks spend winter feeding on the moose. If winter lasts long enough, they fall off and die in the snow; if it doesn't, they fall off come spring "to lay eggs for the next generation." Moose habitually spend mating season in that same area, so they serve as host for the larvae hatched from those eggs." One more fact: Most animals groom themselves; moose are particularly bad at it.

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The confluence of all these factors? One moose can end up as carrier to as many as 90,000 ticks, some of which swell to a size bigger than a blueberry. The blood is quite literally sucked out of them, though some end up so weak they're killed off by invading parasites. The biologists' theory is that reducing the moose population will therefore reduce the tick population by causing baby ticks to starve, which will drive up overall moose health. To test it, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has doled out an increased number of hunting permits for half of one 2,000-acre parcel where moose hunting is allowed. Biologists will analyze the health of moose inside and outside the test area.

As you can imagine, PETA is among those who are displeased with the plan: "Shooting moose to 'protect' them from ticks so that these magnificent animals can be hunted later for 'sport' is out of touch with most peoples values today." It may not have much to worry about. The Bangor Daily News reports thus far only 67% of permitted hunters have managed to shoot a moose, raising the possibility that 2021 will end up having one of the lowest harvest rates since the hunt was sponsored by the state in 1980. (These hunters in Norway accidentally shot two moose in a zoo.)
(Newser)  Afghanistan's battered economy took another heavy blow Tuesday when the Taliban abruptly declared a total ban on the use of all foreign currencies. American dollars are widely used in markets and the currencies of neighboring countries are often used in border areas. The Taliban said anybody who failed to use the local currency, the afghani, in transactions would face legal action. "The Islamic Emirate instructs all citizens, shopkeepers, traders, businessmen, and the general public to henceforth conduct all transactions in afghanis and strictly refrain from using foreign currency," Taliban spokesman Zabihulla Mujahid said in a statement, per the BBC.

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The Taliban said the ban was necessary due to the "economic situation and national interests in the country," though many believe it will be counterproductive, since much of the country's economy involves foreign aid and remittances from overseas, the AP reports. With a potential humanitarian and refugee crisis looming, the Taliban has urged Western governments to release billions of dollars in central bank reserves that were frozen when the group seized control of the country. Reuters reports that hours before the currency move was announced, at least 25 people were killed in an Islamic State attack on the country's biggest military hospital. (Read more Afghanistan stories.)
(Newser)  A private Christian college in Kentucky on Tuesday announced that it had fired its president over sexual assault allegations. Georgetown College, which is located about 70 miles from Louisville, said its Board of Trustees met Monday and terminated William A. Jones that same day; it was told of the allegations on Sunday. "We are surprised and deeply disappointed by what we have learned," said board chair Robert L. Mills, per NBC News. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports a female employee filed an emergency protection order against Jones a few days ago that depicts him as a "threat to safety." WKYT reports the order was granted Monday.

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Per the order, she says that while on an October work trip in Indianapolis, "William Jones sexually harassed me in the lobby of [the] hotel before later sexually assaulting me in his hotel room. Multiple times throughout the incidents timeframe I told him to stop." In the order, the employee asks that Jones be prevented from coming within 500 feet of the school. He has a Nov. 10 court date to respond to the allegations. A statement from the school says that in addition to learning about those allegations, on Sunday it also learned of "inappropriate behavior with another female College employee, and other conduct in violation of Joness employment agreement." He became president of the college in July 2019. (Read more college president stories.)
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain always seeks to consolidate social dialogue, especially at the labour level, said Labour and Social and Development Minister Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan as he opened yesterday the Social Dialogue in Times of Crises conference.

The two-day event is organised by the General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain (GFWTUB), in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Addressing the conference, Humaidan noted that Bahrain boasts a pioneering experience in the field of tripartite dialogue with the existence of workers trade unions that operate freely and independently.

He said that despite the impacts of the pandemic, the government, workers and employers have proved their keenness to carry on tripartite coordination.

Representatives of business owners, workers trade unions, economic functions and ILO attended the opening of the conference.

It discusses several topics about the reality of the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 in light of the challenges arising from the coronavirus pandemic and its economic and social repercussions.

It focuses on two main themes, with the first dealing with the labour market and the economic and social repercussions, as well as the tripartite councils and their role in social protection.

The second tackles social dialogue and its institutions, which covers the financial situation and its economic and social impacts, in addition to the social dimension and prospects.

Humaidan also reviewed the efforts exerted by the government to confront the challenges resulting from COVID-19, placing the kingdom among leading countries in precautionary health, social and economic measures, which led to the stability of the labour market and reducing layoffs.

He highlighted the economic recovery plan endorsed by the Cabinet recently.

The scheme includes creating promising job opportunities, making Bahraini citizens the first choice in the labour market, and employing 20,000 Bahraini nationals, in addition to providing training for 10,000 Bahrainis annually until the year 2024.

He also asserted that the second edition of the National Employment Programme has yielded positive results with the employment of 25,000 citizens and training 10,000 others.

GFWTUB Secretary-General, Abdulqader Al-Shehabi, Second Deputy Chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Mohammed Abduljabbar Al-Kooheji, and ILO Regional Director for the Arab States, Ruba Jaradat, also spoke during the opening session of the conference.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain International Airport (BIA) has become the first airport in the region to launch a virtual reality (VR) training course for its Rescue and Firefighting Services (RFFS) team, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) announced.

Gulf Aviation Academy (GAA) is providing the advanced training solution, which allows firefighters to hone their skills safely in a range of scenarios.

The RFFS team welcomed senior management members from Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs (CAA), BAC, and GAA for a demonstration of the Flaim Trainer VR system, which combines haptic feedback technology with real-world firefighting equipment to provide a unique training experience.

The system allows for experiential learning through practical scenarios developed to improve dynamic thinking, risk assessment, radio messaging, muscle memory, hose control techniques, and management of heat simulated through sensors worn by the firemen.

Rescue and Firefighting Services BAC Director Mohamed Al Sayed said: Bahrain International Airports RFFS team works closely with CAA, the Kingdoms aviation regulator, to ensure compliance with all firefighting training requirements.

This comprehensive course enables the team to continue developing their skills despite the travel restrictions that have been imposed as a result of the pandemic.

It also highlights the Kingdoms innovative approach to overcoming challenging situations and its willingness to embrace new technologies.

GAA Chief Executive Officer Captain Dhaffer Alabbasi said: We are delighted to work with BAC to position BIA as a pioneer in the region.

As a provider of high-quality aviation training, we strive to offer the latest and most innovative tailor-made solutions and set a benchmark while meeting the aviation industrys stringent requirements.

With the support of the CAA, we look forward to continuing our collaboration and achieving further successes to advance Bahrains position within the industry.

The main objective of airport RFFS is to save lives in the event of an aircraft accident, but they also handle different types of emergencies within the airport boundary where lives or properties can be saved.

Besides responding to emergencies using a fleet of specially designed state-of-the-art vehicles, the BAC RFFS team also carries out frequent fire safety risk assessments throughout the airports premises.

BAC is committed to the safety of passengers and staff at BIA and has made several improvements to the airports infrastructure and services as part of the Airport Modernization Program.

This includes opening a new airside fire station to provide first response services to all aircraft emergencies and fire alarm activations within the airport boundary
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Mentorship Forum Middle East(MFME) 2021 today announced that HE Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, will open the Forums 2nd edition with a keynote address on this years theme Prioritising Mentorship in a New World.

The event is being held on November 11, 2021, at the Gulf Hotel in the Kingdom of Bahrain as a hybrid event with expected participation from more than 400 C-Suite leaders, HR and mentorship experts and up-and-coming professionals across sectors. His Excellency will address a local, regional and international audience on the importance of mentorship following significant workplace changes that have resulted in the wake of COVID-19 and how mentorship can be leveraged to keep training and development goals and ultimately business and economic goals on track.

Commenting on the announcement, Ms Zahraa Taher, Managing Director of FinMark Communications, the Forums Founder and Organiser, said, We couldnt be more proud to announce HE Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Bahrains Minister of Finance and National Economy, as our keynote speaker.

His interest and support for the event underscore the important nature of mentorship and the prominent role it can play in supporting human capital development and in turn broader economic advancement and growth, which go hand in hand.

Strong human capital and talent pools are key drivers of economic progress and expansion and we look forward to hearing his remarks and giving our attendees this unique opportunity to benefit from his vast experience and insights.

The Forums interactive sessions and workshops, which will follow His Excellencys address, will look to closely examine a range of topics relating to changes in the workplace that have resulted from the pandemic, gaps in training and development that have occurred and the role mentorship can play in ensuring talent development goals stay or get back on track in the new working order.

Panel discussions will cover: Mentorship and Meeting Talent Development Gaps in the Hybrid Workplace, Mentorship for Boards, Cross Mentorship and the Leveraging of Diverse Talent Pools, Technology-Focused Mentoring, Mentorship for Entrepreneurs and SMEs and Speed Mentoring. The events high level speakers and panellists will soon be announced.

The Forum is being supported by Lead Partner National Bank of Bahrain and other Strategic Partners: Gulf International Bank (GIB), Tamkeen, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), Reach, CFA Society Bahrain, Foulath Holding, BisB, Netiks and EMIC Training. The events Financial Media Partner is BFT Media and its Educational Media Partner, Education BH.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Chief Executive of the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) Mohammed Ali Al-Qaed announced details of the new digital policies adopted by the Council of Ministers under the chairmanship of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister which aim to enhance the provision of e-services and facilitate their use by various sectors to encourage creativity and business development in accordance with the best international standards and indicators.

This announcement came during a press conference held by the iGA in cooperation with the National Contact Centre. Al-Qaed explained how new digital policies relate to government performance and reflect them at the level of public government services by reviewing a set of items, principles, and goals that fall under those policies, which include open data policy, e-participation, digital services first policy, digital government as a right policy, and single data entry policy.

Mr Al-Qaed said that all these policies were developed in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, the Economic Development Board, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission, the Central Bank of Bahrain, and the National Communication Centre. He pointed out that the participation of these various entities has contributed to covering many aspects necessary in order to formulate advanced policies that lead to achieving their desired goals, such as encouraging innovation, attracting investments, ensuring the security and privacy of user information, and increasing customer satisfaction with government services.

He added that the iGA is keen to achieve more progress in the United Nations e-government index, so it formed a committee to study the readiness of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the United Nations e-participation index report, the next version of which will be issued next year. These digital policies have been introduced and linked to the report's indicators, in order to make progress in it.

Al-Qaed explained that these policies are based on the government's confidence in spreading a government approach based on comprehensive digital orientation for all sectors in the Kingdom, in line with the latest global trends. He added that the iGA is working in cooperation with various authorities in the Kingdom to develop implementation plans for these policies, stressing that the importance of community awareness of them, so that future trends are based on the provision of services in accordance with these policies based on cooperation between government agencies and the beneficiaries of their services.

Deputy Chief Executive of Electronic Transformation Dr Zakaria Ahmed Al Khaja spoke about the open data policy, explaining that it urges government agencies to make their data available through the Bahrain Open Data Platform and update them periodically. The government of the Kingdom of Bahrain considers data sharing with the public a crucial step towards enhancing transparency and accountability with regard to governance. He pointed out that to this end, the government strives to disseminate open data in order to encourage cooperation and involvement of all segments of the public, which will result in innovative solutions that seize opportunities and overcome the challenges facing everyone in order to improve the quality of life.

Dr Al-Khaja also touched on digital policies, which include the digital services policy first, the digital government policy as a right guaranteed to all, and the single data entry policy. He pointed out that through these three policies, the government seeks to achieve higher levels of transparency, openness and inclusiveness in government operations, establish a data-based culture within government agencies, as well as encourage the integrated government approach and encourage participation in the design of public service delivery and the development of policies.

Dr Al Khaja reviewed the e-participation policy, which highlights the government's commitment to providing traditional means of participation electronically and enhancing social media channels, in addition to achieving a quantum leap in the use of e-participation. He added that the iGA, during its policies, has been keen to learn about the Gulf and international experiences, to obtain the best terms and principles presented, and employ them in line with the e-transformation movement in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Over recent years, the expectations of different audiences about the quality of public services have doubled, with technical innovations increasingly permeating most details of their daily lives day by day which prompted the government to promote modern technologies as an essential component of any services it plans to develop, implement, and launch so that these services keep these services in line with the needs of the public and meet their requirements efficiently. The comprehensive e-government initiatives implemented by the Kingdom over the past decades have helped to empower government agencies and direct them towards improving the levels of effectiveness of their operations and the efficiency of service delivery.


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BROOKFIELD  Local kids will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine at New Milford clinics after the vaccine receives final authorization this week, according to an announcement from Brookfield Health Director Raymond Sullivan.

Brookfield has partnered with New Milfords health department to organize specialized child clinics as soon as Saturday. Shots will be given out on Tuesdays and Sundays at the John Pettibone Community Center on 2 Pickett District Road in New Milford.

Final authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was given Tuesday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine last week.

With great anticipation we are excited to share with you opportunities for your child to be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine, the email from Sullivan to Brookfield Public Schools parents reads. Together, we can work together so the kids in our community can get back to being kids!

Current clinic dates include Nov. 6 and Nov. 13 from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., and Nov. 9, 16, and 30 from 4 to 7:30 p.m.

About three in four Brookfield residents of all ages have had at least one shot, according to the most recent state data. Sixty-eight percent of 12- to 17-year-olds in Brookfield are fully vaccinated, and 72 percent have had at least one shot.

Both Danbury and New Milford pre-ordered doses of the Pfizer vaccine ahead of official approval. Children require a smaller dose.

The Connecticut Institute For Communities, Inc. and Danbury Health Department have also been planning to offer Pfizer at their Main Street location from 4 to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays once the vaccine is approved. Clinics could start as soon as Nov. 8, according to President and CEO Katie Curran

In recent months, Morrissey has looked for ways to make the upcoming clinics more kid-friendly and has said she planned to hold the specialized clinics in smaller, less overwhelming setting at the community center.

She wants to allow vaccine administrators more time with each young patient to answer questions and quell concerns, and provide an environment similar to the clinical settings children are used to.

In Danbury, CIFCs Main Street site has individual exam rooms, which Curran said would be better suited for pediatric vaccinations.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  With Republicans on the cusp of sweeping statewide judicial races in Pennsylvania, the GOP is finding more reasons to smile a year away from a high-stakes election in which the state's voters will pick a new governor and a new U.S. senator.

Republicans could be considered favored in both contests next year. The party of the president almost always loses seats in Congress in midterm elections, and a Republican has always replaced an outgoing Democratic governor in Pennsylvanias modern political era.

On Tuesday, Republicans delivered historic vote counts for court candidates.

One Republican campaign strategist, Christopher Nicholas, pointed to a slate of countywide victories in Bucks County, a political bellwether north of Philadelphia, as well as other pickups in Philadelphias suburbs where Democrats thrived while former President Donald Trump was in office.

You cant say, as goes the Bucks County controllers race, so goes the state, Nicholas said. But, when you look at that, it bodes well.

Pennsylvanias race for U.S. Senate is expected to be among the nations most competitive next year.

Meanwhile, its governors office is one of eight on ballots next year where a Democrat is serving in a state either won by Trump last year or in a presidential battleground where President Joe Biden beat Trump.

On Tuesday, Republicans won open seats on statewide appeals courts, including a marquee race for a seat on the state Supreme Court. They won with the strongest vote totals perhaps ever.

About 30%, or about 2.6 million, of Pennsylvanias 8.7 million voters cast a ballot in the state Supreme Court race, the upper range of turnout in recent odd-year elections.

The losing Democrat in the state Supreme Court race, Maria McLaughlin, drew more votes than any of the partys candidates did in 2015, when Democrats swept three state Supreme Court seats.

But three of this years winning Republican court candidates blew past the highest vote total amassed by other court candidates in recent decades, and perhaps ever.

Bucks County flipped. Last year, Biden beat Trump there. This year, Republicans in statewide court races won there.

The county's Republican Party chair attributed the GOP's strong performance there to national issues, including voters' concerns over the rising price of gas, defunding police, retail supply chain interruptions and immigration.

They're unhappy, and when theyre unhappy they come out and vote," county GOP chair Pat Poprik said.

Poprik also singled out concerns over salacious books in public schools and the curriculum in schools that Republicans have inflamed with a debate over teaching critical race theory.

It helped bring out many times the number of volunteers, Poprik said.

The schools are getting out of control, Poprik said. "Parents dont know what their children are being taught and schools wont tell them."

The National School Boards Association says critical race theory  which holds that racism is systemic in Americas institutions  is not taught in K-12 public schools, but, in recent months, conservatives have made it a catch-all political buzzword for any teaching in schools about race and American history.

John Cordisco, the county's Democratic Party chair, also blamed critical race theory and the national issues pushed by the right.

But Democrats should not engage in a debate about critical race theory, Cordisco said. He expects the issue will evaporate since the people talking about it don't understand what it is, he said.

Rather, to be successful next year, Democrats need to get a unified message from Washington and an infrastructure bill on Biden's desk, he said.

Twelve months is an eternity in politics, Cordisco said. So we'll see the supply chains open up, prices stabilize and get an infrastructure bill in place, and its a different conversation 12 months from now.

Democrats especially emphasized passing an infrastructure bill.

And when we deliver, all the process stuff will be forgotten and people will see all the positives that will make their lives better, like child care, paid family and medical leave, home care for seniors and people with disabilities, making prescription drugs more affordable, affordable housing, the expanded Biden child tax credit, and more," said U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans of Philadelphia.

Sharif Street, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party's vice chairman, said things that will help Democrats are fixing up schools with infrastructure dollars and turning the corner on COVID-19.

We have to win on the substance, we have to win on the fact that we have better plans for the American people and the way we can do that is actually by executing, Street said. That is the way Democrats will win, is through execution.

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Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter.
LAS MANCHAS DE ABAJO, Canary Islands (AP)  His home went first. Then the house his father built. Then the lottery stand and hardware store he owned succumbed.

Lastly, Antonio Alvarez had to watch as lava from a volcanic eruption slowly devoured the remaining pillar of his familys wealth: the dozen acres he dedicated to growing the Canary Island banana that for generations has provided the agricultural lifeblood of the Atlantic Ocean archipelago.

My father always told me dont make the house too big, it wont make you money; invest in banana! The bananas will give you a house.' And its true, Alvarez said. When I filmed (the lava destroying) my fathers house, it was seeing him die all over again. That house was a part of him.

Alvarez, 54, is one of thousands of farmers and workers on Spains La Palma island whose livelihoods have been put in jeopardy by the destruction wrecked by volcano that is still going strong six weeks after the ground first broke open on Sept. 19.

The regional government of the Canary Islands, an archipelago including La Palma located off the coast of northwest Africa, estimates that the volcano has already caused 100 million euros ($116 million) in losses for the islands banana industry. Over 390 acres (158 hectares) of land used for banana farming have been covered by molten rock, and more than 700 additional acres (300 hectares) have been cut off after roads on the island's western side were enveloped by lava.

The banana growers association for the Canary Islands, ASPROCAN, estimates that around 1,500 of the islands 5,000 owners of banana plantations have been hurt. Most owners have small patches of a few acres. Many, like Alvarez, have seen their land burnt and crushed. Others have lost harvests because they can't get to their trees. And many more have seen their product become unmarketable due to the volcanic ash that has ruined the banana peels.

It's been an shock wave for an industry that provides 30% of the economic life of the island, according to regional government statistics. There are entire businesses dedicated to packing and transporting the fruit, which, along with tourism, keeps La Palma going.

They say it has wiped out 10% of the islands economy. I think it is more. It wasnt just the bananas, or the apartments, or the bed and breakfasts, it has taken everything, Alvarez said. What has happened to us has happened to 90% of the people here.

La Palma, an island of 85,000, is the second-largest producer of banana for the eight-member archipelago, which at its nearest point is 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Morocco. Last year it produced 148,000 tons of the local banana, most of which were shipped to Spains mainland. While usually more expensive than imported bananas from Latin America and Africa, the smaller Canary Island banana is often preferred for its sweeter taste and meatier texture.

Authorities have pledged financial aid to help the sector and fund furloughs for workers. They have also promised to revise a law that says that new land formed by the lava is property of the state.

Desalination plants have been shipped in to supply the water-dependent banana trees at points where lava flows have wrecked the irrigation systems. The islands government has asked for the military to consider taking farmers in by boat to tend to farms that have been isolated by the rivers of lava.

The lava, however, keeps spewing from the Cumbre Vieja ridge, threatening to widen and consume more land as it churns its way downward to the Atlantic, where a new patch of lava land is forming.

The house of farmer Jesus Perez is still at risk, but for him the most important property he owns is already gone.

I would have prefered to lose my house instead of my banana trees, the 56-year-old Perez said. The trees give you life, the house gives you nothing. I have sacrificed all my life, and for what, nothing?

___

Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  The Democratic primary to replace late Democratic U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings was too close to call Tuesday night after most of the votes had been counted in the South Florida district.

With nearly 99% of the vote counted, fewer than 100 votes separated the two leaders in a field of 11 Democrats. Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness and health care company CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick led the crowded primary, each with nearly 24% of the vote.

Businessman Jason Mariner won the Republican primary, defeating Greg Musselwhite, but is considered a longshot to win the general election in the overwhelmingly Democratic district that includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Hastings was first elected in 1992. The other nine Democrats seeking the nomination were state House Democratic Leader Bobby DuBose, state Rep. Omari Hardy, state Sen. Perry Thurston, Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief, author and former National Urban League chief of staff Elvin Dowling, retired Navy petty officer Phil Jackson, business consulting firm founder Emmanuel Morel and physician Dr. Imran Uddin Siddiqui.

Democrat Patricia Robinson of Miramar said with such a large field, it was a difficult choice. She voted for Holness because she felt he will be more pragmatic in what he can achieve in a divided Congress.

We really need true servants with realistic goals for the people to make things better for this country, she said.

Turnout was about 16%. The district is more than 61% Democratic and about 13% Republican. In the 2020 election, Hastings earned 78.7% of the vote to defeat Republican Greg Musselwhite, whom Mariner defeated in this year's primary.

Cherfilus-McCormick loaned her campaign more than $3.7 million and has far outspent the other Democrats in the race. Sharief was the second-highest spender as of mid-October, with about $700,000 in expenditures.

Heading into Election Day, out of the more than 345,000 eligible primary voters, nearly 33,000 Democrats and more than 4,000 Republicans had already cast votes.

Republican Kevin Cerino, who voted for the GOP's Mariner, readily acknowledged that the seat will absolutely go to the Democratic winner.

It is what it is, said Cerino, who didn't sound enthusiastic about his choice. "Mariner seems to be slightly less of a clown than the other guy running. This kind of district that's so overwhelmingly Democratic, you're not going to get a quality candidate.

The district is nearly 54% Black. Every Democrat on the ballot is a person of color, while the two Republicans are white.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Facebook says it has removed a post by Ethiopias prime minister that urged citizens to rise up and bury the rival Tigray forces who now threaten the capital as the countrys war reaches the one-year mark.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds post on Sunday violated the platforms policies against inciting and supporting violence, spokeswoman Emily Cain for Facebooks parent company, Meta, told The Associated Press. It was taken down on Tuesday morning, she said.

The obligation to die for Ethiopia belongs to all of us, Abiy said in the now-deleted post that called on citizens to mobilize by holding any weapon or capacity.

Abiy is still regularly posting on the platform, where he has 3.5 million followers. The United States and others have warned Ethiopia about dehumanizing rhetoric after the prime minister in comments in July described the Tigray forces as cancer and weeds.

Facebook has removed posts from world leaders before, although in rare circumstances. Earlier this year, the company deleted a video from U.S. President Donald Trump in which he peddled false claims about election fraud following a deadly skirmish at the U.S. Capitol. Facebook said at the time the video contributed to the risk of ongoing violence. Just last week, the tech platform yanked a live broadcast from Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro because he made false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Spokeswoman Cain did not say how Facebook was made aware of the Ethiopia post, which the Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister made as Tigray forces took control of key cities over the weekend that put them in position to move down a major highway toward the capital, Addis Ababa.

Alarmed, Abiys government this week declared a national state of emergency with sweeping powers of detention and military conscription. The prime minister repeated his call to bury the Tigray forces in public comments on Wednesday as he and other officials marked one year of war.

Meanwhile, Ethiopias highly polarized social media this week saw a number of high-profile posts targeting ethnic Tigrayans and even suggesting they be placed in concentration camps.

Thousands of people have been killed in the war between Ethiopian and allied forces and the Tigray ones who long dominated the national government before Abiy took office. The United Nations human rights chief said Wednesday they had received reports of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans being rounded up for detention in recent months.

Former Facebook product manager-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen last month singled out Ethiopia as an example of what she called the platforms destructive impact on society. My fear is that without action, divisive and extremist behaviors we see today are only the beginning, she told the Senate consumer protection subcommittee. What we saw in Myanmar and are seeing in Ethiopia are only the opening chapters of a story so terrifying, no one wants to read the end of it.

Meta spokeswoman Cain declined to say how many staffers they have on the ground in Ethiopia or dedicated to detecting violent speech in Ethiopia on its platform, but she said the company has the capability to review posts in Somali, Amharic, Oromo, and Tigrinya. She also said it has a team that includes people from Ethiopia or who have spent time in the country.

But Berhan Taye, a researcher in digital rights based in neighboring Kenya who tracks social media on Ethiopia and regularly escalates questionable posts to the Facebook platform, told the AP last week the platform wasnt moderating in the Tigrinya language, the language of Tigrayans, as recently as April.

Overall in Ethiopia, if you report (posts) on the platform, its very highly likely to get no reply at all, she said. From the amount we escalate, and the number of replies we get, that tells you their internal system is really limited.

___

Seitz reported from Columbus, Ohio.
POINTE-AUX-CHENES, Louisiana (AP)  On a boat ride along a bayou that shares the name of his Native American tribe, Donald Dardar points to a cross marking his ancestors south Louisiana burial ground  a place he fears will disappear.

He points to the partly submerged stumps of oak trees killed by salt water on land where he rode horses as a kid, and to his mothers home, gutted by Hurricane Ida. He and his wife have a mission: protecting Pointe-aux-Chenes and other communities at risk in a state that loses about a football field's worth of wetlands every 100 minutes.

For years, Donald and Theresa Dardar have joined forces with the Rev. Kristina Peterson. Working with scientists and members of Pointe-au-Chien and two other tribes, theyve set out thousands of oyster shells to protect sacred mounds, obtained financing to refill abandoned oil field canals and built an elevated greenhouse to save their plants and medicinal herbs from flooding.

Its saving what we know thats going to be destroyed from both the change of the heat and the rising of the water, said Peterson, the pastor of Bayou Blue Presbyterian Church in Gray, Louisiana, and a former professor of environmental planning at the University of New Orleans.

Their vital work to save their bayou home and heritage is part of a broader trend around the world of faith leaders and environmental activists increasingly joining the fight against climate change. From Hindu groups joining river cleanups and Sikh temples growing pesticide-free food, to Muslim imams and Buddhist monks organizing tree-planting campaigns, the movement knows no denominational boundaries but shares as a driving force a moral imperative to preserve what they see as a divinely given environment for future generations.

But some of them believe systemic change to protect those most vulnerable to the climate crisis must also come from world leaders meeting at the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

Its up to them to step up to the plate and do what theyre supposed to do, Theresa Dardar said at the tribal center where she handed out supplies to members of her tribe and others who lost their homes after Hurricane Ida hit the small fishing community 80 miles (about 130 kilometers) southwest of New Orleans.

Its up to you not to just give lip service, but to take action against climate change and sea level rise, said Dardar, a longtime religion teacher at a local Catholic church and head of the environmental nonprofit Lowlander Center.

Pope Francis and dozens of religious leaders recently signed a joint appeal to governments to commit to targets at the Oct. 31-Nov. 12 summit in Glasgow. The summit aims to secure more ambitious commitments to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius with a goal of keeping it to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The event also is focused on mobilizing financing and protecting threatened communities and natural habitats.

Louisiana holds 40% of U.S. wetlands, but theyre disappearing fast  about 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) of the state have been lost since the 1930s. Thats about 80% of the nations wetland losses, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Peterson arrived in Pointe-aux-Chenes in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew, following a call to link scientists with communities hit by storms, sinking land and sea rise from climate change. Through the Lowlander Center that she co-founded, she worked to protect sacred sites from coastal erosion, refill canals dug by oil companies that allow for saltwater intrusion and build the greenhouse set to open in October. Instead, it was repurposed as a food pantry supply room after Ida.

Theres been so much that has been interrupted ... and these are all critical, critical things, Peterson said.

Were not going to wait on world leaders to take action. Were doing it now, she said. With Theresa Dardar, theyre part of the Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Change Coalition, which includes Buddhist, Bahai, Christian, Jewish and other faith leaders.

Theyve also worked closely with Chief Shirell Parfait-Dardar of the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians. She's the first woman to lead her tribe and the only Indigenous woman on the Louisiana governors climate change task force. Last year, her tribe and Pointe-au-Chien were among those that filed a formal complaint to the U.N. in Geneva, saying the U.S. government violated their human rights by failing to act on climate change.

We should be caring for Mother Earth, not abusing her. This is a result of all of the abuse that weve done to her, she said, tearing up and pointing to her home, destroyed by Ida. If we dont listen to the science, if we dont listen to the wisdom of the elders, were going to ... keep seeing these massive amounts of destruction.

Religious communities are crucial in the fight against climate change, said Nathan Jessee, a researcher at Princetons High Meadows Environmental Institute who has worked with the areas Indigenous communities.

Theres a long history of faith-based leaders and Indigenous peoples being at the forefront of these struggles for environmental justice, Jessee said. Together, he said, theyve demonstrated the fight for clean air and water is a moral and spiritual struggle.

For many faith leaders, preserving the environment is part of their mandate to care for communities most vulnerable to climate change. Its a call that Pope Francis has made often, most broadly in a 2015 encyclical, Praised Be. It has been echoed by imams, rabbis, patriarchs and pastors who share how their faith traditions interpreted the call.

People of color, the poor, women, children and the elderly suffer the worst climate change impacts, said the Rev. Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest, and executive director of GreenFaith, a global multi-faith environmental organization based in New York. For religious people, that is utterly unacceptable, he said.

On the invitation of Indigenous communities, more than 150 faith leaders gathered in Washington last month to pressure President Joe Biden to stop new fossil fuel projects.

GreenFaith organized other actions across the globe: In Fiji, the leader of the Pacific Council of Churches was photographed on an island which goes underwater at high tide because of rising sea levels. In Jakarta, Indonesia, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia unfurled a banner that read: Destroying the planet is haram"  forbidden. In Australia, religious groups protested against coal production and urged the prime minister to undertake bold climate action.

The biggest plus in terms of where we are now is that there is an impatient, feisty, unstoppable grassroots movement, Harper said.

Religious groups including the World Council of Churches also have joined the fossil fuel divestment movement. This isnt just a stunt, said Harper, whose organization has backed such faith-based efforts since 2013. He said it evolved from a symbolic gesture to a key road map into the future.

Not all religious decision makers are on board with divestment nor is every member of a faith tradition of like mind. In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the general assembly voted in 2018 to continue engaging with fossil fuel companies it holds stock in.

The issue is expected to be raised again in the 2022 general assembly. The concern with divestment was that there wasnt anything in there for the transition of workers  to go into alternative energies, Peterson said.

Not all the faithful believe in renewable energy or even accept the science behind global warming.

White evangelical Christians are some of the most suspicious of climate science and the least accepting of solutions to address it, said the Rev. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, vice president of the Evangelical Environmental Network. His ministry navigates that suspicion by connecting climate science to faith rather than politics, emphasizing authority of scripture and sanctity of human life.

We dont do this because were Democrats or Republicans. We dont even do this some of us because were environmentalists, Meyaard-Schapp said. Were doing this because were Christians and we think that this is just part of what it means to follow Jesus in the 21st century."

That same belief guided volunteers from Churches of Christ who recently brought boxes of food to the tribal center in Pointe-aux-Chenes. A month after Ida, piles of debris, wrecked boats and destroyed homes lined the bayou that runs through the town. Many were living in cars and tents.

The scripture tells us that were supposed to be good stewards of what God gave us, said Jaime Green, a volunteer from New Orleans who often speaks about climate change at the Elysian Fields Church of Christ led by her husband.

As a faith community, we have to be teaching our congregations and our children, generations to come that they need to take care of what we have, and preserve it as much as we can  and even work to undo some of the damage.

___

AP journalists Holly Meyer in Nashville, Tennessee, Nicole Winfield in Rome, and Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans, contributed to this report. Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Connecticut will likely see a flood of applicants interested in selling adult-use recreational marijuana, and the number of available licenses could impact the price of the product, a presenter told a state board Tuesday.

In Washington, officials did not allocate enough time between licensing producers and licensing retailers, which led to an initial cannabis shortage followed by an oversaturated market, Rick Garza, director of Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, told Connecticuts Social Equity Council. Washington legalized recreational marijuana in 2012.

I dont know what the pool is or the number of producer licenses or retail licenses you plan to make available, but its very likely  that there will be many, many more applications than youll expect, Garza told council members during a presentation.

The Social Equity Council is charged with ensuring the adult-use program is equitable and that funds from the program are brought back to the communities hit hardest by the war on drugs, according to the states website.

Washington left six months between production and the opening of retail stores, Garza said. Initially, when the shops opened, eager consumers bought up the available supply.

This drove prices up to $30 a gram at one point. Then, when production caught up, there was more supply than demand. Prices dropped to less than the cost on the illicit market, he added.

We had overwhelmed the illicit market, he said.

Melissa McCaw, secretary of the Office of Budget and Policy Management and an ex-officio member of the council, asked if a process of phasing in more applicants more slowly may have helped. She said Connecticut is considering such a procedure.

Garza said that could help the process in Connecticut, which is expecting a significant volume on the application front, according to a note on the meeting agenda.

Washington expected about 100 applications. The state received 2,858, Garza said.

Garza also emphasized a need for grants for technical assistance for applicants. Without that help, wealthier applicants have an added advantage because they can hire attorneys to guide them through the process, he said.

People who have the money will have lawyers to help them get through the application, he said.

McCaw reemphasized the importance of the assistance, particularly for disadvantaged communities.

We want them to be on the starting line, ready to go, she said.

Two Hartford residents who said they planned to apply for licenses and thought theyd qualify as social equity applicants, asked when the applications would be open.

George Sutherland, one of the men who spoke during the public comment session, said he had a business plan, financing, potential locations and possible partnerships in place already.

Half of all licenses awarded through a lottery process will be social equity applicants, which will be determined by income and whether the applicant was a resident of a disproportionately impacted area.

The council is setting guidelines for what documentation applicants will need to verify qualifcations.

While its not certain when applications will be open, Andrea Comer, the councils interim deputy commissioner, said shes hopeful the council will decide on guidelines next month. Then, once the Department of Consumer Protection sets the number of applicants, a 30-day window will open, she said.

Social equity applications will open within that window, as will applications for businesses with medical licenses that want to apply for hybrid licenses that allow them to also sell recreational products, Comer said.
BEIJING (AP)  This week's global climate talks in Scotland and the recent G-20 summit in Rome aren't the only international meetings that China's leader has not attended in person. Xi Jinping hasn't left China in nearly 22 months, since January 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first exploded.

His absence drew criticism from U.S. President Joe Biden and questions about Chinas commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. China, the worlds biggest emitter, has pledged to begin reducing its output by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. The U.S. and others have urged China to advance those goals, but it has balked so far.

We made our promises and we honor our promises with actions, China climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said in Glasgow, blaming America's now-reversed withdrawal from the Paris climate accord under former President Donald Trump for a wasted five years" in tackling climate change.

China may not be ready to offer any new initiatives on climate, but Xis non-appearance also reflects the ruling Communist Party's zero tolerance approach to controlling the coronavirus. After being the first country overwhelmed with the disease in early 2019, it has stamped out its reappearances with strict lockdowns, quarantines and travel restrictions.

The government has gone to great lengths to protect Xi and other leaders from COVID-19. He has met other world leaders and attended global meetings, but only by video link from China. Xi doesnt normally give news conferences, but other leaders such as Premier Li Keqiang have met with the media only by video, and even then, journalists have had to test negative for COVID-19 to participate remotely.

Xi last left China in January 2020 for a trip to neighboring Myanmar. That was shortly before the outbreak, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, started to spread widely worldwide. China has come under pressure from the U.S. and others to reveal more information about the origin of the pandemic and has been accused of mismanaging the initial outbreak and then seeking to cover up its mistakes.

The pandemic has given Xi a convenient excuse not to travel at a time when China faces heavy criticism of its policies toward Muslims in its Xinjiang region and its crackdown on individual rights in Hong Kong. Chinese leaders are extremely image conscious and Xi's public appearances are carefully choreographed to avoid potentially embarrassing confrontations.

His current stay-at-home approach contrasts with a formerly heavy travel schedule that took him across continents as he tried to boost China's international profile. First lady Peng Liyuan, an accomplished musician, was often on hand to add a bit of glamor and a human touch.

He met with the then-Japanese emperor in Tokyo, rode a gilded carriage with Britains Queen Elizabeth and paid a visit to North Koreas capital that included a ride through city streets lined by tens of thousands of cheering citizens.

Such travels have underscored a more assertive foreign policy under Xi, as the world's second-largest economy seeks to extend its influence beyond East Asia with his signature Belt and Road" overseas infrastructure investment program.

Xi isn't alone in skipping the meetings in Rome and Glasgow. Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has aligned with China in opposing U.S. influence in world affairs, also remained at home.

I think its been a big mistake, quite frankly, for China, with respect to China not showing up," Biden said Monday at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

Responding to the U.S. president's remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Wednesday that China's response to climate change is concrete, pointing to recent achievements in reforestation and renewable energy.

Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said that friction in bilateral relations is complicating cooperation between the two countries on climate change.

Biden has taken the Glasgow climate meeting as an important occasion for China and the U.S. to compete for global influence, ideology and image," said Shi, who attributed Xi's absence to China's zero tolerance approach to dealing with the pandemic.

Xi has remained in contact with foreign heads of state through virtual meetings, said Zhao Kejin, who teaches international relations at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

The U.S. wants Chinese cooperation in responding to climate change, but Beijing is looking for changes in U.S. policy, including its support for the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, Zhao said.

This result was produced by the U.S. failing to integrate ties with China into its overall multilateral relationships," Zhao said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that Xi's absence doesnt mean the Chinese are not engaging in the fight against climate change, but added that he wants China to do more to slash carbon emissions. He told reporters that China had made a substantial commitment and praised Beijings decision to end financing for overseas coal plants, though not yet at home.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)  Governments and big investors announced fresh plans Wednesday to pour trillions of dollars into curbing global warming, reflecting the financial world's growing embrace of efforts to fight climate change as both a business necessity and opportunity.

But some social justice activists called for scrutiny of investors' motives, warning that the same financial institutions that profited from funding fossil fuel firms were now being presented as green champions.

There is a growing consensus that the private sector must be involved if the world is to avoid catastrophic global warming. Speaking at the U.N. climate summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow, Britains Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said that while countries such as his are stumping up more cash to fund the shift to low carbon economies around the world, public investment alone isnt enough.

He praised a pledge Wednesday by a group of over 450 major financial institutions to align their investments with the 2015 Paris climate accord  which calls for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and other efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

This is a historic wall of capital for the net-zero transition around the world, Sunak said at the conference known as COP26.

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero  launched this year by former Bank of England chief Mark Carney  promised to follow scientific guidelines for cutting carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

That goal  which means limiting greenhouse gas emissions to the amount that can be absorbed again through natural or artificial ways  is increasingly being embraced by companies and governments around the world.

Experts say fossil fuel use has to drop drastically over the coming decade to cap warming at 1.5C, meaning investors would likely have to dramatically cut back money going to oil, gas and coal producers.

It is huge that financial institutions managing $130 trillion in assets are now leading the charge to a net-zero future, said Helen Mountford, a senior climate expert at the World Resources Institute think tank.

She said that mobilizing massive public and private finance will be key to tackling global warming.

To that end, Sunak said U.K. financial institutions and publicly traded companies will be required to publish plans detailing how green their investments and their own businesses are  in order to ensure theyre actually contributing to reductions in global warming.

As home to the City of London, one of the worlds major financial centers, the U.K. has a responsibility to lead the way in financing efforts to fight global warming, said Sunak, potentially becoming the worlds first net-zero aligned financial center.

But James Thornton, founder of the environmental law charity ClientEarth, questioned how effective the U.K. effort would be.

The U.K. market is still hooked on fossil fuels, he said, calling for a task force to ensure companies don't greenwash their activities  that is, using high-profile announcements of so-called green initiatives to mask other dirty activities. Experts also caution there are various ways to calculate net zero  and deciding on one standard definition is one of the big challenges going forward.

Some campaigners were distrustful of the motives of big investors in general.

Many of the financial institutions meeting today have made a killing from the climate and ecological crisis, and we should be deeply suspicious of any attempt to spin them as the heroes," said Dorothy Guerrero, head of policy at the nongovernmental group Global Justice Now. Governments must regulate the process and lead the transition, instead of just handing it over the corporations.

But Alok Sharma, the British official chairing the talks in Glasgow, insisted the shift was genuine.

What we have seen over the last few years is a big move in the private sector and the financial services sector to go green, he said, adding that this was not the case when he became a financial advisor in the 1990s. "I do believe it is now mainstream.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen noted one of the reasons that may be the case: She described combatting climate change as both a huge financial challenge, with a price tag of $100 trillion, but also "the greatest economic opportunity of our time.

Many renewables are now cheaper than carbon-based fuel alternatives and have lower long-term operating costs, she said. In many cases, it's simply cost effective to go green.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order earlier this year aimed at requiring companies to disclose climate-related financial risks.

Investing with an eye on the environment has been one of the biggest trends reshaping the financial industry for years, graduating from niche to a major force.

Around the world, $35.3 trillion was invested in sustainable funds at the start of 2020, according to the most recent data from the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. That accounted for nearly $36 of every $100 invested under professional management, and it includes everything from funds that directly finance environmentally friendly projects to funds that simply refuse to buy shares of the most-polluting companies.

While thats still the minority of all investments, its been growing faster than other areas of the market. Four years earlier, sustainable investments accounted for less than $28 of every $100.

But an analysis of the holdings of 130 climate-themed funds this summer by London-based think tank InfluenceMap found more than half weren't as green as they purported to be. Some that were classified as fossil fuel restricted owned shares of oil refiners and distributors, for example.

Alina Averchenkova, an expert on climate change policy at the London School of Economics, said the announcements by investors and governments were an important step in the right direction  but independent audits would be required going forward.

She also noted the growing urgent need for rich nations to fund climate-related projects in parts of the world that can't afford the measures themselves.

We need finance to help developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change, for example, to adapt to increased flooding to extreme weather events such as hurricanes, she said.

Poorer countries were angered last month by news that wealthy nations had failed to meet a previous commitment to provide them with $100 billion in climate finance each year by 2020.

That target is now expected to be met in 2023.

___

Kirka reported from London. Business writer Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.

___

Follow APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate.
Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from the Congress party and announced a new party 'Punjab Lok Congress' ahead of Punjab Assembly elections.

Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from the Congress party and announced a new party Punjab Lok Congress ahead of Punjab Assembly elections.



I have today sent my resignation to @INCIndia President Ms Sonia Gandhi ji, listing my reasons for the resignation. Punjab Lok Congress is the name of the new party. The registration is pending approval with the @ECISVEEP. The party symbol will be approved later, Amarinder Singh tweeted. Singh had resigned in September as the chief minister and had announced that he will be quitting the Congress after months of a rift with Congress state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.

He had resigned ahead of Congress legislature party meeting which was called amid unending factional battles in the ruling Congress in the state. Singh was replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi as the chief minister of the state.
China's efforts for the modernisation of nuclear weapons and delivery systems are gaining momentum at a fast pace. In this effort, China is developing road-mobile ICBMs, nuclear submarines besides the Silo based ICBMs, reported the International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS).

Posing a threat to the globe, China is constructing silos for Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBMs) at three strategically crucial sites besides the existing ones. This has rung the alarm bells across the globe as it is suspected to be for the development of silo-based ICBM, a missile with a range of 5500 km designed for the delivery of nuclear weapons. Chinas efforts for the modernisation of nuclear weapons and delivery systems are gaining momentum at a fast pace. In this effort, China is developing road-mobile ICBMs, nuclear submarines besides the Silo based ICBMs, reported the International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS).



The satellite images revealed the rise in the construction of silos by the country at Yumen, Hami and Hanggin Banner besides the abundant silos existing at Jilantai. Yumen has reportedly around 120 missile silos spreading on around 1,813 km2. Each site is separated from the other by 3 km and concealed by dome-like covering. The pace of construction gained momentum after February 2021. Hami has a missile field of around 800 km2. Each silo is distanced at 3 km from the other. This field has the potential to construct 110 silos, according to IFFRAS.



Hanggin Banner has 29 possible silo construction sites similar in terms of spacing between the two silos. Hangging Banner is at an advantageous location when compared to the other two sites because of its proximity to PLARFs central warhead handling and storage facility located in Taibai County, Baoji, Shaanxi. This provides the warhead readiness to the troops.



The 280 missile silos are the indication of Chinas augmentation of the inventory of its delivery systems and the stocking of a nuclear warhead. Consequently, the possibility of China resuming the production of weapons-grade fissile material or the diversion of the material from its civilian nuclear facilities is high. The diversion of the fissile material would remove the biggest constraint on Chinas warhead stockpiling capacity, which would pose a security threat to the entire globe, according to IFFRAS. There is a grave need to monitor the developments in China continuously because of its potential to trigger an arms race causing a threat to global security, according to IFFRAS.
At the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, PM Modi delivered a "seminal" statement at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) and highlighted the range and depth of climate actions taken by India along with future goals that the country has set for itself.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached New Delhi after concluding his five-day foreign visit to Italy and the UK on Wednesday where he enhanced Indias self-declared renewable energy commitments at COP26 in Glasgow and outlined Indias position on global issues at G20 Summit. At the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, PM Modi delivered a seminal statement at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) and highlighted the range and depth of climate actions taken by India along with future goals that the country has set for itself. During his COP26 address on Monday, Prime Minister Modi announced five amrit tatva including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070. He declared that India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030. Highlighting Indias efforts to combat climate change, PM Modi stated that India is the only major economy that has worked and delivered on the Paris commitments both in letter and spirit.



He also participated in the Build Back Better for the World (B3W) event and laid stress on four aspects in infrastructure creation including sustainable and transparent finance that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi and British Prime Minister Johnson launched the Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative in Glasgow. The launch was part of the India-UK Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).



PM Modi also attended the launch event of Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States and announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will build a special data window for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring through satellite.



The 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) is the first major summit that was held physically, where more than 120 countries participated after the COVID-19 pandemic. PM Modi also held various bilateral meetings with several heads of the state on the sidelines of the G20. He met German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Pope Francis, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.



In Rome, Prime Minister also met Indonesia President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister also met French President Emmanuel Macron. Emmanuel Macron and the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership. Departing from Glasgow after two days of intense discussions about the future of our planet. India has not only exceeded the Paris commitments but has now also set an ambitious agenda for the next 50 years, tweeted PM Modi.
The EUL risk-benefit assessment is essential for granting emergency use authorisation(EUA) to the Covid-19 vaccine by the global health body. Bharat Biotech has been submitting data to WHO on a rolling basis.

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of the World Health Organisation(WHO) might take a call on assessing Covaxin for the Emergency Use Listing(EUL) today. The EUL risk-benefit assessment is essential for granting emergency use authorisation(EUA) to the Covid-19 vaccine by the global health body. Earlier on October 26, the WHO, unsatisfied by the information submitted by Bharat Biotech, had sought additional information from the manufacturer by November 3. Before that, additional clarifications from Bharat Biotech was submitted for the EUL risk-benefit assessment on September 27. Bharat Biotech has been submitting data to WHO on a rolling basis.

In early October, WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan had said that the UN health bodys technical advisory group will meet on October 26 to consider Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for Covaxin.Last week, WHO had said a vaccine recommended by it for emergency use must be evaluated thoroughly. We are aware that many people are waiting for WHOs recommendation for Covaxin to be included in the COVID19 Emergency Use Listing, but we cannot cut corners  before recommending a product for emergency use, we must evaluate it thoroughly to make sure it is safe and effective, the UN health body had said.



Covaxin, Indias first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, is developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.
NEW HAVEN  Democrat Mayor Justin rolled to a second term Tuesday, defeating Republican Town Chairman John Carlson by a vote of 9,867 to 1,582 according to an unofficial count, in a relatively quiet election marked by light turnout.

That amounts to more than 84 percent of the vote to Carlsons 13.9 percent.

I think we might have won this thing, Elicker told supporters and media gathered in an outdoor tent at The Temple Grill downtown. We crushed it! We crushed it!

Elicker pointed out that when he took office in 2020, the city was running a huge deficit and facing severe income inequality  but it is now reaching a point where can begin planning a better future.

We as a city have accomplished so much, Elicker said, pointing out that nearly 75 percent of residents have now received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.

The city has seen the amount of Payment in Lieu of Taxes funding it receives from the state more than double, rising by $49.6 million from a previous formula that would have provided $41 million, to a new total of more than $90 million, he said.

We stabilized our finances and we are receiving a tremendous amount of funds to our city in federal American Recovery Plan funds, Elicker said. Were finally at a point where we are not raising taxes and making cuts each year, he said.

Over the next term, Elicker vowed to step-up New Havens efforts to combat climate change, as well as its commitment to city youth, including investing vocational and technical training.

He also vowed to rise to the challenge posed by increased street violence, including fighting it at its root causes, so we can make sure that everyone has the ability to thrive.

Asked about the citys relationship with Yale University, Elicker pointed out that Yale President Peter Salovey said in a speech over the weekend that Yale had an interest in contributing more to the city  and said he is looking forward to that.

Elicker congratulated Democratic City Town Clerk Michael Smart and Board of Education member Edward Joyner, who both also won by similar margins, defeating Republicans Anthony Acri III and James OConnell, respectively.

I also want to take a minute to congratulate John Carlson on running a very professional campaign, Elicker said, joined by his wife, Natalie, and daughters Molly, 6, and April, 3  and thanking all three of them. Carlson earlier had called Elicker to congratulate him, Elicker said.

Elicker also thanked Karen DuBois-Walton, who mounted an initial challenge for the Democratic nomination but ended it without taking it to a primary.

Carlson, reached by phone later, said he was disappointed with the results.

Hopefully, our city improves, as we are not keeping our citizens safe, he said.

Also in the race were an independent candidate Hill resident Mayce V. Torres, who received 139 votes, and at least one write-in candidate, Morris Cove resident Gabriela Campos. Campos total was not immediately available.

Other contested races included alder races in six wards.

The contested alder races included Ward 11, where Democrat Renee Haywood beat Republican Gail Roundtree; Ward 13, where Democratic incumbent Rosa Ferraro-Santana faced Republican Deborah Reyes and Green Party candidate Patricia Kane; Ward 17, where Democrat Salvatore Punzo beat Republican AnneMarie Rivera-Berrios; Ward 18, where Democratic incumbent Salvatore DeCola defeated Republican Steven Orosco; Ward 20, where Democrat Devin Avshalom-Smith faced petitioning candidate Addie Kimbrough, and Ward 26, where Democratic incumbent Darryl Brackeen Jr. beat Republican Joshua Van Hoesen.

Election Moderator Kevin Arnold said only about 60 people took advantage of same-day registration as of 6 p.m. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday there had been a total of 902 absentee ballots cast, he said. They had not yet been counted.

In past elections, especially in presidential election years, the process has been a disaster, with hundreds of people, primarily Yale students, delayed for hours and the lines to process them wrapped around the atrium in City Hall and up the stairs to the second floor.

Arnold said he was not aware of any problems in this election. He said voting appeared to be light, although turnout was heavier where there were contested aldermanic seats.

The City Town Clerks office had received 544 absentee ballots as of Saturday received another 358 by 8 p.m. Tuesday, for a total of 902, Arnold said. In 2020, the city tallied 14,444 absentee ballots for the presidential election when residents, for the first time, could take advantage of relaxed rules because of the pandemic, something also in effect this year.

Elicker, 45, won his first term by defeating former incumbent Mayor Toni Harp in both a Democratic primary and the general election in 2019. He is the former executive director of the New Haven Land Trust and a former East Rock alder. He said before the election that he didnt think at the local level that most people differentiate based on a candidates political party.

I think they care about public safety, having good quality municipal services, Elicker said  and he said he knows that because hes out listening to people all the time, not just at election time.

He said they particularly care about issues like gun violence, making sure that absentee landlords are accountable  and its important that people feel like theres more opportunity for every New Haven resident, that the city can play a roll in supporting the residents that are struggling the most.

Were making a lot of progress, Elicker said.

Elicker said during the campaign that he was proud of the way New Haven responded to the pandemic.

He said his administration has been able to accomplish a number of things that no previous administration was able to accomplish. He cited the opening this past year of a new reentry center to make sure that anyone released from prison is dropped off somewhere where they can immediately be connected with services to help them adjust.

Carlson, the citys first Republican candidate for mayor since H. Richter Elser ran against Mayor John DeStefano Jr. in 2007, had sought to be the first Republican mayor elected in New Haven since Democrat Richard C. Lee defeated Republican Mayor William Celentano in 1953  68 years ago.

In a city with a nearly 14 to 1 Democratic edge in voter registration, Carlson, 52, always knew he faced a difficult task. As RTC chairman, he considered running a candidate for mayor  and as many other offices as they could  part of an effort to rebuild the local GOP.

Carlson, a divorced father of two grown daughters who grew up in the Hill section, teaches fourth grade at John Winthrop School in Bridgeport and lives on Greenwich Avenue on the seam between City Point and the Hill. He has said the major issues facing New Haven are safety, education and fiscal responsibility.

I think weve seen that in past elections when people havent had a choice and only 20-25 percent of eligible voters turn out, Carlson said prior to the election. This time, I hope we have a change.

... Were not going to see change in the city until we have democracy and have politicians fighting for votes, he said. So I hope my campaign and other campaigns encourage people to come out and get involved in the Democratic process, and in the future we see things change.

Every political candidate should have a challenger, Carlson said.

Mary OLeary contributed to this story.
PHOENIX (AP)  Kisha Gulley was once kicked out of a Facebook group for mothers with autistic children after a contentious debate she felt was racial. Over and over, she clashed with the white-dominated groups shed sought out for support as a new mom.

So Gulley, who is Afro Latina, started her own parenting blog and social media accounts. Its now a source of income for her.

The multibillion-dollar world of sleep training guides, toddler activity ideas, breastfeeding tips and all things parenting has traditionally been overwhelmingly white. Parenting book jackets feature mostly white faces. The so-called mom influencers that brands choose to advertise their products have, until recently, also been mostly white.

This has left a hole for women of color  especially new moms  who struggle to find culturally relevant parenting advice and products.

Increasingly, they're taking matters into their own hands.

If I can't find it, thats when we have to start creating that for ourselves. I knew I couldnt be the only person that had these questions, said Gulley, who lives in Phoenix.

When she learned her firstborn son was autistic, Gulley dove deeply into research, digging for any resources that might help her family. And even though there was a lot of information out there, there were small but significant questions that many experts couldn't answer.

How, for example, could she comb through her son's thickly-textured hair without triggering his sensory issues? What's a good sunscreen to use on dark skin that doesn't leave white residue?

It was a frustrating time for her that climaxed in the Facebook group when she felt that several white women were dismissive and rude to a Black mom who had sought advice about how to talk to her family about her child's autism diagnosis. The women didn't grasp that in some communities of color, older generations can be apprehensive about autism and tend to think issues come down to behavior and discipline. Gulley defended the mom, and was kicked out of the group.

She grew her own social media presence soon after, and now makes a living from it, earning more now than she did in her 15 years as a flight attendant, she said.

For Stacey Ferguson, the need for diverse parenting voices has been top of mind for many years. She struggled to find online forums and communities that resonated with her experiences as a Black mother.

Ferguson, a lawyer by training who is now a business owner, co-founded Blogalicious along with two other women 12 years ago. The organization and annual conference helped women of color monetize and grow their blogs.

The first Blogalicious conference drew 177 people; by the time Ferguson decided to shut them down in 2017, 500 people attended each year.

There really was like this feeling of magic in the room. And what we were really surprised about was that a lot of brands were really interested to come and meet our community, Ferguson said.

Over the years, mommy bloggers have evolved into Instagram influencers. Carefully curated images accompany posts with tips on how to get a baby to sleep or teach them to feed themselves. Often, influencers advertise products they say moms might find helpful.

The trend was started mostly by white women and the brands that sought them out. Ferguson says the landscape is much more diverse now, and brands are more intentional about reaching a diverse range of parents.

But a problem persists. Marketing budgets are much more limited for multicultural targets than for general advertising, Ferguson said. Traditionally, white women have been paid to market to general audiences. That means a white mom could earn much more money marketing to an audience of all ethnicities and races than a woman who markets specifically to, say, Latina moms.

Its still that archaic way of looking at marketing, Ferguson said. The brands and the agencies that understand (the need to diversify) are making progress. The issue is that theres still so many that are behind.

Theres no consensus on just how much brands and companies spend on advertising or sponsoring through mom influencers, but several marketing experts said its in the billions each year.

Brands are just now catching up to the Latino and Black American markets, said Larry Chiagouris, a professor of marketing at Lubin School of Business at Pace University.

Chiagouris said the parenting influencer world has been dominated by white women because theyve been the majority in the past, but that hes increasingly seeing Latinas, Black and Asian American women joining the sphere.

Its like a chicken and an egg situation. Marketers want to spend money on Latino influencers, but you have to find them. Theres not as many as you might think, Chiagouris said.

Jacqueline Hernandez Lewis of Long Island, New York, began blogging nine years ago as a law student and military wife seeking a community.

After she became a mom, Hernandez Lewis, 33, wanted to find a space where Latinas and other moms of color felt empowered. When she went back to work after her first child, she struggled to adapt and wanted to find a way to spend more time at home while still earning income. She now has three little ones.

Hernandez Lewis earned $25 from her first sponsored post. Now, she earns anywhere between $700 to $3,000 per post, while also working full time.

Her recent Instagram posts feature ads for a line of Spanish-language books being republished by Disney Books; for a popular brand of baby wipes; and for Poise, which makes pads that postpartum women can use.

For Hernandez Lewis, its important that women of color have an online community and are represented, but its just as crucial that they reap the rewards of their buying power.

We deserve to be represented on the business side. Theres brands that havent been as inclusive as Id hoped, but a lot of brands are shifting and becoming more inclusive, Hernandez Lewis said. ___

Galvan covers issues impacting Latinos in the U.S. for the APs Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/astridgalvan.

___

This story was first published on November 1, 2021. It was updated on November 3, 2021, to make clear that Stacey Ferguson was a co-founder of Blogalicious.
HAMDEN  After a year of twists and turns leading up to a landmark election for Hamden, residents finally know who their next mayor will be.

Democrat Lauren Garrett won Tuesday, beating Republican Ron Gambardella and Independent Albert Al Lotto, who ran as a write-in candidate. Meanwhile, several Legislative Council races remained too close to call based on preliminary results, though Democrats were ahead.

This is not my win, this is all of our win. ... I wanna thank all of you for being here for me and being here for an amazing team, Garrett said after learning the results. She and supporters had gathered at her home and were celebrating the news.

We will make changes to Hamden together, she said.

Garrett got 6,144 votes to Gambardellas 5,052, according to unofficial vote counts provided by Garretts campaign, which did not include absentee ballot totals.

Its sad. Its rough to lose, its never fun, obviously. But I mean we ran a good campaign, we got our message out, this is what the voters decided they wanted, said Frank Musante, Gambardellas campaign manager. I dont think its the right choice but its the choice of the voters.

Thats how elections work, he said.

There were 372 votes cast for write-in mayoral candidates, according to preliminary totals reported by the New Haven Independent. In addition to Lottos write-in campaign, incumbent Mayor Curt Balzano Leng registered as a write-in candidate but did not actively campaign.

Despite his loss, Lotto struck a positive note after learning of Garretts win.

I appreciate the support from all of the residents and I am honored to have been a part of this race. I have met so many members of the community and I am looking forward to seeing the changes Lauren Garrett can bring, he said in a written statement. Congratulations to Hamden voters for using their voice.

As of 6 p.m., roughly 10,000 voters had turned out at the polls, or about 27 percent of those registered, according to the Secretary of the States Office, which shared the data on Twitter. Polls closed at 8 p.m.

In addition to a new mayor, Hamden also will get a new town clerk. Democrat Karimah Mickens name was the only one to appear on the ballot, and she won nearly 7,000 votes, according to the unofficial results.

Voters cast roughly 430 write-in votes for town clerk at the polls, according to preliminary totals provided by Democratic Town Chairman Sean Grace. Melinda Saller, a Democrat who lost to Mickens in the primary, ran a write-in campaign.

Preliminary votes put several candidates for Legislative Council in Districts 1, 2 and 8 neck and neck, though Democrats had a slight edge thanks in part to absentee ballots.

Frank LaDore, chairman of the Republican Town Committee, said he expected automatic recounts were likely in Districts 2 and 8.

Early unofficial results provided by the Garretts campaign manager, Brian Murphy, had Republican Pat Destito and Democrat Ted Stevens in a dead heat for the 8th District seat with 567 votes each. In District 2, incumbent Councilman Jeron Alston had 529 votes without absentee ballots counted, while Republican Nick DAmato had 502.

Councilwoman Kristen Zaehringer, D-1, received 430 votes to Republican Laura Santinos 402, according to unofficial results.

Absentee ballot counts provided by the registrars office put Democrats slightly ahead in all three of those races. Up by just seven votes, Stevens had the narrowest lead.

The absentees increased Alstons lead to 36 votes and Zaehringers to 40.

Obviously Im disappointed. They worked so hard. Everybody worked very hard, LaDore said. To lose by 1,100 for Ron, that was the best showing for a while (for a GOP mayoral candidate).

He had hoped the GOP would gain more seats, he said.

But incumbent Councilwoman Marjorie Bonadies, R-9, fended off a challenge from Democrat Nancy Hill, earning 1179 votes to Hills 762, per the tally from Murphy.

Councilman Adrian Webber, D-7, also appeared to have kept his seat despite a challenge from Republican Cecilia Ceci Shea. In Districts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, Democrats ran unopposed.

They also dominated in the at-large council races, winning four of the six seats available, the maximum possible for a single party.

At the polls earlier, a variety of issues affected how voters cast their ballots.

Maggie Brunsen, who voted at the Hamden Collaborative Learning Center on Circular Avenue in the early evening, said she was concerned about violence, especially among youth. She wanted to see more focus on the children, and something to give the teens the opportunity to be involved in.

That could be a skating rink, a pool, a community center or an educational opportunity. She voted for the Democratic slate, she said.

Im just hoping and praying that they do what they say theyre going to do, Brunsen said of the Democrats.

Not long before Brunsen cast her ballot, Shane Tenner walked out of Whitneyvilles polling location at 60 Putnam Ave. having also voted for Democrats. A top issue for the Hamden resident was LGBTQ+ rights, said Tenner.

Meanwhile, Alison Cunningham had town finances and affordable housing on her mind.

I think we need to have a conversation about affordable housing across Connecticut, she said, adding that discussions should revolve around who it serves and how to incorporate it.

As for finances, Cunningham hoped the new municipal leaders will be honest about the finances in this town, she said, declining to disclose whom she voted for.

Betty Forbes also did not wish to say how she cast her ballot, but she said she wanted to see more assistance for seniors and for young people seeking jobs.

She always votes, she said. Her grandfather taught her about the importance of voting, and she has tried to pass the message along to her own kids.

I dont care who you pick, Forbes tells them. Just go out and vote, because your vote (matters).

Tuesdays election came two months after a contentious three-way Democratic primary in which candidates endorsed by the partys town committee won in a landslide, beating a slate headed by Leng, the incumbent mayor, and another mayoral bid by newcomer Peter Cyr.

Three names also were expected to appear on the ballot in the general mayoral election, with Lotto having petitioned to run as an Independent. Lotto withdrew his name last month after reportedly receiving venomous messages, then reversed course and registered as a write-in candidate.

In addition to a win for Garrett, Democrats Katie Kiely, Cory OBrien, Laurie Sweet and incumbent Councilwoman Dominique Baez won at-large Legislative Council seats.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Betty Wetmore kept her seat with a preliminary vote total of 4,851, the fifth-highest of all the at-large candidates.

The sixth-highest vote-getter also will get a seat, but who that winner is was too close to call by deadline.

With six seats available, Democratic incumbent Melissa Kaplan-Charkow was reelected to the Board of Education alongside newcomers David Asbery, Mariam Khan and Siobhan Carter-David. Based on unofficial results, Republicans Austin Cesare and Kevin Shea also appeared to have secured enough votes to earn seats.

Democrat Reuel Parks beat Republican Jeffrey Cohen to fill a two-year Board of Education vacancy.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
HAMDEN  It was the closest the Republican Party has come in years to flipping three seats on the towns Legislative Council.

In a town where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans four-to-one, 12 of the councils 15 members are Democrats.

The party appears to have held onto that supermajority, albeit by narrow margins.

The race for the District 8 seat was close enough to trigger an automatic recount, which Democratic Registrar Rose Mentone said will take place Nov. 9.

At the end of election night, Democrat Ted Stevens led Republican Pat Destito by just seven votes.

A Republican has not held the eighth district seat in at least 20 years, according to past election results available on the towns website, which go back to 2001.

Before Destito, David Pecoraro came the closest to winning the seat of any Republican candidate in those elections. He lost to Democrat Jim Pascarella by 104 votes in 2013.

Other nail-biters Tuesday played out in Districts 1 and 2. In the first district, incumbent Councilwoman Kristen Zaehringer, a Democrat, beat Republican contender Laura Santino 470-430, according to results provided by the registrars office.

Meanwhile, Councilman Jeron Alston, D-2, beat Republican Nick DAmato 562 to 530

Both the first and second districts last elected Republican council members in 2009.

That year, Michael Iezzi, the son of the police commissioner of the same name, won the first district by seven votes. Republican candidate Gabriel Lupo won the second district seat by just under 100 votes.

How did the Republicans come so close to making a comeback this year?

It depends whom you ask.

Stevens, the Democrat who ran for the District 8 seat, believes some moderate Democrats may have voted Republican.

Headed by Democrat Lauren Garrett, who won her bid for mayor, the 2021 Democratic slate included several candidates who were endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

At a time when concerns about crime are high, Stevens thinks some voters were afraid Democrats would defund the police.

Unfortunately I think some voters believe that, he said.

Slashing the police budget is not on Stevens agenda, he said. While Garrett historically has supported changes to policing, Stevens noted she promised to fill all 105 Police Department positions the town is contractually obligated to have.

The GOP used scare tactics in its campaign, Stevens said, adding that he often found himself reassuring voters he would not be soft on crime  a phrase Republican mayoral candidate Ron Gambardella used to describe Garrett in a debate last month.

Frank LaDore, chairman of the Republican Town Committee, disagreed that the way the party campaigned around crime amounted to scare tactics, as did Destito, Stevens opponent.

Further, Destito does not feel concerns about crime were what made his race so close, he said.

If the results hold, he suspects he may have lost because of voter apathy in Hamden, he said. Roughly 34 percent of registered voters turned out, according to information from the registrars office, which shows turnout was slightly lower in District 8, at 32 percent.

Destito wondered whether all the Republicans in his district came out to vote. He said he requested data on how many registered Republicans cast ballots.

If that base doesnt get out, were dead, he said, noting the district has very few Republicans to begin with.

Though Destito lost, he came closer than any Republican candidate in decades.

He attributed that success to a hard-fought campaign that involved social media messaging and hours of door-knocking.

I knocked on doors six days a week for three months, he said. Meeting people makes a difference.

Stevens felt the same about his own canvassing efforts, especially given his seven-vote lead.

As he reflected on the results Wednesday, he thought of four people who told them they changed their vote because they met him in person, he said.

Those votes made a difference.

Meanwhile, Democratic Town Committee Chairman Sean Grace speculated that the towns contentious three-way Democratic primary may have reduced the partys margins, with disappointed voters possibly casting ballots for Republicans.

When change involves unseating an incumbent in your own party, there is bound to be some hard feelings, he said. But I think that we have already started healing as a party. I think were gonna come out of this process stronger than ever, precisely because we are gonna be welcoming to everyone that wants to be involved.

While Garrett won a decisive majority of votes, her lead was smaller than that of Democrats previously elected mayor.

She took home 6,653 votes, or about 54 percent of those cast for mayor, according to results provided by the registrars office. They show that Gambardella earned roughly 44 percent of the vote, with 5,349 ballots breaking his way.

As well, 231 people cast write-in votes for Independent candidate Albert Al Lotto, and 47 voters did the same for incumbent Mayor Curt Balzano Leng.

By comparison, Leng won nearly 60 percent of the vote in 2019 and around 74 percent of the vote in 2017.

On the other hand, when Gambardella ran in 2009, he fell about 1,100 votes behind Democrat Scott Jackson, a margin similar to Tuesdays.

The election also rang in victories for Democrats in the Board of Education and at-large council races, where they earned the maximum amount of seats possible for a single party.

Republican incumbent Councilwoman Elizabeth Betty Wetmore also earned enough votes to keep her at-large council seat, as did GOP contender Lesley DeNardis, according to totals provided by the registrar.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
WALLINGFORD  Mayor William Dickinson Jr. fought off a strong challenge from Democrat newcomer Riley OConnell Tuesday and appeared to have won a 20th consecutive term, according to unofficial results.

With only about 1,500 absentee ballots left to be counted, Dickinson led OConnell by 855 votes. But the incumbent never trailed as the vote totals came rolling in all evening.

Dickinson hadnt delivered a victory speech as of 9 p.m., but told Hearst Connecticut Media that elections are always exciting.

You never know whats going to happen, he said. You do the best you can and move on.

Republicans maintained a 6-3 majority on the Town Council, which will have two new members when the new governing body is sworn in. Democrat Sam Carmody and Republican Autumn Allinson, who has served on the Board of Education for the past two years, are filling vacancies created when incumbent Republican Chris Shortell chose not to seek reelection and Democrat Jason Zandri was forced to drop out of the race because of health problems.

OConnell spent by past three years working in the criminal investigations unit of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.

In neighboring Cheshire, Republicans held a 7-2 advantage going in Tuesdays voting. With results from one district still outstanding as of Tuesday night, incumbent Republicans David Veleber, Don Walsh, Tim Slocum, Sylvia Nichols and David Borowy all were assured to return to the council for two more years.

Democrat Peter Talbot won reelection in the 4th District. Fellow Democrat Jim Jinks was ahead in his effort to win another term representing the 2nd District, but was still awaiting results coming out of the Highland Elementary School polling place.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Police found the bullet-ridden bodies of five men and six boys in Mexico's western state of Michoacan, where several drug cartels have been waging bloody turf battles.

State prosecutors said late Monday the 11 bodies were found near the town of Tarecuato, in the northern part of Michoacan near the border with the state of Jalisco. The dead ranged in age from 15 to 36.
Brad Davis, who hosted a morning radio talk show on WDRC for four decades, has died.

WDRC confirmed Davis death on Tuesday. The cause of death and Davis age were not immediately available.

The Talk of Connecticut is sad to learn that legendary Talk of Connecticut broadcaster Brad Davis has passed away, the stations tweet stated. Davis is best known for his more than 40-year career on WDRC radio. Our thoughts and prayers are with Brads family and friends at this time.

Davis, a Marine corps veteran, was inducted into the Connecticut Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2015.

The Bloomfield resident began his career as a broadcaster at a radio station in Chicopee, Mass., according to his biography from the broadcasters association. In 1956, he joined the television station WTIC-TV, now WFSB, hosting a show intended to be the states version of American Bandstand. It ended up running for over a decade.

Davis later returned to radio. He started hosting his morning radio talk show at WDRC in 1977.

Many in Connecticuts media world began posting eulogies to Davis soon after news of his passing broke.

He taught me so much. So many memories on and off air. RIP my friend, Dan Lovallo, broadcaster for the Hartford Yard Goats and former WDRC host wrote in a tweet.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin offered his heart and prayers to Davis family. He was a tireless advocate for veterans, a true believer in Hartford, a CT radio giant, and a good man, Bronin wrote on Twitter.
EAST HAVEN  Democratic Mayor Joseph Carfora appeared to have won a second term Tuesday over Republican Sal Maltese, with five of seven districts reporting.

Carfora said that in unofficial results he had won 4,208 votes to Malteses 1,866. He said Democrats won all their races except in the 4th District, where Republican Samantha Parlato kept her seat on the Town Council.

Carfora said the COVID-19 pandemic had hampered progress on town projects but hopefully COVID stays in our rear-view mirror. Carfora had contracted COVID in November 2020.

Were still going to keep beautifying the town and keep the quality of life our main topic and still rebuild our infrastructure, he said.

Maltese could not immediately be reached for comment. Republican Town Chairwoman Holly Bryk said, I did go over to Carfora headquarters and congratulated him.

In 2019, Carfora won against Republican Steve Tracey to succeed longtime Republican Mayor Joe Maturo Jr. who retired, Carfora is a lifelong East Haven resident who owns Carfora Carriers LLC, a North Haven trucking business.

Maltese is a first-time Town Council member who defeated a Republican incumbent, Nick Palladino, in 2019. His campaign website calls for improving test scores and graduation rates in town and to enhance the English to Speakers of Other Languages program.

Both candidates have expressed concerns about the expansion of Tweed New Haven Regional Airport. The New Haven Board of Alders unanimously approved a new 43-year lease extension with the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority in September, opening the way for the airports management company, Avports LLC, to propose an expansion that includes a new terminal on the East Haven side of the airport.

Maltese was making his fourth run for mayor, having previously run as a Democrat, Republican and independent. He was the sole dissenting vote on the Town Council against this years budget, which did not raise taxes. Maltese said more should have been given to the school district.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
During his 27 years in the U.S. Army, Leonard Gruppo joined the Special Forces, served in four war zones and led a team of combat medics in Iraq before retiring in 2013 as a lieutenant colonel.

During his six minutes inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Gruppo joined a slew of other military veterans as a mob of pro-Trump rioters carried out an unparalleled assault on the bastion of American democracy. He's among dozens of veterans and active-service members charged in connection with the insurrection.

Now, cases like his are presenting a thorny question for federal judges to consider when they sentence veterans who stormed the Capitol: Do they deserve leniency because they served their country or tougher punishment because they swore an oath to defend it?

The Justice Department has adopted the latter position. In at least five cases so far, prosecutors have cited a rioters military service as a factor weighing in favor of a jail sentence or house arrest. Prosecutors have repeatedly maintained that veterans' service, while commendable, made their actions on Jan. 6 more egregious.

The participation of veterans in the riot was particularly shocking because some of them apparently used training they received in the U.S. military against their own government to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. Several veterans are among the far-right extremists charged with plotting coordinated attacks on the Capitol, including Oath Keepers members who marched up the Capitol steps in a stack formation used by military infantrymen.

Prosecutors' arguments about rioters' military service didn't sway one of the first judges to hear them  at Gruppo's sentencing hearing last Friday.

I dont view his military service that way. I just cant bring myself to do that," Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said before sentencing Gruppo to two years of probation, including 90 days of house arrest.

A prosecutor argued that Gruppo's military service supported the Justice Department's recommendation for a 30-day jail sentence. Assistant U..S. Attorney Hava Mirell said Gruppo, 56, of New Mexico, was trained to recognize the obvious danger at the Capitol and to assist rather than to harm.

But the fact that he did receive that training and the fact that he intentionally overlooked his oath to commit one of the most destructive acts against our Constitution and our democracy, that does affect the governments view of his conduct, she said.

Defense attorney Daniel Lindsey argued his client's service to the country shouldnt be used against him. He said Gruppo initially wanted to keep quiet about his military service because he felt he had dishonored it.

And he did, Howell interjected. Lets not mince words.

But the judge said she was surprised by the Justice Department's position because she believes most Americans would have enormous respect for Gruppo's service.

And it's not just because I grew up on military bases around the world, Howell added.

In most criminal cases, judges typically view a defendant's military service as a mitigating factor that favors leniency, said James Markham, a professor of public law and government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But he recognizes how the Justice Department could conclude that rioters with military experience should be held to a higher standard than those without it.

Its obviously not related to their military service directly, but its also not entirely conceptually unrelated that somebody who is a veteran or had military service could be viewed as having a more refined understanding of the importance of civilian control and electoral stability," said Markham, a lawyer and Air Force veteran.

More than 650 people have been charged in the Jan. 6 attack. Some of the rioters facing the most serious charges, including members of far-right extremist groups, have military backgrounds. A handful of riot defendants were on active duty, including an Army reservist who wore a Hitler mustache to his job at at a Navy base.

More than 100 riot defendants have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors punishable by a maximum of six months of incarceration. Two dozen had been sentenced as of Friday. At least three of the sentenced defendants are veterans, according to an Associated Press review of court records.

In September, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg sentenced Air Force veteran Derek Jancart to 45 days in jail for joining the riot. Prosecutors had sought a four-month jail sentence for Jancart, an Ohio steelworker.

He swore an oath to defend the country and instead he participated in an attack on democracy itself, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Goemaat.

Jancart said he loves his country and is ashamed of his actions. The judge told Jancart that he respects his military service, particularly his deployment to Afghanistan, but said it wasn't the only factor to consider.

You attempted with others to undermine one of our countrys bedrock acts, which is the peaceful transfer of power following a democratic election, Boasberg said.

Another Air Force veteran, Thomas Vinson, was sentenced on Oct. 22 to five years of probation. Prosecutors had recommended three months of house arrest for Vinson, a Kentucky resident who served in the Air Force from 1984 through 1988.

Vinson, whose wife also was sentenced to probation for entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton that he loves his country and joined the military to defend it.

"I took that oath to the Constitution, and I know I broke that oath that day by entering that building, Vinson said.

At least two other rioters who served in the military are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming days.

Prosecutors have recommended two months in jail for Boyd Camper, who served in the U.S. Marines from 1987 to 1990. The Montana man told the FBI that he believed he was on the front line and entered a combat state of mind at the Capitol, where he used a camera with an extension pole to record himself inside the building, according to prosecutors.

"His voluntary decision to storm a guarded government building is nothing short of shocking in light of his former military service and training, prosecutors wrote ahead of Camper's Oct. 12 sentencing.

Prosecutors are seeking two months of house arrest for Air Force veteran Jonathan Ace Sanders Sr., who is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday. Surveillance video captured the Indiana man wearing a military-type vest as he walked through the Capitol, according to prosecutors.

As an Air Force veteran, Sanders was well aware of the great jeopardy posed by the rioters violent entry into the Capitol, prosecutors wrote. His repeated assertions that he had done nothing wrong is not credible  his background shows he knew better.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  The rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations and newly confirmed coronavirus cases has been dropping in Idaho, but the numbers are still high enough to leave hospitals overtaxed, Idaho Division of Public Health Administrator Elke Shaw-Tulloch said Tuesday.

That means hospitals will remain under a crisis standards of care designation for now, giving them the ability to ration health care as needed to deal with high numbers of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units and hospital beds.

The state's positivity rate of new cases is still more than double the 5% goal set by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Shaw-Tulloch said. More than 1,000 new cases were reported to the state on Monday, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. More than 3,570 Idaho residents have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

But for some parents, hope was on the horizon Tuesday as a CDC advisory committee unanimously voted to recommend that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine be approved for use in 5- to 11-year-old children. More than 23,000 child-size vaccine doses have already been shipped by the vaccine manufacturers to Idaho, said Sarah Leeds, manager of the Idaho Immunization Program, and more than 11,000 doses were delivered to the state on Tuesday.

If the CDCs director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, gives final approval to the kid-size doses as expected, Leeds said, health care providers in Idaho could begin putting shots in arms as soon as later this week or early next.

This is a significant step forward in our ability to prevent COVID-19 illness in children, Leeds said.

Roughly 55% of the eligible residents ages 12 and older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 so far, according to the state, but vaccination rates are much higher in older age groups and lower in younger age groups. About 33% of 12- to 17-year-olds are fully vaccinated in Idaho, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

The number of new pediatric COVID-19 cases has also dropped since reaching a peak of about 1,700 new cases in one week in late September. Still, they remain high overall, with just under 1,000 new pediatric cases tallied during the last week of October. That's close to the level of child COVID-19 cases the state saw during last winter's surge.

While children generally experience milder coronavirus illness than older adults, they are not without risk, said Dr. Lisa Barker, a pediatrician.

It's really important to know that kids are not spared from the harm of COVID-19, although severe disease is less common in this age group, Barker said.

In the U.S., there have been more than 8,300 hospitalizations of kids ages 5 to 11, about a third requiring intensive care, according to government data. At least 94 children have died nationwide, according to CDC data.

Some children develop a rare but serious inflammatory disease about four weeks after their COVID-19 infection, Barker said. Multisystem Inflammatory System in Children, also called MIS-C, causes inflammation in several organ systems, and can result in kids requiring hospitalization and even intensive care, Barker said.

One 6-year-old child she cared for had a very mild coronavirus case but came back to her office about a month later with just sort of head-to-toe symptoms, including a rash, prolonged fever, and evidence of inflamed internal organs, Barker said. The child required extensive hospitalization.

It's important to recognize that the viral illness itself is not the only danger to these little guys, she said.
GREELEY, Colo. (AP)  Jurors started deliberating Tuesday in the trial of a former longshot Idaho gubernatorial candidate charged with murder in the death of a 12-year-old Colorado girl who disappeared in 1984.

Suspect Steve Pankey was a neighbor of Jonelle Matthews and her family when she vanished after being dropped off at her empty home by a family friend after performing at a Christmas concert in Greeley, Colorado, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Denver.

Pankey emerged as person of interest in the case three decades later  shortly before Jonelle's body was found in 2019  after claiming to have information about what happened to her, allegedly knowing details that had not been made public and asking for immunity from prosecution.

Pankey is a paranoid true crime junkie who took an interest in the case, as well as other slayings, and testified to lying to investigators about having information about it, his lawyer, Anthony Viorst, told jurors during closing arguments.

Despite being dishonest and behaving like a jerk to his ex-wife, Angela Hicks, and others, Pankey did not kill the girl, Viorst said.

Jerk? Guilty as charged. Murderer? Not guilty, said Viorst, who said Pankey was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, which Viorst previously said causes Pankey to process information differently and get involved in matters, especially true crime cases, to prove his self importance.

Lacking physical evidence, the prosecution relied heavily on testimony from Hicks, who said that Pankey unexpectedly announced the night that Jonelle disappeared that they were leaving to visit family in California early the next day.

Pankey on the return trip home insisted on listening to news reports about the girl's disappearance on the radio and instead of heading directly home after the long trip drove past it to buy newspapers with stories about the case, Assistant District Attorney Robb Miller told jurors during closing arguments.

Dont let this self-proclaimed master manipulator manipulate you, said Miller.

Viorst discounted Hicks testimony, saying she only started talking with authorities about Pankeys suspected involvement in 1999, when she sought a divorce. Viorst also tried to generate reasonable doubt about his clients involvement by raising the possibility of an alternate suspect.

Pankey took the stand last week, delivering sometimes rambling testimony. He said he pretended to know information about the case out of bitterness for police and because of his former church and former employer, both of which he wanted investigated.

He spoke about being bullied for being bisexual and his hatred of racist police officers from his time working on an ambulance in California. In one example, he spoke about withholding treatment from an injured sheriffs deputy who was crying in pain because of his view of police.

Prosecutors said Pankey kept up to date on the case throughout the years even as he moved his family to several states before settling in Idaho where he ran unsuccessfully as a Constitution Party candidate for Idaho governor in 2014 and in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2018, the year that authorities said he was named as a person of interest in the girls death.

Jonelle was considered missing until workers digging a pipeline in a rural area near Greeley in July 2019 discovered human remains matching her dental records.

Her death was then ruled a homicide. She died from a single gunshot wound to the head, prosecutors said.
WEST HAVEN  City and state officials have announced plans for craft brewer New England Brewing Co. to come to the long-vacant Savin Rock Conference Center.

The move, which would mean the brewery signing a long-term lease with the city, is not official until it receives approval from the City Council  although there was a bipartisan show of support from three of the 13 council members at the announcement.

West Haven needed some good news; we now have some good news, Rossi said.

The announcement that the brewery is planning to relocate from Woodbridge to renovate the blighted, beachfront building in West Haven came the day before Election Day, as Democrat Mayor Nancy Rossi was to face a challenge from Republican Councilman Barry Lee Cohen.

The city published a request for proposals last month; the RFP period closed Oct. 15. The Register submitted a Freedom of Information request to the city for a copy of the RFP submitted by New England Brewing, which the city provided.

However, Cohen said the announcement is reflective of a politician mayor who prioritizes a campaign over what is best for the city: he said the request for proposals for the conference center site was rushed and claimed the mayor had decided on the brewery proposal awhile back.

This is a typical campaign stunt, period, he said.

Rossi had said in early October that while the city is seeking proposals, she has heard from residents that a brewery in that location would be a success. Probably about two years ago people at the Rotary Club told me theyd like to see a brewery there. People are approaching us saying theyd like a brewery, she said last month.

Rossi said Monday that she had wanted to make the announcement last Friday but things werent sewn up enough.

City Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan said there is an RFP committee that reviews the proposals and recommends one to the City Council. The brewery plan was the proposal that the committee chose, he said.

New England Brewing Co. is the largest craft brewing company in the state.

New England Brewing also has eyed moving into a new, 80,000-square-foot facility on 7.3 acres at 100 and 142 River St. in New Haven, also city land there, where it planned to double its production in the state and have both indoor and outdoor space for events, with boating access from the river.

But representatives of the company said they were excited for the proposed move to West Haven, which is expected to more than double its workforce and is projected to bring more than 350,000 visitors to the site annually.

Weve been looking for quite some time for the right place to move, not just a place to move, said Marty Juliano, director of business development for New England Brewing Co.

Juliano said that if the brewerys proposal were approved by West Havens City Council that it would no longer look at other sites to relocate, such as the proposal to locate in New Havens Fair Haven neighborhood.

Juliano said the overall footprint of the new building on the site is expected to be 52,000 square feet with a capacity for 1,000 occupants within the building.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
SHELTON  The Shelton Economic Development Corporation has received $70,000 in federal funding to bring investment and jobs to the city and the Naugatuck Valley Corridor Economic Development District.

The funds, which come from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, were announced Wednesday by U.S. representatives Jim Himes, Rosa DeLauro and Jajana Hayes.

This recent grant award will allow us to continue the momentum that has begun in fostering the economic vitality of our region, SEDC President Paul Grimmer said. We applaud our congressional delegation in securing this funding and look forward to achieving our important goals.

According to Grimmer, the grant will be used to establish an economic development planning framework, process, and strategy that supports private capital investment and job creation in the region.

Bringing economic development to Southwest Connecticut is of the utmost importance, Himes said. Connecticut businesses are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant will support small businesses and help diversify and strengthen our local economy.

Himes said he was proud that federal funds would now be used to support economic growth in Shelton.

I remain committed to working alongside our community partners to foster economic growth in Fairfield County, he said.

Sheila OMalley, chair of the economic development district, praised the administration and Congressional delegation.

The (federal) award will help strategize our regions priorities, and in particular communities that are considered economically distressed, OMalley said.

DeLauro said the pandemic upended lives and businesses and stalled economic opportunity across Connecticut. Legislators are in a fight to jumpstart local development, protect struggling businesses from closing for good, and help working, and middle-class families get back on their feet, she said.

The hardworking and dedicated people that keep Shelton businesses afloat need support from the federal government as they rebuild, DeLauro said. As chair of the Appropriations Committee, I am proud we secured this funding for Shelton businesses and workers to not only survive but also thrive and build a brighter future.

Hayes said these funds will further support the mission of providing resources for the surrounding community and helping to grow the local economy.

As Connecticut continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, these dollars will play a vital role in getting us back on track, Hayes said. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the delegation to bring more money back to our state.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
WEST HAVEN  West Haven High School Italian teacher Anna Porto prides herself in helping students to learn and improve upon their language skills, even if that language is English.

While learning Italian, many of her students are not learning a new language for the first time.

Im lucky I have a lot of Spanish speakers, she said.

In addition to teaching a number of native Spanish speakers, as of this year she also is teaching a group of published authors.

Porto connected with the Clinton-based author Jennifer Degenhardt last year to give her students a task: translate Degenhardts books from Spanish to Italian.

Degenhardt, a career Spanish teacher, writes books in Spanish for high school-aged learners. Its in very simple language, but with decent enough plots to keep them engaged, she said.

Degenhardt said, following a webinar presentation, she was contacted by Porto with an idea: Portos students could translate one book from Spanish to Italian as a class project so that the books could be distributed to Italian teachers.

Porto said it would also help to fill a big need in the field of high school Italian language education.

Theres not enough Italian books, she said.

Roberto Ceja, a senior at the high school, is one of the students who translated a chapter of the book.

When I first got it, I was stressing. Ive never translated anything, he said. It was scary at first, but then it was no problem. It was fun to do.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

Degenhardt recently visited Portos class to drop off copies of La Nuova Ragazza, the Italian translation of her Spanish-language book, La Chica Nueva.

She told them that the first copies of the Italian translation, bearing their names on the inside of the jacket, already had been sold to the Torrington school district as well as schools in the Netherlands.

Your names are going to be all over the world, Degenhardt told the students.

Porto said her purpose for bringing Degenhardts book into the classroom was to give them a hands-on, real activity.

According to the 2017 National K-12 Foreign Language Enrollment Survey, a comprehensive study of foreign/world language enrollments across the formal U.S. education system, K-12, Connecticut had 173,580 students or a total of 614,313 students in the school year 2014-15 studying a foreign language, the reports says.

Education in foreign languages in the U.S., particularly at the K-12 level, continues to experience dynamic changes in terms of numbers and locations of programs and program designs, the report says.

Assistant Principal Wendy Charbonneau, a former chairwoman of the schools world languages department, said Porto is amazing with how she gets them involved in realistic Italian experiences.

Charbonneau said that when the school enrolls English learners, Porto jumps at the opportunity to have them take her Italian courses.

I remember going to systemwide (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) conferences, and these would sell like hotcakes to Italian classes, she said.

Degenhardt said she expects her collaboration with West Haven to continue; she has several other Spanish-language books and Porto is working with the schools art department to create an interdisciplinary lesson so students can create illustrations for the books they translate.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
As a practical matter critical race theory may be little more than the assertion that nearly everybody and everything is racist and that anyone who doesnt comply with the demands of its advocates is even more racist. Whatever critical race theory is, it does not seem to be formally taught in schools in Connecticut.

But there is plenty of evidence that, propelled by critical race theory, race is being injected into school curriculums in Connecticut and elsewhere with psychology and propaganda in the name of diversity and inclusion. This is what the critical race theory controversies in Guilford and other towns is really about, and it is fairly challenged on two fronts.

First, its unlikely that younger students need any racial focus to learn to treat each other decently. Emphasis on race at an early age is bound to make children self-conscious and uneasy and to inflict fear, guilt, and grievance even as the basic integration of racial and ethnic groups may be the best lesson schools can provide. The normality of integration and diversity can overcome fear and erase self-consciousness and uneasiness about race and ethnicity  if schools ensure discipline and quickly and visibly punish bigotry.

Second, critical race theory is politically opportunistic and simple-minded. For issues of race and ethnicity, including slavery, are not peculiar to the United States. They are the fundamentals of human history. Most nations were built on race and ethnicity.

So while racial and ethnic issues must be taught, they need to be formally taught as history  world history as much as U.S. history  not raised as an insinuation that particular students or their ancestors bear special responsibility for history or that history owes privileges to particular students or their ancestors.

Since U.S. educators belong overwhelmingly to the extreme political left and are members of far-left unions such as the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, parents are well entitled to be suspicious of what goes on in classrooms in regard to race and other controversial subjects such as transgenderism. This suspicion is deepened because, by design, what happens in classrooms is seldom accessible to the public, and because school administrations are often as secretive, unaccountable, and resentful of scrutiny as any corporation.

Schools everywhere long have been notorious for concealing staff misconduct, and even now, at the insistence of Connecticuts teacher unions and school administrators, teacher evaluations are uniquely exempt from disclosure under the states freedom-of-information law. Parents mustnt know anything that really counts.

Educations resentment of the public was reflected the other day when former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, nominated by the Democratic Party for a non-consecutive second term and supported by the education establishment, confronted school controversies. I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach, McAuliffe declared. He boasted that he had vetoed legislation to require schools to alert parents when instructional materials include sexually explicit content.

While parents dont directly tell schools what to teach, of course they elect school boards and legislators who set such policy and they comment at school board meetings. That some parents lately have been behaving badly at meetings doesnt diminish the publics right to scrutinize and be heard. Any misbehavior at meetings is easily addressed by local authorities, as by having a police officer or two at meetings where angry people are expected.

This isnt enough for the education establishment. Last month the top two executives of the National School Boards Association sent an open letter to President Joe Biden likening the expression of anger at school board meetings to domestic terrorism. That charge led Attorney General Merrick Garland to direct the FBI and federal prosecutors to devise strategies for addressing threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff, as if local police cant and dont already do that job.

The associations board quickly repudiated and apologized for the letter from its executives. Parents, the board acknowledged, must be heard. But how much the public can be permitted to know about its schools remains a question, nationally and in Connecticut.

Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer.
GUILFORD  After a hotly contested Board of Education race primarily focused on Guilford Public Schools social justice and equity work, the Democratic and Independent Party candidates won big.

The five open seats were awarded to the Protect Guilford Schools slate, composed of Democrats Arnold Skretta (6,566 votes) and incumbent Moira Rader (6,602) and Independents Kristy Faulkner (6,274), Noel Petra (6,295) and Jennifer Baldwin (6,295).

Before the election, Democrats held a majority on the board, with guaranteed minority party representation of four of the nine seats. The minority now includes the Independents and the one remaining Republican board member, Kristen Peck.

At a post-election celebration full of cheering and smiles, Baldwin could barely contain her excitement about her win.

I am amazingly happy that this town came out to support us, Baldwin said, adding she was happy voters were supporting the schools as well.

Baldwin, who has been involved with parent-teacher organizations in Guilford, said she was excited to bring that knowledge to the board. I dont even have words for how excited I am, she said before more cheering broke out.

The other candidates who won seats in office included First Selectman Matthew Hoey, who ran unopposed. Incumbent Selectmen Louis Federici (5,943 votes) and Sandra Ruoff (6,094), both Democrats, and Charles Havrda (3,301) and Susan Renner (3,191), Republicans, all were on the ballot, along with Green Party challenger Justin Paglino (324).

As of Tuesday evening before polls closed, Guilford had the highest percentage voter turnout in the state with 50.62 percent showing up to the polls, according to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. By the evening, 8,255 votes were cast from Guilfords 16,309 total voters.

Republican candidates Parents for Guilford Students  Tim Chamberlain, Danielle Scarpellino, Aly Passarelli, Nick Cusano and Bill Maisano  first began their campaign by claiming that critical race theory was being taught in Guilford Public Schools, which officials said is not happening.

Our five republican candidates lost the BOE election. But the biggest losers are the children in Guilford, wrote the campaign on its Facebook page just after 9:30 p.m.

The theory, developed in the 1970s, holds that racism is not just a characteristic of certain people, but is entrenched in American social and political systems, perpetuating the unequal treatment of minority groups.

The group also focused on fiscal responsibility, educational excellence, transparency and accountability and cultivating student skills.

The Protect Guilford Schools platform stated they value an honest, inclusive and equitable education for all children, support teachers and administrators, advocate for continuing science-based initiatives in support of the mental and physical well-being of students, bring the voices of constituents to the process and focus on creating efficiency.

In September, this slate beat Republican challengers, including incumbents Joseph Golino, Ted Sands and Amy Sullivan and newcomers Bill Mulligan and Jim OKeefe with the highest primary turnout in years, according to Republican Registrar of Voters Gloria Nemchuk.

Outside A.W. Cox Elementary School Tuesday afternoon, Faulkner said she was unsure of what the next steps would be and that it would be figured out once they meet as a board, if she were elected.

Personally, my first goal is healing as a community because its been a very damaging year, Faulkner said.

Scarpellino, a Republican candidate, stood outside Calvin Leete Elementary School just past 3 p.m. She said if she were to win a seat on the Board of Education, she would be thinking about how she could reassure people.

I am an honest, fair person, Scarpellino said. I would not do what they did to me when I poured my heart out to the board.
Niagara Falls, NY (14301)

Today

Cloudy with light rain developing later in the day. High 49F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy. Periods of light rain early. Low 31F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
A Niagara County Court jury deliberated for just over 6 1/2 hours on Monday, but did not appear to be close to returning a verdict in the murd
Niagara Falls, NY (14301)

Today

Cloudy. Low around 40F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. Low around 40F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
Niagara Falls, NY (14301)

Today

Cloudy with light rain developing later in the day. High near 50F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy. Periods of light rain early. Low 32F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Doyin Okupe, a former presidential aide has told the Buhari administration to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra...

Doyin Okupe, a former presidential aide has told the Buhari administration to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, without further delay.

Okupe, who served as a presidential aide during the tenures of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, said Nnamdi Kanu is more important than the forthcoming November 6th election governorship election in Anambra State.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain admonished Buhari to release Kanu if that would restore peace in the South-East geopolitical zone.

 I hereby call on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, if that will bring peace in the South-East zone, especially Anambra State, he wrote on Facebook.

Nnamdi Kanu should be released for the sake of peace and order in that region.

Nnamdi Kanu is more important than the Anambra State governorship election.

I call on the Federal Government at this point of our national history to invite the leadership of IPOB to a peace meeting

IPOB had recently vowed to ensure that the forthcoming election does not hold in Anambra State declaring a total shutdown of the South East region from Friday, November 5th, 2021.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has maintained that all is set for the election to take place according to schedule
The United States has vowed sanctions, including visa restrictions on anyone and their families instigating violence in the November 6 gov...

The United States has vowed sanctions, including visa restrictions on anyone and their families instigating violence in the November 6 governorship poll in Anambra State.

The US said it will be paying close attention to the electoral process in the state and looks forward to a peaceful and transparent poll that will accurately reflect the will of the people.

A pro-secession group, the Indigenous People of Biafra had threatened to disrupt the election.

Attacks by gunmen and other hoodlums had also increased across the state, including violent attacks on campaign rallies, as a way of sparking panic and discouraging the residents from going out to vote on election day.

Despite this, the Independent National Electoral Commission has insisted that the poll will hold on Saturday as planned.

But the US Embassy in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, titled, Statement on the upcoming Anambra elections, called on citizens, electoral officials, party members, and security force personnel to do their part in ensuring a credible and secure electoral process.

The statement read, The United States looks forward to a gubernatorial election in Anambra State on November 6 that is peaceful and transparent, with results that accurately reflect the will of the states residents.

We will be paying close attention to actions of individuals who interfere with the democratic process or instigate violence against civilian populations before, during, or after the elections.

We will not hesitate to consider consequences  including visa restrictions  for those found to be responsible for election-related violence or undermining the democratic process.

Under US immigration law, certain violations also may lead to restrictions on family members.
Suspected bandits on Wednesday stormed the Junior Secondary School (JSS) Yebu in Kwali Area Council of Abuja. The Vice Principal, Mohammed N...





Suspected bandits on Wednesday stormed the Junior Secondary School (JSS) Yebu in Kwali Area Council of Abuja.

The Vice Principal, Mohammed Nuhu was kidnapped after the assailants invaded the staff quarters.

They fired gunshots into the air, tied the security guard near the gate and ordered everyone to comply.

While some surrounded the school, others jumped over the fence and broke into the VPs apartment.

Stephen Knabayi, Nigeria Union Teachers (NUT) Chairman in the nations capital has confirmed the incident.

The Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has commenced an investigation.

The incident occurred 24 hours after gunmen attacked the United of Abuja (UNIABUJA) quarters.

Professor Obansa and his son, Professor Oboscolo, his son, daughters, Sambo Mohammed and Dr Tobins were abducted.

Last Friday, the Chief Imam of Yangoji Central Mosque, Abubakar Abdullahi Gbedako and two sons were taken.

The cleric, also the Vice Principal of Junior Secondary School, Kwaita, and his children remain in captivity.
The Nigerian Army has lamented the reduction of its budget from N710 billion earlier proposed to N579 billion in 2022. The Chief of Army Sta...





The Nigerian Army has lamented the reduction of its budget from N710 billion earlier proposed to N579 billion in 2022.





The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Farouk Yahaya who appeared before the Senate Committee on Army chaired by Senator Ali Mohammed Ndume said the reduction which was carried out by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget office was unhealthy amid heightening insecurity in the nation.





The Army pleaded with the lawmakers to remove them from the envelope budgeting system which he maintained was hampering their operations.





He said, In preparing for the year 2022 budget, the Nigerian Army (NA) proposed about the sum of N710 billion only.





However, the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning budget ceiling reduced it to a total sum of Five Hundred and Seventy-Nine Billion Naira (N579b) only.





This reduction would impede the capacity and tempo of the Nigerian Army in carrying out its constitutional duties particularly the ongoing war against Boko Haram terrorists and other criminalities across the country.





The detail of this request is contained in the Nigerian Army Year 2022 Budget Defence booklet earlier submitted to this Distinguished Committee.





He appealed to the Committee to intervene so that its capital budget releases would be within the first quarter of 2022.





According to the Army, early capital releases would help the Nigerian Army rehabilitate dilapidated accommodations in over 138 barracks and training facilities across NA units/formations as well as procure the needed equipment and platforms to prosecute the war against terrorism and other criminalities across the country.





In specific terms, the Army Chief said the sum of N642.7 billion only should be approved for the Nigerian Army Personnel Emolument for the year 2022 Budget, N29.6 billion for overhead and N37.6 billion for 2022 capital projects.





He, however, added that despite the inadequate funding, that the Nigerian Army remain committed to securing the territorial integrity of Nigeria from any violation, as the clearance operation to rid the country of Boko Haram terrorists and other criminal groups are still ongoing.





The timely and complete implementation of the year 2022 budget will thus enhance the fulfilment of the NAs constitutional mandate and thus engender peace for socio-economic development of our country Nigeria, he stressed.





Buttressing the submissions of the Army Chief, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume ( APC Borno South ), said it is wrong to put the security agencies in envelope budgeting.





As a committee, the budgetary allocations proposed for the Nigerian Army in 2022 is grossly inadequate, the very reason envelope budgeting should not be used for the military at this time of serious security challenges in the country.
A Retired General Manager of the Nigeria Port Authority, NPA, Bashir M Abdullahi, has been kidnapped. Abdullahi was abducted from his farm l...





A Retired General Manager of the Nigeria Port Authority, NPA, Bashir M Abdullahi, has been kidnapped.





Abdullahi was abducted from his farm located at Sumaila Local Area of Kano State Wednesday afternoon.





Details about the abduction of the retired NPA GM are still sketchy at the moment, however, it was gathered that he was taken away by unknown gunmen while inspecting his farm in Sitti village of Sumaila Local Government Area of Kano.





A source who doesnt want to be identified said, The retired General Manager of NPA was this afternoon kidnapped from his farm in Sitti, Sumaila Local Government Area. Please, pray for his safety and safe return to his family.





In addition, kindly request the congregation of your local Masjid, through the Imam, to pray for him.





When contacted, the Kano Police Command spokesperson, DSP Haruna Abdullahi Kiyawa, said he was not aware of the incident, but promised to verify as quickly as possible.
Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri has asked the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, to release billionaire businessman, Obi...

Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri has asked the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, to release billionaire businessman, Obi Cubana and arrest the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.

Recall that officials of the anti-graft agency, on Monday, nabbed the Anambara born club owner over alleged money laundering and tax fraud. According to reports, Cubana is still in the custody of the agency.

Reacting, the socio-political activist, Reno, claimed that there is an evidence that Bola Tinubu was involved in election fraud which according to him, is contrary to Laundering Act.

Reno questioned why the agency was yet to arrest the former Head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), DCP Abba Kyari despite evidence from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In a post on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday, Reno accused the EFCC of being selective in their operations.

The post reads, Why are EFCC after Obi Cubana and not Bola Tinubu? We provided evidence of Tinubus corruption to the EFCC, including photos of bullion vans going into his home on Election Day, contrary to the Money Laundering Act.

Where is the evidence against Obi Cubana? Even with the damning evidence the FBI provided against Abba Kyari, he has not been invited to the EFCC, nor is he under arrest.

So, again, why is Obi with EFCC and not Tinubu or Kyari? Is it because Obi is Igbo and they are not? This is obviously double standards! I would counsel Cubana to join and donate to APC, like FFK, and not only would his sins (if any) be forgiven, he can even take a photo with Buhari at Aso Rock. Yeye baff una!
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ondo State, has alleged that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolus refusal to pay the allowances of soldiers ...





The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ondo State, has alleged that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolus refusal to pay the allowances of soldiers manning checkpoints in the state led to the withdrawal of operatives from the roads.





The party in a statement by its publicity secretary, Kennedy Peretei alleged that the soldiers have not been paid for over four months.





It was earlier reported the exit of soldiers from checkpoints.





It was gathered that there were 32 strategic locations in the state where the soldiers used to man to curb the activities of kidnappers and other criminals in the state.





According to Peretei, all efforts to appeal to Akeredolu to pay the soldiers fell on deaf ears, adding that the move of traditional rulers to plead with the governor on the issue did not yield any results either.





The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ondo State chapter joins other well-meaning Ondo State citizens to appeal to Governor Akeredolu, to immediately pay the outstanding allowances due to the security personnel without further delay.





While stressing that the primary responsibility of any government is the protection of lives and properties, the PDP said the APC-led government in the state has been breaching the constitutional responsibility.





What happens when, the criminals now have a field day, because of the failure of the Governor to do the needful?.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 49F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Rain. Low near 35F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
U.S. health officials on Tuesday gave the final signoff to Pfizers kid-size COVID-19 shot, a milestone that opens a major expansion of the nations vaccination campaign to children as young as 5.

The Food and Drug Administration already authorized the shots for children ages 5 to 11  doses just a third of the amount given to teens and adults. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommends who should receive FDA-cleared vaccines.

The announcement by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky came only hours after an advisory panel unanimously decided Pfizers shots should be opened to the 28 million youngsters in that age group.

The decision marks the first opportunity for Americans under 12 to get the powerful protection of any COVID-19 vaccine.

Questions about COVID booster shots? Replay our panel discussion with Louisiana doctors While most people are still well-protected, public-health officials say that even highly-effective COVID vaccines can lose power over time. Th

As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated, Walensky said Tuesday night, in a statement.

In remarks earlier in the day, she said while the risk of severe disease and death is lower in young children than adults, it is real  and that COVID-19 has had a profound social, mental health and educational impact on youngsters, including widening disparities in learning.

There are children in the second grade who have never experienced a normal school year, Walensky said. Pediatric vaccination has the power to help us change all of that.

President Joe Biden called the decision a turning point."

It will allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others," he said in a statement. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus.

The American Academy of Pediatrics welcomed the decision as its members get ready to start the first injections into little arms, which the CDC said could begin as soon as possible. The 5- to 11-year-olds will receive two low doses, three weeks apart, of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech -- the same schedule as everyone else, but using a smaller needle.

Pfizer over the weekend began shipping millions of the pediatric shots to states, doctors offices and pharmacies  in orange caps, to avoid mix-ups with purple-capped vials of adult vaccine.

Louisiana is reviewing the guidance and will have more information tomorrow, according to health officials.

We are pleased to see this news from @cdcgov and are now reviewing the guidance. Stay tuned - first thing tomorrow we will share what this means for #Louisiana. https://t.co/bOuKV8ZGH2  Louisiana Department of Health (@LADeptHealth) November 3, 2021

Many parents have clamored for vaccine protection for youngsters so they can resume normal childhood activities without risking their own health  or fear bringing the virus home to a more vulnerable family member. But CDC's advisers said they recognize many parents also have questions, and may be fearful of the vaccine because of rampant misinformation.

Louisiana orders 148K COVID vaccines for kids ages 5 to 11; pediatricians prepare to receive it A long-awaited moment for some Louisiana families may soon arrive: The authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 is a ste

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Members of the advisory panel said they want parents to ask about the shots  and understand that they're far better than gambling that their child will escape a serious coronavirus infection. As for safety, more than 106 million Americans have safely gotten two doses of Pfizers full-strength shots  including more than 7 million 12- to 15-year-olds.

I have vaccinated my kids, said CDC adviser Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, saying she wouldnt recommend something for other families unless she was comfortable with it for her own. We have seen the devastation of this disease.

In the U.S., there have been more than 8,300 coronavirus-related hospitalizations of kids ages 5 to 11, about a third requiring intensive care, according to government data. The CDC has recorded at least 94 deaths in that age group, with additional reports under investigation.

And while the U.S. has seen a recent downturn in COVID-19 cases, experts are worried about another uptick with holiday travel and as winter sends more activity indoors where its easier for the coronavirus to spread.

Pfizer's study of 2,268 youngsters found the kid-size vaccine is nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 -- based on 16 diagnoses among kids given dummy shots compared to just three who got the real vaccination.

The FDA examined more children, a total of 3,100 who were vaccinated, in concluding the shots are safe. The younger children experienced similar or fewer reactions -- such as sore arms, fever or achiness -- than teens or young adults get after larger doses.

That study wasnt large enough to detect any extremely rare side effects, such as the heart inflammation that occasionally occurs after the second full-strength dose, mostly in young men and teen boys. Regulators ultimately decided the benefits from vaccination outweigh the potential that younger kids getting a smaller dose also might experience that rare risk.

Some of CDC's advisers said for some parents, deciding to get their children vaccinated may hinge on that small but scary risk.

The risk of some sort of bad heart involvement is much higher if you get COVID than if you get this vaccine, Dr. Matthew Oster, a pediatric cardiologist at Emory University, told the panel. COVID is much riskier to the heart.

Last week, FDAs advisers struggled with whether every young child needed a vaccine. Youngsters hospitalized with COVID-19 are more likely to have high-risk conditions such as obesity or diabetes. But otherwise healthy children can get seriously ill, too, and the CDCs advisers ultimately recommended the shots for all of them  even children whove already recovered from a bout of COVID-19.

Tulane to drop mask mandate shortly after city-wide decision; Loyola's remains in effect The schools' announcements come on the heels of Governor John Bel Edwards' and Mayor LaToya Cantrell's decisions to respectively lift statewide and citywide mask mandates.

CDC officials calculated that for every 500,000 youngsters vaccinated, between 18,000 and 58,000 COVID-19 cases  and between 80 and 226 hospitalizations  in that age group would be prevented, depending on the pandemic's trajectory. And CDC officials noted that COVID-19 has caused more deaths in this age group than some other diseases, such as chickenpox, did before children were routinely vaccinated against them.

What about younger children? Pfizer is testing shots for babies and preschoolers and expects data around the end of the year. The similarly made Moderna vaccine also is being studied with young children. But the FDA still hasn't cleared its use in teens, and the company is delaying its application for younger children pending that review.

A few countries have begun using other COVID-19 vaccines in children under 12, including China, which just began vaccinations for 3-year-olds. But many that use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are watching the U.S. decision, and European regulators just began considering the companies kid-size doses.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Kids ages 5 to 11 are now eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, but it may be a few days before it is widely available in Louisiana.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky gave the green light Tuesday night for 28 million kids between the ages of 5 and 11 to get the vaccine, including 421,000 children in Louisiana. Her sign-off came after recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panels.

Medical providers in Louisiana are now waiting on the Louisiana Department of Health to review the guidance and give them the go-ahead for taking appointments, which health officials said would come Wednesday. In the meantime, theyve asked for patience as the vaccines make their way to the state.

"Many parents of young children around the country and across our state, including me, are breathing a little easier tonight," said LDH Secretary Dr. Courtney N. Phillips in a statement released Tuesday night. "That said, we appreciate everyone's patience with us as we finalize our own review and with providers this week as they operationalize this new guidance."

Vaccines for kids will likely arrive by the end of the week, with the full roll-out beginning the week of Nov. 8, according to representatives from the White House. The Louisiana Department of Health will direct the vaccines to over 400 providers throughout the state who have pre-ordered vials.

Louisiana orders 148K COVID vaccines for kids ages 5 to 11; pediatricians prepare to receive it A long-awaited moment for some Louisiana families may soon arrive: The authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 is a ste

As vaccines are received, parents will be able to make appointments for their children. Heres what we know about making appointments so far:

Walgreens: Appointments are available at some stores starting Saturday, Nov. 6 and can be made online, according to the website.

CVS: Appointments are available at some stores starting Sunday, Nov. 7 and can be made online, according to the website.

Childrens Hospital New Orleans:

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Parents will be able to schedule appointments beginning Thursday morning on chnola.org or by calling 504-290-5200. The first vaccines administered by the hospital will be on Friday, Nov. 5.

Ochsner Health:

Parents can schedule an appointment through their pediatricians office once Ochsner receives the vaccine.

Questions about COVID booster shots? Replay our panel discussion with Louisiana doctors While most people are still well-protected, public-health officials say that even highly-effective COVID vaccines can lose power over time. Th

The New Orleans Health Departments has plans to partner with local schools to give shots to children with parental consent after school.

Louisiana will receive 148,000 doses of the vaccine in the initial shipment for the 421,000 kids in that age group.

The Pfizer vaccine for kids is one-third the dose of the adult vaccine and is on the same two-dose regimen scheduled three weeks apart. The child doses have an orange cap to distinguish them from the purple-capped vial for adults and kids 12 and up.

The decision to authorize the vaccine for children is one that Walensky said would put childrens lives back on track after nearly two years of disruption. While children have a lower risk of death or illness from COVID-19, it will also help protect them and the more vulnerable people they interact with. Among children under 18, 745 have died in the U.S.; 18 of those were children from Louisiana.

Ochsner Health temporarily stopped from firing some employees over COVID vaccination status A panel of three judges in Shreveport has issued a temporary restraining order preventing Ochsner Health from firing employees in north Louisi

This is a developing story and will be updated.
Irvin Mayfield, the famed trumpeter who ripped off the New Orleans Public Library Foundation of $1.3 million while serving on its board, swore to a judge Wednesday that he was sorry.

The judge said Mayfield should apologize instead to a courtroom full of supporters and critics. Mayfield, in a black suit, swiveled around to face the packed courtroom.

I accept 100%, full responsibility, said Mayfield. I love this city, I love my family, I love this music, and I know Ive let them all down.

U.S. District Judge Zainey was set to sentence Mayfield and his longtime artistic collaborator Ronald Markham later Wednesday. The men face up to 5 years in prison each after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud last November.

The apology came in a courtroom full of Mayfield supporters like fellow trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, Criminal District Court Judge Darryl Derbigny and former New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Eddie Compass.

In court, Mayfields lawyers and prosecutors argued for hours over whether he should receive the maximum prison sentence, before Zainey ordered a lunch break.

Prosecutors said Mayfield and Markham were prolific scammers who diverted $1.3 million of library foundation money to buy a gold-plated trumped, line their own pockets, support their private New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and take pricey trips to New York City.

The conspiracy lasted six years and the worst acts happened between August 2011 and November 2013, the government said.

There was more to the story, shot back federal public defender Claude Kelly, who represented Mayfield. Some expenses, including a stay at the Ritz Carlton in New York, were used as Mayfield hobnobbed to ensure the construction of the New Orleans Jazz Market building in Central City, he said.

That building was a monument to Mayfields vision for reviving the area, Kelly said.

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I wish his ego wasn't so huge and so out of control then, and he made better decisions, but there's no Cayman Islands account, I can tell you that, Kelly said.

Meanwhile, Kelly also laced into WWL-TV investigative reporter David Hammer, who he said had a perverse obsession with the case, and with power-brokers like Jones Walker partner Bill Hines and Ron Forman, who once served on the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra board when it created the Central City building. They had a duty to watchdog flows of money as well, Kelly said.

After four years of studying this case, what personally bothers me is the White, power money is fine, said Kelly.

Zainey advised Kelly to keep his focus on the defendants. The man stole $1.3 million from a wonderful foundation. Say whatever you want to say...What did Mr. Hammer do wrong?

Hammer wrote multiple articles detailing the purported scheme before federal prosecutors unveiled any charges. WWL-TV has a news partnership with The Times-Picayune.

A representative of the foundation said in a letter that Mayfield and Markhams fraud forced it to lay off two employees, cancel an adult literacy program and stop a book giveaway project.

+2 Feds allege wider cover-up by Irvin Mayfield, Ronald Markham in New Orleans Library Foundation scandal Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and his longtime friend and business partner Ronald Markham face new accusations related to charg

Markham and Mayfields attorneys said there were multiple factors at play, including bloated salaries for employees. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Dall Kammer said that the pair was in charge of the foundation during the same period in which they complained of excessive salaries.

Throughout the hearing, Zainey wondered aloud about how sorry Mayfield really was. In a pointed back-and-forth conversation with the musician, he rattled off money transfers and purchases that Mayfield made with the foundation money.

It's my position that I botched the whole process up. It's my position that I did a terrible job, Mayfield said.

A terrible job or a criminal act? Theres a difference, said Zainey.

A terrible job and a criminal act, said Mayfield.
To hear famed trumpeter Irvin Mayfield tell it, greed wasn't the reason he siphoned $1.3 million from the New Orleans Public Library Foundation a decade ago. It was ego.

"I allowed my ego to focus on the winning by any means necessary," he told a packed federal courtroom Wednesday. "I put a lot of people's good work in vain."

Hours later, U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey said the case was about arrogance and greed both. He sentenced Mayfield to 18 months in prison.

Mayfield and co-defendant Ronald Markham, a pianist and business partner who served on the foundation board with him, faced up to five years behind bars. Last November, they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Zainey also doled out an 18-month sentence to Markham.

Simply put, you and your buddy were a team, he said. You both lived the good life, and now you must suffer the consequences.

From the start, the seven-hour hearing was an only-in-New Orleans spectacle. At the defense table sat a Grammy Award-winning musician who once adorned magazine covers as a symbol of the citys revival after Hurricane Katrina.

In the rows behind him sat supporters like fellow trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, former New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass and Criminal District Court Judge Darryl Derbigny. Wynton Marsalis and Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman also wrote letters of support.

The sentencing hearing was another remarkable moment in the life of Mayfield, a gifted trumpeter who overcame an impoverished upbringing in the 7th Ward to become a professional musician by the time he was 14, lost his father to floodwaters during Katrina, and went on to draw international acclaim.

Yet one moment that should have been a pinnacle of Mayfields career  performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2012  was in fact a symbol of his fraud, prosecutors said. He rented the hall with $39,000 in stolen library foundation funds.

+7 LaToya Cantrell calls for 'support' for Irvin Mayfield ahead of his sentencing in library fraud case As they prepare to pay $1.1 million in restitution for illegally transferring money from the citys public library charity to their jazz orche

In court papers, federal prosecutors laid out a scheme where Mayfield and Markham took foundation money and spent it on their salaries, their separate New Orleans Jazz Orchestra's operating expenses and pricey stays in New York City hotels.

Mayfield also bought a custom-made, $15,000, 24-karat gold-plated trumpet  which came to symbolize his blatant misuse of other peoples money.

The fraud happened from August 2011 to November 2013, and the cover-up lasted for years afterward, the government said. Even as a grand jury investigation swirled, the men forged board minutes to cover their tracks.

The fraud had devastating impacts on the library foundation, its director said in a letter. The foundation was forced to lay off two employees, cancel an adult literacy program and halt a book giveaway. Its reputation tarnished, the foundation still struggles to raise money for the library.

But there was more to the story, said federal public defender Claude Kelly, who represented Mayfield. Some expenses, including a stay at the Ritz Carlton in New York, came as Mayfield hobnobbed for money to build the New Orleans Jazz Market in Central City, he said.

That gleaming building, which opened in 2015, was a monument to Mayfields vision for the city, said Kelly. He wanted to make it a better place, not line his pockets.

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+22 Irvin Mayfield, partner admit scheming to defraud New Orleans Library Foundation Jazz artist took $1.3 million to buy custom trumpet, pay self $100,000, underwrite his orchestras trip to N.Y.

I wish his ego wasn't so huge and so out of control then, and he made better decisions, but there's no Cayman Islands account, I can tell you that, Kelly said.

Kelly said that while his client, who is Black, was guilty, he's been punished in ways that the city's White, well-connected power brokers on the board of the Jazz Orchestra were not. Jones Walker partner Bill Hines and Audubon Nature Institute president Ron Forman had a duty to monitor the orchestra's money flows, Kelly said.

Kelly also laced into WWL-TV reporter David Hammer, who wrote multiple articles detailing Mayfields scheme before federal prosecutors unveiled any charges, for having a "perverse obsession" with his client. WWL-TV has a news partnership with The Times-Picayune.

Zainey told Kelly to keep the focus on his client. "What did Mr. Hammer do wrong?" he said. "They were a volunteer board, Claude."

The judge said he placed more weight on Mayfield and Markhams courtroom apologies. As both men stood up, the judge rattled off line by line the money flows listed in court papers. Did Mayfield and Markham agree that they had defrauded the foundation on this date, that date and that date? The men acknowledged that they had.

As he stood at the podium in a black suit, Mayfield also gave a personal apology to the judge.

The judge said Mayfield should apologize instead to his courtroom of supporters and critics. Mayfield swiveled around to face the packed courtroom.

I accept 100%, full responsibility, he said. I love this city, I love my family, I love this music, and I know Ive let them all down.

Over and over, the judge said he struggled with the sentence. By his account, he initially thought the co-conspirators should receive five years in prison before dipping down to the lower prison term. He found Mayfield and Markhams crime to be egregious  but he also thought they had much to give the city. As part of their sentence, they are each required to provide 500 hours of free musical instruction to New Orleans children.

Mayfield is the caretaker for his mother, an amputee, and a brother who is autistic. His lawyers said that the judge should spare him prison time so he could continue caring for them. But the judge showed little sympathy for that argument.

They don't deserve this sentence, but you do, Zainey said. You should have thought about the consequences to your beloved family members before you violated the law.

Mayfields lawyers and Markhams attorney, Sara Johnson, also said that imprisoning the men would prevent them from paying the $1.1 million they owe in restitution, to be paid in $500 monthly installments. But Zainey said that would amount to a get-out-of-jail-free card for white collar crooks.

The government pushed for the maximum sentence. Avoiding prison time, U.S. Attorney Dall Kammer said, "would serve as a glaring example of white collar criminals getting a slap on the wrist, and not getting the jail time that they deserve."

After Mayfields sentencing, he shared a private moment with Markham at the defense table. Both men ducked out of the building without speaking to the gathered press.

The judge said they must report to prison Jan. 5.
After nearly 16 years in prison and three years in legal limbo waiting to see if prosecutors would retry him, Troy Rhodes case was over in seconds in a New Orleans courtroom Wednesday.

The judge called his name. He stood at attention. And she told him that it was all over. The District Attorneys Office had dismissed charges tied to the 2002 shooting and robbery of a Leidenheimer bread delivery truck driver.

Mr. Rhodes, you're free to go, said Criminal District Judge Nandi Campbell.

Rhodes walked out of court with written proof for his bondsman and a grin slipping out both sides of his red facemask.

Rhodes, 53, had fought for his freedom through four district attorneys. Only by filing his own appeals did he help secure a federal judges rare declaration in 2018 that he was wrongfully convicted. She ordered his release from a 99-year sentence.

Since then, a man who spent the 1990s in trouble with the law has become an advocate for fresh starts. Most recently, he is a housing coordinator for the First 72+, the post-prison re-entry organization whose logo graced his facemask.

After Rhodes left prison in 2018, his first stop was that organizations communal house. Now, he beams with pride when speaking about how he helps old friends from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola find lodging.

+9 Coming home: The First 72+ provides those freed from prison with lodging, hope Parking in downtown New Orleans, Troy Rhodes was struck by the adjustment he now faced. The 50-year-old knew after 15 years in prison, he'd ha

There's just beautiful symmetry between how he started his journey and what he's been able to do for other people, said Kelly Orians, a First 72+ board member. She said Rhodes is a "calming" and grounded presence.

Former Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro had maintained that his office it would retry Rhodes. Prosecutors said that the driver was convinced Rhodes was the shooter in the botched hold-up on Touro Street in June 2002, which left the victim gravely wounded. Rhodes had to post a $50,000 bail, and one misstep could have put him in jail.

In recent months, he watched as other men won release  without conditions  as a result of new District Attorney Jason Williams broad review of old cases for wrongful convictions or excessive sentences.

Im not going to say I wasnt frustrated, Rhodes said. However, the new administration was allowing a lot of men and women to come home from prison, and so I had to think about it. Its bigger than just me.

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The same factors that led to Rhodes release would have made another trial tricky. From Angola, Rhodes managed to find hospital records that showed the driver was on painkillers before he identified Rhodes.

Those records could have been used to impeach the mans testimony, but Rhodes court-appointed lawyer failed to do so. In the end, he was convicted on a narrow 10-2 vote under a split jury law that has since been ruled unconstitutional.

+4 Free on bail, New Orleans man fights to avoid return to Angola in 2002 robbery case Years into what was supposed to amount to a life sentence in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Troy Rhodes peered into the grave of 

A pair of federal judges found that because of missteps by Rhodes attorneys, he deserved a new trial more than a decade after his first one.

Last November, ad hoc Judge Jay Daniels granted Rhodes motion to quash his indictment, under the novel theory that the states failure to provide him with an effective public defender led to his long imprisonment, violating his constitutional right to a speedy trial. Cannizzaros lawyers started an appeal, which Williams lawyers moved to withdraw on Sept. 29.

In a statement, Williams said another trial would have been impossible. There was no physical evidence, a photo line-up was lost after Hurricane Katrina and the entire case rested on the victims identification, Williams said. He added that the office has been in consistent communication with the victim.

We have deep and abiding respect for him, and what he endured. When we explained the circumstances of the case, the victim was supportive of our decision and thanked the administration for addressing the matter, Williams said. We are committed to an honest, forthright treatment of the case, which included not making a promise to the victim regarding a future conviction that was not possible.

For defense attorney Pamela Metzger, the case is a teachable moment in how Louisianas split-jury rule, and the state's failure to adequately fund public defense, have denied justice to defendants and victims alike.

Rhodes plans to continue working in the re-entry field, but with the case dismissed, he would also like to travel to Washington, D.C. He had a dream that he would visit the Lincoln Memorial with Metzger, a law professor at Southern Methodist University.

A lot of great events happened there, Rhodes said. The Lincoln Memorial holds this country accountable, I feel in some ways, and thats what we want to do. We want to continue to hold this country accountable for doing the right thing and moving forward.
A younger relative of Jack Strain testified Tuesday that when he was 15, the St. Tammany Parish sheriff let him drink alcohol at Strain's home in Abita Springs and once insisted he was too drunk to drive himself home.

But as he slept that evening on Strain's couch, the high school sophomore was awakened by something.

What woke him, Assistant District Attorney Collin Sims asked. The witness lowered his head, rubbed at his face, exhaled slowly and was silent for a long moment.

"His hand on my groin area," he finally said, tonelessly.

"Did he remove his hand or did you do something to remove it," Sims asked.

"I rolled over ... to get his hand off my groin," he replied.

Strain's trial in Louisiana's 22nd Judicial District Court in Covington, on eight counts of sex crimes against boys, has been marked by testimony from accusers who have struggled to talk about what happened to them. Skip Keen and Mark Finn, both of whom say Strain raped them as a children, testified last week. Two more accusers are expected to take the stand as the trial continues in its second week.

But the struggles of this witness, one of two accusers for whom Strain faces a charge of aggravated incest, became the target of intense questioning by Strain's defense attorney, Billy Gibbens. Gibbens pressed the witness during cross-examination on whether he had tried to withdraw his accusation but was not allowed to do so.

The witness, now 33, said that he had gone to state trooper Malcolm Brown, who was investigating the sex crime allegations, the district attorney's office and to Gibbens' office in an effort to get out of appearing in court.

"You came to my office last April. Remember that you told us that you were not a victim, that the DA pressured you into saying you were molested that night," Gibbens said.

"Yes, sir," the witness said.

"You didn't remember what happened because you were drunk. All you remember is that Jack rolled you over to make sure that you weren't about to throw up," Gibbens pressed. "They told you they needed more victims. Remember telling us that? That they pressured you? They pressured you into saying that was molestation?"

"There were times I did and times I didn't," said the witness, whom The Times-Picayune | The Advocate is not identifying. "At the time I met you, I didn't."

During court Tuesday, Strain, 58, fidgeted, whispering frequently to his defense attorneys and watching witnesses, his mouth turned down. But as the relative testified, he was still and focused.

Once the most powerful politician in St. Tammany Parish, Strain fell from grace when he was voted out of office in 2015 then came under a federal corruption investigation that spawned a inquiry into sex crimes, stunning the community. Strain faces trial in federal court next month on 16 counts of corruption.

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In opening statements last week, Gibbens told the jury that Strain's accusers are manipulators and the manipulated. Gibbens honed in on that assertion Tuesday, suggesting that the relative who testified feared being prosecuted for perjury if his story changed.

+3 Counselor testifies Jack Strain accuser has some of 'worst' PTSD he's ever seen A counselor who worked with one of the men accusing former St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain of raping him as a boy took the stand in Strain's t

"Once I got a subpoena, I had to tell the truth," the witness replied.

Gibbens also asked about statements that the witness made to other relatives, denying that Strain had done anything.

"I didn't want anybody to know about it," the witness replied, adding that in court he was having to tell a room full of people.

"You told us you were pressured," Gibbens insisted.

"I wasn't under oath while I was in your office," the witness replied.

Sims questioned the witness about going to Strain's house in October 2017, wearing camouflage and arriving via the woods for fear that authorities were watching him.

"I gave him a big hug. He said, 'I'm sorry if I ever hurt you in any way," the witness said of Strain. Then, he said, Strain asked whether another relative had also been questioned by the authorities.

He told Strain yes, then Strain said, "'They just want to know if I [expletive] him.' That's what he told me," the witness testified.

Sims asked whether Strain meant he hadn't gone to that level of sexual activity with the other relative, who is another of the accusers in the current case. The witness said that was his interpretation of the comment.

When asked point blank Strain molested him, the witness replied, "Yes, sir. His hand on my groin."

Sims asked whether he remembered telling prosecutors that the two worst things he'd experienced were combat in Afghanistan "and what Jack Strain did to you?"

"Yes, sir," he said.

But Gibbens suggested that the witness was acting out of fear. "You've been scared of the FBI in this case from day one, right?" he asked.

"Who isn't afraid of the FBI," the witness replied.

Testimony resumes Wednesday.
A man whos purportedly exposed his genitals outside his home in New Orleans Lake Vista neighborhood countless times  leading police to arrest him twice in a little more than a year  has worn out his welcome with his neighbors, who are pleading with officials for help.

William Taylor Barry III, 69, is at the center of the controversy that has upended life in one of the citys most upscale areas.

One of Barrys neighbors on Snipe Street called New Orleans police on July 2, 2020, and accused him of standing outside his home nude and masturbating. Officers said they arrested Barry on a state felony count of obscenity after being provided footage showing him unclothed and apparently fondling himself in public view. He posted a $2,500 bond and was released from jail pending the outcome of the case, which remained unresolved Tuesday.

Barry's attorney, Roger Jordan, said Tuesday that "there is absolutely no evidence that occurred."

Jordan added, "There is no video suggesting anything like that, and any allegation inferring that is false."

Then, on Oct. 25, a neighbor called the New Orleans Levee District Police, the agency that patrols the levees along the nearby lakeshore, and complained that Barry was outside in his underwear.

Officers arrived to find Barry standing in a public right of way with his underwear at his knees and his genitals exposed, levee police spokesperson Kimberly Curth said. Barry was booked with obscenity, though this time it was classified as a municipal offense rather than a state offense.

An ordinance that the City Council approved in 2017 amid widespread criminal justice reforms requires the jail to release most municipal offenders without bail. So the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office, which operates the lockup, immediately released Barry without bond, said the agencys general counsel, Blake Arcuri.

Jordan on Tuesday said he had not received information about the more recent arrest.

The news of Barry's release has left his neighbors perplexed. One neighbor, Susan Garcia, said Barry has been either completely exposing himself outside his home or cavorting around in skimpy underwear since before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, frequently drifting off his property to do so.

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Often, he acts like he didn't realize he was undressed, throwing his hands up in feigned alarm, Garcia alleged.

Others said there are roughly a half-dozen young children living in the vicinity of Barrys home who shouldn't have to see him nude.

When they call police, Garcia said residents are frequently told there are other more pressing calls that officers must handle, so officers dont always show.

On Tuesday, Garcia recalled Barry being arrested on June 1, 2013, on a count of obscenity. She and her husband provided a case number and recounted how prosecutors told the couple that Barry had pleaded guilty to a lesser offense as part of a plea deal.

City 911 records do show an obscenity arrest being made on Snipe that day under the case number which Garcia and her husband provided. But information about the cases outcome in court wasnt immediately available.

In any event, Barrys neighbors on Tuesday were stunned that he hadnt faced more serious consequences despite repeated arrests and calls to the authorities. Garcia and others acknowledged the possibility that Barry was struggling with a mental illness. But they said they were out of ideas on how to resolve the strange impasse with Barry and hoped some authority could help them, him or both.

It is very frustrating, and it just seems like his case keeps slipping through the cracks, one of Barrys neighbors said.

+4 Obscenity charge filed against former priest, dominatrices for alleged Pearl River altar tryst A former priest and two professional dominatrices who were charged with institutional vandalism after an alleged sexual tryst on a Pearl River
NEW ORLEANS  Louisiana State Police are investigating a shooting involving Houma police officers and a mentally ill man.

It happened late Monday afternoon in the 100 block of Downtown Court.

Police were responding to a call about a disturbance involving 36-year-old Johnny Magee.

I called 911 and said 'My son is schizophrenic, bipolar, he has a mental disorder,' Magees mother Lorraine Magee said. I said when you come out here, I said send some policemen with experience in that area, so they wont kill my child.

Lorraine Magee said her son was having a mental breakdown when two police officers arrived in the parking lot in front of her trailer home.

She admits her son could get aggressive when having one of his episodes.

When hes in his flash out, hes like that, especially when you go up on him, Magee said. Hes going to start fighting. Yes, hes going to start fighting to protect himself.

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According to the state police, Magee charged at a Houma officer while holding a screwdriver.

As the officer gave commands to stop and began to create distance, Magee continued forward as an additional officer arrived on the scene, the LSP said in a written statement. McGee raised his arm with the screwdriver in-hand towards one of the officers resulting in an officer discharging his service weapon.

Neighbor Lashanda King witnessed the shooting.

He did come out of the trailer, runningat them, King said. All you heard was pow, pow, pow, pow, four times.

Lorraine Magee said she begged the police not to shoot.

I said, 'Why you all shooting him?' she said. Hes disabled. I said, 'Hes mental, he dont know what hes doing, he hears voices.' I said, 'Dont kill him, please dont kill him, please dont kill him.'

Louisiana State Police is the lead investigating agency. The Terrebonne Parish Sheriffs Office assisted with processing the scene.
More than six years after it was requested through the Freedom of Information Act, the FBI sent The Times-Picayune | The Advocate a compact disc containing the bureaus heavily redacted file on the late James Jim Leslie, a former state corrections official.

The request was filed on Sept. 25, 2015, amid an investigation by the newspaper into possible corruption at the state Department of Public Safety & Corrections.

Leslie had been a key player in an earlier FBI inquiry into corruption that appeared to center on Burl Cain, then the longtime warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Leslie pleaded guilty in 2006 to a federal charge of witness tampering after he was caught on tape telling a cooperating witness in the case to lie to the FBI.

Burl Cain, storied former Angola warden, hired to head Mississippi prison system Burl Cain, the legendary and controversial former warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola who quit in 2015 amid probes into his b

Leslie had been the director of Prison Enterprises, the profit-making arm of the corrections department, which had always been closely tied to Cain and current corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc.

After pleading guilty, Leslie agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, and a grand jury subpoenaed a raft of other documents related to Cain and Prison Enterprises, including records of various items sold by the latter agency. Another Cain associate, Gene Fletcher, pleaded guilty to fraud charges, admitting he bilked hundreds of thousands of dollars from Prison Enterprises by overbilling for fertilizer.

Cain was never charged in the probe.

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While he has never been indicted, Cains entrepreneurial streak repeatedly attracted the attention of authorities. One of those episodes involved his effort to develop a subdivision in West Feliciana Parish, a deal that led to Cain partnering with the wealthy stepfather of an inmate serving time for a double homicide while steering the inmate toward a pardon.

+4 After ripoff scheme, ex-Louisiana prison warden Nate Cain and his ex-wife get prison time The former warden of a Louisiana state prison in Cottonport and his ex-wife, who served as the prison's business manager, were sentenced Monda

The pardon never came, perhaps because the FBI was sniffing around, and the real-estate deal went bust. But when the details of the whole sordid saga made it into the newspaper in late 2015, Cain was forced to resign.

Leslie, meanwhile, had died in 2011, four years before his FBI file was requested. Generally speaking, when a person dies, the bureau will release the files it has collected on them, though they are often heavily redacted to avoid sullying the reputations of people by publishing unproven intelligence about them.

Corrections department to make policy changes after scathing audit, but some want tighter restrictions A maintenance supervisor at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola who spent part or all of at least 21 work days in 2015 overseeing renov

The Leslie files are no exception to that general rule. Many of the 332 pages released this week show few if any recognizable words, and the sections that appear to outline allegations about Cain are almost completely redacted.

Cain, meanwhile, has reinvented himself. Since May 2020, he has been working as secretary of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, which has been rebuilding from a major scandal of its own after former secretary Chris Epps confessed to orchestrating a widespread kickback scheme.
Calling him a threat to everyone in Jefferson Parish, 24th Judicial District Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant raised the bond for the alleged drunk driver accused in the death of 9-year-old Abby Douglas to $1 million.

In a hearing Wednesday, Morvant also granted the state's request to impose special conditions on Wendell Lachney, 58, of Belle Chasse, should he be released from jail.

Lachney is facing a charge of vehicular homicide. His attorney, Frank DeSalvo, said his client does not intend to make bond at this time.

Abby's mother and father, Sarah and Robert Douglas, sat on the front row of the courtroom in Gretna, Robert Douglas holding his wife tightly during the proceedings.

+2 Driver in Abby Douglas death had blood alcohol more than twice legal limit, open bottle of whiskey When Wendell Lachney crashed into the back of the minivan Abby Douglas was riding in Oct. 22, he was driving between 60 and 75 mph after spend

Abby was riding on the third row of a minivan driven by her mother on the night of Oct. 22 when State Police investigators say Lachney slammed into the back of the stopped vehicle in unincoporated Gretna.

Though buckled in, Abby was critically injured and died of her injuries two days later. Sarah Douglas was also injured in the crash.

Lachney had been drinking whiskey and smoking marijuana for about four hours before crash, prosecutors said. He had a blood alcohol content of 0.22%, more than twice the 0.08% legal limit and was driving between 60 to 75 miles per hour.

"He didn't even stop bfore he plowed into the back of the Douglas's van," Assistant Jefferson Parish District Attorney Norma Broussard DuBois told the court.

State Police found open bottles of Jack Daniels and wine, a cup of beer and more marijuana in Lachney's car, authorities said.

The state's motion mentioned Lachney's 1994 conviction for DUI out of Washington state. But prosecutors on Wednesday decided to ask the court to increase Lachney's $300,000 bond after they uncovered another DUI conviction from 1990 in St. John the Baptist Parish, according to DuBois.

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"Abby can never go home," DuBois said, as Sarah Douglas began to sob. "He needs to realize that his actions have taken the life of a beautiful 9-year-old child, and we want to mae sure that it never happens again."

As DuBois addressed the court, Lachney kept his eyes on the ground in front of him as he sat handcuffed in the courtroom's jury box.

Before giving her ruling, Morvant briefly addressed the Douglas family.

"To Abby's mom and dad, I can't bring Abby back," she said, noting nothing she can do will remove the pain of the loss.

Morvant agreed that Lachney's BAC along with the alcohol and drugs found in his vehicle, supported the higher bond amount. The judge also found it troubling that Lachney has two previous DUI convictions.

Morvant said she found it particularly concerning that Lachney left the jurisdiction of the 24th Judicial District Court after he was relased from jail on his original, $50,000 bond, which was imposed after his arrest on the inital charge of negligent injuring. Remaining in Jefferson Parish was a condition of that bond. The charge was not upgraded to vehicular homicide until after Abby's death.

Lachney entered a medical facillity in Abita Springs some time after making bond on Oct. 23, according to jail records. The facility at the address were Lachney was arrested Monday is a substance abuse treatment center, according to the business's website.

"The defendant is an absolute and credible threat to everyone in Jefferson Parish," Morvant said.

Should Lachney make bond, he will be required to register with the home incarceration program and wear a GPS monitor. He also most wear a device designed to monitor alcohol consumption, Morvant ordered.

Lachney is barred from driving. Any vehicle that he has access to must be outfitted with an Interlock device, which requires the user to blow into a breathalyzer before the vehicle will start.

Morvant forbid Lachney or any of his relatives from contact with the Douglas family after the judge received word that someone had tried to speak with Abby's relatives.

"My direction is that any of your family, whether they are trying to apologize, not contact the victims," Morvant said to Lachney.
The independent commission charged with ensuring city employees are treated fairly is suing Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration for allegedly holding its budget hostage and trying to block the hiring of one of its senior leaders.

In a lawsuit filed last month in Civil District Court, the Civil Service Commission accused Cantrell of trying stop the hiring of its new executive counsel, Christina Carroll. The lawsuit also said the Cantrell administration withheld money that would have paid for a contract attorney.

The commission is asking a judge to declare that Cantrell has no business interfering in its affairs, and that the city should release commission funding in accordance with the annual budget approved by the City Council.

+9 New Orleans Civil Service approves overhaul of city employment system The New Orleans Civil Service Commission voted Monday (Aug. 25) to approve a sprawling overhaul the city's employment system. The changes, whi

The commission sets public pay scales and mediates disputes between city employees and their supervisors. Because of that latter duty, "it is crucial that the commission maintain at all times its independent status relative to the city of New Orleans, and the mayor of the city of New Orleans," said the lawsuit, which was filed by Carroll.

City Hall apparently objected to Carroll's hiring because she had argued before the commission on behalf of city employees, and because her old law firm continues to do so. City Attorney Sunni LeBeouf said Carroll's continued employment allegedly violates the state's code of professional conduct, because of her work history and because Cantrell's team does not back her appointment.

Carroll has also given the commission bad legal advice on multiple occasions, LeBeouf said in a 2019 letter to the commission.

A spokesperson for Cantrell's office said Monday that the commission must follow the same legal and budgeting rules as other city agencies. And LeBeouf said Wednesday that the city would have paid the commission's contract attorney if that attorney would have signed a settlement agreement with the city and the commission.

The firm refused. "The vendor stated that it wouldn't sign anything with reference to the city of New Orleans, because the commission is independent," LeBeouf said.

The legal tussle is the second time in the past three years that a city agency has sued the administration for withholding a portion of its budget. In April 2018, the Downtown Development District sued the city for using a portion of its tax revenues to pay for city pension funds, though the case has not been resolved.

The commission and the mayor's administration have also been at odds before, though past squabbles have largely been over objections to the commission's requirements for new hires.

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The latest skirmish finds the commission defending its own autonomy, after Cantrell has sought a greater say in how it runs its operation.

Civil Service: 3 S&WB workers were hired for jobs they didn't fit, or which didn't exist Three Sewerage & Water Board employees were appointed to positions that either did not officially exist or else were not intended to cover

In response to LeBeouf's letter, which is included in the October lawsuit, former commission chairperson Michelle Craig notes that each employee case Carroll handled in front of the commission had been resolved by the time of her hiring.

Craig said other claims LeBeouf made about Carroll were false, and that Carroll's past doesn't preclude her from doing her job.

Even before Carroll was hired, the city sought to influence who the commission picked for the job, a request the commission denied, the lawsuit said.

After LeBeouf objected to Carroll's hiring, the commission hired an outside attorney to advise it on that issue. Since then, the city has refused to release commission funding so that the commission can pay that attorney, according to Carroll.

Landrieu blames 'technical issues' for improper Sewerage & Water Board hires New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu blamed "technical issues" for complications facing two upper-level Sewerage & Water Board employees who t

That's despite the fact that the commission has more than $15,000 set aside in its annual budget for legal fees, she said.

The commission must be able to obtain legal advice without interference from the (city) in order to effectively and efficiently carry out its constitutional duties, especially when the (city) ha(s) raised a conflict of interest issue," Carroll said in the suit.

But LeBeouf said Wednesday that if money is paid out by the city, it's standard protocol for the city's name to be on agreements regarding that money. "We have obligations around the public fisc, and we want to make sure we honor those obligations," she said.

The suit names Cantrell, the city and city Chief Financial Officer Norman White as defendants. The case has been assigned to Judge Sidney Cates IV.

Editor's note, 11/3/2021: This story has been updated to include additional comments from the city attorney, and to note that the DDD sued the city just before Cantrell assumed office.
Three days after New Orleans City Council member Jared Brossett was arrested a third time for driving drunk, he suspended his campaign for council at-large, citing a need to focus on his rehabilitation.

But his campaign said Tuesday that Brossett can't control what others do on his behalf after a worker was spotted hanging signs over the weekend to support his candidacy.

The signs were placed along Robert E. Lee Blvd. in Gentilly on the first day of early voting for the Nov. 13 primary, though not at Brossett's request, a campaign spokesperson said.

Our Views: In New Orleans City Council district races, The Times-Picayune endorses these candidates On Nov. 13, and in early voting beginning Saturday, New Orleans voters will elect City Council members to represent each of the citys five di

"While Jared is currently in treatment, and is not campaigning personally, there are many who continue to campaign on Jared's behalf but not at Jared's direction," Greg Buisson said.

The campaign of one of Brossett's competitors, former state Sen. JP Morrell, heaped scorn late Monday on the hidden helpers after raising the issue of the continued campaign activity.

"We understand Council member Brossett suspended his campaign, and it's unfortunate that someone is putting out his campaign signs in a clear attempt to mislead voters," Morrell campaign manager James Baker said.

It's the latest twist in what has become one of the most intriguing races this political season. With Mayor LaToya Cantrell lacking a high-profile challenger and Councilmember Helena Moreno broadly expected to hold on to her Division 1 at-large seat, the citywide race for the Division 2 at-large seat has drawn outsized interest.

Brossett's arrest came just days after he and competitor Kristin Gisleson Palmer cross-endorsed each other. Already seen as a possible wildcard in the bout between Palmer and Morrell, Brossett's fall forced Palmer and Morrell to address whether he should continue to serve out his term and continue his campaign. They both largely dodged the question  as did the fourth candidate in the race, university administrator Bart Everson  and focused on his need to get help.

Brossett was arrested Oct. 18 after officers found him asleep behind the wheel of his Lexus at a gas station convenience store on Elysian Fields Avenue. He later allegedly failed a field sobriety test and was booked with driving while intoxicated.

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UNO poll: Voters racially divided in City Council at-large contest, with many undecided Less than two weeks before the election, nearly 40% of voters have not decided on a candidate for an open at-large seat on the New Orleans Cit

Brossett was arrested for the same charge in June 2020 after he jumped a city neutral ground, also on Elysian Fields, and crashed his city-owned Chevrolet Tahoe into an oncoming car. He was also arrested on DUI charges in Florida in 2006.

The District D council member has admitted he struggles with alcohol addiction, and has completed multiple alcohol and substance abuse courses. Buisson said Brossett was again receiving treatment but did not provide details Tuesday.

Though Brossett is not widely expected to win the at-large seat, an open question before his October arrest was whether he'd garner enough votes to force a runoff between Morrell and Palmer.

It's not yet clear how the arrest will affect his ability to do so. A University of New Orleans poll released Monday did not factor Brossett into questions about candidate popularity in the at-large race.

Jared Brossett to suspend at-large council race following DWI arrest, prioritizing rehab Councilmember Jared Brossett has suspended his campaign for the Council At-Large District 2 seat following a DWI arrest. He will complete his 

Also unclear is the amount of help his suspended campaign will continue to receive from third parties in the weeks leading up to Nov. 13.

Though Brossett has paused his campaign, he has not withdrawn his candidacy, his campaign manager noted.

"It should be noted that Jared does remain on the ballot, and his votes will count on election day," Buisson said.
Politics Reporter

Reese Gorman covers politics and the COVID-19 pandemic for The Norman Transcript. He started as an intern in May of 2020 and transitioned into his current position as a staff writer in August of 2020.
Norman, OK (73070)

Today

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 48F. SE winds shifting to NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 48F. SE winds shifting to NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Sunbury -- Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC., a private company founded in 2009, is committed to ethical coffee sourcing. The company monitors the health of their products, the environmental impact of coffee farming, and economic support of Fair Trade farmers in partnership. Fresh Roasted Coffee is also a local asset to Sunbury, especially for economic growth in the region.

The state is now investing over $1.7 million in the company's expansion in Northumberland County to increase its production capacity and hire 46 new full-time employees while retaining its 35 full-timers, according to a press release from Governor Wolf's office.

The company is renovating and upgrading the recently acquired vacant 84,000-square-foot former Sunbury Textile Mill, which closed in August 2020. Most of the company will move to the new building which will have new, high-capacity roasters and packaging equipment.

This expansion project will create nearly 50 jobs in the Sunbury area and redevelop a large and important building for this community. Projects like this benefit families, strengthen our economy and build a brighter future for Pennsylvania," said Governor Wolf.

To assist with the business's expansion, the Department of Community and Economic Development proposed a $184,000 Pennsylvania First grant, an $88,000 workforce development grant for worker training, and a $1.5 million low-interest loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority.

The company has committed to investing $5.39 million into the project and vowed to create at least 46 new jobs over the next three years.
According to reports, Xiaomi is readying itself to mass-produce its next flagship smartphones. The Xiaomi 12 will arrive first and at least a month before the Xiaomi 12 Pro or Xiaomi 12 Ultra. Meanwhile, it seems that Xiaomi is also preparing to manufacture the MIX 5, the successor to the MIX 4.

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Reputedly, Xiaomi is following Samsung in preparing to mass-produce its next flagship smartphone. According to Digital Chat Station, the Xiaomi 12 will enter mass production this month, which they refer to as 'L2'. Presumably, this is the suffix of the entry-level's codename.

The Xiaomi 12 is expected to arrive this December in China, before a global launch in January or February 2022. By contrast, Xiaomi will not start producing 'L1' and 'L1A', likely the Xiaomi 12 Ultra and Xiaomi 12 Pro, until 'a little later'.

For context, Xiaomi announced the Mi 11 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra three months after the Mi 11. Hence, it seems probable that the Xiaomi 12 series will follow this timeline, with the Xiaomi 12 arriving in December and the Xiaomi 12 Pro/Ultra appearing in late Q1 2022.
The scene has been happening daily for just over two months. In the late afternoon, a few volunteers set up a long table in some arcades of the Blas de Otero square, located in the Egia neighbourhood of Donostia, and young people - most of them foreigners  walk through to receive some food lids, bread, fruit, milk and some sweets. These boys live on the street and would not have anything to eat if it wasn't for this initiative, whose protagonists share it with NOTICIAS DE GIPUZKOA.

It was in November of last year when residents of the Old Town, when they saw several people sleeping in the Plaza de la Constitucion, decided to cook a dish every night at home, take it down to the plaza and offer it to the homeless. The group of people to care for grew and the residents of the Old Town got in contact with a neighbourhood group in Egia to create another place there where dinner could be served to these people.

"As a result of the eviction from Hell, many people were left without a place to stay and neighbours from the Old Town began to see that they were spending the night in the Consti, so they began to voluntarily come down to give them a plate of hot food. It coincided with a very cold weather period. At the beginning they served eight or nine people, the group grew larger and from there they suggested that we created another group in Egia" says Ixiar, one of the volunteers who started the initiative.

Several of the people now linked to this project of offering dinners to the homeless had already gathered during the lockdown to "help the elderly" in tasks such as "grocery shopping and bringing it home": "That's why they called us from the Old Town and we started to form this group to prepare dinners ", explains Sara.

Around 40 residents of Egia keep this initiative alive, which currently gives dinner every day to no less than 40 or 45 homeless people. "Every day there are two cooks, each one cooks for about 20 people. And then there are more people who are here picking up the bread, making the distribution, organising... Cooking for so many people is expensive in terms of time, because you need to make several batches of food and you can spend several hours cooking" they explain. On the day that this newspaper accompanied the volunteers, it was Edurne and Nora's turn, two other neighbours, to make dinner: macaroni with meat. They had left the meat with tomato prepared the day before and that same afternoon they cooked the pasta. They took it down in two large pots to the local SOS Racismo and there they began to distribute it in lunch boxes. To each bag they added fruit, a hard-boiled egg, a yogurt and bread that the bakery The Loaf gives them every day, free of charge. Sometimes harira soup is added, which is cooked at the Herrera mosque every day "for more than 200 people" and a volunteer, Wadie, distributes around the city to the homeless.

In addition to the investment in terms of time each day, from Monday to Sunday, delivering these dinners involves an economic cost assumed by these Egia residents. "We do it with our money and what we can raise" says Ixiar. In this sense, the initiative has united the neighbourhood in some way. There are neighbours who give them money, in several catering establishments there are boxes in which any client can leave a few coins and they want to involve neighbourhood schools, ikastolas and other businesses: "There are a couple of pharmacies that are interested in collaborating and it will be possible to contribute money there too. It is very nice that it is a neighbourhood initiative, local, close, very real. Being something as basic as preparing a dinner seems beautiful to us", point out Ixiar and Sara.

YOUNG FOREIGNERS

The profile of the people who come to the Blas de Otero square every evening is varied. There are "Men that are 50 or 55 years old, who have been on the streets for a long time, but mainly they are young immigrants, many from Morocco, who have arrived here with nothing and see themselves on the street and without papers, and the reality is that they don't have anything to eat, " says Sara. "Most kids arrive without knowing what reality they are going to find. From what they think in their country of origin to what they find later... they are the ones who have managed to reach Europe and believe that they are going to get to work and be able to send money home, but it turns out that they cannot work because they do not have permits, residence or registration. They are boys of 17, 18 or 19 years old" adds Ixiar.

The same young people who these days appear on the news for trying to enter Ceuta and Melilla or those who try to swim across the Bidasoa river - on Saturday with fatal consequences for one of them- are the ones who come to receive a hot meal in this square in Egia. "Associations such as SOS Racismo and the Citizen Reception Network or social services try to direct them, but they arrive here with nothing", Ixiar points out: "The City Council has some resources, but to be able to access them you have to meet conditions such as having a registration of residency. And the reality is that, for one reason or another, there are people who are not registered". Sara regrets that all these guys before "at least had a place to stay in Hell. It's not that it was the solution, but evicting them like they did last year isn't either. They need what we all need: a roof and food. And if this is not given to them, what are we doing as a society? ".

Sara and Ixiar do not deny that young Moroccans they serve can sometimes create "conflicts". "These conflicts are real, but it is not the general rule. Here too, sometimes, not every day, there are disrespectful behaviours, but here anyone can have a bad day. It is difficult to be well in that situation, we understand them," Sara explains. "You have to put yourself in the shoes of these people, the street wears a lot", adds Ixiar. "They have no roots in anything. To what, to the street? You stop being where you were from, you are not from here ... every day on the street must be hard. Is impossible not to lose your head".

In fact, these Egia neighbours point out that the people who come to receive the dinners have a "cooperative attitude and are grateful for the food": "They are on the street, but they are just as capable as anyone. They would like to have the opportunities that we have", they comment: "They try to make their own way because they arrive here and have to start from scratch: registration of residency, access to some help, accommodation ... some come with studies and try to homologate them here or try to get a training for a profession. But it is not easy and the situation wears them down. In the last few days a couple of people told us they wanted to go, one to Murcia and the other to Lleida, because there is no work here. They asked us to help them catch the bus. the majority: they arrive here, they see that there is no work and they move to other cities ". Sara also points out that "these are not people who want to live off social resources, but rather work and send money home."

With those who have been going to dinner every day for longer, they begin to establish a relationship: "We talk more and more with them and also with each other, the people of the neighbourhood. A bond is being created. Through that hot food we generate a little human heat, right? ", says Sara, who insists that society should make an effort" to put itself in the shoes of these people": "It is easier to give than to receive. It can cost us more or less doing what we do, but we come from our house and we do it because we want to and can. And they come to receive a bag of food because they don't have anything else. It's hard for me to think how I would be on the other side of the table, how I would feel, how hard it would be".

REQUEST TO THE TOWN HALL

The work done by these residents of Egia and also in the Old Town is complemented by the work of NGOs such as the Food Bank, Caritas, SOS Racismo or the Citizen Reception Network, which weekly "distribute bags of food to about 60 people". "Initiatives at the local scale already exist, and thank goodness", they indicate, ensuring that they will continue to carry out this work "with enthusiasm, hope and strength because it is necessary." Of course, they are clear that in the medium term it must be the City Council that "takes charge of this situation": " We respond to an emergency, and we can sustain it for a while, but the solution must be permanent and we ask the institutions to take charge. There have already been meetings with the City Council and they know that these initiatives exist. There is a need in the city for a food service for these people or for a social dining room, at the very least. And if it can help them work in any way, the better. Hopefully something will be done soon. In the meantime, we will continue here. "
News Release: NREL Supports Department of Energy Launch of the New Net Zero World Initiative at COP26 To Accelerate Global Energy System Decarbonization

Nov. 3, 2021

Today at COP26, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry launched the Net Zero World Initiative together with ministers from Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Ukraine, leaders from Breakthrough Energy, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Global Energy Alliance for People and the Planet, and Lynne and Marc Benioff. Through Net Zero World, led by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the Build Back Better World initiative, countries committed to raising their climate ambitions will work across U.S. government and DOEs national laboratories to create and implement highly tailored, actionable, technology roadmaps and investment strategies for key countries that will put global net zero within reach.

The U.S. is committed to working with countries all over the globe to accelerate clean climate goals from ambition to action, and the Net Zero World Initiative is the latest example of our dedication, said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. With Net Zero World, our partnering nations will harness the power and expertise of the national laboratories, federal agencies, think tanks, businesses, and universities to develop tangible clean energy projects that meet their energy needs.

At the launch event, Martin Keller, director of DOEs National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), highlighted the world-class analytic and technical support that will be available across the DOE national laboratories. He noted that:

NREL is deeply committed to supporting energy decarbonization in partner countries, Keller said. NREL and the other DOE laboratories are ready to team with countries in tailoring and applying our state-of-the-art tools and data, testing and simulation facilities, technology, and markets expertise to assist countries with net-zero energy transitions.

Net Zero World will harness expertise from DOEs national laboratories and federal agencies, partner countries, leaders in business and the philanthropic community, civil society, and international institutions to usher in clean energy transformations at national and subnational levels to achieve sustainable economic growth and protect our planet.

Reducing emissions to net zero is an enormous global challenge that requires urgent action at every level, said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies and the U.N. Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions. Cities, regions, and businesses are helping to lead the way, but so much more needs to happenand faster. As the U.S. government joins forces with more partners worldwide, the Net Zero World Initiative will help accelerate the race to zero and create a greener, more sustainable future for all.

Nothing is more important than every company, country, and individual going net zero," said Marc Benioff, chair and CEO of Salesforce. Im very proud that Salesforce is net zero, renewable today and making more cuts to our emissions. I look forward to working with others to go net zero as well.

Additional U.S. agencies participating in Net Zero World include the U.S. Department of State, which will provide energy and climate diplomacy expertise and funding, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), set to provide integration with development assistance, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, which will fund climate-related project preparation and partnership-building activities, and the Development Finance Corporation, which will provide investment and business partnership assistance.

For more information on the Net Zero World Initiative, please visit our website at www.nrel.gov/netzeroworld or contact Caroline.Uriarte@nrel.gov and Travis.Lowder@nrel.gov.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
Bank of America says one of the easiest ways to overspend is waiting until the last minute to shop and then having to settle for whats available, regardless of prices. Spread out purchases and begin holiday shopping before prices increase.
Josh Stephens chats with a constituent outside the New Market Fire Department on Tuesday afternoon. Stephens was campaigning for the District 1 seat on the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors.
Hoosier parents can schedule appointments beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday to get their children ages 5 to 11 protected against infection, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

The Indiana Department of Health said appointments for the free pediatric COVID-19 vaccine can be made online at ourshot.in.gov, or by calling 211.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave final authorization to administer the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to younger children following extensive testing and review. The Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for children age 12 and up since mid-May.

"Having a COVID-19 vaccine available to our younger Hoosiers is a game changer in terms of our efforts to keep children healthy and in school for in-person learning," said Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner.

"Fully vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine if they are exposed but have no symptoms, so I encourage parents to get their children vaccinated if they are eligible."

Federal rules require individuals under age 18 receive only the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, and the dose for ages 5-11 is lower than the dosage for ages 12 and up.
The top state official for advising Hoosiers about Indiana's open meeting and public access laws is recommending a bit more civility be employed by all sides to minimize disturbances and disruptions at school board and other local government meetings.

Luke Britt, Indiana's public access counselor, said there's no question, based on the inquiries flowing into his office, there's recently been a sharp uptick in personal attacks and confrontations, particularly directed at Indiana school boards and their members.

Britt acknowledges at the outset "the public access counselor is not the behavior sheriff." But he also says it's been his experience that "reasonable and measured discourse invites more productive solutions."

To that end, Britt points out Indiana law does not require local governing bodies provide time for public comment, or establish any right for the public to participate in meetings  only to observe and record.

"Governing bodies can choose whether to extend the courtesy of a comment forum, and therefore revoke it if misused," Britt said. "Tumult, disorder and disturbance on the part of the audience should not be tolerated by a board, council or commission."
CROWN POINT  An East Chicago man pleaded guilty Friday to hitting another man in the head with a hammer last year in Hammond and began a yearlong term of probation.

Frank W. Thompson, 43, admitted to one count of battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, a level 6 felony.

Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez accepted Thompson's plea agreement, which called for a jail sentence of six months and 12 months of probation.

Thompson received credit for six months served in jail before he posted bond in November 2020, records show.

In exchange for his plea, Lake County prosecutors agreed to dismiss several higher-level felonies, including aggravated battery, battery by means of a deadly weapon and battery resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to charging documents, Thompson and the man he struck with a hammer used to work in construction together and had been friends until their employer fired Thompson and gave the man the position Thompson had held.

The man told police he was walking late May 19, 2020, in the area of 140th and Pulaski streets in East Chicago when Thompson approached him from behind and said, "You stole my job, you owe me money," and, "Give me my money or I'll (expletive) kill you."
HAMMOND  After nearly five years of fighting and losing at two trials, former Portage Mayor James Snyder is not giving up in his attempts to overcome federal bribery and tax violations convictions.

The 43-year-old Republican, by way of his defense attorney Andrea E. Gambino, has filed a notice of appeal and says the jurisdiction is with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, records show.

The appeal comes on the heels of Snyder's Oct. 13 day-long sentencing hearing that resulted in him receiving 21 months behind bars and one year supervised release, which was well below the recommended sentencing guideline of 46 to 57 months.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly gave Snyder until Jan. 5 to surrender himself to begin his prison term. It is not clear whether Snyder will be allowed to remain free while his appeal is pending.

In imposing the lighter sentence, Kennelly said that Snyder's offense appeared to be an "aberration" in his life.

Yet the judge, who was brought in from the Northern District of Illinois to handle the local case, rejected the defense's call for no prison time, saying the sentence was necessary as a deterrent to public corruption.

"It sends an important message," Kennelly said.
PORTAGE  A report of an intoxicated clown out on Halloween night with another man touching a child and exposing himself while urinating landed the two behind bars, Portage police said.

James Anderson, 41, with Crown Point and Valparaiso addresses, was arrested on charges of public nudity and public intoxication, according to the police report.

Jason Lach, 43, of Portage, who was dressed as a clown and carrying both a beer and handgun, also was arrested and faces a charge of public intoxication, police said.

A witness told police he was out with his wife and 4-year-old daughter in the area of Boulder Avenue and Evelyn Street after 7:30 p.m. Sunday when he was approached from behind by two men, later identified as Anderson and Lach.

The man said Anderson tapped him on his shoulder and then reached down and stroked his daughter's hair several times, police said. The man said he pushed Anderson's hand away, told him to leave and then watched as Anderson exposed himself while urinating in the street with his daughter and other children and adults in the area trick-or-treating.
Westberg said the evidence showed McGhee dropped Buchanan off at her Gary home the afternoon of July 27, 2019, before she went to the mall.

Prosecutor: McGhee was jealous

The deputy prosecutor said it was possible McGhee stuck around Buchanan's home, saw Gouleh pick her up and followed them to the mall.

McGhee likely didn't just see a video of Buchanan with another man, Westberg said. He could have witnessed it in real life, because Gouleh testified Buchanan gave him oral sex in his car before he drove her home, she said.

"How is (McGhee) gone when she's still (at the mall)?" Westberg asked. "Because they didn't drive together."

Phone location data also showed Thomas wasn't with McGhee and Buchanan at the Wiz Khalifa concert in Tinley Park on July 27, 2019, Westberg said.

Thomas testified he had never met Buchanan before he helped McGhee dispose of her body July 28, 2019, and phone records showed no contact between Thomas and Buchanan, Westberg said.

"This was sheer luck that Kevin came into the picture and McGhee was able to rope him in," Westberg said. "If (Thomas) had anything to do with her death, why would he go around blabbing all over town?"
VALPARAISO  Indiana State Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting of a Valparaiso man while authorities served a warrant Wednesday afternoon.

At 2 p.m. the Porter County Sheriff's Department went to a residence in the area of 130 South 450 West in rural Porter County to serve a warrant to 58-year-old James W. Filby, according to a release from Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield.

When officers arrived at the residence, Filby met officers outside and had a handgun. Filby and an officer exchanged gunfire, with shots fired by both individuals.

Filby was injured and was airlifted to a Chicago hospital and his current condition is not known.

The officer involved in the shooting was not injured and has been placed on administrative leave, according to the Porter County Sheriff's Department. He has been with the agency for six years.

Police reported that Filby's warrant was being served for charges including child molesting, vicarious sexual gratification, two counts of attempted sexual battery and sexual battery.
LAKE STATION  One person has died after a vehicle pursuit ended in a crash Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 94 near the Ripley Street exit, Indiana State Police said.

The driver and front seat passenger were both ejected from the vehicle.

The chase was sparked by a stolen vehicle, Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said.

A total of four vehicle occupants were injured in the crash, with one of them suffering serious injuries requiring transport from a medical helicopter, police reported.

The driver died at the scene of the wreck, police said.

Indiana Department of Transportation cameras showed a white SUV appeared to have struck an interstate median.

A large police presence could be seen about 1:20 p.m. at the scene of the crash, which appeared to be stalling traffic in both directions.

Porter County sheriff's police said they were assisting LaPorte County sheriff's police with the pursuit.

INDOT initially advised drivers to seek alternate routes, because all lanes on the eastbound side of the expressway were closed just west of Ripley Street and westbound traffic was getting by on the right shoulder.
State Auditor Tera Klutz confirmed Tuesday she will seek the Republican nomination at next summer's Indiana GOP convention to run for a second, four-year term as state auditor.

Klutz is the first certified public accountant (CPA) to serve as state auditor, whose duties include paying Indiana's bills on time, managing the state's financial systems, and overseeing Indiana's online transparency portal.

"Weve had great success modernizing and streamlining the office to better serve Hoosiers, but there is still more work to be done," Klutz said.

"Im asking Hoosiers to trust our team with another four years and let us keep delivering the results taxpayers have come to expect."

In particular, Klutz said she's helped maintain Indiana's highest-possible "AAA" credit rating through the COVID-19 pandemic, and she is committed to hiring more CPAs to ensure the safety and security of Indiana taxpayer funds.

Kyle Hupfer, Indiana Republican Party chairman, said based on that track record, the state GOP is backing Klutz in her reelection bid.
WHITING  Nohemi Saavedra's students did their part to unite the living and the dead. And it had nothing to do with Halloween.

Saavedra teaches Spanish at Whiting High School, and her students worked on memorial projects for Day of the Dead.

In her second year at WHS, Saavedra assigned students to build an altar with ofrendas (offerings) in memory of a deceased relative, pet, or celebrity.

We have a lot of Hispanic students here, and a lot of them know nothing about ofrendas. Their parents did not pass this on, Saavedra said. I want them to be immersed in their culture. Its not about being sad at death, but happy.

Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a two-day Hispanic celebration of life that pays respect to the deceased. Families create altars with ofrendas and mementos of the departed. In addition to bright flowers, mementos might include photos of the deceased and their favorite foods.

Despite Day of the Deads proximity to Halloween, the two holidays are unrelated.

On Nov. 1, it is believed, children who have died return as angelitos (little angels) and, on Nov. 2, deceased adults (difuntos, deceased) show up for the festival.
Marc A. Howze, a senior Deere official, said in a statement that the agreement would have included an investment of an additional $3.5 billion in our employees, and by extension, our communities.

With the rejection of the agreement covering our Midwest facilities, we will execute the next phase of our Customer Service Continuation Plan, the statement continued, alluding to its use of salaried employees to run facilities where workers are striking.

Many workers had complained that wage increases and retirement benefits included in the initial proposal were too weak given that the company  known for its distinctive green-and-yellow John Deere products  was on pace for a record of nearly $6 billion in annual profits.

According to a summary produced by the union, wage increases under the more recent proposal would have been 10 percent this year and 5 percent in the third and fifth years. During each of the even years of the six-year contract, employees would have received a lump-sum payment equivalent to 3 percent of their annual pay.

That was up from earlier proposed wage increases of 5 or 6 percent this year, depending on a workers labor grade, and 3 percent in 2023 and 2025.
Alvin Bragg was elected Manhattan district attorney on Tuesday and will become the first Black person to lead the influential office, which handles tens of thousands of cases a year and is conducting a high-profile investigation into former President Donald J. Trump and his family business.

Mr. Bragg, 48, a former federal prosecutor who campaigned on a pledge to balance public safety with fairness for all defendants, beat out seven other Democrats for the nomination earlier this year and will succeed Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat who did not seek re-election. Mr. Bragg had been heavily favored to prevail over his Republican opponent, Thomas Kenniff, given that Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans in the borough.

He will take over an office that continues to disproportionately prosecute Black defendants, and Mr. Bragg throughout his campaign has drawn on his personal experiences growing up in New York to illustrate the types of changes he wishes to make. Mr. Bragg has said he would show leniency to defendants who commit low-level crimes and has emphasized the importance of accountability for the police and the offices prosecutors.

Mr. Bragg will be working in close partnership with a police department run by Eric Adams, who won the race for mayor on Tuesday night. Mr. Adams and Mr. Bragg have some policy disagreements  Mr. Adams, a former police officer, has called for the restoration of the departments plainclothes anti-crime unit, which Mr. Bragg opposes.
Eric Leroy Adams, a former New York City police captain whose attention-grabbing persona and keen focus on racial justice fueled a decades-long career in public life, was elected on Tuesday as the 110th mayor of New York and the second Black mayor in the citys history.

Mr. Adams, who will take office on Jan. 1, faces a staggering set of challenges as the nations largest city grapples with the enduring consequences of the pandemic, including a precarious and unequal economic recovery and continuing concerns about crime and the quality of city life, all shaped by stark political divisions over how New York should move forward.

His victory signals the start of a more center-left Democratic leadership that, he has promised, will reflect the needs of the working- and middle-class voters of color who delivered him the partys nomination and were vital to his general election coalition.

The results in New York unfolded as Democrats across the country monitored the emerging outcomes in two other closely watched races with concern: the contests for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, two states that President Biden won comfortably last year.
In Nassau, Democrats entered the race with high hopes of keeping the seat blue  it has been held by a Democrat since 2006  but party insiders grew increasingly nervous as Election Day approached and Republicans waged what appeared to be an effective campaign attacking Mr. Kaminsky for supporting the states contentious bail law in 2019.

There are more registered Democrats than Republicans in Nassau County, though more Republicans tend to vote in off-year elections, a trend that was apparently amplified on Tuesday.

Mr. Kaminsky, a former federal prosecutor and third-term state senator from Long Beach, was widely seen as the favorite at the outset of the race. A legislator since 2015, he had wider name recognition than Ms. Donnelly and a deep well of financial support.

But Ms. Donnelly, a first-time candidate who was virtually unknown to voters, spent aggressively on mailers and digital ads that attacked Mr. Kaminsky for supporting the bail law, which stopped criminal courts from setting cash bail on most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. She was also endorsed by a coalition of law enforcement unions and by the editorial board of Newsday, the largest daily newspaper on Long Island.

The race quickly turned into one of the most competitive in a state where Democrats were expected to win most of the top offices on Tuesday, with each camp spending millions of dollars and accusing the other of lying.
Polls closed in New York City at 9 p.m., as Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa waited to learn which of them voters had chosen to lead the nations largest city out of the throes of the pandemic and into a new political era.

Mr. Adams, the Democratic nominee and current Brooklyn borough president, is the odds-on favorite over Mr. Sliwa, the Republican founder of the Guardian Angels patrol group who has never held public office. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the city nearly seven to one.

It is unclear when a winner will be declared, but in the 2013 election that sent Bill de Blasio to Gracie Mansion, the last open-seat mayoral race in the city, the contest was called less than an hour after polls closed. If Mr. Adams  who triumphed in a bruising multicandidate Democratic primary by charting a moderate course  wins tonight, he will become the citys second Black mayor.

Mr. Adams, 61, a former police captain and state senator, ran a campaign focused on public safety, at a time when the city is struggling with a pandemic-era increase in gun violence. Many voters across the city said that his perspective on safety and crime had won him their support; he has said repeatedly that he pressed for reforms from within the Police Department.
One of the peculiarities of this years race for New York City mayor has been the difficulty reporters have had in pinning down where the Democratic candidate Eric Adams lives.

Mr. Adams has said that he lives on the ground floor of his rental property in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, but his tax returns suggested otherwise. He also owns an apartment in Fort Lee, N.J., with his companion, Tracey Collins. Twice, in response to reporters questions, he has promised to amend the tax returns. He has blamed the discrepancies on his accountant, who he said was homeless.

To get to the bottom of this mystery, the real-estate news site Curbed staked out the Brooklyn home last week.

At 4:18 a.m. last Tuesday, Mr. Adams pulled up to the curb in a gray Toyota Prius and parked illegally, in front of the garage of a plumbing supply company, Curbed reported.
Boston has been booming, as jobs in technology, medicine and education attract waves of young professionals. But that success has come at a cost, forcing working-class and middle-class families to leave the city in search of affordable housing.

Ms. Wu has promised to push back against gentrification, with policies tailored to help lower-income residents stay in the city, such as waiving fees for public transport, imposing a form of rent control, and reapportioning city contracts to firms owned by Black Bostonians.

It will not be easy for her to deliver. Rent control, for example, has been illegal in Massachusetts since 1994, so restoring it would require the passage of statewide legislation. The most recent effort to roll back the ban on rent control was rejected resoundingly by legislators last year, by a vote of 23 to 136.

Her plans to restructure the citys planning agency have worried many in the real estate and building sectors, which thrived while Mr. Walsh was mayor. And Ms. Wu will have to take control of a sprawling government apparatus whose powerful constituencies can slow or block a new mayors agenda.

Wilnelia Rivera, a political consultant who supported Ms. Wu, said she would face pushback.

The reality about power is that it never wants to give up any, and well see what that looks like once we cross that bridge, she said. She is going to have to recreate that power coalition. It would be nice to have a mayor who isnt necessarily in the back pocket of all the power players in the city.

Ms. Wu comes in with high expectations for change, and will face pressure to move swiftly. One of the citys most popular progressive figures, District Attorney Rachael Rollins of Suffolk County, warned that she ran the risk of disappointing many who have backed her.

What I wont do is allow our community to be sold a bill of goods and then when someone gets into the office, nothing happens, she said.
Glenn Youngkin, a Republican business executive, marched to victory in Tuesdays election, delivering his party the governorship of Virginia and highlighting a strong night for Republicans less than a year after voters pushed them fully out of power in the nations capital.

The outcome in Virginia, combined with an unexpectedly close contest in New Jersey, where the governors race remained too close to call, delivered a jolt of encouragement for Republicans and a stark warning sign for the Democrats less than 10 months into President Bidens term.

Mr. Bidens approval rating has sagged to new lows as Democrats on Capitol Hill have struggled to coalesce behind his legislative agenda. The latest election results suggested an ominous erosion of the support in the suburbs that had put the party in power.

Here are five takeaways from Tuesdays contests and what the results could mean for 2022, when control of the House, Senate and 36 governorships will be on the ballot:

Youngkins success across the state offers a G.O.P. pathway.

Republicans suffered repeated down-ballot losses in the past four years, as the party grappled with how to motivate a base deeply yoked to Donald J. Trump without alienating the suburban voters who came to reject the former presidents divisive style of politics.

Enter Glenn Youngkin and his fleece vest.

Mr. Youngkin pulled off something of a surprise and rare feat: He drove up the Republican margins in white and rural parts of the state further than Mr. Trump had, cutting into the edge of the Democratic nominee, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, in suburban areas. He even flipped some key counties entirely.

Mr. Youngkin won in Chesterfield County, outside of Richmond, and Stafford County, an exurb of Washington, D.C., both places that Mr. Biden carried in 2020.

And in conservative southwestern Virginia, Mr. Youngkin was topping 80 percent in heavily white and rural counties  up substantially from the Republican showing in the last governors race.

Virginia Shifts Right in Race for Governor The Republican candidate for governor, Glenn Youngkin, received much stronger support in every corner of the state than President Trump did in 2020. Mr. Youngkin defeated former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat, according to The Associated Press. Shift from 2020 Vote margin SHIFT IN MARGIN From the 2020 presidential election More Democratic More Republican SHIFT IN MARGIN From the 2020 presidential election More Democratic More Republican LEADER McAuliffe Youngkin Circle size is proportional to the amount each countys leading candidate is ahead LEADER McAuliffe Youngkin Circle size is proportional to the amount each countys leading candidate is ahead

Mr. Youngkin had campaigned heavily on education and seized on Mr. McAuliffes remark that he didnt believe parents should be telling schools what they should teach. Mr. Youngkin used the comment, made during a debate, as an entryway to hammer his rival on issues like race and transgender rights in schools. The issues simultaneously motivated the G.O.P. base while casting the matter to moderates as an issue of parental rights.

This is no longer a campaign, Mr. Youngkin said. It is a movement being led by Virginias parents.

Republican strategists were downright gleeful about the possibility of repackaging Mr. Trumps policies without his personality.

All politics are presidential. But Biden loomed larger than Trump.

To the extent that the Youngkin victory provided a fresh G.O.P. blueprint, the surprisingly strong showing in New Jersey by the Republican candidate, Jack Ciattarelli, who was virtually tied with Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, made plain that the political environment had seriously degraded for Democrats nationally.

A national NBC News poll in late October showed that 45 percent of registered voters approved of the job Mr. Biden was doing, compared with 52 percent who disapproved. Perhaps as ominous was the intensity gap: Far more voters strongly disapproved of Mr. Biden (44 percent) than strongly approved (19 percent).

Such diminished standing offered Republicans an opportunity even in traditionally blue territory.

In Virginia, the McAuliffe campaign had relentlessly tried to make the race about Trump, Trump, Trump  in its television ads and on the stump.

That represented quite the reversal from when Democrats took back the House in 2018. Then, party strategists warned candidates to talk about issues, not Mr. Trump. But with him out of office, the McAuliffe team believed he needed to draw in Mr. Trump more explicitly.

It didnt work.

Weve never had an election about a former president, said Brad Todd, a Republican strategist who works on Virginia campaigns. He noted that more than 10,000 ads had tried to link Mr. Trump and Mr. Youngkin. Current elections are about the current president, Mr. Todd said.

Strategists in both parties said that the Virginia race was heavily shaped by Mr. Bidens falling approval rating, and that the downward Democratic trajectory had begun when the president stumbled through the troubled pullout of American troops from Afghanistan.

Mr. McAuliffe and the Democrats never recovered.

Despite Democratic efforts to goad Mr. Trump into visiting the state, he never did so, allowing Mr. Youngkin to create some political distance  and to remain unencumbered by Mr. Trumps usual demands of public fealty.

Some Republicans credited Susie Wiles, who is now overseeing Mr. Trumps political operation, for helping guide Mr. Trump toward the approach. Others half-jokingly credited the social media platforms that banished Mr. Trump this year, muffling the impact and curtailing the frequency of his musings.

Image President Biden campaigning with Mr. McAuliffe last week. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times

The G.O.P. margins make it even more worrisome for Democrats in 2022.

The headline, of course, is that Mr. Youngkin won. But for political strategists focused on the midterms in 2022, his final margin  and specifics about where his campaign excelled and Mr. McAuliffe underperformed  is every bit as revealing about the trajectory of the two parties.

Think of it this way: Because Mr. Biden carried Virginia by 10 percentage points in 2020, a Youngkin victory represents a Republican improvement of more than 10 percentage points in exactly one year.

That is a lot  even knowing Virginias history of delivering its governorship to the party out of power in the White House.

Just as worrisome for the Democrats is that of the 36 governorships up for grabs in 2022, eight are now held by Democrats in states that had a smaller Democratic margin of victory in 2020 than Virginia, according to an election memo for donors from the Republican Governors Association. That list includes three of the most crucial presidential battlegrounds: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The picture in the House is just as bleak for Democrats.

Patrick Ruffini, a Republican pollster, noted that if a roughly 10-point swing  about the gain Mr. Youngkin needed to win in Virginia  were applied to the 2020 House results in districts nationwide, Republicans would have picked up 38 House seats.

Strategists in both parties said that unless the political environment improved for Democrats, they were at risk of losing both the House and Senate in 2022.

This election is a warning for all Democrats, declared Guy Cecil, who leads one of the partys largest super PACs.

There were other weak down-ballot results for the party on Tuesday.

In Pennsylvania, the Republican candidate won a Supreme Court seat in a state Mr. Biden won. In Ohio, Mike Carey, a Republican, won the 15th Congressional District and was leading by more than Mr. Trump carried that district in 2020. And in the New York City suburbs on Long Island, a Republican was handily beating the incumbent Democratic district attorney in Suffolk County. In nearby Nassau County, Republicans led the races for district attorney and county executive.

The political middle still matters.

The American electorate is increasingly polarized, and a shrinking sliver of voters oscillates between the two major parties. But those voters still matter. For every vote that flips to the other side, a campaign must find two new voters to make up for the lost ground.

For years, it was the Democrats in Virginia who were obsessed with cutting into the margins in Republican strongholds and the suburbs.

Mark Warner, now a senator, famously slapped his name on the side of a NASCAR truck when he ran for governor as a Democrat in 2001. Tim Kaine, the states other senator, ran radio ads in his 2005 bid for governor that touted his work as a former Christian missionary and his support of abortion restrictions. Even Mr. McAuliffe himself ran in 2013 as a jobs-obsessed economic moderate who thanked the historic number of Republicans who crossed party lines to vote for him.

Yet in 2021, Mr. McAuliffe ran as a mainline Democrat. He deployed Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama and Stacey Abrams in a bid to rally his partys partisan faithful.

If Mr. McAuliffe was seemingly singularly obsessed with his base, the Youngkin campaign homed in on an issue that Democrats typically dominate: education. That focus helped him make incursions into Democratic territory.

The emphasis wasnt just rhetorical. Mr. Youngkins two most frequently aired general election television ads were about schools and specifically Mr. McAuliffes debate remark. Those ads represented a full 28 percent of his total airings for the entire campaign, according to an analysis by AdImpact, a media-tracking firm.

Democratic ideological factions face off in cities.

Several municipal races pitted the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party. The contests offered mixed results.

In Buffalo, India Walton, who was seeking to become a rare democratic socialist elected to a mayoralty, was trailing the write-in campaign led by Mayor Byron Brown, whom she had defeated in the Democratic primary.

In Minneapolis, voters rejected an amendment to transform the citys Police Department into a new Department of Public Safety. At the same time, the citys moderate Democratic incumbent mayor, Jacob Frey, held a significant advantage after the first round of ranked-choice voting.

In Seattle, Bruce Harrell, a former City Council president, was leading his more progressive rival, Lorena Gonzalez.

The left did score some wins. In Boston, Michelle Wu, who was running with the backing of progressives, won the mayors race. And in Cleveland, Justin Bibb, a 34-year-old with progressive backing, is set to become mayor as well.
Shontel Brown, a Democrat, won a House seat in a special election in Cleveland on Tuesday, defeating her Republican opponent, Laverne Gore.

Ms. Brown had narrowly won the Democratic primary for the seat earlier this year, after its previous occupant, Marcia L. Fudge, was appointed by President Biden as the secretary of housing and urban development. Ms. Brown defeated Nina Turner, a former state senator and a top surrogate for Bernie Sanders when he ran for president, in that primary, which attracted big Democratic names and millions of dollars.

The district, Ohios 11th Congressional District, encompasses most of Cleveland and much of Akron and is heavily Democratic.

It was one of two special elections in Ohio on Tuesday. Local election officials predicted low turnout, saying there had not been many absentee and early voters.
Addressing supporters in Northern Virginia, Mr. Youngkin said the state had reached a defining moment.

Together we will change the trajectory of this commonwealth, Mr. Youngkin said after taking the stage and clapping along to the blues-rock anthem Spirit in the Sky.

In the first competitive statewide election of Mr. Bidens presidency, Mr. McAuliffe worked assiduously to link Mr. Youngkin to the previous president. Inviting a parade of prominent national Democrats to campaign with him, the former governor sought to nationalize the race and effectively transform a gubernatorial contest into a referendum on Mr. Trump in a state he lost by 10 points last year.

But voters appeared far more eager to register their frustration with the Democrats in control of Washington and Richmond, the state capital, and fissures appeared in the coalition of moderate whites, people of color and young liberals that elected Mr. Biden in 2020. In cities, suburbs and exurbs that Mr. Biden had handily carried, Mr. McAuliffes margins shrank dramatically.

Mr. McAuliffe never fully articulated his own vision for a second term and received no favors from Mr. Biden or his partys lawmakers. They spent much of the fall locked in contentious negotiations over Mr. Bidens infrastructure and social welfare proposals, failing to reach a consensus that could have at least offered Mr. McAuliffe some good news to trumpet.

Democrats in Virginia have tended to win statewide elections on a message of can-do pragmatism. The stalemate in Washington cast the party in a different light.

Taking the stage in McLean before the race was called, Mr. McAuliffe thanked his family and supporters but did not concede. This is a different state, he said of Virginia following his governorship and that of his successor, Gov. Ralph S. Northam. We are going to continue that fight.
Like moths to a flame, tourists from outside of our community were drawn to the chaos here in Kenosha. People from outside of Kenosha came in and contributed to that chaos. But out of the hundreds of people that came to Kenosha during that week, the hundreds of people that were out on the streets that week, the evidence will show that the only person who killed anyone was the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse. The evidence will show that hundreds of people were out in the street experiencing chaos and violence, and the only person who killed anyone was the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse. Were not asking you to solve a mystery in this case. In most homicide cases, the elements that I need to prove might be a little challenging. But here, theres no doubt, there will be no dispute in this record that the defendant had that gun that night, shot eight bullets. Four of them hit Joseph Rosenbaum, two of them at an unknown individual, one into Anthony Hubers chest and one into Gaige Grosskreutzs arm. That will not be in dispute. The central issue in this case is going to be self-defense. And the judge has given you an instruction, which I want to highlight here, because there are some factors that Id like you to keep in mind when you hear the evidence in this case. The defendant used deadly force. There is a privilege under our laws to use deadly force, but its a very limited privilege. That privilege, according to the law, indicates that the defendant can only use deadly force, if he reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself. Was it reasonable for the defendant to believe that the force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself?
Confronted with a lack of consensus among world leaders on how to move forward globally, and with his climate agenda hanging in the balance in Congress at home, Mr. Bidens time in Glasgow laid bare the reality that the personal style he prefers has not yet helped him close the gulf between his ambition and what he has been able to achieve.

He enjoys the personal side of personal diplomacy, said Richard Haass, a former senior State Department and national security official who is now president of the Council on Foreign Relations. My own view is he exaggerates its impact. All the charm in the world is not going to bring Brazil around on the rain forests, or Australia around on coal, or China or Russia around on much of anything.

Diplomacy will only get him so far.

In Glasgow, China and Russia, two of the worlds largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions, sent negotiating teams to the conference, known as COP, but not their leaders. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent only a written statement, promising that his country will continue to prioritize ecological conservation and pursue a green and low-carbon path to development.

Dozens of other heads of state delivered introductory statements about keeping shared climate goals alive yet offered competing ideas for how to do it.
To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

WASHINGTON  Deborah E. Lipstadt, a renowned Holocaust scholar, was not in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017 when torch-bearing neo-Nazi marchers chanted Jews will not replace us and a young woman was killed in the violence. And yet Dr. Lipstadt is to take the stand in the continuing trial, where she will testify as a historian linking the antisemitism of the past to the politics of the present.

Dr. Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University, is scheduled to appear in Charlottesville on Wednesday for the plaintiffs in Sines v. Kessler, a civil case brought against two dozen neo-Nazis and white nationalist groups who organized the 2017 Unite the Right rally in the college town. The nine plaintiffs include people who were injured when James Alex Fields Jr., a white supremacist, drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring at least 19 others.

The Charlottesville plaintiffs are suing the white nationalist groups under Virginia laws and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which Congress passed to help protect formerly enslaved African Americans from mob violence. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say the groups unlawfully conspired to deprive the plaintiffs of their rights as citizens. The groups and their lawyers say they were exercising their right to free speech, and their advance planning centered on self-defense.
At the Department of Veterans Affairs, where thousands of workers who interact with patients were supposed to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 8, officials have taken a dim view of such exemptions. Since the department issued a vaccine mandate for its 115,000 frontline health care workers this past summer, about 88 percent of the 380,000 employees covered by the mandate have had at least one dose, falling short of officials hopes for nearly full vaccination.

In hospitals or nursing homes with particularly vulnerable populations, I think that there will be a point there where it is an undue burden on us to ensure safety in the provision of health care, said Denis McDonough, the secretary of the department, at which point were going to have to deny religious exceptions.

Vaccine reluctance in the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs mirrors that of civilian society, where vaccine rates are largely lower without such mandates. Some people have embraced vaccine conspiracy theories or have been fearful of possible side effects, or do not see themselves at risk for the virus.

Over the summer, as the Delta variant surged, military officials became alarmed at the growing number of deaths; more active duty members died from the virus in the fall than in all of 2020, and none of them were vaccinated. In total, 71 service members have died. The Navy has led the charge with vaccinations, and roughly 99 percent in the service have had at least one shot ahead of the deadline to be fully vaccinated by the end of the month. Sailors were made acutely aware of the dangers of the virus early in the pandemic when an outbreak occurred on an aircraft carrier deployed to the Pacific Ocean. The captain, who pleaded with the Pentagon for help, was later fired.

There is a common understanding that we often work in congregate settings such as shipboard environments and it is understood that in these settings, infectious diseases can spread very rapidly, said Capt. Robert Hawkins, who leads the Navy Medicines Commanders Action Group. Immunizations have played a large role in readiness to conduct our mission for a long time, so we have had an understanding of their role in protecting our health and mission.

In the Marines and the Army, about 93 percent of all active-duty troops have been at least partially vaccinated. Each service branch set its own deadlines and complex disciplinary procedures for those who decline shots, including extensive counseling sessions with clergy and commanders.
A San Francisco police officer was charged with voluntary manslaughter for shooting an unarmed man who died three years after being wounded at his home in 2017, the San Francisco district attorneys office announced on Tuesday.

The officer, Kenneth Cha, was charged for shooting Sean Moore after he and his partner, Officer Colin Patino, responded to a call that Mr. Moore was violating a restraining order early on Jan. 6, 2017, according to the district attorneys office. Mr. Moore died on Jan. 20, 2020, of what the coroners report said was acute intestinal obstruction because of bullet wounds to his abdomen from the shooting.

In the statement, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said Officer Cha lacked a lawful basis to even arrest Mr. Moore and that he was unarmed at his home when he was shot by Officer Cha.

When officers inflict unwarranted violence in flagrant disregard of their training, it denigrates the hard work of other police officers and shatters the trust our community places in law enforcement, Mr. Boudin said. Rebuilding that trust requires us to hold those officers who inflict unlawful violence accountable.
Shannon Cartier Lucy

Through Nov. 14. Lubov, 5 East Broadway, Ste. 402, Manhattan. 347-496-5833; lubov.nyc.

When the Nashville-born artist Shannon Cartier Lucy, who had earlier success with a conceptual practice, re-emerged last year after a decade-long absence from the art world, it was with a crisp, realistic style. This show is her second at Lubov, a small gallery in a worn walk-up in Chinatown whose office space remnants make it seem as though the previous tenants absconded in the middle of the night. The setting adds to the through-the-looking-glass quality of Lucys paintings.

Luminous scenes of unease  a girl eating with uncomfortably overlarge flatware; a nurse inspecting a dose of huckleberries, her face veiled behind a scrim; a self-portrait of the artist after falling face first, somehow still seated in a dining chair  suggest traumas reanimated into new shapes. A vague dread is softened by a delicate palette, like a warm bath drawn at a seance. Obliqueness is presented as a matter of course, as in A New Pack, four pairs of white cotton briefs spread with obsessive precision across a threadbare rug. Emily Dickinsons After great pain, a formal feeling comes would be an appropriate accompaniment (The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs ).

A claustrophobic air fills the frames, as in Loblolly Pine, a pine cone suspended in a drinking glass, the mouth of which is sealed by someones palm, equal parts suffocation and divination. All the pictures here occur in a domestic setting, and their action knocks against the oppressiveness of their interior walls. The clarity of Lucys imagery is troubled by an emotional murkiness that may read as evasive or hard to parse, but no more so than the daily business of living, and making sense of it.

MAX LAKIN
Last year, when the Ford Foundation announced an initiative to give more than $100 million to arts groups run by people of color, none of the 20 initial recipients were in the Southeast.

So Suzette Surkamer, the president and chief executive of South Arts, a nearly 50-year-old nonprofit in Atlanta, emailed Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation, offering to share some thoughts on arts groups in the region that she and her colleagues were familiar with.

Now South Arts is receiving $3 million from Ford and raising an additional $3 million from other donors that will be distributed as grants to 12 to 15 arts groups led by people of color in the Southeast.

That program, called Southern Cultural Treasures, is a supplement to last years initiative, Americas Cultural Treasures, in which Ford and other organizations and philanthropists donated $156 million to bring greater resources and recognition to what were described as Black, Latinx, Asian and Indigenous groups.
Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep  and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.

Save the Amazon From Amazon

President Biden addressed world leaders at the U.N. Climate Conference on Tuesday, reiterating his commitment to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030.

And he can do it, Jimmy Fallon said. I mean, he cut his approval rating in half in three months.
THE SHATTERING

America in the 1960s

By Kevin Boyle

Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Eckford walked alone through the crowd of jeering whites. She hadnt heard about the escorts assigned to the nine Black youngsters integrating Little Rocks Central High School because her family had no telephone. So Elizabeth took the city bus, filed past the screeching adults, went up to the guardsmen who blocked her way with raised bayonets, turned around, returned to the bus stop, sat down and tried not to cry as the mob around her kept screaming. It was 1957 and Americans were about to plunge into the 1960s. A seemingly unified nation would confront its original sin, endure all kinds of vertiginous changes and never quite recover.

Kevin Boyle, a professor of history at Northwestern University, tells this story and many others in The Shattering, his luminous guide to a tumultuous decade  a season of hope, he writes, and a season of blood. Boyle grounds his narrative with individuals caught in the whirlwind: Eckford holds her head high and ignores the obscenities. Cpl. James Farley weeps over a dead comrade in an empty supply shed in Da Nang. Sarah Weddington finally gets her first client (women rarely had the opportunity to practice law) and eventually wins her case by persuading the Supreme Court that the Constitution protects abortion rights. And, going back to one of the books cover photos, three dozen smiling neighbors pose on July 4, 1961, to celebrate the 38 flags theyve hoisted over their bungalows on Chicagos northwest side. Its a snapshot from the time before: a simple era of patriotism and consensus. But not for everyone.

Not for African Americans pushing against white supremacy. In the South, they demanded simple things  the right to vote, play in the park, get care at the nearest hospital, attend a school whose roof didnt leak. Boyle emphasizes both the implacable violence they met with and the media images that shocked so many. Birminghams snarling police dogs, leaping at young Black students, flashed onto the front pages of newspapers around the world. In the early days of television, NBC interrupted its programming with video of helmeted troopers, some on horseback, slamming their clubs into peaceful protesters in Selma. Those pictures changed the United States.

For starters, as Boyle explains, they transformed both political parties. Democrats had traditionally defended enslavement and then segregation, but in the 1930s and 40s Northern Black voters clambered into the party  Republicans were taking their votes for granted while Franklin Roosevelts New Deal offered help during the Great Depression. Democratic leaders frantically tried to hold together an improbable coalition of Southern segregationists and Northern civil rights activists  till the images streaming out of the South forced a moral reckoning. After Selma, President Lyndon Johnson bet everything on civil rights: Should we defeat every enemy, and should we double our wealth and conquer the stars, and still be unequal to this issue, then we will have failed as a people and as a nation. This was, he insisted in a national address, nothing less than a test of Americas soul.
Are Democratic losses a sign of trouble for Biden?

Virginia has a Republican governor for the first time in more than a decade after an election on Tuesday, dimming U.S. Democrats hopes for midterm elections.

Another Republican posed an unexpectedly strong challenge to New Jerseys incumbent governor, with the race still too close to call. New Jersey is usually reliable for Democrats  President Biden won the state by a large margin in the presidential election.

Other races remained undecided. In Seattle, if the results hold for the lead candidate, the city will have a Republican mayor for the first time in decades.

The results are being seen as a sign of voter dissatisfaction with Biden ahead of next years midterm elections, when hundreds of seats in Congress will be up for grabs.
Democrats had a rough election night. They lost the governors race in Virginia, a state Joe Biden won by 10 percentage points only a year ago. In New Jersey, which Biden won by 16 points, the governors election is too close to call.

So what do Democrats do now?

They have two basic options. The first is for congressional Democrats to try to distance themselves from Biden and drop his legislative agenda. The second is for the party to decide that its best chance at political recovery involves passing that agenda  which is still broadly popular, polls show.

It is hard to see how Democrats would benefit from the first option. But its not clear whether they remain unified enough to pull off the second.

Big Swings

Yesterdays elections were certainly alarming for Democrats. Glenn Youngkin became the first Republican to win a top-of-the-ticket race in Virginia since 2009, beating Terry McAuliffe, 50.7 to 48.6 percent. Republicans also seem to be on track to win the lieutenant governor and state attorney general races, and to take control of the Virginia House of Delegates.
China accounts for nearly 60 percent of global steel production. Its use of a common steel-production method causes more than twice as much climate pollution as does the same technology in the United States, according to estimates by Global Efficiency Intelligence.

In its announcement on Saturday, the Biden administration also said it had reached a deal to ease the tariffs that former President Donald J. Trump had imposed on European metals while the governments work toward the carbon accord.

The United States would replace the 25 percent tariff on European steel and a 10 percent tariff on European aluminum with a so-called tariff-rate quota. In return, the European Union would drop the retaliatory tariffs it imposed on other American products, like bourbon and motorcycles.

Under the new terms, 3.3 million metric tons of European steel would be allowed to enter the United States duty-free each year, with any steel above that volume subject to a 25 percent tariff.

European producers would be allowed to ship 18,000 metric tons of unwrought aluminum, which often comes in the form of ingots, and 366,000 metric tons of wrought or semifinished aluminum into the United States each year, while volumes above that would be charged a 10 percent tariff, the commerce department said.

To qualify for zero tariffs, the steel must be entirely made in the European Union  a provision designed to keep cheaper steel from countries including China and Russia from finding a backdoor into the United States via Europe.

Supporters of free trade have criticized the Biden administration for relying on the same protectionist trade measures used by the Trump administration, which deployed both tariffs and quotas to protect domestic metal makers.
Algeria has stopped supplying gas through one of its main pipelines that crosses Morocco, a move that could threaten Spain with reduced supplies or higher prices for natural gas as winter approaches and energy costs are soaring.

The shutdown, which began Monday, is the result of a longstanding territorial feud between Morocco and Algeria. It is meant to deprive Morocco of natural gas, which generates about 10 percent of the countrys electricity, as well as tens of millions of dollars of transit fees paid by users of the pipeline.

But it may also have a heavy impact on Spain, which imports about half of its gas from Algeria. Spaniards, like others throughout Europe, have been struggling with higher electrical bills because of a surge in the price of natural gas. The government in Madrid has had to take emergency measures to soften the blow on consumers.

The pipeline, with a capacity of about 13 billion cubic meters a year, is not the only way for Algerian gas to reach Spain. A smaller undersea pipeline that links Algeria and southern Spain can carry about eight billion cubic meters a year, and Sonatrach, the Algerian national energy company, recently said that it hoped to increase its output to 10.5 billion cubic meters by the end of November.
One day after workers at the agriculture equipment maker Deere & Company voted down a second contract proposal, the company said Wednesday that the proposal was its best and final offer and that it had no plans to resume bargaining.

The rejection of the contract by roughly 10,000 workers extended a strike that began in mid-October, after workers based primarily in Iowa and Illinois voted down an earlier agreement negotiated by the United Automobile Workers union.

The company confirmed its position in an email after it was reported by Bloomberg. A U.A.W. spokesman said only that the unions negotiating team was continuing to discuss next steps.

Marc A. Howze, a senior Deere official, said in a statement Tuesday night that the agreement would have included an investment of an additional $3.5 billion in our employees, and by extension, our communities.
The legal battle against disinformation from right-wing media outlets is expanding.

Smartmatic, an election technology firm that became a target of pro-Trump conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential race, sued Newsmax and One America News Network on Wednesday for defamation, demanding that the conservative cable networks face jury trials for spreading falsehoods about the company.

The new lawsuits add to a growing suite of litigation by Smartmatic and another election technology provider, Dominion, which found itself mired in the same conspiracy theories. In February, Smartmatic sued Rupert Murdochs Fox Corporation and several Fox anchors on similar grounds, as well as two of Mr. Trumps lawyers, Sidney Powell and Rudolph W. Giuliani.

We are holding them accountable for what they tell their audience, J. Erik Connolly, a lawyer for Smartmatic, said in an interview.

Dominion has sued Fox, Newsmax, One America News, Ms. Powell, Mr. Giuliani, and Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow.
Everything is a mess, said Mr. MacKinnon, 55. I got two dividend payments and then everything stopped. It was supposed to be a pretty safe deal.

Like many others, Mr. MacKinnon invested in the Nelson Partners deals through what are called private placements, a kind of unregulated offering that is often pitched to well-off individual investors by securities brokers. The arrangements  which generated millions of dollars in fees for Mr. Nelsons firm and the brokers that set up the deals  were popular with investors because they could take advantage of a provision in the federal tax code called a 1031 exchange. That allowed them to defer paying capital gains on the proceeds from the sale of one property by rolling them into a new real estate project.

Nelson Partners financial troubles came to a head with Skyloft Austin, a luxury high-rise near the University of Texas that the firm bought in 2019 for $124 million. More than 200 lawyers, accountants, doctors, retirees and others each invested between $100,000 and $500,000 in the deal  but they werent alone. A hedge fund, Axonic Capital, gave Nelson Partners $35 million in additional financing to close the sale, according to court documents.

Last year, Axonic, which specializes in commercial real estate transactions, declared Nelson Partners to be in default and moved to seize the property. Investors say Mr. Nelson never told them about the dispute and simply stopped paying dividends, telling them that the firm had to conserve cash during the pandemic.

Mr. Nelson, who said he did nothing wrong and did not misuse investor money, faces three lawsuits over the Skyloft deal. One potential class action was dismissed in September on procedural grounds, but the investors are appealing.

The problems at other properties have escalated in the meantime. Nelson Partners delayed construction on a new housing facility near Utah State University, where Mr. Nelson received a masters degree in business, forcing more than 100 students who had signed leases for the fall semester to scramble for somewhere else to live.

And Mr. Nelson put three other properties  near the University of Mississippi, Texas Christian University and the University of Houston  into bankruptcy to stave off foreclosure attempts by other lenders.
The world leaders gathered at the climate summit in Glasgow secured new agreements on Tuesday to end deforestation and reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Now, the conference shifts to a more grueling phase.

Over the next week and a half, with the heads of state and government gone, diplomats will try to agree on deeper greenhouse gas reductions and figure out how to deliver on a still-unmet promise from more than a decade ago to deliver $100 billion annually by 2020 to help poor countries pivot away from fossil fuels and prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Most critically, vulnerable countries are pressing major emitting nations to agree to increase their climate targets each year in order to keep global temperatures from heading past 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with levels before the Industrial Revolution.

President Biden rebuked Russian and Chinese leaders for skipping the summit: It just is a gigantic issue and they walked away, he said.

Biden acknowledged it seems like an irony that he is asking energy-rich nations to boost oil production as he implores the world to tackle climate change.

America is back, Biden declared in June. The climate summit is a test.

Get live updates from COP26

Our team in Glasgow will be covering the negotiations, the protests and more, and you can follow in real time with our live briefings. Heres the Wednesday edition. You can also stay up-to-date on our climate and environment page.
But NASA researchers and colleagues on Wednesday reported what they called a milestone toward a different goal: measuring the actual changes in carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere as countries take steps to reduce emissions.

The researchers said that by plugging satellite measurements of CO2 into an Earth-systems model, they were able to detect small reductions in atmospheric concentration of the gas over the United States and other areas that were a result of coronavirus lockdowns in early 2020.

By some estimates, the drop in economic activity from lockdowns led to emissions reductions of 10 percent or even more, although emissions have since rebounded. Those reductions may seem large, but they meant only a very small change in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, which is currently more than 410 parts per million.

The researchers were able to detect a drop of about 0.3 parts per million during lockdown periods.

We believe that this is a milestone, said Brad Weir, a research scientist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center and the lead author of a paper describing the work published in the journal Science Advances.
The lawyers for the armorer on the film Rust  who has been under scrutiny since Alec Baldwin fatally shot the movies cinematographer with a gun that was not supposed to contain live ammunition  said in interviews on Wednesday that the gun had been left unattended for hours, but later corrected themselves to say it had only been several minutes.

The gun left on a prop cart had been loaded with six dummy rounds by the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who took the prop ammunition from a box labeled dummies, said one of her lawyers, Jason Bowles. Dummy rounds contain no gunpowder and are used to resemble bullets on camera.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Gutierrez-Reeds lawyers, Mr. Bowles and Robert Gorence, said in a television appearance and in an interview with The New York Times that the guns had been left unattended for about two hours on that day, including during the crews lunch break. Mr. Bowles later said they had been mistaken, and after consulting Ms. Gutierrez-Reed again, he said they had been locked up in a safe during lunch and had only been left unattended for a total of five to 10 minutes. Mr. Bowles said Ms. Gutierrez-Reed asked her colleagues to watch the cart when she wasnt there but remembered seeing it left unattended at various points that day.

At about 11 a.m. on Oct. 21, Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, 24, loaded three firearms that were going to be used later that afternoon during a filming session, including the .45 Long Colt, Mr. Gorence, said.
Megan Mylans latest documentary feature takes a humble idea  telling intimate and humanizing stories of Syrian families affected by their home countrys civil war  and achieves it on a nakedly ambitious scale. Filmed over five years in five separate countries, Simple as Water is anything but simple when it comes to its technical achievements, weaving together familiar immigrant narratives in ways that still manage to surprise and stun.

The film is book ended by vignettes featuring Yasmin, a mother of four living in a refugee camp near the dockyards of Athens, who is fighting to reunite her children with their father in Germany. Her story provides an optimistic through line for Mylans other subjects, who offer a much more devastating and uncertain look at the struggles of trying to build a new life in an unfamiliar place. In Turkey, a single mother with no time to care for her children attempts to take them to an orphanage, but her eldest son  a 12-year-old who has assumed the role of caretaker while shes at work  steadfastly refuses to go.
Adams, the Brooklyn borough president since 2014, will face monumental tests as New York addresses the continuing consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. There are persistent problems, like homelessness and affordable housing, and new ones, like an economy redefined by remote work. Adams will also be under pressure to drive down the crime rate and build jails in each borough after closing the Rikers Island complex, a move he said that he supported during the campaign.

Adams acknowledged the challenges, referring to a three-headed crisis  Covid, crime and economic devastation  in his victory speech. But he also said it was neighborhoods like those in southeast Queens, where he grew up, that needed his attention as mayor.

New York has chosen one of its own, he said. I am you.

Adamss victory will send a center-left administration to City Hall after eight years under Mayor Bill de Blasio, who tried to steer a more populist, leftward course  and the new political landscape will be complex. Brad Lander, elected New York Citys comptroller on Tuesday, appears to be to Adamss left on several issues, among them policing.

But Albany, a perennial concern for mayors, looks less fraught than when de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo were sparring partners. Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who replaced Cuomo in August and joined his victory celebration on Tuesday, have promised to have a productive relationship.

The Associated Press called Adamss victory minutes after polls closed. He defeated Curtis Sliwa, who ran as a Republican presenting his main qualifications as the decades he has spent patrolling the subways and leading the Guardian Angels, the beret-wearing vigilante group he founded.
Lindsey Laverty, 31, said it was Mr. Murphys mask and vaccine mandates that made her vote against him.

We need to get back to freedom and choice, she said Wednesday in Somerville, N.J.

The pandemic was by no means the only issue. Mr. Ciattarelli drove home a Wall Street-versus-Main Street theme and homed in on a 2019 comment by Mr. Murphy about taxes. If youre a one-issue voter and tax rate is your issue, either a family or a business  if thats the only basis upon which youre going to make a decision, Mr. Murphy said, were probably not your state.

Mr. Ciattarellis campaign plastered parts of the comment across billboards, on Facebook and in television ads all over the state.

Mr. Murphy appeared to significantly underperform President Bidens 2020 showing in highly educated suburban counties that had favored Democrats in the Trump era  the kind of counties that were central to the Democratic takeover of the House in 2018, including in New Jersey.

Whats changed in recent weeks is that President Bidens approvals have taken a hit as the national mood has shifted, said Michael Soliman, a veteran of New Jersey Democratic politics, referencing Mr. Bidens weak poll numbers. He said Democrats  both progressive, like Mr. Murphy, and more conservative, like Stephen Sweeney, the Democratic leader of the State Senate, who lost a close race to his Republican challenger  were feeling the effect of that shifting national playing field.

Michael DuHaime, who was the lead strategist for the Republican former Gov. Chris Christies victories in 2009 and 2013, said former President Donald J. Trumps absence from the ballot returned some voters to the G.O.P. fold.

They didnt like Donald Trump. Its pretty simple. It wasnt some endorsement to go far left, Mr. DuHaime said.
Its time for a Penn Station that meets the needs of New Yorkers, Ms. Hochul said at a news conference Wednesday.

She said she thought the station should be renamed, possibly after a New Yorker, rather than for a neighboring state. (In fact, the station was named for its original owner, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which operated until 1968.)

The proposed development would include some buildings that would be among the tallest in New York City and rise across several blocks surrounding the rail hub. Under Gov. Hochuls plan, about 1.4 million square feet of space would be lopped off the buildings, a 7 percent reduction from her predecessors proposal.

At 18.3 million square feet, the new Penn Station project would be slightly larger than Hudson Yards, the mega site of offices, residences and retail that opened in 2019 as the largest private development in American history.

Nearly three-quarters of the new towers would be office space, even though the pandemic has led many companies to embrace remote work and some to give up their offices.

However, the projects 1,800 residential units will now include 540 permanently below-market units, which were not part of Mr. Cuomos proposal, officials said. It also adds eight acres of public space, including a plaza roughly the size of Rockefeller Plaza that would limit car traffic  a reimagining of the streets around the station at a moment when many transportation advocates in the city believe more street space should be reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.

Its the right direction to put Penn Station ahead of the other projects, State Senator Brad Hoylman, a Democrat from Manhattan who had been a critic of the Cuomo proposal, said. He added that he hoped the redesigned project would offer social services for addiction and mental health and praised Governor Hochul. The difference with this governor is collaboration, and we have seen it since she took office.
For many people watching the results, Tuesday was reminiscent of 2009, when Republicans won the governors races in Virginia and New Jersey and triumphed in some local races on Long Island and even in the New York City Council contests. They took back the House in a wave election the next year.

The results left Democrats moderate and left-leaning factions once again pointing fingers at one another as they sought a rapid course correction.

This is a nightmare, said the left-leaning State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, warning fellow Democrats to focus on countering Republican attacks on a bail reform law her party had approved and actively selling their legislative accomplishments. But it is also not a nightmare that does not have the ability to turn around.

Both of the partys factions were particularly embittered after a stinging intramural fight in the Buffalos mayors race. Left-wing leaders had hailed India Walton, a democratic socialist, as a future face of the party after she won the Democratic primary. On Wednesday afternoon, though, she conceded defeat to Byron Brown, the long-serving moderate Democratic mayor who ran as a write-in candidate with Republican support.

Democrats who are running New York have done too much to just pander to the left, and were paying price for it, said Representative Tom Suozzi, a Long Island moderate who vocally supported the write-in campaign and is considering a run for governor next year.

Mr. Suozzi suggested that approach had exacerbated the cyclical pendulum swing of party politics. People dont want that, he said. They want results that affect their everyday life.

Democratic turnout appeared to be down significantly across the state.

Nowhere was the impact clearer than on Long Island, where early data in Nassau County suggested just over 260,000 total votes were cast this year, compared with the more than 700,000 cast in 2020, when Mr. Biden won a commanding 10-point victory there. Many Democrats appear to have simply stayed home: Despite the party having a nearly 90,000-person registration advantage, more registered Republicans cast ballots.
I, along with my entire senior leadership team, several of my senior bureau chiefs and most experienced trial attorneys, disagreed with their conclusions due to a lack of any credible evidence, he said.

Because the two prosecutors have not detailed their findings publicly, it is not fully clear what they believe implicates Mr. Matt. Neither man would comment, although one is seeking to testify in the case, court filings show. Both still work for Mr. Flynn.

Mr. Bentley helped raise Mr. Matts daughter Jamie, who once wrote that the detective knew my father probably as well as anyone on the outside. In an interview and text messages, Mr. Bentley, who retired in 2003, acknowledged having had a close relationship with Mr. Matt  whom he used as an informant  bordering on that of father-son.

I related to Rick: I felt bad for him, Mr. Bentley said. You could almost say I loved the kid.

But he does not believe Mr. Matt  a convicted killer  could have murdered Ms. Meindl, saying, he was just a punk and wasnt a candidate for a crime like that.

Somebody planted the idea about him just to defend Pugh and Lorenzo, he said.

Mr. Bentley also suggested that Mr. Matt was known to brag about all sorts of stuff that never existed.

After Ms. Meindl was killed, suspicion initially fell on her husband, Donald Meindl, who was in his early 30s and a Taco Bell manager at the time. A friend told the police that Mr. Meindl had once sought his advice about hiring someone to kill his wife. It should be made to look like a robbery, the friend recalled Mr. Meindl saying, court records show.

Mr. Meindl, who did not respond to interview requests, insisted that he was joking and has always maintained his innocence. Police and court records describe an open marriage and Mr. Meindls involvement with a 17-year-old girl who worked for him. He had an alibi: The day of the murder, he was at work getting fired for sexual harassment.
Its a long way from the Irish domination of the mayoralty that began in 1884 with the election of Hugh OBrien, a native of County Cork. The office was held without interruption by men of Irish descent from 1930 to 1993, when Thomas Menino became the first Italian American to claim the job.

Opinion Debate Will the Democrats face a midterm wipeout? Mark Penn and Andrew Stein write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond.

write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond. Tory Gavito and Adam Jentleson write that the Virgina loss should "shock Democrats into confronting the powerful role that racially coded attacks play in American politics."

write that the Virgina loss should "shock Democrats into confronting the powerful role that racially coded attacks play in American politics." Ezra Klein speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging.

speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging. Ross Douthat writes that the outcome of the Virginia gubernatorial race shows Democrats need a new way to talk about progressive ideology and education.

That was almost 30 years ago, but like most caricatures of this city, the idea of Boston as more Irish than Guinness stout retains a stubborn hold on the national imagination. In fact, Boston has been a majority-minority city since the turn of this century, when census figures first confirmed the percentage of non-Hispanic whites had dropped below 50 percent (to 49.5 percent). The latest census data shows the city becoming even more diverse, with the proportion of Asian, Hispanic and multiracial residents on the rise.

That reality stands in stark contrast to images of Boston that are seared into memory  white women in housecoats and hair curlers throwing rocks at school buses full of Black children, and a white teenage thug assaulting a Black lawyer with an American flag on City Hall Plaza during a demonstration against a federal court order to desegregate the public schools through busing. Those photographs are more than 40 years old, but their power to define the city as insular and racist remains undiminished.

To be sure, the legacy of that era lives on in a public school system abandoned by those opposed to integration, leaving behind a student population that today is only 14 percent white. Under Mayor Ray Flynn, control of the chronically underperforming schools shifted in 1991 from an elected school committee to a panel chosen by the mayor, a change many denounced as a move that disenfranchised minority parents. A nonbinding question on the city ballot Tuesday asked whether voters should again be allowed to elect its school committee, as voters do in every other city and town in Massachusetts. (It looked poised to pass.) Ms. Wu supports a hybrid model with a majority of the committee elected by voters and a number of experts appointed by the mayor.

It is a measure of how much Boston has changed that Ms. Essaibi George, who grew up in the citys Dorchester neighborhood and taught in the public schools, failed in her bid to brand the Chicago-born Ms. Wu as an outsider. Ms. Wu first came to Massachusetts to attend Harvard. A Suffolk University/Boston Globe/NBC 10 poll last month found that 59 percent of likely voters said it did not matter to them whether a candidate was Boston born and reared.
But when a justice issues an opinion in connection with a dispute that the court has expressly declined to decide, the justice is acting outside this narrow constitutional mandate and using his or her position to influence social issues in just the way the framers thought should be left to the people and their elected representatives to resolve.

When the court declined in 2019 to accept an appeal of an Indiana law prohibiting abortions motivated by the sex, race or disability status of the fetus, Justice Thomas attached a long opinion indirectly arguing in favor of such laws by linking abortion to early-20th-century eugenics practices. Later that year, Justice Brett Kavanaugh strongly signaled that with his appointment to the court, there were a majority of conservative justices receptive to overturning old rulings giving Congress wide latitude to delegate lawmaking powers to administrative agencies. Far from acting as the dispassionate umpire of legal disputes the framers envisioned, Justice Kavanaugh was basically suggesting that new lawsuits seeking profound changes to our current system of government would be favorably received.

The issuance of cert-denial opinions also creates impartiality problems for justices obligated to resolve cases in as neutral, unbiased and fair-minded a manner as possible. To enable them to do this, the Constitution gives justices a strong position of independence from political pressures. Moreover, a federal statute reinforces this constitutional norm by requiring any justice or other federal judge to disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.

And it has become routine for nominees to the court, in their Senate confirmation hearings, to refuse to answer questions about controversial legal issues like abortion and gun rights on the grounds that they might be prejudging an issue that could come before the court.

In cert-denial opinions, however, justices frequently prejudge legal questions in ways that create serious impartiality problems in cases the court later accepts for review. A stark example of this is the challenge to New Yorks requirement that people demonstrate a special self-defense need for carrying concealed firearms in public that the court is hearing on Wednesday. In a cert-denial opinion issued by Justice Thomas last year, when the court denied review of a ruling upholding a New Jersey concealed-carry requirement similar to New Yorks, he made a lengthy historical argument concluding that the Second Amendment protects some form of public carrying of firearms.

Perhaps not surprisingly, this is the argument now being made by the gun rights plaintiffs in the New York case. Just as troubling, in a portion of Justice Thomass opinion that Justice Kavanaugh joined, they criticized the main lower court ruling upholding New Yorks concealed-carry requirement. How can anyone seriously contend that the impartiality of these justices cannot reasonably be questioned in the New York case?

Some might argue that justices also create future impartiality problems when they issue unnecessary separate opinions or make gratuitous comments in cases the court actually does decide. These practices are not ideal and have been criticized, but in these situations at least the justices are issuing them in connection with deciding cases or controversies as authorized by the Constitution.
Two groups elicit the highest levels of opposition to immigration, the authors write:

We find the undocumented Latino man archetype is predicted to increase the probability of wanting to decrease immigration flows by a whopping 38 points, plus or minus 7 points. This archetype is joined near the bottom by the rainbow undocumented immigrant  from every region in the world  which increases that probability by 29 points.

The authors identify the survey respondents who are most resistant to immigration:

These respondents are the oldest of any class and possess many of the traits typical of conservative Southern whites. Many live in small towns or rural areas in the U.S. South and identify as Republicans. Further, many of them are retirees with low levels of education. Interestingly, these respondents live in the least diverse communities relative to all other classes as judged by the presence of few immigrants and ethnic/racial minorities in their ZIP codes, which highlights the subjective nature of immigrant archetypes.

A coming paper in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Intervening in Anti-Immigrant Sentiments: The Causal Effects of Factual Information on Attitudes Toward Immigration, by Maria Abascal, Tiffany J. Huang and Van C. Tran, sociologists at N.Y.U., the University of Pennsylvania and CUNY, reveals an additional hurdle facing pro-immigration Democrats.

The authors conducted a survey in which they explicitly provided information rebutting negative stereotypes of immigrants impact on crime, tax burdens and employment. They found that respondents in many cases shifted their views of immigrants from more negative to more positive assessments.

But shifts in a liberal direction on policies were short-lived, at best: In sum, the authors wrote, the effects of the stereotype-challenging information on beliefs about immigration are more durable than the effects on immigration policy preferences, which themselves decay rapidly. These findings recommend caution when deploying factual information to change attitudes toward immigration policy.

The conservative shift to the right on immigration policy raises another question. The Republican Party was once the party of big business and the party that supported immigration as a source of cheap labor. What happened to turn it into the anti- immigration party?

Margaret E. Peters, a political scientist at U.C.L.A. and the author of the 2017 book Trading Barriers: Immigration and the Remaking of Globalization, argues that corporate Americas need for cheap labor had been falling before the advent of Trump and that that decline opened to door for Republican politicians to campaign on anti-immigrant themes.

In a March 2020 paper, Integration and Disintegration: Trade and Labor Market Integration, Peters succinctly describes the process:

The decision to remove barriers to trade in goods and capital flows have had profound effects on immigration. Trade has meant the closure of businesses in developed countries that rely on low-skill labor. When these firms closed, they took their support for low-skill immigration with them. The ability of capital to move intensified this trend: Whereas once firms needed to bring labor to their capital, they can now take their capital to labor. Once these firms move, they have little incentive to fight for immigration at home. Finally, increased productivity, as both a product of and response to globalization, has meant that firms can do more with fewer workers, again decreasing demands for immigration. Together, these changes have led to less business support for immigration, allowing politicians to move to the right on immigration and pass restrictions to appease anti-immigration forces.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats, in the view of Douglas Massey, a sociologist at Princeton, have failed to counter Republican opposition to immigration with an aggressive assertion of the historical narrative of the United States

as a nation of immigrants, tapping into the fact that nearly all Americans are descendant from immigrants who arrived into a land they did not originally populate, and that despite epochs of xenophobia and restriction, in the end the U.S. has been a great machine of immigrant integration that has benefited the United States and made us an exceptional nation.

Unfortunately, Massey continued,

the intertwined forces of climate change, state failure, violence and criminal economics will greatly complicate efforts to create a counternarrative by producing surges of asylum seekers and refugees, which could be managed with effective immigration and border policies, but which under current circumstances instead serve to produce images of chaos along the southern border.

Ryan Enos, a professor of government at Harvard, has a different perspective. He argues that

until Trump campaigned on his Muslim ban and his largely symbolic issue of the border wall, there was mostly a consensus among Republican and Democratic politicians allowing for a continued welcoming of immigrants into the United States and keeping reactionary anti-immigrant politics off the table. There was also largely a consensus among most Democratic and Republican voters supporting this.

This consensus, Enos contends, still holds, but it is fragile:

The question for the future of the broader consensus on immigration is whether Republicans can continue to be successful despite the anti-immigrant pandering that is largely out of step with the broad American consensus on immigration. If they are electorally successful  and there is reason to believe they will be, given forecasts for Democratic losses in 2022  then this broad consensus might break down permanently and a large portion of the American public may follow their Republican leaders toward more fully adopting anti-immigrant ideology.

As Democrats have continued to struggle to reach agreement on major infrastructure and social-spending bills, they have been forced to rapidly shift gears on tax hikes without fully addressing potential unintended consequences. Party members remain tentative, at best, in their willingness to challenge the Senate filibuster rule, and senior House Democrats are retiring in an early warning signal that the party may face severe losses in November 2022.

There are potentially tragic consequences if the Democratic Party proves unable to prevent anti-immigration forces from returning to take over the debate, consequences described by U.C.L.A.s Waldinger:

The average undocumented immigrant has been in the U.S. for 10 years. The problems of the undocumented spill over onto the large population of U.S. citizens, who are the children, mates, relatives of the undocumented and whose lives are adversely affected by the increasingly repressive policy environment.

Put differently, Waldinger continued, the ever-greater embeddedness of the unauthorized population increases the legitimacy of their claims.

In other words, for all intents and purposes, most undocumented immigrants  and perhaps especially the Dreamers  are Americans deserving of full citizenship. But these Americans are on the political chopping block, dependent on a weakened Democratic Party to protect them from a renewal of the savagery an intensely motivated Republican Party has on its agenda.

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Come again? Republican turnout was way up in key precincts; surely Mr. McAuliffe was teeing up to make some wild accusation about partisan operatives stuffing ballot boxes. While last night we came up short, I am proud that we spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply believe in, the statement said.

Opinion Debate Will the Democrats face a midterm wipeout? Mark Penn and Andrew Stein write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond.

write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond. Tory Gavito and Adam Jentleson write that the Virgina loss should "shock Democrats into confronting the powerful role that racially coded attacks play in American politics."

write that the Virgina loss should "shock Democrats into confronting the powerful role that racially coded attacks play in American politics." Ezra Klein speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging.

speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging. Ross Douthat writes that the outcome of the Virginia gubernatorial race shows Democrats need a new way to talk about progressive ideology and education.

Its almost like listening to a foreign language, isnt it? Over the past year, Americans have been subjected to an endless temper tantrum by one of the countrys two major political parties  a party now led by people who have apparently lost the capacity to admit defeat. One year to the day since the polls closed in 2020, Donald Trump still hasnt formally conceded that election. He couldnt even muster the dignity and decorum to hand over the presidency to Joe Biden in person, skipping town on Inauguration Day like a crook on the lam.

This cant-accept-defeat mentality began in earnest before the 2016 election, which Mr. Trump said was rigged even after he won, and it has set the tone for all that has come since. It emboldened the absurd and dangerous campaign of lies about election fraud in 2020, which notably focused on the big cities where larger numbers of Black voters live. It led directly to the deadly Jan. 6 riot that Mr. Trump incited at the U.S. Capitol. And it continues to infect the party 10 months later, as top Republicans still refuse to acknowledge Mr. Biden as the legitimately elected president and Republican-led states pass laws to make it easier for their legislatures to overturn the will of the voters if they dont like the result.

Speaking of election fraud, Republicans have been strangely quiet on the topic this time around. Interesting how that works: When a Democrat wins, its ipso facto proof of fraud. When a Republican wins  presto!  the election is on the level. This is how so many top Republicans managed to keep a straight face in 2020 as they argued that votes for Mr. Biden were fraudulent even while votes for winning Republican candidates farther down the same ballot were magically untainted.

Hey, Republicans! This does not have to be so hard. All you have to do is value American democracy more than you value your own partys hold on power. I guarantee that Democrats want to win just as badly as you do, and yet they take their lumps like grown-ups.
Julianne Boyd, who has served as artistic director of Barrington Stage Company since cofounding the Western Massachusetts nonprofit in 1995, will retire next fall.

The company started by renting space at a high school in Sheffield, Mass., and now operates five buildings in Pittsfield, Mass. It has had a number of notable successes, the best known of which is The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a musical by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin, which Barrington first staged in that high schools cafeteria in 2004. The next year, the musical transferred, first to Off Broadways Second Stage Theater, and then to Broadway, and it has repeatedly been staged around the world.

Barrington Stage, one of the many arts institutions that have made the Berkshires a destination for culture lovers, also developed a revival of On the Town that transferred to Broadway in 2014, and a new play, American Son, that opened on Broadway (starring Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale) in 2018.

Boyd, 76, said that after one last summer season she will be ready for a new chapter. She said she plans to continue to split her time between Pittsfield and New York, to direct, and to spend time with her seven grandchildren. Nana hasnt been there, she said.
Next to him sat a golden retriever comfort dog, Cohen, paws raised by his handler to give Thomas a pair of high-fives. The boy cried, then stopped when the shot ended and he got a treat and a neon-colored Band-Aid. Im going to get a doughnut, he announced.

Although the infection rate in the United States plummeted for weeks as the reach of the contagious Delta variant ebbed, federal officials have warned that another spike is still possible. Absent vaccination, they say, younger children are vulnerable to hospitalization and, in the most rare cases, death from Covid-19, and they can transmit the virus to people of all age groups.

The Biden administration has enlisted 20,000 pediatricians, family doctors and pharmacies to administer the shots and is shipping 15 million doses. About five million of them are allocated to pharmacies in the federal program that have been key to the adult vaccination rollout. The other 10 million are allocated to states.

Dr. Zoey Goore, a Kaiser Permanente pediatrician in Roseville, Calif., said her practice near Sacramento planned to start inoculating younger children next week, and had received its first shipment of vaccines on Tuesday: Our pharmacists took a picture and sent it to everyone.

In California, which has some 3.5 million children between 5 and 11  nearly a tenth of the states population  the authorization of pediatric vaccines was met with an almost giddy sense of celebration. Dr. Richard Pan, a Sacramento pediatrician and state senator who in recent years has led a push to tighten the states vaccine regulations, said he had kept abreast of the C.D.C.s endorsement on Tuesday by following colleagues on Twitter who were posting about the deliberations of scientific advisers to the agency.

Its like the release of a new iPhone, Dr. Pan joked, predicting that these first few weeks are going to be all about managing a crush of demand from early adopters. After that, he said, appointments were likely to level off in the way they have for older age groups.
Colorado is experiencing its worst coronavirus wave in a year and its overwhelmed hospitals are now allowed to turn away new patients.

An executive order, signed on Sunday by Gov. Jared Polis, allowed hospitals to redirect incoming patients. Many medical facilities have reported being over 90 percent capacity, with severe staffing shortages.

Covid hospitalizations in Colorado have increased 14 percent in the last two weeks. The states new daily cases have also increased 14 percent in two weeks, and recently reached their highest level since their peak in November 2020, according to a New York Times database.

Hospitals in Larimer County, where vaccine hesitancy is fueling a surge, are using 110 percent of their I.C.U. beds, according to the local health department. That has forced some patients to double up in rooms, and hospitals in the area are close to turning patients away to prioritize emergencies, Tom Gonzales, public health director for Larimer, told CBS Denver.
The younger children get one-third of the vaccine dosage that has been cleared for adults and children 12 or older, delivered using smaller needles and different vials to minimize the chance of confusion with adult doses.

About 2.9 million children aged 5 to 11 live in Texas. Twenty-two children in that age group have died from complications of Covid-19 in the state, and 118 have been diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children following a coronavirus infection, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

At the hospital in Houston, the surroundings resembled vaccination sites nationwide, with some modifications for a younger crowd. Several support dogs roamed among the nurses. The Little Mermaid played on a large screen in the post-injection monitoring area, which was decorated with Disney-character balloons. Chairs were set up in pairs so that children could sit with a parent or caregiver.

In the vaccination rooms, cheers mixed with yelps and a little bit of crying. Some children squirmed. Others jumped for joy.

This is the best day ever! said Elizabeth Burke, a sixth grader who celebrated her 12th birthday on Wednesday by getting her shot. She was the youngest of three children in her family, and the last to get immunized.
I never saw anything she was proposing that was new, fresh or workable, he said.

The apparent win for Mr. Brown  a centrist and a lifelong Democrat  is a stinging rebuke for the left wing of the party, both nationally and in New York, which had celebrated Ms. Waltons unlikely win in June with volunteers and prominent backers flocking to her campaign in recent months.

That included Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx but traveled to Buffalo last weekend to campaign on Ms. Waltons behalf.

Mr. Brown, meanwhile, rallied a coalition of conservative and moderate supporters, as well as enjoying the backing of several prominent labor unions and independent expenditure groups funded by real estate, which has seen a revival in Buffalo under Mr. Brown.

Ms. Walton also had little help from state party leadership, as Gov. Kathy Hochul  a Buffalo native  and Jay S. Jacobs, the chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, declined to endorse her or work for her election. Many major statewide figures were similarly silent, including the state attorney general, Letitia James, who is running for governor next year.

Another possible gubernatorial candidate, Representative Tom Suozzi, was even more active, endorsing Mr. Brown over his partys nominated candidate. And on Tuesday, he was arguing that Buffalos rejection of Ms. Walton over write-ins should serve as a wake up call for Democrats about straying too far left.

Democrats need to listen to the voters: they dont want fence-straddlers, they dont want pie-in-the-sky philosophical debate, they dont want scorched-earth tactics, he said. They want elected officials who will be straight up with them and get things done.

Democrats, of course, also lost to Republicans in several closely watched races in New York and nationally. And in Buffalo, Republicans  who are badly outnumbered in a Democratic city  may well have contributed to the crush of write-in votes: they did not mount a candidate, and several local Republicans openly backed Mr. Brown.
Glenn Youngkin, a Republican business executive, marched to victory in Tuesdays election, delivering his party the governorship of Virginia and highlighting a strong night for Republicans less than a year after voters pushed them fully out of power in the nations capital.

The outcome in Virginia, combined with an unexpectedly close contest in New Jersey, where the Democratic governor barely won re-election, delivered a jolt of encouragement for Republicans and a stark warning sign for the Democrats less than 10 months into President Bidens term.

Here are five takeaways from Tuesdays contests and what the results could mean for 2022, when control of the House, Senate and 36 governorships will be on the ballot:

Youngkins success across the state offers a G.O.P. pathway.

Republicans suffered repeated down-ballot losses in the past four years, as the party grappled with how to motivate a base deeply yoked to Donald J. Trump without alienating the suburban voters who came to reject the former presidents divisive style of politics.
And national and state teachers union leaders drew public ire for slowing reopening timelines even after educators were given early access to the vaccine.

Hostility toward teachers unions has been a problem for Democrats like Mr. McAuliffe, since the party is closely tied to organized labor. In the final days of the campaign, Mr. McAuliffe appeared with Randi Weingarten, the powerful president of the American Federation of Teachers, which drew rebukes from Republicans.

Schools are open this year, but that has not neutralized the issue. Education in Virginia, and in other states, has continued to be disrupted by occasional quarantines and classroom closures to contain the coronavirus.

Some parents have become fed up with their children learning in masks. A smaller group has also loudly resisted vaccine mandates for student athletes, which some districts, like Fairfax County, require.

Parents angry over how schools have operated during the pandemic span the political spectrum, from lifelong liberal Democrats to activist Trump supporters. But on the right, the issue has been a potent way to energize voters who are also angry about other cultural issues in schools, namely, efforts to teach a more critical history of race in America.
Weve got to stop this pendulum from swinging violently back and forth between defund and abolish the police on one side, and do nothing, status quo on the other, Mr. Frey said in an interview before the election. Those are not the two options.

But Minneapolis had been shaken by police shootings and protests before, and many residents said that little seemed to change. When Mr. Frey won his first term four years ago, he pledged to improve police-community relations that had been frayed by the killings of Jamar Clark, a Black man fatally shot in 2015 during a fight with officers, and Justine Ruszczyk, a white woman whose death in 2017 led to an officer being convicted of manslaughter.

Sheila Nezhad, one of Mr. Freys challengers, worked as a street medic during the unrest last year and supported the amendment to replace the police force. Ms. Nezhad said Mr. Frey had failed to rise to the moment and listen to the demands of protesters.

People took to the streets because their voices were not being heard through the quote-unquote appropriate channels, through city government, Ms. Nezhad said. Whatever we do next has to make sure that we have as many voices included as possible.

Though more than a dozen candidates ran against him, Mr. Frey retained significant support among Minneapolis residents wary of reinventing or downsizing the police force. On the citys North Side, where shootings have been a fact of life, the Rev. Jerry McAfee criticized how the mayor had engaged with community groups, but said he still preferred him to the wide field of challengers.
SAN ANTONIO  Growing up in a working-class neighborhood in San Antonio, Adolfo Chagoy had long supported local and national Democrats who touted job growth and infrastructure projects.

But last week, as he stood in line to cast a ballot in a tightly contested runoff election for a State House seat, Mr. Chagoy thought instead about the issues he had come to care about more recently, such as strengthening the border, funding police departments and banning abortion. And so he checked the box for the Republican candidate, John Lujan, who narrowly emerged the winner on Tuesday to represent the citys South Side and states 118th District.

The thought has always been, Im poor, and if you are poor you cant be a Republican, said Mr. Chagoy, a 66-year-old retired cook. I dont think you can buy values. I voted for the issues I care about, not about whos from what party.

Mr. Chagoys vote helped flip a once reliable Democratic bastion by 286 ballots in a runoff for a special election. Four of his five children, also longtime Democrats, also switched parties, choosing not to endorse 27-year-old Frank Ramirez, a Democrat and former legislative aide.
The Republican candidate, Jack Ciattarelli, mounted an unexpectedly strong challenge, and his loss came after a fellow Republican claimed Virginias governorship for the first time in more than a decade.

Murphy is narrowly re-elected governor of New Jersey. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:24 - 0:00 transcript Murphy Wins New Jersey Governors Race for a Second Term Gov. Philip D. Murphy is the first Democratic governor to be re-elected in New Jersey in more than 44 years. His campaign focused on his record during his first term and his left-leaning approach to governing. I am humbled to be the first Democratic governor re-elected in the great state of New Jersey since my dear friend, the late governor Brendan Byrne, did this in 1977. Thank you for saying we need to keep moving forward on our shared journey to a stronger and fairer New Jersey. In New Jersey, we know how to make forward work from the middle out and the bottom up. And we know how to move forward, and accomplish big things. We are a national leader in raising the minimum wage. [Cheering] In making millionaires pay their fair share to give working families and the middle class a break. In education with the No. 1 public school system in America. In defending womens health and funding Planned Parenthood. If you want to be governor of all of New Jersey, you must listen to all of New Jersey. And New Jersey, I hear you. So tonight, I renew my promise to you, whether you voted for me or not, to work every single day of the next four years to keep moving us forward, forward with renewed optimism to ensure greater opportunities for all 9.3 million who call the Garden State their home. Gov. Philip D. Murphy is the first Democratic governor to be re-elected in New Jersey in more than 44 years. His campaign focused on his record during his first term and his left-leaning approach to governing. Credit Credit... Bryan Anselm for The New York Times Philip D. Murphy was re-elected governor of New Jersey by a slim margin, overcoming an early deficit, public pushback over his coronavirus emergency orders and the unpopularity of President Biden in a race that recent polling had suggested he would win by double digits. Mr. Murphy, 64, became the first Democrat to be re-elected to the governors office in 44 years with his victory over his G.O.P. challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, a former assemblyman who at one point on election night had led by more than 50,000 votes. The unexpectedly tight contest gave Democrats a measure of relief in deep-blue New Jersey, but emboldened national Republicans as something that they could build on heading into next years midterm elections. Mr. Murphy touted his record of supporting organized labor, gun safety laws and aggressive health measures during the pandemic that are based on science. He called it a model for the nation, saying in his victory speech, If you want to know what the future looks like folks, come to New Jersey. If you want to understand where America is heading, look to New Jersey. At the end of the contentious race, Mr. Murphy sounded a conciliatory note. If you want to be governor of all of New Jersey, you must listen to all of New Jersey. And New Jersey, I hear you, Mr. Murphy said. Mr. Ciattarelli did not immediately concede, and a spokeswoman wrote on Twitter that it was irresponsible to declare a winner in the close race. The results came the day after the Republican Glenn Youngkin flipped the governors office in Virginia, defeating the former Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, in what was considered the top prize in this years elections for both national parties. Mr. Murphys narrow victory showed just how divided the state was over his tough policies to control the spread of the coronavirus and as his liberal agenda on taxation, climate change and racial equity. The wealthy former Goldman Sachs executive and ambassador to Germany campaigned largely on his first-term record and his unabashedly liberal approach to governing a state where there are nearly 1.1 million more registered Democrats than Republicans. In New Jersey, the defining issue of the campaign was the pandemic, which has killed about 28,000 residents, hobbled much of the regions economy and disrupted the education of 1.3 million public school students. Mr. Murphy was one of the last governors to repeal an indoor mask mandate and among the first to require teachers to be vaccinated or submit to regular testing. Mr. Ciattarelli made Mr. Murphys strict pandemic edicts a centerpiece of his campaign. The Republican opposed Covid-19 vaccine mandates and mandatory masking in schools, and he blamed Mr. Murphys lockdown orders for hurting small businesses and keeping students out of school for too long. Results trickled in slowly on Tuesday from Democratic strongholds like Essex and Passaic Counties, skewing the early totals and making it clear that the race would be far tighter than expected. Central to why the race was not called until Wednesday was the number of outstanding mail ballots and provisional ballots. This year, New Jersey did not permit local election officials to begin pre-processsing ballots  which includes opening, verifying and scanning ballots  until Election Day, causing a massive backlog of more than 520,000 mail ballots to be counted in a single day. During the 2020 election in New Jersey, officials were allowed to begin processing 10 days before Election Day, which ensured a much smoother tabulation process. New voting laws and voting equipment in use for the first time in the 2021 election also sparked confusion among both election workers and voters. New electronic poll books proved confusing for workers, forcing some voters to have to cast a provisional ballot. Other voters brought their mail ballot to their precincts, a voting method permitted in 2020 but not in 2021. Those voters were then forced to vote provisionally. Kevin Armstrong and Lauren Hard contributed reporting.

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India Walton says shes unlikely to beat the write-in incumbent, Byron Brown, in the Buffalo mayors race. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:56 - 0:00 transcript Buffalo Mayor Declares Victory After Write-In Campaign Mayor Byron W. Brown of Buffalo, N.Y., declared victory in a write-in campaign for a fifth term. His opponent, India Walton, a democratic socialist and a first-time candidate, said she was unlikely to beat him. Because we are from Buffalo and we never quit. [crowd cheering] I wish I could thank each and every one of you  You did because you won. [crowd cheering]  and all the voters individually, and we will find a way to do that in the coming days and weeks and months, and the next four years. [crowd cheering] This has been a remarkable journey that weve been on together. And your faith and trust has sustained me over the past four and a half months. It hasnt been easy, far from it, but its been worth it, hasnt it? Yeah. Mayor Byron W. Brown of Buffalo, N.Y., declared victory in a write-in campaign for a fifth term. His opponent, India Walton, a democratic socialist and a first-time candidate, said she was unlikely to beat him. Credit Credit... Malik Rainey for The New York Times BUFFALO, N.Y.  In a sharp reversal of political fortune, Mayor Byron W. Brown of Buffalo has seemingly triumphed in a write-in campaign for a new term, besting India Walton, a democratic socialist who had stunned Mr. Brown in a primary in June and had drawn national attention as a champion of progressive values. Ms. Walton  a first-time candidate  said on Wednesday afternoon that she likely would not be able to translate the energy of her surprising primary victory into a general election win. It seems unlikely that we will end up with enough votes to inaugurate a Walton administration in January, she wrote on Twitter. My statement on last nights election results, threaded below for accessibility. pic.twitter.com/4FNeBxHSkE  India Walton For Buffalo (@Indiawaltonbflo) November 3, 2021 Mr. Brown, 63, had declared victory late Tuesday, as ballots rolled in and it became apparent that write-ins would carry the day: With all precincts reporting, just over 41 percent of votes were for Ms. Walton and 59 percent were marked for write-in, a margin of about 10,000 votes. Those write-ins will need to be tallied by hand to verify the names on them  there is at least one other write-in candidate who has actively campaigned  but it seemed likely that the incumbent Mr. Browns aggressive campaign for a fifth term would succeed. His campaign was crafty, spending $100,000 to distribute tens of thousands of ink stamps bearing the mayors name to allow voters to ink his name on ballots, something allowed by state law. While Mr. Browns campaign overcame hurdles  Ms. Walton carried the Democratic line and was the only candidate whose name was printed on the ballot  repairing his reputation as a Democrat in good standing may be more difficult with the more insurgent wing of his party. In her statement, Ms. Walton did not mention Mr. Brown but was clearly frustrated by the tactics employed against her. Every dirty trick in the book was tried against us, she wrote, adding, We knew that would be the case. When you take on the corrupt and the powerful you cant expect them to play fair. Her campaign told The New York Times on Wednesday night that she would formally concede to Mr. Brown if she was still down once all votes were counted. When all the votes are counted, if were still down, then well concede, she wrote on Twitter. Until then, relax. Ms. Walton had run on a campaign of addressing income inequality, increasing racial and social justice, and spreading the wealth of New Yorks second largest city, which has had a surprising jump in population in recent years. In an interview Wednesday, a buoyant Mr. Brown said his write-in campaign was born in the moments after his stunning defeat in June, when he ran a lackluster campaign. I knew from the amazing groundswell of support coming in that a write-in campaign would be very winnable, he said. He said he would try to mend the rift among the citys Democrats caused by the race  I always plan to bring people from the community together, he said  but still had little praise for Ms. Walton or her campaign. I never saw anything she was proposing that was new, fresh or workable, he said. The apparent win for Mr. Brown  a centrist and a lifelong Democrat  is a stinging rebuke for the left wing of the party, both nationally and in New York, which had celebrated Ms. Waltons unlikely win in June with volunteers and prominent backers flocking to her campaign in recent months. That included Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx but traveled to Buffalo last weekend to campaign on Ms. Waltons behalf. Mr. Brown, meanwhile, rallied a coalition of conservative and moderate supporters, as well as enjoying the backing of several prominent labor unions and independent expenditure groups funded by real estate, which has seen a revival in Buffalo under Mr. Brown. Ms. Walton also had little help from state party leadership, as Gov. Kathy Hochul  a Buffalo native  and Jay S. Jacobs, the chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, declined to endorse her or work for her election. Many major statewide figures were similarly silent, including the state attorney general, Letitia James, who is running for governor next year. Another possible gubernatorial candidate, Representative Tom Suozzi, was even more active, endorsing Mr. Brown over his partys nominated candidate. And on Tuesday, he was arguing that Buffalos rejection of Ms. Walton over write-ins should serve as a wake up call for Democrats about straying too far left. Democrats need to listen to the voters: they dont want fence-straddlers, they dont want pie-in-the-sky philosophical debate, they dont want scorched-earth tactics, he said. They want elected officials who will be straight up with them and get things done. Democrats, of course, also lost to Republicans in several closely watched races in New York and nationally. And in Buffalo, Republicans  who are badly outnumbered in a Democratic city  may well have contributed to the crush of write-in votes: they did not mount a candidate, and several local Republicans openly backed Mr. Brown. Nick Langworthy, the New York State Republican Committee chairman, congratulated Mr. Brown on his victory  Socialism has been defeated in Buffalo! he wrote on Twitter  and later taunted Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. When are you coming back to Buffalo? asked Mr. Langworthy, who had long served as the partys chair in Erie County. When are you coming back to Buffalo, Congresswoman @AOC?  Nick Langworthy (@NickLangworthy) November 3, 2021 In many ways, Ms. Waltons candidacy has underscored a deeper rift in the Democratic Party, which has seen moderates like President Biden and Eric Adams, the mayor-elect of New York City, scuffle with  and sometimes defeat  more left-wing candidates. And even with the obstacles of a write-in campaign, observers in Buffalo felt Mr. Brown had a strong chance of winning because of name recognition. He worked to paint Ms. Walton as a radical, untested and potentially disastrous choice. Ms. Walton, 39, would have been a trailblazing mayor, as the first woman and the first Black woman to lead New Yorks second largest city. She has an evocative life story as a single mother and labor organizer, a narrative that she leaned on in advertisements, some of which were paid for by groups like Working Families Party, a labor-backed organization that often supports progressive candidates. Image Every dirty trick in the book was tried against us, said India Walton in a statement she posted Wednesday on Twitter. Credit... Libby March for The New York Times Ms. Waltons supporters were praising her efforts to bring a socialist ethos to a major American city, something that hasnt occurred in decades. By the same token, they were disgusted by Mr. Browns efforts, which included a number of attack ads by his campaign and outside supporters. She never strayed from her values and principles, even as Byron Brown and his GOP backers ran a campaign fueled by fear and division, said Sochie Nnaemeka, the director of the New York Working Families Party. For her part, Ms. Walton also seemed to suggest on Wednesday that her political career wasnt over. The hour will come when we finally draw down power to the everyday people of this city, she said. Lauren DAvolio and Dan Higgins contributed reporting from Buffalo.

A scare in New Jersey and a loss in Virginia offered Democrats a warning. Image Supporters of Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, watched early return numbers at the candidates party in Fairfax, Va., on Tuesday night. Mr. McAuliffe lost to the Republican candidate, Glenn Youngkin. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times The Democratic Party was left reeling after an unexpectedly close contest for governor in New Jersey and the loss of the governors race in Virginia, inspiring fresh doubts among Democrats about their fortunes heading into next years midterm elections. President Biden returned from his trip to Europe and was immediately greeted with an unwelcome reminder of his partys shaky political footing. With his approval ratings sagging and Republicans eager to wrest back control of Congress, Mr. Biden is facing an uncertain landscape on Capitol Hill, where a key Democratic senator, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, has raised doubts about the presidents $1.85 trillion social safety net and climate change bill. Another worrisome development for Democrats was the tight race in New Jersey, a state that Mr. Biden carried by 16 percentage points last year. Gov. Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat, avoided an upset, but he only narrowly defeated his Republican challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, a former assemblyman, to claim a second term. A year after Mr. Biden won Virginia by 10 points, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, failed in his quest to win back his old office, losing to the Republican candidate, Glenn Youngkin, in a contest that was closely watched for what it could signal about voters satisfaction or lack thereof with the president and his party. Mr. McAuliffe conceded to Mr. Youngkin on Wednesday morning. The setback in Virginia was the latest in a series of stumbles for Mr. Biden, who has faced criticism over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and over the surge in migrants at the Southern border. And in Washington, he has struggled to unite Democratic lawmakers behind his social safety net bill. With that measure in dispute, the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August has been on hold in the House, depriving the party of an accomplishment that could have been promoted on the campaign trail this fall. The dispiriting results for Democrats on Tuesday stoked fears in the party that the infighting in Congress was taking a toll with the public. The No. 1 concern voters have raised with me over the last several weeks has been inability of Congress and government in general to get things done at a time of great need for the country, said Representative Tom Malinowski, a Democrat from a swing district in New Jersey. So the best thing we can do in Congress is to pass these damned bills, immediately. Asked on Wednesday whether the Democratic loss in Virginia changed the Houses agenda, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, No, no. At the White House, Mr. Biden told reporters that people want us to get things done. People need a little breathing room  theyre overwhelmed, he said. We have to just produce results for them.

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Jacob Frey, who oversaw Minneapolis when George Floyd was murdered, wins a second term as mayor. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:48 - 0:00 transcript Police Reform Must Continue, Minneapolis Mayor Says Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat who led the city when a police officer murdered George Floyd, was elected to a second term. Mr. Frey opposed efforts to abolish or replace the citys police force. We need deep and structural change to policing in America. [crowd clapping and cheering] And at the same time, we need police officers to make sure that they are working directly with community to keep us safe. There will be many that will try to argue that this is a blow to reform  that is dead wrong. [crowd clapping and cheering] Reform  reform has begun, but it must continue with the necessary  with understanding the magnitude of this particular moment, and making sure that were all, each and every one of us, rallying around the cause of change. Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat who led the city when a police officer murdered George Floyd, was elected to a second term. Mr. Frey opposed efforts to abolish or replace the citys police force. Credit Credit... Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times MINNEAPOLIS  Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat who led Minneapolis when a police officer murdered George Floyd and the city was overwhelmed by rioting last year, was elected to a second term, The Associated Press projected on Wednesday. Mr. Frey also had opposed efforts to abolish or replace the local police force. The election in Minneapolis, an overwhelmingly Democratic city, was shaped by Mr. Floyds death in May 2020, by a sharp rise in homicides afterward and by disparate views on how to address public safety. Voters on Tuesday also rejected an amendment to replace the citys Police Department with a new safety agency focused on public health. In the days after Mr. Floyds death, Minneapolis became the center of a national debate on whether to defund policing and invest in new options for emergency response. A veto-proof majority of the City Council quickly pledged to abolish the Police Department, though some members later backtracked. From the start, Mr. Frey, a former professional runner and City Council member, called for a more incremental approach to improving law enforcement. He supported efforts to hire mental health workers to respond to emergencies and to curtail some low-level police stops, while defending a need to maintain a Police Department. Weve got to stop this pendulum from swinging violently back and forth between defund and abolish the police on one side, and do nothing, status quo on the other, Mr. Frey said in an interview before the election. Those are not the two options. But Minneapolis had been shaken by police shootings and protests before, and many residents said that little seemed to change. When Mr. Frey won his first term four years ago, he pledged to improve police-community relations that had been frayed by the killings of Jamar Clark, a Black man fatally shot in 2015 during a fight with officers, and Justine Ruszczyk, a white woman whose death in 2017 led to an officer being convicted of manslaughter. Sheila Nezhad, one of Mr. Freys challengers, worked as a street medic during the unrest last year and supported the amendment to replace the police force. Ms. Nezhad said Mr. Frey had failed to rise to the moment and listen to the demands of protesters. People took to the streets because their voices were not being heard through the quote-unquote appropriate channels, through city government, Ms. Nezhad said. Whatever we do next has to make sure that we have as many voices included as possible. Though more than a dozen candidates ran against him, Mr. Frey retained significant support among Minneapolis residents wary of reinventing or downsizing the police force. On the citys North Side, where shootings have been a fact of life, the Rev. Jerry McAfee criticized how the mayor had engaged with community groups, but said he still preferred him to the wide field of challengers. Jacob is still the best person, Mr. McAfee said. The other ones that theyre trying to push, theyre going to push this agenda of basically defunding the police, and Im not with that.

For progressives, Michelle Wu points to a way forward in Boston. Image Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu greets one of her sons after speaking at her election night party at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts in Boston. Credit... M. Scott Brauer for The New York Times For progressives, Tuesdays elections brought a litany of bad news and one conspicuous bright spot: Michelle Wu, the newly elected mayor of Boston, who took the stage in a scarlet dress, carrying her 4-year-old son on her hip. Ms. Wu, 36, was in intense campaign mode this summer when Eric Adams won the Democratic primary in New York, convincing many pundits that the progressive movement was sputtering at the ballot box, dampened by the practical concerns of older, moderate voters. Ms. Wu had time to pivot toward the center, but she did not: Right up until its last weeks, her campaign was built around an agenda that galvanized this citys young left, like fare-free public transit, climate action and rent control. And that did not seem to hurt her, even with centrist voters. In Tuesdays election, Ms. Wu trounced a more moderate opponent, City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, by a 28-point margin. Between the September preliminary election and Tuesdays general election, she expanded far beyond the younger, more educated whites who are her base, winning by commanding margins among Black, Latino and Asian voters. Still flushed from her victory, Ms. Wu affirmed her plan to make the city into a laboratory for progressive policy, the kind she studied under her mentor Senator Elizabeth Warren. One explanation for her success is Ms. Wu herself, who is difficult to caricature as a radical. Over her four terms as a city councilor, Bostonians have gotten to know Ms. Wu as soft-spoken and thoughtful, intensely focused on policy, meticulous about showing up at meetings and returning phone calls. That experience acted as a buffer, if any was needed, for someone this progressive to be elected mayor, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. That kind of quiet, methodical style is a new style for progressives, he said. Its a different kind of style that she has invented.

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Voters appear to have rejected the most far-reaching calls for reinventing the police. Image Supporters of a Minneapolis amendment that would have remade the Police Department said they were disappointed it had failed but that their campaign had succeeded in shifting the debate around policing, perhaps in a lasting way. Credit... Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times MINNEAPOLIS  After a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd last year, protesters marched across the country demanding sweeping change to law enforcement. But given the opportunity Tuesday to dismantle their citys troubled Police Department and replace it with something new, Minneapolis voters said no. The results in Minneapolis, an overwhelmingly Democratic city, as well as returns in local races from Long Island to Seattle, suggested that voters saw an enduring need for policing even as they supported some incremental changes. In an election season that played out amid a national rise in homicides, Americans across racial and geographic lines rejected the most far-reaching calls for reinventing law enforcement and, in many cases, elected candidates who backed the current policing structure. I do want to see some changes, said Deborah Diggins, 60, a social worker in Minneapolis who said she supported having mental health workers respond to more emergency calls. But most certainly I do not want to see them defund the Police Department  in no form or fashion. We need policemen. In Seattle, where a majority of the City Council had endorsed cutting the police budget by half, Bruce Harrell, a candidate who favors adding police officers, was far ahead in the citys mayoral race with counting still underway. In New York City, Eric Adams, a former police captain who won the Democratic primary earlier this year after rejecting the defund-the-police movement and emphasizing the role of the police in public safety, sailed to election. The results in Minneapolis, where a proposed amendment would have replaced the Police Department with a new agency focused on public health, showed how the strongly held views that policing needs to change clashed with concerns about rising gun violence and homicides. The proposed safety agency in Minneapolis would have almost certainly still employed police officers, but the measure would have dismantled the existing system and eliminated minimum staffing requirements.

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Why New Yorkers rejected ballot proposals on voting and redistricting. Image Voters cast their ballots at Leonardo Da Vinci Intermediate School in Corona, Queens, on Tuesday. Credit... Janice Chung for The New York Times In October, the New Yorks Republican and Conservative Parties went nuclear. Eager to rally their bases in an off-year election, and concerned about ballot initiatives that they considered a threat, the parties devised a two-pronged offensive. The Conservative Party spent about $3 million, according to its chairman, on television and radio ads arguing that the initiatives were tantamount to corruption. Republicans mounted a whistle-stop Just Say No tour that traversed 40 counties in 10 days. By comparison, Democrats spent and did little. At issue were three of five proposed Constitutional amendments listed on the back of voters ballots. The first would have required that, for redistricting purposes, incarcerated New Yorkers be counted at their last place of residence. But the League of Women Voters of New York and the Conservative Party argued the measure would have also reduced the power of minority parties in the redistricting process. Another proposal would have eliminated a rule requiring voters to register at least 10 days before an election, while yet another would have removed a rule requiring voters to provide an excuse  such as that they are leaving town or incapacitated  when requesting an absentee ballot. All three measures failed on Election Day, according to The Associated Press. Voters opposed the three proposals from Niagara County in the west to Nassau County on Long Island. They passed in four of New York Citys five boroughs, but not by particularly large margins. Many New York City voters did not vote on the ballot questions at all. Staten Island, as usual, was the odd borough out. All three measures failed there. Two other ballot proposals fared better. One that passed would preserve in the State Constitution the right to clean air, clean water, and a healthful environment. Another that passed is meant to make courts run more efficiently by doubling the monetary limit for claims filed in New York City civil court.

Catch up on Election Day results from around the U.S. Image Glenn Youngkin greeted supporters at a hotel in Chantilly, Va., on Tuesday. He will be the states first Republican governor in more than a decade. Credit... Melissa Lyttle for The New York Times A year after voters elected President Biden and pushed Republicans fully out of power in Washington, the G.O.P. rebounded with a strong election night on Tuesday, highlighted by Glenn Youngkins victory in the Virginia governors race. Here is a rundown of election results from around the country. Virginia governors race The businessman Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, defeated former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who struggled to generate enthusiasm among liberals at a moment when conservatives are energized in opposition to Mr. Biden. The victory by Mr. Youngkin, a first-time candidate in one of only two governors races before next years midterm elections, may give his party a formula for how to exploit Mr. Bidens vulnerabilities and avoid the shadow of former President Donald J. Trump in Democratic-leaning states. New Jersey governors race Gov. Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat, won a second term after an unexpectedly strong challenge from the former State Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, a moderate Republican. Mr. Murphy was far ahead in most public polling before Tuesdays contest, but he won narrowly instead. As of around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, when The Associated Press called the race in his favor, the partial vote count showed him ahead of Mr. Ciattarelli by less than one percentage point  though, because most of the ballots that remain to be counted are in heavily Democratic parts of the state, that margin is likely to increase somewhat. New York City In the citys mayoral race, Eric Adams, a former police captain and Brooklyn borough president, easily dispatched the long-shot Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, to become only the second Black person elected mayor in the citys history. And Alvin Bragg was elected Manhattan district attorney. He will become the first Black person to lead the influential office, which handles tens of thousands of cases a year and is conducting a high-profile investigation into former President Donald J. Trump and his family business. Boston mayors race Michelle Wu easily defeated City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George to become the first woman, first person of color and first person of Asian descent to be elected mayor in Boston. The city has been led by an unbroken string of Irish American or Italian American men since the 1930s. Minneapolis police ballot item Minneapolis residents rejected an amendment that called for replacing the citys long-troubled Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety, The Associated Press projected. The ballot item emerged from anger after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd last year, galvanizing residents who saw the policing system as irredeemably broken. Buffalo mayors race Mayor Byron W. Brown of Buffalo, an incumbent four-term Democrat, declared victory on Tuesday night in his write-in campaign to defeat his own partys official nominee, India Walton. On Wednesday afternoon, Ms. Walton, a democratic socialist, conceded. San Antonio state seat A Democratic stronghold in San Antonio flipped to a Republican in a runoff for a seat in the Texas House on Tuesday. John Lujan, a 59-year-old retired firefighter who had briefly held the seat before, beat Frank Ramirez, a 27-year-old former legislative aide, by fewer than 300 votes, according to a tally released by the Bexar County Elections Department. About 70 percent of the largely working-class families Mr. Lujan will represent, in the 118th District, identify as Hispanic. This speaks loudly that people are concerned about conservative values, Mr. Lujan told his supporters. You know, we want to secure our border, we want to grow our economy.

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Youngkins win was a thunderbolt. His agenda may be less disruptive. Image The agenda that Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin laid out in his acceptance speech echoed the light-on-specifics platform he ran on. Credit... Melissa Lyttle for The New York Times Politically, Democrats view the Virginia election result as a sign that the sky is falling. In terms of how life shifts under a new Republican governor, however, Virginians may find the outcome much more mundane. The agenda that Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin laid out in his acceptance speech early Wednesday morning echoed the light-on-specifics platform he ran on, promising Virginians a commonwealth of high expectations, but mostly sketching out minor-key changes that might not affect everyday life that much. Notably, Mr. Youngkin, who sought to appeal to suburban moderates, never shaped his candidacy around repealing the bulk of the sweeping liberal agenda that Democrats have passed since taking full control in Richmond last year. Democrats ended the death penalty, raised the minimum wage to $15, broadly expanded voting rights and introduced gun safety measures such as universal background checks. With the House of Delegates likely to end up with a Republican majority, it can be counted on to introduce bills next year to reverse those progressive laws. But they will meet resistance in the State Senate, where Democrats retain control. Mr. Youngkins major campaign message, to give parents more input to schools, is both broadly popular and highly vague. Parents already elect school boards that choose the curriculum of their local schools. Likewise, the incoming governors promise to ban critical race theory may have little practical effect, educators say, because it is not taught in K-12 schools, nor does it shape curriculums. More specific education items on Mr. Youngkins punch list, such as raising teacher salaries and creating 20 new charter schools, must pass the General Assembly. Kirk Cox, a former Republican speaker of the House of Delegates, who is a retired teacher, predicted both initiatives would have a good shot in a holistic education package in the legislature, along with Mr. Youngkins proposal to have a police officer in every school. Mr. Youngkins most concrete agenda is aimed at stimulating the economy, including ending a sales tax on groceries, doubling the standard deduction on state income taxes and paying a one-time rebate of $300 to individuals. Each item will have to pass via the state budget that requires lawmakers approval. Richard Saslaw, the Democratic majority leader of the Senate, said zeroing out the grocery tax and other revenue sources would lower the money the state has to spend, including on Youngkin proposals for higher pay for teachers and police officers. We have to see what all the numbers look like, Mr. Saslaw said. Were not the federal government, we dont have a printing press.

A Republican candidate holds a large lead for a citywide office in Seattle. Image Ann Davison, left, is leading her opponent, Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, right, in the race for city attorney in Seattle. Credit... via Associated Press A Republican candidate for city attorney and a pro-police candidate for mayor each held large leads in Seattles election on Wednesday, as voters appeared to reject rivals who had sought more aggressive overhauls of policing and the criminal justice system. If the results hold, Seattle would elect a Republican to citywide office for the first time in three decades, with a city attorney candidate, Ann Davison, who has vowed more prosecutions for low-level crimes in a traditionally liberal city grappling with homelessness. Ms. Davison was running against Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, who had praised those who perpetrated property destruction during last years policing protests and has called for eventually abolishing the criminal justice system as it is currently structured. Ms. Davison held a lead with 58 percent of the vote on Wednesday morning. The debate over policing also featured prominently in the race for mayor, with one candidate, Lorena Gonzalez, endorsing steep cuts to the police budget last year and another, Bruce Harrell, advocating for hiring more officers. Early results showed Mr. Harrell in the lead with 65 percent of the vote. The results were not yet conclusive, with many votes left to be counted in an all-mail voting system in which ballots can be postmarked on Election Day. Later votes historically skew toward more liberal candidates, sometimes changing results by double digits but not to the degree that would close the gaps shown in Tuesdays results. In a city that typically elects only Democrats, Ms. Davison entered the city attorneys race after having switched last year to the Republican Party. She recorded a WalkAway video for a social media campaign led by Brandon Straka, a prominent Trump supporter who pleaded guilty this year to disorderly conduct during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. But Ms. Davison worked to distance herself from the national Republican Party leadership, saying she voted for President Biden in the 2020 election. Ms. Thomas-Kennedy, a self-described abolitionist, had vowed to pursue fewer prosecutions of misdemeanor crimes. Last year, during racial justice protests, she had posted on Twitter about her rabid hatred of the police and called property destruction a moral imperative. While the citys major Democratic groups endorsed Ms. Thomas-Kennedy, some prominent leaders in the party broke ranks to endorse Ms. Davison, including former two former governors, Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire. Seattles elections are technically nonpartisan, but many candidates run with a party preference. The last Republican to serve as mayor left office in 1969. The last Republican to serve as city attorney departed in 1989. And the last Republican to serve on the City Council left office in 1991. Along with policing, the race for mayor focused on the issue of homelessness in a region that has seen years of soaring housing prices. Researchers have counted a 50 percent increase in tents within the urban core since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Harrell, a former member of the City Council, has called for removing homeless encampments from public spaces. Ms. Gonzalez, the current Council president, said she would not pursue forced removals from city parks. Both have said they want more shelters and alternative housing.

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Ballot initiatives to increase housing won big on Tuesday, a possible harbinger for 2022. Image In Leadville, Co., voters approved a new 3 percent tax on visitors staying in hotels, motels and short-term rentals. Credit... Rachel Woolf for The New York Times A slew of initiatives aimed at the addressing the nations housing crisis passed on Tuesday, a test run for ballot choices in 2022 as more cities and states take aim at rising rents, a continued explosion in short-term rentals and the depressed housing stock nationwide. The epicenter of the action was in the West, particularly in Colorado, where housing prices have skyrocketed in recent years, with short-term rentals helping lead the way. In Leadville, a scenic former silver mining town, voters overwhelmingly approved a new 3 percent tax on visitors staying in hotels, motels and short-term rentals, which will be used to create more affordable housing. Measures to increase fees on short-term rentals passed in Telluride, Avon and Ouray; Vail approved a sales tax increase for housing. If folks want to play in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, then individuals must also be able to live and work in those same towns, said Corrine Rivera Fowler, the director of policy and legal advocacy at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. Other cities and counties around the country passed similar initiatives. In coastal Lincoln County, Ore., where tourism is a major economic driver, the sole item on the ballot was a measure that would require the phasing out of short-term rental homes in unincorporated residential areas  and it prevailed in spite of a large spending campaign by opposing groups. Houses used for short-term rentals have pushed up rents n tourist towns, making them unaffordable for workers. In some cities, houses targeting short-term rentals have been built faster than cheaper units for lower-income residents. In both Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., residents approved rent-control measures, and in Boston, Michelle Wu won the mayors race after calling for a form of rent control. Other cities approved funding measures such as bond issues or dedicated tax revenue for housing. In Albuquerque, voters approved new bonds that would finance the construction and rehabilitation of low- and moderate-income housing. Experts expect more of the same in the next election cycles. As housing availability decreases and housing costs increase in cities, especially big cities across many states, voters will continue to see more housing-related measures on the ballot, said Josh Altic, the ballot measures project director at Ballotpedia.

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After Celebrating the U.S. Abroad, Biden Returns to Challenges at Home Image Within hours, the president went from celebrating American credibility abroad to contending with growing anxiety in his party back home. Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times WASHINGTON  President Biden on Wednesday returned from his second trip abroad since taking office aiming to celebrate the return of U.S. leadership on the global stage and hoping for Democratic victories in key elections in Virginia and New Jersey. It did not work out like that. Instead, as the president stepped off Air Force One on Wednesday morning, Glenn Youngkin delivered a victory speech as the first Republican to win the governorship of Virginia in more than a decade. In New Jersey, an unexpectedly strong Republican showing against Gov. Philip D. Murphy made the race too close to call until later in the evening, when he narrowly won. And a central piece of Mr. Bidens sweeping domestic agenda remained stalled after Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, raised new doubts about the $1.85 trillion climate change and social safety net bill. The political losses meant that within hours, the president went from celebrating American credibility abroad to contending with growing anxiety in his party back home. The results in Virginia and New Jersey exposed the partys limitations in relying on anti-Trump sentiment to galvanize voters, and they also highlighted a growing concern for Democrats and the White House: that failure to pass Mr. Bidens agenda or make good on his campaign promise of overcoming the coronavirus pandemic fueled dissatisfaction. People are upset and uncertain about a lot of things, from Covid to schools to jobs to a whole range of things, Mr. Biden said on Wednesday when asked about the election results. He added that he believed passing his infrastructure and social spending bills would address those concerns quickly and swiftly. He sidestepped questions about how much his stalled agenda was to blame for the Democratic loss in Virginia. But a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss strategy, said the administration would use it to highlight the urgent need to pass the presidents legislation. Mr. Biden and his advisers are intent on emphasizing progress in negotiations to empower Medicare to lower the price of prescription drugs, an issue that White House officials view as one that can win support among a range of voters, including the suburban and rural Virginians who turned to Mr. Youngkin on Tuesday. But it remains unclear when the president will have a legislative victory to show voters. This week, after liberals signaled support for votes on both bills, Mr. Manchin outlined his concerns with the revised social policy package and said he would not be pressured by their demands. That left Mr. Biden without a major piece of his domestic agenda to use to rally foreign allies, and it left Democrats without a victory that they could promote to voters. Image Glenn Youngkin became the first Republican to win the governorship of Virginia in more than a decade. Credit... Melissa Lyttle for The New York Times David Axelrod, who was a top adviser to President Barack Obama, said the Republican gains came at a particularly vulnerable time for the White House. Mr. Bidens approval rating has declined across the board in recent months amid concerns about rapidly increasing inflation, a persistent pandemic, the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and a record high number of illegal border crossings. On some level, its not that complicated. When you have a country thats stressed or ornery, the party in charge is in a bad position, Mr. Axelrod said. This has been an unsettling time from the summer on. Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, had begged the White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to push for passage of the infrastructure bill to galvanize voters. Black voters who supported Mr. Biden are also waiting to see progress on other issues like police reform and voting rights, said Quentin James, a founder of Collective PAC, an organization dedicated to electing African American officials. We asked the entire country to show up to vote last year. We gave the Democrats the House, Senate and White House, the presidency, and people are questioning now: What have they done with that? he said. While his legislation is pending, Mr. Biden and other Democrats will also need to develop a more effective message to voters, including a response to Republicans who tapped into the white grievance politics of the Trump base by focusing on how the history of racism is taught in schools, Mr. James said. Theyre talking about prescription drugs and paid leave and climate change, Mr. James said, referring to the Democrats messaging. He added that while those issues were important, theres a different conversation happening in Loudon County, Virginia. White House officials said some election results pointed to Mr. Bidens growing influence on the Democratic Party. Eric Adams, a former New York City police captain, won the citys mayoral race on Tuesday in part by striking a similar balance as the president on public safety: appealing for reform while not hesitating to support funding for the police. But the election outcomes on Tuesday showed that Mr. Biden will need to address not just the potential impact of his sweeping policies, but also issues that are currently animating voters, Mr. Axelrod said. Its a very uphill fight, he said. But youve got an uphill chance if the economy is better; you pass these bills, and the approval rating is in better shape.

Republicans make inroads across New York, long considered a liberal stronghold. Image In Buffalo, India Walton appeared to be headed to a defeat after the long-serving moderate Democratic mayor ran a write-in campaign aided by Republican voters. Credit... Libby March for The New York Times In Southern Brooklyn, a New York City Council seat long held by Democrats flipped to Republican control. On Wednesday morning, two other Democratic seats nearby still hung in the balance, including a race where the incumbent  a likely candidate for Council speaker  was trailing. On Long Island, Democrats were wiped out at every level of government. And in Buffalo, a democratic socialist who had been hailed by left-wing leaders as a future face of the party appeared to be headed to a defeat after the long-serving moderate Democratic mayor ran a write-in campaign aided by Republican voters. As national Democrats grappled with losing the Virginia governors race and confronted a far closer race than expected for governor of New Jersey, New York Democrats of varying ideological stripes were dealt one stunning blow after the next on election night. While Eric Adams and fellow Democrats easily won races to retain control of City Hall and the City Council overall, Republicans made significant inroads across a state perceived by much of the country to be a liberal stronghold. Statewide, voters appear to have soundly rejected a pair of constitutional amendments meant to liberalize access to the ballot in future elections  a major national priority for the party  that Democrats had believed would sail to approval. Democrats were left to grapple Wednesday morning with how they lost so many local seats that had been safely in their corner for years, with the potential for the greatest Republican presence on the New York City Council since Rudolph W. Giuliani was mayor. And to Democrats already worried about next years midterms, there were abundant warning signs that the moderate suburbs that had increasingly shifted left in the Trump era were going to be far more difficult to maintain without a polarizing Republican president on the ballot. Theres no way to sugarcoat this: This was a shellacking on a thumping, said former Representative Steve Israel of New York, a former chair of the House Democratic campaign arm. Nowhere was that clearer than on Long Island, where Democrats lost a pair of district attorney races, a county executive who had been widely seen as a strong incumbent was trailing her Republican opponent Wednesday morning and other local seats tilted toward Republicans.

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Black voters in Virginia refuse to be blamed for a major Democratic defeat. Image Fears about Black voter turnout and a lack of enthusiasm did not materialize in Tuesdays results. Credit... Kenny Holston for The New York Times NEWPORT NEWS, Va.  Democrats across Virginia expressed profound disappointment on Wednesday after Republicans romped to an unlikely victory in the governors race, an ominous sign for the Democratic Party ahead of next years midterm elections. But one group refused to be blamed for the partys poor showing: Black voters and elected officials. Fears about Black turnout and a lack of enthusiasm did not materialize in Tuesdays results, as former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, ran close to expected totals in the states majority-Black areas. Instead, Black state leaders and voters who backed Mr. McAuliffe said the results were a sign that the party could not rely on minority voters to cover its cratering totals in more white areas of the state, particularly in rural communities that voted heavily for Glenn Youngkin, the Republican businessman who won the governors race. I believe that Black voters are easily the first target for when things dont go for how they want it to go, said Marcia Price, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates who won re-election. Its a trash take to look at us and not the middle, she said. The middle said Youngkin is more palatable than Trump and they were willing to take a chance with him. Ms. Prices words reflect a sense among the states Black political class that communities of color are often blamed when Democrats lose. At the grass-roots level, voters in Newport News also said that their support for Mr. McAuliffe did not mean they were satisfied with the performance of Democrats in Washington. Several voters cited a radio advertisement that had been playing on local stations saying Black voters should not back Mr. McAuliffe because Democrats cared about Black communities only during election season. They rejected the ads plea to stay home but said the general theme resonated, and they urged Democrats in Congress to pass bold legislation on President Bidens core campaign promises, including climate change, police reform and economic investments in Black communities. A lot of people are upset with Biden, said William Joyner, a 54-year-old Democrat. We have high gas prices. Everything is so expensive right now. He added, Biden made promises to Black people he hasnt kept yet. Tony McCright, 68, who also voted for Mr. McAuliffe, said there was a sense among Black voters that they were voting for Democrats only out of necessity. Republicans are happy to come together to do the wrong thing, Mr. McCright said, but Democrats never come together to do the right thing.

Republicans prevail in an expensive race for a seat on Pennsylvanias Supreme Court. Image Kevin Brobson, a Commonwealth Court judge, at a polling site in Harrisburg, Pa., on Tuesday. He prevailed in his bid for a seat on the states Supreme Court vacated by a fellow Republican. Credit... Marc Levy/Associated Press Even without presidential contenders fanning out across the state, Pennsylvania presented one of the biggest prizes in this years elections, one influencing everything from the governors coronavirus powers to redistricting  a seat on the states Supreme Court. On Tuesday, P. Kevin Brobson, a Republican and a Commonwealth Court judge, defeated Maria McLaughlin, a Democrat and a Superior Court judge, in a fiercely contested race for a seat vacated by a Republican. The candidates raised more than $5 million, much from special interests. Unofficial tallies reported by the Pennsylvania Department of State showed Judge Brobson with about 52 percent of the vote. The election protected one of the two seats Republicans control on the seven-member court in Pennsylvania, which is one of a handful of states that elect rather than appoint their Supreme Court justices. While judicial races often fly under the radar, they are hugely consequential. In Pennsylvania over the past few years, the Supreme Court has redrawn the states congressional districts, throwing away a Republican gerrymander and contributing to Democrats net gain of four House seats there in 2018. It has also upheld an emergency declaration that enabled Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, to issue stay-at-home orders and other restrictions in response to the pandemic; allowed Pittsburgh to enact a paid sick leave law; and slapped down a Republican lawsuit seeking to invalidate mail-in ballots in the 2020 election. Given the persistence of efforts by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies to delegitimize the voting process, more election-related cases are likely to come before the court. So might one or more cases challenging Pennsylvania Republicans efforts to subpoena voters personal information in their bid for a partisan review of the 2020 election results. The court is also expected to decide whether Pennsylvanias Medicaid program must cover abortion without restrictions. Republicans also won judicial races in lower courts. Megan Sullivan beat Timika Lane, a Democrat, for a seat on the states Superior Court. Stacy Wallace, a Republican, finished first among four candidates for two seats on the Commonwealth Court. Another Republican, Drew Crompton, who was seeking a permanent seat on the court, was leading the two Democrats in that race. Daniel Slotnik contributed reporting.

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Republicans broke through in Virginia, but not for the usual reasons. Image Glenn Youngkin won by making broad gains over Democrats in every part of the state, across every demographic group. Credit... Melissa Lyttle for The New York Times Over the last two decades, American politics has steadily polarized along urban and rural lines, with Democrats running up the score in well-educated metropolitan areas and Republicans making gains in the countryside. For one night in Virginia, that trend did not continue. In a departure from recent demographic trends, there werent really any notable demographic trends in Virginia at all. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for governor, won by making broad gains over Democrats in every part of the state and, apparently, across every demographic group. He gained in the cities, the suburbs and rural areas. He gained in the east and west. He made inroads in precincts with both white and nonwhite voters. Its an unusually simple picture for such a noteworthy result. When a candidate outperforms expectations, its often accompanied by a big breakthrough among a particular demographic group; when a candidate disappoints, they still usually have a few bright spots. There were no bright spots for the Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe, but no breakthroughs for Mr. Youngkin, either. The broad shift to the right could indicate widespread revulsion against Democrats, or it could simply be a sign that longstanding trends have finally run their course. Or perhaps its because Mr. Youngkin adopted a message that appealed to the kinds of voters who have gradually been fleeing the Republican Party. Whatever the reason, it makes it harder to tell the usual story about why Democrats lost on Tuesday.

A 97-year-old mayor wins re-election in New Jersey. Image Vito Perillo, believed to be the oldest mayor in the country, has said he does not want to be known for his age. Credit... Bryan Anselm for The New York Times In a milestone Election Day for mayoral races around the country, a 97-year-old World War II veteran in New Jersey won his second term in his boroughs top municipal office. Vito Perillo bested three opponents in the nonpartisan race for mayor of Tinton Falls, a small borough a few miles off the Jersey Shore, with 40 percent of the votes. Though there is no official record-keeping, Mr. Perillo is believed to be the oldest mayor in the country. When he leaves office, he will be 101. Today I stopped to think about why people might vote for me. Maybe its because Im a WWII veteran, or an old guy (hopefully not), Mr. Perillo wrote on Facebook. My hope, however, is that its because you see that I care about our town and the people who live in it above anything else. Mr. Perillo made his first run for political office in 2017, and in a surprise, he ousted the boroughs former police chief and two-term incumbent mayor. He was motivated in part by high property taxes and a whistle-blower lawsuit involving the Police Department that cost his town $1.1 million. Despite his achievement on Tuesday, Mr. Perillo, who is a golfer and remains active, does not want to be known for his age. I just want to be known for being the mayor of Tinton Falls, Mr. Perillo told The Asbury Park Press last month.

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Even without presidential contenders fanning out across the state, Pennsylvania presented one of the biggest prizes in this years elections, one influencing everything from the governors coronavirus powers to redistricting  a seat on the states Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, P. Kevin Brobson, a Republican and a Commonwealth Court judge, defeated Maria McLaughlin, a Democrat and a Superior Court judge, in a fiercely contested race for a seat vacated by a Republican. The candidates raised more than $5 million, much from special interests.

Unofficial tallies reported by the Pennsylvania Department of State showed Judge Brobson with about 52 percent of the vote.

The election protected one of the two seats Republicans control on the seven-member court in Pennsylvania, which is one of a handful of states that elect rather than appoint their Supreme Court justices.
His original position, Faigman told me, was partly shaped by comments from Yuki tribespeople that they had felt erased by history and that removing the Hastings name would further seal that historical erasure.

But even after Tuesdays decision a number of questions remain unanswered, including what the new name will be, and whether the state will be forced to repay Hastings descendants the $100,000 donated by Serranus Hastings, a sum that would today reach into the millions of dollars. The schools enactment said the school was to be forever known and designated as Hastings College of the Law.

The name change must be done through an act of the Legislature. One suggestion, the University of California, San Francisco College of the Law, would cause brand confusion with the University of California, San Francisco, Faigman said.

Col. Claes Lewenhaupt, a great-great-grandson of Hastings who sits on the law schools board of directors, said by text message Tuesday night that changing the schools name was the right thing to do, although he said he was saddened to see the Hastings name go because of the schools more recent association with helping the underserved.

Deb Hutt, a Yuki tribeswoman who lives in Round Valley, was also ambivalent. She said a group of alumni and other concerned San Franciscans reached out to her after the article was published. A weight was lifted, she said.

But she told me she wasnt satisfied with simply a vote to change the name.

They are trying to correct their wrongs, she said. Its a shallow victory.
These people either look at us as a mother figure, Ms. York told The Los Angeles Times in 1993, or they think we are too stupid to know what to do with the information.

Ms. Kidder said she thought the pair obtained so many confessions because they had actually listened to people. We didnt start putting words in their mouths, she said in the interview. We gave them a chance to tell their stories.

Because of the energy of the womens movement, Ms. Kidder said, The timing was just right for Cagney & Lacey. She herself didnt care for the series, thinking it unrealistic and too New York, by which she meant brusque, but she was glad that it showed women in professional roles other than teacher or secretary.

Ms. York wasnt thrilled with it, either, telling The Los Angeles Times in 1982 that in its earliest iteration Cagney & Lacey depicted two women trying to do exactly what men do, rather than showing the special skills and attributes that women could bring to the job.

But the show contributed to a national conversation, fueled by sex discrimination suits and consent decrees, about whether women could and should be police officers.

Even after the show was overhauled and started winning awards, Ms. York rarely watched it. She was a mother and a busy professional, Judge Ito said in a phone interview. I dont think watching it was at the top of her to-do list.

Margaret Ann Mandley was born on Aug. 4, 1941, in Canton, in northeast Ohio. Her parents, Ralph and Hazel (Moore) Mandley, were florists. They raised their family in the nearby village of Minerva until they moved to the Los Angeles area for better economic opportunities when Peggy, as she was known, was 13.
One explanation for her success is Ms. Wu herself, who is difficult to caricature as a radical.

Over her four terms as a city councilor, Bostonians have gotten to know Ms. Wu as soft-spoken and thoughtful, intensely focused on policy, meticulous about showing up at meetings and returning phone calls. That experience acted as a buffer, if any was needed, for someone this progressive to be elected mayor, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center.

That kind of quiet, methodical style is a new style for progressives, he said. Its a different kind of style that she has invented.

Lydia Chim, 26, a budget analyst who moved to Boston from California, said Ms. Wu struck her as experienced and practical, qualities she does not always find in progressives.

Its a refreshing thing to see a progressive candidate who really knows how to get things done, she said.

Ms. Wu also cultivated relationships with the citys conservative power centers, tapping into her Harvard pedigree and post-college experience as a management consultant and small-business owner. She comes across as somebody who is very clearly into managing systems, which has helped her build trust in those parts of the city, said Jonathan Cohn, the chair of a local Democratic committee and a progressive activist.

Her career is where it is because she has done a good job of catering to business owners and progressives at the same time, he said.

Ms. Wu has also benefited from some conditions outside her control.

The demographics of Boston are changing rapidly, with young professionals drawn to the city for jobs in technology, medicine and education. Boston has become an intellectual elite city, said Nan Whaley, the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, and the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Its politics, she said, are changing accordingly.
President Biden on Wednesday urged millions of parents to get their young children vaccinated against the coronavirus, touting the governments authorization of inoculations for children between 5 and 11 as a major milestone in the nations effort to end the pandemic.

Mr. Bidens comments came a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children. The decision was in sync with the Food and Drug Administration, which on Friday authorized emergency use of pediatric doses for the roughly 29 million children in that age group.

For parents all over this country, this is a day of relief and celebration, Mr. Biden said, adding that the vaccination program was ramping up this week with more doses being shipped out each day, to be fully up and running by next week.

Immunizing children 5 to 11 is expected to prevent about 600,000 new coronavirus cases between now and March 2022. Rising immunity may reduce the chances that young children will transmit the virus to vulnerable adults in their families and communities, health officials noted. It will also probably keep schools open.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va.  Democrats across Virginia expressed profound disappointment on Wednesday after Republicans romped to an unlikely victory in the governors race, an ominous sign for the Democratic Party ahead of next years midterm elections.

But one group refused to be blamed for the partys poor showing: Black voters and elected officials.

Fears about Black turnout and a lack of enthusiasm did not materialize in Tuesdays results, as former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, ran close to expected totals in the states majority-Black areas. Instead, Black state leaders and voters who backed Mr. McAuliffe said the results were a sign that the party could not rely on minority voters to cover its cratering totals in more white areas of the state, particularly in rural communities that voted heavily for Glenn Youngkin, the Republican businessman who won the governors race.

I believe that Black voters are easily the first target for when things dont go for how they want it to go, said Marcia Price, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates who won re-election.
The American militarys most senior officer said on Wednesday that he views China as the No. 1 nation-state military challenger to the United States. The comments, by Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a discussion moderated by NBCs Lester Holt at the Aspen Security Forum, came a week after he characterized Chinas recent launch of a hypersonic weapon designed to evade American defenses as a near Sputnik moment, in an allusion to the Soviet launch of a satellite in 1957, which spooked the American public and helped spur the nuclear arms race during the Cold War.

China, General Milley said on Wednesday, is clearly challenging us regionally, and their aspiration is to challenge us globally. He added that they have a China dream, and they want to challenge the so-called liberal rules-based order.

Asked if the United States could match Chinas hypersonic capability, General Milley declined to answer. But he said later that if we in the United States dont do a fundamental change ourselves, then we will be on the wrong side of a conflict.

General Milley said the United States absolutely could defend Taiwan from an attack by China if  and that part is a big if  political leaders decided to do so. Such a decision by any American president would be a huge shift, since the United States for decades has followed a policy of strategic ambiguity that leaves open the question of whether the United States would back Taiwan in a military conflict with China. General Milley did not veer from that policy on Wednesday.

He said he did not expect China to take military action against Taiwan in the next 24 months. But when pressed on whether the Pentagon could defend Taiwan, he said that we absolutely have the capability to do all kinds of things around the world, to include that, if required.
Yet even as the economy has partly rebounded and the pandemic has greatly receded, Mr. Biden has not begun to deliver a message that happy days are here again. Nor has he undertaken any kind of large-scale, sustained campaign to remind people of the economic stimulus and mass-vaccination programs that defined his administration in the early days.

In the absence of such a concerted appeal from the president, many voters appear to have sunk into a state of glum pessimism. In both Virginia and New Jersey, polls consistently found that large majorities believed the country was on the wrong track, even though most American adults were now vaccinated and schools had reopened.

Now, Democratic officials say, the party must do more to address head-on the electorates deep malaise or risk watching voters lurch back toward the G.O.P. by default.

People are fatigued and confused, and they want to get back to their normal lives, whatever that might be, said Loretta Weinberg, a Democratic state senator in New Jersey. They want their schools open, and they want their health care protected, and they want to have an option of working and operating businesses.

Ms. Weinberg, a longtime party leader, said Democrats had not sufficiently reckoned with the demoralizing effects of the coronavirus pandemic. On the right, she said, there were horrendous and hateful attitudes toward state officials who battled the disease. But there was not equal and opposite political engagement among Democrats.

We are a high-property-taxes, very densely populated, very diverse state, with all of the problems of people living close together during a time of a pandemic  tough decisions of closing schools and closing down the economy, she said. And it all came back to roost.

In Virginia, Representative Donald McEachin said voters were chafing to return to normal as quickly as possible, and he urged his fellow Democrats to speak directly to that impatience.
[explosion] In one of the final acts of its 20-year war in Afghanistan, the United States fired a missile from a drone at a car in Kabul. It was parked in the courtyard of a home, and the explosion killed 10 people, including 43-year-old Zemari Ahmadi and seven children, according to his family. The Pentagon claimed that Ahmadi was a facilitator for the Islamic State, and that his car was packed with explosives, posing an imminent threat to U.S. troops guarding the evacuation at the Kabul airport. The procedures were correctly followed, and it was a righteous strike. What the military apparently didnt know was that Ahmadi was a longtime aid worker, who colleagues and family members said spent the hours before he died running office errands, and ended his day by pulling up to his house. Soon after, his Toyota was hit with a 20-pound Hellfire missile. What was interpreted as the suspicious moves of a terrorist may have just been an average day in his life. And its possible that what the military saw Ahmadi loading into his car were water canisters he was bringing home to his family  not explosives. Using never-before seen security camera footage of Ahmadi, interviews with his family, co-workers and witnesses, we will piece together for the first time his movements in the hours before he was killed. Zemari Ahmadi was an electrical engineer by training. For 14 years, he had worked for the Kabul office of Nutrition and Education International. NEI established a total of 11 soybean processing plants in Afghanistan. Its a California based NGO that fights malnutrition. On most days, he drove one of the companys white Toyota corollas, taking his colleagues to and from work and distributing the NGOs food to Afghans displaced by the war. Only three days before Ahmadi was killed, 13 U.S. troops and more than 170 Afghan civilians died in an Islamic State suicide attack at the airport. The military had given lower-level commanders the authority to order airstrikes earlier in the evacuation, and they were bracing for what they feared was another imminent attack. To reconstruct Ahmadis movements on Aug. 29, in the hours before he was killed, The Times pieced together the security camera footage from his office, with interviews with more than a dozen of Ahmadis colleagues and family members. Ahmadi appears to have left his home around 9 a.m. He then picked up a colleague and his bosss laptop near his house. Its around this time that the U.S. military claimed it observed a white sedan leaving an alleged Islamic State safehouse, around five kilometers northwest of the airport. Thats why the U.S. military said they tracked Ahmadis Corolla that day. They also said they intercepted communications from the safehouse, instructing the car to make several stops. But every colleague who rode with Ahmadi that day said what the military interpreted as a series of suspicious moves was just a typical day in his life. After Ahmadi picked up another colleague, the three stopped to get breakfast, and at 9:35 a.m., they arrived at the N.G.O.s office. Later that morning, Ahmadi drove some of his co-workers to a Taliban-occupied police station to get permission for future food distribution at a new displacement camp. At around 2 p.m., Ahmadi and his colleagues returned to the office. The security camera footage we obtained from the office is crucial to understanding what happens next. The cameras timestamp is off, but we went to the office and verified the time. We also matched an exact scene from the footage with a timestamp satellite image to confirm it was accurate. A 2:35 p.m., Ahmadi pulls out a hose, and then he and a co-worker fill empty containers with water. Earlier that morning, we saw Ahmadi bring these same empty plastic containers to the office. There was a water shortage in his neighborhood, his family said, so he regularly brought water home from the office. At around 3:38 p.m., a colleague moves Ahmadis car further into the driveway. A senior U.S. official told us that at roughly the same time, the military saw Ahmadis car pull into an unknown compound 8 to 12 kilometers southwest of the airport. That overlaps with the location of the NGOs office, which we believe is what the military called an unknown compound. With the workday ending, an employee switched off the office generator and the feed from the camera ends. We dont have footage of the moments that followed. But its at this time, the military said that its drone feed showed four men gingerly loading wrapped packages into the car. Officials said they couldnt tell what was inside them. This footage from earlier in the day shows what the men said they were carrying  their laptops one in a plastic shopping bag. And the only things in the trunk, Ahmadis co-workers said, were the water containers. Ahmadi dropped each one of them off, then drove to his home in a dense neighborhood near the airport. He backed into the homes small courtyard. Children surrounded the car, according to his brother. A U.S. official said the military feared the car would leave again, and go into an even more crowded street or to the airport itself. The drone operators, who hadnt been watching Ahmadis home at all that day, quickly scanned the courtyard and said they saw only one adult male talking to the driver and no children. They decided this was the moment to strike. A U.S. official told us that the strike on Ahmadis car was conducted by an MQ-9 Reaper drone that fired a single Hellfire missile with a 20-pound warhead. We found remnants of the missile, which experts said matched a Hellfire at the scene of the attack. In the days after the attack, the Pentagon repeatedly claimed that the missile strike set off other explosions, and that these likely killed the civilians in the courtyard. Significant secondary explosions from the targeted vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material. Because there were secondary explosions, theres a reasonable conclusion to be made that there was explosives in that vehicle. But a senior military official later told us that it was only possible to probable that explosives in the car caused another blast. We gathered photos and videos of the scene taken by journalists and visited the courtyard multiple times. We shared the evidence with three weapons experts who said the damage was consistent with the impact of a Hellfire missile. They pointed to the small crater beneath Ahmadis car and the damage from the metal fragments of the warhead. This plastic melted as a result of a car fire triggered by the missile strike. All three experts also pointed out what was missing: any evidence of the large secondary explosions described by the Pentagon. No collapsed or blown-out walls, including next to the trunk with the alleged explosives. No sign that a second car parked in the courtyard was overturned by a large blast. No destroyed vegetation. All of this matches what eyewitnesses told us, that a single missile exploded and triggered a large fire. There is one final detail visible in the wreckage: containers identical to the ones that Ahmadi and his colleague filled with water and loaded into his trunk before heading home. Even though the military said the drone team watched the car for eight hours that day, a senior official also said they werent aware of any water containers. The Pentagon has not provided The Times with evidence of explosives in Ahmadis vehicle or shared what they say is the intelligence that linked him to the Islamic State. But the morning after the U.S. killed Ahmadi, the Islamic State did launch rockets at the airport from a residential area Ahmadi had driven through the previous day. And the vehicle they used   was a white Toyota. The U.S. military has so far acknowledged only three civilian deaths from its strike, and says there is an investigation underway. They have also admitted to knowing nothing about Ahmadi before killing him, leading them to interpret the work of an engineer at a U.S. NGO as that of an Islamic State terrorist. Four days before Ahmadi was killed, his employer had applied for his family to receive refugee resettlement in the United States. At the time of the strike, they were still awaiting approval. Looking to the U.S. for protection, they instead became some of the last victims in Americas longest war. Hi, Im Evan, one of the producers on this story. Our latest visual investigation began with word on social media of an explosion near Kabul airport. It turned out that this was a U.S. drone strike, one of the final acts in the 20-year war in Afghanistan. Our goal was to fill in the gaps in the Pentagons version of events. We analyzed exclusive security camera footage, and combined it with eyewitness accounts and expert analysis of the strike aftermath. You can see more of our investigations by signing up for our newsletter.
WASHINGTON  Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California announced on Wednesday that she would include four weeks of federal paid family and medical leave in the $1.85 trillion domestic policy bill that the House plans to consider as early as Thursday, seeking to pressure Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia to drop his opposition.

The announcement, which came as Democrats scrambled to iron out differences over the package, is unlikely to result in enactment of the leave program. Mr. Manchin, a crucial Democratic holdout, reiterated on Wednesday that he would not support it as part of the sprawling social policy, climate and tax legislation. But the inclusion of paid leave promised to give House Democrats a chance to register their support for a program that has bipartisan backing.

It also all but guaranteed that the legislation would have to be modified by the Senate and approved a second time by the House before it becomes law, breaking with Ms. Pelosis promise to moderate lawmakers that she would not force them to vote on a plan that could not clear the evenly divided Senate.

The speakers move amounted to the most direct challenge yet of Mr. Manchin, a centrist who has repeatedly voiced concern that the social safety net bill is overly generous, and whose objections have effectively compelled Democratic leaders to either curtail or remove a number of provisions.
More than a dozen members of Congress have called on President Biden to use his executive authority to revoke Medals of Honor awarded for the killings of members of the Lakota Sioux tribe, including unarmed women and children, at Wounded Knee, S.D., in the 19th century.

In a letter coordinated by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, 16 Democrats and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent, called the awards a persistent shame on the nation. While a bill to rescind the awards appears stalled, the lawmakers said they believed it was within Mr. Bidens authority to confer with the secretary of defense and the secretaries of the military departments and revoke these honors when appropriate.

For the families and descendants of those massacred, the revocation of these 20 Medals of Honor would have a profound and lasting impact  as has the federal governments ongoing choice to allow these wrongly bestowed honors to stand, the lawmakers wrote in the letter, which was sent Tuesday.

On Dec. 29, 1890, along Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the southwest corner of South Dakota, U.S. Army soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed members of the Lakota Sioux tribe, including many women and children.
WASHINGTON  Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation to restore parts of the landmark Voting Rights Act weakened by Supreme Court rulings, making it the second major voting bill to be derailed by a G.O.P. filibuster in the past two weeks.

Despite receiving majority support, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the civil rights activist and congressman who died last year, fell nine votes short of the 60 required to advance over Republican opposition.

In the aftermath of the defeat, Senate Democrats said they would intensify internal discussions about altering filibuster rules or making other changes to allow them to move forward on voting rights legislation despite deep resistance by Republicans, who have now thwarted four efforts to take up such measures.

Just because Republicans will not join us doesnt mean Democrats will stop fighting, said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, after the vote. We will continue to fight for voting rights and find an alternative path forward.
Since he burst onto the national political scene in 2015, Donald J. Trump has strong-armed one Republican after another into submission. But in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin did something new: He managed to keep the former president at a politically safe remove without alienating him or his allies.

Mr. Youngkins success in the Virginia governors race speaks not only to his own deft handling of his partys volatile and unpredictable standard-bearer but also to Mr. Trumps apparent willingness to place himself on the sidelines during a campaign that received wall-to-wall coverage on cable news.

What is not known is whether Mr. Youngkins formula is repeatable elsewhere, particularly in the 2022 midterm elections. Mr. Trump has little track record of ceding the spotlight or allowing other Republicans to take credit for any political success, and there is little reason to expect that to change.

Early on in his own campaign, Mr. Youngkin, a former private equity executive, recognized Mr. Trumps usefulness to his political prospects. In the spring, during the Republican nominating contest in Virginia, Mr. Youngkin echoed Mr. Trumps false claims of election fraud. After winning the G.O.P. nomination at a party convention in May, Mr. Trump endorsed him and Mr. Youngkin told a conservative radio host that he was honored.
Richard M. Ohmann was an unlikely revolutionary. One of the youngest tenured professors in the country, an associate provost at Wesleyan and a former member of the elite Society of Fellows at Harvard, he was the picture of the liberal establishment of the late 1960s.

But there he was, in December 1968, at the annual conference of the Modern Language Association, smuggling a copier into his hotel room to print antiwar fliers, hanging posters in the halls and organizing dissident seminars on Vietnam and the womens movement.

Then, during the groups business meeting at the Americana Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, he orchestrated a series of antiwar resolutions and even got Louis Kampf, a fellow activist academic, elected second vice president on an antiwar platform  a role that guaranteed him the presidency two years later. It wasnt just their ideas that were radical: The very notion that a scholarly organization should take a stand on nonacademic issues was practically unheard-of.

We imagined ourselves struggling toward a just and democratic society, Dr. Ohmann wrote for the website Inside Higher Ed in 2017. We thought of ourselves as the academic wing of international popular movements.
WASHINGTON  A New York law that imposes strict limits on carrying guns outside the home seemed unlikely to survive its encounter with the Supreme Court, based on questioning from the justices on Wednesday.

The law requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a proper cause, and a majority of the justices seemed prepared to say that it imposes an intolerable burden on the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. But several justices seemed open to allowing the state to exclude guns from crowded public settings or other sensitive places.

The Second Amendment protects a constitutional right just as the First Amendment does, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said. People seeking to exercise either of those rights, he said, should not have to demonstrate to the government that they have a good reason or special need to do so.

You dont have to say, when youre looking for a permit to speak on a street corner or whatever, that, you know, your speech is particularly important, he said. So why do you have to show in this case, convince somebody, that youre entitled to exercise your Second Amendment right?
They called him Unknown Boy.

The blue-eyed hitchhiker with olive skin drowned when the car he was riding in crashed through the rail of a bridge and plunged into the Cahaba River in Bibb County, Ala., on March 27, 1961, according to an F.B.I. report. The driver survived the crash and offered a few details about the boy but not enough to identify him.

The boy had a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes on him, a Timex watch on his wrist and a Miraculous Medal of the Immaculate Conception tied around his neck with cotton twine. He had been hitchhiking through Alabama, possibly en route to California, but not much else was known about him.

The local authorities tried for weeks to identify him and find his family. A viewing was held for him at a local funeral home, where many town leaders came to pay their respects. The child was buried in a coffin that local residents paid for, under a white marble headstone that read, Unknown in Life but Recognized in Death.

Last week, more than 60 years later, the mystery was solved, the product of advances in DNA technology and genealogy. The boy was 15-year-old Daniel Paul Armantrout, known as Danny, according to a local coroner and genealogists, and confirmed in an interview by a surviving brother.
On Tuesday, McAuliffe lost to Youngkin, and that veto played a role.

As Election Day inched closer, Murphy appeared in an ad for Youngkin.

It gave parents a say  the option to choose an alternative for my children, Murphy said in the ad, speaking of the vetoed bill. McAuliffe, she said, doesnt think parents should have a say. In the ad, she didnt mention that the book was Beloved.

Many educators have pushed back on this campaign against the book.

What Morrison does is ask that the reader look at the horrors of slavery without any blinders on, Emily Knox, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigns School of Information Sciences, told Slate. Its so graphic because thats what Morrison was trying to do.

For the midterm elections next year, there are signs that Republicans may step up their campaign on educational issues.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing to block books in school libraries with pornography or other inappropriate content, following up on state legislation that banned critical race theory. A state representative, Matt Krause, is also launching a probe into books in school libraries. Krause, a Republican, asked school leaders to identify copies of about 850 specific books and report how much they cost the districts.

Turning schools into a cultural war zone by railing against equity initiatives, books with sexual content and public health measures is a way to avoid tackling issues like budget cuts and the other thornier problems facing American education.

And in Virginia, the strategy paid off: He won Republican voters both devoted to and disdainful of Donald Trump. And in cities, suburbs and exurbs that President Biden had handily carried, McAuliffes margins shrank dramatically.
NAIROBI, Kenya  As rebel fighters drew closer to the capital on Wednesday, Ethiopias embattled leader appealed to his soldiers to defend the city with our blood, in a stark and inflammatory speech that heightened the mounting air of crisis in Africas second-most populous country.

We will sacrifice our blood and bone to bury this enemy and uphold Ethiopias dignity and flag, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said at the military headquarters in the capital, Addis Ababa, a day after he had declared a national state of emergency and called on Ethiopians to pick up arms and repel approaching forces from the northern Tigray region.

Mr. Abiy, the winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, made his comments as the top United Nations human rights body released a report that offered more evidence of gross human rights violations by all sides in the year-old conflict, including massacres of civilians, sexual violence and attacks on refugees.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan  Aref Mohammads war against the Islamic State ended earlier this fall when his unit of Taliban fighters was ambushed by the terrorist group in eastern Afghanistan. A bullet shattered his femur, leaving him disabled and barely able to walk, never mind fight.

But for the Taliban movement he served under, now the government of Afghanistan, the war against the Islamic State was just beginning.

If we knew where they were from, we would pursue them and destroy them, Mr. Mohammed, 19, said from his hospital bed in Jalalabad, the capital of Afghanistans eastern Nangarhar Province where the Islamic State has maintained a presence since 2015.

In the two months since the Taliban took control of the country, the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan  known as Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K  has stepped up attacks across the country, straining the new and untested government and raising alarm bells in the West about the potential resurgence of a group that could eventually pose an international threat.
MELBOURNE, Australia  A 4-year-old girl who vanished in the dead of night while camping with her family in a remote area of Western Australia was found alive and well 18 days later in a locked house, the authorities said on Wednesday.

The girl, Cleo Smith, was freed after the police broke into the empty house in Carnarvon, the same town where she and her family lived. Detectives openly wept upon finding her. The police later detained a 36-year-old man and said he had no known connection to the family.

One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her Whats your name? Col Blanch, Western Australias deputy police commissioner, said in a statement. She said, My name is Cleo. This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for.

Questions remain, such as if the man will be charged. In a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, the police said that her kidnapping appeared to be opportunistic and that the detained man was not a registered sex offender.
BRUSSELS  The girls were as young as 2, some still breastfeeding, and no older than 4 when they were taken from their mothers.

Like thousands of other mixed-race children born under colonial rule in Belgian Congo, the five girls, the children of African mothers and European fathers, were taken from their homes by the authorities and sent to religious schools hundreds of miles away, growing up in poverty and suffering from malnutrition and physical abuse.

The victims of a segregationist policy of the Belgian authorities who ruled a vast territory in Africa that now includes Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, they kept their childhoods a secret for decades, even from their own families. Now women in their 70s, they listened to their stories being told in public by their lawyers on a recent morning in a small courtroom in Brussels packed with dozens of spectators.

Their names, their origins and identities were stripped from them, said one of the womens lawyers, Michele Hirsch. What they shared with me is not in the history books.
As delegates inside the COP26 conference hall in Glasgow heard promises of new private-sector funding for climate change, protesters marched in the city on Wednesday in opposition to greenwashing  when companies claim to be protecting the environment while continuing to harm it.

Several hundred protesters, holding signs that read Act now! and Stop Funding Fossil Fuels, gathered outside a shopping mall to demand that companies take more substantial steps.

For us, theres very little hope, said Akke Houtsma, 20, an administrative worker who had traveled from the Netherlands to attend protests outside the climate conference. I feel the most anxiety not about my future, but for the people right now who are suffering.

A focus of the climate conference on Wednesday has been on how to pay for a global shift to cleaner energy sources. Even as a group of the worlds biggest investors, banks and insurers vowed to commit their more than $130 trillion in assets to pursuing climate goals, protesters were doubtful that the promises would be fulfilled.
As Greece broke another record in daily coronavirus infections this week, registering 6,700 new cases within the past 24 hours, the countrys health minister announced a series of new restrictions aimed at flattening the spike.

The restrictions, which are to apply from Saturday, relate to unvaccinated people, said the health minister, Thanos Plevris.

All unvaccinated workers  except those who work from home exclusively  must undergo two Covid-19 tests per week. A negative rapid or PCR test will also be required from unvaccinated people who want to access public services, banks, shops and hair salons. The same will apply at cafes and restaurants, which are allowed to serve the unvaccinated outdoors. The rules will not apply to supermarkets, pharmacies and churches.

The authorities will also intensify inspections and boost fines on businesses that violate regulations, increasing the minimum fine to 5,000 euros, from 1,000, Mr. Plevris said.
Officials from the World Health Organization on Wednesday urged countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to limit administering booster shots and to hold off on vaccinating children, allocating scant doses to the most vulnerable.

In some countries, we have seen vaccine doses reaching all levels of the population before a high percentage of vulnerable residents has been fully immunized, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, assistant director of the Pan American Health Organization, a division of the W.H.O., said at a news conference.

Just 46 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated so far, with supplies being slow to reach many countries, the organization said. Inequities have plagued the region, too. While Chile and Uruguay have vaccinated more than 75 percent of their populations, countries like Haiti and Nicaragua have administered two shots to less than 20 percent of people.

Against this backdrop, vaccine supplies across the region must be distributed carefully and strategically, with the aim of reducing mortality and transmission of the virus among the adult population, Dr. Barbosa said.
A year ago, T.P.L.F. forces attacked a federal military base in Tigray and tried to steal its weapons. The group has said it struck preemptively because federal forces had landed in a neighboring region days earlier in preparation for an assault.

Hours later, Mr. Abiy ordered a military offensive against the Tigrayan leadership and its security forces.

The government restricted internet and phone communications and declared a six-month state of emergency in Tigray. But the Ethiopian military, which was dominated by Tigrayan officers, was divided, and fighting erupted between rival units inside the region, according to American officials.

Mr. Abiy bolstered his forces by deploying militia fighters from Amhara, south of Tigray, who swept into western Tigray amid accusations of attacks on civilians. Then troops from Eritrea, Ethiopias former enemy, flooded across the border into Tigray from the north to fight alongside Mr. Abiys forces.

Federal forces and their allies quickly seized control of Tigrays regional capital, Mekelle, and other towns. But the T.P.L.F. and its armed supporters fled to rural and mountainous areas, and Mr. Abiy found himself drawn into a military quagmire.

The Ethiopian military suffered a major defeat in June when it was forced to withdraw from Tigray, and several thousand of its soldiers were taken captive.

As rebels advanced on the capital, Addis Ababa, in early November, Ethiopia declared a state of emergency. The government called on its citizens to pick up arms and prepare to defend the capital.
Floridas Pinellas County is looking for a firm to develop and launch an early childhood public awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers of kids from birth to three about critical developmental milestones in their lives.

The goal is to take advantage of everyday opportunities to help build a babys brain, according to the RFP.

During the first 1,000 days, the brain grows more quickly than any other time of a persons life. Eighty percent of brain growth occurs by age three.

The selected firm will promote the importance of things such as face-to-face interactions between adult and child for bonding; responding to baby talk with real words, exaggerated tone of voice, higher pitches; and incorporating songs, stories, reading, play during diaper changes, meals and bath times.

The ultimate goal of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County is to give children a level playing field so they enter kindergarten ready to learn and prepared for lifelong learning.

The PR contract will run for four-years, with a $125K budget set for Year One.

Proposals are due Nov. 30 at rfp@jwbpinellas.org.

Read the RFP (PDF).
THE Job Clubs in Tullamore and Birr will close at the end of the year, it has been confirmed.

Staff at the clubs, which provided advice and support to job seekers, have expressed disappointment that the service is ending after 20 years.

In a post on their Facebook page, Majella Finlay and Claire Garvey of Tullamore Job Club said the wrap-around, walk-in service they provided will not be available after the end of December.

We are extremely saddened that this has happened, but it is out of our hands now. We have met with some wonderful people over the years and we would like to thank each and every one of you for making our job so enjoyable, they said.

The staff at the Birr Job Club, Catherine Greig and Celine England, said they were announcing the closure with a heavy heart.

Ms Greig posted on the Birr Job Club Facebook page: The Department of Social Protection has decided that Birr Job Club will no longer receive a contract to provide our services to people in Birr and the surrounding communities.

She added: We have provided an open door, wrap around service and welcomed everyone, assisting and supporting them in gaining employment, further training and education, providing information and guidance since November 1999.

Both Celine and I are grateful to have had the opportunity to work here and to play an important role in our local community.

We want to thank everyone that we have worked with, past and present clients, employers, colleagues and local agencies for using the service of the Job Club and hope that we were able to guide you in the right direction. We wish all of you the very best of luck in the future.

The closure of the Job Clubs results from a Government decision to establish a new Regional Employment Service in place of existing services, including Job Clubs and Local Employment Services.

Offaly was one of seven counties in which tenders were sought in May for the provision of the Regional Employment Service.

A second phase of tendering for the rest of the country was scheduled to begin last month.

This is a significant expansion of employment services and will result in State-wide coverage of employment services for those furthest from the labour market for the first time, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said last month.

In a Dail reply to Dublin Right To Change TD Joan Collins, Minister Humphreys said her department had a strong track record in working with service-providers in a constructive and pragmatic manner to ensure the delivery of services to those who need them most.

This will continue under the new employment service models, said the minister.

Deputy Collins had asked if the terms of reference for the tender for the new service included an ability to demonstrate if the applicants had the ability to deposit funds against a failure to deliver on the tender.

Minister Humphreys said the procurement process followed extensive consultation with existing service providers over a number of years and there was no requirement to lodge any funds against potential underperformance for the new Regional Employment Service.

If a new service provider underperforms, there will be an eight-week period where the underperformance will be addressed and the department will have the right to terminate the contract.

The Department of Social Protection also said earlier this year that a competitive tender process was required because of a European Union directive on public procurement.

This summer unions representing staff at Job Clubs and Local Employment Services said they were concerned about the tendering process.

SIPTU and Forsa said they feared the roll-out of the new service will result in redundancies.

The Tullamore Job Club is provided through the Offaly Local Development Company which is based at Main Street in the town.

The Irish Local Development Network (ILDN), the representative body for the development companies, called in September for meaningful Government engagement before Job Clubs and Local Employment Services are replaced.

Martina Earley, chair of an ILDN special committee on the future of Local Employment Services said the expiration of the existing services was a source or great anxiety for staff.

The timing of this Government decision could not be worse as communities face into a post pandemic unemployment crisis. This move will deprive those unemployed due to Covid, the long-term unemployed, carers, women and other cohorts removed from the jobs market of access to a walk-in, person centred, community-based employment services and all the supports that such services provides. Instead, jobseekers will be faced with a centralised profit-driven, results-based process which will not be accessible to all jobseekers, said Ms Earley.

Niall Egan, assistant secretary in the Department of Social Protection, told a joint Oireachtas committee on September 29 that the services were being placed on a proper contractual footing.

The existing arrangements for the Local Employment Service and Job Club services extend back over 20 years with no formal procurement taking place in this period, said Mr Egan.

This is in contravention of good governance and public procurement practice, a fact that has been commented on by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Attorney General has also advised that these services must be procured in line with EU and national public procurement rules by means of open and competitive tendering processes.
A team from the Dingle Hub visited Charleville Castle in Tullamore last Monday afternoon on their way to COP 26 in Glasgow.

The team was aiming to travel to the conference in the most sustainable way possible. Travelling in an electric car, Deirdre DeBhailis, manager of the Dingle Peninsula Creativity and Innovation Hub, farmer Dinny Galvin of West Kerry Dairy Farmers sustainable energy community and Evan Boyle of MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine were welcomed by the Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council Declan Harvey, Green Offaly, Offaly Public Participation Network, and representatives of the various sectors that are involved in green projects' within Offaly and special guest Duncan Stewart of Eco Eye.

The team arrived at lunchtime and were treated to the very best of locally sourced (and carbon accounted) produce.

Deirdre DeBhailis said a number of Dingle residents are participating in electric vehicle trials with ESB networks and the group travelled to Tullamore in a trial vehicle.

We travelled from Dingle to Tullamore in the EV, we had no range anxiety, we plugged into the charger at Tullamore train station and we will get two hours top up before we go on our way again, she said.

From Tullamore the team drove to Belfast Port and took the ferry across to Cairnryan in Scotland driving on to Edinburgh where they were planning to stay last Monday night before driving from there to Glasgow to attend COP 26 on Tuesday morning November 2. While they wont be speaking at the conference itself they will be attending side events where they will speak about their experiences along the way.

Rebekah Keaveny, Project Development Officer at Green Offaly said that having worked in Wales she had experienced the successful regeneration of areas where the extraction of coal had ceased.

She said the model was to repurpose neglected buildings in an area and house local social enterprises within them. She said they did this by working with all sectors of the local community and the results have been profound. Green Offaly is using this model on a county wide basis for the specific purpose of regenerating communities through the lens of environmental projects. She said Green Offaly has formed some fantastic partnerships with many of the people who were present at Charleville Castle last Monday afternoon.

Our work and our aims are all connected, from Dingle to Offaly to COP 26 we are all pursuing the same goal: a low carbon sustainable future,' said Rebekah.

The good news is that all over Offaly there are many organisations and communities who are navigating innovative pathways through the challenges of the climate crisis.

Green Offaly is a not for profit countywide green regeneration enterprise operating as a Development Trust. Incorporated in September 2020 the Trust has been established in direct response to the Governments Project 2040 seminar, Empowering Communities in the Fight against Climate Change.
ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour involving illegal fireworks caused distress for many residents of Tipperary's largest housing estate on Sunday night, as excessive Halloween celebrations highlighted the lack of Garda resources in Roscrea according to local representatives.

Despite Tipperary's Fire and Rescue Services reporting a mostly quieter than usual Halloween night across the county due to the inclement weather, anti-social behaviour in Kennedy Park in Roscrea has drawn strong criticism from a local County Councillor.

Roscrea based Fianna Fail Councillor, Michael Smith, told the Tribune the noble tradition, at one time unique to Ireland and now giving enjoyment to children all over the world, was truly shattered at Kennedy Park in Roscrea on Sunday as night fell.

After a year and a half of families coping with Covid 19 restrictions, many children looked forward to the new freedom. The Halloween festivities of trick or treating would have been in full swing. They were about to be thwarted, Cllr Smith said.

Illegal fireworks and bangers galore and other dangerous activities put an end to this genuine hope of happy and enjoyable festivities in the area. Locked inside their doors, families watched with fear and frustration when a small band of reckless individuals indulged in these spoiling and dangerous tactics.

Are the Gardai so under-resourced that they could not have done more to prevent this type of activity? It is surely a great pity that a minority can display such blatant disregard for their neighbours and apparently get away with it, Cllr Smith said.

I have worked hard with the County Council and with Community leaders and residents of Kennedy Park to improve the area and will keep this effort up. I have also sought a meeting with the Garda Authorities at the most senior level and asked the Council also if there are any sanctions that could be invoked.

We need to do better and do more to ensure that these dangerous activities do not happen again, Cllr Smith said.
Students at an Irish college are patrolling bars after a reported "surge" in drink-spiking reports.

According to IT Carlow Students' Union (SU), the Spike-Watch initiative involves SU staff and volunteer students forming a visible presence at bars to prevent spiking.

Volunteers on patrol will act as a point of contact for anyone worried they may have been spiked, or who feels unsafe.

SU President, Thomas Drury, said, "We feel it should be a priority of ours to ensure students can feel safe on a night out without having to worry about themselves or their friends being spiked. This campaign steps up our efforts in putting an end to this drink-spiking crisis."

Individual students are also doing their part, with student Alex Kelly providing the SU with a simple device to help prevent spiking; a small circular card to place over an individual's drink.

Common symptoms of spiking include lowered inhibitions, difficulty concentrating or speaking, loss of balance, memory loss, blurred vision, hallucinations and/or unconsciousness.

Bars popular with students around Carlow Town have reportedly pledged their support to end the crisis.
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Philadelphia, November 2, 2021  This holiday season, people across the area can assist individuals experiencing homelessness at Bethesda Project. With the pandemic requiring social distancing and prohibiting visitors on-site, Bethesda Project is asking the public for their help building that holiday feeling at our 16 sites though volunteer opportunities or donating winter and holiday essentials. For many of our guests and residents, the holidays can be difficult or lonely, 
Ottumwa, IA (52501)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 37F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 37F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
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FRANKFORT  A grant worth $5.1 million was awarded for shoreline restoration at the Point Betsie Lighthouse north of Frankfort.

The funds were made available as part of a $70 billion state budget which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approved in late September.

Established in 1858, the historic lighthouse is owned by Benzie County and managed by The Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. The group aims to support the restoration, preservation and maintenance of the lighthouse, according to its website, pointbetsie.org.

The friends group launched a capital campaign in the summer of 2019 to repair a crumbling shoreline protection system near the lighthouse that was constructed in 1944.

In 2020, high water levels and wave action damaged the aging barrier, which protects the lighthouse and beach from erosion.

As the Lake Michigan water level rose from the low in 2013 to the high end last year, the shoreline system repair project gained a new urgency, said Richard Taylor, president of the Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse board of directors.

An early estimate for the shoreline restoration cost was in the range of $1 million, with additional road-end work expected to cost several hundred thousand.

It's been in the works for a long time and the last major repairs were done on that seawall (were) in 1944. So this has been kind of creeping up on us and the high water levels were really forcing our hand, Taylor continued.

The lighthouse shoreline is roughly 900 feet in length and is located within an extended system of sand dunes, classified as critical barrier dunes by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The shoreline protection system is made of two connecting segments. The first includes a crib wall comprised of inner and outer steel sheet pile walls and seven sheet pile groins. The second is a steel sheet pile and stone wall revetment on the north end, according to the Point Betsie Lighthouse website.

The structures were last upgraded in 1979 with a repair to the concrete apron. Their condition has deteriorated due to decades of exposure to Lake Michigan wave action, fluctuating water levels, ice and currents.

When the lighthouse was originally built, the shoreline was in a different place. Over time the shoreline has shifted and made it more difficult to protect the lighthouse from the lake, reads part of the website.

The project includes repairs to the steel sheet-metal seawall, and to a concrete cap which leads from the sheet pile to the lighthouse, Taylor said. Additional rocks will also be added to a revetment at the site.

While the capital campaign was able to generate roughly $1.3 million since 2019, more recent marine engineering studies returned cost projections as high as $6 million to $9 million.

More News Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse launch capital campaign

We thought we'd have had it covered with potential overruns, Taylor said. We put it out for the preliminary engineering study last year and that came back with an array of options from doing nothing, which obviously wasn't something that we seriously considered ... to the Cadillac version.

...and so we ... weighed the cost versus the expected longevity of things and came up with the option that we thought would be the sort of optimal choice, he continued.

Prior to construction, another phase of research is required to study the hydrological details of the area. The hydrologic studies will determine if there is a solid bedrock beneath the sand and study the existing seawall and apron structure.

That contract was recently awarded, and the study is expected to commence in spring 2022.

Taylor said the results of this study will help inform the approach to repairs that could begin the following year.

If we're going to be putting this huge pile of rock out there, then we want to make sure that the bottom is going to support that, Taylor said. In order to do that, they need to bring in some heavy equipment  and they need to do some hydrologic studies to determine how strong the area is.

The total cost of the project will not be available until that research has completed, but Taylor anticipates further fundraising could be necessary.

Visit pointbetsie.org for more information on how to donate.
BIG RAPIDS  A monument recognizing General Ben Fuller, former Commandant of the U. S. Marine Corps and Big Rapids resident, was placed at Holland Park-Veterans and Homefront Heroes Memorial Park in Big Rapids this week.

We found out about General Fuller, a Big Rapids resident that we didnt even know existed, that he was a commandant of the Marine Corps, organizer Mark Brejcha said. The American Legion took it upon themselves to recognize him. We commissioned an artist, who created the bronze bust and we developed a pedestal.

According to what information Brejcha was able to find, the Fuller family is one of the first residents of Big Rapids. Ben Fuller attended the U.S. Naval Academy in 1885, at 15 years old. He served in the Navy for eight years and then transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps.

From 1930 to 1934, he served as the top-ranking Marine in the nation, Brejcha said. We were flabbergasted to learn that he escaped recognition, so we took it upon ourselves to recognize the top Marine.

Local artist Gordon Mallett was commissioned to sculpt the bust, Brejcha said, which from conception to completion took about three months.

Patton Monuments, out of Grand Rapids, did the base of the monument with the inscription describing Fullers military history.

The monument will be flanked by donation bricks recognizing members of the community who gave to the project. A total of $15,000 was donated to fund the monument.

A special dedication ceremony of the General Ben Fuller monument will take place at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 10. One of Big Rapids highest ranking military officers, U. S. Navy Admiral Larry LeGree, will return home to unveil the monument.

The public can meet Admiral LeGree from noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 10, at AMVET Post 1941, 320 S. 4th Ave., Big Rapids, immediately following the General Fuller monument dedication ceremony.

At that time, the Post will be celebrating the US Marine Corps birthday with the traditional cake cutting ceremony.

LeGree will also be the Grand Marshall for the Veterans Day Parade in downtown Big Rapids at 11 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 11.
SEYMOUR, Iowa (AP)  An Iowa man who violated federal animal welfare laws more than 100 times has been barred from selling, breeding or brokering dogs and must give up 514 dogs he kept in various locations around the state.

A federal judge on Tuesday approved an agreement against Daniel Gingerich, whose main site was in rural Seymour, KCCI-TV reported.
Midland County had 115 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths reported from Nov. 2-3.

COVID-19 numbers reported from Nov. 2-3

Midland County: 115 cases and four deaths were added; pandemic total is 9,771 cases, 903 probable cases, 135 deaths and eight probable deaths.

Bay County: 119 cases and two deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 14,202 cases, 1,138 probable cases, 378 deaths and 15 probable deaths.

Gladwin County: 27 cases and four deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 2,827 cases, 564 probable cases, 73 deaths and four probable deaths.

Isabella County: 81 cases and four deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 7,896 cases, 1,457 probable cases, 123 deaths and seven probable deaths.

Saginaw County: 235 cases and two deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 25,991 cases, 2,103 probable cases, 649 deaths and 24 probable deaths.

The state added 9,764 cases and 137 deaths from Tuesday through Wednesday. Overall, Michigan is at 1,147,512 cases and 22,384 deaths.

Recovered

According to the Midland County Health Department website, which was updated Oct. 18, 8,695 Midland County individuals have recovered from COVID. The state reported that as of Oct. 22, a total of 982,288 persons have recovered.

Testing

Midland Countys seven-day rolling positivity rate on Oct. 28 was listed at 13.7% and Gladwin Countys was listed at 15.8%. Our 12-county region was listed at 17.2% and Michigan was at 11.4%.

MidMichigan Health statistics

As of Nov. 1, MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland was listed as having an 71% bed occupancy, with 38 COVID patients and four in the ICU. MidMichigan Medical Center in Gladwin was listed as having a 47% bed occupancy with five 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 259 staff/students were in close contact to an individual who was confirmed COVID-19 positive, and 52 staff/students currently tested positive for the virus.

Schools with one or more staff/students confirmed positive for COVID-19 as of Friday include Dow High (6), Midland High (13), Jefferson Middle (10), Northeast Middle (9), Central Park Elementary (3), Plymouth Elementary (3), Siebert Elementary (4), Woodcrest Elementary (2) and Carpenter Pre-Primary (1).

Bullock Creek School District reported on Wednesday that two staff members and three students are current positive cases. There are also 69 students (but no staff members) currently in quarantine.

Bullock Creek schools with one or more confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday include Floyd Elementary (1) and Bullock Creek High School (3).

Midland County vaccinations

As of Friday, the FDA has authorized the use of Pfizers COVID vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds. Currently, the other 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.
At least one Walgreens in Midland will provide Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5 to 11 beginning Saturday.

Midland residents can schedule an appointment at the North Saginaw Road location. Appointments must be made online at Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine, on Walgreens mobile application or by calling 1-800-Walgreens.

The South Saginaw Road location in Midland could not confirm whether it will be able to provide vaccinations to the newly eligible population by the time of publication.

The pharmacy will begin to administer the vaccinations in select stores nationwide after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization and new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for this population.

CVS also announced it will administer the Pfizer pediatric vaccine beginning Sunday. In a press release issued Wednesday, CVS shared it plans to stock 20 select Michigan locations. It could not confirm which locations will stock this population's vaccine; Midland area residents are asked to visit cvs.com to find a location with available vaccines.

CVS notes parental or legal guardian consent is required and children must be accompanied by an adult during the appointment.

On Wednesday, Walgreens said as many families prepare to travel and gather for the holidays, and COVID-19 variants continue to emerge, individuals including children are at high risk to contract and spread COVID-19 and experience more severe symptoms.

According to the new CDC guidance, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children is safe and highly effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections in young children with a 90% efficacy rate.

Walgreens corporate said the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children is a pediatric-specific formulation and dose compared to the vaccine adults and adolescents receive.

Similar to current recommendations for Pfizer recipients ages 12 and up, the CDC recommends a second dose of the vaccine at least three weeks following an initial dose to complete the vaccination series for full protection.

The company said it expects more appointments to be available in the coming weeks as Walgreens receives additional vaccines.

Currently, about 40% of Walgreens stores plan to offer the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 in areas with a high Social Vulnerability Index score. In the press release, the company said its important to reach this next milestone in the pandemic response because research suggests COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the health of Black and Hispanic children who often reside in these areas.

At the time of the announcement, Walgreens pharmacy team members have administered approximately 45 million COVID-19 vaccinations.

And CVS Health has administered around 43 million COVID-19 vaccines, as of Wednesday. In the press release, the company said it has been administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 12 years and older since authorized by the FDA and recommended for that age group by the CDC earlier this year.

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) expanded the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act authorizing licensed pharmacists to administer recommended vaccinations to children ages 3 and older. In that time, Walgreens has administered over 300,000 flu immunizations to children ages 5 to 11.

Walgreens Chief Medical Officer Kevin Ban said pharmacy team members have significant experience vaccinating children and adolescents, making them prepared to immunize this newly eligible population quickly and safely.

The COVID-19 vaccine is just as important to protect children as other routine immunizations are, and the expanded eligibility will help children stay in school safely and prevent severe illness due to COVID-19, said Ban in the Wednesday release.
LONDON (AP)  British lawmakers voted Wednesday not to suspend a Conservative legislator who was found to have broken lobbying rules  a decision that instantly brought accusations of corruption from opponents of the Conservative government.

The House of Commons voted by 250 to 232 not to approve the 30-day suspension of Owen Paterson recommended by the Commons standards committee. It is the first time in decades that lawmakers have not followed through on the standards committees decisions.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone said last month that Paterson lobbied the government in 2016 and 2017 on behalf of two companies that were paying him  the clinical diagnostics company Randox and the meat-processing firm Lynns Country Foods.

The Commons Standards Committee said Patersons actions were an egregious case of paid advocacy and had brought the House into disrepute. It recommended that he be suspended from the House of Commons for 30 sitting days.

Paterson, a former environment minister who has been a member of Parliament since 1997, called the investigation biased and said he had not been allowed to present his own evidence. He said anxiety about the probe played a part in the death of his wife Rose, who killed herself in 2020.

Patersons cause gained support from many other Conservatives, who secured Wednesdays decision not to suspend him immediately, but instead to review the case and look at overhauling the Commons disciplinary process.

Paterson said the move would allow him to clear his name after two years of hell, but anti-corruption campaigners and opposition politicians condemned the decision.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the main opposition Labour Party, accused the Conservatives of wallowing in sleaze.

Today the Tories voted to give a green light to corruption, she tweeted, adding that The Prime Minister, Conservative Ministers and MPs have brought shame on our democracy.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The U.N. Security Council agreed unanimously Wednesday to extend the mandate of the European Union military force in Bosnia, voting after Russia blocked members from hearing a warning from the top international official in Bosnia that the war-scarred Balkan nation faces an existential threat from separatist actions by Bosnia Serbs.

Russia, a close ally of the Bosnian Serbs, has repeatedly tried to end the role of Bosnias high representative, currently Christian Schmidt, and it succeeded in preventing him from delivering his latest report to the council saying Bosnia and Herzegovina could face renewed division and conflict if the international community doesnt curb Bosnian Serbs.

But U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent Schmidts report to the 15 council members, and after the vote on the EU force his warnings were raised by the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Estonia and other council nations that gave strong backing to the importance of maintaining the high representative..

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council that as far as Moscow is concerned the high representative was appointed in violation of international law" and the post remains vacant. He strongly objected to the report from what he called a private person being circulated to council members, saying it is an extreme biased and anti-Serb document the likes of which we haven't seen for a long time."

It is aimed at resolving just one goal  to destroy any glimmers of understanding, peace and cooperation among the peoples living in Bosnia and Herzegovina," Nebenzia said, accusing Western nations on the council of trying to dictate how Bosnians build and govern their country.

The 1992-95 Bosnian war pitted the country's ethnic Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats against each other and ended with the U.S.-sponsored Dayton peace agreement that created two regions, the Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation. The two regions were given wide autonomy, but kept some joint institutions, including an army, top judiciary and tax administration and a presidency that rotates among the three ethnic groups.

After the war, more than 60,000 troops deployed throughout the country to secure the peace. In 2004 the peacekeeping mandate was handed over to the EU and the French-drafted resolution adopted Wednesday extends the mandate of the now 600-strong force for 12 months.

Ambassadors of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, the international body guiding Bosnias peace process, formally appointed Schmidt as the next high representative on May 27. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that the secretary general certainly believes this is an important role and "weve had a very productive relationship with the Office of the High Representative."

In his report, Schmidt wrote that prospects of further division and conflict in Bosnia are very real if Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik carries through his threat to withdraw Serb troops from the Bosnian army and create a separate Serb force, which would ultimately undermine the states ability to function and carry out its constitutional responsibilities.

Schmidt, a senior German diplomat, called Dodiks threatened actions tantamount to secession without proclaiming it. He said they endanger not only the peace and stability of the country and the region, but  if unanswered by the international community  could lead to the undoing of the 1995 Dayton agreement that ended the war.

Dodik, the Bosnian Serb member of the presidency, has for years been advocating for the separation of the Bosnian Serb mini-state and having it become part of Serbia. He recently intensified his campaign, pledging that the Bosnian Serb parliament would by the end of November declare the creation of its own army, tax authority and judiciary.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Bosnia is facing a critical juncture in its post-war history.

She called for an end to the heated rhetoric from Dodik and agreed with Schmidts assessment that Dodiks talk of Republika Srpskas possible withdrawal from Bosnia is a dangerous path not only for Bosnia but for the wider western Balkan region. She said Dodik's talk of drafting a new constitution for the Bosnia Serb region would pose a serious threat to the Dayton peace accord.

Thomas-Greenfield also called for protection of the role of the high representative, whose office serves as a foundation of stability for the country, and said there is a need for electoral and limited constitutional reform" and for stepped up efforts to combat corruption so Bosnia can move forward on its EU path.

France's U.N. ambassador, Nicolas De Riviere, condemned all forms of questioning of the territorial integrity and the existence of Bosnia Herzegovina as a state," backed the high representative's role, and called on the country's political leaders to overcome their divisions and make progress toward EU membership,
Niamey, Niger (PANA)  Authorities in Niger and an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team have reached an agreement on economic and structural policies and reforms that would underpin a new three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) with access to about US$ 278
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Eighty 80 illegal migrants of various African nationalities, who were heading to the European coast on board a wooden boat, were rescued on Wednesday by a patrol boat from the Tripoli naval base
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Chinese telecom giant, Huawei, on Tuesday signed an agreement for the launch of a digital scientific research programme and the linking of educational institutions and universities under the ministry
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A Libyan national political forum to support the holding of elections on 24 December started on Wednesday in Tripoli, with the participation of the elite, to discuss ways to overcome obstacles to the polls
Photo: (Photo : ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP via Getty Images))

Some parents might be looking forward to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout for kids under 11 years old as it will mean being one step closer to regaining their normal life. However, parents with children with fear of needles will need to overcome a few hurdles to make this vaccination less traumatic.

Dr. Nia Heard-Garris of The New York Times said that fear of needles is technically called trypanophobia and it is more common among children under 10 years old. However, there are effective ways for parents to help their children shake off the nerves and become comfortable with getting vaccinated.

The doctor said that the first most logical step is to device a plan and figure out the logistics. If the child is getting the COVID-19 vaccine at her pediatrician's office then it might help ease off the anxiety because she is already familiar with the doctor and the clinic.

If her pediatrician is not offering the service, then parents might consider a school-based vaccination. It will also help to pick a schedule where the child is "likely to be stressed."

Read Also: Parents Said Walgreens Pharmacy Injected COVID-19 Vaccine, Not Flu Shots, to Their Kids

Talk to the Child

Psychologist Mary Alvord said that parents need to talk to their child about getting the vaccine and they should raise the fact that they need to face their fear of needles. Alvord said that it's important to build the child's trust to do away with the anxiety. The parent should stress that the person inoculating them is a "very kind person," and if necessary, the parent could also do breathing practices with the child.

The expert said that children with fear of needles are mostly afraid of the pain. She advised parents to never tell their kids the shot will not hurt -- because it will.

"It needs to be said to kids that no one likes to get shots," Alvord said. "There is a little bit of discomfort with it, but there is so much benefit."

Both Heard-Garrisa and Alvord recommended reading children's books about vaccination so they will understand its importance to their health. Stories will also help the kids become familiar with the experience. Role playing with a doctor's kit is a good practice tool as well.

For older children, Heard-Garrisa suggested listing a "fear ladder," where the child ranks vaccine scenarios according to their difficulty. The parents can talk it over the child and explore a plan of action for each scenario.

Focus on the Positive

Child education specialists Kelly Foy and Pat McLarney recommend preparing coping kits for the kids that may include fidget spinners or sensory toys. Older children might be comforted with stress balls or a playlist of their music as they wait in line during their vaccine appointment.

The experts said that breathing and mindfulness technics are also helpful for any person with fear of needles, regardless of their age. The family should practice these breathing technics in the weeks leading up to their scheduled vaccination.

Foy and McLarney also reminded parents to consider giving a reward like ice creams, movie day or anything positive after the jab. They might want to talk about what exciting things they can do once they are vaccinated, such as playdates with their friends or visits to the their grandparents, so they will be able to associate nice thoughts with the COVID-19 vaccine.

Related Article: U.S. Readies 28 Million COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids to be Administered as Soon as FDA Gives Authorization

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Photo: (Photo : Hans Kretzman/Pixabay)

A Florida Teacher of the Year awardee was arrested and charged with child abuse after she slapped a student who questioned why she was chosen for the top honor.

Caroline Melanie Lee, 60, who teaches at the Darnell-Cookman Middle and High School, allegedly struck a student that resulted in a bleeding nose. The incident happened days after Lee was named the Teacher of the Year at their school district, and the female student raised the fact that the teacher had questionable morals in a post on Instagram.

Feeling that the student's post was threatening, Lee then had a private conversation with her after classes. In the police report, the student claimed that Lee hit her multiple times during this one-on-one meeting, but the teacher told the police that it was the student's word against hers, given that there are no witnesses.

Read Also: Catholic School Teacher Fired by Brooklyn Diocese for Marrying a Man

Teacher Did Not Report the Incident

According to the police report, the Instagram message accused Lee of using the N-word in class. The teacher defended her actions to the police, saying she was reading verses of the classic literature "Of Mice and Men." Lee also told the investigators that despite feeling threatened by the student's Instagram post, she saw no need to report this to the school authorities as she was not afraid of the student.

Cameras after their one-on-one meeting showed that Lee went out of the classroom first at an "aggressive pace," and then the student followed four minutes later. The student went straight to the guidance counselor to report what happened. Thus the police arrived to investigate the alleged child abuse.

In her testimony, the student said that Lee also repeatedly exclaimed profanities at her as she struck the top of her head and kicked her lower leg. The teacher denied the accusations and did not explain the blood on the student's nose.

Principal Tyrus Lyles confirmed that their Teacher of the Year was arrested on campus for child abuse charges. Reports cited that she has been removed from the school amid "pending judicial and internal procedures."

Duval Schools Superintendent Diana Greene also issued a statement saying that the incident has been "beyond disturbing." Greene said that she does not have tolerance for adults, especially those in authority and trust, who hurt kids. School authorities have advised Lee to cooperate with the investigations.

After appearing in court, Lee was released pending her next court date in late November, but she will not be back at Darnell-Cookman. She has also been discouraged from trying to contact the student.

Teacher Kicks Special Needs Student

In related news, Holly Eicher, a 62-year-old teacher from Florida, was also charged with child abuse after kicking a 6-year-old special needs student. Terence Anthony, a primary school teacher, was suspended from his job after punishing a misbehaving student by letting him wear just underwear in class.

A PE teacher was also banned from pursuing the teaching profession for life after kicking a four-year-old student in the knee because he was throwing a tantrum. Ian Webber, the 56-year-old teacher, also threatened the toddler and was subject to an investigation and a trial before the Birmingham Magistrates' Court, where he was found guilty of child abuse.

Related Article: 'Slap a Teacher' Challenge: Connecticut AG Wants to Meet With TikTok Bosses to Discuss Dangerous Content
Paris, TN (38242)

Today

Periods of rain. Thunder possible. High around 55F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy early, then clearing later on. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 31F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Calvin C. Anderson of Ardmore, Oklahoma, formerly of Elmore City, Oklahoma, was born to Elmer and Minnie (Stevens) Anderson on October 16, 1927 in Paoli, Oklahoma and passed from this life on November 14, 2021, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the age of 94 years.
Pauls Valley, OK (73075)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
Approximately one million people in the US use American Sign Language to communicate. And that means theres good reason for you to learn it too, even if you dont personally know anyone whos deaf. So weve put together The Complete 2022 American Sign Language Lifetime Membership Bundle and priced it at just $29.99 so basically anyone can afford it.

The Complete 2022 ASL Lifetime Membership Bundle is a web-accessible, CPD accredited training program that can teach virtually anyone how to sign. It features five courses and one eBook that covers the basics  like the ABCs, numbers, and fingerspelling  and gradually moves students into more advanced communication skills. Its beginner-friendly, there are no class schedules to stick to, and since youll enjoy lifetime access you can keep going back to it to keep your skills fresh.

When you consider the many benefits of learning ASL beyond communication with the deaf, then its easy to see why this package is such a great deal. Especially since in-person classes are far more expensive and often have difficult schedules by comparison.

Prices subject to change
Its been 21 years since my parents bought me the first computer that was just mine, one I didnt have to share with anyone. It was an eMachines desktop with a Pentium 4, a whopping 64GB of memory, and a 40GB hard drive. It ran Windows ME (Millenium Edition!) out of the box. And from the moment I turned it on right up until now, Ive been searching for software tools to make my computer more efficient and easier to use.

In two decades and change Ive installed, tweaked, and uninstalled far more small programs than I can remember, to solve little annoyances or to smooth over the rough spots in the Windows interface. Windows itself has gotten a lot better over the years, and many of the little tools I loved have become redundant as those features have been incorporated into the operating system in one way or another. UltraMon is a great example: Microsoft copied its multi-monitor taskbars for Windows 8.

But there are still a few programs I install on each and every machine to make them better. Here are five power user tools that are small, simple, and free (though most developers welcome donations if you find their software invaluable). Better yet, all of them work with both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

SoundSwitch: Quickly switch sound devices with a keyboard command

Windows still isnt great at managing more than one sound device. Even in Windows 11 its at least three clicks to switch from, say, your laptop speakers to Bluetooth headphones, or vice versa. This can get old quickly if youre swapping between speakers and headphones on a regular basis for video meetings.

Michael Crider/IDG

SoundSwitch from developer Antoine Aflalo fixes this. Once installed the tiny program lives in your toolbar, waiting for you to input a keyboard shortcut (I use Ctrl + Alt + ~). When you do, itll switch between any number of sound devices, with no need to dig into the clunky sound menu. SoundSwitch also supports a separate list of recording devices with their own hotkey, and its being constantly updated and improved.

SpaceSniffer: Track down the files clogging your drive

Managing your computers storage space is kind of an all-or-nothing experience. Windows will tell you how much space is left on your drive, and thats it; its up to you to dive into a million different directories and clear out the gunk when youre running low on space. SpaceSniffer (try not to giggle) from Uderzo Software solves this by scanning an entire drive and presenting your files and folders in a visual grid.

Michael Crider/IDG

With each directory taking up a proportional amount of space on your screen, its easy to see where the huge programs and media files are hiding. You can clear out unwanted folders (and even drill down to individual files!) right in the program, and delete them without ever needing to open a file browser. Its a fantastic way to clean up drive space quickly.

MiniBin: Move the Recycling Bin off your desktop

How often do you actually use your Recycling Bin? If youre anything like me, its perhaps once a month, during a busy time. So why does this thing which usually takes care of itself need a dedicated spot on your desktop? If youd like to clear it off, check out MiniBin from e-sushi.

Michael Crider/IDG

This tiny tool replicates your Recycle Bin as a taskbar icon in the notification area. The icon shows you roughly how full it is, and you can right-click to open the Recycling Bin or empty it. With MiniBin installed, you can clear off the Recycle Bin icon for a nice, clean desktop.

SharpKeys: Reprogram any keyboard

If you have a full-sized keyboard, odds are there are at least one or two keys that you dont ever use. Whens the last time you had to hunt for the Scroll Lock key? If youd rather bind these to something more useful, like media controls, SharpKeys from RandyRants is your solution.

Michael Crider/IDG

SharpKeys actually modifies files in the Windows Registry to permanently reassign keys. So unlike, say, a programming tool for a specific Razer keyboard, this software will work on a laptop and with any third-party keyboards you plug in. Just save your settings and reboot, and youre good to go. I use it to disable Caps Lock (which I never use) and change Page Up, Page Down, and Home buttons to Volume Up/Down and Mute, respectively.

PowerToys FancyZone: Roll your own snap window layouts

Windows 10 introduced some powerful window management tools, and Windows 11 expands on them. But if youre looking for more customized options  like setting up a quick window zone thats exactly the width of two Tweetdeck columns  youll need something powerful, like UltraMon.

Michael Crider/IDG

But wait! If you dont need the truckload of features in UltraMon, theres an official add-on from Microsoft that can do it for free. The latest incarnation of PowerToys includes a tool called FancyZones, among many others. It lets you create custom window layouts for quickly organizing programs across your monitor. And it works great for multi-monitor setups, too.
Barclays (BARC.L) chief executive Jes Staley is to step down following a probe by British regulators into his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, ending a controversial six year reign at the lender marked by his successful backing of its investment bank against an activist investor.



Staley will be replaced as CEO by the bank's head of global markets C.S. Venkatakrishnan, who on Monday pledged to continue his predecessor's strategy.



Barclays said it was made aware on Friday evening of the preliminary conclusions from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority's investigation into Staley's characterisation to Barclays of his relationship with Epstein and the subsequent description of that relationship in Barclays' response to the regulator.



"In view of those conclusions, and Mr Staley's intention to contest them, the Board and Mr Staley have agreed that he will step down from his role as Group Chief Executive and as a director of Barclays," the bank said.



"It should be noted that the investigation makes no findings that Mr Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr Epstein's alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays' support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019."



Barclays shares fell 2% following the announcement.



Barclays said last year that Britain's financial regulators were probing links between Staley and Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking offences. Staley has previously said his relationship with Epstein, which he now regrets, ended in late 2015.



The FCA and PRA said in a statement they could not comment further on the Epstein investigation.



Staley told staff in an internal memo seen by Reuters that he did not want his 'personal response' to the investigations to be a distraction.



"Although I will not be with you for the next chapter of Barclays' story, know that I will be cheering your success from the sidelines," he said.



In a separate internal memo also seen by Reuters, Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, told staff the strategy put in place by Staley at Barclays was the "right one", although he added that he would announce changes to the organisation of the corporate and investment bank in the coming days.



UK regulators launched their investigations into links between Staley and Epstein after JPMorgan (JPM.N) provided them with emails the two exchanged when Staley was the head of JPMorgans private bank, the Financial Times reported last year.



The bank's share price has fallen 9% since Staley became CEO in December 2015.



Barclays fought off a campaign launched by activist investor Edward Bramson in 2018 to have Staley removed. Bramson sold his stake earlier this year.



Britain's financial regulators and Barclays fined Staley a combined 1.1 million pounds ($1.50 million) in 2018 after he tried to identify a whistleblower who sent letters criticising a Barclays employee.

Source: REUTERS









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 Executive Organiser for the Tuna Merchants Association of Ghana (TUMASGHA), Mr Michael Nana Asah Akunnor says the Tuna Industry has the capacity to address the unemployment situation in the country.



According to him, with financial support from the government, about 30 per cent of the unemployed youth in the country can be offered jobs at the various chain of businesses in the Tuna Industry.



Speaking to the media at the inauguration of the Tuna Merchants Association of Ghana at the GHACEM Club House in Tema Community 5, Mr Akunnor reiterated that regardless of the challenges in the Tuna Industry, the governments effort to create employment for the teeming unemployed youth can be realised in the industry.



He explained that there are opportunities for Ghanaian crew to be employed in the Vessel, whereas others can be employed to do the picking of the tuna from the Vessel.



He added that employment opportunities are available at the cold store and the retailing sector as well as security and other jobs, making the Tuna Industry lucrative enough for the government to focus on it to resolve the unemployment situation in the country.



The Tuna Industry is such that at the end of the day, individuals working in the industry will get their daily bread. This industry offers a lot of employment opportunities and so we will plead with the government to focus on this industry as a place to solve the unemployment challenge confronting the country, he pleaded.



The Executive Organiser for the Tuna Merchants Association of Ghana mentioned capital intensive as one of the main challenges in the Tuna Industry and therefore pleaded with the government to support the industry with some grants to expand the industry in order for them to employ a lot of the unemployed youth in the country.



Mr Asah Akunnor however was hopeful that the launch of the Tuna Merchants Association of Ghana will enhance the progress of the Tuna Industry as well as its stakeholders.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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Ghana has moved into the top five ranking in the Absa Africa Financial Market Index report, placing fourth with an overall score of 62 out of the maximum 100 score  a recognition of the positive strides in the development of the Ghanaian market.This is an improvement on last years sixth position with a score of 59.



Remarkably, Ghana scored 50 and above in 5 out of the 6 pillars measured. The policies and initiatives that contributed to Ghanas improved performance include  adoption of and enforceability of standard master agreements, improved access to foreign exchange through forward FX auctions by the Bank of Ghana and market transparency works through daily publication of financial asset prices. Ghanas weakest link however, is the Capacity of Local Investors where it recorded a score of 21.



The Absa Africa Financial Markets Index is produced annually by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF)  an independent think tank for central banking, economic policy and public investment through extensive quantitative research and data analysis in association with Absa Group Limited.

The index, now in its fifth year, throws light on Financial Markets across Africa and benefits from continued engagement with policymakers, regulators, market participants and industry experts; providing the latest information about developments in the region

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Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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The Ghana Police Service has been called upon to update Ghanaians on its investigations into acts of violence during the 2020 general election.



Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, who contested in the 2012 and 2016 general elections as an Independent Presidential Candidate, said he was unhappy that since the 2020 elections, the Ghana Police Service had not updated Ghanaians on the myriad of security lapses and fatalities recorded during the elections.



In a letter addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, dated October 31, 2021, Mr Yeboah said the silence of the police on the electoral violence had created a strong sense of unease in the run-up to the 2024 elections.



The sooner your humble, excellent office resolves these issues, the better for us as a nation, he said.



Enquiry



Mr Yeboah said the alleged assassinations of individuals by security personnel in a number of constituencies should not be overlooked.



There are different reports regarding the number of persons killed during the 2020 elections and calls for a probe into such incidents, he stated.



Mr Osei Yeboah said as a stakeholder in Ghanas electoral process, he had confidence in the IGPs administration to pursue the recent NDC-EC counter-accusations, not as mere political rhetoric, but as a determinant solution for the citizens' national sense of security in the run-up to the 2024 elections.



He expressed the hope that all perpetrators, if identified, would be dealt with impartially and in accordance with the law.



We appreciate your anticipated professionalism in assisting us in addressing election irregularities and assisting in strengthening the Electoral Commission as a state institution, Mr Osei Yeboah stated.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The government is to plant a minimum of 20 million trees next year as part of major effort to restore lost forest cover in the country, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has disclosed in Glasgow, Scotland.



Speaking at the World Leaders Summit on protecting the forests and oceans held on the sidelines of COP 26 yesterday, the President announced: Next year, we aim to plant a minimum of 20 million trees, and we have already begun earnest preparations towards this.



In June this year, I led the entire country, through the Green Ghana Project, to plant over seven million trees, far above the five million we had targeted, he told the gathering of world leaders and environmentalists who are participating in the summit.



UN COP26



From Sunday October 31 - November 12, 2021, world leaders and environmentalists are gathering in Glasgow to participate in the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN COP26).



Since 1995, global leaders have met annually to firm up plans to tackle climate change. And for the summit in Glasgow, the expectation is to accelerate action towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.



Initiatives



According to the President, in the last two decades, the government had been implementing initiatives such as the national forest plantation development programme and the Ghana forest plantation strategy, in line with measures to restore lost forest cover in the country.



That, he said, was because deforestation and forest degradation are the greatest challenges to sustainable forest management in the country.



The President also gave an assurance that from 2024 and beyond, Ghana intended to reduce emissions by some 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in the cocoa-forest landscape through the implementation of the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, one of five ecological landscape-tailored initiatives in the countrys REDD+ Strategy.



He also said through nationally determined contributions in the forestry sector, Ghana was committed to supporting the global target of halving emissions by 2030 and attaining neutrality by 2050.



Ocean management



On the sustainable management of the ocean, the President said requisite structures and processes were being put in place to finalise the countrys sustainable ocean plan by 2025.



The pressing threats we face are marine security due to the prevalence of piracy and armed robbery on our seas, the mounting menace of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU), over-fishing and its attendant decline in fish stocks and plastic pollution, he said.



President Akufo-Addo further said in partnership with the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea, we are also conducting an ocean governance study to help us strengthen our legal and institutional framework for ocean management.



In addition, he said, the country had implemented a close season for artisanal and industrial fishing to help reduce excessive pressure and over-exploitation of the sea in order to replenish the countrys falling marine fish stocks.



The results have been a phenomenal success.



We intend to continue to implement this policy over the medium-term.



We must leverage our collective political influence, build strong partnerships with business leaders and influencers in civil society to effectively drive the implementation of the transformation document by all countries, the President added.





















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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The institute maintained that any attempt to use new or additional taxes to boost revenue would be a nightmare for businesses whose survival had been threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rather, it said the government should use the budget to introduce policies that would ensure efficiency in the countrys tax administration.



Presenting a review report of the 2021 quarter three economic performance at the University of Ghana in Accra yesterday, the Director of ISSER, Professor Peter Quartey, said the government must ensure tax efficiency with the introduction of improved digitalisation to capture those outside the tax net.



The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is reported to have collected GH39.90 billion out of a target of GH57 billion by September 2021, representing 70 per cent of the targeted tax revenue for the year.



This means that within the next three months, it is likely to exceed its target, and that will be good news.



With the 2022 budget, we should ensure tax efficiency, rather than introducing new taxes targeting the same people, he suggested.





Three reports - the State of the Ghanaian economy (SGER 2020), the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ghana 2020-2021 and the COVID-19 business tracker survey in Ghana - were also launched at the event.



The review is an initiative of ISSER, with support from Stanbic Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).



Nuisance tax



Prof. Quartey said the new tax measures which were introduced in the 2021 budget had yielded GH249.7 million in revenue in the first half of 2021 but fell below their programmed target of GH358.1 million.





On the other hand, he said, the COVID-19 health and the financial sector clean-up levies seemed to be performing better.



As a result, he called for critical assessment of the taxes to ascertain whether they were efficient means of raising revenue or nuisance taxes that stifled private businesses.



He also said debt service payments accounted for 62.1 per cent of domestic revenue in 2020, up from 51.9 per cent in 2019.



In quarter two of 2021, interest payments accounted for about 45 per cent of total tax revenue, he added.





He further said Ghana had recorded appreciable growth rates since 2020, with oil gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.9 per cent and non-oil GDP growth of 5.2 per cent in quarter two of 2021.



Prof. Quartey said growth rates recorded by the government must translate into creating sustainable jobs, adding that increased support to businesses affected by the pandemic would also help accelerate the recovery process.





Timing of reports



The Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank, Mr Kwamina Asomaning, said the timing of the release of the reports was crucial to the drafting of the budget for the 2022 fiscal year.



I believe that there are a lot of highlights for all stakeholders, including the government, the private and the public sectors, as well as academia.



What these reports mean for economic management is very instructive, 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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Africas leading music streaming platform, Boomplay and leading mechanical copyrights collection agency, Composers Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO), have inked an extended licensing partnership as part of Boomplays expansion strategy across the continent.



The deal increases CAPASSOs mandate to collect and distribute publishing royalties on behalf of the right holders from five to twenty countries across the African continent.



Speaking about the announcement, Boomplays Director of Content and Strategy, Phil Choi, said that the licensing underscores the companys vision and commitment to empower the African music eco-system to unlock its full potential.



Phil said: Since the start of our partnership in 2015, CAPASSO has been one of our closest partners in making sure composers in Africa receive their fair share of royalties for their work. We are passionate about playing our part in contributing to the African music industrys vast growth through strategic partnerships such as this one.



This partnership will continue to help provide a reliable, fair and transparent eco-system for artistes and publishers, and we can look forward to creating even more revenue streams for artistes via our network of partners.



Jotam Matariro, CAPASSOs Chief Executive Officer, also shared Choi's sentiments, and he said: CAPASSOs main objective is to ensure that African songwriters and their publishers receive fair value for their works. Thus, it is great to partner with DSPs like Boomplay, who consistently invest in the full value chain of the African music industry. It is through such commitments that the entire industry can continue to grow.





Boomplay, which boasts of over 60 million Monthly Active Users and an extensive music catalogue of over 60 million tracks, has partnerships with all the majors and the top African and International labels and distributors. The platform recently announced the addition of its streaming data to the data that informs the prestigious Billboard charts. These and many more achievements have contributed to cementing their position at the top of the African streaming market.



Boomplay is a music streaming and download service provided by Transsnet Music Limited. The company has regional offices in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria. The app is available globally on mobile through the Google Play and App store and on web via www.boomplay.com



CAPASSO is a Digital Rights Licensing Agency based in Johannesburg, South Africa, which collects and distributes royalties to its members, music publishers and composers. Joining CAPASSO as an author or publisher member will be to your benefit because CAPASSO continuously strives for excellence in efficiency when it comes to mechanical license fee collections as well as service excellence in royalty distributions. www.capasso.co.za

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Ghana Scholarships Secretariat and the Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will help enhance the capacity of Civil Servants.



The agreement, a strategic directive of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, forms part of efforts by the Vice-President to strengthen institutions in Ghana.



Signing the agreement yesterday on behalf of the Scholarships Secretariat, the Registrar, Mr Kingsley Agyemang said based on the directive Dr Bawumia, the Secretariat signed the Memoradum of Understanding to help ensure the training of the Ghanaian workforce.



He added that as the supplier of the Human Resource requirement of the government agencies, it is important that the Office of the Head of Civil Service conduct its duties in the most professional manner especially taking into consideration the role of Continues Professional Development (CPD) to every organization.



Strong institutions



Addressing the media after the signing of the agreement, Mr Agyemang disclosed that the agreement will ensure that qualified staff of the Service are sponsored to pursue Diplomas, Bachelors, Masters and PhD programmes in accredited tertiary institutions both public and private.



Dr Bawumia believes this training is very important because as part of efforts to make our institutions stronger, we cannot forget the people .i.e. the human resource aspect. It is therefore important that we put in place measures to help build on their capacities, he said.



Mr Agyemang said once these civil servants are upgraded academically; it can go a long way to boost their confidence and help in productivity as well.



OHCS



Head of the Civil Service, Nana Kwasi Agyekum Dwamena, for his part, commended the initiative by the Vice-President. He said the development of any country lies mostly on its public and civil servants.



A lot is changing in this world and as such we are bound to encounter a lot of challenges. So I find this collaboration very important because it will help us address these challenges.



Mr Dwamena again thanked Dr Bawumia for accepting their proposal when they presented it to him.

He urged all civil servants to apply when the application is opened and assured them that the process will be transparent for all.



Mode of programme



The programme which is expected to take off next year, will give scholarships to some 100 civil servants annually.

Beneficiaries will be bonded to serve for a minimum of two years before exiting the service after the sponsorship.

The Head of the Civil Service is also expected to undertake periodic monitoring of the programme in line with established guidelines on studies.

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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Astute professor and teacher, Professor Kwaku Atuahene-Gima has mentioned that the standards of student politics in Ghana have fallen and is not as valuable as it used to be.



Speaking with Rev Erskine on the first episode of season 5 of the Y leader board series, Professor Atuahene-Gima mentioned that there was too much partisanship politics in our modern society and had influenced student leadership in the universities. He also disclosed that the influence of partisan politics on students and had caused restraints for them to have a common view of happenings in the society.



Currently, I think there is too much partisanship in society and that has kind of infiltrated into the university system. So, it is very difficult as expected that student leaders can have a common view of something that is not going right, he said.



He further asserted that student politics in his era was not for the personal gains of individuals but rather for society and believed they spoke for society and yearned for its betterment. He also stated that they went out to demonstrate against government policies that were inclined with society.



Our time we were society centered rather than individually centered, we had a strong conviction that we were the conscience of the society. It could be interpreted as being over-ambitious, but the point is that we thought we could speak for society so we look for things that are going wrong and demonstrate against them. We go out to express what we believe the society wanted and we campaigned against union governments, we believe that is our role in society, he added



Professor Atuahene-Gimah also expressed his disappointment in student leaders in the country for not condemning acts of corruption perpetrated by governments in recent times because of the partisan sides in the national political discourse.



I have never seen a whole student body condemn such acts, I think it is because we have these strong party affiliations. Student leadership has become more tribalistic, so people dont see what is wrong with the other party or the other view. What they see is their parties being right and the other being wrong, he said.



Professor Kwaku Atuahene-Gimah also advised the current badge of student leaders and upcoming leaders to do away with personal and partisan interests and serve the interests of society and society.



The Y leader board series is a youth-oriented radio segment on the Mid Morning Show on Y 107.9 FM that aims to inspire the youth in Ghana.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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The founder of Ashesi University, Patrick Awuah has commended Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for spearheading Ghana's digitization of the economy.



Ashesi University last night hosted a public lecture and fire chat by the Vice President on the governments digitization drive and the role it is playing in the transformation of the economy.



Speaking at the programme, the Founder of the University, lauded the digital transformation of the economy, and described the Vice President as a "champion of digital economy."



"It is really very remarkable to see someone at the highest levels of government, really promote digital technology, and I have watched with quiet a bit if admiration" said Mr. Awuah.



"We are really thrilled to have His Excellency the Vice President here with us this evening to talk about digital transformation in Ghana."



The Ashesi Founder Awuah paid glowing tribute to Dr. Bawumia for the immense work he has done as Vice President, especially in the area of digital economy, since being sworn into office in 2017.



"In that capacity (as Vice president) he oversaw the most advanced rollout of the most advanced mobile money interoperability system on the continent, oversaw the world's largest medical drone system, paperless system at our ports."



"He was sworn in again as Vice President earlier this year, and continues to be a tremendous champion for a digital economy."



Awuah underscored the importance of digitization in transforming modern economy, buttressing his point with an observation he made in the Unites States as a senior staff of Microsoft.



"I returned (to Ghana) from a career in the US with Microsoft, and one of the things that really struck me while I was there was, I was in the company for 8 years and within the period, the annual revenues of Microsoft had grown larger than the GDP of Ghana. And there was a really remarkable thing for me as a young person to see it happen. And I felt that digital technology and that transformation in technology had great potential."



He added that the significance of digitization is the reason Ashesi University has prioritised the area.



"The work that I am doing here with Ashesi University is educating a new generation that's going to drive that transformation."



"So we are absolutely thrilled to have you here, especially given your focus in this area."









Source: graphiconline.com









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NIGERIA: A middle-aged woman who just returned from Oman has been arrested for allegedly throwing her two daughters into a well in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.



According to reports, the woman simply identified as Omowumi told her daughters Darasimi, 8, and Nimisire, 5, to follow her to the well in the Ibuaje area of the city where she grabbed them both and threw them into the well.



The police have arrested the woman after the incident. The woman told the mob that she was frustrated. She is mentally unwell. She just returned from Oman.'' a resident said.



Confirming the incident, the spokesman of the state fire service, Ibrahim Adekunle, said efforts are being made to rescue the children out of the well.



Police spokesperson Yemisi Opalola confirmed the incident, saying the woman is suspected to be of unsound mind.





Source: LIB









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Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has hinted that plans are underway to introduce a mobile application that will aid self-registration in the ongoing national SIM card registration exercise.



According to her, only about two million of the population as of the end of last week have been able to register successfully, a situation she describes as very low. This is due to the number of SIM cards yet to be registered, hence the need for the app to facilitate the exercise.



Speaking at at the 11th Ghana Information Technology and Telecom Awards in Accra, where she won the Digital Leader Year, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said I must say in the coming weeks, were working on launching an application for self-registration.



A mobile application that will let individuals register at their own convenience without any delay. This is because looking at the figures it is just about two million SIM cards that had been registered so far and we have about 40 million cards nationwide to register, she noted.



I think that is on a bit low side hence the need for us to quicken the pace and clean up our digital eco-system for once and for all she added.



On how the exercise was faring, she said it is going well, but let me sound this caution that we are very serious about deactivating all unregistered SIM cards by March 2022 and therefore everyone who is yet to register must take the necessary processes to get registered before the deadline.

The compulsory SIM card registration exercise begun in the first week of October 2021 for all mobile phone users to register their mobile numbers.







Source: Republic Press









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Two Members of Parliament from the Minority side have commenced processes to have the law that sets up and define the role of the General Legal Council reviewed.



MP for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Defeamekpor and Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu (Madina) have presented a memo to Clerk of Parliament requesting for a bill to be drafted to amend the Legal Professions Act, 1960, Act 32.



Among other things, the MPs want the new bill to cause the exclusion of the Chief Justice and justices of the Supreme Court from the body responsible for the management and regulation of legal education in the country.



Sir, we write to request the legislating drafting office to draft for subsequent submission to the Speaker, a bill to amend the Legal Professions Act 1960 Act 32 to exclude the Chief Justice as well as other justices of the Supreme Court from the GLC to redefine the functions of the GLC and to provide for reforms in legal education such that accredited Faculties of law with the requisite facilities would be licensed to run professional law courses, provide for discipline of lawyers and related matters to give effect to Articles 37(1) of the 1992 constitution, the memo dated October 26, 2021, stated.



The Parliament of Ghana on Friday, October 29, arrived at a unanimous decision that all LLB students who obtained 50 percent mark in the 2021 Law School entrance examinations be admitted.



However, the Attorney General in response to the resolution passed by parliament has said that the decision of the house cannot be binding on the GLC.



According to Godfred Yeboah Dame, parliaments power to control the process of admission into the Ghana School of Law cannot be exercised through the use of a parliamentary resolution.



We do not want to get to contempt of Parliament issues. Whilst recognising the general legislative powers of Parliament in Ghana, except as have been circumscribed by the Constitution, I am constrained to advise that Parliament is devoid of a power through the use of Parliamentary resolutions, to control the process of admission into the Ghana School of Law.



The mode of exercising legislative power enshrined in article 106 of the Constitution does not admit of resolutions.



In accordance with section 13(1)(e) and (f) of the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32), the power to regulate admission of students to pursue courses of instruction leading to qualification as lawyers and to hold examinations which may include preliminary, intermediate and final examinations has been vested in the General Legal Council, portions of the AGs response to Parliament stated.

















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Two National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) have proposed a private members bill to amend the Legal Professions Act, 1960, Act 32, to exclude the Chief Justice and other Justices of the Supreme Court from the General Legal Council.

The bill is expected to help redefine the functions of the GLC and to provide for reforms in legal education to allow accredited faculties of law with the requisite facilities to be licensed to run professional law courses, as well as provide for discipline of lawyers and related matters to give effect to Article 37(1) of the 1992 Constitution.



To that effect, the MPs - Mr Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor of South Dayi and Mr Francis-Xavier Sosu of Madina  have submitted a memorandum to the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Cyril Kwabena Nsiah, to request the Legislative Drafting Office to draft the Draft Legal Professions (Amendment) Bill, 2021 for submission to the Speaker of Parliament.



In a letter dated October 26, 2021, the two MPs said: Sir, we write to request the Legislative Drafting Office to draft for subsequent submission to the Speaker, a bill to amend the Legal Professions Act, 1960, Act 32, to exclude the Chief Justice as well as other Justices of the Supreme Court from the General Legal Council (GLC).



Why removal



The memorandum said Section 1 of Act 32 provided for the establishment of the GLC and put the council in charge of organisation of legal education and upholding of professional conducts.



It said for the purposes of organising legal education, the GLC worked through the board of legal education and for the purposes of upholding professional standards, the GLC worked through the Disciplinary Committee provided for in Section 17 of Act 32.



For each of those functions, it said there had been serious challenges with procedures and substantive matters of law which eventually had to end up in court.



These courts and judges are directly answerable to the Chief Justice in his administrative role. The same Chief Justice deals with matters of discipline of judges and with issues of promotions, transfers among many others.



Where there is a matter in respect of legal education or lawyers discipline which the Chief Justice has a direct interest in, it becomes repugnant to good consciences and rules of natural justice and fairness to challenge such matters in the regular courts, it said.



It, therefore, said the inclusion of the Chief Justice and Justices of the superior courts on the GLC was against constitutional presumptions of fairness, natural justices and administrative justice enshrined in Article 23 of the 1992 Constitution.



It is based on the above that it has become necessary to amend various sections in Act 32 to remove the Chief Justice and other Justices of the Supreme Court from the GLC.



This will be in line with the principles of transparency and accountability and effective separation of powers as guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution of the Republic, it said.



The memorandum added: This Bill therefore seeks to ensure that all forms of the likelihood of bias are eliminated by the removal of the judiciary from the membership of the General Legal Council.



Systemic problem



The memorandum also said following recent reports of mass failure in the Ghana School of Law entrance examination and related outcry from the general public, which had persisted in the past, it was important to review the policy direction behind the running of the law school by the GLC.



The 28 per cent pass in this years admissions into the Ghana School of Law represents a systemic problem that must be of concern to all democracy watchers, it said.



The memorandum said the argument of the law school and the GLC had been that there was lack of adequate space to admit all the students who applied, and hence the need to increase the marking scheme to fail as much as the school could just so to reduce the number of students who would actually make it.



This years experience where about 499 students made the 50 per cent mark but could not gain access to the law school gives the more reasons why we must take a second look at how legal education is organised in Ghana,



It noted that at the height of dealing with the issue, the Legal Profession (Professional and Post-Call Law Course) Regulation, 2018 (L.I 2355) was passed to remove issues of interviews after the entrance exams.



However, it said the said law never cured the defects of lack of space to increase intake of qualified LLB holders seeking opportunity to read the professional Law Course.



L.I 2355 must therefore be repealed and replaced with an L.I that will take into consideration new provisions in the proposed amendment to create a competitive market for running Law School Professional Courses with the GLC as regulator that ensures quality through the Board of Legal Education.



Given this background, it is important to introduce an amendment to the mother Act to remove the monopoly of running professional law courses from the General Legal Council and to provide rules and regulations for allowing other faculties and individual institutions with the requisite facilities and faculty to run the professional law courses, it said.



GLC as a regulator



The memo said the GLC, which would be reconstituted under the new law, would serve as a regulator.



That, it said, would help young Ghanaians seeking opportunities for legal education to do so in line with Article 37(1) of the 1992 Constitution.









Source: graphiconline.com









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Deputy Communications Director of the NPP, Mame Yaa Aboagye has appealed to Ghanaians to be vigilant during the 2024 elections.



According to her, there are people who will come in sheep clothing to deceive many only to amass wealth for themselves and not for the interest of the populace.



She also reminds Ghanaians not to forget the abysmal performance of former President John Mahama who is running around making promises.



Mahama has lost credibility due to his abysmal performance and incompetence. It will be a major mistake on our part as Ghanaians to forget his abysmal and incompetent performance and vote him back.



She wondered what new vision he (Mr. Mahama) was seeking to implement.



We have had enough from his regime starting from the Akomfem saga, Isofoton, Bus Branding to GYEEDASo what else is he coming back to correct?How can we trust someone whose only interest is to come back and correct his mistake?, she queried.



He has nothing new to offerIn fact we have seen it all from his days as polling station executive of the NDC to Assemblyman to MP, Vice President and President. What else is he coming back to do?We are done with him, she stressed.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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NPP youth in Madina has called on the area Member of Parliament (MP), Francis Xavier Sosu to humbly report himself to the police for interrogation.



A statement signed by their organizer; Michael Fordjour urged the lawmaker to stop his hide-and-seek games with the law enforcers.



According to him, his MP is giving the consistency a bad name  something he said will not be tolerated by the youth.



As a youth in Madina who always desire to promote a good image of the constituency, we are worried, disturbed, upset and ashamed of these developments involving our MP. We believe our MP should have known better when it comes to the law than what we are witnessing now. A portion of the statement read



Below is the full statement



We, the youth of the Madina Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, note with great concern the recent development in the country involving our Member of Parliament (MP), Hon Lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu.



If we recall, our MP has dominated the news headlines recently about a matter involving the law and our MP. In the said development, Hon Sosu is alleged to breach the law and has been invited by the police for investigations.



Ironically, the police have used all appropriate means including writing to the Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Ghana to release Hon Sosu to assist in investigations. According to our sources, all these means have been futile. Hon Sosu has refused to submit himself and assist the police in the investigations.



As a youth in Madina who always desire to promote a good image of the constituency, we are worried, disturbed, upset and ashamed of these developments involving our MP. We believe our MP should have known better when it comes to the law than what we are witnessing now.



Apart from the fact that he is a lawmaker and hence must be the first individual in the constituency to respect the laws he has sworn to craft, he is also a Lawyer which we believe should put him in a position to know better in respecting and abiding by the laws of the state.



Madina is one of the noble constituencies in the country with people of high repute who respect the law of the land. It is therefore disturbing to note that the person representing the people in Parliament is subjecting the laws of the country into disrepute.



We, the youth of Madina Constituency, retraite our point that we elected Hon Sosu to be part of the country's law making body for the interest of La-Nkwantanang Madina constituents and to serve as an agent of development for the good people of La-Nkwantanang Madina.



We don't expect our MP to dominate the headlines with issues that have no material benefits and developmental focus to his constituents. We don't expect him to dominate in issues that put the image of the constituency in a laughing stock.



We wish to state unequivocally that if our MP has no respect for the laws of this country, then he has no business to be in Parliament. He must give way for individuals who have respect for the country's laws to represent us in Parliament.



We, therefore, call on our MP to willingly submit himself to the police to allow the law take its course and also save the image of the good people of Madina Constituency.



Lastly, we want to send a word of caution to Hon Sosu to desist from flouting the laws of this country. Failure to do so will compel the youth of Madina Constituency to demonstrate against him to register our displeasure for the bad image he is creating for the constituency.



We hope our call to the MP will be headed to as soon as possible.



Singed

Michael Fordjour

Madina Constitue

Source: Peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Popular National Democratic Congress (NDC) activist and serial caller, Frank Kwaku Appiah known in the political fraternity as Appiah Stadium has said any move by NPP in the Ashanti Region to change Bernard Antwi Boasiako as their regional Chairman will be a blessing to his party.



According to him, Chairman Wontumi, has been widely known to be tormenting the NDC in the region for years.



He has caused us our victory in the region for years, he said.



Speaking on NEAT FMs morning show 'Ghana Montie', Appiah Stadium described Chairman Wontumi as a Political radical who the NPP needs for everlasting victory in the region and the nation at large.



Wontumi is a combination of Messi and Ronaldo. He is a political radical; he is a mafia, he said.



Adding that, If NPP mistakenly changes him, we [NDC] will be happy because we will amass more votes in the region in the coming election.



Listen to the interview





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed disappointment in wealthy nations for failure to honour their annual $100 billion commitment to fighting climate change in poorer countries.



Were naturally, very disappointed by the failure of the wealthy nations to honour their commitments of making available $100 billion annually to the poorer countries to assist us in the fight against climate change, and by the unavailability of the technology transfer that will help us find sustainable ways of charting a path out of this existential crisis, the Ghanaian leader said.



President Akufo-Addo said this today, Tuesday, 2 November 2021 when he delivered a statement on Ghanas position on Climate Change, as well as measures put in place to combat the threat it poses at the ongoing climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland.



The COP26 Summit, which is one of the largest gatherings of world leaders, has brought together parties to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.



President Akufo-Addo told the world leaders that Africa is the least contributor to the damaged caused to the climate but yet the continent is the most affected.



Even though we, in Africa, are the least of the contributors to this phenomenon, responsible for less than four per cent of the global volume of carbon emissions, we suffer the most because our agrarian and resource-driven economies are particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change, and our capacity to withstand its shock is weak, Nana Akufo-Addo said.



He noted that it will be unfair for rich, developed countries to suggest that Africa should not explore her natural resources to help combat climate change when the exploration of those resources are needed to finance Africas development.



Those same nations are, however, insisting that we abandon the opportunity for rapid development of our economies. That would be tantamount to enshrining inequality of the highest order, a totally unacceptable conclusion, he noted.



Ghanas President suggested that We must find a solution that is equitable and fair, a solution that levels the playing field, a solution that recognises the historical imbalances between high emitters and low emitters.



To this end, he said Ghana, therefore, supports the call for the debt-for-climate swaps which will address a multitude of issues in one fell swoop.



He further advised the world leaders to use this summit as a turning point to create a more prosperous, greener and fairer world, which maintains the balance between the social, economic and environmental requirements of all nations of the earth, rich and poor, adding that success, in this endeavour, is the greatest inheritance we can leave for current and future generations.













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A former president of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Sam Okudzeto, has described the Private Members Bill by two NDC MPs to exclude the Chief Justice as well as other Justices of the Supreme Court from the General Legal Council (GLC) as a big joke.



In a memo to the Clerk to Parliament, the two MPs  Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor (representing South Dayi) and Francis-Xavier Sosu (Madina)  said the bill is aimed at redefining the functions of the GLC and to provide for reforms in legal education such that accredited faculties of law with the requisite facilities would be licensed to run professional law courses, provide for discipline of lawyers and related matters to give effect to Article 37(1) of the 1992 constitution.



However, speaking in an interview with Asaase Radio on Wednesday (3 November), Okudzeto said: If they (the two MPs) are lawyers, then their understanding of the law leaves a lot of question.



I have been a member of the disciplinary committee for a number of years, I am still there if I tell you the number of complaints that keep coming there



So I dont see how the qualified lawyer is going to appear before the court and you say that those for who we are going to appear before do not have any power of control over their training, or education. Its a joke. I must confess that they are jokers and I dont know who they are and I dont want to know who they are, Okudzeto told AsaaseFM.



He has therefore advised the two NDC MPs to tread cautiously.



They have problems, I think they should just go and keep quiet because there can be more troubles than they realised in the fact that we are concerned. If you misbehave, we will deal with you in accordance with the rules and laws that have been laid down, he said.







Source: asaaseradio.com









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Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has expressed disgust over Madina MP, Francis-Xavier Sosu snubbing Police invite for interrogation on the protest at Madina last week.



The demonstrators blocked roads and burned tyres which contravenes the Public Order Act.



The MP, who led the protest, also reportedly drove his vehicle at top speed through the midst of two Police officers on the scene and some civilians as he angrily left the place.



Due to these developments, the Police invited him but he refused to honour the invite causing the law enforcement agency to make a request to the Speaker of Parliament to release him to Police.



Their request was also turned down as the Speaker, in a letter addressed to the Police, argued that ''proceedings of the 3rd Meeting of the 1st Session of the 8th Parliament commenced on Tuesday 26th October 2021, and having regard to the limitations of articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic, he is unable to release the Member of Parliament as requested in your letter".



Reacting to the issue on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Kwamena Duncan was disappointed in the MP.



Although acknowledging Parliament's immunity that protects Members of Parliament from being arrested or subjected to any law enforcement agency's order while the person is on Parliamentary duties, he also found it highly absurd for an MP to hide under the cover of immunity and misconduct himself.



''It will constitute a very high level of absurdity that because a Member of Parliament has immunities and privileges and which are indeed well-intended and which are informed by historical facts, and which in my view must be maintained because we do not know what might happen tomorrow. We don't know which government might come tomorrow and may want us to visit our past and so, for me, I endorse them but there must be a pronouncement."



"Where do we draw the line?", he asked for legal interpretation of the immunity clauses.



However, to him, the Police haven't faulted by inviting the MP as "when a protest take place and someone offends the Public Order Act, the leader of the protest, directly or indirectly involved in the offence, will be the first to be called by the Police because he leads the protest''.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Bernard Allotey Jacobs has eulogized Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for his public lecture on the digitization strides made by the Akufo-Addo government which he delivered at the Ashesi University on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.



Giving a keynote address under the theme ''Transforming An Economy Through Digitization: The Ghana Story'', the Vice President touched on some key digitization programmes implemented by the government and other initiatives in the pipeline.



With digitization as a 4th industrial revolution, Dr. Bawumia used the platform to tell the Ghanaian success of how the Akufo-Addo government has used digitization to achieve a number of milestones.



Assessing Dr. Bawumia's lecture, the former Central Regional Chairman of the NDC, Bernard Allotey Jacobs is fully convinced that Dr. Bawumia is the next Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana.



Allotey Jacobs touted the Vice President's delivery as superb and believed, without doubts, that he will become President of Ghana in 2025.



''Yesterday presentation was like a special or something unique that is being created that will move this country forward . . . in the next eight (8) years, Bawumia means business," he said.



He called on Ghanaians to support the Akufo-Addo administration, particularly the Vice President, stressing their initiatives are what will transform Ghana.



"God bless Bawumia. Yesterday, it was so unique, extraordinary . . . there is some magic in that man. For a long time, [this country] we haven't figured a specific thing that we should do to develop the nation. Kwame Nkrumah came with that vision and since he passed on, that is it but we're seeing the re-emergence of Kwame Nkrumah again in another form," he asserted.



Allotey Jacobs made these submissions during a panel discussion on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo'.





Highlights: Veep's Public Lecture

E-Passport



The Vice President announced the Ghanacard, which forms part of the Akufo-Addo administration's digital initiatives to transform the economy, will soon be recognized globally as an 'e-passport'.



He stated; ''It is not widely known that the Ghanacard is also an electronic passport (e-passport) that contains the biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travelers. Government has been working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) this year to globally activate the e-passport function of the Ghanacard and I am happy to announce that on 13th October 2021, Ghana officially became the 79th member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Public Key Directory (PKD) community''.



Throwing more light on the e-passport function, Dr. Bawumia said the PKD allows border control authorities to confirm in less than ten seconds that the e-passport was issued by the right authority, has not been altered, and is not a copy or cloned document.



''Ghanas Country Signing Certificate Authority would therefore soon be imported into the ICAO PKD System through what is known as a Key ceremony. The Key Ceremony for Ghana will be held at the ICAO headquarters in Montreal Canada by the 1st quarter of 2022.''



''This means that by the end of the first quarter of 2022, the Ghanacard will be recognized globally as an e-passport and can be read and verified in all ICAO compliant borders (i.e. in 197 countries and 44,000 airports in the world). When this happens, holders of the Ghanacard will be allowed to board any flight to Ghana'', he expounded.



He also stressed that making the Ghanacard an e-passport will ensure that Ghanaians in the diaspora no longer obtain visas to travel to Ghana.



''Furthermore, the good news for diasporan Ghanaians is that when the Ghana Immigration Service is linked to the NIA architecture, diasporan Ghanaians who hold the Ghanacard should not have to obtain visas to travel to Ghana.''



Ghanacard Benefits



Over 15 million Ghanaians are currently enrolled on the Ghana card, he revealed.



The Veep further underscored the benefits of the Ghana card emphasizing ''with the Ghanacard the identity of people (even dead people) can be established using their fingerprints. Ghanaian and other embassies abroad will be able to establish the identity of Ghanaians using their fingerprints. Identity can be established even without the Ghanacard as long as you have been enrolled on the database''.



Every Baby To Get Ghanacard Number



Also, barring any unforeseen circumstances, every new born child delivered in Ghana next year will get, within a few months, a Ghanacard number.



Easily one of the most depressing visits I have paid to a government office during my time as Vice President was to the Births and Deaths Registry headquarters. There clearly was insufficient investment in the institution. It was messy and it was sad. It turned out that the Births and Deaths Registry had three separate databases as registers for births and deaths and these databases were in silos. It is not surprising therefore that corruption and fake birth certificates thrived in this environment, he noted.



Thankfully, the process of digitization of the records is almost complete and the three databases have been cleaned up and integrated. Furthermore, we are integrating the births and deaths register with the databases of Ghana Health Service, National Identification Authority, Ghana Statistical Service, Immigration and the Police so that the record of births and deaths should be consistent across all these databases, Dr. Bawumia further stated.



Property Address System



On lack of proper address system, Dr. Bawumia said ''to solve the problem of a lack of working address system in the country, we have leveraged on GPS technology to implement a digital address system for Ghana capturing every square inch of land. In the process, we have identified and provided unique addresses for all properties in Ghana (7.5 million properties)".



The Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA) has also provided street names and house numbers for every street in Ghana."



Dr. Bawumia described Ghanas property address system as unique, because Ghana is the first country in Africa to implement a digital system in combination with house numbers and street names.



It is a superior address system and leapfrogs the addressing systems that have been implemented and in use in many advanced countries, he added.



Improving the health system



Dr. Bawumia also spoke extensively on how the government's digitization drive is improving efficiency in the health system through digitization of hospitals and medical records, digital renewal of national health insurance, delivery of medical supplies to rural communities through drones, among others.



Security and Education



The provision of thousands of CCTV's to the Ghana Police Service, with three networked national command centers in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale, is another digital intervention, which Dr. Bawumia listed as improving safety of citizens.



Finally in the education sector, the Vice President stressed on how the government has provided free WiFi to senior secondary schools as well as some tertiary institutions, to improve teaching and learning.



He also spoke about the provision of free special-feature laptops to all teachers on Ghana to enable digitally access text books and course outlines directly from their lap tops.

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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A budding Nigerian actress identified as Esther Ifeoma Nwachukwu has set tongues wagging with rage after she was heard spewing nonsense on social media.



A video making rounds on social media captured the actress saying she would love to have steaming s*x with her biological father but the love she has for her mother is stopping her.



Esther claims the pain her mother might deal with if she finds out her daughter slept with her husband stops her every time she has the urge to do that despicable act.



If not for the love i have for my mother and i dont want my mother to die, who is my father wey i no fir Knack? she quizzed in the trending video.



The confidence the actress used in saying the above made some social media users take to her comment section to drum sense into her thick skull but she paid deaf ears to their talks.



Watch the video below.













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A post shared by Nwachukwu ifeoma Esther (@esthersky_77)



















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Legendary Ghanaian recording engineer Emmanuel Mallet popularly known as Zapp Mallet has appealed to the German Embassy in Ghana to help him move out of the country.



According to the record producer, he has genuine feelings that he is German who has been trapped in a Ghanaian body, thus the need to relocate to where he truly belongs.



In a social media post, Zapp Mallet called on the German Embassy to, as a matter of necessity, facilitate his moving out of Ghana.



He added that the struggles of the citizenry coupled with lack of opportunities in Ghana are the fundamental reasons why he wished to "trace his roots."



He wrote, "Feel I'm a German trapped in a Ghanaian body I'm appealing to the German embassy to help me come out of this Ghana body oo I'm just being myself. If identifying who I am, offends the ancestors, then I'm sorry but do they know my struggles in this land? Are they concerned? Mk I think. German embassy, hear my appeal".



Feel I'm a German trapped in a Ghanaian body...I'm appealing to the German embassy to help me come out of this Ghana body oo...

 Zapp Mallet (@zapp_mallet) November 1, 2021









Running Away from your mother land is another way of betraying your Children.They will surely Use the Mallet to bring down the roofs of the ancestral home to warm themself

 Erik Kwaku Mina (@KwakuMina) November 1, 2021







Source: twitter









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Beth Model Agency responsible for the Future Face Africa model scouting contest in partnership with Ecobank offers a modelling opportunity for young Ghanaian models to succeed internationally in the model and fashion industry.



Head of the scouting team, Thompson Chijioke said that Future Face Africa is about the search for the next supermodels with great faces from Africa to give them the platform to succeed internationally.



Explaining the concept to the media at the conference room of Ecobank Head Office, Mr Chijioke noted that this model search is across Africa even the agency is currently focusing on 8 African countries, namely Senegal, Cameroun, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Angola, Nigeria and Ghana



This model search is not restricted to only Africa but we are currently focusing on Africa and so we have been to 8 countries now; Senegal, Cameroun, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Angola, Nigeria and Ghana is the final destination, he explained.



Talking about Future Face Africa being the maiden edition for Beth Model Agency, Mr Thompson Chijioke said that their partnership with Ecobank comes with mutual benefit based on the fact that it is a pan Africa bank and as the model agency project the models in Africa, it carries the name of the bank along as well.



Our partnership with Ecobank is sort of win-win situation because Ecobank is a Pan African Bank and what we are projecting is to get a talent across Africa. Ecobank is just the best bank for this project because it is operating across all these African countries.



This is a platform to engage the youth and give a new face to Ecobank but the bank is involved in the development of this youth. We are looking forward to seeing great faces in Ghana. We are looking forward to seeing strong faces as well as big models from Ghana, he indicated.



He however disclosed that the ultimate winner of the modelling competition gets a top contract with international agencies and a tune of $5, 000; stressing that the contract will last for two years.



He noted that the model scouting competition is an open contest to other African countries without any limitation to those African countries they have visited.



We obviously cannot go to every country because of the Covid-19 rules and a lot of restrictions for travelling and so we selected these 8 countries. We are getting applications from Ethiopia, Tanzania and other countries, he set the record.



Meanwhile, at the end of the modelling scouting competition, five male models and 5 female models were selected by the modelling agency to reach the next stage of the competition.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Smell is the least of concerns with proposed biosolids facility
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Pittsburg State University will return to an in-person Veterans Day ceremony this year as part of the universitys annual observation of the national holiday.

The ceremony is planned for 1 p.m. on Nov. 11 at the Veterans Memorial, 1909 S. Rouse Ave., Pittsburg, Kansas. It is presented as a civics lesson for local sixth graders and is open to the public.

This years keynote speaker will be Pittsburg Fire Chief Dennis Reilly, who operated as a rescue squad officer at Ground Zero following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

In addition to a distinguished fire service career, Reilly is a U.S. Army veteran. Spending more than six years on active duty, he served as a combat medic with the 82nd Airborne Division, a flight medic with over 500 hours of flight time, a combat medic with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and was deployed during the first Gulf War.

A PSU ROTC cadet from the Department of Military Science will serve as emcee during the ceremony, and the ROTC Color Guard will post the colors and provide a POW/MIA display. The ceremony will include musical selections by the Pittsburg Community Middle School Choir, and the recognition of individuals for whom pavers have been engraved.

In the event of rain or inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the Student Recreation Center directly south of the memorial.

The ceremony will be recorded and available for viewing on demand later that day and any time after that on the universitys YouTube channel (youtube.com/pittsburgstate) and Vimeo channel (pittstate.tv).

Learn more about the Veterans Memorial.
Konopelko Comes Back From Seventh To Win the Super MILLION$

November 03, 2021 Matthew Pitt

Andrei "ostapb3535" Konopelko probably is not a player whose name you are too familiar with but the Belarusian star certainly made a name for himself on November 2. Konopelko reached his first-ever Super MILLION$ final table at GGPoker, but sat down seventh in chips and was not too hopeful of progressing much deeper. Konopelko may have only had 21.6 big blinds at the start but he went all the way to reeled in the $317,265 top prize.

Super MILLIONS Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Andrei "ostapb3535" Konopelko Belarus $317,265 2 Enrico Camosci Malta $247,770 3 Daniel Dvoress Canada $193,498 4 Wiktor Malinowski Macau $151,114 5 Daniel McCully New Zealand $118,014 6 Pavlo Kolinkovskiy Montenegro $92,164 7 Guillaume Nolet Canada $71,976 8 Lukas "rustyhusky" Hafner Austria $56,210 9 Ole Schemon Austria $43,898

Former Super MILLION$ champion Ole Schemion was the first casualty of the final table. he lost a few chips to Konopelko before open-shoving for 634,112 with ace-ten of hearts during the 20,000/40,000/5,000a level. Unfortunately for Schemion, Lukas "rustyhusky" Hafner woke up on the button with the dominating ace-queen. Hafner three-bet all-in for a shade under 1.1 million, and both blinds folded. Schemion flopped a gutshot straight draw and a flush draw, but it proved to be too many outs because both the turn and river bricked.

Hafner could not put Schemion's chips to good use because he was the next player out of the door. Hafner lost all but 100,000 chips at the 30,000/60,000/7,500a level when his ace-jack failed to get there against Enrico Camosci's ace-king. He busted on the next hand nine-eight versus Daniel Dvoress' ace-seven.

Youll Want Bad Beats at GGPoker With The New Bad Beat Jackpot

Another former Super MILLION$ champion, Guillaume Nolet, made an ill-timed play, which resulted in him heading to the showers earlier than he would have liked. With blinds at 35,000/70,000/8,500a, Nolet opened to 393,008 with ace-five of clubs, leaving himself only 210,000 chips behind. The rest of those chips went into the middle when Konopelko three-bet all-in with pocket queens; Joshua McCully tank-folded ace-king from a 6.5 big blind stack. Konopelko's ladies held on a king-high board; he would have busted McCully too because the five community cards four-flushed and Konopelko held the queen of diamonds.

Nothing went the way of Pavlo Kolinkovskiy and he was down to only two big blinds when he played his final hand. Kolinkovskiy's micro stack went into the middle with pocket jacks against Wiktor Malinowski's queen-nine. A queen on the flop sealed the deal for the start-of-day chip leader.

McCully's stack dwindled but he managed to triple up by flopped a straight with six-four. He lost those chips the very next hand when Camosci min-raised to 140,000, McCully three-bet to 490,000 leaving 126,709 behind. McCully called all-in when Camosci four-bet. It was king-nine of hearts for Camosci and queen-ten of spades for McCully. The latter flopped a flush draw but missed both the turn and river.

$7 Million Guaranteed During the GGSOP at GGPoker

The tournament lost a dangerous player during the 40,000/80,000/10,000a level. Malinowski opened to 160,000 with ace-jack suited, and Camosci called in the big blind with eight-six. Camosci flopped two pair and led for 200,000, half the size of the pot, and Malinowski called. The turn was an ace, and Camosci fired again, this time testing the waters with a 600,000 bet, which was called. Camosci ripped it in on the eight river, which improved Camosci to a full house. Malinowski tanked for a couple of minutes before calling off his near pot-sized stack. Game over for the former champion.

Three-handed play last more than 30-minutes and ended with Dvoress heading for the exits. Konopelko raised to 288,000 at the 60,000/120,000/15,000a level from the button with ace-king. He quickly called when Dvoress three-bet all-in with jack-ten suited for 1,999,002. Dvoress flopped a ten but Konopelko turned a king. A brick on the busted Dvoress.

Camosci, the shortest stack at the start of the final table, went into heads up with a 10 big blind lead. The chip lead changed hands several times with neither player able to shake the other off. Something finally gave during the 125,000/250,000/30,000a level. Camosci limped with five-four of diamonds before calling Konopelko's raise to 750,000, which he made with ace-nine. Camosci flopped bottom pair on the four-eight-seven flop, and he raised all-in for 3,409,782 when Konopelko continued for 1,170,000. Konopelko called and watched as the ten turn was joined by the jack river, which gifted him an unlikely straight.

Camosci's impressive comeback ended in second place for $247,770, leaving Konopelko to pad his bankroll with $317,265.
Mike Ruter and Samy Dighlawi of Team Ruter are the latest World Series of Poker bracelet winners after taking down Event #59: $1,000 Tag Team on Tuesday, Nov. 2 for a total score of $113,366. Dighlawi defeated Tomer Wolf, one-half of Team Wolf along with David Landell, during a back-and-forth heads-up match that lasted over three hours.

Event #59: $1,000 Tag Team Final Table Results

Place Players Prize 1 Mike Ruter - Samy Dighlawi $113,366 2 Tomer Wolf - David Landell $70,074 3 Amanda Botfeld - David Botfeld $49,512 4 Michael Newman - Robert Ormont $35,542 5 Alfie Adam - Vidur Sethi $25,928 6 Benjamin Miner - Dmitriy Uskach $19,226 7 Holly Babbitt - Michael Babbitt $14,494 8 Zachary Erdwurm - Steven Jones $11,114 9 Scott Johnston - Bob Fisher $8,670 10 Mike Lutz - Matt Krebs $6,882

The unique tag-team tournament generated a total prize pool of $590,490 and attracted 641 teams, only ten of which made it to the unofficial final table on Day 3. Team Lutz, made up of Mike Lutz and Matt Krebs, was the first out of the day after jamming a short stack with pocket nines and running into the pocket kings of Team Wolf.

Next out after that was Team Johnston, made up of Scott Johnston and Bob Fisher, who fell to the father-daughter duo of Amanda Botfeld and David Botfeld. Team Botfeld continued to run in up at the final table and ended up finishing in third when Amanda Botfeld's flopped pair got outdrawn by the turned flush of Dighlawi.

Teams Ruter and Wolf entered heads-up play about even in chips but Wolf took a lead in the first hour by winning a series of small and medium-sized pots.

He just kept smashing every board," Dighlawi said in an interview with PokerNews. "Every single board he had a piece of it. Every c-bet I make, he calls, or floats, and hits the turn. For like literally an hour and a half straight.

But Dighlawi acknowledged his opponent wasn't the only one who got lucky and said there were hands where I got it in bad," including a crucial hand where Ruter was all-in and at risk with king-eight suited against ace-king and went runner-runner to hit a flush to stay alive.

Dighlawi doubled twice more and eventually took the chip lead from his opponent. Wolf was down to just under 900,000 to the 12 million of Dighlawi when the former player shoved with seven-six and the latter player called with queen-seven. The board ran out in favor of Dighlawi and he ran to hug his tag-team partner in celebration.

Mike Ruter - Samy Dighlawi

Ruter only played a few hands at the final table but he made them count. In the first hand after sitting down, Ruter won a massive pot and eliminated Team Adam when he flopped trip kings while holding ace-king.

He comes in, and first f***ing hand he comes in and just takes a player out and gets a monster pot," Dighlawi recalled.

Did Dighlawi have faith in his partner in such a big spot? Oh, of course. We have faith in each other.

Ruter and Dighlawi, who met in Temecula, California and have been friends for over a decade, told PokerNews that the six-figure score is the largest live tournament cash for either of them. Though this was not their first tag-team event. The duo also played in 2019's tournament but didn't have the same success.

We lasted about two minutes," said Dighlawi.

"It was an hour and two minutes, Ruter corrected.

But it was the 2019 loss that propelled Team Ruter to take down the tournament this year.

The funny thing is (that) last year, after we busted, we said Were coming back next year. And we did," Dighlawi said.

Team Wolf's Tomer Wolf, of Israel, was looking to earn another tag-team title for the country after Israel's Team Geiger took down Event #57: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Holdem in 2019 for $168,395. For the runner-up finish, Wolf and Landell received a total cash prize of $70,074.

That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of Event #59: $1,000 Tag Team. Be sure to check out the team's coverage of other WSOP events in the meantime.
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Aiken County Board of Education Superintendent King Laurence is in favor of COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday for children ages 5-11.

"I encourage parents to strongly consider having their children vaccinated, just like any other childhood vaccination, whether its a flu shot or chicken pox or anything else," Laurence said. "I think that if we have the ability to prevent a disease, then we should do it."

Laurence added he is not in favor of a mandate for the vaccine but encourages anyone eligible to get it.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control also supports this decision. Beginning Wednesday, children are able to get the vaccine in South Carolina.

Pediatric vaccinations are being distributed this week to more than 250 vaccine providers in South Carolina including many pediatricians and family practice providers, according to DHEC.

Just like a measles or polio shot, the COVID-19 vaccine will stave off this deadly virus and allow our children to safely attend school and focus on bettering themselves in the classroom, DHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer said. We strongly urge parents to learn more about this vaccine and protect their children by taking advantage of this life-saving opportunity.

The Pfizer vaccine was approved by the CDC and has a 91% effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 among children 5-11, according to DHEC. The federal government has enough doses for 28 million children within this age group.

We are encouraged by this news and are excited to offer this vaccine to the 436,352 South Carolinian children in this age group, Simmer said.

According to DHEC, it is best to contact the childs provider for availability before visiting a vaccination site.

Vaccines for children will be available at pediatric health care provider offices, pharmacies, federally qualified health centers and more, according to the CDC.
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Sunny along with a few clouds. High 68F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Overcast. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
Upstart Breeze Airways will not be ferrying passengers between Charleston and Huntsville, Ala., during most of the cold-weather months.

The Utah-based carrier has decided to idle flights between the two cities from late November until mid-February, when the local tourist season kicks off with the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

"That's just a reflection of seasonality on the route," Breeze spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones said. "It performs better in summer than in winter. So (it's) better to utilize the aircraft on routes that do better in winter."

The last flight between Charleston and Huntsville this year will be Nov. 28, at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Flights are scheduled to resume Feb. 17.

The Charleston-Huntsville flights are the only ones affected by the carrier's winter pause. Service will continue during late fall and throughout the winter between Charleston and other destinations served by Breeze.

As part of the carrier's seasonal adjustments, Charleston will pick up extra flights to three cities over the holidays.

Breeze is adding an extra day of service on Dec. 28 between the Lowcountry and Akron/Canton, Ohio; Hartford, Conn.; and Providence, R.I. The added route will bring the carrier's flights to five consecutive days between Christmas and New Year's Eve for the three cities and Charleston.

The carrier launched startup service in May from Charleston to 16 cities across the U.S., including nearly a dozen from the Lowcountry.

Other cities served from Charleston by the airline include Columbus, Ohio; Louisville, Ky.; New Orleans; Norfolk and Richmond, Va.; Pittsburgh; and Tampa, Fla.
MOUNT PLEASANT  The union that represents South Carolina dockworkers welcomed U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to the Wando Welch Terminal on Nov. 3 in a show of solidarity that shed little new light on how a work dispute will play out at the Port of Charleston's newest container terminal.

Walsh, a former Boston mayor and union leader, was invited to tour the state's busiest maritime gateway by leaders of the International Longshoremen's Association, which is battling the State Ports Authority.

At issue is whether union labor will be used to operate ship-to-shore cranes and other heavy-lift equipment at the SPA's new Leatherman Terminal about 13 miles away in North Charleston.

The visit comes at a time when ports nationwide are suffering from an overloaded supply chain that's trying to keep up with a surge of imported retail goods, both for the holidays and for consumers who've been on an online buying binge since the pandemic.

"One of the reasons I'm here today is to thank the workers," Walsh said as he met with media before the tour. "As secretary of labor, I represent workers morning, noon and night, and we need to have workers and industry working together collectively."

Walsh declined to say how that goal might be achieved at Leatherman, which is operating at about 10 percent of its capacity because most shipping lines refuse to call on the terminal while the labor unrest continues. In September, an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board ruled in favor of the SPA, which wants its own workers to operate cranes, as they do at the its other terminals. The ILA has vowed to appeal the decision.

"I'm not going to get too much into it," Walsh said of the dispute. "It's not my place right now. But I hope things get worked out because it's important that we continue moving goods and products into our country."

Walsh and ILA president Harold Daggett met privately for about 15 minutes before the tour, but Daggett declined to say whether the two men discussed the Leatherman situation.

"I'm really not going to get into it and talk about the Leatherman Terminal because I'm not down here for that right now," Daggett told The Post and Courier. "We're just always fighting for our jurisdiction, that's all."

The ILA says a clause in its master contract with shipping lines calls for union members to operate cranes at any new terminal that opens the Carolinas and Georgia  places where union and state employees have traditionally worked together to move cargo.

The NLRB judge ruled the contract only preserves current work that union members perform and doesn't give them the right to take jobs they historically haven't held.

The ILA has until Nov. 13 to appeal, which could set up a hearing before the NLRB's five-member board. After that, the matter could be appealed to federal court.

"There's a process going on right now, so we'll let the process take its course," Walsh said when asked if he would help mediate a solution to the labor dispute. "We'll see what happens after that."

Kenny Riley, president of the ILA's Local 1422 in Charleston, said the union hopes to "have input from the Biden administration on the issues we're dealing with, because we realize this is some very trying times for the industry."

Riley added the port needs to have "all available assets fully utilized, and it must include the workers. We have to have input in this process."

The union's expectations at Leatherman haven't changed, he said.

"We want to be able to do all the jobs that our colleagues do everywhere else in this country and pretty much, literally, around the world," Riley said.

Following his waterfront tour, Walsh stopped by the SPA headquarters to meet with Jim Newsome, the maritime agency's president and CEO, and Barbara Melvin, the chief operations officer and incoming chief executive. SPA spokeswoman Liz Crumley said the discussion centered on "the important role ports play in keeping supply chains fluid amid the ongoing global supply chain challenges."

"The leaders all stressed the importance of the maritime communitys work in keeping cargo flowing to communities and businesses," Crumley said, adding they did not discuss labor issues at the Leatherman Terminal, which opened in April. The terminal is among $3 billion the SPA and other government agencies are spending on improvements to move cargo more efficiently.

This was the second visit to an East Coast seaport for Walsh, who followed his father into the Laborers' Union Local 223 and served as its president until he was elected Boston's mayor in 2013. A week ago, Walsh visited dockworkers during a tour of the Port of Philadelphia, which has spent more than $300 million on equipment, warehouses and other improvements.
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Voters across Lexington County have favored incumbents in this year's local elections, preliminary voting results show.

About 4,300 votes were cast countywide on Nov. 2, representing an 11 percent turnout among the county's 40,000 registered voters. Here are the results for key races across the county.

Lexington

Incumbent Councilmen Todd Carnes, Steve Baker and Ron Williams won reelection. Williams had the widest lead, with 31 percent of the vote. Challenger Lachin Hatemi, owner of an urgent care clinic, lost his bid for one of the three council seats.

West Columbia

Incumbent Councilman Mike Green defeated newcomer Pete Fisher for West Columbia's District 1 with 66 percent of the vote. Green, a real estate investor, was first elected to council in 2017.

Three incumbents on West Columbia's city council, Casey Hallman, Erin Porter and Mickey Pringle, were running unopposed for reelection.

Cayce

Hunter Sox, 25, will be the newest and youngest member of the Cayce City Council after defeating incumbent Councilwoman Ann Bailey-Robinson and another challenger for the District 3 seat.

Sox won with 53 percent of the vote against Bailey-Robinson's 19 percent. Sox is a legislative initiatives coordinator for the South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health.

Bailey-Robinson also finished behind Kelly Wuest, who ran in a 2020 special election against Bailey-Robinson. Wuest got 28 percent of the vote.

Councilman Tim James won his bid for reelection against newcomer Karen Dawkins by almost 48 percent points in the race for Cayce City Council District 1.

James, president of the Greater Cayce-West Columbia Chamber of Commerce, was elected to council in a 2020 special election. He previously served on council from 2010 to 2015.

Irmo

Councilman Bill Danielson won reelection against three challengers vying for two council seats.

Former University of South Carolina professor Barb Waldman will take Councilwoman Kathy Condom's spot on the town council after Condom did not seek reelection this year.

Danielson was first elected to council in a 2020 special election to fill Mayor Barry Walker's old seat.

Swansea

Viola McDaniel has won Swansea's mayoral race with about 49 percent of the vote.

Town Councilman Michael Luongo, owner of manufacturing and engineering businesses, got 35 percent of the vote ahead of business owner Hunter Hackett and former Mayor Ray Spires.

McDaniel told The Post and Courier last month that she hopes to get Swansea's finances back in order after an embezzlement scandal tarnished the town this summer.

Mayor Jerald Sanders was suspended from office and indicted in July on allegations that he accepted town money and directed it to a bank account under his control.

In Swansea's two town council races, longtime incumbent Linda Butler won reelection with 70 percent of the vote against challenger Thomas Dease Jr. And with 77 percent of the vote, newcomer Jerome Williams won his race against Hunter Hackett's mother Suzanne Hackett.
South Carolina's Department of Education is partnering with the Riley Institute at Furman University to invest $1.3 million in a new after-school and summer-learning leadership program.

The initiative, called Afterschool Leaders Empowered, will train a group of 60 educators and community leaders in how to use after-school and summer programs to restore learning loss caused by the pandemic.

The effort will select 20 applicants per year who will be trained over the course of 10 months on how to run such a program effectively. Financing comes from money the Education Department received as part of the federal COVID-19 relief fund package, allowing it to support the program for three years.

"It is imperative that these programs have high-quality leaders at the helm who will ensure the needs of each student is being met," Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said in an Oct. 28 statement.

Legislators and education authorities in the state pitched summer school as a way to increase students' academic performance even before the pandemic. According to the U.S. Department of Education's national report card, South Carolina fourth graders scored 237 out of 500 in math, which is lower than the average of 240 in 2019. In reading they received 259 out of 500, below the 262 average.

More coverage To read more in-depth stories from The Post and Courier's Education Lab, go to https://www.postandcourier.com/education-lab/ You will have to hyperlink to the site in this case. It will not automatically work as it does in body copy.

The pandemic exacerbated problems in South Carolina's schools. During a recent meeting, the S.C. Education Oversight Committee reported that of the more than 356,000 students in third through eighth grade who took the SC READY tests last year, less than 25 percent met standards in English language arts and math, and almost 40 percent of those enrolled in virtual programming werent assessed at all.

The Riley Institute is focused on advancing social and economic progress in South Carolina, according to its website. It has studied public education in South Carolina and helped launch a network of project-based learning programs throughout the state.

Cathy Stevens, a director at The Riley Institute, described the state's approach to after-school and summer education as "piecemeal."

"Some districts are offering it, but others aren't," she told The Post and Courier.

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She pointed to data collected by The South Carolina Afterschool Alliance, which found that for every child placed in an after-school program, three more are waiting to get in, according to the Alliance's website.

Stevens said it's a concern because many parents are not home when school lets out.

"The agrarian schedule where children get out at 2:15 does not work for working families," she said.

The Alliance found that 85 percent of South Carolina. parents supported the creation of publicly funded after-school programs. The Alliance is working with The Riley Institute on the leadership initiative.

The program is providing leadership training, not startup funds, for a person to create their own program. During the 10-month-long class, participants will study high-caliber after-school programs both within and outside of the state. At the end of the three years, Stevens hopes to have qualified leaders at half of South Carolina's school districts.
DUNCAN  Gov. Henry McMaster announced Nov. 3 he will allocate $17 million in discretionary emergency education funds to a scholarship program with the state's technical colleges in an effort to train workers and fill jobs to alleviate South Carolina's ongoing labor shortage.

Speaking at the headquarters of Duncan-based fiber optics manufacturer AFL Global alongside industry leaders and technical school administrators, McMaster said he would also ask the General Assembly to fund the program for two years by designating $124 million from the federal American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus project aimed at reversing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scholarships are exclusively for associate degree programs and industry credential training in fields such as health care, computer science, manufacturing, construction, transportation, distribution and logistics. The scholarships will cover all tuition and fees.

According to a statement from the Governor's Office, all South Carolina adults and recent high school graduates are eligible for the program and the initial funding will provide for about 15,000 recipients.

The program will be available until funding runs out. Recipients will be required to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA and complete 100 hours with a nonprofit, have a job or take a financial literacy class at their technical college to maintain the scholarship.

During the Nov. 3 event, McMaster said the program was designed after consulting with industry leaders across the state who are struggling to fill open positions.

"This program is unique in that it's targeted at high demand jobs that have really come forward during the pandemic," he said. "And it is targeted by the manufacturers, the businesses, the companies themselves at what they need."

Sara Hazzard, president and CEO of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, said she is hopeful the scholarships will provide a pipeline for businesses across the state to fill jobs with qualified workers.

"This is going to help alleviate financial barriers for individuals who can go on to fill some of South Carolina's most important and high-demand careers," she said.
Greenville County and the Metropolitan Sewer Subdistrict have reached a settlement with Parker and Taylors sewer districts, the last two holdouts from a major sewer consolidation the county approved in late 2020, that calls for the both to turn over sewer service to MetroConnects.

In exchange, MetroConnects has agreed to invest $82 million into upgrades to the Parker Sewer District and $26 million in Taylors over the next 20 years. MetroConnects also agreed to offer employment to all employees of each of the districts at similar service levels as their current roles.

As part of the agreement, Greenville County will allow Parker and Taylors to continue as special purpose districts to provide fire service with the ability to levy taxes to pay for the districts fire departments.

Boards for both Parker and Taylors already voted to approve the agreement. Greenville County Councils committee of the whole approved the agreement Nov. 2 by unanimous voice vote. The full County Council must still vote to approve the agreement, likely at its next meeting Nov. 16.

The agreement must then be finalized by a circuit court judge to settle a lawsuit filed by the two districts that objected to the countys consolidation of districts.

If thats approved, the council would then need to approve a transfer of assets agreement between Parker, Taylors and MetroConnects, said Carol Elliott, MetroConnects general manager. She hoped to have that finalized by Feb. 1, 2022.

Sewer service for customers in those areas would switch to MetroConnects on July 1, 2022.

The agreement would end a year of uncertainty for customers in those districts as four other special purpose districts in the county  Berea, Gantt, Marietta and Wade Hampton  had already agreed to consolidate their sewer services under MetroConnects at the countys behest.

Greenville County Council voted in one of its last acts of 2020 to consolidate six separate sewer special purpose districts into MetroConnects, the largest sewer district in the county. The move came after a series of studies commissioned by MetroConnects showed more than $300 million in needed upgrades to sewer lines countywide.

Much of the needed sewer upgrades were in turn-of-the-century mill communities built with clay pipes or other aging infrastructure. Elliott said the millions MetroConnects has agreed to spend on sewer upgrades in Parker and Taylors aligns with a capital needs study recommendations for those districts.

County Council decided consolidating the smaller districts into one larger entity would offer the expertise and borrowing power to finance the needed upgrades systemwide. The council threatened to strip the districts of control over their fire departments if they didnt agree to the consolidation. As part of the agreements with Parker and Taylors, each district would retain control over its fire service.

The consolidation means a change in the way customers pay for sewer service. Sewer services in those district will now charged based on user fees rather than on property taxes. For many customers, the new alignment was designed to be cost neutral, a relatively even swap of property taxes for user fees.

Shortly after the vote to consolidate, The Post and Courier reported that some of the countys most vulnerable residents  the elderly or disabled who are on fixed incomes and exempted from most sewer fees now through the homestead exemption  would be charged an average of $210 per year in sewer costs under the new plan.

MetroConnects said it would work with residents who had difficulty paying their bills.
MYRTLE BEACH  Brenda Bethune was reelected as Myrtle Beach mayor on Nov. 2 with three of city's current council members winning alongside her to help run the state's top tourist destination.

Bethune defeated her four other opponents  retired police officer Tammie Durant, photographer Gene Ho, retired marketing manager Bill McClure and mechanic C.D. Rozsa  winning almost 56 percent of the city's votes.

Ho, who touted his close ties to Donald Trump as a campaign photographer and outraised Bethune, received the second largest portion of the votes at 20 percent. Ho ran on reducing crime.

McClure, who said he was a community activist, was right behind him by a few votes also at 20 percent.

Im very pleased with the outcome, I really was expecting a run off, especially with five people running, Bethune said. Thats just a lot of votes to split up.

Bethune plans to continue her work on restoring the downtown business district and fighting crime. In the last four years, Bethunes downtown plan has added business like Grand Strand Brewing Company and Nance Plaza which goes hand and hand with building renovations along Ninth Avenue.

"Were on a great trajectory with (downtown development) and we will continue on that same path, Bethune said.

Bethune, a Myrtle Beach native, first won the seat in 2017 by beating then three-term incumbent John Rhodes to become the city's first female mayor. She owns Better Brands, Inc., a beverage distributor, serving as chairman of the board and president.

A trio of Myrtle Beach City Council incumbents easily held their seats  Jackie Hatley, who worked in the tourism industry; Mike Lowder, a former police officer who runs a security firm; and Gregg Smith, a Realtor.

They easily topped political newcomers John Newman, a contractor, and Alex Fogel, a retired educator.

The election results are scheduled to be certified at 10 a.m. on Nov. 4 at Myrtle Beach's City Hall.
For the third time since July, a U.S. serviceman from South Carolina who was killed in combat overseas has been identified decades later with the help of family DNA.

Army Pfc. Michaux Turbeville, 31, of Dillon, who was lost during the Korean War, was accounted for in February, but his family only recently received their full briefing on his identification, the Pentagon said Nov. 3.

Turbeville was a member of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit was attacked as the group attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.

Following the battle, his body could not be recovered. News accounts said he was the first soldier from Dillon County killed during the Korean conflict.

Turbeville's remains were among those returned to the U.S. in 2018 following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

He was in the same collection of 55 boxes that included the remains of Army Pfc. Louis N. Crosby, 18, of Orangeburg, who also died in combat near the Chosin Reservoir that year.

The other South Carolina soldier identified recently with the help of DNA was Army Staff Sgt. William R. Linder, of Piedmont, who had been previously marked unknown after he was lost in fighting in late 1944 in the Hurtgen Forest on the border between Belgium and Germany during World War II.

Turbeville's remains were taken to the Pentagon's POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory for identification.

DNA, anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence was used in the confirmation, the agency said.

It has been common practice in recent years for the Pentagon to collect family DNA tied to missing U.S. service people in the hope it can be later used in the identification process once remains are recovered.

Turbeville will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The date has yet to be determined.

His family is declining interviews, the Pentagon said.
MOUNT PLEASANT  Mayor Will Haynie cruised to a second term in Tuesday's election, and Town Council will get two new members.

With all precincts counted, Haynie received just over 58 percent of the 15,879 votes cast Nov. 2 while his main opponent, Councilwoman Kathy Landing, received just over 40 percent. Results are unofficial until certified later this week.

Voters were choosing a mayor, four Town Council members and two commissioners for Mount Pleasant Waterworks.

It was a non-partisan election largely free of divisive issues, with most Town Council candidates focused on assuring voters that they would help preserve the town's quality of life and try to do something about traffic.

The lack of clear issues and party labels, and a large field of 11 candidates for Town Council, left some voters looking for differences to help them choose. One voter, Barry Sellars, said he gave extra consideration to candidates who had lived in the town a long time.

"I think if they've been here 30 years and raised their kids here, they probably agree more with me," he said outside the Mamie Whitesides Elementary School polling place.

The contest for mayor was largely a referendum on Haynie's first term in the office. Landing said Haynie had been a divisive figure who bullied elected officials with whom he disagreed.

Also running for mayor was Brandon Armstrong, candidate who described herself as "a female Donald Trump" and said she would spend no more than $1,500 seeking office.

It was a sunny autumn Election Day, and some voters took advantage of the weather to chat with friends and neighbors after casting their ballots. Outside the Town Hall Gym polling place, some stopped to talk with students from University School of the Lowcountry who were conducting exit polls.

The school's exit poll predictions, released after the polls closed, said Haynie would win re-election with 64 percent of the vote. He ended up with just over 58 percent.

We have worked on all the things we planned to work on, when I won four years ago," said Haynie. "And through 2020 and 2021 with the pandemic, we worked on a lot of things we hadnt planned to work on."

I appreciate this affirmation of my leadership," he said.

Earlier, around 7:30 p.m. Landing was feeling hopeful at her election watch party at Sol restaurant, and said voters turned out for her in large numbers in the Park West/Dunes West area in the north end of town where she lives.

"I think we did about 5,000 door-knocks throughout the town," Landing said. She promised to be a mayor for all of the town, if she won, and take Mount Pleasant in a positive direction.

Landing did win all six precincts closest to the Park West and Dunes West subdivisions, but it was not enough.

Earlier in the day outside the Town Hall Gym, Hunter Beall, a financial adviser and town resident of eight years, said he voted to re-elect Haynie. Beall said Haynie had balanced the need for businesses development in Mount Pleasant with maintaining the towns charm.

I want to make sure Mount Pleasant stays the pretty little coast town its always been, he said. I hope that the people who are moving in dont try to change Mount Pleasant to be the place that theyve moved from.

Across town, outside Whitesides Elementary, voter Doug Pinkerton said he'd been unimpressed with Haynie during his one term as mayor.

"I figured it's time to take a chance on someone else," Pinkerton said.

Mount Pleasant does not have a strong-mayor government, like Charleston and North Charleston have. Rather, the town mayor votes as a ninth member of Town Council, with extra duties such as appointing council members to lead committees.

In the Town Council election, there were 11 candidates competing for four seats  two of which were open, with no incumbent seeking another term. That's because Landing ran for mayor instead of another term on council, and Tom O'Rourke didn't seek a second term.

Among the higher-profile candidates were Gary Santos, the town's longest-serving elected official; incumbent Councilwoman G.W. Whitley; recently-retired Police Chief Carl Ritchie; Planning Commission member Gary Davis; restaurateur John Iacofano; and Myra Jones, who is known for her leadership in the Charleston Beach Foundation fight for free beach parking on neighboring Isle of Palms.

In the town-wide contest for the council seats, the top four vote-getters win. With all precincts reporting, the leading candidates were, in order: Santos, Ritchie, Iacofano, and Whitley. A difference of less than 40 votes  still unofficial  put Jones in fifth.

The remaining candidates were Davis, Jason Daley, Lee Dittrich, Shari Sebuck, Kevin R. Andrus, and Robert Yarbrough.

Voters also chose two Mount Pleasant Waterworks commissioners. The candidates were incumbents Mac Jenkinson and Diane Lauritsen, and John Wright, a retired Army combat engineer who ran for Town Council previously. Jenkinson and Lauritsen won.

Staff writer Olivia Diaz contributed to this report.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
GREENVILLE  Much has changed in the 100 days since far-right activists with fierce loyalties to former President Donald Trump claimed control of the Greenville County Republican Party.

There's a new chairman and a leadership team seen as the antithesis to the establishment the newcomers successfully usurped.

But perhaps most striking is that the party has adopted a new logo  one topped by Trump's golden weave.

The ubiquitous elephant of the Grand Old Party is still there but so is a not-so-subtle reference to a man many see as the face of the new Republican Party: the swooshing, golden locks of the former president.

The change, Greenville GOP Chairman Jeff Davis said, is a tangible expression of the unspoken division to emerge in the modern GOP during the Trump era: the rift between a more establishment style of conservativism and the populist, right-wing brand of politics embraced by Trump and his supporters.

In Davis mind  and that of members of his political nonprofit, MySCGOP  the tenets of that philosophy are simple: closed primaries, judicial reform, and a purge of the RINO elite who they say foment a culture of graft and corruption.

It is very difficult for the average citizen to differentiate between one GOP and another GOP, Davis told The Post and Courier. Thats what were trying to do; we want to help people distinguish between the two.

Its not fully a battle between R and D, he said. Its between the establishment members of both parties and We the People.

The evidence of a divided party is everywhere, Davis said. A state GOP-sponsored Halloween weekend event in Myrtle Beach intended to unite the party was undermined by a rival event headlined by MAGA media personalities Diamond & Silk and congressional candidate Pastor Mark Burns.

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And Trump-aligned conservatives have gained power in county GOPs statewide, he noted, including Horry County. In recent months, Davis has traveled the state looking to replicate his success in Greenville in an effort to recruit candidates that are true conservatives and patriots for the 2023 precinct reorganization process.

The other side wants to say were just a cult of personality, that its only about Trump, Davis said. But I can assure you, it is about more than just Donald Trump. It is about the MAGA, America First Agenda. Donald Trump endorses someone the grassroots doesnt care for sometimes  he does make mistakes  but its really about a commitment to the agenda of a better America.

Other initiatives are focused on issues like opposing the teaching of racial justice curriculums in public schools and conducting a citizen-led audit of elections in Greenville County and all of South Carolina.

S.C. Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick  whom Davis openly opposed in his reelection battle against far-right attorney Lin Wood earlier this year  is unconvinced of his motives. A fierce critic of the new regime in Greenville, McKissick said Davis has not worked to campaign for candidates and has actually driven people away from the county party, all while misleading voters about his opponents loyalties, including McKissicks.

A 33-year veteran of South Carolina politics, McKissicks office in downtown Columbia is a veritable shrine to the Republican Party. From floor to ceiling, the space is lined wall-to-wall with mementos from decades of Republican National Conventions and campaigns hes coordinated, including that of former President Trump. On the wall beside his desk is a photo of a grinning McKissick side by side with the former president. And, in a filing cabinet behind his desk, McKissick maintains a manila folder filled with letters personally written by the former president, including several letters endorsing his reelection for GOP chair.

Davis said McKissick and other establishment Republicans fail to represent the grassroots GOP, and are more concerned with fundraising and maintaining relationships than advancing principles outlined in the Republican platform. But McKissick  who in 2020 organized one of the best election cycles for Republicans in a generation  said the party is more influential and united than ever.

Not to mention unapologetically pro-Trump.

Thats the insanity of this, McKissick said. Its not the Trump people versus everyone else. Who ran the Trump campaign? It was the people who ran the Trump campaign in Greenville County. Theyve falsely gone around the state claiming theyre the pro-Trump people and will kick the RINOs out, but the people theyre working to kick out are pro-Trump.
SPARTANBURG  Spartanburg City Councilman Jerome Rice appears to be headed toward becoming the city's next mayor after defeating former City Attorney Cathy McCabe, based on unofficial results Nov. 2.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Rice held 55 percent of the vote to McCabe's 45 percent.

"I am truly humbled for the opportunity to serve our city as mayor," Rice said. "I want to thank my family and all the volunteers, the team and also thank the citizens of Spartanburg for voting for me to entrust me to be the mayor of Spartanburg."

Rice, 53, was first elected to City Council representing District 5 in November 2009, then re-elected in 2013 and 2017. He filed to run July 19 after current Mayor Junie White decided not to run for a fourth term. Rice is the second Black man to be elected mayor of Spartanburg.

For the past 25 years, Rice has been employed by Spartanburg School District 7 and currently serves as a transition specialist for alternative schools. He serves on several local boards including Piedmont Community Action, which was founded in 1966 to help curb poverty in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties.

During the campaign he said he wants to continue working to help fix and repair city roads and improve pay for public safety employees.

Rice also said homelessness in the city was a top issue. He plans to help reduce the homeless population through a variety of programs. He also campaigned on the need for the city to hire additional police officers to provide the necessary public safety for residents.

McCabe, 65, served as city attorney from 2006 to 2017. During her campaign, McCabe promoted growth and development and incentivizing more capital investment in the city. She also spoke frequently about providing more educational opportunities for city residents.

"Of course I am not happy with the election results but I support Jerome and I am here for him to help him any way I can," McCabe said, "because our constituents matter more than anybody else."
A few thoughts, observations, and impressions on results as they stand at the moment the morning after election day in Virginia and New Jersey:

 The Virginia gubernatorial race was close  according to the most recent New York Times update this morning, the margin is now is 67,000 votes or 2.1 percent out of nearly 3.3 million votes  Glenn Youngkin appears to have beaten Terry McAuliffe beyond the margin of fraud.

 Has Fox News called the race yet? Every media outlet that calls races preceded Fox News in calling the race for Youngkin.

 Republicans lead the Virginia lieutenant governor and attorney general races as well. The results in those races are even narrower than in the gubernatorial race. Those races have not been called. The results posted here by the Virginia Department of Elections reflect results as of 2:25 a.m.

 Winsome Sears is the Republican lieutenant governor candidate. She holds a 57,000 vote lead (just over 1.7 percent). Jason Miyares is the Republican attorney general candidate. He holds a 34,500 vote lead (just over 1 percent). Democrats lost ground in the Virginia House of Delegates. Democrats held a 55-45 majority going into the election. Republicans appear to have retaken the majority, though it may turn out to be a 50-50 split.

 Of the candidates who spoke last night, Sears was the one who said what I wanted most to hear. She is a Jamaican immigrant, a Marine veteran, a gun rights advocate. Listening to her speak, I thought a star is born. How did the Democrats brigade of racist hoaxers overlook her?

Lieutenant Governor Elect Winsome Sears: "There are some who want to divide us and we must not let that happen. They would like us to believe we are back in 1963 when my father cameIn case you havent noticed, I am black, and I have been black all my life." pic.twitter.com/NoJJc6qxBe  Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 3, 2021

 The Washington Free Beacons Brent Scher made the related media point on Twitter.

Shouldn't media be all over a black woman who immigrated from Jamaica, served in the Marines, has a Masters degree, ran a homeless women's shelter, raised 3 kids, and is now running to be the highest ranking minority woman gov't official in Virginia history? Winsome Sears: pic.twitter.com/ePseTRJn93  Brent Scher (@BrentScher) October 25, 2021

 Tying his campaign to powerful local issues, Glenn Youngkin ran a perfect race. Letting voters know the contempt he has for their concerns, Terry McAuliffe achieved perfection of another kind. He committed a perfect gaffe in which he let parents concerned about the eduction of their children know of the contempt in which he holds them.

 Youngkins victory is in part attributable to the catastrophes of the Biden regime. Steve Hayward anticipated the contribution of larger forces to the outcome in his New York Post column Virginia goes right every time DC goes too far left.

 McAuliffe recruited the leading figures in the Democratic establishment to come out on his behalf. He called on Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, James Clyburn, Stacey Abrams, and teachers union honcho Randi Weingarten to stir Democrats. They succeeded in turning the race into a referendum on the Biden regime as well.

 The McAuliffe and Youngkin gubernatorial campaigns seem to me to have revealed the essential character of the candidates, to Younkins advantage. What a contrast.

 With the racist hoaxers who sought to tar Youngkin  forgive the cliche  Democrats played the race card from the bottom of the deck. The collusion with the McAuliffe campaign strikes me as obvious, but no major news outlet is interested in pursuing it. The collusion reminded me of Rathergate.

 As I write the New Jersey gubernatorial race is essentially tied. The New York Times has Republican Jack Ciattarelli leading incumbent Phil Murphy by about 1,200 votes or 0.05 percent with 88 percent of the vote counted. Suffice it to say that Ciattarellis margin is not beyond the margin of fraud, but what an astounding result. The race was on no ones radar. It remind me of Christine Whitmans near victory against incumbent Senator Bill Bradley in 1990. No one saw that coming either.

 The Republican wave even extended to Long Island. Bail reform was the cause.

 Back to Virginia: we should not forget the racist hoaxers and their sponsors, known and unknown.

BREAKING: Terry McAuliffe announces recount team pic.twitter.com/mNyvMRLuz1  Alex Marlow (@AlexMarlow) November 3, 2021

 There is a rebellion brewing. Will the results last night prompt any sober second thoughts from Biden and other Democrats who have gone all in on the socialist agenda and the dissolution of our southern border? To the extent that Biden is actually capable of thought, one would think so.
During a rally for Terry McAuliffe, Kamala Harris declared that what happens in Virginia will, in large part, determine what happens in 2022, 2024, and on. Like much of what Harris says, this statement is false. There will be no causal relationship between this years Virginia election and the elections in 2022 and 2024.

Its true, though, that the Virginia results are a bad sign for the Democrats prospects in 2022. George Allens victory in that states 1993 gubernatorial race (Republican Christine Todd Whitma won in New Jersey the same year) was followed by a wipeout of Democrats in the 1994 congressional races. And Bob McDonnells victory in 2009 was followed by a huge Republican year in 2010.

However, I dont think we can draw any conclusions from last night when it comes to the 2024 presidential race. Readers will probably remember that three years after the GOP Virginia wins in 1993 and 2009, incumbent Democrats were reelected president. Three years isnt a lifetime in politics, but its a long time.

Bill Clinton changed course after the 1994 wipeout. He brought in Dick Morris and triangulated with Republicans.

Barack Obama didnt triangulate, but after 2010 he stopped pushing the envelope for two years. For example, he resisted calls to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.

I dont expect Joe Biden to react much to the Virginia race. (Clinton and Obama didnt.) There will be plenty of congressional Democrats pushing him to stay the course. And it will be easy enough for him to blame the bad news from Virginia and New Jersey (whichever way that race ends up going) on the failure to push the leftist agenda through Congress  ridiculous as that claim seems.

A wipeout in 2022, if it happens, should be enough to cause Biden-Harris to either change course or at least pull back. Lord knows it shouldnt be difficult to triangulate between Republicans and the Democratic left. Biden did it some extent when he ran for president last year. Indeed, I cant think of a contemporary politician who has changed course more often than Joe Biden.

But theres a very good chance that, by some time in 2023 if not before, Biden will have decided not to run for reelection. Thus, he may not see much need to change course or pull back, even if the Dems are routed next year.

One advantage the Democrats might have in 2024 that they didnt enjoy (or need) in 1996 and 2012 is Donald Trump. He is a potential spoiler for Republicans  either as the GOP nominee or as a disgruntled loser in a quest for the nomination.

The Virginia and New Jersey races illustrate that Republicans can hold rural areas, continue to make inroads with minority group members, and cut deeply into Democratic margins in the suburbs by running attractive conservative candidates who dont come across as too angry and too threatening.

However, in 2024 there may still be plenty of pro-Trump voters who arent tired of, or who have forgotten about or denied, all the losing the GOP endured in 2018 and 2020.
The New Jersey governors race is turning out to be interesting, as some predicted it would. With a little more than half of the vote in, the Republican, Jack Ciatterelli, is leading the incumbent Democrat, Philip Murphy, by 3.4 points. Will the lead hold up? I have no idea. But this race is a lot closer than normal in New Jersey  more bad news for Democrats.

In Buffalo, New York, the socialist crackpot who defeated the incumbent mayor in the Dem primary is losing to the same guy, running as a write-in candidate, in the general election.

In Minneapolis, as John has reported, voters have roundly rejected a defund the police measure. The margin, as I write this, is more than 10 points.

In New York City, Eric Adams, a Democrat, is cruising to victory over his GOP opponent, as expected. Keep in mind, though, that Adams defeated left-wing Dems in the primary by running as a pro-cop (he used to one), pro-law enforcement candidate.

UPDATE: About three-quarters of the New Jersey vote is now in, and Gov. Murphy has pulled basically even. Maybe its just the pessimist in me, but Im thinking Murphy will pull it out.

However, I agree with Politicos Matt Friedman who says:
Yesterday, Long Island voters swept Democratic district attorneys from office. In Nassau County, career local prosecutor Anne Donnelly upset Democratic state Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a former federal prosecutor and supposed rising star. Kaminsky voted for the 2019 law that eliminated cash bail for defendants accused of many misdemeanors and non-violent felonies.

Donnelly won by 20 points. Kaminsky is now a fallen star.

The story was similar in Suffolk County. There, Republican Ray Tierney defeated Democratic incumbent District Attorney Tim Sini. With most of the vote counted, Tierney was leading 57-43.

Unlike Kaminsky, Sini did not support bail reform. In fact, according to the New York Post, he was an early critic of it. He still lost.

Even though Sini criticized bail reform, he remained vulnerable to attack for being insufficiently tough on crime. In attacking the incumbent, Tierney said:

DA Sini has failed to utilize all of the prosecutorial tools to keep dangerous criminals off the streets. There are several instances, just this past summer, where he did not indict dangerous criminals despite having the circumstances and evidence to do so. These individuals were free to go and they went on to either commit murder, or in the instance of the East End overdoses, they went on to continue with their drug dealing and six residents died. This will not happen in my office.

With violent crime on the rise, law and order has become a major issue in much of the country. Bail reform  turn em loose as Donnelly correctly characterized it throughout her successful campaign  has earned the contempt of voters. But, as the Sini-Tierney race shows, even apart from bail reform, voters understand Democrats to be on the wrong side of crime-related issues.

And just as is the case with education-related issues, thats a bad place to be.
With 60% of the vote tabulateda big caveat, I am not sure how the mostly-Democrat early voting figures in those numbersGlenn Youngkin has what normally would be considered an insuperable 11-point lead over Terry McAuliffe. It is too early to pop the champagne corks, but things are looking very good. Maybe the earthquake is beginning sooner than I expected.

Comfortably Smug explains:

Its wild. When people cant buy groceries, gas costs double, and you call their children racist, they come out to vote.  Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) November 3, 2021



I do think that the insanity of Critical Race Theory is the key issue. Staying with optimism for the moment, CRT is no more popular anywhere else in the country than it is in Virginia.

UPDATE: There appears to be funny business going on in heavily Democratic Fairfax, as they are re-scanning ballots. And Marc Elias, the Democrats fraudster in chief, is in the mix. Elise Stefanik is concerned:

 Why are reporters allowing McAuliffes behind the scenes election fraudster @marceelias to dictate Fairfax County counting timelines and protocols?!? cc: @claudiatenney https://t.co/YwakAdZwn9  Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) November 2, 2021



As always, Youngkins winassuming the numbers continue to come in as they have so farneeds to be outside the margin of fraud.

MORE: It looks like Republicans will win all three statewide Virginia races. The GOP Lieutenant Governor candidate is being acknowledged as the winner:

First black woman elected statewide in Virginia is conservative Winsome Sears. https://t.co/eU7ETvH9fp  Mollie (@MZHemingway) November 3, 2021



And the Attorney Generals race has already been called for the Republican.

It is looking like a GOP sweep. The McAuliffe campaign is depressed, to say the least:

I've seen funerals with more energyincluding among the ones being eulogized https://t.co/Pq78Qz1l7l  Nan Hayworth, M.D. (@NanHayworth) November 3, 2021

MORE: The far Left, i.e. MSNBC, is making excuses. Critical Race Theory? It doesnt exist! (But its awesome!) And those Republican winners? Theyre insurrectionists!

This is INSANE. MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace: "Critical Race Theory, which isnt real, turned the suburbs 15 points to the Trump insurrection endorsed Republican." pic.twitter.com/ARppUNUuGy  Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 3, 2021



This lack of self-knowledge in the Democratic Party promises to turn 2022 into a tsunami.

HEH: Triumphalism is spreading. The Lincoln Projects role in the Democratic Partys fiasco cant be ridiculed enough:

Everything The Lincoln Project Touches Dies or is Under 18.  Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) November 3, 2021

UPDATE: With 74% of the ballots counted, Youngkin is up by 9%.

MORE: Youngkin is up by 7% with 80% reporting.

ANOTHER THING: The Republican candidate for Governor of New Jersey has pulled ahead with 34% of precincts reporting. I have no idea what ballots have been counted or not counted, but it would be another earthquake if Republicans win in blue New Jersey.

ONE MORE: Some have been wondering, what is wrong with white women? Here are some numbers:

Virginia 2020 > White women

50% Biden (D), 49% Trump (R) Virginia 2021 > White women

57% Youngkin (R), 43% McAuliffe (D) A 15-point swing to the GOP with this group. (via @NBCNews Exit Polls)  Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) November 3, 2021



CRT does not play well with mothers, but another important point is that Glenn Youngkin turned out to be a very good candidate. There is nothing new here: candidate selection is obviously important. But Youngkin, whom I had never heard of, turned out to be a more skilled politician than we could reasonably have expected. That probably made the difference in tonights race, and it cannot be taken for granted in races in other states going forward.

ONE MORE: With 88% of precincts reporting, Youngkins lead is down to four points. McAuliffe has been gaining, and may be on pace to catch up, especially if the Democrats are able to fabricate some votes in Fairfax County or elsewhere. But McAuliffe appeared before his supporters a few minutes ago and, while he didnt concede, acted like a candidate who has lostthanking his family, pledging that the fight will continue, and so on.

Will it be a long night? I dont know. It might be.

HEH HEH: Things continue to look good in Virginia, and how about New Jersey? It is time for a bit of triumphalism, and if we are looking for the lamest take of all, we cant do better than Jennifer Rubin. Or better yet, a combination of Rubin and Bill Kristol:

Frame this tweet https://t.co/e2FDe8X2J5  Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) November 3, 2021

ON THE OTHER HAND: Youngkins lead is down to 2% with 94% of precincts reporting. Are we getting close to the margin of fraud?

ANOTHER THING: Why do Democrats insist on dancing? Sensible people dance only at their daughters weddings. We have seen a number of videos like this one in the last few weeks:

My God hes dancing around this stage in lipstick. Youngkin completely broke him. pic.twitter.com/PkaLtoJkVG  Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) November 3, 2021



I have no opinion on the lipstick.
Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) posted an almost sevenfold surge in profit and a marked increase in revenue for the first nine months of the year three months after branching out into power production from nuclear energy, the first firm in Africas largest economy to take the chance.

The conglomerate recorded a turnover in the sum of N85.6 billion January through September, more than that contributed by earnings from energy sent out for uptake, the financial statement of the company obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Limited showed on Wednesday.

The revenue was 57 per cent bigger than the figure posted in the same period of 2020.

Transcorp, whose interests span hospitality, oil & gas, and agro-allied business, built the dramatic transformation on the diversification in July into nuclear energy, in a bid to develop mini power plant units arm in arm with the science and technology ministry.

Profit before tax stood at N14.1 billion up from the N2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of last year.

The profit for the period scaled up by 671 per cent to N13.5 billion and could have even been higher but for a slump in other income by almost half.

Last November, Tony Elumelu-backed Transcorp took over the 966 MW Afam Power Plc and Afam III Fast Power Limited Nigerian government in an outright purchase worth N105 billion to step up Nigerias capacity in power generation, which has become a major impediment to the countrys industrialisation plans.

Transcorp was quoted at 11:35 WAT in Lagos on Wednesday at N1.02 per unit, trading down 0.97 per cent. The stock has returned 47.14 per cent in the last one year.
Clashes in Kenyas Laikipia County between pastoralist and farming communities continue to destabilise the central part of the country, with criminals taking advantage of the localised conflicts for their own gain.

Bandits killed three people on 10 October, and in September, three police officers died while enforcing security in Laikipia. This is despite the presence of a heavily armed security team tasked with restoring peace and arresting criminals.

The ongoing conflict has cost lives, destroyed property and displaced hundreds of people. The main dispute is over access to and use of pastures in Laikipia. The land has been contested since the colonial government pushed out the Maasai at the turn of the 20th century, converting thousands of hectares of communal grazing into private ranches. This forced local herders onto seasonal grazing lands.

Drought caused by climate change compounds the problem, as does political incitement ahead of the 2022 elections. Politicians in Kenya have, since independence, used traditional grievances to achieve political advantage. In Laikipia, land is an emotive political card and is at the heart of the clashes.

The Anglo-Maasai agreements of 1904 and 1911 were cases of historical injustice that dispossessed the Maasai of their land in Laikipia. The 1904 treaty declared that the community had voluntarily moved away and land was willingly given to the European settlers. This forced the Laikipia Maasai to move south into harsh semi-arid terrain. Two reserves were created in Kajiado and Laikipia counties (see map) to settle the Maasai population.

As the number of white settlers increased, a section of the Maasai community was duped into expanding the agreement in 1911. The settlers wanted to take over the unsettled areas and this, along with many other actions by the colonial government, rendered the Laikipia Maasai and other pastoralist communities homeless.

A court case challenging the legality of the 1911 agreement was dismissed in 1913. And a plea at Kenyas constitutional conference in London in 1962 didnt bear fruit either. Instead of righting these wrongs, the independence government perpetuated them by taking over the land previously owned by settlers and excluding the locals.

Climate change has further complicated the relations between farmers and herders. In the recent incident, which was driven by drought and a lack of grazing, the pastoralist communities forcefully invaded farms, private ranches and community conservancies to save their dying herds.

Kenyas Laikipia and surrounding counties

Source: Institute for Security Studies

Laikipia county borders semi-arid Isiolo, Samburu and Baringo counties, which are all inhabited by pastoralists. The latest drought has ravaged these areas, forcing the herders to search for water and greener pastures in Laikipia. This leads to bloody clashes which recur every dry season. Instead of trying to resolve the sporadic conflicts, politicians incite communities and allegedly supply weapons and ammunition to their relatives living in these areas.

While drought and political incitement are the primary conflict triggers, criminals take advantage of the situation to attack small-scale farmers in Laikipia and steal their livestock. These thieves are said to come from as far as Baringo County.

The recurrent clashes are often followed by government ultimatums and deployments of multi-agency security teams to keep law and order. A fragile period of peace follows, but without trust among the warring communities, its just a matter of time before the conflict recurs.

Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya acknowledged that the clashes had links to the land ownership row. But he added that the bandits who had been terrorising residents were armed with powerful M16 rifles usually used by foreign soldiers  alluding to the United Kingdoms training base in Laikipia. This claim was refuted by Jane Marriott, the British High Commissioner to Kenya. Natembeya later attributed the inflow of illicit arms to the turmoil in South Sudan and Northern Uganda.

Laikipia County Commissioner Daniel Nyameti said the clashes were a spillover from security force operations in Kapedo, in neighbouring Baringo County, that displaced criminals to Laikipia. He said the bandits claimed that the land in Laikipias Olmoran area, the epicentre of the conflict, belonged to their ancestors.

The government has since secured the vast Laikipia region by declaring a dusk-to-dawn curfew in affected areas under the watch of the military and police. Movement restrictions and the curfew have disrupted peoples day-to-day lives, and herders have been forced to leave the private farms and community conservancies they occupied.

These immediate security measures are necessary to stop the attacks but will not bring lasting peace. Intelligence gathering will help avert clashes and apprehend criminals. The influx of illegal firearms in the counties of Laikipia, Samburu, Turkana, Marsabit, Isiolo and Baringo also needs to be stemmed.

More important though, is that the government can no longer avoid the difficult but essential task of addressing historical land injustices, poverty and political incitement in Laikipia. Both the county and national governments also need to develop a long-term plan to protect pastoralism as a way of life.

Guyo Chepe Turi, Consultant, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Nairobi

This article is published with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation Kenya. The opinions and statements in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the HSF.

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).
Republican Glenn Youngkin has been elected as Virginias next governor in a major upset for American President Joe Biden, according to U.S. media projections.

The projections early Wednesday showed Mr Youngkin was 2.1 points ahead of Democrat Terry McAuliffe, with 99 per cent of votes counted.

Mr McAuliffe, who served as governor from 2014 to 2018, saw his opinion poll lead vanish in recent weeks, BBC reports, saying that the ballot has been widely seen as a referendum on Joe Bidens presidency, and defeat will unnerve the Democrats.

The Democratic candidate, Mr McAuliffe, had campaigned with Mr Biden and former president Barack Obama but it was not enough to secure the seat.

The Associated Press called the race for Mr Youngkin. It said the Republican took an early lead, while Mr McAuliffe lagged in key counties that Mr Biden swept in 2020.

Clenching his fist, Mr Youngkin, 54, addressed jubilant supporters in a televised broadcast All righty, Virginia, we won this thing! he said. How much fun!

He said it is a defining moment for millions of Virginians sharing dreams and hopes promising that together, we will change the trajectory of this commonwealth and friends, we are going to start that transformation on day one. There is no time to waste.

We are going to restore excellence in our schools We are going to introduce choice in our public school system Friends, were going to embrace our parents, not ignore them. Were gonna press forward with a curriculum that includes listening to parents input.

The fight continues, the Democratic candidate, Mr McAuliffe, said in a speech on Tuesday night.

Weve got to make sure we protect womens right to choose here in the commonwealth of Virginia. Weve got to make sure everyone gets quality, affordable healthcare here in the commonwealth of Virginia. Everybodys entitled to a world-class education here in the commonwealth of Virginia and we are going to continue that fight tonight, and every day going forward.

Virginians on Tuesday headed to the polls to elect a new governor, in the closely contested race.

They did so as a leading Virginia polling expert warned that Mr Youngkin may be riding a wave of white backlash all the way to the governors mansion, having successfully focused on controversy over the place of race in education.

The states current Democratic governor, Ralph Northam, was unable to stand for re-election as Virginia does not allow governors to serve consecutive terms in office.
On the second day of the world leaders summit of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow, UK, President Muhammad Buhari made a commitment that Nigeria will cut its carbon emission to net-zero by 2060.

While acknowledging the importance of COP26 in the midst of obvious changes in the climate, Mr Buhari said that climate change is not about the problem of the future but about what is already happening.

Desertification in the north, drought in the centre, pollution in the coast are enough evidence for all to see, Nigeria is committed to net-zero by 2060, he said on Tuesday.

Nigerias commitment

While addressing world leaders, Mr Buhari said Nigeria has developed a detailed energy transition plan and roadmap based on data and evidence and that with Nigerias transition plan, gas will play a key role in transitioning the countrys economy across sectors and the data and evidence show Nigeria can continue to use gas until 2040 without detracting from the goals of the Paris agreement.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Buhari joined French President Emmanuel Macron, Prince Charles, and the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani at a COP 26 side event entitled Accelerating land restoration in Africa, the case of the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative.

The Nigerian leader used the occasion of his address to appeal to fellow leaders to continue to make concerted efforts at land restoration.

I am optimistic that Africas ambition of restoring over 100 million hectares of degraded landscape for productive agriculture is achievable, he said.

President Buhari also pledged Nigerias unalloyed commitment to expanding the achievements of the GGW programme in Africa from the enviable status attained under the leadership of President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania.

Together we commit to the transformative process of restoring the African degraded landscape and ultimately the continents environment, he said.

But while the presidents statement and commitments at COP26 have attracted commendation from different quarters including American billionaire Jeff Bezos, who heaped praises on the president for his leadership role in restoring degraded lands in the country and commitment to restore 4 million hectares, climate experts and activists have raised questions on how realistic Nigerias commitment is.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the Director of Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State, Chuks Okereke, said it is good news that the president pledged a plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060 but the question is where the numbers came from. He said the details are not in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted by the Nigerian government.

I think on the positive side we could appreciate the bold announcement and the presidents intent to ensure that Nigeria joins the global green transition. However on the other hand we should question the intention to implement and the source of the data given that this ambition is not in the NDC and the long term vision document recently prepared by the government.

The president had informed the audience that Nigerias revised nationally determined contribution has additional priority sectors, water and waste, nature-based solution, adaptation and resilience, vulnerability assessment, clean cooking, gender and green job assessment, as well as a bottom-up renewable energy transition pathway to 2030.

Buharis statement not in sync with the submitted NDC

According to the NDC submitted in July 2021, Nigeria committed to an unconditional contribution of reducing carbon emissions by 20 per cent below business-as-usual by 2030, while it increased its conditional target to 47 per cent as against the 45 per cent captured in the 2015 NDC.

The updated NDC also includes an enhanced contribution by the waste sector, which was not included in the 2015 NDC due to a lack of reliable data.

Mr Okereke said that the presidents announcement is in contrast to what is in NDC, which raises many questions. The professor said he will be looking forward to the detailed plans available to achieve the goal.

We need a shift from the current model

Reacting further to the presidents speech, Edwin Ikhuoria, ONE Campaigns Africa Executive Director said the Nigerian governments commitment contained the needed language but was loaded with ambition that requires strategic shifts from the current development model.

Substantial emphasis on the need for international cooperation, support, and technology transfer almost portends a hazardous reliance on partners to achieve results. If the world ever needed solidarity, now is the time to make it happen. Otherwise, these words are just mere statements that were loaded with potential excuses, he said.

Apart from experts opinions, an article by climate scorecard in August 2021 concluded that if Nigeria were to achieve a goal like becoming carbon neutral, what would be an obstacle, apart from government incompetence, is the nature of the developing economy and the countrys overdependence on fossil fuels.

The countrys economy is closely tied to oil and gas exports. Profits from petroleum exports currently account for 86% of Nigerias total export revenue (Carbon Brief) Additionally, Oil and Gas collectively provide 70% of Nigerias revenue. Thus, as a developing economy, Nigeria relies heavily on the production of non-renewable resources. The economy needs all the support it can get so it is very unlikely that Nigeria will slow down any of its oil production. This will make it very hard for the country to become carbon neutral by 2050. the article concluded.
There were reports, especially on the social media and lately some online media, that notorious banditry kingpin, Dogo Gide, was killed by his deputy, Sani San Makama.

PRNigeria reported that Mr Gide was killed on Sunday.

Almost all the online news media that reported the story quoted PRNigeria as their source but nothing has been established yet.

Mr Gide was the mastermind of the abduction of scores of students from Federal Government College, Yauri in Kebbi State in June.

The Man Dogo Gide

Mr Gide was born as Abubakar Abdullahi. He is an indigene of Maru local government area of Zamfara State but his exact community remains unknown.

He began his criminal operation in the Kuyanbana forest, attacking villages in the areas that share boundaries with Kaduna, Niger and even Kebbi States .

Mr Gide has a notoriety for ruthless and vast connections with several bandits and terrorist organisations, especially ISWAP and Boko Haram.

He is notorious for kidnapping, cattle rustling, armed robbery and sexual violence.

Mr Gide became known in 2018 when he killed his boss, the equally notorious Buharin Daji. He also recently killed another notorious bandit leader, Damina, according to many reports.

A historian and close watcher of banditry in the north-west region, Murtala Ahmed-Rufai, said Mr Gide has the financial capacity and connections to procure large weapons.

Each of these groups (Gide and others) has in its possession more than 500 AK 47 or AK 49 guns. Some of the gangs like that of Gide, Mai Anguwa and Turji also have more sophisticated weapons like RPGGS and anti  aircraft guns, Mr Ahmed- Rufai wrote in a8 seminar presentation titled I am a Bandit.

The lecturer at the Department of History at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto continued thus: Dogo Gide, later forged an alliance with Boko Haram in the last quarter of 2019. Thus, from his base in the forest of Wawa in Niger State, Gide was recruiting members for this group and ensuring the group has 104 stronghold in Zamfara State.

Is he dead?

Despite the reports by PRNigeria and other online newsmedia like Daily Nigerian, it is still not established that the banditry kingpin has been killed.

Multiple sources who have good knowledge about the bandits in the north-west region told PREMIUM TIMES that as of Sunday evening, Mr Gide was still alive.

Mr Ahmed  Rufai responded to the question by this reporter on the killing of Mr Gide with a simple answer.

It is military propaganda, please, he said.

Yusuf Anka, a former journalist with the HumAngle media, who has written extensively on banditry in the north-west , also disputed the story in a phone interview with this newspaper.

Mr Anka insisted that nothing has been established as to whether Mr Gide is dead.

My reliable sources in the area have confirmed to me that Dogo Gide is alive. The story has been on social media since last Wednesday and when I checked it turned out that Gide was still alive as of this Sunday, Mr. Anka said.

He added that Mr Gide joined the Jumuat prayers in Babbar Doka, under Dan Sadau district.

He went to Babbar Doka in the morning last Friday and spent hours in the village before he left around 6:30 p.m. He also went back to that same community on Sunday around 1 p.m. These are what I can reliably tell you but you can cross check with other sources, Mr. Anka said.

Basharu Guyawa, whose organisation, Rundunar Adalci, fights human rights abuses in Sokoto and is a close watcher of the activities of bandits, said all his contacts refuted the story.

We will be the happiest if Dogo Gide dies but as it is now, we have nothing to confirm that he has been killed, he said.

No reputable media organisation has reported the killing of Dogo Gide so far and no one has quoted any security source, so we assume he is not dead.

The police spokesperson in Zamfara, Mohammed Shehu, said he had not heard the story but promised to contact his sources and revert to the reporter.

Mr Shehu later said he still had no meaningful information on the issue.

What you are asking me is a big issue. It will take time but I get back at you when I get anything, he said.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has issued a 30-day timeline to the panel of enquiry set up to investigate the cause of the collapse of the 21-storey building on Gerrard Road in the Ikoyi area of the state.

At least 22 bodies have been recovered, with nine rescued while others are still trapped in the debris.

Mr Sanwo-Olu while addressing journalists at the scene on Wednesday said he had earlier arrived at the scene around from the airport.

He said he flew back into the country from Rome when he received the unfortunate news.

Investigation

Mr Sanwo-Olu had on Tuesday set up a fact-finding body to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident and make recommendations on how to prevent future occurrence.

The panel was set up shortly after the indefinite suspension of the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, (LASBCA), Gbolahan Oki.

Mr Sanwo-Olu said that he would sign an executive order to give the panel of enquiry a legal backing.

Death toll

The governor said 21 bodies have been recovered while nine persons have been rescued.

However, Ibrahim Farinloye of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told AFP that 22 bodies have been recovered so far.

We recovered two male bodies early this morning, bringing the toll to 22, he said.

Mr Sanwo-Olu also said an autopsy is currently being conducted on the recovered bodies.

Survivors

Mr Sanwo-Olu noted that of the nine survivors, six are still in the hospital while three with minor injuries have been discharged.

He said the numbers of persons buried in the debris are still unconfirmed.

As I have said, we dont have a manifest, anybody you think that came here to work or is a worker here, we would take down the names, he said.

If you have a photograph of the person, it would be very useful. We also want your name and contact of who is presenting. We do not want more than one or two family members.

The search and rescue operations are still ongoing as distraught relatives gathered at the help desk to put down names of their family members trapped in the debris.
The Plateau State House of Assembly complex has been sealed by security operatives as the two parties laying claim to the speakership slot of the assembly continue negotiations toward reaching a truce.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) recalls that the Speaker of the assembly, Abok Ayuba, was on October 27 impeached by 8 members of the assembly and elected Yakubu Sanda as the new Speaker.

But Mr Ayuba and members of the house loyal to him held a session outside the assembly complex same day during which they suspended six of the members that impeached him, and declared him (Ayuba) as the authentic speaker of the house.

However, Mr Ayuba and the lawmakers loyal to him gained access to his office and were holding an executive session preparatory for a sitting when some youths staged a protest in front of the assembly complex in support of Mr Ayuba.

Heavy security was deployed to the assembly complex with Plateau Commissioner of Police, Edward Egbuka, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps commandant, Alexander Barunde supervising.

Shortly after Mr Ayuba with lawmakers loyal to him were escorted out of the complex by the security personnel, Mr Sanda and those loyal to him came into the house, held a brief sitting and declared him as the authentic speaker of the assembly.

ALSO READ: How Plateau State Assembly Speaker was impeached

Mr Sanda promised to continue the sitting on Tuesday but that did not happen.

NAN observed on Wednesday that stern looking security personnel were strategically positioned around the complex while security vehicles stationed at the gates.

When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Gabriel Ubah, said that he did not have information about the situation at the assembly.

Give me some time let me call the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area to get the details.

I will get back to you as soon as I have the information, he said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Communication, Philip Dasun told NAN that the two contending parties were negotiating for a truce.

Mr Dasun promised to speak to reporters as soon as there was new information about the imbroglio. (NAN)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said it has remitted N3.51 billion to the federal government as operating surplus for 2021.

A statement issued by the examination body and signed by its head of public affairs and protocol unit, Fabian Benjamin, noted that the remittance is in line with Prof. Is-haq Oloyedes avowed commitment to prudent management of public resources.

But a top official of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the umbrella organisation for all university lecturers in Nigeria, has described the JAMBs conduct as a reflection of the exploitation of the people by the Nigerian government.

The coordinator of the Lagos zone of ASUU, Laja Odukoya, who spoke with our reporter on the phone on Wednesday after JAMBs announcement, said Nigerians must see behind the smokescreen of what is regarded as performance by the examination body, and take it for what is truly called, exploitation.

JAMB spokesperson, Mr Benjamin, when reached, declined comments on Mr Odukoyas assertions.

Remittance

JAMB said since 2016 when the new leadership of the examination body began to remit excess funds to the government, the practice has continued till date.

The body said the development has also led to the reduction in the amount charged for the registration of its examination from N5,000 to N3,500. It said by the reduction alone, more than N3 billion has been saved for the parents and guardians who pay for the candidates that sit its examination.

The statement reads in part; This commitment to probity coupled with the adoption of international best practices make for cost-effective operational processes and attendant savings to yield those humongous remittances to government coffers. This has been the norm rather than the exception in the last six years beginning from 2016 when he (Oloyede) remitted the whopping sum of N7 billion and repeated the same in subsequent years.

It is pertinent to note that one of the direct benefits of the sustained remittances by the Prof. Oloyede-led management manifested in the reduction of the cost of the application documents (UTME and DE) by candidates from N5000 to N3500 in 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhari. This singular act has ensured the annual transfer of over N3b to the pockets of parents and guardians of candidates as a consequence of the slash in the price of UTME forms.

It said JAMB under the current leadership would continue to prune down the cost of governance and release resources for other needy national prioritised areas.

ASUU kicks

But in his reaction, the ASUU zonal coordinator said what JAMB is doing is to exploit the poor Nigerians for the benefit of government officials, who he accused of being reckless in spending.

Mr Odukoya said, The question we should ask is, where is the money coming from? And where is it going? The money is equally not going back to the institutions that require it for infrastructural upgrade to make them globally competitive, and as a make-up for the exploited Nigerian students. It should have been pardonable if the money is coming back to the school system but rather, the money is being ploughed back to the government to fund the recklessness and profligacy of the government officials and functionaries.

And it is so sad that many Nigerians are praising this conduct of JAMB and tagging it as a brilliant performance. But I think the people need to sit well and look closely behind the smokescreen of this thing called performance. It is mass exploitation in disguise.

Asked if he would suggest that the unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) which JAMB conducts should be conducted for free to avoid the remittance, Mr Odulaja said he would rather suggest that what should be charged should only be moderate to cater for what the examination body needs.

There should be a cost for the examination but it should simply be the cost of what the examination body is doing. You cannot be making profit from the poor people who are suffering to get education, and are not even sure of opportunities after they struggle to be educated. Education must be seen as a public good and that is why we must struggle against its commercialisation in any form. The benefit of education does not come to the students, it comes to the society because we are in an age of knowledge economy, Mr Odulaja, a lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, said.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the State Security Services (SSS, also called DSS) have arrested 48 individuals for their alleged illegalities in the conducts of the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB).

The joint operation tagged Operation Combo conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, led to the arrests of lecturers, security officers, workers and students from some of the participating universities in the exam.

Operation Combo was simultaneously carried out by the operatives of ICPC and DSS in seven states after extensive monitoring of tutorial schools allegedly known for notoriously compromising JUPEB examinations. This has led to the arrest of the President of Tutorial School Owners (ATSO).

The operation, a consequence of sustained period of surveillance and undercover investigations spanning several weeks, led to multiple arrests of suspects including parents of candidates of the exam.

Also arrested were lecturers and others involved in examination malpractices and other illegalities in the participating institutions.

The suspects were arrested from Wellspring University, Benin, Edo State; Christopher University, Mowe, Ogun State and Crown-Hill University, Ilorin, Kwara State. Again the raid of tutorial centres by operatives in McPherson and Precious Cornerstone universities in Ibadan and Ilara-Epe, in Oyo State respectively, led to more arrests of suspects.

Credible intelligence gathered during the operations showed active connivance of the parents of the students and the management of the universities.

Three current Vice-Chancellors have been invited by ICPC for their roles in the unchecked and massive malpractices reported.

It was revealed that syndicated social media platforms were created by the facilitators for leaking questions and circulating answers to students for a fee during examinations.

Investigation also revealed that candidates, who are mostly minors, allegedly paid between N350,000 to N500,000 each to the suspects in the various tutorial schools to engage in the illegalities.

The cartel, in connivance with the coordinators of the examination centres and other management staff of the institutions, deliberately allowed security lapses to enable the candidates go into examination halls with smart-phones and other electronic devices to send question papers to waiting groups online and subsequently, receive answers to questions thereby engaging in massive malpractices.

Some of the suspects arrested have been granted administrative bail while investigation is on-going.

JUPEB is an advanced level educational examination that qualifies its candidate for admission into 200 level in any Nigerian and foreign universities through direct entry. It is coordinated by the University of Lagos and has up to 10 accredited universities.

Signed:

Azuka C. Ogugua

Spokesperson

Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)
A police officer facing probe at the #EndSARS panel in Abuja has refused to comply with the panels order directing him to refund N50,000 he allegedly extorted from two petitioners as payment for bail last year, the complainants said on Tuesday.

Sani Ango and Haruna Usman also said at the resumed hearing of their complaint that the police officer, Amadin Monday, of the Rapid Intelligence Team (RIT) of the police force in Abuja, ignored the panels order to return two phones he allegedly seized from them.

The phones, according to them, were taken as security for the balance of N50,000 which their families promised to pay after their initial deposit of N50,000 out of the N100,000 charged as the bail fee.

The Nigerian police authorities often proclaim that bail is free.

The Abuja #EndSARS panel chaired by Suleiman Galadima, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, had at the first sitting on the case, ordered Mr Monday, and other police authorities joined as respondents to the case, to return the phones and refund the N50,000 deposit to the owners.

Speaking under cross-examination at the resumed hearing in the case on Tuesday, one of the complainants, Mr Ango, said the phones and the money had yet to be returned to them.

The complainants lawyer, Aliyu Adamu, also confirmed to the panel the order for the return of the phones and money had yet to be complied with.

With this development, the chairman, Mr Galadima, directed the panels lawyers Aliyu Adamu, Kwadundi Okoh, and Olawole Afolabi, as well as the defence lawyers, Umoh Inah and Malik Taiwo, to visit the Rapid Intelligence Team (RIT) in Garki in Abuja to ensure the return of the confiscated phones as well as the N50,000.

The Independent Investigative Panel set up by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) investigate cases of rights violations perpetrated by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police units, then adjourned the case till November 23 for report.

The panel, replicated in about 28 states of the federation by the various state governments, is commonly referred to as #EndSARS panel having been set up as part of the five-point demands of last years #EndSARS anti-police brutality protest.

Complaints of unlawful arrest, detention, extortion

Sani Ango and Haruna Usman had filed their petition before the panel on November 25, 2020, describing how they were arrested by the police in Abuja on September 10, 2020, and held in illegal detention for 17 days.

According to them, they were arrested over a missing laptop belonging to one Usman Buhari while they were attending a meeting at Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja.

They said they were conveyed to police facility in Garki, Abuja, and two days later, they were taken to an operation room where they were tortured to a point of unconsciousness.

Mr Monday of the Rescue Intelligence team, the officer in charge of the case, was then said to have taken them to their cells where they were detained for 17 days.

The police officer, according to the petitioners, ignored the pleas from their families for bail or for them to be charged to court.

During the period of incarceration, the petitioners said they received inhuman treatments that led to major health complications.

On September 30, 2020, they said Mr Monday agreed to grant them bail to their families on the condition to pay N100,000 with one surety.

But the families, the petitioners said, were only able to raise N50,000 and promised to pay the balance of N50,000.

The police officers agreed to an arrangement of seizing the petitioners phones until the balance was paid.

They said they suffered physically and mentally, and are still traumatised during their incarceration.

They added that they were both on medications as a result of the health complications they developed during the detention.

They pleaded with the panel in their petition to humbly intervene, investigate the wrongful accusations, retrieve their smartphones and the N50,000 paid for bail.

They also asked to be compensated with regards to the victimisation, psychological and physical traumas from the degrading inhuman treatment they experienced.

Apart from Mr Monday, the others joined as respondents to the petition are: the defunct Federal Capital Territory (FCT) SARS unit, the officer in charge of the unit, the FCT Commissioner of Police, and Inspector General of Police.

The respondents denied any wrongdoing.
As the Sokoto Sultanate marks the 15th anniversary of the Sultans coronation, an Islamic human rights organisation, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has congratulated the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.

MURIC also demanded the exclusion of the Sultan from traditional rulers who can be dethroned or influenced by a state governor or by the Federal Government.

This was contained in a congratulatory message released by the groups director, Ishaq Akintola, a professor, on Wednesday.

The statement reads :

On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the coronation of the Sultan, we heartily felicitate with the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji (Dr) Muhammad Saad Abubakar. We also commend the Sultan for the giant strides and reforms witnessed by both the Sultanate and the NSCIA since he ascended the throne of his forefathers.

We note with immense satisfaction that the Sultan has been certified by all and sundry as consistently amiable, peace-loving, tolerant, stable and level-headed. These are qualities which have endeared him to all, not only to his Muslim subjects alone, but to Nigerians as a whole. It is for this reason that he is referred to as the Sultan of Nigeria and not just as the Sultan of Nigerian Muslims.

Nonetheless, we call the attention of the Sokoto State Government, the Sokoto State House of Assembly and the good people of Sokoto State to an imminent danger which hangs above the Sultanate like the sword of Damocles. This danger is capable of stopping the Sultan in his tracks and make it impossible for him to continue his good works.

By the nature and composition of the NSCIA, anyone who occupies the position of governor in Sokoto State has the power to depose the sultan. Unfortunately, the removal of the sultan has the bandwagon effect of removing the president general of the NSCIA.

This is because Section 6 Cap 26 of the Laws of Northern Nigeria empowers state governors to depose traditional rulers and this includes the sultan. Incidentally the Sultan is the spiritual leader of all Nigerian Muslims and not just head of the Muslims in Sokoto State alone. It therefore amounts to infra dignitatem for a state governor to possess the power to remove the leader of all Nigerian Muslims.

It has happened before. Sultan Dasuki was deposed by the military governor of Sokoto State in 1996. Even the Federal Government may use the instrumentality of the state governor to exercise undue influence on the Sultan. An unconfirmed report alleged that a state governor once disallowed the late Sultan Maccido from attending a crucial function because the then civilian president did not want him to attend.

As the elected representatives of the people of Sokoto State, the onus is therefore on members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly to set the machinery in motion for the repeal of Section 6 Cap 26 of the Laws of Northern Nigeria in such a way that it will exclude the Sultan from the governors exercise of the power of deposition. It is a simple exercise which may not go beyond a motion in the House seeking to insert the phrase except the Sultan of Sokoto in the dethronement clause.

This is not about the reigning Sultan alone. It is about the progress of the Ummah. It is about freedom from undue executive influence. It is also about stability in the Sultanate and the avoidance of religious crisis of unimaginable proportion which the reaction of Nigerian Muslims to the deposition of the Sultan may trigger.
The eight All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the Anambra House of Assembly paid a courtesy visit to the Anambra Deputy Governor, Nkem Okeke, on Tuesday in Awka.

Leader of the delegation, Timothy Ifediora (APC-Njidoka 1) said it was a visit of solidarity as the deputy governor defected to the APC in spite of intimidation by the state government.

He encouraged the deputy governor to hold steadfast to his schedule till March 17, 2022 when the current administration would vacate office.

Mr Ifediora said Mr Okekes defection to APC was a sign of commitment towards effective service delivery for improved welfare of the people of the state.

We are in your office to felicitate with you for joining APC.

You have shown the spirit of a statesman, God bless you, the team leader told the deputy governor.

He also assured Mr Okeke of the teams support and determination to reposition governance in the state.

We have to make time to officially pay a solidarity visit to you and support you in our efforts to move Anambra forward. We are proud of you and happy that you have joined the APC, Mr Ifediora stressed.

The legislator said the APC members dumped the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) because it had swayed from its core values.

APGA is now a party of nepotism, high-handedness, deceit and has become property of some families and individuals in the state, he said.

In fact APGA is led by an emperor. We were treated badly like strangers in the party we collectively built, Mr Ifediora said.

Welcoming the delegation, the deputy governor commended the APC caucus members for the solidarity visit even in the face of busy campaigns to different parts of the state.

Mr Okeke said he had wanted to join another party since he had reached his peak in APGA.

He said Anambra could not continue to be at the background in national affairs or be a lone ranger all the time, pointing out that since the formation of APGA it had not grown beyond the state.

He stated that the people of the state must begin to think beyond their limitations to greater heights.

He said the candidate of APC, Andy Uba, is a refined gentleman with a good heart to take the state to a greater level.

According to him, one does not need to be a PhD holder to govern effectively.

What is needed, he said, is a good heart, listening ear and ability to be proactive which is found in the APC governorship candidate.

Our people regarded the APC as a Fulani party; that was the dummy sold to the people to confuse them.

Are our people not serving the country under APC? Are governors from other political parties not having meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking for the good of their states?

ALSO READ: Police to impound unmarked vehicles during Anambra election

If we hate APC because of Buhari, one day he must leave the party, if we negotiate well politically and an Igbo man becomes the president, then will we call it Igbo party?

Mr Okeke said APC would win the November 6 governorship election because it is a rebranded APC.

A party that has eight House of Assembly members, six House of Representatives members, one senator and a deputy governor cannot be said to be a childs play, Mr Okeke said.

Responding to claims that APGA has failed the state, Anambra Commissioner for Information, C-Don Adinuba, said those making the claims lacked figures and data to support their claims.

Mr Adinuba said he was too busy planning for APGAs success at the governorship election than to dissipate energy on the claims.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Lagos State, on Wednesday confirmed an attack on its personnel at the Lagos High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), during the hearing for inmates.

The Lagos state NCoS spokesperson, Olarotimi Oladokun, confirmed the attack in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, saying the attack was staged by persons suspected to be associates of an inmate who wanted to free him.

He said one of the attackers was shot while trying to dispossess an armed personnel of his rifle.

Witnesses, however, said a prison official shot a man who was trying to interact with some of the inmates in the Black Maria, angering his colleagues in the process.

He, however, said the attackers intended to forcefully hijack an inmate while at the premises of the court.

According to Mr Oladokun, the Controller of Corrections (CC), NCoS Lagos, Adewale Adebisi, quickly deployed a task force to the court premises to ensure that no inmate escaped.

This quick response and vigilance of the NCoS court escorts thwarted their attempt, he said.

He said all inmates were successfully returned to custody of the Custodial center.

ALSO READ: Nigeria begins review of prisons security after jail breaks

The NCoS Lagos Controller eulogised the gallant officers for resisting the attack and securing all inmates back to custody.

The controller also assured the public that the security of Lagos custodial Centers remains intact.

He further commended other security agencies, especially the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and the Nigerian Army for their timely response to restore normalcy, Mr Oladokun said. (NAN)
The Ikeja Special Offences Court of Lagos State has sentenced a lawyer, Kenneth Ajoku, to seven years imprisonment with an option of fine for the offences of perjury and fabrication of evidence.

The judge, Mojisola Dada, found him guilty of two counts in the two counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the commission said Wednesday.

According to the EFCCs statement, Ms Dada delivered her judgement on Friday.

Mr Ajokus travail began sometime in 2017 when the anti-corruption agency received credible intelligence about a group of fraudsters who were selling federal government properties.

Upon investigation, the EFCC said the convict and his cohorts were invited to the commission, but he refused to honour the invitation sent to him on several occasions.

Operatives of the commission then visited the defendants office, but he was not available.

In a bid to frustrate the investigations, Mr Ajoku approached a judge of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, Ibrahim Buba, to swear an affidavit on oath that he was arrested and detained by the operatives of the commission on May 4, 2017. He also demanded N300 million in damages.

The court declined the application and ordered him to present himself for investigation by the EFCC.

Thereafter, he proceeded to the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, in a further move to stop his investigation by the EFCC.

The appellate court, however, dismissed his appeal.

Arraignment

He was subsequently arraigned on a two-count charge of perjury and fabrication of evidence, said to be contrary to sections 85(1) 86(1) and 88(1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against him by the EFCC, and the case then proceeded to full trial.

During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Franklin Ofoma, called three witnesses and tendered several documents that were admitted in evidence by the court.

Delivering judgment on Friday, October 29, 2021, Ms Dada found him guilty on the two counts, and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment, with an option of a fine of N2.5 million.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved three contracts to beef up operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, briefed State House correspondents after a virtual FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Today, Council received three memoranda from civil aviation and they were all approved consequently.

Memo number one is for approval for a contract for the supply and installation of baggage handling system at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and the total contract sum is N3.6 billion inclusive of the 7.5 per cent VAT, with the completion period of 12 months.

The contractor is Messrs Gulf of Africa International Limited, who is exclusive representatives of the original equipment manufacturer.

The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is Messrs UBS Systems Company, a company that is located in Istanbul, Turkey; the funding was found and appropriated and council consequently approved.

Mr Sirika said the the second memo from aviation was approval for the award of contract for the manufacture, supply, installation and operating training of disabled aircraft recovery system at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

He said such installation would be used in removing obstructions and easing operations.

This system is to be applied in the event that there is an aircraft that is occupying the runway or any area of operations that we have, so the special equipment will be used to remove that aircraft from that place and free it for our own operations.

Contract sum is N2.2 billion inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT.

 This was issued to Messrs Globsley Project Limited; the OEM representatives are Messrs AMS Aircraft Recovery Limited.

The minister said the third memo was approval for the award of contract for direct procurement, installation and commissioning of the total radar coverage modernisation for the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency.

The contract sum is N28 billion.

 The contractors are Messrs Talas, who had been on the project and supported by Intelligent Transportation Systems Limited and Messrs. Softnet Systems Nigeria Limited and the OEMs are Messrs Talas Systems of France and Messrs HM Global of Germany, he said.

(NAN)
The Federal Executive Council(FEC) has approved the procurement of 46 units of vehicles for operational and administrative use by the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS).

The Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, briefed State House correspondents after a virtual FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The minister said the vehicles would bolster the operational efficiency of the service and increase revenue generation.

Today, council approved the procurement of 46 units of vehicles. These are for operational and administrative use by the Nigeria Customs Service.

This was awarded to Messrs Elizade Nigeria Limited at the total cost of N1.5 billion and this amount is inclusive of the 7.5 per cent VAT.

Recall that the last set of procurement of vehicles that was done for Customs was in 2017 and 2020.

And in 2020, we did see a whole lot of huge seizures that was made by the Nigeria Customs and also the performance in terms of revenue.

He said that as at August 2021, the NCS had over performed the prorated rate of the target that it was given.

So, council believes that with the provision of these additional vehicles, it will also be enhancing not only their effectiveness but their efficiency and then, more revenue will be generated, he said.

Femi Adesina, special adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, also briefed State House correspondents on other approvals made by the council.

Mr Adesina said there was an approval for the construction and furnishing of new senate building and a 1000 capacity conference centre at the University of Abuja at the cost of N2.3 billion.

He said the memorandum was presented by the Education Ministry and it was approved.

The special adviser said that council also approved contracts for the Ministries of Power and Works and Housing.

There was also an approval for award of contract for the construction of 400 kilowatts Solar PV Power Plant at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, to Messrs Hilkam Engineering Consultancy Limited at the cost of N768. 9 million by the Minister of Power, and it was approved.

And then, there was an approval for the Minister of Works and Housing for the award of contract for the rehabilitation of Sokoto-Illela road; that is at the Nigeria end and Birnin-Konni, Niger-Republic end in Sokoto State.

The contract sum is N8.4 billion awarded to Messrs Amirco Universal Concept Limited, he said.
There are at least 110 sets of amendments that have been proposed to be carried out on various provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), a law that brought a lot of innovations into criminal justice system and proceedings since it came into force in 2015.

A major provision of the law being operated at the federal courts and already domesticated in at least 31 states of the federation, is the abolition of stay of proceedings in criminal trials.

Judges, lawyers, a federal lawmaker, and civil society groups, met in Abuja on Monday, to review proposed amendments to address the gaps in the law.

The meeting was organised by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS), which collated the proposed amendments suggested by lawmakers, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the police, and many other law enforcement agencies.

The CSLS, a law reform advocacy organisation, led the campaigns that birthed the enactment of ACJA in 2015.

Lagos State which took the lead in adopting then proposed law ahead of the federal government in 2007, had amended its own version of it in 2011.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on September 30, 2021, assented to a new amended version of the law.

Having practised the ACJA for about six years now, I know there should be some review which is the essence of this meeting, Olukayode Adeniyi, a judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, said in his remarks at the event.

He said there was the need for the review of the law so that we move with the contemporary circumstances.

Also speaking, the chairperson, Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, Onofiok Luke, said there was the need to amend the law to place Nigeria on the same page with other societies.

I am sure, this will be done.

President of CSLS, Yemi Akinseye-George, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and professor of law, said amendment proposals will be updated with the outcome of the brainstorming.

Issues under key amendment proposals

Recording of confessional statement

This amendment is proposed to be done on section 15(4) and (5) of the ACJA to make an electronic recording of confessions by suspects mandatory.

The extant provision says the making and taking of a suspects confessional statement shall be in writing and may be recorded electronically on a retrievable video compact disc or such other audio-visual means.

But the proponent of the amendment seeks the removal of may from the provision to make it mandatory for the writing of confessional statements to be done both manually and electronically on a retrievable video compact disc or such other audio-visual means.

During deliberations on this provision, however, two judges of the FCT High Court, Mr Adeniyi, and Idris Kutigi argued against the amendment.

Mr Adeniyi argued that the amendment making it mandatory for confessional statements to be recorded electronically might bring constraints to the police in a situation where the availability of the available infrastructure could not be guaranteed.

He added that the proposed amendment would not necessarily achieve its intended goal of ensuring that confessional statements are not obtained through torture.

Mr Adeniyi said torture could be psychological which would not be captured in the electronic recording.

Investigation before arrest

Another amendment being sought is for the tinkering with section 3 of the ACJA, to ensure that investigation precedes arrest in line with international best practice.

The proposed subsections (2) and (3) are to ensure collaboration between investigators and law officers for effective prosecution of criminal cases.

Prosecuting and defence lawyers at the event including Chioma Onuegbu, of the Federal Ministry of Justice, applauded the proposal.

But Mr Adeniyi argued that it is not a subject that should be legislated on.

It should be taken for granted, he said.

He said pushing for such an amendment would amount to unnecessary meddling in the internal operations of the law enforcement agencies.

Bearing in mind that certain circumstances might warrant arresting a suspect before investigations are done, Mr Adeniyi said some lawyers might take undue advantage of the amended provision to file a fundamental rights enforcement suit to challenge such arrests even when they are justifiably done.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Akinlolu Kehinde, also toed Mr Adeniyis line of argument, adding that a mandatory provision in ACJA that investigation must always precede arrest may offend constitutional provision that empowers a law enforcement agency to arrest a person on the basis of just a reasonable suspicion.

According to them, the provision of ACJA is better allowed to remain as it is while the campaigns for law enforcement agencies to always ensure they act in line with international best practices is sustained.

Should magistrates be allowed to issue remand orders in cases they have no jurisdiction to adjudicate on?

Participants also deliberated on a proposed amendment of section 293 to take away the power of a magistrate to issue an order for the remand of a suspect arrested for a crime the magistrate does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate.

Speaking on the proposal, CSLS president, Mr Akinseye-George, said Lagos State had removed the provision from their newly amended Administration of Criminal Justice Law.

FCT High Court judge, Mr Kutigi, backed the amendment proposal, saying only the court with competent jurisdiction should have the power to issue an order for the remand of the suspect.

But EFCC representatives at the event kicked against it, noting that it inhibited the agencys operations when it was first introduced as a policy by a former Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Ishaq Bello, some years ago.

During the time recalled by the prosecutors, law enforcement agencies were asked to approach only the High Court judges to obtain remand orders for suspects accused of capital offences, and other offences beyond the jurisdiction of the magistrates courts.

But the EFCC lawyers said they had to contend with a number of issues including the inability of High Court judges to attend to urgent applications for remand orders.

In some cases, they said, the applications were not assigned to judges early enough, sometimes for 30 days, by the time which its essence would have been lost.

Mr Kutigi, however, insisted that only the High Court judges should have the power to issue such remand orders, advising that such applications should be filed in less busy divisions of the court.

But for Mr Adeniyi, the magistrate should be allowed to continue to issue remand orders.

Witness expenses

The meeting also deliberated on sections 253 and 254 of ACJA to make it mandatory for the office of the attorney-general to provide the court with the funds for witness expenses.

Judges and lawyers lamented, during the review, the frustration of prosecutors who had to pay from their pockets the expenses of bringing prosecution witnesses to court.

On other occasions, prosecution witnesses are not able to come to court because of a lack of funds, leading to many criminal cases being lost by the government.

Mr Akinseye-George said the federal ministry of justice should demand a vote for witnesses expenses in its budget. Such funds should then be made available to the courts which will then disburse to the witnesses attending a trial.

Abolition of trial-within-trial

Prosecutors advocated the abolition of trial-within-trial because of the delay it causes in criminal proceedings.

A trial-within-trial arises when a defence lawyer objects to the admissibility of a confessional extra-judicial statement of the defendant on the grounds that it was illegally obtained either through torture, threats or other illegitimate methods.

The judge orders a trial-within-trial to put the defendants claim of the involuntariness of his or her statement to test.

Sometimes, trial-within-trial takes years, with the main trial itself unable to progress for that period, Ms Onuegbu said.

Mr Adeniyi admitted that defence lawyers had abused the process of trial-within-trial but argued that there was no alternative to it for now.

Headvised judges to examine if the statement was truly confessional before ordering a trial-within-trial.

Mr Kutigi, too, shared Mr Adeniyis views.
The chairperson of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Bolaji Owasanoye, has attributed the incessant violent crimes in Zamfara State to illegal mining of gold in the state.

Zamfara State is a hotbed of banditry and kidnapping-for-ransom ravaging the North-west and North-central regions of the country.

Speaking at the fourth annual public awareness lecture series on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) held at Nile University, Abuja, on Tuesday, Mr Owasanoye spoke of the impact of illicit proceeds of corruption and economic crimes on the political stability and security of a nation.

It is difficult to divorce the raging violent crimes in Zamfara State of Nigeria from the illegal gold mining by Nigerians and collaborators from the West Africa region and beyond, which had gone on for years unabated, Mr Owasanoye said at the event organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group on Money Laundering in Africa (GIABA).

He added that oil bunkering and crude oil theft in Nigerias Niger Delta, has (have) been associated with different froms of violence in the region.

Mr Owasanoye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and professor of law, also blamed unchecked corruption, economic crimes, money laundering and other related crimes for the West-African under-development.

He noted that the UNODC has established that West Africa is conduit for the drug trade between South America and Europe.

In Nigeria, corruption and its subsets, especially economic and financial crimes, are widespread in proportions relative to the size of the economy and the population and visible as large scale official corruption in terms of impact on governance, he added.

According to him, corruption creates a Catch-22 situation that makes it difficult for credible leadership to emerge to fight corruption, and renders such leadership impotent even when it emerges.

He said corruption had persisted in the country despite promises since the plotters of the first coup in Nigeria, and successive administrations to rid the country of the menace.

He said while some administrations had simply allowed it to fester, some had only made feeble attempts to tackle it.

This experience underscores the link between leadership, political will and success against corruption by any government, Mr Owasanoye said.

Way forward

On what needs to be done, Mr Owasanoye said: West Africa needs to pursue a multi-track strategy to surmount the daunting challenges posed by economic and financial crimes.

The fortune of generations yet unborn relies on the actions that we take today.

He also called for the strengthening of democratic institutions to birth credible and legitimate people-focused governments across the region.

Promote complementary selfless visionary leadership focused on the future of Africa, not as rhetoric, but with action; shun nepotism and enthrone meritocracy, he said.

Urging Africans and their leaders to take drastic action to stop corruption and economic crimes, he said, The time to act is now, not later. We cannot wait till 2063 for the Africa we want.

Others speak

The chairperson of the director of NFIU, Modibbo Tukur, said money laundering was among the greatest challenges of the West African subregion.

This, he added, results in lack of investor confidence, which according to him, inhibits foreign investment.

The director-general of GIABA, Justice Kimelabalou Aba, also described the menace of money laundering and terrorism financing as major obstacles to human development and hampered equal economic and social opportunities, especially for honest and hard-working people.

The chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdurasheed Bawa, called for the stepping up of the fight against corruption and money laundering.

Represented by the Commandant of EFCC Academy, Ayo Olowonihi, Mr Bawa said additional efforts should be made to ensure transparency in public expenditure, by improving accountability of public servants and elected public officers, among others.

He also called for the improvement of public finance management systems and procurement practices. He also advocated strengthening enforcement of beneficial ownership declarations.

He advocated improving inter-agency collaboration and coordination, continuous public engagements and sensitisation
In commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which is held November 2, Nigerian journalists and media experts have condemned attacks against journalists and advocated for press freedom.

The journalists and media workers converged at an event in Abuja to discuss Countering Threats of Violence Against Journalists, The Role of CSOs and Other Non-state Actors.

The programme, organised by the International Press Centre (IPC) in partnership with Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), held on Tuesday in Abuja.

A free media is the bedrock of democracy, the host of the event said, adding that access to reliable and independent information is paramount, as exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his opening remark, the Executive Director of the IPC, Lanre Arogundade, said the key objective of the programme is to examine the important role that CSOs and other non-state actors could play in defending press freedom in general; and particularly, in curbing the menace of violence or threats against journalists and other media professionals.

He said CSOs and non-state actors including the various professional groups, trade unions, academics, etc., are critical voices that should be heard on the issue of safety of journalists.

It is often a matter of irony that individuals and groups that regularly harp on the role that the media should play in democracy and development, usually keep mute when the same media comes under attack as it has often been the case, he said

Speaking on this years campaign theme, Mr Arogundade said it highlights the psychological trauma experienced by journalists who are victims of threats, and raises awareness on the importance of investigating and prosecuting those allegedly responsible in order to end impunity for such crimes.

Against this background, he noted that an urgent collaborative intervention is necessary between the media, the CSOs and other non-state actors to develop an Action Plan on defending press freedom and engaging state institutions including security agencies.

Also speaking at the event, the EU-ACT National Programme Manager, Damilare Babalola, said the European Union supported the implementation of the programme to provide a platform for civil society groups and other stakeholders to reflect, ponder and resolve on how to ensure that the journalism profession is considered as part of the broader concept of civil society and as a worthy practice so that practitioners remain free from all forms of threats and violence.

Earlier in her presentation, a representative of the EU delegation in Nigeria, Winifred Achu, said the EU is keen to support increased protection of journalists during demonstrations, online safety and support to female journalists.

With free journalism under increasing pressure, the European Union is determined to support press and media freedom worldwide and assist journalists politically and financially, Ms Achu said.

She said the EU assessment is that journalism in Nigeria remains one of the most vibrant in the continent.

We have trust in the Nigerian journalists. We admire your courage as you continue reporting even in hostile conditions and to promote peace and democracy, she said.

In his submission, the Chairman of the event, Umaru Pate, said journalists safety must remain paramount to the state, lamenting that he had lost six journalists whom he helped train at the University of Maiduguri and Bayero University Kano to insurgents.

The professor said the insecurity in the country has negatively impacted the atmosphere journalists operate in, saying that  by the nature of what we do, we are unnecessarily exposed to potential enemies, those who see our activities as endangering their own way of life.

So, naturally we are targets, he said. But we have the constitution protecting us and other international regulations protecting us even though that has not stopped journalists from being harassed.

The academic harped on the need to improve the welfare of journalists.

You cannot talk about ending impunity, when journalists live a life of poverty and penury with no retirement plan, Mr Pate, the vice chancellor Federal University Kashere, said.

Chris Isiguzo, the president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, also conceded the frightening condition journalists work. Quoting figures of journalists that were killed globally, he said clearly, it portrays the real situation journalists find themselves in worldwide. This is an opportunity to bring to the fore the situation with media practice.

Granted we have a democracy, Mr Isiguzo said, but there are unique ingredients of a working democracy including a free press and respect for rule of law; and these are missing.

I want to appeal to our political actors, media practitioners and journalists, we are all stakeholders and if this system must work for us, we must operate without unnecessary encumbrance, he said. If we want democracy to continue to thrive, media practice must be given free hand to thrive.

Meanwhile, Victor Ayedun, a professor of mass communication at the University of Jos, queried the definition of journalism before dissecting issues journalism faces today. He argued that what journalists do is often not in sync with what journalists say they do.

Mr Ayedun said journalists, who have an indispensable role to play, are under pressure around the world, with governments at times attempting to silence journalists who scrutinize their actions too closely.

Ending impunity for crimes against journalists is one of the most pressing issues to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information for all citizens, he said.

On his part, the publisher of PREMIUM TIMES, Dapo Olorunyomi, who was the discussant of the lead paper, highlighted journalisms contribution to Nigeria and stated that journalists cannot afford to relent in the advocacy for complete freedom of the press as the press continues to be important for ensuring transparency and accountability in governance.

Unlike Mr Ayedun, Mr Olorunyomi said journalism may differ in specific age and time, but in a democracy the expectation is fairly a resolved issue. Journalism in a democracy at best will be an accountability mechanism, he said.

Mr Olorunyomi added that journalism will continue to change depending on the circumstances society finds itself in but several principles and values cannot change. He said despite the numerous challenges journalism faces today, there are opportunities that journalists can do better.
Following the controversies surrounding the selection process for the appointment of a substantive vice-chancellor and the expiration of the incumbents term of office on Thursday, the authorities of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Osogbo, have announced the appointment of a professor of geo-technical engineering, Afeez Bello, as an acting vice-chancellor.

Mr Bello, 45, who until his latest appointment, was the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of administration and development, is expected to resume office on Friday, November 5.

The outgoing vice-chancellor, Labo Popoola, a professor of forest economics, is expected to end his tenure on Thursday and return to the University of Ibadan where he is a serving lecturer.

Announcing the appointment on Wednesday morning, the universitys pro-chancellor and chairman of the governing council, Yusuf Alli, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the appointment became imperative following a subsisting ligation over the selection process.

Mr Alli said the appointment was to avoid a vacuum in the university administration and pledged the commitment of the university management to abide by the verdicts of the court as a law abiding institution.

Controversy

In July, the university published an advertorial announcing vacancy for the position of vice-chancellorship in the university, and listed the criteria to be met by the applicants.

Some of the criteria noted that applicants must, among others, be in possession of a PhD certificate, have a research gate score of 15.0 and 800 citations, must have published, at least, 50 research articles, 20 of which must have been published in what is called high impact journals as defined by Thomson Reuters ISI and Web of Science.

The advertisement added that a minimum of 10 of the research articles must have been published in the high impact journals and must have been published in the past three years, and that applicants must have ability to attract local and international research grants with evidence of having won and led, at least, 10 local and internationally funded researches.

The strict conditions angered some stakeholders, who accused the selection committee of a predetermined agenda, saying the set criteria are alien to the institutions extant laws and regulations.

In August, the Osun State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) held a media briefing in the state capital and announced its rejection of what it described as the dichotomy between PhD certificate and medical fellowship. The body, alongside other professors, approached a law court to seek intervention.

Following the litigation, the university authorities in September said it had suspended the selection process pending the determination of the matter.

The governing council chairman, who stated this during the universitys 10th convocation ceremony, said as a law abiding institution, the ideal thing was to await the final decision of the court before the process could proceed.

I must point out that I am aware that some members of staff felt that they have not been dealt with justly after seeing the advertisement that was placed for VC position and they have gone to court. And as a law abiding institution and as people who believe in justice, in the last one month, the process for the appointment of a new VC has been suspended until the court speaks because we are law abiding, Mr Ali said.

About the new acting VC

Born on October 11, 1976, Mr Bello hails from Ilobu, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State, and attended Ilobu Secondary Commercial Grammar School where he finished in 1993.

The acting vice-chancellor gained admission to Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, in 1995 where he studied Civil Engineering. He bagged his Masters certificate in Civil Engineering from the University of Ibadan in 2005 and later proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where he bagged his PhD in Civil Engineering in the year 2010.

Mr Bello began his lecturing career in 2007 and has taught in various institutions including his alma mater, where he started out.

Described as humane, religious and scholarly, Mr Bello was recently elected the deputy vice-chancellor by the senate of the university.
The #EndSARS panel in Abuja, on Wednesday, expressed disappointment in the Nigerian police over the gross negligence and inadequate commitment of their officers to the probe being conducted into cases of police brutality.

The Independent Investigative Panel set up by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to hear cases of human rights violation perpetrated by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police units, had, since inception, been forced to adjourn many cases due to lack of cooperation of police officers who are meant to appear to testify.

The chairman of the panel, Suleiman Galadima, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, expressed the panels frustrations triggered by the continued absence and lack of commitment of the police officers involved in the cases scheduled for hearing on Wednesday

We are not happy with the way things are going. This panel will not continue to condone the lack of deligence of the respondents, he said.

Absenteeism has been a trend at the panel for many months, with many police officers involved in scheduled cases failing to obey the panels invitations.

In March, the panel threatened to order the arrest of two police officers attached to the notorious Awkuzu SARS in Anambra State, should they continue to snub invitations to appear.

Why police officers are absent

The leader of the police defence team, James Idachaba, said at the Wednesdays proceedings that some of the officers involved in the listed cases had retired from the service.

He added that others had been transferred to other states or had been deployed for special operations in preparation for the coming election in Anambra State.

The lawyer, who heads the legal department of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command of the police force, said the unavailability of the invited police officers was due to one or two of the reasons.

Panel members react

A member of the panel, Garba Tetengi, a lawyer, while expressing displeasure over the poor attitude of the police towards the proceedings, said, we are disappointed in the continual negligence and lack of diligence of the police institution.

Another member of the panel, Lydia Umar, representing civil societies, noted that the panel viewed the absentee police officers, as not just individuals, but as the face of the police institution. She said the police institution as a whole needed to commit to the cases.

PREMIUM TIMES had previously reported how a police officer involved in one of the cases ignored the order of the panel.

The panel resumed sitting recently after it was crippled by lack of funding for over six months.

Already replicated in at least 28 ststes, the panel is commonly referred to as #EndSARS panel, a fitting name it was given as a product of the October 2020 #EndSARS protest against police brutality

Most of the panels set up by the state governments have submitted their reports, recommending compensations for victims of police brutality and sanctions or prosecution for erring police officers.
TEXEM is a leading consulting firm whose headquarters is situated in the UK. They are passionate about educating senior executives and African leaders. TEXEMs unique services have contributed immensely to organisational growth, capacity building, transformational change, sustainable success and development. They have influenced and led discussions that have directed key stakeholders to their drawing board. Inspiring hundreds of organisations and over four thousand leaders to enhance their performance, build core competencies to unlock scarce value and achieve enduring success.

Without a doubt, the senators of the ninth Nigerian Assembly had a very engaging and insightful time during the 5-day (11th -15th October 2021) Legislative Development Programme organised by TEXEM. The methodology adopted by TEXEM is time tested and well-proven, turning learning into a memorable experience. Their process is rigorous while designing the programme to be fun through videos, group and individual activities, peer to peer learning, observation practice, self-reflection and games. This methodology has helped them challenge assumptions and provided requisite insights to the distinguished senators to optimise their impact and achieve enduring success.

The five-day legislative executive development programme was characterised by four presentations daily, class and group activities. Other pedagogical activities included a simulated fire-side panel session for Q&A chaired by Alim Abubakre and games starting from the Second (2nd) day. The First (1st) day achieved team building (storming, norming, forming and performing) via a featured Cadbury Worlds tour and a trip to Shakespeares birthplace. During the visits, sessions were delivered by Gerald Baldwin, General Manager of Cadbury and Roberta Kay Davies. The curriculum was designed such that each days topic was a build-up on the previous days leading to a climax delivered on day five. Thereby equipping the participants with the necessary skill sets to impact their organisation by developing winning strategies for inclusive success in spite of these challenging times. Below is an overview of each days presentation and the topic treated.

Alim Abubakre, who introduced TEXEM, UK and the goal of the executive development programme, delivered the welcome address. The cohort then proceeded on a guided tour of Cadbury World and Shakespeares birthplace and participated in a boat ride.

The second day of the legislative-executive development programme witnessed the cohorts being equipped for legislative impact in sessions delivered by a professor, Rodria Laline. Her topics covered Trilemma in the world economy: A developing country example, Strategic Leadership in the digital age for Government, need for innovation in Governance: Lessons and insights from successes and failure, Fostering a culture of innovation in the legislature.

On day three of the programme, the cohorts were taught how to optimise their legislative impact by Rachel Aron through topics such as Leadership Presence-Confidence, Impact within the organisation-with staff- sideways, peers and upward-behaviours and culture, Benefits of Leadership impact-Some examples, Impact outside the organisation-How to be an ambassador to your organisation.

Day four of the programme comprised of sessions delivered by a professor, Paul Griffith, the worlds first Management Professor to lead a team that launched a rocket to space. He covered topics such as Strategic Leadership for Success in an Unknown Tomorrow (Leading during high-stakes strategic change, Enabling personal and organisational change. Other topics covered on day four include change and decision making for strategic outcomes, Organising for innovation). This session was concluded by Implementation which entailed discussions and activities on Amalgamation: Developing an action plan for change, Actionable success models: enhancing strategic possibilities and direction for success in a challenging and dynamic environment. In addition, the implementation session covered Integrating strategy with the execution infrastructure, Understanding and Harnessing the levers and Inhibitors of growth for value creation.

The final day of the programme was facilitated by Charles Crawford, on such topics as Managing Politics for Success  Strength and Weakness, what makes a leader strong or weak? Resolving Conflict  Tips and Tricks, Whats a conflict about? Leadership for Achieving Goals  Tips and Tricks, Communicating Change Effectively  Tips and Tricks (Informing v inspiring, Projecting confidence), Other activities on day five include group reflection, interviews, and games.

The programme ended on a very high note as senators shared their comments and attested to the fact that the legislative development was timely and relevant to the current economic and social situation Nigeria is currently facing. They stated that if all learnt were implemented in their various designations, Nigeria will experience a positive economic and social outlook.

Some excerpts from the feedback of legislators in the legislative executives in the in-plant programme;

I want to say a big thank you for TEXEMs special care and attention towards me in particular and the entire team. Your expertise in managing human beings and situation is an exceptional skill.

I am proud of you as a great Ambassador of Africa over there. Theres hope for a better change in future when we put into practice what we learnt.   Sen. Akon Eyakenyi.

The programme afforded me to meet and interact with highly esteemed International professionals and personalities. It guided me on the workings of public and private organisations and institutions. Coming from the Legislative expectations of me, I have acquired new strategies and applications in managing challenges and objectives of my office as a senator. The impact of the programme inspired me to immediately call a meeting of my aides to plan in order to execute the objectives of my programmes. The resource persons were wonderful and the organizers, TEXEM, were indefatigable. The hotel accommodation, food and service were excellent. Thanks TEXEM -Sen. (Prof.) Nora Ladi Daduut.

Some Quotes from Faculties

TEXEMs programme content was unique, rich, timely, educative, enlightening, and thought-provoking. The attendants not only got a chance to learn the art of achieving goals effectively and efficiently, but they also had memorable interactions, thereby increasing their social capital. Here is what faculties had to say after the programme.

Professor Rodria Laline, Founding Director of the Harvard University Maximize Your Boards Potential programme, said:

I salute TEXEMs rigorous methodology, consistently challenging faculties to optimise our delivery, vary our content, and the organisation share actionable insights into Nigerias contextual realities. This helps us to deliver more engaging, stimulating, and insightful programmes for the delegates. I particularly enjoyed engaging with arguably some of the worlds dedicated and visionary senators who attended the TEXEMs recently completed executive development programme in Birmingham. I am impressed by their mix of intellectual curiosity and enquiring approach to learning. If they maintain the momentum and use the many insights gleaned during the one-week programme, they could collaborate with the different tiers of government and thrive. Strategic and visionary leadership in government could help Nigeria achieve inclusive growth for enduring success despite the plethora of challenges.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the delegates from the National Assembly. They were engaging, thoughtful, eager to learn and great fun. TEXEM organisation was very efficient, and the day proceeded smoothly. It was a pleasure to work with the company and the delegates -Dr Rachel Aron, Former British Ambassador to Belgium and Chair of various boards.

It is a pleasure to work with senior executives and leading government figures in this dynamic and engaging programme designed by TEXEM, UK. The organisation and support for delegates as they engage in their learning journey is excellent  Former UK Ambassador to Bosnia, Charles Crawford.

The opportunity to share perspectives and ideas to address the challenges of working in an uncertain world is unparalleled, Prof. Paul Griffiths, Professor of Practice, Products & Services, Ashridge Executive Education at Hult International Business School, said.

For more information about TEXEM, please visit texem.co.uk
At least two police officers and a soldier have died in a battle with suspected ISWAP terrorists in Malamfatori in Borno State.

Malamfatori, located in the Sahara fringes of the state and lacking access roads, is one of the locations in Borno that have been deserted due to the activities of the insurgents.

Governor Babagana Zulum has just recently visited the town to officially receive refugees and return them to their liberated ancestral communities.

The governor had to fly into the town while some members of his entourage made nearly a dozen hours detour into parts of Niger Republic before getting to the town.

Malamfatori is said to be the headquarters of Boko Haram Shura Council, hence it is considered the strongest base of Boko Haram.

Sources said the general area is under the control of ISWAP.

On Wednesday afternoon, the insurgents attempted to infiltrate the community.

During a fierce shootout today in Malamfatori town, we lost three personnel  two police officers and a soldier, a military source told Premium Times.

Details later
The Lagos State House of Assembly may summon government officials to answer questions in relation to the recent collapse of a 21-storey building in the Ikoyi area of the state.

Nurudeen Akinsanya, the Chairman of the House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development, gave this indication when he led lawmakers to the site of the collapsed building on Wednesday.

He told journalists that the delegation would present a report on its findings to the House and those concerned could be invited.

I sympathise with the families of those affected and I want them to take heart and look unto God for the strength to bear the tragic incident, said Mr Akinsanya (Mushin 1)

We have been on the ground for hours and we have seen what has happened. When we get back, we will write our report.

Mr Governor has also spoken and given update. On our part, the House will carry out its own function. I am sure the leadership of the House led by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa will set up a committee or panel to look into the report, invite those to be invited and if we have to amend our laws, we will, he said.

Mr Akinsanya was accompanied by Rasheed Makinde (Ifako Ijaiye 2), Fatai Oluwa (Ajeromi Ifelodun 2), and Femi Saheed (Kosofe 2).

They met with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat; the head of the Lagos State Emergency Management, LASEMA, Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu; and other government officials at the site of the rescue operation.

The lawmakers visit came a day after Mr Sanwo-Olu relieved Gbolahan Oki, the head of the states building control agency, of his position.

The 21-storey building crumbled on Monday afternoon and rescue operations are still ongoing.

Mr Oki, one of the first emergency responders to arrive at the scene, had said the government had given approval for 15 floors and not 21. He partly blamed the collapse on the use of inferior material by the contractor.

However, hours later, the deputy governor, opposed the building control boss and said the government approved the 21-storey.

As of Wednesday, 22 bodies have been retrieved from the rubble while nine persons have been rescued.

An unknown number of people remain trapped under the ruins.
The prosecution team of the Lagos State Government on Wednesday at an Ikeja High Court again raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the death of a housemaid, Joy Adole, in her employers home.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lead state prosecutor, Yusuf Sule, queried Ms Adoles demise while responding to a no-case submission filed by the deceaseds employers, Fortune and Stephen Nwankwo.

The couple face a four-count charge of conspiracy, involuntary manslaughter and accessory after the fact to the housemaid murder.

Mr Sule, in his submission, said the circumstantial evidence presented to the court by the prosecution would prove that the defendants killed the deceased.

The deceased stays with the defendants and the two defendants are the elders in the house.

The medical report did not state that the deceased did not die from being hung from the ceiling. It stated that because the body had been embalmed, a cause of death was not certain.

However, the same medical report said that she did not die of suicide, Mr Sule said.

The prosecutor noted that the Supreme Court has decided that in instances where medical reports have not been provided, a cause of death can be proved from circumstantial evidence.

He said the concern of the court should be whether there were questions that needed answers regarding the death of the housemaid.

Who were the last people to see the deceased? We urge the court to discountenance the no-case submission of the defendants and ask them to open their defence.

They have to tell this court what happened to the deceased, why was she hung when the medical report did not state she committed suicide?

The picture tendered as evidence shows that her legs were on the ground meaning that she could not have committed suicide and still be on the ground.

The medical report also states there were no injuries on her neck to prove that she committed suicide. All these things need answers which they have not provided, Mr Sule said.

Earlier, the defence counsel, Paul Ananaba (SAN) while addressing the court said the Directorate of Public Prosecutions advice in the case stated that no case of murder had been established.

Mr Ananaba accused the state of presenting hearsay evidence in their case against the couple.

The state went ahead and brought charges of manslaughter. The prosecution kept filling gaps in their evidence.

What the prosecution has been giving has been hearsay. The prosecution began to rewrite the law contrary to expressed constitutional provisions and Supreme Court decisions.

Until the prosecution has been able to prove the offences they brought them to court for, then we will respond.

I urge your lordship to uphold this no-case submission, Mr Ananaba said.

NAN reports that the Nwankwos have been accused of killing 19-year-old Adole on April 20, 2020 at their residence located at No. 18, Ogundola St., Bariga, Lagos.

The Nwankwos deny the manslaughter of Adole and claimed that she committed suicide by hanging herself in her bedroom.

Justice Oyindamola Ogala adjourned the case till November 24 for ruling on the no-case submission.
Some residents of Lagos State have complained about the frustration they are experiencing while trying to access the COVID-19 vaccine.

They allege it is a ploy by the state government to make them pay N6,000 to be inoculated at private hospitals.

The residents spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.

They said that getting inoculation at some centres had been difficult, in spite of their preregistration.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on October 27 approved N6,000 for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines at private health facilities in the state.

Mr Sanwo-Olu said the move was part of the states strategy to conduct mass vaccination of four million residents by December 25.

The governor said that vaccination in the state would be administered by the approved 400 private health facilities, alongside the 183 public health centres.

NAN checks at some public vaccination sites at Alimosho, Ikorodu and Kosofe, showed large turnout of people awaiting vaccination, with some of the centres rowdy.

Olubunmi Adeyanju, a trader, said her efforts to get vaccinated at Agbelekale Primary Health Centre (PHC), Alimosho, on October 28 was futile.

I got to the vaccination site early because I was scheduled for the morning session, till I left in the evening, I couldnt get the vaccine.

We were told that vaccines were not available. I went back the next day and the day after, it was the same experience.

I even visited two other COVID-19 vaccination sites at Alimosho, the situation was similar to the centre I registered at.

Some people I met there suggested that we should go to the private hospital to get the vaccine, but how do I raise the administrative fee from the little profit I make from my petty trade?

I appeal to the government to make more vaccines available and the process seamless at PHCs to encourage more people to take the COVID-19 vaccine, she said.

Also, Augustine Ezekiel, a civil servant, said the large turnout of people at Ikorodu PHC, Ita-Elewa, discouraged him from taking the vaccine.

He appealed to the state government to increase the number of public vaccination sites, noting that doing that would ease the vaccination process.

A retiree, Sekinat Anifowoshe, complained that non-availability or late arrival of vaccines at some centres was responsible for overcrowding and vaccine hesitancy in some areas.

Those in charge should make the process seamless because many of us, notwithstanding the frustration experienced, cannot afford to pay N6,000 for vaccine administration.

Government should ensure that there is no hoarding of vaccines at the public health sites, we all need protection against the virus, she said.

Reacting, Oyewale Tomori, chairman, Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19, decried the situation, noting that some unscrupulous people were trying to frustrate the governments effort as vaccines were available in the state.

Mr Tomori, who is a virologist, said there was a need for proper monitoring and unannounced visits to public vaccination sites by top government officials to observe happenings there.

This kind of visit shouldnt involve the use of sirens or entourage but going incognito and pretending to be a vaccine recipient.

It will give them the opportunity to observe happenings in some of the centres and know the steps to take to address them, he said.

On the introduction of N6,000 administrative fees for COVID-19 vaccines at private hospitals, Mr Tomori said peculiarity of the countrys situation necessitated such a move.

The virologist noted that since most big men wont be willing to go to PHCs to queue and access the vaccine, then they can pay the service charge for accessing it at private hospitals of their choice.

Its the state of the country, if we have equitable health delivery service, there will be no need for that.

During the polio vaccination campaign, some African countries provided the private hospitals with vaccines, they were given a limit on what to charge for services and not for vaccines, he said.

According to him, there is need to clear misconceptions that the state is charging for COVID-19 vaccine, saying the fee is the service charge for getting inoculated at private hospitals.

Also, Tunji Akintade, former Chairman, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, said to ensure uniformity in service charge, the government fixed the cost and payment would also be made to the government.

Mr Akintade said it was better to partner with the private hospitals to reach more people than to allow the vaccine to expire due to its short shelf life.

Commenting, Makinde Akinlemibola, Lagos chairman, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, said training was ongoing for personnel of the 400 hospitals that would be involved in the vaccination campaign.

Mr Akinlemibola noted that PHCs were many in the state, but not as widespread as private hospitals that provide over 50 per cent health service delivery to the populace.

He said the associations partnership with the state government would assist the state to quickly achieve its target of herd immunity. (NAN)
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Larry Rock, 76, of Charles Way, passed away on November 17, 2021 at his home. He was born May 17, 1945 the son of Clarence and Rose (Rell) Rock. Services will be private and held at the convenience of the family. Larry will be laid to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery in Champlain. Arrangements ha
Plattsburgh, NY (12901)

Today

Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 46F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Rain showers early with overcast skies late. Low 41F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Plattsburgh, NY (12901)

Today

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 34F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A shower of rain or wet snow possible. Low 34F. Winds light and variable.
Founded by Joy Isaacs in 2011, Argentum is becoming a leading skincare brand in China in the super luxury category through their globally patented formulation based on the work of Nobel Prize-winning scientists. Through USHOPAL's own luxury retail chain, Bonnie&Clyde, this injection of capital will help further propel the brand in Asia and reinforce its position in the global market.

"We have always had a strong connection with China, and we've seen incredible brand growth in the past few years. As one of the leading brand management groups in China, we believe the forge of this partnership will shape the future of ARgENTUM in Asia and the world."  Founder & CEO Joy Isaacs

Company: ARgENTUM is a multi award-winning skincare brand, that emits the timeless strength of silver. After many years of research in the field of dermo-cosmetics, they have formulated a patented fusion of two vital ingredients ~ Silver Hydrosol & DNA HP. The result is a natural, super hydrating range of products that improves fine lines, wrinkles and the overall texture of your skin. Inspired by the Chinese philosophy of yin-yang, ARgENTUM balances their ground-breaking science with the psychology of beauty by using symbolism and poetry through their 12 archetypes to inspire beauty through balance.

Company: USHOPAL Group is China's leading luxury brand management group, partnering and investing in the next generation of luxury brands in the beauty and wellness space. Successfully developed brands such as Chantecaille, Natura Bisse, and Juliette has a gun. USHOPAL also owns the retail chain Bonnie&Clyde, in China as the leading luxury multi-brand beauty retailer. Located in the top tier department stores across China, they work with brands exclusively sold at high-end retail outlets such as Harrods from London, Le Bon Marche from Paris, Neiman Marcus from New York.

According to news, the China-based brand management group announced on Mar. 8 the completion of a $100 million round of financing with FountainVest and Cathay Capital to support its portfolio expansion in China and the Asia Pacific.

Website: www.ushopal.com

Contact: Cherry Yu

Email: pr@ushopal.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677574/1.jpg

SOURCE USHOPAL
SINGAPORE and NEW YORK and LONDON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Binance , the world's leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider has today announced that Beninese-American Hollywood star and model, Djimon Honsou and famous Nigerian painter, LAOLU will be exhibiting their digital artist series, "Time To Heal", on the Binance NFT Marketplace . This collaboration is for Binance Charity's NFT For Good Campaign, which enables creators to convert their art and creativity into meaningful global action targeting social and humanitarian issues.

Djimon Hounsou who portrayed Korath the Pursuer in Marvel blockbuster movies, Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel, will be body painted by LAOLU, the Nigerian artist behind the body art in Beyonce's Grammy award-winning Lemonade. The abstract image will then be projected on a physical canvas and subsequently converted to a digital NFT version.

The NFT collection, consisting of five unique portraits, will launch on November 10, 2021 and proceeds will be shared between the artists and the Djimon Hounsou Foundation through the Binance Charity. "I feel this compelling need, this inherent obligation to give back to my continent, to my people, and to champion the idea of reconciliation and reconnection," says Djimon.

LAOLU added: "There is so much we can do when we come together. Through my work I've always sought to connect the world to my Yoruba roots. With this project, we're doing that on a large scale by sharing not only our own stories but that of the diaspora within the digital landscape."

On November 9, 2021, Djimon and LAOLU will also join Binance for a live 'Ask Me Anything' chat on Binance YouTube, discussing NFTs, their entrance into the crypto and blockchain space and how NFTs can impact African artists.

Emmanuel Babalola, Director at Binance Africa, said: "We are especially excited to host creators of African descent as we see the profound opportunity NFTs and the blockchain bring to the entire continent. As NFTs transform the digital art world, it is important that African creators are provided an even larger platform with optimal solutions to reach a more global audience."

"Nearly 4 times as many people live in modern-day slavery than during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We know blockchain is a powerful tool that can be used to help tackle complex and horrific social issues - such as this - from tackling corruption to increasing transparency to promoting financial freedom to providing new fundraising streams such as the recent NFT boom. Cross industry collaborations such as this one between Djimon, his foundation, Laolu and Binance are essential to help harness this potential and drive forward blockchain for good." Comments Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity and Binance NFT.

Binance NFT is an established brand within the crypto community. In just a little over a month after its debut, Binance NFT became one of the fastest growing NFT platforms in the world, generating 25 million BUSD in sales, selling over 300,000 mystery boxes and onboarding 400 creators globally. Today, Binance NFT has sold over 900,000 mystery boxes and earned 103+ million BUSD in sales in total since launch.

The Binance NFT Marketplace shares the same account system as Binance.com. Existing Binance users are able to access the NFT marketplace and trade with their current Binance accounts. New users simply have to register on Binance.com to create or trade on the Binance NFT platform. Binance NFT has also added multi-chain support for NFT deposits and withdrawals. Users can now transfer their NFTs to and from Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum networks with ease.

SOURCE Binance NFT Marketplace
"With more than 30 years of experience designing, building and operating our own global CDMO network, we are pleased to support SaudiVax in fulfilling its mission to localize the development and manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics in Saudi Arabia," said Sebastien Ribault, Head of End-to-End Contract Development Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) Services, Life Science business sector at Merck. "This partnership brings together our shared commitment to expand access to life-saving and life-enhancing therapies."

The first phase of this collaboration will focus on conceptual and equipment selection studies, followed by facility fit-out, consulting, and process development services to enable SaudiVax to achieve self-sufficient cGMP manufacturing that meets international regulatory requirements. As part of this first phase, Merck will support the training of SaudiVax employees in its M Lab Collaboration Center in Molsheim, France, and on its End-to-End GMP site located in Martillac, France. Merck and SaudiVax formalized their collaboration with a signing ceremony on October 24.

"Merck's comprehensive expertise, services, and bioprocessing products, coupled with its focus on both the customer and international regulatory requirements, makes them the ideal strategic partner to enable us to localize the manufacturing of high-quality, Halal, and affordable vaccines and biotherapeutics in Saudi Arabia for distribution throughout the MENA region," said Mazen Hassanain, Managing Director of SaudiVax.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices  the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck generated sales of  17.5 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck's technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676792/Merck_SaudiVax.jpg

SOURCE Merck
The announcement was accompanied by the One Sun declaration endorsed by 80 ISA member countries, which stated that, "Realizing the vision of One Sun One World One Grid through interconnected green grids can be transformational, enabling all of us to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement to prevent dangerous climate change, to accelerate the clean energy transition, and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. These efforts can stimulate green investments and create millions of good jobs. By sharing the sun's energy, we can help to build a more peaceful and prosperous world."

The project, spearheaded by the Governments of India & the UK, and implemented by ISA, in partnership with the World Bank Group, aims to harness solar energy wherever the sun is shining, ensuring that generated electricity flows to areas that need it most. The GGI-OSOWOG will bring together a global coalition of national governments, international financial and technical organizations, legislators, power system operators and knowledge leaders to accelerate the construction of the new infrastructure needed for a world powered by clean energy. In doing so, the project aims to reduce reliance on non-renewable energy such as coal by enabling them to purchase affordable solar power from other countries.

As the chief agency leading and delivering the project, ISA aims to help mobilize US$1 trillion of funding by 2030 to assist developing countries in expanding their solar power grids to meet their energy access, energy security and energy transition needs. The initiative is widely seen as a big and bold move ahead on the ISA's solar transition roadmap and will go some way towards realizing its vision for a solar energy future.

Speaking at the event today, Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi said: "One Sun, One World & One Grid will not only reduce storage needs but also enhance the viability of solar projects. This creative initiative will not only reduce carbon footprints and energy cost but also open a new avenue for cooperation between different countries and regions.

"The One Sun One World One Grid and Green Grids Initiative is an idea whose time has come. If the world has to move to a clean and green future, these interconnected transnational grids are going to be critical solutions. I congratulate the International Solar Alliance and the UK COP Presidency for bringing it nearer to implementation."

The event also featured an address by Rt Hon'ble Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, who stated: "What we want is to take these inventions, these breakthroughs, and get them the finance and the support they need to make sure that they are disseminated through the whole world."

President Biden supported the GGI-OSOWOG initiative in his speech at the launch event saying: "We have to scale up clean technologies that are already commercially available and cost competitive like wind and solar energy."

Following the announcement, ISA Director General, Dr. Ajay Mathur, remarked: "This network has the potential to be a modern engineering marvel, and a catalyst for effectively mitigating climate change in the next decade. The One Sun Declaration is multilateralism in action, with leaders of the world coming together to drive sustainable impactful change for a cleaner planet and a greener economy.

"Through the power of solar and other renewables, and our collective efforts, we believe we can build and achieve a green recovery, transitioning away from fossil fuels to a solar future and opening up affordable, renewable electricity supplies to markets that have been historically underserved."

Under the plans being released today, ISA intends to push for a network of interconnected green grids in the coming years. As part of its first phase, the project will drive interconnectivity across the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The second will focus on African power pools, while the third will drive global green grids interconnections.

The global grid concept was first announced by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2018 during the first assembly of the ISA. In May 2021, the UK pledged technical, financial and research support for the OSOWOG project.

About the International Solar Alliance

The International Solar Alliance (ISA), was launched at COP21 in Paris and has recently expanded its membership scope to include all UN member states. There are 90 signatories and 193 prospective members. The ISA provides a dedicated platform for co-operation, through which the global community, including governments, bilateral and multilateral organizations, corporates, industry, and other stakeholders, can contribute to help achieve the common goal of increasing the use and quality of solar energy in meeting energy needs of prospective ISA member countries in a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable and sustainable manner.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677050/ISA_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677051/OSOWOG_Logo.jpg

SOURCE International Solar Alliance
ROSEMONT, lll., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- J. David Johnson Jr., DDS, was introduced as the 2021-22 president of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) during its Annual Meeting in September in Nashville, Tenn.

With AAOMS's other officers and Board of Trustees, Johnson assumes leadership of the professional organization representing more than 9,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Johnson of Oak Ridge, Tenn., previously served as AAOMS President-Elect, Vice President and District III Trustee as well as AAOMS and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) Foundation Treasurer.

"I look forward to serving as your President in the coming year," Johnson said during his inaugural address at the House of Delegates' third session. "We do not know where the road of life will lead us. If we pursue our AAOMS mission, 'to assure patient access to safe and effective care,' our Association will be going in the right direction."

For more than 30 years, Johnson has been in private practice in Oak Ridge and Powell, Tenn. He has served as president of the Southeastern and Tennessee Societies of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, associate professor at the University of Tennessee as well as a member of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS) Examination Committee, the OMS National Insurance Company (OMSNIC) Advisory Board and numerous association committees.

For 15 years, he was the national OMS spokesperson for the American Dental Association. In 2003, he received the AAOMS Presidential Achievement Award in OMS. Johnson graduated summa cum laude (with highest honors) from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry and completed his OMS residency at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville.

"Ten years on the AAOMS Board of Trustees as AAOMS District III Trustee, Treasurer, Vice President, President-Elect and now as AAOMS President are the culmination of my service as an advocate for our specialty," Johnson said. "My volunteerism has been made possible by too many people to list."

Johnson succeeds B.D. Tiner, DDS, MD, FACS, who will serve as Immediate Past President. Other 2021-22 officers elected by the House of Delegates are President-Elect Paul J. Schwartz, DMD; Vice President Mark A. Egbert, DDS, FACS; Treasurer Robert S. Clark, DMD; and Speaker of the House Steven R. Nelson, DDS, MS. In addition, W. Frederick Stephens, DDS, joins the Board of Trustees, serving the western states in District VI for a two-year term and replacing Egbert. Trustees David M. Shafer, DMD, of District I and Debra M. Sacco, DMD, MD, of District III were re-elected to two-year terms.

Schwartz is assistant professor in oral and maxillofacial surgery and dental anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. He has served as president of the Maryland Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, AAOMS District II Trustee and an examiner and co-chair of medicine and anesthesia for ABOMS. Before his full-time academic appointment, he practiced full-scope oral and maxillofacial surgery in the Washington, D.C., metro area for more than 30 years.

Egbert has been Chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Seattle Children's Hospital since 2000. Previously, he spent 14 years as OMS Chief at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Wash. He is an associate professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Washington and served five years as AAOMS District VI Trustee and eight years as an ABOMS examiner. He also has been president of the Western and Washington societies of oral and maxillofacial surgeons, a director on the OMS Foundation Board, AAOMS Delegate for 14 years and a member of AAOMS committees.

Nelson was elected to his 20th term as Speaker of the House. He is a member of the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Center and practices at Nelson, Rollert & Wells Associates in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Denver, Colo. He also is chair of the Small Donor Committee of the Colorado Dental Political Action Committee, a member of the Colorado Dental Association Government Relations Council and a volunteer with the Colorado Dental Lifeline Network (after serving as president).

Stephens practices as a member of The Pacific Coast Center for Oral, Facial & Cosmetic Surgery in Pasadena, Calif. He has served on the ABOMS Examination Committee and as president of the California Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons and the San Gabriel Valley Dental Society. He also has served as a commissioner with and subsequent chair of the AAOMS Commission on Professional Conduct as well as an AAOMS Delegate. Stephens is a board member and treasurer and will be the 2022 chair of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Political Action Committee, and he was a director at-large for the OMS Foundation, receiving its 2015 Gerald E. Hanson Outstanding Service Award.

Other AAOMS Trustees are Martin E. Eichner, DDS, of District II, J. David Morrison, DMD, of District IV, and Charles A. Crago, DMD, MD, FACS, of District V. The Board also includes Secretary/Executive Director Karin Wittich, CAE.

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


But that's not all that makes 7-Reserve Guatemala coffee so special: it tastes amazing and you can feel amazing about supporting farmers and sustainable farming methods when you buy it. The coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified and made from single-origin, sustainably sourced, 100% Arabica beans. Grown in the Huehuetenango region, the sought-after beans are fully cultivated and processed on small farms before being taken to the bustling hub of San Antonio Huista. There, the farmers sell their coffee and buy goods before returning to the remote mountain towns where they live. That means that with every cup, you are doing good for hard-working families and for the environment.

As for that amazing taste? Guatemalan beans grown in volcanic soil at Huehuetenango's higher elevations are known for their bright flavor notes and juicy flavor profiles. A medium roast was selected to help best bring out these characteristics  complete with an aroma with a hint of the brew's fruity notes and sweet aftertaste.

Better yet, 7-Reserve Guatemala coffee, available for a limited time at participating 7-Eleven stores, is wallet-friendly and costs the same as every other hot beverage at 7-Eleven. As the OG To-GO since 1964 coffee destination, 7-Eleven charges based on cup size  so customers are encouraged to try new brews or customize their usual with a variety of flavored creamers, syrups, sweeteners and toppings.

"7-Eleven has a lot of coffee-drinkers with sophisticated opinions when it comes to taste and price," said Jacob Barnes, 7-Eleven Proprietary Beverages Senior Product Director. "7-Reserve Guatemala is perfect for those who are looking for a bolder cup to start their morning  or for a vacation from their regular coffee  without spending exorbitant coffeeshop prices. The beans for this variety are grown on small farms in a micro-region known for its high-quality coffee and sustainable farming practicesboth requirements for all our 7-Reserve coffees."

7-Eleven continues to grow its portfolio of sustainable coffees. Since 2016, 7-Eleven has introduced Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru, Sumatra, Colombia, Kenya, as well as an African blend from Ethiopia and Rwanda, all responsibly grown. Single-origin, 100% Colombian Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee is now a permanent offering and top-seller on the hot beverage bar. Future 7-Reserve coffeesthe convenience leader's proprietary line of specially curated coffeeswill include both unique blends and single-origin brews from top growing areas around the world.

Want to learn more? Simply scan the QR code at the hot beverage bar at participating 7-Eleven stores. Because good taste should be rewarded, customers are also encouraged to join 7Rewards  for exclusive offers and discounts. With 50 million members, 7Rewards is the popular loyalty program found in the 7Eleven app, where customers can earn and redeem points on most purchases.

The 7-Eleven app can be downloaded at the App Store , Google Play , or by visiting 7Rewards.com .

About 7-Eleven, Inc.

Are you still reading this? Awesome. Most people stop when they get to the small print. But not you! You get to read the cool stuff. 7Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience-retailing industry. They don't like to brag, but they invented convenience stores. For real. Google it. Based in Irving, Texas, 7Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 77,000 stores in 19 countries and regions, including nearly 16,000 in North America. 7Eleven, Inc. operates Speedway, Stripes, Laredo Taco Company and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits locations. Known for its iconic brands such as Slurpee, Big Bite and Big Gulp, 7Eleven has expanded into high-quality sandwiches, salads, side dishes, cut fruit and protein boxes, as well as pizza, chicken wings and mini beef tacos. Mmmmm, tacos. 7Eleven offers customers industry-leading private brand products under the 7-Select brand including healthy options, decadent treats and everyday favorites at an outstanding value. Customers can earn and redeem points on various items in stores nationwide through its 7Rewards loyalty program with more than 50 million members, place an order in the 7NOW delivery app available throughout the US, or rely on 7Eleven for bill payment service, self-service lockers and other convenient services. Find out more online at www.7Eleven.com, via the 7Rewards customer loyalty platform on the 7Eleven mobile app, or on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also, they trademarked the word "Brainfreeze." No lie. Thanks for sticking with this. You're unstoppable.

SOURCE 7-Eleven, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.7-eleven.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Abound , the leading curated wholesale marketplace connecting small business owners and independent brands, today announced the completion of a $36.7 million Series B financing round led by global investment and technology development firm the D. E. Shaw group. This latest investment round, which includes additional support from PointState Capital, Left Lane Capital, RiverPark Ventures and All Iron Ventures, brings the company's total funding to $59.6 million.

Founded by Niklas de la Motte, Bill Shope, and Drew Sfugaras in 2019, Abound's marketplace is dedicated to discovering and supporting the most creative and innovative brands across the US and UK, as well as providing independent retailers with the support and products they need to compete with the brick-and-mortar and e-commerce behemoths.

The Series B follows a $22.9M Series A, led by Left Lane Capital earlier this year, and recognizes a year of explosive growth for the company, whose year-to-date GMV is up more than four times that of 2020. Abound's marketplace now offers over 400,000 available products, with thousands being added every week, as well as a network of over 40,000 active retailers spanning all 50 states and the United Kingdom.

"Demand for a modern wholesale platform is at an all-time high with skilled workers leaving large companies to bet on themselves as retail and product entrepreneurs," said Bill Shope, CEO and Co-Founder of Abound. "At Abound, everything we do is centered around supporting small businesses. That mission is what drives our strategy and the day-to-day activities of our team. This funding round is validation that some of the best investors in the world share our vision that small businesses will lead the transformation of wholesale."

While online penetration for independent wholesale is extremely low (0.25%), similar to the business-to-consumer online penetration of the 1990s, Shope expects that rate to increase dramatically over the next five years and is positioning Abound to be at the forefront as it does.

"As longtime investors in online marketplaces, we believe the wholesale commerce and trade show space, which is large and highly fragmented, will benefit from Abound's innovative online model," said Edwin Jager, Managing Director and Head of Fundamental Equities, for the D. E. Shaw group. "Abound empowers retailers to conveniently source and manage inventory from emerging and curated brands, while extending those brands' audience reach and accelerating their time to market. We're excited to support Abound's strategic direction through our investment and board seat."

The Abound team plans to use the funds raised to expand their team, particularly in engineering. This will allow the company to accelerate the development of advanced business management tools for its brands and to grow community-centered features. On the horizon for Abound is the addition of a new suite of tools to help brands manage their business both on and off of Abound's platform, the integration of live-selling capabilities to help brands engage with retailers in a way that is entertaining and delightful, and machine learning and data analytics initiatives to help retailers discover upcoming trends and products their customers will love.

To learn more about Abound, visit: www.helloabound.com .

About Abound: Abound is the leading wholesale marketplace serving brands and retailers in the US and UK. Offering over 400,000 products from thousands of brands, Abound offers retailers and brands a modern way to connect and build lasting business relationships. Abound is funded by the D.E. Shaw group, PointState Capital, Left Lane Capital, RiverPark Ventures, All Iron Ventures, and Red Antler. Abound is headquartered in New York City. Web: https://helloabound.com , Instagram: @helloabound, Facebook: www.facebook.com/helloabound , Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/helloabound/ .

About the D. E. Shaw group: The D. E. Shaw group is a global investment and technology development firm with more than $60 billion in investment capital as of September 1, 2021, and offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. Since its founding in 1988, the firm has earned a reputation for successful investing based on innovation, careful risk management, and the quality and depth of its staff. The firm has a significant presence in the world's capital markets, investing in a wide range of companies and financial instruments in both developed and developing economies.

About Left Lane Capital: Left Lane is a New York-based leading global growth equity firm investing in high-growth internet and consumer technology companies. Left Lane's mission is to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs creating category-defining businesses that are fundamental to the human condition and spirit. Current investments include: Choco, GoStudent, Masterworks, M1 Finance, Tovala, FightCamp, Wayflyer, Tapcart, and more. For more information, please visit www.leftlanecap.com .

Contact:

Sara Morgan

[email protected]

703.298.2243

SOURCE Abound
Also in 2023, travelers will have more opportunities to explore Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands with added sailings to both destinations. Bookings open to the public on Nov. 12, 2021. More details on Adventures by Disney Expedition Cruises can be found on the Expedition Cruising with Disney page of AdventuresByDisney.com.

Sailing aboard intimate, purpose-built ships specially designed to access remote destinations, guests will experience pristine natural wonders and diverse wildlife throughout the adventure on Adventures by Disney Expedition Cruises. With nature at the heart of every experience, these ships and a broad range of excursions enable expert naturalists and Adventure Guides to bring the stories of these regions to life, both on land and at sea.

New Family Expedition Cruises to the Arctic

With the introduction of the Arctic Expedition Cruise, Adventures by Disney now offers family vacation experiences to both polar regions, each with its own distinctive landscape and wildlife. Scheduled for two departures in 2023 (June and July), the 10-day, nine-night, Arctic Expedition Cruises will sail on a charted adventure with PONANT, a leader in luxury polar expeditions.

Former Imagineer Joe Rohde will join the July 2023 sailing and will delight guests with amazing tales from his Disney career and share his passion for nature and conservation. Rohde will also host fun sketching sessions for guests, even those with no artistic experience.

Following a welcome dinner and overnight stay in Oslo, Norway, adventurers fly to Svalbard to board Le Boreal to explore Northern Norway and the Arctic. Unlike its polar opposite, the Arctic is home to permanent residents and has a fascinating history of human inhabitants. While in Longyearbyen, the largest town of Norway's Svalbard archipelago and the northernmost settlement on the planet with a permanent population of more than 1,000, guests will further explore this former mining town.

Guests will view the breathtaking glaciers of this region's most beautiful fjord, Kongsfjorden and embark on daily boat excursions where they may see some of the region's unique wildlife including polar bears, reindeer, arctic foxes and walruses.

Family Expedition Cruises to Antarctica

Adventures by Disney has added three departures for the 12-day, 11-night Antarctica and Patagonia Expedition Cruises which will sail with PONANT. The added itineraries will depart in December 2022 and early 2023.

This adventure takes travelers to the southernmost tip of Argentine Patagonia, to visit the resort town of Ushuaia before boarding their vessel to travel through the Drake Passage. As the journey continues, guests will soak in the awe-inspiring landscapes of Antarctica, where each day brings a new adventure. Daily boat excursions and hikes along the continent's shorelines, provide the opportunity to catch glimpses of native wildlife like seabirds, penguins and seals in their natural habitat. With offshore activities defined by nature, every wildlife viewing will be unique to the sailing.

Pre-cruise Experience in Buenos Aires

Travelers booked on an Antarctica and Patagonia Expedition Cruise can add even more adventure with the Buenos Aires Escape. This four-day, three-night guided group experience will highlight must-see attractions as well as the hidden gems of Argentina's capital. Guests will learn to dance the tango with a private demonstration, enjoy the countryside tradition of horseback riding while visiting a local estancia and experience the epicurean delights and cosmopolitan culture of Buenos Aires.

Family Expedition Cruises in the Galapagos Islands

Also returning for a second year of sailing in 2023, the Adventures by Disney Galapagos Islands Expedition Cruise is an adventurous nine-day, eight-night sailing aboard the boutique expedition ship, the Galapagos Legend. Five departures have been added for 2023 which will explore the diverse islands and ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands. This cruise is operated in collaboration with Go Galapagos.

On excursions led by naturalists, adventurers will discover the archipelago's spectacular vistas and remarkable diversity of plant and animal species, with possible sightings of the albatross, frigate bird, blue-footed booby, giant tortoise, marine iguana and Galapagos penguin. Trip highlights include snorkeling in turquoise waters inhabited by sea lions, reef fish and sea turtles; hiking across the islands' diverse terrain; and paddling in transparent kayaks along sheltered coves.

Pre-cruise Experience in the Amazon

The Adventures by Disney Amazon Escape can add even more adventure to a Galapagos Islands Expedition Cruise. Following an overnight stay in Quito, travelers will spend three or four nights on the Anakonda river boat and see the Amazon rainforest up close from the ground and the tree tops. Guests will explore the Napo River by motorized canoe in search of the elusive pink river dolphin, enjoy a guided nocturnal rainforest walk to witness animals that would go unseen during daylight and more.

With exceptional service, storytelling and authentic cultural experiences, all Adventures by Disney vacations are designed to appeal to the interests and needs of the entire family, allowing parents, grandparents and young adventurers to discover the world together. On all Adventures by Disney expedition cruises, families will relax and play together aboard an intimate expedition ship as a team of Adventure Guides lead engaging programming for adults and Junior Adventurers alike.

To learn more about Adventures by Disney or to book a vacation, guests can visit AdventuresByDisney.com, call 1-800-543-0865 or contact a travel agent.

ABOUT ADVENTURES BY DISNEY

Adventures by Disney provides immersive, hassle-free group guided vacation experiences to destinations on all seven continents. Families traveling with Adventures by Disney receive exceptional service while taking part in extraordinary experiences at locations including the South African plains, the grand cities of Europe, Costa Rica's rich rainforest, the ruins of Pompeii and Machu Picchu, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China, Antarctica's awe-inspiring sites and some of America's most iconic destinations.

Adventures by Disney has been recognized by numerous travel organizations for its excellence in family tourism. Adventures by Disney was honored in Cruise Critic's annual Editors' Picks awards as the Best River Cruise Line for Families in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. It has also garnered many other awards of excellence over the past decade.

Offering Disney-trained Adventure Guides on each trip, engaging activities, VIP experiences and personal touches throughout, Adventures by Disney vacations are crafted to excite and delight everyone. Visit AdventuresByDisney.com to learn more.

SOURCE Adventures by Disney
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - AllTerra Central and California Surveying & Drafting Supply, Inc. (CSDS), two leading Trimble Geospatial dealers globally, announce the purchase of Allen Instruments & Supplies from Empire Technology Holdings, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Allen Instruments, a family business since 1969, is a Trimble Geospatial dealer with active representation in the Southwest USA. Acquired by Empire Technology holdings in 2015, Allen Instruments has been a leading provider in GPS, Robotics, LIDAR and survey solutions in Southern California and Arizona. The acquisition will be effective on November 30, 2021.

"We are extremely excited to welcome the California-based Allen Instruments group of employees to the CSDS team," states Tom Cardenas, President of CSDS "As a leader in the geospatial and large format printing solutions in Northern California for over 35 years, it is extremely important that we expand our coverage into Southern California and combine the forces of both organizations to offer the highest level of expertise to the industries that we serve. This is an important acquisition for CSDS, as it will offer California clients a single point of contact for all their precision positioning and workflow optimization needs. With 3 new offices in Ventura, Anaheim and Escondido it will position CSDS as a leader in Trimble Geospatial solution distribution and expand our expertise into innovative surveying solutions such as 3D laser scanning, UAV, mobile mapping and the largest and most reliable commercial real time network surveying networks (RTN) in the Western US."

AllTerra Central, the leading dealer of geospatial equipment in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico will now expand its product offerings and professional solutions into Arizona, with an office and storefront in Scottsdale. With the expanded territory of Arizona, AllTerra Central will cover the largest portion of the Southwest United States with Trimble GPS, Robotics and LIDAR systems. "Allen Instruments has always had a strong reputation in the surveying community" states Mike Minick, Owner/VP of Sales for AllTerra Central. "We look forward to continuing that work ethic and degree of professionalism to provide the highest level of service to the Arizona customers."

About CSDS

For over 35 years CSDS has helped clients capture, transform and manage data leading to increased efficiency and profitability. CSDS was recently acquired by Cansel, the largest distributor of land-based positioning gear in Canada, who expanded its business into the U.S through this acquisition. Together we provide precision positioning, GIS and documentation solutions to engineering, surveying, construction, mining, utilities, and government sectors to improve productivity in the complete field to finish workflow. CSDS is headquartered in Sacramento, CA. Learn more at www.csdsinc.com & www.cansel.ca

About AllTerra Central, Inc.

AllTerra Central Inc. was formed in 2018 by the merger of Western Data Systems (WDS) and Martin Instrument, two Trimble dealers in Texas and Oklahoma. The Trimble MGIS territory of New Mexico was added in 2019 with the purchase of assets from Compass Tools. AllTerra Central currently has offices throughout Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico and now Arizona. AllTerra Central offers Trimble and Spectra Precision solutions in Surveying, MGIS, Marine, Mobile Mapping and Infrastructure and provide sales, rentals, repairs and support for these products. Additionally, they offer mobile/airborne LIDAR and Photogrammetry solutions from GeoSLAM and Microdrones. Learn more at www.allterracentral.com

For sales and operational questions, please continue to contact your local Allen Instruments representatives.

SOURCE California Surveying & Drafting Supply, Inc. (CSDS)
THOMASVILLE, Ga., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) has amended its October 31, 2021 voluntary recall press release on certain Tastykake products to reflect additional products included in the recall.

As a precautionary measure, the company is voluntarily recalling certain Tastykake multi-pack cupcakes and certain Krimpets products due to the potential presence of tiny fragments of metal mesh wire. The recall was initiated following notification by a vendor of the possible contamination in a supplied ingredient and is being amended following additional notification from the vendor.

The Tastykake multi-pack cupcakes products being recalled were distributed to retail customers in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia. The Tastykake Krimpets products being recalled were distributed to retail customers throughout the U.S.

No injuries or incidents have been reported in connection with the recalled items. See below for product list, UPCs, and "enjoy by" dates, which may be found on the top, sides, or bottom of the packaging.

All recalled products, including the amended products, are listed in the two tables below:

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION UPC # ENJOY BY DATE Tastykake Chocolate Cupcakes

12.75 oz. (6-2ct) 0-25600-00219-3 DEC. 14

DEC. 18

DEC. 21 Tastykake Creme Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

14.25oz (6-2ct) 0-25600-00223-0 DEC. 14

DEC. 18

DEC. 21

DEC. 25 Tastykake Buttercreme Iced Creme Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

14.25oz (6-2ct)*



*Tastykake Buttercreme Iced Creme Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

14.25oz (6-2ct) (Inner packages sold individually) 0-25600-00230-8





0-25600-00230-8

0-25600-00004-5 DEC. 14

DEC. 18

DEC. 25

DEC. 18

DEC. 18





PRODUCT DESCRIPTION UPC # ENJOY BY

DATE Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets

12 oz. (6-2ct) * Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets 2oz (2ct) (Inner packages sold individually) 0-25600-00227-8





0-25600-00083-0 NOV. 24

DEC. 01



NOV. 24

DEC. 01 Tastykake Creme Filled Krimpets 14.25 oz. (6-2ct) 0-25600-00355-8 NOV. 20

NOV. 24

NOV. 27 Tastykake Jelly Krimpets 12 oz. (6-2ct) 0-25600-00228-5 NOV. 22

NOV. 25

NOV. 29 Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets (Club Pack) 24 oz. (12-2ct) 0-25600-00396-1 NOV. 24

DEC. 01 Tastykake 3ct Butterscotch Krimpets 3 oz. (3ct) 0-25600-00002-1 NOV. 27

DEC. 01

DEC. 08 Tastykake 3ct Jelly Krimpets 3 oz. (3ct) 0-25600-00025-0 NOV. 25

Consumers should not consume these products.

Affected product should be discarded or may be returned to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may call Flowers' Consumer Relations Center at 1-866-245-8921. The center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Consumers also may contact the center via e-mail by visiting www.flowersfoods.com/contact/consumers.

About Flowers Foods

Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2020 sales of $4.4 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.

FLO-IR FLO-PRO FLO-CORP

SOURCE Flowers Foods, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.flowersfoods.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Atento S.A. (NYSE: ATTO, "Atento" or the "Company"), one of the five largest providers worldwide and the leading company in customer relationship services and business process outsourcing (CRM / BPO) in Latin America, has today announced it has joined the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent), a global business network of 190+ major companies around the world committed to supporting refugees, including by hiring and training them.

As the United States prepares to ramp up its refugee admissions over the course of the next year - including welcoming tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Afghanistan - there is a need and an opportunity for businesses to help refugees integrate as they start their new lives in America. As part of this effort, Atento has joined the Tent Coalition for Afghan Refugees, committing to explore hiring and training opportunities for Afghans in the U.S.

Cathy Jooste, Atento's Chief Coomercial Officer said, "As part of our social commitment to create a sustainable and inclusive global economy capable of providing lasting benefits to all persons, we are pleased to announce this collaboration with Tent. The initiative links closely with Atento's sustained effort to foster diversity and social inclusion in the communities where we operate and we really hope to be able to make a difference to some of the Afghan refugees as they arrive in the United States."

Scarlet Cronin, Acting Executive Director at Tent, said: "Atento is stepping up for refugees at such a critical time, and we are thrilled to welcome them to the Tent Partnership. By hiring refugees, Atento will not only build a more diverse and inclusive workforce, it will also gain incredibly hard-working and loyal employees. We're so proud of the company's leadership on this effort."

For more information about the Tent Partnership for Refugees, and its member companies, visit www.tent.org/members.

About Atento

Atento is the largest provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing ("CRM BPO") services in Latin America, and among the top five providers globally. Atento is also a leading provider of nearshoring CRM BPO services to companies that carry out their activities in the United States. Since 1999, the company has developed its business model in 14 countries where it employs approximately 139,800 people. Atento has over 400 clients to whom it offers a wide range of CRM BPO services through multiple channels. Atento's clients are mostly leading multinational corporations in sectors such as telecommunications, banking and financial services, health, retail and public administrations, among others. Atento's shares trade under the symbol ATTO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In 2019, Atento was named one of the World's 25 Best Multinational Workplaces and one of the Best Multinationals to Work for in Latin America by Great Place to Work. Also, in 2021 Everest named Atento as a star performer Gartner named the company as a leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant. For more information visit www.atento.com

About the Tent Partnership for Refugees

With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new host communities. The Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes the global business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of 30 million refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Founded by Chobani's founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya in 2016, we are a network of over 190 major companies committed to including refugees. Tent believes that companies can most sustainably support refugees by leveraging their core business operations - by engaging refugees as potential employees, entrepreneurs and consumers. The full list of Tent members can be found here. Find out more at www.tent.org.

Media inquiries

[email protected]

SOURCE Atento S.A.

Related Links

http://www.atento.com


Strategic Partnership with NR Instant Produce Subsidiary, Golden Triangle Health to Manufacture and Market CBD and Hemp-Infused Product Lines in Thailand

Partnership to Benefit from Golden Triangle Health's Well-Established Distribution Networks in Thailand, Driving Strategic Entry into New Global Markets

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Terry Booth, CEO, of AUDACIOUS (CSE: AUSA) (OTC: AUSAF) ("AUSA", "AUDACIOUS", or the "Company"), is proud to announce the Company has entered into a term sheet in regards to the formation of a strategic partnership with Golden Triangle Health (GTH), a subsidiary of NR Instant Produce PCL ("NRF"), a leading southeast Asian food manufacturer and distributor based in Thailand, producing its own signature brands private label products and co-packaging lines.

Terry Booth, CEO, said, "This is an Audacious partnership whereby we will take our know-how and IP and help our partner optimize operations, product development and utilize our joint marketing and influencer networks to establish a leader in the rapidly growing Asian CBD market. Tom, who we know firsthand as an exceptional business executive with a strong track record in execution, and his team have built an amazing company already. We had been in talks for some time, but everything accelerated due to our presence at MJBizCon, which enabled us to meet face to face and execute on what we believe will be an exceptional opportunity to establish the AUDACIOUS brand internationally. We are very proud of this partnership that makes us, to the best of our knowledge, the first international company with an operational presence in the Asian legal cannabis market."

Mr. Booth added "We believe in the many benefits of CBD and we have the science to prove it. Our discussions with GTH have been diligent and the entire group is aligned with a strong strategy going forward. Tom is a charismatic man with tonnes of positive energy and a force to be reckoned with in Southeast Asia. AUDACIOUS look forward to building our relationship with GTH and their partners globally."

Tom Kruesopon, Director of GTH, added, "While we have strong brand equity in Thailand and large parts of Asia already, combining with AUDACIOUS will lift our recognition to the next level. The combined know-how and our existing partnerships form a very solid foundation to build what we believe can be one of the most meaningful players in the Asian CBD market. I look forward to working closely with Terry and the amazing team at AUDACIOUS and bring our existing and new product lines to the Asian markets and likely beyond."

Strategic Rationale

The Thai market for CBD products is in its infancy, as GTH projects the market to reach approximately $1 billion in Thailand at maturity.

in at maturity. Hemp was authorized as legal in January 2021 , and a limited number of licenses were granted by the authorities to date, providing early mover advantage to GTH

, and a limited number of licenses were granted by the authorities to date, providing early mover advantage to GTH Provides AUDACIOUS with a well-established partner in a CBD derived from hemp market, poised for rapid growth

Positions AUDACIOUS for further international expansion

Provides an early mover advantage due to the limited number of licenses granted to date

Well aligned with the AUDACIOUS strategy for capital light expansion, as under the deal terms, AUDACIOUS is not required to provide capital for construction, working capital or other purposes

Through GTH's parent company, the partnership will have access to large, well-established distribution networks throughout Thailand , Asia and North America

, and GTH is authorized to distribute products through e-commerce and B2C networks

Partnership will benefit from being the exclusive distribution partner for Cookies in Asia (excluding Japan ). Cookies is the iconic California brand, founded by Berner, one of the most respected entrepreneurs in the cannabis space, among others due to their attention to high-quality genetics.

(excluding ). Cookies is the iconic California brand, founded by Berner, one of the most respected entrepreneurs in the cannabis space, among others due to their attention to high-quality genetics. GTH has access to a broad portfolio of infused and non-infused (industrial hemp) products, diversifying revenue streams

GTH provides AUDACIOUS with the ability to leverage its network of Asian influencers to expand brand and company recognition in this market

The partnership

The purpose of the partnership is to develop GTH into the most meaningful CBD player in the Asian market. AUDACIOUS will provide advisory services, operational intelligence, including cultivation, manufacturing, and product development, and expansion of brand visibility in Thailand and beyond. Further, the potential exists for AUDACIOUS to become an export partner for GTH's Thai product portfolio, to include CBD and Hemp consumables, topicals and other hemp derived commodities. Products will be sold under the GTH brand, as well as through B2B channels under white label agreements.

Under the terms of the agreement, AUDACIOUS and GTH will enter into a share swap in two tranches whereby a total of up to $4 million in shares will be exchanged, contingent upon GTH reaching certain milestones. Each tranche is of equal size (US$2 million), with the second tranche payable only upon GTH achieving profitable operations. Upon completion, AUDACIOUS will obtain an ownership interest of up to 25% in GTH, as well as three board seats.

GTH

GTH was co-founded by Tom Kruesopon, who was one of the co-founders of Asia's first low-cost airline, AirAsia X, which was sold in a successful exit. Mr. Kruesopon, known as Mr. Weed Thailand and the person responsible for helping to legalize cannabis in Thailand, previously was advisor to the former prime minister in Thailand, as well as CEO of Tune Insurance and President of Panda Securities.

GTH has secured a five-year contract with Khon Kaen university to utilize their land (up to 1,000 acres) for cultivation, as well as the university's harvesting and processing equipment for the production of hemp-based products. Product lines will include CBD infused, as well as fiber and oil-based supplements.

The company has developed a number of products that it is currently selling on the Thai market. Upon execution of the final agreement, the companies will work together on developing brand and additional infrastructure, with ALPS providing facility design services for a new indoor facility to augment the existing outdoor grow, as well as crop consulting services to improve yields of the outdoor facility.

AUDACIOUS will be nominating three directors for the GTH board, namely Hanoz Kapadia (Chairman of the Board at AUDACIOUS), Dr. Duke Fu (AUDACIOUS COO) and Maximilian Weinberg (Director, International Regulatory Affairs, AUDACIOUS).

Hanoz Kapadia

Experienced entrepreneur, with over 23 years of experience advising on regulatory, tax and finance matters in public, private, and non-profit enterprises.

Managing Partner at Kapadia & Associates, a high net-worth accounting and advisory firm

Former Chair of Finance and Governance at Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, served as Chair of the By-law review committee and has also previously served as interim Chairman of the Board of Directors at Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation.

Chair of the advisory board at Huex Labs, a leading artificial intelligence company and is a former member of the board at Optimal Research Corporation, a medical research company.

Dr Fu

Exceptional and experienced leader in biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

Co-founded Green Therapeutics, an award-winning Nevada -based cannabis company.

-based cannabis company. Co-Founder and former president of MedMen (2014-2015)

Directed one of the most advanced and progressive nuclear pharmacies in the nation at Cardinal Health.

Joint Doctor of Pharmacy / MBA degree from University of Mexico and post doctorate work at Purdue University .

Maximilian Weinberg

Director of Business Development, AUDACIOUS

Former Head of Business Development for Aurora Europe

Part of small team awarded one of three governmental production licenses for medical cannabis in Germany

Oversaw subsidiaries and registration of cannabis-based medications in six European countries, including Germany and Poland

and Founder of Can4med - fully licensed narcotic wholesaler in Poland specializing on trading cannabis medications in Europe .

Leveraging Major Partner

GTH is a spin-off from NRF (https://www.nrinstant.com), a US$360 million (by market cap) Thai public company, founded in 1991, specialized in the production and distribution of oriental and plant-based food products. NRF is the leading plant base food in Southeast Asia, traded on the Thailand stock exchange and has just been named as part of the Thai SET benchmark 100. AUDACIOUS, NRF and GTH will be collaborating closely to drive and accelerate growth of GTH in Thailand and other global jurisdictions.

NRF CEO Dan Pathomvanij was recently named CEO of the year by Thailand Tatler, a leading society and business publisher in Thailand

was recently named CEO of the year by Thailand Tatler, a leading society and business publisher in NRF will be working with GTH to distribute hemp-base food products to add on to its already successful plant base food line

NRF and GTH are in discussions or have entered into multiple partnerships with many of Thailand's leading health/wellness brands for the development of CBD-based products under white label agreements. Partners include:

leading health/wellness brands for the development of CBD-based products under white label agreements. Partners include: leading Thai companies such as Siang Pure oil (the country's oldest and most successful herbal medicine brand), Smooth E ( Thailand's leading cosmetics brand), Dentiste ( Thailand's number 1 dental care brand), and Divana, Thailand's number 1 spa brand

leading cosmetics brand), Dentiste ( number 1 dental care brand), and Divana, number 1 spa brand

GTH is also collaborating and doing R&D on developing CBD-infused drinks with Thailand's leading energy drink brand

leading energy drink brand NRF and GTH have also cemented a partnership with two of Thailand's leading B2B distributors of consumer goods who service major retail operators, including Unilever, 7Eleven, P&F Super Drug, Boots Asia, and others. GTH is also set up for B2C online sales and distribution.

Thai Market

As of January 29, 2021 , the production of hemp and usage became legal

, the production of hemp and usage became legal Products can range from cosmetics to food and beverages, as well as products for the medical and food supplements market

THC levels are required to be under 1%

A limited number of licenses were granted by the authorities to date, providing early mover advantage to GTH

The Thai market for CBD products is in its infancy, but AUDACIOUS partner GTH projects the market to reach approximately $1 billion in Thailand at maturity.

About AUDACIOUS

AUDACIOUS is at its roots a community and culture-based cannabis company. After the completion of a dissident shareholder battle that ended with convincing shareholder approval, Terry Booth, former Aurora CEO, who had to step away from AUSA upon spin off, re-joined AUSA as CEO on March 9, 2021. Since then, the company has reset the direction of AUSA and in just 7 months closed multiple accretive transactions, improved legacy contracts, established a world class Executive Team, and resolved previous executive and board exits.

Also, in the same time frame, AUSA with its acquisition of ALPS has entered the global Sustainable Controlled Environment Agriculture Industry, a rapidly growing segment of the global horticulture market. ALPS provides customized designs along with multiple services that allow operators to maximize yield and quality while minimizing inputs and resources, including labor. ALPS at present is active in cannabis and traditional horticulture projects across the globe, including the U.S., Canada, Denmark Finland, Iceland, Germany, Netherlands, Bahrein, United Arab Emirates, Southeast Asia, Australia, as well as other jurisdictions.

Total Capex committed by ALPS' clients since Aurora divested its interest just 17 short months ago during the Covid crisis, stands at approximately $1 billion, with a rapidly growing business development pipeline with over $4 billion in total Capex planned to be spent by potential clients.

AUSA's business assets include: a 51% ownership interest in ALPS, a milestone weighted deal with an option to acquire the remaining 49% of ALPS - AUSA and Green Therapeutics, an award-winning MSO, have finalized and agreed to all terms with respect to AUSA's 100% acquisition (subject to regulatory state licensing approvals). AUSA also owns land assets in Bellingham, Washington - as well as the iconic West Coast brand Mr. Natural and the ingestibles brand LOOS with a footprint in the California market. The Company is in the process of completing the acquisition of a retail facility in San Jose, which comes with the ability to cultivate and manufacture, as well as a state-wide partnership with Eaze, the largest legal delivery services in the U.S. AUDACIOUS also has a partnership with the PBR, the (Professional Bull Riders group). Under the partnership, the Company is launching a PBR endorsed line of topical CBD products under the Wreck-Relief brand. Expected to launch with the PBR Event "Release the Beast" in early November 2021.

AUSA also has a supply partnership with Belle Fleur, founded by the team behind Rapper Weed. AUSA and Belle Fleur are working towards a broader arrangement to include brand partnerships in Massachusetts and other jurisdictions the companies intend entering into. The Belle Fleur project in Massachusetts is well underway with ALPS being awarded the engineering and design contract.

In San Jose, CA, the Company is completing the acquisition of the Herbs dispensary, which comes with a distribution partnership with Eaze, the largest legal cannabis delivery service in North America.

AUSA furthermore has investments in Body and Mind Inc., a U.S. MSO, Quality Green, a Canadian licensed producer and Cocoon, a company changing the dispensary customer user experience through self-service kiosks. The Company also has entered into a sponsorship agreement with Endeavour owned Professional Bull Riders, as well as executed a term sheet for a JV partnership with 3 Rivers Biotech for plant tissue culture, genetics clean-up and micro propagation.

AUSA and ALPS have secured contracts or are in late-stage negotiations in the following jurisdictions: Australia, UAE, Bahrain, Canada, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Jordan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Massachusetts, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and California, with other deals in other states presently being evaluated and negotiated. Audacious are laser focused on New York and New Jersey as well.

The Company's common shares trade on the CSE under the symbol "AUSA" and on the OTCQB under the symbol "AUSAF".

"Terry Booth"

________________________________

Terry Booth

Chief Executive Officer

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein is forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information in relation to: the ability of ALPS to convert its pipeline into contracts; the impact of the changes to U.S. federal and state statutory developments with respect to the cannabis industry and the opportunities this may present for the Company; and the Company's current liquidity. This forward-looking information reflects the Company's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company and on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable. These assumptions include but are not limited to the ability of the Company to successfully satisfy the conditions to closing the proposed transaction; the ability of the Company to successfully execute on its plans for the Company and GT; legal changes relating to the cannabis industry proceeding as anticipated.

Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market prices for securities; the actual results of the Company's future operations; competition; changes in legislation affecting the Company; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; 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 that could limit the Company'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 the Company's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. 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 press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. However, the Company 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.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Australis Capital Inc.

Related Links

www.ausa-corp.com


NASSAU, The Bahamas, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Live Junkanoo performances and a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday at the Orlando International Airport celebrated Frontier Airlines inaugural flight from Orlando to Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau.

The four-times weekly service brings passengers directly to the nation's vibrant capital with fares as low as $69. The Islands of The Bahamas welcome Floridian travellers with open arms, turquoise water and plenty of sunshine.

"The inaugural Frontier Airlines flight from Orlando to Nassau is absolutely worth celebrating," said Deputy Prime Minister the Honourable I. Chester Cooper, Bahamas Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation. "The newly added flight options allow Orlando residents who seek a short-haul vacation the opportunity to tap into an easier, more affordable way to travel to The Bahamas. Before booking their flight, I encourage visitors to learn about the many ways they can customize a vacation itinerary and get ready to see just why we say it's better here."

There are a host of new developments, hotel reopenings and experiences happening throughout Nassau and Paradise Island, Grand Bahama Island and the beloved Out Islands, making The Bahamas one of the Caribbean's top must-visit destinations:

Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts recently opened an all-new 300-room Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau, complete with 11 distinct dining options and an on-site waterpark.

recently opened an all-new 300-room Margaritaville Beach Resort Nassau, complete with 11 distinct dining options and an on-site waterpark. Six-time James Beard Award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson debuted his new restaurant, Baha Mar Fish + Chop House, at Baha Mar, sourcing the freshest local ingredients and Bahamian seafood, complete with a vibrant dining room and rooftop cocktail bar.

debuted his new restaurant, Baha Mar Fish + Chop House, at Baha Mar, sourcing the freshest local ingredients and Bahamian seafood, complete with a vibrant dining room and rooftop cocktail bar. Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach , an all-inclusive resort located in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, reopened, boasting an oceanfront pool, watersports and 4,000 feet of beautiful white-sand beaches.

The new nonstop route will operate once daily every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. To learn more about The Bahamas, head to Bahamas.com , while travellers ready to pack their bags can book their roundtrip flights today by visiting flyfrontier.com.

The Bahamas is committed to the safety of its residents and visitors and continues to update on-island and arrival policies as necessary. To stay up-to-date on the latest protocols and entry requirements, please visit Bahamas.com/travelupdates .

Press Inquiries

Anita Johnson-Patty

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation

[email protected]

SOURCE The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation

Related Links

https://www.bahamas.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Overall pavement conditions on the Bay Area's nearly 44,000 lane-miles of local streets and roads landed once again in fair territory last year, with the typical stretch of roadway showing serious wear and likely to require rehabilitation soon. Data released today by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) put the region's 2020 pavement condition index (PCI) score at 67 out of a maximum possible 100 points, as computed on a three-year moving average basis. This marks the fifth consecutive year Bay Area streets and roads have registered an average score of 67 and underscores the continuing challenges faced by cities' and counties' public works departments.

"Some of the pavement work scheduled for last year was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic," observed MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza. "But the new scores illustrate how big a challenge it is to bring our roads  not just in Napa County but all around the Bay Area  to a state of good repair. Local streets and roads money from the SB 1 transportation package is helping counties and cities hold the line against deterioration, but our goal at MTC is to raise the region's average PCI score into the mid-80s. The data give us a real appreciation for just how many miles of roadway the Bay Area has and a reminder of how old a lot of our pavement is, too."

PCI scores of 90 or higher are considered "excellent." These are newly built or resurfaced streets that show little or no distress. Pavement with a PCI score in the 80 to 89 range is considered "very good" and shows only slight or moderate distress, requiring primarily preventive maintenance. The "good" category ranges from 70 to 79, while streets with PCI scores in the "fair" (60-69) range are becoming worn to the point where rehabilitation may be needed to prevent rapid deterioration. Because major repairs cost five to 10 times more than routine maintenance, these streets are at an especially critical stage. Roadways with PCI scores of 50 to 59 are deemed "at-risk," while those with PCI scores of 25 to 49 are considered "poor." These roads require major rehabilitation or reconstruction. Pavement with a PCI score below 25 is considered "failed."

San Francisco, with a three-year moving average score of 74, is the only one of the Bay Area's three largest cities to crack the "good" category. San Jose, which has by far the largest street network in the Bay Area, held steady last year with a score of 66. Meanwhile, pavement conditions became even more "at risk" on the average street in Oakland, with the city's three-year moving average slipping to just 52 from 53 in 2019 and 54 in 2018.

Cupertino tops the list of Bay Area pavement rankings for the 2018-20 period, with an average PCI score of 85. Other cities with three-year PCI scores in the "very good" range include Dublin and Palo Alto (84); Brentwood, Clayton, Orinda and Woodside (81); and Danville, Foster City and unincorporated Solano County (80).

The lowest-ranked pavement in the Bay Area was found in Pacifica, which recorded a PCI score of 42 for 2018-20. The only other jurisdictions with three-year average PCI scores in the "poor" range are Petaluma (44), unincorporated Napa County (45), Sebastopol (48) and Vallejo (49). The three-year moving average PCI score for the nearly 2,700 lane-miles of rural roads in unincorporated Sonoma County last year inched into the "at-risk" range (50) after many years in the "poor" bracket and a PCI score of 49 for the 2017-19 period.

Much larger improvements in pavement conditions were registered last year in the Contra Costa County cities of Orinda and Martinez, and in the Marin County city of Larkspur. In Larkspur, the three-year average PCI score rose to 59 for the 2018-20 period from 46 just two years earlier. In Martinez, the city's three-year average PCI score rose to 64 last year from 55 in 2018, while Orinda's three-year average score jumped all the way to 81 from 68 in the 2016-18 reporting period.

"It's gratifying to see the big rise in our street scores," said Orinda Mayor and MTC Commissioner Amy Rein Worth, recalling the not-so-distant years when the city's pavement rankings were among the lowest in the Bay Area. "Orinda voters deserve huge credit. Back in 2012, they decided good pavement is worth paying for, and approved our quarter-cent Measure L sales tax to supplement the street maintenance money Orinda gets from the Measure J sales tax approved by voters throughout Contra Costa County. We got another shot in the arm a few years ago when the state dollars from SB 1 started flowing. And we've been lucky enough so far through the pandemic to complete our pavement projects as scheduled."

The complete 2020 Pavement Conditions Summary  including percentages of local roadways in various conditions, and a listing of average PCI scores for the arterials, collector roadways and residential streets for all Bay Area counties and cities  may be accessed at https://mtc.ca.gov/digital-library/5021211-2020-pavement-condition-index-tables.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Related Links

http://www.mtc.ca.gov


Located approximately 18 miles northeast of Vancouver, Washington, and 26 miles from Portland, Oregon, the new 2,300-square-foot Black Rock store is located at 1320 SW Scotton Way Battle Ground WA 98604 - off SR 500 across from Walmart. Scheduled to open on Friday, November 5, 2021, Black Rock Coffee Bar will celebrate its grand opening by offering all customers free 16 oz drinks all day at this location.

This serves as a reminder of how far we have come in 13 years as we quickly approach 100 Black Rock stores in the U.S.

Black Rock was founded in 2008 in Portland, Oregon, an area of the Pacific Northwest known for its coffee excellence. Recently named the Fastest Growing Private Company in Oregon and SW Washington in 2021 by the Portland Business Journal, the Battle Ground, WA opening brings to 97 the total number of company coffee bars in seven states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

"Having been founded in the great Northwest, Black Rock is happy to be opening its 15th store in Washington state." said Jeff Hernandez, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Black Rock Coffee Bar. "It is our first store in Battle Ground, Washington, which isn't too far from our very first store that we opened in Aloha, Oregon, in 2008. We have a deep connection to the Northwest, and this serves as a reminder of how far we have come in 13 years as we quickly approach 100 Black Rock stores in the U.S."

The Black Rock culture prides itself on providing opportunities for young people to learn how to lead, run a business, and develop people skills. Each new location will employ approximately 20 team members.

About Black Rock Coffee Bar

Black Rock Coffee Bar is a national boutique coffee shop that is known for its premium roasted coffees, teas, smoothies and flavorful blended energy drinks. Founded as a family owned and operated business in Oregon in 2008, Black Rock Coffee Bar has grown to 97 retail locations in seven states. The Black Rock culture emphasizes personal and professional growth for each Black Rock employee and ensuring that they provide compassionate customer service towards each person who experiences the store.

For more information, visit https://br.coffee/

SOURCE Black Rock Coffee Bar
Lifestyle brand to donate $150,000 to support the Council's work to amplify the voices of Inuit youth across Inuit regions in Canada

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Today, Canada Goose announced its plans to donate $150,000 to the National Inuit Youth Council (NIYC).

The NIYC serves as the national voice of Inuit youth, providing guidance and input into issues of interest in Canada, and voicing the concerns and ideas of Inuit youth from their respective regions throughout Inuit Nunangat. The President of NIYC is a member of the Board of Directors of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the national representational organization for Inuit in Canada.

"We find inspiration in northern landscapes and culture and hope to honour and celebrate the communities at the heart of Canada Goose in tangible, meaningful ways," said Gavin Thompson, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship, Canada Goose. "We are proud to partner with ITK and the National Inuit Youth Council to support the important work they are doing to amplify Inuit youth in Canada."

The donated funds were contributed by Canada Goose employees and will be directed by ITK and NIYC to programs and community initiatives where they will have the most significant impact.

"On behalf of the National Inuit Youth Council, I am honoured to receive these funds, which will help us engage with Inuit youth in Canada," said Brian Pottle, President, National Inuit Youth Council. "NIYC works hard to ensure that our voices are represented and heard at leadership tables and that the messages that we carry are reflective of the lived experiences of young Inuit across Canada. We value the partnership Canada Goose and ITK have built and feel fortunate to have been recognized by Canada Goose employees in this way."

Canada Goose and ITK are longstanding partners, having collaborated for the brand's Project Atigi collections and its Resource Centre Program, where the two donate repurposed parkas to communities in all four regions of Inuit Nunangat. Canada Goose created the Resource Centre Program to support the rich heritage of Inuit craftsmanship through fabric and material donations. The brand built upon the project with ITK last year, furthering its support of Inuit communities and continuing to deliver on its sustainability commitments by finding new ways to reuse excess materials responsibly.

This latest announcement reinforces Canada Goose's purpose to keep the planet cold and the people on it warm; a purpose that comes to life through its purpose platform, HUMANATURE, which unites the brand's sustainability and values-based initiatives.

About Canada Goose

Founded in 1957 in a small warehouse in Toronto, Canada, Canada Goose (NYSE:GOOS, TSX:GOOS) is a lifestyle brand and a leading manufacturer of performance luxury apparel. Every collection is informed by the rugged demands of the Arctic, ensuring a legacy of functionality is embedded in every product from parkas and rainwear to apparel and accessories. Canada Goose is inspired by relentless innovation and uncompromised craftsmanship, recognized as a leader for its Made in Canada commitment. In 2020, Canada Goose announced HUMANATURE, its purpose platform that unites its sustainability and values-based initiatives, reinforcing its commitment to keep the planet cold and the people on it warm. Canada Goose also owns Baffin, a Canadian designer and manufacturer of performance outdoor and industrial footwear. Visit www.canadagoose.com for more information.

About Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK)

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) is a federally incorporated registered charitable organization representing the rights and interests of over 65,000 Inuit in Canada on a range of socio-economic, cultural, health, environmental and political issues at the national level. ITK works on behalf of Inuit who live in the four land claim settlement regions of Inuit Nunangat  the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut  and across Canada.

SOURCE Canada Goose
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Influencer and celebrity management agency, Alur Global, which specializes in personal brand development and collaborations, brings on Chad Nutsch as co-CEO to head growth, E-commerce, and operational optimizations. With the rapid emergence of social media personalities as entrepreneurs, personal brand managers are in greater need now than ever. However, as a result of the sheer volume of brands craving creator collaborations, the percentage of available management is at an all-time low, sending popular creators into a scramble to find knowledgeable and experienced managers. Chad's experience as a talent manager to multiple high-profile talent, and as a successful E-commerce entrepreneur makes him a sought-after manager and is a valuable addition to the Alur Global team. Chad's E-commerce apparel company, Hera x Hero achieved distribution in 92 countries its first year in business.

Joe Delbridge Chad Nutsch

On bringing Chad on as co-CEO, Joe Delbridge states: "Having represented Chad, I'm impressed by his acumen, accomplishments, and work ethic, and I'm honored that he's chosen Alur Global as his partner. Chad brings years of successful talent management and business growth to the team and he sees things differently from most entrepreneurs, especially managers, which I like. To know Chad's story is to know he's already defeated the odds life has thrown at him in grand fashion multiple times and I'm thrilled he's here to help drive the company forward."

More information on Alur Global can be found on their website: https://alurglobal.com

Interview requests with Chad Nutsch or Joe Delbridge are available by contacting [email protected]

About Alur Global: Alur Global was started by influencer marketing veteran, Joe Delbridge, who started his agency in 2012. In addition to representing high-level talent and booking appearances at conventions and events, Alur Global offers a full suite of services that allow for long-term growth for their clients including brand deal collaborations, licensing, event bookings, public relations, and marketing strategy.

SOURCE Alur Global

Related Links

https://alurglobal.com


STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DCS Corporation has completed the construction of a new, custom-built facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan. This innovative facility will continue to enhance DCS's vehicle integration and prototyping support to the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), and U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) while growing the company's presence in the Sterling Heights area.

New DCS facility in Sterling Heights.

The new DCS facility is strategically situated to support U.S. Army TACOM and U.S. Army GVSC at the Detroit Arsenal in nearby Warren, Michigan. From this location, DCS employees will support acquisition, research, and development for advanced technology in ground vehicle systems capabilities to support Army modernization priorities and improved readiness.

DCS worked closely with the State of Michigan and the City of Sterling Heights in establishing this new facility and benefitted from a $500,000 performance-based grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) through the Michigan Strategic Fund.

"This investment by DCS will help us continue Michigan's economic growth and recovery," said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "This new Center of Excellence will bring high-wage jobs in Southeast Michigan, further building on our leadership position in autonomous vehicle R&D and manufacturing. We will build on our economic momentum to usher in a new era of prosperity for our families and communities."

The DCS Sterling Heights facility provides additional capability support to the U.S. Army TACOM and U.S. Army GVSC in the development and sustainment of automotive and ground vehicle technologies. The innovative facility features specialized labs, break-out rooms, and collaborative office and conference space. The facility also houses a loading dock and high-bay floor space with overhead crane equipment, a machining work area and vehicle wash down spaces.

"DCS is excited to build upon our more than three decades of innovative support to the Army TACOM and GVSC," said DCS CEO, Jim Benbow. "I have tremendous confidence that our growing cadre of engineers and scientists operating from this incredible new facility will continue this time-tested partnership in further advancing the state-of-the-art in ground vehicle technologies. We are grateful for the support we received from Governor Whitmer, the State of Michigan and the City of Sterling Heights in establishing this new facility."

About DCS

An employee-owned company, DCS offers advanced technology, engineering, and management solutions to government agencies in the national security sector. The transformative ideas, commitment to quality, and entrepreneurial spirit that characterize our employee-owners allow us to ensure the success of each customer's mission and actively contribute to the well-being of the Nation.

For more information, please visit: https://www.dcscorp.com.

Source: DCS Corporation, [email protected], 571-227-6000

SOURCE DCS Corporation

Related Links

http://www.dcscorp.com


"Cannabis today is, on average, four times stronger than it was in 1995 -- but we've seen with the expansion of low-dose edibles and beverages that folks are also looking for a lighter experience," said Country CEO Jamie Feaster. "We want Country to bring social, productive cannabis mainstream."

As low-dose products have dramatically increased their market share, recent data reports that 46% of cannabis sales remain attributed to flower purchases. As Feaster and team evaluated the modern cannabis market, they saw a gap between the social element of smokable cannabis and the evolving consumer preference for lower-dose experiences. Their response was the conceptualization of Country.

The brand's first two releases - Good Neighbor & Win the Day - are crafted for every day, anytime use.

The brand's first release - "Good Neighbor" - is a crafted 1:1 blend of two heirloom strains: an uplifting Jack Herer sativa for a motivating effect, and a calming ACDC CBD. Together, the combination provides an approachable, productive, lighter experience.

Second in the brand's line-up is "Win the Day" titled for its motivating, energizing effects. The whole flower pre-rolls are a 1:2 blend of CBD-rich Pineapple Tonic & THC-forward Watermelon Rancher, intended for a weekend hike, a home game tailgate, or a long, outdoor run.

Country took a fresh approach to cannabis packaging with the proprietary technology in their jar's pump-top -- a reusable vacuum seal that removes air and keeps cannabis fresh longer. The team also plans to release product-branded capsule collections in collaboration with their Art Director, contemporary artist Matt McCormick.

With the potential for the Light Cannabis' category to capture mainstream consumers, Country's line up of support spans from Gary Vaynerchuk to Justin Kan, and includes a broad set of investors who contributed to the company's initial investment round. Early adopters cite the founding team's innovative approach to solving consumer challenges in an industry that could grow to be worth $100 billion dollars by 2030 as the root of their interest.

"In this rapidly growing industry, intentionality in brand and product is critical," says Vaynerchuk. "With the first 'light cannabis' blend, this team is creating a category to expand the market -- just like Miller did with light beer. The potential is endless."

With their brand, packaging, and product line - Country's mission is to create cannabis you can count on. Country can be found on Eaze, and select retailers throughout California.

Learn more at countryranch.com & follow @countrycannabis.



Country is a lifestyle brand that creates social, productive cannabis experiences consumers can count on.

SOURCE Country

Related Links

https://www.countryranch.com/


NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) reported third quarter 2021 earnings per share of $2.63 on an as-reported basis and earnings per share of $2.45 on an adjusted basis (non-GAAP).

"We delivered another strong quarter. With clear visibility into the remainder of the year and a strong base plan, we are narrowing our 2021 adjusted earnings per share guidance range and affirming our longer-term outlooks." said Entergy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Leo Denault. "Looking forward, we are working to accelerate resilience, expand renewables, and help our customers meet their sustainability objectives. These efforts and related load growth opportunities will extend and expand our customer-centered capital investment through the end of the decade and beyond."

Business highlights included the following:

Entergy narrowed its 2021 adjusted EPS guidance range to $5.90 to $6.10 .

to . The Arkansas Public Service Commission approved the West Memphis Solar project.

Entergy Texas filed its application for approval of Orange County Advanced Power Station.

Entergy Arkansas reached settlements on its annual FRP and Green Promise Tariff filings.

Entergy New Orleans implemented new FRP rates.

Entergy Texas filed a settlement on its 2020 storm cost filing.

Entergy Texas submitted distribution and transmission cost recovery filings.

Entergy's Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $1.01 per share, a six percent increase.

per share, a six percent increase. Entergy was named as one of the nation's top utilities in economic development by Site Selection magazine for the 14 th consecutive year.

consecutive year. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and the Climate Registry awarded Entergy with a 2021 Climate Leadership Award for Organizational Leadership, recognizing Entergy for its leadership in reducing carbon emissions and its 2030 and 2050 climate commitments.

Consolidated Earnings (GAAP and Non-GAAP Measures) Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2021 vs. 2020 (See Appendix A for reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures and description of adjustments)

Third Quarter Year-to-Date

2021 2020 Change 2021 2020 Change (After-tax, $ in millions)











As-reported earnings 531 521 11 860 1,000 (141) Less adjustments 37 30 7 (201) 4 (205) Adjusted earnings (non-GAAP) 494 491 4 1,061 996 64 Estimated weather in billed sales (2) 1 (3) 4 (53) 57













(After-tax, per share in $)











As-reported earnings 2.63 2.59 0.04 4.26 4.98 (0.72) Less adjustments 0.18 0.15 0.03 (1.00) 0.02 (1.02) Adjusted earnings (non-GAAP) 2.45 2.44 0.01 5.26 4.96 0.30 Estimated weather in billed sales (0.01) 0.01 (0.02) 0.02 (0.26) 0.28













Calculations may differ due to rounding

Consolidated Results

For third quarter 2021, the company reported earnings of $531 million, or $2.63 per share, on an as-reported basis, and earnings of $494 million, or $2.45 per share, on an adjusted basis. This compared to third quarter 2020 earnings of $521 million, or $2.59 per share, on an as-reported basis, and earnings of $491 million, or $2.44 per share, on an adjusted basis.

Summary discussions by business follow. Additional details, including information on OCF by business, are provided in Appendix A. An analysis of quarterly and year-to-date variances by business is provided in Appendix B.

Business Segment Results

Utility

For third quarter 2021, the Utility business reported earnings attributable to Entergy Corporation of $570 million, or $2.82 per share, on an as-reported basis and $559 million, or $2.77 per share, on an adjusted basis. This compared to third quarter 2020 earnings of $552 million, or $2.74 per share, on both an as-reported and an adjusted basis. Drivers for the change in quarterly earnings included:

the net effect of regulatory actions across the operating companies.

The driver was partially offset by:

higher operating expenses including other O&M, taxes other than income taxes, and depreciation expense; and

retail sales volume, including volume in the unbilled period, largely due to impacts of Hurricane Ida.

Appendix C contains additional details on Utility financial and operating measures.

Parent & Other

For third quarter 2021, Parent & Other reported a loss attributable to Entergy Corporation of $(65 million), or (32) cents per share, on both an as-reported and an adjusted basis. This compared to a third quarter 2020 loss of $(61 million), or (30) cents per share, on both an as-reported and an adjusted basis.

Entergy Wholesale Commodities

For third quarter 2021, EWC reported earnings attributable to Entergy Corporation of $26 million, or 13 cents per share, on an as-reported basis. This compared to third quarter 2020 earnings of $30 million, or 15 cents per share, on an as-reported basis. Drivers for the quarter included:

lower operating expenses, including other O&M primarily due to the shutdown of Indian Point 3 and decommissioning expense primarily due to the sale of Indian Point.

The driver was partially offset by:

lower revenue primarily due to the shutdown of Indian Point 3; and

lower earnings on the decommissioning trusts due to the transfer of the trusts resulting from the sale of Indian Point.

Appendix D contains additional details on EWC financial and operating measures, including reconciliation for non-GAAP EWC adjusted EBITDA.

Earnings Per Share Guidance

Entergy narrowed its 2021 adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $5.90 to $6.10. See webcast presentation for additional details.

The company has provided 2021 earnings guidance with regard to the non-GAAP measure of Entergy adjusted EPS. This measure excludes from the corresponding GAAP financial measure the effect of adjustments as described below under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures." The company has not provided a reconciliation of such non-GAAP guidance to guidance presented on a GAAP basis because it cannot predict and quantify with a reasonable degree of confidence all of the adjustments that may occur during the period. One such adjustment will be the exclusion of EWC earnings from Entergy adjusted EPS. We currently estimate that the contribution of EWC to Entergy's as-reported EPS will be approximately $(0.80) in 2021. This estimate is subject to substantial uncertainty due to, among other things, the potential effects of exiting the EWC business.

Earnings Teleconference

A teleconference will be held at 10:00 a.m. Central Time on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, to discuss Entergy's quarterly earnings announcement and the company's financial performance. The teleconference may be accessed by visiting Entergy's website at www.entergy.com or by dialing 844-309-6569, conference ID 8029888, no more than 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. The webcast presentation is also being posted to Entergy's website concurrent with this news release. A replay of the teleconference will be available on Entergy's website at www.entergy.com and by telephone. The telephone replay will be available through November 10, 2021, by dialing 855-859-2056, conference ID 8029888.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 7,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and approximately 12,500 employees.

Entergy Corporation's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Chicago under the symbol "ETR".

Details regarding Entergy's results of operations, regulatory proceedings, and other matters are available in this earnings release, a copy of which will be filed with the SEC, and the webcast presentation. Both documents are available on Entergy's Investor Relations website at www.entergy.com/investor_relations.

Entergy maintains a web page as part of its Investor Relations website, entitled Regulatory and Other Information, which provides investors with key updates on certain regulatory proceedings and important milestones on the execution of its strategy. While some of this information may be considered material information, investors should not rely exclusively on this page for all relevant company information.

For definitions of certain operating measures, as well as GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures and abbreviations and acronyms used in the earnings release materials, see Appendix F.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release contains non-GAAP financial measures, which are generally numerical measures of a company's performance, financial position, or cash flows that either exclude or include amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Entergy has provided quantitative reconciliations within this news release of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

Entergy reports earnings using the non-GAAP measure of Entergy adjusted earnings, which excludes the effect of certain "adjustments," including the removal of the Entergy Wholesale Commodities segment in light of the company's decision to exit the merchant power business. Adjustments are unusual or non-recurring items or events or other items or events that management believes do not reflect the ongoing business of Entergy, such as the results of the EWC segment, significant tax items, and other items such as certain costs, expenses, or other specified items. In addition to reporting GAAP consolidated earnings on a per share basis, Entergy reports its adjusted earnings on a per share basis. These per share measures represent the applicable earnings amount divided by the diluted average number of common shares outstanding for the period.

Management uses the non-GAAP financial measures of adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share for, among other things, financial planning and analysis; reporting financial results to the board of directors, employees, stockholders, analysts, and investors; and internal evaluation of financial performance. Entergy believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors in evaluating the ongoing results of Entergy's business, comparing period to period results, and comparing Entergy's financial performance to the financial performance of other companies in the utility sector.

Other non-GAAP measures, including adjusted EBITDA; adjusted ROE; adjusted ROE, excluding affiliate preferred; adjusted ROIC; gross liquidity; net liquidity; net liquidity, including storm escrows; debt to capital, excluding securitization debt; net debt to net capital, excluding securitization debt; parent debt to total debt, excluding securitization debt; FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt; and FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt, return of unprotected excess ADIT, and severance and retention payments associated with exit of EWC, are measures Entergy uses internally for management and board discussions and to gauge the overall strength of its business. Entergy believes the above data provides useful information to investors in evaluating Entergy's ongoing financial results and flexibility, and assists investors in comparing Entergy's credit and liquidity to the credit and liquidity of others in the utility sector. In addition, other financial measures including net income (or earnings) adjusted for preferred dividends and tax-effected interest expense and FFO are included on both an adjusted and an as-reported basis. In each case, the metrics defined as "adjusted" (other than EWC's adjusted EBITDA) exclude the effect of adjustments as defined above. EWC's adjusted EBITDA represents EWC's earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization, and also excludes decommissioning expense.

These non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of Entergy's operations that, when viewed with Entergy's GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting Entergy's business. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be used to the exclusion of GAAP financial measures. Investors are strongly encouraged to review Entergy's consolidated financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. Although certain of these measures are intended to assist investors in comparing Entergy's performance to other companies in the utility sector, non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized; therefore, it might not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

In this news release, and from time to time, Entergy Corporation makes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding Entergy's 2021 earnings guidance; its current financial and operational outlooks; and other statements of Entergy's plans, beliefs, or expectations included in this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, Entergy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed elsewhere in this news release and in Entergy's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Entergy's other reports and filings made under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (b) uncertainties associated with (1) rate proceedings, formula rate plans, and other cost recovery mechanisms, including the risk that costs may not be recoverable to the extent or on the timeline anticipated by the utilities and (2) implementation of the ratemaking effects of changes in law; (c) uncertainties associated with efforts to remediate the effects of major storms and recover related restoration costs; (d) risks associated with operating nuclear facilities, including plant relicensing, operating, and regulatory costs and risks; (e) changes in decommissioning trust fund values or earnings or in the timing or cost of decommissioning Entergy's nuclear plant sites; (f) legislative and regulatory actions and risks and uncertainties associated with claims or litigation by or against Entergy and its subsidiaries; (g) risks and uncertainties associated with executing on business strategies, including strategic transactions that Entergy or its subsidiaries may undertake and the risk that any such transaction may not be completed as and when expected and the risk that the anticipated benefits of the transaction may not be realized; (h) effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and regulations and other governmental actions or policies, including changes in monetary, fiscal, tax, environmental, or energy policies; (i) the effects of changes in commodity markets, capital markets, or economic conditions; (j) impacts from a terrorist attack, cybersecurity threats, data security breaches, or other attempts to disrupt Entergy's business or operations, and/or other catastrophic events; (k) the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Entergy and its customers; and (l) the effects of technological change, including the costs, pace of development and commercialization of new and emerging technologies.

Third Quarter 2021 Earnings Release Appendices and Financial Statements

Appendices

A: Consolidated Results and Adjustments

B: Earnings Variance Analysis

C: Utility Financial and Operating Measures

D: EWC Financial and Operating Measures

E: Consolidated Financial Measures

F: Definitions and Abbreviations and Acronyms

G: Other GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations

Financial Statements

Consolidating Balance Sheets

Consolidating Income Statements

Consolidated Cash Flow Statements

A: Consolidated Results and Adjustments

Appendix A-1 provides a comparative summary of consolidated earnings, including a reconciliation of as-reported earnings (GAAP) to adjusted earnings (non-GAAP).

Appendix A-1: Consolidated Earnings - Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2021 vs. 2020 (See Appendix A-3 and Appendix A-4 for details on adjustments)

Third Quarter Year-to-Date

2021 2020 Change 2021 2020 Change (After-tax, $ in millions)











As-reported earnings (loss)











Utility 570 552 19 1,253 1,216 37 Parent & Other (65) (61) (4) (181) (220) 39 EWC 26 30 (4) (212) 4 (216) Consolidated 531 521 11 860 1,000 (141)













Less adjustments











Utility 11 - 11 11 - 11 Parent & Other - - - - - - EWC 26 30 (4) (212) 4 (216) Consolidated 37 30 7 (201) 4 (205)













Adjusted earnings (loss) (non-GAAP)











Utility 559 552 8 1,242 1,216 26 Parent & Other (65) (61) (4) (181) (220) 39 EWC - - - - - - Consolidated 494 491 4 1,061 996 64 Estimated weather in billed sales (2) 1 (3) 4 (53) 57













Diluted average number of common shares outstanding (in millions) 202 201

202 201















(After-tax, per share in $) (a)











As-reported earnings (loss)











Utility 2.82 2.74 0.08 6.21 6.05 0.16 Parent & Other (0.32) (0.30) (0.02) (0.90) (1.09) 0.19 EWC 0.13 0.15 (0.02) (1.05) 0.02 (1.07) Consolidated 2.63 2.59 0.04 4.26 4.98 (0.72)













Less adjustments











Utility 0.05 - 0.05 0.05 - 0.05 Parent & Other - - - - - - EWC 0.13 0.15 (0.02) (1.05) 0.02 (1.07) Consolidated 0.18 0.15 0.03 (1.00) 0.02 (1.02)













Adjusted earnings (loss) (non-GAAP)











Utility 2.77 2.74 0.03 6.16 6.05 0.11 Parent & Other (0.32) (0.30) (0.02) (0.90) (1.09) 0.19 EWC - - - - - - Consolidated 2.45 2.44 0.01 5.26 4.96 0.30 Estimated weather in billed sales (0.01) 0.01 (0.02) 0.02 (0.26) 0.28

Calculations may differ due to rounding

(a) Per share amounts are calculated by dividing the corresponding earnings (loss) by the diluted average number of common shares outstanding for the period.

See Appendix B for detailed earnings variance analysis.

Appendix A-2 provides a comparative summary of OCF, by business.

Appendix A-2: Consolidated Operating Cash Flow Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2021 vs. 2020 ($ in millions)

Third Quarter Year-to-Date

2021 2020 Change 2021 2020 Change Utility 1,289 976 313 2,226 2,371 (145) Parent & Other (68) (67) (1) (154) (211) 58 EWC 43 13 31 (62) 211 (272) Consolidated 1,264 922 343 2,011 2,370 (359)

Calculations may differ due to rounding

OCF increased quarter-over-quarter due primarily to higher collections from Utility customers, net of the timing of fuel and purchased power payments and cost recovery.

Appendix A-3 and Appendix A-4 list adjustments by business. Adjustments are included in as-reported earnings consistent with GAAP but are excluded from adjusted earnings. As a result, adjusted earnings is considered a non-GAAP measure.

Appendix A-3: Adjustments by Driver (shown as positive/(negative) impact on earnings or EPS) Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2021 vs. 2020

Third Quarter Year-to-Date

2021 2020 Change 2021 2020 Change













(Pre-tax except for income taxes, preferred dividend requirements, and totals; $ in millions) Utility











Gain on sale 15 - 15 15 - 15 Income tax effect on adjustment above (4) - (4) (4) - (4) Total Utility 11 - 11 11 - 11













EWC











Income before income taxes 35 43 (8) (258) 12 (270) Income taxes (9) (12) 3 47 (6) 54 Preferred dividend requirements (1) (1) - (2) (2) - Total EWC 26 30 (4) (212) 4 (216)













Total adjustments 37 30 7 (201) 4 (205)













(After-tax, per share in $) (b)











Utility











Gain on sale 0.05 - 0.05 0.05 - 0.05 Total Utility 0.05 - 0.05 0.05 - 0.05













EWC











Total EWC 0.13 0.15 (0.02) (1.05) 0.02 (1.07)













Total adjustments 0.18 0.15 0.03 (1.00) 0.02 (1.02)

Calculations may differ due to rounding

(b) Per share amounts are calculated by dividing the corresponding earnings (loss) by the diluted average number of common shares outstanding for the period.

Appendix A-4: Adjustments by Income Statement Line Item (shown as positive/(negative) impact on earnings) Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2021 vs. 2020 (Pre-tax except for income taxes, preferred dividend requirements, and totals; $ in millions)

Third Quarter Year-to-Date

2021 2020 Change 2021 2020 Change Utility











Other O&M 15 - 15 15 - 15 Income taxes (4) - (4) (4) - (4) Total Utility 11 - 11 11 - 11













EWC











Operating revenues 162 214 (52) 559 747 (187) Fuel and fuel-related expenses (24) (14) (10) (63) (51) (12) Purchased power (22) (29) 7 (58) (49) (9) Nuclear refueling outage expense (11) (11) (1) (34) (35) 1 Other O&M (51) (114) 63 (233) (385) 152 Asset write-off and impairments - (4) 5 (345) (16) (329) Decommissioning expense (14) (51) 37 (106) (152) 46 Taxes other than income taxes (2) (10) 8 (15) (44) 30 Depreciation/amortization exp. (9) (21) 12 (36) (81) 45 Other income (deductions)other 9 87 (78) 84 97 (13) Interest exp. and other charges (3) (5) 2 (11) (17) 6 Income taxes (9) (12) 3 47 (6) 54 Preferred dividend requirements (1) (1) - (2) (2) - Total EWC 26 30 (4) (212) 4 (216)













Total adjustments 37 30 7 (201) 4 (205)

Calculations may differ due to rounding

B: Earnings Variance Analysis

Appendix B-1 and Appendix B-2 provide details of current quarter and year-to-date 2021 versus 2020 as-reported and adjusted earnings variance analysis for Utility, Parent & Other, and EWC.

Appendix B-1: As-Reported and Adjusted Earnings Variance Analysis (c), (d) Third Quarter 2021 vs. 2020 (After-tax, per share in $)

Utility

Parent & Other

EWC

Consolidated

As-

Reported Adjusted

As-

Reported Adjusted

As- Reported

As- Reported Adjusted 2020 earnings (loss) 2.74 2.74

(0.30) (0.30)

0.15

2.59 2.44 Operating revenue less: Fuel, fuel-related expenses and gas purchased for resale, Purchased power, and Regulatory charges (credits)net 0.17 0.17 (e) 0.00 0.00

(0.22) (f) (0.05) 0.17 Nuclear refueling outage expense 0.01 0.01

0.00 0.00

0.00

0.01 0.01 Other O&M (0.04) (0.09) (g) 0.00 0.00

0.24 (h) 0.20 (0.09) Asset write-offs and impairments 0.00 0.00

0.00 0.00

0.02

0.02 0.00 Decommissioning expense (0.01) (0.01)

0.00 0.00

0.15 (i) 0.14 (0.01) Taxes other than income taxes (0.07) (0.07) (j) 0.00 0.00

0.03

(0.04) (0.07) Depreciation/amortization exp. (0.12) (0.12) (k) 0.00 0.00

0.05 (l) (0.07) (0.12) Other income (deductions)other 0.22 0.22 (m) 0.00 0.00

(0.31) (n) (0.09) 0.22 Interest exp. and other charges (0.03) (0.03)

(0.03) (0.03)

0.01

(0.05) (0.06) Income taxesother (0.04) (0.04)

0.01 0.01

0.01

(0.02) (0.03) Preferred dividend requirements 0.00 0.00

0.00 0.00

0.00

0.00 0.00 Share effect (0.01) (0.01)

0.00 0.00

0.00

(0.01) (0.01) 2021 earnings (loss) 2.82 2.77

(0.32) (0.32)

0.13

2.63 2.45























Appendix B-2: As-Reported and Adjusted Earnings Variance Analysis (c), (d) Year-to-date 2021 vs. 2020 (After-tax, per share in $)

Utility

Parent & Other

EWC

Consolidated

As-

Reported Adjusted

As-

Reported Adjusted

As- Reported

As- Reported Adjusted 2020 earnings (loss) 6.05 6.05

(1.09) (1.09)

0.02

4.98 4.96 Operating revenue less: Fuel, fuel-related expenses and gas purchased for resale, Purchased power, and Regulatory charges (credits)net 1.60 1.60 (e) 0.00 0.00

(0.82) (f) 0.78 1.60 Nuclear refueling outage expense 0.03 0.03

0.00 0.00

0.00

0.03 0.03 Other O&M (0.56) (0.61) (g) 0.00 0.00

0.60 (h) 0.04 (0.61) Asset write-offs and impairments 0.00 0.00

0.00 0.00

(1.29) (o) (1.29) 0.00 Decommissioning expense (0.03) (0.03)

0.00 0.00

0.18 (i) 0.15 (0.03) Taxes other than income taxes (0.09) (0.09) (j) 0.00 0.00

0.12 (p) 0.03 (0.09) Depreciation/amortization exp. (0.36) (0.36) (k) 0.00 0.00

0.18 (l) (0.18) (0.36) Other income (deductions)other 0.17 0.17 (m) 0.04 0.04

(0.05) (n) 0.16 0.21 Interest exp. and other charges (0.12) (0.12) (q) (0.02) (0.02)

0.02

(0.12) (0.14) Income taxesother (0.46) (0.46) (r) 0.17 0.17 (s) (0.01)

(0.30) (0.29) Preferred dividend requirements 0.00 0.00

0.00 0.00

0.00

0.00 0.00 Share effect (0.02) (0.02)

0.00 0.00

0.00

(0.02) (0.02) 2021 earnings (loss) 6.21 6.16

(0.90) (0.90)

(1.05)

4.26 5.26

Calculations may differ due to rounding

(c) Utility operating revenue / regulatory charges (credits)net and Utility income taxesother exclude $17 million in third quarter 2021 and $16 million in third quarter 2020 for the return of unprotected excess ADIT to customers (net effect is neutral to earnings). On a year-to-date basis, Utility operating revenue / regulatory charges (credits)net and Utility income taxesother exclude $72 million in 2021 and $61 million in 2020 for the return of unprotected excess ADIT to customers (net effect is neutral to earnings). (d) EPS effect is calculated by multiplying the pre-tax amount by the estimated income tax rate that is expected to apply and dividing by diluted average number of common shares outstanding for the prior period; income taxesother represents income tax differences other than the tax effect of individual line items. (e) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings increases were driven by regulatory actions including E-LA's FRP; E-TX's GCRR, TCRF, and DCRF; E-NO's NOPS recovery; and E-MS's FRP. The variances also reflected a few other items: regulatory charges (credits)net for the difference between decommissioning expenses and decommissioning trust earnings plus decommissioning costs collected in revenue (largely earnings neutral, offset in Utility other income (deductions)other; a reserve adjustment for the FERC MSS-4 ROE decision; and higher Grand Gulf revenue. For the quarter, retail sales volume including volume in the unbilled period partially offset the increase. Volume for the year-to-date period contributed to the increase. The year-to-date variance also reflected recovery of LCPS, the reversal of a regulatory provision for E-AR's 2019 netting adjustment, a regulatory credit for E-MS (primarily for its 2020 lookback evaluation), and a first quarter 2020 regulatory liability for tax sharing with E-LA customers (partially offsets the Hurricane Isaac Act 55 income tax item discussed in footnote r). (f) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings decreases were due largely to lower revenues from the shutdown of Indian Point 3 in April 2021. The year-to-date decrease also reflected the shutdown of Indian Point 2 in April 2020. (g) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings decreases from higher Utility other O&M reflected higher distribution operations expenses primarily due to contractor and reliability costs; higher non-nuclear generation expenses due partly to materials and supplies, contractor spending, and expenses associated with new plants placed in service; and higher benefits costs. These items were partially offset by a $15 million pre-tax gain on the sale of an asset (considered an adjustment and excluded from adjusted earnings). The year-to-date decrease also reflected higher scope of work performed during non-nuclear plant outages, higher nuclear generation expenses, lower nuclear insurance refunds, higher MISO expenses, and higher contract costs related to new customer initiatives. (h) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings increases from lower EWC other O&M were due largely to the shutdown of Indian Point 3 in April 2021 and lower severance and retention costs. The year-to-date increase also reflected the shutdown of Indian Point 2 in April 2020. (i) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings increases from lower EWC decommissioning expense were due to the sale of Indian Point in May 2021. (j) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings decreases from higher Utility taxes other than income taxes were due to higher franchise taxes and higher ad valorem taxes. (k) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings decreases from higher Utility depreciation expense were due primarily to higher plant in service, including MCPS. The year-to-date decrease also reflected LCPS. (l) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings increases from lower EWC depreciation expense were due primarily to the shutdown of Indian Point 3 in April 2021. The year-to-date variance also reflected the Indian Point 2 shutdown in April 2020. (m) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings increases from higher Utility other income (deductions)other were due largely to differences in decommissioning trust fund returns (based on regulatory treatment, decommissioning-related variances are largely earnings neutral). The year-to-date increase was partially offset by lower AFUDC as a result of higher construction work in progress in 2020. (n) The third quarter and year-to-date earnings decrease from lower EWC other income (deductions)other were due largely to lower gains on decommissioning trust fund investments, including the absence of earnings from nuclear decommissioning trust funds that were transferred in the sale of Indian Point. In the year-to-date period, the decrease was partially offset by lower non-service pension costs. (o) The year-to-date earnings decrease from higher EWC asset write-offs and impairments was due primarily to a $340 million ($268 million net-of-tax) loss which resulted from the sale of Indian Point in May 2021. (p) The year-to-date earnings increase from lower EWC taxes other than income taxes was due primarily to the shutdown of Indian Point 2 in April 2020 and Indian Point 3 in April 2021. (q) The year-to-date earnings decrease from higher Utility interest expense was due primarily to higher debt balances at E-LA and E-MS, as well as lower AFUDC as a result of higher construction work in progress in 2020. (r) The year-to-date earnings decrease from Utility income taxesother primarily relates to two first quarter 2020 items. First, a $55 million tax benefit was recorded in first quarter 2020 as a result of an IRS settlement related to Act 55 financing of Hurricane Isaac costs (partly offset by customer sharing, discussed in footnote e); and second, an annual tax accrual related to stock-based compensation resulted in a $22 million income tax benefit in first quarter 2020. (s) The year-to-date earnings increase from Parent & Other income taxesother reflected a reversal of a $9 million valuation allowance related to the interest expense limitation in second quarter 2021. The year-to-date increase also reflected $23 million of income tax expense recorded in first quarter 2020 as a result of the IRS settlement related to the Hurricane Isaac Act 55 financing (discussed in footnote r).

Utility as-reported Operating revenue less Fuel, fuel-related

expenses and gas purchased for resale; Purchased power; and

Regulatory charges (credits) variance analysis 2021 vs. 2020 ($ EPS)

3Q YTD Volume/weather (0.09) 0.31 Retail electric price 0.38 0.86 MSS-4 ROE reserve adjustment 0.02 0.07 Reg. provision for decommissioning (0.25) (0.32) Lower capacity cost not offset in fuel recovery 0.07 0.15 Reg. provision for E-AR FRP (2019 netting adj.) - 0.16 Reg. liability for tax sharing - 0.10 Reg. credit for E-MS - 0.07 Other, including Grand Gulf recovery 0.04 0.20 Total 0.17 1.60

C: Utility Financial and Operating Measures

Appendix C provides comparative summaries of Utility operating and financial measures.



Appendix C: Utility Operating and Financial Measures

Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2021 vs. 2020



Third Quarter Year-to-Date



2021 2020 % Change % Weather

Adjusted (t) 2021 2020 % Change % Weather

Adjusted (t)

GWh billed

















Residential 11,218 11,634 (3.6) (2.9) 28,178 27,519 2.4 (1.3)

Commercial 7,795 7,791 0.1 0.5 20,299 20,106 1.0 0.8

Governmental 660 660 0.0 0.5 1,841 1,826 0.8 1.7

Industrial 13,187 11,994 9.9 9.9 37,335 35,655 4.7 4.7

Total retail sales 32,860 32,079 2.4 2.8 87,653 85,106 3.0 1.7

Wholesale 4,350 4,881 (10.9)

13,365 11,109 20.3



Total sales 37,210 36,960 0.7

101,018 96,215 5.0























Number of electric retail customers

















Residential







2,548,865 2,530,150 0.7



Commercial







365,364 361,401 1.1



Governmental







17,922 17,653 1.5



Industrial







50,579 48,651 4.0



Total retail customers







2,982,730 2,957,855 0.8























Other O&M and refueling outage expense per MWh $18.17 $18.02 0.8

$20.14 $19.66 2.4





















Calculations may differ due to rounding

(t) The effects of weather were estimated using heating degree days and cooling degree days for the billing cycles from certain locations within each jurisdiction and comparing to "normal" weather based on 20-year historical data. The models used to estimate weather are updated periodically and are subject to change.

On a weather-adjusted basis, billed retail sales increased 2.8 percent. Third quarter 2021 sales were impacted by Hurricane Ida while third quarter 2020 sales were affected by Hurricane Laura; the estimated net impact for the quarter was approximately (1.0) percent. The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the prior year also contributed to the variance. Industrial billed sales were 9.9 percent higher than third quarter 2020. The increase in industrial usage was primarily due to an increase in demand from expansion projects, primarily in the transportation, metals, and chemicals industries, an increase in demand from existing customers, primarily in the gases and chemicals industries as a result of temporary plant shutdowns and operational issues, and an increase in demand from mid-to-small and cogeneration customers. Residential billed sales decreased (2.9) percent and commercial billed sales increased 0.5 percent.

D: EWC Financial and Operating Measures

Appendix D-1 provides a comparative summary of EWC adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP).

Appendix D-1: EWC Adjusted EBITDA - Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2021 vs. 2020 ($ in millions) Third Quarter Year-to-Date

2021 2020 Change 2021 2020 Change Net income (loss) 26 31 (5) (210) 6 (216) Add back: interest expense 3 5 (2) 11 17 (6) Add back: income taxes 9 12 (3) (47) 6 (54) Add back: depreciation and amortization 9 21 (12) 36 81 (45) Subtract: interest and investment income 3 95 (92) 100 130 (30) Add back: decommissioning expense 14 51 (37) 106 152 (46) Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) 57 24 33 (205) 132 (337)

Calculations may differ due to rounding

Appendix D-2 provides a comparative summary of EWC operating and financial measures.

Appendix D-2: EWC Operating and Financial Measures Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2021 vs. 2020

Third Quarter Year-to-Date

2021 2020 % Change 2021 2020 % Change Owned capacity (MW) (u) 1,205 2,246 (46.3) 1,205 2,246 (46.3) GWh billed 2,166 4,332 (50.0) 9,265 16,047 (42.3)













EWC Nuclear Fleet











Capacity factor 97% 83% 16.9 97% 94% 3.2 GWh billed 1,702 3,943 (56.8) 8,046 14,782 (45.6) Production cost per MWh $28.91 $21.85 32.3 $23.32 $18.24 27.9 Average energy/capacity revenue per MWh $69.35 $49.71 39.5 $54.79 $45.23 21.1 Refueling outage days











Palisades - 32

- 32



Calculations may differ due to rounding

(u) 2021 is lower due to the shutdown of IP3 (1,041MW) on April 30, 2021.

See the appendix in the webcast presentation for EWC hedging and price disclosures.

E: Consolidated Financial Measures

Appendix E provides comparative financial measures. Financial measures in this table include those calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, as well as those that are considered non-GAAP financial measures.

Appendix E: GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Measures Third Quarter 2021 vs. 2020 (See Appendix G for reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures)



For 12 months ending September 30 2021 2020 Change GAAP Measures





As-reported ROIC 5.3% 6.3% (1.0)% As-reported ROE 11.3% 13.3% (2.0)%







Non-GAAP Financial Measures





Adjusted ROIC 5.2% 5.4% (0.2)% Adjusted ROE 10.9% 10.9% 0.0%







As of September 30 ($ in millions, except where noted) 2021 2020 Change GAAP Measures





Cash and cash equivalents 1,000 1,240 (240) Available revolver capacity 3,925 4,125 (199) Commercial paper 1,006 1,398 (392) Total debt 25,695 22,127 3,568 Securitization debt 90 209 (120) Debt to capital 69.1% 66.7% 2.3% Off-balance sheet liabilities:





Debt of joint ventures  Entergy's share 9 49 (39) Total off-balance sheet liabilities 9 49 (39)







Storm escrow balances 33 373 (340)







Non-GAAP Financial Measures ($ in millions, except where noted)





Debt to capital, excluding securitization debt 69.0% 66.5% 2.5% Net debt to net capital, excluding securitization debt 68.1% 65.2% 2.9% Gross liquidity 4,925 5,364 (439) Net liquidity 3,919 3,966 (47) Net liquidity, including storm escrow balances 3,952 4,339 (387) Parent debt to total debt, excluding securitization debt 23.4% 22.4% 1.0% FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt 8.3% 11.8% (3.5)% FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt, return of unprotected excess ADIT, and severance and retention payments associated with exit of EWC 9.2% 12.5% (3.3)%

Calculations may differ due to rounding

F: Definitions and Abbreviations and Acronyms

Appendix F-1 provides definitions of certain operating measures, as well as GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures.

Appendix F-1: Definitions Utility Financial and Operating Measures GWh billed Total number of GWh billed to retail and wholesale customers Number of electric retail customers Average number of electric customers over the period Other O&M and refueling outage expense per MWh Other operation and maintenance expense plus nuclear refueling outage expense per MWh of billed sales



EWC Financial and Operating Measures Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) Earnings before interest, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization, and excluding decommissioning expense Average revenue per MWh on contracted volumes Revenue on a per unit basis at which generation output reflected in contracts is expected to be sold to third parties (including offsetting positions) at the minimum contract prices and at forward market prices at a point in time, given existing contract or option exercise prices based on expected dispatch or capacity, excluding the revenue associated with the amortization of the below-market PPA for Palisades (revenue will fluctuate due to factors including positive or negative basis differentials and other risk management costs) Average revenue under contract per kW-month (applies to capacity contracts only) Revenue on a per unit basis at which capacity is expected to be sold to third parties, given existing contract prices and/or auction awards Bundled capacity and energy contracts A contract for the sale of installed capacity and related energy, priced per MWh sold Capacity factor Normalized percentage of the period that the nuclear plants generate power Expected sold and market total revenue per MWh Total energy and capacity revenue on a per unit basis at which total planned generation output and capacity is expected to be sold given contract terms and market prices at a point in time, including positive or negative basis differentials and other risk management costs, divided by total planned MWh of generation, excluding the revenue associated with the amortization of the Palisades below-market PPA GWh billed Total number of GWh billed to customers and financially-settled instruments Owned capacity (MW) Installed capacity owned by EWC Percent of capacity sold forward Percent of planned qualified capacity sold to mitigate price uncertainty under physical or financial transactions Percent of planned generation under contract (unit contingent) Percent of planned generation output sold under unit-contingent contracts Planned net MW in operation (average) Average installed nuclear capacity to generate power and/or sell capacity, reflecting the shutdown of Palisades (May 31, 2022) Planned TWh of generation Amount of output expected to be generated by EWC nuclear resources considering plant operating characteristics, reflecting the shutdown of Palisades (May 31, 2022) Production cost per MWh Fuel and other O&M expenses according to accounting standards that directly relate to the production of electricity per MWh (based on net generation)





Appendix F-1: Definitions (continued) EWC Financial and Operating Measures (continued) Unit contingent Transaction under which power is supplied from a specific generation asset; if the asset is in operational outage, seller is generally not liable to buyer for any damages, unless the contract specifies certain conditions such as an availability guarantee



Financial Measures  GAAP As-reported ROE 12-months rolling net income attributable to Entergy Corporation divided by avg. common equity As-reported ROIC 12-months rolling net income attributable to Entergy Corporation adjusted for preferred dividends and tax-effected interest expense divided by average invested capital Debt of joint ventures  Entergy's share Entergy's share of debt issued by business joint ventures at EWC Debt to capital Total debt divided by total capitalization Available revolver capacity Amount of undrawn capacity remaining on corporate and subsidiary revolvers Securitization debt Debt on the balance sheet associated with securitization bonds that is secured by certain future customer collections Total debt Sum of short-term and long-term debt, notes payable and commercial paper, and finance leases on the balance sheet Financial Measures  Non-GAAP Adjusted EPS As-reported EPS excluding adjustments Adjusted ROE 12-months rolling adjusted net income attributable to Entergy Corporation divided by average common equity Adjusted ROIC 12-months rolling adjusted net income attributable to Entergy Corporation adjusted for preferred dividends and tax-effected interest expense divided by average invested capital Adjustments Unusual or non-recurring items or events or other items or events that management believes do not reflect the ongoing business of Entergy, such as the results of the EWC segment, significant tax items, and other items such as certain costs, expenses, or other specified items Debt to capital, excluding securitization debt Total debt divided by total capitalization, excluding securitization debt FFO OCF less AFUDC-borrowed funds, working capital items in OCF (receivables, fuel inventory, accounts payable, taxes accrued, interest accrued, and other working capital accounts), and securitization regulatory charges FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt 12-months rolling FFO as a percentage of end of period total debt excluding securitization debt FFO to debt, excl. securitization debt, return of unprotected excess ADIT, and severance and retention payments associated with exit of EWC 12-months rolling FFO excluding return of unprotected excess ADIT and severance and retention payments associated with exit of EWC as a percentage of end of period total debt excluding securitization debt Gross liquidity Sum of cash and available revolver capacity Net debt to net capital, excl. securitization debt Total debt less cash and cash equivalents divided by total capitalization less cash and cash equivalents, excluding securitization debt Net liquidity Sum of cash and available revolver capacity less commercial paper borrowing Net liquidity, including storm escrows Sum of cash, available revolver capacity, and escrow accounts available for certain storm expenses, less commercial paper borrowing Parent debt to total debt, excl. securitization debt Entergy Corp. debt, incl. amounts drawn on credit revolver and commercial paper facilities, as a percent of consolidated total debt, excl. securitization debt







Appendix F-2 explains abbreviations and acronyms used in the quarterly earnings materials.

Appendix F-2: Abbreviations and Acronyms ADIT AFUDC AFUDC  borrowed funds ALJ AMI ANO



APSC ARO bps CCGT CCNO Choctaw COD CT CWIP DCRF DOE DSM E-AR E-LA E-MS E-NO E-TX EBITDA



EEI EPS ETR EWC FERC FFO FIN 48



FRP GAAP GCRR Grand Gulf or

GGNS IIRR-G Indian Point 2

or IP2 Indian Point 3

or IP3 IPEC Accumulated deferred income taxes Allowance for funds used during construction Allowance for borrowed funds used during

construction Administrative law judge Advanced metering infrastructure Units 1 and 2 of Arkansas Nuclear One owned

by E-AR (nuclear) Arkansas Public Service Commission Asset retirement obligation Basis points Combined cycle gas turbine Council of the City of New Orleans Choctaw County Generating Station (CCGT) Commercial operation date Simple cycle combustion turbine Construction work in progress Distribution cost recovery factor U.S. Department of Energy Demand side management Entergy Arkansas, LLC Entergy Louisiana, LLC Entergy Mississippi, LLC Entergy New Orleans, LLC Entergy Texas, Inc. Earnings before interest, income taxes, and

depreciation and amortization Edison Electric Institute Earnings per share Entergy Corporation Entergy Wholesale Commodities Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Funds from operations FASB Interpretation No.48, "Accounting for

Uncertainty in Income Taxes" Formula rate plan U.S. generally accepted accounting principles Generation Cost Recovery Rider Unit 1 of Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (nuclear),

90% owned or leased by SERI Infrastructure investment recovery rider - gas Indian Point Energy Center Unit 2 (nuclear)

(shut down April 30, 2020, sold May 28,2021) Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 (nuclear)

(shut down April 30, 2021, sold May 28, 2021) Indian Point Energy Center (nuclear)

(sold May 28, 2021) IRP IRS ISES 2 LCPS LPSC LTM MCPS MISO Moody's MPSC MTEP Nelson 6 NDT NOPA NOPS NOSS NRC NYSE OCAPS OCF OpCo OPEB Other O&M



P&O Palisades PMR PPA



PUCT REC RFP ROE ROIC RS Cogen RSP S&P SEC SERI TCRF UPSA WACC WPEC Integrated resource plan Internal Revenue Service Unit 2 of Independence Steam Electric Station

(coal) Lake Charles Power Station (CCGT) Louisiana Public Service Commission Last twelve months Montgomery County Power Station (CCGT) Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Moody's Investor Service Mississippi Public Service Commission MISO Transmission Expansion Plan Unit 6 of Roy S. Nelson plant (coal) Nuclear decommissioning trust IRS Notice of Proposed Adjustment New Orleans Power Station New Orleans Solar Station U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission New York Stock Exchange Orange County Advanced Power Station Net cash flow provided by operating activities Utility operating company Other post-employment benefits Other non-fuel operation and maintenance

expense Parent & Other Palisades Power Plant (nuclear) Performance Management Rider Power purchase agreement or purchased power

agreement Public Utility Commission of Texas Renewable energy credit Request for proposals Return on equity Return on invested capital RS Cogen facility (CCGT cogeneration) Rate Stabilization Plan (E-LA Gas) Standard & Poor's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission System Energy Resources, Inc. Transmission cost recovery factor Unit Power Sales Agreement Weighted-average cost of capital Washington Parish Energy Center

G: Other GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations

Appendix G-1, Appendix G-2, and Appendix G-3 provide reconciliations of various non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this news release to their most comparable GAAP measure.

Appendix G-1: Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures - ROIC, ROE (LTM $ in millions except where noted)

Third Quarter



2021 2020 As-reported net income (loss) attributable to Entergy Corporation (A) 1,248 1,385 Preferred dividends

18 18 Tax-effected interest expense

609 582 As-reported net income (loss) attributable to Entergy Corporation adjusted for preferred dividends and tax-effected interest expense (B) 1,875 1,985







Adjustments (C) 45 252 EWC preferred dividends and tax-effected interest expense included in adjustments

15 20







Total adjustments, excluding EWC preferred dividends and tax-effected interest expense (non-GAAP) (D) 60 272







Adjusted earnings (non-GAAP) (A-C) 1,202 1,134 Adjusted earnings, excluding preferred dividends and tax- effected interest expense (non-GAAP) (B-D) 1,815 1,713







Average invested capital (average of beginning and ending balances) (E) 35,178 31,442







Average common equity (average of beginning and ending balances) (F) 11,012 10,403







As-reported ROIC (B/E) 5.3% 6.3% Adjusted ROIC (non-GAAP) [(B-D)/E] 5.2% 5.4% As-reported ROE (A/F) 11.3% 13.3% Adjusted ROE (non-GAAP) [(A-C)/F] 10.9% 10.9%

Calculations may differ due to rounding

Appendix G-2: Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures  Debt ratios excluding securitization debt; gross liquidity; net liquidity; net liquidity, including storm escrows ($ in millions except where noted)

Third Quarter



2021 2020 Total debt (A) 25,695 22,127 Less securitization debt (B) 90 209 Total debt, excluding securitization debt (C) 25,606 21,918 Less cash and cash equivalents (D) 1,000 1,240 Net debt, excluding securitization debt (E) 24,605 20,678







Commercial paper (F) 1,006 1,398







Total capitalization (G) 37,202 33,153 Less securitization debt (B) 90 209 Total capitalization, excluding securitization debt (H) 37,112 32,944 Less cash and cash equivalents (D) 1,000 1,240 Net capital, excluding securitization debt (I) 36,112 31,704







Debt to capital (A/G) 69.1% 66.7% Debt to capital, excluding securitization debt (non-GAAP) (C/H) 69.0% 66.5% Net debt to net capital, excluding securitization debt (non-GAAP) (E/I) 68.1% 65.2%







Available revolver capacity (J) 3,925 4,125







Storm escrows (K) 33 373







Gross liquidity (non-GAAP) (D+J) 4,925 5,364 Net liquidity (non-GAAP) (D+J-F) 3,919 3,966 Net liquidity, including storm escrows (non-GAAP) (D+J-F+K) 3,952 4,339







Entergy Corporation notes:





Due July 2022

650 650 Due September 2025

800 800 Due September 2026

750 750 Due June 2028

650 - Due June 2030

600 600 Due June 2031

650 - Due June 2050

600 600 Total Entergy Corporation notes (L) 4,700 3,400 Revolver draw (M) 325 150 Unamortized debt issuance costs and discounts (N) (51) (40) Total parent debt (F+L+M+N) 5,981 4,909







Parent debt to total debt, excluding securitization debt (non-GAAP) [(F+L+M+N)/C] 23.4% 22.4%

Calculations may differ due to rounding

Appendix G-3: Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures  FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt; FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt, return of unprotected excess ADIT, and severance and retention payments associated with exit of EWC ($ in millions except where noted)

Third Quarter



2021 2020 Total debt (A) 25,695 22,127 Less securitization debt (B) 90 209 Total debt, excluding securitization debt (C) 25,606 21,918







Net cash flow provided by operating activities, LTM (D) 2,331 3,069







AFUDC  borrowed funds, LTM (E) (34) (55)







Working capital items in net cash flow provided by operating activities, LTM:





Receivables

(183) (71) Fuel inventory

20 (14) Accounts payable

326 277 Taxes accrued

20 188 Interest accrued

26 14 Other working capital accounts

(124) (98) Securitization regulatory charges, LTM

98 125 Total (F) 184 421







FFO, LTM (non-GAAP) (G)=(D+E-F) 2,113 2,594







FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt (non-GAAP) (G/C) 8.3% 11.8%







Estimated return of unprotected excess ADIT, LTM (H) 85 119 Severance and retention payments associated with exit of EWC, LTM pre-tax (I) 158 17







FFO to debt, excluding securitization debt, return of unprotected excess ADIT, and severance and retention payments associated with exit of EWC (non-GAAP) [(G+H+I)/(C)] 9.2% 12.5%

Calculations may differ due to rounding

SOURCE Entergy Corporation

Related Links

http://www.entergy.com


PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EpiVax Therapeutics, Inc. ("EVT"), an emerging biotechnology company, today announced that an abstract highlighting its Ancer platform will be presented at the upcoming Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 36th Annual Meeting from November 12-14, 2021 in Washington, DC. Details on the poster that will be presented as part of the regular submissions are below.

Title: Stealthier Mutanomes are Induced After Nivolumab Immunotherapy

Authors: Richard et. al

Poster #: 313

Presentation Date/Time: November 12, 2021, 7:00 am - 8:30 pm ET

The EpiVax Therapeutics Ancer platform will optimize precision immunotherapies development Tweet this

"We are excited to share new research featuring the use of Ancer in novel biomarker identification. These new findings will optimize precision immunotherapies development at EpiVax Therapeutics," said Michael Princiotta, PhD, EpiVax Therapeutics CSO.

About EpiVax Therapeutics, Inc.

EpiVax Therapeutics, Inc. ('EVT') is based in Providence, RI. Incorporated in 2017, EVT is a spin-out of EpiVax Inc., a company founded by Dr. Annie De Groot and Mr. Bill Martin in 1998. EVT is leveraging EpiVax's 22 years of experience in designing commercial grade immunoinformatic tools, to advance its personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine development program. EVT's personalized vaccine design platform, Ancer, incorporates the world-class EpiMatrix system and the innovative JanusMatrix tool, which were exclusively licensed to EVT by EpiVax. EVT's pipeline includes a COVID-19 vaccine and a personalized bladder cancer vaccine. More information about EpiVax Therapeutics is available at www.epivaxtx.com.

About Ancer.

EpiVax Therapeutics' Ancer neoantigen in silico prediction platform, leverages EpiVax's EpiMatrix and JanusMatrix algorithms, state-of-the-art tools that have been externally validated in several prospective vaccine studies and that are broadly utilized worldwide by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Ancer is designed to enable the discovery of highly immunogenic neoantigens for precision cancer immunotherapies. It is integrated into an end-to-end, GMP ready, robust and already established commercial-grade platform.

For meeting requests or further information, please contact:

EpiVax Therapeutics, Inc

Nicole Ruggiero, COO

Tel: + 1-401-272-2123

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE EpiVax Therapeutics, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.epivaxtx.com


STOCKHOLM, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT Exeter is pleased to announce it has closed a USD 6.8 billion, 70.5 million square foot portfolio sale on behalf of its private real estate funds, EQT Exeter Industrial Value Fund IV and related investment vehicles. The portfolio is comprised primarily of logistics properties that serve the supply chains of major corporations, including facilities for "big box" regional distribution, e-commerce fulfilment, and last mile distribution. The portfolio spans the Top 5 US distribution hubs of New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles and the key e-commerce and air cargo hubs of Memphis, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Louisville.

With 20 offices across the US alone, EQT Exeter mobilized its deep local market knowledge and expansive industry relationships to assemble the portfolio through more than 100 transactions executed over three years. These investments were made on behalf of industrial value fund investors who sought value growth through development and leasing activities. Differentiated by its fully in-house execution of property design, development, and leasing, EQT Exeter: developed 15 million square feet of the portfolio, with an additional 7 million square feet under construction; leased 45 million square feet of vacancy; and signed 28 million square feet in renewals during the funds' period of ownership. This vertical integration allowed EQT Exeter to add significant value, raising occupancy from 55 percent initially to 95 percent at sale, thus increasing the unleveraged yield on cost from 4.8 percent initially to 6.9 percent at sale.

In line with EQT Exeter's commitment to sustainability, the 22 million square feet of newly constructed properties are equipped with the newest renewable design features in the industry. As part of the reletting of existing space, EQT Exeter has taken a number of steps to reduce environmental impact, including installing LED lighting, reflective roof materials, and clerestory natural light features, and introducing pervious parking and trailer areas and onsite stormwater retention.

The portfolio was marketed for sale to global institutional buyers who have grown accustomed to EQT Exeter providing the marketplace with the most modern, sustainable, diversified, and high-quality portfolios that provide stable cash flow from a strong credit tenant base. The buyer is a newly formed global partnership, which has engaged EQT Exeter to continue operating and managing the properties.

Ward Fitzgerald, Partner and Head EQT Exeter, said, "We are grateful to have the opportunity to deliver this transformational deal for our investors in the US industrial value funds, which have the #1 performance among all private real estate funds invested during the same time periods. We are humbled to serve the teachers, firefighters, public workers, and so many others whose retirements depend on EQT Exeter's commitment to success. I am extremely proud of the entire US EQT Exeter team for their tireless, gritty efforts in acquiring, developing, leasing, and stabilizing this high-quality portfolio, enabling us to continue our track record as one of the highest-performing real estate investment managers in the world."

Fitzgerald continued, "Furthermore, we are excited to continue collaborating with the buyers, our partners in a new venture as we operate the assets moving forward. Today's transaction is the fourth multi-billion-dollar portfolio sale for EQT Exeter. Throughout our team's long history, we have been laying the bricks of design excellence, leasing execution, and strong corporate tenant relationships to serve such partners with large-scale portfolios of the highest quality and the active management expertise to produce steady income and asset appreciation."

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP advised EQT Exeter, and Eastdil Secured LLC served as the procuring broker in this transaction.

Contact

US media inquiries: Mathilde Milch, Director, Communications, EQT [email protected], +1 (917) 510-6626

International: EQT Press Office, [email protected], +46 8 506 55 334

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/eqt-exeter-completes-usd-6-8-billion-industrial-portfolio-sale---among-the-largest-in-us-history,c3446078

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/87/3446078/1490801.pdf Press release EQT Exeter 211103 https://news.cision.com/eqt/i/eqt-exeter-buckner-dallas--texas,c2975520 EQT Exeter Buckner Dallas, Texas

SOURCE Cision AB

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BALTIMORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Next Day Animations, an award-winning explainer video company, is reopening the Illustrating Awesomeness Scholarship for the fifth consecutive year. Illustrating Awesomeness is a scholarship opportunity for young women or gender non-conforming individuals of color who are actively working to change the world.

Since the program launched in 2016, the scholarship has been awarded to young people pursuing degrees in fields such as education, nursing, art, and engineering. Recipients have attended universities and colleges across the country, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Spelman College, and California State University.

A certified B Corp, Next Day Animations is committed to using business resources to address social problems like systemic opportunity gaps and support young people doing great work in their communities.

"As a values-based business, we care deeply about our impact, and we see the scholarship as a small way to recognize and support young people who are already changing the world for the better," shares Caitlin Rogers, co-founder and Chief Storytelling Officer. "We started off with just two scholarships annually. As the business has grown, it's been great to be able to increase the number of recipients over the years, since choosing between so many amazing applicants is no easy task."

The scholarship is open to undergraduate students attending college in the United States and the award will be applied to tuition for the 2022 Spring semester. Four $750 scholarships will be awarded. Eligible applicants can view more information at www.nextdayanimations.com/scholarship/ .

About Next Day Animations

Founded in 2012, Next Day Animations specializes in explainer videos for nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and businesses. Their clients include Big Brothers Big Sisters, HBO, Goodwill, and Johnson & Johnson. With offices in Baltimore and Minneapolis, Next Day Animations partners with clients all over the world to deliver high-quality, impactful animations. Next Day Animations is a certified Great Place to Work and B Corp.

SOURCE Next Day Animations

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BOSTON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Massachusetts-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Massachusetts-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

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MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Minnesota-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Minnesota-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Related Links

http://www.northwesternmutual.com


BALTIMORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Maryland-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Maryland-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual
CINCINNATI, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Ohio-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Ohio-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

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http://www.northwesternmutual.com


RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Virginia-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Virginia-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Related Links

http://www.northwesternmutual.com


HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Freeway Insurance , a division of Confie , the largest independent personal lines agency and broker in the U.S., today announced it had acquired AutoPartners Insurance Agency, Inc , under the Freeway Insurance brand.

As part of the acquisition, Freeway Insurance will retain AutoPartners Insurance employees, as well as maintain operations at all 17 AutoPartners Insurance retail locations across the state, increasing the company's physical presence to more than 190+ retail locations throughout Texas and over 520 nationwide.

"For more than two decades, residents of rural Texas have relied on AutoPartners Insurance for their automotive insurance needs, and we look forward to carrying on that legacy," said Chad Maxwell, Senior Vice President and Head of M&A for Confie. "Texas has long been a priority market for Freeway Insurance and this acquisition furthers our commitment to the people of this great state."

Launched in 1989, AutoPartners Insurance prioritizes the delivery of auto insurance to Texas residents living outside traditional big city markets. This approach to ensuring everyone has access to affordable and quality insurance - in-person, online and over the phone - will remain a priority as AutoPartners joins the Freeway Insurance family.

"Our customers have always been our first priority, which is why we're excited to join forces with Freeway Insurance to provide even greater access to exceptional insurance products across Texas," said Dennis Walsh, CEO. "Teaming up with Freeway Insurance, a company that shares our passion and vision, allows our team to scale more quickly, providing greater access and service to our customers."

"Dennis and his team have built an exceptional company that fits perfectly with our company during a period of aggressive growth," said Cesar Soriano, CEO of Confie. "We plan to continue expansion in Texas and across the country through organic growth, franchising, and strategic mergers and acquisitions, and we look forward to having the AutoPartners Insurance team alongside us when we do."

To learn more about Freeway Insurance, visit freewayinsurance.com.

About Freeway Insurance

Established in 1987, Freeway offers insurance policies via a "click, call, or come-in" approach that provides customers coverage throughout the United States. The company is constantly researching, growing and diversifying product offerings to stay responsive to the ever-evolving insurance market. Freeway offers a wide range of plans, from the most basic to premium plans, in auto, truck, commercial vehicle, fire, flood, homeowners, renters, small commercial, motorcycle and recreational vehicle insurance products. In 2008, Freeway Insurance joined Confie, the leading national personal lines insurance distribution company. Today, Freeway Insurance services customers in more than 500 offices. Freeway consumers access Freeway Insurance through neighborhood Freeway offices, as well as by visiting www.freewayinsurance.com or by calling (800) 300-0227.

About Confie

Established in 2008, Confie is the nation's leading personal lines insurance distribution company. Today, Confie meets customers wherever they are  with more than 750 retail locations in 23 states, the Bluefire general agency, and a telephone and online shared service center servicing all 50 states. With flexible insurance options, outstanding value, and convenient service, Confie's aspiration is to be the most trusted source of insurance solutions so our customers can have peace of mind. Confie is a portfolio company of Alliant. For more information about Confie, visit www.confie.com .

SOURCE Confie

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PELHAM, Ala., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gabriella White, LLC, parent company to Summer Classics and Gabby is delighted to announce its continuation of their national partnership with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals). The fundraising relationship between Gabriella White and CMN Hospitals kickstarted in 2020, born out of three generations of involvement with the White family with Children's of Alabama hospital.

"The roots of a partnership with my family and Children's of Alabama began with my paternal grandfather  Bew White, Jr.  who joined the Children's of Alabama Board of Directors in 1965. He served as Chairman of the Board in 1974 and 1975. My grandfather's tenure spanned more than 30 years, and he played an integral part in building the highly revered Children's of today," says Bew White, Executive Chairman of Gabriella White.

For over 38 years CMN Hospitals has been the vehicle for raising funds and awareness on behalf of member hospitals that provide care to children across the United States and Canada. To date, CMN Hospitals has raised more than $7 billion in support of its mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.

The national partnership between Gabriella White and CMN Hospitals will positively impact 16 hospitals in the 15 cities that are home to Summer Classics and Gabby retail stores. "Great companies do great things for their communities," says William White, CEO of Gabriella White. "We're proud to be able to give back to the cities we, and our clients, call home," White says.

A Focus on the Future.

As a company, Gabriella White is active in advocating for organizations that focus on improving the lives of those in need, especially children. When William White, CEO of Gabriella White, LLC., and grandson of Bew White, Jr. took over the charitable giving foundation arm of the company, he wanted to deepen the relationships with the receiving organizations. "We're focusing on our CMN Hospitals partnership as we grow our relationship, now, and for years to come plus, we're excited to announce that we're increasing our corporate commitment to $200,000 for CMN this year," says White.

Designing a Miracle

Each year, member hospitals within the CMN Hospitals network identify a "Champion" in each of its communities to serve as the face for children treated at their local children's hospital. These ambassadors spend the year advocating for children's hospitals across the country.

Twelve-year-old Gabby Bolden of Birmingham, Alabama was the 2020 local Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Champion for Children's of Alabama. In August, Gabby celebrated six years since receiving a heart transplant at Children's of Alabama.

Gabby worked with the Summer Classics Home team and designed her own collection of Miracle Pillows that are sold in retail stores and online. One hundred dollars from every pillow sold is donated to CMN Hospitals.

The Summer Classics Home retail stores are also involved with the fundraising efforts through direct donations and selling a special line of pillows. Donations received in the retail stores or online will benefit local CMN hospitals in the surrounding area. The corporate office will match donations received at its retail locations, up to $50,000.

For more information about the partnership, and how to contribute to the campaign, visit summerclassicshome.com/giving .

About Gabriella White, LLC: Gabriella White is a family-owned company and premier innovator, manufacturer and retailer of fine indoor and outdoor furniture since 1978. The family of companies includes Summer Classics, Gabby and Wendy Jane. The company has aimed to delight its customers by passionately creating products with the belief that timeless designs can and will be embraced for years. Life's Best Moments. Furnished. Visit our websites: summerclassics.com , gabbyhome.com, summerclassicshome.com .

About Children's of Alabama: Since 1911, Children's of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children, offering inpatient and outpatient services throughout central Alabama. Ranked among the best pediatric medical centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children's provided care for youngsters from every county in Alabama and 42 other states last year, representing more than 684,000 outpatient visits and more than 15,000 inpatient admissions. With more than 3.5 million square feet, Children's is one of the largest pediatric medical facilities in the United States. It is a private, not-for-profit medical center that serves as the teaching hospital for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, research and residency programs. The medical staff consists of UAB faculty and Children's of Alabama's full-time physicians as well as private practicing community physicians. childrensal.org

About CMN Hospitals: Children's Miracle Network Hospitals raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since 1983, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $7 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity's Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit's mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why children's hospitals need community support, and learn about your member hospital at www.CMNHospitals.org and facebook.com/CMNHospitals .

SOURCE Summer Classics, Inc

Related Links

http://www.summerclassics.com


VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Deep-South Resources Inc. ("Deep-South" or "the Company") (TSX-V: DSM) reports that at the Court hearing on October 28, 2021, the High Court of Namibia ordered the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia ("Ministry") to complete its filing of the documents supporting the decision of the Minister to refuse the Haib Copper licence renewal before November 11, 2021. The Ministry proceeded with a first filing on October 21, 2021 but it was not complete and did not include any documents directly related to the decision of the Minister to deny the renewal of the Haib Copper licence.

The Court will hold another hearing on November 11, 2021, to define the further procedures with regards to the review of the decision of the Minister.

The Company will provide regular updates in this regard and any other matter concerning this situation.

As disclosed in our press release dated June 16, 2021, the Company had received notice from the Ministry informing the Company that its application for the renewal of its EPL had been denied citing the Company's inability to advance the EPL to Pre-Feasibility and complete the proposed drilling program as planned. The Company maintains that the Ministry was kept well apprised, with no objection on their part, of a proposed change from the Pre-Feasibility study to an upgraded Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and commencement of a full feasibility study. The latter was already started at the time of the refusal. Moreover, the Ministry issued all permits required for the drilling program and are well aware that Deep-South has completed the drilling program.

As a result of the Minister's refusal to renew the Licence, the Company terminated all work on site and proceeded with the retrenchment of its employees on site.

The Company is vigorously contesting the decision by all means necessary and available under the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act (the "Act") and other applicable laws of Namibia. In its application for renewal and subsequent representations made to the Ministry, the Company maintains that it clearly demonstrated having met all criteria under the Act to justify the renewal of its Licence.

About Deep-South Resources Inc

Deep-South Resources is a mineral exploration and development company Deep-South growth strategy is to focus on the exploration and development of quality assets in significant mineralized trends and in proximity to infrastructure in stable countries. In using and assessing environmentally friendly technologies in the development of its copper project, Deep-South embraces the green revolution.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Information contained in this news release which are not statements of historical facts may be "forward-looking information" for the purposes of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking information. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "contemplate", "plan", "intends", "continue", "budget", "estimate", "may", "will", "schedule", "understand" and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things: the Minister's refusal to renew the Company's Licence, the Company's intention to contest the Minister's decision before the Courts of Namibia and the outcome of such proceedings.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Deep-South, are inherently subject to significant technical, political, business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Factors and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: political risks associated with the Company's operations in Namibia; the failure of the Namibian Government to comply with its continuing obligations under the Act to allow for the renewal of the Licence; the impact of changes in, or to the more aggressive enforcement of, laws, regulations and government practices; the inability of the Company and its subsidiaries to enforce their legal rights in certain circumstances. For additional risk factors, please see the Company's most recently filed Management Discussions & Analysis for its quarter ended ended February 28, 2021 available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

There can be no assurances that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as many factors and future events, both known and unknown could cause actual results, performance or achievements to vary or differ materially from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained herein or incorporated by reference. Accordingly, all such factors should be considered carefully when making decisions with respect to Deep-South, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release is made as at the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

Suite 888, 700 West Georgia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V7Y 1G5

Tel: +1-819-340-0140. E-mail: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.deepsouthresources.com

SOURCE Deep-South Resources Inc.
NEVE ILAN, Israel, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- illumigyn, the world's first remote gynecological imaging platform, today announced that following the closure of its latest investment round it has raised $33 million to date. The current investment round includes the Yozma Group Korea and Ubicom Holdings Japan.

The funding will enable the company to accelerate its plans to bring cutting-edge gynecological imaging to women across the globe, starting this month with deployments in the United States, United Arab Emirates, India, Singapore, and South Korea.

As part of its vision to expand access to vital care for women worldwide, illumigyn developed a complete platform featuring the Gynescope System, a revolutionary "gynecology endoscope" and cloud platform service with an accompanying mobile application.

The first FDA-cleared remote gynecological platform, the Gynescope, digitally documents the cervix, vagina, and external genitalia. High-quality resolution and superior magnification enhance details beyond the capabilities of traditional cervix exams, enabling more accurate pap smears.

The illumigyn Gynescope can be handled by any trained caregiver (OB/GYN, GP, Midwife, Nurse Practitioner, and Physician Assistant) so that women of all individual sensitivities can be assessed in a safe space. The HIPAA-compliant solution automatically uploads and securely stores images to the cloud. This allows a doctor or specialist to view the images remotely and provides women with access to their scans and doctors' recommendations.

"This is another milestone in our vision to democratize women's healthcare and bring advanced gynecological care to women worldwide," said Mr. Ran Poliakine, illumigyn's Founder. "Our deployments this month are aligned with our mission to bring our platform to women everywhere, in developed and developing countries, in population centers, as well as remote communities. This is our mission and our commitment."

The investment will also support illumigyn's research and development efforts, which are geared toward turning illumigyn into a comprehensive solution for examining the lower genital tract and providing women across the world the best possible care for cancer and other diseases. This includes the worldwide availability of preventive screenings, evaluations, diagnoses, and treatments.

"We are proud to introduce to the world a cutting-edge innovation that will ensure that women all over the world will feel safe during gynecological exams and will have access to all of their medical information," Dr. Avi Ludomirski, CEO and Chairman of the Board of illumigyn. "The funding secured by the company will be deployed to ramp up production and will enable illumigyn to execute existing distribution agreements and sign additional new global partnerships."

"We are happy to be able to support illumigyn in its novel mission to bridge the gap between all women and outstanding healthcare, and empowering women with state of the art, proprietary technology," said Wonjae Lee, Head of Asia Pacific of the Yozma Group. "Our investment comes after our impressive discussions with the company's leaders, whose vision is not only valuable in this current moment post-pandemic but is sure to shape the future of gynecology and how women can continue to access innovative and intelligent healthcare."

About Illumigyn

illumigyn, founded by Ran Poliakine and Lior Greenstein, is an Israeli corporation focused on powering women's health and making it accessible and affordable for every woman worldwide. Illumigyn's vision is to disrupt the medical field of gynecology with a complete platform solution featuring the Gynescope System, a revolutionary and FDA cleared "gynecology endoscope" and cloud platform service. With our technological know-how and expertise, our vision is to then create an ecosystem that powers all facets of women's health. For more information, please visit https://www.illumigyn.com/.

Media Contact:

Justine Rosin

Headline Media

[email protected]

IL:+972 54 885 9141

US:+1 917 724 2176

SOURCE illumigyn
SYDNEY, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital asset exchange platform IQDAX is proud to announce the launch of its new global ambassador program, operating under the brand name TradeElite. Having previously informed prospective ambassadors of this upcoming event, the company is delighted to have reached the next stage of the launch process, unveiling new elements of their offering.

IQDAX TradeElite

The TradeElite program offers opportunities for all levels of ambassador, living by the motto of 'Connect. Grow. Thrive.' These words typify the ethos behind TradeElite, which will provide three levels for new ambassadors taking part:

Connect (New Ambassadors)  this level provides a basic level of support from IQDAX, and a series of low commission rewards.

Grow (VIP Ambassadors)  participants in the scheme at this level will be able to take advantage of significantly heightened support and a greater rewards base.

Thrive (Exclusive Ambassadors)  at this level, ambassadors will benefit from greater support from the expertise of IQDAX, alongside a number of profound rewards which incentivise participation, inclusive of bounty tokens share.

In addition, IQDAX has plans in place to start an additional bonus program for speculative clients, representing a bold new development in its trading offering.

As a leading margin trading platform for cryptocurrency, Forex and stocks, IQDAX brings the skill and experience to make its ambassador platform a tempting offer. Brand ambassadors are a crucial element of the company's development in 2021 and beyond, as it continues to expand through the next twelve months.

"We're delighted to launch our new ambassador program, following lots of new developments here at IQDAX," says Sofia Rubio, Business Development Advisor at IQDAX. "Programs like TradeElite provide a unique opportunity to spread the word about the company, while providing real value to ambassadors."

Whilst IQDAX has many innovative plans ahead, the launch of TradeElite is certainly one of the most exciting new developments for the company, and integral to driving growth on a global stage.

Other key things for prospective ambassadors to note include the rapid rate at which IQDAX is currently growing, with future plans include the expansion of the brand into more than 100 countries and territories. The brand is keeping some of its other innovative steps under wraps for now, but there will be more to come before the end of the year.

For now, TradeElite represents a new revolution in the financial markets, and IQDAX promises its brand ambassadors lots of great benefits as a reward for taking part.

More information available at https://ambassador.iqdax.com/.

Media Contact:

Angella Tran

[email protected]

+61480053940

SOURCE IQDAX

Related Links

https://ambassador.iqdax.com/


TSX Venture Exchange

Trading Symbol: KLD

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Kenorland Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: KLD) (OTCQX: NWRCF) (FSE: 3WQ0) ("Kenorland" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of a $5.2 million strategic investment (the "Financing") by Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. ("Sumitomo").

Sumitomo subscribed for and purchased 5,211,945 common shares at a price of $1.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $5,211,945, resulting in Sumitomo owning approximately 10.1% of the Company's outstanding common shares.

The proceeds from the Financing will be used 80% ($4,169,556) for exploration expenditures on the Company's properties and 20% ($1,042,389) for general and administrative expenses of the Company.

"We are delighted to welcome Sumitomo Metal Mining as a strategic investor in Kenorland," commented Zach Flood, President and CEO of Kenorland. "Sumitomo's investment is a significant milestone for us and represents a strong endorsement of our team, the Frotet Project, and our additional projects and partnerships within the exploration portfolio. We look forward to continued success and building an even stronger relationship with our newest significant shareholder."

In connection with the strategic investment by Sumitomo, the Company and Sumitomo also entered into an investor rights agreement, whereby, subject to certain conditions, including time and ownership thresholds, Sumitomo will have certain rights, including the right to appoint one director of the Company.

In addition, Sumitomo will have a right to participate in future equity issuances to maintain its ownership in the Company and will be provided with "piggy-back registration rights."

Under the investor rights agreement, for a period of two years, Sumitomo has also agreed not to (a) commence a take-over bid; (b) acquire the Company's shares, or direct or indirect rights to acquire any of the Company's shares; (c) make, or in any way participate in any solicitation of proxies to vote the Company's shares; (d) make any public announcement with respect to, or submit a proposal for, or offer of (with or without conditions) any business combination, amalgamation or merger or similar transaction involving the Company.

A copy of the investor rights agreement is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Sumitomo has chosen Eiichi Fukuda as its nominee to the Kenorland board, and Mr. Fukuda will be appointed effective November 16, 2021. Mr. Fukuda is a graduate of the Institute of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan (B.A. Geology). He joined Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. in Japan in 1986. He has held various positions in the Sumitomo Metal Mining group companies such as Senior Geologist of Hishikari gold mine, Managing Director of Sumitomo Metal Mining Oceania Pty Ltd. in Sydney, Australia, Senior Geologist of Pogo gold mine in Alaska, and General Manager Exploration and Development in Minerals Resources Division in Tokyo. He has been the president of Sumitomo since 2016 and he is also a board member of Teck Resources Ltd.

The common shares issuable in the Financing are subject to a statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities legislation expiring on March 4, 2022.

About Kenorland Minerals

Kenorland Minerals Ltd. (TSX.V KLD) is a mineral exploration Company incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia and based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kenorland's focus is early to advanced stage exploration in North America. The Company currently holds three projects in Quebec where work is being completed under joint venture and earn-in agreement from third parties. The Frotet Project is held under joint venture with Sumitomo, the Chicobi Project is optioned to Sumitomo, and the Chebistuan Project is optioned to Newmont Corporation. In Ontario, the Company holds the South Uchi Project under an earn-in agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. The Company also owns 100% of the advanced stage Tanacross porphyry Cu-Au project as well as an option to earn up to 70% from Newmont Corporation on the Healy Project, both located in Alaska, USA.

Further information can be found on the Company's website www.kenorlandminerals.com

Kenorland Minerals Ltd.

Zach Flood

President and CEO

Tel: +1 604 363 1779

[email protected]

Kenorland Minerals Ltd.

Francis MacDonald

Executive Vice President

Tel: +1 778 322 8705

[email protected]

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". 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, that 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 the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Kenorland Minerals Ltd.
TEL AVIV, Israel and VIENNA, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boris Mints Institute has announced a landmark two-day virtual Conference, to be hosted in partnership with the University of Vienna, entitled "The Future of Democratic, Economic and Political Institutions." The event will be held on Tuesday November 9th and Wednesday November 10th, 2021 (commencing on both days at 9am Eastern Standard Time, 2pm Greenwich Mean Time, 4pm Israel Standard Time).

The Conference will bring together esteemed thought-leaders, Nobel Prize Laureates, and political trailblazers, to identify an "agenda for urgent transformation" to reform and modernize key democratic, economic, and political institutions. The first day will feature sessions on "The Future of Democracy" and the second day will focus on "The Future of the Economic Institutions of the Neo-Liberal Era."

Registration to attend the Conference, as well as the full agenda, can be found at: https://www.bmiglobalsolutions.org/registration

Among the speakers setting out novel solutions for weaknesses in contemporary democracy, entrenched global inequality, and the resurgence of political populism are:

Professor Paul Romer - Nobel Prize Laureate, professor of Economics at New York University and former Chief Economist of the World Bank;

- Nobel Prize Laureate, professor of Economics at and former Chief Economist of the World Bank; Professor Michael Kremer - Nobel Prize and Boris Mints Institute Prize Laureate, professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Chicago and founding director of the Development Innovation Lab at the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics;

- Nobel Prize and Boris Mints Institute Prize Laureate, professor of Economics and Public Policy at the and founding director of the Development Innovation Lab at the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics; Professor Armen Darbinyan - Former Prime Minister of Armenia , rector of Russian-Armenian State University, and member of the Boris Mints Institute's International Advisory Board;

- Former Prime Minister of , rector of Russian-Armenian State University, and member of the Boris Mints Institute's International Advisory Board; Dr. Igor Luksic - Former Prime Minister and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro , associate professor at the University of Donja Gorica Podgorica and member of the Boris Mints Institute's International Advisory Board;

- Former Prime Minister and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of , associate professor at the University of Donja Gorica Podgorica and member of the Boris Mints Institute's International Advisory Board; Professor Anat Admati - Stanford Graduate School of Business;

- Stanford Graduate School of Business; Professor Sergei K. Dubinin - Member of the VTB Capital Supervisory Board, Russia , and member of the Boris Mints Institute's International Advisory Board.

Dr. Boris Mints, Founder and President of the Boris Mints Institute, said "Given the rapid rate of global change, both technologically and socially, and the scale of current global challenges, there is an urgent need to transform and modernise the pillar institutions that underpin our international democratic, economic, and political systems. This landmark Conference brings together the best minds to tackle these vital issues head on. Our sincere hope at the Boris Mints Institute is that the Conference will set out a radical new agenda for transformation of global institutions for the benefit of global society."

About Boris Mints Institute

The Boris Mints Institute was founded, in 2015, at Tel Aviv University with the intention to encourage research, planning and innovative thinking in order to promote a significant positive change in the world. The Institute is focusing on designing strategic innovative plans to enhance the welfare of communities around the globe and supports highly applied, practical and solutions-driven research, which is conducted by bright M.A and PhD students under the supervision of internationally renowned senior scientists.

SOURCE Boris Mints Institute
A new global "ESG activism" is taking root.

Shareholder activism has remained strong and was only temporarily delayed in the early stages of pandemic. Activism, in all of its expanding forms, continues to create risks and challenges for corporate Canada .

ESG continues to gain momentum, with "how" becoming the biggest question.

Executive compensation was under unprecedented scrutiny this year.

Diversity beyond gender has seen little progress to date.

NEW YORK and TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Laurel Hill Advisory Group is pleased to share Laurel Hill's 7th annual Trends in Corporate Governance report, Canada's most comprehensive and longest-running annual guide to the trends, risks and challenges affecting the Canadian corporate governance landscape. The report focuses on shareholder activism, shareholder proposals, environmental, social and governance (ESG), executive compensation, diversity, and several other related areas. Click here to download the report. As always, Laurel Hill strives to provide boards and management teams with customized guidance and insights to prepare them for navigating the best path forward.

David Salmon, President of Laurel Hill (Canada), notes: "With the pandemic continuing into a second proxy season, corporate Canada's understanding of the effects on its respective businesses has been much clearer. For many companies, they have settled into a new equilibrium and, in some ways, we have returned to many of the pre-pandemic trends; while for others, there has been a definite change in how issuers and investors view the business. One thing is clear: ESG is pervasive on all fronts for corporate Canada."

Key highlights of the 2021 report include:

New Form of Global "ESG activism". A new form of global "ESG activism", resulting from a confluence of trends, developments and events in the last year and a half, is taking root. In Canada , shareholder proposals that focused on environmental and social concerns dominated all other proposal categories this year. The global say-on-climate campaign has seen some early successes, but some shareholders, proxy advisors, and observers have expressed reservations.

A new form of global "ESG activism", resulting from a confluence of trends, developments and events in the last year and a half, is taking root. In , shareholder proposals that focused on environmental and social concerns dominated all other proposal categories this year. The global say-on-climate campaign has seen some early successes, but some shareholders, proxy advisors, and observers have expressed reservations. Activism Returns. Despite the many obstacles faced by activists during the early months of the pandemic, board and transactional activism levels for the 2020 year were not even dented as compared to 2019. In 2021, activists have resumed their pursuit of board change at Canada's larger companies and are enjoying record levels of success in driving up deal prices and defeating deals or proposed deals. Activism in its many forms appears poised for a strong 2022.

Despite the many obstacles faced by activists during the early months of the pandemic, board and transactional activism levels for the 2020 year were not even dented as compared to 2019. In 2021, activists have resumed their pursuit of board change at larger companies and are enjoying record levels of success in driving up deal prices and defeating deals or proposed deals. Activism in its many forms appears poised for a strong 2022. Sustainability and Inclusiveness. The pandemic has helped put ESG issues front and centre, especially as they relate to sustainability and inclusiveness. This increased attention places the spotlight on company boards to oversee ESG risks. While the "why" of ESG oversight has been given a significantly higher level of importance, the "how" still remains an issue for investors and boards, although progress on more uniform standards is being made.

The pandemic has helped put ESG issues front and centre, especially as they relate to sustainability and inclusiveness. This increased attention places the spotlight on company boards to oversee ESG risks. While the "why" of ESG oversight has been given a significantly higher level of importance, the "how" still remains an issue for investors and boards, although progress on more uniform standards is being made. Say-on-Pay Failures. There was a record number of say-on-pay failures in 2021, resulting from a record number of "against" vote recommendations from the major proxy advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis. In many of these cases, companies softened executive compensation targets or used board discretion to increase payouts in response to the impacts of the pandemic, contrary to the guidance provided by the proxy advisory firms.

There was a record number of say-on-pay failures in 2021, resulting from a record number of "against" vote recommendations from the major proxy advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis. In many of these cases, companies softened executive compensation targets or used board discretion to increase payouts in response to the impacts of the pandemic, contrary to the guidance provided by the proxy advisory firms. Diversity. On the diversity front, we continue to see incremental progress in gender diversity at the board and executive levels. However, despite new federal regulations and other campaigns to promote other forms of diversity, the data shows that representation by groups other than women remains low.

2022 will mark Laurel Hill's 15th year of business. Laurel Hill is proud of our deep, stable and seasoned team of capital markets professionals and our reputation as a trusted advisor. We take great pride in our culture that is rooted in acting with integrity, in an unwavering focus on our clients, and in a commitment to providing unequalled strategic solutions, shareholder results, and client satisfaction. This culture drives our team and is the foundation for our track record of results.

For more information, please visit us at www.laurelhill.ca or contact us at any of the coordinates listed below.

CALGARY 585 Bow Valley Square 3 255 5th Ave SW, Calgary AB, T2P 3G6 (403) 999-8778 TORONTO 70 University Avenue Suite 1440 Toronto, ON M5J 2M4 (416) 637-4661 VANCOUVER 580 Hornby Street Suite 710 Vancouver, BC V6C 3B6 (604) 649-3488

About Laurel Hill

Laurel Hill Advisory Group is North America's leading independent, cross-border shareholder communications and advisory firm. We provide industry-leading governance advisory, compensation advisory, strategic advisory, proxy solicitation, information agent, depositary, escrow, and asset recovery services. Our customized solutions, delivered by the industry's most experienced, multidisciplinary and collaborative team, help our clients develop and maintain market-leading governance, shareholder engagement, and activism preparedness. We are regularly engaged on the most high-profile, complex, and contentious governance, M&A, and activism situations. Our cross-border operations allow us to effectively reach shareholders regardless of their location  Canada, U.S. and globally. We deliver results.

Follow us on

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaurelHillAdvGp

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/laurel-hill-advisory-group

SOURCE Laurel Hill Advisory Group

Related Links

laurelhill.com


LETCO MEDICAL, LLC PARTNERS WITH SPECIALTY PROCESS LABS TO DISTRIBUTE US-MANUFACTURED THYROID USP Tweet this

Letco was attracted to SPL Labs because its porcine ingredients are solely sourced in North America and is the only API manufacturer to produce Thyroid USP in a US based cGMP-compliant facility. SPL Labs North American supply chain and US based manufacturing eliminate the historically high risk and volatility of thyroid products sourced from other countries. To ensure SPL Labs satisfied Letco's stringent supplier qualification requirements, Letco contracted with an industry-leading API manufacturing consultancy to inspect and audit every aspect of SPL Labs operations. This successful audit included a comprehensive on-site inspection of SPL Labs manufacturing facility and all aspects of their quality systems. In addition, Letco validated the quality and homogeneity of SPL Labs Thyroid USP product by conducting comprehensive and rigorous testing with third party laboratories, which will be repeated with every lot of Thyroid USP Letco receives.

Letco Med is excited to expand its thyroid offering to compounding pharmacies, further solidifying its unmatched record of best-in-class products and services to its valued customers who provide lifesaving medications to patients each and every day. As the leading innovator in the compounding pharmacy supply industry, Letco Med is the preferred partner to compounding pharmacies, enabling them to take full advantage of compounding as a profit center.

About Letco Medical, LLC.

Letco Medical, LLC "Letco Med"), a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in Wayne, PA, is the supply partner of choice for profit-conscious compounding pharmacies everywhere. Letco Med has invested heavily in building a company that can serve the needs of compounding pharmacies today, tomorrow, and into the future, with a full line of products and complementary programs and services. With a dedicated focus on the US compounding market, Letco Med provides a comprehensive portfolio of safe and consistent top-quality chemicals, covering a broad range of therapeutic categories as well as supplies, a deep assortment of dosage forms and delivery systems, pre-made topical bases, capsules, and equipment.

Since its inception in 1993, Letco Med has earned and built a reputation as one of the most innovative companies in the compounding industry. Letco Med focuses on unwavering quality, exemplified by its industry-leading quality assurance programs, stringent quality control procedures, and an unmatched record with the FDA.

SOURCE Letco Medical, LLC
Kaper brings decades of technology expertise to the company, serving stints as CTO for Silicon Valley fintech Huckleberry, leading engineering for insurtech unicorn turned publicly traded company Root Insurance [ROOT], and at Amazon where he most notably oversaw product and software engineering of their language translation software and machine translation applied science initiatives.

"Bill will be instrumental in executing our aggressive product and technology innovation roadmap. He's the perfect infusion of experience, leadership, and strategic vision we wanted for our tech team," said co-founder and CEO Dan Snyder. "We're proud to add him to the team and get to work making the homebuying process more accessible and frictionless for our customers."

Lower's platform approach to home buying revolves around making the experience as simple as possible. Whether they're looking to save for a down payment, find an expert real estate professional, finance or refinance, or need to purchase an insurance policy, Lower is a one-stop shop that breaks down the barriers to homeownership with its easy-to-use system.

With Kaper at the helm, Lower plans to expand upon and enhance its existing products to further speed up and create a more comprehensive home buying process.

"My own experience financing through Lower when I moved to Columbus in 2019 showed me the innovation occurring at the company and how it differed from competitors. It was the fastest and easiest closing I had ever experienced. When Dan approached me about the CTO role and shared his vision for building a world class product and engineering organization, I was intrigued," said Kaper. "But when I heard him talk about how Lower is obsessed with the customer experience and wants to serve them in all phases of their journey, I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Kaper's appointment is on the tail of the company's record-breaking Series A investment and their partnership with the Columbus Crew as their stadium naming-rights partner.

About Lower

Lower's multi-channel fintech platform meets consumers where they want to do business. Its tech-forward direct to consumer brand, Lower.com, offers a streamlined, digital approach, while its retail presence, consisting of Homeside Financial and 18 additional regional lending teams, focuses on an in-person, local experience with offices around the country. Additionally, the company will soon expand to offer Mortgage as a Service (MaaS) to its growing book of business. The company has funded more than $18.2B in loans since its founding in 2014 and raised the largest Series A investment in Ohio history in 2021. The Lower team has grown from five employees in Columbus, Ohio to more than 1,700 across the nation, and has been named a best place to work, both locally and nationwide.

SOURCE Lower

Related Links

lower.com


NEWTOWN, Pa., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In keeping with its expanded mission to support individuals in their journeys from prelaw through practice, LSAC acquires IFLP and its modern law practice program. LSAC LawHub subscribers will have access to the course materials along with other valuable services. LSAC also welcomes IFLP's executive director Kevin Colangelo as the senior director of LSAC's LawHub solutions for legal professionals.

"IFLP was formed to develop curriculum that complements traditional law school offerings. Its programs support law students and legal professionals who need not only the excellent education they get through law school, but the additional business and client-driven skills they need to operate in today's complex modern legal practice," said Colangelo. "Joining forces with LSAC was an obvious fit as we work together to address the entire professional development journey."

LSAC will begin offering the award-winning online modern law practice program through LawHub in the near future. This program will benefit prelaw students, law students, and legal professionals at every level. In addition, those interested in specialties related to law, like legal operations, business design, and data analytics, will find these courses provide an opportunity to stand out in these fields. The courses have also been a hit with a number of law firms that have encouraged both firm lawyers and client personnel to enroll.

"We have been offering IFLP's programs to our law students for years," said Southern University Law Center Chancellor John Pierre. "Many of our students have leveraged their IFLP training to secure paid internships and employment at companies that typically do not recruit from our school. We thank Kevin, Bill Henderson, Bill Mooz, and the many other IFLP instructors for delivering a thorough program that complements our law school curriculum and gives our students an edge in the job market."

Many factors, including the accelerating pace of technological advancements, the heightened interdisciplinary approaches to law, the importance of empathy and other interpersonal skills, and commitment to equity and inclusion, reveal the need for more innovative and intense efforts to advance law and justice.

"LawHub started as a test prep platform and quickly pivoted to deliver the LSAT in response to the COVID-19 emergency," said LSAC Chief Strategy Officer Annmarie Levins. "We are thrilled that it has evolved to be a learning destination for thousands of individuals pursuing legal education. We are working together with our member law schools, other higher education institutions, and organizations like IFLP to bring a connected experience through LawHub to help people succeed every step of the way."

Colangelo is an accomplished legal innovation entrepreneur, corporate lawyer, and general counsel who is recognized for designing and implementing transformative legal service, client management, and operations solutions for lawyers and allied professionals.

To learn more about LawHub's current solutions, please visit https://www.lsac.org/lawhub.

About LSAC

LSAC's mission is to advance law and justice by encouraging diverse, talented individuals to study law and by supporting their enrollment and learning journeys from prelaw through practice.

SOURCE Law School Admission Council

Related Links

https://www.lsac.org


HONOLULU, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Matson, Inc. ("Matson" or the "Company") (NYSE: MATX), a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, today reported net income of $283.2 million, or $6.53 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 was $70.9 million, or $1.63 per diluted share. Consolidated revenue for the third quarter 2021 was $1,071.6 million compared with $645.2 million for the third quarter 2020.

"The strong economic and business trends we saw in the second quarter continued in the third quarter resulting in solid performance in both Ocean Transportation and Logistics," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Cox. "Within Ocean Transportation, our China service continued to see significant demand for its expedited ocean services, including the new CCX service, as volume for e-commerce, garments and other goods remained elevated heading into the peak season. Continued strong demand for the China service was the primary driver of the increase in consolidated operating income year-over-year. Currently, supply chain congestion continues in the Transpacific tradelane with the combination of ongoing elevated consumption trends, inventory restocking, and bottlenecks at critical points for both ocean and overland transportation. We expect these conditions to remain largely in place at least through mid-year 2022."

Mr. Cox added, "In our domestic ocean tradelanes, we continued to see strong demand with higher year-over-year volumes compared to the largely pandemic-reduced volumes in the third quarter of last year. In Hawaii, we experienced elevated westbound freight demand as the state's tourism and economy continued to rebound sharply from the pandemic lows, although towards the end of the quarter we experienced a modest negative impact in freight related to the state's efforts to address the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant. In Logistics, operating income increased year-over-year compared to the operating income achieved in the year ago period as we continued to see elevated goods consumption, inventory restocking and favorable supply and demand fundamentals in our core markets."

Third Quarter 2021 Discussion and Update on Business Conditions

Ocean Transportation: The Company's container volume in the Hawaii service in the third quarter 2021 was 11.5 percent higher year-over-year. The increase was primarily due to higher retail and hospitality-related demand due to the continued rebound in tourism and the Hawaii economy compared to the pandemic-reduced volume in the year ago period. Volume in the third quarter 2020 was negatively impacted by the state's COVID-19 mitigation efforts, including restrictions on tourism. Domestic visitor travel to the state remained strong throughout much of the third quarter 2021 until the end of the quarter when the state's efforts to address the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, including the Governor's request to defer travel plans, led to a softening in airline passenger traffic. As a result, we experienced a modest negative impact in freight demand late in the quarter. In the near-term, the Hawaii economy may experience a brief slowdown as a result of the state's response to the COVID-19 Delta variant and the related impacts on tourism trends. In late October, the Governor announced that non-essential travel to the state can resume on November 1, 2021.

In China, the Company's container volume in the third quarter 2021 increased 21.7 percent year-over-year. The increase was primarily due to volume from the China-California Express ("CCX") service and volume from an extra loader. The total number of eastbound voyages in the China service increased by six year-over-year of which five were from CCX voyages and one from an extra loader. Volume demand in the quarter was driven by e-commerce, garments and other goods. Matson continued to realize a significant rate premium in the third quarter 2021 and achieved average freight rates that were considerably higher than in the year ago period. Currently, supply chain congestion continues in the Transpacific tradelane with the combination of ongoing elevated consumption trends, inventory restocking, and bottlenecks at critical points for both ocean and overland transportation. We expect these conditions to remain largely in place at least through mid-year 2022.

In Guam, the Company's container volume in the third quarter 2021 increased 14.6 percent year-over-year primarily due to higher retail-related demand compared to the pandemic-reduced volume in the year ago period. The economic recovery trajectory in Guam continues to remain uncertain as the economy recovers slowly and tourism remains constrained.

In Alaska, the Company's container volume for the third quarter 2021 increased 10.7 percent year-over-year due to (i) the addition of volume from the Alaska-Asia Express, (ii) higher northbound volume primarily due to an additional sailing and higher retail-related demand, and (iii) higher southbound volume. In the near-term, we expect improving economic trends in Alaska, but the recovery's trajectory continues to remain uncertain.

The contribution in the third quarter 2021 from the Company's SSAT joint venture investment was $13.0 million, or $5.3 million higher than the third quarter 2020. The increase was primarily driven by higher lift volume.

Logistics: In the third quarter 2021, operating income for the Company's Logistics segment was $16.0 million, or $4.1 million higher compared to the level achieved in the third quarter 2020. The increase was due primarily to higher contributions from supply chain management and transportation brokerage as a result of elevated goods consumption, inventory restocking and favorable supply and demand fundamentals in our core markets.

Results By Segment

Ocean Transportation  Three months ended September 30, 2021 compared with 2020































Three Months Ended September 30,

(Dollars in millions)

2021

2020

Change

Ocean Transportation revenue

$ 863.5

$ 498.3

$ 365.2

73.3 % Operating costs and expenses



(501.6)



(411.8)



(89.8)

21.8 % Operating income

$ 361.9

$ 86.5

$ 275.4

318.4 % Operating income margin



41.9 %

17.4 %



































Volume (Forty-foot equivalent units (FEU), except for automobiles) (1)























Hawaii containers



40,600



36,400



4,200

11.5 % Hawaii automobiles



12,600



12,900



(300)

(2.3) % Alaska containers



21,800



19,700



2,100

10.7 % China containers



46,500



38,200



8,300

21.7 % Guam containers



5,500



4,800



700

14.6 % Other containers (2)



5,400



4,600



800

17.4 %





(1) Approximate volumes included for the period are based on the voyage departure date, but revenue and operating income are adjusted to reflect the percentage of revenue and operating income earned during the reporting period for voyages in transit at the end of each reporting period. (2) Includes containers from services in various islands in Micronesia and the South Pacific, and Okinawa, Japan.

Ocean Transportation revenue increased $365.2 million, or 73.3 percent, during the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to higher revenue in China, higher fuel-related surcharge revenue, and higher revenue in Hawaii and Alaska.

On a year-over-year FEU basis, Hawaii container volume increased 11.5 percent primarily due to higher retail and hospitality-related demand due to the continued rebound in tourism and the Hawaii economy compared to the volume in the year ago period, which was negatively impacted by the state's COVID-19 mitigation efforts, including restrictions on tourism; Alaska volume increased 10.7 percent due to the addition of volume from the Alaska-Asia Express, higher northbound volume primarily due to an additional sailing and higher retail-related demand, and higher southbound volume; China volume was 21.7 percent higher primarily due to CCX volume and volume from an extra loader; Guam volume was 14.6 percent higher primarily due to higher retail-related demand; and Other containers volume increased 17.4 percent primarily due to higher volume in Okinawa.

Ocean Transportation operating income increased $275.4 million during the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a higher contribution from China.

The Company's SSAT terminal joint venture investment contributed $13.0 million during the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared to a contribution of $7.7 million during the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by higher lift volume.

Ocean Transportation  Nine months ended September 30, 2021 compared with 2020































Nine Months Ended September 30,

(Dollars in millions)

2021

2020

Change

Ocean Transportation revenue

$ 2,106.9

$ 1,310.0

$ 796.9

60.8 % Operating costs and expenses



(1,429.9)



(1,173.3)



(256.6)

21.9 % Operating income

$ 677.0

$ 136.7

$ 540.3

395.2 % Operating income margin



32.1 %

10.4 %



































Volume (Forty-foot equivalent units (FEU), except for automobiles) (1)























Hawaii containers



116,100



108,100



8,000

7.4 % Hawaii automobiles



36,000



34,400



1,600

4.7 % Alaska containers



58,800



55,000



3,800

6.9 % China containers



131,200



78,500



52,700

67.1 % Guam containers



16,200



13,900



2,300

16.5 % Other containers (2)



14,600



12,600



2,000

15.9 %





(1) Approximate volumes included for the period are based on the voyage departure date, but revenue and operating income are adjusted to reflect the percentage of revenue and operating income earned during the reporting period for voyages in transit at the end of each reporting period. (2) Includes containers from services in various islands in Micronesia and the South Pacific, and Okinawa, Japan.

Ocean Transportation revenue increased $796.9 million, or 60.8 percent, during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to higher revenue in China and Hawaii, higher fuel-related surcharge revenue and higher revenue in Alaska.

On a year-over-year FEU basis, Hawaii container volume increased 7.4 percent primarily due to higher retail and hospitality-related demand due to the reopening of the Hawaii economy compared to the negatively impacted volume in the year ago period as a result of the pandemic and the state's COVID-19 mitigation efforts, partially offset by volume associated with the dry-docking of a competitor's vessel in the second quarter of last year; Alaska volume increased by 6.9 percent due to higher northbound volume primarily due to higher retail-related demand compared to the negatively impacted volume in the year ago period as a result of the pandemic and the state's COVID-19 mitigation efforts, higher southbound volume, and the addition of volume from the Alaska-Asia Express service; China volume was 67.1 percent higher primarily due to incremental volume from the CLX+ service, higher volume on the CLX service as a result of increased capacity in the tradelane, and the addition of volume from the CCX service; Guam volume was 16.5 percent higher primarily due to higher retail-related demand compared to the negatively impacted volume in the year ago period as a result of the pandemic and the island's COVID-19 mitigation measures; and Other container volume increased 15.9 percent primarily due to higher volume in Okinawa.

Ocean Transportation operating income increased $540.3 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a higher contribution from China.

The Company's SSAT terminal joint venture investment contributed $35.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared to a contribution of $15.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by higher lift volume.

Logistics  Three months ended September 30, 2021 compared with 2020































Three Months Ended September 30,

(Dollars in millions)

2021

2020

Change

Logistics revenue

$ 208.1

$ 146.9

$ 61.2

41.7 % Operating costs and expenses



(192.1)



(135.0)



(57.1)

42.3 % Operating income

$ 16.0

$ 11.9

$ 4.1

34.5 % Operating income margin



7.7 %

8.1 %











Logistics revenue increased $61.2 million, or 41.7 percent, during the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to higher transportation brokerage and supply chain management revenue.

Logistics operating income increased $4.1 million, or 34.5 percent, for the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to higher contributions from supply chain management and transportation brokerage.

Logistics  Nine months ended September 30, 2021 compared with 2020































Nine Months Ended September 30,

(Dollars in millions)

2021

2020

Change

Logistics revenue

$ 551.4

$ 373.2

$ 178.2

47.7 % Operating costs and expenses



(516.4)



(347.3)



(169.1)

48.7 % Operating income

$ 35.0

$ 25.9

$ 9.1

35.1 % Operating income margin



6.3 %

6.9 %











Logistics revenue increased $178.2 million, or 47.7 percent, during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to higher transportation brokerage and supply chain management revenue.

Logistics operating income increased $9.1 million, or 35.1 percent, for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was due primarily to higher contributions from transportation brokerage, supply chain management, and freight forwarding.

Liquidity, Cash Flows and Capital Allocation

Matson's Cash and Cash Equivalents increased by $61.5 million from $14.4 million at December 31, 2020 to $75.9 million at September 30, 2021. Matson generated net cash from operating activities of $583.3 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared to $270.8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2020. Capital expenditures totaled $244.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared with $111.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increase in capital expenditures was primarily due to the lease termination payment of $95.8 million for Maunalei. Total debt decreased by $112.9 million during the nine months to $647.2 million as of September 30, 2021, of which $582.2 million was classified as long-term debt.

Under the recently amended debt agreements, as of September 30, 2021 Matson had available borrowings under its revolving credit facility of $641.9 million and a leverage ratio per the amended debt agreements of approximately 0.6x.

During the third quarter of 2021, Matson repurchased approximately 1.5 million shares for a total cost of $115.7 million. From October 1, 2021 through November 2, 2021, Matson repurchased an additional approximately 0.4 million shares for a total cost of $33.1 million. As of November 2, 2021, the Company had approximately 1.1 million shares remaining on its share repurchase program.

On July 7, 2021, a subsidiary of Matson entered into an agreement to terminate the outstanding operating lease on Maunalei for $95.8 million including accrued lease interest, thereby acquiring the vessel. The Company paid for the termination with a combination of cash on hand and borrowings on the revolving credit facility. As a result of the transaction, the Company expects approximately $6.0 million in lower cash operating costs in the second half of 2021 as a result of the elimination in lease expense.

As previously announced, Matson's Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.30 per share payable on December 2, 2021 to all shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 11, 2021.

Teleconference and Webcast

A conference call is scheduled on November 3, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET when Matt Cox, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Joel Wine, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will discuss Matson's third quarter results.





Date of Conference Call: Wednesday, November 3, 2021 Scheduled Time: 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 a.m. HT Participant Toll Free Dial-In #: 1-877-312-5524 International Dial-In #: 1-253-237-1144

The conference call will be broadcast live along with an additional slide presentation on the Company's website at www.matson.com, under Investors. A replay of the conference call will be available approximately two hours after the call through November 10, 2021 by dialing 1-855-859-2056 or 1-404-537-3406 and using the conference number 4158606. The slides and audio webcast of the conference call will be archived for one full quarter on the Company's website at www.matson.com, under Investors.

About the Company

Founded in 1882, Matson (NYSE: MATX) is a leading provider of ocean transportation and logistics services. Matson provides a vital lifeline to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, and to other island economies in Micronesia. Matson also operates premium, expedited services from China to Long Beach, California, provides service to Okinawa, Japan and various islands in the South Pacific, and operates an international export service from Dutch Harbor to Asia. The Company's fleet of owned and chartered vessels includes containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships and custom-designed barges. Matson Logistics, established in 1987, extends the geographic reach of Matson's transportation network throughout North America. Its integrated, asset-light logistics services include rail intermodal, highway brokerage, warehousing, freight consolidation, Asia supply chain services, and forwarding to Alaska. Additional information about the Company is available at www.matson.com.

GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation

This press release, the Form 8-K and the information to be discussed in the conference call include non-GAAP measures. While Matson reports financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), the Company also considers other non-GAAP measures to evaluate performance, make day-to-day operating decisions, help investors understand our ability to incur and service debt and to make capital expenditures, and to understand period-over-period operating results separate and apart from items that may, or could, have a disproportional positive or negative impact on results in any particular period. These non-GAAP measures include, but are not limited to, Earnings Before Interest, Income Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization ("EBITDA") and Net Debt-to-EBITDA.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including without limitation those statements regarding performance and financial results; capital expenditures; vessel deployments; vessel transit times; cargo availability times; demand for our expedited Transpacific services; duration of the CCX service; supply and demand conditions in the Transpacific tradelane; supply chain congestion; consumption trends; retail and e-commerce demand; inventory restocking conditions; tourism and visitor levels; unemployment trends; economic recovery and drivers in Hawaii, Alaska and Guam; volume trends; impact of the COVID-19 Delta variant; lift activity at SSAT; goals, progress, expectations or reporting with respect to corporate responsibility, sustainability, environmental matters, including greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and the costs and timing of liquefied natural gas ("LNG") installations on certain vessels, employees, policy, and procurement; and the financial effects of the Maunalei transaction. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties relating to repeal, substantial amendment or waiver of the Jones Act or its application, or our failure to maintain our status as a United States citizen under the Jones Act; regional, national and international economic conditions; new or increased competition or improvements in competitors' service levels; fuel prices, our ability to collect fuel-related surcharges and/or the cost or availability of required fuels, LNG, or carbon neutral fuels and technologies; our relationship with vendors, customers and partners and changes in related agreements; the actions of our competitors; our ability to offer a differentiated service in China for which customers are willing to pay a significant premium; the imposition of tariffs or a change in international trade policies; the magnitude and timing of the impact of public health crises, including COVID-19; any unanticipated dry-dock or repair expenses; any delays or cost overruns related to the modernization of terminals; consummating and integrating acquisitions; changes in general economic and/or industry-specific conditions; competition and growth rates within the logistics industry; freight levels and increasing costs and availability of truck capacity or alternative means of transporting freight; changes in relationships with existing truck, rail, ocean and air carriers; changes in customer base due to possible consolidation among customers; conditions in the financial markets; changes in our credit profile and our future financial performance; our ability to obtain future debt financings; continuation of the Title XI and CCF programs; the impact of future and pending legislation and regulations, including regulations related to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental laws and regulations; government regulations and investigations; relations with our unions; satisfactory negotiation and renewal of expired collective bargaining agreements without significant disruption to Matson's operations; war, terrorist attacks or other acts of violence; the use of our information technology and communication systems and cybersecurity attacks; and the occurrence of marine accidents, poor weather or natural disasters. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. This release should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and our other filings with the SEC through the date of this release, which identify important factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this release. We do not undertake any obligation to update our forward-looking statements.

MATSON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

(Unaudited)































Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended



September 30,

September 30, (In millions, except per share amounts)

2021

2020

2021

2020 Operating Revenue:























Ocean Transportation

$ 863.5

$ 498.3

$ 2,106.9

$ 1,310.0 Logistics



208.1



146.9



551.4



373.2 Total Operating Revenue



1,071.6



645.2



2,658.3



1,683.2

























Costs and Expenses:























Operating costs



(649.3)



(495.8)



(1,809.6)



(1,370.4) Income from SSAT



13.0



7.7



35.0



15.4 Selling, general and administrative



(57.4)



(58.7)



(171.7)



(165.6) Total Costs and Expenses



(693.7)



(546.8)



(1,946.3)



(1,520.6)

























Operating Income



377.9



98.4



712.0



162.6 Interest expense



(5.1)



(5.7)



(17.9)



(22.5) Other income (expense), net



1.8



2.4



4.7



4.5 Income before Income Taxes



374.6



95.1



698.8



144.6 Income taxes



(91.4)



(24.2)



(165.9)



(37.1) Net Income

$ 283.2

$ 70.9

$ 532.9

$ 107.5

























Basic Earnings Per Share

$ 6.60

$ 1.65

$ 12.31

$ 2.50 Diluted Earnings Per Share

$ 6.53

$ 1.63

$ 12.19

$ 2.48

























Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding:























Basic



42.9



43.1



43.3



43.0 Diluted



43.4



43.5



43.7



43.4

MATSON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

















September 30,

December 31, (In millions)

2021

2020 ASSETS











Current Assets:











Cash and cash equivalents

$ 75.9

$ 14.4 Other current assets



405.8



291.5 Total current assets



481.7



305.9 Long-term Assets:











Investment in SSAT



37.2



48.7 Property and equipment, net



1,826.8



1,689.9 Goodwill



327.8



327.8 Intangible assets, net



183.8



192.0 Other long-term assets



365.5



336.3 Total long-term assets



2,741.1



2,594.7 Total assets

$ 3,222.8

$ 2,900.6













LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY











Current Liabilities:











Current portion of debt

$ 65.0

$ 59.2 Other current liabilities



482.3



452.3 Total current liabilities



547.3



511.5 Long-term Liabilities:











Long-term debt, net of deferred loan fees



567.5



685.6 Deferred income taxes



420.0



389.6 Other long-term liabilities



343.2



352.7 Total long-term liabilities



1,330.7



1,427.9













Total shareholders' equity



1,344.8



961.2 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity

$ 3,222.8

$ 2,900.6

MATSON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)



















Nine Months Ended September 30,

(In millions)

2021

2020

Cash Flows From Operating Activities:













Net income

$ 532.9

$ 107.5

Reconciling adjustments:













Depreciation and amortization



100.9



84.5

Amortization of operating lease right of use assets



73.9



53.1

Deferred income taxes



30.3



33.5

Share-based compensation expense



14.2



12.0

Income from SSAT



(35.0)



(15.4)

Distribution from SSAT



46.9



37.9

Other



(1.1)



0.5

Changes in assets and liabilities:













Accounts receivable, net



(75.2)



(28.9)

Deferred dry-docking payments



(25.8)



(11.1)

Deferred dry-docking amortization



18.0



17.8

Prepaid expenses and other assets



(46.7)



19.6

Accounts payable, accruals and other liabilities



30.2



24.0

Operating lease liabilities



(72.1)



(53.7)

Other long-term liabilities



(8.1)



(10.5)

Net cash provided by operating activities



583.3



270.8

















Cash Flows From Investing Activities:













Capitalized vessel construction expenditures







(57.8)

Other capital expenditures



(244.7)



(53.5)

Proceeds from disposal of property and equipment



2.2



15.7

Cash deposits into Capital Construction Fund



(31.2)



(97.1)

Withdrawals from Capital Construction Fund



31.2



97.1

Net cash used in investing activities



(242.5)



(95.6)

















Cash Flows From Financing Activities:













Proceeds from issuance of debt







325.5

Repayments of debt



(41.1)



(204.2)

Proceeds from revolving credit facility



304.3



547.4

Repayments of revolving credit facility



(376.1)



(803.5)

Payment of financing costs



(3.0)



(18.5)

Proceeds from issuance of capital stock







0.1

Dividends paid



(33.3)



(29.1)

Repurchase of Matson common stock



(115.7)





Tax withholding related to net share settlements of restricted stock units



(14.4)



(5.6)

Net cash used in financing activities



(279.3)



(187.9)

















Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash



61.5



(12.7)

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash, Beginning of the Period



19.7



28.4

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash, End of the Period

$ 81.2

$ 15.7

















Reconciliation of Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash, End of the Period:













Cash and Cash Equivalents

$ 75.9

$ 12.7

Restricted Cash



5.3



3.0

Total Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash, End of the Period

$ 81.2

$ 15.7

















Supplemental Cash Flow Information:













Interest paid, net of capitalized interest

$ 15.3

$ 22.4

Income tax payments and (refunds), net

$ 162.1

$ (18.0)

















Non-cash Information:













Capital expenditures included in accounts payable, accruals and other liabilities

$ 5.6

$ 5.9



MATSON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Total Debt to Net Debt and Net Income to EBITDA Reconciliations

(Unaudited)

NET DEBT RECONCILIATION











September 30, (In millions)

2021 Total Debt (1):

$ 647.2 Less: Cash and cash equivalents



(75.9) Net Debt

$ 571.3

EBITDA RECONCILIATION































Three Months Ended











September 30,

Last Twelve

(In millions)

2021

2020

Change

Months

Net Income

$ 283.2

$ 70.9

$ 212.3

$ 618.5

Add: Income taxes



91.4



24.2



67.2



194.7

Add: Interest expense



5.1



5.7



(0.6)



22.8

Add: Depreciation and amortization



32.7



27.9



4.8



127.6

Add: Dry-dock amortization



5.4



6.0



(0.6)



25.3

EBITDA (2)

$ 417.8

$ 134.7

$ 283.1

$ 988.9





























Nine Months Ended





September 30,

(In millions)

2021

2020

Change

Net Income

$ 532.9

$ 107.5

$ 425.4

Add: Income taxes



165.9



37.1



128.8

Add: Interest expense



17.9



22.5



(4.6)

Add: Depreciation and amortization



97.9



82.5



15.4

Add: Dry-dock amortization



18.0



17.8



0.2

EBITDA (2)

$ 832.6

$ 267.4

$ 565.2







(1) Total Debt is presented before any reduction for deferred loan fees as required by GAAP. (2) EBITDA is defined as the sum of net income plus income taxes, interest expense and depreciation and amortization (including deferred dry-docking amortization). EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income (as determined in accordance with GAAP), as an indicator of our operating performance, or to cash flows from operating activities (as determined in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of liquidity. Our calculation of EBITDA may not be comparable to EBITDA as calculated by other companies, nor is this calculation identical to the EBITDA used by our lenders to determine financial covenant compliance.





Investor Relations inquiries: News Media inquiries: Lee Fishman Keoni Wagner Matson, Inc. Matson, Inc. 510.628.4227 510.628.4534 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Matson, Inc.

Related Links

http://matson.com


Merge Announces $15 MM Series A, Expands Partnerships with Top HR, Recruiting, and Payroll API Providers Tweet this

Merge also announced new partnership agreements with BambooHR and Lever . These partnerships build off of the company's previous announcements, including with HR and payroll leader UKG . To further support Merge's partners, the company plans to release a dedicated partner portal. Partnerships guarantee current and future Merge customers can depend on reliable API integrations with some of the most popular HR, payroll, recruiting, and accounting products on the market.

"Support for partnerships is exactly right for this stage of our growth," said Gil Feig, co-founder of Merge. "Stronger partnerships help API providers become the source of truth and the products that complementary products  Merge's customer base  build on."

Five months since Merge's NEA-led series seed announcement, now over 600 organizations have registered for the company's platform. Merge launched product features such as detailed logging, enhanced webhooks, CSV upload, SAML SSO, and a single-tenant offering. Companies such as Ramp, Figure, and Drata trust Merge's Unified API to act as the integration layer for their B2B products.

"Merge is revolutionizing customer-facing integrations in the B2B space by helping developers integrate fast and integrate once," said Lee Fixel, Founder of Addition. "Their track record demonstrates Merge is solving a common problem with the right product, and we're excited to support the company on its continued growth trajectory."

Merge additionally plans to use its Series A to expand into more categories of integrations and add to the 50+ integrations across the company's existing HR APIs , payroll APIs , recruiting APIs , and accounting APIs . Upcoming product features include audit trails and on-premise support. The company also plans to expand its engineering and sales teams as well as increase its marketing efforts.

ABOUT MERGE:

Merge provides the tools to transform how B2B companies realize customer-facing integrations. With Merge's Unified API, developers integrate just once and give their customers access to over 50+ HR Information Systems (HRIS), Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), and Accounting integrations. Merge takes charge of the entire lifecycle of integrations and adds new platforms every week.

Merge raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Addition, with additional investments from NEA, the CTO of Plaid, the CTO and co-founder of PagerDuty, and more. Merge was founded in 2020 by Shensi Ding and Gil Feig and is proudly built in San Francisco and New York City.

SOURCE Merge

Related Links

merge.dev


LAS VEGAS, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DelveInsight's Musculoskeletal Pain Market Insights report provides a thorough understanding of current treatment practices, emerging drugs, Musculoskeletal Pain market share of the individual therapies, current and forecasted Musculoskeletal Pain market size from 2018 to 2030 segmented into 7MM (the USA, EU5 (the UK, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany), and Japan).

Several essential outcomes extracted from the Musculoskeletal Pain Market Report:





As per DelveInsight's analysis, the Musculoskeletal Pain market size was 3647.2 million in 2020 and is expected to escalate with a substantial CAGR of 22.5% in the 7MM during the forecast period

in 2020 and is expected to escalate with a substantial of in the 7MM during the forecast period Key pharma players working proactively in the Musculoskeletal Pain therapeutic market are Eli Lilly and Company, AstraZeneca, Sun Pharma Global FZE, Flexion Therapeutics, Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Taisho Pharmaceutical, Anika Therapeutics, Mesoblast, Regeneron Pharmaceutical, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Mitsubishi, Tanabe Pharma, Sorrento Therapeutics, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Taiwan Liposome Company, Axsome Therapeutics, Techfields Pharma, Biosplice Therapeutics, Centrexion Therapeutics, Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Virios Therapeutics, Camurus, Kolon TissueGene, Amzell, Seikagaku Corporation, Propella Therapeutics, Moebius Medical, Antibe Therapeutics, Aesculap Biologics, VivaTech, Xalud Therapeutics, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Charleston Laboratories, and others have the potential to create a significant positive shift in the market size.

and others have the potential to create a significant positive shift in the market size. The launch of emerging therapies in the Musculoskeletal Pain domain like Rexlemestrocel-L/MPC-06-ID, Fasinumab/REGN475/MT-5547, TLC599, LY3016859, RTX (resiniferatoxin), LY3556050, TG-C, IMC-1, AXS-14, Lorecivivint, CNTX-4975, X0002, Ampion, CAM2028, JOYCLU, AMZ001, XT-150, TNX-102 SL, CGS-200-5, DFV890, StroMed + platelet-rich plasma, Fremanezumab, Canakinumab, MM-II, Otenaproxesul, NOVOCART 3D, ACP-044, MEDI7352, CL-108, ZILRETTA, and others will significantly impact the Musculoskeletal Pain market during the forecast period.

and others will significantly impact the Musculoskeletal Pain market during the forecast period. As per DelveInsight's analyst, the emerging market for Musculoskeletal Pain is promising, consisting of many key assets such as Ampion, CAM2038, CNTX-4975, Fasinumab, Rexlemestrocel-L, lorecivivint , and TG-C . Among these, lorecivivint and TG-C may potentially prevent cartilage deterioration and are thus disease-modifying OA drugs (DMOADs). DelveInsight believes that these DMOADs can address the current unmet needs and be potential game-changers in the treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain during the forecast period.

, and . Among these, lorecivivint and TG-C may potentially prevent cartilage deterioration and are thus disease-modifying OA drugs (DMOADs). DelveInsight believes that these DMOADs can address the current unmet needs and be potential game-changers in the treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain during the forecast period. It is expected that the therapeutic market size of Musculoskeletal Pain is expected to change significantly after the launch of various novel therapies, the increasing prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain, awareness of the disease, and promising as well as emerging new pipeline therapies will propel the Musculoskeletal Pain market.

Discover more about therapies set to grab substantial Musculoskeletal Pain market share @ Musculoskeletal Pain Market Landscape

Musculoskeletal Pain: Overview

Musculoskeletal pain is defined as acute or chronic pain that affects bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and even nerves. Musculoskeletal pain (in particular, low back pain) is the main contributor to disability worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2033% of the world's population has some form of Musculoskeletal Pain, translating to 1.75 billion people globally.

Musculoskeletal Pain Epidemiology Segmentation

As per DelveInsight, the total diagnosed prevalent cases of Musculoskeletal Pain in the 7MM in 2020 were 145,426,730 cases.

In 2020, the diagnosed prevalent cases of Musculoskeletal Pain in the United States were 76,331,935 cases, which as per DelveInsight's estimates, is projected to increase by 2030.

The Musculoskeletal Pain Market Report proffers epidemiological analysis for the study period 2018-30 in the 7MM segmented into:

Diagnosed Prevalent Cases of Musculoskeletal Pain

Gender-specific Cases of Musculoskeletal Pain

Age-specific Cases of Musculoskeletal Pain

Download report to understand which demographic factors are guiding Musculoskeletal Pain epidemiology trends @ Musculoskeletal Pain Epidemiological Insights

Musculoskeletal Pain Market

Traditionally, NSAIDs were used for the treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain. The overall strength of evidence based on different studies is moderate. However, there is moderate evidence that pharmacological therapies are beneficial for the short-term relief of Musculoskeletal Pain. Thus, NSAIDs, Cox-2 selective inhibitors, and opioids reduce pain in the short term, but the effect size is modest, and the potential for adverse effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding and opioids-induced hyperalgesia need careful consideration.

Mainly analgesics and opioids are used to treat Musculoskeletal Pain, but some adjuvants are most widely used, like corticosteroids, anticonvulsants, anxiolytics, and antidepressants. Zilretta, Cingal, Cymbalta, Drizalma Sprinkle, and Loqoa Tape are the marketed drugs for Musculoskeletal Pain.

Currently, pipeline products in clinical development include Mesoblast' Rexlemestrocel-L, Regeneron

Pharmaceuticals/Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' fasinumab, Taiwan Liposome Company's TLC599, and others. Other assets include drugs such as ACP-044, MEDI7352, CL-108, XT-150, and many more. It is expected that the launch of these drugs is likely to expand market size during the forecast period due to an increase in treatment pool and disease awareness.

Learn more about the current and emerging treatments @ Musculoskeletal Pain Market Analysis

Musculoskeletal Pain Market: Drivers and Barriers

A robust pipeline of novel potential therapies is existent as many pharmaceutical companies are continuously researching and innovating the treatment regimens for eradicating the current unmet needs in Musculoskeletal Pain. The discovery of new pathogenic mechanisms serves as some of the major factors for the Musculoskeletal Pain Market surge in the coming years. Increased prevalence, as well as increasing awareness regarding the disease, a multidisciplinary approach, strong patient education of musculoskeletal disorders, pain syndromes to improve care, and the possibility of a long-term cure also add to the anticipated rise of Musculoskeletal Pain Market.

Whereas, the presence of off-label drugs usage, unspecific assessment of Musculoskeletal Pain, and misclassification act as certain drawbacks for the growth of the Musculoskeletal Pain Market. Even after decades of research, chronic Musculoskeletal Pain conditions underlying etiology and pathology are poorly understood.

Scope of the Musculoskeletal Pain Market Report

Study Period: 2018-30

2018-30 Coverage: 7MM [ The United States , EU5 ( Germany , France , Italy , Spain , and the United Kingdom ), and Japan ]

7MM [ , EU5 ( , , , , and the ), and ] Key Companies : Eli Lilly and Company, Sun Pharma Global FZE, Flexion Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Taisho Pharmaceutical, Anika Therapeutics, Mesoblast, Regeneron Pharmaceutical, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Mitsubishi, Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Tanabe Pharma, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Xalud Therapeutics, Sorrento Therapeutics, Taiwan Liposome Company, Axsome Therapeutics, Biosplice Therapeutics, Moebius Medical, Propella Therapeutics, Centrexion Therapeutics, Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Antibe Therapeutics, Techfields Pharma, Virios Therapeutics, Camurus, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Kolon TissueGene, Amzell, Seikagaku Corporation, Aesculap Biologics, VivaTech, Charleston Laboratories.

: Eli Lilly and Company, Sun Pharma Global FZE, Flexion Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Taisho Pharmaceutical, Anika Therapeutics, Mesoblast, Regeneron Pharmaceutical, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Mitsubishi, Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Tanabe Pharma, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Xalud Therapeutics, Sorrento Therapeutics, Taiwan Liposome Company, Axsome Therapeutics, Biosplice Therapeutics, Moebius Medical, Propella Therapeutics, Centrexion Therapeutics, Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Antibe Therapeutics, Techfields Pharma, Virios Therapeutics, Camurus, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Kolon TissueGene, Amzell, Seikagaku Corporation, Aesculap Biologics, VivaTech, Charleston Laboratories. Key Musculoskeletal Pain Pipeline Therapies: Rexlemestrocel-L/MPC-06-ID, Fasinumab/REGN475/MT-5547, TLC599, LY3016859, RTX (resiniferatoxin), LY3556050, TG-C, IMC-1, AXS-14, Lorecivivint, CNTX-4975, X0002, Ampion, CAM2028, JOYCLU, AMZ001, XT-150, TNX-102 SL, CGS-200-5, DFV890, StroMed + platelet-rich plasma, Fremanezumab, Canakinumab, MM-II, Otenaproxesul, NOVOCART 3D, ACP-044, MEDI7352, CL-108, ZILRETTA, and others.

Rexlemestrocel-L/MPC-06-ID, Fasinumab/REGN475/MT-5547, TLC599, LY3016859, RTX (resiniferatoxin), LY3556050, TG-C, IMC-1, AXS-14, Lorecivivint, CNTX-4975, X0002, Ampion, CAM2028, JOYCLU, AMZ001, XT-150, TNX-102 SL, CGS-200-5, DFV890, StroMed + platelet-rich plasma, Fremanezumab, Canakinumab, MM-II, Otenaproxesul, NOVOCART 3D, ACP-044, MEDI7352, CL-108, ZILRETTA, and others. Therapeutic Assessment : Musculoskeletal Pain current marketed and emerging therapies

: Musculoskeletal Pain current marketed and emerging therapies Market Dynamics: Musculoskeletal Pain market drivers and barriers

Musculoskeletal Pain market drivers and barriers Key Cross Competition

Competitive Intelligence Analysis: SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter's five forces, BCG Matrix, Market entry strategies

SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter's five forces, BCG Matrix, Market entry strategies Unmet Needs

Case Studies

KOL's Views

Analyst's Views

Market Access and Reimbursement Scenario

Get in touch with our Business executive @ Musculoskeletal Pain Market Landscape Analysis

Table of Contents

1 Key Insights 2 Report Introduction of Musculoskeletal Pain 3 Executive Summary of Musculoskeletal Pain 4 Musculoskeletal Pain Market overview at a glance 5 Musculoskeletal Pain Disease Background and Overview 6 Musculoskeletal Pain Epidemiology and Patient Population (7MM) 7 Organizations contributing towards the fight against Musculoskeletal Pain 8 Musculoskeletal Pain Case Reports 9 Musculoskeletal Pain Patient Journey 10 Musculoskeletal Pain Marketed Drugs 11 Musculoskeletal Pain Emerging Drugs 12 Other Assets in Development under Musculoskeletal Pain Pipeline 13 Musculoskeletal Pain: Seven Major Market Analysis 14 Musculoskeletal Pain Market Access 15 Musculoskeletal Pain Market Drivers 16 Musculoskeletal Pain Market Barriers 17 Musculoskeletal Pain SWOT Analysis 18 Unmet Needs in Musculoskeletal Pain 19 KOL Views 20 Appendix 21 DelveInsight Capabilities 22 Disclaimer 23 About DelveInsight

Learn more about the report offerings @ Musculoskeletal Pain Market Outlook

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Browse Through Our Blog Posts

Musculoskeletal Disorders Key Companies

Some of the key companies such as Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma, Camurus, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Stayble Therapeutics, Teva Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Company, Mesoblast, and others diligently working toward the development of new Musculoskeletal Disorders therapies.

Musculoskeletal disorders based Reports

Musculoskeletal disorders are injuries or pain in the body's joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, and structures that support limbs, neck and back.

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BEAVERCREEK, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- There were a record number of winners during this year's myCUmortgage Awards Luncheon as part of the 16th Annual myCUmortgage Partner Conference, held October 19-21 in Dayton, Ohio. myCUmortgage is a leading Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) and wholly owned by Wright-Patt Credit Union.

There were a record number of winners during this year's myCUmortgage Awards Luncheon as part of the 16th Annual myCUmortgage Partner Conference, held October 19-21 in Dayton, Ohio.

Embracing this year's conference theme of The Amazing Mortgage Race!, 66 mortgage loan originators and credit unions received awards for doing what they do besthelping their members with home ownership. The awards recognize the number of members assisted from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 and take into account the unique and innovative stories behind the winners' successful year.

"The last year and a half has seen records shattered in the credit union mortgage industry, so it only seems fit that we recognize the extraordinary success that our partner credit unions have achieved in these extraordinary times," said Tonya Coon, President of myCUmortgage. "All of these partner credit unions and individual loan originators are truly winners of The Amazing Mortgage Race."

Partner credit unions and individual loan originators recognized by myCUmortgage include:

Most Loans Originated

Large Credit Unions: KEMBA Financial Credit Union, Columbus , OhioMid-Sized Credit

, OhioMid-Sized Credit Unions: Midwest Community Federal Credit Union, Defiance, Ohio

Small Credit Unions: Metro Employees Credit Union, Lexington, Ky.

Purchase Money Lender of the Year: VacationLand Federal Credit Union, Sandusky, Ohio

Originator of the Year: Terri Brancucci, Trax Credit Union, Tampa, Fla.

Lender of the Year: KCT Credit Union, Elgin, Ill.

Marketer of the Year: Lake Chem Community Federal Credit Union, Benton, Ky.

CU Select Partner of the Year: Neighbors United Federal Credit Union, Greenwood, S.C.

New Partner of the Year: KEMBA Financial Credit Union, Columbus, Ohio

Government Partner of the Year: Desco Federal Credit Union, Portsmouth, Ohio

In addition, 54 loan originators were individually recognized for each helping over 100 members with home ownership.

Missouri Valley Federal Credit Union in Saint Peters, Mo. was awarded the Susan Edwards Scholarship. Named after the late Susan Edwards, a former employee of myCUmortgage and fierce advocate for small credit unions, the scholarship is awarded annually to a smaller credit union that demonstrates excellence in assisting members with home ownership. The scholarship funds attendance to the myCUmortgage Partner Conference.

This year's winner of the Tim Mislansky Belief Award was John Ring of Canton Schools Employees Federal Credit Union in Canton, Ohio. The award was established and named to honor Mislansky, the former President of myCUmortgage. The annual award recognizes an individual who exemplifies Mislansky's belief in the importance of living one's core values at work, home and in the community.

Taking part in the 2021 Partner Conference were 116 credit union mortgage leaders representing 46 credit unions from across the United States. The conference, which was for the first time available both in-person and virtually, provides attendees with the latest news, trends and techniques in the mortgage industry as well as the opportunity to exchange information with fellow credit union mortgage representatives and network with industry leaders.

About myCUmortgage

myCUmortgage, a wholly owned Credit Union Service Organization of Wright-Patt Credit Union in Beavercreek, Ohio, is obsessed with helping credit union partners to be great mortgage lenders. Through exceptional leadership, comprehensive solutions, expert guidance and partner-focused service, myCUmortgage delivers peace of mind to credit union partners across the United States. To learn more about our mortgage-obsession, visit www.myCUmortgage.com.

For more information, contact:

Bob Sadowski, APR

937.912.7276

[email protected]

SOURCE myCUmortgage
"These stories remind us that restaurants are the heartbeat of our local communities, creating jobs, stimulating the economy, and serving as a place for people to come together," said Rob Gifford, president of the NRAEF. "Even when their doors may have been temporarily closed, these businesses found a way to engage with their communities, always putting the well-being of their employees and guests first."

Among the many U.S. restaurants who have experienced significant change during the pandemic while also giving back to their communities, NRAEF is spotlighting the following companies:

Canlis

Seattle, Wash.

Third-generation owners Mark and Brian Canlis personify reinvention and resilience. When they were forced to temporarily close their fine-dining restaurant, they transformed their business into a drive-in movie theater, roadside BBQ and a crab shack. They launched Canlis Community College, live streaming classes on food & wine, raising $60,000 for local hunger relief and job training. Read more.

Elephants Delicatessen

Portland, Ore.

This Certified B Corporation "uses the power of business to solve social and economic problems," adopting a low-income apartment building and stocking its food pantry. Aiming to "help people help people," Elephants introduced the "Good Neighbor Menu," featuring well-priced meals that can be purchased, donated and delivered to shelters, healthcare workers and first responders. Read more.

Lebanese Taverna Group

Washington, D.C., Metro Area

This Mediterranean restaurant has grown to 12 locations since it was founded by the Abi-Najm family in 1979, just a few years after escaping the Civil War in Lebanon. Largely responsible for introducing "hommus" to the region, the family is very active in the community. They prepared 1,000 meals for Afghan refugees arriving to the city after a harrowing journey and raised $150,000 for the Lebanese Red Cross and World Central Kitchen immediately following an explosion in Beirut in 2020. Read more.

"We are honored to partner with the NRAEF to share the journeys of these small and mid-sized restaurant companies," said Curtis Wilson, Vice President/General Manager of National Client Group at American Express. "These restaurants demonstrated not only their resilience but their ability to look forward during a very difficult time, and that is to be commended."

All friends and fans of NRAEF are invited to support the restaurant industry and spread a little joy by sharing these uplifting stories across social media. Visit ChooseRestaurants.org and follow NRAEF on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and Twitter to "like" and "share" these stories as they unfold throughout the month of November.

About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation:

As the philanthropic foundation of the National Restaurant Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's mission of service to the public is dedicated to enhancing the industry's training and education, career development and community engagement efforts. The NRAEF and its programs work to Attract, Empower and Advance todays and tomorrow's restaurant and foodservice workforce. NRAEF programs include: ProStart  a high-school career and technical education program; Restaurant Ready  partnering with community based organizations to provide opportunity youth and previously incarcerated individuals with skills training and job opportunities; Military  helping military servicemen and women transition their skills to restaurant and foodservice careers; Scholarships  financial assistance for students pursuing restaurant, foodservice and hospitality degrees; and, the Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship project  a partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Association providing a hospitality apprenticeship program for the industry. For more information on the NRAEF, visit ChooseRestaurants.org .

SOURCE National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation

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ALBANY, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparency Market Research, New York: Industrial cleaners are generally utilized to remove dirt, tough stains, and strong smells from gas leaks and meat products. On the other hand, commercial cleaners hold mild chemical properties. As a result, major manufacturers are increasing the use of industrial cleaners across construction sites, manufacturing plants, and large warehouses. This factor is creating prominent sales prospects for players in the global industrial cleaners market.

A study by Transparency Market Research (TMR) states that rise in demand for anionic sustainable surfactants is expected to fuel expansion opportunities in the global industrial cleaners market during the forecast period of 2021-2031.

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Industrial Cleaners Market: Key Findings

Launch of Bio-based and Green Industrial Cleaning Products to Boost Market Sales

Several non-green, traditional cleaning products available today can be hazardous to health and environment. The use of these products can result into long-term illnesses such as asthma. Moreover, such products may leave burns and turn out to be hazardous if ingested.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that major health and environmental risks are related to non-green products. The use of such products can result into skin or eye irritation, poisoning, chemical burns, and negative impact on indoor and outdoor air quality.

Owing to the abovementioned adverse impacts, consumers are preferring the use of green cleaning products, which show minimum or no impact on the environment as well as individual's health. This trend is promoting companies in the global industrial cleaners market to develop green and bio-based products. Furthermore, enterprises are focused on avoiding the use of chemicals in their products.

Players Experience Surge in Demand for Effectual Disinfectants During COVID-19 Pandemic

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a rise in awareness about the importance of disinfection and cleaning activities across government organizations, public places, and industrial facilities. This factor is expected to translate into surge in demand for products from the global industrial cleaners market. Thus, market enterprises are focused on strengthening their production capabilities and fulfill product demand.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guides public on how to efficiently protect surfaces from coronavirus. Many leading players are registering their product at EPA. A case in point here announcement by the 3M Company. The firm stated that it has obtained EPA registration for eight of its disinfectant products for authorized SARS-CoV-2 virus claim. There is a rise in use of such disinfectant products by facility management teams to avoid complexities related to the coronavirus.

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Industrial Cleaners Market: Growth Boosters

Enterprises in manufacturing and industrial sectors are required to follow several standards and policies pertaining to hygiene, sanitization, and cleanliness. As a result, industrial cleaners are increasingly being utilized by companies from these sectors.

Surge in demand for industrial cleaners from many industries, including oil & gas, water & wastewater management, chemical & petrochemicals, and food & beverages is projected to fuel expansion of the global industrial cleaners market

Growth in awareness about the workplace hygiene is expected to drive market expansion

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Industrial Cleaners Market: Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific is one of the lucrative regions for the industrial cleaners market

is one of the lucrative regions for the industrial cleaners market Players are projected to gather prodigious sales opportunities in the Asia Pacific market, owing to many factors, including increased industrialization in many regional nations such as China and India

Industrial Cleaners Market: Key Players

The list of key players operating in the global industrial cleaners market includes many names such as:

Lubrication Engineers

Huntsman International LLC

International Products Corporation

DENSO CORPORATION

Evonik

HOCKING INTERNATIONAL LABORATORIES

Nyco Products Company

Canberra Corporation

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

NuGenTec

Croda International Plc.

BASF SE

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Industrial Cleaners Market Segmentation

Ingredient

Surfactants

Solvents

Chelating Agents

Others (Phosphates and Biocides)

Product Type

General Cleaners

Metal Cleaners

Disinfectants

Degreasers

Others (Defoamers and Deodorizers)

Region

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Chemicals & Materials Industry battles Tangible Impact of Economic and Cultural changes, Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Chemicals & Materials Market:

Concrete & Asphalt Cleaners Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/concrete-asphalt-cleaners-market.html

Waxes for Detergents and Cleaners Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/waxes-for-detergents-cleaners-market.html

Biodegradable Cleaners Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/biodegradable-cleaners-market.html

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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 analyse 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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FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 9; Released: October 2021 Executive Pool: 3556 Companies: 53 - Players covered include Advanced Polymer Solutions; Alberts Spray Solutions, LLC; APV Engineered Coatings; BASF SE; Bayer AG; Convertec GmbH; Covestro AG; DowDupont Inc.; Geoliz Waterproofers Pvt. Ltd.; Huntsman Corporation; Hutchinson Manufacturing; LINE-X LLC; Nationwide Protective Coating Mfrs., Inc.; Nukote Coating Systems International; Paramount Metal Finishing; Polycoat Products LLC.; PPG Industries, Inc.; Quaker Chemical Corporation; Rhino Linings Corporation; Scorpion Protection Coatings; Specialty Products, Inc.; SWD Urethane; The Sherwin-Williams Company; VersaFlex, Inc.; W. R. Grace & Co.; Wilko Retail Ltd. and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Raw Material (Aromatic, Aliphatic); Product (Coatings, Lining, Adhesives & Sealants, Other Products); Application (Construction, Industrial, Transportation, Other Applications) Geographies: World; United States; Canada; Japan; China; Europe (France; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; Spain; Russia; and Rest of Europe); Asia-Pacific (Australia; India; South Korea; and Rest of Asia-Pacific); Latin America (Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; and Rest of Latin America); Middle East (Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; and Rest of Middle East); and Africa.

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ABSTRACT-



Global Polyurea Market to Reach US$1.2 Billion by the Year 2026

Polyurea basically is a synthetic elastomer created when a diisocyanate reacts with a diamine. Polyurea products are used in the form of lining solutions, coatings and sealants for ensuring pigment compatibility, higher thermal stability, faster curing time and higher water sensitivity. The product is widely used in building construction, transportation, mining, automotive manufacturing and such other major domains. Growth in the global market is led by the fast rising demand for spray based elastomeric coatings in the construction and automotive end-use industries where the property of faster curing time offered by the product is critical. In residential construction, importance of use of waterproof membrane has been increasing significantly. In both mining and construction sectors use of lining systems had increased, for environmental protection. Government regulations governing emissions of VOCs by the construction industry are encouraging users to procure and use polyurea linings. This factor is anticipated to create strong demand growth scenario for the market. Demand is also surging for polyurea used as adhesive in the automotive manufacturing industry where it is replacing metal fasteners for reducing overall weight of cars for improved fuel efficiency.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Polyurea estimated at US$844 Million in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$1.2 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.8% over the analysis period. Aromatic, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 6.4% CAGR to reach US$813 Million by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Aliphatic segment is readjusted to a revised 4.7% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 37.6% share of the global Polyurea market. Aromatic polyureas find extensive applications across industries owing to their desirable physical properties that make them suitable for diverse uses. Polyurea obtained from aliphatic diisocyanates can be resistant to color change on account of exposure to sunlight and maintain their physical characteristics even during exposure to UV rays. They are preferred for application outdoors as they can improve aesthetic appeal with a glossy appearance and can be used at about 30 mils of film thickness.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $289.2 Million in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $169.8 Million by 2026

The Polyurea market in the U.S. is estimated at US$289.2 Million in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 33.18% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$169.8 Million in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 7.6% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 4.5% and 5.2% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 4.9% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$182.9 Million by the end of the analysis period. The Asia-pacific market is anticipated to witness strong growth in demand for polyurea based products, driven by the factor of increasing incomes of people. Consumers here are appreciating the significance of quality life which is leading to increased public spending on infrastructure projects like bridges, roads, shipping ports and airports, which is anticipated to increase demand for polyurea products, including linings and coatings, considerably over the coming years. Europe is also a major market for polyurea. Several European authorities sanction use of roofing membranes made of polyurea for waterproofing application because of its ecological and resistive properties. More

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TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Odd Burger Corporation (TSXV: ODD) (OTCQB: GBLYF), one of the world's first vegan fast-food chains and first to go public, today announced record systemwide sales in October 2021 of more than $233,000, a 41 percent increase over the previous month.

The openings of new locations in Vaughan, London, Waterloo, and Hamilton ON contributed to its record success: the chain had five fully operational locations in October, plus a sixth location that opened Oct. 27. The new locations have been welcomed by the communities and have launched with tremendous success, with new locations earning an average Google review rating of 4.875 stars from customers.

Odd Burger recently announced two new locations coming to Brampton and Whitby in early 2022, as well as its expansion into western provinces via a Calgary franchise and into the U.S. with a flagship Manhattan restaurant. Odd Burger expects to have 20 restaurants operational by this time next year, and is enjoying a phase of strong growth.

"These strong sales and successful openings show us that we're winning new customers and fans wherever we go, which we see as fuel for continued expansion," said Odd Burger co-founder and CEO James McInnes. "These past few months have proven that we are able to scale our operations and keep pace with our rapid growth and with many new locations in the pipeline, we expect to set more records, and keep seeing fantastic reviews from customers."

Odd Burger produces its own proprietary plant-based product line at a company-owned food manufacturing facility. As the company scales restaurant operations, controlling its own supply chain enables the company to keep up with demand, and increase manufacturing capacity to prevent any significant interruption in supply. This is an important operational advantage as the company continues its strong growth.

About Odd Burger Corporation

Odd Burger Corporation is a chain of company-owned and franchised vegan fast-food restaurants as well as a food technology company that manufactures and distributes a proprietary line of plant-based protein and dairy alternatives to its locations. Odd Burger restaurants operate as smart kitchens, which use state-of-the art cooking technology and automation solutions to deliver a delicious food experience to customers craving healthier and more sustainable fast food. With small store footprints optimized for delivery and takeout, advanced cooking technology, competitive pricing, a vertically integrated supply chain along with healthier ingredients, Odd Burger is revolutionizing the fast-food industry by creating guilt-free fast food. Odd Burger Corporation is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ODD and on the OTCQB under the symbol GBLYF. For more information visit https://www.oddburger.com.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements that relate to among other things, the Company's strategies, intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "likely", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "objective" and "continue" and words and expressions of similar import. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements, including but not limited to its expansion plans into the United States and the number of restaurant locations anticipated in the following period.

Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: negative cash flow and future financing requirements to sustain operations; dilution; competition; economic changes; and the impact of and risks associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include but are not limited to: general business and economic conditions (including but not limited to currency rates); changes in laws and regulations; legal and regulatory proceedings; and the ability to execute strategic plans. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements contained in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE Odd Burger Corporation

Related Links

https://oddburger.com/


DENVER, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Offen Petroleum ("Offen"), announced today that it has completed two separate transactions where it acquired a portfolio of branded motor fuel dealer contracts from Petroleum Management LLC., a motor fuel distributor headquartered in Platteville, CO ("PM") and certain logistics assets of Pathfinder Transportation LLC ("Pathfinder"), a distributor of propane in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Offen is a leading independent distributor of motor fuels, propane, lubricants, and offers petroleum logistics services in 26 states throughout the Western and Midwestern United States. The business combinations continue to strengthen Offen's geographic density and product offerings.

Petroleum Management is owned jointly by Bill Scaff and Ed Holloway and is a longstanding wholesaler of motor fuels in Colorado. The company sells branded motor fuels under the Shell, Conoco, Phillips 66, Exxon, Mobil, Valero, and Sinclair banners. Offen acquired a majority of Petroleum Management's assets in the Front-Range region of Colorado. After the transaction, Petroleum Management will continue to operate convenience stores and supply a select portfolio of 3rd party dealers located in Colorado.

The addition of these customers further deepens Offen's operations in Colorado, further enhances Offen's position as one of the leading fuel distributors in the United States and grows Offen's commitment to the branded dealer business.

Pathfinder is owned by John Holloway with headquarter offices in Hiwasse, AR, and distributes propane to customers through its affiliate company Tri-State Propane LLC ("Tri-State"). In connection with the acquisition of the Pathfinder logistics assets, Offen entered an exclusive propane sales contract with Tri-State. This acquisition will allow Offen to expand its propane distribution capabilities in the Ozark region of the United States.

"We are very pleased to complete these two deals to continue our efforts to be a leading consolidator of motor fuel and propane distribution companies in the United States," said Bill Gallagher, Offen's CEO. "I am pleased that Bill, Ed, and John each have entrusted us to carry on their respective company legacies of providing best in class service to their customers."

About Offen Petroleum

Headquartered in Commerce City CO, Offen is a growing distributor of fuels, propane, and lubricants that dedicates itself to serving its customers with the highest level of service. Offen is a portfolio company of Court Square Capital Partners, a New York based private equity firm. In addition to organic growth, Offen is a leading acquiror of companies in this consolidating marketplace. Offen distributes over 2.2 billion gallons of motor fuel annually and will serve customers throughout 26 Western and Midwestern states. In addition to branded and unbranded motor fuels, Offen sells propane, and lubricant products and solutions for the commercial, industrial, and passenger car segments, as well as diesel exhaust fluids used in emission controls.

More information on Offen can be found at www.offenpetro.com.

Contact: Chris Tofalli

Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC

914-834-4334

SOURCE Offen Petroleum

Related Links

https://offenpetro.com


TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Orano Canada Inc. ("Orano Canada") and Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison") (TSX: DML) (NYSE American: DNN), as joint-venture partners in the McClean Lake Joint Venture ("MLJV"), are pleased to report the successful completion of a five-year test mining program deploying the patented Surface Access Borehole Resource Extraction ("SABRE") mining method on the McClean Lake property. View PDF version.

The final stage of a five-year field test was completed from May to September 2021 with four mining cavities successfully excavated to produce approximately 1,500 tonnes of high-value ore ranging in grade from 4% U 3 O 8 to 11% U 3 O 8 . The program was concluded with no safety, environmental or radiological incidents and confirmed the ability to achieve key operating objectives associated with the test program  including targets for cavity diameter, rates of recovery, and mine production rates.

The majority of the ore recovered from the test mining program has now been transferred to the McClean Lake mill, and is expected to be processed for the MLJV by the end of the year.

This test represents an important milestone for the SABRE technology. Based on the success of the 2021 program, the partners plan to evaluate the potential use of this innovative method for future mining operations at their jointly owned McClean Lake and Midwest properties. The McClean Lake joint venture is owned by Orano Canada (77.5% and operator) and Denison (22.5%). The Midwest joint venture is owned by Orano Canada (74.83% and operator) and Denison (25.17%).

"The SABRE mining method is the result of long-term R&D and involves a mix of different equipment, technology and expertise," said Orano Canada President and CEO Jim Corman. "I'm proud of the work this operational team of drillers, mechanics and engineers completed this summer as they showed how agile this method can truly be. They demonstrated the Orano values of innovative thinking, cohesion and team spirit, revising plans throughout the summer to incorporate the learnings from each new drill hole."

David Cates, Denison's President & CEO, commented "With this test result, SABRE has demonstrated that it is capable of mining high-grade uranium ore in the Athabasca Basin region. Orano, as operator of the MLJV, has diligently advanced the necessary R&D efforts as part of a long-term vision for developing a mining method that could benefit our joint venture. We are appreciative of Orano's efforts to ensure the safe and successful development of this patented technology and look forward to jointly exploring its potential applications in the context of improving uranium markets."

About SABRE

SABRE is the culmination of a mining equipment invention and development initiative that began in 2004. It is a non-entry, surface-based mining method that uses a high-pressure water jet placed at the bottom of a drill hole to excavate a mining cavity. The cuttings from the excavation process are then air lifted to surface, separated and stockpiled. SABRE is viewed as an innovative mining method that could potentially allow for the economic access to relatively small high-grade orebodies in the Athabasca Basin that are either too small or too deep to be mined economically by open-pit and/or underground mining methods.

SABRE is unique in that the mining method can be selective and scalable, which has the potential to provide superior flexibility when compared to conventional mining methods and is thus ideally suited to ever changing uranium market conditions  with a potentially short production ramp up of months instead of years. The SABRE method is considered environmentally friendly as a result of its less intrusive nature and potentially smaller surface footprint when compared to conventional open pit or underground mining methods. Reduced water usage and power consumption also contribute to potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improved sustainability. Additionally, as a non-entry mining method, radiological exposure for mine workers is minimized.

Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Data Verification

Orano Canada, under the supervision of a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101, has performed detailed QAQC and data verification, where possible, of all datasets with respect to the test mining program.

Qualified Persons

The technical information in this release has been prepared and/or reviewed and approved by Mr. Louis-Pierre Gagnon, P. Eng., General Manager, Mine Projects of Orano Canada, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101.

On behalf of Denison, Mr. David Bronkhorst, P. Eng., Denison's Vice President Operations and a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101, has approved the technical disclosure in this release.

About Orano Canada:

Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Orano Canada Inc. is a leading producer of uranium, accounting for the processing of 10 million pounds of uranium concentrate produced in Canada in 2020. Orano Canada has been exploring for uranium, mining and milling in Canada for more than 55 years. Orano Canada is the operator of the McClean Lake uranium mill and a major partner in the Cigar Lake, McArthur River and Key Lake operations. The company employs over 450 people in Saskatchewan, including about 320 at the McClean Lake operation where over 46% of employees are self-declared Indigenous. As a sustainable uranium producer, Orano Canada is committed to safety, environmental protection and contributing to the prosperity and well-being of neighbouring communities.

Orano Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of the multinational Orano group. As a recognized international operator in the field of nuclear materials, Orano delivers solutions to address present and future global energy and health challenges. Its expertise and mastery of cutting-edge technologies enable Orano to offer its customers high value-added products and services throughout the entire fuel cycle. Every day, the Orano group's 16,500 employees draw on their skills, unwavering dedication to safety and constant quest for innovation, with the commitment to develop know-how in the transformation and control of nuclear materials, for the climate and for a healthy and resource-efficient world, now and tomorrow.

Visit Orano at www.oranocanada.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter: @oranocanada.

About Denison:

Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The Company has an effective 95% interest in its flagship Wheeler River Uranium Project, which is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Denison's interests in the Athabasca Basin also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill that is contracted to process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits, and a 66.90% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Tue ("THT," formerly J Zone) and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake property. The Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie deposits are each located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.

Through its 50% ownership of JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Limited, Denison holds additional interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada, including the Millennium project (JCU 30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU 33.8123%) and Christie Lake (JCU 34.4508%). Denison's exploration portfolio includes further interests in properties covering ~280,000 hectares in the Athabasca Basin region.

Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Closed Mines group (formerly Denison Environmental Services), which manages Denison's Elliot Lake reclamation projects and provides post-closure mine care and maintenance services to a variety of third-party clients.

Visit Denison at www.denisonmines.com or follow us on Twitter: @DenisonMinesCo.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this news release constitutes 'forward-looking information', within the meaning of the applicable United States and Canadian legislation. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'plans', 'expects', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates', or 'believes', or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will be taken', 'occur', 'be achieved' or 'has the potential to'.

In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information pertaining to SABRE, it's design and functions and the five-year test mining program and the interpretation of the results therefrom; the potential applications of SABRE, including evaluation of its potential use on other projects for the MLJV, Midwest joint venture and/or third parties; and expectations regarding the parties' joint venture ownership interests and the continuity of their agreements with partners and third parties.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the company to which they relate to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Orano Canada and Denison believe their respective expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and results may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events for Denison, please refer to the factors discussed in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 26, 2021 or subsequent quarterly financial reports under the heading 'Risk Factors'. Any and all such factors are not, and should not be construed as being exhaustive.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this news release. Neither Orano Canada nor Denison undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this news release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in their respective expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation.

SOURCE Denison Mines Corp.

Related Links

http://denisonmines.com/s/Home.asp


Joining the ranks of Global Compact's Participants is an important step for Parimatch Ukraine. The company has been implementing large-scale projects in the field of sports and entertainment, developing global talent policies, and introducing innovative approaches to create comfortable working conditions for years. Moreover, Parimatch Ukraine is the country's largest investor in the national and regional sports sector.

The company's systematic support for sports, adherence to the principles of responsible gambling and popularisation of the concept on the global scale, partnerships with several state institutions, and legal gambling operators, were considered during the application and approval process of joining the UN Global Compact.

"Parimatch Tech's and Parimatch Ukraine's corporate practices and approaches are 100% in line with the UN Global Compact's Ten Principles. Support for national and regional sports, transparent cooperation with the state institutions, development and adoption of new practices aimed at creating inclusive, eco-friendly working conditions is at the heart of our corporate philosophy in all countries of presence. Our Ukrainian partner is the first and the only betting company in the country to become the Participant of the Global Compact, which is a remarkable step towards further sustainable development, a source of pride and a great example for the other companies. We are honoured by the recognition of our practices of working legally and transparently, paying taxes, creating new jobs for thousands of people, and changing the perception of gambling in Ukraine and worldwide," says Maksym Liashko, co-CEO at Parimatch Tech.

"Parimatch Ukraine is a unique company for the Ukrainian market, and as the country's only legal bookmaker it will be the one to set the vector of movement for those who will come to the now legal betting sector after it. We are convinced that sustainable development contributes to the growth of any business, and we are glad to have a leading company in its field among the Participants of the UN Global Compact in Ukraine," said Tatiana Sakharuk, Chief Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact Network in Ukraine.

The main directions of the company's sustainable development are ensuring a healthy lifestyle and well-being, promoting sustainable economic growth, providing quality education and promoting learning opportunities, combating climate change and its consequences, intensifying global partnership for sustainable development.

UN Global Compact Network in Ukraine

The UN Global Compact Network in Ukraine is the official representative of the UN Global Compact Network. It is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, which encourages companies to build their activities and strategies in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Ten Principles in the field of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

Parimatch Ukraine

Parimatch Ukraine is the first and only licensed online betting company in Ukraine and the largest Ukrainian investor in the development of sports at the national and regional levels. The company's development strategy is based on the European principles of responsible gambling and cybersecurity. Parimatch Ukraine implements large-scale projects in the field of sports and entertainment, develops talents within the company, as well as introduces innovative approaches to creating comfortable working conditions.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676717/Parimatch_Tech_UN_Global_Compact.jpg

SOURCE Parimatch Tech
SYDNEY and BOURNE END, England, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Australian pharmaceutical group Phebra Holdings ('Phebra') is pleased to announce that it has completed a share purchase agreement with the UK hospital specialty pharmaceutical company Flexipharm Austrading Limited ('FAL').

Flexipharm Austrading, a privately-owned company founded in 2018 by experienced specialty pharma expert, Michael Clark, focuses on supplying UK hospitals with Better Critical Care Medicines. Flexipharm Austrading has an existing licence and distribution agreement with Phebra for the supply of products from Phebra's portfolio of critical care medicines; to date several products have been approved and successfully launched in the UK.

Andre Vlok, Chief Executive Officer Phebra, said: "We are excited that Phebra has made this strategic investment in Flexipharm Austrading. This is a logical next step for Phebra, deepening a strong and successful collaboration built over the last 3 years. It strengthen Phebra's access to the key UK market which is very important for our current and future pipeline of critical care products.

"Our partnership will allow us to leverage the existing infrastructure at FAL under the expert leadership of Michael and to advance our route to market in the UK and potentially, expand our international sales into wider, selected European markets."

Michael Clark, Founder and Managing Director of Flexipharm Austrading, said: "I established the business with a goal to supply UK hospitals with Better Critical Care Medicines; Phebra had a portfolio of products that we believed offered advantages over existing products and together we have successfully launched these in the UK. But the job is only part-completed; I am delighted that Phebra is now a shareholder and look forward to deepening this relationship which is based around supplying hospitals with a focus on improved or novel versions of gold standard drugs and offering tangible and transparent value to the NHS, healthcare professionals and, independent hospitals."

About Phebra

Phebra is an Australian based specialty pharmaceutical group which develops, manufactures and markets critical medicines across the world.

At Phebra, we create critical medicines that save and improve lives.

About Flexipharm Austrading

Flexipharm Austrading's vision is to become a UK-based specialty pharmaceutical company that is genuinely respected and trusted by NHS hospitals. It was founded in 2018 by Michael Clark, an experienced specialty pharmaceutical company founder and board director. Flexipharm Austrading has a singular focus on commercialising established molecules embedded in hospital use where there are concerns around security of ongoing supply; where the current presentation is not optimal for the needs of the NHS staff; and where the current presentations can contribute to medication errors. The Company has a deep understanding of the conditions where its medicines are used and builds enduring meaningful dialogue with the NHS staff involved in using these medicines. It works in partnership with Phebra Pty Ltd, an Australian pharmaceutical company developing and manufacturing injectable pharmaceutical products. For further information visit www.flexipharmaustrading.com.

SOURCE Flexipharm Austrading
In addition to introducing an App intended to be the Airbnb of student housing, the App is architected to optimize advertising to the university student demographic.

21 million U.S. college students are estimated to have over $376 billion in spending power. In 2020, students spent $39 billion on food alone. Annual student spending on clothes and accessories is estimated at $67 billion. Universities themselves spend approximately $1 billion annually advertising to the university student demographic.

See College Student Spending Habits For 2021 to learn more.

PJET's Student Housing App design includes an artificial intelligence engine intended to optimize the App's value to businesses looking to attract the university student demographic.

PJET is also building a brick and mortar component of its business. The company has reached terms to fund and build a student housing residential building in Texas that will support a small private university with an enrollment of approximately 1200 students. This is the first such project planned to support smaller universities and complement the Student Housing App initiative.

PJET redirected its operations earlier this year toward the student housing market. The majority shareholder of PJET, ACI Conglomerated, is also the majority shareholder of Puration, Inc. (PURA) and North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc. (USMJ), and represents an initiative to diversify outside the cannabis industry. Look for much more to be coming soon on the company's new business direction.

Visit the company's new website periodically to look for the latest updates

Company Website  www.pjet-info.com

Disclaimer/Safe Harbor: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. The statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Among others, these risks include the expectation that any of the companies mentioned herein will achieve significant sales, the failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of the companies' contracts, the companies' liquidity position, the companies' ability to obtain new contracts, the emergence of competitors with greater financial resources and the impact of competitive pricing. In the light of these uncertainties, the forward-looking events referred to in this release might not occur.

Contact:

Steven Rash

[email protected]

+1 (800) 861-1350

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677942/Student_housing_PJET.jpg

SOURCE Priority Aviation, Inc.
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, Social Jazz introduced a new, automated way for businesses to keep their social media active. With this new platform, businesses easily fill up their social media calendar with posts by picking topics and events from a catalog. Social Jazz then automatically creates a social media plan for an entire year complete with ready-to-post content containing images, captions and hashtags.

Main screen of Social Jazz app on desktop

"The number one Golden Rule of social media is to be present and active," said Paul Baccaro, Social Jazz CEO. "But so many businesses lack the time and resources to post regularly. Now, they can get a dynamic social media plan instantly, powered by a catalog of beautifully designed posts. And their plan gets better over time as our catalog grows and they make use of our ongoing recommendations."

The Social Jazz catalog has posts covering holidays, special occasions, wellness, awareness months, everyday matters and more. They are also creating catalogs tailored to specific industries using Subject Matter Experts in each to ensure content is valuable and on-point. For each ready-made post there are multiple image styles to choose from to suit any company's brand. The real value, though, comes from combining the catalog of content with an effective plan.

"We're tackling the planning aspect of social media marketing through automation," Baccaro added. "It's one of the more challenging tasks, so we're making it easier."

This new service is the ideal solution for any business looking for an easy way to keep their social media lively with fresh content on a regular basis without having to do all the work themselves. And with a 14-day free trial and pricing plans starting at $29 per month , it's a very affordable solution for any business.

The Social Jazz platform launched early October, 2021 and is available at https://socialjazz.com.

Social Jazz, Inc

Paul Baccaro

585.250.8536

[email protected]

SOURCE Social Jazz Inc
BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- People connect over meals and it's no wonder that "breaking bread" is at the center of many relationships. Whether it's sharing a meal together, sharing stories, sharing traditions or recipes bread brings us together and inspires memories of family, friends, comfort, and warmth. We all could use more of this in our day-to-day lives, and Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery, a leader in small-batch organic baking, is here to remind us to celebrate and savor this Slice of Home as the world continues to change whether you are back to school, back to the office, or adjusting to a new stage of life. This fall, Rudi's is teaming up with Colorado-resident, founder of local business Generous Coffee, and "The Bachelor" star, Ben Higgins, to encourage consumers coast-to-coast to share the loaf and bring a slice of home wherever this season takes you.

Ben Higgins x Rudi's

Rooted in the time-honored tradition of small-batch bread making, Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery offers organic and gluten-free options for the whole family. Throughout the month of November, starting today pm National Sandwich Day, Rudi's is encouraging fans and followers to share their stories and recipes that embody what a slice of home means to them. Whether it's a classic sandwich, such as your go-to PB&J, grilled cheese, or a top-secret family recipe, these memories can inspire us all to appreciate our very own slice of home. Follow along at @rudisorganic and #RudisSliceofHome to get inspired by recipes, fill out your sandwich bracket and find multiple chances to enter giveaways throughout the month of November, including a VIP giveaway hosted by Ben Higgins himself.

"I have always loved supporting local brands and am excited to partner with Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery to encourage people to reminisce and share favorite recipes and moments," said Ben Higgins. "Nothing will ever top my favorite sandwich the California Club. My secret sandwich hack is that I grow my own basil at home, so it's extra fresh. This sandwich embodies what a slice of home means to me and I am excited to see what recipes Rudi's and our community, here in Colorado and nationwide share for their own #RudisSliceofHome."

"There is something special about connecting over a meal be it with friends, family, coworkers, or your community," said Tim Coyle, Director of Marketing for Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery. "At Rudi's, we believe that bread worth making is bread worth sharing, and it's in this spirit of togetherness that we wanted to help bring a Slice of Home not only to Colorado but to also harness the power of social media to share recipes, stories, and more throughout the month. We are excited to partner with Ben to bring this vision, and some delicious sandwiches, to life."

For more information, visit Rudisbakery.com and follow Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery and #RudisSliceOfHome on Facebook, and Instagram. For the gluten-free community, follow along on Instagram as well.

About Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery

Baking since 1976 in Boulder, Colorado, Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery has a long history of baking bread a better and brighter way, by using simple, organic ingredients that contain no artificial ingredients, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, or trans-fat. Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery offers an assortment of freshly baked small-batch baked goods in the organic and gluten-free space ranging from breads, buns, bagels, and more. By mixing old-world and modern bread-making approaches, Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery believes bread worth making is bread worth sharing.

Media Contact:

Natalie Menicucci

213.225.4443

[email protected]

SOURCE Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery

Related Links

https://rudisbakery.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) resulting from allegations that Snap may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Snap securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2188.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On October 21, 2021, Snap reported its third-quarter 2021 earnings, which missed revenue expectations. Snap cited Apple's iPhone privacy changes as the source of disruptions to the Company's advertising business and warned that global supply chain interruptions and labor shortages had reduced the "short-term appetite to generate additional customer demand through advertising."

On this news, Snap's stock price fell $19.97 per share, or nearly 27%, to close at $55.14 per share on October 22, 2021.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

Related Links

www.rosenlegal.com


EXTON, Pa., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In their third year of eligibility, Spherix Global Insights, a market intelligence firm focusing on dermatology, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, ophthalmology, and rheumatology markets, is proud to be recognized as one of Philadelphia Business Journal's Soaring 76 and the Philadelphia100 Forum's fastest growing companies in the region.

In 2015, we embarked on a mission to tackle the "white space" in insights for the biopharmaceutical industry, introducing a bridge between expensive, time-consuming custom market research and watered-down syndicated offerings," says Jennifer Robinson, Founder and President of Spherix.

"We continue to be guided by client feedback and embrace innovation, while staying hyper-focused on the select specialty markets that we cover. What we are building here is special and unique, and it really humbles me to see how we have grown, especially over the past two years."

The 2021 Soaring 76 list includes public and privately-owned companies in the Greater Philadelphia area who have no parent company and have generated at least $750,000 in revenue in 2018 and at least $2 million in revenue in 2020, with consecutive growth over the three-year period. This year, Spherix ranked Number 13, an astounding accomplishment made possible by a dedicated and collaborative team.

The 2021 Philadelphia100 list includes independent, privately-held corporations in the Greater Philadelphia area with no parent company who have reported sales of at least $125,000 in 2018 and have shown an increase in sales from 2018 to 2020. This year, Spherix ranked an impressive Number 28.

About Spherix Global Insights

Spherix Global Insights is a hyper-focused market intelligence firm that leverages our own independent data and expertise to provide strategic guidance, so biopharma stakeholders make decisions with confidence. We specialize in select dermatology, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, ophthalmology, and rheumatology markets.

For more information contact:

Matt Rigney, Associate Director of Marketing

Email: [email protected]

www.spherixglobalinsights.com

SOURCE Spherix Global Insights

Related Links

http://www.spherixglobalinsights.com


ST. PAUL, Minn, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Catherine University, a private women's college that boasts one of the most diverse female minority student populations in the country, has launched an effort to raise money to develop more BIPOC women leaders in science. The project, called Expanding HERIzons , also seeks to attract, educate and place more BIPOC women in STEM careers.

Nearly 42 percent of St. Kate's population is BIPOC women and its leadership in the STEM area is also diverse. St. Kates kicked off Expanding HERizons at a town hall in early October that was moderated by MPR's Kerri Miller and included St. Kate's STEM leadership, alumni, students, faculty and the general public. To watch the full discussion, which was called How Brown and Black Women in Science Can Save the World, click here.

"We need to double the number of BIPOC women leaders in science in the next five years because it's critical they provide solutions to world problems that take into consideration the entire population and often differentially affect their own communities," said St. Kate's Executive Vice President and Provost, Anita Thomas Ph.D. "We are determined to be loud and bold about growing that number because with our diverse student body and faculty in science, we are in a prime position to educate this population of future women leaders."

In addition to attracting more BIPOC women leaders in science, Expanding HERizons is also raising money to renovate and update the university's science and technology facilities. Many of St. Kate's science majors attend classes in the Mendel building, where the laboratory tables and benches were new in the 1970s.

"We do a fantastic job educating women in the sciences. This is done through small class sizes, a high level of one on one attention, deep mentoring, and an active alumni network that is engaged in our student's career pathway," said Beth Halloran, Executive Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at St. Kate's. "Now we are turning our efforts to a capital project to provide state-of-the-art classroom and lab spaces that will focus on interdisciplinary and collaborative learning. We are aggressively seeking partners who value science, women and equity to help us accomplish our funding goals."

St. Kate's University is more than 80 percent of the way to its $130M capital campaign goal with two years left in the campaign. The capital campaign will provide the funds to upgrade facilities, further invest in students and faculty and continue the University's mission of educating the next generation of women leaders and influencers.

About the University of St. Catherine

Sustained by a legacy of visionary women, St. Catherine University educates women to lead and influence. We are a diverse community of learners dedicated to academic rigor, core Catholic values, and a heartfelt commitment to social justice. St. Kate's offers degrees at all levels in the humanities, arts, sciences, healthcare, and business fields that engage women in uncovering positive ways of transforming the world. St. Kate's students learn and discern wisely, and live and lead justly  all to power lives of meaning. Discover more at stkate.edu.

SOURCE St. Catherine University
THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Talen Energy Corp. ("Talen" or the "Company") today announced it has elevated Alejandro ("Alex") Hernandez to the role of Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"). In this expanded role, Mr. Hernandez will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Company's long-term strategy and overall performance, including leadership of the Company's wholesale power generation business and its Cumulus Growth carbon-free renewables, battery storage and digital infrastructure platform. Mr. Hernandez will continue in his current role as President and member of the Company's Board of Directors.

As part of this leadership transition, Talen also announced today that Ralph Alexander will assume the role of Executive Chairman of the Board. In his expanded board leadership role, Mr. Alexander will ensure an orderly and successful CEO transition while continuing to oversee the Company's federal and state regulatory relationships, including as Chair of the Company's nuclear oversight committee.

"It has been an honor and privilege to lead this Company as CEO for the last five years, and I am pleased to now serve as Executive Chairman to help oversee the next chapter for Talen," said Mr. Alexander. "Alex has been my business partner since the take-private of Talen five years ago as we have successfully executed the operating turnaround and transformed the legacy culture of the Company. Given Alex's demonstrated track-record and capabilities, the Board and I have full confidence in his leadership of the Company as we embark on the next chapter," continued Mr. Alexander.

"I am honored to serve as Talen's next CEO," said Mr. Hernandez. "Our Company is at an important inflection point as we transition from the operational turnaround to strategically re-positioning Talen for long-term value creation. Our efforts have placed Talen at the epicenter of key global trends, including benefiting from recent commodity market cyclical strength, while anchoring our long-term future to energy transition, decarbonization and digital infrastructure growth. Talen's strategic transformation, as outlined during our ESG Equity Investor Day in May, creates significant opportunities for growing Talen's enterprise value. This transformation must also address the balance sheet with capital to drive the long-term success of the Talen-Cumulus platform and our people," continued Mr. Hernandez.

Mr. Hernandez was appointed President of Talen and a member of Talen's Board of Directors in August 2019, having concurrently served as chief financial officer since the Company's acquisition and take-private transaction in December 2016. Prior to joining Talen, Mr. Hernandez served as chief financial officer of TerraForm Power, Inc. ("TerraForm"), a contracted renewable power infrastructure company. He was instrumental in the company's formation, IPO and in driving its growth and ultimate sale to Brookfield (NYSE: BEP). TerraForm generated total shareholder returns of over 340% in its initial 2017 sale to Brookfield and over 890% by the time of its 2020 merger with BEP.

Before creating TerraForm, Mr. Hernandez was a managing director in the Investment Banking division of Goldman Sachs, joining the firm in 2005. During his time at Goldman Sachs, Mr. Hernandez provided strategic and capital markets advice to management teams and boards of directors. He was actively involved in building, growing, and selling several power, technology, renewable energy, and infrastructure platforms including Horizon Wind, First Solar, Enviva, and Talen, among others.

Mr. Hernandez serves as an Advisory Board member of BlueVoyant, an enterprise cybersecurity technology company backed by the Pritzker Organization. He also serves as a Roundtable member of the James A. Baker, III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, Houston.

About Talen Energy Corporation

Talen, through its subsidiary, Talen Energy Supply LLC ("TES"), is one of the largest competitive power generation and infrastructure companies in North America. TES owns and/or controls approximately 13,000 megawatts of generating capacity in wholesale U.S. power markets, principally in the Mid-Atlantic, Texas and Montana.

Through its subsidiary, Cumulus Growth, Talen is developing a large-scale portfolio of renewable energy, battery storage, and digital infrastructure assets across its expansive footprint. For more information, visit https://www.talenenergy.com/esg-focused-future/

About Cumulus Data

Cumulus Data, a subsidiary of Talen, is developing a 475-Megawatt hyperscale data center campus located outside Berwick, PA, with the potential to expand operations to other sites across the United States. The flagship Susquehanna campus will be powered by >1 Gigawatt of reliable, carbon-free, 247 nuclear power with the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) for cloud data center customers in the United States. Cumulus Data is also expected to offer customers the ability to supplement its carbon-free offering with 400 Megawatts of new solar generation capacity under development. Cumulus Data has broken ground on its digital campus and anticipates having its first data center available for lease in the second half of 2022. For more information, visit: https://cumulusinfra.com/

About Cumulus Coin

Cumulus Coin, a subsidiary of Talen, is driving the convergence between blockchain applications and carbon-free electricity. Cumulus Coin intends to create sustainable bitcoin at industrial scale by mining zero-carbon coins with the appropriate regulatory overlay in a secure location in the United States. The first two Cumulus Coin mining facilities, totaling 300 Megawatts, will be located at the flagship Susquehanna digital campus powered by >1 Gigawatt of reliable, carbon-free, 247 nuclear power. The first Cumulus Coin mining building is anticipated to commence operations in the second half of 2022. For more information, visit: https://cumuluscoin.com

Investor Contact

Olivia Sigo

Director, Finance, Investor Relations & ESG

281-203-5387, [email protected]

Media Contact

Taryne Williams

Director Corporate Communications

610-601-0327, [email protected]

SOURCE Talen Energy Corp.

Related Links

https://www.talenenergy.com


"PICI is built on the promise of bringing together the brightest minds to come up with innovative solutions to cancer's toughest problems, and this trial is a direct result," said Ute Dugan, MD, PhD , PICI's Chief Medical Officer. "The innovative design also represents a new model of collaborative, end-to-end drug development that allows us to more rapidly advance promising therapeutic combinations from bench to bedside to market, and then to patients."

REVOLUTION uses a platform trial design that allows for more rapid testing of several therapies with more adaptability than a standard clinical trial. In a traditional clinical trial, all elements of the study must be approved prior to beginning. When the study meets its endpoint, researchers must decide what study to do next based on the findings.

In contrast, a platform design allows researchers to interpret the data during the trial and to make changes, such as testing additional treatments, expanding the number of people receiving a therapy that shows promise, or discontinuing a therapy that does not look promising. This allows investigators to follow the science with flexibility and efficiency, avoiding some of the administrative and logistical hurdles involved in starting up individual trials in a safe way and decreasing the likelihood that patients will receive ineffective treatments.

"Platform studies offer a science-informed flexibility that is better able to keep pace with the accelerating advances in clinical cancer immunology, especially those that involve promising drug combinations like those brought together through the Cancer Research Institute's collaborations with PICI and our academic, industry, and other nonprofit partners," said Jill O'Donnell-Tormey, PhD, CEO and Director of Scientific Affairs at CRI.

REVOLUTION currently consists of two groups of patients. Cohort A will test a combination of standard-of-care chemotherapy, the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab and the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab. In addition to providing valuable information on the efficacy of the combination itself, this cohort builds on the findings from PICI's and CRI's PRINCE trial, which suggested that the combination of chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 treatment may improve survival compared with chemotherapy alone.

Cohort B will investigate the combination of chemotherapy, ipilimumab and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). HCQ is a drug that can stop a process called autophagy, which cells use to recycle their own materials to survive, particularly under stress. Previous research has indicated autophagy is a key mechanism by which metastatic pancreatic cancer cells evade the immune system.

The first patients have been dosed in each cohort.

This trial will also further explore biomarker data generated by the PRINCE study, aiming to better understand which patients stand to benefit from immunotherapy.

"This is an exciting next step in PICI's and CRI's commitment to deliver bold, science-driven ideas, and this trial shows how those efforts build on each other as the research progresses," said PICI researcher and CRI Scientific Advisory Council member Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and the study's overall principal investigator. "REVOLUTION will make use of the same capabilities as PRINCE while adding a framework that can test and advance potentially promising combination therapies more efficiently than standard clinical trials."

REVOLUTION is also designed with the greater field in mind, building off PICI's and CRI's shared goals of breaking silos and creating efficiencies through collaboration. PICI has partnered with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) and its Precision PromiseSM phase 2/3 platform study in metastatic pancreatic cancer for exactly this purpose. If a cohort of REVOLUTION proves successful, it can be considered for further development under the Precision Promise umbrella. Once again, this accelerates the clinical trial process, ensuring potentially lifesaving therapies make their way to patients as quickly as possible. This partnership also advances CRI's commitment to discovering and developing immune-based treatments that improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including those who face pancreatic and other hard-to-treat cancers.

In addition to Penn, sites on the trial include the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Stanford Medicine.

Additional partners on the trial include the 1440 Foundation, Bristol Myers Squibb and PanCAN.

About Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of tumors, and the number of diagnosed cases continues to rise each year. The disease is difficult to catch early, meaning by the time most people are diagnosed, their cancer is advanced and may have already spread. In addition, the tumors usually contain a variety of mutations, meaning one targeted therapy isn't enough to stop the disease by itself. For patients who are diagnosed after cancer has spread to other parts of the body  a distinction that applies to more than half of all pancreatic patients  the 5-year survival rate is just three percent.

About the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) is radically changing the way cancer research is done. Founded in 2016 through a $250 million gift from Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist Sean Parker, the San Francisco-based nonprofit is an unprecedented collaboration between the country's leading immunotherapy researchers and cancer centers, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Stanford Medicine, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Pennsylvania and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The institute also supports top researchers at other institutions, including City of Hope, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Institute for Systems Biology and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. By forging alliances with academic, industry and nonprofit partners, PICI makes big bets on bold research to fulfill its mission: to accelerate the development of breakthrough immune therapies to turn all cancers into curable diseases. Find out more at www.parkerici.org.

About the Cancer Research Institute

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), established in 1953, is a toprated U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to saving more lives by fueling the discovery and development of powerful immunotherapies for all cancers. Guided by a worldrenowned Scientific Advisory Council that includes four Nobel laureates and 27 members of the National Academy of Sciences, CRI has invested $474 million in support of research conducted by immunologists and tumor immunologists at the world's leading medical centers and universities and has contributed to many of the key scientific advances that demonstrate the potential for immunotherapy to change the face of cancer treatment. To learn more, go to cancerresearch.org.

SOURCE The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and the Cancer Research Institute
NEW YORK and WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TransPerfect, the world's largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business, extended its string of legal victories in Chancery Court yesterday when Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick struck another failed contempt motion filed by Skadden Arps and former Custodian and fiduciary Robert Pincus from the docket.

After years of TransPerfect requesting an end to the custodianship, the Chancery Court recently discharged Pincus as Custodian after being faced with credible evidence of over-billing in his role as a court-appointed fiduciary. As a Custodian acting for the State of Delaware, Pincus continued to bill millions of dollars per quarter for over three years past the closing date of TransPerfect's ownership consolidation. Pincus has come under intense scrutiny for conducting a questionable public auction with estimated costs of over $50 million, as he appears to have incentivized a participant to remain in the auction process by secretly agreeing to compensate that "bidder" by up to $4 million under certain circumstances. Other evidence suggests that Pincus may have utilized the presence of this bidder to create the illusion of competition, omitted or hid key facts regarding the value of other bids, and improperly inflated the auction pricedespite his role as state actor and court-appointed officer.

Before the auction, Pincus and Skadden were accused of billing misconduct separately by at least three different C-level officers of TransPerfect. After the auction, Pincus is further alleged to have created the "perverse incentive" to manufacture billing opportunities paid for by TransPerfectincluding this week's losing decision. This pattern is consistent with the protestations of other entities forced to utilize Pincus's services in an unrelated matter for Citgowhere complaints about the propriety of his billing have been the subject of litigation.

TransPerfect contends that the Chancery Court has countenanced an untenable situation where Pincus and Jennifer Voss have been given a blank checkbook to pay themselves for the manufacture of disputes regardless of merit. This incentive has driven the Custodian and Skadden to take conflicting, losing, meritless, and frivolous positionsand in doing so, improperly inflate billable hours charged at rates of approximately $2,000 per hour. By way of example, TransPerfect has not received any services or other value from Pincus or Skadden this entire year, but nonetheless has been billed over $3.4 million in 2021 alone.

"Three years after their assignment ended, Robert Pincus and Jennifer Voss are still billing TransPerfectincluding for losing motionscatapulting the total expenses for the custodianship well over the $50 million mark. Skadden and Pincus's unwanted 'help' is taking vast sums of money from the pockets of TransPerfect's 7,500 working families, including funds that would otherwise be available for use toward benefits, wages, and other income. I view this as corruption and constitutional violations which TransPerfect can no longer abide," stated Phil Shawe, President, CEO, and Founder, who was forced by the Chancery Court to pay a $9 million commission to buy back the company he founded, including a percentage fee on the shares he already owned.

Martin Russo, an attorney for the company, added that, "The victory on the contempt motion is bittersweet because it only precipitates another legal battle, as Pincus now seeks to charge TransPerfect for work performed on yet another losing motion. It's a vicious circle because, win or lose, Pincus and Skadden will seek to charge TransPerfect for that activity. With no end in sight, it is clear that Delaware's Chancery Court system remains archaic and broken, and equity is an elusive concept for those who are not among the elite and powerful Wilmington law firms."

About TransPerfect

TransPerfect is the world's largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business. From offices in over 100 cities on six continents, TransPerfect offers a full range of services in 170+ languages to clients worldwide. More than 5,000 global organizations employ TransPerfect's GlobalLink technology to simplify management of multilingual content. With an unparalleled commitment to quality and client service, TransPerfect is fully ISO 9001 and ISO 17100 certified. TransPerfect has global headquarters in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit our website at www.transperfect.com.

SOURCE TransPerfect

Related Links

http://www.transperfect.com


PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tuesday's election in Virginia shows that education is a priority issue for voters. Californians now can seize the spotlight with the historic Educational Freedom Act Initiative now in circulation. The Educational Freedom Act, if approved by voters, would bring true school choice to all K-12 students in the state who choose to opt-into the proposed program.

"Tuesday's election in Virginia shows that parents are asserting their natural and legal right to direct the intellectual, moral and religious education of their children free of government coercion," said Mike Alexander, Chair, Californians for School Choice. "Under the Educational Freedom Act students would be able to attend any accredited private or religious school of their choice and save any money left over for college, vocational training or other qualified expense."

California currently has nearly 6.6 million K-12 students. Six million attend public schools, 471,000 attend private schools and another 84,000 homeschooled.

"The Educational Freedom Act is unique because it does not call for a means test," said Alexander. "It gives all students equal access to accredited schools that they might not be otherwise able to afford. There are no caps on the savings accounts."

The Educational Freedom Act has four key components:

An Educational Savings Account ("ESA") will be established for each K-12 child in California on request. The Act treats all K-12 California students equally.

on request. The Act treats all K-12 students equally. Each year, that account will be credited with the student's share of what are known as Prop 98 funds. That share will rise to over $14,000 per year. The Act is designed to be tax neutral and does not impose any changes to public education. All programs under Prop. 98 will continue as before. Students who leave public school will have their fair share of Prop. 98 funds only, which will follow them to the accredited private school of their choice.

per year. The Act is designed to be tax neutral and does not impose any changes to public education. All programs under Prop. 98 will continue as before. Students who leave public school will have their fair share of Prop. 98 funds only, which will follow them to the accredited private school of their choice. Parents can direct those funds to a participating public, charter, or accredited private or religious school. Private schools must be accredited and conform with local health and safety standards. There will be no curriculum or hiring requirements. There are no caps on the savings account.

Any unspent funds will accumulate and can be spent on college, vocational training or other qualified educational expense. Funds not spent by the time a student reaches age 30 will be returned to the treasury.

Californians for School Choice plans an aggressive statewide signature gathering effort to collect the signatures to qualify the initiative for the ballot. One million signatures are needed to qualify the initiative be placed on the November 2022 ballot. Proponents have 180 days to collect the signatures.

To request a petition to sign and collect signatures, go to https://www.californiaschoolchoice.org/

Ad paid for by Californians for School Choice Committee major funding from Dale Broome

SOURCE Californians for School Choice
WASHINGTON and DAYTON, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Google Cloud today announced that the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has deployed Google Workspace among a segment of its workforce of scientists and engineers. The initial deployment has dramatically enhanced engagement with its worldwide network of external research partners.

AFRL is a global research enterprise supporting two services, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Space Force. From laser-guided optics enabling telescopes to see deeper into the universe than ever before, to fundamental science that has spawned innovations in quantum computing and artificial intelligence, AFRL rapidly scales discovery to deliver leading-edge technologies for the military. Core to the success of AFRL's mission is engaging with world-leading scientists, small businesses, large industry, and other government agencies to build communities that drive innovation.

AFRL teams are using Google Workspace solutions like Smart Canvas to simultaneously connect, share, and collaborate on critical projects with complex, research-relevant informationeliminating the toil of email chains and hours-long data file exchanges. Through the video conferencing service Google Meet, AFRL research teams are hosting flexible, virtual meetings to exchange ideas anywhere, anytime. The recent announcements of Workspace Client-Side Encryption, combined with Google's Zero Trust security philosophy, provide AFRL with additional safeguards, while keeping security measures invisible to end-users. AFRL scientists using the Google Cloud technology are able to collaborate and innovate safely and securely under the standards defined by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).

"Covid-19 significantly limited the physical presence of researchers in the lab," said Dr. Joshua Kennedy, research physicist, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at AFRL. "Google Workspace eliminated what would have otherwise been almost a total work stoppage. In fact, new insights into 2D nanomaterials, critical to future Department of the Air Force capabilities, were discovered using Workspace that would have otherwise been impossible."

Dr. Kennedy is just one of many researchers at AFRL who have reported a positive, tangible impact on their work as a result of using Google Cloud. For example, a recent survey of researchers involved in the Google Workspace preliminary deployment revealed an average time savings of three hours per week. For AFRL's highly trained workforce of PhDs, this means more time to dedicate to the mission.

"We know that the U.S. Air Force places a strong emphasis on modernization and innovation, and this is apparent in the groundbreaking work of AFRL researchers," said Mike Daniels, vice president, Global Public Sector, Google Cloud. "Knowing that members of AFRL rely on Google Workspace not only to securely and successfully achieve their mission, but also to power new discoveries, makes us proud to support their efforts."

In fact, early in fiscal year 2021, Air Force Research Laboratory commander, Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle directed AFRL to prioritize ongoing efforts of digitally transforming AFRL and issued a charter establishing the AFRL Digital Transformation Team. The team's mission centers on the creation of "One AFRL," a flexible enterprise "that capitalizes on the seamless integration of data and information through the use of modern methods, digital processes and tools and IT infrastructure."

"Our mantra is 'collaborate to innovate,'" Pringle said. "We want our alpha nerds to be very connected, and we really want to up their proficiency as a digital workforce where data becomes a third language. We're incorporating digital engineering into everything we do in science and technology and have a data-informed human capital strategy. We started experimenting with Google Workspace to supplement existing capabilities, and it has revolutionized our ability to collaborate with our external partners and build the best teams."

About the Air Force Research Laboratory

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit: www.afresearchlab.com .

About Google Cloud

Google Cloud accelerates organizations' ability to digitally transform their business with the best infrastructure, platform, industry solutions and expertise. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology  all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.

About Google Workspace

Google Workspace enables teams of all sizes to connect, create and collaborateto drive innovation from any device, and any location. Built on the industry's leading cloud-native communication and collaboration platform, Google Workspace brings together the apps loved by billions of peopleGmail, Chat, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet and moreinto a single integrated workspace.

SOURCE Google Cloud
"When it comes to climate risk and resiliency, there's critical work being done in every state. And it's an issue that state insurance regulators have prioritized for decades," explains Mike Consedine, CEO of the NAIC. "State insurance regulators have long been on the front lines of climate-related natural catastrophe preparedness and response, protecting policyholders and maintaining well-functioning insurance markets. We're very excited to participate in this event to share our work and learn from others."

State insurance regulators and the NAIC have an extensive history focused on managing the risks faced by the insurance industry and consumers. This includes addressing how natural hazards impact the solvency of insureds as well as the affordability and availability of insurance. In 2020, the organization and its members created a Climate and Resiliency Task Force, recognizing the challenges, risks and opportunities faced by the entire insurance industry and the importance of engaging all states on climate-related risk and resiliency issues. Current and future efforts build on decades of experience managing the economic fallout of natural disasters. State insurance regulators are better able to tackle this multi-generational issue by working collectively and sharing experiences, both at the domestic and international levels, to work toward a safer, more resilient future.

The agenda for the PSI COP26 Sustainable Insurance Series agenda can be found here.

Register for the panel: How are U.S. insurance regulators taking action on climate change?

About NAIC

As part of our state-based system of insurance regulation in the United States, the NAIC provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers. The U.S. standard-setting organization is governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, conduct peer reviews, and coordinate regulatory oversight. NAIC staff supports these efforts and represents the collective views of state regulators domestically and internationally. For more information, visit www.naic.org.

SOURCE National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Related Links

http://www.naic.org


PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FinancialNewsMedia.com News Commentary - Across the globe, many governments are focusing on ways to turn waste into energy. It is an area where governments are seeing positive results from such endeavors, and the market is expected to grow over the coming years. In fact, a report from Mordor Intelligence said that The waste-to-energy (WTE) market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.45% during the forecast period of 2021  2026, reaching a market size of USD 13.6 billion by 2026, up from USD 8.78 billion in 2019. The report said that he COVID-19 pandemic affected the market negatively in the form of supply chain disruptions and delays in project implementation. However, the market is expected to recover from 2021, owing to the increasing efforts to promote waste-to-energy plants by various countries across the world. In addition to this, an increasing amount of waste generation and growing concern for waste management to meet the need for sustainable urban living and increasing focus on non-fossil fuel sources of energy are driving the demand for the waste-to-energy market. Another report from Grand View agreed adding that: "The global waste to energy market size was valued at USD 31.0 billion in 2019 and is projected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% from 2020 to 2027. Favorable regulatory policies encouraging proper waste disposal combined with energy production along with growing energy demands from the end-use sector are projected to play a vital role in the market growth over the forecast period. Active stocks in the markets this week include SusGlobal Energy Corp. (OTCQB: SNRG), The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG), The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE: NTR) (TSX: NTR), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF).

Grand View continued: "Governments are focusing on commercializing alternate sources of energy such as Waste to Energy (WTE) technology owing to the rapid depletion of conventional energy sources. In addition, the implementation of environmental policies regarding the reduction of carbon emissions from fossil-fuel usage is expected to further provide a boost to industry growth. Industry players are focusing on research and development activities in order to reduce the technology cost associated with waste to energy power plants. Few companies are into vertical integration in order to strengthen the services. The companies are involved in the expansion of their facilities to increase their waste solution capabilities. North America occupied a prominent market share (recently) owing to growing consumer awareness regarding environmental protection and climate change. Moreover, increasing government emphasis on integration and enhanced utilization of clean electricity generation sources is anticipated to increase the deployment rate of waste to energy plants across the region. According to Energy Information Administration, in 2018, 29.5 million tons of municipal solid waste was burnt in 68 U.S. waste to energy plants to generate around 14.0 billion kWh of electricity."

SusGlobal Energy Corp. (OTCQB: SNRG) BREAKING NEWS: SusGlobal Signs Offset Development and Marketing Agreement with Bluesource to Monetize Carbon Credits - SusGlobal Energy Corp "Company"), ("SusGlobal") or (the "Company"), an award winning, revolutionary and pathogen free organic liquid fertilizer, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary SusGlobal Energy Belleville Ltd. ("SusGlobal Belleville") has signed an Offset Development and Marketing Agreement (the "Agreement") with Blue Source Canada ULC ("Bluesource") to develop and market greenhouse gas offset credits from the Company's 49-acre Organic & Non-Hazardous Waste Processing & Composting Facility in Belleville, Ontario, in order for the Company to monetize and realize benefits from its voluntary activities.

This monetization is an exciting development for the Company's mission to reduce organic wastes from wood, leaf and yard material, treated municipal sewage waste (biosolids), residential curbside green bin material or source separated organics ("SSO") and paper sludge otherwise destined for landfills and, we believe, will also allow the Company to expand this mission.

Bluesource has pioneered creative solutions to climate change for over 20 years. Today, this partnership complements Bluesource's portfolio of high-quality environmental products from over 20 different technologies in over 100 locations across the United States and Canada. The partnership with SusGlobal is a core example of Bluesource's experience in identifying, creating, acquiring and marketing offsets, where there is a tangible environmental benefit.

"We identified Bluesource as the right partners for our Company's carbon credits monetization initiative, based on their extensive experience and success," stated Marc Hazout, Executive Chairman, President and CEO of SusGlobal Energy Corp. "We anticipate reflecting the value of these credits in our first quarter 2022 reporting and are excited to meet this milestone and maximize shareholder value."

"SusGlobal's model of diverting organic waste streams from landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions as part of climate change objectives while producing regenerative products is the ideal opportunity we look for to reward proactive environmental action," says Ben Massie of Bluesource. "We have identified SusGlobal's Belleville facility as a promising offset development project and believe this can inspire others to do the same."

As municipalities look to significantly divert organic waste from landfills, there will be a necessity of diversion. Composting facilities, their management model, and its level of sustainability, will play a key role in this redistribution of waste. The revenue from these credits is anticipated to drive technological advancements that will expand composting efforts in the facility and the province of Ontario. CONTINUED Read this entire release and more news for SusGlobal Energy (SNRG) at: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-snrg/

Other recent developments in the markets include:

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE SMG) recently announced that it has acquired Rhizoflora's leading nutrients business including its Terpinator and Purpinator brands, further bolstering The Hawthorne Gardening Company product portfolio.

Separately, the Company announced that its subsidiary, The Hawthorne Collective, has purchased a warrant to buy equity in Dewey Scientific for $3.2 million, which will help advance Dewey's industry-leading cannabis genomics and cultivation. The investment from the Hawthorne Collective will be used only for purposes permitted by applicable laws of the United States.

Nutrien (NYSE: NTR) (TSX: NTR) and EXMAR (EXM) recently announced that they have signed a Collaboration Agreement to jointly develop and build a low-carbon, ammonia-fueled vessel. Partners for over three decades in transporting ammonia globally, Nutrien is one of the world's largest producers of low-carbon ammonia and EXMAR is a leading player and innovator in the transportation of liquefied gas products.

Nutrien and EXMAR support the decarbonization of shipping and the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Green House Gas (GHG) Strategy to reduce emissions. Their new collaboration aims to significantly reduce Nutrien's maritime transportation emissions and enable the commercial development of an ammonia-fueled vessel. Together, they will chart a clear path for wide adoption of low-carbon ammonia as a clean fuel for the maritime industry.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) recently announced that North American phosphate operations are expected to be negatively impacted by damage caused by Hurricane Ida.

Wind damage to the Faustina and Uncle Sam facilities from the storm is expected to result in reduced production as repairs are completed. The following expectations also include estimates of production loss from an August equipment failure at the company's New Wales facility in Florida. In the third quarter, relative to historical averages, production is expected to be down by approximately 300,000 tonnes. Fourth quarter operating rates are expected to improve sequentially, but production may still be down from historical averages. Mosaic plans to provide an update, including estimated financial impacts of the hurricane, when it reports third quarter results.

The hurricane also caused navigational issues on the Mississippi River, which could cause congestion during the busy fall application season and create logistical risks for Mosaic's production.

As Mosaic completes repairs to operations, the company is also supporting its employees and communities through a $100,000 disaster relief grant to the Capital Area United Way and by providing affected employees with access to funds through the company's employee-to-employee assistance plan.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products, recently announced that its Billingham Complex in the United Kingdom will continue to operate through at least January 2022 after its UK subsidiary reached carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) pricing and offtake agreements with its industrial gas customers in the country.

The agreements between the UK subsidiary and its industrial gas customers run through the end of January 2022. During this period, it is expected that the UK government and industrial gas customers will develop robust alternative sources of CO 2 as part of a long-term solution for meeting demand in the country. The Billingham Complex is capable of producing 750 tonnes of CO 2 per day for commercial use as a byproduct of the ammonia production process.

DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated forty six hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by SusGlobal Energy Corp. by the company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

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FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hyundai Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle earned a top honor, Compact SUV of Texas, during the 29th annual 2021 Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) Truck Rodeo. The two-day event brought together more than 40 auto writers with dozens of new trucks and SUVs to determine best-in-class models in major vehicle segments. Santa Cruz was selected as a category winner by TAWA members for its bold design, multi-utility features, maneuverability, and efficiency.

"It's exciting to compete in truck country, the great state of Texas, and come back with such a fantastic win," said Ricky Lao, director, product planning, Hyundai Motor North America. "The 2022 Santa Cruz breaks new ground within the SUV, truck, and crossover segments by offering a true Sport Adventure Vehicle unlike anything else in the U.S. market."

"Texas Auto Writers Association members were very excited to drive the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz and experience this brand-new vehicle," said TAWA President Kristin Shaw. "For the entire length of the Texas Truck Rodeo, it didn't sit idle for a moment because our journalists were taking it through its paces both on- and off-road. It didn't surprise me at all that the Santa Cruz proved its toughness and earned a win in its category."

The 2022 Santa Cruz boasts bold yet sophisticated design, powerful and efficient powertrain options, a flexible open bed for gear, cutting-edge connectivity and a highly maneuverable all-wheel drive platform that is equally at home in urban and adventure-focused environments. Santa Cruz provides the secure utility of a compact SUV, with its comfort, passenger space, fuel efficiency and parking ease.

About the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA)

The Texas Auto Writers Association, Inc. was founded in 1987 and hosts the annual TAWA Truck Rodeo, which recognizes the best trucks and SUVs in 10 categories. For more information, visit https://www.texasautowriters.org.

Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai Motor America focuses on 'Progress for Humanity' and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles. Our 820 dealers sold more than 620,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2020, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com.

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

SOURCE Hyundai Motor America

Related Links

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On 2-4 December 2021, BLOCKCHANCE Europe 2021 will open the doors of the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg, Germany, to more than 4,000 participants and 120 speakers . Attendees will join the event either in person (if vaccinated or recovered) or virtually.

Blockchain and climate change: Transparency and sustainable impact

With COP26 under way and Bitcoin's exorbitant energy bill, climate change is high on the agenda. Pascal van Knijff, CEO at Future of Trust, will discuss how blockchain can support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Katharina Gehra, CEO of Immutable Insights, will highlight blockchain investments, in line with ESG standards. Robin Klemens, Co-Chair of Hyperledger Climate Action and Accounting SIG will deep-dive into open climate accounting systems.

"Digital transformation is the ultimate catalyst to reach the SDGs. We can create disruptive ecosystems to fulfill a vision where we improve the quality of life and the environment we live in," Pascal van Knijff, CEO of Future of Trust.

Bitcoin and sustainable mining, topics of controversy in tandem, will be analyzed by Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8 Mining. Lennart Ante from Blockchain Research Lab and Peter Marggraff, CEO of Crypto Supply will discuss Bitcoin's impact and how this contrasts with its economic potential.

Blockchain regulation  bringing light to darkness

High-level policy makers from the European Commission such as Lukas Repa, Senior Policy Officer Fintech and Blockchain and Bjorn Soren Gigler, Senior Digital Innovation Officer will dissect regulation of digital technologies, while Stephan Breidenbach, Leader for Policy and Legal at GermanZero will look into the future of digital legislation.

"What makes BLOCKCHANCE so interesting is the great diversity our speakers bring to the table. Research in blockchain is linked to the real economy, while investors get direct access to business-use cases," says Fabian Friedrich, CEO of BLOCKCHANCE.

Tokenization and NFTs

Tokenization and the gateway to a token-based economy are also highlights with Yael Tamar, Co-Founder of SolidBlock linking tokenization to the future of finance. Konstantin Graf, Co-Founder of Kollektor will analyze the hype around non-fungible tokens (NFTs), while Marc Buckley, Consultant at the World Economic Forum will speak about tokenized investments. Fabian Vogelsteller, a Blockchain veteran since the early days of Ethereum who proposed the token standard will also take to the stage in Hamburg.

This is just a glimpse of BLOCKCHANCE 2021 with more sessions on digital payments, digital assets, and the potential of a multi-blockchain universe.

BLOCKCHANCE introduces blockchain and emerging technologies for a positive and sustainable future. Our optimistic curiosity attracts and creates a community of like-minded people, thought leaders and visionaries. Together with you, we can shape the world of tomorrow. As a founding member of the EU interest group Inatba, BLOCKCHANCE is considered an accelerator hub in the blockchain community. BLOCKCHANCE Europe is the leading event for blockchain and DLT in Europe. Since 2018, together with the First Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher and the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, BLOCKCHANCE is developing Hamburg into a blockchain hotspot in Europe.

www.blockchance.eu

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BLOCKCHANCE Press Relations

Hanna Stahlberg

+49(0) 151 - 572 272 12

[email protected]

SOURCE BLOCKCHANCE UG

Related Links

https://www.blockchance.eu/


EIGHTY FOUR, Pa., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 84 Lumber, the nation's largest privately held building materials supplier, is launching a recruitment effort to fill immediate openings at its locations in the San Antonio region. The company will host a Hiring Event on November 10th from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express San Antonio Airport (91 NE Interstate 410 Loop, San Antonio, TX 78216).

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 manufacturers, 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 18 open positions in the San Antonio region to add to our team of 120 employees in the area," said Jorge Espinoza, divisional vice president at 84 Lumber. "We're growing along with the growth in the construction industry  here in San Antonio and across the nation. We're looking for people seeking a fresh start."

Espinoza 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. 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 $16 per hour depending on experience and which shift they work.



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 per hour depending on experience and which shift they work. Door manufacturers need no prior experience and are involved in the manufacturing of doors. These associates can expect a starting pay of $12 per hour.

Espinoza 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 proud to be a family-owned company, and we are committed to helping our employees build and cultivate a career with us," said Espinoza. "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.

SOURCE 84 Lumber

Related Links

https://www.84lumber.com/


LAS VEGAS, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Abingdon Co. ( www.TheAbingdonCo.com ) is adding three models to its new Tactical watch line, Jane, and two models to its new SCUBA Dive line, Nadia, in celebration of its fourteen year anniversary: November 3, 2021. Designed and final assembled in Las Vegas, Nevada, the new Jane timepiece is American built with an Ameriquartz movement by FTS, an Arizona-based movement supplier/assembler. The Jane and Nadia timepieces are the first watches by The Abingdon Co. to have a bi-directional compass and a ruler built into the back of the watch. Both timepieces have a compact 35mm case size combined with a robust 20ATM (660 ft) water-resistance not often found in such a condensed package.

Jane Tactical Watch by The Abingdon Co. in Outlaw, released on the 14 year company anniversary as a watch for women in the outdoors and military industries. Nadia Dive Watch by The Abingdon Co. in Black Abyss will be the second color option for the new dive watch tested by the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

Beginning with pilot watches for women fourteen years ago, The Abingdon Co. is expanding its reach to offer purpose-built watches for women in the outdoors and tactical markets with the introduction of Jane. Designed and tested by nine existing customers who are active in the outdoors and military industries, it took three years to develop Jane to be the best tactical watch offered for women, combining structural integrity of a brushed 316L Stainless Steel case and screw down crowns with a hardened sapphire crystal. Together with military time conversion, standard and metric rulers, a bi-directional compass, glow-in-the-dark dial markings, day and date display, a diver's bezel, and its Ameriquartz Caliber 7122 quartz movement, Jane is built to be as tough as the women whose wrists she will adorn.

The new much-anticipated dive watch, Nadia, which originally debuted in 2019, will now available in a second black and pink version called Black Abyss along with its first white and blue color combination, Whitewater. Powered by the Seiko TMI NH06 Automatic movement, Nadia has a 40+ hour power reserve and can dive down to depths of 20ATM. Two screw-down crowns assist in maintaining the water resistance while also controlling the time function and a bi-directional compass. The 16mm silicone strap has been intentionally elongated to fit over wet suits and thicker dry suits.

"In March, I spoke about the new frontier of the company with the introduction of our first Automotive watch, the Jordan. Jane and Nadia are continuing our effort to create purpose-built watches for women who do more," says company CEO/Founder Abingdon Mullin. "Fourteen years has reinforced for us one thing: women are go-getters and need tools like a watch to help them do what they do best, be it fly airplanes, dive oceans, race cars, or serve in our military. They live, work, and play in extreme environments where a watch is not just for looks. It has to serve a purpose."

Following the launch on The Navy Exchange in late October, The Abingdon Co. is developing more emphasis on women in the military. With the NEXCOM launch, current and retired military can use their veteran's discounts while shopping online for Abingdon watches on the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine exchange websites. The Jane enforces the intentions of The Abingdon Co. to support women in the armed forces. For years, many servicewomen have been wearing Abingdon watches and have relayed to the company what is lacking in the watch world for them. Taking their input and building a women's tactical watch was an answer to the needs and desires of American troops.

The Jane will be available in Covert, Mission, and Outlaw and are available online through theabingdonco.com and certain authorized retail partners. In addition, both Jane and Nadia will come with a 5 Year Limited Warranty and is eligible for the MX2 Maintenance Plan and I2 2 Year Insurance Plan.

The Jane is now available for purchase for $629.00 USD and the Nadia for $829.00 USD. Specifications and Photos can be found online at https://www.theabingdonco.com/blogs/news

About: The Abingdon Co. ( www.theabingdonco.com ) is a Las Vegas-based manufacturer and direct-to-consumer retailer of women's technical performance watches. Its line of "Watches for women who do more," offers multiple functions with unique interchangeable bands. The non-profit side of the company, Abingdon Foundation, has a mission to promote the female pursuit of STEAM industries through networking, community, and scholarships.

Contact:

Abingdon Mullin

702-530-9438

[email protected]

SOURCE The Abingdon Co.

Related Links

http://www.theabingdonco.com


RAIPUR, India, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Aerospace Sheet Distribution Market by Platform Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Military Aircraft, Helicopter, and Spacecraft), by Material Type (Titanium & Alloys, Aluminum & Alloys, Steel & Alloys, and Others), by Product Type (Hot-Rolled Sheets and Cold-Rolled Sheets), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2021-2026.

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's aerospace sheet distribution 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.

Aerospace Sheet Distribution Market: Highlights

Sheets are flat pieces of metals that can be hot-rolled or cold-rolled. In the aerospace industry, aluminum sheets are the preferred choice of material as they offer an array of advantages over others. They are used in key applications such as fuselage and pressure cabin skins. The distribution channel plays a pivotal role in the entire aerospace raw materials (mill level) including sheets.

The aerospace industry faced momentary hurdles in 2019 and was expecting to start rebounding from 2020 onwards. However, the sudden outburst of the pandemic trashed the market participants' hopes of recuperation. The grave impact of the pandemic was felt across markets in the aerospace industry.

The aerospace sheet distribution market could not escape from the pandemic's wrath suffering a debilitating loss of over 30% in 2020. The unforeseen circumstances amid the pandemic shook the industry stakeholders to the core. Nevertheless, the resilient aerospace industry is likely to recoup from 2021 onwards, gradually and steadily heading towards a full recovery, a couple of years later. Similar impact is expected to reflect in the aerospace sheet distribution market, which is estimated to rebound at a promising CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period to reach US$ 614 million by 2026.

Click Here to Run Through the Detailed TOC of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/toc/2084/aerospace-sheet-distribution-market.html

Based on the platform type, commercial aircraft is projected to remain the largest as well as the fastest-growing segment of the market during the forecast period, even though the segment took a massive plunge in 2020. Rapidly recovering demand and production of aircraft, probable market entry of new aircraft such as C919 sooner rather than later, and an incessant requirement of mill products best suiting the application at hand, are the key reasons behind the segment's healthy growth in the long run.

Based on the material type, the market is segmented as titanium & alloys, aluminum & alloys, steel & alloys, and others. Aluminum & alloys occupied major share in the market in 2020 and are expected to maintain lead throughout the forecast period. Aluminum sheets are more often used for aircraft fuselage and pressure cabin skins as they offer high-damage tolerance and a fair level of strength. On the other hand, titanium & alloys are likely to log the highest growth till 2026. There has been an increasing preference by OEMs/tier players to procure all the materials including sheets, the most dominant material category, from distributors in order to have a smooth raw material supply.

In terms of regions, the aerospace hub, North America is expected to maintain its vanguard during the forecast period. Major companies headquartered in the region are TW Metals, Castle (A.M.) & Co., Reliance Metals Steel & Aluminum Co., Falcon Aerospace, Hadco Metals., and Future Metals. Europe and Asia-Pacific are also likely to create sizeable opportunities in the coming five years, the latter is likely to witness the highest growth over the next five years.

Register Here for a Free Sample of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/Request-Sample/2084/aerospace-sheet-distribution-market.html#form

Following are the key players in the aerospace sheet distribution market:

TW Metals

Reliance Metals Co.

Hadco Metal Trading

A.M. Castle & Co.

Thyssenkrupp AG

United Performance Metals

Titanium Industries, Inc.

Future Metals

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 the aerospace sheet distribution market and has segmented the market in four ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the four ways in which the market is segmented:

Aerospace Sheet Distribution Market, by Platform Type

Commercial Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Regional Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

General Aviation (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Military Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Helicopter (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Spacecraft (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Sheet Distribution Market, by Material Type

Titanium & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aluminum & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Steel & Alloys (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Others (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Sheet Distribution Market, by Shape Type

Hot-Rolled Sheets (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Cold-Rolled Sheets (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW)

Aerospace Sheet Distribution Market, by Region

North America (Country Analysis: USA , Canada , and Mexico )

Europe (Country Analysis: Germany , France , the UK, Russia , and Rest of Europe )

Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: Japan , China , India , and Rest of Asia-Pacific )

Rest of the World (Country Analysis: Brazil , Argentina , and Others)

Stratview Research has several high value market reports in the aerospace and defense industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports:

https://www.stratviewresearch.com/market-reports/Aerospace-Defense.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.

For enquiries,

Contact:

Stratview Research

E-mail: [email protected]

Direct: +1-313-307-4176

SOURCE Stratview Research
It was late November 2020, and the Smith family had recently welcomed their new puppy Buoy into their home. Jaime Smith's two children and their neighborhood friends went outside to play with Buoy in the backyard but returned quickly because of the cold.

"It was really touch and go for a while," said Jaime Smith, who rushed her Border Collie Buoy to the emergency hospital.

"In Alaska, it gets freezing after October," said Smith, who lives in Anchorage. "The kids came in and asked for help opening their hand warmer packages. They then went back outside and continued playing with Buoy. Shortly after they were finished playing, Buoy began to vomit. It looked like black tar, but we could see remnants of the hand warmer package paper. Our kids showed us their hand warmers in the trash can, so we suspected one of the neighbors had left theirs. When we spoke to the parents of one of the neighborhood kids who was here, we found that she had left her two used hand warmers on the playhouse outside. When we investigated, we found remnants around the yard. Apparently, Buoy had shredded them and ingested some of the contents. As soon as we realized what had happened, we called Pet Poison Helpline."

"Buoy was very fortunate that the Smiths not only realized he had ingested the hand warmer contents, but that they knew enough to call our toxicology experts for advice," said Ahna Brutlag, DVM, MS, DABT, DABVT, a board-certified veterinary toxicologist at Pet Poison Helpline. "Hand warmers contain iron and ingestion may result in vomiting, GI ulceration, shock, cardiovascular compromise, and liver injury. As soon as we identified the chemicals in the hand warmers they had used, we recommended they immediately take Buoy to the nearest emergency hospital."

Once they arrived at PET Emergency Treatment in Anchorage, the Helpline team recommended an immediate evaluation for decontamination, diagnostics, monitoring and supportive care. Buoy's radiograph showed a large amount of iron product remained throughout his GI tract including the stomach and the small and large intestines. He was placed on IV fluids, received multiple warm-water enemas, administered Milk of Magnesia to minimize absorption of iron from the GI tract and was given gastroprotectants (omeprazole and sucralfate) for a week. Buoy spent the night in the hospital, but because the Smiths caught the ingestion early and immediately took him in for treatment, he recuperated quickly.

"It was really touch and go for a while," said Smith, "Given that they had no history with the dog because he was a puppy, they did an amazing job."

Pet Poison Helpline created Toxin Tails to educate the veterinary community and pet lovers on the many types of poisoning dangers facing pets, both in and out of the home. All the pets highlighted in Toxin Tails have been successfully treated for the poisoning and fully recovered.

About Pet Poison Helpline

Pet Poison Helpline, an animal poison control center based in Minneapolis, is available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. The veterinarians and board-certified toxicologists provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline's fee of $65 per incident includes follow-up consultations for the duration of the poison case. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

Contact: Dr. Renee Schmid

Pet Poison Helpline

(952) 806-3803

[email protected]



SOURCE Pet Poison Helpline

Related Links

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com


LONDON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Clear Ads provides valuable resources on its website for Amazon businesses looking to maximize their sales and profitability. The globally renowned Amazon DSP program PPC advertising agency has recently added a blog article that shares its insights on the how-to and importance of building an Amazon review profile.

Read the full Amazon PPC campaign blog post at https://clearadsagency.com/how-to-build-your-amazon-review-profile/.

Clear Ads states, "There is one vital aspect driving Amazon success that many sellers overlook, and that's building  and maintaining  a strong review profile." Reviews are one of the most important factors that influence the decision stage during the consumer purchasing journey. The company points to a statistic by the US software company Power Reviews that estimates an increase from zero reviews to one review can boost the likelihood of conversion by as much as 65%.

Reviews also prove to be just as vital to the seller. "Customer reviews are a massively valuable form of feedback, enabling retailers to conduct in-depth sentiment analysis and adapt their approach as needed to engage customers," says the Amazon PPC agency. An increase in retailers shifting to online operations is creating an incredibly competitive marketplace where reviews can instantly be the major differentiator between products with similar features, functionality and price points.

Following an investigation launched by the Financial Times into suspicious activity regarding enabling or facilitating fake reviews, Amazon now takes a very strict approach to product reviews. However, Clear Ads outlines some of the most effective ways to build a strong product review profile on Amazon that are easy to implement:

Generate reviews organically.

Ask for reviews.

Cross-sell.

Offer an incentive.

Select products for the early reviewer program.

Enroll in Amazon vine.

And when it comes to handling any poor reviews that may come in, Clear Ads suggests, "Embrace them. Poor reviews are an opportunity to learn. They're also an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to providing great buying experiences for your customers."

For additional information about the Amazon advertising business, please visit the official Clear Ads website at https://clearadsagency.com/.

About Clear Ads

Clear Ads is a paid advertising agency focusing on Amazon and Google for small and medium-sized enterprises around the world.

Contact Name: George Meressa

Contact Phone: +442037474686

Contact Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Clear Ads

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MIAMI, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Antarctica Advisors LLC, the leading Seafood Industry-focused M&A advisory firm, acted as the exclusive investment banking advisor to Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. ("Mitsui"), in the sale of the assets of Mitsui Foods, Inc. ("MFI") to Gellert Global Group's ("GGG") Atalanta Corporation.

MFI is a leading importer and distributor of canned and frozen seafood as well as canned fruit and vegetables, that dates back to1953. Since then, Mitsui Foods has been importing fine grocery and specialty food products from around the world under various brands. These brands, including the EMPRESS brand, will be integrated across the Gellert Global Group divisions, including Atalanta Corporation and Camerican International.

Shuichi Matsuzawa, SVP & DOO, Foods & Retail Division of Mitsui commented: "After extensive evaluation and review, Mitsui felt Atalanta Corporation and Camerican International were best suited to continue Mitsui Foods' mission to be a leader in the food import and distribution industry. Antarctica Advisors' expertise was instrumental in aiding us in this review and facilitating the successful transaction for Mitsui."

Ignacio Kleiman, Managing Partner of Antarctica Advisors, commented: "The acquisition of Mitsui Foods business and its iconic brands brings together companies with rich histories in the U.S. food sector. We are appreciative to have had the opportunity to apply our transactional expertise to help Mitsui position the business for continued success."

Through the acquisition of the MFI assets, GGG will continue to source high-quality imported foods, including frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, seafood, meats, and cheeses from over 60 countries. "We are proud to bring the rich history of the Mitsui Foods business and the strength of the Empress brand to our portfolio," said Tom Gellert, President of Atalanta Corporation.

Antarctica Advisors is the leading US-based, independent investment banking firm providing corporate clients in the global Seafood Industry with specialized M&A advisory, private equity and debt capital raising services. The firm's highly specialized Seafood Team is comprised of professionals with significant knowledge across the Seafood Industry, as well as a proven track record of successful transaction execution.

Antarctica Advisors LLC is a licensed broker-dealer, member of FINRA and SIPC.

For further information contact Ignacio Kleiman, Antarctica Advisors LLC, + Tel. +1-305-961-1638, [email protected] or visit www.AntarcticaLLC.com

SOURCE Antarctica Advisors

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DRESHER, Pa., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascensus, whose technology and expertise help millions of people save for retirement, education, and healthcare, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which Newport Group (Newport), the Walnut Creek, California-based retirement services provider, will merge with Ascensus. The newly combined organization will offer a broader set of capabilities and products to benefit institutional partners, clients, advisors, and savers.

With industry-leading qualified and non-qualified retirement plan services, fiduciary consulting services, and corporate and bank-owned life insurance practices, Newport will expand the solutions and expertise Ascensus provides to its clients and advisor partners. Similarly, Newport's clients will benefit from greater access to unique tax-advantaged savings solutions across retirement, education, and health provided by Ascensus. In addition, the companies' respective investments in technology, digital capabilities, and analytics will deliver enhanced value to clients, expand client relationships, and create better outcomes for savers.

David Musto, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ascensus, will serve as CEO of the combined company.

Greg Tschider, who led Newport's successful growth strategy, has stepped down as CEO of Newport. To ensure continuity of leadership, operations, and client service through closing, Laura Ramaniswho has served as Newport's chief operating officer since 2014has been named interim CEO. She will be supported by Kurt Laning, executive vice president, Non-Qualified and Insurance Solutions, along with Newport's senior management team. Ramanis and Laning will join the Ascensus executive leadership team and remain with the unified company post-closing.

"Ascensus and Newport are both respected leaders in the marketplaceand well-known for service excellence, deep expertise, investment independence, and purpose-built technology," said Musto. "We expect the service platform investment, product expansion, and enhanced capabilities our union will deliver to be well-received by our collective clients. As a combined company, we'll be able to even further advance our mission of helping individuals save for what matters."

Musto added, "I want to commend Greg Tschider and his team for their leadership and success in building a strong, highly respected, and winning company in our industry."

"This is a tremendous opportunity for our two companies and our people," said Ramanis. "Our union confirms the hard work of our dedicated employees and partners. Joining with Ascensus provides additional resources to continue the expansion of services, and I am excited to see the new ways that our combined associate teams will work together for our clients."

Noting the significant opportunities to capitalize on the strengths of both companies, Musto said, "Ultimately, the talent and extensive experience of our organizations are the most valuable assets our companies bring to this combination. As one company, we'll deliver so much more than the sum of our capabilitiesand set a new performance standard for service excellence and client satisfaction in the markets we serve. We look forward to working with Laura Ramanis and her leadership team to unify our organizations in the months ahead and are eager to be operating as one team by next spring."

Strategically Compelling Combination

Market Strengths

Combination represents a compelling strategic fit and creates a leader in tax-advantaged savings that is well-positioned to lead amid industry transformation

Expanded tax-advantaged savings participant base of more than 15 million people across the U.S.

Increase of Ascensus-administered assets under administration to more than $700 billion when combined with Newport's business 1

when combined with business Diversified client base, including more than 150,000 retirement plans

Management of an industry-leading $184 billion in government savings accounts (including 529 plans, ABLE savings accounts, and state-facilitated retirement programs), more than 700,000 health and flexible savings and COBRA accounts, nearly 300,000 COLI/BOLI policies, and more than 140,000 non-qualified retirement plan participant accounts1

Client, Partner, and Saver Benefits

Broader set of products and solutions delivering enhanced value to new and existing clients

Increased investment in technology and digital solutions designed to enhance partner efficiency and drive saver outcomes

Experienced leadership teams with outstanding track records across both organizations

Continued commitment to service excellence and client satisfaction offers opportunity to build on world-class NPS scores to set a new performance standard in markets served

Increased size and reach of sales and distribution channel relationships supporting partner growth

Depth and breadth of our combined expertise, including retirement, compliance, actuarial, non-qualified, insurance, and fiduciary services, represents a significant value-add for our clients

Associate Benefits

New and expanded career path opportunities for Ascensus and Newport associates resulting from the combination of two great companies focused on long-term growth

associates resulting from the combination of two great companies focused on long-term growth Increased ability to attract, retain, and develop top talent

Continued commitment to a diverse and inclusive work environment where every associate feels welcome, valued, and safe, and enjoys a sense of belonging

A common heritage of integrity and independence, coupled with the resourcefulness and speed of a market innovator

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, including review and non-objection by the South Dakota Division of Banking and review and approval by the New Hampshire Banking Department, and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Evercore acted as exclusive financial advisor to Newport in connection with the transaction.

Committed financing for the transaction has been provided by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, SPC Financing Company LLC, and KKR Capital Markets LLC.

About Ascensus

Ascensus helps millions of people save for what mattersretirement, education, and healthcare. Through co-branded, private-labeled, and other governmental partnerships, our technology, market insights, and business knowledge enhance the growth and success of our partners, their clients, and savers. Ascensus is a leading recordkeeping services provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator in the United States. For more information, visit ascensus.com.

About Newport

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Newport is a leading retirement services provider that helps employersand the advisors who serve themprepare employees for a more financially secure retirement. The company has more than $150 billion in retirement assets under administration and more than $300 billion in corporate retirement and insurance assets. Newport maintains investment objectivity, fee transparency and a commitment to flexible, responsive service. Staffed by an exceptional team of nearly 1,500 retirement, insurance, and consulting professionals, the company provides retirement solutions tailored to the needs of employers of every size, from small businesses to the Fortune 1000. For more information, visit newportgroup.com.

1 As of June 30, 2021.

SOURCE Ascensus

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www.ascensus.com


SAN FRANCISCO and LONDON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Big four UK grocer Asda has partnered with RangeMe to ensure buying teams have access to thousands of the most relevant products their customers demand.

Through RangeMe's global sourcing platform, Asda is aiming to increase the number of new and innovative products available in stores as it seeks emerging suppliers.

"We've already received hundreds of product pitches from really exciting, emerging suppliers as a result of our partnership with RangeMe. Through the launch of Asda's incubator programme, we hope to work with some of these suppliers to get their products onto the shelves in our stores." - Ben Smith, Senior Director of Commercial Strategy at Asda

Asda is the first of the big four grocers to join RangeMe since the platform launched in the UK last month. This gives Asda an opportunity to grow its supplier base while RangeMe firmly plants its flag in the UK.

RangeMe first launched in 2014 and is used today by over 12,000 retail buyers in the UK, North America, and APAC region. It has quickly established itself as the industry leader for retail product discovery and sourcing, becoming the world's biggest platform where brands can showcase their products to retail buyers.

RangeMe helps retailers and their buying teams scale product sourcing efforts through streamlined submissions, easy to use discovery tools, and an industry standard pitch process. Buyers can then filter searches to find brands and products that meet their exact sourcing needs, allowing them to seamlessly connect and collaborate with suppliers, and offering curated collections to help identify and understand category trends and emerging brands.

Ben Smith, Senior Director of Commercial Strategy at Asda, said: "We've already received hundreds of product pitches from really exciting, emerging suppliers as a result of our partnership with RangeMe. Through the launch of Asda's incubator programme, we hope to work with some of these suppliers to get their products onto the shelves in our stores. We have a reputation for championing trend-led and innovative products, which this platform is enabling us to source at scale, so we can quickly find and introduce new products into our stores."

"Asda is an iconic British retailer and supermarket chain and we welcome them to our community of top retailers from around the world to transform their product sourcing experience. This is also an excellent opportunity for suppliers to connect directly with Asda buyers and showcase their products" said Nicky Jackson, CEO of RangeMe.

Nicky Jackson added: "Our mission has always been to empower retailers and suppliers to be productive and successful whatever their objective. The platform offers retailers hyper local choices as well as innovative global options. We exist to help them offer an extraordinary experience for their customers."

Asda recently announced it will launch a supplier incubation programme, aimed at supporting more emerging brands, discovering innovative products and working with suppliers who might not come from a 'traditional' retail supply base but can offer something different to customers.

The programme will utilise RangeMe to help source products, giving suppliers a front-row audience with one of the biggest names in retail.

About Asda Stores Ltd.

Founded in the 1960s in Yorkshire, Asda is one of Britain's leading retailers and helps customers save money and live better in stores, online and through their mobile devices.

Each week more than 18 million customers visit its 645 stores - including 30 Supercentres, 392 Superstores, 155 Supermarkets, 33 Asda Living stores, and 35 standalone petrol stations - and are served by 153,000 colleagues. www.asda.com and www.george.com deliver to 99% of the UK's homes and to its 538 click and collect sites across the UK.

Its main office is in Leeds, Yorkshire and its George clothing division is in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

About RangeMe

RangeMe , an ECRM company, is the leading online platform that streamlines new product discovery between suppliers and retailers. 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.

Press Contacts:

U.S. Europe Dan Dyer Bilal Mahmood E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 513-478-7818 Phone: +44 (0) 20 3640 7759 and +44 (0) 771 400 7257

SOURCE RangeMe

Related Links

https://www.rangeme.com/


JERSEY CITY, N.J., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Verified Market Research recently published a report, "Aseptic Packaging Market" By Material (Paper and Cardboard, Plastic, Metal, Glass & Wood), By Packaging-Type (Cartons, Bottles & Cans, Bags & Pouches Market), By Application (Food, Beverage, and Pharmaceutical), and By Geography. According to Verified Market Research, the Global Aseptic Packaging Market size was valued at USD 62.6 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 113.6 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 10.45% from 2021 to 2028.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/download-sample/?rid=30472

Browse in-depth TOC on "Aseptic Packaging Market"

202 - Pages

126  Tables

37  Figures

Global Aseptic Packaging Market Overview

There is an increasing demand for utility food products with a long shelf life that also are free of bacterial contamination. Food additives are widely used in food production to extend shelf life and preserve product quality. However, People are becoming increasingly aware of the risks of utilising processed foods combined with additives. Aseptic packaging is a highly focused process that sterilizes both the package and the product separately before filling. This reduces the risk of germs present and makes the food safer and healthier. Aseptic packaging is becoming more popular as a result of an increase in government regulations prohibiting the use of food preservatives, particularly in developed countries.

A gradual increase in world e-commerce sales and growth opportunities in emerging markets of developing countries are expected to be major opportunities for the aseptic packaging market during the forecast period. However, the aseptic packaging market is impacted by the rapidly changing prices of raw materials used by packaging industries such as polymer, board, paper, glass, aluminium, and steel. Furthermore, the construction, manufacturing, and oil and gas industries were significantly damaged during the COVID-19 outbreak. Construction activities were also delayed or highly restricted. Manufacturing and transportation activities, along with their supply chains, were also affected on a global scale, which directly hampered the growth of the aseptic packaging market for a brief period of time.

Key Developments

August 2021 , Amcor expanded innovation centres in other countries. The new facilities in Ghent, Belgium , and Jiangyin, China , will welcome customers as of mid-2022, with full build-out over the next two years. The total investment is expected to be approximately $35 million .

, Amcor expanded innovation centres in other countries. The new facilities in Ghent, , and Jiangyin, , will welcome customers as of mid-2022, with full build-out over the next two years. The total investment is expected to be approximately . June 2021 , Amcor has launched ACT2100 heat seal coating for medical-grade DuPont Tyvek 2 and paper packaging applications. This next-generation coating technology delivers enhanced performance features for healthcare applications and will be produced in multiple locations worldwide to offer customers increased flexibility to be supplied from the most suitable location for the manufacturing and packaging of their devices.

, Amcor has launched ACT2100 heat seal coating for medical-grade DuPont Tyvek 2 and paper packaging applications. This next-generation coating technology delivers enhanced performance features for healthcare applications and will be produced in multiple locations worldwide to offer customers increased flexibility to be supplied from the most suitable location for the manufacturing and packaging of their devices. In January 2021 , Tetra Pak has launched a new collaborative innovation model with leading paperboard producers, a move aimed at tackling the food packaging industry's sustainability challenges.

Key Players

The major players in the market are Tetra Laval International S.A., Amcor Limited, Schott AG, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Robert Bosch GmbH, Reynolds Group Holdings Limited, Greatview Aseptic Packaging Co., Ltd., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Bemis Company, Inc., and IMA S.P.A.

Verified Market Research has segmented the Global Aseptic Packaging Market On the basis of Material, Packaging-Type, Application, and Geography.

Aseptic Packaging Market, By Material

Paper and Cardboard



Plastic



Metal



Glass & Wood

Aseptic Packaging Market, By Packaging-Type

Cartons



Bottles & Cans



Bags & Pouches Market



Others

Aseptic Packaging Market, By Application

Food



Beverage



Pharmaceutical



Others

Aseptic Packaging 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:

Form-Fill-Seal Equipment Market By Technology (Horizontal Form-Fill-Seal and Vertical Form-Fill-Seal), By Packaging Type (Cups & Trays, Bags & Pouches, Bottles, Blisters), By End Use (Food, Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care, Chemicals), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

Digital Printing Packaging Market By Type (Corrugated, Folding cartons, Flexible packaging, Labels), By End User (Food & beverage, Pharmaceuticals and healthcare, Household & cosmetic products), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

E-Commerce Packaging Market By Material (Paper, Plastic, Corrugated Boards), By End-User (Consumer And Electronics, Food And Beverages, Personal Care Products, Fashion And Apparels), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Market By Type (Food and Beverage, Personal Care and Cosmetics, Household Supplies), By Distribution Channel (Off-line and Online), By Geography, Forecast, 2021-2028

5 Leading Aseptic Packaging Companies: Authenticity in every packaging

Visualize Aseptic Packaging Market using Verified Market Intelligence:-:

Verified Market Intelligence is our BI Enabled Platform for narrative storytelling of this market. VMI offers in-depth forecasted trends and accurate Insights on over 20,000+ emerging & niche markets, helping you make critical revenue impacting decisions for a brilliant future.

VMI provides a holistic overview and global competitive landscape with respect to Region, Country, and Segment, and Key players of your market. Present your Market Report & findings with an inbuilt presentation feature saving over 70% of your time and resources for Investor, Sales & Marketing, R&D, and Product Development pitches. VMI enables data delivery In Excel and Interactive PDF formats with over 15+ Key Market Indicators for your market.

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SOURCE Verified Market Research
NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To coincide with the fifth anniversary of its Shop With Your Heart Program, the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) today announced the launch of a new tool called the Shop With Your Heart Grocery List, a searchable directory of welfare-certified animal products and plant-based alternatives. This new consumer resource joins a collection of dynamic guides available to the public as part of the organization's Shop With Your Heart program, which launched five years ago to inform consumers, food businesses and lawmakers about solutions that will improve the lives of animals raised for food in the United States. In addition to earlier functions that allowed users to sort food by product type and identify where each item was sold, the new Grocery List now also allows users to filter by plant or animal-based foods and, if animal-based, to further refine the results by how the animals were raised: in an indoor enriched environment, with outdoor access, or on pasture.

"Shopping with your heart is not about being perfect or about any single right way to eat, it's about recognizing our individual power to improve farm animals' lives," said Daisy Freund, vice president, ASPCA Farm Animal Welfare. "To achieve a world without factory farms, this movement needs to include everyone. The ASPCA's Grocery List is designed to help consumers, no matter what they eat, make choices that show animal agriculture that there is no place for animal cruelty in our food system."

With more than one million views in 2021 alone, the highly referenced Shop With Your Heart resources have proven to be essential for those seeking alternatives to factory-farmed products, whether plant-based or animal-based, with a meaningful ASPCA-recognized animal welfare certification. Shop With Your Heart has contributed to major progress for scores of farm animals over the last five years:

The number of animals raised under meaningful welfare-certified standards has doubled to more than 600 million annually.

Over 140 food companies offering welfare-certified products have been added to the new and revised Shop With Your Heart Grocery List, representing a 350% increase in the number of meaningfully higher-welfare products on the market.

The ASPCA has secured more than 200 public commitments from food companies to improve and audit animal welfare in their supply chains, which will impact hundreds of millions more animals over the next few years.

The vast majority of Shop With Your Heart users (92%) say that the program made them more motivated to avoid factory-farmed products with most having changed what they buy or how they shop for food.

More than three out of four (79%) Shop With Your Heart users report trying to reduce consumption of at least one type of animal product, with 84% finding it easier to identify alternatives to factory-farmed products using ASPCA resources.

The ASPCA collaborates with a spectrum of food companies from small farmers to large-scale producers, and independent businesses to corporations, helping each set progressive policies to improve the lives of farm animals. This year the ASPCA worked with national and regional brands to make the Better Chicken Commitment including Natural Grocers, CookUnity, EatThe80, and The Honest Kitchen. Some committed companies have reported progress or have fully achieved animal welfare goals, like Thrive Market, ButcherBox, Farmer's Fridge, Home Place Pastures, Happy Valley Meat Company, Square Baby, Cafe Spice, Alexandre Family Farm, The Great American Turkey Co. , ICONIC Protein, The Honest Bison, Nugget's Healthy Eats, and more.

"Every food company with animal-derived products in its supply chain has an opportunityand the responsibilityto make sure animals are treated with compassion," said Nancy Roulston, senior director of corporate policy and animal science, ASPCA Farm Animal Welfare. "Moving away from factory farming to more humane and sustainable practices is not just the right thing to do for animals, the environment and people in the food system, it's also the only logical way forward for businesses marketing to increasingly concerned and informed consumers."

The ASPCA will continue to help and encourage companies, certifications and lawmakers to move away from industrial practices that prioritize efficiency and economic gain over animals' wellbeing, environmental sustainability and public safety, and instead strive for a food system that is humane, healthy and resilient. To learn more about the ASPCA's work to help create a more humane and compassionate world for farm animals, visit ASPCA.org/ShopWithYourHeart.

About the ASPCA 

Founded in 1866, the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was the first animal welfare organization to be established in North America and today serves as the nation's leading voice for vulnerable and victimized animals. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation with more than two million supporters nationwide, the ASPCA is committed to preventing cruelty to dogs, cats, equines, and farm animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA assists animals in need through on-the-ground disaster and cruelty interventions, behavioral rehabilitation, animal placement, legal and legislative advocacy, and the advancement of the sheltering and veterinary community through research, training, and resources. For more information, visit www.ASPCA.org, and follow the ASPCA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Media Contact: Alexander Craig

347-931-7886; [email protected]

SOURCE ASPCA

Related Links

http://www.aspca.org


PHOENIX, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Assisted Living Locators, a nationwide senior placement and referral service, announced today it is offering free home care consultations in support of Family Caregivers Month this November.

Assisted Living Locators' 140 franchise offices across the U.S. will assess needs and utilize their nationwide network of in-home care providers to address the new realities family caregivers face with their loved ones during this pandemic.

Spearheaded by the Caregiver Action Network, National Family Caregivers Month recognizes and honors family caregivers across the country. Family caregivers manage health emergencies, juggle priorities, and suffer isolation - and all that was before COVID-19. The on-going pandemic brings even more challenges to family caregivers.

As part of the free home care consultation, a local Assisted Living Locators senior care advisor will meet with each family, virtually or in-person, to learn about their loved one's needs, living conditions, and personal preferences in order to build a care plan.

"We offer a variety of care resources for family caregivers ranging from Alzheimer's and dementia care to respite care and much more," said Angela Olea RN, Assisted Living Locators CEO. "Our nationwide network of home care agencies provides a full range of home health care needs, including social interaction, senior nutrition, and safety in the home, to meet the pandemic challenges and assist families with the help they need."

Olea noted that people with dementia at home may find it more difficult to do protective measures against the virus and need extra support during this difficult time.

"With system-wide dementia care certification, we are in a unique position to help families across the country, educating them about the disease," Olea explained. "Our dementia care training enables us to provide much-needed support to families and when home care is not adequate, we help families find, at no cost, independent living, assisted living, and memory care."

If you have questions about your loved one's cognitive health and would like a free home care consultation, speak to an Assisted Living Locators Senior Care Advisor at 877-266-7788 or visit www.assistedlivinglocators.com.

SOURCE Assisted Living Locators

Related Links

http://www.assistedlivinglocators.com


CLEVELAND, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT), a leading provider of specialized and sustainable material solutions, will host an Investor Day for investment professionals on Thursday, December 9, 2021, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the New York Marriott Marquis hotel.

"Since our last Investor Day in 2018, we have significantly transformed the company with an increased focus on sustainable solutions," said Robert M. Patterson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Avient Corporation. "At our 2021 Investor Day, we will take a deeper dive into our how we create value for our stakeholders. We will review our long-term growth drivers and the mega trends that support them. We will also provide more insight into our innovative technologies, margin expectations and capital allocation priorities."

Investor Day participants will hear presentations from Mr. Patterson and other senior executives. In addition, the company will provide an update on the integration of the Clariant Color business, including future synergy capture, and a financial overview.

Those interested in registering for the event can do so at www.avient.com/investors. The slide presentations will be made available on this site as well, at the onset of the event.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT), with expected 2021 revenues of $4.75 billion, provides specialized and sustainable material solutions that transform customer challenges into opportunities, bringing new products to life for a better world. Examples include:

Unique technologies that improve the recyclability of products and enable recycled content to be incorporated, thus advancing a more circular economy

Light-weighting solutions that replace heavier traditional materials like metal, glass and wood, which can improve fuel efficiency in all modes of transportation and reduce carbon footprint

Sustainable infrastructure solutions that increase energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural resource conservation and fiber optic / 5G network accessibility

Avient employs approximately 8,400 associates and is certified ACC Responsible Care, a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and certified Great Place to Work. For more information, visit www.avient.com.

To access Avient's news library online, please visit www.avient.com/news.

SOURCE Avient Corporation

Related Links

https://www.avient.com


VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - BBTV Holdings Inc. (TSX: BBTV) (OTCQX: BBTVF)("BBTV" or the "Company"), the leading creator monetization company with a mission to help creators become more successful, today announced that it will release its financial results for the second quarter 2021 after market close on Wednesday, November 10th. The Company will subsequently hold a conference call that same day, Wednesday, November 10th, at 2:15pm Pacific Time/5:15pm Eastern Time hosted by Ms. Shahrzad Rafati, Chairperson and CEO, and Mr. Ben Groot, CFO. A question and answer session will follow the corporate update.

Conference Call Details

Wednesday, November 10th, 2021, 2:15pm Pacific Time/5:15pm Eastern Time.

Participant Information

Access Code: 955260

United States: 1 844 200 6205

United States (Local): 1 646 904 5544

Canada dial-in number (Toll Free): 1 833 950 0062

Canada dial-in number (Local): 1 226 828 7575

All other locations: +1 929 526 1599

Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call.



To coincide with the call, an Investor Highlights presentation will be available at: https://investors.bbtv.com/events-and-presentations/default.aspx

Links to SEDAR filings, conference call recordings and press releases are available on the investor website at: https://investors.bbtv.com/

Telephonic Replay:

Access Code: 414866

US (Local): 1 929 458 6194

US Toll Free: 1 866 813 9403

Canada: 1 226 828 7578

UK (Local): 0204 525 0658

All other locations: +44 204 525 0658

November 10, 2021 20:15 ET - November 17, 2021 23:59 ET

About BBTV

BBTV is a global media and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The Company's mission is to help content creators become more successful. With creators ranging from individuals to global media brands, BBTV provides comprehensive, end-to-end Solutions to increase viewership and drive revenue powered by its innovative technology, while allowing creators to focus on their core competency  content creation. In January 2021, BBTV had the second most unique monthly viewers among digital platforms with more than 600 million globally, who consumed more than 50 billion minutes of video content, the most among media companies [1]. ( www.bbtv.com )

[1] Calculations and classifications made by BBTV based on data from Comscore's "Top 12 Countries = January 2021 comScore Video Metrix Media Trend  Multi-Platform  Top 100 Video Properties Report"; Top 12 countries represent ~50% of world's digital population.

Contacts: Media Relations Mark Funston 778-288-4950 [email protected] Investor Relations [email protected] Contact: Ron Shuttleworth Partner Oak Hill Financial Inc (647)5007371 [email protected]

BBTV-F

SOURCE BBTV Holdings Inc.
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until November 15, 2021 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE: SAM), if they purchased the Company's securities between April 22, 2021 and September 8, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Get Help

Boston Beer Company investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-sam/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.

About the Lawsuit

Boston Beer and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On July 22, 2021, post-market, the Company disclosed a reduced full year 2021 guidance, from a prior range of earnings per share of between $22 and $26 to between $18 and $22 due to softer-than-expected sales in the hard seltzer category and overall beer industry and also that it had "overestimated the growth of the hard seltzer category in the second quarter." On this news, the Company's share price fell $246.54, or 26%, to close at $701.00 per share on July 23, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.

On September 8, 2021, post-market, the Company withdrew its 2021 financial guidance due decelerating sales of hard seltzer products, and also stated that it "expects to incur hard seltzer-related inventory write-offs, shortfall fees payable to 3rd party brewers, and other costs" for the remainder of fiscal 2021. On this news, the Company's share price fell $21.09, or 3.7%, to close at $538.31 per share on September 9, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.

The case is Siegel v. The Boston Beer Company, Inc., et al., 21-cv-7693.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.

To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.

SOURCE ClaimsFiler
MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Braun Intertec is pleased to announce Scott Poellinger has joined the company as chief financial officer and senior vice president. Poellinger brings 15 years of experience as a CFO to the 100% employee-owned geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, and testing firm.

"I am thrilled to welcome Scott to the Braun Intertec senior leadership team," said CEO Jon Carlson. "His seasoned financial leadership will be a strategic asset to our business as we continue to expand. Scott's previous experience as a CFO for professional service firms will also sharpen the insight of our senior leadership and board of directors as we serve clients nationwide."

As CFO, Poellinger will leverage his skill for building strategic partnerships at fast-growing companies and advise the Braun Intertec senior leadership team on financial management, long-term planning as well as mergers and acquisitions. He will also lead and provide strategic direction to the company's finance and accounting team as well as the business technology and sourcing and asset teams.

Prior to Braun Intertec, Poellinger served as CFO for companies that include a design-build construction firm, environmental consulting firm as well as a medical technology company. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Poellinger is a member of both the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

About Braun Intertec

Based in Minneapolis, employee-owned Braun Intertec is a premier engineering, environmental consulting and testing firm with more than 1,000 employees located in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.

SOURCE Braun Intertec

Related Links

http://www.braunintertec.com


HOUSTON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Total revenues of $301.6 million in Q2 FY22 compared to $300.6 million in Q1 FY22

in Q2 FY22 compared to in Q1 FY22 Net income of $2.8 million , or $0.10 per diluted share, in Q2 FY22 compared to net loss of $14.2 million , or $0.50 per diluted share, in Q1 FY22

, or per diluted share, in Q2 FY22 compared to net loss of , or per diluted share, in Q1 FY22 EBITDA adjusted to exclude special items and asset dispositions was $44.5 million in Q2 FY22 compared to $40.0 million in Q1 FY22

in Q2 FY22 compared to in Q1 FY22 As of September 30, 2021 , unrestricted cash balance was $237.0 million with total liquidity of $287.6 million

Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: VTOL) today reported net income attributable to the Company of $2.8 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, for its fiscal second quarter ended September 30, 2021 ("current quarter") on operating revenues of $290.1 million compared to net loss attributable to the Company of $14.2 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, in the quarter ended June 30, 2021 ("preceding quarter") on operating revenues of $288.4 million.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") was $45.3 million in the current quarter compared to $14.8 million in the preceding quarter. EBITDA adjusted to exclude special items and gains or losses on asset dispositions was $44.5 million in the current quarter compared to $40.0 million in the preceding quarter. The following table provides a bridge between EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA excluding gains or losses on asset dispositions. See Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Metrics for a reconciliation of net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA.



Three Months Ended,

September 30,

2021

June 30,

2021 EBITDA $ 45,264



$ 14,766

Special items:





Restructuring costs $ 117



$ 851

Loss on impairment 2,901



21,934

PBH intangible amortization 3,060



2,846

Merger-related costs 647



1,735

Government grants (222)



(390)

Early extinguishment of debt fees 124





Bankruptcy-related costs 103



446

Insurance-related proceeds,net 899



(3,732)

Loss on sale of subsidiaries 



2,002

Nonrecurring professional services fees 817





Bankruptcy-related settlement (9,000)







$ (554)



$ 25,692

Adjusted EBITDA $ 44,710



$ 40,458

Gains on asset dispositions, net (162)



(499)

Adjusted EBITDA excluding asset dispositions $ 44,548



$ 39,959



"Bristow's current quarter financial results were adversely impacted by Hurricane Ida in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, pandemic-related travel restrictions on our commercial airline business in Australia, labor union settlement costs in Norway, and expenses related to our pursuit of the UK SAR 2G contract," said Chris Bradshaw, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bristow. "Excluding these transitory events, Adjusted EBITDA would have been approximately $3 million higher, or roughly $48 million, in the quarter ended September 30, 2021."

Sequential Quarter Results

Operating revenues in the current quarter were $1.8 million higher compared to the preceding quarter.

Operating revenues from oil and gas services were $3.9 million higher primarily due to higher utilization in the Americas and Africa regions, partially offset by the end of customer contracts in the Europe region. Operating revenues from government services were $0.7 million lower primarily due to the weakening of the British pound sterling relative to the U.S. dollar, partially offset by higher flight hours. Operating revenues from fixed wing services were $1.1 million lower primarily due to the weakening of the Australian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar. Other revenues were $0.4 million lower in the current quarter.

Operating expenses were $4.3 million higher in the current quarter primarily due to higher personnel costs, the recognition of insurance deductibles following the impact of Hurricane Ida, and higher maintenance and fuel costs, partially offset by lower other operating costs.

General and administrative expenses were $1.5 million higher in the current quarter primarily due to increased insurance costs and higher professional services fees.

Merger-related costs, which primarily consist of professional services fees and severance costs, were $0.6 million in the current quarter compared to $1.7 million in the preceding quarter.

Restructuring costs were $0.1 million in the current quarter compared to $0.9 million in the preceding quarter.

Depreciation and amortization expenses were $5.6 million lower in the current quarter primarily due to the addition of existing assets to the depreciation and amortization calculation during the preceding quarter.

During the current quarter, the Company recognized a loss of $2.9 million related to the impairment of H225 helicopter parts inventory. During the preceding quarter, the Company recognized a loss on impairment of $21.9 million, consisting of $16.0 million related to Petroleum Air Services, an unconsolidated affiliate in Egypt, and $5.9 million in connection with certain helicopters held for sale to reflect the helicopters at expected sales values.

During the current quarter, the Company sold four S-76C++ medium helicopters and two AW109 light-twin helicopters, resulting in a net gain of $0.2 million. During the preceding quarter, the Company sold two S-76D medium helicopters, one B212 medium helicopter and other equipment, resulting in a net gain of $0.5 million.

During the current quarter, the Company recognized earnings of $1.0 million from unconsolidated affiliates compared to losses of $1.5 million in the preceding quarter.

During the preceding quarter, the Company recognized a $2.0 million loss on the sale of its subsidiary in Colombia.

Other income, net of $15.3 million in the current quarter was primarily due to a bankruptcy-related legal settlement of $9.0 million, government grants to fixed wing services of $2.7 million, net foreign exchange gains of $2.2 million, insurance proceeds of $0.6 million, and a favorable interest adjustment to the Company's pension liability of $0.6 million. Other income, net of $6.2 million in the preceding quarter primarily related to insurance proceeds of $3.7 million, government grants to fixed wing services of $2.7 million and a favorable interest adjustment to the Company's pension liability of $0.7 million, partially offset by a contingency reserve of $0.6 million and net foreign exchange losses of $0.4 million.

Income tax expense was $14.5 million in the current quarter compared to an income tax benefit of $4.8 million in the preceding quarter. The income tax expense in the current quarter was primarily due to changes in the blend of earnings, the tax impact of valuation allowances on the Company's net operating losses, deductible interest expense and the tax impact of the bankruptcy-related legal settlement.

Liquidity and Capital Allocation

As of September 30, 2021, the Company had $237.0 million of unrestricted cash and $50.6 million of remaining availability under its amended asset-based revolving credit facility (the "ABL Facility") for total liquidity of $287.6 million. Borrowings under the amended ABL Facility are subject to certain conditions and requirements.

In the current quarter, purchases of property and equipment were $14.3 million, and cash proceeds from dispositions of property and equipment were $3.2 million, resulting in net (proceeds from) / purchases of property and equipment ("Net Capex") of $11.2 million. In the preceding quarter, cash proceeds from dispositions of property and equipment were $10.6 million, and purchases of property and equipment were $3.0 million, resulting in Net Capex of $(7.7) million. See Adjusted Free Cash Flow Reconciliation for a reconciliation of Net Capex and Adjusted Free Cash Flow.

In the current quarter, the Company repurchased 547,596 shares for gross consideration of $14.9 million, representing an average repurchase price of $27.24 per share.

Conference Call

Management will conduct a conference call starting at 10:00 a.m. ET (9:00 a.m. CT) on Thursday, November 4, 2021, to review the results for the fiscal second quarter ended September 30, 2021. The conference call can be accessed as follows:

All callers will need to reference the access code 4900724.

Within the U.S.: Operator Assisted Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (866) 575-6539

Outside the U.S.: Operator Assisted International Dial-In Number: (856) 344-9299

Replay

A telephone replay will be available through November 17, 2021 by dialing 888-203-1112 and utilizing the access code above. An audio replay will also be available on the Company's website at www.bristowgroup.com shortly after the call and will be accessible through November 17, 2021. The accompanying investor presentation will be available on November 4, 2021 on Bristow's website at www.bristowgroup.com .

About Bristow Group

Bristow Group Inc. is the leading global provider of innovative and sustainable vertical flight solutions. Bristow primarily provides aviation services to a broad base of major integrated, national and independent offshore energy companies. Bristow provides commercial search and rescue ("SAR") services in several countries and public sector SAR services in the United Kingdom ("U.K.") on behalf of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency ("MCA"). Additionally, the Company offers ad hoc helicopter and fixed wing transportation services.

Bristow currently has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the U.K. and the U.S.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements represent Bristow Group Inc.'s (the "Company") current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "project," or "continue," or other similar words. These statements are made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, reflect management's current views with respect to future events and therefore are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown. The Company's actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which the forward-looking statement is based that occur after the date hereof. Risks that may affect forward-looking statements include, but are not necessarily limited to, those relating to: public health crises, such as pandemics (COVID-19) and epidemics, and any related government policies and actions; expected cost synergies and other financial or other benefits of the merger ("Merger") might not be realized within the expected time frames, might be less than projected or may not be realized at all; the ability to successfully integrate the operations, accounting and administrative functions of Era Group Inc. ("Era") and the entity formerly known as Bristow Group Inc. ("Old Bristow"); managing a significantly larger company than before the completion of the Merger; diversion of management time on issues related to integration of the Company; the increase in indebtedness as a result of the Merger; operating costs, customer loss and business disruption following the Merger, including, without limitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees and customers, may be greater than expected; our reliance on a limited number of customers and the reduction of our customer base as a result of bankruptcies or consolidation; the possibility that we may be unable to maintain compliance with covenants in our financing agreements; global and regional changes in the demand, supply, prices or other market conditions affecting oil and gas, including changes resulting from a public health crisis or from the imposition or lifting of crude oil production quotas or other actions that might be imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producing countries; fluctuations in the demand for our services; the possibility that we may impair our long-lived assets and other assets, including inventory, property and equipment and investments in unconsolidated affiliates; our ability to implement operational improvement efficiencies with the objective of rightsizing our global footprint and further reducing our cost structure; the possibility of significant changes in foreign exchange rates and controls, including as a result of the U.K. having exited from the European Union ("E.U.") ("Brexit"); the impact of continued uncertainty surrounding the effects Brexit will have on the British, EU and global economies and demand for oil and natural gas; potential effects of increased competition and the introduction of energy efficient alternative modes of transportation and solutions; the risk of future material weaknesses we may identify while we work to align policies, principles, and practices of the combined company following the Merger or any other failure by us to maintain effective internal controls; the possibility that we may be unable to re-deploy our aircraft to regions with greater demand; the possibility of changes in tax and other laws and regulations and policies, including, without limitation, actions of the Biden Administration that impact oil and gas operations or favor renewable energy projects in the U.S.; the possibility that we may be unable to dispose of older aircraft through sales into the aftermarket; general economic conditions, including the capital and credit markets; the possibility that segments of our fleet may be grounded for extended periods of time or indefinitely; the existence of operating risks inherent in our business, including the possibility of declining safety performance; the possibility of political instability, war or acts of terrorism in any of the countries where we operate; the possibility that reductions in spending on aviation services by governmental agencies could lead to modifications of our search and rescue ("SAR") contract terms with the UK government, our contracts with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement ("BSEE") or delays in receiving payments under such contracts; and our reliance on a limited number of helicopter manufacturers and suppliers capabilities.. You should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our forward-looking statements are based on the information currently available to us and speak only as of the date hereof. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these matters or how they may affect us. We have included important factors in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021 (the "Annual Report") which we believe over time, could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ from the anticipated results, performance or achievements that are expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. You should consider all risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Annual Report and in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), all of which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov .

BRISTOW GROUP INC CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share amounts)



Three Months Ended

Favorable/

(Unfavorable)

September 30,

2021

June 30,

2021













Revenues:









Operating revenues $ 290,120



$ 288,351



$ 1,769

Reimbursable revenues 11,464



12,251



(787)

Total revenues 301,584



300,602



982













Costs and expenses:









Operating expenses 218,768



214,503



(4,265)

Reimbursable expenses 11,188



12,114



926

General and administrative expenses 38,970



37,483



(1,487)

Merger-related costs 647



1,735



1,088

Restructuring costs 117



851



734

Depreciation and amortization 17,644



23,195



5,551

Total costs and expenses 287,334



289,881



2,547













Loss on impairment (2,901)



(21,934)



19,033

Gain on disposal of assets 162



499



(337)

Earnings (loss) from unconsolidated affiliates, net 964



(1,517)



2,481

Operating income (loss) 12,475



(12,231)



24,706













Interest income 42



66



(24)

Interest expense (10,426)



(10,624)



198

Loss on extinguishment of debt (124)







(124)

Reorganization items, net (103)



(446)



343

Loss on sale of subsidiaries 



(2,002)



2,002

Other, net 15,330



6,184



9,146

Total other income (expense), net 4,719



(6,822)



11,541

Income (loss) before benefit (expense) for income taxes 17,194



(19,053)



36,247

Benefit (expense) for income taxes (14,484)



4,842



(19,326)

Net income (loss) 2,710



(14,211)



16,921

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests 65



14



51

Net income (loss) attributable to Bristow Group Inc $ 2,775



$ (14,197)



$ 16,972













Basic income (loss) per common share $ 0.10



$ (0.50)





Diluted income (loss) per common share $ 0.10



$ (0.50)

















Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic 28,233,527



28,669,417





Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted 28,684,660



28,669,417

















EBITDA $ 45,264



$ 14,766



$ 30,498

Adjusted EBITDA $ 44,710



$ 40,458



$ 4,252

Adjusted EBITDA excluding asset dispositions $ 44,548



$ 39,959



$ 4,589



Bristow Group Inc. Lines of Service

Beginning in fiscal year 2022, the revenues by line of service tables have been modified to more accurately reflect how management views the Company's lines of service. These changes include the addition of a Government services line of service which includes revenues from U.K. SAR, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement ("BSEE"), and other government contracts. In addition, our Other activities and services ("other" services) will now reflect revenues derived from leasing aircraft to non-governmental third party operators, oil and gas contracts that do not materially fit into one of the three major oil and gas operating regions and other services as they arise. As such, operating revenues from Asia Pacific oil and gas services are now shown under other services following the exit of that line of service in the Asia Pacific region. Prior period amounts will not match the previously reported amounts by individual lines of service. Management believes this change provides more relevant information needed to understand and analyze the Company's current lines of service.

BRISTOW GROUP INC REVENUES BY LINE OF SERVICE (unaudited, in thousands)









Three Months Ended

September 30,

2021

June 30,

2021 Oil and gas services:





Europe $ 93,420



$ 99,901

Americas 84,207



75,192

Africa 16,054



14,692

Total oil and gas services 193,681



189,785

Government services 69,742



70,443

Fixed wing services 23,501



24,556

Other services 3,196



3,567



$ 290,120



$ 288,351



FLIGHT HOURS BY LINE OF SERVICE (unaudited)









Three Months Ended

September 30,

2021

June 30,

2021 Oil and gas services:





Europe 11,189



11,833

Americas 10,376



8,777

Africa 2,258



2,078

Total oil and gas services 23,823



22,688

Government services 4,212



3,925

Fixed wing services 3,687



3,721

Other services 



9



31,722



30,343



BRISTOW GROUP INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands)

September 30,

2021

March 31,

2021 ASSETS (unaudited)



Current assets:





Cash and cash equivalents $ 239,481



$ 231,079

Accounts receivable 196,292



215,620

Inventories 87,855



92,180

Assets held for sale 5,432



14,750

Prepaid expenses and other current assets 30,419



32,119

Total current assets 559,479



585,748

Property and equipment 1,082,076



1,090,094

Accumulated depreciation (120,474)



(85,535)

Net property and equipment 961,602



1,004,559

Investment in unconsolidated affiliates 20,146



37,530

Right-of-use assets 211,878



246,667

Other assets 108,131



117,766

Total assets $ 1,861,236



$ 1,992,270









LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY





Current liabilities:





Accounts payable $ 60,081



$ 69,542

Accrued liabilities 205,862



219,613

Short-term borrowings and current maturities of long-term debt 13,180



15,965

Total current liabilities 279,123



305,120

Long-term debt, less current maturities 518,635



527,528

Deferred taxes 44,413



42,430

Long-term operating lease liabilities 139,744



167,718

Deferred credits and other liabilities 40,322



50,831

Total liabilities 1,022,237



1,093,627









Redeemable noncontrolling interests 



1,572

Stockholders' investment





Common stock 303



303

Additional paid-in capital 692,702



687,715

Retained earnings 215,589



227,011

Treasury shares, at cost (51,083)



(10,501)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss (17,901)



(6,915)

Total Bristow Group Inc. stockholders' investment 839,610



897,613

Noncontrolling interests (611)



(542)

Total stockholders' investment 838,999



897,071

Total liabilities, and stockholders' equity $ 1,861,236



$ 1,992,270



Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Metrics

The Company's management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to assess the performance and operating results of its business. EBITDA is defined as Earnings before Interest expense, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted for certain special items that occurred during the reported period, as noted below. The Company includes EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to provide investors with a supplemental measure of its operating performance. Neither EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA is a recognized term under generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. ("GAAP"). Accordingly, they should not be used as an indicator of, or an alternative to, net income as a measure of operating performance. In addition, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not intended to be measures of free cash flow available for management's discretionary use, as they do not consider certain cash requirements, such as debt service requirements. Because the definitions of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (or similar measures) may vary among companies and industries, they may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.

The following table provides a reconciliation of net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands).



Three Months Ended

September 30,

2021

June 30,

2021 Net income (loss) 2,710



(14,211)

Depreciation and amortization 17,644



23,195

Interest expense 10,426



10,624

Income tax (benefit) expense 14,484



(4,842)

EBITDA $ 45,264



$ 14,766

Special items (1) (554)



25,692

Adjusted EBITDA $ 44,710



$ 40,458

Gains on asset dispositions, net (162)



(499)

Adjusted EBITDA excluding asset dispositions $ 44,548



$ 39,959





(1) Special items include the following:



Three Months Ended

September 30,

2021

June 30,

2021 Restructuring costs $ 117



$ 851

Loss on impairment 2,901



21,934

PBH intangible amortization 3,060



2,846

Merger-related costs 647



1,735

Government grants(2) (222)



(390)

Early extinguishment of debt fees 124





Bankruptcy-related costs 103



446

Insurance-related proceeds,net 899



(3,732)

Loss on sale of subsidiaries 



2,002

Nonrecurring professional services fees 817





Bankruptcy-related settlement (9,000)







$ (554)



$ 25,692



___________________________ (2) COVID-19 related government relief grants

Adjusted Free Cash Flow Reconciliation

Free Cash Flow represents the Company's net cash provided by operating activities plus proceeds from disposition of property and equipment, less expenditures related to purchases of property and equipment. Adjusted Free Cash Flow is Free Cash Flow adjusted to exclude professional services fees and other costs paid in relation to the Merger, reorganization fresh-start accounting, the Chapter 11 Cases and government grants related to the Company's fixed wing services. Management believes that the use of Adjusted Free Cash Flow is meaningful as it measures the Company's ability to generate cash from its business after excluding cash payments for special items. Management uses this information as an analytical indicator to assess the Company's liquidity and performance. However, investors should note numerous methods may exist for calculating a company's free cash flow. As a result, the method used by management to calculate Adjusted Free Cash Flow may differ from the methods used by other companies to calculate their free cash flow.

The following table provides a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow (in thousands).



Three Months Ended

September 30,

2021

June 30,

2021 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 36,753



$ 36,441

Plus: Proceeds from disposition of property and equipment 3,188



10,621

Less: Purchases of property and equipment (14,338)



(2,968)

Free Cash Flow $ 25,603



$ 44,094

Plus: Restructuring costs 178



706

Plus: Merger-related costs 2,212



1,853

Plus: Bankruptcy-related costs 244





Less: Bankruptcy-related settlement (9,000)





Less: Government grants (161)



(343)

Adjusted Free Cash Flow $ 19,076



$ 46,310

Net (proceeds from)/purchases of property and equipment ("Net Capex") 11,150



(7,653)

Adjusted Free Cash Flow excluding Net Capex $ 30,226



$ 38,657



BRISTOW GROUP INC FLEET COUNT (unaudited)

































Number of Aircraft







Type

Owned

Aircraft

Leased

Aircraft

Aircraft

Held For

Sale

Consolidated

Aircraft

Max Pass.

Capacity

Average

Age

(years)(1) Heavy Helicopters:























S-92

36

23



59

19

12 S-92 U.K. SAR

3

7



10

19

7 H225





2

2

19

11 AW189

6

1



7

16

6 AW189 U.K. SAR

11





11

16

5



56

31

2

89









Medium Helicopters:



































AW139

52

6



58

12

10 S-76 C+/C++

17





17

12

14 S-76D

8





8

12

7 B212

2





2

12

40



79

6



85







LightTwin Engine Helicopters:























AW109

4





4

7

14 EC135

10





10

6

13



14





14







LightSingle Engine Helicopters:























AS350

17





17

4

24 AW119

13





13

7

15



30





30

































Total Helicopters

179

37

2

218





13 Fixed wing

7

7



14







UAV



2



2







Total Fleet

186

46

2

234









______________________ (1) Reflects the average age of helicopters that are owned.

The chart below presents the number of aircraft in our fleet and their distribution among the regions in which we operate as of September 30, 2021 and the percentage of operating revenue that each of our regions provided during the current quarter.





Percentage of Current Quarter Operating Revenue



























UAV

Fixed Wing







Heavy

Medium

Light Twin

Light

Single Total Europe

55 %

61

12



4

2



79 Americas

32 %

22

57

14

26





119 Asia Pacific

7 %



2







11

13 Africa

6 %

6

14







3

23 Total

100 %

89

85

14

30

2

14

234



















































SOURCE Bristow Group

Related Links

http://www.bristowgroup.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended September 30, 2021 of its fiscal year 2022. Results compared with the same period last year were as follows:

Summary Financial Results

First Quarter

Dollars in millions, except per share data

2022 2021 Change











Recurring fee revenues

$751 $650 16% Total revenues

$1,193 $1,017 17%











Operating income

103 79 31% Margin

8.7% 7.7%













Adjusted Operating income - Non-GAAP

177 151 17% Margin

14.8% 14.8%













Diluted EPS

$0.57 $0.56 2% Adjusted EPS - Non-GAAP

$1.07 $0.98 9%











Closed sales

$30 $32 (6)%



















"Broadridge reported strong first quarter results," said Tim Gokey, Broadridge's CEO. "Recurring revenues grew by 16%, propelled by revenue from new sales, continued robust governance trends, and our ongoing integration of Itiviti.

With a strong first quarter, Broadridge is on track to achieve our full-year guidance of 12-15% recurring revenue growth and 11-15% Adjusted EPS growth. We are focused on delivering sustainable, long-term growth across our governance, capital markets and wealth businesses, and we remain well-positioned to achieve the higher end of our three-year growth objectives."

Reaffirming Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Guidance

Recurring revenue growth

12-15%





Adjusted Operating income margin - Non-GAAP

~19%





Adjusted earnings per share growth - Non-GAAP

11 - 15%





Closed sales

$240 - 280M

Financial Results for First Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 compared to First Quarter Fiscal Year 2021

Total revenues increased 17% to $1,193 million from $1,017 million in the prior year period.





increased 17% to from in the prior year period. Recurring fee revenues increased 16% to $751 million from $650 million . The increase was driven by 5pts of net new business and 2pts of internal growth. Growth from acquisitions was 9pts, most notably from our Itiviti acquisition which closed in May 2021 .





from . The increase was driven by 5pts of net new business and 2pts of internal growth. Growth from acquisitions was 9pts, most notably from our Itiviti acquisition which closed in .

Event-driven fee revenues increased $31 million , or 69%, to $76 million , primarily due to increased mutual fund proxy activity.





, or 69%, to , primarily due to increased mutual fund proxy activity.

Distribution revenues increased $36 million , or 11%, to $367 million , driven by an increase in customer communications mailings and event-driven activity.





, or 11%, to , driven by an increase in customer communications mailings and event-driven activity. Operating income was $103 million , an increase of $25 million , or 31%. Operating income margin increased to 8.7%, compared to 7.7% for the prior year period due to growth in recurring and event-driven revenues and the absence of the real estate realignment charge that occurred in the prior year period, which more than offset higher amortization expense from acquired intangible assets and other spending.





was , an increase of , or 31%. Operating income margin increased to 8.7%, compared to 7.7% for the prior year period due to growth in recurring and event-driven revenues and the absence of the real estate realignment charge that occurred in the prior year period, which more than offset higher amortization expense from acquired intangible assets and other spending. Adjusted Operating income was $177 million , an increase of $26 million , or 17%. The increase was driven by higher recurring revenues, including from the acquisition of Itiviti, and event-driven revenues, partially offset by growth investments and other spending. Adjusted Operating income margin was flat at 14.8%.





, an increase of , or 17%. The increase was driven by higher recurring revenues, including from the acquisition of Itiviti, and event-driven revenues, partially offset by growth investments and other spending. Adjusted Operating income margin was flat at 14.8%. Interest expense, net was $23 million , an increase of $8 million , driven by higher average debt outstanding.





was , an increase of , driven by higher average debt outstanding. The effective tax rate was 14.1% compared to 10.6% in the prior year period. The increase in the effective tax rate was driven by lower total discrete tax items.





was 14.1% compared to 10.6% in the prior year period. The increase in the effective tax rate was driven by lower total discrete tax items. Net earnings increased 2% to $67 million and Adjusted Net earnings increased 10% to $126 million .





increased 2% to and Adjusted Net earnings increased 10% to . Diluted earnings per share increased 2% to $0.57 , compared to $0.56 in the prior year period and Adjusted earnings per share increased 9% to $1.07 , compared to $0.98 in the prior year period.

Segment and Other Results for First Quarter Fiscal Year 2022 compared to First Quarter Fiscal Year 2021

Investor Communication Solutions ("ICS")

ICS total revenues were $854 million , an increase of $108 million , or 14%.





, an increase of , or 14%. Recurring fee revenues increased $41 million , or 11%, to $410 million . The increase was attributable to 6pts of revenue from net new business and 5pts of revenue from internal growth. Internal growth benefited from higher volumes of mutual fund and exchange-traded fund communications and equity proxies.





, or 11%, to . The increase was attributable to 6pts of revenue from net new business and 5pts of revenue from internal growth. Internal growth benefited from higher volumes of mutual fund and exchange-traded fund communications and equity proxies.

Event-driven fee revenues increased $31 million , or 69%, to $76 million , primarily due to increased mutual fund proxy activity.





, or 69%, to , primarily due to increased mutual fund proxy activity.

Distribution revenues increased $36 million , or 11%, to $367 million primarily from an increase in customer communication mailings and event-driven activity.





, or 11%, to primarily from an increase in customer communication mailings and event-driven activity. ICS earnings before income taxes were $82 million , an increase of $30 million , or 57%. The earnings increase was due to an increase in Recurring fee revenues and Event-driven fee revenues. Pre-tax margins increased to 9.7% from 7.0%. Amortization expense from acquired intangibles decreased to $21 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 from $22 million in the prior period.

Global Technology and Operations ("GTO")





GTO Recurring fee revenues were $341 million , an increase of $60 million , or 21%, driven primarily by 20pts of growth from recent acquisitions including 19pts from the Itiviti acquisition.





, an increase of , or 21%, driven primarily by 20pts of growth from recent acquisitions including 19pts from the Itiviti acquisition. GTO earnings before income taxes were $19 million , a decrease of $51 million , or 73%. The earnings decrease was due to increased amortization of acquired intangibles and increased expenditures to implement and support new business. Pre-tax margins decreased to 5.5% from 24.9%. Amortization expense from acquired intangibles increased to $48 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 from $11 million in the prior year period primarily as a result of the Itiviti acquisition.

Other

Other loss before income tax improved to $22 million from $46 million in the prior year period, primarily due to the absence of the $29 million real estate realignment charge that occurred in the prior year period, partially offset by higher interest expense due to an increase in average debt outstanding.

Change in Foreign Exchange Rates

Beginning with the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, the Company revised the foreign exchange rates used to present segment revenues, segment earnings (loss) before income taxes, and Closed sales, in order to further allocate the foreign exchange impact to the individual segment revenue and profit metrics. The presentation of segment revenues, earnings (loss) before income taxes, and Closed sales for the prior periods provided has been changed to conform to the current period presentation. Total consolidated revenues and earnings before income taxes were not impacted. For additional information, please see the Company's Form 8-K filed on September 27, 2021.

First Quarter 2022 Acquisitions

During the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, Broadridge completed the acquisitions of the assets of Jordan & Jordan, as well as the approximately 68% of Alpha Omega that Broadridge did not already own. Both acquisitions are reported in Broadridge's GTO segment.

The acquisition of the Jordan & Jordan assets will enable Broadridge to further extend its strategic regulatory reporting capabilities as well as add compliance and regulatory reporting consulting capabilities. The Alpha Omega acquisition will enable Broadridge to fully consolidate Alpha Omega's post-trade matching and consolidation solution into its existing NYFIX connectivity and FIX infrastructure to better automate buy-side and sell-side firms' trade matching processes.

Earnings Conference Call

An analyst conference call will be held today, November 3, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. ET. A live webcast of the call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis. To listen to the live event and access the slide presentation, visit Broadridge's Investor Relations website at www.broadridge-ir.com prior to the start of the webcast. To listen to the call, investors may also dial 1-877-328-2502 within the United States and international callers may dial 1-412-317-5419.

A replay of the webcast will be available and can be accessed in the same manner as the live webcast at the Broadridge Investor Relations site. Through November 10, 2021, the recording will also be available by dialing 1-877-344-7529 within the United States or 1-412-317-0088 for international callers, using passcode 10161306 for either dial-in number.

Explanation and Reconciliation of the Company's Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company's results in this press release are presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP except where otherwise noted. In certain circumstances, results have been presented that are not generally accepted accounting principles measures ("Non-GAAP"). These Non-GAAP measures are Adjusted Operating income, Adjusted Operating income margin, Adjusted Net earnings, Adjusted earnings per share, and Free cash flow. These Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the Company's reported results.

The Company believes our Non-GAAP financial measures help investors understand how management plans, measures and evaluates the Company's business performance. Management believes that Non-GAAP measures provide consistency in its financial reporting and facilitates investors' understanding of the Company's operating results and trends by providing an additional basis for comparison. Management uses these Non-GAAP financial measures to, among other things, evaluate our ongoing operations, and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. In addition, and as a consequence of the importance of these Non-GAAP financial measures in managing our business, the Company's Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors incorporates Non-GAAP financial measures in the evaluation process for determining management compensation.

Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Earnings Per Share

These Non-GAAP measures reflect Operating income, Operating income margin, Net earnings, and Diluted earnings per share, each as adjusted to exclude the impact of certain costs, expenses, gains and losses and other specified items the exclusion of which management believes provide insight regarding our ongoing operating performance. Depending on the period presented, these adjusted measures exclude the impact of certain of the following items: (i) Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property, (ii) Acquisition and Integration Costs, (iii) Real Estate Realignment and Covid-19 Related Expenses, (iv) Investment Gain, and (v) Software Charge. Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property represents non-cash amortization expenses associated with the Company's acquisition activities. Acquisition and Integration Costs represent certain transaction and integration costs associated with the Company's acquisition activities. Real Estate Realignment and Covid-19 Related Expenses represent costs associated with the Company's real estate realignment initiative, including lease exit and impairment charges and other facility exit costs, as well as certain expenses associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. Investment Gain represents a non-operating, non-cash gain on a privately held investment. Software Charge represents a charge related to an internal use software product that is no longer expected to be used.

We exclude Acquisition and Integration Costs, Real Estate Realignment and Covid-19 Related Expenses, the Investment Gain, and the Software Charge from our Adjusted Operating income (as applicable) and other adjusted earnings measures because excluding such information provides us with an understanding of the results from the primary operations of our business and enhances comparability across fiscal reporting periods, as these items are not reflective of our underlying operations or performance. We also exclude the impact of Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property, as these non-cash amounts are significantly impacted by the timing and size of individual acquisitions and do not factor into the Company's capital allocation decisions, management compensation metrics or multi-year objectives. Furthermore, management believes that this adjustment enables better comparison of our results as Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property will not recur in future periods once such intangible assets have been fully amortized. Although we exclude Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property from our adjusted earnings measures, our management believes that it is important for investors to understand that these intangible assets contribute to revenue generation. Amortization of intangible assets that relate to past acquisitions will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized. Any future acquisitions may result in the amortization of additional intangible assets.

Free Cash Flow

In addition to the Non-GAAP financial measures discussed above, we provide Free cash flow information because we consider Free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated that could be used for dividends, share repurchases, strategic acquisitions, other investments, as well as debt servicing. Free cash flow is a Non-GAAP financial measure and is defined by the Company as Net cash flows provided by operating activities plus Proceeds from asset sales, less Capital expenditures as well as Software purchases and capitalized internal use software.

Reconciliations of such Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP can be found in the tables that are part of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and other written or oral statements made from time to time by representatives of Broadridge may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical in nature, and which may be identified by the use of words such as "expects," "assumes," "projects," "anticipates," "estimates," "we believe," "could be" and other words of similar meaning, are forward-looking statements. In particular, information appearing in the "Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Guidance" section and statements about our three-year objectives are forward-looking statements.

These statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed. These risks and uncertainties include those risk factors described and discussed in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2021 (the "2021 Annual Report"), as they may be updated in any future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed in the 2021 Annual Report.

These risks include:

the potential impact and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic ("Covid-19") on the business of Broadridge, Broadridge's results of operations and financial performance, any measures Broadridge has and may take in response to Covid-19 and any expectations Broadridge may have with respect thereto;





the success of Broadridge in retaining and selling additional services to its existing clients and in obtaining new clients;





Broadridge's reliance on a relatively small number of clients, the continued financial health of those clients, and the continued use by such clients of Broadridge's services with favorable pricing terms;





a material security breach or cybersecurity attack affecting the information of Broadridge's clients;





changes in laws and regulations affecting Broadridge's clients or the services provided by Broadridge;





declines in participation and activity in the securities markets;





the failure of Broadridge's key service providers to provide the anticipated levels of service;





a disaster or other significant slowdown or failure of Broadridge's systems or error in the performance of Broadridge's services;





overall market and economic conditions and their impact on the securities markets;





Broadridge's failure to keep pace with changes in technology and demands of its clients;





Broadridge's ability to attract and retain key personnel;





the impact of new acquisitions and divestitures; and





competitive conditions.

Broadridge disclaims any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, other than as required by law.

About Broadridge

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader with $5 billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that powers investing, corporate governance and communications to enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven solutions to banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and public companies. Broadridge's infrastructure serves as a global communications hub enabling corporate governance by linking thousands of public companies and mutual funds to tens of millions of individual and institutional investors around the world. In addition, Broadridge's technology and operations platforms underpin the daily trading of on average more than U.S. $9 trillion of equities, fixed income and other securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work, Broadridge is a part of the S&P 500 Index, employing over 13,000 associates in 21 countries. For more information about Broadridge, please visit www.broadridge.com .

Contact Information





Investors:

W. Edings Thibault Sean Silva (516) 472-5129 (332) 213-6371



Media:

Gregg Rosenberg

(212) 918-6966



Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings

(Unaudited)

In millions, except per share amounts



Three Months Ended September 30,





2021

2020 Revenues



$ 1,192.9



$ 1,017.4

Operating expenses:









Cost of revenues



914.1



787.1

Selling, general and administrative expenses



175.5



151.7

Total operating expenses



1,089.6



938.8

Operating income



103.3



78.6

Interest expense, net



(22.6)



(14.4)

Other non-operating income (expenses), net



(2.4)



9.5

Earnings before income taxes



78.2



73.6

Provision for income taxes



11.0



7.8

Net earnings



$ 67.2



$ 65.8













Basic earnings per share



$ 0.58



$ 0.57

Diluted earnings per share



$ 0.57



$ 0.56













Weighted-average shares outstanding:









Basic



116.2



115.3

Diluted



118.3



117.4



Amounts may not sum due to rounding.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)

In millions, except per share amounts



September 30,

2021

June 30,

2021 Assets









Current assets:









Cash and cash equivalents



$ 316.7



$ 274.5

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $6.4 and $9.3, respectively



730.0



820.3

Other current assets



164.4



166.4

Total current assets



1,211.1



1,261.3

Property, plant and equipment, net



167.2



177.2

Goodwill



3,677.3



3,720.1

Intangible assets, net



1,346.2



1,425.0

Deferred client conversion and start-up costs



870.8



773.7

Other non-current assets



755.7



762.5

Total assets



$ 8,028.4



$ 8,119.8

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity









Current liabilities:









Payables and accrued expenses



$ 790.1



$ 1,102.7

Contract liabilities



176.7



185.3

Total current liabilities



966.8



1,288.0

Long-term debt



4,165.9



3,887.6

Deferred taxes



392.7



400.7

Contract liabilities



199.9



197.2

Other non-current liabilities



549.2



537.2

Total liabilities



6,274.5



6,310.6

Commitments and contingencies









Stockholders' equity:









Preferred stock: Authorized, 25.0 shares; issued and outstanding, none









Common stock, $0.01 par value: Authorized, 650.0 shares; issued, 154.5 and 154.5 shares, respectively; outstanding, 116.3 and 116.1 shares, respectively



1.6



1.6

Additional paid-in capital



1,263.6



1,245.5

Retained earnings



2,576.6



2,583.8

Treasury stock, at cost: 38.1 and 38.3 shares, respectively



(2,027.0)



(2,030.9)

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)



(60.9)



9.2

Total stockholders' equity



1,753.8



1,809.1

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity



$ 8,028.4



$ 8,119.8



Amounts may not sum due to rounding.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)

In millions Three Months Ended

September 30,

2021

2020 Cash Flows From Operating Activities





Net earnings $ 67.2



$ 65.8

Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash flows used in operating activities:





Depreciation and amortization 20.4



15.4

Amortization of acquired intangibles and purchased intellectual property 68.7



32.3

Amortization of other assets 30.9



26.3

Write-down of long-lived assets and related charges 



31.7

Stock-based compensation expense 13.6



10.4

Deferred income taxes (3.0)



4.7

Other 0.9



(16.1)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of assets and liabilities acquired:





Current assets and liabilities:





Decrease in Accounts receivable, net 96.6



101.1

Decrease (increase) in Other current assets 1.6



(22.2)

Decrease in Payables and accrued expenses (324.7)



(220.6)

Decrease in Contract liabilities (5.8)



(1.6)

Non-current assets and liabilities:





Increase in Other non-current assets (119.8)



(94.6)

Increase in Other non-current liabilities 18.1



23.2

Net cash flows used in operating activities (135.4)



(44.2)

Cash Flows From Investing Activities





Capital expenditures (5.7)



(14.3)

Software purchases and capitalized internal use software (10.2)



(9.7)

Proceeds from asset sales 



18.0

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired (13.3)





Other investing activities (7.1)



(2.7)

Net cash flows used in investing activities (36.4)



(8.7)

Cash Flows From Financing Activities





Debt proceeds 380.0



530.0

Debt repayments (100.0)



(550.0)

Dividends paid (66.8)



(62.2)

Purchases of Treasury stock 



(0.8)

Proceeds from exercise of stock options 8.7



21.1

Other financing activities (4.9)



(10.9)

Net cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities 217.0



(72.7)

Effect of exchange rate changes on Cash and cash equivalents (3.1)



5.5

Net change in Cash and cash equivalents 42.2



(120.0)

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 274.5



476.6

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 316.7



$ 356.6



Amounts may not sum due to rounding.

Segment Results (Unaudited)

In millions Three Months Ended September 30,

2021

2020 Revenues

Investor Communication Solutions $ 853.5



$ 745.6

Global Technology and Operations 340.6



280.4

Foreign currency exchange (1.2)



(8.6)

Total $ 1,192.9



$ 1,017.4

Earnings (Loss) before Income Taxes

Investor Communication Solutions $ 82.4



$ 52.4

Global Technology and Operations 18.7



69.9

Other (21.5)



(45.9)

Foreign currency exchange (1.4)



(2.8)

Total $ 78.2



$ 73.6









Pre-tax margins:





Investor Communication Solutions 9.7 %

7.0 % Global Technology and Operations 5.5 %

24.9 %















Amortization of acquired intangibles and purchased intellectual property





Investor Communication Solutions $ 20.9



$ 22.2

Global Technology and Operations 48.4



10.7

Other 



0.4

Foreign currency exchange (0.6)



(1.0)

Total $ 68.7



$ 32.3



Amounts may not sum due to rounding.

Supplemental Reporting Detail - Additional Product Line Reporting (Unaudited)

In millions Three Months Ended September 30,

2021

2020

% Change Investor Communication Solutions









Regulatory $ 165.5



$ 134.8



23 % Data-driven fund solutions 83.3



79.0



5 % Issuer 20.6



17.7



16 % Customer communications 140.9



137.7



2 % Total ICS Recurring fee revenues 410.3



369.2



11 %











Equity and other 27.6



18.1



52 % Mutual funds 48.8



27.1



80 % Total ICS Event-driven fee revenues 76.3



45.2



69 %











Distribution revenues 366.9



331.2



11 %











Total ICS Revenues $ 853.5



$ 745.6



14 %











Global Technology and Operations









Capital markets $ 209.4



$ 156.3



34 % Wealth and investment management 131.2



124.1



6 % Total GTO Recurring fee revenues 340.6



280.4



21 %











Foreign currency exchange (1.2)



(8.6)



(86) %











Total Revenues $ 1,192.9



$ 1,017.4



17 %











Revenues by Type









Recurring fee revenues $ 750.8



$ 649.6



16 % Event-driven fee revenues 76.3



45.2



69 % Distribution revenues 366.9



331.2



11 % Foreign currency exchange (1.2)



(8.6)



(86) % Total Revenues $ 1,192.9



$ 1,017.4



17 %

Amounts may not sum due to rounding.

Select Operating Metrics (Unaudited)



Three Months Ended September 30,



In millions 2021

2020

% Change











Closed sales1 $29.8

$31.8

(6) %











Record Growth 2









Equity proxy 39%

16%



Mutual fund interims 9%

6%















Internal Trade Growth3 2%

12%















Amounts may not sum due to rounding.





















1Refer to the "Results of Operations" section of Broadridge's Form 10-Q for a description of Closed sales and its calculation.











2Stock record growth and interim record growth measure the estimated annual change in total positions eligible for equity proxy materials and mutual fund and exchange-traded fund interim communications, respectively, for equities and mutual fund position data reported to Broadridge in both the current and prior year periods.











3Internal trade growth represents the estimated change in trade volumes for clients whose contracts are linked to trade volumes and who were on Broadridge's trading platforms in both the current and prior year periods.













Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Measures (Unaudited)

In millions, except per share amounts Three Months Ended September 30,

2021

2020 Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income

Operating income (GAAP) $ 103.3



$ 78.6

Adjustments:

Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property 68.7



32.3

Acquisition and Integration Costs 2.9



1.7

Real Estate Realignment and Covid-19 Related Expenses 1.8



31.9

Software Charge 



6.0

Adjusted Operating income (Non-GAAP) $ 176.7



$ 150.6

Operating income margin (GAAP) 8.7 %

7.7 % Adjusted Operating income margin (Non-GAAP) 14.8 %

14.8 %



Reconciliation of Adjusted Net earnings

Net earnings (GAAP) $ 67.2



$ 65.8

Adjustments:





Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property 68.7



32.3

Acquisition and Integration Costs 2.9



1.7

Real Estate Realignment and Covid-19 Related Expenses 1.8



31.9

Investment Gain 



(8.7)

Software Charge 



6.0

Subtotal of adjustments 73.4



63.3

Tax impact of adjustments (a) (14.4)



(14.6)

Adjusted Net earnings (Non-GAAP) $ 126.3



$ 114.5









Reconciliation of Adjusted EPS





Diluted earnings per share (GAAP) $ 0.57



$ 0.56

Adjustments:





Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property 0.58



0.28

Acquisition and Integration Costs 0.02



0.01

Real Estate Realignment and Covid-19 Related Expenses 0.02



0.27

Investment Gain 



(0.07)

Software Charge 



0.05

Subtotal of adjustments 0.62



0.54

Tax impact of adjustments (a) (0.12)



(0.12)

Adjusted earnings per share (Non-GAAP) $ 1.07



$ 0.98



(a) Calculated using the GAAP effective tax rate, adjusted to exclude excess tax benefits associated with stock-based compensation of $4.3 million and $9.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. For purposes of calculating the Adjusted earnings per share, the same adjustments were made on a per share basis.



Three Months Ended September 30,

2021

2020 Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow

Net cash flows used in operating activities (GAAP) $ (135.4)



$ (44.2)

Capital expenditures and Software purchases and capitalized internal use software (15.9)



(23.9)

Proceeds from asset sales 



18.0

Free cash flow (Non-GAAP) $ (151.4)



$ (50.2)



Amounts may not sum due to rounding.

Fiscal Year 2022 Guidance Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Measures Adjusted Earnings Per Share Growth and Adjusted Operating Income Margin (Unaudited)

FY22 Adjusted Earnings Per Share Growth Rate (a)



Diluted earnings per share - GAAP

(5) - 0% growth Adjusted earnings per share - Non-GAAP

11 - 15% growth





FY22 Adjusted Operating Income Margin (b)



Operating income margin % - GAAP

~14% Adjusted Operating income margin % - Non-GAAP

~19%

(a) Adjusted earnings per share growth (Non-GAAP) is adjusted to exclude the projected impact of Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property, Acquisition and Integration Costs, and Real Estate Realignment and Covid-19 Related Expenses, and is calculated using diluted shares outstanding. Fiscal year 2022 Non-GAAP Adjusted earnings per share guidance estimates exclude, net of taxes, approximately $1.85 per share.

(b) Adjusted Operating income margin (Non-GAAP) is adjusted to exclude the projected impact of Amortization of Acquired Intangibles and Purchased Intellectual Property, Acquisition and Integration Costs, and Real Estate Realignment and Covid-19 Related Expenses. Fiscal year 2022 Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating income margin guidance estimates excludes approximately $280 million.

SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.broadridge.com


DETROIT, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has named Camille Walker Banks, a lifelong Detroiter and seasoned economic development leader, as the new executive director of LISC Detroit.

Banks will lead the organization's $15-$20 million in annual community investments to fuel affordable housing, economic development, health, education, safety and jobs in underserved communities. LISC has been particularly engaged in efforts focused on racial equity, both in Detroit and nationally, as well as in supporting pandemic relief efforts for small businesses, housing providers and community-based nonprofits.

Banks replaces Tahirih Ziegler, who spent more than a decade as executive director and helped lead LISC's growth in Detroit to $296 million in total grants, loans and equity investments since 1990. Ziegler has been promoted to Midwest vice president to help steer a cohort of LISC program offices throughout the region.

"LISC Detroit is one of LISC's oldest and most dynamic program offices," said Lisa Glover, interim LISC president and CEO. "We are fortunate to not only have Tahirih's thoughtful and experienced guidance for LISC local programs offices across the heartland, but to also have the benefit of Camille's tremendous experience to energize commercial revitalization and catalyze new opportunities for residents," she said.

Banks most recently served as a regional executive director for NPower, leading the expansion of the Brooklyn-based anti-poverty organization into Michigan. She also served as executive director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Wayne State University and was a senior manager at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Earlier, she was economic development supervisor for the City of Madison Heights; brand marketing manager at FCA America; and engagement management team leader for KPMG, LLP.

"Thoughtful place-based strategies can lay the foundation for better housing, education, health, safety and jobs throughout our city, especially when they are designed with, and respond to, the people who live, work and own businesses in our communities," said Banks.

She pointed to LISC's long history of partnership with a wide range of Detroit organizations, from local nonprofits and city agencies to philanthropy, business leaders and investors. "When it comes to bridging gaps in health, wealth and opportunity for Detroiters, we need both urgency and patienceurgency to drive creative approaches and responsive partnerships, and patience to leverage early gains so we can sustain progress and growth for many years to come. In other words, LISC is in it for the long-haul, and I'm so proud to help lead this work."

In addition to her professional success, Banks has contributed her time to a variety of local organizations, including serving as chair of the BUILD Institute board of directors and as a board member for One Detroit Credit Union and the National Association of Women Business Owners (Greater Detroit). She served as committee chair for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and a member of the Michigan Economic Development Association.

Banks has a BS in business administration and a master's degree in urban and regional planning from Wayne State University.

"Camille has shown, throughout her career, that she believes in a Detroit where everyone has the chance to succeed, no matter where they live or where they come from," said Ziegler. "She has a proven track record of success in building consensus, raising impact-focused capital, developing local leaders and managing community relationships. We are so glad she has brought her talent to LISC and to the communities across the city where we work."

Banks can be reached at [email protected] .

About LISC

With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America  great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1979, LISC has invested $24 billion to build or rehab more than 436,320 affordable homes and apartments and develop 74.4 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. For more, visit www.lisc.org.

SOURCE Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)

Related Links

http://www.lisc.org


COLUMBIA, Md., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Classic Brands ("Classic" or the "Company"), a leading designer, distributor and manufacturer of sleep products, sleep accessories and furniture, is proud to celebrate its 50th year as a visionary player in the U.S. bedding industry.

Fifty years ago, the Company surfed the 70's waterbed wave under the name Classic Corporation, and would soon become one of the top producers of waterbed mattresses. By 1987, waterbeds accounted for over 22% of all US mattress salesbut even when this trend dried out, Classic adapted to offer a diverse array of mattresses, adjustable bases and foundations, sleep accessories and home furnishings.

Today, Classic Brands continues to curate comfort on a national scale. The Company operates more than one million square feet of distribution space with over 120 dedicated employees designing, producing and distributing premium bedding products to a diverse group of customersincluding direct-to-consumer brands, brick-and-mortar operations, and online retailers. Classic works with retail icons such as Walmart, Target, Macy's, Home Depot, Amazon, and Wayfair, and the Company's high-quality sleep products are also featured among emerging American e-commerce brands, such as Nectar and Purple. Thanks to the skilled craftsmen at work on the ground level, Classic is confident in a future as firm and comfortable as its products.

"It is an honor to lead an organization that embodies the best traits of American manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and perseverance," said Scott Burger, who has been CEO of Classic Brands since 2019. "Our 50th anniversary is a testament to the commitment and dedication of our past and present employees, as well as our continued focus on innovation and service. I am incredibly proud of the team's hard work, and all that they have accomplished. I want to thank the Classic family, as well as our valued customers and strategic partners, without whom this significant milestone would not have been possible."

Classic has been proudly based in Maryland for the last five decades. While its roots haven't changed, the Company embraces evolution: Classic's product development and supply chain are constantly advancing to deliver world-class execution, consistent product availability, and unparalleled speed to market. From its home base in the Free State, the Company maintains loyal, well-rested customers across the countryall while attracting new customers seeking a deeper, healthier night's sleep at a competitive price.

"We're not just celebrating an impressive past; we're looking forward to a promising future," added Burger. "With our dedicated employee base and expanded domestic capabilities, we are well-positioned to continue our forward momentum in this dynamic industry. I could not be more excited about the next 50 years of Classic. We are, and will continue to be, built for dreaming."

For more information about Classic Brands, please visit www.ClassicBrands.com .

ABOUT CLASSIC BRANDS

Founded in 1971, Classic Brands is a leading designer, distributor and manufacturer of sleep products, sleep accessories and furniture, with a focus on the finest quality mattresses. Classic Brands is constantly seeking to deliver quality and comfort at an affordable price. The company uses the finest materials from around the world, including all-natural and high-performance covers, Talalay and Dunlop latex, memory foam, gel-infused memory foam, innerspring and wrapped coil hybrids. Classic Brands' sleep systems are designed to help achieve the maximum benefit from each night of sleep. For more information, visit www.ClassicBrands.com.

CONTACT

Gaffney Bennett

[email protected]





SOURCE Classic Brands
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Code for Americathe leading nonprofit organization that works in partnership with government and community organizations to support the delivery of equitable, accessible digital tools and servicestoday announced that it is launching a new initiative to transform America's social safety net and advance the equitable delivery of government services.

Supported by funding from Blue Meridian Partners, the cornerstone of this multi-year effort is direct engagement and partnership with government agencies and community organizations to reimagine the delivery of essential safety net benefitssuch as food assistance and medical carethat promote the health and wellbeing of children, adults, and seniors.

Representatives from interested state governments and community organizations can sign up to receive additional information as it becomes available including a soon-to-be-released Request for Information ( codeforamerica.org/safetynetpartner ).

"Code for America has a vision for a modern safety net that is equitable and easy for people to use," said Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America. "But following years of neglect and direct attacks, our systems are badly frayed. So today, we're launching a new initiative to transform our safety net, make sure that it is people-centered, and is accessible to allespecially by those who have been historically marginalized. We look forward to working in partnership with state governments and community organizations to catalyze change across the nation."

"Nearly $60 billion in government benefits go unclaimed each year by people who are eligible. Code for America is leading a groundbreaking effort to work together with government to design and build a modern, digital safety net," said Nancy Roob, CEO, Blue Meridian Partners. "This important work will reduce barriers to essential benefits that can help millions of individuals and families move up the economic ladder and change the lives of generations to come."

This new initiative will work with state agencies by matching their needs with the most promising opportunities to reduce barriers and design human-centered, modern solutions for access to the safety net.

This initiative will build on Code for America's experience working in partnership with states and community-based organizations to:

Improve federal nutrition assistance service delivery by closing the SNAP participation gap and addressing unnecessary barriers to getting and keeping benefits.

Increase WIC participation by expanding the use of accessible, modular digital services that meet the needs of the families and the community agencies that directly serve them.

Focus on developing single, integrated benefits applications that save time and make it easier to sign up for all the benefits an individual or family is eligible for  requiring users to only tell their story once.

As part of this effort, Code for America is building a more robust research and policy implementation department that will share tech tools and best practices and publish use cases and lessons learned to inform and influence permanent changes to the delivery of safety net benefits.

This investment is seeding the first major nationwide plan by a civic tech organization to reimagine our safety net in partnership with governments across the country.

About Code for America

Established in 2009, Code for America is a technology nonprofit that believes that government can work for the people, by the people, in the digital age. We use insights and ideas from real people to guide us to real solutions that break down barriers to meet community needs and improve government in meaningful ways. Learn more at codeforamerica.org .

Contact:

Scott Gerber

[email protected]

SOURCE Code for America
Expansion of Canadian footprint continues in response to demand for cloud edge connectivity with addition of fourth Vancouver data center

DENVER, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cologix, North America's leading network-neutral interconnection and hyperscale edge data center company, today announced completion of its purchase of the interconnection facility located at 175 West Cordova in the Gastown District of Vancouver, with 68K square feet of capacity in the heart of downtown. The facility, now renamed VAN4, will offer 4 MW of colocation capacity across 4 floors.

VAN4 - New international gateway to connect Vancouver companies to their clients and suppliers across the APAC region. Tweet this Gastown, Vancouver, Canada. Home to Cologix's new VAN4 data center, Canada's gateway to AsiaPacific

"175 West Cordova is already the most strategically connected building in Vancouver, home to several international and trans Canadian long-haul networks with strong pre-leasing activity for additional transpacific carriers and new hyperscale edge deployments," said Cologix's CEO Bill Fathers. "As we have invested in dark fiber capacity linking our other 3 Vancouver data centers, VAN1-3, we will similarly invest to tie in VAN4."

This linkage enables clients to access over 200 carriers, cloud onramps from Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute and Amazon Web Services Direct Connect, and our Cologix Access Marketplace from any of our facilities.

Investing in Vancouver's Future



As the vast majority of North American terrestrial fiber networks connect through western Canada into Vancouver, the City of Vancouver is rapidly becoming a world leading data networking and cloud services hub, on the level of such connection-dense West Coast cities as San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

"Vancouver is a fast growing and digitally progressive market; digital media, financial services and technology companies are embracing the cloud as part of their digital transformation. VAN4 is a new international gateway that will connect Vancouver based companies to their clients and suppliers across the Asia-Pacific region," said Laura Ortman, Cologix's President and Chief Revenue Officer.

Cologix is committed to Vancouver as a crucial market enabling Canada's digital transformation. In 2020 Cologix tripled capacity in Vancouver with VAN3, a 5 MW, 42K square foot facility located at 2828 Natal Street and now continues its investment with the addition of VAN4.

Fiber Connections that Connect the World

Vancouver is considered a prime growth location for high density interconnection, where many of the world's critical fiber networks already meet, connect, and extend across North America.

VAN4 serves as a key interconnection hub for critical networking infrastructure, including the primary Seattle to Vancouver terrestrial long haul fiber route and the Rogers long haul fiber network, as well as the future hub for Cascadia Gateway. Ken Thorpe, CEO and Founder of Cascadia Gateway said, "We at Cascadia Gateway are very pleased to be working closely with Cologix at 175 West Cordova as part of our Vancouver/Seattle Cascadia Fibre Network. We applaud Cologix for their commitment to Vancouver and the enablement of this Asia-Pacific gateway."

With all major Canadian telecommunications providers already colocated at VAN4, Cologix has grown its capabilities to provide customers with enhanced networking and connectivity options, enabling them to reach more customers with expanded network access quickly and with scale.

Key Highlights:

Cologix now offers 110K+ square feet of data center space in Vancouver

VAN4 is a highly scalable colocation facility located 2 blocks from VAN1

Provides diverse connectivity options with all major Canadian networks in the facility, including Bell Canada , Rogers, Shaw, Telus and Zayo

, Rogers, Shaw, Telus and Zayo Reliable, energy efficient systems with 100% uptime guarantee and built-in redundancy

Robust dark fiber ring creates connected campus across VAN1-3, with plans to expand campus to include VAN4

Cologix hosts 75% of Canada's direct cloud onramps at our data centers, including three in Vancouver with Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute and Amazon Web Services

with Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute and Amazon Web Services Cologix provides access to all major public cloud providers and networks via Cologix Access Marketplace for on-demand, virtual connectivity to onramps

Cologix Vancouver provides connectivity to 50+ unique networks as well as direct access to the Vancouver Internet Exchange, VANIX, at VAN1-3 with plans to support it at VAN4

As the interconnection leader in Canada, Cologix has invested CAD $500+ million over three years to grow its Canadian platform, including building and expanding cloud gateways with directly adjacent or annex peering hubs and hyperscale edge facilities, enabling dark fiber connectivity, and developing 13 cloud onramps to access hyperscale cloud providers directly and privately  all built upon the most robust interconnection infrastructure in the country. Cologix's Canadian interconnection footprint includes 20 data centers.

About Cologix Inc.

Cologix provides carrier and cloud neutral hyperscale edge data centers and services across North America. Cologix is the interconnection hub for cloud service providers, carriers and a rich ecosystem of partners who want to deploy applications at the very edge across Canada and the U.S. With a growing portfolio of next generation facilities that meet the unique requirements for hyperscale growth with deep connectivity, Cologix offers massive scale and tailor-made data center solutions to accelerate customers' digital transformation. For on-demand connectivity for scale and control, Cologix Access Marketplace provides fast, reliable, self-service provisioning. For a tour of one of our data centers in Ashburn, Columbus, Dallas, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Minneapolis, Montreal, New Jersey, Silicon Valley, Toronto or Vancouver visit www.cologix.com or email [email protected]. Follow Cologix on LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE Cologix Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cologix.com


OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

 $369.3 MM Net Income; $1.01 per Diluted Share ($437.2 MM Adjusted Net Income; $1.20 per Adjusted Share (Non-GAAP)) in 3Q21

 $1.0 B Cash Flow from Operations & Company Record $669 MM Free Cash Flow (Non-GAAP) in 3Q21

 $3.9 B Projected Full-Year 2021 Cash Flow from Operations & $2.6 B Projected Full-Year 2021 Free Cash Flow (FCF) (Non-GAAP) at Current Strip Prices1 (~14% FCF Yield2 (Non-GAAP))

 Highly Accretive Expansion into Permian Basin; Immediately Additive to FCF Capacity

o Adds up to 2% to Projected Return on Capital Employed3 (ROCE) on an Annual Basis4

o Over 650 Gross Operated Locations in Third Bone Spring/Wolfcamp A & B; Over 1,000 Total Locations, Including Additional Zones Producing in the Basin

o 92 K Contiguous Net Leasehold Acres & 50 K Net Royalty Acres5; Extensive Owned Water Infrastructure

o PDP6 Represents ~75% of Transaction Price; ~55 MBoepd (~70% Oil)

 Accelerating Commitment to Shareholder Capital & Corporate Returns

o $0.05 Increase to Quarterly Dividend to $0.20 per Share; Approximately 1.6% Annualized Dividend Yield7

o $65 MM Share Repurchases Executed; $618 MM Remaining under Previous Board Authorization

o 21% Projected ROCE in 2021

Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CLR) (the "Company") today announced its third quarter 2021 operating and financial results.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/95419/continental_resources_logo.jpg

The Company reported net income of $369.3 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. In third quarter 2021, typically excluded items in aggregate represented $67.9 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, of Continental's reported net income. Adjusted net income for third quarter 2021 was $437.2 million, or $1.20 per diluted share (non-GAAP). Net cash provided by operating activities for third quarter 2021 was $1.02 billion and EBITDAX was $1.12 billion (non-GAAP).

Adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income (loss) per share, EBITDAX, free cash flow, free cash flow yield, net debt, net sales prices and cash general and administrative (G&A) expenses per barrel of oil equivalent (Boe) presented herein are non-GAAP financial measures. Definitions and explanations for how these measures relate to the most directly comparable U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) financial measures are provided at the conclusion of this press release.

The Company generated $1.02 billion of cash flow from operations and a Company record $669 million of free cash flow (non-GAAP) for the third quarter 2021. The Company now projects generating $3.9 billion of cash flow from operations and $2.6 billion of free cash flow (non-GAAP) for full-year 2021 at current strip prices, or approximately 14% free cash flow yield (non-GAAP).

Highly Accretive Expansion into Permian Basin; Immediately Additive to FCF Capacity

The Company announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement under which the Company will acquire select Permian Basin assets from Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $3.25 billion, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Company's Board of Directors, with an effective date of October 1, 2021 and an expected close in December 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

"Continental's foundation has always been built upon a strong geology-led corporate strategy. This continues today and has directly led us to our new strategic position in the Permian Basin. This acquisition will complement our existing deep inventory portfolio in the Bakken, Oklahoma and most recently, the Powder River Basin. In addition to the competitive geologic attributes, this transaction is accretive on key financial metrics and supports our long term target of 1.0x net debt to EBITDAX by year end 2022 at $60 WTI," said Bill Berry, Chief Executive Officer.

Key Transaction Highlights

 Accretive to cash flow per share, earnings per share, cash margin and return on capital employed.

 Adds up to 2% to projected return on capital employed on an annual basis.

 Projected to generate $750 MM of annual cash flow from operations & $500 MM of annual free cash flow (non-GAAP) in 2022 at current prices.

 PDP represents ~75% of transaction price; ~55 MBoepd (~70% oil).

 92 K contiguous net leasehold acres.

 98% operated with over 90% of acreage held by production.

 50 K net royalty acres and 31 K net surface acres.

 Extensive water infrastructure in place.

 Over 650 gross operated locations in Third Bone Spring/Wolfcamp A & B; over 1,000 total locations, including additional zones producing in the basin.

 Company projects 1.0x net debt (non-GAAP) to EBITDAX (non-GAAP) by YE22 ($60 WTI and gas strip prices)8.

"These Permian assets contain the key strategic components common to all of our assets with significant untapped potential to enhance performance through optimized density development, wellbore placement, operational efficiencies and further exploration," said Jack Stark, President & Chief Operating Officer.

Citi Global Market, Inc. is serving as the Company's financial advisor and White & Case LLP is serving as the Company's legal advisor with respect to this transaction.

Accelerating Commitment to Shareholder Capital & Corporate Returns

The Company's Board of Directors approved increasing the Company's quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share, payable on November 26, 2021 to stockholders of record on November 15, 2021. This dividend represents a $0.05 increase to the Company's $0.15 per share quarterly dividend paid in third quarter 2021 and equates to an approximately 1.6% annualized dividend yield. The Company also resumed transactions under its existing share repurchase program, with $65 million of share repurchases executed in third quarter 2021 and $618 million of share repurchase capacity remaining under the previous Board of Directors authorization. Additionally, the Company is projecting approximately 21% return on capital employed for 2021.

Production & Operations Update

Third quarter 2021 total production averaged 331.4 MBoepd. Third quarter 2021 oil production averaged 157.2 MBopd. Third quarter 2021 natural gas production averaged 1,046 MMcfpd. The following table provides the Company's average daily production by region for the periods presented.

3Q 3Q YTD YTD Boe per day 2021 2020 2021 2020 Bakken 167,604 160,661 167,632 150,366 South 152,543 129,583 147,646 129,559 All other 11,260 6,757 10,824 6,997 Total 331,407 297,001 326,102 286,922

Financial Update

"We are delivering strong competitive cash flow this year, as demonstrated by our 14% projected free cash flow yield even after our stock price has nearly tripled year-to-date. The third consecutive increase in our quarterly dividend underscores confidence in our sustainable free cash flow. Additionally, our corporate returns continue to expand, with a projected 21% return on capital employed in 2021 highlighting enhanced value creation. Free cash flow, return on capital employed and other financial metrics should further improve pending our recent Permian acquisition," said John Hart, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Strategy Officer.

The Company has updated its 2021 guidance, as shown in the table at the conclusion of this press release.

Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 3Q21 Financial Update September 30, 2021 September 30, 2021 Cash and Cash Equivalents $693.6 million Total Debt $4.74 billion Net Debt (non-GAAP)(1) $4.05 billion Average Net Sales Price (non-GAAP)(1) Per Barrel of Oil $66.48 $60.79 Per Mcf of Gas $4.62 $4.38 Per Boe $46.07 $43.04 Production Expense per Boe $3.39 $3.29 Total G&A Expenses per Boe $1.92 $1.87 Crude Oil Net Sales Price Discount to NYMEX ($/Bbl) ($4.09) ($4.13) Natural Gas Net Sales Price Premium to NYMEX ($/Mcf) $0.62 $1.17 Non-Acquisition Capital Expenditures attributable to CLR $383.7 million $966.6 million Exploration & Development Drilling & Completion $312.3 million $784.1 million Leasehold and minerals $20.0 million $43.5 million Workovers, Recompletions and Other $51.4 million $139.0 million Minerals attributable to FNV $6.0 million $9.7 million

(1) Net debt and net sales prices represent non-GAAP financial measures. Further information about these non-GAAP financial measures as well as reconciliations to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures are provided subsequently under the header Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

The following table provides the Company's production results, per-unit operating costs, results of operations and certain non-GAAP financial measures for the periods presented. Average net sales prices exclude any effect of derivative transactions. Per-unit expenses have been calculated using sales volumes.

Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, 2021 2020 2021 2020 Average daily production: Crude oil (Bbl per day) 157,153 169,265 158,609 155,088 Natural gas (Mcf per day) 1,045,521 766,416 1,004,954 791,005 Crude oil equivalents (Boe per day) 331,407 297,001 326,102 286,922 Average net sales prices (non-GAAP), excluding effect from derivatives: (1) Crude oil ($/Bbl) $ 66.48 $ 35.93 $ 60.79 $ 33.71 Natural gas ($/Mcf) $ 4.62 $ 0.98 $ 4.38 $ 0.72 Crude oil equivalents ($/Boe) $ 46.07 $ 23.23 $ 43.04 $ 20.21 Production expenses ($/Boe) $ 3.39 $ 3.19 $ 3.29 $ 3.45 Production taxes (% of net crude oil and gas sales) 7.3% 7.8% 7.3% 8.3% DD&A ($/Boe) $ 15.29 $ 16.58 $ 16.26 $ 16.37 Total general and administrative expenses ($/Boe) (2) $ 1.92 $ 1.63 $ 1.87 $ 1.65 Net income (loss) attributable to Continental Resources (in thousands) $ 369,328 $ (79,422) $ 918,295 $ (504,372) Diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to Continental Resources $ 1.01 $ (0.22) $ 2.52 $ (1.39) Adjusted net income (loss) (non-GAAP) (in thousands) (1) $ 437,237 $ (58,871) $ 1,048,893 $ (342,139) Adjusted diluted net income (loss) per share (non-GAAP) (1) $ 1.20 $ (0.16) $ 2.88 $ (0.95) Net cash provided by operating activities (in thousands) $ 1,015,535 $ 291,197 $ 2,728,653 $ 934,767 EBITDAX (non-GAAP) (in thousands) (1) $ 1,121,294 $ 473,311 $ 3,074,868 $ 1,103,571

(1) Net sales prices, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted diluted net income (loss) per share, and EBITDAX represent non-GAAP financial measures. Further information about these non-GAAP financial measures as well as reconciliations to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures are provided subsequently under the header Non-GAAP Financial Measures. (2) Total general and administrative expense is comprised of cash general and administrative expense and non-cash equity compensation expense. Cash general and administrative expense per Boe was $1.45, $1.04, $1.37, and $1.04 for 3Q 2021, 3Q 2020, YTD 2021, and YTD 2020, respectively. Non-cash equity compensation expense per Boe was $0.47, $0.59, $0.50, and $0.61 for 3Q 2021, 3Q 2020, YTD 2021, and YTD 2020, respectively.

Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call

The Company plans to host a conference call to discuss third quarter 2021 results on Thursday, November 4, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. CT). Those wishing to listen to the conference call may do so via the Company's website at www.CLR.com or by phone:

Time and date: 11:00 a.m. ET, Thursday, November 4, 2021

Dial-in: 1-888-317-6003

Intl. dial-in: 1-412-317-6061

Conference ID: 8481323

A replay of the call will be available for 14 days on the Company's website or by dialing:

Replay number: 1-877-344-7529

Intl. replay: 1-412-317-0088

Conference ID: 10160546

The Company plans to publish a third quarter 2021 summary presentation to its website at www.CLR.com prior to the start of its conference call on Thursday, November 4, 2021.

About Continental Resources

Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) is a top 10 independent oil producer in the U.S. and a leader in America's energy renaissance. Based in Oklahoma City, Continental is the largest leaseholder and the largest producer in the nation's premier oil field, the Bakken play of North Dakota and Montana. The Company has significant positions in Oklahoma, including its SCOOP Woodford and SCOOP Springer discoveries and the STACK play. The Company also has a newly acquired position in the Powder River Basin play of Wyoming. With a focus on the exploration and production of oil, Continental has unlocked the technology and resources vital to American energy independence and our nation's leadership in the new world oil market. In 2021, the Company will celebrate 54 years of operations. For more information, please visit www.CLR.com.

Cautionary Statement for the Purpose of the "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements included in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, but not limited to, forecasts or expectations regarding the Company's business and statements or information concerning the Company's future operations, performance, financial condition, production and reserves, schedules, plans, timing of development, rates of return, budgets, costs, business strategy, objectives, and cash flows are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words "could," "may," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project," "budget," "target," "plan," "continue," "potential," "guidance," "strategy," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words.

Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and assumptions about future events and currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Although the Company believes these assumptions and expectations are reasonable, they are inherently subject to numerous business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control. No assurance can be given that such expectations will be correct or achieved or that the assumptions are accurate. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, commodity price volatility; the geographic concentration of our operations; financial market and economic volatility; the effects of any national or international health crisis; the inability to access needed capital; the risks and potential liabilities inherent in crude oil and natural gas drilling and production and the availability of insurance to cover any losses resulting therefrom; difficulties in estimating proved reserves and other reserves-based measures; declines in the values of our crude oil and natural gas properties resulting in impairment charges; our ability to replace proved reserves and sustain production; our ability to pay future dividends or complete share repurchases; the availability or cost of equipment and oilfield services; leasehold terms expiring on undeveloped acreage before production can be established; our ability to project future production, achieve targeted results in drilling and well operations and predict the amount and timing of development expenditures; the availability and cost of transportation, processing and refining facilities; legislative and regulatory changes adversely affecting our industry and our business, including initiatives related to hydraulic fracturing and greenhouse gas emissions; increased market and industry competition, including from alternative fuels and other energy sources; and the other risks described under Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors and elsewhere in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, registration statements and other reports filed from time to time with the SEC, and other announcements the Company makes from time to time.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which such statement is made. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described in this press release occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the Company's actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances after the date of this report, or otherwise.

Readers are cautioned that initial production rates are subject to decline over time and should not be regarded as reflective of sustained production levels. In particular, production from horizontal drilling in shale oil and natural gas resource plays and tight natural gas plays that are stimulated with extensive pressure fracturing are typically characterized by significant early declines in production rates.

We use the term "EUR" or "estimated ultimate recovery" to describe our best estimate of recoverable oil and natural gas hydrocarbon quantities. Actual reserves recovered may differ from estimated quantities. EUR data included herein, if any, remain subject to change as more well data is analyzed.

Investor Contact: Media Contact: Rory Sabino Kristin Thomas Vice President, Investor Relations Senior Vice President, Public Relations 405-234-9620 405-234-9480 [email protected] [email protected] Lucy Spaay Investor Relations Analyst 405-774-5878 [email protected]

Continental Resources, Inc. and Subsidiaries Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, 2021 2020 2021 2020 Revenues: In thousands, except per share data Crude oil and natural gas sales $ 1,456,181 $ 701,468 $ 3,986,628 $ 1,738,863 Loss on derivative insturments, net (127,110) (17,853) (232,795) (25,635) Crude oil and natural gas service operations 12,341 8,755 38,519 35,602 Total revenues 1,341,412 692,370 3,792,352 1,748,830 Operating costs and expenses: Production expenses 103,222 88,701 292,791 271,852 Production taxes 102,398 50,153 280,667 132,444 Transportation expenses 53,969 55,272 156,670 148,079 Exploration expenses 2,534 1,041 9,470 14,638 Crude oil and natural gas service operations 4,884 3,316 15,037 15,288 Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion 465,357 461,191 1,446,823 1,288,185 Property impairments 7,945 18,518 30,991 264,976 General and administrative expenses 58,421 45,273 166,822 129,713 Net (gain) loss on sale of assets and other (3,029) 800 (3,496) 5,914 Total operating costs and expenses 795,701 724,265 2,395,775 2,271,089 Income (loss) from operations 545,711 (31,895) 1,396,577 (522,259) Other income (expense): Interest expense (59,894) (63,884) (185,796) (192,547) Gain (loss) on extinguishment of debt - - (290) 64,573 Other 345 224 895 1,385 (59,549) (63,660) (185,191) (126,589) Income (loss) before income taxes 486,162 (95,555) 1,211,386 (648,848) (Provision) benefit for income taxes (115,641) 13,972 (291,116) 138,350 Net income (loss) 370,521 (81,583) 920,270 (510,498) Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 1,193 (2,161) 1,975 (6,126) Net income (loss) attributable to Continental Resources $ 369,328 $ (79,422) $ 918,295 $ (504,372) Net income (loss) per share attributable to Continental Resources: Basic $ 1.02 $ (0.22) $ 2.54 $ (1.39) Diluted $ 1.01 $ (0.22) $ 2.52 $ (1.39)

Continental Resources, Inc. and Subsidiaries Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets In thousands September 30, 2021 December 31, 2020 Assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 693,649 $ 47,470 Other current assets 1,284,993 805,075 Net property and equipment (1) 13,475,204 13,737,292 Other noncurrent assets 52,317 43,261 Total assets $ 15,506,163 $ 14,633,098 Liabilities and equity Current liabilities $ 1,404,559 $ 860,806 Long-term debt, net of current portion 4,741,729 5,530,173 Other noncurrent liabilities 2,138,809 1,819,394 Equity attributable to Continental Resources 6,848,889 6,056,446 Equity attributable to noncontrolling interests 372,177 366,279 Total liabilities and equity $ 15,506,163 $ 14,633,098

(1) Balance is net of accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization of $16.18 billion and $14.77 billion as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

Continental Resources, Inc. and Subsidiaries Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, In thousands 2021 2020 2021 2020 Net income (loss) $ 370,521 $ (81,583) $ 920,270 $ (510,498) Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities: Non-cash expenses 687,296 489,905 1,961,607 1,427,992 Changes in assets and liabilities (42,282) (117,125) (153,224) 17,273 Net cash provided by operating activities 1,015,535 291,197 2,728,653 934,767 Net cash used in investing activities (352,587) (162,923) (1,123,801) (1,181,866) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (119,337) (113,693) (958,673) 228,936 Net change in cash and cash equivalents 543,611 14,581 646,179 (18,163) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 150,038 6,656 47,470 39,400 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 693,649 $ 21,237 $ 693,649 $ 21,237

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Non-GAAP adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per share attributable to Continental

Our presentation of adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per share that exclude the effect of certain items are non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per share represent net income (loss) and diluted net income (loss) per share determined under U.S. GAAP without regard to non-cash gains and losses on derivative instruments, property impairments, gains and losses on asset sales, and gains and losses on extinguishment of debt as applicable. Management believes these measures provide useful information to analysts and investors for analysis of our operating results. In addition, management believes these measures are used by analysts and others in valuation, comparison and investment recommendations of companies in the oil and gas industry to allow for analysis without regard to an entity's specific derivative portfolio, impairment methodologies, and property dispositions. Adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per share should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss) or diluted net income (loss) per share as determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. The following tables reconcile net income (loss) and diluted net income (loss) per share as determined under U.S. GAAP to adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted diluted net income (loss) per share for the periods presented.

Three months ended September 30, 2021 2020 In thousands, except per share data $ Diluted EPS $ Diluted EPS Net income (loss) attributable to Continental Resources (GAAP) $ 369,328 $ 1.01 $ (79,422) $ (0.22) Adjustments: Non-cash loss on derivatives 85,030 7,901 Property impairments 7,945 18,518 Net (gain) loss on sale of assets and other (3,029) 800 Total tax effect of adjustments (1) (22,037) (6,668) Total adjustments, net of tax 67,909 0.19 20,551 0.06 Adjusted net income (loss) (non-GAAP) $ 437,237 $1.20 $ (58,871) $ (0.16) Weighted average diluted shares outstanding 364,248 360,257 Adjusted diluted net income (loss) per share (non-GAAP) $ 1.20 $ (0.16) Nine months ended September 30, 2021 2020 In thousands, except per share data $ Diluted EPS $ Diluted EPS Net income (loss) attributable to Continental Resources (GAAP) $ 918,295 $ 2.52 $ (504,372) $ (1.39) Adjustments: Non-cash loss on derivatives 145,194 8,560 Property impairments 30,991 264,976 Net (gain) loss on sale of assets and other (3,496) 5,914 (Gain) loss on extinguishment of debt 290 (64,573) Total tax effect of adjustments (1) (42,381) (52,644) Total adjustments, net of tax 130,598 0.36 162,233 0.44 Adjusted net income (loss) (non-GAAP) $ 1,048,893 $2.88 $ (342,139) $ (0.95) Weighted average diluted shares outstanding 364,479 361,948 Adjusted diluted net income (loss) per share (non-GAAP) $ 2.88 $ (0.95)

(1) Computed by applying a combined federal and state statutory tax rate of 24.5% in effect for 2021 and 2020 to the pre-tax amount of adjustments.

Non-GAAP Net Debt

Net debt is a non-GAAP measure. We define net debt as total debt less cash and cash equivalents as determined under U.S. GAAP. Net debt should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, total debt, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Management uses net debt to determine the Company's outstanding debt obligations that would not be readily satisfied by its cash and cash equivalents on hand. We believe this metric is useful to analysts and investors in determining the Company's leverage position since the Company has the ability to, and may decide to, use a portion of its cash and cash equivalents to reduce debt. This metric is sometimes presented as a ratio with EBITDAX in order to provide investors with another means of evaluating the Company's ability to service its existing debt obligations as well as any future increase in the amount of such obligations. At September 30, 2021, the Company's total debt was $4.74 billion and its net debt amounted to $4.05 billion, representing total debt of $4.74 billion less cash and cash equivalents of $693.6 million. From time to time the Company provides forward-looking net debt forecasts; however, the Company is unable to provide a quantitative reconciliation of the forward-looking non-GAAP measure to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measure of total debt because management cannot reliably quantify certain of the necessary components of such forward-looking GAAP measure. The reconciling items in future periods could be significant.

Non-GAAP EBITDAX

We use a variety of financial and operational measures to assess our performance. Among these measures is EBITDAX, a non-GAAP measure. We define EBITDAX as earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion, property impairments, exploration expenses, non-cash gains and losses resulting from the requirements of accounting for derivatives, non-cash equity compensation expense, and gains and losses on extinguishment of debt as applicable. EBITDAX is not a measure of net income or net cash provided by operating activities as determined by U.S. GAAP.

Management believes EBITDAX is useful because it allows us to more effectively evaluate our operating performance and compare the results of our operations from period to period without regard to our financing methods or capital structure. Further, we believe EBITDAX is a widely followed measure of operating performance and may also be used by investors to measure our ability to meet future debt service requirements, if any. We exclude the items listed above from net income/loss and net cash provided by operating activities in arriving at EBITDAX because these amounts can vary substantially from company to company within our industry depending upon accounting methods and book values of assets, capital structures and the method by which the assets were acquired.

EBITDAX should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income/loss or net cash provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP or as an indicator of a company's operating performance or liquidity. Certain items excluded from EBITDAX are significant components in understanding and assessing a company's financial performance, such as a company's cost of capital and tax structure, as well as the historic costs of depreciable assets, none of which are components of EBITDAX. Our computations of EBITDAX may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

The following table provides a reconciliation of our net income (loss) to EBITDAX for the periods presented.

Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, In thousands 2021 2020 2021 2020 Net income (loss) $ 370,521 $ (81,583) $ 920,270 $ (510,498) Interest expense 59,894 63,884 185,796 192,547 Provision (benefit) for income taxes 115,641 (13,972) 291,116 (138,350) Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion 465,357 461,191 1,446,823 1,288,185 Property impairments 7,945 18,518 30,991 264,976 Exploration expenses 2,534 1,041 9,470 14,638 Impact from derivative instruments: Total loss on derivatives, net 127,110 17,853 232,795 25,635 Total cash paid on derivatives, net (42,080) (9,952) (87,601) (17,075) Non-cash loss on derivatives, net 85,030 7,901 145,194 8,560 Non-cash equity compensation 14,372 16,331 44,918 48,086 (Gain) loss on extinguishment of debt - - 290 (64,573) EBITDAX (non-GAAP) $ 1,121,294 $ 473,311 $ 3,074,868 $ 1,103,571

The following table provides a reconciliation of our net cash provided by operating activities to EBITDAX for the periods presented.

Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, In thousands 2021 2020 2021 2020 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 1,015,535 $ 291,197 $ 2,728,653 $ 934,767 Current income tax benefit - - - (2,223) Interest expense 59,894 63,884 185,796 192,547 Exploration expenses, excluding dry hole costs 2,534 901 9,470 8,182 Gain (loss) on sale of assets and other, net 3,029 (800) 3,496 (5,914) Other, net (1,980) 1,004 (5,771) (6,515) Changes in assets and liabilities 42,282 117,125 153,224 (17,273) EBITDAX (non-GAAP) $ 1,121,294 $ 473,311 $ 3,074,868 $ 1,103,571

Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Yield

Our presentation of free cash flow and free cash flow yield are non-GAAP measures. We define free cash flow as cash flows from operations before changes in working capital items, less capital expenditures, excluding acquisitions, plus noncontrolling interest capital contributions, less distributions to noncontrolling interests. Noncontrolling interest capital contributions and distributions primarily relate to our relationship formed with Franco-Nevada in 2018 to fund a portion of certain mineral acquisitions which are included in our capital expenditures and operating results. Free cash flow is not a measure of net income or operating cash flows as determined by U.S. GAAP and should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, the comparable GAAP measure, and free cash flow does not represent residual cash flows available for discretionary expenditures. Free cash flow yield is calculated by taking free cash flow divided by the market capitalization of the Company at a given date. Management believes these measures are useful to management and investors as a measure of a company's ability to internally fund its capital expenditures, to service or incur additional debt, and to measure management's success in creating shareholder value. From time to time the Company provides forward-looking free cash flow and free cash flow yield estimates or targets; however, the Company is unable to provide a quantitative reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measure because management cannot reliably quantify certain of the necessary components of such forward-looking GAAP measure. The reconciling items in future periods could be significant.

The following table reconciles net cash provided by operating activities as determined under U.S. GAAP to free cash flow for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.

In thousands 3Q 2021 YTD 2021 Net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP) $ 1,015,535 $ 2,728,653 Exclude: Changes in working capital items 42,282 153,224 Less: Capital expenditures (1) (389,746) (976,242) Plus: Contributions from noncontrolling interest 6,672 19,812 Less: Distributions to noncontrolling interest (5,299) (16,535) Free cash flow (non-GAAP) $ 669,444 $ 1,908,912 (1) Capital expenditures are calculated as follows: In thousands 3Q 2021 YTD 2021 Cash paid for capital expenditures $ 356,827 $ 1,128,362 Less: Total acquisitions (22,055) (242,974) Plus: Change in accrued capital expenditures & other 54,552 87,533 Plus: Exploratory seismic costs 422 3,321 Capital expenditures $ 389,746 $ 976,242

Non-GAAP Net Sales Prices

Revenues and transportation expenses associated with production from our operated properties are reported separately. For non-operated properties, we receive a net payment from the operator for our share of sales proceeds which is net of costs incurred by the operator, if any. Such non-operated revenues are recognized at the net amount of proceeds received. As a result, the separate presentation of revenues and transportation expenses from our operated properties differs from the net presentation from non-operated properties. This impacts the comparability of certain operating metrics, such as per-unit sales prices, when such metrics are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP using gross presentation for some revenues and net presentation for others.

In order to provide metrics prepared in a manner consistent with how management assesses the Company's operating results and to achieve comparability between operated and non-operated revenues, we may present crude oil and natural gas sales net of transportation expenses, which we refer to as "net crude oil and natural gas sales," a non-GAAP measure. Average sales prices calculated using net crude oil and natural gas sales are referred to as "net sales prices," a non-GAAP measure, and are calculated by taking revenues less transportation expenses divided by sales volumes, whether for crude oil or natural gas, as applicable. Management believes presenting our revenues and sales prices net of transportation expenses is useful because it normalizes the presentation differences between operated and non-operated revenues and allows for a useful comparison of net realized prices to NYMEX benchmark prices on a Company-wide basis.

The following tables present a reconciliation of crude oil and natural gas sales (GAAP) to net crude oil and natural gas sales and related net sales prices (non-GAAP) for the periods presented.

Three months ended September 30, 2021 Three months ended September 30, 2020 In thousands Crude oil Natural gas Total Crude oil Natural gas Total Crude oil and natural gas sales (GAAP) $1,002,823 $453,358 $1,456,181 $623,955 $77,513 $701,468 Less: Transportation expenses (45,241) (8,728) (53,969) (46,890) (8,382) (55,272) Net crude oil and natural gas sales (non-GAAP) $957,582 $444,630 $1,402,212 $577,065 $69,131 $646,196 Sales volumes (MBbl/MMcf/MBoe) 14,404 96,188 30,435 16,063 70,510 27,815 Net sales price (non-GAAP) $66.48 $4.62 $46.07 $35.93 $0.98 $23.23 Nine months ended September 30, 2021 Nine months ended September 30, 2020 In thousands Crude oil Natural gas Total Crude oil Natural gas Total Crude oil and natural gas sales (GAAP) $2,758,859 $1,227,769 $3,986,628 $1,556,445 $182,418 $1,738,863 Less: Transportation expenses (129,218) (27,452) (156,670) (120,780) (27,299) (148,079) Net crude oil and natural gas sales (non-GAAP) $2,629,641 $1,200,317 $3,829,958 $1,435,665 $155,119 $1,590,784 Sales volumes (MBbl/MMcf/MBoe) 43,257 274,352 88,982 42,583 216,735 78,706 Net sales price (non-GAAP) $60.79 $4.38 $43.04 $33.71 $0.72 $20.21

Non-GAAP Cash General and Administrative Expenses per Boe

Our presentation of cash general and administrative ("G&A") expenses per Boe is a non-GAAP measure. We define cash G&A per Boe as total G&A determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP less non-cash equity compensation expenses, expressed on a per-Boe basis. We report and provide guidance on cash G&A per Boe because we believe this measure is commonly used by management, analysts and investors as an indicator of cost management and operating efficiency on a comparable basis from period to period. In addition, management believes cash G&A per Boe is used by analysts and others in valuation, comparison and investment recommendations of companies in the oil and gas industry to allow for analysis of G&A spend without regard to stock-based compensation programs which can vary substantially from company to company. Cash G&A per Boe should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, total G&A per Boe as determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

The following table reconciles total G&A per Boe as determined under U.S. GAAP to cash G&A per Boe for the periods presented.

Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, 2021 2020 2021 2020 Total G&A per Boe (GAAP) $ 1.92 $ 1.63 $ 1.87 $ 1.65 Less: Non-cash equity compensation per Boe (0.47) (0.59) (0.50) (0.61) Cash G&A per Boe (non-GAAP) $ 1.45 $ 1.04 $ 1.37 $ 1.04

Continental Resources, Inc. 2021 Guidance As of November 3, 2021 2021 Previous 2021 Updated Full-year average oil production (Bopd) 160,000 to 165,000 160,000 to 165,000 Full-year average natural gas production (Mcfpd) 900,000 to 1,000,000 900,000 to 1,000,000 Capital expenditures budget $1.4 billion $1.5 to $1.6 billion Full-Year Operating Expenses: Production expense per Boe $3.00 to $3.50 $3.00 to $3.50 Production tax (% of net oil & gas revenue) 7.3% to 7.6% 7.3% to 7.6% Cash G&A expense per Boe(1) $1.20 to $1.40 $1.20 to $1.40 Non-cash equity compensation per Boe $0.45 to $0.55 $0.45 to $0.55 DD&A per Boe $15.00 to $17.00 $15.00 to $17.00 3Q21 to 4Q21 Average Price Differentials: 3Q21 to 4Q21 4Q21 NYMEX WTI crude oil (per barrel of oil) ($3.50) to ($4.25) ($3.50) to ($4.00) Henry Hub natural gas(2) (per Mcf) $0.25 to $0.75 $0.75 to $1.25

1. Cash G&A is a non-GAAP measure and excludes the range of values shown for non-cash equity compensation per Boe in the item appearing immediately below. Guidance for total G&A (cash and non-cash) is a projected range of $1.65 to $1.95 per Boe. 2. Includes natural gas liquids production in differential range.

1 NYMEX strip pricing for the remainder of the year, as of October 15, 2021.

2 FCF yield is estimated by dividing the 2021 annual FCF estimate by the Company's current market capitalization, as of November 1, 2021.

3 Return on capital employed represents net income attributable to the Company before non-cash gains and losses on derivatives, income taxes, non-cash equity compensation expense, interest expense, and gains and losses on extinguishment of debt, the result of which is divided by average capital employed for the year, with capital employed representing the sum of total debt and total shareholders' equity attributable to the Company.

4 Based on current Company five-year forecast.

5 Normalized to 1/8th royalty.

6 Per historical 3-stream reporting. Includes PDP and anticipated volumes from wells in progress expected to be on line in first quarter 2022.

7 Calculated as annual dividend per share divided by the stock price per share as of November 1, 2021. All future dividends require Board approval.

8 Gas strip pricing as of October 4, 2021.

SOURCE Continental Resources

Related Links

http://www.clr.com


RIDGECREST, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Welcome Center - Ridgecrest is set for its grand opening on November 6, 2021. The Ridgecrest Area Convention and Visitors Bureau received designation from Visit California to become a California Welcome Center (CWC) in 2019, with plans delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ridgecrest's CWC will serve as the gateway to Death Valley, welcoming guests from across the world to California's deserts. The grand opening for the 21st California Welcome Center will take place at 10AM, coinciding with the opening of the 8th Annual Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival.

Exhibit featuring the history of Camels in North America includes free camel rides at the grand opening of the California Welcome Center in Ridgecrest, CA. November 6, 2021 from 11am-3pm.

The California Welcome Center will include several exhibits and experiences, including virtual reality and a Prehistoric Camels of California presentation and rides. Guests will be able to travel virtually to Death Valley National Park through the use of Oculus VR headsets, available at the center. The CWC will also present a virtual trip to the petroglyphs in the region using the virtual technology, in collaboration with the Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival to honor Native American Heritage Awareness Month this November. In person petroglyph tours at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake are closed this year, due to COVID-19. Camels will be present for the opening, representing the ancient indigenous camels that lived in ancient Death Valley around its many lakes. Camel rides will be free for kids and adults that meet the specified weight criteria from 11AM-3PM on Saturday.

A TV and Film Experience exhibit will be the first to open within the CWC - Ridgecrest, featuring projects filmed in Death Valley, Lone Pine, Red Rock Canyon, and other areas around the region. QR codes will link to location maps that include the sites for Lady Gaga and Rihanna music videos, Top Gun: Maverick, Iron Man, Star Trek, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Agents of SHIELD, and Westworld. Video presentations will focus on sci-fi locations that continue to draw productions to the unique topography of California's deserts. Along with the TV and Film Experience, the CWC will feature the top 5 Amazing Archaeological Adventures of California, appealing to those with more historical interests.

The CWCs are independently operated, but subject to standards developed by the California Office of Tourism in partnership with Visit California. They act as a concierge service for travelers to California, providing destination, attraction, and accommodation brochures from member destinations statewide. With Ridgecrest joining the Visit California family, access and exposure to millions of people visiting California will be exponentially higher for businesses in the Ridgecrest region. Each of the CWCs will include brochures, magazines, and advertising information for local attractions, dining, and hotels in and around Ridgecrest. The designation has traditionally led to a significant increase in the percentage of travel-generated employment for each region represented. This effect has led to documented positive impacts in secondary spending and employment, as each region increases their share of California's in-state travel spending.

The California Welcome Center - Ridgecrest is located at 880 N. China Lake Boulevard in Ridgecrest, California.



California Welcome Center - Ridgecrest

880 N. China Lake Blvd. Ridgecrest, CA 93555

(800) VISIT-30

Media Contact:

Brandon Johnston

760-375-8202

[email protected]

SOURCE California Welcome Center
BURNSVILLE, Minn., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Diedrich RPM, a research and marketing firm based in Burnsville, Minnesota, is now offering clients AI technology to help them boost their sales. Artificial intelligence is being used across the globe to help companies better understand their market. The data gained from AI is used to predict behaviors, patterns, and the likelihood to purchase.

In the summer of 2019, Liz Diedrich, the CEO and founder of Diedrich RPM started thinking about ways her company could help clients with all of the data collected as a result of their quantitative research, digital research, and how campaigns were performing.

"It dawned on me that there should be an AI application for this. We have all this data, and often our clients aren't able to handle the volume of leads generated from our marketing campaigns," said Diedrich.

Diedrich hired a neural network engineer to help develop a proprietary platform that would provide clients an assist in letting them know which leads were most likely to convert.

Diedrich RPM piloted different industry applications, including health care, manufacturing, and consumer marketing for the hospitality industry, to validate the concept. The AI platform starts by looking at historical sales with a robust look at a company's CRM. The program "learns" to predict the likelihood of sales at different levels.

"We found that we can provide real-time direction for our clients' sales teams," Diedrich said. "In one instance, the client left over $4M on the table with prospects who would have converted with a little more hand-holding. With AI, you can quickly and accurately interpret customer data and provide high-quality data sets on both customer behaviors and predictive actions."

Diedrich RPM officially launched its IA platform in late 2020, and clients have been excited by the results.

"We've found, with nearly a year of results, that it helps to validate marketing investments and provides financial direction for your sales pipeline," said Diedrich. "It helps identify the best leads."

About: Diedrich RPM is a research and marketing firm based in Burnsville, MN, with a wide array of clients across the country. DRPM was recently named a top-20 PR firm in Minneapolis by Expertise.com.

Contact: Carly Zumach, Diedrich RPM Account Executive, [email protected], or 952-529-2860.

SOURCE DIEDRICH RPM

Related Links

http://www.diedrichrpm.com


"In Wisconsin, we truly believe that great cheese makes the world a happier, tastier place, and we know that cheese lovers across the country will be gathering together over cheese boards this holiday season," says Suzanne Fanning, Chief Marketing Officer for Wisconsin Cheese and Senior Vice President at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, "Since our fans will already be creating beautiful boards, we want to encourage everyone to share images, so cheese lovers can inspire each other, and we can honor best-in-class Wisconsin cheese boards from the holiday's most incredible hosts. We can't wait to see what people create!"

An esteemed panel of three judges who live and breathe all things cheese boards will review submissions every week to see who creates the most delectable cheese board. Judges include Marissa Mullen, the best-selling author, content creator and founder of That Cheese Plate , in addition to Cheeselandian and former cheesemonger Doug Clemens of @CheeseTrayGay and Alisha Norris Jones of Immortal Milk , an award-winning cheesemonger from Chicago.

So, what does it take to win? Here's what the judges will be looking for:

Usage of Wisconsin Cheese. There are so many great varieties of Wisconsin Cheese. You must include a minimum of 2, but you'll get extra love from the judges if you go above and beyond. The more, the merrier! Board Abundance. In the spirit of holiday giving, every corner of your board should be covered with Wisconsin Cheese and other cheese board accompaniments. Don't hold back - the more you add, the more you'll wow the judges. Color & Creativity. The holiday season is the perfect time to add some colorful, festive cues to your cheese board. Try something unique and let your creative side shine.

With over 25 prizes up for grabs, there is more than just a year's worth of cheese on the line! The judges will choose a winner every week to receive a cheese prize pack complete with a cheese board, cheese knives, cheese paper, $100 worth of Wisconsin Cheese and more. The entries placing second, third and fourth place each week become weekly winners and will receive a custom cheese board.

Over the contest's six-week period, the weekly winners as selected by the judges will be finalists for the grand prize. Finalists will be announced on the Wisconsin Cheese Facebook and Instagram channels, where judges will also be sharing inspirational content for award-winning creations. Professionals and amateurs alike can find additional inspiration to create cheese boards for the contest at WisconsinCheese.com.

All eligible entries must include three photos, including the final Wisconsin cheese board creation, the Wisconsin Cheese packaging and the creator with their masterpiece. Not sure where to find Wisconsin Cheese? Look for the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese badge on packaging at retailers nationwide. Full contest details can be found in the Official Rules. Contest entries accepted through 12/16 at 11:59PM CT. Thank you to Winona Foods for their generous donation of cheese to the food bank of the winner's choice.

About Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin: Funded by Wisconsin dairy farmers, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is a non-profit organization that focuses on marketing and promoting Wisconsin's world-class dairy products. For more information, visit our website at WisconsinDairy.org.

About Wisconsin Cheese: The tradition of cheesemaking excellence began 180 years ago, before Wisconsin was recognized as a state. Wisconsin's 1,200 cheesemakers, many of whom are third- and fourth-generation, continue to pass on old-world traditions while adopting modern innovations in cheesemaking craftsmanship. For more information, visit WisconsinCheese.com or connect on Facebook. For serious cheese fanatics who want to celebrate Wisconsin Cheese all year long, consider joining Cheeselandia, Wisconsin's online cheese community.

SOURCE Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin
BOGOTA, Colombia, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL;NYSE: EC) announces that on Tuesday November 9, 2021, after market close, it will release its financial and operating results for the third quarter of 2021.

On Wednesday, November 10, 2021, Ecopetrol's senior management will host two conference calls to review the results, one in Spanish and the other in English. Please find below the timing, dial-in and links to access the conferences:

Spanish Conference Call English Conference Call 08:00 a.m. Col Time 10:00 a.m. Col Time 08:00 a.m. NY Time 10:00 a.m. NY Time US Dial-in #: 1 (847) 585-4405 US Dial-in #: 1 (847) 585-4405 US Dial-in # (Toll Free): 1 (888) 771-4371 US Dial-in # (Toll Free): 1 (888) 771-4371 Local Colombia Dial-in #: 57 1 380 8041 Local Colombia Dial-in #: 57 1 380 8041 Local Colombia Dial-in # (Free Toll): 01 800 9 156 924 Local Colombia Dial-in # (Free Toll): 01 800 9 156 924 Passcode: 50237693 Passcode: 50237704

To access the webcast, the following links will be available:

Spanish:

https://onlinexperiences.com/scripts/Server.nxp?LASCmd=AI:4;F:QS!10100&ShowUUID=9B8C8DF0-EC40-4C53-894F-3D7EE66B4C52&LangLocaleID=1034

English:

https://onlinexperiences.com/scripts/Server.nxp?LASCmd=AI:4;F:QS!10100&ShowUUID=CC15AF1B-FE7B-411A-A470-11832EB436D5&LangLocaleID=1033

To ask a question, you will need to access the conference through the telephone lines specified at the top of this release.

Participants from different countries may search for different international numbers to the ones mentioned above by consulting the following link:

https://www.conferenceplus.com/AlternateNumbers/alternatenumbers.aspx?100875&t=P&o=UiLsnYSRgwZSRU

The earnings release, slide presentation, live webcast and recording of the conference call will be available on Ecopetrol's website: www.ecopetrol.com.co.

Please verify in advance the proper operation of the webcast in your browser. We recommend the use of the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

-----------------------------------------

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 17,000 employees. In Colombia, it accounts for more than 60% of hydrocarbon production, and most of the hydrocarbon transportation, logistics, and refining systems, and has leading positions in petrochemicals and gas distribution. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, it participates in energy transmission, management of real-time systems (XM) and the Concesion Costera Barranquilla - Cartagena. At the international level, Ecopetrol focuses on strategic basins on the American continent, with E&P operations in the United States (the Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil and Mexico, and through ISA and its subsidiaries it has leading positions in the transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, in road concessions in Chile, and in telecommunications. This press release contains statements relating to business prospects, estimates of operating and financial results, and Ecopetrol's growth prospects. All are projections, and therefore are based solely on management's expectations of the company's future and its continuous access to capital to finance its sales plan. Achieving these estimates in the future depends on its performance under given market conditions, regulations, competition, the performance of the Colombian economy and industry, and other factors; therefore, they are subject to change without prior notice.

This release contains statements that may be considered forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of Ecopetrol's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund Ecopetrol's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, Ecopetrol's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For further details, please contact:

Head of Capital Markets

Tatiana Uribe Benninghoff

Phone : +571-234-5190

Email : [email protected]

Media Engagement (Colombia)

Jorge Mauricio Tellez

Phone : + 571-234-4329

Email : [email protected]

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.

Related Links

http://www.ecopetrol.com.co


LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Electrical Grid Monitoring (EGM) Ltd. (www.egm.net) has completed a $17.5M fund raising round, led by Energy Growth Momentum (https://egmomentum.com/) a growth capital fund focusing on digital technologies applicable to the energy sector.

This investment will accelerate our plan to support global grid modernization efforts while also accelerating the adoption of renewable generation, said John Wilson, Partner of Energy Growth Momentum.

EGM has developed a holistic system that produces all the useful information needed to manage power grids in the era of new challenges, i.e. integration of DERs, dealing with extreme climate phenomena and erratic power quality, as well as enabling grid virtualization. The unique monitoring and analytics system was validated and proven on several global utility installations.

"This investment will help us grow our market penetration in the United States and Europe in a meaningful way," said Amir Cohen, Founder and CEO of EGM Ltd.

"We are well positioned to launch our entry to the utility grid modernization market in the U.S. to support all decarbonization activities," said Dr. Alex Levran, CEO of EGM, Inc., USA.

About EGM

Electrical Grid Monitoring (EGM) Ltd. is the leading technology company with innovative T&D grid monitoring products that include sensing, communication, and analytics. The EGM Monitoring System delivers useful information to manage both overhead and underground utility grids. The Company is headquartered in Israel with its U.S. based subsidiary centered in Los Angeles, California. For more information, please visit www.egm.net

Contact Information:

Rebecca Kelly

770.401.4044

EGM MARKETING

SOURCE Electrical Grid Monitoring

Related Links

www.egm.net


NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy Corporation Chairman and CEO Leo Denault and members of Entergy's executive team plan to participate in investor meetings from Sunday, Nov. 7 to Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 during the 56th Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference. Handout materials will be posted Saturday, Nov. 6 to Entergy's Investor Relations website at entergy.com/investors.

About Entergy Corporation

Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 7,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and approximately 12,500 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media.

SOURCE Entergy Corporation

Related Links

http://www.entergy.com


BREA, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Envista Holdings Corporation (NYSE: NVST) today announced results for the third quarter 2021.

As previously disclosed, in September we reached an agreement to sell our KaVo Treatment Unit and Instrument business (the "Divestiture"). We expect this transaction to close by the end of the year. For the current quarter the results of the Divestiture are reflected as discontinued operations in our financial statements as required by generally accepted accounting principles. All commentary in this release relates to continuing operations unless otherwise noted.

For the quarter ended October 1, 2021, sales increased 11% to $607.3 million with core sales growth of 10.2% over the third quarter 2020.

For the third quarter, net income was $80.2 million or $0.45 per diluted share. Adjusted net income was $79.4 million, representing a 22% increase year over year. Adjusted earnings per diluted share was $0.45 vs. $0.40 in the comparable period in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was $119.1 million compared to $111.4 million for the third quarter of 2020.

Amir Aghdaei, Chief Executive Officer, remarked, "We grew significantly above pre-pandemic levels and delivered double-digit core growth over 2020 as we continued to benefit from the reshaping of our portfolio and our long-term investments in both commercial execution and innovation. Our adjusted EBITDA margin was 19.6% reflecting the underlying profitability of our business and our focus on continuous improvement."

Mr. Aghdaei continued, "We are very pleased with our third quarter results and remain optimistic about the future of the dental industry. Since our IPO in September 2019, we have made significant progress in transforming our business from a broad mix of dental products to a focused company providing highly differentiated consumables and specialty dental products underpinned by strong digital workflow solutions. We remain committed to our purpose of partnering with professionals to improve patients' lives and will continue to work to personalize, digitize, and democratize dental care."

2021 Full Year Guidance

We are raising our financial guidance for continuing operations for the year as follows:

Sales $2.475 - $2.500 Billion Adjusted EBITDA $480 - $495 Million

Envista will discuss its quarterly results and provide an outlook for 2021 during an investor conference call today starting at 2:00 P.M. PT. The call and an accompanying slide presentation will be webcast on the "Investors" section of Envista's website, www.envistaco.com, under the subheading "Events & Presentations." A replay of the webcast will be available in the same section of Envista's website shortly after the conclusion of the presentation and will remain available until the next quarterly earnings call.

The conference call can be accessed by dialing 877-876-9173 within the U.S. or by dialing +1 785-424-1667 outside the U.S. a few minutes before the 2:00 P.M. PT start and referencing conference ID #7516382. A replay of the conference call will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call. You can access the replay dial-in information on the "Investors" section of Envista's website under the subheading "Events & Presentations." Presentation materials relating to Envista's results have been posted to the "Investors" section of Envista's website under the subheading "Quarterly Earnings." In addition, selected unaudited historical financial information for continuing operations has been posted to the "Investors" section of Envista's website.

ABOUT ENVISTA

Envista is a global family of more than 30 trusted dental brands, including Nobel Biocare, Ormco, Kerr, and KaVo united by a shared purpose: to partner with professionals to improve lives. Envista helps its customers deliver the best possible patient care through industry-leading dental consumables, solutions, technology, and services. Our comprehensive portfolio, including dental implants and treatment options, orthodontics, and digital imaging technologies, covers an estimated 90% of dentists' clinical needs for diagnosing, treating, and preventing dental conditions as well as improving the aesthetics of the human smile. With a foundation comprised of the proven Envista Business System (EBS) methodology, an experienced leadership team, and a strong culture grounded in continuous improvement, commitment to innovation, and deep customer focus, Envista is well equipped to meet the end-to-end needs of dental professionals worldwide. Envista is one of the largest global dental products companies, with significant market positions in some of the most attractive segments of the dental products industry. For more information, please visit www.envistaco.com.

NON-GAAP MEASURES

All "Adjusted" amounts including core sales growth and free cash flow are non-GAAP items. Calculations of these measures, the reasons why we believe these measures provide useful information to investors, a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, and other information relating to these non-GAAP measures are included in the attached supplemental schedules.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including new variants of the virus, the pace of recovery in the markets in which we operate, global supply chain disruptions and potential staffing shortages due to any federal, state or local vaccine mandates, the conditions in the U.S. and global economy, the markets served by us and the financial markets, the impact of our debt obligations on our operations and liquidity, developments and uncertainties in trade policies and regulations, contractions or growth rates and cyclicality of markets we serve, the effect of the Divestiture on our business relationships, operating results, share price or business generally, the occurrence of any event or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the purchase agreement, the failure to satisfy any of the conditions to completion of the Divestiture, the failure to realize the expected benefits resulting from the Divestiture, fluctuations in inventory of our distributors and customers, loss of a key distributor, our relationships with and the performance of our channel partners, competition, our ability to develop and successfully market new products and services, the potential for improper conduct by our employees, agents or business partners, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations (including regulations relating to medical devices and the health care industry), the results of our clinical trials and perceptions thereof, penalties associated with any off-label marketing of our products, modifications to our products that require new marketing clearances or authorizations, our ability to effectively address cost reductions and other changes in the health care industry, our ability to successfully identify and consummate appropriate acquisitions and strategic investments, our ability to integrate the businesses we acquire and achieve the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions, contingent liabilities relating to acquisitions, investments and divestitures, significant restrictions and/or potential liability based on tax implications of transactions with Danaher, security breaches or other disruptions of our information technology systems or violations of data privacy laws, our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property, the impact of our restructuring activities on our ability to grow, risks relating to currency exchange rates, changes in tax laws applicable to multinational companies, litigation and other contingent liabilities including intellectual property and environmental, health and safety matters, risks relating to product, service or software defects, risks relating to product manufacturing, commodity costs and surcharges, our ability to adjust purchases and manufacturing capacity to reflect market conditions, reliance on sole or limited sources of supply, the impact of regulation on demand for our products and services, labor matters, international economic, political, legal, compliance and business factors, and disruptions relating to war, terrorism, widespread protests and civil unrest, man-made and natural disasters, public health issues and other events. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2020 and our Quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and except to the extent required by applicable law, we do not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise.

CONTACT

Stephen Keller

Investor Relations

Envista Holdings Corporation

200 S. Kraemer Blvd., Building E

Brea, CA 92821

Telephone: (714) 817-7000

Fax: (714) 817-5450

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) ($ and shares in millions, except per share amounts)



Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Sales $ 607.3



$ 547.2



$ 1,857.1



$ 1,312.8

Cost of sales 251.0



238.8



773.8



598.0

Gross profit 356.3



308.4



1,083.3



714.8

Operating expenses:













Selling, general and administrative 250.6



226.8



747.5



681.3

Research and development 24.0



20.0



75.7



63.5

Operating profit (loss) 81.7



61.6



260.1



(30.0)

Nonoperating income (expense):













Other income 0.2



0.2



0.8



0.4

Interest expense, net (12.0)



(23.4)



(43.6)



(41.2)

Income (loss) before income taxes 69.9



38.4



217.3



(70.8)

Income tax (benefit) expense (10.3)



14.8



(3.7)



(22.2)

Income (loss) from continuing operations 80.2



23.6



221.0



(48.6)

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax 12.7



12.0



33.7



(26.5)

Net income (loss) $ 92.9



$ 35.6



$ 254.7



$ (75.1)

Earnings (loss) per share:













Earnings (loss) from continuing operations - basic $ 0.50



$ 0.15



$ 1.37



$ (0.30)

Earnings (loss) from continuing operations - diluted $ 0.45



$ 0.14



$ 1.25



$ (0.30)

















Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations - basic $ 0.08



$ 0.08



$ 0.21



$ (0.17)

Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations - diluted $ 0.07



$ 0.07



$ 0.19



$ (0.17)

















Earnings (loss) - basic $ 0.58



$ 0.22

* $ 1.58



$ (0.47)

Earnings (loss) - diluted $ 0.52



$ 0.22

* $ 1.43

* $ (0.47)

Average common stock and common equivalent shares outstanding:













Basic 161.5



159.7



161.1



159.4

Diluted 178.1



163.9



177.5



159.4

* Earnings (loss) per share is computed independently for earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations and

earnings (loss) per share from discontinued operations. The sum of earnings (loss) per share from continuing

operations and earnings (loss) per share from discontinued operations does not equal earnings (loss) per share due

to rounding.

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) ($ in millions, except share amounts)



As of

October 1,

2021

December 31,

2020 ASSETS





Current assets:





Cash and cash equivalents $ 638.8



$ 888.9

Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for credit losses of $25.2 and $30.5, respectively 307.4



301.7

Inventories, net 274.3



216.0

Prepaid expenses and other current assets 77.9



70.1

Current assets held for sale 468.0



113.9

Total current assets 1,766.4



1,590.6

Property, plant and equipment, net 266.1



274.6

Operating lease right-of-use assets 150.8



162.7

Other long-term assets 174.1



119.0

Goodwill 3,145.8



3,207.4

Other intangible assets, net 1,058.8



1,152.7

Noncurrent assets held for sale 



369.0

Total assets $ 6,562.0



$ 6,876.0

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY





Current liabilities:





Short-term debt $ 426.7



$ 886.8

Trade accounts payable 171.0



202.5

Accrued expenses and other liabilities 509.9



467.8

Operating lease liabilities 24.5



31.1

Current liabilities held for sale 137.1



96.5

Total current liabilities 1,269.2



1,684.7

Operating lease liabilities 139.7



152.6

Other long-term liabilities 318.2



347.0

Long-term debt 887.8



907.7

Noncurrent liabilities held for sale 



63.0

Commitments and contingencies





Stockholders' equity:





Preferred stock, no par value, 15.0 million shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding at October 1, 2021 and December 31, 2020 





Common stock - $0.01 par value, 500.0 million shares authorized; 161.7 million shares issued and 161.3 million shares outstanding at October 1, 2021; 160.2 million shares issued and 160.0 million outstanding at December 31, 2020 1.6



1.6

Additional paid-in capital 3,716.6



3,684.4

Retained earnings 381.1



126.4

Accumulated other comprehensive loss (152.6)



(91.8)

Total Envista stockholders' equity 3,946.7



3,720.6

Noncontrolling interests 0.4



0.4

Total stockholders' equity 3,947.1



3,721.0

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 6,562.0



$ 6,876.0



ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) ($ in millions)



Nine Months Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Cash flows from operating activities:





Net income (loss) $ 254.7



$ (75.1)

Noncash items:





Depreciation 29.4



31.5

Amortization 62.6



68.0

Allowance for credit losses 4.2



20.1

Stock-based compensation expense 21.6



16.7

Gain on sale of property, plant and equipment (2.2)





Restructuring charges 0.3



11.1

Impairment charges 9.4



17.1

Amortization of right-of-use assets 21.3



23.1

Amortization of debt discount and issuance costs 17.6



8.0

Change in trade accounts receivable (15.1)



64.3

Change in inventories (67.1)



16.8

Change in trade accounts payable (39.9)



(49.3)

Change in prepaid expenses and other assets (23.4)



(33.8)

Change in accrued expenses and other liabilities (18.7)



(0.8)

Change in operating lease liabilities (29.1)



(27.2)

Net cash provided by operating activities 225.6



90.5

Cash flows from investing activities:





Acquisitions, net of cash acquired 



(40.7)

Payments for additions to property, plant and equipment (46.0)



(34.6)

Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment 11.6





All other investing activities 8.5



11.3

Net cash used in investing activities (25.9)



(64.0)

Cash flows from financing activities:





Proceeds from issuance of convertible senior notes 



517.5

Payment of debt issuance and other deferred financing costs (2.3)



(17.2)

Proceeds from revolving line of credit 



249.8

Repayment of revolving line of credit 



(250.0)

Repayment of borrowings (475.7)





Purchase of capped calls related to issuance of convertible senior notes 



(20.7)

Proceeds from stock option exercises 16.0



8.7

All other financing activities (5.4)



0.6

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (467.4)



488.7

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 17.6



(25.6)

Net change in cash and cash equivalents (250.1)



489.6

Beginning balance of cash and cash equivalents 888.9



211.2

Ending balance of cash and cash equivalents $ 638.8



$ 700.8



ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL METRICS (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions, except per share amounts)



GAAP

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Operating Profit (Loss) $ 81.7



$ 61.6



$ 260.1



$ (30.0)

Income (Loss) From Continuing Operations $ 80.2



$ 23.6



$ 221.0



$ (48.6)

Diluted EPS From Continuing Operations $ 0.45



$ 0.14



$ 1.25



$ (0.30)

Operating Cash Flow $ 88.3



$ 148.1



$ 225.6



$ 90.5









NON-GAAP *

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Adjusted Operating Profit $ 110.6



$ 101.1



$ 348.6



$ 105.3

Adjusted Net Income $ 79.4



$ 64.9



$ 247.4



$ 57.2

Adjusted Diluted EPS $ 0.45



$ 0.40



$ 1.39



$ 0.35

Adjusted EBITDA $ 119.1



$ 111.4



$ 374.3



$ 130.7

Free Cash Flow $ 82.3



$ 134.9



$ 191.2



$ 55.9

































* For information on non-GAAP measures see "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below. Also see the accompanying "Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION SEGMENT INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions)



Three Month Period Ended

Nine Month Period Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Sales













Specialty Products & Technologies $ 363.4



$ 316.9



$ 1,116.1



$ 774.1

Equipment & Consumables 243.9



230.3



741.0



538.7

Total $ 607.3



$ 547.2



$ 1,857.1



$ 1,312.8

















Operating Profit (Loss)













Specialty Products & Technologies $ 61.5



$ 41.4



$ 211.6



$ 26.2

Equipment & Consumables 45.4



38.9



131.0



11.0

Other (25.2)



(18.7)



(82.5)



(67.2)

Total $ 81.7



$ 61.6



$ 260.1



$ (30.0)

















Operating Margins













Specialty Products & Technologies 16.9 %

13.1 %

19.0 %

3.4 % Equipment & Consumables 18.6 %

16.9 %

17.7 %

2.0 % Total 13.5 %

11.3 %

14.0 %

(2.3) %

Adjusted Operating Profit



Three Month Period Ended

Nine Month Period Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Consolidated













Operating Profit (Loss) $ 81.7



$ 61.6



$ 260.1



$ (30.0)

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets 20.3



22.3



61.4



65.5

Restructuring costs and asset impairments A 8.6



17.2



23.8



53.8

Contingent loss reserves B 







3.3



16.0

Adjusted Operating Profit $ 110.6



$ 101.1



$ 348.6



$ 105.3

Adjusted Operating Profit as a % of Sales 18.2 %

18.5 %

18.8 %

8.0 %















Specialty Products & Technologies













Operating Profit $ 61.5



$ 41.4



$ 211.6



$ 26.2

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets 15.0



15.3



45.2



44.8

Restructuring costs and asset impairments A 8.2



11.5



15.2



28.0

Contingent loss reserve B 







2.1





Adjusted Operating Profit $ 84.7



$ 68.2



$ 274.1



$ 99.0

Adjusted Operating Profit as a % of Sales 23.3 %

21.5 %

24.6 %

12.8 %















Equipment & Consumables













Operating Profit $ 45.4



$ 38.9



$ 131.0



$ 11.0

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets 5.3



7.0



16.2



20.7

Restructuring costs and asset impairments A 0.1



3.8



4.5



20.2

Contingent loss reserve B 







1.2





Adjusted Operating Profit $ 50.8



$ 49.7



$ 152.9



$ 51.9

Adjusted Operating Profit as a % of Sales 20.8 %

21.6 %

20.6 %

9.6 %

Adjusted Net Income



Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Net Income (Loss) From Continuing Operations $ 80.2



$ 23.6



$ 221.0



$ (48.6)

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets 20.3



22.3



61.4



65.5

Restructuring costs and asset impairments A 8.6



17.2



23.8



53.8

Contingent loss reserves B 







3.3



16.0

Non-cash interest expense - convertible senior notes C 4.9



4.4



14.2



6.4

Tax effect of adjustments reflected above D (8.3)



(2.5)



(23.9)



(33.3)

Discrete tax adjustments and other tax-related adjustments E (26.3)



(0.1)



(52.4)



(2.6)

Adjusted Net Income $ 79.4



$ 64.9



$ 247.4



$ 57.2



See the accompanying Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share



Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Diluted Earnings From Continuing Operations (Loss) Per Share $ 0.45



$ 0.14



$ 1.25



$ (0.30)

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets 0.11



0.14



0.35



0.40

Restructuring costs and asset impairments A 0.05



0.10



0.13



0.33

Contingent loss reserves B 







0.02



0.10

Non-cash interest expense - convertible senior notes C 0.03



0.03



0.08



0.04

Tax effect of adjustments reflected above D (0.04)



(0.01)



(0.13)



(0.20)

Discrete tax adjustments and other tax-related adjustments E (0.15)







(0.31)



(0.02)

Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 0.45



$ 0.40



$ 1.39



$ 0.35



Adjusted EBITDA









Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Net Income (Loss) From Continuing Operations $ 80.2



$ 23.6



$ 221.0



$ (48.6)

Interest expense, net 12.0



23.4



43.6



41.2

Income taxes (10.3)



14.8



(3.7)



(22.2)

Depreciation 8.3



10.1



24.9



25.0

Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets 20.3



22.3



61.4



65.5

Restructuring costs and asset impairments A 8.6



17.2



23.8



53.8

Contingent loss reserves B 







3.3



16.0

Adjusted EBITDA $ 119.1



$ 111.4



$ 374.3



$ 130.7



See the accompanying Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Core Sales Growth 1







Consolidated % Change Three

Month Period

Ended

October 1, 2021

vs. Comparable

2020 Period

% Change Nine

Month Period

Ended October 1, 2021

vs. Comparable

2020 Period Total sales growth 11.0 %

41.5 % Less the impact of:





Discontinued products 0.3 %

0.4 % Currency exchange rates (1.1) %

(2.4) % Core sales growth 10.2 %

39.5 %







Specialty Products & Technologies





Total sales growth 14.7 %

44.2 % Less the impact of:





Discontinued products  %

(0.1) % Currency exchange rates (1.4) %

(2.8) % Core sales growth 13.3 %

41.3 %







Equipment & Consumables





Total sales growth 5.9 %

37.6 % Less the impact of:





Discontinued products 0.8 %

1.1 % Currency exchange rates (0.7) %

(1.6) % Core sales growth 6.0 %

37.1 %













1 We use the term "core sales" to refer to GAAP revenue excluding (1) sales from acquired businesses recorded prior to the first anniversary of the acquisition ("acquisitions"), (2) sales from discontinued products and (3) the impact of currency translation. Sales from discontinued products includes major brands or products that Envista has made the decision to discontinue as part of a portfolio restructuring. Discontinued brands or products consist of those which Envista (1) is no longer manufacturing, (2) is no longer investing in the research or development of, and (3) expects to discontinue all significant sales within one year from the decision date to discontinue. The portion of sales attributable to discontinued brands or products is calculated as the net decline of the applicable discontinued brand or product from period-to-period. The portion of GAAP revenue attributable to currency exchange rates is calculated as the difference between (a) the period-to-period change in sales and (b) the period-to-period change in sales after applying current period foreign exchange rates to the prior year period. We use the term "core sales growth" to refer to the measure of comparing current period core sales with the corresponding period of the prior year.

Reconciliation of Operating Cash Flows to Free Cash Flow



Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020

October 1,

2021

October 2,

2020 Net Operating Cash Used in Investing Activities $ (3.1)



$ (9.6)



$ (25.9)



$ (64.0)

Net Operating Cash (Used in) Provided by Financing Activities $ (4.0)



$ (244.3)



$ (467.4)



$ 488.7

















Net Operating Cash Provided by Operating Activities $ 88.3



$ 148.1



$ 225.6



$ 90.5

Less: payments for additions to property,

plant and equipment (capital expenditures) (17.5)



(13.2)



(46.0)



(34.6)

Plus: proceeds from sales of property, plant and

equipment (capital disposals) 11.5







11.6





Free Cash Flow $ 82.3



$ 134.9



$ 191.2



$ 55.9



ENVISTA HOLDINGS CORPORATION

NOTES TO RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (UNAUDITED)

A We exclude costs incurred pursuant to discrete restructuring plans that are fundamentally different (in terms of the size, strategic nature and planning requirements, as well as the inconsistent frequency, of such plans) from the ongoing productivity improvements that result from application of the Envista Business System. These restructuring plans are incremental to the operating activities that arise in the ordinary course of our business and we believe are not indicative of Envista's ongoing operating costs in a given period.

B Represents accruals for certain legal matters.

C Non-cash interest expense represents accretion of the debt discount associated with the convertible senior notes due 2025.

D This line item reflects the aggregate tax effect of all pretax adjustments reflected in the preceding line items of the table using each adjustment's applicable tax rate, including the effect of interim tax accounting requirements of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740 Income Taxes.

E The discrete tax matters relate primarily to excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation, changes in estimates associated with prior period uncertain tax positions and audit settlements, tax benefits resulting from a change in law, and changes in determination of realization of certain deferred tax assets. During the third quarter of 2021, the Company recorded an income tax benefit related primarily to the recognition of a deferred tax asset associated with the amortizable value of a tax basis-step up of Swiss assets.

Statement Regarding Non-GAAP Measures

Each of the non-GAAP measures set forth above should be considered in addition to, and not as a replacement for or superior to, the comparable GAAP measure, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Management believes that these measures provide useful information to investors by offering additional ways of viewing Envista Holdings Corporation's ("Envista" or the "Company") results that, when reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measure, help our investors to:

with respect to Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted EBITDA, understand the long-term profitability trends of Envista's business and compare Envista's profitability to prior and future periods and to Envista's peers;





with respect to Core Sales, identify underlying growth trends in Envista's business and compare Envista's revenue performance with prior and future periods and to Envista's peers;





with respect to Adjusted EBITDA, help investors understand operational factors associated with a company's financial performance because it excludes the following from consideration: interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and infrequent or unusual losses or gains such as goodwill impairment charges or nonrecurring and restructuring charges. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA, as a supplemental measure for assessing operating performance in conjunction with related GAAP amounts. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA is used in connection with operating decisions, strategic planning, annual budgeting, evaluating Company performance and comparing operating results with historical periods and with industry peer companies; and





with respect to Free Cash Flow (the "FCF Measure"), understand Envista's ability to generate cash without external financings, strengthen its balance sheet, invest in its business and grow its business through acquisitions and other strategic opportunities (although a limitation of free cash flow is that it does not take into account the Company's debt service requirements and other non-discretionary expenditures, and as a result the entire Free Cash Flow amount is not necessarily available for discretionary expenditures).

Management uses these non-GAAP measures to measure the Company's operating and financial performance.

The items excluded from the non-GAAP measures set forth above have been excluded for the following reasons:

With respect to Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted EBITDA:





We exclude the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets because the amount and timing of such charges are significantly impacted by the timing, size, number and nature of the acquisitions we consummate. While we have a history of significant acquisition activity, we do not acquire businesses on a predictable cycle, and the amount of an acquisition's purchase price allocated to intangible assets and related amortization term are unique to each acquisition and can vary significantly from acquisition to acquisition. Exclusion of this amortization expense facilitates more consistent comparisons of operating results over time between our newly-acquired and long-held businesses, and with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies. We believe, however, that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets contribute to revenue generation and that intangible asset amortization related to past acquisitions will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized.







With respect to the other items excluded from Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted EBITDA, we exclude these items because they are of a nature and/or size that occur with inconsistent frequency, occur for reasons that may be unrelated to Envista's commercial performance during the period and/or we believe that such items may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult.





With respect to core sales, we exclude (1) the effect of acquisitions and divested product lines because the timing, size, number and nature of such transactions can vary significantly from period-to-period and between us and our peers, which we believe may obscure underlying business trends and make comparisons of long-term performance difficult, (2) sales from discontinued products because discontinued products do not have a continuing contribution to operations and management believes that excluding such items provides investors with a means of evaluating our on-going operations and facilitates comparisons to our peers, and (3) the impact of currency translation because it is not under management's control, is subject to volatility and can obscure underlying business trends.





With respect to the FCF Measure, we exclude payments for additions to property, plant and equipment (net of the proceeds from capital disposals) to demonstrate the amount of operating cash flow for the period that remains after accounting for the Company's capital expenditure requirements.

SOURCE Envista Holdings Corporation

Related Links

https://www.envistaco.com


STOCKHOLM, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Infrastructure III fund ("EQT Infrastructure") has agreed to sell its stake in Fenix Marine Services ("the Company") to CMA CGM ("CMA") for an enterprise value of USD 2.3 billion. CMA is the third largest global shipping line and a member of the leading Transpacific shipping alliance.

Fenix Marine Services is one of the largest terminals in the Port of Los Angeles and provides container handling services to shipping lines. The Company handles approximately 2.3 million TEUs (unit of cargo capacity) annually and employs more than 145 people.

Since acquiring Fenix Marine Services in December 2017, EQT Infrastructure has undertaken a series of initiatives to help position the platform for long-term success, including a management overhaul led by seasoned port executive Sean Pierce, featuring a dynamic team with deep global terminal operating experience and cutting-edge technological know-how. EQT Infrastructure also backed significant investments in new equipment and systems, including the largest cranes in North America. The Company introduced an extensive yard reconfiguration that increased terminal capacity by 40 percent, improved productivity, reduced turnaround time for truckers, and improved safety. EQT Infrastructure also supported the installation of automated gates and implementation of advanced inventory tracking systems, as well as the launch of innovative machine learning technology to optimize terminal operations. These efforts firmly established Fenix Marine Services as one of the leading digitized port operators in the world.

Demonstrating sustainability leadership in the Port of Los Angeles has also been a key focus for Fenix Marine Services. The Company converted its entire equipment fleet to renewable diesel, eliminating over ten million pounds of greenhouse gases to date, and is testing low-carbon hydrogen fuel cell technology with partners including Toyota.

Sean Pierce, CEO and President of Fenix Marine Services, said, "Our vision was always to deliver on operational excellence and to do things better than they have been done before. All employees at Fenix Marine Services, whether on the front line in Port of Los Angeles or at our back-office in Arizona, have been critical in delivering that vision. This transaction is a testament to the strength and fortitude of the team. We thank our partners at EQT for their unique, active support of the company throughout this journey".

Alex Darden, Partner and Head of EQT Infrastructure's US Advisory Team, added, "Fenix Marine Services plays an integral role in the complex North American supply chain. We have been proud to support its mission of operational excellence and capacity growth to best meet consumer needs both before and during a pandemic that has highlighted the importance of Port of Los Angeles as a critical trade gateway. It has been a pleasure to partner with Sean and the current management team, each of whom have done a fantastic job implementing our full potential plan, including an ambitious digitalization program and an industry-leading sustainability agenda. Today, Fenix Marine Services is one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly terminals in North America".

EQT Infrastructure is confident that CMA is the right partner to continue this incredible progress, ensuring the terminal's operational efficiency and fluidity to the benefit of the entire port community. The transaction closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Rothschild & Co acted as exclusive financial advisor and Allen & Overy LLP acted as legal advisor to EQT Infrastructure.

Contact

US inquiries: Mathilde Milch, +1 917 510 6626, [email protected]

International inquiries: EQT Press Office, +46 8 506 55 334, [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/eqt-infrastructure-to-sell-fenix-marine-services-to-cma-cgm-for-an-enterprise-value-of-usd-2-3-billi,c3446116

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/87/3446116/1490781.pdf Press release EQT Infrastructure III Fenix Marine Services exit 211103 https://news.cision.com/eqt/i/fenix-marine-services,c2975531 Fenix Marine Services

SOURCE Cision AB

Related Links

https://www.cision.com/


MCKINNEY, Texas, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FieldRoutesa leading Cloud-based and mobile SaaS provider for field service businesses, formerly operating as two separate companies, PestRoutes and Lobster Marketingwill be demonstrating the latest advancements to its end-to-end software solution at PestWorld 2021 from November 2-5 in Las Vegas. Enhancements and new features added include invoicing and FieldRoutes Payments, routing, reporting, QuickBooks Online integration, marketing solutions and lawn care. The company will also enable early access to a new Affiliate Network at the show.

"We take our customers' feedback and requests seriously. Our software's new capabilities, integrations and enhancements to existing features are a direct result of our laser focus on our customers' ability to simplify, scale and grow their business," said William Chaney, chief executive officer of FieldRoutes. "We've also invested in the software's infrastructure. In 2020 we built an internal infrastructure team and migrated our software to Amazon Web Services (AWS) which ensures our customers are operating on the most reliable software."

Pest control operators who visit the PestRoutes by FieldRoutes and Lobster Marketing by FieldRoutes booths at PestWorld can see a demo of the advancements first-hand. They focus on enabling business owners to better retain and attract new customers. They include:

Enabling owners to more easily collect payments from their customers with:

FieldRoutes Payments Auto Updater feature that automatically updates lost, stolen, or expired credit and debit cards

AutoPay by subscription functionality

Consolidated invoicing to allow multiple individual invoices to be grouped together and processed under a single invoice number

Automation for pest control customer messaging regarding chargebacks, ACH returns and AutoPay

Enabling Owners to run their businesses more efficiently so they can do more with fewer employees:

QuickBooks Online integration, which is also available at no charge for a limited time

New routing functionality that allows users to expand the summary route report by date range, route technicians by their skillset and when creating routes that include square feet (SF) or linear feet (LF) measurements, set a capacity per route based on the vehicle's chemical capacity

California WDO reporting to include activity codes

Lawn functionality to support routing for HazMat trucks, property estimations, pre-payment discounts and service plans also known as "programs"

Enabling owners to easily market their business to grow their revenue with innovations to the FieldRoutes sales and marketing suite's Buy Services Online solution:

"Map the Deal" functionality that allows users to create location-specific promotions and enter them into the FieldRoutes operations suite in minutes using click and drag functionality or by setting a max distance for the deal eliminating the need for promo codes

Early access to the new Affiliate Network that allows pest control providers the ability to profit from their non-serviceable online sales leads by sharing those leads with other pest control businesses in the network

"Over the last year, we've worked hard to advance our industry-leading software. Our investment in new capabilities and enhancements, additions of top-notch talent and the unification of PestRoutes and Lobster Marketing to become FieldRoutes is evidence of our customers' success," continued Chaney. "We take pride in being customer-obsessed and that means we deliver best-in-class technology and dedicated customer support. We've grown because our customers are growing and exceeding their goals."

To learn more about FieldRoutes, experience the software first-hand with a demo, obtain a copy of our new consumer pest control research study, and gain early access to the new Affiliate Network, visit booths B100, B200, and B206 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at PestWorld 2021 or FieldRoutes.com .

About FieldRoutes

FieldRoutes is a Cloud-based and mobile SaaS provider for field service businesses. The platform automates all aspects of field service operations for enterprise and small business customers that span office management, advanced route optimization, payment processing, digital sales, marketing, and customer acquisition solutions that accelerate growth, streamline operations, increase customer retention, and maximize revenue. In 2018 six-year-old PestRoutes and 10-year-old Lobster Marketing became sister companies, and in 2021 unified as one brand, FieldRoutes. Headquartered in McKinney, TX, over 1,700 field service companies rely on FieldRoutes to provide them with the data-driven insights needed to build efficiencies in and drive revenue to their business so they can grow quickly, scale intelligently and serve customers relentlessly. For more information, please visit FieldRoutes.com .

SOURCE FieldRoutes
BERLIN, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EIT InnoEnergy, the world's leading innovation engine for sustainable energy, and Volkswagen AG have announced a strategic partnership. Both companies are planning joint innovation and investment activities designed to help innovative technologies and business models achieve economic breakthroughs which will contribute to the decarbonisation of the transport sector and accelerate the shift to electromobility. The partnership involves Volkswagen becoming a new shareholder of EIT InnoEnergy.

Jens Wiese, Head of Group M&A, Investment Advisory and Partnerships at Volkswagen, says: "In order to decarbonize the transport sector, we will need a wide range of innovations. In addition to our own activities, in the future we will also increasingly rely on cooperation with start-ups to achieve this. The partnership with EIT InnoEnergy will help us find the most promising companies from all areas of the energy transition, which we can then support in scaling their business models."

Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy adds: "The transport sector is going through one of its biggest upheavals ever. Automotive companies are faced with a choice: either drive this transformation or be driven. Volkswagen has seized the opportunity to put itself at the forefront of this change and to shape it. Therefore, it makes us even more proud to have Volkswagen on board as a new shareholder and to take our collaboration to the next level. Looking at our 300 portfolio companies from all areas of sustainable energy, there is huge potential in Volkswagen and us joining forces to accelerate the decarbonisation of the transport sector."

Volkswagen and EIT InnoEnergy can look back on more than five years of cooperation. As key players in the European Battery Alliance (EBA), they are heavily involved in the development of an internationally competitive European battery industry. Its annual GDP contribution is forecasted to reach 250 billion euros from 2025 onwards and to create four million direct and indirect jobs. The two companies also share their commitment as investors in the Swedish green steel maker H2 Green Steel and the Swedish battery company Northvolt. At its "Power Day" in March of this year, Volkswagen announced that it would build six giga factories in Europe by 2030 together with partners with a total output of 240 gigawatt hours.

About EIT InnoEnergy

EIT InnoEnergy operates at the centre of the energy transition and is the leading innovation engine in sustainable energy, bringing the technology and skills required to accelerate the green deal and Europe's decarbonisation goals.

Recognised globally as the most active sustainable energy investor and one of the largest climate tech and renewable energy tech investors in 2020, EIT InnoEnergy backs innovations across a range of areas. These include, energy storage, transport and mobility, renewables and sustainable buildings and cities  leveraging its trusted ecosystem of 500+ partners and 24 shareholders.

The 300 portfolio companies are on track to generate 72.8 billion in revenue and save 1.1G tons of CO2e annually by 2030.

EIT InnoEnergy is the driving force behind three strategic European initiatives which include the European Battery Alliance (EBA), the European Green Hydrogen Acceleration Centre (EGHAC) and the European Solar Initiative (ESI).

Established in 2010 and supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), EIT InnoEnergy has offices across Europe and in Boston, US.

www.innoenergy.com

About the Volkswagen Group

The Volkswagen Group, with its headquarters in Wolfsburg, is one of the world's leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. Ten brands from seven European countries belong to the Group: Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, SKODA, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN. The passenger car portfolio ranges from small cars all the way to luxury class vehicles. Ducati offers motorcycles. In the light and heavy commercial vehicles sector, the products range from pick-ups to buses and heavy trucks. Every weekday, 662,600 employees around the globe are involved in vehicle-related services or work in other areas of business. The Volkswagen Group sells its vehicles in 153 countries.

In 2020, the total number of vehicles delivered to customers by the Group globally was 9.31 million (2019: 10.98 million). Group sales revenue in 2020 totaled EUR 222.9 billion (2019: EUR 252.6 billion). Earnings after tax in 2020 amounted to EUR 8.8 billion (2019: EUR 14.0 billion).

Catherine Hunter

+44 7717736110

[email protected]

SOURCE EIT InnoEnergy

Related Links

https://www.innoenergy.com/


WEST HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Connecticut-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Connecticut-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Related Links

http://www.northwesternmutual.com


CHICAGO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Illinois-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Illinois-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Related Links

http://www.northwesternmutual.com


INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Indiana-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Indiana-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Related Links

http://www.northwesternmutual.com


DENVER, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the Colorado-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.

The Colorado-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual
FALLS CHURCH, Va., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), announced today that it has been awarded a five-year, $190 million contract from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for enterprise cloud modernization.

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) was awarded a contract from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for enterprise cloud modernization.

Under this contract, which was awarded in September, GDIT will deliver a scalable, hybrid multi-cloud platform to modernize USPTO's IT infrastructure. Leveraging strong relationships with leading commercial cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google and Microsoft, GDIT will accelerate the agency's cloud adoption and migration.

"GDIT is proud to support USPTO's critical digital modernization initiatives and accelerate their cloud adoption," said Jylinda Johnson, GDIT's vice president and general manager for Government Operations. "The delivery of these cloud services will directly support inventors, entrepreneurs and organizations by making it faster and easier to file trademark and patent applications."

GDIT's support of the enterprise cloud modernization effort will increase the speed to deploy new applications while reducing agency resources maintaining legacy data centers. The company will improve IT service delivery, innovate to meet future operational demands, and work with USPTO leadership to implement the agency's cloud strategy.

General Dynamics is a global aerospace and defense company that offers a broad portfolio of products and services in business aviation; ship construction and repair; land combat vehicles, weapons systems and munitions; and technology products and services. General Dynamics employs more than 100,000 people worldwide and generated $37.9 billion in revenue in 2020. More information about General Dynamics Information Technology is available at www.gdit.com. More information about General Dynamics is available at www.gd.com.

SOURCE General Dynamics Information Technology

Related Links

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SHANGHAI, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Digital Economy Summit for Small and Medium Enterprises 2021 (DES2021) kicked off in Shanghai on November 1. The summit was hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology, and co-organized by the China Centre for International Science and Technology Exchange, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, and Yangpu District People's Government of Shanghai Municipality.

Themed around "Staying Open and Cooperative for a Better Digital Ecosystem", the organizers invited top scientists, economists and entrepreneurs to attend the Summit. WAN Gang, President of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), and GONG Zheng, Deputy Party Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mayor of Shanghai, were present and delivered speeches during the summit.

Thomas J. Sargent, Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Economics, Henning Kagermann, Chair of the acatech Board of Trustees acatech Senator and Chair of Steering Committee of NPM, RONG Chunming, Academician of the Norwegian Academy of Engineering and Chairman of Blockchain Committee of IEEE Computer Association, Toshio Fukuda, Academician of the Engineering Academy of Japan and Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and WU Zhiqiang, Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Member of German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), respectively made keynote speeches around the following themes: Helping SMEs to Adopt New Digital Tools, Success Factors of Digital Collaborative Innovation, Manufacturing Distributed Federal Industrial Chains, AI and Robotics for SMEs, and Future City Empowers Innovation and Development of SMEs.

At the Entrepreneurs' Panel, Hermann Simon, Management Thinker and Founding Father of "Hidden Champions", YIN Zheng, Global Executive Vice-President and President of China Operations, Schneider Electric, CUI Dongshun, Co-founder & CTO, Mind PointEye Ltd., ZHAO Bin, Founder & CEO, Agora, and CHEN Jingye, CEO, Shanghai Wanwuxinsheng Environmental Protection Technology Group Co., Ltd., had in-depth discussions upon frontier topics regarding SMEs and digital economy.

DES2021 also included a launching ceremony of the Yangtze River Delta Community of SMEs in Digital Economy, and 7 Sub-forums focusing on topics such as "Digital Scenarios: Global Industrial Innovation".

DES2021 was broadcast live globally and received a total of 20 million global audiences prior to 18:00 on November 1.

SOURCE China Centre for International Science and Technology Exchange
DUBLIN, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global M&As in Personal Protective Equipment Growth Opportunities" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report is broken down into manufacturers' acquisitions, distributors' acquisitions, and private equity firms' acquisitions. Along with the analysis of the acquisitions, separate case studies have been provided for a few major companies.

Achieving international footprints has been one of the driving growth factors of M&A activities in recent years. For example, MSA Safety acquired Bristol Uniforms to enhance its footprint in Europe and complement its existing portfolio of protective clothing from the acquisition of Globe Manufacturing in 2017. Similarly, Uvex Safety acquired majority stakes in HexArmor in 2021 to boost its presence in North America.

End-user preference to procure all their PPE needs from one supplier has propelled the PPE manufacturers to go for portfolio-widening acquisitions, and become one-stop shops for consumers. For example, PIP's acquisition of Paramount Safety in 2021 enhanced its product portfolio in the Oceania region and made it a complete head-to-toe supplier of PPE.

In the competitive PPE industry, product differentiation is often regarded as the distinguishing factor for mergers & acquisitions. For example, Delta Plus' acquisition of ERB Safety in 2020 not only enhanced its product portfolio but also gave it the edge in product differentiation due to women-specific PPE.

Larger PPE distributors became actively engaged in mergers & acquisitions and achieved vertical integration by enhancing manufacturing capabilities. For example, Bunzl acquired MCR Safety, Body Guard workwear, and Liberty Glove & Safety between 2019 to 2021 to enhance its manufacturing capabilities in North America.

PPE manufacturers are keen to acquire companies & brands to enhance their existing portfolios. For example, Rocky Brands consolidated its protective footwear portfolio & market share by acquiring Original Muck Boot Company, XTRATUF, Servus, NEOS, and Ranger brands from Honeywell in 2021. Similarly, SureWerx enhanced its existing presence in welding protection helmets by acquiring Jackson Safety and Wilson brands from Kimberly Clark Professional (KCP) in 2018.

Regulatory norms are becoming stringent due to rising hazards in industries and this is expected to be one of the critical reasons why manufacturers look out for acquisitions for product development & safety offering improvement.

COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of the highly fragmented distribution system. Distributors with weak ERP systems, inefficient implementation of digital channel, and non-tech-savvy set-ups suffered and this provided the opportunity for larger distributors to acquire them and increase their reach.

Major consolidations in the PPE distribution channel include Descours & Cabaud (MRO) acquisition of Van Ommeren in the Netherlands, Sintimex in Portugal & Nolle Nordhorn Germany in 2020. Similarly, Rubix (MRO) acquired Lerbs Gruppe to establish its foothold in Germany.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Strategic Imperatives

Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow?

The Strategic Imperative

The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Industry

Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine

2. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Industry Overview

Personal Protection Equipment Market Introduction

Research Scope

Growth Drivers for M&As in the PPE Industry

Growth Restraints for M&As in the PPE Industry

Merger & Acquisition Process

Key M&A Trends in PPE

3. Growth Opportunity Analysis, Outlook for Merger and Acquisition (M&A) in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Industry

Key Takeaways, M&A Analysis in PPE Market

4. Notable Transactions in Manufacturers

Manufacturers' Transaction Summary

Notable Manufacturer Transactions

5. Notable Transactions in Distributors

Distributors' Transaction Summary

Notable Distributor Transactions

6. Notable Transactions of Private Equity Firms

Private Equity Firms' Transaction Summary

Notable Private Equity Firm Transactions

7. Profiles of Notable Transactions - Case Study 1: Bunzl

Bunzl's Mergers & Acquisitions in the PPE Industry, 2017-2021

Prominent Mergers & Acquisitions of Bunzl

Bunzl's Total Acquisition Spend

Bunzl's Merger & Acquisition Analysis

8. Case Study 2: Delta Plus

Delta Plus's Mergers & Acquisitions in the PPE Industry, 2017-2021

Prominent Mergers & Acquisitions of Delta Plus

Delta Plus's Merger & Acquisition Analysis

9. Case Study 3: Halma

Halma's Mergers & Acquisitions in the PPE Industry

Halma's Merger & Acquisition Analysis

10. Case Study 4: MSA Safety

MSA Safety's Mergers & Acquisitions in the PPE Industry

MSA Safety's Merger & Acquisition Analysis

11. Case Study 5: Protective Industrial Products (PIP)

Protective Industrial Products (PIP) Acquisitions in the PPE industry, 2017-2021

Private Equity Firm Ownership of PIP

Prominent Mergers & Acquisitions of PIP in the PPE industry

Protective Industrial Products (PIP's) Merger & Acquisition Analysis

12. Case Study 6: Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company

Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company's Mergers & Acquisitions in the PPE Industry

Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company's Merger & Acquisition Analysis

13. Case Study 7: SureWerx

SureWerx's Mergers & Acquisitions in the PPE Industry

SureWerx's Merger & Acquisition Analysis

14. Growth Opportunity Universe, M&As in the PPE Industry

Growth Opportunity 1 - Opportunity for Private Equity Firm to Gear Up on Acquisitions in the Lucrative PPE Industry

Growth Opportunity 2 - Healthcare PPE Acquisitions to Help Manufacturers/Distributors to Stay Afloat in the Competitive Market

Growth Opportunity 3 - Increased Focus on Connectivity and Remote Monitoring Technology to Compel the Need for Acquisitions

Companies Mentioned

Body Guard Workwear

Bristol Uniforms

Bunzl

CR Safety

Delta Plus

Descours & Cabaud

ERB Safety

Globe Manufacturing

Halma

HexArmor

Honeywell

Jackson Safety

Kimberly Clark Professional (KCP)

Lerbs Gruppe

Liberty Glove & Safety

MSA Safety

NEOS

Nolle Nordhorn

Original Muck Boot Company

Paramount Safety

Protective Industrial Products (PIP)

Ranger

Rocky Brands

Rubix (MRO)

Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company

Servus

Sintimex

SureWerx

Uvex Safety

Van Ommeren

Wilson

XTRATUF

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/r0bi5z

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets

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AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OncoTEX Inc. (OncoTEX), a US oncology company and member of The iQ Group Global portfolio, is pleased to announce it has acquired a gold compound platform technology that induces the body's immune system to destroy cancer cells.

The technology has been developed by the University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Southern University, and Wright State University; and licensed to OncoTEX. This technology will expand OncoTEX's TEX Core platform, a world-first oncology drug platform designed to create innovative therapies capable of overcoming multiple limitations seen within current cancer therapeutics.

OncoTEX Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Jonathan F. Arambula, emphasized the critical importance of the novel technology due to its ability to induce the unique immune mechanism known as immunogenic cell death.

"Of more than 2000 known small molecule cancer therapeutics, very few have been validated to induce such a response," Dr. Arambula said.

"Of these, most only exhibit this as an auxiliary mechanism as opposed to the compound's primary function. Our Gold compound platform will allow us to design compounds that specifically target these mechanisms. Research has shown that the compound is a much more potent sensitizer of immunogenic cell death than other agents such as platinum."

This new class of gold-based proprietary compounds represents a unique mechanism of immunotherapy action, in that the cancer cells are attacked in conjunction with the human body's natural immune system. The gold-based compounds have the ability to enter cancer cells and fight them from the inside while disrupting the tumors, making them visible to the human immune system. This disruption starts a cascade to create killer T-cells that then attack and destroy the remaining cancer.

OncoTEX will commence a series of rigorous studies, in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin, to evaluate these compounds over the coming months to determine the full-scale of their potential application in fighting cancers.

"The primary application of these compounds involves the targeting and treatment of solid tumors. We have identified their ability to do this effectively. Following further tests, we will evaluate their application for blood cancers and other diseases," Dr. Arambula said.

"This technology is very novel in terms of design, approach, and potential applications. We will continue discovery research to identify a potential clinical candidate. After our evaluation, we will move our identified clinical candidate into preclinical development."

CEO of The iQ Group Global and Executive Chairman of OncoTEX, Dr. George Syrmalis, said, "This new addition to our existing compound portfolio is extremely important not just for OncoTEX, but also for the modality of oncology.

"The compound introduces a novel mode of action, demonstrating tumor-specific immune responses and reinstating immunosurveillance. It is expected that through this gold-induced immunogenic cell death, we will be able to provide significant complements to immune checkpoint inhibitors. I speculate that this mode of action may emerge as a mainstream of cancer treatment in the near future."

About OncoTEX Inc.

OncoTEX Inc is an oncology company and a member of the bioscience investment enterprise The iQ Group Global. OncoTEX Inc owns TEX Core, a novel oncology drug platform that enables the development of well-tolerated, MRI-detectable cancer therapeutics that target drug-sensitive and drug-resistant solid tumors. Find out more (https://oncotexinc.com/)

About The iQ Group Global

The iQ Group Global is a group of companies that find, fund and develop bioscience discoveries to create life-changing medical innovations. Recognized by The Australian Financial Review for the second consecutive year as one of the country's Most Innovative Companies in 2020, The iQ Group Global's flagship innovations include the Biosensor Platform and TEX Core, a first-in-class oncology drug platform with the ability to develop a pipeline of novel oncology compounds. Visit our website: https://theiqgroupglobal.com/

Media Contact:

James Gorman

+61-2-8239-5400

[email protected]

SOURCE OncoTEX Inc.

Related Links

https://oncotexinc.com/


ST. LOUIS, Miss., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products and provider of related supply chain management and logistics services, today announced that it has acquired Metro Electric Supply and Metro Lighting.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., Metro is a regional distributor that primarily serves homebuilders and contractors that specialize in residential, commercial and industrial projects. It is also a retailer of lighting products. The company was founded in 1967 and operates fourteen locations across the St. Louis region, including eight electrical supply locations and six lighting showrooms. As a subsidiary of Graybar, the company will continue to operate under the Metro Electric Supply and Metro Lighting brand with the same employees, leadership team and suppliers.

"We are pleased to welcome the Metro Electric Supply and Metro Lighting team to Graybar," said Kathleen M. Mazzarella, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Graybar. "As two well-established St. Louis companies, we believe our future together is bright. We look forward to powering a new era for our companies and for the St. Louis region."

"In planning for our future, one of our family's top priorities was ensuring Metro would continue to remain locally owned and operated," said Bill Frisella, owner of Metro. "We are excited for this new chapter in our company's history, and we believe that being part of Graybar gives us a tremendous opportunity to grow and thrive for years to come."

Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and data networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of more than 292 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, helping its customers power, network and secure their facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR.

Media Contact:

Tim Sommer

(314) 578-7672

[email protected]

SOURCE Graybar

Related Links

http://www.Graybar.com


Read our Free Sample Report before purchasing.

Key takeaways from hand tools market study

Hand tools market size in the UK to increase by USD 163.73 million at over 6% CAGR between 2020 and 2025

at over 6% CAGR between 2020 and 2025 5.80% year-over-year growth expected in 2021

Industrial segment accounted for maximum growth in the market in 2020

Dominant vendors include Channellock Inc., Draper Tools Ltd., Kennametal Inc., and others

Hand Tools Market in UK: Growth Drivers and Restraints

The hand tools market is driven by the growing popularity of DIY activities. The number of individuals involved in DIY home improvement activities such as carpentering, plumbing, and electrical applications is increasing in the UK. This can be attributed to the high labor costs associated with these services. Besides, the promotion of DIY activities by bloggers and vloggers and privacy concerns have increased the adoption of DIY hand tools among individuals. This trend is expected to fuel the growth of the market during the forecast period.

"Although the growing construction market and rise in industrial production in the UK will further boost the market growth, fluctuating raw material prices might reduce the growth opportunities for market players", says an analyst at Technavio.

The hand tools market report answers questions such as:

Is the market structure fragmented or concentrated?

What was the market size in 2020 and the forecast of the hand tools market through 2025?

Which are the best segment areas to invest in over the forecast period?

What is the market share of dominant and strong vendors in the hand tools market?

What are the latest trends and regulatory frameworks in the hand tools market?

Get all your questions answered in our full report.

Gain confidence by Downloading Our Free Sample Report

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Hand Tools Market In UK Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of over 6% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 163.73 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 5.80 Regional analysis Albania Performing market contribution UK at 100% Key consumer countries UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Channellock Inc., Draper Tools Ltd., Kennametal Inc., KNIPEX-Werk, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Snap-on Inc., Stanley Black and Decker Inc., Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd., Thomas Flinn and Co., and Wera Werkzeuge GmbH. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, 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.

Market Scope Table:

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing View our hand tools market snapshot to unlock TOC

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
NORTHBROOK, Ill., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Global, an international financial services company and the world's preeminent authority on asset valuation, monetization, advisory, and capital solutions, announced today that through its philanthropic arm Hilco Helps, it has donated over $130,000 at retail worth of new essential goods in an effort to aid communities impacted by the recent, devastating Hurricane Ida. Among the tens of thousands of products shipped were important cleaning and paper supplies such as paper towels, trash bags, toilet paper, wipes, bleach, insect killer and essential hygiene and clothing goods like baby wipes, diapers, laundry bags, and socks. The Hilco Helps donation accounted for approximately 50% of all goods being handed out via the local community distribution center.

Leveraging Hilco's long-term relationship with the Louisiana public state agency NORA (New Orleans Redevelopment Authority) in bringing communities back post Hurricane Katrina, the area in and around Jean Lafitte, LA was identified as being most in need of the donated essential items. The products were distributed at the Jean Lafitte distribution center that is run by a combination of volunteers and paid staffers that has undertaken the task of distributing goods, food, and clothing to all 2,000 residents of Jean Lafitte and the neighboring communities.

"I am grateful that I work for an organization who cares so much about the community and was ready to give a hand to those who needed it most," said Fernando Palacios, Managing Director of Hilco Real Estate. "After assisting with the distribution of goods in Jean Lafitte, we drove further south, and the destruction became nuclear. The lowest part we could drive showed complete destruction of all homes and personal property. These people literally have nothing left after Hurricane Ida. I am so glad that we were able to provide some support to those in the community."

"We are pleased to have a partnership with an organization such as Hilco who is committed to assisting those in need. The impact of the donation to the community is far reaching in that it is helping so many who have lost everything in the wake of Hurricane Ida," said Brenda Breaux, Executive Director for NORA.

Hilco Global is focused on serving as a good corporate citizen in the many local communities in which it works. In addition to the work the organization does with NORA, one of its other operating companies, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, is also working on a project in the News Orleans area at the former Avondale Shipyard. Hilco Redevelopment Partners is currently working to revitalize the former shipyard and, along with Avondale Marine, and plans to redevelop the site's crane, dock and terminal assets while connecting global waterborne commerce with manufacturing, fabrication, and distribution facilities onshore with the goal of revitalizing commerce and bringing good jobs to the community.

Jeffrey Hecktman, Founder and CEO of Hilco Global says, "Hilco Global cares deeply about improving the lives of those in need across the nation and the globe. In this case Hilco successfully leveraged our retail network to source and deliver items in a timely manner to aid the communities hardest hit by Hurricane Ida. I continue to be impressed by the willingness of our employees who are willing and able to pull resources together and make a difference."

About Hilco Global: Hilco Global (www.hilcoglobal.com) is a privately held diversified financial services company and the world's preeminent authority on maximizing the value of assets for both healthy and distressed companies. Hilco Global financial services leverage a unique blend of deep restructuring and advisory experience with capital solutions and principal investing. Hilco Global delivers customized solutions to undervalued, high potential companies to resolve complex and stressed situations and enhance long-term enterprise value. Hilco Global operates as a holding company comprised of over twenty specialized business units that work to help companies understand the value of their assets and as needed monetize the value. Hilco Global has almost 4 decades of a successful track record of acting as an advisor, agent, investor and/or principal in any transaction. Hilco Global works to deliver the best possible result by aligning interests with clients and providing them strategic insight, advice, and, in many instances, the capital required to complete the deal. Hilco Global is based in Northbrook, Illinois and has 700 professionals operating on five continents with US offices located in Boston, Detroit, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and internationally in Australia, Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Mexico and throughout Asia.

About Hilco Helps: Hilco Helps (www.hilcohelps.com) serves as a Hilco Global worldwide initiative to support causes and not-for-profit organizations that help enhance the lives and maximize the potential of the world's most important assets: Human Assets. Through many Hilco Helps programs, the organization works to improve the lives of those in need (often children) in communities that are underserved and require assistance to maximize their full potential. Hilco Helps provides millions of dollars of support (through in-kind donations, direct donations, and marketing efforts/sponsorship) to nonprofit groups doing outstanding work. In addition to direct financial support, the company's employees donate time to relief efforts in disaster zones, churches, schools, etc., across the country and offer internship opportunities to mentor and engage young people worldwide.

SOURCE Hilco Global

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SAN RAMON, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hill Physicians Medical Group ("Hill Physicians"), California's largest independent physician association with more than 5,000 primary care and specialty physicians, was one of just a few provider organizations statewide to receive the 2021 Excellence in Healthcare Award from the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA) for the Sacramento and Bay regions for top performance on clinical quality, patient experience, and cost measures.

A key component of IHA's statewide Align. Measure. Perform. (AMP) Program, the Excellence in Healthcare Award recognizes provider organizations that perform in the top 50 percent in all three major AMP areas: clinical quality, patient experience, and total cost of care.

Of the nearly 200 provider organizations statewide participating in the AMP Program, only 21 attained Excellence in Healthcare Award performance standards for 2021, based on AMP results for measurement year 2020. The award was presented on Nov. 3 at IHA's Annual Stakeholder Conference.

"We are honored to be recognized by the IHA for this prestigious award," said David Joyner, CEO of Hill Physicians. "This recognition reflects the dedication of our providers and our staff who provide high-quality healthcare to our community."

IHA President and CEO Jeff Rideout, MD commended the top performers, saying, "IHA is proud to recognize provider organizations that are truly leading the way to high-quality, affordable, patient-centered care."

About Hill Physicians Medical Group

Hill Physicians Medical Group is the largest independent physician association in Northern California. Since 1984, it has provided consumers access to quality, patient-focused healthcare. The group, partners with leading health plans and hospitals, giving members access to healthcare in 11 counties spanning the Sacramento, Stockton and San Francisco Bay areas. Comprehensive case management programs, targeted clinical initiatives and a dedication to technological advancement place it at the forefront of the industry. Hill Physicians is consistently acknowledged as one of the top-performing medical groups in the state by The Integrated Healthcare Association and Association of Physician Groups. For more information, visit: www.HillPhysicians.com.

Contact: Dan Robinson

Phone: 925.327.6731

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Hill Physicians Medical Group

Related Links

http://www.HillPhysicians.com


ATLANTA, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperion Bank has named Marsha Dollar as Portfolio Manager and Kenneth "Kenny" Harris as Assistant Branch Manager in the bank's Atlanta office in Piedmont Center in Buckhead.

"Marsha tenaciously ensures customers and our business partners have everything in order and that their banking transactions are timely and efficient," says Amy Ellis, SVP of Commercial Lending at Hyperion, "facilitated by broad banking knowledge and familiarity with the people we serve."

Marsha Dollar, Hyperion Bank Kenny Harris, Hyperion Bank

Dollar has been in banking for more than 37 years, which gives her a solid base of banking knowledge and customer service experience. She previously worked with other members of the Hyperion Bank team.

"Kenny's banking experience spans many functions, which makes him an especially agile team member," says Joel Higdon, Hyperion's Atlanta Branch Manager. "And he prides himself on customer service, always focusing on customers' needs and how he can help them accomplish their goals."

A Tennessee native, Harris earned a bachelor's degree from Tennessee State University, and is pursuing a Master's in Business Administration (Human Resources Management) from Strayer University. He has nearly 20 years of retail banking experience, 11 of those in the Atlanta market.

Before the end of the year Hyperion's Atlanta office will move into a larger, more customer-friendly space still within Piedmont Center. Hyperion expanded to the Atlanta market in Fall 2019. Founded in 2006, Hyperion Bank is a full-service community bank that connects with customers via technology and highly accessible, experienced, enthusiastic bankers who have local decision-making authority. Last year the bank launched Hyperion Mortgage, a significant expansion of its existing mortgage program that is a unique joint venture with a national mortgage lender. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. Offer of credit is subject to approval. #comunitybank #communitybanking #communitybanker #HyperionBank #HyperionMortgage #HyperionBancshares

Media inquiries:

B. Andrew (Drew) Plant

678-637-5532

[email protected]

SOURCE Hyperion Bank

Related Links

https://www.hyperionbank.com/default.aspx


The teased images reveal a form following function design that dares to diverge from traditions of the internal combustion engine era. SEVEN's lighting architecture is defined by Parametric Pixels, IONIQ's unique design identity connecting analog with digital emotions.

SEVEN's interior suggests a premium and personalized lounge ambience, deepening the space innovation that Hyundai Motor has shown with IONIQ 5. Furnishings trimmed in sustainable materials offer a refined, eco-friendly mobility experience that reflects the changing lifestyles of its customers.

Hyundai Motor will debut SEVEN during the AutoMobility LA press conference at 9:55 a.m., November 17 (PT). Journalists can attend the conference by visiting Hyundai's booth at the LA Convention Center or watch it digitally. SEVEN will remain on display from November 19 to 28 for the general public to view.

About Hyundai Motor Company

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is present in over 200 countries with more than 120,000 employees dedicated to tackling real-world mobility challenges around the globe. Based on the brand vision 'Progress for Humanity,' Hyundai Motor is accelerating its transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider. The company invests in advanced technologies such as robotics and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to bring about revolutionary mobility solutions, while pursuing open innovation to introduce future mobility services. In pursuit of sustainable future for the world, Hyundai will continue its efforts to introduce zero emission vehicles equipped with industry-leading hydrogen fuel cell and EV technologies.

More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at: http://worldwide.hyundai.com or http://globalpr.hyundai.com

SOURCE Hyundai Motor Company
The goal of the "Green Bay Sweep" strategy designed by Bannon was not to get the election overturned, but rather to subject the ballots cast in the key battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to careful scrutiny and investigation. As Navarro details, for the "Green Bay Sweep" to work, Vice President Mike Pence would have to "assert his constitutional power as Senate president [and] put certification of the election on ice for at least another several weeks while Congress and the various state legislatures involved investigate[d] all of the fraud and election irregularities that [would] be raised on Capitol Hill."

As Navarro watched the events unfold, he thought to himself, "January 6th will be either Mike Pence's finest hour or the traitorous Et u, Brute? end of both his and Donald Trump's political careers."

Pence would indeed betray Trump but the story behind that story is one of the most interesting of the In Trump Time book. Navarro reveals the real culprit and Pence puppet master - resembling another Shakespearean character in Iago - is Pence's Chief of Staff Marc Short who would convince Pence to do exactly the wrong thing, thereby furthering the interests of the Globalist Koch Network from which Short had gotten so many paychecks. Yet it was only because of the violence on Capitol Hill that day that Pence could credibly refuse to call for an investigation into what Navarro documents are massive election irregularities.

For regular updates please visit: https://peternavarro.com/

In Trump Time can purchased on Amazon here: https://bit.ly/intrumptimenewswire

Media Contact: [email protected]

About Peter Navarro

Peter Navarro holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and was a professor emeritus of economics and public policy at the University of California-Irvine for more than 20 years. He served as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy at the White House during the Trump Administration. He is the author of numerous books, including his China trilogy: The Coming China Wars (2006), Death By China (2011), and Crouching Tiger (2015). At the White House, Dr. Navarro advised President Trump on policies to increase economic growth, decrease trade deficits, and strengthen America's defense industrial base. He also helped increase foreign military sales to allied nations, and reformed conventional arms transfer and unmanned aerial systems policies.

SOURCE Peter Navarro

Related Links

www.peternavarro.com


LONDON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, has today announced its strategic collaboration with Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (Shell), as the commercialization partner of the "Shell Inventory Optimizer" solution.

Through this collaboration, Shell and Infosys will launch "Shell Inventory Optimizer" as the first product offered to its energy customers. The solution leverages artificial intelligence that enables companies to optimize warehouse inventory levels based on historical consumption. By improving demand planning, this innovative solution reduces the time and labor required to complete maintenance operations and brings down the cost of operation.

This collaboration will further strengthen the long-standing relationship that has existed between the two companies since 2000s.

"The Shell Inventory Optimizer was one of our earliest global digital products and has delivered millions of dollars in benefits for Shell, helping us to safeguard operations through inventory rightsizing," said Dan Jeavons, Vice President Computational Science and Digital Innovation at Shell. "We are delighted to bring this innovation to market together with Infosys. The collaboration enables us to accelerate the development of this product and develop new and innovative features."

"We are delighted to partner with Shell on their digital transformation and commercialization journey, particularly in the asset management space," said Ashiss Kumar Dash, EVP and Segment Head - services, utilities, resources, energy at Infosys. "The Shell Inventory Optimizer product will not only enable our clients to leverage emerging technologies in order to get deeper insights on their assets, but will also help them progress on their journey to become carbon neutral by bringing in operational efficiency by reducing wastage of raw materials. We are excited to bring Shell Inventory Optimizer solution to market and look forward to maturing our strategic collaboration with Shell."

About Infosys Ltd.

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE,NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this document "Shell" is sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg

For more information contact:

Dena Tahmasebi

Head of Communications EMEA

Infosys

[email protected]

SOURCE Infosys
WESTPORT, Conn., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Intensity Therapeutics, Inc. ("Intensity"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of proprietary, first-in-class immune-based intratumoral cancer therapies designed to kill tumors and increase immune system recognition of cancers, today announced that data on the Company's novel lead asset, INT230-6, will be presented at the Connective Tissue Oncology Society Annual Meeting (CTOS) and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's 36th Annual Meeting (SITC) in November.

November 10-13: Connective Tissue Oncology Society Annual Meeting (CTOS). Matthew A. Ingham, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, will give an oral presentation of results from the phase 1/2 study of INT230-6 as a monotherapy or in combination with ipilimumab in adult subjects with metastatic sarcomas.

Title: Safety and Efficacy from a Phase 1/2 Study of Intratumoral INT230-6 Alone or In Combination with Ipilimumab [INTENSITY# IT-01; BMS# CA184-592] in Adult Subjects with Metastatic Sarcomas (NCT 03058289)

Paper Number: 33

Author: Matthew A. Ingham, MD, Columbia University Medical Center

Session 6: Immunotherapy & Immune Microenvironment

Date: Friday, November 12, 2021

Time: 10:21 AM  10:28 AM ET

The presentation and associated paper will be accessible on the "Publications, Papers and Posters" section of Intensity's website at: https://intensitytherapeutics.com/news/publications-papers-and-posters/.

November 10-14: Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's 36th Annual Meeting (SITC). Two abstracts have been accepted for presentation:

Title: Survival and Immune Response Data from Intratumoral INT230-6 Alone (IT-01) and with Pembrolizumab [KEYNOTE-A10] in Subjects with Locally Advanced, Unresectable and Metastatic Solid Tumors

Poster Number: 501

Authors: Jacob Thomas, MD; Anthony El-Khoueiry, MD; Anthony J. Olszanski, MD, RPh; Nilofer Azad, MD; Giles F. Whalen, MD; Diana Hanna, MD; Matthew Ingham, MD; Syed Mahmood, MD; Lewis H. Bender, MS, MA, MBA; Ian B. Walters, MD, MBA; Lilian L. Siu, MD

Category: Clinical Trials in Progress

Date: Friday November 12, 2021

Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.



Title: Intratumoral INT230-6 Shows a Favorable Safety Profile and Early Signs of Efficacy in Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma with Monotherapy and in Combination with Ipilimumab [Intensity IT-01; BMS#CA184-592]

Poster Number: 536

Authors: Matthew Ingham, MD; James Hu, MD; Giles F. Whalen, MD; Jacob Thomas, MD; Anthony El-Khoueiry, MD; Diana Hanna, MD; Anthony J. Olszanski, MD, RPh; Christian F. Meyer; Nilofer Azad, MD; Syed Mahmood, MD; Lewis H. Bender, MS, MA, MBA; Ian B. Walters, MD, MBA; Lilian L. Siu, MD; Albiruni R. Razak

Category: Clinical Trials in Progress

Date: Saturday, November 13, 2021

Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

The ePosters will be on display on the SITC virtual meeting platform beginning at 7:00 AM ET on Friday November 12, 2021 until the virtual meeting platform is closed on January 9, 2022. They will also be accessible on the "Publications, Papers and Posters" section of Intensity's website at: https://intensitytherapeutics.com/news/publications-papers-and-posters/.

About INT230-6

INT230-6, Intensity's lead proprietary investigational product candidate, is designed for direct intratumoral injection. INT230-6 was discovered using Intensity's proprietary DfuseRx technology platform. The drug is composed of two proven, potent anti-cancer agents, cisplatin and vinblastine, and a penetration enhancer molecule that helps disperse the drugs throughout tumors for diffusion into cancer cells. In addition to local disease control, direct killing of the tumor by INT230-6 releases a bolus of neoantigens specific to the patient's malignancy, leading to engagement of the immune system and systemic anti-tumor effects. Importantly, these effects are mediated without the immunosuppression of concomitant systemic chemotherapy.

INT230-6 is currently being evaluated in several Phase 2 cohorts (NCT03058289) in patients with various advanced solid tumors as part of Study IT-01. In 2019, the Company signed a clinical collaboration agreement with Merck Sharpe & Dohme (Merck) to evaluate the combination of INT230-6 and KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), Merck's anti-PD-1 (programmed death receptor-1) therapy, in patients with advanced pancreatic, colon, squamous cell and bile duct malignancies. In 2020, the Company executed a clinical collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to evaluate the combination of INT230-6 with Bristol-Myers Squibb's anti-CTLA-4 antibody, Yervoy (ipilimumab), in patients with advanced liver, breast and sarcoma cancers. In 2021, the Company executed agreements with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research to study INT230-6 in a randomized controlled neoadjuvant phase 2 study in women with early stage breast cancer (the INVINCIBLE study) (NCT04781725).

About Intensity Therapeutics

Intensity Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new immune-based approach to treat solid tumor cancers. Intensity leverages its DfuseRx technology platform to create new, proprietary drug formulations that, following direct injection, rapidly disperse throughout a tumor and diffuse therapeutic agents into cancer cells. Intensity's product candidates have the potential to induce an adaptive systemic immune response that not only attacks the injected tumor, but also non-injected tumors. The Company executed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Vaccine Branch in 2014 and has partnerships with Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb. For more information, please visit www.intensitytherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Intensity Therapeutics' plans, future operations and objectives. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual performance or achievements to be materially different from those currently anticipated. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about the initiation and timing of future clinical trials.

Contact Information

Investor Relations Contact:

Rx Communications Group

Michael Miller

(917)-633-6086

[email protected]

US Media Contact:

KOGS Communication

Edna Kaplan

+1 781 639 1910

[email protected]

SOURCE Intensity Therapeutics, Inc.

Related Links

https://intensitytherapeutics.com


AMESBURY, Mass., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Tower Payments, a New-England-based payment processor, there is a noticeable growing demand for US payment processing that both allows the sale of head shop items like water pipes, and also integrates easily with Shopify.

There are two main factors driving this demand.

First is Shopify's ever-solidifying reputation as a gold standard in e-commerce. Shopify's recent public reporting shows a 40 percent increase in merchant sales volume. Many attribute this to the platform's ease of use and ever-growing features and benefits. Most payment processing professionals we have spoken to expect Shopify to maintain a dominant market share among e-commerce website owners in the United States.

Second is the increase in marijuana legalization across the United States. Roughly one year ago, four more states were added to the number of jurisdictions that legalized the recreational use of marijuana for those 21 years old and above. As of late 2021, 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, have legalized recreational marijuana use. An additional 13 states have decriminalized possession of small amounts of high-THC cannabis for personal use.

Based on these two factors, Tower Payments founder and director, Nyah Penney, expects a continued high demand for Shopify payment processing that allows smoking accessories like functional pipes. Penney says, "I expect the growth in Shopify credit card processing interest among head shop website owners to continue well into the future. Products like glass bongs and smoke shop paraphernalia are becoming mainstream, and Shopify's already stellar reputation seems to be improving, if anything."

Tower Payments offers Shopify-integrated AuthorizeNet-based payment processing for online head shops. They provide high-risk online businesses with payment gateways and merchant account recommendations so that Shopify head shops have another affordable way to process credit card transactions. Tower Payments has over six years of direct experience working with Shopify-based head shops and offers a host of solutions catered to the industry.

As the market for legal marijuana paraphernalia has expanded, Shopify merchants find that they have more options  it is no longer necessary for marijuana-accessory website owners to lose sleep over their inability to accept credit cards.

Tower Payments offers high-risk Shopify merchants the ability to save money on credit card processing while maintaining a one-on-one support approach that can be important to business owners who have struggled with integrating high-risk payment processing in the past.

Many Internet head shop merchants are relieved to find that the unstable, overpriced third-party solutions of years past are no longer the norm. Credit card and online debit card payments are often 100 percent of an online head shop's revenue, making the affordability and stability of their payment processing an essential part of doing business online.

One solution that works for many Shopify site owners is AuthorizeNet. This popular payment gateway is used by hundreds of thousands of websites, and it can also work well for online head shops as long as it is properly integrated with a head shop merchant account. Tower Payments offers assistance, advice, and support for Shopify head shop integrations.

Authorize.net can also be used with other shopping carts like WooCommerce. Nyah Penney says, "Our host of shopping-cart-specific payment processing solutions helps online head shop owners run their website as is  without having to start over on a different platform. When payment processing is properly set up, website owners are free to sell water pipes, functional pipes, and other head shop products without anxiety. We want online businesses to be able to sell their legal smoke-shop items online without dealing with bad service and high fees."

As marijuana legalization becomes more mainstream, the number of Americans living in areas that allow its recreational and medicinal use is growing exponentially. Consequently, the demand for Shopify credit card processing for online head shops will also continue to expand as new websites come online and existing retail businesses expand into e-commerce. Tower Payments is well positioned to provide Shopify sites with payment gateway integrations and high-risk merchant account recommendations that work.

To learn more about Tower Payments' online head shop AuthorizeNet payment processing for Shopify, visit https://towerpayments.com/process-credit-cards-bongs-shopify/

Media Contact

Nyah Penney

[email protected]

978-346-6043



SOURCE Tower Payments
The new guidance is a direct response to recent research from iStock's Visual GPS survey and study data in Mind Share Partners' 2021 Mental Health at Work Report in partnership with Qualtrics and ServiceNow, which both demonstrate a clear need to proactively portray a healthier, more sustainable culture of work within business communications.

According to Mind Share Partners, 76% of full-time U.S. employees reported experiencing at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past yearup from 59% in 2019. Further, iStock's Visual GPS research revealed that 91% of Americans think it's just as important to take care of themselves emotionally, as it is physically, with 89% of people wanting to see more tangible support for those with mental health issues.

Based on these guidelines, iStock curated a selection of visuals that promote a healthy, sustainable workplace culture and wellbeing  browse our curation here: https://www.istockphoto.com/collaboration/boards/XZj3C3FER0m8a7RHYjErKg

"Mental health is an increasingly common topic in workplaces and in the mediain fact, it's becoming the norm. Yet media and corporate visual choices around mental health are all too often dramatized, staged, stereotyped, and even entirely incorrect," says Bernie Wong, Senior Manager of Insights & Principal at Mind Share Partners. "These portrayals have a very real impact on the ways we come to understand mental health, seek support, and treat the people experiencing mental health challenges. Ultimately, we all have a unique opportunity to create meaningful change around the narrative of workplace mental health through the language we use and the visuals we curate."

"Our research shows that employer support and investment is paramount as are authentic, inclusive representations of mental health and people's day-to-day lived experiences," said Rebecca Rom-Frank, Creative Insights Researcher, iStock. "Businesses everywhere must consider how they craft communications and guidance, especially when selecting visuals, and ultimately work to foster a culture supportive of mental health in the long term."

Given that companies of all sizes are considering how to message "return to office" protocols in the wake of vaccination availability, now is a great time to intentionally choose visuals which demonstrate an interest in the wellbeing of employees and their mental health. The below guidelines seek to provide actionable guidance to make thoughtful visual choicesimagery, video and illustrationwhen depicting mental health in the workplace, and to help elevate the conversations and stories around mental health at work to be more accurate, inclusive, and productive:

Capture the Breadth of Mental Health Experiences: According to Mind Share Partners study, the most common symptoms in 2021 were burnout (56%), depression (46%), and anxiety (40%). In a similar vein, iStock saw a 204% rise in image searches for "burnout" globally in 2021, indicating the value of specificity and wider representation. Use visuals that showcase authentic experiences and scenarios that showcase the nuances of how people might respond to such symptomsboth the positive and challengingfrom everyday life at work.





According to Mind Share Partners study, the most common symptoms in 2021 were burnout (56%), depression (46%), and anxiety (40%). In a similar vein, iStock saw a 204% rise in image searches for "burnout" globally in 2021, indicating the value of specificity and wider representation. Use visuals that showcase authentic experiences and scenarios that showcase the nuances of how people might respond to such symptomsboth the positive and challengingfrom everyday life at work. Make Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Center Points in the Conversation: Amidst the surge of racial injustice throughout the pandemic, intersectional conversations around mental health are increasingly crucial to employees of historically underrepresented communities. Mind Share Partners found that 54% of workers agreed that mental health is a DEI issueup from 41% in 2019. In addition, within the last year, iStock saw a 234% increase in searches for "workplace diversity," indicating a clear appetite for widespread representation. When selecting visuals, be intentional around inclusivity across gender identity, race, ethnicity, age, ability, and more, including their intersections.





Amidst the surge of racial injustice throughout the pandemic, intersectional conversations around mental health are increasingly crucial to employees of historically underrepresented communities. Mind Share Partners found that 54% of workers agreed that mental health is a DEI issueup from 41% in 2019. In addition, within the last year, iStock saw a 234% increase in searches for "workplace diversity," indicating a clear appetite for widespread representation. When selecting visuals, be intentional around inclusivity across gender identity, race, ethnicity, age, ability, and more, including their intersections. Share Proactive Strategies to Support Workplace Mental Health: In the wake of the "work from home shift," the lines between work life and home life have blurred, raising concerns as employees return to in-person office settings. According to research from iStock, only 16% of Americans said they're looking forward to returning to work and 60% want more support in balancing responsibilities at work and home. Similarly, Mind Share Partners found that 32% of workers reported work-life balance as a factor impacting their mental health. To address this, prioritize visuals that promote healthy, sustainable ways of working and proactive strategies to support the mental health of individuals and teams.





In the wake of the "work from home shift," the lines between work life and home life have blurred, raising concerns as employees return to in-person office settings. According to research from iStock, only 16% of Americans said they're looking forward to returning to work and 60% want more support in balancing responsibilities at work and home. Similarly, Mind Share Partners found that 32% of workers reported work-life balance as a factor impacting their mental health. To address this, prioritize visuals that promote healthy, sustainable ways of working and proactive strategies to support the mental health of individuals and teams. Include Work-Life Balance, Flexibility and Remote Work: As the workforce prepares for office re-openings, remember that not everyone's work life looks the same. Flexible work is on the rise, with a greater number of Americans opting for hybrid or permanently-remote situations. Mind Share Partners found that the top ways their employers' "return to office" plans are negatively impacting their mental health were the policies themselves followed by their impact on work-life balance; in fact, a growing number of reports show that nearly 40% of U.S. workers would plan on leaving their roles if full-time, in-person work was reinstated.

Remote work is also top of mind among marketers. iStock research reveals that searches for "virtual meetings" have risen 70% in the last year alone. Workplaces that prioritize visuals around traditional workforces' risk alienating remote and hybrid workers or causing feelings of detachment. When curating visuals, incorporate a mix of workers collaborating in-person, talking on the phone and via web platforms, as well as working from home.

Showcase Connection and Community: Employees are feeling the strain of social distancing. According to iStock research, 48% of Americans feel that communicating online has made some of their relationships worse. With this in mind, choose visuals that showcase communal work settings, including coworkers attending an in-person or hybrid meeting, at a networking event, or collaborating over lunch. According to Mind Share, 65% of respondents reported having discussed their mental health with someone at work in the past year. To ensure these conversations keep happening, organizations should create a culture of connection, further normalizing these discussions by depicting work culture and community.





Employees are feeling the strain of social distancing. According to iStock research, 48% of Americans feel that communicating online has made some of their relationships worse. With this in mind, choose visuals that showcase communal work settings, including coworkers attending an in-person or hybrid meeting, at a networking event, or collaborating over lunch. According to Mind Share, 65% of respondents reported having discussed their mental health with someone at work in the past year. To ensure these conversations keep happening, organizations should create a culture of connection, further normalizing these discussions by depicting work culture and community. Depict Suicide and Other Serious Mental Health Topics with Care: Industry leaders in suicide prevention have outlined clear guidelines in responsible reporting around suicide and other serious topics, such as: convey that suicide is complex and often caused by a range of factors, rather than by a single event, show that help is available, and use nonjudgmental language. Additionally, when selecting visuals, avoid depicting methods of suicide, traumatic visuals, and negative or explicit portrayals of mental health. Always include resources for navigating crises and ongoing support for mental health.

SOURCE press.gettyimages.com
"Audiences have always had a thing for medical dramas on television for decades, and now more than ever in a post pandemic era. In this series the main character inspired by the award-winning medical drama Dr. House, plays a sarcastic and antisocial doctor. Dr. Hekimoglu, while unlikeable, is a genius, and he develops a great reputation for solving the most perplexing medical cases. I'm sure this captivating drama will resonate with the Hispanic audience from the first episode," said Francheska Leon de la Barra, Marketing Director for Kanal D Drama in the U.S. and LatAm.

"Hekimoglu" is an adaptation of the famous U.S. series "House, M.D." The Turkish version features Timucin Esen (Cruzando Mares) in the lead role of Dr. Ates Hekimoglu, a renowned physician in infectious diseases and nephrology. Each episode of the series follows this exceptional doctor, with his somewhat gruff and antisocial character, who is as witty as he is arrogant, leading a team of young doctors, who do everything possible to help their patients and solve the puzzling medical cases that arrive at the hospital.

"Hekimoglu" premieres in the U.S. on Kanal D Drama on November 16. It will air Monday through Friday at 8:20 p.m. Eastern / 5:20 p.m. Pacific via Xfinity and Verizon FiOS (channel 1586), and it will also be available for streaming via Kanal D Drama's app. Watch the official trailer here: https://youtu.be/Doy8915Hiec

Kanal D Drama is the first 24/7 channel that presents Turkish dramas in Spanish. It is owned by Kanal D International Networks and currently reaches 14 countries on three continents. The result of a strategic alliance between Kanal D International and Thema America, it is responsible for managing, operating, and distributing Kanal D Drama's Spanish-language programming in the United States and Latin America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Nicaragua, and Uruguay. There are also other versions of Kanal D Drama in Albania, France, and Kosovo.

For more information about Kanal D Drama, its linear programming, and its SVOD service in the United States, visit www.kanalddrama.com and follow us on YouTube , Facebook , Instagram, and Spotify.

About Thema America:

THEMA, a Canal+ group company, is a leading distributor of thematic and multicultural content on all platforms for MVPDs (Multichannel Video Programming Distributors). It has a varied portfolio of more than 180 channels worldwide. Its portfolio includes, among others, Kanal D Drama, in association with Kanal D International; MEZZO Live HD a Canal+'s, also it offers Mexico's leading channels, Once Mexico and Canal 22 International, and the Dominican Republic's Telemicro Internacional, among others.

About Kanal D International:

Kanal D International is the global business arm of Demiroren Media Group, Europe's leading media organization operating at television, newspaper, internet and magazine publishing and distribution industries. Since 2018, Kanal D International has widened its presence at the content world with Kanal D International Networks brand to reach the end-user. The distribution arm of the company continues its activities under the brand Kanal D International and Kanal D International Networks is the name of the business line that holds all linear assets.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677950/Hekimoglu.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1488303/KANAL_D_DRAMA_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Thema America
CHICAGO and IRVING, Texas, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaufman, Hall & Associates, LLC ("Kaufman Hall"), a strategic advisor for healthcare systems and providers, and Vizient, Inc. ("Vizient"), the nation's leading healthcare performance improvement company, announced that Vizient will make a strategic, minority investment in Kaufman Hall. Funds affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC ("MDP") will continue to own a majority position in Kaufman Hall.

"We are excited to receive this strategic investment from Vizient, as it opens the door for us to collaborate with Vizient and its members to address our clients' most important strategic, financial, and operational needs," said Kenneth Kaufman, founder and chair of Kaufman Hall. "Vizient's deep industry expertise and complementary capabilities create an opportunity for Kaufman Hall to strengthen our offering in strategic planning, financial planning, and performance improvement. With the continued partnership of MDP and with the investment by Vizient, Kaufman Hall will be even better positioned to deliver industry-leading insights and unlock value across the healthcare continuum."

Kaufman Hall and Vizient will each remain independent organizations with distinct operations, offerings, clients, and management teams. This investment will deepen and expand the two companies' ability to support health systems with the financial, operational, and strategic insight they need to better serve their communities through access to high quality, affordable healthcare. Key areas of collaboration between Kaufman Hall and Vizient will include enterprise and service-line growth strategy, financial performance improvement, access to capital, strategic partnerships, spend management, and clinical quality.

"Vizient's investment and collaboration with Kaufman Hall will positively impact the financial, clinical, and operational performance of our members," said Byron Jobe, president and CEO at Vizient. "Kaufman Hall's unparalleled financial performance offerings and advisory services joined with Vizient's data and analytics capabilities, and clinical and operational performance expertise will provide solutions to some of healthcare's most difficult problems. This investment and our future collaboration serve our mission to connect healthcare organizations and providers with the knowledge, solutions, and expertise that enable them to improve performance."

Vizient's investment will enhance Kaufman Hall's proven ability to help its clients improve financial performance, make effective strategic decisions, access capital, create strategic partnerships, and achieve transformative outcomes.

"We initially invested in Kaufman Hall in 2014 and have enjoyed helping the company grow into the market-leading enterprise it is today," said Jason Shideler, managing director on the MDP Health Care team. "Vizient's investment is a testament to Kaufman Hall's success and the value Vizient sees in Kaufman Hall's long-term growth potential. We are pleased to welcome Vizient as an investment partner and look forward to working together as we support Kaufman Hall in the continued execution of its client-centric growth strategy."

The investment is expected to close this quarter, subject to regulatory approval and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Jefferies LLC and Barclays are acting as financial advisors to Kaufman Hall. BMO Capital Markets is acting as financial advisor to Vizient.

MDP's capital markets group has arranged for committed financing from a group of private lenders to support the transaction.

About Kaufman Hall

Kaufman Hall provides management consulting solutions to help society's foundational institutions realize sustained success amid changing market conditions. Since 1985, Kaufman Hall has been a trusted advisor to boards and executive management teams, helping them incorporate proven methods, rigorous analytics, and industry-leading solutions into their strategic planning and financial management processes, with a focus on achieving their most challenging goals.

Kaufman Hall services use a rigorous, disciplined, and structured approach that is based on the principles of corporate finance. The breadth and integration of Kaufman Hall advisory services are unparalleled, encompassing strategy; financial and capital planning; performance improvement; treasury and capital markets management; and mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and joint ventures.

About Vizient

Vizient, Inc. provides solutions and services that improve the delivery of high-value care by aligning cost, quality, and market performance for more than 50% of the nation's acute care providers, which includes 97% of the nation's academic medical centers, and more than 20% of ambulatory care providers. Vizient provides expertise, analytics, and advisory services, as well as a contract portfolio that represents more than $110 billion in annual purchasing volume, to improve patient outcomes and lower costs. In 2021, Vizient acquired Intalere, which expanded its footprint with ambulatory and rural acute care providers. Vizient has earned a World's Most Ethical Company designation from the Ethisphere Institute every year since its inception. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Vizient has offices throughout the United States. Learn more at www.vizientinc.com.

About Madison Dearborn Partners

Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC ("MDP") is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Since MDP's formation in 1992, the firm has raised aggregate capital of over $28 billion and has completed over 150 investments. MDP invests across five dedicated industry verticals, including business and government software and services; basic industries; financial and transaction services; health care; and telecom, media, and technology services. For more information, please visit www.mdcp.com.

Press Contacts

For Kaufman Hall:

Tyler Williams

McCabe Message Partners

(434) 329-0940 / [email protected]

For Vizient:

Donna Ledbetter

Vizient, Inc.

(972) 830-6321 / [email protected]

For Madison Dearborn Partners:

Deirdre Walsh / Hannah Gould

Abernathy MacGregor

212-371-5999 / [email protected]

SOURCE Kaufman Hall

Related Links

https://www.kaufmanhall.com


MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kinecta Federal Credit Union, America's 35th largest credit union, proudly representing over 270,000 member-owners with assets of $6.5 billion, has been named 2021 California Advocate of the Year by the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues. The designation recognizes Kinecta's contributions to the credit union movement and to their members, and its extraordinary leadership in advocacy and political action on behalf of the entire credit union industry.

"Kinecta continues to advocate for legislation that protects the credit union industry and allows us to better serve our members today, and into the future," said Keith Sultemeier, Chief Executive Officer of Kinecta Federal Credit Union. "We are extremely proud to be named 2021 California Advocate of the Year. This recognition showcases the expertise and dedication of our employees, state leagues and national trade associations in contributing to our industry's advocacy success."

The 2021 Leagues and Advocacy awards celebrate the excellence, contributions and achievements of seventeen credit union leaders, volunteers, up-and-comers, as well as credit unions and organizations.

Kinecta was honored yesterday during California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues' flagship event REACH 2021 happening in Palm Desert, CA November 1-4.

For more information about Kinecta, visit www.kinecta.org.

About Kinecta Federal Credit Union

Kinecta Federal Credit Union is the country's 35th largest credit union, with assets of $6.5 billion and over 270,000 member-owners. Our 800+ employees serve members from 32 branches, a variety of specialty offices, and highly responsive call centers on both coasts. Banking the Southern California area for more than 80 years, with recent expansion to Northern California, New York, and New Jersey, Kinecta offers its members a full range of financial products through the Credit Union and its subsidiaries, Kinecta Wealth Management and Kinecta Insurance Services. Daily Breeze readers have named Kinecta a top South Bay credit union for the past 10 years, and Kinecta was voted Easy Reader's 2020 "Best of the Beach" Credit Union.

SOURCE Kinecta Federal Credit Union

Related Links

www.kinecta.org


PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE: LCI) today reported financial results for its fiscal 2022 first quarter ended September 30, 2021.

"For the quarter, solid sales of several key products contributed to our better than expected topline," said Tim Crew, chief executive officer of Lannett. "Our gross margin however, was lower than anticipated, largely due to increasing competitive pressure on our base portfolio and product mix. Our strong cash position at September 30, 2021 grew to more than $105 million from approximately $93 million at June 30, 2021.

"Our pipeline of large durable assets continues to progress. As previously stated, we believe all five disclosed products could be approved, or tentatively approved, by 2025, with the product closest to commercialization, generic ADVAIR DISKUS, possibly launching next fiscal year, and the potentially transformational biosimilar Insulin Glargine currently expected to launch in fiscal year 2024.

"Recently, the FDA provided mid-cycle discipline review comments on the pending Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for our generic Advair Diskus product. We are working to address the FDA's helpful comments and intend to respond to as many of the Agency's requests as possible before the FDA due dates. We expect to receive additional comments from the FDA on the FDA-assigned goal date of January 31, 2022. As previously disclosed, we expect to have more than one review cycle for the ANDA. Regarding our biosimilar insulin glargine product, we remain on track for submitting the Investigational New Drug (IND) Application next month and commencing the pivotal trial around March 2022.

"Looking ahead, we have revised our guidance down to reflect, in part, the particularly competitive environment of our current base oral generics portfolio. Fortunately, our strategy has been to commercialize and further expand a pipeline of large durable assets, especially around our respiratory and insulin product franchises, on top of other efforts to add value to our business.

"In the interim, we will prioritize maintaining a healthy cash position, so that we have the operational runway to launch our near- and mid-term pipeline, and we have implemented a restructuring plan (discussed below) to address the expected decline in current fiscal year net sales."

Restructuring, Cost Reduction Initiatives

Today, in light of the accelerated declines in the base business, the company also announced a restructuring plan approved by the board earlier this week. The restructuring retains core strategies, while further optimizing operations, improving efficiencies and reducing costs. Elements of the plan, which is expected to be completed in about 18 months, include:

consolidating the manufacturing footprint

transferring liquid drug production to the company's main plant in Seymour, Indiana from its facility in Carmel, New York

from its facility in

closing the Carmel plant and pursuing its sale

plant and pursuing its sale restructuring the R&D function

reducing headcount and discontinuing future development programs targeting liquid generic medications



raising threshold requirements for other internally developed products and starting projects earlier, resulting in fewer but potentially larger market opportunity products

further product rationalization, over time, as the company has done in the past. This particular exercise primarily involves scaling back or phasing out some low margin OTC products, made at the Carmel site, and two very low margin prescription products

Overall, the current organizational workforce will be reduced by approximately 11%, and other existing and anticipated future vacancies will not be filled. Ultimately, the plan is expected to result in a leaner, more focused organization and generate cost savings of approximately $20 million, annually.

First Quarter Financial Results: Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2021

GAAP basis:

Net sales were $101.5 million compared with $126.5 million

compared with Gross profit was $16.5 million , or 16% of net sales, compared with $25.7 million , or 20% of net sales

, or 16% of net sales, compared with , or 20% of net sales Net loss was $22.3 million , or $0.56 per share, compared with $6.5 million , or $0.17 per share

Non-GAAP basis:

Net sales were $101.5 million compared with $126.5 million

compared with Adjusted gross profit was $20.6 million , or 20% of net sales, compared with $34.4 million , or 27% of net sales

, or 20% of net sales, compared with , or 27% of net sales Adjusted interest expense increased to $12.8 million from $11.2 million

from Adjusted net loss was $10.6 million , or $0.27 per share, versus adjusted net income of $2.2 million , or $0.06 per diluted share

, or per share, versus adjusted net income of , or per diluted share Adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal 2022 first quarter was $10.0 million compared with $33.2 million for the prior-year first quarter

Guidance for Fiscal 2022

Based on its current outlook, the company revised guidance for fiscal year 2022, as follows:



GAAP Adjusted* Net sales $370 million to $400 million, down from $400 million to $440 million $370 million to $400 million, down from $400 million to $440 million Gross margin % Approximately 15% to 17%, down from approximately 19% to 21% Approximately 19% to 21%, down from approximately 23% to 25% R&D expense $25 million to $28 million, down from $26 million to $29 million $25 million to $28 million, down from $26 million to $29 million SG&A expense $64 million to $67 million, down from $64 million to $68 million $55 million to $58 million, down from $58 million to $61 million Restructuring expense $1.5 million to $2.5 million $-- Interest and other Approximately $58 million, unchanged Approximately $52 million, unchanged Effective tax rate Approximately 0% to 5%, unchanged Approximately 22% to 23%, up from 21% to 22% Adjusted EBITDA N/A $22 million to $32 million, down from $40 million to $55 million Capital expenditures $10 million to $14 million, down from $12 million to $18 million $10 million to $14 million, down from $12 million to $18 million

*A reconciliation of Adjusted amounts to most directly comparable GAAP amounts can be found in the attached financial tables.

Conference Call Information and Forward-Looking Statements

Later today, the company will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET to review its results of operations for its fiscal 2022 first quarter ended September 30, 2021. The conference call will be available to interested parties by dialing 888-771-4371 from the U.S. or Canada, or 847-585-4405 from international locations, passcode 50246855. The call will be broadcast via the Internet at www.lannett.com. Listeners are encouraged to visit the website at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the scheduled presentation to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A playback of the call will be archived and accessible on the same website for at least three months.

Discussion during the conference call may include forward-looking statements regarding such topics as, but not limited to, the company's financial status and performance, regulatory and operational developments, and any comments the company may make about its future plans or prospects in response to questions from participants on the conference call.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release contains references to Non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, which are financial measures that are not prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP). Management uses these measures internally for evaluating its operating performance. The Company's management believes that the presentation of Non-GAAP financial measures provides useful supplementary information regarding operational performance, because it enhances an investor's overall understanding of the financial results for the Company's core business. Additionally, it provides a basis for the comparison of the financial results for the Company's core business between current, past and future periods. The Company also believes that including Adjusted EBITDA is appropriate to provide additional information to investors. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered only as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for or as a superior measure to, financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Detailed reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included with this release.

Non-GAAP financial measures exclude, among others, the effects of (1) amortization of purchased intangibles and other purchase accounting entries, (2) restructuring expenses, (3) asset impairment charges, (4) non-cash interest expense, as well as (5) certain other items considered unusual or non-recurring in nature.

ADVAIR DISKUS is a registered trademark of GlaxoSmithKline.

About Lannett Company, Inc.:

Lannett Company, founded in 1942, develops, manufactures, packages, markets and distributes generic pharmaceutical products for a wide range of medical indications  see financial schedule below for net sales by medical indication. For more information, visit the company's website at www.lannett.com.

This news release contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or future business performance. Any such statements, including, but not limited to, successfully commercializing recently introduced products and launching and successfully commercializing additional products in fiscal 2022, the potential material impact of COVID-19 on future financial results, successfully reducing expenses as a result of the restructuring and achieving the financial metrics stated in the company's revised guidance for fiscal 2022, whether expressed or implied, are subject to risks and uncertainties which can cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors which include, but are not limited to, the difficulty in predicting the timing or outcome of FDA or other regulatory approvals or actions, the ability to successfully commercialize products upon approval, including acquired products, and Lannett's estimated or anticipated future financial results, future inventory levels, future competition or pricing, future levels of operating expenses, product development efforts or performance, and other risk factors discussed in the company's Form 10-K and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. These forward-looking statements represent the company's judgment as of the date of this news release. The company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

FINANCIAL SCHEDULES FOLLOW

LANNETT COMPANY, INC. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In thousands, except share and per share data)







(Unaudited)











September 30, 2021

June 30, 2021













ASSETS









Current assets:







Cash and cash equivalents $ 105,321

$ 93,286 Accounts receivable, net 94,309

98,834 Inventories

112,637

109,545 Income taxes receivable 34,452

35,050 Assets held for sale

2,678

2,678 Other current assets

15,496

14,170 Total current assets 364,893

353,563 Property, plant and equipment, net 164,154

166,674 Intangible assets, net

135,338

137,835 Operating lease right-of-use asset 10,444

10,559 Other assets

16,039

15,106 TOTAL ASSETS

$ 690,868

$ 683,737



























LIABILITIES







Current liabilities:







Accounts payable

$ 36,990

$ 29,585 Accrued expenses

19,771

13,077 Accrued payroll and payroll-related expenses 9,737

10,680 Rebates payable

25,825

19,025 Royalties payable

14,620

13,779 Current operating lease liabilities 2,049

2,045 Other current liabilities 3,285

2,278 Total current liabilities 112,277

90,469 Long-term debt, net

596,975

590,683 Long-term operating lease liabilities 10,800

11,047 Other liabilities

18,169

19,009 TOTAL LIABILITIES

738,221

711,208













STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT





Common stock($0.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized; 41,786,848 and 40,913,148 shares issued;





40,302,111 and 39,576,606 shares outstanding at September 30, 2021 and June 30, 2021, respectively) 42

41 Additional paid-in capital 358,361

355,239 Accumulated deficit

(387,108)

(364,766) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (524)

(548) Treasury stock(1,484,737 and 1,336,542 shares at September 30, 2021 and June 30, 2021, respectively) (18,124)

(17,437) Total stockholders' deficit (47,353)

(27,471) TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT $ 690,868

$ 683,737



























LANNETT COMPANY, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) (In thousands, except share and per share data)















Three months ended





September 30,





2021

2020













Net sales

$ 101,525

$ 126,479

Cost of sales

81,008

92,187

Amortization of intangibles

3,996

8,589

Gross profit

16,521

25,703

Operating expenses:









Research and development expenses

5,764

6,539

Selling, general and administrative expenses

18,905

15,136

Restructuring expenses

-

4,043

Total operating expenses

24,669

25,718

Operating loss

(8,148)

(15)

Other income (expense):









Investment income

34

45

Interest expense

(14,224)

(14,486)

Other

(62)

(23)

Total other expense

(14,252)

(14,464)

Loss before income tax

(22,400)

(14,479)

Income tax benefit

(58)

(7,980)

Net loss

$ (22,342)

$ (6,499)













Loss per common share (1):









Basic

$ (0.56)

$ (0.17)

Diluted

$ (0.56)

$ (0.17)













Weighted average common shares outstanding (1):









Basic

39,927,822

39,070,982

Diluted

39,927,822

39,070,982















(1) Effective with the Warrants issued on April 22, 2021, the basic and diluted earnings per share was calculated based on the two-class method.





















LANNETT COMPANY, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP REPORTED TO NON-GAAP ADJUSTED INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (In thousands, except percentages, share and per share data)



























Three months ended September 30, 2021

Net sales Cost of sales Amortization of

intangibles Gross Profit Gross

Margin

% R&D expenses SG&A expenses Operating

income (loss) Other expense Loss before

income tax Income tax

benefit Net loss Diluted loss per

share (h)





GAAP Reported $ 101,525 $ 81,008 $ 3,996 $ 16,521 16% $ 5,764 $ 18,905 $ (8,148) $ (14,252) $ (22,400) $ (58) $ (22,342) $ (0.56) Adjustments:

























Amortization of intangibles (a) - - (3,996) 3,996

- - 3,996 - 3,996 - 3,996

Cody API business (b) - (33) - 33

(6) (13) 52 - 52 - 52

Depreciation on capitalized software costs (c) - - - -

- (1,051) 1,051 - 1,051 - 1,051

Distribution agreement renewal costs (d) - - - -

- (219) 219 - 219 - 219

Non-cash interest (e) - - - -

- - - 1,439 1,439 - 1,439

Other (f) - - - -

- (2,419) 2,419 - 2,419 - 2,419

Tax adjustments (g) - - - -

- - - - - (2,574) 2,574





























Non-GAAP Adjusted $ 101,525 $ 80,975 $ - $ 20,550 20% $ 5,758 $ 15,203 $ (411) $ (12,813) $ (13,224) $ (2,632) $ (10,592) $ (0.27)



























(a) To exclude amortization of purchased intangible assets primarily related to the acquisition of KUPI







(b) To exclude the operating results of the ceased Cody API business











(c) To exclude depreciation on previously capitalized software integration costs associated with the KUPI acquisition





(d) To exclude the consideration recorded to renew the Company's distribution agreement with Recro Gainesville LLC





(e) To exclude non-cash interest expense associated with debt issuance costs









(f) To primarily exclude the reimbursement of legal costs associated with a distribution agreement







(g) To exclude the tax effect of the pre-tax adjustments included above at applicable tax rates







(h) The weighted average share number for the three months ended September 30, 2021 is 39,927,822 for GAAP and non-GAAP loss per share calculations.

























LANNETT COMPANY, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP REPORTED TO NON-GAAP ADJUSTED INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (In thousands, except percentages, share and per share data)





























Three months ended September 30, 2020

Net sales Cost of sales Amortization of

intangibles Gross Profit Gross

Margin

% R&D expenses SG&A expenses Restructuring

expenses Operating

income

(loss) Other expense Income (loss)

before income

tax Income tax

expense (benefit) Net income (loss) Diluted earnings

(loss) per share (h)





GAAP Reported $ 126,479 $ 92,187 $ 8,589 $ 25,703 20% $ 6,539 $ 15,136 $ 4,043 $ (15) $ (14,464) $ (14,479) $ (7,980) $ (6,499) $ (0.17) Adjustments:



























Amortization of intangibles (a) - - (8,589) 8,589

- - - 8,589 - 8,589 - 8,589

Cody API business (b) - (74) - 74

(2) (427) - 503 - 503 - 503

Depreciation on capitalized software costs (c) - - - -

- (1,051) - 1,051 - 1,051 - 1,051

Restructuring expenses (d) - - - -

- - (4,043) 4,043 - 4,043 - 4,043

Non-cash interest (e) - - - -

- - - - 3,277 3,277 - 3,277

Other (f) - - - -

- (951) - 951 - 951 - 951

Tax adjustments (g) - - - -

- - - - - - 9,669 (9,669)































Non-GAAP Adjusted $ 126,479 $ 92,113 $ - $ 34,366 27% $ 6,537 $ 12,707 $ - $ 15,122 $ (11,187) $ 3,935 $ 1,689 $ 2,246 $ 0.06





























(a) To exclude amortization of purchased intangible assets primarily related to the acquisition of KUPI











(b) To exclude the operating results of the ceased Cody API business















(c) To exclude depreciation on previously capitalized software integration costs associated with the KUPI acquisition









(d) To exclude expenses associated with the 2020 Restructuring Plan















(e) To exclude non-cash interest expense associated with debt issuance costs













(f) To primarily exclude the reimbursement of legal costs associated with a distribution agreement











(g) To exclude the tax effect of the pre-tax adjustments included above at applicable tax rates











(h) The weighted average share number for the three months ended September 30, 2020 is 39,070,982 for GAAP and 40,717,506 for non-GAAP earnings (loss) per share calculations





























LANNETT COMPANY, INC. RECONCILIATION OF NET LOSS TO ADJUSTED EBITDA (UNAUDITED) ($ in thousands)









Three months ended



September 30, 2021





Net loss

$ (22,342)





Interest expense

14,224 Depreciation and amortization

9,585 Income tax benefit

(58) EBITDA

1,409





Share-based compensation

3,018 Inventory write-down

2,839 Investment income

(34) Other non-operating expense

62 Other (a)

2,690 Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)

$ 9,984







(a) To primarily exclude the reimbursement of legal costs associated with a distribution agreement



LANNETT COMPANY, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP ADJUSTED INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions)













Fiscal Year 2022 Guidance















Non-GAAP







GAAP

Adjustments

Adjusted





















Net sales

$370 - $400

-

$370 - $400



Gross margin percentage

approx. 15% to 17%

4% (a) approx. 19% to 21%



R&D expense

$25 - $28

-

$25 - $28



SG&A expense

$64 - $67

($9) (b) $55 - $58



Restructuring expense

$1.5 - $2.5

($1.5 - $2.5) (c) -



Interest and other

approx. $58

($6) (d) approx. $52



Effective tax rate

approx. 0% to 5%

-

approx. 22% to 23%



Adjusted EBITDA

N/A

N/A

$22 - $32



Capital expenditures

$10 - $14

-

$10 - $14









































(a) The adjustment primarily reflects amortization of purchased intangible assets related to the acquisition of Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("KUPI") (b) The adjustment primarily excludes depreciation on previously capitalized software integration costs associated with the KUPI acquisition and the reimbursement of legal costs associated with a distribution agreement (c) To exclude expenses associated with the 2021 Restructuring Plan (d) The adjustment primarily reflects non-cash interest expense associated with debt issuance costs

LANNETT COMPANY, INC. RECONCILIATION OF NET LOSS TO ADJUSTED EBITDA (UNAUDITED) ($ in millions)









Fiscal Year 2022 Guidance

Low

High







Net loss $ (93.0)

$ (84.0)







Interest expense 58.0

58.0 Depreciation and amortization 36.5

39.5 Income taxes -

(4.0) EBITDA 1.5

9.5







Share-based compensation 9.0

9.0 Inventory write-down 7.0

8.0 Restructuring expenses (a) 1.5

2.5 Other (b) 3.0

3.0 Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) $ 22.0

$ 32.0









(a) To exclude expenses associated with the 2021 Restructuring Plan





(b) Primarily relates to the reimbursement of legal costs associated with a distribution agreement



LANNETT COMPANY, INC.

NET SALES BY MEDICAL INDICATION















Three months ended



($ in thousands) September 30,



Medical Indication 2021

2020



Analgesic $ 5,314

$ 3,120



Anti-Psychosis 3,715

13,028



Cardiovascular 14,100

19,714



Central Nervous System 22,785

22,525



Endocrinology 7,845

3,233



Gastrointestinal 15,240

17,100



Infectious Disease 12,515

21,932



Migraine 4,685

9,690



Respiratory/Allergy/Cough/Cold 3,114

1,426



Urinary 1,176

1,458



Other 9,176

7,634



Contract Manufacturing revenue 1,860

5,619



Net Sales $ 101,525

$ 126,479















Contact: Robert Jaffe

Robert Jaffe Co., LLC

(424) 288-4098

SOURCE Lannett Company, Inc.

Related Links

www.lannett.com


Along with the campaign track, the company also released two separate music videos depicting the blissful and purely joyful moments that only OLED TV users get to experience while watching a movie or playing games. To emphasize OLED's outstanding picture quality and top-of-the-line self-emissive technology, Pink Sweat$ incorporated lyrics like "Immersive colors," "Picture perfect," and "Vibrant, Games, Paradise," as well as describing the experience as feeling "like I've got magic inside me, the world is lighting up, lighting up OLED, OLED." With his one-of-a-kind musical style, extraordinary storytelling and positive vibes, he resonates far and wide to all demographics.

To further spread the OLED Bliss experience to its younger audience, LG Display is running its #DuetYourBliss event and encouraging fans to take on the global Pink Sweat$ duet challenge. To participate, users simply have to record a video of themselves singing along to the lyrics on 'OLED passion points' of "I Feel Good" using the Remix feature of Instagram Reels, and then upload the duet video including the official event hashtags #OLEDBLISS and #DuetYourBLISS. Users can find the remix song along with the step-by-step video guide on the OLED Space official Instagram page (@oled_space) and Pink Sweat$'s official Instagram page (@pinksweats). The event will run until Nov. 14 PDT and a total of 58 winners will be chosen to win various prizes including a 65-inch and 77-inch OLED TV, Xbox Series S, and more.

"We're delighted to share the bliss of OLED with our younger consumers by collaborating with such a talented artist that inspires today's youth in so many ways," said KJ Kim, Vice President and Head of the TV Sales Group at LG Display. "With Pink Sweat$ the face of the campaign, we aim to make more people better aware of OLED's best-in-class gaming and movie experiences, and able to experience the power of OLED for themselves."

About LG Display

LG Display Co., Ltd. [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220] is the world's leading innovator of display technologies, including thin-film transistor liquid crystal and OLED displays. The company manufactures display panels in a broad range of sizes and specifications primarily for use in TVs, notebook computers, desktop monitors, and various other applications, including tablets and mobile devices. LG Display currently operates manufacturing facilities in Korea and China, and back-end assembly facilities in Korea, China, and Vietnam. The company has approximately 63,360 employees operating worldwide. For more news and information about LG Display, please visit www.lgdisplay.com .

Media Contact:

Jean Lee, Senior Manager, Global Communications

Tel: +822-3777-1689

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE LG Display
MONROE, La., Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Louisiana Small Business Development Center (Louisiana SBDC), hosted by Louisiana Delta Community College, has received national accreditation through 2026.

The Louisiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) was reviewed during June 7-11, 2021, by members of America's Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) Accreditation Committee composed of Mark Delisle, Maine SBDC; Jill Kline, Wyoming SBDC; and Bon Wikenheiser, Wisconsin SBDC. The review encompassed the general accreditation standards developed and deployed in cooperation with our federal funding partner, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

ASBDC Accreditation Committee Chair Jody Keenan wrote in the accreditation approval letter that based on the on-site review, final report, and presentation by the accreditation team, "the Accreditation Committee voted at its September 14, 2021 meeting to accredit the Louisiana SBDC."

"The Office of Small Business Development Centers (OSBDC) concurred with the committee's recommendation," Keenan wrote. "[The Louisiana SBDC] network is commended for both exceptional dedication and commitment to the pursuit of continuous improvement."

Louisiana SBDC State Director Carla Holland said the accreditation reaffirms the staff's "advanced knowledge, relevant experience and commitment to helping Louisiana's entrepreneurs succeed, which is so important as small business owners continue navigating challenges brought on by COVID-19."

"National accreditation is confirmation, at the highest standard, of our SBDC network's dedication to strengthening the Louisiana entrepreneurial ecosystem," Holland said. "It takes all of our stakeholders, host institutions, staff at every level, and the clients we serve to earn this designation."

America's Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) conducts this rigorous program review and approval process every five years for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA provides federal funding for the Louisiana SBDC, which is matched by Louisiana Economic Development (LED) and institutions of higher education. National accreditation is required to secure federal funding. The criteria and standards derive from the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to ensure effective and efficient program delivery.

Louisiana SBDC offers high-quality consulting to existing and new small business owners at no charge, in addition to affordable training and high-quality market research. The LSBDC specializes in growth acceleration, international trade, government contracting, and emergency preparedness.

Contact:

DeRon Talley

985-869-1070

[email protected]

SOURCE The Louisiana Small Business Development Center

Related Links

https://www.louisianasbdc.org


NEW HAVEN, Conn., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation today announced, along with Yale Law School, the launch of the Carol and Gene Ludwig Program in Public Sector Leadership. The program is designed to educate the next generation of public sector leaders with the skills they need to make a positive difference in the lives of others.



The program is founded by Gene Ludwig, former Comptroller of the Currency, founder and CEO of Promontory MortgagePath and Co-managing Partner of Canapi Ventures, and Chair of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), and Carol Ludwig, a neurologist and president of the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation.

"Serving our country and its people, particularly those in need, is one of the most rewarding and important professional experiences we can have, and we need to give our most talented young people a clear path to do so successfully and with compassion," said Gene Ludwig. "This one-of-a-kind law school program is designed to give YLS graduates the specialized policy and technical skills to serve effectively in government or other venues where they can make a powerful, positive difference for their fellow citizens."

The Ludwig Program provides focused professional support to Yale Law students who are interested in leadership roles in the public sector in areas such as government, nonprofits, and other institutions focused on serving the public.

"Now more than ever we need to prepare a new generation of students for careers in public service," said Carol Ludwig. "There is no better institution to serve as a home for this center of learning. We are excited to see the difference these students will make for our country and our global community."

The mission of the Ludwig Program is to ensure that students are capable of translating principle into practice; can display a firm grasp of the political, economic, civic, and operational dimensions of policy work; and are well equipped to engage in ethical reflection and decision making. The program is based on the notion that those who serve in the public sector should be flexible, big-picture thinkers who make empirically grounded decisions and are deeply committed to a vibrant democracy and the well-being of others.

The Ludwig Program builds upon the Law School's rich curricular offerings with events and programs focused on public sector work and leadership. A robust mentoring program and opportunities to interact with the Law School's network of alumni working in the public sector will help guide students on their future paths. In addition, the program will include the Ludwig Citizenship and Equality Lecture Series, which brings speakers to campus to address the ethics of citizenship and the most pressing issues in public service.

The Ludwig Program also builds upon the foundational work of the Ludwig Center for Community & Economic Development (CED) at Yale Law School, which allows students to provide transactional legal services to clients seeking to promote economic opportunity and mobility.

The Ludwig Program is co-directed by Cristina Rodriguez '00, Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law, and Jacob Hacker, Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale University and Resident Faculty Fellow of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale.

To learn more about the Carol and Gene Ludwig Program in Public Sector Leadership, visit law.yale.edu/ludwigprogram and https://www.ludwigfamilyfoundation.org/.

About the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation

Established in 2002, the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation (LFF) invests in organizations through strategic grantmaking that accelerate medical and scientific discovery, enable access to educational and economic opportunity for young people, and enriches and strengthens the communities where the founders live and work.

Carol Ludwig is a neurologist and the president of the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation. She serves on the board of KIPP-DC and on the Council of Medical Advisors for the Columbia University Irvine Medical Center, where she is part of the Neurology Advisory and Medical Education Committees and the Precision Medicine Council. A summa cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr College and The Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, she was a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service. She has worked at the National Institutes of Health, The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and as a faculty member at the George Washington University Medical Center.

Gene Ludwig is founder of the Promontory family of companies and Canapi LLC, a financial technology venture fund. He is the CEO of Promontory MortgagePath, a technology-based mortgage fulfillment and solutions company, chairman of Promontory Financial Group, and founder and chairman of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), an organization dedicated to improving the economic well-being of lower- and middle-income Amerians. Ludwig is the former vice chairman and senior control officer of Bankers Trust New York Corp., and served as the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency from 1993 to 1998. On Twitter: @geneludwig .

SOURCE Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation

Related Links

https://www.ludwigfamilyfoundation.org


JERSEY CITY, N.J., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mack-Cali Realty Corporation (NYSE: CLI) today reported its results for the third quarter 2021.

THIRD QUARTER 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

- Net income (loss) of $(0.33) per share for the third quarter 2021

- Core Funds from Operations ("Core FFO") per share of $0.17 for the third quarter 2021

- Two Waterfront office assets, totaling approximately 1.8 million square feet, are under contract for a combined sales price of $590 million, a further step towards simplifying and transitioning the business to a pure-play multifamily REIT

- The operating multifamily portfolio was 96.5% occupied, 2.7% above pre-pandemic levels, and the three lease-up properties launched earlier this year were above 95% leased as of October 24, 2021

- Multifamily sequential Same Store Net Operating Income ("NOI") increased by 4.0%, reflecting higher occupancy, higher net effective rents and increasing market rents

- The Waterfront office portfolio was 73.3% leased compared to 75.4% as of June 30, 2021, driven largely by the anticipated Natixis departure / move-out in Harborside 5

"I am pleased to announce another active quarter during which we further simplified the business, continued to enhance our operational platform and capitalized on the continued strength in multifamily leasing demand. We continue to see strong interest in our high quality assets, with occupancy in our multifamily portfolio now above pre-Covid levels" stated Mahbod Nia, Mack-Cali's Chief Executive Officer.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

For more information and a reconciliation of FFO, Core FFO, Adjusted EBITDA and NOI to net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders, please refer to the following pages and the Company's Supplemental Operating and Financial Data package for the third quarter 2021. Please note that all presented per share amounts are on a diluted basis.

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 was $(28.3) million, or $(0.33) per share, compared to $(42.2) million, or $(0.49) per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.

FFO for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 was $4.8 million, or $0.05 per share, compared to $10.1 million, or $0.10 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.

For the third quarter 2021, Core FFO was $17.5 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to $29.9 million, or $0.30 per share for the same period last year, primarily due to the impacts of the pandemic on our hotel and multifamily operations as well as the suburban asset disposals.

MULTIFAMILY PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS

The Company's operating multifamily portfolio was comprised of 5,825 units and was 96.5% occupied as of October 24, 2021, 2.7% above pre-pandemic levels and up from 92.3% as of June 30, 2021.

The Same Store multifamily portfolio was comprised of 5,499 units. The multifamily Same Store year-over-year NOI increased by 6.5%, reflecting higher revenue from recovering leasing activity driving lower vacancy and higher in-place rents.

The multifamily Same Store sequential quarter-over-quarter NOI increased by 4.0%, reflecting higher occupancy, higher net effective rents and increasing market rents.

Multifamily Development

The Company commenced lease-up of three buildings in 2021:

The Capstone at Port Imperial, NJ comprised of 360 units, was launched in the first quarter 2021 and was 96.4% leased as of October 24, 2021

The Upton in Short Hills, NJ comprised of 193 units, was launched in the first quarter 2021 and was 99.5% leased as of October 24, 2021

comprised of 193 units, was launched in the first quarter 2021 and was 99.5% leased as of Riverhouse 9 at Port Imperial, NJ comprised of 313 units, was launched in May 2021 and was 95.8% leased as of October 24, 2021

Haus 25, previously known as The Charlotte, a 750 unit asset located at 25 Christopher Columbus in Jersey City, NJ, is the only property currently under construction.

OFFICE PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

As of September 30, 2021, the Company's consolidated office portfolio was comprised of eight operational properties across 5.1 million rentable square feet and was 73.5% leased compared to 74.7% as of June 30, 2021.

The Waterfront office portfolio was 73.3% leased compared to 75.4% as of June 30, 2021, driven primarily by the anticipated Natixis departure / move-out at Harborside 5 (101,000 square feet). The Company signed 8,600 square feet of new leases during the third quarter, totaling 176,100 square feet of new leases or renewals / extensions signed in 2021.

For the office portfolio, third quarter 2021 Same Store year-over-year revenue decreased by 2.1% and Same Store year-over-year NOI increased by 3.4%, driven by savings in operating expenses.

TRANSACTION ACTIVITY

Waterfront Office Dispositions

During the third quarter 2021, the Company entered into separate definitive agreements to sell two of its office properties located in Jersey City and Hoboken, NJ totaling approximately 1.8 million square feet, for a combined sales price of $590 million.

Suburban Office Dispositions

During the third quarter 2021, the Company completed the disposal of its joint venture interest in the Crystal Lake office property for $1.9 million and 7 Giralda Farms for $29 million, using the net proceeds of the sales to fully retire the outstanding balance on the Company's term loan.

In October 2021, the Company completed the disposal of 4 Gatehall Drive for $25.3 million, using the net proceeds of the sale to paydown the corporate debt.

BALANCE SHEET/CAPITAL MARKETS

As at September 30, 2021, the Company had a debt-to-undepreciated assets ratio of 46.3% compared to 48.4% at December 31, 2020 and 49.8% at September 30, 2020.

Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 was 15.2x compared to 12.1x for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. The Company's interest coverage ratio was 2.5x for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, compared to 2.7x for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.

On October 27, 2021, following the successful lease-up of The Upton in Short Hills, the Company closed on the refinancing of the $62 million construction loan with a 5-year $75 million floating-rate facility at an interest margin of 1.4% over 1-month LIBOR. The Company simultaneously purchased a 3-year LIBOR cap at a strike rate of 1.0%.

CONFERENCE CALL/SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

An earnings conference call with management is scheduled for November 4, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, which will be broadcast live via the Internet at: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/wggqebkt.

The live conference call is also accessible by calling (323) 794-2598 and requesting the Mack-Cali earnings conference call or passcode 5487368.

The conference call will be rebroadcast on Mack-Cali's website at http://investors.mack-cali.com/corporate-overview beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on November 4, 2021.

A replay of the call will also be accessible November 4, 2021 through November 11, 2021 by calling (719) 457-0820 and using the pass code, 5487368.

Copies of Mack-Cali's third quarter 2021 Form 10-Q and Supplemental Operating and Financial Data are available on Mack-Cali's website, as follows:

Third Quarter 2021 Form 10-Q:

http://investors.mack-cali.com/sec-filings

Third Quarter 2021 Supplemental Operating and Financial Data:

http://investors.mack-cali.com/quarterly-supplementals

In addition, once filed, these items will be available upon request from:

Mack-Cali Investor Relations Department

Harborside 3, 210 Hudson St., Ste. 400, Jersey City, New Jersey 07311

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

Included in this press release are Funds from Operations, or FFO, Core Funds from Operations, or Core FFO, net operating income, or NOI and Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization, or Adjusted EBITDA, each a "non-GAAP financial measure", measuring Mack-Cali's historical or future financial performance that is different from measures calculated and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"), within the meaning of the applicable Securities and Exchange Commission rules. Mack-Cali believes these metrics can be a useful measure of its performance which is further defined below.

For reconciliation of FFO and Core FFO to Net Income (Loss), please refer to the following pages. For reconciliation of NOI, and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income (Loss), please refer to the Company's disclosure in the Quarterly Financial and Operating Data package for the third quarter 2021.

FFO

FFO is defined as net income (loss) before noncontrolling interests in Operating Partnership, computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP, excluding gains or losses from depreciable rental property transactions (including both acquisitions and dispositions), and impairments related to depreciable rental property, plus real estate-related depreciation and amortization. The Company believes that FFO per share is helpful to investors as one of several measures of the performance of an equity REIT. The Company further believes that as FFO per share excludes the effect of depreciation, gains (or losses) from property transactions and impairments related to depreciable rental property (all of which are based on historical costs which may be of limited relevance in evaluating current performance), FFO per share can facilitate comparison of operating performance between equity REITs.

FFO per share should not be considered as an alternative to net income available to common shareholders per share as an indication of the Company's performance or to cash flows as a measure of liquidity. FFO per share presented herein is not necessarily comparable to FFO per share presented by other real estate companies due to the fact that not all real estate companies use the same definition. However, the Company's FFO per share is comparable to the FFO per share of real estate companies that use the current definition of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT"). A reconciliation of net income per share to FFO per share is included in the financial tables accompanying this press release.

Core FFO

Core FFO is defined as FFO, as adjusted for certain items to facilitate comparative measurement of the Company's performance over time. Core FFO is presented solely as supplemental disclosure that the Company's management believes provides useful information to investors and analysts of its results, after adjusting for certain items to facilitate comparability of its performance from period to period. Core FFO is a non-GAAP financial measure that is not intended to represent cash flow and is not indicative of cash flows provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with GAAP. As there is not a generally accepted definition established for Core FFO, the Company's measures of Core FFO may not be comparable to the Core FFO reported by other REITs. A reconciliation of net income per share to Core FFO in dollars and per share is included in the financial tables accompanying this press release.

NOI and Same Store NOI

NOI represents total revenues less total operating expenses, as reconciled to net income above. The Company considers NOI to be a meaningful non-GAAP financial measure for making decisions and assessing unlevered performance of its property types and markets, as it relates to total return on assets, as opposed to levered return on equity. As properties are considered for sale and acquisition based on NOI estimates and projections, the Company utilizes this measure to make investment decisions, as well as compare the performance of its assets to those of its peers. NOI should not be considered a substitute for net income, and the Company's use of NOI may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. The Company calculates NOI before any allocations to noncontrolling interests, as those interests do not effect the overall performance of the individual assets being measured and assessed.

Same Store NOI is presented for the same store portfolio, which comprises all properties that were owned by the Company throughout both of the reporting periods.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

One of the country's leading real estate investment trusts (REITs), Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is an owner, manager and developer of multifamily and premier office properties in select waterfront and transit-oriented markets throughout New Jersey. Mack-Cali is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the visionary behind the city's flourishing waterfront, where the company is leading development, improvement and place-making initiatives for Harborside, a master-planned destination comprised of class A office, luxury apartments, diverse retail and restaurants, and public spaces.

A fully integrated and self-managed company, Mack-Cali has provided world-class management, leasing, and development services throughout New Jersey and the surrounding region for over two decades. By regularly investing in its properties and innovative lifestyle amenity packages, Mack-Cali creates environments that empower tenants and residents to reimagine the way they work and live.

Additional information on Mack-Cali Realty Corporation and the commercial real estate properties and multifamily residential communities available for lease can be found on the Company's website at www.mack-cali.com.

The information in this press release must be read in conjunction with, and is modified in its entirety by, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the "10-Q") filed by the Company for the same period with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and all of the Company's other public filings with the SEC (the "Public Filings"). In particular, the financial information contained herein is subject to and qualified by reference to the financial statements contained in the 10-Q, the footnotes thereto and the limitations set forth therein. Investors may not rely on the press release without reference to the 10-Q and the Public Filings.

We consider portions of this report, including the documents incorporated by reference, to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 21E of such act. Such forward-looking statements relate to, without limitation, our future economic performance, plans and objectives for future operations and projections of revenue and other financial items. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "plan," "potential," "projected," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "target," "continue" or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which we cannot predict with accuracy and some of which we might not even anticipate. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions at the time made, we can give no assurance that such expectations will be achieved. Future events and actual results, financial and otherwise, may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading "Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated herein by reference. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

In addition, the extent to which the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacts us and our tenants will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the scope, severity and duration of the pandemic, the actions taken to contain the pandemic or mitigate its impact, and the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and containment measures, among others.

Investor Contact:

Amanda Klein/Grace Cartwright

Gasthalter & Co.

212-257-4170

[email protected]

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands, except per share amounts) (unaudited)



























Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30, REVENUES

2021



2020



2021



2020 Revenue from leases $ 72,243

$ 67,396

$ 206,950

$ 205,732 Real estate services

2,628



2,876



7,748



8,624 Parking income

3,950



4,033



10,520



12,332 Hotel income

3,018



893



6,785



3,290 Other income

1,905



3,999



9,081



7,021 Total revenues

83,744



79,197



241,084



236,999























EXPENSES





















Real estate taxes

11,905



11,004



35,958



32,920 Utilities

3,573



3,598



10,816



10,564 Operating services

17,291



19,116



51,831



51,179 Real estate services expenses

3,307



3,299



9,838



10,107 General and administrative

11,292



26,361



43,347



59,423 Dead deal and transaction-related costs

3,671



2,583



6,416



2,583 Depreciation and amortization

29,344



31,769



86,410



93,104 Property impairments

-



36,582



6,041



36,582 Land and other impairments

3,401



1,292



11,333



23,401 Total expenses

83,784



135,604



261,990



319,863























OTHER (EXPENSE) INCOME





















Interest expense

(15,200)



(20,265)



(49,364)



(61,794) Interest and other investment income (loss)

(4,731)



3



(4,620)



42 Equity in earnings (loss) of unconsolidated joint ventures

(1,724)



1,373



(2,831)



(281) Realized gains (losses) and unrealized gains (losses) on disposition of

rental property, net

(3,000)



-



521



(7,915) Gain on disposition of developable land

-



-



111



4,813 Gain (loss) on sale of unconsolidated joint ventures

(1,886)



-



(1,886)



- Loss from extinguishment of debt, net

-



-



(46,735)



- Total other income (expense)

(26,541)



(18,889)



(104,804)



(65,135) Income (loss) from continuing operations

(26,581)



(75,296)



(125,710)



(147,999)























Discontinued operations:





















Income from discontinued operations

180



18,403



13,939



60,004 Realized gains (losses) and unrealized gains (losses) on disposition of

rental property and impairments, net

609



15,775



25,469



(23,901) Total discontinued operations, net

789



34,178



39,408



36,103 Net income (loss)

(25,792)



(41,118)



(86,302)



(111,896) Noncontrolling interests in consolidated joint ventures

1,137



895



3,670



1,900 Noncontrolling interest in Operating Partnership of income from continuing operations

2,884



7,769



12,858



15,859 Noncontrolling interests in Operating Partnership in discontinued operations

(72)



(3,283)



(3,583)



(3,469) Redeemable noncontrolling interests

(6,471)



(6,471)



(19,413)



(19,413) Net income (loss) available to common shareholders $ (28,314)

$ (42,208)

$ (92,770)

$ (117,019)























Basic earnings per common share:





















Income (loss) from continuing operations $ (0.34)

$ (0.83)

$ (1.47)

$ (1.73) Discontinued operations

0.01



0.34



0.39



0.36 Net income (loss) available to common shareholders $ (0.33)

$ (0.49)

$ (1.08)

$ (1.37)























Diluted earnings per common share:





















Income (loss) from continuing operations $ (0.34)

$ (0.83)

$ (1.47)

$ (1.73) Discontinued operations

0.01



0.34



0.39



0.36 Net income (loss) available to common shareholders $ (0.33)

$ (0.49)

$ (1.08)

$ (1.37)























Basic weighted average shares outstanding

90,941



90,671



90,803



90,639























Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

99,975



100,307



99,870



100,235

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation Statements of Funds from Operations and Core FFO (in thousands, except per share/unit amounts) (unaudited)



























Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended

September 30, September 30,



2021



2020



2021



2020 Net income (loss) available to common shareholders $ (28,314)

$ (42,208)

$ (92,770)

$ (117,019) Add (deduct): Noncontrolling interests in Operating Partnership

(2,884)



(7,769)



(12,858)



(15,859) Noncontrolling interests in discontinued operations

72



3,283



3,583



3,469 Real estate-related depreciation and amortization on continuing operations (a)

31,624



34,764



92,842



101,856 Real estate-related depreciation and amortization on discontinued operations

53



1,267



965



3,974 Property Impairments on continuing operations

-



36,582



-



36,582 Property Impairments on discontinued operations

-



-



6,041



- Impairment of unconsolidated joint venture investment

-



-



(2)



- Gain on sale from unconsolidated joint ventures

1,886



-



1,886



- Continuing operations: Realized (gains) losses and unrealized (gains)

losses on disposition of rental property, net

3,000



-



(521)



7,915 Discontinued operations: Realized (gains) losses and unrealized (gains)

losses on disposition of rental property, net

(609)



(15,775)



(25,469)



23,901 Funds from operations (b) $ 4,828

$ 10,144

$ (26,303)

$ 44,819























Add (Deduct):





















(Gain) loss from early extinguishment of debt, net

-



-



46,735



- Dead deal and post sales items in Other Income

-



-



(3,068)



- Dead deal and transaction-related costs

3,671



2,583



6,416



2,860 Land and other impairments

3,401



1,292



11,333



23,401 Loan receivable loss allowance

5,152



-



5,152



- (Gain) on disposition of developable land

-



-



-



(4,813) CEO and related management change costs

-



-



2,089



- Severance/separation costs on management restructuring

438



8,900



8,696



11,738 Reporting system conversion costs

-



-



-



363 Proxy fight costs

-



6,954



-



12,770 Core FFO $ 17,490

$ 29,873

$ 51,050

$ 91,138























Diluted weighted average shares/units outstanding (c)

99,975



100,307



99,870



100,235























Funds from operations per share/unit-diluted $ 0.05

$ 0.10

$ (0.26)

$ 0.45























Core funds from operations per share/unit diluted $ 0.17

$ 0.30

$ 0.51

$ 0.91























Dividends declared per common share $ -

$ -

$ -

$ 0.40























Supplemental Information:





















Non-incremental revenue generating capital expenditures:





















Building improvements $ (5,651)

$ (2,975)

$ (11,006)

$ (7,325) Tenant improvements & leasing commissions (d) $ (1,136)

$ (4,057)

$ (2,408)

$ (15,052) Tenant improvements & leasing commissions on space vacant for more than a year $ (5,479)

$ (1,627)

$ (14,635)

$ (10,652) Straight-line rent adjustments (e) $ (4,316)

$ (467)

$ (7,850)

$ (1,744) Amortization of (above)/below market lease intangibles, net (f) $ (536)

$ (858)

$ (2,187)

$ (2,661) Amortization of stock compensation $ 2,784

$ 799

$ 7,994

$ 5,907 Amortization of lease inducements $ (18)

$ (40)

$ (27)

$ 76 Non real estate depreciation and amortization $ 325

$ 336

$ 979

$ 1,268 Amortization of deferred financing costs $ 1,179

$ 1,074

$ 3,369

$ 3,158





























(a) Includes the Company's share from unconsolidated joint ventures, and adjustments for noncontrolling interests, of $2,605 and $3,331 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $7,413 and $10,020 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Excludes non-real estate-related depreciation and amortization of $325 and $336 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $979 and $1,268 for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, respectively. (b) Funds from operations is calculated in accordance with the definition of FFO of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). See "Information About FFO" in this release. (c) Calculated based on weighted average common shares outstanding, assuming redemption of Operating Partnership common units into common shares (8,758 and 9,411 shares for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and 8,708 and 9,397 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively), plus dilutive Common Stock Equivalents (i.e. stock options). (d) Excludes expenditures for tenant spaces that have not been owned for at least a year. (e) Includes free rent of $6,642 and $3,930 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $14,831 and $10,187 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Also, includes the Company's share from unconsolidated joint ventures of $687 and $52 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $821 and $69 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. (f) Includes the Company's share from unconsolidated joint ventures of $0 and $0 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $0 and $0 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Statements of Funds from Operations (FFO) and Core FFO per Diluted Share (amounts are per diluted share, except share counts in thousands) (unaudited)



























Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,



2021



2020



2021



2020 Net income (loss) available to common shareholders $ (0.33)

$ (0.49)

$ (1.08)

$ (1.37) Add (deduct): Real estate-related depreciation and amortization on continuing operations (a)

0.32



0.35



0.93



1.02 Real estate-related depreciation and amortization on discontinued operations

-



0.01



0.01



0.04 Redemption value adjustment to redeemable noncontrolling interests

0.02



0.02



0.05



0.08 Property impairments on continuing operations

-



0.36



-



0.36 Property Impairments on discontinued operations

-



-



0.06



- Gain on sale from unconsolidated joint ventures

0.02



-



0.02



- Continuing operations: Realized (gains) losses and unrealized (gains) losses

on disposition of rental property, net

0.03



-



(0.01)



0.08 Discontinued operations: Realized (gains) losses and unrealized (gains) losses

on disposition of rental property, net

(0.01)



(0.16)



(0.26)



0.24 Noncontrolling interest/rounding adjustment

-



0.01



0.02



- Funds from operations (b) $ 0.05

$ 0.10

$ (0.26)

$ 0.45























Add (Deduct):





















(Gain) loss on extinguishment of debt

-



-



0.47



- Land and other impairments

0.03



0.01



0.11



0.23 Dead deal and transaction-related costs

0.04



0.03



0.06



0.03 Loan receivable loss allowance

0.05



-



0.05



- (Gain) on disposition of developable land

-



-



-



(0.05) Severance/separation costs on management restructuring

-



0.09



0.09



0.12 CEO and related management change costs

-



-



0.02



- Proxy fight costs

-



0.07



-



0.13 Dead deal and post sales items in Other Income

-



-



(0.03)



- Noncontrolling interest/rounding adjustment

-



-



-



- Core FFO $ 0.17

$ 0.30

$ 0.51

$ 0.91























Diluted weighted average shares/units outstanding (c)

99,975



100,307



99,870



100,235





(a) Includes the Company's share from unconsolidated joint ventures of $0.03 and $0.04 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $0.09 and $0.12 for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, respectively. (b) Funds from operations is calculated in accordance with the definition of FFO of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). See "Information About FFO" in this release. (c) Calculated based on weighted average common shares outstanding, assuming redemption of Operating Partnership common units into common shares (8,758 and 9,411 shares for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and 8,708 and 9,397 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively), plus dilutive Common Stock Equivalents (i.e. stock options).

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands, except per share amounts) (unaudited)

















September 30,



December 31, Assets 2021

2020 Rental property









Land and leasehold interests $ 571,672

$ 639,636 Buildings and improvements

3,424,804



3,743,831 Tenant improvements

105,531



171,623 Furniture, fixtures and equipment

96,968



83,553



4,198,975



4,638,643 Less  accumulated depreciation and amortization

(561,240)



(656,331)



3,637,735



3,982,312 Rental property held for sale, net

497,832



656,963 Net investment in rental property

4,135,567



4,639,275 Cash and cash equivalents

23,308



38,096 Restricted cash

19,809



14,207 Investments in unconsolidated joint ventures

148,507



162,382 Unbilled rents receivable, net

72,951



84,907 Deferred charges, goodwill and other assets, net

163,183



199,541 Accounts receivable

3,842



9,378











Total assets $ 4,567,167

$ 5,147,786











Liabilities and Equity









Senior unsecured notes, net $ -

$ 572,653 Revolving credit facility and term loans

174,000



25,000 Mortgages, loans payable and other obligations, net

2,200,947



2,204,144 Dividends and distributions payable

385



1,493 Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities

160,397



194,717 Rents received in advance and security deposits

27,938



34,101 Accrued interest payable

5,739



10,001 Total liabilities

2,569,406



3,042,109 Commitments and contingencies





















Redeemable noncontrolling interests

518,689



513,297











Equity:









Mack-Cali Realty Corporation stockholders' equity:









Common stock, $0.01 par value, 190,000,000 shares authorized,

90,947,387 and 90,712,417 shares outstanding

909



907 Additional paid-in capital

2,530,163



2,528,187 Dividends in excess of net earnings

(1,223,047)



(1,130,277) Total Mack-Cali Realty Corporation stockholders' equity

1,308,025



1,398,817











Noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries:









Operating Partnership

129,748



148,791 Consolidated joint ventures

41,299



44,772 Total noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries

171,047



193,563











Total equity

1,479,072



1,592,380











Total liabilities and equity $ 4,567,167

$ 5,147,786

SOURCE Mack-Cali Realty Corporation

Related Links

www.mack-cali.com


"We are so excited to have a refrigerated truck of our own to help transport healthy foods to Greenville and Washington County residents in need. Previously, we had to rent a truck each time we needed to transport a large amount of food, so we're thrilled to no longer have to incur that expense, as well as the ability to get healthy foods faster to area residents," said Pandora Redmond, Executive Director of Hearty Helpings Food Pantry

The funds used to purchase the truck is part of a larger community initiative launched earlier this year by Mars Food, MolinaCares, and the Kroger Delta Division to expand area-residents' access to healthy food. Approximately 70,000 healthy meals* will be donated through this coalition per year to area food banks, including Hearty Helpings.

In addition to presenting the Hearty Helpings truck donation, the coalition also hosted a mobile vaccination clinic and held an education session at the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County to teach Greenville area students about the importance of oral health and limiting their sugar intake.

"It is amazing to see this initiative come to life as we continue to offer everyone a seat at the table by providing access to nutritious meals that we all deserve," said Denis Yarotskiy, regional president, Mars Food North America. "While we have partnered with Hearty Helpings Food Pantry & Soup Kitchen for many years, we are particularly proud of our efforts over the past year to understand the needs of Greenville residents and how we could help further the pantry's mission to feed and nurture the Greenville community. We're excited about steps we've made with MolinaCares and Kroger and look forward to the opportunity to do even more in the future in service of our purpose."

"This partnership combines the strength of these three great companies to serve this unique and treasured communitya community that they've invested in, lived in, and care deeply about," said Bridget Galatas, plan president of Molina Healthcare of Mississippi. "I'm humbled to be a small part of the caring and thoughtful teams that made this possible."

"Through Kroger's Zero Hunger Zero Waste initiative, our goal is to end hunger in the communities we serve and end waste in our stores," said Victor Smith, president, Kroger Delta Division. "Kroger is proud to support the Greenville, Mississippi community by helping provide access to fresh food. We believe in our partners at Hearty Helpings Food Pantry and we are excited to do our part in helping them feed the Greenville community."

About Mars Food

Mars Food is a fast-growing dinnertime food business, making tastier, healthier, easier meals that bring the world to the dinner table. With North American headquarters in Chicago, Ill. and global headquarters in London, Mars Food US's portfolio of leading brands includes: Ben's Original, Seeds of Change, and Tasty Bite. Our purpose Better Food Today. A Better World Tomorrow. drives our business to be a leader in health & wellbeing and sustainability. Mars Food is a segment of Mars, Incorporated. For more information about the Ben's Original Brand and its purpose initiatives, visit https://www.bensoriginal.com/ or https://www.mars.com/ .

About The MolinaCares Accord

Established by Molina Healthcare, Inc., The MolinaCares Accord oversees a community investment platform created to improve the health and well-being of disadvantaged populations by funding meaningful, measurable, and innovative programs and solutions that improve health, life, and living in local communities. The MolinaCares Accord funds such measures through The Molina Healthcare Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) established in 2020 by Molina Healthcare, Inc.

About Molina Healthcare of Mississippi

Molina Healthcare of Mississippi has been providing government-funded, quality health care since 2018. The Company serves members through Medicaid (Mississippi Coordinated Access Network/MississippiCAN and Children's Health Insurance Plan/CHIP) and Marketplace. Through its locally operated health plans, Molina Healthcare, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 company, served approximately 4.8 million members as of September 30, 2021. For more information about Molina Healthcare of Mississippi, visit MolinaHealthcare.com .

*According to the USDA, 1.2 pounds is equivalent to one meal.

SOURCE Mars Food
Azzur Group invited Secretary Mike Kennealy on a comprehensive tour of the facility on 21st of October 2021.

"While Massachusetts is known as a global leader in life sciences, key investments like this show our industry still holds tremendous potential for continued growth," said Secretary Kennealy. "I want to welcome Azzur Group to Burlington and congratulate them on their expansion in Massachusetts."

The industry as a whole is dealing with a dilemma: Whether to build internal capability including manufacturing facilities or outsource biopharma development and manufacturing. Both options require considerable time and expense, which can delay how quickly life-saving drugs and treatments get to market. Azzur Group's Cleanrooms on DemandTM can help address that dilemma, and let companies get on with the business of science.

Azzur's model for Cleanrooms on Demand combines a physical facility with wraparound services that provide includes turnkey Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) support: on-demand cleanrooms, materials management, controlled storage, asset management, and supply chain solutions. Azzur Group's portfolioAzzur Cleanrooms on Demand, Azzur Advisory and Consulting, Azzur Labs, and Azzur Training Centerenables companies to focus on groundbreaking science and early-phase cGMP manufacturing without the burden of facility ownership and maintenance.

The company's new 50,000-square-foot Burlington facility consists of 20 cleanrooms. Each cleanroom is approximately 760 square feet in size. The Burlington COD location is Azzur's largest to date; their anchor client, Moderna, occupies 75% of its available space.

The choice to open a second location in the Boston area arose from a pressing need within the industry, as well as the continued growth in the biotechnology and the pharmaceutical fields in the area.

"With our flagship Waltham location at capacity for the past several years, it made sense to open another facility near Boston to help address the growing need for such early-phase manufacturing space," said Ravi Samavedam, President and Chief Operating Officer at Azzur Cleanrooms on DemandTM. "The industry has been grappling with how to address a fundamental business dilemma. Cleanrooms on Demand allows companies to face that dilemma head-on, without incurring capital costs as they scale their operations."

Additional sites are being planned for Cleanrooms on Demand facilities, including Raleigh, NC; Boston, MA; San Francisco, CA; and Philadelphia, PA.

For more information about Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand, visit Azzur.com/cleanrooms.



About Azzur Group

From Discovery to DeliveryTM, Azzur Group provides the life science community full life-cycle solutions for all their GxP needs. From Azzur Cleanrooms on DemandTM facilities, to our labs, training centers and consulting offices across the nation, Azzur Group helps organizations start, scale, and sustain their growing enterprises. With nearly four decades of service to the life science community, we have become a trusted partner to the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare companies, as well as their supply chain. Follow us on LinkedIn. For more information, visit Azzur.com.

SOURCE Azzur Group, LLC

Related Links

www.azzur.com


HOUSTON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shell Eastern Petroleum Pte Ltd (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, to collaborate on decarbonizing construction. The agreement enables McDermott and Shell to explore opportunities for reducing, and eliminating, emissions from construction through pathways such as low carbon fuels, renewable power, digital solutions and decarbonizing marine construction vessels.

"Companies such as McDermott and Shellwho have targets to progress towards net-zero emissions by 2050, in step with societyare well positioned to approach the challenges of lowering emissions together," said Samik Mukherjee, McDermott's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "A pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from construction operations will make significant strides toward net zero Engineering, Procurement and Construction projects in the future."

McDermott's fabrication yards located in Indonesia, China, the Middle East and Mexico, as well as the marine construction vessels, will be key to identifying opportunities to lower emissions and gain operational efficiencies.

"McDermott's integrated project delivery enables us to look holistically across our operations for opportunities to reduce emissions," said Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott's Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific. "We are looking forward to working with Shell to explore what's possible and see how our combined expertise delivers more sustainable operations."

About McDermott

McDermott is a premier, fully-integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Our customers trust our technology-driven approach engineered to responsibly harness and transform global energy resources into the products the world needs. From concept to commissioning, McDermott's innovative expertise and capabilities advance the next generation of global energy infrastructureempowering a brighter, more sustainable future for us all. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally-focused and globally-integrated resources include more than 30,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

McDermott cautions that statements in this communication which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about the expected scope and benefits of the Memorandum of Understanding discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit or capital markets; our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog; changes in project design or schedules; the availability of qualified personnel; changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties; changes in industry norms; actions by lenders, other creditors, customers and other business counterparties of McDermott and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. This communication reflects the views of McDermott's management as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Global Media Relations

Reba Reid

Senior Director, Global Communications and Marketing

+1 281 588 5636

[email protected]

APAC Media Relations

Miki O'Farrell

APAC Communications and Marketing

+61 (0) 417 145 256

[email protected]

SOURCE McDermott International, Ltd

Related Links

www.mcdermott.com


BISMARCK, N.D., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE: MDU) today reported third quarter earnings of $139.3 million, or 68 cents per share, compared to third quarter 2020 earnings of $153.1 million, or 76 cents per share. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, MDU Resources earned $291.6 million, or $1.44 per share, compared to $277.9 million, or $1.39 per share, in 2020.

"This was a solid quarter for MDU Resources. Although results did not quite reach the level we expected, all our business lines continue to perform very well," said David L. Goodin, president and CEO of MDU Resources. "Our regulated utility and natural gas pipeline businesses both had very strong results for the quarter, and our construction businesses' performance also remains solid although slightly behind last year's record third quarter earnings.

"Third quarter construction results this year were impacted by higher asphalt oil and fuel costs, timing of available work, labor constraints, weather-related effects in some areas, and adjustments to estimates on a construction services contract. With our results through the third quarter, we are adjusting our revenue and margin guidance for the year as well as our earnings per share guidance, which we now anticipate being in the range of $1.90 to $2.05. We are well-positioned for growth with a combined construction backlog of $1.92 billion as of Sept. 30, which is 3% higher than the same period last year."

Business Unit Highlights

Construction Materials and Services

The construction materials business earned $96.3 million in the third quarter, compared to last year's record third quarter earnings of $107.3 million. The decrease in earnings was largely from lower asphalt and asphalt-related product sales and margins, as well as lower construction revenues and margins, primarily from less available public work in certain regions. Higher fuel costs also negatively impacted margins. Demand for aggregate and ready-mix remains strong across the company. The construction materials backlog of work at Sept. 30 was 14% higher at $652 million, compared to $571 million at Sept. 30, 2020.

The construction services business earned $23.1 million in the third quarter, compared to a record $29.8 million in the third quarter of 2020. Earnings were negatively impacted by adjustments of $5.5 million, after tax, to estimates on a construction contract. The company also saw a decrease in weather-related utility recovery work during the quarter compared to third quarter 2020. This business continues to see high demand for its services, particularly in the commercial sector. The construction services backlog of work at Sept. 30 was $1.27 billion, compared to a record $1.28 billion at Sept. 30, 2020.

Regulated Energy Delivery

The electric and natural gas utility earned $5.2 million in the third quarter, compared to a loss of $800,000 in the third quarter of 2020. Earnings increased with higher sales volumes and rate relief in certain jurisdictions. Electric retail sales volumes were 11.1% higher and natural gas retail sales volumes were 2.0% higher during the quarter compared to third quarter 2020. Customer growth also continued, increasing 1.7% over last year. The company is preparing for construction kickoff in early 2022 on its Heskett Station Unit IV, an 88-megawatt natural gas-fired combustion turbine in Mandan, North Dakota, that is expected to be in service in early 2023. Retirement of Heskett Station Units I and II, coal-fired electric generation facilities, also is slated for early 2022.

The pipeline business earned $10.6 million in the third quarter, compared to $8.0 million in the third quarter last year. The company benefited from income allowed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for funds used during construction on the company's North Bakken Expansion project. The pipeline extension in western North Dakota is expected to be in service in early 2022 and will have capacity to transport 250 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The company also recently received approval from the FERC to use the pre-filing review process for its Wahpeton Expansion Project. Construction is planned for 2024 on the 60-mile natural gas pipeline expansion, which will add 20 million cubic feet per day of natural gas capacity in southeastern North Dakota.

Guidance

MDU Resources expects earnings per share in the range of $1.90 to $2.05 in 2021, based on these assumptions:

Normal weather for the remainder of 2021, including precipitation and temperatures, across all company markets.

Continued recognition as essential service providers across all company markets.

Electric and natural gas customer growth continuing at a rate of 1-2% annually.

Operating cash flows in the range of $575 million to $625 million .

to . Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the range of $850 million to $900 million .

to . Construction materials revenues in the range of $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion , with margins slightly lower than 2020, and construction services revenues in the range of $2.0 billion to $2.2 billion , with margins comparable to 2020.

The company plans to invest $775 million for capital projects in 2021; future acquisitions are not included in this amount and would be incremental to the capital program.

Corporate Strategy

MDU Resources' strategy is to deliver superior value with a two-platform model, regulated energy delivery and construction materials and services businesses, while also pursuing organic growth opportunities and using a disciplined approach to strategic acquisitions of well-managed companies and properties. The company, on a consolidated basis, anticipates 5-8% long-term compound annual growth on earnings per share.

Conference Call

MDU Resources will discuss third quarter results on a webcast at 2 p.m. EDT Nov. 4. The event can be accessed at www.mdu.com. Webcast and audio replays will be available through Nov. 18 at 855-859-2056, or 404-537-3406 for international callers, conference ID 5194306.

About MDU Resources

MDU Resources Group, Inc., a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P MidCap 400 and the S&P High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats indices, is Building a Strong America by providing essential products and services through its regulated energy delivery and construction materials and services businesses. For more information about MDU Resources, visit www.mdu.com or contact the Investor Relations Department at [email protected].

Media Contact: Laura Lueder, manager of communications and public relations, 701-530-1095

Financial Contact: Jason Vollmer, vice president and chief financial officer, 701-530-1755

Forward-Looking Statements

The information contained in this press release highlights the key growth strategies, projections and certain assumptions for the company and its subsidiaries and other matters for each of the company's businesses. Many of these highlighted statements and other statements not historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although the company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that the company's projections, including estimates for growth and financial guidance, will in fact be achieved. Please refer to assumptions contained in this press release, as well as the various important factors listed in Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors in the company's most recent Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC.

Changes in such assumptions and factors could cause actual future results to differ materially from growth and financial guidance. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Throughout this press release, the company presents financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP, as well as EBITDA, EBITDA from continuing operations, and adjusted gross margin, which are considered non-GAAP financial measures. The use of these non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as alternatives to earnings, operating income or operating cash flows. The company believes the use of these non-GAAP financial measures are beneficial in evaluating the company's financial performance due to its diverse operations. Please refer to the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section contained in this document for additional information.

Performance Summary

Business Line Third Quarter 2021

Earnings Third Quarter

2020

Earnings YTD Sept. 30,

2021

Earnings YTD Sept. 30,

2020

Earnings

(In millions, except per share amounts) Regulated energy delivery $ 15.8

$ 7.2

$ 90.4

$ 78.4

Construction materials and services 119.4

137.1

198.7

196.6

Other 3.8

8.7

2.2

3.4

Income from continuing operations 139.0

153.0

291.3

278.4

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax .3

.1

.3

(.5)

Net income $ 139.3

$ 153.1

$ 291.6

$ 277.9

Earnings per share:







Income from continuing operations $ .68

$ .76

$ 1.44

$ 1.39

Discontinued operations, net of tax 







Earnings per share $ .68

$ .76

$ 1.44

$ 1.39



Consolidated Statements of Income





Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended

September 30, September 30,

2021

2020

2021

2020

(In millions, except per share amounts) Operating revenues: (Unaudited) Electric, natural gas distribution and regulated pipeline $ 237.1

$ 210.1

$ 940.0

$ 870.2

Non-regulated pipeline, construction materials and contracting, construction

services and other 1,348.9

1,377.2

3,297.6

3,277.4

Total operating revenues 1,586.0

1,587.3

4,237.6

4,147.6

Operating expenses:







Operation and maintenance:







Electric, natural gas distribution and regulated pipeline 90.1

89.1

273.8

259.8

Non-regulated pipeline, construction materials and contracting,

construction services and other 1,122.8

1,124.9

2,828.6

2,804.4

Total operation and maintenance 1,212.9

1,214.0

3,102.4

3,064.2

Purchased natural gas sold 41.1

31.5

280.6

253.8

Depreciation, depletion and amortization 75.2

72.1

222.6

212.8

Taxes, other than income 48.1

50.5

163.8

167.2

Electric fuel and purchased power 19.5

15.5

56.2

50.6

Total operating expenses 1,396.8

1,383.6

3,825.6

3,748.6

Operating income 189.2

203.7

412.0

399.0

Other income 5.9

4.6

18.3

13.7

Interest expense 23.4

23.7

70.2

73.1

Income before taxes 171.7

184.6

360.1

339.6

Income tax expense 32.7

31.6

68.8

61.2

Income from continuing operations 139.0

153.0

291.3

278.4

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax .3

.1

.3

(.5)

Net income $ 139.3

$ 153.1

$ 291.6

$ 277.9











Earnings per share  basic:







Income from continuing operations $ .68

$ .76

$ 1.44

$ 1.39

Discontinued operations, net of tax 







Earnings per share  basic $ .68

$ .76

$ 1.44

$ 1.39

Earnings per share  diluted:







Income from continuing operations $ .68

$ .76

$ 1.44

$ 1.39

Discontinued operations, net of tax 







Earnings per share  diluted $ .68

$ .76

$ 1.44

$ 1.39

Weighted average common shares outstanding  basic 202.9

200.5

201.6

200.5

Weighted average common shares outstanding  diluted 203.2

200.6

202.0

200.5



Selected Cash Flows Information

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

2021 2020

(In millions) Operating activities:



Net cash provided by continuing operations $ 365.9

$ 482.4

Net cash used in discontinued operations (.1)

(.7)

Net cash provided by operating activities 365.8

481.7

Investing activities:



Net cash used in continuing operations (432.6)

(461.8)

Net cash provided by discontinued operations 



Net cash used in investing activities (432.6)

(461.8)

Financing activities:



Net cash provided by (used in) continuing operations 64.5

(20.3)

Net cash provided by discontinued operations 



Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 64.5

(20.3)

Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (2.3)

(.4)

Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of year 59.6

66.5

Cash and cash equivalents - end of period $ 57.3

$ 66.1



Capital Expenditures

Business Line 2021

Estimated

(In millions) Regulated energy delivery

Electric $ 93

Natural gas distribution 179

Pipeline 246



518

Construction materials and services

Construction services 46

Construction materials and contracting 206



252

Other 5

Total capital expenditures $ 775





Note: Total capital expenditures are presented on a gross basis.

Capital expenditures for 2021 include line-of-sight opportunities at the company's businesses. Future acquisitions are not included and would be incremental to the outlined capital program.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The company, in addition to presenting its earnings in conformity with GAAP, has provided non-GAAP financial measures of EBITDA by operating segment and EBITDA from continuing operations. The company defines EBITDA as net income (loss) attributable to the operating segment before interest; taxes; and depreciation, depletion and amortization; and EBITDA from continuing operations as income (loss) from continuing operations before interest; taxes; and depreciation, depletion and amortization.

The company presents EBITDA by operating segment and EBITDA from continuing operations on a consolidated basis in this news release. The company believes EBITDA and EBITDA from continuing operations are useful financial measures in providing meaningful information about operational efficiency compared to the company's peers by excluding the impacts of differences in tax jurisdictions and structures, debt levels and capital investment. The presentation of EBITDA and EBITDA from continuing operations also is provided for investment professionals who use such metrics in their analyses. The investment community often uses these metrics to assess the operating performance of a company's business and to provide a consistent comparison of performance from period to period. The company's management uses the non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with GAAP results when evaluating the company's operating results and calculating compensation packages. Non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized; therefore, it may not be possible to compare such financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered a substitution for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. The company strongly encourages investors to review the consolidated financial statements in their entirety and to not rely on any single financial measure.

The following table provides a reconciliation of consolidated GAAP net income to EBITDA from continuing operations. The reconciliation for each operating segment's EBITDA is included within each operating segment's condensed income statement.



Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended

September 30, September 30,

2021

2020

2021

2020



(In millions) Net income $ 139.3

$ 153.1

$ 291.6

$ 277.9

(Income) loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (.3)

(.1)

(.3)

.5

Income from continuing operations 139.0

153.0

291.3

278.4

Adjustments:







Interest expense 23.4

23.7

70.2

73.1

Income taxes 32.7

31.6

68.8

61.2

Depreciation, depletion and amortization 75.2

72.1

222.6

212.8

EBITDA from continuing operations $ 270.3

$ 280.4

$ 652.9

$ 625.5



The discussion that follows also includes adjusted gross margin, which is considered a non-GAAP financial measure as it relates to the company's electric and natural gas distribution segments. Adjusted gross margin can be used in addition to operating revenues and operating expenses when evaluating the results of operations for these segments. Adjusted gross margin for the electric and natural gas distribution segments is calculated by adding back adjustments to operating income (loss). These add-back adjustments include operation and maintenance expense; depreciation, depletion and amortization expense; and certain taxes, other than income.

The presentation of adjusted gross margin is intended to be a helpful supplemental financial measure for investors' understanding of the segments' operating performance. This non-GAAP financial measure should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, GAAP financial measures such as operating income (loss) or net income (loss). The company's adjusted gross margin may not be comparable to other companies' gross margin measures.

Adjusted gross margin includes operating revenues less the cost of electric fuel and purchased power, purchased natural gas sold and certain taxes, other than income. These taxes, other than income, included as a reduction to adjusted gross margin relate to revenue taxes. These segments pass on to their customers the increases and decreases in the wholesale cost of power purchases, natural gas and other fuel supply costs in accordance with regulatory requirements. As such, the segments' revenues are directly impacted by the fluctuations in such commodities. Revenue taxes, which are passed back to customers, fluctuate with revenues as they are calculated as a percentage of revenues. For these reasons, period over period, the segments' operating income (loss) is generally not impacted. The company's management believes the adjusted gross margin is a useful supplemental financial measure as these items are included in both operating revenues and operating expenses. The company's management also believes that adjusted gross margin and the remaining operating expenses that calculate operating income (loss) are useful in assessing the company's utility performance as management has the ability to influence control over the remaining operating expenses.

The following tables provide reconciliations of the company's electric and natural gas distribution segments' operating income to adjusted gross margin.

Electric Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended

September 30, September 30,

2021

2020

2021

2020



(In millions) Operating income $ 27.3

$ 21.1

$ 54.0

$ 48.8

Adjustments:







Operating expenses:







Operation and maintenance 31.2

30.7

93.8

90.5

Depreciation, depletion and amortization 17.0

15.8

50.0

47.0

Taxes, other than income 3.9

4.4

13.1

13.0

Total adjustments 52.1

50.9

156.9

150.5

Adjusted gross margin $ 79.4

$ 72.0

$ 210.9

$ 199.3







Natural Gas Distribution Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended

September 30, September 30,

2021

2020

2021

2020



(In millions) Operating income (loss) $ (14.2)

$ (18.4)

$ 42.9

$ 32.3

Adjustments:







Operating expenses:







Operation and maintenance 47.7

46.9

145.0

135.9

Depreciation, depletion and amortization 21.5

21.3

64.2

63.1

Taxes, other than income 6.8

6.3

20.6

18.5

Total adjustments 76.0

74.5

229.8

217.5

Adjusted gross margin $ 61.8

$ 56.1

$ 272.7

$ 249.8



Regulated Energy Delivery















Electric Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021

2020

Variance

2021

2020

Variance

(In millions) Operating revenues $ 99.1

$ 87.6

13 %

$ 267.7

$ 250.4

7 % Electric fuel and purchased power 19.5

15.5

26 %

56.2

50.6

11 % Taxes, other than income .2

.1

100 %

.6

.5

20 % Adjusted gross margin 79.4

72.0

10 %

210.9

199.3

6 % Operating expenses:













Operation and maintenance 31.2

30.7

2 %

93.8

90.5

4 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 17.0

15.8

8 %

50.0

47.0

6 % Taxes, other than income 3.9

4.4

(11) %

13.1

13.0

1 % Total operating expenses 52.1

50.9

2 %

156.9

150.5

4 % Operating income 27.3

21.1

29 %

54.0

48.8

11 % Other income 1.2

1.2

 %

3.4

3.3

3 % Interest expense 6.6

6.4

3 %

19.8

20.1

(1) % Income before taxes 21.9

15.9

38 %

37.6

32.0

18 % Income tax (benefit) expense 1.3

(.9)

244 %

(4.0)

(8.3)

52 % Net income $ 20.6

$ 16.8

22 %

$ 41.6

$ 40.3

3 % Adjustments:













Interest expense 6.6

6.4

3 %

19.8

20.1

(1) % Income tax (benefit) expense 1.3

(.9)

244 %

(4.0)

(8.3)

52 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 17.0

15.8

8 %

50.0

47.0

6 % EBITDA $ 45.5

$ 38.1

19 %

$ 107.4

$ 99.1

8 %

Operating Statistics Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021 2020

2021 2020 Retail sales (million kWh):









Residential 317.3

296.1



906.3

884.4

Commercial 393.0

356.7



1,101.9

1,056.2

Industrial 145.1

117.1



433.7

386.0

Other 23.8

21.3



65.1

62.1



879.2

791.2



2,507.0

2,388.7

Average cost of electric fuel and purchased power per

kWh $ .020

$ .018



$ .020

$ .019































The electric business reported net income of $20.6 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $16.8 million for the same period in 2020. Net income increased as a result of higher adjusted gross margin, which was driven by an 11.1% increase in electric retail sales volumes because of warmer weather and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to reverse and businesses reopening, higher Midcontinent Independent System Operator revenues and higher transmission interconnect upgrades. Partially offsetting the increase in net income was higher depreciation, depletion and amortization expense from increased plant asset additions.

The electric business's EBITDA increased $7.4 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 2020, primarily the result of higher retail sales margins, as previously discussed.

Natural Gas Distribution Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021

2020

Variance

2021

2020

Variance

(In millions) Operating revenues $ 110.5

$ 94.9

16 %

$ 614.8

$ 563.2

9 % Purchased natural gas sold 44.9

35.0

28 %

318.0

290.3

10 % Taxes, other than income 3.8

3.8

 %

24.1

23.1

4 % Adjusted gross margin 61.8

56.1

10 %

272.7

249.8

9 % Operating expenses:













Operation and maintenance 47.7

46.9

2 %

145.0

135.9

7 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 21.5

21.3

1 %

64.2

63.1

2 % Taxes, other than income 6.8

6.3

8 %

20.6

18.5

11 % Total operating expenses 76.0

74.5

2 %

229.8

217.5

6 % Operating income (loss) (14.2)

(18.4)

23 %

42.9

32.3

33 % Other income 1.3

2.2

(41) %

5.4

6.6

(18) % Interest expense 9.3

9.3

 %

27.6

27.5

 % Income (loss) before taxes (22.2)

(25.5)

13 %

20.7

11.4

82 % Income tax (benefit) expense (6.8)

(7.9)

14 %

.6

(2.4)

125 % Net income (loss) $ (15.4)

$ (17.6)

13 %

$ 20.1

$ 13.8

46 % Adjustments:













Interest expense 9.3

9.3

 %

27.6

27.5

 % Income tax (benefit) expense (6.8)

(7.9)

14 %

.6

(2.4)

125 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 21.5

21.3

1 %

64.2

63.1

2 % EBITDA $ 8.6

$ 5.1

69 %

$ 112.5

$ 102.0

10 %

Operating Statistics Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021

2020



2021

2020

Volumes (MMdk)









Retail sales:









Residential 4.5

4.4



42.3

41.8

Commercial 4.2

4.0



29.3

29.1

Industrial .9

.9



3.5

3.4



9.6

9.3



75.1

74.3

Transportation sales:









Commercial .2

.3



1.3

1.4

Industrial 44.7

39.6



127.5

115.4



44.9

39.9



128.8

116.8

Total throughput 54.5

49.2



203.9

191.1

Average cost of natural gas per dk $ 4.72

$ 3.75



$ 4.24

$ 3.90































The natural gas distribution business reported a seasonal loss of $15.4 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to a loss of $17.6 million for the same period in 2020. The decreased loss was primarily due to higher adjusted gross margin from approved rate relief in certain jurisdictions and a 2% increase in retail natural gas sales volumes. Also contributing to the quarter were increased natural gas transportation revenues. Partially offsetting the decreased loss was higher operation and maintenance expense from decreased credits for the costs associated with meter installation due to pandemic-related replacement delays. Lower investment returns on certain benefit plans also had a negative impact on the quarter.

The natural gas distribution business's EBITDA increased $3.5 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 2020, primarily the result of higher adjusted gross margin partially offset by higher operation and maintenance expense and lower investment returns on certain benefit plans, as previously discussed.



Pipeline Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021

2020

Variance

2021

2020

Variance

(In millions) Operating revenues $ 34.9

$ 35.7

(2) %

$ 106.7

$ 107.2

 % Operating expenses:













Operation and maintenance 14.2

15.4

(8) %

45.5

45.4

 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 5.2

5.2

 %

15.5

16.5

(6) % Taxes, other than income 3.2

3.3

(3) %

9.8

9.9

(1) % Total operating expenses 22.6

23.9

(5) %

70.8

71.8

(1) % Operating income 12.3

11.8

4 %

35.9

35.4

1 % Other income 2.8

.2

NM

5.6

1.2

NM Interest expense 1.7

1.9

(11) %

5.6

5.7

(2) % Income before taxes 13.4

10.1

33 %

35.9

30.9

16 % Income tax expense 2.8

2.1

33 %

7.2

6.6

9 % Net income $ 10.6

$ 8.0

32 %

$ 28.7

$ 24.3

18 % Adjustments:













Interest expense 1.7

1.9

(11) %

5.6

5.7

(2) % Income tax expense 2.8

2.1

33 %

7.2

6.6

9 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 5.2

5.2

 %

15.5

16.5

(6) % EBITDA $ 20.3

$ 17.2

18 %

$ 57.0

$ 53.1

7 %  NM - not meaningful

Operating Statistics Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021

2020



2021

2020

Transportation volumes (MMdk) 122.0

108.9



351.5

316.2

Natural gas gathering volumes (MMdk) 

2.0





7.4













Customer natural gas storage balance (MMdk):









Beginning of period 16.0

19.1



25.5

16.2

Net injection 12.8

14.0



3.3

16.9

End of period 28.8

33.1



28.8

33.1



The pipeline business reported net income of $10.6 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $8.0 million for the same period in 2020. The increase in net income was largely driven by higher allowance for funds used during construction (AFUDC) on the company's North Bakken Expansion project. Partially offsetting the increase was lower storage-related revenues.

The pipeline business's EBITDA increased $3.1 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 2020, primarily from higher AFUDC, as previously discussed.





Construction Materials and Services

















Construction Services Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021

2020

Variance

2021

2020

Variance

(In millions) Operating revenues $ 514.8

$ 551.0

(7) %

$ 1,558.9

$ 1,562.9

 % Cost of sales:













Operation and maintenance 441.5

461.7

(4) %

1,310.7

1,309.0

 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 3.9

3.9

 %

11.8

11.8

 % Taxes, other than income 14.2

17.2

(17) %

49.9

57.8

(14) % Total cost of sales 459.6

482.8

(5) %

1,372.4

1,378.6

 % Gross margin 55.2

68.2

(19) %

186.5

184.3

1 % Selling, general and administrative expense:













Operation and maintenance 23.0

24.9

(8) %

71.2

72.4

(2) % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 1.0

1.8

(44) %

3.4

5.9

(42) % Taxes, other than income 1.1

1.0

10 %

3.7

3.8

(3) % Total selling, general and administrative expense 25.1

27.7

(9) %

78.3

82.1

(5) % Operating income 30.1

40.5

(26) %

108.2

102.2

6 % Other income .9

.6

50 %

2.6

1.3

100 % Interest expense .9

1.0

(10) %

2.6

3.3

(21) % Income before taxes 30.1

40.1

(25) %

108.2

100.2

8 % Income tax expense 7.0

10.3

(32) %

26.4

25.7

3 % Net income $ 23.1

$ 29.8

(22) %

$ 81.8

$ 74.5

10 % Adjustments:













Interest expense .9

1.0

(10) %

2.6

3.3

(21) % Income tax expense 7.0

10.3

(32) %

26.4

25.7

3 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 4.9

5.7

(14) %

15.2

17.7

(14) % EBITDA $ 35.9

$ 46.8

(23) %

$ 126.0

$ 121.2

4 %

The construction services business reported net income of $23.1 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $29.8 million for the same period in 2020. Net income was negatively impacted by $5.5 million, after tax, from changes in estimates on a construction contract at outside specialty contracting, as well as decreased margins resulting from higher employee costs associated with a shortage of available labor. Workloads for outside specialty contracting were comparable to the prior year, as decreased storm-related work was offset in part by an increase in general utility work. Lower gross margin at inside specialty contracting, resulting from decreased demand for data center and hospitality work, was more than offset by lower selling, general and administrative expense from lower bad debt expense and lower amortization expense.

The construction services business's EBITDA decreased $10.9 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 2020, primarily a result of the changes in estimates on a project and lower margins, as previously discussed.





Construction Materials and Contracting Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021

2020

Variance

2021

2020

Variance

(In millions) Operating revenues $ 831.3

$ 822.5

1 %

$ 1,730.8

$ 1,705.9

1 % Cost of sales:













Operation and maintenance 636.3

612.4

4 %

1,376.5

1,351.2

2 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 24.5

22.2

10 %

71.1

63.0

13 % Taxes, other than income 13.9

13.6

2 %

37.6

36.6

3 % Total cost of sales 674.7

648.2

4 %

1,485.2

1,450.8

2 % Gross margin 156.6

174.3

(10) %

245.6

255.1

(4) % Selling, general and administrative expense:













Operation and maintenance 20.9

23.7

(12) %

66.8

67.5

(1) % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 1.0

1.3

(23) %

3.1

3.6

(14) % Taxes, other than income 1.0

.8

25 %

4.4

4.0

10 % Total selling, general and administrative expense 22.9

25.8

(11) %

74.3

75.1

(1) % Operating income 133.7

148.5

(10) %

171.3

180.0

(5) % Other income (expense) (.3)

.3

(200) %

.8

1.0

(20) % Interest expense 4.8

5.0

(4) %

14.4

15.9

(9) % Income before taxes 128.6

143.8

(11) %

157.7

165.1

(4) % Income tax expense 32.3

36.5

(12) %

40.8

43.0

(5) % Net income $ 96.3

$ 107.3

(10) %

$ 116.9

$ 122.1

(4) % Adjustments:













Interest expense 4.8

5.0

(4) %

14.4

15.9

(9) % Income tax expense 32.3

36.5

(12) %

40.8

43.0

(5) % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 25.5

23.5

9 %

74.2

66.6

11 % EBITDA $ 158.9

$ 172.3

(8) %

$ 246.3

$ 247.6

(1) %

Operating Statistics Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021 2020

2021 2020

(In thousands) Sales:









Aggregates (tons) 11,346

10,722



25,687

23,678

Asphalt (tons) 3,290

3,542



5,675

5,935

Ready-mixed concrete (cubic yards) 1,350

1,266



3,283

3,089



The construction materials and contracting business reported net income of $96.3 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $107.3 million in the same period in 2020. Negatively impacting the quarter were lower asphalt product sales and margins as well as lower contracting revenues and margins in most regions. Asphalt product and contracting margins decreased due to an increase in asphalt oil and fuel costs, as well as less available highway paving work in certain regions. The company saw strong demand and increased margins for aggregate and ready-mixed concrete products across its footprint. Selling, general and administrative expense decreased due to lower payroll-related costs, primarily related to lower incentive accruals and lower benefit-related costs.

The construction materials and contracting business's EBITDA decreased $13.4 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 2020. The decreased EBITDA was the result of lower contracting margins, as previously discussed.

Other

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2021

2020

Variance

2021

2020

Variance

(In millions) Operating revenues $ 3.4

$ 3.1

10 %

$ 10.1

$ 8.9

13 % Operating expenses:













Operation and maintenance 2.3

2.3

 %

6.9

6.7

3 % Depreciation, depletion and amortization 1.1

.6

83 %

3.5

1.9

84 % Total operating expenses 3.4

2.9

17 %

10.4

8.6

21 % Operating income (loss) 

.2

NM

(.3)

.3

NM Other income 

.1

NM

.5

.4

25 % Interest expense .1

.1

 %

.2

.7

(71) % Income (loss) before income taxes (.1)

.2

NM





 % Income tax benefit (3.9)

(8.5)

54 %

(2.2)

(3.4)

35 % Net income $ 3.8

$ 8.7

(57) %

$ 2.2

$ 3.4

(34) % * NM - not meaningful

Net income for Other reflects income tax adjustments related to the consolidated company's annualized estimated tax rate and higher depreciation, depletion and amortization expense in 2021 for software placed in service. General and administrative costs and interest expense previously allocated to the exploration and production and refining businesses that do not meet the criteria for income (loss) from discontinued operations also are included in Other.





Other Financial Data

September 30,



2021

2020





(In millions, except per share amounts)



(Unaudited)

Book value per common share $ 16.39

$ 15.02



Market price per common share $ 29.67

$ 22.50



Dividend yield (indicated annual rate) 2.9%

3.7%



Price/earnings from continuing operations ratio (12 months ended) 14.8x

12.1x



Market value as a percent of book value 181.0%

149.8%



Total assets $ 8,569

$ 8,125



Total equity $ 3,332

$ 3,013



Total debt $ 2,378

$ 2,345



Capitalization ratios:





Total equity 58.4%

56.2%



Total debt 41.6

43.8





100.0%

100.0%





SOURCE MDU Resources Group, Inc.
HUDDINGE, Sweden, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Positive MIV-818 data presented at ESMO. New positive data and renegotiated agreement for remetinostat

July  September

Financial summary for the quarter

Net turnover amounted to SEK 0.8 (1.1) million.

(1.1) million. The loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to SEK -11.7 (5.2) million. Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to SEK -0.26 (0.19) and SEK -0.26 (0.19) respectively.

(5.2) million. Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to (0.19) and (0.19) respectively. Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -20.0 (-17.1) million.

(-17.1) million. Liquid assets and short-term investments at the end of the period amounted to SEK 225.9 (82.7) million.

Significant events during the quarter

In July, Malene Jensen was appointed Vice President Clinical Development. She took on her position in early September.

was appointed Vice President Clinical Development. She took on her position in early September. In August, the positive results from the phase II study with remetinostat against basal cell carcinoma (BCC) were published in the scientific journal Clinical Cancer Research.

In August, it was announced that Medivir, through a renegotiated multi-party agreement, strengthens the business development potential for remetinostat.

End of August, Medivir received regulatory approval from the British UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the upcoming phase 1b /2a combination study with MIV-818 against liver cancer.

/2a combination study with MIV-818 against liver cancer. At the ESMO Congress in September, the results from the completed dose escalation part of the phase 1b monotherapy study with MIV-818 were presented. Medivir presented the data at a conference call on the same day.

January - September

Financial summary for the period

Net turnover amounted to SEK 11.6 (12.5) million.

(12.5) million. The loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to SEK -36.0 (-27.9) million. Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to SEK -0.80 (-1.30) and SEK -0.80 (-1.30) respectively.

(-27.9) million. Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to (-1.30) and (-1.30) respectively. Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -43.3 (-57.1) million.

(-57.1) million. Liquid assets and short-term investments at the end of the period amounted to SEK 225.9 (82.7) million.

Significant events after the end of the period

In October, the Board of Directors appointed Jens Lindberg as new CEO of Medivir. Jens Lindberg has extensive experience from the pharmaceutical industry and the field of Oncology. He joins from Sedana Medical where he has been VP Commercial Operations and acting CEO.

Conference call for investors, analysts and the media

The Interim Report January - September 2021 will be presented by Medivir's interim CEO, Magnus Christensen.

Time: Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at 15.00 (CET).

Phone numbers for participants from:

Sweden + 46 8 505 583 69

Europe +44 33 3300 9032

US +1 646 722 4904

The conference call will also be streamed via a link on the website: www.medivir.com

The presentation will be available on Medivir's website after completion of the conference.

CEO's message

Our development strategy to reach the market remains unchanged and we have received the first approval for the upcoming phase 1b/2a combination study with MIV-818. Positive data from the dose escalation part of the monotherapy study presented at ESMO. New positive data and renegotiated agreement for remetinostat.

Despite a number of new treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer, there is still a great need for pharmaceuticals with new mechanisms of action. Our candidate drug MIV-818 represents a new and unique mechanism that can be combined with the most common therapies for HCC. Among the drugs that are already approved or under development, the most common mechanisms are: stimulation of the immune system and blockage of the blood supply. We have therefore chosen to study MIV-818 in combination with two products representing these two different mechanisms, Keytruda (anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor) and Lenvima (tyrosine kinase inhibitor). The goal is to develop a better therapy as second-line treatment for HCC patients.

The third quarter has been characterized by continued work to ensure the start of the next study in the MIV-818 clinical program. This spring, we announced positive data with a good safety and tolerability profile from the first part of the phase 1b study with MIV-818. These data were further strengthened in September when data from the final dose escalation part of the phase 1b study were presented at the leading scientific conference, ESMO.

A total of nine patients with various types of advanced cancer in the liver were included and evaluated. These patients had exhausted all possible approved treatments prior to being included in the study. The study evaluated safety and tolerability in patients with different types of cancer in the liver, and a positive sign of efficacy was that four patients with HCC showed stable liver disease over an extended period of time. Furthermore, liver biopsies from patients demonstrated delivery of MIV-818 to the liver, and a selective effect of MIV-818 on cancer cells.

The purpose of our next study in patients with HCC is to evaluate safety, tolerability and to also get an indication of the efficacy of MIV-818 in combination with two approved drugs.

At the end of August, we received regulatory approval from MHRA, the regulatory authority in UK, for the upcoming phase 1b/2a combination study with MIV-818. The study will include patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have progressed on, or are intolerant of, first line standard therapy. The study is an open-label phase 1b/2a study starting with a dose escalation part to establish the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D).

Once the RP2D has been established for the combinations, further cohorts of up to 30 patients with HCC will be enrolled in the expansion part (phase 2a). The study will start in the UK and is planned later to include centers in Spain and South Korea. The first patient is expected to be enrolled before year-end and we look forward with optimism to conducting the study.

Medivir has two more drug development projects in the clinical development phase, remetinostat, and MIV-711. Medivir does not conduct clinical development of these projects on its own, but instead seeks partners for further development.

In August, positive results from a phase II study with remetinostat against Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) were published in the scientific journal Clinical Cancer Research. The study was conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, USA, and the results are very promising and provide further support for the potential of remetinostat as a treatment for a number of skin cancers in addition to cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

In August, the remetinostat agreement was renegotiated to create significantly improved conditions for a potential outlicensing or sale in our continued business development work.

Early this year, the global and exclusive rights to develop Medivir's project birinapant, were outlicensed to the American company IGM Biosciences. We are looking forward to the start of the clinical study with birinapant in combination with IGM's antibody IGM-8444 later this year.

In October, we announced that Jens Lindberg has been appointed new CEO of Medivir. Jens, who joins us from his role as VP Commercial Operations at Sedana Medical, has extensive experience from the pharmaceutical industry and the oncology area. We look forward to taking Medivir forward under Jens' leadership.

The further we advance the clinical program with MIV-818, the more I am impressed by the determination and commitment that prevails at Medivir. We are convinced that MIV-818 has the potential to become an effective drug for liver cancer. Our goal is that it would make a big difference for patients and for healthcare and thus also for the company's shareholders.

Magnus Christensen

Interim CEO and CFO

For further information, please contact

Magnus Christensen, interim CEO and CFO

+46 (0)8 5468 3100

E-mail: [email protected]

This report has been subject to auditors' review.

The information in this report comprises the information that Medivir is obliged to disclose under the provisions of the Swedish Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication at 08.30 CET on November 3, 2021.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/medivir/r/medivir-ab---interim-report-january---september-2021,c3445968

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/652/3445968/1490619.pdf MEDIVIR AB - INTERIM REPORT JANUARY - SEPTEMBER 2021 (PDF)

SOURCE Medivir
CRANBURY, N.J., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MJH Life Sciences is pleased to announce a multi-franchise partnership between The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), Contagion Live, CURE Media Group, HCPLive, NeurologyLive, OncLive, Ophthalmology Times, Optometry Times, Pharmacy Times, Targeted Oncology, and Urology Times with Intermountain Healthcare.

"This partnership with Intermountain Healthcare is very exciting," said Mike Hennessy Jr., president and CEO of MJH Life Sciences. "We take great pride in our strategic alliance partnerships and the outstanding initiatives that result from them. I look forward to seeing the collaboration I am confident will come from this new addition to the program."

With a mission of helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain Healthcarean integrated, nonprofit health system based in Salt Lake Cityhas more than 42,000 caregivers dedicated to serving patients across the Intermountain Region, primarily in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. It provides service through clinics, the Intermountain Medical Group, affiliate networks, hospitals, homecare agencies, telehealth providers, health insurance plans, and more.

The SAP program partners with leading medical associations, health plans, advocacy groups and medical institutions to increase their national reach and visibility. By utilizing the MJH Life Sciences communication platform, these groups can showcase cutting-edge initiatives, content, research and thought leadership. The SAP program also fosters collaboration and an open exchange of information among trusted peers for the benefit of patients and their families. As part of this joint effort, AJMC, Contagion Live, CURE Media Group, HCPLive, NeurologyLive, OncLive, Ophthalmology Times, Optometry Times, Pharmacy Times, Targeted Oncology, and Urology Times will work with Intermountain Healthcare to share information and optimize patient outcomes.

For more information on Intermountain Healthcare, click here.

About MJH Life Sciences

MJH Life Sciences is the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels, providing health care professionals with the information and resources they need to optimize patient outcomes. MJH combines the reach and influence of its powerful portfolio of digital and print product lines, live events, educational programs and market research with the customization capabilities of a boutique firm. Clients include world-leading pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and biotech companies. For more information, please visit https://www.mjhlifesciences.com/.

Media Contact

Alyssa Scarpaci, 609-716-7777

[email protected]

SOURCE MJH Life Sciences

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GLASGOW, Scotland, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Government of Montenegro is accelerating the pace of its journey towards global net zero. This includes an increase in emission reduction targets and participation in global initiatives such as the UN's No New Coal agreement, the Global Oceans Alliance and the Sofia Declaration.

Despite only contributing 0.009% of global emissions, Montenegro is ambitious to play a leading role with international partners and funds to implement change  and to thereby set an example for other small nations that wish to make a big impact.

Montenegro was among the first countries in the Balkans to increase its climate change commitments through emission reductions. Having now achieved its initial goal set in 2015 of a 30% cut in carbon emissions, Montenegro has further increased its reduction targets to 35% by 2030 as it celebrates 30 years as an Ecological State. There are even hopes that new systemic measures in the forestry and agriculture sectors may allow the country to achieve as much as a 40% reduction in the same period.

The government is actively working at an international and national level to expedite its climate change measures through a number of intergovernmental reforms and proactive measures.

Investment in clean energy, clean technology and renewed efforts to scale up green infrastructure and development are key focus areas for the government as part of its vision to build a green economy for the future with new industries and jobs. These include support for cross-border flood risk management and the development of energy infrastructure, including construction of new wind farms and smart electricity meters.

The government is working closely with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to strengthen its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), building greater institutional capacity to deliver climate mitigation and adaptation policies through increased transparency and efficient data flow for greenhouse gas reporting.

The government is also continuing to harmonise policy with EU legislation, which has provided the basis for a national system for the monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as improving usage of substances which impact emissions.

Prof. Dr Danilo Mrdak, Secretary of State, Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism said: "Our intention is to become an example of a small state that will prove that big things are possible. We are determined to play our part in the global fight against climate change, and to secure a net zero future.

"We know there is more to do to ensure a fair transition for Montenegrins, the region and the global community. That is why we have committed to further reducing greenhouse gas emissions, implementing robust adaptation and mitigation plans, and working with our European partners and nations of the world to take action on a global scale."

Taking a holistic and whole of government approach, Montenegro's National Adaptation Plan (NAP) is bringing together project beneficiaries, ministries and institutions responsible for ecology, agriculture, forestry, water management, health, economy and finance, to conduct an institutional data analysis to improve identification of climate risks and to inform mitigating investments, projects and programmes. The first draft of the analysis is due by December 2021.

In signing the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, Montenegro has further committed to a number of concrete climate actions including the introduction of carbon taxation and market models to encourage renewable energy sources, as well as phasing out coal subsidies as part of its overall ambition to be a carbon-neutral country. The government's commitment to an extended programme of green infrastructure investment, will include clean water management and the development of wind and solar projects over the next five years.

Internationally, Montenegro is one of seven leading countries to sign a pledge initiated by the United Nations to stop the build of new coal power plants. Standing alongside Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Sri Lanka and the UK, Montenegro is supporting a global phase-out of coal through the No New Coal Agreement. It is anticipated that many more countries will follow suit.

Montenegro is also one of 62 nations supporting the UK-led Global Ocean Alliance's biodiversity and conservation initiative, 30by30, signing up to a multilateral agreement to protect 30 per cent of the global ocean by 2030.

A delegation from the Government of Montenegro will be attending COP26 in Glasgow to agree international efforts on achieving global net zero and keeping 1.5 degrees within reach.

For further information on Montenegro's climate change commitments and targets, visit https://www.gov.me/en/mepg.

SOURCE Montenegro Ministry of Ecology
CLEVELAND and BOSTON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MPE Partners ("MPE" or "Morgenthaler Private Equity"), a preferred partner for entrepreneur-, family-, and ESOP-owned companies, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell Bettcher Industries ("Bettcher" or the "Company") to KKR. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ohio, Bettcher is a trusted provider of semi-automated handheld tools, automated equipment, and aftermarket consumables for beef, pork, poultry, and seafood processing plants globally. Bettcher's innovative and industry-leading products serve to improve customer yield, while enhancing worker safety and comfort.

Peter Taft, Partner at MPE, said, "We are honored to have supported Bettcher and its management as it effectively executed a multi-faceted strategy to accelerate its growth, both organically and through acquisition. We thoroughly enjoyed partnering with the Company's talented team and would like to thank them for their significant efforts on this successful journey."

MPE recapitalized Bettcher in October 2017, which at the time was owned 100% by the Company's Employee Stock Ownership Plan ("Bettcher ESOP"). Karen Tuleta, Partner at MPE, commented, "We pioneered a unique deal structure whereby the Bettcher ESOP retained a meaningful minority ownership interest alongside MPE's investment. It is particularly gratifying to see all employees in the Bettcher ESOP benefit from the equity value appreciation created over our investment period. We are thrilled with the achievement of our goals and believe that the MPE playbook and Bettcher deal structure can be effectively applied to other ESOP-owned businesses that are looking for a growth partner and liquidity realization through a partial or full partnership with a private equity institution such as MPE."

Tim Swanson, Chief Executive Officer of Bettcher, added, "I would like to thank MPE for its support, guidance, and expertise over the past four years. MPE has been an invaluable business partner in our journey to create a scalable enterprise built on a legacy of employee ownership and serving customers and enhanced by a business system focused on accelerated organic growth, strategic planning, and targeted M&A. This foundation will serve us well as we transition to a new partnership."

"With Bettcher, we identified an opportunity to invest in a differentiated business with exposure to a resilient and growing market sector and accelerate growth through aggressive organic and inorganic initiatives. In addition to making investments in human capital, commercial resources, technology, and manufacturing operations, we also worked closely with Company management to complete and integrate three acquisitions that enhanced the platform. We are proud of our contributions to Bettcher and the partnership we built with Tim, his predecessor Don Esch, and the rest of management," said Matt Yohe, Partner at MPE, and Constantine Elefter, Principal at MPE.

The pending sale of Bettcher builds on a productive and rewarding year for MPE. Thus far in 2021, MPE has closed five new investment platforms and one add-on acquisition.

Baird, Guggenheim Securities, LLC, BakerHostetler, and Alvarez & Marsal Transaction Advisory Group served as advisors to Bettcher. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Bettcher Industries

Headquartered in Birmingham, Ohio, Bettcher is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative equipment in the food processing and medical device industries. The Bettcher portfolio includes the following: Bettcher, a designer and manufacturer of handheld trimmers, tools, and cutting consumables for all protein applications; Cantrell-Gainco, a manufacturer of processing equipment and yield enhancement and yield tracking systems for various protein operations; ICB Greenline, an aftermarket replacement parts and services company focused on poultry processing; and, Exsurco Medical, a leading-edge medical device company that provides innovative products and services to transform surgical grafting, debridement, and recovery outcomes for patients with burn and trauma wounds.

About MPE Partners

MPE Partners ("MPE" or "Morgenthaler Private Equity") seeks to be the preferred partner for entrepreneur-, family-, and ESOP-owned companies. Based in Cleveland, OH, and Boston, MA, MPE invests in profitable, lower middle market companies with transaction values up to $250 million. MPE has two primary target investment areas: high-value manufacturing and commercial & industrial services. For more information, please visit www.mpepartners.com.

SOURCE MPE Partners

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SEATTLE, Wash., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NBBJ announced today that it has achieved CarbonNeutral company certification, in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol, the leading global framework for carbon neutrality. The milestone is the latest development in the firm's long-standing commitment to create resilient, sustainable communities.

As an early signatory of the 2030 challenge, today NBBJ has 7.5 million square feet of projects that meet the 2030 mandate of 80% fossil fuel reduction. In addition, the firm has more than five million square feet of net zero projects in design and millions of additional square feet of projects that meet sustainability criteria issued by organizations including LEED, BREEAM and the Living Building Challenge.

"As a purpose-driven company focused on sustainability, health and community, CarbonNeutral certification is a critical step in our quest to create lasting impact and to live out our values," said Steve McConnell, FAIA, Managing Partner. "In addition, this milestone further aligns our culture with that of our clients and joins the international community to drastically reduce carbon emissions now."

NBBJ selected Natural Capital Partners as its climate action partner due to its industry-leading carbon neutral framework and endorsement by key NBBJ clients such as Microsoft and Kaiser Permanente.

"We are happy to work with NBBJ as it demonstrates the critical role businesses must play in achieving a decarbonized world," said Miguel Sossa, Vice President, Western Region at Natural Capital Partners. "In this critical decade of climate action, we need to use all the solutions available to deliver change. NBBJ's net zero commitment and offsetting strategy is a showcase for going beyond business as usual and committing to making that change."

Alongside the certification, NBBJ also commits to a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 and to be fully net zero by 2050. NBBJ's plan includes a further decrease in energy use across its offices, incentives for employees to use public transit, reduced air travel, contracts with carbon-neutral suppliers and the purchase of carbon offsets.

"CarbonNeutral certification is an important milestone in our action plan for a decarbonized future," said Jonathan Ward, FAIA, Design Partner. "We do this in parallel with an intensification to reduce carbon in our project work around the world, where our most profound impact can be achieved in supporting a low carbon economy. As a firm that has already reduced emissions on projects by 60%  above the industry average of 49%  we remain committed to concrete steps that move the needle."

Currently, the firm is working with a leading technology company to power its future headquarters using thermal energy. Also in the Pacific Northwest, NBBJ has worked with three hospital systems to reduce energy consumption on their new expansions by almost 70%. And the firm's proposed design of Amazon's HQ2 outside Washington, D.C., will be powered using 100% renewable energy.

In addition, the firm's Design Performance Group  which focuses on technological solutions that improve the health of building occupants and the environment simultaneously  is beta testing its new ZeroGuide, an open-source zero carbon tool that allows building owners and design teams to measure and reduce embodied and operational carbon. Through the firm's philanthropic efforts, NBBJ has also partnered with the Nature Conservancy to plant 750,000 trees, sequestering more than 170,000 tons of CO 2 over their lifetime.

About NBBJ

NBBJ is an ideas-driven architecture and design firm. With an empathetic process rooted in careful research, real-world making and the belief that all voices should be heard, NBBJ pursues solutions that foster community, encourage well-being and contribute to a zero-carbon future. NBBJ's global network includes more than 800 researchers, strategists, nurses, architects, planners and interior designers across 12 offices in North America, Europe and Asia. The firm has been named among the world's most innovative architects by Fast Company three times, the fastest growing firm by Architectural Record and the "firm of choice for tech companies" by Wired.

Contact:

Daniel Skiffington

[email protected]

SOURCE NBBJ

Related Links

http://www.nbbj.com


FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 9; Released: October 2021 Executive Pool: 5534 Companies: 54 - Players covered include Atos SE; Cray, Inc.; Dawning Information Industry Co., Ltd. (Sugon); Dell EMC; Fujitsu Ltd.; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (HPE); IBM Corporation; Lenovo; NEC Corporation; Silicon Graphics International Corporation and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: End-Use (Commodity Cluster, Government, Academic & Scientific Research, Commercial) Geographies: World; United States; Canada; Japan; China; Europe (France; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; Spain; Russia; and Rest of Europe); Asia-Pacific (Australia; India; South Korea; and Rest of Asia-Pacific); Latin America (Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; and Rest of Latin America); Middle East (Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; and Rest of Middle East); and Africa.

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ABSTRACT-



Global Supercomputers Market to Reach US$14 Billion by the Year 2026

A supercomputer is a computer featuring computational capacities much higher than general purpose computers including laptops and personal desktops. Supercomputers were invented during the 1960s, at the CDC (Control Data Corporation) specifically, and the initial uses were for science and engineering projects. Today, supercomputers are being used for largescale numerical computations or number crunching. Growth in the market is set to be driven by adoption of these computers in research & academic institutions and also in various industries like manufacturing, oil & gas and energy among others. Over the years, cost of supercomputers also decreased owing to technological advancement. The equipment are not as expensive as they used to be, which is extending their application into newer sectors besides weather forecasting and healthcare. Online gaming today is using supercomputers extensively. Online games are played by millions of people, simultaneously, which can be made possible only by supercomputers. Market growth is also helped by the growing cloud technology trend. Supercomputing centers today are adopting parallel and cloud applications.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Supercomputers estimated at US$5.6 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$14 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 16.2% over the analysis period. Government, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 13.7% CAGR to reach US$6.4 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Academic & Scientific Research segment is readjusted to a revised 16.8% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 30.2% share of the global Supercomputers market. The largest users of supercomputers are government entities. Governments across the world are recognizing that supercomputers are necessary for achieving economic security and competitiveness for their respective countries. They are using supercomputers for developing state-of-the-art electronic warfare equipment and defense systems. Representing next-generation supercomputers, exascale supercomputers appear poised to take the concept of high-performance computing to next level owing to their intriguing application potential. These supercomputers are being increasingly exploited by researchers to simulate complex processes in diverse domains such as biotechnology, medicine, material design, energy, and advanced manufacturing.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $1.4 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $5.1 Billion by 2026

The Supercomputers market in the U.S. is estimated at US$1.4 Billion in the year 2020. The country currently accounts for a 21.16% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$5.1 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 17.7% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 13.5% and 14.3% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 14.4% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$5.9 Billion by the end of the analysis period. China currently has the highest number of these supercomputers in use with the United States in the second place. Recently, the nation developed the Tianhe -2A, PAI-System and Sunway Taihulight among other supercomputers.

Commercial Segment to Reach $4 Billion by 2026

The fall in the cost of supercomputers owing to technological advancement is expected to increase uptake in the commercial sector. Already, small and medium-sized supercomputers are being developed for use by SMEs. In the global Commercial segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 18.5% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$1.2 Billion in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$4.1 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$173.9 Million by the year 2026. More

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Outdoors coalition releases guidelines and calls on creatives and artists to #CreateResponsibly. Tweet this

Creators are being asked to take a pledge agreeing to follow these guidelines for their productions at recreateresponsibly.org/createresponsiblypledge . Influencers, content creators, artists and productions who take the pledge and adopt these tenets will become a part of the growing #CreateResponsibly community. As a member of this community, creators will receive a badge from Recreate Responsibly to include in their content, websites, portfolios, end credits and promotional materials. The aim of the freshly launched initiative, profiled in the Outside Business Journal , is to develop a community of creators who harness the power of their resources to amplify responsible content creation practices and a shared stewardship ethos.

The guidelines were created by coalition members from across the film industry, social media influencers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and other government agencies to provide simple, easy-to-follow principles that creators can follow.

The #CreateResponsibly guidelines are:

Know Before You Go. Research and contact the location well in advance.

Permits may be required and take time to process.

Check for weather and hazards prior to arrival.

Talk to land managers and local film/tourism commissions.

Consider "under-visited" locations to limit your impact.

Plan and Prepare. The outdoors can be a high-risk environment with conditions that quickly change.

Consider terrain and arrange adequate transportation.

Know and understand drone "no fly zones."

Try to film near your vehicle(s).

Bring plenty of water and safety equipment.

Respect Others. Minimize impact to other users.

Avoid blocking trails, vistas or byways.

Give space to people recreating or working.

Think about how your presence impacts the space.

Try to blend in with the landscape if possible.

Leave No Trace. Respect the land, water, wildlife and Native and local communities.

Follow the seven Leave No Trace principles.

Always avoid sensitive habitats.

Consider the impact of disclosing specific locations.

Use your art to educate; showcase responsible use.

Build an Inclusive Outdoors. Inspire others to see themselves in that space. Historically, access to the outdoors has been inequitablewe can change that.

Consider the historic inhabitants of the land.

Showcase all backgrounds and abilities.

Embrace different meanings of "outdoors."

Celebrate the many ways people connect with nature.

Make it Better. Inspire respect and caring for outdoor spaces.

Depict responsible recreation in action.

Provide characters with attributes that tie work, play or culture to the outdoors.

Create behind the scenes content to celebrate your backdrop.

Utilize sustainable practices.

"As creators, we wanted to ensure that these guidelines weren't just effective, but that they also didn't increase budgets or workloads for people who want to film in the outdoors," said Tom Putnam, Director and Producer of Debra Messing and David Cross' latest film, The Dark Divide. "These principles are simple enough that anyone can follow them, from studio feature films to someone creating a TikTok video."

"From full-time road-trippers to professional athletes, content creators in the outdoors have a responsibility to lead by example and help elevate an outdoor culture of stewardship and ethical practices," said Katie Boue, president of Outdoor Advocacy Project. "Both how we create content and the stories we tell through that content are opportunities to make the outdoors better."

Dusty Vaughn, of the U.S. Forest Service, said "As a federal land management agency, we love how people share their experiences and connections to the outdoors, especially when they follow practices that reduce the impact to others and the land while creating an inclusive experience. Content creators have the ability to reach more audiences and inspire all of us to work together as stewards of these landscapes."

Since then, the group has grown into a diverse, international community of nearly 2,000 businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, outdoor media and influential voices. The coalition's common ground is a shared love of the outdoors, a desire to help everyone experience the benefits of nature and a belief that by sharing best practices, people can help keep our parks, trails and public lands safe and accessible.

Media assets and resources are available in English and Spanish at RecreateResponsibly.org. Follow #CreateResponsibly on social media to keep up with the movement.

CONTACT: Eugenie Bostrom, Founder, Embracing the Bear (managing agency of the Recreate Responsibly Coalition) [email protected]

SOURCE Recreate Responsibly

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SEATTLE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The first lawsuit brought on behalf of the Estate of Lorenzo Anderson and father Horace Anderson filed today holds Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkin, Councilmember Kshama Sawant, and the City of Seattle responsible for the wrongful death of Lorenzo Anderson the 19 year old special needs teen that was killed near the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) Zone on June 20, 2020. The bombshell lawsuit was filed by Evan M. Oshan of Oshan and Associates (Oshan Law) in King County Superior Court today and can be viewed at https://pdfhost.io/v/sfFcQB1vU_Complaint. This follows on a previously announced Notice of Claims in May of this year.

The 40-page complaint provides a chronology of events which encourage the CHOP Zone- A seven block police-free protest zone that the Mayor, City Council and other government entities allowed to develop creating a lawless environment. Over 2400 pages of exhibits provide ample evidence to support the 11 causes of action outlined in the complaint which shows how the actions and inactions by the defendants were directly responsible for the chaos promoted and encouraged that lead to the wrongful and preventable death of Lorenzo Anderson.

Some key exhibits include a judicial reprimand of Councilmember Kshama Sawant, over 300 pages of invoices showing funds mismanaged to promote the CHOP Zone where lawlessness reigned. Additional exhibits show how Seattle Emergency Medical Service personnel and Seattle Police officers were nearby and available to help the dying Lorenzo when 911 calls were received yet they failed to perform their duties as public servants and render aid as a result of failed Seattle leadership. Other exhibits further show the extreme suffering that Lorenzo endured before his death and establish that he would have survived the shooting if help was rendered.

"In order for Justice to be served, all responsible parties regardless of their position in government must be held accountable," said Evan M. Oshan, attorney for the Lorenzo Andersons' Estate. "We entrust our leaders to protect public safety, and there is no excuse for the willful indifference and pattern of inaction that lead to Lorenzo's wrongful death. The lawlessness that was allowed to reign in Seattle is not acceptable and will not go unpunished." Oshan asserts "this complaint is brought in King County so a Seattle Jury can hear the facts and evidence, Washington law supports our claims and is the correct venue for justice to be served!"

Oshan asserts: "This case is about freedom from the tyrannical rule of incompetent government leadership. I am a firm believer in our American legal system and have confidence that justice will prevail!"

Attorney Evan M. Oshan & Horace Anderson- Father of The Late Lorenzo Anderson are available for in studio or zoom interview.

Exhibits available upon request.

Press Contact

Evan M. Oshan

[email protected]

206 335 3880- Text or Voice

SOURCE Oshan & Associates, P.C.

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The tourism industry is highly fragmented, with developing countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) being most reliant on tourism for their economies. More than 40 million tourism businesses  or 80 percent of the whole industry  are small or medium sized. The STGC aims to support people and the planet by reforming tourism's contribution to climate change, in a bid to protect the environment and support those who need it most.

At a special session on the future of the STGC at COP26, His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, was joined by former President of Mexico and Chair of New Climate Economy, and the World Resources Institute, Felipe Calderon; David Livingston, Senior Advisor, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and other leaders.

The Center's strategy will be shaped by a coalition of governments, international organizations, academia, multilateral and financing institutions and industry associations.

The countries invited to be part of this important coalition in phase one, are the UK, USA, France, Japan, Germany, Kenya, Jamaica, Morocco, Spain, and Saudi Arabia. These countries have prioritized climate, tourism and SMEs which will allow for synergies for this important initiative

The top organizations that will help to shape the center and provide the services in phase one are WRI (World Resource Institute), UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council), World Bank, and SYSTEMIQ. In addition to Harvard University, which will provide support to the STGC through research and capacity-building, while the UNFCCC will guide the Center to accelerate industry action on climate neutrality.

The Center will deliver services and products across three core pillars, including knowledge creation and sharing, measurement and monitoring, and industry enablement. Across these pillars, the STGC will focus on at least in nine areas of industry support, including developing standards and resource provision for the tourism sector, capability building, and project funding and investment.

The Center will be headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and plans to open regional offices in other countries, with a strong multilingual online presence.

Other countries and organizations will be invited to join in phase two. In addition, a group of global experts in tourism and climate is being assembled to support this important effort.

His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism, Saudi Arabia, said:

"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the interconnectedness of humanity and nature, and the fragility of communities dependent on tourism to external shocks. We must act now to make the industry and local communities far more resilient and to help solve the challenge of climate change. That requires engaging with business, governments, and international organizations to accelerate action. Saudi Arabia is committed to contributing to this critical effort."

President Felipe Calderon, Former President of Mexico and Chairman, World Resources Institute, said:

"We share this initiative with global leaders who joined our mission to make tourism a lever toward achieving the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. There is a window of opportunity for business and governments to come together to drive these critical objectives, and the STGC will serve as a 'north star' to achieve this mission."

Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism of Jamaica, said:

"The Government of Jamaica, as a Small Island Developing State and vulnerable economy, remains committed to resilience building for sustainable development, including through sustainable tourism. In this regard, Jamaica welcomes the opportunity to partner with the Sustainable Tourism Global Center to contribute to and benefit from this collaborative effort to secure a better planet for future generations."

Janet Rogan. United Kingdom COP Regional Ambassador for Middle East and Africa, said:

"We are proud to be hosting COP26. Humanity has run down the clock on climate change. It is now time to take action. Tourism is a key sector that supports jobs and growth and we are pleased to be part of this important new initiative to accelerate the sector's transition to net zero."

Her Excellency Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social Economy Morocco said:

"Under the guidance of his Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God bless him, The Kingdom of Morocco made sustainability one of the main pillars of its former sectorial strategies as well as its new development model. During the last two years, the whole world has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and tourism is one of the most affected sectors. It is crucial to join our efforts to build and co-design a sustainable recovery plan related to travel and tourism activities. The Sustainable Tourism Global Center is an important step towards this goal."

Hon. Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary of Tourism and Wildlife, Kenya said:

"As one of Africa's most popular destinations for international visitors, Kenya has felt the full impact of the global tourism downturn as a result of the pandemic. We therefore agree that there is an urgent need for a new sustainable approach to global tourism. Along with our recently launched Wildlife Strategy 2030 which will ensure a thriving natural ecosystem under pressure from climate change, we are strong supporters of the Sustainable Tourism Global Center."

Her Excellency Maria Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Spain said:

"COP26 provides an ideal setting to confirm our commitment to help tourism contributing to the global challenge of climate change. As a world leader in tourism, Spain is promoting initiatives in sustainable tourism aiming to preserve the natural environment, to improve energy efficiency in the sector and to adopt the principles of the circular economy. This will accelerate the contribution of tourism to the green transition drawn by the European Green Deal. Spain is an active member in international initiatives such as Planet's Sustainable Tourism Programme, and it will remain an active partner working at a global level with other countries, in particular developing countries, as well as with international institutions and business representatives."

Julia Simpson, World Travel & Tourism Council President and CEO, said:

"At a time where leadership is most needed to address the climate emergency, we commend Saudi Arabia's initiative that will support the sector to achieve the global goals and ensure a sustainable future. WTTC is delighted to contribute to the Center through its unique data, research and expertise from businesses across the globe."

John W. H. Denton AO, International Chamber of Commerce Secretary General, said:

"I applaud the  multi-country and multi-stakeholder effort  to accelerate sustainability within the global tourism sector. Given the impacts of COVID-19 on the strength of the sector, partnerships will be vital to ensure small tourism operators can genuinely build back better  and become a powerful force for local communities and our planet.

"The International Chamber of Commerce  as the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries and as official UNFCCC Focal Point for Business and Industry  looks forward to supporting the development of the Hub in the coming months  and to connecting its work with our global business network, in particular the millions of small businesses in the tourism sector."

Gloria Guevara, Chief Special Advisor to HE Ahmed Al Khateeb, said:

"The tourism sector has been through so much throughout this pandemic and combined with the urgency of a response to climate change, it needs a global solution. SMEs in our sector  like a travel agency or tour operator  might not know their carbon footprint and how to contribute to the race to zero. Every time we go on holiday, we create jobs and reduce poverty, it would be great if we reach a point that the more, we go on holiday, the better it is for the planet. The multi-country, multi-stakeholder coalition will bring tourism's fragmented stakeholders together and provide knowledge to drive action now."

Dr. Ramon Sanchez, Principal Investigator, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard University, said:

"To create a truly sustainable global tourism industry, all community, business, and government stakeholders require the tools, frameworks, and best practices necessary to contribute to reaching this objective. The team at Harvard is excited to collaborate with the STGC on research that will play a critical role in building the foundation and driving the industry toward net-zero".

Jeremy Oppenheim, founder, SYSTEMIQ, a global advisory and investment firm which specialises in Paris Agreement-aligned sectoral transformations and is supporting the STGC, said:

"The STGC aims to bring together the many tourism-related sectors - aviation, hospitality, transport and catering services  into a world-class, multi-stakeholder coalition that can help transform the industry especially SMEs, from one that generates 8% of global greenhouse emissions to one that is a driver of a net-zero, regenerative world."

Niclas Svenningsen, Manager for Global Climate Action - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

"Tourism is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change and one of the sectors that has most to contribute with to the 2030 sustainable development agenda. Climate action offers a win-win opportunity to recover economies, communities and countries in a sustainable and climate friendly fashion."

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1678329/STGC_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1678330/STGC_2.jpg

SOURCE Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC)
PROVO, Utah, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) today announced third quarter 2021 revenue of $641.2 million and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.97.

Executive Summary

Q3 2021 vs. Prior-year Quarter

Revenue: $641.2 million; (9)%  +2% fx impact or $11.8 million Earnings Per Share (EPS): $0.97; (10)% Sales Leaders: 58,565; (15)% Customers: 1,395,271; (9)%

"As we previously announced, our third quarter revenue was lower than anticipated due to COVID delta variant disruptions as unexpected government restrictions interrupted selling and promotional activities in several markets, specifically in Mainland China and Southeast Asia," said Ryan Napierski, Nu Skin president and CEO. "Despite these short-term impacts, we are encouraged by our continued growth in the U.S., which was driven by our Beauty Focus Collagen+ launch and double-digit growth in Korea due to successful product promotions and sales leader initiatives.

"Looking ahead, we anticipate the ongoing rollout of our Collagen+ and ageLOC Meta products in Q4 will build momentum going into next year. For 2022 and beyond, we remain focused on our vision of becoming the world's leading beauty and wellness company, powered by our dynamic affiliate opportunity platform. We will work toward this by introducing our EmpowerMe personalized beauty and wellness strategy with connected beauty devices, increasing adoption of our affiliate-powered social commerce business model and expanding our digital platform. Amidst global uncertainty, we are confident in this strategy as we transform our company toward our vision for the future."

Q3 2021 Year-over-year Operating Results

Revenue: $641.2 million compared to $703.3 million  +2% fx impact Gross Margin: 75.2% compared to 73.9%  Nu Skin business was 78.6% compared to 76.3% Selling Expenses: 39.9% compared to 39.9%  Nu Skin business was 42.7% compared to 42.4% G&A Expenses: 25.1% compared to 23.5% Operating Margin: 10.2% compared to 10.6% Other Income / (Expense): $2.8 million compared to $0.5 million Income Tax Rate: 27.0% compared to 24.7% EPS: $0.97 compared to $1.08

Stockholder Value

Dividend Payments: $19.0 million Stock Repurchases: $10.0 million  $255.4 million remaining in authorization

Q4 and Full-year 2021 Outlook

Q4 2021 Revenue: $645 to $675 million; (10) to (14)%  Approximately (1)% fx impact Q4 2021 EPS: $0.90 to $1.00; (29) to (36)%  Prior year benefitted by 19.6% tax rate 2021 Revenue: $2.67 to $2.70 billion; +3 to 5%  Approximately +2 to 3% fx impact 2021 EPS: $3.93 to $4.03; +8 to 11%

Mark Lawrence, chief financial officer, added, "We are adjusting our 2021 forecast based on third quarter results and continued COVID uncertainty. Despite the difficult operating environment, we anticipate annual revenue growth of 3 to 5 percent on top of strong growth in 2020, with earnings per share growth of 8 to 11 percent."

About Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) is a leading beauty and wellness company, powered by a dynamic affiliate opportunity platform. The company helps people live, look and feel their best with products that combine the best of science, technology and nature. Backed by more than 35 years of scientific research, Nu Skin develops innovative products including Nu Skin personal care, Pharmanex nutrition and the ageLOC anti-aging brand which includes an award-winning line of beauty device systems. Nu Skin operates in approximately 50 markets worldwide in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Pacific. Rhyz Inc. is the company's strategic investment arm that includes a collection of technology and manufacturing companies to support growth in the core Nu Skin business. Nu Skin is committed to sustainability, including global initiatives such as transitioning to reduced and sustainable packaging for all products by 2030. The Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation also strives to improve children's health, education and economic circumstances throughout the world. For more information, visit nuskin.com.

Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains 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, that represent the company's current expectations and beliefs. All statements other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements" for purposes of federal and state securities laws and include, but are not limited to, statements of management's expectations regarding the company's performance, growth, shareholder value, vision, initiatives, product pipeline and product introductions, digital tools, customers and sales leaders, affiliates, strategies and initiatives; projections regarding revenue, earnings per share, foreign currency fluctuations and other financial items; statements of belief; and statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "outlook," "guidance," "remain," "become," "plan," "forecast," "expand," "will," "would," "could," "may," "might," the negative of these words and other similar words.

The forward-looking statements and related assumptions involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any forward-looking statements or views expressed herein. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following:

risk that epidemics, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and other crises could negatively impact our business;

adverse publicity related to the company's business, products, industry or any legal actions or complaints by the company's sales force or others;

risk that direct selling laws and regulations in any of the company's markets, including the United States and Mainland China, may be modified, interpreted or enforced in a manner that results in negative changes to the company's business model or negatively impacts its revenue, sales force or business, including through the interruption of sales activities, loss of licenses, increased scrutiny of sales force actions, imposition of fines, or any other adverse actions or events;

any failure of current or planned initiatives or products to generate interest among the company's sales force and customers and generate sponsoring and selling activities on a sustained basis;

political, legal, tax and regulatory uncertainties associated with operating in international markets, including Mainland China;

uncertainty regarding meeting restrictions and other government scrutiny in Mainland China, as well as negative media and consumer sentiment in Mainland China on our business operations and results;

risk of foreign-currency fluctuations and the currency translation impact on the company's business associated with these fluctuations;

uncertainties regarding the future financial performance of the businesses the company has acquired;

risks related to accurately predicting, delivering or maintaining sufficient quantities of products to support planned initiatives or launch strategies, and increased risk of inventory write-offs if the company over-forecasts demand for a product or changes its planned initiatives or launch strategies;

regulatory risks associated with the company's products, which could require the company to modify its claims or inhibit its ability to import or continue selling a product in a market if the product is determined to be a medical device or if the company is unable to register the product in a timely manner under applicable regulatory requirements;

unpredictable economic conditions and events globally, including trade policies and tariffs;

the company's future tax-planning initiatives; any prospective or retrospective increases in duties on the company's products imported into the company's markets outside of the United States ; and any adverse results of tax audits or unfavorable changes to tax laws in the company's various markets; and

continued competitive pressures in the company's markets.

The company's financial performance and the forward-looking statements contained herein are further qualified by a detailed discussion of associated risks set forth in the documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements set forth the company's beliefs as of the date that such information was first provided, and the company assumes no duty to update the forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect any change except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures: Constant-currency revenue change is a non-GAAP financial measure that removes the impact of fluctuations in foreign-currency exchange rates, thereby facilitating period-to-period comparisons of the company's performance. It is calculated by translating the current period's revenue at the same average exchange rates in effect during the applicable prior-year period and then comparing that amount to the prior-year period's revenue. The company believes that constant-currency revenue change is useful to investors, lenders and analysts because such information enables them to gauge the impact of foreign-currency fluctuations on the company's revenue from period to period.

The following table sets forth revenue for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 for each of our reportable segments (U.S. dollars in thousands):



Three Months Ended September 30,





Constant- Currency

2021

2020

Change

Change Nu Skin





















Mainland China $ 134,291

$ 169,068



(21)%



(26)% Americas

131,482



133,618



(2)%



(2)% South Korea

91,989



83,460



10%



8% Southeast Asia/Pacific

79,081



101,949



(22)%



(23)% EMEA

55,839



61,411



(9)%



(11)% Japan

65,117



70,958



(8)%



(5)% Hong Kong/Taiwan

39,921



42,265



(6)%



(8)% Nu Skin other

889



(314)



383%



382% Total Nu Skin

598,609



662,415



(10)%



(11)% Rhyz Investments





















Manufacturing

41,635



40,910



2%



2% Grow Tech

783



22



3,459%



3,459% Rhyz other

125















Total Rhyz Investments

42,543



40,932



4%



4% Total $ 641,152

$ 703,347



(9)%



(11)%

The following table sets forth revenue for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 for each of our reportable segments (U.S. dollars in thousands):



Nine Months Ended September 30,





Constant- Currency

2021

2020

Change

Change Nu Skin





















Mainland China $ 438,066

$ 453,096



(3)%



(11)% Americas

403,755



312,436



29%



28% South Korea

261,724



236,094



11%



5% Southeast Asia/Pacific

246,338



262,038



(6)%



(9)% EMEA

215,134



147,590



46%



36% Japan

203,001



200,549



1%



2% Hong Kong/Taiwan

114,795



115,253







(4)% Nu Skin other

2,350



374



528%



530% Total Nu Skin

1,885,163



1,727,430



9%



5% Rhyz Investments





















Manufacturing

135,760



105,975



28%



28% Grow Tech

1,147



336



241%



241% Rhyz other

163















Total Rhyz Investments

137,070



106,311



29%



29% Total $ 2,022,233

$ 1,833,741



10%



6%

The company's Customers and Sales Leaders statistics by segment as of September 30, 2021 and 2020 are presented in the following table:



As of September 30, 2021

As of September 30, 2020

% Increase

(Decrease)

Customers

Sales Leaders

Customers

Sales Leaders

Customers

Sales Leaders Mainland China

355,256



13,838



341,386



20,970



4%



(34)% Americas

324,880



12,127



397,936



12,798



(18)%



(5)% South Korea

156,439



9,448



164,256



7,973



(5)%



18% Southeast Asia/Pacific

162,048



7,607



204,489



9,959



(21)%



(24)% EMEA

210,705



5,726



235,202



6,226



(10)%



(8)% Japan

123,453



6,029



126,896



6,523



(3)%



(8)% Hong Kong/Taiwan

62,490



3,790



69,346



4,067



(10)%



(7)% Total

1,395,271



58,565



1,539,511



68,516



(9)%



(15)%

"Customers" are persons who purchased products directly from the company during the previous three months. Our Customer numbers do not include consumers who purchase products directly from members of our sales force.

"Sales Leaders" are independent distributors, and sales employees and independent marketers in China, who achieve certain qualification requirements.

NU SKIN ENTERPRISES, INC. Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (U.S. dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)



Three Months Ended September 30,

Nine Months Ended September 30,

2021

2020

2021

2020























Revenue $ 641,152

$ 703,347

$ 2,022,233

$ 1,833,741 Cost of sales

158,907



183,374



501,448



463,277 Gross profit

482,245



519,973



1,520,785



1,370,464























Operating expenses:





















Selling expenses

255,719



280,695



807,358



735,365 General and administrative expenses

161,142



165,050



499,754



466,232 Total operating expenses

416,861



445,745



1,307,112



1,201,597























Operating income

65,384



74,228



213,673



168,867 Other income (expense), net

2,781



525



351



(4,068)























Income before provision for income taxes

68,165



74,753



214,024



164,799 Provision for income taxes

18,436



18,446



57,527



46,911























Net income $ 49,729

$ 56,307

$ 156,497

$ 117,888























Net income per share:





















Basic $ 0.99

$ 1.10

$ 3.11

$ 2.24 Diluted $ 0.97

$ 1.08

$ 3.03

$ 2.23























Weighted-average common shares outstanding (000s):





















Basic

50,098



51,308



50,304



52,741 Diluted

51,260



52,243



51,629



52,906

NU SKIN ENTERPRISES, INC. Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (U.S. dollars in thousands)



September 30, 2021

December 31, 2020 ASSETS





Current assets:





Cash and cash equivalents $ 282,412

$ 402,683 Current investments

19,190



21,216 Accounts receivable, net

52,441



63,370 Inventories, net

415,203



314,366 Prepaid expenses and other

121,626



101,563 Total current assets

890,872



903,198











Property and equipment, net

464,049



468,181 Operating lease right-of-use assets

128,887



155,104 Goodwill

215,582



202,979 Other intangible assets, net

88,497



89,532 Other assets

186,522



138,082 Total assets $ 1,974,409

$ 1,957,076











LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY









Current liabilities:









Accounts payable $ 52,023

$ 66,174 Accrued expenses

378,573



446,682 Current portion of long-term debt

110,000



30,000 Total current liabilities

540,596



542,856











Operating lease liabilities

95,741



112,275 Long-term debt

278,563



305,393 Other liabilities

123,032



102,281 Total liabilities

1,037,932



1,062,805











Commitments and contingencies





















Stockholders' equity:









Class A common stock  500 million shares authorized, $0.001 par value, 90.6 million shares issued

91



91 Additional paid-in capital

590,678



579,801 Treasury stock, at cost  40.5 million and 39.7 million shares

(1,518,535)



(1,461,593) Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(75,658)



(64,768) Retained earnings

1,939,901



1,840,740 Total stockholders' equity

936,477



894,271 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,974,409

$ 1,957,076

SOURCE Nu Skin Enterprises
In 2020, carbon black accounted around 25% of the off-road tires market share. It is a stabilizing material that is utilized for producing tread compounds in tires. The material provides impressive heat dissipation and wear-resistant characteristics when mixed with the rubber compound, thereby, experiencing high demand.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/4367

SUVs are a major demand-generating segment in terms of volume. This is chiefly due to their high penetration in the automobiles sector. SUVs are considered one of the most practical bodies, i.e., as a people carrier, when compared to similar-sized sedans. The vehicle has more space and offers high customizability along with easier ingress & egress, which in turn, provide substantial thrust to the off-road tires market.

The secondary/replacement channel is predicted to showcase considerable growth while reflecting a CAGR of more than 7% through 2027. Product manufacturers are establishing retail stores to improve the overall buying experience of customers and provide safety & reliability. For instance, in April 2021, CEAT announced its initiative to set up more than 100 tire stop retail stores in Tier and Tier 2 cities across India.

Increased durability, low rolling resistance, and outstanding safety are the major aspects taken into consideration during off-road tire manufacturing. OEMs conduct multiple research activities to develop and implement efficient production operations. Recent development activities in material technologies for manufacturing high performance tires are gaining higher visibility.

The European off-road tires industry is anticipated to contribute over USD 125 billion in global off-road tires market by 2027. This is attributed to the higher liking toward adventure activities such as camping and forest adventures. Besides Europe, Asia Pacific and North America will also witness robust developments in the off-road ties market, which are supported by various favorable trends and growth-enabling conducts of industry participants.

Some major findings of the off-road tires market report include:

Superior characteristics to support the usage of carbon black in off-road tires.

SUVs dominate the product usage owing to their higher penetration in the off-highway vehicles sector.

Secondary/replacement to be among the highly-preferred distribution channels of off-road tires.

Some of the key producers of off-road tires are Yokohama Tire Corp., Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd., Bridgestone Corporation, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., Nortec, and others.

Request for customization of this research report at https://www.gminsights.com/roc/4367

About Global Market Insights

Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.

Contact Us:

Arun Hegde

Corporate Sales, USA

Global Market Insights Inc.

Phone: 1-302-846-7766

Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Global Market Insights Inc.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ohio Department of Education's Cyber Security Steering Committee is pleased to announce the launch of the Ohio Department of Education Cyber Security Resources webpage dedicated to supporting school districts and all members of the Ohio Education Computer Network (OECN) with cyber security resources. The site was developed through a collaborative effort by the Ohio Department of Education's Cyber Security Steering Committee: the Center for Internet Security, the Department of Homeland Security, Filament Essential Services, Information Technology Centers, the Management Council of the OECN, MS-ISAC, OARnet, Ohio CoSN, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio National Guard, and Ohio school districts. It was designed to improve the information security posture of all school districts in Ohio by providing information and resources to develop security programs addressing five major components: identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover.

The website also provides information from the Center for Internet Security, which includes real-time news, advisories, and security tips to help understand and mitigate current threats. The Resource Library page explains the top-ten processes that will help to get your security program started, as well as numerous downloadable resources to support your efforts. Additional Resource Links to experts in the cyber security industry are provided to augment your cyber security program.

"Now, more than ever, cyber security is a fundamental priority for Ohio's school districts and the Information Technology Centers that protect and serve their technology needs," noted Geoff Andrews, Chief Executive Officer of the Management Council. "We are pleased to be a part of the collaborative effort to bring cyber security resources to the forefront."

Information and resources to protect your technology infrastructure are critical, and the Ohio Department of Education Cyber Security Resource webpage is a good place to start. Please reach out to your Information Technology Center (ITC) if you have questions about cyber security or how your ITC is positioned to keep your district cyber safe.

Ohio's Information Technology Centers (ITCs) work together through a statewide network known as the Ohio Education Computer Network (OECN). The Management Council coordinates and supports the collaborative efforts of the OECN, which implements a broad spectrum of academic and administrative technologies across Ohio's PreK-12 education system.

Contact: Jessica Madison, the Management Council

Phone: 614.840.9810

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE The Management Council

Related Links

www.mcoecn.org


CINCINNATI, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Orange Grove Bio, a New York-based preclinical drug investment and development firm, and the University of Cincinnati (UC), a Carnegie Level 1 research university, today announced a partnership intended to cultivate the increasingly robust Cincinnati biotech landscape by expanding entrepreneurship, education, and scientific translation of promising technologies emerging from the Cincinnati Innovation District (CID). As part of these efforts, Orange Grove Bio has selected UC's 1819 Innovation Hub as the location for the company's corporate headquarters, joining a number of other premier industry partners already situated in the CID. With close proximity to the university and other innovation anchors, such as Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and UC Health, this location provides Orange Grove Bio with direct access to the area's vast research and commercialization talent as it works to support the creation of new companies capable of developing novel and impactful therapeutics.

Embedding in the CID will empower and enable Orange Grove Bio and UC to collaborate on commercialization and technology transfer, gain access to unique talent pools, offer experiential learning programs and work collaboratively with researchers. As part of these activities, Orange Grove Bio's chief business operations officer, Ryan Fox, will lead the company's Cincinnati operations, working closely with UC's innovation leadership team including David J. Adams, chief innovation officer and architect of the CID, and John C. Byrd, M.D., professor and chair of the UC College of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine. These efforts will focus on the areas of autoimmune and inflammatory disease, oncology, and cell therapy.

"We are excited to welcome Orange Grove Bio as a partner of UC and into the Cincinnati Innovation District," said Mr. Adams. "Their work, alongside world-class researchers like Dr. John Byrd, continues to build this innovation district, and is a model for attracting and retaining talent. This is the place where companies come to innovate, and it is the diversity of partners here that remains a key strength and driver for innovation."

"There is a tremendous amount of promising research continuously emerging from the labs at the University of Cincinnati," said Mr. Fox. "With this strong intellectual foundation, Orange Grove Bio is eager to collaborate with the university's talented researchers, as well as David Adams and John Byrd, to foster and further develop the local Cincinnati biotech ecosystem by building new and innovative companies."

As the CID continues to make an economic impact on the region, gaining statewide and national attention, Orange Grove Bio will join the thriving district, increasing its on-the-ground presence by onboarding new team members for critical business functions from the Cincinnati area.

"We are committed to growing and investing in the biotech ecosystem in Cincinnati and believe that the wealth of scientific talent at the University of Cincinnati will serve as a solid foundation for establishing the local area as a fertile breeding ground for the creation of innovative companies and development of novel therapeutics," said Marc Appel, Orange Grove Bio's chief executive officer.

About Orange Grove Bio

Orange Grove Bio is an emerging, preclinical, capital allocation and asset development biotech company. The company's mission is to develop innovative treatments for important diseases, particularly cancer and immune disorders, by harnessing the significant research potential found in universities across the United States. Orange Grove Bio fosters strong relationships with entrepreneurs and technology transfer offices outside of the traditional medical technology hubs of Boston and San Francisco. Collectively, Orange Grove Bio's team possesses more than one hundred years of drug development and company creation experience, allowing it to build and finance innovative programs from the research and development stage to clinical trials.

About the Cincinnati Innovation District

The Cincinnati Innovation District is a unique and thriving ecosystem that attracts, produces, retains and develops talent by co-locating and collaborating with organizations. The district envelops myriad innovation assets and access to some of the world's leading academic and research centers, organizations and talent pools. Powered by the University of Cincinnati, the CID includes the world-renowned Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and other national research centers. The district's mission is to become a globally recognized talent hub and lead a transformational movement. The combination of industry engagement, unique experiential platforms and accessible research expertise  working at the pace of change  will become a model nationwide. For more information on the Cincinnati Innovation District, visit www.cincyid.com.

SOURCE Cincinnati Innovation District

Related Links

http://www.cincyid.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pager, a leading virtual care navigation and collaboration platform, today announced that Beeper, its nursing and care coordination friendly professional services provider, has achieved URAC's Health Call Center accreditation for its operations across the 50 U.S. states. Beeper, also known as Pager's Command Center, provides clinical services on behalf of Pager to the company's clients. This achievement reinforces the company's commitment to providing high-caliber patient care through its virtual care collaboration platform and its next-generation chat, voice, and video capabilities.

URAC's mission is to advance quality in healthcare through leadership, accreditation, measurement, and innovation. The URAC accreditation process demonstrates a commitment to quality services and serves as a framework to improve business processes through benchmarking organizations against nationally recognized standards. This rigorous process validates the quality of Pager's services and provides certainty for existing and future clients about the caliber of the company's care delivery.

"The quality, flexibility, and robustness of our nurseline and nurse chat services  delivered via the Pager platform  enable clients to offer patients a high-touch, human-centered experience that differentiates Pager's services from many other virtual care offerings," said Walter Jin, Chairman and CEO of Pager. "This accreditation is evidence of the value we place on quality, and we're excited to continue growing these services."

Pager recently announced that it secured $70 million in funding to help advance the development of its platform and support expansion across the U.S. and Latin America. Today, Pager's nurse network provides 24/7 service across all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands in both English and Spanish. The company's rapid growth, in combination with the URAC accreditation, further demonstrates the quality and reliability of patient care services provided through Pager's platform.

"Beeper's nurses and care coordinators are a crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to providing patients with the care and guidance they need and ensuring they are given the appropriate next steps in their journey," said Joe Martinez, Senior Director of Virtual Care at Pager. "We have always been focused on offering a high standard of care to all of our users, and the URAC accreditation proves that our efforts have been successful. The clinical team looks forward to continuing its work to create a cohesive, frictionless virtual care experience."

To learn more about Pager's virtual care navigation and delivery, click here.

About Pager

Pager is a virtual care collaboration platform that provides access to whole-person healthcare in a trusted, convenient, connected care experience, like having a "doctor in the family." Pager helps people make better healthcare decisions by enabling better access and reducing costs, making care simple and easy to understand throughout the entire care journey. Through a combination of hi-tech AI automation and hi-touch concierge services, Pager offers an integrated, full-service experience including triage, telemedicine, e-prescriptions, appointment scheduling, after-care follow-up, care advocacy, and customer service. Pager's omni-channel communications platform connects the fragmented healthcare ecosystem by aggregating a care team of nurses, doctors, pharmacists, coordinators, advocates, and more in one place. Pager partners with leading payers, providers and employers representing more than 15 million people across the United States and Latin America. www.pager.com

About URAC

Founded in 1990, URAC is the independent leader in promoting healthcare quality through leadership, accreditation, measurement and innovation. URAC is a nonprofit organization using evidence-based measures and developing standards through inclusive engagement with a range of stakeholders committed to improving the quality of healthcare. Its portfolio of accreditation and certification programs spans the healthcare industry, addressing healthcare management, healthcare operations, health plans, pharmacies, telehealth providers, physician practices, and more. URAC accreditation is a symbol of excellence for organizations to showcase their validated commitment to quality and accountability.

SOURCE Pager

Related Links

https://pager.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Paul Pagnato, a top ranked Barron's and Forbes top advisor, founder of Transparency Invest and Co-Chairman of Cresset, recently spoke on an expert panel discussion during the Barron's in Education 2021 Virtual Career Fair. Pagnato encouraged students in attendance from over 120 Universities to embrace the Stanford Center of Longevity's new Map of Life initiative and envision a high-quality life for a century or more.

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"Life is a journey, and people need to have a mindset of longevity," said Pagnato. "Today's generation will be living past 100, with multiple careers throughout their lifetime. It's never been more important to tap into your creativity, nurture your entrepreneurial spirit and think exponentially."

Barron's in Education prides itself on being an experiential learning program for the next generation of leaders and advisors. As a continued and long-term supporter of financial literacy for the next generation, Pagnato was thrilled to participate and connect with students, specifically around the Entrepreneurial track and topic of "Building a Personal Brand."

Pagnato further advised that "there are three main KPIs of every successful entrepreneur. The first is having influential mentors, the second is constantly conducting experiments and the third is developing a habit of failing fast and pivoting accordingly."

Pagnato's outlook is shaped by his own memorable experiences. He is currently the Co-Chairman of Cresset, the seventh largest RIA in the United States. He is also the founder of Transparency Invest, a company with a mission to accelerate the world's adoption of transparency. Reinventing investment management represents one of the greatest opportunities to improve the financial well-being of people and financial literacy starts with the students.

About Transparency Invest

Transparency Invest is a technology-based organization with a massive transformative purpose to positively impact one billion lives. We are the world's leader in transparency research, products and educational services, with a mission to accelerate the worlds adoption of transparency. We provide the tools to solve even the most complex problems. Transparency Changes Everything. For more information, please visit transparencyinvest.com.

Media Contact:

Tanya Leyderman

(302) 543-2077

[email protected]

SOURCE Transparency Invest
"We offered Exact Sciences a one-stop shop of advanced manufacturing," said Paul Chaffin, president, Medical and Pharmaceutical Solutions, Molex. "From human-factors design, complex molding and reagent handling to volume manufacturing, finished packaging, as well as labeling and serialization, we have everything they needed to bring this innovative product to market. We brought a powerful mix of capabilities and expertise to help Exact Sciences change the game in the fight against colorectal cancer."

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of death in women and men combined in the U.S., resulting in about 53,000 fatalities in 2021. When detected early, about 90% of stage I or stage II cases are treatable, yet one in three adults over age 50 are late on recommended colorectal cancer screening. Concurrently, new cases of colorectal cancer are increasing among young and middle-aged adults, which prompted the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to recommend screenings starting at age 45.

Patient-Focused Product Design

Thanks to transparent teamwork between Exact Sciences and Phillips-Medisize, Cologuard is poised to help transform how Americans think about colorectal cancer screening. Together, the companies ensured every aspect of product performance met stringent usability and quality requirements. "Our focus and mission is really on the patient experience," said Tammy Turek-Etienne, VP of Operations at Exact Sciences. "Everything we do is around quality and that end-user, so we can ensure they have a really great experience with the products."

Because the simplicity and convenience of at-home testing are clear Cologuard differentiators, the collective group embraced human-factors design principles to prove patients of all ages and abilities could effectively open and close the different components within the collection kit. Phillips-Medisize developed new tooling to safeguard against inadvertent leaks while meeting specifications and tolerances required to produce the highest levels of product quality.

Reducing Supply Chain Risk

Unprecedented levels of supply chain flexibility enabled Exact Sciences to acquire all the parts, products and raw materials needed to rapidly scale kit production. Phillips-Medisize located and validated alternate supply sources, conducted risk assessments and forecasting, as well as sourcing and procurement plans to protect against unplanned disruptions. The organization's ability to increase safety stock, hold spare parts and leverage its buying power helped Exact Sciences attain much-needed supplies and raw materials to meet rapidly increasing demand, such as resin.

During the pandemic, colorectal cancer screening rates plummeted as large swaths of the population postponed annual doctor's visits and regular screenings. Resources were redeployed and production schedules were readjusted to accommodate volume changes and avoid overstocking.

Scaling for Rapid Growth

In supporting sustained growth while mitigating risk, Phillips-Medisize diversified its manufacturing footprint by transitioning a former Molex manufacturing site in Little Rock, Ark., to complement its medical manufacturing sites in Wisconsin.

Phillips-Medisize now operates three production lines at U.S.-based manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin and Arkansas where a combination of manual, semi-manual and highly automated manufacturing is used to produce 40,000 screening test kits each week. As a result, more than six million Americans have used Cologuard for convenient screening and early cancer detection.

Supporting Resources

Phillips-Medisize Brings Possibilities to Life

Phillips-Medisize, a Molex company, brings decades of innovation to leading healthcare and life science companies to develop groundbreaking solutions that help people live healthier, more productive lives. On average, the company commercializes 50 new products a year for customers, including the first-to-market FDA-registered drug-delivery device utilizing a connected health system. Molex brings decades of experience in advanced electronics, connectivity and sensor technologies to help transform medical and pharmaceutical solutions.

About Molex

Molex is a global electronics leader committed to making the world a better, more-connected place. With presence in more than 40 countries, Molex enables transformative technology innovation in the automotive, data center, industrial automation, healthcare, 5G, cloud and consumer device industries. Through trusted customer and industry relationships, unrivaled engineering expertise, and product quality and reliability, Molex realizes the infinite potential of Creating Connections for Life. For more information, visit www.molex.com.



SOURCE Molex Incorporated

Related Links

http://www.molex.com


NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PlaceIQ , the company building a new model of consumer behavior with location data and insights, today announced its selection as one of New York City's Best Places to Work by Crain's New York Business for the eighth straight year. PlaceIQ ranked #10 out of the 100 companies to be honored in the listing, which represents "world-class organizations that are at the forefront of their respective fields, ranging from companies and firms in consulting, data and digital media, consumer tech, healthcare, public relations, recruiting, real estate, law and financial services."

Team PlaceIQ at the company retreat in 2021

PlaceIQ is pleased to be ranked in the Top 10 of the Best Places to Work in New York City as we make our return to the office with a new space in Rockefeller Center. With flexibility in mind, team members are able to transition back to the office as needed to enjoy a quiet space, collaborative sessions, or even team happy hours.

PlaceIQ was also recently able to finally gather the larger team in person for an offsite company retreat of fun and relaxation to celebrate a year of record growth and profitability.

"We're able to reunite with a renewed energy and renewed appreciation for our culture that has remained not only resilient through our recent challenges, but a key component of our success this year," said Duncan McCall, CEO and co-founder at PlaceIQ. "It's been a delight to be able to connect our team safely again as we close out a banner year and work together to determine what the future looks like for PlaceIQ."

In partnership with Best Companies Group, Crain's surveyed more than 20,000 employees across all five boroughs on the types of work atmospheres, leadership styles, opportunities for mentorship and professional growth, traditional benefits and atypical "work perks" that make a company a great place to work.

About PlaceIQ

PlaceIQ is a leading data and technology provider that powers critical business and marketing decisions with location data, analytics, and insights. An early industry pioneer, PlaceIQ has become the standard for fueling better decisions by marketers, analysts and publishers through powerful, location-based consumer insights, real-world measurement, and attribution. With PlaceIQ, companies can uncover opportunities within the consumer journey by learning about and connecting with location-based audiences, measuring real-world ROI and applying insights that drive intelligent marketing and successful business outcomes. The company is headquartered in New York City and has offices in Palo Alto, Chicago, and Detroit. For more information, visit www.placeiq.com . Follow us on Twitter @PlaceIQ and like us on Facebook: PlaceIQ

SOURCE PlaceIQ

Related Links

http://www.placeiq.com


SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ottonomy ( www.ottonomy.io ) is now enabling contactless food delivery with LA-based mobile ordering app, Crave , focusing on the restaurant and hospitality sectors. Ottonomy has been piloting both indoor/outdoor delivery in markets across the country in multiple industries and sectors including airport and retail.

Ottonomy's Indoor/Outdoor Delivery Ottonomy Delivery Ottonomy Delivery

"Our omnichannel mobile ordering is built to benefit both customers and the staffing needs of retail and restaurant industries," says April Cho, CEO of Crave. "Ottonomy allows us to give the option for deliveries at food courts, curbsides and at your doorstep."

Staffing shortages is one of today's biggest business challenges in the retail and restaurant industry and Ottonomy are helping to mitigate the challenges businesses and consumers are facing as a result of labour unavailability. Ottonomy is providing safe, scalable and reliable deliveries operating on a "RaaS" (Robots as a Service) model that enables a more economical, sustainable and scalable delivery option in comparison to traditional 3rd party delivery services.

"Scaling technologies like robotics in public spaces is extremely challenging, there are many outside factors to consider when embarking in an industry that involves consumer-facing interaction," says Ritukar Vijay, CEO of Ottonomy. "In the development of our technology, our team was careful to factor in safety to ensure that the solution would be plug and play and scalable for the enterprise."

Unlike others in the industry, Ottonomy's robot leverages a proprietary contextual mobility navigation software that enables the robot to navigate both indoor and outdoor environments. The robot is fully autonomous from day one. The robot comes programmed with multi layered safety protocols to facilitate safe navigation in crowded environments like curbside, sidewalks, airports, etc.

With sustainability as a core part of its vision, Ottonomy robots are set to reduce carbon emissions and improve quality of life. Watch the video and to learn more, please contact our PR team or visit www.ottonomy.io

About Ottonomy.io

Founded in Santa Monica, California, the team at Ottonomy has introduced a best-in-class indoor/outdoor and friendly service robot. We firmly believe in building a workplace that inspires. You'll discover a creative, collaborative atmosphere at Ottonomy, where brilliant ideas flourish and everyone is motivated by the same goals. For more company information visit www.Ottonomy.io

Contact:

Dashaun Gasque

9514330172

[email protected]

SOURCE Ottonomy

Related Links

http://www.Ottonomy.io


Power Tools Accessories Market in UK 2021-2025: Vendor Analysis

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Caterpillar Inc., Festool GmbH, Hilti Corp., Koki Holdings Co. Ltd., KYOCERA Corp., Makita USA Inc., Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Snap-on Inc., and Stanley Black and Decker Inc. are some of the major market participants.

Power Tools Accessories Market in UK 2021-2025: Drivers & Challenges

The growing demand for power tools for DIY projects, increase in demand from professional end-user industries and the growing popularity of cordless power tools will offer immense growth opportunities. However, the influx of Chinese brands might hamper the market growth.

Power Tools Accessories Market in UK 2021-2025: Scope

Our power tools accessories market in UK report covers the following areas:

Power Tools Accessories Market in UK 2021-2025: Revenue Generating Segment

The power tools accessories market share growth in UK by the professional segment will be significant during the forecast period.

Power Tools Accessories Market in UK 2021-2025: Segmentation

End-user

Professional



Consumer

Type

Drill Bits



Screwdriver Bits



Router Bits



Others

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the Power Tools Accessories Market in UK. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the Power Tools Accessories Market in UK are designed to provide entry support, customer profile, and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

Subscribe to our "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 3000 that enables you to download 3 reports/year and view 3 reports/month.

Power Tools Accessories Market in UK 2021-2025: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025

Detailed information on factors that will assist power tools accessories market in UK growth during the next five years

Estimation of the power tools accessories market in UK size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the power tools accessories market in the UK

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of the power tools accessories market in UK vendors

Related Reports:

Power Tools Market -The power tools market size is expected to grow by USD 8.07 bn and record a CAGR of 4% during 2020-2024. Download a free sample report now!

Power Tools Market in US - The power tools market in US value is projected to grow by USD 1.63 billion at a CAGR of 3.33% during 2021-2025. Download a free sample report now!

Power Tools Accessories Market In UK Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 3.82% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 29.76 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 2.27 Regional analysis UK Performing market contribution UK at 100% Key consumer countries UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Caterpillar Inc., Festool GmbH, Hilti Corp., Koki Holdings Co. Ltd., KYOCERA Corp., Makita USA Inc., Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Snap-on Inc., and Stanley Black and Decker 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, 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 focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio

Related Links

https://www.technavio.com/


Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices.

Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation of the pros and cons of prevalent pricing models.

Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers.

Fetch actionable market insights on post COVID-19 impact on each product and service segments.

Some of the Top Prefabricated Buildings and Structures suppliers listed in this report:

This Prefabricated Buildings and Structures procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Modulaire Group

Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons WLL

& Sons WLL Red Sea International Co

Fetch actionable market insights on post COVID-19 impact on each product and service segments:

www.spendedge.com/report/prefabricated-buildings-and-structures-procurement-report

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Asset Recovery Services - Forecast and Analysis: The asset recovery services will grow at a CAGR of 9.49% during 2021-2025. Asia Asset Recovery Pte Ltd., TES-Amm Singapore Pte Ltd., and Iron Mountain Inc. are among the prominent suppliers in asset recovery services market. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. Vulnerability Management Sourcing and Procurement Report: Vulnerability Management Procurement Market, prices will increase by 4%-6% during the forecast period and suppliers will have a Moderate bargaining power in this market. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. Outplacement Services - Sourcing and Procurement Intelligence Report: This report offers key advisory and intelligence to help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers for their Outplacement Services requirements. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report.

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

About SpendEdge:

SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions.

Contacts:

SpendEdge

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340

https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us

SOURCE SpendEdge
LONDON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In today's digital landscape, consumers are given an infinite number of options to choose from when it comes to making a purchasing decision. As technology continues to advance, these consumers are constantly being shown an overwhelming amount of information about products and services. Having a comprehensive digital marketing strategy ensures your business is noticed by consumers and is an essential step towards success for any brand operating in the coming year.

Here are fundamental digital marketing strategies, you can utilize to increase your presence online in 2022:

Enhancing Your Website

Your website is the face of your brand and depending on your industry it can be one of the most valuable assets of your business. So how do you achieve success with your website? Start by improving your website's performance. This involves everything from the interface of your website, layout, visual elements, content, branding and interactions. Showcase your brand value by providing users with useful content and a seamless experience.

SEO Opportunities

Search engine optimisation is perhaps one of the most effective ways to improve your brand digital presence. Having an effective SEO strategy is much more complex than just developing relevant search terms, you need to focus on both On-Page and Off-Page optimizations. Our digital marketing agency recommends getting in touch with a skilled SEO Agency whenever implementing SEO strategies, ensuring comprehensive implementation, and avoiding complications.

On-page SEO comprises optimising your web pages so that they are favourably crawled by search engines like Google. Off-page SEO is the act of driving traffic to your website via other websites or marketing channels. If your business serves local customers, optimising your Local SEO also plays a crucial role in your search ranking and digital presence. Take advantage of platforms such as Google My Business and establish relevant keywords within your location, ensuring that you're found when potential customers are searching for businesses in your area.

Leveraging Social Media

Before social media, traditional marketing channels were incredibly limited. Today businesses can communicate directly with individuals who are already interested in their services or products. Using social media analytics, you can strategically pinpoint your demographics. This enhanced targeting allows your business to evaluate data to build better ad campaigns, maximise target reach and improve ROI.

Social media acts as a means of connecting with people through sharing content. This means your social presence should provide a way for customers to engage with your content in real-time and stay connected with updates and promotions. By engaging regularly with your followers, you can significantly improve awareness of products and services.

Anticipating The Trends

As a digital marketing agency, Finsbury Media is at the frontline of new marketing trends and developments. "As the digital space continues to evolve, there will always be emerging trends that businesses must learn to follow and adapt" said Finsbury Media's Operations Manager. Today there are endless opportunities for a potential customer to discover your business. By staying up-to-date and implementing the latest marketing trends, you will be able to amplify your brand's reputation, diversify your brand awareness, and increase the overall visibility of your products or services.

Media Contact:

Finsbury Media

0808 164 0930

Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12892210

Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Finsbury Media

Related Links

https://finsburymedia.com/


VICTORIA, Seychelles, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PrimeXBT , one of the fastest-growing trading platforms offering forex, cryptocurrency, stock indices, commodities, and more under one roof, has announced the launch of an all-new mobile application for iOS devices.

New iOS App Enables Access To Full Suite Of Features

The introduction of the all-new PrimeXBT iOS application will complement the existing web browser version of the platform by allowing access to the award-winning trading platform's full suite of features. It is also designed to cater to the growing demand of users who are regularly on the go.

"The world is moving completely mobile. This trend began a long time ago, and it is definitely here to stay. Being on the edge of innovation, we couldn't ignore this fact," PrimeXBT's product team lead explained. "We are proud to reveal the release of the native iOS application, with an Android version in development and coming soon," they added.

Global Markets On The Go, And Much More Under One Roof

The iOS app will bring parity across the entire PrimeXBT experience no matter the device, allowing access to global markets and more from a single, secure account protected by bank-grade security. The advanced trading platform also offers unrivaled personalized service with a dedicated account manager, the Covesting copy trading module, and an ever-growing roadmap packed with constant innovation.

The application is available immediately via an Apple App Store download link, and a walkthrough has been published on the official PrimeXBT company blog offering a demonstration of features and more information. PrimeXBT is welcoming all users to leave feedback and rate the app. Download the new iOS application today.

About PrimeXBT

PrimeXBT is a multi-award-winning fintech company established in 2018 which offers a Cryptocurrency, FX, Indices, and Commodities synthetic contract trading infrastructure. The platform provides access to a wide range of trading tools while maintaining security, liquidity and enabling a safe and efficient trading environment for everyone. PrimeXBT also offers the Covesting copy-trading module, which allows users to browse through hundreds of trading strategies provided by other traders, and automatically copy their trading activity.

To learn more, visit https://primexbt.com .

Follow PrimeXBT on Facebook and Twitter .

SOURCE PrimeXBT
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CB Insights, a prominent independent market research organization, cited Roambee as an 'Outperformer' in its latest research report, "Pharma Supply Chain Visibility  ESP (Execution, Strength, and Positioning) Vendor Assessment Matrix," released in July 2021. The assessment was based on market strength and execution strength of supply chain visibility providers. Roambee provides verifiably better real-time visibility to global pharmaceuticals companies.

Roambee - Better Supply Chain Visibility & Intelligence

The report states, "The pharmaceutical industry loses nearly $35B each year due to failures in transporting and storing products." It also mentions, "The problem has received more attention due to the recently approved COVID-19 vaccines, which require consistent storage at low temperatures."

The two currently available prominent supply chain visibility solutions for pharma are carrier-based data integration and passive temperature data loggers. They cannot deliver accurate visibility or timely visibility respectively, both of which pharmaceuticals companies need. Pharma supply chain visibility requires accurate location, condition, and shipment security intelligence in real-time, benchmarked against expected scenarios.

Roambee's platform combines firsthand IoT sensor inputs with non-sensor data to offer real-time insights and foresights for the supply chain. It helps create a real-time digital twin of the supply chain that enables remote, timely, and fact-based orchestration by any stakeholder from anywhere in the world, belonging to a manufacturing, shipping, or buying enterprise.

Sanjay Sharma, CEO, Roambee said, "The pharmaceutical industry is transitioning away from visibility solutions that offer post-shipment data audits and approximate or time-delayed location data. The industry requires real-time, accurate, and actionable data about its shipments and assets, from manufacturing to the last mile. Roambee will soon dominate the pharma supply chain visibility space with verifiably better supply chain visibility and intelligence for making prompt business decisions."

Highlighting its real-time visibility prowess and ambitions, Roambee is helping one of the largest US-based Covid-19 vaccine makers monitor its shipments. Roambee recently acquired Modum, a Swiss supply chain visibility solution provider with proven pharma-grade monitoring expertise in high-volume, low-touch scenarios, such as last-mile deliveries. Roambee now offers end-to-end visibility while addressing global pharmaceutical companies' strict quality and compliance needs across primary, secondary, and last-mile delivery use cases.

Roambee's robust solution brings all the visibility components for a pharmaceutical supply chain under one umbrella for a single subscription fee: purpose-built IoT sensors, a cloud-analytics platform to offer accurate predictions from the verifiable sensor and non-sensor data, centralized dashboards, and API (Application Programming Interface) to integrate or build company-specific applications.

About Roambee

Roambee offers verifiably better supply chain visibility on demand for on-time, in-full, in-condition delivery of shipments and assets anywhere in the world. 300+ enterprises are improving customer experience, service levels, product quality, cash cycles, business efficiencies, sustainability, and automating logistics with Roambee's real-time insights and foresights. More than 50 of them are the top 100 global companies in the Pharmaceutical, Food, Electronics, Chemicals, Automotive, Packaging & Containers, and Logistics sectors. Roambee's innovative AI-powered platform, and end-to-end monitoring solutions, deliver curated and highly accurate supply chain signals built on item-level, firsthand IoT sensor data, and non-sensor inputs. The outcome is better multimodal ETAs, OTIF deliveries, 80%+ cold chain compliance, and more, including 4X+ ROI (Return on Investment) on supply chain assets by optimizing utilization and inventory levels. Gartner identifies Roambee as one of the nine global supply chain technology companies in "2021 Gartner Tracking and Monitoring Business Process Context: Magic Quadrant for Real-Time Transposition Visibility Platforms." To know more, visit https://www.roambee.com.

Media Contact

Ariane Wolff

Warner Communications

[email protected]

+1 (978) 729-3542

SOURCE Roambee

Related Links

https://www.roambee.com


MUNICH, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

The Rohde & Schwarz technology company ends a successful 2020/2021 fiscal year despite ongoing global economic challenges. With its cutting-edge solutions, the company has continued to prove robust in last year's highly dynamic market environment. In addition to its established business fields, Rohde & Schwarz has made substantial investments in future technologies such as 6G, quantum technology, the industrial internet of things (IIoT), artificial intelligence and cloud technology. The company is a trailblazer in the socially relevant topics of security and connectivity.

- Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -

The independent technology company Rohde & Schwarz closed its 2020/2021 fiscal year (July to June) with EUR 2.34 billion in revenue. Operating results were almost at the previous year's level. The company exceeded its target values that had been adjusted to match market developments. This sends a good signal in light of the challenging dynamics of the past fiscal year.

Employees are the most valuable asset

Even under challenging economic conditions, Rohde & Schwarz has proven a reliable employer that sees its innovative employees as the cornerstone of success. Consequently, many issues related to how the company will collaborate in the future are high on the agenda. For example, the high-tech company now offers greater flexibility for working hours and workplace, and has anchored this in agreements to reflect current and future changes in conditions. The workforce of the privately owned, global company grew at a moderate rate. At the end of the fiscal year, Rohde & Schwarz had around 13,000 employees in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Future technologies drive innovations

Rohde & Schwarz is a pioneer in many technologies, including the further development of mobile communications up to 6G, T&M solutions for quantum computing, the IIoT, the increasing inroads made by artificial intelligence as well as cloud technologies. Together with its subsidiaries and partners, the company is developing future technological solutions with a passion for innovation.

New three-division structure creates added value for customers

Three strong divisions allow Rohde & Schwarz to address distinct customer needs even more closely and lay the foundation for further growth. The Test & Measurement Division provides products for diverse market segments such as wireless communications, industry, components and research as well as automotive.

The former Secure Communications, Monitoring & Network Testing and Broadcast & Media Divisions were merged to create the new Technology Systems Division. In this division, Rohde & Schwarz bundles technological system expertise and resources in the markets where project business plays an important role. The company's solutions contribute significantly to the digital sovereignty of customers.

The Networks & Cybersecurity Division equips business and public authorities with secure WAN, LAN and WLAN network infrastructures and products to protect data transmission, devices and applications. Future-ready network, security and encryption solutions protect the digital information and business processes of companies and public institutions against the effects of cyberattacks.

Test & measurement business again proved to be robust

Especially markets highly dependent on the latest technologies as well as their suppliers continued to invest heavily. This drove business performance in the Test & Measurement Division.

Rohde & Schwarz has designed market-leading solutions from V2X to 5G for challenging automotive applications such as communications between vehicles and their surroundings and for the latest wireless communications standard in mobility. The company could further improve its position in this field with innovative radar T&M instruments and systems. For example, automotive manufacturers, suppliers and test houses benefited from a unique test solution that cost-efficiently translates realistic driving scenarios from the road to the lab. The global expansion of 5G networks continued unabated, generating high demand, in particular for user equipment testing in the frequency range up to 7 GHz.

Rohde & Schwarz has meanwhile established itself on the market as an oscilloscope supplier. Since entering the market over 10 years ago, the technology company has continually developed new instruments that were designed and developed specifically with customer needs in mind. The demand for T&M solutions among component manufacturers reflected the sustained high level of investment in digitalization and connectivity in almost all industries. To position Rohde & Schwarz T&M solutions in the quantum computing field, the company successfully completed the acquisition of the leading Swiss T&M manufacturer Zurich Instruments AG, effective July 1, 2021.

Global customer proximity ensures technology partnership in project business

The strong local presence of Rohde & Schwarz compensated for pandemic-related restrictions on project business, e.g. due to travel regulations. In Germany, the company consolidated its position as a national champion in the secure communications market segment. From air traffic control to secure communications for ground and naval forces, Rohde & Schwarz makes a key contribution to the digital sovereignty of government customers for security-critical applications by offering cross-platform systems such as CERTIUM, SOVERON and NAVICS.

The global expansion of 5G networks requires technical adaptations to network monitoring systems, driving demand for suitable solutions in the mobile network testing (MNT) market segment. Major network operators and infrastructure providers worldwide appreciate the test performance of Rohde & Schwarz solutions due to their optimal quality of experience (QoE) and quality of service (QoS). A 5G campus network at one of its plants allows Rohde & Schwarz to directly optimize the implementation of real Industry 4.0 use cases.

Rohde & Schwarz meets growing demand for network and security solutions

The Networks & Cybersecurity Division benefits from additional demand for network and security solutions in both public and private sectors. The growing number of cyberattacks, increasingly decentralized structures and rise in mobile work are raising the importance of digital security and sovereignty. Together with its subsidiaries LANCOM Systems and Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity, the technology company is one of the largest suppliers of network, security and encryption solutions for professional customers in Europe.

LANCOM Systems offers the first software based business router certified by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) to enable secure site networking. As part of the DigitalPakt Schule (digital pact for schools) support program, the network and security specialist has already equipped more than 3,000 schools with network technology that meets the highest security and data protection standards. In the government sector, Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity equipped the public authority network of a German federal state with BSI-approved encryption technology. Other German federal states are planning to use this as a blueprint for the modernization of their networks.

Outlook: focus on growth

The global economic recovery positively impacted the performance especially towards the end of the fiscal year. Thanks to its global positioning in future markets and its strong economic base, Rohde & Schwarz is very well positioned for further growth.

Press contacts:

Rohde & Schwarz

Monika Roth

+49 89 4129 16652

[email protected]

www.press.rohde-schwarz.com

SOURCE Rohde & Schwarz
SEATTLE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 28, 2021, Security Properties purchased Tria Apartments, a Class-A podium-style multifamily property located in Newcastle, WA for $26,750,000. Security Properties now owns 117 assets totaling approximately 24,400 units across its portfolio. This includes 27 properties and more than 5,700 units in the Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue MSA.

Tria Apartments Tria Apartments

Tria was developed in 2017 and consists of 76 apartment homes and 1 retail space spread across a single 6-story building on 0.94 acres. The unit mix features an attractive range of floor plans with an average unit size of 742 square-feet. Unit interiors consist of stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, hardwood flooring, kitchen islands, pantries, washer/dryers, oversized closets and a private balcony/patio. From an amenity perspective, the property offers a rooftop deck/lounge, resident clubroom, fitness center, 24-hour package lockers, bicycle storage, secure garage parking and vehicle charging stations.

With a population of roughly 13,000, Newcastle offers its residents both the conveniences of urban living with the lifestyle of a small town. Located just 5 miles south of Downtown Bellevue, 3 miles north of Renton and 10 miles southeast of Downtown Seattle, the submarket is ideally positioned between the region's largest employment hubs. Each of these can be easily accessed via Interstate 405, which has onramps less than 5 minutes from the site.

As for the micro-location, Newcastle offers residents a suburban lifestyle full of retail, restaurants, 40 acres of parks/open spaces and numerous other local attractions. Tria is conveniently located in downtown Newcastle, across the street from Coal Creek Village. The shopping center includes a QFC, Safeway and Bartell Drugs among other businesses.

According to Alex Gauper, Director at Security Properties, "the acquisition of Tria represented a unique opportunity to purchase a high-quality asset at a significant discount to replacement cost in one of the Eastside's most highly desired submarkets. Newcastle's combination of a pivot point location for accessing regional employers, lack of future housing supply and an exemplary rental demographic, well position the asset to capitalize on the submarket's long term growth prospects. We are very excited to add Tria to our Pacific Northwest portfolio and look forward to delivering strong returns to our investors over our hold."

The property will be managed by Security Properties-affiliate Security Properties Residential.

About Security Properties

Security Properties is a national real estate investment, development, and operating company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. For more than 50 years, Security Properties has provided quality housing to its residents as well as excellent financial performance for its investors. Since its founding, Security Properties has acquired or developed over 83,000 residential units at a cost of over $5.7 billion. Security Properties maintains a focused multi-family strategy supported by integrated teams of professional acquisition, development, construction, investment, and property management specialists. For more information, visit www.securityproperties.com

About Security Properties Residential

Security Properties Residential is the affiliated property management firm of Security Properties, created to increase the value of its real estate holdings by more closely managing its assets. Operating throughout the Western U.S., Security Properties Residential is committed to delivering exceptional service to its apartment communities and residents. Services include property, construction and compliance management services that create positive living environments for residents and build value for clients.

News media contact:

Ed McGovern, 206.628.8019

[email protected]

SOURCE Security Properties

Related Links

https://www.securityproperties.com/


CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sense and OhmConnect announced today the results of a pilot study to assess the impact of customer access to real time, appliance-specific energy usage and notifications on peak event savings. Through a combination of OhmHour rewards and high engagement with the Sense app, study participants delivered substantially higher savings than typical behavioral load management or demand response programs previously achieved. These outstanding savings reflect the power of in-the-moment messages and detailed home energy insights that guide motivated customers to save energy.

Sense users who actively participated in the OhmHours reward program reduced their energy usage 313w per OhmHour on average, lowering their home energy usage by 18% and increasing their average savings by 160% over the typical OhmConnect customer. Most participants (74%) reported that notifications from the Sense app during an OhmHour were important to better manage their energy.

The energy savings delivered by joint Sense and OhmConnect users were much higher than those realized in other behavior-based demand response programs run by utilities, which typically yield less than 4% savings . Sense users engage frequently with the Sense app to track their home's activity, with an average of nine app opens per month. This tendency to engage frequently translated into even higher engagement during the study. During Ohm events, Sense users engaged twice as frequently as during non-event hours. In a follow-up survey, more than half of participants reported they opened the app before or during the event to identify large loads they could shift.

Because of Sense's real-time load disaggregation, it was possible to gain insights into what people were actually doing during events. Based on an analysis of Sense home data, we could see that:

Nearly 70% of those who saved energy had turned off their AC altogether during OhmHours, instead of just adjusting it up, suggesting that they had pre-cooled their homes in response to the Sense app notification.

The Sense users who saved the most were 3 to 4 times less likely to run a dishwasher or do laundry during an event.

Moreover, in a subsequent survey, 74% of participants agreed that receiving notifications from Sense was important.

Over 64% of participants opted to get a smart thermostat or smart plug during enrollment, demonstrating their interest in further savings.

Today many utilities rely on bring your own thermostat (BYOT) programs to reduce electricity usage during peak events. While BYOT programs have succeeded in enrolling smart thermostats as dispatchable assets, they don't take full advantage of savings from the wide variety of additional household appliances that contribute to energy load during peak events. Further, these programs do not offer real-time energy monitoring and performance feedback to customers.

The Sense real time load disaggregation enables true, real-time device tracking. In the Sense app, users can see, in the moment, which household devices are turned on and how much electricity they're using. Leading up to OhmHour events, Sense users received notifications in the app with suggestions to precool their home and delay starting laundry and other high-energy activities during events. These recommendations were reinforced by seeing the real-time breakdown of the user's home energy usage in the Sense app, which made it easy to find the greatest savings.

OhmConnect, winner of the 2021 Fast Company World Changing Ideas Award, enables hundreds of thousands of customers to reimagine how they use energy. During an OhmHour, when demand for electricity is greatest and power companies would ordinarily have to turn on dirty power plants, OhmConnect rewards customers for powering down.

Implications for Utility Demand Flexibility Programs

The Sense-OhmConnect pilot has important implications for utilities and grid operators that are trying to motivate customers to participate more actively in demand flexibility programs. With in-the-moment reminders and incentives, customers can be engaged in taking a more active, expanded role in demand response, which in turn can yield higher customer satisfaction and a more resilient grid.

The success of this trial demonstrates that behavioral programs supported by real-time, device level engagement can yield reliable peak energy savings that help demand response programs meet their goals and reduce reliance on peak thermal generation. The trial took place in California in summer 2021 during record heat waves and disruptions that led to multiple utility demand response events. When one might expect participation fatigue, the Sense users in the study made bigger cuts than average.

With real-time insights from the Sense app, utility customers could see the energy impact of deferring non-essential loads such as washers and dryers, and they were able to make informed decisions that had a bigger impact across their entire home's load.

Smart home automation gives customers a broader range of devices they can control to make a meaningful impact on reducing use without compromising comfort. In the future, the Sense app will be able to automatically shift key loads in the home by responding dynamically to signals from the grid and energy providers, while taking into account user preferences and constraints. For instance, Sense and Singularity Energy have demonstrated the potential for 43% savings in California by automating EV charging based on the carbon intensity of energy from the grid.

How the study was conducted

Sense users were enrolled in the OhmHours rewards program throughout the summer of 2021. Participants were given the option to receive a smart thermostat or smart plugs when they enrolled. Once enrolled, Sense-OhmConnect customers received targeted notifications through the Sense App one hour prior to an OhmHour and approximately five minutes into the event. The notifications included recommended actions to achieve maximum savings and encouraged users to consult the Devices screen in the Sense App to identify flexible loads that could be shifted into other time periods. After the study's conclusion, active participants were surveyed to learn more about their behavior and attitudes.

About OhmConnect

OhmConnect was founded in 2014 with the vision of becoming the world's largest supplier of clean energy. Today, OhmConnect enables hundreds of thousands of customers to reimagine how they use energy, to choose clean energy over dirty energy when required, and to be rewarded for timely, smarter, home energy use. OhmConnect makes it possible for customers to use clean energy without buying an expensive solar system or changing to a different energy provider from their common regional utility service. OhmConnect pays its users for saving energy when the grid is at risk of using dirty power. Customers of the three major California energy suppliers  Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric  can sign up with OhmConnect for free at ohmconnect.com . Follow OhmConnect on Twitter @OhmConnect , on Facebook and LinkedIn .

About Sense

At Sense' our mission is to reduce global carbon emissions by making homes smarter and more efficient. We empower people to care for their homes and families while contributing to a cleaner, more resilient future. Founded in 2013 by pioneers in speech recognition, Sense uses machine learning technology to provide real-time insights on device behavior, even for those devices that are not "smart." Sense has received investments from two of the world's largest energy technology companies, Schneider Electric and Landis + Gyr. Sense is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. To make sense of your energy, visit: https://sense.com.

SOURCE Sense

Related Links

www.sense.com


MILWAUKEE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating R.R. Donnelley (NYSE: RRD), for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law in its transaction with Atlas.

Click here to learn how to join the action: https://www.ademilaw.com/case/rr-donnelley-sons-company or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you.

Ademi LLP alleges R.R. Donnelley's financial outlook and prospects are excellent and yet R.R. Donnelley shareholders will receive only $8.52 per share in cash for each share. The merger agreement unreasonably limits competing bids for R.R. Donnelley by prohibiting solicitation of further bids, and imposing a significant penalty if R.R. Donnelley accepts a superior bid. R.R. Donnelley insiders will receive substantial benefits as part of change of control arrangements. For example, Chatham Asset Management, LLC ("Chatham"), a private investment firm which manages funds that beneficially own approximately 14.9% of the outstanding common stock of R.R. Donnelley and which is the largest bondholder of R.R. Donnelley has offered to acquire R.R. Donnelley for $9.00-9.50 per share in cash. Chatham reports that R.R. Donnelley has not allowed Chatham to conduct appropriate due diligence.

We are investigating the conduct of R.R. Donnelley's board of directors, and whether they are (i) fulfilling their fiduciary duties to all shareholders, and (ii) obtaining a fair and reasonable price for R.R. Donnelley.

If you own R.R. Donnelley common stock and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, or https://www.ademilaw.com/case/rr-donnelley-sons-company.

We specialize in shareholder litigation involving buyouts, mergers, and individual shareholder rights throughout the country. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contacts

Ademi LLP

Guri Ademi

Toll Free: (866) 264-3995

Fax: (414) 482-8001

SOURCE Ademi LLP
NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of Rogers Corporation ("Rogers" or the "Company") (NYSE: ROG), in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by DuPont de Nemours, Inc. ("DuPont") (NYSE: DD). Under the terms of the merger agreement, the Company's shareholders will receive $277.00 per share in cash for each share of Rogers common stock that they hold. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $5.2 billion.

If you own Rogers shares and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, visit our website:

https://www.weisslaw.co/news-and-cases/rog

Or please contact:

Joshua Rubin, Esq.

WeissLaw LLP

305 Broadway, 7th Floor

New York, NY 10007

(212) 682-3025

(888) 593-4771

[email protected]

WeissLaw LLP is investigating whether (i) Rogers's board of directors acted in the best interests of Company shareholders in agreeing to the proposed transaction, (ii) the $277.00 per-share offer price adequately compensates Rogers's shareholders, and (iii) all information regarding the sales process and valuation of the transaction will be fully and fairly disclosed.

WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected]

SOURCE WeissLaw LLP

Related Links

http://weisslawllp.com


Golden Egg Solutions specializes in eCommerce, fulfillment, packaging, drop shipping and white label supplement procurement. Golden Egg Solutions has been a longtime, valued customer of ShipHero's, who uses their warehouse management software. With this business acquisition, ShipHero now has a warehouse strategically located in the northwestern half of the United States for use by their fulfillment and 3PL clients. Salt Lake City is the capital and most populous city of Utah, which is also connected to the retail supply chain in the Northwest.

Golden Egg Solutions is the latest acquisition for ShipHero following its $50 million funding round closed in June 2021.

Golden Egg Solutions was founded with the mission to offer smaller businesses the capacity and operations to fulfill their shipments. The team also brings the ability to handle HazMat and Dangerous goods commodities along with B2B services including retail fulfillment, pallet builds and cross docking meaning ShipHero customers can now take advantage of these services moving forward.

"The Golden Egg Solutions integration furthers our ability to give the ecommerce brands we serve a broad, nationwide network of facilities to enable more efficient and affordable shipping," Aaron Rubin, Founder and CEO of ShipHero says. "This is yet another example of how we continue to find ways to build better solutions for our customers."

Golden Egg will be managed by owner and operator, Randall Guernsey, who has been leading the Golden Egg Solutions team for the past five years.

"I'm excited for the GES and ShipHero integration," Randall Guernsey of Golden Egg Solutions commented. "At the heart of what we do lies a commonality of excellent customer service, and I look forward to top-notch fulfillment for our new ShipHero family and beyond."

Golden Egg Solutions customers will be fully integrated into ShipHero's fulfillment company. For more information about ShipHero, visit https://shiphero.com/ .

About ShipHero

ShipHero is a US based, leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce fulfillment solutions that gives online retailers and third-party logistics providers the tools to ship more efficiently anywhere in the world. With more than 5,000 customers located around the globe, ShipHero offers online retailers a suite of services ranging from warehouse management software to outsourced fulfillment as a service. Some notable customers include Mars, Universal Music Group and Canadian Tire. Additionally, ShipHero is the official fulfillment network partner for Shopify, and is rapidly scaling a network of warehouses throughout the US to meet the growing demands of today's online retailers.

SOURCE ShipHero

Related Links

http://www.shiphero.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitecore, the global leader in digital experience management software, today announced the appointment of Rohinee Mohindroo as chief information officer (CIO).

Mohindroo will be responsible for business solutions and IT operations, security, and programs.

"Rohinee brings a unique blend of technology leadership and practitioner expertise to Sitecore," said Nick Malone, chief operating officer. "She knows what it takes to build an IT organization that scales to support the hypergrowth journey that Sitecore is on, which makes Rohinee a perfect choice for CIO."

Prior to Sitecore, Mohindroo led the modernization of global technology services operating models at both Genpact; and Amelia, an IPsoft company. Mohindroo served as CIO for Rakuten Advertising during its growth phase, where she configured an operating model for enterprise-wide technology shared services. The model, that connected operating units, included data center operations, end-user technology, enterprise resource planning, security, compliance, and employee experience.

"Sitecore is on a trajectory for growth, and I am excited to contribute my customer-centric technology expertise to power the company to even greater heights," said Mohindroo. "The company is a leader in composable digital experience solutions and it will be my mission to weave in the technology fabric that enables the success of Sitecore employees and customers."

About Sitecore

Sitecore delivers a digital experience platform that empowers the world's smartest brands to build lifelong relationships with their customers. A highly decorated industry leader, Sitecore is the only company bringing together content, commerce, and data into one connected platform that delivers millions of digital experiences every day. Leading companies including American Express, ASOS, Kimberly-Clark, L'Oreal and Volvo Cars rely on Sitecore to provide more engaging, personalized experiences for their customers. Learn more at Sitecore.com.

Sitecore is a registered trademark of Sitecore Corporation A/S in the USA and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Contact

Shannon Lyman

Senior Director of Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Sitecore

Related Links

http://www.sitecore.net


HONOLULU, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The State of Hawaii will welcome international travelers under the new federal requirements starting next Monday, Nov. 8.

For video click here

For photos click here

Direct International Travel to Hawaii

Starting Nov. 8

NON-U.S. citizens traveling directly to Hawaii from an international destination must present BOTH a vaccination records AND a negative COVID-19 test result (NAAT or antigen) within three days of boarding a flight to the United States.

traveling directly to from an international destination must present BOTH a vaccination records AND a negative COVID-19 test result (NAAT or antigen) within three days of boarding a flight to the United States. U.S. citizens flying directly to Hawaii from an international destination have two options:

flying directly to from an international destination have two options: Fully vaccinated travelers must provide proof of vaccination and present a test taken within three (3) days of boarding flight to U.S.; OR



Travelers not fully vaccinated must provide proof of negative COVID-19 test result within one (1) day of boarding flight to U.S.

There will be no additional State of Hawaii requirements for passengers flying directly into Hawaii from an international destination. The airlines will screen passengers prior to their departure to the U.S. If foreign passengers fail to meet BOTH requirements and if U.S. citizens fail to meet ONE of the two requirements, they will not be allowed to board the flight. Once in Hawaii, the CDC will conduct compliance checks.

Note: Tests do NOT have to be done with Trusted Travel Partners under the new international federal requirements, but they MUST be done with a Trusted Travel Partner for unvaccinateddomestic travel.

Non-Direct International Travel to Hawaii

Starting Nov. 8 international passengers entering the U.S. from another state or territory will be treated as domestic travelers when entering the State of Hawaii. The Safe Travels Hawaii program remains in place for domestic travelers.

Current Safe Travels Hawaii requirements for domestic travelers include:

Creating a Safe Travels Hawaii account on a digital device

Entering trip details

Filling out a health form, and

Attesting that all information is correct.

Currently, travelers may bypass the state's mandatory 10-day quarantine in one of two ways:

1) Upload a vaccination document; or

2) Upload a negative NAAT test result.

The test must be taken by a Trusted Travel Partner (TTP) within 72 hours of departure for the State of Hawaii.

Also, beginning on Nov. 8, the State of Hawaii, in alignment with the federal government, will accept vaccines approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and vaccines listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization. A list of currently accepted vaccines is posted on the CDC's website.

"Thanks to the people of Hawaii for their patience and for taking precautions to keep our communities safe. Our state continues to see one of the lowest incidences of COVID-19 and death rates related to the virus. As more and more people are vaccinated, we are moving to ease pandemic mitigation measures  including travel restrictions  in a way that ensures the health and safety of our communities," said Gov. Ige.

SOURCE Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau

Related Links

https://www.gohawaii.com/


This revolutionary 'digital battery' breakthrough, achieved through a combination of patented software and cell chemistry management, gives an EV owner a fixed battery driving range for the duration of its useful service life, thus overcoming another aspect of the known Range Anxiety. It manages both charging voltages and StoreDot's XFC silicon-based cell chemistry to stress a battery less at the start of its life and balance its performance across the battery's life to deliver a driving experience with predictable and consistent range.

Until this StoreDot innovation, battery capacity, and therefore driving range, degrades over the life of the vehicle, making it one of the major frustrations of EV ownership. The certainty and consistency that this advancement provides could also improve residual values of vehicles, lowering leasing costs and further benefitting both consumers and global automotive manufacturers utilizing the technology.

As with previous patented technologies StoreDot is making this technology for improved driving experience available to other organizations to help speed up the global adoption of electric vehicles and a future zero-emissions world.

Dr Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO "Our development of extreme fast charging batteries is aligned with our commitment to the holistic improvement of the EV battery ecosystem. We want to make it more attractive for consumers to adopt zero-emissions electric vehicles. This new patent, which we will make available to any organization as open-source, is another great example of that commitment. Our new digital battery software, aligned with our leading silicon-based cell chemistry, will give all EV owners guaranteed battery performance and range throughout the ownership of their vehicles. Battery degradation is one of the main bugbears of long-term EV ownership and it's essential that we all do everything we can to promote the mass adoption of EVs, on our critical path to live in a cleaner world."

StoreDot's new digital battery patent comes shortly after its announcement of an application for ground-breaking charging booster technology, which will reduce vehicle charging times in limited charging stations. The system analyzes the charging station power in real-time allowing the XFC battery to accept higher charging rates without overheating. The company is also making this technology available to other organizations as open-source.

StoreDot is now making rapid advancements in extreme fast charging lithium-ion batteries for use in the automotive sector, increasing the number of miles per minute of charge. It is currently shipping samples to global car makers for real-world testing and remains firmly on track to deliver mass-produced XFC batteries, which deliver a 50% reduction in charging times at the same cost, by 2024.

The company presents a clear roadmap also for its next generation XED, extreme energy density solid state technologies which will enter mass production in 2028.

About StoreDot:

StoreDot is a pioneer and leader of extreme fast charging (XFC) batteries that overcome the critical barrier to mainstream EV adoption  range and charging anxiety. The company has revolutionized the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, making it possible to fully charge an EV in just five minutes  the same time it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle. StoreDot's battery technology is optimized for best driver experience with XFC in Li-ion batteries, as well as future technologies for extreme energy-density (XED).StoreDot's strategic investors include BP, Daimler, Samsung Ventures and TDK. In 2019, the company achieved a world first by demonstrating the live full charge of a two-wheeled EV in just five minutes. In 2020, the company demonstrated the scalability of its XFC batteries for other industries, by fully charging a commercial drone in five minutes in another world first. Moving XFC battery technology from the lab to a commercially-viable product for the first time, StoreDot has launched engineering samples of its Si dominant anode EV batteries that are manufactured at scale on traditional Li-ion production lines.

For more information see: www.store-dot.com .

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676970/StoreDot_1_Infographic.jpg

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1676971/StoreDot_2_Infographic.jpg

SOURCE StoreDot
TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) today announced its goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 for both its investments and operations with interim targets to be announced in 2022.

"Climate change is the defining issue of our lifetime," said Kevin Strain, President and CEO of Sun Life. "Our Purpose of helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives cannot be achieved without serious action to address climate change and support a transition to a lower-carbon future. That is why we're committed to integrating climate strategies across our investment businesses and working collaboratively with our Clients, stakeholders, and the industry at large, towards this common goal."

Investments

As an asset owner, Sun Life plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its General Account, which holds funds from insurance policy premiums and is managed by SLC Management, the company's alternatives asset management firm. Sun Life's other asset management companies will also drive net-zero efforts. These companies include: MFS Investment Management (MFS), BentallGreenOak (BGO) and InfraRed Capital Partners (InfraRed) and SLGI Asset Management Inc. (SLGI Asset Management).

As part of their pledge, MFS, InfraRed, BGO and SLGI Asset Management have joined the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, an international group of asset managers committed to supporting the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Data management and governance, engagement, business integration and investment solutions, among other initiatives will be areas of focus. A critical aspect will be calculating financed emissions for key portfolios using cutting-edge methodologies. This includes establishing net-zero targets and building out the plans to achieve them.

Operations

Sun Life will target a 50% absolute reduction of GHG emissions in its operations by 2030, relative to 2019. This includes emissions reductions from Sun Life's offices and corporate travel.1 This new level of commitment builds upon Sun Life's previous reduction announcement stating it would work towards reducing its GHG emissions intensity by 30%. Its new target aligns with the latest science to ensure the company is doing its part to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

"While our climate strategy will continue to evolve, today's net-zero announcement is an important next step in our sustainability journey  moving the needle towards a brighter future for generations to come," said Strain.

With $1.39 trillion in AUM2 and over 42,100 employees and 140,900 advisors globally, Sun Life is positioned to have a meaningful impact on the global goals of the Paris Agreement and the critical transition to a low-carbon economy.

"Achieving net zero by 2050 means ensuring that we're taking tangible action  from our portfolios to our operations  to help limit rising global temperatures," said Alanna Boyd, Senior Vice-President and Chief Sustainability Officer. "As world leaders gather in Glasgow for COP26, we are keenly aware the window of opportunity to avert the worst impacts of climate change is closing. Our concerted efforts towards this global issue, along with collaboration across our industry, will help safeguard a livable climate and improve the health and security of communities worldwide."

The company is taking action to be part of the climate solution on several fronts and in areas where it can have the most significant impact, including:

Sustainable Investments: Sun Life has targeted an additional $20 billion in sustainable investments over the next five years across its General Account and Client investments, which are managed by SLC Management. Investments include, but are not limited to, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable buildings, clean transportation, water management, and social infrastructure projects. This commitment is on top of the $60 billion already invested in sustainable investments.





Sun Life has targeted an additional in sustainable investments over the next five years across its General Account and Client investments, which are managed by SLC Management. Investments include, but are not limited to, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable buildings, clean transportation, water management, and social infrastructure projects. This commitment is on top of the already invested in sustainable investments. Transparency and Reporting: The company's approach to addressing climate change also involves strengthening its transparency to allow for evaluation and reporting on potential climate change risks and opportunities. Sun Life included its first disclosures in line with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations in its 2020 Annual Management's Discussion & Analysis. TCFD disclosures support calls for a collective increase in reliable climate-related financial disclosures  an important step in ensuring greater understanding of the financial implications of climate change for greater market stability and transparency. Sun Life also annually publishes a Sustainability Report tracking its sustainability highlights, available at sunlife.com/sustainability.





The company's approach to addressing climate change also involves strengthening its transparency to allow for evaluation and reporting on potential climate change risks and opportunities. Sun Life included its first disclosures in line with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations in its 2020 Annual Management's Discussion & Analysis. TCFD disclosures support calls for a collective increase in reliable climate-related financial disclosures  an important step in ensuring greater understanding of the financial implications of climate change for greater market stability and transparency. Sun Life also annually publishes a Sustainability Report tracking its sustainability highlights, available at sunlife.com/sustainability. Industry Collaboration and Advocacy: The company is committed to advocacy and collaboration with governments, regulators, investors, and industry leaders to develop supportive net-zero programs and policies that pave a path towards decarbonization. For example, Sun Life is participating in a climate-risk pilot project with the Bank of Canada and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to better understand the risks to the financial system related to a transition to a low-carbon economy. We welcome the opportunity to share our experience, develop management capabilities and help build a better understanding of potential climate risks.





The company is committed to advocacy and collaboration with governments, regulators, investors, and industry leaders to develop supportive net-zero programs and policies that pave a path towards decarbonization. For example, Sun Life is participating in a climate-risk pilot project with the Bank of and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to better understand the risks to the financial system related to a transition to a low-carbon economy. We welcome the opportunity to share our experience, develop management capabilities and help build a better understanding of potential climate risks. Stewardship, Engagement and Education: Sun Life is committed to engagement over divestment to ensure real emissions reductions in the economy. It works with the companies it invests in to disclose and reduce emissions, enhance data collection, and share key learnings through participation in investor-led initiatives. These initiatives aim to ensure the world's largest corporate GHG emitters take necessary action on climate change. Examples of these initiatives include, SLC Management's and MFS' membership in Climate Action 100+ and Sun Life and SLC Management's role as founding members of Climate Engagement Canada. As part of its approach of stewardship, engagement and education, Sun Life pledges to work with its Clients across all sectors through its transition to net zero.





Sun Life is committed to engagement over divestment to ensure real emissions reductions in the economy. It works with the companies it invests in to disclose and reduce emissions, enhance data collection, and share key learnings through participation in investor-led initiatives. These initiatives aim to ensure the world's largest corporate GHG emitters take necessary action on climate change. Examples of these initiatives include, SLC Management's and MFS' membership in Climate Action 100+ and Sun Life and SLC Management's role as founding members of Climate Engagement Canada. As part of its approach of stewardship, engagement and education, Sun Life pledges to work with its Clients across all sectors through its transition to net zero. Governance : Sun Life believes that strong governance and clear lines of accountability will enable it to deliver on its commitments and remain accountable to its stakeholders. The Governance, Investment and Conduct Review Committee of the Board of Directors will provide oversight of Sun Life's net-zero commitment. On September 13 , the company announced the appointment of its first Chief Sustainability Officer. Sun Life's Chief Sustainability Officer is accountable to ensure the company meets its sustainability commitments and advocates for strong government policies and regulations that support a lower-carbon, more inclusive economy.





: Sun Life believes that strong governance and clear lines of accountability will enable it to deliver on its commitments and remain accountable to its stakeholders. The Governance, Investment and Conduct Review Committee of the Board of Directors will provide oversight of Sun Life's net-zero commitment. On , the company announced the appointment of its first Chief Sustainability Officer. Sun Life's Chief Sustainability Officer is accountable to ensure the company meets its sustainability commitments and advocates for strong government policies and regulations that support a lower-carbon, more inclusive economy. Organization: The company is actively developing its bench strength with people, data and processes it will need to advance its plans and realize net-zero targets.

Sun Life's climate action plans  with interim targets to be announced next year  will act as its road map to 2030 and set the foundation for its work to 2050. Sun Life acknowledges that although some data and technology needed to achieve net zero does not yet exist, it is the company's intention to initiate solutions  investing in new technology and working with Clients and investees to generate the data needed for decision-making.

_______________________________ 1 Scope 1 and 2, and Scope 3 corporate travel, water and landlord-paid utility emissions at corporate offices globally Scope 1 and 2 emissions of corporate offices globally, and Scope 3 emissions resulting from the watter supply and landlord-paid utility services to these offices, as well as from corporate travel, per the GHG Protocol. 2 As of September 30, 2021.

About Sun Life's Sustainability Plan

Sun Life's Sustainability Plan builds from a foundation as a trusted and responsible business. At its core is a focus on the areas where Sun Life can make the most positive social and environmental impact: increasing financial security, fostering healthier lives, and advancing sustainable investing. Sun Life's Sustainability Plan also focuses on minimizing its environmental footprint, supporting diversity, equity and inclusion, data security and privacy, governance and ethics and risk management. In 2019, Sun Life also became the first life insurance company in the world to issue a sustainability bond. To learn more about Sun Life's Sustainability Report, visit www.sunlife.com/en/sustainability/.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2021, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.39 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Forward-looking Statements

In this news release, "we", "our", "us" and "Sun Life" refer to Sun Life Financial Inc. and its subsidiaries and joint ventures. Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking, including, but not limited to, statements (i) relating to our strategies, (ii) relating to our sustainable investment commitments and goal to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, (iii) that are predictive in nature or that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and (iv) that include words such as "achieve", "aim", "believe", "goal", "initiatives", "intend", "plan", "project", "should", "strategy", "target", "will", and similar expressions. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour provisions" of applicable Canadian securities laws and of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except as may be required by Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news release.

The forward-looking statements in this news release represent our current expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events as of the time of this news release and are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and are based on key factors and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our ability to achieve our goal of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of factors, including the availability of comprehensive and high-quality GHG emissions data, the need for active and continued participation of stakeholders (including enterprises, financial institutions and governmental and non-governmental organizations), the development and deployment of new technologies and industry-specific solutions, international cooperation, and the development of regulations internationally. Other important risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements in this news release are listed in the annual information form of Sun Life Financial Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2020 under the heading "Risk Factors" and other regulatory filings of ours filed or furnished to Canadian and U.S. securities regulators available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively.

Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars

Media Relations Contact: Mina Bines Manager Corporate Communications T. 647-256-8251 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact: Yaniv Bitton Vice-President, Head of Investor Relations & Capital Markets T. 416-979-6496 [email protected]

SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.
MONTREAL, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Syntax , the leading multi-cloud and multi-ERP managed cloud provider for mission-critical applications, today released findings from its newest report Innovation Reality Check: A crisis of overconfidence in IT. The research shows a critical reality check on perception versus reality among IT and finance decision-makers when it comes to enterprise innovation, whether it is focused on security, cloud, or advanced applications like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

"As we stand at an inflection point in the way the world does business, enterprises have more opportunities than they think to get ahead of the competition and continue improving," said Mike Rulf, CTO of Americas at Syntax. "An honest assessment of capabilities now will only accelerate innovation in the future. At Syntax, we're taking it a step further by helping companies uncover insights within their own data to establish a solid foundation for growth."

Today's business landscape continues to shift as hybrid work moves into a more permanent position, emerging technologies require skilled workers, and cyberattacks continue to climb. IT leaders who overestimate their capabilities find themselves at risk of missing out on critical innovation. Syntax surveyed 500 U.S.-based senior management leaders managing at least $500M in revenue to assess where their technology and business analytics capabilities fall on a spectrum.

Key findings include:

IT leaders overinflate their innovation capabilities. While many executives ranked themselves on the leading edge  among the top 5% of businesses in each category  their actual capabilities and attitudes reflected a much different picture. AI and analytics projects, for example, caused companies the most significant financial losses over the last year.

While many executives ranked themselves on the leading edge  among the top 5% of businesses in each category  their actual capabilities and attitudes reflected a much different picture. AI and analytics projects, for example, caused companies the most significant financial losses over the last year. Enterprises lag in adopting automation, with the majority reporting less than 50% of their processes are currently automated. Low-code and no-code tools are still absent from 48% of enterprises. Additionally, automation investments are seeing the lowest returns, with only 42% of enterprises reporting positive return on investment (ROI)  signaling challenges in finding the right talent to implement these technologies.

Low-code and no-code tools are still absent from 48% of enterprises. Additionally, automation investments are seeing the lowest returns, with only 42% of enterprises reporting positive return on investment (ROI)  signaling challenges in finding the right talent to implement these technologies. Talent shortages are slowing digital transformation timelines, with 45% of respondents noting they don't have the talent to migrate to a public cloud . Diving deeper into emerging technologies, only 36% of companies think they have the staff to implement AI automation. Only 19% of respondents said getting leadership approval was a barrier to adopting automation  the most significant challenges are lack of talent and technology.

. Diving deeper into emerging technologies, only 36% of companies think they have the staff to implement AI automation. Only 19% of respondents said getting leadership approval was a barrier to adopting automation  the most significant challenges are lack of talent and technology. Nearly half of respondents (49%) said they would be unable to mitigate a data breach or ransomware attack successfully. Respondents indicated they were most prepared to handle a phishing attack (60% said they were extremely prepared). However, phishing was the most common type of attack reported in 2021. When it comes to securing the hybrid workplace, 43% of respondents said they are only somewhat confident their company can keep them safe from cyberattacks.

Respondents indicated they were most prepared to handle a phishing attack (60% said they were extremely prepared). However, phishing was the most common type of attack reported in 2021. When it comes to securing the hybrid workplace, 43% of respondents said they are only somewhat confident their company can keep them safe from cyberattacks. In 2022, 44% of companies say they will make a significant investment in building business intelligence capabilities. Cloud migration and improving cybersecurity tied for first in the areas enterprises say they will "significantly" invest in 2022. In many cases, finance respondents reported lower ROI on specific projects  including AI efforts and cloud spending  than their IT counterparts.

To review the findings, download the full Innovation Reality Check: A crisis of overconfidence in IT report. To learn more about how Syntax helps companies accelerate their innovation in the cloud, visit https://www.syntax.com/ .

About Syntax:

Syntax provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses of all sizes, with over 800 customers trusting Syntax with their IT services and ERP needs. Syntax is a leading Managed Cloud Provider for Mission-Critical Enterprise Applications. Syntax has undisputed strength to implement and manage ERP deployments (SAP, Oracle) in a secure, resilient, private, public, or hybrid cloud. With strong technical and functional consulting services, and world-class monitoring and automation, Syntax serves corporations globally across a diverse range of industries and markets. Syntax has offices worldwide, and partners with SAP, Oracle, AWS, Microsoft, IBM, HPE, and other global technology leaders.

SOURCE Syntax

Related Links

https://www.syntax.com/


"This dynamic alliance moves Tampa General Hospital one step closer to realizing its vision of being the safest, most innovative academic health system in America," said John Couris, president, and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. "These types of collaborative partnerships with our community physicians are essential to creating a comprehensive ecosystem that supports our academic medicine tri-part mission of teaching, research and clinical excellence."

Through this alliance, Florida Urology Partners and its extensive team of highly specialized and nationally recognized team of 25 physicians will continue to provide world-class comprehensive care and treatments for a wide range of conditions, including the spectrum of urological cancers. Patients will be provided the latest technology at its urology and radiation oncology offices across Tampa Bay and can access additional services, including complex surgeries and innovative new treatments and therapies offered by Tampa General.

"We are proud to join forces with Tampa General to provide our patients with the highest level of comprehensive and complex services of care, including in the area of radiation oncology," stated Dr. Raviender Bukkapatnam, president of Florida Urology Partners. "Since our founding, Florida Urology Partners has made providing our cancer patients the highest level of quality comprehensive care with the best technology available and a dedicated team of uro-pathologists a core pillar of our practice. We have deepened that commitment over the past several years, dedicating ourselves to treating and managing urological cancer in the best ways possible. Partnering with TGH marks a significant extension of this commitment, and we are excited to be able to collaborate across subspecialties to further treat and support our patients on their cancer journey."

"We are excited to align with the high-quality urologists at Florida Urology Partners who, for over two decades, have a proven track record of providing an excellent level of care to our community," explained Dr. Abraham Schwarzberg, SVP of Network Development & Chief of Oncology, Tampa General Hospital. "This mutually beneficial alignment will allow Tampa General and the TGH Cancer Institute to expand our reach and access points while working in collaboration with Florida Urology Partners to provide our community and patients with coordinated, comprehensive, complex medical oncology care using leading-edge technology and deploying trial therapies all within an academic medical center setting."



Additional collaborative benefits for patients include:

 Access to a wider variety of clinical research trials sponsored by Tampa General and/or the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine

Opportunity to receive enhanced personal treatment plans

Access to minimally invasive and complex surgeries

Options for advanced immunotherapy treatment

Consultations for palliative care that offer a holistic approach with the resources to help with pain management, nutrition, mental health, and other challenges

In addition to collaborating with Tampa General Hospital, Florida Urology Partners will continue to serve its patients at all other institutions and hospitals in all counties providing the best care.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,041-bed non-profit academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2021-22 Best Hospitals, and one of the top 4 hospitals in Florida, with five specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. The academic medical center's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious 2021 Forbes magazine rankings  America's Best Employers by State, third out of 100 Florida companies and first among health care and social organizations and 13th nationally in America's Best Employers for Women. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal 2020 provided a net community benefit worth more than $182.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health and 19 outpatient Radiology Centers. Tampa Bay residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track. As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

ABOUT FLORIDA UROLOGY PARTNERS, LLP

Florida Urology Partners, LLP is a comprehensive urology group made up of exceptionally trained, highly specialized, and nationally recognized physicians. Utilizing the latest technological advancements available in medicine, we provide superior patient care at our urology and radiation oncology offices in the Tampa Bay area. Our mission is to provide our community with access to an excellent group of physicians and staff who provide state-of-the-art integrated urological radiation oncology and pathology services and care with respect and compassion. For more information, visit www.floridaurologypartners.com.

Media Contact:



Karen Barrera

Assistant Director of Communications & Partnerships

Tampa General Hospital

(813) 928-1603 |

[email protected]

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital

Related Links

http://www.tgh.org


FRIENDSHIP, N.Y., Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, November 3 at 12:00 PM EDT, members of Teamsters Local 264 will be hitting the picket line after they voted unanimously to go on strike at Friendship Dairy. The members, who have been working throughout the pandemic, are protesting the company's attempt to gut their health care and seniority benefits only weeks before Thanksgiving.

"These workers didn't get anything extra from the company during the entire pandemic  not a bonus, not a paid day off, nothing," said Darrin Ziemba, Local 264 Recording Secretary and Business Agent. "Now they want to increase health care costs to the point where our members will effectively be taking a pay cut. Friendship Dairy's parent company, Saputo Dairy, generated $11.5 billion in revenue last year. This company can afford to do right by its staff."

What: Friendship Dairy Strike When: Wednesday, November 3 at 12:00 PM EDT Where: 6701 Co Rd 20, Friendship, NY 14739 Who: Teamsters Local 264 members and their allies Visuals: Workers and their allies picketing and holding signs Interviews: Available upon request

Teamsters Local 264 represents over 4,000 workers in the private and public sector throughout upstate New York. For more information, go to http://www.teamsters264.org/

Contact:

Matt McQuaid, (617) 894-0669

[email protected]

SOURCE Teamsters Local 264

Related Links

http://www.teamsters264.org/


BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Evolved Traveler, curator of worldwide luxury travel experiences designed to promote a sense of global community and sustainable tourism, announced Egypt: Exclusive Access.

In response to renewed interest in travel, and the desire for more authentic and awakening experiences, The Evolved Traveler, introduced Egypt: Exclusive Access, a new 13-day itinerary that brings the ancient wonders of Egypt to life in contemporary new ways. Highlights include a visit to the Bubasteion Necropolis, prominently featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary, "Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb," plus a private evening opening of the tombs of The Valley of the Kings.

"We could not be more thrilled with this itinerary. It offers fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities such as entering a tomb only just discovered last year. Our guests will be accompanied by an archaeologist seen in the Netflix documentary. They'll then be lowered into the tomb while carrying torches to help shed light on coffins still containing mummies, gaze upon several hieroglyphics, and encounter other artifacts from over 4,000 years ago!" says Justin Smith, president of The Evolved Traveler, excitedly. "This is something right out of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it raises our guests experience in Egypt to a whole new level."

Additional highlights include standing between the paws of The Great Sphinx of Giza, a tour of the recently restored Nefertiti's tombconsidered to be one of the most opulent in Egypta visit to Abu Simbel, and a two-night stay in the Fayoum Oasis.

The bespoke itinerary is inclusive of 5-star accommodations, most meals, the services of an Egyptologist guide on private tours throughout, and intra-tour flights.

True to the company's sustainable and charitable ethos, each journey includes a portion of proceeds being donated to organizations that support local environmental and humanitarian efforts in the destination chosen. "This itinerary is representative of what we want to provide our guests," says Smith. "The very best possible experience they could imagine, all while giving back in an altruistic way they might not have previously known was an option."

For additional information, contact The Evolved Traveler at

323.505.4415 or [email protected]

Social Media Contacts

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-evolved-traveler

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/theevolvedtraveler/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/evolvedtraveler

For product information, visit:

www.evolvedtraveler.com

SOURCE The Evolved Traveler

Related Links

www.evolvedtraveler.com


Microsoft, Hilton Worldwide, Boeing, Siemens Energy and Parfum Christian Dior are among the 70 odd prestigious participants in the conversation around cooperative efforts to meet UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement goals.

A full list of our participants can be viewed on our Vision 2045 Summit Website.

Hosted at a specially-constructed venue in line with the UN's Sustainable Development goals, the Vision 2045 Summit will comprise a series of ground-breaking panel discussions with a hand-picked delegation of decision makers across the political, business and social spectrum.

This is just one of TBD Media Group's ground-breaking efforts to pioneer casting the spotlight on businesses that go beyond their daily routines to bring to fruition a safer and fairer global community that is conscious of the climate and resources..

Each discussion will follow one of the themes in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as set out by the UN, creating the opportunity to create meaningful connections amongst like-minded business leaders. Discussing topics such as Climate Change, Carbon Neutral Economy, Equity and Inclusivity, attendees are at the forefront of making the world greener and fairer for all.

Paolo Zanini, Founder and CEO at event hosts TBD Media Group, says:

"Amidst divisive times, to be able to offer a platform that unifies business leaders from all walks of life in collaborative efforts that make the world a better place, is an honour and a privilege"

About TBD Media Group:

TBD Media Group is an international, purpose-driven, media developer that helps companies, organisations and governments tell their brand stories in a human and direct way. Learn more at https://www.tbdmediagroup.com/

Media Contact:

Jenna-Leigh Soobramoney

Head of Marketing

TBD Media Group

[email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677181/TBD_Media_Group_Vision_2045.jpg

SOURCE TBD Media Group
LONDON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past few years, many companies have set ambitious decarbonisation targets and now they are shifting their attention to disciplined delivery In a new brief from Bain & Company, Beyond COP26: An Action Plan for CEOs, the firm uses its deep expertise in advising sustainability transformations to guide companies on their path to net-zero.

"Sustainability initiatives have a higher risk of failure than other transformations, meaning the challenge to making it happen is much greater," said Jenny Davis-Peccoud, co-head of Bain & Company's global Sustainability & Responsibility practice. "But corporate leaders should not shy away from this challenge. Like many successful transformations in years past, businesses can play a leading role in combatting climate change and overcoming the difficulties of the carbon transition."

According to Bain's research, companies looking to meet their climate goals should make the carbon transition integral to their strategy, by embedding sustainability into their business operations, finding ways to monetize investments in carbon reduction and engaging frontline employees in the transition.

Through these findings, the firm has identified four key actions CEOs can take to achieve their sustainability goals:

Make carbon transition a pillar of strategy. Too often, a company's carbon transition ambitions are formulated as afterthoughts. Instead, they should be a core part of the strategy process, with executives using their sustainability goals to guide their business decisions. This includes where to play, identifying new products or markets that benefit from transition, and how to win, by creating new or prioritizing low-carbon differentiation. These ambitions should then be translated into resource allocation and capability building. Get more bang for your net-zero buck. Increasingly, companies are pushing their carbon transitions with the same rigor as any other business initiative, which means improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the effort while also measuring and reducing cost. Additionally, this allows companies to find opportunities for monetizing investments in sustainable technologies. As an example, Cemex is selling a range of concrete, Vertua, which contains 70% less embodied carbon and offsets the rest of its emissions to deliver a carbon-neutral product. Embed carbon transition into the fabric of the business. Even the best strategy and value creation plan will fall flat without the correct supporting practices. Three tactics, in particular, are helping companies through their carbon transitions: Pricing. Internal carbon pricing is becoming mainstream; more than 2,000 companies representing $27 trillion of market capitalization have embraced it. Once carbon is priced, companies consider it like any other cost in their decisions about capex, procurement, and R&D, guiding their portfolio decisions. It is not unusual to see pricing of $50 to $100 or more per ton of CO2 equivalent, with the median of $25 in 2020. Incentives. Linking short-term and long-term incentives to the transition ensures it remains on the agenda. Leading companies have a significant share of variable pay linked to sustainability and deploy these incentives across the organization. Tracking. Leading companies increasingly treat greenhouse gas emissions as they would cost, and they track, report and manage them similarly. Instead of a once-a-year, compliance-driven, Excel-based exercise, companies use the latest software-as-a-system platforms, such as Persefoni, to extract data from their systems and convert activities into precise carbon emissions. This helps them understand their footprint and guides improvement. Avoid the hourglass effect. Sustainability transformations have a lower success rate than other transformations, with only 7% of these efforts meeting their goals, compared to 12% of all change efforts. This is, in part, due to the hourglass effect, where top management embraces the transition, new workers have chosen their employment based on its sustainability credentials and middle management is left to turn these net-zero goals into tangible resultsdespite possibly having limited knowledge of the topic or little experience managing trade-off decisions. These workers are also expected to manage revenue, cost and safety in aligning these goals. Leadership teams should bridge this disconnect by simplifying their targets, clarifying trade-offs, and training and educating their employees on how to make good, strategic decisions.

"COP26 is a momentous occasion: the business world is focusing on decarbonisation more than ever before, creating a tremendous opportunity for change," said Torsten Lichtenau partner and global head of Bain & Company's Carbon Transition Impact Area. "But moving from targets and promises to actions and results requires bold action and dedicationleading businesses will treat decarbonisation as they would any other business transformation, by setting a robust strategy and plan and preparing for some difficult decisions along the way."

Editor's Note: To arrange an interview, please contact Aliza Medina at [email protected] or +44 207 969 6480

About Bain & Company

Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world's most ambitious change makers define the future.

Across 63 offices in 38 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes. Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today's urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment. We earned a gold rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 2% of all companies. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry.

Media Contact:

Aliza Medina

Bain & Company

[email protected]

Tel: +44 207 969 6480

SOURCE Bain & Company

Related Links

http://www.bain.com


LAS CRUCES, N.M., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A contemporary U-Haul self-storage facility will be coming to Las Cruces after the Company's recent purchase of six acres at Rinconada Boulevard and Highway 70. U-Haul acquired the property on Sept. 24.

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Northrise is scheduled for completion in 2023. Plans call for a three-story building encompassing more than 85,000 square feet.

The facility will house at least 600 indoor, ADA-accessible self-storage units with climate-control options and high-tech security features at affordable price points. It will also feature a warehouse for U-Box portable storage containers and offer truck and trailer sharing, moving supplies and more.

"Las Cruces continues to be a popular destination for retirees, and with such a family-friendly lifestyle, people from all over the world are settling here," said Bianca Sotelo-Herrera, U-Haul Company of Southern New Mexico president. "We're pleased to be working with city officials to provide a convenient, state-of-the-art store to meet the growing needs of Las Cruces."

While U-Haul Moving & Storage of Northrise is under construction, other U-Haul stores and local small businesses serving as U-Haul neighborhood dealers are available to care for DIY moving and self-storage customers. U-Haul Moving & Storage at El Paseo at 1608 El Paseo Road 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.

"Our existing Las Cruces facility is at capacity and we're eager to continue offering self-storage to our customers," Sotelo-Herrera added. "With this new property, we have the ability to expand and offer a better product."

Once U-Haul of Northrise is ready to open, Sotelo-Herrera aims to staff the facility with local hires to promote employment in the Las Cruces 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 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


DALLAS, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This Saturday, Nov. 6, Van Jones, CNN contributor, host of the Van Jones Show and The Redemption Project; and Bishop T.D. Jakes, global leader and senior pastor of The Potter's House, will honor 125 graduates of the Texas Offender Reentry Initiative (T.O.R.I.) at The Potter's House. Jones will deliver the commencement address to the T.O.R.I. graduates, while former President George W. Bush and Richard Bragdon, member of Canadian Parliament, will provide video congratulatory remarks.

T.O.R.I., which is celebrating its 16th anniversary this year, has become a nationally revered and trusted knowledge partner with a proven successful model of rehabilitative and recuperative justice that has directly impacted the lives of some 300,000 men, women and their families. The White House, the Department of Justice, Canada's House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safe and National Security, AT&T and Wal-Mart are a few of the government and corporate entities that have either consulted with T.O.R.I. or have collaborated to glean major learnings from the Dallas-based initiative. T.O.R.I. is uniquely poised to align with key partners looking for programming and curriculum that distinctively speaks to the ever-growing needs and inequality realities facing many families across the United States.

"American prisons are built on the idea of retributive justice, where the primary goal is to punish and seek vengeance," said Jones. "It's a model that aims to incapacitate people who commit crimes and create powerful, painful incentives for them to act right in the future. This system hurts prisoners, their families and the victims of crime. This is a destructive cycle that must change. Restoration brings healing to all. T.O.R.I. is one of the leading programs helping to bring healing and restoration."

With more than 700,000 prisoners reentering society each year, there is an increasingly critical need for programs like T.O.R.I. across the country.

"T.O.R.I. is about helping a person become whole again and shifting the narrative on those formerly incarcerated, not just about giving someone a job or housing," said Jakes. "We must all rally around changing the system so families can be healed and revived. We need more individuals, corporations and foundations to get engaged so we can serve more people and end the cycle of incarceration indefinitely."

T.O.R.I. is an intensive 12-month case management program that offers six critical services that the majority of formerly incarcerated clients need and which have proven successful in the rehabilitation process, including: employment, housing, education, family reunification, health care and spiritual guidance. The program aims to reduce the rate of recidivism, diminish the negative perception of ex-offenders and their families, and ensure a safer and healthier family and environment for future generations.

What:

Texas Offenders Reentry Initiative (T.O.R.I.) 16th Anniversary Graduation

Who:



Bishop T.D. Jakes , founder of T.O.R.I. and senior pastor of The Potter's House

, founder of T.O.R.I. and senior pastor of The House Van Jones , CNN contributor, host of the Van Jones Show and The Redemption Project

, CNN contributor, host of the Van Jones Show and The Redemption Project Doug McMillion , CEO of Wal-Mart

, CEO of Wal-Mart Tina Naidoo , executive director of T.O.R.I. program

, executive director of T.O.R.I. program George W. Bush, former president of the United States

Richard Bragdon, member of Canadian Parliament

Where:

The Potter's House Official YouTube Channel

When:

Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. CT

Requests for b-roll can be directed to Jordan Hora.

About Texas Offenders Reentry Initiative (T.O.R.I.)

Founded in December 2004 by Bishop T.D. Jakes, under the umbrella of the Metroplex Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization that bridges economic voids in urban America, T.O.R.I. is an intensive 12-month case management program that offers six core services that the majority of formerly incarcerated clients need, including: employment, housing, education, family reunification, health care and spiritual guidance. Since its inception, T.O.R.I. has served more than 30,000 formerly incarcerated individuals who have returned home to Texas.

About The Potter's House

Located in Dallas, The Potter's House is a 30,000-member nondenominational, multicultural church and humanitarian organization led by Bishop T. D. Jakes, twice featured on the cover of Time magazine as America's Best Preacher and as one of the nation's 25 Most Influential Evangelicals. The Potter's House has five locations: The Potter's House of Dallas, The Potter's House of Fort Worth, The Potter's House of North Dallas, The Potter's House of Denver and The Potter's House OneLA.

Contacts:

Jordan Hora

214.608.2006

Christine Cape

404.545.0085

SOURCE The Potter's House

Related Links

https://www.thepottershouse.org/


CAMPBELL, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivalink , a leading provider of digital healthcare solutions, announces the use of its Biometrics Data Platform to power a variety of remote healthcare applications around the world. Vivalink's platform, with regulatory clearances including FDA, CE and China's National Medical Product Administration, integrates physiologically optimized wearable sensors, remote networking technologies, and cloud data services to enable clinicians to conduct medical grade monitoring outside the hospital environment.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, medical wearable sensors in virtual healthcare and telemedicine have become a necessity for tracking and monitoring human vitals such as heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, Sp02 and blood pressure, in real-time. For these patients, it is necessary to have hospital-grade monitoring medical wearable devices, to track symptoms outside of the clinical setting.

Vivalink's technology is currently being used across the globe in 30 countries, for various applications including:

Australia - working with Deakin University , commissioned by the Australian government, to monitor essential workers' body temperature when returning to work during COVID

- working with , commissioned by the Australian government, to monitor essential workers' body temperature when returning to work during COVID China - working with Vivalink partner Nalong Health, a leading cardiac service company in China , to provide cardiac monitoring and analysis services.

- working with Vivalink partner Nalong Health, a leading cardiac service company in , to provide cardiac monitoring and analysis services. Germany - partnering with ASCOM, a multinational telecommunications company, to offer virtual care for hospitals in several countries in the European region

- partnering with ASCOM, a multinational telecommunications company, to offer virtual care for hospitals in several countries in the European region Italy - partnering with CardioCalm to offer remote cardiac monitoring solutions using wearable ECGs

- partnering with CardioCalm to offer remote cardiac monitoring solutions using wearable ECGs United Kingdom - partnering with Current Health to address hospital readmissions post discharge, chronic condition monitoring, and clinical trials

- partnering with Current Health to address hospital readmissions post discharge, chronic condition monitoring, and clinical trials United States - working with Clinical Research Organizations, such as Medpace, to conduct decentralized clinical trials using Vivalink's RPM technologies

- working with Clinical Research Organizations, such as Medpace, to conduct decentralized clinical trials using Vivalink's RPM technologies Vietnam - partnering with iParamed to monitor COVID-19 patients in overflow and general ward surge situations for the hospitals

"During critical moments in a pandemic or other medical situations, hospitals can have a difficult time keeping up with patient care due to the volume of patients and limited staff. In addition, the risk of cross infection between caregivers and patients is high in those situations," said Hang Pham, Vice Chairwomen of iParamed. "Vivalink's technologies enable care to be delivered remotely or at a distance, minimizing patient and caregiver contact. In addition, they are cost effective and easy to deploy, thereby very suitable to handle these uncertain situations."

For more information on Vivalink's full line of medical wearables and data services visit: https://www.vivalink.com/ .

About Vivalink

Vivalink is a provider of digital healthcare solutions for remote patient monitoring. We leverage unique physiology-optimized medical wearable sensors and data services to enable a deeper and more clinical relationship between provider and patient.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Vivalink

Related Links

https://www.vivalink.com


ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Westgate Resorts will honor 900 active duty, veteran, and Gold Star U.S. military families with a free three-day, two-night action-packed Orlando vacation this Veterans Day in its Westgate Resorts Military Weekend. Starting at 9 a.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 11, interested guests will have the chance to sign-up at WestgateSalutes.com for a complimentary weekend celebration for up to four guests at the Westgate Vacation Villas & Town Center Resort, Dec. 3-5, in a Studio Villa.



"For the 10th year, it is our honor to welcome and pamper thousands of the most deserving American heroes for a weekend filled with great music, beautiful weather and patriotism," said David Siegel, Westgate's Founder, CEO & President. "Having served in the military myself I know all too well the importance of quality family time for those who are serving or who have recently served our country."



This Westgate tradition is filled with family-fun activities, an annual 5K run, movie night, military resource fair, military vehicle demonstrations and more. Guests will also enjoy free admission to Westgate's Shipwreck Island Water Park, a private outdoor concert featuring Nashville favorite, the Chris Weaver Band, mesmerizing magic by Las Vegas headlining magician Jen Kramer and a spectacular fireworks display to cap off the night.



Starting at 9 a.m. EST on Nov. 11, 2021, the first 900 eligible military personnel who visit WestgateSalutes.com and complete the online military appreciation form will receive a complimentary stay for up to four guests at Westgate Town Center Resort & Spa or Westgate Vacation Villas Resort & Spa during the weekend of Dec. 3-5 in a Studio Villa. A valid DD214 for combat veterans or a currently active Military ID card will be required to receive final reservation confirmation.



Westgate's Military Weekend 2021 is made possible by a number of incredible sponsors who proudly support the men and women of our armed forces, including SeaWorld Orlando, voted the #1 theme park in the country by USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice poll, who donated $100,000 in complimentary tickets for veterans and their families, as well as Interval International, who has provided significant support for this very special event. Interval International is a world leader in providing quality resort exchange and travel services to timeshare owners across the globe.



ABOUT WESTGATE RESORTS

Westgate Resorts is the largest privately held timeshare company in the world and one of the largest resort developers in the United States. Founded in 1982 by David Siegel, the company is headquartered in Orlando with seven Orlando hotels, and 27 themed destination resorts nationwide, featuring more than 15,000 luxury villas and hotel rooms in popular vacation destinations throughout the United States such as Miami, Orlando and Cocoa Beach, Florida; New York City, New York; Park City, Utah; Las Vegas, Nevada; Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Williamsburg, Virginia; Branson, Missouri; Mesa, Arizona; and Tunica, Mississippi. Most Westgate Resorts locations feature a variety of unique restaurant, retail, and spa concepts, including Drafts Burger Bar, Edge Steakhouse, Westgate Marketplace & Deli and Serenity Spa by Westgate. For more information about Westgate Resorts, visit www.westgateresorts.com.

Media Contact:

Jessica Murray

The Zimmerman Agency

850-668-2222

[email protected]

SOURCE Westgate Resorts
HAIFA, Israel, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) announced today that the Company will release its third quarter 2021 financial results on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, before the U.S. financial markets open. Management will host a conference call and webcast (along with a slide presentation) to review the results and provide a corporate update at 8:00 AM ET.

To access the live conference call by telephone, please dial the following numbers: United States +1-855-265-6958 or +1-718-705-8796; Israel +972-3-721-9662; or UK/international +44-1-212-818-004. The call (and slide presentation) will be available via live webcast through ZIM's website, located at the following link. Following the conclusion of the call, a replay of the conference call will be available on the Company's website.

About ZIM

ZIM (NYSE: ZIM) is a global, 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 75 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.

ZIM Contacts

Media:

Avner Shats

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.

+972-4-865-2520

[email protected]

Investor Relations:

Elana Holzman

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.

+972-4-865-2300

[email protected]

Leon Berman

The IGB Group

212-477-8438

[email protected]

SOURCE ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.
United Nations : , Nov 3 (IANS) United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about the recent escalation of violence in Ethiopia and the state of emergency the country has declared.

According to a statement released on Tuesday afternoon by his spokesperson, "the stability of Ethiopia and the wider region is at risk." The UN Chief reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unrestricted humanitarian access to deliver lifesaving assistance to the restive northern regions.

Guterres also asked for "an inclusive national dialogue to resolve this crisis and create the foundation for peace and stability throughout the country." On Twitter, Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo echoed this sentiment.

According to her, "the possible consequences of a spiraling conflict on the country and the region are frightening to contemplate, but it's not too late to choose dialogue." "Silence the guns. Now, before more needless death and destruction," she added.

According to the latest update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), released on Monday, the overall situation in Northern Ethiopia "remains unpredictable, volatile, and highly tense." Due to the lack of fuel for humanitarian operations in Tigray since early August, most humanitarian partners have reduced or halted their activities. And there are inadequate supplies, cash, banking services and communications.

Since October 18, no convoys with supplies have entered Tigray. As a result, nutrition response for children and women in Tigray decreased by at least 50 per cent.

As the conflict spreads, the humanitarian situation in Tigray, Afar, and Amhara continues to deteriorate.

The fighting is also preventing the delivery of assistance and causing displacement, disruption of livelihoods, and food insecurity.
United Nations : , Nov 3 (IANS) The United Nations (UN) mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) strongly condemns an attack by members of the presidential guard which wounded 10 peacekeepers, a UN spokesman has said.

Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the attack on members of an Egyptian police peacekeeping unit "appears to be a deliberate and unjustifiable attack" on the blue helmets, Xinhua news agency reported.

A civilian died in a related accident, Haq added.

The mission, known as MINUSCA, reported the peacekeepers were shot and wounded, including two seriously, by members of the presidential guard in the capital of Bangui on Monday, he said. The Egyptian police officers landed at Bangui's airport earlier in the day. They are part of the periodic rotation and deployment of troops in the country.

"They were on their way to their base when they suffered heavy fire from members of the presidential guard," he said.

"The mission said in a statement that the police officers were fired at without any warning or response. They were unarmed." Attempting to flee the attack, about 120 metres from the presidential residence, the bus carrying the Egyptian police unit hit a woman, who died, the spokesman said.

"A MINUSCA delegation later met the victim's family to offer condolences. They also condemned this tragic accident." "The leadership of our UN peacekeeping mission and members of the Central African government immediately initiated a dialogue for the opening of the necessary investigations into this incident, and to ensure accountability in accordance with the obligations under the agreement between the United Nations and the CAR government," Haq said
Los Angeles, Nov 3 : An Arizona-based environment group filed a notice to U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), showing its intent to sue the federal government for its miscoundct in office causing the oil spill incident in southern California in October.

In the 11-page notice letter, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) accuses the Secretary of the Interior and BOEM of violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), Xinhua news agency reported.

The BOEM illegally allows Platform Elly and other offshore oil production in the Beta oilfield to operate under outdated drilling plans written in the 1970s and '80s instead of reviewing and requiring revision of the plans as the age of the infrastructure and other changes had been over forty years old, the letter said.

"The oil industry is drilling and spilling off California's coast under plans written when Carter and Reagan were in the White House and floppy disks were high tech," said Kristen Monsell, Legal Director of the center's oceans program.

"These incredibly outdated documents highlight the federal government's reckless, contemptible refusal to protect our beaches, wildlife and communities from offshore drilling pollution. Retro is not a good look for those ominous oil platforms, which should be shut down entirely," she added in a statement.

The group's notice came a month after the Houston-based Amplify Energy pipeline leaked at least 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean off the coast of southern California, closing miles of beaches and fisheries, killing and injuring birds and other wildlife.

The notice letter is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit under the 60-day notice requirement of the citizen suit provision of OCSLA, the CBD said, noting that since the BOEM did not take action to remedy the violations detailed in this letter, the center hereby provided notice of its intent to seek a judicial remedy.
Lagos, Nov 3 : The death toll from the collapse of a 21-storey building in the city of Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, rose to 20, as more dead bodies have been recovered, with scores of people remaining unaccounted for, an emergency management official said.

Ibrahim Farinloye, the Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the Lagos state, said in an update statement on Tuesday evening that 20 dead bodies had been recovered and nine people had been rescued alive following the collapse of the 21-story building under construction in the Ikoyi area of Lagos city on Monday afternoon.

Rescue operations were still underway and an investigation into the cause of the collapse is ongoing, Farinloye added.

Residents living in the area told Xinhua earlier Tuesday that the building had been under construction for more than one year and over 50 people, mostly construction workers, were trapped under the rubble.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Governor of the Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, vowed in a statement a thorough investigation into the deadly building collapse, adding the state government is setting up an independent panel to probe the cause of the collapse.

Sanwo-Olu said members of the panel will be drawn from professional bodies in the field of construction such as the Nigeria Institute of Architects, the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, and the Nigeria Society of Engineers.

"It will independently investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident and make recommendations on how to prevent future occurrences. The investigation is not part of the internal probe already being conducted by the government," he added.

The Governor said the government will find out what went wrong and punish those indicted, adding that as a first step, he has directed that the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency be suspended from work immediately.

Meanwhile, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari directed authorities in the Lagos state to step up rescue efforts in a statement issued on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I commiserate with all families who have lost loved ones in the collapsed building in Lagos. This is a sad period for the people and government of Lagos state, and we share in the sadness," Buhari said.

The Nigerian leader also called on emergency institutions, including hospitals, to provide all the support to safeguard the lives of the rescued.

Building collapses often occur in Nigeria, as some property owners and developers do not adhere strictly to planning and building laws and regulations. In most cases, heavy loads are placed on the building and substandard materials are used in construction.
Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya, Rwanda Environment Minister; Nancy Tembo, Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources of Malawi; and Mohammad Abubakar, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria, issued that challenge on Tuesday at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-26) here.

Glasgow, Nov 3 (IANS) By COP27, which will be held on African soil, funders must invest $2 billion in <sng-qts>AFR100<sng-qts>, the continent's locally led campaign to restore vitality to 100 million hectare of degraded and deforested land.

Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya, Rwanda Environment Minister; Nancy Tembo, Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources of Malawi; and Mohammad Abubakar, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria, issued that challenge on Tuesday at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-26) here.

The African Development Bank, the government of Germany, Global Environment Facility, Bezos Earth Fund, the Global EverGreening Alliance, and Green Climate Fund responded, announcing their plan to significantly invest in land restoration by 2026 and have called on their peers to join them in mobilizing that $2 billion in investable capital by COP27 in November 2022.

"Africa is home to the world's greatest restoration opportunity, with 700 million hectares of degraded land that can be restored. Africa is the continent most dependent on the land for livelihoods and most vulnerable to climate change. Africa must therefore lead the way. We warmly welcome partnership with ambitious funders like the Bezos Earth Fund," said Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which could push an estimated 30 million Africans into extreme poverty, land restoration -- with a return of $7-30 for every $1 spent -- has become a critical tool to improve food security and create sustainable jobs.

The impacts of climate change make these types of solutions all the more urgent: The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report shows that several African regions like Sahel will experience rising temperatures, exacerbating the vulnerabilities of people and nature.

If desertification continues to advance unchecked, the decline in revenue from cereal crops alone could cost people in Africa $4.6 trillion through 2030.

It's clear that Africa needs to massively and quickly restore nature and farmland to reduce poverty, reverse biodiversity loss and store planet-warming greenhouse gases -- and local action is the only path toward success.

An initial $2 billion investment in the work of NGOs, entrepreneurs and government-led projects could catalyze $15 billion of funding. That larger amount could begin the restoration of a potential 20 million hectares by 2026 and bring an estimated $135 billion in benefits to 40 million people.

"Africa is where the opportunity is the greatest, where the need is greatest, and where vulnerability to climate change is greatest. It is also where political commitment is increasingly the greatest, as Heads of state and governments more and more recognize that investing their natural capital has one of the highest returns," said Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund.

--IANS vg/khz/

</sng-qts></sng-qts>
New Delhi, Nov 3 : He goes back a few decades -- a time when as a child he could not take his eyes off whenever his older sisters stitched diverse patterns with multiple coloured threads. He says the finished garment would 'say' a lot to him -- things tough for a child to express.

"I would never be able to explain but the effect the whole process had on me was nothing short of magical," remembers artist Gurjit Singh, recipient of the prestigious Inlaks Fine Art Award -- 2021, whose works will also be displayed at the India Art Fair -- 2022.

For the Inlaks project, he explored the theme of love by creating artistic works using cloth and embellishing them with beads and sequins.

It has been a long journey for this young artist, originally from village Algon Kothi in Amritsar, Punjab. For someone who believes that one does not choose his artistic expression but vice-versa, growing up in a family where art is celebrated in different forms like knitting, embroidery and crafting made him decide quite early what he wanted.

Believing that in the divergent world we live in, where multiple cultures, ideologies, religions and genders co-exist and make space for themselves, clothing plays a vital role in differentiation and recognition, this artist, who makes contemporary soft sculptures emerging from childhood memories and his struggles, says, "One just has to look closely to decipher the many layers for our insides through what is used to shield the body," says this Amrita Shergill Award recipient.

From exploring themes of gender, including LGBTQ, people's untold stories and emotions that reject every name and definition, Singh, who was part of KHOJ International Artists' Association -- PEERS 2019 smiles that despite formal training in art, he was not really tempted to take up what can be termed as 'mainstream' mediums.

"From the very beginning, I knew my true calling. Nothing else could tempt me." Insisting that he feels 'successful' whenever the thought process behind his art pieces get conveyed, the artist, who was also part of the Sculpture Residency, Baroda -- 2019-20,

adds, "For an artist, it is important never to underestimate the intelligence of the viewer. Every art work conveys multiple meanings emerging from the same core. Different people take away diverse things from them -- that is the beauty of art." Currently working on multiple projects, he says that his work addresses LGBT issues, including "happenings which take place behind closed doors, aiming to share these hidden stories and narratives with society." "My art also questions the many stereotypical terms, ideas and how people conduct themselves in the contemporary society."
Tripoli, Nov 3 : The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said it provided assistance to more than 150 families displaced by floods in eastern Libya, Xinhua news agency reported.

"More than 150 families in eastern Libya have been displaced from their homes due to flash floods caused by the heavy rain over the weekend," the UN Migration agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

This emergency triggered the UN Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) which includes coordinated emergency assistance from World Food Programme, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Libya, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Libya and IOM to support the affected households with assistance, the statement added.

"In line with RRM's commitment to respond within 72 hours of an emergency, IOM jointly with RRM members distributed food, core relief items and drinking water in Albayar to 85 households and in Almaraj/Tacnis to 73 households," it said
Kanpur, Nov 3 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe in the alleged murder of a Kanpur businessman during a police raid in Gorakhpur.

The agency registered a case in the matter on Tuesday evening.

The comes a month after the Uttar Pradesh government wrote to the Centre, recommending a CBI investigation into the death of Kanpur-based businessman Manish Gupta.

The CBI has registered a case against the Uttar Pradesh Police personnel who allegedly assaulted and murdered the 38-year-old property dealer during the raid at a hotel in Gorakhpur on September 27.

The probe agency has named Inspector Jagat Narain Singh; Sub-Inspectors Akshaya Mishra and Vijay Yadav; and three other police personnel of Gorakhpur's Ramgarh Tal Police Station as the accused in the case.

So far, the case was being probed by the state police's Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The six accused have been suspended from service and they were arrested in October after absconding initially.

On October 1, the state government's Home Department said in a tweet that a recommendation was sent to the Centre to initiate the CBI probe.

The Department had stated that instructions were given to provide the wife of the deceased with a job in the Kanpur Development Authority.

The family would be given financial assistance of Rs 40 lakh, it added.

Gupta is survived by his wife and four-year-old child.

In addition, the Samajwadi Party (SP) had also promised Rs 20 lakh as financial aid.

Gupta was visiting Gorakhpur along with two other friends from Haryana. The three were staying at the city hotel when the police team raided the hotel and beat up Gupta who questioned the midnight raid.

Gupta was severely injured and declared brought dead at the hospital.
Ayodhya, Nov 3 : As Ayodhya gears up to witness a grand 'Deepotsav' on Wednesday evening, elaborate security arrangements have been made in the holy city with a seven-tiered system.

Ayodhya SSP Shailesh Pandey, said: "A seven-layer security apparatus is in place from outer to inner circles of the town. Police, special operation group and special security force have been deployed to fortify Ayodhya. We have also deployed several cops in civil clothes to check security and send intelligence inputs. Forty boats with life-saving equipment have been stationed at the Saryu river ghats." Security has been further beefed up after a recent threat letter was received, purportedly written by a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist commander, threatening to blow up 46 railway stations, including Ayodhya.

The town's borders have been sealed and vehicular entry banned, barring VIP and official cars, which need to be parked a kilometre away from the Ram Katha Park.

Special duty officers have been deployed to ensure safe passage of ambulances.

A rehearsal was held of the grand Shobha Yatra on Tuesday, ahead of the main event on Wednesday. The yatra will be flagged off by Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma from the Saket College ground.

Around 200 artists and performers from all over the country and SAARC nations will participate in the Shobha Yatra, during which they will depict scenes from the Ramayana.

At the Ram Katha Park, distinguished guests will be welcomed with Vedic chants.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel will inaugurate and lay foundation of development projects, while a book on tradition and cultural heritage of Ayodhya will also be released.

Over 9 lakhs earthen diyas will light up the banks of the Saryu river on Wednesday evening, creating a new world record of sorts.
Lucknow, Nov 3 : In another interesting development, President of the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Om Prakash Rajbhar had a long meeting with mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari inside the Banda prison, where the latter is presently jailed.

During the meeting which took place on Tuesday, Rajbhar was accompanied by Abbas and Umar, the two sons of Mukhtar Ansari.

According to sources, Rajbhar offered Mukhtar to contest the 2022 Assembly elections on an SBSP symbol.

Mukhtar's brother Sigbatullah Ansari has joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) but Akhilesh Yadav is apparently averse to bringing the mafia don into his party fold since that would invite unnecessary controversy and flak from other political circles.

The tiff between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal began in 2016 when the latter allowed the merger of Mukhtar Ansari's Qaumi Ekta Dal into the SP.

Akhilesh Yadav and Rajbhar have, therefore, hit upon the formula under which Mukhtar Ansari could contest the Assembly polls on an SBSP ticket and he would automatically get Samajwadi support since SP and SBSP have already announced their alliance for the elections.

Mukhtar Ansari wields considerable influence in nearly a dozen Assembly segments in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The coming together of Muslims, Rajbhar and Yadav votes in the region would undoubtedly prove to be a winning combination and could upset the ruling BJP's calculations in the area.

Mukhtar Ansari, who is presently a BSP MLA, has reportedly agreed to the proposal since party president Mayawati has already said that she would not give a ticket to the Ansari brothers.

Mukhtar's elder brother, Afzal Ansari, is a BSP MP at present.

Rajbhar, when contacted, refused to comment on the outcome of the meeting but his party sources said that the "results were positive and encouraging".
Aligarh, Nov 3 : A young Muslim man was allegedly assaulted and robbed by two men after he refused to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' at a village in Aligarh.

Circle officer Atrauli, S P Singh said that an FIR has been registered at Harduaganj police station on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim Aamir Khan's father, two days after the incident.

The circle officer said that Rahissuddin did not mention that his son was forced to raise slogans by the accused Devendra and his father Raju.

Police claimed that the man was beaten up following a clash between the two sides after an argument over the price of clothes.

The accused have been booked and arrested under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of IPC.

Aamir, however, claimed that the father-son duo first asked him his name, then beat him with sticks and forced him to chant "Jai Shri Ram" when he reached his neighbouring village Nagla Khema to sell clothes.

"They also snatched Rs 10,000 and my mobile phone," he alleged, adding that he had made a video of the incident.

When police took the accused into their custody, they started chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and threw stones at a person who was filming their arrest.

In August, a Muslim e-rickshaw driver was publicly assaulted and allegedly asked to chant "Jai Shri Ram" even as his minor daughter tried to save him. The video of this incident went viral on social media.

In another incident in June, an elderly man, Abdul Sarad Saifi, accused four men of beating him up, clipping his beard and asking him to chant "Jai Shri Ram" in Ghaziabad.
Washington, Nov 3 : Prisons across the US have been facing more severe staff shortages as officers have resigned in droves amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a news report.

"By failing to protect prisoners from Covid, the criminal justice system not only created an unfair risk of severe illness and death for the incarcerated, but the increased Covid risk to employees has undoubtedly contributed to staffing shortages," Xinhua news agency quoted the AP report citing University of Michigan economist Betsey Stevenson as saying.

Meanwhile, for the officers left behind, worsening shortages have made an already difficult job unbearable, the AP report said.

Some prisons in state of Georgia reported up to 70 per cent vacancy rates, while state of Florida has temporarily closed three prisons because of understaffing, it said.

Staff shortages have reportedly long been a challenge for US prisons, given the low pay, poor benefits, and horrendous working conditions.

But the increased risk of Covid-19 for people working there has further exacerbated the problem.

On an average, US prisons currently host some 650,000 detainees every day and they also include more than 220,000 full-time jail staff, who commute back and forth from their homes.
Lucknow, Nov 3 : Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has expressed confidence that this Diwali will bring an end to the misrule of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.

Extending his greetings on Dhanteras, Diwali and Govardhan Puja, he said that festivals of India shed light on the importance of harmony, peace, mutual cooperation and carry a message of love and amity.

He said that all Indian festivals are an occasion to send a message of tranquillity and resolve to lead the society and the nation towards the light of prosperity.

The faulty policies of BJP, the SP chief said, has pushed the farmers, unemployed youths and the poor towards a bleak future and expressed confidence that Diwali, which is the festival of lights, will lighten up lives of people and end misrule in the state.

Akhilesh Yadav also attacked the ruling BJP for shifting goalposts and misleading the people.

"The BJP has failed to fulfil the promises it had made in their Sankalp Patra (manifesto) like doubling the income of farmers, providing jobs to unemployed youths and laptops to students. Now, they have started believing that 2022 Assembly polls in UP are actually the elections that are slated to be held in 2024 and hence trying to mislead people," he said.

He said farmers are feeling helpless as their paddy is lying unsold. Government has fixed Rs 1,940 per quintal for it but without enough procurement centres to purchase their produce from. As a result, farmers are being forced to sell their produce at much lower rates to middlemen.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party delegation, led by state president Naresh Uttam Patel, met the Chief Election Officer (CEO) Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday evening and submitted a memorandum, pointing out gross anomalies in preparation of voters' list for the 2022 Assembly polls.

The delegation demanded immediate publication of total names and a separate list of names deleted, added and modified in the voters list between January 16, 2020-21 and October 31, 2020-21.

Later, the SP state president told reporters that around 16.42 lakh names have been deleted from or added to the voters' list.

Latest updates on Diwali Festival 2021

-- Syndicated from IANS
Shanghai, Nov 3 : Shanghai Disneyland and Disneytown will resume operations on Wednesday after a temporary closure for Covid-19 control, the facility said in a statement.

All cast members and third-party employees returning to work in the resort have completed two nucleic acid tests within 48 hours, with all results negative, Xinhua news agency quoted the facility as saying.

All environmental samples collected have also tested negative, according to the statement.

The resort will continue to implement enhanced health and safety measures and enforce strict health and safety measures for all tourists, it said.

The site stopped tourist entry on Sunday evening and was temporarily closed for the purpose of pandemic prevention and control.

All tourists who had visited Disneyland and Disneytown during the weekend were required to report to their neighbourhood, employer, or school, and conduct a nucleic acid test immediately at a nearby medical institution, Shanghai's epidemic prevention and control headquarters said on Sunday evening.
Seoul, Nov 3 : South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on Wednesday that the government cannot afford another round of universal Covid-19 relief grants as proposed by Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP).

Kim made the remark during a radio interview, stressing that the most urgent task for now is to compensate the self-employed and small business owners suffering from the pandemic, reports Yonhap News Agency.

"Our finance does not have enough capacity to do that," Kim said of Lee's proposal during the interview with local broadcaster CBS. "Execution of this year's budget will be over in two months." Kim's remarks were in line with Finance Minster Hong Nam-ki, who previously opposed the idea of giving cash handouts to all people instead of providing them to those who suffered the most.

"In the financial authority's perspective, our disposable revenue is obvious," Kim said. "We are not in a situation to get money from here and there." Earlier this week, Lee said the government should dole out additional cash handouts to all people, saying that the relief amount is too small considering the nation's GDP and in comparison with other countries.

He called for providing an additional 300,000-500,000 won ($250-$425) per person at least since the government is expected to log a larger-than-expected surplus in tax revenue this year and many people are still suffering from the pandemic.
London, Nov 3 : The UK has welcomed the French government's announcement that it will not go ahead with implementing sanction measures over an ongoing fishing dispute, a government spokesperson said here.

"As we have said consistently, we are ready to continue intensive discussions on fisheries, including considering any new evidence to support the remaining license applications," Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesperson as saying in a statement.

The spokesperson said the UK's Brexit Minister David Frost has accepted France's European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune's invitation for talks in Paris on Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who earlier on Monday met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the UN climate conference in Glasgow, told reporters that the French plan was on hold pending the outcome of renewed talks.

France seized a British trawler and gave a warning to another boat on October 28, following threats of retaliatory measures against the UK's fishing industry and other trade, including preventing British fishing boats from disembarking at ports, increasing border and sanitary checks on British goods.

Post-Brexit fishing row between Britain and France started earlier this year after the British Channel island of Jersey's government introduced a new licensing system requiring French boats to show fishing history in Jersey's waters to obtain future permits.

It prompted both sides to dispatch navy vessels to monitor the situation in Jersey's waters in May.
Los Angeles, Nov 3 : Actress Salma Hayek, who plays Ajak in the new Marvel blockbuster 'Eternals', described the part as "an honour" and said being cast in the movie means more because she has been passed on for so many opportunities in the past.

Hayek told Digital Spy: "I have this strange sensation that this is the film that I belong to. I don't know what it says about me, maybe because I'm a rebel and I like to fight for different things and this is so special. It's an honour.

"I used to complain like, 'How come they never call me for this film? I'm never going to be a superhero...' and I'm so grateful that nobody called me. Thank you for not thinking about me because then I wouldn't have been asked (for this)." The film was shot on location in Camden and elsewhere across London, and shooting without a green screen had a big impact on the cast.

Hayek added: "It was part of the beauty of shooting in real locations. It helps a lot. It creates an atmosphere. I've got to say though, one thing that was surprising to me, a lot of that was shot around London.

"There's so many beautiful woods in London, there's so many and so different one from the other. I live here and I was like, 'Wow, I don't know this place at all'." Similarly, her co-stars Kit Harington (Dane Whitman) and Richard Madden (Ikaris) loved the opportunity to shoot in such a familiar area.

Madden said: "That was surreal on set. We were standing in the street going, 'Are we at work now because we got drunk around here and hung out there quite a lot'. It was really nice because we're all friends from before this movie anyway, so it was really pleasant to be in Camden.

"I got to hang off wires above the bridge in Camden and I've walked this bridge a hundred times, but I've never seen it from this angle."
New Delhi, Nov 3 : After two days of high-level announcements and speeches, the World Leaders Summit at COP26 has concluded.

More than 100 heads of state and government took the podium to set the tone for the much anticipated UN climate conference (COP26). Over the coming days, negotiators will continue working towards a formal outcome on November 12.

Responding to high-level announcements, World Resources Institute President & CEO Ani Dasgupta told IANS: "The first two days of COP26 offered the world a sharp reminder of the urgent need to accelerate climate action.

"You can feel a sense of excitement and determination to move the agenda forward. Many leaders announced serious new climate plans, partnerships and finance commitments. Now attention shifts to the negotiators who need to work together to deliver what is necessary to accelerate climate action this decade." Among the highlights of the first days were commitments to halt deforestation by 2030 and significantly cut methane emissions, along with a number of new net-zero pledges and increased commitments on adaptation finance.

One of the most awaited announcements was India's suite of near-term actions for a strengthened 2030 climate plan and commitment to reach net-zero by 2070.

There were also new finance commitments by countries like Japan, Spain and Switzerland. Scotland pledged a million pounds to support developing countries experiencing losses and damage from climate impacts beyond what they can adapt to, the first of its kind.

"The world has made major strides since the Paris Agreement was forged, though action is still not fast or ambitious enough. Before Paris, the planet was on a path to heat up as much as 4 degrees Celsius by the end of this century," Dasgupta said.

"We are looking for countries to build on this momentum in the coming days. Negotiators must work to spur a renewed spirit of solidarity. Developed countries should come forward with details on their additional financial pledges to meet the $100 billion annual commitment, including making up for any shortfalls, and agree on the process for setting the next goal of financial support to developing countries," he said.

According to him, major emitters with insufficient 2030 climate plans should agree to come back to the table with stronger ones by 2023. Outside the negotiations, countries, businesses, investors and other actors should back their bold promises with action, financial resources and accountability.

In the past two days, more than 100 countries signed the Global Methane Pledge, covering nearly half of global methane emissions and 70 per cent of global GDP. Countries signing the pledge are committed to collectively reduce methane emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030, relative to 2020 levels.

Delivering on the pledge would avoid 0.2 degrees of warming by 2050.

Responding to the announcement of a new alliance to tackle methane emissions, Kat Kramer, Christian Aid's climate policy lead, told IANS: "Today's (Tuesday's) anti-methane pledge by nearly 90 countries will be significant, if achieved, potentially reducing warming by 0.3C by the 2040s.

"Methane is a greenhouse gas strongly associated with the fossil fuel industry, with what are known as 'fugitive emissions' evaporating from coal mines, from oil and gas extraction and from pipelines. Methane is but another reason why the fossil fuel industry has to end -- and soon." UK Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi launched a new flagship international initiative at the World Leaders Summit.

Jointly led by the UK and India, the new initiative, called "Green Grids Initiative -- One Sun One World One Grid" (GGI-OSOWOG), will accelerate the development and deployment of interconnected electricity grids across continents, countries and communities.

Modi said at the launch: "The One Sun One World One Grid and Green Grids Initiative is an idea whose time has come. If the world has to move to a clean and green future, these interconnected trans-national grids are going to be critical solutions. I congratulate the International Solar Alliance and the UK COP Presidency for bringing it nearer to implementation." At least 110 leaders representing 85 per cent of earth's forests signed the COP26 Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, committing to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.

Many companies and international banks also joined political leaders on this journey to fight climate change and save "the lungs of our planet".

Meanwhile, more than 35 world leaders signed up to the Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda, which will see countries and businesses work together to scale up and speed the development and deployment of clean technologies while driving down costs this decade.

Signatories included the US, India, EU, developing economies, and even some of the nations that are most vulnerable to climate impacts.

More countries have stepped up: India, Thailand, Nepal, Nigeria, and Vietnam made new net-zero pledges which now means that 90 per cent of the global economy is covered by net-zero commitments Encouraged by deforestation commitments, Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Cristian Samper told IANS: "Science has shown that nature can contribute more than a third of the climate solution, and we cannot meet the goals of the Paris Agreement without nature.

"Indeed, forests already keep climate change from being considerably worse -- by removing 30 per cent of the carbon-dioxide pollution we add to the atmosphere each year. Forests also buffer climate extremes. And tropical forests cool the planet directly and are the source of rainfall that is critical to downwind agricultural and hydroelectric production." (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
November 03 : Veteran actor Rekha spent a festive evening with Manish Malhotra, while Janhvi Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor attended a Diwali dinner hosted by the ace designer. Manish hosted a small Diwali get-together at his residence on Tuesday.

Manish took to his Instagram stories and shared a picture with Rekha, who can be seen posing in an off-white and gold saree. Sharing the picture, Manish wrote, "Festive evening at home with my absolute favourite #oneandonly Rekha."

Image Source: Instagram/manishmalhotra05 Manish took to his Instagram stories and shared a picture with Rekha

Sara and Janhvi recently visited Kedarnath together. Their pictures offering pujas at the temple and posing together in picturesque locations flooded social media. It seems that the young actors and friends have returned from their spiritual vacation to enjoy Diwali festivities in Mumbai.

Sara and Janhvi joined Manish Malhotra at his residence for a low-key Diwali dinner. Manish shared a picture on his Instagram stories, where he can be seen with Sara, Janhvi and her sister Khushi at the dining table. All the three can be seen in white outfits. Dinner at home, festive lights and fun catching up. The gorgeoussssss girls," and tagged Janhvi, her sister Khushi Kapoor and Sara in the post. Sara reposted the picture and thanked Manish on her Instagram stories and wrote, Thank you for a fun, chilled evening and a lovely dinner as usual. Janhvi and Sara had recently appeared together on Ranveer Singh's reality show The Big Picture.

Image Source: Instagram/manishmalhotra05 Sara and Janhvi joined Manish Malhotra at his residence for a low-key Diwali dinner

After ruling the fashion world, ace fashion designer Manish Malhotra is all set to add a new milestone in his career. The designer is ready to go behind the camera, and make his directorial debut. Manish will reportedly direct an intense, musical love story for none other than his friend Karan Johars Dharma Productions. According to reports, Manish has himself penned the story and screenplay of the intense musical love story, set in the backdrop of the partition of India. The casting for the film will begin soon.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Sara Ali Khan will be seen next in the romantic drama Atrangi Re. Helmed by Aanand L Rai, the film also stars Dhanush, and Akshay Kumar in a special role. While Sara was cast opposite Vicky Kaushal in The Immortal Ashwatthama and was supposed to start filming, the film has been reportedly put on hold due to budget problems.

On the other hand, Janhvi Kapoor will be seen in Good Luck Jerry, her first collaboration with filmmaker Aanand L Rai, who is producing the film. The film is the Hindi adaptation of the 2018 Tamil film Kolamavu Kokila. She is also shooting for the Hindi remake of the Malayalam film Helen, directed by Mathukutty Xavier.

Latest updates on Diwali Festival 2021
Chennai, Nov 3 : A slapping scene featuring actor Prakash Raj in just-released Tamil film 'Jai Bhim' has triggered a massive debate on Twitter.

The scene in which Prakash Raj is shown slapping a Hindi-speaking pawn broker, asking him to speak in Tamil instead, has not gone down well with a section of the audience, who took to Twitter to express their displeasure.

One user tweeted, "I am really heartbroken after watching #JaiBhim, nothing against actor or anyone but felt really bad, there is a scene in the film where a person speaks Hindi and Prakash Raj slaps him and tells him to speak in Tamil. Honestly this kind of scene was not needed. Hope they cut it." "We wait for Tamil films. We support them, we request the makers to release it Pan India, in return we don't want anything but just love. If not love then at least not humiliation," he added.

While one segment took exception to it, another segment pointed out that the police officer's character (played by Prakash Raj in the film) only asks the pawn broker's character to speak in Tamil because of the latter's efforts to use language as an instrument to obfuscate the truth and his involvement in the crime.

"The scene is not against Hindi-speaking Indians. The particular character tries to get away by speaking in Hindi (so that Prakash Raj wouldn't understand) and knowing this strategy, he slaps him and asks him to speak in Tamil. Tamil filmmakers are not against the Hindi language ," wrote one film critic in response to the tweet by the user.

The debate also saw some people venting their ire at actor Prakash Raj, who played the character of the police officer.
Los Angeles, Nov 3 : Actress Gemma Whelan, who portrayed bisexual Yara Greyjoy in the fantasy drama series 'Game Of Thrones', admitted actors getting intimate on the show were given very little guidance but fortunately they had an 'instinct' to 'check in' with one another to ensure no one was left feeling uncomfortable.

Asked if they were left to get on with things without an intimacy co-ordinator, Whelan told The Guardian newspaper: "Almost literally. They used to just say, 'When we shout action, go for it!', and it could be a sort of frenzied mess." "But between the actors there was always an instinct to check in with each other. There was a scene in a brothel with a woman and she was so exposed that we talked together about where the camera would be and what she was happy with.

"A director might say, 'Bit of b*** biting, then slap her b*** and go!', but I'd always talk it through with the other actor."Whelan recalled a particular controversial sex scene in the second series of the show between Yara and her brother Theon Greyjoy, and said she and co-star Alfie Allen discussed the moment at length before filming.

She continued: "Alfie was very much, 'Is this OK? How are we going to make this work?' With intimacy directors, it's choreography - you move there, I move there, and permission and consent is given before you start. It is a step in the right direction." The British actress said there has been a very different tone on set in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

She said: "There's a very different choice of language now. If anyone makes an innuendo, everyone shuts down. I think, five or 10 years ago, if there was a double entendre, everyone would jump on the bandwagon and see how many laughs they could raise." "I remember when an actor would have a microphone fitted, and sometimes you have to root around the waist. And, in the past, there'd be all this, 'and while you're down there, hur, hur!' But now you don't have to play along with things like that."
New Delhi, Nov 3 : Buoyed by the bypoll results, Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Wednesday said that the electoral winds were now blowing against the BJP.

Taking to Twitter, he said: "Here is a thought provoking analysis of the results of by-elections in 30 Assembly constituencies, BJP won seven seats and its declared allies won eight seats.

"Congress won eight seats Non-BJP parties won 7 seats of which only one seat was won by a crypto ally of the BJP, namely YSR Congress. The other six seats were won by parties opposed to the BJP.

"The honours are even today. Which way will the wind blow in 2022?." Results of the bypolls to three Lok Sabha seats and 29 Assembly constituencies, announced on Tuesday, have been encouraging for the Congress in the states of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka where the party is now better placed than the BJP.

In the three Lok Sabha seats, the result shows that the BJP has won in Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh), Shiv Sena in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Congress in Mandi (Himachal Pradesh).

In Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Shiv Sena candidate and the widow of late Mohan Delkar, Kalavati Delkar won by more than 50,000 votes.

The Congress won all three Assembly constituencies of Arki, Fatehpur and Jubbal-Kotkhai of Himachal Pradesh.

It has also won both the seats of Vallabhnagar and Dhariyawad in Rajasthan.

In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress swept all four seats, while the BJP and allies have gained grounds in the northeast.

In three of the four Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, the security deposit of BJP candidates has been forfeited.

The security deposit of the BJP candidates in Gosaba, Khardha and Dinhata have been lost, raising a huge question mark on the party's performance.

The JD(U) has won in both the seats of Bihar-- Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur. The candidates of the ruling National People's Party (NPP) and ally United Democratic Party (UDP) were leading in the Mawryngkneng, Rajabala and Mawphlang Assembly seats in Meghalaya.

In MP's Khandwa Lok Sabha seat, the BJP has had an easy win. The party has also won Jobat, and was leading in Prithvipur but trailing in Raigon.

In Maharashtra, the lone seat that went for the bypoll has been bagged by the Congress. It has wrested Hanagal seat from BJP in Karnataka which is the home turf of the Chief Minister but the major setback has been for TRS which has lost Huzoorabad seat to the BJP.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : US President Joe Biden has criticised the leaders of China and Russia for not turning up to the UN COP26 climate summit currently underway in Glasgow, the BBC reported.

In a speech on Tuesday night, Biden said climate was "a gigantic issue" and China "walked away" - adding it was the "same thing with Russia and Putin".

Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Chinese President Xi Jinping were at the summit.

Both countries however have sent delegations to the talks, which are due to run for two weeks until November 12.

China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the US. Russia is the fifth largest after the EU and India, the report said.

More than 120 leaders turned up at the conference in Scotland's largest city.

Both China and Russia are signatories of the pledge to reverse deforestation.

Before Biden's speech, Putin virtually addressed a meeting on forest management at the COP26 summit on Tuesday, saying that Russia takes the "strongest and most vigorous measures to conserve" woodlands, according to a Kremlin press release.

The US president made his comments when asked about the role that other countries, including China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, have played in talks so far.

"The fact that China is trying to assert, understandably, a new role in the world as a world leader - not showing up, come on," Biden said, adding that Xi's absence was a "big mistake", the BBC report said.

He said the same about Putin, saying that Russia's wilderness was burning and their president "stays mum" about the issue.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : In the last few years, we have seen the rise of homegrown skincare brands in a way that could easily challenge the popularity of international bestsellers. Moreover, New Age generations are also leaning towards clean products which have a maximum number of natural properties.

Beauty is now moving towards sustainability, and with 'vocal for local' as our motto of the year, it's no surprise that Ayurvedic brands are now the centre of attention. The ancient old science is getting a makeover with modern technologies and entering our vanity.

Even though most of the personal care brands claim themselves to be toxic-free, SLS free and paraben-free, only a handful of them are really authentic and up to the expectations.

The following list features leading Ayurveda labels to stock up on: Upakarma Ayurveda: Being one of the leading Ayurveda brands, Upakarma Ayurveda understands daily struggles and imbalances of life and believes to restore those imbalances and maintain quality of life. The brand aims to develop herbal ayurvedic formulations in the most natural ways to achieve wellness both internally and externally. It also believes in bringing great quality products for immunity, hair & skin at not so expensive rates.

Kama Ayurveda: Kama Ayurveda is one of the old players in the industry of Ayurvedic beauty brands. The brand was launched with a range of nine Ayurvedic treatments. To complement this, it came up with a highly effective Ayurveda-inspired range of products, suitable for different hair and skin types. The brand is free from artificial colours, fragrances, parabens, packages its products beautifully and is available internationally.

Ayouthveda: Ayouthveda is an Ayurvedic personal care brand combining Ayurvedic rituals and ultra-modern technologies. It aims to help millions of people switch from harmful chemical-based personal care products to safe and wonderful Ayurvedic products. The brand creates authentic, high-quality personal care products and has a wide collection of face care, hair care, bath & body care and intimate hygiene care products.

Forest Essentials: This luxury brand is dream worthy skincare for most people. Forest Essentials is an authentic, traditional skincare brand with its foundations in the ancient science of Ayurveda. It offers a huge range of facial care, body care, hair care and even cosmetic products that are authentic and luxurious. The brand is Made in India and 100% ayurvedic and cruelty-free.

MotherSparsh: MotherSparsh is an Ayurvedic brand that promises to build plant-derived products with real ingredients. Their products are enriched with authentic Ayurvedic herbs and therapeutic-grade essential oils and are crafted with care. The brand does not involve any kind of synthetic ingredients, Parabens, SLS or chemicals or any artificial fragrance.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : As the world leaders gathered in Glasgow to negotiate the nitty-gritties of the climate actions, a young activist has urged them to not ignore Tibet, a region from where 10 major rivers of Asia originate and currently undergoing massive environmental damages.

"The Tibetan plateau is melting yet the world remains silent. If I were Greta Thunberg, I would say, 'How dare you ignore Tibet?' Glaciers in Tibet are melting, rivers in Tibet are shortening," Yeshi Dawa, the activist based in Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh, said in a video sent out on his social media handle.

"Dear world leaders, always remember that Tibet's environment belongs to the whole world and not just China. It affects all 7.9 billion people on this planet. Please think about Tibet for the sake of this planet," he further said.

Stating that there is no institutional support, Dawa, the Tibetan-in-exile, said he has been working all alone to spread awareness about the cause of Tibet's environment. He went all the way to the top of Triund, the highest trekking point near Dharmsala and photographed with a message to the COP leaders to not forget Tibet.

In Glasgow till November 12, leaders, and negotiators from across the globe would be deliberating on reducing carbon emissions to restrict the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.

Two days ahead of the COP26 inaugural, the Dalai Lama, in a video message, had reiterated similar concerns about the effects of climate change impacting the Tibetan Plateau -- the world's 'third pole'.

"At least in Asia, Tibet is the ultimate source of water. We should pay more attention to preservation of Tibetan ecology," the Tibetan spiritual leader said.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : The US Department of Justice has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block Penguin Random Houses proposed acquisition of its close competitor, Simon & Schuster.

As alleged in the complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, this acquisition would enable Penguin Random House, which is already the largest book publisher in the world, to exert outsized influence over which books are published in the US and how much authors are paid for their work.

Simply put, if Penguin Random House acquires Simon & Schuster, the two publishers will stop competing against each other. As a result, authors will be paid less for their work. Authors who are paid less write less, which, in turn, means that the quantity and variety of books diminishes too, the Department said.

"The complaint filed today to ensure fair competition in the U.S. publishing industry is the latest demonstration of the Justice Department's commitment to pursuing economic opportunity and fairness through antitrust enforcement," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

"Books have shaped American public life throughout our nation's history, and authors are the lifeblood of book publishing in America. But just five publishers control the US publishing industry," the Attorney General continued.

"If the world's largest book publisher is permitted to acquire one of its biggest rivals, it will have unprecedented control over this important industry. American authors and consumers will pay the price of this anticompetitive merger - lower advances for authors and ultimately fewer books and less variety for consumers." "In stopping Penguin Random House from extending its control of the US publishing market, this lawsuit will prevent further consolidation in an industry that has a history of collusion," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.

As described in the complaint, publishers compete to acquire manuscripts, which they edit, package, market, distribute and sell as books. Publishers pay authors advances for the rights to publish their books. In most cases, the advance represents an author's total compensation for their work.

The publishing industry is already highly concentrated, as the complaint details. Just five publishers, known as the "Big Five", are regularly able to offer high advances and extensive marketing and editorial support, making them the best option for authors who want to publish a top-selling book. Most authors aspire to write the next bestseller and selling their rights to the Big Five offers the best chance to do so.

While smaller publishers occasionally win the publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books, they lack the financial resources to regularly pay the high advances required and absorb the financial losses if a book does not meet sales expectations.

Today, Penguin Random House, the world's largest publisher, and Simon & Schuster, the fourth largest in the United States, compete head-to-head to acquire manuscripts by offering higher advances, better services and more favourable contract terms to authors. However, as the complaint alleges, the proposed merger would eliminate this important competition, resulting in lower advances for authors and ultimately fewer books and less variety for consumers.

The complaint alleges that the acquisition of Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion would put Penguin Random House in control of close to half the market for acquiring publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books, leaving hundreds of individual authors with fewer options and less leverage.

According to its own documents as described in the complaint, Penguin Random House views the US publishing market as an "oligopoly" and its acquisition of Simon & Schuster is intended to "cement" its position as the dominant publisher in the US.

Penguin Random House LLC is a subsidiary of Bertelsmann SE & Co. and is headquartered in New York. Penguin Random House publishes 2,000 new trade books in the United States annually. In 2019, Penguin Random House reported revenues of $2.4 billion from US publishing.

Simon & Schuster Inc. is a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. and is headquartered in New York. Simon & Schuster publishes 1,000 new trade books in the US annually. In 2019, Simon & Schuster reported revenues of $760 million from US publishing.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 3 : In a bizarre incident in Kerala's Kannaur, father of an 11-year-old girl and an Imam were arrested on Wednesday after news surfaced that the child died as she was denied medical treatment.

The girl was suffering from fever for the past three days and had complained of breathlessness, but her father Sathar, instead of taking her to a doctor got in touch with Imam Uwaiz, who started to pray and gave her blessed water.

When Fatima's health condition started deteriorating on Sunday, she was rushed to a hospital, where she passed away.

A relative of Fatima said the Imam has been prophesying that medicines should not be taken, and instead prayers should be offered.

The relative also said he was against Covid vaccine also.

On being informed, police registered a case of unnatural death and arrested Sathar and Uwaiz.
Lakhimpur Kheri : , Nov 3 (IANS) Farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri have turned down the olive branch extended to them by Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, an accused in the October 3 incident in which four farmers were mowed down by his car.

The minister had called the farmers for a meeting at his residence on Tuesday to address problems related to paddy procurement and also to settle the October 3 violence case in which his son, Ashish, is the main accused.

Ashish is in jail and the case is being investigated by a special investigation team (SIT).

Leaders of the Sikh community held an emergency meeting at a gurdwara and asked farmers of the area to skip the meeting.

Jasbir Singh Virk, president of Bhartiya Sikh Sangthan, said, "We have unanimously decided not to go to his house for the meeting. We have nothing to do with him. He may try to lure our farmers by offering a higher price for their paddy, but he should remember that he cannot compensate for the lives lost in the October 3 incident. If any member of the Sikh community keeps any relationship with Mishra or his family the entire Sikh Samaj will boycott that person." The family of Lovepreet, who was mowed down by a vehicle belonging to the minister, said, "The minister had sent an invitation through his men for a meeting to settle the case and arrive at a compromise. They also offered support in crop procurement but we refused." "No action has been taken against the minister yet. We have nothing to do with him and his men," the farmers said.

A SIT member, meanwhile, said, "We are investigating the case. We have provided security to all the witnesses. If anyone faces any threat or any pressure is being put on him/her, then he/she may give a complaint in writing to us or to the local police. Appropriate action will be taken."

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Bengaluru, Nov 3 : The Karnataka High Court has held that the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act can't be invoked only because the victim hails from that community.

While quashing an FIR and investigation by a Special Court filed under the Atrocities Act against one Lokanath, the bench headed by Justice Srinivas Harikumar opined on Tuesday that the Act should not be misused and the investigating officer should act responsibly in such cases.

If there is an incident involving matters of caste, these sections could be invoked, the bench observed.

"Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe's (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is enacted to root out untouchability, prohibit discrimination, prevent atrocities and hate crimes against SC, ST community.

"The Act should be imposed only when there is an attack on basis of caste and charge sheet should be submitted," the bench said.

Citing the Lokanath case, the court said based on one Sangama Priya's complaint, the police has filed a case under the Act Section 3 (1), (G) and IPC sections 172, 173 against Lokanath.

Before filing a complaint under the Atrocities Act, the allegations should be thoroughly verified and wrong framing of charges should not happen. The misuse of the Atrocities Act also should not take place. The Investigation Officer has to behave responsibly, the bench noted.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : Congress prospects may get impacted in the 2022 Manipur Assembly poll as the BJP and its allies swept the North East bypolls, results of which were announced on Tuesday.

Though the Congress emerged as the single largest party last time, the BJP with support of regional allies formed the government. The grand old party has been witnessing defection of lawmakers from it in the state since then.

State Congress in-charge Bhakt Charan Das did not respond to calls asking for a response to the party's performance in the NE bypolls.

Attacking the BJP government, Jairam Ramesh, senior observer of the party for Manipur, tweeted: "The Bengaluru-based independent think tank, Public Affairs Centre has ranked states in terms of governance. Among large states, Uttar Pradesh is LAST and in small states, Manipur is LAST. This is the result of having BJP at the Centre and State: 0+00." Six Congress MLAs in Manipur had quit the party in August when the Congress brought a no-confidence motion complaining about the functioning of former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. However, eight MLAs abstained from voting during the trust vote.

The ruling coalition had 29 MLAs, including the Speaker, while the Congress numbers reduced due to defection.

Besides Assam, the BJP heads the governments in Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

After the declaration of the bypoll results on Tuesday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma credited the election success to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Due to the Prime Minister's all-out mission for the multifaceted development of northeastern states, people are giving their wholehearted support to the NDA allies. With our success in all the states, BJP and NDA's responsibility further increased" observed Sarma, who is also the convener of the BJP-led anti-Congress alliance of regional parties -- North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).

The BJP and its allies swept all the nine Assembly seats in the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram, which went to the polls on October 30.

The Congress, which had governed these states for many decades, scored a zero.
Kolkata, Nov 3 : National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths have arrested a man in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district believed to be working as a recruiter for the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terror outfit, authorities said on Wednesday.

The person, identified as Bangladesh resident Abdul Mannan, was arrested from Subhasgram area, some 30 km away from Kolkata. He is being brought to Kolkata and will be presented before a court.

According to sources in the central agency, Mannan was an active member of the outfit responsible for recruiting people and re-activating the sleeper-cells in West Bengal.

"The man was also responsible for coordinating with the old JMB members and the new JMB members," the sources said.

NIA investigators have recovered multiple fake Voter IDs and Aadhaar cards from the arrested.

The detectives also suspect that he made fake identity cards for several other people.

According to the sources, Mannan's arrest is of significance as he has been working as a "linkman" in the state and the investigators believe he might be a storehouse of information.

Top level sources in the agency indicated that Mannan was directly in connection with the three terrorists who were arrested by Kolkata Special Task Force (STF) in July. The three identified as Naziur Rahman Powell alias Jayaram Vyapari alias Joseph (30), Raviul Islam (22) and Sheikh Shabbir alias Mikail Khan (30) were arrested from Haridevpur area in South Kolkata.

The police said the accused had illegally crossed the border about a month ago, and arrived here.

According to the investigators, the Covid-19 lockdown and the subsequent unemployment is making the work of these terror groups easier. Taking advantage of the porous border with Bangladesh and unemployment, international terror groups like JMB, Ansarullah Faction and even the Islamic State are trying to spread their network in the state. The aim is to make West Bengal, the headquarters of the terror activities in entire eastern India.

Sometimes through direct interaction and at times through online, they are targeting smart but unemployed young boys and girls in the state.

The NIA and the STF of Kolkata Police have secured this information from the three JMB terrorists.

"The brainwashing of meritorious but unemployed youth is such a problem that cannot be tackled by any police or anti-terror agency. Only police personnel at grassroots level can tackle this problem to some extent. The state police authorities should give special training to the constable level personnel on these lines. But unfortunately, this system is not followed in West Bengal. West Bengal police personnel are running short of personnel and hence they are mainly involved in tackling law and order problems. Very few of them are trained or equipped to tackle the sleeper cell woes," a senior official of the state Home Department said.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : The Taliban has banned the use of foreign currencies in Afghanistan, a move that could further disrupt the war-torn nation's economy on the brink of collapse, the BBC reported.

"The economic situation and national interests in the country require that all Afghans use Afghani currency in their every trade," the Taliban said.

The economy is struggling due to the withdrawal of international financial support after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August.

The US dollar has been used widely in Afghanistan's markets.

Dollars are also often used for trade in areas bordering Afghanistan's neighbours such as Pakistan.

"The Islamic Emirate instructs all citizens, shopkeepers, traders, businessmen and the general public to henceforth conduct all transactions in Afghanis and strictly refrain from using foreign currency," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

"Anyone violating this order will face legal action," the statement said.

After the Taliban seized control of the country in August, billions of dollars of Afghanistan's overseas assets were frozen by the US Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe, the report added.

"We believe that it's essential that we maintain our sanctions against the Taliban but at the same time find ways for legitimate humanitarian assistance to get to the Afghan people. That's exactly what we're doing," Deputy US Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told the Senate Banking Committee last month.
Chennai, Nov 3 : Actor Vishal, whose film 'Enemy' is to release Thursday on Diwali day, has offered prayers to Lord Venkateshwara at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.

The actor, who was busy with the promotions of his film 'Enemy', which releases in both Tamil and Telugu, walked from Lower Tirupati to Upper Tirupati to offer prayers.

Sources close to the actor said that Vishal had plans to make this trip to Tirupati last year itself. However, it didn't materialise because of the pandemic. This year, he completed the trip that was made as part of prayers the actor had offered earlier.

'Enemy', which has been directed by Anand Shankar, features Arya, Mrinalini Ravi, Thambi Ramaiah, Karunakaran among others. The film's background score has been composed by Sam C.S. while the film's music is by Thaman.
Patna, Nov 3 : Three persons died and five others were seriously ill after they consumed poisonous liquor in Bihar's Gopalganj district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place a week after eight persons lost their lives in a similar incident in Muzaffarpur's Repura village.

According to their families, the men had consumed liquor on Tuesday evening and their health deteriorated in the night.

A relative of one of the deceased Santosh Shah informed police that he had consumed liquor in the evening.

"When his health deteriorated, we rushed him to a hospital in Motihari town where he died," he said.

Besides him, seven more persons were admitted in a hospital in Motihari. Two more succumbed during the treatment.

Dr Nawal Kishore Chaudhary, the district Magistrate of Gopalganj said, "Three persons have died in mysterious circumstances in Mohammadpur village. We have directed health officials to investigate the incident and submit the report at the earliest. The actual reason of death will be ascertained after the post-mortem report." The use, consumption, trade and transportation of liquor in Bihar has been banned since April 2016. Despite that, violations frequently take place in the several districts of the state.

According to an official of the liquor prohibition department of Bihar police, five persons died in Katra block and two in Manihari in Muzaffarpur district in February.

A person was killed in Raja Pakad block in Vaishali district in March. Sixteen persons died in Loria block under West Champaran district in July, two died in Bhakhri in Begusarai district.

The official said that a total 66 persons died after consuming poisonous liquor in different districts of Bihar in 2021.
Mumbai, Nov 3 : Actress Sukhmani Sadana, who is known for her performances in 'Sacred Games', 'Manmarziyaan' and 'Tandav', is all set to celebrate Diwali with her family after having a packed schedule.

Sukhmani said: "To me, Diwali is an occasion to be with your family. Like every year, I will be in Amritsar and celebrate the festival with my parents and grandmother. For the past few months, I have been travelling a lot for my work, and I really wished to somehow make it home for Diwali and thankfully I have." She added: "Now enjoying some cherished family time before the work madness begins all over again." On the work front, the actress will star in shows such as 'Those Pricey Thakur Girls' and 'Apharan'.

Latest updates on Diwali Festival 2021
Kabul, Nov 3 : The Islamic State (IS) on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a deadly attack against a military hospital in Kabul that claimed the lives of 19 people and injured over 40 others.

The group made the announcement in a statement carried by several media outlets, reports Xinhua news agency The attack took place on Tuesday when five IS terrorists stormed the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in a diplomatic district, killing seven people -- three women, a child and three Taliban soldiers, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed on his social media account.

The five attackers were also killed.

At least two attackers detonated their suicide jackets at the gate and in the premise of the 400-bed hospital.

"The Air Force of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan deployed special forces to the top of the main hospital building to provide security for the medical personnel and patients during a counter-attack," Mujahid wrote on Twitter, adding that assailants failed to enter the main building of the facility.

At least 20 people were wounded in the blasts and gunfight, according to an Italian-run emergency hospital in Kabul.

The senior Taliban officials, Afghan politicians and the UN mission in Afghanistan strongly condemned the attack.

Friday's blast comes after the terror group's Khorasan branch (IS-K) claimed responsibility for bombings at two Shia mosques in Kunduz and Kandahar province last month.

The attack in the Kandahar city mosque killed 63 people, while the bombings in the Kunduz claimed the lives of at least 50 people.

The two attacks also left several hundreds injured.

On October 16, the IS announced that they will attack Shia Muslims everywhere, in their homes and centre.
Prayagraj, Nov 3 : The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has called upon its members and common people to assist in the restoration and proper functioning of the temples located in their villages and localities.

The initiative, which is being touted as a milestone in the restoration of several big and small temples, located in villages and various localities, will start from Kashi.

The regional organisation secretary of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Gajendra, said that people from all over the country have supported the Ram temple being built in Ayodhya.

"The organisation believes that along with Ayodhya, the temple of each village and locality should also be equally grand and should become the centre of faith and religious rights of the people. For this, the VHP workers and office bearers will select a temple in their respective areas and start the process of its restoration", he said.

Apart from taking the help of the local people, the organisation will also cooperate with its resources. If there is any difficulty in the maintenance of the temple, then the workers of the organisation will cooperate in that too, he said.

The help rendered by the VHP would be financial and physical.

The office bearer informed that the temples will also be used to discuss the problems being faced by the local people during the daily Satsang.

Such a temple can also become the centre of 'family Satsang'.

The message of harmony in society will also be given through these temples. It will play an important role in the integration of Hindus, he added.
Sanaa, Nov 3 : Yemen's Houthi rebels have dispatched additional reinforcements to capture Marib after seizing key areas of the country's strategic oil-rich province from the government forces, a military official said.

"The rebels continued their military campaign and began preparations to push deeper into the densely populated city of Marib," the official told Xinhua news agency.

"Hundreds of pro-Houthi tribal fighters were mobilized from other northern provinces and began their engagement in the fighting against the government forces in various battlefronts of Marib," he said.

He noted that non-stop airstrikes launched by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition killed and injured scores of the Houthi rebels near the turbulent city of Marib during the last 24 hours.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Saudi-led military coalition declared in a brief press statement that 115 Houthi rebels were killed in airstrikes conducted around the government-controlled city of Marib.

Last week, the Houthi group achieved on-ground military progress and managed to capture the centre of Al Jubah's district in the southern part of Marib and other nearby key areas, after days of deadly fighting with the Yemeni government forces.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia began in February a major offensive on Marib with an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the last northern stronghold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
San Francisco, Nov 3 : Tech billionaire Elon Musk said no contract has been signed with Hertz after the rental car company announced a deal that led to Tesla's market value surpassing $1 trillion, media reports say.

According to BBC, last week shares in Tesla jumped 12.6 per cent after Hertz said it had ordered 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2022.

"I'd like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet," the Tesla CEO tweeted.

Meanwhile, Hertz told BBC that deliveries of the Teslas have already started.

"As we announced last week, Hertz has made an initial order of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles and is investing in new EV (electric vehicle) charging infrastructure across the company's global operations," a spokeswoman was quoted as saying.

Hertz refused to confirm if a contract had or had not been signed with Tesla in the light of Musk's tweet, adding it did not discuss details of its business relationships or discussions.

The deal announced last week by Hertz with Tesla was the biggest-ever rental car order for electric vehicles, as per the report.

"Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we've only just begun to see rising global demand and interest," said Hertz interim boss Mark Fields.

It was reported Hertz would pay $4.2 billion for 100,000 Model 3s over the next 14 months, which amounts to about a fifth of its fleet. The rental firm would also build a network of charging stations.

Hertz said that "beginning in early November and expanding through year end" customers would be able to rent a Tesla Model 3 at Hertz airport and neighbourhood locations in certain areas in the US and Europe.
Seoul, Nov 3 : Pope Francis has once again thanked the South Korean Catholic church for contributing to the Vatican-led global campaign to provide Covid-19 vaccines to poor countries, the Archdiocese of Seoul said on Wednesday.

"I would like to thank you for the offering that you, on behalf of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Seoul, sent me for poor and needy people affected by Covid-19 around the world," the Pope said in a letter sent to Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung on October 21.

"The Office of Papal Charities will offer assistance to those in need." He added: "I very much appreciated this gesture of charity and generosity, thanks to which many suffering people will receive an aid. I embrace you and your Archdiocese, granting my affection and my spiritual closeness." On October 20, the archdiocese sent the Vatican $1 million for the second time out of funds it raised for the campaign, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The first instalment, of the same amount of money, was remitted on June 1, and the pope expressed appreciation for the contribution in a letter sent to Yeom later in the day.

he church decided to start the fundraising on Easter Sunday in April, responding to the pope's call to distribute the life-saving doses to the poor and vulnerable.

The Archdiocese said it will continue the fundraising campaign until November 27.
Havana, Nov 3 : The number of international flights to Cuba could increase from the current 63 a week to about 400 in mid-November as the island relaxes Covid pandemic restrictions, Transportation Minister Eduardo Rodriguez said.

"We strongly believe all these measures could contribute to improving passenger comfort," Rodriguez told a news conference.

The number of flights from the US to Havana's Jose Marti International Airport is expected to increase from four to nearly 80 over the next few weeks, Xinhua news agency quoted the Transportation Ministry as saying.

Starting November 7, international passengers will no longer be required to quarantine at a designated hotel, and as of November 15, passengers will be able to enter with vaccination passports or certificates issued overseas.

However, unvaccinated foreign visitors will have to present a negative PCR test taken less than 72 hours prior to their arrival.

Children under 12 will not be required to show Covid-19 PCR tests or vaccination passports when visiting Cuba.

Relaxing the restrictions coincides with the start of the tourism high season in Cuba, which runs from November to April.

The Caribbean nation has so far registered 953,183 Covid-19 cases and 8,246 deaths since the onset of the pandemic early last year.
Mumbai, Nov 3 : Actor Saif Ali Khan plays the role of the original Bunty in 'Bunty Aur Babli 2' and he has heaped praise on Siddhant Chaturvedi and said that filmmaker Zoya Akhtar should be credited for discovering the new actor.

Saif said: "Siddhant is a star, no question about that. For someone so young to have the screen presence that he has and the acting maturity that he exhibits, he is definitely one of the most exciting talents that the industry has chanced upon." He added "We have to credit Zoya Akhtar for discovering him for 'Gully Boy' and Adi (Aditya Chopra) for believing that he can be a quintessential hero in a comedy genre which is one of the toughest for any actor to crack." Saif reveals that Siddhant is a natural in front of the camera and that he was born to be an actor.

He said: "He is fantastic in 'Bunty Aur Babli 2' and he lights up the screen with his performance and persona every time he comes on screen. This film will showcase him as a masala Hindi film hero and from what I have seen of him, he thoroughly relishes being one." Yash Raj Films' 'Bunty Aur Babli 2' is set to release on November 19.

The comedy film will pit two sets of con artists, from different generations, against each other as they show their mastery over disguises to outwit each other. The film also stars Rani Mukerji and debutante Sharvari.
Etawah, Nov 3 : Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said that his party will ally with his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) in the 2022 Assembly elections.

Addressing reporters here, Akhilesh Yadav said that SP would also enter into alliances with smaller parties.

Asked whether he would give respect to his uncle, Akhilesh Yadav said that Shivpal Yadav would get full respect in the alliance.

Akhilesh Yadav's statement is expected to put an end of five years of strife between him and his uncle.

While Shivpal Yadav had been consistently seeking an alliance with SP, Akhilesh Yadav had remained non-committal on the issue.

Initially, he had offered only one seat -Jaswantnagar-for Shivpal.

On Tuesday, Shivpal Yadav said that he would even consider merging his party with the SP if his supporters were given due respect.

Akhilesh Yadav said that the increase in prices of fuel and all essential commodities has caused problems for all sections of society, including farmers, women, students, youth and middle classes.

"Farmers are not even getting fertilizer and the government is not even concerned about the crisis," he said.
Islamabad, Nov 3 : Fifteen people were killed and 10 others seriously injured after a passenger van fell into a ravine in Pakistan on Wednesday, police said.

The van carrying 25 people fell into the deep ravine when the driver tried to negotiate a sharp turn in the mountainous terrain of Kotli district, a local policeman told Xinhua news agency.

He said that the accident took place at about 10 a.m. and the van was destroyed in the incident.

Rescue work is underway and the bodies and the injured are being recovered by volunteers and rescue officials.

"The condition of all of the recovered injured people is very serious and doctors at a nearby hospital are trying hard to save them," he added.

The van was on its way to Rawalpindi from a town in Kotli district.

"The fan fell deep into the ravine, far away from the road after sliding off from the mountain, and it is taking rescue teams a lot of effort to recover the injured and the bodies," he added.
Seoul, Nov 3 : The US military said on Wednesday it was looking into the death of an American soldier dispatched to South Korea on a rotational mission.

US Army Sgt. Joe Haflei, 33, of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was pronounced dead on October 17 at a South Korean Army base near the central city of Daejeon, Yonhap News Agency quoted the military as saying in a statement.

Authorities are investigating details of the soldier's death, it said, adding that foul play was not suspected.
Ballia : , Nov 3 (IANS) UP Minister Anand Swarup Shukla has said that Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav may even convert to Islam to appease Muslims.

He also claimed that the SP chief was enjoying the patronage of Pakistan's ISI.

"He may also be getting financial support from the neighbouring country's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)," the minister alleged while talking to reporters at his residence.

He said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath now poses a challenge for the Islamic world.

"Akhilesh Yadav is getting all support from them. Akhilesh is getting patronage and suggestions from the ISI. He could be even getting financial support from them," the minister stated.

He further said, "To appease Muslims, Yadav had performed 'namaaz' and observed 'roza' (fast). He can also go for religious conversion to get their votes." The minister's statements come after Akhilesh Yadav spoke of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the same breath as leaders who fought for India's independence.

"It is on the directions of the ISI that Akhilesh Yadav is glorifying Jinnah. He is issuing statements that Pakistan and the Taliban want him to," Shukla, who is the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, alleged.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : A special court in Chennai on Wednesday convicted a city-based importer under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 and sentenced him to Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) for seven years and a fine of Rs 1 crore.

In case of default, he will have to undergo RI for one more year, according to a CBI statement. The court also ordered the confiscation of Rs 1,75,49,253 available with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the form of Fixed Deposit, which was provisionally attached by the ED and confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority.

The ED had initiated a money-laundering investigation on March 6, 2017, on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Crime Branch, Chennai. According to the CBI, the convicted person is a part of a gang operating with complete anonymity in sending the proceeds of crime under the guise of permissible merchandise imports, without making corresponding imports into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), by using forged imported documents such as entry bills, as genuine.

The accused made a remittance of USD 2,786,300, equivalent to over Rs 18.66 crore through Indian Bank, Thousand Lights Branch in Chennai and opened a current account in the name of Galaxy Impex by submitting forged identity documents in the assumed name of 'Waseem Liakath Ali' without disclosing the beneficiary owner either within the country or outside and end-use in the recipient nation, as per the statement.

The convicted person was arrested on April 3, 2017, and remained incarcerated during trial for a period of 33 months on account of the failure to meet the twin conditions for grant of bail before all judicial forums.

The prosecution complaint was filed on June 9, 2017, and the court framed the charges in December 2019.

The digital evidence collected during the course of the investigation is adduced as admissible evidence.

He was granted bail in January 2020. The investigation in respect of the other six entities is in progress.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : The Central Finger Print Bureau (CFPB) has furnished opinion in 175 cases of banks and recruitment agencies, according to data released by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB).

According to the NCRB, 175 cases were sent to the CFPB for examination and to give its opinion in cases received from nationalized banks, recruitment agencies and insurance companies and also received 8,197 convicted Finger Print slips for record and 12,540 arrested Finger Print slips for providing previous criminal history during this year.

The CFPB Delhi helped detecting 118 cases from various agencies in 2020, a National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data said.

According to the NCRB, the CFPB furnished opinion on 118 cases received from different agencies like Post office, police agencies like Central Reserve Police Force, recruitment, Staff Selection Commission and banks whereas in 2019-20, the bureau gave an opinion on 90 cases received from different agencies.

In the calendar year-2020, CFPB examined and furnished opinions or reports in 175 document cases received from nationalized banks, recruitment agencies and insurance companies. A total of 57 cases comprising 840 chance prints were also received from various Finger Print Bureau of States and Union Territories for verification, the NCRB said.

The Punjab bureau has the highest number of conviction slips recorded in the year 2020. Majority of the states except Punjab, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have remained underperformers with figures in hundreds and a few thousands whereas the crime rate ranges to tens of thousands.

States of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have topped the list with the highest number of chance prints developed in a calendar year. Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have developed a significant number of chance prints during the year. Delhi is the only union territory to have developed a large number of chance prints.

Record slips of those convicted for Murder, Grievous Hurt, Attempt to Murder and Rape are the highest in number as compared to other IPC heads whereas the search slips recorded also demonstrate a sharp rise in crimes such as kidnapping, abduction and assault on women, the CFPB data said.

The data also revealed that states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have recorded the highest number of arrestee slips. Only Panjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and UP examined more than 100 document cases.

In a murder case registered in a Police Station in Delhi on March 13, 2020, Delhi Police gave a finger print for search for the details of the suspect to the Central Finger Print Bureau to identify the culprit. The Bureau found identical right thumb impression of the accused, who was arrested in the same case. The finger print expert opinion not only helped local police in solving a Murder case but also provided them scientific and infallible evidence against the culprit.

The CFPB Delhi also helped detect cases pertaining to the examination of questioned documents of the candidates who appeared in the written examination. In most cases, the prints were of very poor quality posing difficulty in examination with an additional pressure of time from the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) to furnish the expert opinion on a priority basis. Despite all the odds, the experts showed full dedication displaying the best professional skills, and the impersonation in the cases was established.

The Bureau received 56 document cases from CISF's Eastern Zone Headquarters at Patna, one case from Force unit at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh regarding impersonation in recruitment. In these cases, the Admission Certificates (Commission's Copy) bearing questioned left hand thumb finger prints were received to be compared with the specimen finger prints present on the document of the suspected candidates.

Most of the questioned prints were of extremely poor quality but the specimen prints were of decipherable quality. The questioned left hand thumb fingerprints were compared carefully and thoroughly with specimen prints of suspected candidates by experts of CFPB and established conclusive impersonation.

Similarly, nine document cases regarding alleged misappropriation of the government money were received by CFPB from Post offices, Bhiwani in Haryana wherein withdrawal vouchers of various depositors bearing fingerprints were received to be compared with the specimen fingerprints present on relevant claim forms and written statements of the depositors. Luckily, most of the questioned prints were of decipherable quality but the specimen prints were of slightly poor quality. Finally, the specimen prints of decipherable quality were selected for examination and the impersonation in the cases was established by CFPB experts.
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 3 : The Kerala government on Wednesday announced further relaxation in the Covid norms.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Consequent to it, now people who have taken one vaccine dose will also be allowed entry to movie halls. This came after the film industry wanted it.

Around 90 Malayalam films are ready for release and the industry felt that in the want of audiences, they will incur heavy losses.

But preventive measures like social distancing, use of masks will have to be strictly followed, said Vijayan.

Regarding the number of people attending marriages, it has been decided to increase the number to 100 in closed halls, while it can go up to 200 in open halls.

Ever since Kerala started to register around 50 per cent of the country's daily new cases, Vijayan stopped his daily Covid press meets, which initially won him huge laurels but later he became the butt of criticisms, especially in the social media, when he was trolled also.
Hyderabad, Nov 3 : India's drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved the extension of shelf life of indigenously-developed Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin from nine to 12 months.

The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech announced on Wednesday that the CDSCO approved the extension of shelf life of the vaccine up to 12 months, from the date of manufacture.

"This approval of shelf life extension is based on the availability of additional stability data, which was submitted to the CDSCO. The shelf life extension has been communicated to our stakeholders," the vaccine maker said.

It was initially given permission for sale and distribution of Covaxin with a shelf life of six months when stored at two to eight degrees Celsius.

The CDSCO later gave its approval for extending the shelf life to nine months after Bharat Biotech submitted updated accelerated and real-time stability data of Covaxin.

Covaxin, along with Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India, are the two vaccines so far being used in India's current Covid-19 vaccination drive, which was launched in January this year.

Russian vaccine Sputnik-V has also been approved for emergency use in India.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Puducherry, Nov 3 : Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy said that his government is working hard to make the union territory the most developed in the country.

Addressing media persons on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that the NDA government is trying to implement the promises made during the run-up to the 2021 assembly elections. He also said that the government has made certain promises on the floor of the assembly and is in the process of implementing those promises.

He said that pension for the aged persons in Puducherry has been hiked by Rs 500 per month which was a promise made on the floor of the assembly.

The Chief Minister also said that effective work done by the health department in coordination with other departments and the support of the government has led to a decline in number of Covid-19 cases.

He appealed to the people of Puducherry to adhere to Covid-19 preventive measures and support the government to eradicate the deadly virus from the territory.

The Chief Minister also said that the government is keen to ensure that the state achieves hundred percent vaccination against Covid-19 and called upon the people of the territory to come forward and inoculate themselves.

N. Rangasamy said that the development of Puducherry would come through coordinated functioning of all government departments. The Chief Minister also said that funds have been allocated to all the legislators of the territory including thirty elected MLAs and three nominated legislators. He said that the funds are earmarked for carrying out the development activities in their constituencies.

Mohammed Rafeek, Director, Mahe Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), a think tank based out of Mahe region, told IANS, "The government of Puducherry under N. Rangasamy is doing good. However, we are expecting more welfare and development measures to be carried out to catapult Puducherry into a developed place."
Canberra, Nov 3 : Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday greeted Indians living there on the occasion of Diwali.

In a written message, Morrison extended his greetings to the people of so many faiths who celebrate the festival of lights.

"On the darkest night of the month, we hold in our hearts the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. It is the moment when we turn the corner, and begin to see the lights ahead of us, guiding us forward. We have been through dark times in these last two years," he said.

The Australian PM said that this year, we celebrate Diwali as we draw ever closer to the light at the end of our COVID-19 tunnel. "That means all the things we have had to forsake - welcoming, gathering, celebration and ceremony - will again be possible. For some parts of Australia, we will be able to celebrate this year, and for the remainder of the country, next year." "We look forward with joy and hope knowing that our Diwali celebrations will take place again. Over recent years, I have joined Diwali celebrations around Australia and I know the joy, colour, community and food that makes Diwali such a special celebration, he added.

Talking about easing restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, Morrison said, "We will get to that time with our National Plan to open safely and to stay safely open." "Our vaccination program underpins this plan and I urge all Australians to get vaccinated to take up the opportunity offered by our doses of hope, he added.

He thanked the people for their efforts over many months to keep the communities safe, together, and part of the government's united response to the pandemic.

"May everyone celebrating Diwali this year be refreshed by its sense of hope and prosperity, and by the fellowship of your family and community," he added.

Latest updates on Diwali Festival 2021
Guwahati, Nov 3 : India opener Mayank Agarwal said that he enjoys taking responsibility of carrying his bat through the innings. He added that he has always looked to make the best out of power-play, a role which has been given to him. Agarwal is all set to feature for Karnataka in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22 when they will open their campaign against Mumbai on Thursday.

"I have always tried to make the best use of the powerplay, and that was the role that was given to me. I am happy that I am able to do that for the side and also look to bat through whenever the opportunity presents itself. I enjoy taking the responsibilities to sometimes bat through the innings as well," said Agarwal in a release.

"I have also realised that if I can bat 20 overs, then I give my team the best opportunity to score a massive score, and that's something I have been conscious about and looked to implement," added Agarwal, who was a member of the Karnataka side winning the tournament in 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons.

Agarwal, who has been a vital part of the Punjab Kings setup since 2018, was the ninth-highest run-getter in the 2021 edition, amassing 441 runs in 12 matches at a remarkable strike rate of 140.44 and an impressive average of 40.09, including four half-centuries. Reflecting on his performances, Agarwal said, "I am very happy with the performances I have put in for Punjab. Some big knocks against the top teams was a very satisfying feeling. There were a few learnings too, and that's something I have worked on post IPL." The 30-year-old has been a seasoned campaigner in the T20 format, scoring 3834 runs in 159 matches, including two centuries and 24 half-centuries. Karnataka will be itching to regain its crown which they conceded after losing to Punjab in the first quarter-final of the 2020/21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Speaking about the team and their preparations for the tournament, Mayank said, "It's a very talented team with a lot of players playing for the country and IPL teams. Everyone is hungry to do well and win tournaments for the state and that's something that we have spoken about. We had a very good pre-season camp in Bangalore and played a few practice matches as well. We are looking forward to what lies ahead." Agarwal will be seen opening with left-hander Devdutt Padikkal in the tournament. He stated that it will be a good opportunity for both players in giving a solid start to the side. "It will be a good opportunity for us to give Karnataka the start it needs, and play with freedom and express ourselves."
Mumbai, Nov 3 : Veteran actor Pankaj Kapur who has delivered some memorable performances in films like 'Tamas', 'Aghaat', 'Ek Doctor Ki Maut', 'Maqbool' and many more has now joined forces with National Award-winning director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury for 'Lost'.

The collaboration has got cinephiles excited and there's a lot of anticipation for the movie.

The veteran star recently spoke about his experience of working with Aniruddha, he said, "I come from the school of acting where homework for a character or a scene is the key to command the floor. Working with Aniruddha was refreshing because he likes to play with the spontaneity of an actor." "We had many discussions about the film before starting the shoot, and he is very receptive as director. The contrast between us made the whole process even more exciting and rejuvenating. We thrived on each other's energy, and that's what will reflect on the screen," he added.

The film touted as a hard-hitting investigative drama centred around media integrity, also stars Yami Gautam in the lead, along with Rahul Khanna, Neil Bhoopalam, Pia Bajpiee, and Tushar Pandey. The film's screenplay has been written by Shyamal Sengupta, with dialogues penned by Ritesh Shah, and story by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and Shyamal Sengupta.
Utraula : /Mumbai, Nov 3 (IANS) As far as snoops go, Maharahstra Minister Nawab Malik presents an unlikely picture as he takes on the shaken might of the Narcotics Control Bureau Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.

Compared with cocky original 007, the bespectacled, bearded Malik presents a rather homely, fatherly figure, mostly in comfy kurtas who has taken upon himself to right the alleged wrongs of the Super Sleuth Wankhede.

As the stunned NCB and the national polity gaped, the Malik-Wankhede war - which started after the agency's swoop on a luxury cruise ship in which one of those caught was Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan's son, Aryan Khan - became the top TRP catcher.

The besieged and worried Wankhede is fighting it out in different fora and pulling all possible strings to keep the muck raked by Malik from sticking to him, with the latter vowing in public that it will all end with the officer (Wankhede) getting the sack and going to jail.

Last month (October 2021), in an unprecedented step, Malik launched an expose campaign against Wankhede and his activities, raising a big question mark on the officer's credentials and the NCB's credibility.

His latest serial exposure has not only rattled Wankhede, but raised uncomfortable questions on how the NCB, other central agencies like ED, ITD, CBI, NIA, etc, are being deployed to harass Opposition-parties ruled states by the BJP at the Centre.

"I have first-hand knowledge of how injustice is being meted out by these agencies to innocents. I decided somehow, someone has to do the cleaning up... I have no personal motives... Only Truth I am putting out before people," Malik smiled with confidence.

On his prime target, Malik contends that the charge of extortion already established, soon the fake caste certificate matter will also be officially proved, and the "crusade for truth will continue till Wankhede is dismissed and dumped in jail".

His regular media briefings are reminiscent of the Vikram-Betaal tales when he hurls agonising questions at the dazed Wankhede, who scurries from pillar-to-post for dear help.

Born in 1959 in the small Dhuswa village of Utraula Tehsil, Balrampur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, close to India-Nepal border, despite his name suggesting 'nobility', Malik was an ordinary village lad till the family migrated to Mumbai for better prospects in 1970.

Dhuswa folks say that his father Mohammed Islam Malik initially started a small business in 'chindi' (rags) in Dongri, south Mumbai, and later shifted to north-east suburban Kurla.

In Kurla, Malik helped his father launch a scrap buying-selling business - the reason why some people now snobbishly try to run him down as a 'kabadiwala'.

"So... What's wrong in being a 'kabadiwala'? We are doing a service to the nation, converting waste into wealth, which is also good for the environment," Malik told IANS.

After dabbling in local social activities, he forayed into politics first with the 'Sanjay Vichar Manch' party launched by Maneka Gandhi - after the death of her husband Sanjay Gandhi - along with his close aides like Akbar 'Dumpy' Ahmed, Sanjay Singh, J.N. Mishra, Kalpnath Sonkar, etc.

Malik first contested Lok Sabha elections in 1984 against the Congress stalwart, the late Gurudas Kamat but barely got around 2,500 votes.

Later, he flirted with the Congress briefly before switching over to the Samajwadi Party (SP), won a bypoll to become an MLA and was promptely rewarded with a Minister of State position in the then Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance government in 1999.

Following political wrangles with the SP State President Abu Asim Azmi, Malik left and joined the NCP led by Sharad Pawar, and became a MoS and later a Cabinet Minister.

In 2005, he was targeted for alleged corruption by a social crusader Kisan Baburao alias Anna Hazare and had to quit the cabinet along with 4 other ministers.

Though Malik vehemently rubbished all charges against him, he was plucky enough to launch a counter-campaign against Hazare and also continued to work for the NCP, slowly earning the confidence of the party top brass, including the Pawar clan.

In November 2019, when the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress Maha Vikas Aghadi took office, Malik catapulted to the cabinet but encountered a setback when his son-in-law Sameer Khan was nabbed by the NCB and finally released on bail after over 8 months.

His former colleagues including ex-ministers (on condition of anonymity) describe Nawab Malik as "a meticulous worker, who handles any issue studiously, a tad arrogant occasionally, a fierce 'family-man', a gutsy leader who dares to barge in where angels fear to tread, and has the gall to call a spade a spade", etc.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in & Saiyed Moziz Imam Zaidi at: imam.in@ians.in)
Hyderabad, Nov 3 : Telangana's Industry and Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Wednesday assured all support to the family of a six-year-old tribal girl who was sexually assaulted allegedly by the husband of a sarpanch belonging to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

Rama Rao, who is also the Working President of TRS, visited government-run Niloufer Children's Hospital where the victim is undergoing treatment and called on her parents.

He termed the incident which occurred in Rajanna Sircilla as shocking and promised to stand by the family in getting justice.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, said that such an incident in a civilised society is shameful and the guilty, no matter who he is, should get the harshest punishment.

He directed the doctors to provide best treatment to the victim.

The minister's visit came a day after reports that the victim was brought to the hospital after she complained of severe stomach pain and was made to wait for six hours. She was admitted after the Telangana Girijana Sangham staged a protest at the hospital, demanding immediate medical attention and justice to the victim.

BJP state President Bandi Sanjay had also visited the hospital on Tuesday. He had slammed KTR for his silence over the incident despite the fact that he represents Sircilla constituency.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader R.S. Praveen Kumar had also consoled the girl's family at the hospital. He had demanded the government to constitute a fast-track court to deliver speedy justice to the victim and take care of her future by providing all help to the family.

The incident had occurred at a village in Yellareddypet mandal of Rajanna Sircilla district on October 27. However, it came to light two days later when the girl developed fever and she told her parents about the sexual assault.

Police arrested the 46-year-old accused on October 29. Shankar has been booked under section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and also under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

According to police, the accused resorted to the sexual assault when he was alone at home and the girl had gone there to watch television. He had threatened the victim not to reveal the incident to anyone.

However, the next day she developed fever and she told the parents about the incident. They subsequently lodged a complaint with the police.

The tribal family was living on rent in the house of the sarpanch.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : Four in five organisations believe that staying ahead of cyber criminals is a constant battle and the cost is unsustainable, as nation-state bad actors get more resourceful at finding new ways to carry out their attacks, a new report showed on Wednesday.

More than half (55 per cent) of large companies globally are not effectively stopping cyber-attacks, finding and fixing breaches quickly, or reducing the impact of breaches, according to research from global professional services company Accenture.

"Our analysis reveals that organisations too often focus solely on business outcomes at the expense of cybersecurity, creating greater risk. While getting the balance right isn't easy, those who have a clear view of the threat landscape and a strong alignment on business priorities and outcomes achieve greater levels of cyber resilience," Kelly Bissell, who leads Accenture Security globally, said.

While 82 per cent of respondents increased their cybersecurity spending this past year, the number of successful breaches - which include unauthorised access to data, applications, services, networks or devices - jumped 31 per cent over the previous year to 270 per company, on average.

"From run-of-the-mill cybercriminals to sophisticated nation-state actors, cyber adversaries are getting more resourceful at finding new ways to carry out their attacks," Bissell added.

Despite two-thirds (67 per cent) of organisations believing that their ecosystem is secure, indirect attacks accounted for 61 per cent of all cyber attacks this past year, up from 44 per cent the prior year.

"Spending more on cybersecurity without being closely aligned to the business doesn't make your organisation safer," said Jacky Fox, group technology officer at Accenture Security.

"When it comes to managing cyber risks, organisations can't afford to lean one way or the other," he added.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : Terming it as an occasion to "share our prosperity and happiness with each other," President Ram Nath Kovind sent his greetings to fellow citizens on the eve of Deepawali.

"On the auspicious occasion of Deepawali, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to all our fellow citizens living in India and abroad," the President said in a message.

"Deepawali festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. This festival is largely celebrated by people following different beliefs across various sections of our society. The auspicious occasion of Deepawali gives a message of mutual affection, fraternity and brotherhood. In fact, it is an occasion to share our prosperity and happiness with each other," a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said quoting the President.

The President exhorted the people to celebrate the festival together in a clean and safe manner and resolve to contribute in conservation and protection of the environment, the communique added.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday granted Emergency Use Listing approval to India's indigenously-developed Covid vaccine, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

The global health group's Technical Advisory Group (TAG) issued the final decision.

The WHO, in a tweet, said: "WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of Covid 19".

The source said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pushed for Covaxin approval at G20 meet with WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The emergency listing got delayed as the TAG sought some additional information from vaccines manufacturers for final risk assessment.

The TAG last met on October 27 and had agreed upon to conduct the final risk assessment after receiving additional data from the manufacturer. Bharat Biotech was expected to submit the additional data by this weekend.

Covaxin, which was co-developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the government's Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), was granted emergency authorisation in the country in January.

It has demonstrated 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19 and 65.2 per cent protection against the new Delta variant. Bharat Biotech said that it concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 trials.

The global health body has so far approved Covid-19 vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, Johnson 7 Johnson - Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm for emergency use against Covid-19.
Lucknow, Nov 3 : Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that the rare idol of Maa Annapurna that went missing from Kashi 100 years ago during the British era, is finally being returned from Canada to its home in Varanasi.

The idol will be installed in Varanasi.

"100 years ago, an idol of Maa Annapurna went missing from Kashi and ended up at a university in Canada. The government of India has received that idol from the university and it is now being given to the state government. It will be placed in Kashi Vishwanath temple on November 15 amid chanting of Vedic hymns," the chief minister announced at a press conference.

Highlighting the efforts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retrieve and bring home the idol of the Goddess, Yogi Adityanath said, "It is an occasion for joy and spiritual satisfaction. This statue will be transferred to the state government in a ceremony to be held in Delhi on November 11 which will be followed by its journey in a grand procession from Delhi. It will reach Varanasi on November 14." On the auspicious occasion of 'Devotthan Ekadashi' on November 15, a grand ceremony will be held at Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham and the statue will be installed after the appropriate rituals, he added.

Union minister for culture and tourism G. Kishan Reddy, who was also present, said that since 2014, 42 rare idols and antiquities have been returned to the country during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reddy said that after PM Modi's recent visit to America, the path has been cleared for the return of 157 more rare antiquities which will be brought to India soon.
Raichur : , Nov 3 (IANS) In a shocking incident, Karnataka BJP leader and former MLA Papa Reddy on Wednesday assaulted at least two policemen during a party protest in Raichur district.

The incident happened when the police did not give permission to burn effigy of Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah for his statement on Dalits supporting the BJP.

The BJP's SC Morcha had organised a protest at B.R. Ambedkar Circle. As the protestors getting ready to burn the effigy of Siddaramaiah, the police didn't allow it and took it away.

Enraged by this, Papa Reddy went to a police constable in civil dress and slapped him, asking who gave him permission to take away the effigy. The constable, after being slapped, told the leader not to raise his hands on him but did not retaliate.

Later, Papa Reddy, while arguing with the police officers who rushed to the spot, assaulted one of the inspectors, according to eye-witnesses.
Mumbai, Nov 3 : In a fresh twist, Mumbai's former Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh has informed a government-appointed probe panel that he has no further evidence to share in the corruption allegations he had levelled against former state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

He had made this submission, in an affidavit, to Justice K.U. Chandiwal Commission at its previous hearing on October 13, official sources said here.

The revelations came two days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) - based on a CBI FIR arising out of Singh's allegations - questioned and later arrested Deshmukh, who is now in the agency's custody till November 6.

The commission sources reveal that, barring his original March letter to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Singh has apparently declined to share any more evidence pertaining to the allegations he had levelled against the then Home Minister Deshmukh, who quit in April.

Deshmukh's lawyer Aniket Nikam said that "its now clear that Singh had no proof against the ex-minister and simply hurled the allegations for the sake of it".

The Nationalist Congress Party's senior leader Deshmukh, 72, has consistently rubbished all allegations and questioned "where is the complainant Singh who hurled the false charges against him and then disappeared, and may have sneaked out of India as per some media reports".

NCP leader and MLA Shashikant Shinde said that this is an indirect admission by Singh that Deshmukh was a victim of the IPS officer's false charges after which the accuser (Singh) has gone missing.

"Moreover, Singh had merely written a lettera he had not given any proof/evidence. It's an indirect admission that Deshmukh is innocent," Shinde told media persons.

On his part, Singh has ignored several summons by the probe Commission, coughed out fines three times and skipped a bailable warrant.

Besides, Singh faces two non-bailable arrest warrants issued by a Mumbai and Pune court as he is named in some extortion cases lodged against him by the police.

After Singh's letter to the CM, the CBI and ED raided Deshmukh's Mumbai and Nagpur homes several times in the past few months, and after he appeared before the ED, he was arrested on November 1 and is presently in its custody till Saturday.

The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi has slammed Deshmukh's arrest and termed it as the Bharatiya Janata Party's strategy to misuse the central agencies against opposition-ruled governments and destabilise them.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : A day after the party's poor performance in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, BJP leaders in Delhi feel that candidate selection and price rise played an important role in the by-polls. Some also feel infighting in local units also worked against the BJP candidates.

In the Himachal Pradesh bypolls, the Bharatiya Janata Party lost all the three assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat to rival Congress. In Rajasthan, the saffron party lost both the assembly constituencies to the Congress, the party in power in the state.

A senior functionary said that denying tickets to the son of Gautam Lal Meena from Dhariyawad in Rajasthan and Chetan Bragta son of former minister of Himachal Pradesh Narendra Bragta is one of the reasons for losing one assembly seat each in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

"The party denied tickets to the sons of Meena and Bragta saying it would promote nepotism. Chetan Bragta came second in Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly constituency and our candidate came third. BJP candidate Neelam Seraik got just 2644 votes and forfeited her deposit with a vote share of 4.67 per cent in Jubbal-Kotkhai. If we had given a ticket to Chetan, the result could have been different. Similarly, Meena's son was also denied a ticket and we lost the seat to the Congress," he said.

Talking about the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, a party functionary hinted that the party underestimated Congress candidate Pratibha Singh, the wife of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh, from Mandi. Another party leader pointed out that in Rajasthan the state unit is witnessing huge in-fighting between the supporters of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and state president Satish Poonia.

"Along with the party decision to not promote nepotism, Gautam Lal Meena's son Kanhaiya Meena was denied the ticket as his father was a well-known supporter of Raje which also worked against the party in the bypolls. Both the camps failed to put up a united front while the Congress despite also witnessing infighting put up a united front for the bypolls. The results show the united front shown by the Congress yielded favourable results," he said.

A senior functionary claimed that price rise also worked against the party. "Whether we realise it or not price rise is an issue and the Congress party effectively convinced voters that the BJP-led Union government is responsible for it. Prices of everything have increased and this is hurting the common man and they showed their anger by voting against our candidate," he said.

After the results, BJP Himachal Pradesh president Suresh Kumar Kashyap had told IANS that there were several reasons for their defeat and price rise was one of them.

"The Congress had made price rise and rising fuel prices an issue and I think that it may have worked in their favour. The BJP, however, will hold a detailed review of the results to find out the reasons for the defeat and correct the shortcomings while preparing for the next assembly polls," Kashyap had said.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : The Congress is trying hard to take Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on board in upcoming assembly elections and the party has asked Haryana leader Deepender Singh Hooda to reach out to RLD leaders and last week Priyanka Gandhi had met the Jat leader at Lucknow Airport and both of them boarded the same chartered flight to Delhi.

Sources in Delhi say that Congress has offered an alliance in Punjab with RLD if it forges an alliance with Congress in UP. The contours of the offer is not yet known but if SP-RLD talks failed then Jayant Chaudhary can come with the Congress. Till now Akhilesh Yadav has maintained that Samajwadi Party will ally with the RLD. The General Secretary of the RLD, Trilok Tyagi too has said that it is talking with the SP.

The buzz started after Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had a chance meeting with Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) President Jayant Chaudhary at the VIP lounge of the Lucknow airport.

Priyanka Gandhi was returning from Gorakhpur after addressing a rally and Chaudhary was on his way to Delhi after releasing his party's manifesto in Lucknow.

During the meeting for almost an hour on Sunday, they discussed the political situation and later Chaudhary left with Congress General Secretary in her aircraft to Delhi.

The meeting gains significance in view of reports that relations between Samajwadi Party and RLD have lately been under strain over seat sharing.

The RLD which is on the resurgence in western UP due to farmers agitation is sought after party in the state.
Ranchi, Nov 3 : At least 20 criminals trapped in a coal mine in Jharkhand managed to escape despite the heavy police presence.

The criminals had entered into Bhagyalakhi coal mine located in Kumardhubi of Dhanbad district on Sunday with an intention to steal cables.

Heavy police force was deployed outside the mine to prevent the thieves from escaping, and kept guard for three days.

After the criminals entered the mine, coal production was stopped on Monday and Tuesday.

The criminals entered the mine after firing on police and security forces on Sunday night and even hurled bombs. A policeman received injuries in the firing.

There had been continuous vigil since then, but the police are now at a loss to know how the criminals managed to escape even after a heavy police presence outside.

Eastern Coalfields Ltd General Manager, Mugma area, B.C. Singh said that three search operations were conducted to find the thieves inside, but were unsuccessful.

Police sources say that criminals managed to escape on Sunday night only when they fired on the security forces and hurled bombs. The joint search team found no one inside the mine during the search operation.

The gang of thieves last Sunday night entered the mine with the intention to steal the cables. Since then a team of district administration, police and CISF was posted outside the mine. They used loudspeakers to tell the thieves to come out of the mine, but there was no response.

After making sure that there is no one inside, coal production resumed in the mine.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : As a goodwill gesture on the occasion of Diwali, the Border Security Force on Wednesday exchanged sweets with its counterpart Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at the Fulbari Integrated Check Post on the India-Bangladesh border in Jalpaigudi district in North Bengal Frontier.

North Bengal Frontier Inspector General of BSF Ravi Gandhi shared sweets with the Region Commander of North West Region of BGB.

The BGB security personnel also give sweets and greetings of the festival to the Border Security Force personnel.

The BSF and the BGB exchange sweets and greetings on several occasions such as Diwali, Eid, Holi, Independence Day and Republic Day.

The exchange of sweets between India and Bangladesh along the border is an old and traditional gesture to express goodwill between the two nations.

Indian troopers at Attari had greeted their Pakistani counterparts on their nation's Independence Day and exchanged sweets along the Line of Control and the International Border in Punjab which was reciprocated by the Pak Rangers on August 15.

Latest updates on Diwali Festival 2021
New Delhi, Nov 3 : Reacting to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's visit to Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday said that the former has adopted the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is now trying to flaunt his Hindu side before the polls.

Talking to IANS, Maurya said: "Whoever wants to come to Ayodhya, witness Ram Lalla, can do it. We are not stopping anyone from doing so. However, I want to remind the hypocrites trying to flaunt their Hindu side now, that they never visited Ayodhya or mentioned Ram Temple or supported the kar sevaks before Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014." Taking a jibe at Kejriwal, Maurya said: "People who never visited temples, observed Roza and attended Iftar parties, they now bow their heads before Lord Ram." He added: "Since the formation of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, the AAP members have been trying to embrace our ideology. They are, therefore, wearing their devoutness on their sleeves right before the polls. This, in a way, is the victory of the BJP." Maurya had come to Ayodhya to participate in the historic 'Deepotsav' programme.

Talking about the grand 'Deepotsav' celebrations, he said: "I am a servant of Lord Ram and it is a matter of pride and satisfaction for me that the construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya is speeding up. I am also happy that every year 'Deepotsav' is organised in the city of Lord Ram. Since 2017, we have had grand plans for 'Deepotsav' celebrations. This year also we set a new record by lighting 9 lakh diyas."
New Delhi, Nov 3 : Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who downed a Pakistan jet during an aerial combat in February 2019 and was held captive for three days, has been promoted to the rank of Group Captain.

"He had cleared his board and now he has been promoted. All who had cleared the board have been promoted," said a government official.

Wing Commander Varthaman is a Vir Chakra, India's third-highest war time gallantry medal, awardee.

He was captured by the Pakistani Army on February 27, 2019 after his MiG-21 Bison jet was shot down in a dogfight with Pakistani jets. Before his jet was hit, he downed a Pakistani F-16 fighter.

The 'Balakot Air Strike' was carried out at terror camps at Balakot of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in response to the deadly Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.

It was the first aerial assault carried out by India in Pakistan after the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.

On February 26, 2019, at around 3.30 a.m., 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and destroyed the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot.

The Balakot airstrike demonstrated India's prowess to retaliate to Pakistan's sinister intentions.

Codenamed as 'Operation Bandar', the air strike was conducted by the seventh and ninth squadrons of the Indian Air Force.

After the strike, over two dozen fighter planes, including F-16s left Pakistani bases aiming to hit Indian military installations. But the Indian Air Force in anticipation of such an attack was ready and aerial dogfight ensued. It ended with Wing Commander Varthaman, shooting down an F-16 fighter plane of Pakistan and getting hit in the process.

Wing Commander Varthaman exited safely but was captured. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the capture. India demanded the unconditional and safe return of him.

Back then, the US played a role in the release of the officer. He safely returned to India.
New York, Nov 3 : If Pfizer-BioNTech and President Joe Biden held an election among Indians in America, they would have nearly every single vote.

Several thousand Indians and people of Indian origin (PIOs), many with young children, had to skip the annual "naani-dadi" pilgrimage in 2020 due to severe Covid-19 restrictions. Even after Biden ramped up vaccinations with great gusto, the spoiler lingered: no vaccine for kids under 12.

That changed Tuesday. US health officials gave the final greenlight to Pfizer's kid-size Covid-19 shot, which expands the country's vaccination campaign to children as young as 5.

Biden called the decision "a turning point". This opens up Covid-19 vaccines to 28 million youngsters in the 5-11 years age group.

"It will allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus," Biden said.

Parents worried about the constant risk of an uptick in cases during the school term are welcoming the news as colder weather blankets large swathes of the US.

Shilpa and Sunder, from Pune and Chennai, see a "ray of hope".

Shilpa, now a resident of Springfield, New Jersey, texted: "Being a firm believer in vaccinations, I think this plan for getting 5yr old children to teens vaccinated seems promising. We are very enthusiastic but there is a tiny bit of fear thinking about possible side effects!" Atlanta resident Rashi is relieved that "it's not like last year anymore" but she'll be holding off before taking her 7-year-old for the jab. "I will watch how things go for about three or four months and then get him vaccinated," she said over phone. Like Shilpa and Sunder, Rashi, who hails from New Delhi, worries about side effects.

US CDC advisers said that the decision for many parents on getting children vaccinated may turn on the risks involved in alternative scenarios.

"The risk of some sort of bad heart involvement is much higher if you get Covid than if you get this vaccine," Dr Matthew Oster, a paediatric cardiologist at Emory University, told a CDC panel before the final approval on Tuesday. "Covid is much riskier to the heart." Arpita Jindani, with roots in Mumbai, plans to ferry her younger child for the shot. "This is welcome news as a parent and I am relieved that my younger child will be protected soon." Jindani, a resident of Summit, New Jersey, lost family members in India to Covid-19 last year. "The issue of vaccine equity is very close to my heart...we need to work harder to provide global access to vaccines, not just to high income countries but low medium income countries as well." As for the US, paediatric doses have begun arriving at thousands of locations across the country. Doses will be a third of the amount given to teens and adults.

For the 5-11 cohort, Pfizer studied 2,268 youngsters and reported that its shot is 91% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19, based on 16 diagnoses among kids given dummy shots versus those who got the vaccine. Pfizer is testing shots for babies and under-5s, it expects data by year-end.
Hyderabad, Nov 3 : The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech announced on Wednesday that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has franted Emergency Use Listing to India's first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin.

Developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, Covaxin is a whole virion-inactivated vaccine.

With validation from the WHO, countries can now expedite their regulatory approval processes to import and administer Covaxin. Furthermore, UNICEF, Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), GAVI COVAX facility, will be able to procure Covaxin for distribution to countries worldwide, Bharat Biotech said.

This will enable them to secure the critical supply needed to meet the requirements of priority populations, thereby ensuring equitable access, the vaccine maker said.

The EUL procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies, with the objective of providing rapid access to medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality.

Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech described validation by WHO as a very significant step towards ensuring global access to India's widely administered, safe, and efficacious vaccine. "As an organisation, we have focused on maintaining stringent quality and safety standards that meet rigorous assessment, and scientific standards established by WHO, as a result, many of our vaccines have received WHO prequalification. The EUL authorisation for Covaxin will enable us to contribute to accelerating the equitable access of Covid-19 vaccine, and the access to our vaccine globally thereby addressing the current public health emergency." The Phase 3 trial data for Covaxin was available during June. WHO's EUL process commenced on July 6 with rolling data submission. The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) of WHO had reviewed Covaxin data on October 5 in a meeting and granted EUL for Covaxin on November 3.

Covaxin has been specifically designed to meet the needs of global distribution chains, the requirements for which are more critical in low- and middle-income countries. It has been formulated to enable shipping and long-term storage at 2-8 degrees Celsius. It is also formulated to adhere to a multi-dose vial policy, thereby reducing open vial wastage, saving money to procurement agencies and governments alike.

Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, stated that the WHO nod for Covaxin is a validation of the tremendous effort made by everyone at Bharat Biotech and its partners.

"It is also an opportunity for us to create meaningful impact at a global level. Such an impact can only be orchestrated when multiple stakeholders come together to work towards a common goal. Covaxin is a great example of a successful public-private partnership in developing a world-class Covid-19 vaccine.A We look forward to playing a larger role to help the efforts by both the developed and developing nations to control the pandemic." Covaxin has been evaluated through neutralizing antibody responses against several variants of concern, like B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P2- B.1.1.28 (Gamma). The data from these studies and others have been extensively published in more than 12 peer-reviewed journals and available for review in the public domain.

Bharat Biotech stated that the manufacturing capacity expansion was started during first quarter 2021, as the first Phase 3 efficacy readouts were available. Within a short period of about 9 months, the capacity was scaled up to 50-55 million doses per month, as of October 2021.

The company has established Covaxin manufacturing to reach an annualised capacity of 1 billion doses by the end of 2021. Technology transfer activities are also in progress to companies in India, the US, and other countries, it added.
Bengaluru, Nov 3 : Karnataka BJP leaders though trying to cover up the humiliating defeat in Hangal bypolls with victory in Sindgi constituency, the results have triggered a debate on the party's grand plan of facing upcoming general elections under the leadership of present Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

The leadership is analyzing the reasons for the party's defeat despite channelising its full might. Hangal, a Lingayath dominated constituency is in the Haveri district, from where Bommai hails from. His Shiggaov constituency borders with Hangal. There was a sympathy factor also, as the election was necessitated after the death of BJP candidate C.M. Udasi.

Bommai, knowing the ground situation well, failed to deliver victory for the party in his first big assignment after holding the highest post. Though, his skills of coordination are well appreciated, the result has shown his lack of core strength to win elections.

The victory has enabled the opposition Congress to gain momentum, despite the tug of war between Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and State President D.K. Shivakumar.

The party didn't have representation in the six assembly constituencies of Haveri district. The win in Hangal has energized the party workers in the state and in areas which are considered stronghold of the BJP.

In the last elections, the Congress candidate Srinivas Mane, who emerged victorious this time was defeated by more than 6,000 votes by the BJP candidate.

The BJP has seen nearly three per cent vote loss in the Hangal bypoll. Among the 2.04 lakh voters of the constituency, 1,71,726 have exercised their franchise. With 87,429 votes, Congress managed to get 50.90 per cent of votes. BJP managed 46.65 per cent of votes.

The party insiders are saying that Lingayaths did not support the BJP despite knowing that it was a prestigious battle for Chief Minister Bommai. The entire ruling party leaders camped and rooted for the victory of BJP candidate Shivaraj Sajjanar.

After the demise of C.M. Udasi, his son MP Shivakumar Udasi made no attempt to be in touch with constituency and the people even during the peak Covid wave and floods. Srinivas Mane, on the other hand went to the doorsteps of people and served them.

The voters who had seen Srinivas Mane working for them, did not bow to casteistic appeals and also to money factor. On top of it, BJP denied ticket to Udasi family and it was very late when the candidate was finalised for Hangal constituency.

The party also created confusion by not including the name of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa's son B.Y. Vijayendra's name on the list of in-charges of campaigning. The video of Shivakumar Udasi, MP, shooing away a villager while campaigning was also made viral by the Congress.

It is to be seen how it will impact the decisions of the BJP high command which was planning to win Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections going to be held after December and face general elections in 2023.

Party sources say that, though party has found a good Chief Minister in the form of Basavaraj Bommai, now they are doing rethinking on his capabilities to match the prowess of leaders like Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar.
Glasgow, Nov 3 : Various countries on Wednesday made new commitments at the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) on increasing finance to support developing countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, including Norway to triple its adaptation finance, Japan and Australia to double it, and commitments from Switzerland, the US, and Canada for the Adaptation Fund.

This included the largest US adaptation finance commitment, to date, to reduce climate impacts on those most vulnerable to climate change worldwide. Canada committed to allocate 40 per cent of its climate finance to adaptation.

New commitments for climate financing also came from the UK, Spain, Japan, Australia, Norway, Ireland, and Luxembourg, that build on the plan set out ahead of COP26 to deliver the $100 billion per year to developing countries.

To combat the difficulties many countries face with the bureaucracy of securing climate investment, 100 million pounds in new funding from the UK was announced to support the approach of the Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance, co-chaired by the UK and Fiji.

The taskforce launched a partnership with five 'pioneer countries' - Bangladesh, Fiji, Jamaica, Rwanda and Uganda - to support them and their local communities to get the finance they need for their climate plans.

Further commitments are expected over the coming days, including on adaptation. COP will also see the launch of discussions on a new global finance goal to replace the $100 billion goal from 2025.

Demonstrating the direct benefits of what public climate financing can achieve, leaders from South Africa, the UK, the US, France, Germany and the European Union on Tuesday announced a ground-breaking partnership to support South Africa with an accelerated just energy transition.

As a first step, the international partnership announced that $8.5 billion can be made available over the next 3-5 years to support South Africa - the world's most carbon-intensive electricity producer - to achieve the most ambitious emissions reduction target within its upgraded and ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution.

The discussions follow new pledges of public climate funding from developed nations at COP26 World Leaders Summit, including significant pledges for climate adaptation.

Mobilising finance is critical if the world is to deliver the urgent action for need to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Trillions of dollars of additional investment a year are needed to secure a low-carbon future and support countries already living with the devastating impacts of climate change.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said: "Today, there is more public and private finance for climate action than ever before.

"But to meet the commitments made in the Paris Agreement and keep 1.5 alive, we need developed countries to deliver on public finance, and to unleash the trillions required in private investment to create a net zero future and protect lives and livelihoods from the devastating effects of climate change.

"That is why we have made finance such a key focus of COP26, why these new commitments from nations and the private finance sector are so welcome, and why we continue to push for countries to do more to meet their finance obligations. Countries are telling us what they need, now global finance needs to respond." The US, the European Commission and the UK also committed to work in partnership with countries to support a green and resilient recovery from Covid-19 and boost investment for clean, green infrastructure in developing countries.

The UK also committed 576 million pounds at COP for a package of initiatives to mobilise finance into emerging markets and developing economies, including 66 million pounds to expand the UK's MOBILIST programme, which helps to develop new investment products which can be listed on public markets and attract different types of investors.

Initiatives announced by the World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank will share risk with developing countries and aim to raise up to $8.5 billion in new finance in support of climate action and sustainable development.

There was also the launch of an innovative new financing mechanism - the Climate Investment Funds' Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM) that will boost investment into clean energy like solar and wind power in developing countries.

Private financial institutions also took a major step to ensure that existing and future investments are aligned to the global goal of net zero.

Thirty-five countries agreed to mandatory actions to ensure that investors have access to reliable information about climate risk to guide their investments into greener areas.

And to ensure common standards, 36 countries welcomed the announcement of a new international body, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

Over $130 trillion of private finance is now committed to science-based net zero targets and near term milestones, through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, led by Mark Carney.

GFANZ members are required to set robust, science-based near-term targets within 12-18 months of joining, and more than 90 of the founding institutions have already done so. A key focus of GFANZ is supporting developing countries and emerging markets.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak also announced plans to make the UK's financial centre aligned to net zero.

Under the proposals, there will be new requirements for UK financial institutions and listed companies to publish net zero transition plans that detail how they will adapt and decarbonise as the UK moves towards to a net zero economy by 2050.

Responding to Chancellor Sunak's speech, Christian Aid's UK Advocacy and Policy Lead, Jennifer Larbie, said: "It's welcomed that the Chancellor recognises London's financial sector is critical to any meaningful progress towards a global net zero.

"But this announcement does little to shift the dial now on the trillions still flowing into fossil fuel projects every day, with the deadliest of impacts borne by developing countries.

"The UK government must mandate the financial sector to act with urgency to end fossil fuel investments."
Chennai, Nov 3 : A video clip showing a failed attempt by an unidentified man to assault actor Vijay Sethupathi at the Bangalore airport has begun doing the rounds on social media.

Talking to IANS, a source close to the actor said that the incident in question happened at the Bangalore airport in the early hours of Wednesday.

Stating that the incident was not a serious one, the source said that the unidentified person, who was in an inebriated state, was creating a nuisance. Eventually, a minor argument erupted between the two sides after which the actor and his team chose to leave the place. However, the person is believed to have followed the actor and attempted to land a kick.

The blow is believed to have landed on one of those accompanying the actor. Police personnel quickly stepped in to restrain the man while the actor was safely escorted out.

Vijay Sethupathi, however, did not to choose to press charges and no police complaint has been filed against the man.
London, Nov 3 : Another offshoot of the Delta Covid variant, called AY.4.3, is fast spreading in several countries of Europe, according to media reports.

The new sub-strain has already been spotted 8,138 times in England, Daily Mail reported.

It makes up around one in 24 cases in the country after first being detected in mid-July and has grown consistently ever since.

According to Bulgaria's National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD), AY.4.3 was detected in 16 of the 447 samples sequenced between September 15 and October 13, local media reports said.

AY. 4.3 was also found circulating Tromso city in Norway, local media reports quoted Mayor Gunnar Wilhelmsen as saying.

AY.4.3 carries the unique mutation N:Q9L which scientists say is 'unusual', but they are yet to find evidence that this makes it more transmissible or better able to evade vaccines, Daily Mail report said.

It was first spotted in July in the UK after Delta had spread around the world, and since then 84,000 cases have been spotted in 108 countries. It is most common in Europe and has made up around half of cases in France alone since September, but did not trigger a spike in infections with cases in the country only starting to rise at the end of last month.

In Belgium, it makes up 40 per cent of infections, while in Germany, it makes up 30 per cent and in Denmark, just 15 per cent.

The subvariant has also been spotted in the US, where it is behind less than three per cent of cases. The country has recorded some 7,000 infections, the report said.

However, the strain raises concern as it comes after the rapid uptick in cases of AY.4.2 -- another descendant of the original Delta strain.

More than 26,000 cases of the Delta Covid subvariant AY.4.2, considered up to 15 per cent more transmissible than the original Delta, has been reported from 42 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"AY.43 is not as widespread as AY.4.2 yet, and is enriched in a somewhat odd set of patches just outside Greater London. This lineage is much more common outside the UK, so these could be a variety of introductions from abroad that have coincidentally grown a bit," Dr Jeffrey Barrett, who heads up Covid surveillance at the Sanger Institute, said in a tweet.

"It has been growing in Denmark, France, Belgium and Germany, which could be a biological advantage, or just the fact that those countries are just being hit with Delta case growth, and that's what's there? "(It) doesn't have any spike mutations beyond Delta, and just N:Q9L that looks at all unusual," Barrett said.

Citing that there is, so far, no evidence that the strain is more transmissible or better able to evade vaccines, the experts also said there was 'no need' to be concerned, but must "keep an eye on it".
New Delhi, Nov 3 : The Central forces are to carry out well coordinated offensive operations against Maoists in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha soon, the sources said on Wednesday.

They, quoting the intelligence inputs, said that Maoists have been recalibrating themselves to make bigger attacks on the security forces as the rainy season is over.

The intelligence inputs also revealed that the top Maoist leadership is worried with the decreasing footprints of their cadre in central India especially in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand and now they will move to these areas to haul up youths for their cadres with their false narratives.

The inputs also said that top naxal commander Madvi Hidma, along with his armed guards, was seen in two villages in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh last fortnight.

The sources in the Home Ministry said that Central Reserve Police Force's specialized anti-naxal (Maoist) unit, CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) to lead the operations along with the concerned state police.

The officials also said that the CRPF is setting up over 35 'Forward Bases' in these states and that will increase up to 50 by the end of this year. These bases will be better fortified and security forces will be equipped with latest weapons, bullet and land mine proof vehicles and better medical facilities at these bases.

A source in the operational team said that most of the casualties take place because late medical treatment causes casualties in many cases, so better medical treatment has been planned at these forward bases.

The Central force's move has been planned following a review meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah with the Chief Ministers, DGP and IGPs of 10 Maoist affected states on September 26.

During the meeting, the state governments were requested to lead operations and to create a better and effective intelligence network in the areas to make pinpointed operations swiftly.
Gandhinagar, Nov 3 : In view of the Diwali festivities, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday announced to free women prisoners and male prisoners above the age of 60 years on 15-day parole.

The decision was taken in view of Diwali festival, with an intention that such prisoners get opportunity to spend time with their family members during festival.

A total of 181 prisoners including 61 women and 120 male above 60 years of age will be released on 15-day parole after this decision.

However, the prisoners jailed under NDPS Act, TADA, POTA, terrorism activities charges, the prisoners who are NRI, foreign nationals, the prisoners who are jailed for anti-social activities, the prisoners whose appeals are pending in the High Court, won't be released for this relief.

Latest updates on Diwali Festival 2021
Chennai, Nov 3 : A special court in Chennai on Wednesday convicted an importer, who was allegedly a close aide of former DMK minister K.C Mani's son Mani Anbazhagan in a money laundering case, and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment.

K. Liakath Ali was found guilty in a case related to sending illegal foreign remittances. A fine of Rs 1 crore was also slapped on him, and if not paid, he will undergo one more year of imprisonment.

The court also ordered confiscation of an amount of Rs 1,75,49,253 which was attached by the Enforcement Directorate.

The Enforcement Directorate had initiated a probe in 2017 on money laundering and based on an FIR, registered by the Chennai Crime Branch in 2017, and arrested Ali on April 3, 2017.

"Ali is part of a gang operating with complete anonymity and was involved in sending the proceeds of the crime under the guise of permissible merchandise imports, without making corresponding imports into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), by using the forged import documents as genuine," an ED statement said.

He was arrested after it was found that he had made a foreign outward remittance of $27.86 lakh (Rs 18.66 crore) from the Thousand Lights branch of the Indian Bank in Chennai. He had opened a current account in the name of Galaxy Impex by using forged identity documents under the name 'Waseem Liakath Ali'. There was no mention of the beneficial owner either within or outside the country and end-use in the receiving nation.

Ali remained within the jail for the past 33 months for failure to meet the conditions of bail. The ED filed a charge sheet against him on June 6, 2017, and charges were framed by the court in December 2019.

The digital evidence collected by the ED during its investigations was added as admissible evidence.

This is the second case of conviction by ED in Tamil Nadu and investigations against six other entities in the same case are continuing.
Hyderabad, Nov 3 : Cyberabad police on Wednesday began questioning Gutta Suman Kumar, the main accused in the case relating to gambling organised at a farmhouse allegedly belonging to the father of a Tollywood actor.

Police on Sunday raided a farmhouse at Manchirevula in Narsingi on the outskirts of Hyderabad and arrested 30 people including a former MLA for gambling.

A local court on Monday sent the accused, including former MLA from Mahabubabad, Sriram Bhadraiah, to judicial custody for 14 days.

The court on Tuesday allowed police custody of the main accused.

A police team from Narsingi Police Station under the limits of Cyberabad Police Commissionerate took custody of Suman and after his medical checkup at the government-run Osmania Hospital, began questioning him.

Suman had taken the farmhouse on rent for one day from the father of a young actor, who, in turn, took the property on lease from a retired bureaucrat for film shootings. The police on Wednesday called the actor's father to the police station along with the lease document to ascertain the facts.

According to police, Suman had taken the farmhouse on rent for one day for a birthday party but organised gambling by inviting several people. Those arrested include some realtors.

Police booked the accused under Telangana Gaming Act. They seized Rs.6.77 lakh cash, 33 mobile phones, three cars and 29 gambling sets.

Police learnt during the investigation that main accused Suman already had cases registered against him in Hyderabad and Bengaluru under Anti-Gambling Act and was arrested in the past.

The questioning by police is likely to bring out the modus operandi of the main accused. He is allegedly involved in organising casinos at star hotels and farmhouses by inviting rich individuals through WhatsApp groups. After receiving the payments, he used to issue coins to them to participate in the gambling.
Bengaluru, Nov 3 : Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday urged the state government to release the letter written to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for investigation referring Bitcoin scandal.

The state government claims that the charge sheet has been submitted on the scandal. If at all, the charge sheet is submitted, what was the necessity to refer it to the ED? he questioned.

"The BJP government is issuing confusing statements on Bitcoin scandal. I have seen the statements by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai informing media on handing over the case to the ED. We can't believe the oral statement. He should make his letter of handing over the probe to the ED public," he said.

"We don't know who is involved in Bitcoin and drug scandal. The matter is investigated by the state government and it should give proper information. The Opposition can only demand for investigation. Let them make the documents referring the scandal to ED public," he demanded.

"BJP leaders have questioned that complaint was registered in 2018 regarding the Bitcoin scandal and they have also raised questions on the government at that time. Let them include my name and refer it to further investigation," he said.

The Congress had earlier launched attacks on the BJP that it is hushing up Bitcoin and drugs scandal involving thousands of crores of rupees. They have also charged that ruling party leaders have received huge kickbacks in the scandal.
Kolkata, Nov 3 : After Durga Puja, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday barred the entry of visitors inside the pandals for Kali Puja and Jagadhatri Puja.

Hearing a PIL filed by an environmentalist, the division bench of Justice Rajasekhara Mantha and Justice Kesang Doma Bhutia directed that all necessary steps be taken to prevent the crowd from entering the pandals.

Warning the police to be more cautious while managing the crowd, the bench asked the police and the administration to be more proactive so that the crowd can be stopped before entering the pandals.

"During Durga Puja, there was a huge rush of visitors and this led to the increase of Covid infection," it said.

Citing his personal experience, Justice Mantha said: "It is difficult to stop people at festivals like Sabarimala, Jalikattu, Durga Puja. My colleagues got held for two-three hours because of the 'Burj Khalifa' Durga pandal. The same thing happened in Deshapriya Park several years ago." The court observed that people will have to show more civic sense and responsibility. Being fully vaccinated or wearing a mask does not give one the freedom or unchecked entry into pandals during the pujas, it added.

The bench was referring to the crowd during Durga puja where despite the High Court order, over-enthusiastic people thronged several puja pandas in the city. The court asked the administration to control the crowd in the same way they controlled during Kali Puja and Jagadhatri Puja last year.

In a separate order, the High Court cited the Supreme Court's verdict and allowed the bursting of 'green crackers' for two hours - between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

It had earlier put a blanket ban on the sale and use of crackers in the state. However, the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed green crackers following which a bench of the high court allowed environment-friendly crackers, giving relief to the businessmen.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : After selecting a new buyer for Air India, the Central government has accelerated the process of handing out luxury hotels belonging to the ITDC on a long-term lease of around 40 to 60 years, industry insiders said.

The details of the plan have been kept under the wraps even as an inter-ministerial panel has completed the consultation process on the issue.

As per industry sources, a draft note has been circulated on the matter and the likely lessee will be selected soon based on a bidding process.

However, it is not known if all the Ashok Group of Hotels which are 100 per cent owned by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) will be leased via a single bidding process.

At present, ITDC has a network of three Ashok Group of Hotels and one joint venture hotel, amongst other properties.

Nevertheless, it is certain, said industry insiders, that The Ashok, New Delhi will be the first one off the blocks.

The hotel is amongst assets of the ITDC which are slated to be leased-out under the National Monetisation Pipeline.

It is widely speculated that the new lessee will be allowed to convert a part of the property by introducing service apartments as well as a new and enlarged retail space amongst other facilities.

A landmark property, The Ashok is spread over a 25-acre area next to the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri in Lutyens' Delhi.

It was Prime Minister Jawarahlal Nehru, who ordered the construction of the hotel to host a UNESCO conference in 1956.

Interestingly, several royals of erstwhile princely states at that time played a part in the development of the project with land donations coming from Prince Regent of Jammu and Kashmir, Karan Singh amongst others.
Bhubaneswar, Nov 3 : On the eve of Diwali, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced a 25 per cent hike in the remuneration of persons employed through outsourcing agencies and on contract basis in various departments of the state government.

This will benefit about 33,000 persons engaged in various departments of the Odisha government and the state will bear an additional burden of Rs 100 crore every year for this move, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement.

The concerned agency will bear the contribution of such employees in EPF and ESIC. The concerned department will have to ensure this, it said.

Patnaik has directed the officials to take stern action against the companies and agencies that neglect to pay the above fees.

In addition, the Chief Minister has directed to grant leave for a maximum of 12 days per year for such outsourced employees.

Besides, Patnaik has advised the concerned authorities to examine and take a decision as soon as possible on maternity leave for women employees engaged in outsourcing and contract basis.

Very recently, the Naveen Patnaik government had hiked the salaries of contractual employees by 50 per cent for the first six years and designed them as initial appointees. After six years, their services would be regularized.
Chennai, Nov 3 : Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Dr L. Murugan on Wednesday said the Centre has released Rs 6,255 crore to Tamil Nadu this year under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

He also said irregularities to the tune of Rs 246 crore have happened in the MGNREGS scheme in Tamil Nadu, and out of this, only Rs 1.85 crore has been recovered so far.

Criticising Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the balance Rs 1,178 crore under the scheme, Murugan, who also is the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, said that the Union government has released Rs 1,361 crore on Tuesday, which was more than what was asked.

He said in order that the scheme is implemented in a transparent manner with accountability, a social audit, or an Ombudsman should have been in place but the Tamil Nadu government has not adopted that.

He said that though 2,500 lakh manpower days were allocated to Tamil Nadu under the scheme, the state government had utilised only 2190 lakh manpower days.

Murugan said that the Tamil Nadu Rural Development Minister called on the Union Rural Development Minister and requested him to release pending funds.

"The Union Minister assured that funds would be released in one week and the promise was honoured. But still, the Tamil Nadu government has created an unnecessary controversy aimed at tarnishing the image of the Centre," he said.

Murugan also said that the External Affairs Ministry is making continuous efforts to ensure the release of 23 Tamil Nadu fishermen from Sri Lankan prison.

"The Union government is according priority to the welfare of fishermen," he added.

According to Murugan, the Tamil Nadu government did not give the details of fisherment arrested by the Lankan authorities till October 25.

"As a result of this lethargic attitude of the Tamil Nadu government, release of fishermen is getting delayed," he said.

Recalling that over 600 fishermen were shot dead by the Sri Lankan Navy during the previous UPA regime, Murugan added: "However, after the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed charge, not even one shooting incident has happened." He also said that there were no shooting incidents during the AIADMK rule and one incident happened after the DMK came to power. "Inquiry is being conducted into this." He said the Marine Bill will not harm the fishing community in any manner. "The law will be passed after holding consultation with coastal states and fishing associations. All stakeholders will get satisfied." Under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana, food grains were being distributed to the poor across the country, Murugan said and added that the scheme has been extended till the end of this month.

"9.12 lakh metric tonnes of rice and wheat were given to Tamil Nadu under this scheme," he added.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : The Centre has asked all ministries to prepare its annual report card with actual data.

Annual reports of ministries will be circulated to the Members of Parliament (MPs) in next year's Budget Session.

An office memorandum of ministry of Parliamentary Affairs said that the annual report should reflect actual data from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 and provide projections or estimates for the period January-March, 2022.

"On no account, supply of annual reports to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats, Press Information Bureau etc as indicated, should be delayed under the impression that these reports should contain the actual data as on March 31, 2022," it said.

The office memorandum further stated annual reports are required to be made available to Members of Parliament simultaneously before the 'Demands for Grants' are referred to the concerned departmentally related Standing Committees for their consideration.

The ministries are asked to submit annual report to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats. Ministries are also asked to submit annual reports to Press Information Bureau (PIB).

"All Ministries/Departments are requested to kindly ensure strict compliance of the above instructions," it added.

Ministries are requested to prepare their annual reports for the year 2021-22 in both Hindi and English versions in terms of the Official Language Act, 1963.
Amaravati, Nov 3 : With Tirupati all set to host the Southern Council Meet, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Wednesday, took stock of the issues to be raised by the state. The state government is preparing to take up several pending issues related to the state's bifurcation which led to the formation of Telangana state.

Chief ministers and lieutenant governors of the south Indian states and union territories, will converge on the temple-town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh on November 14, for the 29th Southern Zonal Council meet to be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Covid second wave had forced the meet to be rescheduled from March this year, to November.

At Wednesday's meeting to discuss the state's agenda for the meeting, Reddy directed the state government officials to include the key issues pertaining to the state, and be prepared to handle queries related to Andhra Pradesh that any of the other states may raise in the meeting.

The officials informed the Chief Minister that pending issues related to the State Formation Act have been included in the agenda along with the Polavaram project and power dues of Rs 6,300 crore. The dues from Tamil Nadu for the Telugu Ganga project, revenue shortfall, pending arrears in Civil Supplies from Telangana State and Rational allocation of PDS rice by the Centre are also being included in the agenda.

Officials said that it has also been decided to voice the demand for Special Status provision promised at the time of bifurcation to the State. The issue of bringing the Jurala project under the purview of KRMB along with a discussion on the proposal by Centre on interlinking rivers, have been included in the state's agenda list, apart from freezing of FD accounts, division of assets and other key issues related to bifurcation.

Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshwadeep will be represented at the meeting.
Bhubaneswar, Nov 3 : Ahead of Panchayat elections, senior BJD leader and former minister Sanjeeb Kumar Sahoo has resigned from the ruling party in Odisha.

In his resignation letter to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sahoo said, "Today, I tender my resignation from primary membership of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) due to my personal problems." The 61-year-old politician was first elected as MLA from Birmaharajpur constituency in Sonepur district on a BJD ticket in 2003 bypoll. He was re-elected to the Odisha Assembly from the same constituency in 2004.

Later, he was elected to the Assembly from Athmallik constituency in Angul district twice in 2009 and 2019.

However, the BJD had denied ticket to the four-time MLA during the last elections in 2019 and filed former bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Sai for Athamallik constituency. Following this, he felt neglected by the BJD.

Sahoo was a Minister of State (MoS), Panchayati Raj and Science & Technology from 2006 to 2008. He also held the position of MoS (independent) of School & Mass Education and Commerce & Transport from 2008 to 2009 and from 2009 to 2012, respectively.
Bengaluru, Nov 3 : Telugu star Ramcharan Teja on Wednesday visited Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar's residence in Bengaluru to offer condolences to the the untimely death of the young actor.

Ramcharan Teja met Puneeth's family members and consoled them. "Puneeth was a loving person. I am not getting words and not able to digest the news of untimely death of the young actor," he said.

"My condolences to his fans. Don't get disheartened, Puneeth had left a legacy, he will continue to live with us," he said.

Puneeth's elder brother Shivarajkumar stated that, he had got calls from Tamil Nadu Super Star Rajinikanth's family. "Rajini sir's wife had called and conveyed her condolences. When Rajini sir was told about the news of untimely death of Puneeth, he was shocked and speechless. Rajini sir had seen Puneeth from his childhood days," he said.

Meanwhile, a diehard fan of Puneeth Rajkumar has ended his life in Tumakuru district of Karnataka on Tuesday. Bharat (20), left a death note where he had written that he doesn't want to live in the world which his favourite star left. He had also pledged his eyes for donation like Puneeth Rajkumar.

In another incident, Srinivas, a resident of Tumakuru who was known as Appu Srinivas (Appu is pet name of Puneeth) died of heart attack allegedly after going into depression following the death of Puneeth Rajkumar.
Chennai, Nov 3 : With incessant rains at the catchment area of the Mullaperiyar dam continuing, the Tamil Nadu authorities, who are maintaining and managing the dam, on Wednesday opened eight more of its 13 shutters to allow release of water.

Tamil Nadu had closed five shutters of the dam on Tuesday as the water level had come down to 138.1 feet and only one shutter was later opened, releasing 158 cusecs of water.

However, with continuous heavy rains on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in the catchment areas, the water level rose to 138.95 feet prompting the authorities to open the spillway shutters of the dam.

Three shutters of the dam were opened in the morning itself and three more shutters were opened later. With the water level continuing to rise, two more shutters were opened in the afternoon.

The inflow in the dam, that stood at 2,758.15 cusecs on Tuesday evening, rose to 5,291 cusecs by Wednesday morning and water level went up from 138.10 feet to 138.95 feet following heavy rains.

After the Kerala government raised concern over the increasing level of water in the dam and the possibility of flooding downstream, the Tamil Nadu side has opened the shutters of the dam.

According to the rule curve fixed by the Central Water Commission, Tamil Nadu is entitled to store up to 139.5 feet of water but the state agreed to open the shutters even as the water level touched 138.95 feet on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has deputed state Water Resources Minister, S. Duraimurugan to monitor the Mullaperiyar dam on the spot. The minister is expected to reach Mullaperiyar on Friday.

Meanwhile Kerala Fire and Rescue Services head and Additional Director General of Police, B. Sandhya visited Mullaperiyar dam premises.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department told IANS that the two sides are in proper coordination on the dam issue and that the Kerala side is cooperating well.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that Sea buckthorns widely known as "Leh Berry", an exclusive food product of the cold desert, will provide employment opportunities to the youth of Ladakh.

In his meeting with Lt Governor R.K. Mathur, Singh said, the Leh Berry is also very useful for armed force personnel deployed at a very high altitude due to its antioxidant properties.

The value addition of this agricultural product has the potential to revolutionize the economic condition of the newly created Union Territory, he said.

The Minister said that reference to its medicinal properties is also being found in the Tibetan literature of the 8th century AD. Sea buckthorn products like jams, juices, herbal tea, vitamin C supplements, healthy drinks, creams, oils, and soaps will provide employment opportunities to the local youth, Singh said.

He said this immunity-boosting natural berry is getting increasingly popularized not only in India but also in great demand in foreign countries for its medicinal value.

The Minister informed that the ancient local Ladakhi amchi medicine system also places a very high premium on the sea buckthorn berry and its curative properties.

The Minister informed the LG that CSIR, in collaboration with the UT Govt of Ladakh, will start commercial cultivation of sea buckthorn berry from the coming spring season in Ladakh.

He said, CSIR will also develop harvesting machinery to be used by local farmers and self-help groups, as currently only 10 per cent of berry is being extracted from the wild sea buckthorn plant.

Singh told Mathur that a high-level team of senior scientists from CSIR will soon visit Ladakh to evaluate the Zinc Fortification project for Pashmina Goats, Sheep, and Yak as Ladakh is mainly an Animal-based economy.

He said CSIR is contemplating starting a Geo-Thermal Energy Project for warming and cooling systems in a zero-net energy programme by linking it with solar power.
Agartala, Nov 3 : In the backdrop of the communal violence in Bangladesh, Tripura Police continues to crackdown against the provocative posts on social media, registering 11 criminal cases against 71 persons, police said on Wednesday.

A police official said that strict actions are being taken against those who are trying to create communal disharmony in the society.

The official said that permanent and mobile patrolling security of the religious institutions and places are being enhanced in around 150 mixed populated areas. "Though no fresh incidents of attack and intimidation was reported from anywhere in the state during the past few days, the security forces remained alert to foil any attempt to disturb the communal harmony in the bordering and mixed populated state," a senior police official said.

Deputy Inspector General (Southern Range) R.G.K. Rao said that police have arrested five persons and served notices to three more for making provocative social media posts.

Another police official said that an attempt was made to create mischief in Naraura Maktab (Masjid) in western Tripura's Sepahijala District on Wednesday and police have taken prompt action and thwarted the move at initial stage. A criminal case has been registered and investigation is in progress, the official said.

After a few incidents involving the minorities, the north Tripura district authorities had promulgated prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC in Panisagar and Dharmanagar sub-divisions on October 26 as a precautionary measure, which still continues.

After the series of communal violence in Bangladesh last month more than 50 organisations and political parties including All India Imam's Council and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have organised rallies in different parts of Tripura condemning the attacks on the minorities in the neighbouring country. These organisations met the officials of Agartala based Bangladesh Assistant High Commission and submitted memoranda addressing the government of the neighbouring country.

The Tripura High Court last week directed the state government to file a detailed report by November 10 on the incidents, if any, involving the religious minorities in Tripura. As per media reports, mob violence erupted in Comilla on October 13 after unconfirmed posts went viral on social media about the alleged desecration of the Quran at a Durga Puja venue, following which Hindu temples were vandalised.

Reports quoting Rana Dasgupta, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha Christian Oikya Parishad, said in the communal violence in Bangladesh at least six people were killed and many injured, while at least 70 Hindu temples and scores of houses and properties were damaged in six districts across that country.
New Delhi/Hyderabad, Nov 3 : The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday approved Covaxin, India's first home-grown vaccine against Covid.

The WHO's Technical Advisory Group (TAG) granted the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) approval to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin vaccine, which has demonstrated 77.8 per cent effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19.

The TAG has determined that the Covaxin vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against the Covid pandemic and the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs risks and the vaccine can be used, the WHO said in a tweet.

"Covaxin vaccine was also reviewed by WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), and recommended use of this vaccine in two doses, with a dose interval of four weeks, in all age groups 18 and above," the global health body said.

Developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, Covaxin is a whole virion-inactivated vaccine.

With validation from the WHO, countries can now expedite their regulatory approval processes to import and administer Covaxin. Furthermore, UNICEF, Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), GAVI COVAX facility, will be able to procure Covaxin for distribution to countries worldwide, Bharat Biotech said.

This will enable them to secure the critical supply needed to meet the requirements of priority populations, thereby ensuring equitable access, the vaccine maker said.

The EUL procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies, with the objective of providing rapid access to medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality.

Commending the work of ICMR and Bharat Biotech scientists, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said: "Today Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of self-reliant India has materialised. I also thank the WHO for granting the approval." WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "Glad to see one more vaccine, Covaxin, being granted emergency use listing. The more products we have to fight Covid-19, the better. But we must keep up the pressure to deliver Vaccine Equity and prioritise access to vulnerable groups who are still waiting for their 1st dose." Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Krishna Ella, said: "Validation by WHO is a very significant step towards ensuring global access to India's widely administered, safe, and efficacious Covaxin. As an organisation, we have focused on maintaining stringent quality and safety standards that meet rigorous assessment, and scientific standards established by WHO, as a result, many of our vaccines have received WHO prequalification." Covaxin has been specifically designed to meet the needs of global distribution chains, the requirements for which are more critical in low- and middle-income countries. It has been formulated to enable shipping and long-term storage at 2-8 degrees Celsius. It is also formulated to adhere to a multi-dose vial policy, thereby reducing open vial wastage, saving money to procurement agencies and governments alike.

Bharat Biotech Joint Managing Director, Suchitra Ella, said: "Covaxin is a great example of a successful public-private partnership in developing a world-class Covid-19 vaccine. We look forward to playing a larger role to help the efforts by both the developed and developing nations to control the pandemic." The Phase 3 trial data for Covaxin was available during June 2021. The SAGE of WHO had reviewed Covaxin data on October 5 in a meeting and granted EUL on Wednesday.

Covaxin has been evaluated through neutralising antibody responses against several variants of concern, namely B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.617.1 (Kappa), B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P2- B.1.1.28 (Gamma). The data from these studies and others have been extensively published in more than 12 peer-reviewed journals and available for review in the public domain.

Bharat Biotech stated that the manufacturing capacity expansion was started during first quarter 2021, as the first Phase 3 efficacy readouts were available. Within a short period of about 9 months, the capacity was scaled up to 50-55 million doses per month, as of October 2021.

It has established Covaxin manufacturing to reach an annualised capacity of 1 billion doses by the end of 2021. Technology transfer activities are also in progress to companies in India, the US, and other countries.
Panaji, Nov 3 : Instead of making hollow promises about adopting cutting edge technologies developed by billionaire techie Elon Musk, the ruling BJP should instead focus on providing basic facilities in Goa, South Goa Congress MP Francisco Sardinha said on Wednesday.

"They talk big. When (Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari) Gadkari came to Goa he spoke about adopting Elon Musk's techniques. Dear Mr Gadkari, do what is required in our villages first," Sardinha told a press conference in Panaji.

"People do not get mobile phone range. The connectivity is so bad. Students are facing hardship, because they are still learning how to use mobile phones because schools are shut. Give what is needed. Do not aim to reach for the skies when you cannot touch the roof of your house," Sardinha also said.

Gadkari, who was on a two-day visit to the state earlier this week, had spoken about adopting billionaire Elon Musk's hyperloop pod technology along the Mumbai-Delhi sector. Gadkari had also urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to adopt electricity-based public transport systems in Goa.
New Delhi, Nov 3 : The Income Tax Department carried out search and seizure operations on one of the leading business groups of Karnataka, engaged in the civil construction of roads and irrigation projects, at various premises located in north Karnataka, a statement said on Wednesday.

The search operation, on October 28, has revealed that this group has been suppressing its profits by booking bogus expenses in purchase of materials, labour expenses and payment to sub-contractors, it said.

Various incriminating documents including digital evidences indicating non-genuine claim of such expenses have been found and seized, it said.

The I-T Department said that analysis of the same shows that unaccounted cash has been received by the key group persosn from such vendors/suppliers of materials. It was also found that their own relatives/friends/employees were used as conduits in the name of sub-contractors who neither executed any work nor did they have the capability/capacity to execute the work. The assessee group has been generating unaccounted cash from these transactions.

The search action has led to detection of unaccounted income of more than Rs 70 crore which has been admitted as undisclosed income by the assessee group.

Further investigations are in progress.
Patna, Nov 3 : A Maoist commander, who was running nearly half a dozen highway dhabas in Bihar's Madhubani, and five others were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the murder of a truck driver, police said.

The Maoist commander, Sunil Pandey, who was involved in Maoist attacks in Muzaffarpur, Aurangabad, Gaya, Bhojpur and other districts, was currently running five highway dhabas on NH 57, between the Raje toll plaza and Purani Bazar in Madhubani.

Simri SHO Hari Kishore Yadav said that his team raided a highway eatery called 'Baba Ka Dhaba' and arrested the six.

"We are investigating a murder case of a truck driver of Darbhanga. During the probe, it was appeared that his murder had some connection with a highway dhaba called Baba Ka Dhaba. Accordingly, we have raided the place and arrested the accused," he said.

The other arrested were identified as Manish Pandey, Rishi, Guddu Tiwari, Vivek, and Sonu Tiwari.

"During interrogation, it was found that Sunil Pandey's highway dhabas were being used for running flesh trade. They were basically targeting truck drivers and offering them girls inside a secret room. Besides, they were also involved in sprinkling sedatives in food, water and soft drinks in a bid to execute robberies with car, truck and bike occupants," Yadav said.

"The truck driver of Darbhanga became a victim of their criminal activities and was killed by them," he added.
Jerusalem, Nov 4 : Israeli and Jordanian ministers met in Jordan to discuss deepening bilateral economic ties, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In the rare meeting, Israel's Economy Minister, Orna Barbivai and Jordan's Minister of Industry and Trade, Yousef Al Shamali agreed to "strengthen economic ties between the two countries," the statement added on Wednesday.

The Ministers discussed a possible update to their bilateral trade agreement and expanding cross-border tourism.

They signed a deal to expand the exports from Jordan to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, under which Jordan could send exports of cement and construction products, rugs, garments, electronics, and other goods to the Palestinian Authority.

"Israel hopes that the deal will strengthen the Jordanian economy and contribute to the continued growth of the kingdom. In addition, the agreement emphasizes the importance that Israel attributes to the promotion and development of the economies in the region and to the encouragement of regional trade," the Israeli Ministry said.

Barbivai said Israel wishes to strengthen its ties with Jordan.

"The trade benefits agreed on Wednesday are an important step in strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries," she added in the statement.

It was the first time over the past 10 years that senior Israeli and Jordanian officials met to talk about trade cooperation, the Ministry said.

Jordan, which shares a border with Israel, established diplomatic ties with Israel in 1994.
Ayodhya, Nov 4 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has made a special appeal to all public representatives and government employees of the state a day before Diwali on Thursday to visit the houses of the poor and the needy to illuminate their houses on this special occasion.

He has said on the occasion of Diwali, there should be no house of the needy and the poor in the state which does not illuminate with 'diyas'(lights) and sweets must be distributed to them.

Yogi made a special appeal to all District panchayat President and members, Block Chief, area's panchayat member and Head, including public representatives regarding Diwali and said they must visit the homes of every family especially the poor, Dalits, underprivileged etc. to create an atmosphere of enthusiasm, gaiety and happiness this Diwali.

The total number of MPs, MLAs, Mayors, Presidents of District panchayats, Chairman of Block Head municipal bodies, Councillors, Block Heads, Village Heads, members of district panchayats, zone panchayats, gram panchayats, including public representatives in Uttar Pradesh, is more than eight lakh and the number of state government employees is more than 20 lakh, the Chief Minister added.

Appealing to all officials and public representatives of the state, Yogi Adityanath said, "My appeal is that you people adopt one poor family each and contribute your bit in lighting lamps and delivering sweets in their houses." Speaking at the Deepotsav programme of Ayodhya, known as the birthplace of Lord Ram, the Chief Minister added, "On the day of Diwali, we have to keep in mind that on this auspicious occasion, there should not be any poor or Dalit family in Uttar Pradesh whose house does not illuminate with lights and sweets are also delivered to them."
Moscow, Nov 4 : An An-12 cargo plane crashed in Russia's Irkutsk region, killing all seven crew members on board.

The aircraft flying from Yakutsk to Irkutsk disappeared from radars before it was confirmed crashing near the Irkutsk airport on Wednesday, TASS news agency reported.

Two Russians, two Ukrainians and three Belarusians were on board the plane that belongs to the Belarusian Grodno airlines, Xinhua news agency reported.

The crash of the An-12, which has been in operation since 1968, caused a fire on the ground and the fire has been put out.

Bad weather conditions, a human error and a technical malfunction, including an engine failure due to a collision with birds, are being considered as the possible reasons for the tragedy.
We hope our customers agree that this is where boating begins.

Joe Lewis, General Manager of Mount Dora Boating Center and Marina, has announced the launch of the companys new website, mtdoraboats.com, which he said was designed to help position the company as a leading resource for recreational boating in the central Florida market.

Mount Dora Boating Center was founded in 1970 on its two-acre site on Lake Dora, just outside the town of Mount Dora, and has long been a leader in new and pre-owned power boat sales, boat rentals as well as boat storage, service, maintenance and boater education.

Our company motto is Where boating begins, Lewis said. Were in the business of getting people out on the water to enjoy the boating lifestyle.

While MDBC offers an active boat brokerage for pre-owned buyers, and also offers an active rental business for its pontoon and deck boat fleets, Lewis said the company specifically serves first-time boat owners by providing them with information and assistance in getting into boating.

New boat owners always have tons of questions about boats and boating, Lewis said. Were here to help them learn about boating and answer their questions before they buy. Through our Learning Center pages on the website, and with our skilled staff members, we can provide customers with a knowledge base that will help them get into the right boat for their needs, keep them informed about boating activities here in central Florida, and provide the best information on how to take care of their boats after the sale.

In addition to selling new boats (MDBC is the exclusive dealer in the area for Four Winns and Glastron boats) and its pre-owned brokerage, the companys on-site service department offers factory-authorized technicians for Four Winns, Wellcraft, Volvo Penta and Yamaha engines, as well as maintenance on other outboards, sterndrive and inboard gas engine models.

MDBC also offers fiberglass and gel coat repair, detail and cleaning services, and canvas and upholstery repair and service. The company offers Hy-Dry, wet slip, and trailer storage and boat pick-up, delivery and transport services.

The new website, designed and built by Fuel Media, Inc., a full service design and marketing company based in Cambridge, MA, also includes a new custom inventory management system, replacing a third-party program and app.

We needed a way to list our own inventory and market it to our customers, Lewis said. Now, we have more control and our customers can see exactly what we have to offer.

The new website, Lewis said, will make it easy for customers to navigate and find information, whether they are looking to buy or sell a boat, rent a pontoon or deck boat for a day of fun on the water, arrange service and maintenance, or access news and information about boating or upcoming boating events in the area.

We hope our customers agree that this is where boating begins, he said.

Mount Dora Boat Center

A full-service marina serving the beautiful Harris Chain of Lakes.
Skywire Networks Skywire Networks is thrilled to be selected by the City to bring high quality, universal broadband to those parts of the City which have traditionally had poor and limited broadband options

Skywire Networks, one of the fastest growing internet builders in New York City, announced today that is has been selected by the City to help bring affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service to NYC. In January 2020, NYC released its Internet Master Plan with an aim to accelerate broadband development in those parts of the city which have poor fiber density and few quality broadband options for businesses and residents in these communities.

Alan Levy, Skywires CEO is quoted in the release

Skywire Networks is thrilled to be selected by the City to bring high quality, universal broadband to those parts of the City which have traditionally had poor and limited broadband options said Alan Levy, CEO of Skywire Networks. Levy goes on to say, "We are excited to be working again with the City on broadband expansion. Our past work with the EDC shows how impactful investments in broadband infrastructure in these neighborhoods can be. Residents and businesses are desperate and are being left behind. We are happy to play a part in bringing quality broadband to these digital deserts."

Since its inception, Skywire Networks has focused on building its high-speed data network in those areas of NYC known as digital deserts. Today, Skywire owns and operates one of the largest broadband networks in NYC, having lit more than 1,500 commercial buildings and residential MDUs in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx. In addition, Skywire Networks near-net footprint is more than 100,000 commercial buildings and residential MDUs throughout the City, potentially connecting millions of New Yorkers struggling with poor internet connectivity.

Xchange Telecom, a NYC based CLEC and licensed EBB provider, and an affiliate of Skywire, will offer low-cost or free internet to thousands of NYCHA residents under the federal EBB program. Alfred West, CEO of Xchange says, We are excited about working with NYC to bring low cost or free internet to thousands of NYC residential customers located in and around NYCHA communities in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

About Skywire Networks

Skywire Networks is one of the most active and fastest growing Internet providers in New York City with more than 1,500 lit buildings, and a near-net footprint of 100,000+ commercial buildings and residential MDUs. We provide SLA, fiber-class throughput, and connectivity to thousands of buildings in NYC. We sell our services directly to end-users, through agents, channel partners and to wholesale partners. We sell Ethernet Private Lines, Internet Services and hosted voice services to both enterprise businesses and SMBs at speeds ranging from 10mb to 10gb. Skywire Networks addresses the problem of poor fiber density in NYC in a multitude of ways by leveraging various edge technologies including Fiber and Fixed Wireless Access. Learn more at http://www.skywirenetworks.com.

About Xchange Telecom

Xchange Telecom is a licensed a CLEC providing voice and data services serving residential and small business customers in the greater NY area. The company is also a federally licensed EBB and a licensed Federal, NY and NJ Lifeline ETC. The company services more than 20,000 residential and small business customers. Learn more at http://www.xchangetele.com.
Annual WoMENAIT Conference "To create diversity and to be inclusive means having ALL Women at the table, including MENA Women", said Sepideh. "As technology becomes more integrated in our society and creates a new paradigm, it is up to us to be intentional about equity, inclusion, and diverse representation in the STEM space.

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Thursday November 4, 2021: 9:00 AM GMT+4

Thursday 9:00AM: Women Of MENA In Technology Announces its fourth Annual Conference Accelerate MENA

Women Of MENA In Technology, a Silicon Valley-based Non-Profit organization will be hosting its Fourth Annual Conference, Accelerate MENA, on Nov 4th on Dubai time zone and Nov 5th on San Francisco time zone, virtually. Founded with a mission of fostering diversity and closing the gender gap by advancing Middle Eastern and North African women in STEM, the event will address issues of inclusion and equality.

Diversity and Inclusion is everyones responsibility. To create diversity and to be inclusive means having ALL Women at the table, which includes MENA Women In Tech, said Sepideh Nasiri, Founder of Women of MENA In Technology. As technology becomes more integrated in our society and creates a new paradigm, it is up to us to be intentional about equity, inclusion, and diverse representation in the STEM space.

"Im truly proud of the work of Women of MENA In Technology, an outstanding organization, said Payam Zamani, Founder & CEO, One Planet Group. Ensuring equal representation of women in the workplace is a key component to building a strong organization. We feel fortunate to be able to play a small role in their efforts."

Accelerate MENA is a first-of-its-kind conference, bringing together speakers and attendees that have been powerful catalysts of change. Women (and men) entrepreneurs from the Middle East and United States will take center stage and provide insights on the global technology landscape. They will delve into the topics of innovation, diversity, funding, and leadership. Companies like Amazon, OnePlanet Group, The World Bank, Salesforce, UN Women, Chevron, UNICEF, Google, Saphira Group, 1984 Ventures, San Jose Sharks and others are participating in the event.

Over the six years since its inception, Women of MENA In Technology has been instrumental in elevating the profile of MENA Women. With a community of 35K+ members across 19 global cities and support from 1500+ technology companies, the non-profit has been enabling, educating, elevating and inspiring women of color through its programs.

Conference page: https://pwit-womenofmenaintech.com/

** FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO RSVP FOR THE PRESS LIST

PLEASE CONTACT: press@womenofmenaintechnology.com

Women Of MENA In Technology is a Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization established in Silicon Valley in 2015 with a mission to close the diversity and gender gap in STEM by connecting, mentoring, educating and elevating Middle Eastern and North African women in STEM globally. We have over 35,000 community members, 90% of whom identify as technical and self-reported as engineers, data scientists, researchers, founders, intrapreneurs, entrepreneurs, innovators and investors.

Vision: To be the destination for Middle Eastern and North African Women in Tech, where they can learn, inspire, connect, and thrive as a global community

Mission: To empower Middle Eastern women and girls around the world to strive in the fields of technology, STEM, innovation, and entrepreneurship despite the conventional beliefs, societal pressures, or inequality challenges. http://www.womenofmenaintechnology.com
"HiDO has built an integrated platform that will transform connected home care." said Dr. Phyllis Gardner, Stanford Professor.

HiDOHealth, the leader in helping health plans enhance connected home care, announced Stanford clinics will participate in research to help eliminate medication errors, medication waste and reduce hospitalizations. Through the research, HiDOHealth intends to design new prospective clinical dashboards to identify at-risk patients and enable remote home clinical interventions that help reduce plan premiums. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death at 251,000 and only about 10 percent are reported. The estimated total annual costs of waste were $760 billion to $935 billion.

"HiDO has built an integrated platform that will transform connected home care. This new home ecosystem will reduce health plan costs by enhancing patient compliance on complex medical regimens, thus creating more effective health outcomes. It can also aid pharmaceutical companies to closely monitor patients on drug trials to ensure accuracy of trial outcomes. Stanford and HiDO are currently collaborating on research that will enhance patient care and bring accountability to the marketplace." said

Dr. Phyllis Gardner, Stanford Professor.

"We really need automation in home care: with HiDOs technology addressing one of our greatest areas of need and in the place where we spend the bulk of our time, our homes. HiDO is helping lead this charge." said Shomit Ghose, Managing Partner Onset Ventures.

Dr. Phyllis Gardner, Shomit Ghose and Casey McGlynn have been newly appointed as advisors.

About Phyllis Gardner, M.D.

Dr. Gardner has spent more than 35 years in academia, medicine and industry. She has served on the board of directors of several public and private companies, including Revance Therapeutics, Corium International, Inc. and CohBar, Inc. Dr. Gardner has also served as an advisor to Change Health Care, Inc.. She served in various capacities including as an Adjunct Partner at Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, a growth equity firm that focuses on the healthcare industry. Additionally, Dr. Gardner has been a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows and is a scientific reviewer for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

About Shomit Ghose

Shomits data-centric vision of the future has helped lead ONSETs investments in software. Prior to entering venture capital, he was a startup software entrepreneur with a career of operating excellence spanning 19 years. Shomits startup roles included three highly successful IPOs as SVP of Operations at Tumbleweed Communications; VP of Worldwide Services at BroadVision; and software engineer at Sun Microsystems. He was also CEO and board member of ONSET portfolio company, Truviso, for two years leading to its acquisition by Cisco Systems.

About Casey McGlynn

Casey McGlynn is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Casey McGlynn formed the life sciences practice at the firm, and today, it has one of the largest practices focused on medtech, healthtech, and biotech companies in the country. Casey has formed, represented, sold, and taken public many of the most important medical device companies founded over the last 30 years.

About HiDO Health

HiDOHealth mission is to automate connected home care and enhance patient experiences. HiDOHealth works to simplify the home care experience by automating medication administration, identifying at-risk patients for virtual clinical interventions and streamlining remote care coordination.

Contact:

HiDO Health

http://www.hidohealth.com

media@hidohealth.com
Motility and Keller Announce New Partnership "This integration further solidifies our strategic approach to connecting our DMS to the vendors, products, and services our customers already use for a seamless flow of information," said Brad Rogers, CEO at Motility Software.

Motility Software, a leader in end-to-end dealer management software, excitedly announces a new partnership with Keller Marine & RV.

Motility and Keller aim to bring efficiency and profitability to Parts departments across the country. Motility customers can now order Keller parts and accessories right from within the DMS. The integration helps drive additional revenue for dealers while also checking quantities, photos, and prices of parts on-hand to provide a better customer experience.

An efficient and well-managed Parts department is a game-changer for dealers looking to modernize their operation, said Motility CEO Brad Rogers. With this new integration, we make it easier to get the parts you need while maintaining great customer service. This integration further solidifies our strategic approach to connecting our DMS to the vendors, products, and services our customers already use for a seamless flow of information.

The integration boasts numerous benefits:



Maintains Data Integrity: Pulling parts and accessories from Keller into Motility ensures that the data is up-to-date and centralized from the source.

Enhances Productivity: Logging into one place eliminates the frustration of logging into multiple systems to complete a purchase order or check a quantity.

Saves Time: Assuming 15 orders per week, dealers can save roughly 20 labor/man-hours just by using the integration.

Were elated to provide direct access to our catalog of 30,000+ parts and accessories right from within the Motility application, said Mike Keller, President of Keller RV & Marine. We know that dealers will enjoy a speedier process without having to log into multiple places.

Motility recently announced the launch of its new DMS, MotilityAnywhere. MotilityAnywhere will be featured in booth 507 at the Annual RV Dealers Convention November 8-12, 2021 at Paris, Las Vegas. November 9 from 9:30 am to 10:30 am PT, Motility will be speaking on Big Buying Mistakes to Avoid When Shopping for a DMS in the Chablis room at the event. For more details about MotilityAnywhere, stop the booth at RVDA or visit motilitysoftware.com/motilityanywhere.

About Motility Software Solutions For over 36 years, Motility remains committed to providing best-in-class dealer management software (DMS) to over 7,000 users and 800 rooftops. Motilitys comprehensive software delivers an end-to-end solution to increase the efficiency for every critical function in a dealership, including inventory management, CRM, quoting, accounting, payroll and service scheduling, and more. Visit motilitysoftware.com to learn more.

About Keller Marine & RV

Founded in 1958, Keller Marine and RV is a wholesale distributor that sells and stocks 30,000+ parts and accessories. Keller serves 2,000+ independent Marine & RV dealers on the US East Coast and produces consistent, on-time delivery, by delivering 85% of its merchandise with a self-owned truck fleet. Visit https://www.kellermarine.com/ to learn more.
We are looking forward to celebrating this milestone anniversary at ISC East and making a huge announcement that will set the bar even higher in the perimeter protection industry, states Michael Stoll, VP of Technical Sales & Marketing at Aeroturn.

Aeroturn LLC, a leading turnstile manufacturer that offers 100% Made in The USA turnstiles, today announced that the company will be exhibiting at the ISC East show and showcasing a timeline of its unique turnstile solutions from the past 20 years in booth #1118. The show will take place at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC on November 17th & 18th 2021. ISC East is the Northeasts largest security trade show hosted in collaboration with premier sponsor Security Industry Association (SIA) and in partnership with ASIS NYC. Each year security dealers, installers, integrators, and consultants, along with corporate, government and law enforcement/first responder practitioners, convene in New York City to network, learn and evaluate the latest technologies and solutions. This makes it the perfect venue for Aeroturn to celebrate its 20-year anniversary and make another groundbreaking announcement regarding its unprecedented reliability that will prove once again why its turnstiles are the only choice when it comes to perimeter protection.

As a special anniversary celebration, attendees will be able to see a timeline of Aeroturns turnstile solutions that have been implemented at customer sites over the last 20 years. On display will be four different types of turnstiles that were installed at various customer sites who have never had a malfunction  two of which utilize unique biometric interfaces. Beginning with one of the earlier turnstiles is the Twin Arm Linear turnstile introduced at Harvard Universitys Baker Library in 2005. This turnstile has custom solid Quarter Sawn White Oak and is still going strong in 2021. The second turnstile that will be on display is an Optical Glass Panels Translating Hinge Portal turnstile with a custom mechanism motion fully patented with 100% unique claims. This turnstile solution was deployed in 2006 at One Beacon Insurance HQ and has never experienced any issues. We are looking forward to celebrating this milestone anniversary at ISC East and making a huge announcement that will set the bar even higher in the perimeter protection industry, states Michael Stoll, VP of Technical Sales & Marketing. We are proud that our turnstile solutions have now expanded internationally and can be found in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and look forward to our continued growth.

A third turnstile featured at the Aeroturn booth can be found at the US Secret Service Technical Security Division (USSS TSD) since 2007. This exterior 3-arm rotary zero-rust cosmetics turnstile was customized to be fully uncovered and exposed to the elements and powder-coated to meet historical requirements. With no downtime, the USSS TSD has relied on Aeroturn to keep its perimeter secure for 14 years.

The fourth turnstile that will be on display is an optical glass panel fixed hinge X-wing turnstile lane which was installed in 2013 at MIT Universitys Multi-purpose Class A Space. This turnstile was customized with unlimited cosmetic & functionality options creating a customized solution. ISC East attendees can stop by booth #1118 to celebrate Aeroturns 20-year milestone and see its history come alive through storyboards covering its successful turnstile installations over the past two decades.

Aeroturn has built a solid reputation by gaining recognition as the industry standard when it comes to quality turnstiles. To schedule a live demonstration and witness the companys historic turnstile solutions at booth #1118 at ISC East, please send an email to sales@aeroturn.com.

For further information on Aeroturn turnstile solutions, visit http://www.aeroturn.com.

About Aeroturn LLC

Based out of our 100% Made in USA Oxford, CT location, Aeroturn has been offering integrators and end users this centurys turnstiles that include a comprehensive range of turnstile products. With an engineering team that is second to none; the team has been together for over two and a half decades in the product design, development and manufacturing field and continues to lead the way in the security industry. Since its inception in 2001, Aeroturn offers every customer a 5-year warranty, zero maintenance mechanisms, 10 million cycles guaranteed, site specific cabinets, 10,000 cycle factory burn-in, and industry unique-factory direct delivery & installation. The company installed its first turnstiles in 2003 and 2004 and has not stopped delivering quality turnstiles and services over the years to its high-profile customers in a wide variety of vertical markets that includes commercial, private, government, industrial, bio-pharma and education. Working closely with the architect, consultant & engineering community, Aeroturn understands the specific needs of its customers and continues to exceed expectations on each and every project. For further information on Aeroturns turnkey turnstile solutions, visit http://www.aeroturn.com.

Company Contact:

Michael Stoll, VP Technical Sales & Marketing

Aeroturn LLC

Phone: 203-262-8309

mike.stoll@aeroturn.com

PR Contact:

Monique Merhige, President

Infusion Direct Marketing Inc.

Phone: 772-380-4845

Email: monique@infusiondirect.com
A growing number of countries are committing to phase out coalan action that the U.N. Secretary General has cited as the single most important step to get in line with the 1.5C goal. While this ambition is exciting, policymakers and utilities now need solutions to turn commitments into actionand finance is a critical tool to enable a rapid, smooth and equitable transition, a new RMI report released today finds.

The report, Financing the Coal Transition, is coming at a time when the coal transitionand financial solutions to support itare proving to be an important topic at COP26, the global climate change conference sponsored by the United Nations in Glasgow.

Despite the falling economics of coal compared with clean energy, 93% of coal plants are shielded from competitive pressurethrough long-term contracts, regulated electricity tariffs, or subsidiesallowing them to continue operating long after they cease to be economic. As a result, coals costs largely fall on local communities, both through their direct costs on electricity bills and their unpriced impacts on local health, the climate and the environment, the report notes.

Financial mechanisms provide a way to address these contractual and structural barriers to the coal transition, while mitigating the impacts of coal phaseout on the most vulnerable. By shifting the costs, benefits, and risks of the coal transition across stakeholders, financial mechanisms can align incentives across governments and commercial, environmental, and community groups.

Though not a silver bullet, the ability of financial mechanisms to generate consensus can enable progress on the coal transition today, which will be critical as we move into this decisive decade for climate action, said Koben Calhoun, principal for RMIs Carbon-Free Electricity program.

Financial mechanisms studied in the report include private-sector instruments, such as ratepayer-backed bond securitization; public or blended finance vehicles, such as the Asian Development Banks Energy Transition Mechanism; and more innovative approaches, such as monetizing the benefits of reduced emissions to compensate coal plant owners for the early closure of their plants. The report also presents a first-of-its-kind analysis evaluating the impact of using different types of financial mechanisms to retire and replace an existing coal asset, finding that while the financial mechanisms result in net benefits, they vary in how benefits are distributed across stakeholders.

Although financial mechanisms hold enormous potential, the report warns that they also carry risks. These mechanisms must provide sufficient incentives for coal plant owners to close assets.

Determining what is sufficient can be gamed, however, by owners who have access to inside information and often wield outsized political and economic clout, making it easier for them to extract excess profits in a transition, said Tyeler Matsuo, senior associate for RMIs Carbon-free Electricity program.

To ensure that financial mechanisms are crafted to deliver on their climate and social objectives, the report proposes five guidelines:

1. The mechanisms should distribute fairly the costs and benefits of a coal-to-clean transition, ensuring just and equitable outcomes for all stakeholdersparticularly the most vulnerable, including those whose jobs are threatened by coal shutdowns.

2. The mechanisms should be employed only to support the retirement of coal plants that otherwise would continue operating to the detriment of electricity customers and the climate.

3. The mechanisms should support a managed phaseout that minimizes economic and social disruptions.

4. The mechanisms should foster transformational change that promotes a move to clean energy and avoids locking in another fossil fuel, such as natural gas.

5. The mechanisms should be scalable and replicable.

The full report can be accessed at: https://rmi.org/insight/financing-the-coal-transition

Media Contacts

Dina Cappiello, at COP26, E: dcappiello@rmi.org

Nick Steel, E: nsteel@rmi.org

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 new NC Protect Data Connector easily ingests user activity and protection logs and their associated events from NC Protect into Azure Sentinel. Through Microsoft Azure Marketplace, customers around the world can easily find, buy, and deploy partner solutions they can trust, all certified and optimized to run on Azure.Were happy to welcome archTIS NC Protect Data Connector solution for Azure Sentinel to the growing Azure Marketplace.

archTIS Limited (ASX:AR9), a global technology provider of innovative solutions for secure collaboration of sensitive information, today announced the availability of the NC Protect Data Connector for Azure Sentinel in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Microsoft Azure. archTIS customers can now take advantage of the scalability, high availability, and security of Azure, with streamlined deployment and management.

The combined data protection capabilities of archTIS NC Protect and Microsoft Azure Sentinel enable granular attribute-based access control (ABAC) and protection of sensitive information across Microsoft applications in the cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments. The new NC Protect Data Connector easily ingests user activity and protection logs and their associated events from NC Protect into Azure Sentinel. It allows security teams to analyze the data at cloud scale, as well as trigger holistic alerts and remediation actions alongside the dynamic and real-time access and data protection controls of NC Protect for Microsoft 365 applications including SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams.

Kurt Mueffelmann, Global COO and US President of archTIS, said, Our launch into the Azure Marketplace is a testament to our commitment to building complementary, integrated solutions to leverage and enhance customers existing Microsoft investments. The new NC Protect Data Connector enables customers to get advanced auditing capability by aggregating NC Protect user access and data protection logs with existing Azure Sentinel processes to enhance data security and protect against insider threats.

Through Microsoft Azure Marketplace, customers around the world can easily find, buy, and deploy partner solutions they can trust, all certified and optimized to run on Azure, said Jake Zborowski, General Manager, Microsoft Azure Platform at Microsoft Corp. Were happy to welcome archTIS NC Protect Data Connector solution for Azure Sentinel to the growing Azure Marketplace ecosystem.

The Azure Marketplace is an online market for buying and selling cloud solutions certified to run on Azure. The Azure Marketplace helps connect companies seeking innovative, cloud-based solutions with partners who have developed solutions that are ready to use.

Learn more about NC Protect Data Connector for Azure Sentinel at its page on the Azure Marketplace.

About archTIS

archTIS Limited (ASX:AR9) is a global provider of innovative software solutions for the secure collaboration of sensitive information. The companys award-winning data-centric information security solutions protect the worlds most sensitive content in government, defence, supply chain, enterprises and regulated industries through attribute-based access and control (ABAC) policies. archTIS products include Kojensi, a multi-government certified platform for the secure access, sharing and collaboration of sensitive and classified information; and NC Protect and the cp. suite of products for enhanced information protection for file access and sharing, messaging and emailing of sensitive and classified content across Microsoft 365 apps, Dropbox, Nutanix Files and Windows file shares. For more information visit archtis.com or follow @arch_tis.
Robert Ross Williams, a retired army officer with a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Memphis and a M.A. in Russian studies from Florida State University, has completed his new book Woodlawn Giants: a moving story inspired by true events in the authors life about growing up in West Memphis.

As Williams writes, Daddy and Mr. Rick planted some pines. They are still there to this day, standing tall, looking good and high in the sky.  These would grow into what I now call the Woodlawn Giants. Each tree to me symbolizes the giants and grown men that we the boys who grew up on Woodlawn became.

Published by Page Publishing, Robert Ross Williamss powerful tale will transport readers back to a simpler time as they meet a host of larger-than-life characters from Williams childhood on Woodlawn. Life lessons abound in each exciting adventure Williams and his friends went on, including playing Florida Ball, snipe hunting, and attempting to jump the Ten-Mile Bayou.

Readers who wish to experience this potent work can purchase Woodlawn Giants at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

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

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Beacon International Companies (https://www.beaconequip.com), a global leader in the pre-owned medical imaging equipment market, announced today the formation of a new company to specifically service customers in Europe, the Middle East and in Africa. The new company, Beacon International Medical Imaging Systems S.L., will be headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

The announcement builds on Beacon Internationals commitment to expanding their global presence and growing leadership position in the pre-owned, medical imaging equipment sales and services industry.

Beacon International Medical Imaging Systems S.L., headquartered in Madrid, Spain, is the latest addition to several companies and partnerships around the world that are part of the parent company Beacon International Companies.

This is an exciting time for Beacon International. It demonstrates our commitment to leading in this industry. It is a natural progression for us to build our Beacon International Medical Systems Ltd. and MedPart Solutions Ltd. companies headquartered in Worcestershire, UK with the Madrid operations, said Jon DeRoost, CEO of Beacon International Companies. This reflects Beacon International's efforts to offer best-in-class services all backed by a world-class culture of customer service in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and in Africa.

Beacon International, LLC, also part of Beacon International Companies, will continue to lead the business operations within the US, Canada, Central and South America, as well as in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.

More information about Beacon International Medical Imaging Systems is available at http://www.beaconinternationalmedical.com. For more information about MedPart Solutions visit https://www.medpartsolutions.com.

More information about Beacon International can be found at https://www.beaconequip.com.

About Beacon International Companies

Beacon International is a global leader in the pre-owned, medical imaging equipment market. Beacon International is known throughout the US and internationally for equipment evaluations, acquisitions, sales, de-installations/installations, logistics and complete project management. What makes Beacon International unique is that their entire medical imaging equipment inventory is owned by Beacon International directly. For more information about Beacon International visit https://www.beaconequip.com.
This Should Never Be a Child's Suitcase "With the help of caring corporations like Briggs & Riley, we are reaching an even broader audience who will help out these youth in need. - Rob Scheer, Comfort Cases founder

As part of its long-term dedication to charitable efforts, premium luggage brand Briggs & Riley announces the next phase of its partnership with Comfort Cases, an international non-profit organization with a mission to inspire communities to bring dignity and hope to youth entering foster care. Beginning November 1, 2021, in celebration of National Adoption Awareness Month, Briggs &Riley will start raising funds online at Briggs-Riley.com, and with every $10 donation B&R customers make, Comfort Cases will raise much needed funds to eliminate trash bags for children entering foster care, providing them a Comfort XL duffel bag for them to store their belongings so they do not need to experience the indignity of living out of a trash bag. With Giving Tuesday on November 30, its an added reason to help someone in need this month.

Why a trash bag? For years, the standard practice of moving a youth into foster care was for them to be handed a trash bag to put all their belongings as they moved to different facilities. When I entered foster care more than 40 years ago, I was given a trash bag for my things, states Comfort Cases founder Rob Scheer. And when my first foster children came to my home, I was shocked and disappointed that they had very similar trash bags. It was then and there my husband Reece and I knew that we had to change the system, which we are ultimately doing today. With the help of caring corporations like Briggs & Riley, we are reaching an even broader audience who will help out these youth in need.

More than 700 children enter the foster care system every day. Handing them a trash bag for their belongings continues the feeling of neglect and not mattering to the world. Since being founded in 2013, Comfort Cases has distributed more than 150,000 Comfort and Comfort XLs packed with new pajamas, hygiene kits, blankets, toys and more items, throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom,

A Comfort XL is a 32-inch duffel bag that truly replaces the need for a trash bag when a child changes homes. Social workers and police officers keep these duffel bags in the trunks of their cars so they can easily give it to the children when theyre in need.

In May, we first partnered with Comfort Cases for our annual A Case for Giving program in honor of Foster Care Awareness Month and received an overwhelming response from customers eager to donate, states Serkan Anders, Briggs & Rileys Vice President of Marketing. With November being Adoption Awareness Month and Giving Tuesday on November 30, we are excited to work with Comfort Cases again to continue helping them succeed with their mission of providing hope and dignity to youth in foster care, and help eliminate trash bags from the system.

No purchase is necessary to participate in this program. Those interested can simply add a Comfort Cases Donation of $10 to their cart at Briggs-Riley.com, or add it to a current order.

Facts about National Adoption Awareness Month:



November is National Adoption Awareness Month, established to raise awareness about the urgent need for adoptive families for children and youth in foster care.

National Adoption Awareness Month was first celebrated in 1976.

The median age of children entering foster care during 2019 was 6 years old.

According to the Administration for Children and Families, there are 400,000 children in care right now. 100,000 of those children cannot reunite with their biological families and await permanent placement.

For further details about this program, please visit http://www.briggs-riley.com or visit http://www.comfortcases.org.

About Briggs & Riley

Headquartered on Long Island, NY, Briggs & Riley is the premier international brand of luggage and business cases that are Engineered for Reality, Guaranteed for Life. Owned by US Luggage, LLC, a privately owned and operated family company, Briggs & Riley and its parent company are acclaimed for innovations such as the first ever wheeled luggage, a differentiating Outsider handle, their patented CX compression-expansion system, and backing every bag they make with an unconditional lifetime performance warranty, the only one of its kind in the industry. http://www.briggs-riley.com

About Comfort Cases

Comfort Cases is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to inspire communities to bring dignity and hope to youth in foster care. Founded in2013, Comfort Cases has distributed more than 110,000 Comfort Cases and Comfort XL duffel bags to children in the foster care system in all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.

In 2021, Comfort Cases was given a Global Giving All-Star designation, meaning good reporting, phenomenal mission and great response time. Comfort cases is also a gold-level GuideStar participant, demonstrating commitment to transparency.

Having grown up in foster care, Rob Scheer, the CEO of Comfort Cases travels the country to share his story, advocating for youth and share his mission. Rob and his husband Reece have adopted five children who were in the foster care system. Robs memoir, A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time, was published in 2018.

For more information, please visit: http://www.comfortcases.org

Media Contact:

David Thalberg

dthalberg@strykermunleygroup.com

917.952.2580
Every day were humbled by the support of everyone in the Hallow community and are incredibly excited about this next phase in Hallows mission.

Hallow, the #1 Catholic prayer and meditation app, today announces it has completed a $40 million Series B round to help people around the world find peace in God, bringing the total raised this year to over $50 million. Amid the growing embrace of technology in religion, and during a time when many are stressed and anxious about the world around them, Hallow has surpassed 1 million downloads in just two and a half years.

Investors participating in the Series B round include Drive Capital, Peter Thiel, Teamworthy Ventures, Narya VC, Contrary Capital, Uncork Capital, Susa Ventures, and Scott Malpass - the only American appointed by Pope Francis to sit on the Board of the Vatican Bank. Drive Capital led the round. This round follows just a few months after Hallows $12 million Series A round in April, led by General Catalyst.

Hallow will use the Series B funding to continue partnering with faith-based creators to build world-class content, make more of its over 3,000 meditations available for free, add new languages, and reach out to a broader group of unaffiliated or fallen-away Catholics and Christians. The Chicago-based company plans to scale hiring to double its mission-driven team.

When we launched Hallow, we never could have imagined God making such a powerful impact on so many lives so quickly through this app, said Alex Jones, CEO & Co-Founder of Hallow. Every day were humbled by the support of everyone in the Hallow community and are incredibly excited about this next phase in Hallows mission. We believe in the power of re-introducing folks to the beauty of the Churchs centuries-old traditions of spirituality and are thrilled, with this new funding, to take a big step forward in helping the world find peace in God.

Unlike many meditation and sleep apps, all of the guided meditations on Hallow are rooted entirely in the Catholic Churchs spirituality, teaching, and tradition. Hallows welcoming, easy-to-use app combines life-changing spiritual content with modern technology and design, allowing users to step away from their daily distractions to spend time in silence through prayer.

Hallow recently crossed 1 million downloads and 25 million prayers completed with over 35,000 five-star reviews. Over the last year they have added many phenomenal faith leaders to the app including Bishop Robert Barron, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Dr. Scott Hahn, Leah Darrow, Sister Miriam James Heidland, Fr. Mark-Mary, Fr. Josh Johnson, Matt Fradd, Jonathan Roumie, David Henrie, Emily Wilson, Chris Stefanick, Bobby & Jackie Angel, and many more. Hallow has also formed a new Board of Advisors led by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades. Available in the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon App Store, Hallow is rapidly growing in popularity with 700% more prayers this month than during the same time last year.

Hallow is an incredible mission-driven company that has already enriched the lives of so many people; and the amazing part is that Hallow is only getting started, said TJ Dembinski, a Partner at Drive Capital. The global pandemic has accelerated the embrace of digital technology in every industry and in all aspects of our lives, and religion is no different. Hallow has a massive opportunity to bring faith into the hands of 1.3 billion Catholics around the world, as well as anyone in search of peace and comfort in their lives. We are excited to lead the Series B and proud to support the Hallow team as they continue their amazing work.

Anyone can download the Hallow app and access content for free. Hallows subscription option, Hallow Plus, unlocks the full suite of content for $60 per year ($5 per month) after a 30-day free trial.

Hallows Series B fundraise follows a $12 million Series A round led by General Catalyst in April of this year.

Media may refer to the Hallow Press Kit for additional background information and visuals.

--

About Hallow

Hallow is a Catholic prayer and meditation app that helps people deepen their relationship with God through audio-guided prayer, sleep, bible readings, meditations, and music. The app has over 3,000 sessions including a Daily Rosary, Daily Gospel, Daily Saint, Novenas, Examens, Fr. Mike Schmitzs Bible in a Year, Jonathan Roumie from The Chosens Audio Bible, Bishop Barrons Sunday Sermons, peaceful Christian music, Gregorian Chant, Sleep Bible Stories, and so much more. Launched in December 2018, Hallow is now the #1 Catholic app in the world with over 25 million prayers completed across over 150 countries. Hallows Board of Advisors is led by Bishop Kevin Rhoades and includes Fr. Mike Schmitz, Dr. John Cavadini & Fr. Kevin Grove from the University of Notre Dame, Lisa Hendey, Fr. Steve Gunrow from Word on Fire, Scott Malpass, Dean Abela from the Catholic University of America, Laura Fanucci, and Sr. Jaime Mitchell.

About Drive Capital

Drive Capital is a Columbus-based venture capital firm that is focused on investing in the worlds next generation of market-defining companies. The firm started in 2013 and has raised over $1B of funds to invest in startups solving problems in large markets. Drive is an investor in more than 40 companies outside of Silicon Valley, including Duolingo, Root Insurance, and Olive.
Global Action Initiative 2021  Project Earth airs at 7 p.m. ET from November 2 to 6

CGTN America releases Global Action Initiative 2021  Project Earth

The Global Action Initiative 2021  Project Earth has been launched, running from November 2 to 6.

Day One special program focused on the big picture  the key reasons behind scorching temperatures, rising sea levels and deadly storms that have increasingly become the norm.

The programming started off with a speech by Shen Haixiong, the president of China Media Group, where he stressed the importance of the media role in raising public awareness about climate change. Qin Gang, Chinas Ambassador to the United States, answered questions on climate change and the need for Sino-U.S. cooperation.

We also heard from the President of Sierra Leone, Prime Minister of Iceland, the environment ministers of Ecuador and Egypt, senior officials from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the United Nations.

That was followed by the premiere of the documentary - Zero Hour - Climate Change in China, examining the impact of the climate crisis across the world featuring young people and their ideas and solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Day Twos event will talk about the critical need to protect our biodiversity  a complex network of species that fuels life on our planet. Our panelists will discuss specific efforts to save our ecosystem and prevent more life forms from extinction. Well also hear about Chinas efforts to prevent degradation and bolster its natural habitat.

Following that, we will play the documentary  Zero Hour: Climate Change in the United States showing students who are raising the alarm about climate change on university campuses across the U.S.

At a time when extreme weather patterns are rapidly becoming the norm, we seek context, perspective and solutions. To watch the live broadcast of the program in real time, please click https://www.cgtn.com/tv

For more information about the 2021 Global Action Initiative, please follow https://america.cgtn.com/gai/gai.html

This material is distributed by MediaLinks TV, LLC on behalf of CCTV. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
Swivel was an instrumental marketing tool which provided prospective tenants the ability to visualize how our future spec suites would be built and furnished, during in person tours and virtual showings." - Melissa Rubenstein, managing director, JLL Chicago.

Swivel, a technology platform that transforms the way commercial real estate is marketed, leased, and planned, today announced eight 2021 deployments of its Interactive Space Showcase solution with Chicagos major commercial real estate providers. After less than one year in the Chicago market, Swivel is contracted to support 16 properties in the city for organizations such as Accesso Partners, AmTrust Realty Corp., Beacon Capital, Hines/Ivanhoe Cambridge, Golub & Company, JLL Chicago, Tishman Speyer, and Zeller.

As a result of the pandemic, vacancy rates for downtown Chicago office space climbed to 18% from a pre-pandemic average of 10-12%. In response, property owners and brokers had to develop creative new strategies for marketing spaces to a smaller pool of active occupiers. Swivels customers found Interactive Space Showcase - Swivels advanced 3-D visualization solution that enables prospective tenants and their brokers to digitally experience a space before its re-modeled or built-out - to be an ideal solution for improving asset visibility and converting more tenants faster.

Since signing on with Swivel in January, weve successfully leased 3 spaces at 180 North LaSalle in Chicagos CBD, said Melissa Rubenstein, Managing Director, JLL Chicago. Swivel was an instrumental marketing tool which provided prospective tenants the ability to visualize how our future spec suites would be built and furnished, during in person tours and virtual showings. We also were able to include the views from each office suite which was a huge benefit.

Across its nationwide deployments, Swivel has demonstrated a 17.75x ROI for landlords with vacant space, and has helped landlords reach upwards of 1,500 additional tenants and brokersincreasing the number of in person tours and RFPs. Swivels technology has been deployed across hundreds of properties totaling more than 100 million square feet.

The pandemic fallout sent shockwaves through the commercial real estate industry as landlords and their leasing teams realized they needed to find new ways to attract and engage prospective tenants without sacrificing their bottom line, said Scott Harmon, CEO, Swivel. The dynamic, immersive nature of virtual tours present a unique opportunity to expand reach while offering a safe and highly detailed experience. Weve seen this combination deliver terrific value to our customers time and time again, particularly in the kinds of high-density, tier-one buildings that populate Chicagos downtown.

The properties Swivel supports in the Chicago area include:



33 West Monroe and 30 North LaSalle for AmTrust Realty Corp./JLL Chicago

180 N LaSalle for Hines/Ivanhoe Cambridge/JLL Chicago

515 N State for Beacon Capital Partners/JLL Chicago

30 South Wacker, 525 West Monroe, 222 West Adams for Tishman Speyer

International Tower (8550 West Bryn Mawr Ave.) for Golub & Company

20 North Clark , 200 West Monroe, and 230 West Monroe for Accesso Partners

311 South Wacker and Old Orchard Towers for Zeller

The Swivel Interactive Space Showcase solution is part of the companys Design Experience Platform, which was named 3-D Modeling Solution of the Year by the PropTech Breakthrough Awards in 2021. To schedule a demo of Swivels Digital Leasing Platform, please visit https://www.swivel.work/book-a-demo.

About Swivel

Swivel is the Design Experience Platform that enables commercial property owners to efficiently market, lease and digitally build out tenant workspaces prior to construction. Today, many of the largest institutional ownership groups and global brokerages, including Brandywine, Cousins, and JLL, use Swivel's sophisticated visualization technology to reduce the time and cost associated with commercial office leasing. Swivel is backed by Breyer Capital, JLL Spark, and Floodgate. To learn more, visit http://www.swivel.work.
"The MBA Emerging Leaders Program is an investment in our colleagues and banks future." - Steve Heine, President & CEO, Woodsboro Bank

Woodsboro Bank congratulates our colleagues Chris Trone and Shelane Twentey on their recent graduation from the Maryland Bankers Associations Emerging Leaders Champion Program. During this one-year program, the champions cultivated skills in the banking industry by becoming involved in leadership development, peer networking, and learning knowledge sessions with industry, community, and advocacy leaders.

Chris Trone, Commercial Credit Analyst and Bank Officer, joined Woodsboro Bank in 2018 and has over 25 years of banking experience in credit card, mortgage and commercial underwriting. Shelane Twentey, Vice President and Downtown Office Branch Manager, joined Woodsboro Bank in 2019 and has over 20 years of banking experience in multiple banking positions including, branch manager, loan operations manager, bank at work specialist and project manager.

Continued professional growth is not only important but encouraged at Woodsboro Bank. The MBA Emerging Leaders Program is an investment in our colleagues and banks future. We are pleased and excited to congratulate Chris and Shelane on their graduation from the Emerging Leaders Program, said Steve Heine, President & CEO.
This is a terrific opportunity for our craftsman to provide a customized, high-end look for our clients. Whats more, they get to enjoy work thats not subject to seasonality; unlike other exterior projects, polished concrete is an application that can be completed any time of year.

Concrete Craft, the largest decorative concrete franchise in the United States, has enhanced its comprehensive portfolio of products and services by adding polished concrete to its list of resurfacing options.

Now available from Concrete Crafts national network of franchisees, polished concrete is an ideal flooring alternative for commercial applications such as warehouses, retail outlets and restaurants, as well as residential projects for homeowners seeking a modern, industrial aesthetic.

Concrete Craft franchise owners are thrilled to add polished concrete to their range of offerings, said Darin Judson, Field Support Specialist for Concrete Craft. This is a terrific opportunity for our craftsman to provide a customized, high-end look for our clients. Whats more, they get to enjoy work thats not subject to seasonality; unlike other exterior projects, polished concrete is an application that can be completed any time of year.

The ultimate in functional  yet beautiful  flooring, polished concrete is long-lasting and environmentally friendly. It makes the surface harder and delivers durability that prevents staining, eliminates moisture-related damage, repels dust and resists tire marks. Owners prefer polished concrete for its maintenance savings  no more waxing or stripping  and the value it delivers through increased ambient light efficiency.

The polished concrete industry is flush with potential, expected to grow to a $3 billion market over the next few years, says Dan Lightner, President. For the reason, weve partnered with SASE  the experts in polishing concrete equipment  to ensure the best results on every job, whether commercial or residential.

In business for more than 30 years, SASE is a leading manufacturer of floor grinders, polishers and finishing products. Their national footprint mirrors Concrete Crafts reach, making them an ideal supplier and provider of training and certification to all franchise teams.

Awarded the top Concrete Coating Franchise in 2021 by Entrepreneur magazine, Concrete Craft is continuing to grow its franchise family in markets throughout the U.S. For more information, please visit http://concretecraft.homefranchiseconcepts.com/.

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About Concrete Craft

Concrete Craft is the largest decorative concrete franchise in the nation, offering a full range of services to residential and commercial consumers, from durable concrete overlays to staining solutions to concrete restoring systems. Founded in 2004 as All American Decorative Concrete, and acquired and re-branded by Home Franchise Concepts (HFC) in 2014. Concrete Craft now boasts over 100 territories in the United States and Canada. To learn more about Concrete Craft franchising opportunities, visit http://concretecraft.homefranchiseconcepts.com/.

About Home Franchise Concepts

Home Franchise Concepts (HFC) is one of the worlds largest franchising systems in the home improvement goods and services space and among the worlds largest franchise businesses. HFCs six brands, including Budget Blinds, Tailored Living, Concrete Craft, AdvantaClean, Kitchen Tune-Up, Bath Tune-Up and are consistently rated at the top of their categories and supported by more than 2,100 franchise territories in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

About JM Family Enterprises, Inc.

JM Family Enterprises, Inc., founded by Jim Moran in 1968, is a $17.75 billion diversified automotive company ranked No. 19 on Forbes list of Americas Largest Private Companies. It is also ranked No. 94 by FORTUNE as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, its 23rd consecutive year on the list. JM Family has more than 4,300 associates, and its primary subsidiaries include: Southeast Toyota Distributors, the worlds largest independent distributor of Toyota vehicles; JM&A Group, one of the leading independent providers of finance and insurance products in the automotive industry; Southeast Toyota Finance and DataScan, both part of World Omni Financial Corp., a diversified financial services company; JM Lexus, South Floridas only Lexus Plus dealer; and Home Franchise Concepts, a franchise network of home improvement products and services consisting of Budget Blinds, Tailored Living, Concrete Craft, AdvantaClean, Kitchen Tune-Up and Bath Tune-Up. Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida, JM Family Enterprises has major United States operations in Jacksonville and Margate, Florida; Commerce and Alpharetta, Georgia; Mobile, Alabama; St. Louis, Missouri; and Irvine, California.

For more information, please contact Franchise Development at 877-542-1225 or email franchise@gohfc.com


Award-winning childrens book publisher Cuento de Luz, known for its dedication to creativity and authenticity, has announced five award wins from The International Latino Book Awards for the titles Juanita, Hijo, Madam Hortensia, El baile de las abejas, and Un misterio en el bosque. Additionally, Cuento de Luz received an honorable mention for the title The Day Ladybug Drew a Giant Ball of Fluff.

The International Latino Book Awards are the largest awards in the USA that celebrate achievements in Latino Literature. Sponsored by Empowering Latino Futures, a non-profit founded to promote literacy within the Latino community, the award program aims to recognize greatness by honoring authors, translators, and illustrators for their books written in English, Spanish and Portuguese. About a third of their entries come from large and small publishers, as well as self-published books.

We are honored to receive this superior recognition for these titles, says Ana Eulate, Founder and CEO of Cuento de Luz. Were proud of the work and dedication the authors and illustrators put into each of our books as we continue to create meaningful and inspiring stories for young children to enjoy, while raising their awareness on fundamental human values.

Juanita, by Lola Walder and illustrated by Martina Peluso, won the Gold Medal for the Alma Flor Ada Best Latino Focused Childrens Picture Book  Spanish award. Juanita is an enchanting tale of a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl, who finds magic and comfort within the stars. Inspired by a true story, the author takes readers on a journey through the protagonists imagination  along with traditions, cultures and people of the beautiful country of Guatemala.

Hijo, by Ariel Andres Almada and illustrated by Sonja Wimmer, won the Gold Medal for the Best Childrens Fiction Picture Book  Spanish award. Hijo is about parents wanting to overcome their sons fears and prevent him from going through sad moments, but the job of a father is to fill his toddler with feathers, so that one day he can fly alone and feel protected, but, above all, so that find he finds his way home.

Madam Hortensia, by Carmen Gil and illustrated by Miguel Cerro, won the Gold Medal for the Best Educational Childrens Picture Book  English or Bilingual award. Madam Hortensia is a wonderful story full of humor, about the importance of tackling new challenges. With wit and charm, this delightful tale shares what happens when we learn to embrace change and open our minds to possibility.

El baile de las abejas, by Fran Nuno and illustrated by Zuzanna Celej, won the Silver Medal for the Best Educational Childrens Picture Book  Spanish award. El Baile de las abejas is a beautiful hymn to nature featuring haikus, set in a quiet corner of Japan.

Un misterio en el bosque, by Susanna Isern and illustrated by Daniel Montero Galan, won the Silver Medal for the Most Inspirational Childrens Picture Book  Spanish award. Un misterio en el bosque is a charming tale, printed in stone paper, that invites readers to think about the emotional impact of jealousy, the importance of empathy, and the ability to forgive.

The Day Ladybug Drew a Giant Ball of Fluff, by Jose Carlos Roman and illustrated by Zurine Aguirre, received an honorable mention for the Best Childrens Fiction Picture Book  English. The Day Ladybug Grew a Giant Ball of Fluff is a pleasantly colorful book, printed in stone paper that invites readers to be imaginative and creative.

To learn more about Cuento de Luz and to purchase any of these titles, please visit http://www.cuentodeluz.com.
Venture Apartments iN Tech Center (Newport News) managed by Drucker + Falk, wins for Average Rents from $1,451-$1,500 at ACE Awards The competition is full of highly respected members of the multifamily industry and we are humbled every year to stand alongside them to celebrate all of our successes.

DF Multifamily, a division of Drucker + Falk (DF), one of the nations most prominent multifamily management companies, was recently honored with four Apartment Community Excellence (ACE) awards by The Hampton Roads Apartment Council (HRAC). The HRAC, a division of the Virginia Apartment Management Association (VAMA), announced the award winners during its 9th Annual ACE Awards ceremony in late October.

Each year, the ACE Awards recognize excellence in the field of property management and are determined by independent, impartial judges who tour Hampton Roads area communities and interview associated team members. For 2021, the company had four individual communities representing three cities within the Hampton Roads area honored with these local honors. Two DF Multifamily communities were recognized in the highly coveted Community of the Year Award, with Venture Apartments iN Tech Center (Newport News) winning for Average Rents from $1,451-$1,500 and Lumen Apartments (Hampton) receiving an Honorable Mention for Average Rents from $1,351-$1,450.

DF received additional victories in two other categories, including Old Donation Apartments (Virginia Beach) receiving the Resident Satisfaction Award and Latitudes Apartments (Virginia Beach) receiving the Best Community Team of the Year Over 350 Units Award.

Deidre Brown, DF Director, Multifamily Management commented, Its always such an honor for our individual team members and so many of the communities within our Hampton Roads portfolio to be recognized annually at this event. The competition is full of highly respected members of the multifamily industry and we are humbled every year to stand alongside them to celebrate all of our successes. The daily efforts of our incredible DF team members resulted in so many nominations across several areas and is such a testament to the pride they put into their work and creating only the best places for Hampton Roads residents to call home.

ABOUT DRUCKER + FALK

Founded in 1938, Drucker + Falk is a full service real estate and investment firm managing a diverse portfolio of nearly 40,000 apartment homes and approximately 3,000,000 square feet of office, retail and industrial space in 12 states. In addition to managing a broad range of properties, including class A+ to affordable apartment communities, mixed-use and all types of commercial properties, Drucker + Falk partners with clients on developing new properties, renovating and repositioning assets, converting historic properties to unique, upscale apartment homes and offers commercial leasing and sales services. For more information visit Drucker + Falk.

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA APARTMENT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

The Virginia Apartment Management Association  Virginias retail housing industry premier association  represents more than 130,000 apartment homes and communities. For more information, visit http://www.vamaonline.org.
Oct. 27th to 31st is Haute Living, Fraser Yachts and TopDevz days

Haute Living Media Group, in collaboration with Fraser Yachts and TopDevz, provided a Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show experience that will go down in history.

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) is recognized as the largest in-water boat show in the world. Located steps from the beach in sunny South Florida, FLIBS spans nearly 90 acres across three million square feet of exhibit space that is connected by an intricate network of water and ground transportation services. While the renowned marine event is held annually, the pandemic prohibited last years iteration of FLIBS, leaving brokers, buyers and boat admirers alike to highly anticipate what FLIBS 2021 had in store.

For those lucky enough to attend Haute Livings water-front five-day event, FLIBS 2021 was well-worth the wait. The luxury media group joined forces with the worlds leading full-service yachting company, specializing in yacht sales, charter, yacht management, new construction and crew placement, Fraser Yachts, and pioneering software development company, TopDevz, to make Fort Lauderdale history.

While each day from the five-day experience was memorable in its own right, it was day three that provided the seminal moment of the entire week. On behalf of The City of Fort Lauderdale and Mayor Dean Trantalis, Ashley Cacicedo presented an official proclamation which deems October 27th to October 31st Haute Living, Fraser, and TopDevz days.

CEO of Haute Living, Kamal Hotchandani, Senior VP of Haute Living, April Donelson, COO of Fraser Yachts, Mike Busacca, and CEO of TopDevz, Ashkan Rajaee graciously received the proclamation on behalf of their corresponding companies. The proclamation confirmed the seminal partnership between these three extremely influential companies.

Fraser Yachts operates in an industry devoted to delivering the highest levels of luxury. Additionally, Fraser facilitates rare and extraordinary experiences, and manages a broad portfolio of immensely valuable yachts, super yachts and mega yachts. As one of Americas fastest-growing companies, TopDevz has seen an increased shift in relocation to yachting destinations and hubs that support marinas, Fort Lauderdale, FL being the epicenter of yachting in the United States.

One of the more beautiful aspects about Haute Living experiences, is getting to partners from various different industries come together. The breathtaking Casa Royale, was provided courtesy of Haute Residence Network partner, Debbie Wysocki. The expansive Fort Lauderdale waterfront hosted this years event. Guests took full advantage of the gorgeous setting.

Integrated partner Perrier-Jouet kept the good times flowing as guests would stroll in and out of Casa Royale for great views, enriching conversations and invaluable networking.

Hormone replacement therapy center and ant-aging center, HealthGAINS, provided onsite B12 shots as well as immunity IVs to make sure guests were plenty refreshed and hydrated. Excell Auto displayed an impressive automotive visual aesthetic at the Casa Royale driveway with their stunning Karma Revero GT.

The list of VIPS was an eclectic and impressive on at Casa Royale: Hannah Rose, Fraser US Marketing Coordinator; Gil Dezer and Sebastian Tettamanti of Dezer Development; David Rousso, of Pedini Miami; Mark White, CEO of HealthGAINS; Tom Murphy, CEO of Coastal Construction; Grace, Lauren, Sean, and David Carpenter, of the talented musical Carpenter family; and so many more.

Other noteworthy partnerships that made the experiences at FLIBS 2021 possible are those of Pedini Miami and Pernod Ricard.

Additionally, on behalf of Fraser Yachts, Haute Living would like to thank all the amazing tender partners  Vanquish Yachts, Wajer and PRJ Boats.
Highway Cannabis Company Our investors and board of directors are well-known and respected in the industry and reflect the quality of the operations and brand were building as we prepare to launch our first retail space to the public, said Chris Colon, CEO and Founder of Highway Cannabis Company

The Highway Cannabis Company, with $20MM of initial equity funding, has completed its initial acquisitions of three California retail dispensaries and a premier indoor licensed Southern California cultivation facility to create a vertically integrated cannabis platform operating under the Highway Cannabis brand with retail locations as well as exclusive branded products.

Highway is well positioned to play a meaningful role in the consolidation of the California market through both new store openings and retail acquisition/conversions into Highway Cannabis dispensaries throughout California. With its internal supply of the highest quality flower used exclusively for Highway branded products, Highway will ensure the provenance and consistency of its products and provide an entirely differentiated customer shopping experience.

Highway Cannabis' first retail locations include the flagship store in Marina del Rey (currently Marina Caregivers) and the acquisition of KindPeoples, which operates two of the premier locations in Santa Cruz. In addition, Highway has signed a definitive merger agreement with Palomar Craft Cannabis, a San Diego County based cultivator operating a 32,000 square foot state-of-the-art indoor licensed cultivation facility, producing award winning flower. Palomars experienced management team will continue to lead the cultivation division of Highway Cannabis as part of the transaction.

Our investors and board of directors are well-known and respected in the industry and reflect the quality of the operations and brand were building as we prepare to launch our first retail space to the public, said Chris Colon, CEO and Founder of Highway Cannabis Company.

After helping to build Nectar, the largest vertically integrated cannabis company in the hyper competitive state of Oregon, Highway Cannabis CEO Chris Colon entered California, the largest and most influential cannabis market in the world, by assembling an outstanding executive team with more than 30 years of cannabis experience, a board comprised of influential cannabis investors & operators, and highly profitable assets in Northern and Southern California.

The investors in Highway include, Matthew Gould, CEO of Rainbow Realty, a real estate investment firm focused on the US cannabis industry; Mitchell Kahn, the Co-Founder and CEO of Grassroots Cannabis, the largest private, vertically integrated, cannabis operation in the United States that was purchased by Curaleaf Holdings in 2020; and Jordan Allen, the Chief Executive Officer of Landrace Financial, LLC, which provides growth-oriented capital to the cannabis sector.

The cannabis landscape is changing all the time. We really see Highways vision of disrupting the retail space and creating the go-to place for the most premium products in California, said investor Mitchell Kahn.

About Highway Cannabis Company

Highway Cannabis Company is paving the way to bring the finest California grown craft cannabis to customers through a varied and differentiated private label selection and a compelling hospitality driven retail experience. For more information, please visit http://www.highwaycannabis.com.
Over the last 18 months, weve seen firsthand how important it is to extend a caring hand to those in our lives, especially older adults. And at a time when distance and safety measures kept many families apart, professional caregivers rose to the challenge to ensure our aging loved ones never lost this feeling of connection. Through these unprecedented circumstances caregivers have served as a pillar of strength in households and communities, offering compassionate care, companionship and even hope to older adults.

Like first responders tending to patients outside the home, caregivers act as in-home care heroes, providing much-needed support to the aging population and often serving the needs of others before themselves. And while the pandemic brought attention to the valuable role that caregivers play in our society, the demand for their services will only increase as this segment of the population continues to expand at a rapid pace.

According to a recent report from Home Instead and the Global Coalition on Aging, the number of adults 65 and older will more than double to 1.5 billion by 2050. As the number of older adults increases, well need more passionate and selfless individuals to answer the call to join the caregiving workforce.

Caregivers are essential to the fabric of our society, enabling our loved ones to age safely and with dignity in their own homes, says Lakelyn Hogan, Ph.D., gerontologist and caregiver advocate at Home Instead. Home Instead is committed to empowering this workforce and recognizing the significant impact they have on our communities, from bolstering training and education standards to rewarding the work they do. And we encourage others to do the same.

People find themselves drawn to the caregiving profession for several reasons  from its rewarding nature to the ability to make a tangible difference in someones life each and every day. Regardless of what attracted them, each caregivers experience is deeply personal and unique. By hearing their real-life stories of these Home Instead CAREGivers, you can better understand why this is such a fulfilling career for so many.



Bill  South Carolina, six years as a caregiver and 2021 North American CAREGiver of the Year. Bill  Home Insteads 2021 North American CAREGiver of the Year recipient  became a caregiver to gain experience working with seniors in pursuit of his dream to create a ministry for aging adults with his wife. However, in a heartbreaking turn of events, Bills wife was diagnosed with cancer, and six months later, she passed away. Despite the change in his plans, Bill stayed with Home Instead where he quickly put his love for helping others into his clients and helping them continue doing the things they love in life. Bills very first client, who decided to pick up running after an early onset Alzheimers diagnosis, allowed him to do this. When his clients condition worsened and he struggled to continue running, Bill would go on long walks with the client  nine miles a day, three days a week. Over time, Bill developed a great friendship with his client, and when the client passed, his wife asked Bill to be a pallbearer, to which he said hed be honored. The wife responded, Bill, youve carried him for the last four years. You should carry him one more time.

Ruth  Iowa, four years as a caregiver. It was a long journey that led Ruth from working at her local grocery store to serving others as a caregiver. Her most memorable experience thus far was with a hospice client, a man whom she only saw twice. Their first meeting was filled with conversation on a variety of topics, including religion and heaven. Ruths next visit with this client would be the last. When the end was near, Ruth asked him to send her a sign when he made it to heaven. Four days after he passed, Ruth was at another clients home when they handed her a surprise. I was shocked to find a penny. Not just any penny, but the shiniest penny Id ever seen. I felt goosebumps everywhere. These goosebumps follow Ruth wherever she goes  whether through the overwhelming feeling of love she has for her career, or her clients whose lives shes making a dramatically positive impact on.

Marilyn  Arizona, 16 years as a caregiver. Its no surprise Marilyn landed in her role as a caregiver given her long history of caring for others. Along with being the oldest of her seven siblings, Marilyn is also the mother of five children and cared for both of her parents before they passed. One especially memorable moment Marilyn once shared with a client was when he suddenly began sharing his life story  speaking candidly about his time in the military service. It all just came out, Marilyn says. Whatever was on his mind  and in his heart  he just needed to tell someone. So, I listened. That part of being a caregiver is something Marilyn thinks is especially important: listening to the memories, stories and thoughts the client is entrusting you with.

If you want to make a meaningful difference in the lives of older adults and feel fulfilled in your career, then caregiving may be for you. To learn more about how to become a caregiver, visit: https://www.homeinstead.com/home-care-jobs/

ABOUT HOME INSTEAD

Founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, the Home Instead franchise network provides personalized care, support and education to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today, the network is the world's leading provider of in-home care services for older adults, with more than 1,100 independently owned and operated franchises that provide nearly 90 million hours of care annually throughout the United States and 12 other countries. Local Home Instead offices employ nearly 100,000 CAREGivers worldwide who provide relationship-based care services that enable older adults to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. Home Instead franchise owners partner with clients and their family members to help meet varied individual needs. Services span the care continuum  from providing personal care to specialized Alzheimers care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources. Visit HomeInstead.com. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. Each Home Instead franchise office is independently owned and operated. Home Instead, Inc. is a subsidiary of Honor Technology, Inc.
When you couple HealthWise Data's assets with Infutor's assets the outcome is a powerful, authoritative identity model that is fuel for healthcare marketers looking to better understand their customers needs," said Gary Walter, Infutor CEO.

Consumer identity management expert Infutor today announced it has partnered with HealthWise Data, a data and analytics firm specializing in the healthcare industry, to make health & wellness propensities available as a Premium Package in Infutors award-winning Total Consumer Insights solution. Through the partnership, Infutor can provide marketers greater insight into a consumers behaviors and attitudes around their health & wellness.

HealthWise Data leverages data and analytics to build predictive indicators of a healthy lifestyle, food insecurity, health adherence, environmental and lifestyle factors and more.

We are excited to work with Infutor and supplement its robust consumer identity dataset with our health & wellness insights which marketers can use to target and acquire more customers, improve population health activities or enhance analytics, said Anne Smith, CEO of HealthWise Data.

When combined with Infutors multi-sourced, large-scale deterministic dataset and demographic attributes, predictors of a consumers health attributes and behaviors can help marketers build a 360-degree view of patients, customers and prospects to improve targeting messaging and product recommendations.

Healthcare companies are looking for better ways to identify and segment existing and prospective patients in a way that is both privacy compliant and impactful to the consumer. HealthWise Datas assets are unique, thoughtfully curated, and come with demonstrated success in the Healthcare industry, said Gary Walter, CEO of Infutor. When you couple that with Infutor the outcome is a powerful, authoritative identity matched to a premium model and is fuel for healthcare marketers and clients across a variety of industries looking to better understand their customers needs.

Infutors Total Consumer Insights supports marketers with access to supplemental, privacy-compliant behavioral and household attributes for 266 million US consumers across 120 million households. These signals coupled with Infutors Identity Resolution capabilities enable marketers to anchor first, second and third-party data sources to the national population with Infutor serving as both the onboarder and enrichment provider.

About HealthWise Data

HealthWise Data provides a fuller view of the patient-as-a-consumer through unique data and analytics capabilities. HealthWise Datas universe of 250 million US adults is rich with both social determinants of health (SDOH) and unique predictions on consumer health & wellness, including health adherence, attitudes towards health, food insecurity and more, allowing for a holistic view of the individual. Healthcare organizations, analytics firms, marketing agencies and researchers are leveraging HealthWise Data today to drive better targeting for marketing efforts, enhance analytics and reporting, and improve patient outcomes overall. HealthWise Data was founded in Atlanta, GA by Anne F. Smith in 2017. Follow HealthWise Data on LinkedIn.

About Infutor

Infutor is the expert in data-driven consumer identity management and identity resolution. The company is solely focused on enabling brands to instantly gain access to the most complete and accurate information about consumers, exactly when they need it, to make informed marketing and risk mitigation decisions. Infutor is regularly named to the Inc. 5000 list and recognized by Crains Chicago and Built In Chicago as a Best Place to Work. A privately held company founded in 2003 with strategic investments from Norwest Venture Partners, Infutor is headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. For more information, visit http://www.infutor.com.

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The entire team at Inovi Solutions is honored to donate time and provide a discounted rate to nonprofit partners like Nana Grants and Quality Care for Children so they can digitally transform their operations, automate their business processes, and spend more time advancing their mission. Past News Releases RSS

Inovi Solutions is pleased to join Pledge 1%, a global movement to create new opportunities for nonprofits of all sizes and stages of growth by making a positive social impact through their organization through digital transformation.

Inovi Solutions joins more than 15,000 companies around the world who have committed to Pledge 1% of their staff time, product, profit and/or equity to whatever charity or social cause of their choosing.

In addition to providing a discounted rate on its Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud consulting and development services, Inovi Solutions is proud to announce its commitment to donate 1% of its staff time to nonprofit partners.

Inovi Solutions has already donated staff time to nonprofits including Nana Grants, Inc., which pays for child care so low-income single mothers can finish a college/university degree or approved job training program and get a good paying job to gain financial independence; and Quality Care for Children, which ensures that Georgias infants and young children are nurtured and educated by working to improve the quality of child care programs across Georgia and helping parents access and afford high-quality child care programs.

The entire team at Inovi Solutions is honored to donate time and provide a discounted rate to nonprofit partners like Nana Grants and Quality Care for Children so they can digitally transform their operations, automate their business processes, and spend more time advancing their mission, said Faiz Mannan, Founder and President of Inovi Solutions.

Inovi Solutions is proud to join the Pledge 1% community and encourages other companies to take the pledge and leverage their business as a force for good.

To learn more about Inovis program, visit http://www.inovisolutions.com

ABOUT INOVI SOLUTIONS

Inovi Solutions, Inc. is a trusted leader in Salesforce consulting, development, project roadmapping and implementation. We work with businesses of all sizes to identify their pain points and critical operational needs, then we create and execute custom solutions on the Salesforce platform that help them thrive. Founded in 2015, Inovi Solutions is privately held and is led by Founder & President Faizul Mannan, who has nearly 25 years of IT consulting and Salesforce development experience at companies including AmerisourceBergen, Veritix and VantageMed. Inovi is based in Flower Mound, Texas, with a second office in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

ABOUT NANA GRANTS, INC.

Nana Grants, Inc. is a nonprofit that was founded in 2016 by Executive Director Erica Stephens with a vision of covering the cost of childcare so low-income single mothers can finish their college/university degree or approved job training program, get good paying jobs, and gain financial independence. Learn more at http://www.nanagrants.org.

ABOUT QUALITY CARE FOR CHILDREN

For more than forty years, Quality Care for Children (QCC) has remained Georgias leader in equipping parents and child care providers with the resources they need to receive and provide high quality, affordable child care. The organization provides on-site consulting, training, business resources, and nutrition programs to child care programs and supports parents with a free referral service and tuition assistance for low-income families. Please visit http://www.QualityCareforChildren.org or call (404) 479-4181 for more information.

ABOUT PLEDGE 1%

Pledge 1% is a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 15,000 members in 100+ countries have used Pledge 1%s flexible framework to ignite half a billion dollars in new philanthropy. To learn more about Pledge 1% and take the pledge, please visit http://www.pledge1percent.org.
Comparing online quotes is important for drivers that want to save money on their car insurance, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com has launched a new blog post that explains how drivers can compare different car insurance quotes for the same policy.

For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit https://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/compare-2-car-insurance-quotes-policy/

Before renewing or buying a new insurance plan its important to get price estimates. The easiest way to compare insurance rates is by using online quotes. When comparing quotes for the same policy, drivers should consider the following:



Make sure they provide the same data and choose the same options. To properly compare insurance quotes, drivers should use the same info on all compared quotes. That means they should ask for the same policies, same services, and extra services, same coverage limits, and deductibles.

Policyholders should use correct and accurate data. When filing the questionnaires, policyholders should make sure that the info they put in all forms is correct. Providing wrong data can make some estimates to be too low or too high.

Provide accurate estimates. In almost all forms, drivers will be required to provide an annual mileage estimate. Depending on the provided mileage, insurance companies can offer better insurance rates estimates for those drivers that use their vehicle less than the average, or they can offer expensive insurance rates estimates to drivers that use their cars often.

Use reliable sources. Policyholders should use companies that are trusted when comparing online quotes.

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.
JAS Worldwide, the global freight forwarding services provider headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Greencarrier Freight Services International AB, the freight forwarding, logistics, and supply chain management division of Greencarrier Group.

Marco Rebuffi, CEO of JAS Worldwide said, We are pleased to have completed the acquisition of Greencarrier Freight Services, our 4th acquisition of 2021. We have worked closely with Greencarrier as an agent of JAS and now welcome these talented colleagues to join the JAS family. We look forward to realizing the new opportunities which have been created by the combined resources of our larger organization.

The transaction allows JAS Worldwide to further reinforce its freight forwarding activities, expand its geographic footprint into the Nordics, Baltics, and Eastern Europe, and to broaden its service offering to include inland road transportation in Europe.

About JAS Worldwide

JAS was founded in 1978 in Milan, Italy. Over the last four decades, JAS has grown from regional roots to a global force in freight forwarding. Today, the company covers 100+ countries between JAS offices and official agents, and has over 5,000 employees globally.

About Greencarrier Freight Services International AB

Greencarrier Freight Services is a freight forwarding company that offers smart and sustainable logistics solutions and supply chain management services. It has offices in 11 countries and with 800 employees. From their offices in the Nordic and Baltic countries, UK, Eastern Europe, and China, they offer global logistics solutions. The company uses all modes of transport including ocean, air, road, and rail. The company is headquartered in Gothenburg, where it was also founded in 2000.

Website: freightservices.greencarrier.com
hrQ, a human capital firm focused on enterprise-wide consulting, interim recruiting and national search, recently welcomed two new hires. Consultant, Javier Garcia and Managing Consultant, Donald Howell have joined in Houston.

Garcia, University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business alum, is a supply chain management professional with robust interpersonal and leadership skills. He brings extensive experience in SAP deployment, team training, source-to-pay, process improvement, procurement, logistics and inventory management.

hrQ Vice President and Managing Director John McCraw commented, Javiers expertise will add value to organizations in the Houston market through his continuous improvement mindset, positive attitude, as well as his leadership and consulting abilities in understanding business processes, identifying bottlenecks, problem resolution and process improvement.

I am thrilled to join the hrQ team and assist area organizations with leveraging their people function, Garcia said.

A graduate of the University of Houston-Clear Lake and Arizona State University, Howell began his career in 2002 with a publicly traded search firm in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. In that role, he was selected as Consultant of the Month six times and received recognition as Consultant of the Year in 2006.

Howell went on to join a publicly traded global leader in executive search as director of the Global Research Center. There, he directed national and international recruitment and business development strategies for Fortune 100 and 500 clients in several industries including healthcare, information technology, energy, human resources administration and others. While with this organization, he received the CEOs Above and Beyond Award.

Brian Coffman, hrQ Vice President of Delivery, said of Howell, Donald is a member of the hrQ family and spent six months as an internal consultant to a leader in the video gaming/technology space. At the conclusion of this engagement, Donald returned to hrQ in a client-facing capacity as a managing consultant. He relishes the opportunity to partner with people teams to meet their human capital needs and fulfill business objectives.

I am excited to return to hrQ and serve corporate clients with my expertise in human resources and human resources management, Howell stated.

About hrQ

hrQ, a LandrumHR company, works with organizations to simplify their people equation. Focused on strategic human capital consulting, interim sourcing and national search, hrQ helps clients deliver their people strategy. With a presence throughout the US, hrQ has been recognized eight times as a Fastest Growing Privately Held Company by Inc. 5000 since 2007. Visit http://www.hrqinc.com for more information.
Therasa Bell I am honored to have been selected, and look forward to to the opportunity to work hard on behalf of NASL and our partners and customers.

Kno2, the company leading the future of healthcare communication, today announced that Therasa Bell, president and chief technology officer, has been elected by the membership body as a Director to the Board of the National Association for the Support of Long-Term Care (NASL). NASL represents the federal legislative and regulatory interests of ancillary service providers, focusing on the intersection of clinical, diagnostic testing and health information technology (Health IT) issues.

NASLs non-paid Directors support the work of NASL with mission-based leadership and strategic governance. NASLs Board of Directors work with the executive vice president on policy, strategy, industry relationships, and advocacy for the post-acute sectors.

Kno2 has been an instrumental and integral member of NASL, and our IT Committee in particular, for the last several years. Now, we are delighted to welcome Kno2 President & CTO Therasa Bell to the NASL Board, commented NASL EVP Cynthia Morton. We are confident that her passion for making digital health a reality for all providers and her expertise with driving connectedness will bolster NASL's efforts to advocate for those who are caring for Americas most vulnerable citizens and to advance interoperability that includes the long term and post-acute care sector.

Therasa Bell has 20+ years of experience in driving connectivity, technology, and interoperability solutions to improve care coordination and communication. By working with and deploying IT solutions across healthcare including payers, health systems, large ambulatory clinics, post-acute providers and diagnostic service providers, Bell has extensive experience in understanding the innerworkings of the healthcare ecosystem, in particular, a narrow focus to how information is created, shared and reused throughout. As President and CTO, she is responsible for Kno2s innovation, vision and engineering, and holds six patents for patient information exchange under the company.

Kno2 is passionate about driving connectivity to all of healthcare. From the inception of the company, we have worked tirelessly on behalf of providers that surround the health system but have not benefited from federal incentives for transitioning to interoperable exchange of PHI, many of whom are also members of NASL, said Therasa Bell. As a respected and influential voice in the post-acute and senior community, NASL continually has the opportunity to shed light and lobby for important items that have meaningful impact on this community of providers we serve. Bell continues, I am honored to have been selected, and look forward to the opportunity to work hard on behalf of NASL and our partners and customers.

Bells two-year term begins immediately.

About NASL

The National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL) is a trade association representing the legislative and regulatory interests of companies that provide care and rehabilitation therapy services (physical, occupational and speech-language pathology therapies); clinical laboratory and portable x-ray services; health information technology systems and solutions; and products such as complex medical equipment and specialized supplies for long term and post-acute care settings nationally. The mission of NASL is to advocate for high quality care for the patients we serve through working to advance legislative and regulatory policy that enables our members to support and achieve this goal. Visit http://www.nasl.org to learn more.

About Kno2

Kno2 is empowering healthcare technology vendors to finally realize the potential of true interoperability by unleashing connectivity everywhere, bringing patients and caregivers together. Through simple to use APIs, industry disrupting economics and our passion to include the underserved, Kno2 is democratizing healthcare communications and is defining the new connected future of healthcare. To learn more, visit http://www.kno2.com.
Shaw-Ross International Importers, LLC (Shaw Ross), is happy to announce that Lena Braswell, MBA, has joined their team as a National Brand Manager.

With over a decade of experience in the beverage industry, Lena brings innovative marketing expertise to the Shaw-Ross portfolio of boutique brands. Starting her career in the wine and spirits industry with Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits, Lena spearheaded trade development for global leading spirits and wine producers in Florida and will continue her resourceful and dedicated work for her brands in her new role at Shaw-Ross.

I am thrilled to join Shaw-Ross International as National Brand Manager and look forward to growing brands from prestigious family vineyards and distilleries, says Ms. Braswell.

Lena graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and earned an MBA from Nova Southeastern University. In addition to her work at Southern Glazers, she also spent time at Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits Americas leading brand efforts across the US market, then subsequently 375 Park Avenue Spirits.

About Shaw-Ross International Imports

Founded in 1968 as a boutique wine and spirit importer representing a handful of brands, Shaw-Ross is one of the nations leading importers representing over thirty suppliers from around the world whose brands enjoy full national distribution through a network of outstanding wholesalers.


Through the T3 Fellows program, the T3 Sixty team continues to provide an in-depth course that has transformed already successful brokers into some of the very best our industry has on offer, said Imran Poladi, vice president of NextHome.

T3 Fellows, the executive leadership program for residential real estate brokers and teams passionate about dramatically growing their business, announced the graduates of its third NextHome class today.

The MBA-style program from T3 Sixty delivers a year-long curriculum focused exclusively on business-specific solutions for the residential real estate brokerage industry through an extensive one-on-one mentoring schedule, in-person mastermind workshops and monthly web conferences. Available to all broker and team leaders, T3 has developed a version tailored to NextHome.

The NextHome franchisee business owners who have successfully completed the rigorous 12-month program and will be graduating in the fall 2021 class are Sue Larsen, broker-owner of NextHome South Sound in DuPont, Washington, and Bobbi Slagle, broker-owner of NextHome Preferred in Felton, Delaware.

These NextHome brokers have stayed the course and, taking what they learned through the T3 Fellows program, are maximizing the opportunities that exist in the market to supercharge their brokerages and take them to the next level, said program director Dean Cottrill.

The course gave me dedicated time to delve into subjects and topics critical to the success and growth of my office, said Larson, a graduate of this T3 Fellows NextHome class. I have implemented several changes to my brokerage and foresee continuing to make changes to work more effectively and proactively as a result. If you feel stuck or on autopilot  this program is for you.

I have learned how to better analyze my business income and expenses, dive deeper into tracking year-over-year performance, better forecast my budget and how to better recruit the right agents, said T3 Fellows graduate Slagle. I was challenged regularly to rethink regular practices and strive for a greater understanding of how to be the best business owner I can be.

"Through the T3 Fellows program, the T3 Sixty team continues to provide an in-depth course that has transformed already successful brokers into some of the very best our industry has on offer, said Imran Poladi, vice president of NextHome. Jack Miller and Dean Cottrill have provided the guidance and instruction that has shaped our NextHome broker-owners into ultra-successful business owners. I couldn't give a higher recommendation for the T3 Fellows Program."

About T3 Sixty

T3 Sixty is a trusted advisor and management consultancy in the residential real estate brokerage industry. T3 Sixty also provides extensive data services and research to affect intelligent change and growth. For more, visit t360.com.

About T3 Fellows

The T3 Fellows program helps the leaders of brokerages and teams grow successful real estate organizations through a detailed, thorough curriculum, one-on-one consulting, in-person retreats and mentor support. The program provides a proven framework for success, supported by smart, accomplished cohorts and an experienced group of guides and mentors. To learn more about the program or apply, visit t3fellows.com.


Were excited to complete this project concurrently with the opening of our Nashville Regional Office. Nashville is a great market with a lot of activity, and we are pleased to grow our partnership with Equity Resources, LLC there.

McShane Construction Company has completed the construction of Parc at Murfreesboro on behalf of repeat client Equity Resources, LLC. Located southeast of Nashville in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the new luxury multi-family community offers 359 units.

Were excited to complete this project concurrently with the opening of our Nashville Regional Office, stated Scott Hoppa, Senior Vice President & Regional Manager at McShane. Nashville is a great market with a lot of activity, and we are pleased to grow our partnership with Equity Resources, LLC there.

The complex is comprised of ten wood frame residential buildings, all of which offer elevator access, situated throughout a 22.5-acre site. The property offers 165 one-bedroom units, 164 two-bedroom units and 30 three-bedroom units. Each unit features high-end finishes such as granite countertops, under-mount sinks, custom routed wood cabinetry with brushed nickel hardware, stainless steel appliances and upscale wood-finish flooring. Units also have either a sunroom or a private balcony.

The community also offers generous indoor and outdoor amenities. Totaling nearly 9,900 square feet, interior amenities include a Class A clubhouse with a cardio room and weights, a gourmet coffee and hot tea bar, a resident retreat with media and gaming and a cyber-business cafe.

The outdoor amenity area provides a resort-style swimming pool with an expansive Wi-Fi sun deck and soothing fountains, an outdoor grill pavilion, a car care center and a well-appointed dog park, complete with agility equipment and a dog wash.

The property also incorporates surface parking along with seven freestanding garages and electric vehicle charging stations.

Just 30 miles from downtown Nashville, Parc at Murfreesboro provides close proximity to I-24 with direct access to the city center.

Dynamik Design provided architectural services for Parc at Murfreesboro.
The "Live Bravely" Ford Ranger in cooperation with Outside Magazine. All the work was completed by, what Dolphin describes as the midwest Dream Team, of Attitude Performance in Arlington Heights, Illinois and CPV Paint & Graphics in Franksville, Wisconsin.

Custom vehicle designer, Jhan Dolphin is known for his wild custom vehicles, often paired with somewhat unusual marketing partnerships. Hes developed vehicle promotions with the guys from Black Rifle Coffee, NBC Sports, Maui Jim sunglasses, Dairy Queen, and even the rock band, Cheap Trick, just to name a few. However, his latest pairing actually makes perfect sense.

Our entire build team lives an active lifestyle and loves the outdoors. explained Dolphin. So were honored to be working with the team at Outside on this project. Their magazine and online content represents everything we love about the outdoors, and is the number one resource for information about gear, travel, and the activities we are passionate about.

The project began as a new 2021 Ford Ranger pick-up. All the work was completed by, what Dolphin describes as the midwest Dream Team, of Attitude Performance in Arlington Heights, Illinois and CPV Paint & Graphics in Franksville, Wisconsin. Both have worked with Dolphin on a variety of award-winning vehicle concepts. A long list of aftermarket accessories and modifications was selected for the project, using some of the best names in the business.

The BDS suspension, FOX shocks, ARB bumpers and aggressive BF Goodrich tires provide the nimble Ranger truck with expanded capability off-road, while the comfortable interior includes custom leather seating from Katzkin and the Gaia GPS App from Outside, for backcountry hiking, biking, and off-road camping. The bed of the truck is all business, with a TruckVault secure storage system, ARB fridge, a roof top tent, the innovative WaterGen (atmospheric water collection) system, and the (smokeless) FirePit plus from BioLite. An additional power supply is courtesy of a Goal Zero power pack and a series of powerful Rigid accessory lights are ready to illuminate the trail.

The truck, nicknamed Live Bravely will be unveiled in the Ford Motor Co. exhibit this week at the Automotive Aftermarket industrys huge SEMA show event in Las Vegas. After SEMA, the vehicle will make appearances across the U.S. at a variety of live shows and active lifestyle events, with many exciting adventures in between. For additional information on the project and the list of accessories and gear used to create Live Bravely, visit: http://www.JRobertMarketing.com
Gods Miracle Work in My Life: a gripping tale of survival, abuse, and unwavering faith. Gods Miracle Work in My Life is the creation of published author Milijana Hansee, a loving grandmother from Serbia who is active in a local Greek Orthodox church.

Hansee shares, This book will be of interest to anyone who has experienced hardships and found comfort and guidance through the power of God. In this book, I share my story. Follow along as I tell you about my life from growing up in a one-room house in Serbia with nine people without todays luxuries, the loss of my mother at a young age, working from age five, lacking of nutritious food and clean water, the marriage to an abusive man, my divorce and bringing my children out of war-torn Serbia, becoming a US citizen, and to meeting, then losing, the great love of my life. I encourage everyone to have a relationship with God because I could not have made it this far without Him. He has led me out of suffering, showing me His love, guidance, and mercies. His help has allowed me to retain these precious memories to be able to share it with others. Throughout my journey, I stood strong with my God, knowing to not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you (Deuteronomy 3:22).

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Milijana Hansees new book is a private look inside the authors most personal thoughts.

Readers will have a front row seat to witness the moments that shaped the authors life and faith.

Consumers can purchase Gods Miracle Work in My Life at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Gods Miracle Work in My Life, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Boston-based 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 Boston, Massachusetts 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 of 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 Boston-Cambridge, Massachusetts market is a competitive job market in the U.S. Northeast, employing more than 4.3 million people. Offering industry leading, competitive employee benefits is a critical factor in hiring top talent for Boston 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 Boston are as follows:



Brown & Brown of Massachusetts

Cross Insurance

Eastern Insurance

EBS Insurance Brokers

Gallagher Insurance, Risk Management & Consulting

HUB International

Lockton

Marsh McLennan Agency

Spring Consulting Group

Willis Towers Watson

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 Boston, 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
Denver-based recipients' award badge Mployer Advisor celebrates this distinguished group of brokers and consultants.

Mployer Advisor, the leading independent platform for employers to research, review and evaluate insurance brokers, is pleased to announce the Denver, Colorado 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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado market is a competitive job market in the U.S. West, employing more than 1.6 million people. Offering industry leading, competitive employee benefits is a critical factor in hiring top talent for Denver 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 Denver are as follows:



AssuredPartners

Gallagher Insurance, Risk Management & Consulting

Hays Company, A Brown & Brown Insurance Company

HUB International

IMA Financial Group

Lockton

Moody Insurance Services

USI Insurance Services

Willis Towers Watson

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 Denver, 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
Grand Rapids-based 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 Grand Rapids, Michigan 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 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan market is a competitive job market in the U.S. Midwest, employing more than 545,000 people, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Offering industry leading, competitive employee benefits is a critical factor in hiring top talent for Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids are as follows:

-Acrisure

-Advantage Benefits Group

-BHS Insurance

-HNI Risk Services

-HUB International

-Hylant

-Lighthouse, An Alera Group Company

-Marsh McLennan Agency

-USI Insurance Services

-Willis Towers Watson

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 Grand Rapids, 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
Twin Cities-based 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 Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota market is a competitive job market in the U.S. Midwest, employing more than 3.6 million people. Offering industry leading, competitive employee benefits is a critical factor in hiring top talent for Twin Cities 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 Twin Cities are as follows:



Christensen Group Insurance

Gallagher Insurance, Risk Management & Consulting

Hays Companies, A Brown & Brown Insurance Company

HUB International

Marsh McLennan Agency

NFP

USI Insurance Services

Willis Towers Watson

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 the Twin Cities, 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
NCRI  OSMOSIS Institute Not-Profit of the Year NCRI is increasingly relied upon to help organizations build the capability to defend themselves, and open source data ingestion and analysis are key to accomplishing that objective.

The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying and forecasting the threat and spread of misinformation and disinformation across social media networks, has been named the Open Source Non-Profit of the Year by the OSMOSIS Institute. The OSMOSIS Institute educates and trains cyberintelligence investigators, researchers, reporters, and analysts on OSINT (open-source intelligence) and SOCMINT (social media intelligence) techniques and best practices. The award presentation occurred on the final day of OSMOSIScon, an educational and networking forum for intelligence professionals.

NCRI was recognized for its investment in and commitment to open source intelligence solutions that have yielded distinguished achievements in investigative casework. In 2020 and 2021 respectively, NCRI exposed and warned of imminent violence by groups including Boogaloo and QAnon; charted the troubling rise of sinophobia amid the COVID-19 pandemic; and demonstrated how online disinformation influences discourse in civil society.

The NCRI is now tracking a concerning trend: disinformation used by state and non-state actors as a tool of economic war. In a recent report featured in Fortune magazine, the NCRI highlighted the efforts of Chinese influence networks, Russian propagandists, and online trolls intent on damaging corporate reputations and manipulating capital markets for financial gain.

According to the CEO of NCRI, Adam Sohn, "these threats have mutated from their traditional domain in politics and public safety to become tools of economic warfare against corporations and Western economies. They threaten the culture of healthy workplaces and the safety of employees and customers, Sohn said. And they create rifts of distrust between some of Americas most trusted brands and those they serve in communities across America.

It is tremendously gratifying to see that the judges have recognized NCRIs contributions to uncovering rampant misinformation, disinformation, and managing risk in an era of general information disorder, said Alex Goldenberg, Lead Analyst at NCRI. With little actuarial science around these emerging threats to communities, businesses, institutions, and others, NCRI is increasingly relied upon to help organizations build the capability to defend themselves, and open-source data ingestion and analysis are key to accomplishing that objective Goldenberg added.

NCRI collaborates with local, state, and federal law enforcement, faith-based institutions, and the worlds largest companies to build new capabilities that forecast, identify, and mitigate emerging threats.

The OSMOSIS Open Source Awards were launched in 2020. Other award categories included Rising Star of the Year and Diversity Trailblazer of the Year.

About NCRI

Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) is the worlds foremost expert in researching, identifying, and forecasting the spread of misinformation and disinformation across social media platforms. Companies, organizations and institutions trust the NCRI to help them quickly identify emerging threats and forecast potential risks so they can be proactive in protecting their organizational equity before these false narratives can spread too deeply to customers, clients, partners, and the broader public.

NCRIs proprietary ingest engine intelligently processes and classifies open-source social media data. Its the most comprehensive platform available today for social media pattern recognition and research. In fact, our technology platform generates more than 1 million data inquiries each quarter. Our expert team of data scientists, research analysts, social scientists, and global intelligence professionals, skillfully analyze and interpret the data collected to forecast emerging threats and make strategic recommendations for action.

For more information, contact Alex Goldenberg at alex@ncri.io or visit networkcontaion.us.

About OSMOSIS

Founded by Cynthia Hetherington of Hetherington Group in 2015, The OSMOSIS Institute hosts the annual OSMOSIS Conference to educate, inform and protect investigators and analysts within the cybersecurity industry.

Developed by OSINT investigators for the legal, law enforcement, investigative journalism, business and accounting community, the OSMOSIS conference brings together some of the world's most recognized social media and open source investigative trainers into one valuable educational experience. This gathering of experts offers non-stop training on the Dark Web, the latest cellular and desktop social media investigations, open source searching, asset research, and borderless possibilities on the international front, plus the legal implications of this.

To learn more about the OSMOSIS Institute, visit https://www.osmosiscon.com/about-us/
Jeanne Corvese Hussin launches her award winning memoir, I See Old People, and donates 50% of book royalties to the Alzheimers Association from October 20th through December 31st, 2021*. The book is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

In these pages, Hussin tells the story of her family, her interactions with memory care residents, and finally, her storybook never too late romance in a memoir out of the ordinary. She reminds readers that its never too late to give back, to find love, or to be kind.

An Amazon reader writes, This collection reads like a blueprint for how to treat others and a master class in simply being a good human. So many powerful themes here  its not too late to live the life you want, be kind, you'll reap what you sow.

The inspiration for her book came from her volunteer visits with memory care residents when she was an unemployed single mom. She found herself immersed in the lives of these seniors. During her visits, she found a way to capture their remarkable stories.

Through the power of giving back and equipped with her new lease on life, Jeanne finds love again in an unexpected twist. I See Old People confirms that its never too late.

From the pages emerges a delightful cast of characters so rich in wisdom, you wont soon forget them. When all seemed to have lost its luster, Jeanne said, With a tiny bit of faith, there is a way. That gives me hope, it gives me courage, and it gives me the energy to encourage kindness and compassion. We all need to feel like we matter, no matter what age, no matter who we are.

For more information about I See Old People, visit http://www.kindconversations.com.

*For every book shipped, 50% of book royalties will be donated to the Alzheimers Association.

About the author

Jeanne Corvese Hussin is chief marketing officer for a financial services company based in Seattle. A compelling story teller, she has over 30 years experience in brand marketing and public speaking. In her award winning autobiography, I See Old People, she shows how to lead with compassion and shares her remarkable love story. Jeanne resides in Washington with her husband Joe and their two mixed dachshunds, Tasha Bear and Oscar. She volunteers her time visiting with seniors who suffer from dementia and enjoys spending time with her son Jason.

Learn more at http://www.kindconversations.com.
A crooked Wall Street trader hides millions of dollars in the Florida wilds, and its a race to the dough as everyone from mobsters to crooked cops joins the hunt in Danny Coreys The Kumquat Hustle (published by Archway Publishing).

Rogue Wall Street trader Marty Bekoff has achieved the impossible and stolen 60 billion dollars from his investors. Too bad the FBI is onto him. Moments before the feds take him into custody, Marty squirrels away forty million dollars in several unknown locations in the wilds of Florida.

When word of the hidden loot leaks out, the chase is on. Redneck dopers, bloodthirsty mobsters, and crooked cops join the hunt for the spoils, as do octogenarian hookers and frantic ex-cons. Add to that dirty cops, high-end prostitution, and the Irish and Italian mob.

Loosely based on the true story of the largest heist and Ponzi Scheme in American history, The Kumquat Hustle is a lampooning, satirical roasting of the fraud and crimes of Wall Street, involving tens of billions of dollars. Corey wants his book to teach readers to Be careful where you invest your money.

The Kumquat Hustle is available for purchase online at the Archway link above, from Barnes & Noble and on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Kumquat-Hustle-Danny-Corey/dp/1665712988.

The Kumquat Hustle

By Danny Corey

Hardcover | 6 x 9 in | 410 pages | ISBN 9781665712989

Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 410 pages | ISBN 9781665712996

E-Book | 410 pages | ISBN 9781665713245

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

In a legal career spanning 34 years, Daniel Corey has defended over 8000 defendants charged with major felonies, trying jury trials ranging from prostitution to murder. Prior to his vocation as a civilian trial lawyer, he served as a U. S Army Judge Advocate. He splits his time between homes in Charleston, West Virginia and the Florida Keys.

Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the worldwide leader in self-publishing, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 844-669-3957.
A diverse array of scientists, doctors, technologists and startup founders will keynote on the new concepts in health and wellness theyre busy inventingshaking up everything from healthcare to higher education

The 2021 Global Wellness Summits theme is A New New Era in Health & Wellnessand the numerous keynote speakers announced today powerfully illustrate that we are indeed entering an unprecedented time of wellness disruption and creativity. A diverse array of scientists, doctors, technologists and startup founders will keynote on the new concepts in health and wellness theyre busy inventingshaking up everything from healthcare to higher education.

Chip Conley, founder of the Modern Elder Academy, the first midlife wisdom school, will discuss the profoundly different future ahead for aging and new models that will make it healthier. Dr. Varda Shalev, director of Maccabitech, the innovative research wing of Israel's vast Maccabi Healthcare Services, and co-founder of the startup, Alike Health, will explain how artificial intelligence (AI), crowdsourcing and big data can transform healthcare by delivering new preventative, personalized medicine. Abby Brody, founder of MYX, a 21st-century approach to higher education, will speak on how a new focus on purpose and wellness can transform the college experience.

Experts will explain how everything from circadian science to cryptocurrencies and blockchain to lighting technology will change human health and the wellness market. A dedicated Tech Pavilion will showcase the latest innovations from major industry players including fitness technology leader, Technogym; recovery tech pioneer, Therabody; and Mindbody, the platform that connects people to wellness providers.

The Summit takes place in-person in Boston, Massachusetts and virtually from November 30 to December 3. View the evolving lineup of speakers.

Were gathering an extremely wide range of thinkers and companies who are pushing wellness and prevention far beyond the usual categoriesmany using science and technology to do more than create another commercial wellness product, but rather solve huge health problems and do nothing less than change the world, said Susie Ellis, GWS chair and CEO.

More on the speakers and their talks on the future of health & wellness:

Abby Brody is founder and CEO of MYX, a new approach to higher education that meets the needs of the 21st century by creating experiences for young adults to find their life purpose while also gaining essential skills for life success. Shes a lifetime educator, a founding member of Avenues: The World School, and her keynote speech is entitled: Disrupting Higher Education for a Higher Purpose.

Mickey Beyer-Clausen, CEO of Timeshifter, Dr. Steven W. Lockley of Harvard Medical School, and Mike Massimino, former NASA astronaut, will deliver a provocative session on Reinventing Time.

Mickey Beyer-Clausen, a Danish-born, New York-based serial entrepreneur, has a long track record of building genre-defining companies with a focus on improving peoples mental performance and wellbeing using science and technology. As co-founder of Timeshifter, the worlds first tech platform for optimizing health and performance using circadian science, he oversees a team solving some big problems: from shift work disorder to jet lag to medical treatment and medication efficacy.

Steven W. Lockley, BSc, PhD, is a world-renowned sleep and circadian neuroscientist, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and co-founder and chief scientist at Timeshifter. He has spent 25 years studying ways to reset the circadian clock and works with clients such as NASA and Formula 1s elite.

Mike Massimino, PhD, is a former NASA astronaut; professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University; the senior advisor for space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum; New York Times bestselling author of Spaceman: An Astronauts Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe; and recurring character on The Big Bang Theory.

Chip Conley is a rebel hospitality entrepreneur who disrupted his favorite industrytwice. At age 26 he founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality, turning an inner-city motel into the second-largest US boutique hotel brand. He was then instrumental in transforming Airbnb into the worlds leading hospitality brand as Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy. Hes the author of five books, including New York Times bestsellers. He is founder of the Modern Elder Academy, the first mid-life wisdom school dedicated to transforming aging. He will speak on how aging will be radically reimagined in the future.

Maggie Hsu is global business development lead for Amazon Web Services blockchain product, Amazon Managed Blockchain. She previously led business development for AirSwap/Fluidity and held executive positions at Zappos.com and Hilton Worldwide. She is co-founder of Gold House, a nonprofit collective of pioneering Asian leaders; and is a Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures Industry Scholar. Her keynote: Cryptocurrencies, Block Chain and Why It Matters.

Varda Shalev, MD, MPH, is professor of epidemiology and preventative medicine at Tel Aviv University and the director of Maccabitech, the influential innovation wing of Israel's Maccabi Healthcare Services (the second-largest provider in Israel). At Maccabitech she has used big data analysis and AI to transform healthcare in Israel, developing digital medical systems and creating the largest biobank in the country (bio samples from 2 million patients; data from 9,000 providers) to create much smart, prevention-focused medicinefrom being able to predict colon cancer from routine blood tests to inventing technology that custom-tailors antibiotics for each patient. She is co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Alike Health, which harnesses the power of artificial intelligence, crowdsourcing and big data to empower patients, change healthcare, and improve lives. Her keynote: Digital Health Transforms a Nation.

Panel featuring health and wellness innovators from the startup nation of Israelmoderated by Amir Alroy and Galit Horovitz, Welltech Ventures:

Amir Alroy is co-founder of Welltech Ventures, Israels leading fund focused exclusively on investing in the health and wellness space, partnering with entrepreneurs that are building paradigm-shattering companies. He was the founder and CEO of Cloud 9 Wellness Clubs, the first exclusive personal training clubs in Israel, and COO of the global company, Arizen Real Estate Development.

Galit Horovitz, co-founder of Welltech Ventures, has extensive experience in business development and international M&A, working with companies in various fields including technology, finance and consulting. Previously, she was business development partner at SZ Financial Consulting, and also worked at BDO Consulting Firm in the global M&A department.

Tech Pavilion featured companies:

Ballancer Pro: State-of-the-art technology delivering contactless massage, full-body detox and body contouring in a relaxing setting.

Healthe: A tech leader harnessing the power of light to create a safer, more productive, and healthier indoor environmentwhich develops products using UVC and Far-UVC 222 technologies that independent studies show inactivate viruses and bacteria in the air and on surfaces.

Human Touch: Will present the Human Touch Super Novo massage chair, recognized as one of the best wellness and recovery innovations on the market.

Mindbody: The leading experience technology platform for the fitness, wellness, and beauty industries. Fitness studios, salons, spas, and integrative health centers use Mindbody's integrated software and payments platform to run, market, and grow their businesses.

OsteoStrong: The foundation of longevity starts with developing a superhuman skeletal system with OsteoStrongs patented robotic devices.

Technogym: The worlds leading brand in equipment and digital services for fitness, sport and health; 50 million people train on Technogym equipment each day in over 100 countries.

Therabody: Will showcase how their solutions are transforming the wellness and recovery experience across industries with TheraOne USDA Certified Organic CBD products and smart therapeutic modalities including percussive, vibration, compression, and muscle stimulation therapy.

Registration is now open for the in-person event at the Encore Boston Harbor; space is extremely limited.

Virtual attendees have access to all on-stage presentationslive and on-demandas well as online breakout and networking sessions hosted by Anna Bjurstam, Six Senses Wellness Pioneer. Register to attend virtually here.

Media: To apply to attend virtually or in-person as press, please fill out the media accreditation form.

About the Global Wellness Summit The Global Wellness Summit is the premier organization that brings together leaders and visionaries to positively shape the future of the $4.5 trillion global wellness economy. Its future-focused conference is held at a different global location each year and has traveled to the US, Switzerland, Turkey, Bali, India, Morocco, Mexico, Austria, Italy and Singapore. GWS also hosts regular virtual gatherings, including Wellness Master Classes, Wellness Sector Spotlights and Investor Reverse Pitch events. The organizations annual Global Wellness Trends Report offers expert-based predictions on the future of wellness. The 2021 Summit will be held in Boston from November 30December 3.
Greg Ubert on a coffee farm Training is one thing we do really, really well at Crimson Cup. We teach and train our customers how to be successful. And if they're successful, we're successful! - Greg Ubert

Heartland Bank CEO Scott McComb recently interviewed Greg Ubert, Founder and President of Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea, for the banks Driving the CBUS podcast. New co-host Kailyn Bucklew joined the podcast.

The team talked about Uberts 30-year history in specialty coffee, his passion for entrepreneurship and his love of his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. They also touched on Crimson Cups focus on good and its drive to create a sustainable coffee future.

It started in 1991, and it's still just super exciting for me to be in the business and to continue to innovate and do the things were doing, Ubert said.

Today, he heads an award-winning specialty coffee company and serves on the Heartland Bank and Columbus Chamber boards of directors.

Yet 30 years ago, Ubert was a recent Harvard University graduate. Despite landing a lucrative corporate job in Chicago, he discovered he couldnt fall in love with computer software.

Instead, specialty coffee and the lure of starting a small business swept him off his feet. With its quality public schools and supportive business culture, Ohios capital seemed the perfect place to start a new venture and raise a family.

Coffee  or great coffee  just wasn't around, he said. I thought there's no way Columbus wont be a great city with cuisine, given all the things that Columbus offers.

After moving back to his hometown, Ubert set up as a specialty coffee roaster, with a tiny roasting machine in a one-room office. He named his company Crimson Cup for the ripe red cherry of the coffee tree and Harvards official color, crimson.

His goal was to roast the best coffee anyone had tasted. And soon, coffee shops and restaurants were proud to serve Crimson Cup.

But, even with exceptional coffee, some customers struggled to make a profit.

They didn't know, in the coffee industry, what was going to make them money, what was going to keep them around, what was going to keep them strong, he recalled.

So, after studying coffee shop operations, Ubert developed a coffee shop startup platform called 7 Steps to Success.

And in 2003, he put his experience into a book, Steps to Success: a Common-Sense Guide to Succeed in Specialty Coffee.

This proven roadmap teaches entrepreneurs with little or no coffee experience how to run a profitable coffee shop based on a terrific location, exceptional coffee and other factors.

To date, over 300 entrepreneurs in 30 states have followed the 7 Steps to create thriving coffee shops.

Crimson Cup coffee shop startup consultants guide new owners step by step, from writing a solid business plan to choosing equipment, hiring and training employees and more.

Training is one thing we do really, really well at Crimson Cup, Ubert said. We teach and train our customers how to be successful. And if they're successful, we're successful!

Ubert also talked about sustainable coffee farming. Over a decade ago, the company started investing in farmer relationships and farming communities, then developed its Friend2Farmer initiatives to make a meaningful impact in coffee-growing communities.

We teach farmers to make better coffee, and then we can pay them more for it. Then they can invest in their farms and communities, Ubert said.

Crimson Cup also invests in community projects such as schools, water filtration buckets and building homes for coffee workers.

Looking ahead, Ubert says Crimson Cup has begun to emphasize a Focus on Good in branding and communications.

I believe very strongly that people are good throughout the world. Ubert said.

If we can look at that and get others to look at that, too, that could quite possibly change things for the better. Thats how we landed on Focus on Good as a core message.

Each new local coffee shop or farmer relationship adds impact to The Ripple Effect, a focus on good that spreads from our actions to small businesses and communities around the globe, he concluded.

To hear the full story of Crimson Cups history, its focus on good and work toward a sustainable future for coffee and the farmers who grow it, listen to the podcast.

About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Columbus coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea is celebrating 30 years of Coffee + Community. Since May 1991, Crimson Cup has roasted sustainably sourced craft coffee for consumers and wholesale coffee customers. It is a 2020 Good Food Award winner, 2019 Golden Bean Champion for Small Franchise/Chain Roaster and Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year.

Through its 7 Steps to Success coffee shop startup program, the company teaches entrepreneurs to run independent coffee houses in their local communities. By developing a coffee shop business plan, entrepreneurs gain insight into how much it costs to open a coffee shop.

Crimson Cup also supports life-enriching projects through its Friend2Farmer initiatives, promoting the education, health, sustainability and economic growth of small-plot coffee farmers and their communities.

Crimson Cup coffee is available through over 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 30 states, Guam and Bangladesh. The company also operates several Crimson Cup Coffee Houses and a new Crimson retail flagship store. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com, or follow the company on Facebook and Instagram.
Megan McKenzie inherits a castle in Scotland, but instead of finding just a house, she finds love, ancient mysticism, and a secret that could tear her life apart in Katelyn Emilia Novaks new fantasy novel The Magic Ring of Brodgar: Book one: The inheritance (published by Archway Publishing).

Young and successful Megan McKenzies life is turned upside down when she goes to the north of Scotland to claim her inheritance of an ancestral castle. There, she meets her Scottish family  a powerful clan that plunges her into the history of the mystical traditions and beliefs of their land.

Unexpectedly, Megan finds loyal friends and worst enemies and falls in love with a handsome and mysterious highlander, Derek. Uncertainty and doubt torment Megan as she struggles to choose between a quiet and comfortable life in London and a life of danger with Derek in Scotland.

For Megan, who is afraid of the dark and everything inexplicable, her lovers terrible secret comes as a blow, plunging her into a world of fear. How much will she have to pay to discern friend from foe, and can she stay true to herself while walking this dark path? Megan and Derek must traverse their way through the labyrinths of fate to find an answer.

Novak hopes that her book will captivate readers and take them on an emotional rollercoaster ride, leaving them craving more.

The Magic Ring of Brodgar is available for purchase online at the Archway link above, from Barnes & Noble and on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Ring-Brodgar-Book-Inheritance/dp/1665713496.

The Magic Ring of Brodgar

By Katelyn Emilia Novak

Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 290 pages | ISBN 9781665713498

Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5 in | 290 pages | ISBN 9781665713504

E-Book | 290 pages | ISBN 9781665713511

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Katelyn Emilia Novak lives in London. The Magic Ring of Brodgar is her first book in a forthcoming series. With it, she gives romance and fantasy lovers a new story.

Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the worldwide leader in self-publishing, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 844-669-3957.
We started PadSplit four years ago with the simple mission of creating opportunities for people who need them, one room at a time.

PadSplit, the countrys largest shared housing marketplace specifically designed for the workforce, is announcing a $20.5 million Series B round of financing today with investment from Core Innovation Capital, Impact Engine, Citi, Alate Partners, Mark Cuban Companies, and Cox Enterprises, amongst others. The Atlanta-based company will utilize the capital for market expansion and to offer a new turnkey solution for real estate investors to create PadSplits, as a means to create more housing supply. To date, PadSplit has created more than 2,500 shared housing units and housed more than 5,000 individuals, with rooms available at 40-50 percent of the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in its markets. PadSplit is also far more accessible than traditional one-bedroom apartments because it requires no minimum credit score or security deposit.

We started PadSplit four years ago with the simple mission of creating opportunities for people who need them, one room at a time, said founder and CEO Atticus LeBlanc. Im incredibly grateful right now, knowing that this financial support enables us to continue increasing housing supply that is more affordable and more accessible for the workers serving our communities. As a Public Benefit Corporation, we believe its possible to do well and good at the same time, and our results have clearly proven that our double-bottom-line approach can create housing supply faster and more cost-effectively than any other solution. Were actively expanding geographies so more of our workforce can find quality housing and save money for their futures.

Founded in 2017, PadSplits marketplace offers shared housing uniquely tailored for community workers who serve schools, restaurants, hospitals, grocery stores, hotels, and government offices. Each PadSplit includes a private, fully furnished bedroom and shared common areas, with utilities and WiFi at no additional cost. PadSplits backend technology facilitates a customizable payment schedule so residents can align the timing of payments to their work pay periods, making it easier to budget. PadSplits are located nearby job centers or public transit, and with no long-term commitments, residents can easily relocate to remain close to new jobs without relying on car ownership or long commutes. Finally, PadSplit partners with other mission-focused organizations to provide more benefits at no-cost, including Esusu for credit repair and monitoring, Wonolo for job matching and Teladoc for 24/7 access to telehealth services.

As a result of this targeted approach, PadSplit is helping its residents achieve greater financial stability:



88% have improved their credit scores

Residents report savings of $420 per month across their housing, utility and transportation costs

Many have been able to save enough to purchase cars, move into their own apartments, and even become homeowners, where they have been able rent out rooms through the platform to start the cycle for others

One PadSplit member said about their experience: PadSplit is a fresh start at a fraction of the cost, and it helped me build a foundation for financial stability. Finding a fully-furnished place in the city at this price point is near impossible. What you get with PadSplit  fully-furnished, all utilities, laundry  cant be beaten.

PadSplits model has been proven to increase housing supply, while decreasing barriers to access, all without any direct public subsidy. Because PadSplit maximizes the space available in existing single-family homes, property owners are also able to increase net operating income through their PadSplit homes, while providing a vital housing option for the workforce. PadSplit provides management services for all of its homes, providing marketing support, handling background checks, coordinating payments and building proprietary technology for the resident experience. And now, through this funding, PadSplit will offer a turnkey solution to real estate investors interested in shared housing, providing access to a vendor network to more efficiently open PadSplit rooms and provide lending and on-site management services.

Today, PadSplit has available rooms in Atlanta, Houston, Richmond, Tampa, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and San Antonio, with multiple new markets under development. The company is continuing to expand with plans to add more units to its marketplace, for more than 3,500, by the end of the year. To power this next round of growth, PadSplit is also hiring for many open, all-remote positions.

###

About PadSplit

PadSplit is the countrys largest shared housing marketplace that provides housing specifically designed for the workforce. As a Public Benefit Corporation, were intentional about doing well AND doing good, so we focus on increasing housing supply and decreasing barriers to access. Our award-winning model allows individuals to find a flexible, long-term rental option that includes furniture, utilities, and access to public transit, all without a minimum credit score. PadSplits technology platform also enables personalized rent payments that facilitate easier budgeting and allow residents to improve their financial health. Headquartered in Atlanta, PadSplit operates more than 2,500 shared housing units across the country. Apply to become a resident or a property owner at https://PadSplit.com.
Removery celebrates the opening of its first location in Oklahoma in the Belle Isle Shopping Center in Oklahoma City. We are eager to empower Oklahomans to become who they want to be, by giving them choices over their tattoos while providing the highest quality service and care at every stage of their tattoo removal journey. -- Tom Weber, CEO of Removery

Removery, the world leader in laser tattoo removal services announced today that it has opened a new studio in Oklahoma City, OK. A prime location in Belle Isle Shopping Center just off the NW Expressway, this is the brands first location in Oklahoma. To celebrate the grand opening and its commitment to Oklahoma City, Removery is partnering with The Dragonfly Home, a non-profit dedicated to providing the highest standard of care for survivors of human trafficking in Oklahoma City and throughout Oklahoma.

We are thrilled to open our doors in Oklahoma City, our first location in the Sooner State, said Tom Weber, CEO of Removery. We are eager to empower Oklahomans to become who they want to be, by giving them choices over their tattoos while providing the highest quality service and care at every stage of their tattoo removal journey.

The tattoo removal specialists at Removery are highly trained in the most advanced laser tattoo removal equipment and procedures. Removery uses PicoWay laser technology that makes their work as fast, effective and comfortable as possible while minimizing the number of treatment sessions. The laser also enables Removery specialists to target any tattoo, no matter the ink colors used or skin type.

INK-nitiative Program

In alignment with the grand opening, Removery is inviting the Oklahoma City community to visit https://removery.com/about-us/ink-nitiative/ to nominate individuals for the INK-nitiative program. A global community outreach initiative, Removerys INK-nitiative program is designed to provide safe, effective and free tattoo removal on the hands, neck and face to those who were formerly incarcerated, gang members, survivors of human trafficking and those who wish to remove hate symbols or racist tattoos. For every paying person who completes their tattoo removal journey, Removery will provide a removal service to someone in need.

In conjunction with our new location opening in Oklahoma City, we are hosting an open call for our INK-nitiative program, added Weber. Old tattoos can be a painful reminder of a life left behind. We want to empower people whove had the courage to change and help them feel confident in their new path.

The Dragonfly Home

Removery will be an official tattoo removal partner of The Dragonfly Home, providing free removal of tattoos on the face, neck and hands of survivors, as well as discounted tattoo removal on other areas of the body. Our organization is honored to partner with Removery, said Whitney Anderson, Executive Director of The Dragonfly Home. The INK-nitiative program and The Dragonfly Home both support survivors in transformation, courage and resilience, and together our services will help them on their paths to freedom and restoration.

About Removery

Removery is the largest specialized provider of laser tattoo removal services in the world with more than 70 locations across the U.S., Australia and Canada. Its laser specialists are highly trained in Candelas state-of-the-art PicoWay lasers. Removery is clinically driven and the only tattoo removal brand with an Advisory Board that consists of leaders in the medical, dermatology, aesthetic, plastic surgery and laser industries. To learn more about Removery and tattoo removal, see before and after photos or schedule an in-person or virtual consultation, visit Removery.com.


Today Selling Power released its list of the Top 20 Virtual Sales Training Companies in 2021: https://bit.ly/3EiBmCd.

For the second year in a row, Selling Power has compiled this Top 20 list that focuses specifically on sales training firms that are helping sales leaders navigate the shift toward virtual selling by providing sales training programs that are delivered remotely via Web meeting, platform, or app.

According to Selling Power publisher and CEO Gerhard Gschwandtner, As hybrid and remote work become more of the norm in todays workplace, delivering best-in-class sales training programs virtually  that achieve the same ROI as sales training programs in a classroom setting  has become an essential strategy for maintaining a winning sales organization.

All companies on the list submitted a comprehensive application that included a detailed listing of their offerings for both training and retention, delivery methods, and their response to changing market conditions. The main criteria used when comparing applicants and selecting the companies to include on this years list were:



Strategies to keep participants engaged

The scope and breadth of virtual sales training offerings

Methodologies for supporting participant retention

Innovation in offerings and/or delivery as a response to customer needs or changes in the marketplace

Strength of client satisfaction and general client feedback

To evaluate client satisfaction, the Selling Power team surveyed and considered feedback from over 250 clients of the applicants. Their feedback reveals that while delivering results on ROI on the training is paramount, so is working with a true partner that can be flexible and accommodating in the face of uncertainty and rapidly shifting priorities.

CROs, sales VPs, and sales enablement leaders can leverage this Top 20 list to find the right sales training partner to deliver best-in-class sales training virtually.

See the Selling Powers list of the Top 20 Virtual Sales Training Companies in 2021 at: https://bit.ly/3EiBmCd

About Selling Power

In addition to Selling Power, the leading digital magazine for sales managers and sales VPs since 1981, Personal Selling Power, Inc., produces the Sales Management Digest and Daily Boost of Positivity enewsletters as well as videos featuring interviews with top business executives. Selling Power is a regular media sponsor of the Sales 3.0 Conference, which is attended by a total of more than 4,500 sales leaders each year. For additional information, please visit http://www.sellingpower.com.
"Collision: Nature & Civilization" 3D Art Challenge Participants are invited to pick a moment in time past, present, future, or imaginary and tell a story about our complex relationship with nature.

Sketchfab, the premiere platform for publishing 3D content online, has teamed up with NVIDIA Studio and ConceptD for a month-long 3D art competition with a theme of Collision: Nature & Civilization.

Home to over 6 million members from around the world, Sketchfab considers this challenge theme to encompass stories that are both timeless and universal. Participants are invited to pick a moment in timepast, present, future, or imaginaryand tell a story about our complex relationship with nature.

This art challenge is Sketchfabs most ambitious to date and features cutting-edge prizes designed with 3D creators in mind: a ConceptD 5 laptop and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs. The challenge runs from Monday, November 1, 2021, until Monday, November 29, 2021, 23:59 EST.

GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs include features and optimizations designed for creators. Theyre backed by the NVIDIA Studio platform with purpose-built laptops and desktops, drivers that support the hardware for maximum stability in creative applications, RTX acceleration in more than 70 of the most popular creative applications and a suite of exclusive, NVIDIA-developed apps. They offer the performance demanded by the talented 3D creators among the Sketchfab community.

"We're excited to have NVIDIA Studio and ConceptD join us to help creators push their talents to the limit," said Alban Denoyel, co-founder of Sketchfab. "Challenges are a great opportunity for artists to build new assets, find inspiration, and gain valuable feedback. We typically see a lot of original and creative submissions from challenge participants, and we expect that this challenge will be no exception."

The Sketchfab community hosts a plethora of 3D content from incredibly talented creators and we look forward to seeing all the great content generated as part of the challenge, said Stanley Tack, Product Manager on NVIDIA Studio. The NVIDIA Studio platform is designed to support creative endeavors with hardware like the Acer ConceptD series being a great way to give creators the performance and tools to go from concept to completion in record time.

Sketchfab holds several month-long challenges each year, all of which are free to enter. Previous challenge collaborators include Sony, Mozilla, and Run the Jewels.

3D creatives interested in joining the challenge can learn more in the official challenge announcement, which includes details on how to enter and the full list of prizes.

About Sketchfab, Inc.

Sketchfab is empowering a new era of creativity by making it easy for anyone to publish and find 3D content online. With a community of millions of creators who have published millions of models, we are the largest platform for immersive and interactive 3D.

Sketchfabs technology is integrated with every major 3D creation tool and publishing platform, and is compatible across every browser, operating system, desktop, and mobile. Sketchfab also supports VR and AR on compatible hardware.

For more information: press@sketchfab.com
Supreme Origin Tolima As a coffee expert, I saw this opportunity to blend my passion for wellness and coffee into a great new brand looking to reshape how we experience our favorite morning beverage, Shattah says.

World-renowned infused coffee Supreme Origin arrives in the United States in time for the holiday season with 20 percent off for new subscribers and free shipping nationwide in November. Help coffee-loving friends and family perk up and relax this holiday season with the gift of great-tasting CBD-infused coffee for as little as $28.

Caffeinated energy without the jitters, Supreme Origin is the creation of premium coffee grower Mauricio Shattah M.D and Natures Root, an award-winning, high-end Colorado healing company with a passion for hemp. Shattah has gathered the best coffee strains in the world and infused them with premium organic hemp to produce signature CBD coffees of remarkable flavor and quality. Elevate your morning routine and give coffee-conscious friends and family the gift of a mindful morning brew this holiday season.

Shattah, a native of Colombia, has a background in radiology and oncology and a passion for health and wellness. Shattah has become a synonym for coffee excellence. Born in Colombia, Mauricio Shattah M.D. has become one of the worlds most progressive coffee experts, traveling around the globe sharing his passion for coffee. He is currently the president of the Colombian Association of Specialty Coffees. He founded Shattah Coffee and established Finca la Negrita 9 years ago in Tolima, Colombia. He guarantees a premium coffee experience with full oversight of his coffees from seed to cup.

Through Supreme Origin, Shattah hand crafts premium coffees with top-grade therapeutic CBD from Colorados Natures Roots. The energizing, uplifting effects of Supreme Origin CBD coffee kick in immediately and become more of a constant after two weeks.

As a coffee expert, I saw this opportunity to blend my passion for wellness and coffee into a great new brand looking to reshape how we experience our favorite morning beverage, Shattah says.

To achieve this top-grade CBD-infused coffee, Dr. Shattah partnered with one of Colorados most famous hemp plantations, Natures Roots. This Colorado native company is known for providing exceptional organic and award-winning CBD and hemp extracts. The powerful combination between two leading brands makes Supreme Origin a true powerhouse in the CBD coffee industry.

Give Friends and Family the Gift of Chill This Holiday Season

Supreme Origin Coffee takes the edge off any anxiety you may be feeling and helps you feel calm and alert. Its broad-spectrum CBD comes from a wide range of cannabinoids found in hemp plants that dont get you high. (Thats THC, a cannabinoid derivative with psychoactive effects.) Thanks in part to pandemic anxiety, retail cannabis sales are growing exponentially. Research shows CBD-enhanced products improve mood, boost focus and help people manage anxiety and depression as well as cognitive health issues, sleep patterns, workout recovery and joint pain. Of course, others turn to it simply for fun and relaxation. CBD works by interacting with the bodys endocannabinoid system where neurotransmitters regulate anxiety and balance the immune system. One of the best benefits of Supreme Origin CBD coffee is that it soothes the stomach.

If that research makes Supreme Origin Coffee sound appealing, other surveys reveal there are plenty of coffee drinkers interested in CBD-infused coffee who havent tried it yet  which makes it the perfect holiday gift. You might forget your daily CBD dose, but youll never forget your morning coffee.

Serenity Now: Premium CBD + Exceptional Coffee = Your Best Day

Supreme Origin Coffee knows CBD consumers are by nature label-readers trying to live a healthier, more natural lifestyle. Theyre also conscious consumers who care about the social and environmental impact of the products they buy. Supreme Origin Coffee contains top-grade coffee beans grown using innovative agricultural methods and infused with organic Colorado-grown CBD. All products undergo third-party testing to ensure full traceability.

Supreme Origin Coffee believes profit and ethics are compatible and provides sustainable livelihoods with fair wages for its workers. Supreme Origin Coffee has transparent relationships with its coffee suppliers on small plantations in Latin America, It makes sure suppliers use environmentally-responsible growing practices and offer safe, secure working conditions free of human rights violations.

We travel worldwide, finding unique coffee gems and infuse them with award-winning hemp-based cannabinoids to provide you the finest experience in every cup, Shattah says.

SUPREME ORIGIN COFFEES

Supreme Origin Tolima  Colombia

(12 oz.; One-time purchase $35; $28 with subscription) Roasted with 250 mg broad-spectrum organic hemp CBD, Tolima has a medium, clean body with notes of dark chocolate, sweet oatmeal and panela. A balanced sweet coffee with low acidity accents. For best results, brew using the dripper method.

Origin: Planadas, Tolima, Colombia, 1.600-1,900 meters

Roast: Medium Varietal: Arabica Blend 10 mg CBD per serving

Mauricio Shattah Cupping notes:

Our Tolima blend from Planadas is a fascinating coffee. Its medium-creamy body contains dark chocolate, sweet oatmeal, and panela notes that create a balanced sweet coffee with low acidity accents. This coffee blend was roasted at a medium-medium level. The dripper method will be your best ally when preparing this coffee blend, as it will help highlight its multiple qualities, but especially that of the chocolate.

Infused with Organically Grown Broad Spectrum Colorado hemp.

Origin: Planadas, Tolima, Colombia

Roast: Medium

Producer: Mauricio Shattah

Altitude: 1600 - 1900 Meters

Varietal: Arabica Blend

Process: Washed

Taste: Dark chocolate, sweet oatmeal, panela

Body: Medium clean

Acidity: Low citric

Size: 12oz bag

Supreme Origin Huila (Regular and Decaffeinated)  Colombia,

(12 oz.; One-time purchase $35; $28 with subscription) Roasted with 250 mg broad-spectrum organic hemp CBD, Supreme Origin Huila has a medium-silky body with lime, orange, sweet panela and almond notes. Its bright acidity creates a prolonged aftertaste and a mouthful of fruity flavors. For best results, brew using the Chemex method.

Origin: La Plata, Huila, Colombia, altitude 1,500-1,900 meters

Roast: Medium Varietal: Arabica Blend

Supreme Origin Red Gesha  Finca La Negrita, Colombia(12 oz.; One-time purchase $100; $80 with subscription) Containing 250 mg broad-spectrum organic hemp CBD, Red Gesha is the reigning king of coffee. Its velvety body is soft in the mouth with a harmonious balance between sweet floral, fruity flavors and bright acidity from citrus and red berries. For best results, brew using the Chemex method.

Origin: Finca La Negrita, Tolima, Colombia, altitude 2,000 meters

Roast: Medium Varietal: Red Gesha

Supreme Origin Yellow Bourbon  Finca La Negrita, Colombia

(12 oz.; One-time purchase $80; $64 with subscription) Roasted with 250 mg broad-spectrum organic hemp CBD, Yellow Bourbon has a full, silky body and a juicy, mellow, harmonious drink with notes of yellow fruits such as pineapple and mango. Yellow Bourbon has always been considered an underdog by cuppers, but deserves more credit. Yellow Bourbon has a tasteful residual and clean, prolonged, sweet aftertaste. To accentuate its strong, sweet body, use the Aeropress method.

Origin: Finca La Negrita, Tolima, Colombia, 1,850 meters

Roast: Medium Varietal: Yellow Bourbon

Availability: Supreme Origin Coffee is available in all 50 states plus Alaska, Hawaii and the District of Columbia via the online shop. Look for it in stores in major metropolitan areas where cannabis is legal in 2022.

About Supreme Origin

Start feeling your best with Supreme Origin CBD Coffee! Coffee & wellness have always been our passion, and after years of development, we finally bring to you a CBD Coffee that tastes as good as it sounds. We bring to you premium Colombian coffee infused with the best organic CBD, both produced with the highest quality standards. Enjoy your favorite brew at any time of the day and reap all the additional benefits CBD has to offer. For more information, visit us at https://supremeorigin.co/

About Natures Root (https://naturesroot.com/)

Natures Root is known for synthesizing some of the purest CBD extracts . A Denver Native at heart, industry Pioneer and Founder Dani Fontaine has revolutionized the cannabis industry in America for the past decade. Dani has been helping people rediscover their health and wellness through Cannabis and cannabis-infused products. Her passion for alternative healing led her to discover early on the power and benefits of the cannabis plant, alongside its natural components, including CBD. In 2013, Dani founded the Colorado Hemp Project, the first legalized hemp farm in the U.S.A. This farm specializes in hemp plant development, genetics, and distribution. A year after founding the Colorado Hemp Project, Dani created Nature's Root, a company focused on producing organic hemp-based wellness products, including balms, lotions, consumable goods, and others. Given the success of her products, Dani created the first legal 100% hemp spa in Colorado, an innovative venue where she can try and exhibit all her best-selling products with clients.

Follow us on Facebook at SupremeOrigin or Insta @supreme_origin

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The A-Mark Foundation released a new report titled, "Afghanistan War: US Military and Department of Defense Casualties & Dollars Spent 2001 to 2021." The report looks at the costs of the war in Afghanistan in terms of US military and Department of Defense (DOD) civilian contractor casualties as well as financial expenditures.

The Department of Defenses Defense Casualty Analysis System tracked a total of 2,456 US military deaths and 20,763 wounded during the course of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedoms Sentinel (October 2001 through August 2021).

President George W. Bush started the war in Afghanistan, and saw 626 US military deaths during his time in office. During Barack Obamas presidency, 1,752 US troops died, while 65 service members died under Donald Trump from 2017-2020, and 13 deaths occurred during Joe Bidens presidency before the last troops left Afghanistan on August 30, 2021.

In addition to US military deaths, at least 3,917 US DOD contractors and six DOD civilian employees died in the Afghanistan War, a total of 3,923 deaths. The civilian contractor death totals are believed to be incomplete, and many US contractors were citizens of other countries.

The Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute at Boston University estimated total US costs for the Afghanistan War at $2.261 trillion, which does not include future costs that may be incurred for veteran care or future interest payments on the money borrowed to pay for the war.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), an oversight authority created by Congress, reported that the United States spent $969.3 billion on the 20-year Afghanistan War. That estimate is missing cost categories that account for about $1.3 trillion of the Costs of War Project estimate: $443 billion in war-related increased spending over the DOD base budget, $296 billion in medical and disability costs for veterans of the Afghanistan War, and $530 billion in interest on war borrowing.

Steven C. Markoff, founder and CEO of the A-Mark Foundation, explained that the report is intended to present the numbers without any analysis or spin. "In keeping with our mission to present unbiased research, the facts should speak for themselves," Markoff said. "The United States incurred costs, both in human lives and financially, while fighting in Afghanistan for 20 years. This report is a resource for people who want to see those costs laid out plainly."

Other related research from the A-Mark Foundation includes a report on the Benghazi attacks and a searchable database with 7,800 sourced quotes covering 9/11 and related events. Learn more at amarkfoundation.org.
Find out more about how to access Google My Business.

In the digital age where information is accessible with the tap of a finger, Google has become the master of this new domain. Anyone can easily search up anything and everything within seconds, including businesses in the area. Many businesses are aware there's a free platform on Google that allows them to broadcast information about their company. For small or medium-sized businesses, utilizing this platform, Google My Business, to its fullest is a simple way to increase their local SEO ranking.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is important for any business. Poor SEO strategies will push a company's relevant search results down the Google rankings. There are companies, such as Actual SEO Media, Inc., that help with setting up and optimizing long-term SEO strategies, but for companies starting out, Google My Business is an excellent start.

Google My Business is for businesses that have face-to-face interactions with customers. This tool is meant to service in-person businesses with a finite location. Therefore, it's not very useful for virtual businesses.

The process of listing a business on the platform is simple.

1. Log in to Google.

2. Go to google.com/business and choose "Start Now."

3. Enter the business name.

4. Enter the address.

Choose to enable some choices: "I deliver goods and services to my customers." and "Hide my address. Only show region."

These options are for businesses that go to their customers instead of the other way around. To optimize this function fully, be sure to choose the delivery area and range.

5. Choose business categories.

Google will use these categories to target specific types of customers. Ensuring these tags are as accurate as possible will prevent Google from targeting the wrong potential customers and clients.

6. Add a phone number and website address.

7. Choose a verification method.

There are five different verification methods available: postcard, phone, email, instant, and bulk. There are pros and cons with each method, so choosing which one works best is up to the business.

Postcard verification is the old school method where a physical postcard with the verification code is mailed to the listed business address. Not all businesses are eligible for phone or email verification, but otherwise, the code will be sent via text message or email. Instant verification happens if the business also already has a verified Google Search Console (another tool that helps manage sites' performance levels) set up.

Bulk verification is for businesses with ten or more locations that aren't a service or agency managing location. Google will hand over a form to fill out with the pertinent information of all locations. Because of the lengthy process, it may take up to a week for Google to process everything.

It's not over after setting up and verifying the platform. To keep a business relevant, optimization is necessary. Adding photos, hours of operation, and disability-accessible tools to the platform will allow potential consumers ease of access to the necessary information.

As a leading SEO company in Houston, Actual SEO Media, Inc. helps clients to expand their online presence. By using a variety of SEO techniques and pay-per-click ads, the company aims to maximize clients' search engine optimization and widen their clients' scope of recognition. For more information, contact the office at (832) 834 - 0661 or by email at: info@actualseomedia.com.
Our storefront locations in city neighborhoods and suburban downtowns make for convenient and quick drop offs. Thank you, in advance, for your help in brightening a childs holiday season.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago office locations will once again serve as toy donation sites for the Marine Corp Toys For Tots program through December 8th. The Marines accept new, unwrapped toys for less fortunate children throughout Chicagoland. The complete list of participating office locations can be found here: https://www.bhhschicago.com/Toys-for-Tots

Participating in Toys For Tots is a long-standing tradition. This year, were starting a little early to give people as much time as possible to make contributions. Our storefront locations in city neighborhoods and suburban downtowns make for convenient and quick drop offs. Thank you, in advance, for your help in brightening a childs holiday season, said Diane Glass, CEO.

ABOUT BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES CHICAGO

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago is a full-service real estate firm with more than 1,400 real estate professionals and staff in 25 offices serving customers throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, the North Shore, West and Southwest communities, Southern Wisconsin, Northwest Indiana and Harbor Country, Michigan. Recognized as a Top Workplace in Chicago, their local roots are complemented by the extensive global reach of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, one of the nations leading real estate brands. Clients can experience all-inclusive homeownership services from their affiliated companies: Prosperity Home Mortgage, Fort Dearborn Title, and HomeServices Insurance. Visit BHHSChicago.com.
Dr. Chadwick Guire, DBA alumnus, Trident University International

Dr. Chadwick McGuire, a 2021 graduate of Trident University Internationals (Trident) Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program, presented research from his Doctoral Study Project (DSP), The Impact of the Air Forces Organizational Structure on the Retention Rate of Air Force Officers.

This presentation was part of the Tridents CORE webinar series and was hosted by Dr. Indira Guzman, Doctoral Studies Director in Tridents College of Business.

Dr. McGuire is a 2021 graduate of Tridents DBA program and currently serves as Senior Manager, Special Operations for HelloFresh where he is responsible for implementing data-driven solutions across operations and distributions in the U.S. He is a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.

His DSP committee was chaired by Dr. John Magrane and included valuable guidance from committee members Dr. Joseph Chan and Dr. Christopher Linski.

Dr. McGuires DSP was underpinned by a desire to understand the factors influencing the retention rate of Air Force officers, and how these factors can be improved upon to increase the retention rate. His sample population included both current officers and ones who had retired or separated in the past five years. There was full participant confidentiality, as no names were used, and all personal data was redacted.

The results of my research suggest that there are multiple variables that had a direct or inverse relationship with retention, explains Dr. McGuire. If more officers achieved a desired level of job satisfaction, this could likely result in an increased retention rate.

Variables with a direct relationship with retention include career field cultures, working conditions, fair treatment, respect, appreciation, and accomplishments. The research suggests that a decrease in work-life balance and motivation lead to higher separation rates.

With his DBA now completed, Dr. McGuire is already considering the next steps for his research. Potential future studies include exploring the same scenario within other military branches, organizing participants by generations, or studying members who are currently serving to investigate their intent to be retained at yearly intervals.

Launched in May 2015, the CORE webinar series is designed to provide faculty, students, and alumni an opportunity to share their research and skills with the Trident community.

Coordinating this effort are Tridents Doctoral Studies Directors, Dr. Heidi Smith, Dean, College of Education , Dr. Indira Guzman, Glenn R. Jones College of Business, Dr. Ryan Dwight, College of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Wenling Li, College of Education. Each college takes turns hosting webinars throughout the year, covering subject matter relevant to Tridents six doctoral programs.

Over the course of more than 50 webinars the CORE series has served as a forum for development for doctoral students and alumni, covering the Ph.D. dissertation process, writing for doctoral research, publishing in academic journals, and more. Past presenters include Trident faculty members and doctoral alumni.

An archived version of the webinar can be accessed here.

About Trident University International

Founded in 1998, Trident University International is a member of the American InterContinental University System, which is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org). Trident uses the EdActive learning approach, which employs case-based learning in an online setting to teach real-world relevant critical thinking skills designed to enhance the lives and education of students. Trident offers quality associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs and certificates, led by a qualified faculty team, over 80% of whom have doctoral degrees. Trident has over 32,000 alumni, of which more than 27,000 have a military affiliation, and has received acknowledgements from Washington Monthly, Military Times, and Military Advanced Education & Transition for their dedication to student success. Visit http://www.trident.edu or call at (855) 290-0290 to learn more about Trident's wide range of educational options.
Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC (Vertical Bridge), the largest privately owned and operated communications infrastructure company in the United States, announced today that its executive team has donated over $1.1 million from their personal funds to Warriors4Wireless and the Tower Family Foundation. The donations were made in support of the work that these non-profit organizations do to help veterans enter the telecommunications industry and to support the families of those injured on the job.

We set out to build a firm where commitment to philanthropy was core to our business of building the wireless infrastructure supporting current and next gen communications technology, said Alex Gellman, CEO and Co-Founder. As a company, over the past seven-plus years we have been able to support hundreds of organizations that our employees, partners, and clients care about through the Vertical Bridge Charitable Network, and as leaders we wanted to directly support the incredible work these two organizations do for the people in our industry.

Warriors4Wireless was formed to bridge the gap between the demand for trained and deployable wireless technicians, and the thousands of qualified service men and women eager to transfer the skills they have learned in the military. The organization provides training, advanced certification, and transitional support to veterans, so they have the building blocks they need for a career in the telecommunications industry. "Our veterans leave military service or return from deployments with tremendous skills but face difficulties re-entering the workforce, added Gellman. It is estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 open positions will need to be filled in the next 18-36 months to support the nationwide 5G buildout. Warriors4Wireless helps our servicemen and women bring their skills to a growing industry.

The Tower Family Foundation provides financial assistance to family members of a severely injured, permanently disabled, or deceased tower worker. Tower workers are an important backbone of our industry, and The Tower Family Foundations dedication to helping them and their families is admirable, said Bernard Borghei, Executive Vice President of Operations and Co-Founder, who currently serves on the Tower Family Foundation Board of Directors and is also Chairman of the Foundations Endowment Committee. We are proud to be able to support this worthy cause, and I am honored to serve alongside my colleagues in the industry on the board of this vital organization.

In 2020, Vertical Bridge donated over $1.5 million to 149 causes chosen by its employees. Since its inception, the company has given more than $7.65 million and contributed nearly 4,000 volunteer hours to 501(c)(3) organizations selected by its employees.

About Vertical Bridge:

Vertical Bridge REIT, LLC is the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure and locations in the United States, with a portfolio of more than 308,000 sites, including over 8,000 owned and master-leased towers and the nations largest and tallest collection of broadcast tower sites. The Companys portfolio spreads across all 50 states and Puerto Rico and is comprised of towers, rooftops, billboards, utility attachments, convenience stores and other locations in support of wireless network deployments. In addition to colocation, Vertical Bridge offers build-to-suit, edge data centers and in-building wireless network solutions.

Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Vertical Bridge was founded in 2014 and is led by a senior management team with over 300 years of collective experience in tower infrastructure and related sectors. Vertical Bridge became the first tower company in the world to reach net-zero emissions, gaining CarbonNeutral certification in 2020. The company was recertified in 2021. For more information, please visit https://www.verticalbridge.com/.
"We are thankful and blessed that Tourism in Frederick County, and the reasons people visit, are so well diversified." - Dave Ziedelis, Executive Director, Visit Frederick

Visit Frederick held its annual meeting on October 27, a virtual event that featured board members and employees of Frederick Countys destination marketing organization looking back at a difficult year in 2020. Despite a continuing pandemic, reports show that Frederick County has begun to recover as a tourism destination.

"We are currently outpacing some of the other areas in the market in terms of visitation," said Scott Wisnom, outgoing president of the board of directors at Visit Frederick. "Last year, we talked about recovery. And recovery was coming. Well, recovery is here."

Executive Director Dave Ziedelis, in his first annual meeting as leader of Visit Frederick following the departure of long-time director John Fieseler, lauded leaders at the City of Frederick, Frederick County, and the State of Maryland for their tireless efforts to bring visitors back to Frederick County. Visit Frederick reported revenue of $2.4 million, dollars that are invested into marketing Frederick County as a tourism destination across the country and around the world.

Ziedelis noted that, although visitation figures were off in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, signs point to bright spots in the tourism business in Frederick. "While our visitation numbers are down, we are in fact doing better than many of our other counterparts in the state," Ziedelis said. The State of Maryland reported that visitor spending in Frederick County fell 23% from 2019 to 2020. However, Frederick outpaced surrounding counties and statewide numbers, which reported visitor spending down more than 37% from 2019 to 2020. In total, Frederick County welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors in 2020.

Two elements important to the Maryland tourism market - corporate and government travel - continue to stall full recovery in the state, including in Frederick County.

"We are thankful and blessed that Tourism in Frederick County, and the reasons people visit, are so well diversified  from history, outdoor recreation, and the arts - to shopping, dining, and the craft beverage industry. Frederick County has something of interest, and to offer, all demographic segments of the visitation mix," he reported.

Ziedelis also pointed to promise in the months and years ahead.

"Our visitation numbers have been steadily improving as we make our way through the current calendar year of 2021," he said.

The return of visitors to Frederick County could be seen through other data as well, with Visit Frederick staff reporting increases in visits to the organization's website for events in the county, and significantly increased traffic at the Visitor Center on East Street in Frederick.

As part of the annual meeting, Visit Frederick also acknowledged the work of those in Frederick County who provide invaluable assistance in promoting the region as a destination. Elizabeth Comer of Catoctin Furnace received Visit Frederick's "Tourism Ambassador of the Year" award for her tireless efforts to bring visitors' attention to that important historical site. Phil Bowers, co-owner of Fountain Rock Management and incoming board president for Visit Frederick, was awarded a citation for distributing the most visitor guides in the county at Brewers Alley restaurant in Downtown Frederick.

In concluding the event, Visit Frederick honored John Fieseler for his 23 years of service at the organization with a donation of $2,500 to support a scholarship fund at Frederick Community College (FCC) designed to encourage destination development. The donation to the John Fieseler Scholarship Fund will go to support the Hospitality, Culinary, and Tourism Institute at FCC. Donations can be made at fcc.edu/onlinegiving.

Visit Frederick is the recognized Destination Marketing Organization for Frederick City and Frederick County, Maryland. It operates the Frederick Visitor Center and related Visit Frederick programs that include Destination Marketing and Group Tour Marketing. For more information about Visit Frederick, visit http://www.visitfrederick.org or call 301-600-4047.
Wanclouds logo Our alignment with AMIGO is a huge step forward for us in our mission to expand our customer reach through partnerships with regional players in global markets.

Wanclouds, a leading multi-cloud SaaS and managed service provider, today announced that it is partnering with AMIGO, the leading provider of IT services and solutions for personal financial services in Vietnam, to help businesses across the region accelerate their cloud migration and IT transformation.

The agreement sees Wanclouds, whose SaaS-based automation suite VPC+ enables organizations to orchestrate multi-cloud migrations and manage on-demand cloud backups, join forces with AMIGO at a time when enterprises are attempting to navigate the new hybrid work movement and converging cybersecurity and climate emergencies, which are causing them to rethink their data backup strategies. The direct connection with AMIGOs turnkey IT solutions and world-class professional services, which include computer and server data centers, data storage solutions, and networking and security tools, will enable customers to manage, visualize, and protect their multi-cloud infrastructure with flexible designs and support to ensure success across their cloud journeys.

We are signing this partnership to help our customers embrace the cloud as an emerging technology paradigm, said Nguyen Vu Tuan Anh, CEO of AMIGO. The extensive experience Wanclouds brings in designing, deploying, and managing cloud workloads will be pivotal to achieving this. We look forward to using this partnership, and Wanclouds innovative VPC+ platform, to expand our product and service offering in the local market. Furthermore, were excited to leverage this as an important step in realizing our vision of being the most trustworthy technology service provider in Vietnam.

Southeast Asias collective cloud market value is expected to reach US $40.32B by 2025 according to IDC. Although largely dominated by Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, Vietnams digital transformation is currently contributing to a steady uptick in cloud adoption amongst businesses, with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating growth by approximately 40%. However, severe floods and other recent extreme weather events that have displaced millions showcase how crucial affordable and reliable disaster recovery is for businesses in the region.

Wanclouds and AMIGOs partnership aims to eliminate some of the barriers prohibiting these businesses from doing this, giving them the resources they need to achieve hassle-free migrations, disaster recovery, and compliance.

Our alignment with AMIGO is a huge step forward for us in our mission to expand our customer reach through partnerships with regional players in global markets, said Faiz Khan, founder and CEO of Wanclouds. AMIGO has invaluable customer relationships in this fast-growing market, and together we can add tremendous value to our joint customers.

To learn more about Wanclouds and AMIGOs partnership, visit wanclouds.net or amigo.vn

About Wanclouds

Wanclouds is a leading multi-cloud SaaS, solution, and managed service provider. It helps enterprises with cloud deployments, migrations, and protecting their cloud infrastructure in time and cost-efficient ways. The companys cloud Migration as a Service (MaaS) and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) reduce the financial investment and remove the technical complexities that halt or delay businesses from migrating on-premise to the cloud, moving across clouds, or setting up backup and restore protection. Its SaaS-based automation suite VPC+ provides a single pane of glass for managing and protecting multi-cloud environments through a centralized cross-cloud solution.

Wanclouds is an AWS, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud partner and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. For more information, visit: wanclouds.net

About AMIGO

Established in 2005, Amigo Technologies Joint Stock Company (AMIGO) is a technology solutions provider based in Hanoi, Vietnam dedicated to providing IT solutions and services for various industries. AMIGO has a special focus on banking and financial services, public sector organizations, and small and medium enterprises. Solutions offered by AMIGO include data centers including compute and servers, data storage, virtualization, networking, security and uninterrupted power supplies.


15 SGF physicians, including 13 reproductive endocrinologists and 2 reproductive urologists, are honored as 2021 Top Doctors by Washingtonian. We are appreciative of our patients, peers, and Washingtonian for their recognition and continued support. Every day, I feel privileged to be a part of a team like Shady Grove Fertility where I work alongside some of the most dedicated REIs in the region.

Shady Grove Fertility (SGF) proudly announces that 15 of the practices physicians from the Washington, D.C. metro region have been named 2021 Top Doctors for infertility by Washingtonian. Nearly 3,000 regional physicians participated in Washingtonians survey, ultimately nominating 1,900 colleagues in each of the represented 39 specialties. Washingtonians Top Doctors list is referred to as the regions very best, and is intended to help readers find the best medical care in their communities.

SGFs reproductive endocrinologists (REI) honored in the Washingtonian include:



SGFs reproductive urologist honored in the Washingtonian include:



The 2021 Top Doctors list comes at the same time SGF celebrates 30 years and 100,000 babies born. Since 1991, SGF has been at the forefront of fertility technology and innovation, with its committed team of physicians propelling that mission forward with exceptional fertility care.

We are appreciative of our patients, peers, and Washingtonian for their recognition and continued support, shares Arthur Sagoskin, M.D., co-founder of SGF. Every day, I feel privileged to be a part of a team like Shady Grove Fertility where I work alongside some of the most dedicated REIs in the region.

When SGF opened 30 years ago, our goal was to provide fertility care that put patient needs first, shares Michael J. Levy, M.D., co-founder of SGF. Having 15 SGF physicians recognized by their peers and the Washingtonian highlights our commitment to providing top-tier fertility care for all patients seeking family-building support.

SGF extends its congratulations to all physicians who are honored by Washingtonian, expresses Eric Widra, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of SGF.

For people struggling to conceive, it may be time to consult a fertility specialist. Contact the SGF New Patient Center at 1-888-761-1967 or complete a brief online request form to schedule a virtual consult with an SGF physician. A virtual physician consult is the first step toward pursuing a pregnancy with the help of SGF.

About Shady Grove Fertility (SGF)

SGF is a leading fertility and IVF center of excellence with more than 100,000 babies born. With 43 locations, including new locations in Colorado and Norfolk, VA, as well as throughout CO, FL, GA, MD, NY, PA, VA, D.C., and Santiago, Chile, SGF offers patients virtual physician consults, delivers individualized care, accepts most insurance plans, and makes treatment more affordable through innovative financial options, including 100% refund guarantees. More physicians refer their patients to SGF than any other center. SGF is among the founding partner practices of US Fertility, the largest physician-owned, physician-led partnership of top-tier fertility practices in the U.S. Call 1-888-761-1967 or visit ShadyGroveFertility.com.
Surely Books, a new Abrams ComicArts LGBTQ+ focused imprint curated by comics writer Mariko Tamaki, will release its first graphic novel, Lifetime Passes by writer Terry Blas and artist Claudia Aguirre, this month. The new imprint has also revealed a new set of previously unannounced titles that will be released in 2022 and 2023.

The new list of titles kicks off with Talia Duttons M Is for Monster, a heartfelt sci-fi scenario combining the Frankenstein story with a heartwarming tale of sibling expectations, scheduled for spring 2022. Two more graphic novels are planned for next fall: Homecoming by Kaitlin Chan, a queer millennials coming-out story set in Taiwan during a new LGBTQ+ era in Asia; and Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni, the story of a group of thirty-something queer friends forced to examine their relationships as they get older.

Two more books are slated for spring 2023: Writer Kacen Callender and artist Seth Smiths The Page's Guide to Being a Guy, the story of a guy forced to learn about the complexity of gender; and the previously announced Washington's Gay General by writer Josh Trujillo (he/him) and artist Levi Hastings, the story a little-known, openly homosexual American General during the Revolutionary War. And in spring 2023, Surely Books will publish Grand Slam Romance by writer Oliva Hicks and artist Emma Oosterhous, the story of two flirty softball playing girl-bestfriends who end up on rival teams during a genuinely magical softball season.

Abrams announced the new imprint in October 2019 with an initial slate of three books: Lifetime Passes, out this this month, its the story of a bunch of teenagers who hatch a scheme feigning to help seniors only to be transformed by them. Next up will be Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith, a fictional story about the real-life author Highsmith by writer Grace Ellis and artist Hannah Templer, that will be released in February 2022.

An acclaimed comics writer, Tamaki has written comics across a variety of genres including superhero comics, such as She-Hulk, as well as YA graphic novels, among then the multiple-award-winning This One Summer (with her cousin, artist Jillian Tamaki) and the equally acclaimed Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (with artist Rosemary Valero-OConnell). Tamaki has also written four prose novels based on BOOM! Studios popular Queer-focused Lumberjanes graphic novels, which were published by Abrams.

Tamaki credits her partner, Heather Gold, with the idea for Surely Books. I was looking to move into editing and another side of comics production at the time, she said. I had worked with Abrams on the Lumberjanes series and really loved the experience, so it seemed a good place to start.

The concept for Surely Books is simple: Our sole focus is on LGBTQIA+ creators and the stories they want to tell, said Tamaki. Which means that the story itself doesnt even need to be about queer characters specifically. Up to this point weve really been trying to cast a wide net, to go outside of the confines of what we would even expect a Surely title to be. Really it just needs to be a great story told well.

Tamaki reviews pitches that come in to Surely and also reaches out to creators she would like to work with. She works with creators to prepare a pitch, then she and Abrams editor Charlotte Greenbaum refine it in preparation for presenting the project to the Abrams editorial team.

Once a book is signed Mariko and I work fairly closelyshe brings her experience as an author and Im providing more traditional editorial feedback, said Greenbaum, who also works with writer and editor John Jennings on Abrams Megascope imprint, which focuses on works by people of color, as well as on other Abrams and Amulet graphic novels. While Abrams will continue to publish LGBTQ+ graphic novels in its other imprints, Greenbaum said, [Surely Books] gives us the opportunity to work with the incredible emerging talent in the graphic novel community. Not to mention the fact that Mariko is developing some exciting new concepts with our creators that will really stand out in the genre, said Greenbaum.

In terms of the target audience, Greenbaum said, One of the neat things about Surely is how broad the audience is, but were particularly interested in targeting readers who dont always see themselves and their experiences represented in media.

Tamakis Skim (Groundwood Books, 2008), co-created with Jillian Tamaki, was one of the first graphic novels about LGBTQ+ teens to reach a wide audience. She credits her first publisher, Ann Decter, as well as editors Calista Brill, Shelly Bond, Joan Hilty, Andrea Shea and Paul Kaminski for helping her along the way. Even people I work with now are teaching me as I go, she said. Writing is a very solitary experience, but I do think the only way to progress as a writer and artist is by getting that feedback and support.

At Surely Books, she is turning the tables, providing that feedback and support to both emerging and more established creators, and in the long run, she hopes the imprint will bring new creators to the field as well.

I would hope that there are people who read these books and are inspired by our inspirations, she said. I would love if the books we create are a jump start for people to tell more queer stories in comics.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Many farmers rent bee hives to pollinate crops, but they could tap into the free labor of wild bees by adopting an as-needed approach to pesticides, a new proof-of-concept study shows.

A multiyear study of commercial-scale fields in the Midwest found this approach led to a 95% reduction in pesticide applications, while maintaining or increasing crop yield for corn and watermelon. The findings are detailed in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An as-needed approach to pesticide treatment can benefit farmers, said Ian Kaplan, professor of entomology at Purdue University, who led the project. With reduced pesticide use, we saw within the first year wild bees returned to the fields, and our findings showed an average 26% increase in watermelon yield.

The team of researchers from Purdues College of Agriculture studied fields at five different locations in Indiana and the Midwest over a period of four years to compare conventional pest management with an integrated pest management, or IPM, approach. The IPM approach relied on scouting the fields and applying pesticides only when pest levels reached previously established thresholds for damage that would lead to economic losses.

In the last few decades, pesticides have been used preemptively, beginning with treated seed and followed by applications on a set schedule, said Christian Krupke, professor of entomology and member of the research team.

Using these potent insecticides, more often, increases the potential for unintended consequences and harm to insects, animals and human health. This study shows that we may not need such powerful weapons to control pests, and, at a minimum, we dont need to use them as frequently as we do, Krupke said.

Agricultural sustainability and the benefits of IPM are gaining attention. Walmart recently announced a policy requiring all global fresh produce and floral providers to adopt IPM practices by 2025.

It is important for people to know that there is another option between conventionally grown produce and organic produce, said Kaplan who leads Purdues Insect Ecology Lab. IPM can greatly reduce the amount of pesticides used to grow food without taking the tool entirely away from farmers or putting the food supply at risk.

Midwest growers also are attuned to the issue and want solutions to protect their crops and their pollinators, said Laura Ingwell, assistant professor of entomology. Indiana is one of the major watermelon production states in the U.S. and the pollinator-dependent crop accounts for an average of 7,000 acres of land annually.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find untreated corn or soybean seed, she said. Across the Midwest watermelon fields are like islands in a sea of corn and soybeans. We need to understand how the management of one impacts the other because many Indiana farmers have all of these crops in rotation.

The team worked with farm staff at the Purdue research fields to grow both corn, which is wind pollinated, and watermelon, which is insect pollinated, to replicate a real agricultural ecosystem in Indiana. Each site had a pair of 15-acre fields, one with untreated seed and using IPM, and the other using treated seed and conventional pest management practices like calendar-based insecticide sprays. The crops were rotated over the course of the study, and the different locations allowed the team to examine the impact of different soil types and environmental conditions, said Jacob Pecenka, a graduate student who performed much of the study.

We used weekly scouting to monitor pests at the IPM fields, which means we would go into the field, look for pests and take a sample count of the numbers of different pests present, he said. It was surprising that the pests rarely reached the established threshold for economic risk to the crops. Only four times during the course of the study did pests reach a threshold that triggered pesticide application. That is a huge reduction from the 97 treatments of the conventionally managed fields.

Pecenka and his team also monitored the flowers and counted the number of visits by bees in the watermelon fields.

The IPM fields had a 130% increase in the number of flower visits over the conventional fields, he said. The biggest players in pollination were native, wild bees. They are efficient pollinators and serious foragers.

Due to watermelon crops being grown in the middle of the cornfields, any wild pollinators had to travel at least 100 feet to get to the watermelon flowers. Despite this challenge, wild pollinators made up 80% of the flower visits while honeybees were only 20%, even though their colonies were placed within a few feet of the watermelon field, Pecenka said.

We dont have a great understanding of the biology of many wild bee species, but this study suggests they are important and resilient, he said. Within the first year these bees were a significant presence in the fields with low levels of pesticide, which can kill the bees, confuse their navigation and repel them.

The team also observed an increase in the number of beneficial insects in the IPM fields, Ingwell said.

Wasps, ladybugs and other natural predators of watermelon pests step in when the pest levels rise, she said. It is tempting to pretreat with pesticides as an insurance policy for your crop, but this study shows we can trust the natural system most of the time. Weekly scouting in the watermelon crop is enough to maintain the yield and benefit the insect community in terms of pest suppression and pollination.

Resources for pollinator protection, and fruit and vegetable growers are available through the Purdue Extension offices.

The team, which also included professor emeritus Rick Foster, next plans to scale up the study using 50-acre commercial fields.

The U.S. Department of Agricultures National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Grant No. 2016-51181-25410) funded the work.



Writer: Elizabeth K. Gardner; 765-441-2024; ekgardner@purdue.edu

Sources: Ian Kaplan, ikaplan@purdue.edu

Christian Krupke, ckrupke@purdue.edu

Laura Ingwell, lingwell@purdue.edu

Jacob Pecenka, jpecenka@purdue.edu

ABSTRACT

IPM reduces insecticide applications by 95% while maintaining or enhancing crop yields through wild pollinator conservation

Jacob R. Pecenka, Laura L. Ingwell, Rick E. Foster, Christian H. Krupke, and Ian Kaplan

The study of pest management practices in modern industrial agriculture have increasingly relied on insurance-based insecticides such as seed treatments that are poorly correlated with pest density or crop damage. This approach, combined with high invertebrate toxicity for newer products like neonicotinoids, makes it challenging to conserve beneficial insects and the services they provide. We used a four-year experiment using commercial-scale fields replicated across multiple sites in the Midwestern U.S. to evaluate the consequences of adopting integrated pest management (IPM) using pest thresholds compared with standard conventional management (CM). To do so, we employed a systems approach that integrated co-production of a regionally dominant row crop (corn) with a pollinator-dependent specialty crop (watermelon). Pest populations, pollination rates, crop yields, and system profitability were measured. Despite higher pest densities and/or damage in both crops, IPM-managed pests rarely reached economic thresholds, resulting in 95% lower insecticide use (97 vs. 4 treatments in CM and IPM, respectively, across all sites, crops, and years). In IPM corn, the absence of a neonicotinoid seed treatment had no impact on yields, whereas IPM watermelon experienced a 129% increase in flower visitation rate by pollinators, resulting in 26% higher yields. The pollinator-enhancement effect under IPM management was mediated entirely by wild bees; foraging by managed honeybees was unaffected by treatments and, overall, did not correlate with crop yield. This proof-of-concept experiment mimicking on-farm practices illustrates that cropping systems in major agricultural commodities can be redesigned via IPM to exploit ecosystem services without compromising, and in some cases increasing, yields.

Link: IPM reduces insecticide applications by 95% while maintaining or enhancing crop yields through wild pollinator conservation | PNAS

Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  To celebrate First-Generation College Student Day on Monday (Nov. 8), Purdue University Global will launch a scholarship program for its first-generation students.

First-generation students make up almost half of the students at Purdue Global, Chancellor Frank Dooley said. We are proud to have them as part of our family and congratulate them for their achievement in pursuing a college education. We will continue to work to identify ways to support them.

The inaugural recipients of the Purdue Global First-Generation College Student Scholarship will be announced Nov. 8, 2022. Honorees will receive $500 toward their Purdue Global tuition and fees. The number of recipients will be based on the funds raised each year.

The scholarship is open to Purdue Global students who have completed three terms of study of an eligible undergraduate associate or bachelors degree program at Purdue Global with a 3.5 or higher cumulative grade-point average. Candidates must meet Purdue Global standards for satisfactory academic progress, as outlined in the university catalog, and have no Code of Student Conduct violations. In addition, applicants must submit a 500-word essay answering the following questions: What motivated you to pursue a college education? What advice would you give a student who is experiencing an obstacle or challenge while pursuing their degree?

Also Monday, at 7 p.m. ET, Purdue Global will host a Purdue Global Village Virtual Conference session titled National First-Generation College Day Celebration. A panel of Purdue Global Alpha Alpha Alpha (Tri-Alpha) Honor Society board members, first-generation students, faculty and staff will share stories of their college experiences, offer advice for success and more.

Tri-Alpha is Purdue Globals newest honor society for first-generation students, having launched in spring 2021. It has 1,386 members, making it one of the largest chapters in the country.

First-Generation College Student Day has been celebrated nationally since 2017, when it was selected by the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Center for First-Generation Student Success to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

About Purdue University Global

Purdue University Global delivers personalized online education tailored to the unique needs of adults who have work or life experience beyond the classroom, enabling them to develop essential academic and professional skills with the support and flexibility they need to achieve their career goals. It offers personalized paths for students to earn an associate, bachelors, masters or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits and other considerations  no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with Purdue Universitys flagship institution, a highly ranked public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest Indiana, as well as serving science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. For more information, visit purdueglobal.edu.

Media Contact, Purdue Global: Tom Schott, 765-427-1721, tschott@purdue.edu

Source: Frank Dooley
Published on:

3 November 2021





Written alongside academics from Manchester University, the University of Southampton, and the University of Bristol, the book is the definitive account of one of the most consequential and controversial general elections in recent times, when Boris Johnson gambled everything calling an early election to 'Get Brexit Done', and emerged triumphant. Drawing upon cutting-edge data analysis and wide-ranging elite interviews, the book provides a compelling and accessible narrative of this landmark election and its implications for British politics.

Two years on, there remains a number of myths and what-if scenarios that the book helps shed light on, not least concerning the events that led to the election happening in the first place despite many opposition MPs worrying that, by voting for it, they were falling into an obvious trap laid for them by Boris Johnsons Conservative government. The book then takes the reader into the heart of the parties campaigns with interviews revealing just how dysfunctional Labours was compared to the one mounted by a Tory Party absolutely determined not to repeat the mistakes it had made two years previously. Other chapters provide detailed coverage of the election in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as providing insights into polling and media coverage across the UK. The book also provides essential information on the composition of the new parliament and an unparalleled wealth of statistical information and analysis of the results from the countrys top academics.

Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, said: The 2019 election saw a ruthlessly efficient and well-resourced Conservative campaign, run by people who had learned all the right lessons from the disaster of 2017, pitted against a divided, disorganised and largely leaderless Labour campaign which hoped it could somehow repeat the trick it had pulled off two years previously and prove the Corbyn-sceptics wrong.

There were, of course, all sorts of dramatic ups and downs  even thrills and spills  along the way, as one might expect with Boris Johnson in charge. But with so many voters wanting to Get Brexit Done so that the nation could focus on undoing some of the damage done to public services by a decade of austerity, the Tories were always on course to win their first comfortable majority at Westminster for three decades.

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The British General Election of 2019 by Robert Ford, Professor of Political Science at Manchester University (@robfordmancs), Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London (@proftimbale), Will Jennings, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Southampton (@drjennings), and Paula Surridge (@p_surridge), Senior Lecturer in Political Sociology at the University of Bristol is out now, published by Palgrave Macmillan (@palmacpolitics) and available from Amazon. The 21st volume in a prestigious series dating back all the way back to 1945, it offers something for everyone from Westminster insiders and politics students to the interested general reader.

Tim Bale is Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, where he has also served as Co-Director of The Mile End Institute. His best-known book is probably The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron, the second edition of which was published in late 2016; but he is also the author of The Conservatives since 1945: the Drivers of Party Change and Five Year Mission. The Labour Party under Ed Miliband. More recently he has either co-authored or co-edited Footsoldiers: Political Party Membership in the 21st Century (with Paul Webb and Monica Poletti), The Modern British Party System (again with Paul Webb), and Riding the Populist Wave: Europe's Mainstream Right in Crisis (with Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser).
Hekimoglu is an adaptation of the famous US series House, MD and the Turkish version features Timucin Esen (Cruzando Mares) in the lead role of Dr. Ates Hekimoglu, a renowned physician in infectious diseases and nephrology. Each episode of the series follows this exceptional doctor, with his somewhat gruff and antisocial character, who is as witty as he is arrogant, leading a team of young doctors, who do everything possible to help their patients and solve the puzzling medical cases that arrive at the hospital.Audiences have always had a thing for medical dramas on television for decades, and now more than ever in a post pandemic era, said Francheska Leon de la Barra, marketing director for Kanal D Drama in the US and Latin America, commenting on the drama. In this series the main character inspired by the award-winning medical drama Dr. House, plays a sarcastic and antisocial doctor. Dr. Hekimoglu, while unlikeable, is a genius, and he develops a great reputation for solving the most perplexing medical cases. Im sure this captivating drama will resonate with the Hispanic audience from the first episode. Hekimoglu will premiere in the US on Kanal D Drama via Xfinity and Verizon FiOSvand it will also be available for streaming via Kanal D Dramas app.Kanal D Drama is owned by Kanal D International Networks and currently reaches 14 countries on three continents. The result of a strategic alliance between Kanal D International and Thema America, it is responsible for m anaging, operating, and distributing Kanal D Drama's Spanish-language programming in the US and Latin America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Nicaragua, and Uruguay. There are also other versions of Kanal D Drama in Albania, France, and Kosovo.
The mayhem following the Biden administrations withdrawal from Afghanistan is not only increasing the likelihood of confrontation with China over Taiwan  but it is also having repercussions for regional stability in Eastern Europe.

A central tenet of Russian President Vladimir Putins political narrative is defending Russia from an interventionist U.S. foreign policy. Russian state media promotes the view that Americas democracy promotion is synonymous with toppling regimes and inciting anarchy. Libya, a failed state thanks to the poor policy choices of the Obama administration and European allies, is one of Putins favorite examples to reference. The Afghanistan debacle has further added credence to Moscows claims of Western hypocrisy and failed U.S. democratic state-building.

At the beginning of September, on the first day of school in Russia, Putin lectured to students about the lessons to be learned from the U.S. excursion. Railing against the attempt to [impose] their own norms and standards of life, he explained that the entire episode has spelled nothing but tragedies, casualties and losses for the United States. Multiple state-owned news outlets broadcast the video of the speech, ensuring all Russian citizens could listen.

According to Moscow, the U.S. led liberal democratic order simply seeks to roil internal tensions where it can seize political advantage from the chaos. The prevailing strategic calculus in the Kremlin is that the West seeks to encircle and infiltrate Russia, rendering it strategically inert, and facilitate regime change in the country.

Putin has long feared that the U.S. seeks to incite a "color revolution" in Russia, as it claims was the case in Kyiv. Domestic opposition is often cited in Moscow as having ties to Washington. Afghanistan is now a clear case for the Kremlin to expound on the disastrous consequences of Western policy and warn against popular support for candidates running against his political machine.

Failed interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and other countries have all decreased U.S. strategic clout. The United States needs a strong military deterrent in order to defend its allies from extra-territorial aggression and geopolitical revisionism; however, democracy promotion based on ideological crusading has resoundingly failed. That is why the Doha Agreement reached under the Trump administration was such an important step in redefining the scope of U.S. international engagement. Avoiding the continued loss of blood and treasure in Afghanistan was a necessary decision, and a new strategic approach predicated on defending allies and securing limited national interests would have projected a strong but rational U.S. foreign policy. The abysmal tactical and operational execution of withdrawal by the Biden administration has largely negated this fact.

Instead, the image projected is that of a declining power that cant even safely evacuate its own personnel after having 20 years to do so. The inept U.S. administration and poor military leadership also reflect a decreased capability to defend Washingtons allies. This weakens the strategic position of the United States in Eastern Europe and increases the likelihood of heightened tensions in the region.

The fact is that U.S. President Joe Biden's short tenure has done more to justify Putins consolidation of power in Moscow and increase the risk of a military confrontation in Eastern Europe than the entire four years of the previous administration  ironic, given the medias tireless pursuit of depicting Trump as Putins puppet.

And it goes much deeper than simply the decidedly tactless style of Biden (see: calling Putin a killer who has no soul). Conspiracy theories propagated by U.S. and Western media around the 2016 U.S. election have also helped justify the Russian presidents claims of a Russophobic United States inherently hostile to the nation. In a recent ABC interview with Christopher Steele, the latter doubles down on his discredited dossier on Donald Trump  one of the original premises for the religious levels of faith that the U.S. media had in the belief of a Kremlin-controlled White House. As to Steeles failure to unearth proof of collusion and the ensuing 14-month taxpayer-funded investigation stemming directly from his bogus dossier? Well, that was because of Russian disinformation too. Putin cannot but welcome the Western media handing him another joke to laugh about with his domestic audience.

The blame for this environment does not fall squarely on the shoulders of President Biden. The politician of 48 years is simply the latest iteration of U.S. establishment presidents beholden to the elitist foreign policy blob (i.e., sclerotic bureaucracy in charge of charting the nation's international course). The latter believes itself the rightful locus of decision-making due to its expertise. When one looks at the litany of failed excursions and decreased international clout since the end of the Cold War, the intellectual bankruptcy of the foreign policy establishment and their direct-enablers in the U.S. media become evident.

Dominick Sansone is a freelance writer focusing on U.S. foreign policy and culture. Dominick has been published at The American Conservative, The National Interest, and the Euromaidan Press, among other outlets. Previously completing a Fulbright grant in Bulgaria, he writes on Russian geopolitics in the wider region of Eurasia.
Discovery+ announced Tuesday that it will stream Carole Baskin's Cage Fight on Nov. 13. Netflix premieres Tiger King 2 on Nov. 17.

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The two-part documentary focuses on Baskin and her husband Howard's investigation of the treatment of big cats. The announcement promises "confrontations with dangerous operators."

In the first clip, Baskin states her frustration that Tiger King became a reality series. Cage Fight will focus on her original intention, preventing the abuse of big cats.

"If you're abusing big cats, I'm coming for you," Baskin says.

Baskin filed a lawsuit against Netflix and production company Royal Goode Productions for using footage of her in the Tiger King sequel. Variety reviewed the court documents on Monday.

The case alleges breach of contract, since Baskin and her husband, Howard, only agreed to appear in one documentary. Deadline reported that the Florida judge denied the Baskins' request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the airing of Tiger King 2.

Tiger King followed Joe Exotic's tiger zoo and his feud with rival Baskin. During filming, Exotic faced charges for hiring someone to kill Baskin.

During the documentary, Exotic alleged that Baskin killed her former husband, Don Lewis, who went missing in 1997. The hit Netflix series sparked new interest in the unsolved crime and further suspicion of Baskin.

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Tiger King 2 features new interviews with Exotic from prison, and other former associates of Exotic and Baskin. It also explores the disappearance of Lewis.
The nominees for the 2021 Soul Train Awards have been announced with H.E.R. leading the pack.

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H.E.R. is nominated for eight awards including Best R&B/Soul Female Artist, Song of the Year for "Damage," Album of the Year for Back of My Mind and Video of the Year for "Damage."

Jazmine Sullivan and Chris Brown earned six nominations each with Wiz Kid and TEMS earning five nominations each. Blxst is nominated for four awards followed by Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic, Doja Cat and Young Bleu being nominated for three awards each.

Maxwell will be honored the Legend Award at the event. Ashanti will receive the Lady of Soul honor.

Best R&B/ Soul Female Artist includes Alicia Keys, Doja Cat, Sullivan, Jhene Aiko and SZA. Best R&B/Soul Male Artist includes Blxst, Brown, Giveon, Lucky Daye, Tank and Usher.

Song of the Year includes "Chosen" by Blxst featuring Ty Dolla $ign, "Leave the Door Open" by Mars and .Paak, "Pick Up Your Feelings" by Sullivan, "Essence" by Wiz Kid featuring Tems and "You're Mines Still" by Yung Blue featuring Drake.

Album of the Year includes No Love Lost by Blxst, Planet Her by Doja Cat, When it's All Said and Done... Take Time by Giveon, Heaux Tales by Sullivan and Made in Lagos by Wizkid.

The 2021 Soul Train Awards will be taking place from the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, and will air Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. EST on BET and BET Her.

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The full list of nominees can be found on BET's official website.

Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold will be hosting for the third time. The 33rd annual event will pay homage to the 50th anniversary of classic music series Soul Train.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 11/03/2021



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Which couples are still together and which MAFS couples have split up and divorced? And where are they now?

has featured 44 different couples getting married at first sight during it's first twelve seasons -- so which couples are still together, who has split up and divorced, and where are they all now?Each season of -- which premiered in the United States seven years ago and is based on a Danish series -- features couples (previously three couples, but four couples on Seasons 8 and 9, and five couples beginning with Season 10) being matched together by relationship experts and agree to marry when they first meet.Complete strangers become husband and wife in a matter of minutes, and the couples' lives are then documented by TV cameras over the course of the next four to eight weeks (eight weeks, in the case of 's most recent seasons).The couples typically enjoy their first night together in a hotel after exchanging vows -- with some couples deciding to consummate their marriage immediately -- and then embark on a honeymoon, move in together, and simply attempt to deal with the struggles of daily life as man and wife.At the end of the extreme marriage experiment, each couple must decide whether they'd like to stay married or get a divorce on "Decision Day."has experienced very mixed results over the years. While a significant number of couples decide to stay together and continue their new marriage at the end of their season, the real world seems to hit them hard after the cameras leave, resulting in the couple splitting up only months later.Do cast members see a different side of their spouses once cameras are gone, or do the romances naturally fizzle over time?Some couples are still together to this day and are extremely happy. Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner from Season 1, for example, have had two children.Several other couples have also had children -- including Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico Shawniece Jackson and Jephte Pierre Danielle Bergman and Bobby Dodd , and Deonna McNeill and Greg Okotie However, there are also relationships that ended badly. Jessica Castro from Season 2, for instance, accused Ryan De Nino of alleged death threats, and she went on to file a restraining order and lawsuit against him.Some couples have also never even made it to "Decision Day" and ended their marriage prematurely, including Season 4 couple Heather Seidel and Derek Schwartz as well as Season 6 couple Molly Duff and Jonathan Francetic Are the remaining couples now lovers, friends or enemies?! What about early season couples like Cortney Hendrix and Jason Carrion, Jaclyn Methuen and Ryan Ranellone, Vanessa Nelson and Tres Russell, Sonia Granados and Nick Pendergrast, and Lillian Vilchez and Tom Wilson?And how about more recent season couples like Danielle DeGroot and Cody Knapek Sheila Downs and Nate Duhon Jaclyn Schwartzberg and Ryan Buckley Dave Flaherty and Amber Martorana , and Tristan Thompson and Mia Bally Keith Dewar and Kristine Killingsworth , and AJ Vollmoeller and Stephanie Sersen Click thelink below to see photos of each couple and find out!

BEGIN GALLERY >>

Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
Traverse City, MI (49684)

Today

Cloudy with rain developing later in the day. High around 45F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

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Cloudy. Low 27F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Traverse City, MI (49684)

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Cloudy with rain developing later in the day. High 46F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

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Cloudy. Low 28F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
About the author: FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood is an environmental attorney working in Traverse City to keep the Great Lakes public and protected for all. Learn more about FLOW at ForLoveOfWater.org.
Porterville, CA (93257)

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Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 66F. Winds light and variable..

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A mostly clear sky. Low 43F. Winds light and variable.
Police used tear gas to disperse about 100 protesters at the Arch in downtown Athens around midnight on May 31.

The group was the remnants of an anti-police brutality protest that drew several hundred people and began to thin out around 7 p.m., after two hours of marching and chanting through downtown.
With the college town notably less occupied and an influx of animals in need of homes, local animal activists are working to confront the issue as best as they can.
Greenville, NC (27833)

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A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. High 68F. Winds light and variable..

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Overcast. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 51F. Winds light and variable.
1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students from Windham Elementary School get a surprise visit from the plow truck they named as part of the Vermont Agency of Transportation's Name a Plow program on Wednesday, 11/17/21.
Registered nurse Eileen J. Glover has been a psychiatric nurse for 12 years. She is a hospice volunteer and writer who lives and works in Windham County. She keeps her car stocked with towels so she's always ready for a swim, and enjoys getting out into the woods for hikes. A Good Life to the Very End is a regularly appearing column that demystifies death and end of life issues. To learn more about advanced directives and Brattleboro Area Hospice, go to brattleborohospice.org.
Stephanie Spring picks up her 2-year-old daughter, Solveig, from the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development, in Brattleboro, on Sept. 1, 2020.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

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Overcast. High 51F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

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Periods of rain. Low 43F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
To the editor: I empathize with the residents of Saxtons River and Rockingham who are unhappy with the recent division of legislative district
State Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, is seen in this file photo from 2020 at the Statehouse. White helped steer a bill through the state Senate that makes the mailing of ballots to registered voters permanent for general elections.
AP PhotoFILE - A flare burns natural gas at an oil well on Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. A new federal report released Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, says fossil fuel extraction from federal lands produced more than 1 billion tons (918 million metric tons) of greenhouse gases last year. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
Sikorskys top executive is expressing confidence in the companys design of a new helicopter to replace the Pentagons Black Hawk workhorse  while describing the final choice as existential for the future of one of Connecticuts biggest manufacturers.

Paul Lemmo spoke last week as part of the Made in Connecticut forum hosted in Trumbull by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. Lemmo is in his first year as president of Lockheed Martins Sikorsky subsidiary, which has about 8,000 employees at its headquarters plant in Stratford and satellite locations in Bridgeport, Shelton and Trumbull.

That does not include some 250 other companies in Connecticut to which Sikorsky farmed out some $450 million in work in the past year, according to Lemmo.

Sikorsky is partnering with Boeing on the Defiant X to replace the Black Hawk used by the U.S. Army, with derivative helicopters, including the Navys Seahawk, the Pave Hawk in the U.S. Air Force fleet and the Coast Guards Jayhawk.

The Defiant Xs signature feature is a stacked set of counter-rotating blades, designed to provide far more stability and maneuverability. That allowed Sikorsky engineers to tack on a rear propeller pushing the Defiant X to a top speed in excess of 300 mph. Lockheed Martin has posted videos online of the prototype helicopter performing maneuvers.

Speaking Friday in Trumbull, Lemmo noted that Lockheed Martin uses a jet airplane to trail the helicopter during observations of speed tests.

More than 4,000 helicopters are in service globally today based on the Black Hawk design, which the U.S. Department of Defense wants to improve on for the next generation of aircraft under its Future Vertical Lift vision.

The Army also wants an armed scout helicopter faster and nimbler than its fleet of aging Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters. For that contract, Sikorsky is pitting its Raider X  which like the Defiant X has a dual rotor set  against Bells Invictus helicopter prototype. The Black Hawk replacement is the larger of two initial programs.

Think about our 40-year franchise and if we dont win that program, what that means for our business, Lemmo told CBIA members Friday in Trumbull. One of these is upside  the other is existential, because its going to replace something weve produced for 40 years.

As its own candidate to inherit the Black Hawks mission, Providence, R.I.-based Textron is offering the Bell V-280 Valor, the newest iteration of its tilt-rotor design. Bell developed the technology originally for V-22 Osprey aircraft used by the Marines, with wing-mounted rotors providing lift before swiveling to a vertical position to fly forward like a turbo-prop airplane.

The Department of Defense has not said whether it would consider both the Sikorsky and Bell designs, or otherwise subcontract a portion of manufacturing work to the losing bidder as a way to maintain multiple helicopter factories. Bell has two plants in Texas where it is based, while Boeing has helicopter production lines outside Philadelphia and Phoenix.

The Pentagon created such an arrangement for its new fleet of Columbia ballistic submarines being manufactured at General Dynamics Electric Boat plant in Groton, with Huntington Ingalls Industries making several large sections of Columbia hulls and superstructures at its Newport News Shipbuilding plant in Virginia.

Connecticut ranked sixth on a Pentagon tally last month of spending across the 50 states, leading all Northeast states with $23.6 billion in the 2020 fiscal year, including more than $4 billion for Lockheed Martin facilities in Connecticut.

Nationally, Lockheed Martin was the top contractor with $73 billion in contracts spanning aerospace, ships and other military needs. That was equal to the next three largest suppliers combined in General Dynamics, Boeing and Raytheon Technologies  which itself is a major Connecticut employer through subsidiaries Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace it picked up in its April 2020 acquisition of United Technologies.

Lemmo alluded to the problem of keeping talent in house, in discussing Sikorskys transition from designing prototypes of the new CH-53K King Stallion for the U.S. Marine Corps. The manufacturer is now ramping up for full production of as many as 200 helicopters, as well as 18 for Israel and possibly more for other U.S. allies.

Lockheed Martin is more than halfway through a $1 billion upgrade of its Sikorsky plant to accommodate CH-53K assembly and other programs like the Combat Rescue Helicopter for Air Force missions over hostile territory, and the VH-92A for a new White House helicopter fleet.

Weve kind of wrapped up with the CH-53K development  we need something for our engineers to do, Lemmo said. Yeah, we have great products  but the products are created by the people.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
BROOKFIELD  After six years of Democratic leadership, the town will soon have a Republican first selectman.

Tara Carr is expected to be sworn in for her first term as first selectman after defeating incumbent Democrat Stephen Dunn and petitioning candidate Austin Monteiro Tuesday in Brookfields 2021 municipal election.

I am over the moon, honestly. The people of Brookfield have spoken, and the campaign journey has just been incredible and everyones voices were heard today  theyve chosen me to be their next first selectman, Carr said after learning of her victory Tuesday night.

Not all votes had been counted as of 11 p.m. Tuesday, but Dunn said he had called Carr to concede. Dunn initially held an advantage after one precinct and absentee ballots were reported. The towns unofficial results from its second precinct were expected to give Carr the edge, Dunn said.

Dunn had been seeking his fourth term as first selectman. He served as Brookfields first selectman for six years.

Any candidate that loses is surprised. They always expect to win, he said Tuesday night after speaking with Carr.

Although he congratulates Carr on her win, Dunn said he believes the outcome of the election was a direct result of the big lie thats been brought down from the nation level to the local level.

Nevertheless, Dunn said he has offered Carr his assistance in a transition and wishes her the best in her new role as Brookfields first selectman.

Carr is a U.S. Army veteran, determined to bring Brookfield back to (its) historical Republican roots by keeping taxes low, supporting education and small businesses, and curbing development.

She said she felt completely humbled by the support she received in the election.

Im honored that theyve put their trust in me, Carr said. I cant promise perfection, but I can promise a better tomorrow and to give it all Ive got.

She was among Brookfields Republican candidates who declined to respond to Hearst Connecticut Medias request for COVID-19 vaccination status verification last month.

A firm believer in individual freedom, Carr has said she believes that vaccination is a very personal/parental choice.

I have watched my friends die protecting religious freedom  all freedoms, quite frankly, including medical freedom. I feel very strongly about those issues, she said earlier this year.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)  Wyoming lawmakers found themselves left Wednesday with just one bill still standing out of 40 drafted for a special session to counter federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements, a measure to help fund a multi-state lawsuit against the mandate.

The other 39 werent considered or got voted down, including one to carve out vaccination exemptions for employers, employees and even schoolchildren that met defeat in a series of close Senate votes Wednesday.

The lone surviving measure went to a joint committee of senators and representatives to resolve disagreement between House and Senate versions of the bill. The differences included the funding amount: $250,000 for the legal effort in the House got increased to $10 million by the Senate.

After settling on $4 million as a compromise, the committee worked toward resolving other differences between the House and Senate versions Wednesday evening. With committee approval, a negotiated version would head back to the Senate and House for approval votes that would send the bill to Gov. Mark Gordon.

The money would go toward a 10-state legal effort to contest a plan President Joe Biden announced in September to require vaccination for many healthcare workers, federal contractors and workers at businesses with more than 100 employees.

Gordon announced Friday that Wyoming was joining the lawsuit. Gordon and several lawmakers have been skeptical, however, about countering the federal requirements with state ones proposed for the special session, which began Oct. 26.

We are meddling and making a mess of the laws of this state for businesses and individuals, Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne and chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in floor debate over the proposed state vaccination exemptions Wednesday.

It would be best to let courts decide the constitutionality of Biden's vaccine executive order, Nethercott said. But just because the vaccine mandate is headed to court doesn't mean Wyoming's legislative branch should sit on the sidelines, said Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs.

Echoed Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne: This is the seat of power. We are the ones that right the wrongs as well.

Others, though, wondered what sort of message Wyoming would send by leaving businesses to decide between following state and federal requirements for COVID-19 vaccination.

Our economy is changing," said Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander. We desperately need to be a good place for business. We desperately need new blood, new businesses to come into the state and our home based businesses to thrive and grow.

The bill failed on final reading 15-13 with two senators absent. Though more voted in favor of the bill than against it, a majority of at least 16 votes in the 30-member Senate was needed to pass.

A vote to reconsider passed 15-13. Under reconsideration rules requiring only a majority of those present, the bill proceeded to another vote but failed again, 14-13, with Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas and a previous yes vote leaving the chamber and not voting again.

The session's 40 bills included identical House and Senate versions of 20 proposals.

___

Follow Mead Gruver on Twitter
NEW YORK (AP)  Vito Fossella, a Republican former congressman who left office over a decade ago, clouded by a scandal involving a drunken driving arrest and revelations that he had a secret second family, won election Tuesday to a local office in Staten Island.

Fossella defeated Democrat Mark S. Murphy in the race for borough president of heavily Republican Staten Island, making his first return to elected office since he left Congress in 2009.

Fossella gave a victory speech at the Staten Island GOP headquarters and declared, Its good to be back! Murphy conceded the race.

Fortunately, the good hard-working taxpayers ... those are the people who stood up today and said were not going to take it anymore, were mad as hell, and were going in a better direction, Fossella said, according to a report in the Staten Island Advance.

Fossella said he received a congratulatory phone call from former President Donald Trump, drawing cheers from the crowd.

A borough president is a partly ceremonial position, serving as a representative who coordinates among city agencies and makes appointments to boards and commissions.

Fossella was once seen as a potential candidate for New York City mayor, but his political career cratered after the revelations about his personal life.

Fossella, a former City Council member and medical malpractice lawyer, was elected to the U.S. House in 1997, representing Staten Island and part of Brooklyn.

When hundreds of Staten Island residents died in the Sept. 11 attacks, he became a prominent advocate for the families of victims.

Fossella was married, with a wife and three children living on Staten Island, when he was arrested in 2008 for drunken driving in Virginia.

Fossella told officers he was going to see his sick daughter. The woman with whom he had a secret relationship, a former Air Force lieutenant colonel who worked for a time as a liaison to Congress, bailed him out of jail.

Fossella opted not to run for reelection after the revelations.

Fossella was endorsed by Trump in the primary, with Trump calling the former congressman strong, tough and a powerful voice against crime and all other things going wrong in the city that we love.

Vito Fossella will not let you down, Trump said in an email to supporters.

Murphy is a real estate developer and businessman who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2012. He is the son of former U.S. Rep. Jack Murphy, who represented Staten Island for 18 years before being caught in the Abscam corruption scandal in the late 1970s.

Murphy did not raise the issue of Fossella's past on the campaign trail and declined to comment on it.
A Kansas woman who used a 134-year-old state law to convene a citizen grand jury after a prosecutor declined to file rape charges against a man she accused of attacking her said Wednesday she was angry but not surprised that jurors didn't bring charges in the case.

Madison Smith, 23, of McPherson, gathered hundreds of signatures to empanel the grand jury after she said a fellow student at Bethany College slapped and strangled her during a sexual encounter in his dorm room in February 2018. The student, Jared Stolzenburg, was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to aggravated battery.

The grand jury convened on Oct. 18 and Smith was told of its decision Tuesday.

Smith said the grand jury's refusal to bring rape charges reinforces society's reluctance to deal honestly and fairly with sexual assault victims.

I was very angry that people just don't see rape for what it is and refuse to be educated about it, Smith said. I was also angry that I had to take so many steps that victims should not have to take and it still didn't work out as we wanted it to.

Defense attorney Brent Boyer said Wednesday he had not represented Stolzenburg for some time and declined to comment on the grand jury's decision.

Kansas is one of six states that allow citizens to petition for grand juries, using a law that was passed in 1887. Smith's case is believed to be the first time the law was used by someone claiming sexual assault.

Smith said her encounter with Stolzenburg was consensual until he started slapping and strangling her to the point where she began to lose consciousness and she feared he was going to kill her. She said she couldnt verbally withdraw consent because she was being choked.

When McPherson County Attorney Gregory Benefiel declined to file rape charges, Smith used the Kansas law to call her own grand jury. She stood on street corners and told her story to strangers in order to gather hundreds of signatures on petitions. And she did it twice after the first petition was declined because of technicality.

Despite the grand jury's decision, Smith said she does not regret publicizing her case and hopes it will bring changes to how sexual assault victims are treated by law enforcement officials and society in general.

I'm just sick and tired of people being all hush-hush about rape, she said. I wanted to bring awareness not only to my case but to the fact that victims of rape and sexual assault do not get justice or the treatment they should.

Benefiel did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the grand jury's decision. In an interview in May, he said sex crimes are extremely challenging to prosecute because jurors are looking for that CSI type of evidence.

He said he believed he and Smith were both seeking truth and justice but had different ideas on what that would be in this case.

Smith's mother, Mandy, who works at Bethany College in Lindsborg, about 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) north of Wichita, said she was proud of her daughter's determination to stand up for herself and shine a light on how poorly sexual assault victims are treated by the legal system.

She was not treated with any empathy or dignity, Mandy Smith said. Prosecutors do not understand how to do their jobs in a trauma-informed way and that is a huge part of the problem in these cases  This case should help get consent education out there. It should be everywhere and it's not.

Justin Boardman, a retired detective who trains police and prosecutors on investigating sexual crimes, said law enforcement officers and prosecutors often are speaking a different language than sexual assault victims, largely because of cultural biases about such crimes.

He said law enforcement officers and the public often question why a victim didnt scream, or fight back, or why victims sometimes struggle to tell their stories or dont cry. All those responses are related to how the brain reacts to trauma, he said, and there is a huge gap in miscommunication between victims and law enforcement.

Madison Smith, who graduated in May and is working as a medical assistant while applying to nursing schools, said she was encouraged by the support she received from family, friends and strangers during the process.

We swung the bat as hard as we could and unfortunately we missed, she said. I just had to know that I tried everything I could.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  A prominent South Carolina lawyer whose wife and son were killed five months ago and has since found himself part of a half-dozen state investigations and a number of lawsuits had his assets frozen Tuesday by a judge worried he and his son might be scheming to hide money.

Judge Daniel Hall sided with an attorney suing Alex Murdaugh on behalf of the family of a 19-year-old woman killed in a crash on Murdaugh's boat which prosecutors said his late son was driving.

The family's lawsuit says Murdaugh is trying to hide millions of dollars they could possibly collect in their lawsuit and he could shift money between unknown accounts and potentially sell off property and a boat after he turned all his affairs over to his surviving son, Buster Murdaugh. He could also benefit from the estates of his slain wife and son and his father who died of natural causes a few days later, attorney Mark Tinsley said.

They have refused from day one to give me any information," Tinsley said.

Murdaugh inherited part of a legal empire in tiny Hampton County, South Carolina. Murdaughs father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all elected prosecutors. The familys law firm, located in the most impressive building in town after the courthouse, has spent a century winning multimillion-dollar verdicts.

Remaining unsolved now for nearly five months are the deaths of Murdaughs wife, Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22. Murdaugh said he returned to their rural Colleton County home to find them shot to death. Tight-lipped state police have neither named any suspects nor ruled anyone out. Murdaugh has adamantly denied having anything to do with their killings.

The deaths lead to five more criminal investigations into Murdaugh, from whether he stole money from the familys century-old PMPED Law Firm to the events around his housekeepers death and insurance payout to whether he or his family tried to obstruct the investigation into the boat crash.

A lawyer for Murdaugh argued at a hearing before the judge Friday that he has not been found responsible in any civil suits since his wife and son were killed and has insurance to cover if he is required to pay damages.

Attorney John Tiller also argued if Murdaugh loses control of his assets, that would open the door for similar things to happen in countless other cases if the person who sues thinks the defendant does not have enough insurance.

Murdaugh, 53, remains in the Richland County jail without bond after being charged with stealing nearly $3 million in insurance payments meant for the sons of his housekeeper, who died in a 2018 fall in his home. His legal team did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Tuesdays ruling.

A judge handling the Murdaugh criminal cases last month asked for a report on his mental state before considering whether to set bond. A date for a hearing has not been set.

While the criminal investigations into Murdaugh continue  he also has been charged with trying to arrange his own death so his surviving son could get a $10 million life insurance policy  the civil lawsuits against him are also piling up.

Murdaugh faces at least six lawsuits seeking money as damages, from claims over the 2019 fatal boat crash to allegations he stole accidental death insurance settlements meant for his housekeeper's sons and money from his family's century-old law firm to his own brother saying Murdaugh owes him $46,500 on $90,000 loaned in September in part to get Murdaugh into drug rehab.

The judge's decision Tuesday only deals with the lawsuit from the family of 19-year-old Mallory Beach. She died after Murdaugh's boat hit a Beaufort County bridge in February 2019 and her body was found seven days later.

Prosecutors say Paul Murdaugh was driving the boat recklessly while intoxicated and charges against him were dropped after he and his mother were killed at the family's Colleton County home in June.

Lawyers in two other lawsuits against Alex Murdaugh filed similar motions asking to have the independent lawyers review and catalog all of Murdaughs assets and approve whether he can spend money. They will get part of any legal settlements or judgements against Murdaugh in the cases they are involved.

Those cases involve a man on the boat who said the Murdaugh family tried to falsely pin him as the boats driver along with the family of Murdaughs late housekeeper Gloria Satterfield. The Murdaughs said she died after a fall in the familys home in 2018.

Murdaugh has been charged with pocketing nearly $3 million worth of insurance settlements that was supposed to go to Satterfields estate.

Prosecutors have accused Murdaugh of illegally diverting the money to his accounts. They said he then paid off a $100,000 credit card bill, transferred more than $300,000 to his father and $735,000 to himself.

Hes living pretty well for someone with no assets. He has a crisis manager, Tinsley said at Friday's hearing.

Last week, at least two more lawsuits were filed against Murdaugh looking to collect debts. His old PMPED Law Firm sued, saying they loaned him $470,000 in 2021 and has not been paid back. The law firm has a separate suit against Murdaugh seeking money they said he stole from them. That suit didn't specify and amount, but legal papers have suggested it is in the millions.

Also Randolph Murdaugh IV sued his brother, saying $90,000 he loaned before his arrest to help his brother make payroll and after the arrest for rehab has not been paid back minus a $43,500 tractor and rotary cutter that court papers said were given to the brother after Alex Murdaugh first tried to sell it.

___

Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.
BEIRUT (AP)  Lebanon on Wednesday sought a dialogue with Saudi Arabia to resolve an unprecedented diplomatic rift over a Lebanese Cabinet ministers comments, even as new reasons for tension emerged.

The spat unfolded over statements by the Lebanese Information minister aired last week about the war in Yemen, which Lebanese officials have said do not represent official government views.

Riyadh angrily recalled its ambassador and asked the Lebanese envoy to leave. It also banned Lebanese imports, undermining the small nations foreign trade and depriving it of millions of dollars while it is deep in an economic crisis.

Gulf countries have joined Saudi Arabia in pulling out their diplomats, sharpening the diplomatic slap.

Despite the calls for mediation and dialogue, there is no sign of the crisis letting up.

Instead, new reasons for tension emerged, following leaks by a Saudi paper in which the Lebanese foreign minister, apparently in off-the-cuff remarks to Lebanese reporters, said drug smuggling out of Lebanon would not have happened if there was no market in Saudi Arabia.

The comments, apparently made at the outset of the crisis, were interpreted by Saudi media as an endorsement of the smuggling, which had been another reason for the tension with Lebanon.

Since the crisis, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib in comments to the press had said Riyadh is being too harsh on Lebanon. He did not deny the leaked comments Wednesday in a statement, but said he had wished the Saudi paper would have helped in resolving the crisis instead of publishing partial and wrong narratives that only complicate matters.

In separate comments following a meeting with Lebanons President Michel Aoun Wednesday, Bouhabib said any problems between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia should be resolved through dialogue. He added that Lebanon, which is going through one of the worlds worst economic meltdowns, is looking for support from its neighbors to overcome the difficult circumstances it is going through and the hardship its people are facing.

We are certain that joint Arab interests will overrule what happened in the last few days and there will be no spilling of oil over the fire, Bouhabib said.

He also appealed to Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries to respect Lebanons freedom of expression and democracy, which he said are not intended to harm relations with Lebanons neighbors and friendly nations.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese minister of information at the center of the crisis, George Kordahi, has refused to apologize or step down, saying his remarks about the Yemen war, which were recorded before he took the post in September, were not meant to offend.

At the heart of the crisis is Saudi Arabias frustration with the growing role of the Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Riyadh is locked into a regional power rivalry with Tehran, which it accuses of backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen along its borders. Over the years, Saudi Arabia, once a close ally, it has lost its influence and clout in Lebanon.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP)  Maryland health officials have authorized providers across the state to immediately begin scheduling appointments, holding clinics, and vaccinating 5- to 11-year-olds, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday.

The announcement came a day after U.S. health officials gave the final signoff to Pfizers kid-size COVID-19 shot.

Our state health team has been working for many weeks in anticipation of federal approval to mobilize detailed operational plans for vaccinating children," Hogan said.

Maryland has about 515,000 newly eligible children. State health officials placed an initial order of 180,000 vaccine doses, which began arriving directly from Pfizer this week.

We will be receiving allocations in the coming weeks, and they have committed to supplying enough capacity for all of our 5- to 11-year-olds," the Republican governor said.

Dr. Jinlene Chan, the state's deputy health secretary, said that while the benefits of the vaccine have greatly reduced infections, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 over the past year, the proportion of cases in younger children who have not been able to get vaccinated has been increasing.

For example, early this year, about 6% of pediatric COVID-19 cases were in children under 10. In the middle and late part of the year, that age group comprised 14% of new cases, Chan said.

Vaccinating kids is another important step in our ongoing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic," Chan said.

There will be several options for children to get vaccinated.

All local school systems have agreed to facilitate clinics across the state in coordination with local health departments.

Those clinics are being planned as we speak and will be starting to take place next week and in the weeks to come, and local health departments are also planning mobile clinics to get into communities that perhaps have not had access to vaccines historically," Chan said.

Maryland health officials also have worked with the state's pediatric advisory group to enable pediatricians and family physicians to provide vaccines in their offices. The state's pharmacies also will begin offering COVID-19 vaccines for children.

The state of Maryland will provide staffing to school systems and local jurisdictions. The state also is deploying the Vaccine Equity Task Force to ensure equitable access for families in underserved communities and hard-to-reach areas, the governor's office said.

Dr. Monique Soileau-Burke, vice president of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said Wednesday's announcement marked a day for celebration to begin enabling children safely to participate in events that they have not been able to during the pandemic.

Vaccinating our children is the right thing to do. Its safe. Its effective," Soileau-Burke said.

Dr. Michael Zollicoffer, a Baltimore pediatrician, said the availability of vaccines for young children offered new hope to battle the pandemic.

The shot is 91% effective. The shot is about a third of the dose that we give to adults. It's a two-shot regimen ... and it's a very safe shot with minimal side effects. This is a good shot," Zollicoffer said.
NORWALK  A case of discrimination against Norwalk Public Schools filed by former Principal Lynne Moore is moving toward a settlement conference, two months after the lawsuit was filed.

Attorney M. Jeffry Spahr, who is representing the Board of Education, the city and former Superintendent Steven Adamowski, made the request to have the case reassigned to a settlement conference on Oct. 28, according to court documents.

I believe it is a good first step to bring us all to the table at the outset to have an impartial person (in particular a judge) look at the case and make comments or suggestions. This can help both sides see the strength and weaknesses of their positions, Spahr said Monday.

Spahr maintained that going into this process we do not believe that we have committed any wrongdoing. It will be interesting to have someone else take a look at the case.

Moore, who has been a district employee since 1998, is claiming race discrimination and retaliation, as well as age discrimination, against the defendants. She identifies her race as African American and her color as Black. She was born in 1945.

Moore, who is the union president of the Norwalk Association of School Administrators and an assistant principal at Norwalk High School, is represented by Ryan D. Daugherty. Daugherty could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Prior to filing the lawsuit on Aug. 31, Moore alleges she filed a complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunity in February 2019 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 2019.

Moore claims that, due to the complaints she filed in 2019, she was subjected to harassment, hyper-scrutiny, and retaliation from Frank Costanzo and Defendant Adamowski.

After the 2017-18 school year, Moore was reassigned from being the principal at West Rocks Middle School to an assistant principal at Norwalk High School, which her attorney described as a demotion in the complaint. The action took place under Adamowskis tenure as superintendent.

The departure from West Rocks marked the end of a long and contentious battle between Moore and her ardent supporters and school officials, which caused a divide in the education community.

In the recent complaint, Daugherty outlines a pattern of discrimination and retaliation against Moore by members of the Board of Education, Adamowski and members of his administration.

.

Costanzo, the chief of school operations, issued several warning letters against Moore during the 2017-18 school year, according to the complaint. And in June 2018, Adamowski told Moore he would ask the districts legal counsel to investigate whether she should be terminated, the suit states.

The complaint called the counsels findings conclusory and bias at best, malicious and discriminatory at worst. When Moore met with Adamowski in August 2018 to discuss the findings, the former superintendent asked her if she wanted to retire, the complaint states. She declined, and Adamowski officially reassigned her to Norwalk High School.

Consequently, for the first time in Norwalk Public Schools history, an incumbent principal was demoted to assistant principal, the complaint states.

A pre-settlement conference is scheduled for Nov. 3, when a date for the settlement conference will be set.

emily.morgan@hearstmediact.com
BANGKOK (AP)  A Thai police colonel, dubbed Jo Ferrari for his extravagant collection of cars, and six other officers were charged Wednesday with murder for allegedly killing a suspected drug dealer while trying to extort him for money, authorities said.

Col. Thitisan Utthanaphon and the other officers also face charges of extortion, dereliction of duty and confining a person against their will for the Aug. 5 incident at their station, said Ittiporn Kaewtip, spokesperson for the attorney general's office.

The suspects, who also include a police major, captain and lieutenant, could face the death penalty if convicted.

The attorney general must now decide whether to send the case to court, deputy spokesperson Prayuth Petchkhun said.

The case caused a public uproar after a video of the incident was shared on social media which appeared to show Thitisan directing a deadly assault on the suspect. Allegations of police brutality and corruption are widespread in Thailand, and international rights groups called for the officers involved to be held accountable.

Thitisan turned himself in after a nationwide manhunt and was given the unusual opportunity to address reporters and answer their questions by telephone in a somewhat surreal news conference called by police to announce his apprehension.

He denied any part in a shakedown and insisted he was attempting to get information from the drug dealer about where he had stashed his main supply of methamphetamine.

Since Ive been in the police I have never been involved in corruption, the colonel said. I did not have any intention to kill him. I just wanted to do my work.

Thitisan, who was chief of the station in Nakhon Sawan province, north of Bangkok, disappeared shortly before the video surfaced on social media.

The video shows the male suspect in handcuffs being led into a room, his head covered with a black plastic bag.

He is then assaulted and thrown to the floor by officers who put more bags on his head. One of them appears to briefly kneel on him until he goes limp.

The video was posted by a well-known attorney, Decha Kittiwittayanan, who said he had received a complaint from a junior police officer in Nakhon Sawan.

The complaint alleged that the police had demanded 1 million baht ($30,000) from the 24-year-old man who was killed and his female companion, who had been picked up with more than 100,000 methamphetamine tablets.

After they agreed to pay, Thitisan allegedly demanded double that amount and ordered his subordinates to cover the male suspects head with a plastic bag and beat him until he agreed.

When the suspect died, Thitisan allegedly ordered his men to take the body to the hospital and tell the doctor the death was caused by a drug overdose. The junior police officer said the woman was released but told not to say anything about it, and that Thitisan paid the victims father to remain silent.

Investigators interrogated 35 witnesses as part of their investigation, police Gen. Suchart Teerasawat said.

In addition, police and officials from Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office seized assets from Thitisan worth about 131 million baht ($3.9 million).

They include a mansion valued at 57 million baht ($1.7 million) and 24 cars valued at 70 million baht ($2.1 million), Suchart said.

Police are still investigating Thitisan in a case involving the alleged improper seizure of illegally imported vehicles from Europe and other countries.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP)  The Biden administration is planning to sell oil and gas leases on huge tracts of public land in the U.S. West, despite the Interior Department's conclusion that doing so could cost society billions of dollars in climate change impacts, according to government documents.

Administration officials announced last week that government regulators for the first time will analyze greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels extracted from government-owned lands across the U.S.

Burning those fuels accounts for about 20% of energy-related U.S. emissions, making them a prime target for climate activists who want to shut down leasing. President Joe Biden campaigned on pledges to end new drilling on public lands.

Hundreds of parcels of land that companies nominated for leasing were dropped from the sales because of concerns about wildlife being harmed by drilling rigs.

Yet officials with the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said for now theres little they can do to prevent the broad climate change impacts from burning fuels extracted from the remaining parcels. That's in part because they cant discern the significance of emissions from government-owned fuel reserves versus other sources, officials wrote in newly released documents.

The determination applies to lease sales planned early next year in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota and other states.

BLM has limited decision authority to meaningfully or measurably prevent the cumulative climate change impacts that would result from global emissions, agency officials wrote in their Montana lease proposal.

Similar statements were included in documents released for sales in other states.

The leasing plans could change as the administration continues to analyze greenhouse gas emissions and their effects on people and the environment, administration officials said Tuesday.

The land bureau plans to defer leasing on almost 600 square miles (1550 square kilometers) in Wyoming, 213 square miles (550 square kilometers) in Colorado and 5 square miles (14 square kilometers) in Montana because of potential impacts to a struggling bird species, the greater sage grouse, and migrating pronghorn antelope.

Still, Wyoming has the most land up for new leasing, roughly 280 square miles (725 square kilometers).

The so-called social costs of emissions from burning oil and gas from all the parcels  including more natural disasters, crop losses and public health problems due to climate change  are projected to range from $630 million to about $7 billion, according to land bureau documents.

The administration's decision not to cite the climate costs as a reason to limit leases frustrates environmental activists and others who have urged curbs in government fossil fuel sales. They said it undermined the president's participation in the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, where Biden and other world leaders on Tuesday pledged to cut emissions of methane, a byproduct of drilling.

Harvard University economics professor James Stock said it was confusing for the administration to put a dollar value to greenhouse emissions, but then assert that such impacts are impossible to discern because of the global nature of climate change.

To say its too hard, they cant do that  thats simply not true. All of those calculations have been done, Stock said. This is very surprising to me and inconsistent with the Biden administrations climate goals.

Similar determinations that U.S. fossil fuel lease sales should not be sharply restricted over global warming concerns were made under former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama.

This seems to be is business as usual," Jeremy Nichols with the environmental group WildEarth Guardians said of the upcoming lease sales. It flies in the face of scientists finding that any more fossil fuel production is unacceptable and countries need to find ways to limit production.

Republicans and petroleum industry representatives were quick to slam Biden last week when he announced plans to analyze greenhouse gas emissions. The decision not to directly address them reinforces that stopping development of federal lands would have little impact on climate change, said Kathleen Sgamma with the Western Energy Alliance, an industry trade group.

Stopping all leasing and development on federal lands would have zero impact on climate change, as the production is simply displaced to nonfederal lands or to OPEC or other foreign producers, Sgamma said.

Studies by independent experts have concluded that some but not all reduced drilling on federal lands and waters would be offset by crude imports.

Approvals to drill on leased U.S.-owned lands surged toward the end of Trump's presidency, as companies stockpiled permits. That continued when Biden first took office before slowing in recent months. Figures released Tuesday showed 261 drilling permits approved in September, compared to more than 800 during Trump's last full month in office.

Land bureau officials said in the leasing documents that their regulatory authority was limited to activities tied directly to oil and gas development  not the subsequent burning of the fuels. Instead, they propose curbing emissions by addressing methane leaks from oil field activities and other avenues.

Additional measures to reduce methane emissions from drilling were announced Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Next year's lease sale will be the first by the bureau since Biden suspended the program just a week after taking office as part of his plan to address climate change.

The administration in June was ordered to resume the sales by a federal judge in Louisiana, who said Interior officials offered no rational explanation for canceling them.

Attorneys general from 13 states sued the administration saying the suspension would cost the states money and jobs.

___

Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter: @MatthewBrownAP


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Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher shares a strong bond with his mother, Dulari. The actor often treats his fans with some interesting yet funny conversations with his mom via Instagram. As the actor was away for a month to shoot for the film Uunchai in Nepal, he recently reunited with his mother, and their conversation was like any other mother-son duo.

Taking to Instagram, Anupam Kher recently shared a video of him getting scolded by his mother, Dulari. In the video, Anupam Kher asked his mother whether he was looking thinner. In return, the actor's mom suggested he eat more and got mad at him for not having enough food. She also compared him to a Kashmiri dried fish and said he should not get any thinner.

The actor was then delighted as his mother gifted him a shirt. He also offered his mother some of his paratha, which she liked. Sharing the video, Anupam Kher wrote, "Met Mom after a month. She immediately called me #Sukda (very thin). Made unbelievable faces! Then added that I look like a #Hoggard. Kashmiri word for dried fish. But then I got two nice shirts. She also liked the parantha I offered her. (sic)" The actor also mentioned how he enjoys spending time with his mom and wrote, "It is impossible to have a dull moment when she is around!!"

Anupam Kher reveals shooting for Uunchai was a life-changing experience

Anupam Kher was shooting for his 520th film Uunchai in Nepal for the past few months The actor had some memorable experiences in the mountainous region, including overcoming his fear of crossing a rope bridge and trekking in freezing weather. Last week, he announced the film's first schedule's wrap and mentioned how shooting for the movie was a life-changing experience for him. The New Amsterdam actor wrote, "Finally the first shooting schedule of Sooraj Barjatyas magnum opus Uunchai in #Nepal is wrapped. It has been a 27 days of life-changing experience. It forced me to challenge my potential and reinvent myself! Both as an actor and as a person! Jai Ho!! (sic)"

Uunchai also stars Parineeti Chopra and Boman Irani. The film is being directed by ace filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya. Uunchai will mark Anupam Kher and Sooraj Barjatya's fourth collaboration. The film will also have Amitabh Bachchan for a brief role.

(Image: @anupamkher/Instagram)
At a time when the region has been encountering intensified terror activities and killings, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane is on a visit to the Jammu region where he will be briefed on the security situation and operational preparedness of the force present there. The Army Chief will be visiting forward positions where he will be interacting with troops and commanders on the ground.

General MM Naravane #COAS is on a visit to Jammu Region wherein he will be given an update on security situation & operational preparedness. #COAS will visit forward areas & interact with troops and commanders on ground.#IndianArmy#StrongAndCapable pic.twitter.com/1NWsGwQqI6  ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) November 3, 2021

General Naravane on Wednesday met with locals in the region, addressed their grievances while getting appraised by them about the situation in the region.

PM Modi to follow tradition, celebrate Diwali with soldiers in J&K: Sources

The visit marks significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Nowshera, Rajouri border post on the Line of Control (LOC) on Thursday, 4 November to celebrate Diwali with soldiers. Prime Minister's visit to Nowshera, Rajouri comes in line with the ongoing encounter in Poonch which entered its 23rd day on Wednesday. PM Modi had last visited the area in 2019.

Following increased attacks after the ceasefire agreement with Pakistan and the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, security forces are now concerned over the threats springing from the Pakistani side, mainly due to reports that Pakistan is trying to push in more terrorists.

In the meantime, a massive terror cleanup drive by the Indian security forces is underway as multiple security troops are already carrying out search operations for finding the hideouts of the terrorists as a part of the encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district marking the longest exercise by the Indian forces.

Dense forests create challenges for forces

According to Republic TV's exclusive ground report from Poonch's Bhatta Dhurian forest range, the operation is being considered one of the most challenging ones for the security forces has been ongoing for the past 23 days now. Furthermore, the operation which is being carried out in the dense forest area has created more challenges for the forces as terrorists can easily hide out in those locations with the help of rocks and trees.

Reportedly, the terrorists also using strategies to remain out of sight from the forces and are hiding in the tough terrain. A total of nine army officers including two JCOs have already lost their lives in the ongoing operation. According to an army official, the last contact with the terrorists was on October 24 after which there have been no contacts in the last few days. However, efforts are underway to track them down and further clean their presence.

Poonch encounter

Earlier on 11 October, the combing and search operation was carried out by the multi-grid security forces to clean up the terrorist hideouts in the forests of J&K's Poonch district. Claiming it to be the longest exercise in the last few years, an army officer said that the operation to clean the terrorist hideouts across the forest belt is underway. As a part of it, forces armed with weapons, personnel, and policemen are battling the threat in the dense forest valleys. During the past few weeks, several hideouts were busted at the encounter site in Bhata Dhurian forest further leading to the recovery of several weapons. Earlier, a nine-day operation was carried out in 2009 in Poonch, which was the then longest-running encounter.

With PTI Inputs

Image: Republic World
Abhinandan Varthaman, the Indian Air Force ace pilot who became a hero in India after the dogfight between India and Pakistan on February 27, 2019, on Wednesday was promoted to the rank of Group Captain from Wing Commander. The rank of Group Captain is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army.

Abhinandan was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019. Abhinandan's MiG-21 fighter was shot down after he took down a Pak F-16 and he ejected into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army. However, the Pakistan Army was forced to release him due to the extensive pressure exerted by the Indian side along with the international intervention in the matter.

'Returned IAF's Abhinandan Varthaman to cool down things': Pak PM Imran Khan

In a speech delivered in Pakistan's national assembly, Ayaz Sadiq of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), recounted the events of a February 2019 meeting during which the Imran Khan government took the decision to free Abhinandan Varthaman. He said, "I remember Shah Mahmood Qureshi (Pakistan's Foreign Minister) was in the meeting which (Pakistan Prime Minister) Imran Khan had refused to attend and Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa came into the room, his legs were shaking and he was perspiring. The Foreign Minister said 'for God's sake let Abhinandan go, India's about to attack Pakistan at 9 pm'.

However, still unwilling to accept, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview to a Pak-based media house had tooted his own horns for 'returning' Wing Commander Abhinandan in a bid to 'cool down things' with India. Pakistan's Prime Minister had called the dogfight between India and Pakistan, as Pakistan's retaliation to India for Balakot.

IAF's Balakot air-strike

On February 26, a squadron of the IAF had crossed over to Pakistan and destroyed the largest JeM terrorist training camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to avenge the Pulwama terror attack which had been perpetrated by the Pakistan-based terror group and for which it took responsibility.

In the aftermath, Pakistan had first denied that any such airstrike had taken place, and then claimed that the IAF's bombs had missed their mark and hit a nearby forest, destroying trees and nothing more. However, after a few months, Imran Khan had conceded that India carried out the Balakot airstrike on Pakistani soil.
In a development towards the global approval of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has now sought additional data clarification from the Indian vaccine manufacturer in relation to the pending Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of its coronavirus jab, Covaxin. The Technical Advisory Group of WHO will conduct a EUL risk-benefit assessment meeting for the global use of the Indian vaccine today, November 3. It must be noted that this will be the final risk-benefit assessment meeting regarding Bharat Biotech's vaccine.

The Indian vaccine manufacturer has been submitting data on the EUL of Covaxin regularly to a technical committee. Following the continual seeking of approval, the WHO had conducted a meeting regarding the same on October 26 and asked the manufacturer for some additional data. The company has now provided the data needed and the health organisation will hold its final meeting to discuss a possible global EUL approval of Covaxin.

World Health Organisation to take call on Covaxin approval today

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which has developed Covaxin, first submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) to the WHO on April 19 for the vaccine's EUL. Following the submission, Dr Mariangela Simao, assistant director-general, Access to Medicines and Health Products at WHO, on October 18, had said at a press briefing in Geneva that the last batch of data needed for the assessment was submitted by Bharat Biotech on the day. She was responding to a query regarding the delay in granting the Covaxin EUL while Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac were given approval with an alleged lack of data.

Simao had informed that the technical advisory group would reconvene on November 2 for the final risk-benefit assessment of Covaxin EUL. She had said that the WHO was in touch with Bharat Biotech and conducts "daily conversations and calls and meetings clarifying what additional data needs" to be submitted to the technical expert group. She further added that it was important to highlight that the WHO uses a transparent process for EUL of vaccines and there were no secrets involved in the same.

Covaxin shows 77.8% overall efficacy

Covaxin is a Whole Virion Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV). While the phase 3 trials entailed 25,800 participants between 18-98 years of age including 10% over the age of 60, the analysis was conducted 14 days after administering the second dose of the vaccine. It has shown overall 77.8% efficacy and 93.4% efficacy against severe COVID-19 disease as per the final results.

On the other hand, efficacy data demonstrates 63.6% protection against asymptomatic COVID-19 disease. Most importantly, it has proven to neutralise variants such as B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.617 (Kappa), B.1.351 (Beta) and B.1.617.2 (Delta). The Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, Mumbai, Indian Immunologicals Limited in Hyderabad and Ankleshwar, Bharat Immunologicals Biologicals Limited in Bulandshahr and the Biovet facility in Bengaluru have also been permitted to produce Covaxin.

So far, Covaxin has been approved only in select countries such as India, Estonia, Iran, the Philippines, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Guyana, Paraguay and Zimbabwe. The emergency use approval can be a gamechanger amid the COVID-19 crisis as it is likely to encourage countries to import the vaccine, facilitate its manufacturing abroad and ease global travel for those vaccinated with it. In India, a total of 72,31,51,612 persons have been inoculated whereas 31,25,52,372 of them have received a second dose of the coronavirus vaccine too.

(Image: PTI/Shutterstock)
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 155 kg of hashish which had been smuggled into India from Nepal and was being transported to the hinterland on two different occasions in October 2021. Three persons accused have been arrested in relation to the smuggling.

In its continued crackdown on smuggling of narcotic drugs into India, the officers of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in two different cases in October 2021 have seized 155 kg of Hashish which had been smuggled into India from Nepal and was being transported to the hinterland, said DRI in a statement.

In the first case, DRI officers intercepted a car on the Hapur-Meerut road on October 7 and seized 85 kg of high-quality hashish after a detailed examination which had been ingeniously concealed in a specially built cavity under the boot of the car, the DRI informed. Two people along with the owner of the vehicle were arrested.

In the second case, the DRI officers intercepted a Mahindra pickup truck in Ramraj town (Uttar Pradesh) near Bijnor on 29 October 2021. A thorough examination of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of 70 kg of high-quality hashish which was concealed in a specially created cavity near the driver-side of the carriage body of the vehicle.

The delivery of the hashish had been made to a dealer who was arrested along with the drugs. The person arrested is a history-sheeter and had been arrested earlier by Uttar Pradesh STF in a case involving the seizure of 55 kg hashish in 2018.

DRI Seizes Heroin Worth Rs 125 Cr At Mumbai's Nhava Sheva Port

DRI Mumbai informed that it seized 25 kg of heroin worth Rs 125 crore from a container at Mumbai's Nhava Sheva Port last month. The giant drug bust was done during a raid by DRI zonal unit. Jayesh Sanghvi, a businessman, has been arrested from the Navi Mumbai area in connection with the case. The officials detained a container that had arrived at the Nhava Sheva Port in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, from Iran. The agency carried out a search at the port on October 4. Jayesh Sanghvi, the arrested accused, has been sent to DRI custody.

(With inputs from ANI)
Kolkata, Nov 3 (PTI) National Investigation Agency sleuths have arrested a suspected terrorist of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh from West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, an official said on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of NIA personnel conducted a search operation in Subhasgram area on Tuesday and apprehended the Bangladeshi national, he said.

"Fake voter and Aadhaar cards have been seized from his possession. He is being interrogated. We are trying to find out how and when he entered into India," the official told PTI.

Several documents related to the terror group were seized from his possession, he added. PTI SCH BDC BDC

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
As a Srinagar-Sharjah flight was denied use of Pakistan's airspace in the latest instance of the Imran Khan-led government obstinance, People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday bafflingly attacked the Government of India for not securing permission in advance. Calling it 'puzzling', Mufti on his official Twitter handle added, 'Only PR extravaganza without any groundwork'.

Pakistan denies airspace to Srinagar-Sharjah flight

On Pakistan denying use of its airspace, the concerned Indian ministries- Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of External Affairs & Ministry of Home Affairs, have been notified. The Ministries, as per sources, are looking into the matter.

Since the airspace has been denied, the Srinagar-Sharjah flight will have to take a longer route. The flight from Srinagar to Sharjah will be more than an hour longer as planes will have to fly via Udaipur, Ahmedabad and Oman. The flight will also be more expensive. Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the flight from the Sheikh Ul-Alam international airport in Srinagar on October 23. The flight revived the direct airlink between the valley and the UAE after 11 years.

Earlier, an Air India Express flight from India- Dubai had met the same fate when in 2009-2010, Pakistan had denied usage of airspace. Speaking of the same, National Conference chief Omar Abdullah had called Pakistan's decision to deny its airspace 'unfortunate'. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Abdullah had said, "I had expected that GoFirst Airways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relationship but alas that wasn't to be."

Flagging off the flight, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said, "This will help in boosting tourism and bring more investment in the Union Territory."
Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday officially resigned from the Congress party. Following his big move, Punjab Transport Minister Amarinder Singh Raja attacked the former CM for "holding seat-sharing talks with anti-farmer Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)."

In addition, Raja also attacked Captain Amarinder Singh for speaking out against Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu for 'hugging' Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Raja in his tweets has taken a dig at Captain Amarinder Singh and shared a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugging former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Dear @capt_amarinder Sahab,



In ur letter to Honble Congress President u cited @INCPunjab Chief Sardar @sherryontopp Hugging Pak Army Chief & Pak PM as ur reason to leave the party



As U now r Seat Sharing with Anti Farmer BJP

Here r few pictures of ur new found BumChums pic.twitter.com/f7HwphxcQW  Amarinder Singh Raja (@RajaBrar_INC) November 2, 2021

Captain Amarinder Singh resigns from Congress, sends 7-page letter to Sonia Gandhi

Earlier on Tuesday, Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from the Congress and wrote a 7-page letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. In his letter, Singh called the Punjab Congress chief "an acolyte of Pakistani deep state." He criticised Sonia Gandhi's decision to appoint Sidhu as the Punjab Congress chief. In another big move, Captain Amarinder Singh announced a new party "Punjab Lok Congress" ahead of Assembly elections in the state.

"Despite my profound reservations and over the unanimous advice of almost all the MPs from Punjab, you chose to appoint an acolyte of Pakistani deep state Navjot Singh Sidhu who had publicly hugged the Pakistan Army Chief Gen Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan, as the President of the Punjab Congress Committee," Captain wrote in his letter.

Singh had resigned in September as chief minister and had announced that he will be quitting the Congress after months of a rift with Congress state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Earlier last week, he said that he will form his own political party and hold talks for seat-sharing with BJP for the upcoming state Assembly polls.

"I will hold talks for seat-sharing with BJP, breakaway Akali factions and others for Punjab elections once farmers' issue is resolved. I want to build a strong collective force in the interest of Punjab and its farmers," Captain Amarinder Singh had said.

(With inputs from ANI)
Researchers in the US have found a new anti-body that could limit the severity of infections from a variety of coronaviruses, including those which cause COVID and SARS illnesses. According to the study published in Science Translational Medicine, the new anti-body was identified by a team comprising of scientists at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. The newly discovered antibody has the potential to be therapeutic for the current pandemic," the team said in the aftermath.

"This antibody has the potential to be therapeutic for the current epidemic," co-senior author Barton Haynes, M.D., director of DHVI was quoted as saying by ANI. "It could also be available for future outbreaks, if or when other coronaviruses jump from their natural animal hosts to humans."

According to the study, the antibody was isolated by analysing the blood of a COVID patient and another man who was infected with the original SARS virus in the early 2000s. It was subsequently tested on animal models at UNC-Chapel Hill. As per the researchers, the anti-body was one out of the 1,700 which the human body produces to combat foreign viruses and other pathogens.

COVID-19 vaccine wastage

Meanwhile, in other coronavirus related news, the California Department of Public Health reported that US states squandered an average of 4.8% of their available vaccine doses of COVID-19, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the primary cause for dumping the COVID-19 vaccines was that the medicine expired or opened and could go bad before it can be used, or has been overused and destroyed. In April, providers dumped 13,829 doses or 0.13% of the available COVID Vaccines. However, each month since, the wasted proportion of vaccine doses has crept upward, to 1.11% in October, bringing the seven-month total to 611,328 doses.

Health providers have discarded approximately 645,000 doses of life-saving COVID-19 vaccines in California since they were accessible in December last year, an average of 58,614 per month, according to the California Department of Public Health. The startling figure, however, represents only 1% of the total 58 million doses made available in California between 15 December 2020 and 22 October 2021, according to the report. NBC News reported this month that the government agency said vaccination suppliers threw out more than 15 million doses between March and August.

(Image: AP)

(With inputs from ANI)
Emergency teams in the Nigerian city of Lagos on Tuesday continued looking for survivors amid the rubble of a 21-storey building that had collapsed.

Lagos State deputy governor Femi Hamzat told journalists that the collapse on Monday occurred while construction was being carried out at the site.

Nine people have been pulled out alive, Hamzat said, but relatives were angry at what they called the slow pace of the rescue effort that rook hours to begin.

Hamzat said "the information is fluid", and that it is difficult knowing how many people might still be trapped as it was not a residential building.

Excavators were seen moving through a mountain of broken concrete and steel looking for dozens still missing after the collapse killed at least 14 people.

Workers have said the high-rise apartment building had been under construction for about two years, and it was not immediately known what had caused the collapse.

Officials said the property's developers had added six more floors than what was originally approved under their building permit in the city of Lagos, fuelling speculation that the additional weight could have contributed to the collapse.

The government-run News Agency of Nigeria reported that the building's owner had been arrested on undisclosed charges.

However, such incidents are relatively common in Lagos because enforcement of building code regulations is weak.

Officials arriving at the scene were confronted by crowds of people venting their anger that rescue efforts started several hours after the collapse.

Distressed relatives whose loved ones were missing sat together by the road consoling one another.

Others at the scene shouted in anger, saying the rescue operation was too slow and that they should be allowed to join the effort.

It took about three hours before the first excavator arrived at the scene Monday afternoon.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
The second phase of parliament elections in Somalia has kickstarted on Tuesday, news agency Sputnik reported. Notably, the ongoing election was scheduled for July this year but, months of delays in the deeply unstable Horn of Africa country had forced the authorities to postpone the elections for October this year. Some media reports also claimed that the elections were postponed as Al-Shabaab jihadists warned politicians against taking part in the elections.

It is worth noting Somaliland plunged into a political crisis after the President and five states were unable to agree on the terms of a vote before his term lapsed in February. In April this year, widespread opposition, leading to the mobilisation of militias, exposed divisions within Somali security forces, resulting in violent clashes.

After the deadly clashes, Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, who is popularly known as Farmaajo, was appointed to hold the elections soon after a dispute fuelled over holding elections resulted in a political crisis last year. Subsequently, President announced to hold the elections in July. However, it was again postponed and scheduled for October this year. Meanwhile, while holding a press conference, Roble said, "I am happy that today we have formally started the poll of the Somali lower house." Notably, after the parliament elections conclude, the country would hold presidential elections - more than a year after they were originally scheduled.

Election amid deadly conflict

It is also worth noting that the country has been facing a deadly clash between Army and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa group for the past two weeks. According to AP, at least 30 people have been killed and 70 others injured in clashes. Also, over 1,00,000 people have fled a town in Galmudug state in central Somalia due to increased agitation between local authorities and a paramilitary organisation. Several citizens, including children, were displaced from their homes. As per the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the conflict between the authorities has spread to 28 rural villages. Somalia had earlier abandoned Guriel because of fears of a possible battle between the Galmudug administration and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa.

Image: AP
Two days after President of France Emmanuel Macron accused Australia of lying about the latter's intentions to renew the submarine deal, Australian PM Scott Morrison sternly stated that he will not accept "sledging" and "slurs" from them. The ongoing row of the trilateral AUKUS pact had escalated between France and Australia after Macron this week accused Morrison of lying to him at Paris dinner in June about engagement in the $65 billion submarine deal. Reportedly, the row further deepened when Scott Morrison received a message from Macron, leaked to the Australian media, the BBC reported.

"I've got broad shoulders, I can deal with the that (accusations)," BBC quoted Morrison told as saying to reporters at COP26. "But those slurs- I am not going to cop sledging off Australia. I am not going to cop that on behalf of Australians," he added in response to Macron's assertions. Following this, there were also accusations against Morrison of twisting Macron's words as a verbal attack against Australians.

Both the leaders met at the G20 Summit in Rome for the first time amid the ongoing row over the AUKUS pact. However, when asked about Morrison's comments, President Macron refused to explain the assertions made last week. "I don't think, I know," he told the reporters, BBC mentioned. Speaking to an Australian journalist, Macron also expressed "respect" for Australia and asserted that "when we have respect, you have to be true and you have to behave in a line and consistently with this value." On the other hand, while speaking in Glasgow, PM Morrison maintained that he wished his French counterpart had not "personalised" the row.

The AUKUS row

On September 15, Australia, US and UK announced a trilateral security partnership to ensure strategic up-gradation of maritime security in Southeastern international waters. The animosity over it with France began as the pact led Paris to incur a loss of $65 billion on its defence deal with Australia, under which it sold conventional diesel-powered submarines to Australia. Additionally, France was appraised about the deal just hours ahead of its official announcement.

As per the new trilateral pact, the submarines to be delivered by UK and US to Australia will hold nuclear power and not nuclear weapons. It is noteworthy that Australia is a vital part of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). According to US President Joe Biden, the deal was signed between the leaders over a joint video conference as an "imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific over the long term," he told during a virtual conference at the time of the launch of the pact.

Image: AP
The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, announced Tuesday that "Peru will be the country that will most improve its position to receive European funds" in the region.

During his visit to Peru, the head of European diplomacy indicated that the bloc will allocate more than 70 million euros in aid and development cooperation agreements.

Borrell also spoke of the political situation in Venezuela, stressing that the "solution depends on the outcome of the forthcoming elections", in reference to the Venezuelan regional elections scheduled for 21 November.

However, according to him, the most worrying election in the region is the Nicaraguan presidential vote scheduled for Sunday, 7 November.

"The elections in Nicaragua are a complete farce," declared the European representative.

Borrell was later received by President Pedro Castillo together with other authorities and civil society representatives.

The bloc's representative is on his first tour of Latin America, with which he intends to "give more weight" to the EU's external relations with the countries of the region.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Israel and Palestine have been embattled in conflict for over a century now. While multiple efforts have been made at resolving the issue, the battle, fuelled by regional annexation and religious opposition, seems far from over.

While the Zionists currently led by PM Naftali Bennett and Palestinians led by Palestinian National Authority (PNA) continue their contestation for the sliver of land, another key player Hamas has emerged with its anti-semitic charter.

How did it start?

In 1918, as World War I ended, the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the allied forces, giving the British direct control over Palestine (modern-day Israel, Palestine and Jordan). It was in September 1923, that the League of Nations passed the Mandate for Palestine which obliged the then rulers of the land to establish a national home for the Jewish people. However, this was soon opposed by the Palestinians who asserted that it would subjugate Arab Palestinians. It is worth noting that throughout the first world war, the UK used the conflict to galvanize allied support and even passed the Belfour Declaration (1917) announcing a separate state for the Jews.

Independence and Aftermath

In May 1947, a sovereign, independent State of Israel came into existence with David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, as the prime minister. However, it soon attracted the ire of the Arabs and in 1948, 5 Arab states- Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon-invaded the region in what became known as the Arab-Israeli War. This triggered a civil war across Israel as a part of which thousands of Palestinians were forced out of their house in what is now termed as Al-Nakba. In 1949, an armistice agreement was inked making the West Bank part of Jordan and Gaza an Egyptian territory.

The arrangement was short-lived as Israel in 1967, waged the six-day war, annexing the Gaza Strip, West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. While Palestinians initially objected to it, they later accepted the demarcations under the Oslo Accords, allowing the Palestinians to self-govern the captured land. The Sinai Peninsula was later returned to Egypt in 1979.

Why is Jerusalem the flashpoint?

The city of Jerusalem has been the bone of contention between the Arabs and the Jews for a century. The old city of Jerusalem houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest place for Islam. The same land is also revered as the holiest in Judaism as Temple Mount. Frequent flashpoints at the site have triggered not only a war of nerves but also ammunition between Palestinians and Israelis. Earlier in May, Israel and Gaza based Hamas engaged in an 11-day long war which led to more than 200 fatalities.

(Image: AP)

The Occupied West Bank

West Bank is a landlocked sliver of land which is bordered by Jordan and Israel. While Israel occupied the area in 1967, Palestinians claim it to be their own. The West Bank also includes the area of East Jerusalem, which is one of the key areas of contention owing to its religious importance. At present, it houses over one lakh Israeli settlers while roughly two to three million Palestinians live in the disputed territory under limited self-governance and Israeli rule, according to BBC. Palestinians have repeatedly highlighted that with a rising number of settlements in the West Bank, it has become increasingly difficult to achieve their "dream of independence".

(Image: AP)

The Gaza Strip and its blockade

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip is ruled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Both Israel and Egypt strictly control the border to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas. However, the blockade has had major adverse effects on 140 sq. mile sliver of land and its two million residents. Adding to that, this years 11 day war (May 2021) has left the region annihilated with hospitals, offices and houses destroyed by aerial strikes. In more recent times, the Zionist regime has ramped up efforts to ease tensions and in September, it allowed imports of new vehicles, goods and equipment for civilian projects in the Gaza Strip.

(Image: AP)
The Kingdom of Bahrain, on Tuesday, urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately as a diplomatic crisis between the Gulf States and Beirut escalates. In a statement, Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani called upon all citizens to immediately evacuate due to the tense situation there, which requires caution. In addition, the ministry also advised Bahrainis to refrain from travelling to Lebanon permanently in order to prevent exposure to any risk, as per the Associated Press.

Tensions between Arab league nations and Lebanon soared earlier this month after the countrys entertainer-turned lawmaker- George Kurdahi said that the Yemen war was absurd. Not only did he downplay a civil war that has led to more than casualties, he also showed support to Iran back Houthis rebels. As reported by the Associated Press, the lawmaker said that militias had attacked no one and had the complete right to defend themselves. His remarks came while answering questions during a mock parliament held last week.

'Offensive remarks'

The statement sparked an immediate reaction from Saudi Arabia which is an active participant in the Yemen war. Blasting the remarks, Saudi officials said that it was not only offensive but also favoured Houthis. Additionally, Riyadh also called back its ambassador from the country and imposed an embargo on all Lebanese imports.

Riyadhs move had a reverberating effect in the Persian Gulf with the UAE, Kuwait and more recently Bahrain withdrawing their envoys from Beirut. While other Arab league states have not announced any economic sanctions, experts and observers warn that it could be possible. Notably, the Persian Gulf is the most significant trade partner for cash strapped Lebanon and any kind of economic restrictions could plunge its economy furthermore.

Lebanon, at present, is battling multiple crises - a constant war with Israel, new coronavirus variants, political instability, and debt crisis -- all while trying to revive itself from the horrendous explosion that jolted Beirut in August last year. The current economic crisis in the country has thrown more people into poverty as tens of thousands have lost their jobs since anti-government protests first erupted in late 2019. As per the World Bank, the countrys economy contracted 19 per cent in 2020 and is expected to shrink again this year.

(Image: AP)

(With inputs from AP)
Nearly ten Iraqi citizens were apprehended by Turkish police officers on Tuesday in an operation against the Islamic State (ISIS) organisation from the province of Samsun in the Black Sea region, according to the Anadolu Agency. Throughout their stay in Iraq, the Iraqi nationals were suspected of working for the Islamic State. Further, while conducting simultaneous search investigations in the Ilkadim neighbourhood at the suspects' homes, police authorities have collected certain digital documents.

Similarly, in another separate raid in Turkey's central Kayseri province, nearly 17 individuals who are suspected to be in connection with ISIS militants were arrested on Tuesday. The raids took place in those regions after police personnel initiated an inquiry into persons who were suspected of providing lodging to militants of the Islamic State who had crossed into Turkey after activities in Syria and Iraq.

Turkey approves resolution for cross-border activities in northern Iraq and Syria

Meanwhile, the Turkish Parliament approved a resolution on October 26, expanding the government's permission to conduct cross-border activities in northern Iraq and Syria for another two years. According to the Xinhua news agency, the resolution will allow cross-border activities in Iraq and Syria from 30 October 2021 to 30 October 2023. It went on to say that the prior cross-border resolutions were only for a year. In addition, the resolution permitted the installation of foreign armed troops in Turkey, subject to the consent of the President.

Turkey neutralises 12 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party

Furthermore, Turkey's Defense Ministry had stated on October 4 that Turkish soldiers had taken a significant Kurdish insurgent stronghold in northern Iraq. The mission "neutralised" 12 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, according to the ministry's tweet, as reported by AP. Adjacent to the Turkish border, the mission occurred in a zone wherein three Turkish troops were killed in August.

The PKK's "eastern headquarters" were taken, according to the ministry, in a major blow against the organisation, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and the EU. Though, there were no specifics on when the procedure took place. In April, Turkey started its most recent air and ground operations in northern Iraq in an effort to reduce the PKK's capacity to carry out cross-border strikes in Turkey. Since the PKK launched its violent struggle in 1984, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives.

(Image: PTI/AP/Representative)
Millions of Afghanistan citizens have already been displaced from their hometowns, while many have fled from the country, since the Taliban seized power of the nation in mid-August, resulting in a rising humanitarian catastrophe. According to Khaama Press, due to the unpredictable and unstable economic and political environment in Daikondi, Panjshir, Helmand, and other provinces, a large number of local households have abandoned their houses and cattle and moved to other places within the country.

The commercial and private sector of Afghanistan has been badly impacted by the change of administration, as most of the local businesses and international organisations have remained closed since when the Taliban took power. This in turn is putting ordinary citizens of the country in tough positions, according to media reports.

Humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

Furthermore, due to a lack of commerce, regional connections as well as other issues, Afghan businessmen are experiencing excessive delays in getting agricultural items to regional marketplaces. Khaama Press reported that importing essential necessities and food products has become harder, which led to rising in price during these challenging circumstances. As per the World Bank Website, in accordance with worldwide trends, energy costs jumped by 12% during the first half of this year. As the Taliban took border checkpoints and important transit centres, supply lines were disrupted, which resulted in the prices for basic household necessities, including food and petrol, skyrocketing.

Revenue performance has deteriorated since mid-July, with budget implementation has slowed substantially as security prospects for project execution degraded. This year, the development budget implementation rate was 28.4% by the end of July, which was 32.1% in 2020.

Ever since the global community has stopped delivering funding to the war-torn nation, the weak and donation-dependent economy of Afghanistan has already crumbled. Further, the new administration has failed to acquire international legitimacy and support. International connection, regional commerce, and overseas investment are all important aspects of any economy, but they are still lacking in Afghanistan, as many privately-owned industries and businesses remain closed even after the war is over and the security situation has improved, according to Khaama Press.

Afghan citizens have been internally displaced due to violence in Afghanistan

The Afghan citizens are gripped with hopelessness, uncertainty, and despair as they anticipate the worst-case scenarios in the coming years. Famine has already struck the country as a result of unemployment, internal displacement, COVID-19, and drought. Khaama Press further reported that bordering nations like Iran, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, on the other hand, have blocked their land boundary to prevent a new flood of Afghan refugees. Meanwhile, as per the ReliefWeb website, approximately 550,000 Afghan citizens have been internally displaced by violence within the nation since the beginning of 2021, along with 126,000 additional IDPs between July 7 and August 9 of the year.

While, between the period of August 28 and 29, violence in Kunduz province allegedly drove 3,500 civilians from Banu, Pul-e-Hisar, and Deh Salah districts to the Arzangan mountain in Deh Salah district, Baghlan province, ReliefWeb website reported.

Similarly, lack of jobs, malnutrition, and immigration are critical problems that the Afghans are confronting in the current situation, signifying the start of a new humanitarian catastrophe. It is further appearing that the current Kabul administration will be unable to find detailed solutions to the current difficulties unless regional and global nations extend their help and support to the Afghans who are suffering from deep poverty and destabilisation for nearly half a century, Khaama Press reported.

(Image: ANI/Representative)
Following the federal regulations, Air Canada suspended over 800 employees for not being completely vaccinated against COVID-19. According to Air Canada's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Rousseau, the vast majority of the airline's 27,000 cabin crew, customer support representatives, and others have received both jabs, reported Global News. "Around 96% of our employees have received the vaccinations. Employees who have not been inoculated or who do not have a medical or other permissible exemption have been placed on unpaid leave," he was quoted as saying by the outlet.

Earlier in the month of October, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had asked the air, rail, and shipping corporations to establish vaccination protocols for their employees. The obligation for vaccination was made mandatory for airlines whose staff enter restricted areas of airports, such as concession and hospitality workers. According to executives, domestic leisure reservations have recovered, prompting the recall of almost 10,000 laid-off employees since the beginning of the year, including 6,500 since July. However, they also stated that business travel is still down across the board owing to the longevity of remote work.

According to financial markets data provider Refinitiv, revenue nearly tripled year over year to $2.10 billion in the quarter ended September 30, exceeding estimates by more than 15%. In addition, capacity also grew by 87% reported the outlet. The Canadian government has lifted the global travel advisory against all non-essential travel abroad, which was implemented in March 2020. Earlier, the government had advised everyone, regardless of vaccination status, to avoid overseas travel. Meanwhile, the Canadian government has advised Canadians to take precautions when travelling abroad, such as maintaining social distance and wearing face masks.

It should be mentioned here that the advisory against cruise travel has not been lifted by the federal government, but it has been removed against non-essential travel. The provinces were informed that the Canadian government had reached an agreement with all provinces on a new national vaccine passport for air travel within and outside the country. Meanwhile, in a press release on October 21, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that a standardised Canadian COVID proof of vaccination for air travel is now available for citizens of eight provinces, with the certification for remaining provinces will be available soon. As of now, the country has provided vaccination to at least 58,756,154 people, equating to nearly 78% of the population, reported ANI.

Image: Pixabay/Representative
On Wednesday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged the world leaders to share the responsibilities of climate migrants. Addressing the Scottish Parliament at an event titled "Call for Climate Prosperity," Hasina claimed that Bangladesh already has six million climate-displaced people, with an extra 1.1 million Myanmar Rohingyas. She stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has further added to the challenges, reported Dhaka Tribune. "The world needs to share the responsibilities of the climate migrants - those displaced as a result of climate change-related natural phenomena such as sea-level rise, river erosion, increased salinity, floods, and droughts," she stated adding that the issue of loss and damage must be appropriately handled.

The Bangladeshi Premier was giving a keynote speech in the Scottish Parliament's Committee Room titled "A Bangladesh Vision for Global Climate Prosperity." Hasina's sister and politician Sheikh Rehana as well as Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Thematic Ambassador Saima Wazed Hossain were also in attendance. PM Hasina made some ideas for the implementation of the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP), stating that an effective and adequate climate finance framework is the key to achieving prosperity.

PM Hasina asks major emitting countries to submit and execute aggressive NDCs

PM Hasina, who is also the chair of the CVF and the Vulnerable20 (V20), made a recommendation that the major emitting countries must submit and execute aggressive NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions). Only adaptation measures will not be enough to halt, stop, and then reverse the negative effects of climate change without bold reduction initiatives, she noted. In another proposal, the Prime Minister stated that wealthy countries must fulfil their commitment to providing $100 billion annually to developing countries to address climate change, with a special focus on climate-vulnerable countries, reported Dhaka Tribune.

The Prime Minister's last proposal stated that the industrialised countries need to transfer green technologies to developing countries at a low cost so that initiatives like the MCPP can be implemented. She called the IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change (IPCC) 6 Assessment report, which was recently released, "yet another wake-up call" for the world to take strong action now to preserve the earth from irreversible temperature rises and a climate disaster. Extreme heat, irregular rainfall, floods and droughts, more powerful tropical cyclones, sea-level rise, seasonal variation, river erosion, and ocean acidification are all wreaking havoc on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in Bangladesh and other climate-vulnerable countries, Hasia stated as reported by the outlet. She further claimed that climate change costs Bangladesh 2% of its GDP each year, and this figure could rise to 9% in the coming decades.

Image: AP/PTI
Climate finance cannot continue at the levels decided in 2009 and should be increased to 1 trillion dollars to meet goals of addressing climate change, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoFE&CC), Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday while addressing the summit for Like-minded Developing Countries (LMDC) on the sidelines of COP26 in Glasgow. He also underlined that the unity and strength of LMDC are fundamental to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations to preserve the interests of the Global South to combat climate change, ANI reported.

Leaders from China, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela participated in the Summit held on the sidelines of the COP26. The countries have been struggling to get a clear roadmap for the fulfillment of the $100 billion per year from 2020- a promise made at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Conference. Leaders at the LMDC also appreciated the efforts of the Third World Network (TWN) for its support to LMDC and said that they need to ensure resources to the former.

Speaking at the LMDC Ministerial meet at Glasgow @COP26 underlined that unity and strength of LMDC is fundamental to the @UNFCCC negotiations to preserve the interest of the Global South in the fight against climate change. #IndiaAtGlasgow pic.twitter.com/2NS47LRQsc  Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) November 2, 2021

Yadav urged the members of the LMDC to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries, MOEF&CC said in a Twitter post. He also stressed that the recognition of the current challenges faced by developing countries required intensified multilateral cooperation and warned against economic and geopolitical competition fuelled by trade wars. He also underscored PM Modi's "significant" pledges at the COP26 and said that India is working on ambitious climate actions which are in line with sustainable development priorities, ANI reported, quoting the Union Minister.

India pledges to achieve 'Net Zero' emissions 2070

India made significant announcements related to climate change goals at the COP26 Climate Summit. PM Modi pledged to reach 'Net Zero' carbon emissions by 2070, a decision hailed by environment experts. He also vowed to reduce industrial emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030. Moreover, India's new target of 500 gigawatts (GW) energy from non-fossil fuel sources was also noted to be a "significant contribution" to climate goals. Additionally, the PM also stressed the need for greater ambition on technology and climate finance on behalf of smaller countries.

(With ANI inputs)

(Image: @MoEF&CC_Twitter)
On Tuesday, an Iran-based hacking group, Black Shadow leaked the whole database of personal information from Israel's Machon Mor medical institute, including medical records of around 2,90,000 patients. The information was made public after a ransom demand of $1 million in digital currency was not paid, as per Times of Israel.

The database from Machon Mor medical institute was published later on Tuesday and contains information on medical treatments, appointments, test results, and vaccination for roughly 2,90,000 people. In an interview with Ynet, Yoram Hacohen, the head of the Israel Internet Association, said that Israeli civilians are suffering from cyber terrorism. He further said that this is one of the most devastating attacks on privacy Israel has ever seen. According to him, this is terrorism in every sense, and the focus now must be on reducing the harm and limiting the spread of information to the greatest extent feasible.

Telegram was partly to blame for the data breach

According to the Times of Israel, Telegram was partly to blame for the data breach since it did not take steps to prevent the distribution of private information, emphasising the significance of legal and technological action by Israel to remove damaging content from the internet.

The Israeli internet hosting company CyberServe was hacked on Friday by the Black Shadow group, which took down its servers and a number of sites, including the Atraf LGBTQ dating website, as well as the websites of tourism company Pegasus, public transportation company Dan, and children's museum Kavim. These strikes by Iran-linked hackers come just one week after an unnamed cyberattack disrupted Iran's gas distribution system on October 26, which Iran blamed on Israel and the US.

Number of claimed attacks on Israeli and Iranian ships

Iran and Israel have been involved in a conflict, which has included a number of claimed attacks on Israeli and Iranian ships that both sides have blamed on the other, as well as cyberattacks, according to Times of Israel. The Stuxnet virus infiltrated Iran's nuclear programme in 2010, triggering a sequence of breakdowns in centrifuges. It is thought to have been manufactured by Israel and the US.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: Pixabay
In a setback for the Japanese royal family, former Japanese princess Mako Komuro's husband has failed to qualify for his New York bar council exam, claims various media reports. This came days after Mako married Kei Komuro, and the former lost her royal status. The Japanese law bounds the female members of the royal family against getting married to 'commoners', denouncing the norm results in the loss of their imperial status. Mako's husband currently works at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, which is a law firm based in New Jersey. A few months ago, he appeared in the New York State Bar Association exam to become a licensed attorney in the US. However, the results of the bar council exam, which came days after his marriage, clearly state that Komuro has flunked the New York State Bar Association exam. The results were announced on October 29 on the official website of the New York State Board of Law Examiners. According to an NHK report, the examination conducting body revealed that Kumuro's name was not on the passing list among the successful candidates who qualified for the exam. This year a total of 9,227 candidates appeared in the bar council examination out of which only 5,791 successfully passed it.

As per various media reports, Komuro is not at all dissuaded from the result and he plans to reappear for the New York bar exam, which will be conducted in February 2022. Komuro married Mako, who is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and niece of the reigning Emperor Naruhito. The former princess finally managed to marry Komuro, years after their wedding was delayed due to intense criticism and family disapproval. The 30-year-old refused to take the parting gift of 140 million yen (890,000), which is entitled to her for leaving the royal family according to Japanese law.

Mako met her husband at Tokyos International Christian University, where the duo was engaged in a relationship for more than seven years before marriage. The news of the engagement was publicly announced in 2017 and the couple got married on Tuesday. The newlyweds are currently living in Tokyo, but plan to settle in the US once Mako completes preparations, including obtaining a visa.

Image: Instagram/@Realroyaltydocs
During their first meeting on the sidelines of the COP26, Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba thanked PM Narendra Modi for providing COVID-19 vaccines in a timely manner to his nation. Addressing a special briefing on PM Modis Glasgow visit, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla informed that Deuba also thanked PM Modi for assistance that India had provided Nepal in post-earthquake relief for the construction houses, schools and several cultural sites. Shringla also said that Deuba has invited PM Modi to visit Nepal at his earliest convenience.

The Prime Minister of Nepal started by thanking PM for the assistance that India had provided Nepal in post-earthquake relief -- the construction of 50,000 houses in the Gorkha district. A number of schools and hospitals and a number of cultural sites were restored, which were badly affected by the earthquake. He also spoke about the cross border oil pipeline which connects part of India and Nepal and the utility of the pipeline, Shringla said.

He (Deuba) also thanked the Prime Minister for providing vaccine in a timely manner to Nepal including the one million does that has just been supplied. He also invited PM Modi to visit Nepal at his earliest convenience," the Foreign Secretary added.

PM Modi has productive discussion with Nepalese counterpart

PM Modi and his Nepalese counterpart met on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two leaders noted the excellent cooperation between both nations during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly through the supply of vaccines and medical equipment from India to Nepal. This was the first meeting of PM Modi with Nepal PM Deuba after the telephone conversation between them in July this year, the MEA informed. It also said that the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral cooperation including in the context of ongoing efforts against the pandemic.

Separately, while taking to Twitter, PM Modi informed that he had a productive discussion with Deuba on multiple aspects of the India-Nepal friendship. PM Modi said, Subjects relating to fighting the global pandemic and furthering sustainable development are key parts of our bilateral friendship. Responding to PM Modis tweet, Deuba said that he is positive that their efforts will now show great results in Nepal in controlling COVID-19 as well as climate change.

It was indeed great to sit and engage on different issues with PM @narendramodi Ji. I am positive our efforts will show great results in our region in controlling both COVID-19 and climate change. I thank you for the commitment shown. @COP26 https://t.co/H0LE9dD0Uh  Sher Bahadur Deuba (@SherBDeuba) November 2, 2021

(Image: Twitter)

(With ANI inputs)


The executive director of the United Nations(UN)'s food aid organisation stated on Tuesday that the island country of Madagascar which is severely affected by drought is a "wake up call" for the world to understand what might be coming in the next years as a result of climate change. During an interview with The Associated Press, David Beasley, the executive director of the World Food Program, said that the scenario which is evident in the south of Indian Ocean nation is "the beginning of what we can expect" as the consequences of global warming that has grown more prominent.

After his recent visit to the island nation, Beasley remarked, Madagascar was heartbreaking, he further added that they are simply desperate in which people are selling their home pots and pans in order to buy food. As per Beasley, 38 million individuals were displaced globally due to climate change last year, making them more vulnerable to starvation. By the year 2050, the world might see a worst-case scenario with over 216 million people uprooted as a result of climate change, he added.

People of Madagascar are on the verge of famine due to climate crisis

A revised WFP data which is released on Tuesday stated that nearly 30,000 people residing in Madagascar would be on the verge of famine by the end of the year. While, in the meantime, 1.1 million people are already suffering from extreme hunger. Extremely hot weather, drought, and sandstorms are wreaking havoc on the island.

WFP further stated that people have started eating cactus leaves, which are generally used as cow fodder, as the crops have withered, and harvests are in short supply in the nation. David Beasley further pointed out that Madagascar, with a population of 27 million people, contributes only a tiny proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions and rhetorically commented, What did they do to contribute to climate change? 

Further, The World Food Program has already been distributing food and additional nutritional supplements for pregnant and nursing women, as well as children, to around 700,000 people on the island. Beasley, who took charge of the World Food Program in the year 2017, stated that Man-made conflict was the main cause for people on the verge of famine.

As in Ethiopia, the people of the nation are facing famine which has basically been caused by conflict, AP reported. According to the World Food Program, 5.2 million people in Tigray, Ethiopia's troubled northern province, require emergency food assistance. Over 400,000 people might risk famine and death if humanitarian help isn't provided swiftly, according to UN authorities, yet just a fraction of that relief reaches those who are in severe need of food.

(Image: AP)
Leaders of small nations at the launch of Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) hailed the joint effort of the United Kingdom and India for developing base in the island countries, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at the press conference on Tuesday. Those attending the event were very laudatory of this initiative, he added while briefing about the launch, which is expected to give new hope and confidence of doing something most vulnerable.

IRIS is a part of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) that would focus on building capacity, having pilot projects especially in small island developing states. The India-led initiative was jointly announced by PM Modi and UK PM Boris Johnson on the second day of the global summit. Earlier during a press briefing, the foreign secretary also asserted that Australia would also remain a vital "partner of this effort." The project is an outcome of PM Modi's concerns over the loss of lives and livelihoods and entire infrastructure, housing during natural calamities, as per Shringla. "This is an effort to try and equip countries that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change," Shringla had said earlier during the presser from Glasgow, as per ANI.

At the launch event, PM Modi also announced that that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will build a special data window for Small Island Developing Stated (SIDS) for timely information about cyclones, coral reef monitoring through satellite.

Fiji and Mauritius PMs thank Modi for IRIS

Prime Minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama welcomed the launch of India-led IRIS and called it a promising initiative. "He thanked the prime minister (Modi) for his leadership and felt that the initiative would go beyond technical assistance and capacity," Shringla said at the press briefing. Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness also expressed his gratitude for the conveners of the project and thanked PM Modi in particular for the invitation, Shringla said while speaking about the reactions of leaders at the event.

PM of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth said the initiative would "undoubtedly help" the group become more infrastructure resilient, promote inclusive infrastructure and ultimately achieve sustainable development, Shringla mentioned, as per ANI.

PM Modi reaches Delhi concluding a five-day visit to Europe

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reached Delhi after concluding five-day high-level tour to Europe. "Departing from Glasgow after two days of intense discussions about the future of our planet. India has not only exceeded the Paris commitments but has now also set an ambitious agenda for the next 50 years," he wrote on Twitter announcing his return. On the last day of the Conference of Parties (COP26) Climate Summit, PM Modi participated in the Build Back Better event led by US President Joe Biden. At the session, PM Modi underlined the need to ensure 4 aspects in infrastructure creation: Climate resilience; Incorporating traditional knowledge; Prioritising poor & vulnerable; sustainable & transparent finance that respects the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all countries, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi informed through a Twitter post.

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image: @MEAIndia_Twitter)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up the high-level five-day visit to the Conference of Parties (COP26) and Group of Twenty (G20) in Europe and emplaned for Delhi on Tuesday. Following the exit, he thanked the host of the global climate summit, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his efforts and expressed gratitude to the Scottish people for their warm hospitality. The PM also expressed his delight in meeting "old friends" and making new ones at two consecutive global forums.

It was wonderful to see many old friends in person after a long time, and meet some new ones. I am thankful to our host PM @BorisJohnson and also to the Scottish people for their warm hospitality in the beautiful Glasgow.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 2, 2021

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi also recounted India's noteworthy discussions at the Glasgow Summit. Departing from Glasgow after two days of intense discussions about the future of our planet. India has not only exceeded the Paris commitments but has now also set an ambitious agenda for the next 50 years, PM Modi wrote on Twitter. He also added, "It was wonderful to see many old friends in person after a long time and meet some new ones. I am thankful to our host PM Boris Johnson and also to the Scottish people for their warm hospitality in the beautiful Glasgow."

Glad to have met, yet again, PM @naftalibennett. We had fruitful talks on boosting India-Israel friendship in sectors such as research, innovation and futuristic technologies. These sectors are critical for empowering our youngsters. pic.twitter.com/AUEENd6xCE  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 2, 2021

PM Modi met several global leaders to discuss a wide range of subjects

On the sidelines of the COP26 Summit, PM Modi held various bilateral meetings with several heads of state. On Tuesday, he met PM of Israel Naftali Bennett. Taking to Twitter PM Modi shared minutes from the meeting. "We had fruitful talks on boosting India-Israel friendship in sectors such as research, innovation and futuristic technologies. These sectors are critical for empowering our youngsters," he wrote. PM Modi also briefly met Bill Gates on the sidelines of the COP26. They discussed a wide range of subjects including ways to strengthen global efforts towards overcoming climate change, the PM wrote on Twitter. He also met Vietnam PM Pham Mihn Chinh and engaged in a "productive exchange" reaffirming a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam on the sidelines of the COP26 summit.

Had an excellent meeting with @BillGates at the @COP26 Summit. We discussed a wide range of subjects including ways to strengthen global efforts towards overcoming climate change. pic.twitter.com/aUlQjRU45W  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 2, 2021

India's goal for climate change

India made significant announcements related to climate change goals at the COP26 Climate Summit. PM Modi pledged to reach 'Net Zero' carbon emissions by 2070, a decision hailed by environment experts. He also vowed to reduce industrial emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030. Moreover, India's new target of 500 gigawatts (GW) energy from non-fossil fuel sources was also noted to be a "significant contribution" to climate goals. Additionally, the PM also stressed the need for greater ambition on technology and climate finance on behalf of smaller countries.

Delivering India's National Statement at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, PM Modi on Monday proposed the "One-Word Movement." Calling for collective participation towards mitigating climate change, the PM also highlighted that "Lifestyle for Environment" should become a mass movement to raise "consciousness" and combat "mindless and destructive consumption." He also called for a "unified approach" to attain multidimensional goals in the field of agriculture, energy, housing, water management, tourism etc.

With inputs from ANI

Image: AP
World leaders have been meeting for 29 years to try to curb global warming, and in that time Earth has become a much hotter and deadlier planet.

Statistics show trillions of tons of ice have disappeared over that period, the burning of fossil fuels has spewed billions of tons of heat-trapping gases into the air, and hundreds of thousands of people have died from heat and other weather disasters stoked by climate change.

More than 100 world leaders descended on Rio de Janeiro in 1992 for an Earth Summit to discuss global warming and other environmental issues.

That set up the process of international climate negotiations that culminated in the 2015 Paris accord and resumed Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland, where leaders will try to ramp up efforts to cut carbon pollution.

Earth has warmed more in the last 29 years than in the previous 110. Since 1992, the world has broken the annual global high temperature record eight times.

The yearly global temperature has increased almost 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius) since 1992, based on multi-year averaging, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Climate scientist Gerald Meehl says even a small increase in the global average affects temperature extremes.

"We're twice as likely to set a record high maximum than a record low minimum," said Meehl, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "That's kind of what climate change is, it's kind of shifting the odds towards certain outcomes."

In the early 2000s, Meehl and his colleagues predicted that heat waves in the 21st century would hit normally temperate regions that had not yet adapted for extreme heat events.

"We looked in the future in a warming climate with increasing greenhouse gases, and we saw these changes in the patterns of future heat waves," Meehl said.

That's exactly what happened in the Pacific Northwest in June.

"It's been estimated that there were over 600 excess heat related deaths in Washington and Oregon alone in one week," said Dr. Renee Salas of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Salas says heat is one of the most visible ways climate change affects health.

"Extreme heat can cause damage to the brain, worsen mental health impacts," she said. "It can affect heart and lung disease, kidney disease."

And people who are more exposed to heat and less able to adapt are the most vulnerable to those effects.

That includes children and the elderly, who may be more susceptible, as well as workers who frequently labor in the sun and families without air conditioning or access to green spaces.

"In many areas that are low wealth, those communities may not have trees," said Sacoby Wilson, an environmental health scientist at the Univeristy of Maryland, College Park. "Those committees may have older buildings, so they may not have air conditioning, and those communities may have a lot of concrete, a lot of asphalt."

Both materials absorb then release heat. Trees and other greenery bring area temperatures down.

Unless top-polluting countries reverse course, heat waves are likely to become more frequent and intense.

"Those kinds of changes are ones that we kind of expected to happen and they have happened," Meehl said. "And they're going to continue to get worse as we go forward."

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
A White House statement earlier this week announced that the US will commence its vaccination programmes for kids between ages 5 and 11 years from next week. However, it was up to a panel of medical experts to decide if the anti-COVID shots should be made available to all school-going children or not. On Tuesday, the team belonging to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deliberated upon the same, discussing at length whether the jabs would be beneficial to all 28 million children in the country. A final recommendation from the body came hours after, giving a final clearance to the Pfizer/BioNTech shots.

At an earlier press briefing, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients announced that all children belonging to the age group between 5 to 11 years will be able to receive Pfizer/BioNTech doses at paediatrician offices, medical clinics, pharmacies and community health centres. Without revealing a particular timeline for the same, he said the inoculation program would be running at full length. Theres plenty of supply of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and we look forward to parents having the opportunity to vaccinate their kids, he told reporters.

Should all school going kids get the jabs?

While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have given its approval to vaccination of kids against COVID, a sign off by CDC was also required before a widespread inoculation campaign began. For the same, a team of panellists held a debate on Tuesday, wherein they mulled if the vaccination should be widespread or be limited to only the most vulnerable group. Their final recommendations went to the CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky who gave a green light for the vaccination to be opened to all children in the age range.

"There are children in the second grade who have never experienced a normal school year, Walensky said. Pediatric vaccination has the power to help us change all of that," Walensky told reporters.

Today, I endorsed ACIPs recommendation that children 5-11 yrs old should be vaccinated against #COVID19 w/ Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine. This expands vaccine recommendations to over 28M kids in US & now allows providers to begin vaccinating them. https://t.co/krsXbvsS2p https://t.co/xzgJTvOLWI  Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH (@CDCDirector) November 3, 2021

FDA approves Pfizer/BioNTech shots for kids

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, 29 October authorised the use of Pfizer-BioNTechs COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The FDA further noted the immune responses of children between the age of 5 and 11 were compared with those of individuals 16 through 25 years of age. The Pfizer-BioNTech shots have shown 90.7% efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in children aged 5-11. The Food and Drug Administration said that it studied the vaccine safety in approximately 3,100 children among the same age group of 5 to 11 and no serious side effects have been detected in the ongoing study.

Image: Unsplash
Minneapolis, a City in Minnesota, has rejected the proposal that sought a response from the citizens to replace their police department with a new 'Department of Public Safety'. The proposal was framed after the death of African-American man George Floyd in May last year.

The death sparked controversy after photographs of Floyd under an officers knee brought calls for racial justice. According to a report by the Associated Press, the supporters had hoped that the proposal would bring radical change to policing in the city.

Notably, had the supporters voted for 'yes', the Minneapolis Police Department would have been replaced with a department run by a "nominated commissioner". However, advocates of the proposal said that a complete overhaul of policing was necessary to stop police violence.

On the other hand, those who are opposing the proposal said they had voted for 'no' as they believe it would leave some communities already affected by violence more vulnerable, as crime is on the rise. However, the voters of 'no' admitted that there is an urgency to transform policing in the city.

"Tonight Minneapolis voters have made clear that we want a planful approach to transforming policing and public safety in our city that needs to include meaningful consultation with the communities that are most impacted by both violent crime and by over-policing," said Leili Fatehi, manager of the All of Mpls campaign to the Associated Press.

It was a chance to reimagine public safety: Supporters

It is worth mentioning that the death of George Floyd sparked controversy and hit the headlines globally and started an international debate over racial justice in policing.

On Tuesday, the ballot question called for a new Department of Public Safety to take a comprehensive public health approach to the delivery of functions that would be determined by the mayor and City Council. Supporters argued it was a chance to reimagine what public safety can be and how money gets spent.

Among other things, supporters said that the funding would go toward programs that don't send armed officers to deal with people in crisis.

With inputs from AP

Image: AP
United States House Armed Services Committee has asked the director of national intelligence (DNI) and the secretary of defence to weigh both the benefits and risks of expanding the Five Eyes (FVEY) network to include India, Japan, Germany and South Korea. The Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing alliance that presently constitutes the US, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a member of the Armed Services Committee told US news website Defence One on Tuesday that Five Eyes intelligence-sharing pact is a World War II relic that needs updating to better keep tabs on China. Reportedly, he has also introduced an amendment in the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for the year 2022 to formalise the House committees proposal.

Sputnik has stated that NDAA is meant to authorise the defence spending by the American government and NDAA 2022 is the first during the presidency of Joe Biden. It has proposed a budget outlay of at least $715 billion as defence spending for the current fiscal year. Reportedly, the proposal by the House committee has said, The committee acknowledges that the threat landscape has vastly changed since the inception of the Five Eyes arrangement, with primary threats now emanating from China and Russia.

The committee believes that, in confronting great power competition, the Five Eye countries must work closer together, as well as expand the circle of trust to other like-minded democracies", it added.

Indias addition is a 'natural extension'

Sputnik quoted Seshadri Vasan, an Indian Navy veteran and presently the director of the Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S) as saying that India in Five Eyes reflects Americas increasing reliance on New Delhi for strategic cooperation. According to him, this cooperation includes intelligence gathering, surveillance, and maritime domain awareness. The ex-Navy veteran reportedly said, The US clearly wants India to play the role of a security facilitator in the (Asia-Pacific) region. He also stated that if India does become a part of the intelligence-sharing network, it will be a natural extension of the enhanced defence cooperation between the US and India, especially in recent years. "India, Australia, the US, and Japan are already cooperating under the Quad framework", noted Vasan, as per the report.

Image: AP
Extinction is not primarily due to climate change, the scientists say, but it does contribute to extinction.

A freshwater Siamese crocodile, a critically endangered species native to southeast Asia, seen at Kaeng Krachan National Park in central Thailand, Jan. 23, 2021.

A number of endangered animals and plant species in East Asia face extinction unless steps are taken soon to protect them, according to a new study.

The study, published in the journal Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment, states that as many as one in five species around the world now face the danger of extinction.

According to the website Sapiens, Southeast Asia should be the worlds priority for averting imminent species extinctions.

Compared with other regions, Asia has the highest proportion of plant, reptile, bird, and mammal species listed as threatened on the Red List produced by the IUCN, or International Union for Conservation of Nature, a Swiss-based international monitoring organization.

The 2010 IUCN Red List includes 2,380 animal species in Asia threatened to vanish forever, from Asian elephants to primates to wild cattle to frogs.

Southeast Asia has the worlds fastest recent habitat-loss rates due largely to a demand for wild species to be used as luxury food, medicine, tonics, and trophy parts. Much of the demand for these items comes from Chinese consumers.

Bumblebee species in East Asia are being threatened by climate change and vegetation change, according to a recent Chinese study.

As many people know, bumblebees are pollinators, which play an important role in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Due to the impact of environmental change, the number of bumblebees has declined sharply in several areas, including Europe and North America.

Protesters hold signs depicting bees during a demonstration called by climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion, on at the Place du Chatelet, Paris, October 7, 2019. Credit: AFP Bumblebees in Asia

East Asia is a region abundant in bumblebees, but investigations of their condition in the region have been relatively late in coming.

However, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences have now evaluated 29 bumblebee species endemic to East Asia.

The researchers predicted that an estimated 59 to 93 percent of bumblebees in East Asia will experience range loss in 2050 due to climate change and vegetation changes.

By then some three percent of the species are predicted to be critically endangered with about 10 to 17 percent categorized simply as endangered.

The researchers also proposed measures to protect the bumblebees that include improving the grasslands, forests, and farmlands that the bumblebees inhabit.

Mark Green with the U.S.based Wilson Center recently brought much-needed attention to the researchers study.

According to Green, a United Nations report in 2019 sent shock waves through the conservation community when it stated that more than one million animal and plant species now stand on the brink of extinction.

The good news is that a number of citizens around the world are volunteering to help protect endangered animals.

A pangolin moves in a cage at night at Save Vietnam Wildlife's Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program in Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam's northern province of Ninh Binh, Oct. 21, 2016. Credit: AFP Poaching and habitat loss

One example can be found in Vietnam where a critically endangered species of monkey has quadrupled in numbers under the protection of the Van Long Nature Reserve, inspiring hope for conservationists.

In the spring of this year, The Christian Science Monitor Weekly reported that when German primatologist Tilo Nadler first visited Vietnam in the early 1990s, he found only 50 of the Delacours langurs.

The Monitors main source for its story is the environmental website Mongabay.

Nadler teamed up with local communities to establish the Van Long Nature Reserve in 2001, and most of the countrys langurs, estimated to number between 235 and 275, live there today.

Outside the reserve, the species is still under pressure from poaching and habitat loss, but Van Longs success gives conservationists a roadmap for the langurs future.

Nadler hopes to open a second reserve in 2021 and 2022 in an area north of Van Long where some 30 other langurs currently live and he wants to relocated primates from unprotected areas to Trang An, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In another positive development, USAID is working with the Vietnamese government to combat wildlife trafficking by strengthening policies and law enforcement.

But persistent challenges to countering the illegal wildlife trade include conflicting administrative regulations and the limited capacity of Vietnams legal enforcement force.

Meanwhile, Indonesia, the largest and most populous nation in Southeast Asia, has announced a number of steps to halt illegal wildlife trafficking. But here again the problem is a limited enforcement capacity as well as corruption in the government system.

Scientists say that in the end, in Indonesia and elsewhere, bio-sensitive urban development will be required for the world to slow the rate of animal and plant species extinction

Extinction is not primarily due to climate change, the scientists say, although climate change does contribute to extinction. It is mostly human agricultural development and other activities, they say, that disrupt the eco-system.

Dan Southerland is RFA's founding Executive Editor.
Nine organizations call for immediate action to ensure transparent investigations into such crimes.

A Cambodian vendor reads The Phnom Penh Post newspaper at her newstand in Phnom Penh, May 7, 2018.

Civil society organizations called on Cambodian authorities on Tuesday to do more to protect journalists amid an ongoing government crackdown on freedom of expression under the autocratic rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Nine CSOs, including the International Federation of Journalists and the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CamboJA), expressed deep concern over what they said is the governments failure to bring people who have committed crimes against journalists in the Southeast Asian nation to justice.

We urge the Cambodian authorities to take immediate action to ensure that effective, independent, and transparent investigations into such crimes are conducted and that justice is served, said the statement.

The groups released their statement to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, which the United Nations created to draw attention to the risks journalists face around the globe. Between 2006 and 2020, more than 1,200 journalists worldwide were killed for reporting the news, according to a U.N. report.

At least 17 journalists have been killed in Cambodia since 1994, with nearly all being targeted because of their work, according to the statement. Some of the perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice.

Ostensibly, Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy with a charter proclaiming it a liberal, multiparty democracy. But the government of Hun Sen and his Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) have weakened political opponents, civil society groups, and the independent media in a bid to remain in power. Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranked Cambodia 144 out of 180 countries in its 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

Media professionals, including former Radio Free Asia journalists Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, faced false charges in the run-up to the countrys 2018 general election as part of a government crackdown. Independent news outlets and radio stations were banned, while journalists at other news outlets were purged.

Hun Sens government has used the coronavirus pandemic to adopt new restrictions on the dissemination of information and the right to peaceful assembly and association.

Worryingly, the persecution of and crimes against journalists seem to be on the rise, said the statement from the nine groups.

More than 80 journalists have been targeted in the last 10 months: 31 were arrested, 20 were physically assaulted, and 16 were threatened, according to CamboJA. Eight other journalists faced judicial harassment, five others were detained for questioning, and one female journalist experienced sexual harassment while doing her job.

When journalists are targeted for conducting their legitimate reporting activities, freedom of expression is undermined and replaced by the fear that the public will no longer have access to information and that those in power will not be held accountable for their wrongdoings, the statement said. In addition, when the government fails to properly investigate and punish crimes against journalists, it sends the message that such crimes are allowed.

The CSOs urged Cambodian authorities to ensure that effective, independent and transparent investigations into crimes are conducted and that perpetrators are brought to justice.

While journalists are less likely to be killed these days than in the past, the number of bogus lawsuits and physical assaults against reporters seems to be on the rise, said Nop Vy, executive director of CamboJA.

What Ive noticed is the persecution of journalists through detentions and arrests, he said.

Nop Vy cited the case of a court in Koh Kong province giving a two-year jail sentence to a journalist for his coverage of a land dispute following the filing of a lawsuit by Minister of Defense Tea Banh.

Nop Vy urged aggrieved parties to use the countrys Press Law to address complaints against journalists rather than prosecuting them under Cambodias criminal code.

The press law guarantees that journalists wont be prosecuted under the penal code, he said.

Chak Sopheap, executive director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said Wednesday that the ongoing harassment of journalists limits their ability to expose corruption and to hold government officials accountable.

The culture of impunity has affected the way that journalists do their jobs, she said. The journalists will be afraid to reveal the truth.

The government had yet to issue a response to the statement by the CSOs.

In a statement on International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, Information Ministry spokesman Meas Sophorn said claims about impunity for crimes against journalists were untrue and that Cambodia had never had crimes against journalists.

We find journalists in Cambodia taking on their job responsibly and improving day by day to ensure they provide accurate and correct information to the public with no political trends, he was quoted by the Khmer Times as saying.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
France, meanwhile, is courting Indonesia for a strategic partnership after being jilted through the AUKUS deal.

U.S. president Joe Biden speaks with Indonesian president Joko Widodo before a bilateral meeting at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 1, 2021.

Washington will enhance its strategic partnership with Jakarta, President Joe Biden said Monday as he met for the first time in person with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Jokowi Widodo, amid heightened tensions with China and other challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

The American and Indonesian presidents also talked about freedom of navigation, economic cooperation, the political crisis in Myanmar, and the coronavirus pandemic during their meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland, according to statements and transcripts.

Indonesia is a vital strategic partner to the U.S., and as a strong proponent of the international rules-based order, your leadership in the Indo-Pacific is essential, Biden told Jokowi.

Im looking forward to building more on our bilateral relationship because we have so much that we can work together on and so much in common, Biden said, according to a statement from the White House.

From addressing the climate crisis to ending the COVID-19 pandemic to upholding freedom of the seas, theres no global challenge today that doesnt benefit from Indonesia and the United States working together.

For his part, Jokowi said Indonesia would become a reliable partner to Washington, as he invited the U.S. to invest in environmentally sustainable sectors in his country.

Im looking forward to U.S. support by investing in our energy transition, especially in low-carbon technology, Jokowi said, according to a statement from his office.

Biden met with Jokowi in Glasgow after the U.S. president interacted with him and other leaders of member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in late October, and after senior American officials had visited the region.

Since coming to power in January, the Biden administration has made a concerted effort to engage more and more with Southeast Asian nations, as Beijing competes with Washington for economic influence in the region.

Indonesia has become Chinas largest trading partner. Chinese investments in the archipelago nation have grown consistently, doubling to almost $4.8 billion in 2020 from $2.4 billion in 2017.

American engagement with Southeast Asias largest and most populous country should come as no surprise, said Dinna Prapto Raharja, an international relations analyst at Synergy Policies, a think-tank.

The U.S. is never going anywhere, she told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, when asked if the meeting signaled an American comeback to Southeast Asia after a perceived lack of interest in the region under the Trump administration.

The U.S. has always been involved in the Indo-Pacific because it has an interest in countering China, to appear tough on China.

Indonesia has always had an independent and active foreign policy  which means that Jakarta does not side with any other powers but participates in the settlement of international issues.

Lately, though, some analysts have questioned Jakartas silence on repeated Chinese incursions into Indonesian waters in the South China Sea.

Washington, meanwhile, has been stepping up its freedom of navigation operations in the Indo-Pacific and looking at more intense engagement in the region, according to Ahmad Rizky M. Umar, a political scientist expert and doctoral candidate at the University of Queensland in Australia.

[Vice President] Kamala Harris and [Minister of Defense] Lloyd Austin have already toured Southeast Asia, Rizky told BenarNews.

From what I gather, Biden is directing diplomatic and defense resources to the Indo-Pacific region, which of course also includes Southeast Asia, he said.

True strategic partnership

The U.S. is not the only foreign power courting Indonesia  France is, too, especially after Paris lost a major contract to sell submarines to Australia, following the announcement of the AUKUS pact. Under AUKUS, the United States and the United Kingdom will share technology for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

France appears to now be turning to other Indo-Pacific powers  including Indonesia  for true relationships.

On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Jokowi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome.

Jokowi welcomed progress in defense cooperation between the two countries and expressed hope for stronger strategic ties and investment in the sector.

Macron called Indonesia more than just a partner in a social media post in French.

Together with our partners, we will continue to work so that the Indo-Pacific remains a region of peace and cooperation. In this regard, Indonesia is the main actor, more than just a partner, but a friend, Macron wrote on Twitter.

The two leaders decided to work on a true strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported, citing the French presidential palace.

On AUKUS, Indonesia has expressed concern the trilateral deal would spur an arms race in Southeast Asia.

According to an Indonesian defense ministry official, talks between Jokowi and Macron touched on defense technology transfers and joint production of armaments.

France is committed to technology transfer and production being carried out in Indonesia, Dahnil Ahzar Simanjuntak, a spokesman for Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto told BenarNews, without revealing details.

In June in Paris, Prabowo signed a defense cooperation agreement with his French counterpart, Florence Parly.

The deal covers military education and training, science and technology, peacekeeping cooperation, the fight against terrorism, and joint production of armaments.

In July, Prabowo said his ministry hoped to acquire advanced fighter-jets including U.S.-made F-15s, Rafales from France, and Sukhoi Su-35s and Su-57s from Russia.

AUKUS may influence Indonesias defense procurement in favor of France, according to a recent article published by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think-tank.

Indonesia will likely settle on those fighter jets least likely to incense either China or the US, giving Frances Rafale bid an advantage over the others, unless a new contender appears on the horizon, said the article by Johannes Nugroho, an Indonesian political analyst.

For France, its interest in the Indo-Pacific is about securing its maritime position in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, where it possesses territories, including Mayotte, La Reunion, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia, according to Rizky, the analyst at the University of Queensland.

France has its own Indo-Pacific outlook, which in many ways is also concerned with China, especially in the South China Sea, Rizky said.

US-Indonesia concern on Myanmar

During their meeting on Monday, Jokowi and Biden also discussed the post-coup crisis in Myanmar. They called on the junta to immediately release political prisoners who have been jailed since the military ousted the civilian government on Feb 1.

They expressed concern about the coup in Burma and agreed the Burmese military must cease violence, release all political prisoners, and provide for a swift return to democracy, the White House said in a statement.

At least 1,229 people have been killed in a military crackdown on anti-coup protesters, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Taiwan says it is sending some military personnel to Guam for US military training.

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has begun air defense drills in some parts of the country, in a move commentators said was a bid to step up pressure on the democratic island of Taiwan, which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Xi Jinping has threatened to annex.

Authorities in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, and Anhui recently handed out distributed air defense emergency kits to residents and posted public information videos about what to do in the event of an air raid.

And a PLA document circulating online signed by authorities in Suzhou's Wujiang district detailed "air defense unit training" with photos of participants in camouflage uniforms, bearing militia logos.

The move comes after the PLA escalated incursions into Taiwan's southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in recent months, in a move Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen has called a threat to national security.

In one video posted by the Changsha Evening News' Weibo account, a public-address system blares: "All our troops are now under the highest level of combat readiness."

The video reports on air raid drills across Hunan province, the latest of dozens in recent weeks, while some Weibo users posted photos of military vehicles on the streets.

Meanwhile, the Hefei municipal government in Anhui posted photos and captions of emergency kits being handed to local residents, with a similar program reported in Nanjing.

The Weibo account belonging to Air Force World magazine reported on Wednesday that a Yun-8 military transport aircraft flew into "what Taiwan claims is its ADIZ" on Nov. 2.

Chinese current affairs commentator Wei Xin said officials are mobilizing at all levels to demonstrate that they are complying with Xi Jinping's ideology.

"These actions have a political background, because the National People's Congress revised the law on war mobilization recently, so the atmosphere is similar to that of Japan in 1938," Wei said.

"Also, the sixth plenum of the 19th Party Congress will be held soon, and this is creating an atmosphere around [China's ambitions towards] Taiwan and the future leadership succession," he said.

"We are now seeing the kind of popular support linked to the idea of so-called military unification of Taiwan, similar to what we saw in Germany and Japan in the early 1930s," Wei said.

Political posturing

Political commentator Bi Xin said the moves are a form of political posturing aimed at Taiwan.

"If there was going to be a war, basically we'd be under martial law," Bi said. "This is to give public morale a boost, and show we haven't given up on [annexing] Taiwan."

Meanwhile, Taiwans Apple Daily newspaper reported that 40 Taiwanese marines are undergoing joint training with their U.S. counterparts in Guam for a month.

Taiwan military expert Cheng Chi-wen said Guam is a key garrison training base for U.S. forces in the Western Pacific, and that the authorities have become much more willing to talk about such exchanges in recent months.

"In the past, it was more about doing these things but not talking about them," Cheng told RFA. "But more of it is coming out in the media owing to the stepping up of exchanges between the United States and Taiwan recently."

Going on for years

Taiwan military commentator Chi Lo-yi agreed that such training has been going on for many years.

But he said Taiwan's marines may not be deployed in the same way as U.S. Marines, who are generally used for offensive operations. They are more likely to be needed to retake Taiwan's own outlying islands, particularly Dongsha.

"We may assume that the communist forces will invade our outer islands," Chi told RFA. "Then, if we want to retake them, we will need the Marines, because regular troops won't be of much help."

"The outer islands would have to be retaken by the Marines, although I daren't speculate about whether this is the point of this [training]."

Taiwan recently dispatched more patrol and rescue vessels to Dongsha, where many of the Chinese military incursions have been concentrated.

"Why Dongsha?" Chi said. "Because so many military aircraft have been overflying the southwest part of Taiwan's ADIZ recently, along the Bashi Channel to Dongsha."

"Naturally this points up Dongsha as significant, which is unusual, which is why we need to strengthen maritime patrols around Dongsha," he said. "In particular, we will need to boost our special intelligence capabilities and military reconnaissance radar equipment."

"We should also have an air defense facility stationed there, to act as more of a deterrent."



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
The underfed soldiers will never eat any of the 3,000 chestnuts they must harvest each day.

A woman sorts chestnuts in Gulou Village outside China's Dandong, Liaoning province, at the border with North Korea, in this file photo.

A North Korean soldier fell from a tree and broke his arm after authorities mobilized his unit to harvest chestnuts to be sold below cost in Pyongyang to demonstrate leader Kim Jong Uns love for the privileged citizens of the capital, his father told RFA.

Forcing soldiers and civilians to provide free construction or farm labor is common practice in North Korea, but usually they eat some of the food they grow and use the buildings they construct.

However, units stationed near Pyongyang are being mobilized to collect 30 kg (66 lbs) of chestnuts daily, or roughly 2,500 to 3,000 nuts, and are not allowed to eat even a single chestnut.

Instead the nuts are used for a propaganda scheme in Pyongyang, sold below market value to the capitals citizens, who are vetted for political reliability and enjoy privileges and a lifestyle unobtainable by rural North Koreans.

Sources said making the underfed soldiers collect food for more privileged citizens was unfair.

Last week I went to the hospital after receiving a call that my son, who is serving in the military in Songchon county, South Pyongan province, was hospitalized with an arm injury, a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFAs Korean Service Monday.

My son was in a cast with a broken arm. His entire military unit was picking chestnuts to be sent to Pyongyang when he fell from a chestnut tree, said the soldiers father, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

According to the soldiers father, the mobilization orders from the militarys General Staff Department specify that each soldier is responsible for collecting 30 kg of chestnuts daily to be sent to Pyongyang in the name of Kim Jong Un. Other units near Pyongyang were also mobilized, he said.

When I went on a business trip to Pyongyang, I bought roasted chestnuts from a stand. A bag of roasted chestnuts with their shells still on, weighing about 200 grams, was sold for 2,000 North Korean won (U.S. $0.39) about half the price of the local marketplace.

I didnt feel comfortable knowing that the chestnuts were picked by young soldiers like my son How hard it must have been for them to climb up and down trees every day to pick 30 kg of chestnuts, the soldiers father said.

North Koreans gather under a sign that advertises cooked chestnuts and sweet potatoes in Pyongyang, in this file photo taken by Kyodo. Credit: Reuters

Soldiers on chestnut detail were often injured from falls in the unit of a former soldier stationed in Pyongyangs Samsok district, who is now a refugee living in South Korea, he told RFA.

Until I was discharged in 2016, the whole unit was mobilized to pick chestnuts every autumn. Chestnut trees are weaker than other kinds of trees, so every year there were many soldiers who fell off the trees and got hurt, said the refugee, who declined to be named.

There is an orchard that specializes in supplying chestnuts to the Pyongyang vegetable wholesale center, which manages the chestnut stands, but it does not produce enough. So, every fall, military units around Pyongyang are mobilized to supplement the orchard, the source said.

The mountains near Samsok district are rich with wild chestnut trees, and the former soldier and his unit hiked far from the military base for harvesting, he said.

Sometimes, our daily task was to stop children from leaving the village to prevent them from going out to get our chestnuts. I still feel sorry for them, the refugee said.

We picked so many chestnuts every year, but during my 10 years of military service in Pyongyang, I was never able to buy chestnuts from chestnut stand, he said.

They are all over TV and in the newspaper saying that the roasted chestnut stands, which can only be found in Pyongyang, are examples of the partys love for the people. To be honest though, its not the partys love at all, its the sweat and sacrifice of so many soldiers.

Still technically at war with wealthier South Korea, North Korea makes every male serve about eight years in the armed forces according to South Korean intelligence. North Korean refugees in South Korea told RFA that the basic service period for non-technical and non-special forces units was seven years. From 1993 until this year, service time was 10 years.

According to the CIAs World Factbook there are approximately 1.1 to 1.2 million active troops in the North Korean military, more than about 80 percent of whom serve in the army.

Reported by Chang Gyu Ahn for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Imports from China will once again flow into North Korea, providing relief to the starving, unemployed.

Chinese trains are seen at Dandong railway station in northeast China's Liaoning Province, and bordering the North Korean town of Sinuiju in this file photo.

North Korea and China resumed cross-border rail freight shipments on Monday, promising much needed relief to desperate North Koreans suffering from food shortages and economic upheaval under a trade ban that had been put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trains are once again moving from Dandong, China, across the Yalu River border to Sinuiju, North Korea, and business is booming, sources in North Korea and China told RFA.

Since the end of October, trading companies have been busy transporting various materials to the Sinuiju and Uiju areas to prepare them for export to China, an official working at a trade agency in Sinuijus surrounding North Pyongan province told RFAs Korean Service Oct. 31.

They are also drawing up contracts with their Chinese counterparts for materials to be imported from China, said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Prior to the closure of the Sino-Korean border in January 2020, China had accounted for more than 90 percent of North Koreas annual international trade. The sudden stoppage in trade wrecked the North Korean economy. Entire towns saw their commercial activity dry up as freight ships rusted in their harbors from disuse. People who had made a living through the purchase and sale of goods from China were left with no way to support themselves.

The trade bans cascading effect ultimately led to food shortages, as a lack of farming equipment, fertilizers and pesticides led to lower-than-expected crop yields. Flooding in the Korean peninsula over two consecutive summers compounded the problem, pushing farm outputs even lower. And with the border closed, food imports from China were not available to help match demand with supply, raising fears of mass starvation.

The U.N.s Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in a recent report that North Korea would be short about 860,000 tons of food this year, or about two months of normal demand.

Starvation deaths have been reported, and residents were told to prepare for a food crisis similar to the 1994-1998 famine that killed as much as 10 percent of the population, according to some estimates.

A scheduled passenger train crosses the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge from North Korea, to the Chinese border city of Dandong, in China's northeast Liaoning province on February 23, 2019. Credit: AFP

Authorities had been reluctant to reopen the border despite the deteriorating economic situation out of fear that a resumption of trade could spread the coronavirus and endanger public health in the capital Pyongyang. Prior to the pandemic, rail freight from China was processed at Pyongyangs Seopo Station before heading to its destination.

But a new quarantine and cargo processing facility in Uiju, about 14 miles east of Sinuiju, will ensure that freight from China is safe before it is distributed within North Korea, an official from another North Pyongan trade agency told RFA.

RFA reported in March that the new line was built from Sinuiju, across the river from Dandong, to Uiju, and its new processing facility.

All international freight from China will come from Dandong and proceed to Uiju for processing, said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.

Imports from China must stop at Uiju station for customs and disinfection, then move to the quarantine facility for a one-week period before they can be distributed to other areas in North Korea, said the second source.

Though cross-border rail freight has resumed, transporting freight on trucks is still restricted, a North Korean trade worker in Dandong told RFA.

Train freight has little human contact, so the freight quarantine will prevent any problems with the coronavirus. On the other hand, if truck traffic resumes through the Dandong-Sinuiju customs office, hundreds of truck drivers will have to come and go every day, said the trade worker.

That would be a huge risk and could cause problems if they were to spread the coronavirus.

Shipments of medical supplies from China to North Korea by the World Health Organization resumed in late September.

North Korea also covertly accepted food aid by train from China in April, when a freight train loaded with Chinese corn left Dandong for Sinuiju under cover of night.

Sources in Dandong told RFA that the corn had been declared as animal feed.

Reported by Hyemin Sohn for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Claire Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
The company says it is improving its operations, promising cleaner water to affected areas.

A gold mine run by a Chinese company in southern Laos is releasing waste into a river in Sekong province, killing fish and fouling water used by villagers for drinking and bathing, Lao sources say.

The Lao Kaleum Gold Mining Project began operations last year and has polluted local water sources ever since it was launched, a resident of Ateng village, one of the affected areas, told RFAs Lao Service on Tuesday.

The gold mining takes place on higher ground, and the waste flows down to a reservoir, the villager said, asking for anonymity to speak freely.

But the reservoir is not up to standard. It leaks and overflows, and then the waste flows down to the river where we drink and bathe.

The pollution has already killed a lot of fish, he added.

We have been demanding that the project developer and the authorities restore the river to its normal condition," he said.

Also speaking to RFA, a second Ateng villager said that he and other villagers are not opposed to government development plans. We just need to have clean water, he said.

The pollution has been affecting us since last year. Were hoping that the company is now trying to improve the waste system, he said, adding, A lot of fish have been killed, and we now have too little water.

We residents of Ateng and Ka-Ouang villages have been living in very difficult conditions, he said.

The company managing the mine has now built a running-water system using pipes to carry water down from the mountains to affected villages.

But the amount of water delivered is insufficient, a resident of Ka-Ouang said.

The system is broken, and has been damaged by heavy rains and storms, he said.

To improve the flow of running water, the mining company and local authorities should monitor the waste reservoir and dump site, reduce the waste of chemical release, and restore the river to its normal condition, the villager said.

15-year concession

The Lao Kaleum Gold Mining Project operates as a 15-year concession approved by the central government of Laos and supervised by local authorities, and is now digging a tunnel at the site to explore for gold, an official of Sekongs Energy and Mines Department said.

The mining company has now almost completed work on a new wastewater treatment system, including a new reservoir and dumpsite, said a provincial official responsible for coordinating the provinces dealings with the company.

The company will tell us when its finished, and then well inspect it. And if we see anything wrong, the company will fix it, the official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. Everything must be up to our technical standard.

The company says that its aware of the villagers complaints and has been trying to solve these problems. And as for the running water, the company has plans to fix this in the near future, he said.

Foreign-invested farming, mining, and development projects in Laos have sparked friction over cases of environmental pollution and land often taken without proper compensation, leaving villagers fearing retaliation if they speak out.

China is Laos largest foreign investor and aid provider, and its second-largest trade partner after Thailand.

Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Observers say the meeting could lead to the release of American reporter Danny Fenster.

Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson emerges from his office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 9, 2020.

Former U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson has met with junta chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing as part of a humanitarian mission to Myanmar, an official said Tuesday, while the military pounded the countrys Sagaing region with airstrikes for a fifth straight day, forcing some 2,000 villagers to flee for their safety.

Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico who once served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, met with the head of Myanmars military regime in the capital Naypyidaw and discussed measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, Myanmars Information Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting included Myanmars ministers of foreign affairs, health and international cooperation, the statement said, and was later broadcast on state television channel MRTV Tuesday.

Junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told RFAs Myanmar Service that the two men mainly talked about providing COVID-19 vaccines [to the people of Myanmar] from the U.N., Western nations and other programs as assistance to the public health sector.

Myanmara country of around 53.6 million peoplehas been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, recording nearly 501,000 infections and 19,000 deaths from COVID-19 since March 2020. The countrys response has been hampered by a crackdown following the militarys Feb. 1 coup that has seen scores of medical professionals locked up for taking part in anti-junta protests.

Richardsons office announced Sunday that he would be visiting the country to discuss pathways for the humanitarian delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, medical supplies, and other public health needs.

The former governor has a history of serving as a kind of intermediary between the U.S. and nations with whom Washington maintains few or no ties, including North Korea and Venezuela. The U.S. has sanctioned the junta for its use of violence against opponents to its rule and relations are at a low.

While his visit to Myanmar was not officially sanctioned by the U.S. government, observers said it could lead to the release of American journalist Danny Fenster, the managing editor of online news magazine Frontier Myanmar. Fenster was arrested at Yangon Airport in May as he prepared to return to the U.S. and charged with incitement. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted. Media watchdog groups have called for his immediate release.

Asked about whether Richardson had called for the release of Fenster during his meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, Zaw Min Tun told RFA that such a request was not included.

But Myint Kyaw, a reporter based in Yangon, told RFA he has no doubt that [Richardson] will request the release of U.S. journalist Danny Fenster and that the junta might agree if doing so would thaw relations with Washington.

He noted that during Richardsons visit to Myanmar in 2018, the former governor had called on then-State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyis government to release two detained reporters from Reuters news agency, even though it was not part of the main agenda for the trip. The disagreement led to Richardsons resignation from an advisory board that oversaw Myanmars implementation of recommendations for Rakhine state, where a year earlier the military carried out a scorched earth campaign launched in response to attacks by Muslim insurgents against police posts.

Myint Kyaw said Tuesdays meeting could be seen as an unofficial visit by the U.S. government to Myanmar and that Richardson would be sure to carry a message from the junta back to Washington.

U.S. State Department representatives had yet to respond to requests by RFA for comment on Richardsons trip as of Tuesday.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the State Department said Richardson is making the trip on his own but that it hopes he can help convince Myanmars leaders to allow the entry of aid for the coronavirus pandemic and other urgent needs.

In this photo issued by the Myanmar Military True News Information Team, former US ambassador and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (L) meets with junta chief Snr Gen Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, Nov. 2, 2021. AP Photo Airstrikes and artillery in Sagaing

While Richardson met with Min Aung Hlaing in the capital, junta forces conducted a fifth-straight day of an offensive against Peoples Defense Force (PDF) militias in Sagaing regions Kyunhla township, using airstrikes and heavy artillery on two villages that destroyed homes and displaced nearly 2,000 people, sources said.

A resident who declined to be named for fear of reprisal told RFA that the junta began attacking areas near Kyunhlas Inhla and Kywe Tae villages on Oct. 28 after an informer provided reports of armed youths in the area to the military.

We had to flee the fighting in Kywe Tae and Inhla villages because of helicopter gunfirethere are now at least 1,500 to 2,000 refugees, he said, adding that six helicopters flew in, opening fire on us and dropping soldiers in recent days.

The resident said that while refugees have enough food to sustain themselves, other supplies are sorely lacking.

There is enough rice, but no medicine, he said. We had to leave our homes with only a few pieces of clothing. We need a lot of help.

Refugees displaced by fighting in Sagaing region's Depayin township, July 2, 2021. Citizen journalist Civilians targeted

Sources told RFA on condition of anonymity that the military is cracking down on Kyunhla township because it has a large number of local defense forces. At least three civilians have been killed during the five days of military operations, sources said.

A man and his wife were killed when the army entered Kywe Tae village, while in nearby Hluttaw village a man who fled in fear of troops was shot dead and his body was dumped in a toilet, residents said.

Asked about the civilian deaths in Kyunhla township, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun denied that any military operation is taking place in Sagaing region, although he added that whatever the military is doing is needed to protect the lives and property of the people from terrorist groups.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in September that more than 120,000 people have been displaced by fighting since May 21 in Kayah and southeastern Shan states, as well as tens of thousands in Chin, Kachin, and Karen states, as well as Magway and Sagaing regions.

In late August, OCHA announced that the number of people who need humanitarian aid in Myanmar had increased to nearly two million since the military coup. Those displaced by the recent fighting join more than 500,000 refugees from decades of conflict between the military and ethnic armed groups who were already counted as internally displaced persons at the end of 2020, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, a Norwegian NGO.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane and Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Many residents of Ghulja say they are no longer able to buy food or fuel.

A medical worker taking a swab sample from a child to be tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus, in Ganzhou District, in Zhangye, in China's northwest Gansu province, Nov. 1, 2021.

Lockdowns are spreading in China amid a surge in coronavirus infections that have seen around 500 people diagnosed in at least 17 provinces, with authorities restricting travel and warning people to stockpile food and other supplies.

A lockdown in one city in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region has lasted more than a month, leaving desperate residents short of food and forced to complain to authorities in spite of official warnings to keep quiet, sources say.

It is impossible to continue like this, one Uyghur resident of Ghulja (in Chinese, Yining) said, writing on his social media account. When will the roads and our doors be opened again for sure? he asked.

They said this would happen on Oct. 18, but the 18th then passed. Then we were happy when we heard things would open on Oct. 28, but the 28th has now also passed, and no one is saying anything more, the man wrote.

Cold weather is coming, and normally we would be able to go out to buy coal and other things we need, he said, adding a plea to Chinese authorities to carefully consider their situation. We must be allowed to go out as soon as possible. If things continue like this, we will probably die from hunger rather than the virus, he said.

Many residents of Ghulja, which lies near Chinas border with Kazakhstan, are no longer able to buy food or fuel, other Uyghurs said.

I have run out of all the money that Id saved, another resident wrote. Weve also run out of vegetables, and I cant send any money to my child, who is studying in another city.

Health workers conduct Covid-19 coronavirus tests on travelers at the exit of Yantai Railway Station in China's eastern Shandong province, Nov. 2, 2021. Credit: AFP No sign of end

Officials called by RFA declined to comment on the situation in Ghulja, but an employee working in what she called a vocational training school said the citys lockdown was still in force, adding that she was now cut off from contact with her husband, who worked in another town.

She couldnt say when the citys quarantine might end, she said.

Were staying in our house because the of the governments order, so we cant say anything for sure. My husband works in another town out in the countryside, and it has been almost a month since hes been home, she said.

City residents preparing for colder weather have now also been forced to buy coal in bags instead of by the cart, leaving them vulnerable to extortion and fraud, some residents said on social media.

Coal bought by the bag doesnt last long, one writer said, adding that the coal they buy is often mixed with stones, which they have to pick out of their stoves.

We have nothing to eat and nothing to burn, and we are getting really desperate, she said. We pass our days in the false hope that we can come out tomorrow or maybe in the afternoon. We cant go anywhere and remain locked up at home by the command of the authorities.

Families whose fathers and other male breadwinners have been taken by authorities to Xinjiangs vast network of internment camps have been especially hard hit, sources said on social media.

We have not died yet from hunger, but were suffering a lot, one woman wrote.

There are some families who have no male figure in the house, but we women are getting by on our strength. The authorities should take these things into account, she said.

Movements restricted

Tibetans living in Xining, capital of northwestern Chinas Qinghai province, part of Tibets historical region of Amdo, have also been restricted to their homes and may not move freely in the town, Tibetan sources say.

Tibetans have been barred from visiting each others homes, even if they live in the same area, one local resident told RFAs Tibetan Service.

Its unclear if these restrictions are really due to the COVID spike or if theyre only meant to further control Tibetans living in Tibet, as the Chinese government is under great pressure and scrutiny these days as the host of the coming Winter Olympics, he said.

Chinese authorities have already arrested 14 people for spreading what they called false information about COVID-19 in Xining, RFAs source said, citing reports in state media. Public transportation has also been curtailed and tourism halted in the city, he said.

And though many Chinese cities have now seen spikes in COVID cases, tourists still go in large numbers to Tibets regional capital Lhasa, staying in guesthouses and visiting shops without restrictions, said another source living in Tibet.

We see no sign of serious attempts to curb the spread of the virus in Lhasa, the source said.

A drone sprays disinfectant over volunteers disinfecting a school following local cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lanzhou, Gansu province, China October 27, 2021. Credit: Reuters Food prices climb

The National Health Commission of China announced that as of Tuesday, there were 109 new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, including 35 in Heilongjiang, 14 in Hebei, 14 in Gansu, and nine in Beijing.

In Chinas eastern provinces, authorities are now urging families to store food and other necessities in case of emergency, as food prices continue to climb amid shortages and recent flooding due to heavy rains, media sources say.

In Jiangsu, where the epidemic had not occurred recently, people in many places are facing quarantine after an outbreak, so they have begun to rush to buy daily necessities. Several videos provided by netizens showed panic buying that had left shelves empty:

People in several cities around us are rushing to buy thing," said Zhang Jianping, a resident of the city of Yixing in Jiangsu. "The Ministry of Commerce reminds everyone to store daily necessities, especially food."

Speaking to RFA, a resident of Wuhan city surnamed Zhang said that authorities may have two emergencies in mindone the present shortage of essentials caused by the pandemic, and the other any future conflict between China and the United States that could affect normal functions of society.

For example, is anything going to happen in the South China Sea or the East China Sea? he asked.

Prices have climbed drastically, including the prices of meat and eggs, and the price of green vegetables has risen very high. Even radishes are being sold at three to four yuan per catty in weight, he said.

Though over 70 percent of Chinas population of 1.4 billion people has been fully vaccinated, the country still struggles to contain sporadic outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Translated by Mamatjan Juma, Tenzin Dickyi, and Li Tian. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Local government officials sanctioned the calls, but later arrested the pair for conversing with their brother.

The brothers of a Uyghur based in the Netherlands have been arrested by authorities in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region for contacting a sibling abroad deemed a terrorist during officially sanctioned phone calls, officials confirmed to RFA.

Ghopur Ebey, 46, left his family in Baytoqay village of Ghulja (in Chinese, Yining) city in 2009 and moved to the town of Alkmaar in the Netherlands.

Ghopur told RFA in September that two of his brothers, Ehtem and Shakir Ebey, were taken away after they talked to him using a phone provided by local authorities who gave them permission to call Ghopur abroad.

A third brother, Shukur Ebey, was arrested in 2017 and detained for two years in an internment camp after he took a group trip to Turkey, though he had received permission from officials to travel to the country, which is considered a safe haven for persecuted Muslim Uyghurs and a defender of their rights.

When RFA contacted village officials to confirm the identities of Ghopurs brothers and ask why they were apprehended, a judicial office employee responded, They are Ehtem Ebey and Shakir Ebey. Authorities arrested them for talking to Ghopur in the Netherlands, he said.

When asked why authorities allowed Ghopurs family members to call him abroad but then punished them for doing so, the official said he could not answer further questions and suggested that RFA obtain additional information from the Communist Party command headquarters.

But when RFA contacted that office, officials there declined to comment.

Other local officials in Baytoqay village told RFA that they did not know Ehtem and Shakir Ebey and were unaware of their cases.

Ghopur told RFA that his three brothers were ordinary citizens who were arbitrarily arrested and repressed simply because of their ethnic identity as Uyghurs.

Chinese authorities allowed Shukur, the eldest of the brothers who is a businessman in Ghulja, to travel to Turkey in 2013 as part of an officially approved tour group.

But in 2017, authorities arrested Shukur in the middle of the night, placing a black hood over his head and taking him to an internment camp because he had traveled to Turkey, Ghopur said.

In early 2018, Ghopur provided video testimony about Shukurs arrest, after which Shukur and a number of other relatives who had been detained in the re-education camps were released.

China has held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and others in internment camps since 2017, while dismissing evidence that it has mistreated the Muslim minority, including testimony from former detainees and guards describing widespread abuses in interviews with RFA and other media outlets.

China has said that the camps are vocational training facilities where Uyghurs and other Turkic people learn skills to find jobs under policies aimed at preventing religious extremism and terrorism in the region.

News of the release of Shukur and others was conveyed to Ghopur through a special arrangement by local authorities who appointed Ehtem to communicate on behalf of his family using a government-provided phone.

In January 2019, Baytoqay village officials allowed arranged for Ehtem to call Ghopur on a dedicated phone line whose number ended in 113, Ghopur said.

They called me while they were surrounded by Chinese police, and after that the police told my relatives that they could call me and contact me, he told RFA.

Then, my first younger brother was allowed by the authorities to contact me on behalf of all my family members, he said.

During their conversations, they were very careful not to speak about anything political or sensitive because they knew that authorities were listening to the calls, Ghopur said.

After Ghopur suddenly lost contact with Ehtem, one of his contacts living abroad told him that Ehtem had been detained in December 2020 on charges that he had spoken with his separatist brother in the Netherlands.

Sometime later, Ghopur learned that his youngest brother Shakir had also been arrested for the same reason.

When RFA called the number ending in 113, an official who answered did not comment when questioned about the Ehtem and Shakirs detentions, but did not deny that they had used the same government-issued phone to call Ghopur.

We cannot tell you the details without seeing you in person, said the official when asked who was present when Ehtem and Shakir called Ghopur on the phone.

Translated by the Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Namyit is also claimed by China, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Satellite imagery of Namyit Island, a Vietnamese-held feature in the Spratlys, shows construction underway at its western tip. An image from Oct. 30 shows a barge and construction platform that was not visible on Sept. 29. (Imagery: Planet Labs Inc. Analysis: RFA)

Vietnam is carrying out construction and land-filling on another island under its control in the South China Sea, commercial satellite imagery analysed by RFA shows.

The imagery shows an extension is being developed to the western tip of Namyit Island in the northwest of the Spratly Islands.

The then-Republic of Vietnam first took possession of Namyit, which it calls Nam Yet, in 1973. North Vietnams army took over the island in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War.

Planet Labs imagery on Oct. 30 show building activities in Namyit, with a barge and a construction platform that were not visible Sept. 29.

Sources familiar with the development plan, who were not authorized to speak publicly about it, said the Vietnam may be building a ship dock to facilitate access to the island.

Vietnamese experts said their country carries out works to prevent erosion and landslides to protect but not to expand or change the structures of features under its control.

At the same time as Namyit, construction work is also being carried out on Pearson Reef, another Vietnam-controlled feature in the Spratly Islands. Imagery taken on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 show what appears to be dredging work at the southern tip of the reef, RFA has revealed.

Vietnam has 49 or 51 outposts in the South China Sea spread across 27 features including ten islets, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI). Two of the ten islets, Amboyna Cay and Namyit Island, have seen no discernible reclamation work until now, AMTI said.

Namyit is a natural-occurring coral island with a total area of 13 acres, the fifth largest among Vietnam-administered islands in the South China Sea.

It is also one of the more developed, with an array of new civilian facilities including a Buddhist temple, a medical center, a cultural house and a nature reserve which is under construction, local media have reported.

Namyit is also claimed by China, the Philippines and Taiwan.

China, which claims most of the South China Sea for itself, has been criticizing other countries, especially Vietnam, for their island building. However, by 2016 Vietnam had created just over 120 acres of new land in the South China Sea compared to almost 3,000 acres created by China, AMTI said.
Trinh Ba Phuong has refused to speak to investigators, asserting his right to keep silent.

Vietnamese land-rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong and his wife are shown in an undated photo.

Police in Vietnams capital Hanoi are threatening the wife of a detained land-rights activist with arrest if he refuses to plead guilty to charges against him when he goes to trial, the mans lawyer said on Wednesday.

Trinh Ba Phuong, who was arrested in June 2020 on a charge of spreading propaganda against the state," is being held at the Hanoi Police Detention Center No. 1 and has been waiting for his case to come to court for more than 16 months.

A session of Phuongs trial scheduled for Wednesday was postponed after prosecutors in the case were put into quarantine after coming in contact with people testing positive for COVID-19, and no new trial date has been set.

He faces a possible prison term of from 10 to 20 years upon conviction.

Phuong is being told his wife will be arrested if he fails to confess to the charges made against him, his lawyer Dang Dinh Manh told RFA following a meeting in jail with Phuong on Tuesday.

Investigators had previously brought in a smart phone and shown Phuong a Facebook posting by his wife Do Thi Thu in which she described the police as thugs and called them inhumane, Manh said, adding that police told Phuong that these were grounds for Thus arrest.

And they told Phuong that if he did not confess to his crimes, they would take her into custody, Manh said, adding, This is what Phuong told me yesterday.

Phuong has so far exercised his right not to answer questions during his pre-trial investigation and has made no confession, his lawyer said. Because of this, police investigators forced him to undergo mental health assessments at the National Psychiatric Hospital No. 1 in Hanois Thuong Tin District in March 2021.

Attempts to force a confession by threatening a family members arrest are a form of coercion not permitted under the law, Manh said.

These can be seen as a way of forcing the arrestee to make statements [against their will], he said.

Before his arrest, Trinh Ba Phuong sold freshwater crabs to earn a living. Photo: Facebook / Thinh Nguyen

'I only wrote the truth'

Thu herself had already been summoned by police for questioning about her Facebook posts late last year, Thu told RFA in an interview.

They told me that it was forbidden to speak badly about the regime on Facebook, but I told them that I only wrote the truth, she said.

In spite of their threats, I think that our familys spirit is very resilient and strong. My husband will never be afraid, and Ill never give in either, even if they arrest me. Like my husband, Ill be steadfast and strong until the end.

A well-known land rights activist in Hanoi, Phuong was arrested on June 24, 2020 together with his younger brother and mother after they spoke out on social media about the Jan. 9, 2020 clash in Dong Tam commune is which 3,000 police stormed protesters homes at a construction site outside the capital, killing a village elder.

They had also offered information to foreign embassies and other international figures to try to raise awareness of the incident.

While all land is ultimately held by the state, land confiscations have become a flashpoint as residents accuse the government of pushing small landholders aside in favor of lucrative real estate projects, and of paying too little in compensation to farming families displaced by development.

Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Richard Finney.
UFA, Russia -- A court in Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan has sentenced noted activist Ramila Saitova to three years in a colony settlement after finding her guilty of calling for extremist activities.

The Kirov district court in Bashkortostan's capital, Ufa, handed down the verdict and sentence on November 3. Judge Azamat Bikchurin also banned Saitova from being an administrator for any online social networks for two years.

A colony settlement is a dormitory-like penitentiary located near an industrial facility where convicts work alongside the general public.

Saitova pleaded not guilty and her defense team said it will appeal the court's ruling.

The charge against the activist stemmed from her online posts in 2020 in which she called on the mostly Muslim-populated republic's residents to hold public gatherings to question what she called an "overwhelming number" of Orthodox Christian crosses in the region.

In some of her online posts, Saitova demanded Bashkortostan's government raise the issue of "returning land" that belonged to Bashkirs before it was made part of Russia's other regions.

In September 2020, she was sentenced to 10 days in jail after a court found her guilty of inciting ethnic hatred by questioning the presence of ethnic Armenians in Bashkortostan.
HOMEL, Belarus -- A well-known Belarusian human rights lawyer and his assistant have been sentenced to prison terms on charges related to the legal assistance they provided to activists, journalists, and others caught up in an ongoing crackdown by authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime.



A court in the southeastern city of Homel on November 3 sentenced Leanid Sudalenka and Tatsyana Lasitsa to three years and 2 1/2 years in prison, respectively, for the "organization and preparation of actions grossly violating public order and financing such activities."

Both pleaded not guilty in the closed-door trial.

Crisis In Belarus Read our ongoing coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka ramps up pressure on NGOs and independent media as part of a brutal crackdown against protesters and the opposition following an August 2020 election widely considered fraudulent.

A third defendant in the case, Maria Tarasenka, who was not in pretrial detention, fled the country after the trial started in early September.

The verdicts further aggravate a situation that had already reached alarming levels, with the recent liquidation of the remaining registered human rights nongovernmental organizations," Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic said in a statement. "The authorities are deliberately and systematically dismantling civil society in the country."

Both Sudalenka and Lasitsa were working for the Vyasna human rights center at the time of their arrest in January.



Vyasna, one of dozens of civil society organizations targeted in Lukashenka's sweeping crackdown, condemned the sentencing of its members.



"The politically motivated criminal prosecution of Vyasna members and volunteers is being carried out within the framework of the 'cleanup' of civil society announced by Alyaksandr Lukashenka," Vyasna said a joint statement with 17 other human rights organizations.

"There is no doubt that the authorities are persecuting Vyasna in retaliation for its 25 years of outstanding and fearless work in defending human rights."



Five other human rights defenders from Vyasna are currently behind bars on what the group says are politically motivated charges.

The sentences are part of a brutal crackdown that was sparked by protests over the results of an August 2020 presidential election that Lukashenka claims to have won by a landslide. The opposition says the vote was rigged and much of the West has refused to acknowledge the results.



Separately from the court decision on November 3, the Interior Ministry said it had labeled the Belsat television channel and its social networks as an "extremist formation."



The announcement came on the heels of a court decision in Minsk two days earlier to sentence a representative of Belsat, Iryna Slavnikava, and her husband, Alyaksandr Loyka, to 15 days in jail each for sharing "extremist" content on Facebook.

Polish-funded Belsat was declared "extremist" by the Belarusian authorities in July and had its website and all social-media accounts blocked. The television channel extensively covered mass protests following last year's presidential election.



According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, 28 journalists are currently behind bars, including two from Belsat, Katsyaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova, who were sentenced to two years in prison in February for their reporting on the protests.



The mass protests against Lukashenka were met with the heavy-handed, and sometimes violent detention of tens of thousands of people. Much of the opposition leadership has been jailed or forced into exile.

Vyasna says it considers 827 people to be political prisoners for exercising their basic rights to peacefully protest, express opinions, or engage in legitimate political activities.



Several protesters have been killed and thousands arrested during mass demonstrations demanding Lukashenka's resignation. There have also been what human rights groups call credible reports of torture in the crackdown.
Poland accused Belarus of staging an armed intrusion into its territory and said on November 3 that it had summoned the Belarusian charge d'affaires to protest deliberate escalation on the border.

The incident comes as thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa in recent months have attempted to illegally enter Poland and fellow EU members Latvia and Lithuania from Belarus.

Crisis In Belarus Read our ongoing coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka ramps up pressure on NGOs and independent media as part of a brutal crackdown against protesters and the opposition following an August 2020 election widely considered fraudulent.

The EU accuses Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka of flying in migrants and funneling them to the bloc's borders to retaliate against Brussels for sanctions imposed over a sweeping crackdown since last years disputed presidential election.

Poland's Foreign Ministry said "unidentified uniformed men armed with long guns" crossed the border overnight on November 1-2.

Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk forwarded an emphatic protest to the Belarusian side against the violation of the Polish state border, emphasizing that the actions taken by the Belarusian authorities in recent weeks have the increasingly evident hallmarks of a deliberate escalation, the ministry said in a statement.

He highlighted that Poland is determined to defend its borders and the external borders of the European Union, it said, adding that Poland and its allies will oppose illegal migration orchestrated by Minsk.

Poland has imposed a state of emergency at the border, put up razor wire, and increased the number of soldiers and guards to stem the flow of migrants crossing from Belarus. Lawmakers last week also approved the building of a $407 million wall on its eastern border.

Last month, the Polish Border Guards said Belarusian forces fired shots -- possibly blank ammunition -- at its soldiers. In other cases, Poland accused Belarusian forces of destroying a razor-wire barrier on the border or encouraging migrants to do so.

With reporting by AP and Reuters
The high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina has warned about risks to stability caused by separatist Bosnian Serbs in a report scheduled for delivery to the UN Security Council this week.



The report prepared by Christian Schmidt, the chief international envoy to Bosnia, says the country could face the biggest "existential threat of the postwar period" unless the international community takes measures to stop Serbian separatists.



"The prospects for further division and conflict are very real," Schmidt, a senior German diplomat, said in his report to the council, according to excerpts quoted in news reports.



Schmidt was scheduled to deliver the warning in a briefing to the Security Council on November 2, but the council said his appearance was canceled because of opposition from Russia, according to AP.



Schmidt's warnings refer to threats by Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik to withdraw Serbian soldiers from the Bosnian Army and create a separate Serbian force.



Those and other moves would "ultimately undermine the state's ability to function and carry out its constitutional responsibilities," Schmidt wrote.



Schmidt called Dodik's threatened actions "tantamount to secession without proclaiming it."



He said the actions "endanger not only the peace and stability of the country and the region, but -- if unanswered by the international community -- could lead to the undoing of the agreement" that ended the Bosnian War in 1995.



Dodik responded by dismissing the report as "a propaganda pamphlet" that was written to "favor Bosnian Muslims."



"If we are separatists, he is an occupier," Dodik said.

The Bosnian War started in 1992, pitting mostly Muslim Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats against each other. It ended with the U.S.-sponsored Dayton accords that created two regions, the Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation.



The country is still governed and administered along ethnic lines established by the agreement, which also established the Office of the High Representative, now occupied by Schmidt, to ensure compliance with civilian aspects of the Dayton accords. But secessionists in Republika Srpska and some outside countries have been pressing hard for its abolition.



Bosnia has a rotating three-member presidency made up of Bosniak, Serbian, and Croatian members, and Dodik, the Bosnian Serb member of the presidency, has for years advocated for the separation of the Bosnian Serb state and making it part of Serbia.



Dodik recently intensified his campaign, pledging that the Bosnian Serb parliament would by the end of November declare the creation of its own army, tax authority, and judiciary.



Schmidt said the unilateral withdrawal of either entity from the established state institutions was not legally possible under the current constitutional framework and would undermine the state's ability to function.

The Security Council is currently considering a one-year extension of the mandate of the European Union-led peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. Diplomats who spoke with news agencies on condition of anonymity said the vote to extend the mission will take place on November 3 without a briefing.



Russia has threatened to veto the resolution approving the extension unless all references to the high representative for Bosnia are removed.



The Bosnian Serbs, supported by Russia and China, do not recognize Schmidt as the high representative because his appointment was not approved in the UN Security Council.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
SOFIA -- A right-wing nationalist candidate in this month's presidential election has been detained and indicted over a weekend attack on an LGBT community center in the capital.

Boyan Rasate was detained for 72 hours and is facing charges of hooliganism and infliction of an injury, the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on November 3, three days after his legal immunity as a presidential candidate was lifted, opening the way for the prosecution.

Both crimes carry prison sentences.

Prosecutors said the 50-year-old Rasate did not admit any guilt and declined to make a statement.

On October 30, a group of about 10 men and women stormed and vandalized the Rainbow Hub, a venue for LGBT-related events in central Sofia. The Bilitis Foundation that runs the center accused Rasate of leading the attack.

Activist Gloria Filipova claimed she was punched in the face by Rasate, whom she recognized. She also said he was carrying a knife.

The assault was condemned by Bulgaria's leading political parties, 11 Western embassies, and human rights activists.

Born Boyan Stankov, Rasate is the founder of the Bulgarian National Union (BNS), which is no longer under his leadership. He is known for his rhetoric against the LGBT community and migrants.

He was detained late on November 2 as he was leaving the building of Bulgarian National Television, where he was participating in a program on the November 14 presidential election.

"The crimes committed stand out with their extreme audacity and disrespect for the democratic foundations of the state," prosecutors said in their statement.

In a tweet, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatovic, urged Bulgarian authorities to conduct a swift investigation into the attack against Rainbow Hub, calling it another worrying example of mounting threats against NGOs working for #equalrights for the LGBTI community.

Amnesty International said in a statement that Bulgarian authorities must now amend the law to recognize homophobic violence as hate crimes.

Hate crimes are not specifically outlawed in Bulgaria, with the penal code treating them as acts of hooliganism.

There is no doubt that the attack on the Rainbow Hub Community Centre was motivated by hatred, and this appalling incident has exposed the shortcomings of Bulgarias laws and justice system, the London-based human rights group said.
CIA Director William Burns has held talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) chief Sergei Naryshkin on bilateral cooperation in fighting international terrorism.



Burns is on a rare visit to Moscow to discuss U.S.-Russian relations amid persistent tensions between Washington and Moscow.



"The focus was on interdepartmental interaction in the context of Russian-U.S. relations with an emphasis on the fight against international terrorism," an SVR press release said after the meeting on November 3.



A day earlier, Burns met with Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's Security Council. The two discussed Russian-U.S. relations," the Council's press service said in a short November 2 statement.



Russia's ties with the United States are at a post-Cold War low, strained by issues including Russia's alleged meddling in elections, Moscow's seizure of Crimea, the conflict in eastern Ukraine, cyberattacks allegedly from Russian hackers, and the poisoning of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny.



U.S. President Joe Biden has said that despite tensions his administration is looking to cooperate with Moscow on specific issues, including strategic arms reductions, the Iran nuclear talks, and countering ransomware and other cyberattacks.

Based on reporting by Reuters, TASS, and AFP
Hospitals in Ilam Province in western Iran are said to be at full capacity amid a new wave of COVID-19 infections. Some residents link the rising numbers to a religious pilgrimage in August, when tens of thousands of Iranians traveled through the province to reach Karbala, Iraq, for the holiday of Arbaeen. Critics of Iran's government say the authorities have been slow to provide effective vaccines and too lax in limiting religious gatherings. Iran's government systematically cracks down on the free flow of information and those who speak to foreign media may be subject to persecution. For that reason, the identities of the interviewees are not disclosed and their faces are blurred.
A self-described hacking group calling itself Edalat-e Ali (Alis Justice) has leaked confidential documents to RFE/RLs Radio Farda that appear to reveal the plight of prisoners at Evin prison, Irans most notorious facility.

According to the prison documents, hunger strikes by prisoners and the publication of open letters by inmates is considered criminal behavior.

In one document, a former official at Evin prison called for the punishment of inmates who refused to eat or released letters, statements, and audio files from prison.

In such cases, prisoners [accused] of violations should be held in isolation, their welfare [including private and public meetings] should be limited, and we should look into their demands, the document says.

The document says Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman held in Iran for five years, was punished in 2019 after she went on hunger strike to protest her imprisonment. Rights groups have described her detention as hostage-taking aimed at winning concessions from foreign powers.

Prison authorities denied Zaghari-Ratcliffe personal visits, a measure that led her to "break her hunger strike," the document said, adding that the method should be used with other inmates.

RFE/RL could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents leaked by Edalat-e Ali.

Some political prisoners in Iran have in recent years gone on hunger strike to protest their prison conditions. Inmates have also released open letters and statements from prison in a bid to highlight their mistreatment and voice their opinions on political events.

Earlier this year, Edalat-e Ali hacked into Evin prison's CCTV cameras and leaked videos that appeared to show the systematic mistreatment of inmates at the prison, including beatings.

The unprecedented hacked footage was a major embarrassment for Iranian authorities, who had claimed in the past that Evin's inmates are treated with kindness and Islamic mercy. The videos prompted a rare apology from the head of Iranian Prisons Organization.

'Spreading Lies'

The newly released documents by Edalat-e Ali say prison authorities blocked the mobile phone of dissident filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad after he went on hunger strike and released statements from prison.

The confidential documents accused Nourizad, who since 2019 has been serving a 17-year prison term for allegedly insulting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of spreading lies.

Prison authorities later unblocked Nourizads phone after he promised not to give interviews to reporters or release statements from prison.

The prison documents leaked to Radio Farda also confirm earlier reports that authorities had attempted to prevent prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh from meeting her family by setting conditions such as wearing a chador, the full-length covering that leaves only the hands, face, and feet exposed.

Sotoudeh was banned from meeting her family for three weeks for refusing the demand, according to her husband, Reza Khandan. In 2019, Sotoudeh was sentenced to a combined 38 1/2 years in prison.

Another prison document branded Irans Gonabadi dervish religious minority as a terrorist group and claimed the community was aligned with the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

The document also warned security officers to be vigilant about possible actions by the group.

The Gonabadi dervishes have clashed intermittently with Iranian authorities in recent years, with critics saying Iran's leadership regards them as a threat to its monopoly on religion.

'Protective Measures'

Separately, Edalat-e Ali leaked a tranche of confidential documents to the BBC that are connected to the deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters in November 2019.

The rallies were prompted by a sudden rise in the price of gasoline. The protests quickly spread to more than 100 towns and cities across the country.

Iran responded to the protests with lethal force, killing at least 304 protesters, according to Amnesty International. Hundreds were detained and the government also imposed a near total Internet shutdown to limit the free flow of information.

A document dated November 19, 2019, calls on authorities to take protective measures to defend public property.

Iranian officials said hundreds of banks and government buildings were torched during the protests.

Due to illegal gatherings and street riots in the cities of different provinces under the pretext of protesting against the increase of fuel prices, there is a possibility of sabotage acts in the streets and attacks on government buildings, including the judiciary, the document marked confidential-urgent said.

Another document dated December 25, 2019, suggested that some riot police units lacked clarity on how to control and manage the recent riots and [when to] use firearms. The document said that the use of lethal force was sometimes inevitable.

Even though issued instructions have always called for restraint and the use of other measures to control crowds, the use of weapons will be inevitable in some cases, the document said.

The BBC said it could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents.

Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the prison documents sent to Radio Farda and the BBC by Edalat-e Ali.
Nuclear talks between world powers and Tehran on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal are set to resume in Vienna on November 29 following a five-month hiatus, amid growing Western concerns over Irans nuclear advances.

The talks will be chaired by EU mediator Enrique Mora and will be attended by representatives of the remaining parties to the agreement -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and Iran -- the blocs European External Action Service said in a statement on November 3.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, who serves as Tehran's chief negotiator, said on Twitter that the date was set in a phone call with Mora.

The State Department said U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley will be heading the American delegation in Vienna and that Washington hopes Tehran returns to the talks ready to negotiate and in good faith.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the landmark accord in 2018 and reimposed crippling punitive measures despite Iran's compliance with the deal, which curbed its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

In response, Tehran has gradually breached limits imposed by the pact, including on uranium enrichment, refining it to higher purity, and installing advanced centrifuges.

Trump's successor, Joe Biden, who took office in January, has pledged to rejoin the deal if Iran returns to full compliance.

But six rounds of indirect negotiations in Vienna that began in April failed to reach agreement and the talks were put on hold after Iran's presidential election in June that brought anti-Western hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi to power.

The main sticking points center around Tehran's demand for a broad lifting of U.S. sanctions and technical nuclear details about how Tehran will return to compliance.

The EU statement said that participants in the upcoming talks in the Austrian capital will continue the discussions on the prospect of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides."

The 2015 nuclear accord is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action, or JCPOA.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington still believed it was possible to quickly reach and implement an understanding on a mutual return to compliance with the pact.

"We believe that if the Iranians are serious, we can manage to do that in relatively short order," Price told reporters.

In his tweet, Bagheri said the negotiations will be aimed at the removal of unlawful and inhumane sanctions against Iran.

Earlier in the day, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said the United States has to offer guarantees that it will not again abandon the nuclear accord in order to ensure the success of the talks to revive it.

"The U.S. president, lacking authority, is not ready to give guarantees. If the current status quo continues, the result of negotiations is clear," Ali Shamkhani said in a tweet.

On October 30, the leaders of the United States, Germany, France, and Britain urged Iran to return to the nuclear talks and resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear accord to prevent a "dangerous escalation."

We express our determination to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon and shared our grave and growing concern that, while Iran halted negotiations on a return to the [JCPOA] since June, it has accelerated the pace of provocative nuclear steps, such as the production of highly enriched uranium and enriched uranium metal, Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement released after a gathering on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rome.

Iranian officials claim the countrys nuclear program is purely for civilian use.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters
KHABAROVSK, Russia -- A court in Siberia has sentenced an Orthodox priest to 10 days in jail -- his sixth jail term -- for publicly expressing support for the former governor of the Khabarovsk region, Sergei Furgal, who was arrested on murder charges that he and his supporters have rejected as politically motivated.



Khabarovsk-based journalist Tatyana Khlestunova told RFE/RL on November 3 that a court in the Far Eastern city found Andrei Vinarsky guilty of repeatedly violating the law on mass gatherings.



In March, the Birobidzhan eparchy dismissed Vinarsky as archpriest of the St. Nicholas Church over his participation in the rallies.



The eparchy also ruled that Vinarsky cannot run church services until he repents and stops taking part in unsanctioned rallies.



Large anti-government protests in the region erupted last year after Furgal's arrest in July 2020, highlighting discontent in the Far East over what demonstrators viewed as Moscow-dominated policies that often neglect their views and interests.



Furgal is currently in pretrial detention in Moscow facing charges of attempted murder and ordering two killings in 2004 and 2005. He denies the charges.
BISHKEK -- A court in Kyrgyzstan has refused to release jailed politician Ravshan Jeenbekov, who is registered as a candidate for parliamentary elections to be held later this month.

The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek on November 3 ruled that Jeenbekov must remain in pretrial detention, rejecting a request from his lawyer, Zamir Jooshev, that the court allow Jeenbekov to travel abroad to receive medical treatment for an illness related to problems with his liver.

Jeenbekov was arrested in December 2019 in a criminal case related to a violent two-day standoff four months earlier between security forces and supporters of former President Almazbek Atambaev that resulted in the death of a top security officer and more than 170 injuries -- 79 of them sustained by law enforcement officers.

Jeenbekov, Atambaev, and 12 other men and women are charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of the authorities, hostage-taking, and the forcible seizure of power.

Atambaev is currently serving a prison term he received in another case related to the illegal release from prison of a notorious criminal kingpin in 2013.

During mass anti-government rallies in October 2020 sparked by controversial parliamentary elections that led to the resignation of the government, Jeenbekov was released from a detention center and placed under house arrest.

In early August, Jeenbekov was rearrested after a court ruled that he had violated the conditions of his house arrest.

Jeenbekov has rejected all of the charges, calling them politically motivated.

Kyrgyzstan's Committee for Civic Control human rights organization has recognized Jeenbekov as a political prisoner.

Jeenbekov was registered as a candidate for parliamentary elections scheduled for November 28.
MOSCOW -- Ivan Safronov, a prominent former Russian journalist accused of high treason in a case widely considered to be politically motivated, has been placed in solitary confinement for allegedly violating the detention center's internal regulations.



A member of the Public Monitoring Commission in Moscow, Boris Klin, said on November 3 that Safronov was placed in the punitive isolation cell for three days for attaching a TV antenna to his cell's wall to improve the quality of a television set, which is not allowed.



According to the regulations, Safronov was also forced to change his clothes and wear a special prison robe while in solitary confinement. Safronov has complained that he is not allowed to have a sleeping mask to cover his eyes. In punitive isolation cells, the lights are never turned off, which some rights activists say is a form of torture.



Earlier this year, Safronov was banned from sending and receiving letters. More than a year ago he was banned from talking to his relatives by phone. In June, investigators offered to allow him to make a phone call to his mother in exchange for information. Safronov rejected the deal.



The 31-year-old, a former adviser to the head of Russian space agency Roskosmos, was arrested on July 7, 2020, on charges he passed secret information to the Czech Republic in 2017 about Russian arms sales in the Middle East.



Safronov's lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, said on November 2 that the defense team learned that Safronov had been additionally charged with passing classified information to a university in Switzerland and to Germany's intelligence service.



Safronov has repeatedly denied the accusations and his supporters have held pickets in Moscow and other cities demanding his release.



Human rights organizations have issued statements demanding Safronov's release and expressing concerns over an intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia.

With reporting by Meduza and TASS
A Belarusian cargo plane has crashed in southeastern Siberia, and it is feared that all nine people on board were killed, officials said.

The Antonov An-12 aircraft, owned by the Belarusian company Hrodno, crashed and caught fire near Irkutsk on November 3.

Russian news reports said the plane disappeared from radar after trying to make an approach for a second landing following a failed first attempt.

Previous reports quoted local officials as saying that seven people were aboard the aircraft.

Andrei Ryabovolov, the deputy chief of the Emergency Ministrys directorate in the Irkutsk region, said that six bodies were found at the crash site, while rescue teams were looking for the rest.

Ryabovolov said that there were four Russian citizens, three Belarusian nationals, and two Ukrainians aboard the plane.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

The Russian Investigative Committee, the countrys top state investigative agency, said it had opened a criminal case over violation of transport safety rules.

Based on reporting by TASS, Reuters, and AP
Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking China's resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and here's what I'm following right now.

Taiwan Takes Center Stage In Europe

Joseph Wu, Taiwan's foreign minister, just wrapped up a whirlwind tour that took him to a handful of Central and Eastern European countries where he looked to boost the self-governing island's international profile.

I sat down with Wu for an interview during his stop in Prague, where we talked about his current trip, tensions with Beijing, and Taiwan's lessons for other countries navigating complicated ties with China.

Finding Perspective: Wu had a simple warning for countries in Europe and elsewhere that find themselves increasingly tied to China economically and politically: "They should think twice."

A key part of Wu's trip is shoring up support as many countries across the continent are growing frustrated with Beijing. Central to that message is Taiwan's pitch as a small, open, and democratic alternative to China.

That message is likely to get a mixed reception and it faces a tough uphill battle.

For starters, only 15 countries currently have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan and apart from the Holy See, none of them are in Europe.

Most countries transferred their formal ties to Beijing from the 1970s onward and with China's economic and political power rising across much of the world, Taipei has found itself with few official friends.

Why It Matters: By all measures, the trip was a success for Taiwan.

Wu received warm welcomes in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and was embraced on the sidelines in Brussels by several members of the European Parliament, leading to tough statements from Beijing to those that welcomed him.

While many countries in Europe are unlikely to turn away from China and the lure that its economy offers European businesses, the Taiwanese trip -- and the embrace of Wu -- marks a sea change of sorts that many governments will be walking a more defiant line with Beijing in the future.

For Taiwan, that's an important step forward.

Read more

 You can watch some video excerpts from my sit-down with Wu here, which was produced by my colleague Stuart Greer.

 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as part of the G20 summit in Rome over the weekend, where Wang blamed the current Taiwanese leadership for the uptick in tensions.

 During a CNN interview following the meeting, Blinken said that Washington had not changed its "one China" policy regarding Taiwan when asked about early comments made by U.S. President Joe Biden, where he said that Washington could come to Taipei's defense in the event of a conflict.

Expert Corner: More From Taiwan's Foreign Minister

We're doing things slightly differently this week. Here are some more selected quotes from my wide-reaching interview with Foreign Minister Wu in Prague on October 27.

On tensions in the Taiwan Strait: "The way we see it is that the U.S. commitment to Taiwan has been very consistent...and the U.S. explanation is also very clear, that U.S. policy remains unchanged. So, that is how we feel. But again, Taiwan is responsible for its own defense, and we want the United States to help in the process of Taiwan acquiring more defense capabilities, and this is what we are asking the United States for."

On his Europe trip: "What China wants to do is to make sure that Taiwan is dangling out in the international community alone -- no friends, no support. But, of course, as minister of foreign affairs my responsibility is to make sure that Taiwan has friends out there."

On how Beijing sees Taiwan: "Whenever Taiwan is gaining something, or having a new friendship, or being able to do something on the international stage, the Chinese would think that they are losing and they want to cut back on Taiwan's international participation. So, in that sense, it's a very direct competition between Taiwan and China on the international stage."

Do you have a question about China's growing footprint in Eurasia? Send it to me at StandishR@rferl.org or reply directly to this e-mail and I'll get it answered by leading experts and policymakers.

Three More Stories From Eurasia

1. A New Chinese-Funded Base In Tajikistan

Tajikistan's parliament approved construction of a new Chinese-funded base in the country, RFE/RL's Tajik Service and myself reported.

We also reported on an alleged proposal outlined in documents seen by RFE/RL that were sent from the Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe to Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry, which offered ownership of a separate base where Chinese personnel are already based in Tajikistan near the Afghan border.

The Details: The new facilities are not a military base and Tajik officials told my colleagues in Dushanbe there will be no Chinese personnel posted there.

Beyond that, few tangible details were put forward.

Construction of the new facility was approved in Tajikistan's lower house of parliament on October 27 as lawmakers voted on the agreement reached between Tajikistan's Interior Ministry and China's Public Security Ministry.

Tajik First Deputy Interior Minister Abdurahmon Alamshozoda said the facility would be located in the village of Vakhon, near the border with Afghanistan, in the country's remote Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province. The base would be run by the country's Rapid Reaction Group -- special forces that operate under the purview of the Interior Ministry.

It's important to note the Tajik and Chinese ministries involved in this project. Both cover policing and have wider paramilitary powers, but neither oversees the military.

Tajik lawmakers said the new base would carry out policing duties focused on combating organized crime.

Now to the other bit of news here....

According to a communique sent from the Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe to Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry and seen by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon offered to Chinese officials to transfer full control of an existing Chinese base in the country to Beijing and waive any future rent in exchange for military aid from China.

The base referred to in the documents appears to be one RFE/RL reported about a few weeks ago, which is believed to have paramilitary units from China's People's Armed Police.

We don't know if the offer was accepted or not. The Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe did not respond to a request by RFE/RL's Tajik Service about the proposal and a Chinese Foreign ministry spokesperson simply said that "China has no military base in Central Asia."

The Takeaway: As several regional experts noted about the report, this development points to Beijing's added focus toward Central Asia, which appears to be accelerating since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.

"Developments like this were coming, but the instability in Afghanistan has accelerated things," Temur Umarov, an expert on China in Central Asia at the Carnegie Moscow Center, told me. "In the future, we might see Chinese military and intelligence cooperation intensify across the region."

2. Huawei In The Balkans

The Chinese technology giant Huawei signed secret deals with people close to Serbia's state-owned telecommunications company to allegedly win contracts, leaked documents show.

My colleague Iva Martinovic from RFE/RL's Balkan Service and I reported on the news and followed up on an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Serbian-based Crime and Corruption Investigation Network (KRIK) based off documents obtained through the Pandora Papers leak.

The Story: The documents show secret offshore payments made to Igor Jecl, a former executive for Telekom Srbija, Serbia's state telecoms firm, worth $1.4 million in contracts, loans, and consulting fees, as well as an apartment from an offshore company that was given by Huawei for "consultancy," which financial experts told OCCRP "raises red flags for corruption."

The leak also shows that at least $1.16 million (1 million euros) went into offshore companies owned by Jecl and Milorad Ignjacevic, a prominent Serbian lawyer who had business ties to Telekom Srbija.

Iva followed up with Huawei and Telekom Srbija about what's revealed in the leaked documents and I spoke with several experts about how Chinese companies operate in the Balkans. Read the full report here.

Jecl's whereabouts, meanwhile, is unknown. Repeated attempts to reach him for comment received no reply. Records show he no longer appears to maintain an address in Serbia and his company registered in the British Virgin Islands has been closed.

3. 'The Network Wars Have Begun'

I interviewed Jonathan Hillman, an expert on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and author of the new book The Digital Silk Road: China's Quest To Wire The World And Win The Future.

You can read my full write-up and interview here.

What You Need To Know: Although the pipelines, roads, and grand infrastructure projects of China's BRI have garnered the most attention as part of Beijing's efforts to expand its economic and political influence around the world, Hillman focuses on the unfolding digital side, which he argues will make up the new battleground for growing competition between China and the United States.

From 5G to AI-enabled surveillance systems and fiber-optic cables, Beijing and Washington are fighting for control over the networks of the future and, as Hillman writes in his book, "the Network Wars have begun."

In this vein, it is the fight for the markets of tomorrow.

China's success would bring commercial and strategic benefits to the country and allow Beijing to hold the reins on global finance, communications, and the flow of data, which could all be reshaped to better fit its geopolitical interests. (All of which are advantages currently enjoyed by the United States.)

As Hillman told me, expect things to keep heating up on this front. "We have only seen the first phase of the U.S.-China technology competition and it has been mostly focused in developed countries," he said. "But the real competition is set to play out across the developing world."

Across The Supercontinent

Up In The Air: China resumed a direct air-trade link with Afghanistan to restart pine-nut shipments in a bid to assist the country as it deals with a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis, Radio Azadi, RFE/RL's Afghan service, reported.

Pine nuts are a key staple for Afghanistan and their export to China in the past is estimated to generate around $800 million in revenue annually.

What Does China Want?: Here are two podcasts looking deeper into Beijing's ambitions in Afghanistan and Central Asia. The first is an episode of RFE/RL's Central Asia-focused show, The Majlis, and the other is a recording of a live RFE/RL discussion hosted on Twitter Spaces about China and Afghanistan. Take a listen!

Beijing's Turn: While Taiwan's Wu was carrying out his Europe tour, Wang, China's foreign minister, visited a handful of European countries of his own, including Serbia, where President Aleksandar Vucic reiterated his support for Beijing's "One-China Policy," RFE/RL's Balkan Service reported.

An Elusive Visit: Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said that he intends to make his first visit to China as soon as the COVID-19 situation in the country stabilizes, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

To Be Continued: That vague date is also apparently holding up finalizing construction of a long-standing China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project.

According to RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, Beijing has finalized the documents with the Uzbek side, but is waiting on things to be settled with Kyrgyzstan, which will reportedly take place during Japarov's trip to China, whenever that actually may be.

One Thing To Watch

U.S. President Joe Biden on October 31 blamed Russia and China for any disappointment over the level of commitment by G20 leaders to fight climate change.

That lack of commitment appears to be carrying over to the COP26 UN climate talks. Chinese President Xi Jinping won't address the COP26 talks in person or by video, and will send in a note instead.

Now, Xi hasn't left China in 21 months, but his absence and low-level engagement are particularly notable for a country responsible for almost one third of global greenhouse-gas emissions.

At the G20, there was frustration with China, which submitted a new climate pledge that did not significantly change its plans to grow emissions through this decade. Expect those same talking points to air at COP26 and beyond.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.

Until next time,

Reid Standish

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There has never been a shortage of patients in Murod's private dental clinic on the rural outskirts of the southern Tajik city of Bokhtar.



But Murod fears his clinic will go out of business if the crippling electricity blackouts that began in most parts of Tajikistan in October continue through the winter, as many people expect.



"We get a few hours of electricity in the mornings and evenings, but there is no electricity during business hours," said Murod, who doesn't want to give his full name.



Murod says he uses a small flashlight -- or sometimes the light on his mobile phone -- to look into the mouths of his patients and do some "basic work in emergency cases."



"But there is not much I can do without electric power -- I can't drill, for example, and I have to tell the patients to go into the city [where there is electricity]," he said.



The capital, Dushanbe, and provincial centers such as Bokhtar have so far been exempted from electricity rationing that began -- with no official announcement -- early last month.



But the rest of the country goes into a complete blackout from about 8 a.m. to 5-6 p.m. and then from around 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. -- seven days a week.



The daytime blackout coincides with the opening hours of schools, offices, banks, shops, and many other businesses.

One grocery-store owner in the northern province of Sughd said he had "suffered losses as meat and dairy products have gone bad in the fridge without electricity."



"It's 17 degrees today, how can I keep these products without a fridge," said the shop owner, who didnt want to give his name.

Hospital Fears



The worst hurt, however, are rural hospitals, many patients and medics say. Some medical facilities in rural areas have to use diesel-fueled power generators during the power cuts, but not all village hospitals can afford them.



Patients in the Hospital N4 in the village of Khudoyor Rajabov in the southern district of Vose say they spend the nights in dark, cold hospital rooms.



Doctors say they simply don't know what would happen in case of any emergencies during the night. The hospital doesn't have a motor generator.



"My pregnant daughter-in-law has been admitted to the maternity ward here and she is expected to give birth at any time," Vose resident Bibisoro Ghiyosova said.



Ghiyosova hopes the baby's arrival coincides with those several hours in the morning or evenings when there is electricity in the area.



Back To The Basics



Tajik authorities, however, insist there is no energy rationing in the country.



"Media and social-media reports about...any planned electricity rationing are baseless," said the state-owned Barqi Tojik company that oversees the electricity industry in the Central Asian country.



In response to widespread public complaints, Barqi Tojik said in a statement on October 12 that winter preparation works "might" have caused "interruptions in the electricity power transmission" in some areas.



According to the agency, the "necessary" works include cutting tree branches that touch power lines and repairs at power stations and on transmission lines.



The agency didn't provide any date on when the "works" are expected to be completed.

Tajikistan has experienced many years of energy shortages -- many that even lasted throughout the whole year.



But many Tajiks hoped that "electricity rationing" would end after the Roghun hydropower plant -- one of largest in the world -- became partially operational and started producing electricity in 2018.



Once completed, the Roghun plant is expected to double Tajikistan's electricity-production capacity to 3,600 MW, the equivalent of three nuclear power plants. Tajikistan hopes Roghun will turn the cash-strapped country into a major electricity exporter in the region.



The upstream country also has several other hydropower plants, including Norak and Sangtuda.



The current crisis comes as prices for natural gas, coal, and firewood have skyrocketed in Tajikistan, leaving households with no other affordable options or substitutes to heat their homes or cook their meals.



Turghunboi Tursunov, a resident of the northern district of Jabbor Rasulov, says his family usually relied on coal during electricity shortages in the past. But the price of coal has doubled this year.



Tursunov's household needs 2 tons of coal -- worth about $540 -- if the power cuts continue through the winter.



Tursunov says he wasn't able to raise such money -- a very large amount in a country where public-sector workers make less than $150 a month. "Now we're burning dry animal dung as an alternative," he said.



Many Tajiks say the current situation has forced them to go back to the basics when it comes to energy sources.

Written by Farangis Najibullah with reporting by RFE/RL's Tajik Service correspondents in Khatlon and Sughd provinces
Dozens of human rights groups are calling on Turkey to halt plans to deport Turkmen activists to Turkmenistan, warning they could face persecution at home.

Turkmen activists residing in Turkey have faced increased pressure in recent months, with a number of reports suggesting some are being detained, placed in deportation facilities, and threatened with deportation to Turkmenistan.

Taking into account that Turkmenistan has a long record of severely punishing peaceful critics of its government, forcibly returning activists to Turkmenistan would place them at grave risk of persecution, including a high risk of arbitrary arrest, torture, and even enforced disappearance in prisons, 33 Turkmen and international human rights organizations said in a joint statement on November 2.

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Since last year, Turkmen citizens in Turkey have staged protests against authoritarian President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the countrys economic crisis, and restrictions on basic freedoms.

In recent years, Turkmenistans diplomatic missions have refused to renew and replace Turkmen citizens passports, instead forcing them to return to Turkmenistan in order to renew their Turkmen identity documents.

As a result of this policy, many Turkmen migrants cannot comply with the migration laws of the countries where they reside, including Turkey, according to the 33 human rights groups.

Travel restrictions introduced to stem the spread of the coronavirus have also exacerbated the problem, leaving thousands of Turkmen migrants with expired passports without access to employment, education, health care, and freedom of movement.

The situation prompted Turkmen migrants in Turkey to organize a group of civil activists who participated in peaceful rallies outside Turkmenistans diplomatic missions and shared their problems on social media.

Those who criticize Turkmen government policies have been subjected to threats, presumably as a result of pressure from the Turkmen authorities or the law enforcement authorities of Turkey, the human rights groups said.

In addition, there are reports that Turkmen supporters of Berdymukhammedovs government have been threatening and attacking Turkmen civil activists in Turkey, as well as their family members in their homeland.

Turkmen authorities have also reportedly drawn up a list of 25 individuals and handed it to Turkey, in an apparent attempt to quash criticism by having them detained and deported, the rights groups said.

While Turkey has long been sympathetic toward Turkmen migrants and had not penalized them because of expired passports, the rights groups said the situation recently changed as Ankara seeks to get Turkmenistan to join the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States at the bodys next meeting in Istanbul on November 12.

Ahead of the meeting, There has been an increasing number of reports of the arbitrary detention of Turkmen civil activists by the Turkish police, their placement in deportation facilities, and threats of their immediate deportation to Turkmenistan, the rights groups said.

Changes in the policy pursued by the Turkish authorities towards Turkey-based Turkmen activists have occurred, apparently, in response to requests by the Turkmen government, which seeks to put an end to its nationals civic activities abroad, they said.
Ukraine says Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops near its border following military exercises, in what Kyiv described as part of Moscows attempts to exert pressure on its neighbor.

The number of Russian troops not far from the Ukrainian border and in areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine now totals 90,000, the Defense Ministry said on November 3.

The ministry said specifically that units of the Russian 41st army remained in the Russian town of Yelnya, about 260 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border, after Russias armed forces recently held a series of large-scale drills.

"It should be noted that the Russian Federation periodically resorted to the practice of transferring and accumulating military units in order to maintain tensions in the region and political pressure on neighboring countries," it said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters that Russia maintains a troop presence on its territory wherever it deems necessary.

This spring, a massive buildup of Russian troops in the countrys west alarmed Kyiv and its Western backers and fueled fears of an escalation of large-scale hostilities. Moscow later said it ordered the troops back to base.

Relations between Kyiv and Moscow have plummeted since 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula and a war broke out between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The fighting has claimed the lives of 13,200 people.

Earlier this week, the U.S. news outlet Politico reported that commercial satellite photos supplied by the U.S. space company Maxar Technologies showed around 1,000 military vehicles near the Russian town of Yelnya.

"Based on a review of recent satellite images, the equipment (which includes tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery, and associated support equipment) likely began arriving in the area in late September," Maxar said in an e-mailed comment.

At the time, Ukraines Defense Ministry said it had not observed any Russian military buildup near the border.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and TASS
Uzbek authorities have restricted access to most social media and instant messaging platforms for violating the Central Asian countrys personal data legislation, a move felt almost immediately by users.

However, presidential spokesman Sherzod Asadov told local media on November 3 that access to all the sites would be restored soon and that the head of Uzbekistans communications regulator, O'zkomnazorat, Golibsher Ziyaev, had been dismissed for acting wrongly without any authorization.

Earlier in the day, O'zkomnazorat added seven social networks -- Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Moi Mir, Odnoklassniki, Telegram, and YouTube -- to its register of violators of a law in effect since April that requires Internet companies to store the personal data of Uzbek users on servers in the country.

Use of the social networks will be limited in accordance with the established procedure until the identified deficiencies are eliminated, it said in a short statement.

Internet users in Central Asias most populous country reported disruptions to the targeted websites as of November 3, including throttling or reduced speed when using the networks.

The move comes four months after Twitter, TikTok, VKontakte, Skype, and WeChat were put on the list.

WhatsApp services were said to be functioning normally.

The latest restrictions on information in Uzbekistan come after President Shavkat Mirziyoev won another term in an election last month.

Mirziyoev has positioned himself as a reformer since taking office following the death of his authoritarian predecessor, Islam Karimov, in 2016, releasing political prisoners and opening his country to its neighbors and outside world.

Human rights groups say the reforms have not gone far enough.
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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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The Hanoi-based conglomerate that includes branches in finance, banking, aviation, real estate, energy, asset management and investment, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the college on Sunday for the donation.

The money will be used for a new graduate center, graduate scholarships, and to increase the general endowment fund for regular school operations. In a released statement, the college said the gift would be "transformative," as they have long been one of Oxford's least-funded colleges.

Founded in 1962, the multidisciplinary college was named after the 16th Century humanist scholar Thomas Linacre. After the first 55 million portion of the donation is received, the school plans to change its name to Thao College. According to the BBC, the decision still needs to be approved by the Privy Council.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao and Linacre College Principal Nick Brown sign a memorandum of understanding Oct. 31.(Photo courtesy of Sovico)

Thao is well-known as Vietnam's first female billionaire following the founding of VietJet in 2011. Her current wealth is estimated at U$S2.7 billion with diversified investments in aviation, energy, real estate, and finance. She is the vice-president of HDBank, which saw a considerable rise in stock prices in 2021.

The agreement was announced in Scotland amidst the United Nations Climate Change Conference, during which a number of other deals between the UK and Vietnamese companies and institutions were revealed. Notably, VietJet announced a US$400 million deal with Rolls Royce for engines and servicing for their aircraft.
Salem - Joanne E. (Roulier) Bomarsi, 81, of Salem, passed away Tuesday morning, November 16, 2021 in Peabody. Born in Salem, MA, Joanne was the daughter of the late Lionel E. and Alice (Frasier) Roulier. A graduate of the former St. Chretienne Academy in Salem, Joanne worked for many years a
Larry Hoagland, who tried to kill his wife by planting a pipe bomb in her pickup nearly two years ago, stared almost unblinkingly at the faces of family members Tuesday as they spoke at his sentencing hearing about moving on with their lives.

Larry Hoagland, 50, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for trying to kill his wife by planting a pipe bomb in her pickup. 10News ( / 10News)

His 16-year-old son, Jonathan  the last of his three children to speak  called Hoagland the worst representation of what a father could be.

We are such a strong family now, we are better without you, the teen said, turning toward the defense table where Hoagland was seated.

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These are the last words you will ever hear from me.

After hearing this and other emotional statements in the courtroom, El Cajon Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos sentenced Hoagland, 50, to life in prison plus 13 years. Hoagland was convicted May 7 of premeditated attempted murder and three charges related to using an explosive device.

Prosecutors said the defendant, once the respected owner of a photography business in San Diego, made two attempts to kill his wife, Connie, because he wanted to move to Pennsylvania to be with his former high school sweetheart, with whom he was having an affair.

The girlfriend was not aware of the plot to kill.

Larrys plan was to move away and never see us again, said Jaclyn Reagan, 22, Hoaglands middle daughter. And thats the one part of his plan that he was able to carry out.

After Hoaglands children spoke, including 25-year-old Jill, it was his ex-wifes turn to speak. Connie Hoagland called the crimes despicable, a product of his selfishness and narcissism.

You are so in love with yourself, she said. You think you have it all figured out. You had it all and you threw it all away for lust, greed and pride.

Deputy District Attorney Kurt Mechals argued that Hoaglands actions were particularly callous because his wife had loved and trusted him, and had no chance to defend herself.

One bomb he planted failed to detonate and was found in the middle of a street a short distance from the familys home in Rolando. It was on a route regularly traveled by his wife.

Two weeks later, on Sept. 23, 2010, a pipe bomb wired to her Ford F-150 exploded when she started it outside the Rancho San Diego day care center where she worked.

She survived but had serious injuries, spending more than a month in the hospital with burns, cuts and broken bones. She underwent seven surgeries.

Defense lawyer Thomas Palmer had argued in trial that the evidence against his client was circumstantial and not strong enough to prove guilt. He pointed to differences between the two bombs and said his client planned to leave the marriage but do so quickly and quietly.

Larry Hoagland gave a brief statement in the courtroom Tuesday, apologizing to his family, but maintaining his innocence.

I come here today a broken man, he said. Im so very sorry.

Hoagland said he hopes to gain his familys forgiveness eventually, even though he knows he doesnt deserve it, and that they will learn the truth some day.

Im not a killer, your honor, he said. There is nothing diabolical or nefarious about me. The real who and why are still out there.

Connie Hoagland told the judge she believed her husband had previously tried to kill her  by poisoning her coffee and by smothering her with a pillow. She said she has been able to forgive but is thankful he is headed to prison.

I want you to know you have no hold or control over me anymore, she said. I am free.
A lot of people wonder if there is a Costco free one-day guest pass to check out the store before purchasing a membership. The answer?

No, Costco doesnt offer guest passes to their warehouse stores, but that doesnt mean you cant go.

Alternatives to a Costco Free One Day Guest Pass

Although Costco doesnt offer a one-day guest pass, theres a workaround that basically gives you the same opportunity to shop at Costco for one day. What you need to do is get a hold of a Costco gift card. If you have a Costco gift card, you can shop at their warehouses even if you dont have a membership (these also work for purchasing gas at Costco gas stations, which is often the least expensive with the same gas quality as top tier gas stations. In this way, it works exactly like a guest pass.

How Do You Get a Costco Gift Card?

The only people who can buy Costco gift cards are members. You cant walk into a warehouse and buy one if you arent a member. Since you cant buy one on your own, there are two main ways people without a membership get them:

1. Ask a friend who has a membership.

Probably the easiest way to get one is to give a friend who has a membership at Costco the money and ask them to pick up a gift card the next time they go. The least expensive card is $25, but you can buy as much as you want at the store as long as you have a card with some money on it (you simply pay anything above the value of the gift card in cash). You could also request one as a gift for a special occasion (birthday, Christmas, etc).

2. Buy the giftcard on eBay or Amazon.

Another way to get a gift card is to purchase it on a secondary market such as eBay or Amazon if you dont have any friends with a membership, or simply dont want to ask them to buy you one. Again, it doesnt matter what amount is actually on the gift card (it could only be a few cents, and youd still be OK), you just need one with money on it to shop at Costco.

When entering Costco, you simply show the gift card and they will let you pass as if it were a membership card. At check out, tell the cashier you only have a gift card. The cashier will need to have a manager give a special code to accept it (there are always managers on the floor and it only takes a few seconds) and you will be good to go. If your items cost more than you have on the gift card, you will need to pay cash.

Another way to shop without getting a gift card is to shop with a friend who has a membership. You can get inside the store with them, but they will have to pay for all the purchases you make. You can pay them back for your purchases once you leave the store.

So while Costco doesnt have an official one-day guest pass program, there are ways to shop at their warehouses without paying $60 for a membership.

The Free Way to Get a Costco Membership

While I dont recommend this, you can sort of get a Costco membership without paying. The way this works is to use their refund policy. At any point in your membership, you can get your Costco membership refunded. Its an interesting policy that seems ripe for abuse, but Costco will allow you to cancel for a full refund at any time while it is active. So, if you just want to grab a few things, you could purchase and cancel your membership on the same day. If you want to milk it as much as possible, you can even cancel on the very last day of your membership. Morally, this is a pretty questionable route to go. Nonetheless, it is an alternative to paying full price for a membership. It also works pretty similarly to the way a Costco free one-day guest pass might.

Do You Need A Costco Membership? Sams Club Might Be Just As Good

If dont have a Costco membership, it might not be a big deal. You could always ask around and see if you have a friend with a Sams Club membership. Costco is the industry leader in the warehouse retailing space, but that doesnt necessarily mean that its better. It just means that consumers think it is better. In fact, in 2018 Business Insider evaluated both big box stores and found their layout and prices were comparable (here). So, you might not need to get a free one day pass from Costco.

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Connecticut is the ninth most expensive state in the country, which can make it difficult to afford the cost of living while meeting your financial goals. If you need extra money to pay off your student loans or pad your retirement account, getting a side gig may help. Luckily there are lots of flexible and part-time work opportunities throughout the state. From working at a dispensary to removing snow, here are six of the best side hustles in Connecticut.

6 Best Side Hustles in Connecticut

Cannabis Production and Sales

Connecticut just legalized recreational cannabis use in July, a decision thats expected to create 5,000 to 7,000 new jobs. If you have a green thumb, you may be able to get a part-time gig as a plant harvester or trimmer. Dispensaries also need delivery drivers and cashiers with customer service experience. Some cannabis companies even hire security guards to deter thieves.

You can use Indeed to find opportunities in your area or contact local businesses directly and ask if they have open part-time positions.

Snow Removal

Connecticut gets over 35 inches of snow every year. Since most homeowners dont want to spend all winter shoveling their driveways, theres huge demand for snow removal services. You can start your own snow removal business to earn some extra side cash this winter, or work part-time for an existing company.

Although youll earn more money as an owner-operator, youll have to purchase your own equipment up-front. Youll also be responsible for marketing, scheduling, and other administrative tasks. So if you dont have much startup capital or free time, it may be better to work for someone else at first.

Home Health Aide

Home health aide is one of the top ten fastest growing jobs in Connecticut. You only need a high school diploma to enter the field and can earn an average of $14.39 an hour. There are lots of part-time jobs in the home healthcare industry, which makes it a great choice for side hustlers.

Animal Caretaker

Many people got pets during lockdown to combat loneliness. As a result, the pet care industry is expanding rapidly. In the next decade, employment of pet sitters and dog walkers is projected to increase by 33%. So now is a great time to get into this growing field.

An easy way to get started is to join an app like Rover or Wag. These apps connect you with pet owners in your area in exchange for a small percentage of your earnings. Once you gain clients and experience, you may be able to leave the app and strike out on your own.

Real Estate Agent

Real estate is one of the top 3 largest industries in Connecticut, so becoming a Realtor could be a lucrative side gig. Part-time real estate agents who work in the state earn an average of $30,000 and $80,000 per year. Because property values in Connecticut are so high, you dont need to sell many properties to earn a good income.

Substitute Teacher

Connecticut is in the middle of a substitute teacher shortage, so its a great time to become one. You usually need a bachelors degree to work in this field. But some school districts may not require advanced education, especially if theyre short-staffed.

As a substitute teacher, youll enjoy a flexible, part-time schedule and earn an average of $16.24 an hour. If you love spending time with kids, this side hustle could be a good fit for you.

If you live in Connecticut, what are your favorite side hustles? Let us know in the comments section below!

Read More

These Are the Best Side Hustles in California

2021 Side Hustles: Ways You Can Earn Some Extra Cash

Whats Inside the Costco Coupon Book for November 2021?

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The Sunshine State has much more to offer beyond just the sun and the sand. Florida is home to an incredible amount of cultural and biodiversity. It has also long been a fair-weather haven for many retirees and a favorite travel destination for many Americans. However, more and more people are making a permanent move to Florida every year. In fact, two-thirds of its current population was born in other states. In addition to the beautiful beaches and low cost of living, they dont charge a state income tax. So, that means you keep more of your hard-earned money each paycheck. If you are looking to move, here is the current list of the best paying jobs in Florida.

The 10 Best Paying Jobs in Florida

The Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers and publishes data on national salaries every year. With so much data, it can be difficult to find the information you are looking for. However, sites like Zippia break it down and make it easily accessible to the average reader. Other websites like Salary.com compile information from several different reporting agencies to find the median salary of careers across the United States. According to these sites, here are the best paying jobs in Florida.

Chief Executives

Chief Executives have a big job which is why they make the big bucks. Not only do they have the final say in decisions about operations, budgets, and resources, but they are also the face of the company. They represent their corporation when communicating with the board of directors and the general public. The weight of the responsibility varies depending on the size of the corporation, as does the salary. While larger corporations pay their CEOs upwards of $1 million, the average salary is $738,558.

Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists

Any career in the medical field is likely to come with a comfortable paycheck. Yet, some specialties pay much better than others. Due to the extensive training and their expertise in surgical methods to treat illnesses, surgeons are one of the best paying jobs in Florida. They perform both invasive and non-invasive procedures to treat a wide array of conditions. A surgeon will assist you with any illness, condition, or injury which requires a physical correction. Theres no doubt that surgeons who work near the larger cities and resort areas will earn higher salaries. But, on average surgeons take home $384,819 per year.

Obstetricians and Gynecologists

No matter which state you live in, obstetricians and gynecologists are consistently topping the list of best paying jobs. These specialists focus on womens healthcare. However, obstetricians are more involved with pregnancy and childbirth while gynecologists treat a broader range of conditions dealing with reproductive health concerns. If you are interested in specializing in this field, you can expect an average salary of $279,801 annually.

Psychiatrists

Another medical specialty that comes with a hefty salary is psychiatry. Physicians who study and treat mental health conditions provide several support services. In addition to diagnosing and treating mental disorders, they also offer counseling and support to those who are coping with or hoping to prevent them. Although salaries vary depending on educational background and experience, psychiatrists in Florida have a median salary of $223,202.

General Internal Medicine Physicians

General internal medicine physicians, or internists, play an important role in the medical field. They offer nonsurgical treatment options for all conditions, diseases, and injuries to the internal organs. These physicians have an intimate familiarity with all systems of the human body after years of study and hands-on practice. While many move into private practice to earn more money, internists earn an average of $214,662.

Physicians, All Others; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric

This is a broad category that incorporates specialists across several disciplines. To give you some idea of what this category covers, some types of physicians included here are emergency physicians, cardiologists, neurologists, oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, and ophthalmologists. With so many disciplines in a single category, the median salary may not accurately represent each specialty accurately. If you want more information on a specific discipline, you should research salaries in the field you are most interested in. But, generally speaking, physicians earn an average of $202,870 in the Sunshine State.

Family Medicine Physicians

Family medicine physicians see patients from every demographic and treat illnesses that affect the general population across all age groups. They often treat entire families and individual patients throughout their life. These physicians are well-equipped to deal with common illnesses as well as provide referrals to other specialists when necessary. Physicians who go into family practice earn approximately $201,295 per year in Florida.

Dentists, General

Other physicians make plenty of jokes about dentists, yet they remain one of the best paying jobs in Florida. All joking aside, oral health is no laughing matter. Dentists are crucial in helping patients maintain good hygiene and detecting any issues affecting their oral health. Although they may not make as much as other physicians, dentists still net approximately $162,954 per year.

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

The justice system is a key component to maintaining law and order as well as public safety. Judges must exercise patience and fairness in addition to having expert legal knowledge. To reach this position, every judge, magistrate judge, and magistrate has to be an active member of the bar association. Even though Supreme Court justices earn higher salaries than judges in the lower courts, it is still a highly respectable and highly paid position. Based on the most recent statistics, judges in Florida make an average of $162,015.

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Flight crews have the important responsibility of ensuring the safety of their passengers and cargo. They are a vital part of our countrys transportation and economy. Although they follow predetermined routes and schedules, pilots, copilots, and flight engineers must receive specialized training and hold a license to perform their jobs. And, they are well-compensated for their positions, especially in Florida. Positions in these fields are one of the top-paid, non-medical careers earning an average of $133,801 annually.

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Earth has already undergone five mass extinctions in its history, which scientists call the "Big Five." Its first mass extinction is known as the end-Ordovician mass extinction that occurred 445 million years ago, which killed 65% of marine species.

An international team of researchers from the US, Canada, China, Mexico, and France investigated ocean environments before, during, and after the first mass extinction to study its cause. Their study, titled "Vertical Decoupling in Late Ordovician Anoxia Due to Reorganization of Ocean Circulation," was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Earth's First Mass Extinction

The end-Ordovician mass extinction is the oldest of the Big Five mass extinctions, according to Discover Magazine. About 445 million years ago, simple life forms on Earth first knelt to death. These creatures are mostly bacteria and archaea that flourished for 3 billion years before going extinct.

The Ordovician period follows the Cambrian Period, an era well-known for the evolutionary explosion of animals that populated the world whose descendants still live today.

Many vertebrates, mollusks, arthropods, and other taxonomic groups that lived in the Cambrian period were growing and diversifying at an extraordinary rate until their abrupt downfall because of the end-Ordovician mass extinction.

Paleobiologist Seth Finnegan from the University of California, Berkeley told the online magazine that the Ordovician period was a very interesting time because it had the largest and most rapid biodiversification events and one of the largest mass extinction events. He added that these two major events during this period are tied up in the physical changes in the environment.

ALSO READ: Unknown Eocene-Oligocene Mass Extinction that Wiped Out 60 Percent of Mammals Discovered for the First Time

What Caused the End-Ordovician Mass Extinction?

In Dr. Finnegan's new study, he and his team investigated the oceans to uncover what caused the end-Ordovician mass extinction. He said the oceans during this period contain some of the first reefs made by animals but lack the abundance of vertebrates.

Sci-News reported that one of the major debates surrounding the cause of the first mass extinction is that anoxia or lack of oxygen in seawater caused the event that killed 85% of marine species.

Dr. Finnegan and his colleagues integrated geochemical testing with numerical simulations and computer modeling to determine whether this theory is true. Then they measured iodine concentration in carbonate rocks from the Ordovician period that will serve as an indicator of changes in oceanic oxygen levels.

They found no evidence that supports the theory of anoxia during the extinction event in the shallow ocean animal habitat where most marine species lived. That means climate cooling that occurred during that time and other factors are likely responsible for the extinction event.

However, they found evidence of anoxia in the deeper parts of the ocean, which remains a mystery for the tea. They said that upper-ocean oxygenation in response to cooling is expected, but expanded anoxia in the lower ocean is generally associated with global warming caused by volcanism.

Deep Ocean Anoxia

According to Science Daily, the team attributed the deep-sea anoxia to the circulation of seawater throughout the oceans around the world, an important component of the climactic system. Researchers noted that their computer modeling results show that climate cooling likely altered ocean circulation patterns that halted oxygen-rich water from flowing to the deep ocean.

Although scientists may not fully agree upon the causes of end-Ordovician mass extinction, this study rules out the changes in oxygenation as the only reason for this event and adds new data favoring climate cooling as a killing mechanism during that period.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Planet's First Mass Extinction Was Caused by the Production of Oxygen



Check out more news and information on Mass Extinction in Science Times.
Liquid crystals are known to be the core of the technology used in modern-day innovations, including LCDs, that the global population utilizes every day. Among the systems that are equipped with liquid crystals are the screen displays of smartphones, televisions, and other optical devices.

University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering expert Juan de Pablo along with other molecular engineer colleagues, recently conducted a new study that allows the stabilization of the most-advanced liquid crystals available in today's industry. Called the blue phase liquid crystals, this structure is comprised of both the specialized liquid and crystals that have a better capacity of reflecting visible lights than the standard liquid crystals. According to PhysOrg, the results from the research could be the gateway to a distinct and better development of optical technologies that will surpass the current variants at hand in the current industry.

Liquid Crystals

Liquid crystals have been the best choice of basis in advanced display technologies due to their chemical characteristics. One of the things that elevate liquid crystals among the previous optical choices is that they contain a molecular orientation exhibiting a uniform formation. This feature is absent in many digital displays that are equipped to older devices, including televisions and computers.

Chiral liquid crystals are the main interest of the examination conducted by de Pablo and their team. According to their analysis, the specified type of liquid crystal contains an asymmetrical handedness. The aspect is similar to the ambidextrous condition in humans, where both hands perform tasks equally and with ease. With this characteristic, the chiral liquid crystals are able to process optical behaviors that are more vast compared to the standard liquid crystals.

Chiral liquid crystals have the capability to create a form known as blue phase crystals. According to the study, this form could reflect both blue and green lights in a better way than the usual liquid crystals. In addition, the reflection in blue phase crystals could be manually switched on and off in just a short amount of time. The only issue with these crystals is that they can only exhibit the specialized process and exist in an environment with lower temperatures. The crystals, although surpassing the usual optical function, are deemed unstable. Just a few increases in the temperature will disrupt the blue phase crystals and destroy their composition on a molecular level.

ALSO READ: Nanocrystal-Glass Composites: Researchers Develop New Innovation That Can Produce 'Unbreakable' Screen in Devices

Stabilizing Blue Phase Crystal

With that said, the experts conducted a series of experiments through simulations that will allow them to obtain the stabilization required for blue phase crystals. The main evaluation was done through an approach called the double emulsion. In this method, the authors combined a water-based solution core to an outer layer that is made of an oily solution of the chiral liquid crystal to form a droplet. The core and shell droplet fusion was then suspended to a separate water-based solution that would not mix with the specimen.

The process allowed the experts to trap the crystals in their blue phase state under the right temperatures and apply it to the polymer network, which did not destroy the properties of the specimen.

The study was published in the journal ACS Nano, titled "Control of Monodomain Polymer-Stabilized Cuboidal Nanocrystals of Chiral Nematics by Confinement."

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After receiving an offer in 1977 to become the next president of Scottsdale Community College, the late Dr. Art DeCabooter told his wife, Mary: Well, well try it for a year or so. If we like it, well stay and buy a bigger home with a pool. If not, well go back to the Midwest.
Get ready for "the big dark" as many Seattleites know it: the city is set to lose an hour and 10 minutes of daylight this Sunday as Daylight Saving Time (DST) comes to an end.

Washington will return to standard time this Sunday at 2 a.m., and clocks should be set back one hour to reflect the change. But many residents might remember that the Legislature passed a bill to keep the state in DST year-round in April 2019.

So why are we still falling back this year?

It's because the move to permanent DST would require federal approval, either through Congress passing legislation or by order of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. But if federal approval does come, you can expect the entire West Coast to all be on the same schedule as both California and Oregon have also approved year-round DST.

A total of 19 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round DST, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Both Hawaii and Arizona  with the exception of some tribal lands  operate on standard time year-round. Puerto Rico, Guam and several other island territories also observe standard time year-round.

Earlier this year, Washington Sen. Patty Murray and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio introduced legislation that would make DST permanent across the country, ending the cycle of falling back and springing forward. However, the bill appears to have stalled and has not moved past the introduction and referral phase according to official logs from Congress.

"Our Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 would extend Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanently, so Americans can enjoy having sunlight during their most productive hours of the day and never have to worry about changing their clocks again," wrote Sens. Murray and Rubio in an op-ed. "Its a bipartisan effort, and support is only growing in Congress and around the country."

The effects of seasonal time changes have long been studied on the human body, with many scientists finding that the change increases stress and hinders sleep as the body works to adapt. Fatal car accidents were even found to spike after DST ends, as the switch increases sleep deprivation.

"When we spring forward, the clocks on the wall advance, but our body clocks do not change so readily," University of Oregon organizational psychologist David Wagner wrote in a 2018 opinion piece. "It generally takes a few days for us to adapt to the time change in a way that allows us to fall asleep at our typical time. The upshot is that Americans sleep approximately 40 minutes less than usual on the Sunday to Monday night following the switch."

But until Congress gives approval, Washingtonians should be ready to fall back this Sunday and spring forward on March 13, 2022 as usual.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)  Louisville Democrat Charles Booker promised Wednesday to take his message about the shared interests of all Kentuckians to every corner of the state as he filed to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul in next years elections.

Booker submitted his paperwork a day after Democrats suffered a stinging loss in the governor's race in neighboring Virginia. The defeat escalated alarms within the party about its broader prospects in next year's midterm elections.

Booker, a former state lawmaker, already faces a daunting task in trying to unseat Paul, who is seeking a third term in a state trending solidly toward the GOP.

A Paul-vs.-Booker contest would present Bluegrass State voters with starkly different philosophies. Paul is a libertarian-leaning conservative who denounces deficit spending, foreign aid and government overreach. Booker promotes a progressive agenda with racial and economic justice themes.

Booker on Wednesday faulted Democrats for a willingness to concede the narrative to Republicans in rural parts of the nation. Looking to build an urban-rural coalition, the Black former lawmaker promised to take his hood to the holler themes to regions of Kentucky that have become GOP strongholds. The emphasis will be on our common bonds, Booker said.

We have to show up and earnestly engage folks and listen to them, he told reporters. When I stood on the tracks with miners, they talked to me about sustainable energy. When I stood with teachers in western Kentucky, they told me how they want to fully and equitably fund public schools. When I speak to farmers, they're understanding that climate change is real.

Paul has tried to portray Booker as being out of step with the state's electorate. The senator, who ran for president in 2016, has drawn attention to law enforcement and school governance issues seized on by other Republican candidates nationwide.

Paul's deputy campaign manager, Jake Cox, said Wednesday that the senator "will continue his fight for fully funding our law enforcement and for parents rights.

Booker rose to prominence as a U.S. Senate candidate in 2020 by touting racial and economic justice themes that coincided with protests erupting in Louisville and other cities across the country after the deaths of Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans in encounters with police. Booker touts Medicare for all, anti-poverty programs, a clean-energy agenda and criminal justice changes he says would help white Appalachians as well as people living in Louisville.

Paul was first elected to the Senate in the tea party-driven wave of 2010. He rails against socialism and big-government programs he says encroach on individual liberties and drive up the nations debt.

Booker narrowly lost last years Democratic Senate primary to Amy McGrath, an establishment-backed rival who was trounced by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell in the general election.

Kentucky has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  The International Criminal Court is opening a formal investigation into allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings committed by Venezuelan security forces under President Nicolas Maduros rule, the first time a country in Latin America is facing scrutiny for possible crimes against humanity from the court.

The opening of the probe was announced Wednesday by ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan at the end of a three-day trip to Caracas.

Standing alongside Maduro, Khan said he was aware of the political fault lines and geopolitical divisions that exist in Venezuela. But he said his job was to uphold the principles of legality and the rule of law, not settle scores.

I ask everybody now, as we move forward to this new stage, to give my office the space to do its work, he said. I will take a dim view of any efforts to politicize the independent work of my office.

While Khan didnt outline the scope of the ICCs investigation, it follows a lengthy preliminary probe started in February 2018  later backed by Canada and five Latin American governments opposed to Maduro  that focused on allegations of excessive force, arbitrary detention and torture by security forces during a crackdown on antigovernment protests in 2017.

Human rights groups and the U.S.-backed opposition immediately celebrated the decision. Since its creation two decades ago, the ICC has mostly focused on atrocities committed in Africa.

This is a turning point, said Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch. Not only does it provide hope to the many victims of Maduros government but it also is a reality check that Maduro himself could be held accountable for crimes committed by his security forces and others with total impunity in the name of the Bolivarian revolution.

It could be years before any criminal charges are presented as part of the ICCs investigation.

Maduro said he disagreed with Khan's criteria in choosing to open the probe. But he expressed optimism that a three-page letter of understanding he signed with the prosecutor that would allow Venezuelan authorities to carry out their own proceedings in search of justice, something allowed under the Rome statute that created the ICC.

I guarantee that in this new phase we will leave the noise to the side and get down to work so that, together, the truth can be found, said Maduro.

Maduros government last year also asked the ICC to investigate the U.S.  which is not among the ICCs 123 member states  for its policy of economic sanctions focused on removing Maduro. Venezuela considers the U.S. sanctions tantamount to unlawful coercive measures that have spelled poverty for millions of Venezuelans.

Khan's predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, had indicated there was a reasonable basis to conclude that crimes against humanity had been committed in Venezuela, echoing the findings of the U.N.s own human rights council last year. But she left the decision to open any probe to her successor Khan, a British lawyer who took the reins of the ICC earlier this year.

-

Goodman reported from Miami
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Poland's foreign ministry said Wednesday that it summoned a Belarusian diplomat over an intrusion into Polish territory of "uniformed individuals armed with long guns.

Polish soldiers noticed three uniformed people with long weapons, said Stanislaw Zaryn, the spokesman for Polands security services.

After meeting a Polish patrol, they reloaded their weapons and then departed towards Belarus, Zaryn said.

Zaryn told The Associated Press that the incident occurred about 300 meters (300 yards) into Poland from the border with Belarus.

It was enough to assume that it was not a mistake, he said.

The incident comes as Poland, a member of the European Union, faces significant migration pressure on its eastern border with Belarus. That border forms part of the EU's eastern frontier with autocratic Belarus.

The foreign ministry spokesman, Lukasz Jasina, said that the incident took place on the night between Monday and Tuesday.

He said that the Belarusian charge d'affaires, Alexander Chesnovsky, was summoned to Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

During the meeting, a deputy foreign minister, Piotr Wawrzyk, demanded an explanation and emphasized that that the actions taken by the Belarusian authorities in recent weeks have the increasingly evident hallmarks of a deliberate escalation.

Wawrzyk pointed out that Poland deems such actions unacceptable and won't tolerate them. He highlighted that Poland is determined to defend its borders and the external borders of the European Union, Jasina said in his statement.

There was no immediate comment from the Belarusian side.

In recent months, thousands of migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa have been lured to Belarus on tourist visas and encouraged to cross into Poland, Lithuania, and to a lesser extent Latvia  the three EU nations bordering Belarus.

Polish and other EU leaders have accused the government of President Alexander Lukashenko, which is backed by Moscow, of encouraging the migration as a form of hybrid warfare aimed at creating instability in the region and the EU more broadly.

In Brussels, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said Wednesday that territorial intrusion into Poland, if confirmed, "would be yet another provocation from the side of (the) Lukashenko regime against the European Union and its member states.

Zaryn said that that there has been a series of incidents and provocations organized by Belarusians, but this was the most dangerous and serious incident so far.

He said the other incidents have involved Belarusian forces pointing guns in the air and shooting blanks when they meet Polish soldiers and guards. In other cases, Belarusian forces have destroyed a razor wire barrier on the border or encouraged migrants to do so, Zaryn said.

___

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President Biden announced his first two nominees Wednesday to the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, both women and veteran jurists: Jacqueline Scott Corley, who serves as a magistrate on the court, and Trina Thompson, an Alameda County Superior Court judge.

The nominees continue Bidens record of increasing judicial diversity. Thompson, if confirmed by the Senate, would join another Biden nominee as the only Black women among 61 federal trial court judges in California. Another newly announced nominee, Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, would become the second Latina among those judges if confirmed to U.S. District Court in San Diego.

Biden and the Senate Judiciary Committee have made significant progress in placing highly qualified judges on the federal bench and making the federal judiciary better reflect the nation it serves, Californias Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, both members of the committee, said in a joint statement praising the nominations.

Corley, who attended UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School, practiced law from 1994 until 2011, when she was first appointed by the Northern Districts judges to be a magistrate judge. Magistrates conduct pretrial hearings and settlement conferences, preside over misdemeanor criminal cases, and, with the consent of both parties, can hear a full range of civil cases.

Thompson graduated from UC Berkeley and its law school, then practiced criminal law for 16 years as a public defender and private attorney before being elected to the Superior Court in 2002.

In 2019 she presided over the trial of two men charged in the fire that broke out in 2016 at a party at the Ghost Ship warehouse, in Oaklands Fruitvale neighborhood, and killed 36 people. One defendant, Max Harris, was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter, but the jury deadlocked on co-defendant Derrick Almena, who ran the warehouse along with Harris. Almena, who had been jailed for four years, pleaded guilty this January to the 36 manslaughter charges in an agreement that allowed him to spend the last 1 years of his sentence in home confinement.

Thompson was also named by President Barack Obama in 2011 as a member of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which oversees federal programs for juvenile crime prevention, detention and programs related to missing or abused children.

Also on Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held its first hearing on Bidens nomination of Gabriel Sanchez, currently a justice on the states First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

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Sanchez, a former farm labor attorney, worked for Gov. Jerry Brown as an adviser on crime and prison issues for seven years before Brown appointed him to the appeals court in 2018. At Wednesdays hearing, several Republican senators berated him for his role in Proposition 57, the voter-approved measure backed by Brown in 2016 that made thousands of state prisoners eligible for earlier parole hearings if their crimes were classified as nonviolent.

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Sanchez of endangering Californians by enabling the release of serious criminals, although state reports have shown no increases in violent crime. Sanchez noted that the U.S. Supreme Court had ordered California to reduce its prison population, and he appears likely to win confirmation, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who follows judicial appointments and observed the hearing.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
A day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention heartily recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for use in children ages 5 through 11, families around the Bay Area rushed to line up for shots.

Santa Clara County was among the first in the region to offer vaccinations at county-run sites. It was ready to administer thousands of shots on Wednesday, and mobile clinics will offer doses near schools starting Thursday.

Tiana Huynh, who was among the first to arrive at the vaccination site at Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Jose, was thrilled to get appointment slots for her two children Wednesday morning.

Ever since the adult vaccine came out, Ive been following all the news and studies for the pediatric vaccine, she said. Now they can start going back to playdates and seeing people again.

Her son, Nathaniel, 9, was not scared before getting his vaccine and helped reassure his sister, Katherine, 7.

I was a little bit scared, Katherine said, adding that her dad said his arm hurt when he got his shot.

But both kids were feeling great after their shot, and their mom was relieved.

Its like a breath of fresh air, Huynh said.

The federal government has promised enough vaccine to protect the nations 28 million kids in this age group, but some places in the Bay Area didnt have doses yet or needed a bit more time for other reasons.

Several counties in the region, including San Francisco and Alameda, pointed families to the states vaccination website (myturn.ca.gov), which said visitors could find appointments and locations of walk-in clinics for the pediatric doses  one-third the amount given to older children and adults and administered with kid-size needles  beginning Thursday. It promised that vaccine availability will increase in the coming days.

At Kaiser Permanente, were looking at being able to book appointments for our patients as early as tomorrow and administering shots by Monday, said Dr. Keedra McNeill, a pediatrician in the North Bay. As a mother of children ages 6 and 8, she said she and her husband reacted to the news of the CDCs endorsement with a big collective sigh of relief.

Allocation of vaccine doses to Kaiser clinics is coming from the state, McNeill said. As soon as we receive them, were going to start delivering shots in arms.

The vaccine requires two doses delivered three weeks apart, plus two more weeks for full protection.

Children who get their first shot before Thanksgiving will be protected by Christmas.

The overall impact that they have suffered over this past two years is something we cannot take for granted, said McNeill. They can really start to engage in those regular activities as families.

On Tuesday night, more than a thousand San Francisco parents joined a virtual question-and-answer session with public health officials hours after the CDC signed off on the vaccines. Some wondered why they should vaccinate their children if severe COVID-19 is less common in that age group.

At some point, many of the current mitigation measures in place like mask mandates will go away, said Dr. Susan Philip, the San Francisco health officer.

When the health orders are rolled back, we want children to have the lasting protection for their own health and the health of their peers, she said.

The city has four school-based vaccine clinics that will be open to all 5- to 11-year-olds, plus dozens of sites at health care facilities and community centers. Parents can also take kids to pharmacies or their pediatricians.

Walgreens planned to start kids vaccinations on Saturday and said parents could sign up starting Wednesday online or by calling 800-Walgreens (800-925-4733). CVS was also accepting appointments online and by phone at select pharmacies starting Sunday.

In San Jose, the vaccination site was calm and quiet as children walked in holding hands with their parents. Specially trained medical staff gave kids fist bumps.

Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate chief medical officer for Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, said her team prepared all Tuesday night to get ready to distribute vaccines. Their shipment of the lower-dosage vials for kids arrived Tuesday.

Tong said parents who didnt make an appointment on Wednesday should not worry.

As a parent myself, I can say children pick up on our emotions, she said. We will have plenty of inventory and capacity over the next few months.

Several parents asked during the San Francisco meeting if they should wait until more people are vaccinated, or until the vaccine has full federal approval  not just emergency authorization  to get their children shots.

The panelists all said the vaccine is well-vetted, and they encouraged parents not to delay vaccinating their kids.

The clinical trials show its safe and effective, Philip said. Its the same vaccine thats been given to millions of people across the world now, and it has been safe and effective in those individuals.

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The vaccine is almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections, according to a Pfizer study. The FDA examined 3,100 vaccinated children to assess that the shots are safe.

I understand people have additional concern about their kids, Philip said. I want to emphasize, even if our kids are healthy there is still a risk, a small risk but still a risk, of COVID. With the delta variant still the dominant strain, its just a matter of time: Either get vaccinated or get infected.

State officials said the vaccines would help provide an off-ramp for the pandemic.

Last years winter surge was devastating in our state, and it is critically important that all eligible Californians supercharge their protection against COVID-19 ahead of the winter months, Dr. Mark Ghaly, Californias health secretary, and Dr. Tomas J. Aragon, the health officer, said in a joint statement. By getting more family members including children ages 5-11, vaccinated, we can celebrate the holidays safely and help avoid preventable hospitalizations and deaths.

Kate Elsley of San Carlos and her wife pulled their kids, Finn and Piper Washburn, out of school in Palo Alto when slots opened on Wednesday.

We put our lunches in the car, and we raced down here, she said.

Finn, 9, and Piper, 6, were happy to have their shots done.

I told three teachers that I was getting my COVID vaccine, and Im the fourth in the school to get it, Finn said.

Im excited for Thanksgiving, he added.

His sister was a little bit nervous, so she brought her special blanket in from the car.

I was more excited, Piper said, especially since this means she can eventually wear her mask less.

Well, we also need our second shot, Finn reminded her.

Aidin Vaziri, Danielle Echeverria and Erin Allday are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com, danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com, eallday@sfchronicle.com
Most people are used to whipping out their smartphones to track their latest online orders with airstrike-like accuracy. But the technology on some delivery vehicles also closely monitors the drivers, tracking everything from whether they are wearing seat belts to engine idle time and even whether they are taking too many time-consuming left turns.

That data can be fed into algorithms to determine the safest, most fuel-efficient routes and speediest delivery times. It can also be used to track a particular drivers behavior and inform performance warnings, said Doug Bloch, political director of Teamsters Joint Council 7, which represents many UPS drivers with those kinds of onboard systems in California. (A UPS spokesperson said the company uses technology to track packages and driver behavior for safety, but not for disciplinary purposes.)

That is because despite the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act that took effect last year, how data is collected and used about people in workplace settings and most industries is still largely unregulated  even when it comes to remote workers logging in from home.

Workers currently have very little knowledge or say about any of these technologies, or how they are used, Annette Bernhardt, director of the Technology and Work program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, said in an email. They dont know what data is being collected on them or when they are being monitored.

Bernhardt, along with Lisa Kresge and Reem Suleiman of the labor center, released a report on Wednesday outlining how employees in a variety of industries are tracked and surveilled in the course of doing their jobs, and what rights workers should have over how information about them is collected, stored and used.

Titled Data and Algorithms at Work, the Case for Worker Technology Rights the report looks at how productivity tracking and data collection has not only become commonplace for delivery drivers and warehouse workers, but extends to almost every industry, from grocery store clerks to home-care workers and many people who traded their offices for working from home.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 2020

The report argues that workers in all industries should be told what data-driven technologies are being used in their workplace, and should be notified when electronic monitoring or algorithms affect their job or working conditions.

In the last century we decided that workers should have the right to safe workplaces and a minimum wage and the freedom to organize, Bernhardt said in an email. We think of technology rights in the same way  theyre the new labor standards that need to be added for the 21st century workplace.

The report also looks at other uses of technology at work and how it could be regulated. For example, how using algorithms to sift through job candidates, do background checks or monitor social media accounts can discriminate on the basis of race and gender.

Workers have no way of understanding, let alone challenging, how those kinds of automated decisions are made, Bernhardt wrote.

The report brings up a timely issue that could see wrangling during the state legislative session next year.

While Californias landmark consumer data privacy law was hailed by many privacy advocates, legislators also mostly exempted employees and contractors from the law when it came to their data privacy rights at work.

Because those employee exemptions end on Jan. 1, 2023, You can expect to see this issue raised in 2022, during the next legislative session, said Emory Roane, policy counsel at the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

This is a critically important issue, said Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, D-Woodland Hills (Los Angeles County), who chairs the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. I expect to see movement on it in the next legislative session.

Remote work and other monumental shifts wrought by the pandemic have also increased the adoption of tracking and monitoring software and hardware, said Ken Wang, policy associate for the California Employment Lawyers Association.

Bernhardts report points to keystroke logging technology and webcams that can tell when a person goes off task as examples of tech that can keep track of people even when working from home.

While there are some rules around where security cameras can be installed and California requires both parties to consent to audio recordings, Wang said that for the most part companies just get to deploy whatever they want in terms of tracking software.

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The issue of productivity tracking came up during the 2021 legislative sessions with the recently signed AB701. The state law limits warehouse speed quotas so that they dont jeopardize safety, with a particular eye to Amazon fulfillment centers. The law did not delve into workers rights around how any technology is used to set quotas.

Business groups are already gearing up for a legislative battle. California Chamber of Commerce policy advocate Shoeb Mohammed said in an email, What are often referred to as employee surveillance technologies are in-fact commonplace workplace productivity tools, which provide accountability to and for employees, customers and businesses by providing transparent and unbiased access to workplace information.

Mimicking the protections of the consumer privacy law could create problems in the workplace setting, he said. For example, if an employee uses their work email to engage in harassment or illegal conduct, granting that employee an absolute right to delete would impact the ability for a victim of such conduct to bring a claim later in time, Mohammed said.

In the meantime, unions and collective bargaining agreements are the main way for workers to have a say in what technology is used on them at work. But their efforts need to be complemented by robust regulation for those workers who are not in unions, Bernhardt, the author of the UC Berkeley report, said in an email.

As the deputy policy director for SEIU Local 2015, Amanda Steele has seen the issue come up firsthand. The chapter represents nursing home workers across the state as well as thousands of In-Home Supportive Services workers, a program funded with federal Medicaid dollars.

In 2016, when the federal government wanted to closely track workers movements with GPS and other technology to verify tasks and care visits with an eye to fighting fraud, Steeles union pushed back. Steeles members in California made some changes to how they log time, but their locations arent monitored, she said.

Thats invasion of privacy, said Rachell Lewis, an in-home care worker and SEIU member, of the idea of tracking her location at work. She said it would have been a distraction that interferes with her caregiving, adding: Thank god we have a union.

Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice
The San Francisco Police Department said Tuesday that it placed as many as 70 employees on leave who failed to meet the citys vaccination deadline this week.

In a news release Tuesday, SFPD said 97.5% of its employees  2,747 out of 2,817  were fully vaccinated by Mondays deadline. The department did not explicitly say how many employees were placed on leave or how many may have received exemptions, but noted that those who were not fully vaccinated and those who did not provide vaccination records were placed on leave pending termination proceedings.

By late September, nearly 200 SFPD employees had applied for a religious exemption from the city mandate, far more waiver requests than any other city department. Eight officers has requested medical exemptions.

But San Franciscos vaccine mandate for city employees, one of the strictest in the country, does appear to have succeeded at persuading many unvaccinated police department employees to get their shots. On Sept. 23, 366 SFPD employees were unvaccinated, and by Oct. 2, that figure had dropped to 189 employees, according to city data. Of the 70 employees who were not fully vaccinated on Tuesday, 54 are sworn officers, officials said.

The departments vaccination rate sits well above San Franciscos citywide rate of about 76%. Nearly 98% of the citys 35,000 workers were fully vaccinated as of Friday. Individuals must have received the final dose of their vaccine regimen at least 14 days before Mondays deadline in order to be considered fully vaccinated under San Franciscos guidelines.

Of the police departments 2,090 sworn officers, 2,036  or 97.4%  were fully vaccinated by Monday. Forty-one sworn officers were not at all vaccinated, and 13 sworn officers were partially vaccinated, officials said.

Among the departments 727 non-sworn or civilian employees, 711  or 97.8%  were fully vaccinated by Monday. Ten civilian employees were not at all vaccinated, four others were partially vaccinated and two had not submitted any vaccination records, officials said.

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In late September, with many officers still unvaccinated, the police department shuffled some jobs around to make sure the force could continue to do its job while keeping unvaccinated officers from putting themselves and the public at increased risk of infection. Chief William Scott transferred 10 sergeants and 31 officers from support units to patrol duties to assure that we continue to fulfill our core functions of patrol, investigations and public safety, he said at the time.

The police department could impose additional redeployments in the coming days to ensure that it is able to continue to operate safely, police said.

Even if a worst-case scenario were to force staffing reductions due to our unvaccinated members, the San Francisco Police Department will have the resources necessary to fulfill its duties to preserve the peace and protect the safety and property of those we are sworn to serve, Scott said in a statement.

Andy Picon is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon
The governing board of the UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco voted unanimously Tuesday to work with state lawmakers to change its name.

The ugly truth about its founder, Serranus Clinton Hastings, a wealthy 19th century rancher and former chief justice of the California Supreme Court who sponsored massacres of Native American people in Mendocino County, has come increasingly to light in recent years, to the horror of the schools leaders, alumni and the descendants of the Yuki and other victimized tribes.

That legacy is a stain associated with the name and the college. To move forward with this is the right thing to do, Claes Lewenhaupt, a great-great grandson of Hastings and a member of the schools Board of Directors, said of the name change.

In 1859, Hastings, who had also served as Californias attorney general, handed Gov. John Weller a petition from white settlers in Mendocino County asking that a militia help them eliminate an impediment to their expansion: the areas Native Americans. As the settlers moved in, their livestock decimated the areas Indigenous people depended on for food, so tribes retaliated against the whites  and were brutalized in return.

When action from Weller wasnt immediately forthcoming, historians write that Hastings masterminded a plan for the settlers to hunt and slaughter Native Americans themselves. The campaign he helped finance became part of a three-year murder spree known as the Round Valley Settler Massacres, in which more than 1,000 members of the Powe Nom  more commonly called Yuki  and other tribes were killed.

Hastings used his money and clout to enforce the mass removal of tribes from their land, support their enslavement  and found the University of Californias first law school, with $100,000 in gold.

With the deal in 1878 came a new state law: The school in San Francisco shall forever be known and designated as the Hastings College of the Law. It would remain independent of the UC Board of Regents. And a descendant of its founder would forever hold a seat on its governing board.

Today, Hastings ranks among the nations leading law schools. Its alumni include Vice President Kamala Harris; U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo; and former California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

But in an era of rising backlash at memorializing the perpetrators of atrocities, efforts have intensified to remove Hastings name.

Im not terribly proud of carrying the Hastings name on my law license. There is no forgiveness in this, said Brown, also former San Francisco mayor and member of the Hastings class of 58.

Trial lawyer Joseph Cotchett, class of 64, is perhaps Hastings most generous alumni donor. Half of the roughly $10 million hes given helped establish the Cotchett Law Center at 333 Golden Gate Ave., which opened last year and is part of a major Hastings expansion.

Cotchett told The Chronicle he would pull his name from the building if Hastings remains.

I will do everything in my power as a 55-year alumnus of Hastings to change the name and to honor the Indian tribes that were massacred and were taken advantage of, Cotchett said. I certainly dont want my name affiliated with an individual who would conduct himself in that fashion.

Aware that a name change would require a change in state law, he and others turned to state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco.

Hastings definitely needs a name change, Wiener said. The idea that this institution would be named for someone who exterminated Native Americans is untenable. To me, its a no-brainer.

Wiener is expected to introduce legislation, perhaps next week, that would allow Hastings to be removed from the schools name.

If that happened, would Hastings heirs request a return of their ancestors investment  plus interest?

No idea, Lewenhaupt told The Chronicle. Lewenhaupt, who descends from Hastings on his fathers side, is the youngest of eight children and isnt sure which of Hastings seven children he descends from.

In all, its a lot of heirs to lay claim to a potential fortune. Robert Sall, Hastings class of 78 and former president of the schools foundation, expressed concern at Tuesdays meeting that the idea of repaying the heirs will be deeply offensive to the tribes and that the college will find itself in the midst of litigation and perhaps a public uproar.

Hastings General Counsel John DiPaolo said if it came down to it, he would argue that the statute requires repayment only if the school ceases to exist, and that that is not whats happening.

Prompted by a 2017 opinion piece in The Chronicle by lawyer John Briscoe titled The moral case for renaming Hastings College of the Law, David Faigman, chancellor and dean of Hastings, pulled together committees and studies to figure out what to do. At first, he advised against a name change, arguing to the board that the name was a valuable asset and that changing it would help no one.

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Instead, working with the Round Valley Indian Tribes, who include the Yuki, he instituted a list of restorative justice initiatives. Those in progress include providing free legal aid programs for the tribes of Round Valley, creating an Indigenous Law Center for students who want to study Native American law, helping the tribes with repatriating artifacts and human remains, inviting tribal elders to lecture at the school, helping the tribes apply for grant money, and building a public memorial to the Yuki people on campus.

Over time, Faigman has changed his mind and said Tuesday that he fully supports the resolution to remove Hastings from the 143-year-old schools name. It is time that the name be addressed and changed, Faigman told the board.

Brandon Hupka, who is part Jicarilla Apache and president of the UC Hastings Native American Law Students Association, served on the Restorative Justice Advisory Board convened by Faigman. At first, he said he too was skeptical of the wisdom of throwing away the name associated with a great school.

But we cant just let this guy get away with what he did and continue to call the school Hastings, Hupka told The Chronicle. Its not like he was just a bad guy. He was a facilitator of genocide. So the gravity is profound.

Abby Abinanti, chief tribal judge for the Yurok Tribe in Northern California and retired San Francisco Superior Court commissioner, said shes been writing letters to the deans of Hastings for years but has seen no results.

Their school motto is justice, for crying out loud, she said.

The true name of the Yuki is Powe Nom, descendants say. They and other tribes, sometimes warring with each other, were forced onto a reservation together in the 19th century in Round Valley. Descendants say Yuki means enemy.

Natasha Medel, a descendant of that tribe, attended the Tuesday board meeting.

Thank you for moving this forward, she said. I look forward to standing next to you and doing what is right for my people.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
Glenn Youngkins victory in the Virginia governors race showed California Republicans a narrow path to victory in 2022  and the answer seems to be less Donald Trump.

Youngkin, a wealthy GOP business executive who has never held public office, defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor who had a massive advantage in name recognition to start the campaign. But Youngkin began confounding Democrats by keeping the former GOP president at arms length and channeling the anger and frustration of parents who felt shut out of school decisions.

Some of Youngkins education positions wouldnt get far in more left-leaning California. One of his closing ads featured a Virginia mother who sought to ban Beloved, Toni Morrisons Pulitzer Prize-winning 1987 novel depicting the horrors of slavery because it gave her 17-year-old son nightmares when he had to read it for his Advanced Placement English class. McAuliffe called the ad a racist dog whistle because it tried to silence a Black author.

Nevertheless, paired with fumbling by McAuliffe, who lacked a coherent message other than anti-Trump anger and was dismissive of parents concerns, Youngkin romped in a statewide sweep of power.

It was really smart because there is a pent-up anger among parents, said Katie Merrill, a California Democratic strategist who advises campaigns nationally and in the state. And, she said, there are signs something similar could be politically salient in California.

You see it with the San Francisco school board recall, she said. Would you ever have expected more than 200,000 signatures to be gathered in the city of San Francisco?

To be sure, California has a much bluer and more progressive electorate than Virginia, which has historically been a swing state. California Republicans had one of their best shots at a statewide seat in the September recall election and failed, epically.

But the seeds of the Virginia race, which captivated the nation during an off election year without many other close contests, hold insight for California races.

Two groups are trying to qualify measures for the November 2022 ballot in California that seek to tap into similar parental frustration. Both would give students somewhere between $13,000-$14,000 annually in taxpayer funds to use at the private or parochial school of their choice.

Youngkins ability to funnel parental anger into a voting stream was good news for Mike Alexander, a proponent of one of the proposed California ballot measures, and president of the Pasadena-based School Choice Foundation.

What has happened here is that during COVID the government has pitted itself against the individual, Alexander said. Nowhere has the battle between the individual and the government been more intense or more emotional than it has in the schools.

Sam Oh, a GOP strategist who advises Orange County Reps. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, and Young Kim, R-Fullerton, said that political parent movement is a powerful one. I think that can be a huge galvanizing, motivating factor behind the midterms next year.

Merrill agreed, saying parental power could be powerful in House races, particularly in Orange County where Steel and Kim flipped Democrat-held seats and likely will face tough re-election battles in these swing suburban districts dominated by parents  people with kids in schools.

Then again, Democrats can be powerful parental messengers, too. Rep. Katie Porter, an Orange County Democrat, has made her status as a single mom a centerpiece of her pitch to voters.

Other aspects of the Virginia race wont likely resonate in California. GOP talking points about transgender students and the teaching of critical race theory that got limited traction in politically purple Virginia would likely go nowhere in deep blue California  and likely did little more than fire up the conservative base in Virginia.

Far more incendiary in igniting parents in Virginia was McAuliffes comment during a debate last month when he defended his veto as governor of a measure that would have have notified parents when there was sexually explicit content being taught.

Im not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decision, McAuliffe said. I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.

The Youngkin campaign turned the line into an ad and pounded McAuliffe with it for the rest of the race, with polls showing an erosion of trust in the Democrat to handle education.

Such parental frustration is not necessarily unique to Northern Virginia, said Lance Trover, a GOP strategist who advised Steel and Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County) last year. Parents are clearly concerned about schools. Tack on McAuliffes devastating comment and if parents werent angry enough, this would make them irate.

Trover, who still advises Steel, praised Youngkins ability to stay focused on kitchen table issues even when McAuliffe tried to tie him to Trump. McAuliffe and Democrats repeatedly attempted to goad Trump into campaigning for Youngkin to allow them to paint the Republican as a lackey of the far right, but Youngkin assiduously avoided direct campaigning, even as he accepted Trumps endorsement.

That stands in contrast with the top Republican in this falls recall, Larry Elder, who ran as a full-throated Trump acolyte. Elder performed well among the states Republicans voters, but was an utter failure statewide and a gift to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faced a Democratic voter enthusiasm gap until Elder became the leading candidate to replace him.

Even Trump took note of this Tuesday night as the returns started coming in.

It is looking like Terry McAuliffe's campaign against a certain person named Trump has very much helped Glenn Youngkin, Trump said in a statement. All McAuliffe did was talk Trump, Trump, Trump and he lost! What does that tell you, Fake News? I guess people running for office as Democrats wont be doing that too much longer.

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Trump thanked his base for coming out in force and voting for Glenn Youngkin. Without you, he would not have been close to winning. The MAGA movement is bigger and stronger than ever before.

While Democrats Newsom and Sen. Alex Padilla face no real challengers at this point in their re-election campaigns next year, Youngkins playbook could help other Republicans in the state.

Oh said Steel and Kim both stared down attempts to be tied to Trump last year when he was on the ballot. When Trump isnt running, Oh predicted that strategy would be even less successful.

Its a reminder to Republicans that we need to be talking about the issues that people are faced with and we need to have a clear and concise message, Oh said.

Garcia said Tuesday that Virginia is a carbon copy of his district. Contrary to what liberal progressives are pushing in Washington, D.C., Californians and Virginians want lower taxes, affordable living, clean water, safe neighborhoods and to have their voices heard.

Though it remains to be seen what happens in statewide redistricting, Californias swing-seat Republicans could be crucial to House control after next years midterms. Some, like Kim and Rep. David Valadao of Hanford (Kings County), have distanced themselves from Trump and the right wing of the party, with Valadao being one of just 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over his egging on of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Others, like Garcia, have joined the majority of their party in grievance politics and sowing baseless doubt over the 2020 election results. Whether they take after Youngkins more moderate messaging or Elders full-throated embrace of Trump next year may determine their futures.

In statewide office, a few California Republican candidates have already been trying to subtly distance themselves from Trump in the early days of their 2022 campaigns.

Anne Marie Schubert, the Sacramento district attorney and lifelong Republican turned independent who is running for state attorney general, shrugs off efforts to tie her to Trump by saying that she wrote in former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for president.

Lanhee Chen, a former top Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio policy adviser running for state controller, steadfastly declines to say whether he voted for Trump.

Every candidate has got to deal with external factors and you have to ask yourself, How do you want to deal with them? said Chen, a Mountain View resident. Anytime you focus on the future and you can talk about state-specific issues, that can only work in favor of your campaign and I think (Youngkin) is demonstrating that.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Tal Kopan is The Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com, tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli, @talkopan
New disclosures from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. show how the Dixie Fire could compound the companys long-running legal woes and test a new system California established to protect its large investor-owned power providers from financial ruin.

The utility revealed in a quarterly report Monday that federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into the companys suspected role in causing the fire. On Oct. 7, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of California served PG&E with a subpoena for documents related to the huge blaze, the company said.

The U.S. Attorneys Office declined to comment.

Additionally, PG&E said its liabilities from the Dixie Fire could total at least $1.15 billion. The low-end figure includes property damage and other claims from hundreds of victims who have sued the company, but it does not include a range of possible costs, including government claims for fire suppression or damage to national forest and park lands.

Still, the estimate appears sufficient for PG&E to ultimately seek some reimbursement from a multibillion-dollar insurance fund the state created two years ago to give the states major electric companies a financial cushion against legal claims from wildfires caused by power lines. PG&Es current projection would have it seeking $105 million from the fund, with the rest of its liabilities covered by insurance and other sources.

The disclosures are a sign of how PG&Es fire problems remain severe more than one year after it emerged from bankruptcy and pleaded guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter over its responsibility for the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in state history in 2018.

PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo said company officials are working every day to make it safe and make it right by resolving claims from past fires and trying to make the electric system safer.

Our hearts continue to be with everyone who was affected by the Dixie Fire, Paulo said in an email. As weve shared previously, we believe our actions around the time of the Dixie Fires ignition show that we are a reasonable operator of our electric system.

Though California fire officials have not determined the cause of the huge blaze, which burned 963,309 acres and destroyed most of the Plumas County town of Greenville, it appears to have been sparked when a tree fell on a PG&E power line near Cresta Dam in the Feather River Canyon. PG&E has said it is cooperating with the state investigation into the fires cause. The fire started on July 13 and was 100% contained on Oct. 24.

The newly revealed federal investigation into the Dixie Fire threatens to add to the companys already-lengthy criminal record. In addition to the felonies it pleaded guilty to last year, the company is about two months away from the end of a five-year federal probation that arose from convictions related to the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion.

If federal prosecutors investigation of the Dixie Fire results in a conviction for PG&E, the company could wind up back on probation later, said Robert Weisberg, a professor at Stanford Law School and faculty co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center.

Still, any Dixie Fire prosecution of PG&E  and the prospect of another probation term  would raise a lot of practical questions, Weisberg said, because it seems like were just doing this over and over and over again.

Nobody worries about cruel and unusual punishment for corporations, but ... how many ways can the government try to regulate PG&E? he said.

More convictions could be on the way, as PG&E was hit this year with other criminal charges because of its role in igniting major wildfires in Sonoma and Shasta counties in 2019 and 2020. Those cases are ongoing in state court.

Also, local prosecutors are conducting their own Dixie Fire criminal investigation of PG&E, and people who lost homes in the blaze have filed civil lawsuits against the company.

Civil claims alone have imperiled the companys finances before. In January 2019, PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection because of massive liabilities from a series of devastating wildfires it caused, including the 2018 Camp Fire that virtually leveled the town of Paradise and killed 85 people. The company exited bankruptcy last summer.

Several months after PG&Es bankruptcy filing, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB1054, a bill he championed in large part out of concern that Californias escalating wildfire crisis was creating a financially untenable environment for the major electric companies.

AB1054 established an insurance fund that PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric can tap into if their power lines spark a wildfire that exceeds $1 billion in damages and the total isnt covered by insurance.

The fund, backed by a charge on consumers electric bills and direct payments from the utilities, was designed to ultimately reach about $21 billion. As of August, it had $10 billion available.

Should PG&E follow through on seeking money from the fund, it would be the first time the process has been used.

PG&E would have to pay the fund back, up to a certain amount, if the California Public Utilities Commission finds that the companys conduct related to the fire was not reasonable.

If state officials deny PG&E a safety certification or conclude that its conduct showed conscious or willful disregard of the rights and safety of others, PG&E would have to pay everything back to the fund.

PG&E continues to face regulatory pressure, too. Safety enforcement staff at the state utilities commission on Tuesday unveiled a proposal that would make PG&E shareholders pay $40 million to the state general fund because of the 2019 Kincade Fire.

PG&E would also have to spend $85 million, without raising rates, to remove abandoned transmission equipment. Commissioners will consider the proposal for a vote Dec. 2.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
The South Bay is getting a new Korean-inspired bar and restaurant this month, where a fine dining chef plays with Korean ingredients and French techniques to create dishes such as a kimchi buckwheat crepe.

Bar Bonmot will open in early November at the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel at 19429 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino, inside the former Gentry Bar & Eatery space. Debuting with dinner Thursday through Saturday only, the restaurant will eventually expand to offer lunch and dinner daily.

Chef James Lim, whos cooked at Michelin-starred restaurants including Spruce and the now-closed Mosu in San Francisco and Providence in Los Angeles, is behind the menu here. A Korean native who grew up in Los Angeles, the bar and restaurant is a distillation of his heritage and years in high-end kitchens. Take the smoked date and potato puree topped with crispy perilla and candied anchovies. The puree pulls from French technique, while the perilla leaves and baby anchovies are ingredients commonly found in Korean cooking. It will also be served with a sourdough focaccia glazed in preserved pumpkin syrup, the latter a classic Korean flavor.

Other dishes will include that crepe filled with house-made kimchi and crispy tofu, plated over a soybean cream. Because its a bar, there will be finger foods like crispy pork ribs glazed in a banana gochujang sauce.

Courtesy Albert Law

Drinks are distinctly Korean as well, like the bars take on a dirty martini, made with the juice of dongchimi (radish water kimchi) instead of olive brine, or a whiskey highball featuring barley tea and soju.

This may be a hotel bar, but dessert isnt an afterthought. Think slightly earthy ice cream made from burdock root and soymilk, drizzled with aged date syrup. A sweet potato chiffon cake comes encased in a burnished, deep orange shell that mimics the skin of a sweet potato. All of the food will be served on ceramic tableware made by Lim and his wife, from a striking dark blue plate to a jet-black bowl shaped like an open tulip.

Its a very personal experience that were trying to show to our guests, he said.

Courtesy Albert Law

Bar Bonmot joins a growing wave of restaurants defying the stereotype about the Bay Areas lacking Korean dining scene. And demand is high: San Ho Won, the much-anticipated Korean barbecue spot from Benu chef Corey Lee, opened this week to nearly sold-out reservations. San Franciscos wildly popular Daeho Kalbijjim & Beef Soup, where theres often a long wait, is expanding to San Mateo and plans to open even more locations in the Bay Area.

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While Lim grew up surrounded by an abundance of Korean food in Los Angeles, he said it feels like momentum is building in the Bay Area with more interest in Korean culture and food.

Its a good thing to see, he said.

Bar Bonmot. 19429 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino. barbonmot.com

Elena Kadvany is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: elena.kadvany@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ekadvany
With sweeping views of San Francisco, a striking bohemian design and food from one of the regions most famous chefs, the Bungalow Kitchen by Michael Mina might be Marin Countys most ambitious restaurant.

Opening Wednesday at 5 Main St. in Tiburon, the 12,000-square-foot restaurant will seat 300 people across multiple rooms, each with its own distinct vibe. The goal is to make the two-story waterfront space feel like a private clubhouse without actually being a private clubhouse  and to give people a reason to stay out until 2 a.m. in a normally sleepy town. The restaurant is already finding an audience, with reservations currently impossible to get online.

The Bungalow Kitchen is a collaboration between Mina, who runs more than 40 restaurants across the country, and Brent Bolthouse, who left the nightclub world to open two Los Angeles bars called the Bungalow.

With the bars, Bolthouse wanted to create a house party energy, so he built spaces with several rooms and couches to mimic a residential atmosphere. That same idea is maintained with the Bungalow Kitchen, only its ramped up with American comfort food from Mina. There are pool tables, fireplaces and stained glass windows, plus DJs on Friday and Saturday nights.

Provided by AVABLU

We know its ambitious, but I also feel like this is a beautiful space that hopefully invites people to stay out a little longer, to have a nightcap with us and enjoy that view of San Francisco, Bolthouse said.

The space was designed by Martin Brudnizki, an acclaimed Swedish architect known for bold, decadent spaces like legendary London club Annabels, New York Italian spot Carne Mare and the Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The new Tiburon restaurant is full of rich colors, blown-up photos of famous musicians and comfy lounge seating, plus three bars and a massive, sun-drenched terrace with a retracting awning.

Given the number of times Mina has heard pleas to open a restaurant in Marin, he is putting several of his famous dishes on the menu to appease fans. That includes tuna tartare, mixed table side with chiles, pine nuts and habanero-sesame oil; caviar parfaits, layered with crispy potato cakes, smoked salmon and whipped creme fraiche; and showstopping pot pies filled with a whole Maine lobster and truffled lobster bisque.

Courtesy Angelo Clinton / Mina Group

Beyond the chefs personal classics, Mina wanted to offer a range of dishes so folks could drop by for a light snack with a cocktail, split a pizza with friends or linger over a multicourse feast. Some dishes lean into the Bay Area, such as Dungeness crab Pop-Tarts, shrimp Louie lettuce cups and garlic noodles with shrimp.

There will always be handmade pastas, like wild mushroom agnolotti finished with a carbonara-inspired sauce, alongside oak-fired steaks and a Wagyu burger topped with Cowgirl Creamery cheese. Toppings for the thin-crust pizzas will change seasonally, starting with shaved Brussels sprouts and ricotta. For a full dinner with a drink, Mina expects most people will spend about $75.

I use comfort food loosely. We want it to be accessible, Mina said. Its not about the tweezers and how many components are on the dish.

Courtesy Angelo Clinton / Mina Group

Weekend brunch is also on offer with options like hot chicken and waffles sprinkled with spicy, yuzu kosho-spiked honey, and toasted coconut French toast, slathered with lemon curd, strawberry compote and pistachio praline for crunch.

To drink, there will be cocktails and a hefty wine list of 150 bottles. One page is devoted entirely to Marin County wines, while another page features wines paired with Bolthouses favorite music, which will be frequently played on the speakers. (Think Pinot Noir, made from grapes grown in west Marin County, from Darling Wines with Leon Bridges soulful Coming Home.)

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Mina and Bolthouse first toured the former Guaymas Restaurant space more than four years ago with the idea that Mina would open a restaurant and Bolthouse would open a bar. Since they had already worked together on a restaurant more than a decade ago in Los Angeles called XIV, they decided to join forces. Even though the Tiburon restaurant has been in the works longer, the pair also opened a Bungalow Kitchen in Long Beach earlier this year.

Provided by AVABLU

Now, theyre excited to finally see it come alive, perhaps aided by the Tiburon Town Councils recent decision to subsidize a late-night ferry service thatll bring San Francisco residents just steps from the Bungalow Kitchen. Diners who cant get their hands on one of those hard-to-get reservations can try snagging a seat at the bar until more slots open up.

It has this beautiful residential feel to it, Mina said. What I told my friends out here is, Youre going to thank me because youre never going to have to throw a party in your house again.

The Bungalow Kitchen. 5-10 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. The bar will open daily at 3 p.m. starting Nov. 10, with lunch to come. 5 Main St., Tiburon. bungalowkitchen.com

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
Parents and legal guardians can now schedule an appointment for their children ages 5 to 11 to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at some CVS and Walgreens pharmacies in the Bay Area.

CVS on Wednesday said it will begin administering vaccines at select locations for children ages 5 to 11 on Sunday. Walgreens said its pharmacies will offer the vaccine starting Saturday.

Appointments for both companies were available starting Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed COVID-19 vaccines for children 5 to 11 and recommended that they get vaccinated. The agencys approval came a week after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer vaccine for young children.

Heres how to find and schedule an appointment with CVS and Walgreens:

Walgreens

Walgreens will begin vaccinations for kids ages 5 to 11 on Saturday. Starting the following Monday, certain locations will also take appointments during after-school hours, the company said.

Parents and legal guardians must include the childs birth date to schedule an appointment and must be present at the time of the vaccination.

There will also be a 15-minute observation period after the immunizations, with stickers, activity sheets, candy and a photo opportunity available for children at their appointment.

To find and schedule an appointment, visit Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine, or use the Walgreens app. You can also call 1-800-925-4733.

More appointments will be available in the coming weeks as Walgreens receives additional vaccine, the company said in a statement.

CVS

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The company said 266 stores in California are now accepting appointments for Sunday.

Parents or legal guardians must schedule the appointment for the child and be present at the time of vaccination.

You can find an appointment online at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app.

As vaccine allocation increases, additional CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic locations will be added, and online scheduling tools will be updated regularly to reflect the new stores with available appointments, Monica Prinzing, a spokesperson for CVS Health, said in a statement.

Jessica Flores is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores
Monterey County residents will be required to wear masks indoors in public spaces starting Friday, just as parts of the Bay Area move toward loosening their rules for face coverings.

The mandate was triggered by the countys move into the orange substantial coronavirus transmission category on the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions COVID-19 transmission map. Monterey County was previously in the yellow moderate tier  albeit briefly  with county officials recommending but not requiring masks inside.

An ordinance that went into effect on Oct. 29 said that masks become mandatory, regardless of vaccination status, seven days after Monterey County moves into either the substantial or red high community spread tier.

Monterey County reported 372 cases over the past seven days. That is a 168% increase over the previous week, according to data collected by the CDC. The county also reported 10 deaths last week, up from two in the seven days before.

About 60% of the countys total population is fully vaccinated. Most new cases are in children between the ages 12-17, with rates more than twice as high in unvaccinated residents.

The entire Bay Area slipped back into the substantial and high categories on Monday, including counties like Marin and San Francisco that were previously moderate.

Despite the regression, Marin County lifted its indoor mask mandate after reaching other key COVID-19 benchmarks agreed upon by eight Bay Area county health departments, also tied to high vaccination and low hospitalization rates.

The new rule in Monterey County will remain in effect for up to 30 days unless rescinded by county supervisors.

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Masks may be removed while actively eating or engaged in other activities where a face covering cannot be worn, such as swimming or during a cosmetic procedure.

They are also not required in meetings for attendees who show proof of vaccination, as long as those who are unvaccinated wear masks at all times except for eating and drinking.

Residents who do not comply with the mandate may face a fine, according to county officials.

Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP)  A 16-year-old boy was in critical condition Tuesday after being shot in the head while waiting at a bus stop.

Lawrenceville police said the Central Gwinnett High School student was waiting for a bus around 6:30 a.m. when two other teenagers, ages 17 and 18, walked up to him and one of them shot him in the head, news outlets reported.

Neighbors spotted the suspects running through yards and helped direct police to them. Two suspects are in custody, police said.

Police said the shooting stemmed from a fight on Monday between the teens.

They had a history where they had some sort of conflict, and of course this was the result, Lawrenceville Lt. Jake Parker said.

Central Gwinnett High School's principal, Shane Orr, confirmed the shooting in a statement to students.

I do not have many details at this point, as this situation is still being investigated by the police. I have been notified that a 10th grader at our school has been identified as the victim. The police do have the person responsible in custody, and, unfortunately, the preliminary information I have received is that this individual is also a student at our school, Orr said.

Orr said there was no word on the condition of the student who was shot.

This is a grave situation and our thoughts are with the family of this student, he said.

Parker said the shooting happened around 6:30 a.m. Officers said the student was listed as critical at an area hospital.

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The victims mother, Latoya Nicholson, identified the shot student as sophomore Timothy Barnes Jr. She said her son was shot in the head and is currently brain dead. She said she now has the decision to make on whether or not to take him off of life support, WXIA-TV reported.

A 17-year-old suspect is in custody and faces multiple charges, Parker said. An 18-year-old was also arrested, but Parker said his involvement remains under investigation.

Authorities have not released the names of the victim or the suspects in the case.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Activists vowed Wednesday to keep fighting for substantial changes to the Minneapolis Police Department, despite the defeat of a ballot initiative that would have replaced it with a reimagined public safety unit in the city where George Floyd died under an officer's knee.

The initiative, which evolved from the defund the police movement that took hold after Floyd's death in May 2020, would have removed a requirement that the city have a police department with a minimum number of officers. But more than 56% of the citys voters rejected replacing it with a Department of Public Safety with a more holistic vision and less reliance on cops with guns.

Still, some supporters of the ballot item insisted it wasn't a total defeat and that their efforts had spurred nationwide consideration of policing reforms.

Minneapolis has been the catalyst for that conversation and it is one the nation should not walk back on, said Minister JaNae Bates of the Yes 4 Mpls campaign, the driving force behind the amendment.

Despite Tuesday's election outcome, momentum for change is building in cities like Austin, Texas; Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, said Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the civil rights organization Advancement Project National Office. Narrowing the scope of reform is not the answer, she said.

Weve seen the whole array of reforms and the police are still killing people, she said.

Rashad Robinson of Color Of Change PAC said social movements can take years to create sweeping change, and this one has pushed a major shift in the conversation in a short time.

I couldnt imagine a ballot measure like this even being on the ballot three years ago, he said. Movements lose until they win.

But Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired police sergeant and spokeswoman for the advocacy group National Police Association, called the vote a stake through the heart of the defund-the-police movement.

David Schultz, a political scientist at Hamline University in St. Paul, said the proposal failed because it couldnt escape its proximity to the defund movement and the pledge by nine City Council members to dismantle the department at a rally shortly after Floyds death.

Even though, technically speaking, this amendment wasnt defunding the police, I think the messaging came out and people were thinking this is about defunding the police, Schultz said.

Mayor Jacob Frey, who opposed the amendment, was declared the victor Wednesday, but five City Council members, including some of the leading proponents of the amendment, were defeated.

We need deep and structural change to policing in America. And, at the same time, we need police officers to make sure that they are working directly with (the) community to keep us safe, Frey told supporters Tuesday night.

But activists are skeptical of Freys ability and willingness to deliver. Michelle Gross of Communities United Against Police Brutality said Frey hasnt exactly been a change agent even if it sounds like hes saying the right things.

The problem is hes had a year and a half to get something done and hes done zero, Gross said. Between the state and the city we have not done one thing that would ensure that we dont have another George Floyd-type incident.

A Star Tribune analysis of Tuesdays election found the strongest support for the ballot question in areas populated by younger voters, including around the University of Minnesota, and in the part of the city where Floyd died in May 2020. Opposition was stronger in wealthier areas, but it was also strong on the citys largely Black north side, where many residents had worried that eliminating the police department would make them more vulnerable to violent crime.

"If Minneapolis does not make fast and far-reaching changes to its police force, this kind of ballot will pass in the future. University of Minnesota political scientist Larry Jacobs said.

The calls for change are real and urgent, University of Miami criminologist Alex Piquero said. With the failure of police reform in Congress, he said, change will likely happen on the local level, city by city.

These things dont happen overnight, as much as everybody wants to happen a year ago. It takes time. Youve got to recruit, youve got to train, youve got to change the mentality ... before youre going to start to see the change at the street level, Piquero said.

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The amendment debate split conventional liberals from progressives, and even police accountability activists, some of whom saw the amendment as a distraction that diverted energy and resources away from potentially more productive approaches.

Now that we have gotten past this we can get down to the business of doing what we really needed to be doing all along, said Gross, whose group did not support the amendment because it considered it too vague.

Gross recalled that activists pushed a slate of nine bills in the 2021 legislative session, and only one made it into law. The Senate Republican majority wouldnt hold hearings on the others, she said. She said they will need more bodies at the Legislature" in 2022 to make the phone calls and do to the other work necessary to get anything passed.

Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, who also opposed the ballot measure, said the people who pushed for the amendment need to stay involved for the long haul.

If they're serious about their desire for change they need to put their boots on the ground and get active in doing the work, Levy Armstrong said. It's a heavy lift and there has to be more engagement by residents beyond the polls and the rhetoric we had to contend with in this election. Imagine if all those resources that were spent on mailers were used to advocate for legislative changes at the policy level. It would make a huge difference.

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Whitehurst reported from Salt Lake City. Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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This story was first published on Nov. 3, 2021. It was updated on Nov. 4, 2021, to correct the name of activist Michelle Gross group to Communities United Against Police Brutality.
Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Schoolchildren who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic.

Health officials hailed shots for kids ages 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.

Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday  a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At a Decatur, Georgia, pediatricians office, 10-year-old Mackenzie Olson took off her black leather jacket and rolled up her sleeve as her mother looked on.

I see my friends but not the way I want to. I want to hug them, play games with them that we dont normally get to, and have a pillow fight with her best friend, Mackenzie said after getting her shot at the Childrens Medical Group site.

With the federal government promising enough vaccine to protect the nations 28 million kids in this age group, pediatricians offices and hospitals began inoculating children. Schools, pharmacies and other locations plan to follow suit in the days ahead.

The atmosphere surrounding the launch of shots for elementary-age students was festive in many locations. California vaccine sites welcomed children with inflatable animals and handed out coloring books and prizes. Vehicles lined up before dawn at an Atlanta site.

Many pediatricians offices expected strong interest in the shots at least initially, but health officials are worried about demand tapering off. Almost two-thirds of parents recently polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they would wait or not seek out vaccines for their kids.

Brian Giglio, 40, of Alexandria, Virginia, brought his 8-year-old son, Carter, in for vaccination at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, where kids with underlying conditions got first dibs. Carter has Type 1 diabetes that puts him at risk for complications if he were to become infected.

Giglio said the vaccine was like a hallway pass for us to begin living life again. And Carter said he cant wait to leave masks behind once hes fully vaccinated, so he can smell the things he used to be able to smell without it.

Im ready to trash it, he said, though the CDC still recommends masks in schools and indoor public spaces where virus activity is high, even for the fully vaccinated.

Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, was first in line Wednesday for a drive-through vaccination at Viral Solutions in Atlanta. The girl enthusiastically bounced around the car before the shot, which she broadcast live on her computer during morning announcements at her elementary school.

Afterward, Cate said she was looking forward to hugging her friends and celebrating her birthday indoors next month instead of having a freezing cold outside birthday party.

Hartford Hospital in Connecticut vaccinated seven youngsters Tuesday night, minutes after the CDCs director gave the OK, and three more early Wednesday. As they got their shots, one girl squeezed her eyes shut and a boy barely flinched, and other waiting kids applauded.

The vaccine  one-third the dose given to older children and adults and administered with kid-sized needles  requires two doses three weeks apart, plus two more weeks for full protection. That means children who get vaccinated before Thanksgiving will be covered by Christmas.

The timing before winter holidays is very fortunate, said Dr. Jennifer Shu, whose Childrens Medical Group office in Decatur, Georgia, began vaccinating first thing Wednesday. This age group will be able to spend holidays with friends and family more safely than they have been able to since the start of the pandemic.

Thousands of pediatricians pre-ordered doses, and Pfizer began shipments soon after the Food and Drug Administrations decision Friday to authorize emergency use. Pfizer said it expects to make 19,000 shipments totaling about 11 million doses in the coming days, and millions more will be available to order on a weekly basis.

Authorities said they expect a smooth rollout, unlike the chaos that plagued the national one for adults nearly a year ago.

Asked about parents having trouble finding vaccine appointments, White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said the vaccines.gov website will be updated by Friday for parents to search for locations near them. He said the kid vaccination campaign will be at full speed next week as Pfizer continues to ship millions more doses to locations around the country.

More than 6,000 vaccination clinics are being planned at schools around the country before the winter holiday break, he said.

Walgreens planned to start kids vaccinations Saturday and said parents could sign up online or by calling 1-800-Walgreens. CVS was also accepting appointments online and by phone at select pharmacies starting Sunday.

Despite the initial enthusiasm, not everyone is rushing out to get shots.

Hannah Hause, a Colorado mother of four children ages 2, 5, 7 and 8, is herself vaccinated, but wants to see how the child vaccines play out and are studied in the larger childhood population.

Its not studied long-term. It just makes me nervous, she said. As long as I can wait, I will wait.

At a White House briefing Wednesday, Walensky said authorities thoroughly reviewed all available data on the vaccines safety, efficacy and the immune response it generates before recommending shots for kids.

Dr. Ada Stewart, a Black family physician in Columbia, South Carolina, and past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said shes seen the toll the virus has taken on younger children  not just in family illness and death but with school disruptions, slipping grades and mental strain.

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School closures throughout the pandemic have disproportionately burdened children of color, widening academic gaps and worsening mental health, according to data presented Tuesday to CDC advisers. It showed more than 2,000 COVID-related school closures in just the first two months of the current school year.

A Pfizer study of 2,268 children found the vaccine was almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections. The FDA examined 3,100 vaccinated kids in concluding the shots are safe.

Some skeptics have questioned the need for kids to get vaccinated since they are less likely than adults to develop severe COVID-19. But with the delta variant, they get infected and transmit just as readily as adults do, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a recent White House briefing.

Infected kids have also contributed to the U.S. toll  almost 46 million infections and more than 740,000 deaths.

Since the pandemic began, at least 94 children ages 5 to 11 have died from COVID-19, more than 8,300 have been hospitalized and over 5,000 have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to the coronavirus. Black and Latino youngsters and those with chronic conditions are among the hardest hit.

Kyevontay Jordan, 7, who is Black, has diabetes and got his shot at Childrens National Hospital in Washington. The vaccine gave his dad peace of mind.

Now I can sleep not worrying about him going to school, said Brian Jordan. Being exposed to the coronavirus could really affect him and mess him up.

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Associated Press writers Patty Nieberg in Denver, Angie Wang in Washington, Lauran Neergaard in Alexandria, Virginia, and Kate Brumback and Ron Harris in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at https:(backslash)(backslash)twitter.com(backslash)LindseyTanner.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
LONDON (AP)  Queen Elizabeth II urged world leaders attending the U.N. climate summit to rise above the politics of the moment," saying in a video message Monday that she hoped they could work together for the sake of future generations.

The 95-year-old monarch had been expected to attend the Glasgow meeting, but she had to cancel the trip after doctors said she should rest and not travel. The queen recently underwent medical checks and spent the night at a London hospital -- her first hospital stay in years.

In the video message, recorded last week at Windsor Castle and played Monday during a welcoming reception for presidents and prime ministers, the queen said many people hoped leaders at the summit recognize that the time for words has now moved to the time for action.

I, for one, hope that this conference will be one of those rare occasions where everyone will have the chance to rise above the politics of the moment, and achieve true statesmanship, she said. History has shown that when nations come together in common cause, there is always room for hope."

In a tribute to Prince Philip, my dear late husband, the queen said she was happy to welcome the delegates because the environment was a subject close to Philips heart. In a rare public display of emotion, she said she could not be more proud that Philips environmental efforts live on through the work of their eldest son, Prince Charles, and his son Prince William.

The monarch, who has reigned for 70 years, closed with a poignant line about future generations.

Of course, the benefits of such actions will not be there to enjoy for all of us here today: we none of us will live forever, she said. But we are doing this not for ourselves but for our children and our childrens children, and those who will follow in their footsteps.

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The queen has long enjoyed robust health, but her health recently became the subject of headlines after she reluctantly accepted medical advice to cut back on her busy schedule and stick to desk-based duties and virtual audiences for two weeks.

In late October she cancelled a two-day trip to Northern Ireland, but palace officials said it was her firm intention to attend Remembrance Sunday ceremonies on Nov. 14, a major event on the sovereigns calendar.

Buckingham Palace said the queen stayed overnight in a central London hospital last week for preliminary investigations," in her first such hospital stay in eight years.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday that the queen was on very good form during their regular weekly meeting.
Regarding Progressive prosecutor quits, joins D.A. recall (Bay Area, Oct. 24): San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin is doing what the people elected him to do.

Violent crime is down. Nonviolent offenders get treatment, and if it doesnt succeed, the case goes back for trial. Most are heavily supervised by pre-trial services, collaborative courts and the Sheriffs Department. The treatment often works and people go on to lead productive lives.

Some prosecutors leave because they think jailing is the answer to crime prevention, others because the job is hard and stressful. Former prosecutor Brooke Jenkins has an ax to grind because a member of her family is unfortunately a victim of violent crime. I wouldnt expect her to be impartial, victims never are, but her solution of charging a gang enhancement in the case is no solution at all.

In the good old days, police testified in gang cases that the defendant was in a gang because his friends said he was. Not surprisingly they never could remember who those friends were and when they talked to them. My experience as an attorney defending young men was that it was not often that they shot the breeze with the police and fingered their friends.

Ms. Jenkins also complained that Mr. Boudin let her try a case that everyone except her believed, correctly, that she could not win. He then made an an executive decision in the case, which bosses do sometimes. That defendant will spend the rest of his life locked in Napa State Hospital.

I have never experienced a District Attorneys Office more responsive to victims than the current one. Many of my cases have had offers that would have been accepted in prior years rejected because of input from the victim.

Change is hard and bumps in the road are to be expected. We tried locking everyone up, and drugs were still sold and cars broken into.

David B. Harrison, San Francisco

Vaccine checks worth it

Regarding Vaccine checks are unnecessary (Open Forum, Oct. 29): An old saw says if you know the facts, shout facts. If you know the law, shout the law. If you know neither, shout. Chirag Asaravala did a lot of shouting in this op-ed. The writer missed one analysis, however: cost benefit.

Whats the harm versus the benefit from having businesses check vaccine status? Very little versus potentially enormous, Id say. Risk mitigations did not close indoor dining at In-N-Out. The companys political and ideological decision did. Even assuming public health officials are not using sound scientific reasoning and quantitative methods, how truly invasive would obeying a health order have been? And, yes, saving one life, one hospital trip or one hospital bed would be worth it.

Ira Jacobowitz, Oakland

Ski photo body shames

Regarding Tahoe opens early: We live for this  (Front Page, Oct. 30): I did not appreciate the photograph of skiers in Halloween costumes that mocked fat women. There is nothing ludicrous about people of all sizes enjoying moving around in their bodies, wearing whatever they so choose.

Running this photograph appears to endorse the fat phobia of those who would choose to wear such a costume. I hope you will make different decisions in the future.

Anna Martin, Alameda

Keep S.F.s streets slow

Regarding Its time to reopen all of S.F.s streets to cars (Letters, Oct. 30). I respectfully but strongly disagree with ending San Franciscos Slow Streets.

About 30% of San Francisco residents do not own cars, and many more welcome these safer (and healthier) opportunities to get around. Providing a linked network of fully protected bikeways allows transport alternatives to cars to be truly viable. My husband and I are both seniors and regularly use the closed streets with our e-bikes to go all over the city. People on bicycles should not have to navigate between parked cars and moving traffic.

Given the citys terrible record of preventable pedestrian and bicyclist deaths from cars, there is simply no justification for total car dominance. We need to continue to make it easier for people to get out of their cars.
Architecture in cities, particularly those cities with backstories and scars, often is more about tying things together rather than unfurling a grand vision for all to see.

That multilayered reality is what makes a new housing complex below Telegraph Hill a welcome and overdue success, even if it lacks the physical presence of many of its neighbors.

The creation of 178 affordable apartments units that provide shelter to families, working adults and formerly homeless seniors? Check. Buildings that fit into their surroundings while adding pedestrian-friendly paths? Check. Healing an open wound that dates back to San Franciscos demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway in 1991?

Believe it or not, check.

All these elements factor into the design of Broadway Cove and 735 Davis, which have their ceremonial openings Thursday on the block bounded by Front, Vallejo and Davis streets and Broadway. The complex fits within two (much) older industrial buildings while also adding a landscaped public walkway from Broadway to Vallejo.

The reconstructed cityscape is quite a departure from what filled the site for 32 years  columns holding up the final stretch of the Embarcadero Freeway, the much-hated but undeniably convenient elevated artery that connected North Beach with the Bay Bridge for automobile drivers. Completed in 1959, it was damaged enough by the Loma Prieta earthquake 30 years later that the Board of Supervisors agreed to let the structure be torn down.

Duke Downey/The Chronicle 1959

This overdue act of urban removal kicked off the revival of the Embarcadero waterfront that grows stronger each year. It also created four large parcels of publicly owned land along Broadway, three of which have now been developed as affordable housing.

The design by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects for co-developers Bridge Housing and John Stewart Co. navigates these shoals with care.

The complex consists of two buildings that vary in height from four to six stories, with some facades clad in thin brick and others in pale stucco. The windows in the brick portions are set back slightly, adding depth, while some portions of the stucco facades have projecting bays of dark cement board to add variety.

Flashy, its not; while the architecture takes cues from the former industrial buildings that frame the site at the base of Telegraph Hill, it cant compare with them in terms of stocky gravitas. Budgets are different now, as are the intended uses. Not only did the Port of San Francisco have review authority, because of the location, so did the City Planning Department and the Historic Preservation Commission.

Another factor? The ever-vigilant watchdogs of Telegraph Hill who were only too happy to second-guess every aspect of the project.

We had a lot of eyes on this one, Aaron Thornton, a principal with Leddy Maytum Stacy, shrugged during a tour. Its all a balancing act ... I love constraints. Thats why Im an architect.

Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to The Chronicle

But if the look is subdued, its a comfortable fit that will improve as residents get fully settled and the buildings newness wears off. The other elements of the mix, meanwhile, should pay dividends long-term.

This includes the mid-block paseo, a generous path from north to south with a design by Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture that includes cobblestones once buried beneath the freeway ramps, while a glassy 15-foot-tall retail space along it should make for a great cafe. Another passage from east to west leads under a portion of the Davis Street building, a cool touch.

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One wall of the shorter passage is devoted to a striped geometric mural by Brittany Henze thats a memorable accent. Theres outreach of a different sort in the YMCA child care facility that is entered from Vallejo Street and opened this week.

Put all this together, and the pairing of Broadway Cove and 735 Davis isnt simply a design exercise. Nor can its value be measured solely by the addition of 178 affordable units to a city that needs exponentially more.

Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to The Chronicle

What it is, is humane  helping to erase the scar of a freeway and enrich the sense of community between Telegraph Hill and the Embarcadero. Instead of an atmospheric but isolated enclave centered on Levis Plaza, this area starts to feel like part of the larger city, with a population made more diverse by the new residents.

The last piece of surplus freeway land is directly to the east, an elongated lot where the performance troupe Teatro ZinZanni hopes to begin construction next year on a permanent home alongside a four-story hotel.

Nothing happens swiftly or smoothly in San Francisco, as anyone familiar with city politics knows all too well. But when changes flow in the right direction, as on this once-buried stretch of Broadway, they can be worth the wait.

John King is The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
Hundreds of San Francisco high school students walked out of classes Tuesday morning to voice concerns about what they say is a climate that too often ignores sexual harassment and assaults.

At Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, 500 students walked out mid-morning, calling on administrators to address what they described as a toxic culture of intimidation at the competitive public school.

Our school has acted in very performative ways when confronted with these issues, said organizer Sufiya Mirfattah-Khan, a senior at the school. They are the legal adults responsible for us. They have failed to protect us.

Sufiya said incidents have ranged from verbal harassment to violent assault on and off campus, but the attackers remain at the school. In some cases, administrators have used restorative justice practices in response to student complaints. That means the victim and the perpetrator are in the same room to address the harm, which can exacerbate trauma, the 17-year-old said.

I could cry about it, she said. Ive been crying about it all day.

School officials acknowledged student concerns in a letter sent home after the walk out.

We are all deeply impacted by these events and the very real emotions behind them, the administrators said. We believe our students when they say they feel harmed, unsafe, and unprotected. We want all our students to feel safe, respected, and supported when they come to school each day.

Now Playing: Hundreds of San Francisco high school students walked out of classes Tuesday morning to voice concerns about what they say is a climate that too often ignores sexual harassment and assaults. Video: Yalonda M James The Chronicle

The administrators, however, condemned the posting of a list of specific alleged abusers in a girls bathroom Tuesday. Organizers of the walkout said they were not responsible for the list and also condemned it.

District officials did not address specific accusations or the walkout at the schools but said all student concerns are taken seriously.

The district encourages all students to report issues of sexual harassment to a trusted adult at school, Deputy Superintendent Gentle Blythe, said in a statement. SFUSD is required to respond to incidents of reported harassment.

The protest follows a similar walkout at the Oakland School of the Arts in October, which prompted administrators of the charter school to cancel classes for a day to address the needs of students.

School officials across the state and country say their hands have been tied in recent years in some sexual assault and harassment cases because of changes made during the Trump Administration to Title IX regulations, which watered down student protections, preventing officials from investigating incidents that happened away from school.

That means any incident among students at a party or anywhere off campus does not fall under the jurisdiction of the school district.

California is one of several states legally challenging the changes and San Francisco is among the school districts declaring support for the lawsuit.

Students, however, said they feel unsupported and sometimes unsafe at school because of assaults or harassment.

In San Francisco, students from The Academy high school, which shares a campus with Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, and dozens of others at Lowell High School also walked out of classes Tuesday morning in support of their peers.

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.

Sufiya, 17, said district officials have ignored student concerns. Only after returning from the pandemic, for example, did the school stop the practice of students of all ages and genders changing into theater uniforms in front of each other, with teachers present. Those who opted to change in restrooms were marked tardy, she said. District officials did not immediately respond to the allegation.

Superintendent Vince Matthews, who was at the art school Tuesday for a routine visit, met briefly with students.

Blythe said the district reviews allegations to determine whether an investigation is warranted. Either party in a report can file a Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education if they feel district officials have not followed required procedures.

Currently, there are no pending federal investigations related to sexual harassment in the district or any completed investigations within the past five years.

District officials are required to investigate sexual harassment allegations, if a school knows or reasonably should know about possible sexual harassment or sexual violence, according to federal law.

Responses to sexual harassment and sexual violence could include expulsion, suspension or other actions to eliminate it and prevent it from happening again.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Some Bay Area kids could get the COVID-19 vaccine as early as this week.

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children ages 5-11, and on Tuesday, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel officially recommended the vaccine for use in children.

The next step in California is for the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, a regional collaborative of scientists from several states, to sign off on the vaccine. The group met Tuesday evening and is expected to announce approval of the CDC's recommendation Wednesday morning.

We checked in with all nine Bay Area counties about their plans, and learned counties have pre-ordered thousands of pediatric doses. Some counties gave an estimated date for when vaccines for ages 5-11 would start. Santa Clara could start as early as Nov. 3. Contra Costa and Marin counties estimated Nov. 6, and Sonoma and San Mateo, Nov. 8.

Like adults, children ages 5 to 11 require two shots at least three weeks apart for maximum protection of the vaccine that was shown to have a 90.7% efficacy rate in clinical trials among this age group. Initial demand for the pediatric vaccine is expected to be high.

Counties said parents should check with their regular health care provider to book a date for the shot, and also turn to county-run sites providing inoculations for children. Pharmacies will offer offer child vaccinations.

Here's more on what Bay Area counties said about rolling out the vaccine to kids. Seven of nine counties responded.

Alameda

Alameda County didn't respond to a request for its plan on vaccinating children.

The county posts COVID vaccine information on its Health Services website.

Contra Costa

Contra Costa Health Services said in a statement that it expects to receive about 20,000 doses of the pediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine for county and partner clinics early this week. Health care providers and pharmacies are receiving separate stock, and are also getting ready. The health department expects to begin offering the pediatric vaccine by Nov. 6 at county-run vaccination clinics.

The agency is working with education and health care partners, including John Muir Health, Kaiser, La Clinica and Lifelong Medical, to host vaccine clinics at school sites. The county will be announcing more details about school-based vaccine clinics soon.

An estimated 92,000 county residents ages 5-11 live in Contra Costa County.

Get more information on the vaccine from Contra Costa Health Services.

Marin

The county is opening vaccine super sites for pediatric vaccines that can accommodate up to 1,000 kids a day tentatively on Saturday. The county is strongly encouraging appointments, because you're likely going to wait in a long line if you try to walk in.

Tentative dates for super sites are as follows:

Saturday, Nov. 6, Miller Creek Middle School

Sunday Nov. 7, Miller Creek Middle School

Saturday, Nov. 13, Strawberry Point

Sunday, Nov. 14, Strawberry Point

Saturday, Nov. 20, Novato High School

Sunday, Nov. 21, Novato High School

Get updates and book appointments on Marin's vaccine website.

Napa

Napa County didn't respond to a request for its plan on vaccinating children.

The county updates its vaccine information on its COVID-19 website.

San Mateo

San Mateo County Health said in a statement it's planning to offer a walk-up vaccination clinic for kids at the San Mateo County Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 6. Appointments are required for Saturdays pediatric clinic at the Event Center and will be available soon on the state's vaccine scheduling site MyTurn.

The county will offer pediatric vaccines at some county-operated community clinics in the most impacted neighborhoods. Residents can check MyTurn to book appointments at these clinics and look for updated information on the county health website.



County Health is also partnering with the County Office of Education to open vaccination clinics in four elementary school locations accessible to families in the North, Central, South and Coastside communities during the week of Nov. 15.

San Francisco

The San Francisco Department of Public health said it's implementing a "collaborative approach from San Franciscos robust network of nearly 100 vaccination sites" to administer the vaccine to children ages 5-11.

"A number of high-volume sites across San Francisco, including those at all major health systems, have the capacity to administer 200 to 300 doses per day," the city said. "These also include four school-based sites that can expand to as many as 250 vaccines a day to support the school community as needed."



The department said it is also planning to host family-friendly vaccination events and virtual town halls offering information on vaccine safety and availability in various languages to address the questions from parents and caretakers.

An estimated 44,000 residents ages 5-11 live in San Francisco.

Get more information on the vaccine from the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

Santa Clara

Santa Clara County said its ready to distribute the vaccine to ages 5 to 11 as early as Nov. 3. There are numerous sites throughout Santa Clara County and a complete list open to the general public is available at www.sccfreevax.org. The county said it will make announcements soon about vaccine sites and schools.

The health department posts information on the vaccine on the Santa Clara County Public Health website.

Solano

Solano County will host pop-up vaccine clinics at community locations like schools, churches, community centers and other relevant locations. For up to date information and to find out which vaccines clinics will be ready for 5- to 11-year-olds, you can visit the Solano County COVID vaccine website.

Sonoma

Sonoma County said it will have vaccine clinics open as early as Nov. 8 at schools with populations of free school lunch recipients, English language learners and other equity metrics. Parents of children without a clinic at their school should reach out to their pediatrician or local pharmacy.

There are roughly 37,000 children in the county between the ages of 5 and 11. The county's Office of Educations goal is to vaccinate a quarter of eligible children by Dec. 1. The campaign will seek to vaccinate half of these children by Jan. 31, 2022, and 70% by Feb. 28, 2022.

Get more information on how to get your child vaccinated on the Sonoma County website.
DoorDash is adding security features to its app to help protect drivers.

The San Francisco-based delivery company said Wednesday its partnering with security company ADT on the new features, which will be available to all U.S. DoorDash drivers by the end of this year.

Under the new system, DoorDash drivers who are feeling unsafe can connect to an ADT agent using a button in DoorDashs app. The agent will stay on the phone until the driver feels comfortable; if the driver stops communicating, ADT will call 911.

DoorDash is also adding an emergency-assistance button to its app, which drivers can swipe to let ADT know they need immediate help. ADT will contact 911 and then remain in touch with the driver via text messages.

The enhanced safety follows several high-profile attacks on delivery drivers. In March, a 19-year-old DoorDash driver in Columbus, Ohio, was beaten after he got confused over an address. That same month, two Washington, D.C., teens assaulted an Uber Eats driver with a stun gun, causing his vehicle to crash and killing him. And in August, a DoorDash driver was shot to death while making deliveries in Maryland.

DoorDash isn't the first delivery company to augment safety for drivers. Last year, Instacart added a button to its app that lets shoppers contact emergency services directly if there's a problem. The app automatically shares the shopper's location with those services.

Ride-hailing companies like Lyft and Uber also have in-app buttons to let riders and drivers contact emergency services in their apps. Lyft also has a partnership with ADT that was announced last year.

Ronae Christensen, a DoorDash driver in Los Angeles County and a member of the company's driver council, says she thinks the safety buttons are a great idea.

Christensen has driven for various companies, including Lyft and Uber, since June 2019, but now she drives exclusively for DoorDash for safety reasons.

Being a single woman, the thought of having someone else in here that I dont know leaves me feeling wide open, she said.

Christensen said she has called DoorDash support once or twice because she felt unsafe. The operators helped her handle those situations, but she felt like they were far away, she said.

This tool is so much better, she said. Its just going to be a very reassuring thing, especially as a woman.
Turmoil in the auto industry, a powerful engine of the global economy, is threatening growth and sending tremors through companies and communities that depend on carmakers for money and jobs.

For every car or truck that does not roll off an assembly line in Detroit, Stuttgart or Shanghai, jobs are in jeopardy. They may be miners digging ore for steel in Finland, workers molding tires in Thailand, or Volkswagen employees in Slovakia installing instrument panels in SUVs. Their livelihoods are at the mercy of supply shortages and shipping chokeholds that are forcing factories to curtail production.

The auto industry accounts for about 3% of global economic output, and in carmaking countries like Germany, Mexico, Japan or South Korea, or states like Michigan, the percentage is much higher. A slowdown in automaking can leave scars that take years to recover from.

The shock waves from the semiconductor crisis, which is forcing virtually all carmakers to eliminate shifts or temporarily shut down assembly lines, could be strong enough to push some countries into recession. In Japan, home of Toyota and Nissan, parts shortages caused exports to fall by 46% in September compared with a year earlier  a potent demonstration of the car industrys importance to the economy.

Its a very meaningful drag on growth and employment, said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Paul Jacques is among the people who may be most profoundly affected. He works in Tecumseh, Ontario, for a division of components supplier Magna International, which makes seats for a nearby Chrysler minivan factory.

Jacques, 57, was on the assembly line when he heard that Stellantis, Chryslers parent company, planned to eliminate a shift in Windsor, Ontario, because of shortages of semiconductors, the computer chips essential to cruise control systems, engine management and a host of other functions.

Jacques and his co-workers knew that their jobs were in danger, too. The mood became incredibly somber, said Jacques, whose two children also work at the seat factory.

Carmakers have been able to blunt some of the sting by raising prices, passing on some of the pain to car buyers. Ford and General Motors last week both reported big drops in sales and profits for the summer period, but raised their profit forecasts for the full year. Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, said Friday that its net profit rose 20% in the third quarter even though the company sold 25% fewer vehicles. Higher sticker prices more than compensated.

The pain is falling hardest on workers and anyone in need of an affordable car. Auto companies have been allocating scarce chips to high-end and other vehicles that generate the most profit, leading to long waits for less expensive vehicles. Used car prices are skyrocketing because of the lack of new cars.

Vehicles with high profit margins like Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado pickups are continuing to get pumped out, said Ram Kidambi, a partner at consulting firm Kearney who is based in Detroit. But vehicles that have lower margins are getting impacted, and therefore the workforce there is getting impacted.

The crunch started last year as the prices of key raw materials like steel and copper began climbing, said Viren Popli, CEO of Mahindra Ag North America, an arm of the giant Indian vehicle manufacturer that makes tractors for the United States market.

The worlds uneven bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic meant that the far-flung links of the global supply chain were out of sync and could not connect. By late summer, the United States was starting to deliver booster shots, while a devastating outbreak in Malaysia shut down factories.

Mahindra quickly gobbled up its existing inventory of parts and then had to wait for refills. But they were delayed in ports with hundreds of ships backed up and container costs spiraling to $20,000 from $3,000.

At a tractor assembly plant in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Popli said, we lost 25% of production for two months in a row because of container flow problems at the port in Long Beach, California.

Its difficult to calculate just how much auto industry problems will spread to the rest of the economy, but there is little doubt that the effect is enormous because so many other industries depend on carmakers. Auto manufacturers are big consumers of steel and plastic, and they support vast supplier networks as well as restaurants and grocery stores that feed autoworkers.

If the Windsor plant is not working, everybody feels the effects, said David Cassidy, president of Unifor Local 444, which represents workers who build Chrysler minivans there.

Car factories  like the Stellantis facility in Ontario  are often the biggest private-sector employers in their communities, making shutdowns all the more devastating. Because car plants tend to dominate the local economy, they are difficult to replace. Unemployment caused by car factory shutdowns persists for years, according to a study in 2019 by the International Monetary Fund.

In Eisenach, Germany, a city of 42,000, Opel builds a compact SUV called the Grandland. But Stellantis, which also owns Opel, shut down the factory in October and doesnt plan to restart production until next year. Workers are fearful that the shutdown could be permanent; Stellantis also produces the Grandland at a factory in France that continues to operate.

The roughly 2,000 people who work at the Eisenach factory or adjacent suppliers are on paid furlough. But Katja Wolf, the mayor of Eisenach, who joined a worker protest in front of the plant Friday, said people were reluctant to spend because they dont know when the plant will reopen. That hurts local businesses.

The biggest problem is the uncertainty about the future, when the auto industry is already in upheaval, Wolf said in an interview. People dont buy new cars or book expensive vacations. They are too worried.

Opel plans to maintain all its German factories, including the one in Eisenach, Uwe Hochgeschurtz, the CEO of Opel, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Sunday.

Semiconductors are not the only components in short supply. Carmakers are also scrounging for the type of plastic used to hold windshield wiper fluid and mold the dashboard as well as the foam used to construct seats, said Dan Hearsch, managing director in the Detroit office of the global consulting firm AlixPartners.

Because there is a shortage of a tiny bracket used in SUVs, Hearsch said, the amount of time it takes to fix a vehicle damaged in a crash has shot up to nearly 20 days, from 12.

AlixPartners estimates that shortages mean that 7.7 million fewer vehicles will be produced this year, and cost the automotive industry $210 billion in lost revenues.

A relatively small number of countries account for most of the worlds production of autos and auto parts. They include the United States and China, as well as smaller countries like Thailand.

Slovakia, with only 5.4 million people, is home to large Volkswagen, Peugeot and Kia factories and produces 1 million cars a year, more per capita than any other country. The industry accounts for more than one-third of Slovakias exports.

The longer that shortages of parts and materials persist, the deeper the economic effect. Modern economies need vehicles to function. Trucks, essential to moving goods, are hard to come by these days, a constraint on growth.

We are basically sold out in Western Europe and North America until next year, Martin Daum, the head of Daimlers trucks unit, said, citing the chip shortage.

There is no sign the crisis will end soon. Semiconductor-makers have promised to increase supply, but building new factories takes years and car companies are not necessarily the most important customers behind the technology giants.

Semiconductor manufacturers are going to give priority to the Apples and HPs of the world, said Gad Allon, a professor at the Wharton School, not a Ford.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Northern California's reservoir levels continued to rise in the week after an atmospheric river slammed the state with torrential rain and high winds. The soaking was welcome in a drought-plagued state with a diminishing water supply. And while one storm didn't come close to ending the drought, some reservoirs in Northern California, especially those that fell right in the path of the storm, saw significant gains.

One of the most impressive was Hetch Hetchy, which provides drinking water to 2.6 million people in San Francisco and other Bay Area communities. Located within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park, the reservoir saw a sizable 21.31-foot bump in its water level and gained 36,300 acre-feet, according to Tuesday data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Steve Ritchie, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's assistant general manager for water, said the additional water amounted to roughly 11% of the reservoir's total capacity. The gain came after weather gauges in the area recorded more than 5 inches from one storm. One gauge in the area has measured 6.12 inches since Oct. 1, which is 899% of normal.

"It was a very healthy shot in the arm. It didnt end the drought, but it was definitely really good," said Ritchie. "This was rare for October. I dont know if weve seen anything like this in October before."

The commission plans to decide Nov. 23 whether to formally ask customers to conserve water. Over the summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom asked all California residents to voluntarily reduce use by 15% compared with use in 2019.

The state's second-largest reservoir, Lake Oroville in Butte County, saw especially dramatic gains with a 30.4-foot rise in the water level and a 182,625-acre-foot increase in the total amount of water, data posted Tuesday from the California Department of Water Resources showed.

Lake Shasta, the state's largest reservoir, rose 2.9 feet and added 31,020 acre-feet of water.

The Department of Water Resources, which manages the state's water supply, said in a statement that there are several possible reasons for the difference in inflow amounts between the two reservoirs. The main reason for the discrepancy, the department said, is that the focus of the atmospheric river was generally between the Golden Gate and Mount Lassen, meaning that the Feather River watershed received much more rainfall than the Shasta Lake drainage area.

"Some weather monitoring stations in the Feather River drainage received as much as 12 to 19 inches during the period of the storms," the department said. "In contrast, the Shasta Lake drainage had only a couple of stations in excess of 10 inches whereas most received less."

The difference in soil type in the two watersheds was likely another factor. The area around Shasta has more volcanic soils that absorb rainfall than the Feather River drainage. "Soils that have become hydrophobic due to wildfire can also contribute to increased runoff because the water is less able to penetrate the burned soil," the department said. "It is unknown how much area of the Feather River and Shasta Lake drainages are impacted by hydrophobic soils."

Some of Northern California's key reservoirs saw big gains

You can find the charts below from the California Department of Water Resources website.

California Department of Water Resources

It can take several days to see the full impact on reservoirs as water continues to run through watersheds and into streams in the days after a storm.

SFGATE took a look at reservoir levels three days after the Oct. 24 storm and below we take another look, examining water level rises and storage increases at a broader range of reservoirs roughly a week after the atmospheric river event.

Lake Shasta

Level before the storm on Oct. 22: 882.57 feet

Level after the storm on Nov. 1: 885.47 feet

Total rise: 2.9 feet

Storage before the storm: 970,859 acre-feet

Storage after the storm: 1,001,879 acre-feet

Total storage increase: 31,020 acre-feet

Lake Oroville

Level before the storm: 630.80 feet

Level after the storm: 661.20 feet

Total rise: 30.4 feet

Storage before the storm: 799,638 acre-feet

Storage after the storm: 982,263 acre-feet

Total storage increase: 182,625 acre-feet

Hetch Hetchy

Level before the storm: 3,729.68 feet

Level after the storm: 3,750.99 feet

Total rise: 21.31 feet

Storage before the storm: 221,500 acre-feet

Storage after the storm: 257,800 acre-feet

Total storage increase: 36,300 acre-feet

Trinity Lake

Level before the storm: 2,209.55 feet

Level after the storm: 2,213.22 feet

Total rise: 3.67 feet

Storage before the storm: 648,675 acre-feet

Storage after the storm: 672,930 acre-feet

Total storage increase: 24,255 acre-feet

Folsom Lake

Level before the storm: 370.28 feet

Level after the storm: 390.33 feet

Total rise: 20.05 feet

Storage before the storm: 214,225 acre-feet

Storage after the storm: 318,577 acre-feet

Total storage increase: 104,352 acre-feet

New Melones Lake

Level before the storm: 916.28 feet

Level after the storm: 917.09 feet

Total rise: 0.81 feet

Storage before the storm: 822,619 acre-feet

Storage after the storm: 827,786 acre-feet

Total storage increase: 5,167 acre-feet

Don Pedro

Level before the storm: 723.96 feet

Level after the storm: 727.41 feet

Total rise: 3.45 feet

Storage before the storm: 970,226 acre-feet

Storage after the storm: 995,836 acre-feet

Total storage increase: 25,610 acre-feet

McClure

Level before the storm: 663.70 feet

Level after the storm: 672.27 feet

Total rise: 8.4 feet

Storage before the storm: 180,900 acre-feet

Storage after the storm: 198,467 acre-feet

Total storage increase: 17,210 acre-feet
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

The city of San Francisco has a sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees, that to this point, approximately 97% of workers have complied with.

The mandate took effect Monday, and the city said that 836 employees remain unvaccinated, which makes up 2.8% of the workforce. Unvaccinated employees are placed on paid administrative leave until the commencement of a due process hearing, in which the city will determine whether the unvaccinated person's employment will be terminated or if an exemption can be granted.
NEW YORK (AP)  Like many children of the late 70s and 80s, Michael Landon's TV shows Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven were appointment viewing for Barry Watson.

That's why when Watson was given the opportunity to co-star opposite Jill Scott in a film remake of Highway to Heaven for Lifetime, he was all for it.

Michael Landon was such a huge, huge part of my childhood," said Watson over a recent Zoom chat from his home in Los Angeles. I was just really honored to be a part of it and nervous as well.

In this  Highway to Heaven, debuting Saturday, Scott is an angel sent from heaven. She takes the form of a junior high counselor and finds a young boy grieving the loss of his mother. Watson plays the school principal, serving as Scott's sidekick  similar to the role Victor French played in the series. He says it makes perfect sense why Scott was cast as the angel.

Shes got this sort of like angelic presence about her. I cant imagine anybody else playing that role besides Jill Scott," said Watson.

Watson is currently filming a new Ava DuVernay-produced series called  Naomi " for The CW  a DC superhero show starring Kaci Walfall. Watson plays her dad.

To be cast as the parent of a teen is interesting for Watson, now 47, who first became known as Matt Camden, the eldest child in the Aaron Spelling wholesome drama 7th Heaven," about a reverend and his large family. Jessica Biel and Beverley Mitchell played his younger sisters.

It feels bizarre because I still goof off and Im pretty much still a clown on set, yet everybody comes to me with questions about stuff and Im like, Oh, right, because Im the old guy whos been doing this for a while now."

Watson, who has starred in two projects with the word heaven in the title and jokes what's the next heaven thing I'm gonna do?" was raised Roman Catholic. He identifies as spiritual rather than religious.

I think everybodys got some sort of spirituality within them," he says. "Were all angels, were all here to help each other out, and I think theres something very spiritual about humanity in that way."

Doing good and giving back is important to Watson and his family. His wife is Natasha Gregson Wagner, daughter of producer Richard Gregson and film star Natalie Wood. Her step-dad is Robert Wagner.

Watson and Wagner share a daughter, Clover, 9, and Watson has two sons from a previous relationship, 13-year-old Felix and Oliver, who is 16.

During the height of the pandemic, Watson and Wagner got into the habit of sending gift cards and food to his hometown hospital, Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan. Clover would send letters to the doctors and nurses.

At the very beginning they would write her back, said Watson. When the replies stopped coming he says he had to explain, "theyre very busy people, but they appreciate everything you do.'"

Watson is especially grateful to healthcare workers because almost 20 years ago he had his own serious health battle. In 2002, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at 28. He underwent chemotherapy and has been in remission since 2003.

Its still such a big part of my life because I still think about it, but also time has passed where its almost like, Did that really happen? Did I really go through all that? And now having this whole other life with my wife and my kids that they werent even a part of that time, it feels like a lifetime ago," he said.

My oncologist was just so amazing and made me feel so confident. I felt like, OK, Ive got this. Ive got another soldier thats going to help me fight this thing."

He remembers rationalizing what were symptoms at the time.

Extreme fatigue was attributed to his work schedule and itchy skin he assumed was because it was winter and dry out. The warning bells came from night sweats. The whole bed would just be soaking wet, like somebody just dumped water all over me.

Watson urges people to stay on top of their health.

For the last year and a half with COVID-19, people were almost staying away from their doctor at times. Its more important now than ever to get your checkups, get your bloodwork done. Looking back, my body was trying to tell me something way before I was diagnosed. Listen to your body."
Looking to increase your vacation selfie game? Dont worry, Eduardo Vallin has you covered.

As Instagram concierge at the W Punta de Mita hotel in Mexico, Vallin helps guests locate and take the best social media-worthy photos while they bask in that vacation glow.

One of my favorite parts of the job is seeing the pictures come to life, Vallin said. I enjoy getting to know the person through their Instagram aesthetics and interests and then creating a personalized tour, then finally seeing the finished product on their Instagram.

His is just one of a variety of creative concierge jobs that hotels and resorts have introduced in recent years.

In Aruba, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort recently introduced a carbon offset concierge; Jareth Vermeulen helps guests offset the environmental impact of their flights to the carbon-neutral hotel by purchasing carbon emissions offsets. Guests can do this on their own or have Vermeulen assist them. Though the position is new, Vermeulen had been offering sustainability tours of the property as sustainability manager.

Its really been enjoyable to mingle with the guests and understand the reason why they choose Bucuti & Tara Beach and also their sustainability passion, he said.

Why this trend toward specialized concierge services?

For hotels, its a way to stand out from the crowd and convey a vision by focusing on topics like climate change, said Emanuel Schreiner, founder of RVS Hotel Consulting.

As for customers, personalization is not just a travel trend; hotel guests want to experience unique moments, tailor-made for their vacation, Schreiner added. Having highly specialized staff that is able to cater to the most extravagant aspects of their travel will definitely create added value for the guests. We will see in the long run whether the demand actually meets all these particular offerings.

Ewald Biemans, owner and CEO of Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, said he created the carbon offset concierge because some travelers feel guilty for the emissions that come from air travel. Offsets can help guests enjoy a more guilt-free vacation, he said.

Global warming and climate change appear in almost every review of the hotel, Biemans said. Three years ago, most people didnt even know what climate change was or global warming was. Today it is a household word.

Another new take on the concierge position: The Hyatt Regency Portland in Oregon plans to have a concierge of weird, starting in November, to help guests find unique and little-hyped tours and experiences.

What makes Portland so great is that it's the small, some call them weird, off-the-beaten-path destinations and characters that make the city so beloved, said Jamie McKinney, the new concierge. We both wanted a way to highlight these quirky entities, which dont always rise to the top of Yelp, yet are so crucial to the liveliness and the effectiveness of tourism in our city.

McKinney said the position is being created in response to feedback from travelers wanting to explore the real Portland.

The places that locals actually go to," she said.

For example, guests might want to learn about the elusive Bigfoot, so she will send them to the North American Bigfoot Center, where displays feature an array of bigfoot information and artifacts.

In scouting these tours, Ive relied on my local expertise and my natural inclination to explore and dig deeper, allowing me to uncover the very best of the weird side of Portland, she said.

-

Follow Kristi Eaton on Twitter at Twitter.com/KristiEaton.
Its real, it sounds like an apple! one teen said on camera with a toothy grin. In the next scene shes in her kitchen, elbows propped on the table, and she takes a gaping bite into her apple juice bottle. It makes crisp crunch against her teeth and after a moment of pause, she tries it again, this time glancing back to the camera approvingly.

Martinellis first introduced the plastic version of its iconic glass apple-shaped bottle 15 years ago, but no one could have predicted that in 2020 it would become an overnight sensation when people started biting into them.

It wasnt the type of publicity that John Martinelli, chairman of the board at S. Martinelli & Company, ever dreamed of for the 153-year-old apple cider and juice company, but when celebrities like Lizzo caught wind of the trend and wanted to see whether chomping into it actually produced a distinct apple crunch, Martinellis seemed to be on the mind of everyone who wanted to debunk the myth for themselves. One by one, the TikTok crowd posed for videos where theyd take a sip of Martinellis apple juice, put the cap back on, and then bite into thick plastic.

What we're being told is that something like 500 million people either saw the video or contributed their own video, Martinelli said. We sold it for a whole bunch of years, and nothing ever happened until this. It's kind of funny because that was the first time I learned what an influencer was.

Peter Barreras/AP

Martinelli admits the crisp sound was an accidental feature of the bottle. In fact, in its early development, he thought consumers might think it was a defect, but its actually a clever design intended to keep the juice at its freshest.

In our bottle, we have two layers of [plastic] with an oxygen barrier in between, Martinelli said. So, it's a three-part bottle and when you dent it, the oxygen barrier in the middle delaminates and it slides between the two hard plastic layers and makes it squeak. (But leave it to the internet to debunk that one, too).

Courtesy of Martinelli's

The videos couldnt have had better timing, especially after back-to-back turbulent years at Martinellis. From 2018 to 2019, the apple cider company underwent big changes that included upgrading the plant in Watsonville in Santa Cruz County.

We installed a new computer system that just about took us to our knees, Martinelli said. It's sort of like building your house while you're living in it, so that caused so much stress on our organization. And we lost some visibility for a while.

The company pulled back on its marketing and advertising during those years, though it still reintroduced hard cider during its 150th anniversary in 2018 (more on that later). Finances had also taken a hit, until the viral TikTok videos of 2020 set sales on fire. And since the video clips, its been hard to keep up with demand, according to Martinelli.

Courtesy of Martinelli's

Martinelli is the fourth-generation family operator of a company best known for sparkling apple cider thats often featured at holiday parties. When he was a high school student, he says the Martinellis plant built during the mid-1880s in Watsonville was just across the street. Hed often walk over for lunch with a friend and climb up a pile of apple bins to eat on. Other times hed rush over to the company office and reprint sheet music for the school band.

I was in the band at the time, and they used to make these really crappy mimeographed prints that nobody could read, Martinelli said. I had a copy machine across the street, so I could run over and bring the print music over and make better copies.

Apple juice and sparkling apple cider made Martinellis a household name, but it certainly didnt start that way. When Johns great-great-grandfather, Stephano Martinelli, emigrated from Switzerland to California in the late 1850s, he moved into his brother Luigis farm in Watsonville. Stephano earned a living in the soda business first, until he and his brother realized that the farm had the perfect climate conditions for growing apples. It didnt take long for Stephano to shift his focus to the apples and dabble with the hard cider recipes.

Courtesy of Martinelli's

He started making hard cider because in those days there was no way to preserve apple juice for consumption as a non-alcoholic product, Martinelli said. One of the things that brought apples to the west was that it was cheap alcohol for the pioneers. Instead of making whiskey like in Kentucky, California was the place where people drank hard cider.

It became a burgeoning enterprise for Stephano, who snagged a gold medal at the Sacramento State Fair in 1890 for his hard cider. Things carried on smoothly for about 50 years, until Martinellis nearly went extinct as strict prohibition laws began to make their way throughout the country in 1914. When the 18th Amendment eventually passed both chambers of the U.S. Congress in 1917 and was ratified two years later, Martinellis made the switch to its famous nonalcoholic cider and apple juice just in the nick of time. Stephanos eldest son, Stephen, learned how to pasteurize unfermented apple juice with the help of a food technology professor at UC Berkeley  and helped Martinellis stay in business.

Courtesy Martinelli's

The business shift could have spelled disaster for Martinelli's, having never deviated from alcoholic drinks, but Stephen had enough insight to know that the new beverages would be a hit with consumers. And Martinellis had its most rapid years of growth throughout Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II. Stephen even introduced a hefty half-gallon and gallon glass vessel in the shape of an apple for apple juice. Eventually, sparkling cider, which is made with a blend of up to 12 apple varieties, became the preferred drink for customers even after hard cider returned in the 1930s. But with plummeting sales, the spiked drink was eventually removed from store shelves altogether in 1977.

Martinelli said that when the companys 150th anniversary approached in 2018, they planned to revive the spiked drink, but it wouldnt be as simple to make it without a liquor license. A partnership eventually formed between Martinelli and Dan Gordon of Gordon Biersch, who helped spearhead production of the historic hard cider in San Jose.

We make the juice, take it to them, and then they ferment and bottle it. Not everybody knows that, Martinelli said.

More than a year after people started biting into Martinellis plastic apple bottles, they continue to do so on TikTok today. Martinelli looks back at the viral videos of 2020 and is utterly amused by them. He said that in many cases, the people who tried the trend were new to Martinellis, with many calling the brand the TikTok apple juice. But what Martinelli says he remembers best are their expressions, especially to the folks who took a sip of juice and right before they go through the process say, Wow, this is really good.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Two Republican state lawmakers in Ohio introduced Texas-style legislation Tuesday that could effectively end all abortions in the state.

Reps. Jena Powell and Thomas Hall unveiled their bill in the heavily Republican Ohio House a day after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the Texas law on which it is modeled. A majority of justices signaled they would allow abortion providers to pursue a court challenge to the law.

The measure would subject clinics, doctors and any others who facilitate abortions to large financial penalties tied to lawsuits citizens could bring against them, and would make it difficult to mount legal challenges. The fact that the woman wanted an abortion is not a defense against litigation.

Twelve states, including Ohio, already have enacted bans on abortion early in pregnancy, but all have been blocked by the courts from taking effect.

However, the Texas law was the first of its kind in the nation to take its unique approach. Eighteen other GOP-controlled states have thrown their support behind the ban on most abortions, suggesting they might follow suit, should it be upheld as constitutional.

Powell and Hall opted not to wait. Powell said in a statement that the enforcement mechanism from the successful Texas law, which was upheld by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is necessary since the constitutional fiction of Roe v. Wade has prevented communities from protecting our youngest children for the past fifty years.

The landmark 1973 decision guaranteed women the right to an abortion until the fetus reaches the point of viability.

Already, 33 Ohio lawmakers  more than half of the House GOP caucus  have signed onto the new bill, signaling early momentum for its passage. The legislation's fate in the generally more cautious Ohio Senate, also under Republican control, is uncertain.

Anti-abortion groups praised the bill, while opponents called it extreme.

Lila Rose, founder and president of LiveAction, called the legislation the beginning of the end of legally sanctioned abortions in America.

Right to Life Action Coalition president Linda Theis called it a major step toward ending the procedure.

Adrienne Kimmell, acting president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, called the Ohio proposal dystopian.

The SB 8 domino effect is well under way and will only continue to escalate in cruelty as long as the Supreme Court allows Texas blatantly unconstitutional law to stand," she said in a statement.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democratic candidate for governor, took the opportunity to pledge that she would veto any anti-abortion legislation she is sent, if elected.

This dangerous bill would criminalize abortion and encourage vigilantism in our state, she said in a statement. Ohio deserves better than this anti-abortion extremism.
PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP)  Two women were arrested after allegedly attacking two people with a hatchet-like weapon" in Placerville on Halloween night, police said Tuesday.

Theodora Economou and Vivian Bertrand were booked into the El Dorado County jail Sunday on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. Economou faces an additional charge of mayhem, the Placerville Police Department said in a statement.

It was not immediately known if they have an attorney who can speak on their behalf.

Police responded to Main Street in Placerville on Sunday night to reports of an assault in progress and found a woman with a severe facial wound near her left eye, police said.

Economou and Bertrand were allegedly damaging private property on Main Street when the woman confronted them and asked them to stop. The two suspects then attacked the woman, cutting her face. A male friend who was with the female victim tried to stop the attack but Bertrand attacked him with an edged weapon," injuring his left thumb. The two women then fled, police said.

The male victim and other witnesses chased the suspects and were able to detain Bertrand until officers arrived. Economou jumped over a chained linked fence and into a creek, where after an extensive search, officers found her hiding beneath heavy shrubbery, the department said.

During the investigation, officers recovered a small hatchet-like weapon that was used to assault the female victim, it said.

The female victim suffered a severe injury on her face and was transported to a medical facility for treatment. The male victim received on-scene treatment for his injury from medical personnel and later sought medical treatment at a hospital, police said.
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Alert: US gives final clearance to COVID-19 vaccines for kids as young as 5 after safety review, shots can start right away
BURNS, Ore. (AP)  Another rural, conservative county in Oregon has expressed interest in becoming part of Idaho.

The OregonianLive reports that voters in Harney County on Tuesday approved a ballot measure which requires local officials to hold meetings about moving the county into Idaho. The measure passed with more than 63% of the vote. The unofficial results were: 1,567 for and 917 against.

Harney became the eighth of Oregons 36 counties to vote for considering adjusting Oregons border to put much of rural eastern and southern Oregon in Idaho.

Rural Oregon is declaring as loudly as it can that it does not consent to being misgoverned by Oregons leadership and chooses to be governed as part of a state that understands rural Oregons values and way of making a living, said Mike McCarter, who heads Move Oregons Border for a Greater Idaho, which is behind the initiatives.

These ballot initiatives are non-binding; the point of them, McCarter says, is to force Idahos and Oregons legislatures to take up the issue, which is highly unlikely.

If Idaho and Oregon were to negotiate a border adjustment, the U.S. Congress would have to sign off on it.

The other counties that have voted for a Move Oregons Border-backed initiative in the last two years: Baker, Grant, Jefferson, Lake, Malheur, Sherman and Union. Two small counties have voted against the border-moving idea.

Douglas and Klamath counties likely will be next to vote.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Consumer advocates said Tuesday that they will ask the California Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court ruling they said undermines the state's ability to order billions of dollars in insurance company refunds.

A San Diego-based state appeals court on Friday rejected a California insurance commissioner's finding from 2016 that State Farm's California subsidiary was overcharging on its homeowners insurance rates.

Dave Jones, who was insurance commissioner at the time, ordered the company to refund more than $100 million to its California policyholders, a decision reversed by the appeals court.

More broadly, Consumer Watchdog founder Harvey Rosenfield said the decision also imperils current Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara's order that insurance companies refund as much as $3.5 billion he says they overcharged California motorists who dramatically curtailed their driving during the coronavirus pandemic as the state imposed sweeping stay-at-home orders last year.

Rosenfield said the ruling undermines the 1988 voter-approved ballot proposition he authored, which created California's elected insurance commissioner and has allowed the commissioner to reject proposed rate increases and order refunds.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Michael Soller had a narrower interpretation, that the decision was specific to State Farm and the state's attempt to prevent the company from manipulating its corporate investment policies in order to increase insurance premiums for California consumers  a claim the court also rejected.

The three-judge panel of the 4th Appellate District Court of Appeal ruled that the retroactive rate and refund were impermissible" under its interpretation of the powers imposed by Proposition 103.

The initiative was meant to ensure fair and reasonable rates and the insurance commissioner has broad discretion in adopting regulations to administer the initiative, the judges found.

But that allows for a prior-approval system in which companies apply for rate changes that are reviewed by the insurance commissioner before they take effect  not the kind of open-ended enforcement power the Commissioner appears to be asserting," the court found before rejecting the method Jones used to assert that the company had overcharged its policyholders.

Californians passed Proposition 103 to protect themselves against arbitrary rates and discriminatory practices by requiring insurance companies to keep rates and premiums fair, Rosenfield said. The appeals court's decision has stripped the Insurance Commissioner of the powers the voters gave him to protect Californians against excessive rates.

He said the state Supreme Court has already twice upheld the commissioner's authority to order refunds, though the lower court said the justices were addressing related issues and not the Commissioners discretion generally.

State Farm said it was pleased with the court's decisions on both the retroactive refund and its rejection of the way Jones determined how much he believed the company owed.

State Farm created a California-only subsidiary for its non-automobile insurance lines in 1998, citing the unusual risks presented by Californias exposure to catastrophes. By the time of Jones' order, the subsidiary insured about 20% of California homeowners.

The company in 2014 had applied for a 6.4% rate increase for its home and renter insurance policies.

Two years later, Jones instead ordered the refund based in part on his calculation of how much State Farm had earned by investing consumers' insurance payments nationwide.

The appeals court said he could only consider the subsidiary's income, a decision that Rosenfield argued opens the door to bookkeeping tricks that underreport the subsidiary's true profitability.

But the court said opponents of its interpretation did "not establish that limiting rate manipulation was a purpose of Proposition 103. It specifically rejected the argument that because of its ruling, multistate insurers can in the future be expected to cook the books.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)  Buffalo's four-term mayor, Byron Brown, declared victory in his write-in campaign as early results showed him with a likely lead over democratic socialist India Walton, the political newcomer who beat him in the Democratic primary.

The Associated Press remained unable to call the race because elections officials have yet to tally how many of at least 34,000 write-in votes cast in the election went to Brown, whose name didnt appear on the ballot.

But Walton conceded Wednesday, saying she was unlikely to catch up. Brown, who had asked supporters to put his name down on their ballots after his primary loss in June, declared himself the winner of a record fifth term.

The people chose four more years of the Brown administration, he said at his campaign headquarters late Tuesday, where supporters responded with chants of four more years.

The people chose one of the greatest comeback stories in our history, he said.

Walton, a 39-year-old nurse and community activist, had sought to become the first woman to lead New Yorks second largest city with promises to lift up residents left behind in the citys resurgence.

We fought as hard as we possibly could. We left everything on the field, Walton said in a statement. And I believe today, as fervently as I ever have, that the hour will come when we will finally draw down power to the everyday people of this city, and build the safe, healthy Buffalo we all need and deserve.

The count of write-in votes, where officials reveal who the vote went to, is not expected to begin until Nov. 17, according to elections officials. Absentee ballots also still need to be counted. About 5,100 absentee were mailed out to voters, of which around 2,900 had been returned by this past weekend.

There is no Republican in the race.

The contest between between the two Democrats was another high-stakes matchup between the partys center and left wings.

After losing the primary, Brown, 63, has relied on name recognition and an aggressive campaign that promoted his leadership over a city where property values and population are on the rise after decades of decline.

His campaign distributed thousands of stamps bearing his name that allowed supporters to stamp, instead of write, their votes.

Walton drove home her message with her own story as a survivor of poverty, abuse and trauma. She had a child as a teenager before returning to school and becoming a registered nurse.

She got endorsements from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and from the state's two U.S. senators, but other Democrats sat on the sidelines, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo-area native.

Brown's supporters called Walton unqualified and said the mayor had earned a fifth term.

The Buffalo before Byron Brown was something to behold, and not in a good way, said Lisa Yaeger, an attorney who supported him. He organized and he was strategic about how he implemented change in Buffalo. Some of it happened quickly. Some of it happened slowly, but it happened.

Walton's backers said she would do more to address the needs of people who missed out on the recovery.

A lot of the development thats going on right now  youve got a lot of businesses but you dont have the people involved," Walton supporter Akua Assapa said at a recent campaign rally. "You dont have housing for people, affordable housing that is.
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)  The Burlington School Board says it will build the community's new high school near the site of the old school that can no longer be used because it was found to be contaminated with dangerous chemicals.

The new school will be built just east of the existing building along Institute Road off the citys North Avenue.
NEW YORK (AP)  New York City's Republican mayoral candidate, Curtis Sliwa, tried to bring a furry friend to his polling place on Tuesday  one of his many pet cats.

Sliwa, who lost the race to Democrat Eric Adams, showed up at his Manhattan voting site with the animal cradled in his arms. It is one of the more than a dozen rescue cats he lives with at his studio apartment. But he was told the cat had to stay outside.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP)  A Davenport man faces sentencing Jan. 12 after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his mother.

McKinsley Watson was originally charged with first-degree murder in the May 2020 death of 59-year-old Victoria Watson. Authorities said she was strangled and also suffered from a head injury.
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP)  The death toll from the collapse of a high-rise apartment building under construction in Nigerias most populous city has risen to 23 with two more bodies recovered Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Nine people had been rescued by Tuesday, but no new survivors were found Wednesday. Segun Akande of the Nigerian Red Cross told The Associated Press that rescue efforts continue, but said there seemed to be little hope for those trapped in the heap of debris.

The chances are very slim; very, very slim, he said when asked about those still trapped.

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said it was unclear how long the rescue mission would continue.

There is no pillar in any form that is holding anything," he said of the building's remains. Hope is what is in short supply," he told families. "Hope is what we all require now.

It's unknown how many people could still be trapped inside the debris, but one construction worker at the scene had estimated there were about 100, leaving potentially 70 unaccounted for.

The 21-story luxury apartment building under construction toppled Monday and it took several hours for officials to launch the rescue effort. Authorities have arrested the property's owner, according to media reports, saying that his building permit only allowed for a 15-story structure.

By the entrance of the compound, help desks were set up for people to provide names and photos of their relatives or friends who they believed were working there when the structure crumbled.

There was also a help desk for counselling and support of distraught relatives, many of whom were lined up by the roadside.

Abel Godwin traveled 722 kilometers (448 miles) from the nations capital, Abuja, in search of his 18-year-old son who had been employed at the site.

After arriving in Lagos at 2 a.m., he visited the government hospital where victims are being treated.

They couldnt allow me to check whether my son is alive or dead, he lamented.

Dozens of family members have expressed anger and frustration over their inability to know the fate of their relatives.

The Lagos state government has set up an independent panel to determine the cause of the accident and whether the project developers had fully complied with building laws. The panel also is to examine whether there were any lapses by state regulators in overseeing the project.

"People are indeed upset, people are angry. I can assure you we are doing everything, the governor said.
GEORGETOWN, Del. (AP)  Delaware is adding to its population of a squirrel considered endangered until a few years ago.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said four Delmarva fox squirrels were recently relocated from Maryland to the Delaware Forest Services Headquarters Tract at Redden State Forest near Georgetown, WDEL-FM reported. The group included two males and two females.
CHICAGO (AP)  U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin called for an investigation Wednesday of a Chicago shelter housing Afghan refugee children after a published report detailed instances of children hurting themselves and ill-equipped staff.

ProPublica reported dozens of police calls to the shelter in the the past month for suicide attempts, assaults and mental health disturbances. The shelter is one of four run by the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance which is caring for about 80 Afghan children.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  Two doctor's assistants in Amsterdam have been arrested on suspicion of selling fake COVID-19 vaccination registrations, police in the Dutch capital said Wednesday.

Vaccination registrations are needed to get a COVID-19 pass that people have to show to get into bars and restaurants in the Netherlands.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  With necks craned and eyes shielded from the sun, dozens of people gathered Wednesday around a towering eucalyptus tree in the heart of Puerto Ricos bustling capital for a most unusual sight: a rhesus macaque monkey on the loose.

It was first spotted clinging to the trees branches Tuesday morning. Firefighters and other officials struggled to coax the monkey off the tree as the crowd offered suggestions.

Give it some lunch to make it come down! one man yelled.

Its too fat to come down! retorted a woman nearby.

Oh my gosh, it must be scared, chimed in a third person.

When the first call reporting the monkey came in Tuesday morning, Ramon Luis Marcano, a lieutenant with the islands Department of Natural Resources, did not believe it.

The caller reported the animal was in a tree on a busy, three-lane street that crosses the Santurce neighborhood in the capital of San Juan. And Im like, Where?

He went to the scene with doubts, but there it was: a juvenile male rhesus macaque, which is native to south, central and southeast Asia.

This is not normal, Marcano said on Wednesday as he observed workers from his agency place a ladder between the tree and the rooftop of a nearby apartment and filled a cage with water, oranges and bananas to lure the monkey.

But the monkey refused to budge further, moving up and down the tree at times to the delight of the crowd below that included students, security guards and waiters.

Look! Look! Its moving! There it goes! There it goes! yelled one woman as she pointed upward.

Police directed traffic as drivers slowed down to try to catch a glimpse of the monkey, which remained largely hidden by leaves and branches.

Marcano said he has no idea where the monkey came from. Rhesus macaques, often descended from escapees from research projects, have been found on Puerto Rico's main island and hundreds of them populate Cayo Santiago, a tiny island off Puerto Ricos southeast coast, where they are allowed to roam free.

But they're very rare in urban areas  let alone on busy streets far from fruit trees and other sources of food. The only food available along that stretch of road where the monkey was located is a high-end food truck park and a handful of small, indoor cafeterias.

Rhesus macaques are omnivores and considered one of the least friendly monkeys. They have reddish faces and bottoms and live between 20 to 40 years in captivity. They also can transmit the herpes B virus to humans, who can die from it if they don't receive immediate treatment.

Marcano said that once the monkey is captured, it will be taken to a veterinarian and later placed with other rhesus macaques at the Dr. Juan A. Rivera Zoo in the western city of Mayaguez. The zoo has been the target of recent complaints and demands that it close following allegations of injuries and inhumane killings.

Picture and videos of the monkey filled social media, with the animal drawing ever-more attention while staunchly staying in the tree.

I feel bad for it, honestly, said Stephen Hoppe, a 34-year-old business owner who shot a video of the monkey. I imagine its terrified. ... Everyone is wondering where it came from.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  It has become a major issue in the Virginia governor's race. Former President Donald Trump has railed against it. Republicans in the U.S. Senate introduced a resolution condemning any requirement for teachers to be trained in it. And several Republican-controlled states have invoked it in legislation restricting how race can be taught in public schools.

The concept known as critical race theory is the new lightning rod of the GOP. But what exactly is it?

The term seemed to appear in statehouses and at political rallies almost from nowhere. Over the past year, it has morphed from an obscure academic discussion point on the left into a political rallying cry on the right.

Yet, even those who condemn or seek to ban critical race theory in schools often struggle to define what it is. Real-world examples of students being indoctrinated in its principles are difficult to find.

WHAT IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY?

Critical race theory is a way of thinking about Americas history through the lens of racism. Scholars developed it during the 1970s and 1980s in response to what they viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.

It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation's institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.

The architects of the theory argue that the United States was founded on the theft of land and labor and that federal law has preserved the unequal treatment of people on the basis of race. Proponents also believe race is culturally invented, not biological.

Kimberle Crenshaw, executive director of the African American Policy Forum, a social justice think tank based in New York City, was one of the early proponents. Initially, she says, it was simply about telling a more complete story of who we are.

IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY BEING TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS?

There is little to no evidence that critical race theory itself is being taught to K-12 public school students, though some ideas central to it, such as lingering consequences of slavery, have been. In Greenwich, Connecticut, some middle school students were given a white bias survey that parents viewed as being part of the theory.

Republicans in North Carolina point to the Wake County Public School System as an example, saying teachers participated in a professional development session on critical race theory. County education officials canceled a future study session once it was discovered but insist the theory is not part of its classroom curriculum.

Critical race theory is not something we teach to students, said Lisa Luten, a spokeswoman for the school system. Its more of a theory in academia about race that adults use to discuss the context of their environment.

In his campaign for Virginia governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin said he would ban the teaching of critical race theory in the state's public schools.

WHY ARE REPUBLICANS UPSET?

Many Republicans view the concepts underlying critical race theory as an effort to rewrite American history and convince white people that they are inherently racist and should feel guilty because of their advantages.

But the theory also has become somewhat of a catchall phrase to describe racial concepts some conservatives find objectionable, such as white privilege, systemic inequality and inherent bias.

WHERE DID REPUBLICAN PUSHBACK BEGIN?

Republicans often cite the 1619 Project as a cause for concern. The New York Times initiative, published in 2019, aimed to tell a fuller story of the countrys history by putting slavery at the center of Americas founding.

Critical race theory popped into the mainstream last year when then-President Trump took aim at it and the 1619 Project during a White House event focused on the nation's history. He called both a crusade against American history and ideological poison that ... will destroy our country.

HOW ARE STATES ADDRESSING IT?

So far, many Republican-led states have pushed legislation or other steps to limit how race and racism can be taught in schools.

Teachers unions, educators and social studies organizations worry the limits will whitewash American history by downplaying the role past injustices still play today. They also fear a chilling effect on classroom discussions.

Leading critical race theory scholars view the GOP-led measures as hijacking the national conversation about racial inequality that gained momentum after the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota.

Some say the ways Republicans describe it are unrecognizable to them. Cheryl Harris, a UCLA law professor who teaches a course on the topic, said it's a myth that critical race theory teaches hatred of white people and is designed to perpetuate divisions in American society. Instead, she said she believes the proposals limiting how racism can be discussed in the classroom have a clear political goal: to ensure that Republicans can win in 2022.

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Anderson 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. Follow Anderson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BryanRAnderson. Associated Press writer Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
Vaccinations finally are available to U.S. children as young as 5, to the relief of some parents even as others have questions or fears.

Late Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final OK for youngsters age 5 to 11 to get kid-size doses of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. Pediatricians and other doctors' groups praised the move and are gearing up to help families decide whether to vaccinate their children.

Like COVID-19 vaccines for adults and teens, they are free.

Here are some things to know:

SHOULD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN GET VACCINATED?

Yes, according to U.S. health authorities and leading doctors groups. Even though the virus tends to be more severe in adults than children, COVID-19 is causing plenty of preventable suffering among youngsters. About 1.9 million kids ages 5 to 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Some 8,300 have been hospitalized, about a third needed intensive care, and at least 94 deaths have been verified.

Thats not counting the risk of a serious complication called multisystem inflammatory syndrome that can hit kids several weeks after they recovered from even a mild infection.

Vaccination also promises to help kids more safely resume school and social activities.

ARE KID DOSES THE SAME SIZE AS ADULT ONES?

No. Children ages 5 to 11 will receive a third of the dose given to teens and adults. Thats 10 micrograms per shot for youngsters, compared to 30 micrograms per shot for everyone 12 and older. Like everybody else, the younger kids will get two shots, three weeks apart.

HOW WELL DO THE SHOTS WORK?

In a study, Pfizers pediatric vaccine proved nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. Vaccinated youngsters developed levels of virus-fighting antibodies as strong as teens and young adults whod received the full-strength dose.

ARE THERE SIDE EFFECTS?

In the trial, the 5- to 11-year-olds had some annoying post-shot reactions, including sore arms and fatigue, similar to teens and young adults but were less likely to have fevers. Altogether, the study includes 4,600 youngsters, 3,100 of them given the vaccine and the rest dummy shots. The FDA found no safety concerns.

WHAT ABOUT RARE PROBLEMS?

Tens of millions of the larger doses have been given safely to Americans 12 and older. One very rare serious side effect has come to light: heart inflammation.

These rare reactions have occurred mostly in young men or teens boys, usually after the second dose, and they tend to recover quickly. To put the risk in context, doctors say COVID-19 infection can cause more serious heart inflammation. One theory is that testosterone and puberty play a role, which is partly why experts expect any risk to younger kids would be even lower.

WHERE ARE THE SHOTS AVAILABLE?

The shots are being offered at pediatricians' offices, health clinics and pharmacies. Some school systems also plan to host vaccination clinics, too. Two drugstore chains will start giving the shots this weekend: Walgreens on Saturday and CVS on Sunday.

CAN MY CHILD GET A FLU SHOT AT THE SAME TIME?

Yes, the CDC says COVID-19 shots can be given at the same visit as vaccines for the flu, or other routine vaccinations a child  or anyone else  may require.

WHAT IF MY CHILD IS ABOUT TO TURN 12?

CDC said children should get the dose thats right for their age on the day of vaccination. So if a child gets the 10-microgram dose for the first shot and then turns 12, the second shot should be the 30-microgram dose.

SHOULD I JUST WAIT UNTIL THEIR 12TH BIRTHDAY SO BOTH SHOTS ARE THE BIGGER DOSE?

Pediatricians say not to postpone vaccination because the kid-size dose is effective in that age group.

IS THE CDC'S MOVE A MANDATE?

No. The CDC has not mandated vaccinations for youngsters, but recommended them.

AREN'T ONLY SOME KIDS AT HIGH RISK OF SERIOUS COVID-19?

Nearly 70% of 5- to 11-year-olds hospitalized for COVID-19 have had other medical problems, including obesity and asthma. But sometimes the otherwise healthy get seriously ill, too. And given the profound social, mental health and educational impact the pandemic has had on youngsters, health authorities made clear that all children should be vaccinated. There also are equity concerns, as more than two-thirds of youngsters whove been hospitalized are Black or Hispanic.

WHAT IF MY CHILD ALREADY HAD COVID-19?

They still should be vaccinated once theyve recovered, according the CDC. Its clear that prior infection does provide some protection against another bout but that immunity can vary depending on how seriously ill someone was, and how long ago. Studies of adults have found that vaccination after infection can dramatically boost protection.

IS PFIZER'S VACCINE THE ONLY CHOICE FOR CHILDREN?

In the U.S., for now, it is. Modernas similar vaccine is used by teens in some other countries and is being tested in younger children but isnt yet available for Americans under age 18. A few other countries have used other kinds of COVID-19 vaccines in young children, including China, which just began vaccinations for 3-year-olds.

WHAT ABOUT VACCINATIONS FOR U.S. CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 5?

Stay tuned: Pfizer and Moderna are testing low doses in babies and preschoolers.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)  Thirty years ago, Ken Welch's father sought unsuccessfully to become the first Black mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida. Welch wore his dad's campaign button Tuesday when he claimed a resounding victory for the top office in the once-segregated city.

Welch recognized his milestone in a speech to supporters after easily defeating Republican Robert Blackmon in a city that is almost 70% white. But he said his victory is only the beginning.

For me, making history without making a positive impact is an empty achievement, Welch said. Our election victory must be followed by a purposeful agenda of accountability and intentional equity for our entire community.

Beneath its sunny exterior and tourist-friendly beaches, the St. Petersburg area has a troubled history of segregation, including racial unrest in 1996 after police fatally shot an unarmed Black man during a traffic stop.

The victory party Tuesday was held at the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, which commemorates events in St. Petersburg's racial history such as the ultimately successful 1958 effort by eight Black people to gain entry to the Spa Pool and Spa Beach that had allowed only white patrons.

Until the late 1960s, Black police officers in St. Petersburg could only patrol Black neighborhoods and had no authority to arrest whites. That changed when the Courageous 12, a group of Black officers, successfully sued to gain the same powers as their white counterparts.

The green benches that once famously lined the city's sidewalks were popular, but off-limits to Black people until St. Petersburg leaders removed them in the 1960s, not for racial reasons but because they wanted a more youthful image than elderly people sitting there.

What green benches meant to me was racism. It meant, you're not good enough,' said Eula Mae Mitchell Perry, a docent at the Woodson museum.

Welch also said that his father, David, was the target of death threats and racial abuse during his run for city mayor in 1991. Welch said his father's experience taught me what real strength and courage looks like and the value of perseverance.

As Welch spoke Tuesday night to a diverse crowd, he said, This is what progress looks like. History is important because we must fully understand where we are coming from as a community to determine where we want to go.

Welch, 57, is no stranger to local politics, having served five terms on the Pinellas County Commission. He was the second Black person elected to that panel.

One colleague on the commission, Janet Long, said Welch approaches issues thoughtfully, leans on facts and science and works to defuse tensions over such controversial topics such as the response to the Black Lives Matter movement and whether fluoride should be in city drinking water.

I really appreciated how he could bring the temperature of the room down and keep us all moving forward, said Long, who is white and a fellow Democrat. "At this place and this time in the history of St. Petersburg, he is the perfect person for the job.

Before politics, Welch earned an accounting degree from Florida A&M University and worked in that field for several years, including for his father's firm. On Jan. 6 he will succeed Rick Kriseman, who is stepping down due to term limits.

Welch got just over 60% of the vote Tuesday, defeating Blackmon by more than 14,000 votes according to complete but unofficial results.

Blackmon, a 32-year-old member of the St. Petersburg City Council, called Welch a good guy after conceding defeat in what was a low-key, fairly genial contest.

I hope all of my supporters will give (Welch) a fair shake and a fair chance, Blackmon told the Tampa Bay Times.

Democrats won at least three of four races for St. Petersburg's city council and may win another that was extremely close Wednesday. In that race, Richie Floyd, who says he's a democratic socialist, could be the first Black person to win a district dominated in the past by whites.

Welch does not look at public service through an entirely race-oriented lens, Long said.

He is not going to be swayed by the color of a persons skin or where they come from or how much money they have. He is going to care about everyone because thats just who he is, she said.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  Citing unspecified examples of election fraud, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday pledged to create a law enforcement agency to investigate election crimes as part of a new package of voting laws.

Speaking at an event in West Palm Beach, the Republican governor announced a series of election law proposals for lawmakers to take up during next year's legislative session, including new restrictions on ballot drop boxes and strengthened penalties for ballot harvesting.

DeSantis, who is up for reelection and is eyeing a 2024 presidential run, echoed many talking points on voting problems that have gained traction in the GOP following former President Donald Trump's false claims that his reelection was stolen from him.

The governor has previously praised the 2020 election in Florida as smooth, and there is widespread consensus among election officials and experts that there was no fraud that could have impacted results in the last presidential election.

Still, without evidence, DeSantis suggested issues at the ballot box.

There'll be people, if you see someone ballot harvesting, you know, what do you do? If you call into the election office, a lot of times they don't do anything. If you know that, there's, you know, in Florida, it's Constitutionally mandated, only citizens are allowed to vote in Florida, and yet you see examples of people, theyll even check theyre not citizens, and theyll still be given ballots, he said to applause.

DeSantis spoke broadly about the proposed election police force, but a news release from his office said the Office of Election Crimes and Security would be formed within the Department of State to investigate election crimes and fraud.

A spokesperson for DeSantis said the governor is seeking to proactively deter criminal activity and prevent voter fraud but referred questions on specific violations of election law to the Florida attorney general or the state department. Neither agency immediately returned an email seeking comment.

His event Wednesday at a hotel was listed as a press conference but included a large crowd that cheered along as he criticized coronavirus mandates, Big Tech and policing policies in liberal states.

Earlier this year, as part of a nationwide GOP push to tighten voting laws, DeSantis signed a bill that restricted the use of ballot drop boxes, strengthened voter ID laws and prohibited the so-called practice of ballot harvesting, the collection of completed ballots by a third party, among other things.
NEW YORK (AP)  After Sister Barbara Battista, a Roman Catholic nun staunchly opposed to the death penalty, agreed to accompany a condemned man at his execution in federal prison, she wondered doubtfully, Am I just part of this whole killing machine?

The answer is No, she decided, proceeding with her mission to the death chamber in Terre Haute, Indiana, where in August 2020 Battista said a silent prayer while witnessing the lethal injection of Keith Dwayne Nelson, convicted of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing a 10-year-old girl.

No matter how heinous the act, no matter how much Im opposed to it, that person deserves to have someone who is there simply because they care, she said.

Battistas name is now on a friend-of-the-court brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court by the American Civil Liberties Union. Along with other spiritual advisers and former corrections officials, Battista argues against a Texas policy that prohibits a Southern Baptist pastor from praying aloud and laying hands on a condemned man, John Ramirez, as he is executed.

Ramirez, sentenced to death for the 2004 murder of a convenience store clerk, was scheduled to be executed Sept. 8, but the Supreme Court ordered a delay to consider claims that restrictions on the pastors role would violate his religious liberties. Oral arguments are scheduled for next Tuesday.

The ACLU has a long history of opposing the death penalty and also says that condemned prisoners, even at the moment of execution, have religious rights.

If the state is going to engage in this practice, it should make every effort to honor the dignity and religious liberties of those it plans to kill, said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief

Intriguingly, the ACLUs position in the Ramirez case is echoed by some conservative religious groups which support the death penalty and are often at odds with the ACLU on other issues, for example in cases where religious conservatives believe they have a right to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

The Southern Baptist Convention has an official position supporting the fair and equitable use of capital punishment. Last month the SBC joined six other faith-based groups in a friend-of-the-court brief making the same argument as the ACLU  that Ramirezs pastor, Dana Moore, should be able to lay hands on him and pray aloud during the execution.

Religious freedom doesnt end as you approach the moment of death, said Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the SBCs public policy arm. The state has yet to make a compelling reason for why Pastor Moore cannot minister to Mr. Ramirez in these final moments.

Texas allows spiritual advisers into the execution chamber but bars them from praying audibly or being by the condemned inmates side. In its arguments to the Supreme Court, Texas said granting Ramirezs request would be a step toward enabling federal courts to micromanage details of execution protocol.

In some cases, states still employing capital punishment have made adjustments to comply with court orders regarding spiritual advisers.

In February, for example, the Supreme Court blocked Alabama from executing Willie Smith III  convicted of the 1991 abduction and murder of a 22-year-old woman  unless it allowed his personal pastor to be present in the execution chamber. Alabama complied; Smith was executed Oct. 21 with the pastor, Robert Wiley, by his side.

Efforts to provide condemned prisoners with spiritual comfort at their executions have been ecumenical.

In 2019, the Supreme Court blocked Texas from executing a Buddhist prisoner unless he was allowed to have a Buddhist priest at his side. The same year, the high court allowed Alabama to execute a Muslim inmate, Domineque Ray, even though his spiritual adviser was not allowed to be present; the court said Ray was too late in making his request.

In the past year, Yusuf Nur, a Muslim professor of business who teaches at Indiana University Kokomo, was the spiritual adviser at two federal executions of Muslim inmates. He was present  and permitted to say a traditional Islamic prayer aloud  for the executions of Orlando Hall in November 2020 and Dustin Higgs in January 2021.

When I first got recruited to talk to a young guy who accepted Islam in prison, I went to see him, Nur told The Associated Press. My feeling was that if this person wants somebody to talk to, and the U.S. government is planning to execute him, Id do whatever I can to contribute so theyre spiritually strong.

Nur, who opposes capital punishment, said he was moved by the atmosphere in the death chamber for Halls execution, given that the others present were people who came to execute him.

To have a friendly face makes a difference to the person being executed, Nur said. Im glad I did it even though it was traumatic to witness a human being killed right in front of your eyes. I would do it again.

Nur has shared his convictions with Battista, whose order  the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods  is based just 10 miles from the federal prison complex in Terre Haute. All four lethal injections she and Nur attended were part of the federal governments unprecedented run of 13 executions in six months at the end of the Trump administration.

Currently, Battista, 64, is deeply engaged in anti-racism activities, but she was often on the front line in vigils outside the prison protesting recent federal executions. Shes grateful to have had the opportunity to accompany Nelson and a second condemned man, William Emmett LeCroy, at their executions last year.

Yes, I had some doubts. ... but I know that through my prayer, my interaction with these men, I was there for them, she said. That person deserves to have somebody with them who is the face of love."

In LeCroys case, Battista said he asked her to pray for him, and she informed the executioner that she would be doing so  aloud.

The prayer was the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Its closing passage includes the words Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless  look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
BOSTON (AP)  The same day that voters elected Michelle Wu as Bostons first female and first Asian American mayor, voters in Framingham ousted Yvonne Spicer, the first Black woman to run a city in Massachusetts.

The 59-year-old Spicer lost her re-election bid Tuesday to fellow Democrat Charlie Sisitsky, 76, a well-known political figure in Framingham.

Serving as the mayor of Framingham has been the honor of my life, Spicer said Tuesday. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been Framinghams very first mayor, and the first African American woman to be elected mayor in Massachusetts. I am proud of successfully transitioning a 317-year-old town into a brand new city.

Spicer said she is leaving Framingham in a better place than when she took office, having led the city through the pandemic and having created the most diverse administration, boards and committees in the citys history. Framingham became a city in 2018 after decades of being operated by town meetings, effectively making Spicer its first mayor.

Spicer won endorsements from U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, but was still handily defeated by Sisitsky. Before being elected mayor, Spicer had worked as a teacher, as a longtime advocate for science and technology education and as a vice president at Bostons Museum of Science.

Sisitsky was first elected to Framingham's former board of selectmen in 1998 and served until Framingham adopted a city form of government in 2017. He then served a single term on the new city council.

People want us to do a better job governing and it starts right here and right now, Sisitsky told supporters Tuesday. We're going to be open, accessible, transparent and most of all present working every day.

Sisitsky had also worked as public works director in Natick for two decades, and as head of the Medford Department of Public Works.

In 2017, Spicer defeated former State Rep. John Stefanini, also a Democrat, in the city's first mayoral election.

There were other key municipal elections around the state on Tuesday.

In Somerville, Katjana Ballantyne defeated fellow City Councilor and fellow Democrat Wilfred Mbah to succeed longtime Mayor Joe Curtatone, who opted not to seek reelection. Curtatone, also a Democrat, was first elected mayor in 2003.

Ballantyne was first elected to the Somerville City Council in 2013. She has served two terms as the council president.

In Holyoke, voters elected the citys first Latino mayor  Joshua Garcia, a former school committee member, Democrat, and current town manager in Blandford. Garcia, of Puerto Rican descent, defeated Michael J. Sullivan, an at-large city councilor.

Garcia, who was born in Holyoke, will lead a city where more than half of all residents identify as Hispanic, according to the most recent U.S. Census.

In Everett, incumbent Mayor Carlo DeMaria eked out a win over challenger Fred Capone, a city councilor. DeMaria will serve a sixth term.

In Lawrence, interim Mayor Kendrys Vasquez was defeated by Brian DePena, a former at-large city councilor. Vasquez took up the post in January, after former Mayor Dan Rivera stepped down to lead the state's development finance agency.

And in Salem, Kim Driscoll will serve a 5th term as that city's mayor.

In Boston, voters made history by electing Wu, who easily defeated fellow City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, also a Democrat. Boston had only elected white men to lead the city until Wu's win.

The 36-year-old, who was born and raised in Chicago and whose parent immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan, will take office Nov. 16.

The citys previous elected mayor  Democrat Marty Walsh  stepped down earlier this year to become U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Joe Biden. Walsh was replaced on an acting basis by Kim Janey, the first Black woman to assume the office.

Walsh praised Wu on her win.

Its history, Walsh told the AP on Wednesday. We elected the first-ever nonwhite person as mayor of Boston. I talked to City Councilor Michelle Wu today to congratulate her. ... Its exciting for Boston. ... Shell be great, shell be successful, and Im going to support her any way that I can.
SEATTLE (AP)  A private prison company has been ordered to pay more than $23 million over lawsuits that accused it of running its for-profit immigration lockup in Washington state on the backs of detainees.

U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan on Tuesday ordered GEO Group to turn over $5.9 million in profits to Washington state. Bryan said that's how much the company unjustly enriched itself since 2005 by paying detainees who volunteered to perform tasks like cooking and cleaning just $1 a day, instead of the state minimum wage.

The ruling came just days after a jury on Friday ordered the company to pay $17.3 million in back wages to more than 10,000 detainees and former detainees of the Northwest detention center in Tacoma.

This is a landmark victory for workers rights and basic human dignity, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a written statement.

GEO is expected to appeal. The company, which did not return emails from The Associated Press seeking comment, has received permission from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to halt the detainee work program pending any appeal, court documents show.

Ferguson, a Democrat, sued the Florida-based GEO Group in 2017, saying the company had unjustly profited by running the Voluntary Work Program at the detention center. Local workers would otherwise have been hired to perform the jobs that went to the detainees, he said.

Private attorneys also filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of the detainees that year, seeking back pay. The judge, who rejected several attempts by GEO to dismiss the lawsuits, consolidated the cases for trial.

The first trial ended in June with a deadlocked jury. The second trial ended last week with jurors deciding that GEO should have paid the state minimum wage  now $13.69 an hour  and awarding the back pay.

GEO's lawyers suggested that the lawsuits were a politically motivated attack on its business. Washington state had long known of the detainee work program, but did not sue until 2017  amid an uproar over then-President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

The company maintained that the detainees were not employees under the Washington Minimum Wage Act. Even if they were, the company said, it would be unlawfully discriminatory for Washington to require GEO to pay them minimum wage when the state doesnt pay minimum wage to inmates who work at its own prisons or other detention facilities.

The definition of employee in Washingtons minimum wage law is broad  it includes anyone who is permitted to work by an employer, without regard to immigration or legal work status. The law says residents of a state, county, or municipal detention facility are not entitled to minimum wage for work they perform.

GEO's detention center didnt fit that exemption because its a private, for-profit facility, not a state, county or municipal one, attorneys for the state and for the detainees argued.

The Northwest detention center houses people who are in custody while the federal government seeks to deport them or reviews their immigration status. It can hold up to 1,575 detainees, making it one of the nations largest immigration jails, though the population has been drastically reduced during the pandemic.

During the first trial, GEO acknowledged it could pay detainees more if it wanted. In 2018, the company made $18.6 million in profits from the facility; it would have cost $3.4 million to pay the minimum wage to detainees.

Washington appears to be the only state to sue a private detention contractor for not paying minimum wage to immigration detainees. But similar lawsuits have been brought on behalf of immigration detainees in other states, including New Mexico, Colorado and California, seeking to force GEO and another major private detention company, CoreCivic, to pay minimum wage to detainees there.

A federal judge rejected the lawsuit brought by former detainees of CoreCivics Cibola detention center in New Mexico  a decision upheld by a federal appeals court panel in March.

Persons in custodial detention  such as appellants  are not in an employer-employee relationship but in a detainer-detainee relationship, the panel wrote.
HAMILTON, Ga. (AP)  A shooting that left one person dead marks the first homicide of 2021 in Georgia's Harris County, authorities said.

Dylan Eldridge, 29, died at Columbus Piedmont Regional at 1:35 a.m. Tuesday, Harris County Coroner Joe Weldon told the Ledger-Enqurier.
LAVACA, Ark. (AP)  A federal grand jury has indicted a western Arkansas man on health care fraud charges, alleging he made false billings of more than $100 million for drug and COVID-19 testing at laboratories he owns or manages.

Billy Joe Taylor, 42, of Lavaca, near Fort Smith and the Oklahoma border, was indicted Tuesday on the charges. According to federal prosecutors, Taylor submitted the false or fraudulent claims to Medicare between February 2017 and May 2021.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  Progressive New Mexico mayors have won second terms in Albuquerque, where violent crime and policing concerns dominated debate, and in the state capital of Santa Fe, which is in the throws of rapid growth and related concerns about housing affordability and cultural landmarks.

Uncertified election results showed Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller winning nearly 56% of the vote to defeat a Democratic county sheriff and a Republican talk show host. Publishing entrepreneur and Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber won almost 55% in uncertified results, defeating a Democratic city council member and a Republican who flouted local mask requirements last year.

The election extends a political winning streak for 43-year-old Keller, a former state auditor and legislator. But Republicans have a chance to hold a majority on the city council for the first time since 2013, amid pending runoff votes and the ouster of Keller ally Lan Sena to former police Officer Louie Sanchez  a proponent of greater budget austerity.

Keller said hell be open about the citys challenges and calls for solutions.

What were going to do going forward is were going to call it like it is. If problems are complex, were going to say that, he said. When we need assistance from other governments, were going to hold them accountable to help us. Were also going to ask everyone to pitch in.

Keller is contending with a record-breaking spate of homicides while emphasizing programs that address crime's root causes, such as addiction and poverty. He says public safety efforts are adequately funded, while backing pilot programs for gun violence prevention and emergency responses that leave police out of some mental health calls.

Police and crime issues came to the forefront in cities big and small after the killing of George Floyd last year. Albuquerque's reckoning with police brutality predates Keller's first election as mayor, with city police operating under a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department since 2014.

In Santa Fe, Webber campaigned on his handling of pandemic safety, financial upheaval in a tourism-dependent local economy and efforts to promote affordable housing.

The 73-year-old mayor touted Santa Fe's push to provide permits and stand up more residential housing, including rental units in several multi-family apartment complexes.

At the same time, we are conscious and very aware that people dont want to lose the quality of life that makes Santa Fe so special, said Webber of the capital city that added nearly 20,000 resident between 2010 and 2020  expanding by almost 30%.

Webber, the founder of Fast Company magazine who moved to New Mexico about two decades ago from Boston, withstood withering criticism on the campaign trail of the city's response to conflicts over historical monuments.

In October 2020, a tumultuous crowd toppled a downtown Civil War-era monument that honored Union soldiers including some Hispanics who died fighting Indigenous tribes and Confederate soldiers. The statue was reviled by many Native Americans for glorifying military campaigns against their ancestors  and toppled by mostly white, non-Hispanic protesters.

Webber sounded a note of reconciliation after his reelection.

I'm also grateful for the people who voted for other candidates because they've got a lot of wisdom and knowledge and great ideas, he said. We've got to come back together and work with each other and respect each other.

Voters ousted a city council member from a heavily Hispanic district who had endorsed Webber. Councilor Roman Tiger Abeyta lost by about 6 percentage points to Lee Garcia.

In Albuquerque, Kellers unsuccessful challengers included two-term Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales, who backed a move by then-President Donald Trump to send more federal law enforcement agents to Albuquerque.

Tuesday's elections were a preamble to statewide and congressional contests in 2022, when Democrats hope to prolong their hold on all statewide offices, including governor, and majorities in the Legislature.

Webber was challenged unsuccessfully by Democrat JoAnne Vigil Coppler  a city councilor, real estate agent and Latina born in Santa Fe  who cast herself as a guardian of respect for the citys cultural traditions.

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Cedar Attanasio contributed reporting from Santa Fe. Attanasio 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 under-covered issues.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven H. David will retire next year after 12 years on the court, the states chief justice announced Wednesday.

Chief Justice Loretta Rush said David, 64, will step down from the state's highest court in the fall of 2022. He was appointed to the five-justice court by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2010 upon the retirement of Justice Ted Boehm and is the court's longest-serving current justice.

Rush praised David in a news release, saying his deep commitment to our Hoosier justice system and his tireless work have been aimed at upholding the rule of law and improving the judicial branch statewide."

The Judicial Nominating Commission will search for a successor to fill the David's vacancy on the court. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb will choose his successor from finalists chosen by that panel.

Holcomb said in a statement that David has served with distinction as a military judge, trial court judge and justice of the Indiana Supreme Court."

Giving of himself unfailingly to help others, Justice David embodies what it means to be a humble servant-leader and the legacy he is leaving is truly remarkable," the governor said.

David retired from the Army in 2010 with the rank of colonel.

His wife, Catheryne Pully, is a commander in the Navy Reserve Judge Advocate Generals Corps. She was recently called to active duty to serve as general counsel for the two-star admiral responsible for managing, training, and administering the 110,000 men and women in the Navy Reserve.

Court spokeswoman Kathryn Dolan said that David knows his wife's new job is a challenging assignment  shes moving to a Navy base."

He wants to support her in every way he can and needs flexibility in his schedule," Dolan said.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  Kansas will encourage its public schools to hold clinics for vaccinating children ages 5 through 11 against COVID-19 and some doses already have arrived in the state, Gov. Laura Kelly said Wednesday.

The state expects to receive nearly 128,000 doses of a vaccine for younger children manufactured by Pfizer by next week. Kelly announced that all children in that age group will be eligible for shots immediately, that some doses already have arrived, and that most should be in the state by Friday.

The Democratic governor said Kansas is following recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccinating children. Kansas has about 276,000 children from 5 through 11, so the doses it expects to receive will be enough for 46% of them to get the first of two shots.

Some Kansas schools already have had clinics earlier this year to vaccinate children 12 to 17. However, the state lags behind the nation in inoculating that group, with 52.7% having received at least one of two shots, compared with 59.9% for the U.S., according to a task force on the pandemic and schools formed by Kelly.

Our schools will continue to be essential partners throughout the vaccine distribution process, Kelly said during a Zoom meeting of the task force. We know that the best way to get Kansans vaccinated is to bring the vaccine to them.

Federal health authorities gave the final go-ahead Tuesday for the Pfizer vaccine for younger children, with doses a third of those given to teenagers and adults. The state Department of Health and Environment said this week that Kansas expects to receive 96,900 doses of the vaccines for younger children directly, with an additional 31,000 going to Kansas pharmacies.

Kelly said about half of the total doses will go to local health departments, which can work with schools on vaccination clinics.

We are all working for the same common purpose, which is lets keep kids in school, let's keep our staff and our kids and our families safe, state Education Commissioner Randy Watson said during the Zoom meeting.

Federal officials' authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for younger children came only days after a committee of the Republican-controlled Legislature wrapped up two days of hearings on COVID-19 vaccine mandates for as many as 100 million American workers from Democratic President Joe Biden's administration.

Almost all of the dozens of speakers criticized the mandates as an attack on personal liberty and some repeated widespread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

A few critics saw federal authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for younger children as the prelude to mandating them for enrolling in school. Kansas requires 10 vaccines for K-12 students, including shots for polio, chickenpox, measles and hepatitis.

Kelly said decisions about vaccinating children against COVID-19 will be left to parents.

She also said, I cannot overstate the importance of the vaccine for kids in our pandemic response efforts.

Kelly has directed state agencies under her direct control to continue having their employees work remotely where possible until the end of the year. Many state employees had spent more than a year working remotely when the state resumed normal operations in June, only to return to remote work in late August because of the spread of the more contagious delta variant.

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Also contributing was Andy Tsubasa Field.

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Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
WICHITA, Kan. (AP)  A Kansas jail inmate who was released by mistake is now back in custody.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office said 30-year-old Jamarcius Quayshaun Fisher was released Monday after someone mistakenly applied a time served label to his pending criminal case. In fact, the time served applied to a traffic case.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP)  A Las Vegas man was convicted of second-degree murder and driving under the influence for starting a Southern California chain-reaction crash that killed a woman, fractured her infants skull and injured four other people.

Irving Abel Aguilar-Calixto, 25, was convicted by a jury on Tuesday, the Orange County District Attorneys Office said in a statement.
NEW YORK (AP)  Three years ago, Lauren Ridloff gave an interview that concluded with the actor contemplating what she wanted to do next.

At that point, Ridloff only had one major role under her belt, albeit an acclaimed one. Ridloff was then starring in a Broadway revival of Children of a Lesser God, a performance that earned her a Tony nomination and turned the then 40-year-old former kindergarten teacher into a breakout star.

Ridloff hadnt set out to necessarily be an actor. She initially was just helping Children of a Lesser God director Kenny Leon as a sign language tutor. Still, at that moment, Ridloff set her sights high. Talking to The New York Times in May 2018, she said shed like to play a superhero.

To Ridloffs surprise, the wish came true. In Chloe Zhaos Eternals, Ridloff plays the first deaf superhero in Marvels cinematic universe. In the film, which Disney releases in theaters Friday, Ridloff plays one of 10 immortal guardians alongside Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani.

It was a manifestation, Ridloff says, laughing. At that time, I still wasnt sure if I wanted to continue in acting. I was honestly terrified. I had given up a career as a teacher and I went to try acting, but then my Broadway show was ending. Whats next? Do I even bet on auditioning? I didnt think Hollywood was ready for a deaf actor at the time, let alone a deaf superhero.

Eternals, in which the age-old superheroes have long secretly lived among humans but are now roused to prevent a cosmic apocalypse, seeks to expand many of the traditional notions. For the first time in 26 blockbuster films, a person with hearing impairment is alongside other mighty saviors fighting to rescue the world.

In the beginning, I admit I was terrified, Ridloff said in a recent interview by Zoom from Los Angeles through an American Sign Language translator. It was almost like I couldnt get out of bed. I was so overwhelmed with the responsibility of being the first and only deaf superhero. How do I even start to represent people and a community?

Ridloff, though, had an epiphany while jogging, a hobby she considers a form of meditation. It was a fitting place to find clarity: In the film, her character Makkari has super speed, one of several traits of a character  a beefy white guy in the comics  that's party drawn from Ridloff's own characteristics.

I realized when I started talking about me and when I started using pronouns like I rather than we, thats how I can be my most authentic self. I can tell my own story, and I can allow people to decide if they identify and relate to me, Ridloff says. With that understanding, I feel so much more comfortable in my role.

The 43-year-old Ridloff, who has been deaf since birth, had been primarily raising her two boys with husband Douglas Ridloff when her work with Leon led to a impromptu table read on Children of a Lesser God. Since then, Ridloff has had a recurring role on The Walking Dead and poignantly played a teacher in last year's Sound of Metal.

Working as a kindergarten teacher, let me tell you, they are a tough audience, says Ridloff. I had to be engaging. I had to tell these beautiful stories. Thats the only way that you keep them engaged. I think thats where I developed my acting powers.

Ridloff caught the attention of Eternals casting director Sarah Finn, who was looking for a wide spectrum of performers for the film. When Ridloff was brought in for a meeting with Zhao and producer Nate Moore, she didn't know what movie or role she was being considered for. She figured, she says, maybe I would be some woman in distress, some sort of victim, maybe they wanted me for Black Panther.

Meeting in Los Angeles, Zhao had an immediate response to Ridloff, who never officially auditioned.

There's so much joy in her, and she's very proud of who she is," says Zhao. Shes very mischievous in real life. Shes got a twinkle in her eye and she flirts with the camera. Shes got a presence. When she first met ('Eternals' co-star) Barry (Keoghan), there was such a beautiful thing going on that I had to incorporate it into the characters.

Ridloff's casting is one of several MCU landmark moments in Eternals. The film also, in Chan, features the films' first Asian American woman protagonist, the first gay kiss and, perhaps the biggest shock of all in a brief PG-13 scene, the first superhero sex.

I do feel like were entering the revisionist period for this genre, says Zhao. Its about time because its been a couple decades now. The desire comes from both the viewers and the makers and the studios. Lets challenge some of those fundamental ideas this genre was born out of."

Ridloff notes that she soon won't be the only deaf superhero in the MCU. Another will be featured in the upcoming Disney+ series Hawkeye. In the comics, Jeremy Renner's character has often been rendered as deaf.

Im not going to be the only deaf superhero in the MCU, says Ridloff. Were going to have another one joining very shortly, which Im thrilled about.

But in even the lengthy star-studded Eternals, Ridloff stands out as one of the performers you most want to see more of after the credits have rolled. As played by Ridloff, Makkari's deafness isn't just a limitation but a gain that makes her stronger. In one tragic scene, Ridloff also lets out an anguished cry that reverberates with something more raw and genuine than is often heard in the bombast of superhero films. It's a meaningful moment for Ridloff who stopped using her speech from the age of 13 until it was necessary performing in Children of a Lesser God because she felt people were equating her intonation with her intelligence.

That scream wasnt included in the script at all. I just dove into the moment and I made the decision to scream, says Ridloff. I didnt know at the time that that shot was going to make it into the film. I was surprised to see it there. At the premiere, my dad had gone to see the movie with me, he was like, That was a scream! He was shocked."

But one question remains for Ridloff. Now that she's a superhero, what would she like to do next?

I would love to be a part of something that is similar to Bridgerton, something thats a period piece film because, really, you dont see that many deaf people in period pieces, says Ridloff. She smiles. So Im putting that out there.

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP)  Michigan state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud won the Dearborn mayoral race Tuesday, making him that city's first Arab American mayor.

A final unofficial vote count for the general election on the city's website showed Hammoud defeated Gary Woronchak, a former three-term state representative and former Wayne County commissioner, by a 55% to 45% margin.

Dearborn is a city of about 100,000 people that has one of the largest Arab American populations in the nation.

Hammoud, 31, is Muslim. His parents immigrated to the United States from Lebanon.

To the young girls and boys who have ever been ridiculed for their faith or ethnicity. To those of you who were ever made to feel that their names were unwelcome and to our parents and to our elders and to others who are humiliated for their broken English and yet still persistent, today is proof that you are as American as anyone else and there is a new era in Dearborn," he said.

Hammoud is serving his third term in the Michigan House. He has a masters degree in business administration and a masters in public health from the University of Michigan.

Dearborn has a large Arab American population, but the citys past includes efforts by longtime segregationist Mayor Orville Hubbard to keep Black families from moving into the then-mostly white community. Hubbard was mayor from 1942 to 1977 and died in 1982.

Dearborns City Council voted earlier this year to remove Hubbards name from a civic center ballroom, and a statue of him was removed from outside City Hall in 2015 following pressure from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The statue then was stored on the grounds of the Dearborn Historical Museum until last June when it was taken down and turned over to Hubbards family.

Over the past few decades, Dearborn has become more racially diverse. About a third of the citys residents are of Middle Eastern descent and about 4% are Black.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Leaders of a northern Mississippi city were motivated by anti-Muslim prejudice when they rejected a zoning request for what would be the first mosque in the area, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.

American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi sued on behalf of the two Muslim men who want to build the mosque, Abraham House of God, in the city of Horn Lake.

Earlier this year, the Horn Lake planning commission recommended that the site plan for the mosque be denied, and the Board of Aldermen voted 5-1 in April to uphold that recommendation. Aldermen said they denied the application because of concerns about insufficient water supply for fire sprinklers and the possibility of traffic and noise.

Despite the pretextual excuses for their decision, Board members did not work very hard to hide the true reason they denied approval for the project  anti-Muslim prejudice, said the lawsuit, which represents one side of a legal argument. As then-Alderman John E. Jones Jr. told the local newspaper: I dont care what they say, their religion says they can lie or do anything to the Jews or gentiles because were not Muslims.

The Associated Press left a phone message Wednesday for Horn Lake Mayor Allen Latimer at his City Hall office, seeking comment about the lawsuit. He did not respond after several hours.

The lawsuit argues the government officials violated the First Amendment rights of the men who want to develop the mosque, Maher Abuirshaid and Riyadh Elkhayyat. It also argues that city officials violated a federal law that gives heightened legal protections in land-use decisions to people groups that face discrimination. The lawsuit asks a judge to nullify the Horn Lake officials decisions and to order the city to grant the land-use request for the mosque.

Horn Lake is in DeSoto County, which is just south of Memphis, Tennessee. Abuirshaid and Elkhayyat are DeSoto County residents and want to develop a mosque so their families and other Muslim families in DeSoto County will have a place to worship without having to drive a half-hour or more to Memphis.

A local mosque is critical for my family and the Muslim community in DeSoto County to practice our religion," Abuirshaid said in a news release.

Numerous residents near the potential mosque site spoke against the project during a city planning meeting in February.

The mosque is intended to be a 10,000-square-foot (929-square-meter) building with a worship space that holds 156. It would have 44 parking spaces. Elkhayyat, who sometimes goes by the name Ray Elk, told Horn Lake aldermen that the building would not have outside loudspeakers to issue calls to prayer. He also said the mosque would have significantly less traffic than if he developed the site into a subdivision.

The freedom to worship is one of our most fundamental rights," Heather Weaver, senior staff attorney for the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, said in the news release. "By discriminating against our clients simply because they are Muslim, Horn Lake officials violated that right, and they must be held accountable.

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Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Tuesday he wont comply with a mandate requiring deputies be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face termination, claiming thousands could leave the department and that will lead to more crime.

His defiance to the order that was approved last summer by the LA County Board of Supervisors brought a rebuke from Janice Hahn, one of the panels five members who unanimously backed the policy.

He is putting both his deputies and the public they come face-to-face with every day at unnecessary risk, she said in a statement. What we need from the sheriff right now is leadership, for once.

Villanueva, who faces a reelection challenge next year, has defied other health orders during the pandemic. Last month, he said he wouldnt have his deputies enforce a mandate requiring vaccinated and unvaccinated people wear masks at indoor public settings.

Vaccine mandates are rolling out nationwide for government employees and many cities are clashing with first responder unions over the requirements. About 9,000 New York City municipal workers  including 34 officers  were put on unpaid leave for refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that took effect Monday.

The Los Angeles Police Department last week reported 70% of its officers and civil employees were fully vaccinated. Under the citys policy, LAPD employees who dont want to get vaccinated have an option to get tested twice per week at their own expense.

Los Angeles is the nations most populous county with about 10 million people and Villanuevas agency is the largest sheriffs department in the country, with about 10,000 sworn deputies and 5,800 civilian employees.

All county employees were required to register their vaccination status and show proof of full inoculation or receive a medical or religious exemption by Oct. 1. About 52% of sheriffs department deputies and other employees are fully vaccinated, compared to 77% of all county employees.

More than 3,000 deputies and other department employees have yet to register their vaccination status with the county. Those who registered and reported their status as unvaccinated include more than 3,100 deputies and 1,000 civilians who could be subject to termination, Villanueva said.

For comparison, the sheriff said the 3,100 figure is nearly the size of the departments patrol operations.

So imagine what would happen if every one of these was terminated, Villanueva said at a news conference. What would the department look like?

Villanueva also said he expects to see hundreds of additional deputies retire or leave the department early because of the mandate, though the countys chief executives office on Tuesday said there has been no increase in attrition since the requirement was approved.

Villanueva has said he is vaccinated but believes others should make their own choice and not be forced to get shots.

The sheriff has the power to terminate employees and with him refusing to follow the policy it was unclear whether anyone in his department would lose their jobs.

Jesus Ruiz, a spokesman for the county, said like all department heads Villanueva is responsible for ensuring that county policies are followed. In an email, Ruiz said he could not speculate what might happen now that Villanueva wont enforce the mandate.

Despite the Oct. 1 deadline, the county only now is sending notices to those who have failed to register and get vaccinated. Once employees receive the notice, they have 45 days to comply before facing a five-day suspension, Ruiz said, and 30 days after that before they face termination.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger called it unfortunate that Villanueva wont discuss a solution.

I am committed to supporting and listening to our sheriffs rank and file to get to the bottom of what barriers and obstacles they are facing so we can reach a resolution, she said in a statement. Ultimately, we all share a commitment to public safety.

Los Angeles International Airport Police Chief Cecil Rhambo, who is running against Villanueva, said the mandate should be followed.

Vaccines save lives, and deputies are employed to be life-savers, we must have a sheriff who will lead the department by enforcing the vaccine mandate to ensure the safety of deputies, as well as all the people they interact with across L.A. County, he said in a statement.

COVID-19 is the most common cause of law enforcement duty-related deaths in 2020 and 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  A Florida man was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the shooting death of an Orlando police officer who was trying to arrest him outside a Walmart store for the earlier slaying of his pregnant former girlfriend.

Markeith Loyd was convicted of killing Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton on Jan. 9, 2017 as she tried to arrest him in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon. Dixon was shot weeks earlier.
ASH GROVE, Mo. (AP)  A man is dead after a house fire in rural southwestern Missouri.

Authorities say the fire broke out just before 8 a.m. Tuesday in Ash Grove. The wood-frame home was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived, and was destroyed. The name of the man killed has not been released.

An investigation continues but Ash Grove Fire Chief Anthony Monnig said the fire was caused by a space heater. Monnig said the victim was found just 5 feet from the front door.

A dog also died in the fire.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  A Louisiana man plead not guilty to charges he shot and killed a state trooper and one of his relatives during a series of shootings last month in southern Louisiana that left three others wounded.

According to authorities, Matthew Mire, 31, ambushed Master Trooper Adam Gaubert while he sat in his patrol car writing reports at an intersection in Pairieville. Mire then allegedly shot two of his relatives at a house less than a mile away from the scene of Gaubert's death. One woman, Pamela Adair, 37, was killed.
BANGKOK (AP)  A court in Myanmar on Wednesday rejected the bail application of Danny Fenster, an American journalist jailed for the past five months, and added a new charge against him, his lawyer said.

Fenster had already been charged with incitement for allegedly spreading false or inflammatory information, an offense punishable by up to three years in prison. He is also charged with violating the Unlawful Associations Act for alleged links to illegal opposition groups, which carries a possible two-to-three year prison term.

His lawyer, Than Zaw Aung, said a new charge of violating immigration law was added Wednesday, under a catch-all provision that calls for a prison term of six months to five years for violating visa conditions.

The courts actions come during a visit to Myanmar by Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He said he is on a mission to discuss humanitarian aid to strife-torn Myanmar with leaders of its military-installed government.

Myanmar has been mired in violence and civil unrest since the military seized power in February, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Protesters against the takeover who faced beatings, shootings and arrests have turned increasingly to armed resistance, and insurgents are active in many parts of the country.

Richardsons visit raised hopes that he might seek Fensters release because he is known for his past efforts to gain the freedom of Americans detained in countries with which Washington has poor relations, such as North Korea.

The United States is highly critical of army rule in Myanmar and has instituted diplomatic and economic sanctions targeting its military leadership.

Fenster, managing editor of the online news magazine Frontier Myanmar, was detained at Yangon International Airport on May 24 as he was about to board a flight to go to the Detroit area in the United States to see his family. It is still unclear why he was arrested, though the charges involve his work at his previous employer, another online news service, which he left in the middle of last year.

His lawyer said his application for release on bail on the sedition charge was rejected Wednesday by the judge, who said it is not allowed under the law.

Than Zaw Aung also said he cross-examined seven prosecution witnesses on Wednesday for the incitement and unlawful association charges, including police and airport security personnel.

He did not provide details of their testimony.

The hearings at the court at Yangons Insein Prison, where Fenster is jailed, are closed to the media and the public. The defense has not yet presented its case.

The judge ruled Wednesday that the court will hold sessions every weekday starting this Friday in order to expedite the trial, Than Zaw Aung said.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  A leading Nebraska senator who helps create the state budget said Wednesday that he's already getting requests for how to spend the state's share of federal pandemic relief money, and he's expecting a lot more.

Sen. John Stinner, chairman of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee, said he has spoken with groups including Nebraska's child welfare and developmental disability service providers.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP)  A North Carolina man has been sentenced to 26 years in prison after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting his partner's daughter more than three years ago, according to a district attorney.

The news release from the Durham County District Attorney's office on Tuesday said Francisco Alvarado, 37, was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 28, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported. Alvarado had faced felony charges of taking indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape of a child by an adult.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  North Dakota health officials are expecting 18,000 initial doses of the pediatric coronavirus vaccine, which is enough to cover 25% of the states roughly 71,000 children ages 5 to 11 that were identified in the 2019 census.

The state Health Department said in a statement Wednesday that vaccinating children will help protect them from getting COVID-19 and reduce their risk of severe disease, hospitalizations, or developing long-term COVID-19 complications.
VERNON PARISH, La. (AP)  Three eastern Louisiana residents have been charged with human trafficking and rape in connection with the alleged sex trafficking of a child over the span of four years, according to authorities.

Everett West, 41, Dina Guidry, 56, and Bobby Tisdale, 38, were arrested and charged Monday after Vernon Parish authorities conducted a monthslong investigation into the sexual abuse accusations.

According to Sheriff Sam Craft, the victim spoke with detectives, Department of Children and Family Services workers and a pediatric physician and told them the abuse had happened numerous times from when she was 8 to 11. Craft said the victim also indicated the suspects engaged in the rampant use of illegal narcotics within the home, according to KPLC-TV.

Detectives believe that the suspects provided sexual contact with the child to other individuals in exchange for money or drugs. According to Craft, the victim told investigators that Guidry was present on numerous occasions while she was being assaulted. Statements obtained by detectives from other adults also indicated that Tisdale had offered the child to them.

Three children were living in the home at the time, and the girl reported instances of physical abuse against herself and the other children. Craft said all of the children had been removed from the home by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services and relocated to a safe environment.

The investigation remains ongoing, Craft said.

The investigation into the systemic abuse of this child is ongoing and additional arrests are expected. The safety and well-being of our young citizens is of the utmost importance. We will continue to diligently investigate, arrest, and seek prosecution for those responsible for these types of reprehensible crimes, Craft said.

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The name of the Department of Children and Family Services has been corrected in this story.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Democrats objected strongly to a new congressional map proposed by Ohio House Republican, saying Democrats had no time to review the map in advance and were given scant details, as both chambers of the states Legislature began work on redistricting Wednesday.

State Rep. Stephanie Howse, a Cleveland Democrat, called the lack of transparency granted to the House's minority party unacceptable.

We are utilizing the people's money, and people deserve better than this, Howse said.

The complaints followed a series of missed deadlines and a party-line vote amid new redistricting protocols Ohioans voted overwhelmingly to establish in the state Constitution.

Later Wednesday, an Ohio Senate committee heard testimony on two more versions of the states congressional map  one created by Senate Democrats, one by Senate Republicans.

At issue is the once-per-decade requirement that states redraw congressional districts to reflect updated census figures. Ohio lost one U.S. House district, going from 16 to 15, as a result of lagging population in the 2020 census. The survey's results were delayed this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, affecting Ohio's process.

Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters-Ohio, expressed disappointment in the House rollout.

Nothing about this process has been what the voters of Ohio wanted when they voted for reform in 2018 by 75% of the vote, Miller said. This has not been transparent, this has not really engaged in the public, they have not respected any of the deadlines to date. We're seeing a lot of backroom deals and maps that appear to favor partisan outcomes rather than the needs of everyday Ohioans.

Sponsoring state Rep. Scott Oelslager, a North Canton Republican, disagreed. He described the map proposed Wednesday as constitutionally compliant with what voters approved and with the Voting Rights Act. He said eight of its districts lean Republican, five are competitive and two lean Democratic.

Oelslager said the House Republican map was completed Sunday, and deferred a reporters question on why it wasnt received by Democrats until 18 minutes before the hearing.

We're not talking about getting away with anything," Oelslager told reporters after the hearing. "It's just very transparent. We've had this hearing today; I don't know how long I stood up there trying to answer questions.

He noted that Wednesdays hearing on the map proposal was only the first of many.

Ohios current congressional delegation is made up of 12 Republicans and four Democrats. A 2019 Associated Press analysis of partisan gerrymandering found that Ohio Republicans won at least three more U.S. House seats than would have been expected based on the average share of the votes that Republicans received.

State Rep. Shane Wilkin, the Republican chair of the House State Government Committee, dismissed pleas from Howse and other Democrats, who said they needed a written copy of Oelslager's testimony and the shape files that allow experts to crunch detailed census and voting data.

Wilkin also declined a request from Rep. Tavia Galonski, an Akron Democrat, for the committee to recess so Democrats could analyze the map before posing their questions.

Asked if he would waive a requirement that testimony on the map be submitted 24 hours in advance, given another hearing was scheduled for Thursday, Wilkin said, The chair will be as flexible as they possibly can.

In the Senate, the Democrats' map creates eight Republican-leaning and seven Democratic-leaning districts, and draws three pairs of sitting Republican congressmen into single districts; Steve Chabot and Brad Wenstrup, Bill Johnson and Troy Balderson, and Bob Latta and Warren Davidson, respectively.

When Senate State Government and Elections Chair Teresa Gavarone asked why no Democrats were drawn together, Democratic policy advisor Randall Routt said there are only four and their districts are too far apart.

Routt told the panel the caucus viewed minimizing county and community splits a priority, even though that meant district populations deviated widely when they are supposed to be equivalent.

Senate Republicans' map prioritized the compactness of districts and keeping almost all of Ohio's 25 largest cities whole, said sponsoring state Sen. Rob McColley, of Napoleon. He said, depending on the indices used, the boundaries in his proposal would create five Republican, two Democratic and as many as eight competitive districts.

All three maps will now begin moving through the committee and negotiation process.

The job of drawing the districts has fallen to the state Legislature after the new Ohio Redistricting Commission missed its deadline to take first action in the process. Lawmakers have until the end of the month to complete the map-making process. A 10-year map would require support from at least half of House Democrats. Otherwise, the map would have to abide by more stringent requirements and would last only four years.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  Health officials in Oregon say they are expecting 180,000 initial doses of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, which is enough to cover nearly 53% of the states roughly 342,000 children ages 5 to 11.

However, the Oregon Health Authority cautioned parents that they might have to wait a few days before they find an open appointment.

As with the introduction of any new eligible group for vaccination, we expect our health care system will not be able to accommodate all children whod like to get vaccinated in the first few days that they become eligible, said Kristen Dillon, senior advisor for Oregons COVID-19 Response and Recovery Unit.

About two-thirds of the pediatric doses coming to Oregon are being shipped directly to health care settings like pediatricians offices. The other third is going to pharmacies around the state.

Dillon said that many providers and local public health authorities are planning to provide special services  such as drive thru vaccination sites and community events. Officials expect those mass events to open in the coming weeks.

The speed of the authorization, and the fact that vaccine is arriving in the state still, means that I think many sites are still getting organized and not wanting to make commitments until they make sure they have their supplies in hand, Dillon said.

Officials at Portland Public Schools, the states largest school district, have already announced that they will hold pediatric vaccine clinics at eight district schools in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday some pharmacies and health care providers began releasing appointment times at select locations. But many of the slots were quickly scooped up.

Theres significantly more vaccine available for the 5 to 11 population, that there was for the adult population earlier this year," Dillon said. We dont expect to experience the same degree of scarcity.

Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday  a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The decision marks the first opportunity for Americans under 12 to get the powerful protection of any COVID-19 vaccine.

Following the announcement, Gov. Kate Brown encouraged parents to have their children vaccinated against the deadly virus.

Vaccination is the best tool we have to protect ourselves and our loved ones," Brown, a Democrat, said.

Currently, Oregonians who are 18 and younger account for nearly 15% of the states COVID-19 cases.

Officials also urged parents, who have questions about the vaccine, to reach out to their family doctor, health care provider or pharmacist.

More information about the vaccine and where to get it can be found here: https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19

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Sara Cline 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.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)  Police in Jacksonville arrested a man who they said was connected to a shooting involving an officer on Wednesday morning.

No officers were injured during the incident near the Countryside Village mobile home community, news outlets reported.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  A 54-year-old Idaho woman was jailed after police say she stole from the body of a security guard killed during a Boise mall shooting.

Mary Alyce Scarbrough of Boise is charged with felony counts of alteration of evidence, malicious injury to property and grand theft, The Idaho Statesman reported Wednesday. She's being held without bail on accusations of violating her parole, as well as on a $250,000 bond on the other charges.

The courts very concerned about the alleged conduct in this case, said Magistrate Judge David Manweiler during a court hearing last week.

Court documents list Amy Mitchell as Scarbrough's attorney. Mitchell is also listed as an attorney with the Ada County public defender's office. That office declined to comment Wednesday when contacted by The Associated Press.

Security guard Jo Acker, 26, died in the Oct. 25 shooting at the Boise Towne Square mall. Roberto Padilla Arguelles, a 49-year-old Rupert man shopping for gifts for his family, was also killed.

Police say that minutes later they exchanged gunfire with 27-year-old suspect Jacob Bergquist, who died the next day.

Prosecutors said Scarbrough was inside the mall when the shooting began.

The defendant approached the dying security guard at the mall, a prosecutor said during Scarbrough's court appearance. The complaint said that Scarbrough took rings, a gun belt, clothing and other property from Ackers body.

A woman experiencing a mental health crisis significantly altered the crime scene by removing and displacing evidence throughout the mall, Boise Police Department spokeswoman Haley Williams said in an email to the newspaper.

According to court records, Scarbrough also went into an arcade and tore off sheets of metal, kicked holes in walls and damaged other items.

Scarbrough was booked into the Ada County Jail on the day of the shooting on a misdemeanor disturbing the peace charge, and was in custody when charged with the felony counts.

She has pleaded not guilty to disturbing the peace.

Scarbrough is on probation from a felony drug case after pleading in 2019 to possession of a controlled substance.
DALLAS  Scores of QAnon believers gathered Tuesday afternoon in downtown Dallas in the hopes that John F. Kennedy Jr. would appear, heralding the reinstatement of Donald Trump as president.

The supporters first gathered Monday night in downtown Dallas, and about 1 p.m. Tuesday there were several hundred people near Dealey Plaza, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

Kennedys son died in a plane crash in 1999 at age 38, but some supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe that he has spent the last 22 years in hiding. They think John F. Kennedy Jr. will reappear at the plaza before midnight Tuesday, Newsweek reported.

One post from a widely followed QAnon social media account said that after Trump was reinstated as president, he would step down and JFK Jr. would become president. Then former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn would be appointed as his vice president and Trump would ultimately become the king of kings, according to Newsweek.

Experts who have been following QAnon since its inception said that even they were surprised by the number of people who showed up Tuesday in Dallas.

Elias Valverde II/TNS

Frankly, Im kind of shocked at how many people turned out for this, said Jared Holt, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab who researches domestic extremism. This wasnt a widespread belief, even among QAnon followers.

The QAnon conspiracy theory centers on fealty to Trump, who adherents believe will dismantle a shadowy Deep State, which they believe comprises leftist politicians and celebrities who are pedophiles.

Law enforcement groups, including the FBI, have warned of the dangers of real-world violence by followers of the movement. QAnon believers were well-represented during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

QAnon is an umbrella group, in which different segments dont always agree on ideologies, Holt said. He believes Tuesdays event grew out of chat channels that are obsessed with numerology.

Posts in those channels indicated JFK Jr. would reveal himself Tuesday, but Holt said he was uncertain why believers decided he would pick Dallas, the site of his fathers death, of all places, to reveal himself.

JFK Jr. has been a popular figure among QAnon conspiracy theorists. In 2019, some members believed he would return on July 4 as Trumps vice president, Forbes reported. Another theory posits that JFK Jr. is Q, the groups anonymous leader, according to Forbes.


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  In a state famous for election recounts, just 12 votes separated the leading candidates Wednesday in the Democratic primary in South Florida for the U.S. House seat of the late Alcee Hastings, elections officials said.

By law, that means there will be a hand recount of ballots that tabulating machines read as having no votes or too many votes to determine if there is evidence of voter intention.

The unofficial returns reported by Palm Beach and Broward county elections officials showed Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness ahead of health care company CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick by 12 votes.

I'm hopeful this lead will hold through the recounts, Holness said in a phone interview. Certainly they are big shoes to fill. The congressman was really a powerhouse when it came to his ability to express himself. A great orator ... I was very close to the congressman. He was a mentor.

While ballots cast by members of the military and other overseas Florida residents can be counted if received within 10 days of the election, that number is expected to be small.

Unofficial returns showed Holness with 11,644 votes and Cherfilus-McCormick with 11,632 votes.

Calls to Cherfilus-McCormick's campaign were unanswered and messages were not returned.

In 2000, George W. Bush had to wait more than five weeks to be declared the presidential winner over Democrat Al Gore as Florida went through a painstaking recount that was finally ended by the U.S. Supreme Court.

And in 2018, there were recounts in three statewide races for governor, U.S. Senate and agriculture commissioner.

I'm pretty confident, I'm not over confident. Anything can happen, Holness said. Based on historical data, usually those votes hold.

Businessman Jason Mariner won the Republican primary, but he is considered a longshot to win the general election in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.

Hastings was first elected in 1992. The other nine Democrats on the ballot were state House Democratic Leader Bobby DuBose, state Rep. Omari Hardy, state Sen. Perry Thurston, Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief, author and former National Urban League chief of staff Elvin Dowling, retired Navy petty officer Phil Jackson, business consulting firm founder Emmanuel Morel and physician Dr. Imran Uddin Siddiqui.

Turnout was about 16%. The district is more than 61% Democratic and about 13% Republican. In the 2020 election, Hastings earned 78.7% of the vote to defeat Republican Greg Musselwhite, whom Mariner defeated in this years primary.

Cherfilus-McCormick loaned her campaign more than $3.7 million and far outspent the other Democrats in the race.

The district is nearly 54% Black. Every Democrat on the ballot is a person of color, while the two Republicans are white.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  More than 10,000 doses of Pfizers kid-size COVID-19 shot are expected in Rhode Island Wednesday to begin vaccinating children ages 5 to 11.

The state Department of Health in a statement Wednesday said that 900 doses had already arrived and 9,900 additional doses were expected during the day. The children's doses are one-third of the amount given to teens and adults.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  Afghanistan's Central Bank doubled the cap on weekly withdrawals Wednesday, a day after the Taliban government banned all foreign currency transactions.

The back-to-back decisions come at a time of a continued deterioration of the Afghan economy. The Taliban portrayed the foreign currency ban as a way of trying to stabilize economy, and warned that violators would be prosecuted.

Others suggested the ban could be counterproductive. Much of Afghanistan's economy revolves around foreign trade, foreign aid and remittances from abroad. The local currency, the afghani, has depreciated since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August.

After the Taliban takeover, the U.S. froze nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Central Bank and stopped shipments of cash. It was part of a pressure campaign aimed at getting Afghanistan's new rulers to respect the rights of women and minorities.

In response, bank withdrawals were capped at the equivalent of $200 a week. Huge crowds formed outside banks every day as Afghans tried to get money for daily needs.

On Wednesday, the Central Bank announced the cap would increase to the equivalent of $400 a week, or $1,200 a month. The bank said those who deposit money starting Wednesday will be able to withdraw funds without restrictions.

The economic situation remains dire. The Talibans seizure of power resulted in an abrupt halt to most donor funds. These disbursements accounted for 45 percent of GDP and financed 75 percent of state expenditures, including public sector salaries. In 2019, total government expenditures were nearly $11 billion. Humanitarian agencies say they've seen a sharp increase in hunger, with a drought and the onset of winter worsening the situation.

In addition to the economic woes, the Taliban have also been faced with a sharp rise in attacks by its main rival, the extremist group Islamic State. Hardest-hit has been the IS stronghold of Jalalabad, the capital of the eastern province of Nangarhar.

On Wednesday, a roadside bomb struck a Taliban patrol in Jalalabad, killing two people and wounding three, witnesses said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of previous IS strikes against the Taliban.

A Taliban district commander in the city confirmed the blast and said four Taliban fighters were wounded. The commander, who identified himself as Mubarizand like many Afghans goes by one namedid not provide details about those killed in the attack, saying the investigation continues.

In recent weeks, Taliban officials have been reluctant or slow to release details about Taliban fatalities, in an apparent attempt to play down the extent of the damage being inflicted by IS.

The Jalalabad attack came a day after IS attackers set off an explosion at the gate of a 400-bed military hospital in the capital of Kabul, killing three women, a child and three Taliban guards said. Five assailants were also killed in the attack.

Taliban officials said guards prevented the attackers from entering the hospital.

IS claimed that one of those killed in the hospital attack was a senior Taliban commander who had played a leading role in the group's Aug. 15 takeover of Kabul. Taliban officials said they could not immediately confirm the commander had been killed.
PROSPECT, Pa. (AP)  A crash involving a school bus and a tractor-trailer on a western Pennsylvania interstate claimed the lives of the bus driver and a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.

State police in Butler County said the crash occurred shortly after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the northbound lanes of I-79 in Muddy Creek Township. Television news helicopter footage from the scene showed the bus up against the rear of the tractor-trailer.
WASHINGTON (AP)  If at first you dont succeed, make Republicans vote again.

That's the strategy Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer appears to be pursuing as the New York Democrat forced another test vote Wednesday on legislation to overhaul the nation's election laws. For the fourth time since June, Republicans blocked it.

Democrats entered the year with unified, albeit narrow, control of Washington, and a desire to counteract a wave of restrictive new voting laws in Republican-led states, many of which were inspired by Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen 2020 election.

But their initial optimism has given way to a grinding series of doomed votes that are meant to highlight Republican opposition, but have done little to advance a cause that is a top priority for the party ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

The Senate voted against debating voting legislation Wednesday, with Republicans this time filibustering an update to the landmark Voting Rights Act, a pillar of civil rights legislation from the 1960s. GOP senators oppose the Democratic voting bills as a power grab.

This is a low, low point in the history of this body, Schumer said after the failed vote, later adding, The Senate is better than this.

The stalemate is forcing a reckoning among Senate Democrats about whether to make changes to the filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes for legislation to advance. That could allow them to muscle legislation through, but would almost certainly come back to bite them if and when Republicans take back control of the chamber.

Earlier Wednesday, Schumer met with a group of centrist Democrats, including Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Angus King of Maine and Tim Kaine of Virginia, for a family discussion about steps that could be taken to maneuver around Republicans. That's according to a senior aide who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

But it's also a move opposed by moderate Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Without their support, Democrats won't have the votes needed to make a change.

Time is ticking down. Redistricting of congressional districts (a once-in-a-decade process Democrats want to overhaul to make less partisan) is already underway. And the Senate poised to split town next week for a home-state work period.

Senate Democrats should stay in town and focus on the last act in this battle, said Fred Wertheimer, who leads the good government group Democracy 21.

The latest measure blocked by Republicans Wednesday is different from an earlier voting bill from Democrats that would have touched on every aspect of the electoral process. It has a narrower focus and would restore the Justice Department's ability to police voting laws in states with a history of discrimination.

The measure drew the support of one Republican, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, after Democrats agreed to make changes that she sought. But all other Republicans opposed opening debate on the bill.

Every time that Washington Democrats make a few changes around the margins and come back for more bites at the same apple, we know exactly what they are trying to do, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who slammed the vote as political theatre" on a trumped-up a go-nowhere bill.

Murkowski, too, said she still had underlying issues with the bill as written, while criticizing Schumer's decision to force repeated show votes."

Lets give ourselves the space to work across the aisle, she said Wednesday. Our goal should be to avoid a partisan bill, not to take failing votes over and over.

The Democrats' John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the late Georgia congressman who made the issue a defining one of his career, would restore voting rights protections that have been dismantled by the Supreme Court. Under the proposal, the Justice Department would again police new changes to voting laws in states that have racked up a series of violations, drawing them into a mandatory review process known as preclearance.

The practice was first put in place under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But it was struck down by a conservative majority on the Supreme Court in 2013, which ruled the formula for determining which states needed their laws reviewed was outdated and unfairly punitive. The court did, however, say that Congress could come up with a new formula. The bill does just that.

A second ruling from the high court in July made it more difficult to challenge voting restrictions in court under another section of the law.

The law's preclearance provisions had been reauthorized by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support five times since it was first passed decades ago. But after the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling, Republican support for the measure cratered.

Though the GOP has shown no indication that its opposition will waver, there are signs that some of the voting changes Democrats seek aren't as electorally advantageous for the party as some hope.

Republican Glenn Youngkin's victory in Virginia's Tuesday gubernatorial election offers the latest test case.

Democrats took control of all parts of Virginias government in 2019 and steadily started liberalizing the states voting laws. They made mail voting accessible to all and required a 45-day window for early voting, among the longest in the country. This year they passed a voting rights act that made it easier to sue for blocking ballot access.

But those changes didn't hurt Youngkin, who comfortably beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a popular former governor seeking a valedictory term.

That's still unlikely to change Republicans' calculus.

Are we all reading the tea leaves from Virginia? Yes, absolutely, Murkowski said. Will it be something colleagues look too? It's just one example.

Democratic frustration is growing, meanwhile leading to increasingly vocal calls to change the filibuster.

We cant even debate basic bills, said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat. The next step is to work on ideas to restore the Senate.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP)  A mother, two grandparents and three other people have been charged following the death of a 3-year-old southwestern Indiana girl who ingested fentanyl.

Arcinial Watt, Jazmynn Brown and Allison Smithler appeared Tuesday in court on murder, drug dealing and neglect of a child resulting in death charges, the Evansville Courier & Press reported.

The girls 20-year-old mother, Makaylee Opperman, and the girls grandparents, Brandon and Amber Opperman, also were charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death.

The Associated Press was unable Wednesday to determine if any of those charged have attorneys.

Emergency responders found Kamari Opperman dead Oct. 27 in an Evansville home where police discovered thousands of fentanyl pills. Two other children, ages 2 and 4, were hospitalized with apparent opioid overdoses, authorities said.

Kamaris grandmother told police that the children got hold of a bag containing fentanyl pills the night before, the newspaper reported last week.

No one took Kamari to the hospital, and the other children who showed signs of overdosing didnt get medical treatment until first responders rushed them to a hospital. They were in stable condition last week. Police believe another child, an infant, was also exposed to fentanyl.

Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann said detectives found more than 5,600 fentanyl pills inside the home in the city, located about 165 miles (266 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday set two execution dates for 2022, a move that comes after executions in the state were put on hold due to the pandemic.

Oscar Smith had been sentenced to die on June 4, 2020, for the murders of his estranged wife, Judy Lynn Smith, and her two sons from a previous marriage, Chad and Jason Burnett, in Nashville. The state high court initially set a new execution date in February of this year before issuing an indefinite stay due to the pandemic. On Wednesday, the court set a new date of April 21, 2022.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  More than a thousand people blocked several streets in the center of the Ukrainian capital Wednesday, protesting against COVID-19 vaccine certificates and state-imposed restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus.

The protesters, mostly women and young people, didnt wear masks and held up signs reading Say No to COVID Passports, Say No to COVID Genocide in front of the Ukrainian parliament building in Kyiv.

The rally comes in response to restrictions that require teachers, government employees and other workers to get fully vaccinated by Nov. 8 or have their salaries suspended.

Last week, Ukrainian authorities also started requiring proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results for people boarding airplanes, trains and long-distance buses.

The measures come as Ukraine reports a record-high level of new infections and deaths from the coronavirus.

Authorities have mainly blamed the surge on widespread public reluctance to get vaccinated. Ukrainians can freely choose between the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines, but just about 17.1% of the 41-million population has been fully vaccinated, which is Europes second-lowest rate after Armenia.

I dont want to participate in an experiment on myself, but I am deprived of the right to choose, said Tamara Ustinova, 35, a teacher from Mariupol. The authorities force Ukrainians to get vaccinated, creating unbearable conditions, but the danger of genetic mutations is much greater than the harm from COVID.

The police did not interfere with the rally, which was supported by ex-lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko who was detained at an airport a few weeks ago with a fake vaccination certificate.

The authorities will only aggravate the situation further, Savchenko said at the rally. You have the right to move freely around the country, this is everyones right.

Savchenko and the protesters held several prayers in front of the parliament building. The government says that some denominations oppose vaccination, and false rumors about vaccines containing microchips, causing gene mutations or infertility are circulating among believers.

New government regulations and restrictions have spawned a booming black market for counterfeit documents. Fake vaccination certificates are selling for the equivalent of $100-300, and there have been reports of a fake version of a government digital app with fake certificates already installed.

Authorities have opened 1,065 criminal cases over the distribution of fake certificates involving 80 doctors and 35 travel agencies. Police have blocked 40 websites that offered fake certificates.

Parliament has proposed to make the use and production of fake certificates a separate criminal offence, punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of about $6,460. A bill to that effect has already been supported by lawmakers in the first reading on Tuesday.

The anti-vaccination spirit quickly disappears in intensive care, and fake certificates do not work there, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said at a briefing. Calls not to get vaccinated are, in my opinion, a mockery of our doctors and families who have lost their relatives.

In total, Ukraine has reported 2,979,086 coronavirus cases and 69,447 deaths.

___

Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)  The last of the residents have left a homeless encampment in the south end of Vermonts largest city, the city said.

A Vermont judge ruled Tuesday that the city could legally close the Sears Lane encampment.

Two camp residents had asked the judge to block the closure of the encampment, but the judge disagreed, ruling the residents had no legal claim to live there.

I think for some folks its sad," former resident Gina Johnson told WCAX-TV. For me, its just if they are going to take this place away  whats left  for people who dont have ways and means.

Johnson said she didn't an apartment and prefers to live with minimal belongings. She said she planned to head to a hotel and eventually to move into an trailer provided by the city.

The Burlington mayors office says the last Sears Lane resident moved into a hotel on Tuesday.

In the nearly three weeks since I made the difficult decision to end the Sears Lane encampment, we have successfully delivered emergency resources to over 30 community members experiencing homelessness and moved them into safer and better housing," Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a Tuesday statement.

The Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says its disappointed in the judges decision.

All Burlington residents should be treated with respect and compassion, and both the city and the state need to adequately fund and implement services that address housing insecurity, poverty, mental health concerns, and substance use disorders, the ACLU said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  An independent Pentagon review has concluded that the U.S. drone strike that killed innocent Kabul civilians and children in the final days of the Afghanistan war was not caused by misconduct or negligence, and it doesn't recommend any disciplinary action.

The review, done by Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said, found there were breakdowns in communication and in the process of identifying and confirming the target of the bombing. Said concluded that the mistaken strike happened despite prudent measures to prevent civilian deaths.

I found that given the information they had and the analysis that they did  I understand they reached the wrong conclusion, but ... was it reasonable to conclude what they concluded based on what they had? It was not unreasonable. It just turned out to be incorrect, Said said. He is the inspector general of the Air Force and is considered independent as he had no direct connection to Afghanistan operations.

His review said the drone strike must be considered in the context of the moment, as U.S. forces under stress were being flooded by information about threats to troops and civilians at the Kabul airport, just days after a deadly suicide bombing. Thousands of Afghans were swarming the airport, trying to get out of the country following the Taliban takeover.

Said found that better communication between those making the strike decision and other support personnel might have raised more doubts about the bombing, but in the end may not have prevented it.

Said was asked to investigate the Aug. 29 drone strike on a white Toyota Corolla sedan, which killed Zemerai Ahmadi and nine family members, including seven children. Ahmadi, 37, was a longtime employee of an American humanitarian organization.

The intelligence about the car and its potential threat came just days after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. troops and 169 Afghans at a Kabul airport gate. The U.S. was working to evacuate thousands of Americans, Afghans and other allies in the wake of the collapse of the country's government.

Said concluded that U.S. forces genuinely believed that the car they were following was an imminent threat and that they needed to strike it before it got closer to the airport.

They all have a genuine belief based on the information they had and the interpretation, that that was a threat to U.S. forces, an imminent threat to U.S. forces, he told reporters during a Pentagon briefing. Thats a mistake. Its a regrettable mistake. Its an honest mistake. I understand the consequences, but its not criminal conduct, random conduct, negligence.

He said repeated reviews of the video from that day showed that two minutes before the strike was launched, there was evidence that a child was in the strike zone.

Said, who said he watched the video himself, said troops in the strike cell did not see the child.

Im just saying it is 100% not obvious," he said. "You have to be like, no kidding, looking for it. But when youre looking for it, certainly after the fact, if you ask me, was there evidence of the presence? Yes, there was.

Steven Kwon, president of Nutrition and Education International, which employed Ahmadi, said he was deeply disappointed in the review.

According to the Inspector General, there was a mistake but no one acted wrongly, and Im left wondering, how can that be? Kwon said in a statement. "Clearly, good military intentions are not enough when the outcome is 10 precious Afghan civilian lives lost and reputations ruined.

The report, which has been endorsed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, made several recommendations that have been passed on to commanders at U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. The review recommends that more be done to prevent what military officials call confirmation bias  the idea that troops making the strike decision were too quick to conclude that what they were seeing aligned with the intelligence and confirmed their conclusion to bomb what turned out to be the wrong car.

Specifically, the review said the military should have personnel present with a strike team, and their job should be to actively question such conclusions. The report says using a so-called red-team" in such self-defense strikes that are being done quickly might help avoid errors.

Said also recommended that the military improve its procedures to ensure that children and other innocent civilians are not present before launching a time-sensitive strike.

Those changes, he said, could go a long way to greatly mitigate the risk of this happening again in these types of rapidly moving, self-defense strikes.

For days after the strike, Pentagon officials asserted that it had been conducted correctly, despite mounting reports that multiple civilians and children had died and growing doubts that the car contained explosives. Said's review concluded that officials made their initial assessments too quickly and did not do enough analysis.

While Saids report does not find individual fault or recommend discipline, he said commanders may decide to take administrative actions once they review his report. He said commanders may look at the report and determine that there was subpar performance" and decide to decredential, retrain or fire personnel.

You should not perceive the fact that I didnt call any individual out with accountability that it does not mean that the chain of command wont, he said.

The U.S. is working to pay financial reparations to the family, and potentially get them out of Afghanistan, but nothing has been finalized.

A second defense official said Austin has asked that Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, and Gen. Richard Clarke, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, come back to him with recommendations for changes to address the gaps.

Said's review mirrors many of the findings outlined by McKenzie several weeks after the investigation.

The Central Command review found that U.S. forces tracked the car for about eight hours and launched the strike in an earnest belief  based on a standard of reasonable certainty  that it posed an imminent threat to American troops at Kabul airport. The car was believed to have been carrying explosives in its trunk.

The airstrike was the last in a U.S. war that ended just days later, as the final American troops flew out of Kabul airport, leaving the Taliban in power.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  A central Mississippi woman has been arrested for her involvement in an attempted murder-for-hire plot.

Jessica Leeann Sledge, 39, of Pelahatchie, is charged with the use of interstate commerce facility in the commission of murder-for-hire, Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca announced Wednesday in a press release. It was unclear if Sledge is being represented by a lawyer.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Lawyers for Louisiana and the man whose seven nursing homes were evacuated to a warehouse during Hurricane Ida said Wednesday that it will be at least a year before trial can start on an appeal of the nursing homes license revocations.

More than 840 nursing home residents were evacuated to the property also owned by Bob Dean Jr. Days after Ida's Aug. 29 landfall, state inspectors said the warehouse was filthy and unsafe. The Health Department moved patients across the state. On Sept. 7, it revoked the nursing home licenses.

A Louisiana Department of Health attorney told a state administrative law judge Wednesday that he expects to take 30 to 40 sworn statements, including Dean's, during the pretrial process called discovery.

To do that and get documents exchanged  I'm kind of looking at a year to 18 months, Juston Jay OBrien told Administrative Law Judge Karla Coreil during a scheduling teleconference.

I think a year is probably realistic. ... I hate to admit it, but I think that's probably right, responded Dean's lawyer, John McLindon.

He and department attorneys disagreed on scheduling Dean's appeal of a related department decision to cancel the nursing homes' provider agreements for Medicaid, which most nursing homes rely on to pay for patient care.

Since that decision was based on the revocation, its appeal should wait until the license decision is final, McLindon said.

A hearing on the Medicaid provider contracts could be held immediately, department attorney Sarah Aycock said. She and another department attorney said state law doesn't require a final decision on licensing before a hearing about the provider contracts.

Coreil said she and two other judges from the Division of Administrative Law will consider the license revocation, while she will hear the Medicaid cancellation on her own.

What if the three-judge panel holds revocation was wrong? ... It seems like we've got to do that first, then go to the provider issue, McLindon said.

"That was my impression as well," Coreil said.

McLindon and Aycock agreed to discuss the matter out of court and report back to her.

Lawyers for both sides agreed to set up a system to shield the privacy of any individual patients who might be described in court or in documents. One way, the judge suggested, might be to assign hyphenated numbers, with the first number designating a nursing home and the second its individual residents.

As of Thursday, 42 of the 843 residents who were evacuated to the warehouse have died, but the number of deaths linked by coroners to the hurricane has remained at five, Health Department spokeswoman Mindy Faciane said in an email.
By Tony Hicks

Bay City News Foundation

The Walnut Creek City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to ban the sale of favored tobacco and electronic smoking devices within city limits.

The idea is to discourage young smokers, who frequently start using flavored products for electronic vaping.

"I'm proud that Walnut Creek continues to lead by example in areas of safety for our community, in this case banning sales of flavored vape products and e-cigarette devices," Mayor Kevin Wilk said, after the meeting. "These are specially targeted at our students, and we hope neighboring cites follow our lead."

Wilk said a 2019-20 California tobacco survey found 92 percent of students using tobacco reported using a flavored product.

"Vaping is the number one problem in middle and high school, and we need to protect our youths," Wilk said.

A staff report for Tuesday's meeting quoted United States Centers for Disease Control statistics saying smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S. (more than 480,000 annually). Nearly nine out of every 10 adult smokers try smoking by the age of 18.

The city's ban is more restrictive than federal and state laws, though it provides exemptions for adult-only hookah tobacco businesses.

The ordinance includes a five-month enforcement delay to allow retailers to comply with the new restrictions.

The city follows Contra Costa County, who reaffirmed its 2019 ban restricting the sale of flavored vaping products and electronic devices in July. That ordinance only covers the county's unincorporated areas.

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By Bay City News

No charges will be filed against a man who left racist voicemails in May on a San Anselmo town administration phone line, according to Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli.

Frugoli announced the decision Tuesday regarding what she described as a hate incident, in which the caller left three messages using racist language to describe his displeasure with the police department and San Anselmo Mayor Brian Colbert, who is Black.

"The use of racist language is offensive and disgusting," Frugoli said in a video posted on the DA's website. "That kind of hate has no place in our society, and it has no place in Marin County. That is my personal opinion.

"As your District Attorney, I also have a professional responsibility to oversee legal opinions on thousands of cases every year following the strict guidelines of California law. My office has found that no laws were broken in this case."

The caller left identifying details in the messages and was arrested shortly afterward on suspicion of making criminal threats and served two days in jail.

Frugoli said in a statement released Tuesday that prosecutors and an ad hoc committee on hate crimes vetted the evidence and determined the incident did not qualify as a hate crime.

The statement provided a link on the District Attorney's website (https://www.marincountyda.org/hate-crime) that details the differences between a hate crime and a hate incident.

The statement noted that the U.S. Constitution allows hate speech, as long as it does not interfere with the civil rights of others.

Acts such as insults, name-calling, display of hate materials on private property, display of hate material that don't result in property damage, and distribution of hate messages in public places are considered hate incidents.

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By Bay City News

The former director of information technology for an Alameda-based labor union was sentenced Tuesday in an Oakland federal courtroom to five years in prison.

Scott Wilson, 54, formerly of Tracy, was also ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution to his former employer, Operating Engineers Local 3.

Wilson has been residing in Texas since 2017 and pleaded guilty to the charge on July 6, 2021.

"Scott Wilson abused his authority as the IT director of the Operating Engineers Local 3 by creating a complex scheme to steal millions of dollars in union funds," said Special Agent-in-Charge Quentin Heiden, of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. "Today's sentencing affirms the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General's commitment to safeguard union funds from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of union members."

Wilson orchestrated the embezzlement scheme between 2011 and 2017 to fraudulent misdirect nearly $4 million in union funds to front companies he set up for himself, according to a news release issued Tuesday by Heiden and Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Hinds and Federal Bureau of Investigation San Francisco Division Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair.

Wilson used front companies he created to fraudulently invoice the union for IT-related goods and services that were never to be delivered, and taking some funds through kickbacks paid by his friend and relative, according to the news release.

Wilson also used the front companies to conceal payments made with union funds to his own family members, primarily for work that was never done. At one point, Wilson arranged for the union funds to be withdrawn from the front companies' accounts and delivered to him in the form of cash wrapped in bundles.

In his plea agreement, Wilson admitted that he used some of the embezzled funds to buy land in Corsicana, Texas, and build himself a house there.

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A national historic designation for People's Park cannot prevent the University of California at Berkeley from building student housing at the park, a state historian said Monday.

State historian Jay Correia said People's Park will likely be placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the next 45 days, following a vote Friday by the State Historical Resources Commission, which made the recommendation to federal officials.

The commission voted 6

0 to send the recommendation to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C., which 99 percent of the time agrees with the commission, Correia said.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott sent a message to department employees Tuesday night, reminding them that the officer charged with voluntary manslaughter hours earlier is presumed innocent unless proven guilty for his role in a 2017 shooting that killed a man.

Scott's message, emailed to employees shortly before 8 p.m., serves as the chief's public statement on the matter -- according to a department spokesman -- after charges were filed Tuesday against Officer Kenneth Cha by District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

Cha faces the manslaughter count as well as an assault with a deadly weapon charge and enhancements for the shooting of Sean Moore on Jan. 6, 2017, in the city's Oceanview neighborhood.

San Francisco Bay Area roads aren't getting any better, but at least they aren't getting any worse, according to data released Tuesday by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on the region's pavement quality.

The MTC, the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county Bay Area, put its 2020 pavement condition index score at 67 out of 100, in the fair range with 0 representing a failed road and 100 meaning a brand-new or resurfaced roadway.

That PCI number of 67, computed on a three-year moving average, has remained the same for five years, which MTC officials said points toward the continued challenges faced by public works departments locally to maintain aging roads.

The Walnut Creek City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to ban the sale of favored tobacco and electronic smoking devices within city limits.

The idea is to discourage young smokers, who frequently start using flavored products for electronic vaping.

"I'm proud that Walnut Creek continues to lead by example in areas of safety for our community, in this case banning sales of flavored vape products and e-cigarette devices," Mayor Kevin Wilk said, after the meeting. "These are specially targeted at our students, and we hope neighboring cites follow our lead."

As colder, rainy weather conditions continue to diminish the threat of wildfires, residents in Sonoma, Lake, Napa and Solano counties are now allowed to conduct controlled vegetation burns, CAL FIRE announced on Tuesday.

Those with burn permits can resume burning dry brush and other wildfire fuels on permissible burn days. Burn piles cannot be larger than four feet by four feet until the end of fire season, unless inspected by CAL FIRE officials.

Residents with approved permits should still be cautious when pile burning, as they can still face criminal or legal charges for any accidental damage, CAL FIRE said. Residents are encouraged to contact their local fire department before initiating a burn.

San Jose city councilmembers have delayed a controversial vote regarding the allocation of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act money until next year.

The vote was supposed to occur during the city council meeting on Tuesday but was postponed "in light of recent uncertainty in the state's treatment of tax revenues," a memo by Mayor Sam Liccardo read.

Liccardo suggested allocation actions be taken January 15, 2022 to allow the city manager to certify in writing that positions and services could remain without reductions for the 2022-2023 fiscal year using general fund money.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday announced charges in two recent cases in the county that prosecutors are treating as hate crimes.

In the most recent of the two cases, on Oct. 5, Richard Hanford allegedly hit a woman walking her dog on University Avenue in Los Gatos. He had told the Asian American woman to move out of his way, and when she said he could move around her, he said, "This is America," and struck her twice in the face, prosecutors said.

Hanford, a 62-year-old Los Gatos man, has been charged with misdemeanor hate crime and battery charges and is set to be arraigned Nov. 16, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The Pleasanton City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance requiring the city's gun owners to either store them in a locked container or keep an engaged trigger lock on their firearms.

The ordinance "seeks to curb access to firearms by children and other persons who may be at risk of harming themselves or others," according to a staff report.

It also cites a 2016 study published in the American Journal of Public Health saying an estimated 54 percent of gun owners don't lock up all their guns or store them trigger-locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.

San Jose police are asking motorists to avoid the 1600 block of Saratoga Avenue, where a traffic collision involving two vehicles claimed the life of one person late Tuesday.

Officers responded to the scene following an 11:52 p.m. report of the collision near the intersection with Campbell Avenue and Prospect Road.

Police said more information on the crash will be forthcoming.

The National Weather Service forecast for the greater San Francisco Bay Area calls for more dry and warm conditions with mostly sunny skies Wednesday. Daytime highs will range from the mid 60s along the coast to the 60s and 70s around the bay and reaching the mid 70s in the inland valleys of the East Bay. There is a chance of rain late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Overnight lows will be in the high 50s to low 60s.

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Republican Glenn Youngkin mobilized voters concerned about education and race, while making small gains with suburban voters and other key groups to help his party rebound from Donald Trumps poor showing in Virginia last year and win the governor's race.

The former private equity executive's victory came even as Trump remains broadly unpopular in the commonwealth. Youngkin managed to keep the former president at arms length without angering Trump's base. A year after Democrat Joe Biden dispatched Trump in Virginia by 10 percentage points, Youngkins supporters, not Democrat Terry McAuliffe's, were more fired up  74% of them said they were extremely interested in the election, compared with 63% who voted for McAuliffe, according to AP VoteCast.

Heres a snapshot of what mattered to voters, based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 2,500 voters in Virginia conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

BIG COMEBACK BUILT ON SMALL GAINS

Both Democrats and Republicans pulled together familiar coalitions. Men, rural and small town voters and white evangelicals were squarely in Youngkins corner, while McAuliffe was the choice for Black voters, moderates, college graduates and voters under 45. Women were only slightly more likely to back the Democrat than the Republican, 52% to 47%.

But small shifts added up to make a difference for Youngkin. In 2020, voters 45 and older split about evenly between Biden and Trump. This year they were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe, 55% to 45%.

Youngkin also performed better with suburban voters, a group that helped Democrats win elections across the country during the Trump era. Last year, about 6 in 10 suburbanites in Virginia backed Biden. A year later, Youngkin, who lives in a northern Virginia suburb, was more competitive with those voters, earning the support of 46% of them.

In recent elections, Democrats have built a sizable edge with voters who have college degrees. McAuliffe still won those voters Tuesday, but Youngkin fared slightly better than Trump did in 2020. Youngkin was backed by 45% of college educated voters in this year's election; in 2020, 38% went for Trump.

Youngkin also did somewhat better than Trump among white voters  both men and women. White voters made up 72% of the electorate and backed Youngkin over McAuliffe, 59% to 40%. Youngkin also appeared to make inroads with Latino voters, who were closely divided between McAuliffe and him.

BIDENS PERFORMANCE

The governor's race was seen by some as a test of Biden's standing so far in his term. The president and his wife campaigned for McAuliffe in the state, as did other top Democrats. Three-quarters of voters said negotiations in Washington over Biden's governing agenda were an important factor in their vote.

Biden won Virginia by 10 percentage points last year. Now, 47% of Virginias voters approve of his job performance, while 53% disapprove  a split similar to U.S. adults nationwide in recent AP-NORC polling.

TRUMP FACTOR

While McAuliffe leaned on his party for help, Youngkin didn't campaign with Trump or other GOP leaders. The political newcomer started the campaign with a blank slate on policy and cast himself as an affable, suburban dad. McAuliffe called him a Trump wannabe"  and Trump endorsed Youngkin  but it doesn't look like all Virginia voters bought it.

While Trump was unpopular with a majority of voters, about half had a favorable opinion of Youngkin. About 4 in 10 had an unfavorable opinion of him.

About half said they had a very unfavorable opinion of Trump, but only about 3 in 10 said the same about Youngkin.

Close to half of Virginia voters said Youngkin supports Trump too much, while roughly as many said he supports Trump the right amount. Most Youngkin voters  about 8 in 10  said the candidate supports Trump the right amount, but about 1 in 10 said he supports the former president too much. About that many said Youngkin supports Trump too little.

MCAULIFFE GETS MORE BLAME FOR ATTACKS

Overall, about half of Virginia voters said they had a favorable opinion of McAuliffe, while about half held an unfavorable view.

In a very contentious race, McAuliffe appears to have taken more of the blame for the tone. Most voters thought the gubernatorial campaign featured unfair attacks from at least one candidate, but voters were somewhat more likely to say only McAuliffe attacked Youngkin unfairly than the other way around. Close to 2 in 10 voters said both attacked unfairly.

SCHOOL DEBATE DECISIVE FOR MANY

Schools became a major focus of the governor's race for Youngkin, who localized a nationwide issue after McAuliffe said during a debate that parents shouldn't be telling schools what they should teach.

About a quarter of Virginia voters said the debate over teaching critical race theory in schools was the single most important factor in their vote for governor, and 72% of those voters backed Youngkin.

Most Youngkin voters  about three-quarters  said the public school system in Virginia is focusing on racism too much. Among McAuliffe voters, just over half said the focus is too little, while about a third said its about right.

McAuliffe voters had concerns about schools, too  but they were more likely to be focused on COVID-19 precautions. Roughly a quarter of all voters identified the debate over handling COVID-19 in schools as the most important factor in their vote, and 63% of them backed McAuliffe.

About 6 in 10 Virginia voters support mask mandates for both teachers and students in K-12 schools and COVID-19 vaccine mandates for teachers. Those voters were more likely to be McAuliffe supporters. Only about a third of Youngkin backers supported each policy.

TOP ISSUE

Thirty-five percent of Virginia voters said the economy and jobs was the most important issue facing the state, while 17% named COVID-19 and 15% chose education.

Health care, climate change, racism, immigration, abortion and law enforcement were all lower.

Voters who ranked the economy and education as the top issues were more likely to back Youngkin over McAuliffe. Voters who identified COVID-19 as the top issue supported McAuliffe. McAuliffe also earned the majority of the roughly 2 in 10 who ranked health care, climate change or racism as the top issue.

IS VIRGINIAS ECONOMY SOARING OR SINKING?

Youngkin, a former private equity executive, often asserted during the campaign that Virginias economy was in the ditch, but a majority of voters disagreed. Fifty-five percent said the states economy is in good shape.

Youngkin argued that Virginias record budget surplus was the result of overtaxation as he campaigned on a promise to enact substantial tax cuts.

McAuliffe countered that the surplus was due to strong economic growth under Democratic leadership and argued that Youngkins opposition to abortion rights and conservative position on LGBTQ issues would hamper efforts to recruit new businesses to the commonwealth.

MORE INDECISION THAN 2020

About 6 in 10 voters said they had known all along whom they would be backing in the governors race. In the presidential race last year, three-quarters of Virginia voters said they knew all along.

Of the three in 10 voters who say they decided over the course of this year's the campaign, there was a preference for Youngkin, 55% to 45%.

CONTINUED SKEPTICISM ABOUT THE VOTE COUNT

Although Virginia experienced no major issues with its vote count in 2020, only about half of voters in Virginia were very confident that the votes in the election for governor would be counted accurately. An additional 3 in 10 were somewhat confident.

Just 18% of Youngkin's voters said they were very confident the vote would be counted accurately. That compared with 78% of McAuliffe voters.

Still, overall confidence is stronger among voters now compared with last years presidential election: Just 25% then said they were very confident votes would be counted accurately.

___

AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News and The Associated Press. The survey of 2,655 voters in Virginia was conducted for seven days, concluding as polls closed. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish. The survey combines a random sample of registered voters drawn from the state voter file and self-identified registered voters selected from nonprobability online panels. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated to be plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCasts methodology at https://www.ap.org/votecast.
As Danielle Scarpellino stood outside the Calvin Leete School polling place Tuesday morning, asking for votes as a candidate for the school board in Guilford, a voter walked past and muttered under her breath, Jesus Christ.

Thanks for coming out to vote today, Scarpellino said.

Not for you, the voter shot back.

It was another sign that the national debate on how race and history is taught in schools had made its way into local politics in this coastal town of 22,000 residents. The controversy over critical race theory created a tense atmosphere in a place that normally tends to escape such acrimony in its local elections.

Eighteen miles down Interstate 95, in West Haven, a different sort of controversy  the Oct. 20 arrest of then-state Rep. and city employee Michael DiMassa on fraud charges tied to the possible $600,000 embezzlement of pandemic relief money  led to disappointment, bewilderment and divided loyalties at the polls Tuesday.

In both towns, the Election Day mood seemed far more charged with emotion than a local election would otherwise bring. Observers in both towns said turnout seemed strong for local municipal elections on non-gubernatorial and non-presidential years.

Guilford has long been a unified town that works together for the benefit of our kids and the town  until this election, said Noel Petra, one of three Independent candidates for board of education on the fusion slate with Democrats.

Its so tense, so tense, Petra said. Its awful.

Campaign literature and signs have been littered with attack ads and community forums on social media sites have devolved into people lobbing insults at one another, voters said Tuesday.

For years, Democrats and Republicans in town got along, especially on the school board, Petra said. But now a group of unknowns, who havent been involved in town before, have come out and tried to change the message, spreading lies and hate.

Petra, a deputy commissioner for the state Department of Administrative Services, vied for one of thee five open seats on the nine-member board.

Five Republican candidates are also vying for the seats, all political newcomers who defeated several moderate incumbents in the primary, calling for an end to the indoctrination of students in critical race theory and other initiatives they say are divisive.

The academic concept developed in the 1970s to examine how race and power have influenced American history has become a major issue in local school board races across the country including in Connecticut.

I grew up here. Weve never been this politically divided and its very sad, said Susan Weber, a Guilford voter who supports the slate of Republican candidates.

Weber, born and raised in Guilford, said she took her son out of the public school system and enrolled him in private school because she doesnt like the direction and political undertones influencing the towns schools.

Theyre teaching kids what to think, not how to think, Weber said.

She said shes been called a racist for her views, and added that people with differing viewpoints should learn to respect one another.

But Sandra Ruoff, a Democratic candidate running for re-election to Guilfords board of selectmen, said the divisiveness in town is not as widespread as some, including national media coverage, make it seem.

Theres some strong opinions but its not the majority of town, Ruoff said.

She sees a silver lining to the passion around the controversial issues this election cycle  its brought out people of all political ideologies who havent been engaged in local politics before.

While the controversy in Guilford weighed on voters there, the alleged fraud surrounding federal COVID-19 funds in West Haven was on the mind of voters there, as Democratic Mayor Nancy Rossi ran for re-election.

DiMassa, a rising, 30-year-old Democrat, was charged with wire fraud in connection with what authorities say was a scheme to steal federal money intended for COVID-related expenses in the city. From his post in city hall, federal authorities said, he billed the town hundreds of thousands of dollars, and apparently paid a consulting firm he had set up in early 2021.

Rossi, a certified public accountant, has not been accused of wrongdoing by authorities. But the election could be a sign of whether voters think she bears some responsibility for the events that happened on her watch. She has announced more oversight of the citys finances in the wake of DiMassas arrest.

Rich Carew, a registered Democrat who said he votes for candidates of all politcal parties, said the scandal led him to vote for Rossis opponent, Republican City Councilman Barry Lee Cohen. Thats the only reason, he said.

I dont think she was completely responsible, Carew said of Rossi. But she was responsible because she makes the appointments.

With a 4-to-1 ratio of Democrats to Republicans, an incumbent Democratic mayor would normally be safe. It could be a close one this year, Carew said.

Gary Palladino, a Democrat who said he still supports Rossi, wasnt worried about the fallout impacting her chances. Palladino described himself as a staunch Democratic supporter and said hes become increasingly concerned with the values of the Republican Party, particularly under former President Donald Trump.

He said Rossi is leading the city in the right direction, and that shes made strides to help develop the shoreline and get the citys finances in order.

Palladino said he was disappointed to hear the news of DiMassa whom he taught at Notre Dame High School.

I actually told him I thought hed be mayor of West Haven one day.

Heading in to vote at the Alma E. Pagels Elementary School, Matt and Debbie Smith were divided on how much responsibility Rossi bears for the alleged misuse of funds.

The mayor is responsible for what happens within the City of West Haven and how this went unnoticed for so many months is disturbing, Debbie Smith said.

But Matt Smith said its good the mayor discovered it and brought it to light.

So thats a slight plus, he said.

Neither member of the couple disclosed their political affiliation, and while they might be a house divided, at least on the issue of the mayoral race, Matt hugged his wife and joked theyd still be eating dinner together that night.

julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com
WASHINGTON (AP)  The chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas Tuesday to top executives of ExxonMobil, Chevron and other oil giants, charging that the companies have not turned over documents needed by the committee to investigate allegations that the oil industry concealed evidence about the dangers of global warming.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said she tried hard to obtain the information voluntarily, but "the oil companies employed the same tactics they used for decades on climate policy  delay and obstruction.''

The subpoenas follow a high-profile hearing last week in which top oil executives denied spreading disinformation about climate change as they sparred with Maloney and other Democrats over allegations that they deliberately misled the public about the risks of global warming.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods testified that his company's public statements on climate are and have always been truthful, fact-based ... and consistent with mainstream climate science, a claim Democrats sharply disputed.

In addition to ExxonMobil, the committee issued subpoenas to executives at Chevron, Shell and BP America, as well as the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Leaders of all six groups appeared at the Oversight hearing last week.

Spokesman Casey Norton said Tuesday that ExxonMobil has been cooperating with the committee for months and has provided nearly 130,000 pages of documents, including internal emails.

J.P. Fielder, a spokesman for BP America, said the company is carefully reviewing the subpoena and will continue working with the committee. BP says it has provided more than 17,000 pages of documents, including internal materials.

Several lawmakers compared last week's remote hearing to a 1994 session with tobacco executives who famously testified that they didnt believe nicotine was addictive. Maloney and other Democrats sought to pin down oil executives on whether they believe in climate change and that burning fossil fuels such as oil contributes to global warming.

Democrats accused the oil industry of engaging in a decades-long, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming.

They are obviously lying like the tobacco executives were, Maloney said of oil executives after hearing their testimony.

Republicans accused Democrats of grandstanding over an issue popular with their base as President Joe Bidens climate agenda teeters in Congress. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the panel's top Republican, dismissed the hearing as "partisan theater for primetime news.''

Democrats for months have been seeking documents and other information on the oil industrys role in stopping climate action over multiple decades. The fossil fuel industry has had scientific evidence about the dangers of climate change since at least 1977, yet spread denial and doubt about the harm its products cause undermining science and preventing meaningful action on climate change, Maloney and other Democrats said.

Woods and other oil executives said they agreed with Maloney on the existence and threat posed by climate change, but they refused her request to pledge that their companies would not spend money  either directly or indirectly  to oppose efforts to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. Marshals Service said Tuesday that suspects being held in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection do not need to be removed from the District of Columbia jail complex despite their complaints about conditions there.

The Marshals completed an inspection of the Washington jail complex that holds both local defendants and federal defendants awaiting trial. The inspection came shortly after a federal judge held the District of Columbias corrections director and jail warden in contempt and asked the Justice Department to investigate whether inmates civil rights were being abused at the facility.

While the Marshals' inspection found the building where 30 Jan. 6 defendants are being held to be sufficient, federal officials said they will be moving about 400 other inmates out of a secondary jail building after the inspection found conditions there did not meet minimum standards. They are being transferred to a facility in Pennsylvania.

Christopher Geldart, Washingtons deputy mayor for public safety and justice, said the allegations made by federal officials are deeply concerning, even as local officials work to repair the aging jail. He said city officials were working with the federal government to obtain the Marshals Services full report and have also asked for a copy of a recent inspection by the jails independent oversight body as well.

We take seriously the responsibility of caring for justice-involved DC residents and believe they should remain in DC, he said. DOC leadership is evaluating moving inmates within the facility so that issues raised can be addressed efficiently and expeditiously.

Attorney General Merrick Garland had said during congressional testimony last month that the Marshals were conducting the inspection and the Justice Department was conducting a review of the conditions at the jail.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth had summoned the jail officials to court last month in the case of Christopher Worrell, a member of the Proud Boys who has been charged in the Jan. 6 attack, who was delayed medical care for a broken wrist. He had been recommended for surgery in June but still hadn't undergone the procedure as of mid-October, in part due to a delay by jail officials in turning over medical documents. Worrell has been accused of attacking police officers with a pepper spray gel, and prosecutors have alleged he traveled to Washington and coordinated with Proud Boys leading up to the siege.

Other Jan. 6 defendants held at the jail have decried what they say are deplorable conditions there.

More than 630 people have been charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection, where thousands of pro-Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden's victory.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Two U.S. congresswomen renewed demands Tuesday for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide a formal apology and release records in connection with the January 2020 detainment of 200 Iranian Americans at the U.S.-Canada border.

Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Suzan DelBene, both of Washington state, sent a letter to the federal agency, requesting a public apology and renunciation of the hourslong detainment of travelers with links to Iran as they crossed the border from Canada into Washington in the days following a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general.

Men, women and children legally entering or returning to the United States at a designated port of entry should not be arbitrarily held and questioned solely based on their religion, ethnicity, or national origin, the lawmakers wrote.

Many of those detained in the days after the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani were U.S. citizens and some had even been cleared to participate in a program for trusted travelers.

At the time, CBP said it had not targeted Iranian-Americans based on their country of origin or issued any such directive to its officers. Instead, the agency blamed the detainments for as long as 12 hours on reduced staffing because of the holiday season and increased traffic.

But a month after the incident, then-CBP acting commissioner Mark Morgan said that border officials in Washington state got a little overzealous when they detained Iranian and Iranian-American travelers following the drone strike.

He added, we corrected that right away.

But Jayapal and DelBene are asking for more recognition and details of the detainments that took place between Jan. 5-6 as the U.S. was teetering on the brink of a war with Iran.

The letter makes the request for a formal apology from CBP in response to a Jan. 5, 2020 tweet in which the agency denied that Iranian Americans were being subjected to increased scrutiny in the screening process.

The Democratic lawmakers also ask for the prompt publication of an internal report that described what took place at the border crossing on those days. And finally, the letter asked for the agency to hold a press conference to publicly renounce their actions, and commit to changes moving forward.

The deadline stated for these requests is Jan. 5, 2022, the second anniversary of the detainments.

In conjunction with the Iranian community, we eagerly await the development and release of a corrective action plan to assure that these events do not recur, the letter read.

___ Associated Press writer Gene Johnson in Seattle, Washington, contributed to this report.
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Local

Nash Bros. Market closes, up for sale

CUSTER  It just wasnt enough.

Nash Bros. Market in Custer is closed, and the brothers are looking to sell the property. Charlie Nash said there were a few different factors that caused the store to close.

We really didnt do our homework, he said. I took a business class way back when, and one of the things they said was look at your competition. This was a little grocery store in a little town. They need it. It had been closed for four years  We just felt that this store needed to be open.

What Charlie and his brother, Greg, found, though, was several areas that were too much to tackle.

The brothers bought the business free and clear, and set about refurbishing much of the building, from the floors to the ceiling. The store opened, and even a so-called flash mob to encourage people to shop at the store seemed to help.

But the brothers left the area for about 50 days around the holidays in 2020, and thats when the trouble began. Charlie Nash said mismanagement led partially to the problems they endured. Part of that mismanagement was racking up a debt of $15,000 with one of their vendors, and that crushing debt led to the problems.

I came back in early January, and I came in and I had a couple of hundred dollars in the bank, I had a couple thousand dollars in payroll the next day and a $15,000 check I had to pay to Sysco, he said.

He said he let his employees know what was going on, and within days, there were only three people working there  the cook and the two brothers.

Thats the way its been ever since, Nash said.

Nash said the company negotiated with its debtors to be able to pay off the significant amounts of debt the brothers brought on. However, the company was able to retain fewer and fewer employees. Being able to pay for basic utilities became an issue as the summer came on, and thats when the brothers chose to sell the property.

In July, I had to roll the electric bill. I knew then, it was all done, he said. We put it up for sale. Its up to the point now where I cant even pay the electric bill.

Often, the shelves werent full, and Nash said they constantly had to answer questions about whether they were open.

Cottagers came in and saw half-filled shelves, (left) and went to Ludington, he said. Campers really never came in here. Hunters, we had maybe 20 in here. Fishermen, we hardly get.

The store didnt have foot traffic that Bonsers enjoyed from neighboring Mason County Eastern. Plus, the liquor license to be able to sell beer still did not come through for the store, either.

Not getting the beer license hurt us, Nash said.

There were good times, though. He said the businesss fish fry did well early on. The brothers sold fish, fries, cole slaw and a biscuit.

We had like 24 dinners we served in the first night. In five weeks, we were up to 100, he said. We did 100 dinners two weeks in a row. Lent came and we dropped to 72. We got to the low 90s, and then the state opened up (from COVID-19 restrictions). We went from 92, 93 to like 27.

The fish fry was our stimulus check every week. We were able to pull down, anywhere from $1,300 to $1,900 every Friday, and that got us through, he said. But when the state opened up, we were only pulling $800 on a Friday. And it wasnt going to carry us.

Nash said while mismanagement and the expenses of running the business led to part of the businesses downfall, another part of it was caused by negative comments and rumors. From being labeled as racists and Nazis to COVID-19 super-spreaders, the rumors and negative comments received and seen on social media hurt their business.

We have not had one case of COVID linked to this store. How many people didnt come in because of one guys slander? Nash said.

Complaints of high prices also hurt, he said, and the store was passing on the higher prices they received from distributors on to their customers to try to turn a profit.

People have so much time on their hands, and so much hate for us, Im done, Nash said.

The store is still for sale, listed through 21st Century. Nash said if they are unable to sell it soon, they may start selling fixtures to help pay off the debt theyve incurred with the business. The property was not mortgaged, so the only debt they have to clear up is what the business racked up, including paying back those who lent them money along the way.

In one instance of a loan they received, Nash said they could have restocked the whole store. However, more trouble came the stores way.

What happens? The compressor that runs the deli went down, and the insurance guy comes through and says you need a suppression system for your hood, he said. All the money that she lent us went right down the tubes. Couldnt put a dime into what goes on the shelves.

There were a handful of regular shoppers to the store, and he said there were some that were surprised recently that they were closing.

We had some really dedicated shoppers. They almost broke down here, he said.

The brothers, though, are looking to head back to Florida to stay permanently, only visiting occasionally.

Its a tale of  should we have even opened up the store? he said. If we cant sell it, were going to gut it. Were going to try to sell everything we can to pay the people we owe money to. This building will rot, like it did the previous years.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Tuesday and discussed ways to step up activities in India under Mission Innovation -- a multinational initiative to accelerate public and private global clean energy innovations.



Meeting Bill Gates on the sidelines of COP26 Summit in the UK's Glasgow, the Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the work being done by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in India.



Bill Gates briefed Prime Minister on the progress of Mission Innovation, and they discussed ways to step up activities in India under it, as well as promising opportunities in areas like green hydrogen, aviation fuels, battery storage, and vaccine research.

"Bill Gates briefed Prime Minister on the progress of Mission Innovation. They discussed ways to step up activities in India under Mission Innovation," the statement read."Promising opportunities in areas like green hydrogen, aviation fuels, battery storage and vaccine research were also discussed," it added.

India and the UK has launched Green Grids Initiative  One Sun One World One Grid that aims to generate a solar grid connecting countries in different parts of the world. The new high-level coalition for clean energy was launched by PM Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson.
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New Zealand-born, Sydney-based artist Marie Mansfield has won this years $30,000 Portia Geach Memorial Award.

Mansfield, a 10-time finalist in the award  Australias premier prize for female portraitists  has won for Tilly, a painting of fellow Sydney artist Matilda Michell. Michell was also a finalist, with her painting of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald columnist and crossword creator David Astle.

Marie Mansfields painting Tilly, of artist Matilda Michell, is the winner of the 2021 Portia Geach Memorial Award. Credit:S.H. Ervin Gallery

Its unbelievable and I was absolutely thrilled after being 10 times a finalist... It is a really strong field of competing artists and I feel very fortunate to have won, Mansfield said. I think we are sick of being cooped up for so long in lockdown, so I would strongly recommend people get out and see all the paintings, they are superb.

Portraits of two other Herald and The Age writers, including myself and arts writer Chloe Wolifson, also appear as part of the exhibition, which opens Thursday at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney.
The NSW and Victorian premiers said the border announcement was thanks to the hard work of people in both states who rolled up their sleeves and got vaccinated against COVID-19.

In NSW, 89.1 per cent of people over the age of 16 are double-dosed, and in Victoria, 82.5 per cent of people in the same cohort are fully vaccinated.

NSW is set to pass 90 per cent double dose vaccination in the near future, with Victoria not far behind, allowing family and friends to be reunited in the lead up to Christmas after many months of being separated, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.

The milestone has only been made possible because people across NSW and Victoria have rolled up their sleeves and led the nation on the road back to normality thanks to our vaccination rates.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews thanked Victorians and people in NSW for getting vaccinated, and said were delighted to be able to have free travel between the two states once again.

Victoria and NSW have been through so much over the last few months, and were pleased that more families will now be able to reunite just in time for Christmas and the holiday season.
Resources and Water Minister Keith Pitt was not required to assess the potential environmental impact of fracking in the Northern Territory before he awarded $21 million in grants to a gas company, a lawyer for the federal government has told a trial.

The Environment Centre NT has launched a legal challenge against the Morrison governments plan to open the Beetaloo Sub-basin  about 500 kilometres south-east of Darwin  to shale gas exploration. The environmentalists have concerns fracking would create climate change risks to the region.

The gas mining project in the Beetaloo Sub-basin in the Northern Territory.

They argue Mr Pitt breached his legal obligations to make reasonable inquiries about the risks to climate change before he awarded grants to Imperial Oil and Gas for three exploratory drilling wells. The NT government has also approved plans for gas projects in the area.

A Federal Court trial, which environmental groups hope will prevent the drilling projects going ahead, heard on Tuesday that reports had found fracking in the Beetaloo would increase Australias greenhouse gas emissions by 13 per cent on the countrys 2020 levels and also fail to generate any economic benefit.
When four-year-old Cleo Smith disappeared from a campsite in Carnarvon in Western Australia 18 days ago, it was impossible not to think of Madeleine McCann. I was travelling through Europe in 2007 shortly after the disappearance of four-year-old Maddie. Posters of the British girl were everywhere. Her little face haunted me. The faces of her stricken parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, haunted me. As a mother of two, pregnant with my third, I could not conceive of a more nightmarish situation.

Mother Ellie Smith with Cleo and baby Isla. Credit:Facebook

Then Cleo Smith vanished. Another beautiful little girl spirited away from her family in the middle of the night. I was horrified. We were all horrified. Our empathy for her parents was visceral. How were they fumbling through each day when their child was missing? How were they living with the pain of knowing their baby was out there somewhere, scared and alone, or worse, not out there at all? The not knowing, the terror, the grief, must have been a screaming void of agony.

And which one of us parents hasnt glimpsed that same void, even for a moment, over our parenting life? My eldest daughter was a wanderer. She once stopped my heart when she disappeared on a packed Bondi Beach on a summers day. I still remember frantically running up and down the beach, shaking, yelling her name, my mind closing in on itself in panic. When I found her, 10 minutes later, chatting to a benign elderly man, I sobbed.

Maddie McCann was never found. And as the search for Cleo Smith moved into its second day, its fifth, its 14th, I was convinced she would never be found, either. How do you locate a small child in the West Australian wilderness? What magic would need to be wrangled to return her to her family?
Greens MP Ian Cohen denies assaulting a woman, saying allegations she has made against him eight months after an alleged incident are malicious and without foundation.

The NSW Upper House MP is being investigated by police about allegations he assaulted Donna Davis on June 2, 2006.

Ms Davis, who has a business at Byron Bay on the NSW north coast and is reportedly Mr Cohen's ex-girlfriend, told officers about the alleged incident in January this year.

Mr Cohen denied the allegations on Tuesday, saying they were unfair and personally devastating.

"The accusations ... are false, malicious and without foundation," he said.
A Victorian detective sergeant has faced court accused of conspiring with another senior officer to illegally obtain information about an internal police investigation.

But media were on Wednesday prohibited from naming the detective after his lawyer was granted a suppression order protecting the officers identity over concerns to his safety and mental health.

The detective appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court charged with conspiracy to access police information, conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and separate charges of attempting to commit both offences.

Charge sheets allege that across three weeks in June he tried to obtain information about an investigation conducted by Victoria Polices Professional Standards Command, without reasonable excuse or justification. The name of the person at the centre of the internal investigation was redacted from charge sheets released by the court.

The detective was charged last week, as was a sergeant, over alleged on-duty incidents that investigators say occurred between 2018 and this year.
Travis Tait feels like he has been stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare since the electricity was cut to his Montrose home last week.

He is among more than 11,000 households and businesses that remain disconnected from the power system following wild storms last Friday that brought down trees and caused extensive damage throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Mr Taits house still had electricity when he got up on Friday morning. But later that day, he said, work crews arrived outside his home to remove branches from a large tree and then the power was cut to his house and two others in the street.

Travis Tait and his son Xander who is sitting his year 12 exams while power has been cut to their home in Montrose. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

It was just disconnected, and they drove away, he said.
Lawyers for a group of Victorian workers who are challenging vaccine mandates have argued that the directions contravene the states human rights charter as they coerce people into medical treatment without their full, free and informed consent.

Workers, including nurses, other healthcare professionals, teachers and emergency services responders, are among 130 plaintiffs who are challenging Victorias COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the Supreme Court.

Simon Harding is the lead plaintiff in the challenge against mandatory vaccinations in Victoria. Credit:Chris Hopkins

They have accused Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton and his colleagues of failing to give proper consideration to the states Human Rights Charter when they imposed vaccine mandates over several industries, in what is in effect a no jab, no work policy.

The mandate requires authorised workers to prove theyd had their first COVID-19 vaccination by October 15 and would have a second by November 26.
Just before 1 oclock on Wednesday morning, West Australian police broke into a locked house in the coastal town of Carnarvon to find missing four-year-old Cleo Smith.

It was a remarkable, happy ending to the search for the young girl, after she disappeared from the familys tent during a trip to the popular blowholes campsite north of Carnarvon more than two weeks ago.

That Saturday morning, mum Ellie Smith, step-father Jake Gliddon and baby sister Isla woke in the familys tent to find the zipper open and Cleo and her sleeping bag gone.

The search began immediately, involving local officers, federal police and volunteers all desperate to find Cleo safe and well.
The public hearings running this week are part of an inquiry called Operation Watts into allegations of corrupt conduct involving Victorian public officers, including members of parliament.

The investigation is run jointly by the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman and its remit includes allegations of branch stacking in the Victorian Labor Party, as first revealed in an investigation by The Age and 60 Minutes last year.

Branch stacking is an organised method of accumulating internal power in a party by recruiting, and usually paying the fees for, new members.

But its much more pointed than just that. The real question is whether public officers, including Victorian members of parliament, are engaging in corrupt conduct by directing ministerial or electorate office staff to perform partypolitical work when they should instead be doing ministerial or electorate work.

It will also look at whether public money given by the Victorian government as grants to community associations, has been redirected and misused to fund partypolitical activities, or for any other improper purposes. It will ask if ministers or others involved in granting the funds have dishonestly performed their functions or knowingly or recklessly breached public trust.

The inquiry will look into whether any public officer, their families or their associates, received a personal benefit from these things, and looks at what systems and controls are in place to monitor these money flows.

The hearing is expected to go for at least four weeks. Its overseen by IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich, QC, and run by counsel assisting Chris Carr, SC.
Its an invisible, odourless gas that, like carbon dioxide, traps solar energy as its radiated back toward space from the Earths surface. Unlike carbon dioxide, which can contribute to heating for centuries or longer, the impact of methane, whose chemical name is CH4, is felt primarily in the first 20 years after its release. During this period its potency can be more than 80 times that of CO2. A methane-powered glass oven on Murano island, Venice. Credit:AP Where do methane emissions come from? Human activity accounts for about 60 per cent of global methane emissions annually, with about 35 per cent of that attributable to the fossil fuel industry. Methane is the primary component of gas, and leaks can happen anywhere along the gas supply chain, from the wellhead to the homes and businesses where the fuel is burned. But the gas can also be released during oil and coal production. Agriculture - and specifically cattle and sheep herds - are significant contributors to methane emissions. Credit:AP

Landfills, burping cows, rice paddies and manure are also major sources that humans are responsible for. (Cows arent human-made, but the scale of their herds is.) Naturally occurring methane seeps from fissures in the Earths surface, mud volcanoes and wetlands. Why the focus on fossil fuels? Leaks from energy infrastructure are the easiest and cheapest sources of methane to identify and fix. Theres also an economic incentive: Producers can make up for the cost of repairs by selling the extra gas they capture. There are also efforts to create a gas standard that would certify emissions associated with production and transport. As much as 80 per cent of measures to curb methane from oil and gas operations, and up to 98 per cent from the coal sector, can be introduced at no cost or at a savings, according to the United Nations 2021 global methane assessment.

Officials also hope to cut down on the venting (releasing) of gas that often happens when theres no available pipeline capacity or when producers are only interested in capturing the oil from a well. Some of that gas is flared (burned) to convert the methane into carbon dioxide, but environmentalists and some investors have pushed for limits on flaring because not all the methane is combusted in the process. Instead, excess gas could be re-injected into the ground. Methane also escapes from gas pipelines, such as the Trans-Alaska pipeline pictured here. Credit:AP How are leaks found? For decades, producers and regulators relied on crude techniques like throwing a tarp over a pipe to see if it bubbled or sending workers out to inspect equipment. Leak detection is entering the digital age, with satellites used to spot the biggest sources of methane while drones, aircraft and ground-based monitors find smaller points of emission. What are governments doing?

Speaking at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, President Joe Biden announced a multi-pronged effort by the US government. For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency released a long-awaited proposal stiffening requirements to plug leaks in oil and gas wells. The Agriculture Department is announcing a program encouraging farmers to harness and sell methane. Pipeline regulators will expand their oversight of gas lines. What are others doing? The multinational effort led by the US and EU involves pledges that arent binding on the nations that sign it: they are under no obligation to cut their own methane emissions by a set amount, just to commit to a collective goal of reducing global methane emissions by at least 30 per cent from 2020 levels by 2030 and to pursue the best available approaches to quantify the problem. That approach lowered the bar for 105 nations  including cattle-rich Brazil  to sign on. Elsewhere, Chinas latest Five-Year Plan was the first to mention tightening control over methane. The International Methane Emissions Observatory, a collaboration of the UN and the EU, plans to create a public database of verified methane emissions to better understand patterns of emissions, in part by using observations from space. More satellites including from the Environmental Defence Fund and a consortium including Carbon Mapper, the State of California and Planet Labs are scheduled to launch over the next few years.

Loading What impact can this have? Reducing methane emissions might be as close as we come to a near-term climate jailbreak, even if its not quite a Get Out of Jail Free card. Strong, rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions could also help counterbalance the warming effect that would take place if the world seriously reduces fossil fuel use and the resulting air pollution, at least in the short term, according to the latest assessment from the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Thats because burning fossil fuels also releases fine particles known as aerosols that reflect solar radiation away from the planet, causing a cooling effect. Methane emissions generated from human activity could be cut by 45 per cent by 2030 with readily available technology, a step that could avoid nearly 0.3 degrees Celsius of warming by the 2040s, according to the UN global methane assessment. What are the hurdles? Methane emissions from livestock and agriculture pose more challenging problems that require changes in how farmers raise crops and feed livestock  not to mention behavioural adjustments by consumers fond of their hamburgers. Mass adoption of plant-based alternatives and lab-grown meat could help. In the oil and gas sector, laws and enforcement policies to curb methane emissions vary widely across large producers like the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia, and the rebound in oil prices in 2021 could revive drilling by the producers who are most willing to skimp on equipment, even if it pays for itself in the long run.
Los Angeles: Actor Alec Baldwin has pushed back on claims that chaos and a lax attitude towards safety on the set of Western movie Rust led to his role in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer.

Writing Read this on social media, Baldwin disputed those claims on Wednesday (AEDT). He reposted lengthy remarks from Terese Magpale Davis, who worked in the wardrobe department on Rust.

Im so sick of this narrative, Davis wrote. The story of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bullshit.

On October 21, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a bullet discharged from a gun Baldwin was using to rehearse a scene on the Rust set in New Mexico. The 30 Rock actor had been told the weapon was cold, or safe to use, according to court filings by the Santa Fe Sheriffs Department, which is investigating the incident.
Dallas: In rainy Dallas with the temperature dipping, hundreds huddled with umbrellas, flags and signs to wait for history to be made on Tuesday. Some even brought folding chairs.

At the site in downtown, the grassy knoll overlooking where President John F Kennedy was assassinated nearly six decades ago, scores of QAnon believers outfitted with Trump-Kennedy 2024 shirts, flags and other merchandise gathered. They forecast the presidents son John F Kennedy jnr, who has been dead for 20 years, would appear at that spot, emerging from anonymity to become Donald Trumps vice-president when the former president is reinstated. The prophecy foretold online, of course, did not come true.

When 12.30pm came, the time when Kennedy was shot, they recited the Pledge of Allegiance, journalist Steven Monacelli reported. The crowd lingered, some for more than an hour, eventually trickling away, a few vowing the Kennedy known as John-John will reappear at a Rolling Stones concert later in the night.

The spectacle captivated people, some amused at the ridiculousness of the far-fetched theory that Kennedy faked his death. But the size of Tuesdays gathering was concerning for Jared Holt, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab who researches domestic extremism.
SABA:--- The Public Entity Saba has once more sought urgent attention for its dire financial situation. The 2022 budget has a deficit of US $1 million and as long as the free allowance (vrije uitkering) is not increased, Saba will keep being confronted with structural shortages to finance the governments operations.

On Tuesday, November 2, the Public Entity sent letters to Dutch caretaker State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops and the Permanent Committees for Kingdom Relations of the First and Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament to see a solution.

For the second year in a row, Saba was forced to submit a budget with a deficit of about US $1 million because the free allowance has not been substantially increased for more than 10 years to the current situation. Last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK made funding available to cover the deficit. In the letter to Knops, Sabas Executive Council made an urgent appeal to find a solution for this years deficit.

Because Saba is required to have a balanced budget under the financial law FINBES, the budget, which has been stripped to a bare minimum, has been made balanced by covering the deficit from the general reserve. This is only a temporary solution and is not sustainable for the long term.

Since the multi-annual budget 2022-2025 is not balanced, the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT has abstained from positive advice. The CFT advised taking the issue to the Ministry of BZK to find a structural solution for the budget deficits. The Executive Council has written a letter to the CFT in response to the latters recent advice with regard to the draft budget 2022-2025.

A delegation of the CFT visited Saba on Monday, November 1, and met with the Executive Council to discuss the financial dilemma. Saba Commissioner of Finance Bruce Zagers stated afterward that, in his opinion, the CFT, as a neutral supervisor, should advise the Ministry of BZK to solve the matter, instead of telling Saba to do so.

The CFT lets us know when we do something wrong. In the same manner, the CFT should tell the Ministry when it needs to do the right thing. The CFT knows we cant influence the free allowance, and they should not put the blame on us, telling us to solve it. They should understand our problem and call on the Netherlands to solve it, Zagers said.

Different reports, but also the CFT, have pointed out that the level of the current free allowance is too low for the Public Entity Saba to duly carry out its tasks. The intensity of the tasks that the Public Entity carries out has increased over the years.

We see no other possibility than to make use of our reserve. We already have a skeleton budget and further cost-savings will result in a neglect of tasks and substantial additional costs in the future due to the backlog in maintenance. Maintenance is already executed at an absolute minimum and, as is widely known, we have been forced to cover structural costs from incidental allowances. At the same time, Saba, as the sole Dutch Caribbean island, has had its financial household in order for multiple years and received unqualified audit opinions every time, it was stated in the letters to State Secretary Knops and the Dutch Parliament.

We have cut to the bone. Everyone in The Hague agrees that something needs to be done for Saba. Report after report has confirmed this. Yet, this situation continues with every possible excuse having been used not to structurally solve the matter of a higher free allowance, said Commissioner Zagers, who pointed out that the State Secretary has even acknowledged that the free allowance is too low.

In the letter to Knops and the Parliament, the Executive Council indicated that the time leading up to a new Dutch Government created a new momentum to fix the free allowance, thereby solving Sabas urgent financial situation.
PHILIPSBURG:--- In recent weeks, the Police Fraud Department has received multiple complaints from companies that have fallen victim to cybercrime through hacking emails. During this process, large sums of money were diverted and sent electronically abroad.

Police appeal to the public and business owners, in particular, to be vigilant for suspicious emails.

If you do have any doubts about the email, contact the alleged sender for verification. Police will continue to do their part to detect and investigate these crimes.

Through a public awareness campaign launched in 2020, INTERPOL sent out messages about #OnlineCrimeIsRealCrime and this should be regarded with the same seriousness as any other type of crime. The campaign informed the public on the top cyber threats and how to spot them and provided general cyber security advice to help minimize the risk of becoming a victim.

The campaign was dedicated to particular online crime themes. The following online crimes were identified as the key global threats and were covered in the campaign

 Business email compromise (BEC) fraud

 Phishing

 Ransomware

 Crypto-jacking

 Online crimes against children

KPSM Press Release.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The streets of St. Maarten were painted spectacularly pink on Sunday with CIBC FirstCaribbeans Drive for the Cure motorcade.

The event, in partnership with the Positive and the Elektralyets Foundations, was a creative fusion of the banks Walk for the Cure and the foundations Pink Parade and Bikers for Boobs rallies. The motorcade saw a large turnout of advocates of cancer awareness, prevention, and good health through support from both sides of the island. Participants on motorbikes and in vehicles decked out with pink flags, balloons, and other decorative items, rode to raise public awareness and drove in solidarity with the many lives touched by cancer.



A milestone, as the bank celebrates 10 years of the regions largest cancer fundraiser, the walk took place across its 16-member footprint. Despite the continued challenge that Covid presents, our first Drive for the Cure was a great success. Seeing the cars and bikes in pink on our roads was inspiring and brought a lot of hope to the many families affected by this disease.



It would not have been possible without the collaborated efforts of the Positive and the Elektralyets foundations and the Caribbean Eagles Club. Gratitude also to the dedicated CIBC team  with these joint efforts we will continue to bring awareness and raise funds for cancer, stated Walk Manager, Petra Abdul-Hamid.



The walk has raised over USD$2.9 million over the past nine years. All funds from this years event will support the great efforts of the Positive Foundation. They, along with the Elektralyets Foundation concluded their month-long campaign with Sundays event.



The Drive for the Cure was a fantastic way to close the month-long breast cancer awareness campaign. We encountered and overcame many challenges in executing this event. However, it was all worth it as the breathtaking motorcade and the roaring engines of the motorbikes and cars thundered through the streets of St. Maarten on Sunday aimed at encouraging warriors, survivors, and those who understand the importance of staying in tune with their health and that getting checked is important in saving lives in our community., said Positive Foundation President, Shelly Alphonso.



Their initiatives, such as screenings gave 206 women the opportunity this year to have free clinical breast exams. A Pink Sunset Sail fundraiser, an Interactive Breast Cancer Awareness Presentation, a thanksgiving church service, and a beach fitness event were among the activities hosted by the two foundations. Through such events, they have tirelessly worked towards raising collective awareness and they continue to stress the importance of early detection and overall wellness.



CIBC FirstCaribbean, the Positive, and Elektralyets Foundations are very appreciative of the support of the participants and all their sponsors for their continued commitment to the cause.
~ Says Alliance now the facilitator of hardships ~

PHILIPSBURG:--- The United St. Maarten (US) party expressed disappointment with the verdict of the Constitutional Court to uphold the three ordinances in connection with income and benefit cuts, despite the existence of laws that protect workers rights.



The party board is of the opinion that the court used convenient excuses and considerations to arrive at the underlying reason for its verdict: that it upheld the laws because St. Maarten needed liquidity support. Nothing should ever supersede the constitutional rights of the people. The verdict showed that the National Alliance-led coalition government did not consider the far-reaching consequences or research how the laws would affect the people. But neither did the court. Nor did it address the trampling of workers rights which the three ordinances clearly do, the US board said.



This verdict further strengthens the Dutch agenda to financially weaken the country and stifle the little middle class that is left. It opens the door for the establishment of the COHO and the various entities, some financial in nature, that are scheduled to be set up on St. Maarten under the COHO. This is all being facilitated by the National Alliance-led government, the US board said.



A burnt bridge that was not crossed is how the board of the US party described the statement by the Constitutional Court that the St. Maarten and Dutch governments did not lose sight of the human dimensions of enacting the three national ordinances in connection with income and benefit cuts. In other words, the National Alliance government did not consider the far-reaching consequences or research how the laws would affect the people. The National Alliance government now fully owns the setbacks and hardships many families and public servants are encountering, the board said.



The board continued: The acceptance without negotiation of the three laws that have not only stifled the growth of our middle class but will ultimately set them back for an unspecified period of time, has yet to be complemented by an economic recovery plan to offset the cost of living that is shooting through the roof. At a time when countries around the world including the Netherlands were finding ways to maintain the livelihoods of their people and stimulate their economies the Jacobs cabinet was busy agreeing to counter-productive instructions and making decisions hoping to be rescued by the constitutional court.



The US board stressed that the Jacobs norm, which represents a cap on the earning abilities of St. Maartens brightest and most talented people who manage to retain executive positions on at government-owned companies, offers no incentives to graduating students, and those that have acquired experience in their fields of study.



According to State Secretary Raymond Knops, the board continues, St. Maarten lacks the capacity to implement and or execute the country packages that Prime Minister Jacobs has signed on to. It then begs the question, with limitations placed on the earning capacity of our people, how are we expected to address our capacity issues? Are we to assume that our capacity issues will be addressed and financed under the umbrella of COHO to circumvent the three laws accepted and imposed without negotiation and a defined timeline?



The US board also noted that the court somehow used the minimum wage to partly justify its ruling. With the court pointing out that at least the minimum wage wasnt affected, it created a false impression that citizens are living a good life on the minimum wage. The courts considerations in arriving at its verdict were off-base and werent helped by the fact that there was a serious lack of data to counter those considerations. This means the government didnt care enough to properly prepare its legal representatives, the board said.



We recall that the National Alliance from its origins of SPA/SPM days had always championed itself as a fighter for the rights and livelihood of the middle-class citizens of this country. How could this modern-day NA stray so far from its history, its core beliefs, and principles. The far-reaching consequences of the decision by the National Alliance led the coalition to accept and implement the so-called 3 laws voted for by all the members of parliament except MP Christopher Emmanuel was never taken into consideration said the board, the US board said.



The US board is of the opinion that all of the life-changing agreements and or decisions made thus far by the Jacobs cabinet were void of the human dimension because the only motivation given thus far by Honourable Prime Minister Jacobs is that our backs were against the wall. Members of parliament who motivated their votes against the 3 laws presented, did so in an attempt to show solidarity with the people, only to turn around and vote in support of the motion that stripped civil servants and workers of government-owned companies of their spending power, and benefits, the US board said.



The National Alliance who once championed themselves as the defenders of the middle class, have seemingly abandoned that position in the last year and a half and most recently passed it on to the constitutional court who in turn passed it right back. How can our people ever place any level of confidence in the National Alliance again? the US board concluded.
SIMPSON BAY:--- Despite the weather conditions, it was a momentous morning at the Princess Juliana International Airport for both the emergency responders and management alike, as the Princess Juliana International Airport in conjunction with the St. Maarten Government Emergency Support Functions Department (Disaster Management) hosted its biennial live Emergency Drill Exercise at the airside on Tuesday, November 2, 2021. At approximately 9:40 am a large-scale drill was executed in the proximity of the taxiway BRAVO on the airports runway.



The testing of the aerodrome emergency plan is a standard requirement at airports by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and sanctioned by St. Maarten Civil Aviation Authority (SMCAA).



Taking up his post at the Emergency Management Center of the control tower, the Airport Chief Brian Mingo acknowledged The mandatory drill exercise serves to evaluate the various emergency agencies' response, procedure, and contingency plans should an aircraft accident occur, on or in the vicinity of the airport. Simultaneously, there was the testing of the quality and the abilities of the procedures as stipulated in the airports Emergency Management Manual.



The re-enactment of the large-scale scenario involved students of the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) and the National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA). Before the emergency exercise, residents were forewarned by the SXM Airports Corporate Communications not to become alarmed, as the mock drill response and rescue operation involved alarming roadway activity by the rescue and firefighting, ambulance, marines, and police units.



In a requested statement on todays drill, the PJIAE Deputy Fire Chief, Gerald Baptiste disclosed that the evaluation team will assess the various disciplines (Rescue and Firefighting, Airport Security, Air Traffic Service, Police, Airport Emergency Management Team, and Ambulance) activities and the handling of the mitigation of the entire staged incident, as laid down in the Airports Emergency Management Manual. The exercise was followed by a debriefing at the St. Maartens Red Cross on the Airport Road and was dubbed a success.
~Long-time wish to produce, bottle drinking water now a reality~

SABA:--- Saba celebrated a remarkable moment on Tuesday, November 2, with the official opening of the Saba Splash water bottling plant. At the new plant, 3-gallon and 5-gallon water bottles will be filled, using a state-of-the-art system that produces healthy, safe, and affordable drinking water, providing a basic need for the Saba people. The water bottling plant was constructed with funding of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW).

The opening of the Saba Splash bottling plant is a significant milestone, said Commissioner of Infrastructure and Water Affairs Bruce Zagers in his speech. Not only does this bring us one step closer to finalizing the initial scope for improving the water quality and quantity for Saba, but it also creates an opportunity for the Saba Government to provide quality drinking water, which is produced locally, at an affordable price for our people. At the same time, the plant will contribute to Sabas ambition to be more self-reliant and sustainable.

At the Saba Splash water bottling plant, 160 5-gallon bottles can be filled per hour, and 180 3-gallon bottles per hour, explained plant manager Oscar van der Kaap. But before the actual bottling takes place in a fully-automated, completely hygienic machine, the drinking water goes through an extensive process to make sure that it is safe, healthy, and tasteful.

The water comes up from the reverse osmosis (RO) water plant in Fort Bay, through the pipeline, and goes into a large cistern. From there, the water comes into the building where it first goes through an eco-friendly active carbon filter, then through RO filters, an ultra-violet (UV) light to kill all possible bacteria. At that stage, magnesium and calcium are added, which are beneficial to peoples health and generally dont exist in other bottled water brands.

Fully automated

The water then goes through an ozonating machine for disinfection without chlorine before it is stored in a large tank from which a sample is taken and sent to a lab in St. Maarten. Once the lab has given the green light, the water batch goes to the machine where the water is put into the bottles.

Saba Splash is one of the only water bottling plants in the Caribbean that uses an ozonating system and the only one with a fully-automated bottle filling system, explained Van der Kaap.

The Saba Splash bottling plant has been outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment that cannot be found on our neighboring islands, said Commissioner Zagers. We can take pride in knowing that this is our own product made by children of the soil for now and for future generations, said Van der Kaap in his opening words. Both he and Zagers extensively thanked all persons and stakeholders for making this dream a reality.

The Saba Splash Bottling Plant will start with regular sales to the public this month. Through a subsidy granted by the Ministry of IenW, consumers will pay less for their water bottles until July 2022: US $3.50 for a 3-gallon bottle and US $4.50 for a 5-gallon bottle, instead of the regular price of respectively US $6 and US $7.

Vitens Evides International (VEI), a non-profit water consultant from the Netherlands, and its experts were instrumental in the water bottling plant project. VEI became involved in the water project in 2016, and worked in close cooperation with the Ministry of IenW and the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) from the Netherlands.

Good cooperation

The water bottling plant is the result of good cooperation and teamwork, but also perseverance. Saba Splash will bring you healthy, reliable, and affordable drinking water. But it also suits your ambitions towards self-reliance and increased sustainability, said Fred Elgers of VEI in his remarks.

Despite some major hurdles along the way, in particular your recovery from Hurricane Irma and the COVID-19 restrictions, the Public Entity, the contractors, suppliers, Saba Electric Company (SEC), the operational team, and VEI did their utmost to end up where we are today, added Elgers. Water is a basic need and until now Saba didnt have its own drinking water supply system. Having a steady drinking water system seems logical to many people in the world, but to accomplish this in Saba was a challenge, he said.

With the financial assistance of the Ministry of IenW, the Public Entity Saba already executed several projects to make drinking water and water, in general, more affordable and accessible. These efforts include the installing of pipelines from the water factory at Fort Bay, through the villages, and the installing of various filling stations in strategic locations, Commissioner Zagers stated in his speech at the opening. The installation of the pipeline and the filling stations has drastically reduced the price of transporting water. Also, multiple cisterns were constructed throughout the island which has resulted in a large increase in the water storage capacity.

Example of progress

The bottling plant is one of the last elements of what has been one of the most successful projects since Saba became a Dutch public entity. Commissioner Zagers referred to the water project as a real example of progress. He said that projects like these not only created employment opportunities but also adequately addressed the water shortage problems that Saba has experienced during severe droughts.

It has significantly improved the availability of good quality, and good tasting, drinking water. Lastly, and more importantly, we have made water, which is a basic necessity, available and more affordable for our people. With this project we already highlight as a success story, where trust, creativity, and flexibility, has resulted in the delivery of a product and service that is positively impacting Saba and our people, Zagers said.

The water bottling plant was opened in the presence of members of the Saba Island Council, representatives of the Ministry of IenW, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations (BZK), and invited guests.
PHILIPSBURG:---- Minister of TEATT Roger Lawrence announced on Wednesday that discussions were had with the port and airport as it relates to MSC cruise calls not only from a transit standpoint but also homeporting. Lawrence said the homeporting initiative, has reached a very positive conclusion, whereby they are anticipating the homeporting calls from early December until March 2022.

St Maarten can expect a total of 18 calls from MSC. The ships will operate at approximately 60% capacity. 85% is the current maximum capacity, St. Maarten can expect approximately an additional 54,000 visitors from this home port.

Also, from a destination standpoint, home-porting will increase destination growth by adding flights and stay over accommodations. This will positively impact the hospitality industry such as hoteliers, transportation, and restaurants.
The energy and utilities sector security trends are a combination of two different challenges. On one hand this industry is experiencing a rapid growth in deployment of digital tools that will make the industry more efficient, environmentally friendly, and customer friendly. On the other hand, in the core side of the manufacturing, most of the systems still rely on SCADA OT, which is based on legacy systems that havent been updated for a while. Due to these main challenges, we believe that the security trends that will lead this industry will be preventative security tools that will secure the digital assets, the networks and the connection between the companies and their clients. There will probably be a lot of investment in protecting the legacy systems, as this industry understands that most of the security tools are not built to secure legacy systems that are not supported by their manufacturers anymore.
HID Global hails the renewed promise of mobile access

Its been almost exactly a decade since HID Global launched the world's first university pilot of smartphones carrying secure mobile IDs. A lot has changed in the following 10 years. Todays technology has matured, advanced, and proliferated across a variety of high-value use cases. To catch up on the latest developments in mobile access, we contacted Luc Merredew, Product Marketing Director, Physical Access Control, at HID Global. Q: What has changed since the first pilot implementation of smartphones used for secure mobile identification? Merredew: One of the biggest milestones several years ago was when mobile access solutions achieved certification to the ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard. With increasing awareness of cloud-based security threats and resulting high expectations from a solution, todays system owners, operators, and users insist on companies being able to demonstrate that they have had their services vetted by independent laboratories and/or agencies. When adopting mobile access solutions that maximise convenience and efficiency, and deliver dramatically improved user experiences, it is neither necessary nor acceptable to compromise security in either the physical or digital domains. Q: Do universities continue to be the biggest users? Mobile IDs on devices eliminate person-to-person credentials when accessing secured areas Merredew: The use cases have grown dramatically, spread evenly across all types of organisations in locations ranging from high-rise buildings to multi-campus global enterprises. But yes, universities continue to be big adopters, and they were among those most eager to leverage the technology so they could bring people back to campus in person during the pandemic. In this environment, mobile IDs on smartphones and other devices eliminate person-to-person credential (e.g., badge or ID card) issuance or revocation, as well as the need to physically touch cards, readers, or keypads when accessing secured areas. Q: How were mobile IDs employed by your customers as they brought people back to physical locations after the pandemic shutdown? Merredew: One example is Vanderbilt University, where the challenges of COVID-19 brought renewed attention to the importance of a modern system for identity management and access control that was compatible with Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth technologies. Members of the campus community could more conveniently access buildings and services with their mobile devices, and the university could efficiently provision and de-provision credentials remotely without person-to-person contact. More recently, Vanderbilt leveraged HID Mobile Access to deploy campus IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch through Apple Wallet. Q: Is there another example outside the university vertical? Merredew: Another example is the iconic tower Arcos Bosques Torre 1 in Mexico City, where the owners and tenants enjoy the simplicity of using their trusted mobile devices to seamlessly access their spaces. As with the Vanderbilt deployment, the drive for operational efficiency and convenience in the tower was combined with a desire to minimise the need for users to come in physical contact with the system. Having a solution like HID Mobile Access that delivers touchless entry and increased safety and security is important. Q: What have been the biggest mobile access advancements? The mobile credential provides contactless, seamless access to a wide range of devices and services Merredew: One of the most important advancements was simplifying upgrade paths to mobile access. In the Vanderbilt example, our HID Reader Manager was used to upgrade the firmware on the universitys physical access control readers and extend support for NFC-based credentials in Apple Wallet. The university uses the HID Origo Mobile Identities API integrated with CS Gold, a higher education transaction system from CBORD, for credential lifecycle management. Another significant enhancement has been the expanded range of uses cases for the mobile credential, going beyond simply opening doors to include providing contactless, seamless access to a wide range of devices and services such as time-and-attendance terminals, cashless vending machines, printers, computers, workstations, and many other applications. Q: Wearables are also having an impact. Merredew: Contactless mobile experiences are also delivered through wearable wristbands. One example is the Nymi band which, once authenticated, continuously authenticates the identity of the user until its removed from the wrist. This delivers zero-trust security principles and access control using convenient fingerprint and heartbeat biometrics to users seeking touchless authentication. Q: What is the impact of the cloud? Merredew: The move to a cloud-based system to issue and manage mobile identity credentials has unified, automated, and simplified identity issuance at a single facility or across any number of distributed office or remote work locations. Q: What should end users look for in a mobile access solution? Look for solutions that use a secure element in the reader as well as cloud certificates, to ensure security and data privacy Merredew: Solutions should support the largest possible number of popular mobile devices  in HIDs case, this includes more than 250. Look for solutions that use a secure element in the reader, and a secure key management process, as well as cloud certificates, to ensure both security and data privacy. Make sure the solution supports Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), and both iOS and Android operating systems. Solutions that provide Application Programming Interface (API) and Software Development Kit (SDK) support offer direct access to the solutions access control hardware, speeding deployment while enabling integration partners to continue innovating products that deliver even better user experiences. Q: Wonder what this market will look like in 10 more years. Whats next for mobile access? Merredew: Future innovations are on the horizon with technologies such as Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wireless connectivity, which HID expects will become ubiquitous on mobile devices. It provides unprecedented accuracy and security when measuring the distance or determining the relative position of a target. It is not HIDs expectation that UWB will replace Near Field Communication (NFC) or Bluetooth, but rather supplement Bluetooth and other technologies to provide the assurance, reliability, and granularity of device position that enables truly seamless experiences.
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Prairie Creek alum gives back to school with Eagle Scout project

While looking to fulfill requirements to earn his Eagle Scout badge, the highest ranking a Boy Scout can receive, Sam Swedin looked to his elementary school years for inspiration.

Following the all school gathering at Prairie Creek Community School Oct. 27, students thanked Sam Swedin for this time and efforts building a bridge across the creek at PCCS. (Michelle Vlasak/southernminn.com)

A Boy Scout with Randolph Troop 208, Swedin says he has been looking forward to earning his Eagle Scout badge since he first joined Scouting in first grade.

An alum of Prairie Creek Community School, in Castle Rock Township just north of Northfield, Swedin collaborated with Prairie Creek teacher Michelle Martin to come up with a project that would benefit the school for years to come.

Sam Swedin, pictured right, led a group of volunteers (Troop 208 leaders, Scouts and parents) to construct a bridge across the creek at Prairie Creek Community School. (Photo courtesy of Sam Swedin)

Swedin, a sophomore at Northfield High School, led a team of volunteers to design and build a bridge that spans a creek behind the school. With lumber leftover from building the bridge, he was also able to build some benches for students to sit on, a butterfly net holder and small dock that could be used as a teaching platform. Some shrubs were also cleared out to make more outdoor learning space available, and he and a team added mulch to the trail leading up to the bridge.

Sam Swedin, a sophomore at Northfield High School and alum of Prairie Creek Community School in Castle Rock, works to finish the final steps of his Eagle Scout project. He has all of the requirements for his Eagle badge, but hasnt submitted the paperwork yet so hes not quite a true Eagle Scout yet. (Photo courtesy of Sam Swedin) (Photo courtesy of Sam Swedin)

In addition to Swedin, numerous volunteers, primarily family members, and Troop 208 leaders, Scouts and parents pitched in innumerable hours to get the project done. He also credits Prairie Creek Director Simon Tyler for his partnership and help in getting School Board approval, the board for their support and Martin for her ideas and mentorship. Swedin estimates it took 257 volunteer hours to complete the construction of the bridge, from start to finish.

Sam Swedin, a Boy Scout with Randolph Troop 208, led a team of volunteers to design and build a bridge that spans the creek behind Prairie Creek Community School. The bridge is accompanied by benches for students, a butterfly net holder and small dock to be used as a teaching platform. (Photo courtesy of Sam Swedin)

The supports of the bridge were constructed with telephone poles donated by Xcel Energy, and all wood chips were donated by Knechts Nurseries and Landscaping in Northfield. About 99% of the bridge was built with repurposed materials, which Swedin says reflects Prairie Creeks commitment to eco-friendliness. Along with the repurposed telephone poles, redwood that had been part of a deck was repurposed for the bulk of the bridge, with metal and wires repurposed from the Cowan and Swedin families.

Items that were purchased include fasteners and some braces. Swedin estimates the value of the bridge at $12,564, with only $388.43 in actual costs.

Construction of the bridge began in late August and was complete in mid-October. (Photo courtesy of Sam Swedin)

Building the bridge with repurposed materials was just one of Swedins goals. Two others included expanding the schools outdoor learning space by granting access to the other side of the creek, creating more fun and safe learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also set out to give back to Prairie Creek in a way that will last for generations.

Sam Swedin works on part of the bridge construction with equipment borrowed from family members. (Photo courtesy of Sam Swedin)

The project began in March, followed by discussions about logistics, location and approval from the Prairie Creek Buildings and Grounds Committee. Swedin then reached out to the Castle Rock Township board, which led him to the watershed district, and then the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Swedin said the most challenging part of the process was getting started, since he wasnt quite sure where hed get all the materials from and who to contact. He admits the most enjoyable part was the actual bridge building, and is happy to add knowing how to build bridges to his list of skills, along with leadership and coordinating skills. Construction of the bridge started in late August, and wrapped up in mid-October. The design was chosen based on the materials were involved, as Swedins initial plans changed a bit from the final product.

Prairie Creek Community School teacher Michelle Martin asks Northfield High School sophomore Sam Swedin a question about the bridge he and volunteers built to fulfill requirements to be an Eagle Scout. (Michelle Vlasak/southernminn.com)

In an all-school gathering Wednesday, where students and staff showed their appreciation and thanked Swedin for his work, Swedin shared one piece of advice learned from the project with Prairie Creek students:

Sometimes your plan doesnt always work out, so you kind of have to go with a different plan, but itll be all good in the end.
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Waseca moves to seek funding to develop west Hwy. 14 interchange

Waseca City Council at the Oct. 19 work session moved to pursue state and federal funding to develop the Highway 14 west interchange. (File photo/southernminn.com) Mattson Sandholm

After years spent debating whether the city of Waseca should develop the Highway 14 west interchange to create more industrial space, the city has moved to pursue funding while stopping short of committing to develop the parcel.

At an Oct. 19 Waseca City Council work session that started an hour before the regular meeting and continued for nearly an hour afterward, councilors disagreed on how to prioritize the development project alongside other needs, such as attracting a grocery store and building housing.

Price and priorities

As City Manager Lee Mattson explained to the council, the purpose of developing the west interchange would be to attract businesses that may want to relocate to or expand within Waseca, but want their own building rather than locating to an existing facility. Due to its access to residential areas, among other things, Mattson said the west interchange area has been flagged as a worthwhile site for development. It would be used for mostly industrial purposes with some possible commercial use as well.

With a price tag of just over $8 million, though, Mattson added that at least $6 million would need to be secured through state and federal funding if the city were to pursue the project. At that point, he asked the council how much involvement the council would be willing to have with the project.

Councilor John Mansfield established right away that the development was not a high priority for him, that taxes were already too high and that he would be comfortable letting Conagra, a packaged foods company that owns the Birds Eye vegetable processing plant in town, or a solar farm take control of the site and develop on it.

For me, this is a bedroom community and we need to develop that, Mansfield said. We need to get a grocery store. We need to develop some housing. I think after we do that, then we can start to pull in some more industry.

Councilor Jeremy Conrath agreed, citing the price tag and saying the development was his bottom priority. Councilor Ted Conrath said hed love to develop, but not at that cost.

After about 10 minutes discussion in which councilors displayed a lack of interest in developing the west interchange, Economic Development Coordinator Gary Sandholm implored the council not to close the door on developing the site.

Its keeping the door for the future open, Sandholm said, adding that if a solar farm or Conagra takes control of the parcel, there is no guarantee it will be become available to the city for the next two or three generations. He said this would be quite a constraint for Waseca, given Highway 14s potential for the future.

Jeremy Conrath questioned whether developing the west interchange for industrial purposes would even make sense in Waseca, given the scarcity of local housing options for prospective employees on whatever ends up being developed there. Sandholm responded that there are just under 300,000 working-age people in a 50-mile radius of the area.

Thats commutable, he said, adding that housing can be found in Owatonna and Mankato. If we have the jobs here, thats a magnet.

The real cost of development

In response to councilors repeated concerns over raising taxes to fund a $2 million development, Mattson explained that it wouldnt cost more to develop the west interchange with the watertower the city has already committed to Conagra to build than to build the watertower alone. This has to do with the way the U.S. Economic Development Administration funds projects that provide jobs, a category into which the combination of the watertower and west interchange development falls, but not the watertower alone.

While Conagra would like the additional water pressure for their operations, Mattson also explained that the city needs the watertower for its own long-term development purposes as their residential population expands northwest.

At this point, I cant say with certainty that it actually costs the city anything to add the west interchange to the tower project, he said.

Mansfield questioned the meaning of the citys commitment, claiming that it only committed to Conagra to look into seeking funding for the watertower.

Its too expensive, he said. Theres no way on Gods green earth were building them a watertower out there.

In response to Mattsons comment about the west interchange development not costing the city anything in the long term, a majority of the council expressed an interest in pursuing federal funding to develop the west interchange, despite discomfort with its price tag in the short term.

Do I want to close the door? No. Is the cost way too much? Yes, Ted Conrath said. I think that the compromise here would be we try to go forward and if it gives us a black eye, so be it, but we made an effort, we kept it alive, we tried  Im not committing to anything beyond that.

Pull Quote "This is a bedroom community ... we need to get a grocery store. We need to develop some housing. I think after we do that, then we can start to pull in some more industry.  Waseca City Councilor John Mansfield
Former The Magicians star Jason Ralph and Blair Redford (Satisfaction) have booked heavily recurring roles opposite Gabrielle Creevey in Showtimes upcoming drama series Three Women, an hourlong series based on the nonfiction bestseller by Lisa Taddeo. Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise and Betty Gilpin star along with Blair Underwood.In Three Women, adapted by Taddeo, a group of women are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives. Lina, a homemaker in suburban Indiana, is a decade into a passionless marriage when she embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming and transforms her life. Sloane, a glamorous entrepreneur in the Northeast, played by Wise, has a committed open marriage with Richard, until two sexy new strangers threaten their aspirational love story. Maggie (Creevey), a student in North Dakota, weathers an intense storm after accusing her married English teacher, Aaron Knodel, (Ralph) of an inappropriate relationship. Gia (Woodley), a writer grieving the loss of her family, persuades each of these three spectacular ordinary women to tell her their stories, and her relationships with them change the course of her life forever.
RIDGEFIELD  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized on Tuesday for children ages 5 to 11 to access COVID-19 vaccines, and one family has already decided to inoculate their youngsters when the shots become available.

Caitlin and Maher Madhoun moved to Ridgefield nine years ago after meeting on the cardiac floor of Stamford Hospital. They have three children: Jayden, 9, Landon, 8, and Nora, 4. Jayden and Landon attend Scotland Elementary School, and Nora is a preschool student at St. Marys.

Caitlin Madhoun is a registered nurse at Stamford Hospital, and Maher Madhoun is the director of clinical operations. During the height of the pandemic, Caitilin Madhoun worked in the intensive care unit looking after COVID patients firsthand.

It was something that I have never experienced in my life, she said. Seeing how sick these patients were  was wearing emotionally, physically and spiritually on all of us.

Despite Maher Madhouns training as an infectious disease specialist, No one was prepared for a pandemic like this, he said. The acuity of patients that developed in the hospital was never seen before, frankly  (so) when the adult vaccines came out, we were one of the first people to sign up for it.

Since the vaccine rollout began, the Madhouns have been following the data closely, they said, reviewing safety profiles as well as each shots efficacy. But the recent emergence of more highly-contagious strains, such as the delta variant, has caused more children who contract COVID-19 to subsequently become hospitalized, Maher Madhoun explained.

Within the last two months theres been a lot more data coming out from Pfizer  (and) we feel very comfortable in vaccinating our two kids that qualify for it, he said. We love our kids, we would never do anything that would be potentially harmful to them, so were very confident about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

Caitlin hopes her family can set a precedent for other parents when it comes to inoculating their 5-11 year olds.

People are fearful of the unknown, but I think in reality theyre waiting to see who does it first, she said. I hope that we can lead by example for the community ... and get these kids back to their normal lifestyle that they (had) pre-pandemic.

Ridgefield Public Schools Director of Nursing Services Aaron Crook said the district is considering mobile vaccine vans provided by the state as a possible option for its 5-11 year old students. He has also said once vaccines are approved for this age group, quarantines could drop dramatically district-wide.

When people get vaccinated, the chance of transmission reduces dramatically, Maher Madhoun added. We really want to support the community in any way possible. Reach out to your local health care provider who can answer any questions you may have.

The Madhoun familys pediatrician, Susan Lasky, also lives in Ridgefield and has two teenage daughters in the district. Both of them are vaccinated. Lasky said about 50 percent of her patients have expressed interest in inoculating their 5-11 year old children, and she encouraged other parents to trust the science.

The Pfizer vaccine has been well studied and gone through the same rigorous testing and analysis as all the other childhood vaccines  (which) have been scrutinized probably more than any other medications/pharmaceuticals on the market, she said. Getting vaccinated with a vaccine that is safe, studied and tested is our best way out of this.

Caitlin Madhoun noted a recent instance when her daughter accompanied her to the supermarket. Nora had forgotten her mask in the car, and said she couldnt go in because she was not yet vaccinated.

Im worried about the mental health of our kids, but I feel that this will create more stability, Caitlin Madhoun said. Once they get the vaccine theyll feel more protected.

alyssa.seidman@hearstmediact.com
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Brazil's seven-day total for deaths from COVID-19 has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic, according to online research website Our World in Data.

In the seven days through Nov. 1 the nation recorded 2,188 deaths -- a level unseen since April 2020 -- amid increasingly widespread vaccination.

After a sluggish start, Latin Americas largest nation has now fully vaccinated more than half its population. That share is even higher in some large cities, such as Sao Paulo, where virtually 100% of the adult population has had at least one shot and more than 90% are fully vaccinated. And a greater percentage of Brazilians have had at least one dose than Americans, according to the data site.

That has put the nation's number of virus deaths on a downward trend for the last four months. Experts' widely expressed concern that Brazil could see a renewed surge from the spread of the delta variant thus far hasn't materialized.

The nation's current daily toll is just one-tenth the gruesome peak witnessed in April 2021. That surge coupled with outrage over President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the pandemic triggered the formation of a Senate committee to investigate the government's actions.

After six months of hearings, the committee last week recommended Bolsonaro and dozens of others face criminal charges.

Its nearly 1,300-page report drew attention to his government's delayed response to pharmaceutical companies offers to sell millions of vaccines, as well as Bolsonaro's insistent touting of dubious, unproven treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that scientists have long since determined is ineffective.

Bolsonaro has denied all wrongdoing, and cast himself as having courageously pushed back on political correctness and recommendations from global health experts that would thrash the economy and hurt the poor.

Brazil has recorded about 609,000 deaths, the worlds second-highest total after that of the U.S.

In Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo on Tuesday, dozens of mourners in a group named The COVID-19 Widows gathered and criticized the government's management of the health crisis. In Rio, they held a banner that read: "Theyre not numbers, theyre lives.

My husband died and just two weeks later it would have been his turn to take the vaccine, due to a comorbidity," Katia Araujo, 41, told The Associated Press in Sao Paulo. "It disgusts us, because we think, if it had been more organized, planned, he and many other victims wouldnt have died. They would be here. ___ AP videojournalist Tatiana Pollastri contributed from Sao Paulo.
NEW CANAAN  If the results from 6,871 voters or 49.4 percent of the electorate stands  amid questions of a poll workers behavior  the Republicans will hold their majority on the Board of Education.

Only two races were contested  the Board of Education and the constable race.

Final tallies were distributed by Head Moderator Bob Mantilia Wednesday morning after 1:20 a.m. since both polling places ran out of ballots, thus leaving several ballots that needed to be hand counted.

On Tuesday night, Democratic candidates questioned the results in the Town Hall meeting room where officials and candidates met while results were totaled. They raised concerns since hundreds of ballots were separated around noon after a poll worker was allegedly giving wrong information to voters.

The Secretary of State was notified today that there were potential irregularities and we want to follow up with them tomorrow to get their advice, Democratic Town Committee Chairman Lisa Hannich said to the media Tuesday night and a few dozen people in the room. Hannich said that she would reach out to the Secretary of State Denise M. Merrills office after reviewing the preliminary results.

Election officials said hundreds of ballots were counted but set aside after the state was contacted over questions about instructions given by a poll worker at the New Canaan High School involving the school board race.

After the polls closed, two large bags of ballots were carried out of New Canaan High School by Registrar John Amarilios and State Senator Will Haskell, who was there to monitor the transfer. The ballots were placed in the back of a police car to be taken to Town Clerk Claudia Webers vault.

The situation stemmed from reports of residents claiming they had been misinformed by a poll worker about the number of school board candidates a resident could vote for, according to moderator Jim Walsh.

Ten candidates vied for six seats on the nine-person school board. Three Republicans and five Democrats competed for the five open four-year seats on the school board and one candidate from each party ran for the two-year seat.

The top five vote-getters for the Board of Education were Republican Julie Toal with 3,589 votes, Democratic incumbent Penny Rashin with 3,541, Republican Dan Bennett with 3,601, Republican Philip Hogan with 3,550, Democrat Erica Schwedel with 3,437 and two-year term candidate Hugo Alves received 3,613 votes.

Candidates who seemingly will not serve on the board include Democrat Janet Leung Fonss who garnered 3,336 votes, Fatou Niang who received 3,334, Jennifer Hladlick with 3,296 and Karen Willet who totaled 3,091 votes.

The six seats were open on the school board because incumbent school board members Dionna Carlson and Sheri West did not run. Katrina Parkhill, Secretary Jennifer Richardson and member Pat OConnell lost their seats at the Republican caucus.

Though Parkhill was not backed by her caucus and was not on the ballot, she will stay on the school board as she is taking Carl Gardiners seat, who moved out of town.

Many candidates expressed dismay that this election became contentious over the school board contest.

In 25 years, I have never seen it like this. Never, uncontested incumbent Town Councilman Penny Young said. She has never seen such vitriol, unfounded accusations or disrespect for the process, she said.

It was an unusual year for BOE contested election, Selectman Kathleen Corbet said. Once the election is over, we as a community will have an opportunity to focus on what is important for our town.

Most other races were uncontested, including Town Clerk Claudia Weber with 4,810 votes, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan with 4,125, Selectman Kathleen Corbet with 2,973, Nick Williams with 3,698 and Treasurer Andrew Brooks with 4,563 votes.

The Town Council had six candidates running for six seats. Young received 4,244 votes and Incumbent Tom Butterworth garnered 4,306. The Republican newcomers Luke Kaufman received 3,949 votes and Kimberly Norton had 3,962. Democrats Rita Bettino received 3,161 votes and Hilary Ormond got 3,232.

The seats were open because incumbents Sven Englund, Liz Donovan, Chairman John Engel and Secretary Rich Townsend are stepping down.

Eight candidates ran for seven constable seats. Those who won include Republicans Arvind Bajaj, Jill Guzzetti, Mary Anne Mercogliaino and Gregory Pepe. The Democratic constables will be Edward Vollmer, Nicholas Mitrakis and Susan Edmands. Jordan Cerbone was the low vote getter and will not serve as constable.

The school board election was especially contentious due to the repeated mention of critical race theory after it was brought up at the Republican pre-caucus debate. On Election Day, someone was allegedly handing out flyers near the New Canaan High School that warned of CRT being taught in the schools, which the superintendent has said numerous times in not part of the curriculum.

Hogan said he saw someone handing out flyers and took them from them and I asked them not to do that. He said. He would not comment further about CRT. In a debate leading up to New Canaans caucus, Hogan said local families should know if critical race theory is coming to their schools.
McALLEN, Texas (AP)  For about four months before President Joe Biden took office, advisers engaged in intense internal debate about how quickly they should undo his predecessors hardline border policies.

The answer, almost always, was not soon enough. Immigration advocates on the transition team shot down a detailed memo circulated among top aides that called for turning back some migrants who cross illegally by making them seek protection in other countries. They pushed back against estimates of soaring migration flows if Donald Trumps policies were dismantled.

In the end, Biden recognized predictions that more migrants could come but was firm that policies instituted by Trump were inhumane and had to be jettisoned.

Almost immediately, the numbers exceeded expectations.

Children traveling alone shattered previous highs in March. The Border Patrol encountered migrants in South Texas more often than ever in June and July.

In September, about 15,000 mostly Haitian refugees were camped under a bridge in the border town of Del Rio, Texas. For days, migrants waded back and forth across a river for supplies and slept in squalor. Images of agents on horseback corralling refugees went viral.

The administration veered between permissive and restrictive responses, leaving it politically isolated and underscoring consequences of not having a new asylum system in place when it rescinded Trumps policies.

Some developments could not have been predicted, and pre-dating Biden was immigration courts taking nearly four years on average to decide a case of someone not in custody.

But a close review of the last year  based on internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and AIM Media Texas and dozens of interviews with current and former U.S. and Mexican officials, among others  shows how an administration stacked with immigration advocates was unprepared for the huge increase in people seeking refuge at the border. Many interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized or comfortable discussing private deliberations.

The White House defended its record when presented with specifics of the reconstruction.

After four years of the Trump administrations chaos, cruelty and misplaced priorities, the work to build a fair, orderly and humane immigration system will take time and wont happen overnight, said spokesman Vedant Patel. In a short period of time, the Biden administration continues to make considerable progress delivering on its plan.

From the start, Biden was adamant about reversing Trumps Remain in Mexico policy, known officially as Migrant Protection Protocols, under which about 70,000 asylum-seekers were made to wait outside the country for hearings in U.S. immigration court. He wanted to admit those already subject to the policy into the United States to pursue their claims. Despite daunting logistical challenges and early technical hiccups, thousands returned.

Mexico popped a surprise that severely undermined Title 42, which had been the biggest victory for enforcement-minded aides who fought during the transition to temporarily maintain it. Advocacy groups have repeatedly called to end the public health measure, which was invoked on grounds of preventing the coronavirus from spreading.

There was great frustration and irritation at the administrations highest levels when authorities in the state of Tamaulipas resisted taking expelled Central American families, according to one person with direct knowledge of discussions with Mexican officials. The change was linked to a child welfare law that took effect in January.

U.S. officials asked Mexico to delay it but got nowhere. They concluded Tamaulipas Gov. Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca was trying to stymie President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a political rival.

Biden had exempted unaccompanied children from Title 42 after a court authorized immediate expulsion. As a father and grandfather, he couldnt go forward with it.

Title 42 became largely a tool for removing single adults.

By midsummer, the pendulum swung to enforcement as patience wore thin in Biden's inner circle. Dramatic increases in migration flows bucked a pattern of declines during summer heat. The number of unaccompanied children reached a new high in July, breaking the previous record in March, when more than 4,500 mostly unaccompanied children were crammed into a holding facility built for 250 under COVID-19 guidelines.

The Rio Grande Valley came alive each night with inflatable rafts carrying families across the river.

The Border Patrols Rio Grande Valley sector stopped more than 20,000 migrants for the first week ever from July 18-24.

Brian Hastings, who heads the sector, wrote senior Border Patrol officials on July 26 that Catholic Charities of Rio Grande Valley was full and could no longer provide temporary shelter to migrants, which forced the agency to release thousands at a McAllen, Texas, bus station.

In September, the chaotic scene emerged in Del Rio, Texas, as thousands of mostly Haitian migrants converged in a makeshift encampment.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said their arrival was unusually swift, but people with direct knowledge say Colombia provided intelligence that large numbers were moving toward Panama on their way to the U.S. border.

The U.S. flew about 8,000 Haitian migrants back to strife-ridden Haiti since Sept. 19, one of its swiftest, large-scale expulsions of refugees or migrants in decades. Thousands of others were allowed to remain in the U.S.

The uneven response after months of rising arrivals sparked sharp criticism from both the right and left.

The administration has taken modest steps to reform border policies, such as establishing a rocket docket for asylum-seeking families at the border and restoring an Obama-era program for unaccompanied children to apply in Central America to join their parents in the U.S. Its most ambitious proposal  adapted from the Migration Policy Institute think tank  is to assign asylum officers to the border to more quickly decide cases than immigration judges. Seemingly technical, it may have impact.

Despite that proposal, published in August, the administration has yet to release detailed plans of the humane asylum system that Biden promised during his campaign.

___

This report is a collaboration between The Associated Press and AIM Media Texas, publisher of The (McAllen) Monitor and other newspapers. Spagat, a San Diego correspondent, leads APs U.S. immigration team. Gonzalez is an investigative reporter for The Monitor.
BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP)  A Mississippi man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2018 shooting deaths of two police officers, and a judge gave him two sentences of life in prison.

The guilty pleas from Marquis Aaron Flowers, 28, came five days before jury selection was scheduled to begin in his capital murder trial. By pleading guilty before a jury could be chosen, Flowers avoided the possibility of the death penalty because only a jury can hand down a death sentence in Mississippi.

Brookhaven Police Department Cpl. Zach Moak, 31, and patrol officer James Kevin White, 35, were shot to death Sept. 29, 2018, while responding to a call about shots being fired at a home. Investigators said that before Moak died, he was able to shoot Flowers and call for help.

Relatives of the two slain officers spoke in court Wednesday, asking Circuit Judge Richard McKenzie to give Flowers the strongest sentence possible.

White's sister, Lisa White McBlair, said she cried herself to sleep for months after her brother was killed, and she has had nightmares and stress-induced panic attacks.

Marquis Flowers handed every one of us a life sentence that morning over three years ago, McBlair said, her voice shaking.

Vicki Moak stood with her other son, Chris Moak, as she recalled how Zach had been born prematurely.

He came into this world fighting to live, and he went out fighting," Vicki Moak said. "He was my baby. He was quiet, but in his quietness, there was strength.

She said her whole world changed when she received the call that her son had been fatally shot on duty.

I have a wound in my heart thatll never heal," Vicki Moak said. I think about him every day.

Flowers also spoke briefly in court Wednesday. He apologized to the officers' families and asked for their forgiveness.

The two officers were slain a year after an unrelated series of killings shook Brookhaven, a south Mississippi city with 12,000 residents. A sheriffs deputy and seven other people were shot to death in and around Brookhaven in May 2017, and in early 2020 a jury convicted and gave four death sentences to Willie Cory Godbolt, who blamed his actions on the devil.

Flowers was on parole for a vehicle burglary conviction when Moak and White were killed. Flowers was arrested and charged shortly after the officers were killed, and he was sent to the state prison system to finish serving his sentence in the vehicle burglary. Flowers was moved in March 2020 from Central Mississippi Correctional Facility to a county jail.

On Oct. 28, 2019, Flowers was indicted on two counts of capital murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He pleaded not guilty to all three counts on Nov. 12, 2019. District Attorney Dee Bates said from early in the case that he would pursue the death penalty in the killings of the two officers.

Flowers on Wednesday also pleaded guilty to the firearm charge, and McKenzie gave him a 10-year sentence for that.

McKenzie decided months ago that Flowers' trial would be moved outside Lincoln County, where the killings occurred, because of heavy news coverage when the officers were slain. Jury selection was supposed to have started next Monday in northern Mississippi, and the jurors were to be taken back to the southern part of the state for the trial.

____

Emily Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP)  Police in North Carolina say that an unloaded handgun was found in an elementary school classroom after it fell out of a student's pocket.

The Winston-Salem Police Department issued a news release saying the gun was discovered around noon on Friday at Mineral Springs Elementary School.
TULSA, Okla. (AP)  Two Tulsa police officers have been charged with helping conceal evidence of a shooting involving the brother of the boyfriend of a former officer who pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegally purchasing a gun for her boyfriend.

Lt. Marcus Harper and Officer Ananias Carson III were charged Tuesday as accessories after the fact, said Rogers County District Attorney Matt Ballard, who was appointed to the case when the Tulsa County district attorney recused himself from the case.
STAMFORD  A city teen accused of fatally shooting a 32-year-old Stamford man in his own home during a botched robbery in May reversed course on Wednesday and waived a probable cause hearing nearly a month after he opted into the mini-trial.

Rudi Reyna-Morales, 16, is one of three people charged with felony murder and home invasion in connection to the May 18 slaying of 32-year-old Lwidji Brun.

About a month ago, attorney Kevin Black and his client, Reyna-Morales, elected to hold a hearing of probable cause  a mini-trial of sorts offered to defendants accused of murder.

But on Tuesday night, hours before Reyna-Morales scheduled hearing, Black informed state prosecutors that he and his client had changed their minds and would instead waive the right to a probable cause hearing.

Black said on Wednesday the decision came after discussions with Reyna-Morales in light of evidence they had received from the state in the case.

Its just a matter of continuing to evaluate all of the discovery in the case and having my client make a real-time decision about it after we received the latest evidence from the state, Black said.

During a probable cause hearing, the state presents its evidence and a judge decides if there is enough to justify a murder charge.

Local defense attorneys often do not request probable cause hearings, because the evidence presented during the hearing goes on the record and is permanently preserved even if a witness dies or is not able to testify at the trial.

Reyna-Morales is one of three people facing felony murder and home invasion charges in connection to the May 18 slaying. Deandre Parsons, 23, and a 14-year-old juvenile face the same charges.

Reyna-Morales and the two alleged accomplices were implicated in the homicide  which happened with Bruns girlfriend and 21-month-old daughter at home  after an extensive canvas for video evidence that stretched across nearly two miles of the citys East Side, according to his arrest warrant.

The warrant said investigators used video footage from businesses and residences to track the movements and identify the suspects as they walked from the South End of Stamford to the scene of Bruns slaying, and then back.

Based on the suspects clothing on an unseasonably warm day, which police believed was used to conceal their identities, and their actions as seen on the camera, investigators said in the warrant that they believed the act to be premeditated.

Using additional footage from along the suspects paths to and from the scene, police were able to positively identify the 14-year-old, Reyna-Morales and Parsons, the warrant said.

Reyna-Morales and the 14-year-old, whom police say in the warrant are known associates, were arrested on June 4. Parsons was identified in Massachusetts over the Fourth of July weekend and is in the process of being extradited back to Connecticut.

All three were originally charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder, but those charges were recently changed to felony murder and home invasion. Parsons also faces an additional first-degree violation of probation charge.

The 14-year-old juvenile is still awaiting trial in juvenile court; Parsons is next scheduled to appear in court Nov. 9.
Milton, PA (17847)

Today

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 29F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 29F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 60%.
Ashtabula, OH (44004)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 46F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Low 36F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Ashtabula, OH (44004)

Today

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 34F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 34F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
National Liberal Party (PNL) First Vice Chair Lucian Bode said on Wednesday that there is a majority to support a PNL - Save Romania Union (USR) - Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) government and minorities in parliament, but it is "at the limit", agerpres reports.

Regarding the fact that at the PNL meeting with USR Florin Citu allegedly transmitted that he must be prime minister, and USR refused, asked who will be the prime minister's proposal in these conditions, Lucian Bode answered: "These clarifications were made outside, in dialogue with you. I told you what we discussed inside. Inside we discussed that PNL proposes the prime minister, without specifying a name."
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, pays an official visit to the Republic of Poland from Wednesday to Friday, at the invitation of the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Rajmund T. Andrzejc, agerpres reports.

The agenda of the meeting includes topics aimed at strengthening cooperation between the armed forces, in the existing context of excellent military ties, established in NATO and EU formats, as well as in the strategic partnership between the two countries, informs a Defence Ministry (MApN) release.

The program of the visit of the Chief of Defence Staff to the Republic of Poland also includes participation in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw's Pilsudski Square. Also, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu will visit allied structures of the North-East Multinational Corps, as well as the Romanian contingent deployed in Poland for the mission of ensuring a consolidated presence on the North-East flank of the Alliance.
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu said on Wednesday that the Social Democrats will not engage into "sterile" negotiations or discussions with the PNL [the National Liberal Party] or USR [Save Romania Union] on ministries, their aim being to firstly address the governing programme and the priorities.

"All the pandemic, economic and social crises have been managed and are the consequence of this right-wing alliance supported by the President of Romania. Here is the discussion. We saw the approach of the two parties in their meetings, it is a still arrogant and superficial approach. I announce that I have finished with my colleagues and party specialists the 100 priorities for Romanians (...) and from these things we will start the discussions we will have with PNL or USR. We have not established when we will have these discussions. What I can tell you for sure is that PSD will not engage into negotiations or sterile discussions on the ministries, first we establish the governing program, what the priorities are, then we will have discussions," said Ciolacu, at the PSD headquarters, Agerpres informs.
Chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Florin Citu declared on Wednesday that "mathematically", a Liberal government with the Save Romania Union (USR) as junior partner has the necessary votes to get Parliament's approval.

Citu said the Liberals will also discuss with the Social Democrats, but that the mandate is for a government around PNL and headed by a Liberal Prime Minister.

"We added flexibility to the mandate, we are negotiating with all the democratic forces in the Parliament of Romania. We will now meet our USR colleagues and see after discussions how we are moving further," Citu said.

Asked if he would accept USR's request that he should not be nominated again for Prime Minister, Citu replied. "Why this question? After all, this is a discussion, we are going to discuss principles. We'll see what our colleagues have to say. It's clearly an important step on our part. There are a few things we don't give up on. First of all, we have a very important governing program. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan is already negotiated. All the Liberal principles are on the table, the rest is up for discussion," said Florin Citu.

Asked if he would accept the same USR proposals for ministers, he replied: "We will now sit down for talks and then we'll see the conclusions."

He said that the PNL will also discuss with the PSD, but with the same mandate. "We have clear goals in the governing program we do not abdicate from. We have negotiated with the European Commission the reforms we do not renounce. There will be no room for any form of populism to blow up the country's stability. We have very clear aspects to negotiate. (...) I said it very clearly that we are going with a governing mandate around PNL, which means a Liberal Prime Minister," Florin Citu said.

According to him, "the negotiations must take exactly as long as it is necessary to reach stability and come to terms on a government capable of getting Romania through this period."

Citu also mentioned that he had a discussion with President Klaus Iohannis, Agerpres informs.
National Liberal Party (PNL) Chairman Florin Citu said on Wednesday, after the meeting with the Save Romania Union (USR) representatives, that there are high chances to rebuild the coalition between the two parties, specifying that the discussion that the two parties had "looked a lot like group therapy", Agerpres informs.

He said that during the meeting, the principles and the governing program were discussed.

"It was a very good discussion. It looked a lot like a group therapy, which we needed. We discussed principles, how we can rebuild this coalition, and then we talked about the governing program. (...) We agreed on the principles and at the same time to rebuild the coalition, we agreed that there should be a coalition agreement in much more detail and we talked about the governing program, which should be more detailed," Citu said at Parliament.

Asked what the chances are for a PNL-USR-Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) coalition to be rebuilt, he replied: "There are great chances. I came out of this meeting optimistic."

He pointed out that there was no discussion about a prime minister's name, but about the principle that the prime minister is from the PNL.

"The prime minister is from PNL. We talked about the National Recovery and Resilience Program (PNRR), we support PNRR together. The names of the people who will be in the Government are not discussed today. (...) There was no discussion about names of people," said Citu, specifying that no one asked for anything at this meeting.

He added that, if an agreement is reached for the restoration of the coalition, the UDMR representatives will also participate in the next meeting.

The PNL chair stated that the discussion with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) representatives will take place on Wednesday.

"I said that we are meeting with the democratic forces in Romania's Parliament. We are also meeting with PSD today," Citu said.

He also mentioned that he did not talk to the leader of the national minority deputies, Varujan Pambuccian, but that a discussion would follow.

"We have calculated and we have a majority even without votes from minorities," Citu said.
Chairman of National Liberal party (PNL) Florin Citu announced on Wednesday that the Liberals will go to the consultations at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace with a proposal for prime minister.

"The prime minister is appointed by the president of Romania. (...) When we go to the consultations, we will go with a proposal, of course," Citu said in Parliament, before the negotiations with Save Romania Union (USR).

Asked if the PNL could support a government with a Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) prime minister, he replied: "No. At the moment, we have a mandate: the PNL is building a majority around the PNL, with a PNL prime minister."

The PNL leader specified that, on Tuesday evening, he talked on the phone with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader, Marcel Ciolacu, for the meeting of the negotiating teams.

"We will see if our programme and theirs meet," Citu said, asking if the meeting could take place on Wednesday.

Also, when asked if he would agree with a proposal for a prime minister from PSD, he replied: "No. We have a clear mandate: a majority around the PNL, with a Liberal prime minister, Agerpres informs.
Chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Florin Citu, declared on Tuesday that his party will go to the negotiations with Save Romania Union (USR) and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for the formation of the government only with the proposal that the prime minister be from the Liberals, without nominating him.

He added that President Klaus Iohannis is the one who appoints the prime minister and that, for the time being, the PNL's decision for the party leader to be the prime minister proposal has not been changed.

"We are not having a discussion about the prime minister. You know very well that today we have made two decisions more flexible. The decision to be able to go to government with those from USR and another decision, which we had taken in the National Council, not to govern with PSD. So there are two decisions that we have made more flexible. PNL's decision remains - and today [Tuesday, ed.n.] we have not discuss it - for the prime minister to be the party leader, but we will go to negotiations with the proposal only that the prime minister be from the Liberals. We will thereafter carry on discussion, depending on the negotiations," Citu specified, after the meeting of the PNL National Political Bureau.

Asked how serious the negotiations are as long as the PNL does not propose a prime minister and why his party avoids saying publicly who the prime minister is, Citu said: "PNL does not keep off. It is going to these negotiations and it will very clearly say that we want to make this government around the PNL, with a Liberal prime minister. And we have the PNL decision that has not been changed yet".

"The president of Romania is the one who appoints the prime minister. The PNL can go with a proposal, but the appointment always comes from the president of Romania," added Citu.

The National Political Bureau of the PNL approved, on Tuesday, to render the negotiation mandate with the democratic forces in Parliament more flexible, as well as the negotiation team.
His Holiness Bartholomew I celebrated on Tuesday 30 years from his enthronement as Archbishop of Constantinople  the New Rome and as Ecumenical Patriarch.

The 270th Patriarch of Constantinople was enthroned on November 2, 1991, at St. George Cathedral at the Phanar.

Short biography

Patriarch Bartholomew was born in 1940, on Imbros Island (Gokceada, in todays Turkey).

He studied at the Halki Seminary in Istanbul, at the Gregorian University in Rome, at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, and at Munchen University, Germany.

Metropolitan Meliton of Chalcedon ordained him a deacon in 1961 and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras ordained him a priest in 1969.

His Holiness became the Metropolitan of Philadelphia in 1973, then the Metropolitan of Chalcedon in 1990.

In 1991, after Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I reposed in the Lord, His Holiness was unanimously elected as Ecumenical Patriarch. He was 51 at the time.

11 visits to Romania

In his capacity as Ecumenical Patriarch, His Holiness first visited our country between August 12 and 18, 1993.

He came to Romania in 1995, at an important moment for the Romanian Orthodox Church: the 110th anniversary of Romanian autocephaly and the 70th anniversary of the Romanian Patriarchate.

Two years later, in 1997, His Holiness visited twice our country, between September 20 and 28 and between October 11 and 15.

In September he participated in the International Symposium for the Protection of the Environment, which had the theme The Black Sea in Crisis. In October, he participated in the 500th anniversary of the Neamt Monastery church consecration and in the feast of St Paraskeva of Iasi.

In 1999 the Ecumenical Patriarch took part in the Danube  River of Life Symposium, organized under the auspices of His Holiness and the Duke of Edinburgh.

On October 26, patriarchs Bartholomew and Teoctist consecrated the St. Gregory Palamas Church at the Politehnica University in Bucharest and concelebrated the patronal feast of the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest.

The next visit made by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to our country was between October 10 and 14, 2000. His Holiness was awarded the Honoris Causa Diploma by the Romanian Academy, participated in the consecration of the Diocesan Cathedral in the city of Galati and travelled to Iasi for the feast of St. Paraskeva.

Four years later, Patriarch Bartholomew came to Romania between October 15 and 21, 2004, to participate in the festivities occasioned by the 500th commemoration of the Holy Prince Stephen the Great.

On that occasion, he received the title of Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy and became a Doctor Honoris Causa of the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and of the Ovidius University in Constanta.

His Holiness was present, between March 4 and 7, 2005, at the festivities organized to mark 120 years of autocephaly for the Romanian Orthodox Church and 80 years of Romanian Patriarchate.

In 2007, His Holiness officiated the funerals of Patriarch Teoctist.

His Holiness first visit during the patriarchate of His Beatitude Daniel was in 2010. The visit started on October 26 and ended on October 29.

During the visit, His Sanctity officiated, with the Patriarch of Romania, the Divine Liturgy for the patronal feast of the Patriarchal Cathedral and participated in the Solemn Meeting of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, held on October 28.

Also, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited Romania in the autumn of 2018, when he consecrated, with Patriarch Daniel, Romanias National Cathedral. The consecration service was followed by the first Divine Liturgy ever celebrated inside the National Cathedral, presided by His Holiness.
Stavrophore Nazaria Nita was commemorated on Saturday, October 30, 2021, at Varatec Monastery, which she led as abbess between 1973-1995. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the nuns blessed repose.

The memorial service was officiated by Fr. Nicolae Axentioi, dean of Neamt.

The current abbess of the monastery, Iosefina Giosanu, highlighted the fact that stavrophore Nazaria Nita was an example of steadfastness and labour, a good helmswoman of the monastic community on the path of salvation, harmoniously combining obedience and monastic activities with the order of monastic life in the personal cell.

She also maintained the typicon of the tradition of church services inherited from her predecessors. She brought to our monastery people of culture who intertwined prayer with writing, poetry with psalms during their brief stay. An admirable person, with a special kindness of her soul and especially with incredible freedom of thought, always guided by what Orthodoxy must be: faith, prayer and culture.

The nun Nazaria Nita led the monastery for 22 years during great trials for the Church.

She became a symbol of monastic life, of Romanian monasticism and an authentic model of missionary nun, sent by God in times of hardship and persecution of the Orthodox Church, from the time of atheist communism, Archbishop Ioachim of Roman and Bacau in a message marking the 20th anniversary of Eldress Nazarias blessed repose.

Nun Nazaria Nita worked for several years at the representation of the Romanian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.
Greenpeace disapproves of the "experimental" Romania-US nuclear project and stresses that Romania "would become a guinea pig for insufficiently tested nuclear technologies," according to an organization's release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.

"President Klaus Iohannis continues, step by step, to compromise Romania's presence at the COP26 climate event in Glasgow. Yesterday [Tuesday] he expressed his support for new nuclear capabilities in Romania until 2028, after only a few hours earlier he was promoter of green technologies. We refer to the 'new' American nuclear technologies SMR (Small Modular Reactors), not yet authorized in Europe. No nuclear reactor of this type has been built, neither in the USA, nor in any other country in the world. Therefore, Romania would become a guinea pig for insufficiently tested nuclear technologies," the representatives of the organization claim.

According to them, "nuclear energy poses unacceptable risks to the environment and humanity, as we already know from Chernobyl, Fukushima and other nuclear accidents that have destroyed lives."Thus, they say, beyond the problem of imminent disasters and radioactive waste, nuclear energy is far too expensive and difficult to develop."It is definitely not a solution to the climate crisis. Renewable energy-based technologies are mature, competitively priced and must be prioritized on the agenda of politicians," Greenpeace said.President Iohannis should also know that Romanians do not want new nuclear power plants, according to the representatives of the environmental organization."A YouGov poll published in October shows that 66% of Romanians do not want a nuclear power plant to be built in their neighborhood. At the same time, citizens' support for green energy is very high in Romania. (...) What is the risk of living another nuclear disaster, when we are still witnessing the misfortunes left behind by them?," the release states.Greenpeace is an independent international organization, present in more than 50 countries around the world, that works to change attitudes and behaviors, to protect and preserve the environment, and to promote peace. In order to maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments, political parties or companies, but relies mainly on contributions from individuals.
Social Democratic Party (PSD) MP Alexandru Rafila said on Wednesday that communication mistakes were made in Romania regarding the COVID-19 green certificate, because it was not explained what the document is and that it does not exclusively involve vaccination, which should be encouraged, but also testing and, of course, recovering from the disease, agerpres reports.

Rafila held a news conference at the Parliament House after a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate's health committees with a visiting delegation of the World Health Organisation.

According to him, few COVID-19 tests are taken in Romania, but countries that had a similar number of cases did "five times, ten times more tests" than Romania.He added that talks on making the green certificate mandatory at work could have taken place five months ago, because it is now increasing hostility on the part of the healthcare workers amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 patients.The bill on the green certificate becoming mandatory for the healthcare system was not the result of a political consensus, he said, and it was not discussed with anyone.
The National Political Bureau (BPN) of the National Liberal Party (PNL) approved on Tuesday the flexibility of the negotiating mandate with the democratic forces in parliament, as well as the negotiating team.

"In the meeting of the PNL's BPN, the proposal to make the negotiating mandate more flexible with the democratic forces of the Romanian Parliament and the negotiating team was approved. The negotiating team is led by the party president and includes the four first vice-presidents and the secretary-general. There were two abstentions. (...) The mandate is very clear, to negotiate with the democratic forces in the Romanian Parliament, with the USR [Save Romania Union] and with those from PSD [the Social Democratic Party]. Now, I know that those from USR, some colleagues have said that there are problems, with PSD, we also have criminal complaints against the leader of the party and so on. There are problems everywhere, the important thing for the Romanians to know is that we are ready to solve this crisis. The PNL also takes a step forward, albeit the other parties have not made anything more flexible, they have remained stuck in the opposition they have always put up," PNL leader Florin Citu said in Parliament, after the meeting of the PNL's BPN.

The negotiating team includes PNL chairman Florin Citu, the general secretary of the party, Dan Vilceanu, and the four first vice-presidents: Iulian Dumitrescu, Rares Bogdan, Lucian Bode and Gheorghe Flutur.

He stressed that they will go to negotiations with the proposal that the prime minister should be from the National Liberal Party.

"Next we will discuss further, depending on the negotiations. The PNL does not shy away, it goes to these negotiations and it clearly says that we want to make this government around the PNL, with the Liberal prime minister and we have the decision of the PNL that has not been modified. The prime minister is appointed by the president of Romania and we will discuss this as well," he added.

"We will go to these negotiations with strategy for each one, but one thing remains certain: the prime minister belongs to the PNL. In both variants we go with the prime minister of PNL," he said.

Asked if he leans towards USR or PSD, he said: "I am interested in having a Government as soon as possible and we will go to these negotiations to form a majority as soon as possible."

"I'm not negotiating through the media with those form USR. We're going to go tomorrow to the discussions with the USR members and then see what elements we have on the table. Through the media, it makes no sense to discuss," Florin Citu said.

Also asked if PSD is different now from the time when it was led by Liviu Dragnea, he replied: "I am telling you what we do and what we do not abdicate from. Eventually, it is important at this moment to have a government, and what is up to us, to the PNL, is to make sure that the Romanians will have the same rights and freedoms and what we said in the electoral campaign, we will keep our word."

He added that the Liberals would not deviate from the goals already set.

"What I can tell the Romanians is that we will not modify anything that we have always supported, a Liberal government. I made sure that the reforms were included in the PNRR [National Recovery and Resilience Programme], these reforms will be carried out as they are included in the PNRR, then, any variant and anyone who will try to change a iota in the PNRR would mean that we will not take that money. So reforms, pensions, salaries, public administration, they're all included in the PNRR. Next, I assure the Romanians that any government we will shape, we will not deviate from our objectives of having a modern, Liberal Romania with a European path. (...) Today, the laws of justice are in the Parliament of Romania, they have passed the Government. You know very well that they were adopted in the Government and are in Parliament. The position of the PNL remains the same," the Liberal leader stressed.
On another remaining issue, the Democrats compromised on a plan partly to do away with the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions that particularly hits New York, California and other high-tax states and was enacted as part of the Trump-era 2017 tax plan.

While repeal of the so-called SALT deduction cap is a priority for several northeastern state lawmakers, progressives wanted to prevent the super-wealthy from benefiting. Under the plan, the $10,000 deduction cap would be lifted to $72,500 for 10 years, starting with the 2021 tax year.

And the just-added immigration provision would create a new program for some 7 million immigrants who are in the country without legal standing, allowing them to apply for permits to work and travel in the U.S. for five years. It would also allow the government to tap unused visas to admit people into the U.S.

Resolving the immigration issue was among the last daunting challenges to finishing up the draft of Biden's package. Biden had set aside $100 billion to fund the immigration changes, which could bolster the overall package from $1.75 trillion to $1.85 trillion if the provision is accepted by the Senate. Lawmakers plan to make their case to Senate parliamentarian in coming days, hopeful the changes will pass muster under Senate rules because they build on existing programs, those involved said.
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Penguin Random Houses proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster follows decades of consolidation in the publishing industry. Penguin and Random House themselves merged less than a decade ago, in 2013. Acquisitions have intensified in recent years as publishers seek a stronger bargaining position with the countrys biggest bookseller, Amazon.com.

Todays decision by the DOJ was unexpected given that so many other major mergers and acquisitions in the publishing industry have gone through recently and over the last few decades with nary a raised eyebrow from DOJ, Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, said in a statement Tuesday.

President Joe Biden has called for greater scrutiny of mergers as part of his effort to increase competition and stanch corporate power. He has assembled a team of regulators and advisers to try to counteract monopoly power, including installing Big Tech critic Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission and nominating antitrust lawyer Jonathan Kanter to head DOJs antitrust division.
Smith had questions. He wanted to know why the feds and their contractors were using Pruitt-Igoe as a test facility; why they didnt tell the residents what they were doing; and why to this day they wont do anything to help former residents learn whether the experiments affected their health.

The documentary features a compelling cast, but none that you will find on IMDb.

Along with Barnes, Smith aimed his lens at Lisa-Martino Taylor, the Ph.D. candidate and now holder of a doctorate in sociology; Elkin Kistner, the attorney; Benjamin Phillips, a former resident and Kistners initial plaintiff; and a group of other former residents who express their outrage at being used as government guinea pigs.

The story begins with men in protective suits showing up at Pruitt-Igoe in the mid-1950s with machines that spewed a fog outside the apartment buildings. Phillips, then just 7 years old or so, said he and his family members thought little of it because they had seen a similar fog associated with mosquito control efforts. Some residents were told that these were government workers testing a smoke screen for protection against an enemy attack. Nobody asked whether it was OK with them.
CLAYTON  About 68% of the St. Louis County Police employees have been vaccinated against COVID-19, Acting Chief Kenneth Gregory told the County Council on Tuesday.

About 32% of the departments roughly 1,300 employees have not been vaccinated, Gregory said in response to questions from the council during a budget hearing.

But those officers are complying with a requirement to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, he said.

It was the first confirmation of the departments vaccination rate since Gregory issued a special order Oct. 7 requiring vaccination or weekly testing for department employees. The department previously said it did not have a count for public release.

Gregory told the council he did not have exact numbers for how many officers have or have not been vaccinated. A spokesperson for the department was not immediately available to confirm the number.

Councilmen Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, and Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, said they were concerned that the department would lose hundreds of officers if they quit rather than comply with vaccine or testing requirement.
The change comes as the MTA has struggled to improve vaccination rates among its roughly 67,000 workers. More than 70% of transit employees are estimated to be vaccinated, according to MTA officials.

A spokesperson for the MTA stressed that the program remains in effect, and noted that it has been extended past its original one-year term. The only change is the vaccination requirement.

The program is not being revoked, the MTA spokesperson said in an email. In fact, the MTA has twice extended it.

Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, which represents roughly 38,000 MTA workers, pushed hard to negotiate the benefit. No other workforce in the city, probably the country, secured what TWU secured: a $500,000 payment from the employer to the families of workers who died after getting covid, said Pete Donohue, a union spokesperson. We look at it that during a terrible time, we got [the benefit] for people.

Its not unusual for employers of workers in risky occupations  such as police, firefighters, utility company workers and transit workers, who could succumb to an industrial accident or get hit by a train on the tracks  to offer extra insurance coverage that pays if they die on the job. The coverage is often provided in addition to a regular life insurance policy.
After the board called for an outside investigation, Page said he supported the idea. But he then told the board the county would delay the request to conduct its own internal survey. That review, by a consulting firm owned by former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce and her former spokeswoman, Susan Ryan, was released in January and was largely critical of Banasco without detailing allegations. The county paid $9,750 for the review.

The same day the consultants review was released, the jail advisory board renewed its call for an outside investigation, emphasizing it needed to be wide in scope. The County Council unanimously voted to support the call, and Pages administration on March 18 issued a formal request for bidders that would examine eight areas of focus including inmate deaths, internal affairs complaints and the jails relationship with the county counselors office.
This is a frivolous lawsuit by a special interest anti-gun group who wants to take away the rights of law-abiding gun owners, Plotkin said.

The NRA told The Washington Post in a statement that the lawsuit is as misguided as it is transparent.

Another premeditated abuse of the public by our adversaries  who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of their anti-freedom agenda, the organization said. Suffice to say, the NRA has full confidence in its political activities and remains eager to set the record straight.

The lawsuit says that vendors used by campaigns were the same group of people associated with the NRA.

They are led by the same people, located at the same address, and have no internal separation or firewall between the staff who work for each entity, the lawsuit said. Indeed, the same staff performed work for both the NRA Affiliates and the candidates campaigns during the same election cycle.

Among those named as being affiliated with the companies was Brad Todd, who served as a Hawley spokesman. According to the suit, Todd is a founding partner of OnMessage Inc. and a director at Starboard, two of the shell companies involved in the campaigns.
NIXA, Mo.  A southwestern Missouri mayor who became the subject of a recall effort for imposing a mask mandate to try and slow the spread of COVID-19 will remain in office.

Only about a quarter of voters in Nixa on Tuesday supported the recall of Mayor Brian Steele, KYTV, the NBC affiliate serving Springfield, Missouri, reported. He can serve the remainder of his term, which expires in April 2023.

The recall effort in Nixa, a town of about 21,000 residents 14 miles south of Springfield, came after Steele issued an executive order in 2020 to require masks. Supporters of the recall argued the city council should make that decision, not the mayor.

The mandate had already expired this summer when a group opposed to the mandate gathered enough signatures to trigger the recall vote. Steele was among several elected officials across the country facing similar recall efforts over mask mandates and COVID-protocols.

Based on the facts we knew at that time, I dont think I would have done anything different than I would now, Steele said. I had the support of my entire city council. Almost all of them were out there today at the polls helping me out. That shows that we made the decision that needed to be made at that time.

Recall committee member Skipp Phipps said that despite the defeat, the recall still sends a message that Nixa needs representatives that will involve and listen to the people.
ST. LOUIS  Early public criticism of a tentative ward redistricting map is being directed more on the process undertaken by the Board of Aldermen than the proposed boundary revamp itself.

Several of the 20 people who spoke Tuesday night at the first of several aldermanic public hearings complained that the map posted on the boards website wasnt detailed enough for residents to determine where some streets are located.

Because the lines (between wards) were so thick, I couldnt tell where streets were, said Karisa Gilman-Hernandez, the Democratic committeewoman for the current 15th Ward on the south side. You all are asking for our opinions on a map that we cant really see.

Gena McClendon said she lives on Minerva Avenue in a small corner of the existing 18th Ward and that its difficult to tell exactly where her area would be placed on the new map.

Marquis Govan, who lives on Grand Boulevard in the 19th Ward, put it this way: No one  can look at this ward map and see exactly where certain lines have been drawn.

He added that residents need more time to react to the details of the proposal, which would reduce the number of wards to 14 from 28 as mandated by a city charter amendment passed by voters in 2012.
Days said she had asked McKenna to announce the time limit so that she could listen to each persons testimony without having to be distracted.

After public comment concluded, Trakas accused McKenna of ordering council staff to prevent any more than 24 people from signing up to speak.

McKenna does not oversee the speaker registration lists. He said that staff in the clerks office had been instructed to limit council speakers to 24, which at three minutes per speaker, is over the hour typically reserved for public comment in council rules.

Speakers are required to sign up to speak at least 15 minutes before the start of the meeting, either electronically or on paper lists provided outside the council chambers. But the councils rules give the council and county clerk discretion over how to register public speakers. State laws dont require that the public be allowed to speak at public meetings, and give local bodies wide latitude to set their own rules for how they share the microphone with constituents.

The point is made, Trakas said to applause from people in the crowd, your office limited the number of people that can speak tonight.

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JEFFERSON CITY  Missouri marijuana regulators received two federal grand jury subpoenas last fall, almost a year after authorities issued an initial demand for records from the state.

The first demand for records, issued in November 2019, directs the Department of Health and Senior Services to provide any and all records pertaining to medical marijuana applications for four individuals. Their names are redacted from the document.

The second subpoena, dated Sept. 9, 2020, requires marijuana regulators to provide records, but what the records pertain to is redacted from the document.

Pursuant to an official criminal investigation being conducted by the federal grand jury for the Western District of Missouri, your office has received a subpoena requiring the production of certain records, said Michael S. Oliver, assistant U.S. Attorney, in a Sept. 9, 2020, letter to the DHSS.

A third subpoena, dated Sept. 11, 2020, demands more records from the Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation, according to documents obtained through an open records request. Information on those records is also redacted.

All three subpoenas were issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Brooks newborn, Jeriha, was born healthy on July 31. But the birth was nerve-wracking. They called her the trouble baby, because they would have to fly into the room because her heart rate dropped, Brooks said of her hospital stay.

In August, Horizon hooked her up with the pandemic aid, paid to the Cepedas if they promised to keep the unit in good order. The Cepedas also agreed to move Brooks to a new apartment, said Pashia, the caseworker.

The Cepedas dont remember it that way. They said they never agreed to find housing for Brooks, or any other tenant at the Delor apartments.

They were told they could apply for other units and application fees would be waived, Maria Cepeda said. But they have to meet the requirements.

Brooks now has two jobs: One at a McDonalds in St. Louis, and another at a nearby discount store.

But no one  not her, not her caseworker, and not her landlords  has found her a new place.

Tawanda Carter, 44, is the property manager for the building, and has been working with Brooks. She said shes been in tough spots before, just like Brooks.
At lunchtime Wednesday, St. Charles County's online vaccine scheduler was showing the first available appointments for pediatric vaccines on Nov. 10.

Onye Hollomon, director of communications for the Ferguson-Florissant School District, said the district is surveying families to gauge interest in vaccinations at school.

If there is sufficient interest, she said, the hope and the goal is to roll it out soon.

George Sells, spokesman for St. Louis Public Schools, said school officials are planning a vaccine clinic. They are meeting with health officials Wednesday.

The St. Louis Department of Health is finalizing its plans, spokeswoman Kim Vanden Berg said in an email.

Mary Enger, St. Charles County spokeswoman, said once the health department receives standing orders from the state health department, the county will have mass events, library events and clinic appointments at the county health department.

Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the state is expecting 116,100 doses, split among pharmacies, hospitals, clinics and others. Pharmacy chains may be able to start vaccinations first, she said.
GEO's detention center didnt fit that exemption because its a private, for-profit facility, not a state, county or municipal one, attorneys for the state and for the detainees argued.

The Northwest detention center houses people who are in custody while the federal government seeks to deport them or reviews their immigration status. It can hold up to 1,575 detainees, making it one of the nations largest immigration jails, though the population has been drastically reduced during the pandemic.

During the first trial, GEO acknowledged it could pay detainees more if it wanted. In 2018, the company made $18.6 million in profits from the facility; it would have cost $3.4 million to pay the minimum wage to detainees.

Washington appears to be the only state to sue a private detention contractor for not paying minimum wage to immigration detainees. But similar lawsuits have been brought on behalf of immigration detainees in other states, including New Mexico, Colorado and California, seeking to force GEO and another major private detention company, CoreCivic, to pay minimum wage to detainees there.

A federal judge rejected the lawsuit brought by former detainees of CoreCivics Cibola detention center in New Mexico  a decision upheld by a federal appeals court panel in March.

Persons in custodial detention  such as appellants  are not in an employer-employee relationship but in a detainer-detainee relationship, the panel wrote.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
"I've got constituents in my district that are losing their jobs right now at various different employers that have a vaccine mandate right now. I think we need to do everything we can to protect those job and protect those folks that are just trying to provide for their family," Elliott said.

Democratic Sen. Bobby Singleton of Greensboro said Republicans were giving people the ability to tell a big lie to avoid getting vaccinated. He said the Labor Department would have limited or no ability to investigate the sincerity of the employees claim of a religious or medical reason for declining the vaccine.

We as a Legislature are about to manufacture an excuse for people not to take the vaccine, Singleton said, predicting that everybody will claim some sort of illness or religious reason.

Democratic Sen. Vivian Davis Figures of Mobile said Republicans supporting the bill were putting the lives of others at risk and interfering with the ability of a business to make decisions about its workplace.

All of the thousands and thousands and thousands of people who have died of COVID since early 2020 and you have the audacity to introduce a bill like this to sanction the death of so many others, Figures said.
WASHINGTON  Women get in fewer car accidents than men. But when they do, theyre up to 73% more likely to be injured and 28% more likely to die, according to new data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

One reason for that might be there is no crash test dummy that represents the average female body used in car safety testing, despite women making up more than half of all licensed U.S. drivers.

Its completely unacceptable, said Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. What were seeing in the studies that keep coming out is that the crash protection is not equal, and it should be.

Advocates say that needs to change. They are renewing calls for federal regulators to advance studies of crash impacts on women and other groups that are poorly represented in safety testing after several reports have shown women are significantly more likely to be hurt in crashes.

More data  and updates to federal regulations  are necessary to help build better crash test dummies and models to increase vehicle safety, experts say.

Carla Bailo, CEO of the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research, said the reason there is no average-size female dummy can be traced back to bad history.
COLLINSVILLE, Ill. (AP)  Hundreds of police officers and other mourners filled a southern Illinois convention center for the funeral of a police officer who was fatally shot last week at a gas station.

About 1,000 people gathered Tuesday at Collinsvilles Gateway Convention Center for the funeral of Pontoon Beach Officer Tyler Timmins. Hundreds of officers attended, with Illinois State Troopers filling at least three rows of seats of a ballroom, The (Alton) Telegraph reported.

Timmins was later interred at Woodland Hill Cemetery in East Alton during a private burial.

Timmins, 36, died at a hospital on Oct. 26 after being shot at a Speedway gas station in Pontoon Beach, a Madison County village located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis.

During Tuesday's funeral service, Timmins wife, Linsey (Hornberger) Timmins, told fellow mourners that for me the definition of hero is my husband.
Fishing is a tiny industry economically for both countries but with outsized political importance, and the dispute has mushroomed into an important test for Britains relations with the European Union after Brexit.

France has threatened to close its ports to some British boats and to impose strict checks on boats and trucks carrying U.K. goods, if more licenses are not granted. Paris also at one point suggested it might restrict energy supplies to the Channel Islands, which are heavily dependent on French electricity.

The French government originally said it would impose the sanctions if no resolution on the license dispute emerged by Tuesday. It pushed back the deadline, and then said Wednesday that the measures were on hold at least through Friday, while talks involving French, British and EU officials continue.

Britain says a blockade would breach the Brexit withdrawal agreement and that the issue behind the dispute is is a technical one related to some French boats lack of paperwork to prove they have traditionally fished in the areas where they want to keep working.

But France sees it as a matter of principle, and has accused Britain of breaching its legally binding divorce deal with the European Union, which sets the rules for fishing in the post-Brexit era..
When I was growing up, I learned a lot about how the world works from television. One of the best introductions to politics was the memorable series Schoolhouse Rock, that put complex things to music and made it fun on Saturday mornings. Probably the most famous of these memorable shorts was the one on how laws get passed in America, called Im Just a Bill. Little did I know back then that this was just the first of many lies I would hear about the way things work in America.

According to Bill, ideas emanated from people who called their member of Congress who then introduced ideas as a bill, starting it on a long path that includes committees, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and finally the president. Then the bill becomes a law. Technically this is the way it was supposed to work, but Bill didnt warn us about the filibuster.
Trump himself was fully invested in that delusion and, in the midst of the marauding, he made sure the marauders knew it. Mike Pence didnt have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, Trump tweeted, even as the Secret Service was rushing Pence away from Capitol insurrectionists who were calling for his execution.

So encompassing has been the misinformation culture built around Trumps big lie of a stolen election that its necessary to repeat the undebatable facts with every discussion of it: There has never been any indication, let alone evidence, of significant vote fraud. The Trump teams wild claims of irregularities were either gross exaggerations or whole-cloth fabrications, which is why the claims were rejected in more than 60 court cases. Those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 werent leftist radicals, as some have asserted. They were Trump supporters who chanted his name after being egged on to help him reverse a presidential election.

If the Washington Post series helps clear some of the rhetorical smoke that Trump and his supporters have used to obscure the reality of what happened that day, it will have served America better than Trump ever did. The story it tells is an indictment of every Republican who subsequently voted against Trumps impeachment for the most clearly impeachable offense any president has ever committed  and a ringing condemnation of those who continue today to defend the indefensible.
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
The U.S. Army has been preparing for a near peer (conventional enemy) war for over a decade now and one problem has gotten worse. For a near peer conflict the army needs rail lines from bases to ports as well as an adequate number of rail cars to carry heavy equipment. Currently about half the army rail lines from bases to the commercial mainlines are unusable because of delayed repairs. A five-year program to remedy this is behind schedule. There is also a shortage of army rail transportation troops, made worse by a 2015 reduction in railroad troops because the army believed they could rely on commercial railroad personnel in the U.S. and foreign nations to do the job. That proved to be too optimistic. When the availability of commercial railroad specialists was recently checked it was found that the needed personnel for wartime operations were not available in the numbers needed.

The last time there was a major movement of units to ports was in 2003, for the invasion of Iraq. During that period the army found that 67 percent of army vehicles and heavy equipment had to move by rail. The army could not repeat the 2003 performance now and a near-peer war would involve the initial movement of at least twice as many units as in 2003.

The situation is worse with the special rail cars. The army bought 6,000 of these in the late 1960s but these only had a useful life of fifty years. By 2015 the 1,300 owned by the Department of Defense had seen little use and are continuing to be retired because of old age. New rail cars cost over $150,000 each. Another 4,500 are owned by railroads and the Department of Defense paid to equip them with the special features that enable them to carry tanks. These were more heavily used to carry other cargo and are all going to soon be victims of old age.

In 2003 the army found that it required about 600 of these rail cars to move an armored brigade and nearly as many to move regular ground combat brigades that still contain a lot of armored vehicles and heavy trucks. In wartime the army would want to move about thirty brigades initially and nearly as many within six months. The army ran a simulation exercise in 2020 to see what they could move with current equipment and rail lines and found major problems.

The army has tried to improvise, if need be, by using standard commercial flatbed rail cars to carry tanks. It takes time to install additional features needed for this. Meanwhile, the army still has some tank transport capability with the special tractor trailers, at least the ones that are not in the shop because of heavy use since 2003.

The rail car deal in the 1960s was in support of a potential major conventional war with the Soviet Union. That threat is gone but there is still the possibility of tanks being needed in a hurry for some future war. Being ready for such a movement of tanks from army bases to ports is costly and may be too expensive in the face of budget cuts and the need for so many other items of equipment. Then again, the United States has deactivated most of the armored units it maintained during the Cold War. There are not nearly as many armored battalions to move to ports. The thousands of rail cars built to move tanks were built for a mobilization that is no longer possible.

The army is also running out of heavy trucks that can transport tanks and other armored vehicles long distances. Armored vehicles that run on tracks wear out quickly if they travel long distances. The tracks and the running gear (wheels and related mechanical components) are not durable because of the heavy weight of these vehicles and the vulnerability of these track laying systems that are used because they are the only effective way to enable heavy vehicles to move cross country. After moving about a thousand kilometers under its own power the heavier (over 20 tons) tracked vehicles must stop and replace worn out components. Because of this, armies use special flatbed railroad cars and tractor trailer trucks to move armored vehicles long distances. Both the rail cars and special trucks owned by the U.S. are wearing out and budget cuts are making it difficult to buy replacements.

In 2003 the army had about 2,000 Heavy Equipment Transporters. Each consisted of a heavy tractor that could haul 80-tons on a flatbed trailer. These M1000 HETs (Heavy Equipment Trailers) cost about $400,000 each. The trailers weigh 25 tons and are 16.1 meters (52 feet) long and can be used to carry any other heavy cargo, which they often do when not hauling M-1 tanks or other armored vehicles. The 20-ton M1070 tractor that usually pulls this trailer has a six-man cab, so the tank crew can be carried as well. After 2003 a decade of heavy use in Iraq and Afghanistan has reduced the number of working trainers to about 1,500, and some of these are still in need of expensive refurbishment.

The army conducted this recent study of its heavy equipment movement capabilities to discover how much money they had to ask for to fix the problem. The cash needed turned out to be much larger than anticipated but at least it is known what remaining heavy transport is available, even if it isnt much and how much it will cost to fix the problem. Logistics has never been an easy item to get money for, until a war starts and you find that without adequate logistics you cant get to the combat zone in time to do anything useful with all those impressive new weapons.
by Austin Bay November 2, 2021

In July Japan's Vice Defense Minister Yasuhide Nakayama told the Hudson Institute that China and Russia could launch a surprise "Pearl Harbor-style attack" in the Pacific. The Washington Examiner and Reuters quoted Nakayama as insisting the U.S. and Japan must demonstrate the will to deter both China and Russia because "they are doing their (military) exercises together." They conduct exercises from "Honolulu to Japan," which means America's "protection line is going ... backwards ..."

Nakayama said China would likely target Taiwan. But that threatens Okinawa (a Japanese island with U.S. bases). Mid-Pacific exercises demonstrate targeting Hawaii and the West Coast, so he couldn't rule out an attack on Hawaii reprising 1941 but employing 21st-century weaponry. In 1941 Japan also attacked the Philippines and Southeast Asia -- a multi-pronged strategic offensive.

Nakayama called Chinese President Xi Jinping's regime "aggressive ... (in) thought and will ... So wake up. We have to wake up."

I agree. In last week's column I argued it's "foolish to believe an intense war involving China and the U.S. would be confined to the Taiwan Straits and end with Taiwan's loss." Chinese anti-ship and land-attack missiles can reach the eastern Pacific. In a recent Pentagon war game, Chinese missiles hit regional U.S. bases -- meaning they hit Japan, South Korea and Guam and perhaps Australia, Singapore and Hawaii.

China has territorial goals. China wants to move through the "first island chain" (southern Japan to Borneo). That means seizing Taiwan. China also targets the "second island chain" from the east coast of Honshu (Tokyo's location) through Guam to New Guinea.

Note: Guam is sovereign U.S. territory. Like California and Vermont.

Communist China is conducting "military preparation of the battlefield" operations on four fronts, three in the Pacific. No. 1: In the Himalayas confronting India, Chinese road crews inch forward -- supply routes for a subcontinent war. No. 2: China's artificial islands in the South China Sea (west Pacific) step toward Singapore, the Straits of Malacca and the Indian Ocean. No. 3: Chinese forces routinely probe neighboring air and sea spaces. The most provocative probe Taiwan and Japan. No. 4: Chinese diplomats seek bases worldwide but especially Pacific bases. In 2019 Kiribati cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Now China intends to upgrade Kiribati's airfields -- 1,800 miles from Hawaii.

What's the time frame for triggering this war? In 1992/93, the late director of the Secretary of Defense's Office of Net Assessments, Andrew Marshall, gave his consultants a long-term thought experiment: How could the U.S. fight and win a war for national survival against China circa 2020 or 2025?

Yes, chillingly prescient. What keeps a Taiwan or western Pacific war with China from escalating to a war for national survival?

Nothing -- which is why China must either be deterred or stopped cold if it attacks Taiwan.

Three factors suggest China might strike in 2023 or election year 2024. No. 1: The Biden administration is incompetent. Its Afghanistan debacle created serious concerns about U.S. reliability. No. 2: Division erodes American public will to resist. A hot-button example: morale-sapping faculty club nostrums like "critical race theory" (recast Marxist tribalism) being imposed on the military.

Will matters. Prussian strategic theorist Carl von Clausewitz called war a clash of wills.

No. 3: The U.S. has no immediate counter for China's Anti-Access/Area Denial strategy that threatens U.S. carrier battle groups with destruction as they move to the western Pacific. The U.S. Navy can't risk losing carriers.

If China quickly wins the big Taiwan battle and breaks out, what could be lost? Here's a list of terrible consequences to mull. Okinawa -- Japanese territory lost to China. Beijing neutralizes Singapore, gaining control of the primary route to the Indian Ocean. South Korea, Japan and Australia are isolated.

If China says it will nuke California unless the U.S. gives up Guam, what do characters like President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken say? Is Beijing making an offer political hacks can't refuse?

We can deter China -- if we don't project weakness. The Navy's 2021 fleet battle problem and the Army's long-range fires concept are examples of creative military operational concepts that can defeat China. What we could use are several score small, cheap ships armed with weapons to suppress Chinese shore-based firepower so the carriers can deliver a coup de grace.
FILE PHOTO: People walk by a CVS Pharmacy store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 30, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

By Manas Mishra and Amruta Khandekar

(Reuters) -CVS Health Corp on Wednesday said its adjusted profit target for 2022 should largely meet Wall Street estimates, as it expects volatile medical costs in its health insurance unit to stabilize after the COVID-19 crisis drove them up this year.

Shares of the company, best-know for its drugstore chain, were up nearly 5%, as CVS also raised its 2021 profit forecast.

CVS now expects 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $7.90 to $8.00, up from its prior forecast of $7.70 to $7.80.

"We believe that current analyst estimates for 2022 adjusted EPS of approximately $8.20 are within our anticipated initial guidance range," Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guertin told analysts on a conference call.

CVS in August https://reut.rs/3BBWfXf had hedged a bit on its long-term target for double digit earnings growth for 2022, pointing to uncertainty around medical costs and COVID-19 testing and vaccine demand.

CVS's third-quarter profits were weighed down by higher medical costs in its Aetna insurance businesses due to the pandemic, CVS executives said on the call. However, that was offset by higher pharmacy sales, which have benefited from demand for COVID-19 vaccines and tests.

"For retail, we expect that COVID-19 vaccine and testing volume, which is expected to generate over $3 billion of revenue in 2021, will decline significantly in 2022 to 30% to 40% of the volume we administered in 2021," Guertin said.

Rapid COVID-19 tests have been in short supply in the United States in recent months do to surging demand.

"We are working very closely with the suppliers to make sure that we continue to buy inventory and get it into our stores," Chief Executive Karen Lynch said, adding that "we have a pretty good inventory."

CVS reported a higher-than-expected medical benefit ratio of 85.8% due to COVID-19 treatment and testing costs. Those costs are expected to continue in the current quarter, but decline next year, CVS said.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.97 per share in the third quarter, above estimates of $1.78, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Bill Berkrot)
SYDNEY and BOURNE END, England, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Australian pharmaceutical group Phebra Holdings ('Phebra') is pleased to announce that it has completed a share purchase agreement with the UK hospital specialty pharmaceutical company Flexipharm Austrading Limited ('FAL').

Flexipharm Austrading, a privately-owned company founded in 2018 by experienced specialty pharma expert, Michael Clark, focuses on supplying UK hospitals with Better Critical Care Medicines. Flexipharm Austrading has an existing licence and distribution agreement with Phebra for the supply of products from Phebra's portfolio of critical care medicines; to date several products have been approved and successfully launched in the UK.

Andre Vlok, Chief Executive Officer Phebra, said: "We are excited that Phebra has made this strategic investment in Flexipharm Austrading. This is a logical next step for Phebra, deepening a strong and successful collaboration built over the last 3 years. It strengthen Phebra's access to the key UK market which is very important for our current and future pipeline of critical care products.

"Our partnership will allow us to leverage the existing infrastructure at FAL under the expert leadership of Michael and to advance our route to market in the UK and potentially, expand our international sales into wider, selected European markets."

Michael Clark, Founder and Managing Director of Flexipharm Austrading, said: "I established the business with a goal to supply UK hospitals with Better Critical Care Medicines; Phebra had a portfolio of products that we believed offered advantages over existing products and together we have successfully launched these in the UK. But the job is only part-completed; I am delighted that Phebra is now a shareholder and look forward to deepening this relationship which is based around supplying hospitals with a focus on improved or novel versions of gold standard drugs and offering tangible and transparent value to the NHS, healthcare professionals and, independent hospitals."

About Phebra

Phebra is an Australian based specialty pharmaceutical group which develops, manufactures and markets critical medicines across the world.

At Phebra, we create critical medicines that save and improve lives.

About Flexipharm Austrading

Flexipharm Austrading's vision is to become a UK-based specialty pharmaceutical company that is genuinely respected and trusted by NHS hospitals. It was founded in 2018 by Michael Clark, an experienced specialty pharmaceutical company founder and board director. Flexipharm Austrading has a singular focus on commercialising established molecules embedded in hospital use where there are concerns around security of ongoing supply; where the current presentation is not optimal for the needs of the NHS staff; and where the current presentations can contribute to medication errors. The Company has a deep understanding of the conditions where its medicines are used and builds enduring meaningful dialogue with the NHS staff involved in using these medicines. It works in partnership with Phebra Pty Ltd, an Australian pharmaceutical company developing and manufacturing injectable pharmaceutical products. For further information visit www.flexipharmaustrading.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/phebra-acquires-equity-stake-in-uk-specialty-hospital-pharma-company-flexipharm-austrading-301414483.html

SOURCE Flexipharm Austrading
TICKERS: AU; ANG; AGG; AGD, ABX; GOLD, K; KGC, NEM, PLZL; OPYGY, SKE, YRI; AUY; YAU

Source: Quinton Hennigh for Streetwise Reports (11/3/21)

In an Oct. 8, 2021, broadcast, Crescat Capital Geologic and Technical Director, Dr. Quinton Hennigh, discussed the cycles in the gold market since the 1970s and posited that the U.S. is on the verge of a bull run in the gold price and another "age of discovery."



In a presentation by Crescat Capital's Geologic and Technical Director, Dr. Quinton Hennigh, he summarized the past five decades' history of the gold sector and opined that it is "on the cusp of an age of discovery."

"I think we're in a resounding bull, if you will," he said.

Hennigh began his gold space review with the metal's performance during the 1970s, when South Africa dominated gold production, and a gold mining industry in the rest of the world was small. During that decade, the gold price slowly climbed, in a stairstep pattern, from about $48 an ounce ($48/oz) to $800/oz. In the latter part of the 1970s, gold soared, and capital amply flowed into the space.

"This investment came when generalists said, 'That's it, we've got to find something else to invest in. This gold looks really good right now,'" Hennigh noted.

This led to an "age of discovery," according to Hennigh, of numerous

major gold deposits around the world, between 1980 and 1997.

They were Hemlo in Canada, deposits in Nevada's Carlin Trend by Newmont Corp. (NEM:NYSE) then Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; GOLD:NYSE), Skeena Resources Ltd.'s (SKE:TSX.V) Eskay Creek, Newmont's Yanacocha, and many others.

A lot of today's gold mining majors got their start during this period, including Polyus Gold (PLZL:LSE; OPYGY:OTCPK), Kinross Gold Corp. (K:TSX; KGC:NYSE), AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU:NYSE; ANG:JSE; AGG:ASX; AGD:LSE) and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI:TSX; AUY:NYSE; YAU:LSE).

Then the trend reversed in around 1996-1997. The gold price fell to roughly $250/oz, the softening caused in part, Hennigh opined, by hedging of the gold discoveries and a gold oversupply.

A bleak period followed, through 2001, during which the majors had to cut costs. They ceased exploration, leaving it to the juniors, and only mined high-grade ore.

Starting in about 2005-2006, the majors went on a buying spree. Kicked off by Goldcorp, they scooped up multiple gold projects and companies.

The gold price went up, yet the majors still held off on exploring. When it became economic enough to restart mining, they did so aggressively, going after the leftover low-grade ore.

Newmont, for instance, started producing more than 7,000,000 ounces in 2004, Hennigh said.

Despite roughly a billion dollars a month going into this space for a while, the majors made terrible deals, money was squandered and capital was spent on metallurgically weak projects.

"I call this the age of nondiscovery," Hennigh added. "It was not a good time. It was a very unproductive time. We basically squandered our opportunity."

Following a "soft patch" between 2001 and 2011, the gold price again took off, peaking in September 2011 at just above $1,800/oz, and a lot of money subsequently flowed into the gold space.

Hennigh said we're in one of those times where it looks like gold is dead, right before abundant investment in the space and an upcycle.

The gold price now is around $1,760/oz, having fallen from its recent high of $1,900/oz. On an encouraging note, a number of mining teams are currently working vigorously on deals, such that Hennigh expects many transactions to happen in the next six to 12 months.

"That period of age of discovery is just out beyond this. There are good things to come," Hennigh said.

"The opportunities that I can see out there, including a lot of the stories I've talked about routinely on this show, are going to be the next, we'll call it, age of discoveries that will crystallize new gold mining companies," he concluded.

[NLINSERT]

Streetwise Reports Disclosures:

1) Doresa Banning compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) Dr. Quinton Hennigh is Crescat Capitals Geologic and Technical Director. You should assume that as of the publication date, Dr. Quinton Hennigh has a position in the securities discussed and therefore stands to realize significant gains in the event the price of security moves.

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4) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

5) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

6) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Newmont Corp., Barrick Gold Corp., Skeena Resources Ltd., Polyus Gold, Kinross Gold Corp., AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., and Yamana Gold Inc., companies mentioned in this article.

Important Crescat Disclosures Provided by Crescat Capital

Please read Crescats important disclosures.

Nothing herein should be construed as personalized investment advice or a recommendation that you buy, sell, or hold any security or other investment or that you pursue any investment style or strategy.

Case studies are included for informational purposes only and are provided as a general overview of Crescats general investment process, and not as indicative of any investment experience. There is no guarantee that the case studies discussed here are completely representative of Crescats strategies or of the entirety of its investments.

Crescat has compiled its research in good faith and while it uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information, it is provided on an as is basis with no warranties of any kind. Crescat does not warrant that the information on this site is accurate, reliable, up to date or correct. In no event will Crescat be responsible or liable for the correctness of any such research or for any damage or lost opportunities resulting from use of its data.

You should assume that as of the publication date, Crescat has a position in the securities discussed and therefore stands to realize significant gains in the event the price of security moves. Following the publication date, Crescat intends to continue transacting in the securities, and may be long, short, or neutral at any time.
Larry Lock, the Armys chief of compensation and entitlements, speaks during an Army orientation briefing at the Pentagon in 2019. An attorneys court filing on behalf of Army reservists largely blames Lock for the services misinterpretation of regulations that denied housing benefits to reservists, and for refusing to comply with an order to repay the soldiers. (Facebook/U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army is accused in a new federal court filing of defying an order by its highest review board to repay several soldiers who were wrongfully denied half a million dollars in housing allowance benefits.

The filing also alleges that the services compensation chief misled a U.S. senator in an attempt to sidestep federal law.

First and foremost, the harm is ongoing  and the Army is refusing to comply with the order of their own Secretary, according to court papers filed Monday by Patriots Law Group on behalf of seven Army reservists.

The filing came in response to an Army request for dismissal of a lawsuit. The Army argued that the case is no longer needed because the dispute had been resolved by the Armys Board of Corrections in August.

But to date, no repayments have been made, and other corrective measures havent been taken despite the boards Oct. 26 deadline, said attorney Patrick Hughes of the Patriots Law Group.

The Army has not demonstrated any intent to fix this, Hughes said.

The review board ruled that the service had violated federal law in denying dual housing allowances to reservists sent to Europe on lengthy tours with no place to live on base. For the Army, the amount owed the soldiers is estimated at $500,000.

The Army said in a statement Thursday it was aware of the boards recommendations and that the Defense Finance Accounting Service Claims Office is conducting a pay audit to ensure the soldiers are properly compensated, per the decision.

The latest court filing lays much of the blame over the mistaken interpretation of housing allowance regulations and the continued lack of compliance with the boards order on Larry Lock, the Armys chief of compensation and entitlements.

In light of the boards ruling, an Army reservist who was not part of the original lawsuit, Nicholas Capozzi, sought assistance from Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski to determine whether he was entitled to dual housing allowances during his overseas tour in Germany.

On Oct. 4, Lock responded in a letter that because Capozzi is a member without a dependent, the boards decision does not impact the entitlements he received while on active duty.

But Locks assertion contradicted the Army boards actual ruling, which stated that Maj. Louis Morelli, a reservist soldier without dependents, was entitled to the dual allowance.

Mr. Locks response to Senator Murkowski concerning Mr. Capozzi makes clear that if Maj. Morelli were to be mobilized again to Europe, as a member without dependents, he would be denied dual entitlements, Hughes wrote in the court filing.

The board issued seven decisions, one for each reservist in the Patriots Law Group case, and it came to the same conclusion every time: The Army erred by denying dual housing allowances and seeking recoupment of past payments.

The service was also ordered, among other things, to delete all negative findings such as letters of reprimand or files stored in Army criminal databases from the soldiers records.

The Armys Criminal Investigation Division is in the process of deleting the individuals from its records as required, Maj. Angel Tomko, an Army spokeswoman, said in a statement Thursday.

The Army statement did not address the allegations against Lock or explain why some eligible reservists continue to be denied the dual housing allowance.

The battle over housing allowances has ramifications for potentially hundreds of other soldiers who were likely affected by the Armys erroneous interpretation of regulations, Hughes said.

He is representing another group of reservists in a separate potential class-action case that could have millions of dollars more at stake.

It is unclear why the Army has not yet followed the order of the Board of Corrections, which acts on behalf of the secretary of the Army and is the highest level of administrative review in the service. The boards mission is to correct errors and remove injustices from military records.
Army Spc. Luis Taveras, 27, his wife, Lisbeth, 30, and their son, Luis, 16 months, were killed when their vehicle collided with a tow truck near Camp Humphreys, South Korea Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. (U.S. Army)

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  An Eighth Army soldier who died with his wife and their 16-month-old child in a car crash in South Korea earlier in the week was identified by his command on Wednesday.

Army Spc. Luis Taveras, 27, of Jamaica Plain, Mass., his wife, Lisbeth, 30, and their son, Luis, were killed when their vehicle collided with a tow truck around 11 p.m. Monday near Camp Humphreys.

Taveras was a quartermaster and chemical equipment repairer with the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command. He served four years in the Army and arrived in South Korea in June.

No words can accurately express the pain their friends and family are having to confront, Brig. Gen. Steven Allen, the units commander, said in a statement Wednesday. We will, as an Army team, move forward in a manner that provides support and assistance to those grieving.

The familys car collided with a tow truck at a curve in a one-lane road, police and fire investigators told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday. A fire broke out following the accident and the family members were pronounced dead at the scene.

The truck driver, a 27-year-old Korean man, was being treated for non-life threatening injuries at a local hospital.

Investigations are underway by the Army and Korean National Police.

The 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command is headquartered in Daegu and consists of roughly 5,600 personnel. Its mission is to provide sustainment support for 8th Army on the Korean Peninsula.

Roughly 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, the majority of them at Camp Humphreys. The base also serves as home for the 2nd Infantry Division and U.S. Forces Korea.
Sgt. Joe Haflei, 33, of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, served as a team leader with the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team in South Korea. (U.S. Army)

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  A U.S. Army infantryman died at a South Korean army base on Oct. 17, the 2nd Infantry Division announced in a news release Wednesday.

Sgt. Joe Haflei, 33, of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, served as a team leader with the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

The command said his death is under investigation but no foul play is suspected.

Haflei deployed to South Korea for 90 days with a security forces company, according to the 2nd ID release. The unit regularly conducts security operations in conjunction with South Korean troops.

Hafleis unit said in a statement it was deeply saddened by the loss.

His contributions to the battalion and our nation were stalwart and will be greatly missed, said Lt. Col. Joshua Dailey, the units commander. His family is in our prayers during this difficult time.

Haflei joined the Army in 2014 and had served at Fort Drum, N.Y., and Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
Buy Photo A Marine wears a Korean War-era uniform during an event to mark the Marine Corps 246th birthday at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan  Marines in uniforms of every era  from the high collars that gave the leathernecks their nickname to the digital print of modern combat utilities  marked the Corps approaching birthday with a standing-room-only marching pageant on Tuesday.

At the hourlong event attended by more than 200 spectators, the evolution of Marine uniforms over the years passed in review, accompanied by a narrator who described key moments of Corps history, from the battles of Derna during the First Barbary War to Iwo Jima in World War II and Fallujah in the Iraq War.

Today we were commemorating the 246th birthday of our illustrious Corps and we do this to not forget about our history, Sgt. Maj. Jorge Cedeno-Tulloch of Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, who coordinated the program, told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday. The history with the Marine Corps is something we always pride ourselves on, so its something we make sure, especially with the younger Marines, to understand where we came from and where we are right now.

The Marine Corps celebrates its birthday on Nov. 10, the day in 1775 when the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, authorized the raising of two Marine battalions. Every Marine in boot camp learns that the first Marine captain, Samuel Nicholas, working from Tun Tavern in the city, recruited those battalions.

Buy Photo A Marine Corps uniform from World War II is presented at an event to mark the services 246th birthday at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

A full display of Marine uniforms in this type of ceremony doesnt happen at all Marine Corps bases, said Cedeno-Tulloch, a native of Panama.

Sometimes you have Marines that have been in for a good 20-some years and have never seen a uniform pageant before, he said.

A pageant participant wearing the Revolutionary War-era uniform, Lance Cpl. Alexis Tellshow of College Station, Texas, described the pride she felt while marching down the parade deck.

Buy Photo Lance Cpl. Alexis Tellshow participates in a uniform pageant to commemorate the Marine Corps 246th birthday at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

I wanted to experience what a Marine Corps pageant was, I had no idea what was going to happen, she told Stars and Stripes after the event. It was nice hearing from the sirs; their speeches were very motivating.

The ceremony also included the traditional cake-cutting with the oldest and youngest Marine stationed on the installation each taking a slice.

This event is near and dear to my heart, Cedeno-Tulloch said. Ive been in for 24 years and in any way possible I can push this culture out to the younger generations, Im going to try and do that.
A tunnel inside of the Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii is shown in this undated file photo. (Shannon Haney/U.S. Navy)

HONOLULU (Tribune News Service)  All four members of Hawaii's congressional delegation said Monday in a letter to the secretary of the Navy that they have "increasing concerns " about the safety of the Navy's fuel operations in Hawaii.

"We are particularly troubled about reports of a fuel leak near Hotel Pier" at Pearl Harbor that occurred in March 2020 and "allegations that the Navy was not appropriately forthcoming about the source and scale of the fuel leak with state regulators, federal officials and the public  including our offices," the lawmakers said.

Between March 2020 and May 2021, approximately 7,100 gallons of fuel was recovered from the Hotel Pier site, the Navy said recently.

"The Navy's decision not to (earlier) publicly acknowledge the Hotel Pier fuel leak and explain what it is doing to prevent future leaks is inconsistent with" a Navy commitment to remain transparent "on all matters that could affect our environmental resources," the Hawaii Democrats said.

Additionally, after 1,618 gallons of JP-5 jet fuel was released from a pipeline inside the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on May 6, the Navy "initially told the public that no fuel released into the environment, a statement we learned not to be accurate once the Navy discovered the full extent of the spill," states the letter signed by U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and U.S. Reps. Ed Case and Kai Kahele.

The Navy said in a May 7 news release that preliminary reports indicated approximately 1,000 gallons of fuel was released.

"Our containment system functioned as designed to keep the fuel contained within our facility, with no indication that fuel was released to the environment," Capt. Gordie Meyer, commander of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii, said in the release.

The Navy on Oct. 26 followed up with a release saying that "operator error" caused the release of 1,618 gallons of fuel, with the Navy recovering all but 38 gallons.

The Sierra Club of Hawaii had said May 25 that Navy soil vapor monitoring data revealed a spike in fuel contaminants in the soil below the Red Hill fuel tanks following the May 6 leak.

The Navy's claim that the fuel was properly collected by the fuel contamination system was "pure shibai," Sierra Club attorney David Kimo Frankel said at the time. "The Navy's own data proves that its leak was not properly contained. The leak migrated from the facility and reached the subsurface."

Navy Region Hawaii referred a request for comment about the congressional concerns to the chief of naval information in Washington, D.C.

The letter from Hawaii's congressional delegation points to a credibility problem for the Navy, which had enjoyed general support from the lawmakers for its plan to maintain the World War II-built Red Hill tank farm with vigorous inspection and restoration and hopes to eventually upgrade the underground tanks with built-in secondary containment.

The 20 tanks, each 250 feet tall and placed 100 feet above a major drinking water aquifer for Oahu, have been under increased scrutiny and regulatory review since 27,000 gallons of fuel spilled from Tank 5 in 2014.

The 7,100 gallons of fuel recovered between 2020 and May from Hotel Pier at Pearl Harbor was from a "defuel" pipeline originally used to transfer fuel and more recently utilized to collect fuel discharges from pressure relief valves.

The pipeline failed two leak detection tests in January, just prior to the start of a contentious contested case hearing over the Navy's Red Hill permit.

Honolulu Civil Beat obtained copies of emails and other documents from a Navy employee indicating that higher-ups had sought to cover up the active leak. Among the documents was a Jan. 21 email from a Navy captain who warned that "activist organizations will use (the active leak) to advance their anti-Red Hill narrative ... at a sensitive time as the contested case hearing begins and (the) legislative season starts."

Lydia Robertson, a Navy Region Hawaii spokeswoman, said last month it was not true that Navy officials hid evidence of the leak. She said officials had immediately notified the state Health Department in March 2020 that fuel had been spotted in the harbor.

Efforts were then made to identify the source of the leak, she said. The Navy's response did not address an alleged three-month delay in reporting the pipeline failures.

The congressional letter to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro asks what evidence there is, if any, that Navy officials withheld information about the Hotel Pier leak that would have been material to the state Department of Health's consideration of a Red Hill operating permit renewal.

"These recent incidents, including the manner in which the Navy has responded to them and its lack of transparency with the public, raise questions about the seriousness with which the Navy takes it responsibility to communicate clearly with the public about matters concerning health and safety," the lawmakers wrote. "The people of Hawaii deserve better from the Navy."

Star-Advertiser reporter Sophie Cocke contributed to this report.

(c)2021 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com

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The long-anticipated Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, located in the former May Company department store building at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, opened in September after delays caused by the pandemic. (Josh White, JWPictures/Academy Museum Foundation)

Not to brag, but I recently received an Academy Award.

As I took the stage, that wonderfully schmaltzy Oscars music began to play and a giant chyron with the words "And the Oscar goes to ... " appeared on a movie screen in front of me. My name flashed onto the screen, the music swelled and an audience in evening wear gave me a standing ovation. I took the heavy statuette in my hand and, wouldn't you know it, flubbed my acceptance speech, even though my win was a sure thing.

Full disclosure: This happened at the newly opened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. A well-done, if slightly gimmicky, feature of the long-anticipated new museum is called "The Oscars Experience." For an extra $15, visitors get the virtual experience of winning their own Academy Award. It's not the kind of thing I usually go for, but during a recent visit, I adopted a "When in Tinseltown" attitude and scheduled myself for a midday Oscar win. After typing my name and email address into a computer (the email is so they can send you a video later), I took my place "backstage" and waited as ambient audience sounds played, complete with random coughing.

An enthusiastic museum attendant appeared to offer stats about the statue's weight (8 1/2 pounds) and to explain that the one I would be holding was made by the same factory that makes the real Oscars. Although I had to keep my mask on, she politely warned, I could put my purse down while I made my acceptance speech. As I took the stage, she congratulated me on my nomination, a strange and effective detail that made it - almost - feel real. All in all, it was a pretty good deal: I didn't have to get tricked out in borrowed finery, face the wrath of the screenwriter I forgot to thank or show up for the Vanity Fair after-party.

I should confess here that I headed to the museum with a chip on my shoulder. I had received a donation appeal in the mail - presumably along with thousands of other Angelenos - in the months before the museum's opening. I'm well aware of how hard arts organizations have to hustle for funding, but given the otherworldly collective wealth of the people and corporations who make up the supporters of this particular museum (names such as Winfrey, Hanks and Spielberg are but a few), mine seemed like an odd and inappropriate well from which to attempt to draw. Add to that the fact that a museum dedicated to the Oscars seemed like a way to celebrate the already celebrated - talk about meta.

The museum, which opened to the public in late September after protracted pandemic-related delays, is housed in the former May Company department store at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles. The striking building, completed in 1939, is considered a superlative example of Streamline Moderne architecture. But while the exterior retains its late-Deco appeal - the facade's signature gold-and-black cylinder was painstakingly restored as part of a multimillion-dollar renovation - whatever period charm the interior of this once-bustling department store might have had is gone. The vast Sidney L. Poitier lobby, dotted with CVS-red pouf-style seating, doesn't exactly evoke the glamour of Old Hollywood. Only the decor of Fanny's, the main-floor restaurant named for vaudeville and film star Fanny Brice, seems to draw inspiration from the building's past.

Aesthetics aside, the main building's seven floors of multiple galleries are neatly laid out and easy to navigate. Devoted to nearly every aspect of filmmaking - such as writing, equipment and makeup - the galleries offer a staggeringly comprehensive view of the mechanics, history and sheer magic of the art. The scope is not surprising, given that the Academy has a virtually unquantifiable number of objects from which to draw. Although just a small fraction of its collection is displayed here, the organization owns more than 13 million photographs, 71,000 screenplays and 67,000 film posters, among many, many other objects. All of which is to say: If you're looking for the actual Rosebud sled from "Citizen Kane," you've come to the right place.

I overheard a fellow visitor remark that it would take at least a week to really see everything on view, but I think that estimate is optimistic. I spent hours at the museum and still didn't see everything I had hoped to view. Back home, for example, a frustrating inspection of my photos revealed that I somehow walked right by a copy of the "To Kill a Mockingbird" script scrawled with Gregory Peck's handwritten notes.

Just north of the main building is an ostentatious spherical behemoth that houses the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and a second, smaller theater. Designed, like the main museum's interior, by Italian architect Renzo Piano, its exterior stairwell and connecting skyways instantly put me in mind of a launchpad at Cape Canaveral, Fla. That said, the view from the Insta-perfect Dolby Family Terrace, a semi-open platform on the roof, connected to the museum via the Barbra Streisand Bridge, is exceptional.

Of all the core exhibits, I found "The Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection" the most affecting. The compendium of objects that explore the prehistory of cinema left me marveling at the fact that anyone ever thought moving pictures were a possibility. Included in the collection are shadow puppets, optical toys and phenakistiscopes, discs that, when spun, create the illusion that a drawing is moving. Particularly exciting was a group of nine vues d'optique, detailed engravings perforated with small holes that come to life when lit from behind. During my visit, there was an audible gasp when the main lights on the display were dimmed and small beams of light pierced the holes in the pictures.

The Academy Museum of Motion Picturess exhibits include items such as phenakistiscopes, discs that, when spun, create the illusion that a drawing is moving. (Josh White, JWPictures/Academy Museum Foundation)

In the same gallery, a compilation of short film clips by French brothers Auguste and Louis Lumiere also elicited rapt attention. According to the exhibition materials, the films, dating from 1895, were a vehicle for showing off the brothers' Cinematographe Lumiere, a projector thought to be the best of its time. Although the short clips of everyday life are almost disarmingly poignant, it was a quote projected onto the wall that made chills go up my spine. From a French newspaper of the era, the prescient, if somewhat hyperbolic, declaration from 1895 reads: "When these devices will be available to the public, when people will be able to capture their loved ones, not still anymore but in motion, in action, in their ordinary movements, with their own words, death will cease to be absolute."

Also of special interest are core exhibits that showcase the unsung aspects of moviemaking. One of them, "Backdrop: An Invisible Art," features the backdrop of Mount Rushmore used in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 classic, "North by Northwest," one of my favorite films. I remember it as the first movie that instilled true fear in me; it was a thrill to see such a central component of the film up close.

The museum's inaugural temporary exhibit, on view through summer 2022, is a tribute to Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, whose films include "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away." The comprehensive retrospective includes Miyazaki's desk, his breathtaking watercolor renderings and poems he wrote for the animation teams on various films to express the atmosphere he was trying to convey. It left me with a strong appreciation of not only his skill, but also his filmmaking philosophy. A temporary show, "Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971," is set to follow the Miyazaki exhibit next year.

An imageboard from Hayao Miyazakis beloved 1988 film My Neighbor Totoro. The new museums inaugural temporary exhibit is a salute to the Japanese animation master. (1988 Studio Ghibli)

Of course, an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum without a tribute to the Academy Awards would be like a Van Gogh museum without sunflowers, and indeed, there is a substantial section that pays tribute to the Oscars. In addition to memorabilia, such as ceremony programs, congratulatory telegrams to and from a who's who of moviedom's heavy hitters, and the feathered and sequined Bob Mackie dress Cher wore to the 1986 Oscars ceremony, looped acceptance speeches play on screens that surround the room. It's clear here that an effort has been made to show a diverse population of winners. The same is true of the museum as a whole; its website lists "Be Radically Inclusive" as one of its guiding principles. And although its determination to showcase the work of traditionally underrepresented artists is admirable, one has to wonder whether it's not also an effort to counterbalance the industry's and the Academy's notoriously poor record of inclusivity, which led to #OscarsSoWhite and other protest campaigns.

(The industry is no stranger to controversy: As this story went to press, the tragic accident on the set of the Alec Baldwin film "Rust" prompted renewed calls for the discontinuation of prop gun use on film sets.)

Did my visit have a Hollywood ending? It came pretty close. I still can't pretend to like the buildings, but I warmed to the institution. Though predictably reverential, the exhibits were also thoughtful and provocative. More important, the museum was less about the Oscars and ego than about the art of moviemaking. I witnessed the magic of the latter in the gallery devoted to "The Wizard of Oz." A tall, young woman who seemed to be in her mid-20s stood silently while inspecting a pair of Judy Garland's iconic ruby slippers displayed in a glass case. Waiting in an informal line so I could see them myself, I saw her click her heels three times before moving on.

IF YOU GO:

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

323-930-3000

academymuseum.org

This Los Angeles museum pays tribute to the art and history of filmmaking. The exhibit "Hayao Miyazaki" is on view through June 5. Galleries are open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. General admission: $25 adults, $19 seniors 62 and over, $15 college students and free for those 17 and under. The Oscars Experience is an additional $15. Advance reservations must be made online. There are additional costs for screenings. There is no parking at the museum, but visitors can park at surrounding museums, including nearby Los Angeles County Museum of Art; LACMA parking $18.
The United States is engaged in an intense and ongoing debate about who lost Afghanistan. While Congress presses the nations generals, pundits and veterans of Americas longest war search for answers.

As a reasonably well-informed foreign observer with a vested interest in this countrys continued commitment to principled leadership on the world stage, I am struck by what this debate misses. Much of the prevailing narrative focuses on the loss of U.S. credibility abroad and the shaken faith of allies and prospective partners in Americas willingness to stand by them in future conflicts.

Largely absent from this discussion is how, in a seminal moment of need, the United States was able to call upon those same allies to effect the largest airlift in history and save tens of thousands of lives. When asked if evacuating 124,000 Afghans, Americans and other foreign nationals out of Kabul could have succeeded without the support provided by its friends in the region, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said: The short answer is no. We wouldnt have had the legs. The aircraft could not have reached the United States. ... Our allies and partners have enabled us to do things that have never been done before.

Bahrains role in this effort is illustrative of the vital contribution of Americas partners to its global power projection capabilities. Facing an overwhelming surge of evacuees at Kabuls airport, the looming deadline of the total withdrawal of American forces and deteriorating security conditions on the ground, Washington quickly turned to its Gulf allies. U.S. officials called their counterparts in Bahrain and urgently requested that we receive, house and process for onward travel the maximum possible number of evacuees. Our response was an immediate and unequivocal yes.

Within a mere 72 hours, the Bahraini defense forces, medical personnel and immigration authorities uprooted infrastructure to set up the facilities required for receiving thousands of Afghans. It soon became evident to U.S. officials that they needed to increase the pace of evacuations from Kabul, and at their request, Bahrain agreed to double its intake of refugees. Bahrain provided blanket clearance for the arrival of an unlimited number of U.S. customs and immigration officials to vet the Afghans for onward travel to the United States. In response to a global shortage of commercial aircraft for this mission, Bahrain offered up its national flag carrier, Gulf Air.

On Aug. 23, I had the pleasure of greeting the Gulf Air Boeing 787 crew that arrived into Dulles International Airport outside Washington from Bahrain, becoming the first commercial company in the world to fly Afghan refugees to the United States. Five more such flights followed.

Bahrain also played a critical role in helping the United States to protect American citizens and others in Kabul. Bahrain-based U.S. Marines were the first forces on the ground in Afghanistan. Their quick and decisive deployment secured the U.S. Embassy and the airport, thereby saving thousands of lives.

That all these movements went off without a hitch should not diminish the magnitude of their complexity or the significance of their impact. The logistical, diplomatic and security challenges were daunting for even a global superpower, such as America, let alone a nation the size of Bahrain. Nevertheless, working together, we succeeded in pulling off an accomplishment of historic proportions  flawlessly.

Americas civilian and military personnel who executed this unprecedented operation are a credit to their nation. Their dedication, professionalism and fundamental goodness explain why Americas friends in the region continue to view the United States as their indispensable ally and are willing to go to great lengths to support her. This has certainly been the position of Bahrain for over a century.

Looking ahead, the future of our region is replete with trials that will test the will and staying power of those committed to upholding a rules-based international order. Reversing the disastrous effects of climate change; meeting citizens expectations for economic growth and political inclusion; producing lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians; and containing an aggressive and expansionist Iran are but the most obvious and pressing. A salient lesson to draw from recent events in Afghanistan is that America is still able to rally friends to her side when the chips are down, and there are few signs, at least from where I sit, that the future will be any different.

Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa is the ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States.
NAIROBI, Kenya  A joint investigation released on Wednesday by the United Nations' main rights body and Ethiopia's state-appointed human rights commission found that all sides in the year-long civil war had "committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law, some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The report was much anticipated because the Ethiopian government has rejected the findings of previous investigations by groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which were based on interviews with refugees fleeing the besieged northern Tigray region. The government said it would heed this one and allow investigators access to the war zone.

Ethiopia's prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, said in a statement that he would "recognize and accept" the report despite "serious reservations" and claimed that the report vindicated the government as having not committed genocide or used deliberate starvation as a war tactic, though evidence of the latter has been unearthed by news outlets and corroborated by the U.N. as the war progressed.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced his administration's intention to revoke long-standing trade benefits that enabled Ethiopia to export to the United States without paying duties, citing "gross violations of internationally recognized human rights."

Ethiopia's Trade Ministry responded in part by alluding to the rights report, which it said demonstrated the government's seriousness to bring perpetrators to justice.

"Only a government that's committed to the highest standard of transparency and integrity would subject itself to this kind of scrutiny," the ministry's statement said.

The conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands, brought Tigray to the brink of famine, and threatened to plunge the country, Africa's second-most populous, into a much broader civil war as the government loses its grip on power in the face of rebel gains.

The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa urged American citizens to avoid travel to Ethiopia and for those already in the country to leave.

The report's authors acknowledged being hampered in their ability to carry out a full investigation because of access restrictions by both rebels and the government and a general lack of cooperation from the warring parties, which include the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments and militias from Ethiopian regions including Tigray, Amhara, Afar and Oromia.

While describing heinous crimes committed on all sides of the conflict including door-to-door executions based on ethnicity, mass rapes, and torture, the report did not discuss the proportion of crimes committed by each side, and refrained from naming individual soldiers or commanders who may have been implicated in the 269 interviews that form the basis for the findings. It also did not mention that one of the U.N.'s main investigators was deported from Ethiopia in September without explanation from the government.

Tigrayan rebel leadership has also raised concerns of the impartiality of a report that is co-authored by investigators from a state-appointed institution, though it is headed by Daniel Bekele, who formerly worked for Human Rights Watch.

"As the conflict expands with more reports of violations and abuses, this report presents an opportunity for all parties to acknowledge responsibility and commit to concrete measures on accountability, redress for victims and the search for a sustainable solution to end the suffering of millions," Daniel said in a statement released along with the report.

His counterpart at the U.N. human rights body, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, said the report showed how the conflict had been characterized by "extreme brutality."

"As the conflict has escalated, with civilians as ever caught in the middle, it is vital that all parties heed the repeated calls to end hostilities and seek a lasting ceasefire," she said.

Some of the worst crimes are ascribed to Eritrean soldiers who allegedly carried out dozens of rapes and mutilations, and kidnapped thousands of Eritrean refugees from Ethiopia and brought them back to Eritrea, from where they had escaped the country's draconian military service and widespread political persecution.

Neither Ethiopia nor Eritrea is party to the International Criminal Court but the report's authors recommend a possible alternative international justice mechanism that would have to be agreed upon by the warring sides. The report alleged that Ethiopian investigations did not always comply with international standards, and were not always transparent.

Eritrea has rejected accusations of war crimes categorically. Ethiopia's government has said that a handful of soldiers are currently being tried in war-related murder and rape cases.

The cease-fire the report and Western powers have been calling for seemed a distant possibility on the day of the report's release, coming a day after Abiy declared a six-month state of emergency and officials in the capital Addis Ababa urged residents to take up arms to defend their neighborhoods from a possible incursion by Tigrayan and Oromo rebel groups that have recently taken numerous towns along the main highway heading into Addis Ababa from the north.

The state of emergency means that the government can impose a curfew, disrupt transport services and travel and detain indefinitely anyone suspected of having links with a terrorist group. Local administrations in some areas could be disbanded and a military leadership could be installed.

In a speech commemorating the war's one-year mark on Wednesday, Abiy aimed to rouse his supporters in the face of battlefield losses.

"The pit which is dug will be very deep, it will be where the enemy is buried, not where Ethiopia disintegrates," he said, according to a Reuters translation of the speech. "We will bury this enemy with our blood and bones and make the glory of Ethiopia high again."
The first of four KC-46A Pegasus aerial refuelers arrives at Miho Air Base, Japan, Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. (Boeing)

Boeing has delivered the first of four KC-46A Pegasus aerial refuelers to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, the U.S. aerospace giant announced this week.

Japan is the first country outside the United States to take delivery of the latest generation of U.S.-made military refuelers. It arrived Friday at the 403rd Tactical Airlift Squadron at Miho Air Base 370 miles east of Tokyo, after a flight from Seattle, according to DefenseNews.com.

This is an exciting and historic moment for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Boeing as Japan joins the United States with the worlds most advanced, proven and safe multi-mission combat aerial refueling capability, Boeing vice president James Burgess said in a company news release Sunday.

The Pegasus is the replacement for the KC-135 Stratotanker, still in service after more than 60 years, according to an Air Force factsheet. Boeing in January reached $5 billion in cost overruns in the 10-year-old Pegasus program, surpassing the original $4.9 billion contract award, Air Force Magazine reported at the time.

The Air Force took delivery of its first KC-46 in January 2019. The Pentagon ordered 179 tankers, which are capable of hauling cargo and evacuating casualties, with two more batches to come, according to the Air Force and a Reuters report from June.

Boeing attributed the overruns in part to production inefficiencies that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic. The company is responsible for costs over the contract amount, according to the magazine.

The KC-46A can refuel most fixed-wing aircraft capable of mid-flight refueling, such as the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter.

Japans Defense Ministry in August requested $709 million next fiscal year to purchase another 12 F-35s to add to its growing stealth aircraft fleet. Japan has increased its overall defense spending over the past nine years, citing rising challenges from China and North Korea.

The KC-46A is equipped with a refueling boom driven by a fly-by-wire control system, according to Boeing. The Pegasus can pump fuel at the rates needed to refuel large, thirsty aircraft. It is equipped with a hose-and-drogue refueling system independent of a refueling boom, according to the Air Force.

The Air Force and Self-Defense Force awarded Boeing a Foreign Military Sale contract for the KC-46A in December 2017 and exercised an option for a second in December 2018.

The third and fourth KC-46As were ordered in October 2020 under a $342 million contract, according to Defense News.

The Japan KC-46A is capable of refueling its own aircraft as well as those of the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

The KC-46A joins the existing Japan Air Self-Defense Force tanker fleet of KC-767 and KC-130H aircraft.
Cmdr. Chris Gahl stands aboard the USS Barry as the guided-missile destroyer passes through the Taiwan Strait late last year. (Molly Crawford/U.S. Navy)

WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  Tensions between China and Taiwan are escalating, and confusion sparked by President Joe Biden's recent pledge to defend Taiwan has sent his administration scrambling to assure the international community that's not necessarily the case.

It's the latest twist in a longstanding drama that could upend political and economic stability in the region and reframe China's power in the world. But experts warn there could be another casualty in the case of war in the Taiwan Strait: The remaining global supply of semiconductor chips.

After a year of shortages, the prospect of yet another interruption to the chip supply likely is enough to make Detroit's automakers and their foreign rivals shudder. Taiwan produces 65% of all chips globally and is home to the largest semiconductor company in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

That has created a supply chain chokepoint already on display amid a pandemic-induced shortage, which has cost the auto industry more than $210 billion in lost revenues and 7.7 million vehicles of lost production worldwide in 2021, according to consulting firm AlixPartners LLP.

If U.S. policymakers don't adequately walk the diplomatic tightrope between Taiwan and China, observers warn that shortage could become exacerbated to disastrous ends.

"War in the Taiwan Strait would definitely shut down semiconductor manufacturing for some period of time in Taiwan," said Shelley Rigger, a political scientist at Davidson College in North Carolina. "Global industry would pay a humungous price for any kind of PRC (People's Republic of China) military action against Taiwan. ... We all need to avoid that outcome."

Officials are attempting to ease concerns after Biden told CNN's Anderson Cooper late last month that the United States would come to Taiwan's defense if China attacks rather than simply support Taiwan's self-defense, countering a decades-old policy of "strategic ambiguity." White House aides quickly clarified there has been no change in policy, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated the message to his Chinese counterpart on Sunday.

"There is no change in our policy," Blinken told CNN Sunday. "We've had a longstanding commitment ... to make sure that Taiwan has the means to defend itself, and we stand by that."

However, some lawmakers of both parties are calling for the administration to actually make that policy change in order to deter China from invading. And the mixed signals have Chinese leaders on edge.

The new questions over U.S. policy come as the fragile detente between China and Taiwan continues to unravel.

Earlier this year, Taiwan's defense minister warned that military tensions between the island and mainland are at their highest in 40 years and said China could launch a full invasion by 2025. The Chinese increasingly have been sending warplanes into the island's defense zone, testing Taiwan's military.

Officials in Beijing are beginning to fear that the United States sees Taiwan not just as an important trading partner, but "a strategic asset that can be used to weaken or undercut China," Rigger said. And even though the United States insists it hasn't changed its policy toward Taiwan, "the Chinese don't believe it."

"What that sounds like in China is that the U.S. is actively working to permanently divide Taiwan from mainland China. And that's the thing that they just can't accept," Rigger said.

An ambiguous relationship

The rift between China and Taiwan dates back to 1949. When the Chinese civil war ended, the losing side fled to the island of Taiwan while the winners set up a communist government on the mainland.

The two have been governed separately ever since, and Taiwan's then-authoritarian government eventually transitioned to a democracy. Taiwan hasn't formally declared independence but insists it is not part of any other nation, while China regards the island as a rogue territory that must eventually be reunited  by force if necessary  with the rest of the country.

That's put the United States in a complicated diplomatic position as it attempts to retain ties with both governments. The United States formally recognized China's communist government in 1979 to capitalize on strategic and economic opportunities in the region.

That required the United States to stop recognizing Taiwan's government. Today, it only has official diplomatic relations with the communist government out of Beijing.

But Taiwan remains a close ally in the region. And federal policymakers have long fostered a strong unofficial relationship with Taiwanese leaders  including selling them weapons that can be used for self-defense in the case of an attack from mainland China.

The United States' official policy toward Taiwan also says the country can provide "defense services" to help the island remain capable of defending itself, but it doesn't say whether the United States would intervene or support Taiwan if they end up in a war with China.

This so-called "strategic ambiguity" has been the foundation of decades of U.S. foreign relations with China and Taiwan. And for nearly as long as it has existed, it's been a political minefield requiring diplomatic tinkering to maintain the status quo.

Chip crunch

The threat of war in the Taiwan Strait is a potent reminder for both businesses and policymakers to build up chip supplies in other parts of the world, experts say.

Taiwan is home to 65% of all semiconductor foundries, according to consulting firm AlixPartners. The second-highest share, 18%, is in South Korea, while China has 6% of global foundries  both of which would also likely be impacted by war in the area. All other countries host just 11% of the world's chip producers.

Policymakers of both parties in Washington are concerned about competing with China for economic supremacy, including in the race to lead in the auto industry's electric future. Many are already concerned that China could hamstring U.S. manufacturers if it proved politically advantageous, and gaining control of Taiwan could strengthen that leverage.

"It's another log on the fire that's forcing us to confront new realities. Our calculation was that China would increasingly integrate into the global economy, play by international standard rules, and everyone would live happily ever after," said Michael Dunne, CEO of Hong Kong-based advisory firm ZoZo Go LLC.

"That's not the case, and now we're having a wake-up call."

Chip companies are responding to that realization, said Anne Hoecker, a partner at Bain & Co. who leads the firm's semiconductor group. TSMC is building a new plant in Phoenix, Intel has announced billions in new investments in Europe and the United States, and Abu-Dhabi-based GlobalFoundries recently filed for an IPO in the United States.

"All of the manufacturers are putting big capital plans in place to help diversify the footprint of where semiconductors are manufactured. That, unfortunately, is going to take time, so you can't change the capacity in semiconductors overnight," she said. "It's one of the things that makes this semiconductor shortage concerning and, honestly, so frustrating for so many companies."

Further instability could be particularly worrisome for those in the auto industry, she said, because the "mature" chips that are used in vehicles are a small portion of all chips made and are usually less lucrative than the chips used in consumer electronics.

But for the time being, the economies of Taiwan, China and the United States are so intertwined that conflict would be damaging for everyone, Hoecker said: "It's a tightrope on both sides."

That interdependence is one of the reasons most foreign policy experts say that a direct Chinese attack on Taiwan remains unlikely in the short term  China itself would be hurt politically and economically by war.

But for the United States, Dunne said, economic stress made worse by a semiconductor shortage could be a factor in shifting its policy to counter Chinese aggression in the case of an attack.

"It's like the new oil. It's crucial. It lubricates the entire global economy," he said. "So any threat to the supply of those chips would be, arguably, a threat to national security."

rbeggin@detroitnews.com

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Buy Photo Enrique John, an employee at Kaiserslautern High School in Germany, receives the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Ramstein Air Base in January 2021. With less than three weeks to go until the deadline for all DOD civilians to be vaccinated, nearly 25% of DODEAs workforce has yet to provide proof or file for an exemption, agency officials said this week. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)

Nearly 25% of Defense Department school system employees have yet to be inoculated against COVID-19 or provide proof of full vaccination, leaving schools facing potential staffing shortfalls as the vaccination deadline for all DOD civilians approaches this month.

Among just over 14,000 employees, about 10,800 are fully vaccinated and about 400 partially vaccinated, said Will Griffin, a spokesman for the Department of Defense Education Activity. The DODEA staff includes about 8,000 teachers.

We are planning for a range of contingencies to minimize any potential impacts on school operations and maintain continuity of instruction for our military-connected students because of the vaccine mandate, Griffin said.

Griffin did not elaborate on the contingency plans DODEA is considering. But the impact on individual schools is likely to be disproportionate if employees are fired, as the Pentagon has threatened to do, for refusing a shot or failing to complete a waiver.

With just over 77% of employees worldwide vaccinated, DODEA lags behind the military services, which reported last week that between 1% and 7% of the active-duty force remains unvaccinated.

DOD wants all civilian employees to be vaccinated and then allow two weeks for them to build up antibodies against the virus.

The deadline is Nov. 22, meaning workers must get the second shot in a two-dose series or a single jab of a one-dose inoculation by Monday to fulfill the directive.

U.S. Navy Seaman Janasia Spotson, a hospital corpsman, administers the COVID-19 vaccine to Andrea Hunt, a teacher's aide, in Yokosuka, Japan, March 19, 2021. Department of Defense Education Activity workers are required to be fully vaccinated or file for an exemption to fulfill a Pentagon directive. (Ryo Isobe/U.S. Navy)

The Federal Education Association, the largest union representing DODEA teachers, is recommending that its members get vaccinated to meet the deadline, union spokesman Gary Hritz said Wednesday.

But Hritz said DODEA hasnt been very forthcoming about how to seek a legitimate waiver. Employees have been asking for two months how to apply, and they are stressed and frustrated by the lack of communication, he said.

Exemptions may be granted for health or religious reasons, according to DOD guidance.

Griffin said that DODEA sent out the exemption forms to all employees Tuesday. The agency had been waiting for the Defense Department to finalize the forms and provide further guidance on the exemption process, he added. Monday is the deadline to file a request.

DODEA did not provide the number of unvaccinated teachers or vaccination rates among locations, citing DOD guidance against the release of such data.

DODEA operates 160 schools separated into three regions: the United States, Europe and the Pacific.

The agency has seen an earlier trend toward higher vaccination numbers overseas, Griffin said. One factor could be host nation vaccination requirements or policies that affect employees off-installation and leisure travel, he said.

For instance, in Germany, whose 34 DODEA schools give it the highest concentration, people without proof of vaccination or recent recovery from the virus are widely required to test when traveling, eating inside at restaurants and attending indoor events, among other activities.
A family health technician administers a dose of COVID-19 vaccine to an airman at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in February, 2021. Some U.S. military bases opened vaccinations to all tiers of eligible beneficiaries Monday, but few had available appointments. (Brooke Moeder/U.S. Air Force)

WASHINGTON  As the first deadline under federal vaccination orders hit Tuesday for active-duty Air Force personnel the Biden administration said firing those who refuse jabs should not be the first enforcement option.

The administration is requiring that not just military personnel but also federal civilians and the employees of U.S. government contractors receive the COVID-19 vaccine. That has brought up the question of whether firing those who do not comply will be effectively mandatory. If so, thousands of federal civilians, contractors and uniformed personnel might be forced out of work.

That prospect is nowhere more daunting than in the defense sector, especially for small to midsize Pentagon contractors for which the departure of even a small percentage of skilled workers could have damaging effects on their business and on America's arsenal.

The armed services, too, which are struggling to recruit and retain personnel, could lose thousands of servicemembers  a blow that in some services could be equivalent to losing a major base.

With unease about the mandates rising and Republicans making political hay out of the concerns, administration officials have now been forced to straddle a line. They still insist on mandating vaccines but are now planning to enforce the edicts gradually and incrementally, if only because doing otherwise could set in motion adverse fallout  for national security and for the president's political fortunes.

"The administration's more flexible approach is sensible," said Mark Cancian, a defense expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The number of employees refusing vaccination is small, but in a tight labor market with fragile supply chains, losing even a handful of skilled workers can cause serious disruption. With the servicemembers, DOD additionally faces the bad optics of disciplining personnel with exemplary service records, including combat tours."

The more relaxed approach to enforcement has not been sufficient for Republicans who oppose the mandates.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has been among the defense industry's most vocal proponents in Congress on the vaccine mandate, told CQ Roll Call the White House's new approach to enforcement does not go far enough.

"The administration's vaccine mandate is still a compliance burden on small contractors, and this new guidance doesn't change that fact," Tuberville said in an emailed statement. "Mandates  no matter how 'flexible' the White House tries to make them  will impact the workforce, so I'd encourage the White House to focus on protecting Americans' liberties while pursuing a holistic strategy to combat COVID."

Defense industry executives have buttressed Tuberville's case.

Large contractors such as Raytheon Technologies already expect to replace thousands of employees, but smaller outfits that stand to lose fewer workers could still find themselves in trouble if those who leave are critical employees. Beyond that, contractors have said the order leaves unanswered questions about the best way for firms to implement it.

White House and Pentagon officials had begun last week to signal that the administration would not vigorously enforce its vaccination edict. The White House made the softer approach official on Monday, when the administration updated its guidance for federal contractors on how to comply with the mandate, which looms for them on Dec. 8. It now says, in effect, that contractors who work for the Pentagon and other U.S. departments and agencies need not immediately fire employees who refuse to get vaccinated and who lack a legally allowed religious or medical justification.

The guidance says it is up to companies how to enforce the requirement but recommends they start with education and fire people only after additional noncompliance. Since the refusals are generally the product of distrust in vaccine safety, the administration believes that education will help sway the reluctant.

Meanwhile, at the Pentagon on Monday, John Kirby, DOD's top spokesman, was asked about the vaccination mandate for armed services personnel. Kirby told reporters that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III had instructed military leaders to take steps short of terminating troops who aren't vaccinated before considering discharges.

"If it comes to doing something of a punitive nature, they certainly have that right and that authority," Kirby said of U.S. military commanders. "It's just that the secretary wants them to exhaust other measures before having to do that."

Kirby pointed out that 97% of active and reservist military personnel are at least partially vaccinated with at least one dose. Nonetheless, some concerns are evident.

As the Air Force's deadline for active-duty personnel arrived Tuesday, the service's latest compliance figures, from Oct. 12, showed that nearly 4% of the total force was still not fully vaccinated.

It is a small percentage but a large number of people.

"As of last week, the data suggest between 10,000-12,000 airmen were still unvaccinated," tweeted Kate Kuzminski, a defense expert with the Center for New American Security, noting that this figure is equivalent to a large Air Force base.

The services have different deadlines for personnel to be fully vaccinated. Most fall in November or December, although Army reservists, about a quarter of the U.S. military, have until June 2022.

The services have also taken different approaches to the enforcement question. The Navy and Marine Corps, where personnel deploy for months at a time in confined spaces on ships, are the strictest. They have issued guidance indicating that refusal without an exemption would result in separation.

By contrast, the Defense Department's other services  the Air Force, Space Force and Army  have only said that a range of disciplinary options are available.

Even the Navy's stricter guidance did not say how promptly a discharge would happen. Mike Hanzel, a former Navy lawyer who is now a civilian attorney specializing in military law, said the services frequently begin the process of implementing a punishment, even a separation order, and then withdraw it when compliance is met.

Many Republicans  such as Sen. James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, ranking member on the Armed Services Committee  have called for a suspension of the mandate for troops out of concern for military readiness. But proponents of the vaccines in the administration and beyond also cite readiness as the reason to ensure military personnel are fully vaccinated.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, points out that troops already receive 17 different mandatory vaccines, and perhaps other shots, depending on where and when a servicemember has to deploy.

Other observers point out that the services would not even consider the possibility of losing so many people from their ranks if the cause was not important.

"What would cause the Air Force to separate such a large swath of airmen?" tweeted Kuzminski on Tuesday. "First: it's a readiness issue. Unvaccinated airmen are non-deployable. In an era of increasing competition, that's a real liability."

___

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In this July 3, 2020, file photo, Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, talks to members of the media in Istanbul. Amnesty International reported that its forensic researchers had determined that NSO Groups flagship Pegasus spyware was successfully installed on the phone of Cengiz, just four days after Khashoggi was killed. (Emrah Gurel/AP)

The United States on Wednesday added the Israeli spyware company NSO Group to its "entity list," a federal blacklist prohibiting the company from receiving American technologies, after determining that its phone-hacking tools had been used by foreign governments to "maliciously target" government officials, activists, journalists, academics and embassy workers around the world.

The move is a significant sanction against a company spotlighted in July in an investigation by the global Pegasus Project consortium, which includes The Washington Post and 16 other news organizations worldwide. The consortium published dozens of articles detailing how NSO customers had misused its powerful spyware, Pegasus.

The move could also raise tensions between the United States and Israel, where NSO is a prized technological powerhouse. Exports of NSO's software are regulated by Israel's Ministry of Defense, which must approve them as it would any weapons sale.

"NSO Group could not have operated without Israeli government knowledge and toleration, if not encouragement," said David Kaye, a former United Nations special rapporteur who has called for global restrictions on sales of surveillance technology. "So part of this cannot be seen merely as the U.S. government making a statement about this particular company; it's also a statement about the Israeli government, its export controls and engagement in transnational repression."

Sources in Israel familiar with the issue said Israel and the other implicated countries were only given about an hour's notice that the companies would be listed because of regulatory constraints in Washington. Israel's foreign ministry declined to comment.

The Commerce Department said in a statement that the action is part of the Biden administration's "efforts to put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, including by working to stem the proliferation of digital tools used for repression."

NSO spokesperson Oded Hershkovitz said in a statement that the company is "dismayed" by the decision and will push for its reversal. The company said its "rigorous" human rights policies "are based on the American values we deeply share, which already resulted in multiple terminations of contracts with government agencies that misused our products."

The company has consistently denied the findings of the Pegasus Project, which found that some of NSO's dozens of law enforcement, military and intelligence customers in more than 40 countries target journalists, politicians and human rights workers on a routine basis with Pegasus, which can hack into cellphones. NSO has acknowledged problems with certain customers in the past.

The entity list designation prohibits export from the United States to NSO of any type of hardware or software, severing the company from a vital source of technology. It could also hinder future business arrangements and challenge the firm's ability to work as an international company.

"The impact is broader than just the legal prohibition," said Kevin Wolf, an international trade lawyer at the Akin Gump law firm who previously ran the entity list process. "It's a huge red flag."

It's unclear how much U.S.-originating technology NSO Group uses in its company tools. But the listing could restrict NSO's ability to use top-of-the-line cloud-computing services made by tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft, or hinder its trade with American researchers who study the kinds of software exploits and vulnerabilities that NSO depends on for infecting phones.

The move comes two weeks after Commerce announced a rule that would bar sales of American hacking software and equipment to any entity overseas known to have engaged in hacking for malign purposes. The "Wassenaar" rule will align the United States with 42 European and other allies that have agreed to set export control policies on military and dual-use technologies.

The Wassenaar rule targets specific technologies but does not name specific companies. Wednesday's move sanctions specific companies but sweeps broadly on the technology and items covered. American-made toilet paper, for instance, would be barred from being sent to NSO Group or any of the other listed companies.

Together, however, they serve as bookends, enabling the United States to apply export controls more aggressively to address human rights abuses associated with hacking tools.

Wednesday's step is Commerce's first high-profile use of the entity listing aimed at curbing human rights abuses on companies outside of China. During the Trump administration, the agency imposed export controls on dozens of Chinese companies found to have supported "China's campaign of repression" against Muslim minorities in the country's northwest province of Xinjiang.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement Wednesday that "President Biden is sending a strong message that the U.S. won't stand for foreign hacking companies that violate human rights and threaten our national security." He also called for stronger measures, including "cutting them off from the American financial system and investors by issuing sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act."

Forensic analyses of phones by Amnesty International, which provided technical support for the Pegasus Project investigation, found evidence that NSO's clients had used Amazon Web Services and other Internet service companies to deliver Pegasus malware to targeted phones.

An Amazon spokeswoman told The Post this year that the company "shut down the relevant infrastructure and accounts" when it learned of the activity. (Amazon's executive chairman, Jeff Bezos, owns The Post.)

The blacklisting could also weaken NSO's standing with investors and cast a pall over the company's attempts to rehabilitate its image as a maker of critical surveillance tools that law enforcement needs to catch criminals.

Commerce officials said NSO Group and another Israeli surveillance company, Candiru, had enabled "foreign governments to conduct transnational repression," allowing authoritarian governments to target "dissidents, journalists and activists outside of their sovereign borders to silence dissent."

The research group Citizen Lab, in a July report, found that Candiru markets to governments "untraceable" spyware that may be used for repressive purposes. Working with Microsoft, Citizen Lab found that the spyware was used to target human rights activists, dissidents, journalists and politicians in the Palestinian territories, Iran, Lebanon, Britain, Turkey, Yemen and other countries.

"For years we have been documenting extensive and serial abuses of mercenary spyware sold by companies like NSO Group and Candiru," said Ronald Deibert, director of Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Commerce's entity listing "is a very positive first step to bringing some public accountability and order to this otherwise poorly regulated marketplace."

Kaye, the former U.N. special rapporteur, said the listing will have major practical and symbolic implications for NSO Group, which has worked aggressively to attract investors, government clients and positive media coverage.

"They made this real effort to change the conversation about the work they're doing. This shows that attempt has failed," Kaye said. "Who will want to work with a company that's been so publicly sanctioned by the U.S. government? ... Who would invest in a company with this kind of black mark?"

There are hundreds of companies on the entity list, including 10 from Israel. The Trump administration added Huawei and at least 70 other Chinese firms to the list in 2019, citing their alleged involvement in human rights abuses of Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority group detained en masse in Chinese "reeducation" camps.

But it is rare for the U.S. government to target companies from U.S. allies.

NSO's addition to the list also marked one of the first times that the U.S. government has cited cyber-surveillance issues as the cause for the penalty.

With a special government license, Commerce officials can permit select U.S. companies to export products to listed companies, though they require all such transactions to be marked with a "red flag" and urge firms to "proceed with caution," federal guidelines state. Other listed entities include Chinese state-owned defense contractors, drone manufacturers and surveillance firms.

Besides NSO and Candiru, two other companies were added to the list: Russia's Positive Technologies and Singapore's Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE, with the government saying both firms had trafficked in hacking tools that could threaten "the privacy and security of individuals and organizations worldwide."

While NSO says its spyware tools cannot be used on U.S. phone numbers, the U.S. number of at least one American diplomat was found on the list of numbers that served as a source document for the Pegasus Project investigation. The foreign-registered phone numbers of other U.S. government employees were also on the list. It is not known if any of those phones showed evidence of a Pegasus attack.

NSO spyware was also used to target the phones of two women close to slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi: his wife, Hanan Elatr, whose phone was targeted six months before his death; and his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, whose phone was hacked days after he was killed, forensic analyses show.

After the Pegasus Project investigation, a French government probe found traces of Pegasus spyware on the phones of five cabinet ministers. And last month, a High Court judgment in Britain revealed that the ruler of Dubai had used Pegasus spyware to hack the phones of his estranged wife, Princess Haya, and top members of her legal and security teams.

A top Biden adviser raised concerns about the spyware to his Israeli counterpart during a July meeting at the White House. Members of Congress have also pushed for sanctions, investigations and rules to combat spyware abuse, saying "the hacking for hire industry must be brought under control."

The listing could also prove awkward for the network of Washington attorneys, consultants and other power brokers who have worked with NSO. Rod J. Rosenstein, President Donald Trump's deputy attorney general from 2017 to 2019, is advising the company on its defense of a lawsuit by Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp, which has accused NSO Group of targeting its users.

In a statement, WhatsApp spokesman Carl Woog said the company is "grateful to see the U.S. Government stand up for human rights and hope to see more nations act to protect people's ability to have private conversations online."

The Washington Post's Steve Hendrix in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
In El Cajon, CA., at Cajon Valley Union School District office on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, Mohammad Faizi spoke about the difficulty of gaining access to enter Kabul airport with his wife and their 5 children. The family of seven then waited several days at the airport before being evacuated out of Afghanistan, back to the U.S. where they live in El Cajon, Calif. Left to right, Ahmad, 13, Parwana, 7, Palwasha, 10, and Mohammad Faizi. (Nelvin C. Cepeda, The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS)

(Tribune News Service)  The Cajon Valley Union School District in East County says that the last family with students from El Cajon, Calif., who were trapped in Afghanistan is heading home.

The families were unable to leave amid the chaos when U.S. troops pulled out in mid-August after 20 years of occupation.

The district on Aug. 16 learned that seven families made up of 22 students and their parents were unable to leave the country, and moved to act along with Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-50) and other officials to bring them home. Those initial efforts brought 19 students and their parents back to California.

On Tuesday, the district reported that the last three family members are en route home "with the help of (nongovernment officials) and government officials, who asked not to be named," the district said in a statement.

"Over the last several weeks, Cajon Valley staff have joined in collaboration with San Juan Unified School District staff in Sacramento County and Jewish Family Services in a joint effort to bring their students and families home," Cajon Valley's statement said.

The district said that Superintendent of the San Juan School District Kent Kern said that nine families and a total of 24 students are still stranded and in need of rescue.

"We are so happy to have all of our Cajon Valley students and their families safe and look forward to seeing our last few students in person in their classrooms very soon," the statement from the district said. "We stand united with the San Juan Unified School District and all other U.S. citizens, (those with special immigrant visas) and allies, and urge our government to take action to bring them home."

A press release from the office of Issa said that the father of the latest rescued El Cajon family, "which still must remain anonymous due to the danger to other relatives in Afghanistan," was home in San Diego County when Kabul fell. But the mother and their four children "were forced into hiding and moved from several safehouses as they eluded the Taliban for several months."

Issa was the first person contacted by David Miyashiro, superintendent of Cajon Valley, and was informed that several families that included schoolchildren were unable to escape Afghanistan.

"From the day David first called me, our lives were changed, and we embarked on a daily mission to rescue these families," Issa said in a statement. "David and the team he brought together has led from the start and tirelessly worked to bring everyone home. (But) even as we know these missing schoolchildren are coming home, we are reminded that there are so many more, perhaps several hundred more, from California that are still trapped in Afghanistan. Our work is not yet close to complete."

On Aug. 24, Cajon Valley told The San Diego Union-Tribune that many families from the district were unable to get to the airport in Kabul after a summer trip to visit relatives.

At that time, Miyashiro and Mike Serban, the district's director of Family and Community Engagement, said the children ranged from preschoolers to high school students at several area schools, and that the students went there on summer break with their families to visit extended family members.

Miyashiro said the families involved were on special visas for U.S. military service and that the Department of Defense considers them allies.

2021 The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Visit sandiegouniontribune.com.

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The Chinese military conducts a reloading operation with its DF-26 ballistic missile capable of striking targets 3,400 miles away, which is within range of Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. (Chinese state media screenshot)

WASHINGTON  The Defense Departments new report on Chinas military power details the nations continued rapid advancement, highlighted by growth in its nuclear program, hypersonic missiles, increased international influence and expansion into other countries.

[Chinas] strategy aims to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation by 2049 to match or surpass U.S. global influence and power, displace U.S. alliances and security partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region and revise the international order to be more advantageous to Beijings authoritarian system and national interests, according to the annual report.

The China Military Power report is designed to update Congress on that countrys latest military developments and focuses on 2020 activities. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has called China the pacing threat for the U.S. military with its increasingly aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific region, rapid military development and expanding international ambitions.

China continued its more than 20-year streak of defense spending increases in 2021, upping its military budget by about 6.8%. Its defense budget is second only to the United States, but its published military budget omits several major categories of expenditures and its actual military-related spending is higher than what it states in its official budget, according to the report, which was released Wednesday.

The Chinese army has approximately 975,000 active-duty troops in combat units, the largest naval fleet in the world with about 355 Navy ships, and the third-largest aviation force with more than 2,800 aircraft, according to the report.

The report characterizes Chinas intentions as a determined pursuit of far-ranging-efforts to expand [its] national power at the expense of the United States, which Beijing views as increasingly determined to contain China.

The Chinese military trains with its HQ-16 medium-range air-defense missiles during an exercise in August 2020. (Chinese Ministry of Defense)

Nuclear ambitions

China is on track to have at least 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, indicating its nuclear programs are accelerating much faster than the U.S. predicted in its 2020 report, a defense official told reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon.

The 2020 report said that the [Peoples Republic of Chinas] nuclear arsenal was in the 200s and projected doubling by the end of the decade, so they're exceeding that pace, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The U.S. had approximately 3,750 nuclear weapons as of September 2020, according to the State Department. At its height, the U.S. had a total of 31,255 in 1967 and its stockpile is down about 83% from 22,217 in 1989.

China is developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces, advances that will require the country to develop more nuclear warheads, according to the report. It has also started building at least three ICBM silo fields that will together contain hundreds of new ICBM silos.

China has drawn international attention with its DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missiles, capable of conventional and nuclear precision strikes on ground and maritime targets. The missile, which analysts have dubbed the Guam-killer for its alleged ability to reach the U.S. territory from China, was first tested in January 2019, a state-run Chinese newspaper called the Global Times reported at the time.

Last year, China also began fielding its first operational hypersonic weapons system, the DF-17 hypersonic glide vehicle, which is capable of carrying medium-range ballistic missiles, according to the report. Hypersonic missiles fly at least five times the speed of sound.

Comparatively, the U.S. does not have any hypersonic systems deployed but is developing such strike systems that can travel about 500 miles in 10 minutes, the Pentagons director of hypersonics Michael White said in June during an event hosted by the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. The U.S. stockpile of subsonic long-range missiles takes about an hour to reach the same distance.

International influence

China capitalized on the coronavirus  first discovered in that country in December 2019  to normalize its presence overseas and build closer ties to foreign militaries, primarily through [coronavirus]-related aid, according to the report. The [coronavirus] pandemic was a driving force behind the [Chinas] foreign policy efforts, as Beijing sought to deflect any culpability for the virus and its initial spread, and to capitalize on its narrative of domestic success and foreign assistance.

China accomplished this by delivering coronavirus-related aid abroad, according to the report. For example, China offered testing kits, protective gear, vaccines and other pandemic-combatting materials to nations in Southeast Asia, Europe and South America.

These efforts, combined with others to secure overseas military facilities, indicated Chinas desire to create a greater global role for itself, according to the report.

The United States has watched Chinas overseas military development since Beijing in 2017 opened its first military base on foreign soil in Djibouti in Africa. Now, China is seeking out additional military facilities abroad to project power across the world, according to the report.

[China] is seeking to establish a more robust overseas logistics and basing infrastructure to allow the [People's Liberation Army] to project and sustain military power at greater distances, the report said. A global [Chinese] military logistics network and [Chinese] military facilities could both interfere with U.S. military operations and support offensive operations against the United States as the PRCs global military objectives evolve.

China is likely considering Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, and Tajikistan as possible locations for Chinese military bases, according to the report.

The military-base ambitions follow the 2020 China Military Power reports findings that China had determined its armed forces should take a more active part in advancing the nations foreign policy goals.

[China] is seeking to establish a more robust overseas logistics and basic infrastructure to allow the [Chinese military] to project and sustain military power at greater distances, the official said. Not just within its immediate environments in the Indo-Pacific, but throughout the Indo-Pacific region and indeed, around the world.

Communication and de-escalation

The report also detailed the de-escalating effects that controversial calls to the communist nation by Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had in avoiding a potential conflict.

The calls between Milley and his Chinese counterpart Gen. Li Zuocheng, first revealed in Bob Woodward and Robert Costas book, Peril, took place in the final months of the administration of former President Donald Trump. Critics claimed Milley had usurped the chain of command with the calls when he told Li that the U.S. had no intention of attacking China. However, the report concludes the calls in October 2020 were successful.

It happened after Beijing had perceived a significant threat [that] the United States would seek to provoke a military crisis or conflict in the near term, according to the report. In response, China began spreading intensified warning messaging in PRC state media, large-scale military drills, heightened readiness, and additional deployments.

The assumption was incorrect  the U.S. had no intention of launching an attack. Thats why then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper directed Milley to convey DODs continued interest in building a constructive, stable and results-oriented relationship to Li.

The tactic worked, according to the report, as a Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman said during a news conference that Esper had specifically clarified  through military and diplomatic channels that the relevant reports did not match facts and the United States had no intention of instigating a military crisis against China.

These events highlighted the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation, and underscored the importance of effective and timely communication between DOD and [China,] the report said.

Caitlin Doornbos Caitlin Doornbos covers the Pentagon for Stars and Stripes after covering the Navys 7th Fleet as Stripes Indo-Pacific correspondent at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. Previously, she worked as a crime reporter in Lawrence, Kan., and Orlando, Fla., where she was part of the Orlando Sentinel team that placed as finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. Caitlin has a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the University of Kansas and masters degree in defense and strategic studies from the University of Texas at El Paso.

previous coverage As tensions simmer over Taiwan, global semiconductor chip supply hangs in the balance
After a cyber hack of the Colonial Pipeline led to gas shortages, people waited in long lines at an Exxon station on May 12, 2021, in Springfield, Va. A major overseas ransomware group shut down last month after a pair of operations by U.S. Cyber Command and a foreign government targeting the criminals servers left its leaders too frightened of identification and arrest to stay in business. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

A major overseas ransomware group shut down last month after a pair of operations by U.S. Cyber Command and a foreign government targeting the criminals' servers left its leaders too frightened of identification and arrest to stay in business, according to several U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The foreign government hacked the servers of REvil this summer, but the Russian-speaking criminal group did not discover it was compromised until CYBERCOM last month blocked its website by hijacking its traffic, said the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity.

CYBERCOM's action was not a hack or takedown, but it deprived the criminals of the platform they used to extort their victims  businesses, schools and others whose computers they'd locked up with data-encrypting malware and from whom they demanded expensive ransoms to unlock the machines, the officials said.

In the hours after the CYBERCOM operation, which has not been previously reported, one of REvil's leaders saw the site's traffic had been redirected.

"Domains hijacked from REvil," wrote 0_neday, an REvil leader, on a Russian-language forum popular with cyber criminals, on Oct. 17.

A "third party," he wrote  without knowing CYBERCOM was responsible  had cloned the group's webpage having obtained the private keys to its server, which is reachable only through Tor, a special browser that routes Internet traffic through a worldwide network of servers to anonymize the user's identity.

A first inspection did not turn up signs of compromise, 0_neday said on the forum.

Then he checked again, and this time what he found spooked him.

"The server was compromised," he wrote hours later, "and they are looking for me." And then: "Good luck everyone, I'm taking off."

Soon after, REvil ceased operations, such as recruitment of affiliates, ransom negotiations and distribution of malware.

The Washington Post previously reported that REvil's servers had been hacked in the summer, permitting the FBI to have access. The compromise allowed the FBI, working with the foreign partner, to gain access to the servers and private keys, officials said. The bureau was then able to share that information last month with CYBERCOM, enabling the hijacking, they said.

Cyber Command spokeswoman, Col. Sunset Belinsky, said: "As a matter of operational security, we wouldn't provide comment on cyber intelligence, planning, or operations."

CYBERCOMs leader, Gen. Paul Nakasone, said at the Aspen Security Forum Wednesday that while he wouldnt comment on specific operations, we bring our best people together ... the really good thinkers to brainstorm ways to get after folks conducting ransomware attacks and other malign activities. Im pleased with the progress weve made, he said, and weve got a lot more to do.

The group's departure may be temporary. Ransomware gangs have been known to go underground, regroup and reappear, sometimes under a new name. But the recent development suggests that ransomware crews can be influenced  even temporarily  to cease operations if they fear they will be outed and arrested, analysts say.

"The latest voluntary disappearance of REvil highlights the powerful psychological impact of having these villains believe that they are being hunted and that their identities will be revealed," said Dmitri Alperovitch, executive chairman of the think tank Silverado Policy Accelerator, and a cyber expert. "U.S. and allied governments should proudly acknowledge these cyber operations and make it clear that no ransomware criminal will be safe from the long reach of their militaries and law enforcement agencies."

CYBERCOM's operation came in the wake of high-profile REvil attacks. In June, REvil ransomed the world's largest meat processor, Brazilian company JBS, in an action that temporarily halted operations at its nine beef processing plants in the United States and caused disruptions at other facilities in Canada and Australia.

In July the group struck again, this time targeting Kaseya, a Miami-based IT firm, infecting its software updates with ransomware that spread to hundreds of businesses. In a post on REvil's "Happy Blog" site, the group initially demanded $70 million to provide a decryption key to unlock the files of businesses victimized by the attack.

REvil has disappeared before.

In July, after the Kaseya hack, President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States would take "any necessary action" to defend critical infrastructure. Around the same time, another group member who went by the nickname "unknown" disappeared. Unknown's vanishing unnerved the group, and without warning, it went offline. It is unclear whether Biden's warning played any role in either.

In any case, 0_neday explained in a post last month, "since there was no confirmation of the reason for his disappearance, we resumed our work, thinking he was dead."

Privately REvil members were telling affiliates the group would return, according to Recorded Future threat intelligence analyst Dmitry Smilyanets, who closely tracks the group's activities.

"They were telling people, 'Don't worry, everything's OK  we will be back,'" Smilyanets said. "It wasn't a secret in the community that the REvil brand would reemerge."

REvil returned in September, picking up where it left off, recruiting new "affiliate" hackers to help it conduct attacks. Its victims included a plastics manufacturer and a legal aid service for the poor.

Then CYBERCOM struck.

Smilyanets said he believes "REvil as a brand is done."

The malware developers and the hackers will keep doing what they have been doing, he predicted, but probably under a different name or for another group. As for 0_neday, Smilyanets predicts: "The guy will be back."

Said Smilyanets: "He's so adept at cybercrime. He will not quit. He wants his millions of dollars."
In this April 22, 2019, file photo, then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel arrives at a news conference outside of the south air traffic control tower at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. (Kiichiro Sato/AP)

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved President Joe Biden's nomination of former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel as U.S. ambassador to Japan, even as two Democrats on the panel voted in opposition.

The nomination now advances to the full Senate. Emanuel has faced sharp criticism for his handling of police misconduct, including the 2014 police shooting of Laquan McDonald, a Black Chicago teenager.

The two Democrats opposing Emanuel during Wednesday's voice vote were Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Ed Markey of Massachusetts. In a statement Wednesday morning, Merkley said he had reached his decision after carefully considering Emanuel's record and "the input of civil rights leaders, criminal justice experts, and local elected officials who have reached out to the Senate to weigh in."

"Black Lives Matter," Merkley said. "Here in the halls of Congress, it is important that we not just speak and believe these words, but put them into action in the decisions we make."

It is rare for a senator to issue a statement opposing a nominee chosen by a president of their own party.

The former Chicago police officer convicted of second-degree murder for killing McDonald was sentenced to more than six years behind bars. The punishment was handed down just a day after three other police officers were acquitted after being accused of helping cover up what happened.

Dashboard-camera video of McDonald's killing was released 13 months after the incident - after Emanuel had already won his second term for mayor - prompting accusations that it was held up to boost Emanuel's political fortunes. Emanuel has said the release of the video was delayed to avoid compromising a federal investigation.

During a hearing last month, Merkley stood out among lawmakers for peppering Emanuel with questions and expressing skepticism over his reasons for not moving to release the dash-cam footage sooner.

"The mother of Laquan McDonald learned about the nature of the shooting when she was called by the funeral house who said to her, 'Do you realize your son was shot multiple times, his body was riddled with bullets?' She didn't know ... that information hadn't been shared with her," Merkley said at the time.

"It seems hard to believe that all those things happened and yet you were never briefed on the details of the situation when you were leading the city," he added.

Other Democrats during last month's hearing defended Emanuel.

"You can't be a mayor, especially in a city like Chicago, without picking up some scar tissue on the way," said Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. "Your description of what you learned along the way ... those lessons were challenging and painful for you during your entire tenure, but you served in an admirable way."

Markey, the other Democrat voting no on Wednesday, did not explain his opposition to Emanuel, though it is presumed to be linked to the police killing of McDonald.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voted no against Emanuel and every other Biden nominee under consideration for State Department positions. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also opposed Emanuel's nomination.

The Washington Post's Mark Berman contributed to this report.
The White House released a new national strategy Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, for preventing veteran suicide, purporting that it would harness the full breadth of the federal government to tackle the issue. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

WASHINGTON  The White House released a new national strategy Tuesday for preventing veteran suicide, purporting that it would harness the full breadth of the federal government to tackle the issue.

The strategy contains five priorities, which includes placing greater emphasis on the safe storage of firearms. The plan tasks the departments of Defense, Justice, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security with educating veterans about how to store firearms to limit their access to them in times of crisis.

In addition to emphasizing firearm safety, the strategy aims to limit barriers to mental health care, reduce housing and food insecurity, increase research and improve emergency room crisis care, among other things. These issues will be addressed with a series of executive actions in the coming weeks, the strategy states.

Whats needed now is a comprehensive, cross-sector, national effort  a public health strategy that unites us around a common mission to reduce military and veteran suicide, and lays out the steps to achieve it, President Joe Biden wrote in a letter announcing the plan.

In 2019, 6,261 veterans died by suicide. Though suicides decreased slightly from the previous year, suicide among veterans remained disproportionately high when compared to the rest of the population.

Firearm deaths accounted for more than 70% of veteran suicides that year.

The VA recently announced its intent to prioritize firearm safety as a method to prevent veteran suicides. Matthew Miller, executive director of the VAs suicide prevention program, said in September that the department was addressing this issue aggressively by teaching lethal means safety, which is a voluntary action that veterans can take to reduce their suicide risk by limiting their access to firearms.

Citing studies, Miller said the time between someone deciding to attempt suicide and that person acting on the impulse is sometimes less than 10 minutes. To help decrease access to firearms during a crisis, the department is teaching veterans to store their guns locked and unloaded while not in use, with ammunition stored separately.

In addition to the VA, other federal agencies will begin educating the public about the safe storage of firearms and medications, the White House plan states. The strategy also calls on departments to increase training on lethal means safety for counselors, crisis responders and health care professionals  those employed by the government and the private sector.

A VA program titled Safety Planning in the Emergency Department is planned for private health care systems. The program involves medical providers working with patients and their families on a safety plan to help prevent their risk for suicide.

To increase access to mental health care, the strategy includes a provision for the VA and Defense Department to reduce or eliminate copayments for veterans and service members seeking care for mental health and substance abuse.

It is up to us to do everything in our power to live up to our most sacred obligations, Biden wrote in the strategy. We owe it to our memories of those weve lost  and we owe it to the futures of those we might save.

Democrats in Congress applauded the strategy Tuesday. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, said many of the ideas in the White House plan were reflected in legislation introduced by his committee this session. He argued for the need to still pass those bills, and he said the committee would soon be introducing a mental health legislative package.

Todays announcement makes it clear that President Biden is committed to backing up his priorities with action, and I look forward to working with the administration to pass many of these proposals in our upcoming mental health legislative package, Takano said. As long as even one veteran dies by suicide each day, our work will not be finished.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (Tribune News Service)  Military veterans eligible for GI Bill benefits at state and community colleges and universities with COVID-19 vaccination mandates may have to drop classes and would likely lose out on thousands of dollars in monthly housing allowances if they choose not to get the shot.

As the pandemic cleared out campuses in 2020, legislators changed rules that required veterans-turned-students to take at least some of their classes in person, allowing full-time virtual learning through this December. Unless legislators do another extension or make other changes, those refusing the vaccine who arent approved for religious or medical exempts at schools with mandates, have said they will pause their education or move out of state or apply to private institutions with less restrictive mandates.

The GI Bill requires veteran students to take at least one class on-campus to receive the full monthly housing allowance of about $3,300, which at most schools mirrors the cost of living. If they dont, the amount they can receive drops to $900.

Hunter Holub, an infantry Marine who served at Camp Pendleton between 2014 and 2018, said he would choose to lose the money and possibly stall his education rather than take the vaccination. He is studying marketing at Saddleback Community College in southern Orange County.

I wont sacrifice my religion, he said. God comes first.

There may be consequences with that choice, he said. I had a combat job in the Marines and it doesnt relate to anything now. I wont be able to survive here and may have to move back to Wisconsin.

The University of California and California State University systems and several community college districts and private schools have vaccine mandates in place. Some are offering weekly or bi-weekly testing as an alternative and some are still working through the requirements and possible exemptions.

California is the first state in the country that has said it will require COVID-19 vaccines for primary school children once the inoculations receive full federal approval and large companies, health care facilities and government entities nationwide have mandates in place. In many places, people are pushing back and leaving their jobs instead.

Receiving a COVID vaccine continues to be the best way to prevent severe illness and hospitalizations and mitigate the spread of the virus, said Hazel Kelly, a spokeswoman for the California State University systems chancellors office, adding that all students including veterans were given several months to consider their choices.

By the end of September, all Cal State students had to submit proof of vaccination or have an exemption filed with the university granted on a medical or religious basis, and those students now have to undergo regular COVID-19 surveillance testing.

Under the mandate at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, which has at least 1,000 veterans enrolled each year, those who are unvaccinated have to test weekly and there were no medical or religious exemptions during the fall semester.

Desiree Campos Marquez, manager of the colleges veterans services as well as financial services and scholarships, said as many as 100 student veterans could be affected in the spring. To prepare, the college is considering alternate plans to support those students, including advocating lawmakers for an extension of current legislation that allows veteran students to be paid for online classes, she said.

Three lawmakers, Rep. Mike Levin, D- San Juan Capistrano, Rep. David Trone, D- Maryland, and Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D- Riverside, submitted a legislative proposal last month to extend the online opportunities through at least June.

Student veterans continue to face significant challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while Im proud we were able to pass strong and historic bipartisan legislation last year to support them, its clear we need to build on that work and extend the protections available to them, Levin said in a statement.

At Saddleback College in Mission Viejo  one of Orange Countys most popular schools for veterans  officials would not comment on the vaccinate mandate policy, because the requirements are still being decided, a spokeswoman said.

Greg Johnson, a 22-year Army veteran who works in the community colleges Veterans Office helping students navigate their GI Bill benefits, said he is regularly fielding questions from student veterans who are considering dropping classes rather than be vaccinated.

It will be a huge problem, not just here, but at many schools across the state, he said.

Johnson, who is nearing the end of his own education and refuses to take the vaccine, said he expects to not return in the spring.

You cant live on $900, he said. Its impossible.

In September, the South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees  which oversees Saddleback  unanimously approved the vaccination mandate. A final decision on how it will be administered is expected in mid-November, said Jennie McCue, spokeswoman for the college.

She also pushed back on the Veterans Administration, saying legislation is needed to relax the rule that students using the GI Bill must take at least one in-person class.

This federal rule was created in response to predatory private colleges, not to force veterans to be vaccinated, she said.

Denae McClure, a 36-year-old mother of four is a full-time student at Saddleback College. This semester is her first time back after starting in 2003. Shes taking advantage of her husbands GI Bill, which he is able transfer to her.

Like Holub, McClure said she is asking for a religious exemption for refusing the vaccine.

I signed up for classes and they might accept the religious exemptions and I might have to be tested twice a week and pay for that, she said. Im a mom of four kids and cant afford that. Basically, my education is being taken away from me again. Shouldnt people be supporting school?

Congressman Levins office said Tuesday, Nov. 2, it is optimistic that bill will become law by Dec. 20.

___

(c)2021 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.)

Visit The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) at www.ocregister.com

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Men of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment during Operation Market Garden, 17 September 1944. (Wikimedia Commons)

CUMBERLAND, Md. (Tribune News Service)  Paul Overbeck never got to meet his great uncle, WWII D-Day hero Lt. Robert "Bob" Mathias.

But the two share some significantly unique experiences.

Mathias was leader of the second platoon, E Company, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, in World War II.

Stephen Ambrose, author of more than 30 books including New York Times bestseller "Band of Brothers," said Mathias "was the first American officer killed by German fire on D-Day" after being hit by a shell burst as he prepared to jump from a C-47 during the invasion of Nazi-held Normandy.

Overbeck joined the Army in 1988 and later trained to be a paratrooper.

Today, he serves in the U.S. Army Reserve.

On Tuesday, Overbeck was at SS. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Cemetery on Fayette Street where the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization hosted a designated and protected monument unveiling ceremony for Mathias.

"I knew the story but I keep finding out more," Overbeck said of learning about Mathias. "There's just a lot to feel. We're here to commemorate his legacy."

Overbeck, of Greensburg, Pa., attended the All Souls Day event with his sister Karen Bass and mother Phyllis Blair.

Blair, a Cumberland native who now lives in St. Mary's County, is Bob Mathias' niece.

Roughly 60 people were at the ceremony, including several relatives of Mathias.

Bob Mathias was passionate about making the world a better and safer place, his niece, Howard County resident Marilyn Mathias, said.

Her dad, Joe Mathias, was the older brother of Bob Mathias.

Her voice trembled as she read a poem her late father had written after Bob Mathias was killed in the war.

"My father clearly admired his brother," Marilyn Mathias said.

Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization President Ed Taylor Jr. was master of ceremonies.

The all-volunteer organization erects, restores and maintains area monuments and promotes cemetery history.

"It shows a love for Americans that helped build this country," he said of people including military veterans.

Taylor thanked Blair for "pushing the project."

Years ago, Blair contacted Taylor and provided information about Bob Mathias that the cemetery group used for the monument.

Blair said Tuesday's ceremony "brought us to tears."

Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization Chaplain Rev. Michael Mudge said Bob Mathias was a hero in American history who exhibited courage and leadership as he laid down his life.

Other speakers at the event included Allegany County Commissioners Jake Shade and Dave Caporale, Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss, City Councilman Eugene Frazier, Allegany County Public Schools Board of Education Vice President Robert Farrell, and Delegate Mike McKay.

Shade, Caporale and Farrell said they were proud of and grateful for the service of veterans, and related stories of their own family members who served in WWII.

Farrell said Bob Mathias' service to country represents "a perfect story" that should be taught to school children.

He also talked of showing respect for American veterans and the national anthem.

"You need to be standing for it," Farrell said.

Morriss thanked Mathias' family members, more than 15 attended, who traveled to be at Tuesday's ceremony.

Frazier thanked the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization for its work, and said Bob Mathias paid the ultimate sacrifice so that Americans could enjoy freedoms.

He also read a poem "We Remember," which he wrote for the event to honor veterans including Bob Mathias.

"They sacrificed and gave all they had," Frazier said.

(c)2021 the Cumberland Times News (Cumberland, Md.)

Visit the Cumberland Times News (Cumberland, Md.) at times-news.com

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Its time to roll out the orange carpet for the annual Menulog Restaurant Awards, with Kiwis being asked to vote with their stomachs to find the best local restaurant in the country.

More than 120 restaurants across Aotearoa are in line for the coveted Menulog Peoples Choice crown in this years awards which are celebrating and supporting hospitality businesses at a challenging time for the industry.

Peoples Choice finalist Punjab Express started 16 years ago in a small shop in Tauranga with two staff selling Indian sweets and has expanded to four restaurants and 20 employees.

Recently the restaurant gave out more than 100 butter chicken meals to help people in the community who have been impacted financially by the pandemic.

Owner at Punjab Express, Puran Singh says they have a loyal local following, and because it has been a hard year for many people serving free butter chicken was a chance for them to give something back to the community.

We love serving the community our food and our aim is to continue to serve new varieties of delicious Indian dishes and sweets. The name Punjab Express speaks to the culture of our restaurant  delivering delicious, quality food and Indian sweets.

Have your say for people's choice

Kiwis can vote for their favourite takeaway restaurant to win the Menulog Peoples Choice Award for their region and the overall national prize at restaurantawards.menulog.co.nz.

Those who have their say and vote go into the running to win a host of $50 Menulog vouchers.

The winning Peoples Choice restaurant receives an advertising and media package worth $2500, to help promote and grow their business, $1,000 to put towards their venue, along with other prizes.

Voting closes November 10. Supplied photo.

Uncover the top food trends of the year

Menulog is also looking to uncover the foodie trends from the past year that really matter with the Trending Awards - a selection of dishes and restaurants that had starring roles in our hearts and stomachs this year.

This years trending categories include Best Supporting Dish, Best New Dish, Best Noods Sent, Best Meal To Order After You've Been Dumped, Best Munchies To Order At 4:20pm, and Top Cuisines Ordered While Watching The All Blacks.

The category winners are awarded based on Menulog data made up of orders, reviews and ratings from the last 12 months.

Voting for the Menulog Restaurant Awards is now open and closes on Wednesday, 10 November, with winners announced on Wednesday, November 22. For more information and to vote, visit the website http://restaurantawards.menulog.co.nz
Grab your dogs and their leads  its time for the first walk in the annual Western Bay Wander Dogs Summer Series event line up.

The first walk is a leisurely stroll around Te Puna Quarry Park, shared with like minded dog lovers. Its scheduled to take place at 10am on Saturday, November 6, with walkers meeting in the Quarry car park.

Western Bay of Plenty District Councils Animal Services team will be dishing out doggy-bags filled with an assortment of treats and tips. Official Council Spokes-dog Alfie will also be there, and available to give pawtographs to his adoring fans.

Councils compliance and monitoring manager Alison Curtis says this is a great opportunity for the community of dogs and dog-owners to get together and talk all things canine.

We look forward to seeing some familiar, and not so familiar faces to get this summer series underway.

For dog owners whose furry friends who are a bit shy of walking with the pack, our experienced Animal Control Officers can help, ensuring you can join the fun.

Our wander dog walks can be a great learning experience as the team can provide practical tips for dogs pulling on leads, improving dogs social manners and answering general concerns like barking, jumping up and aggression.

All you need is a dog and a lead, our team will take care of the rest.

This is the seventh year of the annual Wander Dogs Summer Series, featuring scenic walks around the District and a line up of special events. For a full list of the walks on offer visit westernbay.govt.nz/wanderdogs

Note that everyone attending must follow the appropriate Alert Level health and safety protocols. This includes scanning in using the NZ COVID Tracer app or manually signing in, using the hand sanitiser provided, wearing a face covering, and maintaining a physical distance of two metres. The events will not go ahead if there is a change in Alert Levels to Alert Level 3 or higher.

Council will post any cancellation information on its Facebook event. Stay up to date by registering at facebook.com/westernbaycouncil/events
A health warning has been issued for Lake Ohakuri.

Notifications to Waikato Regional Council by members of the public and a visual assessment by the regional council shows a suspected bloom of potentially toxic blue-green algae.

Samples have been taken from the lake and results are pending.

This health warning means that people should avoid any activity which results in contact with the lake water, says Dr Jim Miller, Medical Officer of Health.

Contact with water affected by blooms of blue-green algae can cause asthma and hayfever attacks in some individuals.

Contact with the blue-green algae can also cause skin rashes, stomach upsets, and in some cases neurological effects such as tingling around the mouth, headaches, breathing difficulties and visual problems.

Signage has been erected at Lake Ohakuri advising potential lake users about the algal bloom.

As we head into summer, Dr Miller advises the public to keep an eye out for signs of algal blooms if using lakes in our region and would like to thank the members of the public for informing authorities.

Dr Jim Miller.

Algal blooms can develop rapidly and unpredictably and can sometimes produce toxins that are harmful for people as well as animals. If the water looks discoloured, has an unusual smell, or has green or brown particles floating in it then it is best to avoid contact with it.

The warning will be reviewed when more information comes to hand.

Up-to-date information on health warnings for the Bay of Plenty and Lakes districts is available through these channels:
Kawerau District property owners will soon receive a Notice of Rating Valuation in the post with an updated rating value for their property.

The new rating valuations have been prepared for 3029 properties on behalf of the Kawerau District Council by Quotable Value.

They show the total rateable value for the district is now $1,473,346,400 with the land value of those properties now valued at $548,365,000.

Rating valuations are usually carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years to help local councils set rates for the following three-year period.

They reflect the likely selling price of a property at the effective revaluation date, which was August 1, 2021, and do not include chattels.

On average, the value of residential housing has increased 63 per cent since 2018 with the average house value now sitting at $411,000, while the corresponding average land value increased by 55 per cent to an average of $166,000.

QV Senior Consultant Michael Power says the demand for residential housing has been buoyant across the district with a shortage of listings.

"Buyer interest is primarily coming from retirees, first-home buyers and investors. The Norske Skog mill closure doesnt appear to have had any effect on the residential market to date

"While there has been a significant lift in values, the districts prices are still seen to be comparatively affordable by many, especially at a time when property prices have also been dramatically increasing around the country.

"New residential building is occurring at the recently developed Central Cove subdivision and the Porritt Glade Lifestyle Village which the council is completing in partnership with Generation Homes."

Meanwhile, commercial property values have increased by 32 per cent, and while most values in the industrial sector have also increased, the overall average movement shows a 15 per cent decrease due to the closure of the Norske Skog Mill.

With little increase in demand, retail and office properties have seen lower increases in value than the residential property market, but they have still increased off the back of strengthening yields.

While there is demand from buyers for good-quality properties with favourable leases in place, this has been offset to some degree by a number of vacancies in the town.

Power says it's helpful to remember the effective rating revaluation date of August 1, 2021, has passed and any changes in the market since then will not be included in the new rating valuations.

This means in many cases a sale price achieved in the market today may be different to the new rating valuation set as at August 1, 2021.

The updated rating valuations are independently audited by the Office of the Valuer General and need to meet rigorous quality standards before the new rating valuations are certified.

They are not designed to be used as market valuations for raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.

New rating values will be posted to property owners after November 3, 2021.

If owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they have a right to object through the objection process before December 9, 2021.
Eight legs and a mind for numbers. What will we do with the knowledge that spiders can count and make calculated decisions?

It sounds like the start of a sci-fi movie, but really its the focus of a University of Canterbury research project thats been awarded $926,000 in the latest Te Putea Rangahau a Marsden, the Marsden Fund announced today.

The project, which will see Dr Fiona Cross investigate the level of ability salticid (jumping) spiders have to understand numbers, is one of 13 University of Canterbury-led projects awarded Marsden funding. This includes three Fast-Start grants which support early career researchers to develop independent research and build their research career in New Zealand.

Along with jumping spiders, the University of Canterbury-funded research projects, awarded $9.5million collectively, tackle wide-ranging themes, including sustainable body disposal, speech and language as more than the spoken word, the evolution of marine birds, and how gaining a better understanding of seismic activity will impact future seismic hazard and risk predictability in New Zealand and globally.

Professor Ian Wright Tumu Tuarua Rangahau | Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation is pleased to see the number and scope of University of Canterbury research projects to gain funding in the latest round.

It is pleasing to see the variety and relevance of University of Canterbury research that has been funded in this round. It further demonstrates the importance of the research our academics are doing for the future of New Zealanders and people around the globe, says Ian.

I am especially happy to see research into speech and language coming through in this funding round.

The University of Canterbury is ranked in the top 100 globally for linguistics and computational linguistics and this funding provides more opportunity for our researchers and PhD students to further excel in this field, says Ian.

University of Canterbury is ranked 92nd in the world in the subject of linguistics.

University of Canterburys Dr Panther Forrest is a recipient of a Fast-Start Grant ($360,000). His research will explore word grammar of Te Reo Maori with the aim of understanding dialect variations, and over time changes and aspects of Te Reo that have been lost  fundamental to helping us better understand who we are.

Marsden grants are to support excellent research in the humanities, science, social sciences, matauranga, mathematics, and engineering  with a focus on helping us to better understand who we are and discover solutions to societys most pressing challenges.

Te Putea Rangahau a Marsden is managed by Royal Society Te Aparangi on behalf of the New Zealand Government with funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

.

Marsden funded University of Canterbury researcher-led projects announced today:

Marsden Fund Fast-Start grants

Dr Forrest Panther - Understanding the Nature of Word Grammar Through Te Reo Maori (360,000)

Dr Robin Lee - Creating a physics-based understanding of the spatial correlation of earthquake-induced ground motions in regions of complex geology ($360,000)

Dr Hao Ran Lai - Understanding when and why predictions succeed or fail for species distributions ($360,000)

Te Putea Rangahau a Marsden

Dr Donald Derrick - Multi-sensory speech perception and syllable structure ($839,000)

Associate Professor Ruth McManus - The Greening of Death in Aotearoa: Co-designing sustainability adaptations in body disposal ($824,000)

Associate Professor Kevin Watson - Do patterns of covariation in speech carry social meaning? ($659,000)

Professor Brendon Bradley - Accelerating the advent of physics-based ground-motion simulation for seismic hazard analysis ($916,000)

Professor Martin Allen - Thinking outside the square! Discovering the design rules for a new class of highly-functional nanomaterials. ($904,000)

Associate Professor Alex Gavryushkin - Training natural language models to understand genomics and study gout in Maori and Pacific populations ($685,000)

Professor Antony Fairbanks - And now for something radically different; new reactions of unprotected sugars in aqueous solution ($921,000)

Dr Vanesa de Pietri - Avian diversity in the aftermath of the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction: Zealandia as a hub for the evolution of marine birds. ($925,000)

Dr Fiona Cross - Eight legs and a mind for numbers ($926,000)

Professor John Dalrymple-Alford - Bifurcating neurons and the thalamic control of memory ($839,000)
Brigitte Bardot, Myth and Cliches Malaga exhibition stops off in Torremolinos The exhibition includes 50 photographs of the sex kitten taken during her visit to the province in 1957

Torremolinos town hall is hosting a new photographic exhibition dedicated to Bridget Bardot, the Hollywood actress who, since first visiting the resort in 1957, has become firmly etched into the towns long and illustrious history.

The exhibition, titled Myth and Cliches in Malaga, was inaugurated by Mayor of Torremolinos Jose Ortiz and councillor for Tourism Aida Blanes, together with Jose Luis Cabrera, creator of Torremolinos Chic and curator of the exhibition, and the vice-president of the Diputacion de Malaga, Margarita del Cid.

The exhibition, which is located on the first floor of the town hall building in Plaza Blas Infante, consists of 50 photographs that show the sex kitten during her visit to the province in 1957 to film the controversial Roger Vadim movie, Les Bijoutiers du Clair de Lune. The filming took place in various locations in Malaga such as Mijas, Alora, El Chorro, and Torremolinos, the town that Bardot, who was Vadim's wife at the time, called the Spanish Saint-Tropez.

Censorship

The film was set in rural Andalucia and explores the exuberant sensuality of a young girl who has left a convent to live with her aunt in southern Spain. It was released the following year, although not in Spain due to censorship, although it was later published in Spain under the name of Los Joyeros del Claro de Luna.

When not filming, Bardot relaxed on the beaches of Bajondillo and La Carihuela, although the locals are said to have been somewhat alarmed by the blond bombshell in a revealing bathing suit, something almost unheard of during the Franco era.

The collection, which is currently touring the province, can be visited from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 1pm until 7 January.

We were pioneers in tourism and also in culture. We want to recover this heritage, a history that gives us uniqueness, prominence and personality. In addition to being a leader as a destination for sun and beach, we also have a history with such important figures as Brigitte Bardot, the mayor said.
The Junta will invest 351 million euros in Malaga province projects in 2022 Some 90 million euros more have been allocated by Andalucia's regional government compared to this year, and will include 33 million for the prevention and fighting of forest fires

The Junta de Andalucia's budget for 2022, presented after the meeting of the Regional Government Council this Wednesday, 3 November, has revealed an investment of 351.4 million euros for projects in Malaga province. It is almost 90 million euros more than the 262 million allocated this year.

In the provincial budget document posted on its website, the investments are broken down, the main one being the 46 million euros that will be allocated to various actions in the area of water supply and treatment in the province, as well as the 41 million for investments in rural areas and agriculture and livestock.

To these are added 33 million euros for the prevention and fighting of forest fires, a topical issue for the province after the recent fire that devastated swathes of the Sierra Bermeja and Genal valley.

Metro and new hospital

In Malaga some 25 million euros have been set aside for the citys metro, and another 9.4 million for the new hospital in the provincial capital.

Just over 500,000 euros will be earmarked for the adaptation of the Antequera Dolmen Centre; and a project in the Arraijanal park will account for 90,000 euros while 120,000 euros are allocated for the drafting of a project for the construction of a centre in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park. new judicial headquarters,

In the Axarquia region, 120,000 euros will be allocated to the Sipam plan for the promotion of raisin grapes. While on the Costa del Sol 475,000 euros have been set aside for new judicial headquarters in Torremolinos and 200,000 euros for the one in Estepona.
La Palma registers 49 earthquakes since midnight, including one that was felt in Tenerife and La Gomera Classes at five schools on the island have been suspended and more residents have been advised to stay indoors due to the quantity of ash and sulphur dioxide being emitted from the Cumbre Vieja volcano

There is still no sign the volcanic eruption on La Palma will end any time soon. / EFE

Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) has registered a total of 49 earthquakes since Tuesday midnight, this Wednesday (3 November) including a magnitude 5, one of the strongest since the eruption of the volcano on the island of La Palma began some weeks ago. It was registered at 6.27am and located some 35 kilometres with an intensity IV and felt throughout the island.

Another with a magnitude 4.8 and intensity IV-V has also been recorded, in Mazo, and it was felt in some points of the neighbouring Canary islands of Tenerife and La Gomera.

The erupting volcano continues to emit a huge volume of ash that covers the entire west and northwest sector of the island and it is accompanied by audible explosions. Due to this high level of ash, classes have been suspended in the schools in El Paso, Los Llanos de Aridane, Tazacorte, Puntagorda and Tijarafe.

Recommended to stay indoors

The presence of high levels of sulphur dioxide on the island has also caused the La Palma council to halt the collection of household items from the areas that were evacuated because of the eruption. Likewise, in the municipalities of El Paso, the Llanos de Aridane and Tazacorte, the population has been recommended to stay indoors and, if they do go outside, to use FFP2 face masks.

Affect the airspace

The ash cloud is causing problems with the operation of La Palma airport, and it may also affect the airspace between La Palma, La Gomera and the west of Tenerife.

For now, the molten is mainly moving over old flows or through underground tubes without registering significant advances or widening of the volcanic lava tongues.
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For the first time since August, Florida Department of Health reported an increase in COVID-19 cases over the week before. DOH reported 10,828 new cases (about 1,547 a day) for the week of Nov. 12-18, bringing the cumulative total since March 2020 to 3,677,968.
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Professor Andrew Murphy Delivers Inaugural Lecture at the Trinity Long Room Hub

3 November 2021 - Professor Andrew Murphy delivered his inaugural lecture at the Trinity Long Room Hub yesterday evening, 2 November 2021, marking his appointment to the 1867 Chair of English Literature at Trinity College Dublin.

Exploring the marginal figures who contributed significantly to popularising the text of Shakespeare, Professor Murphys lecture Shakespeare from the Periphery charted a chronological course from the print world of Shakespeares own time up to the modern-day digital era.

Presented by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the inaugural lecture is a tradition of Trinity College Dublin for newly appointed Chairs. The lecture represents the official recognition of their appointment, and the lecture itself provides an opportunity to showcase their achievements in research, innovation, engagement and teaching activities before an audience of members of the University community and the general public.

Left to Right: Prof Jarlath Killeen; Prof Gail McElroy; Prof Andrew Murphy; and Trinity Provost Dr Linda Doyle.

Introducing the inaugural lecture, Professor Gail McElroy, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, spoke about Professor Murphys prolific career having had a major impact on the discipline of English. She welcomed the Provost and President of Trinity College Dublin, Dr Linda Doyle, and other college officers and guests in attendance. Commenting on the prestige of the Chair of English, which was established in 1867, she said this was the first Chair of English literature on the island of Ireland, with many prominent scholars gracing this role over 150 years. She added that the contribution of these scholars has made Trinitys School of English one of the most outstanding Schools of English in the world, placed 25th in the global rankings.

Professor Murphy opened his lecture with the fascinating story of how the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays was presented to the head librarian at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC in 2008 to be authenticated. The subsequent arrest of Raymond Scott, an eccentric figure who claimed ownership of the edition, led authorities to discover that this First Folio had been stolen from Durham University.

In describing the recovery of this most important and treasured literary work, Professor Murphy placed Shakespeare at the centre of cultural power, therefore setting the scene for how Shakespeares journey to the centre begins.

Throughout this fascinating lecture Professor Murphy went on to explore the role of figures very much at the cultural margins, such as Thomas Millington, who, in Shakepeares early career, was the first person to take a chance on publishing one of his plays, providing the first proof of concept that it was worth publishing Shakespeare. Other figures that featured in Professor Murphys case studies include Robert Walker (who sold snake oil type medications as well as books), John Dicks, a working-class publisher who brought Shakespeare to the masses, and a computer programmer called Grady Ward, who produced the first digital complete works of Shakespeare in free-to-access format.

Repeatedly, I would suggest, it has been in the periphery that Shakespeare's central position has been forged. And so it has been too in our own time. The Shakespeare of the present and future has come once again, and as always, to the centre from the margins.

About Professor Andrew Murphy:

Professor Andrew Murphy was born in Limerick City. He worked in local government for a number of years before undertaking a degree in English and Psychology here in Trinity, graduating in 1986. He then worked for a spell for the London Borough of Waltham Forest, before moving to the US and studying at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, receiving his MA there, and graduating with a PhD in 1994.

After his postgraduate work, Professor Murphy settled in the UK, working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire and then becoming a lecturer there. He moved to the University of St Andrews in 1998, remaining there for 20 years and serving eventually as Head of the School of English, and then Director of the Graduate School and Provost of St Leonards (St Andrews postgraduate college).

Professor Murphys research interests lie in the fields of Shakespeare Studies and Irish Studies -- and he also works at the intersection of these two areas of study. His first monograph was an exploration of the Irish context of early modern English literature, entitled But the Irish Sea Betwixt Us: Ireland, Colonialism, and Renaissance Literature. He followed this with a history of Shakespeare editing and publishing, Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing. First published in 2003, the book has recently been re-issued in a revised and expanded new edition. He explored the growth of Shakespeares readership in the nineteenth century in Shakespeare for the People: Working-class Readers, 1800 1900, published in 2008. His most recent book is a study of literacy and nationalism in Ireland, entitled Ireland, Reading and Cultural Nationalism, 1790-1930. He has also published a short study of Seamus Heaneys poetry, issued in three editions in the Writers and the Work series.

Professor Murphy has received fellowships in support of his work from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust. He is currently completing work on an edited collection on The Nation for the Cambridge University Press Cambridge Themes in British Literature and Culture series and is working on a new edition of Shakespeares Henry V, also for Cambridge University Press.
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Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Raipur C.G. Posts: 207 Thanked: 1,163 Times

Re: My Skoda Rapid 1.5L Diesel DSG. EDIT: 2 years of ownership and 40,000 km up! Quote: KANNURAN Originally Posted by

Strangely, the power loss issue resolved itself without surgery. A couple of high speed road trips to Tamilnadu + Andhra Pradesh did the trick. Strangely, the power loss issue resolved itself without surgery. A couple of high speed road trips to Tamilnadu + Andhra Pradesh did the trick.



Quote: catchjyoti Originally Posted by



Have visited Chitrakoot a couple of times. But didn't know about Mendri waterfall - thanks for the info. Great travelogue SachinHave visited Chitrakoot a couple of times. But didn't know about Mendri waterfall - thanks for the info.



Quote: Exhuberance Originally Posted by It was around 22-25K as far as I recall. The front springs and the connecting rod, etc. were changed. So 50K sounds about right. But do check if you'd like to go for both or only the front ones. Haha, thats your cars way of telling you to go on some highway drives, I do occasionally feel that theres slight power drop in the morning if Im driving my car, say after a week, but once it reaches operating temperature, it comes back to life. And those are some lovely pictures of your Rapid. Thanks!Thanks mate and lately Im coming to know about more such hidden places in Bastar, one being Kuyemari near Keshakal, I would plan a visit soon. And whenever you are in Chhattisgarh, do ping me.Thanks gentleman, this really helps. I have observed that my front end is holding good but the rear gets bit soft when the car is loaded with passengers and luggage, I will get it checked soon.
From smart light bulbs and thermostats that think for themselves to Bluetooth door locks, wireless security cameras, and all manner of sensors, todays home automation technology can sound awfully sophisticated while actually being a messy hodgepodge of gizmos and apps. Installing all this stuff in your house is only half the battle. Getting it to work together smoothly and with a single user interface can be something entirely different.

Heres the essential gear to get you there, which weve separated into two categories: all-around smart home systems, which are designed to coordinate a wide variety of smart home products, and security-focused systems, which are built around sensors and sirens.

You should also note that some of our picks are starter kits, consisting of a smart-home hub and a handful of devices, while others are just the hub. Youll need to add the components you want to the latter, choosing from products certified by the hub manufacturer.

Updated November 19, 2021 to add our Aqara Hub E1 review. This tiny smart home controller comes with a tiny price tag, but it's not a universal smart hub and is designed to control only Aqara's own Zigbee products. It can, on the other hand, work with smart speakers in the Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit universes to trigger those devices.

Best all-around smart home system

SmartThings is dead! Long live SmartThings! Actually, the only thing SmartThings thing that is dead is Samsung's own SmartThings Hub. The company decided to stop manufacturing its own hardware, but is not abandoning the platform itself. Instead, it granted permission to other companies--including smart-home stalwart Aeotec--to build its hub instead. Connect this small box to your router and you can use a simple and intuitive app to control the vast number of smart home products boasting Works with SmartThings compatibility. Every major category is covered, including the Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers, numerous smart lighting products (including Philips and Sylvania gear), the Ring Video Doorbell, smart door locks, and more.

Best security-focused smart home system

With the Ring Alarm Pro, Ring takes its best-in-class home security system to the next level, adding an integrated Wi-Fi 6 router as well as expandable battery and broadband backup functionality. You simply won't find a better value in the smart home security market, or one that offers the important option of professional monitoring for so little cash: $20 per month, including cloud storage for video clips from unlimited number of Ring video doorbells and security cameras. Our previous top pick in this category, the slightly less-expensive, Ring Alarm (2nd Gen), might be a better choice for those who don't feel the need to upgrade their existing Wi-Fi setups.

We should note, however, that we're still disappointed that Ring hasn't bothered to turn its Ring Alarm systems, including the Ring Alarm Pro, into full-on smart home hubs. The Zigbee radio in the Ring Alarm Pro is frustratingly dormant, there's no Thread radio at all, and home automation routines are both clumsy and disjointed. Perhaps one day Ring will pull the home hub aspect together, but that day hasn't arrived yet.

Runner-up

Abode Iota Read TechHive's review MSRP $229.00 See it By integrating a video camera into its already capable hub, Abodes Iota makes for a more compelling smart alarm system than ever.

Abode continues to impress us with its security-focused smart home hub. The Abode Iota incorporates a 1080p security camera into an enclosure thats more compact than the original, yet retains all the features we like, including support for Zigbee and Z-Wave smart home devices and sensors, optional cellular backup for added security, and optional professional monitoring.

Best home security system for privacy

The Minut Smart Home Security system is actually pretty limited in terms of its ability to control the other smart devices in your home, but if youre particularly sensitive about privacy, this system can protect your home without relying on on cameras, microphones, or similar technology that some consider invasive.

What to look for when shopping

As we mentioned earlier, smart home systems come in a dazzling array of shapes and sizes, from brain-dead simple to vastly complex. Features vary just as widely, so youll need to pay more attention than usual when youre narrowing down the field to find the product thats right for you. Heres a look at some of those key decision factors. To see how each system on the market measures up to those promises, drill down into the reviews at the end of the buyers guide.

Nest The Nest thermostat is quite popular, but its not compatible with every smart home system.

Device support: Some smart hubs support only a small number of devices made by the manufacturer of the hub. Others offer certification programs for third-party devices and/or offer hooks into systems developed by third parties: Amazon (Alexa), Nest (thermostats, cameras, and smoke/CO detectors), and Google (Google Assistant) are the biggies here, but Apples HomeKit could become important later. Its critical to consider all the devices you already have in your home, and whether the hub will support them. If the hub doesnt support them, you might be looking at a massive upgrade later. As well, you need to think about what devices you plan to add to your network down the line.

IFTTT support: Many top smart home systems support IFTTT (If This Then That), the simple scripting system that lets you connect devices that otherwise wouldnt be. For example, you could use IFTTT to turn all the lights in the house blue if a water leak is detected by your smart hubeven if it cant speak directly to the lighting system itself. Stringify is a similarand perhaps more sophisticatedservice, but it has not yet gained as much traction as IFTTT.

Wired vs. wireless hub connection: Many smart hubs must connect to your wireless router via an ethernet cable, which limits your placement and, of course, requires a free ethernet port on your router. That can be an issue with the new generation of puck-like mesh routers that have just two ethernet ports (Eero, Google Wifi, TP-Link Deco M5, et al). A smaller number of hubs are wireless and can be placed anywhere in range of the router, increasing your flexibility.

Fibaro Z-Wave-based sensors, such as this door/window sensor from Fibaro, operate on a low-power mesh network.

Sensor range: If your home is large or spread out, youll need to pay attention to the range that the hubs sensors support. Hubs may support a wide array of connection protocols, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, and Zigbee, all of which have very different ranges. As with a wireless router, smart hub range can also be impacted by interference and device placement, and smart home devices themselves have different specs, as well. Take the time to look into the detailed specs to be sure sensors and third-party devices will actually work with your homes infrastructure.

Battery backup: If the power goes out, your smart lights might not be useful, but other smart home features, like security sensors, rely on a hub thats always on. Many smart hubs, even those that arent built around security, feature battery backups (either through rechargeable cells or standard AAs). Even a short power outage can cause a significant delay while the hub reconnects, so a battery backup makes sense in many home environments. If you like everything else about a particular hub that lacks a battery backup option, consider investing in an uninterruptible power supply to plug it into.

Christopher Null/TechHive Winks app keeps a detailed log of everything that goes on in your smart home.

Mobile app usability: Youll probably be interacting with your hub primarily through its mobile app, so youll want one thats intuitive and powerful, with all the key features you use front and center. App-store screen shots and, of course, our reviews can help you get a sense of what youre dealing with on the app side of things.

Overall complexity: This is a companion consideration to the mobile app, relating primarily to the audience for whom the smart home system was developed. Is the system geared at everyday users with limited customization needs? Or is it built with extreme flexibility in mind, to the point where the configuration decisions might overwhelm a novice user? Again, close attention to our reviews can help you gauge how comfortable youre likely to feel with any system.

In addition to the above, the following considerations are primarily geared at systems with a security focus.

Sensor support: A companion consideration to the device support issue above, if youre in the market for a security-focused smart hub, youll want one that has support for all the sensors you need. Most security hubs only work with the sensors made by the same manufacturer, so you cant mix and match as you would with a general-use smart hub. Some security systems offer only a very narrow range of sensor types, while others have a wide variety to choose from.

Lowes A GSM module ensures your home security system doesnt fail if a burglar cuts your landline.

Cellular radio backup: If you could simply cut the broadband connection to defeat a security system, it wouldnt be much good, would it? Any good security system will include a 3G cellular backup that can be used in case your broadband connection drops. You should also carefully consider the battery backup consideration above, which is essential for dealing with power outages and is a standard feature on most security hubs.

Professional monitoring: If you dont want to monitor your own security system 24/7, youll at least want the option to engage with a professional security company that can keep tabs on it for you when youre out on walkabout. These invariably cost extra, which leads to our final consideration.

Service plan costs: Service plan costs vary widely from system to system, and many vendors offer a range of plans to choose from. Some systems will work without a service plan, allowing you to self-monitor. Some require a plan to function at all. Also note that lower-tier service plans might not include professional monitoring (Ring Alarm has one of the least-expensive plans: $10 per month with no long-term commitment). Price out service plans carefully before you pull the trigger.

Our latest smart home system reviews
Amberlina Alston, a third-year studying psychology; Belton Moore, a second-year studying economic and political science, and Carmen Palacios-Aguirre, a second-year studying sociology, browse Native American jewelry handcrafted by Alston at the Talley Student Union lobby on Wednesday. Alston, a Lumbee, is the historian of the Native American Student Association, which hosted an event showcasing the history and culture of the various Native American tribes in North Carolina to kickoff Native American Heritage Month.
WTF?! Although jetpacks have moved from the domain of sci-fi to reality in recent times, it seems multiple sightings of a man flying over Los Angeles using one of the devices may have a much simpler explanation: balloons.

The first sighting came back in August last year when American Airlines pilots radioed in that We just passed a guy in a jetpack. Another pilot, this one approaching LAX in a Jet Blue airliner a few minutes later, also reported a jetpack flyer passing their plane.

Another report arrived in October from a China Airlines pilot flying at 6,000 feet, followed by a sighting in July this year. There was also a video shared on social media in December 2020 that showed what appeared to be someone with a jetpack flying at around 3,000 feet off the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

While jetpacks are real, such as this one used by a UK paramedic, the chances of this being a man flying around like The Rocketeer seemed unlikely, though we did see a jetpack pilot reach 6,000 feet last year from a ground take-off rather than an elevated platform.

Now, it appears that the mystery has been solved. The FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated the reported sightings, none of which had been verified. The organizations say the working theory is that the pilots may have seen balloons.

The conclusion seems all the more likely given the images taken by a police helicopter (above) in November 2020, a couple of weeks after the second sighting. They show what looks like an inflatable balloon character, possibly Jack Skellington from Tim Burtons The Nightmare Before Christmas, floating several thousand feet above LAone would assume it broke away from a Halloween display.

However, witnesses interviewed by the Los Angeles Times claim to have seen a human-shaped object that changed direction rapidly rather than just floated, leading to speculation that what people saw was a dummy or balloon attached to a drone to resemble a person with a jetpack, something that European drone enthusiasts have already developed.

Masthead image credit: balloon_andco
In context: Avast has been making a thorough investigation into a premium scam campaign named UltimaSMS. This campaign consisted of apps that were available to download from Google Play Store. Once installed, these apps would ask for your information to subscribe to a premium service that could cost you $40 a month.

Avast's investigation uncovered 151 apps linked to the UltimaSMS campaign. The first was Ultima Keyboard 3D Pro, for which the campaign was named. You can check the complete list of apps on Avast's GitHub.

In total, users downloaded the scammy apps over 10.5 million times in over 80 countries, including the US (170,000 downloads). Google has already banned all 151 flagged from the Play Store but doesn't have the power to uninstall them from a user's device. Users with any of the listed apps should install them immediately.

Disguised as custom keyboards, QR code scanners, video and photo editors, spam call blockers, camera filters, and games, these apps would check the phone's location, IMEI, and phone number to "determine which country area code and language to use for the scam."

After opening the app, users would then be presented with a prompt to fill in with their phone number, and sometimes, the email address so users could supposedly access the app's advertising features. After giving their details, users would instead subscribe to premium SMS services that charge up to $40 a month. If users tried to access the apps' advertised features, they would be presented with more SMS subscriptions, or the app would just stop working.

Google has already done multiple cleanups on Play Store in the past, removing apps infested with Windows Malware and adware, and even stalking apps.

As Android malware becomes more common, Google has to be more restrictive about the apps entering its platform. Unlike Apple, which is known for meticulously reviewing all apps before uploading them to the App Store, Google's app reviewing process is faster, easier to pass, and less complex. In comparison, Apple may take up to a week before deeming an app safe to use, while Google usually takes less than two days.

Maybe it's time for Google to change its process, betting on a more robust and secure approach to ensure its users are safe from these nefarious apps.

Image credit: Android by Denny Muller, Smartphone by Andrew M
In brief: The US Department of Commerce this week announced it's sanctioning four groups for their roles in spying on and otherwise maliciously targeting people like journalists and academics online. They include the controversial NSO Group and three other entities from Israel, Russia, and Singapore.

The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is updating its list of sanctioned entities with a document it plans to fully publish on Thursday, but is viewable in a PDF now. It claims all four groups are engaged in activities "contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States."

Most famous of these is the Israeli NSO Group. The BIS document specifically points it out for developing spyware it then supplied to governments to target people such as journalists, academics, embassy workers, and activists. The document names fellow Israeli group Candiru alongside NSO in those charges.

Last year it was reported that NSO was making spyware to track the spread of the Coronavirus. In September of this year, however, Apple had to issue a security update for all its operating systems to patch an exploit NSO's software had been using since February to spy on people. NSO's "Pegasus" spyware, a "zero-click exploit," could penetrate an Apple device by simply sending a text without the device's user doing anything. It could access things on an iPhone like the camera, microphone, or device settings.

The BIS document also names Russian group Positive Technologies and Singaporean group Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE. LTD., as entities that traffic cyber exploits. In 2017, Positive Technologies identified a massive security hole that affected Intel CPUs. The US Treasury Department previously sanctioned Positive Technologies for allegedly helping Russian intelligence services conduct cyber attacks against the US.

This mean exports or in-country transfers of items related to these entities will require a license from the End-User Review Committee. Those licenses for sanctioned entities will fall under a "presumption of denial," so they'll automatically be denied except for in special circumstances.

The US Department of Commerce recently banned sales of hacking software to the governments of "countries of concern."
The big picture: With so much news about the chip shortage and Arm-based processors that are slowly eating the digital world, it's easy to miss that China's tech giants have been making progress with custom silicon for the data center. Companies like Tencent and Alibaba are slowly replacing foreign chips with homegrown solutions they claim are faster and most efficient, and this process is expected to accelerate in the coming years.

A lot of attention has been directed towards the ongoing chip shortage, Nvidias $54 billion takeover of Arm, and Apples transition to custom Arm-based silicon thats both powerful and more energy-efficient than competing solutions from the x86 space. Meanwhile, Chinese tech giants like Tencent and Alibaba have been working on custom Arm-based silicon of their own and almost no one has noticed their efforts.

Today, Tencent launched three self-designed chips that it says will help boost Chinas semiconductor efforts. At the same time, the move signals the companys expansion beyond things like video games, social media (WeChat), and mobile payments services.

One of the chips, dubbed Zixiao, is an accelerator for machine learning tasks such as processing images, video, and natural language. The second is a video transcoding chip called Canghai, and the last is a network interface controller chip named Xuanling.

Dowson Tong Taosang, the president of Tencents cloud and smart industries group, said chips are the key component of hardware and the core infrastructure of the industrial Internet. Tencent has a long-term vision of what it wants to accomplish with custom silicon, but it wouldnt say which foundry made its chips or what it plans to develop next.

The news comes weeks after its local rival, Alibaba, launched a custom Arm-based processor called Yitian 710. The new CPU will be used in the companys Panjiu servers and wont be sold commercially. Since the new chip is based on 5nm process technology, that leaves only two guesses as to which foundry makes them: Samsung or TSMC.

Tencent and Alibaba are the biggest players on Chinas cloud infrastructure services market, with a combined market share of 52.6 percent as of writing. Their efforts are driven by Chinas plan to achieve technological self-sufficiency by 2025 and gradually replace foreign technology used across its public infrastructure with homegrown solutions.
Meta announced that it would soon remove the long-time running Facebook Face Recognition feature. Although this function has been useful for the past few years, many consumers also criticized it because of some issues.

"In the coming weeks, we will shut down the Face Recognition system on Facebook as part of a company-wide move to limit the use of facial recognition in our products," said Meta via its official blog post.

Mark Zuckerberg's company added that they need to identify the positive use cases for the popular face recognition function over the growing concerns against it.

As of the moment, Meta still hasn't confirmed the shutdown date of the FB feature.

Meta To Remove Facebook Face Recognition Feature

According to The Verge's latest report, the popular face recognition, which was first introduced back in 2010, would be completely deleted soon.

Also Read: Facebook Meta Announcement Affected Game Concept Tokens | Significant Increase Spotted

This means that users who opted in will no longer be automatically recognized in videos and images, affecting billions of Facebook users.

Meta explained that more than a third of FB's active users are currently relying on the face recognition feature to be identified in various posts.

Although the giant social media platform, now a metaverse company, said that this AI-based feature is quite useful, removing it is still the better decision since it could increase user confidence when it comes to privacy protections.

In other news, Meta is also doing other activities to enhance its new technology further. These include acquiring the Supernatural VR workout app.

However, some concerns about Meta are now appearing. Recently, we reported that the former Google CEO said that there could be some issues with Facebook Metaverse replacing human relationships.

Meta Not the First Company To Remove Face Recognition

The New York Times reported that Meta is just one of the companies that decided to remove the face recognition feature.

Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon already made this effort: pausing or permanently pulling out their facial recognition techs because of privacy concerns.

However, since Meta is still removing this function, its decision could still change depending on the consumers' concerns. Right now, the best thing you can do is wait for the company's further announcements.

For more news updates about Meta and its upcoming actions, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Facebook Meta | What Does the Metaverse Mean for User Privacy and Security?

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
NASA knows very well that to fulfill its biggest dreams for human exploration, everybody must be informed about how human bodies respond to the environment of outer space.

As such, this will be the main focus of their upcoming virtual symposium titled Spaceflight for Everybody. According to the NASA website, the symposium will be running from November 8 to November 10.

If you want to participate in the symposium, you can sign up for it via WebEx.

The agency will be broadcasting the symposium live courtesy of NASA TV, the agency's own website, and the NASA mobile app.

In the symposium, the agency hopes to tackle its biomedical research data and operational medicine. This is in the hope of establishing how the human body deals with the environment of space during an active mission.

Aside from that, the symposium will also be discussing other related health and medical topics. This includes the announcement of new spaceflight participation goals intended to open up space exploration to a far more diverse group of explorers.

NASA's Spaceflight for Everybody is also looking to discuss the potential benefits of the agency's planned partnerships with the commercial sector on the subject of human health in space.

The full schedule of the symposium is available online at the NASA website if you want to check it out.

Considering how the agency's future space exploration plans involve sending humans to exoplanets, the exchange of expert knowledge at the symposium will be a big help.

Read Also: NASA Will Be Bringing National Geographic's Cameras To Artemis Moon Mission

Speaker Lineup

Symposium-goers will be hearing facts and thoughts from speakers who themselves come from NASA's own stable. This includes high-ranking agency officials and former astronauts.

Among them include current Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, associate administrator for Space Operations Kathryn Lueders, NASA chief health and medical officer Dr. J.D. Polk, Johnson Space Center director Vanessa Wyche, and former agency administrator Charles Bolden.

The Importance Of This NASA Symposium

NASA has been hard at work developing techniques and technologies that will help make future missions far safer for human crews. It might be a bit easy for people to think up designs for futuristic, sci-fi tech like warp drives. But what about astronauts?

Right now, spaceflight at its most basic form is damaging to the human body. Various studies and actual observation has confirmed this.

There's a reason why the likes of ISS astronauts who spend so much time in space can barely stand on their feet when they come back to Earth. Just take a look at Scott Kelly, whose body showed significant health issues after staying on the International Space Station for a year straight.

This is also the main reason why there are barely any missions involving human crews nowadays. Much of the space exploration being done in modern times is courtesy of remote-controlled machines--the Mars rovers, as well as countless space probes all over the Solar System.

Related Article: NASA Offers People The Chance To Train The AI Of Mars Rovers

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YouTuber Jake Paul pledged to donate $10 million, if Elon Musk will give $6 billion to the United Nations or UN, which is only a small chunk of the net worth of the billionaire, to end the raging issue of world hunger.

YouTuber Jake Paul Urges Elon Musk to Donate $6B

The YouTuber vowed to give an additional $10 million if Musk donates to the UN, as per the report by VT.com.

On top of that, Paul is also asking for Twitter retweets of at least 690,000 for him to give his donation.

As of writing, the tweet of Paul only has retweets at around 12,000, which is still far away from the condition that he has set.

The YouTuber and now boxer went on to tag the Twitter handle of Musk in his tweet. However, the billionaire has yet to respond to Paul.

Yo @elonmusk if you donate $6 billion to the UN to end world hunger



Ill also donate $10 million if this gets 690k retweets  Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 1, 2021

Elon Musk's $6B and World Hunger

The latest pronouncements of famous YouTube content creator, Jake Paul, comes after the director of the World Food Programme of UN, David Beasley, said that the CEO and Founder of Tesla only need to donate $6 billion to help millions of people who are starving.

What's more, the $6 billion donations could further prevent $42 million people across the globe from dying out of starvation, Beasley said during an interview with CNN.

Beasley went on to say that "the world's in trouble and you're telling me you can't give me 36% of your net worth increase to help the world in trouble, in times like this?"

CNN estimated in the same report that what the UN WFP director was asking only accounts for 2% of Musk's total net worth.

Read Also: Tesla Debts Are Always Paid Off Says Elon Musk, Unlike Fossil Fuel Industry Which Are Always Bailed Out

Elon Musk Pledges $6B

On Monday, or on Oct. 31 to be precise, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla pledged that he would be giving away $6 billion to UN WFP if the organization could provide more transparency about it.

The challenge of Musk to Beasley is transparency, asking him to publish "current and proposed spending in detail so people can see exactly where the money goes."

It is also worth noting that the UN WFP currently has $8 billion worth of funds meant to fight the raging issue of world hunger.

Related Article: [VIRAL] Youtuber Jake Paul Explains Arizona Looting Video: 'Strictly Documenting, Not Engaging'

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The Tesla Gigafactory Berlin is seeing another delay in its construction as the State Environmental Agency and the Brandenburg Administrative Court re-opens the discussion regarding the plant. Here, Elon Musk said that what they are doing is "not right," especially as the operations and processes in the plant also see a hindrance.

Tesla Gigafactory Berlin Delay: Elon Musk Comments

The Tesla CEO has said his side on the issue via his official Twitter page, saying that what the agencies and involved people of authority are doing is "not right." Tesla is trying to build the Gigafactory Berlin for massive distribution of Tesla electric vehicles in the European region, with its production happening right in the region.

Musk has shown a somewhat display of disappointment to the events that have occurred, particularly as these are tough on Tesla and the Gigafactory that sees another hindrance to its operations. Moreover, the numerous delays and many people protesting against it shows that Tesla is not a welcome business in the region.

Read Also: Tesla Recalls Almost 12,000 EVs from 2017 Above for Being Prone to 'False-Positive Braking' | Model S, 3, X, Y Included

What they are doing is just not right  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2021

Tesla Gigafactory Berlin Delay: Why?

As reported by Tesmanian, the State Environmental Agency and the Brandenburg Administrative Court are delaying Giga Berlin's construction and re-opening the discussion regarding its future. The bodies are concerned with the future of the plant, especially the upcoming lawsuits that it would face once operational.

These regulatory committees say that this is in the best interests of Tesla, especially for their future ventures.

Tesla Gigafactory Berlin

One of the goals of Tesla for the Gigafactory Berlin is to have it opened before 2021 ends so that it can distribute the EVs of the company in Europe and surrounding regions. However, that sees a complicated end due to the many delays it faces in the earlier times, as well as the present where different concerned bodies are re-opening the discussions.

Since November last year, there have been massive job openings for Tesla's Gigafactory in the German country and it has offered work and economic advancements in the region. Also, this creates more opportunities for the country and province to thrive, being a somehow beneficial opening for both Tesla and Germany.

However, the dispute is not about money or the economy. Rather, the focus of the concerned authorities is on environmental protection, particularly with the supply of water needed by the surrounding population. Also, there are plenty more environmental reasons that were cited by the committee though these are not yet the full reasons why they hinder Tesla Gigafactory Berlin's construction.

Related Article: Tesla Gigafactory Berlin Delayed Due to Repeat Online Consultations as Announced by Regional Environmental Ministry

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
An Apple product leaker has tipped that the rumored augmented reality (AR) glasses are set to be unveiled next year. According to the tech analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, one version of the virtual reality gadget will arrive in late 2022.

What could we expect about this long-time leaked wearable?

Expectations About the Upcoming Apple's AR Glasses

According to a report by Macrumors earlier this week, the mixed reality headsets will feature a faster Wi-Fi 6E support that will boost users' experience upon its official release.

Ming-Chi Kuo said that Cupertino has plans to unveil two AR glasses in the coming years, but the first one would be launched at a later date in 2022.

"The adoption of the latest Wi-Fi specification is a basic requirement for head-mounted displays (HMDs) to improve the wireless experience. New HMDs from Meta, Apple, and Sony will all adopt Wi-Fi 6/6E in 2022," Kuo said in a note.

Furthermore, Apple's AR glasses will feature the most updated Wi-Fi connectivity as part of its improved wireless experience. Having said that, the incorporation of Wi-Fi 6E will be a basic requirement for gadgets with head-mounted displays.

The added support will also pave the way for less power usage. Wi-Fi 6 is reportedly faster than Wi-Fi 5 when it comes to transmission speeds.

Related Article: Apple MacBook Pro MiniLED To Arrive: Ming-Chi Kuo Claims Tech Advancement Could Increase Shipment by 20%

So far, Kuo has already said that besides Apple, Sony and Meta will launch their own products focused on metaverse trends. He then continued to establish his prediction upon the coming of Oculus Air Link which was delivered by Meta (formerly Facebook company).

So far, we know that the Oculus Quest 2 boasts Wi-Fi 6E support. At that time, its refresh rates only sit at 90Hz even with the help of the Link cable.

Sony, on the other hand, could now be preparing for the launch of its PSVR headset. The upcoming wearable will be readily available for PS5. It is reportedly launching next month.

Apple's AR Headset Wi-Fi 6E Could Some to iPhones

Previously, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman wrote that since Apple's AR glasses will feature mixed-reality capability, they would be suited for VR gaming.

Meanwhile, Kuo spoke that the arrival of Wi-Fi 6E could hint another thing for Apple users. Besides its alleged schedule for Apple's AR headset, we could potentially see that it would also invade the future iPhone lineups, and even various Mac and iPad models.

There were early rumors that sprouted about iPhone 13's ability to adopt Wi-Fi 6E. However, it did not happen as expected, according to Know Techie.

Kuo also made a bold prediction about the iPhone 13 Mini back in April. According to him, the said variant will be the last "Mini" for Apple smartphones.

Apple Glass Patent

A few months ago, an Apple patent appeared out of nowhere. The report suggested that the Cupertino giant was now exploring adding a 3D image to the flat screen without the presence of the Apple Glass.

It's possible that we could see both AR and VR pictures or clips on a particular device through this patent. Apparently, there is still no assurance if this will take place in the future.

Read Also: Apple iPhone USB-C Swap from Lightning Port is Possible, Engineering Student Shows Complex Procedure

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
PS5 restocks remain on tight supplies these days, as many buyers continue to struggle to get one. Every retailer is preparing for the surge of customers in their shops. There's an ongoing supply that is happening at this time.

For consumers based in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, here's our latest update for the PlayStation 5 console restocks that you should check.

PS5 Restocks For Christmas Day

According to a report by T3, the arrival of the grand holiday in the next month could hint that more next-gen consoles will be available soon. The market for PS5 remains in high demand.

The creator of this gaming machine, Sony, has reportedly rolled out deliveries under the "Santa Special" operation. The event started on Oct. 25 and Oct. 29.

If this happens in December, gamers will have a reason to smile for Christmas. PS5 restocks will remain abundant next month, as Sony's source.

Related Article: PS5 Restock U.K.: September Drops Point Out to Argos, B.T., and GAME

PS5 Restocks in the U.S.

The increasing demand for PlayStation 5 makes it harder for the manufacturer to produce more supplies in the long run. Amid chip shortage, Sony is battling supply chain problems that pose some challenging tasks for the makers and retailers.

Best Buy usually holds restocks during noon, but the rest of the retailers could release supplies at inconsistent times.

In the U.S., here is the list of the recommended shops that you need to visit if you want to score PS5.

GameStop

Target

Walmart

Best Buy

Amazon

Before we tackle restocks in the United Kingdom and Canada, let's take a look at the latest schedules of the previous PlayStation 5 supplies.

Sony: Oct. 20, 21, and 22

Target: Oct. 13

Walmart: Sept. 23 and Nov.1

GameStop: Oct. 19, 22, and 26

Amazon: Sept. 21

Best Buy: Oct. 21

PS5 Restocks in the U.K.

According to Android Central's report on Wednesday, Nov. 3, U.K. buyers have only four destinations to visit if they want to obtain the elusive console. Most importantly, they need to be on time during purchase since the stocks can disappear in a matter of minutes.

Where can you find PlayStation 5 in the country?

Amazon U.K.

Currys P.C. World

Smyths Toys

GAME

Argos

PS5 Restocks in Canada

Besides the U.K. and U.S., we also have a dedicated list of retailers that you need to check in Canada. So far, you can buy PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition at $629.99 CAD and $499.99 CAD respectively.

We have five stores that you need to see on our list. Here are they:

Amazon Canada

EB Games

The Source

Walmart

Best Buy

Easy Tips to Follow When Buying PS5

If you want to purchase the console right away, here are the few things you need to do so you can't encounter problems during the transaction.

Start by creating an account for each retailer, such as Best Buy and Amazon. Make sure to fill up the necessary information in your accounts, such as an address, bank information, and more. Download and install the respective app on your phone or computer. If "Out of Stock" appears on the page, keep refreshing until it goes away. Practice using stock tracking tools such as Honey and Nowinstock.net.

For more PS5-related stories, you can also check how to sync your DualSense with Spotify.

Read Also: Xbox Series X Restock November 1-7, 2021 | Potential Drops

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Life in space remains uncertain as many organizations continue their discovery about the existence of other organisms. NASA, for instance, is now headed to seek more potential life forms through a new framework.

Over the past years, agencies have wanted to explore the extent of the universe. The proposal of the international space agency would assist the scientists in detecting more about this subject.

NASA Framework En Route to Space Life Discovery

Jim Green, a chief scientist in NASA has tackled using a scale that could identify the origin of some organisms in space. According to a report by Slash Gear on Wednesday, Nov. 3, the organization wants to carry out investigations on the possibility of life in another planetary object.

Beyond the cosmos, Green said that he believes in the explanation when it comes to an understanding of the vast universe. Through the help of advanced technology, the mission could be accomplished for a cause of discovering what lies beyond space.

Green added that NASA's Technology Readiness Scale should be utilized for this exploration. If the scientists manage to look for possible life in space, the findings could be noted in the astrobiology studies.

The real test depends on NASA if they would push through the voyage. In fact, they could potentially conclude only two possibilities: life in space is true or not.

Related Article: NASA Mars Curiosity Rover Finds Organic Molecules from Soil Sample-Sign of Early Life?

Slash Gear also included in the report that NASA is excited about this space venture. Even with tiny progress, this scale could slowly determine the existence of life on a distant planet.

Last month, NASA scientists gathered rock samples from the Mars Perseverance rover. The experts said that this process could hint at the existing organisms that live in the past.

NASA has not yet disclosed the entire details regarding the scale but judging from its capability, and the team is headed towards a certain goal. There are three steps on the scale.

First, the team would tackle the relevant molecule of a living thing. The second one will revolve around verifying this molecule and making sure that it will not be affected by the measurement of the tools. Lastly, the third level will describe the behavior of the biological signals in a particular place.

In the future, we could see some progress in NASA's scale. If the agency focuses more on this project, the scientists could conduct more tests that will eventually highlight the program's real goal.

NASA Announces Medical Delay in SpaceX Launch

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that NASA talked about the health-related issue that postponed the launch of the SpaceX rocket to the ISS.

The space agency rescheduled the original launch date to Saturday night, Nov.6.

NASA Astronauts Reap Space-Growth Chile Peppers

In the unlikeliest of circumstances, growing plants in space remain a possibility, especially with the intervention of modern technology. This month, the ISS astronauts harvested the green hatch chiles which will eventually become space tacos.

According to the involved persons, the plant has developed through microgravity.

Read Also: NASA Offers People The Chance To Train The AI Of Mars Rovers

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
AS STATED IN A NEW DIRECTIVE, all U.S. federal agencies are currently pressured by the Biden Administration, requiring them to patch hundreds of security bugs.

Related Article: Researchers Predict an Increase in Ransomware Attacks on eCommerce | 314% Growth in HTTPS Threats Through 2021

As of the moment, the United States and other parts of the globe are being targeted by different hacking groups. Most of these malicious actors pose international security threats, which could definitely affect various companies and government agencies.

Now, the current U.S. President Joe Biden wants all federal agencies to make efforts so that the security vulnerabilities in their systems would be fixed as soon as possible.

CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) issued the new binding operational directive on Wednesday, Nov. 3. This allows all federal agencies in the country to patch more than 300 security bugs within six months.

However, the latest directive also forces them to fix the latest security flaws in just two weeks. Will this be a problem?

ALL U.S. Federal Agencies Must Fix Security Bugs

According to Tech Crunch's latest report, CISA's new operational directive orders federal organizations in the United States to fix the current vulnerabilities, even those security bugs dating back to 2014 and 2015.

Also Read: Are You Worried About Employee Surveillance and ISP Data Monitoring? This VPN Can Help

"The Directive lays out clear requirements for federal civilian agencies to take immediate action to improve their vulnerability management practices and dramatically reduce their exposure to cyberattacks," said Jen Easterly, the CISA Director.

However, various cybersecurity experts and the U.S. government's watchdog, The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), believe that federal agencies would have a hard time fixing these security flaws.

OMB added that most of these government organizations are still struggling when it comes to cybersecurity basics. But, this would still depend on the efforts they will make. They still have six months to patch the old and new vulnerabilities in their systems.

Worst Hardware Security Flaws This 2021

Right now, hardware and software vulnerabilities are serious security threats since hackers can take advantage of them to attack the government and businesses and companies.

Recently, we reported that the FBI warned companies about their financial activities since these could trigger malicious activities. On the other hand, Microsoft also issued a warning about a new password spraying.

Now, MITRE, together with CISA, published a new report about the worst hardware security vulnerabilities. ZDNet provided a full list. But, you can check some of them below:

CWE-1231 Improper Prevention of Lock Bit Modification

CWE-1233 Security-Sensitive Hardware Controls with Missing Lock Bit Protection

CWE-1189 Improper Isolation of Shared Resources on System-on-a-Chip (SoC)

CWE-1191 On-Chip Debug and Test Interface With Improper Access Control

For more news updates about other security threats across the world, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Photo : by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)

A certain British cyclist by the name of Jay Dixon notes that he might not have been able to be alive after a certain car hit him. Dixon notes that he might not have made it out above if it weren't for his very own Apple Watch detecting the fall and choosing to summon help.

Cyclist Gets Hit by a Car

According to the article by Apple Insider, Jay Dixon, a particular cyclist coming from Cleethorpes, located in northeast England, was reportedly hit by a car while he tried to turn down a side road. The particular collision sent him flying directly off the bike, and his own Apple Watch was able to detect the fall the moment he hit the ground.

Dixon told a local news publication, GrimsbyTelegraph, that he came straight off the bike and was actually immediately concussed. He then noted that the driver came over to see him, but he was still incredibly tired and drifting in and out of consciousness.

Jay Dixon Shares Experience

It was stated that there was a moment that he laid on the floor and thought to himself if he should either wake up or just lay down and give in. Dixon shared that he had repeatedly tried to get up but still could not manage it. He then shared that he was actually incredibly lucky.

It was noted that if the cyclist had collided with the car for a few more inches to the right, Dixon noted that he could be dead. Despite calling the incident a near miss, Dixon notes that he believes that he was able to remain alive due to his Apple Watch.

Emergency Signal Sent by the Apple Watch

He then stated that when he fell, his watch then sent out a certain emergency signal to the official emergency services and his partner. It was stated that the smartwatch had detected that he had taken a fall and then sent his exact location to the two parties.

The Apple Watch told the parties exactly what had happened to Dixon, and his partner was able to get there in just 15 minutes. Dixon then reported that he currently has cuts and bruises but still intends to be back out riding the bike as soon as possible.

Read Also: Apple Watch Called for Help After User Got Into a Motorcycle Accident

Apple Watch Saves Lives

This is reportedly just the latest of a lot of reports of the Apple Watch saving lives. These include the ones where the device was able to detect a fall. As of the moment, it is still unknown as to which Apple Watch did Dixon wear. The story was reportedly first spotted by iMore.

The Apple Watch has also saved another life after a man sustained a nasty head injury from a fall that happened inside an ER bathroom. This is not the only instance wherein the Apple Watch was able to save lives. Another instance was when the Apple Watch saved a woman with the Widow Maker's heart attack.

Related Article: Apple Watch Saves Man's Life for a Second Time After He Fainted and Hit Head on Floor at Age 70

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
New DoorDash security updates would further protect the company's drivers when they are completing their deliveries. The giant U.S.-based food delivery company confirmed this new effort on Wednesday, Nov. 3.

Related Article: Cop Arrests DoorDash Gig Worker and Decides to Complete the Worker's Delivery Order

The delivery service provider said that ADT Security Services, an American company that offers alarm monitoring services across the United States, would help it protect DoorDash drivers.

On the other hand, the American food courier said that the new security features are expected to be rolled out to all DoorDash employees by the end of 2021.

The latest app security enhancements were announced after some reports confirmed that various DoorDash delivery drivers were assaulted during their operations.

New DoorDash Security Updates

According to ABC News' latest report, one of the security updates that the DoorDash app would receive is a button that allows drivers to connect to ADT agents when they feel unsafe.

Also Read: Meta To Remove Facebook Face Recognition Algorithms, Templates-What Are the Benefits to Users?

Once they use this feature, one of the ADT officers would stay on the line with them until the possible danger disappears or the delivery staff feels safe.

But, if the driver suddenly disconnects from the call, the responding ADT agent would immediately call 911 and provide the latest details of the driver, such as location, last time they talked to each other, etc.

Aside from this, DoorDash would also release another button that allows its employees to inform ADT personnel that they need quick assistance. In this feature, the responding ADT officer would contact 911 as-soon-as-possible while texting the delivery driver.

DoorDash is not the only app making huge efforts to provide a better experience for its users. In other news, Instagram partnered with Pearpop for better social media collaborations.

On the other hand, Microsoft also confirmed the release of its first Edge stable version for Linux distributions.

DoorDash Drivers in Danger?

ABC7 recently reported that a woman DoorDash driver was shot in La Mirada last Nov. 2.

Investigators explained that the victim was shot twice while she was in her vehicle.

The driver explained that another driver was aggressively following her before reaching a stop sign.

This just shows how important the new DoorDash security update really is.

For more news updates about DoorDash and other delivery apps, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Photo : Unsplash/ Christian Wiediger) Waymo app

Google's spinoff, Waymo, is the latest autonomous vehicle company to tackle the streets of New York City.

The company will bring a handful of vehicles to the city, where they will begin mapping the streets using manually driven cars with a maximum of two people inside.

Google's Affiliate Waymo to Hit New York

Waymo stated that New York's vibrant street life, the unusual road geometries, and the likelihood of heavy snow and rain are the reasons why they want to test their autonomous vehicles there.

Waymo already launched its service in San Francisco, California. The robotaxis of the company made its debut in September.

However, Waymo encountered issues in Richmond District because it requires a driver to make a turn.

The company is also curious to see how the vehicles will work in the city's busy streets that is notoriously known for its traffic and irate pedestrians.

Waymo will not have more than five autonomous vehicles on the street at a time, according to the spokesperson.

According to The Verge, the company will start in Manhattan, expand to Central Park, and launch the service through the city and the small section of New Jersey.

Also Read: Google Waymo Performing Better Than Other Self-Driving Cars, Says California DMV

The fleet of autonomous vehicles will consist of Chrysler Pacifica minivans. The said vans will have computing units and high-powered sensors.

After a couple of months, the fleet will include Waymo's Jaguar I-Pace SUVs, too, according to Engadget.

However, it is not clear when the vehicles will start to drive in autonomous mode. New York City is a massive and challenging stage, yet the company still wants to show the public the effectiveness of its service.

The Race to New York

New York City is known to have some of the most congested, dangerous, and poorly managed streets in the world. They are also full of pedestrians, bicyclists, construction workers, and double-parked cars.

The whole setup of the city could make it challenging for autonomous vehicles to operate. They rely on good weather, less aggressive dring from other drivers, and clear signage for safe and effective operation.

While other states have become the ideal areas for autonomous vehicle testing, New York has been a ghost town.

Part of the reason could be the strict rules of New York when it comes to companies like Waymo, which include mandating that drivers keep their hands on the wheel and requiring police escort at all times to be paid for by the company.

A spokesperson for Waymo stated that the company's operations did not meet the testing requirements of the city. The company is not eligible for permits yet, according to CNET.

The company has talked to lawmakers about its plans, including New York's Governor Kathy Hochul.

Waymo stated that it has been in contact with a lot of New York policymakers, regulators, non-profit groups, and industry leaders to get their feedback, and they are encouraged by the responses.

A lot of residents believe that the city does not need more cars. In fact, New Yorkers want fewer cars on the streets of the city.

Congestion is worse than ever, there is an increase in pedestrian deaths, and the leaders have done little to improve the situation.

Waymo said that their vehicles are so much safer. However, they are still vehicles that occupy the same space that traditional vehicles occupy in the streets.

Related Article: Uber Pays $245M To Settle Self-Driving Tech Dispute With Waymo, Setting The Tone For Its Future

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The U.K. wants the UN to create new space rules to prevent military conflicts outside the planet. This is currently an important decision since the United States, Russia, China, and other countries and independent space agencies are now exploring outer space even more.

Related Article: NASA Calls For New Framework That Will Help Scientists to Identify Possible Life in Space

On Nov. 1, some U.K. diplomats announced their concern, claiming that the United Nations needed to develop new norms of international behavior outside Earth.

They added that these new laws' goals should be preventing any kind of conflict or misunderstanding between nations, which could lead to war.

The United Kingdom added that there are already many satellites orbiting outer space developed by different countries. If some rockets damaged other sats, it could provoke nations with already tensions with one another.

UK wants UN To Create New Space Rules

According to The Wired's latest report, the proposal of the United Kingdom is the first progress in creating space laws. New rules can be quite helpful since various out-of-this-world activities are already making space more complicated, as stated by the Washington Office Director for the Secure World Foundation, Victoria Samson.

Also Read: SpaceX and NASA's Crew-3 Mission Launch Delayed Again Until Nov. 6-Astronaut Medical Issue?

"There's an understanding that, if we don't get this right, we wreck the space environment," added David Edmondson, the current U.K. Policy Head of Space Security and Advanced Threats.

Meanwhile, some U.S. representatives agreed to the proposal of the U.K. diplomats. However, the two most influential space powers, Russia and China, disapproved of the proposal.

As of the moment, various space companies are launching their technologies outside Earth, making it more crowded. Recently, we reported that ESA's new satellite constellation could blast off by 2026.

On the other hand, SpaceX Crew-3 Mission is already being prepared for its own space launch.

US Space Force, NASA Want To Use Commercial Space Services

Space News reported that the U.S. Space Force and NASA want to take advantage of the rising commercial space services.

Alex MacDonald, NASA's Chief Economist, said that commercial space launches could be better than those conducted by government programs.

He added that they are willing to help decrease the cost of human space exploration. If you want to see more details about their plan, all you need to do is click this link.

For more news updates about other space topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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(Photo : Image from Unsplash Website) Apple to Pay $100 Million to Developers Could Reach Approval | App Store 'Anti-Steering' Provisions

Apple could set to pay a whopping $100 million to developers. As of the moment, it is still a proposal and is reportedly being poised to be approved by the judge in the particular case.

Apple Proposes $100 Million Settlement

According to the story by AppleInsider, Apple's currently proposed $100 million settlement along with developers is now poised to be approved by the ruling judge in the particular case. It was noted that this includes a loosening of the App Store's "anti-steering" provisions.

Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the US District Judge, recently told lawyers that she actually anticipates preliminary approval of the said settlement. In a certain video call, she then stated that as it would stand, it currently seems to her that it is a fair and good settlement, as per Courthouse News.

Funds from $250 to $30,000

The settlement would then create a whopping $100 million Small Developer Assistance Funds to issue funds from $250 up to $30,000. This will be paid to a class of developers that are making just less than $1 million within the App Store.

It was noted that it would also lock in Apple's reduced 15% small business commission directly on the app and certain in-app purchases for a full three years. In addition, the peace offering towards developers also "clarifies" that the developers can still contact customers through email or some other contact information regarding purchases made outside of the App Store.

Apple Alternate Payment Methods

Apple's own guidelines would previously prohibit advertising some alternative payment methods. Certain Apple attorneys noted that the company had promised to issue a full annual transparency report.

The report would give developers more information regarding search queries, results, and some other data to help aid app discovery. The case reportedly dates all the way back to 2019.

App Store Fee is 'Profit Killing'

This was when a group of developers decided to file a class-action lawsuit directly against Apple. This alleged that the $99-a-year App Store fee is actually "profit killing" and also taking issue with the whole $0.99 pricing increments.

Apple previously announced the settlement on August 27, 2021. The company stated that the concessions were a response to certain concerns coming from the developer community. These complaints have been well heard of over 2021 and is finally concluding.

Read Also: Apple Wins Lawsuit in France Over iOS 14 Privacy Concerns

Apple Files Appeal

The suit is said to be legally unrelated to Epic vs. Apple despite being covered from the same ground. As of the moment, developers are currently still barred from advertising other payment methods within certain apps until the Judge's own orders come directly into effect for the ruling, as an example.

Apple, however, has appealed and also filed for a stay on the particular decision. If the stay were not granted, the injunction regarding anti-steering would be taking effect on December 9, 2021.

Related Article: Apple Vs. Masimo: New Lawsuit Asks FTC To Ban Watch Series 6-Claiming Pulse Oximetry Feature Bypasses Its Patents

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"Call of Duty: Warzone" players, the fair ones, claim that cheaters are increasing in numbers since they are trying to enjoy their last moments before the new RICOCHET anti-cheat system arrives.

Is this new software really that effective? Right now, hackers and other kinds of cheaters are becoming more rampant in the popular shooting game of Activision.

Ever since "Warzone" was launched back in 2021, players using aimbots, wallhacks, and other types of cheats have appeared. Experts said that "CoD: Warzone" Season 6 received the highest number of cheaters.

Although this issue is not unusual in other games, Activision is still making efforts to completely prevent gamers from using unfair tools, which provides them great advantages over other players.

'Call of Duty: Warzone' Cheaters Enjoying Last Moments?

According to Gaming Intel's latest report, there are various reasons why cheaters are still becoming more rampant in "Warzone." One of these is that hacks are currently available to download on consoles.

Also Read: 'Call of Duty: Vanguard' Launch Date: Game Modes and Dark Aether WWII Expansion, and Other New Content

However, a "Warzone" subreddit post claimed that these unfair players are just enjoying their last moments before RICOCHET anti-cheat software arrives.

"Are the cheaters trying to 'fill their boots before the new anti-cheat?," said the Reddit user u/PiriePiriePie.

One of the commentators in the subreddit threat said that he is still hoping that Activision would do something about these cheaters before December.

Right now, rumors suggest that RICOCHET will be released before 2021 ends. However, the exact date is not yet confirmed.

Meanwhile, Activision is also preparing to launch the latest "Call of Duty: Vanguard." In other news, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" could also be in the works right now.

Is RICOCHET Anti-Cheat System Really Effective?

As of the moment, it is still hard to conclude if the new RICOCHET anti-cheat software is really effective when it comes to preventing cheaters in the "Call of Duty" series.

But, Activision said, in its official blog post, that this new system is specifically designed to fend off hackers. On the other hand, the giant title creator also explained that it features new server-side tools, which monitor analytics and identify cheating.

Meanwhile, Activision added that this new anti-cheat technology could be launched together with "Vanguard."

For more news updates about "Call of Duty: Warzone" and other similar games, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: 'Call of Duty' Anti-Cheat Software Ricochet Is Already In Cheatmakers' Hands--Report

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Madisonville, KY (42431)

Today

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 53F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 28F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
STONEWALL [ndash] Funeral services for Maple Hamilton, 78, of Stonewall, OK will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, at the Stonewall First Baptist Church with the Apostle Gary Bruner officiating. Interment will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Stonewall, OK. Mrs. Hamilton passed away in a Deni
Baton Rouge businessman Bob Dean's seven nursing homes, whose licenses were yanked by Louisiana health officials over a botched evacuation for Hurricane Ida, will remain closed for at least the next year.

The Louisiana Department of Health revoked Deans nursing home licenses after he evacuated 843 fragile nursing home residents to a Tangipahoa Parish warehouse as Ida approached. There, staff said residents lived in filth and inspectors documented inhumane conditions, including overflowing toilets and residents crying out in vain for help.

After moving the residents to other nursing homes and shelters around Louisiana, the LDH shut down Deans homes, revoked his nursing home licenses and terminated his Medicaid provider agreements.

Nearly 1,000 employees laid off from Bob Dean nursing homes as he fights to get license back Louisiana nursing home magnate Bob Dean has laid off nearly 1,000 employees as he awaits hearings that will determine whether he can reclaim t

Dean immediately said he'd fight to get his nursing home licenses back  and it appears the battle will be a lengthy one.

In a Wednesday status conference to schedule his license appeal hearings, Deans attorney said he expects that information gathering process before going to trial will take 12 months. And an attorney representing LDH, Jay OBrien, said he also expects a year to 18 months of evidence-gathering.

Deans nursing homes will remain closed in the meantime. They will not reopen until he goes to trial in the case and a three-judge panel from the states Division of Administrative Law issues a judgment, said Deans attorney, John McLindon.

No trial date has been set yet. McLindon is also requesting that the Division of Administrative Law rule on whether Dean can have his licenses back before they take up his Medicaid provider agreements.

+6 'One fiasco after another': How Bob Dean lost a nursing home before Hurricane Ida scandal Notorious Louisiana nursing home owner Bob Dean plans to wage a legal fight to restore the licenses of seven nursing homes the state wrested f

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Dean recently laid off nearly 1,000 employees because his nursing homes are unable to operate for the foreseeable future, administrators wrote in notices of mass layoffs filed Sept. 14 with the Louisiana Workforce Commission. The notices said they hoped the layoffs would be short-term and that Dean would be able to hire back his employees once he got his licenses back.

At least 38 residents of Deans nursing homes who were evacuated to the warehouse for Hurricane Ida have died since the storm. Only five of those deaths have been classified as storm-related by coroners.

After LDH rescued Dean's nursing home residents from the warehouse after Hurricane Ida, they were sent to other nursing homes and medical shelters across the state.

The abortive evacuation has spawned at least a dozen lawsuits against Dean from nursing home residents and their loved ones, who say that Dean caused immeasurable suffering through the evacuation. Some of those suing are family members whose loved ones died during or after the evacuation, while others say that the evacuation led them to be hospitalized and need amputations.

Louisiana woman loses second leg after botched evacuation of Bob Dean's nursing homes Lisa Renard worked with kids most of her adult life, first as a New Orleans school teacher, then as the director of a day-care center in the 7

Most of the cases, while originally filed in Orleans or Jefferson Parish district courts, have been moved to federal court in New Orleans where U.S. District Judge Lance Africk has ordered them combined into one. Dean's attorneys argued that federal court was the correct venue for them after Dean signed a declaration swearing that his has lived in Georgia since at least September 1  three days after Hurricane Ida hit and around the time that Dean sparred in phone calls and text messages with LDH officials over the evacuation.

Dean swore in the declaration that he has owned a residence in Georgia since 2019, and that he has owned a car dealership there for 17 years along with other businesses. But multiple attorneys representing nursing home residents and their families have disputed in court filings that Dean is a true resident of Georgia, and say that he was still a Louisiana resident when lawsuits started being filed against him over the botched evacuation.

The attorneys are asking Africk to review evidence of Dean's residency in hopes that the lawsuits will go back to being heard in district court.
The pandemic won't deal the devastating blow to the city-parish's coffers some expected thanks to an anticipated sales tax growth and a windfall of federal stimulus money East Baton Rouge Parish is receiving from the American Rescue Plan.

Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome on Tuesday presented the Metro Council with a proposed budget for 2022 that included an increase of more than $50 million in projected revenues compared to last year's. Her administration intends to use the additional money on flood mitigation, traffic improvements, public safety and economic development initiatives  mostly programs she has previously announced and/or mentioned in some capacity.

The proposed $1 billion-plus budget, a 5.21% increase over the more than $980 million budget for 2021, will face a series of meetings in the coming weeks at which council members will hear from various departments on their proposed spending plans for the next year before it's considered for adoption during a special meeting Dec. 7.

Council members accepted the proposed budget without discussion Tuesday.

"Our local economy is fundamentally strong and has preformed well post-pandemic," Broome said in her budget message to council members. "The anticipated sales tax growth, along with the American Rescue Plan funding, allows us the opportunity to increase the General Fund budget, which is well overdue."

That increase to the General Fund, which makes up 31% of the city-parish's total budget, equates to approximately $18.6 million. The one-time surge in federal stimulus money makes up nearly $8 million of that and projected sales tax revenue next year are set at nearly $7 million, with increases across the board also anticipated in gaming taxes, business tax collections, property taxes and other revenues.

Floods, crime, housing: East Baton Rouge mayor's $73M COVID-recovery plan heads to a vote All signs point to Metro Council giving its stamp of approval to Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome's spending plan for the second round of 

East Baton Rouge Parish is on tap to receive a total of $165.4 million in American Rescue Plan money, which is being doled out in two allotments  the first of which occurred in May and the second to follow next year around the same time.

The council is set to adopt Broome's proposed allocation for the $95 million in ARP funds it has already received on Thursday. About $41 million of that is going to drainage improvement projects. According to the proposed budget, Broome wants to use $7.9 million to restore funding cut in 2020 to public works and the city-parish central services agencies.

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The mayor said $2.25 million will be put aside for blight elimination, $1.97 million to purchase fire equipment, $250,000 to replace the phone system in the public defender's office, $250,000 for youth employment, $15 million to establish a new stormwater division within Environmental Services and $1.96 million for grant management.

"Long-term funding solutions will be recommended through a utility study being commissioned by the Department of Environmental Services," Broome said regarding continued financing of operations within the new stormwater division, which she says will consist of 12 new positions.

Money has been earmarked for additional fire and police academies next year to address ongoing staffing shortages amid the city-parish's alarming spike in gun violence.

+2 With BRPD over 100 officers short amid surge in gun violence, chief cites 'morale issues' After years of worsening staffing shortages, the number of sworn officers in the Baton Rouge Police Department has fallen to its lowest point 

The 2022 proposed budget also includes the annual appropriation of $47.8 million in sales tax revenue from Broome's nearly $1 billion MovEBR roads improvement plan and another $9 million for debt service related to the 30-year voter-approved sales tax project.

The mayor said that, as of Oct. 1, five of the projects included in the massive plan are in the planning stages, the city-parish is in the middle of securing right-of-way agreement with 20 more, 22 are in the design phase and 29 are in the construction phase.

Many of the associated costs for the MovEBR projects have gone up due to the pandemic, city-parish officials said.

"Some projects are being accelerated and other projects will have a more extended pre-construction period to accommodate other permitting agencies' requirements," she said.
The $39 billion takeover of Afterpay has cleared a key hurdle, after shareholders in the acquiring company Square approved its plan to snap up the ASX-listed buy now, pay later giant.

Afterpay told the ASX on Thursday morning that investors in US-listed Square had voted in favour of issuing stock to buy Afterpay, as the Australian company prepares to give its investors more information on the deal ahead of a shareholder vote later this year.

The deal is set to be the largest takeover in Australian history. Credit:Joe Armao.

Under the $39 billion all-scrip deal, set to be the largest takeover in Australian history, Twitter billionaire Jack Dorseys US payments platform Square is looking to snap up Afterpay to create a payments super app spanning e-commerce and financial services.

Afterpays shareholders, who will vote on the transaction next month, will have the option of taking US-listed Square shares or accepting ASX-listed Square shares. The deal will also require the approval of Australian regulatory authorities, including the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Mining giant BHP has started talks with billionaire Andrew Twiggy Forrests Wyloo Metals about a proposed takeover of Canadian nickel miner Noront Resources.

In a sign of big resources companies accelerating efforts to secure supplies of electric battery raw materials such as nickel, BHP and Wyloo have been in a bidding war for Toronto-listed Noront, which has a significant claim in one of Canadas largest potential mineral reserves.

Top Australian miner BHP is seeking to lift its exposure to battery minerals like nickel as the electric vehicle revolution takes off. Credit:PHOTO/HO/WMC/FILES

BHP last month raised its offer for Noront Resources from C55 to C75 a share, outbidding Wyloos earlier C70-a-share proposal. On Wednesday, BHP said it would extend the tender expiry for its takeover from November 9 to November 16 amid talks seeking Wyloos support of BHPs offer.

Wyloo Metals, wholly owned by Dr Forrests investment vehicle Tattarang, owns 37.5 per cent of Noront.
Competition tsar Rod Sims has warned consumers to start their Christmas shopping now to avoid disappointment amid a COVID-19 induced, global supply chain crunch that he says is being exacerbated by controversial hiring quotas within the powerful maritime union.

Global supply chains have been thrown into chaos by the global pandemic, creating what Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Sims described as disastrous knock-on effects for local import and export businesses. Its a system that really ran like clockwork, and when it gets disrupted, it has a massive cascading effect, he told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Australians have been urged to start their Christmas shopping early. Credit:Steven Siewert

The shipping crisis has prompted retailers to warn consumers to expect delays and shortages heading into Christmas.

But new analysis from the ACCC, to be released on Thursday, finds that Australias shipping issues predate the pandemic, with expensive rates and major delays and disruptions fostering a perception the nations ports are inefficient and well below international standards.
Safety investigators were directed to undertake an independent review of a controversial $40 billion rail corporation to assess the adequacy of measures dealing with potential risks to rail safety from competing priorities.

Senior officials from Transport for NSW have confirmed that in early August the-then transport minister Andrew Constance commissioned investigators to review the Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE).

About $40 billion of rail assets including trains are owned by the governments Transport Asset Holding Entity. Credit:Louise Kennerley

A report by the Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI) into the state-owned rail corporation was handed on Tuesday to Mr Constances successor as Transport Minister, Rob Stokes.

It has prompted Labor to demand that the government release the findings of the investigators report into the controversial rail corporation, which was set up to artificially inflate the state budget.
Hundreds more children have been left in state care in Queensland as the pandemic has proven a pressure cooker for families, surprising the government.

Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs director-general Deidre Mulkerin said she was surprised more children were brought into care in the past year, with the department now responsible for about 11,500 children.

The number of child safety investigations have risen and more children are in the care of the state. Credit:iStock

Because of families struggling, I had hoped that once the pandemic settled and people went back to work that families might be able to take care of their children again, but that is not what weve seen, Ms Mulkerin said.

What we saw was the pandemic really amplified families and community issues.
Two hundred koalas are being released around the State this year by the Governments Fisheries and Wildlife Division, and the quintet that made for the Mitcham trees are the forerunners of other urban releases.

The koalas are let loose at Yarran Dheran Reserve by let loose by Fisheries and Wildlife Officer Robert Timms. Credit:John Lamb

The koala liberation movement came to metropolitan Melbourne yesterday when four adult koalas and one baby scampered out of their boxes into the Yarran Dheran Reserve at Mitcham.

While there are enough Manna Guma and other favoured feed trees in the area which borders Mullum Mullum Creek, not everyone in the division is happy with the release of the koalas, which were brought from French Island.

Mr Bob Warneke, a senior researcher at the divisions Arthur Rylah Institute, said koalas often wandered kilometres from their home territory.

Mr Warneke said he would like to think that koalas could survive in suburbia. But releasing them in metropolitan Melbourne exposed them to more danger than in rural areas and reserves.

But Mr Ken King, the divisions Melbourne district superintendent, said the reserve had been surveyed and was big enough to support a koala breeding colony. He said individual koalas would be able to defend themselves.
Members of a Melbourne school community are in shock after a teenage boy was allegedly stabbed on campus.

Police responded to the incident at Hoppers Crossing Secondary College on Fraser Street about 11.30pm on Wednesday.

Hoppers Crossing Secondary College. Credit:Google Maps

The alleged victim was treated by paramedics and taken to the Royal Childrens Hospital in a stable condition with upper-body injuries, which police said were minor.

Another teenage boy was interviewed by police and later released.
A former obstetrician has been reprimanded and banned from practising medicine for 12 years after seven avoidable deaths of babies at a maternity service in Melbournes north-west.

Surinder Parhar, 74, was handed a 12-year suspension on Monday after earlier admitting to professional misconduct stemming from his role overseeing the maternity unit at Djerriwarrh Health Services.

The Bacchus Marsh and Melton Regional Hospital is pictured in 2015. Credit:Paul Jeffers

Dr Parhar was the director of obstetrics at Djerriwarrh, which operated a maternity service at Bacchus Marsh Hospital and the Melton Health Service, north-west of Melbourne, between 2008 and 2015.

He surrendered his medical registration in October 2015 after an unusual spike in stillbirths was identified at the hospital.
The government has heavily restricted access for journalists, making independent confirmation of territorial claims difficult. The northern region of Tigray, where the war began a year ago, has been in a near-total communications blackout - as well as being blockaded from the outside world. Humanitarian agencies operating in Tigray warn that a large-scale famine is imminent. The United Nations said aid supplies havent entered the region since October 18. The war has pitted the Ethiopian government and aligned forces from neighbouring Eritrea, as well as militias from the Amhara region, against the TPLF and other Tigrayan militias. The TPLF was formed as a guerilla army to fight against Ethiopias former communist regime. After emerging victorious, it consolidated power and controlled the country for nearly three decades, often brutally suppressing dissent. Abiy became Prime Minister in 2018, promising a fairer division of power among the countrys largest ethnic groups as well as a move towards a unified Ethiopian identity, rather than the ethnic federalism favoured by the TPLF. He also forged a peace agreement with Eritrea which sees the TPLF as its archenemy after a bloody war between the two countries in 1998.

The government claims it was drawn into the current conflict by a belligerent TPLF that was fomenting ethnic conflicts around the country to undermine Abiys rule. After decades in power, however, Tigrayans made up a large portion of Ethiopias military, especially in the upper ranks, and the rupture caused by the fighting has destabilised the armed forces. Loading That military might has given Tigrayans, despite making up about 6 per cent of Ethiopias population, outsize influence. The claims of linking up with the OLA, the armed wing of a major opposition party claiming to represent the interests of the countrys largest ethnic group, the Oromo, would represent a historic alliance between two groups that previously were rivals. Both the TPLF and OLA were designated terrorist organisations by the government soon after the war began. Odaa, the OLA spokesman, claimed the group had in recent weeks gained control of towns in central and southern Oromia, most of rural western Oromia, and three towns in the Amhara region near the front line, where Tigrayan forces have been pushing south towards Addis Ababa. He also said the OLA was able to recruit tens of thousands of fighters in recent months.

All sides in the conflict - including the Ethiopian military, the Eritrean military and Tigrayan, Amhara and Oromo militias - have been accused of atrocities, including the killing of civilians. Some of the most serious accusations of mass rapes and door-to-door executions have been levelled against the Eritreans. A joint investigation by the United Nations and Ethiopia published on Wednesday said all sides fighting in the war committed violations that could amount to war crimes. The report accuses all sides of torturing and killing civilians, carrying out gang-rapes and making arrests on the basis of ethnicity. The investigation was carried out by the UNs Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. Loading

It covers from November to June during the year-long conflict. We have reasonable grounds to believe that during this period, all parties to the Tigray conflict have committed violations of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. Some of these may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, said Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It did not determine the proportion of offences by each side, saying investigators could not make an exhaustive list. While the toll of the conflict is unknown, the officials put it in the tens of thousands. The government on Monday accused the TPLF of having summarily executed more than 100 youth residents in Kombolcha, one of the towns the TPLF claimed to have seized recently, but provided no details about the killings, while also denying the town had been taken. Getachew, the TPLF spokesman, dismissed the allegation and said the TPLF would continue advancing until the deadly siege on Tigray was lifted.

Millions of Tigrayans are dependent on food aid, the delivery of which the government has also strictly limited, at times accusing aid organisations of helping the TPLF. Hundreds of thousands are displaced either within Tigray or in neighbouring Sudan. As the fighting spread outside Tigray, hundreds of thousands more have been displaced in the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions. Loading Last month, after one of the Ethiopian governments numerous air strikes on the Tigray capital, Mekelle, almost coincided with the landing of a humanitarian plane, the UN indefinitely suspended flights to the region. The TPLF claims the air strikes killed numerous civilians, which the government denies. The limiting of the humanitarian response and apparent targeting of noncombatants throughout the conflict have drawn sustained condemnation from Western powers that once saw Abiy as a democratising influence on Ethiopia and the region. Abiy was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his overtures to Eritrea. In retrospect, one Western official said, that peace deal may have been the start of an era of war in the region.
The assassin, Yigal Amir, a 25-year-old law student, told police he acted alone, did not belong to any extremist organisation and had received instructions from God to kill Prime Minister Rabin.

Mr Rabin, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing his nation closer to peace with the Arabs, died last night (early Sunday morning, Sydney time) after being shot three times with a pistol at point blank range by a Jewish gunman at a Government rally in Tel Aviv.

The coffin of late Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin lays in Jerusalems Herzl Cemetery Monday, November 6, 1995 in front of world leaders including (from left to right) Spains Felipe Gonzalez, Frances Jacques Chirac, Britains John Major, Britains Prince Charles, Germanys Helmut Kohl and Roman Herzog, U.N Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian President Hosni Murbarak, Hilary Clinton, President Clinton, Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, Dutch Queen Beatrix and Israels Shimon Peres. Credit:Michel Lipchitz

JERUSALEM, Sunday: Israeli leaders warned Jewish right-wingers today that the assassination of the Prime Minister, Mr Rabin, would not stop the peace process with the Palestinians.

I acted alone on Gods orders, and I have no regrets, he told investigators.

Amir had said that he also intended to kill the Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, who was at the rally with Mr Rabin. Mr Peres has been sworn in as Acting Prime Minister.

Mr Rabin was shot just minutes after telling supporters that most Israelis were ready to take risks for peace, and joining in the singing of Song of Peace. One of the bullets ripped through a copy of the words of the song he had placed in his pocket, and the paper became soaked in blood.

Some of Mr Rabins last words were: I believe there is now a chance for peace, a great chance, and we must take advantage of it ... I have always believed that the majority of people want peace, and are ready to take a chance for peace.

The Prime Minister, Mr Keating, flew out tonight to join dozens of other world leaders attending Mr Rabins funeral in Jerusalem tomorrow. He told a press conference: Its a personal tragedy that the world has lost him and a tragedy for Israel that hes been taken away.
Politics is awash in corruption. Crime is on the rise. The world seems on the brink of a major transformation. And yet, in New York City, the election is a fait accompli, what with an overwhelmingly Democratic constituency, most of whom don't even bother to vote. This is a fair assessment of election night 2021, but I'm actually describing the municipal election of 1929, which is the setting of Tammany Hall, the scrappy yet surprisingly engrossing new immersive play at Soho Playhouse, an ideal site for a show like this.

The building that houses the theater was once the site of the Huron Club, a meeting house for Tammany, the organization that kept a stranglehold on the Democratic Party in New York City for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In small groups, we are invited upstairs to the clubhouse where we meet Tammany bigwigs like Boss George Washington Olvany (Andrew Broaddus) and his deputy John Curry (Shahzeb Hussain). We are there to witness a debate between the mayoral candidates.

Martin Dockery plays Mayor James Walker, and Christopher Romero Wilson plays Rep. Fiorello LaGuardia in Tammany Hall, created and directed by Alexander Wright and Darren Lee Cole, at Soho Playhouse.

( Maria Baranova)

The incumbent is Democrat James Walker (Martin Dockery), an affable dandy who artfully dodges uncomfortable questions while mentally planning his next lavish trip to Europe. He's a lot like our modern-day mayor apparent, Eric Adams.

The challenger is Fiorello LaGuardia (Christopher Romero Wilson), a raging bulldog of a congressman who smells corruption everywhere, and cannot hide his contempt for the political club hosting him this evening. Although a Republican, he enjoys the quiet support of the new Democratic governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who sees Tammany as an obstacle to his grander national ambitions.

After the debate, we mingle with some of the more colorful characters at the Huron Club before we are invited to see a backer's audition for the new musical, Violet, which is more of a vehicle for money laundering than it is for its star, Betty Compton (Marie Anello), who happens to be the mayor's girlfriend. We are also asked to cast our vote for mayor. While the historical election of 1929 was a walk for Walker, I was curious to know the actual tally of the vote at my performance. Name recognition is crucial in politics, and only one of these candidates has an airport named after him.

Marie Anello plays Betty Compton, Chloe Kekovic plays KiKi Roberts, Charly Wenzel plays Ritzi, and Sami Petrucci plays Smarty in Tammany Hall.

( Maria Baranova)

But is it really fair that we remember LaGuardia as the progressive hero and Walker as the disgraced crook forced to resign in 1932 after the Seabury investigations discovered Tammany's complicity in an extortion racket? As we are reminded throughout the play, Walker created the Sanitation Department, stabilized the water supply, expanded mass transit, and consolidated public hospitals. We are still living in the city Beau James Walker and his cronies built.

Creators Alexander Wright and Darren Lee Cole (who is also the producing artistic director of Soho Playhouse) tell the story of a period of great development coinciding with massive graft. Their script uncovers the symbiotic relationship between cops and robbers. And it asks us to consider the distorting power of identity politics, which Tammany employed masterfully when it came to its working-class Irish constituents. That makes Tammany Hall uncommonly ambitious for an immersive play, the best of which are mostly concerned with cocktails and costumes.

On that front, Tammany Hall puts on a good show too: Set designer Dan Daly has obviously gone through pains to re-create the authentic feeling of a Jazz Age Tammany clubhouse, right down to the beautifully carved whiskey tumblers, which are sturdy enough to double as weapons (a useful feature during Prohibition). Grace Jeon's costumes are similarly detailed, while Emily Clarkson's lighting allows us to see everything while maintaining a noirish mood.

Nathaniel J. Ryan plays Legs Diamond in Tammany Hall.

( Maria Baranova)

Wright and Cole (who both also directed) complement good design with strong acting. In addition to the perfectly cast mayoral candidates, several supporting actors deliver memorable performances: A lovers' quarrel between Legs Diamond (Nathaniel J. Ryan) and his girlfriend KiKi (Chloe Kekovic) is a dramatic high point of the evening. As Compton, Anello exudes genuine angst about the plight of a friend who has been ensnared in Tammany's web. She tries in vain to discover her whereabouts, before expressing her magnificent breakdown in an 11 o'clock number that really could be on a Broadway stage (original songs by Gavin Whitworth).

All of this comes as a delightful surprise at the Soho Playhouse, which in recent years has been mostly a home to inane solo shows and vanity projects (events like Fleabag are the rare exception). I expect theaters to tread cautiously coming out of a period as traumatic as the Covid pandemic, which makes what Cole and company are doing remarkably brave. In both art and politics, sometimes it pays to take a leap into the unfamiliar.

Unfortunately, this is a lesson that New York voters have usually learned the hard way, only after entrenched power leads to a meaner, dirtier streets. Tonight, we'll see if the voters of 2021 are any wiser than those of 1929. Personally, my money is on Tammany.
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz earns IIHS Safety Award - Official Notification

Top Safety Pick

The new 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz crew cab, a small pickup, earns aaward from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, when equipped with specific headlights.

To qualify for either of the Institutes two awards, vehicles must earn good ratings in six IIHS crashworthiness evaluations, including the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests. They must also be available with a front crash prevention system that earns advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.

Headlight ratings are what separate the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award from the lower-tier Top Safety Pick. For the lower-tier award, at least one good or acceptable headlight system must be available. For the plus, good or acceptable headlights must be standard across all trims.

The Santa Cruz, Hyundais first pickup sold in North America, meets all the requirements for the lower-tier award. Both the standard and optional front crash prevention systems earn superior ratings in the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations, and the LED projector headlights available on the SEL Premium and Limited trims earn a good rating. A poor rating for the base halogens prevents the pickup from qualifying for the highest award.

12 Hyundai products have earned TSP or TSP+ IIHS ratings - When equipped with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

Hyundai and Genesis combined for first in IIHS safety awards to date

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021  Hyundais all-new 2022 Santa Cruz has been awarded a TOP SAFETY PICK (TSP) designation when equipped with specific headlights, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Santa Cruz was recognized for meeting all six IIHS crash-worthiness evaluations and headlight performance. This latest accomplishment places Hyundai and Genesis 2021 and 2022 product lineups as the top safety leader with a combined 18 IIHS safety awards. IIHS safety award industry ranking. The figure illustrates Hyundai and Genesis combined IIHS award leadership. As we continue on our journey for world-class safety, the recognition for our all-new sport adventure vehicle, Santa Cruz and its receiving IIHS Top Safety Pick further demonstrates this commitment, said Brian Latouf, chief safety officer, Hyundai Motor North America. Through a relentless focus on safety, our engineering and product planning teams have successfully created a segment-leading product including durability, reliability and safety accolades.

The 2022 Santa Cruz is photographed in Santa Cruz, Calif., on August 10, 2021 The 2022 Santa Cruz, Hyundais first sport adventure vehicle sold in North America, meets all the requirements for the Top Safety Pick award, said Joe Young, public affairs, IIHS. Both the standard and optional front crash prevention systems earn superior ratings in the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to pedestrian evaluations, and the LED projector headlights available on the SEL Premium and Limited trims earn a good rating. Safety reminder  Please buckle-up! Seat belts save lives every day. Always wear seat belts and use appropriate restraints for all child passengers. HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America focuses on Progress for Humanity and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs and electrified vehicles. Our 820 dealers sold more than 620,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2020, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com .

Hyundai's 2022 Santa Cruz Awarded IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK
Mark Twain is often given credit for the quote, History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme. The quote emphasizes that events do not always unfold in the same way, but they often unfold in similar ways. The tale of Chinas military ambitions as a great power, just now starting to
Staff Reporter

Nyamekye Daniel has been a journalist for five years. She was the managing editor for the South Florida Media Network and a staff writer for The Miami Times. Daniel's work has also appeared in the Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald and The New York Times.
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(L-R) Yuan Shanshan, Li Wenzu, Liu Ermin and Wang Qiaoling speak to the media after they shaved their heads to protest the detention of their husbands, detained during the 709 crackdown, in Beijing on Dec. 17, 2018. (Fred Dufour/AFP via Getty Images)

14 Beijing Citizens Renounce Running for District Elections, Citing Fears Amid Police Harassment

As a police officer sits in the hallway outside her home, watching her day and night, would-be prospective candidate Wang Xiuzhen was compelled to halt her campaign activities.

It was her third time seeking election as a deputy in her home district of Chaoyang in the past decade. Once again, her hope has faded.

Wang is just one of 14 grassroots citizens in Beijing who now have to give up their bid to run in district electionsthe only opportunity every five years for citizens to cast their votes in the communist-ruled countryout of concern for their own safety.

Many of the 14 are Chinese wives supporting their imprisoned husbands who are prominent human rights lawyers, including Li Wenzu, Wang Qiaoling, and Liu Ermin.

The idea of running for the local elections as independent candidates stemmed from their firsthand experience of being refused by authorities while seeking justice. [We] have deeply felt the challenges in communicating with the government, [rubber-stamp legislature], courts, and procuratorates, they said in an Oct. 15 statement.

Yet, their passion and hope to channel this frustration for the greater public good was not welcomed by the ruling Party.

During the two-week period of campaigning, at least 10 of the 14 independent candidates were watched, guarded, or threatened by police or the rural government. Some were banned from leaving home, even to walk a dog.

The Beijing municipal police have set up a special case team to tackle your candidacy, and youll know the result in two months, local police warned, according to a Nov.1 joint declaration released on Twitter by Wang Qiaoling.

Your case has been determined. This time, its dangerous [for you], another said.

Wang is the wife of jailed rights lawyer Li Heping, one of the hundreds of rights lawyers and activists who were arrested by the Chinese regime in a nationwide manhunt on July 9, 2015, a day thats often referred to as the 709 Incident.

The mounting political pressure held the 14 back.

Under such fear and pressure, and for the sake of the personal freedom and lives of the 14 of us, we declare a halt to the candidacy of independent candidates, the Monday statement reads.

Li Wenzu, the wife of previously jailed rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, said on Twitter that she was bearing pressure from her landlord, who had agreed but now refused to renew the lease, asking her family to move out.

Another two candidates Li Hairong and Guo Qizeng said on Oct. 27 through Chinese social media WeChat that the local township government had launched a house demolition campaign against villagers since the two announced their candidacy.

Most of the 14 candidates couldnt be reached by phone on Monday, RFA reported, except Ye Jinghuan, who declined the request for comments in a veiled reference to police surveillance or official coercion.

The twice-a-decade Beijing Municipal rubber-stamp legislature elections will be held on Nov. 5 to nominate nearly 5,000 district representatives and more than 10,000 township representatives.

Netizens said on Twitter that You have proved through your own experience that the so-called whole-process democracy they have just claimed is trash.

Some called the experiences of the independent candidates a vivid manifestation of a Chinese-style democracy.

Chinese-Style Democracy

Two days before the 14 publicized their candidacy, Chinese leader Xi Jinping described Chinas political system as a whole-process democracy, as he addressed an Oct. 13 meeting of the rubber-stamp legislature work conference in Beijing. Yet, the regime has long kept a tight grip over the election procedures.

In China, representatives at all levels up to the rubber-stamp legislature are usually officially appointed, excluding those for urban districts and rural counties, which goes through universal suffrage.

Despite this provision, independent candidates who attempt to get their names on the ballot face a difficult challenge including harassment and detention by the police, on top of procedural roadblocks.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is seen on a large screen over delegates as he joins a session of the rubber-stamp legislature at The Great Hall Of The People in Beijing, China, on March 11, 2018. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Among the 14 activists, Ye Jinghuan is also running in the election for the third time, despite receiving police threats in the past.

After she announced her first candidacy in 2011, she was quickly targeted and was beaten by uniformed police. The second time, in 2016, local neighborhood committee members and plain-clothes police tried to block her from campaigning.

They surrounded our house, surrounded our courtyard so as to stop us from going to populous places to campaign for votes, she told The Epoch Times in a previous interview, adding that the police also tried to prevent Western media reporters from interviewing her.

Ye decided to petition for candidacy after she and her sister became victims of a futures investment scam in 1998, where hundreds lost their life savings.

We wanted to explain our situation to the [rubber-stamp legislature] representatives because they have some power, they can at least talk to government authorities, she said.

Moreover, the vast majority of Chinas grassroots population has no chance to see the ballot. Those who are eventually elected, seemingly fail to fulfill the duties, according to rights activists.

We have often looked for [rubber-stamp legislature] representatives through all different channels, hoping they could help us to convey our concerns to the government, but we have no hopes of meeting with them, the 14 said in a previous declaration.

Eva Fu and Sophia Lam contributed to this report.
19 Dem AGs Support Student Lawsuit Challenging Trump-Era Title IX Exemption for Religious Colleges

A coalition of 19 Democratic attorneys general has weighed in and favor a legal challenge to Trump-era rules that automatically exempt religious colleges from Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs, if its provisions go against their religious tenets about sexuality and gender.

The class action lawsuit was brought in April by 33 LGBT students against the U.S. Department of Education, as well as a variety of evangelical Christian colleges they attended or tried to attend. The students alleged that those schools created an abusive and unsafe campus environment for them, because of Title IX religious exemption rules issued in 2020 by then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

In an amicus brief (pdf) filed on Nov. 1, the attorneys general of 18 states and the District of Columbia support the students claim that the 2020 rules are unlawful. According to the Education Department, the rules expanded eligibility for the religious exemption to any educational institution controlled by a religious organization, and eliminated a requirement that faith-based institutions seeking an exemption file a written statement for the departments approval.

The 2020 rule changes are contrary to Congress objective in enacting Title IX, undermining anti-discrimination protections for the States students, the attorneys general said, arguing that the suing students have been denied the right to know before enrollment whether the school would enact policies that restrict LGBT student life.

In combination, the rules harm students, place them at higher risk of being victims of sex discrimination, and make it more difficult to hold schools accountable for the resulting harm, the Democrats wrote.

The case is currently on hold pending potential changes to the rules by the Biden administration. In March, President Joe Biden issued an executive order, directing Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to consider suspending, revising, or rescinding his predecessors regulations about Title IX enforcement.

The legal effort to undo the Trump-era rules was met with opposition from conservative advocacy groups and Christian educational organizations, including the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), whose membership covers some of the colleges named in the suit.

CCCU institutions subscribe to sincerely held biblical beliefs, the CCCU said in a statement, which include specific religious convictions around human sexuality and gender, and are transparent about their policies and behavior guidelines, which students voluntarily agree to when they choose to attend the institution.

The institution warned that the lawsuit would strip federal financial aid from hundreds of thousands of students who wish to receive college education in places that share their beliefs.

Seven out of 10 CCCU students receive federal funding, and the withdrawal of financial aid, including Pell grants and federal research grants, would have a disproportionate impact on low-income and first-generation college students, as well as students from racial and ethnic minority groups, it said.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal group representing three Christian colleges named as defendants, argued that the lawsuit seeks to violate the schools First Amendment right to operate according to its religious doctrine.

This lawsuit wants the federal government to tell Christian schools, To continue accepting students who have federal financial aid, all you have to do is to start acting contrary to your own beliefs,' said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. Thats neither reasonable nor constitutional.
Police continue to investigate the accident in the Concert Hall of Uppsala, Sweden, on Nov. 2, 2021. (Christine Olsson/TT via AP)

2 Die When Man Falls, Lands on Other in Sweden Concert Venue

COPENHAGEN, DenmarkTwo men died when one of them jumped or fell from the seventh floor of a culture center in Sweden and landed on the other, police said.

The 80-year-old man who crashed into the lobby of the Uppsala Konsert and Kongress venue Tuesday night died at the scene north of Stockholm, and the 60-year-old man he struck died later, police said.

A woman who was with the 60-year-old man was hurt but her injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said.

A tribute concert to the two male members of ABBA, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, had been scheduled at the culture center on Tuesday night, but the event was canceled, according to Swedish media.

ABBA wrote on Twitter Wednesday that it was holding off on the release of the bands promotional concert trailer until Thursday in light of the tragic news at the tribute concert in Sweden last night.

In September, the Swedish superstars said they were releasing their first new music in four decades, along with a concert performance that will see the Dancing Queen quartet going entirely digital. The forthcoming album Voyage, to be released Nov. 5, is a follow-up to 1981s The Visitors, which until now had been the swan song of the Swedish group. And a virtual version of the band will begin a series of concerts in London on May 27.

The culture center in the city of Uppsala hosts concerts and other meetings in an eight-story building with a mirrored facade and angled metal sheets reminiscent of crystal. The venues website said it would be closed from Wednesday until Friday because of the deaths.

We are all shocked by the tragic accident and our thoughts go to the deceased, their relatives, and their families, a message on the website said.

Police said they have no reason to suspect foul play in the 80-year-olds descent from the seventh floor.
Police vehicles appear on the scene of a fire near a home in Acton, Calif., on June 1, 2021. (David Crane/The Orange County Register via AP)

3 Arrested in Killing of 19-Year-Old Woman Following Party

FAIRFIELD, Calif.Three people, including an active duty Air Force member, have been arrested in the killing of a 19-year-old woman who was last seen leaving a Halloween party over the weekend in Northern California, police said.

Leilani Beauchamp, of Carmel, was seen leaving a party Saturday in Sacramento with two Air Force members who share a Fairfield home, Fairfield Police Lt. Jausiah Jacobsen said in a statement.

Police arrested Jessica Quintanilla, 21, on suspicion of murder charges, and her brother Marco Quintanilla and Juan Parra-Peralta on accessory to murder charges. Marco Quintanilla, 27, was also charged with violating his parole for a felony conviction for attempted murder, Jacobsen said.

Jacobsen said investigators determined Beauchamp was killed at the Fairfield home and her body was then abandoned in Salinas, where she was found Sunday after the three were arrested.

Parra-Peralta, 20, is an airman 1st class assigned to the 60th aerial port squadron at Travis Air Force Base, a base spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday.

It was not immediately known if any of the three suspects have retained attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

Police did not say if Parra-Peralta was one of the men Beauchamp left the party with or lived in the Fairfield home where authorities say Beauchamp was killed. They also did not release the circumstances of Beauchamps death or a motive in her killing.

Jacobsen did not immediately respond to an email and voice message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
A Heart for the Lost in Oceanside

My heart burst the first week that we had the homeless showers ministry in our church parking lot, Deborah (Debbie) Gunning told The Epoch Times.

A sad young man entered the shower, and when he came out his first words he said after it was I feel like a human being again.

It was during that moment when Gunning gained confidence that God had her in the right place.

To her friends, Gunning is the prime example of the perfect volunteer.

The retired 71-year-old Oceanside, Calif., resident has been serving her local homeless community since 2018 on top of attending and serving her church at Calvary Chapel on Sundays and running a weekly bible study.

Debbie goes beyond the call of duty as she helps in various positions at the Bread of Life Ministry, which is part of the Bread of Life homeless outreach, her friend Alicia DeJoy told The Epoch Times.

[She] is kind and does not look for attention as she handles everything with humility.

In her efforts to love on her local homeless community, Gunning found herself helping on a weekly basis with mobile shower programs that serve the Northern San Diego homeless community, along with serving at ReStorea thrift shop connected to the San Diego Rescue Mission, a non-profit homeless shelter and recovery center.

A lot of times when the people come there, they may be in their own world and thats okay. You dont know whos accosted them, you dont know what they lost, and theyre so dejected that they think dont matter. They think that if they were gone, they would be not missed, so were trying to give them hope! she said.

For Gunning, she credits God with giving her the idea to serve the homeless through fiction literature that ignited her heart for a new adventure.

I read a series of three novels, and it was about this woman that lived in the very top at the penthouse and through a divorce and unethical dealings with her husband she ended up with her mom and her two boys in a shelter, Gunning shared.

And it got me thinking about that because when her mom passed later on in the books, she took that inheritance money and bought a rooming house with a few apartments in it where she could her people that were in her situation.

I thought that would be so cool to do something like that, but you cant do something like that on a shoestring budget in California. And you know it was a thought that spurred, and I still wanted to do something to work with the homeless, she added.

Even during the pandemic, Gunning never gave it a second thought not to serve the homeless.

A homeless man walks along Oceanside Blvd. in Oceanside, Calif., on April 14, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

I think that this COVID stuff was a trigger point in some ways, Gunning said.

There has been always a fair amount of homelessness in Oceanside, especially because of our warm climate, but I think that when more and more people couldnt make ends meet out there, there have been more living in cars or doing things they maybe never ever thought theyd ever find themselves doing.

In her ministry work, Gunning notices that patience is necessary to make connections with the homeless community and build relationships. On one occasion, a man she attempted to connect with weekly at the mobile shower ministry took her by surprise and opened up to her.

I asked him how it was going, and he kind of look up a little bit more than usual and said he was having a good day, Gunning said.

And then he went on and told me about his family. He had two boys; one of them hed been able to touch base with but the other one he couldnt, and that there were some things he had to fix before he could. And I prayed with him and encouraged him in his rough moment that Gods had him and that hell help him through this.

Gunning credits her family, church, pastors, and those she volunteers with utmost gratefulness as she shares the blessings in her life and her service.

Her advice?

I think when an opportunity presents itself to do something; step forward and do it. Just do it! she encouraged others.

I dont want that to sound like the Nike commercial she chuckled.

But when in doubt, go for it because Gods got you, no matter what.
Adorable Photos Show Critically Endangered Baby Eastern Black Rhino Born to Mom at British Zoo

Two critically endangered eastern black rhinos have welcomed a new baby at a British zoothe only such calf born in Europe this year.

Rhinos Samira and Magadi, who live at Flamingo Land Zoo in Malton, North Yorkshire, became parents at 5:25 p.m., Oct. 24, after a pregnancy lasting 16 months.

A critically endangered eastern black rhinoceros calf was born at Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire on 24 Oct. (SWNS)

The adorable rhino calf could be seen walking around his enclosure and suckling on his mother just hours after he was born.

Managers at Flamingo Land Zoo confirmed this was the only birth of an eastern black rhino in Europe this year, with just 3,600 left in the wild in Tanzania and Kenya.

We have waited so long for this. Both mum and baby are doing incredibly well, and I am so proud of Samira and all her keepers, head keeper Sam DeBelle said.

Mom Samira is very protective of her new calf and is close at all times. (SWNS)

Black rhinos first began living at Flamingo Land Zoo in 2015, with new mother Samira arriving from a wildlife park in Zurich and new father Magadi coming from Chester Zoo.

This success represents eight years of planning for the team and working collaboratively with our partners across Europe, zoo manager and park executive Ross Snipp said.

He added, All new births are exciting, but there is added significance for this one, both for us and the global population.

Video footage taken from inside the rhinos enclosure shows the moments during and after Samira gave birth at 5:25 p.m., Oct. 24. (SWNS)

Following the birth, Flamingo Land owner Gordon Gibb said, This is the first time a black rhino has been born in Yorkshire, and with only approximately 3,000 black rhinos left in the wild, it continues our vitally important conservation work at home and abroad.

In 2019, the zoo released a female rhino, Olmoti, into Akagera National Park in Rwanda as part of the largest translocation program of rhinos from Europe to Africa in the world.

Flamingo Land plans to release another rhino, Chanua, into a park in Tanzania soon, with the possibility of the new calf following in their footsteps.

A screen grab taken from video footage inside the rhinos enclosure. (SWNS)

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Syringes of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the city of Sale, on Oct. 5, 2021. (Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)

Alabama Attorney General Files Lawsuit to Block Vaccine Mandate

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said on Nov. 2 that he had filed a lawsuit against an important part of the vaccine mandate introduced by the Biden administration.

Marshall filed the lawsuit with the goal of stopping the federal mandate from being enforced in any state before it comes into effect on Dec. 8.

On Sept. 9, President Joe Biden announced sweeping measures that focus on the federal government, the health care sector, and private businesses. Federal workers and federal contractors will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Contractors have until Dec. 8 to mandate their employees to get the shot. Federal contractors cant allow their employees to opt out.

Marshall said the mandate was flagrantly unconstitutional and accused the mandates of being contemptible infringements on individual liberty, federalism, and the separation of powers.

He gave the example of a federal contractor who would be required to be vaccinated under the mandate even if he was working from home and could not possibly infect or be infected by his coworkers.

Since the mandate would apply to any worker who shares the same parking garage as the federal contractor, Marshall said Biden could eventually justify having the authority to extend the mandate to the contracted employees family members, including children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday night recommended almost every child in the United States between 5 and 11 get Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine.

Marshall also noted that months before the Sept. 9 announcement, the Biden administration said that enforcing a mandate was not the role of the federal government.

Regarding the vaccine mandate for private-sector businesses with 100 or more workers, Marshall vowed to file a lawsuit against Biden as soon as the private-employer mandate goes into effect.

Just last week 10 GOP-led states sued the Biden administration over the vaccine mandate, which was accused of being unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise (pdf).

Meanwhile White House press secretary Jen Psaki has insisted that Bidens new rule is on strong legal footing, citing a 1970 law that authorizes an Emergency Temporary Standard.

The law basically requires the Department of Labor take action when it finds grave risk to workers. And certainly, a pandemic that killed more than 600,000 people qualifies as grave risk to workers, she said.
Anaheim Officials Say OC Judge Got Living Wage Ruling for Disney Right

ANAHEIM, Calif.Anaheim officials Nov. 3 said an Orange County Superior Court judge got it right when he rejected a lawsuit meant to compel Disney to comply with a living wage ordinance approved by voters.

Orange County Superior Court Judge William Claster on Monday issued a ruling granting a dismissal by Disney in a class-action lawsuit claiming the company was not complying with Measure L, which was approved by voters three years ago.

Measure L requires that any hospitality company with 25 or more employees that receives a city subsidy must pay $15 an hour.

The city issued this statement about the ruling:

While we never want to see a dispute like this play out in court, we appreciate the judges determination. It validates what we already knew and have saidthe city of Anaheim does not provide any rebate or subsidy to Disney.

The Mickey & Friends parking structure and related financing were part of a $1.9 billion expansion of The Anaheim Resort from 1997 to 2001.

The expansion was a public-private partnership reflecting mutual interest in Anaheims visitor economy. It has been a great return on investment for our city, residents, and neighborhoods.

Since the 1990s expansion, Anaheims hotel revenue has more than tripled to a pre-pandemic high of $163 million in 2019. That money has gone to public safety, community centers, libraries, parks, and meeting city obligations.

The pandemic drove home how important a strong visitor economy is for our city. With the year-plus closure of the parks and convention center, hotel revenue fell 85 percent over two years to about $25 million. That presented a real challenge for our city and the residents we serve.

Claster ruled that while Disney benefited from the agreement with the city it did not technically receive a tax rebate.

Claster said, Whether the Disney defendants received a public subsidy in a general sense is a different question from whether they received or have a right to receive a city subsidy as defined, i.e., a rebate of taxes (in the form of a refund, abatement, exemption, etc.).

Claster said the plaintiffs showed how the benefits were used to service bond debt, but they identify no evidence suggesting that the finance agreement causes the Disney defendants to pay less in taxes (whether by post-payment refund, pre-payment exemption, etc.) than they would owe if no finance agreement were in place.

In other words, the finance agreement with the city helped Disney defray all of its debt service payments, not taxes, Claster said.

Had the Disney defendants raised construction funds privately, they would have had to make both tax payments and debt service payments, Claster said. The bond issuance here was structured so that they received a portion of the proceeds of the bond issuance, but only have to make tax payments in return. Their taxes go into the citys general fund, and money from the general fund ultimately services the debt [after a series of transactions]. This is a significant benefit to the Disney defendants, but, again, there is no evidence that the finance agreement somehow lessens their tax obligation. Therefore, the public benefit conferred on the Disney defendants by the finance agreement does not create a city subsidy.
Appreciating Black Free-Enterprisers

Commentary

White advocates of laissez-faire capitalism are a dime a dozen. Diminishing marginal utility is what makes black supporters of economic liberty, private property rights, and the profit and loss system far more important.

This is true of anything: The more there is of something, the less precious is one more unit of it, whatever it is. This holds true for doctors, cabbages, kings, shoes, scientists, cars, etc. Since there are so few prominent black proponents of free enterprise, each of them is more important to this cause than if he or she was white. The present essay is devoted to an appreciation of a few of them. Happily, there are more than can be included in any one love letter such as this, but you have to start somewhere. Here are a few important African-American contributors to the case of economic liberty.

Malcolm X

Malcolm X is not usually seen as a free-enterpriser, rather as a member, a leader, of a Black Muslim organization. Hes also famous for promoting the black is beautiful movement, telling his many followers to throw away those hair-straighteners, and stop trying to look whiteyoure beautiful exactly as you are. But unlike his fellow black leader at the time, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mr. X was a capitalist through and through. Not a theoretical one, either. Rather, practicality was his middle name in this regard. Unlike MLK, he didnt favor welfare or labor unionism. If he had any commercial motto, it would have been that black people should stand on their own two feet, and embrace bourgeois values, families, and entrepreneurship.

Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell began his academic career as a Marxist. But he soon saw through that dead-end economic philosophy and embraced laissez-faire. He has made so many important contributions to economics and political philosophy its difficult to single out just a few. Hes perhaps most well known for demonstrating that different ethnic groups have diverging tastes, so that its futile to expect that each would be proportionately represented in all callings, or to attribute differences to racism, or bigotry. African Americans comprise some 13 percent of the population, but are not anywhere near taking up 13 percent of each profession or industry. In some theyre overrepresented, in others underrepresented. Nor is this in any way untoward according to this world-class scholar.

My favorite quote from Sowell is this: It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.

He applies this insight with great drama and verve to show that this is precisely what occurs in the public, but not the private, sector. Hey, Nobel Prize committee in economics, whats taking you so long to recognize this man?

Walter E. Williams

The late Walter E. Williams did superlative work in demonstrating, along with his mentor Thomas Sowell, that the minimum wage law not only creates unemployment, but does so disproportionately to blacks, particularly teenaged males. This unemployment level is quadruple, yes, quadruple, that which applies to middle-aged white male workers. Williams, again in tandem with Sowell, verified that the wage gap between men and women, whites and blacks, had little or nothing to do with racism or sexism, whether systemic or not. They both cast doubts upon the claim that welfare would be of use to help the downtrodden. His book The State Against Blacks proved, in fine detail, the degradations to the black community of these and numerous other such interventionistic programs.

Jason Riley

Who is responsible for most of these failed public policies? In the view of journalist Jason Riley, blame properly rests at the door for most of it with white liberals, or progressives as they now like to be called. Hence, his book Please stop helping us is a clarion call for them to cease and desist. This is a very generous interpretation from a very generous man. The alternative hypothesis is that liberals really dont concern themselves with the negative impacts of their ill-considered nostrums on the black community. Instead, theyre too busy virtue signaling. Riley writes a whole series of sparkling op eds for the Wall Street Journal in which he takes on topics ranging from racial discrimination to the evils of the Great Society to the problems of identity politics. As a shocker to our friends on the left, he maintained that the best way to address differential white and black school suspension rates (the latter is disproportionately greater than the former) is not to go easy on bad behavior. Thats the present public policy, but it hurts all students, especially African Americans.

Who else could be mentioned in this Honor Roll: James Ahiakpor, Larry Elder, Glenn Loury, Lipton Matthews, Tennyson McCalla, John McWhorter, Charles Mosley, Deroy Murdock, Star Parker, Virgil Storr, Victor J. Ward, Robert Wicks, Robert Woodson, and Anne Wortham are some of the others. We will have to leave these people for another day.

Malcolm X, a religious leader, Sowell and Williams, economists, Riley, a journalist. What has been their fate? Some have been called race traitors, Oreo cookies (black on the outside, white on the inside). Elder has even been castigated as a white supremacist. None of their white counterparts (with the possible exception of Charles Murray) have had to endure anything of this sort of treatment. So, in addition to their substantive contributions to the liberty philosophy, we owe these black supporters of economic liberty a great debt of gratitude for their courage and perseverance.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey answers a question about the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine in Arizona, while Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ listens, in Phoenix, Ariz., on Dec. 2, 2020. (Ross D. Franklin, Pool/AP Photo)

Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Ruling Blocking Ban on Masks in Public Schools

The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld a lower court judgment blocking bans on masks in public schools, ruling that the measure and other Republican-passed state laws are unconstitutional.

Tuesdays ruling came less than two hours after the seven justices heard arguments in the states appeal of a trial court judges ruling. The justices had hammered Solicitor General Beau Roysden with questions about the Republican-controlled Legislatures inclusion of such measures in unrelated budget bills.

The states high court upheld a sweeping ruling from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper on Sept. 28, that found that the laws banning school mask mandates and other Republican-passed Arizona laws that block local governments from imposing COVID-19 requirements, violated the state constitution.

Coopers ruling in September effectively cleared the way for Arizona cities and counties to impose mask mandates. At least 29 public school districts had defied the laws and enacted their own mask requirements.

The judge found that provisions in three budget bills, including the ban on school mask mandates, violated the title rule. Cooper blocked those provisions while allowing the rest of the bills funding education, universities, and health to take effect.

She entirely struck down another budget bill because it violated the single subject rule under the state constitution, that says that each bill must cover but one subject with each item properly connected to others. The state constitution also says that the titles of each bill must reflect the contents, and give lawmakers and the public adequate notice of whats included.

Arizona is one of several states where Republican governors have pushed to block local governments and school districts from imposing mask mandates. Critics of mask mandates have argued that such rules infringe on personal liberty and are ineffective at preventing the spread of viruses, while proponents of the measures have said they are necessary to curb the transmission of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

According to data compiled by Burbio, masks are currently required at schools in 69.4 percent of the 500 largest districts nationwide.

C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, said, We are extremely disappointed in the ruling, adding that Arizonans should be free to make their own health decisions.

There are three separate co-equal branches of government, and we respect the role of the judiciarybut the court should give the same respect to the separate authority of the Legislature, Karamargin said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Australia Bolsters Indo-Pacific Relations Amid China Dominance

Analysis

Canberra is strengthening its dialogue within the Indo-Pacific through new investments and diplomatic agreements. Meanwhile, Beijings presence continues to loom over the region and its heartthe South China Sea.

For the first time since its debut in 1976, Australia took part in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders Summit on Oct. 27. While there, it unveiled a new strategic partnership with an attached $154 million (US$115 million) cooperation packagebuilding on an existing $500 million (US$370 million) investment announced last year.

During the G20 summit on Oct. 31, shortly afterwards, Australia proceeded to engage in a similar strategic partnership with ASEANs most prominent nationIndonesia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has outlined that this will mean significant bilateral engagement, ranging from the collaboration between educational institutions to developing, financing, and deploying low emissions technologies.

In a joint statement alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, Morrison suggested that the Southeast Asian bloc was critical for Australia in ensuring a stable Indo-Pacific.

A strong, united, and resilient ASEAN is vital to our regions success and supports Australias own security and prosperity, Morrison stated.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison attends virtually during the first ASEAN-Australia Summit at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 27, 2021. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

However, a Political analyst at Curtin University, Joseph Siracusa, said Australia had supported the United States in taking on a growing threat from Chinese soft power by increasing competition within the bloc.

I think Australia is sort of doubling down on the region because it wants to burnish its credentials, and it wants to do what it can to contain Chinathat is, to shut them out of investments, Siracusa told The Epoch Times.

This close cooperation comes amid burgeoning tensions between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with many jurisdictions worldwide and throughout Southeast Asia who have grown weary of Beijings military expansion into the South China Sea.

Concerns of growing CCP influence had prompted Australias largest telecommunications company, Telstra, to lay down $2.1 billion (US$1.6 billion) to take over Digicel, a dominant telco in the South Pacificincluding $1.7 billion (US$1.3 billion) worth of financing from the federal government.

In addition to monetary support, Australia has joined the Quad in countering Chinas vaccine diplomacy after the communist regime leveraged its vaccine shipments to garner soft power influence through the Indo-Pacific and other parts of the worlddespite being the inherent cause of the CCP virus pandemic.

Australia has also committed to providing the Indo-Pacific with over 60 million vaccine doses by the end of 2022.

Chinas Southeast Asian Dominance

Political analyst Joseph Siracusa. (Supplied)

But Siracusa said that while Canberras involvement was inevitable, it would have little effect on Beijings existing foothold in the ASEAN bloc.

In particular, China has continued to invest heavily in Southeast Asia over the last two decades, including through the sale of arms at competitive prices.

Furthermore, bilateral trade grew to $922 billion (US$685 billion) amid the pandemic in 2020, attributed largely to the migration of Chinas manufacturing industries to Southeast Asia.

Siracusa said the soft power approach functioned primarily to force ASEAN members to acquiesce to Chinas advancements into the South China Sea.

Beijings policy vis-a-vis the ASEAN is very measured right now, very cooperative. And its trying to integrate their foreign policy gains with Chinasat least they dont want the opposition, Siracusa said.

Siracusa offered several key reasons why Beijing wanted to wrest control of the South China Seawhich currently boasts vast reserves of oil and gas while providing passage for trillions of dollars worth of international trade shipments.

One of Chinas man-made islands in the South China Sea, May 21, 2015. (U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters)

Theyre looking forward to gas, oil and fish, Siracusa said. And what they want around them is they want compliant neighbours. They dont want slaves; they just want them not to kick up a fuss or join somebody who will.

They simply want this region, and they have to control the region. You know, China wants to be a global power. But before youre a global power, youve got to control the lakes around the regional powersAmerica didnt become a world power until it controlled the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

But Chinas attempted control over the South China Sea has still formed cracks between the relations of China and some of ASEANs members, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The communist regime has controversially laid claim to 90 percent of the area, built artificial islands for paramilitary bases, and crossed into territorial waters of some states. This is despite international law refusing to recognise Beijings nine-dash line.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is pictured on the screen (R) as he addresses his counterparts during the 4th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit being held online in Hanoi, Vietnam on Nov. 15, 2020. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia Ratifies Worlds Biggest Trade Agreement With 15 APAC Countries

Australia has ratified one of the biggest trade deals spanning the Asia-Pacific region, but has maintained grave concerns over the political situation in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes 15 signatories, covering 2.2 billion people, and 29 percent of global GDP.

The 15 countries include ASEAN nations, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei, as well as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

In a joint statement on Nov. 2, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Trade Minister Dan Tehan said businesses and farmers would have access to the benefits under the agreement from Jan. 1, 2022.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks during a news conference with Australian Minister of Defense Peter Dutton, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the State Department in Washington, DC on Sept. 16, 2021. (Andrew Harnik / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

RCEP will be the worlds largest free trade agreement, bringing nine of Australias top 15 trading partners into a single economic framework, the statement said.

The ministers noted, however, that ratifying the deal did not change the governments grave concerns regarding the situation in Myanmar.

We call on the Myanmar security forces to cease violence against civilians, engage in dialogue, and release all those arbitrarily detained, including Australian Professor Sean Turnell, they said.

Protests and unrest have broken out across Burma since the military junta staged a coup on Feb. 1.

RCEP meanwhile, will establish a common set of rules across various areas of trade including intellectual property and services such as financial, healthcare, and education.

The deal has been called a low ambition trade deal by former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

A view backed by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) which found in an August 2021 report that, RCEP is not a particularly ambitious trade agreement, and in terms of market access does not deliver much in the way of additional benefit for Australia.

However, RCEP could offer Australia an alternative mechanism for dealing with trade disputes, which the World Trade Organisation (WTO)in its current stateis unable to do so effectively.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told The Epoch Times, The RCEP agreement contains rules and procedures to resolve disputes that may arise between the parties in relation to their commitments under the agreement, a common element of Australias free trade agreements.

Australia is also a signatory to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes 11 nations and covers 13.4 percent of global GDP.
Fantasy, a sniffer dog trained to detect the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), sits next to a trainer during a news conference in Vienna, Austria on Nov. 2, 2021. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

Austrian Army Dogs Join Growing Global Pack of COVID-Sniffers

VIENNAAustrias army has successfully trained two dogs to sniff out COVID-19, it said on Tuesday, adding to a mass of evidence that dogs can be deployed to identify carriers of the virus.

Trials across the world from Thailand to Britain have found dogs can use their powerful sense of smell to detect the coronavirus with a high degree of accuracy, suggesting they could be regularly deployed as an additional line of safety at large events and border entry points.

Airports in Finland began deploying dogs to screen arrivals for COVID-19 last year.

Austrian authorities have now fully trained two dogs, a Belgian Shepherd, and a Rottweiler, to detect the scent of COVID-19 after sniffing more than 3,000 samples including from used face masks, with a success rate far above 80 percent, Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner said.

We have long known that our service dogs can sniff out various materials  But what we have achieved here is something very special, she told a news conference.

It takes a dog with previous sniffer experience for other materials around two weeks to be able to tell which samples have COVID-19, and a further three months to fully train it, the head of the armys dog-training centre, Colonel Otto Koppitsch, told the news conference.

Austria has no specific plans to deploy dogs trained to detect COVID-19, but will help train people in other countries how to teach dogs this skill, Tanner said.

By Francois Murphy
The Criminal Courts Building and district attorney's office in New York on July 1, 2021. (ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

Backlog Crisis at State Courts Will Take Years to Clear, Insiders Say

State courts across the country have gradually reopened for in-person proceedings, although many have yet to reach their pre-pandemic operating capacity.

State attorneys can barely handle the mounting number of new cases, leaving a trail of extra work every day, all while trying to chip away at the massive backlogs accumulated during months of court shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology and remote hearings have helped to limit the backlog, but they could only go so far in a criminal justice system in which key functions, such as trials, still rely on face-to-face proceedings.

The backlog is especially acute at offices that oversee large urban cities, many of which are also plagued by an increasing shortage of state attorneys.

Its an unprecedented crisis that wont go away for years, according to a dozen state attorneys offices and state attorneys associations interviewed by The Epoch Times. As a result, justice is delayed. In other cases, justice is administered in expedient ways that are often more favorable to the defendants.

At the New York Manhattan District Attorneys Office, the number of disposed cases dropped by half to around 4,500 in 2020, leaving a COVID-19 backlog of thousands of cases.

In 2021, the office cleared 6,400 felony cases by Oct. 8, all while adding more than 9,000 during the same period. Tony Jordan, president of the District Attorneys Association of New York, likened the court backlogs to water in a swimming pool.

You fill the pool with a hose, and now, you bail it out with a bucket. It is going to take years, Jordan said.

An Epoch Times analysis of case-disposition data of other large state attorneys offices revealed the same pattern.

At the Seattle-based King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, there was an average of 3,300 pending cases at any given time prior to the pandemic. In October 2021, that number had risen to 5,386.

The number of cases closed in 2021 by the Philadelphia District Attorneys office is 16,600 (more than 30 percent short of the pre-pandemic level in 2019), while adding more than 19,000 new cases during the same span.

At the Houston-based Harris County District Attorneys Office, 473 jury trials were conducted in 2019, but only 69 in 2021.

David LaBahn, president of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, called it an unprecedented nationwide caseload crisis that will take years to tackle.

In the past, the caseload problem was limited to certain offices, but the pandemic court shutdowns have made it a national problem, LaBahn said. To find a historical parallel, you would probably have to go back to the 199os, when the crack epidemic caused a historic surge of crimes nationwide, he said.

Compounding the backlog crisis is an increasing shortage of state attorneys in certain urban cities, he said. Young state attorneys are leaving caseload-heavy offices for either suburban or federal agencies, while old guards are retiring early after working at home for a year or so.

On top of that, new applicants are harder to find. One state attorneys office used to have 20 applicants for a vacancy, now they only have one or two, LaBahn said.

Nelson O. Bunn Jr., executive director of the National District Attorneys Association, said state attorneys were hard to recruit even before the pandemic. Low entry-level salaries, high caseloads, and mental pressure after being repeatedly exposed to horrific crimes all make the job less desirable for young talent. The pandemic just made the job even less desirable.

Bunn said one state is down 58 state attorneys in the past 18 months, and some state attorneys are handling 300 to 400 cases at a time.

It is just way too high for an individual to handle, Bunn told The Epoch Times. This is not a problem thats going to be solved overnight. This is a multiyear challenge to address backlogs and to really get the workforce up to where it needs to be.

At the Jacksonville-based State Attorneys Office for Floridas Fourth Judicial Circuit, the state attorney turnover rate was 4 percent in 2019. That number jumped to 21 percent during the first quarter of 2020 and was at 12 percent during the first quarter of 2021.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, said theres a 7 percent vacancy rate across state attorneys offices in Georgia, one of the highest vacancy rates the state has ever seen. Offices are getting very few qualified applicants for those vacancies, he said.

Prior to the pandemic, the average number of annual retirements in Georgia was 18. In 2021, the number of retirements is now at 34, according to data provided by the council. The retirement numbers only include state-paid positions.

The pandemic took away three things that make the pressure and challenges of the job worth it, Colorado District Attorneys Council Executive Director Tom Raynes told Epoch Times in an email.

Those things are the ability to do trials, cases being resolved with good outcomes rather than settling on pandemic-pressured resolutions (feeling of making a difference in the community and serving victims of crime), and the camaraderie of working with a team.

Pandemic-pressured resolutions include dismissing cases that prosecutors normally wouldnt have agreed to or taking up a plea agreement favorable to the defendant to a degree that prosecutors wouldnt have agreed to under normal conditions, he wrote to The Epoch Times.

Some activist organizations are pushing to make these pandemic-pressured resolutions go even further.

For example, the Chicago-based Cook County States Attorneys Office stopped charging people in nonviolent and low-level drug cases during the pandemic. The Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts recommended in a June report that the office go further and dismiss all low-level felony cases in an effort to tackle the backlog.

The Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office set a zero-dollar bail requirement for most misdemeanors and low-level felonies during the pandemic, and the American Civil Liberties Union recommended making these measures permanent in a December report.

State attorneys offices are also seeking additional funding to hire more attorneys.

In July, the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office received funding to fill at least 60 positions. The Denver District Attorneys Office also received government funding to hire additional attorneys to remain at authorized manpower strength, according to Communications Director Carolyn Tyler.
Border Patrol BORSTAR agents load an injured patient into a waiting helicopter in the Imperial Sand Dunes near the U.S.-Mexico border, Calif., on Nov. 30, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Border Patrol Could Face Shortage of Agents Over Vaccine Mandate

While hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants cross the southern border in the worst immigration crisis in the nations history, the federal government could soon face a shortage of United States Border Patrol agents due to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate deadline on Nov. 22.

President Joe Biden told CNNs Anderson Cooper at a recent CNN town hall that law enforcement officers should be fired if they dont get the vaccine. When Cooper asked, Should police officers, emergency responders be mandated to get vaccines? And if not, should they bestay at home or let go? Biden responded, Yes, and yes.

The Border Patrol has been encountering about 7,000 illegal immigrants a day on average for months, according to Tom Homan, who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during President Donald Trumps administration.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported nearly 1.7 encounters with illegal aliens in the 2021 fiscal year, but Homan said he expects the number to reach 1.9 million.

Homan said one Border Patrol agent is heading up a group representing several hundred others who say they will risk being fired rather than be coerced into taking getting the jab.

Im not anti-vax, Homan said. Each person has to choose on his own. Some just dont want to do it.

The group of agents is prepared to sue the administration if they do lose their jobs, he said.

They wont take the vax, so in a time of crisis, [Biden] shouldnt force this issue, Homan said.

I talked to one female border patrol agent. Shes three months pregnant. She doesnt know what the vax will do to her, and she cares, so shes willing to lose her job, Homan said.

U.S Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Station Indio in Indio, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

He questioned the logic of forcing the Border Patrol to get vaccinated when illegal migrants are not required to be vaccinated before theyre released into American cities.

In Southern California, a reliable source close to the Border Patrol told The Epoch Times that agents are afraid to speak out about the federal employee vaccine mandate.

Hundreds of migrants who crossed the border in Texas and Arizona have arrived by the busloads every day for months at Border Patrol stations in four Southern California cities: El Centro, Calexico, Indio, and Riverside, the source said.

At the Border Patrol station in Indio, Calif., about four busloads of migrants arrive every day, the source said.

Each bus can seat up to 75 passengers which could potentially mean 300 migrants a day have entered through the Indio station since August. If all four stations in the El Centro sector are taking in that many people, it could mean more than 100,000 illegal immigrants have been moved through the region in the last few months, the source said.

Immigrants are moved onto buses and transferred to a migrant shelter in Indio, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Homan said the Yuma, Ariz., Border Patrol station has been swamped.

Yuma is getting their butts kicked, so theyre moving those people over to be released in Riverside. I heard that from a Border Patrol commander, he said. They take them to some place called Murrieta. Theyre processed there and then they are released in Riverside.

A CBP spokesperson based in San Diego told The Epoch Times via email that several Border Patrol sectors have seen a significant increase in encounters in recent months, but did not provide specific data.

In order to process individuals as safely and expeditiously as possible, unprocessed individuals may be transported via air or ground transportation to other sectors along the Southwest border, the spokesperson said. The operational need for these sector-to-sector transfers is assessed daily based on the processing capability and facility capacity of each sector and not by external influences.

The spokesperson stated that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is actively working to ensure compliance with President Bidens Executive Order requiring federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 except in limited circumstances where an exception is required by law.

DHS has asked all employees to certify their vaccination status by Nov. 9 or request a religious or medical exemption.

CBP stands ready to address any potential increase in migrant encounters as we work to ensure safety and security of our borders, while managing a fair and orderly immigration system, the spokesperson said.

Like with migrant surges in the past, the U.S. Border Patrol is fortunate to have dedicated law enforcement professionals who remain resilient as we seek to improve enforcement efforts along the border. Day in and day out, our Border Patrol agents continue to meet the need to protect our nations border as well as process migrants safely and expeditiously, the CBP spokesperson said.

The USA/Mexico border wall in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sept. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Mission Abolished

Though the Obama and Biden administrations havent abolished ICE and the Border Patrol, they both crippled the mission of both agencies and morale has sunk to new lows, Homan claimed.

Ive talked to hundreds of Border Patrol agents. Ive been down to Del Rio and Rio Grande several times, Homan said. I havent talked to one Border Patrol who has any respect for the President or the Secretary. They feel like theyve been abandoned.  Theyre fed up.

ICE detentions are way down, and the agency made the lowest number of arrest removals in the history of the agency in September, he said.

ICE officers can no longer arrest someone for being in the country illegally, Homan said.

An illegal alien can walk up to an ICE officer today and say, Im here illegally. Ive been here for a year. I even got an order from an immigration judge saying I must leave, and I didnt leave. I became a fugitive, and ICE has to walk away, he said.

An armed U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent stands watch at the border fence next to the beach in Tijuana, at the Border State Park in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 16, 2018. (Mike Blake/File Photo/Reuters)

Bad Press

The mainstream media is trying to deflect attention away from the border crisis by portraying Border Patrol agents as the bad guys, the source said.

Its horrible that theyre being portrayed by the media not having empathy or sympathy for migrants or anyone coming to claim asylum. Everybody has empathy for that, including Border Patrol, the source said. If theyve got a certain angle, they run with it and thats not right. Thats not fair to every agent thats really trying to protect the citizens and even the migrants.

Though 557 migrant deaths were reported at the southern border in the 2021 fiscal year, according to CNN, Homan said Border Patrol agents save thousands of lives.

CNN has reported there were 12,854 Border Patrol rescues this past fiscal year, far surpassing the previous four years, and more than doubling the previous high in 2019 of 5,335 rescues.

The Border Patrol saved over 8,000 lives this yearover 8000 and still counting this calendar year, Homan said. Theyve pulled people out of the river, they saved people in the desertover 8000 saves.

I can tell you what theyve seen every day this year has been devastating to them. Its taken a toll on them as mothers and fathers or sons and daughters themselves, Homan said.

Many Border Patrol agents bring their own kids toys to facilities where immigrant children are held while their parents are detained, he said.

When Homan was Border Patrol agent, he would often encounter migrants who were tired and hungry and crossing the border illegally and offer them food.

Id give them my lunch, he said. And that happens still to this day.

Ive been down to Rio Grande Valley five times this year, Homan said. The only humane thing on that border are the Border Patrol agentshow they treat these families and children.

Homan joined the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in 1984 and worked as a Border Patrol agent, investigator and supervisor before he was appointed Executive Associate Director of ICE in 2013 and acting director of the agency in 2017.

ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan speaks at the National Press Club at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies, on June 5, 2018. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Back of the Line

With the system clogged with increasingly more asylum claims, people who are going through the immigration system legally are pushed to the back of the line, Homan said.

On a recent trip to New York City, Homans driver, an immigrant from Africa, recognized him and told him he came to the U.S. as a student, became a permanent resident, and then a citizen.

Hes been trying for eight years to get his wife and three kids over here, Homan said.

The man was frustrated with doing things the legal way, because hes paying immigration fees and taking the proper steps while he sees families cross the border illegally and claim asylum, Homan said.

Those who falsely claim asylum and jump to the front of the immigration line are hindering those with legitimate asylum claims, he said.

Thats the frustrating thing, Homan said. There are people in this world that really do need asylum here because their governments are persecuting them and torturing them, but theyre taking a backseat.
California Redistricting Commission Considers Recommending Moving Several Cities Into Other Counties

The citizen-led California congressional and legislative redistricting commission is considering recommending maps that could move several Southern California cities into other counties.

During an Oct. 27 meeting of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), which draws the states legislative and congressional districts every ten years based on census data, proposed maps during its Oct. 27 meeting placing southern California assembly districts (pdf), included Rossmoor and Los Alamitostwo Orange County citiesin the Long Beach assembly district.

A congressional district map (pdf) reflected similar changes, moving Rossmoor, Los Alamitos, and Cypress into the Long Beach congressional district.

Both maps and a senate district map (pdf) also proposed that Orange County cities Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, and San Clemente be included in San Diego Countys district.

This years maps were expected to change drastically after a decade of population growth, shifting demographics, and the loss of a congressional seat.

The commissions priority is to evenly distribute the districts based on population in conformity with strict, nonpartisan rules designed to create districts of relatively equal population that will provide fair representation for all Californians, according to the CCRCs website.

While the CCRCs official draft maps are expected to be released on Nov. 10, the commission started reviewing preliminary visualization sketches of legislative and congressional districts last month.

While the visualization maps are not official draft proposals, theyre based on hours of public testimony, according to commissioners.

We do not have any draft maps yet, Commissioner Sara Sadhwani said during the Oct. 27 meeting. We are simply thinking about what are the possibilities.

Some Orange County residents have said they dont feel their community is a part of Long Beach.

Seal Beach resident Donna McGuire said the 605 freeway clearly defines the border between LA County and Orange County, during a call into the CCRCs Oct. 30 meeting.

McGuire also pointed out that Rossmoor, Los Alamitos, and Cypress share school districts, mutual aid agreements, and first responders with the rest of Orange County.

Really, those three cities have nothing in common with going over the 605 into Los Angeles County, McGuire said. Keep LA County cities together, keep Orange County cities together. These three cities are more like [Orange County] in how we use things.

Claire, a Cypress resident, said during another call that the three cities share family values and community culture with Orange County.

Mari Barke, president of the Orange County Board of Education and longtime Rossmoor resident, echoed those sentiments. Barkes District 2 includes Rossmoor, Cypress, and Los Alamitos.

Were much more engaged with our community south of here than north of here, Barke told The Epoch Times.

This years 14-commissioner CCRC comprises five Democrats, five Republicans, and four independents. State auditors selected the first eight members, and the rest of the members were chosen by those eight members.

A spokesperson for the CCRC and the Peoples Redistricting Alliance didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.
Canada's Ambassador to China Dominic Barton waits to appear before the House of Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations, in Ottawa on Feb. 5, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Canadas Ambassador to China Should Be Vying for Canadians Interests, Not Beijings

Commentary

Martin Lloyd-Jones, a well-known Protestant minister in Britain, had a rather effective quote that pithily described the duty of an ambassador.

An ambassador from any country, he said, is always conscious of the fact that he has a tremendous responsibility because he is the representative by whom his country is to be judged.

Indeed, those who are given this position have an extraordinary responsibility to advocate for a countrys interests. Since they are in the closest proximity to a host countrys officials, their actions are crucial in showcasing what Ottawa seeks to achieve diplomatically, its intentions, and what its goals are. They must be precise and credible.

When it comes to the performance of our current ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, there is much reason to be exasperated as well as confused.

Following the return of the two Michaels, which should have settled any debate about the intentions and character of the Chinese regime, Barton thought it was now a swell time to promote further business investment in China, advising Canadian firms to seize opportunities where they exist and take advantage of the continuing rise of Chinas economy.

He now has expanded on these comments in an exclusive interview with Chinas state propaganda rag, Global Times, which, in the present context, should be considered a serious error. Interviewed at the 43rd Canada-China Business Council dinner in Beijing, Barton reaffirmed that with the release of the two Michaels and Meng Wangzhou, the major emotional issue is now off the table, which will henceforth help lay the groundwork for a rekindling of relations.

There are high mountains, wilding rivers and you can lost, but in the shade of the willow tree, you can see the bright flowers and villages on the horizon, he said, citing a Chinese poem to describe the relationship between the two countries after Mengs case.

What this grimly reaffirms once again is that Barton cannot think of Canada-China relations outside of business interests and the blinders are simply not removable.

The debacle involving the release of the two Michaels and Meng Wangzhou is, if not anything else, an event that displays not just a mere diplomatic rift, but two diametrically opposed ways of life and thinking. It completely transforms the dynamic between us and China. But to Barton and co., it is something akin to a temporary dust-up with ones spouse or an old friend.

Consistently of late, Barton has appeared to have interpreted his role as dressing up Canada-China relations and saying whatever servile thing he thinks might promote peace between the two countries. In doing so, he is really only bolstering Beijings interests and propaganda against Western criticisms. In addition to this, he has also recently advised Canadian students to go to China to build relationships, all in spite of recent events and Ottawas travel warnings about the serious risks Canadians will now face when visiting China.

In response to Bartons statements, a spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada wisely told the National Post that the business as usual approach for which Barton advocates is now untenable. While in the Netherlands ahead of the G20 meeting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to the tremendous challenges China now poses to democracies but then said that China plays too important a role economically to just cross our arms and ignore it.

Similarly, the Global Affairs spokeswoman reiterated the Liberal governments four-fold approach to challenge China on its abuses, compete with its authoritarianism, and cooperate and co-exist with the country when its possible.

While the Trudeau governments China policy leaves much to be desired, the fact that theres a disconnect between the government and its representative in Beijing when it comes to publicly presenting the approach on the China file is very puzzling.

Canada needs officials who can move on from the economic dogmas regarding China of the post-Cold War era and incorporate the geopolitical and moral factors into their thinking about how we interact with Beijing. While senior members of the Liberal government at least hint that the status quo would no longer do when it comes to an ever aggressive Beijing, their representative in Beijing seems to take no interest in these factors at all.

From all this comes the realization that we need to finally have the principled discussions that have been long overdue that can clarify what Canadas national interests are in this era, and the strategy we shall practice to pursue them.

And with this clarity will come the need to have an effective ambassador in China to advocate for these interests on behalf of Canadians. The person who is selected by Ottawa to be the messenger for our interests in Beijing now has an immensely important role.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Military vehicles carrying HHQ-9B surface-to-air missiles participate in a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

China Might Have 1,000 Nuclear Warheads by 2030, Pentagon Warns

China is on track to have 700 deliverable nuclear missiles by 2027 and could have as many as 1,000 by 2030, according to a new report by the Pentagon.

Over the next decade, the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] aims to modernize, diversify, and expand its nuclear forces, the report reads.

The PRC is investing in, and expanding, the number of its land, sea, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms and constructing the infrastructure necessary to support this major expansion of its nuclear forces.

Representatives from the Department of Defense delivered the annual report, colloquially referred to as the China Military Power Report, to Congress on Nov. 3.

The report outlines Beijings strategy to achieve a great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation by 2049, the 100th anniversary of communist rule in China, and the role of nuclear weapons in that strategy.

A Growing Stockpile

The 2020 China Military Power Report assessed that China had approximately 200 nuclear weapons in total and that it had the capability to double that number over the next decade.

The new report has raised that estimate to an expected five-fold increase by 2030, and it states that China will have at least 200 land-based nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States within five years.

Reasons for this increase in estimation cited by the report include new investments in nuclear energy infrastructure, efforts to double the number of launchers in some missile units, and the discovery of several sites suspected by the United States of housing nuclear missile silos.

The PRC has commenced building at least three solid-fueled ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missles] silo fields, which will cumulatively contain hundreds of new ICBM silos, the report reads.

The report also states that Chinas new nuclear energy efforts could cross-function as a means of developing the extra plutonium needed for the desired nuclear weapons buildup.

The PRC is constructing the infrastructure necessary to support this force expansion, including increasing its capacity to produce and separate plutonium by constructing fast breeder reactors and reprocessing facilities, the report reads. Though this is consistent with the PRC goal of closing the nuclear fuel cycle, the PRC likely intends to use some of this infrastructure to produce plutonium for its expanding nuclear weapons program.

Advancing Nuclear Technologies

China isnt only expanding its nuclear capacity, however. Its also evolving its capabilities through military modernization, developing disruptive technologies such as hypersonic cruise missiles, according to the report.

The PRC probably intends to develop new nuclear warheads and delivery platforms that at least equal the effectiveness, reliability, and/or survivability of some of the warheads and delivery platforms currently under development by the United States and/or Russia, the report reads.

This development is taking place across the nuclear triad, of sea, land, and air-based nuclear capabilities. It includes new ICBMs, nuclear attack submarines, stealth strategic bombers, hypersonic glide vehicles, and cruise missiles.

The PRC is developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces and will require increased nuclear warhead production, partially due to the incorporation of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) capabilities, the report reads.

MIRVs are a type of missile payload consisting of multiple warheads launched from a single missile, each of which can be independently aimed at its own unique target once detached from the rocket that brought it to orbit.

In all, the report has found that China would continue to expand and enhance its nuclear capabilities over the next decade as it seeks to integrate its nuclear, space, and cyber capabilities into an integrated force.

An Evolving Posture

The report outlines that China maintains a no first use policy, despite its ongoing buildup of nuclear weapons. The policy states that China will never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict, nor will it use or threaten to use them against non-nuclear states.

As such, Chinas nuclear policies prioritize the ability of its forces to survive an initial nuclear strike from an adversary.

The PRCs nuclear weapons policy currently prioritizes the maintenance of a nuclear force able to survive a first strike and respond with sufficient strength to conduct multiple rounds of counterstrike, deterring an adversary with the threat of unacceptable damage to its military capability, population, and economy, the report reads.

But support for that position may be changing among the Chinese regimes military, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

The report notes that some PLA officers had previously discussed the first use of nuclear weapons in the event that the PLAs nuclear forces or the Chinese Communist Party itself were to be existentially threatened.

The report also notes that the PLA is implementing a so-called launch-on-warning posture.

This means that China is placing some of its nuclear units on an alert, so that if they receive a warning that a nuclear weapon has been launched against them, theyll immediately retaliate with their own nuclear forces without waiting to verify that the attack is real by waiting for a detonation.

Nuclear units in the United States and Russia maintain similar postures.

The report also states that PLA planners would likely seek to avoid a protracted series of nuclear exchanges against a superior adversary, although PLA documents from 2012 explored the ramifications of so-called small-yield nuclear weapons that could be used in a more precise manner.

Such discussions provide the doctrinal basis for limited nuclear employment on the battlefield, suggesting PRC nuclear thinkers could be reconsidering their long-standing view that nuclear war is uncontrollable, the report reads.
A delegate for China prepares ahead of the start of COP26 at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 31, 2021. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

China Wants US to Fulfill Demands in Exchange for Climate Change Cooperation

Beijing wants Washington to soften its China policies before working with the United States on climate change, as the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) continues in Glasgow.

You cant ask China to cut coal production on the one hand, while at the same time imposing sanctions on Chinese photovoltaic enterprises, said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for Chinas foreign ministry, during a daily briefing on Nov. 2.

In June, the Biden administration made several moves to confront Beijing regarding forced labor allegations in Chinas far-western Xinjiang region, where more than 1 million Uyghurs are being detained in internment camps. The U.S. government has characterized the communist regimes treatment of Uyghurs as genocide.

The Department of Labor added polysilicon produced in China to its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. Then the Commerce Department added five Chinese companiesamong them silicon manufacturer Hoshine Silicon Industryto its trade blacklist. Finally, the Department of Homeland Security issued a withhold release order, banning the import of silica-based materials made by Hoshine and its subsidiaries, as well as overseas products made with Hoshine materials.

Photovoltaic panels, a type of solar panel, are made from polysilicon, which is produced by purifying metallurgical grade silica.

Wenbin isnt the first Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official to say there are strings attached if Washington wants Beijings cooperation on combating climate change.

In September, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting Biden administration climate envoy John Kerry that ChinaU.S. climate cooperation cannot be separated from the wider environment of the SinoU.S. relations.

Yi also told Kerry that Washington must respond to its demands and that the United States should take practical actions to improve SinoU.S. relations.

Chinas state-run media outlets have also preached the same narrative. On Nov. 1, Chinas hawkish state-run Global Times, in an editorial on the climate conference, accused U.S. policy toward China of being wicked and arrogant, which it said made it impossible for China to see any potential to have fair negotiation amid the tensions.

That policy includes attacks on Chinas human rights, a crackdown on Chinese tech companies, and voicing support for Taiwan to contain Chinas rise, according to the article.

China is the worlds largest producer and consumer of coal, which is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions. In September 2020, Chinese leader Xi Jinping made an environmental pledge, declaring that Chinas carbon emissions would peak before 2030 and that the nation would reach carbon neutrality by 2060.

Xi, who has chosen to not attend COP26, called for stronger action on climate change in a written statement for the climate conference. He didnt make new environmental pledges.

Xis absence has drawn criticism. On Nov. 2, President Joe Biden told a press conference that it was a big mistake that Xi didnt show up at the climate conference.

How do you do that and claim to have any leadership mantle? Biden said.

At the same time, Chinese officials havent been holding back on criticizing the United States on its climate action.

ChinaU.S. joint efforts resulted in the Paris Agreement.  You cant just give up, but the U.S. gave up, Chinese climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua told reporters at Glasgow. Five years were wasted, but now we need to work harder and catch up.

Former President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement, but Biden reentered the agreement after taking office on Jan. 20.

On Nov. 3, Zhang Jun, Chinas ambassador to the U.N., took to Twitter to criticize the United States for blame shifting and having backpedaled its climate policies many times.

Anders Corr, principal at the New York-based political consultancy firm Corr Analytics, questioned the communist regimes sincerity in its carbon emission promises in his analysis for The Epoch Times on Nov. 1.

But even if the regime in Beijing promises the world, it will be next to meaningless without immediate and verifiable achievements in meeting short-term milestones, Corr wrote, pointing to how Beijing broke its promise to safeguard Hong Kongs autonomy under the 1984 SinoBritish Joint Declaration.

So until China democratizes or definitively limits its emissions, the worlds more responsible nations should impose economic sanctions on China in the form of coordinated climate tariffs.

In response to a query from The Epoch Times, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said that Washington is committed to its climate goals and will cooperate with all countries to address the climate crisis.

We will continue to stand up for human rights and will not be complicit in Chinas abusive and unfair trade and labor practices by importing into the United States products that are tainted by forced labor, the spokesperson said.

Reuters contributed to the article.

This article was updated to add comments from the U.S. State Department.
A clerk counts stacks of Chinese yuan and U.S. dollars at a bank, in Shangai, China, on July 22, 2005. (China Photos/Getty Images)

Chinas Regulatory Storm Targets Cross-Border Internet Brokerages

CCP breaks vows to the WTO, tightens financial market

China has been targeting cross-border internet brokerage firms in a regulatory storm. Those firms could be accused of illegal financial business if they provide overseas securities investment services to Chinese clients, according to a high-ranking financial official.

On Oct. 24, Sun Tianqi, director of the Bureau of Financial Stability of Chinas Central Bank, said at the 3rd Bund Summit in Shanghai that cross-border internet brokerages are driving without a license and are illegal financial activities in China, according to the mouthpiece media.

Some foreign securities operators using the internet platform and serving exclusively for domestic investors are defined as cross-border delivery that China has not recognized, Sun said, noting they are not approved with the relevant licenses issued by the Chinese Community Party (CCP), and it is obviously no use to just hold a foreign license in China.

In response to Chinas strict rules, on Oct. 28 overseas-listed internet brokerage firms Futu and Tiger saw their shares falling accordingly; Futus U.S. shares dropped 30 percent for one time, 13 percent for the day.

On Oct. 29 Futus shares further weakened, slumping by 9 percent to $53.47, a slash of 73 percent compared to $204 early this year, which trimmed its cumulative growth to 9 percent for the year, said Hong Kong Economic Times.

Dr. Frank Tian Xie, a John M. Olin Palmetto Chair Professor in Business and Professor of Marketing at the University of South Carolina Aiken, told The Epoch Times that the CCPwhen it joined the WTO 20 years agovowed to open Chinas financial markets, but now the ruling Party not only failed to fulfill its promise, but also treats as illegal Chinese people who buy financial products outside of China, which, according to Xie, is a violation of citizens rights.

According to a private wealth report of 2021 by China Merchants Bank, Chinese residents overseas investments grew rapidly, with a compound average annual growth rate of 32 percent from 2008 to 2020, placing them in front of all other investable categories.

Futu owns more than 15.5 million registered users and more than 1 million clients with assets, as of the second quarterthe total assets of Futu and Tigers clients reached $80.9 billion by the end of the first quarter. In 2022, Chinese investors are expected to invest $3.5 trillion overseas, of which 27.7 percent (about $970 billion) will be spent in the stock market, said Guosen Securities (pdf), a Chinese state-owned financial services company, citing statistics from Oliver Wyman, an American management consulting firm and iResearch, a Chinese consulting company.

Liang Jiewen, investment manager of Wocom Securities based in Hong Kong, told The Epoch Times that if the scale of Chinese clients of those overseas internet brokerage firms mounts to a certain quantity, coupled with the snowballing effect of capital, it would more or less shake the CCPs exchange rate system, and the regime would have no way to monitor it.

There is no way [for the CCP] to know how much Chinese Yuan is involved, or how many investors are exchanging foreign currency or buying stocks through this channel, that is, overseas stock assets, Liang said.

A wave of stock dumping will be triggered if mainland China initiates an overall crackdown over cross-border internet brokers, also a turmoil for global stock markets, reported Hong Kong Oriental Daily News.

Xie said Chinas current situation is not enough to heavily impact the global stock market.

However, since investing in overseas stocks will lead to a massive loss of foreign exchange in China, the CCP is addressing this major problem by restraining capital outflow, Xie said.

Because the CCP has seen the shortage tension from foreign exchangefor example, Evergrande and other real estate companies cannot repay their foreign debtsthe Central Bank and the Foreign Exchange Bureau have been forced to rescue them, but they can not make it, added the economist, therefore, the CCP must curb capital outflow and cut off overseas investment.

Julia Ye Follow Julia Ye is an Australian-based reporter who joined The Epoch Times in 2021. She mainly covers China-related issues and has been a reporter since 2003.
Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Penn. will close at the end of 2021. (Courtesy of Tower Health)

Closing Pennsylvania Hospital Gives 293 Employees Layoff Notice

Tower Health, a regional Pennsylvania health care system, issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice this week in anticipation of closing one of its hospitals. It is one of many financial moves the system is making.

Early in the pandemic, the government mandated the shutdown of all nonessential health care services, Richard Wells, Tower Health communications and government relations director told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. It had a huge negative impact on our financial performance.

The closing of the 63-bed Jennersville Hospital in West Grove was originally announced in late September. A WARN notice must be issued by an employer through the Department of Labor 60 days before a mass layoff, described as 50 or more workers. It gives employees time to search for new work and to work with unemployment offices.

Tower Health will lay off 293 workers by Dec. 31 at Jennersville Hospital, Jennersville Family Medicine, West Grove of PA Associates, and West Grove Clinic. Jennersville Hospital had been underperforming financially before the pandemic, Wells said, but the entire system suffered during the pandemic.

The health care system is also transferring ownership of Chestnut Hill Hospital and more than a dozen Tower Health urgent care centers to Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic; and forming an alliance with Penn Medicine which will develop over time, Wells said.

Tower Heath remains independent, Well said. We are in the midst of a financial turnaround. We have had to take a number of actions to close out our operating losses.

In June 2020, the health system cut 1,000 jobs and closed the maternity ward at Pottstown Hospital in Montgomery County.

The system ended fiscal year 2020 with a $436.9 million operating loss and reported a $445.7 million operating loss in fiscal 2021, which ended June 30.

Tower Health, based in West Reading, had operated seven hospitals before the changes. It will continue to operate St. Christophers Hospital for Children, a partnership of Tower Health and Drexel University in Philadelphia, and the system is working with local and state agencies and organizations to help secure St. Christophers long-term future.

In addition, Tower Health is continuing to evaluate options to determine and define the future of Brandywine Hospital in a way that best meets community needs.
Collision Sends Car Crashing Into Lincoln Park Juice Bar, Injuring Seven

SAN DIEGOSeven people, including a child, were injured Nov. 2 when two cars collided on Lincoln Park street and one of them careened off the roadway and plowed into a cafe.

The crash just east of Interstate 805 occurred shortly after noon, when a motorist heading south on 47th Street at high speed failed to stop for a red light at Logan Avenue, according to San Diego police.

In the intersection, the speeding drivers car crashed into the passenger side of a westbound vehicle, sending it smashing into a restaurant, Officer John Buttle said.

The 60-year-old driver who had run the stoplight then got out of her crumpled car and ran off, Buttle said.

Paramedics took the victims, five of whom were seriously hurt, to hospitals for treatment of various injuries, the city agency reported.

The patients included customers of the eatery and two people who had been in the vehicle that crashed into the structure, according to police.

Officers found the alleged hit-and-run driver a short distance from the site of the accident and took her into custody, Buttle said.

Her name was not immediately available.
A U.S. MH-60S Sea Hawk flies by Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force ship J.S. Shimakaze above waters around Okinawa southwest of the Korean peninsula on Oct. 9, 2017. (U.S. Navy via Reuters)

Consequences of America Losing a War to ChinaPart 2

Commentary

In July Japans Vice Defense Minister Yasuhide Nakayama told the Hudson Institute that China and Russia could launch a surprise Pearl Harbor-style attack in the Pacific. The Washington Examiner and Reuters quoted Nakayama as insisting the United States and Japan must demonstrate the will to deter both China and Russia because they are doing their (military) exercises together. They conduct exercises from Honolulu to Japan, which means Americas protection line is going  backwards .

Nakayama said China would likely target Taiwan. But that threatens Okinawa (a Japanese island with U.S. bases). Mid-Pacific exercises demonstrate targeting Hawaii and the West Coast, so he couldnt rule out an attack on Hawaii reprising 1941 but employing 21st-century weaponry. In 1941 Japan also attacked the Philippines and Southeast Asiaa multi-pronged strategic offensive.

Nakayama called Chinese President Xi Jinpings regime aggressive  (in) thought and will  So wake up. We have to wake up.

I agree. In last weeks column I argued its foolish to believe an intense war involving China and the U.S. would be confined to the Taiwan Straits and end with Taiwans loss. Chinese anti-ship and land-attack missiles can reach the eastern Pacific. In a recent Pentagon war game, Chinese missiles hit regional U.S. basesmeaning they hit Japan, South Korea and Guam and perhaps Australia, Singapore and Hawaii.

China has territorial goals. China wants to move through the first island chain (southern Japan to Borneo). That means seizing Taiwan. China also targets the second island chain from the east coast of Honshu (Tokyos location) through Guam to New Guinea.

Note: Guam is sovereign U.S. territory. Like California and Vermont.

Communist China is conducting military preparation of the battlefield operations on four fronts, three in the Pacific. No. 1: In the Himalayas confronting India, Chinese road crews inch forwardsupply routes for a subcontinent war. No. 2: Chinas artificial islands in the South China Sea (west Pacific) step toward Singapore, the Straits of Malacca, and the Indian Ocean. No. 3: Chinese forces routinely probe neighboring air and sea spaces. The most provocative probe Taiwan and Japan. No. 4: Chinese diplomats seek bases worldwide but especially Pacific bases. In 2019 Kiribati cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Now China intends to upgrade Kiribatis airfields1,800 miles from Hawaii.

Whats the time frame for triggering this war? In 1992/93, the late director of the Secretary of Defenses Office of Net Assessments, Andrew Marshall, gave his consultants a long-term thought experiment: How could the United States fight and win a war for national survival against China circa 2020 or 2025?

Yes, chillingly prescient. What keeps a Taiwan or western Pacific war with China from escalating to a war for national survival?

Nothingwhich is why China must either be deterred or stopped cold if it attacks Taiwan.

Three factors suggest China might strike in 2023 or election year 2024. No. 1: The Biden administration is incompetent. Its Afghanistan debacle created serious concerns about U.S. reliability. No. 2: Division erodes American public will to resist. A hot-button example: morale-sapping faculty club nostrums like critical race theory (recast Marxist tribalism) being imposed on the military.

Will matters. Prussian strategic theorist Carl von Clausewitz called war a clash of wills.

No. 3: The United States has no immediate counter for Chinas Anti-Access/Area Denial strategy that threatens U.S. carrier battle groups with destruction as they move to the western Pacific. The U.S. Navy cant risk losing carriers.

If China quickly wins the big Taiwan battle and breaks out, what could be lost? Heres a list of terrible consequences to mull. OkinawaJapanese territory lost to China. Beijing neutralizes Singapore, gaining control of the primary route to the Indian Ocean. South Korea, Japan and Australia are isolated.

If China says it will nuke California unless the United States gives up Guam, what do characters like President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken say? Is Beijing making an offer political hacks cant refuse?

We can deter Chinaif we dont project weakness. The Navys 2021 fleet battle problem and the Armys long-range fires concept are examples of creative military operational concepts that can defeat China. What we could use are several score small, cheap ships armed with weapons to suppress Chinese shore-based firepower so the carriers can deliver a coup de grace.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
COVID-19 in Historical Perspective

Commentary

The COVID-19 pandemic has been around long enoughabout two years since it first emerged in Chinas Wuhan cityfor the first draft of history to segue into a deeper understanding of its lessons and implications.

While historians will debate its consequences for decades to come, at this point, we may draw five conclusions about its broader implications for the Chinese regime and the world.

Beijing Conceals the Truth

First, as time passes, some facts, already transparent today, will be recognized as truth as more actors are forced to admit them. The Chinese regime concealed the facts of COVID-19s origins, ease of transmission, and withheld information that allowed COVID-19s propagation. The World Health Organization (WHO) was complicit in this deception to its lasting disgrace. The regime lied about the provenance of the virus, at various times blaming the U.S. Army, the Italians, or others for its origins. Countless other governments and media went along with these disseminations.

Furthermore, the Chinese regime crushed those within China who tried to tell the truth. These individuals still have not received appropriate attention from the world, and yet to receive accolades, posthumously in some cases, that they meritwhich certainly includes Nobel prizes.

COVID-19 has taught the world that the Chinese regime is duplicitous, as are the organizations like the WHO it has corrupted. As it cannot be trusted, the worlds image of China will be one of deceit so long as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is in power.

COVID-19 Takes a Toll on Worlds Population, Economy, Politics

Second, the pandemic demonstrated the powerful effects of viruses as weapons of mass destruction, even if inadvertently in this case. The virus took a sledgehammer to the worlds population, economy, and politics.

It killed and weakened millions, disrupted families and livelihoods, produced a host of second-order effects, including greater isolation that has increased suicide rates, drug use, and hindered education of the young and care of loved ones in nursing homes.

The virus decimated the global economy, shook the foundations of globalization, demonstrated how vulnerable economies are to manufacturing in China, particularly of medication, ingredients, medical equipment, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

The political effects of the pandemic included the weakening of President Donald Trumps chances for re-election, and ensured that the seeds of his appropriately tough policies toward the CCP did not flower under the Biden administration.

Perhaps the most lasting impact was on the democracies. The virus showed that authorities will employ public health to strengthen their power at the cost of individual rights.

COVID-19 Disrupts Global Supply Chain

Third, the virus introduced an issue long thought resolved: the wisdom of China as the worlds workshop. Putting all your manufacturing eggs in one basket was clearly foolish. At the same time, it remains to be seen if the rebalancing of manufacturingavoiding sole production in China, but producing in India and other alternatives, or in the United States and the Westis permanent, or if the lessons of the pandemic are forgotten and manufacturing returns in large measure to China.

Memories can be short, and the lure of profits compelling. So it would not be a surprise to see manufacturing, including of PPE, return to China, restoring the status quo ante.

Moreover, the CCP retains great influence among the worlds industrialists and politicians to grease the wheels for a return. The return of critical manufacturing to China may be unthinkable today, but will be in the future if momentum is not sustained.

Lessons learned are soon forgotten.

Laboratory technicians wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) working on samples to be tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus at a testing facility in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Aug. 4, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

COVID-19: A Biological Weapon?

Fourth, the suspected origins of the virus, likely a release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has called attention to the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) biological weapons research.

The PLAs program was always in the shadows and easy to hide because of the dual-use problem. That is, what is done for civilian purposes, such as research into gain of function, may also have military implications. Leaving apart the PLAs research at its facilities, the scope and capabilities of Chinas civilian research laboratories suggests that the PLA has been profiting handsomely from civilian research.

Other states have yet to comprehend why the PLA has such an interest in biological weapons. Moreover, they have yet to grapple with the consequences of why the PLA seeks to develop these weapons and how the PLA would employ them.

It is time for the world to pressure China to reveal the truth about its biological weapons program. History may reveal that the lessons the PLA learned from COVID-19 were that biological weapons can work to achieve the CCPs goals, however disastrous for the worlds population.

The Next Outbreak

Fifth, given COVID-19s colossal impact, the world is rightfully concerned about the next outbreak. The following issues are at the forefront. From now on, the threat of a virus in China is going to roil the worlds public health, economies, politics, and trade.

In the wake of COVID-19, the world can imagine that a future mysterious illness, a COVID-X in China, is going to have significant effects on global health, markets, trade, transportation, and political prospects. No one is going to want to go through that again.

Much like World War I, COVID-19 has caused a searing shared experience for all generations the world over. The legacy of that war and of COVID-19 means that the Chinese regime, like Hitler before World War II, possesses a powerful tool to manipulate to advance its aimsthe fear of a repetition of a horrific experience.

The Chinese regime has a mechanism to threaten another outbreak, or capitalize upon another one, to coerce states to do its bidding. The threat of a future pandemic has entered Beijings portfolio as fillips to its control of power. To buttress its legitimacy, the CCP will argue that it must remain in power as only it can adopt the draconian steps needed to contain a future COVID-X, and thus save the world. But only if the CCP so chooses. As only the Chinese regime can prevent or facilitate its global spread, clearly the rest of the world better do what it says. Thus, Beijing has a new instrument to get what it wants from other states and international actors.

The historical implications of COVID-19 may now be perceived. Sadly, the last act of the COVID-19 tragedy is yet to be played as the CCP realizes what a powerful weapon it possesses: the threat of future pandemics, the global fear this causes, and the ability to manipulate this fear to aid its hold on power, while holding the world hostage to its decisions.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
People queue for swab test for Covid-19 coronavirus in Beijing on November 1, 2021. (Photo by Noel Celis / AFP) (Photo by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)

COVID-19 Spreads to Beijings Political Center, Traveling Residents Not Allowed to Return

Beijing residents, traveling outside their city, are not allowed to return to the capital as authorities tighten COVID-19 measures in response to a rising number of cases in 16 provinces.

Authorities announced on Nov. 1 that Beijingers who had left the city should not come back any time soon.

If you have not yet returned to Beijing, please postpone your return to Beijing and cooperate with local prevention and control measures, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission announced.

The restriction measures reportedly caught many traveling Beijingers off guard, especially those who had a negative nucleic acid test certificate earlier within the required time of 48 hours.

Social media posts reflected dissatisfaction over the orders among those traveling outside their city and an article titled Why cant I return to Beijing after I leave Beijing, stuck in a closed-loop was widely circulated.

The Beijing authorities also requested that residents not leave the city unless necessary.

There have also been reports of more than 100 flights being canceled in Beijing.

The news comes as the ruling Chinese Communist Partys top conferencethe Sixth Plenary Sessionis set to be held in Beijing on Nov. 8-11.

The authorities said that there were 93 new local symptomatic cases for Nov. 2 in the country, up from 54 a day earlier, reported Reuters which added that Beijing reported nine new local infections, the biggest one-day increase in the city this year. The actual total number of diagnosed cases in the city remains unclear.

On Oct. 29 a wedding photographer was diagnosed at the Beijing Hotel, less than a kilometer (0.6 miles) from the Chinese regimes political centerZhongnanhai and the Great Hall of the People.

Now everyone in that area (around the hotel) have to be tested and need to be quarantined, a Beijing resident surnamed Li told Radio Free Asia on Nov.1.

People are denied entry to the city even their health codes are green, Li said.

On Oct. 30, Beijings Tongzhou District announced that it had handled seven cases involving COVID-19 epidemics violations. Nine people had been administratively detained for reasons such as entering Beijing in violation of regulations and trying to avoid inspections.
People walk by a CVS Pharmacy store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, N.Y., on Nov. 30, 2017. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

CVS Sees Higher Adjusted Profit as COVID-19 Tests, Vaccinations Rebound

CVS Health Corp. on Wednesday lifted its full-year adjusted earnings forecast after robust demand for COVID-19 vaccinations and tests helped the U.S. healthcare conglomerate beat analysts estimates for third-quarter profit.

Rival Walgreens Boots Alliance also signaled a boost from higher demand for vaccinations following the spread of the Delta variant.

CVS said it had administered more than 8 million COVID-19 tests and more than 11 million COVID-19 vaccines in the third quarter.

The company had in August cut its 2021 expectations for the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses it would administer at its clinics to a range of 32 million to 36 million, from its prior view of 29 million to 44 million doses, reflecting a slowdown in vaccinations during the second quarter.

CVS, best known for its large chain of drugstores across the United States, also operates a health insurance business, and a pharmacy benefits management unit, which helps negotiate lower drug prices for its customers such as employers and health insurers.

Sales in its health insurance unit rose 9.5 percent to $20.48 billion, while medical benefit ratio (MBR), the percentage of premiums paid for medical services, rose to 85.8 percent from 84 percent last year, due to higher COVID-19 related costs.

Health insurers medical costs have been in flux since the beginning of the pandemic. Lower medical claims for non-urgent procedures helped control costs, but COVID-19 vaccinations and care pushed them higher.

Revenue at its pharmacy benefit management unit rose 9.3 percent to $39.05 billion.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.97 per share, above estimates of $1.78, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

CVS now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share of $7.90 to $8.00, from $7.70 to $7.80 previously.
Peter Daszak, a member of the World Health Organization team investigating the origins of COVID-19, speaks to media upon arriving at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on Feb. 3, 2021. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Daszaks EcoHealth Letter Reveals Gain-of-Function Research Continued, CCP Censorship

Commentary

Last week, EcoHealth Alliances Peter Daszak responded to a demand from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for any and all unpublished data from its experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Daszaks letter not only failed to provide NIH with the required information, it also revealed that crucial virus data from EcoHealths experiments with the Wuhan Institute (WIV) are actively being censored by Chinese Communist Party authorities.

Additionally, Daszak revealed that EcoHealth and the lab continued to jointly conduct gain-of-function experiments into April 2020 and EcoHealths experiments may have continued beyond that point. The letter also disclosed the existence of additional EcoHealth progress reports on its activities in Wuhan that covered the critical periods directly before and immediately after the start of the pandemic. Those reports havent been made public.

These latest revelations followed an Oct. 20 letter to Congress written by NIH Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak. In that letter, the NIH finally conceded that it had funded gain-of-function experiments that were conducted by EcoHealth and the WIV.

In conjunction with this admission, the NIH sent a separate letter addressed to EcoHealth, which gave the organization five days to submit to NIH any and all unpublished data from its experiments at the Wuhan lab.

Daszak responded in a five-page letter sent to NIHs Deputy Director for Extramural Research, Michael Lauer. Instead of directly replying to NIHs demand letter about EcoHealths missing data, Daszak framed his response as a direct retort to Tabaks letter to Congress.

Daszaks letter, reading more like a legal response than a compliance response, took issue with a number of items in Tabaks letter and noted that these types of mistakes about the timing or nature of our reporting can be better addressed by contacting us to request clarification prior to responding to any congressional inquiry.

EcoHealth Cites System Lockout for Submission Failure

NIH had demanded EcoHealths outstanding data after it became publicly known that the organization failed to submit a required fifth-year progress report on experiments it was doing at the Wuhan Institute in 2018 and 2019. EcoHealths failure to submit this report was only recently discovered, after The Intercept sued the NIH for documents relating to EcoHealth.

Daszak said that EcoHealth had actually first uploaded the fifth-year report in July 2019before the Sept. 30, 2019, deadlinebut claimed that when they tried to officially submit the uploaded report, the system locked EcoHealth out at that point.

Daszak also claimed that EcoHealth made one request for further information about the submission failure from an NIH grant-management specialist, but didnt receive a response. Daszak then blamed the NIH for EcoHealths submission failure by noting that NIH never sent a request for the fifth-year report despite being in frequent communication with NIH staff during that period.

Daszaks letter fails to explain why other EcoHealth NIH-funded projects apparently didnt run into similar lockouts.

Daszak said he heard nothing on the matter until July 23, when EcoHealth received the first demand letter from NIHsent as a result of the Intercept lawsuitrequesting the missing fifth-year report. Daszak claimed that EcoHealth complied immediately but still had difficulty in circumventing the NIH system lockout.

Daszak also claimed that the NIH renewed EcoHealths grant in July 2019, and Daszak cited this new grant award from NIH as providing justification for his failure to submit the fifth-year report.

Because the new award had been made and the work was permitted to commence, we had no indication there was anything missing.

Daszak stated that he assumed that the Year 1 report for the renewal grant would provide all of the relevant information to NIH.

EcoHealth Gain-of-Function Work With Wuhan Lab Appears to Have Continued Into at Least 2020

Daszaks disclosure of the existence of a new and previously unknown Year 1 report for the period from mid-2019 to 2020 in the NIH renewal grant reveals that Daszaks virus work with the Wuhan lab went well beyond the timeframe covered by the missing fifth-year report. Exactly how long EcoHealths work continued, and exactly what that work entailed, isnt yet known.

However, it appears that EcoHealths virus experiments with the Wuhan Institute continued throughout 2019 and into 2020. Its been reported that President Donald Trump had forced NIH to terminate EcoHealths funding of work at the WIV in April 2020.

Daszaks letter acknowledged that even though the grant was terminated and then suspended, and funding is not available to us to work on this, we have continued to comply with NIH reporting requests, and submitted reporting for Years 6 and 7 of this grant.

Years 6 and 7 equate to the first two years of the 2019 to 2024 renewal grant that was issued in July 2019. These reports havent been made public, nor is it known what types of experiments, if any, were conducted during this period.

EcoHealth Attempts to Obfuscate Virus Growth

Under the original NIH grant, EcoHealth was obligated to immediately stop any experiments that showed evidence of enhanced virus growth greater than 10 times compared to the original virus.

However, EcoHealth didnt immediately report, nor stop an experiment at the Institute that created novel coronaviruses with 10,000 times higher viral loadorders of magnitude greater than the limit that should have triggered the NIH obligation.

This experiment was belatedly reported after the fact as part of the fourth-year progress report submitted by EcoHealth in 2018. To make matters worse, related experiments continued into year 5the period for which EcoHealth had originally failed to submit a progress report.

Daszak appears to have circumvented the NIH reporting requirements by claiming that the viral load data was based on genome copies per gram not viral titer. But the NIH never specified using viral titer measuringa process that Daszak didnt even undertake.

Rather, the NIHs directive on cessation of experiments only cited viral growth, which Daszaks experiments demonstrated beyond question.

Rutgers University biologist Richard Ebright wrote on Twitter that the attempt to invoke viral titer measuring by Daszak is a distinction without a difference. The viral load grew to over 10,000 when it should have remained under 10. By any measure, the laboratory-created virus was far more pathogenic than the reporting trigger requirements set forth in the NIH grant.

Daszak appears to have attempted to bolster his weak excuse, claiming that given the small number of humanized mice used to conduct the experiment, it was uncertain whether the survival and weight loss data were statistically relevant. In other words, Daszak was essentially arguing that the out-of-bounds results of EcoHealths experiments should be ignored because EcoHealths work had been sloppy.

Ebright responded to Daszaks excuse by tweeting that EcoHealth has reached a point of such desperation that it now points to the slipshod character of its research, and the limited predictive value of its research, as defense.

EcoHealth Admits to CCP Censorship, Control of Data

In the last section of his letter, Daszak admitted that EcoHealth has still failed to provide the data demanded by NIH.

Daszak blamed President Trump for terminating EcoHealths grant in April 2020, claiming that the lack of funding and the instructions to cease work with the Wuhan lab had led to significant disruption of the normal interactions and dialogue among collaborating scientists.

The reference to the disruption of dialogue between scientists serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that access to much of the EcoHealth data is dependent on Chinese consent.

Daszak made that point abundantly clear when he told the NIH that he was unable to share genetic sequence data obtained through NIH-funded experiments precisely because that data was going through an approval process by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities.

In other words, U.S. taxpayers gave Daszak millions of dollars, funded through Faucis organizationthe National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseasesto conduct advanced gain-of-function experiments, only for the results of those experiments to be withheld and censored by the CCP.

This absurd arrangement with the CCP is inherently a breach of the terms and conditions of Daszaks NIH grant, which specifically demanded that all genetic sequence data be made publicly available. CCP oversight and control isnt part of that agreement.

That the genetic sequence data remains under the control of the CCP also completely invalidates both Daszaks and NIHs emphatic claims that EcoHealths Wuhan experiments couldnt have caused the pandemic.

In reality, its simply not knowable what viruses were studiedbecause Daszak hasnt released all his data and because some significant portion of that data remains subject to CCP censorship.

While it appears as though EcoHealth and NIH are now engaged in a potentially escalating war of words, their interests remain fundamentally aligned. EcoHealth and NIH share the same underlying goalto convince the world that they werent involved in the creation of COVID-19.

Jeff Carlson Follow Jeff Carlson co-hosts the show Truth Over News on Epoch TV. He is a CFA-registered Charterholder and worked for 20 years as an analyst and portfolio manager in the high-yield bond market. He also runs the website TheMarketsWork.com and can be followed on Twitter @themarketswork.
New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams waves to supporters as he takes the stage during his election night party at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Nov. 2, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Democrat Eric Adams Defeats Republican Curtis Sliwa for New York Mayor

Democrat Eric Adams defeated Republican Curtis Sliwa to become New York Citys next mayor, according to a projection from The Associated Press.

The polls are officially closed in NYC, Adams wrote on Twitter. To our supporters, volunteers & endorsers of all backgrounds, faiths & from every corner of NYC: Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for being a part of our team. Tonight, we celebratebecause tomorrow, the real work begins!

Adams, the current Brooklyn Borough president and former police captain, was considered the overwhelming favorite to win the mayoral race after emerging victorious in the Democratic primary earlier this year. He will replace Mayor Bill de Blasio, also a Democrat, in January.

When taking office, he will be faced with choices about whether to continue, or expand, vaccine mandates put in place by de Blasio, a Democrat who was limited by law to two terms. As a candidate, Adams referenced his working-class roots and being raised with five siblings by a single mother who cleaned houses. He described carrying a garbage bag of clothes to school out of fear his family would be evicted.

Adams has said he supports de Blasios vaccine mandate for New York City, including for New York City Police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other city workers.

Mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa participates in the Columbus Day parade, in Manhattan, N.Y., on Oct. 11, 2021. (Enrico Trigoso/The Epoch Times)

During the Democratic primary, in a bid to fend off more progressive candidates, Adams cast himself as a moderate who opposes the defund the police movement and said hed bring back the use of stop-and-frisk in some cases as well as reviving the NYPDs anti-gun task force that was disbanded under de Blasio.

Other than seeking to strengthen public safety, Adams said he plans to make New York City more welcoming to businessesafter 18 months of pandemic-induced lockdowns.

We have been defined as a business-enemy city instead of a business-friendly city, he told Bloomberg in September.

After de Blasio recently announced a move to phase out the citys Gifted and Talented program, Adams last week told media outlets he would bring it back.

Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol four decades ago, ran a campaign punctuated by his signature red beret, part of the Guardian Angels uniform.

Sliwa first became a familiar New York figure when he founded the Guardian Angels in 1979. He later became a talk-radio host and survived an attempted mob hit incited by his radio commentary.

Sliwa has a penchant for staging stunts and holding news conferences at day-old crime scenes to highlight what he portrays as a city in decline, and hes also become known for living with more than a dozen rescue cats in his very small apartment with his wife.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Democratic candidate Shontel Brown waves to voters at the Bedford community Center, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, in Bedford Heights, Ohio. Brown is running for Ohio's 11th Congressional District. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Democrat Shontel Brown Wins Ohios 11th Congressional District: Projections

Shontel Brown won a seat in Congress, according to projections from a special election in Ohio.

Former coal executive Mike Carey, a Republican, appeared on track to win a race to fill the vacancy created when former Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) retired from representing Ohios 15th Congressional District. Brown, the chair of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, was projected by race trackers to win the race for a seat left vacant when former Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) joined President Joe Bidens administration.

Fudge is the secretary of housing and urban development.

Brown, also a Cuyahoga County Council member, was projected to win the race to represent Ohios 11th Congressional District.

Brown trumped Republican candidate Laverne Gore, according to the projections. She previously beat former state Sen. Nina Turner in the Democratic primary race.

Both Carey and Brown will hold their seats for about 13 months unless they win reelection in the 2022 midterms. The separate wins mean Democrats wont see their slim majority in the House of Representatives weakened.

Brown reacted to the apparent win on Twitter, posting a photograph that says, Thank you, OH-11!

Laverne Gore, Republican candidate for the Ohio 11th District U.S. congressional seat, smiles during a campaign stop at a Summit County Republican Party get-together in Stow, Ohio, on Oct. 27, 2021. (Phil Long/AP Photo)

Gore conceded late Tuesday, thanking supporters.

We have problems in #OH11 & I will not be the leader to bring solutions as your Congresswoman, she wrote on social media.

Brown received support from Biden and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the third-ranking Democrat in the House.

Brown ran on raising wages, helping bring more jobs to the district, and bolstering the public education system.

She also promised to try to combat shootings, with plans including requiring universal background checks for all gun sales and banning sales to anyone convicted of a hate crime or domestic violence.
Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin speaks during his election night party at a hotel in Chantilly, Va., on Nov. 3, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Democrats Squabble About Cause for Tuesday Election Losses

News Analysis

After Tuesday night brought an unexpected wave of losses and toss-ups, Democrats are left with the question of what happened and how they should move forward, but are far from united over the message that voters were trying to send.

In Virginia, a governor race that was expected to be razor-thin ended in victory for Republican Glenn Youngkin.

The governor-elect ran a campaign that focused strongly on social issues like critical race theory (CRT) in Virginia schools, distinguishing himself from other Republicans who have focused more on economic issues.

And this approach to his campaign garnered impressive results for Youngkin. In Loudon County, the epicenter of controversy over CRT and a historically blue district, Youngkin tallied around 45 percent of the vote, denying McAuliffe the support needed in the county to make up for his losses elsewhere in the state.

Even worse for Democrats, Republicans on Tuesday took back the Virginia House of Delegates in a historic sweep.

Democrats faced another unpleasant surprise Tuesday as incumbent Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey, considered a shoo in by many, has yet to declare victory due to razor-thin margins in the state. At the time of publication, Murphy was leading Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli by less than a percentage point.

While the race is too close to call, it is a harrowing sign for Democrats that the historically blue state is closely divided.

A Minneapolis referendum to abolish the police department in the city where George Floyd died also failed 57 percent to 43 percent, highlighting significant opposition to Democratic efforts to defund or abolish the police.

Many commentators portrayed these elections as a referendum on President Joe Biden and Democrats progressive policies.

But some Democrats see the vote as a mandate for them to double down and advance Bidens two-part agenda, including a $1.75 trillion reconciliation bill and a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) brushed off the lackluster election night.

Asked about her reaction to the Virginia results, Pelosi said Well, the people have spoken. We respect the result. But Pelosi insisted that the result will have no effect on House Democrats agenda.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) blamed the results on Democrats failure to move Bidens agenda forward in Congress as squabbles within the party continue.

A lot of politics is about timing, Kaine commented. And there was a time to do this that would have helped in both [Virginia and New Jersey].

Kaine added, [Terry McAuliffe] could have had a really great wind at his back if Democrats had been willing to get the deal done.

Moderates in the party disagree, however.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who has become the de facto leader of moderates in their negotiations over the budget bill, told reporters that the fault lies with McAuliffe.

You cant win in Virginia if you only appeal to very liberal voters, Warner commented.

A key swing vote, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) also blamed the party for the failure.

All of us have to be more attentive to the people back home, Manchin observed, adding that the real message from voters Tuesday was a demand that Democrats slow down and consider the policies they put forward.

Manchin also criticized his party for stoking division by trying to legislate on its own: We have a divided country that needs to be united, and you cant unite it through a one-party system.

Republicans, for their part, rejoiced over the news, predicting that it is a good sign for their party in 2022.

Congratulations Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin, Senate Republicans wrote in a tweet. Its a great night for Virginia and the rest of the country.

And, they added, its a sign of things to come in 2022!

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said of the results on Twitter: Voters just sent Democrats an unmistakable message: Stop misreading your mandate and ramming through a radical agenda that nobody wants. Democrats need to listen to the American people and drop their reckless taxing and spending spree that would hurt families and help China.

However, most Democrats have refrained from commenting on the Virginia results altogether, and it remains unclear how the party will move forward in the wake of these defeats. Many moderates are facing tough reelection campaigns in 2022, and may see these results as sobering.
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are seen in Washington in file photographs. (Getty Images)

Dems Brush Off Manchins Threats, Predict Swift Passage of Biden Agenda

After moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) re-upped his challenge to not vote for Democrats $1.75 trillion reconciliation bill, leaders in the party responded coolly, predicting that passage of the Biden agenda is near at hand.

The Biden agenda, consisting of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure (BIF) bill and the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better reconciliation bill, has been stalled for months now due to squabbles within the party.

Progressives, since the reconciliation process began, have demanded a bulky, ambitious budget; Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) initially planned to set the nation back $6 trillion. This number was far too high for moderates to support, and the bill was later scaled down to $3.5 trillion.

But for Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), $3.5 trillion was still far too much, forcing Democrats to further whittle down the bill to $1.75 trillion.

Manchin Demands More Time

The White House announced the $1.75 trillion compromise on Oct. 28.

This announcement caused many Democrats, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to assume that passage of the Biden agenda was in sight. But Sinema and Manchin, key to the agendas passage, did not commit to voting for the bill.

On Monday evening, Manchin made clear that more time is needed to consider the ramifications of even the substantially smaller bill.

I will not support a bill that is this consequential without thoroughly understanding the impact it will have on our national debt, our economy, and, most importantly, all of our American people, said Manchin. We must allow time for complete transparency and analysis on the impact of changes to our tax code, energy, and climate policies to ensure that our country is well-positioned to remain the superpower of the world.

Manchin also accused his party of hiding the price of the bill. The so-called $1.75 trillion reconciliation bill is full of shell games and budget gimmicks that make the real cost of the [bill] estimated to be nearly twice that amount, Manchin argued. This is a recipe for economic crisis. None of us should ever misrepresent to the American people what the real cost of legislation is.

To be clear, I will not support the reconciliation bill without knowing how the bill will impact our debt and our economy and our country. We wont know that until we work through the text.

Democrats Disregard Threats

While this demand appears to throw a wrench in the Democrats plans, on Tuesday they made clear that they are not concerned by the threat.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), leader of the 96-strong Congressional Progressive Caucus, admitted I did not understand [Manchins] press conference, adding, Im just focused on getting the two bills passed.

The progressive tried to avoid reporters questions on Manchin altogether, but when pushed, responded, Look, I just have to believe what the president said right after the Senator spoke, that he is confident he can deliver 51 votes for this plan. I am going to trust the president, our members are going to trust the president, and we are going to do the job we need to do.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) echoed the sentiment. I think the president has made a commitment  that he can have the votes, Khanna said. I dont think he would make that commitment if he didnt think he could get the votes.

Jayapal said that despite Manchins threat, I believe [passage of both bills] is gonna happen this week.

Pelosi made the same prediction. Were on course to pass our bill, Pelosi said of the reconciliation passage Monday night.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, was also optimistic. I believe at the end of the day were gonna find common ground as we always do, said Jeffries.

Others were more frustrated, however.

Sen. Bernie Sanders called for a swift end to negotiations, rejecting Manchins claim that more time is needed. These so-called negotiations have gone on week after week, month after month, Sanders said.

According to Sanders, progressives will continue to fight to strengthen the reconciliation billincluding expanding the bills healthcare provisionsbut, Sanders added, this process cannot go on week after week, month after month. Its finally gotta come to an end.

Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said much the same of the requested delay.

Look, if theres a legitimate effort to perfect the bill, I get it. If its about perfecting the bill, thats one thing; If its about stalling out on the bill, thats quite another. So the quest for perfection is reasonable, said Neal, before adding, howeverI meanwere there. And the differences are so small compared to the potential for achievement, I dont understand why this would be delayed any further.

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said that Joe Manchin does not get to dictate the future of our country.
DeSantis Introduces Election Integrity Bills to Go Before Legislature in Special Session

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 3 asked lawmakers in his state to take on several election integrity measures when they meet for the upcoming 2022 Legislative Session, which begins in January.

We are excited to say that next legislative session we are proposing another package of election integrity reforms that will make Florida the No. 1 state for elections, DeSantis said. I am excited that with this legislation, our state will be able to enforce election violations, combat voter fraud, and make sure violators are held accountable. If potential violators know they will be held accountable, they will be much less likely to engage in improper conduct in the first place.

Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, DeSantis asked legislators to add four election integrity measures to their priorities.

He said he wants lawmakers to pass legislation to create an Office of Election Crimes and Security to investigate allegations of violations of Floridas elections laws. The proposal would make the office the largest of its kind in the nation, with 25 sworn law enforcement officers and additional investigators. The office would be solely dedicated to investigating and prosecuting election crimes.

The governor wants to elevate the crime of ballot harvesting from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. Ballot harvesting, which is legal in some states, involves a coordinated effort to collect and drop off absentee ballots.

The first person who gets caughtno ones going want to do it again after that, DeSantis said.

Another proposal would require timelines for county supervisors of elections to clean up voter rolls, removing voters who have died, moved, or become ineligible for some other reason. The governor is also calling for a law to crack down on haphazard and un-secure dropbox locations.

The proposal asks for each dropbox to have a person supervising it and to have camera surveillance. DeSantis wants drop boxes removed immediately after voting ends, so they can be taken directly to a supervised area for counting.

I dont even think there should be drop boxes, the governor said, as the crowd cheered.

Once the office is in place, if people see an election-related problem, such as someone with a stack of 50 ballots, stuffing them into a dropbox, they will have an office to call that will investigate, he added.

The 2022 legislative proposal builds on election integrity legislation signed into law by DeSantis in May. That law strengthened voter identification requirements, prohibited the mass mailing of ballots, banned ballot harvesting, and barred private money from influencing elections in the Sunshine State.

Republicans heralded the new Florida election as one that would reinforce election integrity. Democrats charged that it was a voter-suppression measure designed to make it harder for Floridians to vote.

Correction: a previous version of this article stated an incorrect time for the legislative session when the election integrity bills would be considered. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
A school board meeting in an image from video in Loudoun County, Va., on June 22, 2021. (The Epoch Times via LCPS)

DHS Sees No Rise in Violence Against Educators, but Federal Probe Continues

Department of Homeland Security Counterterrorism Coordinator John Cohen said on Nov. 3 that the DHS hasnt found evidence of rising violence against educatorsrefuting the ostensible reason that Attorney General Merrick Garland launched an ongoing investigation into the matter.

Cohens remarks came during a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on domestic terrorism in response to questions from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who asked about Garlands decision last month to open an investigation into violence against educators. The probe comes at a time when parents groups have increased pressure on school boards over the teaching of critical race theory and the imposition of mask mandates, among other issues.

Garland cited a disturbing spike in harassment and threats of violence as his reason for opening the probe, but Cohen said at the hearing that his department has found no evidence of widespread violence.

Cohen said: We did reach out to state and local law enforcement. There have been some sporadic instances of violence at school board meetings and in educational facilities. However, the information that we received is that state and local law enforcement were not seeing widespread action.

Responding to questions from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Cohen said the DHS hasnt seen any quantifiable evidence of a rise in death threats.

Cohens statements mark the latest development undermining Garlands reason for launching an investigationan action critics accuse of being politically motivated and chilling free speech.

Last month, Garland admitted that the evidence underpinning his claims of rising threats of violence was a letter from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent to the Biden administrationa letter characterizing protesting parents as domestic terrorism threats and calling for the FBI to use statutes such as the Patriot Act.

Since then, the NSBA has retracted and apologized for the letter. A group of 17 state attorneys general has also called for Garland to rescind his memo, saying it chills lawful dissent.

Nevertheless, the federal probe continues. Garland defended his actions at an Oct. 27 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, saying that the NSBAs follow-up apology letter does not change the associations concern about violence and threats of violence.

Republican lawmakers demanded answers in a Nov. 1 letter to the DOJ, requesting internal emails and other records related to the probe.

Lawmakers also questioned FBI Assistant Director of Counterterrorism Timothy Langan about the matter at the Nov. 3 hearing.

Stefanik asked why the Department of Justice hadnt closed the investigation, given that the NSBA has retracted its letter, but Langan said that question would have to be referred to the DOJ. Stefanik then asked Langan whether he thinks the investigation should be closed, to which Langan replied that he doesnt want to speak for the AG.

Langan also said he didnt know whether any state or local governments had reached out to federal authorities for assistance dealing with threats of violence against educators.

When Stefanik raised questions about the status of a series of meetings Garland directed federal law enforcers to hold across more than 94 state, local, and other jurisdictions, Langan said he didnt know how many had taken place.

The FBI official said the district U.S. Attorneys Offices were to coordinate those meetings, which is why he didnt have much information.

Later in the hearing, Stefanik pointed out that Garlands memo directed the FBI to work with the U.S. Attorneys Offices to hold the meetings.

So the FBI is directing this, she said.

Langan maintained that the U.S. attorneys are the ones handling the meetings.

The FBIs not directing this. Its the U.S. Attorneys Office that, in my understanding, was going to direct and format the meetingsand we would react, he said.
Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid speaks during a press conference inside the Downing Street Briefing Room in London, on Oct. 20, 2021. (Toby Melville/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Health Department Cancels LGBTQ+ Charity Membership

The UKs Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has become the latest high-profile entity to end its membership with Stonewall, a controversial LGBTQ+ charity.

The charity has received increasing scrutiny this year for its lucrative diversity programmes, controversial advice to organisations, and alleged influence on public policy.

The DHSCs membership with Stonewall expired in February this year. In an email to The Epoch Times on Wednesday, the department confirmed it will not renew its membership next year.

Last year we conducted a full assessment of all our diversity and inclusion memberships and Stonewall was one of those we decided to not renew. We informed Stonewall of our decision in October 2021, a spokesperson said.

Earlier this year, women and equalities minister Liz Trussbefore becoming the foreign secretaryreportedly told officials that she was concerned government departments memberships with Stonewall were not good value for money.

Campaign group TaxPayers Alliance said in August that at least 327 public bodies had paid more than 3.1 million ($4.3 million) to Stonewall in membership fees and payments for other programmes over a three-year period.

Fifteen percent of the money (466,065, $647,085) was from the National Health Service and related bodies over a three-year period, and 58 health service organisations were members of Stonewalls Diversity Champions schemea paid programme that provides diversity training to employees.

Organisations also submit information to Stonewall to be included in its workplace equality indexes.

It was reported in June that Stonewall gave advice such as replacing the word mother with parent who has given birth as one of the things organisations can do to help bump up their rankings.

The BBCs Nolan Investigates podcast revealed last month that Ofcomthe UKs broadcasting regulatorhad been submitting the rulings it had made against broadcasters to Stonewalls Workplace Equality Index when asked to present evidence of what it had done in promoting LGBT equality in the wider community.

Ofcom denied being influenced by Stonewall, saying the index had no bearing whatsoever on its broadcasting standards decisions.

The report also said that Stonewall was described as the experts in workplace equality for LGBTQ+ people by a senior figure in the BBCs Diversity and Inclusion department, which was understood to have had a role in the drafting of the latest BBC News style guide around issues of sexuality and gender.

Stonewall told the podcast that it is completely normal and appropriate for charities to engage with public sector organisations to advocate for their beneficiaries to improve public policy.

Commenting on the DHSCs departure, Stonewall said organisations come and go as with all membership programmes.
Vistors must go through temperature check stations before entering the Downtown Disney shopping area at Disneyland and California Adventure themeparks in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 21, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Disneyland Fans Eagerly Wait for Trams to Return

Since Disneylands reopening earlier this year, visitors have endured almost a mile-long walk from the parking garage to the theme park gates as the parks tram services halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While some seem not to mind the stroll, others are waiting until they do not have to walk 15 to 20 minutes to arrive at Disneylands main gates.

Jessica Sanders, the owner of The Happiest Blog on Earth, stated the main complaint about the tram shut down she has heard about from her readers is mobility-focused.

Disney offers limited amounts of wheelchairs and strollers available for visitors to rent near the security screening at the parking structure, Sanders said.

Those run out early making the walk the only option if you arrive late, Sanders told The Epoch Times.

People walk through the Downtown Disney shopping and eating area in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Other complaints involve families with kids, especially when they must walk about a mile back to the parking structure after a day at the theme park.

Youll be feeling those extra steps on the way back after a long day at Disneyland where the average guest already walks about 8 miles per day, Sanders said.

Sydney Lawrence, a mother of two children, who travels to Disney periodically during the week with her family, dreads the long walk after a full day at the park.

Its a long walk to the car after a long day with sleepy kids, Lawrence told the Epoch Times. My kid is always wanting someone to carry him on the walk back.

Disneyland themepark in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Despite the call to bring the trams back into operation, other parents with children do not anticipate using them once they reopen.

I refuse to use any trams or buses and only stay where I can walk my sleeping kiddos home, Disney pass holder Amber told The Epoch Times. Folding up a stroller and removing groggy kiddos is not my idea of a happy ending to the day.

Disney fans who prefer using the trams to ride to and from the park might no longer have to walk much longer as the theme park announced the reopening of the trams in 2022, the Orange County Register reported.

The Epoch Times reached out a Disneyland spokesperson but did not receive a response by deadline.
The Penguin logo is visible on the spines of books displayed on a shelf at Book Passage in Corte Madera, Calif., on Nov. 2, 2021. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

DOJ Files Antitrust Lawsuit to Block $2 Billion Merger of Major Book Publishing Companies

Penguin Random House seeks to acquire its competitor, Simon & Schuster

The Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit on Nov. 2 to block a merger of two major book publishing companies.

Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher in the world, is seeking to acquire its competitor, Simon & Schuster, for $2.18 billion. The sale was announced in November 2020.

The DOJ said the acquisition would enable Penguin Random House to exert outsized influence over which books are published in the United States and how much authors are paid for their work.

The DOJ seeks to ensure fair competition in the U.S. publishing industry and its complaint (pdf), filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, reflects the DOJs commitment to pursuing economic opportunity and fairness through antitrust enforcement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Five publishers control the publishing industry in the United States. The other three publishers are HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan.

If the worlds largest book publisher is permitted to acquire one of its biggest rivals, it will have unprecedented control over this important industry, the attorney general said.

The complaint alleges the proposed merger would eliminate competition between publishers, which would mean lower advances for authors, fewer books, and less variety for consumers.

Simply put, if Penguin Random House acquires Simon & Schuster, the two publishers will stop competing against each other. As a result, authors will be paid less for their work. Authors who are paid less write less, which, in turn, means that the quantity and variety of books diminishes too, the DOJ said.

It also alleges that the merger would give Penguin Random House control of close to half the market for acquiring publishing rights to books and thereby leave hundreds of individual authors with fewer options and less leverage.

Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster said in a statement they would fight the lawsuit.

This is a pro-consumer, pro-author and pro-bookseller transaction, the statement said. Blocking the transaction would harm the very authors D.O.J. purports to protect. We will fight this lawsuit vigorously and look forward to [Penguin Random House] serving as the steward for this storied publishing house in the years to come.
EpochTV Review: National Institute of Health Admits Fauci Lied About Funding Gain-of-Function Research in Wuhan Lab

Commentary

Join Jeff Carlson and Hans Mahncke in the latest episode of Truth Over News as they expose the latest news relating to Anthony Faucis connection to funding dangerous research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology that led to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

After nearly two years of denials, Faucis organization, the National Institutes of Health, has finally admitted that it did in fact fund gain-of-function experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Although the NIH claims that the viruses it experimented on were too genetically distant to have caused COVID-19, IT failed to tell Congress that Peter Daszak, the person through whom Fauci funded the Wuhan lab, had kept a large number of unknown viruses in his possession and that only he, his researchers, and maybe the NIH knows what he did with those viruses or how close to COVID-19 they are. The NIH also conveniently edited its website to redefine what gain-of-function research means as they were making these admissions.

The NIH Principal Deputy Director, Lawrence A. Tabak, issued a disclosure saying that despite the NIHs insistent denials, it had in fact funded gain-of-function experiments at the Wuhan Institute. He wrote this in response to congressional inquiries, issuing a letter which went directly against previous claims by the NIH Director and Fauci. Tabak also acknowledged that Daszaks organization, the EcoHealth Alliance, which acted as the body through which Fauci funded the Wuhan lab, violated the terms and conditions of the NIH grant. Despite this, the NIH was still aware of the data from EcoHealth being reported in its annual progress reports. These reports should have alerted the NIH to the fact that NIH money was being used to conduct and move forward with dangerous gain-of-function experiments at the Wuhan lab.

The EcoHealth Alliance failed to submit their required final report, which should have been provided to NIH in 2019. The content of the reportrecently turned over after a two-year delaydetails how EcoHealth and Wuhan Institute of Virology had constructed a new laboratory-created coronavirus that showed a 10,000 fold higher viral load, along with higher pathogenicity than the original virus. These results were obtained from testing the newly created virus on humanized mice, which are mice adapted to carry functioning human genes and tissue, and are useful to test whether a new virus is capable of infection and transmission in humans. Tabaks letter to Congress stated that Daszaks experiments did not require strict oversight by NIH because the bat coronaviruses that were originally cited in Daszaks work were not yet shown to infect humans. However, one of the viruses tested by Daszak, the WIV1-SHC014-Cov, was a lab created virus that exhibited high lethality on the humanized mice. According to the belatedly submitted progress report, 75 percent of the humanized mice infected with the lab-created virus died.

Just because the experiments were not directly tested on humans does not mean that the NIH was unaware of the potential threat these experiments posed to humans. On the same day that Tabak wrote his letter, the NIH quietly removed its longstanding definition of gain-of-function experiments from its website, which had previously noted that any gain-of-function research intended to enhance the transmissibility and/or virulence of potential pandemic pathogens, which are likely to make them more dangerous to humans has been the subject of substantial scrutiny and deliberation and could only be conducted with appropriate biosafety and biosecurity controls. The new definition changes the wording to switch the focus from potential transmissibility to humans, to known and established transmission instead. This new definition senselessly allows Fauci-funded research by EcoHealth to not be under strict oversight by NIH.

This new definition also allows many statements made by Fauci and other health authorities in recent months to be technically correct, in that the NIH and NIAID funds did not directly support gain-of-function research that would have increased the transmissibility or lethality for humans, because the definition now leaves out mention of the potential of such research.

China Pressured WHO Investigators to Dismiss the Lab Leak Theory | Truth Over News [Full Episode]

Watch the full episode here.

The NIH published a statement on the same day Tabaks letter was sent to Congress saying that the research they funded at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was not close enough to be able to infect humans, but what they failed to mention is that this assertion is simply unknowable. In 2018, Daszak had submitted a proposal laying out his plans with the Wuhan Institute of Virology to create synthetic coronaviruses and to insert human specific cleavage sites to make those viruses more infectious. The proposal essentially provided a blueprint for making COVID-19. As part of this proposal, Daszak acknowledged that EcoHealth had in their possession a collection of 180 unique SARs Coronaviruses and these viruses had never been publicly shared. It is impossible for NIH to make definitive conclusions about what exactly EcoHealth did with its money because EcoHealth withheld data and information about such studies.

This fact has been implicitly acknowledged in Tabaks letter to Congress, where he admitted that EcoHealth had not fulfilled its duties to the NIH grant. The NIH denied it was funding gain-of-function experiments until it finally admitted it was doing exactly that. The institution then failed to hold EcoHealth accountable for requirements that the NIH themselves had imposed. The NIH knew Peter Daszak had potentially lethal viruses in his possession, which he had not shared with the wider scientific community as required by the NIH grant, and the NIH had no proof that Daszak had engaged in proper handling or containment of those unknown, lethal viruses. The NIH has known for years what EcoHealth and the Wuhan lab were doing, but no one stepped in to question or stop the experiments from happening, instead the money continued to flow.

Watch the full episode for more information and share this article to help uncover the truth about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Truth Over News premiers every Tues and Thurs at 5 p.m.exclusive on EpochTV.

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Ford Motor to Require Most of Its 32,000 US Salaried Employees Be Vaccinated

WASHINGTONFord Motor will require most of its 32,000-strong U.S. salaried workforce to be vaccinated by Dec. 8.

The second largest U.S. automaker said on Wednesday more than 84 percent of U.S. salaried employees already are vaccinated. The company deadline for most salaried workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 aligns to federal contractor guidelines.

Ford was still evaluating its policy for manufacturing locations, parts depots, and Ford Credit, including analyzing federal and collective bargaining requirements.

The health and safety of our workforce remains our top priority and we have been very encouraged by the support of our employees to comply with our protocols, including the more than 84-percent of U.S. salaried employees who are already vaccinated, Ford said in a statement.

As we continue to put measures in place to protect our team, Ford will now require most U.S. salaried employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8, which also aligns to federal contractor guidelines.

Ford said salaried workers who refuse to comply and do not get an approved medical or religious exemption could be placed on up to 30 days unpaid leave.

Detroits Big Three automakersGeneral Motors Co., Ford, and Chrysler-parent Stellantis NVsaid last month they would mandate vaccines for automakers in Canada.

Stellantis said on Wednesday it was continuing to monitor the situation and, in partnership with the (United Auto Workers union), evaluating additional actions to take in the best interest of employee health and safety.

GM did not immediately comment Wednesday.

By David Shepardson
Former Australian PM Urges World to Reduce Dependence on China Supply Chain

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged Australian businesses to reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturing by finding alternative sources for key raw materials amid the mounting pressure on global supply chains caused by the pandemic.

Id be a lot more scared about a shooting war with China than I would be about a couple of degrees rise in temperature over the next 50 or 60 years, Abbott said in an interview with Hudson Institute on Nov. 1.

We do not want to be needing China for anything that is absolutely critical to our long-term future  If we are dependent on China for that, we could certainly find ourselves deprived of it when we need it most.

He also said he would not buy important raw materials from China if he could get them from elsewhere, despite not against trading with China.

Abbott, who signed the Australia-China free trade agreement in his term of prime minister in 2015, made a landmark visit to Taiwan in October amid the tensions across the Taiwan strait and delivered a speech harshly criticizing Beijing.

He said in July that the Australian governments previous benign view of China looks like wishful thinking now.

Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and U.S. President Joe Biden at a joint press conference via AVL from The Blue Room at Parliament, in Canberra, Australia, on Sept. 16, 2021. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image)

The global supply chain was in crisis in the beginning of the pandemic, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of Dubai-based DP World, one of the worlds largest ports operators, told Bloomberg last month.

According to Sulayem, Chinas strategy of constantly closing ports in the face of the pandemic has led to delays for many manufacturers globally. As a result, he expects the global supply chain crisis to continue until 2023 and suggests moving away from dependence on the Chinese market.

Abbott also complimented Scott Morrison for AUKUS, the new trilateral alliance which assists Australia with acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, saying that it is an extraordinary decision that I wish I had been able to make in my time as prime minister.

We need more and better submarines now. We need them now, he said.

Talking about Australias international relations, the former prime minister emphasized the importance of uniting with India and Japan, the other two partners of QUAD.

All credit to India for appreciating the importance, particularly at this time of the democracies standing together for peace and freedom, and a rules-based global order, he said. I think its very important India is about to overtake China as the worlds most populous nation.

Then Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, centre rear, reviews an honour guard during a welcome ceremony with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, front, at Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo Monday, April 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

He also discussed the possibility to include Japan in the Five Eyes alliance, saying that Japan is a very, very serious country and that an attack of Beijing on Taiwan is regarded as an attack on Japan.

The closest possible strategic partnership with Japan is important for the future of the free world right now, he said.
The logo of Naval Group is seen at the French naval base in the shipbuilding town of Cherbourg-en-Contentin, France, on Sep. 23, 2021. (Stephane Mahe/Reuters)

French Ambassador Says Australias Submarine Deal Politically Motivated

Frances ambassador to Australia, Jean-Pierre Thebault, has suggested the decision to scrap an AU$90 billion submarine deal with France was politically motivated, according to local media.

His address to the National Press Club comes as bilateral tensions between Paris and Canberra soured this week after French President Emmanuel Macron, in an unprecedented move amongst allies, accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of lying about Australias intentions. Morrison denied this.

Australia in September cancelled a deal with Frances Naval Group, which Paris said came without warning, opting instead to strike a deal with the United States and the United Kingdom for nuclear submarines.

The Daily Telegraph on Monday night reported that an anonymous source provided text messages as evidence to prove that Macron knew ahead of time that the submarine deal was in trouble.

Macron messaged the Prime Minister to say that he was not available at the time Australia was seeking for a call and said, Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarine ambitions? the Daily Telegraph reported.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Morrison dodged questions by Australian reporters in Glasgow about whether he or his office leaked the messages.

What I will simply say is this. We were contacted when we were trying to set up the call. [The French President] made it pretty clear he was concerned that this would be a phone call that could result in a decision by Australia not to proceed, Morrison said.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) greets Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during the G20 Leaders Summit in Buenos Aires on Nov. 30, 2018. (Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)

Morrison then, according to The Daily Telegraph, appeared to effectively confirm the accuracy of the leaked text message when he said that he had responded to it.

Meanwhile, addressing the National Press Club, Thebault said that it was fiction that Paris should have been able to read in coffee grounds to predict the cancellation of the Naval Group contract, the ABC reported.

Thebault questioned why Australia had never consulted France about a possible nuclear-powered option.

Was there a hurry to jump into what is widely acknowledged is the total unknown, with so much spin, spectacular marketing, but no concrete answers?

Maybe, as mentioned by [a] prominent and knowledgeable Australian specialist, there were the elections looming, he said, according to ABC.

Thebault was recalled to Paris in September in protest of the scrapped deal. He has since returned to Australia with a mission to determine the trustworthiness of Australia.

While acknowledging that Australia had every right to make deals in its national interest, the ambassador said that the way Australia handled the situation was just out of this world.

He also questioned how any partner could value of Australias signature and commitment? The Guardian reported.
Illegal immigrants take supplies back and forth between Acuna, Mexico, and the United States (far side) across the Rio Grande, the international boundary with Mexico, in Acuna, Mexico, on Sept. 20, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

GOP Senators Tell Biden to Drop Plan to Create Illegal Immigrant Millionaires

A group of Republican senators wants President Joe Biden to drop his administrations reported plan to pay more than $1 billion to illegal immigrants whose families were separated by federal immigration authorities under then-President Donald Trump.

The payments would be made by the federal government to settle litigation filed on behalf of hundreds of such illegal immigrants by the American Civil Liberties Union, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the proposal.

The proposed payments could be as high as $450,000 per individual, meaning a family of four could receive up to $1.8 million from U.S. taxpayers. Most of the affected families are reportedly made up of one adult and one child. Officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are involved in the legal negotiations.

The proposal has sparked a growing wave of protests in Congress and elsewhere, including from Republican Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and John Kennedy (R-La.), along with nine of their Senate GOP colleagues. who wrote a Nov. 1 letter to Biden.

The government is now seeking to financially reward aliens who broke our laws. The previous administration already took action to ensure that DHS could maintain custody of family units apprehended along the border and charged with criminal improper entry, rather than separate the family and transfer the parents to criminal detention, reads the letter, which was made public on Nov. 2.

The government also already signed a settlement agreement in 2018 to address concerns about family separation. Yet the new agreement that DHS is considering would have the government pay out potentially more than $1 billion to illegal immigrants based on allegations that DHS intentionally caused them emotional harm.

However, these illegal immigrants disregarded our immigration processes, cut in front of those seeking to legally enter our nation, and put children at risk of great personal injury or death by placing them in the hands of abusive smugglers.

Not only would these settlements be breathtakingly unjust and unwise, but they reinforce the conditions that make it easy for the cartels to recruit more people to undertake the treacherous journey to our southwest border, and serve only to encourage more illegal immigration.

Also signing the letter with Hawley and Kennedy were Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is the ranking GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); John Cornyn (R-Texas); Ted Cruz (R-Texas); Michael Lee (R-Utah); Ben Sasse (R-Neb.); Thom Tillis (R-N.C.); Tom Cotton (R-Ark.); and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

Not among the signers is Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. He told The Epoch Times on Nov. 3 that he supports reunifying families who were wrongly separated and following due process to right any harm that was caused, but I do not support the administrations reported proposal to direct federal bureaucrats to make lump sum payments of $450,000.

Americans are a kind and generous people who welcome a diverse array of immigrants from around the world, the letter reads. Our nation has been made stronger by the generations of legal immigrants that have contributed to our country and achieved the American Dream. But rewarding illegal immigration with financial payments runs counter to our laws and would only serve to encourage more illegal immigration.

A White House spokesman referred a request for comment to the DOJ, which didnt immediately respond.

The senators crafted the letter as the Biden administration continues to maintain what amounts to an open border with Mexico, as a record numbers of illegal immigrants cross into the United States in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Biden reversed Trumps Remain in Mexico policy that required border crossers to return south of the border until their applications for entry could be processed by federal immigration authorities. Under Biden, hundreds of thousands of such illegal entrants have been transported, many unannounced and under the cover of darkness by the federal government to points across the interior of the country.

Congressional Democrats have twice been turned back by the Senate Parliamentarian in their efforts to include new immigration laws that would effectively codify the changes Biden has made since taking office in January.

The Parliamentarian ruled the changes couldnt be included in the Presidents $3.5 trillion Build Back Better reconciliation spending plan because they arent primarily budget measures. That bill only needs 50 votes (along with the vice presidents tie-breaking vote) to be approved. Otherwise, the changes to immigration law would need 60 votes.

Earlier this week, the Democrats announced that theyre making a third attempt at including the immigration law changes with a Plan C. As The Epoch Times reported earlier this week, the Democrats new plan would tweak the law to allow illegal immigrants who came into the country after 1972 and before 2010 to be eligible for amnesty.

The power to award such amnesty to illegal immigrants who have become de facto residents is vested in Congress, but Congress hasnt moved up the date to allow illegal immigrants to be eligible for a pathway to citizenship since President Richard Nixon was in the Oval Office in 1972.
ATHENS, ATTIKI, GREECE - 2021/07/02: Mathias Cormann Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development during the statements with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. (Photo by Dimitrios Karvountzis/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Head of OECD Calls for Global Carbon Pricing

Former Australian Finance Minister and now Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann has called for the world to adopt a consistent global carbon price.

Speaking to ABC radio on Wednesday Cormann said that if the world had a globally applied comprehensive carbon tax it would be the most efficient way to get to net zero by 2050.

Well, I have always been of the view that if we had a globally sufficiently comprehensive and consistently applied carbon price that would be the most efficient way to get to global net zero by 2050, he said.

As part of the Coalition government in 2014, Cormann, vigorously opposed the Labor Partys carbon tax in 2014, which the Abbott government revoked.

Cormann told ABCs Fran Kelly that although Australia had a carbon tax under the Labor Gillard government, there wasnt an appropriately comprehensive global agreement to price emissions occurring at that time.

Efforts in individual jurisdictions will only help us reduce global greenhouse gas emissions if they contribute to a net reduction in global emissions, he said.

Cormann has previously told Sky News that if the carbon price is not consistently applied globally, problems such as carbon leakage and shifting of emissions into other parts of the world will occur.

He also argued that to get all countries on board, adequate and affordable renewable energy technology would need to be adopted by developing countries, which may otherwise be hit hard by such a carbon price.

The comments by Cormann come after he praised Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday for getting a net zero commitment from the Coalition government.

I think its a huge achievement, Cormann said. I admire the political leadership hes displayed to be able to get Australia into that position.

And its great that Australia is joining the overwhelming part of the global community that is committed to achieving global net zero by 2050, he said.

Australia Announces Funding for South Pacific at COP26

At a press conference as part of COP26 in Glasgow on November 1, Minister for Energy Emissions and Reduction Angus Taylor spoke of helping South Pacific nations bring down their emissions in a way that supports them, Australia, and the world.

We were just discussing examples in the South Pacific where theyre having to pay 13 or 14 cents a kilowatt-hour to produce electricity with current technologies, he said. But what weve laid out in our plan is a pathway to get those costs to a fraction of that over the coming decade.

At the same press conference, Prime Minister Scott Morrison explained that if we want the whole worlds emissions to decrease, we have do drive the cost of the technologies that can achieve that.

So much of the focus is on driving the costs upon other technologies. But what is needed is driving the cost down on the technologies that were hoping others will take up, he said.

He went on to say that we cant control the cost of carbon-based fuels in China, India or Indonesia, but we can work with them to make sure the technologies they employ for their industrial growth and jobs are low emission and low cost.
Teenage democracy activist Chung, 20, poses near the sea in Hong Kong on Aug. 8, 2020, before he was arrested. (ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP via Getty Images)

I Have a Clear Conscience: Hong Kong Activist Pleads Guilty to Secession Under Beijing-Imposed Security Law

A Hong Kong student activist pleaded guilty to charges of secession under the Beijing-imposed national security law, as well as a count of money laundering, at a trial on Nov. 3.

Tony Chung, 20, was denied bail after he was arrested in October last year. Local media reported at the time that he was taken away, along with two others, from a coffee shop close to the U.S. consulate by unidentified men, and was believed to be preparing for an asylum application.

Chung, the former leader of the now-disbanded pro-independence organization Studentlocalism, faced four charges at the District Court. He pleaded not guilty to two chargesconspiracy to publish seditious materials and a count of money launderingand pleaded guilty to two others.

I plead guilty, and I have a clear conscience, Chung said, after being asked about the charge of secession. The national security judge, Stanley Chan, interrupted him soon after, saying no political declarations were allowed.

Chung then pleaded guilty to another charge of money laundering relating to donations of more than HK$133,000 ($17,000) he received via PayPal.

Sentencing is set for Nov. 23.

Under the national security law, Chung faces up to seven years in prison. The sweeping law, imposed by Beijing in June of last year, criminalizes four vaguely defined categories of offenses, including secession, subversion, and collusion with a foreign country. Persons found guilty can face up to life in prison.

In Julys first national security trial, the local court sentenced Tong Ying-kit, who rode a motorcycle carrying a banner bearing the slogan Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times in a 2020 protest, to nine years in prison. Tong was convicted of incitement to secession and engagement in terrorist acts under the national security law.

Since the enactment of the law, Hong Kong has taken a swift authoritarian turn, with most democratic politicians now in jail or in self-exile, dozens of civil society organizations folding, and international rights groups leaving the city.

Activists and Western countries have criticized the law as eroding basic freedoms, such as those of expression and assembly, which Chinas ruling communist regime promised would last for 50 years when the former British colony was handed over to Beijing in 1997.

The Hong Kong Epoch Times staff and Reuters contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 19: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is seen during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to examine the FY 2022 budget request for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 19, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)

In Shift, Walensky Says CDC Not Examining Changing Definition of Fully Vaccinated

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not examining changing the definition of fully vaccinated, its director said Wednesday.

The definition of fully vaccinated is one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and two doses of the either Pfizer vaccine or the Moderna vaccine, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the agency, or the CDC, told reporters during a virtual briefing.

And were not examining changing that definition anytime, at this point, she added.

Walensky was questioned about the definition because federal health officials recently decided to let tens of millions of Americans get booster COVID-19 vaccine shots, including everybody who has gotten a Johnson & Johnson jab.

Additionally, a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for many private businesses is set to be published soon. It and many mandates across the country include the fully vaccinated term.

The federal requirements will follow the CDCs guidance, Jeffrey Zients, the White House COVID-19 response teams coordinator, told reporters.

The rule developed by the Department of Labor will apply to every business that has 100 or more employees.

Walensky sounded a different tune last month when she said that the definition of fully vaccinated had not been changed but we will continue to look at this.

We may need to update our definition of fully vaccinated in the future, she added.

Those comments were a shift from earlier remarks Walensky delivered in September. She said at the time that federal health officials were not considering changing the definition of fully vaccinated.'

Israel recently adjusted its definition to include three doses of the messenger RNA-based vaccines and other countries like Australia have mulled making a similar change.

During Wednesdays briefing, Walensky was also questioned on whether there will be discussion on recommending a single mRNA-based vaccine dose for young children who have natural immunity, or immunity from prior infection, against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Pfizers vaccine was granted emergency use authorization for 5- to 11-year-olds by drug regulators last week and recommended to the entire age group by the CDC on Tuesday.

Some experts have called for the CDC to adjust its recommendations for people with natural immunity, especially children.

Walensky said data from Pfizers trial indicates that the vaccine is safe and effective in young children, adding we absolutely recommend two doses of vaccines for these children.

We do know that after nearly all infectious diseases you have some protection from getting that infection again, but we dont really know how long that lasts or how robust it is, she added.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Ambulance officers transport a resident from the Epping Gardens aged care facility in the Melbourne suburb of Epping on Jul. 29, 2020, (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

Infighting, Weak Leadership Weighing Down Australian Public Health System: Former State Leader

Weak political leadership has allowed competing interests to fester in Australian hospitals, leading to extended delays and poorer outcomes for patients, according to a former state leader. The comments come after video emerged in September showing the extensive ambulance ramping at one Melbourne hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ambulance ramping is the time patients spend waiting outside a hospital in an ambulance while emergency departments clear space for them.

One harrowing incident saw a seven-year-old girl die from fever after waiting two hours to be attended at Perth Childrens Hospital. Meanwhile, a Melbourne paramedic claimed she spent eight of one 12-hour shift waiting outside emergency departments.

Campbell Newman, former Liberal-National Premier of Queensland (2013 to 2015) and now-Senate candidate, said that while more health funding was always needed for a growing population, a hell of a lot more could be achieved by better management of the system.

Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman speaks to media at Parliament House in Brisbane, Australia, on Jan. 6, 2015. (Glenn Hunt/Getty Images)

The trouble is that our public health systems are highly unionised, and what we found in Queensland back when I was premier was there werent the controls and management measures in place to ensure that the system really was performing properly, he told The Epoch Times. Indeed, we found there were significant rorts going on as well.

Newmans government ended ambulance ramping and cut surgical wait times dramatically during his term as premier by looking at the hospital system as a production line and dealing with each link in the chain.

One of the things that cause ambulance ramping is access block, he said, referring to the situation where patients are stuck in an emergency department for more than eight hours because they cannot be transferred to a hospital bed.

You didnt have enough beds because you didnt effectively manage the system so that peopleas soon as its appropriatewere discharged from the hospital, Campbell said.

I hear in some jurisdictions now people from nursing homes are going into hospital when they should be treated in the nursing home. So, theyre filling up hospital beds when they should be treated by GPs at home, he added.

Newman also decentralised management and gave each hospital more control over its operations by setting up 17 health service boards comprised of medical professionals and community members.

However, one of his biggest battles was to tackle the medical unions and shift doctors onto new contracts tied to performance metricsa move that saw the doctors unions threaten mass resignations.

Nurses are seen walking out of the Covid-19 Vaccine wing of Gold Coast University Hospital in Gold Coast, Australia, on Feb. 22, 2021. (Glenn Hunt/Getty Images)

Dr. Steve Hambleton, then-president of the Australian Medical Association, claimed the new contracts would strip away key employment rights.

These draconian contracts will remove key protections such as fatigue provisions and rest breaks, limits on hours, access to unfair dismissal, dispute resolution, and grievance procedures, he said in a statement.

Upon Newmans defeat at the 2015 state election, the incoming Labor government promptly reversed the changes.

Six years on, and the hospital system is now amid another crisis.

State opposition members of Parliament provided analysis of Department of Health data revealing 40 percent of patients in February were not transferred from their ambulance within 30 minutes, while paramedics spent nearly 10,000 hours waiting outside hospitals over the month.

In May, the state government responded to calls to address the lagging health system by pledging a AU$100 million funding boost.

On Nov. 3, a report on the performance of the Metro-North Hospital and Health Service covering northern Brisbane revealed one preventable death at Caboolture Hospital was caused by a negative workplace culture that likely compromised the quality of care.

What has happened is the unions have taken over again. The political pressure came off. So, the demand from the government to perform just evaporated, Newman said.

If the boss is tough and demandingthings happen. If the boss doesnt care, just takes the foot off the accelerator, then things go to pot, he added, noting that this issue was nationwide.
Joseph and Esther Reed: Two Reeds I Want to Be Related To

Joseph and Esther Reed were notable for their contributions to the cause of liberty in the American Revolution

Anyone who has ever dabbled in genealogy knows that as you go back into family history, the answers to one question always lead to several moremore questions, that is. Genealogy may be the only area of study in which (excuse the joke) Everything is relative. Frustrating, too.

Using a popular online ancestry service, I submitted to a DNA test and learned that I am 49 percent Scottish, 28 percent Germanic Europe, 8 percent Irish, 8 percent English, and 7 percent Norwegian. No big surprises there, based on what I heard from family and relatives over the years. The frustrating part is that Ive hit a brick wall in the early 1800s. So far, I cant identify anybody on the Reed family tree further back than that.

Two people I really want to be related to are Joseph and Esther Reed. They lived and died in the 18th century, resided in my native state of Pennsylvania, and were notable for their contributions to the cause of liberty in the American Revolution. Whether or not I discover a blood connection to them, Im proud to at least share similar world views and the same last name.

Joseph was 33 when war broke out between Great Britain and the colonies in 1775. At the personal request of Gen. George Washington, he departed his successful law practice in Philadelphia to become a colonel in the Continental Army and an aide-de-camp to Washington himself. Barely two years later, he declined two prestigious job offers to stay at Washingtons side: brigadier general in the Army and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

The following year, 1778, proved extraordinary in Joseph Reeds life. He was elected both to Congress and to the high post of president of Pennsylvania (the latter making him, in effect, the first governor of the state). He was one of five delegates from the state to sign the Articles of Confederation in 1778. His tenure as the highest elected official in Pennsylvania saw American troops stave off complete disaster at Valley Forge, the abolition of slavery in the state, and the ultimate American victory at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781 (in which he played a key role).

Highly regarded for his personal character, Joseph was once offered a huge bribe to get the colonies to reconcile with the mother country. He reportedly responded, I am not worth purchasing; but such as I am, the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to do it.

Under the pressures of war-time expenditures, Pennsylvania went bankrupt during Reeds governorship in 1780. To his credit, he supported financier Robert Morriss proposals of free markets and sound money to resolve the fiscal dilemma.

A Revolutionary Mother

Joseph Reeds British-born wife Esther, whom he married in 1770, was every bit as fascinating as he was. Before her death only a decade later, the Reeds would bring six children into the world. Esthers London upbringing didnt prevent her from blossoming into one of the most revered female patriots of the American cause. Carol Berkin, in her fascinating book Revolutionary Mothers, identifies her as one of the most notable women who were eager to declare their loyalties regardless of the risks. Berkin writes:

That October [1775], several months before Tom Paines Common Sense broke the last bonds of loyalty to the king for many Americans, Reed wrote proudly to her brother in England that her cause, and her husbands cause, was liberty and virtue, how much soever it may be branded by the names of rebellion and treason. Beneath her strong and determined tone, however, lay a fear of what the future held in store. We have a powerful enemy to contend with, she conceded, adding, Everything that is dear to us is at stake. In the coming months, Reed would discover how right she was.

For the Reeds, the war meant long periods of separation. Esther and their growing brood of children fled the family home several times when the British threatened Philadelphia. The hardship she endured, however, paled in comparison to that of the soldiers in the Continental Army. She was well aware of that fact. She resolved in 1780 to do something about it.

Esther teamed up with Benjamin Franklins daughter, Sarah Bache, and formed the Ladies Association of Philadelphia to support the troops. It proved to be the largest private fundraising campaign of the war.

The kick-off for the effort was the publication in January 1780 of a broadside written substantially by Esther herself. Titled Sentiments of a British-American Woman, it appealed to the patriotic instincts of all women who loved liberty. Writes Berkin:

She cited a long list of historical heroines who were Born for Libertynaming biblical figures such as Deborah and Queen Esther and, later, saints such as Joan of Arc, but also including all the anonymous women who in wartime had ignored the weakness of their sex and built fortifications, dug trenches with their bare hands, and sacrificed their jewels, fine clothing, and money to save their country.

Esther and Sarah called for every female in Pennsylvania to come forth with offerings of money to help the war effort. Nothing, they declared, would be too small and everything would be put to good use. They would get the money to the troops through Gen. Washingtons wife, Martha.

Letters between Esther Reed and General Washington (which you can read here) indicate that Esther initially wanted to give the money directly to the soldiers in the sum of two dollars each. But Washington, concerned that the men might spend it on liquor, urged her to use it instead to buy linen and cloth, and then enlist volunteers to sew it into clothes.

In short order, the Ladies Association raised more than $300,000 (more than $6 million in 2021 dollars) from more than 1,600 Pennsylvanians, an astonishing sum. So that each man would know of the offering of the Ladies, Reed had each volunteer embroider her own name into the shirts and pants she sewed.

The Ladies Association engendered huge enthusiasm among Philadelphia women, who not only sewed the clothing but also knocked on doors to raise the money. The effort was an inspiration across the colonies, leading to the formation of similar groups from New England to the South.

A Day to Celebrate?

Sadly, Esther didnt live to see America achieve the independence for which she had worked so hard, but she lived long enough that she may well have surmised on her deathbed that it was imminent. She died of dysentery in September 1780, at the age of 34. She was eulogized as a hero for the cause of American liberty.

Joseph outlived Esther, but not by much. When his term as president of Pennsylvania ended in November 1781, he returned to his legal practice. And though he once again was elected to Congress in 1784, he declined because of poor health. He died in March 1785 at the age of 43.

It will be a day Ill celebrate for the rest of my life if I discover that, in fact, I am related to these two fine Americans, Joseph and Esther Reed.

For Additional Information, See:

Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for American Independence by Carol Berkin

A Little-Known Founding Mother, Esther De Berdt Reed by Tara Ross

Esther De Berdt Reed by American Battlefield Trust

Sentiments of a British-American Woman: Esther De Berdt Reed and the American Revolution by Owen S. Ireland

The Life of Esther De Berdt Reed of Pennsylvania by William B. Reed

Joseph Reed; a Historical Essay by George Bancroft

Correspondence Between Esther De Berdt Reed and George Washington National Archives Founders Online

Joseph Reed, George Washingtons First Military Secretary, John Fabiano, May 22, 2021

This article was originally published on FEE.org
The empty hallways of El Segundo High School, in El Segundo, Calif., on July 29, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Judge Denies Application to Halt Vaccine Mandate for LA Students 12 and Up

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge denied on Oct. 29 an emergency application to pause the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all students 12 and older in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

As a result, unvaccinated students can still attend school in person until January next year, but may be excluded from extracurricular activities.

The two non-profit organizations, Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids and About Childrens Health DefenseCalifornia Chapter, filed a court petition representing over a thousand families in LAUSD to halt the enforcement of the vaccine mandate.

Attorney Nicole Pearson went to court last Friday and filed an emergency application on behalf of the two organizations.

Judge Amy Hogue denied the request but granted an opportunity for them to seek a preliminary injunction through an expedited hearing.

Balancing the likelihood of success and the relative harm to be suffered, the court is not persuaded emergency relief is warranted, wrote Judge Hogue. There is accordingly no emergency with respect to the students ability to attend classes in person.

Judge Hogue explained that the resolutions immediate impact on unvaccinated students is only the exclusion from extracurricular activities, but the LAUSD facilities will remain accessible for them until Jan. 10, 2022.

She emphasized that suspending the resolution will bring more harm to LAUSD.

In mid-September, Pearson submitted a letter to the LA City Board of Education on Monday, Sept. 13, referring to the vaccine mandate as illegal, unconstitutional and must be retracted by close of business Friday of this week.

The board did not respond to the letter, and the two organizations decided to file a petition in October.

The petition questioned the transparency of LAUSDs decision-making process and stressed that school district has no authority to mandate a new vaccine as a precondition for in-person education if it is not listed in the California Health and Safety Code.

They [LAUSD] have a special meeting with less than 40 hours notice. They held it remotely. They limited public speaking.  everything you can imagine violation is endless. Pearson said in a recorded Oct. 29 livestream on Instagram.

She also questioned the timing and motives behind the mandate.

Pearson said in the video that the school district has used the students as a little placeholder because they waited until enrollment numbers were submitted for funding to announce whether they will mandate the COVID-19 vaccination.

With no COVID-19 vaccine requirement prior to starting school, LAUSD students have not experienced severe COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, or death, the petition stated.

It is incomprehensible that a state that already has the lowest COVID-19 rates in the entire country without any vaccine mandate would insist on being the first state in the nation to impose a vaccine requirement on healthy teens and pre-teens as a condition to continuing in-person education.

A spokesperson for LAUSD was not immediately available for comment.
LA Sheriff on Vaccine Mandates: Somethings Rotten and We Need to Fix It

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva challenged the countys leaders on Nov. 2 to open public debate over vaccine mandates, citing a possible loss of up to one-third of sworn personnel by the end of the year.

Typically, the department loses 500 to retirement and another 300 to injuries each year. So far, 655 employees have filed paperwork to leave the department.

This year, the department could lose 1,000 to voluntary retirement and injury claims, Villanueva said. An additional 3,137 sworn personnel, which includes patrol deputies and detectives, and 1,048 staff could be fired for not getting vaccinated.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks at a press conference to address vaccine mandates in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 2, 2021. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Villanueva, who oversees the largest sheriffs department in the country, with about 18,000 employees, announced earlier this month that he wouldnt enforce the countys vaccine mandate in his agency.

A COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees has caused many at the department to leave, Villanueva said. Under the mandate, employees had to be fully vaccinated by Oct 1.

By Nov. 2, 57 percent of the sheriffs department was fully vaccinated, according to Villanueva. Of those, 43 percent of sworn staff were vaccinated. Sixty-seven percent of the professional, non-sworn staff were vaccinated.

Villanueva said sworn staff could easily leave the county to work in surrounding counties that dont require COVID-19 vaccines, such as San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, Ventura, or Kern. Many of the departments personnel live in the surrounding counties because of the high cost of living in Los Angeles County, he said.

Los Angeles was unique in the nation regarding the mandate and the defund the police movement, Villanueva said.

The only one entity that is steadfast in defunding in the entire nation is the LA County Board of Supervisors, he said. They have a very weird group of people that are in charge. They worship at the altar of wokeism and they dont understand that their own community is saying no.

The sheriff said he thinks more department personnel would get vaccinated if the department could pursue a voluntary system.

Villanueva showed photos of stadiums filled with cheering, unmasked fans and talked about people eating in restaurants without masks.

Again, how many people are eating at a restaurant, but then youre worried about a cop that may or may not show up at your door on a call for service? Villanueva said.

Residents have asked sheriffs operators not to send unvaccinated deputies to respond to their calls, according to the departments information bureau.

Were not mandating that the public gets a vaccine. We have to deal with the public unvaccinated, vaccinated. With COVID, without COVID, he said.

Villanueva said the vaccine issue needed to be aired publicly. However, the public has been excluded from the decisions because county supervisors continue to hold meetings over the internet, in violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act, an act passed in 1953 that guarantees the publics right to attend and participate in local legislative meetings held by city, county, or legislative bodies, the sheriff said.

Everything theyre doing is a violation of the Brown Act, because theyre deliberately excluding the public from participating fully from airing all of the motions and all of the decisions the board is making, which are being made behind closed doors, behind plexiglass, and you dont really need to know why, Villanueva said. And this is whats going on right now.

Facts and science dont support the vaccine mandate, he said.

Somethings going on. Somethings rotten and we need to fix it.

The decision by Los Angeles County to include population equity questions, such as sexual orientation, in the system that documents COVID-19 vaccinations among employees made more employees hesitant, the sheriff said.

Los Angeles County responded to the sheriffs comments on Nov. 2, saying it hadnt seen an increase in early retirements or resignations among sworn staff in the sheriffs department since the vaccination policy took effect, according to a county spokeswoman.

A review of attrition data from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 20, 2021, was compared to Oct. 2021, when the vaccination policy was implemented. There has been no increase in attrition, according to the county.

The departments level of attrition over the past year has been slightly lower than the overall county rate.

There were nine sheriff department retirements in October, which is not considered a high number, according to the county.

It is our hope that all department heads will support this important public health measure to keep their employeesand the publicsafe. That means encouraging their employees to join the more than 90 percent of county employees who have already registered in the system, and the more than 77 percent who are fully vaccinated, said county spokeswoman Brenda Duran.
Virginias Democrat gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe conceded Wednesday after projections indicated he lost the race to Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin.

Youngkin, a former CEO, was projected to have won by approximately 67,000 votes of over 3.2 million cast. He gave a victory speech around 1 a.m. Wednesday, calling the development amazing.

Why? The Democrats Terry McAuliffe is using the same playbook that Gavin Newsom used against the California recall campaigncalling it a Trump-led Republican takeover. But Virginia isnt California.

California is about 50 percent Democrat, 25 percent No Party Preference (Independent), and 25 percent Republican. That built-in advantage is essentially unmatched in the nation. Virginia is 38 percent Republican, 35 percent Democrat, and 25 percent Independent. And the Republican is not going to be outspent 10 to 1; the spending is even. Finally, the candidates actually debated. Gavin Newsom refused to debate and the media didnt pressure him to do it.

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The online social media pages of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission are shown on a cellphone in Ottawa on May 17, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Liberals Plan to Curb Internet Harms Puts Free Speech at Risk: Expert

The Liberal governments upcoming legislation to address online harms could undermine Canadians freedom of speech and render diasporas from authoritarian countries more vulnerable, says the director of an internet security advocacy group.

Between July 27 and Sept. 25, the federal government held public consultations on its proposal to introduce new legislative and regulatory frameworks for social media platforms that aim to address five categories of harmful content online: hate speech, terrorist content, content that incites violence, child sexual exploitation, and non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

The Liberal Partys platform for the 2021 federal election promised to introduce the legislation within the first 100 days if re-elected.

Philip Palmer, director of the Internet Society Canada Chapter, said the proposed legislation poses a potential threat to Canadians charter-protected rights.

I have a number of concerns, but the primary one is that it will lead to over-censorship of content on the internet, Palmer told The Epoch Times.

The definitions are loose, the entities to which it is to apply are unclear, and the weight of the applications of legislation will lead to an over-application of the criteria for harmful content.

Palmer notes that the proposals 24-hour time limit for social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to take down flagged content is structurally geared toward censorship.

That time pressure plus the sanctions that can be applied to economic and reputational [damage to a company] all drive in favour of suppressing content rather than permitting content, he said.

A vague definition of what constitutes harm in each category may also encroach upon free speech, since otherwise-lawful speech that is deemed offensive to certain people could become criminalized under the new legislation, Palmer explained.

Democratic debate and social debate have never been confined to the polite shallow speechit has always engaged passions, emotions, overstatement, over-representation, satire, ironyall of which can be objectionable to some people in some groupsbut its not illegal, its not criminal, he said.

The thrust of this legislation will be to suppress speech that is at the margins of polite conversation or beyond the margins of polite conversation, but nevertheless lawful.

The Epoch Times reached out to Heritage Canada for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Broadening Internet Control

The government has made several legislative attempts to regulate content on the internet in the past year, such as through Bill C-10 and Bill C-36, both of which proved controversial.

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault during a news conference in Ottawa, April 17, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Bill C-10, introduced by former Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault in November 2020, proposed to bring internet content providers under the regulation of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The legislation sought to regulate streaming services like Netflix in areas such as Canadian content and tax-collection requirements.

The bill became controversial when it was amended to include user-generated content on social media platforms.

[Bill C-10] got into trouble in the House of Commons and was facing fierce opposition in the Senate due to its trenching on social media platformsexpression by private citizens in the form of postings to social media, Palmer said.

Its clear that in taking on streaming servicesand again streaming services are not clearly definedtheyre seeking to regulate on-demand content.  Thats a clear and deliberate march into an area that previously was unregulated.

Bill C-36 proposed to allow individuals to file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission if they experience hate online, including hate crimes and hate speech. Hatred is defined as an emotion that involves detestation or vilification and that is stronger than dislike or disdain.

In a recent article published on the Macdonald-Laurier Institutes website, Palmer noted that the bills introduce a host of legal and policy concerns including the potential for extra-territorial reach.

The harmful speech could be in a foreign language, on a foreign platform and impact a person or persons outside Canadayet the new regulations would still apply to that content, he wrote.

Canada would essentially be asserting jurisdiction over the entire Internet.

Hacking Risk

In contrast to the Conservative governments Bill C-30 (Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act) of 2012, which allowed law enforcement agencies to ask private organizations to voluntarily provide personal information without consent, the Liberals proposal would require social media companies to proactively report individuals whose online activities are deemed harmful.

That private information reported to law enforcement or national security would be kept in computer databases, which could be vulnerable to hacking by authoritarian regimes, thereby facilitating these countries control of their diaspora, Palmer said.

Russia, China, Iran have all provided clear evidence that they can hack into a whole lot of databases, and they may in that way be able to scoop information about individuals, and particularly concerning would be in individuals who are involved in oppositional groups, he said.

Palmer added, however, that hes optimistic improvements will be made to the legislation, especially given that some of the advocacy groups that are ordinarily lined up with the government, in this case are also expressing concern about the lack of definitions.

I remain optimistic that the government will retreat from some of the more egregious proposals that theyve made, and moderate it such that well have effective legislation that will actually protect Canadians from some real harms on the internet, he said.
Ray Bradbury's books have been translated all over the world. Here they appear in English and Italian in a Milan, Italy, shop. (EyesOnMilan/Shutterstock)

Live Forever!: A Look at Ray Bradbury

He wrote story after story about space travel, but he never got a drivers license and didnt drive a car.

He lacked the money to go to college, but he possessed the will to get himself an education. As he later said, I spent three days a week for ten years educating myself in the public library.

In his stories, he predicted the invention of technologies like video surveillance, widescreen televisions, automated houses, cellphones, and EarPods, yet he was also a severe critic of our dependence on machines. Near the end of his life, he said: We have too many cellphones. Weve got too many internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now.

He loved books and, in his work, celebrated authors like Thomas Wolfe, Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, and Emily Dickinson, yet he also warned of a decline in reading and literacy. You dont have to burn books to destroy a culture, he said. Just get people to stop reading them.

And unlike many of his literary contemporaries, he found much to love in America and Americans. Americans are far more remarkable than we give ourselves credit for, he once stated. Weve been so busy damning ourselves for years. Weve done it all, and yet we dont take credit for it.

Bradbury (1959) had some of his short stories adapted for television shows, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents. (Public Domain)

Accomplishments

Ray Bradbury (19202012) wrote novels, hundreds of short stories, plays, poems, screenplays, operas, and essays. Some of these became motion pictures, and some of his own stories he adapted for the television series The Ray Bradbury Theater. He helped develop Disneys Epcot Center and was acquainted with many Hollywood luminaries.

For these accomplishments, Bradbury received numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize citation honoring his prolific and deeply influential achievements. Because of stories like The Martian Chronicles, the Apollo 15 crew named a crater on the moon Dandelion after his novel Dandelion Wine, and an asteroid won the name 9766 Bradbury in his honor.

The Apollo 15 crew named a crater on the moon Dandelion after Ray Bradburys novel Dandelion Wine.

Passion, Gusto, and Stability

Several factors account for Bradburys enormous output and popularity with readers. The first is the innocence of his imagination. By this I mean that in many ways the man never left behind his boyhood in Waukegan, Illinois. Though he moved to Los Angeles at age 14 and remained a lifelong resident of that city, it was in Waukegan that he fell in love with storytelling, with writers like the creator of Tarzan and the John Carter of Mars books, Edgar Rice Burroughs. And Bradbury developed as well the passions that appear in so many of his stories: Hollywood and the movies, dinosaurs, Buck Rogers, and Halloween. To pay homage to his boyhood and the town, he willed his extensive collection of books to the Waukegan Public Library.

In addition, Bradbury also thoughtand said so many timesthat writing should be fun. Back in the age of Neanderthal technology, I heard an interview on an audio cassette with Bradbury. I dont remember the interviewers namehe struck me as a supercilious manbut I still remember the excitement in Bradburys voice when he said that if writings not fun, then why do it? Id never heard a writer say that before, and it deeply impressed me. In Zen in the Art of Writing, Bradbury also remarks, If you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer.

Finally, despite his many adventureshis time in Ireland with director John Huston when they were filming Moby Dick, his visits to movie sets and science fiction and fantasy conventions, and his work with Disney WorldBradbury otherwise led a life of routine and writing. He was married for 56 years to his beloved Marguerite McClure, or Maggie, without the marital brawls that plague so many such unions.

Such stability enhances production and creativity.

An Enemy of Oppression

Today, many Americans from across the political spectrum are dismayed by political correctness and its sidekick, cancel culture.

Ray Bradbury was a longtime outspoken opponent of attempts to repress speech and block the free flow of ideas. Fahrenheit 451, his popular novel about a fireman in the future whose job is to burn books and thereby destroy the ideas and history of the past, was published in 1953 and remains in print today. The central theme of the novel is censorship and mind control, as may be seen in these lines: If you dont want a house built, hide the wood and nails. If you dont want a man unhappy politically, dont give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none.

In the Coda in my copy of Fahrenheit 451, which is a 50th-anniversary edition, Bradbury denounces all the ways some readers have objected to his stories: not enough women, mention of God, dislike for his depictions of minorities. He writes:

For it is a mad world, and it will get madder if we allow the minorities, be they dwarf or giant, orangutan or dolphin, nuclear-head or water-conversationalist, pro-computerologist or Neo-Luddite, simpleton or sage, to interfere with aesthetics.

Farenheit 451 is likely Bradburys most famous novel and has made into a film in 1966 and 2018.

Red, White, and Blue

We may read Bradbury and overlook just how deeply American his writing is. In The Martian Chronicles, for example, he tells the story of human beings leaving Earth to settle on the Red Planet. But the story also reverberates with the English, French, and others emigrating from Europe to found colonies in America. In fact, I once used this novel, which is a collection of stories, to kick off a class in American history when I was a teacher.

His exuberant coming-of-age novel, Dandelion Wine, inspired by his Waukegan boyhood, depicts life in the fictional town of Green Hill, Illinois, in the 1920s. Like Thornton Wilders play Our Town, Bradburys story may idealize American life, but the setting and the outlook of the characters12-year-old Doug Spaulding and his family and friendsare quintessentially American.

Like many other Americans of his time, Bradbury was at heart an optimist, in love with his work and the world around him, and he often became dismayed or angry when his fellow citizens, especially the media, the academics, and other critics, forgot the greatness of this country.

In his 1998 article The Affluence of Despair: America Through the Looking Glass, which can be found in his collection of essays Bradbury Speaks, he takes to task those anti-American commentators whose lips spew not diamonds and emeralds, but spiders, frogs, and toads; each time they open their mouths, they spoil the ecology.

He then points out that we have helped ruin ourselves by listening to these confessors of our dark souls and concludes with these words:

We have condemned ourselves. Now we must save ourselves. No one else can. Shut off the set. Write your local TV news-people. Tell them to go to hell. Take a shower. Go sit on the lawn with friends.

Good advice in 1998. Even more apropos in 2021.

A Magic Moment

When he was 12 years old, Ray Bradbury sprinted through the streets of Waukegan to a carnival, where a Mr. Electrico was performing. Here is his account of what happened that day:

I ran so hard I tasted iron, and my heart exploded as I arrived at the sideshow where I stared openmouthed at Mr. Electrico. A towering hawk-nosed figure with a fiery stare that put out your eyes, he spoke in tones I felt proclaimed Gods truth. With a flourish of his black cape, he ensconced himself in a wondrous electric chair, and an assistant threw a switch and proclaimed, Here go ten million volts of pure fire, ten million volts of electricity into the flesh of Mr. Electrico!

As the current surged through his body, his white hair billowed into a bright halo, his body seemed to glow and incandescent fire danced at his fingertips. I watched mesmerized as he picked up a silver sword, leaned down and with it touched me on both shoulders, then the tip of my nose. The electricity surged through me, making my hair stand on end. He shouted, Live forever!

The next day, Bradbury returned to the carnival, tracked down Mr. Electrico, and asked him what hed meant by Live forever! They talked for several hours about deep mattersMr. Electrico, as it turned out, was a former Presbyterian ministerand in that conversation Bradbury learned that the carnival actor was telling him that life was sacred and must be lived to the fullest. Each day, each hour was precious.

From that moment on, Bradbury began writing. Over the next many decades, he made the most of his time.

And while he himself did not live forever, Bradbury lives on in the words he left behind.
The exterior of the Supreme Court of Louisiana in New Orleans, on Aug. 24, 2007. (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

Louisiana Court Temporarily Blocks Healthcare Vaccine Mandate

Louisianas largest health system has been forced by a state appeals court ruling that it must refrain from firing or disciplining employees who refuse a COVID-19 vaccine mandate while the legality of the decision is being challenged.

The ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport came on Thursday ahead of the healthcare providers Friday deadline.

The group of 20 employees involved in the lawsuit would have otherwise been released following the vaccine mandate going into effect. The mandate applied to Ochsner Healths 32,000 employees unless a worker received an approved exemption.

To get a temporary restraining order, you must convince the court when you file something that you have a substantial likelihood of success, attorneys Jimmy Faircloth told nola.com, a New Orleans newspaper website.

This very important issue is a resounding wake-up call to all the employers in the state that have been hoodwinked into believing that you can do this.

Others believe the ruling only postpones what will soon be required. Health care providers nationwide are being required to enforce COVID-19 vaccine mandates as the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the single largest payer of health care in the United States, has said it will require the vaccine for all employees of hospitals that accept payments from Medicare or Medicaid.

While the vaccine mandate may soon be a requirement for government payments for services, others hope a better solution will emerge regarding medical and religious exemptions.

Besides religious reasons, some, like Lauren Gioia, an operating room nurse at NorthShores Highland Park Hospital in Illinois, also doesnt think there are enough studies on the long-term effects for her to trust the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. She said she has spent at least 200 hours reading medical studies and watching expert videos to educate herself on the vaccine.

Gioia also has firsthand knowledge about its adverse reactions, she said. One of her nurse friends was blinded for 30 minutes after getting a COVID-19 vaccine shot, and another 25-year-old high school friend developed Bells palsy within 24 hours of getting it.

Im not anti-vaccine. I am opposed to this COVID shot mandate, and the fact that theyre not honoring exemptions, Gioia told The Epoch Times at the protest. If we dont stand up now, where does this stop?

Another example is Emily Nixon. Nixon is a registered nurse who has been working in the health industry for 18 years. When her employer, MaineHealth, announced that it would make the vaccine mandatory, she quickly organized a group called The Coalition for Healthcare Workers Against Medical Mandates and filed a lawsuit.

Thousands of health care workers have and will be losing their jobs. The already weak health care infrastructure of Maine will not withstand this devastating loss of staff. Life will be lost. Care is already being rationed. We have been experiencing a media blackout in this state, Nixon said.

Speaking from my point of view, an intelligent, healthy, and empowered health care professional that takes excellent care of herself, it is an insult to expect that I would accept an injection of unknown substance and efficacy and provide an example to the great people that I serve that they too should submit their power over to pharmaceutical companiesconvicted felonsin an effort to put a band-aid on the gaping wound of reality.

Cara Ding and Enrico Trigoso contributed to this report.
Mainstream Media Has Abandoned the American Working Class: Newsweek Editor

Police and health care workers, who were deemed heroes last year for working through the pandemic, now face being fired from their job if they dont get vaccinated against COVID-19. Why are corporate media not giving them any gratitude, but instead sneering or even rage? According to Batya Ungar-Sargon, thats because the mainstream media has abandoned the American working class and catered only to the liberal, highly educated elite.

Ungar-Sargon is a deputy opinion editor of Newsweek. She calls herself a lefty and a liberal. Last month, her new book Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy was published.

The last 5, 10 years has been really the abandonment of the working class by journalists on the left, Ungar-Sargon told EpochTVs CrossRoads program in an interview premiered on Monday. Now Im a lefty, and so Im coming at this as somebody who feels like my job is to elevate the working class, is to elevate laborers, to elevate the poor and their issues. But what happened was the mainstream medialiberal mainstream mediahas really abandoned that fight in favor of one around issues of identity, wokeness, issues like critical race theory and intersectionality that are really, really alien to the concerns of working-class Americans of all races.

Ungar-Sargon said that back in the 19th century, fathers of American journalism like Joseph Pulitzer and Benjamin Day thought that the point of journalism should be by and for and about the working class and the poor. But things have changed.

What happened was liberals got very educated, especially over the last 20 years, that education has actually translated into affluence, Ungar-Sargon said. Liberals have become much more affluent. Theyve become part of the elite, part of the top 10 percent. So journalism was once a working-class trade, and you would have a journalist who made maybe a little bit more than his neighbor the cop. Today, journalism is a very elite caste.

Ungar-Sargon pointed out that in 1937, under half of journalists had a college degree. Today, 92 percent of journalists have a college degree.

So you can really see that shift, Ungar-Sargon said.

Ungar-Sargon said people on the left have come to respect only a certain kind of educationnot the education you get from working or living, but the education you get from a university. The more elite the university, the better.

You have cops and nurses who are now being threatened with firing and actually [being] fired because they dont want to get the vaccine, Ungar-Sargon said. Imagine a world where we would look at these people who went to work every day at the height of the pandemic, and we said to them: Thank you so much for what you did. You dont want to get vaccinated; well find another way to make sure that the people you interact with are safe. Maybe well do antibody testing. Maybe well do COVID testing every day. And you can imagine a world in which the respect for the labor they put in during the pandemic was sort of given back to them.

Instead, what you see is just unbelievable sneering and even rage at these people. Theres zero gratitude, Ungar-Sargon continued. I think that really stems from that class chasm that were seeing in America, where people who have a certain kind of education, they just do not respect the other side, especially if they voted for Donald Trump. They do not think that they have a role in building up this nation.

Ungar-Sargon said thats really a shame. She went on to share her views about why the mainstream media has been pushing narratives such as white supremacy.

Why [is] the media is pushing a narrative that America is a white supremacy when we have never been further from that? The answer that I came up with was its to hide the income inequality that the left is really benefiting from, that liberals, that highly educated, meritocratic elite liberals have really benefited from especially over the last 10 years.

Ungar-Sargon said digital medias emergence has pushed media, corporations, and different newspapers and outlets toward covering issues that appeal to smaller and smaller subsets of America.

The real thing that made this sort of woke moral panic happen was the fact that with digital media, we measure success not in terms of circulation, but in terms of engagement, Ungar-Sargon said, adding that news outlets want their content to go viral and want the attention.

We know from digital media that the most extreme voices are always going to be the most engaged, Ungar-Sargon continued. What this means is that media outlets like CNN that once were catering to the vast American middle, can now cater to the more affluent liberal elites by giving them the thing that makes them the most emotional, that makes them the most engagedand those things are Trump and racism, right?

Ungar-Sargon said the medias abandonment of the American working class is a threat to democracy.

Its undermining democracy because a nation in which only the top 10 percent gets any media or any political attention is an oligarchy. Its not a democracy. And essentially, the left has participated in the de-platforming of the working class. Thats a lot of Americans who you can tell that many on the left feel that they should not have a vote that they should not have a say, Ungar-Sargon said.

We have lost respect for the kind of insight and intelligence that is developed outside of a meritocratic, highly educated rat race. And I think that is a huge threat to democracy.

Li Hai Follow Li Hai is a New York-based reporter for The Epoch Times.
Shelly Glover launches her campaign to become leader of Manitobas Progressive Conservatives in Winnipeg on Sept.10, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Steve Lambert)

Manitoba PC Party Leadership Runner Up Files Court Challenge to Election Results

Shelly Glover, who narrowly lost to newly-elected Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson, claims 'substantial irregularities' during PC leadership election

The runner-up in Manitobas Progressive Conservative Partys leadership race, Shelly Glover, has filed a court application challenging rival Heather Stefansons win as the partys new leader.

Stefanson was sworn in as Manitobas 24th premier on Nov. 2.

Glover, who narrowly lost to Stefanson when the leadership ballots were counted on Oct. 30, claimed there were substantial irregularities in the election and that the wrong person had been sworn in.

On Oct. 30, Progressive Conservative (PC) president Tom Wiebe announced Stefanson beat Glover by 363 votes, becoming the first female premier of Manitoba.

The results, announced at about 5 p.m. at Winnipegs Victoria Inn, had the new leader receiving 8,405 votes while Glover garnered 8,042.

Stefanson replaces her predecessor, Brian Pallister, who stepped down in September and later resigned as member of the legislative assembly representing the riding of Fort Whyte in Winnipeg in October.

In a package of documents filed to Manitobas Court of Queens Bench on Nov. 2, Glover argued that Stefansons win is invalid and that the premiers office remains vacant.

In the alternative, an Order that [Glover] is duly elected to be the premier-designate of Manitoba, the application states.

Glovers legal counsel Dave Hill, in the same document, said that the grounds for doing so is because there were substantial irregularities in the Election, calculated to affect the result.

The documents filed to the court also include sworn affidavits from Glover and one of her scrutineers, Kevin Cook, a retired Winnipeg police officer.

In her affidavit, Glover said she was given different numbers by the PC party of how many votes would be counted than what was eventually provided when Stefanson was announced the winner.

My campaign leadership was provided with a spreadsheet at 12.27 AM on October 30th, 2021, which indicated that 16,045 ballots would be counted that day, she said.

The former Conservative MP added that when Wiebe announced the results at about 5 p.m. with 82 spoiled ballots and 17 disputed ballots, and that she had received 8,042 votes, she thought she had beaten Stefanson.

Instantaneously, given the number of votes I had received, I believed that I had won the Election, said Glover, as her opponent would have only left with 7,904 votes.

But Wiebe went on to announce Stefanson had won 8,405 votes, leading her to conclude that a total of 16,546 votes had been counted rather than 16,045, she said.

Heather Stefanson speaks to the media after being sworn in as Manitobas 24th premier at the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg on Nov. 2, 2021. (The Canadian Press/David Lipnowski)

The Epoch Times reached out to the PC Party for comment but did not hear back by deadline.

In an emailed statement to The Canadian Press on Nov. 2, the PC party said that the leadership vote was run independently and ballot counting was overseen by party auditors as well as a scrutineer from each campaign.

We hope that after our election committee talks to Ms. Glover and her advisers and responds to her concerns that they will see that the process and the results were handled appropriately, accurately and without favour, the statement said.

Cook disagreed. In his affidavit, he said he saw a few men, supervised by Wiebe, removed unsecured ballot boxes from the counting room on Oct. 30.

He added that Destiny Watt, the head scrutineer for Glovers campaign, asked Wiebe why the unsealed ballot boxes were being removed, and what the final tally of votes was.

Mr. Wiebe told Ms. Watt that the ballot boxes would be secured in a vehicle, and that she would find out the tally of votes with everyone else, he said.

None of the Scrutineers from [Glovers] campaign were permitted to leave the ballroom to observe the chain of custody of the unsealed ballot boxes.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference following her swearing-in, Stefanson called Glovers legal challenge really disappointing.

Im not going to get focused on that moving forward, she said on Nov. 2. Were here, weve formed a government, and were going to continue to listen to Manitobans.

Our focus, absolutely, has to be on governing, not getting involved in these other situations, the premier added.

With files from The Canadian Press
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks to the press at the Hynes Convention Center FEMA Mass Vaccination Site in Boston, Mass., on March 30, 2021. (Erin Clark-Pool/Getty Images)

Massachusetts Governor Suspends a Few Hundred State Employees Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, said Monday that a few hundred state workers face suspension over not complying with the states COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Baker issued an executive order on Aug. 19 requiring all Executive Department employees to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination on or before Oct. 17, 2021.

The order noted that Executive Department employees who are not vaccinated or approved for an exemption as of Oct. 17 will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

As of last week, at least 362 executive branch workers were placed on a five or 10-day suspension for failing to show proof of vaccination or an approved exemption, according to the Baker administration.

Another 141 workers quit over the states vaccine mandate. In total, more than 500 workers have been impacted.

Were still working our way through the folks whove requested exemptions and were trying to be careful and deliberate about that, Baker said at a briefing, Gloucester Daily Times reported.

But I think at this point the thing were most pleased about is the fact that so many people went out and got vaccinated after we put the requirement in place, he added.

The Executive Department employees were not alone among those suspended or losing jobs in the state over COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

In September, the State Police Association of Massachusetts has called upon a judge to suspend the states COVID-19 vaccine mandate for troopers.

The state police union filed the lawsuit against the Commonwealth, seeking an injunctive relief prohibiting the state from implementing its vaccine mandate without bargaining with the union.

The complaint (pdf) claimed that the mandate would cause the union and its members foreseeable, immediate harm, which includes the impacts of vaccinations, potential side effects, and subjecting troopers to discipline up to termination.

The case was denied, with dozens of Massachusetts state troopers submitting their resignations ahead of the deadline to comply with the states mandatory COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

Many of these troopers are going to be returning to their previous municipal police departments within the state that allow for regular testing and masks, State Police Association of Massachusetts President Michael Cherven said in a statement. To date, dozens of troopers have already submitted their resignation paperwork.

Throughout COVID, we have been on the front lines protecting the citizens of Massachusetts and beyond, he said. Simply put, all we are asking for are the same basic accommodations that countless other departments have provided to their first responders, and to treat a COVID-related illness as a line of duty injury.

Li Hai and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Max McLean on C.S. Lewis and His New Film The Most Reluctant Convert

For some, disaster brings opportunity. Thats what happened for Max McLean and his stage company, Fellowship for Performing Arts (FPA), which engages audiences through art from a Christian worldview.

It is no secret that McLean has a great affinity for C.S. Lewis. He and his company have turned works by Lewis into stage plays, such as The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, as well as performing Lewiss tragic love story called Shadowlands. In fact, the moment the country came to a screeching halt on March 15, 2020, Lewis and FPA had just finished a two-week run of The Great Divorce in Houston.

As the weeks turned into months, McLean and his company found ways to continue creating and performing. The company performed online events, worked on scripts, and actually managed to reach a larger audience. Then opportunity knocked.

McLean had had conversations with UK director Norman Stone, who had directed the original BBC television version of Shadowlands, about possibly turning one of FPAs most impactful and successful plays into a film: The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis. In September 2020, the film industry in the UK reopened for a brief period.

In June of last year, we were working on the screenplay, and Norman said, You know, theyre opening up filmmaking in Britain in August, and since nobodys worked since March, I can get a really good crew and a really good cast if were ready to go, McLean said in a recent interview with The Sons of History.

I said, If you can confirm that and make sure that the locations we need are available, Ill go to my board.

Stone confirmed the locations and hired crewmembers who had worked on the films No Time to Die and Murder on the Orient Express. McLean got approval from the board and obtained the film rights from the C.S. Lewis estate (FPA already had the stage rights). By Aug. 31, McLean was on a plane to London.

[I] arrived in London, quarantined for two weeks, began shooting in mid-September and finished shooting mid-October, McLean said. And here we are, one year later, about to release the film.

The film hit theaters nationwide on Nov. 3. In the film, three actors play the role of Lewis, covering his childhood to his older years. McLean plays the older Lewis, primarily as the films narrator. Eddie Ray Martin plays Lewis as a young boy. Nicholas Ralph plays Lewis as a young man, covering 15 years of his life, including his time as a student at Oxford University, as a soldier in World War I, and throughout the journey of his conversion from atheism to Christianity.

Ralph may be recognizable to many for his role as James Herriot in a new adaptation of the hit British TV series All Creatures Great and Small. Landing Ralph was another opportunity that was extremely timely. Shortly before McLean landed in London, the first episode of All Creatures Great and Small aired.

Normans wife saw the first episode, liked it, and we hadnt cast the younger Lewis yet, McLean explained. Normans wife said, You should check out this guy, hes really good. Norman did. He called his agent. And he said he would do it. No one really knew if All Creatures was going to be a hit or not. They hadnt even picked up a second season. He was still a relative newcomer with very little attention paid to him. I dont know if we could get him now, but he was available then [laughs]. Hes been a joy to work with and hes fabulous in our movie.

For McLean, playing the role of Lewis on film proved quite different than on stage. For starters, the stage production is a one-man performance with McLean monologuing in a replica version of C.S. Lewiss study. The film, however, had 15 actors, 190 extras, and was shot in 17 locations. It also required him to shoot parts of the screenplay out of the typical ordered sequence.

All of those emotional memories that I had, working on stage, I could bring to the film, he said. I had to take a 30-second or a one-minute scene, I had to use my emotional memory from the stage play so I could get it and be 100 percent engaged. Luckily, I had that experience to bring to the film.

Few people are as experienced with Lewiss works as McLean. Whether on stage or now on film, McLean captures the essence of what made Lewis arguably the most important and impactful Christian of the 20th century: humorous, straightforward, and philosophically complex. McLean has dedicated his life to Christianity and the arts, and has worked to combine the two in a way that is thought-provoking and entertaining.

McLean is hoping viewers of the film will find themselves provoked into thinking about God, Christianity, and the meaning of life. If there ever was a time when people have had time to consider the idea of God, it has been during the pandemic.

Lewis had a great antipathy to Christianity. He didnt want anything to do with it. He saw God as this great interferer and all he ever wanted was to be left alone, McLean said.

I think people can relate to that. It recognizes our deep desire to pull away from God. I do think that the questions Lewis asks in the film resonate. Christians have their doubts that need to be answered. Many of the reasons unbelievers disbelieve is because no one has really taken the time to answer their questions. Lewis didnt believe that rational arguments create belief, but he thought the lack of them destroys conviction. He knew that what is proved may not be accepted, but what no one defends is soon abandoned. Thats where things were in Lewiss day in the 30s and 40s, and thats certainly where we are today.

Doubtlessly, the pandemic provided an opportunity McLean didnt anticipate taking until years later. It is also doubtless that McLean and FPA made the most of that opportunity. The film is beautifully shot, well-acted, and highly engaging. It moves well from his childhood to his adulthood, all while an older C.S. Lewis narrates, and at times is present in his own past (a parallel to Dickenss A Christmas Carol).

The movie has a Christian message, but it may be just as applicable to non-Christians as to Christians. The movie presents the understandable struggle of a brilliant man sorting through the idea of Gods existence. As Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain, were he asked to consider whether the universe in which we liveridden with crime, terror, war, diseasewas the work of a benevolent and omnipotent spirit, he writes, all the evidence points in the opposite direction. Either there is no spirit behind the universe, or else a spirit indifferent to good and evil, or else an evil spirit.

These are deep reflections necessary for every person to ponder, and this is where the story begins.

After watching the film, the viewer is left pondering what McLean calls Lewiss big idea.

Lewiss big idea was that there is another world, and that is where we come from, he said. Lewis helps me to desire that other world and takes me out of being so bonded to this world. He also has this marvelous line that I quote all the time, If I find in myself a desire that no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is I was made for another world.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks a news conference about California's plans on homelessness in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Mayor Eric Garcetti Tests Positive for COVID During UN Climate Conference

LOS ANGELESMayor Eric Garcetti, who is fully vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 3 while in Glasgow, Scotland, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The mayor is attending the conference with about seven staff members, all of whom tested negative.

Mayor Garcetti tested positive for COVID-19 earlier on Wednesday. He is feeling good and isolating in his hotel room, according to an announcement on the mayors Twitter account.

In accordance with the UNs guidelines for the conference, Garcetti conducted self-administered nasal swab tests frequently throughout the trip and had been receiving negative results from previous tests.

On Tuesday, the mayor and his staff took PCR tests to get back into the United States, and Garcettis positive test result was received on Wednesday.

The mayors team was figuring out what will happen next as Garcetti isolates in Glasgow. He had been scheduled to return to the United States on Thursday.

Garcettis scheduled attendance at a New York Times panel on urban challenges and solutions to combating the climate crisis was canceled as a result.
Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu addresses supporters at her election night party, in Boston, on Nov. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Progressive Democrat Michelle Wu Elected as Boston Mayor

Voters in Boston elected City Councilor Michelle Wu, a 36-year-old Democrat and the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, to be their mayor on Tuesday.

Wu defeated fellow Democratic City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, a self-described first-generation Arab-Polish American who was born and raised in Boston.

Wus campaign focused on progressive policies such as policing reforms, rent control, and a city-level Green New Deal agenda. Wu has also proposed to expand the citys paid family leave policy to include women whove just had an abortion.

Another of Wus top campaign promises was to create a fare-free public transit system, noting that, safe, reliable, affordable, and sustainable transportation is the foundation for shared prosperity and health.

We are ready to meet this moment. We are ready to become a Boston for everyone, Wu said on Tuesday night. We are ready to become a Boston that doesnt push people out but welcomes all who call our city home. Were ready to be a Boston where all can afford to stay and to thrive. And, yes, Boston is ready to become a Green New Deal city.

Wu, who has a close relationship with Massachusetts U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, moved to the city from Chicago and attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School.

She received a number of high-profile endorsements, including support from acting Mayor Kim Janey, Edward Markey, and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a former Boston city councilor, as well as Warren.

Essaibi George conceded the race moments before Wus Tuesday night speech.

Wu was a front-runner for the vote, maintaining a wide margin in the polls against Essaibi George and leading the race by 30 points just days before the election, according to a survey by Emerson College.

Michelle Wu faces reporters after casting her ballot at a polling station, in the Roslindale neighborhood, of Boston, on Nov. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Wu previously told NBC Asian America that she aimed to represent all communities in Boston while noting that her Taiwanese immigrant heritage made her an untypical candidate for mayor of Boston.

I recognize the ways in which Im not the typical mold of a Boston politician, but its really not just gender and ethnicity or age necessarily, although [its] all of those things, she said.

Bostons previous elected mayor, Democrat Marty Walsh, stepped down earlier this year to become U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Joe Biden.

Wus comments about adding paid time off after abortions came during a campaign event promoted by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. Planned Parenthood performed 345,672 abortions in 2018-19  an increase of nearly 13,000 from the previous year, according to the Susan B. Anthony List and the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Both are pro-life organizations.

Wu was first elected to the council in 2013 at age 28. She will be sworn in on Nov. 16.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A sign offering a $1 million reward for information on missing girl Cleo Smith is displayed on a digital tower in Yagan Square in Perth, Australia, on Oct. 30, 2021. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

Missing 4-Year-Old Cleo Smith Rescued from Western Australia House

Western Australia (WA) police officers have found missing four-year-old Cleo Smith alive and well in a locked house, more than two weeks after disappearing from her familys tent at the Quobba Blowholes campsite on Australias northwest coast.

Cleo was discovered at about 1 a.m. on Wednesday, local time, alone in a room in a house in Carnarvon, some 75 kilometres (46 miles) south from where she went missing.

One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her Whats your name?' Deputy Commissioner Col Blanch said.

She saidMy name is Cleo.'

A 36-year-old Carnarvon man is in custody and being questioned in relation to the suspected abduction. Police have said he has no connection to Cleos family and wasnt present at the house when Cleo was found.

Our family is whole again, Cleos mother, Ellie Smith posted on Instagram alongside a photo of Cleo.

Cleo is receiving medical care but is said to be in good physical health.

Community Relieved

Relief has swept across the community and police forces after the news broke of Cleos safe discovery after 18 long days of searching around the clock.

Acting Commissioner Blanch said in a statement that it was the outcome we all hoped and prayed for.

He said it was the result of some incredible police work, and thanked Cleos parents, the WA community, volunteers, and officers involved in the search.

A hundred person task force worked day and night for weeks, sifting through thousands of data points, including Crime Stoppers calls, for forensic clues.

Blanch told Perth radio 6PR that he saw seasoned detectives openly crying with relief.

We were literally looking for a needle in a haystack and we found it, Blanch said.

When she said my name is Cleo, I dont think there was a dry eye in the house.

This really did hit the heart of Western Australians, it went international and to see Cleo rescued this morning, Im speechless.

Carnarvon Shire President Eddie Jones said the local community would be elated, thankful as they heard the good news.

It is wonderful, he told 6PR.

Cleo disappeared on Oct. 16 from her familys tent at the Blowholes campsite, about 950 kilometres (590 miles) north of Perth.

She was last seen by her mother around 1.30 a.m. that night.

The search for Cleo captured national attention, including in New South Wales where the states police commissioner on Wednesday recounted a conversation he had with WA counterpart Chris Dawson after Cleo was found.

He said when he got the call this morning he broke down and cried, Mick Fuller told Sydney radio 2GB.

Its such an amazing story.

WA investigators spoke to more than 110 people who were at the campsite when Cleo went missing.

They had also been searching for the driver of a car seen leaving in the campsite in the middle of the night before it was discovered the child was missing.

The state government had offered a $1 million reward for information to find Cleo.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Cleos discovery was wonderful, relieving news.

Cleo Smith has been found and is home safe and sound.

Our prayers answered.

Thank you to the many police officers involved in finding Cleo and supporting her family, he wrote on Twitter.

AAP contributed to this report.
Mom Forced to Give Up Newborn Son 66 Years Ago Tracks Him and Her Granddaughter With DNA Test

A mother who was forced to give her newborn baby up for adoption has found him living in Australia 66 years later.

Issy Carr, 86, from Bentham, in North Yorkshire, England, parted ways with her baby son, George, now Keith, all the way back in 1955 when she was just 20 years old.

She often thought of her long-lost son over the decades, but it wasnt until Christmas Day 2018 when someone suggested ancestry tracking that her search began. Her DNA sample matched with a 43-year-old woman named Kym in Perth, Australia; Kym was looking for her dad.

Further tests revealed a 99.59 percent match and that Kym was Issys biological granddaughter and that George had her as a youngster after moving abroad but had never met her. Issy also learned she had two great-grandsons.

It turned out that my son had emigrated to Australia with his family aged 15, had met someone but split up, Issy said.

The pair, with help from Issys niece Angela Bowskill and relative Janet Staveley, launched a social media search for George with the information they had: his birth name, date of birth, and a possible surname. There was a laborious search of library records to follow which revealed a surname of Garrahy and an address.

It turned out that George was raised just 10 miles from Issy and moved to Australia with his adopted family aged 15.

In May, Kym went to the house with her husband and asked the man his date of birth before saying, Im your daughter.

A few days later, Issy saw her son for the first time in 66 years in an emotional Zoom call. The mom-son-granddaughter trio has spent the past couple of months chatting and getting to know each other.

I found out we all had a lot in common and a similar sense of humor, Issy said. Keith is the spitting image of me and his daughter is beautiful. She even has a cat named Bonnie, as I do.

Issy, who still runs a small North Yorkshire caravan park at the age of 86, gave birth to George at a nursing home on June 13, 1955.

Reflecting on the past, Issy said that she loved her son straight away and named him George, but a nurse told her that she was not to see or hold him.

He was rushed away and I never saw him again, Issy said. My mother told me I would soon forget about him but I never did and tried many times to find out where he had gone but failed. I never forgave my parents, whatever their reason was.

Following the ordeal of giving him up, she worked long hours at her parents farm before meeting John Makinson Carr, who she married in 1962. Issy and John had no children of their own but they had a happy marriage before his death in 1991.

Following the second tragic loss in her life, Issys thoughts once again turned to her long-lost son, as she wondered where he was and if he was well. It wasnt until this year after an investigation stretching across the globe by her niece and her nieces cousin that George was found.

Whats more, I found out when he was adopted that he was brought up in Kirkby Lonsdale, right under my nose, Issy said.

Issy said she will never get over the trauma of being forced to give her son away.

It felt very cruel but there was nothing I could do, Issy said. It did make me a strong person and I did eventually find a good man in John but there was a huge part of my life missing and it was the not knowing that was the hardest thing to bear.

Kym said she and her father were excited to learn of their extended family in England.

He said he was very happy that he has a nice family now and was very happy to have found his mum, Kym said. I have been over the moon to find my grandmother, it was so unexpected. And the joy I feel knowing I have more family in England. I cant wait to meet them all.

I was so excited and nervous to meet my father but I had nothing to worry about. And helping my Grandma Issy find her son was the best feeling ever.

My father and I cant wait to travel to England when the COVID restrictions are over.

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.

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(L) New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, July 24, 2021 (Courtesy of Murphy For Governor 2021) (R) Jack Ciattarelli, candidate for Governor of New Jersey (Courtesy of Ciattarelli for Governor)

New Jersey Governors Race Too Close to Call; Votes Being Tallied

Update: The Associated Press has called the race for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, making him the first Democrat since 1977 to win a second term.

Original article below.



Unofficial results of the gubernatorial election in New Jersey showed the incumbent Democratic governor Phil Murphy in a dead heat with Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli, with 98 percent of precincts reporting.

Incomplete returns showed Murphy leading the race by 1,408 votes out of more than 2.3 million cast. The voters turnout was about 34 percent of New Jerseyans who can vote.

New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way said on Monday at a press conference that more than 200,000 New Jerseyans cast their ballots during early voting in person and nearly 500,000 voted by mail, according to the New Jersey Herald. These votes represent more than 10 percent of the states registered voters.

At 12:30 a.m., Ciattarelli said he couldnt yet declare a victory because votes remained to be counted, but said he fully expected to make a victory declaration once that happens.

Weve sent a message to the entire nation. This is what I love about this state: Every single time its gone too far off track, the people of this state have pushed, pulled, and prodded it right back to where it needs to be, he told the crowd.

No Democrat has won reelection as governor in New Jersey since Brendan Byrne in 1977, and the party opposite the presidents has won the New Jersey governorship going back to 1985.

In 1981, Republican Gov. Tom Kean won the election in New Jersey by only 1,797 votes out of 3 million cast.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey and League of Women Voters (LWV) filed a lawsuit on Nov. 2 against the state, requesting to extend voting hours due to technical and operational issues causing delays at some polling locations.

Delays caused by technical issues arent an excuse to deny voters their right to vote, ACLU said on Twitter.

Operational & technical issues this morning at polling locations around the state made voters leave without casting a ballot, LWV posted on Twitter.

The judge denied their request on the same day, ACLU said, but New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way said on Twitter that voters who were in line at the poll closing time (8 pm) would be able to vote, no matter how long it takes.

New Jersey voters- The polls will close at 8 pm. If you are on line to vote at 8 pm, stay in line and you will be able to vote, no matter how long it takes.  New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way (@SecretaryWay) November 2, 2021

The Contenders

Gov. Phil Murphy, who is seeking a second term, held leadership roles at Goldman Sachss offices in Germany and Hong Kong for more than 20 years and served as an ambassador to Germany during the Obama administration. He was also a finance chair for the Democratic National Committee.

Murphy campaigned on a range of policies he implemented during his tenure as a governor, such as tax fairness for middle-class families, minimum wage at $15 an hour, more affordable public education, more child care, environmental policies, and legalizing marijuana. His campaigns slogan is Its about how we move forward.

However, the effects of his policies drew criticism from his challenger and Republican lawmakers. Murphy was also criticized for his decisions to increase taxes, imposing mask mandates on children, his policy to admit patients to nursing homes regardless of their COVID-19 status, and his late response to hurricane Ida.

Murphy has been endorsed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for reelection.

Former President Barack Obama also stumped for the incumbent governor at Murphys campaign rally in Newark, New Jerseythe most populous city in the stateabout a week and a half before the election.

Make sure you vote for Democrats up and down the ballot, including state legislatures where a lot of important work gets done, Obama told the audience at the rally. Give Phil Murphy four more years.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) an openly socialist member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also stumped for Murphy a campaign rally at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Sanders called Murphy one of the most progressive governors in the country and asked the audience to vote for Murphy and bring others to vote for him as well.

Murphy won his first term in 2017 with 56 percent of the vote, beating Republican then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno who received 42 percent. Voter turnout at that time was 36 percent.

Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli is a certified public accountant, a two-time small-business owner, a former New Jersey assemblyman, and a lifelong resident of New Jersey.

Ciattarelli campaigned under the banner Lets Fix New Jersey. He told New Jerseyans that as a governor he would address the states most pressing issues such as the highest property taxes in the nation, state governments overspending, insufficient support for local and state police, and reforming public school curriculum.

The governors challenger also promised to foster business growth and create more jobs in the state.

Ciattarelli had raised more than $13 million to finance his campaign and spent $12.4 million as of Oct. 29, according to a report by New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (pdf). Murphy had raised more than $16 million for his campaign and spent nearly $12.6 million.

New Jersey Legislative Races

All 120 seats in New Jerseys Legislature were on the ballot in this years election. Many precincts are still expected to report the results of the legislative election.

The results in districts that completed their reporting at the time of publication showed that Republicans unseated one senator and four assembly members.

Coming into Election Day, Democrats had controlled the Assembly with 52 seats to Republicans 28. In the Senate, Democrats had 25 seats to the Republicans 15.

New Jerseys Legislature consists of 40 districts, which each send one senator and two assembly members to Trenton. Assembly members serve two-year terms, while senators serve four-year terms, except for the first election after the censuswhich comes this yearwhen they serve two-year terms.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, left, on July 24, 2021 (courtesy of Murphy For Governor 2021) and Jack Ciattarelli, candidate for governor of New Jersey (courtesy of Ciattarelli for Governor).

New Jerseys Governor Race Sees Democrat and GOP Challenger Go Head to Head

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli were the two main party candidates locked in a neck-and-neck battle on Tuesday as citizens of New Jersey voted for their next governor.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. on election day as New Jerseyans voted to decide whether to have another term with Democratic governor Murphy or elect former assemblyman Ciattarelli.

Murphy became New Jerseys 56th governor on Jan. 16, 2018. If he were to win Tuesdays vote, it would mark the first time a Democratic governor has been reelected in New Jersey since Brenden Byrne in 1977.

While there were at least five names to pick from for the states top post, Murphy and Ciattarelli were the two clear favorites, with Murphy, 64, leading by as much as 11 points according to a Monmouth University poll released last week.

But Ciattarelli, 59, is currently leading the way with 50.1 percent of the votes, according to a POLITICO poll. But Murphy isnt far behind with 49.2 percent of the vote.

A key issue for Democrats in this years election is taxes. New Jersey homeowners pay the highest property taxes in the United States, with a 2.49 percent real estate tax rate, according to a March 2021 poll by WalletHub.

Ciattarellis campaign has promised to lower those taxes and freeze them altogether for homeowners who are aged 65 and above, regardless of income or length of residency.

Ciattarellis ads and campaign rhetoric frequently featured Murphy telling an audience that, if youre a one-issue voter and taxes are your issue  were probably not your state.

The former assemblyman has also said he will restore state aid to struggling suburban, shore areas, and rural schools, make health care more affordable and protect medical freedom, including opposing mandatory vaccinations and so-called vaccine passports.

Meanwhile, Murphys campaign also focused on providing New Jerseyans with more affordable housing, criminal justice reform, and ramping up testing capabilities to 400+ sites statewide to ensure state residents have access to reliable, regular, and free COVID-19 tests, among other things.

He has also focused on key issues such as abortion and gun control, noting that Ciattarelli had called for banning abortions after 20 weeks and relaxing New Jerseys gun control laws, which are among the strictest in the nation.

But unlike Ciattarelli, Murphy has not promised to cut property taxes. Instead, he told WNYC that higher taxes means, the best public schools in America. It means among the best health care systems in America. It means a location second to none that we need to invest aggressively in.

Voters across New Jersey were also casting ballots for a number of other things on Tuesday, including all 120 seats in the New Jersey State Legislature, and whether or not to allow betting on the states college teams or teams from other states who are playing there.

They also voted on whether or not organizations that are allowed to hold raffles should be able to keep the money they raise to support themselves. Currently, only veterans and senior citizen groups are permitted to do so.
Collective farms in North Hwanghae Province, close to Pyongyang, as seen from the road between Pyongyang and Kaesong, on April 25, 2007. (AFP/AFP via Getty Images)

North Korea May Resume Trading With China and Russia Amid Economic Crisis

Since the start of COVID-19, North Korea has adopted the most stringent lockdown globally, further intensifying its economic difficulties. Reports suggest an increased number of army deserters, an inability to print money, and a lack of food and medical supplies. North Koreas worsened living conditions may force it to open its borders to China and Russia as early as November.

According to South Koreas National Intelligence Service members on Oct. 28, North Korea is preparing to lift its lockdown measures toward China and Russia and currently negotiating to resume railway transportation and trade with the two countries, indicating a possible start in this month.

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus outbreak in January last year, North Korea has suspended all border transactions, including with China. The bilateral trade between China and North Korea has decreased significantly.

However, in the past few months, North Korea has shown signs of accepting international aid. According to South Koreas National Intelligence Service, North Korea has increased the intake of humanitarian goods since July. And in August, medical and pandemic supplies were allowed to enter the country, suggesting that North Korea may further open its ports.

North Koreas economic crisis has reportedly plagued its central bank. Its currency issuance has been suspended due to the lack of special paper and ink imports needed for money printing. A lesser quality temporary currency was produced using North Korean-made papers.

According to data provided by South Koreas National Intelligence Service, in the first nine months of this year, the bilateral trade volume between North Korea and China was $185 million, only one-third of the same period last year. The trade volume in September this year was only 29 percent of the same period in 2019.

Meanwhile, the lack of imports and trades has caused the North Korean government to forcibly start its factories, causing some factories to overload, resulting in frequent factory explosion accidents. And the shortage of public emergency medical supplies has led to the spread of water-borne infectious diseases such as typhoid fever.

In addition, the number of deserters in the North Korean military has increased by more than 80 percent compared with the previous year. According to Ha Tae-keung, an intelligence committee member in the South Korean National Assembly, this increase was primarily due to North Koreas economic deterioration and its government forcefully mobilizing soldiers into labor, such as construction sites.

Clocks Stopped Due to Battery Shortage

In July, Joo Seong-ha, a defector from North Korea and a reporter at Dong-a Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, wrote a column, Time Has Stopped in North Korea. The article revealed that ordinary people in North Korea have little way to tell time; their wristwatches and wall clocks have stopped due to no batteries.

Joo said that Chinese watches, wall clocks, and batteries dominate in North Korea. And since the border has been closed for more than a year due to the CCP virus, North Koreans have no access to batteries.

Although cell phones are widely available in large cities such as Pyongyang, few people in the poor rural areas have cell phones. Televisions are rarely on due to power outages, and mostly only air in the evening when electricity is available. Even fewer homes have computers or laptops. There is pretty much no way to tell time. Everything is in chaos as people cant make appointments, Joo said.

A society that cant tell time is in no way a modern society, he said.

A society that cant tell time will be experiencing a whole new world, even for those who overcame the horrors during the March of Suffering, Joo added.

March of Suffering is the North Korean authorities euphemism for famine. It is also called the Arduous March, referring to the Great Famine that occurred in North Korea from 1994 to 1998. It was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis, and an estimated more than 3 million people starved to death.

More Than Half the Population May Go Hungry

Food shortages have been a major problem in North Korea. Prior to the CCP virus pandemic, North Korea often relied on imports and aid from China to make up for poor harvests.

In response to this years food supply shortages, North Korean authorities reportedly issued a general mobilization order directing its citizens to the rural areas to help with food harvesting, according to a South Korean National Intelligence Service report on Oct. 28.

Collective farms in North Hwanghae province, close to Pyongyang, as seen from the road that runs between Pyongyang and Kaesong, on April 25, 2007. (AFP/AFP via Getty Images)

The report estimated that North Korea had completed its autumn rice harvest around Oct. 20. Due to longer daylight hours, its total grain output is expected to exceed last year.

However, a U.S.-based think-tank said data gathered by satellite point to a yield that falls short of an average or good harvest.

While not yet a crisis of famine proportions, the negative trend, combined with external factors such as low yields in the previous year and flood damage to the northeastern croplands and crop transport infrastructure, aggravate the food insecurity in the country, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report released on Oct. 4.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that 63.1 percent of the North Korean population, approximately 16.3 million people, are suffering from a food shortage. This number has increased by 1 million compared to last year, according to the International Food Security Assessment 2021-2031 released in July.

The report also estimated that North Koreas food shortage this year was 1,041 million tons. Thats about 200,000 tons more than the 860,000 tons predicted by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a Politburo meeting of the ruling Workers Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 29, 2021. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea Touts Exceptional Health Benefits of Consuming Black Swans Amid Crippling Food Shortage

North Korea has started touting the exceptional health benefits of consuming black swans after breeding them, while also farming rabbits as the country battles a crippling food shortage, according to state media.

Black swan meat is delicious and has medicinal value, the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in an article published Monday.

According to the newspaper, Ri Jong Nam, the chief party secretary for South Hamgyong province, led a ceremony to open a new black swan center at the Kwangpho Duck Farm located in Jongphyong county on the east coast the previous day.

State media previously called black swan meat an exceptional health food of the 21st century with a unique taste and extremely high nutritional value, and that research into breeding the rare ornamental birds for food began in spring 2019, NK News reported. They also said that it contains rare anticancer properties.

The black swan breeding is meant to address both the failure of large-scale farming to provide adequate food supplies to the whole of North Korea as well as more recent government COVID-19-related restrictions that have largely blocked food and other imports since early 2020, NK News said.

The black swan is a large water bird that is mainly found in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia, although it has also been introduced into several countries, including New Zealand.

Meanwhile, in July last year, the Ministry of Peoples Armed Forces (MPAF) ordered soldiers and their families to raise rabbits, the DailyNK website reported.

Each soldier was told to breed 15 rabbits and that they would be evaluated on their progress, as per the DailyNK.

North Korea became one of the first countries in the world to entirely shut its borders early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. While the government claims there are zero recorded COVID-19 infections and in September rejected the offer of nearly 3 million COVID-19 jabs, reports are rife that the country has witnessed infections and deaths from the virus, as per Human Rights Watch.

Meanwhile, the countrys trade with China declined by nearly 81 percent in 2020, and the government drastically reduced imports of staple foods and other essentials, including medicine, from China, as per HRW.

Multiple floods between June and September this year damaged thousands of homes and destroyed crops, placing further strain on the economic crisis, agricultural production, and food shortages.

North Korea is also struggling under international sanctions, which have been imposed because of its nuclear programs. Last month, the country test-launched a new type of ballistic missile from a submarine off its eastern coast into the Sea of Japan.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) say that some 6 million people, or a quarter of the population, suffer from malnutrition.

Despite this, the North Korean government has repeatedly rejected offers of international aid.

The alleged breeding of black swans and the touting of their supposed health benefits comes shortly after North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un said in a Sept. 29 speech that in order to provide North Koreans with a stabilized and affluent living, a primary effort should be put on the agricultural development, while noting his partys determination to completely remove the food problem in the near future by rapidly developing agricultural production.

The dictator also called for decisively increasing goats and cattle and massively conducting the movement for breeding rabbits as required by the Partys policy of obtaining meat from grass in the sector of stockbreeding.

In June, Kim Jong Un acknowledged a food crisis within the country, telling senior leaders that, the peoples food situation is now getting tense.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe prepares to speak at an election night party in McLean, Va., on Nov. 2, 2021. (Steve Helber/AP Photo)

Not the Result Wed Hoped For: McAuliffe Concedes Virginia Gubernatorial Race to Youngkin

Virginias Democrat gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe conceded Wednesday after projections indicated he lost the race to Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin.

Though this is not the result wed hoped for, Im so proud of what we built over the last year, McAuliffe wrote in a message to supporters.

Losing is never easy. We put ourselves out there and left it all on the field, he added.

McAuliffe had not conceded in a speech delivered in McLean late Tuesday.

Youngkin, a former CEO, was projected to have won by approximately 67,000 votes of over 3.2 million cast.

He gave a victory speech around 1 a.m. Wednesday, calling the development amazing.

Virginia, we won this thing, he said.

Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin speaks during his election night party at a hotel in Chantilly, Va., on Nov. 3, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Republican candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general also appeared to have won, and Republicans were projected to have flipped the Virginia House of Delegates.

McAuliffe, who was governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018, struggled in the final weeks of the race, dismissing concerns emanating from parents about school boards injecting racially-based teachings into schools. He falsely said schools in the state dont teach critical race theory. Youngkin, meanwhile, called for an investigation into what happened in Loudoun County and said hed introduce school choice and other new measures if elected.

Exit polls showed Youngkin earned more votes among Virginians who said their top issue was education and also drew more support from independents.

Were going to invest in teachers, new facilities, special education. Were going to introduce choice within our public school system, Youngkin told the crowd in Chantilly early Wednesday. Were going to embrace our parents, not ignore them.

Youngkin will succeed Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam, who was term-limited by Virginias Constitution.

Top Democrats including President Joe Biden had thrown their support behind McAuliffe, but to no avail. Youngkins supporters included former President Donald Trump.

In a statement issued by his campaign Wednesday morning, McAuliffe wished Youngkin well and thanked his supporters and family.

While last night we came up short, I am proud that we spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply believe in, he said.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (C) announces the launch of the Canadian Energy Centre at a press conference at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary on Dec. 11, 2019. Alberta released a report in October 2021 on campaigns targeting its energy sector. (Greg Fulmes/The Canadian Press)

Notable Findings From Inquiry Into Anti-Alberta Energy Funding

Besides estimating the amount of foreign funding going to environmental groups seeking to landlock Albertas oil and gas, a recent report from a government-commissioned inquiry highlighted a number of other issues related to funding and transparency.

The first recommendation in the report, written by commissioner Steve Allan, is to improve transparency and accountability in the financial operations of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) receiving foreign funding.

The report highlights an exchange fund program that was operated by the prominent U.S.-based Tides Foundation and its Canadian counterpart Tides Canada, and said that the program, used for donations from either side of the border, had the effect of obscuring the source of funds.

The report also emphasized the exponential increase in federal funding for ENGOs since 2015 and the disparity between foreign and government funds going to ENGOs versus conservative/market oriented organizations.

The Alberta Public Inquiry Into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns, released publicly on Oct. 21, was mandated by Premier Jason Kenneys United Conservative Party government to look into foreign money funding activism against Albertas oil and gas industry.

Opaque Money Trail

Some critics have said the inquiry didnt find a significant amount of foreign funds dedicated to anti-Alberta energy campaigns, but the report found that the money trail wasnt always clear.

The report said that between 2003 and 2019, Canadian-based environmental initiatives received $1.28 billion in foreign funding, with $54.1 million earmarked for what was construed as anti-Alberta resource development activity.

An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary in a file photo. (Todd Korol/Reuters)

A sizable amount of foreign funding was given in the form of grants to Canadian ENGOs, but the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) keeps the donor information confidential. And if the granter doesnt indicate the purpose of the grant in its filings, its impossible to know how the funds will be spent. Furthermore, even if the grantor earmarks the funds for a certain cause, it doesnt mean the grantee will use them for that specific purpose.

This issue is emphasized throughout the report, which noted that increased transparency requirements should be introduced, requiring clear description of the purpose and aim of any grants made to not-for-profit and charitable organizations.

While this is a general problem, the report also pinpointed particular mechanisms that make it harder to follow the money.

The U.S.-based Tides Foundation was identified as one of two re-granters, (the other being the New Venture Fund) in the anti-Alberta energy campaign, meaning it receives monies from donors and then re-grants them to other groups. Tides is known for providing anonymity to donors who request it while allowing them to direct their funds to the cause of their choice.

Allan determined that the Tides Foundation made 125 grants amounting to over C$10 million to various organizations with a stated purpose seeking to delay or hinder the development of Albertas oil and gas resources.

The Tides Foundation operated an exchange fund program with Tides Canadaconsisting of the Tides Canada Foundation and Tides Canada Initiative Societyfrom 2001 to 2016, which allowed donors in Canada or the United States to make donations in the other country without money ever crossing the border, while still receiving charity donation receipts.

While the Exchange Fund undoubtedly broadened the giving network, it also had the effect of obscuring the source of funds such that the ultimate recipient of funds was receiving funds from a Canadian donor when, in fact, it may well have been initiated by a foreign donor, says the report.

Allan identified that four grants sent by the Tides Foundation to the Tides Canada Foundation in 2013, ranging from US$15,000 to US$35,000 (C$15,449 to C$36,047), were re-granted to other organizations, with the stated purpose of opposing the oil industry in Western Canada.

Requests to the entities involved for comment on the Exchange Fund were left unanswered.

Tides Canada Distances From US Counterpart

Tides Canada changed its name to MakeWay in June 2020, citing years of misinformation and claiming having been singled out by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney for its alleged role opposing the provinces oil and gas industry.

Smear campaigns about Tides Canada have repeatedly misconstrued the purpose of Tides Canadas international philanthropic funding and have also conflated it with the US-based Tides Foundation, the organization said in a statement announcing the name change. Tides Canada was originally named after the Tides Foundation in the U.S., though over time the organizations have diverged and no longer hold any legal, financial, or governance connections.

The Tides Canada Foundations 2001 annual report said the Tides Foundation was a sister organization, and while the above statement mentions that the two organizations no longer hold any connections, a MakeWay spokesperson told The Epoch Times that Tides US and Tides Canada were always independent and separate organizations.

Alison Henning, director of communications at MakeWay, said in an email that the organization did receive funding from Tides U.S. over the years, but it was always disclosed and only totalled 1 percent of Tides Canadas international funding between 2009 and 2019.

The CRA audited Tides Canada and other NGOs in 2014 to determine if they complied with political advocacy guidelines. MakeWays website indicates that the CRA completed the audit in 2016 confirming its status as a charity in good standing.

Federal Funding Skyrockets Under Trudeau

As part of the Allan Inquiry, accounting firm Deloitte Forensic was instructed to determine the increase over time in federal funding for ENGOs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presents his national statement as part of the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 1, 2021. (Ian Forsyth/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The inquiry found that 26 ENGOs received a total of $41.4 million from 2004 to 2014. Then from 2015 to 2019, during Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus first term, that amount climbed to over $372.5 million.

Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, criticizes the huge volume of federal funding of ENGOs in the face of Canadas growing debt.

The federal government was running big deficits during this time [20152019] and failed to balance the budget like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised, so its concerning for taxpayers to see these costs increase like this, Terrazzano told The Epoch Times.

ENGO Funding Dwarfs That of Pro-Industry Groups

ENGOs have pointed out that the funding they receive is nothing in comparison to the strength of the oil and gas industry and lobby. The energy industry in turn alleges that the ENGOs perpetuate a David and Goliath narrative while being bankrolled by left-wing billionaires, according to a report titled Big Green, Inc. by the Institute for Energy Research.

The Allan Inquiry examined these competing narratives and said some ENGOs submissions criticized the inquiry for not looking into the foreign funding of pro-Alberta energy organizations.

While Allan wrote that investigating this angle was not within his mandate, Deloitte did examine the claim that these organizations received significant foreign funding.

Deloitte identified the 11 largest conservative or market-oriented organizations with charitable status and total revenues exceeding $10 million over the inquirys period of reviewfrom Jan. 1, 2000, to Oct. 31, 2020and found that they received foreign funding of $26.7 million and government funding of $39.3 million during this period.

Comparing the environmental groups based on the same threshold of revenues greater than $10 million and over the same period, the 31 largest ENGOs received $897.5 million in foreign funding and $2.1 billion in government funding.
NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Nov. 3)

Analysts and politicians react to the Republican victories in Virginia, votes are still being counted in New Jerseys gubernatorial race, and protests against vaccine mandates pop up around the world.
A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 12 years old is shown at a vaccination site in Decatur, Ga., on Nov. 3, 2021. (Ben Gray/AP Photo)

Nurses Give Two Young Children COVID-19 Vaccines Despite Lacking Authorization

Nurses in Texas recently administered COVID-19 vaccines to two young children despite the vaccines not being authorized for their age group, leaving their families shocked.

Julian Gonzalez was with his family, including his 6-year-old son, at a trick or treat event at the Mount Hebron Missionary Baptist Church in Garland on Halloween.

Gonzalez decided to get a booster shot at a pop-up vaccination clinic run by the city at the church.

Nurses there asked the ages of the familys children. When they learned one was 6, they said he could get the Pfizer vaccine.

Going off of their confidence and what we had read, we were all for it, Gonzalez told KTVT-TV.

A neighbors 7-year-old boy also got the jab.

But on Oct. 31, the shot wasnt cleared by federal health authorities for use in anybody under 12.

Even after it was this week, health care workers are being directed to give children between 5 and 11 a 10-microgram dose, not the usual 30-microgram injection.

One of the reasons for the lower dosage is because children have seen elevated rates of heart inflammation after getting the vaccine.

The city of Garland called the Gonzalez family on Monday to inform them the boys should not have gotten the jab, and that they got three times the recommended dosage level.

Where did that decision come from? Who was it that told them they could go ahead and offer it? Gonzalez wondered.

In a statement to news outlets, the City of Garland Health Department confirmed two shots that shouldnt have been administered were administered.

The doses were administered in error, health officials said, adding that they were communicating with the childrens parents, who were monitoring their children for side effects, and had alerted state health officials.

The city was investigating what happened.

The city couldnt be reached and the church did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Gonzalez boys parents said he was suffering some side effects but they had eased. The condition of the other boy wasnt known.
NEW YORK, NY - August 03: New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio presents a proclamation at the 46th Precincts National Night Out on August 3, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. National Night Out an annual community-building campaign established in 1970 is intended to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

NYC Mayor de Blasio Files Paperwork for a Potential Run for Governor

NEW YORKNew York Mayor Bill de Blasio appears to be setting his sights on Albany.

The term-limited mayor of New York City, who mounted a failed presidential bid two years ago, is laying the groundwork for a possible run for governor.

Although he stopped short of announcing his candidacy on Tuesday, de Blasio agreed that the paperwork he filed creating a committee to address statewide political issues suggests hes preparing to join what is shaping up to be a crowded field of Democrats eyeing the governors mansion.

Draw your own conclusions, de Blasio said with a grin during an appearance on CNN.

The outgoing mayor went on to agree with anchor John Bermans assessment that his actions suggest that hes not not running.

I like that. Use the double negative, he said. That always works.

De Blasio went on to tout what he considers as his successes as mayor, including establishing universal pre-kindergarten, adding affordable housing and police reforms.

He also took credit for the citys handling of the COVID-19 crisis, despite his current vaccine mandate drama, arguing that his leadership made New York one of the safest places in the country amid the pandemic.

De Blasio trashed hundreds of FDNY firefighters for calling in sick in a protest against the citys vaccine mandate, accusing them of defying the will of New Yorkers.

If youre not sick, get to work, he said. Protect your fellow New Yorkers, be there for your fellow firefighters. Stop playing this game.

The mayor said his decision to require shots for city workers is a crucial example of his willingness to take charge in tough times.

Despite opposition from some cops and firefighters, he said the policy has the overwhelming support of the New Yorkers who pay their salaries.

I say this to every mayor in America, every governor, every CEO of a company in America: Put vaccine mandates into effect. It works, de Blasio said. This is what is going to make us safe. You got to do it so that we can actually end the COVID era.

But the defiance from municipal workers is just the latest pushback de Blasio has faced during his tumultuous tenure at City Hall. Despite policy gains, he is more often remembered for his 11-mile daily commute to a Brooklyn gym.

If de Blasio does throw his hat in the ring for the June primary, it would set up a Titanic Democratic primary battle against political heavyweights Gov. Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom have already announced their candidacies.

Other candidates are said to be waiting in the wings, and even scandal-plagued former Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasnt ruled out a comeback effort.

Hochul became the first woman to lead the state after Cuomo resigned in August amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment detailed in a report issued by James office.

Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and has roughly $18 million left in his campaign account. Hochul has been courting deep-pocketed donors in recent weeks as James entered the fray last Friday.

Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs endorsed Hochul early last month, saying he was hoping to avoid a fractious primary. That seems unlikely as others including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., are also considering entering the race.

Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, former Westchester executive Rob Astorino and Andrew Giuliani, the son of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, are vying for the Republican nod.

Hochul holds a sizable early lead among Democrats, according to polling conducted last month. A Marist survey found the incumbent held a double-digit lead over both James and Williams.

Hochul also came out on top with 39 percent in a Siena College poll that placed de Blasio dead last behind James and Williams at 6 percent.

De Blasio, who embarked on a failed four-month-long White House bid in 2019, brushed off his apparent unpopularity with New York voters.

I have seen polls like that literally every time Ive run for office, he said during a press briefing two weeks ago. If I worried about stuff like that I wouldnt be sitting in this chair right now, literally. If I had been daunted and overawed by early polling, I wouldnt have bothered to keep forging aheadand Im glad I forged ahead.



2021 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Pfizer/BioNTech's new pediatric COVID-19 vaccine vials are seen in this undated handout photo. (Pfizer via Reuters)

NYC Schools to Administer COVID-19 Vaccines on Site for Young Children Next Week

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday morning that the citys public schools will start administering COVID-19 vaccines for 5- to 11-year-old students next week.

The Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine, which received endorsement from the U.S. Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will be available at all schools serving students age 5 to 11 during school hours starting Nov. 8, de Blasio said at a press conference.

Were going to have in each of our schools that has kids in that 5- to 11-year-old range, were going to have a day for each school when vaccination is provided at the school building itself, the outgoing mayor said, adding that parents will receive a lot of notice reminding them about the opportunity to get their children vaccinated at their local school sites.

Schools will make sure that children are either accompanied by a parent or guardian, or have written or verbal consent for the vaccination, de Blasio said.

De Blasio also acknowledged that some parents may prefer going to their childs doctor or a city-run vaccination cite, which will start giving the shots on Thursday.

All choices are good choices, but we want to make it available and easy for parents who prefer just to go to their local school building, he said.

The announcement comes just hours after CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky recommended children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated with Pfizers vaccine.

Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nations fight against the virus that causes COVID-19, Walensky said in a statement, referring to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse, or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated.

Prior to the official CDC endorsement, the White house had already begun distribution of the pediatric vaccine. The Biden administration said last month it has bought enough doses for all 28 million 5- to 11-year-olds in the United States, and will provide it in smaller packages with smaller needles to make it easier for physicians and pediatricians to administer to children.

Starting the week of Nov. 8, the kids vaccination program will be fully up and running, White House COVID-19 response team coordinator Jeff Zients said Monday. Parents will be able to schedule appointments at convenient sites they know and trust to get their kids vaccinated.
Ontario's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore attends a press briefing at Queen's Park in Toronto on Nov. 3, 2021. The province announced that it is planning to offer booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all Ontarians, starting with the next priority group who will be able to book appointments starting Nov. 6. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young)

Ontario Expands Eligibility for Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose

Ontario is expanding eligibility for a third COVID-19 dose, with individuals from additional high-risk groups able to access the booster shot on Nov. 6.

High-risk groups will be able to receive the booster shot if six months have passed since their last vaccine dose. Those groups include:

Individuals aged 70 and above

Health care workers and essential caregivers who work in congregated settings such as long-term care homes and retirement homes

Individuals who received a complete series of a viral vector vaccine (two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or one dose of the Janssen vaccine); and

First Nation, Inuit, and Metis adults, including their non-Indigenous family members

Ontario is the first province in Canada to administer the third vaccine dose to select vulnerable populations.

The expansion will bring the number of eligible individuals in the province to 2.75 million, the provincial government said in a Nov. 3 statement and was based on recommendations from the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

Speaking at a press conference on Nov. 3, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Kieran Moore said COVID-19 will likely become an annual winter virus in the coming years, and that the governments preference is for the population to get vaccinated rather than achieve immunity naturally.

There is no escaping this virus, you either are going to get it naturally through exposureand given that it can have such serious and significant outcomes associated with itthat is absolutely not our preference, Moore said.

Our preference is that you use the safe and effective vaccines to protect yourself, your community, your loved ones, and that will have the least impact on you as an individual but also on our health system.

When asked if receiving three vaccine doses will be required to be considered fully vaccinated in the future, Moore said he can see that [happening] down the road.

We will always be data-driven and following the data in a long-term effect, Moore said.

The government said plans to expand eligibility for the booster shot to all Ontarians will start in January, which will be based on age and risk, with an interval of six to eight months from the second dose.

Ontario is also working with public health services to prepare to vaccinate children between the age of 5 to 11, pending approval from Health Canada. Last month, Pfizer-BioNTech asked Health Canada to approve its vaccine for children, which drew criticism from opposition MPs.
Marines who had been deployed to Afghanistan are seen at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Calif., on Oct. 3, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Orange County Non-profit Brings US Marines Home for Christmas

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.With a tough 2021 nearly behind them, the holiday season will be brighter for a few United States Marines who will be able to travel home this Christmas thanks to the efforts of Seal Beach resident and former Marine Corporal Richard (Dick) Stone.

In 2004, Stone formally established Special Forces Home for Christmas Fund as a non-profit with a mission to fund as many airline tickets as possible for Marines who wished to go home for Christmas.

Since that time, with the support of the Orange County community and his fellow Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club (BCYC) members, over $600,000 has been raised, enabling nearly 1,277 young Marines the chance to travel home and spend the holidays with their families.

This years recipients are part of Marine special forces including the First Reconnaissance Battalion and the First Marine Radio Battalion stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Because traveling home during the holidays can be costly for Marines whose hometowns may be on the other side of the country, Stone works meticulously with airlines to get the best fares so that as many Marines as possible can be sent home.

Stone, who served in the Marine Corps in the years just before the Korean War began in 1950, recalled that as a cash-strapped young soldier stationed at Cherry Point Air Station in North Carolina, he wasnt able to always go home for Christmas. Then one year, a local good Samaritan gifted him a ticket back home so that he could be with his family. The kind gesture left a lasting impression on Stone, something that has stayed with him all these years later.

It was done for me as a young Marine, and Ive carried that with me my whole life, said Stone.

In 2003, Stone invited 10 soldiers to watch the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade from the deck of BCYC in Corona del Mar. The young Marines had never seen anything like the elaborately decorated and brightly lit vessels and expressed their gratitude for the experience. As a result, Stone decided to up the ante and began to extend invitations to Marines for other events and outings.

Boats show off Christmas decorations in Newport Harbor, Newport Beach, Calif., on Dec. 17, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Things caught on after that, Stone told The Epoch Times. Next thing you know, our womens auxiliary began hosting an annual fashion show and luncheon for wives of deployed Marines. We also established a Christmas Toy Drive for their kids. It seemed quite natural when it morphed in to the Home for Christmas Fund.

Stone says this years fundraising efforts to send Marines home for Christmas is as important as ever, pointing to ongoing pandemic concerns and restrictions that prevented many from traveling home for last years holidays.

The last two years, there were Marines that did not go home due to deployments, COVID concerns, or travel restrictions, so this year may be the first time theyve been with their families for the holidays in some time, Stone said.

BCYC Commodore, Rhonda Tolar, told The Epoch Times that she likes the fact that Stones Home for Christmas Fund efforts have now become a time-honored tradition for the organization and that people from all over the community stop in to drop off donations and toys.

Every year we strive to send home more Marines than last year, and we always do, Tolar said. When considering the sacrifices that our military members and their families make year-round on behalf of our country, helping to make it possible for them to be together during the holidays just seems like the right thing to do. Now more than ever, being with family is so important, especially at Christmastime.

General Paul J. Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Brigadier General Dennis A. Crall, Director, C4/Chief Information Officer of the US Marine Corps, present the Spirit of Hope award to Mr. Stone. (Cathy Jensen)

In 2017, Stone was honored for his Home for Christmas Fund efforts by the United States Marine Corps, who presented him with its Spirit of Hope Award during a ceremony held at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

The Spirit of Hope award is presented by the Office of the Secretary of Defense to individuals or organizations that epitomize selfless service and dedicated commitment to the U.S. military. The history of the award comes from the contributions made by entertainer Bob Hope during World War II who was the first Spirit of Hope honoree.

Stone was humble about receiving the award and told The Epoch Times he feels that spearheading the Home for Christmas Fund is the least he can do.

To my fellow Marines, thank you for letting me be among you, and thank you for letting me serve you, he said.

Donations to the Home for Christmas Fund and new, unwrapped toys are being collected now through Nov. 12th at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, 1601 Bayside Drive, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors listens to Orange County residents at a meeting in Santa Ana, Calif., on Aug. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

OC Board of Supervisors Approves $80M for Rental Assistance Program

The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the second round of Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) on Nov. 2, increasing available funds by over $82 million to assist those who were unable to pay rent and utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal funding will be administered by the states department of Housing and Community Development.

Anyone who makes less than 80 percent of the county median household income or has a COVID-19 hardship is eligible to apply, Supervisor Katrina Foley said during a Nov. 2 board meeting. Were here to help.

She said if a tenant applies for rent relief prior to, or 15 days after receiving an eviction notice, the application can pause the eviction. Landlords can apply as well.

Orange County Board of Supervisor Katrina Foley listens to Orange County residents at a meeting in Santa Ana, Calif., on Aug. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Orange County initially received about $52 million in ERA funding. An additional 30 million was added as a High-Need allocation.

High-Need allocation defines eligible grantees as very low-income renter households who pay more than 50 percent of their income on rent, or those living in substandard or overcrowded conditions.

Or those who have had a change in employment since February 2020.

Earlier this year, lawmakers enacted AB 832, which included several changes to the California COVID-19 Rent Relief program. Besides extending eviction protections for all California tenants, it allowed grantees to select an administrative option to administer the ERA funds.

Grantees could choose one of two options.

Option A would grant state administration, which would give a community development financial institution the access to manage federal and state allocations through a centralized state program on behalf of the city or county.

Option B would grant self-administration, where a jurisdiction would receive a state block grant allocation and self-administer both a federal allocation and the state block grant local program.

The Office of Care Coordination recommended option A for the county.

Upstreaming the Countys ERA [second round] funds provides the smoothest path for Orange County tenants to continue to access this resource, Douglas Becht, acting director of the Office of Care Coordination, told The Epoch Times in an email.

Becht said Orange County and the state have communicated publicly since May 2021. The joint messaging informs tenants and landlords that the countys application window is closed, and assistance is available through the states COVID-19 Rent Relief program.

Additionally, it prevents the confusion that would be created if the county were to operate an ERA program alongside the states, Brecht said. Finally, it helps ensure that the states program has the funding to support the over 19,000 applications it has already received from Orange County residents.

Pat Davis, a resident of Anaheim, emailed the board of supervisors addressing the acceptance and adoption of $82 million dollars of federal emergency rental assistance.

Davis asked the supervisors how they will use the money to respond to current and future online resources to support housing bills and why they havent adopted a countywide strategy for motel and commercial building conversions.

Your approach to truly address  low and very low-income level needs has been grossly missing, Davis said in an email to the board of supervisors. Providing housing stability has many forms and options. Your community members are in dire need of help pre and post COVID. Increase your efforts and maximize the returns. Housing saves lives.

The county will make the ERA funds available to Orange County tenants through the California COVID-19 Rent Relief program, according to the county.

Through public advertising, the county and state administration of the funds aims to prevent duplication of benefits and/or fraudulent activity.

Additionally, it prevents the confusion that is created when two similar programs, operated by separate entities, are operating concurrently, according to the agenda state report.

Orange County is one of eight counties that are recommending a change in how their ERA programs run.

Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties have been using Option A since the programs launch after the Biden administration enacted the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 earlier this year.

Orange County residents who qualify for the ERA program can apply for rent relief through housingiskey.com.

The ERA funds are scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2025.
A U.S. Air Force technical sergeant prepares to administer a COVID-19 vaccine at Kunsan Air Base in Kunsan, South Korea. (United States Forces Korea via Getty Images)

Over 10,000 Active-Duty Air Force Personnel Not Vaccinated by Deadline

No religious accommodation requests have been granted yet

Over 3 percent of active-duty Air Force personnel did not get fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 or get approved for an exemption, the military service announced a day after its COVID-19 vaccine mandate deadline.

The members were given until Nov. 2 to be fully vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19.

The bulk of the force, or 95.9 percent, are fully vaccinated. Another 1 percent are partially vaccinated.

I am incredibly proud of our airmen for coming together and getting vaccinated, JoAnne Bass, chief master sergeant of the Air Force, said in a statement. This is about readiness and ensuring our Air Force can continue to defend the homeland.

The secretary is pleased by the level of effort that military departments have taken to enact this mandatory vaccination regimen, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington, referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Any active-duty personnel who arent fully vaccinated are required to get tested for COVID-19 at least weekly, the Air Force announced.

The unvaccinated include 800 who refused to get a shot, 2,753 who have not started a COVID-19 vaccination regimen, and 4,933 who have religious exemptions under review.

Zero religious accommodation requests have been granted as of yet.

To be frank, I think its highly illegal, R. Davis Younts, a lawyer representing military members seeking accommodations, told The Epoch Times. He cited the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Supreme Court precedent. What were seeing so far is blanket denials, he added.

Most of the approved exemptions, over 1,800, were for medical reasons. About 12 percent were for administrative reasons, which include upcoming retirements.

Religious accommodations are determined by commanders. The Air Force has 30 business days to process requests. The forces surgeon general determines appeals with inputs from the chaplain and staff judge advocate.

On Oct. 29, a federal judge ordered that Pentagon officials must explain in detail how troops can apply for a religious exemption, the procedure for resolving the request, the criteria by which applications are judged, and the procedure used to judge them. That information has largely been shielded from public view.

Frank Kendall, now the U.S. Air Force secretary, is seen in a file photograph. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Anthony Kuhn, managing partner with Tully Rinckey, said the Air Force hasnt denied or approved accommodation requests lodged by the law firms clients.

Weve submitted quite a few and theyre just getting action. In my opinion, theyre scared to process them because theyre going to have to grant some of the accommodations and they were waiting until the deadline passed so that they didnt drive more service members to request the accommodations, Kuhn told The Epoch Times.

Military leaders say the vaccine mandates were necessary to protect service members against COVID-19, especially after the CCP virus Delta variant became dominant in the United States. As of this week, 139 Air Force members have died from COVID-19. Over 73,000 have contracted the disease and over 72,000 have recovered.

After careful consultation with medical experts and military leadership, and with the support of the president, I have determined that mandatory vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is necessary to protect the force and defend the American people, Austin wrote in a memorandum in late August.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths rose across the country over the summer and into the fall, but have since dropped sharply. Still, the military has kept the mandate deadlines, which differ from branch to branch, in place.

Critics say the mandates and the way they were imposed could cause greater harm than COVID-19, which primarily affects the elderly or otherwise infirm.

They claim that their compelling purpose is mission readiness; they have to protect the force. But for some reason, everybody is failing to understand that this is going to be far more detrimental than COVID would have ever been, Kuhn said.

Refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine and not having an approved accommodation opens up personnel to punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email on Tuesday.

Military commanders retain the full range of disciplinary options available to them under Article 92 of the UCMJ and must consult with their servicing staff judge advocate for additional guidance on vaccination non-compliance.

The maximum punishment for a violation or failure to obey lawful general order or regulation under UCMJ Article 92 is dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for two years, according to Gary Myers, Daniel Conway & Associates, a law firm that specializes in defending service members.

Air Force civilians have until Nov. 22 to be fully vaccinated. Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members have until Dec. 2.

According to the Air Force, there are approximately 326,000 active-duty airmen and guardians. The total force is approximately 501,000.

Zachary Stieber Reporter Follow Zachary Stieber covers U.S. news, including politics and court cases. He started at The Epoch Times as a New York City metro reporter. zackstieber
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover, England. (PA)

Over 20,000 Migrants Have Crossed English Channel Into UK This Year

More than 20,000 people have crossed the English Channel illegally into the UK aboard small boats since the start of the year, more than double the total for the whole of 2020, the latest figures show.

Despite government promises to stem the flow of small boats, which are often overloaded semi-rigid inflatables, the numbers this year have continued to eclipse those of previous years.

On Nov. 2, UK authorities rescued or intercepted 456 people who attempted to cross the Channel, and the French authorities also prevented 343 people from reaching the UK.

Illegal immigrants are escorted to be processed after being picked up by an RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat while crossing the English Channel at a beach in Dungeness, southeast England, on Sept. 7, 2021. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

Some 19,756 people had already reached the UK from France in small boats this year, according to data compiled by the PA news agency.

Dan OMahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander for the Home Office, described the journey as dangerous, unnecessary, and facilitated by violent criminal gangs profiting from misery.

We are working with the French to stop boats leaving their beaches and crack down on the criminals driving these crossings, he said.

In July, the UK and France announced an agreement on tackling the problem, under which the UK would pay France 54 million ($75 million) to more than double the number of police patrolling French beaches.

Before 2018, the crossing accounted for a tiny proportion of illegal immigration with only a few known to make it each year.

The number of people attempting the crossing started to increase from the winter of 2018. That year 299 people made the crossing, according to Home Office figures.

The English Channel, which is 21 miles across at the narrowest point, is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

In the last two or three years, several people have died attempting to cross.

Last week, Home Secretary Priti Patel described as appalling and an absolute tragedy an incident in which as many as three people are thought to be unaccounted for after trying to cross from France to the UK in a dinghy.

Two menboth Somali nationalswere rescued off the Essex coast near Harwich on Oct. 25 and searches for any possible remaining survivors have now been called off.

According to the Home Office, last year, when migration dropped due to pandemic restrictions, known illegal entry to the UK as a whole was around 16,000 people.

Simon Veazey and PA contributed to this report.
(Left to right) Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and former Chinese Communist Party leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao attend a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2015. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

Power Struggle Within CCP Intensifies as Top Officials of Gestapo-Like Office Purged

Commentary

Amid Xi Jinpings recent anti-corruption campaign that targets Chinas political and legal system, many officials who were recently taken down were part of the 610 Office.

On Oct. 24, Chinas eastern province of Jiangsu announced that Chen Yizhong, former deputy director of the provincial public security department, is under investigation. The announcement also noted Chens previous post as the director of the provincial 610 Office.

The 610 Office is a Gestapo-like organization that was established by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under former leader Jiang Zemin on June 10, 1999hence its nameformally known as the Central Leading Group on Preventing and Dealing with Heretical Religions.

It was established for the sole purpose of carrying out the persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual meditation practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. The practice became enormously popularwith roughly 100 million adherents in China by 1999, according to official estimates. Threatened by this number, which was greater than the number of Party members, Jiang ordered the brutal suppression of Falun Gong practitioners.

The 610 Office was rarely seen in government reports, and it had been the most secretive organization within the CCP until 2013, when it was first exposed to the public.

Five sacked 610 Office directors/deputy directors. (The Epoch Times)

Xi initiated the anti-corruption campaign after he took office in 2012. Most of the purged officials were part of Jiangs political faction.

When Li Dongsheng was removed from his post as deputy minister of public security in December 2013, Beijing also disclosed that he was the 610 Office director at the time.

The announcement is noteworthy because it was the first time the CCP publicly confirmed the existence of the 610 Office.

Since then, the public came to see more 610 officials taken down from their posts. Su Rong, former vice-chairman of the CCPs Political Consultative Conference and former head of the Jilin provincial 610 Office, was investigated in 2014 and sentenced to life in prison. Zhou Yongkang, former secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and former head of the central 610 Office (20072012), was convicted of various crimes in 2015 and received a life sentence.

This year marks the end of Xis second term, and he has not let up on his efforts of cleaning out the CCPs political and legal system. As Xi seeks re-election next year, he wants to make sure that his political rivals dont get in his way in the lead up to the 20th National Congress.

During the first half of this year, the CCPs top disciplinary body disclosed at least four purged officials who have held positions in the 610 Office.

610 Officials Recently Purged

The following 610 officials were removed from their posts in October: Peng Bo, former 610 Office deputy director, was prosecuted; Sun Lijun, former 610 Office deputy director, was expelled from the CCP for forming factions and jeopardizing political security; Fu Zhenghua, former minister of Justice, former deputy minister of Public Security, and former 610 Office director, is being investigated for serious violations of the law and discipline; and Chen Yizhong, director of the 610 Office of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, is under investigation.

As early as 2016, the CCPs disciplinary watchdog sent an inspection team to the central 610 Office. The inspection team came out with a report, claiming that the then-leading cadres of the central 610 Office failed to consistently uphold Xis political ideologyin others words, they were disloyal to Xi.

In 2018, Xi dissolved the central 610 Office. It was then incorporated into the Ministry of Public Security and Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC).

However, the 610 Office has never had a legal basis for its existence as it has no approval from the CCPs rubber-stamp legislature (the National Peoples Congress), nor from the Politburo, the CCPs top main decision-making body.

No legislation was passed establishing it [and] no provisions formally outlined its mandate, Sarah Cook, senior China research analyst at U.S.-based NGO Freedom House, told The Epoch Times in a 2020 report.

The real reason [of Xis order to dissolve the 610 office] is probably because of their [610 officials] power. Its not because they are corrupt, but because after having this power, they do not listen to Xi, China current affairs commentator Heng He told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times.

The CCPs public security, judicial, and legal systems have power, guns, and money. Their loyalty is of top concern to Xi.

According to a report from Freedom House, The estimated annual budget for all 6-10 Office branches nationwide is 879 million yuan [approx. US$135 million].

On top of that, several major business owners have ties to Xis political rivals, including Jack Ma, founder and former CEO of e-commerce giant Alibaba, and Xu Jiayin, founder of the deeply indebted property giant Evergrande.

At a meeting in January with the CCPs disciplinary body, Xi alluded that he would take down double-faced officials, and warned that corruption took hold of the political and business circles, which threaten the political security of the Party and the state.

In spite of the incorporation with the PLAC, the 610 Office is still an independent organization and exists in a more secretive manner within the CCPs political and legal system, according to Heng.

Political Infighting

The 610 Office that was supposedly dismantled has once again attracted attention as a result of the latest round of purging of high-level officials.

According to the CCPs official announcements, Fu Zhenghua and other high-ranking officials have used their power in the political and legal system to form interest groups or political factions, whose main goal is to plot against a larger target.

Some observers would ask the following: Since Zhou Yongkang, the former czar of the 610 office, has been purged a few years ago, then who were these purged officials listening to? And what were they after?

DuoWei News, a Beijing-based propaganda outlet targeting overseas Chinese, published an article on Oct. 15, claiming that the 610 Office was established during a special Politburo meeting convened by Jiang Zemin on June 7, 1999.

The article said that since the establishment of the 610 Office, the three Chinese premiersZhu Rongji, Wen Jiabao, and Li Keqianghave not signed the appointment and the dismissal orders of the directors and deputy directors. One reason is that the 610 Office directly handled the persecution of Falun Gong, which is considered a sensitive issue. In addition, there is no official document that stipulates the duties and responsibilities of the 610 Office, which reports directly to the standing committee of the CCPs Politburo, according to DuoWei News.

Falun Gong has been persecuted for 22 years, and has been the international focus of human rights abuses in China.

The U.S. Department of State announced on May 12 sanctions against Yu Hui, former director of the 610 Office in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, for his role in persecuting Falun Gong. Yu and his immediate family members are banned from entry into the United States.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a news conference to announce the annual International Religious Freedom Report at the State Department in Washington, on May 12, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The 610 Office has been recognized by the global community for its role in carrying out the CCPs notorious human rights abuses. Some experts outside of China see Xis anti-corruption measure against these 610 officials as a sign of his intention to cut off ties with the persecution apparatus.

Aside from its role in persecuting Falun Gong, the 610 Office is an extralegal institution that uses its power and resources to collect intelligence for Jiangs faction to attack political opponents and to plot a coup detat.

It has attacked Hu Jintao, former CCP leader who succeeded Jiang, and is now threatening Xis authority.

Therefore, the recent purging of 610 officers reflects the fierce power struggle that has intensified among high-level CCP officials, as Xi seeks to secure his leadership.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube speaks during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic at the legislature in Quebec City on Nov. 2, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot)

Quebec Drops COVID Vaccine Mandate for Existing Health-Care Workers

Ontario premier also says COVID-19 vaccines won't be mandatory for health care workers in his province

Quebec says existing health-care workers wont have to get a COVID-19 vaccine to keep their jobs, marking a reversal in the provinces position.

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says it will be up to individual health workers in his province whether they want to get vaccinated or not.

In a press conference in Quebec City on Nov. 3, Health Minister Christian Dube said the suspension of unvaccinated workers as of Nov. 15 will have a devastating effect on the provinces health system. He said the province will face service reductions or reorganizations if the government proceeds with its planned deadline for mandatory vaccination.

To deprive ourselves of 8,000 people [in health staff ranks] will have devastating consequences for our network, Dube said.

Instead of the original plan, vaccination will no longer be mandatory for current employees, he said, but they have to be tested for COVID-19 at least three times a week. As for new hires, they will be required to be vaccinated.

The government originally set an Oct. 15 deadline for health care workers to be vaccinated but extended it by a month amid urgent staffing shortages.

Dube says 97 percent of health-care workers are vaccinated against COVID-19, but there are still about 14,000 who have not received a single dose, including 5,000 who have direct contact with patients.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford removes his mask to take a question from a journalist as he attends a press briefing in Toronto, on Oct. 22, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young)

Also on Nov. 3, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in light of the challenges other provinces have had in implementing vaccine mandates for health-care workers, he wont be forcing hospital workers to get COVID-19 vaccines.

British Columbia has had to cancel surgeries and diagnostic tests because of the sudden termination of more than 3,000 health care workers after implementing a vaccine mandate, Ford said in a Nov. 3 statement.

Quebec has now abandoned theirs altogether because of the significant risk an abrupt loss of thousands of health care workers poses to delivering critical services.

Ford said with the high vaccination rates in hospitals and robust infection prevention and control measures, the hospitals remain safe for patients and staff members who care for them.

I am not prepared to jeopardize the delivery of care to millions of Ontarians, Ford said.

Having looked at the evidence, our government has decided to maintain its flexible approach by leaving human resourcing decisions up to individual hospitals.

With files from The Canadian Press
Mike Carey speaks at a rally hosted by former President Donald Trump after receiving his endorsement in Wellington, Ohio on June 26, 2021. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Republican Mike Carey Wins Ohios 15th Congressional District Race: AP

Republican Mike Carey has won a special election in Ohios 15th Congressional District, and will replace former Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) in Congress, according to projections from The Associated Press.

Carey, a former coal executive who is backed by former President Donald Trump, was projected to have defeated Democrat Allison Russo on Tuesday. The seat was formerly held by Stivers, a Republican, before he departed Congress in April to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

He won the Republican special primary in August, and had been expected to win the general election for the seat, which represents the 15th Congressional District.

President Joe Biden on Monday had offered a last-minute endorsement to Democratic state representative Russo, a public health policy consultant. Russo raised more money in the district than any Democrat in history, according to The Associated Press.

Pro-Trump. America First. Outsider. Ready to fight, Careys campaign website states.

The 50-year-olds campaign website also features Trumps official endorsement, which describes him as a courageous fighter for the people and our economy.

The former presidents endorsement says that Carey is Strong on the Border, and tough on Crime.

As a Veteran, he totally supports our Military and his fellow Vets, the endorsement reads. A strong supporter of the Second Amendment, Mike will do an outstanding job in Congress. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!

Carey, an Army National Guard veteran who grew up in Sabina, previously said hell focus on America first policies championed by Trump, such as lowering taxes, working on fair trade deals, and investing in the military, if elected.

Trump in a statement congratulated Carey on his fantastic victory in Ohio on Tuesday.

I am very proud to have endorsed him early and strongly. He will be a great congressman! Trump wrote.

#OH15 sent a clear message and rejected the radical socialist agenda. Thank you for sending @MikeCareyOH15 to Congress! Hell be critical to helping us retire Nancy Pelosi next year, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Twitter on Tuesday.

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) also extended his congratulations to Carey in a statement on Twitter.

I know Mike will be the strong Conservative voice we need in Washington and Im excited to work with him to deliver for the American people, Scalise wrote.

I wanted to be somebody that could go and make a difference in Washington, Carey told supporters on Tuesday night in Lancaster, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Believe me, we have too many career politicians in Washington. Thats the last thing that I will ever be.
CHANTILLY, VIRGINIA - NOVEMBER 02: Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin claps after learning that polling numbers indicated that he was ahead in the Virginia Gubernatorial race Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles on November 02, 2021 in Chantilly, Virginia. Virginians went to the polls Tuesday to vote in the gubernatorial race that pits Youngkin against Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Republicans Gain Stunning 2021 Election Victories as Democrats Reel

News Analysis

When Glenn Youngkin, Winsome Sears, and Jason Miyares take their oaths of office next January in Richmond, it will mark the first time since 2009 that Republicans will be Virginias governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.

The victorious GOP trios upset victory on Nov. 2 came just a year after President Joe Biden swept Virginia by 10 points. The trio defeated Democratic rivals by an average of only 1.66 percentage points, according to the latest available official returns.

But that narrow margin was achieved despite multiple campaign appearances in the state for Youngkins opponent, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, by Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Barack Obama.

Republicans also regained a narrow 5149 majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and flipped seven seats from Democrats in the process.

The Virginia results led a wave of GOP wins across the country that sets the stage for the 2022 midterm election, when control of Congress during the last two years of Bidens term will be decided.

Harris, in a campaign speech during McAuliffes final push, declared the election a bellwether for what happens in the rest of the country in 2022 and 2024 and beyond. Had she known in advance what would happen on Nov. 2, Harris likely wouldnt have said that.

In solidly Democratic New Jersey, the contest between incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who was heavily favored to win big, and Republican Jack Ciattarelli was too close to call the morning after voting closed.

Ultimately, Murphy eked out a victory thanks to late returns from Bergen County, a heavily Democratic area. Polls before Nov. 2 had Murphy up by double digits.

Another strong indicator of a Republican grassroots victory nationwide came in multiple state legislative races in which the partys candidates won seats previously long-held by Democrats.

Besides the Virginia flips, Texas Republicans switched three state legislative seats from Democrats, including one in a heavily Hispanic district in San Antonio that Biden carried by 14 points in 2020.

Two New Jersey Assembly seats flipped from Democrats to Republicans on Nov. 2, while the GOP regained state legislative seats earlier in the year in Connecticut and Iowa. The party also elected a new member of the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court.

Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) Chairman Lee Duncan called the state-level wins further evidence that the socialist policies being pushed by Democrat-controlled Washington are turning off the very constituencies they claim to be fighting for.

Elections are almost never decided by a single factor and Nov. 2, 2021, is no exception, according to campaign strategists interviewed by The Epoch Times.

Virginia was ground-zero for a gathering nationwide campaign among parents outraged by public schools indoctrinating their children with lessons based on critical race theory (CRT), according to Heritage Action for America Executive Director Jessica Anderson.

Last night, Virginia led the nation and took the critical first step in rejecting the lefts cultural and economic agenda, Anderson told The Epoch Times. When parents see how woke policies hurt their children and their communities, they spring into action, and we saw this first-hand in Virginia.

Elected officials across the country should take note: Americans of all political persuasions are fed up with the lefts social and cultural extremism, and theyre voting like it, said Anderson, who warned in June that CRT would be a decisive issue.

Republican strategist Brian Darling, former counsel to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), told The Epoch Times the results are a sign that the woke politics of Democrats have driven away swing voters.

Just look at the treatment of Sens. [Kyrsten] Sinema [D-Ariz.] and [Joe] Manchin [D-W.V.] to see how Democrats are treating moderates while most Democratic voters are center-left, he said.

Already, we are hearing that Democrats are learning the wrong lessons from the election. The left is arguing that they just needed to pass more spending bills and the American people were wrong to believe that public education for kids is migrating toward a hate-America style CRT.

As a result, Darling expects the 2022 midterms to be a political disaster for Democrats because the agenda has been captured by progressives intent on driving the party into the ground.

They will learn all the wrong lessons from this Election Day, he said.

Democrat strategist Kevin Chavous remains optimistic about his partys future, but he told The Epoch Times that Democrats can no longer depend on the Trump factor.

The Virginia results show us that we can no longer expect to win races based on anti-Trump sentiment alone. Trump lost already, and we must move on as a party and find new ways to energize our voters, Chavous said. Democrats need to give voters a reason to vote for us by telling them what we will do if elected.

Asked on Nov. 3 if Democrats congressional strategy will now change, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said simply, No.
Russia Will Supply Navy With Tsirkon Hypersonic Missiles in 2022, Says Putin

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the countrys Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile tests are nearing completion and the weapon will officially start to be used by the Russian Navy in 2022.

The trials of the Tsirkon seaborne hypersonic cruise missile are coming to a close. In the course of the trials, it struck both ground and sea targets from the submerged position and from surface ships accurately and in full compliance with the assigned task, Putin said during a defense industry meeting, Russian news agency TASS reported.

Already from next year, these missiles will start arriving for service in the Russian Navy, he added.

Last month, low-quality video footage made public by the Russian Defense Ministry showed a missile being launched upward from a nuclear-powered submarine at night.

The Russian military later confirmed that it has successfully test-fired multiple Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles from the submarine for the first time. The tests involved two missiles and took place in the Barents Sea in the Arctic in early October.

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Oct. 4, 2021, a new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile is launched by a submarine of the Russian navy from the Barents Sea. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Putin previously said Tsirkon is capable of flying at more than five times the speed of sound and the missile has a range of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). This is slower than an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the shape of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) allows it to maneuver toward a target or away from defenses.

The Russian leader has emphasized that the weapons deployment will significantly boost Russian military capabilities.

Now it is especially important to develop and implement the technologies necessary to create new hypersonic weapons systems, high-powered lasers and robotic systems that will be able to effectively counter potential military threats, which means they will further strengthen the security of our country, Putin said during Wednesdays meeting.

Quite a few countries, including North Korea and China, are reportedly working on hypersonic weapons. North Korea has claimed success with hypersonic weapons. The North Korean missile supposedly possesses the guiding maneuverability and the gliding flight characteristics of an HGV.

An artistic rendition of DARPAs Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV-2). The Chinese regime recently held its fourth test of a hypersonic missile. (DARPA)

China has been working on an HGV designated DF-17, and it has been test-launched several times, boosted by a conventional missile. The DF-17 is reportedly capable of flying up to Mach 10 (7,400 mph), possibly nuclear-armed, and could be launched from an ICBM, giving it global coverage.

Tsirkon is intended for use on Russian cruisers, frigates, and submarines. It is one of several hypersonic missiles under development in Russia. The move is part of a bid by Moscow to forge ahead in a race with the United States and other nations to deploy the next generation of long-range weapons that are harder to detect and intercept.

The Pentagon in October said it wanted defense contractors to cut the ultimate cost of hypersonic weapons, as the super-fast missiles being developed currently cost tens of millions per unit.

Epoch Times reporter Richard A. Bitzinger and Reuters contributed to this report.

From NTD News
A homeless encampment off Ross Street in Santa Ana, Calif., on May 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

San Diego County Supervisors Approves Framework to Tackle Homelessness

SAN DIEGOThe San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved on Nov. 1 a long-term plan, called the Framework for Ending Homelessness, to tackle the growing homelessness crisis.

According to the Health and Human Service Agency (HHSA), the framework aims to provide a person-centered approach to ensure that services and programs are created in culturally sensitive ways to address the needs of vulnerable populations, and provide a sustainable approach to ensure housing stability through a variety of financial investments, among other goals.

Nick Macchione, director of the HHSA, said the framework will allow us to drive a new, focused approach.

Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said the framework was long overdue.

We cant possibly tackle homelessness without a long-term strategy, she said, adding recent statistics show that roughly about 40 percent of those in county jails were homeless at the time of arrest.

This is an opportunity to turn the corner on that egregious history of criminalizing poverty, Lawson-Remer said. Its really time we got strategic and serious of putting our tax dollars where they need to be spent.

Her colleague Jim Desmond supported the plan but stressed that unincorporated areas should not be a dumping ground for homeless people.

Desmond also called for more effective ways to deliver drug addiction treatment, including incentives for those wanting to recover.

Weve kind of gone from one extreme of the war on drugs, to another extreme with addicts living on streets, Desmond said. Weve got to find something in between.

He said if someone is hit by a car, paramedics come and immediately help that person. But if residents see someone screaming in the bushes or defecating on the street, they either ignore or accept it, and I think were better than that.

A housing first policy allows people to continue their addictions, and shelters shouldnt be a revolving door, Desmond added.

Board Chairman Nathan Fletcher said he was encouraged by the new framework, but reminded Desmond that in September 2020 the previous board voted down a proposed housing project in La Mesa.

The frameworks programs will be a real test, Fletcher said. Were all tired of buzzwords, but the rubber meets the road when you take a vote, he added.

Desmond countered that he voted against the La Mesa project because it was crammed down our throats, and that the board learned a lesson about working with a community.

While no immediate cost figures were available, the county will seek state funding and continue to use funds from the U.S. American Rescue Plan Act for services such as housing counseling, eviction prevention, and direct cash assistance.
Sen. Barrasso Wants Details of the Financial and Environmental Cost of Sending Biden Administration to Climate Summit

A top Republican senator is demanding answers from the Biden administration about the White Houses decision to send a large number of administration officials to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland at taxpayers expense.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) sent a letter to eight agency heads including to Bidens Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, requesting details on federal costs to send Energy Department employees (DOE) to a summit that seeks to reduce global carbon emissions.

According to Time magazine, COP26 will be the most expensive COP on record,' Barrasso wrote. In an effort to understand the full cost the taxpayers will bear for this two-week international conference, I ask that you answer the attached questions.

DOEs decision to attend COP 26 comes as many executive branch employees have been forced to work from home for more than a year and a half, Barrasso stated in the letter. If they cannot go to work here in the U.S., they should not be permitted to attend extravagant conferences across the globe.

The letter challenges the administration to justify the financial and environmental cost to send so many officials to the climate meeting instead of attending virtually.

It is rather perplexing that in this new age of digital communication and during an ongoing pandemic, executive branch departments and agencies are unnecessarily choosing to contribute directly to carbon emissions and risk exposure to COVID-19, he wrote.

The Biden administration put out a press statement on Monday touting their bold plans for reducing climate emissions.

President Biden is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions 50-52 percent below 2005 levels in 2030, reaching a 100% carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035, and achieving a net-zero economy by no later than 2050, the statement said.

However, most of the U.S. officials took private fossil fuel-burning transportation to the summit, including the president.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden boards a plane at New Castle Airport in New Castle, Del., on Sept. 7, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

The Daily Mail observed at least 52 private jets landing at Glasgow, and estimated the total number flying in for the conference at 400, including the leaders of many western nations and multinational corporations.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Michael Regan, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Rick Spinrad, and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Eric Lander are slated to attend a separate U.N. event in Glasgow, Scotland, this week, the White House confirmed to news outlets.

White House climate advisers John Kerry and Gina McCarthy also will attend, the administration said. Officials at the White House didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Barrasso concluded his letter by asking for the full list of Biden administration attendees and the cost to taxpayers for their two-week stay in Scotland. The Wyoming senator also asked the administration to provide the related carbon emissions data for the transport the officials used to get to and from the climate conference.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Sen. Hawley Introduces Bill to Help Taiwan Arm Itself Against Potential China Invasion

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on Nov. 2 introduced legislation that seeks to bolster Taiwans ability to defend itself in the event that the self-ruled island is attacked by China.

Taiwan is in grave danger, but the future is not yet written, Hawley wrote in a press release introducing the Arm Taiwan Act of 2021.

The bill (pdf), Hawley said, would strengthen Taiwans defenses against a Chinese invasion by allocating $3 billion annually for a new Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative to ramp up the islands deployment of asymmetric defense capabilities.

It would task the secretary of defense to form the security initiative and authorize $3 billion annually for it for fiscal years 2023 through 2027.

The funds would specifically accelerate Taiwans deployment of asymmetric capabilities necessary to delay, degrade and negate a Chinese invasion against the island, the legislation states.

Hawley cited warnings from U.S. and Taiwanese officials that China may try to invade Taiwan over the next few years.

We must do everything in our power to help Taiwan urgently strengthen its defenses. If Chinas recent actions have shown anything to the world, its that Beijing will stop at nothing in its quest to dominate the IndoPacific and then the world, Hawley said in a statement. We must not let them succeed.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as a province of China. The democratically governed island has its own constitution, military, and ruling party.

Beijing has escalated military harassment against the island in recent weeks, including through a show of force from the Chinese military over Taiwans air defense zone.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping in early October vowed to achieve reunification of the nation in a speech, calling the islands independence a serious hidden danger to national rejuvenation.

The United States currently maintains a decades-long foreign policy known as strategic ambiguity, meaning that it is deliberately vague on the question of whether it would come to Taiwans defense.

However, Washington is required by lawthe Taiwan Relations Act (TRA)to provide the island with military equipment for its self-defense.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who previously said the island will do whatever it takes to safeguard it against mounting CCP aggression, confirmed last week that for the first time in four decades there are U.S. troops on Taiwanese soil.

Tsai said shes confident the United States would defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China.

I do have faith, given the long-term relationship that we have with the U.S., and also the support of the people of the U.S. as well as the Congress, she told CNN in an interview aired on Oct. 27. The administration has been very helpful.

President Joe Biden and Xi are expected to hold a virtual meeting before the end of the year, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Frank Fang contributed to this report.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin gives a thumbs up after learning that polling numbers indicated that he was ahead in the Virginia gubernatorial race in Chantilly, Va., on Nov. 2, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Some Thoughts on the Governors Races: Round 1 to the Good Guys

Commentary

To lose the gubernatorial race in blue Virginia, even if it was a squeaker, and have even bluer New Jerseyof all placesbe competitive and unresolved on the morning after the election was a clear disaster for the Democratic Party and an augury of an even greater disaster in 2022.

Campaign visits by Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and the president obviously didnt help oily Clintonista Terry McAuliffeand may actually have hurt him.

All seemed like last years news at best. Time for Obama to go back to one of his multimillion-dollar homes and complain about global warming.

Another big loser was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) (and, with her, the Democrats progressiveshould always be in quoteswing) who got shuffled off in Buffalo for supporting an ultra-leftie police hater who lost to a write-in candidate, again of all things.

Strangely enough, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) may emerge as the new leader of a reviving Democratic Party, if it can shirk its reactionary left wing that seems so ridiculously old-fashionedwithout realizing it, of coursein their search for progressivism. (Theres nothing so old as the avant-garde, as the expression goes.)

The biggest atta-girl of the night goes to Virginia lieutenant governor winner and Marine veteran Winsome Sears who started USA, USA cheers during her victory speech. (Maybe this will actually wake up some of the Marine brass that have become so woke these days, you want to send them back down the halls of Montezuma, never to return.)

Man-of-the-hour Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin obviously also deserves an atta-boy, for coming out of nowhere and becoming our new Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, excuse me  Richmond.

And speaking of Richmond, the greatest lesson for Republicans may have come from the suburbs of that city. Trump had lost them in 2020, as he did many suburbs (putatively).

Youngkin won them.

Indeed, Youngkin outran Trump in nearly every, maybe every, of the 133 Virginia counties.

I hope 45 is paying attention to the details of these results, because many of us are. He should as well. If he doesnt, it has been widely and correctly acknowledged that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would be a more than worthy substitute.

Indeed, in the absence of Trump, DeSantis would be the runaway front-runner for the Republican 2024 nomination at this point.

I write this as an adamant Trump supporter and one who suspects there was substantial evil afoot in the 2020 electionevil that must be fixed for the preservation of our republic.

Still, I am not tired of winning, as he says. Trumps policies won by proxy on Nov. 2, but his, shall we say, occasional excesses and inability to keep quiet when necessary still have a question mark next to them, a vulnerability that, although usually unfair, exists to be exploited.

Its worth noting that Youngkin didnt solicit Trumps support in the way McAuliffeobviously more desperate, what else did he havebrought in Obama and company.

This even though Trump is now more popular, it would seem, than when he was in office. This isnt unusual.

In politics, silence is often more powerful than words. Or, as many (Machiavelli, Sun Tzu) have said before, when your opponent is destroying himself, shut up already and let him do it.

Trump should resist the temptation to be always in our eyes and ears. In the case of Biden, hes fortunate in having one of the most incompetent presidents in American history as a possible adversary. Failing that, he might have the equally incompetent Harris.

It wouldnt be at all surprising, however, if somebody else emerges as the Democratic candidate in 2024. I imagine this morning many are beginning to think about it. (Pro tip: It wont be Pete Buttigieg.)

What happens now is not the conventional anybodys guess. The ball game for 2022 and 2024 is the Republicans to lose.

Unfortunately, they are capable of it, as they have shown before. The key to success will be vigilance, indeed increased vigilance, on the part of the rank-and-file. Youngkin came out of nowhere, meaning he came from us. Thats to be emulated.

Beware the entrenched, the RINOS, the Lincoln Project, and so forth. We see them everywhere, perhaps even more in red states than in blue, spouting rhetoric they never really intend to fulfill. They are as bad as Obama and Biden, perhaps worse.

We are in an ideological war for America. Round one went to the good guys.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A flag flutters on the Swiss Parliament Building (Bundeshaus), after the weekly governmental meeting in Bern, Switzerland on Nov. 27, 2019. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

Swiss Banks Expect Market Access Deal With Britain in 2022: NZZ

ZURICHThe head of the Swiss banking lobby expects his country to strike a deal with Britain next year to open up the financial sector to cross-border business, he told the NZZ newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday.

Both countries, which are outside the European Union, are negotiating an accord for market access by banks that recognises each others regulatory regime without requiring them to be fully harmonised, said Marcel Rohner, head of the Swiss Bankers Association.

I expect an agreement with Great Britain on market access in 2022, the paper quoted Rohner as saying.
A man stands underneath the pillars displaying Chinese leader Xi Jinping's signature "China Dream" and "One Belt, One Road" foreign policy plan during an event in Beijing on June 29, 2018. (Andy Wong/AP)

The Chinese Economy: Less Markets, More Socialism

News Analysis

In 2012, Xi Jinping told the Chinese people that only socialism can save China. Although it was capitalism that dramatically increased the countrys living standards, Xi is leading the country back to the stricter socialism that kept China poor, decades ago.

Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said that to get rich is glorious, which was consistent with his 1978 program of reform and opening up. By opening its markets to the world, and by allowing the economy to be driven by market forces, China was able to create a tremendous middle class and the largest number of billionaires in the world.

The go out policy, which began in 1999, promoted outward direct investment (ODI). It also encouraged Chinese companies to go abroad and learn from foreign firms, all of which resulted in China becoming the worlds second-richest country.

Xis return to greater socialist controls, turning away from the world, and cracking down on market forces suggest that he has forgotten how China became rich in the first place.

Chinas economic miracle did not come from central planning, but rather from opening the country to free market ideas, basic economic principles, and allowing the private sector to grow, organically. This accelerated the countrys development, causing incomes to soar.

But Xi is now tightening his and the CCPs grip over the economy, as he replaces sound economics with socialist slogans. He is pledging to decrease the wealth gap by dividing the cake well, rather than by instituting economic policies that help the poor increase their wealth.

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the seminal economics work of the current Chinese leader. Xi is the first leader, since Mao Zedong, to have his own thought, entered into the constitution. Even the name of his collected musings is itself an ideological slogan, referring to the countrys system as socialism with market characteristics.

In practice, the system has become state-capitalism with socialist characteristics, where large, state-loyal companies are favored and controlled, while private enterprise and upstarts are restricted and suppressed.

In June, the first Xi Jinping Thought Center was opened. Two others soon followed, focusing on the study of Xis economic thought. In total, 18 Xi-thought research centers have been established, each dedicated to one of several topics, including politics, culture, science, education, religion, diplomacy, economics, and national security.

Xi-thought promises to ensure that the market plays a decisive role in the allocation of resources that is consistent with a market economy; but then it stresses the need to strengthen the Partys centralized and unified leadership over economic work, which is suggestive of greater central planning and tighter controls.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang arrived at the closing session of the Chinese Communist Partys rubber stamp legislatures congress in Beijing, China, on May 28, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

The cornerstone of Xi Jinping thought is The Four Comprehensives, which together, are meant to build socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Four are: 1) building a moderately prosperous society; 2) deepening reform; 3) governing the nation according to law; and 4) tightening Party discipline.

It is interesting to note that of the four, only the first one deals with economics. It is also the only one that promises a reward to the populace. The other three are Xis pledge for more government control.

Xis market socialism has a set of core values: prosperity, democracy, civility and harmony; societal values of freedom, equality, justice and rule of law; and the citizenship values of patriotism, dedication, integrity and friendship, according to the South China Morning Post.

But in a country with ever-intensifying state surveillance, and where peoples lives can be ruined by a downgrade of their social credit score, citizens are steadily losing their freedoms.

Similarly, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims to be dedicated to democracy, but the country is effectively a one-party system. Minor parties exist, but they must yield to the leading role of the CCP. Furthermore, not only do the citizens not vote for their leader, but Xi now has tenure for life.

The mantra of socialism with Chinese characteristics allowed the CCP enough latitude to support business and economic growth, on the one hand, while maintaining restrictions over basic liberties, on the other. This system has held up, more or less, since 1978.

Xi, however, has clearly decided to rein in, not only the private economic sector, but also the private sphere of citizens lives. Xi has instituted a three-hour limit for children playing video games. He has banned sissy looking boys from TV and other media. And he wants the people to return to a common set of socialist values and morality.

State-run media Xinhua quoted Xi as saying, The advantage of a big economy lies in its advantage of domestic circulation. This is just a euphemism for turning away from the world economy. Rather than exports, Xi is now urging the people to focus on a domestic, demand-driven economy, while he is simultaneously impeding that economy from working.

The economy is a dynamic circulating system that cannot afford a long-term disruption. Xinhua quoted Xi, the same man who adopted a zero-covid policy and shut down parts of the Chinese and the world economies for nearly two years.

The damage that Xis policies are doing to China is spilling over to the rest of the world. Unless Xi releases his grip, the economy cannot recover. Until then, his market socialist slogans are just meaningless doublespeak.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Demonstrators march through the streets to protest lockdowns in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 18, 2021. (WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)

The Lack of Proportionality in COVID-19 Decision-Making

Commentary

Many people reminisce about the last time they were sitting on a plane to visit their favourite holiday destination.

In November 2021, the disruption to peoples lives will enter its 20th month. During that time, Australia has witnessed the imposition of draconian restrictions, which involve serious violations of human rights, and the rise of authoritarianism with Australian characteristics.

Australian Commonwealth and state leaders are obsessed with numbers. As soon as a few infections occur, preparations are made immediately for a lockdown because they want to pursue a zero infections target.

This pursuit is as fanciful as it is unattainable as the failed lockdowns in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria have demonstrated.

Like in Europe, Australians will eventually have to learn to live with the virus.

In their pursuit of an unattainable zero infections ratezero being an appealing number in politics, also in the context of Australias decision to pursue zero carbon emissions governments have been responsible for the imposition of the most intrusive legislation this country has ever seen.

Police tackle demonstrators during a rally protesting the states strict lockdown laws in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 5, 2020. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

Conor Friedersdorf, a writer from America, questions whether Australia is still a liberal democracy when it indefinitely forbids its citizens from leaving its borders, strands tens of thousands of its citizens abroad, puts strict rules on intrastate travel, prohibits citizens from leaving home without an excuse from an official government list, mandates masks even when people are outdoors, and socially distanced, deploys the military to enforce those rules, bans protest, and arrests and fines dissenters.

Of course, there are enough commentators within Australia who answer Friedersdorfs question in the affirmative.

For example, Australian commentator Kevin Donnelly notes in an article that, Victorians have been refused the right to visit dying family and relatives, homes have been invaded by the police, small business owners driven into bankruptcy, and students forced to learn as best they can from home for weeks and weeks on end.

For sure, one is amazed by the absurdity of the regulations imposed by health administrations on people.

These regulations are examples of capricious authoritarianism, with children prevented from visiting their dying parents, police wrestling women to the ground, handcuffing a pregnant woman in her own home, and strangers dobbing in a former Prime Minister of Australia for not wearing a mask.

There is no doubt that the pandemic managed to display an ugly side of Australia.

Undoubtedly, the health bureaucracies of the Commonwealth and the states have adopted oppressive policies, arguably to safeguard the health of its citizens.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media at the daily briefing in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

However, the unrelenting and inflexible use of power has transformed Australia into a bureaucratic and illiberal state.

This transformation disregards the principle of proportionality. According to this principle, government decisions should be logically and cogently related to the objectives it wants to achieve, in this case, the fight against the COVID-19 virus.

Measures that are disproportionate would therefore be unnecessary and violate this principle.

Of course, throughout history, governments have overreached to deal with serious challenges.

For example, following the Peterloo Massacre on Aug. 16, 1819, the Parliament of the United Kingdom exceeded its legislative power by adopting the so-called Six Acts to prevent protests that called for radical electoral reforms.

These acts were disproportionate and panic-stricken responses to the protests and abrogated peoples rights.

Why do political leaders, regardless of party affiliation, resort to the adoption of disproportionate measures in the pursuit of their aims?

One answer proffers itself: to show their electorate that they are strong leaders. Such an approach to governing may well be successful, at least temporarily.

CNN journalist Luke McGee, after noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled world leaders to tighten their grip on power, expresses his concern that, as the world comes to terms with its way of life, citizens become numb to what were initially extreme and extraordinary measures.

A COVID-19 warning sign is seen at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on July 10, 2021. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

However, common sense suggests, and experience confirms, that disproportionate measures are not indicative of strong leadership.

Instead, only a measured and proportionate response to a crisis exemplifies strong leadership.

Australian governments, in imposing intrusive COVID-19 restrictions on people, routinely violate the principle of proportionality.

Indeed, the governments power grab has spawned the adoption of ludicrous, inconsistent, and incoherent regulations and misguided policies. It suffices just to give some examples.

The Queensland state keeps its borders shut and refuses to allow applicantscall them COVID-19 refugeesfrom NSW or Victoria to relocate to Queensland.

Queensland refuses to grant these applicants permission to enter the state on the ground that it excessively burdens the quarantine hotels.

Yet even a cursory review of the two quarantine hotels on the Gold Coast reveals that there is substantial accommodation capacity for other applicants. But the exact number of people allowed to relocate to Queensland is shrouded in mystery.

The sanctimonious and smug promises that the border might be re-opened in time for Christmas, or even earlier for fully vaccinated people, is an offensive and disagreeable display of power.

During the last couple of days, the lower house of the Victorian Parliament adopted radical anti-democratic legislation to better fight the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.

Specifically, the proposed legislation would allow the premier to govern the state by decree without having to seek the prior approval of parliament.

A woman holds a banner during a protest in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 30, 2021, to oppose the Victorian governments pandemic legislation. (Supplied)

To that purpose, the legislation even allows differentiation between people on the ground of their vaccine status while claiming that the legislation is consistent with Victorias Charter of Rights. The Minister of Health would also be able to make health orders under the proposed bill.

The danger is that when governments change as might happen eventually, these odious laws will remain on the statute book. It is uncertain that a new government would have the capacity or the will to repeal these laws.

Victorias opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has given an absolute guarantee that the Liberal Party will repeal this legislation when it comes to power.

History will reveal whether this promise is a mere puff or a genuine attempt at restoring parliamentary democracy in Victoria, which respects the application of the principle of proportionality.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Congressman Darrell Issa and other groups jointly held a press conference to address the experiences of rescuing families of students trapped in Afghanistan on Sept. 2, 2021, in the Cajon Valley Unified School District in San Diego, Calif. (Yang Jie/The Epoch Times)

Last El Cajon Family Stranded in Afghanistan Safely Evacuated

EL CAJON, Calif.A San Diego family and children have safely evacuated from Afghanistan and will be returning to California, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) announced Nov. 1.

Out of the seven families from the El Cajon school district that had been stuck in Afghanistan, they were the last to leave after the Taliban seized power. The other six families already made it home in late August.

The father of the familywho must remain anonymous due to the danger to other relatives still in Afghanistanwas home in San Diego County when Kabul fell to the Taliban, according to Issas office.

For months, my staff and I have joined an unprecedented community-wide effort to bring this family and these kids home, Issa said in a statement. Today, we can say that they are for certain on their way back to us.

There are so many people to thank for making this possible, he said.

The mother and their four children were forced into hiding and moved from several safehouses as they eluded the Taliban for several months.

Im so very thankful to Congressman Issa and his staff who did so much to help bring my family home, the familys father said in a statement released by Issas office. We cannot wait to all be together again.

On Aug. 31, the U.S. military officially withdrew from Afghanistan, ending a 20-year war that started shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Issa was first contacted by David Miyashiro, the superintendent of the Cajon Valley Union School District, in August, and was told several families with schoolchildren were unable to escape Afghanistan.

From the day David first called me, our lives were changed, and we embarked on a daily mission to rescue these families, Issa said. David and the team he brought together has led from the start and tirelessly worked to bring everyone home.

Issas office has helped evacuate more than 40 members of his congressional district from Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power.

We are very appreciative of Congressman Issa and his staff for their support throughout this process, said Miyashiro.

Issa said his office continued to work.

Even as we know these missing schoolchildren are coming home, we are reminded that there are so many moreperhaps several hundred morefrom California that are still trapped in Afghanistan, said Issa.

Our work is not yet close to complete.
Extinction Rebellion protesters are seen during a demo outside JP Morgan in Glasgow, United Kingdom, on Nov. 2, 2021. (Peter Summers/Getty Images)

The Ludicrous Hypocrisy of Climate Conferences Continues

Commentary

NEWSFLASH, sort of: I saw the photo of Joe Biden falling asleep at the Glasgow climate conference (COP26) thats been going around the internet and on cable tv, and, for the first time since his election, felt a tiny bit of sympathy for our president.

OK, its not a great look for the so-called leader of the free world, but some years back (2009), I attended the Copenhagen version of this conference (COP15), reporting then for PJ Media, and had a helluva time staying awake during the extraordinarily tedious speeches.

I had an equally difficult time staying warm, especially when outside, because that conference on global warming took place in a record-breaking blizzard, the likes of which I had never seen, although I was a graduate of Dartmouth College and had spent four years in the snows of New Hampshire.

Of course, we were immediately informed by our hosts that such weather wasyou will be shocked to hearjust further proof of imminent climate change. Freezing weather meant climate change. Sweltering weather meant climate change. And perfect weather for months on end with not a cloud in the sky meant the most serious climate change of all.

Or something like that.

One time during this event, I found myself waiting endlessly for one of the panel discussions to start, wondering what in the Sam Hill this was really all about and what I was doing there, when, out of boredom, I struck up a conversation with the man next to me.

It turned out he was the representative from the Maldives.

I had struck gold! The Maldives were the very center of controversy then because the rising sea level from warming was said to be about to put their Pacific islands permanently underwater.

Trying to be sympathetic, I told the man I had heard about their plight, but his response was to start laughing.

He explained to my puzzled look there was no threat to his island whatsoever. They had had periodic high tides forever, but nothing that a few sandbags couldnt handle.

So why was he here? This time he looked at me strangely. How could I possibly not know?

For the money, he said.

Diogenes had found his honest man.

Not so the scads of world leaders, royals, and CEOs showing up on private jets400 or so, according to the Daily Mail, including Jeff Bezos in his personal $65 million Gulfstreamoverflowing Glasgows airport while the peons were forced to sleep, unable to reach Scotland, on the floor of Londons Euston Station. (This COP had storms, too.)

All this for climate negotiations that obviously could have been done just as easily over Zoom or something similar for the negligible results that emerge.

This time, neither China nor Russia were present, a more than minor omission when it comes to global carbon emissions (excuse me, methane now), to whatever extent you believe in or fear them.

But were used to this by now. Hypocrisy great and small has been going on for some years at these annual festivals of virtue signaling.

Years back, Al Gore led the way, making millionsor was it billionsthrough carbon exchanges that were hurriedly put to bed before the world realized what a scam they were.

But then these are United Nations-run climate change conferences and where the United Nations is involved, corruption often follows. The U.N. Oil-for-Food Programme during the Iraq War was one of the great scandals of recent decades.

Nevertheless, pace H.L. Mencken, climate change conferences arent just about the money. Something else as well, I believe, is lurking beneath the surface.

I was reminded of this while reading another article by the Danish journalist Bjorn Lomborg who, over the years, has had a lot of interesting, level-headed things to say about climate.

To oversimplify, Lomborg believes some anthropogenic global warming exists but its extent doesnt merit the sky is falling panic and consequent huge expenses advocated (or vaguely promised) by many world leaders. In fact, as is often true in such cases, the very people they claim to be helping are the ones who will be most hurt (i.e., the energy-impoverished developing countries that rely on fossil fuels for survival).

He also points out that the same limited warming has increased world food production, helping people actually survive.

For me, the key might be in that $64 word many of us have learned somewhere during the increasing number of years of this controversy anthropogenic (man-made). The adherents of dangerous climate change believe man (and woman, but less so) must always be at the center of things. You could call them excessively anthropocentric.

They tend largely to be atheists of one stripe or other. They are atheists even to the extent they dont give sufficient countenance to that original god of human beingsthe sun.

But whatever climate change is man-made, it pales in significance compared to the sun. Someday, we may learn the truth of that to our detriment.

Nevertheless, the most devoted so-called warmists appear to worship Gaia, that stand-in for the Earth, rather than the sun or certainly the Judeo-Christian God. But, in order to encourage worship of whatever faith, its a good idea to have someplace to go, to remind the faithfulJerusalem, Mecca, Lourdes, and so forth. Hence, COP.

That makes these climate conferences essentially annual religious celebrations for atheists, a celebration of the belief that man could control all things. (If that sounds a bit like communism, it is.)

Not all that long ago, people called our current ecological fixation something simplerconservation. We all agreed with it then and automatically did our part. We picked up the trash. Now, not so much.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivers a speech at the opening of Finance Day at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 3, 2021. (Daniel Leal-Olivas /AFP via Getty Images)

UK Businesses Will Be Forced to Publish Net Zero Plans

Companies in the UK will be required to publish plans of decarbonising and transitioning to net zero, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak told COP26 on Wednesday.

Speaking at the global climate summit in Glasgow, Sunak said the new mandate is part of the UKs plan to become the first ever net zero aligned financial centre.

This means we are going to move towards making it mandatory for firms to publish a clear deliverable plan, setting out how they will decarbonise and transition to net zero with an independent task force to define whats required, he said.

Its understood the task force will be comprised of members from universities, civil society groups, industry, and regulators.

Financial institutions and listed companies are expected to start publishing the plans in 2023, and the plans will need to include high-level targets to reduce greenhouse emissions, the steps companies plan to take to get there, and milestones ahead of 2050.

But although the publishing of the plans will be mandatory, the execution of them wont be.

The aim of the policy is to increase transparency. The government will leave it up to the market to determine if transition plans put forward by firms are adequate or credible.

Sunak vowed to rewire the entire global financial system for net zero, which means better and more consistent climate data, sovereign green bonds, mandatory sustainability disclosures, proper climate risks surveillance, [and] stronger global reporting standards.

The chancellor also promised public and private funding for developed countries.

Over the next five years, we will deliver a total of $500 billion [366 billion] of investment to the countries that need it most, he said.

Sunak pledged 100 million ($136.6 million) to the task force on access to climate finance to make it quicker and easier for developing countries to access the climate funds.

He also announced that the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero has rallied financial organisations with assets worth over $130 trillion [95 trillion] of capital to be deployed.

More Climate Change Reporting

On the same day, 12 major media brandsincluding the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, and Irish national broadcaster RTEsigned up to a Climate Content Pledge, promising to increase the amount and improve the quality of their climate change storytelling.

The signatories together represent more than 70 percent of the time UK audiences spend watching TV and film.

The pledge was brought together by Albert, the screen industry organisation for environmental sustainability, and was being launched to coincide with COP26.

The BBC Director-General Tim Davie said he believes the pledge doesnt infringe the public broadcasters impartiality because the overwhelming consensus is that we as humanity are causing global warming, while dismissing different opinions as voices on the fringes.

PA contributed to this report.
Dame Cressida Dick said the Met wants to do more to keep women safe. (Victoria Jones/PA)

UK to Deploy Undercover Police Outside Clubs to Protect Women

The UKs biggest police force on Wednesday unveiled a plan to deploy undercover officers outside bars and clubs in a bid to reduce violence against women and girls.

The measure is part of the Metropolitan Polices plans designed to ensure womens safety after Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was raped and murdered by a serving officer of the force, who fake-arrested her while she was walking alone.

Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick met with community groups from Lambeth and Southwark on Wednesday to discuss the forces plans to reduce violence against women and girls, boost the number of criminals brought to justice, and also tackle sexual misconduct and domestic violence by its own officers and staff.

As part of the plan, the Met will pilot a scheme in the two boroughs where teams of plain-clothed and uniformed officers will be deployed together to identify predators near pubs, bars, and clubs.

The undercover officers will identify anyone who may be displaying predatory behaviour in public spaces and ask uniformed colleagues to step in when needed.

Dick said, This plan details how we will do more and better to keep women and girls safe.

It brings together all of our work to prevent male violence against women and girls, in public spaces as well as domestic settings and online; to target perpetrators, and with the wider criminal justice service, to improve outcomes for victims, she said.

We will increase officers skills and maximise the impact of key units such as our predatory offender units, town centre teams, and other specialist units, and further improve digital investigation, intelligence, and the quality of case files.

Everard was walking home in the evening on March 3 after having dinner at a friends house in Clapham, south London, when she was kidnapped by then Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who made a fake arrest under the COVID-19 regulations, drove Everard to Kent, before killing her and disposing of her remains.

Couzens, 48, was handed a whole life order on Sept. 30. He will most likely die in prison as the sentence comes without any possibility of parole or conditional release unless there are exceptional compassionate grounds to warrant it.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said the Met has some serious questions to answer.

To allay public concerns, Dick announced last month that undercover officers will video-call a uniformed sergeant to prove their identity if they ever need to stop a lone woman.

PA contributed to this report.
A Russian serviceman takes part in a joint military drill of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states Collective Rapid Response Forces on Sept. 9, 2021. (Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine, Kremlin Deny Russian Military Buildup as Units Near Border Now Number 90,000

Ukraine has denied reports that Russia is amassing troops and ramping up military equipment near its border, despite an announcement by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry that 90,000 Russian troops are currently stationed in the area.

The announcement comes after commercial satellite pictures supplied by U.S. space company Maxar Technologies showed Russian military vehicles moving tanks and missiles near the Russian town of Yelnya, about 155 miles north of the Ukrainian border.

Russian armed forces recently held a series of large-scale drills, including with airborne troops, leading to a large number of units of the 41st Army staying behind, the Ukrainian ministry said Nov. 2.

It should be noted that the Russian Federation periodically resorted to the practice of transferring and accumulating military units in order to maintain tensions in the region and political pressure on neighboring states, the ministry stated.

Tanks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during drills at an unknown location near the border of Russian-annexed Crimea, Ukraine, on April 14, 2021. (Press Service General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout via Reuters)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also dismissed the reports of a potential military buildup, saying there was no need to waste time on low-quality claims, the Moscow Times reported.

The movement of our military equipment and army units  is exclusively our business, Peskov said during a Nov. 2 news conference. Russia has never threatened anyone.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said during a news conference on Nov. 1, prior to Ukraine and the Kremlin denying the reports, that the United States was aware of public reports that there has been unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine.

We continue to support de-escalation in the region and a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the security situation during a Nov. 2 meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Glasgow. The Ukraine leader said on Twitter that the United States continues to support territorial integrity and reforms in the country.

President Joe Biden makes remarks as he meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Sept. 1, 2021. (Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)

This spring, Moscow alarmed Kyiv and Washington by building up more than 100,000 military units along the border with Ukraine, though it later ordered them back to the base.

Relations between Kyiv and Moscow have plummeted since 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula and a war broke out between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv says at least 14,000 people have died during the ongoing conflict.

Reuters contributed to this report.

From NTD News
Students wearing face masks queue to enter a middle school in Shenyang, in northeastern China's Liaoning province on May 29, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

UKs Elite Westminster School Terminates Ambitious China Project

Westminster School, a London-based elite private school, announced on Tuesday its ambitious educational projects in China have come to an end, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and recent changes in Chinese education policy as reasons for its departure.

In a letter to parents dated Nov. 2, Mark Batten, Westminsters chairman of governors said, You will be aware of an ambitious project, started in 2017, which would see the Westminster School name used for the first time outside the UK, for a new school in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China.

It is with great regret I write to tell you that this project has come to an end for Westminster School and its wholly-owned UK-based subsidiary company, Floreat Overseas Holdings Limited (FOHL).

The schools China operations, which initially aimed to develop up to six new bilingual schools in China, were fully funded by a Hong Kong-based investor who wished to operate schools in mainland China using the Westminster School name.

According to a report published by The Times of London in October, the investor was Hong Kong Melodious Education Technology Group (HKMETG). Among the groups founders are David Mao, a former Communist Party secretary of Peking University; and Xu Ouyang, a businessman who sits on a standing committee advising the administration in Tibet.

Westminster Schoolthrough its subsidiary FOHLacted as an educational consultant offering educational support and helping to develop a bilingual curriculum.

As I am sure you can imagine, the formation of a brand new 2,000-pupil school, including the construction of all its buildings and the development of a bilingual curriculum for children aged 3 to 18, is no small undertaking, Batten told parents.

He said the project was heavily impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recent changes in Chinese education policy.

In May, Chinas State Council announced tough new curbs on school curricula and ownership of private schools.

The new law, which came into effect on Sept. 1, halts the teaching of foreign curricula in schools from kindergarten to ninth grade (K-9) and prohibits foreign ownership or control of any private K-9 schools.

Under the new regulations, international schools are required to teach the same lessons as Chinas state schools and must uphold the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

This means foreign-branded schools may have to follow the new rules, and students will be taught Xi Jinping Thought in a bid to arm their brains with Marxist belief and communist ideology.

Batten said the benefits of the China operations had been seen as potentially transformative, but unfortunately, the landscape for developing such schools now is very different from 2017.

Westminster School said that all development work has been halted both in terms of the site and curriculum, and staff who had been working there are no longer to be employed by the operator.

As it stands, Westminster School has no plans to license its name or provide educational consultancy to any other new school projects in China, Batten said in the letter.
Unsilenced: Film Exposing Chinas Human Rights Abuses Wins Austin Film Festival Award

A feature film showcasing Chinas human rights abuses won the 2021 Audience Award for narrative feature at the 28th annual Austin Film Festival in Texas on Nov. 1.

The festival is one of the largest cinema and television screenwriting events in the United States.

Unsilenced is based on the true story of two young couples who were students at Chinas Tsinghua University. Together they helped a western journalist break through the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) surveillance and obstruction apparatus to expose its draconian persecution of Falun Gong adherents. The students pay a heavy price, but their courage had a lasting effect in countering Beijings well-oiled propaganda machine.

This film is not just about depicting human rights abuses in China and how Chinese citizens stand up [against the regime] to spread information, it is also about the fierce battle between truth and lies, which takes place not only in Mainland China, the films director, Leon Lee, said in an interview.

Questions about what is truth, how to seek out truth and what are the values of truth are also of great concern to people in modern western societies, he said.

Lee is Chinese-Canadian and has dedicated much of his filming career to human rights issues in China. His Peabody Award-winning film, Human Harvest, exposes the CCPs illegal organ trade based on the murderous organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience such as Falun Gong practitioners and minorities like the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that includes meditation, exercises and teachings based on the values of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. Also called Falun Dafa, the practice was introduced in China in 1992 and gained widespread popularity due to its benefits to the mental and physical well-being of its practitioners. By 1999, according to official Chinese government estimates, it had attracted an estimated 70-100 million adherents. Chinese president at the time, Jiang Zemin, considered Falun Gongs popularity a threat to the regimes rule and launched a brutal campaign in July, 1999 aimed at eradicating the practice. Several million Falun Gong adherents have since been arbitrarily detained with an estimated 1.5 million to 2.5 million imprisoned in labour camps in 2010 alone, according to figures from the Falun Dafa Information Center.

Unsilenced stars Sam Trammell, a Tony Award-nominee and Anastasia Lin, a human rights advocate and winner of the Miss World Canada title in 2015.

The Austin Film Festival is an Oscar Qualifying Film Festival that is known for its encouragement and support for screenwriters. Participants in the festival included Joel and Ethan Coen, who are prominent figures in the independent film industry, and the renowned American director Ron Howard.

The festivals organizers reported that they received over 6,000 entries this year from which they selected roughly 130 finalists.
A computer keyboard lit by a displayed cyber code is seen in this illustration picture taken on March 1, 2017. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

US Blacklists Israeli Hacking Tool Vendor NSO Group

WASHINGTONThe U.S. Commerce Department added Israels NSO Group and Candiru to its trade blacklist on Wednesday, saying they sold spyware to foreign governments that used the equipment to target government officials, journalists, and others.

Positive Technologies of Russia, and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE LTD, from Singapore, were also listed. The Department said they trafficked in cyber tools used to gain unauthorized access to computer networks.

The companies addition to the list, for engaging in activities contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests, means that exports to them from U.S counterparts are restricted. It for instance makes it far harder for U.S. security researchers to sell them information about computer vulnerabilities.

We are not taking action against countries or governments where these entities are located, said a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department.

Suppliers will need to apply for a license before selling to them, which is likely to be denied.

In the past, the NSO Group and Candiru have been accused of selling hacking tools to authoritarian regimes. NSO says it only sells its products to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and takes steps to curb abuse.

Dismayed

An NSO spokesperson said the company was dismayed by the decision since its technologies support U.S. national security interests and policies by preventing terrorism and crime, and thus we will advocate for this decision to be reversed.

NSO will present information regarding its rigorous compliance and human rights programs, which already resulted in multiple terminations of contacts with government agencies that misused our products, the spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.

The Israeli defense ministry, which grants export licenses to NSO, declined to comment on the matter.

Contact information for Candiru was not available.

The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Positive Technologies, a Russian cybersecurity firm, this year for providing support to Russian security services. The company denies any wrongdoing.

Spokespeople for Positive Technologies and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE LTD, also known as COSEINC, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A former U.S. official familiar with Positive Technologies, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the firm had helped establish computer infrastructure used in Russian cyberattacks on U.S. organizations.

COSEINC founder Thomas Lim is known for organizing a security conference, named SyScan, which was sold to Chinese technology firm Qihoo 360, a sanctioned entity. An email published by WikiLeaks in 2015 suggested Lim had also previously offered to sell hacking tools to infamous Italian spyware vendor HackingTeam.

Lim did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to a social media account he owns.

Export control experts say the designation could have a far broader impact on the listed companies than simply limiting their access to U.S. technology.

Many companies choose to avoid doing business with listed entities completely in order to eliminate the risk of an inadvertent violation and the costs of conducting complex legal analyses, said Kevin Wolf, former assistant secretary of Commerce for Export Administration during the Obama administration.

The entity list was increasingly used for national security and foreign policy aims during the Trump administration. Chinese telecom company Huawei was added in 2019, cutting it off from some key U.S. suppliers and making it difficult for them to produce mobile handsets.

By Christopher Bing
What does pandemic-driven lockdown mean for someone living in China? For some, it could end in 7 months under strict stay-at-home measures, and being forced to get government approval in order to leave.

China reduces its international passenger flights by over 20 percent for the coming season. Some say thats to prevent virus transmission in preparation for the coming Winter Olympics.

There may be more tariffs coming for Chinas exports, after over 30 countries ended their preference trade agreement with China.

A top-notch U.S. nuclear submarine is found to have gone on a mission in the South China Sea just steps away from China. The news was revealed after the sub got into an underwater accident. But Beijing is accusing the United States of keeping the details quiet.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
People are seen on Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City on March 19, 2021. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Wall Street Is Offering Big Pay Increases to Amass a Crypto Army

By Zijia Song and Katherine Doherty

From Bloomberg News

Wall Street leaders turned up their noses when Bitcoin exploded onto the scene more than a decade ago. Now theyre paying sweet premiums to crypto recruits, amassing an army of enthusiasts within the traditionally staid realm.

Some of the biggest banks and financial firms have added about 1,000 crypto-related roles since 2018, according to Revelio Labs, which collects data by scraping LinkedIn. Among those hiring the most are JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which shored up their ranks as demand for the fast-developing virtual currencies ballooned.

The expansion of Wall Streets legions traces an uncomfortable and at times testy relationship with the cryptocurrency. Banks had largely stayed away as Bitcoin prices rocketed to new heights and endured frequent crashes. JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon called it worthless in October after deeming it a fraud in 2017. But behind the scenes, growing global acceptance and client interest have eroded their resistance, leading firms to add research teams and trading desksand, according to recruiters, offering compensation bumps of as much as 50 percent for comparable roles to lure talent.

The banks cant run the risk that their clients go to another bank to do these services, so they need to build up, said Alan Johnson, managing director of Wall Street compensation consultancy Johnson Associates. This is a big asset, a big opportunity, and they need people and need them in a hurry. Theyre willing to pay a lot.

Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley were also among those adding staff, according to Revelio Labs. Most of the firms declined to comment on the data or provide hiring figures, or didnt respond to requests for comment. Citigroup said in a statement that clients are increasingly interested in crypto and that its monitoring development thoughtfully in light of factors like regulation.

But there are signs of the effort elsewhere. Employees who added a new crypto-related position to their LinkedIn profiles this year through September has already surpassed last years tally, separate LinkedIn data show. The total has tripled since 2015, according to the data, which surveyed 12 financial firms.

And, as financial firms staff up, they have to compete with technology and crypto firms doing likewise  competition intensified by a scarcity of talent with both types of experience, recruiters said. That means a crypto job can be lucrative, with a related role at a bank commanding a 20% to 30% premium in total compensation over a comparable position at the same institution, according to Johnson.

For more senior roles like research or trading heads, that could rise to 50%, he said. Crypto experts across financial firms see average salary increases of about 9% in their new roles versus previous ones, according to Revelio Labs.

Still, there are reasons for caution about working with the assets. Crypto firms face the prospect of a broad crackdown from federal regulators, while China, which already has rules barring banks from offering crypto-related services, banned crypto transactions in September. Amid the crackdown, some Bitcoin miners shifted operations out of the country.

Bank of America, for one, is looking to add to its new crypto research team over time, according to Alkesh Shah, who runs it. The group was set up in July following calls from clients seeking to understand how they can invest in the assets, Shah said in an interview.

The industry and the technology became too big to ignore, he said. There is going to be significant value creation across this ecosystem and we want to make sure clients understand how the value creation occurs.

The banks move signals traditional finances new openness to Bitcoin, as its value soared over the past year to a record in October. JPMorgans Dimon, who later said he regretted his fraud comments, said in October that hed follow his clients, whatever his opinion. Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, who reportedly once called Bitcoin totally surreal, said recently its not a fad.

Gormans bank appointed Sheena Shah to lead a new crypto research team in September, while JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have begun offering crypto-futures trading. Mastercard Inc. just struck a deal making it easier for banks to offer cryptocurrency rewards on their credit and debt cards.

Were experiencing the golden days of Wall Street in crypto, said Michael Bucella, general partner at crypto investment firm BlockTower Capital. We are in the early days of capital markets 2.0.

Headhunter Bombardment

The staff hunt appears to be gaining momentum at both banks and crypto companies.

Even within the past week or two, we have been bombarded with headhunters who are looking for people to come and be crypto traders in everything from hedge funds all the way to larger banks, Justin Schmidt, head of strategy at crypto-trading engineering startup Talos, who joined from Goldman Sachs, said last month.

Working at a crypto firm may offer lifestyle improvements not traditionally seen on Wall Street, as well as the chance to own a stake in something, said Elsie Brown-Russell, who was the first hire on the product and technology team at crypto firm Grayscale Investments. Whatever the competition, Wall Street is beefing up.

Scott Wilk, who worked in crypto before landing at venture capital firm Imaginary, pointed to all these big banks that wanted nothing to do with crypto. But, he said, meanwhile, you find out they were kind of secretly always doing their research in the background, knowing that there would be a time when it would be okay to say that youre in crypto.

2021 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Dominick Black looks at a photograph held by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, where he along with Kyle Rittenhouse and a group of others posed on Aug. 25, 2020, during Kyle Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis, on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)

Witness: Rittenhouse Said He Acted in Self-Defense; People Were Trying to Hurt Him

The first witness called in Kyle Rittenhouses murder trial told the court room on Nov. 2 that his friend was acting in self-defense when he shot three men in Wisconsin last year.

He just said he had to do it; it was self-defense, Dominick Black, who was dating Rittenhouses sister last year, said on the stand at the Kenosha County Courthouse.

People were trying to hurt him, Black added.

Rittenhouse, 18, is accused of shooting dead Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, in the parking lot of a Kenosha car dealership during rioting in the Wisconsin city on Aug. 25, 2020. Rosenbaum moved towards Rittenhouse and was in near proximity to him when he was shot, according to court documents.

The teenager was soon confronted by Anthony Huber, 26, who wielded a skateboard to try to hit him. Rittenhouse shot Huber, who died from his wounds, according to video footage from the scene.

Rittenhouse also fired bullets at Gaige Grosskreutz, who authorities said was holding a gun when he approached.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger presents opening statements to the jury during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 2, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/Pool via Reuters)

Thomas Binger, the assistant district attorney, claimed in his opening statements that Rittenhouse chased down Rosenbaum and shot him in the back before fleeing the scene.

The only person who killed anyone was the defendant, he said.

But Mark Richards, representing Rittenhouse, said his client was acting in self-defense.

His actions were reasonable under the circumstances as they existed that night being attacked by Mr. Rosenbaum, Richards said, adding that the other individuals, who didnt see that shooting, attacked him in the street like an animal.

Rittenhouse arrived in Kenosha with a .223 rifle, according to police officials. He has said he wanted to help protect businesses from being torched and looted and help anybody who was hurt.

Mark Richards, lead attorney for Kyle Rittenhouse, shows a photograph with Kyle Rittenhouse, second from right, along with Dominic Black, right, from the evening of Aug. 25, 2020, as he cross examines Black during Kyle Rittenhouses trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 2, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/Pool/The Kenosha News via AP)

Black bought the rifle for Rittenhouse, who was not legally able to carry a gun because he was 17 at the time. But he said it was meant to be locked away until the teenager turned 18 and was not sure how he came to be in possession of the firearm after his stepfather took it and other guns from a safe in case somebody tried to break into the house.

Black was in Kenosha with Rittenhouse along with approximately six others. They initially tried to clean graffiti from the side of a school before returning to Blacks house to get the guns and medical supplies. Later in the day, they traveled into the city to stand by businesses. Black, who was armed, ended up on the roof of a Car Source.

I didnt want to get hurt. I didnt want to cause any problems. I figured it would be a lot safer up on top, he said.

Throughout the night, the crowd got closer to the dealership, having been pushed back by police officers. Law enforcement was using trucks and rubber bullets.

As people passed by the dealership, many were very upset, throwing things and making threats against the police and the group of armed men, Black recounted. Rittenhouse eventually went to a nearby gas station and was seen giving aid to at least one injured person and helping put out fires.

Kyle Rittenhouse talks with his legal team before his side gives opening statements to the jury during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 2, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/Pool/Getty Images)

At one point, the group received word that a different Car Source location was being vandalized, with people possibly trying to burn it down. Rittenhouse was called and told what was happening. He took off running towards the direction of the other dealership, said Black, who soon heard gunshots ring out.

I didnt believe the gunshots were actually his until I got a phone call. And I answered it and he just said I shot somebody, I shot somebody,' Black said.

Rittenhouse went back to the dealership Black was trying to protect and he was freaking out, Black recalled, before telling the courtroom Rittenhouse said he shot people in self-defense.

The group tried calming Rittenhouse down. Black drove Rittenhouse away before they decided he should turn himself in at a nearby police department.

Black is facing charges for buying the firearm for Rittenhouse and said he was testifying in the hopes that he will avoid jail time. He faces up to 12 years in prison.

Rittenhouse faces up to life in jail if convicted of the most serious charge, first-degree homicide.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) arrives with Premier Li Keqiang (L) and members of the Politburo Standing Committee for a reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on Sept. 30, 2021. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

Xis Crackdown on Chinas Financial Sector Reveals His Political Predicament

News Analysis

Nearly 100 high-level Chinese officials in the financial sector have been investigated since the beginning of this year, ranging from banks, insurance companies, asset management companies, and financial regulatory agencies. The scope is unprecedented as previous disciplinary campaigns in China mostly targeted a small number of officials who were found suspicious.

This aggressive new campaign is an indication that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has had great difficulties controlling the Chinese financial sector ever since taking power in 2012, according to a Chinese financial analyst.

Jiang Zemin and Zeng Qinghong

Mike Sun, a U.S.-based Chinese investment strategist, previously told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that Chinas financial sector has long been controlled by a political faction opposing Xia faction led by former Chinese leaders Jiang Zemin and Zeng Qinghong.

Jiang won Deng Xiaopings favor during the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre as he supported Dengs decision to open fire on the student demonstrators. Soon after the pro-democracy movement was strangled, Deng made Jiang the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and leader of the country.

Zeng, a notable princelingwhose father, Zeng Shan, was a Party elderhas been a staunch supporter and handler of Jiang. Before Jiang became the Partys top leader, he served as the Party boss in Shanghai and worked closely with Zeng, the then deputy Party boss of Shanghai. As soon as Jiang took office in Beijing, he promoted Zeng and brought him to Beijing as well.

During the more than 10 years of Jiangs rule, he and Zeng were the most powerful political figures in China, and together they turned the countrys financial sector into their cash cow. This situation did not change after Xi took power in 2012.

Xis sweeping anti-corruption campaign over the years has always been a political campaign directed at the Jiang-Zeng faction. Many important members in this political clique were removed from their posts during Xis first 5-year termin the name of fighting corruption. However, as Xis second term is about to end next year, he still hasnt been able to fully control Jiang and Zengs cash cow operations.

Xis Latest Anti-Corruption Campaign

Presently, Xi is again using his anti-corruption campaign to try to turn things around in the financial sector, and at the same time seeking to remain in office for a third term.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the CCPs anti-corruption watchdog, said on its website on Sept. 13 that the number of officials in the financial sector who were taken down after Xi began his second term was three times greater than during Xis first term. The CCDI warned that the momentum would only get stronger to ensure the safety of the financial industry.

One month later, on Oct. 12, the CCDI sent inspectors to 25 financial institutions, including major state-owned banks, stock exchanges, and investment companies.

Senior officials disciplined during this round of crackdowns include Zhang Qin, president of the Inner Mongolia branch of China Construction Bank; He Xingxiang, vice president of China Development Bank; Cai Esheng, vice chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission; Li Guorong, deputy director of Sichuan Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau; and Wang Junxiang, vice president of Jilin Financial Holding Group Corporation.

In Shanghai, Chinas financial center and the Jiang-Zeng factions political base, nearly 70 high-ranking local officials have been sacked since the beginning of this year. During the October crackdown, at least 10 high-level officials in the industry were investigated, including Xiang Jie, the financial department general manager at Shanghai Pudong Development Banks Shenzhen Branch; Jin Rongzhong, branch president of Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank; and Ge Qiwei, project manager of the business department of Shanghai Yangpu Financial Guarantee Co., Ltd., and others.

Avoiding Another Stock Market Crash

During Xis first term, China experienced a major stock market crash in June 2015, when a third of the value of A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange was lost within one month, wiping out more than $3 trillion in wealth.

A few senior officials were sacked after that financial crisis, including Yao Gang, the vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, but the scope was quite limited compared to this years crackdown.

Sun explained that Xi is making big moves in his present anti-corruption campaign, and he obviously hopes to complete the regulation of the financial sector before elections next year. He needs to firmly have the financial power in his own hands to avoid another major stock market crash, as the 2015 market crash directly threatened his rule.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Youngkins Victory Goes Beyond Virginia

Commentary

My how quickly things can change with the right message and the right messenger.

Glenn Youngkins impressive victory over Democrat re-tread Terry McAuliffe in the race for Virginia governor ought to be a reminder that kindness wins over name-calling and that issues are more important than personality.

Parents in Virginia saw the curtain pulled back on the indoctrination of values counter to their own in public schools. McAuliffe denied Critical Race Theory (CRT) was being taught in public schools, but a visit to the Virginia Department of Education web page shows three different instances in which it was promoted, including back in 2015 when McAuliffe was governor. The site also uses the term white fragility and references a presentation that encourages teachers to embrace Critical Race Theory in order to re-engineer attitudes and belief systems. The constant focus on race, class, and division is wearing thin and it would appear, at least in Virginia, that many voters have tired of it.

Wall Street Journal columnist Holman Jenkins wrote its time for Democrats to retire the white sheets. Can we move on from divide and conquer in favor of promoting togetherness as Americans? In his victory speech that is what Youngkin did, speaking less about himself and more about his fellow Virginians and fellow Americans. Donald Trump take note.

Lt. Governor-elect Winsome Sears achieved historical success once before when in 2002 she became the first black Republican woman elected to the House of Delegates, defeating a 20-year incumbent Democrat. Her victory is a slap in the face to those Democrats who are the real racists when they keep pitting us against each other. In social media posts and in campaign mailers, there was a photo of Sears carrying a rifle, apparently to demonstrate her support for the Second Amendment. This played well in rural Virginia.

It was a clean sweep for Republicans as they also took back the office of attorney general and flipped the House of Delegates from Democrat to a GOP majority. Suddenly all those claims that Virginia has turned irreversibly blue seemed to have been wishful thinking by Democrats and the media, which kept promoting it as a state lost forever to Republicans. Independents, who helped Joe Biden win the state by 10 points last year, moved in large numbers to Youngkin.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who made a video targeting Virginias black church members, urging them to vote for McAuliffe, predicted before the election that results in Virginia would forecast what next years congressional races will look like, as well as the 2024 presidential contest. Republicans can only wish she has the gift of prophecy.

The New Jersey governors race is neck and neck at this writing, another shock to Democrats in a deeply blue state. And Minneapolis voters, apparently, took a sanity pill and refused to cancel their police department, despite millions of dollars that poured into the city from left-wing groups, most of them outside the city and state.

Youngkin perfectly positioned himself when it came to Trump and his supporters. He did not reject Trumps endorsement, but neither did he dwell on it, or ask the former president to campaign for him. Those rural voters who voted for Trump appeared comfortable voting for Youngkin. Will that strategy work elsewhere? It might. A lot depends on whether Trump runs in 2024.

Youngkin and his administration will be judged on whether they are able to fulfill their promises, which is as it should be. Meanwhile for Virginia Republicans, happy days are here again, at least for now.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Democrats' setbacks in Tuesday's elections underscore that the party needs to produce for the American people," but he pushed back against the notion that the off-year election results were a repudiation of his presidency.

Biden suggested that his inability to get Congress to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure deal and a $1.75 trillion package of social and climate programs ahead of the voting didn't make a difference.

In Virginia's governor's race Democrat Terry McAuliffe lost to first-time Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin in a state that Biden won by 10 percentage points a year ago.

I think we should have passed it before Election Day," Biden said. But Im not sure that I would have been able to change people's minds in Republican-leaning areas either way.

He added that, people are upset and uncertain about a lot of things including the pandemic, the job market and the price of a gallon of gasoline.

Biden made the comments to reporters after delivering remarks to highlight what he said was a great day in the fight against coronavirus pandemic as children 5 to 11 became eligible to begin receiving the preventive vaccine.

It was a spot of good news for Biden who returned to Washington early Wednesday from Europe to the news that McAuliffe was narrowly defeated by Youngkin, a first time candidate and former executive with the private equity firm Carlyle Group. And Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy barely eked out a victory in an unexpectedly close race for reelection in New Jersey, a state Biden won by 16 percentage points.

White House officials noted that while Virginia has trended Democratic in recent years the sitting presidents party has lost the governors race in 11 of 12 elections there.

Before leaving Glasgow on Tuesday, Biden made the case that the off year is always unpredictable and that he had seen no evidence that whether my agenda passed or not is going to have any real impact on winning or losing the two governors races.

Biden's polling has fallen in recent weeks, something he blames on coronavirus fatigue among the American public. At the same time, rising prices and supply issues are impacting American households and the political mood.

But the president said those drags could be in the rearview mirror long before midterm elections a year from now if Democrats come together on his agenda.

If Im able to pass, sign into law, my Build Back Better initiative, Im in a position where youre going to see a lot of those things ameliorated quickly and swiftly, Biden said.
GENEVA (AP)  The number of coronavirus cases has risen in Europe for the fifth consecutive week, making it the only world region where COVID-19 is still increasing, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday.

In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said new cases jumped by 6% in Europe compared to an 18% increase the previous week. The weekly number of new infections in other regions either fell or remained about the same, according to the report.

The sharpest drops were seen in the Middle East, where new cases decreased by 12%, and in Southeast Asia and Africa, where they fell by 9%.

Overall, 3 million new weekly cases were reported globally, the report states. The number of deaths from COVID-19 worldwide rose by 8%, driven mainly by Southeast Asia, where deaths spiked by 50%.

The coronavirus infection rate was by far the highest in Europe, which reported about 192 new cases per 100,000 people, followed by the Americas, which had about 72 new cases per 100,000.

Several countries in Central and Eastern Europe have seen daily case numbers shoot up in recent weeks. Infections in the Czech Republic soared by 9,902 in one day, the Czech Health Ministry reported Wednesday. That was about 60% more than a week earlier and the highest daily increase since March 23, the ministry said.

The country had a 7-day infection rate of 386 people per 100,000, almost double the figure from a week ago. The government has said the virus is spreading mostly among people who are unvaccinated.

Polands Health Ministry on Wednesday reported the country's highest daily number of new cases since April, with over 10,400, or 20% more than a week earlier. The ministry said more than 120 people with COVID-19 died over 24 hours.

In Germany, the head of the national disease control center said that infection rates have risen rapidly, with significantly more patients in intensive care and deaths rising above 100 per day on some recent occasions.

Unfortunately, the fourth wave is developing exactly as we had feared, because not enough people are vaccinated and because measures  are no longer being implemented sufficiently, Robert Koch Institute President Lothar Wieler said in Berlin. He cited measures such as mask-wearing and distancing, and restrictions on people who havent been vaccinated or tested using some facilities.

Wielers Robert Koch Institute reported 20,398 new cases over the past 24 hours, putting the rate of new infections at 146.6 per 100,000 residents over the past week. Another 194 deaths were reported, pushing Germanys total so far above 96,000.

WHO said the continuing rise in confirmed cases across Europe has been driven mostly by Britain, Russia, Turkey and Romania, the report showed.

Leading British medical authorities have called for the government to again require infection precautions such as mask-wearing and social distancing, but the government has insisted the health system can handle the increasing caseload.

Some scientists worry that waning immunity from vaccinations across Europe could allow even more people to fall ill from COVID-19 during the winter season.

WHO nevertheless has slammed rich countries for rolling out booster vaccine programs while the majority of poor countries have yet to administer shots to their most vulnerable populations; the agency said last week that about 1 million booster shots are administered every day, about three times the number of COVID-19 doses given in poor countries.

WHO said the easier-to-spread delta variant remains predominant worldwide and continues to mostly crowd out other variants; more than 99% of COVID-19 samples sequenced by an international database were the delta variant.

It said deltas spread has been slightly slower in some parts of South America, where other variants, including the mu variant, account for a large proportion of cases.

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Follow all of AP's pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
WOOD RIVER  Illinois residents will now be able to drop off their household hazardous waste for free at a new collection site that is scheduled to open on Saturday.

The new collection facility is located at 249 N. Old St. Louis Rd. in Wood River and aims to service up to 400 households at each collection event held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the first Saturday and third Friday of each month.

In partnerships with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and Heritage Environmental, Madison County will increase the number of opportunities residents will have to dispose of their household hazardous waste from twice a year to 24 times per year at most.

This opportunity is unique to Madison County and is the only collection facility within a five-hour drive in Illinois, Madison County Chairman Kurt Prenzler said.

Building and Zoning Administrator Chris Doucleff said the problem for most residents is that household hazardous waste can manifest itself in many different everyday items, and unfortunately, many of the items are difficult to dispose of in a manner thats safe for the environment.

Doucleff added, as a result, these chemicals and toxic materials end up going into our waste streams and eventually can contaminate the groundwater, natural habitats and waterways.

Resource Management Coordinator Brandon Banks said the county receives daily calls from residents asking for ways to dispose of their chemicals and hazardous waste, and that the new permanent site will create more opportunities for people to properly dispose of waste.

We are excited about it, Banks said. For years the household hazardous waste collections have been one of Madison Countys most sought after and popular events.

Doucleff said disposal of items would be 100 percent free of charge and open to all Illinois residents, however, appointments are required by scheduling online or calling.

Funding for the new site comes from "tipping fees", which charges the waste haulers for disposal of items in two county landfills.

To make an appointment online visit https://RecycleResponsibly.as.me/hhwaste, or call 618)296-5237.

Accepted HHW items include oil-based paints, pesticides and herbicides, lawn fertilizers and chemicals, cleaning solvents, paint thinners, hobby chemicals, antifreeze and motor oil, pool chemicals, household batteries, medicines, lead-acid batteries and fluorescent lights.

Non-acceptable items include latex paint, tires, electronics, ammunition, agricultural wastes, explosives, fireworks, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, farm machinery oil, business, commercial or biohazard waste.

Visit www.madisoncountybz.com for more information on HHW or how to dispose of other items such as electronics.

Its a win-win for taxpayers, Prenzler said. Residents pay nothing out of pocket and receive this new service.
SPRINGFIELD  State officials on Wednesday announced the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is adopting the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) recommendation for children ages 5 through 11 years to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

On Oct. 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for kids. Previously, it was only authorized for people 12 years and older.

Medical experts and scientists have reviewed the data, which included clinical trials with more than 3,000 children receiving the vaccine, and have recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children, said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.

The vaccine for kids 5-11 is a third of the dose for people over 12. It will be given in two doses three weeks apart.

I encourage parents who may have questions about COVID-19 vaccines for their children to talk with a pediatrician or family doctor, she said. While most children do not suffer severe COVID-19 illness, some do.

We also know children are great transmitters and can unknowingly infect people who could suffer severe illness, she said. We need as many people as possible, including children, to be vaccinated to stop the spread of the virus and end this pandemic.

The vaccinations for those 5 and older will be available at local health departments, pharmacies, pediatrician offices, Federally Qualified Health Centers and other providers who offer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. About 2,200 pediatric providers have enrolled in the state immunization registry and can administer COVID-19 vaccine.

The IDPH also is working with schools to set up vaccination clinics.

In clinical trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children 5-11 years old. Side effects within two days of the vaccination commonly reported included a sore arm at the injection site, redness and swelling, fatigue, headache, muscle and/or joint pain, chills and fever.

Both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized for use for people 18 and older will continue to be available to adults.
A new lawsuit has been filed against Ancestry.com for allegedly disclosing Illinois residents' genetic information to Blackstone, a multinational private equity company that bought Ancestry last year, during the acquisition process.

A class action complaint was filed on Oct. 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Ancestry.com DNA, LLC, alleging violation of the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act, according to the Madison-St. Clair Record.

GIPA, similar to the federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, became law in 2020. The bill mandates that the defendant may not release genetic testing information to anyone other than the individual tested or to people specifically authorized in writing.

The plaintiffs are attempting to file the case as a class-action lawsuit for all Illinois residents whose genetic information was disclosed or released by Ancestry.com to Blackstone. The plaintiffs are seeking trial through the federal court because the amount in question exceeds $5 million and there are more than 100 putative members of the class. The suit states that the case concerns the illegal disclosure of thousands if not millions of individuals' genetic information.

The plaintiff alleges Ancestry.com violated the class members rights under GIPA to prevent disclosing their genetic information to unauthorized third parties without their consent, according to the Record.

The lawsuit states that Ancestry.com's consumer genomics business "uses DNA collected from its customers' saliva to provide its customers with information about their heritage as well as genetically related health characteristics." As such, this resulted in Ancestry.com collecting a "massive database of genetic information" that in part made it an attractive acquisition target for Blackstone.

"Compliance with GIPA is straightforward and may be accomplished through a single, signed sheet of paper or its electronic equivalent," the suit says. "GIPAs requirements bestow a right to privacy in ones genetic information and a right to prevent the disclosure of such information without their consent."

Ancestry.com allegedly stated on its website that genetic information would be given to Blackstone but did not offer any method to prevent said release. Under GIPA, the results of a DNA or genetic test are confidential and the subject of such testing has a right to prevent others from receiving their genetic test results without written consent.

The suit further alleges that Blackstone acquired all of the accompanying information gathered by Ancestry.com, including personal information that could be used to identify individual plaintiffs, including first and last names, email addresses, and/or home addresses, including age and gender in some instances.

The plaintiffs seek an order declaring the defendants actions as violating GIPA, an injunction requiring the defendant to comply with GIPA, statutory damages of $15,000 for each willful or reckless violation of GIPA, statutory damages of $2,500 for each negligent violation of GIPA, or actual damages  whichever is greater  attorneys fees, court costs, interest and all other relief the court deems just.
3 1 of 3 For the Intelligencer Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3





The Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) has received a $1 million in-kind donation from Bien Air USA, Inc. The company donated and is installing 256 new electric systems that operate the handpieces used in every patient workstation across the patient clinics in the Alton, Edwardsville and East St. Louis campuses, as well as in all the preclinical student workstations. The systems provide a significant technological advancement from those being replaced.

Technology is rapidly evolving in the practice of dentistry, said SDM Dean Bruce Rotter, DMD. It is incumbent on dental schools to provide training that will prepare our graduates to utilize this technology.
LONDON (AP)  Englands deputy chief medical officer said Wednesday that too many people believe the pandemic is over, warning that the U.K.s very high coronavirus rates and rising deaths mean that there are hard months to come in the winter.

Jonathan Van-Tam also said he was worried that increasing numbers of deaths showed infections were now starting to penetrate into older age groups.

Coronavirus rates are still very high at the moment. They are higher than in most of Europe, Van-Tam told the BBC. We are running quite hot. And, of course, its of concern to scientists that we are running this hot this early in the autumn season.

I personally feel there are some hard months to come in the winter and its not over, he added.

The British government reported 41,299 new COVID-19 cases and 217 deaths Wednesday. The country recorded its highest daily death toll since February - 293 - on Tuesday.

While new cases have been dropping from around 46,000 a day in October, infection rates in Britain are still much higher than in most of Europe.

Van-Tam said the drop in case numbers mainly reflected the ebbing of a surge recently seen among teenagers. He warned that while hospital admissions have plateaued and total numbers of patients in hospitals have slightly gone down, the overall picture was still worrying.

This could be a pause before things go up, it could be the very first signs that things are beginning to stabilize but at a high rate, he said. But my worry is that the deaths are increasing and that shows that the infection is now starting to penetrate into those older age groups.

The U.K. got a head-start in rolling out its vaccination program, and most adults have been fully inoculated. A booster shot is being offered to millions, including everyone over 50. But the government has been cautious about vaccinating teenagers and younger people, authorizing jabs for healthy children between 12 to 15 years old only this September.

Jeremy Brown, a member of the governments vaccination advisory committee, said it was far too early to follow the lead of the United States in vaccinating children 11 years old and under.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government lifted almost all coronavirus restrictions in July, including mandatory face coverings and social distancing requirements. Nightclubs and crowded venues were allowed to fully open and the work from home advice was scrapped.

Authorities have resisted calls to reimpose restrictions like mandatory mask-wearing, and are instead relying heavily on vaccines to keep infections down.

___

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Charges laid against Jo Ferrari, other officers, for killing drug suspect

BANGKOK: The Royal Thai Police Office has pressed four charges against seven policemen, one a station chief, who killed a drug suspect during interrogation in Nakhon Sawan province in August.

policecrimecorruptionmurder

By Bangkok Post

Wednesday 3 November 2021, 10:32AM

Pol Col Thitisan Utthanaphon, former chief of the Muang Nakhon Sawan police station, in custody at the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok on Aug 26. Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut / Bangkok Post

The station chief is also being investigated in a case involving the seizure, sale and possession of smuggled luxury cars, reports the Bangkok Post.

Pol Gen Suchart Theerasawat, deputy commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, said on Tuesday (Nov 2) that the seven policemen from Muang Nakhon Sawan station have been charged with malfeasance, abuse of authority, torture causing death, and coercion.

The police case report and charges will be handed to public prosecutors on Wednesday (Nov 3), he said.

The suspects in the case are Pol Col Thitisan Utthanaphon, Pol Maj Rawirot Ditthong, Pol Capt Songyot Khlainak, Pol Lt Thoranin Matwanna, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Suphakon Nimchuen, Pol Sen Sgt Maj Wisut Bunkhiew and Pol L/Cpl Pawikon Khammarew.

Pol Gen Suchart said police were also investigating Thitisans involvement in the seizure of about 400 smuggled vehicles and had already found suspicious records of the vehicles and irregularities in the payment of rewards for the seizure.

The case involved many people  police, customs officials and people involved with Pol Col Thitisan, the deputy national police chief said.

He said investigators impounded about B130 million in assets of Pol Col Thitisan, aka Joe Ferrari. The assets included a mansion worth B57mn in Bangkoks Bang Chan sub-district, 24 vehicles worth B70mn, a B1.5mn condominium and 18 guns worth B720,000.

Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk, commissioner of the Royal Thai Police Office, said it had yet to be decided whether Pol Col Thitisan would be dismissed or expelled from the force.

Former station superintendent Pol Col Thitisan and six of his subordinates at the same station are accused of killing Chiraphong Thanapat, a 24-year-old drug suspect, while reportedly trying to extort money from him. He was suffocated with plastic bags over his head.

Pol Col Thitisan is known as Jo Ferrari because of his collection of supercars.

Footage of the torture and death of Chiraphong was leaked and posted online, sparking outrage and a storm of criticism of the police force.

Pol Col Thitisan turned himself in on Aug 26.
Man jumps off Phuket bridge

PHUKET: Rescue workers and local fishermen this morning resumed the search for a 25-year-old Phuket man who parked his pickup halfway across the bridge leading off Phuket late last night and lept over the edge into the fast-moving water below.



By Eakkapop Thongtub

Wednesday 3 November 2021, 01:00PM

Officers from the Tha Chatchai Police were called to the Srisoonthorn Bridge at 11:30pm after it was reported that a man had stopped his pickup and leapt off the bridge.

Officers arrived to find the white Ford Ranger pickup, registered in Khon Kaen province, parked on the left side halfway across the bridge.

A drivers licence found in the pickup indicated that the missing person was Buncha Suksunit, 25, a resident of Baan Pru Sompan in Moo 8, Tambon Thepkrasattri, said police.

A search team was assembled and began scouring the waters below for the missing driver.

The search was called off at 2:10am due to the dangerous conditions, police noted.

The search resumed this morning.
Phuket teens wanted for vaccination study

PHUKET: Teenagers in Phuket from 12 to 17 years old are wanted for a study to compare the effects of subdermal vaccinations injected under the skin compared with much deeper intramuscular injections.

COVID-19Vaccinehealth

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 3 November 2021, 04:11PM

Image: Vachira Phuket Hospital

The study is being conducted by Vachira Phuket Hospital, which earlier this year conducted a similar study among adults.

That study confirmed that only 20% of the standard vaccine dose of AstraZeneca was required for the third-dose booster shots to provoke the same level of immunity among the recipients.

The results of that study were later implemented throughout the country as the Phuket method.

However, the new study among young people will use the Pfizer vaccine, Vachira hospital said in its announcement yesterday (Nov 2).

This is a study to reduce the side effects of myocarditis in children, the hospital also explained.

In total, 200 volunteers are required for the study. The volunteers will be divided into two groups.

Group 1 will receive 0.3ml of mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine by two intramuscular injections three weeks apart.

Group 2 will receive 0.1ml of mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine by two injections injected into the subcutaneous layer under the skin.

The volunteers must be free from any congenital diseases and had never received any COVID vaccination injections before, the hospital emphasised in its notice.

Participants in both groups will be screened for COVID-19 using the Rapid Antigen Test (ATK).

If the virus is not found, the vaccine will be administered and the level of immunity is tested in the next step, the hospital said.

Participants will receive a blood test to check the level of immunity against COVID-19 (SARS CoV-2 Antibody  IgG) three times during the study, the hospital explained.

The first blood test will be conducted before the first injection, the second two weeks after the second injection, and the third 12 weeks after the second injection.

If a participant receiving a subdermal injection shows little or no increase in immunity after the injections, the participant will receive an intramuscular vaccination injection to stimulate the bodys response, the hospital added.

People interested in taking part in the study were asked to contact Khun Ratchanok at 076 361234 ext. 6506-7.

Applications to take part in the study will remain open until this Saturday (Nov 6), or until the number of required volunteers is reached
Reopening puts Phuket tourism recovery in sight

PHUKET: Phuket tourism operators expect the countrys reopening to tourism on Monday (Nov 1) to help build momentum for Phuket to receive 1 million international arrivals in the first quarter of next year, with a forecast of up to 10,000 visitors a day next month  if there are no unforeseen events to ground tourism arrivals to a halt again.

tourismeconomicsCOVID-19Russian

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 3 November 2021, 11:37AM

Bhummikitti Raktaengam, President of the Phuket Tourist Association. Photo: Radio Thailand Phuket

Bhummikitti Raktaengam, President of the Phuket Tourist Association, broke the news in an interview with The Phuket News yesterday (Nov 2).

The forecast followed Airports of Thailand (AoT) announcing that an estimated 726,000 air passengers are expected to travel on domestic and international flights in the country this month, or about 24,200 per day, following the countrys reopening on Monday (Nov 1).

Of the estimated 726,000 passengers next month, 270,529 will be passengers on international flights operated to and from Thailand and the rest will be travelling via domestic flights, said Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, president of the AoT, reported the Bangkok Post.

A total of 31 inbound flights carrying about 2,600 passengers landed at Suvarnabhumi, the countrys gateway airport, on Tuesday, said Kittipong Kittikachorn, general manager of the airport. Of those passengers, 1,500 were foreign nationals, he said.

First, we must understand that there will not be any sudden rush in the number of tourists coming to Phuket, Mr Bhummikitti explained in an interview with Radio Thailand Phuket yesterday.

Earlier in the day he told The Phuket News, Bookings in November increased by 20%, while the load factor for some international flights will also rise to 80% thanks to fewer travel rules for low-risk countries and the winter season.

At present, 825 international flights from 17 airlines are scheduled to arrive in Phuket in November, compared with 562 flights from 11 airlines in October, he explained.

Considering the expansion in the number of flights and load factors for each flight, local tourism operators believe that Phuket would expect to receive 300,000 visitors throughout December, giving an average of 10,000 visitors a day, Mr Bhummikitti said.

The occupancy rate this month could gradually improve to 25-30% from 18-20% in October, before increasing to 35% in December, he said.

Many tourists have complained that the process for entering Thailand was difficult. As a result, a number of tourists have chosen not to travel to Thailand, Mr Bhummitkitti told The Phuket News.

But since the rules have been relaxed, we now have an increasing number of tourists and more tourists will travel in, he said.

Mr Bhummitkitti remained optimistic, yet cautious, over the current forecasts, which predict a significant recovery for Phukets tourism industry next year.

Well have to look at it a bit longer. I think it might take another two weeks in order to have more clarity, he said.

European source markets at this stage seemed to be more likely to return as travel restrictions there are eased and as they enter their winter months, Mr Bhummikitti said.

Which countries remained on the quarantine list, including Russia, would also have an effect, he added.

Russia and India are potential markets which operators must largely do without until they are added to the list of low-risk countries, he said. (Note: India was added last Sunday)

Mr Bhummikitti said that even though Russia has recently seen spiking caseloads, Phuket has confidence in its safety protocols, with only 0.3% of Sandbox arrivals testing positive for the virus over the past four months.

After November 15, there will be an increase in the number of countries that can travel to Sandbox segments, Mr Bhummikitti said.

On November 5 there will be direct flights from Moscow, of which all business class seats are full, he said.

However, Mr Bhummikitti said room rates had returned to 60% of pre-pandemic prices during year-end holidays, which is lower than destinations like Bangkok and northern provinces, which have more of a balanced supply and demand.

Assuming the overseas viral situation remains under control during winter, while most Phuket residents receive booster doses, the PTA predicts Phuket will welcome 1mn travellers, or 40% of the 3mn seen in the first quarter of 2019.

Another factor was which of the 63 countries/territories on the Test & Go quarantine exemption list still required travellers to enter quarantine when they arrived home, Mr Bhummikitti noted.

All proceeding well, the number of tourists travelling to Phuket next year could reach 2.6 million to 3 million people, Mr Bhummikitti said.

Its too early to assess revenue and tourist numbers right now, but we think that next year, throughout the whole year, there will be 2.6-3mn tourists if there are no events that cause travel to deteriorate, he said.

The projected volume is still less than 30% compared with before the outbreak, and is based on the current situation. If things change, there could be more [visitors], or there could be less, we dont know. Or if the rules change, well have to look again. he cautioned.

Mr Bhummikitti said local tourism businesses remained confident that Phuket could manage another spike in infections on the island.

We are confident that Phuket is prepared and ready, especially from our previous experiences and lessons learned. We know what we have to do from now on. So dont worry about anything. We are fully prepared, he said.
Thailand Pass issues already addressed, says Anucha

PHUKET: Anucha Nakasai, the Minister attached to the Office of the Prime Minister, has announced that some issues with people registering through the Thailand Pass website, in order to be issued a permit to enter Thailand as a tourist, have been noticed and have already been addressed.

tourism

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 3 November 2021, 09:44AM

The recognition follows a deluge of complaints online by people unable to register through the portal, https://tp.consular.go.th/

The key issue was people entering all their details to register through the site only to receive an API Error message, with the registration not accepted. Some of the people had spent 12 hours trying to register, to no avail.

However, it was later explained by users  not officials  through the Department of Consular Affairs official Facebook page that entering a space after the passport number resolved the issue, with no need to install any browser extensions.

The Phuket News has yet to confirm any report or notice issued by officials specifically explaining a workaround to the problem, or confirming that the problem has been fixed.

Some issues have been noticed at the early stage of the rollout, but they have already been addressed, Mr Anucha said yesterday, said a report by state news agency NNT.

No other details were offered.

Mr Anucha, a rising prominent public figure in recent weeks, gave the assurance while inspecting the processing of international arrivals at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday (Nov 2), during which he praised the Thailand Pass system.

Of note, the Thai language-version of the same story posted by NNT made no mention of any issues with people trying to register through the website.

The new travel document submission system known as Thailand Pass now being rolled out is helping to better facilitate international arrivals, the NNT report noted.

The Thailand Pass system was introduced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to better and quicker process international visitors, Thailand Pass replaces the Certificate of Entry visitors were required to apply at a Thai Embassy or consulate in their country of origin, said the report.

The new online-based system allows visitors to upload their required documents with step-by-step explanations to obtain their QR-code equipped pass, which they need to present when entering Thailand.

Mr Anucha said this new system comes with safeguard measures including data encryption to protect personal information, in accordance with international standards.

So far, around 10,000 Thailand Pass applications have been submitted, with the entry pass having already been issued for some 4,000 travelers, he said, noted the English-language report by NNT.

Travelers with a valid Certificate of Entry will be able to enter the country during this period. However, the Thailand Pass system will entirely replace the Certificate of Entry in the next seven days, Mr Anucha said.

Applicable to both Thai and foreign nationals, Thailand Pass is a document required for all international air arrivals, he confirmed.

In the past, Thailand used the COE system, but there were difficulties in document preparation. It was found that last year, there were more than 400,000 documents to notify the country and found the problem of delayed processing, Mr Anucha said, reported the Thai-language NNT report.

Contradicting the much lower Thailand Pass registration numbers given in its English-language report, the NNT Thai-language report noted that 30,000 registrations were accepted through the Thailand Pass website on Monday, with 4,000 registrations approved.

During the inspection yesterday, Suvarnabhumi airport General Manager Kittipong Kittikachorn reported that 31 inbound flights carrying about 2,600 passengers landed at airport yesterday. Of those, 1,500 were foreign nationals, he said.
Theres no Planet-B: PM

BANGKOK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday (Nov 2) told world leaders that Thailand is willing to be more aggressive in addressing climate change and will strive to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and net zero emissions on or before 2065.

environmentpollutionnatural-resources

By Bangkok Post

Wednesday 3 November 2021, 10:11AM

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha presents his national statement at the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. Photo: AFP

Gen Prayut delivered his remarks at the World Leaders Summit during the 26th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as COP26, reports the Bangkok Post.

In response to calls for countries to be more decisive in acting on the issue, Gen Prayut assured all present at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, United Kingdom, of Thailands readiness to work with all countries and all sectors to fight global warming.

I took the opportunity to express Thailands willingness to be more aggressive in addressing climate change using every means possible, in order to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, and net zero emissions on or before 2065, Gen Prayut said.

He went on to say that with adequate, timely and equitable technology transfer and cooperation, and most importantly, access to ample green financing facilities, Thailand can increase its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to 40% and reach net zero emissions in 2050.

He also said that as host of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in 2022, the country has set the Bio-Circular-Green Economic Model or BCG as the theme of the event.

The prime minister said that the main reason he participated in the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC) in Paris and became one of the first leaders to ratify the Paris Agreement was that Thailands total Green House Gas (GHG) emissions constituted 0.72% of the worlds total, but was one of the 10 countries most severely affected by atmospheric degradation.

Thailand has since fulfilled every pledge it made to the international community, fully and unremittingly, he said.

He also told COP26 delegates that Thailand has set its Nama (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) goal under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce GHGs from the energy and transport sectors by at least 7% by 2020.

However, in 2019, the country reduced GHG emissions by 17%, which was double the target and one year ahead of schedule. Thailand was also among the first nations to submit the NDC and the Long-Term Low GHG Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) to the UNFCCC, and has put in place plans at both national and local levels, Gen Prayut said.

Gen Prayut also called on all nations to protect and care for the world as there is no Plan B for climate action in the form of a Planet-B.

Following the summit, the prime minister joined members of the UK Royal Family and other world leaders at Glasgows Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for a dinner reception.

Gen Prayut was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa at the two-day summit.

In Bangkok, Wanchai Phanomchai, Director-General of the Department of Industrial Works (DIW), said the industrial sector has realised the importance of protecting the environment and the ozone layer by promoting the use of less harmful chemicals.

As a signatory to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Thailand is committed to phasing out the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by 2040, Mr Wanchai said.

Imports of HCFCs for next year will be limited to no more than 390 Ozone Depleting Substance (ODP) tonnes, a reduction of 588 ODP tonnes, compared with 2013, he said.

The DIW is currently undertaking the second phase of a project to reduce the use of HCFCs, which started last year and will run until 2023.

Financed by the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, the project is aimed at providing financial aid and know-how to spray foam manufacturers, and refrigerator manufacturers to support them to shift to other environmentally friendly chemicals.

Of note, a report issued only in September by Climate Action Tracker, a collaboration of two scientific organisations, Climate Analytics and NewClimate Institute, rated progress by Thailand in upholding its commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord as Critically Insufficient.
West_island_news

breaking featured

Demonstrators hold MUHC and Quebec responsible for Lachine Hospital closures

Demonstrators made up of doctors, medical personnel and area residents stood in front of Lachine Hospitals emergency entrance on Saturday morning and demanded immediate action by Quebec to give the hospital the means to reverse the partial closure of its emergency ward as well as a complete temporary closure of the intensive care unit beginning on November 7th as a result of critical staffing shortages.

The protestors wore blue squares on their vests in solidarity with overworked healthcare workers. They blamed the MUHC and Quebec for not ensuring the full functioning of the hospital including the emergency and intensive care units.

Lachine is the only officially French-designated hospital in the West Island of Montreal. It is completely unacceptable that the only Francophone community hospital in the West Island is going to have its emergency room reduced significantly, just like store hours, Dr. Paul Saba, President of the Lachine Hospital Council of Physicians, told The Suburban. The government has been talking about maintaining essential services all throughout the pandemic. This is the most essential service.

We dont know what our (patient) population is going to do and what the other hospitals around us are going to do because they will recieve those patients. The situation is very dire and we need to find a solution, Emergency room Doctor Karine St-Arnaud told The Suburban. McGill is telling us that we are closing for the security of the patients, but we are worried about their security if they do close, so I think it is not a win-win situation at all.

It is very dissapointing and stressful, Emergency room Doctor Liliana Diaz said to The Suburban. They (the patients) will have to wait in other emergency rooms of hospitals that are already overwhlemed for hours and hours. As an example Dr. Diaz said that the Lakeshore General hospitals ER was at 200% capacity on Friday evening.

Lachine mayor, Maja Vodanovic, told The Suburban that she is shocked by the sudden closure announcement so soon after the $210 million expansion announcement of the Lachine Hospital was made. We have to see how we can work together to fix it, there is a shortage of doctors and nurses everywhere, it is a complex issue but we do not want to lose the emergency room here, she said.

We already have a working group to put forward solutions, potentially innovative solutions to solve the issue. Jacques Fillion, President of the Lachine Hospital Foundation told The Suburban.
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Always assume the gun is loaded.

Those words were bored into my brain by my father and older brother when I was only 8 or 9 years old and learning how to handle firearms on the farm.

One time, we were leaving the field and my brother ordered me to unload my rifle. I popped out the clip and handed it to him.

He said, Are you sure the gun is unloaded?

I said it was.

Are you certain?

Yes, I said rather indignantly.

He took the rifle from me and jacked a round from the chamber. I looked down at my Keds, embarrassed.

I thought about that incident this past week when I read about Alec Baldwin accidently killing someone on a movie set. Someone apparently handed him a firearm and told him it wasnt loaded with live ammunition.

He believed what he was told and inadvertently killed one person and wounded another.

I cant imagine the remorse someone must feel in such a situation. But there is a lesson from Illinois history that shows such a mistake need not stand in the way of future accomplishments.

In 1912, a 12-year-old was playing with a rifle during a party at his central Illinois home when he shot a 15-year-old girl in the head. That boy grew up to be governor, twice was his partys nominee for president and served as ambassador to the United Nations.

He was Adlai Stevenson II, one of Illinois greatest sons.

Ruth Merwin was shot when a rifle Stevenson was handling unexpectedly discharged.

A 1952 biography, Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois, said the future politicians sister was holding a party when a military-academy student in attendance was urged to perform the military manual of arms. Adlai Stevenson fetched a rifle, which the student examined for safety before performing the drill. Unfortunately, the student wasnt thorough in his examination, and one shell remained in the rifle. A few minutes later, when Stevenson took the gun and attempted to mimic the older boys performance, the gun suddenly discharged.

The bullet entered Ruth Merwins forehead and she fell dead onto the carpet.

But in his 1976 biography, Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, John Bartlow Martin tells a different story. An anonymous eyewitness whom Martin interviewed claims that Adlai took the gun from the other boy, pointed it at one of the girls, Ruth Merwin, and pulled the trigger.

No one has ever contended that the shooting was intentional. The gun was supposed to be unloaded, after all.

Having covered many shootings during my newspaper career, I find the second story more believable. Guns rarely discharge on their own and 12-year-old boys are prone to horseplay with firearms  especially when girls are present.

Whats more interesting is how the accident may have influenced the rest of Stevensons life.

Unlike many politicians, Stevenson was self-depreciating and lacked the swagger common of those who have risen to high political office.

Perhaps the accident made him all too aware of his own human frailties.

Forty years after the accident, William Glascow of Time magazine, was doing research for a cover story on the presidential candidate when he found a report of the event in The (Bloomington) Pantagraphs archives. He asked Stevenson about it and after a long silence, he said: You know, you are the first person who has ever asked me about that since it happened-and this is the first time I have ever spoken of it to anyone.

Not even his wife or children were aware of what had occurred at the party Dec. 30, 1912, in his Bloomington home.

But there were hints in his life that indicated that childhood tragedy influenced his career in public service.

In 1955, Stevenson wrote a letter to a woman he had not met, whose son had unintentionally killed another child. His advice was brief: Tell him that he must live for two.

Scott Reeder a staff writer for Illinois Times can be reached at: sreeder@illinoistimes.com.
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Alert: World Health Organization gives emergency authorization to Indias COVID-19 vaccine, finds it safe months into wide use
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)  Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday that he would travel to Israel on his first international economic development trip since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Hutchinson said he would leave Saturday for Israel, where he would speak at the Prime Minister's Smart Mobility Conference. Hutchinson's office said he would return Thursday.
On Wednesday, Leafly, a cannabis discovery marketplace, released its inaugural Cannabis Harvest Report, the first look at cannabis crop data, insights and projections across the 11 states where Americans can currently purchase both adult-use and medical cannabis. Findings include that legal cannabis now supports more than 13,042 American farms and that cannabis is the 5th most valuable crop in the United States.

In Illinois, with 54 licenses so far distributed, 66 metric tons of cannabis are produced annually, according to the report, bringing in $322 million to the state and its farmers. That makes cannabis the third-most valuable crop in the state behind just corn and soybeans. Cannabis now accounts for more than $100 million more annually than hay, the fourth-most valuable crop in the state.

In partnership with Whitney Economics, Leaflys investigative team gathered and analyzed crop data from the 11 states with operating legal adult-use and medical cannabis markets and found that cannabis has become a major agricultural commodity that supports thousands of American farmers and farm communities, including 13,042 licensed farms in the aggregate. On an annual basis, those growers harvest 2,278 metric tons (5,022,990 pounds) of cannabis.

Leafly

Only officially state-licensed cannabis farms were counted in the report. Leafly followed the USDA's approach, ascertaining production amounts for the most recent 12-month reporting period in each state, and multiplying that production by wholesale prices in each state to arrive at the crops value.

Cannabis is now the fifth most valuable crop in the United States. With a wholesale harvest value of $6.2 billion, Americas cannabis harvest ranks above cotton and below wheat, based on USDA data for 2020. Only corn, soybeans, hay and wheat bring in more money to American farmers.

In each of the 11 states with adult-use retail stores operating, cannabis ranks no lower than 5th in terms of agricultural crop value  often within two years of the first store opening. Legal cannabis is the single most valuable agricultural crop in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon, the study found, but according to a press release, it remains completely uncounted and ignored by state agriculture officials.

In Alaska, the states cannabis crop is worth more than twice as much as all other agricultural products combined.

"The Leafly Cannabis Harvest Report is an unprecedented national accounting of cannabis as a crop  and what we found was astounding," David Downs, the reports lead author and Leaflys California bureau chief, said in a statement. "Americas adult-use wholesale cannabis crop returned a mind-boggling $6.175 billion to farmers last year, ranking it as the fifth most valuable crop in the United States.

"Yet, due to federal prohibition, America does not treat cannabis farmers like farmers," Downs continued. "They are subject to more state and federal taxes, regulations and stigma than any other type of farmer. These barriers hurt small legacy farmers the most. This plant is helping generate wealth, employment, and community investment around the country, and our legislators need to recognize the opportunity cannabis presents for Americans today."

Leafly has been gathering cannabis employment and sales data since 2015 with its annual Jobs Report, filling an information gap created by a lack of data collection from the U.S. Department of Labor, which does not count cannabis jobs due to federal prohibition. Similarly, the USDA does not account for cannabis crops, and excludes cannabis farmers from all of its programs, due to cannabis status as a federal Schedule I drug.
Over our long shared history, dogs have developed a range of skills for bonding with human beings and now there's evidence to show dogs can sometimes tell when you're lying to them.

Can your dog tell there are more scraps to share and that you didn't really lose the ball?

To help answer this question, researchers at the University of Vienna conducted a study with hundreds of dogs from different breeds.

In their paper published on July 21 in "Proceedings of the Royal Society B," they describe experiments conducted with 260 dogs, and what was learned about their ability to discern truthfulness in humans.

In the experiments, all of the dogs were taught to follow the advice of an unknown human in choosing which of two opaque buckets contained hidden food. By following the advice, they received the food.

Then the researchers changed things.

They allowed the dogs to watch as another unknown human moved the treat from one bowl to another while a second unknown human watched; in other cases, the second human was absent from the switch-up. The researchers then conducted the same experiments with the dogs and the second person in the switch-up to see if the dogs would continue to follow the advice, phys.org reported.

Researchers found that the dogs ignored the human advice if the person had not been there when the bowls were switched  they knew the person did not know which bowl had the treat.

Half of the dogs ignored the human advice when they knew from observation that the human was pointing at the wrong bowlevidence indicating that the dogs knew the humans were lying to them, phys.org reported.

"Overall, we provide evidence that pet dogs distinguish between true beliefs and false belief scenarios, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying sensitivity to others' beliefs have not evolved uniquely in the primate lineage," the paper states.

Note: The same experiments have been conducted with macaques and chimpanzees, which were much more likely than the dogs to follow the advice of the obvious liar over what they knew to be true, according to the researchers.

Read the full study here.
ALTON  First Fridays, a monthly late night art and shopping experience, returns to downtown Alton 5-9 p.m. on Friday.

Alton Main Street and Jacoby Arts Center are partnering to present the event at 14 locations at the first Friday of each month through December. This years final event is planned Dec. 3.

Participants will be offered discounts, refreshments and giveaways. People who have their passport stamped at each location will receive a $10 gift certificate to any participating business.

Free parking is available in the lot next to Jacoby Arts Center at 627 E. Broadway. A free shuttle bus will run a continuous loop between all participating locations, stopping for photo opportunities at The Alton Ripple, a street mural at the intersection of State and 3rd streets.

Passports can be picked up Jacoby Arts Center where guests will receive a free Jacoby watercolor print by artist Chrissie Chapman, along with an entry to win a one-year membership with each purchase.

Participating businesses include Mississippi Mud Pottery, Picture This & More, Funky Planet Toys & Gifts, BASECAMP.alton, Rushmore, River Bend Yoga, Hacienda of Tranquility, CJs Juicery, Olive Oil Marketplace, Alton Stained Glass Works, Country Meadows Antiques, Party on Broadway and State Street Market.

For details on Jacoby Arts Center visit www.jacobyartscenter.org or call 618-462-5222. For details on Alton Main Street visit www.DowntownAlton.com.
SPRINGFIELD  Illinois will soon offer free state ID cards to people released from prison.

On Wednesdy, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White was joined by First Lady M.K. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in announcing the program.

Whites office and the Illinois Department of Corrections launched a pilot program in December 2020 to explore how the program would work across state agencies. That pilot was expanded in April 2021 and has been rolled out to 18 IDOC facilities.

The State ID Program for Returning Residents gives people who have served their time in prison a necessary tool as they reenter their communities, said Secretary White. A state ID card is essential to transition back into society.

By April the program is expected to serve 27 IDOC facilities. The IDOC average daily population is 27,323. As of October, 346 state ID cards have been processed.

To obtain a state ID card, an applicant will work with the IDOC to gather and maintain vital documents. The IDOC will photograph applicants, using equipment and methods required by the Secretary of States office, and electronically transmit the applicants documentation, photo and signature to the Secretary of States office using a secure file transfer system mailbox.

If all documentation and eligibility requirements are met, the Secretary of States office will process the request and send the state ID to IDOC for distribution to the corresponding facility and, upon release, to the individual.

A successful justice system is one that makes sure those who leave it are equipped to make the most of their second chance, said Gov. J.B. Pritzker. A job opportunity, a roof over your head, stability  these fundamentals are so much easier to secure with a state ID card in hand.

Stratton said people should never be defined by the mistakes theyve made.

This pilot program is about compassion and common sense because it allows us to support the people who are released from IDOC facilities to best prepare for their return to their communities, she said. Successful reentry often hinges on the ability to possess state identification which increases the likelihood of getting a job, finding housing and accessing vital services.

Maria Garza was released on Mandatory Supervised Release from Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln this summer.

For many, like myself, who are away for many years, vital documents that are required to get a state ID are lost or misplaced, she said. Obtaining these documents after release can take weeks of running back and forth from agency to agency. It becomes a disheartening and hopeless experience for many.

I am thankful to receive the assistance of counselors and clinical service department staff at Logan Correctional Center with securing the necessary vital documents needed prior to my release.
GODFREY  The Lewis and Clark Community College Veterans Club will host an American Red Cross Blood Drive 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 17, in The Commons on L&Cs Godfrey Campus.

We are proud to be working again with the American Red Cross on this great campus and community blood drive, said L&C Director of Career and Veteran Services Terry Lane. By taking part in this opportunity to help others, you just might save a life. Please make an effort to attend, and please share this information with your family and friends.
Asian Americans will serve as mayor in Boston and Cincinnati for the first time in both cities histories, signaling political progress for a population that has struggled for almost two years with a rise in anti-Asian hate.

Boston voters tapped City Councilor Michelle Wu, 36, on Tuesday to serve in the citys top political office. In Cincinnati, Aftab Pureval, 39, easily defeated former Democratic Congressman David Mann.

Tonight, we made history in Cincinnati, Pureval told a large gathering of supporters. Cincinnati is a place where no matter what you look like, where you're from, or how much money you have, if you come here and work hard you can achieve your dreams.

When Pureval decided to leave his attorney job in 2015 to run for county clerk, it was some fellow Democrats who warned him against the idea. They felt he didnt have a good ballot name that would appeal to the predominantly white votership in Hamilton County, Ohio.

When you see A-f-t-a-b on a yard sign, it doesnt occur to people thats a candidate not an insurance company, Pureval told The Associated Press earlier in the day. When youre Asian, when you have an ethnic name, its just harder. Youve got to be creative, youve got to work harder, youve got to knock on more doors.

Pureval, the son of a Tibetan mother and Indian father, must have knocked on enough doors. He went on to score a major upset, becoming the first Democrat in over 100 years to be elected clerk.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, Bruce Harrell, who is second-generation Japanese American and Black, was ahead of current City Council President M. Lorena Gonzalez. But, it could be days before there's a clear winner.

Whats extraordinary is how spread out the three cities are. High-profile mayors who are Asian American and Pacific Islander, also known as AAPI, have typically been elected in places with historically large Asian populations like California and Hawaii. These candidacies signal just how large the AAPI electorate has multiplied with more feeling empowered to be a voice in the political fray.

The wider implications of his mayoral victory in a city with a small AAPI community mean a great deal to Pureval, who says his election "will show not just that AAPIs can run and win on the coasts or where theres large Asian populations, but that AAPIs can run and win anywhere.

Wu, 36, Boston's first Asian American city councilor, beat fellow city councilor Annissa Essaibi George, 47, an Arab Polish American. Wu, who is Taiwanese American, was the favorite especially after getting a coveted endorsement from acting mayor Kim Janey, who was elevated to the post when the former mayor resigned. Janey was the citys first Black and first female mayor.

Harrell, 63, became Seattle's first Asian American mayor by appointment in 2017 after Mayor Ed Murray resigned over child sex abuse allegations. Less than a week in, Harrell decided to continue serving on the City Council instead.

In another notable win Tuesday, Dearborn, Michigan, elected state lawmaker Abdullah Hammoud as the citys first Arab American mayor. A final unofficial vote count showed him in an insurmountable lead ahead of Gary Woronchak, a former state representative. Dearborn, a city of over 100,000, has one of the largest Arab American populations in the nation.

The AAPI Victory Fund, a Super PAC that mobilizes eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander voters and candidates, endorsed Pureval and Wu (They never heard back from Harrells campaign about a meeting). Varun Nikore, AAPI Victory Fund president, called Wu's and Pureval's wins a new day in America at the local level.

This is now a newfound path for AAPIs to engage in public service," Nikore said. I think its going to be a beacon for those who wanna run for local office.

As mayor, they each can lay a foundation for greater representation with who they select for their staff or as key decisionmakers.

If your community is well represented, then you create a legitimate pipeline pathway for public service whether it be political office, whether it be appointed office, whether it be just appointing more AAPIs on boards and commissions, Nikore said. By being proactive at those levels, it really is this ripple effect that lasts  in some cases  decades.

James Lai, an ethnic studies professor at Santa Clara University whose specialties include Asian American and urban politics, said these mayoral races are a beautiful microcosm of how Asian Americans are a growing political force. Since the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 became law, Asian American communities have continued to emerge in regions like the Midwest and the Northeast.

In fact, in the last 30 years, the fastest growing region for Asian Americans, according to the last three censuses, is the South region, Lai said.

The Reflective Democracy Campaign, which looks at diversity in political leadership, recently released a study that found Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up over 6% of the U.S. population but less than 1% of elected offices.

The presence of Asian American leaders in small and medium size suburbs, however, is another story, one worth paying attention to. Lai, also author of Asian American Political Action: Suburban Transformations, points out that more Asian Americans are getting appointed as mayors or taking the majority of city council seats.

Nikore, of the AAPI Victory Fund, believes the pandemic-sparked racism that pushed American and Pacific Islander voter turnout in the 2020 election will continue. Candidate wins will also dispel stereotypes that Asians dont belong," he added.

Pureval confronts the foreigner stereotypes head-on, often introducing himself as a brown dude with a funny name. Perceived political liabilities like ethnicity can be strengths too, he added.

Im hopeful one day when we elect more and more AAPIs to office, future AAPI candidates wont have to think through that.

___

Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle, Steve LeBlanc in Boston and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.

___

Terry Tang is a member of The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ttangAP
According to a new report, water utilities and regulators in the United States identified 56 new contaminants in drinking water over the past two years, a list that includes substances linked to health problems varying from cancer, reproductive disruption, liver disease and more.

The new list of contaminants is part of an analysis of the country's water utilities' contamination records by the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that has updated its database for the first time since 2019, according to The Guardian.

The group is able to show contaminants by utility area, meaning individual towns in states can be viewed. In Alton, there were 24 health contaminants detected, with 12 surpassing the group's health recommendations, which the group claims are more up to date than legal limits, which have not been updated in almost 20 years. In Edwardsville, 21 contaminants were found with 15 surpassing guidelines.

Illinois American Water, which provides water to Alton, said that it treats water and delivers water that meets or surpasses standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois EPA. In addition, Illinois American Water will continue to focus on the requirements set forth by USEPA and state regulators and is very proud of its water quality record.

"American Water conducts over one million water quality tests annually to provide water that meets or surpasses the standards that the USEPA sets to protect public health. We also work very hard to provide our customers with access to their water quality data," a company representative wrote in an email. Information on water quality in Alton can be found here.

"The EWG is not a regulatory agency and has established its own methodology for evaluating water quality, using non-enforceable measures, such as state health goals, or their own health benchmarks," the representative wrote. "They compare water quality against arbitrary levels set by themselves."

In Glen Carbon, there were 21 contaminants found with 14 surpassing guidelines and in Collinsville there were 26 total contaminants with 13 surpassing guidelines.

In Jacksonville, 27 contaminants were found with 15 surpassing guidelines.

The study found that the jump in contaminants was in part due to newly identified PFAS, a toxic class of chemicals used in dozens of industries thought to contaminate drinking water for more than 100 million people in the U.S. Other contaminants found by regulators in U.S. drinking water included pesticides, water disinfectant byproducts and radioactive materials.

Though the new contaminant list is disturbing, it would be much longer if regulators and utilities were properly monitoring the nations water supply, EWG senior scientist Tasha Stoiber told the Guardian.

"It speaks to the fact that we dont have nearly strong enough regulations in place to protect drinking water, and the regulation process is much too slow," she said. "Were testing for things that are already in our drinking water after the fact ... and were not keeping pace with these chemicals."

The list of potential contaminants includes some substances that have been around for years but are only just beginning to be monitored by regulators as links to health problems clarify. Others are beginning to be used in larger quantities.

This report comes as the EPA released a proposed consent decree to resolve allegations that the agency skirted Congressional deadlines to revise reports that inform consumers about their tap water, per Bloomberg. Under the settlement, the EPA has agreed to set deadlines for revisions to its consumer confidence reports. The agreement settles litigation brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Safe Drinking Water Act requires that tap water consumers receive a report from their community water systems at least once a year that details the potential contaminants in their water.

According to the Guardian, the EPA found "eye-opening" levels of PFAS compounds in 2013, yet will seek water limits for just two kinds by next year.

Some states are moving to put stricter regulations in place for chemicals, like PFAS, and those states detected additional contaminants in the new list.
A settlement has been reached in a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed on behalf of commercial and institutional indirect purchaser plaintiffs with defendants Tyson Foods, Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., Tyson Prepared Foods, Inc., and the Hillshire Brands Co. The settlement requires Tyson to pay $1,750,000. However, before any money is paid, the court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the settlement.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois authorized this notice.

For settlement purposes, members of the settlement class are defined as all commercial and institutional purchasers in the United States and its territories that purchased turkey products, once or more, other than directly from defendants, entities owned or controlled by defendants, or other producers of turkey, from Jan. 1, 2010 to Jan. 1, 2017, in the United States and its territories. Excluded from the class are the court and its personnel, and any defendants and their parent or subsidiary companies.

More information on this settlement, including how to become involved, can be found here.

For purposes of the settlement, "turkey" means turkey meat, which may be sold in a variety of forms, including fresh or frozen, ground or parts, and raw or cooked. "Turkey" includes, but is not limited to, the following products: breasts, wings, drums, legs, thighs, tenderloins, necks, tails, gizzards, feet, trim, tenders, mechanically separated turkey ("MST"), ground turkey, and further processed and value-added turkey products such as lunch meat, deli meat, sausage, franks, bacon, and corn dogs.

The plaintiffs allege that the defendants and their co-conspirators conspired and combined to fix, raise, maintain and stabilize the price of turkey, from Jan. 1, 2010 to Jan. 1, 2017, in the United States and its territories with the intent and expected result of increasing prices of turkey in the United States, in violation of federal antitrust laws and various state antitrust, consumer protection, and unjust enrichment laws, according to a press release.

Tyson denies it did anything wrong. The court did not decide which side was right, but both sides agreed to the settlement to resolve the case and get benefits to the settlement class. The case is still proceeding on behalf of the plaintiffs against other defendants who may be subject to separate settlements, judgments or class certification orders.

The settlement agreement provides that Tyson will pay $1,750,000 to resolve all settlement class members' claims against Tyson for the released claims (as defined in the settlement agreement). In addition to this monetary benefit, Tyson has also agreed to provide specified cooperation in the plaintiffs' continued prosecution of the litigation.

No money will be distributed at this time. Settlement class counsel may request that the Court award attorneys' fees, permit the reimbursement of certain litigation costs and expenses, set aside funds for future expenses, and grant the class representatives service awards. If such a request is made, it will be filed at least 14 days before the objection deadline and posted on the settlement website www.TurkeyCommercialCase.com.

All settlement funds that remain after payment of the court ordered attorneys' fees, costs, expenses, and service awards will be distributed at the conclusion of the lawsuit or as ordered by the court. You will be notified later, if and when there is an opportunity to make a claim to receive a payment.

Affected parties do not need to take any action to remain a member of the settlement class and be bound by the settlement agreement. As a settlement class member, they may be able to participate in (or exclude yourself from) any future settlements or judgments obtained by commercial and institutional indirect purchaser plaintiffs against other defendants in the case.

If you do not want to be legally bound by the settlement agreement, you must exclude yourself. Your exclusion request must be postmarked by Jan. 4, 2022, or you will not be able to sue or continue to sue settling defendants for the released claims (as defined in the settlement agreement). If you exclude yourself, you cannot get money from the settlement. If you do not exclude yourself from the settlement class, you may object to the settlement. Your objection must be postmarked by Jan. 4, 2022. The detailed notice explains how to exclude yourself or object. Details may also be found on the FAQs page of the settlement website www.TurkeyCommercialCase.com.

While this settlement is only with the settling defendants at this time, the settlement class includes all commercial and institutional purchasers of turkey products (as defined in the settlement agreement) who purchased the products other than directly from defendants, entities owned or controlled by defendants, or other producers of turkey products. If you are a member of the settlement class and do not exclude yourself, you may be eligible to participate in (or exclude yourself from) any additional settlements which may arise with any other defendants in the case.
On Monday, Illinois agencies including the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Department of Labor, Office of the State Fire Marshal, Illinois Department of Transportation and the National Weather Service are encouraging people to begin preparing now for extreme cold, snow and ice.

"In Illinois, its not a question of if, but rather when will snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures occur," IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau said. "Being unprepared for winter weather is not only inconvenient, but it can be dangerous. Thats why we are encouraging all Illinoisans to take a few minutes to put together your home and vehicle emergency supply kits and review the steps you should take to stay safe during hazardous winter weather."

Illinois residents should make sure to include, when checking and restocking a vehicle's emergency supply kit, items including:

 Blankets or sleeping bags

 Flashlight with extra batteries

 First aid kit

 Non-perishable snack food

 Water

 Sand or cat litter

 Shovel

 Booster cables

 Cell phone charger

"At the Illinois Department of Transportation, we spend the entire year planning and preparing to keep you safe during our challenging Illinois winters," Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said. "The public plays an important part as well. Make sure your vehicle is in safe, working condition at all times. Pack an emergency kit to store in your vehicle. Dont crowd the plow when youre driving. Most important, during inclement weather, ask yourself if your trip is really necessary or can be postponed."

In addition, the state agencies issued a winter weather health hazards warning, saying that prolonged exposure to the cold can cause serious problems including hypothermia, a drop in the bodys core temperature. Hypothermia doesnt require negative temperatures and can set in whether youre outdoors or in. Hypothermia is especially dangerous and can be deadly if not detected promptly and treated properly.

Frostbite occurs when your extremities (fingers, toes, nose, and ears) are exposed to cold weather. The skin may become stiff and numb, leading to severe tissue damage. Frostbite can permanently damage the body, and severe cases can lead to amputation.

"Workers in Illinois, including first responders, construction workers and public works crews brave the elements year-round. Its critical these workers  and others  prepare for severe conditions. While it starts with dressing properly for the weather, its also important your body is prepared for additional stress," Illinois Department of Labor Director Michael Kleinik said.

Medical professionals encourage people who must work outside regularly in the winter weather consider scheduling a physical exam before that winter work begins.

A study by the University of Illinois Chicago published in 2020 shows while there were more heat-related hospital admissions between 2011 and 2018, there were 1,935 cold-related deaths compared to 70 heat-related deaths.

Also, the state agencies warned of the hazards of home heating, including non-fire carbon monoxide poisoning. According to the Center of Disease Control and Preventions National Center for Health Statistics, in 2017, 399 people died of unintentional CO poisoning.

In 2016, local fire departments in the U.S. responded to 79,600 carbon monoxide incidents, or an average of nine such calls per hour. In 2018 according to National Fire Incident Reporting System, Illinois Fire Departments responded to 8,965 incidents related to carbon monoxide.

CO is found in fumes produced any time you burn fuel in cars or trucks, small engines, stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges or furnaces. CO can build up indoors and poison people and animals who breathe it. During and after a snowstorm, make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove and fireplace are clear of snow build-up.

Additionally, make sure to do the following:

 Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from all heat sources including fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators, space heaters and candles.

 Create a kid-free zone around open fires and space heaters.

 Never use an oven to heat your home.

 Turn space heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed. Remember...space heaters need space!

 Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. Ashes should be cool before being placed into a metal container. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home.

 Install carbon monoxide and smoke detectors on each floor of your home and within 15 feet of each sleeping area.

 CO detectors have a limited life span, check the manufacturers instructions for information on replacement.

 Use portable generators outdoors in well-ventilated areas away from doors, windows and vents.

"Home fires occur more during the winter months than any other time of the year. Heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths in the U.S. which is why we stress the importance of maintaining heating equipment and having chimneys cleaned and inspected by a professional each year," Illinois State Fire Marshal Matt Perez said. "Its also important to make sure your smoke and CO alarms are working properly and are not expired. Test those alarms monthly and replace any broken or expired alarm."

Being prepared for the winter could be as simple as making sure your vehicle is in good winter driving condition, adding a winter survival kit to your car, changing your furnace filter at home and stocking or updating your familys emergency supply kit. Take time now to prepare your family, home, vehicles and driving habits for everything from a dusting of snow to a major winter storm, the state agencies said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he's decided to cut out Ethiopia from a U.S. trade program, setting the path for further sanctions against the African nation over its failure to end a nearly yearlong war in the Tigray region that has led to gross violations of human rights.

Biden in a letter to Congress said Ethiopia has not met eligibility requirements to remain a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The program provides sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the United States on the condition they meet certain requirements, including eliminating barriers to U.S. trade and investment and making progress toward political pluralism.

The president said Ethiopia was in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. Biden also cited Guinea and Mali, which have experienced coups this year, in the letter for being out of compliance.

The sanction goes into effect on Jan. 1. The U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, said in a statement her office would "provide each country with clear benchmarks for a pathway toward reinstatement and our administration will work with them to achieve that objective.

Ethiopia's government had lobbied openly against the move. We are extremely disappointed by the threat of AGOA withdrawal currently under consideration by the U.S. government," the ministry of trade said in a statement, warning that it will "reverse significant economic gains in our country and unfairly impact and harm women and children. Ethiopia will continue to make every effort to correct any unintended or perceived wrongs.

Bidens announcement came as the war's anniversary approaches on Thursday, and as U.S. Horn of Africa envoy Jeffrey Feltman told reporters that the parties to the conflict dont seem anywhere near a cease-fire or talks and called the humanitarian conditions in Tigray unacceptable." Thousands have been killed in the war that began in November 2020.

Ethiopias government on Tuesday also declared a state of emergency as rival Tigray forces threatened to move on the capital. The United States has warned the Tigray forces, who long dominated the national government before Abiy took office, against any attempt to besiege the capital, Addis Ababa, after seizing control in recent days of the strategic cities of Dessie and Kombolcha.

The U.S. and United Nations say Ethiopian authorities have prevented passage of trucks carrying food and other aid into Tigray. Scores of people have starved to death, The Associated Press has reported.

Biden signed an executive order in September threatening to levy sanctions against Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other leaders involved in the conflict now spreading into other regions of the country if steps arent taken soon to wind down the war.

Without question, the situation is getting worse and worse, and frankly we are getting alarmed by the situation, Feltman said, referring not only to the Ethiopian government blockade on Tigray but the Tigray forces push into the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions, widening the humanitarian crisis.

Just 13% of the needed humanitarian aid has entered Tigray in recent months because of intentional government restrictions, some food distribution partners have been forced to suspend their work, and bodies are already consuming themselves because of famine, Feltman said. No government can tolerate an armed insurgency. We get that, he added, but said no government should engage in mass starvation against citizens.

Feltman also warned that the U.S. opposes any attempt by the Tigray forces to besiege Ethiopias capital after the fighters took control of the strategic cities of Dessie and Kombolcha in the past few days, putting them in a position to move down a major highway toward the capital.

Ethiopia in recent years had one of Africas fastest-growing economies, but the war has brought that momentum to a halt.

In a commentary last month in Foreign Policy magazine, Ethiopias chief trade negotiator Mamo Mihretu wrote that Ethiopias fledgling manufacturing sector could face an existential threat and removal of AGOA eligibility would only worsen the condition of ordinary Ethiopians who have no connection to the Tigray conflict.

He said that under AGOA in 2000, Ethiopia exported goods worth "a minuscule $28 million to the United States; in 2020, that figure rose roughly tenfold and stood at close to $300 million, nearly half of it under the AGOA.

He asserted that Ethiopias removal from AGOA would deal a serious blow to the welfare of millions of low-income workers.

Mesfin Tegenu, chairman of the American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee, estimated an immediate impact of some 200,000 jobs lost, most among low-income female workers.

On behalf of the one million members of the Ethiopian-American community, we call on the administration to think again, Mesfin said in a statement.

Feltman, the special envoy, said Ethiopian officials at a retreat in Washington in June were warned that Ethiopias relations with the U.S. were at a crossroads. That crossroads, he said, are behind us.
London, KY (40741)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain in the afternoon. High 58F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain ending overnight. Low near 35F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Job Title: Youth and Innovation Programme Associate (Fresher UN Jobs)

Organization: United Nations Volunteers (UNV)

Host Organization: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

About US:

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. We work with partners to integrate qualified, highly motivated and well-supported UN Volunteers into development programming and promote the value and global recognition of volunteerism. UNV is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and reports to the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board.

About Youth 4Development Programme:

UNDP is currently undertaking several initiatives designed to empower the youth of Uganda, with skilling, innovation and entrepreneurship serving as catalysts to enable UNDPs broader development agenda in Uganda including the eradication of poverty, promotion of sustainable development, creation of opportunities for empowerment, and achievement of the 2030 Agenda and its central mission to leave no one behind.

Job Summary: This assignment is part of UNDPs Youth and Innovation programming initiatives including the Inclusive and Sustainable Growth Programme, Youth4 Development Programme, Youth4Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project, and the Accelerator Lab.

Digitalization, Innovation and Smart Cities:

One of the fundamental enablers of UNDPs country programme for Uganda (2021-2025), the Digitalization, Innovation and Smart Cities Programme will accelerate digital transformation by promoting digital literacy and skills development, providing catalytic support within priority public services, and ensuring evidence-based strengthening of the enabling environment for digital transformation.

Youth4Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship Facility:

This is an innovative instrument developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited to promote impact-driven entrepreneurship, foster innovation, and leverage business solutions to address the youth unemployment challenge.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: Growth Programme, Youth4 Development Programme, Youth4Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project, and the Accelerator Lab Focal Point or the relevant designated mandated representative(s), the UNV will:

Support implementation

Contribute to the implementation of UNDPs youth initiatives, including work plan development and monitoring, with special focus on Youth4Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme implementation, monitoring and documentation.

Support co-ordination with Inclusive and Sustainable Development Programme Lead and team, as well as the UNDP Accelerator Lab focal point and team in planning, deployment and monitoring of agreed upon youth solutions.

Maintain a UNDP youth programing partners and grantee database, organizing regular calls and sharing of information with partners and grantees

Contribute towards co-creating a quality assurance system that is consistently enhanced with inputs from diverse stakeholders especially the recommendations from the field when the innovations are deployed.

Support the process of preparation of scalable proposals from solution partners.

Support liaison activities with Y4BF partners to identify solutions with a focus on expanding the programme reach to more marginalized young people.

Knowledge Management

Contribute to knowledge management by preparing briefing notes, meeting documentation, newsletter to help advance Y4BF work through regular communication and information sharing.

Ensure accurate and timely dissemination of updates on on-going Y4BF initiatives within UNDP Country Office and with UNDP partners.

Contribute to regional and global bulletins as requested.

Support communication and partnership staff in the selection and dissemination of information on Y4BF to national, international, and local levels.

Documentation

Support the process of preparation of Y4BF documents, notes, investment case, etc.

Support preparation of programme and project status reports required for the section, Management, Government reviews, programme analysis, Annual Reports, etc.

Support the planning and review of the Y4BF annual work plan and of other strategic and programme documents.

Assist in drafting briefing notes, talking points, funding proposals, presentations and preparing donor reports.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day).

Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country.

Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities.

Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.

Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers.

Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Key Results/ Expected Outputs:

As an active UNDP team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support rendered to UNDP and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:

Contribute to effective implementation of UNDPs youth initiatives (preparation of innovative Concept Notes, Work plans, and progress reports)

Database of UNDP Youth grantees established and updated

Regular engagement of UNDP Youth programing partners and grantees

Monitoring Reports on Y4BF partners and grantees

A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed









Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

The ideal candidate for the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Procurement Assistant job should hold a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, Law, Development Studies, Entrepreneurship, or related field.

Two years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in youth programming or other relevant programmes; experience in youth related projects/initiatives is an asset, as is experience working in the UN or other international development organization.

Area(s) of expertise: Business management, Development programmes

Nationality: Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.

Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment. Languages: English, Level: Fluent, Required

English, Level: Fluent, Required Age: 18  26 years

Competencies and values

Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNDP; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNDP procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors.

Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNDP in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organizations interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority.

Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age.

Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.

Planning and organizing effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines.

Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations.

How to Apply:

All candidates who wish to join the United Nations Volunteers UNV in this capacity should apply online at the link below.

Click Here

Deadline: 11th November 2021

For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline
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 chaos that has crippled global supply chains will extend into next year, says the worlds biggest shipping company.

AP Moller-Maersk warned a lack of truck drivers was preventing hundreds of container vessels from offloading goods around the world.

The whole system has become one gigantic bottleneck, said Maersk chief executive Soren Skou yesterday.

Shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk warned a lack of truck drivers was preventing hundreds of container vessels from offloading goods around the world

A too-large proportion of our capacity is tied up lying waiting outside the ports, he added.

The crisis is hitting ports around the world  from Felixstowe to Los Angeles. Skou said: The ports are not working as well as they should do, so we cant discharge containers as fast as we would like. Its hard to see exactly when the situation will improve.

He said that Christmas trading would be safe from the supply chain issues, but added: At least thats what Im hearing from our customers.

A 60-foot-high mountain of shipping containers has built up in a field in Suffolk as the nearby port of Felixstowe struggles with congestion caused by a lack of lorry drivers and the global sea freight crisis.

Hundreds of empty steel containers stretching for 350 feet are being stored on a former airfield near Eye, which is 26 miles from Britains biggest container port.

The site is being used by Maersk, which handles one in five of the worlds shipping containers, to store empty ones to clear space at Felixstowe.

Skou said the biggest problem preventing containers from leaving ports was a lack of workers, particularly drivers of heavy goods vehicles, despite salaries having risen significantly.

There are now 300 container vessels laying idle outside ports, Skou said. The comments came as Maersk reported robust third-quarter earnings on the back of record freight prices driven by the supply chain problems as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus crisis.

Revenue grew nearly 68 per cent in the third quarter, to a record-high of 12.2billion. That was up from 7.3billion in the same period last year.

It reported profits of 4billion, up from 694millio.

Skou said: In the ongoing exceptional market situation, with high demand in the US and global disruptions to the supply chains, we continued to increase capacity and expand our offering to keep cargo moving.

The need for more capacity comes amid soaring demand for everything from cars to furniture. Coupled with labour shortages that has led to major back-ups at ports and higher prices.

Maersk has added more capacity but did not offset the port congestion. A Road Haulage Association survey estimates there is now a shortage of more than 100,000 qualified drivers in the UK.
Commercial landlord Land Securities Group has snapped up a 75 per cent stake in MediaCity, Salford, for 425.6million.

The 37-acre waterside development, which is the biggest tech and media hub outside London, is home to brands such as BBC North, ITV, Ericsson, The Hut Group and Kellogg's.

The deal marks the next step in Landsec's strategy to expand its portfolio of mixed-use developments, as commercial landlords rejig plans for London and other major cities in the wake of the pandemic and an extended rent moratorium.

Deal: Commercial landlord Land Securities has snapped up a 75% stake in MediaCity, Salford

Landsec boss Mark Allan said: 'Mixed-use developments with a clear sense of place are becoming an increasingly important ingredient in the fabric of cities. Opportunities to participate in large scale, established mixed-use developments are scarce and MediaCity is one such opportunity.

'This acquisition presents us with the opportunity to deploy capital immediately into high quality income producing assets and also to invest further over time through the development of phase two.

'MediaCity is a compelling addition to our portfolio, providing the opportunity to invest and further develop the estate with the potential to be onsite from the first half of 2023.'

The MediaCity site was previously owned by a 50:50 joint venture between Legal & General and Peel L&P.

Landsec said it will partner with Peel L&P, who will retain a 25 per cent stake in the site, and continue to serve as asset and development manager.

MediaCity has a gross asset value of 567.5million, LandSec said. The deal also included 293.6million worth of debt, which reduced its equity investment to 207.6million.

Strategy shift: The MediaCity deal marks the next step in Landsec's strategy to expand its portfolio of mixed-use developments after retailers were hammered by lockdowns

On Monday, Landsec revealed it planned to buy U and I Group, which specialises in regenerating developments, operating in the London City Region, as well as Manchester and Dublin.

Oli Creasey, head of property fund research at Quilter Cheviot, said: 'Historically, LandSec has been known as a London Office & UK retail REIT, but new CEO Mark Allan has already outlined a change in strategic direction for the business, further shrinking the retail portfolio and investing more into mixed use development projects.

'LandSec already has a number of these projects on the books, but both of the REITs acquisitions this week come with further opportunities: the 750m second phase of development at MediaCity, plus a number of sites in the U and I portfolio.'

'Of further interest is the spotlight on Greater Manchester. As well as MediaCity, one of the largest and most progressed sites in the U and I portfolio is Mayfield in Manchester, which has an estimated value of 1.5bn once completed.'

He added: 'It remains to be seen whether the move North is specifically targeting Manchester, or other major cities generally, or indeed whether it is purely a coincidence.

'We acknowledge that both acquisitions will take time to bear fruit, but the gains could be significant for the patient investor.'

Phase one of the MediaCity project was completed a decade ago and the second phase has already seen the completion of two residential towers. There is also outline planning consent in place for an additional 1.6million square feet of space available for offices and homes

Wes Erlam, director of urban regeneration at L&G, said: 'As MediaCity now reaches its next stage of maturity, this sale enables us to release growth capital for deployment into new opportunities, as we continue to identify early stage projects and ventures where we can create significant value.'

Shares in FTSE 100-listed Landsec are currently down 0.97 per cent or 6.61p to 672.99p. A year ago the group's share price was 527.50p.
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Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 48F. Winds light and variable..

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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
If we are not equal under the law, then we are not equal at all
Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginias high-profile Tuesday election for governor, NBC News projects, flipping control of a state that President Joe Biden won handily just a year ago.

The results in Virginia and other states holding off-year elections sent a warning shot to Democrats, suggesting that trouble may be brewing ahead of next years midterm elections.

This is the spirit of Virginia coming together like never before, Youngkin told supporters well after midnight, joking breakfast would soon be served. For too long, weve been expected to shelve our dreams, to shelve our hope, to settle for low expectations. We will not be a commonwealth of low expectations. Well be a commonwealth of high expectations.

Virginia will also get its first woman of color lieutenant governor, with NBC News projecting victory for Republican Winsome Sears, a former Marine born in Jamaica.

Youngkin, a former private equity executive and political newcomer, campaigned on a promise to unite the factions of the Republican Party and drove a message focused on the economy and education. He kept just enough distance from former President Donald Trump while trying to keep his base engaged.

McAuliffe, meanwhile, was weighed down by his partys post-Trump political fatigue, along with Bidens sinking poll numbers and gridlocked agenda in Washington, but ran a campaign that included damaging gaffes and, critics say, was overly reliant on trying to tie Youngkin to Trump.

Virginia, which always elects a new governor one year after presidential races, has long been seen as a political bellwether and both parties were anxiously watching as results poured in from across the commonwealth, eager for clues about the political landscape that will inform their upcoming campaigns.

The GOP victory in Virginia, powered by robust turnout in conservative rural counties, improved support in the suburbs, and a message focused on the economy and alleged anti-white bias in school curriculum, will likely serve as a blueprint for Republicans looking to recapture the House and Senate next year.

Its time to hit the panic button, because the base is not motivated, said Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher, calling the loss catastrophic for Democrats.

In Virginia, white women swung back towards the GOP by 15 percentage points compared to 2020, while Black turnout was down in some key places.

A wake up call

Turnout will be key in next years election and Virginias results suggest the Republican base is more engaged than the Democratic one, as is often the case for the party out of power in Washington.

Youngkins victory in Virginia should serve as a wake-up call to Democrats everywhere that an epic wave is on the way, said John Ashbrook, a Republican strategist who works on Senate races and is close to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Voters are clearly dissatisfied with the direction our country is headed and theyre prepared to exercise their right to change it.

McAuliffe was looking to buck history, since his state almost always elects a governor of the opposite party as the sitting president, but history won. Democrats, too, will be looking to buck history next year, since the opposition party almost always comes roaring back in a new presidents first midterms, but theyll need to look elsewhere for hope to overcome that headwind now.

There is nothing more perilous for either political party right now than a base that  isnt buying into the threat of what can happen if the other party comes into power, said Nick Everhart, a Republican media consultant. Tonight, clearly Democrats werent buying the Youngkin-is-a-Trump-proxy scare tactic, and without a base believing the threat, the losses can and will quickly pile up.

The state was Democrats to lose. No Republican had won statewide since 2009. Biden won by 10 percentage points last November. And outgoing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who is prohibited by the state constitution from running for a second term, won by 9 percentage points in 2017. Democrats won control of the state legislature for the first time in decades two years ago and pushed through an expansion of early voting rules that some analysts predicted would help the party turn out its base.

Potentially even more concerning for Democrats, the race in New Jersey remains too close to call, even though Gov. Phil Murphy had been expected to cruise to re-election.

Were sorry tonight couldnt yet be the celebration we wanted it to be, Murphy told supporters.

In one bright spot for Democrats, voters in New York City elected Eric Adams the citys new mayor, according to NBC News.

Two special congressional elections in Ohio resulted in keeping the seats under the same party control. In the Cleveland area district, NBC News projected Democrat Shontel Brown won. And Republican Mike Carey will keep Ohios 15th congressional district in GOP control.

Education, taxes and Covid



NBC News exit polls found the economy was the top issue for Virginia voters  they split roughly evenly on which candidate they trusted more to handle the issue  followed by education, taxes, Covid and abortion, in that order.

Youngkin made education the centerpiece of his campaign, capitalizing on parental frustration with school closures and a McAuliffe gaffe in the final debate when he said, I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.

The race was stoked by conservative alarmism about critical race theory, an until-recently obscure academic discipline mostly taught in universities. Republicans say the issue could be central in future campaigns across the country.

Trump has loomed large over the Virginia race, with McAuliffe looking to tie his opponent to the divisive former president, who lost the state by 10 percentage points in 2020. The NBC News exit poll found that 54 percent of voters said they have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, compared to 41 percent who had a positive view of him.

While McAuliffe voters were almost unanimously negative on the former president, only about three quarters (73 percent) of Youngkin voters had a favorable opinion of Trump and 19 percent had a negative view of him.

Being anti-Trump is not going to be enough. Democrats have to show what theyre for, said former Virginia Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello, adding that the party cant just ignore hot-button issues like the critical race theory debate. If anyone on the Democratic side thought these culture wars were going to go away without Trump, that needs to be re-evaluated.

Meanwhile, about half of voters said that Biden was not a factor in their vote for governor, according to the NBC News exit poll, but only 43 percent approved of the way he is doing his job, while a slight majority (56 percent) disapproved. Twenty-eight percent said one reason for their vote for governor was to express opposition to Biden, while 20 percent said it was to express support for the president.

SOURCE: REUTERS
If youre an entrepreneur struggling to fill open positions, youre not alone. According to the Small Business Report of the National Federation of Independent Business, unfilled job openings have reached a record high, with 92% of business owners reporting that their job postings have attracted few or no candidates.

Since filling open positions has become more and more challenging, its time you considered these three alternatives to traditional hiring.

1. Think globally

The U.S. represents one-quarter of todays 1.3 billion English speakers and is outnumbered by the English-speaking residents of Pakistan, India and the Philippines  where there is a vast supply of qualified job seekers.

By reaching beyond our borders, you can fill your positions with skilled, educated team members from abroad. Millions of college-educated job seekers are eager to support you as you grow your business  and theyll also help improve your bottom line as average wages for qualified individuals in the developing world are typically 50% to 80% lower than comparable U.S.-based employees.

Sourcing remote offshore talent is now easier than ever. Youll be able to find qualified team members by advertising on freelancing websites or by contracting with a business-process-outsourcing company, also known as a BPO.

Typically, working directly with an overseas freelancer will be less expensive and provide you with more flexibility than using a BPO, especially if youre looking for less than ten employees. However, if youre focused on achieving greater scale and predictability, a reputable BPO can provide you with vetted, full-time resources who generally work from their secure facilities and report to an overseas manager. BPOs generally charge either a monthly fee per full-time equivalent employee or a unit-based fee; either way, youll pay a premium compared to hiring directly.

Regardless of whether youre looking for qualified developers, accountants, receptionists, data-entry clerks, customer-success representatives or marketing professionals, you will likely find the talent you need if youre willing to "go global."

Related: Workers Are 'Rage Quitting' Jobs in a Tightening Labor Market

2. Embrace technology

The most effective solutions to many of your resource gaps may be tech, rather than human resources. In fact, artificial intelligence (AI), robotic-process automation (RPA) and other technology tools are empowering many business owners to address operational challenges and better support their customers. These solutions can also streamline existing processes and workflows, lightening the load of your existing team.

According to McKinsey & Company, three-quarters of businesses are, or will soon be, automating one or more of their business processes. Those who are succeeding with automation are generally identifying its use as a key strategic priority and then systematically tackling this priority through a tight collaborative effort between internal operations and IT stakeholders. As a result, they are increasing operational efficiency and positioning themselves to drive growth while at the same time reducing their dependency on human resources.

One tool that is growing in popularity within the automation world is RPA, which is used to automate routine, high-volume tasks. While RPA has been used by IT teams for years, it has now evolved into a readily deployable solution requiring little or no coding  thereby placing it within reach of non-IT buyers. In fact, much of its near-term growth will come from business buyers who have little or no IT background.

Other tech tools that are increasing in popularity include application-programming interfaces (APIs), which reduce manual data entry and enable business owners to harness the power of disparate applications and their related data. Similarly, deployable bots handle an increasing share of level one customer support, and AI-enabled software is being used by businesses, small and large, to reduce reliance on administrative-support staff, developers, accountants, lawyers and other expensive human resources.

Software may not be the sole answer to all your staffing needs; however, the latest technology tools can certainly help solve many of your resource challenges and further support your team.

Related: 5 Tips for Attracting the Best Job Candidates in Today's Labor Market

3. Find a strategic partner

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Successful business leaders recognize their core competencies and surround themselves with partners who can manage the areas where they lack expertise.

Consider building a strategic partnership with another business that has proven expertise in a business area that lies outside of your core competency. For example, if you operate a service business, consider outsourcing a portion of your customer-support role to a company that excels in providing such support across multiple channels. If you run a medical practice, consider partnering with an established billing company that charges a success-based fee rather than incurring internal, fixed personnel costs. If you sell goods or services and rely on an internal telemarketing team that generates lackluster results, consider a third-party lead generation or telemarketing provider that charges lead-based and conversion-based fees.

Regardless of the type of support you are seeking, there is likely a business partner in the marketplace hyper-focused on the expertise you need. Best of all, these partnerships often require much less ramp-up time and are more cost-efficient than onboarding a new hire.

All signs point to an increasing and prolonged tightening of the labor market, which is why its important to consider alternative strategies to traditional recruiting. Expand your search for talent beyond our borders, embrace technology and consider a third-party partner with proven competence and expertise to augment your talent-acquisition strategy.

Related: Unemployment Claims Fall to Pandemic Low Amid Tight Labor Market

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
COLONIE  In the months after one of Pioneer Bank's biggest business customers admitted to a $101 million bank fraud scheme, federal regulators found the bank's anti-money laundering controls to be "fundamentally and materially deficient," according to allegations made in a filing made last month in federal court.

The customer, Michael Mann, recently began serving a 12-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to an elaborate scheme in which he tricked Pioneer Bank and other lenders over a seven-year period into providing him with tens of millions of dollars in loans and lines of credit using falsified documents  and then rapidly shifted the money among dozens of bank accounts to try to cover his tracks.

Mann turned himself in to the FBI in September 2019 and admitted to the scheme after accounts he controlled at Pioneer Bank and Bank of America were frozen due to suspicious transactions.

One of the tricks Mann employed to keep his fraud from being uncovered was to temporarily transfer paycheck and payroll tax funds from the clients of his Clifton Park payroll processing firm, MyPayrollHR, into accounts he held at Pioneer Bank.

When Pioneer Bank froze those accounts, thousands of workers across the country went unpaid, leaving MyPayrollHR's business customers on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in unpaid wages and taxes.

Pioneer Bank lost $36 million due to the scheme, making it the biggest victim in the case. Mann pleaded guilty to 12 felonies in federal court in Albany in August of last year, including bank fraud, wire fraud, identity theft and filing false tax records. He also pleaded guilty to one charge of money laundering in state court in Saratoga County later that month.

Pioneer Bank has also been sued in civil court, forcing the bank to defend itself against accusations that it failed to adequately monitor Mann's transactions.

One of the companies suing Pioneer Bank, Southwestern Payroll Service of Tulsa, Okla., is now claiming in a two-year-old lawsuit that officials from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. performed a "safety and soundness exam" at Pioneer Bank in December 2019 that found deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act compliance program. The Bank Secrecy Act is a federal law designed to prevent money laundering.

The FDIC "required Pioneer to enter into a memorandum of understanding to correct the deficiencies," Southwestern Payroll alleges in an Oct. 8 filing in U.S. District Court in Albany, without providing any supporting documentation of the MOU or the FDIC exam.

Southwestern Payroll was one of several payroll companies that Mann had acquired over the years as he sought to invest in various businesses.

The FDIC, which does not disclose the existence of MOUs since they are considered informal and non-binding, declined to answer questions about its interactions with Pioneer Bank.

"The FDIC does not comment on open and operating institutions," FDIC spokesperson LaJuan Williams-Young told the Times Union.

Jeffrey Kuhn, an attorney with DLA Piper in Albany who represents Pioneer Bank in the Southwestern Payroll lawsuit, accused the company of making "scurrilous" claims in an effort to "leverage money" from Pioneer Bank.

"Notwithstanding Southwestern Payrolls false allegations, Pioneer Bank is prohibited by federal law from discussing or disclosing information regarding regulatory examinations, alleged or otherwise," Kuhn said.

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Kuhn said Pioneer Bank will seek to have Southwestern Payroll's latest accusations stripped from the lawsuit.

"The federal agencies that investigated Michael Mann never suggested for a moment that Pioneer Bank was anything but a victim of his crimes," Kuhn said.

Pioneer Bank's last two annual reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021 and 2020 state the bank is in the process of "improving and enhancing" its Bank Secrecy Act policies in order to bring the bank into "full compliance" with the law, although there is no mention of any FDIC involvement.

"Failure to adequately maintain our Bank Secrecy Act programs could lead to restrictions on conducting acquisitions or establishing new branches and other regulatory actions and could also have serious reputational consequences for us," the most recent annual report filed with the SEC states.
The latest in New York politics This article was featured in the Capitol Confidential newsletter. Sign up here to get it each morning.

Election results trickled in through the night, but most races and questions were able to be called. Democrats lost some high-profile races. On the ballot question side, state voters broadly approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing New Yorkers the right to "clean air and water and a healthful environment," but appear to have rejected tweaks to the redistricting process and two amendments expanding voter access. (TU)

Gov. Kathy Hochul's directive creating more "transparency" in state agencies will include having the state inspector general's office begin posting the results of all its investigations online, including the letters that the office has more frequently sent to many agencies in recent years to privately summarize its findings in controversial matters. (TU)
In recent weeks, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, spoke with U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand about joining the push to pass a national paid leave program.

A spokesman for Gillibrand confirmed the call between the American princess and the New York Democrat.

Markle appears to getting involved in helping pass Gillibrand's top priority policy by calling senators of both parties about the topic, Politico reported. Republican Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Susan Collins of Maine both received calls, Politico found.

The major obstacle to including a national paid family and medical leave proposal in Democrat's Build Back Better bill remains Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., who opposes its inclusion.

Gillibrand has launched a full court press to edge the policy into the bill, including multiple negotiations with Manchin.

House Democrats now plan to include in their version of the bill four weeks of paid family and medical leave, offering paid time off to workers who have a baby or a sick relative. It's not clear that that proposal can pass the Senate.

In October, Markle, wife of Prince Harry, wrote an open letter to U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urging them that paid leave "should not be a place to compromise or negotiate."

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"No family should have to choose between earning a living and having the freedom to take care of their child (or a loved one, or themselves, as we would see with a comprehensive paid leave plan)," wrote Markle, a former actress and mother of two.

Markle and Prince Harry stepped away from royal duties in 2020 and subsequently have become more involved with political and environmental advocacy.
Genesis Ramos, Giselle Martinez, and Anika Mohammed all made history Tuesday night. The three newly elected officials in Orange County broke gender, race, and age barriers in the county en route to winning their respective seats.

It was always bigger than me, said Ramos, 29, who became the first woman of color elected to the Orange County legislature. I knew our community lacked representation that could identify with our community and really truly understand the diverse needs of our community.

Ramos will represent District 6, which includes the City and Town of Newburgh. She won with 51 percent of the vote against Republican John Giudice, a former Newburgh school board member and city council member; and independent Roger Ramjug, an administrative employee at the Newburgh Enlarged City School District.

The demographic makeup of the City of Newburgh is predominately Black or brown, with 50.3 percent of the population identifying as Hispanic or Latino, and 24.5 percent Black or African American, according to the latest census data.

This is about trailblazing, and letting other people that look like me, that grew up with me, that I went to school with, that I worked with in the community, know that they can also take up that space and do so unapologetically, said Ramos.

Ramos ran with a focus on equitable economic development, increasing public transportation, fighting the climate crisis, expanding access to health care, and encouraging civic engagement. She joins a majority Republican legislature, which lost one Democratic seat in the election.

I intend to work with others in the legislature, even if we have different perspectives, to the best of my ability, as long as I can bring forward the necessary resources and changes in the community, said Ramos.

Also breaking ground was Martinez, 23, who became the youngest person elected to the Newburgh City Council.

Martinez, a Democrat, pulled in nearly 60 percent of the vote as of Wednesday. Her opponent was Republican Christina Amato, a former Industrial Development Agency board member and local businessowner. Martinez will replace councilmember Karen Mejia, who decided not to seek another term.

I unfortunately went through a lot of ageism, said Martinez. Because of my age, I had some people who claimed I was inexperienced and that wasnt true. Despite my young age, I feel Ive done a lot more than some of the older folks have done.

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Martinez started her work in the community with the Boys & Girls Club of Newburgh, where she won the Youth of Year award in 2016. Since then, she worked for New York State Senator Jessica Ramos and later for Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson. Shes also a part of the Newburgh City Democratic Committee, the Orange County Democratic Committee and the Young Democrats of Orange County.

She ran on a platform advocating for affordable housing and promoting home ownership, building better infrastructure like expanding bus routes, expanding mental health services, and prioritizing cleaner streets and parks.

Mohammed, 35, ran unopposed for Newburgh City Court Judge and is the first woman of color to be elected to the position. She has served in the role in an interim basis since July, when she was appointed by City of Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey after former City Court Judge Peter Kuklin retired.

It feels great to be sitting in this position, said Mohammed. Its impossible to not acknowledge the identity aspect of things. Representation that you can identify with is important in everyone's life.

Mohammed, a first-generation American, is a former assistant district attorney in Orange County and a lifelong Hudson Valley resident.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly named Genesis Ramos as the youngest person elected to the Orange County Legislature. Richard Baum, elected in 1994, was the youngest, according to Orange County Historian Johanna Porr Yaun.
The unofficial results are in from the 2021 general election and heres what you need to know for the Hudson Valley.

Incumbent Putnam County Sheriff Robert Langley, a Democrat, lost to Republican challenger Kevin McConville, who as of Wednesday morning had captured 57 percent of the vote to Langleys 43 percent. The race marked McConvilles third time running for the position after two defeats in 2009 and 2013. Langley, who was seeking his second four-year term as the countys top law enforcement officer, conceded Tuesday night at an event held in Mahopac.

Republicans also held a majority in the legislature in Putnam, with Nancy Montgomery emerging as the lone Democrat to secure re-election on the nine-person legislature. She beat Republican Barbara Scuccimarra with 61 percent of the vote.

Putnam County results

Ulster County

Ulster County is the only mid-Hudson Valley county with a Democrat majority in its legislature. After Tuesday, that majority widened, 16 to seven, from the current party split of 12 to 11. Democrats picked up Republican-held seats in parts of Saugerties, in Hurley/Marbletown, and in Denning/Olive/Hardenburgh/Shandaken.

Democratic newcomer Philip Erner defeated longtime incumbent and fellow Democrat David Donaldson with 48 percent of the vote. Donaldson is the current chairman and longest-serving current member of the body.

Ulster County results

Dutchess County

Republicans will remain in charge of the Dutchess County Legislature, with 17 seats to Democrats 8. Robin Lois, the only Democrat occupying a countywide government position, remains comptroller, receiving 51 percent of the vote. Her opponent, Ola Nesheiwat Hawatmeh, campaigned as a strong fiscal watchdog.

Republicans also won 13 of 17 town supervisor races in the county.

Dutchess County results

Orange County

Similar to Dutchess, Republicans are poised to retain their dominant majority on the Orange County Legislature. Nearly every incumbent led their races, with the exception of Laurie Tautel of Highland Falls in a race that is still too close to call  she is closely trailing behind Republican Jennifer Gargiulo. Republicans also led in six of the 10 contested town supervisor races.

Despite controversy around legislator Steve Brescia, he held a huge lead over Democrat Fran Fox-Pizzonia in unofficial results Wednesday morning. Brescia, the legislatures longest-serving member, gave up his chairmanship in September after sexual harassment allegations surfaced.

Republican Kelley Eskew holds a large lead over Democrat Anthony Grice of Newburgh for Orange County Clerk, the only countywide office with a contested race.

Also in Orange, history was made with the election of Genesis Ramos as legislator, making her the youngest and first woman of color to hold a legislative seat there. Giselle Martinez was elected councilperson in the City of Newburgh, making her the youngest ever elected in Newburgh; and Anika Mohammed won her race for City of Newburgh Court Judge, making her the first woman of color to hold the position.

Orange County results

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Columbia County

Republican Columbia County Sheriff incumbent David Bartlett was defeated by deputy Don Krapf. Krapf ran as an independent but was backed by local Democratic organizations. He won by a significant margin, receiving 55 percent of the vote.

I am honored and humbled by this victory, said Krapf in a statement. Jackie and I look forward to serving the citizens of Columbia County and bringing honor, integrity and valor with us. I am very grateful for this opportunity.

Columbia County results

Greene County results

Referendums

State voters broadly approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing New Yorkers the right to clean air and water and a healthful environment. However, it appears voters rejected tweaks to the redistricting process and two amendments expanding voter access.

Two local municipalities voted on cannabis use in their towns. In Tuxedo, it appears that voters have opted out of allowing on-site establishments for cannabis consumption, like cafes and smoking lounges. As of Wednesday morning, 453 voters said yes, while 404 voted no to opting out.

In the Village of Cold Spring, voters were split on two cannabis measures. About 52 percent of voters said yes to opting out of allowing cannabis cafes and lounges within village borders, while 52 percent voted to allow retail cannabis dispensaries there.

On the table in the Village of New Paltz and City of Middletown was a referendum for additional funding for volunteer firefighters. Both municipalities voted to approve funding by large margins.
When Paul Miller was a freshman in college and living in Chicago, he was deciding what psychology class to take. His friends told him not to sign up for one particular professor who had a reputation for being very difficult. I decided to take that class anyway and that was one of the best decisions I ever made," Miller said.

I ended up doing well in that class, and that professor helped me get an internship at a local television program that had just become syndicated called "The Oprah Winfrey Show. Today, Miller is an independent writer, filmmaker and photographer and serves as the senior director of advancement communications at the University at Albany.

The year was 1989 and Winfrey had yet to become a national icon, but Miller still fondly remembers his interview with her. I was spellbound with her ability to put a nervous 18-year-old at ease, and I thought I had interviewed poorly but she offered me a job right there after we were done.

Miller worked on the show for six years doing promotional advertising before moving on to The History Channel, The National Geographic Channel and the PBS Headquarters in Washington. I enjoyed all those places and learned from each of them. As a promo producer I needed to tell a visual story in 30 seconds. Thats what the best of filmmaking is all about just telling a story with as few words as possible.

As part of his master's thesis project at UAlbany, Miller began working on a film about the Timbuctoo settlement located near North Elba in Essex County. It originated in the mid-1800s as a farming colony and was devised by real estate baron Gerrit Smith as a way for Black families to become self-sufficient and provide them with land ownership that was needed for blacks to vote.

I heard about Timbuctoo from the John Brown Lives organization in Westport, New York. Writer Amy Godine has been keeping this story alive for years, and I became fascinated and wanted to make a documentary about it.

As part of the New York State Writers Institutes fall program, his film Searching for Timbuctoo will be shown Friday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at Page Hall, 135 Western Ave. There will also be a panel discussion after the screening.

I wanted to do this film because of all the compelling characters involved such as Gerrit Smith, Frederick Douglass and abolitionist John Brown, along with some of the Black settlers. I wanted to find out where these men started and how they ended up. No one today knows about Gerrit Smith, and he ran for president four times. He was also a member of Congress, and he got so fed up with how hard it was to bring about political change that he quit and decided he could do more good out of government.

Smith was involved in the Temperance Movement, but his great passion was trying to end slavery. He used some of his lavish wealth to provide legal expenses for people charged with infractions of the Fugitive Slave Law, and he provided money to John Brown in his efforts to capture the munitions armory at Harpers Ferry and start a slave revolt.

This was my first long documentary, and I discovered how hard it is to find good visuals from that time period. I knew to make this documentary entertaining I had to write this story in a compelling way and keep viewers engaged and in a bit of suspense as the story of Smith, Brown and the settlers unfolded, Miller said.

What inspired him was how this group of people of all mixed races came together in the mid-1800s to push back against what they saw as injustice. In many ways that fight continues today. Its disheartening that its still going on over the same issues such as the right to vote. Its easy to imagine Gerrit Smith and John Brown today out in the streets marching for Black Lives Matter.

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Miller thinks his film would be perfect for the education market. Hopefully PBS might be interested which would be like coming full-circle for me. I had hoped to interview some of the Black settler families like the Epps family that lived in the Adirondacks for over 100 years. They had a hardscrabble existence and became part of the Adirondack community. Lyman Epps was a great friend of John Brown, and he helped establish the Lake Placid Library, became a beloved music teacher and even helped open a trail to Indian Pass.

It was difficult for Miller to locate many ancestors of the original settlers, and as the film shows the student archaeologists were unable to locate the original Timbuctoo settlement. I called the movie 'Searching for Timbuctoo' because Timbuctoo is a metaphor for the country. Were still searching for equal rights and justice as a country and as a society.

Miller is excited and proud to show his film through the Writers Institute. The institute is amazing and so many outstanding writers and filmmakers have spoken here. Its an honor for me to be included.

Eighteen years ago, he came to UAlbany as a producer director in the marketing department. Today Miller does fundraising communications to tell the stories of the colleges students and makes the case for the importance of scholarship opportunities.

Hes looking forward to next semester when he will be teaching his first college class on documentary filmmaking. I know Im going to learn a lot from my students. The elements of storytelling have not changed too drastically through the years, but the hard part with filmmaking is keeping up with all the new technology.

Miller has been thinking quite a bit also about his old psychology teacher years ago at Chicago. The last time I saw him I thanked him for the opportunity he gave me to intern with the 'Oprah Winfrey Show,' and I said I dont know how I can ever repay you. He told me, Just help someone else out, and here I am all these years later and my job every day is helping students get the financial need they must have and next semester Ill take some of my knowledge and help students create documentaries. I think he would be proud.
ALBANY  Union officers representing mostly low-wage employees at a local BOCES organization allegedly used unreported dues for more than $112,000 in questionable transactions over the course of six years, according to internal New York State United Teachers documents obtained by the Times Union.

An insurance claim filed by NYSUT's accounting department states that between 2012 and 2018 leaders of the BOCES Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene Special Support Services Federation (SSSF) spent members' money on items such as unauthorized stipends, checks made out to themselves, holiday parties that no one attended, and hotel and airfare for conferences in Disney World and Las Vegas.

Sources say that the American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) conferences in those two resort cities are typically attended by "locals with money." But according to the union's claim, the Questar III unit should have been broke.

"The current officers could not remember any meetings, holiday parties or any functions where the general membership was ever invited," the claim states.

The tri-county SSSF is affiliated with the statewide NYSUT union, which is in turn affiliated with the national AFT labor organization.

NYSUT's conclusions are part of a "fidelity bond" claim, which taps a form of business insurance that is typically used to cover internal fraud. It is accompanied by hundreds of pages of bank statements and financial documents supporting the allegations.

The claim explained that if the dues had been paid correctly, the local should have kept $10 per member annually. With 190 members, the unit would have had $1,900 to spend on expenses. But in recent years, the documents highlight, dues the local owed to NYSUT rose while they stayed stagnant for members of the local, which should have reduced the local's annual balance to zero.

The documents show the former officers were spending an average of $19,000 per year, more than 10 times what their budget would have allowed if they had raised members' dues.

The bargaining unit represents a range of educational support staff who work in local schools, including secretaries, IT workers, cleaners, nurses, crisis intervention workers and teachers aides  many of them with starting salaries just above minimum wage.

In 2012, as many as 50 rank-and-file SSSF members were apparently bankrolling the local's spending habits, with dues that were either unreported or underreported to NYSUT and thus depriving the members of access to the benefits and representation they paid for, the NYSUT claim states.

The number of unreported or underreported members shrank with each consecutive year until there were just two in 2018.

NYSUT was unable to obtain bank records prior to January 2012, a spokesman said.

"The scope of any potential misappropriation of funds examination is based on the availability of financial records," union spokesman Matt Hamilton said. "In this case, financial records prior to 2012 were not available, given that it is standard practice for banks to keep records only for seven years."

NYSUT investigators identified $112,008 in questionable transactions and $111,828 in unreported dues.

The financial questions were first flagged to the union by Lori McDonald, a teacher's assistant who became president of the bargaining unit in November 2018.

When she was elected, the former officers of the local closed a Key Bank account that had $33,000 in it, and transferred the money to a different account at the same bank. They told McDonald the money had been transferred to allow her "to start with a new slate," according to the documents.

"The books were a mess," McDonald said. "Our new treasurer was working to straighten it out."

She noticed the previous officers had been getting stipends and raises, even though there was no allowance for stipends in the local's bylaws and no budget was ever presented to the membership. The local also had two secretaries, a married couple, while the bylaws only allowed for one secretary.

One of them has since died; the surviving spouse did not respond to a request for comment.

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Most suspicious to NYSUT were the actions taken by the local's former treasurer, who wrote herself more than 50 checks and paid for numerous questionable transactions with a debit card issued to the local in her name.

The now-retired administrator collected more than $35,000 in stipends and questionable payments during that time, according to the claim documents. The other members received between $13,000 and $25,000 in stipends and payments.

A meeting was held on June 3, 2019, at NYSUT's headquarters in Latham to give the five former officers a chance to explain the transactions. The former treasurer and her attorney chose not to attend.

The other four officers claimed the former treasurer was entirely responsible for the union's finances. They speculated that checks made out to her were reimbursements in cash she gave them for "conference expenses."

They also suggested that someone had forged their signatures on AFT financial audits.

"After extensive questioning of each former officer individually, it was determined that this case should be investigated by the authorities as they shared very little information and repeatedly stated they didn't know anything even though they had all been officers for several years," the NYSUT claim states.

The issue was referred to State Police and the Rensselaer County District Attorney's office, which ultimately did not pursue criminal charges.

At the conclusion of a thorough investigation by (the State Police's) Financial Crimes Unit, it was determined that there was a lack of evidence to establish criminal intent," Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly said in a statement. "If additional evidence comes to light, charges could be filed."

The Times Union is withholding the identities of the five officers named in the claim because they currently do not face criminal charges.

Attorney Larry Kivitz, who represents the former treasurer, declined to comment beyond stating that there was nothing to implicate which officer was responsible for the transactions.

"The investigation that's pending by the State Police has not concluded, so there has not been any determination that my client is guilty of anything at this point in time," Kivitz said.

The local's former president and vice president also declined to comment.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP)  A conservative Christian university withdrew an invitation for historian Jon Meacham to speak during inaugural activities for its new president this week after critics complained the Pulitzer Prize-winning author has appeared at Planned Parenthood events.

Samford University, located in suburban Birmingham, announced the cancellation of Meacham's appearance, which had been set for Wednesday, after an online petition cited his speeches to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion and other medical care for women.

The petition, which had about 1,030 signatures Tuesday morning, said Meacham's beliefs and core values do not align with those of Samford University, as it is a Southern Baptist institution. It called Meacham's planned speech alarming for the future of Samford.

Samford's new president, Beck A. Taylor, wrote in a letter posted on the university's website last Wednesday that Meacham's speech was intended to highlight his work in analyzing the current state of civility and discourse in our country, not abortion.

But the Samford Student Government Association and others recommended postponing Meacham's talk, Taylor said, so his appearance during inaugural activities was canceled and the school will try to schedule another time for him to speak.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Meachams planned lecture has become a divisive issue, one that takes attention away from our opportunity to celebrate Samford. I regret that this has happened, Taylor said.

A representative for Meacham did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Meacham spoke at a luncheon held for Planned Parenthood of South Texas on Oct. 6, according to the organization's website.

In the letter announcing the cancellation, Taylor said he found Meacham's insights to be both challenging and inspiring.

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Our mission as a Christ-centered institution of higher learning is to stand boldly at the intersection of society and the church and to convene important conversations about how to live faithfully in the world. That mission calls us to invite speakers and artists to campus who challenge our perspectives and who share wisdom and insights, Taylor said.

Samford, which was established by the Alabama State Baptist Convention, has an enrollment of about 5,700 undergraduate and graduate students and includes a divinity school. Students are required to attend campus worship or faith-related events to graduate.

Meacham won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for his political biography of President Andrew Jackson, American Lion. His New York Times best-selling books include The Hope of Glory, which examines the final sayings of Jesus.
NISKAYUNA  A driver was charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving as town police continued their investigation of a deadly two-car crash that left a woman dead.

Police arrested Mark Brodie over the weekend after the woman, Denise Guthinger, died at Albany Medical Center Hospital. She was injured in a crash Friday on Route 7 near Shannon Boulevard.
TONAWANDA, N.Y.  In February 1993, Deborah Meindl walked into her house in this working-class Buffalo suburb on a blustery Wednesday afternoon, and never left.

Police reports recount what happened: Meindl, a nursing student with two young daughters, was stabbed dozens of times, her hands cuffed behind her back, and strangled with a mans tie that was left around her neck.

Suspicions quickly fell on her husband, who had spoken about having his wife killed, according to court records. But the investigation soon pivoted to two petty thieves who were later convicted of murder despite a lack of forensic evidence linking either to the crime.

Now, an explosive new claim is at the center of a renewed effort by defense lawyers to clear the two: The real killer was one of New Yorks most infamous criminals, Richard Matt, whose 2015 escape from a state prison set off a nationwide manhunt that ended when he was fatally shot by a federal agent.

The new theory emerged from a monthslong investigation by two prosecutors from the Erie County, New York, district attorneys office, who presented their findings  and their belief in Matts involvement  to their boss, John J. Flynn, the district attorney, in August.

But Flynn rejected the findings, demoted one of the prosecutors and reassigned the other. He said he could not comment on personnel issues, but said the two men had been removed because they did not accept my decision with the professionalism expected of career prosecutors. His office said that despite the lack of forensic evidence there was still ample trial testimony to support the convictions.

Lawyers for the convicted men make another incendiary claim in court filings: Not only did Matt kill Meindl; he may have carried out the murder at the behest of the lead detective who investigated the crime, David Bentley.

On Tuesday, Bentley adamantly denied any role and offered to take a lie-detector test.

Its totally, absolutely, unequivocally insane, Bentley said, adding that he had not known Meindl and had testified against Matt in a different murder case.

I could never say that stuff, Bentley said of his testimony in that case, and have hired him to murder somebody.

In a motion filed in State Supreme Court in Buffalo last month, the defense lawyers said there is evidence that Matt confessed to killing Meindl in 2015. He made the confession to his fellow escapee, David Sweat, according to another document. Sweat is imprisoned in Ulster County.

Adding more mystery to an already perplexing case, recent DNA sampling of crime scene evidence has excluded both men convicted in the murder  and Matt.

The new twists have brought hope to the men who were found guilty  James Pugh, who was recently paroled, and Brian Scott Lorenz, who is still in prison.

I knew, in my heart, that I didnt commit this crime, Lorenz said in an interview, adding, But I never gave up.

In a statement, Flynn, a Democrat, flatly denied that there was any credible evidence to link Richard Matt to the murder of Deborah Meindl. He also defended his response to the findings of the prosecutors who revisited the case.

I, along with my entire senior leadership team, several of my senior bureau chiefs and most experienced trial attorneys, disagreed with their conclusions due to a lack of any credible evidence, he said.

Because the two prosecutors have not detailed their findings publicly, it is not fully clear what they believe implicates Matt. Neither man would comment, although one is seeking to testify in the case, court filings show. Both still work for Flynn.

Bentley helped raise Matts daughter Jamie, who once wrote that the detective knew my father probably as well as anyone on the outside. In an interview and text messages, Bentley, who retired in 2003, acknowledged having had a close relationship with Matt  whom he used as an informant  bordering on that of father-son.

I related to Rick: I felt bad for him, Bentley said. You could almost say I loved the kid.

But he does not believe Matt  a convicted killer  could have murdered Meindl, saying, he was just a punk and wasnt a candidate for a crime like that.

Somebody planted the idea about him just to defend Pugh and Lorenzo, he said.

Bentley also suggested that Matt was known to brag about all sorts of stuff that never existed.

After Meindl was killed, suspicion initially fell on her husband, Donald Meindl, who was in his early 30s and a Taco Bell manager at the time. A friend told the police that Donald Meindl had once sought his advice about hiring someone to kill his wife. It should be made to look like a robbery, the friend recalled Donald Meindl saying, court records show.

Donald Meindl, who did not respond to interview requests, insisted that he was joking and has always maintained his innocence. Police and court records describe an open marriage and Donald Meindls involvement with a 17-year-old girl who worked for him. He had an alibi: The day of the murder, he was at work getting fired for sexual harassment.

After a tip from an informant, investigators at the time shifted their focus to Lorenz, a 23-year-old with a history of minor crimes who was in Iowa after being arrested for car theft.

Desperate to return home, Lorenz concocted a bizarre plan to confess to Deborah Meindls murder, according to his defense team, and implicated Pugh, his sometime burglary partner, thinking it would bolster his story. He told a police officer he was innocent, but was willing to plead guilty to a manslaughter charge, according to a prosecution filing.

Lorenzs confession got details wrong  for instance, he said a hogtie was used when one was not  and it was deemed inadmissible at trial. Still, the jury returned a guilty verdict in less than six hours. (Lorenzs name was listed as Lorenzo in court records although his legal name is Lorenz.)

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Pugh was in his 30s when the slaying occurred. I was a criminal, he said in an interview. But I certainly wasnt somebody that would kill somebody. Im not capable of that.

Lorenz recalled being incredulous at the verdict. I cant believe, I cant believe this, he said in an interview from a state prison in Auburn, New York. He added: Anger turns into bewilderment, then the depression sets in.

Then in 2018 a state judge forced Erie County officials to conduct DNA testing of blood-splattered items from the crime scene. Neither mans DNA was found.

Lorenz was elated.

I thought I was going home immediately, he said.

Instead, earlier this year, Flynns office appointed two prosecutors to review the case, Michael J. Hillery, who ran the offices appeals bureau, and David A. Heraty, an assistant district attorney.

After interviewing more than 50 witnesses, Hillery called Ilann Maazel, a civil rights lawyer representing Lorenz, and told him that the prosecutors believed his client was innocent. Moreover, they suspected Matt.

I almost fell out of my chair, Maazel said.

Pughs lawyer, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, said he was gratified that honest, courageous prosecutors followed the evidence.

In a court filing last month, Lorenzs lawyers said Deborah Meindl had been having an affair with Bentley and had become aware of unspecified acts of corruption by the detective. The detective, the filing said, had sent Matt to murder her to ensure that she would not tell anyone else what she knew.

During his career, Bentley was the subject of at least 15 police brutality and harassment complaints, The Buffalo News has reported. But in interviews, he defended his record, saying he was tough but never corrupt.

I solved more crimes than the whole department did because I was savvy, he said on Tuesday. But I was not crooked.

He also insisted he had been not in a romantic relationship with Meindl, a denial that Flynn echoed.

In a filing this week, Flynns office assailed Heraty, suggesting that he had essentially fed details of the crime to Sweat, the onetime fugitive. Heraty has declined to sign an affidavit agreeing to those findings, and has said he wants to testify in the matter.

On Wednesday, Maazel will offer an oral argument in a Buffalo court as he seeks to free his client; the prosecution has agreed to hold a follow-up hearing. But in another recent twist, the district attorneys office turned a Sept. 28 letter from Sweat over to the defense.

Im concerned as to why you would be removed from the case, he wrote to one of the prosecutors, adding that he was pissed about the two guys being in prison too who didnt do it!

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
ALBANY  A fire at a landmark church that led to the arrest of four people also revealed staffing shortages in the city's emergency dispatch center.

City police and firefighters were called to the former St. Josephs Church in the Ten Broeck Triangle neighborhood on Sunday  Halloween  after a group broke into the church and began ringing the bells and setting a fire.

The calls came on a night where the citys dispatch center was under staffed, forcing emergency calls to rollover to other agencies for service.

The citys dispatch system has been short-staffed for years but in recent weeks the lack of dispatchers has become dire. At times, there are as few as three to four dispatchers working a shift to cover all of the citys incoming emergency calls. In a post on Facebook, the union that represented the city's firefighters said only three dispatchers were working on Halloween night and only one was assigned to fire calls.

The calls that city dispatch cant handle are rolled over to the countys 911 system or to the State Police.

A spokesman for Mayor Kathy Sheehan did not return a request for comment on the matter or why the city has not been able to address the dispatcher shortage. Sheehan lives across the street from St. Josephs Park, which is adjacent to the church.

Photos of the fire obtained by News10 showed a large blaze inside, visible from an open door.

Albany police spokesman Steve Smith said a group appeared to been having a party inside the long-abandoned church and started a fire. When police arrived, the group fled. Four people, ranging in age from 16 to 20 years-old, were arrested and charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor arson.

Smith said the citys emergency calls were answered, despite the dispatcher shortage. Smith said seven new dispatchers are supposed to begin training next week.

All 911 calls continue to be answered thanks to our partnership with the New York State Police and Albany County Sheriff, he said.

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The city is also reviewing 40 applications for new dispatchers and is expected to train two new classes in December and February, Smith said.

We encourage anyone interested in applying to be a dispatcher to do so, he said.

Fire Chief Joseph Gregory said the call came in just before 10 p.m., as a police call for someone inside the church, which has been vacant for a number of years. The property is owned by the city.

Firefighters arrived on scene and were able to place the blaze under control in less than 10 minutes, he said. Gregory said it appeared the group set fire to debris inside the church, the churchs pews were removed years ago. There was no structural damage to the church.
ALBANY  A former UAlbany lacrosse player has pleaded guilty to weapons charges in Canada, resolving a criminal matter that accused him of trying to cross the border with two firearms.

Mike Banks was scheduled to be released from a Canadian jail late Wednesday after serving 16 months on weapons charges, his attorney said. He was given credit for time served just days after he told an Ottawa newspaper that he was mistreated while housed in a local jail.

Hes on his way out the door, Diane Magas, his defense attorney, said on Wednesday afternoon.

Banks, 33, had been in custody at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Center since June 15, 2020, when he was detained while crossing the U.S. border with friends in northern New York at the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne.

A police search discovered two firearms and ammunition in his vehicle, including a shotgun Magas said was for protection and recreational purposes.

Banks initially faced 16 counts due to Canadas stringent gun control laws, Magas said. Both weapons were legally registered in the U.S., but only the shotgun was registered in his name.

He was sentenced to time served on Wednesday by a judge at the Ontario Court of Justice, Magas said.

He pleaded guilty to the possession of firearms being in his vehicle, she said.

Magas said it was unusual that Banks simply wasnt allowed to go back to the U.S. considering the border was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The border control officers could have returned him without searching the vehicle, Magas said.

Banks was a member of the University at Albany lacrosse team from 2008 to 2011.

Magas said he will return to New York where he works as a teacher's assistant.

Banks is no longer affiliated with the University at Albany.

Were not aware of any formal affiliation since his playing days, said Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, a university spokesman.

Banks was scheduled to be released the day after a report appeared in the Ottawa Citizen alleging he and other inmates were mistreated by jail staff in September after a drone flew over the walls at the Ottawa jail for a suspected narcotics drop in the yard.

Officers dressed in SWAT-type uniforms drew their weapons, threw two flash grenades down to the yard and ordered inmates to lay on the ground, according to a letter Magas wrote to the superintendent of the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Center on Oct. 22.

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The inmates were forced to lay down for seven hours, strip-searched and required to kneel on all fours on the ground and walk backwards on their hands and knees on the pavement while only wearing boxer shorts, according to the letter.

Later they were dragged back to the jail by their ankles and further searched.

Banks, his attorney said, had cuts on his face and stomach and swollen wrists and ankles as a result.

My client understandably was very shaken and distraught over this incident and the treatment he received, Magas wrote.

Inmates were ultimately locked down for three days, said Magas, whose client requested footage of the incident only to be told there was none.

Magas said the altercation violated inmates' rights and called for an internal investigation.

A spokesman for the Ministry of the Solicitor General told the Ottawa Citizen it was not appropriate for the ministry to publicly address an individual case.
Courtesy DEC

Hikers without flashlights (again), a helicopter rescue and the search for a kayaker who had to bail out of his trapped vessel kept state forest rangers busy during the past week.

On Oct. 27 at 11:15 a.m., Essex County 911 contacted DECs Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a 66-year-old hiker from Elizabethtown had suffered a non-weight bearing knee injury on the Mount Fay summit. Due to the hiker's location, a State Police helicopter was requested and rangers were picked up to perform a hoist rescue. At 12:40 p.m., a ranger was inserted to the hikers location, evaluated his injuries, and packaged the hiker to take off off the summit. The injured hiker was turned over to Lake Placid EMS and taken to a local hospital.
ALBANY  A New Jersey man who traveled to Watervliet expecting to repeatedly rape an 11-year-old girl after befriending her mother  who was really an undercover officer  pleaded guilty to a federal sex crime Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Tristan Warner, 48, of Newark, who was arrested in an undercover FBI sting in January after arriving at the would-be mothers supposed home, admitted to attempted online enticement of a minor. He will be sentenced on March 1 by U.S. District Judge Mae DAgostino.

The defendant waived an appeal of any sentence of 14 years or less.

Details of Warners plea agreement show that beginning in the fall 2020, the defendant approached the undercover officer on a social media platform where a male FBI task force officer was posing as a dirty mother. Using X-rated language, Warner aggressively pursued a meet-up with the would-be mother and her supposed 11-year-old daughter to have sex acts with the child.

As the conversations shifted from social media to cellphones, a second, female undercover officer posed as the mother while speaking to Warner. The defendant told the undercover cop he wanted his sexual encounter with the 11-year-old to be special and at the childs discretion. Warner said it would be fine if the child wanted sexual contact with him 16 times or just one to three times per day, the plea agreement said.

Warner told the undercover cop to tell her daughter that she had sex with the defendant when she was 11 years old. The undercover officer, in turn, told Warner she also had a 10-year-old niece who occasionally stopped by and could join in the meet-up, the plea agreement said.

On Jan. 15, Warner traveled from Newark to Watervliet expecting to spend three days at the mothers home to sexually assault the child and possibly the niece. Instead, authorities arrested him after he exited his car. Police seized a travel bag from Warner's car that contained two stuffed animal dogs, sex toys and condoms, the plea agreement said.

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After his arrest, Warner told investigators he was from "planet Earth," claimed he was into fantasies and role playing and said that he, the mother and children were going to shop. He was later indicted.

On Tuesday, joined by his lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender Gene Primomo, Warner pleaded guilty. The judge ordered him detained until sentencing.

The FBI, State Police, Watervliet police and Colonie police were involved in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss prosecuted.
Registered Democrats are now in the majority in Clifton Park. But they have gotten crushed every time they try to run for election.

Their hurdle, both sides say, might be the supervisor.

Republican Phil Barrett is the longest-tenured supervisor in Clifton Park history. He cemented his record with another win Tuesday night, getting re-elected with 67 percent of the vote, in unofficial results. He received 5,951 votes to 2,822 votes for his challenger, Democrat Melissa Boxer.

One Democrat went so far as to call him "spectacular."

Its hard to beat someone like Barrett, Clifton Park Democratic Committee Chairman Patrick Lyons said.

We respect his service to the community. Its a difficult job. We may disagree, but we respect the time commitment hes put into the job, Lyons said.

Without a crisis, and without Democrats on the Town Board to raise complaints, he said its hard to break through to the residents.

Look, its a long-time Republican Party establishment town, Lyons said.

Thats a mistaken assumption, Barrett said.

Barrett has known for decades that the number of enrolled Democrats versus Republicans was fairly close. Four years ago, the two parties were separated by 1,500 voters. Now its down to 141 voters, with Democrats pulling ahead this year. But the election results over the years have not reflected that, partly because there are nearly as many unaffiliated voters as there are Republicans or Democrats.

What people perceive as the plurality between Democrats and Republicans was never as large as people envision, Barrett said. When one party has success over time, its generally thought it must all be Republicans there. Well, thats not the case. Its never been the case. Obviously the Democrats outnumber us now, but once you factor in the independents  the blanks  and the other parties and couple that with the Democrats numbers, that certainly outweighs the Republican numbers by a fair distance.

Lyons also theorized that fewer Democrats than Republicans vote each year, which is true nationally. But in Clifton Park, in the last contested local election in 2019, the two parties had roughly equal participation, according to county Board of Elections data. In 2019, 29 percent of Democrats turned out, along with 32 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of the unaffiliated voters.

For Barrett and others to win two-thirds of the vote, its clear that its not just Republicans voting for the Republican candidates.

Barrett thinks his presence on the ballot lifts the other candidates, like town Justice James Hughes, who may not be as well known.

When you have someone at the top of the ticket who is looked upon favorably, typically they will help the rest of the ticket, he said.

Hughes, 82, won re-election Tuesday with 59 percent of the vote, in unofficial results. The judge, who has served for 40 years, had not been challenged since 1997 and Democrat Jennifer Jeram said it was time for a change. But voters said they did not hesitate to vote for Hughes.

Democrats are now looking to the future.

Two years ago we had one candidate. This year, three candidates. Were going to grow that number, Lyons said. If we win or we lose, were doing a public service: were raising the issues.

But issues they are championing, like restoring the annual junk pickup, may not be sexy enough to catch peoples attention without a crisis, he said.

The number of registered Democrats is trending upward, while the number of Republicans is trending downward.

That helps us, Lyons said, adding, We think we can win the battle of ideas if we can get in front of the taxpayers.

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Town demographics are changing, too. The number of non-white people in town is slowly increasing, from 5 percent of the population in 2000 to 14 percent in 2020, according to the Census. More residents are now college graduates, and 12 percent of the towns residents speak a language other than English at home. Thats up from 7 percent in 2000. The number of foreign-born residents has doubled, and many are naturalized citizens, which makes them eligible to vote.

As more people move into town, statistically a majority of them are likely to be Democrats, because the country as a whole and New York state in particular has more Democrats than Republicans.

So if you have a consistent influx of people moving here, it would stand to reason that the odds are, just purely looking at the odds, theyre more likely to be independents or Democrats than Republicans, Barrett said.

But he is sure he can get many of them to vote for him.

Everyone wants the same thing. They want to live in a community that provides them value and is safe, has programs for families and people of all ages, a robust trail and recreation network, low taxes, he said. Theres no better value by far than Clifton Park. You couple that with a responsive, effective government, its obvious why people want to live here. I dont care what party youre in.

The Democrats plan to focus on issues  water quality, spending, infrastructure  in which they think the town could do better. And Barrett said they are right to stay on it: if he slacks off, theyll win.

I think it all comes down to performance and it can change quickly, he said. If we rested on our laurels and stopped doing a good job on a daily basis, I sure as hell hope they would throw us out on our ass. I would.

Milton supervisor race results

In Milton, former supervisor Scott Ostrander, a Republican, won with 2,159 votes in unofficial results. There was a three-way battle for supervisor with Ostrander vying for his previous job against incumbent Supervisor Benny Zlotnick, running as a Democrat, and third-party rival Barbara Kerr, who had an independent line. Issues in the town of late have included dealing with the state of the water-damaged Town Hall.

Zlotnick finished with 1,398 votes, while Kerr had 703, in unofficial results.

Malta supervisor race results

In Malta, where the supervisor was not running for re-election, Republican Mark Hammond won with 2,360 votes, in unofficial results. Democrat Mike Williams received 1,702 votes. The state GOP party had gotten involved in the race, putting out a flyer that accused the Democrats of wanting to defund the police even though there is no police department in Malta and Williams is a retired state trooper.

The flyer seemed to hurt the Republicans credibility, but Hammond said the flyer was a stretch and that he wished he had focused instead on his campaign of preserving the rural character of the town. The next supervisor, he said, will play a crucial role in shaping the town.
GUILDERLAND  The second lawsuit in two years against a planned Costco Wholesale store and apartment complex next to Crossgates Mall has been dismissed.

The plaintiffs, Save the Pine Bush, are appealing and have agreed to fast-track the appeal and submit the court documents by Dec. 6.

Last month, Acting Albany state Supreme Court Justice Robert McDonough ruled that Save the Pine Bushs complaint against the town of Guilderland and Pyramid Management, which operates Crossgates and affiliated subsidiaries looking to develop the Costco/apartment complex, was without merit.

Save the Pine Bush, represented by Todd Ommen, a lawyer with the Pace University Environmental Law Clinic, had put forth an argument similar to an earlier case contending that town officials were arbitrary and capricious in approving the project and that a required hard look at the environmental impact wasnt given.

McDonough disagreed and dismissed the case last month. So now, Save the Pine Bush is appealing McDonoughs decision.

The push to fast track the appeal stemmed from Pyramids argument that if the legal cases arent soon resolved, the entire project could be in jeopardy due to delays.

They just want to keep things moving, Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber said of the request for an appeal to be offered by December.

Wed like those resolved quickly, added Robert Rosborough, a lawyer with Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, which is representing Pyramid.

The Seattle-based Costco Wholesale retailer is planning a store and gas station adjacent to Crossgates. Additionally, Pyramid Management also has plans for a 222-unit apartment complex near the site along Rapp Road.

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Advocates for the Pine Bush nature preserve, as well as the owner of a nearby gas station and residents in the Westmere neighborhood who live next to the Costco site, have opposed the plans for more than a year now. They argue that the extra traffic generated by a new major retailer, as well as threats to the ecology of the nature preserve, run counter to what the town should be striving for.

Guilderland officials argued that a Costco is in keeping with their development plans for the area. A new retailer also would significantly add to town and county coffers through sales tax revenue and could help keep property taxes under control.

The first lawsuit brought by residents of Westmere was filed a year ago. Albany County state Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch found that the required hard look and other requirements to move ahead hadnt been met, and the project was temporarily put on hold.

But the appellate division overturned that decision in July.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
ALBANY  A Troy police officer who suffered a severe gunshot wound in June when his semiautomatic handgun fired a round while holstered has filed a federal lawsuit against the gun's manufacturer, SIG Sauer, Inc., which has faced other lawsuits from law enforcement officers and others injured in similar incidents.

Detective Sgt. Michael Colwell's lawsuit said his department-issued P320 semiautomatic pistol was loaded with live rounds when he was at the department's range and taking part in a training exercise in which he and another officer were "clearing" rooms. During the drill, he holstered the weapon, reached across his body to arm himself with a simulated Taser and the gun fired a round without the trigger being pulled.

"Colwell never touched the P320s trigger. Colwells finger could not have touched the P320s trigger while it was holstered," the lawsuit states. "The bullet struck Colwell in his upper right thigh, traveled through his quad muscle, and exited above his right knee, causing substantial injury, maceration of tissue, blood loss, and nerve damage."

The federal claim, filed in U.S. District Court in Albany, notes the "full extent of the physical damage to his leg is not yet known, he has had and it is likely that he will have trouble running, sitting, or standing as he had before the incident, and may not be able to return to this position as a result of diminished physical capacity to perform his job."

Representatives of SIG Sauer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Colwell is on medical leave and has not returned to active duty.

"My life and the lives of my wife and children were forever changed when my service issued P320 fired without me touching the trigger," he said in a statement issued by Robert Zimmerman, one of his attorneys "I consider it my duty to hold the maker of this defective firearm accountable for myself, for my family, and for every other person throughout the country who may be at risk from this gun model."

SIG Sauer's P320 weapon, which is widely used by police forces, has been the target of numerous lawsuits from individuals who have been injured when "chambered" rounds have fired unexpectedly without trigger pulls. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Colwell notes the company has adjusted its owners-manual warnings about the gun through the years. Those warnings included a statement cautioning the weapon could fire if dropped without the trigger being pulled if a round were "chambered," according to the lawsuit.

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The civil complaint also noted that when SIG Sauer was competing for a $580 million contract with the U.S. Army in 2016, its prototype P320s "exhibited nearly 200 malfunctions during Army testing. The army demanded that SIG fix all problems associated with the prototype." A year later, the Army submitted a demand that the weapon's internal firing system be replaced.

"Meanwhile, SIG permitted approximately 500,000 P320s to be used by United States law enforcement and civilians alike," the lawsuit states.

Four years ago, after a Connecticut law enforcement agent was "shot by a P320 that fell to the ground from less than three feet," SIG Sauer allegedly added language to its owners-manual document stating, "careless and improper handling of any firearm can result in unintentional discharge."

The lawsuit contends the company knew or "should have known" the pistols were "defective" when they were sent to the Troy Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.
An attorney representing two Rensselaer County gun owners told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that his clients had a "fundamental constitutional right" taken away when a judge denied them concealed carry gun permits for personal protection.

In arguments that lasted roughly two hours, Paul D. Clement, a one-time U.S. solicitor general, told the Supreme Court that New York law "deprives a typical New Yorker of their right to carry for self-defense" under the Second Amendment, which allows the right to bear arms. Clement is representing Rensselaer County residents Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, as well as the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association.

At issue is New York law governing the possession of guns outside the home. The state forbids concealed carry, but does allow judges and State Police to approve concealed-carry permits for lawful gun owners to hunt, shoot at target ranges or, key to Wednesday's arguments, if the gun owners can prove they have a heightened risk for personal protection.

Clement told the nine-member court (with Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch listening virtually) that he was unaware of any other context where, in order to obtain a permit, one had to show they had a particular need to exercise a constitutional right.

"I think that is the absolute central defect with New York's regime here," Clement said. He argued that the framers of the Constitution left it to individuals to decide if they want to carry guns outside the home for self defense.

The court includes Gorsuch, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor grilled Clement on the need to change the law. Breyer questioned whether a law change could lead to people carrying guns on New York City subways.

"Theyre not in Manhattan  theyre in Rensselaer County," Clement responded.

In 2016, Koch and Nash applied for concealed carry permits for self-protection, but were denied by state Supreme Court Justice Richard McNally, the county's licensing officer. Koch, Nash and the gun association sued McNally and State Police in U.S. District Court's Northern District of New York, alleging their Second Amendment rights were violated. In December 2018, U.S. District Judge Brenda Sannes tossed the case. Nash, Koch and the Rifle & Pistol Association, in turn, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan, which affirmed Sannes' decision. The Supreme Court agreed last April to listen to the case.

On Wednesday, New York state solicitor general Barbara Underwood told the court that dating to the 14th century, English and later American law has imposed limits on the carrying of guns in public in the interests of public safety.

"New York's law fits well within that tradition of regulating public carry and makes a carry license available to any person, not disqualified, who has a non-speculative reason to carry a handgun for self-defense," Underwood told justices.

"New York is not an outlier in the extent in which the state restricts the ability to carry firearms in public and it's not an outlier in asking a licensed applicant to show good cause for a carry license. Many ordinary people have received carry licenses in New York state."

Thomas told Underwood her arguments suggested that high-density populations were in more need of the restrictions than rural areas. He asked her how rural an area would need to be before restrictions did not apply. Underwood said there was no cut-off point for the law.

"It's one thing to talk about Manhattan or NYU's campus. It's another to talk about rural upstate New York," Thomas told Underwood noting Nash lived in what he considered a low-density area.

Underwood said Koch lived in a more "intermediate area," not far from Albany, Troy, colleges, down shopping areas - as well as rural areas. She said McNally took all those factors into account in rendering his decisions on the permits.

Roberts highlighted the Supreme Court's 2008 ruling in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, which loosened strict gun control laws in Washington D.C, finding a constitutional right to own a gun at home for personal protection.

"If the purpose of the Second Amendment is to allow people to protect themselves, that's implicated when you're in a high crime area. It's not implicated when you're out in the woods," the chief justice said. "How many muggings take place in the forest?"

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"I don't know, " Underwood responded, "but I will tell you that our licensing officer told us that rapes and robberies happen on the deserted bike path so he has some concern about that."

Roberts then asked Underwood if New York gun owners would meet the criteria for a concealed-carry permit gun in the event that a serial killer was on the loose. The chief justice referenced David Berkowitz, the killer who terrorized New York in the 1970s known as the "Son of Sam."

Underwood said it would not meet the standard.

"It would have to be brought home to you in particular, to your route, to your parking lot, to your apartment building, something specific to you rather than it's happening in the world at large," Underwood responded.

Alito, in turn, questioned how a constitutional right to self-protection under the 2008 ruling could be ensured if New Yorkers who work or travel through high crime areas were being denied self-protection permits.

"Because the core right to self-defense doesn't - as this court said - doesn't allow for all to be armed for all possible confrontations in all places," Underwood replied.

"No, it doesn't," Alito fired back, "but it doesn't mean there is the right to self-defense for celebrities and state judges and retired police officers but pretty much not for the kind of ordinary people who have a real-felt need to carry a gun to protect themselves."

Brian H. Fletcher, principal deputy solicitor general for the U.S. Department of Justice who supports Underwood, spoke to the court for more than 20 minutes.

A decision is expected to be rendered next year around June.
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ALBANY  The murder charge leveled against a state trooper last week in Ulster County may be only the second time that a member of the storied police agency has been accused of homicide in connection with a vehicle pursuit.

Trooper Christopher G. Baldner, 43, was indicted last week on murder and manslaughter charges for allegedly using his marked cruiser to repeatedly ram a car occupied by a family of four, killing 11-year-old Monica Goods when her father's SUV flipped over in December along the state Thruway.

An Ulster County grand jury also indicted Baldner for felony reckless endangerment for a similar incident in 2019 when he allegedly used his police cruiser to force a minivan off the road in the same area. He has been jailed without bail, with a bail hearing scheduled to take place Thursday in Ulster County Court.

State Police said they could not immediately confirm how many times a state trooper had been charged with murder in connection with a deadly vehicle pursuit. But there was at least one more case  nearly a century ago.

In October 1925, a trooper was charged with murder in a case that galvanized Wayne County near Rochester and pitted the local sheriff's department, which made the arrest, against the State Police and the state attorney general's office.

That incident turned deadly when a newly sworn-in state trooper, Howard F. Spellicy, and his partner tried to pull over a vehicle that had been stopped on the side of the road but sped away. At the time, the troopers were on the lookout for a murder suspect reported to be traveling from Chicago to New York City and said they pursued the vehicle, in part, because a female passenger had screamed as they rolled up next to the car.

The driver, 34-year-old Robert H. Brooks, allegedly refused multiple warnings from the state troopers to pull over during the pursuit. At one point, Brooks' vehicle nearly struck Spellicy after the troopers had sped ahead of Brooks' car and Spellicy stood in the road ordering him to stop.

Minutes later, after the vehicle chase resumed, Spellicy was straddling the side of the troop car with one foot on the running board and the other slung over a passenger seat. The trooper, who was blowing his whistle, finally pulled out his service weapon and fired three rounds at the fleeing motorist's car tires. But the troopers' car hit a small hole in the road as the shots rang out, and one of the rounds struck Brooks in the back, piercing his heart and killing him.

Thomas H. Mungeer, president of the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, wrote a detailed account of the Spellicy case in a 2019 issue of the PBA's newsletter magazine. Citing articles from various newspapers that covered the case, and official records, Mungeer, who has deeply studied the history of the agency, outlined how the politically charged case began when a local sheriff decided to charge Spellicy with murder.

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The sheriff, Frank C. Rich, was a lifelong farmer and real estate agent who had recently been elected, Mungeer wrote. When sheriff's deputies sought to interview the female passenger in Brooks' car, troopers tried to block them  prompting the sheriff to threaten them with arrest.

Spellicy spent about 40 days in a local jail without bail as the homicide was investigated by the sheriff's department, the state attorney general's office and the State Police. A grand jury reviewed evidence in the shooting and indicted the trooper for second-degree manslaughter, but not murder; he was released on $5,000 bail.

According to Mungeer's account, State Police concluded the trooper fired his weapon properly in the course of his official duties and the killing was accidental. Deputy state Attorney General George V. Fleckenstein issued a statement saying that no crime had been committed."

In 1926, nearly six months after the fatal shooting, Spellicy stood trial in Monroe County, where the proceeding had been moved due to the extensive publicity surrounding the case. A turning point for the defense, according to Mungeer's research, took place when a State Police lieutenant entered two bottles of wine into evidence that they said had been found in Brooks' car. Police suggested he may have fled because of the alcohol  outlawed by Prohibition five years before Brooks' death  in his vehicle.

After deliberating for about 90 minutes, the Monroe County jury acquitted Spellicy of manslaughter.

"Spellicy thanked each jury member by shaking their hand and then with his fellow troopers in tow, hurried to send a telegram to his mother who awaited the decision at their home in Rome," Mungeer wrote. He added that Spellicy, as he left the courtroom, told reporters: "This verdict shows that a man has nothing to fear if he does his duty and tells the truth."
ALBANY  State voters broadly approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing New Yorkers the right to "clean air and water and a healthful environment," but appear to have rejected tweaks to the redistricting process and two amendments expanding voter access.

The first change, known as the "Green Amendment," was approved by a larger majority than any of the other four changes under consideration, 61 percent to 26 percent, according to preliminary returns just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, when more than three-quarters of the vote was reported by the state Board of Elections.

While it mirrors legislation adopted by Pennsylvania and a handful of other states, its New York roots are in the Capital Region: Following the crisis over toxic contamination in Hoosick Falls, residents and advocacy groups statewide demanded a constitutional right to clean water.

The constitutional amendment was supported by environmentalists, Democrats, many labor unions and even a smattering of Republicans. It was opposed by the state's Republican Party and a large number of business groups, who warned it would lead to unnecessary regulation and costly litigation. Agricultural interests claimed it could conflict with the right to farm.

Proponents of the change, however, argued that it would still be framed out by laws and adjudicated by the courts in balance with other rights guaranteed by the constitution.

The Green Amendment could play out most notably at the local level: Certain zoning and planning decisions could be met with lawsuits that give courts an opportunity to define the reach of the amendment.

The returns were far less favorable for three election-related amendments pushed hard by Democrats and opposed just as strenuously by Republicans.

Voters rejected a ballot question that would have made a host of tweaks to the state's redistricting process; it was losing by 39 percent to 47 percent. It would have reduced the influence of political parties on the one-a-decade process, and speeded up the timeline by which the state Independent Redistricting Commission has to submit its legislative and congressional maps to the state Legislature for approval or rejection ahead of the June primary.

The redistricting amendment would have also set the number of state senators at 63; included non-citizens and Native Americans in the state's political maps regardless of whether or not the federal Census counts them; and counted incarcerated people in their last place of residence, not where they are being held.

That change faced opposition from the state's Republican Party and the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of New York, which felt it minimized the role of minority parties. Supporters including Common Cause New York said they thought it would make the process less partisan overall.

NY Proposal 1: redistricting Yes 44% (1,201,555 votes) No 55% (1,517,296 votes) Source Pool data (15,453 of 15,622) NY Proposal 2: Environmental Rights Yes 68% (1,903,627 votes) No 31% (859,002 votes) Source Pool data (15,521 of 15,622) NY Proposal 3: voter registration Yes 42% (1,179,169 votes) No 57% (1,606,939 votes) Source Pool data (15,521 of 15,622) NY Proposal 4: absentee voting Yes 43% (1,208,149 votes) No 56% (1,567,670 votes) Source Pool data (15,521 of 15,622) NY Proposal 5: NYC civil court claim limit Yes 62% (1,675,009 votes) No 37% (989,343 votes) Source Pool data (15,521 of 15,622)

The redistricting process is currently underway, though beset by considerable gridlock. Another round of future tweaks or a wholesale overhaul of the process could be proposed before the 2030 Census.

Voters also rejected two propositions that will erase impediments to voting, though the margins were tight.

One change would have allowed same-day voter registration in New York by removing the requirement to register at least 10 days prior to an election. It was losing 39 percent to 50 percent.

Another rejected change would have cleared the way for no-excuse absentee voting, which is similar to what the state temporarily adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was losing 39 percent to 48 percent in early returns. Voting turnout has generally increased in states, like New York, that expanded vote-by-mail practices to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus.

Some Republicans warned that those changes would increase the risk of voter fraud.

A fifth constitutional change was approved that expanded the jurisdictional powers of New York City's civil courts.
ALBANY  Members of the state Independent Redistricting Commission on Monday said it may be impossible to keep Albany, Schenectady and Troy in the same congressional district  one that is currently held by U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko.

That change has been proposed by the panel despite the overwhelming support that was expressed in the lone Capital Region redistricting hearing for the three cities to remain in the same congressional district, as the state loses one Congressional district after the latest census.

"We've heard everyone pretty loud and clear," said Jack Martins, a former state senator who is the commission's vice chair. "We just need to figure out how we get there."

Tonko, a Democrat who lives in Amsterdam, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Martins, a Long Island Republican, has been fairly open at the commission's hearings about the challenges its members face: The combination of population growth downstate mixed with growth in Saratoga County and stagnation or decline in the North Country has caused a mapping dilemma.

"The numbers drive everything at the end of the day," said commission Chairman David Imamura, a Westchester Democrat.

Will Waldron/Times Union

The commission previously released two sets of proposed maps based on the U.S. Census' 2020 count. One set reflected the views of the Democratic-appointed commissioners; the other reflected the Republican-appointed commissioners.

The 10-member commission is charged with drawing congressional district lines along with state Senate and Assembly districts. Depending on the outcome of Proposition 1 on the ballot in Tuesday's election, the commission will have a limited amount of time to deliver maps to the state Legislature for approval.

Democratic leaders in the Legislature have spoken in favor of potentially drawing their own maps, after years of the formerly Republican-led Senate drawing its own maps. Lawmakers could override the maps prepared by the commission, but voters in 2014 supported a nonpartisan process.

As it stands, under the Democratic-leaning map, Tonko would be drawn out of his longtime district and merged into the district of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville. The simplest reason: The North Country would need to pick up population, likely from the immediate Capital Region, in order to fill out its numbers.

The commission must fulfill federal mandates that demand equal opportunity under the Voting Rights Act  a duty that is especially difficult in New York City districts that have experienced both population growth and decades of gerrymandering. Efforts to correct that situation can have domino effects far from downstate.

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The commission members said they drew their maps starting from the corners of the state and worked inward.

The Democratic map also carves Schenectady into a quasi-central New York district, including Monticello, Schoharie, Cooperstown, Binghamton and bordering Cortland and the Syracuse suburbs. That new district, as drawn by the Democrats on the commission, would have voted for former President Donald Trump with 50.3 percent of its vote in the 2020 election, according to data and maps provided by the City University of New York Graduate Center.

The new Albany-based district would still include Albany, Troy and Saratoga Springs. It would also now include Hoosick Falls, Ballston Spa and Saugerties. It would have voted 58 percent for President Joe Biden.

The inclusion of major portions of Saratoga County in the proposed district comes after members of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters chapter urged the commission to include its communities as part of the Capital Region. That has occurred as public input has been largely absent from people advocating for Schenectady to remain in the district.

On Monday, the commission heard for the first time those concerns  but was unsure how it could come to any useful conclusions.

Democratic state lawmakers, ultimately, may have the last word on the issue if they choose to veto the commission's maps and draw their own.
November 03, 2021





The rise of tech companies in finance requires a response from banks, insurers and regulators.

Large tech companies are increasingly interested in financial markets and banks and insurers must prepare for this. This trend also means that the supervision of those markets has to change, says De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). He is therefore watching the developments with great attention.







For the time being, large tech companies such as Apple (News - Alert) and Google are still mainly mixing payment services on the market in the Netherlands. There are also collaborations between tech companies and banks in the field of the cloud. In other countries, tech companies play a much more prominent role. In China, for example, almost all banking matters can be arranged through tech companies such as Alibaba and Tencent. In the United States, Apple offers its own credit card and Google (News - Alert) is going to put payment accounts on the market.

Financial experts outlines four scenarios that differ greatly from each other. This ranges from banks that do little and are pushed out of the market by tech companies to highly innovative banks that can fully compete with the tech companies. Banks still have the latter advantage over large tech companies. Particularly because of the protection of their data, many people are suspicious of tech companies. At the same time, big data experts notice that the same consumers also give away a lot of personal data to companies such as Facebook (News - Alert) and Google.

The emergence of 'big tech' also indicates the need for a different form of supervision, especially at European level. "These are large, international companies. For example, the European Union is already working on a law that would allow so-called 'critical ICT suppliers' to be subject to supervision. For example, for cloud services, where Amazon, Microsoft (News - Alert) and Google largely control the market, this can be useful. "That is very innovative, because until now supervision was done via the bank.

To stay ahead of the tech companies, banks, insurers and collection agencies (Dutch: incassobureau) must ensure that they are innovative enough themselves. Dutch financial institutions are therefore well ahead in Europe, based on the no pay no cure principle. Yet it is difficult to compete with tech companies to attract the right staff. "That is also one reason that banks like to work with cloud providers. Then they can have access to very specialized staff."

The rise of tech companies in finance requires a response from banks, insurers and regulators.

Large tech companies are increasingly interested in financial markets and banks and insurers must prepare for this. This trend also means that the supervision of those markets has to change, says De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). He is therefore watching the developments with great attention.

For the time being, large tech companies such as Apple and Google are still mainly mixing payment services on the market in the Netherlands. There are also collaborations between tech companies and banks in the field of the cloud. In other countries, tech companies play a much more prominent role. In China, for example, almost all banking matters can be arranged through tech companies such as Alibaba and Tencent. In the United States, Apple offers its own credit card and Google is going to put payment accounts on the market.

If your client doesnt answer your phone calls or your emails bounce, you can assume something is up and hire a collection agency (Dutch: incassobureau). Make sure you hire a good one: take a look at their Google Reviews and their payment plan. Do they ask for a flat fee? Or do they ask for a percentage of the money they obtain, based on the no pay no cure principle where you dont pay anything if theyre unsuccessful in recovering your money? Make sure you know the specifics before signing a contract!

We hope you always have good experiences with clients and if you dont, you get your money back quickly!
[November 03, 2021] Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition Launches Bootcamp for Entrepreneurial Hopefuls in the Nation's Birthplace

Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition (VMCC), a Virginia-based nonprofit organization that empowers Black and Brown communities to become shareholders in the cannabis industry, has opened applications for its virtual 'Fall 2021 Cannabis Entrepreneur Boot Camp.' The four-week boot camp will start on Saturday, November 6, 2021, and provides entrepreneurs an accelerated leg-up in what will be one of the newest and most exciting industries in Virginia. "The cannabis industry has made a lot of promises of righting the wrongs of past for communities of color, and with this boot camp, we are helping ensure those promises come to fruition," said VMCC Founder Paul McLean. "VMCC is made up of small business owners in Virginia who want to see people, families, and communities of color create generational wealth with cannabis. e think we can help entrepreneurs turn their ideas and dreams into real cannabis businesses that can create positive change in their communities."



The boot camp provides: a step-by-step playbook to create a successful business plan,

connections to help run your business,

support to finance your new business, and most importantly

a community support network of like-minded people. The boot camp is meant for someone who:

has been impacted by a cannabis arrest or conviction,

is directly related to someone who has had cannabis-related justice involvement,

has spent 3 of the last 5 years in an area with high unemployment levels, low-income levels, and/or high poverty,

has graduated from a historically black college or university (HBCU) located in the Commonwealth,

has been in the legacy market and wants a legal business, or

wants to start their own business. Applications can be submitted on a rolling basis at Fall 2021 Cannabis Entrepreneur Boot Camp. About Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition (VMCC) The Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition (VMCC), headquartered in Newport News, is a pioneering 501(c)4 nonprofit organization founded in 2021 that empowers Black and Brown communities to become shareholders in the cannabis industry. The company promotes economic empowerment through equitable ownership, employment, and purposeful reallocation of tax revenue in all sectors of Virginia's regulated cannabis industry. The Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition offers cannabis industry educational boot camps for entrepreneurs most impacted by the war on drugs. For more information, visit http://vmccequity.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005085/en/

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[November 02, 2021] Stanford Medicine Earns Top Ranking for Quality, Safety From Vizient

Stanford Medicine was ranked in the top 10% of comprehensive academic medical centers for inpatient and outpatient care by Vizient, a national health care performance improvement organization. Stanford Medicine earned "5 Star" status in the Vizient Quality and Accountability Ranking - a notable achievement, given the difficulty medical centers have faced during the coronavirus pandemic, according to David Levine, senior vice president of analytics and data science at Vizient. "Our momentum in quality speaks volumes about who we are as a community," said David Entwistle, president and CEO of Stanford Health Care. "It's inspiring to be part of a team and culture where the patient is truly at the core of everything we do - and it shows. I see it every day in a million different ways that our people continuously strive to improve how we do things, never settling for the status quo." Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, said, "That Stanford Medicine has ranked in the top 10% for both inpatient and outpatient care is a testament to the dedication of our staff and faculty. In the midst of a pandemic, which demanded so much from health care workers, they never stopped providing top-quality care to all our patients." Stanford Health Care - ValleyCare also earned high marks from Vizient. In its first time participating in Vizient's Quality and Accountability survey, Stanford Health Care - ValleyCare earned four of fivestars and placed near the top quartile among complex care medical centers.



In outpatient care, Stanford Medicine ranked fifth of 53 academic medical centers. The outpatient ranking was based on access to care, quality of care, efficiency of care, continuum of care and equity of care. For inpatient care, Stanford Medicine ranked 10th of 101 academic medical centers. The inpatient ranking was based on safety, mortality, effectiveness, efficiency and patient-centeredness. The ranking period for both categories is July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. Vizient is a nonprofit health care services organization that provides expertise, software tools and networking opportunities to improve patient outcomes and lower costs.

The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://med.stanford.edu/school.html. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. For information about all three, please visit http://med.stanford.edu. Stanford Health Care seeks to heal humanity through science and compassion, one patient at a time, through its commitment to care, education and discovery. Stanford Health Care delivers clinical innovation across its inpatient services, specialty health centers, physician offices, virtual care offerings and health plan programs. Stanford Health Care is part of Stanford Medicine, a leading academic health system that includes the Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Children's Health and Stanford Health Care - ValleyCare. Stanford Medicine is renowned for breakthroughs in treating cancer, heart disease, brain disorders, and surgical and medical conditions. Learn more at stanfordhealthcare.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211102006389/en/

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[November 02, 2021] FieldRoutes Invests in Infrastructure, Advances Software Capabilities and Grows Customer Success and Development Teams

MCKINNEY, Texas, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FieldRoutesa leading Cloud-based and mobile SaaS provider for field service businesses, formerly operating as two separate companies, PestRoutes and Lobster Marketingwill be demonstrating the latest advancements to its end-to-end software solution at PestWorld 2021 from November 2-5 in Las Vegas. Enhancements and new features added include invoicing and FieldRoutes Payments, routing, reporting, QuickBooks Online integration, marketing solutions and lawn care. The company will also enable early access to a new Affiliate Network at the show. "We take our customers' feedback and requests seriously. Our software's new capabilities, integrations and enhancements to existing features are a direct result of our laser focus on our customers' ability to simplify, scale and grow their business," said William Chaney, chief executive officer of FieldRoutes. "We've also invested in the software's infrastructure. In 2020 we built an internal infrastructure team and migrated our software to Amazon Web Services (AWS) which ensures our customers are operating on the most reliable software." Pest control operators who visit the PestRoutes by FieldRoutes and Lobster Marketing by FieldRoutes booths at PestWorld can see a demo of the advancements first-hand. They focus on enabling business owners to better retain and attract new customers. They include: Enabling owners to more easily collect payments from their customers with: FieldRoutes Payments Auto Updater feature that automatically updates lost, stolen, or expired credit and debit cards

AutoPay by subscription functionality

Consolidated invoicing to allow multiple individual invoices to be grouped together and processed under a single invoice number

Automtion for pest control customer messaging regarding chargebacks, ACH returns and AutoPay



QuickBooks Online integration, which is also available at no charge for a limited time

New routing functionality that allows users to expand the summary route report by date range, route technicians by their skillset and when creating routes that include square feet (SF) or linear feet (LF) measurements, set a capacity per route based on the vehicle's chemical capacity

California WDO reporting to include activity codes

Lawn functionality to support routing for HazMat trucks, property estimations, pre-payment discounts and service plans also known as "programs" Enabling owners to easily market their business to grow their revenue with innovations to the FieldRoutes sales and marketing suite's Buy Services Online solution:

"Map the Deal" functionality that allows users to create location-specific promotions and enter them into the FieldRoutes operations suite in minutes using click and drag functionality or by setting a max distance for the deal eliminating the need for promo codes

Early access to the new Affiliate Network that allows pest control providers the ability to profit from their non-serviceable online sales leads by sharing those leads with other pest control businesses in the network "Over the last year, we've worked hard to advance our industry-leading software. Our investment in new capabilities and enhancements, additions of top-notch talent and the unification of PestRoutes and Lobster Marketing to become FieldRoutes is evidence of our customers' success," continued Chaney. "We take pride in being customer-obsessed and that means we deliver best-in-class technology and dedicated customer support. We've grown because our customers are growing and exceeding their goals." To learn more about FieldRoutes, experience the software first-hand with a demo, obtain a copy of our new consumer pest control research study, and gain early access to the new Affiliate Network, visit booths B100, B200, and B206 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at PestWorld 2021 or FieldRoutes.com . About FieldRoutes FieldRoutes?is a Cloud-based and mobile SaaS provider for field service businesses. The platform?automates all aspects of field service operations for enterprise and small business customers that span office management, advanced route optimization, payment processing, digital sales, marketing, and customer acquisition solutions that accelerate growth, streamline operations, increase customer retention, and maximize revenue. In 2018 six-year-old PestRoutes and 10-year-old Lobster Marketing became sister companies, and in 2021 unified as one brand, FieldRoutes. Headquartered in McKinney, TX, over 1,700 field service companies rely on FieldRoutes to provide them with the data-driven insights needed to build efficiencies in and drive revenue to their business so they can grow quickly, scale intelligently and serve customers relentlessly. For more information, please visit FieldRoutes.com . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fieldroutes-invests-in-infrastructure-advances-software-capabilities-and-grows-customer-success-and-development-teams-301414792.html SOURCE FieldRoutes

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[November 02, 2021] Cybereason and Tech Data Partner to Protect Joint Customers Across the Asia Pacific Region from Cyberattacks

SINGAPORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybereason , the leader in operation-centric attack protection, and Tech Data , a TD SYNNEX company and a leading global distributor and solutions aggregator for the IT ecosystem, announced a partnership to protect enterprises across Asia Pacific from sophisticated cyberattacks. As part of the partnership, Cybereason and Tech Data will offer joint customers a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solution powered by the Cybereason Defense Platform, a combination of endpoint detection and response (EDR) and endpoint protection platform (EPP) capabilities. "Partnering with Tech Data will enable Cybereason to expand its business across the Asia Pacific region, giving joint customers the ability to detect threats faster, monitor activities across both networks and endpoints with actionable intelligence, and leverage guided remediation tailored specifically to organizations' unique digital environment and cybersecurity requirements," said Eric Nagel, General Manager, APAC, Cybereason. "With cybersecurity at the heart of today's digital enterprises, the addition of Cybereason's suite of security solutions and services is the perfect complement to Tech Data's expanding portfolio of products and service offerings," said Sundaresan Kanappan, Vice President of Next Generation Technologies, Tech Data Asia Pacific & Japan. About Tech Data

Tech Data, a TD SYNNEX (NYSE: SNX) company, is a leading global distributor and solutions aggregator for the IT ecosystem. We're an innovative partner helping more than 150,000 customers in 100+ countries to maximize the value of technology investments, demonstrate business outcomes and unlock growth opportunities. Headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, and Fremont, California, TD SYNNEX' 22,000 co-workers are dedicated to uniting compelling IT products, services and solutions from 1,500+ best-in-class technology vendors. Our edge-to-cloud portfolio is anchored in some of the highest-growth technology segments including cloud, cybersecurity, big data/analytics, IoT, mobility and everything as a service. TD SYNNEX is committed to serving customers and communities, and we believe we can have a positive impact on our people and our planet, intentionally acting as a respected corporate citizen. We aspire to be a diverse and inclusive employer of choice for talent across the IT ecosystem. For more information, visit www.TDSYNNEX.com or follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook and Instagram .



About Cybereason

Cybereason is the champion for today's 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 industry's 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 40 countries. Learn more: https://www.cybereason.com/

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Media Contacts: Tech Data

Jason Loo

Head of Communications

Tech Data Asia Pacific & Japan

[email protected] Cybereason

Bill Keeler

Senior Director, Global Public Relations

Cybereason

[email protected]

(929) 259-3261 SOURCE Cybereason

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[November 02, 2021] Alliance 21 and OneHypernet Forms A Partnership to Help SMEs Digitalise Their Cross-Border Payment Solutions

SINGAPORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OneHypernet and Alliance 21 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today for the development of a cross-border payment solution for the settlement of invoices between Alliance 21 and their global network partners. The digital payment solution will use the latest blockchain technology by R3 to consolidate global payments within Alliance 21 networks of partners to provide them with a simplified solution that helps all parties overcome high bank charges and improve their cash flows, by reducing the number of payment points and associated charges.

Alliance 21 will extend this payment solution to its overseas network partners (also known as alexFRIENDS), on its ALEX.world portal. ANNEX A provides more information on common challenges SMEs face in reconciling their payments between themselves and their network partners.

The digital cross-border payment solution is expected to roll out by 2Q2022. Alliance 21 expects at least 30 of its network partners to benefit from the rollout of the cross-border payment solution, which is expected to strengthen Singapore's position as a global financial and trading hub.

"OneHypernet uses confidential computing and enterprise blockchain technology to connect Alliance 21's network of partners on a single global ledger, enabling a real-time shared view with standardised protocols and data privacy. When data privacy is preserved, all payments within the network can be included for multilateral netting. This greatly reduces the number of cross-border settlements between the partners, resulting in better cashflow and savings of up to 96% of cross-border fees" said Tan Jin, Co-founder, OneHypernet.





"Alliance 21 is extremely delighted to be partnering with OneHypernet on this milestone Proof-of-Concept that will enhance the capabilities of our ALEX.world platform and provide tangible benefits for all our network partners from all over the world. We have always believed in pushing the boundaries of technology to solve our business and operational issues, and expand our business through strong alliances and partnerships.

OneHypernet's solution will provide a strong value-added feature to our platform, and we look forward to this co-operation to take our companies to the next level. We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to Enterprise Singapore for their amazing support they have provided to Alliance 21 for our ALEX.world platform," said Mr Benjamin Ong, Founder and CEO, Alliance 21 Group.

For more information on the digital cross border payment solution, SMEs can visit www.OneHypernet.com About OneHypernet OneHypernet connects the world's foreign exchange markets  banks, corporates, and payment service providers on a unified ecosystem powered by enterprise blockchain technology. Our global payments network enables structurally cheaper and faster cross-border transactions. Underpinned by decentralised multicurrency multilateral netting, we reduce cross-border liquidity requirements and costs by 96%. The OneHypernet team brings decades of experience from founding several of the largest money service businesses in Asia since 1990, including Thin Margin, the first and largest online money-changer in Singapore. About Alliance 21 Alliance 21 is a specialist logistics service provider that was established in 2002 with focus on fulfilling customer requirements for the transport of time-critical products such as aircraft spares, foodstuff and other perishable goods, live animals, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, and oil and gas equipment. Together with its sister company ALEX Fulfilment Services, the company provides a full suite of logistics services in air and sea freight, transportation and warehousing. Led by founder and CEO Benjamin Ong, the company has always promoted a culture of constant innovation, and eschewed the value of thinking out of the box. The company was awarded the Emerging Enterprise Award in 2010, and was one of the winners in the micro SME category in the 2019 SME Digital LEAP awards. Benjamin was also a winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2012 in the Logistics Category. In late 2015, the company embarked on an ambitious strategy of digital transformation, and on 21 November 2017 launched its ALEX.world platform. ALEX, which stands for "Alliance21 Exchange", is a digital freight and fulfilment platform built from the ground-up to give customers a convenient and reliable cloud-based solution to get shipment quotations, make bookings, and track their deliveries, anytime and anywhere, from any web-based device. Anyone, and any company, can sign up to the platform to be an alexFRIEND, and get access to a convenient dashboard from which they can manage their logistics transactions, and keep updated on new developments and features on the platform. ALEX also acts as a business enabler for the Alliance 21, allowing organic and third-party e-commerce applications to obtain a logistics solution through web-based APIs. As Alliance 21 has grown, the company has never lost sight of its wider mission in society, and gives backs to the less fortunate in the community through its annual corporate social responsibility programme named Project ACTS. ACTS is an acronym for Alliance21 Calls To Serve, and the company has contributed meaningfully over the years to organisations such as the Touch Community, the Down Syndrome Association, and St. Joseph's Home. ANNEX A Challenges Faced by SMEs Reconciling Payments from Global Partners For SMEs in the logistics sector like Alliance 21, one of the biggest challenges it faces every month relates to the high amount of bank charges it has to pay from settlement of various invoices with its network partners, who are located all over the world. Aside from the charges, there are also potential losses from currency fluctuations, and pressure on the company's cash flows due to the volume of transactions that need to be reconciled. SOURCE OneHypernet

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[November 02, 2021] INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces Investigation of Camber Energy, Inc. (CEI) on Behalf of Investors

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of Camber Energy, Inc. ("Camber" or the "Company") (NYSE: CEI) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. In February 2021, Camber completed a business combination with Viking Energy Group, Inc. ("Viking"). On May 24, 2021, Camber revealed that the New York Stock Exchange had notified Camber that it was not in compliance with its continued listing standards because, among other things, "issues that have arisen in connection with . . . finalizing the determination of the fair values of both assets and liabilities associated with [Camber]'s acquisition of a controlling interest in Viking." On this news, Camber's stock price declined by $0.04 per share, or 9%, to close at $0.57 per share on May 25, 2021. Then, on August 16, 2021, Viking fled its quarterly report for second quarter 2021 reporting a net loss of $9.85 million net loss and stating that its subsidiary, Elysium Energy, LLC, and other parties to a term loan agreement "are in default of the maximum leverage ratio covenant."



On this news, the Company's stock price fell $0.03, or 7%, to close at $0.37 per share on August 17, 2021, thereby injuring investors further. Then, on October 5, 2021, Kerrisdale Capital released a report alleging, among other things, that the "market is badly mistaken about Camber's share count and ignorant of [Camber's] terrifying capital structure," estimating the Company's "fully diluted share count is roughly triple the widely reported number."

On this news, Camber's stock price fell $1.56 per share, or 50%, to close at $1.53 per share on October 5, 2021, thereby injuring investors further. If you purchased Camber securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211102006402/en/

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[November 02, 2021] Chubb launches holistic risk management solution for manufacturing industry

HONG KONG, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb announced today the launch of a packaged insurance product that addresses the evolving risks faced by manufacturers, in Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia and Singapore. Known as Chubb Assembly, it will supplement the existing suite of insurance solutions the company currently offers for the manufacturing industry i.e. PremierTech for manufacturers of technology products and Life Sciences Liability for manufacturers of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. The manufacturing industry is facing its fourth revolution (Industry 4.0) where manufacturers are leveraging technologies and embracing digital transformation to stay competitive and fuel productivity gains. These, in turn, have brought on a set of risks and challenges that manufacturers must be aware of, and be protected against, such as: New supply chain risks as manufacturers' relationships with suppliers and customers become increasingly interdependent.

Greater exposure to cyber incidents as digitalization rapidly changes the factory floor with automation, robotics, internet-of-things (IoT), artificial intelligence etc.

Additional risks of being contractually liable for financial losses incurred by customers as manufacturers and customers are more intricately connected for a larger part of the product lifecycle especially if manufacturers add on servies like maintenance and/or consulting.



Public and Product Liability : Offers broad protection for bodily injury and tangible property damage claims, premises liability claims and injuries to non-employees, as well as first and third-party product recall expense

: Offers broad protection for bodily injury and tangible property damage claims, premises liability claims and injuries to non-employees, as well as first and third-party product recall expense Manufacturing Errors & Omissions Liability : Responds on a manufacturer's behalf to third-party claims alleging financial or economic injury arising out of actual or suspected product defects, failure of products to perform or failure to perform a service in accordance with a contract.

: Responds on a manufacturer's behalf to third-party claims alleging financial or economic injury arising out of actual or suspected product defects, failure of products to perform or failure to perform a service in accordance with a contract. Cyber Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): Provides an incident response platform to mitigate and resolve first-party cyber incidents that may entail business interruption, data recovery costs and extortion negotiation, as well as coverage for Third Party Liability arising from a cyber incident. Mr. Kevin Stevens, Chubb's Head of Industry Practices in Asia Pacific, said, "Traditional insurance does not adequately address the evolving risks the manufacturing industry faces given the pace of change it is undergoing. Implementing Industry 4.0 will come with increased exposures, and Chubb Assembly can help manufacturers address these risks through insurance coverage and loss mitigation through Chubb's pre and post-loss services."

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. With both general and life insurance operations, Chubb has been present in Hong Kong SAR for more than 90 years via acquisitions by its predecessor companies. Its general insurance operation in Hong Kong SAR (Chubb Insurance Hong Kong Limited) is a niche and specialist general insurer offering products such as property, casualty, marine, financial lines and consumer lines designed for large corporates, midsized commercial & small business enterprises as well as retail customers. The AA- long term insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings by Standard & Poor's are indicative of the company's strong capitalisation. Over the years, the company has built strong client relationships by being consistent and responsive, by offering market leading claims services and innovative products, and providing market leadership built on financial strength. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com/hk. SOURCE Chubb

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[November 02, 2021] Secure High-Performance Crypto Exchange Bit.com Lists Tranchess (CHESS)

SINGAPORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bit.com, a secure high-performance cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced the listing of Tranchess (CHESS) and the opening of CHESS/USDT spot trading. The listing is in line with bit.com's goal of providing a one-stop trading experience for its global users. As a tokenised asset management and derivatives trading protocol, Tranchess provides an integrated DeFi offering across single-asset yield farming, borrowing, lending and trading. With the listing, bit.com aims to provide a superior trading experience and best-in-class liquidity, suitable for all risk appetites, with industry-leading technology, security, and risk management. "Long-term crypto asset holders are looking for new avenues to stake and generate yield, while those looking to enter the market are seeking increased liquidity and flexibility. Listing Tranchess allow us to offer an innovative, all-in-one solution to a spectrum of users. We're excited to offer CHESS/USDT spot trading pairs to our users, and we will continue our journey to support more trading pairs in the near future," said John Ge, CEO of bit.com.



In essence, Tranchess seeks to provide a risk/return matrix from a single main fund or tranche that tracks a specific underlying crypto asset. QUEEN, the token for the main tranche, represents one share of the fund which is a BTCB tracking index fund. QUEEN tracks the BTC price on a correlated basis. Tranchess main fund provides increased flexibility with no lock-up period and less than 24 hours to process requests. Rather than holding BTC passively, investors can swap their BTC for QUEEN, gaining exposure to BTC while farming Tranchess' CHESS tokens for further yield. CHESS is key to receiving an additional rebate from fees collected within Tranchess.

The main tranchess can be split into two sub-tranchess with their own distinct risk-return profile. The first being, BISHOP, a USDC-yielding tranche while the second is ROOK, a leveraged tranche that has twice the exposure to price movements in the underlying crypto. Bit.com users can now start making deposits to prepare for trading CHESS/USDT, and stand to win upto $10,000 CHESS in its giveaway campaign, held between October 29th to November 12th, 2021. About Bit.com Bit.com is a secure high-performance cryptocurrency derivatives exchange offering perpetual swaps, futures, options and spot trading. Powered by Matrixport, Asia's fastest growing digital assets financial services platform, http://bit.com is the second largest cryptocurrency option marketplace in terms of trading volume and open interest. The exchange provides institutional-grade security and risk management features that ensures a superior trading experience leveraging best-in-class liquidity. SOURCE Matrixport

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[November 02, 2021] Visa invites startups in Asia Pacific to build next generation digital payment capabilities

SINGAPORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa, the world leader in digital payments, is looking for startups from across Asia Pacific to join the second cohort of their accelerator program. The Visa Accelerator Program focuses on helping startups in Asia Pacific expand their business into new markets with a strong emphasis on identifying commercial opportunities for the startups to collaborate with Visa and its extensive network of bank, merchant and government partners in the region. "As the world transitions from a pandemic to an endemic state, there is great demand for digital-first experiences that shape new thinking around digital currencies and open data. And many startups have developed new innovations to tap these opportunities," said Chris Clark, regional president, Asia Pacific, Visa. "At Visa, we want to support these startups by helping them go from a local success story to a regional player, providing guidance and connections to navigate the complexities of entering new markets." The Visa Accelerator Program is designed for startups that have launched successful solutions in their home markets but are looking towards the next stage of growth. As a network working for everyone, Visa is uniquely positioned to help startups break into new geographies and reach new customer groups. Money movement, digital currencies, open data and B2B as key focus areas With increased expectations for digital-first experiences from consumers and businesses, startups in the 2022 cohort will tackle some of the most pressing financial and technological opportunities in Asia Pacific: Simplifying and expanding money movement between consumers, businesses and governments to enable new ways to pay and be paid, domestically and internationally

Delivering new innovative payment methods such as digital currencies through the development and adoption of blockchain

Leveraging the open data environment to facilitate advanced decision-making and scoring capabilities in the areas of digital identity, consent management, credit scoring as well as risk and fraud management

Offering differentiated ad personalised shopping experiences through new credit models, buy now pay later and loyalty solutions

Accelerating the digitisation of businesses by streamlining credit underwriting solutions and developing mobile-first solutions for supply chain management



Helping startups scale their business Visa introduced the Accelerator Program in Asia Pacific in December 2020. Startups from the first cohort include Brankas, a fintech that provides financial software and solutions; Curlec, a subscription management platform that facilitates recurring payments and disbursements; DigitSecure, an omnichannel acceptance platform; ModusBox, an open-source platform for real-time payments and Open, a neo-banking platform for small businesses. The startups concluded their activities with a product pitch to hundreds of Visa's clients and partners across the region.

Join the program Applications open 3 November 2021 and close on 9 January 2022, with the program commencing in mid-April 2022. The Visa Accelerator Program is a new part of Visa's broader set of platforms and activities for the startup community in Asia Pacific. With its dedication to supporting international expansion, the Visa Accelerator Program is the right fit for startups that are Series A and above, have a long-term commitment to Asia Pacific growth and existing operations in the region, and have a market-validated, proven solution. For more information, including how to apply, visit: https://www.visa.com.sg/apaccelerator About Visa Inc. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world's leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company's relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere.?As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit? About Visa, visa.com/blog and [email protected] Annex A  selection of quotes from the 2021 cohort of the Visa Accelerator Program Todd Schweitzer, Co-founder and CEO, Brankas "The?program highlight was seeing our?product live in the market with our?banking partners  Visa took an action-oriented approach in joining forces with?Brankas and launching new products?with us." Zac Liew, Co-founder and CEO, Curlec "Our experience with Visa has been?unparalleled  to be able to work at this?speed with us, considering their scale, has?exceeded all expectations." Seshu?Kulkarni, CEO, DigitSecure "Visa's product and market insights, executive?mentorship, and technical expertise, have?helped DigitSecure further strengthen our?capabilities, enhance our go-to-market?strategy, increase brand visibility and also?open doors to new clients." Steve Haley, Director of Economic Development, ModusBox "The sheer magnitude of the contribution?from the Visa team was incredible. They?were able to?mobilise?resources from tech?to development across the Asia Pacific?region for us." Anish Achuthan, Co-founder and CEO, Open "It would have taken us two to three years to enter Southeast Asia and we were able to do this within six months ?thanks to Visa's dedicated go-to-market support?and structured approach to solutioning?and product positioning with clients." SOURCE Visa Inc.

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[November 03, 2021] PlayDapp's P2E Campaign Takes over Times Square, New York

PlayDapp's P2E advertising campaign in Times Square, New York , attracting global attention

PlayDapp is attending NFT.NYC Conference, held in New York for Four Days, until Nov 4th . And PlayDapp will speak on NFT interoperability in numbers SEOUL, South Korea and NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PlayDapp's advertising campaign takes over Times Square, New York's top landmark. PlayDapp announced on the 3rd that the Play to Earn (P2E) advertisement campaign was executed on the electronic displays of the One Times Square building at the heart of Times Square. PlayDapp's Star NFT character, Mikey, appears with the slogans 'Are you Ready? Play to Earn! PlayDapp". While simultaneously PLA tokens rain down across the 111 Meters tall advertisement. The pouring PLA conveys the ability for players to make money while playing P2E games serviced by PlayDapp. 'One imes Square', a 25-story building with a height of 111 meters, is also famous as a location for New Year's 'Countdown' and 'Ball Drop' events, as well as a filming location for movies and dramas. Known as the most iconic landmark in Times Square, where more than 130 million tourists gather every year.



The PlayDapp P2E campaign boasts a total area of 1,081 m2 by filling up a total of 4 screens of the 'One Times Square Electronic Billboard'. Meanwhile, PlayDapp will attend the 'NFT.NYC Conference' held in New York, from November 1st to 4th. NFT.NYC is a festival of NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens) where famous blockchain-related projects such as Open Sea, Coinbase, Polygon, Dapp Radar, and Samsung Next participate. On the 4th (local time), PlayDapp head of Business Sang Chung will speak on the theme of NFT interoperability in Numbers'.

About PlayDapp PlayDapp is a blockchain gaming platform that operates on the Ethereum and Polygon networks. Gamers can play games to earn NFTs and rewards in PLA tokens. PlayDapp also integrates a C2C marketplace that is the home to all NFTs in the gaming metaverse. PlayDapp has already launched its flagship game Along with the Gods: Knight of the Dawn, which can be downloaded from the Google playstore. SuperTree, the developer of PlayDapp MarketPLAce, was named as part of C-Lab Outside, of Samsung Electronics(KRX: 005930) in 2019. C-Lab Outside is a startup incubation program that supports growth by discovering promising start-ups in Samsung Electronics. Media Contact PlayDapp PR Team Leader

Hanna Kim

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/playdapps-p2e-campaign-takes-over-times-square-new-york-301414930.html SOURCE PlayDapp

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[November 03, 2021] Digital Payments to Lead 162% Growth in eCommerce Spending Across Southeast Asia by 2025

SINGAPORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southeast Asia is experiencing a financial transformation driven by digital payments, according to a new IDC report commissioned by global payments platform 2C2P . Powered by changing consumer and retail trends and more inclusive payment options, ecommerce spending will rise by 162% to reach US$179.8 billion by 2025 across the region, with digital payments accounting for 91% of transactions. The IDC InfoBrief, "How Southeast Asia Buys and Pays: Driving New Business Value for Merchants", unravels the complexities of the fragmented Southeast Asia payments ecosystem to help businesses make more informed decisions and grasp opportunities. It tracks emerging trends such as mobile wallets, domestic payments (real-time and online banking options), and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) alongside traditional options like cards and cash. The report estimates thechanging market share of payment options between 2019 and 2025 to help businesses strategise scaling across borders.



"There is an opportunity to ride on the growth of digital payments and provide secure and reliable financial services to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers in the region. Digital payments are no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have, and a key part of every company's business strategy," said Aung Kyaw Moe, founder and CEO of 2C2P. "The ability of businesses to optimise their payment capabilities and operations according to geographical reach will also determine how they stay competitive, agile, and successful across the region." Changing consumer and retail trends have propelled the rapid growth of Southeast Asia's digital economy, with over 400 million ecommerce users expected in 2025. This has resulted in increased competition and collaboration by the public and private sectors to offer the payments infrastructure businesses require to reach these users. Major gainers appear to be mobile wallets, domestic payments and BNPL.

"Southeast Asia's payment landscape is incredibly fragmented, and payment systems and their adoption as well as regulations can vary from market to market. To help businesses understand and navigate the region's complexities, we've put together this comprehensive guide to the region's payments landscape featuring regional and local payment insights," said Michael Araneta, Associate Vice President, Head of Research and Consulting, IDC Financial Insights Asia-Pacific. "We hope that the report's findings will refine businesses' strategy to ride the digital wave and ultimately unlock Southeast Asia's US$276 billion digital economy." Contact:

Sylvia McKaige

[email protected] SOURCE 2C2P

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[November 03, 2021] Resolution Life secures full ownership of AMP Life

Resolution Life, a global life insurance group focusing on the acquisition and management of life insurance policies has today agreed to acquire AMP Limited's (AMP) minority equity interest in Resolution Life Australasia1 for a total consideration of AUD524 million. Resolution Life established its Australasian presence with the acquisition of AMP Life from AMP Limited in July 2020. AMP retained a minority equity interest in Resolution Life Australasia at that time. This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Resolution Life's Australasian business and positions the platform for future growth. Megan Beer, CEO of AMP Life & CEO of Resolution Life Australasia said, "This acquisition represents the next phase of Resolution Life's Australasian journey as we position our platform for future growth and rebrand AMP Life to Resolution Life. "Our vision is to be the leading in-force specialist life insurer in Australasia and we believe we can achieve this by being customer focused and data driven. As an in-force provider we have a truly unique customer proposition - it means we are focused only on serving our existing customers and adapting our offering to specifically meet their needs. "We are well positioned for growth in the Australian and New Zealand markets through managing our customers' existing policies as their needs change, transforming our business and by continuing to adopt a disciplined approach to acquisitions," she said. Since joining Resolution Life, the Australasian leadership team has been focused on separating from AMP and transforming the busines to become data driven and to introduce contemporary technology and digital offerings to enable better customer service and outcomes.



"We have already achieved so much and the business is performing well. By acquiring the remaining interest in AMP Life we now have full ownership and control over our future," Ms Beer concluded. The acquisition includes settlement of a number of warranty & indemnity claims with AMP. It is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to complete in H1 2022. All transitional service arrangements with AMP are being progressively wound up and will be concluded by mid 2022.

Since the original acquisition from AMP Life in July 2020, Resolution Life has acquired Voya Financial, Inc.'s individual life in-force business, and entered into reinsurance agreements with US-based Lincoln Financial Group and Allianz Suisse Life in Switzerland. Globally, Resolution Life currently manages c.US$60bn of assets, employs over 1,500 people and provides services to approximately 2.5m policyholders. Earlier this year, Resolution Life completed a c.US$1.6bn equity capital raise and has significant capital to deploy for future growth transactions. ENDS Notes to Editors: About Resolution Life Resolution Life is a global life insurance group focusing on the acquisition and management of portfolios of life insurance policies. Since 2003 to date, prior Resolution entities together with Resolution Life have deployed c.US$16bn of equity in the acquisition, reinsurance, consolidation and management of life insurance companies. Together, these companies have served the needs of c.12.6m policyholders while managing over US$357bn of assets. Resolution Life today has operations in Bermuda, the U.K., the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, and has raised almost $5bn of equity to partner in assisting the restructuring of the primary life insurance industry globally. Resolution Life provides a safe and reliable partner for insurers as they restructure by Focusing on existing customers, rather than seeking expansion by new sales

Delivering policyholder benefits in a secure, well capitalised environment

Returning capital over time to our institutional investors in the form of a steady dividend yield About Resolution Life Australasia Resolution Life Australasia has approximately $30 billion in assets under management and is a well-capitalised business with a dedicated focus on servicing its existing 1.3 million customers and providing them with competitive premiums, quality investment management, great customer service and efficient claims management. 1 Resolution Life-controlled holding company (Resolution Life NOHC Pty Ltd) that wholly owns AMP Life. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005114/en/

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[November 03, 2021] 4,000 attendees meet at BLOCKCHANCE 2021 to discuss climate change, regulation, and tokenization

HAMBURG, Germany, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At BLOCKCHANCE 2021  Europe's leading blockchain event - over 4,000 attendees meet to discuss climate change, regulation, and tokenization. BLOCKCHANCE is also welcoming influential speakers such as Joseph Lubin, Co-Founder of Ethereum, Raoul Pal, Co-Founder of Real Vision and former Goldman Sachs Executive, as well as Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy. On 2-4 December 2021, BLOCKCHANCE Europe 2021 will open the doors of the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg, Germany, to more than 4,000 participants and 120 speakers. Attendees will join the event either in person (if vaccinated or recovered) or virtually. Blockchain and climate change: Transparency and sustainable impact With COP26 under way and Bitcoin's exorbitant energy bill, climate change is high on the agenda. Pascal van Knijff, CEO at Future of Trust, will discuss how blockchain can support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Katharina Gehra, CEO of Immutable Insights, will highlight blockchain investments, in line with ESG standards. Robin Klemens, Co-Chair of Hyperledger Climate Action and Accounting SIG will deep-dive into open climate accounting systems. "Digital transformation is the ultimate catalyst to reach the SDGs. We can create disruptive ecosytems to fulfill a vision where we improve the quality of life and the environment we live in," Pascal van Knijff, CEO of Future of Trust.



Bitcoin and sustainable mining, topics of controversy in tandem, will be analyzed by Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8 Mining. Lennart Ante from Blockchain Research Lab and Peter Marggraff, CEO of Crypto Supply will discuss Bitcoin's impact and how this contrasts with its economic potential. Blockchain regulation  bringing light to darkness

High-level policy makers from the European Commission such as Lukas Repa, Senior Policy Officer Fintech and Blockchain and Bjorn Soren Gigler, Senior Digital Innovation Officer will dissect regulation of digital technologies, while Stephan Breidenbach, Leader for Policy and Legal at GermanZero will look into the future of digital legislation. "What makes BLOCKCHANCE so interesting is the great diversity our speakers bring to the table. Research in blockchain is linked to the real economy, while investors get direct access to business-use cases," says Fabian Friedrich, CEO of BLOCKCHANCE. Tokenization and NFTs Tokenization and the gateway to a token-based economy are also highlights with Yael Tamar, Co-Founder of SolidBlock linking tokenization to the future of finance. Konstantin Graf, Co-Founder of Kollektor will analyze the hype around non-fungible tokens (NFTs), while Marc Buckley, Consultant at the World Economic Forum will speak about tokenized investments. Fabian Vogelsteller, a Blockchain veteran since the early days of Ethereum who proposed the token standard will also take to the stage in Hamburg. This is just a glimpse of BLOCKCHANCE 2021 with more sessions on digital payments, digital assets, and the potential of a multi-blockchain universe. BLOCKCHANCE introduces blockchain and emerging technologies for a positive and sustainable future. Our optimistic curiosity attracts and creates a community of like-minded people, thought leaders and visionaries. Together with you, we can shape the world of tomorrow. As a founding member of the EU interest group Inatba, BLOCKCHANCE is considered an accelerator hub in the blockchain community. BLOCKCHANCE Europe is the leading event for blockchain and DLT in Europe. Since 2018, together with the First Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher and the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, BLOCKCHANCE is developing Hamburg into a blockchain hotspot in Europe. www.blockchance.eu

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[November 03, 2021] Gaming Innovation Group signs platform agreement with established German operator

OSLO, Norway, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaming Innovation Group Inc. (GiG) has today signed a long-term agreement with a Berlin-based operator that will migrate its existing brand to GiG's iGaming Platform. This is an exciting partnership with a brand which has been operating for 18 months and has established a significant database of customers. Following the successful migration, the established operator will re-launch in the sustainable German market via GiG's powerful platform technology. This is particularly significant for GiG as this is the kind of partnership GiG has been striving towards achieving within regulated markets. Over the past year, GiG has been working on updating and improving its Player account management system (PAM) to enable established brands to migrate their database successfully and smoothly to GiG's PAM. The agreement is based on a revenue share model with a minimum duration of four years. Richard Brown, CEO, said : "I am extremely happy to have partnered with a successfully established operator for the newly regulated German market. It's always a proud moment when we add to our growing list of platform partners, even more so when it' with a company that has established a strong reputation within the industry and mirrors our vision for the type of customer we want as our partners. With their expertise and knowledge of the German market and GiG's innovative technology, I am confident that the collaboration will drive success for both parties and deliver a truly enjoyable iGaming experience for their players throughout Germany."



For further information, please contact:

Richard Brown, CEO, [email protected], +34 661599025

Tore Formo, Group CFO, [email protected], +47 91668678 About Gaming Innovation Group (GiG)

Gaming Innovation Group is a leading iGaming technology company, providing solutions, products and services to iGaming Operators. Founded in 2012, Gaming Innovation Group's vision is 'To be the industry-leading platform and media provider delivering world-class solutions to our iGaming partners and their customers. GiG's mission is to drive sustainable growth and profitability of our partners through product innovation, scalable technology and quality of service. Gaming Innovation Group operates out of Malta and is dual-listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GIG and on Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker symbol GIGSEK. www.gig.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/gaming-innovation-group/r/gaming-innovation-group-signs-platform-agreement-with-established-german-operator,c3446083

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[November 03, 2021] Top Digital Marketing Companies at GoodFirms Serving Different Advertising Techniques for Businesses

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketing is a vital task in the business context, as the successful advertising endeavor drives inbound leads and engages more customers. Marketing has deep roots in industries that encompass several activities of promoting the services or selling the products of a business. These traditional marketing processes have been revamped and have led to the evolution of digital marketing. List of Top Digital Marketing Agencies Providing Various Advertising Techniques for Businesses at GoodFirms. Presently, digital marketing is trending. Businesses utilize different types of digital marketing channels to market products and services, personalize the customer experience, and execute cross-channel marketing. It includes several digital marketing techniques like online reputation management, PPC, Public Relations, SEM, SEO, SMM, Video Production, Voice Search Optimization, and much more. Businesses of all sizes are taking the assistance of Top Digital Marketing Companies to execute different techniques for better revenue growth, enhance branding, target the right audience to reach more qualified buyers online, etc. GoodFirms.co has unveiled the list of best digital marketing agencies known for providing various online marketing services to help the service seekers meet the best partners to build the right digital marketing strategy for their business. Take a Sneak Peek at the List of Top Digital Marketing Agencies Providing Various Advertising Techniques for Businesses at GoodFirms: Top Online Reputation Management Companies: WebiMax, PageTraffic Inc, THATWARE LLP, Reputation X, Maltin PR Ltd, Alder Media, The PHA Group, PR Agency One, Aresheh Public Relations, Lansons. https://www.goodfirms.co/directory/marketing-services/top-digital-marketing-companies/online-reputation-management Top Pay Per Click (PPC) Companies: WebFX, SmartSites, Ignite Visibility, SEOValley Solutions Private Limited, Uplers, SEOTonic Web Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Brick Marketing, SEM Nexus, Unidev. https://www.goodfirms.co/directory/marketing-services/top-digital-marketing-companies/advertising-ppc Top Public Relations (PR) Firms: p>Edelman, BCW ( Burson Cohn & Wolfe), Ketchum, MSL, Ogilvy, APCO, W2O, Padilla, Havas Media, Matter Communications.



https://www.goodfirms.co/directory/marketing-services/top-digital-marketing-companies/pr Top Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Companies:

Major Tom, Mayple, Brandingnuts, 8 Views, BrandLume, Skalski Growth, eSign Web Services Pvt. Ltd., Quick SEO Help, Capital Numbers, BrandBurp Digital. https://www.goodfirms.co/directory/marketing-services/top-digital-marketing-companies/sem Best SEO Companies & Services: Sure Oak, Actuate Media, WEB CHOICE, Social Media 55, AMR Softec, Caveni Digital Solutions, SEO DaddyCompany, Delante, Livepage, Mandy Web Design. https://www.goodfirms.co/seo-agencies Top Social Media Marketing Companies: Thrive Internet Marketing Agency, LYFE Marketing, Sociallyin, Mainstreethost, Ignite Social Media, BadRhino, Disruptive Advertising INC, Viral In Nature, Maxaudience, Inc, Firebelly Marketing. https://www.goodfirms.co/directory/marketing-services/top-digital-marketing-companies/social-media-marketing Top Video Production Companies: Dad of Ad, Courimo, GeeksChip, Redcube Digital Pvt Ltd, Prism Events Digital Advertising, ShoutnHike, The NineHertz, FATbit Technologies, Search Berg, Storm Brain. https://www.goodfirms.co/directory/marketing-services/top-digital-marketing-companies/video-production Top Voice Search Optimization Companies: LeadValets, Dot Com Infoway, Lounge Lizard, Linea Digitech, Webfollow, Enlive Digital Marketing, MysticDigi Pvt Ltd, TMS Digital, ValisoyMedia, Mrmmbs Vision. https://www.goodfirms.co/directory/marketing-services/top-digital-marketing-companies/voice-search-optimization B2B GoodFirms is a maverick research, ratings and reviews platform. It helps to build a strong platform for the service seekers to make it effortless for them to get in contact with the best partners. The research team of GoodFirms assesses each agency through numerous factors. It includes three main pillars that are Quality, Reliability, and Ability. Further, these components are subdivided into various measures to determine every firm's past and present portfolio, years of experience, online market penetration, and client feedback. Thus, by focusing on the overall research methodology each agency obtains a set of scores that are out of a total of 60. Hence, according to these points all the top development companies, best software and other organizations from diverse industries are indexed in the catalog along with genuine ratings and reviews. Additionally, GoodFirms invites the service providers from varied industries to participate in the research process and show the strong evidence of their work. Hence, get a wonderful chance to Get Listed in the catalog of top companies and best software as per their categories. Obtaining a presence in the list of top service providers at GoodFirms will help to spread its wings globally and increase productivity. About GoodFirms: GoodFirms is a Washington, D.C. based research firm that aligns its efforts in identifying the most prominent and efficient digital marketing companies that deliver results to their clients. GoodFirms research is a confluence of new age consumer reference processes and conventional industry-wide review & rankings that help service seekers leap further and multiply their industry-wide value and credibility. Rachael Ray

(360) 326-2243

[email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/top-digital-marketing-companies-at-goodfirms-serving-different-advertising-techniques-for-businesses-301415066.html SOURCE GoodFirms

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[November 03, 2021] ESR shareholders approve acquisition of ARA Asset Management

Overwhelming support from shareholders to approve the creation of APAC's largest real asset fund management platform powered by New Economy real estate

Mr. Lim Hwee Chiang (John), Dr. Chiu Kwok Hung , Justin, and Mr. Rajeev Kannan elected as non-executive Directors of the Board upon completion of the Proposed Acquisition HONG KONG, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ESR Cayman Limited ("ESR" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries as the "Group"; SEHK Stock Code: 1821) today announced that the Company's shareholders have voted to approve all of the proposals in relation to the proposed acquisition of ARA Asset Management (the "Proposed Acquisition" or the "Transaction") at the Extraordinary General Meeting (the "EGM") held today. 91.81% of the votes cast were in favour of the approval of the Proposed Acquisition. ESR shareholders also voted overwhelmingly to elect Mr. Lim Hwee Chiang (John), Dr. Chiu Kwok Hung, Justin, and Mr. Rajeev Kannan as non-executive Directors of the Board upon completion of the Proposed Acquisition. Jeffrey Perlman, Chairman of ESR, remarked: "I am very pleased that our shareholders overwhelmingly supported this landmark transaction, which brings two best-in-class businesses and teams together to form APAC's #1 real asset manager powered by New Economy real estate. We are currently experiencing a once-in-a-generation change in real estate and the enlarged ESR Group is very well positioned to capture the largest secular trends including the continued rise of e-commerce, an accelerating digital transformation and the financialisation of real estate. We look forward to welcoming our new strategic shareholders, the newly elected directors, the expanded teams at ARA and LOGOS, and working together to take the enlarged ESR to its next stage of growth as we embark on a new era in APAC real estate." The ESR-ARA Transaction creates the largest real asset manager in APAC and the third largest listed real estate investment manager globally with a combined AUM of US$131 billion[1]. Upon completion of the Transaction, ARA's business will be combined with ESR's platform to form the enlarged ESR Group which is powered by the leading New Economy real estate platform with over US$50 billion[2] of AUM and which represents approximately 80% of the enlarged Group's EBITDA. Additionally, over 50% of the enlarged Group's AUM will come from perpetual and core capital vehicles including 14 listed REITs, which strengthens the Group's fully integrated closed loop solutions ecosystem for capital partners and further enhances the platform's earnings resilience and asset light trajectory. Jeffrey Shen and Stuart Gibson, ESR Co-founders and Co-CEOs, said: "We are grateful to our shareholders for their unwavering trust and support in ESR. In joining forces with ARA (and by extension LOGOS), we will leverage the expertise, best practices and capital market relationships across the combined platform to grow the enlarged ESR to new heights. Together, we will continue to strengthen ESR's leading position as a resilient, purpose-led organisation with deep commitment to ESG, innovation and value creation for our stakeholders." As one of the value enhancing steps for the enlarged Group on the back of the Proposed Acquisition, ESR announced in October the proposed merger of ESR-REIT and ARA LOGOS Logistics Trust to form ESR-LOGOS REIT ("ELOG"), a flagship future-ready New Economy APAC S-REIT with total assets of S$5.4 billion[3] (approximately US$4 billion). As the largest sponsor of REITs in APAC post the Proposed Acquisition, ESR remains highly committed to supporting the long-term growth of ELOG by leveraging its position as the leading New Economy real estate platform in the region. The ESR-ARA Transaction is expected to close by the end of 2021 or the first quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions including, amongst others, regulatory approvals. An announcement with full poll results of the EGM has been published on the websites of ESR and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. About ESR ESR is the largest APAC focused logistics real estate platform by gross floor area ("GFA") and by value of the assets owned directly and by the funds and investment vehicles it manages with a growing presence in data centres. ESR and the funds and investment vehicles it manages are backed by some of the world's preeminent investors including APG, CPP Investments, JD.com, Oxford Properties, PGGM and SK Holdings. The ESR platform spans major economies across the APAC region, including China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. As of 30 June 2021, the fair value of the properties directly held by ESR and the assets under management with respect to the funds and investment vehicles managed by ESR recorded approximately US$36.3 billion, and GFA of properties completed and under development as well as GFA to be built on land held for future development comprised over 22.6 million sqm in total. Listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in November 2019, ESR is a constituent of the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (Large Cap), Hang Seng Composite Index and MSCI Hong Kong Index. For more information on ESR, please visit www.esr.com. CONTACTS







Investors Chang Rui Hua Group Managing Director Capital Markets and Investor Relations +852 2376 9623 [email protected] Media Antonia Au Group Executive Director Corporate Communications +852 2376 9617 [email protected]



[1] Reported AUM of US$36.3Bn for ESR as at 30 June 2021. AUM by ARA Group and its Associates as at 30 June 2021, adjusted for LOGOS' acquisition of Moorebank Logistics Park announced on 5 July 2021 but excludes announced acquisition of Qantas project on 15 October 2021. [2] Includes ESR REITs and ARA LOGOS Logistics Trust. [3] Based on reported total assets as of 30 June 2021. SOURCE ESR Cayman Limited

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[November 03, 2021] Climate Finance Delivery Plan Co-led by Canada and Germany Highlighted on Day Three of COP26

GLASGOW, United Kingdom, Nov. 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Climate finance is integral to addressing climate change and helping developing countries adapt to its worst impacts. Today at COP26 as delegates focused attention on financing a robust and sustainable effort to combat climate change, the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Honourable Steven Guilbeault, are meeting with stakeholders and country representatives to highlight Canada's climate finance contribution. They also stressed the need for developed countries to advance plans to ensure climate finance is delivered effectively, efficiently and at scale. At a press conference with Jochen Flasbarth, Germany's State Secretary at the Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and Minister Wilkinson highlighted the joint Canada-Germany Climate Finance Delivery Plan. The Delivery Plan, released last week, provides clarity on when and how developed countries will meet the $100-billion annual climate finance goal through to 2025. The Plan helps keep momentum going, and facilitates important conversations ensuring that we collectively deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement. While developed countries have significantly scaled-up their climate finance commitments over the last decade, more must be done to reach the $100B goal. Canada is at the forefront of driving progress on climate finance and recently accepted a request from COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma to work with Germany to produce a focused Delivery Plan on the $100-billion commitment with the objective of building confidence and trust that developed countries will deliver on their promise. The Plan sets out an estimated trajectory of climate finance from through to 2025  taking into account new climate finance pledges from individual developed countries and multilateral development banks, as well as collective qualitative actions to improve the delivery of climate finance. The Plan shows that developed countries will make significant progress toward the $100-billion goal in 2022 and provides confidence that it will be met in 2023 and thereafter through to 2025. Quotes "It is critically important for developing countris to be able to trust that the developed world will make good on its promises, starting with the $100-billion climate finance goal. Canada doubled its climate finance commitment earlier this year and is proud to have taken on this leadership role with Germany at the request of the COP26 President-Designate. While more work needs to be done, I hope that we can instil confidence and trust that developed countries will deliver on their promises to the developing world and that Canada will continue to be a constructive player to this end internationally."



The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson

Minister of Natural Resources Canada "Developing countries are the hardest hit by the impacts of climate change. It is our responsibility, as developed countries, to live up to our goal and deliver $100-billion in climate finance. Through the Climate Finance Delivery Plan we demonstrate that although we will be late, we will meet the goal. Addressing this priority in advance of COP26 would not have been possible without the leadership that Canada and Germany played."

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Quick facts: Climate finance plays a critical role in helping developing countries fight climate change and adapt to its impacts. That is why, in 2009, developed countries agreed to mobilize $100 billion in climate finance per year by 2020, and in 2015 agreed to extend this goal through to 2025.



in climate finance per year by 2020, and in 2015 agreed to extend this goal through to 2025. In June 2021 , the Prime Minister of Canada announced that Canada will double its international climate finance commitment to $5.3 billion over the next five years. Canada's increased commitment to climate finance includes an increased focus on adaptation and recognizes that urgent action is needed to address the interconnected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, which disproportionally affect the poorest and most vulnerable.



, the Prime Minister of announced that will double its international climate finance commitment to over the next five years. increased commitment to climate finance includes an increased focus on adaptation and recognizes that urgent action is needed to address the interconnected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, which disproportionally affect the poorest and most vulnerable. The OECD supported the work on this Delivery Plan with its expert analysis that provides aggregate, forward-looking estimates of an increase in climate finance from 2021 to 2025.



The United Kingdom holds the Presidency of COP26 , this year's international climate meeting and negotiations. Climate finance is one of the four COP26 goals, a key priority for the UK's COP26 Presidency. Related products Official website of COP26 (English only)

Canada's Climate Finance

Climate Finance Delivery Plan

Canada's strengthened climate plan: A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy

OECD'sForward-lookingScenarios of Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised by Developed Countries in 2021-2025 Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan), @environtmenca

(https://twitter.com/environmentca)

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

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[November 03, 2021] Aleph Farms Unveils Roadmap For Achieving Net Zero Carbon By 2025

Aleph Farms, the first cultivated meat company to grow steaks directly from non-genetically engineered animal cells, today announced its detailed roadmap for achieving net zero carbon. In April 2020, Aleph Farms first announced it would reach net zero within its operations by 2025, and throughout its entire supply chain by 2030. Today, Aleph Farms' net zero carbon roadmap details its scope for achievement, strategic partnerships and the investments necessary to advance its environmental goals and business bottom line as the company delivers its quality cultivated beef steaks. "The production of food is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet today, and a driving reason why Aleph Farms is making long-term sustainability a top priority," said Dr. Lee Recht, VP sustainability at Aleph Farms. "Our roadmap represents significant research that will enable us to fulfill our commitment to total net zero within this decade and we strongly encourage other companies within the agrifood ecosystem to work to eliminate their carbon footprint as soon as possible." Aleph Farms' roadmap to net zero carbon was created in partnership with Aimee Christensen, CEO of Christensen Global Strategies and a world-renowned expert in climate change and sustainability strategies. The roadmap to reduce the company's carbon footprint includes optimized energy efficiency, transitioning renewable energy, offsetting and/or insetting unavoidable remaining emissions via reinvestment in decarbonizing Aleph Farms' own production lines and supply chains. "By building a company with a net zero mindset from nearly day one, Aleph Farms is pioneering the smart clean growth that all companies must take," Christensen said. "By investing in energy efficiency and direct renewable energy supplies and similar strategies within its supply chain, Aleph Farms will benefit their bottom line now and even more in the future as carbon is priced around the world." As part of its roadmap, Aleph Farms has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ENGIE Impact, the sustainability consulting arm of ENGIE. The two companies will work together to ensure Aleph Farms' operations are net-zero compatible from the get-go, integrating energy efficiency, circularity in energy, as well as renewable energy and other strategic investments across Aleph's production line and supply chains.



"We are delighted to work with Aleph Farms to support their net-zero strategy and vision to transform the meat industry," said Nicolas Lefevre-Marton, Managing Director, EMEAI at ENGIE Impact. "We are deeply committed to helping bold organizations of all sizes around the world develop the right decarbonization goals, roadmaps and execution strategies to successfully achieve net-zero." In addition, Aleph Farms' commitment to net zero carbon is being supported by a partnership with CE Delft, to analyze the life cycle impacts of Aleph Farms' production line and supply chain, identifying hotspots and working to optimize the overall ecological footprint including carbon, water, waste and more. CE Delft recently conducted a study that found cultivated meat has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of beef production by 92% when utilizing renewable sources of energy.

Aleph Farms is co-hosting an event alongside Food Tank at this year's COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland on November 9, 2021. The panel, A New Approach to Meat, will discuss what it takes to change the production of animal protein and improve environmental impact while maintaining farmers' livelihoods and food security. The company's white paper, An Inclusive Transition to a Sustainable and Resilient Meat Sector, highlights how transformational net zero carbon production systems can complement sustainable agricultural practices, supplying nutritional food to the growing population and strengthening global food security. To learn more about Aleph Farms' path to sustainability, please visit aleph-farms.com/sustainability. About Aleph Farms Aleph Farms grows beef steaks, from non-genetically engineered, non immortalized cells isolated from a living cow, without slaughtering the animal and with a significantly reduced impact to the environment. The company was co-founded in 2017 by Didier Toubia, The Kitchen Hub of the Strauss Group, and Professor Shulamit Levenberg from the Biomedical Engineering Faculty at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. The company's vision is to provide unconditional nutrition for anyone, anytime, anywhere. For more information, follow Aleph Farms on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn or visit www.aleph-farms.com. Access the Aleph Farms press kit here. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005338/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Clade Therapeutics Raises $87 Million Series A Financing to Realize the Potential of Cell Therapy

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clade Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and delivering scalable, off-the-shelf, next-generation stem cell-based medicines, today announced it has secured an $87 million Series A financing led by Syncona Ltd. with participation from LifeSci Venture Partners, Emerson Collective and Bristol Myers Squibb. Proceeds from this financing will support the development of the Companys proprietary platform, which enables the immune cloaking of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and the differentiation of cloaked stem cells into therapeutic cells.

We have reached an era in medicine where insights across genetic engineering, regenerative medicine and immunology have enabled a revolution of cell medicines, said Chad Cowan, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Clade Therapeutics. Clade was founded to overcome the clinical limitations of current cell therapies by addressing durability, patient compatibility, reproducibility and scalability to deliver on the transformative potential of this increasingly important therapeutic modality. Jim Glasheen, Ph.D., President and Chief Business Officer of Clade Therapeutics, said, We feel very fortunate to partner with a world-class group of investors. The syndicates combination of industry insight, technical expertise, entrepreneurial zeal, and focus on patient impact brings incredible value to the Company. Martin Murphy, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syncona Ltd., said, Clades inherent focus on developing therapies derived from a single engineered cell source has the potential to shift the paradigm of cell medicine with unprecedented scalability and standardization. We are thrilled to support Clades aggressive development of broadly accessible, off-the-shelf products with consistent pharmaceutical criteria to expand the reach of cell therapies across patients and indications. Ryan Cinalli, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of LifeSci Venture Partners, said, Clade has assembled a world-class team of scientific pioneers whose foundational discoveries are integral to the Companys immune cloaking technology platform. We are confident that Clades leadership will innovate the next generation of cell therapies that harness cloaking technology to overcome the immune barriers that have limited durability and redosing in the field. Neil White, Investment Manager of Emerson Collective, said, The unparalleled expertise and novel approach to generating stem cell-derived adult T, NK and B cells positions Clade as leaders in developing widely accessible cell medicines. With differentiation and cloaking technologies in place, this funding round will accelerate the development of Clades immune cell-focused, cancer therapeutics. Aout Clade Therapeutics





About Syncona

Syncona's purpose is to invest to extend and enhance human life. We do this by founding and building a portfolio of global leaders in life science to deliver transformational treatments to patients in areas of high unmet need.

Our strategy is to found, build and fund companies around exceptional science to create a diversified portfolio of 15-20 globally leading healthcare businesses for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We focus on developing treatments for patients by working in close partnership with world-class academic founders and management teams. Our balance sheet underpins our strategy enabling us to take a long-term view as we look to improve the lives of patients with no or poor treatment options, build sustainable life science companies and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to shareholders. About LifeSci Venture Partners

Formed in 2017, LifeSci Venture Partners is the early stage investing arm of LifeSci Partners, a unique life sciences and healthcare consultancy. We focus on private institutional financing rounds of transformational healthcare companies managed by exceptional founder/entrepreneurs. Our most recent fund, LifeSci Venture Partners II, LP was launched in 2020 and has invested in more than 25 breakthrough biotechnology and healthcare technology companies. For further information, please visit the company's website at https://www.lifesciventure.com/. About Emerson Collective

Emerson Collective deploys a wide range of tools  from impact investing to philanthropy to advocacy  in pursuit of a more equal and just society. We focus on creating systemic change in education, immigration, climate, and cancer research and treatment. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements related to Clades iPSC immune cloaking and differentiation platform technology to address compatibility, durability, reproducibility and scalability of cell therapies, Clades ability to develop broadly accessible, off-the-shelf products with consistent pharmaceutical criteria and expand the reach of cell therapies across patients and indications, the funding round resulting in the acceleration of the development of Clades immune cell-focused, cancer therapeutics and the value that the investor syndicate adds to the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks that Clades actual future financial and operating results may differ from its expectations or goals, Clades ability to commercialize and successfully launch its products, risks relating to Clades ability to successfully implement its business strategies, including potential competition, the ability to protect intellectual property and defend patents, regulatory obligations and oversight, including any changes in the legal and regulatory environment in which Clade operates and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business. We undertake no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information. Contact

Ligia Vela Reid

LifeSci Advisors

Tel: +4407413825310

[email protected]



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[November 03, 2021]

Quanta Computer Joins LaSAR Alliance for Augmented Reality Wearable Devices

PISCATAWAY, N.J., Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The LaSAR Alliance (Laser Scanning for Augmented Reality) announces the addition of Quanta Computer, a world-leading notebook and datacenter equipment manufacturer, as a founding member to the alliance. The alliance was launched as a member program of the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (ISTO), an international federation promoting industry standards and technologies in the electro-technical sector.



The LaSAR Alliance was established to create an ecosystem to enable the efficient design and manufacture of augmented reality (AR) wearable devices, including smart glasses and head-mounted displays. The alliance aims to facilitate the exchange and sharing of information, to create, build and grow effective and compelling LBS (Laser Beam Scanning) -based solutions, and to help drive the growth of the market for AR wearables in general.

LaSAR welcomes Quanta Computer to the Alliance and looks forward to their contributions to building the solid foundation on which we can all drive the growth of augmented reality wearable devices through laser beam scanning solutions, said Dr. Bharath Rajagopalan, Chair of the LaSAR Alliance and Director, Strategic Marketingat STMicroelectronics.







Quanta Computer is delighted to join the LaSAR Alliance and looks forward to contributing towards advancing LBS technologies for augmented reality products, said Mr. C.C. Leung, Vice Chairman and President of Quanta Computer.

About LaSAR Alliance

The LaSAR Alliance Founding Board Members are represented by STMicroelectronics, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Quanta Computer, Mega1, Dispelix, and AMAT Applied Materials.

The LaSAR Alliance has established multiple tiers of membership levels to meet the robust industry needs.

To learn more about membership, you can visit the LaSAR website at www.LaSARAlliance.org

For all media inquiries please reach out to [email protected]

About Quanta Computer

Quanta Computer is a Fortune Global 500 Company and the worlds leading provider for notebook computers, datacenter equipment and other technology products. Quanta provides innovative products with superior technology that range from information, communication, networking, consumer electronics, and car electronics to cloud computing infrastructure solutions.

Founded in 1988, Quanta Computer is headquartered in Taiwan with major operation facilities set up in Asia, North America, South America, and Europe. Quanta Group currently employs over 90,000 employees worldwide with consolidated revenues reached approximately US$38 billion for fiscal year 2020. For further information, please visit Quanta Computers Website at http://www.quantatw.com/
[November 03, 2021] Pierpoint Launches Sister Company: Parasolve, for Smart Software Solutions

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pierpoint International is proud to announce our new sister company, Parasolve. As a premier RPO Solutions provider, we have experienced first hand the power of digital solutions, this being parallel to our several partnerships with high tech companies in Silicon Valley and all across the globe. Pierpoint launches sister company: Parasolve. Offering cost-effective, high-quality outsourced software development. Over the past years, we identified the demand for cost-effective and high-quality outsourced solutions for app and software development projects. As we continue to expand Pierpoint's impact in the Talent Acquisition industry, we are excited to begin tis new chapter with our sister company.



The creation of Parasolve has been driven by our confidence in software's impact in our everyday lives, as well as the digital transformation of businesses. Through design thinking, agility and empathy we will relentlessly pursue an innovative approach to development solutions. At Parasolve, we aim to develop cutting edge software that is simple and looks great. We specialize in end-to-end development of high-quality products and projects, providing top digital solutions from start-ups to enterprises. Our self-managed delivery team approach accelerates product milestones by partnering with Project and Product Managers, Full Stack Engineers, UX/UI Designers, DevOps and QA Engineers.

Our Services:

App & Software Development

QA & Testing

DevOps

Enterprise IT

Security We know that the best ideas come from the ability to understand our surroundings, seeing all possible perspectives and being open to challenging them. To learn more about how we can develop your digital ideas, please visit www.parasolve.co View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pierpoint-launches-sister-company-parasolve-for-smart-software-solutions-301414950.html SOURCE Pierpoint International

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[November 03, 2021] Harvey Performance Company Announces Investment from Berkshire Partners

Harvey Performance Company ("Harvey" or the "Company"), a leading designer and manufacturer of specialized cutting tools for precision machining applications, today announced that it has secured a majority investment from Boston-based Berkshire Partners ("Berkshire"). Berkshire partnered with Harvey's CEO Pete Jenkins and the Harvey management team to acquire the Company from Summit Partners, which invested in 2017. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Harvey's products provide industry-leading performance and increase productivity for manufacturing and metalworking customers. Through five world-class brands -- Harvey Tool, Helical Solutions, Micro 100, Titan USA, and CoreHog -- the Company serves a variety of industries with strict and demanding production requirements, including aerospace and defense, electronics, medical devices, telecommunications, and general machining. "We look forward to working with the Berkshire Partners team," said Pete Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of Harvey. "They have deep experience in building strong industrial businesses like ours and bring distinctive expertise and resources to support our strategic growth. I also want to thank the team at Summit Partners for their support over the last four years, partnering with us on organic growth, multiple acquisitions, and product development." "We are thrilled to partner with the Harvey team, whose deep commitment to product innovation and service excellence continues to drive their growth," said Mike Ascione, Managing Director at Berkshire Partners. "The Harvey busines system is a proven, best-in-class model for driving growth and creating meaningful value for all stakeholders. Harvey is also a company that understands the value of broad employee engagement and ensuring an equitable and inclusive culture so that all employees benefit from their hard work."



"We've enjoyed partnering with Pete and his senior leadership team over the past several years to help drive significant organic and acquisition-driven growth in the business," said Jay Pauley Managing Director at Summit Partners. "We are proud to have partnered with Harvey and look forward to watching their continued growth." Paul, Weiss and Guggenheim served as legal and financial advisors, respectively, to Berkshire on the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis and Piper Sandler served as legal and financial advisors to Summit Partners.

About Harvey Performance Company

Harvey Performance Company strives to offer unique and innovative products to solve the most challenging machining requirements. Its distinct brands, Harvey Tool, Helical Solutions, Micro 100, Titan USA, and CoreHog serve specialty needs and markets with a shared commitment to delivering high-quality products and superior service. The brands offer a broad range of products and services that help support machinists, engineers, and CNC programmers while giving their shops a competitive advantage. Harvey Performance Company has a proud history of doing business the right way - offering fast, friendly service; providing comprehensive product support; and treating customers, suppliers, and shareholders in a way that builds strategic, strong, and enduring relationships. For more information, visit www.harveyperformance.com. About Berkshire Partners

Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based firm, has 35 years of investment history. Berkshire Private Equity has made more than 135 private equity investments since its inception and has a strong history of partnering with management teams to grow the companies in which it invests. Berkshire Partners has been an active investor in high-quality, industrial growth businesses for many decades; example investments include Advanced Drainage Systems, Consolidated Precision Products, National Carwash Solutions, Parts Town, SRS Distribution, and TransDigm. The firm also invests in consumer, communications, healthcare, services, and technology companies. For additional information, and to see a full list of the firm's private equity investments, visit www.berkshirepartners.com or follow on LinkedIn (News - Alert). About Summit Partners

Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm that is currently managing more than $42 billion in capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 550 companies in technology, healthcare, and other growth industries. These companies have completed more than 175 public equity offerings, and more than 200 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable industrial growth companies backed by Summit include Grand Design RV, FineLine Technologies, Markforged, Parts Town, ProGlove (News - Alert) and Vivint. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, please see www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005331/en/

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[November 03, 2021] The New York Times Company Reports 2021 Third-Quarter Results

The New York Times Company (News - Alert) (NYSE: NYT) announced today that its third-quarter 2021 financial results are available on The New York Times Company's investor relations website at investors.nytco.com. As previously announced, The New York Times Company will host its earnings conference call today at 8:00 a.m. E.T. to discuss these financial results. A live webcast of the earnings conference call will be available at investors.nytco.com. Participants can pre-register for the telephone conference at https://dpregister.com/sreg/10160503/edaf2aa7c8, which will generate dial-in instructions allowing participants to bypass an operator at the time of the call. Alternatively, to access the call without pre-registration, dial 844-413-3940 (in the U.S.) or 412-858-5208 (international callers).



An archive of the webcast will be available beginning about two hours after the call at investors.nytco.com. An audio replay will be available at 877-344-7529 (in the U.S.) and 412-317-0088 (international callers) beginning approximately two hours after the call until 11:59 p.m. E.T. on Wednesday, November 17. The passcode is 10160503. About The New York Times Company

The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) is a trusted source of quality, independent journalism whose mission is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. With more than 8 million subscriptions across a diverse array of print and digital products - from news to cooking to games - The Times has evolved from a local and regional news leader into a diversified media company with curious readers, listeners and viewers around the globe. Follow news about the company at NYTCo.com. This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005620/en/

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[November 03, 2021] PAR Technology Subsidiary Announces Largest Contract in Company History

PAR Government Systems Corporation (PGSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR), today announced that it has been awarded a $490,400,000 ceiling, single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee completion and firm-fixed-price type orders for Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) software, hardware, and technical documentation. This is the largest single contract award in PAR's history. This contract provides for research, designing, prototyping, testing, evaluation, operational evaluation, experimentation, integration, technical installation, transition and support through initial operations of C-sUAS technologies. Commenting on the award Matt Cicchinelli, President of PAR Government stated, "We are pleased that the Air Force has shown confidence in, and selection of PAR Government to support this important solution development and integration program. PAR Government will utilize our technical in-depth experience and knowledge gained over decades of working with the Department of Defense to accomplish the requirements of this important effort." Savneet Singh, PAR Technology's CEO stated, "PAR is gratified to have been selected to provide advanced C-sUAS solutions in response to urgent mission needs. We have always prided ourselves on customer satisfaction and understand the critical role we play in supporting our operational customers and their requirements." Contract work will be performed in Rome, New York, and is expected to be a 6-year ordering period with a maximum of a 2-year Order Period of Performance beyond the ordering period. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2021 research and development funds in the amount of $5,700,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory (News - Alert),Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-21-D-1100).



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 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. PAR Technology Corporation (PAR) through its Government segment provides intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance ("ISR") solutions and mission systems support to the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies. 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/20211103005298/en/

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[November 03, 2021] UN issues new guidance to address warming in cities

- Prepared with RMI, the comprehensive guide prescribes proven strategies to achieve sustainable urban cooling, with scores of case studies - Overheated cities face disproportionate climate costs due to 'heat island effect'; average city could warm as much as 4C by 2100 GLASGOW, Scotland and NEW DELHI, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today published detailed guidance to help the world's cities address warming, which is occurring at twice the global average rate in urban areas. Beating the Heat: A Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities, prepared with RMI, states that by the end of this century, many cities could warm as much as 4 C if GHG emissions continue at high levels. Even at 1.5C of warming, 2.3 billion people could be vulnerable to severe heat waves. Launched at the ongoing UN Climate Conference (COP26) by the Cool Coalition, UNEP, RMI, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), Mission Innovation and the Clean Cooling Collaborative, the new guide offers planners an encyclopaedia of proven options to help cool cities. "Science tells us that to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5C, we need to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century. Sustainable and equitable urban cooling must be a part of cities' efforts to reach net-zero energy targets," said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director. In outlining the problem, the Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities describes how cities are warming quickly due to the 'heat island effect', caused by a combination of diminished green cover, the thermal properties of the materials commonly used in urban surfaces, and waste heat from human activities. The Handbook notes that: Demand for space cooling is increasing. The energy requirement for space cooling is predicted to triple from 2016 to 2050 as millions of households in developing countries acquire air conditioners in the coming decades.

The energy requirement for space cooling is predicted to triple from 2016 to 2050 as millions of households in developing countries acquire air conditioners in the coming decades. Impacts of urban heat are not evenly distributed. Cooler cities, homes and streets are key to ensure climate justice . Lower-income districts and communities are usually the most vulnerable to heat, placing the negative impacts of excess warming disproportionately on those least likely to be able to afford or access thermal comfort. We need to transition to more equitable and sustainable ways of cooling our cities and make them liveable for all.

Cooler cities, homes and streets are key to ensure climate justice Lower-income districts and communities are usually the most vulnerable to heat, placing the negative impacts of excess warming disproportionately on those least likely to be able to afford or access thermal comfort. We need to transition to more equitable and sustainable ways of cooling our cities and make them liveable for all. The benefits of sustainable urban cooling are far reaching, including improved health and productivity, reduced power energy requirements, lower emissions, and economic benefits.

including improved health and productivity, reduced power energy requirements, lower emissions, and economic benefits. Cooling strategies can be optimized to work together efficiently. The report calls for a whole-system approach  that is, reduce heat at urban scale, reduce cooling needs in buildings and serve cooling needs in buildings efficiently  to benefit from integrative effects. City officials working to make their cities cooler and more liveable are faced with a wide range of approaches  the challenge is where to start. "This new handbook provides a comprehensive overview of ways to cool cities sustainably and equitably," said RMI CEO Jules Kortenhorst. "Based on systems-level thinking, this handbook includes actionable guidance to help cities make progress towards sustainable and equitable urban cooling, while also cutting emissions and increasing city resilience." The guide's 80 supporting case studies and examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the stategies outlined and can help cities find an approach best suited to their unique contexts.



In collaboration with the Cool Coalition, the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance, an initiative of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) at the Atlantic Council, announced plans to disseminate the new Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities to their partner cities and counties including Athens, Greece, Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Miami-Dade County, United States. The newly announced Athens, Freetown and Miami-Dade Chief Heat Officers will be the first to benefit from this comprehensive guide. To meet the energy- and building-related emissions target of their Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Climate Agreement, Vietnam will also pilot the handbook in three cities, Can Tho, Tam Ky and Dong Hoi City.

Similarly, 10 Indian cities will collaborate with UNEP, India's National institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), RMI and the Royal Danish Embassy of India to integrate cooling into their city masterplans. Example case studies United States : Heat reduction services from urban tree cover in the United States are estimated to be worth USD 5.3 billion to USD 12.1 billion annually. Globally, investing USD 100 million annually in street trees would give 77 million people a 1C reduction in maximum temperatures on hot days.

Heat reduction services from urban tree cover in are estimated to be worth to annually. Globally, investing annually in street trees would give 77 million people a 1C reduction in maximum temperatures on hot days. Seoul, South Korea : An effort to restore the Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through the city replaced 5.8 kilometres of elevated expressway covering the stream with a mixed-use waterfront corridor. The waterfront corridor decreased temperature 3.3C to 5.9C compared to a parallel road a few blocks away.

An effort to restore the Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through the city replaced 5.8 kilometres of elevated expressway covering the stream with a mixed-use waterfront corridor. The waterfront corridor decreased temperature 3.3C to 5.9C compared to a parallel road a few blocks away. Medellin, Colombia : Green corridors were created that follow and restore the geography of the area prior to recent development. From 2016 to 2019, the city created 36 corridors, 18 along major roads and 18 along waterways, covering over 36 hectares. The areas with green corridors have already seen temperature reductions of up to 4C.

Green corridors were created that follow and restore the geography of the area prior to recent development. From 2016 to 2019, the city created 36 corridors, 18 along major roads and 18 along waterways, covering over 36 hectares. The areas with green corridors have already seen temperature reductions of up to 4C. Paris, France : Paris is home of the first and largest district cooling system in Europe . When the water temperature in the Seine River that cuts through city is below 8C, this water is used to provide "free cooling."

: is home of the first and largest district cooling system in . When the water temperature in the Seine River that cuts through city is below 8C, this water is used to provide "free cooling." Toronto, Canada : The municipal government implemented the largest lake-source cooling system in the world. Commissioned in 2004, Enwave's 264 MW of refrigeration Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system uses Lake Ontario's cold water as a renewable energy source.

The municipal government implemented the largest lake-source cooling system in the world. Commissioned in 2004, Enwave's 264 MW of refrigeration Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system uses cold water as a renewable energy source. Guangzhou, China : The municipal government adopted regional centralized cooling as part of a green and environmentally friendly modern urban centre in the core area of the Pearl River New City development. The local environmental temperature in the core area of Zhujiang New Town was reduced by 2-3C compared to using distributed cooling systems. Additional Quotes "The Global Covenant of Mayors is the world's largest alliance of cities taking action on climate, representing over 11,000 cities and one billion people. No matter how large or small a city, introducing sustainable urban cooling will both cut emissions and build resilience. We look forward to taking this handbook and sharing it across our worldwide network of cities so they can take immediate steps to make urban spaces cooler," said Andy Deacon, Acting Managing Director, Global Covenant of Mayors. "Cities are at the forefront of the climate crisis, so it's vital that local governments urgently adopt sustainable urban cooling solutions to protect their communities from rapidly rising temperatures while also limiting further global warming," said Noah Horowitz, Director of the Clean Cooling Collaborative. "This guide is an invaluable tool for cities wanting to take meaningful action for both people and the planet." "I am delighted to see how Mission Innovation has brought together the community to develop the Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities. This is a great example of what we mean by catalyzing clean energy solutions for all. We look forward to playing a role in its deployment in the next phase," Lee McDonough, Director General, Net Zero Strategy and International, UK Representative on MI Steering Committee. About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. For further information please contact:

Keisha Rukikaire, Head of News & Media, UNEP

Terry Collins, +1-416-878-8712 About RMI RMI is an independent non-profit 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 world's 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 rmi.org or follow us on Twitter @RockyMtnInst. Nick Steel, Director of Public Relations, +1-347-574-0887

Vindhya, 9810537978, Email address: [email protected] About the Clean Cooling Collaborative Clean Cooling Collaborative is making climate-friendly cooling accessible to all. A philanthropic initiative of ClimateWorks Foundation launched in 2017 as the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP), the Clean Cooling Collaborative focuses on super-efficient refrigeration and space cooling equipment, climate-friendly refrigerants, passive cooling, and integrated solutions that cool people and the planet. Christina Hayes, Communications Officer, +44-7881-813-825 About the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy GCoM is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership, uniting a global coalition of over 10,000 cities and local governments and 100+ supporting partners. The cities and partners of GCoM share a long-term vision of supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and towards a resilient and low-emission society. GCoM serves cities and local governments by mobilizing and supporting ambitious, measurable, planned climate and energy action in their communities by working with city/regional networks, national governments, and other partners to achieve our vision. Led today by Michael R. Bloomberg and European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans, the coalition comprises cities across 6 continents and 139 countries, representing over 900 million people or more than 10% of the global population. About Mission Innovation Mission Innovation is a global initiative to catalyze action and investment in research, development and demonstration to make clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible to all this decade. This will accelerate progress towards the Paris Agreement goals and pathways to net zero.

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[November 03, 2021] Former Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay QC, PC joins ONE9 as a Strategic Advisor

OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 3, 2021 /CNW/ - In 2007, ONE9's Founder Glenn Cowan and then Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay met under 'unusual circumstances' in an official capacity in the heart of Kandahar City; the story itself is worth the price of admission. Peter MacKay served as Canada's Foreign Minister (2006-2007), Canada's Defence Minister (2007-2013), and Attorney General (2013-2015). Following his distinguished career in politics, Peter worked as a senior partner at the global law firm Baker Mckenzie, and has since joined both McInnes Cooper; a global law firm and Deloitte. "Peter is an ambassador for advancement in security innovation and prioritises the well-being of our women and men who are at the leading edge of solving some of Canada's most complex security challenges. He always has the best interest of Canada sees NE9's value proposition as critical to our national security innovation advancement." At ONE9, Peter will help scale portfolio companies, provide advisory on private / public interaction including: procurement, capability development, global networking and fundraising.



Venture Capital firm ONE9 recently launched Canada's first national security and critical infrastructure technology fund focussed on dual-use technologies. "When I met Glenn, he was a team leader with our top special operations unit. I always valued our special operators as key problem solvers for Canada. I'm not surprised to see veterans like Glenn develop their knowledge and experience to create value. A venture fund like ONE9 can go a long way to find agile ways to invest in and build companies, showcase Canadian talent and innovate to solve for the challenges and problems our country is facing in the world." When asked to support ONE9, MacKay said, it was a "no brainer, as Canada desperately needs outside the box thinking in our national security."

ONE9 is an ecosystem for national security and critical infrastructure dual-use technology innovation and integration. Anchored by Canada's first security-focused venture capital fund, ONE9 provides unparalleled access to proprietary deal flow emanating from compartmentalised programs in the Five-Eyes defence, security, and intelligence communities. With a deep understanding of end-user requirements, ONE9 knows what is needed and what works. Leveraging a unique and agile 'Task Force' of subject matter experts, ONE9 provides founders, partners, LPs and stakeholders the unique knowledge and advisory skills to navigate bringing products to market for defense and security end-users. SOURCE ONE9

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[November 03, 2021] IMM and CSPI Partner to Accelerate Digital Transformation for Community Financial Institutions

IMM, the only eSignature provider that specializes in eSignature and digital transaction solutions exclusively for financial institutions, today announced it has partnered with Missouri-based Computer Service Professionals Inc. (CSPI), a fintech provider of core, digital banking, document management and item processing solutions, to give community financial institutions a more streamlined, enhanced digital banking platform. IMM's flagship eSignature platform, IMM eSign, will be integrated with CSPI's Aurora Advantage Digital Banking product suite. Kurt Luebbering, Chief Operations Officer, CSPI, said, "We conducted an extensive review process, and after compiling our research and seeking customer and industry partner recommendations, IMM was the clear choice. Like CSPI, IMM focuses on the financial industry, has excellent industry credibility, is committed to excellent customer service and ensures its solutions address the unique challenges facing community financial institutions. We look forward to a rewarding partnership with IMM and collaborating with its team to provide our community banks and credit unions the digital tools needed to succeed in today's environment." IMM's integration with CSPI will offer real-time integration enabling community banks and credit unions to offer eSignatures for all document types. Complex transactions that historically relied on manual, paper-based processes such as account openings or loan requests and fulfillments, will now be automated, creating more streamlined, efficient workflows. This reduces and/or eliminates human errors, enabling institutions to close more transactions faster, with increased accuracy. Remote eSignature capability further allows them to meet the growing digital demands from an increasingly mobile society. CSPI, like IMM, is dedicated to providing real-time, seamless integrations that enhance the end-user experience, increase overall productivity, and generate operational efficiencie across the institution. By integrating IMM's eSignature platform with CSPI's digital banking product suite, bank and credit union staff will have the ability to easily facilitate electronic transactions from all business systems.



"Partnering with CSPI enables us to embed our advanced eSignature solutions into the Aurora Advantage family of Banks and Credit Union solutions," said Michael Ball, senior vice president of markets and strategy, IMM. "To better respond to our increasingly digital society, CSPI's clients will be able to drive new levels of digital experiences and automation to the benefit of their customers and members alike. We are truly honored to have been selected by CSPI to be their eSign partner of choice." About IMM

For 25 years, IMM has been the premier provider of eSignature and Digital Transaction solutions designed exclusively for financial institutions. Today, more than 1,500 banks and credit unions use IMM's eSignature and Digital Transaction Management solutions across the Institution to elevate consumer experiences while streamlining back-office processes in a comprehensive, end-to-end digital processing environment. For more information, visit www.immonline.com or call 1.800.836.4750. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. About CSPI As a valued software and service provider leading the FinTech industry for 33 years, CSPI continues to focus on the needs of today's progressive credit unions and community banks to meet the growing demands of account holders by providing core solutions, digital banking, document management and item processing. CSPI is core-agnostic and supports API-first technology to create real-time integration for our Aurora Advantage Digital Banking product suite. Its dedicated team strives to enhance the user experience, deliver innovative solutions, significantly increase productivity, and provide exceptional service that exceeds your expectations. CSPI believes if its customer succeeds, it also succeeds. For more information, visit www.auroradigitalbanking.com, or follow the company on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005026/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Blue Health Intelligence's Benchmarking Solutions Offer Tailored and Comprehensive Views of Healthcare Performance

CHICAGO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare stakeholders that are seeking to improve competitiveness, reduce costs, and close performance gaps can take advantage of two benchmarking resources developed by Blue Health Intelligence (BHI): the Whyzen National Benchmark Module (NBM) and the Customized Benchmarking Data solution. The NBM is an easy-to-use, standalone application that allows clients to visualize and analyze cost, quality, and utilization benchmarks at the account, plan, and national level. It draws from one of the nation's largest commercial claims databases to benchmark everything from lines of business, insurance products, funding arrangements to members' underlying conditions, comorbidities, and circumstances. A large health plan uses the NBM to help its large and mid-market accounts understand cost and utilization patterns and make more data-driven decisions. Its customers continuously need more data to understand performance variations at the regional, state, or site level. "We're able tobring this huge national data set to life and generate reports that reveal everything from pandemic impacts compared to national norms, pockets of high-cost claims, or where ED utilization may be higher so that they can engage members about care management or promote telemedicine," said the director of the plan's employer consulting and reporting team. "By imparting information and solutions that address customers' specific needs, we are viewed as more of a strategic partner."



BHI also offers custom benchmarking services by supplementing data for clients who need more or specific types of claims to produce meaningful insights. Clients can extract national, cleansed, and conformed medical, pharmacy, and eligibility data from BHI to help shape their analysis. Data analysts are on-hand to provide consulting support to ensure the assessment meets users' needs. Another large health plan implemented a cost-of-care program to address rising costs, utilization patterns, and quality of care resources. It needed regional, divisional, and custom cohort benchmark comparatives that were normalized to member demographics and risk profiles. BHI delivered raw data and various risk adjustment analytics that allowed plan leaders to arrive at actionable, statistically significant findings to help provider networks meet performance thresholds set in their contracts.

"Both benchmarking solutions transform data into intelligence that drive improvement," said Swati Abbott, BHI's CEO. "BHI can augment this data with risk adjustment and clinical and financial models to identify trend drivers and opportunities to reduce costs." About Blue Health Intelligence

Leveraging the power of claims data from millions of Americans, Blue Health Intelligence (BHI) delivers insights that empower healthcare organizations to improve patient care, reduce costs, and optimize performance. With the most robust, up-to-date, and uniform data set in healthcare, BHI provides an accurate representation of the health profile of commercially insured Americans. BHI is the trade name of Health Intelligence Company LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit www.bluehealthintelligence.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-health-intelligences-benchmarking-solutions-offer-tailored-and-comprehensive-views-of-healthcare-performance-301414953.html SOURCE Blue Health Intelligence

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[November 03, 2021] AUDIENCEX Leans into Growth with Large-Scale Expansion of Leadership Team

NEW YORK, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AUDIENCEX , the largest independent trading desk built for performance marketers and agencies, today announced multiple senior level hires and promotions across its leadership team. These team additions and promotions reflect continued accelerated revenue growth, driven by several key strategic initiatives, from product development around data and SaaS, to market expansion and M&A. Key promotions and team members joining the AUDIENCEX leadership team, include the following:

Steven Kaufman, Vice President, Client Services. With nearly two decades of leadership experience at companies such as Accuen, OMD and Digitas, Stevens deep knowledge of the programmatic ecosystem positions him to build on an existing high performing foundation within the companys customer success teams, while spearheading continued expansion and evolution. These efforts will include refining strategic support initiatives for current customers, as well as refining operational structures to meet the demands of growth at the company.





Benjamin Joachim, Director of Analytics & Insights. Benjamin brings deep experience in data analytics, with companies such as Merkley + Partners, Digitas and The CDM Group, to the task of launching the new Analytics practice at AUDIENCEX. This will cover multi-faceted analytics support both for campaign activation, as well as leading the effort to build proprietary data products for the mid-market advertiser. Benjamin will work cross functionally with teams throughout the organization, from sales to customer success and strategy, with the goal of integrating the analytics practice into every facet of company operations.





Keith Mantia, Director of Search and Social. Keith is a seasoned digital marketing professional with over a decade of experience developing and executing high performing digital strategies across paid search and paid social channels for companies that include Wavemaker, OMD and Quest Nutrition while supporting the growth programs of some of the largest brands in the world. Keiths leadership of the Search and Social team will include optimizing existing processes, deepening collaboration with other teams, while also driving expansion for these key channels with the companys omni-channel performance stack.









Rickey Biljani, Senior Director of Marketing. Rickey brings a multi-faceted background in product marketing, brand building and demand generation from his previous senior level stints at Crownpeak, Docupace Technologies and Cornerstone OnDemand. With more than twelve years of experience across multiple B2B and technology categories his expertise and skillset will accelerate AUDIENCEXs continued expansion into new markets, additional verticals and product development. His leadership of the marketing team will provide meaningful support both to the AUDIENCEX brand, along with many of our key client and partner accounts.





Brittany Wray, Vice President of Product. Brittany has been with AUDIENCEX since 2018, and her platform experience and data analytics expertise has made her a deeply valued member of the organization. With a focus on new product development around both SaaS and data infrastructure, her leadership will guide the companys growth as a provider of proprietary solutions that empower mid-market performance brands and agencies to access enterprise-level solutions, helping to equalize the digital advertising landscape across all channels and platforms.







Danielle Gale, Senior Director of Strategy. Danielle has been with AUDIENCEX since 2020 in a Strategy Director role, having significantly evolved the companys approach to building high performing omni-channel campaigns for its customers, while supporting platform innovation and also team development. Her tenure at the company is the latest in a decade of experience which includes previous senior roles at M&C Saatchi Performance and Publicis Media. In this new role, she will be scaling her team and its cross functional role within the company, while continuing to drive ongoing tech stack and product innovation. Over the past several years, AUDIENCEX has continued its strategic evolution, keeping ahead of an ever-shifting industry. As performance advertisers embrace full-funnel acquisition strategies, we have developed increasingly advanced omni-channel solutions, while successfully navigating a changing data privacy landscape, said Jason Wulfsohn, CEO and Co-Founder at AUDIENCEX. This latest expansion of the leadership team reflects our confidence that we can emerge from the pandemic as the leading performance partner for mid-market advertisers, with the optimal leadership team in place to propel the company through its next stage of strategic growth. About AUDIENCEX

AUDIENCEX is a leading digital advertising partner for brands and agencies. We offer strategic, unbiased, omnichannel performance solutions, and create value for our clients by delivering a combination of high-impact creative, innovative technology, strategic media buying, and data-driven analysis to help them effectively target and acquire customers throughout the entire purchase funnel. Consistently ranked over the last three years as one of the fastest-growing companies in America by Deloitte, Inc., The Financial Times and the Los Angeles Business Journal, AUDIENCEX is headquartered in Los Angeles and operates in offices throughout North America, including New York, Dallas, Miami and Seattle. For more information visit www.audiencex.com. Media Contact:

Neil Davies

Broadsheet Communications for AUDIENCEX

[email protected]



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[November 03, 2021] Virsec Strengthens Executive Team with Four Key Appointments

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virsec, the only cybersecurity company to fully protect software at the workload while it is running, today announced four executive appointments to help lead the company through its next growth phase.

Emmi Nguy, Vice President of Finance & Operations

Marcelo Oliveira, Vice President of Product Management

Thomas Schaeffer, Vice President of People

Jason Stutt, Senior Vice President of North America Sales "We are on a mission to make cyber-attacks irrelevant. Our ability to map what our customers' software is supposed to do and stop it from doing what it is not, due to ransomware attacks or other anomalies, is unrivaled," said Dave Furneaux, Chief Executive Officer of Virsec. "Our mission combined with our innovative technology is attracting the top talents in the industry to Virsec. These experienced executives are very highly regarded in their areas of practice and will play a pivotal role in our success as we embark on our hyper-growth journey as a company." Emmi Nguy, Vice President of Finance & Operations

Nguy has more than 20 years of experience leading all aspects of financial governance and financial operations. Prior to joining Virsec, she served as VP of Finance, Strategy and Planning at Vectra AI, where she was instrumental in growing and scaling the company to $1B+ in valuation. Before Vectra AI, she held various finance management positions at global companies, including Juniper Networks and Johnson & Johnson. Marcelo Oliveira, Vice President of Product Management

Oliveira is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in product management, product marketing, business development, and engineering. Oliveira has been working as a product management executive for over a decade across Cisco, Symantec, and, most reently, Contrast Security.



Thomas Schaeffer, Vice President of People

Schaeffer has several decades of experience leading People Operations, helping scale six technology companies from startup through IPO and beyond. Several of these IPO technology companies included Synopsys, StrataCom/Cisco, Juniper Networks, and, most recently, NIO. Jason Stutt, Senior Vice President, North America Sales

Jason Stutt is Senior Vice President, North America Sales. He has been working in sales leadership roles for over 25 years and has significant experience scaling hyper-growth go-to-market organizations. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development for Armorblox and has held management positions at many leading cybersecurity companies, including Duo Security, which Cisco acquired for $2.35B.

With more than 50 patents, Virsec is trusted by Global 1000, midmarket, and public sector customers to protect their software workload at runtime. Its uniquely deterministic approach to security has earned many accolades, including a recent finalist nod for the prestigious ARN Innovation Awards 2021 and a win for the Best Emerging Security Vendor at the CISO50 & Future of Security Awards. About Virsec

Based in San Jose, California, Virsec is the leading provider of application-aware workload protection. Virsec's unique technology defends against the widest range of attacks, both known and unknown, with no signature or prior knowledge required. The solution secures any and all critical business applications, from legacy to COTS to custom, in any environment. Virsec is led by industry veterans with extensive leadership experience at multiple leading cybersecurity and technology companies and a long list of high-growth startups. More information is available at www.virsec.com. Media Contact:

CHEN PR for Virsec

Jennifer Torode

[email protected]

781-672-3119 A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on the image or link below:



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[November 03, 2021] 55ip and RiverFront Investment Group Roll Out Tax Managed Portfolios to Baird Financial Advisors

Increasing demand from advisors and their clients has spurred 55ip to expand its partnership with RiverFront Investment Group ("RiverFront"). The firms announce today a rollout at Baird of 55ip's tax-smart transition technology with RiverFront ETF strategies to help advisors ease the burden of moving to advisory programs. The addition of Baird-who has over 1,300 financial advisors-to the firm's stable of clients represents the second major broker-dealer to partner with 55ip. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005374/en/ RiverFront first partnered with 55ip in spring 2021 to offer their ETF Advantage model portfolios on 55ip's tax-smart investment strategy engine in the RIA channel, recognizing the importance of tax management to helping advisors grow their practice, while seeking to improve investor outcomes. 55ip's advisor-led experience seeks to mitigate the tax impact for clients when transitioning investment strategies through ongoing, systematic tax-loss harvesting. "Our mission at 55ip is to become the industry standard tax-smart strategy engine, and this new partnership with Baird is another important step on that journey," said Paul Gamble, Chief Executive Officer of 55ip. "It's exciting to see innovative independent broker-dealers such as Baird embracing new technologies that will move the wealth management industry forward." "We continue to hear demand from our advisor partners that they are seeking tax-efficient ways to help clients diversify their portfolios, but research is showing that only a minority of advisors are taking advantage of automated tax-loss harvesting," said RiverFront President & CEO Pete Quinn. "Our goal is to democratize automated, on-going tax management to help our advisors and their clients seek better after-tax outcomes." The established partnership between 55ip and RiverFront extends its mission to support advisors and improve efficiency and effectiveness to help investors meet their goals. Baird financial advisors will use 55ip's tax-smart investment strategy engine to choose from a selection of RiverFront ETF Advantage model portfolios and guide clients through seamless tax-smart transitions. Automated, ongoing tax-loss harvesting is executed all year long, and the 55ip platform allows for that human-capital to be spent serving the client in other areas of their financial plans. In addition, 55ip and RiverFront will provide trading and educational support to Baird's financial advisors. About 55ip 55ip is a financial technology company whose purpose is to break down barriers to financial progress. Financial advisors use 55ip's tax-smart investment strategy engine to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. 55ip's intuitive experience nd intelligent automation elevate portfolio design and delivery, helping advisors save time and seek better outcomes for their clients. At the heart of the experience is 55ip's ActiveTax Technology, which includes tax-smart transitions, management and withdrawals.



55ip is the marketing name used by 55 Institutional Partners, LLC, an investment technology developer, and for investment advisory services provided by 55I, LLC, an SEC (News - Alert)-registered investment adviser. 55ip is a wholly owned subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, the asset management business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. For more information on 55ip, please visit www.55-ip.com. About RiverFront

RiverFront Investment Group is a global asset manager focused on Process over Prediction - a dynamic investment approach driven by a systematic, repeatable methodology. The firm provides flexible, risk-managed solutions for a range of investment objectives and risk tolerances. RiverFront is affiliated with Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated ("Baird"), member FINRA/SIPC, from its minority ownership interest in RiverFront. RiverFront is owned primarily by its employees through RiverFront Investment Holding Group, LLC, the holding company for RiverFront. Baird Financial Corporation (BFC) is a minority owner of RiverFront Investment Holding Group, LLC and therefore an indirect owner of RiverFront. BFC is the parent company of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, a registered broker/dealer and investment adviser. Learn more at riverfrontig.com. Opinions expressed are current as of the date shown and are subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results and diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against loss. All investments carry some level of risk, including loss of principal. An investment cannot be made directly in an index. Information or data shown or used in this material was received from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed. This report does not provide recipients with information or advice that is sufficient on which to base an investment decision. This report does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation or need of any particular client and may not be suitable for all types of investors. Recipients should consider the contents of this report as a single factor in making an investment decision. Additional fundamental and other analyses would be required to make an investment decision about any individual security identified in this report. 55 Institutional Partners, LLC and its affiliates ("55ip") is a registered investment adviser that offers access to the third-party strategies provided herein in addition to other services. RiverFront Investment Group, LLC ("RiverFront") provides investment ideas in the form of model portfolios, to 55ip for use in the software offered herein. 55ip receives fees from RiverFront as consideration for the services 55ip provides its customers in relation to the RiverFront models. The RiverFront Model Portfolios are provided for illustrative and educational purposes only, do not constitute research, personalized investment advice or a fiduciary investment recommendation from RiverFront or 55ip to any client of 55ip, and are intended for use only by 55ip customers, with other information, as a resource to help build a tailored portfolio or as an input in the development of investment advice from a Financial Professional to its own clients and shall not be the sole or primary basis for a Financial Professional. Financial Professionals are responsible for making their own independent fiduciary judgment as to how to specifically use the RiverFront Model Portfolios and/or whether to implement any trades for its designated clients. RiverFront does not have investment discretion over, or place trade orders for, any portfolios or accounts derived from the RiverFront Model Portfolios. RiverFront is responsible for the methodology of the Model Portfolios; it is not responsible for determining the individual appropriateness or suitability of the RiverFront Model Portfolios or any of the securities included therein for any client of 55ip. Information and other marketing materials provided by RiverFront or 55ip concerning the RiverFront Model Portfolios including holdings, performance, and other characteristics - may vary materially from any portfolios or accounts derived from the RiverFront Model Portfolios. The RiverFront Model Portfolios themselves are illustrative, they are not funds and one cannot invest directly in the Model Portfolios. RiverFront and 55ip are not affiliated, RiverFront disclaims responsibility for any content provided by 55ip. 55ip does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction. RiverFront Investment Group, LLC ("RiverFront"), is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply any level of skill or expertise. Any discussion of specific securities is provided for informational purposes only and should not be deemed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any individual security mentioned. RiverFront is affiliated with Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated ("Baird"), member FINRA/SIPC, from its minority ownership interest in RiverFront. RiverFront is owned primarily by its employees through RiverFront Investment Holding Group, LLC, the holding company for RiverFront. Baird Financial Corporation (BFC) is a minority owner of RiverFront Investment Holding Group, LLC and therefore an indirect owner of RiverFront. BFC is the parent company of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, a registered broker/dealer and investment adviser. To review other risks and more information about RiverFront, please visit the website at www.riverfrontig.com and the Form ADV, Part 2A. Copyright 2021 RiverFront Investment Group. All Rights Reserved. ID 1891067 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005374/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Cogeco receives HRH The Prince of Wales' Terra Carta Seal in recognition of its commitment to creating a sustainable future

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has today, through his Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), launched the Terra Carta Seal which recognises private sector companies who are leading their peers in creating genuinely sustainable markets.





Cogeco is one of 44 companies globally that have been awarded the Terra Carta Seal





Designed by Sir Jony Ive , the Terra Carta Seal embodies the vision and ambition of the Terra Carta, a recovery plan for Nature, People and Planet. MONTREAL, Nov. 3, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - It is with great pride that Cogeco has received the inaugural Terra Carta Seal, which recognises global companies that are driving innovation and demonstrating their commitment to, and momentum towards, the creation of genuinely sustainable markets. This seal is being awarded to companies whose ambitions are aligned with those of the Terra Carta, a recovery plan for Nature, People and Planet, launched in January 2021. This recognition demonstrates the importance Cogeco gives to a sustainable future. Recently, Cogeco announced its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Moreover, Cogeco was the first telecommunications company in Canada to have its targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). These targets, which include a 65% reduction in emissions from its operations by 2030 (compared to 2019 levels), illustrate Cogeco's leadership and its commitment to the environment. In addition, as part of its global climate ambitions, Cogeco has joined corporate leaders representing more than $3.6 trillion in market capitalization in signing the "Business Ambition for 1.5C" commitment. These actions complement the decisions Cogeco has made in recent years in the fight against climate change. They include the voluntary disclosure of our climate impact and greenhouse gas emissions through the global disclosure system run by the internationally recognized organization CDP, for which Cogeco received a score of A- in 2020, as well as the implementation of our corporate social responsibility program, which encompasses a number of initiatives aimed at optimally managing our environmental footprint. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, said: "The Terra Carta Seal recognize those organizations which have made a serious commitment to a future that is much more sustainable, and puts Nature, People and the Planet at the heart of the economy. We all need to make changes if we are to preserve the planet for our children and grandchildren and these businesses have pledged to make it easier for us all to do so."



The Terra Carta Seal acknowledges that each industry faces unique challenges in its transition to a sustainable future and they are all at different stages of their journey. Here, all industries and all companies must be supported as they take steps in a more positive direction. At the same time, an accelerated pace is required if we are to achieve a 1.5-degree target, restore biodiversity and benefit the lives and livelihoods of current and future generations. The Terra Carta Seal has been awarded to companies who hold a leadership position within their industry and who have credible transition roadmaps underpinned by globally recognised, scientific metrics for achieving net zero by 2050 or earlier. "Cogeco is very honoured to be among the first global recipients of the Terra Carta Seal. Making a positive and sustainable impact on the communities we serve, on our employees and on our planet is part of Cogeco's culture," said Philippe Jette, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco. He concluded: "Cogeco is committed to decarbonization leadership. By enabling the digital economy and by committing to green our operations with renewable energy and fleet electrification, we ensure that our customers can enjoy high quality services in a way that supports the transition to a low-carbon economy."

Working closely with HRH The Prince of Wales, Sir Jony Ive and his creative team at LoveFrom have created a physical and animated seal engineered with paper that is both simple and beautifully crafted. The design combines a host of natural references including oak leaves, fern, magnolia and honey bees and intricate patterns both in nature and in the arts, creating a visual celebration which reflects the power of and reverence for nature that is at the heart of the Terra Carta. "With respect for both the historic resonance of the Terra Carta and for the environment, we have used modest, natural materials and celebrated craftsmanship with a delicate, illustrated design," said Sir Jony Ive. "This feels a sensitive and sincere commemoration for those who have committed to the aims of the Terra Carta, and we are so very grateful to be able to contribute to such an important and impactful initiative." ABOUT COGECO INC.

Cogeco Inc. is a holding corporation which operates in the communications and media sectors. Its Cogeco Communications Inc. subsidiary provides residential and business customers with Internet, video and telephony services through its two-way broadband fibre networks, operating in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, under the Cogeco Connexion name, and in the United States under the Atlantic Broadband brand in 12 states. Its Cogeco Media subsidiary owns and operates 23 radio stations with complementary radio formats and extensive coverage serving a wide range of audiences mainly across the province of Quebec, as well as Cogeco News, a news agency. Cogeco's subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CGO). The subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Communications Inc. are also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CCA). About the Terra Carta Seal

The 2021 inaugural Terra Carta Seal recognises global corporations that are demonstrating their commitment to, and momentum towards, the creation of genuinely sustainable markets. It is being awarded to firms who have aligned themselves with the Terra Carta, who are driving innovation and leadership within their industry and who have credible transition roadmaps underpinned by globally recognised, scientific metrics for achieving net zero by 2050 or Sooner. The SMI has partnered with Corporate Knights for this initiative. Corporate Knights' Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations Companies were invited to apply for the inaugural Terra Carta Seal together with active Task Force members of the SMI as of 1 January 2021. The Terra Carta Seal will be awarded annually to companies who are demonstrating their commitment to, and momentum towards, the creation of genuinely sustainable markets and care for Nature, People and Planet. SOURCE Cogeco Inc.

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Corbel Capital Partners Makes Significant Investment into National Land Partners

Corbel Capital Partners ("Corbel") is pleased to announce that entities associated with Corbel have closed a significant investment (the "Transaction") into National Land Partners, Inland Management, LLC, Inland Title of Texas, LLC, and American Land Partners, LLC (collectively, the "Company" or "NLP").

The Company is a Williamstown, MA headquartered land acquisition, sales and marketing company specializing in large residential parcels.

Harry Patten, who founded and has managed the Company for more than 20 years, will continue as its Executive Chairman and Don Dion will continue to serve as the Chief Executive Officer.

"With Harry Patten at the helm, NLP has a long history of delivering consumers a unique opportunity to buy into the American dream of land ownership," said Michael Jones, Principal at Corbel, who is "extremely excited to partner with such a high-quality and high-integrity management team." Mr. Jones "looks forward to continued operation of the Company under Harry and Don's capable stewardship."

NLP and Corbe are "thankful for the tireless work of advisors including financial advisors Ron Giguere of London Manhattan Company and Dan Blood of BTIG, and legal counsel from Ropes & Gray LLP and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP," according to Harry Patten.







"We are thrilled to have the passionate team at Corbel as investors," said Don Dion. "Their mindset and commitment to a creative and collaborative relationship, together with the Company's strong outlook, will be a winning combination for our employees and investors."

About the Company

National Land Partners is a 20-year-old land acquisition, marketing, and sales company specializing in large residential parcels. Inland Management is the sales and Marketing engine for NLP. Inland Title of Texas is a wholly owned title company. For more information, visit www.nationallandpartners.com.

About Corbel Capital Partners

Corbel is a Los Angeles based independent investment firm that makes investments into owner-entrepreneur-run businesses. For more information, visit www.corbelcap.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005329/en/
[November 03, 2021] Adventus.io Launches Powerful Data-Driven Analytics Platform for Institutions

Adventus.io, a SaaS (News - Alert)-based international student recruitment marketplace with over 4,000+ recruitment agents and 1,300+ institution partners globally, has today launched a powerful data-driven analytics platform to help universities better understand the student acquisition funnel and unlock potential in their student pipeline. There are more than 5 million international students worldwide, typically contributing to about 30-40% of a university's revenue. Adventus Drive gives institutions personalised and real-time data on the international student market, providing them with full control to influence every stage of the prospective student funnel. Commenting on the release, Adventus.io Co-Founder and CEO Ryan Trainor said: "Our marketplace is directly being engaged by recruiters, students, and often parents, literally making an important decision about their educational future. So while institutions traditionally invest in top-of-the-funnel activities like Facebook (News - Alert) and Google advertising, mid-funnel ventures like expos and open days, they've never had the ability to influence a captive audience at the end of the funnel until now. Adventus Drive gives institutions the ability to market to quality international students ready to apply." Through COVID-19, universities have recognised the value of Adventus.io as they simply haven't been able to travel and physically connect with student recruitment agents. What the online marketplace has done well is reduce the cost of doing business, as it provides a single point of contact to manage thousands of agents, while ensuring all applications that comethrough are quality. Now more than ever, universities are seeking to diversify the student cohort nationalities and stray away from overreliance in a single source market.



Adventus Drive is a suite of marketplace solutions designed specifically to help institutions establish a strong pipeline of international students. Adventus Drive includes advanced analytic capability so that institutions can make data-driven decisions at every stage of the recruitment funnel and understand where they can make the most impact. This helps them track search results, course card views, applications submitted and conversions. Adventus Drive also helps institutions better understand who their prospective students are and better diversify the student body with detailed student profiling including breaking down leads by age, gender, source country and application status.

"Until now, the student recruitment sector has been highly fragmented. By connecting all the data sources in one platform, institutions can not only digitise the process but better understand recruitment agent performance, understand where their student volume is coming from, who has the most successful applicants, and which regions are performing the best." Adventus Drive also helps institutions understand the competitive landscape by comparing your institution's performance to others so they can see where you're excelling and where growth opportunities exist. Furthermore, institutions can gain access to intelligent tools to proactively influence the network of vetted recruitment agents on the marketplace, efficiently and at scale in order to maximise relevant applications from key and emerging source markets. "Seamlessly connecting institutions, education agents, and adjacent services to be able to find and transact with each other, without bias, is helping to democratise access to all universities for the agent and reduces the bias in the system so students can access more course inventory from more institutions," Trainor said. Since launch, Adventus.io has raised more than USD$22 million, with the latest Series A round being supported by leading technology investment firms. The company has more than 4,000 agents on the platform and recorded over 800,000 searches conducted on the marketplace across 70,000+ courses from 1,300+ institutions globally. Over 2021, Adventus.io has had a 90% application success rate and a 95% visa success rate. Adventus.io now has more than 350+ staff across 17 countries and is expanding into another 6 countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Spain.. About Adventus: Adventus.io is an all-in-one international student recruitment marketplace. Connecting institutions, education agents, and adjacent services to be able to find and transact with each other. Seamlessly, reliably, and without bias. Adventus.io was founded in 2018 when we identified a fundamental problem in the international student market - there was no efficient, reliable way for institutions, recruiters, and students to find and transact with each other. Facing significant growth over the next decade, this is a billion-dollar sector that was built on infrastructure that has surpassed its ability to serve them effectively. In an era of one-click everything, one of the biggest macro industries in the world still feels analog. This sent us on a journey to build a new marketplace, fit-for-purpose. Using technology as the engine for change. To remove barriers, uncertainty, and bias. To create reliable channels into leading and emerging markets. And open pathways everyone can trust will guide them in the right direction. This strategy has seen 1,300+ institutions, 4,000+ recruitment agents join the marketplace supported by 350+ passionate team members who share a vision to change the industry. More: https://adventus.io/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005573/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Chanhassen to Become Minnesota's Next Gigabit City

MetroNet today announced plans to bring symmetrical gigabit-speed internet service to Chanhassen's homes and businesses. When complete, Chanhassen will become a Gigabit City, making ultra-high-speed internet service delivered through fiber optic connections available to a majority of Chanhassen homes and businesses. MetroNet, now available in more than a dozen Minnesota communities, will fully fund the 100 percent fiber optic network through a multi-million-dollar investment. "We look forward to providing Chanhassen residents with sparkling 4k video streaming, glitch-free gaming, crystal-clear virtual meetings, and internet experiences of the future that we can only begin to imagine," said John Cinelli, MetroNet's CEO. "MetroNet is proud to add Chanhassen to our growing list of Gigabit Cities across Minnesota and the U.S." MetroNet's two-year construction project in Chanhassen is planned to begin this fall, with customers able to receive service in the summer of 2022. As MetroNet's construction begins, residents will receive communication by mail about activity in their neighborhood 30 days prior to starting. Additional messaging, such as yard signs and signs at neighborhood entry points, will be provided to let residents know when the construction process is about to begin in their area. MetroNet crews are identified by ID badges and use branded MetroNet vehicles. Residents and businesses that are interested in MetroNet services may now visit www.MetroNetInc.com/construction to receive updates on when their address is eligible for installation and sign-up early for presales.



As the largest independently owned, 100 percent fiber optic provider in the nation, MetroNet builds and manages state-of-the-art fiber-optic networks connected directly to homes and businesses in more than 120 communities across 13 states. The company is known for reliable and symmetrical high-speed internet connections, friendly customer service, and fair pricing with no long-term contracts. MetroNet currently provides service to the City of Rochester, as well as communities in the counties of Blue Earth, Carver, Dakota, Dodge, Freeborn, Le Sueur, Mower, Nicollet, Olmsted, Rice, Scott, Steele, and Waseca.

About MetroNet: MetroNet is the nation's largest independently owned, 100 percent fiber optic company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The customer-focused company provides cutting-edge fiber optic communication services, including high-speed Fiber Internet, full-featured Fiber Phone (News - Alert), and Fiber IPTV with a wide variety of programming. MetroNet started in 2005 with one fiber optic network in Greencastle, Indiana, and has since grown to serving and constructing networks in more than 120 communities across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, and Missouri. MetroNet is committed to bringing state-of-the-art telecommunication services to communities - services that are comparable or superior to those offered in large metropolitan areas. MetroNet has been named in the top 50 small and medium companies on Glassdoor and has been honored with a Glassdoor Employees' Choice Award recognizing MetroNet among the Best Places to Work in 2020. MetroNet has been recognized by PC Mag as one of the Top 10 Fastest ISPs in North Central United States in 2020 and Top 10 ISPs with Best Gaming Quality Index in 2021. Broadband Now has recognized MetroNet as the Top 3 Fastest Internet Providers and Fastest Fiber Providers in the Nation in 2020, and #1 Fastest Mid-Sized Internet Provider in two states in 2020. In 2020, MetroNet was awarded the Vectren Energy Safe Digging Partner Award from Vectren. For more information, visit www.MetroNetinc.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005725/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Firefly Names Former Department of Defense and Intelligence Community Air Force Colonel to Lead Firefly Space Transport Services

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., an emerging leader in economical launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, today announced that Jason B. Mello will join the team as President of Firefly Space Transport Services (STS), formerly known as Firefly Black, located in Washington D.C. Firefly STS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Firefly Aerospace, will serve as the primary business development unit for all of Firefly's customers - commercial, civil, and military - with initial emphasis on Government customers. A former Air Force Colonel, Mello brings over 23 years of experience leading teams across the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community helping address and solve our Nation's most difficult science and technology problems. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005403/en/ Jason B. Mello, President, Firefly Space Transport Services. (Photo: Business Wire) "To date, the Firefly team has been focused on developing transformative launch and in-space transportation vehicles. With the recent first flight of our Alpha launch vehicle, and rapid developmental progress of our Blue Ghost lunar lander, Firefly is ready to provide unique transportation solutions spanning all cis-lunar space," stated Firefly Aerospace CEO Dr. Tom Markusic. "I'm incredibly excited to have Jason leading the effort to engage with customers to utilize Firefly vehicle capabilities to perform a wide variety of spaceflight missions." Prior to Firefly, Mello's final assignment was at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), where he was the Chief Research and Technology Officer for Science and ngineering. In this role, he led a team of senior scientists directing an over $500 million per year portfolio researching and developing future technologies vital for both the Air Force and Space Force. Before this posting, Mello served as the Director of the National Intelligence Portfolio where he led the oversight team for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment overseeing a $9 billion per year portfolio of intelligence community programs. He has led at multiple levels including leading the first Launch Acquisition Division at the National Reconnaissance Office and multiple other satellite and intelligence programs.



"I am excited to lead and build Firefly STS to support both our Government and Commercial customers," stated Jason Mello. "A focused team dedicated to working with the United States Space Force, Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and civil space is vitally important to meeting the Government's requirements for space access and in-space programs, and I am excited to showcase how Firefly's capabilities will meet the needs of these organizations." Mello added, "The Firefly team has done an outstanding job creating low-cost, high-frequency space access capabilities by establishing strong relationships with key commercial customers that can fully benefit from Firefly's low-cost, dedicated space transportation paradigm, and I look forward to continuing to grow and expand these relationships."

Mello's appointment follows several important milestones for the company including Firefly's successful completion of its Blue Ghost CDR, in preparation for a 2023 mission that will deliver ten payloads to the lunar surface for NASA, and the inaugural launch of the Alpha launch vehicle from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. As Firefly looks towards its next Alpha launch, and the continued development of the Blue Ghost lunar lander, Mello will build on Firefly's existing relationships and oversee all customer development and programs for Firefly STS. About Firefly Firefly is developing a family of launch and in-space vehicles and services that provide industry-leading affordability, convenience, and reliability. Firefly's launch vehicles utilize common technologies, manufacturing infrastructure, and launch capabilities, providing LEO launch solutions for up to ten metric tons of payload at the lowest cost per kg in the small-launch class. Combined with Firefly's in-space vehicles, such as the Space Utility Vehicle and Blue Ghost lunar lander, Firefly will provide the space industry with a single source for missions from LEO to the surface of the Moon or beyond. Firefly is headquartered in Cedar Park, TX. For more information please see: www.firefly.com.  Firefly, Firefly Aerospace, Firefly Space Transport Services, Blue Ghost, Space Utility Vehicle, and SUV, are trademarks of Firefly Aerospace, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005403/en/

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[November 03, 2021] St. Gregory The Great Catholic School Strengthens Music Program With New Casio CT-S1 Keyboards

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Since its founding in 2009, St. Gregory the Great Catholic School has remained steadfast in its mission to foster Christian values, inspire academic excellence and encourage global awareness through service to others. In recent months, the San Diego school has also significantly expanded its commitment to music education, working to bring a full complement of music appreciation, music application, music theory and performance offerings to bear on its 240 kinder to eighth-grade students. "These new Casio keyboards were the perfect choice for us, as they provide the best tools for our students." The school made a quantum leap in realizing its goal when school officials gave the green light to its new music teacher, Frank Amador, to build a dream music lab consisting of guitars, bass, drum set, ukuleles and hand percussion instruments, along with a centerpiece of 30 Casio CT-S1 portable keyboards and a Casio PX-S1000 keyboard. Compact in size, the new 61-key CT-S1 keyboards provided for a clean, streamlined installation, enabling many instruments to be placed in rows in the classroom, leaving plenty of room for Amador to navigate aisles and to better reach students. For Amador, it was the Casio keyboards' simplicity of operation, stunningly realistic sound and portabilitythey can be used with batteries to allow students to take them outside for a change of scenery and inspirationthat ultimately helped him make his final decision. "These new Casio keyoards were the perfect choice for us, as they provide the best tools for our students," says Amador. "I received initial input from my go-to consultant, J&E Pro Audio, who said they couldn't wait to share with me how great these keyboards sound. I knew right away that they would go a long way in helping St. Gregory inspire its students to find joy in making music."



Amador has long held a deep passion for teaching music, having earned a stellar reputation among students in the region over the past 30 years. This past August, he was invited to teach at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School by the school's principal, Maeve O'Connell. He says that his decision to join St. Gregory was life affirming, citing the school's positive atmosphere, O'Connell's strong vision for student and parent success, and the high degree of trust and encouragement from the school's board, all of which combine to make St. Gregory one of the finest schools in the region. Before he arrived, the school's music program had relied on the expected complement of beginning recorders. "Maeve and the school board showed immense support for the music program, sharing their desire to create the absolute best learning experience for our students," said Amador. "Following the challenges of the pandemic, it was a true blessing to revive our Music Program this year, and the generous support of our school parents made the purchase of the Casio Music Lab possible," said O'Connell. "Frank is an incredible addition to our staff, inspiring a joy and love of music in all our students, K-Grade 8. Our school's philosophy centers around the development of the whole child, and our Music Lab provides the opportunity for every student to explore and develop their love of music. Within a few short months, we have heard such growth and seen such passion among our students as they praise God by developing their musical gifts and talents. Long may it continue!"

The new Casio Music Lab has opened so many new possibilities for the program, notes Amador. "My students love that they can practice their keyboards in the privacy of their own headphones, as I watch them to make sure they are all making progress. At a certain point, I ask them to take off their headphones, and to select a keyboard instrument sound, such as bass, guitar, drums or strings. Within no time, I have them playing "Ode to Joy" or "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" as a keyboard symphony! That's what it's all about: making music together." Adds Amador, "Success is when a child looks at me with a big old smile and says, 'I got it!' Music brings out the best in children and these Casio keyboards offer a highly affordable way to bring keyboards into the music curriculum. Schools everywhere should be doing this." To learn more about St. Gregory the Great Catholic School, please visit www.stggcs.org. To learn more about Casio's full portfolio of electronic musical instruments, please visit www.CasioMusicGear.com. About Casio America, Inc.

Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, digital cameras, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to fulfill its corporate creed of "creativity and contribution" through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products. For more information, visit www.casio.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/st-gregory-the-great-catholic-school-strengthens-music-program-with-new-casio-ct-s1-keyboards-301415299.html SOURCE Casio America, Inc.

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[November 03, 2021] VOICE Talks Guests from Strava, Kintsugi, and Capstone Discuss Transforming the Fitness and Wellness Industries through Voice AI

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- " VOICE Talks ," a live-streamed talk show discussing the latest developments in voice technology, announced that its November 11 episode will focus on "Transforming Fitness & Wellness with Voice Tech." The episode will feature guests from running and fitness app Strava; mental health AI startup Kintsugi, Capstone Publishing, and The English Schoolhouse. This month's VOICE Talks will center around how leading companies are transforming their industries through voice-enabled AI technologies. Our guests will discuss how they have harnessed the power of voice technology and AI to advance their industries and enhance and inspire the well-being of users. "We're thrilled to have such distinguished industry leaders on VOICE Talks to share the benefits of conversational technology," said Pete Erickson, executive producer of VOICE Talks and CEO of Modev. "As we wrap up 2021, it's inspiring to hear how customer experience is driving industry growth. I look forward to learning how Strava, Kintsugi and Capstone are helping individuals prioritize their bodies, minds, and souls." (view video preview) Watch VOICE Talks November 11 episode and hear from: Mark Gainey , executive chairman and co-founder of Strava will be in conversation with Dina Berrada , director of product at Google Assistant to discuss how voice technology has impacted his business and the fitness industry. Strava, the running and fitness app, is committed to helping athletes achieve their goals and manage the successes and obstacles they face along the way. When it comes to engagng users and remaining on the cutting edge, Strava leads the way and has leveraged voice-enabled technologies to foster community across the platform. In 2021 alone, the company released more than 80 innovative new features and updates to extend its reach while keeping the user experience simple and fun.









executive chairman and co-founder of will be in conversation with director of product at to discuss how voice technology has impacted his business and the fitness industry. Strava, the running and fitness app, is committed to helping athletes achieve their goals and manage the successes and obstacles they face along the way. When it comes to engagng users and remaining on the cutting edge, Strava leads the way and has leveraged voice-enabled technologies to foster community across the platform. In 2021 alone, the company released more than 80 innovative new features and updates to extend its reach while keeping the user experience simple and fun. Grace Chang , founder, and CEO, principal software engineer, Kintsugi, will explore the importance of mental health awareness. She is joining VOICE Talks to discuss the steps her company is taking to help provide proper care through technological advancements. Discover how this AI startup is paving the way for easier and "smarter" access to mental health. Its voice biomarker technology works to score clinical depression and anxiety from 20 seconds of free-form speech in any language -- making it possible for healthcare systems to more easily identify, triage, and care for a patient's mental health in real-time. The episode will also discuss how stories shared via voice-enabled AI can help encourage our future leaders. Hear from: Beth Brezenoff , vice president, publisher, Capstone Publishing, and Dr. Tamara Pizzoli , owner and author at The English Schoolhouse. They will discuss how they came together to create more than 25 "girl hero" stories through a Google Action developed by Earplay. The action was launched on International Day of the Girl and hosts a series of fiction and nonfiction stories of girl heros. The action is a chance to recognize the 1.1 billion girls who are changing the world and inspiring tomorrow's leaders. Subscribe to watch the next episode of VOICE Talks live on November 11 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT. Previous episodes can be viewed on the VOICE Talks Youtube channel .

About VOICE Talks

Produced by Modev and presented by Google Assistant, the award-winning VOICE Talks is the fastest-growing internet technology show featuring industry leaders discussing the latest developments relating to AI-powered voice technologies. Developers, marketers, gamers, and voice tech enthusiasts can tune in live or share their video stories in advance with the show's host. Subscribe at www.voicetalks. ai or follow @VOICETalksAI on Twitter, @VOICETalks on Instagram, Facebook , or LinkedIn . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voice-talks-guests-from-strava-kintsugi-and-capstone-discuss-transforming-the-fitness-and-wellness-industries-through-voice-ai-301414834.html SOURCE Modev

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[November 03, 2021] Fresh Start Women's Foundation Leverages Technology from Gray Associates to Match Women with Training and Employment Opportunities

PHOENIX, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh Start Women's Foundation announced today the launch of their partnership with Gray Associates, a leading provider of software that supports data-informed decision-making for the Higher Education sector. Gray Associates has donated software and licenses for PES+ (Program Evaluation System), together with strategic consulting and data analysis services to help Fresh Start identify employment market opportunities, skill requirements, and relevant training and degrees for their program participants: women seeking to achieve self-sufficiency through education and career development. "The insights provided via this technology allows us to take our mission to a whole new level," says Kim McWaters, President and CEO at Fresh Start. "Thanks to Gray Associates, we have access to the data needed to identify the most in-demand jobs on the market, along with the education or training levels required to secure those jobs. Leveraging the same technology used by top educators and universities to predict these trends ensures that our education and career placements are not only effective, but that they're sustainable and growth-oriented." This approach also helps Fresh Start initiate productive dialogs with potential employers, educators, and scholarship sponsors. With a valuable, data-informed perspective, they are able to collaborate on the best ways to recruit, train, and help employers retain the talent they need. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Fresh Start has seen its disproportionate, detrimental effects on women and marginalized communities. In response, they are piloting a new program model in partnership with Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath). This model uses an evidence-based, brain science-backed approach to examine the experience of poverty and its impact on neuroplasticity during crisis decision-making. The program infoms Fresh Start's innovative approach to helping women move out of poverty, with a focus on proven approaches to developing the sustained behavior changes necessary to attain and preserve economic independence.



"Gray's PES+ software helps Fresh Start to support women seeking financial and other stability and advancement. Our team is proud to provide the solutions that use data to help analyze job markets and find matches for women with specific training and skills. The data allow the Fresh Start team to form more strategic partnerships with schools, vocational training programs, and employers." Said Mary Pahissa Upchurch, Senior Partner at Gray Associates. "This process creates paths forward for women that are long-term, with supports to develop a pipeline that meets everyone's needs." Gray Associates CEO Bob Atkins says, "The partnership between Gray and Fresh Start allows participants to benefit from a comprehensive program assessment using data, software, and techniques proven in real-world work with over 100 higher education institutions. These techniques include student demand assessment, program economics analysis, feasibility studies, and competitive analysis. Additionally, Gray's approach harnesses the power of technology and machine learning to ensure Fresh Start can fulfill their mission more effectively and help more women."



To request more information about Fresh Start or to get involved, please call (602) 252-8494 or email [email protected] or visit https://www.freshstartwomen.org. About Fresh Start Women's Foundation:

Since 1992, Fresh Start Women's Foundation has been on a mission to provide education, resources, and support for women to positively transform their lives and strengthen their communities. Our organization envisions a world where every woman reaches her full potential through achieving personal empowerment and financial self-sufficiency. Our nonprofit organization helps women 18 and up focus on key areas of their lives, with a wide range of services, classes, and workshops designed to develop the skills and sustained behavior changes necessary to attain and maintain economic independence. About Gray Associates

Gray Associates helps colleges and universities make data-informed decisions about their academic programs. Gray's software integrates the best available data on student demand, employer needs, and competitive intensity for the market served by each institution. Faculty and administrative leaders use the software to score, rank, and evaluate programs in a collaborative process that builds consensus on programs to start, sunset, sustain, or grow. With Gray's tools and processes, institutions identify paths to increase enrollment, revenue, and efficiency, while investing in their mission and strengthening relationships among faculty and administrators. PRESS CONTACT:

Jackie Lucas

Vera Voce Communication

email: [email protected]

978-255-1159 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fresh-start-womens-foundation-leverages-technology-from-gray-associates-to-match-women-with-training-and-employment-opportunities-301415354.html SOURCE Fresh Start Women's Foundation

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Vmo Aircraft Leasing Leases Two A350 Aircraft to Delta Air Lines

Vmo Aircraft Leasing ("Vmo"), a San Francisco-based aircraft leasing company, announced today the signing of a long-term lease agreement with Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL; "Delta") for two Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The aircraft were delivered during October 2021.

"We are very pleased to partner with Delta Air Lines on executing this transaction for these latest technology Airbus A350 aircraft," commented Peter Watson, Vmo Aircraft Leasing's Chief Commercial Officer. "This new relationship demonstrates our continuing commercial outreach and efforts to support airline operators as they restore capacity amidst an improving demand environment while maintaining focus on the ost environmentally beneficial fleet."







"These aircraft align with Delta's innovative and opportunistic approach toward widebody fleet renewal and simplification while remaining focused on increasing efficiency and reducing our carbon footprint," said Mahendra Nair, Senior Vice President of Fleet and TechOps Supply Chain at Delta Air Lines.

About Vmo Aircraft Leasing

Vmo Aircraft Leasing ("Vmo") is a U.S.-based commercial aircraft lessor launched in January 2021 by a team of aviation industry veterans and private equity funds managed by Ares Management Corporation. www.vmoair.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005776/en/
[November 03, 2021] Polaris Donates $120,000 to Off-Road and Snow Organizations with T.R.A.I.L.S. Grants

Deepening its commitment to developing and improving off-road trail systems throughout the United States, Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII), today announced a total donation of $120,000 through its T.R.A.I.L.S. Grant Program. The grants were awarded to 12 off-road and snowmobile nonprofit organizations to support trail stewardship and rider education aimed at promoting safe, responsible riding practices. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005073/en/ "Like Polaris, these local clubs and organizations are committed to helping maintain and create safe and enjoyable riding experiences for all," said Steve Menneto, president of Polaris Off Road. "Polaris is proud to recognize their dedication and help amplify their efforts to support the off-road and snowmobile communities through our long-running T.R.A.I.L.S. Grant Program." The 12 organizations were awarded with a $10,000 Polaris T.R.A.I.L.S. Grant, which will be used to support a range of trail and rider safety activities. Examples include providing safety courses for youth and adults, trail maintenance and repair, improving signage and the development of a digital trail database. The Fall 2021 T.R.A.I.L.S Grant recipients are: Snomads, Inc. (Homer, Alaska)

Alaska Safe Riders (Palmer, Alaska)

East Branch Sno-Rovers and ATVs Inc. (Medway, Maine)

Ranger Riders ATV Club (Nashwauk, Minn.)

Mississippi State University Foundation, Inc. (Mississippi State, Miss.)

Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Cranberry Lake Mountaineers Snowmobile Club, Inc. (Cranberry Lake, N.Y.)

Boondockers Sno-Club (Russell, N.Y.)

Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area (Coal Township, Pa.)

Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn)

Tushar Mountain ATV Club (Beaver, Utah)

Tread Lightly (Centerville, Utah)



In 2021, the T.R.A.I.L.S. Grant Program has awarded 21 grants for a total of $200,000. Since it was founded in 2006, the program has supported 335 off-road and ATV organizations with nearly $3 million in grants to help support the future of off-road and snowmobile riding by championing safe and responsible riding and promoting environmental preservations and trail access.

"The T.R.A.I.L.S. Grants helped us open Maryland's first OHV State Park: Wolf Den Run State Park. It is 2,000 acres total on three separate parcels consisting of over 50 miles of trails and growing," said James Ratino, President of Maryland OHV Alliance, March 2019 grant recipient. "All of this progress is possible thanks to the grants we have received from Polaris. These grants have helped us get equipment to sites to allow us to give VIP tours, provide food for trail volunteers, and help fuel the fire for us to keep working." For more information on the T.R.A.I.L.S. Grant Program and to apply for a grant, follow this link to the Polaris website: https://www.polaris.com/en-us/trails-application/. About Polaris As the global leader in powersports, Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII) pioneers product breakthroughs and enriching experiences and services that have invited people to discover the joy of being outdoors since our founding in 1954. With annual 2020 sales of $7.0 billion, Polaris' high-quality product line-up includes the Polaris RANGER, RZR and GENERAL side-by-side off-road vehicles; Sportsman all-terrain off-road vehicles; Indian Motorcycle mid-size and heavyweight motorcycles; Slingshot moto-roadsters; snowmobiles; and deck, cruiser and pontoon boats, including industry-leading Bennington pontoons. Polaris enhances the riding experience with parts, garments and accessories, along with a growing aftermarket portfolio, including Transamerican Auto Parts. Polaris' presence in adjacent markets includes military and commercial off-road vehicles, quadricycles, and electric vehicles. Proudly headquartered in Minnesota, Polaris serves more than 100 countries across the globe. www.polaris.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005073/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Tom McArdle Joins At-Bay as National Broker Executive

At-Bay, the cyber MGA for the digital age, today announced Tom McArdle joined the company as National Broker Executive. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005804/en/ Tom McArdle, At-Bay's National Broker Executive (Photo: Business Wire) McArdle brings more than two decades of underwriting experience to At-Bay, most recently serving as Senior Vice President at Argo Group, where he oversaw management liability, financial institutions and E&O lines in the Central region. He previously served as Senior Vice President at AXIS, contributing to building out the management liability and professional liability book of business. "I'm thrilled to join the incredibly talented team at At-Bay, and look forward to helping grow relationships with our wholesale partners," said McArdle. "Furthermore, At-Bay's ability to actively monitor the cyber risk of their insureds is a major advancement over what insurance has traditionally provided, the imact of which is evident in At-Bay's ability to manage incidents of loss during the current turbulent market."



McArdle joins At-Bay following its $205 million Series D funding round, co-led by Icon Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, valuing the company at $1.35 billion. The cyber MGA also recently announced a new partnership with Microsoft to help customers strengthen their cyber security posture, and is working towards launching new products and expanding into new markets. "Deepening our relationship with the wholesale community is a top priority as At-Bay continues to grow," said Brett Sadoff, At-Bay's Head of Insurance. "Tom brings to At-Bay nearly 20 years of experience underwriting specialty lines and cultivating lasting partnerships in the wholesale community."

About At-Bay At-Bay is the cyber MGA for the digital age. By combining world-class technology with industry-leading insurance expertise, we designed our company from the ground up to empower businesses to thrive in the digital world. As a Managing General Underwriter (MGU), At-Bay underwrites insurance policies through HSB Specialty Insurance Company, rated A++ by A.M. Best Company and part of Munich Re. At-Bay is backed by Acrew Capital, the HSB fund of Munich Re Ventures, Icon Ventures, ION Crossover Partners, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M12, entrepreneur Shlomo Kramer, and Qumra Capital. www.at-bay.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005804/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Second Annual $500,000 XSeed Award Launched by Deerfield Management to Support Underfunded and Underrepresented NYC Life Science Startups

Deerfield Management Company, a New York City-based healthcare investment firm today announced its second annual XSeed Award, a program designed to support New York City early-stage life science, minority-led startups. This year's XSeed Award will be granted to individuals working on neurodegeneration research development projects. "Funding translational product development by underrepresented communities is critical to help spark innovation," said James E. Flynn, Managing Partner at Deerfield. "Broader diversity allows for new and different vantage points to be incorporated into the innovation and startup community, and the varied perspectives indisputably create better ideas and solutions. NYC is one of the most diverse communities in the world, and so must be our early-stage life science community." According to Pitchbook, life science ventures led by women and minorities still face a substantial funding gap. Female founders in the U.S. raised only 2.2 percent of total venture capital funding in 2020 and funding to Black and Latinx founders equate to only 2.4% of capital raised from 2015 through August 2020. The underrepresented scientists and entrepreneurs working on important healthcare projects in NYC are actively furthering discoveries but too often lack support to progress more cures for patients. Through fostering this community of individuals, NYC can help change the disease narrative of the Biotech Industry. "The New York City Economic Development Corporation is overseeing the City's $1 billion investment in life sciences, and for us it's about breaking down barriers and creating equal opportunity in the field. We applaud Deerfield Management for its efforts to support minority-led life science research and early-stage ventures hrough the second XSeed Award program," said Rachel Loeb, President and CEO at NYCEDC. "Now, underrepresented scientists and entrepreneurs can apply for much needed funding to help yield the discoveries and cures of tomorrow."



Each year, the award is launched with a specific focus, selecting five teams that will be awarded a total of up to $500,000. Finalists present their work to a panel which includes: Claire Pomeroy, MD, President and CEO of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation; Nancy Thornberry, Founding CEO at Kallyope, Inc.; Elise Wang, Partner at Deerfield; Joseph Pearlberg, Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Deerfield, H.C. Huang, Senior Director, Deerfield Discovery and Development at Deerfield, and Jennifer Laird, VP, Search & Evaluation - Pain & Neurodegeneration at Eli Lilly. The deadline for submission is January 7, 2022, and the winners will be announced in March. To learn more about the XSeed Award's applicant eligibility criteria, visit www.xseedaward.com.

"Being recognized as a winner of the XSeed Award means more than just advancing my research and work, it has enriched my learnings and expanded my networking opportunities." said Chandrabali Ghose-Paul, Founder and CEO of Bioharmony Therapeutics, a winner of the inaugural XSeed Awards in 2021. "Interacting with Deerfield and a group of my fellow recipients strengthens our fight against infectious diseases through knowledge and support." "The XSeed Award is what true executive sponsorship looks like," remarked Ron Mitchell, CEO of Humanity Health, a career acceleration and talent sourcing platform for underrepresented healthcare leaders and entrepreneurs which is supported by Deerfield. "Sponsorship is about amplifying, connecting, endorsing and supporting leaders in their work. All four of those elements are deeply ingrained in this amazing opportunity provided by Deerfield." Deerfield created the XSeed Award in tandem with its development of Cure, the life science campus it built in partnership with New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). The Cure campus at 345 Park Avenue South in Midtown Manhattan is bringing together innovators from academia, government, industry, and the not-for-profit sectors to advance human health and accelerate the fight against disease. Residents have access to move-in-ready laboratory space, engineering and computing space, as well as other amenities and support services. ABOUT DEERFIELD Deerfield is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. The Firm works across the healthcare ecosystem to connect people, capital, ideas and technology in bold, collaborative and inclusive ways. For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005819/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Strategy Analytics: Ring, Nest, and Arlo Remain Among the Leaders in the Smart Home Camera Market

Some of the largest smart home surveillance camera brands - Arlo, Blink, Nest, Ring, and Wyze - remain in control of the surveillance camera market, though a sea change is imminent, according to the latest research published in Strategy Analytics' (News - Alert) Smart Home Camera Market Analysis and Forecast - October 2021. As differentiators other than the lowest camera selling price begin to fade for most brands it is becoming clear that device-only business models will become unsustainable. The hardware-first business model that has spurred tremendous growth in this smart home device segment for brands such as Wyze, Xiaomi, Reolink, and Eufy, as well as dozens of Chinese companies over the last five years is showing signs of winding down. Companies already well down the path towards software, such as Amazon (Blink and Ring), Arlo, and Google (News - Alert) (Nest), will further entrench themselves at the top of the market, as well as enjoy a head start on earning them new customers and protecting their installed bases. Cameras from brands that either cannot or choose not to enhance their software offerings will be viewed as commodities, at best relegating these brands to the sidelines, at worst knocking them out of the camera market altogether. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005825/en/



Figure 1. Surveillance Camera Features (Source ( News Alert ): Strategy Analytics, Inc.)

"In a few years or less, the leading consumer smart home surveillance camera brands will look more like software developers than device companies," noted Jack Narcotta, Principal Industry Analyst, Smart Home Strategies. "A smart home business model built solely on devices is not sustainable as eventually cameras, and many other smart home devices, become commodities. With surveillance cameras, consumers evaluate a company's offerings on how well they fit into how those consumers define 'convenience', and how easily cameras can be integrated into their daily routines. Consumers are more likely to consider how and why they might use a camera versus what features it has, and leading brands such as Arlo, Blink, Nest, and Ring have taken big steps forward to create features such as AI-powered video/image analytics, package detection, and trainable facial recognition that consumers find valuable." Bill Ablondi, Director, Smart Home Strategies, added, "Strategy Analytics' research into the consumer smart home surveillance camera market shows specifications, such as 1080p or greater video resolution, advanced night vision capabilities, and integration with digital assistant ecosystems are still important to consumers, though to a much lesser degree than in the past. Competitors in the smart home camera arena know that leadership in this market will soon be based on software and services more advanced than simply enabling cloud storage or remote viewing. The challenge ahead for camera companies will be determining how to successfully transition from selling camera hardware to selling security, monitoring, and safety features." About Strategy Analytics Strategy Analytics, Inc. is a global leader in supporting companies across their planning lifecycle through a range of customized market research solutions. Our multi-discipline capabilities include: industry research advisory services, customer insights, user experience design and innovation expertise, mobile consumer on-device tracking and business-to-business consulting competencies. With domain expertise in: smart devices, connected cars, intelligent home, service providers, IoT, strategic components and media, Strategy Analytics can develop a solution to meet your specific planning need. For more information, visit us at www.strategyanalytics.com. Source: Strategy Analytics, Inc.

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[November 03, 2021] Rockefeller Capital Management Appoints Christopher Dupuy and Timothy O'Hara as Co-Heads of the Rockefeller Global Family Office

Rockefeller Capital Management ("Rockefeller" or the "Firm") today announced the appointment of Christopher Dupuy and Timothy O'Hara as Co-Heads of the Rockefeller Global Family Office. Michael Outlaw was appointed to a newly created role as the National Field Director for the Rockefeller Global Family Office, reporting to the Co-Heads Dupuy and O'Hara. The Firm also announced it is hiring Mark Alexander as the Head of Technology and Operations. Christopher Randazzo, who currently serves as President of Private Wealth Management, is stepping away from his leadership role for personal reasons and will serve in the capacity of Special Advisor to Greg Fleming, President and CEO of Rockefeller Capital Management. "Chris, Tim and Michael all possess decades of Wealth Management leadership experience and are perfectly suited to lead our next phase of growth, including offering our clients the broadest suite of investment products and family office services in the industry," said Greg Fleming, President and CEO of Rockefeller Capital Management. Regarding the appointment of Alexander, Fleming said, "Mark is a respected industry leader, brings a lifetime of financial services experience, and will assume responsibility for all Technology and Operations across Rockefeller Capital Management, driving connectivity and best-in-class capabilities to scale a world-class operational platform." "Over the last four years, we have grown Rockefeller Capital Management from its legacy as a family office to a diversified financial advisory firm, increasing our client assets under advisement from approximately $18 billion to over $85 billion of assets," added Fleming. "We have surpassed our own aggressive targets and these appointments will position the Firm for continued disciplined growth and operational excellence in the years ahead." Rockefeller has grown from fewer than 200 employees to 800 in under four years and has expandd its geographic footprint from 3 offices to 31 across the United States.



The following appointments are effective immediately: Christopher Dupuy, who joined the Firm in 2018 and is currently the National Field Director for Private Wealth Management, will become President of Private Wealth Management and Co-Head of the Rockefeller Global Family Office reporting to Fleming. Prior to this, he spent 29 years with Merrill Lynch, including as National Sales Manager for Merrill's 700 branches in the United States and Latin America, and was a Managing Director and President of Focus Independence, a subsidiary of Focus Financial Partners.

Timothy O'Hara, in addition to his role as President of the Firm's Family Office, will become Co-Head of the Rockefeller Global Family Office, and will continue to report to Fleming. O'Hara joined Rockefeller in 2019 and, prior to that, spent 23 years at Ayco, a Goldman Sachs Company, culminating with him serving as the President and CEO of Ayco from 2013 to 2018. Michael Outlaw, who is currently a Divisional Director in Private Wealth Management, will become National Field Director for the Rockefeller Global Family Office, reporting to Dupuy and O'Hara. Outlaw will broaden his focus beyond Private Wealth Management to include the Firm's Family Office advisory business, supporting both Dupuy and O'Hara in leveraging the Firm's footprint and capabilities in service to the Firm's clients. Prior to joining the Firm in 2018, Outlaw worked for Morgan Stanley in several senior roles, including as Southeastern Head of Private Wealth Management. Mark Alexander will be joining Rockefeller Capital Management on January 3, 2022, as the Head of Technology and Operations reporting to Fleming. Alexander previously served as Chief Information Officer and Head of Technology and Operations for Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Global Markets business and in the same role for their Global Wealth & Investment Management business. He also served in other senior technology and operations roles during a career with Merrill Lynch and Bank of America that spanned more than two decades. Most recently he served as the CEO of a fintech firm that leverages mobile technology to transform point-of-care lending for healthcare patients. Regarding Randazzo's move to a Special Advisor capacity, Fleming said, "Chris has been with me from the beginning of the Firm, has been an important part of our success, and I look forward to his continuing counsel as we enter our next phase of growth." About Rockefeller Capital Management Rockefeller Capital Management was established in 2018 as a leading independent, privately-owned financial services firm. Originally founded in 1882 as the family office of John D. Rockefeller, the Firm has evolved to offer strategic advice to ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions and corporations from 31 offices across the United States. As of November 1st, 2021, the Firm is responsible for over $85 billion in client assets across its three business segments, the Rockefeller Global Family Office, which includes both the Private Wealth Management and Family Office businesses, Rockefeller Asset Management and Rockefeller Strategic Advisory. The Firm has grown from fewer than 200 employees to 800, increasing our geographic footprint from 3 offices to 31 across the United States. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005771/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Merge Announces $15 MM Series A, Expands Partnerships with Top HR, Recruiting, and Payroll API Providers

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Merge API Inc., the San Francisco and New York City-based company providing one API for all B2B integrations, today announced the close of a $15 million Series A funding round led by Addition, with participation from existing investor NEA. The company also announced its status as a partner of BambooHR, an HR provider, and Lever, an applicant tracking system. Merge Announces $15 MM Series A, Expands Partnerships with Top HR, Recruiting, and Payroll API Providers "This round empowers us to not only continue investing in our product but also in our partnerships," said Merge co-founder Shensi Ding. "We plan to expand our features, the team building them, and the partnerships that are so important in providing best-in-class integrations for our customers." Merge also announced new partnership agreements with BambooHR and Lever . These partnerships build off of the company's previous announcements, including with HR and payroll leader UKG . To further support Merge's partners, the company plans to release a dedicated partner portal. Partnerships guarantee current and future Merge customers can depend on reliable API integrations with some of the mos popular HR, payroll, recruiting, and accounting products on the market.



"Support for partnerships is exactly right for this stage of our growth," said Gil Feig, co-founder of Merge. "Stronger partnerships help API providers become the source of truth and the products that complementary products  Merge's customer base  build on." Five months since Merge's NEA-led series seed announcement, now over 600 organizations have registered for the company's platform. Merge launched product features such as detailed logging, enhanced webhooks, CSV upload, SAML SSO, and a single-tenant offering. Companies such as Ramp, Figure, and Drata trust Merge's Unified API to act as the integration layer for their B2B products.

"Merge is revolutionizing customer-facing integrations in the B2B space by helping developers integrate fast and integrate once," said Lee Fixel, Founder of Addition. "Their track record demonstrates Merge is solving a common problem with the right product, and we're excited to support the company on its continued growth trajectory." Merge additionally plans to use its Series A to expand into more categories of integrations and add to the 50+ integrations across the company's existing HR APIs , payroll APIs , recruiting APIs , and accounting APIs . Upcoming product features include audit trails and on-premise support. The company also plans to expand its engineering and sales teams as well as increase its marketing efforts. ABOUT MERGE:

Merge provides the tools to transform how B2B companies realize customer-facing integrations. With Merge's Unified API, developers integrate just once and give their customers access to over 50+ HR Information Systems (HRIS), Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), and Accounting integrations. Merge takes charge of the entire lifecycle of integrations and adds new platforms every week. Merge raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Addition, with additional investments from NEA, the CTO of Plaid, the CTO and co-founder of PagerDuty, and more. Merge was founded in 2020 by Shensi Ding and Gil Feig and is proudly built in San Francisco and New York City. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/merge-announces-15-mm-series-a-expands-partnerships-with-top-hr-recruiting-and-payroll-api-providers-301414932.html SOURCE Merge

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[November 03, 2021] Morgan Stanley Announces 2030 Targets for Net-Zero Financed Emissions Commitment

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced new steps towards its commitment to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Building on its commitment to finance $1tn towards the Sustainable Development Goals, including $750MM of financing to drive the climate transition, Morgan Stanley has set 2030 interim targets for three sectors: Auto Manufacturing, Energy and Power. In September 2020, Morgan Stanley became the first major U.S.-headquartered financial services firm to commit to net-zero financed emissions by 2050. The release of the Firm's first interim targets represents an important milestone in support of its 2050 commitment. Audrey Choi, Morgan Stanley's Chief Sustainability Officer said "The recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes clear the urgency of addressing greenhouse gas emissions, and that near-term reductions are necessary if the world is to limit global temperature rise to 1.5Celsius. Morgan Stanley's interim net-zero targets set us on that path toward a more sustainable and prosperous future." Morgan Stanley's 2030 Interim Targets For each sector, Morgan Stanley is taking an approach that examines its financed emissions relative to client financing commitments. This will help the Firm align the relative carbon emissions footprint of its lending portfolios with science-based sector pathways to reach net-zero by 2050. Each sector target covers Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions and all greenhouse gases and is inclusive of the corporate lending portfolio. The targets are: Auto Manufacturing: -35%

Energy: -29%

Power: -58% Full details on the Firm's targets can be found here, including a detailed methodology that describes our multi-step process for setting our targets. Morgan Stanley's Approach to Net-Zero Morgan Stanley has taken a proactive approach to leading the development of methodologies necessary to set and track progress against credible net-zero targets. The Firm will leverage this work across the three-part Measure, Manage and Report framework for net-zero: Measure : Utilize the carbon accounting methodology of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) to measure baseline emissions and track progress towards 2030 interim targets Morgan Stanley was the first large U.S. financial firm to join PCAF and, is the only large U.S. financial Firm to sit on PCAF's Steering Committee.

: Utilize the carbon accounting methodology of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) to measure baseline emissions and track progress towards 2030 interim targets Manage : Set ambitious, credible targets using the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) methodology to help manage emissions. Morgan Stanley is a founding member of NZBA and was elected to its Steering Group.

: Set ambitious, credible targets using the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) methodology to help manage emissions. Morgan Stanley was among the first supporters of the TCFD's recommendations and published its first report in 2020. Report/span>: Transparently disclose progress to shareholders and other stakeholders utilizing the Taskforce for Climate-related Finance Disclosure's four-part framework.





Looking Ahead Morgan Stanley recognizes that the approach to net-zero will need to be an iterative process as data, methodologies, and climate science evolve and will update it over time to reflect these dynamics. To that end, Morgan Stanley will continue its work to develop additional financed and facilitated emissions accounting methodologies through its leadership position in the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials ("PCAF"). Morgan Stanley will report progress towards its 2030 interim targets annually in its Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") reports. The first set of financed emissions data is expected to be released in the 2022 report.

"Morgan Stanley is committed to working with our clients to accelerate sustainable efforts by offering leading products, solutions and insights to facilitate their low carbon transition plans. Today's announcement builds upon the Firm's decade plus leadership in sustainable investing", says Choi. To learn more about the 2030 targets, please see here. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements herein, including expectations related to financed emissions targets and the achievement thereof, may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. These statements are not guarantees of future results or occurrences. Actual results and financial conditions may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors, including, among others, global socio-demographic and economic trends, energy prices, technological innovations, climate-related conditions and weather events, counterparty and client financial health, insurance applicability, legislative and regulatory changes, and other unforeseen events or conditions, and the precautionary statements included in this report and those contained in Morgan Stanley's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Morgan Stanley speak only as to the date they are made, and Morgan Stanley does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements were made. You should, however, consult further disclosures Morgan Stanley may make in future filings of its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments thereto or in future press releases or other public statements. USE OF THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION In addition, the methodology used to establish financed emission targets and track future progress against such targets utilize emissions information and estimates that have been derived from publicly available information released by third-party sources, which Morgan Stanley believes to be reasonable, although Morgan Stanley has only been able to complete limited validation. Additionally, in the absence of counter-party specific emissions data, some financed emissions will be estimated using emissions and activity factors provided by third-party sources. Certain third-party information, such as Scope 3 emissions and emissions factors, may change over time as methodologies evolve and are refined. These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates and beliefs made by third parties and by Morgan Stanley.  2021 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Members SIPC. CRC 3864584 11/2021 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005845/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Nextech AR Closes CAD $5 Million Private Placement with Institutional Investors

Nextech AR Solutions Corp. ("Nextech" or the "Company") (OTCQB: NEXCF) (NEO: NTAR) (CSE: NTAR) (FSE: N29), a diversified leading provider of augmented reality ("AR") experience technologies is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced private placement of its common shares ("Common Shares") and warrants to purchase Common Shares ("Warrants") with institutional investors for gross proceeds of approximately CAD $5 million (the "Private Placement"). Pursuant to the Private Placement, the Company issued 3,030,304 Common Shares and Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,515,152 Common Shares at a purchase price of CAD $1.65 per Common Share and associated one-half of one Warrant. Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of CAD $1.92 for a period of three years following the issuance date. H.C. Wainwright & Co. acted as the exclusive placement agent for the Private Placement. The Company has paid an aggregate cash commission of CAD $400,000 and issued an aggregate of 242,424 broker warrants to the placement agent and its assignees, each entitling the holder to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of CAD$2.0625 for a period of three years following the issuance date. The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used by the Company for working capital and general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, acquisitions of assets used in the Company's business and strategic transactions and/or acquisitions. No securities were offered or sold to Canadian residents in connection with the Private Placement. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The securities referred in this news release have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any U.S. state securities laws, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States or to any U.S. person absent registration under U.S. federal and state securities laws or an applicable exemption from such U.S. registration requirements. "United Stats" and "U.S. person" have the respective meanings ascribed to them in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act.



NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To learn more, please follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, or visit our website: https://www.nextechar.com.

About Nextech AR Nextech develops and operates AR platforms that transports three-dimensional product visualizations, human holograms and 360 portals to its audiences altering e-commerce, digital advertising, hybrid virtual events (events held in a digital format blended with in-person attendance) and learning and training experiences. Nextech focuses on developing AR solutions however most of the Company's revenues are derived from three e-Commerce platforms: vacuumcleanermarket.com ("VCM"), infinitepetlife.com and Trulyfesupplements.com. VCM and product sales of residential vacuums, supplies and parts, and small home appliances which are sold on Amazon. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements", collectively "forward-looking information", within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information is not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent the beliefs and expectations regarding future events about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates, as well as plans or objectives of management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of 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". Forward-looking information contained herein may include but is not limited to, references to any future acquisitions and the timing thereof and the use of proceeds of the Private Placement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, general market conditions, availability of financing, regulatory approvals and the results of the Company's operations. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005879/en/

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[November 03, 2021] U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Partners with Google Cloud to Accelerate Collaboration and Drive Research Mission Success

WASHINGTON and DAYTON, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Google Cloud today announced that the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has deployed Google Workspace among a segment of its workforce of scientists and engineers. The initial deployment has dramatically enhanced engagement with its worldwide network of external research partners. AFRL is a global research enterprise supporting two services, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Space Force. From laser-guided optics enabling telescopes to see deeper into the universe than ever before, to fundamental science that has spawned innovations in quantum computing and artificial intelligence, AFRL rapidly scales discovery to deliver leading-edge technologies for the military. Core to the success of AFRL's mission is engaging with world-leading scientists, small businesses, large industry, and other government agencies to build communities that drive innovation. AFRL teams are using Google Workspace solutions like Smart Canvas to simultaneously connect, share, and collaborate on critical projects with complex, research-relevant informationeliminating the toil of email chains and hours-long data file exchanges. Through the video conferencing service Google Meet, AFRL research teams are hosting flexible, virtual meetings to exchange ideas anywhere, anytime. The recent announcements of Workspace Client-Side Encryption, combined with Google's Zero Trust security philosophy, provide AFRL with additional safeguards, while keeping security measures invisible to end-users. AFRL scientists using the Google Cloud technology are able to collaborate and innovate safely and securely under the standards defined by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). "Covid-19 significantly limited the physical presence of researchers in the lab," said Dr. Joshua Kennedy, research physicist, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at AFRL. "Google Workspace eliminated whatwould have otherwise been almost a total work stoppage. In fact, new insights into 2D nanomaterials, critical to future Department of the Air Force capabilities, were discovered using Workspace that would have otherwise been impossible."



Dr. Kennedy is just one of many researchers at AFRL who have reported a positive, tangible impact on their work as a result of using Google Cloud. For example, a recent survey of researchers involved in the Google Workspace preliminary deployment revealed an average time savings of three hours per week. For AFRL's highly trained workforce of PhDs, this means more time to dedicate to the mission. "We know that the U.S. Air Force places a strong emphasis on modernization and innovation, and this is apparent in the groundbreaking work of AFRL researchers," said Mike Daniels, vice president, Global Public Sector, Google Cloud. "Knowing that members of AFRL rely on Google Workspace not only to securely and successfully achieve their mission, but also to power new discoveries, makes us proud to support their efforts."

In fact, early in fiscal year 2021, Air Force Research Laboratory commander, Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle directed AFRL to prioritize ongoing efforts of digitally transforming AFRL and issued a charter establishing the AFRL Digital Transformation Team. The team's mission centers on the creation of "One AFRL," a flexible enterprise "that capitalizes on the seamless integration of data and information through the use of modern methods, digital processes and tools and IT infrastructure." "Our mantra is 'collaborate to innovate,'" Pringle said. "We want our alpha nerds to be very connected, and we really want to up their proficiency as a digital workforce where data becomes a third language. We're incorporating digital engineering into everything we do in science and technology and have a data-informed human capital strategy. We started experimenting with Google Workspace to supplement existing capabilities, and it has revolutionized our ability to collaborate with our external partners and build the best teams." About the Air Force Research Laboratory

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit: www.afresearchlab.com . About Google Cloud

Google Cloud accelerates organizations' ability to digitally transform their business with the best infrastructure, platform, industry solutions and expertise. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology  all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems. About Google Workspace

Google Workspace enables teams of all sizes to connect, create and collaborateto drive innovation from any device, and any location. Built on the industry's leading cloud-native communication and collaboration platform, Google Workspace brings together the apps loved by billions of peopleGmail, Chat, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet and moreinto a single integrated workspace. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-air-force-research-laboratory-partners-with-google-cloud-to-accelerate-collaboration-and-drive-research-mission-success-301415461.html SOURCE Google Cloud

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[November 03, 2021] Neology has been Awarded Supplier Status by UK's Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Transport Technology and Associated Services Framework [RM6099]

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neology, a global innovator that is re-imagining mobility for smart cities and safer communities, today announced it has been named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Transport Technology and Associated Services (TTAS) framework. As a result of this new supplier status, the government and public sector will be able to procure Neologys full, turn-key services and solutions covering Transportation Systems, Data Services, Clean and Sustainable Transport Technologies. TTAS went live October 26, 2021 and will conclude October 31, 2025.

After meeting the high standards required by CCS, Neology is qualified to provide solutions and services in the areas below due to their extensive experience providing transportation, mobility and sustainable city solutions. The six lots within the framework, include: Lot 1. Transport Professional Services

Lot 2. Transport And Pedestrian Control

Lot 4. Transport Data Services

Lot 5. Sustainable Transport Technologies

Lot 6. Major Transport Solutions

Lot 7. Catalogue (all bidders automatically included) Neology has helped customers in the UK by deploying various projects across the market including Traffic Enforcement and Road Safety schemes, as well as Emissions Monitoring programmes utilising AI-powered solutions. We are incredibly proud to be independently verified as providing solutions and services that meet the highest standards in the UK. And, we are most excited to work with our government and public sector partners to effectively achieve their vision and ffer the best value for taxpayers, said Luke Normington, General Manager of Neology.



About Crown Commercial Service

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to 2.04bn - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers. About Neology, Inc.

Neology is re-imagining mobility to help our customers accelerate their vision for smart cities and safer communities. Our Mobility Platform is setting the industry standard through a unique combination of AI-powered adaptive solutions, a proven integration process, and unparalleled lifecycle support. Backed by a culture of innovation, our mobility experts work closely with global customers and a top-tier partner ecosystem to connect existing infrastructure assets with next-generation technology to modernize the way people move. To create safer, cleaner, more efficient mobility experiences, visit www.neology.net.

Neology Media Contact:

Alyssa Eggum

John Kelly Foster

858.688.2796

[email protected] Notes to Editors:

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office, supporting the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. To find out more about CCS, visit: www.crowncommercial.gov.uk

Follow us on Twitter: @gov_procurement

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/2827044 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8e6aa9a7-8509-4321-bed0-f46ebcdcba53



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[November 03, 2021] Global Digital Lending Platform Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report 2021-2028 - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "Digital Lending Platform Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Solution, By Service, By Deployment, By Region; Segment Forecast, 2021 - 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global digital lending platform market size is expected to reach USD 26.26 billion by 2028 The markets are driven by the factors such as the increasing number of government initiatives coupled with the growing trend of digitalization in the financial sectors. In addition, the increasing penetration of smartphones as well as the adoption of the internet in the modernized society is acting as a catalyzing factor for the global market development. Furthermore, technological development such as the growing adoption of cloud-based platforms and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is also creating lucrative growth in the upcoming years. The growing support of governments for adopting digital lending platforms and creating stringent regulations for smooth operational flow is the chief driving factors for the industry. Various organizations follow the government's frame compliance rules and regulations because of the sensitivity of financial data. The increasing number of cyber-attacks is associated with the launch of several compliances that protect financial data. For instance, in January 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared that they created a working group for studying phases of digital offering activities, which is performed by regulated and un-regulated vendors that also comprise mobile phone apps. Therefore, these government policies and regulations may propel the demand of the industry in the near future. There ae various market players launching new products into the global industry to expand their trading operations. For instance, in July 2021, AUSe Fintech BlUSone introduced its new offering platform. This launch includes a considerable number of innovative features and development consisting of a collection of service capabilities and new loan originations.



Major participants such as Abrigo, Built Technology, Cu Direct, Docutech, Ellie Mae, Inc., FIS, Fiserv, Inc, Ice Mortgage Technology, Intellect Design Arena, Newgen Software, Nucleus Software, Pegasystems (News - Alert) Inc., Sigma Infosolutions, Tavant, Temenos, Turnkey Lenders, Wilzni are some of the key players operating in the global market. Digital Lending Platform Market Dynamics

Drivers and Opportunities Rise in financial services

Emergence of digital services Restraints and Challenges Loopholes in financial services Porter's Five Forces Analysis PESTLE Analysis Digital Lending Platform Market Industry trends COVID-19 Impact Analysis Companies Mentioned Abrigo

Built Technology

Cu Direct

Docutech

Ellie Mae Inc.

FIS

Fiserv Inc

Ice Mortgage Technology

Intellect (News - Alert) Design Arena

Newgen Software

Nucleus Software

Pegasystems Inc.

Sigma Infosolutions

Tavant

Temenos

Turnkey Lenders

Wilzni. Scope of the Report Business Process Management

Lending Analytics

Loan Management

Loan Origination

Risk & Compliance Management

Others Digital Lending Platform, Service Outlook Design & Implementation

Training & Education

Risk Assessment

Consulting

Support & Maintenance Digital Lending Platform, Deployment Outlook On-premise

Cloud Digital Lending Platform, End-Use Outlook Banks

Insurance Companies

Credit Unions

Savings & Loan Associations

Peer-to-Peer

Others Digital Lending Platform, Regional Outlook North America

US

Canada

Europe

France

Germany

UK

Italy

Spain

Netherlands

Austria

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

Malaysia

Indonesia

South Korea

Central & South America

Mexico

Brazil

Argentina

Middle East & Africa

UAE

Saudi Arabia

Israel

South Africa For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e5cfm2 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005916/en/

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[November 03, 2021] For the 12th Time, Access Recognized on the Inc. 5000, With Three-Year Revenue Growth of 43 Percent

WOBURN, Mass., Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Access, the worlds largest privately-held integrated information management services provider, today announced that it is being recognized for the 12th year on the Inc. magazine annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing and most successful private companies. Access ranking was determined based on its three-year revenue growth of 43 percent.

Not only have the companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but this years list also proved especially resilient and flexible given the unprecedented challenges over the past 18 months. Among the lists 5,000, those companies together added more than 610,000 jobs over the past three years. The 2021 Inc. 5000 list feels like one of the most important rosters of companies ever compiled, says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. Building one of the fastest-growing companies in America in any year is a remarkable achievement. Building one in the crisis weve lived through is just plain amazing. This kind of accomplishment comes with hard work, smart pivots, great leadership, and the help of a whole lot of people. It is an honor to once again be recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in America, said Ken Davis, Access CEO. As a leading information management services provider, we are grateful to have earned the business of over 33,000 companies; entrusted to protect and manage information for millions of people. We pride ourselves on empowering organizations to support and enable their full information management lifecycles, and we do this with innovation and our personalized, client-centric approach. He adds that with the move towards remote and hybrid work environments, Access is utilizing leading-edge technologies to continually evolve its information management solutions.



Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.



About Access:

Access is the largest privately-held records and information management services provider worldwide, with operations across the United States, Canada, Central America and South America. Access provides transformative services, expertise and technologies to make organizations more efficient and more compliant. Access helps companies manage and activate their critical business information through offsite storage and information governance services, scanning and digital transformation solutions, document management software and secure destruction services. Access has been named 12 times to the Inc. 5000, the ranking of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. For more information on Access, please visit AccessCorp.com . More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000:

Methodology

Companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2017 to 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2020. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to three decimal places. There was one tie on this years Inc. 5000. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including web sites, 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 Vision Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com. Contacts: Melissa Kolodziej/Access

781-710-0763

[email protected] Bonnie Elgie/ BE PR for Access

403-630-6164

[email protected] PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/6b2693b5-a521-4ad3-a080-cadeae5f42e2



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[November 03, 2021] InvestmentPitch Media Video Discusses Pascal Biosciences and its Award of a National Cancer Institute Grant for its Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Program - Video Available on Investmentpitch.com

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pascal Biosciences (TSXV:PAS) (OTCPink:PSCBF) (FSE:6PB), a biotechnology company targeting innovative therapies for serious diseases, including COVID-19, has been awarded a grant from the National Cancer Institute of the US National Institutes of Health. This two-year grant of US$343,750 will fund development of Pascal's antibody drug for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or ALL.

For more information, please view the InvestmentPitch Media  video  which provides additional information about this news and the company, along with some comments from Dr. Patrick Gray, CEO of Pascal Biosciences. If this link is not enabled, please visit www.InvestmentPitch.com and enter Pascal in the search box. More than 6,000 patients are diagnosed with this type of leukemia in North America each year, with about half being children, making this the most common childhood leukemia. Pascal's drug will be eligible for orphan drug deignation, which can enable financial incentives and a seven year marketing exclusivity. Although the number of patients with ALL is relatively small, the market potential for Pascal's drug could be significant. Other cancer products for orphan diseases have proven to be financially successful, selling over $1 billion each year.



The company has filed for patent protection for its ALL treatment. Pascal recently appointed Mark van der Horst as President. As the president of Gale Capital Corporation since 1993, Mark has extensive capital markets experience and has been CEO of two publicly listed companies on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The shares are currently trading at $0.12 on the TSX Venture Exchange and recently began trading on the OTC markets under the symbol PSCBF. For more information, please visit the companys website at www.PascalBiosciences.com , contact Dr. Patrick W. Gray, CEO, at 206-221-3443, or by email at [email protected] . For investor relations, contact Mark van der Horst, President, at 604-760-7604 or by email at [email protected] . About InvestmentPitch Media Investmentpitch Media leverages the power of video, which together with its extensive distribution, positions a companys story ahead of the 1,000's of companies seeking awareness and funding from the financial community. The company specializes in producing short videos based on significant news releases, research reports and other content of interest to investors. CONTACT:

InvestmentPitch Media

Barry Morgan, CFO

[email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/535f4faf-140d-46a4-b8a1-072d8f8f28d7



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[November 03, 2021] How tech companies are tackling staff shortages: Kilo Health's example

Vilnius, Lithuania, Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seeking to address the ever more acute issue of staff shortages, more and more technology companies are setting up their own Academies: internal training or upskilling programs. One such company is Kilo Health, one of the leading digital health and wellness companies globally. Kilo Health Academy kicked off last year (February 2020). And there are more candidates than places. The prospect of being employed after training is seemingly a good motivator.

Of the 300 people who applied for the Academy since its inception, 50 were accepted and graduated  there were six batches divided into groups of 8-10 students. From each group, the company hires about half of the people. Others stay in an internal pipeline for future opportunities. Kilo Health calls them as soon as vacancies appear, and they are offered to take courses and reach for the desired position again. Now, Kilo Health is exploring the possibilities of expanding its training program to other countries, including Ukraine and Germany, where the company recently set up offices. "We have plans to expand the Academy. We want to cooperate with foreign universities or other educational institutions to provide additional competencies and perhaps attract foreign specialists and Lithuanians working abroad", says Paula Zilinskaite, Head of the Kilo Health Academy. So far, only online courses are being considered, as it's currently more convenient and much safer to form remote international groups, bringing together people, for example, from Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. A second chance for juniors

"Kilo Health Academy is an internal professional development program. It is not for retraining people; we do not prepare specialists from scratch. The purpose of these courses is to raise the qualification of the applicants in a short time," Paula explains. "It's designed for people who don't pass our job interview process or have too little experience for the position. Its like a second chance for juniors. Thesefree courses indeed attract a lot of talent. And in Kilo Health's book, this is a win-win, because its easier to teach newcomers technical skills than to find ones who fit into the company's culture.



"For example, we often see that the candidate is fundamentally suitable for us, our vibe matches  which is very important to us  but they lack some experience. Instead of letting such a person go to another company to gain experience, we offer them to participate in the Academy. There, in just a few months, they reach the level we need to hire them", says Paula, adding that the Academy was set up specifically to address staff shortages. The content of the courses is designed to comply with the principles of Kilo Health's work. Most of the Academy's teachers are Kilo Health specialists. As such, newcomers learn to write code exactly as the company does.

These courses also save a lot of time that the company otherwise would need to train and onboard newcomers.

"Kilo Health is growing at a speed of light, and it takes time for universities and other bodies to train specialists. So, as an option to fill large amounts of hires, we prepare them ourselves or collaborate with them. Time is a great luxury for us. And there is a huge gaping hole in the labor market around the world, especially in IT. There is a huge shortage of workers in all segments of the digital market. And there is tremendous competition", says Paula. Higher-level

The company has just completed the Google ads course, and a week earlier, programming courses for React.js. Two new IT batches for React.js and React Native are now planned.

Paula emphasizes that with React.js and React Native groups, the company wants to reach a higher level. "This time, we will seek to attract not juniors, but rather mid-to-higher-level programmers who are likely to be already working, but also seeking opportunities to learn new frameworks and improve their skill set. We will offer them this opportunity and ask them to come work with us",  says the Head of the Academy. Also on the agenda are Conversion rate optimization (CRO) courses. Kilo Health will be one of the first in Lithuania to develop these courses. According to Paula, there are virtually no CRO specialists in Lithuania, although companies are already looking for them. The success of this academy shows that professionals are by no means lacking the motivation to learn and advance their careers. On the contrary, they are competing against each other where the most ambitious students stand out and enter the academy's shortlist. About Kilo Health

Kilo Health is one of the leading digital health and wellness companies globally, not only attracting talents to join its fast-growing team but also co-founding and accelerating start-ups in a rapidly growing digital health industry. With 4+ million paying users worldwide (the majority in the United States), strong technology, and a digital marketing platform, Kilo Health provides unparalleled opportunities for entrepreneurial talents and visionaries to build the digital health products of the future. Kilo Health was founded to design the most engaging and effective digital lifestyle interventions that lead to a healthier life by preventing, managing, or treating various health conditions. Continuously seeking new opportunities, co-founding, and accelerating prospective next-gen products, Kilo Health has grown from 7 to 500 bright talents in three years and aims to become the most-loved digital health and wellness product suite globally. For the original news story, please visit https://prdistribution.com/news/how-tech-companies-are-tackling-staff-shortages-kilo-health-s-example-2.html

Media Company: Winning media group, Media Name: Roberta Semetaite, Media Phone: +37061965190, Media Email: [email protected], Media URL: www.winning.lt/en

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X-Caliber Rural Capital Closes a $13.5MM Transaction in North Carolina, Marking its First Loan as a Licensed USDA Lender

X-Caliber Rural Capital, a subsidiary of X-Caliber Capital and a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) licensed lender for rural business and economic development projects, today announced the closing of its first transaction, a $13.5MM acquisition financing of an upscale, limited-service hotel in North Carolina (NC). The acquisition financing is a 25-year, fixed-rate, Business and Industry guaranteed-loan under the USDA's OneRD Guaranteed Loan Initiative.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103006048/en/

"For our first transaction as a new company, we were able to leverage the unique offerings of the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program to provide our borrower with an attractive rate and a long-term financing solution that matches his business goals," said Jordan Blanchard, Executive Manager, Co-Founder of X-Caliber Rural Capital. "The hotel is an important source of employment for the area and is located in the heart of a rural town, surrounded by many local businesses."

"The success of small business across America depends on access to affordable capital," said X-Caliber Capital President and CEO, Chris Callahan. "Under the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, borrowers have the opportunity to receive better pricing and terms than are available through conventional loans. This, in turn, helps support small business success, which is critical to the health of rural economies."

The 96-room hotel was built in 2019 and is located minutes from the town's medical center. The propety is also a short drive from Charlotte, NC, and there are 19 restaurants located within a half-mile radius. The hotel has an outdoor pool, a complimentary breakfast area, as well as a fitness and business center.







Under the USDA's OneRD Guaranteed Loan Initiative, X-Caliber Rural Capital provides financing for rural businesses and economic development projects under four flagship programs:

USDA loans provide competitive financing options to qualified borrowers. As one of the four programs offered under the OneRD Guaranteed Loan Initiative, the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program focuses on promoting small businesses and creating jobs in rural communities.

About X-Caliber -www.x-calibercap.com

X-Caliber Capital is a nationally recognized direct lender that has been building long-term relationships with our clients for 30 years. The X-Caliber team offers a broad breadth of experience and capital markets knowledge unrivaled by its competitors. The principals have provided capital in excess of $80 billion to the Commercial Real Estate space over the past two decades.

About X-Caliber Rural Capital

X-Caliber Rural Capital is a national, licensed and approved U.S. Department of Agriculture lender that provides financing for rural business and economic development projects under four flagship programs that fall under the OneRD Guaranteed Loan Initiative. The Company is dedicated to creating attractive solutions for its borrowers that meet the needs of rural communities throughout the country.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103006048/en/
[November 03, 2021]

Forbes' inaugural "Top Financial Security Professionals" list recognizes seven Northwestern Mutual advisors across New York

NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual announced today the New York-based advisors who have been named to the Forbes "Top Financial Security Professionals 2021" list. The list recognizes high-performing individuals within the financial industry based on criteria including industry experience, revenue, assets under management, client loyalty, compliance record, community involvement and best practices, among others.

Honorees provide holistic planning, focusing on highly skilled financial advice and risk mitigation. Of 250 individuals recognized, 70 of the honorees are Northwestern Mutual advisors from around the country.

America's Top Financial Security Professionals Ranking follows the recognition of five Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management advisors on Working Mother and SHOOK Research's 2021 Top Wealth Advisor Moms list and three advisors on Forbes Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors list. Leading industry publications including Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, ThinkAdvisor and InvestmentNews consistently rank Northwestern Mutual Investment Services as a top independent broker-dealer by total revenue.







The New York-based Northwestern Mutual advisors recognized in America's Top Financial Security Professional Ranking 2021 are:

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 102 on the 2020 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/forbes-inaugural-top-financial-security-professionals-list-recognizes-seven-northwestern-mutual-advisors-across-new-york-301415593.html

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual
[November 03, 2021] OpenSolar 3D Design Tool Provides Unmatched Accuracy in New Findings by Two of the Solar Industry's Leading Expert Resources

OpenSolar, Inc., a solar SaaS (News - Alert) company keenly focused on empowering solar installers with the world's most accurate and entirely free solar design and sales platform, today announced the findings of independent, third-party assessments that validate the unmatched accuracy of its solar design tool. As a result, by utilizing OpenSolar's industry-leading design tool, solar installers will have full confidence they are providing customers with the most accurate photovoltaic (PV) designs that fit their solar energy needs. Combined with other key features of OpenSolar's free-to-use platform, including access to a range of state-of-the-art hardware, a portfolio of competitive solar financing options, and on-demand customized permitting proposals, the company enables solar installers to convert more prospects into booked sales while saving time and eliminating the costly licensing fees attached to other solar design and sales platforms. As part of OpenSolar's validation process, the company engaged with PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) and the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), two of the solar industry's most trusted expert resources, to provide independent, third-party assessments of the accuracy of its design tool. The assessments include the following processes and findings. Shading? OpenSolar asked the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which has been benchmarking shading accuracy of solar design tools for years, to assess the company's 3D design tool. NREL compared the shading estimates provided by OpenSolar's remote 3D tool with assessments made on the same roof using a SunEye, the world's leading hand-held electronic shade measurement tool for on-site assessment. NREL found the accuracy of OpenSolar estimates to be best-in-class.? OpenSolar's assessment of Sun Access Values was accurate to within +/- 3%

The current US market leader was only found to be accurate to within +/- 5% Site Assessment OpenSolar engaged PVEL, the leading independent lab for the global downstream solar industry, to assess the accuracy of its system-generated site models. PVEL took measurements both in the field and in OpenSolar across a wide range of differently shaped and sized roofs. PVEL found the accuracy of OpenSolar's models to be best-in-class.? OpenSolar's assessment of scale was accurate to within 1 ? feet 100% of the time (no other tool provides as narrow a tolerance)

OpenSolar's assessment of pitch was accurate to within 4 degrees over 97% of the time (no other tool provides as narrow a tolerance OR such igh compliance)



Energy Modeling OpenSolar's energy modeling (the conversion of key inputs, including pitch azimuth and shading into the key output: production) is based on NREL's most advanced System Advisor Model (SAM). The company engaged with PVEL to validate the integrity of OpenSolar's implementation of SAM, when comparing it to industry standard energy modeling tools like PVsyst or standalone implementations of NREL's SAM. PVEL found:?

OpenSolar's energy modeling is consistent with standard engineering practices

OpenSolar's production figures are within 0.0%-0.2% of standalone SAM estimates

OpenSolar's production figures are within 0.1%-1.9% of PVsyst estimates To view and download the full reports visit opensolar.com/accuracy. "Our assessment of OpenSolar's software confirms that its implementation of the SAM energy production model engine is accurate and in line with industry standards for residential and commercial projects and its 3D ray tracing calculations of beam shading are as good or better than other available products," said Ryan Desharnais, Chief Technical Officer of PV Evolution Labs (PVEL). "We also sent measurement teams to a wide range of residential rooftops and verified the accuracy of OpenSolar's physical site assessments. When taken together, these findings demonstrate that OpenSolar can produce high-quality energy generation estimates for solar projects." "OpenSolar's best-in-class design accuracy has been vetted thousands of times over by installers globally since our launch in 2019," said Andrew Birch, OpenSolar's Co-Founder. "Now, following the assessments made by two of the solar industry's most trusted expert resources, we can undoubtedly lay claim to providing the most accurate, all-inclusive photovoltaic designs in the industry for free through our platform." Birch continued, "I pose the question to solar installers globally, 'why pay for a PV design tool that's less accurate when you can use the industry's most accurate tool entirely for free?'" About PV Evolution Labs (PVEL)

PVEL is the leading independent lab for the downstream solar and energy storage market and a member of the Kiwa Group. As a bankability testing pioneer, PVEL has accumulated more than a decade of measured reliability and performance data for PV and storage equipment. Today PVEL provides developers, investors and asset owners with a suite of technical services for mitigating risk, optimizing financing and improving system performance throughout the project lifecycle. PVEL's flagship Product Qualification Programs for PV modules, inverters and energy storage systems connect manufacturers with a global network of 400+ downstream partners representing 30+ gigawatts of annual buying power. Learn how PVEL makes data matter at pvel.com. About National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

??NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC. About OpenSolar

OpenSolar launched in 2019 with a mission to scale solar globally by providing installers with innovative software technology and an equally innovative business offering - the world's first entirely free-to-use design and sales platform. Solar installers can use OpenSolar's end-to-end platform to build complete customer proposals, including the industry's most accurately designed systems, an array of state-of-the-art hardware, on-demand customized permitting proposals, and a portfolio of competitive financing options. Instead of charging a licensing fee to utilize its software, OpenSolar provides its software free of charge and instead derives revenue from its partner affiliates in hardware and finance. By utilizing OpenSolar, installers can avoid costly software licensing fees and instead, invest more money into other areas of their businesses, confident they are using the very best design and sales tools available in the market, all for free. OpenSolar is based in Sydney, Australia, with remote offices in the U.S. For more information, visit www.opensolar.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005889/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Digitized Photos and Newsreels Offer Glimpse Into Lives of Canadians During WWII

For the first time, 2,500 images and more than 100 newsreels depicting scenes from combat and routine life during WWII are available on Ancestry.ca

These photo and video collections provide a window into the lives of those on the front line and homefront, allowing Canadians the chance to create deeper connections to their families' WWII experiences

Ancestry is offering free access to these new collections and all global military records from November 1 to November 12 TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2021 /CNW/ - This Remembrance Day, Ancestry, the global leader in family history, is encouraging Canadians to build deeper personal connections with their families' lives during the world wars, by providing free access to two Canadian World War II record collections that are new to the site, including video newsreels and photographs featuring photographs of men and women who served in the Canadian Forces during the conflict. The World War II Newsreels, 1942-1945 and Faces of the Second World War, 1941-1945 collections feature 2,500 photographic images and 106 video newsreels that bring to life many aspects of Canada's contributions to World War II, from combat and routine life on the front lines of France, Holland and beyond, to military training, war materials production, city building projects, and Armistice celebrations on home soil. At the onset of World War II, the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau recommended the Army form a special film and photographic unit, to distribute material worldwide to boost morale and further the war effort. As a result, the Army created a public relations unit in 1940 that would become the basis for photographic units formed by all three military branches (The Army, Air Force and Navy). The resulting material created by these units  available in these collections on Ancestry  was circulated by a variety of local and international newspapers and newsreels. Some highlights from the newsreel collection include: A 1945 newsreel from Vancouver, BC , showing how "wartime speed" was employe to build a new home in a mere eight hours, creating new housing developments for the many shipyard and airfield workers who contributed to World War II from the Canadian homefront

, showing how "wartime speed" was employe to build a new home in a mere eight hours, creating new housing developments for the many shipyard and airfield workers who contributed to World War II from the Canadian homefront A 1944 newsreel from Simcoe, ON , introducing local identical twins and flight lieutenants Alan and Eric Sherlock at RCAF Bomber Command after completing their second bombing operation overseas

, introducing local identical twins and flight lieutenants at RCAF Bomber Command after completing their second bombing operation overseas A 1945 newsreel from Montreal, QC , where the famous Royal Highland Regiment, or Blackwatch of Canada , were given a hero's welcome with a full parade on St. James Street.



Europe , footage showing the scale of the war production in Canadian factories on the homefront or an image of a loving embrace as service men and women arrive back home on Canadian soil for this first time in years, these collections can help spark emotional connections to this period in time. Additionally, for the first time, information from these photographs and newsreels are indexed on Ancestry, making it easier for Canadians to directly search for their ancestors and connect these visual records to their family trees online.

Simon Pearce, military family history expert from Ancestry says, "Canada's military and civilians played a key role during WWII. Learning about the experiences of our ancestors during the conflict through amazing resources such as these photos and newsreels can help provide a personal connection to Remembrance Day and an understanding of how the conflict may have shaped our family histories. Now is the perfect time to explore collections such as these on Ancestry, so we can honour the memory of our ancestors and feel a deeper bond to the past." To commemorate Remembrance Day, Ancestry is providing free access to all global military records on the site, including World War II Newsreels, 1942-1945 and Faces of the Second World War, 1941-1945, from November 1st to the 12th*, allowing Canadians to search through records, videos and images to discover the untold stories of how their ancestors may have supported the country's World War II effort. Click on the media assets folder to access select images and newsreel footage from Ancestry's World War II Newsreels, 1942-1945 and Faces of the Second World War, 1941-1945 collections. Visit www.ancestry.ca/remembrance to access Canadian Remembrance Day collections and explore your own family tree. *Free access to global Ancestry military records from 1 Nov - 11 2021 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Registration required. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collections using a paid Ancestry.ca membership. Terms apply. About Ancestry

Ancestry, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, empowers journeys of personal discovery to enrich lives. With our unparalleled collection of over 30 billion records and over 20 million AncestryDNA kits to date, customers can discover their family story. For over 30 years, we've built trusted relationships with millions of people who have chosen us as the platform for discovering, preserving and sharing the most important information about themselves and their families. SOURCE Ancestry.ca

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[November 03, 2021] University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies Program Changes Aid Rise in Student Retention and Satisfaction

The University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies reports a rise in student retention and satisfaction following implementation of changes to further enhance the doctoral student experience and academic journey. The College of Doctoral Studies, formerly known as School of Advanced Studies, introduced a new faculty model and structure and related dissertation process in 2019, followed by redesigned Doctoral programs in January 2020. Since the implementation of these changes, the College has seen an approximately 10% increase in retention rates. Since January 2020, student sentiment scores with dissertation experience have exceeded 55% positive and 81% positive, mixed or neutral. "The College of Doctoral Studies saw opportunities to enhance the faculty and student experience and were able to successfully identify the necessary steps and implement changes that met those needs," states John Woods, Ph.D., provost and chief academic officer at University of Phoenix. "We have been able to evolve our programs through evidence-based practices in order to accurately meet the needs and opportunities of students and faculty members who are practitioners in their fields." The College of Doctoral Studies offers practitioner doctorate degree programs in healthcare, education, and business, with the Scholar-Practitioner-Leader? learning model. While a Ph.D. degree program is focused on development of new primary knowledge, the College's practitioner doctorate is focused on the practical application of that knowledge in one's career. The Scholar-Practitioner-Leader? framework combines classical cognitive conceptions of doctoral scholarship - including high rigor of inquiry, academic study, and practical application - with the affective domains of learning. This learning model supports working adult students in the opportunity to develop a deeper awareness of who they are, how their learning is changing them, and to apply existing knowledge toward solving real-world problems in their field and community. "The practitioner doctorate programs must evolve to adapt with the changes in the work environment for our practitioner scholars," shares Hinrich Eylers, Ph.D., P.E., vice provost of Doctoral Studies and Academic Operations at the University. "We saw an immediate impact and continue to see positive results of these changes within each of our degree programs." New redesigned Doctoral programs released in January 2020 aligned with faculty structureand responsibilities. They provide an enhanced dissertation pathway and faculty support. Some of the changes implemented include:



Reduce number of primary programs from 8 to 4 with elective track options to adapt to evolving career pathways and student interest.

Align post-master's certificates with the program's elective tracks to allow students to earn an additional credential on the way to their doctorate.

Improve the convenience and predictability of course schedules with measures such as a standard 8-week course length and moving previously on-campus residencies to an online format to reduce out of pocket expenses for travel and the need for time off from work.

Reduce minimum program length from 62 to 54 credits to better support goal of three years to completion. This is supported by changes such as waivable intro classes (aligned with accreditation requirements where applicable), reducing required research courses from 5 to 3 and aligning content with practitioner needs, reducing content courses from 8 to 7, and adding 4 th required dissertation course to support writing and reduce extension course needs. Additionally, students can now transfer applicable credits from a previous doctoral program.

required dissertation course to support writing and reduce extension course needs. Additionally, students can now transfer applicable credits from a previous doctoral program. Continue teaching of degree-specific content area courses by practitioner faculty active in the field, but support students in the dissertation phase with a newly created team of over 50 staff faculty, selected from over 600 applicants.

Further enhance dissertation support resources including CDS Central, Dissertation Guide, Dissertation Criteria Assessment (DCA). These changes yielded other positive results such as providing program stability and increased faculty satisfaction and focus. Additionally, the college saw an increase of graduating students as all-but-dissertation (ABD) students returned to complete their degrees. Continuing the focus on supporting doctoral students, the College of Doctoral Studies hosted the first WE RISE Doctoral Journey Success Workshops in October 2021. The virtual event ran on a Saturday from 8 am to 4 pm MST and was designed to provide support to the University's active students, alumni and faculty while COVID-19 cases remain at high levels in Arizona. The workshops featured five virtual sessions with up to four tracks each covering a range of critical topics based on students' current Doctoral Journey Phase or alumni career path. Sessions were open to all attendees regardless of current doctoral journey phase. Attendance for all five sessions combined numbered 263 individuals. Through the event, University of Phoenix students and alumni networked and connected with CDS doctoral peers, faculty, and UOPX and CDS leaders. An in-person Colloquium is being scheduled for Spring 2022.

About the College of Doctoral Studies University of Phoenix's College of Doctoral Studies focuses on today's challenging business and organizational needs, from addressing critical social issues to developing solutions to accelerate community building and industry growth. The College's research program puts students in the center of an effective ecosystem of experts, resources and tools to help prepare them to be a leader in their organization, industry and community. Through this program, students and researchers work with organizations to conduct research that can be applied in the workplace in real time. About University of Phoenix University of Phoenix is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103006099/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Camber Energy, Inc. (CEI) 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 Camber Energy, Inc. ("Camber" or the "Company") (NYSE: CEI) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Camber 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 www.glancylaw.com/cases/camber-energy-inc/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at [email protected] to learn more about your rights. In February 2021, Camber completed a business combination with Viking Energy Group, Inc. ("Viking"). On May 24, 2021, Camber revealed that the New York Stock Exchange had notified Camber that it was not in compliance with its continued listing standards because, among other things, "issues that have arisen in connection with . . . finalizing the determination of the fair values of both assets and liabilities associated with [Camber]'s acquisition of a controlling interest in Viking." On this news, Camber's stock price declined by $0.04 per share, or 9%, to close at $0.57 per share on May 2, 2021.



Then, on August 16, 2021, Viking filed its quarterly report for second quarter 2021 reporting a net loss of $9.85 million net loss and stating that its subsidiary, Elysium Energy, LLC, and other parties to a term loan agreement "are in default of the maximum leverage ratio covenant." On this news, the Company's stock price fell $0.03, or 7%, to close at $0.37 per share on August 17, 2021, thereby injuring investors further.

Then, on October 5, 2021, Kerrisdale Capital released a report alleging, among other things, that the "market is badly mistaken about Camber's share count and ignorant of [Camber's] terrifying capital structure," estimating the Company's "fully diluted share count is roughly triple the widely reported number." On this news, Camber's stock price fell $1.56 per share, or 50%, to close at $1.53 per share on October 5, 2021, thereby injuring investors further. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Camber 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 [email protected]. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times (News - Alert), Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters, the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005427/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Tuya Inc. (TUYA) 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 Tuya Inc. ("Tuya" or the "Company") (NYSE: TUYA) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Tuya 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 www.glancylaw.com/cases/tuya-inc/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at [email protected] to learn more about your rights. On March 18, 2021, Tuya conducted its initial public offering ("IPO") of its American Depositary Shares ("ADSs" or "shares"), selling 45,076,479 ADSs at $21 per ADS. On August 19, 2021, Tuya reported disappointing financial results for second quarter 2021. During the related conference call, the Company attributed the results to a "series of challenges" affcting its customers, "including Amazon's strict execution of seller policy, rising raw material prices and shortage of semiconductor components."



On this news, the Company's share price fell $1.74, or 14%, to close at $10.41 per ADS on August 19, 2021. As of market close on October 27, 2021, Tuya ADSs were trading as low as $7.01, or 66% below the IPO price. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Tuya 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 [email protected]. 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 Businessweek, Reuters, the Associated Press (News - Alert), 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/20211103005341/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of MP Materials Corp. (MP) 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 MP Materials Corp. ("MP Materials" or the "Company") (NYSE: MP) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your MP Materials 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 www.glancylaw.com/cases/mp-materials-corp/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at [email protected] to learn more about your rights. On October 26, 2021, Grizzly Research published a research report titled: "MP Materials: Rare Earth Shenanigans in the Chamath-Backed Company Will Likely Cost Investors Dearly." Though the Company touts that it is the biggest rare earth producer in the Western world, making it the only logical competitor to Chinese producers, Grizzly Research claims hat MP Materials is nothing more than a "smoke and mirror show." It found that Shenghe, a related third party and significant shareholder, accounts for 99% of MP Materials' revenue. Furthermore, the report traced that entity's ownership back to the Chinese government.



On this news, the Company's stock price fell $4.62, or 12%, to close at $33.48 per share on October 26, 2021, thereby injuring investors. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding MP Materials 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 [email protected]. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times (News - Alert), Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters, the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005227/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Despegar.com Announces Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results Call and Webcast

Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE: DESP), the leading online travel company in Latin America, today announced that it will report its Third Quarter 2021 results on Wednesday, November 17, before the market opens. Earnings Release

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Time: Before Market Open Conference Call

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Time: 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time Quiet Period

Wednesday, November 3 through Wednesday, November 17, 2021 Executives

Mr. Damian Scokin, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Alberto Lopez-Gaffney, Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Natalia Nirenberg, Investor Relations To participate, please dial

1-866-652-5200 (U.S. domestic)

1-412-317-6060 (International) Pre-Register for the conference call

Please use the following link to pre-register for this conference call. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator.

You may pre-register at any time: click here



Webcast: click here | Replay: click here | Add to your calendar: click here About Despegar.com

Despegar is the leading online travel company in Latin America. With over two decades of business experience and operating in 20 countries in the region, Despegar accompanies Latin American travelers from the moment they dream of taking a trip until they share their memories of that trip. Thanks to the strong commitment to technological development and customer service, Despegar offers a customized experience to more than 18 million customers. Despegar's websites and leading mobile apps, offer products from over 270 airlines, more than 690,000 accommodation options, as well as more than 1,260 car rental agencies and approximately 200 destination services suppliers with more than 7,500 activities throughout Latin America. The Company owns and operates two well-recognized brands, Despegar, its global brand, and Decolar, its Brazilian brand. Despegar is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DESP). For more information, please visit www.despegar.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211103005928/en/

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[November 03, 2021] Global 3PL Market Research Report (2021 to 2026) - by Transport, Service, End-user and Region

DUBLIN, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "3PL Market Research Report by Transport, Service, End-user, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global 3PL Market size was estimated at USD 966.27 billion in 2020, is expected to reach USD 1,035.58 billion in 2021, and projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.51% reaching USD 1,492.25 billion by 2026.



Market Statistics The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2018 and 2019 are considered historical years, 2020 as the base year, 2021 as the estimated year, and years from 2022 to 2026 are considered the forecast period. Competitive Strategic Window The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.



FPNV Positioning Matrix The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the 3PL Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Market Share Analysis The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.



Competitive Scenario The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitor's strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service.



Company Usability Profiles The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation proiles in the Global 3PL Market, including Agility Public Warehousing Company, AmeriCold Logistics LLC, BDP International, Burris Logistics, C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) Inc., CEVA Logistics, DB Schenker, Deutsche Post AG, DSV Panalpina A/S, Echo Global Logistics, Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., FedEx Corporation, Flexport Inc., GEODIS Group, J. B. Hunt, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., Kerry Logistics Network Limited, Kuehne + Nagel International AG, Landstar System, Inc., Nippon Express Co., Ltd., Penske Logistics, Inc., Ryder System, Inc., Schneider National, Inc., Total Quality Logistics, Inc., Unyson Logistics, Inc., UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc., XPO Logistics, Inc., and Yusen Logistics Co. Ltd.







The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global 3PL Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global 3PL Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global 3PL Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global 3PL Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global 3PL Market?

6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global 3PL Market?

7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global 3PL Market?





Key Topics Covered:



1. Preface



2. Research Methodology



3. Executive Summary



4. Market Overview

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19



5. Market Dynamics

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Drivers

5.2.1. Rapid development of logistics infrastructure in developing countries

5.2.2. Boosting e-commerce sector growth

5.2.3. Increasing company's focus to enhance operation and reduce operational cost

5.2.4. Globalization leads to logistic management services

5.3. Restraints

5.3.1. Lack of logistics control

5.3.2. Economic downturn can affect the market

5.4. Opportunities

5.4.1. Government initiatives encouraging Asia Pacific industrial growth

5.4.2. Technology advancement to provide service enhancement

5.5. Challenges

5.5.1. Complexity associated with cross border transportation



6. 3PL Market, by Transport

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Airways

6.3. Railways

6.4. Roadways

6.5. Waterways



7. 3PL Market, by Service

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Dedicated Contract Carriage (DCC)

7.3. Domestic Transportation Management

7.4. International Transportation Management

7.5. Warehousing and Distribution



8. 3PL Market, by End-user

8.1. Introduction

8.2. Automotive

8.3. Healthcare

8.4. Manufacturing

8.5. Retail



9. Americas 3PL Market

9.1. Introduction

9.2. Argentina

9.3. Brazil

9.4. Canada

9.5. Mexico

9.6. United States



10. Asia-Pacific 3PL Market

10.1. Introduction

10.2. Australia

10.3. China

10.4. India

10.5. Indonesia

10.6. Japan

10.7. Malaysia

10.8. Philippines

10.9. Singapore

10.10. South Korea

10.11. Taiwan

10.12. Thailand



11. Europe , Middle East & Africa 3PL Market

11.1. Introduction

11.2. France

11.3. Germany

11.4. Italy

11.5. Netherlands

11.6. Qatar

11.7. Russia

11.8. Saudi Arabia

11.9. South Africa

11.10. Spain

11.11. United Arab Emirates

11.12. United Kingdom



12. Competitive Landscape

12.1. FPNV Positioning Matrix

12.1.1. Quadrants

12.1.2. Business Strategy

12.1.3. Product Satisfaction

12.2. Market Ranking Analysis

12.3. Market Share Analysis, by Key Player

12.4. Competitive Scenario

12.4.1. Merger & Acquisition

12.4.2. Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership

12.4.3. New Product Launch & Enhancement

12.4.4. Investment & Funding

12.4.5. Award, Recognition, & Expansion



13. Company Usability Profiles

13.1. Agility Public Warehousing Company

13.2. AmeriCold Logistics LLC

13.3. BDP International

13.4. Burris Logistics

13.5. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) Inc.

13.6. CEVA Logistics

13.7. DB Schenker

13.8. Deutsche Post AG

13.9. DSV Panalpina A/S

13.10. Echo Global Logistics

13.11. Expeditors International of Washington , Inc.

13.12. FedEx Corporation

13.13. Flexport Inc.

13.14. GEODIS Group

13.15. J. B. Hunt

13.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

13.17. Kerry Logistics Network Limited

13.18. Kuehne + Nagel International AG

13.19. Landstar System, Inc.

13.20. Nippon Express Co., Ltd.

13.21. Penske Logistics, Inc.

13.22. Ryder System, Inc.

13.23. Schneider National, Inc.

13.24. Total Quality Logistics, Inc.

13.25. Unyson Logistics, Inc.

13.26. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc.

13.27. XPO Logistics, Inc.

13.28. Yusen Logistics Co. Ltd.



14. Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/uxkh7a Media Contact: Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-3pl-market-research-report-2021-to-2026---by-transport-service-end-user-and-region-301415430.html SOURCE Research and Markets

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The Missouri conservative senator has garnered hateration from every corner of the Internets after an attack on two mainstays of online culture . . . Pr0n & video games.

The blow back (heh) from the online world has been far more intense then criticism he took for his controversial Capitol riot fist pump that fell along partisan lines.

Fact is . . .

Pr0n & video games rule the online world and this criticism hurts his standing amongst most men who are still able to achieve a woody.

The prudish gambit might play well amongst the old school Fox news crowd but seems like antiquated boomer lecturing for most people who enjoy FREEDOM to pick their own pastimes.



Actually . . .

The comment is unfortunate because Senator Hawley had a chance to appeal to the conservative NextGen but the remark demonstrates he doesn't have much understanding of what appeals to and influences most Americans.



In fairness, here's the money line that attempts to blame progressives for industries which are, for the most part, politically agnostic . . .



"The Left want to define traditional masculinity as toxic. They want to define the traditional masculine virtues  things like courage and independence and assertiveness  as a danger to society," Hawley, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, said, The Washington Post reported.



"Can we be surprised that after years of being told they are the problem, that their manhood is the problem, more and more men are withdrawing into the enclave of idleness and pornography and video games?" he added.



In his speech, the senator highlights economic socialism, critical race theory and gender ideology as a way to deconstruct America.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news links . . .

Internets commentator Philly D takes apart Missouri Senator Josh Hawley in his intro and provides the lead image we're sharing . . . And then . . .

Republican senator Josh Hawley worries feminism has driven men to 'pornography and video games' The effort to combat toxic masculinity in the US has led men to consume more pornography and play more video games, the Missouri senator Josh Hawley claimed in a speech to a group of Republicans.

Hawley: Leftists Want Men To Stand Down, But We're Standing Up Instead This is the text of Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley's speech on Oct. 31 at the National Conservatism conference, which is running in Florida this year from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. Good evening. It is a pleasure to be with you tonight. I had the honor to be at your inaugural conference two years ago.

Why Sen. Josh Hawley's Comments On Men And Video Games Are Incorrect Well, what are politicians blaming video games for now? Not violence, surprisingly, but instead for being a coping mechanism for men who have issues with their...manhood being questioned? At least that's what conservative Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said at the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Hawley blames liberal attacks on masculinity for 'idle men' who watch porn, play video games Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley Joshua (Josh) David Hawley Senate panel advances Biden's pick to lead DOJ antitrust unit McConnell backs Herschel Walker in Georgia Senate race Flake, Cindy McCain among latest Biden ambassadors confirmed after delay MORE (R) said at the National Conservatism Conference on Sunday that liberal attacks on masculinity create "idle men" who watch pornography and play video games.

GOP senator says men watch porn and play video games because of 'attacks on manhood' Senator Josh Hawley on Monday suggested that men are viewing more pornography and playing more video games because of efforts to combat toxic masculinity that amount to attacks on "manhood".

Senator Claims Men Watching Porn, Playing Video Games Because Their Masculinity Criticized Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R) claimed in a recent speech that the effort to combat toxic masculinity in the U.S. has unfairly forced men to withdraw from society, consuming more pornography and playing more video games. What do you think?

Men Are Apparently Withdrawing Into 'Idleness and Pornography,' Except for Pete Davidson At the National Conservatism conference in Orlando on Sunday, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri gave a keynote speech on the plight of boys and men in this country who, he said, "are treated like an illness." Hawley's message focused on "the Left's attempt to give us a world beyond men."

You decide . . .
As COVID cases are trending down . . . Kansas City pandemic rules are becoming increasingly confusing.



Consider . . .

Jackson County has extended their COVID mask orders until the 22nd.



And now . . .

Kansas City, Missouri is pushing a COVID MASK MANDATE FOR SCHOOLS.



The bright side is the Mayor Q is far too damaged politically by critics to have much impact on anybody but youngsters.

Meanwhile, local policy is mostly ignored on local streets.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

Masks could be coming off this week for adults in Kansas City, Missouri KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Masks could be coming off adults this week in Kansas City, Missouri, if the city council approves an mandating masks indoors only for those 18 and younger. The ordinance will be heard and possibly voted at the 9 a.m. meeting of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations Committee on Wednesday.

Airline pilot comes to blows with flight attendant over masks A Southwest Airlines pilot was cited for assault and battery following an alleged fight with a flight attendant at a California hotel over a disagreement on COVID-19 masks, according to . The outlet reports the altercation occurred at a hotel bar in San Jose, Calif., last month where the crew was spending the night after a flight.

Should young children be made to wear face masks? Like many children his age, three-year-old Eshan Evans is energetic and boisterous. But as soon as he has to put on a face mask at school, something changes. "You can see he's a different boy, much tamer and quieter," says his mother Herne.

Dutch reintroduce face masks as COVID-19 cases surge AMSTERDAM, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The Dutch government on Tuesday decided to re-impose measures, including the wearing of face masks, aimed at slowing the latest spike in COVID-19 infections, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. The use of a "corona pass", showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or recent negative coronavirus test, would be broadened as of Nov.

Why the world is still arguing over face masks, 20 months into the pandemic The science behind masks is clear. Yet debates still rage in multiple countries over their use, and some regions have recently removed mandates that people wear them in crowded spaces.

Developing . . .
Locally, there wasn't much excitement about this election but it's still worth checking a few of the more noteworthy returns . . .

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

More cash for 1st responders . . .

Mayor: Independence residents approve of ballot questions for police, fire departments INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) -- Independence Mayor Eileen Weir released the following statement after citizens approved of Ballot Questions 1 and 2, which meant to support the city's fire and police departments. "Tonight, our citizens have once again shown their tremendous support for our Independence first responders.

New Sheriff In Town . . .

After 12 years, Wyandotte County elects Daniel Soptic as new sheriff by: Brian Dulle Posted: / Updated: KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Wyandotte County voters have elected a new sheriff for the first time since 2009. Unofficial results Tuesday night show Daniel Soptic, a lieutenant colonel in the sheriff's office, leads Celisha Towers, a former sheriff's deputy, with 9,229 votes.

Small time politicos step up . . .

Voters elect 3 new members to the Blue Valley School Board KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On Tuesday, voters elected three new members to the Blue Valley School Board in a race that has gained national attention in recent weeks. Voters elected Kaety Bowers as member 4 of the board to represent the northeast. Bowers won the seat after receiving 52.17% of the votes.

Switching out volunteers . . .

Shawnee Mission decides 3 school board races KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Shawnee Mission voters decided three school board races Tuesday. Heather Ousley defeated Brian Neilson with 59.26% of the vote in the race covering the "at large" Shawnee Mission area. Ousley was the incumbent in the race and has served as the board president.

Overland Park Down Ballot . . .

Johnson County election results: Overland Park City Council by: Sydnie Holzfaster Posted: / Updated: OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Half of the seats on the Overland Park City Council were up for grabs in Tuesday's general election. Based on unofficial results from the Johnson County Election Office, the 12-member council will welcome four new members and two returning members in 2022.

On the bright side . . .

In Kansas there was RECORD TURNOUT for voters eager to participate on local democracy now that pandemic numbers have declined.

Developing . . .
For TKC the current school book ban debate is curious if only because most people are simply staring into phones all day.



Of course, here's an argument for equity . . .



"The Northland Parent Association is working to remove books from school libraries that have been reported to contain inappropriate content for students, under the justification, it contains sexual or violent content. However, all of the books they have targeted have a clear bias toward people of color, women or LGBTQIA+ people."



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

The book debate persists across the metro . . . And given the decline of American public education and reading, let's not pretend that many students are concerned with this debate that mostly serves as yet another facet of the current culture war . . .

Shawnee Mission School District changes book complaint process OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - The Shawnee Mission School District is changing the way parents complain about controversial books in the school library. This comes after parents discovered "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson was on the shelves of high schools in the district.

Developing . . .
Some might call this a "crime of passion" whilst those of us who are more interested in data note the tragic rise in domestic violence during the pandemic.

Here's the charging document press release from the Courthouse . . .



KC man charged in fatal shooting of ex-girlfriend Kailey Love

A Kansas City man faces charges related to the fatal shooting on May 23, 2021 of Kailey Love, who police found in a parking lot in the 8500 block of E. Winner Road in Kansas City, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.



Malyck Weaver, dob: 1/1/1996, faces Murder 2nd Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.*



According to court records, police responded to the 8500 block of E. Winner Road on a reported shooting. The caller told dispatch that he had shot his ex-girlfriend. Officers found Kailey Love on the ground near two vehicles. She was declared deceased at the scene. The defendant identified himself when police called the person who called dispatch. He told detectives that the victim and defendant had been in an argument that had continued to the gas station parking lot, leading to the defendant shooting her. Witnesses heard two gunshots.



Prosecutors requested a bond of $150,000 cash.

############



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news link . . .

Kansas City man charged with murder of ex-girlfriend in gas station parking lot by: Juan Cisneros Posted: / Updated: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City man is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend in May. Malyck Weaver, 25, is also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.

Kansas City man charged in fatal shooting of ex-girlfriend KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City man has been charged with second-degree murder and other charges related to the May 23, 2021 fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend. Malyck Weaver, 25, also faces charges of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action, according to a Jackson County Prosecutor's Office news release.

Developing . . .
Johnstown, PA (15901)

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Johnstown, PA (15901)

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Terre Haute, IN (47803)

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Terre Haute, IN (47803)

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Terre Haute, IN (47803)

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Contributed photo / Bridgeport Hospital

BRIDGEPORT  Bridgeport Hospitals Norma Pfriem Breast Center raised more than $120,000 through its seventh annual Pink Pledge fundraiser. The event takes place throughout October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A variety of events and activities took place as part of the campaign, including a walk at Seaside Park in Bridgeport and a concert on the Fairfield Green, all in support of the patients and programs of the breast center.
Tucson, AZ (85741)

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Williams Angus Beef, located in Hindsville, Arkansas, has belonged to the Williams family since 1938. The farm was passed down to Jeff Williams by his great grandfather, Ewen Esterling. Jeff now runs the farm with his wife, two daughters and their families.
The SBU Security Service of Ukraine has exposed a criminal group operating across the countrys regions, specializing in forging negative PCR tests for COVID-19 and vaccination certificates.

Thats according to the SBU press center, Ukrinform reports.

According to preliminary information available to the detectives, the perpetrators had been making over UAH 3 million per month, searching for clients among those seeking employment abroad.

According to the investigation, the group consisted of four individuals, residents of Zaporizhia and Lviv regions.

A fake international vaccination certificate cost EUR 40, while the price of a negative PCR test result stood at UAH 500 (nearly EUR 16). There was a flexible system of discounts for "wholesale" customers.

Every month, the culprits produced almost 1,000 vaccination certificates and 2,000 negative PCR test results, sending them to clients through popular postal services and couriers and receiving payments both in cash and on bank cards.

During the warranted searches conducted at the perpetrators homes, law enforcers seized forged international COVID-19 vaccination certificates; blanks with negative PCR test results; draft accounting; forged documents required for employment abroad (invitations from actual institutions and enterprises and certificates issued by public authorities of EU member states), printing equipment and computer hardware used to produce forged documents, as well as cell phones carrying evidence of the illegal operations.

Law enforcers are yet to press formal charges against the exposed group.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, police in Zakarpattia region opened 17 criminal proceedings into the use of forged documents, including COVID-19 vaccination certificates and PCR test results.

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The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is closely monitoring the situation near the state border with the Russian Federation and in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Thats according to the Ministrys press service, Ukrinform reports.

"The facts provided by Ukraines intelligence agencies are being confirmed during information exchange with our partners on the security situation around Ukraine," the ministry said.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (the countrys military intelligence) as of early November 2021, a nearly 90,000-strong group of troops (forces) has been amassed near the Ukrainian border and in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

These include troops of the 8th and 20th armies of the Southern and Western military districts, as well as forces and means of Russias Black Sea fleet. In addition, separate units of the 4th and 6th armies of Russias air force and air defense force are based close to the Ukrainian border. Two army corps of the Russian occupation troops have been deployed and now operate in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

In the second half of 2021, Russian Armed Forces Command conducted near the Ukrainian border a series of large-scale command and staff exercises. They involved troops (forces) of the Southern and Western military districts, as well as separate units and subdivisions of the 41st army of the central military district and the air assault troops. After the completion of these operational and combat drills, units and subdivisions of the 41st army remained in the European part of Russia, in particular in the area of Yelnya, Smolensk region, some 260 km from the border with Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defense notes that Russia periodically resorts to practices of moving and amassing forces in order to maintain tension in the region and political pressure on neighboring states.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Politico posted what it reported was satellite images shot earlier, allegedly confirming recent reports that Russia is again amassing forces and military hardware at the border with Ukraine.

Earlier, several sources, including The Washington Post, wrote that in recent weeks, Russia had resumed the movement of hardware and forces to the border with Ukraine.

Citing unnamed sources from among U.S. and European officials, the newspaper claimed the effort was launched after the Kremlin completed a large-scale joint military exercise with Belarus, Zapad 2021, more than a month ago.

According to Ukraines military intelligence, as of November 1, no additional movement has been recorded of Russian units, weapons, and military hardware to the state border with Ukraine.

In a comment to Radio Svoboda, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov denied U.S. media reports about the possible amassing of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, branding reports "deliberate misinformation."

im
The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Valeriy Zaluzhny, has met with the co-chairs of the Multinational Joint Commission on Military Cooperation and Defense Reform, whose work is characterized by a systematic approach to planning support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press service has reported.

"We face serious challenges and we are overcoming them. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces ensure the repulse of armed aggression, the reform of the military component of the state and the acquisition of military criteria for NATO membership," Zaluzhny said at the meeting.

He noted that the priorities remain unchanged: completing the process of transforming the system of joint leadership of defense forces and military management, an automated control system as the main component of this transformation, completing the division of responsibilities between the Ministry of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief and the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reforming personnel management and military education systems.

Zaluzhny also noted that Slovakia has also joined the Multinational Joint Commission, which opens up new opportunities for strengthening cooperation. He congratulated Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, General Stefan Kovacs, on this occasion.

The newly appointed Ukrainian co-chair of the Multinational Joint Commission, Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Serhiy Shaptala, was introduced at the meeting.

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On November 2, Belarus resumed electricity supplies to Ukraine, Ukrinform reports, referring to the website of the Ministry of Energy of Belarus.

"On November 2, at 14.00, Belarus began supplying electricity to the Ukrainian energy system with a capacity of 500 MW under the emergency assistance agreement," the report says.

It is noted that deliveries are carried out at the request of the Ukrainian side.

Long-term commercial contracts (other than those concluded earlier) are out of the question in this case, the report says.

As reported, SE NNEGC Energoatom plans to create a power reserve for the 2021/2022 autumn-winter period and allows the reservation of small amounts of electricity from Belarus.

On October 27, 2021, following the auction for the access to the interstate crossings (electricity imports/exports), Energoatom purchased 885 MW of capacity from Belarus for November.

Earlier, the Ministry of Energy stated that it was not considering the issue of commercial electricity imports from Russia and Belarus for the upcoming heating season.

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Ukraine is shocked by Germany's latest steps in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline issue and is not going to put up with the fact that the pipeline will still be put into operation.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk said in an interview with German news site RND.

The ambassador denied that Kyiv had accepted the fact that Russian natural gas would be supplied to Europe via this pipeline, adding that this issue was still far from resolved, both politically and legally.

The diplomat said that Ukraine was shocked that on the last working day of the previous federal government, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy expressed its official position on the absence of any security threats in the context of the operation of Nord Stream 2.

The certification process may last until early January 2022, but the current government apparently wanted to prevent a situation in which the new government, which would apparently include the Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens, could set new obstacles or even freeze the project.

"This approach really shocks us. Nord Stream 2 itself is nothing else but a stab in Ukraine's back. It will lead to a huge loss of confidence in Germany for decades to come," Melnyk said.

He also noted that Berlin is consulting with other countries on the project, but not with Ukraine. "This is not a sign of good style at all, as enormous damage is caused to our interests," the diplomat added. He noted that Germany also violates its obligations under the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

Melnyk recalled that Naftogaz had demanded that the Federal Network Agency immediately report on the certification process so as to prove one thing: this gas pipeline is extremely dangerous, it contradicts EU law and, therefore, should never be put into operation.

The launch of the gas pipeline would have catastrophic consequences for the Ukrainian economy, the diplomat said.

Melnyk also recalled that Germany undertook to negotiate with Moscow on gas transit through Ukraine for at least another ten years after 2024. Whether it is able to achieve this goal without any delays in 2022 will be another litmus test of trust in Berlin, the ambassador said.

Melnyk called Nord Stream 2 perhaps the biggest geopolitical mistake made by Germany's outgoing government. He believes that the future coalition must correct this mistake in order to somehow restore the lost trust in Germany.

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As of November 3, natural gas reserves in underground gas storage facilities (USFs) across the country amount to 18.1 billion cubic meters, while nearly 800 million cubic meters have been pumped out since the start of October.

Thats according to the chief of the Integrated Communications Department at Naftogaz of Ukraine, Maksym Bilyavsky, who was speaking with journalists in Kyiv on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"As of November 3, 2021, the volume of gas in Ukraine's underground storage facilities reached 18.1 billion cubic meters. This level of underground storage is 13% higher than the average recorded in the period from 2011 to 2019," Bilyavsky said.

He stressed that the current reserves confirm readiness of Ukraines USF network for the upcoming winter.

Before the start of the heating season, Ukrtransgaz JSC pumped almost 18.9 bcm of gas into the underground storage facilities. Since heating season start, about 800 million cubic meters has been pumped out.

As reported, gas extraction from USFs was launched on October 7 due to air temperature drop and increased energy consumption in private households.

Ukrtransgaz is part of the Naftogaz group, controlling 12 underground gas storage facilities throughout Ukraine with a total capacity is 31 billion cubic meters.

im
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has begun hearing a complaint lodged by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych against Ukraine, the court's press service has reported.

According to the text of the complaint, Yanukovych believes that "the Ukrainian authorities failed to conduct an effective investigation into the assassination attempts" on him in early 2014.

The former president also complains of the length of the criminal proceedings that have been brought against him. In his opinion, "the Ukrainian courts are neither independent nor impartial" and "the proceedings to date, which have been conducted in his absence, have not been fair."

Yanukovych also said that "condemnatory statements made by public officials" against him "have undermined the presumption of innocence."

According to the report, Yanukovych's complaint was filed with the European Court of Human Rights on October 9, 2015. On October 11 this year, the ECHR started hearing the application and asked the Ukrainian government to comment in writing on the circumstances of the case.

On January 24, 2019, Kyiv's Obolonsky District Court sentenced Yanukovych in absentia to 13 years in prison for treason and aiding and abetting Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine.

At the same time, Yanukovych was acquitted on charges of violating Ukraine's territorial integrity.

According to the court ruling, the term of Yanukovych's sentence will be counted from the time of his detention.

Yanukovych's defense team appealed the verdict in the treason case.

On October 2, 2020, Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the verdict against Yanukovych in the treason case.

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The Ukrainian delegation led by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held two busy days of talks at the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, which strengthened Ukraine's strategic partnerships and security, expanded its diplomatic geography, and presented the country as an active participant in global efforts to tackle climate change.

The minister for foreign affairs of Ukraine spoke about this during a Q&A on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

The two days in Glasgow were really busy. The president of Ukraine held a total of 13 bilateral meetings and talks, which focused on strengthening Ukraine's security, new opportunities for cooperation in energy, trade, and investment," said the minister.

Dmytro Kuleba stressed the importance of the President's meetings with strategic partners, the NATO secretary general, the president of the United States, and the chancellor of Germany.

"At all meetings, the president paid special attention to the security situation in Donbas, which remains tense due to Russia's destructive action. It was about what we can do together with our partners to stop Russia and force it to behave constructively in the negotiations. A separate topic was Ukraines energy security," Dmytro Kuleba said.

The foreign minister of Ukraine noted the expansion of the geography of diplomatic contacts: "We have expanded our horizons and reached new positions in these regions."

Some contacts took place for the first time in the history of bilateral relations. These include meetings with the presidents of Angola and Liberia. A series of fruitful talks was held with the leaders from Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Dmytro Kuleba highlighted the presidents meeting with the emir of Qatar, where the two leaders spoke, in particular, of the supply of liquefied gas and strengthening Ukraine's energy security.

The top diplomat noted the revival of Ukraine's contacts with the countries of Central Asia, in particular the fruitful meetings of the Ukrainian president with the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia: The president in Glasgow has expanded the geography of diplomatic contacts. They create new opportunities for Ukraine, allow us to promote Ukrainian exports more effectively, pursue serious bilateral projects, and, on principle, strengthen our position worldwide.

The foreign minister said Ukraine had come to the conference not empty-handed, but with a concrete contribution to stopping climate change: Ukraine looked very dignified, as an active power thats not only asking for help, but also helping those who need it. Our assistance to our partners in fighting the fires in Turkey and Greece this summer clearly testifies to this.

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Kyiv city recorded 2,024 new coronavirus cases on November 2, Ukrinform reports, referring to the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration.

"A total of 2,024 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the capital over the past day. 69 people died. Since the start of the pandemic, 6,337 deaths from the virus have been recorded in Kyiv. The total number of confirmed cases in the capital has reached 263,559, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko informed, Ukrinform reports.

Among people who have contracted COVID-19 over the course of the past day are 1,152 women aged 18-92 years, 746 men aged 18-90 years, 61 girls aged between 16 days and 17 years, and 65 boys aged between 3 months and 17 years.

At the same time, 1,110 people have recovered over the course of the past day. In total, 231,733 Kyiv residents have overcome the disease.

As reported, Ukraine recorded 23,393 new COVID-19 cases on November 2.

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If you were unemployed at all in 2020, you might be getting a belated tax refund from the IRS
Mrs. Evelyn Holland Reddick Dixon, 81, passed away on Nov. 14, 2021. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, at 11 a.m. in the Williams Funeral Home Chapel in Milledgeville. A burial service will be held at 2 p.m. in the Alligood Cemetery in Laurens County. The family wil
Union Springs, AL (36089)

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(Photo : Image by Thomas Breher from Pixabay )

Everyone likes a little extra money in their pockets or bank accounts. The ability to make more money can have a significant effect on your financial future. Nursing has been growing rapidly but even with advancements in this field, a little extra income is always welcome. It is true that nurses work long and unpredictable hours and this can make it more challenging to find a side job that brings in a sizable income. Nurses have a lot of skills that translate and transfer really well and this is why the following side hustles are great for nurses looking to earn something extra.

Teaching and Tutoring

There is an ongoing nursing facility shortage and this is why universities are open to nurses with enough experience, skills, and expertise to come in and fill the gaps. The shortage is so bad that universities in the United States had to turn away more than 75000 students who wanted to join their nursing programs.

With the rise in popularity of RN to BSN as well as BSN to DNP and other advanced degrees, there are lots of online teaching opportunities for nurses who can spare a few hours every week.

If you are not sure if this would be a great fit for you, you can always commit to teaching one class for a semester to see how it feels. Although the teaching requirements will vary depending on the specific universities you are considering, many of them require that you have at least three years of experience as a nurse. You might also be required to have a higher degree such as a Master of Science in Nursing.

Apart from working in colleges and universities, nurses can also become private tutors. Many of the nurses who do this prepare students for their registration and licensing exams. They might also help students who are struggling with specific areas of the curriculum such as pharmacology. Tutoring will give you a lot more flexibility as you can tutor whenever you want without having to put the sessions on a fixed schedule.

Paid Medical Surveys

Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare systems and so they know a lot more about the inner workings of the healthcare system than all other medical professionals. They also work directly with patients and their families so they have an intimate understanding of what that entails. All these reasons make nurses great candidates for medical surveys.

There are lots of companies doing online surveys, telephone studies, in-person focus groups and online focus groups that are looking for nurses to fill in their surveys. The opinions nurses provide are crucial for medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, technology companies and diagnostic companies. Although these companies have databases full of nurses they can call upon, they are always looking for new patients with varying opinions and experiences.

Getting started is as simple as getting in touch with the companies and registering. They will verify your nursing credentials and send you a letter of acceptance. They will then send you the survey details, outlining the type of survey being carried out, the topic, the amount of time you are given to complete the survey as well as how much you will be paid.

Once you complete the survey, you only need to sit back and wait for payment or for additional surveys to fill.

Telehealth Nursing

Telehealth is a growing role in nursing and medicine as a whole and as such has become very lucrative for nurses looking to make some cash on the side. Telehealth involves providing healthcare services through online communication tools such as video and audio-conferencing tools. Telehealth nurses use these tools to monitor their patients, provide care and assess any escalation in the conditions their patients have.

Remote nursing jobs have been growing over the past few years, especially when you consider that many remote areas need nurses who cannot be physically there. The American Medical Association is in support of remote nursing, including telehealth nursing, because it improves access to healthcare, results in an overall better healthcare system, and ensures better patient outcomes. This surge in telehealth, as well as its support from the AMA, has presented lots of opportunities through which nurses can make some extra money.

To get started, nurses need to have completed their nursing degrees, been licensed, and registered. Fortunately, nurses can complete accelerated nursing degrees at universities like Wilkes University, so they can start practicing faster. Nurses also need to have at least three years' experience as registered nurses, have an unrestricted license (a multi-state license may be required), and have a clean background. Tech skills and a fast internet connection are also mandatory.

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing has grown exponentially over the past few years as more companies, businesses, and organizations have realized the power of content creation and marketing. These entities need content for their websites, blogs, and sometimes social media platforms. Hospitals, publications, insurers, medical device companies, as well as other businesses in the healthcare space are always looking for healthcare professionals to provide educational and informational content.

Nurses are in a great position to fill these roles because they have extensive knowledge about the healthcare system. In addition, many nurses have stellar research and writing skills as these are both parts of their jobs. Registered nurses with strong writing skills can make a lot of money writing for those who need their input.

Print publications might have some stricter requirements than digital publications but they tend to pay more because of the stricter standards. However, there is a lot more writing work in the digital space, even though the pay might be slightly lower.

Remote work is also very common and this can be a great option for nurses who are balancing work, family, and maybe school.

First Aid, CPR, and AED Instructor

Nurses are already certified in first aid, CPR and AED (automatic external defibrillator) use as these are basic requirements in their jobs. Becoming an instructor in any or all of these areas is a great way to use the skills you already have to make some money. Having the skills is not enough though as nurses have to be licensed as instructors. The good news is that this can easily be done through the American Red Cross. Keep in mind that there are other companies and organizations that help prepare nurses to become instructors.

Once you have your certification, you can conduct classes for businesses, teams, schools, and groups throughout your community. Becoming an instructor is great because it requires about two hours a week and can even be done during the weekend. Also, nurses can be happy knowing their instructions and classes will help save someone down the line.

Float Pool and Locum Jobs

Another great option is to pick up some extra shifts and assignments by registering for float pool jobs. These float pool jobs allow nurses to work in other healthcare organizations or even in different apartments if they so wish. The good news is that nurses can make some extra cash here while also gaining skills that are required by the various departments they end up working in. This can be great for nurses who want to gain the experience required to switch to a new specialty.

Locum assignments (locum tenens) are short-term assignments that can range from a day to a few months. They are a great option to make some money for nurses who may be out of work or who are looking for something temporary while they take some time off or travel. Travel nursing and insurance nursing are two areas that often have a lot of locum opportunities and are both great areas to get into.

Consulting

Consulting is somewhat atypical for nurses, but it is possible to provide consulting services on the side. This works well for nurses who have experience and expertise in a very specific specialized area. For example, nurses who have specialized in geriatric nursing can provide consulting services to senior living facilities in their communities.

Nurses can work directly with other healthcare professionals when providing these services, or they may opt to work part-time for medical consulting companies. Starting a consulting business is another option, although this might take you away from your primary job. All in all, if you are into a very specific and specialized specialty, providing consulting services gives you lots of opportunities.

Becoming an Expert Witness

There are so many cases where attorneys need expert witnesses. For nurses with a specialty, this can be a great way to help victims or bring justice to wrongdoers. Nurses who choose to become expert witnesses will often work with attorneys and this side hustle can also be a great way to get into legal nursing if that is an area in which they are interested.

There are lots of services through which nurses can register to become expert witnesses. Just ensure the services you register with deal with the types of cases for which you would be interested in providing your expertise, and not those that will take a toll on you emotionally.

Becoming a Recruiter

Healthcare organizations are always looking for great nurses, and you can help make their search easier by becoming a recruiter. In this role, you have to find nurses that these organizations are looking for. You will then get compensated for each successful applicant you find. You will get the opportunity to help colleagues and other nurses find great opportunities while getting paid handsomely for your efforts.

There are also services that hire nurses to be recruiters. These services work for healthcare organizations and are always looking for nurses like you to help them fill positions.

Become an Immunization Nurse

Becoming an immunization nurse is also a great way to make money. Immunization nurses are needed part-time, seasonally, or when needed. You can end up working in a variety of locations. With COVID-19 showing that there are many ways to immunize people, there are opportunities in curbside clinics, drive-through clinics, home visits, and mobile outreach clinics.

Do note that you will need to be a registered nurse with basic first aid and CPR training. Some organizations also require that you have at least a year of experience administering vaccinations. Communication skills, writing skills, customer services, and some tech skills are required for these positions.

Selling Nursing Gear

Nurses often accrue so much nursing gear that they end up disposing of it. Instead of doing this, you can sell the extra gear. There is a robust market for second-hand and used nursing gear. You can sell your scrubs, jackets, scrub hats, and comfort shoes if you do not need them anymore. There are lots of platforms through which you can do this, but you should consider starting with eBay as it is one of the largest marketplaces for second-hand items.

Start a YouTube Channel

There is a lot of money to be made by starting a YouTube channel. Before you go too far, it is important to understand that you will need to commit some time to get the channel going. You might also need permission from your boss or supervisor to ensure it is okay with them before going forward.

There are so many sub-genres you can get into, but many of the nurses on YouTube provide answers, document their experiences as nurses, and help people get into the field. If you are consistent, know how to engage your audience, and can collaborate with other healthcare professionals on the platform, you can build a healthy channel that makes you money long into the future.

For nurses who have inflexible, fixed schedules, earning some extra money on the side can be difficult. However, if you have some extra time, and with some creativity, registered nurses can find side hustles they will be happy with. If you cannot engage in a side hustle outside of your regular job, registering for float pool jobs allows you to work in the same hospital but in different departments.


(Photo : Image by Diggity Marketing from Pixabay )

Even before the pandemic necessitated the use of technology to conduct everyday business-being the only safe way to interact with others and shop for things like groceries-our lives were becoming more and more integrated with technology. We have automated locks on our cars and keys that function more like remotes than the brass turnkeys of old. We have remote security systems that live-stream footage of our front and back porches to our phones. We have safes with electronic keypads, credit cards saved on our computers, and corporations have databases full of our private information-all of which can easily be broken into by a hacker with enough technological savvy.

As the world continues to become more and more digitally oriented and technology continues to grow and change, cybersecurity has become a progressively bigger concern for corporations and educated individuals. With hackers breaking into corporate databases and influencing governments alike, there has never been more of a demand for qualified cybersecurity professionals than now. With the pandemic and the resultant labor shortage, opportunities exist for anyone looking to switch to a more future-minded occupation.

Are you interested in learning how to protect individuals, corporations, and governments alike from the newest breed of criminal threat? Read on to hear some critical facts surrounding cybersecurity and learn how to switch professions for relatively little time and money.

Increasingly Accessible, Increasingly Consequential

With cybercrime becoming an increasingly lucrative practice, anyone can be targeted at any time; according to the stats, it's increasingly likely since the pandemic for everyone to be a target. With hacking kits used for the development of malware, ransomware, and identity theft available on the market for as low as a dollar, cybercrime is a highly accessible way for people with bad intentions to make bank off of a minor investment.

Moreover, experienced hackers can actually develop programs that run automated attacks on multiple targets at once, looking for holes in the security systems of personal computers and company assets worldwide all at once. A study from the University of Maryland conducted a study that estimated that computers connected to the internet suffer attacks roughly once every 39 seconds; and with that study having been conducted in 2017, the rate of cyberattacks has only gone up since then.

In this same study, it was found that once the hacker successfully broke into a computer system, they would quickly check to see if the system could be used for their purposes, checking software configurations, changing passwords, installing their own programs, and raking in whatever data they're looking to steal. For personal computers owned by unaffiliated individuals, they could become the victims of identity theft, have their bank information compromised and assets stolen, or experience any number of other horrifying consequences. Now imagine what hackers can do if they get ahold of a corporate system or can stealthily sneak onto a government mainframe. Unfortunately for many, including Michigan State University, they don't have to because hackers have been responsible for the loss of billions of dollars and the release of sensitive records across a wide swath of industries, including patient records from hospitals.

Joining the Cyber Police

If any of the above struck a chord with you and you want to be part of the network of professionals protecting people from cyber threats, you might be wondering where you should start. While the pandemic has opened the door for many to switch careers, going back to school can be an expensive, unrealistic way of getting the qualifications needed to practice something different.

Enter cybersecurity bootcamps, which are intensive, short-term programs that aim to take utter novices and churn out prepared professionals with all the proper cybersecurity training and education. They typically last six months or fewer, and while they range in price depending on the courses taken, most cybersecurity bootcamps cost around the price of a semester at most universities. They can be a quick, efficient way to get the necessary certifications to jump straight into a cybersecurity career, cutting out the unnecessary coursework colleges foist onto you to get more of your hard-earned money.

Protecting and Serving Digitally

The police metaphor might be stretching a little thin, but hey, that's what cybersecurity professionals do. They make it harder for cybercriminals to break into the things that are important to us, keeping our card information, our patient records, and our identifying information safe where it belongs-with us. If you're interested in becoming a part of keeping the world of the future safe, don't hesitate. Cybersecurity is an ever-growing, ever-lucrative industry, and they could sure use you.
Lee Perez, a UNO alumnus and English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher in grades 5-8th at Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School in Omaha, was named the Nebraska 2022 Teacher of the Year during a surprise award presentation on Oct. 13.

Nebraska Commissioner of Education Matthew Blomstedt presented the award.

Perez was one of four finalists for the Nebraska Teacher of the Year award. UNO alum, Mikayla Bruner (BS '09), of Westside Middle School in Omaha, was also a finalist and will be recognized as an Award of Excellence winner.

Perez began his teaching career in 2008 at Marrs Magnet Middle School in Omaha where he taught a 7th grade World Studies-Dual Language Program until 2019. He then moved to Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School where he currently teaches 5-8th grade English as a Second Language.

In addition to his classroom experience, Perez is an active member in the community belonging to many organizations including the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee, the Omaha Education Association Metro Board, the Nebraska State Education Association, and the English Learner Curriculum Pathway Committee for Omaha Public Schools. Perez has also been honored with several teaching awards and featured in several publications for his work as a teacher.

In the classroom Perez has unique challenges teaching English Language Learners and he takes a comprehensive approach to reach his students by combining culturally responsive teaching and language learning engagement strategies. In doing this, Perez teaches his students a new language but also a new culture while celebrating their own backgrounds and cultures in the classroom.

"It is important to embrace diversity. We should acknowledge that being different is special and these differences should be showcased during learning," Perez said in his application. "Good teaching isn't always about effective lesson planning, data, assessments, or observations with administrators. Its about empowering our students to strive to be the best versions of themselves socially, emotionally, intellectually, and academically."

Perez said his message to teachers is to be kind, culturally aware, and tolerant and that kindness should be our new 'pandemic.'

Perez has been a teacher for 13 years and earned a bachelors degree in Secondary Education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Perez will participate in the National Teacher of the Year competition later this year.

"I'm grateful for the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences for providing me the amazing educational tools to make me the best educator I could be in my teaching career," said Perez.

"I'm very proud to be a graduate of UNO, and I look forward to representing my alma mater, the Omaha Public Schools, and the State of Nebraska as the ambassador for Nebraska at the national level. Go Mavericks!"

A panel of Nebraska educators selected Perez as the 2022 Nebraska Teacher of the Year. The Teacher of the Year program recognizes the contributions of classroom teachers who are exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable, skilled, and who have the ability to inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn.
Delegates from Latvia visited the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) on Monday to discuss the Baltic nations defense, deterrence efforts, and collaboration with the United States.

Janis Garisons, state secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Latvia, joined Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) and UNO Chancellor Joanne Li, Ph.D., at UNOs Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center for a panel discussion about the threats Latvia faces. Moderated by Chancellor Li, students, faculty, staff, and members of the general public were given the opportunity to hear from Garisons and ask questions about the nations defense.

Latvia is located in Northern Europe on the Baltic Sea, sharing borders with Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, and importantly, Russia. Garisons spoke to defenses Latvia needs to maintain its democracy in terms of military strength, international partnerships, and technological defenses.

In his remarks, Garisons discussed developing that military component to increase attack readiness  both in terms of supply constraints and psychological readiness  and effectively coordinating a response. Readiness also includes security of supply, ensuring that critical supplies and services would not be cut off during times of conflict. It also includes protecting infrastructures like utilities and organizations like commercial banks.

It is important because it provides a culture of readiness, and cultural readiness is an important part of resilience, Garisons said. When people are ready for the crisis of war, they would not be so vulnerable against any kind of aligned or asymmetrical fighting attacks.

Defense and readiness stretch into the virtual sphere as protection against cyber and psychological threats becomes increasingly vital. The spread of misinformation on anything from COVID-19 to immigration has been an issue and a potential weakness that other countries have attempted to exploit.

In addition to its own readiness, Latvia leans on partnerships with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, including the United States. A co-chair of the House Baltic Caucus, Bacon mentioned the Baltic Security Initiative which provides $135 million each year to improve deterrence capabilities in three countries  a geographic area that he said is among the most vulnerable in NATO.

Its our job to reduce that ambiguity and make sure the deterrence is real; and deterrence comes with actual capacity, capability, and perceived willingness to use it. - Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02)

If Russians perceive ambiguity, they perceive weakness, Rep. Bacon said. Its our job to reduce that ambiguity and make sure the deterrence is real; and deterrence comes with actual capacity, capability, and perceived willingness to use it.

Historically, the United States has been a great partner for Latvia and Baltic States, Garisons said. Congressman Bacon is doing a great job chairing this caucus in Congress and also providing support through the Baltic European Initiative. We are not trying to be free riders. We are ready to defend ourselves and ready to go support our partners, if needed.

The Latvian delegation also spent time on UNOs campus touring the National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) center to learn about the counterterrorism and deterrence research happening here in Nebraska.
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Morocco's trade deficit increased by 25.5 percent year-on-year to 151.84 billion dirhams (about 17 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of September, the Moroccan foreign exchange regulator said Tuesday

RABAT, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :Morocco's trade deficit increased by 25.5 percent year-on-year to 151.84 billion Dirhams (about 17 billion U.S. Dollars) by the end of September, the Moroccan foreign exchange regulator said Tuesday.

Morocco's exports reached 230.43 billion dirhams (about 25.34 billion dollars), up by 22.1 percent year-on-year, while the imports rose by 23.4 percent to reach 382.

27 billion dirhams (about 42.04 billion dollars), the Exchange Control Office was quoted by the Moroccan news Agency (MAP) as saying in a release.

The rise in imports was due to higher prices of energy products, up by 36.8 percent, and of capital goods, up by 13 percent, the office said.

The Moroccan exports of the pharmaceutical industry climbed by 26 percent, while those of the automotive sector went up by 16.4 percent during the same period, it added.
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Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said on Wednesday that textile exports were on the rise due to PTI government's special incentives for the sector.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said on Wednesday that textile exports were on the rise due to PTI government's special incentives for the sector.

Despite coronavirus pandemic Pakistan's textile exports reached record of US $6 billion in first four months of the current fiscal year, he said in a tweet.

The minister said that the increase in textile exports was 27 per cent as compared with the corresponding period of the last year.

He reminded that most of the textile mills were closed during PML-N era.
ASHGABAT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2021) Turkmenistan intends to reach zero growth in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, citing Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the deputy chairman of the goverment.

Berdimuhamedov has been assigned to lead the country's delegation to the 26th session of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

"Turkmenistan, both at the expense of its own financial resources and with the technical and financial support from international organizations and financial institutions, in the medium term plans to achieve zero growth of greenhouse emissions, starting in 2030, and in the long term - annual significant reductions in emissions," the ministry said in a statement, citing Berdimuhamedov.

The country has a particular focus on the reduction of methane emissions and thus welcomes the Global Methane Pledge, adopted by COP26 participants and designed to lower global methane emissions to keep up with the limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), one of the key targets of the 2015 Paris agreement, Berdimuhamedov said.

Turkmenistan has adopted the National Strategy on Climate Change, the National Strategy for the Development of Renewable Energy until 2030, and the new Law of Turkmenistan "On Renewable Energy Sources" as part of the legal action to reach climate neutrality, according to the statement.
A booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccines will be available to eligible groups in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) government said on Wednesday

HONG KONG, Nov. 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :A booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccines will be available to eligible groups in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) government said on Wednesday.

People with weak immunity and high risks of infection with the virus are able to receive their third doses starting from Nov. 11.

Since the launch of the government inoculation program in late February, around 4.63 million people, or 68.7 percent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccines, while around 65.

8 percent of them have been fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported three new imported cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the total tally to 12,352.

The newly reported cases are imported cases with mutant strains, involving patients arriving in Hong Kong from the United States and Britain.

A total of 48 cases have been reported in the past 14 days and all were imported, according to the CHP.
ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 03rd Nov, 2021) The United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United States of America and the United Kingdom have affirmed their countries' stance with the people of Sudan and emphasise the importance of supporting their aspirations for a democratic and peaceful nation.

The QUAD for Sudan said that the protests of October 30 demonstrated the depth of the Sudanese peoples commitment to advancing their countrys transition, and we remain committed to helping them achieve these aspirations.

In a joint statement, the four countries endorsed the international communitys serious concern with the situation in Sudan and called for the full and immediate restoration of its civilian-led transitional government and institutions. They called upon all parties to strive for cooperation and unity in reaching this critical objective.

"We encourage the release of all those detained in connection with recent events and the lifting of the state of emergency. Violence has no place in the new Sudan, on this point we encourage the effective dialogue between all parties, and we urge all to ensure that the peace and security of the people of Sudan as a top priority," said the statement.

"The Quad for Sudan also stresses the importance of the commitment to the Constitutional Document and the Juba Peace Agreement as the foundation for further dialogue about how to restore and uphold a genuine civil-military partnership for the remainder of the transitional period, pending elections. This will help ensure Sudan, reaches political stability and economic recovery so that it is able to continue the transitional period with the support of Sudans friends and international partners," concluded the statement.
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Sydney, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :A British woman on Wednesday won a lengthy legal fight against Australia's "backpacker tax", after the country's top court agreed the levy discriminated against foreigners on working holiday visas.

Catherine Addy, who had worked in Sydney in 2017, took her battle against the levy all the way to Australia's High Court, which unanimously ruled in her favour -- putting potentially thousands of other backpackers in line for a tax refund.

From 2017, Canberra applied a 15 percent levy for every Dollar earned for two categories of working holiday visas linked to seasonal labour.

Australians begin paying tax once their annual income exceeds Aus$18,200 (US$13,500). That was also the threshold for working holiday visas before it was changed.

In a landmark decision two years ago, a Brisbane court had ruled the so-called "backpacker tax" could not be applied to Addy due to a double taxation treaty between Australia and the UK.

The presiding judge at the time called it a "disguised form of discrimination".

That earlier decision was overturned by the Federal Court, which sided with the Australian Taxation Office, before Addy's lawyers appealed to the country's top court.

"An Australian national deriving taxable income from the same source during the same period would have been taxed at a lower rate," the High Court said Wednesday.

"The more burdensome taxation was imposed on Ms Addy owing to her nationality." The Australian Taxation Office said the decision was expected to impact decision working holidaymakers from the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Chile, Turkey, Finland, Norway and Israel who were also Australian residents for tax purposes.

"Most working holidaymakers will be non-residents as they are in Australia to have a holiday and working to support that holiday," the agency said in a statement.

"This decision will not change the tax rates for the majority of working holidaymakers."In Addy's case, she lived mainly in a Sydney sharehouse and stayed for the most part in the state of New South Wales -- meaning she was considered a "resident" for tax purposes in Australia.
Paris, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :When asked about his strategy ahead of France's presidential election next year, Eric Zemmour is candid about his admiration for Donald Trump's US campaign in 2016.

"He succeeded in bringing together the working classes and the patriotic bourgeoisie. That's what I've been dreaming about... for 20 years," Zemmour told the LCI channel in one of dozens of recent tv interviews.

The far-right veteran political journalist and TV pundit has not declared his intention to run for president, but has dropped enough hints to raise expectations that he will.

Zemmour has suggested similarities between the ex-US president's chief concerns and his own: immigration, de-industrialisation, as well as opposition to "the politically correct".

"That means the media, judges, the cultural elite," he said.

While the American's route to power represented one model he was considering, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's was another.

"He did pretty well," the 63-year-old said with a smile about the former mayor of London who harnessed fear of immigration and anti-EU sentiment among the working classes during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016.

Zemmour's sudden emergence as a serious contender for the presidential election has electrified the French political class and led to frequent debates about his similarity to Trump and other successful right-wing populists of recent years.

The title of the Zemmour's new book, "France Has Not Said Its Final Word", faintly echoes Trump's aspirational "Make American Great Again" slogan.

As politicians, both men present themselves as national saviours.

Zemmour admitted that even the front cover of his latest book, which features him set against the French flag, also borrowed the patriotic iconography of Trump's 2016 tome "Great Again".

- 'Cultured figure' - According to one theory doing the rounds in France, Zemmour is similar to both Trump and Johnson in the sense that he embodies an essential national characteristic which forms part of his appeal to voters.

Trump is an almost cartoonish representation of an American businessman -- brash, braggadocious, fast-talking and wealthy.

Johnson, a graduate of England's finest schools, has cultivated an image of upper-class cleverness and eccentricity.

And Zemmour, a self-taught historian, peppers his writing and interviews with sometimes obscure references to figures from France's political past and literary canon in the manner of a public intellectual.

"I believe in the comparison to Trump and also with Boris Johnson," said Gerard Araud, France's ambassador to Washington during Trump's time in office.

"Basically, the Americans want a billionaire, the British someone from Eton and Oxford, and the French want a cultured figure," Araud told AFP.

Benjamin Haddad, a French analyst at the Atlantic Council think-tank in Washington, also sees parallels between Zemmour's budding campaign and Trump's.

He summarised it on Twitter as "being deliberately radical which gives the impression of authenticity, controlling the media space, and starting controversies that force others to react".

At a visit to an arms fair in Paris, Zemmour turned a sniper's weapon on journalists, telling them with a smile to "Get back, move".

The video, which was quickly picked up by French cable news channels, recalled right-wing Americans' love affair with guns as well as Trump's unrelenting animosity towards the "fake news" media, as he calls it.
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Asuncion, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :Police said Tuesday they were investigating a robbery motive in the shooting deaths of a German archaeologist and his teenage daughter found dead in their home near the Paraguay capital last month.

Bernard von Bredow, 62, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the neck and traces of possible torture at the family's home in Aregua on October 22, according to Paraguayan forensics investigator Hector Meza.

The body of the scientist's daughter Loreena, 14, was found with a gunshot wound to the stomach.

"The house was in complete disarray, with blood stains nearly everywhere," Hugo Grance, the Paraguayan police's head of murder investigations, told AFP.

The evidence suggested the attackers had been trying to force Von Bredow to open the safe, which was found still locked.

Grance said suspects have been identified among a group of construction workers recently fired by Von Bredow.

The victim was well known in Germany for his discovery in the 1970s of a woolly mammoth skeleton.
London, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Nov, 2021 ) :South African playwright and novelist Damon Galgut on Wednesday won the 2021 Booker Prize for "The Promise", his third shortlisted novel which chronicles a family in his homeland from the late apartheid era through to Jacob Zuma's presidency.

Spanning several decades, the book shows the family's growing disintegration as the country emerges into democracy.

"I am really profoundly, humbly grateful for this," the 57-year-old said as he accepted the prestigious British award at a televised ceremony in London.

"It's taken a long while to get here and now that I have, I kind of feel that I shouldn't be here," added the author, who wrote his first novel aged 17.

"The Promise", about a white family with a farm outside Pretoria -- where Galgut grew up -- was tipped to land the prize ahead of the announcement late Wednesday.

The white South African writer has said he wanted the critically acclaimed novel to show how "the passing of time" impacts a family, a country, its politics and "notions of justice" -- all while also exploring mortality.

Speaking immediately after winning the Booker, Galgut paid homage to his home continent.

"This has been a great year for African writing and I'd like to accept this on behalf of all the stories told and untold, the writers heard and unheard, from the remarkable continent that I'm part of," he said.

"Please keep listening to us. There's a lot more to come." - 'Originality' - Galgut triumphed from a competitive and diverse shortlist of authors also spanning Sri Lanka, Britain and the United States, whose novels covered topics and tales from female pilots to modern day social media.

The prize, whose previous recipients include Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and Hilary Mantel, is one of the leading literary awards for novels written in English.

The winner receives a 50,000 ($68,000) prize as well as a career-changing boost in sales and public profile.

Maya Jasanoff, chair of this year's judges, lauded all the final contenders but singled out "The Promise" for its "incredible originality and fluidity of voice" and as a book "really dense with historical and metaphorical significance".

Critics have agreed. The New Yorker called it "remarkable", while South Africa's Sunday Times said "it's astonishing how much history Galgut packs into this short novel".

- 20th-century history - Other finalists included US writer Richard Powers, 64, whose novel "Bewilderment" is about an astrobiologist struggling to cope with his young son's behavioural problems.

Powers was shortlisted in 2018 and then landed the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction two years ago for his tree-themed book "The Overstory".

Another US writer, Patricia Lockwood, 39, was nominated for her debut novel, "No One Is Talking About This", featuring a 30-something obsessed with social media who has to deal with a shocking medical diagnosis.

Other books look back at 20th-century history.

Sri Lankan writer Anuk Arudpragasam, 33, in his second novel, "A Passage North", focuses on the traumatic legacy of the country's almost three-decade civil war that ended in 2009.

"The Fortune Men", by British-Somali author Nadifa Mohamed, 40, is based on the true story of a Somali sailor wrongly convicted of murder in Cardiff's multicultural port in the 1950s.

"Great Circle", by US novelist Maggie Shipstead, 38, tells the story of a fictional female pilot hoping to fly around the globe pole-to-pole, interwoven with first-person narrative from a Hollywood starlet playing her role.

- 'Surreal' - This year's televised ceremony at the BBC's Broadcasting House in London was attended by all the shortlisted authors, after Covid restrictions led to video appearances last year.

The ceremony included a pre-recorded conversation between Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and a long-term Booker advocate, and 2020 laureate Douglas Stuart, about how winning the prize for his novel "Shuggie Bain" has affected his life.

"It was the most wonderful thing but also incredibly surreal," Stuart recalled.

Last year saw the most diverse shortlist in the prize's five-decade history, while judges in 2019 tore up the rule book by awarding it jointly to Canadian author Margaret Atwood and Anglo-Nigerian author Bernardine Evaristo.
Stockholm, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :Two people died and one was injured on Tuesday in Sweden's Uppsala after a person fell seven floors, hitting two people, at a concert hall, police said.

Around 1,000 people had gathered at the Uppsala Konsert & Kongress that was hosting a tribute concert to ABBA legends Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson with covers of their famous songs from the group and various musicals.

"We received a call about someone having either jumped or fallen from a high altitude inside the concert hall in central Uppsala," police spokesman Magnus Jansson Klarin told AFP.

The concert hall has an open space in the foyer and the person fell from the seventh floor and hit two other people.

The person who fell as well as one of the people hit died while the third was injured.

Klarin told AFP it was still unclear what injuries the third person had suffered but they were "not life-threatening." He declined to give any details on the deceased since the next of kin had not been informed.

Police first closed off the concert hall so that no one could enter or leave so they "wouldn't miss any witnesses," but then cleared the venue.

"It is too early to say whether a crime has occurred," Klarin said.

The event occurred before 7 pm (1800 GMT) as people were arriving for the concert that was scheduled to start a 7:30 pm, but was cancelled after the incident.
Washington, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :The United States can now start giving children aged 5-11 the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid vaccine, US health authorities said Tuesday in a move hailed by President Joe Biden as a "turning point" in the fight against the pandemic.

Days after gaining authorization from the food and Drug Administration, the vaccine was endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, clearing the way for the vaccination of up to 28 million children.

The government was well ahead of the decision, procuring enough doses for the children in the 5-11 age group and beginning to ship them across the country.

"Today, we have reached a turning point in our battle against Covid-19," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

Vaccinating younger children will "allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus," the president continued.

The government has already secured enough vaccine for every child in America, he said, adding that over the weekend officials began the process of packing and shipping millions of doses.

"The program will ramp up over the coming days, and (be) fully up and running during the week of November 8," he said.

The vaccine will still be given in two injections, three weeks apart. The dosage has been adjusted to 10 micrograms per injection, compared to 30 micrograms for the older age groups.

The caps on the children's vials will be orange, making them easily recognizable compared to the purple caps on the vials for older groups.

"As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated," CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

Some parents were not waiting, however.

At the Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut late Tuesday a group of six children were among the first in the country to receive the vaccine.

"I could cry," one mother, Liz Cronin, told AFP. "We've all been waiting for it for so long for our kids to .

.. have this almost sense of normalcy back." Six-year-old Kareem Omar said the shot "doesn't really hurt," adding: "Do it for the sake of America. Because it's helping America and the world, so, life is better for each and every person on Earth." The CDC had convened a panel of independent scientists on Tuesday to review the available data on the status of the outbreak in children, the effectiveness of Pfizer's vaccine, and its possible side effects during a day of live-streamed discussions.

The panel unanimously recommended the vaccine, and the CDC then endorsed that recommendation.

The main concern was the risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, detected in adolescents and young adults (mostly males) after vaccination with the Pfizer or Moderna shots.

Health authorities have confirmed nearly 880 cases in people under 30 years of age, of which approximately 830 required hospitalization.

Nine deaths are suspected to have been related to myocarditis after the vaccine.

But of six cases so far reviewed, vaccine-related myocarditis was ultimately not identified as the cause of death, pediatric cardiologist Dr. Matthew Oster said in a presentation.

"I'm much more worried about what would happen to their child if they get Covid, for patients who don't have heart disease, than I am if they were to get this vaccine," he added.

There have been more than 1.9 million cases of Covid-19 among five- to 11-year-olds in the United States, and more than 8,300 hospitalizations, more than 2,300 cases of MIS-C (pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome), and about 100 deaths.

The expected benefits of vaccinating children also include fewer school closures, and a possible reduction in transmission of the epidemic into the general population.

According to a survey of 1,000 parents presented Tuesday by the CDC, 57 percent said they would "definitely" or "probably" get their child vaccinated.

"If I had a grandchild, I would certainly get that grandchild vaccinated as soon as possible," said Beth Bell, an infectious disease specialist and committee member.

"We have excellent evidence of efficacy and safety. We have a favorable risk benefit analysis."
Geneva, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :The World Health Organization on Wednesday called for the urgent development of a vaccine against a bacterial infection responsible for nearly 150,000 stillbirths and infant deaths each year.

A fresh report by the UN health agency and the London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that the impact of Group B Streptococcus infection (GBS), which is estimated to live harmlessly in the intestinal tracts of up to a third of all adults, is a far bigger cause of preterm births and disability than previously thought.

The report confirmed a previous devastating finding from 2017 that the bacterium causes almost 100,000 newborn deaths and close to 50,000 stillbirths each year, although it pointed to significant data gaps suggesting the true figures could be higher.

And for the first time it quantified the impact on preterm births, finding that GBS is behind more than half a million early deliveries each year, leading to significant long-term disability.

In light of such staggering numbers, the report authors lamented that more progress had not been made towards developing a vaccine.

"This new research shows that Group B strep is a major and underappreciated threat to newborn survival and wellbeing, bringing devastating impacts for so many families globally," Phillipp Lambach of WHO's immunisation department said in a statement.

"WHO joins partners in calling for urgent development of a maternal GBS vaccine, which would have profound benefits in countries worldwide." Professor Joy Lawn, who heads LSHTM's maternal adolescent, reproductive and child health centre, agreed.

"Maternal vaccination could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of babies in the years to come," she said, decrying the lack of progress since the idea of developing a jab against GBS was first raised three decades ago.

On average, 15 percent of pregnant women worldwide, or nearly 20 million annually, carry the GBS bacterium in their vagina.

But even though most of these cases show no symptoms, an infected pregnant woman can pass GBS to her foetus via the amniotic fluid, or during birth as the infant passes through the vaginal canal.

Babies and foetuses are particularly vulnerable because their immune systems are not strong enough to fight the multiplying bacteria.

If untreated, GBS can lead to meningitis and septicaemia, which can be deadly. Babies that survive may develop cerebral palsy, or permanent sight and hearing problems.

Wednesday's report showed that the bacterium leaves some 40,000 infants each year with neurological impairments.

Currently, women with GBS are given antibiotics during labour to reduce the chance of it passing to their baby.

But this approach poses problems in places where screening and antibiotic administration during labour are less accessible.

Tellingly, the highest rates of maternal GBS are found in sub-Saharan Africa -- which alone accounts for around half of the global burden -- and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, the study showed.

It suggested that a GBS vaccine that could be administered to pregnant women during routine pregnancy checkups and that reached over 70 percent of pregnant women could avert 50,000 infant and foetus deaths each year.
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President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday urged the business community to employ persons with disabilities and women, and improve their business skills so as to empower them financially

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday urged the business community to employ persons with disabilities and women, and improve their business skills so as to empower them financially.

He emphasized the need for facilitating differently-abled people by providing them easy access to buildings and workplaces, the President's media office said.

The president made these remarks while talking to a delegation of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), led by its President of Lahore Chapter, Mohsin Khawaja, at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The president said the government was taking every possible measure to provide a level playing field to the business community and entrepreneurs.

He underlined that the business sector of the country needed to adopt an outward-looking approach and remain abreast of the changing trends in the international markets, enabling them to compete in regional and global markets.

He highlighted that the main focus of the government's economic strategy was to enhance the country's exports, reduce the trade deficit and support the underprivileged sections of society.

The president said the investment policy of the country had been designed to provide a comprehensive framework for creating a conducive business environment and attracting foreign investors.

He said the ease of doing business reforms, initiated by the government, had led to improving Pakistan's ranking in the global Ease of Doing Business Index from 108 to 136.

Mohsin Khawaja informed the President that EO was playing an active role in the economic development of the country.

The delegation apprised the meeting about its contribution in exports and providing employment to the people.

It expressed satisfaction over the economic policies of the Government and lauded its business and investment-friendly policies.

The delegation also briefed the president about certain problems being faced by them.

The president assured the delegation to take their grievances up with the concerned quarters for redressal.

He urged the delegation to play a proactive role in increasing the country's exports through value-addition and enhancing access to global markets.

He also asked EO to play its role in encouraging the business community to pay their taxes.
The United Kingdom (UK) ship HMS RICHMOND visited Karachi port and conducted naval exercises with Pakistan Navy

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :The United Kingdom (UK) ship HMS RICHMOND visited Karachi port and conducted naval exercises with Pakistan Navy.

The Ship was received by officials of Pakistan Navy along with representatives of British High Commission, said a Pakistan Navy media release.

Pakistan Navy and UK Navy enjoy longstanding relations based on training, development, mutual interest and cooperation in naval affairs.

The visit of UK Ship included harbour and sea phases. In harbour phase table top discussions on professional matters and bilateral interactions were held.

On completion of port visit, sea exercise was conducted between Pakistan and UK Navy covering wide range of naval operations. The exercise was aimed to enhance interoperability and contribute toward international efforts for ensuring maritime security in the region.

UK Navy Ship visit to Karachi and joint naval drills is a testimony of PN resolve to work towards regional peace and it may further strengthen mutual collaboration between the two navies.
The five-member Uzbek delegation, lead by Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan Lieutenant General Victor Makhmudov visited Torkham Border Terminal and Pakistan Military Academy Kakul on Wednesday

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :The five-member Uzbek delegation, lead by Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan Lieutenant General Victor Makhmudov visited Torkham Border Terminal and Pakistan Military Academy Kakul on Wednesday.

Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industries and Production Abdul Razak Dawood and National Security Advisor, Dr. Moeed Yusuf and other senior officials of the National Security Division were also present on the occasion, said a news release.

Upon arrival at Torkham Border Terminal, the delegation received a briefing by the authorities concerned at Michni post, and witnessed cargo trucks arriving from Uzbekistan.

The visit to Torkham by Uzbek delegation showed that the region was increasingly pivoting around the Geo-economic paradigm whose core component was regional connectivity.

It underscored the immense benefits awaiting to be reaped by all the regional countries and symbolizes that connectivity was the future of the region.

In the second leg of the trip, the delegation went to Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul where the visiting dignitary received a briefing from the Commandant and witnessed training of the military cadets.

While praising the standards of training and professionalism of the academy, Lieutenant General Makhmudov evinced interest in sending Uzbek military officers for training to PMA.

It may be noted that the Uzbek NSA was on a three-day visit to Pakistan on the invitation of the National Security Advisor, Dr. Moeed W. Yusuf.
GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2021) Bulgaria is working to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement and intends to completely abandon the use of coal by 2040, Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said on Tuesday.

Bulgaria remains committed to fulfilling all the commitments under the 2015 Paris deal jointly with other EU member states, including the 2050 climate neutrality goal and the 55% greenhouse emission reduction by the end of the decade, the prime minister said.

"At a national level, we have developed an entirely new set of measures in our recovery resilience plan.

It will become a new roadmap for the decarbonization of the Bulgarian industry and for reaching economic growth in a sustainable and preserved environment, which includes phasing out of coal use by 2038-2040," Yanev said at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

The COP26 summit, held from October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland, aims to bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
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The military coalition in Yemen said Wednesday it had killed 145 Huthi rebels in 24 hours in air raids near Marib, the final northern stronghold of pro-government forces

Riyadh, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :The military coalition in Yemen said Wednesday it had killed 145 Huthi rebels in 24 hours in air raids near Marib, the final northern stronghold of pro-government forces.

The coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, has claimed near-daily strikes over the last three weeks, that it boasts have inflicted heavy losses on the Huthi rebels.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered military and police to airlift Covid-19 vaccines across the country's provinces to bypass "gridlocks" in jab distribution that he blamed on local governments

Manila, Nov 3 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered military and police to airlift Covid-19 vaccines across the country's provinces to bypass "gridlocks" in jab distribution that he blamed on local governments.

While nearly 90 percent of adults in the capital region are fully vaccinated, only about 35 percent of adults in the country have had both jabs.

"(Supplies) will no longer pass through the provincial government because that would be another gridlock," Duterte said in a meeting with pandemic advisers on Tuesday that was broadcast Wednesday.

Duterte has leaned heavily on the armed services to fight the pandemic. They enforced one of the world's most severe lockdowns and transported medical supplies across the country and internationally.

"Upon delivery by plane and arrival at the (vaccine operations centre), the helicopters there will take over.

They would be the ones to take them to the municipal governments," the president said.

"The armed forces have the lift capability," military spokesman Colonel Ramon Zagala told AFP Wednesday.

At the same meeting Tuesday, Carlito Galvez, head of the country's Covid-19 task force, acknowledged that local governments needed to "boost their capacity" to inject more people per day as well as to "procure their own cold chain system" to store more vaccines.

Health secretary Francisco Duque told Duterte coronavirus cases were on a "downward trend" across the country after a September peak.

The government eased some pandemic restrictions in October, opening cinemas and gyms in the capital and allowing higher capacities at restaurants and on public transport.

On Wednesday the government rolled out vaccines for 12.7 million young people aged 12-17.
The European Union is very concerned and alarmed by the fact that a six-month state of emergency has been declared in Ethiopia as rebels threaten the capital, the European Commission said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2021) The European Union is very concerned and alarmed by the fact that a six-month state of emergency has been declared in Ethiopia as rebels threaten the capital, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Ethiopian government declared a national state of emergency as part of measures to protect the population from the advance of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), according to national media reports.

"The situation is very serious and we are alarmed by the state of emergency that it was declared in Ethiopia recently," Peter Stano, lead spokesman for foreign affairs and security policy, said during a European Commission briefing.

The Ethiopian government and TPLF rebels have been engaged in year-long hostilities over control of the norther part of the country. The rebels are moving southwards, taking control of the town of Kombolcha on October 31, less than 370 kilometers (230 miles) north of the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. This development was one of the factors which forced Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to declare a state of emergency in the country, as the rebels gradually advance toward the capital.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2021) The Latvian capital of Riga will host a two-day NATO foreign ministers' meeting from November 30 for the first time in the nation's history, its foreign ministry said Wednesday.

"From November 30 to December 1, 2021, a meeting of NATO foreign ministers will take place in Latvia for the first time," a press statement read.

The allies will discuss a NATO Strategic Concept, which aims to reflect changes in European security and adopt the bloc's core tasks to new challenges, including forming a cooperative approach to Russia.

"The development of NATO's Strategic Concept is one of the key challenges ahead of the upcoming Madrid Summit," Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said, referring to the NATO June 2022 summit.

Riga hosted a NATO summit in 2006. The ministry said that the ministerial meeting would be held amid strict coronavirus precautions. The head of Latvia's largest COVID-19 clinic in Riga said on Tuesday that its critical care units were past the breaking point as hospitalizations continued to rise nationwide.
MINNEAPOLIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2021) The residents of Minneapolis have voted against the proposal to get rid of the city police department, according to the preliminary results of the referendum on the issue.

The city has voted on whether or not to replace the police department with the Department of Public Safety, which would combine social and medical workers with peace officers to take a comprehensive public health approach to safety.

Per the information from 96 out of 136 polling stations, 58.41% of the voters have rejected the initiative while 41.59% supported it.
CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2021) The Moldovan government approved on Wednesday the ratification of agreements with Italy and Greece on social security for migrants.

"The cabinet approved the draft law on the ratification of the agreement on social security between Moldova and Italy, signed in Rome on June 18, 2021, and the agreement on social security with Greece, signed on September 8, 2021," the government said in a statement.

The agreements provide for social guarantees for Moldovan migrants in Italy and Greece and vice versa. In particular, people will be entitled to retirement pensions, disability pensions due to illness, and pensions and benefits for disability due to industrial accidents or occupational diseases, the statement added.

The documents will be submitted for approval to the parliament and the presidential administration.

To date, Moldova has reached similar agreements with 16 countries.
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HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2021) Norway will chair the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2022 and will work toward the goal of making the Nordic countries more integrated and sustainable by 2030, the council announced on Wednesday.

"Norway is taking over the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2022. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre says Norway will do its part to ensure that the Nordic Region reaches its objective of being the world's most sustainable and integrated region by 2030," the official statement reads.

As the new chair, Norway will aim to further strengthen Nordic cooperation, Stre noted at the meeting of the Council in Copenhagen, as quoted in the statement.

He stressed that Norway's desire to "protect the Nordic community" is also reflected in the government's platform.

The presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers rotates between the five Nordic countries, with Finland being currently at the helm.

Norway will take over on January 1, 2022, and will build on three strategic priority areas for its presidency program. These include green transition, economic resilience and competitiveness, and social sustainability.

The Nordic Council is an organization of intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary cooperation between the Nordic countries, founded in 1952. The headquarters of the organization is located in Copenhagen.
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin held a meeting with US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns in Moscow to discuss the counterterrorism effort, the foreign intelligence service said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2021) Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin held a meeting with US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns in Moscow to discuss the counterterrorism effort, the foreign intelligence service said.

The meeting was held on Tuesday at Washington's initiative.

"They focused on cross-departmental cooperation in the context of the Russian-US relations with an emphasis on the fight against international terrorism," the Russian Foreign Intelligence said in a statement.
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Tourist arrivals in Spain leapt in the first nine months of 2021 compared with a year earlier, but remained far below pre-Covid levels, official data showed on Wednesday

Madrid, Nov 3 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Nov, 2021 ) :Tourist arrivals in Spain leapt in the first nine months of 2021 compared with a year earlier, but remained far below pre-Covid levels, official data showed on Wednesday.

During the period, Spain welcomed 19.7 million tourists, an increase of 17.2 percent over the figures for same period in 2020, the National Statistics Institute (INE) calculated.

Prior to the pandemic -- when Spain was the world's number-two tourist destination and the sector accounted for some 12 percent of its economy -- nearly 70 million people visited in the first nine months of 2019, the INE said.

Although the data point to an improvement in the tourism sector, they fall far short of the government's forecast for some 45 million visitors this year -- approximately half that of 2019.

The figures "confirm that the recovery of international tourism is under way and that in 2022 we could return to pre-pandemic levels," said Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto.

In September, tourist arrivals stood at 4.7 million, an increase of more than 300 percent from the same month in 2020.

Maroto said Spain was hoping to welcome between "10.7 and 10.9 million" visitors in the last three months of the year.
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WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2021) US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking will be in the middle East on Thursday to meet with government officials to discuss issues related to the ongoing conflict in Yemen, the Department of State said in a press release.

"US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking will return to the Middle East on November 4 for continued conversations with the Republic of Yemen government, Yemeni civil society representatives, senior regional government officials, and other international partners," the release said on Wednesday.
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a major gun rights case challenging New York's laws on the issuance of concealed carry licenses, which currently require applicants to convince the state that they have an actual need for self-defense

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2021) The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a major gun rights case challenging New York's laws on the issuance of concealed carry licenses, which currently require applicants to convince the state that they have an actual need for self-defense.

The men challenging the law, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, were issued licenses for hunting and target practice, but not everyday concealed carry in public spaces. They are suing New York in an attempt to receive the right to concealed carry in public, arguing that the current law violates their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.

Chief Justice John Roberts questioned New York's Solicitor General, Barbara Underwood - who is responsible for defending the state's law in court - about the state's policy of more freely giving the unrestricted concealed carry licenses to applicants in rural areas than urban ones.

"How many muggings take place in the forest?" Roberts asked Underwood in regards to the policy.

The men's lawsuit has made its way in front of the Supreme Court, which has a six to three conservative majority, after being rejected by lower courts. Having concluded oral arguments, the court will soon deliver a written decision on the case.

The decision could be one of the most substantial gun rights cases since the District of Columbia v. Heller decision in 2008, which struck down Washington, DC's handgun ban and affirmed the right of individuals to keep and bear arms.
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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2021) Non-governmental organization White Helmets is preparing staged filming in Idlib Province, in area not controlled by the Syrian authorities, to accuse Damascus of striking at civilians, Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit, deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, said.

"Information was received that members of the pseudo-humanitarian organization 'White Helmets' are preparing provocations in order to accuse government forces of indiscriminate attacks on civilian objects and civilians. The selection of participants for the staged filming is carried out in the settlements of Kafr Kermin and Sarmada, Idlib province," Kulit said at a briefing.

To cover the provocation, it was planned to involve representatives of the English-language media who arrived in the territory of the Idlib de-escalation zone, he added.
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Lincoln, RI (02865)

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Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 33F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 33F. Winds light and variable.
Lincoln, RI (02865)

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Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 56F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Periods of rain. Low 48F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Lincoln, RI (02865)

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Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 32F. Winds light and variable..

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Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 32F. Winds light and variable.
Normal, IL (61790)

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Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 39F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

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Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 39F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
On Oct. 26 the U.S. Department of Justice reported the arrests of another 150 people believed to be selling drugs and firearms via the dark web. The announcement follows the successful apprehension of 179 people for the same reasons in September, 2020.

With the help of European authorities, the DOJ was able to seize a sizable portion of drugs, weapons and other illicit goods, valued at approximately 26.7 million euros (US$31 million), the Dutch broadcaster KRO-NRCV reported.

Abyss of the Internet

Kaspersky defines the term dark web as the hidden collective of internet sites only accessible by a specialized web browser. This sketchy corner of the world wide web has been utilized for private or anonymous online activities, allowing illegal operations to clandestinely run.

Within the deepest and darkest corners of the Internet, these specialized web browsers have no webpage indexing by normal search engines, which makes any content under the dark web very elusive to the majority of users worldwide. Virtual traffic tunnels and the lack of coverage by normal web browsers like Google protect the dark web from firewalls and encryption.

The dark web also makes use of The Onion Routing (Tor) network browser, which gives users access to sites with the .onion URL extension. It functions similarly to a typical web browser, but is able to take random routes through encrypted servers called nodes, guiding users to dark web content without being tracked.

As such, the dark web has often been associated with criminal or illegal activities, with trading sites set up where people can access and purchase unlawful goods or services.

Online black market

A joint operation codenamed Operation Dark HunTor by authorities of both the U.S. and Europe tracked down and hunted almost 150 people linked to the sales of drugs, weapons and other illegal goods.

The operation was focused more towards the sellers and buyers on the darknet, instead of the people behind the sites.

According to the Justice Department, within the 10 months of the operation, authorities were able to take hold of $31 million in cash and cryptocurrency, in addition to 45 guns and 234 kilograms of drugs.

Dutch media also reported that, in addition to 65 U.S. nationals, 47 Germans, 24 Brits as well as Dutch, French, Swiss and Bulgarian nationals were arrested.

Evidence was gathered from previous cybercrime cases, including one concerning an online marketplace called DarkMarket that was shut down by German law enforcement after the marketplaces suspected operators were arrested after entering Denmark. Their servers were confiscated in Ukraine and Moldova.

Investigations into the matter are ongoing.

We are here today to expose those who seek the shadows of the internet to peddle killer pills worldwide, said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco adding that, Thanks to unprecedented international law enforcement cooperation, 150 dark net drug traffickers have been arrested around the world, including 65 right here in the United States.

Monaco believes that the darknet has been pulling more people than ever before since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also said that the drug trades originate from labs in China before the drugs they produce are sent to Mexico where they begin to spread around the world.

We know that the precursor chemicals that go into these pills are coming from labs in China and manufactured in Mexico, she said. The attorney general was just part of a very significant meeting with three other cabinet officials with meeting with Mexican authorities, and the [Drug Enforcement Agency] (DEA) administrator has also met with the Mexican attorney general and weve raised this issue repeatedly.

Monaco is also hoping that Mexico and China will cooperate with the U.S. in stopping the illegal drug trade.

Administrator Anne Milgram of the DEA said that drug trafficking has increasingly expanded to the digital world, with the darknet being used to sell more dangerous drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.

These drug traffickers are flooding the United States with deadly, fake pills, driving the U.S. overdose crisis, suprring violence, and threatening the safety and health of American communities, said Milgram. DEAs message today is clear: criminal drug networks operating on the Darknet, trying to hide from law enforcement can no longer hide.

Milgram also stated that the DEA and its allies in the U.S. and other international agencies would continue to hunt down drug networks, including on the darknet.

As shared by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, around 70,000 Americans have lost their lives from overdose from opioids in 2020.

While China has faced opioid-related crises like the Opium Wars of the 1800s, the communist-ruled nation has become a prime source of fentanyl entering the U.S. illegal drug market since 2013, as reported by MetroWest Daily News. The opioid crisis that followed stands as one of the U.S. biggest challenges in terms of business with China.
Beijing has sent Chinese citizens into a frenzy after issuing a notice that asked people to stock up on essential supplies. Though the government did not provide a clear reason for the instruction, the fact that it came at a time when the country is struggling with a new wave of COVID-19 infections and numerous natural disasters which has affected the food supply it was enough for people to start thinking about the worst possible scenario.

As panic spread, supermarkets were swarmed. As soon as this news came out, all the old people near me went crazy, panic buying in the supermarket, one person wrote on Weibo. A user pointed out that the government had not informed them about stocking goods when the pandemic began last year. Another user speculated the notice was to indicate that people might not be able to afford vegetables when the winter season arrives.

State media later attempted to quell concerns that triggered the panic buying. CCP-backed media outlet, The Economic Daily, asked people to remain calm and not get alarmed. It insisted that the notice was only a piece of advice put forward by the government to ensure that houses are stocked with daily essentials in case a COVID-19 lockdown is announced in their region.

Hu Xijin, editor of state-backed Global Times, dismissed suggestions that the notice was in some way connected to the tensions between China and Taiwan. State broadcaster CCTV published an interview with Commerce Ministry official Zhu Xiaoliang who insisted that daily supplies are sufficient and fully guaranteed. He stated that the notice was aimed at local authorities.

Bad weather has affected Chinas food production. In early October, extreme weather destroyed crops in the Shandong area, which is the largest vegetable growing region in China.

One farmer from the province told state-backed Global Times that the output of vegetables is too low this year. The unusually heavy rains had slashed tomato output by around 25 percent when compared to the previous year.

In Henan province, three months of rainfall has flooded much of the flat agricultural lands, submerging them under water. There is nothing this year. Its all gone Farmers on the lowland basically have no harvest, nothing, farmer Wang Yuetang told the Daily Mail.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA), vegetable prices rose by 16 percent in October.

The price of 26 vegetables rose from September, with spinach and cucumber surging by 45 percent and 80 percent respectively. In Shanghai, the prices of some vegetables were close to the price of meat.

According to Wang Hongcun, an official with the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, the nationwide effort to contain COVID-19 cases might also be a contributing factor to surging food prices. The cost of transiting between regions could rise due to strict containment measures. This cost will likely get added to the final price of food items.

Chinas strict zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy results in authorities shutting down a region immediately when infections are detected. The rush to bring the viral outbreak under control is also triggered by the Winter Olympics due to be held in the country in February 2022. Beijing expects to have zero daily COVID-19 infections by this time.

Chinas commerce ministry has instructed local authorities to sign long-term contracts with agricultural suppliers so as to secure food for winter. The government is also asking people not to order more food than what is necessary and report on restaurants that waste food.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration quietly approved an orally-administered blood thinner for children to combat venous thromboembolism just months before the rollout of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) novel gene therapy vaccines in kids aged 5 to 11 are set to start.

The FDA approved Pradaxa oral pellets, described as a drug used to treat children 3 months to less than 12 years old with venous thromboembolism (a condition where blood clots form in the veins) directly after they have been treated with a blood thinner given by injection for at least five days, according to a June 21 press release.

The FDA also approved Pradaxa oral pellets to prevent recurrent clots among patients 3 months to less than 12 years old who completed treatment for their first venous thromboembolism.

The release continues, Pradaxa is the first FDA-approved blood thinning medication that children can take by mouth; the only other approved blood thinning medication for children is given by injection.

The FDA says Pradaxa was first approved in 2010 to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

Clotted blood

In a CDC web page titled What is Venous Thromboembolism?, the agency describes the phenomenon in the following way: Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism (DVT/PE) are often underdiagnosed and serious, but preventable medical conditionsDeep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a medical condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein. These clots usually develop in the lower leg, thigh, or pelvis, but they can also occur in the arm.

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The most significant complication arising from DVT is noted as occurring when a part of the clot breaks off and travels through the bloodstream to the lungs, causing a blockage called pulmonary embolism (PE).

If the clot is small, and with appropriate treatment, people can recover from PE. However, there could be some damage to the lungs. If the clot is large, it can stop blood from reaching the lungs and is fatal.

The CDC states that the most significant risk factors contributing to DVT are injury to a vein, slow blood flow, increased estrogen, chronic illnesses such as Chrons, cancer, lung disease, or heart disease, as well as general risk factors such as obesity, age, catheters located in central veins, and clotting disorders.

The FDA release warns that Pradaxa may include side effects such as digestive system symptoms and bleeding, and also warns that the drug can cause serious and fatal bleeding.

Legal problems

According to Drug Watch, Pradaxa is manufactured by German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and was the companys fourth largest grossing product in 2019 at $1.81 billion.

In November of 2020, Reuters Legal reported that BI had completed a global settlement resolving 2,935 lawsuits against the company alleging that the drugmaker failed to warn patients about the bleeding risks of its blood thinner Pradaxa.

The terms and amount of the global settlement were not publicly disclosed, but the article noted that, In 2014, Boehringer agreed to pay about $650 million to resolve about 4,000 Pradaxa product liability lawsuits largely pending in federal court.

Vaccines for kids

On Oct. 29, the FDA approved an Emergency Use Authorization to distribute the pediatric version of the Pfizer-BioNTech Messenger RNA vaccine to children aged 5 to 11 after the Administrations 18-person Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 17 in favor and 1 abstention to approve the application.

During the meeting, conducted on Zoom, panelist Eric Rubin told listeners, Were never gonna learn about how safe the vaccine is until we start giving itThats just the way it goes. Thats how we found out about rare complications of other vaccines

Quote: "but we're never going to learn about how safe the vaccine is unless we start giving it. That's just the way it goes."



Doctor Eric Rubin MD, PhD, Infectious Disease Specialist, FDA Vaccine-Advisory Panel Member, New England Journal of Medicine Editor-in-Chief pic.twitter.com/vmSyGbzc1g  Nicholas (@Smitty0511) October 27, 2021

In Canada, on Oct. 21, federal agency Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) announced it had purchased 2.9 million doses of Pfizers pediatric injection to dose the 2,879,112 children aged 5 to 11 residing in the country in anticipation of a rubber stamping of Pfizers application.

Vaccinating children, however, is a popular prospect with Canadians. An Oct. 18 study by the Angus Reid Institute found that only 23 percent of respondents said they would spare their children from novel COVID vaccination.

Desaturation and clumping

A simple experiment conducted and broadcast by American scientist Dr. Richard Fleming and Japan-based scientist Kevin McCairn on Oct. 25 showed the effect of the Pfizer mRNA COVID vaccine when applied to human blood under the microscope.

Fleming and McCairn compared what McCairns blood looked like under the microscope by itself, what happened when normal saline solution was added, and what happened when the Pfizer vaccine was added.

The duo found that after the vaccine was dropped onto a slide of the scientists blood, it immediately began to discolor, indicating oxygen desaturation had occurred. Additionally, they recorded immediate and visible blood clotting.

In examining what the Pfizer vaccine looked like under the microscope, the pair also found the dose was littered with a variety of crystalline and fibrous structures, which Fleming described as garbage arising from a shoddy manufacturing process. The pair compared what the Pfizer injection looked like under the scope compared to how normal saline appeared, and the contrast was striking.
Join veteran journalist Hayde Adams on Straight Talk Africa every Wednesday as he and his guests discuss topics of special interest to Africans, including politics, economic development, press freedom, health, social issues and conflict resolution.
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Asia is finally starting to open up after many nations in the region imposed strict measures to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic.

From Thailand to South Korea to Cambodia, Asian governments are relaxing social distancing rules and in some cases are even starting to welcome foreigners.

The moves come as Asia, once a laggard in COVID-19 vaccinations, speeds up inoculations, helping drive back devastating summer outbreaks driven by the emergence of the more transmissible delta variant.

Asias reopening appears more gradual than that of Western countries such as the United States or Britain, where political leaders declared COVID-19 victory only to see cases spike once restrictions were eased.

In many Asian countries, officials warn the moves could be reversed if cases spike. In others, governments are conceding that it may be time to live with the virus.

Heres a rundown of how Asian-Pacific countries are attempting to emerge from the pandemic:

South Korea

One of the rare countries to avoid both major lockdowns and mass deaths, South Korea has used rapid COVID-19 testing and high-tech contact tracing to quickly extinguish outbreaks, causing only minimal disruptions to daily life.



After reaching its 70% vaccination target, South Korea this month began to open more fully. In Seoul, larger crowds can now gather and nighttime curfews have been lifted for many businesses.

Barring setbacks, all social distancing measures will be dropped at the end of February. However, its not clear when immigration restrictions will be eased. Currently, some business trips are allowed, but not tourism.

More details

Japan

Japan has mostly contained the virus while implementing only soft lockdowns.



However, during this summers Tokyo Olympics, the country saw its worst COVID-19 wave yet. That wave has now subsided.

With over 70% of its population fully vaccinated, Japan has lifted its semi-lockdowns and now allows larger crowds at sporting events and concerts.

Japan will soon loosen rules for foreign visitors, starting with short-term business travelers who will now only be required to do a three-day quarantine. Tourism is still not allowed.

More details

Thailand

Strict curfews, public gathering restrictions, and a border lockdown successfully contained COVID-19 in Thailand until June, when cases spiked.

While the outbreak is down from its peak, Thailand is still reporting about 10,000 new cases per day. In many areas, tight social distancing remains, including restrictions on the sale of alcohol.



However, starting this month, vaccinated tourists from more than 60 countries can visit parts of Thailand without quarantines, in an effort to revive the countrys crucial tourism sector.



Vaccinations have also picked up, but only 44% of the population is fully vaccinated.

More details

Taiwan

One of the world's COVID-19 standouts, Taiwan has allowed its citizens to live an almost completely normal life while preventing any major outbreaks.



Taiwan had recorded only 12 COVID-19 deaths until May of this year, when it saw its biggest outbreak yet. However, that wave was quickly suppressed, thanks to temporarily enhanced social distancing and rigorous contact tracing.



Only about a third of Taiwanese have been fully vaccinated. But officials have hinted that quarantine requirements for both foreign visitors and returning Taiwanese may be loosened starting around February.

More details

Indonesia

Indonesia was spared the worst of the pandemic until June, when the country saw one of Asias most devastating COVID-19 outbreaks. While cases have since plummeted, only less than a third of Indonesians are fully vaccinated.

Officials say the vaccination rate is much higher in the tourist haven of Bali, which this month started accepting vaccinated visitors from 19 countries. However, the mandatory 5-day hotel quarantine appears to be deterring many tourists away so far.

Elsewhere in the country, stricter social distancing guidelines remain in place.

More details: https://www.indonesia.travel/gb/en/coronavirus

Malaysia

Malaysia's Delta-driven summer outbreak has receded, thanks in part to a successful vaccine drive. More than 75% of the population is now fully vaccinated, allowing its most intense lockdown measures to be ease.



Fully vaccinated Malaysians can now cross state borders and travel internationally, although they must quarantine for 14 days when they return from overseas. Mask-wearing and other social distancing guidelines are still enforced.

Reports suggest international tourists will start to be welcomed back to the tourist haven of Langkawi as part of a pilot project starting this month.

More details

Cambodia

Like many other Asian countries, Cambodia managed to contain COVID-19 until earlier this year, when it experienced its largest outbreak.

It suppressed that wave using severe lockdowns which prevented individuals from leaving their homes.



Although Cambodia is one of Asias poorest countries, it now has one of the region's highest vaccination rates.

The country recently declared it is ready to live with the disease. Starting in late November, Cambodia will welcome vaccinated foreign tourists to three popular beach destinations. Tourists will not be quarantined, but will be required to stay in their initial destinations for at least five days.

More details

Singapore

For most of the pandemic, Singapore pursued a zero-COVID strategy. It officially abandoned that approach in June.

Once restrictions were eased, daily cases quickly spiked from double digits to nearly 4,000, prompting the tiny city-state to reimpose some social distancing rules. However, the countrys 80% fully vaccinated rate has helped keep the death rate low.

Singapore currently welcomes vaccinated foreign visitors, including tourists, from an expanding list of countries that now stands at 12.

More details: https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/

Australia

Australia enjoys one of the world's lowest COVID-19 death rates per capita. It accomplished this by quickly sealing its borders and employing strict lockdowns.

However, parts of the country have begun opening. Sydney, the countrys largest city, this month will allow vaccinated residents to host unlimited numbers of people at their homes.

Vaccinated Australians can now travel overseas without needing a quarantine exemption.

But with cases still near an all-time high following a surge earlier this year, many regions still enforce tough social distancing.

Foreigners are still unable to visit.

More details

New Zealand

Until the onset of the Delta variant, New Zealand had employed a zero-COVID strategy, with much success. However, it recently announced it would instead rely on vaccinations to contain the disease.

Even as New Zealand continues to set record highs in daily infections, its overall effort is impressive. The country has recorded just 28 COVID-19 deaths. About 65% of the country is fully vaccinated.

Though it has abandoned its COVID-19 elimination strategy, strict social distancing continues. At times, entire regions are sealed off to isolate specific outbreaks.

Almost no foreign visitors are currently allowed.

More details

Philippines

Citizens in the Philippines have suffered through some of the worlds longest and most stringently enforced lockdowns.

However, officials began loosening those measures in June, apparently in an attempt to shore up a quickly shrinking economy.

Shortly after, the country saw one of Southeast Asias worst COVID-19 outbreaks.

Only about a fifth of the country has been fully vaccinated. Officials are prioritizing the vaccination of tourism workers, in hopes of soon welcoming back foreign visitors, who will be taken straight to vacation destinations without quarantines.

More details

Vietnam

Vietnam had effectively prevented the coronavirus from spreading until July. Since then, virtually all of the countrys 22,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported.

Although only about a quarter of Vietnamese are fully vaccinated, the Delta-driven outbreak has slowed. As infections decline, cities including Ho Chi Minh have loosened their curfews and lockdowns.



Although strict social distancing remains, Vietnam is shifting toward living with the virus. Authorities recently announced that vaccinated foreign tourists can visit five popular destinations without quarantines starting this month.

More details

North Korea

North Korea shut its borders to international trade and visitors in January 2020, before the coronavirus was on the radar of much of the rest of the world. It still insists it has found no COVID-19 infections, although experts widely question that assertion.

Though its trade with China recently picked up, North Koreas broader lockdown may last a while. The country has refused multiple international offers of vaccines. Leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly stressed the long-term nature of the pandemic. Last month, the U.N. special rapporteur on North Korean human rights said the countrys extreme isolation could crystalize and become the new norm."

Hong Kong

Hong Kong, a densely packed territory of over 7 million people, has contained the virus in large part because of its entry quarantine, which is among the worlds strictest. Last month, Hong Kong announced the policy would get even stricter.

For most of the pandemic, arrivals had to undergo a 14-21-day quarantine. However, diplomats, business leaders, and others were able to get exemptions. Those exemptions will now end, as the territory aligns its policy more with mainland China.

Strict social distancing rules, including bans on most public gatherings, are also still enforced. About 60% of Hong Kongers are fully vaccinated.

More details

China

Though much of the rest of Asia is reopening, thats not the case in China, which still employs a zero-COVID strategy.



Nearly two years after the first COVID-19 case was detected in China, the country continues to lock down large areas in response to what many other countries would consider small outbreaks.

Though around three-quarters of the population have been fully vaccinated, Chinese officials insist their approach will not change until the vaccination rate goes higher.

Most foreign visitors remain banned.

More details

Laos

Unlike many of its neighbors in Southeast Asia, Laos recently extended its lockdown measures, in an attempt to slow a growing outbreak.

In many parts of the country, meetings and gatherings of any kind remain prohibited. Travel between provinces is also forbidden in many areas.

Only about 40% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

More details

Papua New Guinea

Though it is unnoticed by much of the rest of the world, this island nation of 9 million is suffering its worst COVID-19 outbreak yet.

Reports suggest many hospitals and morgues are filling up, threatening to overwhelm an already fragile healthcare system.

Although only less than 400 COVID-19 deaths have been reported, there are concerns the figure could be much higher, due to a lack of COVID-19 testing.

Only about 1% of the country has been vaccinated, due in large part to vaccine skepticism, logistical challenges, and supply issues, experts suggest.

More details
Industry statistics appear to show that lobster producers in Australia are selling millions of dollars worth of the crustaceans to China despite Beijings unofficial trade restrictions. Experts say fishing companies are taking advantage of so-called gray channels.

In November, China imposed what experts said was an unofficial ban on Australian lobster imports. The trade was worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

China had been buying more than 90% of lobsters exported from Australia.

However, figures released by the organization representing a major Australian lobster producer have shown a sharp rise in exports due to what is known as gray trade. The term refers to the selling of goods through indirect and unofficial channels.

The Western Rock Lobster Council, an organization that represents the lobster industry in Western Australia, has reported that exports from Western Australia to Hong Kong rose from very low levels in October 2020 to more than 300 metric tons in March 2021. Experts believe the consignments were almost certainly shipped to and sold in mainland China.

Restrictions on Australian lobster exports to China are part of the simmering trade dispute between the two countries, which has also affected shipments of Australian coal, wine, barley and other commodities. China has imposed restrictions and tariffs on these goods.

Jeffrey Wilson is an international commerce expert at the Perth USAsia Centre, a research think-tank. He says the gray trade in lobsters would be mainly controlled by importers in China, who are keen on circumventing Chinese government restrictions.

The reason that you are getting a gray trade happening in lobsters and not in coal and not in barley is it reflects it is one area where there was almost complete mutual interdependence. Australia completely relied on China for the market for lobsters, and China completely relied on Australia for the supply of them, Wilson said.

Wilson says unlike goods traded in the so-called black market operating in the shadows which might have some aspect of illegality, gray market sales may operate outside official channels but dont break the law.

This is not illegal is the first thing to say. So, that is probably the reason it is not a black market, because there is nothing illegal about sending lobsters to Hong Kong, Wilson said.

There has been no official comment from the Australian government or the Western Rock Lobster Council.

China is Australias biggest trading partner. The important commercial relationship has been destabilized in recent years due to various geopolitical disputes. Australias call last year for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19, which was first detected in China, infuriated Beijing. Also, Canberras increasingly close military ties with the United States have angered Chinese authorities.
Boston voters, marking a key milestone in the city's long political history, for the first time elected a woman and an Asian American as mayor on Tuesday, tapping City Councilor Michelle Wu to serve in the city's top political office.

Wu's victory marks a turning point for the city. Boston had only elected white men as mayor before her.

"One of my sons asked me the other night if boys can be elected mayor of Boston," Wu told supporters. "They have been, and they will again someday, but not tonight."

The choice of Wu over fellow Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George is just the latest marker of how much the Boston of not-so-long-ago  known for its ethnic neighborhoods, glad-handing politicians and mayors with Irish surnames  is giving way to a new Boston.

Wu won't have much time to revel in her win. She will be sworn in on Nov. 16.

"We are ready to meet this moment. We are ready to become a Boston for everyone. We're ready to be a Boston that doesn't push people out, but welcomes all who call our city home," Wu said.

Just before Wu spoke, Essaibi George conceded the race.

"I want to offer a great big congratulations to Michelle Wu. She is the first woman, the first person of color and, as an Asian American, the first elected to be mayor of Boston," Essaibi George told her supporters. "I know this is no small feat."

Wu had racked up a series of high-profile endorsements, including support from acting Mayor Kim Janey, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a former Boston city councilor and member of the ``Squad'' in Congress.

The election marks a pivotal moment for Boston, which has wrestled with racial strife throughout its history. Tensions spilled over into violence in the 1970s, when court-ordered desegregation of the city's public schools led to the busing of Black students to predominantly white schools and white students to mostly Black schools.

Each of the five main mayoral candidates  all Democrats  had identified as a person of color.

The 36-year-old Wu, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan, grew up in Chicago and moved to Boston to attend Harvard University and Harvard Law School.

Essaibi George, 47, a lifelong Boston resident and former public school teacher, describes herself as a first-generation Arab-Polish American. Her father was a Muslim immigrant from Tunisia. Her mother, a Catholic, immigrated from Poland.

With her victory in hand, it's now up to Wu to try to make good on some of her sweeping proposals.

Two of Wu's most ambitious pledges focus on housing and public transportation, familiar themes for the city's 675,000 residents.

To help push back against soaring housing costs that have forced some former residents out of the city, Wu has promised to pursue rent stabilization or rent control. The biggest hurdle to that proposal is the fact that Massachusetts voters narrowly approved a 1994 ballot question banning rent control statewide.

Another of Wu's top campaign promises is to create a "fare free" public transit system. Wu has said the proposal would strengthen the city's economy, address climate change and help those who take the bus or subway to school or work.

Like the rent control pledge, Wu can't as mayor unilaterally do away with fares on the public transit system, which is under the control of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Wu said she would try to work with partners in state government to make each proposal a reality.

"We don't have to choose between generational change and keeping the streetlights on, between tackling big problems with bold solutions and filling our potholes," she said.

Other challenges that Wu will have to grapple with as mayor include public education, policing, the city's ongoing struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the long-term effects of climate change on the coastal metropolis.

The election was also a test of whether voters in a city long dominated by parochial neighborhood politics was ready to tap someone like Wu not born and raised in the city.

Wu was first elected in 2013 at age 28, becoming the first Asian American woman to serve on the council. In 2016, she became the first woman of color to serve as president. Essaibi George was first elected to the council in 2015.

The election reflects an increasingly diverse Boston.

The latest U.S. Census statistics show Boston residents who identify as white make up 44.6% of the population compared to Black residents (19.1%), Latino residents (18.7%) and residents of Asian descent (11.2%).

The city's previous elected mayor  Democrat Marty Walsh  stepped down earlier this year to become U.S. secretary of labor under President Joe Biden. Walsh was replaced on an acting basis by Janey, sworn in March 24 as Boston's first female and first Black mayor.
A Pentagon report warns that Chinas rapidly growing nuclear arsenal is expanding at a much faster pace than estimated just a year ago, while a new Chinese military modernization goal could provide Beijing with more credible military operations in Taiwan.

The accelerating speed of Chinas nuclear expansion may enable Beijing to have up to 700 deliverable nuclear warheads by 2027, with Beijings intended goal of obtaining at least 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, according to the Pentagons annual China Military Power report to Congress that was released Wednesday.

The pace vastly exceeds what was estimated in the Pentagons 2020 report, which said Chinas nuclear arsenal was slightly more than 200 and was expected to double by the end of the decade.

The United States nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 3,800 warheads in active status, would still dwarf the Chinese arsenal.

The Pentagon report was based on information about Chinas military capabilities that was collected through December 2020. It does not include information about Chinas hypersonic weapon tests conducted last summer that the top U.S. military officer recently said has all of our attention.

Meanwhile, the report says that China has added a new milestone for modernization in 2027 in order to accelerate the integrated development of its armed forces.

According to a senior defense official, the Chinese militarys 2027 aspirations will allow the force to better network its capabilities in ways that could deter or compel Taiwan to abandon moves toward independence while also delaying or countering any potential third-party intervention from the U.S. and other Taiwanese allies.



We're obviously concerned about their efforts to develop their capabilities for 2027 and watching that very closely, the official said, adding that the future goal does not diminish current concerns the Pentagon has right now about Chinas pressure campaign on Taiwan since 2016.

During that time Beijing has ramped up its public statements pushing for the reunification with Taiwan, increasing tensions with Taipeis elected leaders who want to keep the island as a self-governing entity.

Chinas modernization and expansion of its nuclear force is part of a broader effort aimed at matching, and in some cases surpassing, the United States military by 2049 as the dominant power in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the report.

Speaking in Washington Wednesday at an event hosted by the Aspen Institute, the top U.S. military officer said Chinas military modernization was part of a fundamental change in the character of modern warfare.

"We're witnessing one of the largest shifts in global geostrategic power, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said, warning that the U.S. military must keep pace in robotics, artificial intelligence, precision munitions and a wide variety of other technology.

"If we, the United States military, don't do a fundamental change to ourselves in the coming 10, 15, 20 years, then we're going to be on the wrong side of a conflict," he added.

VOA's Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
China and Russia are set to introduce a joint resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to a host of economic sanctions on North Korea.

Among the sanctions the two countries want lifted are a ban on North Koreans working overseas and sending home their earnings, exporting seafood and textiles and ending a cap on imports of refined petroleum.

The draft resolution, obtained separately by the Associated Press and Reuters, urges the 15-member Security Council to remove the sanctions with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population of North Korea.

The U.N. first imposed sanctions on North Korea in 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which have grown even stronger with each test Pyongyang carries out in defiance of the international community and in spite of its worsening economic situation.

The draft resolution says lifting the sanctions underscores the necessity to respect the legitimate security concerns of the DPRK, and ensure the welfare, inherent dignity, and rights of people in the DPRK.

The resolution expands on one circulated by China and Russia in 2019 that was never introduced due to opposition by the United States and other Western nations.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
CIA Director William Burns is making a rare visit to Moscow to discuss U.S.-Russia relations, the latest in a series of high-level contacts that show both sides want to keep talking despite mutual distrust and a long list of disputes.

A U.S. Embassy spokesperson said Burns was leading a delegation of senior U.S. officials to Moscow on Tuesday and Wednesday at President Joe Biden's request.

"They are meeting with members of the Russian government to discuss a range of issues in the bilateral relationship," the spokesperson said.

Russia's Security Council said Burns, a Russian-speaker and former ambassador to Moscow, held talks with Nikolai Patrushev, the council's secretary and a former head of Russia's FSB intelligence service.

Neither side gave details of the conversation, but security issues loom large in their troubled relationship.

Ties have hit a series of post-Cold War lows over issues including Russian-based cyberattacks against U.S. targets, Moscow's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the jailing of opposition politician Alexey Navalny and Russia's behavior toward Ukraine, from which it seized the Crimea Peninsula in 2014.

Biden sent a top Russia expert, Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, to Moscow for talks last month that failed to yield any progress in a dispute between the two countries over the sizes of their respective embassies.

Biden met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Geneva in June, and said at the time it would take six months to a year to find out whether the two countries could establish a meaningful strategic dialog.

Putin frequently criticizes the United States but said last month he had established a constructive relationship with Biden. The Kremlin has said a further meeting between the two this year is a realistic possibility.
African nations at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, have criticized rich countries for failing to meet their promise of giving billions of dollars to help them cope with climate change.

The worlds wealthiest nations  the G-20  account for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. However, scientists say poorer countries, particularly in Africa, are suffering the worst effects of climate change.

Rich nations pledged in 2009 to give developing countries $100 billion a year to help them deal with climate change, but the target date was pushed back to 2023 at the beginning of the COP26 summit.

Speaking at the conference Tuesday, African leaders voiced their anger. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the president of Ghana, said Africans were naturally disappointed.

WATCH: African nations call on the rich to fulfill promise

Those same nations are, however, insisting that we abandon the opportunity for rapid development of our economies. That would be tantamount to enshrining in the global community inequality of the highest order, Akufo-Addo told delegates.

Surangel Whipps Jr., president of the Pacific island state of Palau, was equally scathing.

Frankly speaking, there is no dignity to a slow and painful death, he said. You might as well bomb our islands instead of making us suffer, only to witness our slow and fateful demise. Leaders of the G-20, we are drowning, and our only hope is the life ring you are holding.

Their appeals failed to shift the timetable. But the frustration was tempered by progress on other vital climate emergencies.

More than 100 world leaders agreed to end deforestation by 2030, backed by close to $20 billion in public and private funding. They include Brazils president, who is not attending the summit. He addressed delegates by video link.

We are committed to eliminating illegal deforestation by 2030. I call on every country to help defend all forests, including with adequate resources for the benefit for all, he said.

Deforestation has increased in the Amazon under Bolsonaro to its highest level in a decade. Chief Ninawa, a Brazilian Indigenous leader attending the COP26 summit, was skeptical of Bolsonaros pledge.

It won't solve the social problems in our communities, where there is no water, where there is deforestation, where there is river contamination. These are investments that will only give free rein to companies to keep their polluting, Ninawa told Reuters.

More than 100 countries also signed a U.S.-European led Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions by 30% by 2030. Methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in driving global warming, said Steve Hamburg, chief scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Its incredibly important progress in addressing the climate crisis because we can now think about methane emissions separately from CO2. And recognizing that reduction of methane represents an enormous lever for making progress in reducing the rate of warming, Hamburg told VOA at the summit.

China and Russia  two of the worlds biggest methane emitters  did not sign the methane pledge.

The absence of the Chinese, Russian and Brazilian presidents has led to questions about how effective the summit will be in curbing global warming. The host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said Tuesday he was cautiously optimistic.

While there may be no big breakthrough on reducing overall emissions at COP26, organizers say the smaller, targeted agreements on protecting rainforests, cutting methane and helping vulnerable island states add up to significant progress in tackling climate change.

World leaders have returned home. Their teams of negotiators will now decide the fate of the summit  and, many scientists say, the future of planet Earth.
In Lagos, Nigeria, the death toll from the collapse of a building Monday has risen to 22 as rescuers continue digging through the rubble in a search for survivors. Experts say the collapse was likely the result of poor construction and weak oversight, and are worried that such catastrophes could happen again.

The search for survivors continued Wednesday at the site of the building collapse in Ikoyi, an upper-class area of Lagos state.

So far, nine survivors have been pulled out of the rubble and taken to hospitals. Scores more are reported missing.

Search teams have found 22 bodies.

On Tuesday, Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwolu visited the site and later suspended the state's building control head. Lagos state also launched an independent investigation into the collapse.

But Festus Adebayo, founder of the Housing Development Advocacy Network, who visited the site, said authorities have been careless.

"We are careless, we're just careless. We have recommended, the building code is there and we have said 21 years jail term, but nobody has been jailed it has all been media hype, noise, noise, noise," said Adebayo.

Lagos authorities halted the construction of the building in June for not meeting standard structural requirements.

The local president of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, David Majekodunmi, said the institute doesn't know if the problem was fixed before the workers were asked to return to the site.

"You seal up a site, definitely there are processes that you need to do before the site can be opened. We can't tell now whether the process went through," he said.

Lagos authorities say they are assessing the possible impact of the collapse on nearby structures.

Building collapses, unfortunately, are not uncommon in Lagos state, which has a population of 21 million people and thousands of high-rise structures.

Adebayo said these catastrophes are not good for investment or business.

"How do you think the whole world will see us? What's the impression they'll be having about our professionals? You'll discover that a lot of people will not be going for high rise buildings," said Adebayo.

On Tuesday, rescuers received several phone calls from people trapped under the debris. No new calls came on Wednesday, and experts say that as the days go by, the chances of survival for trapped victims are getting slimmer.
Spain faces a fresh energy crisis after Algeria shut off supplies of natural gas through one of the two pipelines linking Spain with the North African state.

Like many other European countries, Spain has been hit hard by soaring electricity prices in recent months.

A surge in demand as the worlds economies began to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic has not been matched by supply, sending prices climbing.

Households have been hit by electricity prices which rose more than 40% in the past year, prompting the Spanish government to bring in emergency measures to reduce bills.

Now the fresh crisis over natural gas supplies from their North African neighbors has added to tensions in the energy market for Spain.

Algeria closed a land pipeline Sunday after a diplomatic dispute with its neighbor Morocco, through which the pipeline passes.

Algiers agreed to keep open a second pipeline which passes under the Mediterranean to Spain, but this does not supply as much natural gas as the land pipeline through Morocco.

Without any natural energy source except the burgeoning renewables market, Spain depends on Algeria for its natural gas supply.

Spains geographic isolation in western Europe and lack of any domestic source of energy has left it especially vulnerable.

The Spanish media have reported that the country could face possible blackouts because of energy shortages.

El Pais, a Spanish-language daily newspaper, reported Tuesday that Spain would have to deliver liquified natural gas, or LNG, supplies by ship which could prove costly as other countries are competing for the same supplies because of a world shortage of the energy source.

Spains government sought to cool fears over a possible energy shortage.

During an interview Tuesday on state broadcaster TVE, Spains environment minister, Teresa Ribera, said the country has accumulated natural gas reserves equivalent to 43 days of consumption.

She added that Algeria agreed to supply more gas to Spain if the latter needed it.

Enagas, a Spanish company which owns and operates the countrys energy grid and is one of the biggest LNG transporters in western Europe, said in a statement, There are no objective signs of a situation of lack of gas supplies in the coming months.

Algeria said it was planning to stop shipments through the Gaz-Maghreb-Europe pipeline which traverses Morocco and carries about 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year.

Algiers took this step after cutting diplomatic ties with Morocco in August and accusing its leadership of taking hostile actions. Algeria further accused Morocco of aiding the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie, a regional nationalist movement in Algeria, of starting a series of fires which ravaged the country, an accusation which Morocco denied.

Algerias decision to shut off a pipeline comes as natural gas prices have soared in recent months across Europe because of a shortage of supplies from Russia, pushing up electricity bills for consumers.

Spain hopes that it can weather the storm by using deliveries of natural gas from the Medgaz pipeline which passes under the Mediterranean directly from Algeria to Spain.

This line carries about eight billion cubic meters per year of gas but planned works could see its capacity rise to 10.5 billion cubic meters per year by January.

Algeria also proposes increasing LNG deliveries by sea.

Analysts said that events in North Africa did not help a difficult situation in the world energy market as supplies to Europe were restricted by Russia, the continents most important supplier of natural gas.

The most important factor is Russia because it is restricting supply. Demand is going up because economies are recuperating but supply is not rising because the primary supplier for Europe is Russia, Massimo Maoret, associate professor of strategic management at IESE business school in Madrid, told VOA.

On top of that you have the situation in Algeria which is creating more uncertainty. Algeria has promised that supply will be ensured. It is an additional strain on dynamics which are building on global tensions.

Political pressure has mounted on the Spanish government after electricity prices for consumers rose 44% over the past year, according to data from the National Institute for Statistics.

Professor Maoret said a harsh winter may exacerbate problems if demand increases.

Jorge Sanz, an analyst at Nera Economic Consulting, said supply was not in doubt so government reassurances were well founded. He did say prices may rise and could possibly affect consumers.

The Medgaz pipeline will be expanded by New Year to ensure it carries 10.5 bcm (billion cubic meters), the same as the line which passes through Morocco. It is a temporary shortfall which can be covered by reserves, he told VOA.

However, what is in doubt is the price of natural gas which could go up  or it could go down  and this could be passed onto the electricity prices for consumers.

Some information for this report comes from Reuters.
The findings of the only human rights investigation allowed in Ethiopia's blockaded Tigray region will be released Wednesday, a year after war began there. But people with knowledge of the probe say it has been limited by authorities who recently expelled a United Nations staffer helping to lead it.

And yet, with groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International barred from Tigray, along with foreign media, the report may be the world's only official source of information on atrocities in the war, which began in November 2020 after a political falling-out between the Tigray forces that long dominated the national government and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's current government. The conflict has been marked by gang rapes, mass expulsions, deliberate starvation and thousands of deaths.

The joint investigation by the U.N. human rights office and the government-created Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, or EHRC, is a rare collaboration that immediately raised concerns among ethnic Tigrayans, human rights groups and other observers about impartiality and government influence.

In response to questions from The Associated Press, the U.N. human rights office in Geneva said it wouldn't have been able to enter Tigray without the partnership with the rights commission. Although past joint investigations occurred in Afghanistan and Uganda, the U.N. said, "the current one is unique in terms of magnitude and context."

Report 'automatically suspect'

But Ethiopia's government has given no basis for expelling U.N. human rights officer Sonny Onyegbula last month, the U.N. added, and without an explanation "we cannot accept the allegation that our staff member ... was 'meddling in the internal affairs' of Ethiopia."

Because of those circumstances, and the fact that the U.N. left the investigation to its less experienced regional office in Ethiopia, the new report is "automatically suspect," said David Crane, founder of the Global Accountability Network and founding chief prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, an international tribunal.

"What you need when you go into an atrocity zone is a clean slate so outside investigators can look into it neutrally, dispassionately," Crane said. "You want to do these things where you don't build doubt, distrust from the beginning," including among people interviewed.

The investigation might be the international community's only chance to collect facts on the ground, he said, but because of its setup, it may disappear "in the sands of time."

People close to the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, asserted that the head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Daniel Bekele, underplayed some allegations that fighters from the country's Amhara region were responsible for abuses in Tigray and pressed instead to highlight abuses by Tigray forces.

That's even though witnesses have said the perpetrators of most abuses were soldiers from neighboring Eritrea, Ethiopian forces and Amhara regional forces.

In response to AP's questions, Bekele asserted his commission's independence, saying it is "primarily accountable to the people it is created to serve." Attempts to influence the investigation, he added, can come from "many directions" in such a polarized environment.

Bekele said he and the commission have consistently cited "serious indications that all parties involved in the conflict have committed atrocities."

Observers note shortcomings

Observers say a major shortcoming of the investigation is its failure to visit the scene of many alleged massacres in Tigray, including the deadliest known one in the city of Axum, where witnesses told the AP that several hundred people were killed.

Bekele said the investigation lacked the support of the Tigray authorities now administering the region after Tigray forces retook much of the area in June, about midway through the joint team's work.

The U.N. human rights office, however, said the government's subsequent severing of flights and communications from Tigray during the planned investigation period made it difficult to access key locations, both "logistically and from a security point of view."

Even the interim Tigray authorities hand-picked by Ethiopia's government to run the region earlier in the war rejected the joint investigation, its former chief of staff, Gebremeskel Kassa, told the AP.

"We informed the international community we wanted an investigation into human rights but not with the EHRC, because we believe this is a tool of the government," he said.

The U.N. has said Ethiopia's government had no say in the report's publication, though it was given the chance to read the report in advance and to point out "anything it believes to be incorrect."

Separate investigations

Late last week, Ethiopia's government and a diaspora group released the results of their own investigations focusing on alleged abuses by Tigray forces after they had entered the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar four months ago in what they called an effort to pressure the government to end its blockade on Tigray.

The Ministry of Justice said it found 483 noncombatants were killed and 109 raped in parts of Amhara and Afar that had been recaptured by federal forces in recent weeks. It also found "widespread and systematic looting" of schools, clinics, churches, mosques and aid groups' offices.

A separate report by the Amhara Association of America said it found that 112 people had been raped in several districts covered by the ministry's findings. The diaspora group drew on data from offices of women's and children's affairs as well as interviews with witnesses, doctors and officials.

The diaspora group asserted that the Tigray forces "committed the rapes as revenge against ethnic Amharas, whom they blame as responsible for abuses in their home region."

The spokesman for the Tigray forces, Getachew Reda, said the allegations aren't worth "the paper they're written on." Accusations of rapes and killings by Tigray forces are "absolutely untrue, at least on a level these organizations are alleging," he said.
As fear grew in Kashmir after 13 civilians were killed in October, life has slowed, especially the work on infrastructure projects. Undeterred by the recent deaths of civilians and migrant workers, however, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has signed a pact with the Dubai government for the development of various projects across the region.

Indias minister for commerce and industry, Piyush Goyal, in a recent statement said that by signing the Memorandum of Understanding with the Dubai government, Jammu and Kashmir has demonstrated the pace at which it is progressing on the development track.

"This MoU gives out a strong signal to the entire world about the way India is transforming into a global power  Jammu & Kashmir is having a significant role into that as well," Goyal said in a written statement.

According to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration, Dubai will create infrastructure in the conflict-hit region of Kashmir that would include industrial parks, IT towers, multipurpose building, logistics centers, a medical college, and a specialist hospital.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the chairman and CEO of DP World, Dubai, has said, "We are dedicated to bridging the gap between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India. We know how to do it and how to overcome the challenges."

Though the details of the agreement were not disclosed, Sulayem has stated that his company's investments will be part of the Modi government's Made in India drive.

This will be the first investment arrangement with UAE, particularly after the Indian government unilaterally scrapped Kashmir's semi-special status in August 2019.

The timing of the investment and MoU has surprised many in Kashmir. Tariq Rashid Ghani, secretary-general of Hoteliers Club, sees the signing of a pact between the two governments as a positive development.

"Not only will it give an upliftment to the infrastructure, but it will boost inflow of international tourism to the region," Ghani told VOA.

According to the data released by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy  an independent think tank and business information company  the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir has risen from more than 13 percent in August to 21.6 percent in September.

Amid the backdrop of a high unemployment rate, Ghani stressed the need to engage locals in these developmental projects in order to drive employment opportunities for the local youth.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Finance Department, 9,514 physical projects were completed at a cost of about $520 million in 2020-21.

Mehraj Gulzar, former chairman at the Information and Communications Technology Association, said, "I view this as more of a political statement than an economic one. The local economy is shattered, and creating infrastructure without an ecosystem will be of no use for local entrepreneurs. How much it can help to improve our economy will be interesting to watch out for.

"As far as the conflict is concerned," Gulzar added, "I think UAE signing an MoU with the government of India for investment in Kashmir legitimizes the Indian stand on Kashmir, which is a big win for India and indicates the opinions of international community, as well as the Islamic world toward the Kashmir conflict."

After 11 years, Go First, a low-cost Indian air carrier, became the first to resume direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah. Union Home Minister of India Amit Shah celebrated the first Srinagar-Sharjah international flight on October 23 in the presence of the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha. Air India Express launched a once-weekly service from Srinagar to Dubai in February 2009, but that was discontinued because of low demand.

A local entrepreneur who has ventured into infrastructure development, Irfan Mushtaq, told VOA there are two parallel things that have recently emerged: direct flights to UAE and the pact between Dubai and Kashmir.

"It will provide some impetus for the local economy along with employment generation. However, the sustenance of such initiatives is an immense challenge in Kashmir," Mushtaq said.

Latif A Bhat, president of Kashmir's Chamber of Commerce & Industries, told VOA this part of the world has been disturbed for a long time and these types of MoUs may be based more on politics rather than actual growth opportunities. He noted that genuine investors normally avoid disturbed areas because it's so hard to turn a profit. The most important industry for this area could be development of medical tourism by local investors.

"Our experience is that normal industry has mostly turned sick in the valley, being a cut-off area and no electricity available to run such industry here. Natural beauty is available in abundance, which needs to be preserved and developed keeping in view the ecology of the valley. The only industry that can provide employment and energy to the economy can be tourism, which has suffered during the period of turmoil," Bhat said.

India is looking for greater trade relations to help restore its economy, especially after a fatal second wave of the virus earlier this year. Before the outbreak, the country was the UAE's second-largest commercial partner, with roughly $40 billion in non-oil commerce.

On a recent visit to New Delhi for meetings with Indian Commerce Minister Goyal, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi, said the two governments are set to begin talks on an economic partnership aimed at stimulating commerce, investment and jobs.

Bilateral trade could reach $100 billion in five years after the treaty is signed, according to the UAE, and Goyal indicated that figure could be reached.

The government of India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry did not respond to VOA's email requesting comment.

Last week, the India-UAE-Israel Economic Summit was jointly organized by India and Israel to discuss prospects for collaboration on trilateral initiatives. The summit, which drew more than 250 attendees from those three nations, including prominent business executives, government officials, and specialists, examined strategies to maximize trilateral trade and investment opportunities.

The event, according to Aman Puri, India's consul general in Dubai, provided significant impetus for collaboration in both the public and private sectors for the three countries.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the affiliation of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal; he is with the Indian central government.
Russian special services have charged former journalist Ivan Safronov with selling information on Russian military operations in Syria for $248 to a political analyst who they say then passed it to German intelligence, Safronov's lawyer said.

In a rare glimpse into the classified investigation against Safronov, lawyer Ivan Pavlov said the Syria-related charge had been added to the case against him for state treason, which his supporters say is part of a campaign to intimidate journalists.

Pavlov said the charge states that Safronov sold the information in 2015 to political analyst Demuri Voronin, who in turn passed it to Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency and to a Swiss university.

"According to the charges, Voronin paid him compensation of $248," the lawyer wrote on social media, saying reporters in Russia could be accused of treason just for doing their job.

Safronov, a former defense reporter who later worked as an aide to the head of Russia's space agency, was arrested last year and faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. He denies wrongdoing.

Russian media reported on Monday that the investigation had been completed. The FSB intelligence service did not reply to a Reuters request for comment, while the BND declined to comment.

The main accusation against Safronov is that he passed military secrets to the Czech Republic in 2017 concerning Russian arms deliveries to the Middle East and Africa.

Nearly 100,000 people have signed an online petition accusing the authorities of cooking up fake proof of Safronov's guilt under the cover of state secrecy which surrounds the case, something the Kremlin has denied.

Pavlov, one of a team of lawyers defending Safronov, fledRussia and moved to Georgia in September after coming under criminal investigation for disclosing classified information about the case.

Political analyst Voronin, who holds Russian and German citizenship, was arrested in Moscow in February on treason charges. His lawyer Maria Orlova denied these were linked to Safronov's case, telling Reuters that Voronin did not admit guilt and refused to testify against himself.
A court in Myanmar on Wednesday rejected the bail application of Danny Fenster, an American journalist jailed for the past five months, and added a new charge against him, his lawyer said.

Fenster had been charged with incitement for allegedly spreading false or inflammatory information, an offense punishable by up to three years in prison. He is also charged with violating the Unlawful Associations Act for alleged links to illegal opposition groups, which carries a possible two-to-three-year prison term.

His lawyer, Than Zaw Aung, said a new charge of violating immigration law was added Wednesday, under a catch-all provision that calls for a prison term of six months to five years for violating visa conditions.

The court's actions come during a visit to Myanmar by Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He said he is on a mission to discuss humanitarian aid to strife-torn Myanmar with leaders of its military-installed government.

Myanmar has been mired in violence and civil unrest since the military seized power in February, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Protesters against the takeover who faced beatings, shootings and arrests have turned increasingly to armed resistance, and insurgents are active in many parts of the country.

Richardson's visit raised hopes that he might seek Fenster's release because he is known for his past efforts to gain the freedom of Americans detained in countries with which Washington has poor relations, such as North Korea.

The United States is highly critical of army rule in Myanmar and has instituted diplomatic and economic sanctions targeting its military leadership.

Fenster, managing editor of the online news magazine Frontier Myanmar, was detained at Yangon International Airport on May 24 as he was about to board a flight to go to the Detroit area in the United States to see his family. It is still unclear why he was arrested, though the charges involve his work at his previous employer, another online news service, which he left in the middle of last year.

His lawyer said his application for release on bail on the sedition charge was rejected Wednesday by the judge, who said it is not allowed under the law.

Than Zaw Aung also said he cross-examined seven prosecution witnesses on Wednesday for the incitement and unlawful association charges, including police and airport security personnel.

He did not provide details of their testimony.

The hearings at the court at Yangon's Insein Prison, where Fenster is jailed, are closed to the media and the public. The defense has not yet presented its case.

The judge ruled Wednesday that the court will hold sessions every weekday starting this Friday in order to expedite the trial, Than Zaw Aung said.
The Pentagon is slamming claims by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that IRGC forces thwarted an attempt by the United States to detain a tanker carrying the Islamic Republic's oil in the Sea of Oman.

"I've seen the Iranian claims. They are absolutely, totally false and untrue," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Wednesday.

Kirby said it was Iran's forces that illegally seized and boarded a merchant vessel in late October in the Sea of Oman. U.S. forces monitored the situation but "at no time attempted to retake" the vessel or engage with Iranian forces.

"Iran's actions  constitute a blatant violation of international law. It undermines the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce. The only seizing that was done was by Iran," Kirby added.

To support Iran's claims, Iranian state TV aired footage showing a red tanker surrounded by about 10 speedboats, according to Reuters.

'Unsafe interaction' in Strait of Hormuz

Meanwhile, a U.S. official told VOA that several drones, believed to be Iranian, flew in an "unsafe interaction" with the USS Essex in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation, told VOA the drones flew within about 1,500 meters of the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship.

Tensions have been high between Tehran and Washington amid stalled talks on reviving Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The deal lifted global sanctions in exchange for Tehran's curtailing its uranium enrichment program.

Former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018 and reimposed U.S. sanctions on Iran. Tehran then violated limits on uranium enrichment that had been established by the deal.
The U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Britain issued a joint statement Wednesday in support of a democratic and peaceful Sudan, where the civilian government was ousted on October 25 in a military coup.

We endorse the international communitys serious concern with the situation in Sudan. We call for the full and immediate restoration of its civilian-led transitional government and institutions, said the statement from QUAD for Sudan released by the U.S. State Department.

The countries called for the lifting of a state of emergency and an effective dialogue between all parties to help ensure that the peace and security for the people of Sudan is a top priority.

The military takeover occurred after weeks of escalating tensions between military and civilian leaders over Sudans transition to democracy. The coup threatened to derail the process, which had slowly progressed since the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising in 2019.

Sudanese military chief General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan said the armys overthrow of the countrys transitional government was necessary to avoid a civil war.

Anti-military demonstrations have been held since the coup. During protests Saturday, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said security forces fatally shot three protesters in the city of Omdurman and that 38 people were injured, some by gunfire.

U.S. Horn of Africa Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman said Tuesday that the Sudanese military exercised restraint during Saturdays anti-coup demonstrations and that the restraint raised the possibility of the countrys return to a power-sharing agreement.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Free press advocates are calling for accountability for perpetrators of crimes against media workers as they commemorated the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.

According to the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), an advocacy group working to advance media rights in the horn of the African nation, 12 journalists have been killed since February 2017, while more than 60 others were arrested from January to October 2021.

Most of the perpetrators have not been brought before the court to face charges.

SJS secretary-general Abdalla Mumin says the organization is worried about deteriorating relations between the media and the security agencies in particular.

The cooperation between the state security forces and the media in general is nonexistent in Somalia," Mumin said. "The Somali federal government in September last year announced [a] special prosecutor for the crimes against journalists, but this was only word of mouth, and nothing has been done to implement it in [a] tangible way.

Hanad Ali Guled, editor of the Mogadishu-based Goobjoog media network, survived an attack in July and said he still faces threats based on his work.

He said he was attacked heading home from work in Mogadishu by assailants he suspects are linked to the government agencies. He said he continues to receive constant threats from the group.

The director of communications at Somalias presidents office, Abdulkadir Hashi, said in a tweet that the government will continue to speak out against anyone who obstructs the work of press in the country.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists 2021 Global Impunity Index, Somalia has been the worlds worst country for unsolved killings of journalists for seven consecutive years.
South African writer Damon Galgut won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction on Wednesday with "The Promise," a novel about one white family's reckoning with South Africa's racist history.

Galgut had been British bookmakers' runaway favorite to win the 50,000-pound ($69,000) prize with his story of a troubled Afrikaner family and its broken promise to a Black employee  a tale that reflects bigger themes in South Africa's transition from apartheid.

Galgut took the prize on his third time as a finalist, for a book the judges called a tour de force. He was previously shortlisted for "The Good Doctor" in 2003 and "In a Strange Room" in 2010.

Despite his status as favorite, Galgut said he was stunned to win.

Galgut said he was accepting the prize "on behalf of all the stories told and untold, the writers heard and unheard, from the remarkable continent that I'm part of."

"Please keep listening to us  more to come," he added.

Historian Maya Jasanoff, who chaired the judging panel, said "The Promise" was a profound, forceful and succinct book that "combines an extraordinary story, rich themes  the history of the last 40 years in South Africa  in an incredibly well-wrought package."

Galgut's ninth novel traces members of the Swart family  the word is Afrikaans for black  haunted by an unkept promise to give their Black maid, Salome, her own house. The book is structured around a series of funerals over several decades; Galgut has said he wanted to make readers fill in the narrative gaps themselves.

He is the third South African novelist to win the Booker Prize, after Nadine Gordimer in 1974 and J.M. Coetzee, who won twice, in 1983 and 1999.

"The Promise" was selected over five other novels, including three by U.S. writers: Richard Powers' "Bewilderment," the story of an astrobiologist trying to care for his neurodivergent son; Patricia Lockwood's social media-steeped novel "No One is Talking About This"; and Maggie Shipstead's aviator saga "Great Circle."

The other finalists were Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam's aftermath-of-war story "A Passage North" and British/Somali writer Nadifa Mohamed's "The Fortune Men," about a Somali man falsely accused of murder in 1950s Wales.

Jasanoff said many of the shortlisted novels, including Galgut's, reflected on the relationship between past and present.

"This is a book that's very much about inheritance and legacy," she said of the winner. "It's about change over a period of decades. And I think it's a book that invites reflection over the decades and invites and repays rereading."

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers' careers and was originally open to British, Irish and Commonwealth writers. Eligibility was expanded in 2014 to all novels in English published in the U.K.

The judging panel winnowed their list from 158 novels submitted by publishers. Only one British writer, Mohamed, made the final six, a fact has renewed debate in the U.K. about whether the prize is becoming U.S.-dominated.

Last year there also was only one British writer on a U.S.-dominated list of finalists, Scotland's Douglas Stuart. He won the prize for "Shuggie Bain," a gritty and lyrical novel about a boy coming of age in hardscrabble 1980s Glasgow.

For a second year, the coronavirus pandemic has scuttled the prize's usual black-tie dinner ceremony at London's medieval Guildhall. The winner was announced in a ceremony broadcast live on BBC radio and television.


My granduncle  cousin of my grandfather  was a Catholic priest who was put in the labor camp when the communist regime barbarically tried to destroy all the monasteries, said Miriam Lexmann, one of dozens of legislators from around the world who gathered in Rome last weekend on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

Their message for the leaders of the worlds richest countries: Take a tougher stance toward the Chinese government, and stand up for those who are threatened by Beijings policies, from Xinjiang to Taiwan.

The so-called "counter-meeting was organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), comprising some 200 parliamentarians from countries as diverse as Italy, the Czech Republic, Canada, Belgium, Sweden, Uganda, Japan, India, Australia, Britain, Ireland, France and Switzerland.

For many of the European members who participated, the sense of urgency in standing up to China stems from bitter memories of communist repression within the now defunct Soviet Union.

Lexmann, a member of the European Parliament representing Slovakia, said that during the Soviet period, many of those considered dangerous to the regime in her country were taken away to labor camps.

Many died in those camps due to the horrible conditions there, she told VOA in a phone interview from Rome. My granduncle died in 1952, two years after he was taken away.

The granduncles brother was also a Catholic priest, and he was imprisoned for nine years for having taken part in a movement to let foreigners and countrymen alike know what was going on inside the Slovak region of what was then Czechoslovakia.

These two granduncles had died long before I was born, said Lexmann, who was born in 1972. But another member of the family, whom she did know as a child, was active in the underground church in Czechoslovakia.

He organized in 1988 the Candle Demonstration. People holding candles went to one of the main squares in Bratislava demanding that Czechoslovakia act in accordance with the international human rights treaty the countrys government had signed, she said.

Such memories, Lexmann said, gave her an understanding of what totalitarian regimes are about, as well as what people did to fight against them. All this has helped me see why its important to defend freedom of man, she said.

Memories of Soviet rule also helped motivate Dovile Sakaliene to fly to Rome from her home in Lithuania to take part in the IPAC gathering.

Lithuania has suffered badly under the Soviet communist regime, she said. Unfortunately, what the Chinese government is doing, on many levels, is worse.

Yes, neighbors were asked to spy on each other in the Soviet Union, she said. But nobody came to your house, sat on your sofa and stayed in your house 24-7 to watch how you feel after one of your family members was taken to the camp.

That, said the Lithuanian lawmaker, is what happens in Chinas northwestern Xinjiang region when members of the Uyghur Muslim population are incarcerated.

We must raise the question: Is this really going to stay within the borders of China? Are we all, in 20 or 30 years time, going to be living in the neighborhood grid-control system, spying on each other, reporting on each other?

This is not a rhetorical question, she continued, pointing out that China now has the technology and manpower to produce traumatized generation after generation  not just to have their private lives invaded, but their private lives deleted.

Sakaliene said Beijing seems set on not only using technology to control the population but constantly developing (new) technology to monitor human beings even more (closely).

The Chinese government has repeatedly defended its policies in Xinjiang, maintaining that what the West describes as detention camps are in fact training facilities where Uyghurs are provided with new skills.

But for Pavel Fischer, Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chair in the Czech Republic, What we see happening in China is exactly what happened to us during the Soviet times, as my parents would say.

Fischer, who spoke to VOA from Prague, also journeyed to Rome to participate in the IPAC bid to raise awareness about what is happening in China and the impact that Chinas political system could have on the rest of the world.

It is our duty to share our experiences of life under communism, said Fischer, 56, who served for eight years as an aide to Vaclav Havel, the Czech dissident and playwright who became the countrys first democratically elected president.

To Fischer, Lexmann, Sakaliene and the others who gathered in Rome last week, that duty includes showing support for Taiwan.

Joseph Wu, minister of foreign affairs on the self-governing island, also spoke at the IPAC event, which was attended by activists from Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

This past week, Wu visited Slovakia and the Czech Republic before making a stop in Brussels, headquarters of the European Union, in a diplomatic coup that Beijing denounced as cuan-fang, roughly translated as tour of an outlaw.
Here's a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:

Ethiopia

The U.S. State Department raised the travel advisory for Ethiopia to Level 4 on Tuesday, asking Americans not to travel to the country because of "armed conflict, civil unrest, communications disruptions, crime, and the potential for terrorism and kidnapping in border areas." It came as the Ethiopian federal government declared a nationwide state of emergency Tuesday as its battle with Tigrayan forces reached the one-year mark and fighting had escalated in northern Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Feltman, the U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, will travel to Ethiopia on Thursday and Friday. The State Department said the U.S. was increasingly troubled by the expansion of combat operations and intercommunal violence in Ethiopia and was closely monitoring the situation, calling on all Ethiopians to commit to peace and resolution of grievances through dialogue.

Ethiopian Government Declares State of Emergency

Spyware

The United States has added four foreign technology companies to its restricted-companies list, saying that they "developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments" and that the spyware was used "to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers." The State Department accused the companies of "engaging in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States."

US Blacklists Four Foreign Companies for 'Malicious Cyber Activities'

Sudan

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he admired the millions of Sudanese who protested peacefully to express their aspirations for a democratic Sudan on Saturday. Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official said that the Sudanese military exercised restraint during Saturday's demonstrations and that the restraint raised the possibility of the country's return to a power-sharing agreement.

Sudan's Military Showed Restraint During Anti-Coup Protests, US Special Envoy Says

China

Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as part of the Group of 20 summit on Sunday  an outreach designed to ensure that the intensely competitive relationship between the world's two largest economies doesn't veer into open conflicts.

Blinken Raises Concerns about Taiwan with China

The State Department said Blinken affirmed the areas where the U.S. and China can work together, including North Korea, Myanmar, Iran, Afghanistan and the climate crisis, while raising concerns about a range of Chinese actions that undermine the international rules-based order, including those related to human rights, Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, the East and South China seas, and Taiwan.

Afghanistan

U.S. officials have confirmed that a newly formed armed group resisting Taliban rule in Afghanistan has registered with the Justice Department to carry out political lobbying in the United States. A State Department spokesperson said over the weekend that U.S. officials "are aware that an entity calling itself 'The National Resistance Front' registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act on October 26."

Anti-Taliban Group Registers with US to Try to Build Afghan Resistance

Iran

The State Department confirmed Wednesday that the next round of Iran nuclear talks will resume November 29. U.S. Special Envoy Robert Malley will lead U.S. participation in these talks. Spokesperson Ned Price said if all parties are to close the remaining areas of disagreement, the talks "should start precisely where the sixth round of talks were left off."

Leaders of the U.S., Germany, France, and the United Kingdom warned Tehran that its continued nuclear advances and obstacles to the International Atomic Energy Agency's work will jeopardize its return to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

At G-20, US, Europe Urge Iran to Return to JCPOA Compliance

Meanwhile, the U.S. sanctioned individuals and companies allegedly associated with a network of companies linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Friday. Blinken said in a tweet that the U.S. is "firmly committed to countering all of Iran's threatening activity and those who support it."

US Sanctions Individuals, Firms for Supporting Iran's Drone Program
The high-profile arrest of Iranian agents in Turkey last month, analysts say, is the latest sign of growing tensions between the neighbors. This as Turkey expands its influence in the Caucasuss region at Irans expense. Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul.
The U.N. refugee agency this week began airlifting aid into Kabul for the first time since the Taliban overran the country, with a plane carrying 33 tons of supplies for displaced Afghans.

Two additional flights are scheduled this month, but U.N. refugee officials say far more is needed than they or their colleagues at the World Food Program (WFP) are able to supply.

"We are using land, sea and air routes to bring humanitarian relief into Afghanistan, said spokesperson Shabia Mantoo. Further relief supplies have also been prepositioned in Uzbekistan, ready to be trucked into Afghanistan as needed.

The WFP also is ratcheting up with 170 trucks delivering assistance daily across Afghanistan.

U.N. officials say much more is needed, however, to prevent Afghanistan from plunging deeper into a humanitarian crisis that many fear will exceed the misery of war-torn Syria or Yemen.

Complicated by weather

Temperatures are dipping to minus 25C, worsening the plight of impoverished Afghans, especially the 3.5 million estimated to have been displaced by conflict. U.N. officials say they have received only half of the $606 million they say is needed to help 11 million Afghans through the end of 2021.

More than half of the countrys 38 million people are likely to go hungry this winter unless more funds are forthcoming from rich countries, according to international relief agencies.

But analysts say Western governments have few good options in Afghanistan: They can either try to work with the Taliban, and in effect collude with human rights violations, or watch the worsening crisis from afar and see 20 years of development work reversed.

Last month, heads of government and foreign ministers from the worlds 20 leading economies  the G-20  agreed at a special summit they must try to avert a state collapse in Afghanistan and to examine ways to inject funds into the country while ensuring they are not controlled by the Taliban. The European Union announced during its virtual summit a $1.15 billion aid package for Afghanistan to avert a major humanitarian and socioeconomic collapse.

We believe that it's essential that we maintain our sanctions against the Taliban but at the same time find ways for legitimate humanitarian assistance to get to the Afghan people. That's exactly what we're doing, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told a U.S. Senate panel last month.

After the Taliban seized control in mid-August, billions of dollars of Afghanistan's overseas assets were frozen by the U.S. Federal Reserve and European central banks. Grants from foreign countries and international agencies, including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, also have dried up as a consequence of the withholding of international recognition of the Taliban government. International aid accounted for 43 percent of Afghanistan's gross domestic product before the Taliban seized control.

Foreign funding financed three-quarters of Afghanistans public expenditure.

Getting worse

But since the G-20 summit last month, which marked the first time the worlds richest nations had met to discuss the consequences of the Taliban takeover, the situation has worsened with a spiraling economic crisis, one that the countrys Taliban rulers appear to have no strategy to contain.

On Wednesday, the Taliban announced it was banning the use of foreign currencies in Afghanistan. The economic situation and national interests in the country require that all Afghans use Afghani currency in their every trade, the Taliban said in a statement.

The U.S. dollar is used widely in the country, and analysts say the move by the Taliban is likely to further disrupt the reeling economy, which also has been affected by a severe drought and the coronavirus pandemic. Afghans face a tsunami of destitution and need $200 million a month in aid, the U.N. warned last week.

Families are resorting to desperate measures to survive. Last month, CNN filmed in rural Afghanistan the harrowing scene of a poverty-stricken father selling off his 9-year-old daughter as a child bride for $2,200. The buyer was a 55-year-old. As the girl, Parwana, was traded, the father appealed to him: You are responsible for her now, please don't beat her.

The father, Abdul Malik, told CNN he had no option but to sell his 9-year-old. We are eight family members. I have to sell to keep other family members alive, he said.

U.N. officials say they fear similar scenes are being repeated across the country, with young girls being sold. Utterly unacceptable that many people in Afghanistan will be dying of hunger in the next couple of months. Desperate households are resorting to dangerous practices, such as child labor and early marriage in order to survive, tweeted Isabelle Moussard Carlsen of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The international community is caught in a dilemma. To recognize the Taliban risks condemning tens of thousands of Afghan women, children and men to brutal repression, and for some, potential death, as well as mocking the human rights and rule of law that the U.S. and its allies sought to promote in Afghanistan, and globally, as cornerstones of values-based foreign policies, Renata Dwan, a deputy director of Britains Chatham House, said in a commentary last month.

Key challenge

One fundamental challenge for Western powers is how they can deliver aid without assisting the Taliban or allowing the group to manipulate it to serve their political purposes or to channel assistance to loyalists and deny it to minorities or opponents.

Western leaders say the Taliban have done little to prove they moderated their views toward women or dissent since they ruled most of the county in the second half of the 1990s. The Taliban have resumed public executions and reduced girls access to education.

Human Rights Watch said last week that Taliban officials in Afghanistans provinces are imposing a harsher rule than even the abusive policies announced by their leaders in Kabul.

The Taliban have tried to reassure the world that they respect human rights, including the rights of women and girls, said Heather Barr at Human Rights Watch. But the rules instructing their officials are a patchwork of abusive policies enforcing gender and LGBT discrimination, and harsh repression of autonomy and free expression.
The U.S. government has added four foreign technology companies to its restricted companies list, saying they "developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments" and that the spyware was used "to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers."

The State Department accused the companies of "engaging in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States."

The companies are Israel's NSO Group and Candiru, Russia's Positive Technologies, and Singapore's Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE. LTD.

These companies will now face severe restrictions in exporting their products to the U.S., and it will make it difficult for U.S. cybersecurity firms to sell them information that could be useful in developing their products.

"This effort is aimed at improving citizens' digital security, combating cyber threats, and mitigating unlawful surveillance," the State Department said.

According to Reuters, both NSO Group and Candiru have been accused of selling their products to authoritarian regimes. NSO said it takes actions to prevent the abuse of its products.

Positive Technologies has been in the crosshairs before, having been sanctioned by the Biden administration for allegedly providing assistance to Russian security forces. The company said it has done nothing wrong.

None of the companies commented on their blacklisting.



Some information in this report comes from Reuters.


The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman will travel to Ethiopia Thursday for a two-day visit out of growing concern over violence in the countrys northern Tigray region.

The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa said earlier that the security environment in Ethiopia has deteriorated significantly in the last several days with a continued escalation of armed conflict and civil unrest in Amhara, Afar and Tigray.

On Tuesday, the Ethiopian federal government declared a nationwide state of emergency, as its battle with Tigrayan forces reaches the one-year mark and fighting has escalated.

The Council of Ministers has declared a nationwide state of emergency effective Tuesday, November 2, 2021, read a statement posted by state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate S.C. on its Twitter account.

The statement said the House of Peoples Representatives is expected to approve the state of emergency within 24 hours.



Reuters quoted the government Tuesday as saying the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front is gaining territory and considering marching on the countrys capital, Addis Ababa. Residents of the capital were told to register their weapons and prepare to defend the city.

The federal government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been fighting TPLF forces in Tigray for the past year. The fighters were able to take control of the province when government forces withdrew in June. Since then, fighting has expanded to the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, displacing thousands of people and worsening a severe hunger crisis.

Speaking Tuesday at Washington-based think tank U.S. Institute for Peace, Feltman said as many as 900,000 people in Tigray are facing famine-like conditions, while 90% of the population is in need of aid.

He said the most serious obstacle to getting food, medicine and other critical assistance to them is the federal government, which imposes bureaucratic obstacles and last month expelled seven senior U.N. humanitarian and human rights officials.

This unfortunately suggests an intentional effort by the authorities to deprive Ethiopians who are suffering of receiving lifesaving assistance, said Feltman.

Using food as a weapon of war can rise to the level of a war crime.

The special envoy said the governments airstrikes and TPLFs alliances with other disaffected armed groups are alarming, and warned that the country is at risk of sliding into a bigger conflagration.

A multidecade civil war in Ethiopia would be disastrous for its future and for its people, he said. We urge the government of Ethiopia, the TPLF, and the other belligerents to give peace a chance; to choose a different path and engage in dialogue without preconditions.

Feltman responded to some critics who say the United States is biased toward the TPLF, saying this could not be further from the truth and that the Biden administration has consistently condemned the Tigrayan forces expansion of the war, including reports it could move on the capital.

Let me be clear: We oppose any TPLF move to Addis or any attempt by the TPLF to besiege Addis, Feltman said. This is a message we have also underscored in our engagement with TPLF leaders.

He also said it is not true that Washington seeks to replace Abiy with a TPLF-dominated regime.

But Feltman warned that Washington cannot continue business as usual with the federal government and noted the announcement Tuesday from the administration that puts Ethiopias special trade benefits with the United States at risk over human rights violations.

On Wednesday, the U.N. Human Rights Council and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission released a report on their joint investigation into alleged human rights violations by all parties in the Tigray conflict. It said accused all parties to the conflict of committing human rights violations, some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed Wednesday that a seventh round of Iran nuclear talks will start November 29 in Vienna, Austria.

"We'll resume for a seventh round on Monday, November 29. Special Envoy (for Iran Robert) Malley will again lead the U.S. participation in these talks," Price said.

The talks are between Iran and the deal's remaining original partners, with the U.S. participating indirectly with Malley leading the U.S. delegation.

"We've been very clear that the talks  if they are to succeed, if we are to close the remaining areas of disagreement, they should start precisely where the sixth round of talks left off," Price added.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, also tweeted Wednesday that the talks would resume.

"In a phone call with @enriquemora_ , we agreed to start the negotiations aiming at removal of unlawful & inhumane sanctions on 29 November in Vienna," he wrote.

European Union envoy Enrique Mora has helped mediate the indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran with diplomats from the European Union, Russia and China, and the other members of the original deal.

The talks aim to reinstate the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. Former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

President Joe Biden has said the U.S. will rejoin once Tehran returns to full compliance with the agreement's restrictions on nuclear weapons development.

Reinstating the deal would result in the lifting of sanctions that have strained Iran's economy.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
Russia's military buildup along its border with Ukraine is not yet setting off any alarms in Washington.

The United States' highest-ranking military officer Wednesday said the U.S. was aware of Moscow's military movement, describing it as "significant" but also as "nothing overtly aggressive."

"We've seen this before," General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a security forum in Washington, noting Russia's annual Zapad exercises often involve tens of thousands of troops.

"So, what does this mean? We don't know yet," Milley said. "But we're continuing to monitor with all of our capabilities."

U.S. military and intelligence officials voiced repeated concerns this past April, after Russia massed as many as 150,000 troops along its border with Ukraine, calling that buildup the biggest since Moscow's invasion of Crimea in 2014.

But Milley's comments come as tensions between Russia and the U.S. and NATO appear to be again on the rise.

Russia this week complained about U.S. and NATO activity in the Black Sea as its naval forces practiced destroying enemy targets in the Black Sea.

And last month, Russia suspended its diplomatic mission to NATO in retaliation for the expulsion of eight Russian officials.

In an apparent effort to lower tensions, U.S. President Joe Biden this week sent his top spymaster, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, to Moscow for a series of talks.

According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Burns was to meet with "members of the Russian government to discuss a range of issues in the bilateral relationship."

While not commenting directly on the talks, Milley voiced support for discussions.

"I firmly believe that you should not only talk to your allies and partners and friends, but you absolutely need to talk to your adversaries and your enemies," Milley said Wednesday. "The last thing this world needs, the last thing the United States needs or anybody else needs, is a great power war. And so, the extent to which we the military or NATO, through intermediaries or directly, can communicate back and forth with Russia, China or any other country, I think is in the plus column of things to do."

This past June, the U.S. gave Ukraine a $150 million security package aimed at bolstering the country's defensive capabilities.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.


Sweeping police reforms have been at the center of a debate in the United States since the May 2020 death of African American George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A year-and-a-half later, amid spiking violent crime rates nationwide, voters in the city rejected scrapping its police department and replacing it with a proposed Department of Public Safety.



In the first municipal election since Floyds death, voters rejected the referendum, known as Ballot Question 2, by a projected margin of 56% to 44%. The measure was seen as a high-profile test of support for the so-called defund the police movement.



The defund the police movement has been soundly rejected, said Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York, a non-partisan organization that works to improve public safety through innovation. I think there's a growing realization that defunding the police is not an idea that people are going to accept.



Critics of the Minneapolis police force maintained the department has a long history of mistrust, abuse and discriminatory practices.



This vote means maintaining the status quo ... a city that continues to devolve, said JaNae Bates, an organizer and spokesperson for the initiative, on CNN. Bates said her group will continue to push to reform the police department.



At issue was whether to amend Minneapolis city charter to replace the police department with a Department of Public Safety that would have brought a public health approach to policing rather than a narrow focus on law enforcement. The new public safety model envisioned a greater reliance on social workers and violence prevention counselors in emergency situations.



The citys residents decided they wanted their police department to stay in place. Now the real work begins, Cedric Alexander, a former police chief and director of public safety in Dekalb County, Georgia, told VOA. You've got to have good policing. You've got to have great police and you've got to have transparent open, well recruited, well-trained and well supervised policing.

Calls to shift resources away from police departments collided with headlines as homicides have soared in the United States, up 30% from 2019 to 2020, according to federal statistics. 2021 could eclipse the 2020 estimate of more than 21,500 murders.



People have understood that while the United States definitely needs to reform police, we cannot eliminate police. It's just its a wonderful aspiration, but it's something that's not going to happen," but it's something that's not going to happen," Aborn said. At the end of the day, people want to know that the police are going to be out there patrolling, maintaining public safety and arresting people that commit violent crimes.



Calls for change

Floyds death triggered months of anger, racial justice protests and demands for an end to police brutality in the United States and around the world. Floyd died May 25, 2020 after white former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned the handcuffed Floyd on the street with a knee to Floyds neck for roughly nine minutes. The incident was captured on video and disseminated across the globe. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder and manslaughter in April 2021 and is serving a 22.5-year prison sentence.

In recent years, videos of police using excessive, sometimes deadly force against Blacks and other people of color have become commonplace, sparking calls for police reforms and reallocating funding for law enforcement. Twenty-three major cities including Washington saw police budgets reduced last year, according to Smart Cities Dive.



Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department is investigating the Minneapolis Police Department. Launched in April, the probe is focusing on the departments use of force patterns to determine if it disproportionately targets Blacks and other residents of color.



Clarifying goals



In Minneapolis, reform advocates sought to clarify their goals ahead of the referendum, maintaining that they did not seek the abolition of law enforcement but rather to change the scope and execution of officers duties.



Some residents were not convinced.



I want the city to hire more officers and not take resources away from the police department, news reports quoted a Minneapolis voter as saying.



The Minneapolis City Council will vote next month on a proposal to restore $192 million to the police departments budget. The mayor has proposed hiring as many as 150 officers to replace those who recently left the force.

We have swung from people calling for no police back to, We want police because of rising crime, Alexander said.

We have to find that middle ground because we have to have public safety, added Alexander, who served for four decades in law enforcement.

Hiring more cops will not reduce violence but something has to be done more structurally to change policing and practices. The police department is not going to change by itself.
The World Health Organization says that globally, the number of new COVID-19 cases increased last week, with Europe reporting the largest rise in infections for the fifth consecutive week.

In its epidemiological report for the week ending October 31, the WHO says the world saw a three percent increase in new cases, led by Europe, with the highest increase of six percent, followed by the Americas with a three percent climb and the western Pacific with a two percent increase.

The WHO report indicates the rest of the world's regions saw decreases in cases, with the eastern Mediterranean area reporting the largest decrease with 12 percent and Africa and Southeast Asia dropping by nine percent each.

Russia's ongoing COVID-19 surge contributed to Europe's high number of new cases. The nation's state coronavirus task force Wednesday reported 40,443 new confirmed cases and 1,189 deaths, both new records for daily totals since the beginning of the pandemic. It marks the fifth time in seven days Russia has set a record for new daily cases.

Covaxin approved

Meanwhile, the WHO also announced Wednesday it has approved the COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin for emergency use. Covaxin is the first Indian-made vaccine to be cleared.

In a statement, WHO says its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) reviewed the two-dose vaccine and recommended it for use in those groups 18 and older. SAGE found Covaxin to be 78 percent efficient against COVID-19 symptoms of any severity, 14 or more days after the second dose.

The WHO advisory group found the vaccine to be extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements. The approval also allows the vaccine to be included in the WHO-managed vaccine cooperative COVAX for global distribution.

Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press and Reuters.
LaVon Rapp, age 95, of Alexandria, died on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, November 20, 2021, 11:00 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church in Alexandria with visitation one hour prior to the service at the church.
I am writing to you in continuation of my previous letters of 1, 6, 13 and 26 August, 16 September, 31 October and 12 December 2019; 9 March, 10 April, 21 May, 1 August, 18 September and 20 November 2020; and 1 February, 15 June and 2 August 2021 on the developments in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The Jammu and Kashmir dispute continues to pose an ever-present threat to international peace and security. The dispute can be resolved by enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions, which have prescribed that the final disposition of the disputed territory should be decided by its people through a free and impartial plebiscite held under the auspices of the United Nations.

Having accepted the principle of self-determination, India has  through obfuscation and oppression  obstructed for several decades all attempts at holding a United Nations-supervised plebiscite in violation of Security Council resolutions 47 (1948), 80 (1950), 91 (1951), 98 (1952), 122 (1957), 123 (1957) and 126 (1957).

On 5 August 2019, India gave up all pretence and instituted unilateral and illegal measures to consolidate its occupation of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, in what the neo-fascist rulers in New Delhi call the Final Solution for Jammu and Kashmir.

Since then, an Indian occupation force of 900,000 troops has operated with characteristic brutality and complete impunity to impose a colonial and genocidal policy in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resorting to extrajudicial killings in fake encounters and cordon-and-search operations; the indiscriminate use of pellet guns and live ammunition against unarmed peaceful protesters; the imprisonment of Kashmiri political leaders; the abduction of 13,000 youth, torturing many of them; the destruction of entire villages and neighbourhoods as collective punishments; and a campaign to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory by illegally installing settlers from outside to change its Muslim majority into a minority.

Not even the dead are spared. Syed Ali Geelani was an iconic Kashmiri leader who struggled peacefully for seven decades for the Kashmiris right to self-determination. When he passed away last month after years of detention, the Indian occupation authorities abducted his body and denied his family the right to perform Islamic burial rites and to choose his burial site.

On 12 September 2021, the Government of Pakistan released a comprehensive and well-researched dossier containing the entire range of gross, systematic and widespread violations of human rights perpetrated by Indian forces in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The 131-page dossier covers accounts of 3,432 cases of war crimes perpetrated by senior officers of the Indian occupying forces. The crimes catalogued in the dossier are corroborated by audio and video evidence that has been meticulously collected over time. The international community should take cognizance of this evidence immediately and hold India accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Indias crimes in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir are continuing. The recent surge in extrajudicial killings, staged cordon-and-search operations, and arbitrary arrests in the occupied territory are the latest examples of Indias State terrorism and human rights violations in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This included the arrest of over 1,400 Kashmiris on false charges in one of the biggest-ever crackdowns in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

On 14 October 2021, the Indian Home Minister threatened to continue so called surgical strikes in Pakistan. This delusional statement may be an attempt to divert Indians attention away from the multiple domestic problems of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh regime: a stagnant economy, riven by corruption; the repression of widespread protests by farmers; the public denunciation of repressive and inhuman campaigns against Muslims in Assam and other parts of India; as well as multiple issues with almost all of Indias neighbours.

The desire to divert attention from its own problems may also explain Indian attempts to blame so-called infiltrators for the Kashmiri resistance. This is quite disingenuous, since most of the so-called encounters between Indian occupation forces and the Kashmiri resistance have taken place well inside Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and behind the multiple layers of security that the Indian occupation forces have emplaced there.

Pakistan, however, cannot discount that these Indian allegations and hostile rhetoric may be a precursor to another act of aggression against Pakistan, a tactic that the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh extremists have often utilized to generate political and electoral support. Pakistan has, therefore, been alerting the international community to Indias sinister designs of orchestrating false-flag operations to malign Pakistan and undermine the Kashmir movement.

The reported murder of Kashmiri Hindus and stirring-up of communal tensions is probably one such ploy in the Indian regimes playbook to create the conditions for possible misadventure.

Pakistan desires peace with India as with all its neighbours. But we will spare no effort in resolutely thwarting any aggressive designs. Pakistans swift and effective response to Indias Balakot misadventure in February 2019, including the downing of Indian combat aircraft and the capture of an Indian Air Force pilot, should leave no one in any doubt about Pakistans will and capacity to respond to Indian aggression.

Pakistan is prepared to engage constructively with a view to averting the danger of a conflict, lowering tensions and promoting sustainable peace in South Asia. India, however, should create an enabling conducive environment for such an engagement. To this end, India should take the following steps outlined by the Prime Minister, Imran Khan, in his address to the General Assembly:

(a) Reverse the unilateral and illegal measures instituted in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir since 5 August 2019;

(b) Stop its oppression and human rights violations against the people of Jammu and Kashmir;

(c) Halt and reverse the demographic changes in the occupied territory.

Pakistan stands ready to cooperate in every possible way with the Security Council, the Secretary-General and the world community to promote a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the relevant resolutions of the Council and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
The following is the text of a joint statement signed by the governments of Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States of America.

Begin text:

The undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition express their deep concern about the Russian governments intensifying harassment of independent journalists and media outlets in Russia. Media freedom is vital to the effective functioning of free and open societies and is essential to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

This year has seen the Russian authorities systematically detain journalists and subject them to harsh treatment while they reported on protests in support of imprisoned opposition figure Aleksey Navalny. In April, the office of student journal DOXA was searched in relation to spurious charges and four editors were then subjected to severe restrictions on their freedom. On June 29, Russian authorities raided the apartments of staff members of investigative news website Proekt on the same day the outlet published an investigation into alleged corrupt practices by Russias Interior Minister. Proekt was added to Russias list of undesirable foreign organizations, the first media entity to receive that designation. In addition, Russian occupation authorities in Crimea have held Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reporter Vladislav Yesypenko since March and have reportedly tortured him in detention. On July 15, Yesypenko was indicted on specious charges and faces up to 18 years imprisonment. On October 8, Russian authorities applied the label of media foreign agent to the international investigative journalism project Bellingcat, known for its investigation of the poisoning of Navalny.

In an unambiguous effort to suppress Russians access to independent reporting, the Russian government introduced onerous labeling requirements for so-called media foreign agents last year. Since then, it has charged RFE/RL with more than 600 violations, resulting in fines totaling more than $4.4 million. Russian authorities rejected RFE/RLs appeals of initial fines in March and froze the local bank accounts of RFE/RLs Moscow bureau on May 14, placing the bureau at risk of bankruptcy. It increasingly appears the Russian government intends to force RFE/RL to end its decades-long presence in Russia, just as it has already forced the closure of several other independent media outlets in recent years.

In addition to RFE/RL, authorities have applied the media foreign agent label to independent Russian outlets operating within or near Russias borders, including Meduza, Important Stories, VTimes, The Insider, Mediazona, OVD-Info, Medium Orient, PASMI news, Moscow

Digital Media and TV channel Dozhd, undercutting their ability to operate. As a result of this crackdown, VTimes was forced to announce its closure less than a month after its designation. Over the past four months, Russian authorities added dozens more Russian journalists to their foreign agent list. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 10 journalists are currently imprisoned in Russia simply for carrying out their work. We also note the Russian authorities decision to expel BBC Journalist Sarah Rainsford  a retrograde step that further damages the cause of media freedom in Russia.

The September 17-19 Duma elections in the Russian Federation were preceded by Russian government restrictions towards journalists and media workers. Journalists and media workers were threatened and forcibly expelled from polling stations. These actions contradict Russias international commitments.

While concerns related to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists in Russia have intensified, they are not new. We stand in solidarity with independent Russian journalists who assume personal risk in carrying out their professional activities, and we honor the memory of those reporters whose intrepid work has cost them their lives, including Natalia Estemirova, Anna Politkovskaya, and Paul Klebnikov. We congratulate Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, on winning the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. This award underlines the important work all independent journalists and media workers in the Russian Federation have done for years, fighting for human rights, including freedom of expression.

We reiterate our condemnation of the Russian governments targeting and harassment of independent journalists and media outlets. We urge the Russian Federation to comply with its international human rights commitments and obligations and to respect and ensure media freedom and safety of journalists. We call on the Russian government to cease its repression of independent voices, end the politically motivated proceedings against journalists and media organizations, and release all those who have been unjustly detained.

End text
We, the President of France, Chancellor of Germany, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and President of the United States, met in Rome today to discuss the risks posed to international security by Irans escalating nuclear program. We expressed our determination to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon and shared our grave and growing concern that, while Iran halted negotiations on a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) since June, it has accelerated the pace of provocative nuclear steps, such as the production of highly enriched uranium and enriched uranium metal. Iran has no credible civilian need for either measure, but both are important to nuclear weapons programs.

These steps have only been made more alarming by Irans simultaneously decreased cooperation and transparency with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). We agreed that continued Iranian nuclear advances and obstacles to the IAEAs work will jeopardize the possibility of a return to the JCPOA.

The current situation underscores the importance of a negotiated solution that provides for the return of Iran and the U.S. to full compliance with the JCPOA and provides the basis for continued diplomatic engagement to resolve remaining points of contention  both our concerns and Irans. In this spirit, we welcome President Bidens clearly demonstrated commitment to return the U.S. to full compliance with the JCPOA and to stay in full compliance, so long as Iran does the same.

We are convinced that it is possible to quickly reach and implement an understanding on return to full compliance and to ensure for the long term that Irans nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

Return to JCPOA compliance will provide sanctions lifting with long-lasting implications for Irans economic growth. This will only be possible if Iran changes course. We call upon President Raisi to seize this opportunity and return to a good faith effort to conclude our negotiations as a matter of urgency. That is the only sure way to avoid a dangerous escalation, which is not in any countrys interest.

We welcome our Gulf partners regional diplomatic efforts to deescalate tensions and note that return to the JCPOA would result both in sanctions lifting allowing for enhanced regional partnerships and a reduced risk of a nuclear crisis that would derail regional diplomacy. We also affirm our shared determination to address broader security concerns raised by Irans actions in the region.

We are committed to continuing to work closely with the Russian Federation, the Peoples Republic of China, and the European Union High Representative, as Coordinator, in resolving this critical issue.
Julia Garner as Anna Sorokin as Anna Delvey. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Netflix

Updated November 3 at 9:50 a.m.: Variety reported that Inventing Anna will premiere in February 2022. Winter of scam?

Original story follows.

Here is a list of things that Julia Garner resembles in these first-look stills of her role as goddess of the Summer of Scam Anna Delvey in the upcoming Shonda Rhimes miniseries Inventing Anna on Netflix:

- Shiv Roy in a childrens-theater adaptation of Succession

- A Blue Jasmine prequel series a-la Young Sheldon

- That one rich girl on your IG feed who went to hospitality management school in Switzerland

- A shelved Orange Is the New Black plot

- Before-and-after shots from one of those Vogue videos where you watch a beautiful person take off all their makeup for 20 minutes but the after still looks better than you at your very best before

- Kaitlyn Dever

But mostly, she really does look like Anna Delvey.

This story is completely true...except for all of the parts that aren't. Julia Garner is Anna Delvey in Inventing Anna, from Shondaland. pic.twitter.com/q6zsfqiDaw  Netflix (@netflix) October 25, 2021

The Netflix series is based on the New York Magazine story How Anna Delvey Tricked New Yorks Party People, and based on the stills shared by Netflix, it will show the fallen socialite at both the peak of her powers and also in prison. In real life, Delvey (real name Anna Sorokin) remains in ICE custody and is facing deportation to Germany. Inventing Anna will also feature Laverne Cox, Anna Chlumsky, and Arian Moayed in its portrayal of conspicuous consumption and inconspicuous scammery in New York City. How very rich.
Photo-Illustration: Selman Hosgor; Photo Courtesy of Subject

This week, were highlighting 22 talented writers and performers for Vultures annual list Comedians You Should and Will Know. Our goal is to introduce a wider audience to the talent that has the comedy community and industry buzzing. (You can read more about our methodology at the link above.) We asked the comedians on the list to answer a series of questions about their work, comedy during the pandemic, and more. Next up is Nori Reed.

When did you feel that you were funny enough to make a legitimate go at comedy?

I dont think there really was a specific moment for me, but my big break was when Amy Poehler asked me to join her for Amy & Friends at the opening night of Comedy Centrals Clusterfest in San Francisco. In the green room before the show, Amy let me know that she and Paula Pell had sat down and watched all of my stand-up clips on YouTube. That night I performed for around 8,000 people and soon after got management and moved to L.A.



Describe your comedy in five words.

Languid, critical, psychosexual, secretly hopeful.

What of your work do you think youre best known for, and what of your work are you most proud of?

As of now, I think I am best known for my social-media presence on Twitter (@realnorireed) and Instagram (@norireed). I really enjoy reposting TikToks that are absolutely unhinged. Specifically, I am fascinated by how insane heterosexual relationships are. I am most proud of the Elder Plumb Chronicles on my Instagram account. If you know, you know. And if you dont know, you can absolutely find out.



If there were a 90s-style sitcom built around you and your material, in which you had to have a different job than comedian, what would be the title and logline?

A radio psychiatrist moves back to her hometown of Seattle, where she lives with her father. Nope, sorry, thats Frasier.

What have you done for comedy during COVID that you thought you would never do?

Not that much actually LOL. I kind of stopped doing in-person sets and only did Zoom shows. I genuinely, from the bottom of heart, appreciate all of the producers who made Zoom shows happen, but Zoom shows were not the best TBH (Im so sorry). I remember doing some random Zoom show for a comedy club in England, and I bombed harder than a German warplane over London. Too soon? Not soon enough? I am honestly terrified of offending anyone.

Who are some of your favorite comedians right now? Who is putting out work that excites and inspires you?

Okay, love this question because I have incredible taste. I am in constant awe of Blair Socci and Caleb Hearons stand-up comedy. I would also like to disclose that I share a supper club with them (conflict of interest). No disrespect to anyone, but Naomi Ekperigin is the funniest comedian working right now. Robin Tran is truly changing the game, and I sort of hate that shes funnier than me (Robin can we start an Asian trans lady feud Id be so grateful). In all seriousness, there are so many queer and trans comedians who are killing it, and I am LIVING for it. I am currently working on stuff with Jes Tom who I love like a brother. Lastly, Ive been really inspired by the L.A. clowning community, so people like Natalie Palamides and Christina Catherine Martinez.

What is the best comedy advice, and then the worst comedy advice, youve ever received, either when you were starting out or more recently?

The best comedy advice Ive ever received is how to evade taxes. Call me Caitlyn because Im a Republican now. Actually, its to keep my head down and not be affected by all the bullshit. Do I follow this advice? Absolutely not.

The worst comedy advice Ive ever received is the absolute importance of open mics. Comics in the Bay Area used to tell me that if I didnt go to five open mics a week then I wasnt a real comedian. Like babe, if you have the time to go to five open mics a week and youve been doing that for the past ten years, then maybe you shouldnt be giving advice on comedy (again I am so sorry)?

Tell us one story from your childhood that is a good representation of your life.

When I came out as queer to my Christian, Korean mom, she picked up the Bible, flipped to the back, and asked me in her sweetest voice, Honey, how do you spell abomination?



Whats an embarrassingly earnest goal you have?

To build a happy and rewarding life outside of comedy. I have spent the last five years prioritizing comedy above everything else, and now that I have some stability in my career, I am ready to expand my focus to other things like relationships, family, and making gorgeous salad dressings. Like ultimately I want to find the Jeffrey to my Barefoot Contessa.



If you had the power to remove anything from the comedy world right now, from trends with material to how the industry operates, what would it be?

I know I am going to get so much shit for this, but cis comedians, you simply must stop doing jokes about trans people or pronouns, even if they arent punch-down. I guarantee you that a working trans comedian has a similar joke that is ten million times better and that referencing trans people is not making you any more relevant. I promise you, babe!

Second, I am absolutely begging for more ugly people on television. I want to see rashes, bald spots, giant moles, weird feet, psychotic elbows. When I see a TV character who is ugly or even just like average-looking, I perk up. I honestly think we as a people are hungry for it, starving even.
The Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce is concerned about the federal COVID vaccine mandate, but it's more worried that state lawmakers will make the situation worse.

"We can either lose a contract or be sued by our employees," Board Chair Jeff Gronberg said.

That is the situation many businesses fear they will be in because of state lawmakers.

"What we don't want to see is legislation at the state level that conflicts with legislation at the national level and puts us in a position where we are having to decide between one or the other," Gronberg said. "It puts us in a no-win situation."

But, state lawmakers say business owners are already in a lose-lose scenario.

"This COVID thing have people scared to death, and this overreach of executive power have people scared to death. These are all legitimate fears," Rep. Mike Ball said. "Right now, employers are stuck in the middle. Damned if they do. Damned if they don't."

More than a dozen bills were filed against the federal COVID vaccine mandate during this week's special session for redistricting. The chamber says the bills that are being discussed would create a "civil liability nightmare."

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill that allows employees to claim exemption of a required vaccine for medical or religious reasons. The Alabama House Committee is expected to discuss the Senate bill against the federal COVID vaccine mandate on Wednesday. It may be up for a vote for the full House by Thursday at the earliest.

Ball says he expects the bill to pass.

The chamber says that just puts businesses in double jeopardy.

"All we are asking them to do is to not pass a law that would cause a conflict with what we have to do from a national and from a contract standpoint that causes us to have existing exposures to lawsuits that frankly aren't going to be helpful to anybody," Gronberg explained.

Right now, businesses have some protection against frivolous lawsuits concerning COVID. That's thanks to Sen. Arthur Orr's bill that was signed into law in February. Ball says that same law is now their downfall.

"Well, turns out we might have gone too far on that. So now, we've got to undo what we did without thinking it through like we should," Ball said.

Ball hopes they'll be able to come up with a solution, but he's not sure what that looks like yet.

"Right now, exactly what the legislature will do is nebulous at best," Ball said.

The chamber is hoping the state legislature's solution is mainly backing up the governor and attorney general's legal battles against the federal vaccine mandate.

Attorney General Steve Marshall told WAAY 31 his office is focusing its legal battle on whether or not it's constitutional for President Joe Biden to tell employers what to do with their employees.

"I think the solutions that are being put in place are a little bit too broad and are affecting us too much," Gronberg said.

But, they're prepared to tackle that challenge if it comes.

"We'll continue to work with whatever comes our way. We would just hope that things that don't necessarily have to be there and don't achieve what we think they're trying to achieve, we hope we don't have to deal with those issues," Gronberg explained.
Huntsville City Schools is taking the next step in the process of renaming Lee High School.

At Tuesday's Board of Education meeting, the school board gave the go-ahead for its attorney to contact the Alabama attorney general's office on the school's behalf.

Lee High School (Image from Lee High School website) Lee High School (Image from Lee High School website)

"What they did today was authorize me to ... send a letter to the attorney general to get their opinion," explained the school board's attorney, Chris Pape.

The school board is seeking the opinion of Attorney General Steve Marshall to find out if renaming Lee High School would violate the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act. The school gets its name from Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, for whom Lee Highway, where the school was originally located, was also named.

"It's a little bit of some legal gymnastics," said the board's chief equity officer, George Smith.

The act says a memorial school more than 20 years old cannot be renamed. Smith explained the letter to the attorney general "is just to see how this act applies in our case, as we move forward looking at this process."

Superintendent Christie Finley announced the name change proposal in June. Five months later, they're finally moving forward by reaching out to the attorney general's office for feedback.

"We had to set out the facts that underlie our question," Pape said.

That question being, does Lee High School fall under the preservation act even though only a single ball field is all that remains at its original location?

"Does the attorney general think that that one piece overlapping the old property is ... enough to make the act apply?" Pape said.

The school board is only going through the process to see if renaming the school is a possibility. If the attorney general's office determines Lee High School does fall under the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, there is a waiver process the school can go through.

If that's denied, the final step would be to rename it anyway and pay a $25,000 fine.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Marshall County Sheriffs Office are searching for a woman reported missing from her home Tuesday in Guntersville.

Casey Brooke Yancy, 27, left her residence in the 2300 block of Aldridge Gap Road sometime Tuesday. She was last seen in a black T-shirt with Outlaw Nation on the back. Her direction of travel is unknown, ALEA said.

Yancy is described as a white female with blonde or strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. She is about 5 foot, 3 inches tall and weighs around 120 pounds.

MCSO said helicopters will be in the area for at least the next few hours as part of the search. Anyone with information regarding Yancys whereabouts or disappearance is strongly encouraged to call the sheriffs office at 256-582-2034.
A Jackson County woman who killed a man she says raped her in 2018 is back behind bars.

A parole officer says Brittany Smith violated her house arrest - for the second time this year - by going out to a trunk or treat event with her kids on Halloween.

The Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles wants her to spend 45 days in the Jackson County Jail for this most recent violation.

WAAY 31 has followed Smiths case from the crime scene through the arrest, legal battle, and sentencing.

Her story and claims of self-defense sparked a national conversation on the Stand Your Ground law, with media outlets coast-to-coast covering the case.

Smith accepted a plea deal for shooting and killing Joshua Todd Smith  a man Brittany testified raped her and attacked her brother.

Smith also admitted to arson charges unrelated to the murder under that same deal.

Smith ended up serving 18 months in prison and now is sentenced to another 18 months on house arrest. She started that portion of the sentence in May.

This marks the second time the state parole board says Smith violated her house arrest orders.

Smith had asked for permission to see her kids trick or treat, and to leave her house. Her parole officer said she could see them before the kids went out, but ordered her back home, saying she could not go out with her family to a trunk or treat event.

Smith admitted she attended that event, and the state board of pardons and paroles put out a warrant for her arrest for failing to comply with the house arrest sentence guidelines.

This is her second violation since starting her house arrest. The first stint in the jail was ordered in August. Her probation was not revoked.
STARS Dancing for HEALS at the Von Braun Center is just two days away.

The ballroom competition event raises money for HEALS Inc., a nonprofit organization in Huntsville that provides free health care for children in schools.

"This year, we decided that Mom would get on the dance floor for the children of HEALS," Ginger Harper said.

Harper and her mother, Dr. Barbara Murphy, said they are both excited for Thursday. Harper, who currently serves on the HEALS board, has participated in the STARS Dancing for HEALS event twice before.

"When the idea came up for me to do the dancing and Ginger to raise the funds, I jumped at it, because I really wanted to see if I could participate and help," Murphy said.

As a physician, Murphy said she understands the importance of children having access to health care.

"If we don't take care of children when they're young, they're going to develop into adults who have health-related issues," Murphy said.

To try to avoid that, HEALS, or Health Establishments at Local Schools, provides thousands of local kids with free health care.

"It's about 4,000, because we also treat the family members of the children that we serve, but it's a good number," Harper said. "It's a big reach."

Thursday's event will allow the organization to continue providing care to local children. All of the STARS have spent months preparing with their instructor, all while raising money to give back. Every dollar donated counts as one vote.

Murphy has already received more than $100,000 in votes.

"There are eight STARS who are participating, and every one of them has worked really, really hard," Murphy said, adding the amount of work that goes into the event is amazing.

WAAY 31 Morning Anchor Megan Reyna and General Manager Mike Wright are the emcees of the event, which is sold out. There will be live coverage of the event Thursday on WAAY 31.

There's still time to donate by voting for your favorite STAR. You can do that by clicking here.
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is ready to bring space camp back to full capacity, but they need space camp counselors for the mission.

To that end, they're hosting a job fair from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Rocket Center's education programs building. Individuals ready to join the team can apply and interview onsite.

The U.S. Space and Rocket Center The U.S. Space and Rocket Center

Niki Kelly, human resources generalist and former space camp counselor, said they're looking for 100 counselors this year as they prepare for a big comeback.

"We are growing," Kelly said. "We are so excited about the next chapter. And that is why we were looking for so many amazing, qualified people. We are expecting to become even bigger and better next year."

Kelly attended a similar job fair at the USSRC a few years ago. She said she's often seen a misconception of the role and requirements needed to be a camp counselor.

"This job is perfect for everyone who loves kids," Kelly said. "You can have any background. As long as you do love kids and want to inspire the next generation, we would love to have you here."

After closing its doors to 90% of its staff during the pandemic, Kelly said they're ready to open the doors again.

"While that was a hard time, we have absolutely turned that page, and we are back and better than ever," she said.

For Kelly, coming back in a big way is all about hope and inspiration.

"You get the opportunity to truly impact kids from all over the world, inspire the next generation to really have that open mindset and see that anything is possible for them," she said. "Theyll tell me, 'Being a camper changed my life' and 'Getting to do that experience really made me think about things differently.'"

Camp counselors need to be at least 19 years or older. According to Kelly, they can expect an hourly wage ranging from $13 to $14 an hour.

And no worries for those who interested but don't know much about space  Kelly said counselors will be put through a two-week comprehensive training in which everything needed to know to succeed in the job will be taught.
Decatur, IL (62521)

Today

Becoming partly cloudy after some morning light rain. High 54F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 23F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Frecce Tricolori will fly over Altare della Patria on 4 November amid a poignant anniversary for Italy.

Italy's president Sergio Mattarella will attend the annual ceremony to mark National Unity and Armed Forces Day at Romes Altare della Patria at 10.00 on 4 November.

Accompanied by defence minister Lorenzo Guerini and top military authorities, the head of state will lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, or il Milite Ignoto, a century after he was buried there in honour of Italys war dead.

There will be a flypast by the air forces Frecce Tricolori aerial acrobatic team whose jets will emit plumes of the three colours from the Italian flag.

A military parade is also expected, leading to street closures and bus diversions in the area around Piazza Venezia.

Story of Italy's Unknown Soldier

The body of Italy's Unknown Soldier was chosen from among 11 coffins containing the unidentified remains of fallen Italian world war one soldiers, retrieved from various areas of the front.

Maria Bergamas selected the Unknown Soldier 100 years ago.

Maria Bergamas, the mother of Italian soldier Antonio Bergamas whose body was never recovered, made the difficult choice in the Basilica of Aquileia, near the Isonzo battefields, on 28 October 1921.

When the grieving mother reached the 10th coffin in the line, she slumped to the floor and screamed her son's name. This was the body chosen.

The casket containing the Unknown Solider then made a slow journey from Aquileia to Rome, with crowds amassing at each station to pay their respects.

The Milite Ignoto was buried on 4 November 1921 at the Altare della Patria during a solemn ceremony attended by King Victor Emmanuel III as well as veterans and war widows.

The train of the Unknown Soldier can be seen at Stazione S. Pietro in Rome this week.

This week a steam train retraced the historic journey from Aquileia to Rome where it can be seen, at Stazione S. Pietro, until 8 November.

The date of the annual military ceremony, 4 November, coincides with the anniversary of the armistice of Villa Giusti in 1918, which ended world war one on the Italian front.
Prison programme to include museums and libraries.

Prisoners in Italy will be able to work in museums under an agreement signed by the country's culture and justice ministries, reports news agency ANSA.

The new system will see around 100 prisoners carry out public utility works in 52 cultural institutions including the Royal Palace of Caserta, the Pinacoteca di Bologna and the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua as well as in dozens of libraries and archives.

The programme, designed for people serving jail sentences of up to four years, was unveiled by culture minister Dario Franceschini and justice minister Marta Cartabia.

Photo Reggia di Caserta
Rome police expel Puzzer from the capital for staging unauthorised protest.

Stefano Puzzer, the leader of the high-profile No Green Pass protests in the north Italian port of Trieste, has been expelled from Rome.

The order came from Rome's Questura, or police headquarters, which handed Puzzer a one-year ban from the capital where he had begun a one-man protest on Tuesday, reports news agency ANSA.

Puzzer, who gained international attention for organising a protest of Trieste dockers against Italy's Green Pass mandate for workers, had set up a makeshift stall in Rome's central Piazza del Popolo.

In front of him he placed five chairs with the names of Italian prime minister Mario Draghi, Pope Francis, the US, China and the European Union, saying he was ready for talks.

On Tuesday morning Puzzer pledged that he wouldn't budge "until the bitter end", saying he would stay in Piazza del Popolo until he "got an answer."

By the afternoon Puzzer received an answer in the form of a year-long ban from the Questura - for staging an "unauthorised protest" - and an order to return to Trieste by 21.00 on Wednesday.

Puzzer is considered a hero by the No Green Pass movement which is against the government's mandate for every worker in Italy to carry the certificate proving the holder has been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from covid-19.

He and his followers have been protesting in Trieste since the legislation came into effect on 15 October, holding large-scale demonstrations in the port as well as in the city centre.

Trieste now has the highest weekly covid-19 incidence in Italy, with 283 cases per 100,000 inhabitants according to figures released on Monday, while every other large Italian city has under 100 cases per 100,000.

Many of the new coronavirus infections are attributed to the protests where crowds gathered, mostly without masks, over the last couple of weeks.

Among them was former Trieste city councillor Fabio Tuiach who claimed he caught covid after being sprayed by police water cannons.

This week, amid fears that Trieste could now become a covid 'yellow zone', the city's newly elected centre-right mayor Roberto Dipiazza has banned protests in the central Piazza Unita dItalia until 31 December.

"What I have seen in the last few weeks has damaged the image of the city and threatens to take us backwards" - said Dipiazza - "This would be madness. Let's finish with the demonstrations that led to this disaster."

Photo Il Giorno
Head of Rome's rubbish collection agency AMA steps down.

Rome's new mayor Roberto Gualtieri has unveiled a 40 million plan to clean up the capital "in 60 days" in what he said was "the first step in the relaunch" of the capital.

Gualtieri, of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD), said that "32.3 million had been identified through existing resources, with 7.7 million in additional resources identified in the budget."

The plan is centred around five main pillars: sweeping the streets every three days and removing trash left dumped around bins; the removal of illegal rubbish tips; the sanitation of bins; taking care of greenery; and the maintenance of drains.

The 55-year-old mayor, who is expected to reveal his team of councillors this week, faces an uphill task in cleaning up a city long plagued by a rubbish crisis.

Gualtieri's announcement follows the resignation of Stefano Zaghis from his post as sole administrator of Rome's municipal refuse collection agency AMA.

Zaghis, who was appointed in 2019 by former mayor Virginia Raggi of the populist Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S), had promised to step down if Raggi failed to get re-elected.

Photo Fanpage
Charles: Heller. When it was decided at the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, before being argued in the Supreme Court, I was a law student. I was blown away by the courts historical analysis and how it informed the courts legal rationale, particularly the courts analysis of the phrases bear arms and well-regulated militia. At the time, I felt I was either woefully uninformed about the history of the American Revolution or the opinion was clearly wrong. So it piqued my curiosity and I began doing archival research on the legal and popular meaning of the words in the Second Amendment. As it turns out, the court was wrong. Virtually every one of the Second Amendments words and phrases can be found in the militia laws of the time. This to me confirmed that a militia-centric interpretation of the Second Amendment was proper, assuming of course that the Founding Fathers interpretation of the text mattered most. From that point on, my historical interest in the issue took off.
The time to think about the demise of sovereignty is now. Maybe well need an ecological equivalent to what the World Trade Organization is to commerce: A new international body that makes the conundrum explicit and attempts to maintain order. Even then, the world is likely to become more unstable and dangerous, not only ecologically but also geopolitically. We all dread environmental Armageddon. But we dont want another Thirty Years War either.
Little has been heard from the AU, which has been mostly mum as the continents second-most populous country has descended into the worst ethnic conflagration since the Rwandan genocide. The most charitable explanation is that the AU is overburdened. There are concurrent crises across much of the Sahel, the band of countries stretching across the continent just south of the Sahara. But the organization is also beholden to the Ethiopian government  the AUs headquarters are in Addis Ababa -- and has been reluctant to criticize Abiy, much less pressure him to parley with the TPLF.
Chinese and American companies dominate the industry. In the U.S., Microsoft and Amazon get a lot of the attention, but firms like NEC and Clearview AI have many of the police and government contracts for facial recognition software. (Security giant Palantir Technologies Inc. says it does not sell facial recognition algorithms, but Clearview was funded in part by Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.) Microsoft pitches its product with features it says include person identification that matches an individual in your private repository of up to 1 million people and perceived emotion recognition that detects a range of facial expressions like happiness, contempt, neutrality, and fear. From China, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. control one-third of the global market for video surveillance systems, according to a report by Deutsche Bank AG, often combining them with real-time facial recognition programs. Megviis Face++ is another heavyweight in the field.
Lacy also put on a mask for the funeral. Its just one of those things, she said, like if you are asked to be in your girlfriends wedding and she wants everybodys hair up, everyone puts their hair up. Thats how it was with Elisa at the funeral. If you are against wearing masks, then stay home. I mean, her husband had just passed away from covid, and she did not want the funeral to be an area where it was spread. And I respected that.
But fellow conservative and former Justice Department official John Yoo agreed with Ben-Veniste. If he acts as a president, he gets these things we talk about  executive privilege and immunity. But if hes acting as a candidate, hes deprived of all of those protections, said Yoo, one of the stalwart conservative legal scholars who advised Pences staff that there was no basis for the vice president to intervene in the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6.
Im in a predicament similar to Mosss. Im supposed to fly to Lisbon, then to the Azores later this month. From there, Im planning to travel around Europe and North Africa. Each country has its own entry and testing requirements. But, unlike Moss, Im not dealing with a cruise line or tour operator, and theres no travel agency involved. So far, Ive relied on official information from the airline, TAP Air Portugal, and tourism officials. Ive also found a few extra resources that can answer some of the more difficult questions.
Its a win for parents that are looking for a greater role in their childrens education, said Ian Prior, a Loudoun County father and head of Fight for Schools, a parent group seeking to recall members of the Loudoun school board that also opposes the districts recent efforts to promote racial equity. I believe we will see many families keep their children in public schools, and school boards will start collaborating more with parents on the best way forward.
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Although some psychotherapists still question Dr. Becks approach, cognitive therapy began to be more widely accepted after 1980. At the University of Pennsylvania, where Dr. Beck taught for many years, he trained generations of psychotherapists in his methods. Through the Beck Institute, which he established in 1994 with his daughter, psychologist Judith S. Beck, he helped trained tens of thousands of therapists in more than 100 countries around the world.
The Republicans have a chance to put together an effective governing coalition, not an entirely partisan one  if they can move a few Democrats in the House and the Senate on key issues, Rozell said. So it will be up to party leadership to focus on issues where they know they can pick up some Democratic votes, and they dont need to pick up that many if they can hold their caucus together.
The reality is it will lead to gridlock in Richmond in the same way it has in Washington unless either side shows some willingness to reach across party lines and develop centrist policies, Farnsworth said. But the divisive politics of modern times, coupled with scorched-earth primary campaigns, are going to convince most elected officials that there isnt much point to compromising.
But for two weeks, in the nations capital, five young people did more than just toss out words and promises. They put their health on the line, starving themselves in hope that their actions would push others to act. After preparing their bodies to go without food, they launched a hunger strike outside the White House on Oct. 20 and vowed not to end it until President Biden and other Democratic lawmakers delivered climate policy that matched the urgency and the scale of the crisis.
John Cohen, who oversees intelligence analysis at the Department of Homeland Security, made the comments at a House Intelligence subcommittee hearing about domestic terrorism. We need to think differently about intelligence. This threat requires we think differently about how we look at information, he said of homegrown extremism, noting that pre-attack indicators may be observable through individuals public communications. Covert collection may often not be necessary to capture valuable intelligence, but analysts need to be able to distinguish . . . between constitutionally protected speech and threat-related activity.
Announcement of the resumption of talks coincided with a reminder of the hair-trigger tensions that persist between Iran and the United States in the Middle East. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Wednesday that it had foiled a U.S. attempt to detain a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Sea of Oman. The announcement, carried by state media channels, did not specify the date of the incident but said the tanker had been redirected to Iranian waters.
But for all of the pronouncements in Scotland and preparations before that during a meeting of economic powers in Rome known as the Group of 20, the president remained dogged by his uncertain domestic agenda, the multitrillion-dollar package of legislation that would cement some of the grand promises he made on climate here. A key piece of that legislation appeared to fall into place Tuesday, while a fight over a tax provision heated up.
A fallback plan is to keep the $100 billion in the legislation and put it toward such things as funds for the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security to reduce green card backlogs, eliminate certain penalties that would allow people who applied legally to the United States for citizenship to receive their naturalization faster and reunify families that had been separated at the border or through deportation, according to two members familiar with the discussions who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private talks.
According to two Murphy aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the race, the campaign had not drawn any conclusions yet about the reasons for the Republican surge  whether it was fueled by strong anti-Biden sentiment, pandemic-related restrictions or a general backlash against Democrats. But their own internal polling, they said, also missed the strength of the Republican energy.
In a sharply divided nation, who gets to decide when its okay to use fatal force? Across the nation, there is no consensus: States are evenly divided over the core question of whether you have a duty to retreat from a confrontation in a public place that might endanger your life.
The mother of Laquan McDonald learned about the nature of the shooting when she was called by the funeral house who said to her, Do you realize your son was shot multiple times, his body was riddled with bullets? She didnt know ... that information hadnt been shared with her, Merkley said at the time.
While Republicans have supported prior reauthorizations of the Voting Rights Act, most recently in 2006, that support has all but evaporated since the 2013 Shelby County decision. That ruling effectively ended the practice of preclearance, giving federal prosecutors and judges the right to review and preemptively block discriminatory voting laws in certain covered jurisdictions with a history of racial prejudice. Another ruling earlier this year took aim at a separate part of the 1965 law, making it more difficult for the federal government to challenge state and local voting laws for possible discrimination after they are enacted.
It was a predictable reaction, exactly in line with other recent congressional majorities after shellackings in Virginia and New Jerseys oddly timed state elections. If history is any guide, Democrats will pass this massive agenda in the weeks or months ahead  and it will have little to no impact on their political standing in next years midterm elections.
France will always be a close and loyal friend of Australia and the Australians, he said. If there is a problem today, it is with certain aspects of the Canberra bubble and its secret city practices. (That phrase appeared to be a reference to a TV series about political skulduggery set in the Australian capital.)
My friends, the adolescence of humanity is coming to an end, he said from the podium. It is time for humanity to grow up. It is time for us to listen to the warnings of the scientists  and look at covid, if you want an example of gloomy scientists being proved right  and to understand who we are and what we are doing.
MARY RUTH WAGLER  The funeral for Mary Ruth Wagler was held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at First Mennonite Church, with Chris Raber, Gaylon Sommers and David Lee Stoll officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.
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Scott Morrisons long-term plan for net zero emissions by 2050 wont impress anyone whos been following Australias long and tortuous battle over climate change. But then, its not intended to.

His learning after miraculously wining the unwinnable election in 2019 is that whatever half-truths he tells voters will be believed by enough of them. Particularly since God is on his side, not the side of those other, untruthful and ungodly people.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces his new plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

No, his Plan  which is not a plan to achieve net zero, just an optimistic forecast that it will be achieved  is largely a political document, intended to be sufficient to convince those voters who arent paying attention that hes doing more to cope with climate change.

His goal is not so much to fix the climate as to neutralise it as an issue at next years election. Climate change is an issue that naturally favours Labor. He wants all the focus to be on two issues that naturally favour the Coalition: the economy and national security.
Lucy Barton is Strouts other recurrent female character of mature years and bears some similarities to Olive Kitteridge. Like Olive, she has lost two husbands. Like Olive, her pain runs in deep veins right back to her childhood. But Lucy Bartons heart is closer to the surface, her language more tender, her opinions and reactions more malleable. Olive and Lucy are yin and yang, water and stone. Lucy often says things like then there was this. Olive is seldom so outwardly tentative. But like Olive, Lucy is made from missing parts.

Olive seems as tough as the landscape of her native Maine, Strouts heartland. She is unable ever to say sorry. But the pain in her life is so real that readers see beyond the no-nonsense layer of self-protection, especially when it comes to her estrangement from her son and her relationship with two inadequate husbands. At the conclusion of Olive, Again, she writes I do not have a clue who I have been. Truthfully, I do not understand a thing. To borrow a famous image, Olive is a net made of holes sewn together.

Elizabeth Strout masterfully describes the missing parts of people and relationships. Fans of the redoubtable Olive Kitteridge, the main stay of two of Strouts most popular books, sometimes wonder how such a joyless and unbending character managed to win their hearts.

Oh William!, the third Lucy Barton book, is centred on Lucys first husband, a scientist, with whom she had two daughters. We met William on the sidelines of My Name Is Lucy Barton (2016) when Lucy wakes in a New York hospital to find her mother, whom she has not seen for many years, sitting at the foot of the bed. Like Marilynne Robinson, Strout elaborately embroiders a small but complete world.

William has arranged this reunion, despite being made totally unwelcome in the Barton household, a shack on the fringe of a small town in rural Illinois. Lucys father returned from the Second World War with debilitating PTSD. She grew up without any experience of nurture until a kindly teacher paved the way for her to go to college, parachuting her into another world.

Credit:

Oh William! deals with a later time, following the death of Lucys second husband, David. William Gerhardt is now onto his third wife. During his marriage to Lucy, he had numerous affairs, including with a character from Strouts book The Burgess Boys (2013). Now Lucy starts thinking that William was the only person with whom she ever felt safe. He is the only home I ever had. It seems possible for a time that they might come back together, fragments trying to make themselves whole by pasting themselves onto another. It turns out that William wants Lucys help more than he wants her.

Williams mother, Catherine, came from circumstances in rural Maine almost as tough as Lucys. She left her first husband for Williams father, a man who had fought on the other side of the war to Lucys own dad. He made money in the war in circumstances that are never explained but cast a shadow.
Its too easy to miss brilliant streaming shows, movies and documentaries. Here are the ones to hit play on or skip.

My Name 

Netflix

Korean TV is really having a moment in Australia. Squid Game has been hogging all the headlines but other South Korean series have been tearing up Netflixs Australian top 10. My Name, a stylish and spectacular crime-and-revenge drama, is perhaps the most epic of the lot.

Consumed by rage, Yoon Ji-woo (Han So-hee) vows to avenge the death of her father in the gripping Korean crime thriller My Name. Credit:Netflix

The central figure is Yoon Ji-woo (Han So-hee), who has just turned 17 when she sees her gangster father murdered by a hooded man in the hallway outside their apartment. Consumed by rage and grief, she seeks out her fathers best friend and partner in crime, drug boss Choi Mu-jin (Park Hee-son), and demands that he find and kill the killer. That he cant immediately do. But he can give her a place in the filthy, brutal martial-arts gym in which his aspiring thugs live and serve an apprenticeship, learning the violence that they will eventually be doing on Chois behalf.
Glasgow: Global warming could peak at 1.9 degrees this century if pledges made at the COP26 climate talks and the days beforehand are honoured, according to a new analysis.

It is the first credible projection that suggests warming could be held at less than 2 degrees.

Climate activists unfurl a large Code Red banner outside the climate talks in Glasgow. Credit:AP

Similar analysis of pledges and reductions goals made just weeks before the Glasgow talks placed the world on a trajectory for a catastrophic 2.7-degree temperature rise.

The analysis, which was prepared by an expert team including Professor Malte Meinshausen, an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, assumes that all the commitments and pledges made are kept, and that funding is found to help developing nations reach their targets.
The High Court of Australia has paved the way for some working holidaymakers from overseas, including Britain and Norway, to receive a refund of the so-called backpacker tax, in a small hit to the federal budget bottom line.

In a decision on Wednesday, the court reinstated a 2019 Federal Court ruling that the backpacker tax falls foul of a non-discrimination clause in a double taxation treaty between Britain and Australia.

Similar treaties exist between Australia and Chile, Finland, Japan, Norway, Turkey, Germany and Israel. While the US also has a non-discrimination clause in its treaty with Australia, it is not legally enforceable.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg during Question Time on October 27. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The ruling is a blow to the Tax Office and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, whose predecessor-turned-Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced the tax, but the ATO said the majority of working holidaymakers would be unaffected by the decision.
WA is the only state to not have publicly released a COVID roadmap prompting increasing pressure on the government from the opposition and industry groups such as Master Builders WA.

Mark McGowan revealed a plan was in the works during an announcement for a $400 million boost to beds and staff at Western Australian hospitals timed to meet increases in COVID presentations when the state loosens its border controls.

The McGowan government has written up a plan to allow COVID-19 to spread in the state, but the premier wont release details until Friday.

This more than caters for what we expect will be the demand from COVID when it gets here sometime next year, well release our transition plan on Friday, he said.

Which will detail a lot of those matters and its been carefully worked through, carefully calibrated for the West Australian context.

The government has been working on the plan for weeks but when asked why he was waiting until Friday Mr McGowan said they were still putting the final touches on it.

We havent rushed these things because we have had the luxury of time that other states have not, and so we can do it properly in a well-organised and well-calibrated way, and well release all those details on Friday as best we can, he said.

We will get to opening up but we want to do it with a soft landing, ... where were able to land out of COVID without too many bumps, without people dying in large numbers and without terrible health or economic consequences.
Glasgow: At least 19 countries plan to commit at the COP26 climate summit on Thursday to stop public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of next year, according to two people familiar with the talks.

The British government, which is leading the effort, was in last-minute talks on Wednesday to clinch deals with more countries to sign the pledge before it is launched, the sources said.

Denmarks Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen shares a laugh with Argentinas President Alberto Fernandez. Denmark is one of the countries reportedly making the committment. Credit:Getty

So far, countries signed on to join include Denmark, Finland, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Gambia, and the Marshall Islands, plus some development institutions including the European Investment Bank and the East African Development Bank, the sources said.

The countries will commit to end public support for foreign fossil fuel energy projects by the end of 2022, though the deal would allow for unspecified exemptions in limited circumstances.
Glasgow: Boris Johnson has come under fire after a photo emerged of him sitting unmasked next to the 95-year-old naturalist David Attenborough the United Nations COP26 summit in Glasgow on Monday.

The image triggered a flurry of criticism online, prompting the British PM to defend himself on CNN.

Thats 95 year-old Sir David Attenborough next to him and Boris Johnson STILL cant wear a mask, posted Siobhan Benita, a former civil servant.

In comments to CNN, Johnson defended himself: Ive been wearing masks in confined spaces with people I dont normally talk to ... its up to people to take a judgment whether theyre at a reasonable distance from someone ... thats the approach we take.
Wilmington, DE (19810)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 54F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low around 45F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
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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.
The BBB has been downtown for 75 years, but on Wednesday morning, it broke ground in the Eastpoint Office Park on LaGrange Road. Image courtesy the BBB. Nov. 3, 2021
Retired U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Dana Bowman parachuted from a helicopter, bringing with him a large American flag as he landed on the Weatherford Christian School field Tuesday, Nov. 9 for a special ceremony in honor of Veterans Day.
While the winter snow and ice storms beautifully crystalized the Rotary Park in downtown Palestine, and landscapes across the state, it brought utility companies and services to their knees.
NEW YORK (AP)  An American woman's claims that Britain's Prince Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17 will probably be tried in a New York court late next year, if they survive a legal challenge, a judge said Wednesday.

Lawyers for Andrew have asked the court to throw out the civil lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, who says she was coerced into sexual encounters with the prince in 2001 by the financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on unrelated sex trafficking charges.

They said the prince never abused Giuffre and accused her of seeking another payday at Andrew's expense.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said a trial date would likely fall between September and December 2022, though that could change because of factors including courthouse coronavirus protocols limit how many trials can occur at once.

Wednesdays conference, conducted electronically, lasted less than 10 minutes and featured only the judge and two lawyers, David Boies for Giuffre and Andrew Brettler for the prince.

Both attorneys said they expected to depose eight to 12 individuals, including Giuffre and Andrew, and a number of potential witnesses.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they choose to come forward publicly, as Giuffre has.

Meanwhile, Epsteins former girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is scheduled to go to trial this month on criminal charges alleging she recruited teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004. Potential jurors for that trial begin filling out questionnaires Thursday.

Opening statements are scheduled for Nov. 29. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty.

Giuffre has accused Maxwell of being involved in trafficking her to Andrew and other powerful men, but her allegations aren't part of the criminal case.

Maxwells lawyer on Wednesday again asked a court to free her on bail and likened her treatment in a federal jail in New York to what was experienced by the fictional character Hannibal Lecter in the film Silence of the Lambs.

Attorney Bobbi Sternheim said in a letter to the judge that although Maxwell, 59, is not being kept in a cage or forced to wear a plastic face guard as Lecter was, the conditions of detention are reprehensible.

Sternheim said surveillance of Maxwell at the jail was disturbing and invasive.

U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan has thrice before rejected Maxwells application to be released, even after she offered to post millions of dollars in bail, be guarded around the clock, wear an ankle bracelet and renounce her citizenship in England and France.

Maxwell has had to wear shackles on her ankles and waist and handcuffs on her wrists during court appearances. Sternheim complained that when Maxwell was brought to a courthouse Monday, she was forced to sit alone for hours in a small chilly cell, where she was poked in the leg by a guard when she fell asleep.

In her renewed request for bail, Sternheim said Maxwell has been subjected to physical and emotional abuse by jail guards in a facility where it is difficult to prepare for trial amid unsanitary living conditions, insufficient nutrition and sleep deprivation as guards shine a light into her cell every 15 minutes as she sleeps.

There are cameras on her constantly, most are stationary, but one camera follows her as she moves throughout the facility, and is constantly surveilling her, even during confidential attorney-client conferences, Sternheim wrote, saying Maxwell had lost hair and at least 15 pounds (7 kilograms) of body weight.

Currently, she suffers from headaches and back pain and general physical weakness, the lawyer said.

She also said her client is subject to numerous pat searches daily and has been touched in a sexually inappropriate manner by corrections officers on multiple occasions.

A message for comment was sent to the Bureau of Prisons media office.

Sternheim said the nightly light interruptions are an overreaction to Epsteins suicide in jail.
For decades, Westporters prided themselves on non-partisanship.

Starting in the 1970s, the first selectmans office pinballed between Republicans and Democrats. So did majorities on important board and commissions, like education, finance and planning and zoning. Our Representative Town Meeting candidates have always run without party affiliation.

There were outliers, of course. In 1969, the RTM voted 17-15 to ask President Nixon to end the Vietnam War; the local incursion into national politics earned a New York Times headline. That same decade, a Board of Ed plan to bring Bridgeport students to Westport through Project Concern sparked intense - and very political - passions on both sides. The decision led to a recall petition against board chair Joan Schine. The move ultimately failed.

Local budget battles at times mirrored national political debates, with Washington slogans being parroted in Westport.

But since the 1980s, political partisanship has been largely absent from Town Hall. Weve disagreed on many issues, but there was never a wide divide between Democrats and Republicans. This is really just a small town. When leaders see neighbors (and vice versa) every day at the supermarket, dentists office and parties, its hard to throw party bombs.

This years election, though, brought Washington politics to Westport.

A couple of events put the Republican/Democratic divide into stark focus.

One was a website, WP06880. A group of Westport residents of all backgrounds and persuasions claimed to stand up to false narratives and political agendas that will harm our schools. I put those words in quotes, and said claimed to be, because the website is entirely anonymous.

Organizers said that they feared intimidation and retaliation by speaking out publicly. They cited Americas long tradition of anonymous speech, dating back to the Federalist Papers. But by introducing an idea advanced by Fox News and national Republican leaders  that Critical Race Theory is being taught in our schools, and students are learning to hate both their white skin and their country  they injected U.S. politics into a local election.

At the same time, other national issues  including the continuing influence of Donald Trump, and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol  were raised by local Democrats. Where, they wondered, did Republican candidates for selectmen and other offices stand on those topics? Would they denounce their national leaders?

Some Republicans issued statements noting that local elections have nothing to do with national ones. Some said nothing.

Some Democrats asked for answers. Some Republicans replied, what about President Biden? Are you willing to denounce his Afghan policy? And How about Hunter Biden?

In the middle of all this, one Republican candidate for the Board of Education ended a relatively tame League of Women Voters debate with a stunning statement. He denounced his own partys refusal to distance itself from Trumpism. Then he charged that his own partys leadership had muzzled his right to free speech.

This column was written Sunday, two days before the local election. The outcome of races was still in doubt. But what is not in doubt is that the toxic, us-against-them atmosphere that pervades Washington has seeped into many communities. Including our own.

The poisoned politics in our nations capital is scary. Gone are the days when Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch sat together to hammer out compromises. Every White House move is viewed with suspicion, distrust and anger by anyone outside the White House. Even the Supreme Court has become weaponized.

Connecticut is luckier than many states. At the state level, weve avoided much of the rancor of national politics. Weve had Democratic and Republican governors recently; their competence and effectiveness has little to do with their parties. Our congressional districts are not gerrymandered in absurd configurations.

But, regardless of the outcome of this election, what does the national mood mean for Westport?

Will new Board of Education members be able to work together, after the late October fireworks? Will Board of Ed meetings be filled with demands that Critical Race Theory not be taught here  even though, as the superintendent of schools and many others have noted, it already is not? If the anti-CRT people speak publicly, will they be listened to quietly, or shouted down?

Will our new first selectperson  whoever he or she is  be looked upon as a Democrat or Republican, or as the chief executive of this town?

Just as importantly, will we continue to attract smart, dedicated men and women to public service here? First selectperson is the only position that draws a real salary. Everyone else is volunteers. Will they be turned off by political rancor, or turned on by the opportunity to make a great town even greater?

Im pessimistic about national politics. Call me crazy, but I still have hopes for our local officials.

Dan Woog is a Westport writer, and his Woog's World appears each Friday. He can be reached at dwoog@optonline.net. His personal blog is danwoog06880.com.
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National Forest Monitoring Specialist, Jakarta, Indonesia

Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Country: Indonesia

City: Jakarta

Office: FAO in Jakarta, Indonesia

Closing date: Wednesday, 10 November 2021

2102897

National Forest Monitoring Specialist

Job Posting: 27/Oct/2021

Closure Date: 10/Nov/2021, 10:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : FAINS

Job Type: Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition : NPP (National Project Personnel)

Grade Level : N/A

Primary Location: Indonesia-Jakarta

Duration : 11 months

Post Number : N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture

Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply

Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAOs values

FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

The Government of Indonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) has asked for FAO technical support to enhance Indonesian capacity on National Forest Inventory and Monitoring systems (NFMS) needed to implement and better report on climate change including REDD+ and other improvements to forest data for management. This project will develop and undertake activities and require detailed technical forestry knowledge and the ability to coordinate with the MoEF staff in Bahasa Indonesia to plan and implement the work. The National Forest Monitoring Expert will work with other project personnel to provide technical support on forest inventory data collection, analysis, reporting and training to deliver project activities. The project will be managed through the FAO office in Jakarta with technical support from FAO technical staff from the Forestry Department in Rome and other organizations where appropriate and with guidance from the Project Steering Committee.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall managerial administrative leadership of the FAO Representative in Indonesia, direct supervision of the National Project Manager (NPM), in coordination with the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), and technical backstopping of the Forestry Department and FAO forestry experts, the National Forest Monitoring Specialist will provide the technical assistance and support to DG-PKTL in the areas of compiling forest inventory data, capacity development, institutional strengthening, planning workshops and implementation of the project activities.

Technical Focus

Provision of technical expertise on forest monitoring and inventory data, outcomes to include report detailing improvement to forest inventory systems, input on redesign forest inventory, and improvement to the forest monitoring processing data, tool, systems and output products.

Tasks and responsibilities

- Work with the Data and Capacity Needs Expert and other project staff, consult national key partners and technical partners on needs and potential improvements to Indonesias forest and land monitoring systems and prepare an inception reportand workplan and submit it to CTA and NPM.

- Work with the CTA and NPM and MoEF team, to develop redesigned NFI and spatial data systems.

- Assist the CTA and the NPM and provide inputs on forest inventory field plot design and data to prepare work-plans for implementation of the project activities following a participatory approach where professionals, scientists, and stakeholders from different sectors are involved.

- Assist project and national staff to collect, manage, process, validate, analyse field plot, emission factors and combine with remote sensing or model data.

- Assist project and national counterparts to develop improved data and methods for producing results from field inventory and spatial data, land use change maps for generating estimates including carbon assessments and data used for FREL, REDD+ results based payments and climate change reporting.

- Work closely with national personnel and international experts and provide inputs for the training programme for the national staff involved in the project and assist MoEF DG-PKTL in implementing it.

- Participate in implementing the training programme to government staff including field crews and database personnel through planned workshops and courses.

- Assist DG-PKTL and others in planning and servicing workshops throughout the project and securing wide participation of stakeholders from the different sectors.

- Work with professionals from different sectors and scientists, and in close collaboration with the CTA, NPM, and consultants, to reach a consensus on the NFI design and long-term monitoring plans.

- Provide technical and logistcal support for fieldwork including training of field crews, initial and periodic support in the field with equipment, forms and data collection devices etc. and support from the office.

- Provide technical guidance to field crews during surveys and set up quality control systems for data collection and interpretation of variables and definitions. Teams to be primarily supervised during fieldwork by MoEF. Assist in organizing and filing field crew data outputs including digital data storage.

- In close collaboration with CTA, NPM and Web and forest database management expert, assist in developing a redesigned MoEF national forest database, and technical guidance on entering/storing the field data by MoEF staff, preparing functions for data processing and be part of the data processing together with the Biometrician.

- Assist in the design and supervise collection of field and other data for carbon stock and change assessments. Assist in data analysis and reporting findings.Participate in and contribute to preparing project progress reports.

Assist in any other tasks under the project at the instruction of the CTA and NPM.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: A university degree in Forestry, environment, natural resource management or related field.

Indonesian nationality and fluency in Bahasa Indonesian and English required.

At least 5 years or more work experience in handling data for forest or natural resource management.

Well developed skills in forest inventory data collection methods, analysis of forest data and compilation of summary results and statistics.

FAO Core Competencies

Results Focus cxbYIwI Dh7qKS

Teamwork

Communication

Building Effective Relationships

Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

Extent and relevance of experience in the forest inventory and monitoring in Indonesia, including data processing, tools, and its systems and analysis on the relationship between field data and remote sensing data for forest monitoring.

Extent and relevance of experience in the capacity development

Extent and relevance of experience in development of project design and implementation;

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org

Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted

Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/

For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile.

Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered

Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org

Link to the organizations job offer: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1635701819800
Junior Data Engineer, Rome, Italy

Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Country: Italy

City: Rome

Office: FAO Rome

Closing date: Tuesday, 9 November 2021

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST - VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT : 2101946

Junior Data Engineer

Job Posting: 12/Oct/2021

Closure Date: 09/Nov/2021, 10:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : OER

Job Type: Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition : Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)

Grade Level : N/A

Primary Location: Italy-Rome

Duration : Up to 11 months

Post Number : N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background, and culture

Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member nations, and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply

Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct and to uphold our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination

All selected candidates, therefore, will undergo rigorous reference and background checks

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

Organizational Setting

The Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER) is responsible for ensuring FAOs efforts to support countries and partners in preparing for and effectively responding to food and agricultural threats and crises. It is responsible for coordinating the development and maintenance of corporate tools and standards to enable Decentralized Offices to assist Members to prepare for, and respond to emergencies. OER ensures humanitarian policy coordination and knowledge, liaison with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee as well as with humanitarian resource partners, co-leadership with World Food Programme of the global Food Security Cluster, organizational preparedness, surge capacity and response to large-scale emergencies. OER supports food and nutrition security assessment and early warning activities related to emergency and humanitarian analysis and responses. OER plays a major role in the development and leadership of the Organizations programme to increase the resilience of livelihoods to food and agriculture threats and crises.

Reporting Lines

The Junior Data Engineer reports to the Senior Technical Officer, OER.

Technical Focus

Under the overall guidance of the OER Senior Technical Officer and the OER Needs Assessment Team Leader, and under the direct technical supervision of the OER Data Manager, the Junior Data Engineer will manipulate the datasets and prepare them for the visualization on the dashboards. In addition, he/she will support the different data workflows for the COVID-19 data facility, covering the various phases, including acquisition, quality control, cleaning, analysis, visualization, storage and sharing.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Junior Data Engineer will:

Support the implementation of data pipelines for the COVID-19 data facility and geospatial Hub and collaborate on the development of the geospatial Hub and related ESRI Apps;

Support the timely processing of structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data, including data workflows harmonization and standardization among datasets coming from different countries or data collection rounds;

Restructure datasets and develop and implement scripts to transform data into the appropriate format in order to feed in the Covid-19 data facility;

Create and maintain a GIS reference of administrative boundaries for the countries involved in the monitoring project;

Create and maintain metadata for all datasets derived from surveys (both microdata and aggregated layers);

Develop, construct, test and maintain data architectures and align it with business requirements;

Support the implementation of data visualization solutions;

Identify data-related tasks that can be automated and develop appropriate procedure;

Perform other related duties, as requested.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

University degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, GIS & Remote Sensing, Statistics, or related field; cwqnmiq Dh7qKS

At least 1 year of experience in data management applied to the humanitarian and development context or socioeconomic research;

Language requirements for Consultants : Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of one of the other languages of the Organization (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese or Russian);

Language requirements for PSAs: Working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

Results Focus

Teamwork

Communication

Building Effective Relationships

Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

Proficient in R or Python with working knowledge of data visualization options such as interactive dashboards (ESRI Operational Dashboards, Tableau, Power BI);

Familiarity with the management of ArcGIS Online content and the creation of maps, dashboards, infographics, hubs using ESRI Technology;

Ability to manage large datasets from different sources and of a different nature;

Familiarity and interest in socioeconomic surveys in developing countries;

Ability to work under pressure and adapt to an evolving and complex humanitarian context and within multidisciplinary and different cultural background teams;

Effective skills to structure, develop and run a multidimensional system;

Ability to demonstrate creativity while complying with internal standard procedures and practices;

Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written;

Ability to communicate with technical and non-technical people;

Effective team leadership and decision making skills with strong individual planning capacity;

Knowledge of humanitarian principles.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)

Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list If you are in possession of language certificate/s from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT), please attach the certificate/s when submitting the application.

For more information, visit the FAO employment website

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.

We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline

If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org

Link to the organizations job offer: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1635011021414
The bane of every editorial writer in Connecticut is Election Night. Results come in sloooowly. That makes commenting on them by deadline a nightmare.

Thats why we were thrilled to learn the results in a few races by press time. Congratulations to Greenwich Republican First Selectman Fred Camillo, Norwalk Democratic Mayor Harry Rilling and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker on being re-elected, and to Republican Dean Esposito becoming mayor of Danbury. May you govern wisely and well. Meanwhile, the mayoral race in Stamford, which has drawn national attention, wasnt settled until midnight as absentee ballots were scrutinized to determine Democrat Caroline Simmons won a showdown with unaffiliated candidate Bobby Valentine. Who said municipal elections were boring?

Lets give a shoutout, while were waiting for results, to all the good people who stepped up to run for local office. Thank you for agreeing to attend meetings that run late into the night and for trying to solve knotty problems.

We do wonder, however, if Connecticut needs so many registrars. There are, this year, 339 of them, and thats not counting all their deputies.

This states law on registrars is unique. Connecticut requires every one of its 169 municipalities to elect one Democratic registrar and one Republican one. Occasionally a municipality gets a third registrar if a candidate from another party or no party at all wins more votes than the D or R. Thats how the little town of Westbrook ended up with three registrars  one Democrat, one Republican and one unaffiliated.

Thats a lot of registrars for one town and for one state. But local registrars are the kind of thing residents get all Connecticozy about each autumn, like watching leaves die and sipping lukewarm cider. The system is so quaint. So New England. So Connecticut. So very outdated.

Were not knocking the contributions of these 339 individuals. But isnt it worth calling a timeout to consider whether the rulebook needs to be written on a computer rather than with a quill? All those registrars for even the tiniest of towns (yes, were talking about your 187 residents, Union) translate to hefty office expenses for taxpayers. And its really just based on the idea of each party keeping an eye on its opposing number.

Of course, Connecticuts fixation on steady habits means we also accept that theres no rush to make election results official. In an era when you can get next-day delivery for everything from diapers to car tires, Connecticuts certification date in 2020 was Dec. 3. (Delawares was two days after the election.)

To be fair, it did take the entire nation a few days to figure out who won the presidential election last year because of all those mail-in votes. To quote the eventual winner, Joe Biden, Democracy is sometimes messy.

So, yes, the registrars deserve more than cold leftover pizza and an e-mail hug for all the hard work theyve done. But maybe its time to think about a new process.
TORONTO - Katherena Vermette was stocking up on supplies at Costco when she got the call informing her that she'd won the $60,000 fiction prize at the Writers' Trust Awards.

TORONTO - Katherena Vermette was stocking up on supplies at Costco when she got the call informing her that she'd won the $60,000 fiction prize at the Writers' Trust Awards.

As her four-year-old daughter wriggled in the cart, Vermette said she decided to celebrate by adding items to her haul.

Katherena Vermette, a Red River Metis author and poet in Winnipeg, shown in this undated handout image, won the $60,000 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for "The Strangers," published by Hamish Hamilton Canada.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Vanda Fleury* MANDATORY CREDIT *

"We're just splurging on the water and the pineapple and whatever else," Vermette joked by phone from Winnipeg. "It's a spending spree happening now."

The Red River Metis poet and author was among the Indigenous wordsmiths to sweep the top two Writers' Trust Awards at a virtual ceremony Wednesday, with Cree musician and writer Tomson Highway taking the $60,000 non-fiction prize.

Vermette received the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for her intergenerational saga, "The Strangers," published by Hamish Hamilton Canada.

In their citation, the jury hailed the title as "a beautiful, raw testament to those living on the margins."

The book explores the ties that bind the women of the Stranger family even as the forces of inherited trauma, racism and colonialism threaten to drive them apart.

Some of the central characters were first introduced in Vermette's debut novel, "The Break," which was a Writers' Trust finalist in 2016.

A self-described "high fantasy nerd," Vermette said she was inspired by the genre's epic tradition as she continues to build out this narrative world in her next project.

"I love when people create these huge, monstrous cumbersome worlds that you just have to be dropped in and figure out. And I think part of me is really doing that, only it's set in realism in the North End of Winnipeg," she said.

"There's no real magic happening, other than the everyday kind, but I do love the idea of creating a community that people can get to know."

Vermette said she hadn't fully processed her win in an interview ahead of Wednesday's announcement. But she suspected the reality could set in as she prepared to travel to Toronto to be feted as the inaugural winner of the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

Organizers renamed the prize for the best novel or short story collection this year in honour of literary power couple Margaret Atwood and the late Graeme Gibson.

Highway received the $60,000 non-fiction award for "Permanent Astonishment: A Memoir," from Doubleday Canada.

The book recounts Highway's coming of age  from early years travelling throughout the North with his family of nomadic caribou hunters to his time in residential school.

The Gatineau, Que.-based pianist and playwright said "Permanent Astonishment" is the first of five books he plans to write about his life.

"I've had an extraordinary life and I'm happy with it," said Highway, who will soon turn 70. "I'd like to leave my two cents' worth behind me."

The Writers' Trust of Canada handed out $260,000 in prizes Wednesday, including four career awards worth $25,000 apiece.

Metis author Cherie Dimaline received the Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award, which is given to a mid-career writer in recognition of their past and future achievements in fiction.

Calgary-born Weyman Chan was recognized with the Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize honouring a mid-career poet for mastery of the form.

The $25,000 Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People went to Linda Bailey of Vancouver.

Ottawa-based writer Frances Itani took the Matt Cohen Award celebrating a lifetime of contributions to Canadian literature.

Runners-up for the two top prizes each received $5,000. Organizers said jurors' payments totalled roughly $70,000.

The other fiction finalists were Miriam Toews, Alix Ohlin, Rivka Galchen and Guy Vanderhaeghe.

The non-fiction short list included Jordan Abel, Ken Haigh, Darrel J. McLeod and Ian Williams.

The Writers' Trust is the first of three major literary awards to be awarded this month.

The winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize will be named Monday, and the Governor General's Literary Awards will be handed out on Nov. 17.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2021.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the Writers' Trust of Canada awarded more than $330,000 in prizes. In fact, that figure, provided by organizers, included jury payments.
Lets get one thing straight: Not A Donut does indeed serve doughnuts, just not the kind most North American fried dough connoisseurs are familiar with. The small shop on Langside Street specializes in mochi doughnuts, cute flower-shaped rings with a soft, chewy texture thanks to the addition of glutinous rice flour.

Lets get one thing straight: Not A Donut does indeed serve doughnuts, just not the kind most North American fried dough connoisseurs are familiar with. The small shop on Langside Street specializes in mochi doughnuts, cute flower-shaped rings with a soft, chewy texture thanks to the addition of glutinous rice flour.

Its a nostalgic dessert for owner Echo Shen.

"I tried it when I was back in Shanghai when I was little," says Shen, who moved to Canada from China for school. "I had it for the first time and couldnt forget it  its so good, its not like the regular doughnuts."

Mumu Ma (left) and Echo Shen, owners of Not a Donut. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press)

Mochi doughnuts were popularized in Japan by the Mister Donuts chain, which calls them "pon de ring," and have recently gained a following elsewhere. Shen and her boyfriend Mumu Ma, who co-owns the business, saw an opportunity with the growing trend.

"There were a lot of mochi doughnut shops opening in the (United States)," Shen says. "We were really excited, we wanted to bring it to Canada."

Not A Donut is the couples second eatery. They opened Not A Waffle at 353 Langside St. in 2018, selling an assortment of Asian street food, drinks and ice cream served in a fish-shaped cone called taiyaki. This summer, they moved the latter into a storefront on Corydon and turned their downtown location into a small-scale doughnut factory  although, they still offer a wide selection of smoothies and teas; favourite menu items of the university students who frequent the shop.

Expanding during a pandemic took patience. Construction and renovations were delayed by demand and customer traffic has been slow to return. Things are looking up, though  the nearby University of Winnipeg has reopened its campus and the Corydon strip is buzzing again with diners.

Not a Donut specializes in mochi doughnuts, flower-shaped rings with a soft, chewy texture. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press)

For Ma and Shen, running two shops has come with an unexpected perk.

"When we stay in the one shop we always argue," she says with a laugh. "Because we see each other every day. Now, hes here and Im there, so its actually pretty good."

Since Not A Donut is one of the first places in Winnipeg to offer mochi doughnuts, the couple has been looking for creative ways to get the word out about their product. Theyve recently teamed up with The Icing Castle, a dessert shop in The Maples, to sell their doughnuts at that location.

"A lot of our customers are also coming from that area," Shen says. "So were going to work with them and have our display case and doughnuts over there."

Mumu Ma is usually in the shop by 7 a.m. to make the days batch of treats. His favourite flavour is the Fruity Pebbles variety, a glazed doughnut topped with cereal. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press)

The pair also have plans to sell mochi doughnuts at a sushi restaurant in the St. Vital area and are hoping to bring the desserts to markets and craft sales in the future. The long-term goal is to open another brick and mortar restaurant that combines the Not A Waffle and Not A Donut concepts.

Ma is usually in the shop by 7 a.m. to make the days batch of treats  because of their texture, mochi doughnuts are best consumed day-of. His favourite flavour is the Fruity Pebbles variety, a glazed doughnut topped with cereal, while Shen prefers classic flavours, such as chocolate. The owners switch up the menu regularly and try to include a variety of Asian-inspired flavours  such as matcha, ube and yuzu  along with staples, such as sprinkles and coconut.

Not A Donut is open Tuesday through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit notadonut.ca for weekly flavour listings and to place an order.

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney
OTTAWA - A senior Canadian Security Intelligence Service official predicts the spy agency will make a "significant contribution" to understanding the threats posed by a warming planet as climate change accelerates.

The Canadian flag flies over the Columbia Icefields' Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, on May 7, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

OTTAWA - A senior Canadian Security Intelligence Service official predicts the spy agency will make a "significant contribution" to understanding the threats posed by a warming planet as climate change accelerates.

Tricia Geddes, deputy director for policy at CSIS, told an intelligence conference Wednesday that global warming will have a profound effect on Canadians, including aspects of national security.

CSIS must continue to anticipate "the next threat" and understand it in order to support other government players, said Geddes, citing possible ripples from climate shifts, such as the mass migration of people.

"I think it's important that we are going to be in that space," she told a Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies symposium.

Geddes stressed that CSIS analysis of climate change would be anchored in its mandate of gathering information about threats to the security of Canada, including violent extremism, sabotage, foreign interference and espionage. CSIS is also permitted to collect foreign intelligence to support the ministers of defence and foreign affairs.

Ironically, perhaps, environmental and human rights activists have alleged that CSIS stepped over the line in recent years in collecting information about peaceful anti-petroleum groups aiming to protect the planet by protesting pipeline plans.

Geddes' comments came as world leaders gathered this week in Scotland to devise plans to curb global greenhouse-gas emissions.

Daniel Jean, a former national security adviser to the prime minister, told the intelligence symposium that officials are already seeing environmental effects on security, such as conflicts fuelled by water scarcity in Africa.

Canada faces security questions prompted by climate change in the North that is making once-frozen waters more navigable, said Jean, a senior fellow with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.

"I think that our national security community has started to pay attention to these things. But there's a difference between paying attention and devoting more than just a running brief," he said.

"We're going to have to devote a little bit more attention to this in the whole dimension of what the world needs to do to deal with the warming of the planet.

"So the national security folks have to keep an eye on that. The rest of the public policy community has a tremendous weight on their shoulders as well."

Mass migration will be "a huge issue" flowing from climate change, meaning the Canada Border Services Agency will be prominent in collecting intelligence to understand the geographic patterns and risks, said Leah West, an assistant professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.

The cyberspies of the Communications Security Establishment, who gather foreign intelligence from an array of sources, could play a supporting role, she suggested.

In addition, Canada's military is likely to be called upon more often, she said.

"Who do we call out for floods, fires and pandemics? It's the Canadian Armed Forces, right? And so the military is going to be stretched to respond to those missions. It may need to reorient itself in its organizational structure to handle those missions better."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2021.
Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Schoolchildren who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic.

FILE - This October 2021, photo provided by Pfizer shows kid-size doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Puurs, Belgium. (Pfizer via AP, File)

Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Schoolchildren who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic.

Health officials hailed shots for kids ages 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.

Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday  a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At a Decatur, Georgia, pediatricians office, 10-year-old Mackenzie Olson took off her black leather jacket and rolled up her sleeve as her mother looked on.

I see my friends but not the way I want to. I want to hug them, play games with them that we dont normally get to, and have a pillow fight with her best friend, Mackenzie said after getting her shot at the Childrens Medical Group site.

Levi Lefkove, 6, is held by his sister Leah, 9, while getting his first COVID-19 vaccine at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

With the federal government promising enough vaccine to protect the nations 28 million kids in this age group, pediatricians offices and hospitals began inoculating children. Schools, pharmacies and other locations plan to follow suit in the days ahead.

The atmosphere surrounding the launch of shots for elementary-age students was festive in many locations. California vaccine sites welcomed children with inflatable animals and handed out coloring books and prizes. Vehicles lined up before dawn at an Atlanta site.

Many pediatricians offices expected strong interest in the shots at least initially, but health officials are worried about demand tapering off. Almost two-thirds of parents recently polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation said they would wait or not seek out vaccines for their kids.

Leah Lefkove, 9, shows off her vaccination sticker just before being the first child to be vaccinated at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Brian Giglio, 40, of Alexandria, Virginia, brought his 8-year-old son, Carter, in for vaccination at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, where kids with underlying conditions got first dibs. Carter has Type 1 diabetes that puts him at risk for complications if he were to become infected.

Giglio said the vaccine was like a hallway pass for us to begin living life again. And Carter said he cant wait to leave masks behind once hes fully vaccinated, so he can smell the things he used to be able to smell without it.

Im ready to trash it, he said, though the CDC still recommends masks in schools and indoor public spaces where virus activity is high, even for the fully vaccinated.

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children five to 12 years old is shown at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga.,Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.(AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, was first in line Wednesday for a drive-through vaccination at Viral Solutions in Atlanta. The girl enthusiastically bounced around the car before the shot, which she broadcast live on her computer during morning announcements at her elementary school.

Afterward, Cate said she was looking forward to hugging her friends and celebrating her birthday indoors next month instead of having a freezing cold outside birthday party.

Hartford Hospital in Connecticut vaccinated seven youngsters Tuesday night, minutes after the CDCs director gave the OK, and three more early Wednesday. As they got their shots, one girl squeezed her eyes shut and a boy barely flinched, and other waiting kids applauded.

An excited Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, hangs out of the car as she waits with her mom, Sara Zeigler, to receive her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga. on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The pair arrived one and a half hours before the site opened to be first in line. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

The vaccine  one-third the dose given to older children and adults and administered with kid-sized needles  requires two doses three weeks apart, plus two more weeks for full protection. That means children who get vaccinated before Thanksgiving will be covered by Christmas.

The timing before winter holidays is very fortunate, said Dr. Jennifer Shu, whose Childrens Medical Group office in Decatur, Georgia, began vaccinating first thing Wednesday. This age group will be able to spend holidays with friends and family more safely than they have been able to since the start of the pandemic.

Thousands of pediatricians pre-ordered doses, and Pfizer began shipments soon after the Food and Drug Administrations decision Friday to authorize emergency use. Pfizer said it expects to make 19,000 shipments totaling about 11 million doses in the coming days, and millions more will be available to order on a weekly basis.

Muhammad Touray gives Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga. on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Authorities said they expect a smooth rollout, unlike the chaos that plagued the national one for adults nearly a year ago.

Asked about parents having trouble finding vaccine appointments, White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said the vaccines.gov website will be updated by Friday for parents to search for locations near them. He said the kid vaccination campaign will be at full speed next week as Pfizer continues to ship millions more doses to locations around the country.

More than 6,000 vaccination clinics are being planned at schools around the country before the winter holiday break, he said.

Leah Lefkove, 9, waits as her dad Dr. Ben Lefkove prepares the first COVID-19 vaccine for her at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Walgreens planned to start kids vaccinations Saturday and said parents could sign up online or by calling 1-800-Walgreens. CVS was also accepting appointments online and by phone at select pharmacies starting Sunday.

Despite the initial enthusiasm, not everyone is rushing out to get shots.

Hannah Hause, a Colorado mother of four children ages 2, 5, 7 and 8, is herself vaccinated, but wants to see how the child vaccines play out and are studied in the larger childhood population.

Leah Lefkove, 9, covers her face as she waits for her dad Dr. Ben Lefkove to give her the first COVID-19 vaccine at the Viral Solutions vaccination and testing site in Decatur, Ga., on the first day COVID-19 vaccinations were available for children from 5 to 12 on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Its not studied long-term. It just makes me nervous, she said. As long as I can wait, I will wait.

At a White House briefing Wednesday, Walensky said authorities thoroughly reviewed all available data on the vaccines safety, efficacy and the immune response it generates before recommending shots for kids.

Dr. Ada Stewart, a Black family physician in Columbia, South Carolina, and past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said shes seen the toll the virus has taken on younger children  not just in family illness and death but with school disruptions, slipping grades and mental strain.

A child's dose of the COVID-19 vaccination is shown, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The vaccine, one-third the dose for teens and adults, requires two shots three weeks apart. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

School closures throughout the pandemic have disproportionately burdened children of color, widening academic gaps and worsening mental health, according to data presented Tuesday to CDC advisers. It showed more than 2,000 COVID-related school closures in just the first two months of the current school year.

A Pfizer study of 2,268 children found the vaccine was almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections. The FDA examined 3,100 vaccinated kids in concluding the shots are safe.

Some skeptics have questioned the need for kids to get vaccinated since they are less likely than adults to develop severe COVID-19. But with the delta variant, they get infected and transmit just as readily as adults do, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a recent White House briefing.

Kidney transplant patient Sophia Silvaamaya, 5, is escorted by Dr. Bear and her father, Pedro Silvaamaya, to receive her COVID-19 vaccination, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021 at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Infected kids have also contributed to the U.S. toll  almost 46 million infections and more than 740,000 deaths.

Since the pandemic began, at least 94 children ages 5 to 11 have died from COVID-19, more than 8,300 have been hospitalized and over 5,000 have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to the coronavirus. Black and Latino youngsters and those with chronic conditions are among the hardest hit.

Kyevontay Jordan, 7, who is Black, has diabetes and got his shot at Childrens National Hospital in Washington. The vaccine gave his dad peace of mind.

Carter Giglio, 8, joined by service dog Barney of Hero Dogs, shows off the bandaid over his injection site after being vaccinated, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Now I can sleep not worrying about him going to school, said Brian Jordan. Being exposed to the coronavirus could really affect him and mess him up.

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Associated Press writers Patty Nieberg in Denver, Angie Wang in Washington, Lauran Neergaard in Alexandria, Virginia, and Kate Brumback and Ron Harris in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Carter Giglio, 8, hugs Dr. Bear before being vaccinated, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at https:(backslash)(backslash)twitter.com(backslash)LindseyTanner.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
MONTREAL - The Quebec government was forced to backtrack Wednesday on its vaccine mandate for health-care workers, saying the loss of unvaccinated employees would have a devastating effect on the system.

People walk by a sign at a restaurant advising customers of Quebecs COVID-19 vaccine passport in Montreal, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL - The Quebec government was forced to backtrack Wednesday on its vaccine mandate for health-care workers, saying the loss of unvaccinated employees would have a devastating effect on the system.

Following through on a threat to suspend unvaccinated workers by Nov. 15 would have forced the health network to reduce services and compromised efforts to improve conditions for existing workers, Health Minister Christian Dube told reporters.

"To deprive ourselves of 8,000 people, it would have devastating consequences for our network," he said in Quebec City. "We could face, for example, more than 500 reorganizations or reduction of services," such as having to reduce hours or temporarily close some emergency rooms.

He said vaccination will no longer be mandatory for current health-care employees but will be required for new hires. Unvaccinated employees will have to be tested for COVID-19 at least three times a week, or face suspension without pay, he said. They will also be ineligible for COVID-19 bonuses or retention bonuses, Dube added.

The government originally set an Oct. 15 deadline for health-care workers to be vaccinated but extended it by a month in the hopes of convincing the remaining workers to get the shot.

The minister said 97 per cent of health-care workers are vaccinated against COVID-19, but there are still about 14,000 who have not received a single dose, including 8,000 who work "on the ground." Of those, Dube said, about 5,000 have direct contact with patients, including about 1,200 nurses and 1,300 patient attendants.

While the vaccination rate among health-care workers has gone up from about 90 per cent to 97 since the government first announced its intention in August to impose a mandate, Dube was forced to admit that the numbers hadn't moved significantly in the last few days.

Daniel Desharnais, an assistant deputy minister in charge of liaising with the local health networks, said the province's health system is so short-staffed that a labour reduction of even one per cent would have "very damaging effects." Applying the decree would have resulted in a reduction in labour hours of about four per cent overall and up to nine per cent in some services, he said.

He said a reduction in services in areas such as home care or long-term care could also have a "domino effect" on other services by forcing patients to stay longer in already crowded hospitals.

Dube and Premier Francois Legault had repeatedly insisted that the health worker vaccine mandate was necessary to protect vulnerable patients. On Wednesday, however, Dube refused to concede that the reversal was a failure because the mandate, he said, succeeded in raising vaccination rates.

The province's public health director, Horacio Arruda, also noted that the COVID-19 situation in the province has changed since the mandate was announced in August, with more people now vaccinated.

Dube also warned the unvaccinated that the current situation may not last forever, adding that local health network managers would likely replace unvaccinated staff as soon as they have enough vaccinated workers from which to choose.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2021.
SANTA CRUZ DE LA PALMA, Canary Islands (AP)  Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors because of a heavy fall of ash that has forced the cancellation of flights and school classes.

Cristina Vera leaves her house covered with ash from volcano eruptions, after collecting her last belonging at the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. A volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma that has been erupting for six weeks has spewed more ash from its main mouth a day after producing its strongest earthquake to date. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

SANTA CRUZ DE LA PALMA, Canary Islands (AP)  Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors because of a heavy fall of ash that has forced the cancellation of flights and school classes.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which is part of Spain's Canary Islands off northwest Africa, has been spewing lava, ash and gases for more than six weeks. The eruption has alternately surged and ebbed since Sept. 19.

Local air quality is extremely unfavorable because of high levels of small particles in the air, emergency services belonging to the Canary Islands government said in a statement late Tuesday.

All flights to and from the island have been canceled because of the falling ash, according to Spains national airport authority.

Lava from a volcano advances destroying a house as it continues to erupt on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. A volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma that has been erupting for six weeks has spewed more ash from its main mouth a day after producing its strongest earthquake to date. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

With flights canceled, some tourists who came on a sightseeing trip to witness the eruption had to wait in long lines for ferries to leave the island Wednesday.

Madrid resident Patricia Privado, 30, described the erupting volcano as a spectacle of nature.

It is worth it, she said of her trip. To hear it roar, to see how the lava falls. You have to experience it.

Leon Pena, 65, said he came from the nearby island of Fuerteventura to see what he called something unique.

Both said they knew flight cancellations were a possibility, but they didn't let that deter them from traveling to La Palma. They also saw their trips as a way of supporting the local economy by spending money on the island.

Scientists have said the eruption could last up to three months.

Around 85,000 people live on La Palma. Most of the island is unaffected by the eruption.

More than 7.000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the threat from the rivers of lava.

The molten rock has covered more than 997 hectares (2,463 acres) and crushed or damaged more than 2.200 buildings.

The volcanos constant roar and numerous earthquakes have also kept locals on edge. A magnitude 5 quake was felt in the island Wednesday morning according to the National Geographical Institute.

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Alberto Arce contributed to this story.
OTTAWA - Unblocking North America's clogged supply chain and making it more resilient to outside shocks  especially from China  tops Francois-Philippe Champagne's agenda as he starts two days of meetings in Washington.

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne speaks at a news conference after the federal cabinet was sworn in, in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA - Unblocking North America's clogged supply chain and making it more resilient to outside shocks  especially from China  tops Francois-Philippe Champagne's agenda as he starts two days of meetings in Washington.

Champagne told The Canadian Press he will be using his face time in Washington starting Wednesday to press the Biden administration on the potential in Canada's largely untapped rare-earth mining sector, which would allow the U.S.  and its continental neighbours  to be less reliant on China, the world's leading supplier of those minerals.

"We have the talent, we have the renewable energy, we have the critical minerals, we have the manufacturing base, we have the geostrategic location to do that. We can lead the world," Champagne said in an interview.

"Therefore, that's really what I'm going to be proposing to our American colleagues and later on in this week, (to) our Mexican colleagues."

Champagne is the federal innovation, science and industry minister, a portfolio he describes as being at the core of building back Canada's post-COVID-19 pandemic economy. And he's leveraging his former cabinet posts in the Trudeau government at foreign affairs and international trade with a trip to the American capital and to Mexico later in the week.

Champagne will be picking up the ball on talks that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joe Biden and others held at last week's G20 summit in Rome on easing the supply chain crunch that has clogged U.S. ports.

The pandemic-induced bottlenecks have created shortages of semiconductors and rare-earth minerals needed to power everything from computers and cellphones to electric vehicles  obstacles to both economic recovery and the fight against climate change.

Champagne said a "regional" supply chain focus is required to make the North American continent more self-reliant and less vulnerable to offshore forces. It would also leverage the continent's updated free trade agreement, known in Ottawa as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA.

The minister said the vulnerability that the continent's economy experienced at the start of the pandemic, including shortages of personal protective gear and access to vaccines, must not be repeated. Much of it, he said, was due to a reliance on China, which must now be addressed.

That, he said, has led to a "moment where we should reflect and say, 'how do we make sure that we are more resilient for the critical elements that we will be needing to ensure prosperity over the next 20, 30, 50 years?'"

Co-operation on exploiting rare-earth minerals with the goal of supporting a self-sustaining and green electric car market would be a major way of achieving that, said Champagne.

China leads the world in rare-earth mineral extraction, accounting for almost two-thirds of production, but Canada has an estimated 15 tonnes of the elements that remain untapped. Moreover, 13 of the 35 minerals that the U.S. has identified as being critical to its national and economic security come from Canada. These include potash, indium, aluminum, tellurium, niobium, tungsten and magnesium.

"I think we're seeing a generational transformation towards electrification. I think that provides enormous opportunities," said Champagne. "Whether it's around the battery ecosystem, whether it's around the electric vehicle, whether it's around life sciences, we have a lot to benefit from if we work closer together."

That said, trade irritants with the Americans remain, and Champagne said he will be pressing for the relief on two fronts in Washington.

Canada has already joined two dozen countries in protesting the Biden administration's proposed electric vehicle tax credit, calling it a violation of international trading rules.

And Champagne will continue Canada's perennial pushback against any proposed "Buy American" provisions in U.S. economic aid packages that would limit the ability of Canadian firms to bid on American government contracts.

On a visit to Washington last month, Chrystia Freeland, the finance minister and deputy prime minster, said Canada would respond in-kind to any "Buy American" provisions by limiting access to American firms.

Champagne suggested that using access to the rare-earth minerals as a bargaining chip with the Americans was not something that he was interested in.

"My approach with the Americans is always to show that it's in our best interest to do things together, always go back to the fact that a decision on one side will have an impact on both," he said.

"You have to repeat these things to make sure that our friends always remember and appreciate the integrative nature of our economy."

Goldy Hyder, the president of the Business Council of Canada, said Canada should drive a hard bargain with the U.S. on guaranteeing any future access to rare-earth minerals because of the continued Buy American threats and other protectionist policies of the Biden administration.

"We have a fiduciary duty to the people of Canada to assert our independence, our sovereignty, our responsibility, our ownership of these assets," said Hyder.

"We have to make sure that this is not seen to be something that anybody can just kind of come in and just take and claim."

Champagne was scheduled to meet Wednesday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and White House science officials.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2021.
Germany's health minister called Wednesday for booster vaccinations to be stepped up and for more frequent checks of people's vaccination or test status as new COVID-19 infections increase.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn attends a news conference about the COVID-19 situation in Germany in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool)

Germany's health minister called Wednesday for booster vaccinations to be stepped up and for more frequent checks of people's vaccination or test status as new COVID-19 infections increase.

Senior health officials also appealed anew to German residents who haven't yet been vaccinated at all to get their shots, though Health Minister Jens Spahn acknowledged that many of the holdouts can't be convinced. They said that pressure on hospital beds is rising, particularly in regions where vaccination rates are relatively low.

Spahn said that although officials agreed in August to make booster shots available to over-60s and nursing home residents and staff, only a bit over 2 million have been administered so far.

That is much too few  the pace of boosters is not sufficient, he added.

There is some tension between the minister and doctors' organizations over the issue. Germany's independent standing committee on vaccination  whose recommendations are followed by many doctors  currently recommends boosters for over-70s and a few other groups, but the health ministry says everyone who wants one is entitled to one.

If every country waited for data before they do anything, we wouldn't have any data, Spahn said, noting that boosters have been cleared by European authorities and vaccinations of teenagers also were started well before a recommendation from the committee. He said the most at-risk should take priority, but as far as others are concerned the vaccine is there, the clearance is there and findings from other countries are there.

Official figures show that about two-thirds of Germany's population of 83 million has completed its first round of vaccination. The head of the country's disease control center, Lothar Wieler, said that 16.2 million people age 12 or above remain unvaccinated  including 3.2 million over-60s.

Germany hasn't made coronavirus vaccinations obligatory for any professional groups, unlike some of its European counterparts. But regional governments have limited access to some indoor events and facilities to people who have been vaccinated, have recently recovered or been tested, and some are tightening those rules.

Checks are often lax at best.

If my vaccination certificate is checked more often in one day in Rome than it sometimes is in four weeks in Germany, then I think more can be done, Spahn said. He also called for obligatory testing across Germany of nursing home staff and visitors, including those who have been vaccinated.

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Follow APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
PROSECCO, Italy (AP)  On tiny pockets of terraced terrain overlooking a bay shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, Milos Skabar is reviving a centuries-old winemaking tradition known as Prosekar, which shares roots with its better-known bubbly cousin, Prosecco.

Winemaker Stefano Zanette harvests grape of the "Prosecco" variety in Colle Umberto, Italy, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. Italy has pledged to defend the name of the popular sparkling wine Prosecco as Croatia petitions the European Union to allow its winemakers to call their sweet dessert wine Prosek. The decision not only is a threat to the carefully protected market for the world's top-selling wine but also the entire system of EU geographical designations created to guarantee the quality of artisanal food, wine and spirits. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

PROSECCO, Italy (AP)  On tiny pockets of terraced terrain overlooking a bay shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, Milos Skabar is reviving a centuries-old winemaking tradition known as Prosekar, which shares roots with its better-known bubbly cousin, Prosecco.

But this humble fizzy blend, virtually unknown beyond the Italian port city of Trieste where it's made on a strip of land between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia, is caught up in a dispute that's about to pop: The makers of Italy's hugely popular sparkling wine Prosecco are fighting to prevent Croatian winemakers from using the name Prosek for their sweet dessert wine.

The handful of Prosekar makers hope to use their ties to Prosecco's birthplace, just above Trieste, to gain greater recognition for their wine but worry their name is at risk, too.

Prosekar wine is the original, because it was born 300 years before Prosecco, said Skabar, surveying his vineyard with a port view, the hills of Slovenia a dark green line in the distance. So, it is the father of Prosekar, Prosecco, Prosek and all the rest.

At stake in the battle is not only the sanctity of Prosecco, the worlds top-selling wine, but also the European Union's system of geographical designations created to guarantee the distinctiveness and quality of artisanal food, wine and spirits, defenders say. That market is worth nearly 75 billion euros ($87 billion) annually  half of it in wines, according to a 2020 study by the European Commission, the EU's executive branch.

A view of the vineyard of the "Prosecco" variety in Colle Umberto, Italy, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. Italy has pledged to defend the name of the popular sparkling wine Prosecco as Croatia petitions the European Union to allow its winemakers to call their sweet dessert wine Prosek. The decision not only is a threat to the carefully protected market for the world's top-selling wine but also the entire system of EU geographical designations created to guarantee the quality of artisanal food, wine and spirits. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

The Italian government has pledged to defend Proseccos name, and other makers of protected products with distinct geographic roots, from Italy's Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to France's Champagne, are mobilizing as the European Commission prepares to deliberate on Croatias petition to label its niche wine with the traditional Prosek name.

The problem for us is not that these producers, who make a very small number of bottles, enter our market. But it is the confusion it could generate among consumers, said Luca Giavi, general director of the Prosecco DOC consortium, which promotes Prosecco and assures the quality of wines under the EU's denomination of controlled origin" designation.

Prosecco has annual sales of 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion), most of it exported. Everyone perceives the situation as a threat to our success," producer Stefano Zanette said, with worldwide buyers possibly not able to distinguish between the similar names.

Croatia argues that the Prosek name and tradition is centuries old, predating Prosecco's protections in the EU system, and that its place as a dessert wine makes it distinct from Prosecco.

Consumers will not be confused by this, Ladislav Ilcic, a Croatian member of the European Parliament, said in a recent debate. Prosek should legitimately receive the protected denomination of origin, and producers should have full access to markets.

The Brussels-based European Federation of Origin Wines is preparing a brief to support Italy. It believes the European Commission's decision to hear the case has defied its own battle to get other nations and trading blocs to recognize the EUs system of geographic designations.

Winemaker Milos Skabar works in his winery in Repen, near Trieste, Italy, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. Italy has pledged to defend the name of the popular sparkling wine Prosecco as Croatia petitions the European Union to allow its winemakers to call their sweet dessert wine Prosek. The decision not only is a threat to the carefully protected market for the world's top-selling wine but also the entire system of EU geographical designations created to guarantee the quality of artisanal food, wine and spirits. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

The dispute, which will be decided in the coming months, is likely to turn on Proseccos origin story, emanating from the bilingual Italian village of Prosecco near the Slovenian border above Trieste, where winemaking once flourished.

It is here, say the ethnic Slovene Italians who make Prosekar, that the grape known as Glera  the basis of both Prosecco and Prosekar  originated.

But besides common etymological roots, Prosekar, Prosecco and Prosek have little in common.

Prosecco, made predominantly from the Glera grape, is produced by three consortia spanning nine Italian provinces in alpine foothills that curve along the Adriatic Sea. They put out more than 550 million bottles a year.

Prosek is a sweet wine made in Dalmatia with dried native Croatian grapes, none of them Glera, and may be red or white.

Prosekar, on the other hand, is an equal blend of Glera and two other grapes, made by fewer than a dozen micro-producers. In decades past, Prosekar was mainly produced at home and shared among friends, family and neighbors, often served from ad-hoc taverns in private houses.

Prosecco makers moved to protect their coveted geographical indication 12 years ago, after seeing winemakers in northeast Italy lose the right to use the label Tocai in a European decision that protected wines produced in Hungarys Tokaji region. In Italy, Tocai was simply the name of the grape variety, with no geographic ties. The decision gutted the makers of Friuli Tocai, who struggled to find a market with a new name: Friulano.

Both the Italian and Croatian regions tussling over the Prosecco name shared a history of Venetian and then Austro-Hungarian control, spanning the period when Prosecco migrated northwest, into present-day Italy, and south, along Croatia's Dalmatian coast.

Prosecco defenders say the name Prosek has never been uniformly applied and came to mean even a generic form of dessert wine.

Written documents link the village of Prosecco to wine as early as the 1600s and 1700s, when wines were called of Prosecco to indicate their village of origin, wine historian Stefano Cosma said. By the 1800s, it was already a sparkling wine, he said.

In present-day Prosecco, Prosekar winemakers hope that because the EU has included the village itself in the geographic territory for the protected wine, they might have a shot at expanding their market for Prosekar, which they say was first made in 1548.

But because their wine has not earned the EU designation, Prosekar producers are banned as much as Prosek makers from using their name. They so far haven't been challenged as long as they dont sell beyond Trieste, said Andrej Bole, a sixth-generation Prosekar producer.

We are outlaws, Bole said. But for now, we are tolerated.

They are working with the Prosecco consortium to help their wine earn the coveted origin insignia, which is awarded with each vintage. The question of legally using the Prosekar name won't be decided until that hurdle is cleared, the head of the consortium said.

We have to look at the European norms," Giavi said. But there is that option, which we dont mind.
MONTREAL - Maine residents have voted No to having a Hydro-Quebec transmission line pass through the state, but Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Wednesday he is still confident the utility's $10-billion export contract to Massachusetts will come to pass.

Frozen trees are seen under Hydro-Quebec power lines on Thursday, January 31, 2019 in Levis, Quebec. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

MONTREAL - Maine residents have voted No to having a Hydro-Quebec transmission line pass through the state, but Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Wednesday he is still confident the utility's $10-billion export contract to Massachusetts will come to pass.

Legault told reporters on the sidelines of the COP26 climate talks in Scotland that he knew the results of the referendum would be tight, adding that there are other options on the table and the governor of Massachusetts is determined to see the agreement through.

"Nothing is certain in life, but I am confident that it will get done," Legault said. "There are different scenarios; for now I can't give more details. There are different routes you can take to get to Massachusetts."

The results of Tuesday's referendum in Maine were a stinging setback for the Crown corporation and the Legault government's plan to make Quebec the "battery of North America." The contract is worth $10 billion over 20 years to the public utility.

Funded by Massachusetts ratepayers, the New England Clean Energy Connect would supply up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid. Thats enough electricity for one million homes. Hydro-Quebec has said the project would cut three million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year  the equivalent of taking 700,000 cars off the road.

It wasn't enough to convince voters in Maine, however, where nearly 60 per cent of voters rejected the project.

Maine's major environmental groups aren't convinced of the benefits and raised concerns about the impact of the proposed power lines through the northern part of the state, particularly the 85 kilometres of new lines that would cross the North Maine Woods.

Three-quarters of trees had already been removed for the project, which calls for a transmission line that mostly follows existing utility corridors.

Work has been underway since last winter. Central Maine Power (CMP), Hydro's partner building the line in Maine, has already spent more than US$350 million on the US$1-billion project. On Wednesday, workers at New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), a division of CMP, continued construction of the line, spokesman Ted Varipatis said.

The continued construction drew the ire of opponents, who could head to court. "It's low, even for CMP," said Adam Cote, a Portland lawyer who represents opponents of the projects. The citizens of Maine do not want this line and we will do everything in our power to hold CMP accountable."

The project has sparked unprecedented polarization in Maine politics. Various lobbyists spent a total of US$94 million to influence voters, according to documents filed with the Maine Ethics Commissioner  a record amount for a referendum in the state.

Energy competitors are accused of having stoked the fears of citizens by financing opposition to the project. A Florida-based company called NextEra spent more than $20 million encouraging voters to block the project. NextEra operates a nuclear plant in New Hampshire that would face competition from the cheaper electricity carried by the Hydro-Quebec line.

Sandi Howard, director of the group No CMP Corridor, called on Central Maine Power to respect the peoples will and halt the project.

The vote sends a message to CMP that Mainers want to reject this corridor. They want to preserve the integrity of western Maine, she said. Mainers clearly dont trust CMP to develop a project of this magnitude."

Other Maine residents were frustrated that the referendum took place at all, saying it was bad public policy to retroactively vote down a project already approved by multiple state and federal agencies.

Clean Energy Matters, a group largely funded by CMP, called the referendum unconstitutional.

We believe this referendum, funded by fossil fuel interests, is unconstitutional," Jon Breed, executive director, said in a statement. "With over 400 Maine jobs and our ability to meet our climate goals on the line, this fight will continue.

Quebec Energy Minister Jonatan Julien told reporters Wednesday in Quebec City the project should be completed because all authorizations have been granted and work is underway. A spokesperson for Hydro-Quebec, meanwhile, said it would take legal action.

Anthony Moffa, professor of environmental law at the University of Maine School of Law, said CMP could argue in court that it has acquired rights as work has already started and the project has the required permits but added it's unclear if the courts will accept that interpretation.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who favours the project, will not be able to oppose the results. The governor's veto power cannot be used to overturn results of a referendum, Moffa said, adding that unless the courts intervene, the text of the referendum question would become law within 30 days.

The referendum results mark the second recent setback for Hydro-Quebec's plan to export power to the United States. In 2019, the utility abandoned a plan to export power through New Hampshire because of public opposition.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2021.

 With files from The Associated Press and Jocelyne Richer in Quebec City.
TORONTO - Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is among five finalists for the National Business Book Award.

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney smiles as he arrives for Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak's speech at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Alberto Pezzali

TORONTO - Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is among five finalists for the National Business Book Award.

Carney is up for the $30,000 prize for "Value(s): Building a Better World For All," published by Signal, in which he lays out his vision for a more equitable post-pandemic economy.

Also on the short list is Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs for his memoir on finding success in business and politics, "Fight or Submit: Standing Tall in Two Worlds," published by ECW Press.

Other nominees include author Stephen Bown for "The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire," published by Anchor Canada; economist Jeff Rubin for "The Expendables: How the Middle Class Got Screwed By Globalization," published by Random House Canada; and strategist Roger Martin for "When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession with Economic Efficiency," published by Harvard Business Review Press.

Founded in 1985, the National Business Book Award recognizes the best business-related title published the previous year.

The winner will be announced on Dec. 8.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2021.
TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (21,170.01, down 77 points.)

Secure Energy Services Inc. (TSX:SES). Energy. Down 58 cents, or 9.08 per cent, to $5.81 on 10.9 million shares.

Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down $1.09, or 3.3 per cent, to $31.96 on 10.2 million shares.

Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Down 19 cents, or 0.36 per cent, to $52.24 on 7.8 million shares.

Harte Gold Corp. (TSX:HRT). Materials. Up half a cent, or 20 per cent, to three cents, on 7.4 million shares.

Air Canada. (TSX:AC). Industrials. Up $1.01, or 4.39 per cent, to $24.02 on 6.8 million shares.

Royal Bank of Canada. (TSX:RY). Financials. Up $1.39, or 1.08 per cent, to $130.69 on 5.4 million shares.

Companies in the news:

Air Canada  Air Canada has suspended more than 800 employees for not being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in line with federal rules. The vast majority of Air Canada's 27,000 cabin crew, customer service agents and others have received both shots. The proportions align with those at WestJet Airlines Ltd., where fewer than four per cent of workers  less than 300 out of 7,300  are unvaccinated, the company said in an email. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last month that as of Oct. 30, Ottawa would require federally regulated air, rail and shipping companies to establish mandatory vaccination policies for employees. Air Canada sees hope on the horizon as revenues soared over 2020 levels last quarter amid stronger sales for winter, despite continuing to operate far below pre-pandemic capacity and at a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. Revenue nearly tripled year over year to $2.1 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30, beating expectations by more than 15 per cent, according to according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv. Capacity also increased by 87 per cent. But revenue fell more than 60 per cent short of Air Canada's third-quarter figures in 2019 while capacity remained two-thirds below, as COVID-19 fallout continues to dent carriers' bottom lines.

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (TSX:BHC). Down $3.27 or 9.3 per cent to $32. Bausch Health Companies Inc. says the initial public offering of its esthetic medical device business could come as early as next month followed soon after by the IPO of its eyecare business. The Quebec-based company  which had previously announced the public offerings  says the Solta Medical IPO will come in December or January while Bausch + Lomb will follow about 30 days later, subject to market conditions and other necessary approvals. Bausch disclosed the timing as it reported a third-quarter profit of US$188 million or 52 cents per share, up from US$71 million or 20 cents per share a year earlier. Excluding one-time items such as proceeds from the sale of Amoun Pharmaceutical Co., its adjusted profit fell 11 per cent to US$417 million or US$1.16 per share, compared with US$469 million or US$1.32 per share in the third quarter of 2020. Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 fell about one per cent to US$2.11 billion, from US$2.14 billion. Bausch was expected on average to report an adjusted profit of US$1.04 per share on US$2.16 billion in revenue, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

Thomson Reuters (TSX:TRI). Down 46 cents to $146.33. Thomson Reuters reported a loss in its latest quarter due to a drop in the value of its investment in the London Stock Exchange Group, but revenue climbed higher compared with a year ago. The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it lost US$240 million or 49 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of US$241 million or 48 cents per diluted share a year ago. Revenue totalled US$1.53 billion, up from US$1.44 billion in the same quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, which excludes the change in value of the company's LSEG investment, as well as other adjustments, Thomson Reuters says it earned 46 cents per share for its most recent quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 39 cents per share a year earlier. Thomson Reuters also raised its full-year revenue guidance. The company says it now expects total company revenue to grow 4.5 to five per cent this year compared with earlier guidance for growth between four and 4.5 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2021.
OTTAWA - Rogers Communications Inc. is urging the federal telecommunications regulator to go ahead as scheduled with its hearings into the company's deal to buy Shaw Communications Inc.

The Rogers logo is photographed in Toronto on Monday, September 30, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin

OTTAWA - Rogers Communications Inc. is urging the federal telecommunications regulator to go ahead as scheduled with its hearings into the company's deal to buy Shaw Communications Inc.

BCE Inc. Telus Corp., the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the National Pensioners Federation have asked the CRTC to delay the hearings set to begin Nov. 22 due to a dispute over control of Rogers between members of the Rogers family.

Edward Rogers, son of late Rogers founder Ted Rogers, has asked a B.C. court to declare legitimate the board he formed after he was ousted as chair last month. He is opposed by his mother and sisters.

However, Rogers said the family and company "are aligned on the importance of this transaction" and fully support the application that the company has filed with the regulator.

"Furthermore, in the case of Bell and Telus, they are obviously both concerned that a combined Rogers/Shaw will become a more effective competitor and are looking for any way to try to derail our transaction," Ted Woodhead, Rogers senior vice-president, regulatory, wrote in a letter to the CRTC.

The company said all of the submissions and commitments it makes will be honoured and respected, regardless of any changes to the board of directors and executives that may occur.

Woodhead said postponing the hearing would create further uncertainty in the market and would unfairly and unreasonably delay the commission's review of the deal.

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the National Pensioners Federation made the initial request to delay the CRTC hearing in a letter Monday.

The advocacy groups said that while delaying the hearings would negatively affect Rogers, the potential harm of going ahead with the hearings without certainty as to who is in charge risks greater harm to the public interest.

In supporting the request, BCE said the hearing should be delayed until the uncertainty regarding the effective control of Rogers and the status of its board of directors, its officers and senior management, has been fully and finally resolved.

"To our knowledge, the commission has never before been asked to approve a change of control transaction in circumstances where the legal control of the acquirer is itself uncertain," wrote Robert Malcolmson, BCE's chief legal and regulatory officer.

Along with the CRTC, the $26-billion deal including debt is also being reviewed by the Competition Bureau of Canada and the federal department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:RCI.B, TSX:BCE. TSX:T)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)  A Southwest Airlines pilot is under investigation for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant at a California bar during an argument over wearing masks, authorities said.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)  A Southwest Airlines pilot is under investigation for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant at a California bar during an argument over wearing masks, authorities said.

The pilot was cited for assault and battery over the Oct. 18 dispute at a hotel bar in San Jose, USA Today reported Tuesday.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the incident to determine whether criminal charges should be filed, San Jose police Sgt. Christian Camarillo told the news organization.

The pilot's name wasn't released.

The incident comes amid a surge in unruly airline passengers this year, who sometimes become violent.

Airlines reported about 3,000 cases of disruptive passengers between Jan. 1 and mid-June, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which began tracking it this year. About 2,300 of those incidents involved passengers who refused to obey the federal requirement to wear a face mask.

The hotel bar incident involved a disagreement over mask wearing or masks, Camarillo said, declining to provide more details.

There was a crew disagreement during an overnight trip, and the pilot has been placed on leave while the incident is investigated, Southwest spokesperson Brandy King told USA Today.

We do not have information to provide regarding the context of the event, and we do not discuss personnel issues externally, King said.

USA Today reported that days after the incident, Southwest sent a memo to pilots and flight attendants warning that: Crossing the line in a heated conversation can be a violation of our guidelines for employees and can even end in loss of job.
BANGKOK (AP)  Police in Thailand announced Wednesday the arrest of the head of a company suspected of cheating overseas buyers of millions of dollars they paid for undelivered medical rubber gloves during the coronavirus pandemic.

Commissioner of Central Investigation Bureau Jirabhob Bhuridej holds a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The commissioner announced that they have arrested the head of a company suspected of cheating overseas buyers of medical rubber gloves during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

BANGKOK (AP)  Police in Thailand announced Wednesday the arrest of the head of a company suspected of cheating overseas buyers of millions of dollars they paid for undelivered medical rubber gloves during the coronavirus pandemic.

Thai authorities have been cracking down on a surge in rubber glove fraud, including the sale of substandard and used gloves.

Police Lt. Gen. Jirabhob Bhuridej said Florida-based company Rock Fintek filed a complaint that Thailands Sufficiency Economy City Co. failed to deliver 2 million boxes of nitrile gloves worth $15.5 million for which it had paid a 40% deposit.

He said two other companies, from France and Hong Kong, also filed complaints about Sufficiency Economy City Co., which marketed gloves branded SkyMed.

The Thai company's CEO, Kampee Kampeerayannon, was arrested Tuesday on charges of fraud and posting false information online, he said. Kampee could not be contacted Wednesday and his company declined to comment.

In a separate case Tuesday, the Thai attorney-generals office announced that a Thai employee of Paddy the Room Trading Co., Pipatpon Homjanya, was sentenced to four years in prison.

The company had exported millions of substandard and in some cases secondhand gloves to the United States which were packed without permission in boxes of a legitimate glove producer, Thai officials said.

Pipatpon was found guilty of producing and trading substandard medical gloves and medical equipment and of using the trademark of other companies without permission, Thai media reported.

The managing director of Paddy the Room, Luk-fei Yang Yang, identified by police and corporate records as Chinese, left Thailand before prosecutors were able to formally charge him in court.

The dealings of Paddy the Room attracted public attention in May when an American businessman who had filed a complaint about being cheated by the company was himself arrested.

Louis Ziskin and several associates were arrested for allegedly detaining a Taiwanese representative of another company, Collections Enterprise, to unsuccessfully pressure it to refund money after Paddy the Room's gloves proved to be low grade. Collections Enterprise had handled the payment for the deal.

Ziskin, who denies involvement in the alleged detention, had paid $2.7 million for gloves to be delivered to his Los Angeles-based company, AirQueen. He filed a complaint with Thai police in March against Paddy the Room.

Ziskin and his associates left Thailand when police failed to provide evidence in time to apply to a court to hold them for further investigation, police commissioner Jirabhob said.

-

Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is putting new export limits on two Israeli hacker-for-hire companies  including the well-known spyware company NSO Group  saying their tools have been used to "conduct transnational repression.

FILE - A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli NSO Group company, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir on Aug. 24, 2021. The Biden administration announced Wednesday, Nov. 3, that it is putting new export limits on two Israeli hacker-for-hire companies  including the well-known spyware company NSO Group  saying their tools have been used to "conduct transnational repression. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is putting new export limits on two Israeli hacker-for-hire companies  including the well-known spyware company NSO Group  saying their tools have been used to "conduct transnational repression.

Based on leaked targeting data, findings by a global media consortium earlier this year provided evidence that the spyware from NSO Group was allegedly used to infiltrate devices belonging to a range of targets, including journalists, activists and political opponents in 50 countries.

The U.S. Commerce Department said NSO Group and the firm Candiru are being added to the entity list, which limits their access to U.S. components and technology by requiring government permission for exports.

The department said putting these companies on the entity list was part of the Biden administration's efforts to promote human rights in U.S. foreign policy.

The United States is committed to aggressively using export controls to hold companies accountable that develop, traffic, or use technologies to conduct malicious activities that threaten the cybersecurity of members of civil society, dissidents, government officials, and organizations here and abroad," U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

A prominent Russian firm, Positive Technologies, and the Singapore-based Computer Security Initiative Consultancy were also placed on the list for trafficking in cyber tools used to gain unauthorized access to IT systems, the department said. The Treasury Department put sanctions on Positive Technology, which has a broad international footprint and partnerships with such IT heavyweights as Microsoft and IBM, earlier this year.

Researchers say methods used by NSO Group, the worlds most infamous hacker-for-hire company, have grown so sophisticated that it can now infect targeted mobile phones without any user interaction.

In July, Microsoft said it had blocked tools developed by Candiru that were used to spy on more than 100 people around the world, including politicians, human rights activists, journalists, academics and political dissidents.
WASHINGTON - The Senate has confirmed David Cohen, a tech executive who once served as chief of staff to the mayor of Philadelphia, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.

In this May 8, 2014, file photo David Cohen, Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation, testifies during the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law oversight hearing on the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate has confirmed President Joe Biden's nomination of Cohen to serve as his ambassador to Canada. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

WASHINGTON - The Senate has confirmed David Cohen, a tech executive who once served as chief of staff to the mayor of Philadelphia, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.

Cohen, a lawyer, lobbyist and fundraiser who served as a senior adviser and chief diversity officer at U.S. communications giant Comcast, was nominated in July by President Joe Biden.

He's no stranger to political circles: in addition to serving as the Comcast's primary lobbyist, Cohen spent five years as chief of staff to Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell in the 1990s.

He also hosted the first fundraising event of Biden's successful 2020 presidential election campaign.

During his confirmation hearing in September, Cohen sang the praises of the Canada-U.S. relationship.

But he also suggested the Biden administration was growing impatient with Ottawa's long-term China policy.

"We are all waiting for Canada to release its framework for its overall China policy," he told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, describing the autocratic regime's ambitions as an "existential threat" to the U.S.

He also said he would be involved in discussions to "make sure that Canada's policies reflect its words in terms of the treatment of China."

Just days later, the relationship between the two countries  strained to breaking by China's arbitrary detention of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, following Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. warrant  took a dramatic turn.

The U.S. Department of Justice agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement for Wanzhou, who was accused of circumventing American sanctions on Iran. Her release from custody in Vancouver was followed within hours by the release of the two Canadians.

Canada has yet to formally say whether it plans to block Huawei equipment from being used in the country's ever-expanding 5G network, even though all four of its Five Eyes intelligence partners, including the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand and Australia, have already done so.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2021.
Labour unions, the business community and Indigenous leaders are counting on Premier Heather Stefanson to keep her promise to lead a government that collaborates  not dictates.

Labour unions, the business community and Indigenous leaders are counting on Premier Heather Stefanson to keep her promise to lead a government that collaborates  not dictates.

"It needs to be a two-way street, and we need more than just lip service. We need action from our new premier," said Manitoba Labour Federation president Kevin Rebeck.

Labour groups have clashed with the belt-tightening PCs since they formed government in 2016, under Brian Pallister, over drawn-out contract talks and legislation that curtailed bargaining.

In a sign of the government's fractured relationship with labour, faculty at the University of Manitoba walked off the job hours before Stefanson was sworn in Tuesday.

After Pallister quit as premier in September, the PCs scrapped a bill that would have made it tougher for unions to bargain. Rebeck said unions want to see the province change course on other labour policies.

"More than changing the tone, we need a change of action, and that means respecting free and fair collective bargaining."

Kyle Ross, the newly elected president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, suggested fresh blood on both sides could mean a more collaborative relationship.

"(Stefanson) needs to reset the relationship with labour," he said.

"The challenges of the past are hopefully gone, or mitigated somewhat, so we can move forward."

As for biz groups, the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce hopes Stefanson launches an economic development strategy based on widescale consultation.

"Addressing the workforce and skills challenges many businesses are currently facing must also be a top priority, as we begin to grow our economy," wrote president Chuck Davidson.

To that end, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business wants the province to adjust its COVID-19 support payments in line with Ottawa's recent overhaul of pandemic benefits, arguing many small businesses won't be able to survive.

Manitoba spokesman Jonathan Alward also said Stefanson could design the provinces own carbon tax in a way that diverts more revenue to smaller firms than the federal tax.

"This is all about her cementing the direction that she wants to take the province," he said.

As for health care, Stefanson pledged to implement recommendations to improve care at personal care homes, and proceed with a task force to clear a staggering backlog of surgeries and diagnostics caused by the pandemic.

Dr. Dan Roberts, an ICU physician who has overseen health reforms, said Stefanson should institute reforms so decisions are made by front-line staff instead of higher-ups.

"We've got a health-care system that's pretty chaotic, and a lot of it has to do with the management structure," Roberts said, arguing there is overlapping authority and bureaucracy.

"It's like putting six steering wheels in a car, and expecting you're not going to spend a lot of time in a ditch."

When it comes to municipalities, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman is counting on Stefanson to get upgrades to the city's northern sewage treatment plant on track, with Ottawa and the city ready to move on the second phase of the project.

"The delays at the provincial level are really comprising and jeopardizing future economic development opportunities for Winnipeg and the capital region," Bowman said.

He hopes Stefanson acts quickly to get the city a new ambulance contract and backs the citys request to Ottawa for funding to implement the Winnipeg Transit master plan.

Outside the city, the Association of Manitoba Municipalities is urging Stefanson to end the five-year freeze on municipal operating funding and instead help plan sustainable funding, possibly by giving rebates to municipalities for the provincial sales tax they pay.

The group wants the promise to dump new limits on municipal autonomy over planning matters and unveil a promised plan to reform rural health care.

The Manitoba Metis Federation urged Stefanson to put an end to conservation fines levied on hunters, under a quota system they say isnt scientifically sound and violates Indigenous rights.

"They're wasting all this money that could spent somewhere else," said president David Chartrand. He said the PCs should collaborate with the Metis instead of constantly fighting his people.

"Im hoping Heather Stefanson will say, Look, I want to get out of courtrooms and get down to the negotiating tables."

Bowman said Stefanson's swearing in marked a historic day as Manitoba is helmed by a woman for the first time in its history. He has high hopes for Stefanson, whom he first met decades ago when they were part of the PC partys youth wing.

"Shes always been someone who, I think, takes a collaborative approach," the mayor said.

With files from Julia Simone-Rutgers

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
WINNIPEG - Public-sector unions in Manitoba are hoping to appeal a court ruling that said the government had a right to impose a wage freeze on more than 100,000 workers.

Kevin Rebeck speaks with media on Monday Nov. 21, 2016 at the Manitoba Legislative Building. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

WINNIPEG - Public-sector unions in Manitoba are hoping to appeal a court ruling that said the government had a right to impose a wage freeze on more than 100,000 workers.

The coalition of unions said Wednesday it is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear the case so as to protect collective bargaining rights.

"When we launched our constitutional challenge to the ... government's wage-freeze law, we knew it would not be a quick process. But we will always stick up for the rights of workers," Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour and the coalition's spokesman, said in a news release.

The Progressive Conservative government under then-premier Brian Pallister introduced a bill in 2017 to control salaries for teachers, nurses, civil servants and others. The bill contained a two-year wage freeze on any new public-sector agreement, to be followed by pay increases of 0.75 per cent in the third year and one per cent in the fourth.

The bill was never proclaimed into law. The unions said negotiators for the province and other public-sector employers acted as if it had been.

A Court of Queen's Bench judge, who called the bill "draconian" last year, ruled it violated bargaining rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and struck down the wage freeze.

The government took the case to the Manitoba Court of Appeal, which last month said the government was within its authority and overturned the lower court ruling. The Appeal Court said governments can set limited boundaries on contract talks without substantially interfering with bargaining rights.

It was a unanimous ruling by the three Appeal Court judges.

"We won Round 1 and government won Round 2. Now we are asking the Supreme Court to consider Round 3," Rebeck said.

Despite the wage-freeze bill, some workers have managed to secure higher salaries.

A recent agreement with the Manitoba Nurses Union, retroactive to 2017, includes wage increases totalling 9.6 per cent over seven years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2021
The Manitoba government is modernizing its legislation on parentage, one year after seven LGBTTQ+ couples won their case to have the law struck down.

The Manitoba government is modernizing its legislation on parentage, one year after seven LGBTTQ+ couples won their case to have the law struck down.

The 1987 law assigned parental rights only to biological parents and discriminated against same-sex couples by requiring the child to be adopted when conceived through assisted reproduction.

The province will recognize that couples who use surrogates, sperm/egg donors or in vitro fertilization to have children are the legal parents of those children. (PNG Merlin files)

The Family Maintenance Act will include parentage legislation for children conceived through assisted reproduction with or without surrogacy, Justice Minister Cameron Friesen said Wednesday.

"Last year, the courts declared certain sections of (law) dealing with the rightful parents of children to be unconstitutional and found the current legislation infringed certain sections of the charter," said Friesen.

"While the legislation was not intending to discriminate, it simply did not keep up with changes in reproductive technologies, resulting in situations where the law has become challenging to navigate for anyone using assisted reproduction to become a parent."

In November 2020, the province was given one year to update legislation, after Manitoba's legal definition of parentage was struck down as unconstitutional. Before a hearing on the case began, lawyers for the province agreed the law needed to be updated. The court also issued orders declaring each of the seven couples had parental rights.

The province agreed to recognize couples who use surrogates, sperm/egg donors or in vitro fertilization to have children are the legal parents of those children.

Legal parentage affects a number of areas in a child's life, including identity, citizenship, inheritance rights and entitlement to benefits under federal and provincial law.

Parentage provisions are critical to safeguard the rights of children and ensure legal recognition of the intended parents, Friesen said.

Amended provisions to the law will be introduced "at the earliest opportunity when the legislature resumes," according to the province.

The changes will bring Manitoba in line with other provinces that have updated parentage laws to deal with assisted reproduction, including: Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Government mandated COVID-19 tests for unvaccinated public sector employees caught six infections among health-care workers in the first two weeks of the provinces screening program.

Government mandated COVID-19 tests for unvaccinated public sector employees caught six infections among health-care workers in the first two weeks of the provinces screening program.

Since the public health order requiring tests for unvaccinated front-line public sector workers came into force on Oct. 18, six health-care staff had a positive rapid test result, which was later confirmed using a PCR test, a spokesman for Shared Health said.

Three positive results came from the Prairie Mountain Health Region, two from Southern Health, and one from Winnipeg.

There are currently 1,851 direct-care workers who have disclosed they are not fully vaccinated and require a negative test result within 48 hours of beginning each of their shifts.

Dr. Samir Sinha, the director of geriatrics at Sinai Health System in Toronto, said while the number of infections found so far is low, it does reinforce the need for health-care workers to be immunized.

"Right now, theyre doing rapid antigen testing as a line of defence, but really its a pragmatic second best approach to the best possible thing we can do to support vulnerable people  given that hundreds have died in Manitoba alone  which is making sure everyone is vaccinated," Sinha said Tuesday in an interview with the Free Press.

While data from surveillance testing can tell public health officials more about how the virus is spreading in a community and whether extra precautions such as daily testing should be taken, Sinha said its not a suitable alternative to immunization.

Staff are not tested daily and can potentially become infected and spread the virus to patients, residents and vulnerable people in the 48 hours between tests, he added.

Sinha pointed to Quebec as a province that has chosen to follow the best available evidence and mandate vaccinations for health-care workers.

"After everything that Manitoba has been through, after close to 500 people died in personal care homes, you would think that at this point we would do everything possible to prevent another unnecessary death," Sinha said.

Meanwhile, the number of tests that came back positive among staff employed at schools, daycares, correction facilities and child and family services agencies remained under wraps Tuesday, as the province declined to say if it is keeping tabs on such data.

The Free Press requested the number of positive test results found through rapid testing of asymptomatic, unvaccinated employees in education, child care, corrections and child and family services since Oct. 18.

Thousands of employees across those sectors, including about 11 per cent of people working in education, must show a recent negative COVID-19 test result before heading to work.

In a brief statement Tuesday, a spokesman for the province said the number of rapid tests that came back positive as part of the provincially mandated screening program could not be shared.

"Individual test results are not tracked as it may potentially violate personal health information," the spokesman said, adding that a public health investigation is launched following a confirmatory PCR test.

Followup questions on how public health is monitoring the testing program, and whether the province is compiling data on positive rapid test results, were not addressed by the government on Tuesday.

Sinha said as long as Manitoba continues to offer testing as an alternative to vaccination, it needs to analyze how the screening program is performing.

"Someone better be looking at the data," Sinha said. "Someone has decided to potentially compromise the health of all these individuals, put them at greater risk, by allowing unvaccinated workers to potentially put vulnerable individuals at risk.

"If theyre not monitoring their own surveillance data, how do they know their decision not to do the thing that would best protect their own residents or other vulnerable populations is even working?" he said.

As of Monday, 34,105 health-care staff were confirmed as fully vaccinated, Shared Health said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
Dear Premier Stefanson, I congratulate you on your victory in the leadership contest and your swearing-in as Manitobas first female premier.

Opinion

Heather Stefanson speaks at her victory party on Saturday, flanked by her family, from left, Jason, Victoria and Tommy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Dear Premier Stefanson, I congratulate you on your victory in the leadership contest and your swearing-in as Manitobas first female premier.

These are impressive accomplishments. For the longest time, women have faced multiple barriers to advancement in political life. Even today, they must overcome cultural obstacles, such as the false gender stereotype that they lack the toughness to compete effectively, and practical barriers, such as greater difficulty than men in raising money.

Manitoba is a centrist province. It needs a "conservative" political party to offer voters a choice on the right of the political spectrum. To have widespread, enduring appeal, however, the Progressive Conservative (PC) party must stand for moderate and pragmatic policies. It must avoid pursuing a narrow, right-wing ideological crusade that heightens social conflict.

This was the practical wisdom of the great PC premier Duff Roblin (1958-1967) who recognized that in a small, less-affluent province, government must necessarily play a positive, extensive role. In undertaking sweeping reforms in many fields, his government worked diligently to achieve as much consensus as possible.

Under the nine leaders who followed Roblin before you, the centre of gravity of the PC party gradually shifted to the right. Its central message became the need to lower taxes, deregulate the economy, eliminate deficits, reduce debt and downsize the public sector, all with the intention of stimulating investment and growing the economy.

Brian Pallister represented the most extreme example of this trend. The highly contentious bills and the austere budgetary measures introduced by his government, as well as the divisive leadership style of the former premier, mean your party is at risk of losing the next election, scheduled for October 2023.

The greatest challenge you face is how to distance yourself from the negative aspects of the Pallister record given that, in public at least, you were a stalwart supporter of government actions that provoked conflict with many parts of society. Restoring broken bonds of trust will be very difficult.

To make progress, I recommend that you follow a strategic approach to your premiership. This would involve focusing on a limited set of achievable goals, while minimizing the risks of damage to your reputation and to the party brand.

The immediate goal should be to prepare for the session of the legislature scheduled to begin on Nov. 16. It provides an opportunity to display your professed leadership style of listening, civility and cooperation. The risk would be that opposition parties will demand to know which parts of the Pallister agenda you will continue to support.

You were wise not to immediately create a brand new cabinet. Putting new ministers in place would be risky because first-time ministers typically encounter trouble in the adversarial world of the Legislature. Creating a new look for your government in the new year will give ministers time to master their portfolios and represent the team you present to voters at the next election.

Cabinet selection involves balancing various representation criteria (gender, ethnicity, region, experience) with competence and the chemistry of the cabinet as a group. Rewarding strong performers from the existing cabinet is difficult, because Pallisters domineering leadership style left little room for ministers to demonstrate their competence. Dropping ministers who underperformed and/or became lighting rods for public outrage will have to occur to limit risks.

In terms of cabinet management, you should grant your ministers freedom to lead their departments so they can learn and provide you with sound policy advice. Top-down direction from the premiers office should be used sparingly, only in relation to your highest priorities or urgent matters.

No premier can lead government without personal advisors and support staff. There are multiple positions to be filled, but three are crucial: chief of staff in the premiers office; clerk of the executive council and secretary to cabinet; and a communications director.

The current incumbents are experienced professionals. Moving immediately to place your campaign officials in these central roles would be risky, especially if they lack previous experience operating the complex machinery of government. Most importantly, as part of your strategic premiership, you need to identify a limited number of actions that would boost public support before the next election.

Loosening the purse strings to address the multiple crises in the health system would be a good start. Developing better approaches to reconciliation with Indigenous people is critical. Economic recovery is obviously important. More urgency and effort on climate change are also needed.In terms of fulfilling your promise to listen, you could begin by seeking the broadest consensus possible on the topics of the five contentious bills abandoned in the last session

This is free advice, and comes with no guarantee of success; so you will, no doubt, treat it for what it is worth.

Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.
NEW data obtained by SecondStreet.org shows eight patients died in Manitoba while waiting for heart surgery over a recent two-year period.

Opinion

NEW data obtained by SecondStreet.org shows eight patients died in Manitoba while waiting for heart surgery over a recent two-year period.

The data is incomplete, but the research endeavour demonstrates that the Manitoba government could improve how it tracks and discloses information on patient suffering.

As it stands right now, the government discloses more information when it shuts down a pizza restaurant than it does after a patient dies while waiting for care.

SecondStreet.org began investigating the sad reality that some patients die while waiting for health-care services after a 2019 news story from Manitoba. The news story indicated that patients were waiting upwards of 70 weeks for an echocardiogram.

Next door in Saskatchewan, patients only had to wait a week for an echocardiogram.

The story led to SecondStreet.org filing freedom-of-information requests nationwide to learn more about patients dying while waiting for surgeries, diagnostic scans and appointments with specialists.

Government data obtained through that research showed over 11,400 waiting-list deaths between April 1, 2018 and Dec. 31, 2020. However, this is a low-balled figure, as many jurisdictions simply dont track the data.

The data that health bodies provided was often incomplete (some hospitals provided totals rather than a breakdown by procedure), but it appears the majority of patients died while waiting for surgeries that would have merely improved their quality of life (eg. cataract operations, hip surgery, etc.) rather than potentially saving their lives (eg. heart operations). In many cases, patients had been on government waiting lists for over a year.

Next door in Saskatchewan,

patients only had to wait a week for an echocardiogram.

In Manitoba, most health regions struggled with providing data. Only recently were we able to obtain Winnipeg Regional Health Authority data, and even then it only covered one type of surgery  the aforementioned eight patients who died while waiting for cardiac surgery between April 2019 and April 2021. Two of the patients died after waiting more than 120 days for surgery  one of whom waited longer than the maximum recommended time period. For three of the patient deaths, there was no information on the maximum recommended wait time.

To be sure, its not clear whether any of these patients died because they waited too long. But it is discouraging that the government doesnt track many important pieces of data related to these cases or other surgeries, diagnostic scans and appointments with specialists.

The Manitoba government does, however, release "critical incident" reports when unintended events occur in the health care system that result in "serious or undesired" outcomes. Unfortunately, the reports lack detail. For example, in 2019 the government disclosed that over a three-month period there were 15 critical incidents that resulted in death. Here is an example of what was disclosed for one of the cases:

"There was a delay in recognition of acute changes to diagnostic information leading to a missed opportunity for earlier intervention."

This tells readers and researchers very little about what happened.

How long was the delay? What was the acute change to diagnostic information? The short blurb suggests the patient died because of the mistake  was anyone held accountable? Which health facility was responsible? What changed as a result?

Conversely, consider what the government disclosed after it shut down the Wood Fired Pizza restaurant in Brandon for breaking a provincial government rule:

"Extensively remodel a food handling establishment without first registering."

The government disclosed the name of the business, reason for shutting it down and readers can understand what occurred.

To be sure, patient health information requires confidentiality. But data can still be disclosed in such a way that more is known about patient suffering in the health-care system. And if more information is gathered and published, policy-makers and voters can focus on remedies, including health reform.

Colin Craig is the president of SecondStreet.org, a new Canadian think-tank. He can be reached at colin@secondstreet.org.
Hello, my name is Heather Stefanson and I am listening. That pretty much summed up the first day on the job for Manitobas newest premier.

Hello, my name is Heather Stefanson and I am listening. That pretty much summed up the first day on the job for Manitobas newest premier.

Stefanson was sworn in as the provinces 24th premier in front of a small group of family, friends and MLAs at the Manitoba Legislative Building Tuesday. Not surprisingly, Manitoba's first female premier offered few details about her immediate plans.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Heather Stefanson speaks at her first press conference since becoming premier at the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

But she did promise something her predecessor, former premier Brian Pallister, was not very good at. She said she plans to listen; to Manitobans, stakeholder groups, her caucus and cabinet colleagues.

"Manitobans havent been listened to for awhile," Stefanson said, an obvious reference to her former boss, whose one-way communication style not only alienated many rank-and-file Manitobans, but rankled people in his own party.

Tuesday wasnt the day for the nuts and bolts of what Stefanson has planned as premier. Those details, which she's still trying to figure out, will come later, beginning with a throne speech (likely in mid-November).

There will be changes, including in health care and education reform. But as expected, those changes will be incremental.

Manitobans havent been listened to for awhile.  Heather Stefanson

Stefanson is vowing to repair the damage caused by her predecessor and plans to meet with a wide variety of stakeholder groups, including Indigenous leaders, labour groups and municipalities.

She may even appoint a labour minister for the first time since 2016 (something Pallister refused to do during his 5 1/2 years in office), and said elected school boards (which Pallister sought to eliminate) may have a place in a reformed public school system.

Eliminating elected school boards "was never canvassed out there in the public," said Stefanson. She vowed to consult the public and educators before making any changes to public schools.

Stefanson said she will listen and learn; but eventually she will have to act. And she will have to act sooner rather than later on a number of urgent files  including how to manage growing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the low-vaccine areas of the Southern Health region.

Of the 127 new COVID-19 cases announced Tuesday, 50 came from Southern Health, an area that represents 15 per cent of Manitoba's population. Half of the 24 COVID-19 patients in ICU are from Southern Health.

At some point, government will have to make tough decisions about what public health orders are needed in that part of the province to protect the rest of Manitoba, including Winnipegs hospital capacity.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/DAVID LIPNOWSKI Stefanson speaks to media after being sworn in as Manitoba's 24th premier Tuesday, the same day the province announced 127 new cases of COVID-19.

Government will also have to take immediate steps to tackle the massive backlog of surgical and diagnostic wait times and repair the damage caused by the Tories' poor planning in health care. That includes how the province executed its hospital consolidation plan over the past four years, which Stefanson acknowledged government didnt always get right.

One thing Stefanson doesn't deny: many Manitobans have lost trust in her government. How she plans to regain that trust will be a significant challenge between now and the next election, scheduled for 2023. It will take more than just listening; it will require bold action to show Manitobans that government can get the province out of the pandemic, rejuvenate the economy and repair a crippled health-care system. It's a tall order.

Being the "anti-Pallister" premier alone won't be enough. It will require vision and concrete ideas. Thats not something Stefanson has spent a lot of time thinking about, considering a year ago she likely wasnt even considering running for the premiers job. She's going to need help from the people around her (the ones who convinced her to run for party leader) to succeed.

"Its a significant challenge, but were ready to take it on," said Stefanson. "Well have those discussions with cabinet and caucus and see how we can do that, how can we start to earn the trust of Manitobans."

If they can't, and soon, there's an eager group of New Democrats willing to take over.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca
News that Pope Francis will visit Canada as part of the process of reconciliation with the nations Indigenous peoples has been hailed as an important gesture from the Catholic church.

News that Pope Francis will visit Canada as part of the process of reconciliation with the nations Indigenous peoples has been hailed as an important gesture from the Catholic church.

The significance of this confirmation cannot be denied. But the visit itself will be meaningless unless the Pope uses the occasion to deliver that which Indigenous people  and, in particular, survivors of Canadas residential school system and the descendants of those who did not survive  have been demanding for years: an apology from the churchs highest officer.

Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun Files Guests look over the 104 orange hearts symbolizing children who died at the Brandon Indian Residential School. The Pope's visit will be meaningless unless he uses the occasion to deliver that which Indigenous people  and, in particular, survivors of Canadas residential school system and the descendants of those who did not survive  have been demanding for years: an apology from the churchs highest officer.

In response to the announcement that the Pope has accepted the invitation from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to travel here in the near future, Archbishop of Winnipeg Richard Gagnon expressed "great joy" and stated, "The Holy Father holds very close to his heart the suffering of Indigenous people.  He has shown a great interest in the disenfranchised and vulnerable around the world."

One would reasonably expect nothing less. But whats at issue is the Popes words and actions specific to the churchs involvement in Canadas residential school trauma.

As has been mentioned in this space before, as recently as last month, there is clear precedent for the Catholic church  as represented by the Holy Father  expressing contrition and offering apology for wrongs done in other jurisdictions. In 2018, the pontiff offered a public apology in Dublins Phoenix Park for the thousands of children who were seized from their unwed mothers and forced into foster care. In 2015, the Pope apologized in Bolivia for the sins and crimes committed by the church against that nations Indigenous peoples.

And yet there has been a seeming reluctance on the part of the Catholic church and its Vatican-based leadership to take proactive steps to address wrongs done on Canadian soil. Despite reasonable requests  and more recently, fully justified demands  for a full papal apology, what has been offered by the Catholic church in regard to its role in residential school abuses might charitably be described as, at very best, half-measures.

But now, with a visit to Canada in the near future apparently confirmed (with exact date to be determined), the stage is set for what that trip necessarily must include.

AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino Confirmation that Pope Francis will set foot on Canadian soil with the Indigenous/residential school issue as the stated purpose of the journey is a much larger and more significant step.

No. 58 of the 94 Calls to Action in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada states the Pope must "issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Churchs role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children in Catholic-run residential schools." It further notes that such an apology should be delivered in Canada.

The apology issued in September by the Catholic Bishops of Canada "to the Indigenous Peoples of This Land" was an important, albeit incremental, step. A scheduled meeting in Rome in December between the Pope and a delegation of Indigenous people is another.

And confirmation that Pope Francis will set foot on Canadian soil with the Indigenous/residential school issue as the stated purpose of the journey is a much larger and more significant step.

One more step  the largest, weightiest one; the only one that can make all those that preceded it relevant  remains. Only after it occurs can the process of reconciliation between the Catholic church and Indigenous peoples here be considered to have begun in earnest.

The time has come. The apology must be delivered by the Pope, in Canada.
Heather Stefanson said shes ready to roll up her sleeves and get down to the business of strengthening Manitobas broken health-care system and its battered economy, shortly after she was sworn in Tuesday as the province's 24th premier, and its first female leader.

Heather Stefanson said shes ready to roll up her sleeves and get down to the business of strengthening Manitobas broken health-care system and its battered economy, shortly after she was sworn in Tuesday as the province's 24th premier, and its first female leader.

"We want to ensure that we're going to tackle those health-care backlogs  both surgical and diagnostic  as well as get the economy back up and running. These are the priorities Manitobans want us to focus on."

Stefanson said she expects the legislature will sit later this month and a throne speech will be unveiled. She wouldn't say whether she would dramatically shuffle her cabinet, the majority of whom supported her bid for leader.

Stefanson was hesitant to commit to anything other than meeting with and listening to Manitobans  something she has done since announcing her leadership campaign after Brian Pallister stepped down as premier in September.

At her first news conference as premier, she refused to be pinned down on key issues such as measures to combat soaring COVID-19 cases in Southern Health to specific plans for an Indigenous land acknowledgement in the legislature. She said she would consult with affected groups on a range of issues  a huge departure from Pallister's iron grip on power.

"We want to ensure that we're going to tackle those health-care backlogs  both surgical and diagnostic  as well as get the economy back up and running. These are the priorities Manitobans want us to focus on."  Heather Stefanson

Stefanson, the longtime MLA for Tuxedo, took the oath at a swearing-in ceremony in the Speaker's reception room at the Manitoba legislature, just days after she won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party, which has governed since 2016. Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon, the Queen's representative in Manitoba, co-signed Stefansons oath of office.

In her speech to a small group that included cabinet ministers and her husband and two children, Stefanson acknowledged the importance of a woman attaining the highest office in the province.

Heather Stefanson is Manitobas 24th premier. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

"I stand before you today as Manitobas 24th premier. This was something that was once unthinkable. I reflect on the many people who have paved the way to make this possible and I promise that our government will embrace their values of equality, inclusivity and understanding," she said.

She acknowledged the sacrifices Manitobans have made during the pandemic, the challenges to the health-care system and the economy, and the importance of reconciliation with Indigenous people.

She promised to be "humble" and listen to everyday Manitobans. She said by the time the next election is held, in 2023, her party will have gained voters' trust.

"You will see yourself in our priorities and our vision. I will work every day to gain and maintain your trust. This is my mission and together we will accomplish great things for this great province of ours," she said.

I stand before you today as Manitobas 24th premier. This was something that was once unthinkable. I reflect on the many people who have paved the way to make this possible and I promise that our government will embrace their values of equality, inclusivity and understanding.  Heather Stefanson

Don Leitch, clerk of the executive council, began the ceremony with an Indigenous land acknowledgment before a bagpiper piped Stefanson into the room.

The new premier, who is Canada's only current female first minister, was sworn in under a cloud after rival Shelly Glover filed a court challenge of Stefanson's victory.

Stefanson said the controversy was "disappointing" but she wouldn't focus on it.

"I haven't been watching what (Glover's) doing today," Stefanson said. "I've been caught up in my own ceremony."

Heather Stefanson walks in to her swearing-in ceremony hand-in-hand with her family at the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg on Tuesday. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

She said she's focused on getting to work and will meet with the PC caucus and cabinet Wednesday to plan for the new session of the legislature that will begin later this month once a date is determined.

"Our focus has to be on governing and not getting involved in these other situations that are happening," said Stefanson.

"I'm going to take the same approach that I have pretty much most of my political career life. That's listening to Manitobans and listening to people within the party. If they've got challenges, I want to hear them."  Heather Stefanson

Stefanson said she plans to consult with the nearly half of the PC party that supported Glover in the hope that they can unite.

"I'm going to take the same approach that I have pretty much most of my political career life," the 24th premier said. "That's listening to Manitobans and listening to people within the party. If they've got challenges, I want to hear them."

Since the leadership race began, Stefanson has pledged to collaborate with groups that often clashed with Pallister. In addition, he riled up his Progressive Conservative supporters almost as often as opposition parties by intervening in the operations of Crown corporations and making divisive comments that Indigenous leaders deemed racist.

Stefanson, who was health minister during the provinces disastrous third wave of the pandemic last spring, was also criticized for staying in the background as dozens of Manitobans were flown to ICU wards in other provinces because the health-care system was overloaded.

Since being elected in 2000, she has also served as deputy premier and minister for justice and families.

After Pallister resigned two months ago, Kelvin Goertzen served as premier on an interim basis, working to warm the PC governments frosty relationship with various groups.

Stefanson has pledged to continue that approach, but has been vague on what specific PC policies she would change once she's in charge.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

Dylan Robertson

Parliamentary bureau chief In Ottawa, Dylan enjoys snooping through freedom-of-information requests and asking politicians: "What about Manitoba?" Read full biography
Winona, MN (55987)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 46F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Low 28F. Winds light and variable.
Winona, MN (55987)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 28F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 28F. Winds light and variable.
Winona, MN (55987)

Today

Partly cloudy early. Mostly sunny skies with gusty winds developing later in the day. Morning high of 40F with temps falling to near 30. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

A mostly clear sky. Low 17F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
A man charged in July with attempted homicide after allegedly stabbing another man during a fight outside of a J-1 student housing building in Lake Delton was charged again Tuesday in Sauk County Circuit Court, this time for battery of a fellow Sauk County Jail inmate.

Fabian A. Villa Velez, 23, appeared in court Tuesday, where Circuit Court Judge Michael Screnock set a $10,000 signature bond in the case with the condition that Villa Velez not engage in violent conduct.

The single felony count of battery by prisoners carries a maximum prison sentence of six years and a fine up to $10,000.

According to the criminal complaint, deputies put the jail on lock down Aug. 29 after they observed an inmate trying to keep two others from fighting. Video surveillance showed that Villa Velez and another inmate had been in a fight.

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When interviewed by deputies, Villa Velez said he started the fight by punching the other inmate because he was frustrated with him. He punched the inmate more than once in the face before the other man fought back and pushed him away. Villa Velez said the other man bangs on the walls at night and makes noise that keeps him awake. He had scratches on his face, neck and arm.
Officials in Juneau County said Wednesday they have located two teenage girls who had been reported missing but are still seeking a third.

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Mariah Davis, 16, of Camp Douglas is described as 5 feet 4 inches and 225 pounds with long brown hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen at 6:30 a.m. Oct. 31 in the Camp Douglas area wearing black leggings, a blue shirt, black coat and white shoes. Davis has a tattoo on her left hand of a smiley face. The Juneau County Sheriffs Office say Davis may be driving a maroon 2009 Hyundai Accent with Wisconsin license plate AMB1315 and a dent on the passenger-side rear door.

Individuals with information relating to Davis are asked to contact Detective Shaun Goyette of the Juneau County Sheriffs Office at 608-847-5649 or by email at sgoyette@co.juneau.wi.us.

Angela Starkey, 16, of Camp Douglas and Alessandra Roose, 16, of Mauston were found safe officials said Wednesday.

Reach Christopher Jardine on Twitter @ChrisJJardine or contact him at 608-432-6591.

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The first witness was Dominick Black, who was dating Rittenhouse's sister at the time. Black faces charges he bought the rifle for Rittenhouse months before the shootings because the teen was not old enough to own one at the time.

Black testified that he and Rittenhouse went to downtown Kenosha to help protect a car dealership after vehicles were burned the night before. Black said he thought nobody would start trouble if they saw him with his assault-style rifle. He also said Rittenhouse helped give medical aid and put out fires.

Black said he was on the roof as protesters hurled gasoline bombs and rocks at the business. He said he heard gunshots but didn't know Rittenhouse was involved until the teenager called and said, "I shot somebody, I shot somebody.

Afterward, Black said, Rittenhouse was freaking out. He was really scared. He was pale, shaking a lot. Black said Rittenhouse told him that he acted in self-defense because people were trying to hurt him.

In his opening statement, prosecutor Thomas Binger described the unrest in Kenosha as two of the roughest nights that our community has ever seen" and said outsiders were drawn to the city like moths to a flame.
1:40 p.m.: In widely seen video of law enforcement officer telling armed group that included Rittenhouse "we appreciate you guys, we really do," Investigator Martin Howard says he doesn't know what department that officer was with, other than it being a sheriff's office; the officer was not with the Kenosha Police Department.

1:35 p.m.: Break is over. Judge has returned to his chair. Jury being called back in.

1:10 p.m.: Going to a break as arguments over video audio continue.

From an early afternoon pool report:

Rittenhouse took notes when prosecutors displayed video him speaking into a camera last year while standing in a car lot before the shooting. A several points Wednesday as the video played, he leaned over to say something to one of his lawyers.

Some jurors nodded as the judge turned to them to explain why audio on the video had to be turned down when the person shooting it commented about what he was seeing. Later, the judge sent jurors out of the room when he addressed the issue further with attorneys.
Harnessing Thors hammer

How forensic science is unlocking the mysteries of fatal lightning strikes that could help save thousands of lives.

As the world gathers for COP26 in Glasgow, scientists have found the smoking gun in forensic lightning pathology that will help develop life-saving knowledge to address the lethal effects of the increasing number and severity of thunderstorms and lightning strikes due to global climate change.

This new research by scientists from South Africa and the UK could help forensic teams understand whether people or animals were the victims of fatal lightning strikes, based solely upon an analysis of their skeletons. Their study is published in the journal Forensic Science International: Synergy, titled Harnessing Thor's Hammer: Experimentally induced lightning trauma to human bone by high impulse current. (Download the media pack)

Opinion piece: The Conversation: Forensic science is unlocking the mysteries of fatal lightning strikes

Climate change is increasing and there is evidence to suggest the incidence and severity of thunderstorms and lightning strikes could increase. Sadly, fatal strikes are common on wild animals, livestock, and people - with African countries having some of the highest fatality rates in the world.

In South Africa, more than 250 people are killed annually by lightning, whereas 24, 000 people worldwide die each year. When a lightning death is suspected, the forensic pathologist determines cause of death by looking for signs of lightning-trauma to skin and organs of the deceased. However, when the body is skeletonised, soft tissues are absent and cause of death by lightning cannot be attributed.

This new research provides a tool to investigate cause of death when skeletonised remains are recovered as part of accident or death investigations.

According to Dr Nicholas Bacci, Lecturer in the School of Anatomical Sciences at Wits University and lead author of the paper, identifying a fatality caused by lightning strike is usually done though marks left on the skin, or damage to the internal organs - and these tissues dont survive when bodies decompose. Our work is the first research that identifies unique markers of lightning damage deep within the human skeleton and allows us to recognise lightning when only dry bone survives. This may allow us to recognise accidental death versus homicide in cases where cause is not apparent, whilst at the same time allowing us to build a more complete picture of the true incidence of lightning fatalities.

The research was undertaken as collaboration between specialists in forensic anthropology, anatomy, lightning physics, and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) in South Africa, Northumbria University in the UK, and the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA).

The researchers generated artificial lightning in the laboratory, which was then applied directly to human bone, extracted from donated cadavers who had died of natural causes.

Dr Hugh Hunt, Head of the Johannesburg Lightning Research Laboratory (JLRL) at Wits University, explains we used equipment to generate high impulse currents in the lab, (up to 10,000 Amps), which mimicked the effect of lightning passing through the skeleton. Natural lightning can often have significantly higher peak currents but this allowed us to have much greater control over the experiment than trying to somehow place human tissue in the path of a natural lightning strike, says Hunt, a Senior Lecturer and Head of the JLRL in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering.

What the experiments showed was a pattern of damage to bone that was uniquely caused by short duration lightning current.

Senior author Dr Patrick Randolph-Quinney, Associate Professor from the Forensic Science Research Group at Northumbria University, and the Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey at Wits University, explains using high-powered microscopy we were able to see that there is a pattern of micro-fracturing within bone caused by the passage of lightning current. This takes the form of cracks which radiate out from the centre of bone cells, or which jump irregularly between clusters of cells. The overall pattern of damage looks very different when compared to other high energy trauma, such as that caused by burning in fire.

Even though this experiment was conducted under controlled conditions in the lab, we see the same trauma in animals killed by natural lightning. We were able to compare the human results with bone from a poor giraffe killed by lightning  and the pattern of trauma is identical even though the micro-structure of human bone is different from animal bone. This is the smoking gun that we were looking for in forensic lightning pathology, he adds.

Real-world problem

What is unique about this research is that is brought together different disciplines with a common focus on trying to understand the effects of lightning on the body, with the long-term aim of making the environment safer for those at risk of being killed by lightning.

Associate Professor Ken Nixon from the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at Wits University and member of the Board of Directors of the African Centre for Lightning and Electromagnetics Network explains: This is a multi-disciplinary project, which highlights how forensic scientists can work with physicists and engineers to explore a real-world problem, which is implicated in the deaths of many people annually, and especially in countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Uganda.

At a time when global climate change is driving increases in the number and severity of thunderstorms and lightning strikes, we need more research like this, bringing together different fields with real experience of dealing with lightning. Ultimately our aim at Wits is to make our built environment and countryside safer for those exposed to the lethal effects of lightning energy in South Africa, and to provide life-saving knowledge for those around the globe who are increasingly put in harms way of this natural phenomenon, he says.

This research would not have been possible without state-of-the-art imaging technologies based in the School of Anatomical Science in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits, and the micro-CT facility at the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa at Pelindaba.

Researchers in South Africa are absolutely at the forefront of bringing together cutting edge imaging methods to discover new and ground-breaking knowledge about the skeleton of modern and ancient humans, notes Dr Tanya Augustine, an anatomist based at Wits Medical School, who co-led the research and is corresponding author on the paper.

Over the last few years teams at Wits and NECSA have unlocked the secrets of cancer in the hominin fossil record, provided evidence for cause of death in australopithecines, and now these techniques are allowing us to unlock the mysteries of fatal lightning strikes, she adds.

International Conference on Lightning Protection 2022

Next year Wits University will be hosting the International Conference on Lightning Protection, the premier lightning conference in the world, for the first time in Africa. This follows the successful bid by Professor Ian Jandrell, a renowned expert in the field of lightning, high voltage engineering and forensic engineering, and currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Systems and Operations at Wits University. The conference will take place from 2  7 October 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa.

About #Wits100

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) is a leading African university ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world. In 2022, Wits celebrates 100 years of academic and research excellence, social justice, and the advancement of the public good. In our pursuit to positively impact humanity, our innovative technology-driven research aims to transform and prepare society for a collective and common digital future. Our research output has doubled in the past five years and offers new ways to impact society for good, as well as astounding moonshot moments that give us hope and inspiration. Visit https://wits100.wits.ac.za/. #WitsForGood

About Northumbria University
BROOKFIELD, N.Y. -- A woman who was stabbed at a mobile home park in Brookfield last week says the assault happened while she was trying to help her neighbor.

Amanda Williams, 26, says she was getting her kids ready for school when she saw 26-year-old Ryan Demorest, of Cassville, attacking her 21-year-old pregnant neighbor. Williams tried to intervene, but was caught in the crossfire and was stabbed in the side and struck with a hammer. The neighbor was also stabbed by Demorest, who is her unborn childs father, according to Williams.

He stabbed her in the forehead and all over the back of her head and her sides. thankfully she bear-hugged him. The baby was fine. Thank God, the baby was fine, Williams said of the assault.

Police were called to the mobile home park for a domestic dispute on Oct. 29, where they found Williams and her neighbor suffering from stab wounds. Both were sent to the hospital.

Demorest was found later that day in Plainfield dead from an apparent suicide.

Williams says she thinks Demorest just snapped that day.

He doesn't do drugs, he doesn't drink but the look in his eyes will haunt me forever. Something snapped in his head, she said. The smile he had on his face and the way his eyes were bugged out. Straight out of a horror movie.

Williams neighbor, who has not been named by police, was treated for her injuries and has since been released from the hospital.
VERONA, N.Y. -- The Oneida Indian National honored more than 400 local veterans at its annual recognition event at Turning Stone Resort Casino on Wednesday.

This is the 20th year the Nation has honored local veterans, including its own members and employees who served the county.

Nation Rep. Ray Halbritter and other service members and veterans spoke at the event, touching on the relationship between the Oneida Indian Nation and the U.S. military.

Nation member Kathy Kuhl, whose three children have served in the armed forces, and Yellow Brick Road Manager David Ernenwein, a veteran, were also honored for their dedication and commitment to the country.

Kuhl says its important to recognize the Nations history with the U.S. military services.

"Who we were, what we did, how we actually helped the American Revolution; if it wasn't for us we would probably be all British now which is what I tell a lot of people, she said.

One of Kuhls sons served in the Marines, and another son in the Army, while her daughter served 12 years in the Air Force.

During the event, the Nation also presented a donation to Feed Our Vets, a food pantry that helps local veterans in need.
The Supreme Court seemed ready to expand Second Amendment rights after hearing arguments for over two hours and expressing skepticism about New York law that restricts individuals from carrying concealed handguns outside the home for self-defense.

Chief Justice John Roberts at one point pressed New York's solicitor general about the breadth of the law that requires an individual to show "proper cause" before obtaining such a license in locations typically open to the general public, even in rural areas.

"How many muggings take place in a forest?" Roberts asked.

And President Donald Trump's three appointees, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh were concerned about the high bar necessary to obtain a permit.

"Why isn't it good enough to say I live in a violent area?" Kavanaugh asked. Barrett suggested the law passed legal muster under the court's landmark 2008 decision that held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms.

During their discussion, however, the justices did suggest that restrictions would be okay for sensitive areas such as schools and subways, but that the New York law as written was too broad.

It's been more than a decade since the justices have decided a significant Second Amendment case and now the conservative-leaning court has the opportunity to reexamine the scope of the right to keep and bear arms in a case brought by an affiliate of the National Rifle Association.

The court could potentially allow more guns to be carried on some of the busiest streets in the largest cities in the nation, at a time when the Biden administration has vowed to push for enhanced gun regulations.

In 2008's District of Columbia v. Heller, the court held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms at home for self-defense. Except for a follow-up decision two years later, the justices have largely stayed away from the issue infuriating gun rights advocates and even some of the justices themselves.

Justice Clarence Thomas and other conservatives have made clear they believe lower courts have been thumbing their noses at the Heller decision by upholding restrictions. "The Second Amendment is a disfavored right in this court," Thomas has said.

The new case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, concerns a New York law governing licenses to carry concealed handguns in public for self-defense. It requires a resident to obtain a license to carry a concealed pistol or revolver and demonstrate that "proper cause" exists for the permit. Residents must show that they have a great need for the license and that they face a "special or unique danger to their life."

A panel of judges on the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals held that New York's law does not violate the Second Amendment. Only five other states -- California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey -- have similar regulations, but those states are comprised of some of the most densely populated cities in the country.

"These states contain about a quarter of the US population, so one in four Americans would likely experience significant increase in the number of people carrying guns in public places if the court were to strike down New York's law," said Adam Skaggs, chief counsel of Giffords Law Center.

Twenty-one states generally allow people to carry concealed weapons in most public spaces without any permit, background check or safety training, according to the group.

"History shows that local officials have long had wide latitude to decide where and under what circumstances firearms could be carried in public, and to restrict the carrying of concealable firearms, particularly in populous areas" New York's Attorney General Letitia James told the Supreme Court in court briefs.

James, a Democrat who announced plans to run for governor, does not dispute the fact that individuals have a right to carry arms outside the home for self-defense. But, she said, an individual's right does not extend to "anywhere" or "virtually anywhere" a confrontation may arise.

The law requires applicants who want to carry a handgun in public without restriction to show an "actual and articulable" self-defense need, as opposed to one that is "speculative or specious," James wrote. She warns the justices that if they rule against the law they could jeopardize other laws that restrict handguns where people often congregate like courthouses, airports, subways, bars, houses of worship and schools.

The Biden administration supports New York and told the court in a brief that while the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, the right is "not absolute."

"For centuries, lawmakers have protected the public by reasonably regulating such matters as who may possess arms, where they may be taken, and how they may be manufactured, transported, sold, stored, and carried," Acting Solicitor General Brian Fletcher told the justices in court papers.

The petitioners in the case are Robert Nash, Brandon Koch and the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. They were represented by Paul Clement, a George W. Bush-era solicitor general who argued that while the right to keep and bear arms may have its greatest application in the home, "the right to carry arms obviously extends outside the home" and is "intimately connected to the right to self -defense."

Both Nash and Koch have passed all the required background checks and have obtained licenses to carry guns for hunting and target practice, but they have not been able to establish a special need for self-defense that is required under the law in order to receive an unrestricted license.

Clement argued that the law makes it almost impossible for an ordinary individual to obtain a license because the "proper cause" standard is so demanding and left to the "broad discretion" of the licensing officer.

"Good, even impeccable, moral character plus a simple desire to exercise a fundamental right is," Clement said, "not sufficient." "Nor is living or being employed in a high crime area."

Nash, for instance, requested to carry a handgun for self-defense after a string of robberies in his neighborhood. But he was denied because he did not demonstrate a special need for self-defense. Koch wanted a similar license, and he was able to cite his experience of participating in safety training courses. He too was denied.

Clement has drawn the support of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and 24 of his fellow Republicans. Their amicus briefs argues that the New York law allows "only a select few members of the public to bear arms" and that the law "turns the Second Amendment on its head."

The senators acknowledge that firearms policy can be complex, but that the right to bear arms "cannot be second-guessed by legislators across the country who simply disagree with the choice the Framers made."

But some prominent conservatives including Judge J. Michael Luttig, who served on the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, filed a brief in support of the law, emphasizing its roots in the nation's history. "Text, history, and tradition," he wrote, "show that a constitutional right to bear arms outside the home, in public and in public places, has never been unrestricted and indeed, has historically been restricted in many public places."

This story has been updated following oral arguments.

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TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)-Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita traveled the state on Tuesday to discuss several hot button issues. He focused on parents' rights when it comes to their children's education and the Texas Abortion bill.

Rokita is part of a 17-state coalition that sent a letter to the Department of Justice as well as the National School Board Association asking for an apology regarding their request for law enforcement to keep an eye on threats happening to school board officials. The NSBA sent this letter to the DOJ last month.

"The department of justice saying they are going to monitor that trying to intimidate them from speaking is absolutely wrong," said Attorney General Rokita. "That's why I led a 17 state coalition of Attorneys General pushing Merrick Garland and Joe Biden and everyone else back saying stay in your lane guys you're overreaching enough on so many issues you are not going to do it here."

The DOJ memo Rokita is referring to was released on October 4th. You can read it by clicking here.

In it, United States Attorney General Merrick Garland said "Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation's core values."

Rokita feels if threats are happening, then they should be handled on the local level. A

"We've seen parents simply be concerned," said Attorney General Rokita. "Speaking loudly speaking emotionally, and speaking passionately about what is going on in your kid's schools that is protected speech by our first amendment there is nothing illegal about that and you just have to have a bit of thicker skin. To the extent that anyone is getting death threats, they should call 911 and file a report."

After Rokita along with other Attorneys General sent the letter previously mentioned in the article, the NSBA did send out an apology for the language they used in it. You can read that by clicking here.

One topic that parents have been passionate about is Critical Race Theory. Rokita believes it's a topic that shouldn't ever be taught in public schools.

"We can be diverse and still be unified critical race theory says no you can't and it's not factual and it's not right," said Attorney General Rokita.

Another topic of discussion Attorney General Rokita has been discussing with Hoosiers is the Texas abortion law, which bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. He is leading 20 other states in asking the U.S. Supreme court to reject the challenge of the law.

"This is an issue that goes across state lines," said Rokita. "The hope and expectation is that if the Texas law proved to be constitutional ultimately and viable that will open the door for other states like Indiana."

Rokita defended the Texas abortion law, saying that Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court decision, and not written into the Constitution.

On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the law could set a dangerous precedent in our country.

He said how the law is structured could set a precedent for other states to target constitutional rights like Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, or second amendment rights.
MUNCIE, Ind. (WLFI) - An 18-year-old Indiana woman is recovering from a terrifying incident where her vehicle crashed into a river in Muncie and she was trapped inside.

Body cam video from responding police showed how quick-acting officers rescued her. Lauren Kostiuk has that amazing video.

"We're starting to walk back to the bank I think."

Three Muncie police officers were on patrol early Sunday morning when a call came in of a car sinking into the White River.

"We got it, it's on the south side of the bridge." stated an officer.

Inside was an 18-year-old woman.

"I am in the White River and my car's doors won't open. I don't know what happened. I think my eyes went blank or something. Again, in the river and I can't get out." cried the caller.

Officer Casey Bell was the first to jump in the water knowing every second counts.

"It's so cold and it's coming up to my neck. It's not stopping," added the caller.

Officer Casey Bell said, "I tried to open the doors on the driver's side and the back driver's side wouldn't open up."

Behind him was Sergeant James Lenox, who handed him a baton to smash the window. After hitting it four to five times, it finally shattered, making a hole big enough to fit an arm through. But still, the door wouldn't budge.

Bell stated, "Broke all the glass away from the window and reached in to see if she had a seat belt on and thankfully, she didn't. So I was able to pull her out through the window."

Sergeant Lenox was also in the water, and saw a possible passenger.

"Is anyone in there? Is anyone in there?" he asked. "I saw a head," declared Lenox. "He's in the front, I can't get him."

By then, the car was almost underwater.

"Thinking we are going to lose somebody if we don't do something quick." Skaggs said.

Sergeant Gregory Skaggs quickly got into the car to check for other people.

"I told Officer Bell grab my legs, I am going in the back to see if I can find anybody," recalled Skaggs.

Thankfully, no one else was inside. It's heroic actions like this that officers do every day never seeking the recognition

Sergeant Lenox reminded people that, "You talk to any police officer, he'll be more than happy to tell you he would jump into the water to save somebody."

Sergeant Lenox said the current in the river was so strong that his body was forced sideways as he held onto the vehicle.

The driver's injuries were described as non-life threatening.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - With over 646 hours spent in space, retired astronaut and Air Force member Richard Covey spoke to the Purdue community about his experience.

Covey discussed the future of space travel. Covey said he can see it going more commercial.

As for the price of one of those tickets?

He didn't see it coming lower fifty five million dollars in the near future, yet he was still interested in the fact that now more than ever, non-astronauts are able to travel beyond our Earth. Three students at Purdue, Joseph Kirchhoff, John Putziger, and Abigale Sipes, were awarded the Astronaut Scholarship. The awards give students in stem a grant to continue their studies. Covey was the sponsor for one of the scholarships: Abigale's.

Abigail said, "I don't think a lot of people get to meet their sponsors and it's a hefty fund so it's a huge honor meeting my sponsor. Not to mention he's also an astronaut, so I get to meet an astronaut. It just all ties in: astronaut scholarship given to me by an astronaut. So it's a great honor."

Students were able to ask questions at the end of the talk. They found out his favorite food while in space was spicy shrimp.
City internships take on-the-job training to new level

On the job training: William & Mary student Cody Armstrong '22, left, helps test fire hydrants as part of a hands-on job rotation while serving an internship with the City of Williamsburg. Submitted photo Photo - of - Hide Caption

William & Mary students Cody Armstrong 22 and Max Berckmueller 23 took on-the-job training to a whole new level while interning with the City of Williamsburg over the summer.

They took part in the City of Williamsburg Management Rotation & Special Project internship where they immersed themselves in every department, from fire and police to public works and parks and recreation. In addition to that experiential training, the interns worked on a management-level task that required a detailed report to either Williamsburg City Manager Andrew Trivette or to City Council.

Applications for these particular summer internships, which have been offered the last three years, typically go out sometime in the spring.

I dont think I could ever stress this enough just how life-changing this internship was and how amazing every person I met in the internship was, said Armstrong, a public policy major.

Berckmueller was amazed by all that was covered during the nine-week internship.

I did everything from IT to finance to fire, said Berckmueller, a government major. Theres 10 different careers I want to explore now in local government.

The paid internships included a managerial rotation through seven of the citys departments. Armstrong and Berckmueller spent one week with each department, learning the jobs and functions of each and performing tasks.

For example, Berckmueller did a ride-along with the public works department and spray painted lines to show where underground electric, gas and water lines were located. He also did a ride-along with the fire department. Armstrong spent a day with the fire department testing fire hydrants.

That's why I designed the internship with this rotation of going from department to department, not just sitting in a chair and hearing a lecture from the department head about how the department works, but actually getting in the sewer ditch with the water and sewer crew and fixing the pipe and working on the budget with the budget staff, Trivette said.

Everything that you can think of, I wanted it to be covered, and at the same time I wanted you to get the experience of what it's like to manage all of that and think about larger questions of policy.

Above and beyond

Both Armstrong and Berckmueller learned of the internship through W&M Government and Public Policy Professor John McGlennon.

The City of Williamsburg and especially City Manager Andrew Trivette went above and beyond in the generosity provided to our student interns, McGlennon said. In what was an extended nine-week program, the students were able to experience all the city departments and get a rare inside look at the complexity of local government.

These internships have been invaluable, whether a student ultimately winds up in local government or becomes familiar with how their community depends on the direct services provided by cities, counties and towns.

At the start of the internship, Armstrong and Berckmueller were asked to select a special project from a list of topics. Armstrong chose the shared mission-funding plan, which explored a new budget for shared mission funding between the fire department, police department and human services.

Berckmueller selected employee benefits review, which required research on benefits offered by local governments in Virginia and across the country to identify innovative ideas that the city should consider implementing.

It forced me to think outside the box, think critically and work very strongly with all three departments, as well as finance, to come up with a solution, Armstrong said. It really broadened my horizons past just social policy, but also made me look at financial policy and understand budgets in a way that I probably would not have before this.

Building relationships

Armstrong, a native of Carrolton, Virginia, is a Student Assembly senator for the class of 2022. He wants to advocate for students on and off campus and has recently become a leading voice for William & Mary students with City Council.

I'm really trying to build a relationship between the city and the school, and Im also working with disadvantaged students and minorities to help uplift their voices on campus, Armstrong said.

I just really want to leave William & Mary a better place than it was when I got here, and I feel like I finally have the confidence and the platform this year to do it, especially with working on relations between the city and the college.

The internship really opened my eyes to my love of local government, and hopefully one day in the future either I'll come back to Williamsburg or another city and help its local government the best I can, Armstrong added.

Berckmueller grew up in Williamsburg, and the citys municipal building is a 10-minute drive from his home. When he saw friends landing summer internships, Berckmueller decided to seek out one of his own.

I think Im just incredibly lucky with how well this internship worked, Berckmueller said. Prior to this, I only ever really considered going into state or federal government. But having actually experienced it, having the opportunity to do this internship, I definitely think that it's opened up my eyes and I'm a great deal more interested in working in local government I think even more than working at those higher levels of government now.

Mutually beneficial

Having William & Mary students as interns is a mutually beneficial arrangement, Trivette said. During their time as interns, Armstrong and Berckmueller brought value to the city through their personalities and viewpoints, as well as their work.

I can safely say all of the interns that we had have produced a product that we turned into action, and we will do that with the reports that were done by both Cody and Max, Trivette said.

The internships are beneficial to the students, the city and William & Mary.

I think the students go back to William & Mary with a much greater appreciation for a pretty large breadth of available opportunities to them, whether it's in the public sector or the private sector, because all of our jobs translate to something in the private sector. And I think the interns come away with a much deeper sense of who they might want to be post-college, Trivette said.

When they go back to William & Mary, I hope that their experience is so positive and they have such an appreciation for the people that do the jobs here in the city that they are our advocates, they're ambassadors for the city, and that's something that we desperately need.
Zheng Jingxuan (second from right) attends an education conference hosted by UNICEF.

Zheng Jingxuan (Diana Zheng), a native of Southeast China's Fujian Province, has a reputation in Spain for being dedicated to teaching the Chinese language and culture, and for her success in operating Montessori Baby House, a trilingual (Chinese, Spanish and English) kindergarten in Madrid, capital of Spain. "Teaching Chinese makes me feel the value of life. It is my mission to teach the Chinese language and spread Chinese culture abroad," she says.

Zheng graduated in 2010 with a master's degree in Spanish from Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign Languages in Shaoxing, in East China's Zhejiang Province. After that, she pursued postgraduate studies in Chinese-Spanish interpretation at Universidad Complutens, in Madrid, Spain.

She was a Chinese-language tutor in her spare time. As Zheng was about to graduate in 2012, she was offered an opportunity to work as a Chinese-language teacher and director of the Chinese-language department at a language-training school in Madrid. Since then, she has been a Chinese-language teacher in Spain. She used to offer Chinese-language classes via a program on Radio Libertad, a radio station in Spain. Her classes were reported by a leading Spanish newspaper several times.

Zheng Jingxuan attends the 20th CACIE Future Education Forum in Beijing.

During the four years she worked at the languagetraining school, Zheng participated in various training courses  including some involving positive discipline and the Montessori approach to education  to improve her teaching skills. She received many certificates, such as the certificate issued by Association Montessori Internationale and the ICTP (Online International Chinese Teacher Training Program) certificate issued by Beijing Language and Culture University.

After Zheng gave birth to her son in 2017, she began visiting kindergartens in Madrid. "I hoped my child would be able to speak three languages (Chinese, Spanish and English). At that time, Spain didn't have full-time Chinese-language schools. Schools only offered extracurricular classes in the Chinese language at least twice a week. Therefore, I decided to start my own business  setting up a trilingual early education school on my own," Zheng recalls.

"The predecessor of Montessori Baby House was an online-education platform, on which I began promoting methods and ideas for educating children to overseas Chinese parents in 2016. I also invited education experts to give online lectures to the parents. Professor Feng Dequan, known as 'the father of early education' in China, had paid attention to the platform. His care and encouragement gave me great courage and confidence to start my own school," Zheng says.

After Montessori Baby House opened in July 2018, many residents in the neighborhood visited the school. A couple, who were linguistics professors and who spoke three languages, told Zheng they were deeply impressed by her educational philosophy, and they would like to help her recruit students. Two months later, the school welcomed its first group of children.

Zheng Jingxuan poses for a photo after she receives a certificate for completing a positive-discipline course.

"Montessori Baby House is the first trilingual preschool in Spain that combines the concept of early education with tested methods of learning  the Montessori Method, combined with positive discipline, and the Chinese philosophy of Dujing (reading classic literature)  resulting in surprising learning outcomes," Zheng says.

"Trilingualism is an important base of our education. We teach in an immersive environment, with native teachers of Chinese, English and Spanish, so children learn in a natural way from their first day," she adds.

Zheng has not always had an easy time raising her son and operating her business at the same time. However, she feels fulfilled and that her life has meaning when she spends time with children, and she enjoys sharing warmth and happiness with the children.

"We'd like to provide a trilingual environment for children under age 6, and to help them develop good life and study habits, as well as lay a foundation for them to have a positive outlook on life, values and the world in the future," Zheng says.

Montessori Baby House is a Friendly Center of UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund). It has 21 teachers to offer online and offline courses and tutoring services, and one-third of those teachers are from China. To date, about 300 children have attended the school.

To promote Chinese culture, the school organizes various activities every year, to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals, such as Chinese Spring Festival, MidAutumn Festival and Dragon Boat Festival.

Zheng has earned both recognition and a solid reputation in Madrid. In November 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Spain. As one of the four designated outstanding overseas Chinese representatives in Spain, Zheng was invited by the Spanish Prime Minister's Office to a luncheon with Xi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

"I am proud there are many excellent Chineselanguage schools in Spain. In addition to teaching the language, teachers at the schools also attach great importance to promoting traditional Chinese culture. For Chinese children born and raised in Spain, their overall level of the Chinese language is constantly improving, and their sense of belonging to the motherland is becoming stronger," Zheng says.

Zheng Jingxuan (third from left) during a meeting of the Spanish Montessori Association

When asked about the impact of COVID-19 on the school, Zheng says the pandemic has been a crisis, but also a challenge  and an opportunity  for the school. "During the special period of time, the parents have been impressed by our teachers' professionalism and sense of responsibility. We strictly implemented regular epidemic prevention and -control measures, and we have continued to provide high-quality online and offline courses. Our tutoring service was featured on a program of Telemadrid, a public television station in Madrid. We also organized an online concert for children at our school, and from several primary schools in Beijing, to celebrate International Children's Day together," Zheng says.

She says she is grateful for the parents' support, as they have helped the school pull through the difficulties. For example, tuition fees are normally paid monthly, but some parents paid the fees for a year. Many parents recommended the school to friends and relatives.

When she talks about the future, Zheng says she hopes more children will have access to high-quality education. "We plan to open branches of Montessori Baby House in Spain, to benefit an increasing number of families and their children. We also welcome like-minded people, who are interested in children's education, to join us," Zheng says.

Photos Supplied by Zheng Jingxuan

(Women of China English Monthly September 2021 issue)
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Based on the Miami Association of Realtors latest annual Profile of International Home Buyers Report, South Florida posted strong international home sales in 2021 despite Covid-19 global travel bans as the Miami mega region outperformed Florida and the nation. Going forward, Miami global investment is set to surge with vaccinated foreigners being allowed to resume travel to the U.S. this month, pent-up demand and a weaker U.S. dollar.

Foreign homebuyers purchased $5.1 billion of South Florida residential properties in 2021, down 9% from $5.6 billion in 2020. Because the Miami mega region is the No. 1 U.S. destination for global consumers and home to diversified foreign homebuyers, the Miami global market outperformed the state and nation. Statewide, international homebuyer dollar volume declined 22% ($15.6 billion last year to $12.3 billion in 2021). Nationally, global homebuyer dollar volume declined 27% (from $74 billion to $54.4 billion).

"For South Florida international homebuying to remain essentially on par with the previous year despite the lockdowns and bans on international travel speaks to the incredible resiliency and the allure of our market," Miami Chairman of the Board Jennifer Wollmann said. "We expect a significant increase in foreign visitors once the U.S. opens its borders to international travelers on November 8. Global buyers purchase in Miami because it is a world-class global city with better real estate prices than other similar global cities. Foreign buyers feel at home with our diversity and acceptance of all cultures."

The profile surveyed Miami members' international residential transactions from August 2020 to July 2021.

South Florida Registers More than Half of all Florida International Home Sales

Florida is the top U.S. destination for foreign buyers (21% of all sales), according to NAR's 2021 Profile of International transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate. Florida has been the No. 1 state for foreign home buyers for the last 13 years.

More than half of all international home sales in Florida (52%) are in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, according to the Florida Realtors 2021 Profile of International Residential Real Estate Activity in Florida. Orlando finished No. 2 with 10%, and Tampa is No. 3 with 8%. One in five of all U.S. international home sales happen in Florida and one in two in Florida are in the Miami metro market.

South Florida is the top destination for all the top countries buying in Florida: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Venezuela, according to the Florida Realtors study.

South Florida secures about 10% of all international home sales in the entire U.S.

South Florida Foreign Homebuyer Market Share is Four Times Larger than the U.S. Figure

South Florida foreign buyers purchases accounted for 14% of total dollar volume and 13% of all South Florida residential properties sold in 2021, according to the MIAMI and NAR report. No other market in the U.S. has those figures.

At 13%, South Florida's foreign homebuyer market share remains more than three times the state figure and four times larger than the nation. Statewide, the global homebuyer market share of all closed sales is 4%. Nationally, the global homebuyer market share is 3%.

New York: Top State Purchasing in South Florida

New York ranked as the No. 1 state purchasing in South Florida, according to the MIAMI and NAR Report. New York purchases in Miami increased from 24% in 2020 to 29% in 2021. California (15%) and New Jersey (9%) also increased their homebuying activity in South Florida.

A surge in out-of-state individuals and companies purchasing and relocating to South Florida this year has fueled a record-breaking year for South Florida real estate. Seven of the top 10 sales months in Miami history have happened this year and Miami existing condo sales broke the record for most annual sales in only nine months.

Miami-Dade County Has the Largest Share of South Florida Foreign Buyers

Miami-Dade County accounted for the largest share of South Florida's foreign buyers (65% in 2021; 70% in 2020). Broward County saw an increase in foreign buyers (27% in 2021; 26% in 2020). Palm Beach County had 3%, up from 2% in 2020.

The foreign buyer market share of total sales in each county in 2021 are: Miami-Dade County (13%), Broward County (11%) and Palm Beach County (10%).

Argentina: Top Foreign Country Buying South Florida Real Estate

Argentina is the top foreign country purchasing South Florida real estate. It is the second consecutive year Argentina finished as No. 1.

The top countries of origin for consumers purchasing properties in South Florida are:

1. Argentina (13% of South Florida foreign purchases)

2. Colombia (12%)

3. Venezuela (10%)

4. Mexico (7%)

5. Chile and Brazil (6% each)

6. Peru and Canada (5% each)

7. Ecuador (4%)

8. Spain and France (3%)

These top tier countries of origin -- Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Canada, Ecuador, Spain and France -- account for 74% of all South Florida international closed sales.

South Florida's foreign buyers come from more than 40 countries. Other U.S. markets are limited to two or three countries. The diversified number of markets that purchase in Miami allows the region to always post high global sales because when one foreign market declines, others step up to take its place.

Countries purchasing in Miami include: Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Canada, Ecuador, Spain, France, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica, Barbados, Bolivia, Paraguay, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Cuba, Haiti, South Africa, Singapore, Jamaica, Czech Republic, and more.

Colombia is the No. 1 Country Buying in Miami-Dade County

The top countries of origin for consumers purchasing properties in Miami-Dade are:

1. Colombia (15%)

2. Argentina (14%)

3. Venezuela (10%)

4. Mexico (8%)

5. Brazil and Peru (7% each)

6. Chile and Canada (4% each)



Other countries that purchased properties in Miami-Dade included Ecuador, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, France, China, Cuba, Panama and Russia.

Argentina is the No. 1 Country Buying in Broward County

The top countries of origin for consumers buying real estate in Broward County are:

1. Argentina (17%)

2. Colombia (15%)

3. Peru (8%)

4. Canada, Venezuela and Chile (7% each)

5. Brazil, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico and Spain (3% each)

Other countries that purchased properties in Broward included Bolivia, Ecuador, Bahamas, China, Czech Republic, India, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia are the Top Countries Buying in Palm Beach County

The top countries of origin for consumers buying real estate in Palm Beach County are:

1. Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Colombia (18% each)

2. Chile, Peru and Ukraine (9% each)

Foreign Home Buyers Spend 9% More on Average vs. Nation

Foreign home buyers spend more on real estate than other buyers, and South Florida real estate buyers spend a higher median price than other international buyers in the U.S.

International home buyers spent a median price of $386,200 for residential properties in 2021. In comparison, foreign buyers in the United States spend $351,800.

63% of South Florida International Buyers Paid in Cash

According to the new Miami Realtors and NAR survey, about 63% of all international residential transactions in South Florida were made in all-cash. That's 24% higher than the percentage of U.S. foreign buyers paying all-cash (39%).

South Florida international home buyers prefer condominiums (61%) in the central/urban areas (66%), which they intend to use mainly as residential rental, vacation home or both (72%).

7% of South Florida Foreign Buyers Purchased Homes Without Even Visiting

About 7% of South Florida foreign buyers purchased local homes without even visiting Florida in 2021. About 23% purchased with just one visit to Florida; 29% purchased with two visits; 18% bought after visiting Florida three times. About 77% purchased with three visits or less.

About 50% of Miami Realtor members worked with an international client in the past 12 months. That's more than three times the national figure of 15%.

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US gives final clearance to COVID-19 shots for kids 5 to 11
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Shones Lane in Llay reopens after collision  Air Ambulance attended incident

Update: The road has reopened.

Police attended the incident at 3:19pm and have confirmed a pedestrian and a car were involved.

Any witnesses can contact police quoting reference number Z161209.

Original information below

The Welsh Air Ambulance has landed in Llay to assist after a collision.

North Wales Police have said, Please be aware that the road near to Shones Lane in Llay, Wrexham is currently closed due to a road traffic collision.

Emergency services are currently at the scene.

Please avoid the area if you can and use alternative routes  thanks in advance for your understanding.

The air ambulance landed just before 4pm.
Supermarkets get talking to from Ministers over face coverings: It is a legal requirement and we expect them to enforce that.

Politicians have raised concern over the seeming drop in the number of people in Wales wearing face coverings.

Under the current alert level zero, which has been in place since the start of August, it is mandatory to wear a face mask in all indoor public places  excluding hospitality  public transport and healthcare settings.

This was a move welcomed by unions which at the time said face mask wearing is an important measure to help protect workers who have no option but to interact with the public as a part of their job.

However there is concern that the number of people wearing face coverings in shops and other indoor settings has dropped in recent months.

At a press conference last week First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed that Wales economy minister has met with retailers to urge them to do everything they can to raise awareness of the legal requirement to wear a face coverings in shops.

He also warned that unless cases in Wales decrease in the next three weeks, the cabinet will look at further tightening covid measures.

Speaking in the Senedd yesterday Conservative MS Russell George questioned whether enough people were following the restrictions, stating that a recent survey had found face mask wearing in Wales had dropped.

Mr Russell said: I think, whether you agree with the restrictions or not, you should follow the restrictions.

There was a CoMix survey last week that showed that mask wearing in Wales has decreased sharply over the last month compared with England and Scotland.

So, how are restrictions such as mask wearing and working from home going to be enforced if data is suggesting that people are ignoring the restrictions?

Id be interested in your conversations in Cabinet around this. Clearly, when youre considering further restrictions, theres got to be a discussion about the Welsh publics appetite for the willingness to follow restrictions. So, Id be grateful if you could give some further detail in that regard as well.

His concerns were echoed by Plaid Cymru MS Rhun ap Iorwerth, who added: In the last few days Ive had people working in pharmacies, in shops, restaurants, people who are concerned about what they see in their daily lives on public transport.

We need to do something different now in order to reinforce that message and to ensure that the legislation is being implemented, because it is clear that the legislation, in and of itself, isnt enough.

So, I would be grateful to understand from the Minister what kind of innovative thinking is being done around that communication.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said it was about communicating about mask wearing and that we have to bring the public with us and we need to ensure that the the public understands that this is a responsibility on them as well; it is legislation.

She said: I am very saddened to see that people are not taking this seriously. This is certainly not a common situation throughout Wales.

The majority, I think, are still abiding by our laws. And lets underline thatit is actually a law to wear a face covering in certain public places in Wales, and we did, of course, have many robust discussions within Cabinet about this, in particular about how we enforce it.

And Im pleased to say that Ministers Lesley Griffiths and Vaughan Gething have been meeting with supermarkets to talk to them about their responsibility of enforcing face coverings.

It is a legal requirement and we expect them to enforce that.
Wrexham Maelor renal patient hopes to help others by sharing his story

A patient receiving dialysis at Wrexham Maelor Hospital has published a book called Transplants and Fears about his experiences in the hope to help other people going through a similar journey.

Chris Simpson, 35, from Wrexham, was born 28 weeks premature, and has had four kidney transplants since he was 18-months-old. He received his last transplant when he was 23, which started to fail in August 2020.

Since then, Chris has been visiting Wrexham Maelor Hospitals Renal Unit for dialysis three times a week, which is a blood purifying treatment given when a kidney is not functioning as it should be.

In the book Chris explains: I have always had the vision of hope, that I could provide understanding of the hidden side effects suffered by an individual and their family when living with such a chronic life-changing condition.

The one thing I lack is confidence and knowing where to start.

It was while working with Caron, my amazing social worker who helped me restore my confidence and break down barriers, that my life took a turn for the better.

Caron introduced Chris to Outside In, a group at Wrexham Glyndwr University, made up of Social Work students and staff, and people with different health and social care needs, to share their experiences of using different services.

After Chris showed the group his writings, which started as a diary, he was encouraged to turn it into a book. Chris friend Bernice Ross, known as Bee, a social work student from the group, has been a big support to Chris and helped him write the book.

It was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that Bee came up with an ingenious idea of producing a draft copy of an entire book, explained Chris.

Her view was that if we managed to produce a draft of a book with all my ideas in, I would have a positive achievement to look back on, even if it stayed on my own bookshelves.

My aim for the book is to bring a true, non-filtered look into the way a patient or service user is seen and heard in life, and to reveal the effectiveness that practitioners can have upon the life of the individuals for whom they provide care and support.

I hope that future generations of professionals take into account the impact of the condition and the effect their decisions and actions have on individuals.

Chris has also received charitable support from Kidney Wales including funding for a new laptop to write his book on. Chris is now having tests to see if he is compatible to have another kidney transplant.

Dr Stuart Robertson, consultant nephrologist at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, who has been treating Chris for many years and features in the book, said: For over 30 years, Chris has experienced the highs and lows of kidney disease  from the successful kidney transplantation to its subsequent failure and a return to dialysis.

Throughout this time, he has been determined to live as normal a life as possible.

This book is the emotional and honest journey of a young man living with kidney disease, I am sure it will be a great help to other patients, their relatives and those who care for them in understanding the life-altering effect of kidney failure and, more importantly, how to survive this.

To order a copy of Transplants and Fears or for more information please email transplantsandfears@outlook.com.
Last Sunday at midnight, roughly 500 workers at the ArcelorMittal Tubular Products plant in Shelby, Ohio walked off the job following a breakdown in contract negotiations between United Steelworkers (USW) Local 3057 and the steel and tubular products manufacturer.

USW officials have told the media that they have been in negotiations with the company since mid-September attempting to work out an agreement over issues related to health care, pensions and time off for workers, but only called a strike after ArcelorMittal representatives abruptly ended negotiations on Sunday.

ArcelorMittal Steel Mill, Indiana Harbor, Indiana (Photo by davidwilson1949)

Brian Sealy, USW District 1 representative, told the Mansfield News Journal, The company provided us with their so-called final offer and they got up and left the building. He further clarified that the company representatives left unannounced, and that their actions were completely unexpected by the union officials.

Sealy also stated that workers at the plant voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike when the contract expired on Sunday. The vote likely reflected growing anger among workers with the seemingly Dickensian work schedules coupled with the recent actions by the company.

Union officials have acknowledged that workers at the plant are regularly working 56-hour weeks and need to go to work every day of the week. One of the central demands raised by the USW was for the company to guarantee Thanksgiving weekend and Easter weekend be designated as unpaid holidays.

The union also said the pension system has remained the same since 2003 and has resulted in a meager payment from the company of just $1.70 per hour for every 40-hour work week.

The workers at the plant are also split between a three-tier health care plan with rising costs in premiums.

According to Glassdoor.com, steel workers at the facility have a base pay of between $26-$28 per hour.

Sealy claimed that prior to the ArcelorMittal officials walking out of negotiations, the USW had asked for mild increases in company payments toward pensions and health care.

In a rather telling interview, Sealy told the Shelby Daily Globe, Our idea is that we get back to the table and get this done and get everybody to work. Its a good time right now. The company is making some record profits. We dont want to interfere with that. We just want to get back to work. We want them to come back to the table.

Such statements reflect the degree to which the USW has degraded over the last few years, when a major concern of the union is to not interfere with a company making record profits.

A reporter from the WSWS attempted to contact Sealy for further information about the strike, but as of this writing has gotten no reply. There has also not been any public announcement about when the next meeting between the USW and ArcelorMittal will take place.

ArcelorMittal, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, is one of the largest steel manufacturers in the world and was founded in 2006 by a merger of the European-based Arcelor company with the Indian-based Mittal Steel. In July ArcelorMittal reported its highest quarterly earnings in 13 years, crediting an increased demand for steel.

Last year, the bulk of ArcelorMittals US assets were sold to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. for roughly $1.4 billion.

The Shelby plant was one of the few assets in the US that was not purchased by Cleveland-Cliffs. ArcelorMittal Tubular Products, which currently runs the Shelby plant, also operates another plant in Marion, Ohio and a business office in Pittsburgh.

According to Shelby mayor Steve Schag the plant is one of the largest employers in the city, and among the top 10 largest employers in Richland County, Ohio, located midway between Columbus and Cleveland. The Shelby facility has been in operation since 1890.

According to the ArcelorMittal website, the Shelby plant produces tubes and mandrels used by the automotive and farm machinery industry.

Both industries have experienced rebellions of rank-and-file workers, as Dana auto parts workers rejected a sellout agreement put forward by the USW and United Auto Workers (UAW) in August and over 10,000 workers at the agricultural equipment giant John Deere rejected a UAW contract in October and are currently on strike.

In the case of Dana workers, the UAW and USW kept workers on the job without a contract for roughly one and a half months. The unions then pushed through a contract that was nearly identical to the previous agreement, which had been rejected by 90 percent.

At Deere, workers similarly rejected a contract by roughly 90 percent and forced the UAW to call a strike. Despite Dana producing parts for Deere, the UAW rejected any attempt to unite the 10,000 workers at Deere with the nearly 3,000 at Dana. The UAW is currently organizing a vote on a second sellout agreement at the agricultural giant.

In the case of both Dana and Deere, workers formed rank-and-file committees in order to organize against attempts by the companies and unions to impose a concession contract. The World Socialist Web Site encourages the workers at ArcelorMittal and other steel companies to contact us for help building a rank-and-file committee.
Last Friday, October 29, an unidentified woman drowned while trying to cross the US-Mexico border between the city of Tijuana, Baja California, and San Diego, California. The woman is presumed to have been part of a large group of migrants trying to cross the ocean border.

The group of about 70 migrants was swimming around an extension of the US-Mexico border fence that juts some 300 feet into the Pacific Ocean where waters can be treacherous. Part of the barrier which stretches into ocean includes barbed wires, sensors, and surveillance cameras. The border fence is a combination of walls and fences which extend for thousands of miles across California and the other southwestern US states.

Tijuana/California ocean border crossing Photo: Gregory Bull / AP

In all, 36 Mexican migrants, 25 men and 11 women, were captured Friday in the waters near Border Field State Park, commonly known as Friendship Park. They are all being processed for deportation.

Friendship Park and the adjoining areas are among the most heavily surveilled by the US Customs and Border Patrol, Air and Marine Operations, the US Coast Guard, the San Diego Fire Department and California State Parks. This year Border Patrol increased its patrol of the beach area to deter efforts to cross the maritime route.

The group of undocumented immigrants was swimming around the border fence intending to reach Friendship Park. The park was inaugurated by First Lady Pat Nixon 50 years ago as a place for families on both sides of the border to meet, speak with and touch each other separated by a chain link fence. At the time Mrs. Nixon declared I hope there wont be a fence too long. Instead, the fence has been strengthened over the years, and topped with rolls of concertina wire, intensifying the separation at the border. Only 10 people are allowed at the fence at a time with 30 minutes maximum, and photos and videos are not permitted on the US side.

Numerous immigrants have died trying to cross the treacherous waters between Tijuana and San Diego.

Yuri Rios, a Honduran immigrant, attempting to reunite with her husband in California, drowned on March 16 of this year, leaving two orphan children in Tijuana. Two days later a boat carrying 32 migrants fell apart in these same waters and two people drowned. On March 27, Jose Ramon, a Cuban immigrant, died of hypothermia in these same waters. In May, another boat carrying migrants crashed and sank in the adjacent waters, drowning four. Other drownings frequently take place in the Rio Grande on the Mexican border with Texas.

This latest fatality occurred as thousands of migrants are forced to brave extreme heat and drought to cross into the US in the brutal conditions in the Sonoran desert. Between January and July 2021, 146 bodies have been found in the Arizona Desert, according to Humane Borders, an Arizona-based immigrant rescue organization. Brad Jones, with Humane Borders, reported that on average, about every two days migrants remains are found.

Since last fall, some 1.7 million undocumented immigrants have been blocked from entering the US, the highest number since the government began keeping statistics in 1960. This mass migration takes place even though Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, have increased the number of troops mobilized to block migrants from going north. According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, in April 2021, Mexico assigned 10,000 armed troops at the border.

The right to asylum, to seek refuge and exit from one nation to another, pushed by hunger, poverty and persecution, has been under increasing attack that was exacerbated during the Trump administration and has continued under Biden.

While Trump was in office, Stephen Miller, the fascist architect of child separation, saw in the devastating global pandemic an opportunity to further crack down on migrants and asylum seekers. The Trump administration began employing section 265 of Title 42 of the 1944 US Public Health Services Law. The law prevents immigrants from entering the United States, using the pretext of stopping the introduction of communicable diseases.

The special protections offered to minors have long been viewed as a major hurdle to carrying out rapid mass deportations. Title 42 is being used to overcome these restrictions. Hundreds of thousands of adults and children have been singled out for expulsion, arguing that their presence would increase the spread of COVID-19. Since the use of Title 42 began, over 380,000 immigrants have been expelled, sometimes within hours of their detention, with no due process. Among these are over 1,500 children.

The use of Title 42 has continued uninterrupted under Biden, who has expelled immigrants at the same rate as Trump. Apprehensions skyrocketed in the past year from 400,000 in the fiscal year ending September 2020 to nearly 1.7 million the fiscal year ending in September 2021. Mexico itself is the leading country of origin with over 600,000 migrants, a fact which raised the absurdity of the Remain in Mexico policy of the United States, which designated Mexico as a safe third country within asylum law.

The latest victim of the barriers to crossing the border joins a long list of dead and disappeared migrants, pushed to cross the border by the poverty and violence in Mexico, Central America and Haiti, aggravated more recently by the coronavirus pandemic and the consequences of global warming.

US Customs and Border Patrol agency attempted to place the blame on smugglers with San Diego Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke absurdly stating, This is yet another example of the ruthless tactics smuggling organizations use to bolster their power and profits.

The unidentified woman joins the tragic figures of at least 10,000 dead trying to cross the US Mexico border since 1997. These deaths make a mockery of Emma Lazarus words inscribed on New Yorks Statue of Liberty, Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

Ultimately, it is US imperialism that is responsible for the conditions in Central America, Mexico and Haiti that force people to seek asylum. Dictatorial and criminal regimes, imposed by the United States in Haiti and across Central America, deny people basic democratic and human rights leave tens of thousands no option but to undertake dangerous routes, seeking safety for themselves and their families.

The attacks on asylum pursued by the Biden administration, which rubber-stamps child detention centers along the border and continues the brutal policies of the Trump and Obama administrations, makes it and both parties of the ruling class criminally responsible for this latest drowning and for every single death and abuse that takes place at the border.
Educators from across the country attended the latest meeting of the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Committee held last Sunday. The main topic of discussion was the Oct. 24 webinar How to end the pandemic, which advanced a global strategy to eliminate COVID-19. In the course of the discussion, education workers drew the connection between the fight to stop the pandemic and the need to unify their struggles with other sections of workers battling low wages and onerous working conditions.

Protest in British Columbia against the provincial NDP government's unsafe reopening of schools for in-person learning.

The meeting heard reports from committee members on the scientific material presented at the event and the political perspective it advocated. The following resolution was discussed at length and approved unanimously:

The Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Committee (CERSC) enthusiastically welcomes the October 24 webinar How to end the pandemic. The event, which was co-sponsored by the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committeeswith which the CERSC is affiliatedand the World Socialist Web Site, outlined a scientifically grounded policy for a strategy aimed at the global elimination of COVID-19.

Internationally renowned scientists explained key issues that workers must understand to wage a struggle against the pandemic. These include the devastating impact of Long COVID, how COVID-19 is transmitted by aerosols, the debilitating impact of the control exercised by for-profit corporations over life-saving vaccines, and the ability of an elimination strategy to reduce community transmission to zero within a matter of months.

Drawing on the rich body of scientific material presented at the webinar, the CERSC pledges to fight for the following understanding of what the pandemic is and how to fight it among educators and other workers across Canada:

1. The target of SARS-COV-2the virus that causes COVID-19is not individuals, but entire societies.

2. Therefore, the only effective strategy is one based on a globally coordinated campaign aimed at the elimination of the virus on every continent, in every region, and in every country. There is no effective national solution to this pandemic.

3. The policies pursued by virtually all governments since the start of the pandemic must be repudiated. The subordination of that which should be the unquestioned priority of social policythe protection of human lifeto the interests of corporate profit and private wealth accumulation cannot be allowed to continue.

4. The initiative to bring about a decisive turn to a strategy directed towards global elimination must come from a socially conscious movement of millions of people.

5. This global movement must draw upon scientific research. The persecution of scientistsmany of whom labour under threats to their livelihoods and even their livesmust be ended. The global elimination of the virus requires the closest possible alliance between the working classthe great mass of humanityand the scientific community.

Flowing from this, the CERSC will intensify its fight to mobilize educators independently of the trade unions, which have enforced the ruling elites murderous open economy/open schools policy. Our committee aims to build an expanding network of rank-and-file committees among educators, caretakers, and other sections of workers to coordinate and lead a mass movement to eliminate COVID-19 and save lives.

Later in the meeting, a committee member from Ontario spoke on the significance of the strike by over 10,000 John Deere workers in the United States, who are fighting on two fronts against the ruthless demands of corporate management and the determined efforts of the United Auto Workers (UAW) to sabotage their struggle. Deere workers overwhelmingly voted down a UAW-backed sellout contract in early October and went on strike October 14. Workers have established the John Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee to organize their struggle independently of and in opposition to the corrupt UAW.

The CERSC member stressed the importance of Canadian educators declaring their solidarity with the strike. After Sundays meeting, he prepared the following statement, which was warmly endorsed by other committee members:

We, the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee (CERSC), are a group of education workers across Canada who are fighting to save the lives of children, workers and the community as a whole by advocating for an elimination strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

We stand in solidarity with John Deere workers in your courageous struggle against the company and their hacks in the UAW. We are paying close attention to your struggle because workers everywhere are fighting the same struggle, regardless of the industry we work in. As unionized public sector workers in Canada, we are learning lessons from your struggle, especially about the dirty tricks the union and the company are using to break your strike. We expect the government and the public sector unions to employ similar tricks here, so we are arming ourselves with the knowledge necessary to defeat their efforts to sabotage our struggle.

In Canada, education workers are under attack from pro-corporate governments, which are forcing kids and workers back into unsafe schools so that parents can go to work to be exploited for the profits of the parasitic financial elite. Schools have become COVID farms where children and education staff are exposed to a disease that is evolving into more contagious and more lethal variants. Public education has been under assault for decades by pro-big business governments in Canada, which have imposed wage and benefit cuts on us, and slashed public spending on education.

Education workers and Deere workers in the US and around the world face a similar struggle. Governments in Canada and the US have been captured by the oligarchy and serve its interests. The assault on the working class in the private and public sector benefits the oligarchy. Cutting our wages, cutting our pensions and cutting our benefits means the elites get to steal more of our money and force us to live barely above the poverty line. All this is happening in the middle of a global pandemic where schools are forced to open, so that workers at John Deere and other profitable multinationals can go to work and be exploited for the profits of corrupt executives and shareholders. Both John Deere workers and education workers and their children are exposed to this lethal pandemic so that the rich can continue to increase their wealth by risking workers health and lives.

Just as your strike is part of a growing strike wave in the US, similar struggles are mounting here in Canada. Tens of thousands of public sector workers are currently on strike against attacks on wages and pensions in New Brunswick, and thousands of workers at mining, industrial, and food processing companies have walked off the job over the past few months.

The CERSC stands in solidarity with you, John Deere workers! Your struggle is part of a developing counter-offensive by the working class to secure decent-paying, secure jobs for all!

***

To get involved in the CERSCs work, contact us at cersc.csppb@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter.
The latest data from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released Monday shows yet another week of mass infection among children in the US. During the week ending October 28, 100,630 new cases were officially reported, marking the 12th straight week that official cases among children have surpassed 100,000.

Preschoolers eat lunch at a day care center, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Mountlake Terrace, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Sixteen additional child deaths were also reported by the AAP, bringing the cumulative death toll to a grim 600 child deaths since the AAP reports began in May 2020.

Given the deliberate cover-up of reporting of child infections, hospitalizations and deaths in many states across the US, in addition to a lack of systematic testing of symptomatic and asymptomatic children and contact tracing, the numbers are a clear underestimate of the real impacts of COVID-19 on children. The ongoing surge in mass infections coincides directly with the reopening of schools under conditions where community transmission has remained high throughout the US and mitigation policies have been severely limited or entirely scrapped. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 74 percent of counties in the US still have high levels of community transmission with over 100 new cases per 100,000 persons in the past seven days.

Since schools began reopening for the fall semester three months ago, one third of total reported cases, or 2.2 million, and nearly one third of deaths among children, or 242, have occurred.

Federal and state governments are knowingly allowing for mass infection and deaths among children in order for parents to remain at work to maintain capitalist production. They are doing so on the basis of lies that children are less likely to catch or transmit COVID-19, which were first advanced by the Trump administration and then by Biden. In February 2021, when the Biden administration was pushing its campaign to fully reopen schools across the US, the president told a concerned second-grade child on national television, Kids don't get COVID very often. Its unusual for that to happen, adding, Youre not likely to be able to be exposed to something and spread it to mommy or daddy.

This was nothing but a bald-faced lie. Nine months later, millions of children have been infected, potentially hundreds of thousands are currently experiencing Long COVID, and hundreds have died in the US.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), among children ages 5-14, COVID-19 was the sixth leading cause of death in August and September. For young people ages 15-24, the virus is now the fourth leading cause of death.

At least 140,000 children in the US and over 5 million children internationally have lost a caregiver since the pandemic began. There is no doubt that children not only are significantly affected by the pandemic now but will also experience significant impacts well into the future. Such a catastrophe has been entirely preventable, yet continues in the US and internationally due to the herd immunity policies driven by the prioritization of profits over human lives.

With the approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11 in the US finalized on Tuesday, there is a growing push by government leaders to lift all remaining mitigation measures in schools where they still exist. While vaccinating children is a necessary component to combat COVID-19, vaccines alone are not enough to curb mass infection and deaths.

Emily Oster, an academic who advocated for the reopening of schools before the vaccines were even approved in fall 2020, recently promoted an opinion piece published in the New York Times by Jessica Grose, which calls for an off-ramp for in-school masking. Oster tweeted the article with the comment, Masking off-ramps are necessary. I will admit I have been reluctant to talk about this, in part due to fear of being yelled at. This wasnt brave. I will try to be braver.

Oster, an academic with no expertise in epidemiology or virology, co-authored a study last year which significantly downplayed the impacts of COVID-19 on children and was utilized by the CDC and both the Trump and Biden administrations to push forward the reopening of schools. Her call for policies to lift mask mandates in schools, which is being pushed by other media outlets and corrupt scientists, is part of a broader promotion of herd immunity policies to spread the virus throughout society and cause it to become endemic.

Despite continued efforts to downplay the dangers of school reopenings, data recently published in the Journal for Infectious Diseases provides yet more evidence to confirm prior studies which show infants, children and adolescents are in fact able to spread the virus and carry potentially dangerous variants similar to adults, regardless of severity of infection.

Lael Yonker, pediatric pulmonologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-author of the study, notes that Kids with COVID-19, even if asymptomatic, are infectious and can harbor SARS-CoV-2 variants. Variants could potentially impact both the severity of the disease and the efficacy of vaccines, as we are seeing with the Delta variant. When we cultured the live virus we found a wide variety of genetic variants.

Another survey by KFF found that only one third of children ages 5-11 are expected to be vaccinated by early 2022. Coupled with ongoing high community transmission across the US and the looming winter surge, the threat of mass infection and the spread of more infectious variants among a vulnerable population is increasingly likely. Currently, just 48 percent of US children 12-17 have received one dose of the vaccine.

Roughly 69 percent of US school districts require mask use indoors for students and all staff. Multiple districts that still have limited mitigation measures in place, including Los Angeles Unified School District with over 600,000 students, have language in their contracts to revisit COVID-19 safety protocols at the end of 2021.

Other districts with limited mitigation policies already have policies in place to soon lift mask mandates, including in Massachusetts and Nevada. Massachusetts has a state policy that allows an individual school to provide mask mandate exemptions once a school population reaches the 80 percent vaccination threshold, with two districts in the state already reaching this threshold. On Monday, Hopkinton High School will begin a three week trial allowing for mask use to be optional for students and staff, as 95 percent of the schools students and staff are vaccinated.

The effort to lift all mitigation measures in indoor settings is part of an international trend, most acutely expressed by the Johnson administration in the United Kingdom. Open herd immunity policies implemented in UK schools have resulted in a catastrophic surge in child cases, with an average of 20,000 children infected with COVID-19 each day and a total of 103 child deaths in the country.

While governments and the mainstream media promote the lifting of already limited mitigations in schools, the recent webinar hosted by the World Socialist Web Site and the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), entitled How to end the pandemic, provided necessary scientific information on COVID-19 and reiterated how dangerous schools really are for children and the broader population.

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez provided critical information on the aerosolized character of the virus and the necessity for high-quality ventilation in all indoor spaces. Dr. Deepti Gurdasani shared information on the very real impacts of Long COVID on adults and children, describing the policies of the Johnson administration actually criminal. Dr. Howard Ehrman gave a broad overview of the criminal school reopening policies in the US, which have now killed over 2,000 educators and at least 600 children.

Every speaker at the October 24 webinar stressed the need to fight for a strategy aimed at the global elimination of COVID-19. This requires the temporary closure of schools and nonessential businesses with affected workers provided with full income protection, a globally-coordinated vaccination program, mass testing and contact tracing to locate the virus, and more. All of these measures are categorically refused by capitalist governments and will only be implemented through the mass mobilization of the working class, independent of the pro-capitalist trade unions and political parties that have enforced the pandemic policies that have killed millions worldwide.
A thoroughly cynical media campaign centred in the United States is being ramped up to pressure China drop its zero Covid strategy that has largely suppressed the virus within that countrys borders. A trickle of commentary over the past month has turned into a flood over the past week, spurred on by the decisions of governments such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore to rapidly end health restrictions.

The offensive is being driven by two considerationspolitical and economic. Firstly, that the Chinese governments scientifically-based policy has minimised the suffering, sickness and deaths from COVID-19 is a staggering indictment of the murderous herd immunity approach, particularly of the US.

The East India Company iron steam ship Nemesis, commanded by Lieutenant W. H. Hall, with boats from the Sulphur, Calliope, Larne and Starling, destroying the Chinese war junks in Anson's Bay, on 7 January 1841 - painting by Edward Duncan

The total number of deaths in Chinamost of which occurred in early 2020 when the government was wrestling with an unknown diseaseare less than 6,000. That is less than the number of people dying every week in the United States, despite relatively high levels of vaccination.

Workers in the US and around the world can legitimately ask: if COVID-19 can be successfully suppressed in the worlds most populous country then why are these policies not being applied internationally to eliminate the deadly and highly contagious virus?

That question points to the imperious underlying demands of the financial and corporate elite that the health and lives of millionsin China and around the worldbe sacrificed to the requirements of profit. Last weeks New York Times article, headlined Why China Is the Worlds Last Zero Covid Holdout,tacitly assumes that a policy which has cost the lives of well over 700,000 Americans is one that should be adopted around the world, including by China.

Not accidentally, it is the financial and business press that are leading the charge for the Chinese government to open upthe Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, the Financial Times and the Australian Financial Review, to name but a few.

The Wall Street Journal s headline last week complained China sticks to Covid-Zero policies, despite rising pressure to ease restrictions, adding: Businesses have called for a plan to end the strict pandemic regime, warning of the increasing economic toll.

The economic toll on global capitalism, particularly on Wall Street, is primarily what the Journal is concerned about as it highlights the impact of Chinas public health restrictions on global supply chains.

The fact that China is at the centre of most global value chains and with such draconian zero case policies, does have a bearing on the dysfunctional global supply chains, Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at French bank Natixis, tells the mouthpiece for Wall Streets bankers, fund managers and stockbrokers.

While the US is not at this point resorting to military force, the media campaign to open up China recalls the barbaric methods employed by imperialism to impose its demands on Chinabeginning with the Opium Wars waged by Britain, the leading power in the 19th Century.

The extremely profitable trade with China in tea, porcelains and silk was a magnet for all the trading powers, but the insistence by the Qing government that payment be made in silver became an intolerable financial burden. The British East India Company circumvented the problem by expanding the cultivation of opium in its Indian territories, selling it to private traders who passed it on to Chinese smugglers who exchanged it for silver.

This trade took a terrible toll as the smoking of opium escalated exponentially as did the number of addicts. Other traders, including Warren Delano Jr, the grandfather of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, joined the drug running operations. Failed efforts by the Qing emperor to stamp out the smuggling culminated in the deployment of Chinese troops to Canton in 1839 to forcibly close down foreign factories tied to the opium trade.

The outcome of the first Opium War was a humiliating defeat for the Qing dynasty at the hands of British naval power. The Treaty of Nanking in 1842 forced draconian concessions on Chinathe ceding of Hong Kong to Britain, the establishment of five treaty ports open to British traders and the payment of a huge indemnity to Great Britain. Associated with the ports were concessionsareas controlled by British authorities and occupied by the British, not the Chinese. Other powers soon imposed their own unequal treaties on China.

A second attempt in 1853 to end the financially ruinous and socially devastating drug trade led to a second Opium War that also ended in defeat and a new round of humiliating impositions on China.

The looting of China by the imperialist powers drastically weakened the Qing Dynasty which faced major internal revoltsthe Taiping Rebellion of 1850-1864 and the Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901 that was suppressed by foreign troopsand was finally overthrown in the first Chinese Revolution in 1911 that established the Chinese Republic.

However, the bourgeois nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and its leader Sun Yat-sen, who became Chinas first president, proved incapable of unifying China and ending imperialist oppression. While the country was never transformed into a colony, it remained a huge arena for plunder by rival powers.

The current demand for China to open up finds another echo in the Open Door policy pursued by US imperialism in the 1920s and 1930s directed in particular against Japan after it invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China as a whole in 1937. The Open Door policy had nothing to do with concerns for the Chinese population but was a demand that China not be the exclusive domain of a particular power and remain open, especially to US exploitation.

Leon Trotsky explained in 1924: Beldam history made things easy for American capitalism: for every act of rapine there is a liberating slogan ready at hand. With regard to China, it isthe Open Door policy! Japan seeks to dismember China and to subjugate certain provinces by military force, because there is no iron in Japan, no coal, no oil. These constitute three colossal minuses in Japans struggle with the United States. For this reason, Japan seeks through seizure to assure herself of the riches of China. But the United States? It says: Open Door in China.

As then, the demand that China open up and end its health restrictions has nothing to do with any concern for the Chinese population but is aimed at removing all obstacles to profit at a terrible human cost. If the policy of herd immunity were to be adopted in China then it would undoubtedly lead to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of deaths.

Moreover, while it has not yet threatened China militarily over its zero-COVID policy, the US has over the past decade been accumulating other pretexts for warfrom its hypocritical human rights campaigns over Hong Kong and the Muslim Uyghurs to trumped-up accusations of aggression in the South China and East China Seas and towards Taiwan. China, through its sheer economic size, is regarded as an intolerable threat to American global hegemony that must be reduced, through military force if necessary, to the new version of the semi-colonial status it endured in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The neo-colonial subjugation of China and its ending as a result of the 1949 Chinese Revolution remains deeply embedded in the consciousness of working people in China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government of President Xi Jinping seeks to exploit this sentiment with endless proclamations that the CCP is responsible for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This nationalist slogan is devoid of any progressive contentfar from embodying any struggle against imperialism, it reflects the ambitions of a super-rich oligarchy, created by decades of the CCPs pro-market policies, for a seat at the imperialist table.

Capitalist restoration in China has created immense social pressures as the number of Chinese billionaires continues to multiply while hundreds of millions struggle to survive. The CCP regime is acutely aware that it is sitting on a social time bomb and this has been a powerful motivation for maintaining its policy of eliminating COVID-19.

Indeed, virtually all of the articles currently pushing for a change in Chinas policy acknowledge that it has widespread support among working people. The Wall Street Journal, for instance, cites Yanzhong Huang, from the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, who declares: This policy is also still very popular in China and receives strong public support: People are very proud of how well state leaders have controlled the virus.

COVID-19 elimination, however, requires a global strategy as the continued outbreaks in China, including of the extremely contagious Delta variant, demonstrate. The CCP regime, however, as it seeks support on the international stage to counter threats from the US, is not waging a campaign for similar global measures or even criticising other governments.

The only social force that is capable of fighting for the global elimination of the pandemic is the international working class which will find broad support among workers and youth in China. The World Socialist Web Site and the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees elaborated the scientific basis for the policy of elimination and the need for the working class to fight for it in its October 24 online webinar. We encourage all workers and youth to view it and contact us.
Global warmingwhich all the scientific evidence proves is an existential threat to human civilisationis among the many critical issues on which Australias political establishment cannot afford to allow any genuine debate.

It is no coincidence that the Liberal-National government and the Labor Party rammed draconian party deregistration laws through parliament in August just as the protracted political crisis over climate change was reaching a new peak in the lead-up to the COP26 gathering in Glasgow.

Fire on the outskirts of Harrington, NSW in late 2019 (Credit: Kelly-ann Oosterbeek)

As the events of the past few weeks in Canberra, Rome and Glasgow have demonstrated, the corporate elite and its political servants in Australia, like their counterparts worldwide, have blatantly refused to take the measures urgently needed to halt a catastrophic global temperature rise.

Left in their hands, coal, oil, gas and other fossil fuels will continue to be mined and burnt for decades more, with Australia among the main culprits. That is despite the latest analysis by the United Nations Environment Program, released last week, which found that even if governments meet all the current emissions-reductions commitments, temperatures are likely to rise 2.7 C this century, a level that calls into question the future of humanity.

There is deep concern, especially among young people, and huge global protests have been triggered by signs of already irreversible impacts on the worlds weather patterns and ecosystems, such as disastrous bushfires, heatwaves, floods and ice cap melting.

The new anti-democratic electoral laws, followed by the voter-ID bill tabled in parliament last week, are designed to prop up the failed capitalist political establishment and stifle the outrage among youth and working people.

Parties not currently represented in parliament, including the Socialist Equality Party, will be deregistered and unable to have their names on ballot papers if they fail to submit the details of 1,500 memberstriple the previous numberto the electoral authorities by December 2. And many working-class, poor and vulnerable voters effectively will be denied the right to vote by the imposition of official ID requirements at polling booths.

This is under conditions of popular disgust at the weeks of backroom haggling between the Liberal and National parties to produce a token commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050that is in three decades time.

Even after a pact was finally struck between the coalition partners, it remained totally secret, blocking any public scrutiny of all the concessions made to the mining and agri-business industries.

The net zero plan ultimately released by Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week was a patent sham. It contained no new policies!

All the proposed emission reductions are to come from government subsidies to big business, unproven technologies such as carbon-capture and storage, or unknown future technologies. To the tune of tens of billions of dollars, the government is lining the pockets of the same corporations and wealthy elites that have created the climate crisis.

One thing was made plain. The plan would not affect the coal and gas mining and exports on which the federal and state governments and the Australian capitalist class as a whole depend heavily for revenues and profits. It will not shut down our coal or gas production or exports, Morrison declared.

As for the Labor opposition, it is backing illusions in other governments similarly phoney net zero by 2050 promises in Glasgow, and appealing for the support of the financial elite. It has already ditched its previous, inadequate target of a 45 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.

Likewise, the Greens promote the delusion that the Glasgow event could turn the global warming tide. Greens leader Adam Bandt depicts US President Joe Biden as a shining hope, saying he was bringing together a global alliance to rapidly reduce gas use.

Bandt is again appealing for the formation of another Labor-led government, sharing power with the Greens, saying the only way to get climate action is by putting the Greens into balance of power, so we can push the next government to take the climate action the science requires.

The fraud of Bandts claim has been highlighted by the outcome of last weeks G20 summit in Rome. It showed that the negotiations in Glasgow, the 26th such round since 1992, will fail to avert the catastrophejust like all the previous talks.

The G20 communique was even weaker than the Australian governments position, calling vaguely for net zero to be achieved by or around mid-century. Defying calls to end coal-fired power generation by 2030, the G20 leaders adopted a meaningless pledge for countries to do so as soon as possible.

Overshadowing such gatherings are concerns among many governments about threatened climate-based trade and tariff sanctions by the US and EU. These threats have nothing to do with saving the planet. They are a means of gaining economic and geo-strategic advantage over their rivals, particularly China. At the same time, wealthy countries have failed to deliver their 2009 pledge to provide $US100 billion per year in climate finance to poorer countries by 2020.

This impasse shows how the fundamental characteristics of world capitalism block any genuine global climate plan. On climate change, as on the COVID-19 disaster, social inequality and the lurch toward war, its affairs are determined by two factors: the profit interests of giant corporations and the super-rich, and the conflicting strategic interests of rival nation-states.

An effective response to climate change requires a massive reallocation of resources to meet social and environmental needs. It necessitates a rational economic plan coordinated on a global level. Vast developments in science and technology make it possible to limit climate change to manageable levels while providing a high standard of living for all.

But this is impossible while the key levers of the economy are controlled and operated in the interests of corporate profit. What is required is the struggle for socialism, based on a turn to the working class, the social force whose fundamental interests align with reconstructing society to address the climate crisis.

That is the fight being conducted by the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and its sister parties in the International Committee of the Fourth International. To ensure that the SEP has the elementary democratic right to have its name on ballot papers and workers can vote consciously for this essential socialist program, we urge all our readers and supporters to oppose the reactionary electoral laws and sign up as electoral members of the SEP.

At the same time, we urge all our readers and existing electoral members to study the SEPs Statement of Principles and apply to become full members of the party in order to help build the urgently-needed socialist political leadership in the working class.
UK parent Lisa Diaz is the driving force behind the Friday school strikes, encouraging parents to, when possible, keep their children off school to protest schools being made unsafe by the pandemic.

On October 30, she tweeted asking, Has Jeremy Corbyn spoken out about the tragedy unfolding in schools and I have missed it? I like Corbyn. Hes a good man. Asking this genuinely

She added later, I like Corbyn. We would have been in a much better place if he was PM and not Johnson. I campaigned for Corbyn in 2019. But now dont have any political affiliations. And Im not falling for anything. He has been rubbish on schools. Like the rest of them. Gotta be honest.

Jeremy Corbyn in parliament when he was Labour leader [Credit: Stefan Rousseau Pool Photo via AP, File]

Diaz wasnt alone in asking why he was silent in the face of the deaths of over a hundred children from COVID and continued mass infections, with somewhere between 2 percent and 14 percent likely to suffer from Long COVID as a result. April May, replied, I thought about this earlier, and genuinely confused considering the damage his brother is causing

Corbyns brother, Piers, who he has never once criticised, is the leading figure in the anti-vaccination and pro-herd immunity protests led by far-right forces, many with close ties to the Conservative government and the Trump wing of the Republican Party.

It was to be expected that Diazs post would solicit attempts to defend Corbyn from those who have learned nothing from his five years as leader of the Labour Partyyears that saw him betray the political aspirations of his millions of supporters for a struggle against the Blairite right and the Tories, and for socialism.

The defence involved clutching at a few straws and excuses for his miserable cowardice.

Links were sent to a September 19, 2020 Skwawkbox article, hailing a tweet from the former Labour leader under the heading, Corbyn enters fray over school return in implicit rebuke to Starmers failure.

Corbyn speaking out publicly on the catastrophe of coronavirus outbreaks in schools consisted of a single sentence, With a growing amount of infections in a growing amount of schools and nothing being done to protect members those deaths will be the responsibility of this negligent governmenta quote from an article by Unisons Assistant General Secretary Roger McKenzie.

Rather than entering the fray (Corbyn would not recognise a fray if he fell over one), Corbyn was endorsing the pose of opposition by Unison represented by McKenzies pledge to support any member that refuses to return to work in an unsafe workplace while the trade unions organised the reopening of schools.

To call this an implicit rebuke to Corbyns successor as Labour leader was pure sophistry. Corbyn has never rebuked Sir Keir Starmer on anything, including his support for schools reopening after last years first lockdown, No ifs, no buts and Starmers sending what Skwawkbox called, a secret letter pledging support on the back-to-school plans of a PM [prime minister] whose actions have cost tens of thousands of needless deaths without so much as an expression of regret.

The reopening of schools was carried out with the complicity of the education unions, leading them to become the key vector of the virus and its spiralling out of control, with more deaths caused in the period September to December 2020 than throughout the beginning of the pandemic.

Schools were only closed earlier this year due to mounting opposition among educators and parents at rising death rates, including by then of at least 570 education workers, forcing the National Education Union (NEU) to ask its members to refuse to return to work in January by citing Section 44 of the workplace Health and Safety Act.

The NEU and other education unions refused to organise strike action or walkouts. But when the government tried to reopen primary schools on January 4, teachers stayed away forcing the Tories to announce the third national lockdown the same day.

This was the background to Corbyns second tweet on the issue of schools, on January 7, submitted to the thread by one of his loyal supporters.

The second tweet was yet another attempt to boost the unions, pointing to an advert calling for mitigations in schools in the Daily Mirror that had been rejected by the right-wing Daily Mail, according to NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney.

The advert was based on an NEU campaign offering to work with Johnson to make reopening schools possible. On January 28, the NEU released its Education Recovery Plan January 2021, predicated on a school reopening during the pandemic that the government had scheduled for March 8. The NEU participated in driving its members back into schools in a staggered reopening.

That is it, as far as Corbyn and school reopenings is concerned, leaving his supporters thrashing around to make the excuses for his behaviour:

1. That he is at least better than his supposed opponents, including the extraordinary claim that he was too busy to have noticed the impact of COVID on schoolsTo be honest I think he has so much on his plate he has overlooked it, so much to do, unlike Starmer who takes time out, give JC a shout/reminder.

2. That he is the subject of all pervasive censorship so that, Whats the betting that he has been speaking out but its not been reported? And He's pretty much gagged so who knows.

Such feeble excuses belong to the Poor Jeremy school of political apologetics, portraying him as a victim of forces that were too powerful to combat.

This is untrue and politically disorienting. It reinforces the claims of a despised Tory government and the ruling elite it serves that there is no alternative to their rule, under conditions where the working class, that most powerful of social forces, can and must be mobilised against them.

If Corbyn wanted to make his views known and even, God forbid, fight for them, he was and still is, though admittedly to a much lesser extent thanks to being widely discredited by his past betrayals, in a favourable position to do so.

As a former leader of the Labour Party, popularly elected by hundreds of thousands, Corbyns twitter account still has 2.4 million followers. Had he wanted to oppose the reopening of schools, many of these followers would not only have read his statements, but also retweeted them and acted in support. Corbyn has more twitter followers than the Labour Party and Starmer combined, involving more potential readers than the combined daily circulation of Rupert Murdochs Sun, and the nominally liberal Guardian .

No one is censoring Corbyn except Corbyn himself. And the reason he does so is rooted in his own rotten politics. His few public utterances on schools, and on the pandemic generally, confirm that Corbyns loyalty, first, last and always, is to the Labour and trade union bureaucracy. His entire period as Labour leader consisted of a concerted effort to oppose popular demands to drive the Blairite right-wing out of the party and thwart the aspiration of party members for a socialist turn.

Corbyns sole abiding principle was to preserve the unity of the Labour Party at all costs, allowing the right-wing to wage trench warfare against Labours members as Corbyn retreated on every major issue, including Trident nuclear weapons, NATO membership and council cuts.

Nice Mr Corbyn not only presided over some of his closest allies being witch-hunted out of the party as anti-Semites, but even boasted of speeding up the process of their exclusion. In doing so he created the conditions for his own defeat in the 2019 general election, the election of Boris Johnson, and his own removal from the parliamentary Labour Party within weeks of meekly handing leadership over to Starmer.

Corbyns record on the pandemic is in line with his opposition not only to any action by the working class against the Blairites, but also against the Tories.

In the March 25, 2020, parliamentary debate on the pandemic, his last as party leader, Corbyn said of Labours approach, Our immediate task as the Opposition is to help arrest the spread of the coronavirus, support the governments public health efforts while being constructively critical where we feel it is necessary to improve the official response.

Support for the Johnson government combined with constructive criticism became the official policy of Starmer, but it was handed to him fully formed by Corbyn.

Its bitter fruit was revealed by Corbyn himself in an August 2020 Tribune podcast, A World to Win. Describing events at some unspecified point in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, but clearly prior to his removal as party leader on April 4, Corbyn admitted, We were involved in meetings with the government throughout the spring of this year and Jon Ashworth and I remember distinctly going to a meeting at the Cabinet Office, where we got a lecture about herd immunity.

He commented, It was absurd that actually [you] would build up herd immunity by allowing people to die. And so, while the government was going into eugenic formulas and discussing all this stuff, they were not making adequate preparations.

Corbyn told no one that the Tories were explicitly following a murderous herd immunity policy he described as eugenic, one which the WSWS described as a fascistic policy for the deliberate elimination of a supposedly undesirable section of the population for the supposed betterment of the species, in this case a vast swathe of the working class, especially the elderly, infirm, and otherwise vulnerable.

When this herd immunity policy was publicly proclaimed by Johnson and his chief scientific advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, at a press conference on March 12, it evoked widespread popular anger that eventually forced the government to impose the first public lockdown on March 23.

That delay cost tens of thousands of lives. Corbyn shares responsibility for them all.

Though he now sits on the backbenches, as an independent, Corbyns continued silence on all fundamental questions is guaranteed as he begs Starmer for full readmission into the Labour Partys rotting carcass. He and the dwindling band of lefts he leads are the last line of defence of a party and a trade union apparatus that faithfully serve the interests of the major banks and corporations, even if this costs the health and lives of working people and their children.
Temporary workers at Danas Louisville, Kentucky plant report that the company fired temporary workers en masse due to the fact that they shared their $25 per hour pay stubs with full-time coworkers.

A temporary worker told the World Socialist Web Site, Many of us people from the contracting agency were let go. No reason was given. There was no heads-up from the staffing center today. Nothing. Presumably because they caught on to the whistleblowing and did a blanket sweep firing of any of us it could have been. We have no regrets. I'm curious to see how far people in power can pull through.

Pay stub of temp worker at Dana Louisville plant

Last week, Louisville workers reported to the World Socialist Web Site that temporary workers were brought in to the plant at $25 per hour. In order to continue to keep the flow of parts to the large automakers, at least two agencies were used. Workers said that non-disclosure agreements (NDA) were given with a bolded line instructing them to keep their wages private.

The revelations last week provoked outrage from workers, who had just been bullied by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the United Steelworkers (USW) into accepting a sellout agreement with wages for full-time workers which will top out at only $22.50 by 2026. The leak showed that the unions had not only forced through a contract with wage increases even below the market rate. It also demonstrated that the conduct of the unions during the negotiations and the vote, where workers were not even provided with copies of the contract, met the legal definition of bad faith because they had withheld critical information from them, meaning the contract ought to be considered null and void.

Dana workers voiced their opposition to the NDA and the $25 per hour wage. A worker said, I agree with you on that [that the tentative agreement was made in bad faith], a Louisville worker said. We have about 40 temps in our plant making $25 an hour from two separate temp agencies. I found an ad last week about a job for $25 an hour. I called the temp agency, and they confirmed that it was for Dana.

Management at Danas Fort Wayne, Indiana plant which, along with Louisville, voted down the national and local agreements has also recently gone on a hiring binge, bringing in roughly 60 temporary workers. One production worker said the tension between workers and the United Steelworkers is growing. People are pissed. Nobody is telling us anything. We are not hearing anything about the local agreement. He described how management complained since early May 2021 of not being able to hire workers. All of a sudden about 60 people have been hired since a week or so ago?

A temp was going through his phone and the temp agency said, Dana wants 30 more [temps], one legacy full-time worker told the WSWS. According to a screenshot of a text from one of the temp agencies at Fort Wayne, all temporary workers with at least a month on the job have had their wages increased immediately to $18. It was not confirmed if these workers were given similar NDAs to those at Louisville.

Text to temp workers at Dana Fort Wayne plant

Moreover, given the fact that the status of Fort Wayne in the aftermath of the vote is still up in the air and the USW may call a strike limited to this plant, the sudden hiring surge may indicate that management is taking measures to secure scab labor in the event of a strike.

Another worker stated that workers from Danas Humboldt plant were brought to Fort Wayne on a volunteer basis. [A] Humboldt employee just told me he is making $21.50 an hour. They all seem to be on day shift only, not sure where all the others are at.

A week after the announcement of vote counts, the language of the contract still has not been seen by workers, who were forced to vote on the basis of self-serving, piecemeal packet highlights distributed by the locals instead.

Fort Wayne workers are still being kept in the dark about the status of their plant. We are supposedly going to hear from the international late this week on our local, one worker said. Several members have opted out of the union. Some of these sell-out committee reps have been lying to members. They are telling workers that you have to wait until your anniversary date to opt out, and that if you ever want to opt in, you have to pay back dues. I havent seen or heard anything out of the district reps. The union president and committee chairman are the biggest offenders.

A legacy production worker expressed the growing opposition against the UAW and USW. We need to lose the UAW and USW. Im not sure what theyll do next since we voted it down. The membership, not Millsap or the bureaucracy, should be making decisions. We need a new organization with you [the WSWS].

The USW threatened us that if we get rid of the union, that we wont have representation for one year. Theres so much money being made by the USW and UAW. Doust told us about a stipend for a strike package, which is nothing! Im all for the rank-and-file committee! Time for them [USW] to go.

To join the Dana Workers Rank-and-File Committee, email DanaWRFC@gmail.com, text (248) 6020936 or complete the form below.
To learn more about joining the John Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee, Deere workers can email deerewrfc@gmail.com or text (484) 514-9797.

Striking workers at John Deere defeated a second United Auto Workers-backed tentative agreement on Tuesday, voting to reject it by 55 percent and defying the UAWs attempts to ram the contract through. Union officials released five pages of contract highlights only two days before the vote, hoping to stampede workers into accepting the deal before they could adequately study and discuss it.

Like the first UAW-backed contract, which Deere workers rejected on October 10 by 90 percent, the latest agreement failed to meet workers demands for the restoration of retiree health benefits, raises large enough to make up for a quarter century of eroding wages, and substantial improvements to working conditions. Over 10,000 workers at the global agricultural and construction equipment giant are now set to enter the fourth week of their strike, the first in 35 years, on Thursday.

Workers strike outside of a John Deere plant, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in Ankeny, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

While the defeat of the contract is a courageous step forward by a significant section of industrial workers, it is more important than ever that control of the strike be wrested out of the hands of the corrupt UAW bureaucrats, who have been doing everything they can to secure Deeres wishes. There can be no doubt that UAW executives were holding emergency talks with their Deere counterparts on Wednesday and are continuing to plot with the company over how to overcome workers resistance.

The experience of the strike at Volvo Trucks earlier this year provides the sharpest warning to Deere workers. There, the UAW responded to a third rejection of a concessionary agreement by running roughshod over workers will and forcing them to re-vote on the deal they had just rejected, subsequently claiming ratification by a dubious margin of 17 votes.

For their struggle to be successful and workers to achieve their aims, the strike must find a new path forward. Rank-and-file strike committees should be quickly organized at every Deere facility, linking up with the Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee, in order to break through the UAW information blackout and mobilize reinforcements for the strike throughout the auto and heavy equipment industries.

The UAW was clearly staggered by the defeat of its deal with Deere. In a terse statement announcing the results, the unions headquarters wrote, By a vote of 45% yes to 55% no, UAW John Deere members voted down the agreement this evening. The strike against John Deere and Company will continue as we discuss next steps with the company. Pickets will continue and any updates will be provided through the local union.

For their part, Deere spokesmen wrote, Today, John Deere employees at 12 facilities in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas have rejected the second tentative agreement reached with the UAW. Employees at parts facilities in Denver and Atlanta have voted in support of a separate agreement with identical economic terms.

Threateningly, the statement continued, John Deere will execute the next phase of our Customer Service Continuation Plan, i.e., Deeres strategy of deploying strikebreakers to maintain critical operations, particularly parts distribution.

The UAW spent much of Tuesday afternoon and evening keeping workers in the dark on individual plants vote outcomes, with many union locals waiting six hours or longer after polls closed before announcing their results.

The largest local, Local 838 in Waterloo, Iowa, which has nearly 3,000 workers and has been a center of opposition to both the contracts this year and in 2015, did not release its results until after the overall outcome was announced, in an apparent effort to prevent momentum building for an even larger no vote. Workers in Waterloo voted to reject the deal by 71 percent, which almost undoubtedly would have catalyzed even more opposition had it been revealed earlier in the day. Waterloo was also the site of explosive exchanges between workers and UAW officials at Tuesday mornings informational meeting, with the UAW cutting off the mic of a worker who was denouncing the unions attempted sellout.

Under conditions of a full court press by the UAW to secure passage of its deal with the company, workers at a number of other the plants nevertheless voted to reject the deal and press ahead for a real victory.

In addition to Waterloo, workers at another large plant, in Dubuque, Iowa, also rejected the contract by a high margin, 63 percent. Harvester Works in East Moline and the parts distribution center in Milan, Illinois voted no by 55 percent and 53 percent, respectively. The Des Moines Works plant narrowly approved the agreement, with 51 percent for and 49 percent against, while plants in Ottumwa and Davenport, Iowa voted to approve the deal by a little over 60 percent.

The UAW had deployed every lie and scare tactic it could muster in the run-up to the vote, telling workers that it was the best deal they would get, while dangling an $8,500 signing bonus, which would be substantially eaten up by taxes and dues, as economic blackmail.

In the Quad Cities, the UAW scheduled ratification votes separately for the four different facilities in the area, in contrast the first contract vote, when it held combined ratification meetings at one convention center. The move was aimed at preventing workers from getting together and discussing the agreement and at shielding UAW officials from the collective ire of the workers.

UAW President Ray Currythe lead architect of the sellout deal at Volvoand Vice President Chuck Browning, head of the UAWs agricultural equipment department, had claimed that the contract met workers concerns and priorities and contained major economic gains, which the majority of workers demonstrated their disagreement with on Tuesday.

The contract rejection at Deere is the latest major repudiation by workers of the pro-corporate policies pursued by the UAW and other trade unions for over 40 years.

At least seven UAW-backed contracts have been rejected this year, four of them by 90 percent or more margins at Volvo, Deere and Dana, a global auto parts maker and Deere supplier.

A growing wave of rejections of union-backed contracts has developed this year, including in mining (Warrior Met Coal in Alabama and the Inco nickel mines in Ontario, Canada), food production (Frito-Lay and Nabisco), health care (nurses in Massachusetts and Michigan), and building trades (carpenters in Seattle).

The rejections of the contracts reflect not just the immediate concerns and problems faced by different sections of workers, but, more profoundly, a developing movement in the working class, which is seeking to go on the offensive to reverse decades of corporate and union-enforced concessions and spiraling social inequality.

After the vote totals were announced, Deere workers conveyed a renewed sense of self-confidence and feeling of strength in comments to the World Socialist Web Site. A worker in Waterloo said he was proud of the people who understand that we have the power on our side. A worker from the Davenport Works said, Nothing is more powerful than workers united. We need to hold the line.

The Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee played the central role in solidifying opposition to the latest UAW-company agreement, with its statement Sunday, Reject UAW-Deere blackmail!, read and circulated by thousands of Deere workers.

A member of the Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee who works at Des Moines Works said, I am proud to be part of the group of people that dared to stand up to the corporate greed of John Deere and the betrayal of UAW leaders who keep selling out their members for corporate interests and their gains.

But this fight wasnt and still isnt just about us, he continued. At least not for me. This fight is more extensive. It is about the rights of all workers throughout the USA and around the world who are struggling to make it every day while corporations rake in billions of dollars year after year. It is about leading the way and making historical moments like this to show that we cannot be called essential and treated as expendable at the same time.

United we stand, divided we fall. So, lets unite again and win this for all of us and those to come after us.

To learn more about joining the John Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee, Deere workers can email deerewrfc@gmail.com or text (484) 514-9797.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the multi-billion-pound health research charity, the Wellcome Trust, has resigned from the UK governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

In a statement, he described the high levels of transmission seen in the UK as concerning and warned, The COVID-19 crisis is a long way from over, with the global situation deeply troubling.

He said SAGE had been placed under huge pressure throughout the pandemic and that he was stepping down to focus on our work at Wellcome, including the international research effort to end the pandemic and ensuring the world is better prepared for inevitable future infectious disease threats.

Jeremy Farrar Director of the Wellcome Trust. (Credit: Creative Commons)

Farrar has clashed with the government before. He published a book this July, Spike: The Virus v The People, which was critical of many aspects of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons response to the pandemic.

In it, he labels the appointment of Conservative government favourite Dido Harding to lead the dismal test and trace programme as a grave error.

Condemning the influence of Oxford University scientist Sunetra Gupta and the anti-lockdown, pro-herd immunity Great Barrington Declaration, he describes it as ideology parading as science and the science was still nonsense.

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock is named as shouldering a responsibility for the PPE [personal protective equipment] shortages and testing fiasco, among other failings, that contributed to the dreadful epidemics in care homes and hospitals.

The book decries The decision on September 21 [2020] not to introduce a circuit-breaker; the wait until November before locking down; the premature lifting of lockdown on December 2. These set the scene for what can only be described as the carnage of January and February 2021.

Farrar explains that he seriously considered resigning from SAGE last September over the governments rollout of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme encouraging people into restaurants, and refusal to implement lockdown-type measures to stem a surge in infections, which he described as a catastrophe playing out in slow motion. He writes, I began to question the point of giving advice to a body that chose not to use it.

Elsewhere, Farrar has criticised the Tories making mask-wearing a party-political issue by largely refusing to do so in the House of Commons, called for a faster rollout of vaccines among children, and described the delaying of a public inquiry into the pandemic until 2022 as a disgrace. He has warned that more resources must be directed to combatting the pandemic, mainly through vaccination, in middle and lower-income countries.

Although Farrar stressed that his departure should not be seen as a new criticism of official policy, it is clear that he and the Wellcome Trust decided they could no longer be associated with the Johnson government. Sky News reported that he had been pushing ministers to adopt at least some additional public health measures heading into winter.

Farrars criticisms of the UK governments pandemic response are correct as far as they go. But they are made by someone who has in more recent months largely endorsed its policy.

That he believes his position as a government advisor is no longer tenable speaks volumes about the dangerous situation, Johnsons intentions and the impossibility of swaying the ruling class to take up any serious scientific policy against the pandemic. The Wellcome director has advocated only minimal mitigation measures, which if adopted would be little more than a cover for the governments programme of letting the virus rip.

He tweeted last month in favour of a Vaccine Plus strategy, writing, Please wear mask[s] public transport now, in shops/indoor spaces, good ventilation, if possible flexible work-times, COVID/Flu vaccine, minor modifications now can prevent rises cases, deaths, new variants or need for Plan B. It is avoidable.

Plan B, which the government has no intention of enacting, means such elementary and inadequate measures as mandatory mask-wearing, working from home where possible, and vaccine passports for certain venues.

In a long thread this August, Farrar spelled out his current position on the pandemic, calling for A public debate on what trade-offs we are willing to accept as a society, in short what amount of illness, hospitalisation & death are we as individuals & as a society willing & may have to accept in the context of available tests, treatments & vaccines & an endemic infection?

Listing his preferred mitigation measures, he wrote that the public needed to acknowledge these will not eliminate COVID19. As with many endemic infections we need to use the tools we have some behaviour adaptation, public health, tests, treatments & vaccines to reduce impact & also acknowledge we cant stop all illness or tragically all COVID deaths.

Eliminating the disease in the UK, he claimed, was not possible.

As the government reopened schools and the economy in summer, Farrar stated, There is a danger of not opening up and this infection is now a human endemic infection. Its not going away and we will have to learn to cope with that.

This September, he said in an interview with German podcast Pandemia, I think [in the UK] around a hundred deaths a day, throughout the year, 30,000 deaths a year, in the current situation with the current vaccines, current treatments, current capacity within the system, I think is a level that would have to in the end be acceptable.

Speaking with the Guardian newspaper about his book in July, Farrar declared his massive respect for Johnsons advisers, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance, and said of the governments initial open admission of a herd immunity programme, I just dont know how this came about.

In his resignation statement, Farrar thanked Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty for outstanding leadership.

If a friendly critic so thoroughly adapted to the priorities of the Johnson government now feels he no longer has a place among its advisers, then there is not a chance of scientists fighting for the elimination, or even serious suppression, of the virus getting a hearing. Those who remain in the governments inner circle of advisers are carefully curated to accept and put an expert face on whatever policy Johnsons cabinet decides is necessary to secure the financial interests of the super-rich.

As the morning news of Farrars resignation broke, a special Q&A was organised jointly by BBC Breakfast and Radio 4 with Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, Britains deputy chief medical officer. Hosts Sally Nugent and Rachel Burden were clearly taken aback by the deluge of questions from people concerned about the course of the pandemic.

Professor Jonathan Van Tam speaks at a COVID-19 Press Conference in 10 Downing Street. 30/12/2020. London, United Kingdom. (Credit: Picture by Pippa Fowles / No 10 Downing Street/FlickR)

In response, Van-Tam would not even straightforwardly encourage the wearing of masks, for fear of cutting across the governments back to normal narrative. Asked if they would become mandatory in any setting, he responded that this was a matter for ministers, not scientists. Asked about masks in schools he replied, I think it's difficult for children in schools with face masks. Asked whether MPs, on his own definition of where masks were most useful, should be wearing them in the House of Commons, he answered, I don't think I'm in a position to judge every type of interaction that happens in every workplaceincluding the House of Commons.

Johnsons claim throughout the pandemic that the government is following the science has always been a lie. It is following class interests, above all the pursuit of private profit, and selecting only that scientific advice which is compatible with this single-minded pursuit.

Strong scientific cases have been made, and in the case of China, practically demonstrated, that it is possible to suppress and ultimately eliminate COVID-19. This approach was rejected out of hand by Johnson and most of the worlds governments as posing an unacceptable risk to finance capital. Increasingly this concern stands in the way of even the most basic measures for controlling the virus.

No argument will change their position. The implementation of a scientific policy to end the pandemic and save health and lives depends on its being carried forward by a struggle of the working class, whose interests lie in the protection of lives, not profits.
Send your statement of support to the John Deere strikers at autoworkers@wsws.org! We will publish them on this page throughout the day. To learn more about joining the John Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee, Deere workers can email deerewrfc@gmail.com or text (484) 514-9797.

Deere states its actively seeking to get second tentative contract ratified

Deere is saying its still at the negotiating table with the UAW over how to secure the contract proposal that a majority of workers voted to reject yesterday.

Shelby Kluver, a reporter for WQAD in the Quad Cities, tweeted Wednesday afternoon that a company representative had told her Deere is still at the negotiating table and actively seeking to get the second tentative contract ratified. There is no moves being made for a new, third contract that goes beyond the scope of the seconds offer.

Mark Howze, Deeres chief administrative office, told Bloomberg News earlier in the day that the agreement was the companys best and final offer. He also told the San Francisco Gate, in a statement that was equal parts condescending and threatening, We want to make sure they understand the value of the agreement, to make sure they understand that there is nothing to be gained by continuing to hold out. To some degree, because we were able to come to a resolution as quickly as we were, I think theres some folks who believe there must be some more available.

For Deere to claim there is not more available is simply not tenable. The company is set to make close to $6 billion in profit for its previous fiscal year, far exceeding its previous record, and demand and prices for its agricultural equipment have been on a sharp upward trajectory.

The UAW, for its part, is seeking to buy time and lull workers while it works out the best method with Deere to impose their second deal. The UAW bargaining team sent a mass text to workers Wednesday claiming implausibly that it had not been directly told the second agreement was the companys final offer, The UAW is aware Deere put out this was our last, best, and final offer. We were never informed directly. Bare with us as we sort this out.

As the WSWS previously warned, the UAW is following the same treacherous playbook it worked out with Volvo earlier this year, where it defied workers rejection of a third concessions contract and forced a re-vote on the agreement.

It is critical that Deere workers organize now, setting up rank-and-file committees across the plants, in order to prevent the company and UAW from proceeding with their conspiracy to impose the second contract by one or another means.

Faurecia Gladstone auto parts worker speaks out in support of Deere workers: This is not the end of the struggle

A supporter of the rank-and-file committee at Faurecia in Columbus, Indiana, spoke to the World Socialist Web Site on workers rejection of the UAW contract at John Deere. Faurecia is a global auto parts maker, and the Columbus plant supplies exhaust converters to Deere.

We have been watching the union sellouts at Dana Corporation, Warrior Met Coal, the teachers across the country and many other contract struggles. John Deere workers, the rank-and-file committee at Faurecia stands with you. We have to stand together and show the capitalists that we will not accept these sellout contracts any more. The gravy train is over.



Deere workers are doing a good job of building a rank and file committee. The IWA-RFC [International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees] is getting stronger by the minute. We all need to stand together. John Deere is a global corporation. We need to get word to our co-workers in other countries and keep each other informed about whats going on.



The unions are trying to keep us divided. They kept quiet about the no votes at John Deere to keep workers in the dark and force the contract through. If more workers knew how many were voting no, they would have voted with more confidence and more of them would have voted no. But the unions grip is wearing thin. More workers are joining rank-and-file committees.



John Deere workers need to get with the IWA-RFC so that they can keep in touch with each other and we all can plan together. This is not the end of the struggle.



When they said Danas contract passed, we knew the unions screwed them. The unions are working for the capitalists. They are not working for us.

Video: WSWS Labor Editor Jerry White speaks on struggle after workers rejected second TA

What way forward for the Deere strike? WSWS Labor Editor Jerry White speaks after workers reject second TA

Dana Workers Rank-and-File Committee issues statement: The No vote by John Deere workers shows Dana workers must overturn the illegitimate UAW-USW-Dana contract!

Fellow Dana workers:

On Tuesday, 10,000 Deere workers voted by a 55 to 45 margin to reject a sellout contract that the UAW tried to force them to accept. They did so despite the UAW using the same dirty tricks as the UAW and USW used against us Dana workers in recent weeks.

Just like at Dana, the UAW refused to give Deere workers the full contract and tried to rush through a vote while claiming the offer was the companys best and threatening that another rejection would lead to a long, purposeless strike. Deere and the UAW dangled a large signing bonus ($8,500) to bait workers into accepting a rotten six-year deal that would guarantee higher corporate profits than ever. At ratification meetings, the UAW pulled the mic on workers and refused to let them express their hostility to the contract.

But Deere workers said no! and sent a powerful signal to autoworkers and the working class as a whole that they are standing firm to guarantee a contract with an immediate $10 hourly wage increase, fully paid retiree health care and pension benefits.

Now is the time for Dana workers to join Deere workers and all auto workers to overturn the fraudulent contracts signed by the UAW in recent months and years.

These contracts are illegitimate. They were agreed to by corrupt union executives who accept bribes from the corporations. They are forcing us into conditions of deeper economic hardship while corporate profits and CEO pay soar to unthinkable heights.

The process through which the UAW and USW claim the second tentative agreement at Dana was passed was illegitimate and unacceptable. The Dana Workers Rank-and-File Committee (DWRFC) declares the contract null and void. We are only now beginning to learn some of the rotten details that were withheld from us when we were blindfolded and forced to vote last month.

Read the full statement

Deere management declares rejected contract was its best and final offer

Deere management has declared that the contract offer which workers rejected yesterday was their best and final offer, and that they would not be returning to the bargaining table, Bloomberg News has reported.

The agreement that we provided is frankly our best and final offer, Marc Howze, chief administrative officer for Deere, told the business news outlet. In order for us to be competitive we have gone as far as were gonna go. In a separate news release, the company also declared today that it would execute the next phase of our Customer Service Continuation Plan, ie, its strikebreaking operation.

This outcome is not unexpected. Moreover, it amounts to giving the United Auto Workers its marching orders to shut down the strike and enforce the contract which workers just rejected. No doubt, the UAW will attempt to seize upon this to ride roughshod over the democratic will of the workers and move rapidly to attempt to send the strikers back to work. Even if the union is unable to accomplish this, however, it will seek to isolate and starve out the Deere workers on the picket line with a woefully inadequate $275 weekly strike pay.

This was the clear meaning of the UAW's own statement in the aftermath of the vote, which said: The strike against John Deere and Company will continue as we discuss next steps with the company [emphasis added].

Deere is following the playbook of the Volvo Trucks strike to the letter. A month into that strike, Volvo Trucks workers delivered a stunning rejection of the third consecutive tentative agreement brought by the UAW. Volvo Trucks and plant manager Frankie Marchand responded by declaring that the contract was their last, best and final offer and that it would unilaterally impose it.

Even as Volvo management was openly calling on workers to cross the picket line, the UAW served as their battering ram, forcing workers to re-vote on the contract which they had just rejected, while making it clear that regardless of the outcome the union was intent upon ending the strike. The contract passed under the re-vote under dubious circumstances by a mere 17 votes.

Volvo seized upon the narrower margin of defeat of the third tentative agreement by attempting to split the workforce between those who had voted no and yes, encouraging the latter to cross the picket line to work under the terms of the rejected contract. Similar tactics will likely be attempted by at Deere.

In particular, the UAW may attempt to split the Waterloo and Dubuque locals, the centers of opposition to the deal, from the locals which voted yes or rejected it by a narrow margin, sending the latter back to work while forcing Waterloo and Dubuque workers to fend for themselves.

The turn now must be to the broadest possible mobilization of the working class in defense of the Deere strike, against both management and the UAW. Deere workers are in a powerful position, and can defeat both the ruthlessness of the company and the treachery of the union, but they cannot fight them alone.

All workers, taking up the principle that an injury to one is an injury to all, must mobilize in defense of the strike and against UAW attempts to sabotage and isolate it. Deere workers should appeal to workers and plants which voted for the contract not to allow the company and the union to disrupt their solidarity. Workers across the country, meanwhile, must develop independent rank-and-file support committees to prepare for joint, nationwide action in defense of the strike.

Support begins to roll in for Deere strikers from autoworkers across the US

Send in your statements of support to autoworkers@wsws.org.

Retired International Harvester worker: As a former farm-implement worker and vet of the great 1979-80 International Harvester Strike, I, like I am sure thousands of others, am proud of you and your efforts to begin reversing 40 years of union-enforced company concessions. Seems it is not an exaggeration to say the world is watching you.

Dana workers in Warren, Michigan: It's awesome that they voted no and are still fighting for what they want. Stay fighting till you get what you deserve! Don't give up.

Way to go, keep fighting! Please show us Dana workers what we could have received if we had kept fighting.

Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly worker: Rightly so! UAW leadership being exposed AGAIN!

We need to hold the union responsible for their actions, they are not upholding what's due to the membership. We must stick together, majority rules!

Stellantis Toledo North Assembly worker: Wow, this is good news. People will respond positively to this here at TNAP. People are sick of the low expectations bargaining style.

Frank, an autoworker from Detroit: A message to Striking Deere workers: You are the labor movement, you are the front-line for ALL workers, union or not. Don't let the Corrupt UAW do to you what they did to workers at FCA/Stellantis. You are powerful and in a position to make A REAL DIFFERENCE. You have the support of your UAW brothers and sisters in District 1.

Deere workers rank-and-file statement: Whats next in our strike

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday, we voted down the second contract brought back by the UAW. Despite all their efforts to convince us that their deal was the best we could get, and to rush us into accepting it without showing the full contract, we held firm. This is because we are fighting not just for ourselves, but for our families, for all workers and for future generations.

The eyes of the world are now on us, and we are in a strong position to fight and win our demands. Deere has struggled to hire and fill orders, and it needs our labor power more than ever. And if we wage a determined struggle, we have the support of workers throughout the US and around the world.

Now is the time for us to fight to win!

However, the UAW throughout this entire process has proceeded from the opposite standpoint. They act as if the company is God, theyre its priests, and we only deserve what it is willing to bestow. To win our fight, however, we must act now to form our own organizations, rank-and-file committees, to carry out a real struggle.

The statement from Solidarity House last night shows the UAW is doubling down on its strategy and is plotting its next move together with the company. In just three sentences announcing our rejection of their deal, the UAW public relations team wrote, By a vote of 45% yes to 55% no, UAW John Deere members voted down the agreement this evening. The strike against John Deere and Company will continue as we discuss next steps with the company. Pickets will continue and any updates will be provided through the local union.

Excuse us, Messieurs Curry and Browning, discuss next steps with the company? Clearly it never occurred to you to discuss next steps with us workers, whom you take dues from and claim to represent.

But from the beginning, the UAW bureaucrats havent listened to what we want. They pulled the mic on our brother in Waterloo who told them what he thought of their sellout yesterday, and they had the gall to tell our brothers and sisters at Harvester that they didnt want to hear any nasty comments about the contract.

The UAW says that any updates will be provided. Clearly, they plan to continue what theyve been doing all year: keep workers in the dark on what theyre actually discussing with the company, while working out plans to try to get another deal through, as quickly as possible, which doesnt meet our demands.

Every Deere worker should study what happened to our brothers and sisters at Volvo Trucks earlier this year, which shows one type of betrayal the union bureaucracy could be preparing.

The UAWwith Ray Curry in the leadbrought back three concessions contracts that workers voted down, the first two times by over 90 percent. After the third contract was rejected by 60 percent, the UAW forced workers to re-vote on the exact same agreement less than a week later, telling them the company would unilaterally implement it no matter which way they voted. Even still, many Volvo workers defied this blackmail, and the UAW claimed the contract passed by just 17 votes, refusing to respond to calls for a recount.

We won an important battle yesterday. But to win the war, we must press our offensive. We cant allow Deere and the UAW any time to regroup and attempt to force through the same deal, or something largely similar with one or two cosmetic sweeteners thrown in.

Read the full statement

Ottumwa worker explains Deere workers demands

The contract had a good offer for those wanting to retire, but the refusal of Deere to add to legacy costs by continuing free insurance through retirement was the shortfall. Many were wanting guaranteed, vested insurance to continue, and not be retractable by company. They're tired of all the lies from Deere, and want them to provide for the broken bodies they helped create.

On the wages side, many were wanting 20 to 30 percent wage increases. They feel they deserve what the UAW bureaucrats got on their last raise.

They are VERY fired up against CIPP [Continuous Improvement Payment Plan, the company's incentive pay scheme], as almost half of the plans are not making premium money (above 115 percent). But the heads of the UAW are strongly in support of CIPP. They feel it is a good incentive plan, but the failure lies with Deere departmental management overloading plans with people to push the schedule out the door. This raises input hours while keeping the output steady.

Workers have complained and have many long term grievances, that company HR directors have just sat on for many months. To push these grievances through, a plan has been devised to have top UAW and Deere HR review the plans that have been making less than 115 percent for 9 months or more, providing the plan has an active grievance, has been working through an FIP [joint committee that looks at ways to increase preformance] for 6 months, and up to 3 months of sub-premium wages past the first period. People are fed up with this.

Senior employees have taken their skills and knowledge to retirement or to other groups having larger percentages. This pushes other lines to even lower numbers, with lesser skilled and knowledgeable workers. HR officials are also allowing different handling of different groups by departmental supervisors and ME's [mechanical engineers]. Many times it poor results are due to failures by the DE [Design Engineer] or ME to complete departmental CIPP improvements. This is worsened by newer engineers [replacing knowledgeable retired ones] to not know how to, or have knowledge how to complete these projects. This keeps the wages low.

Workers are proposing to have a percentage of these 3 individuals' pay be reduced for plans not making premium earnings. This way they will have larger incentives to help the struggling plans. They have also been asking for a different metric be used besides production, maybe quality. This will help lower rework and help lower input costs, thus increasing percentages. They were promised by those setting up CIPP that when lines are no longer able to earn premium earnings, due to previous semester base adjustments trips, they would have a new metric. With almost half of the plans failing, they are asking for this new metric.

Everyone is watching for how the Deere contract works out. Bottom line, we want higher wages.

These people want to support their families, and they work these 12 hours days, and it absolutely kills them. Its mandatory, and their bodies are just flat breaking down. And they dont see any way out. Without medical benefits, theyre going to feel stuck. Its tough to get on long-term disability.

Deere workers are worried the wonderful community support we have received will be lessened by the misinformation being distributed by the media. Theyre experts at dividing us. Deere capitalizes on that type of thing.

But we need to get the rank-and-file together to see exactly what we want and decide which direction they want to go in. The UAW, they're not willing to fight for this. And maybe they shouldnt be in there.

We need to have a call to arms and get everybody standing together like it used to be.

Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee issues statement hailing rejection of Deere contract

Dear brothers and sisters!

Our rank-and-file committee of educators in Canada has issued a statement that was published today on the WSWS. In it, we offer our full support for your struggle. Here is the resolution:

We, the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee (CERSC), are a group of education workers across Canada who are fighting to save the lives of children, workers and the community as a whole by advocating for an elimination strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic.



We stand in solidarity with John Deere workers in your courageous struggle against the company and their hacks in the UAW. We are paying close attention to your struggle because workers everywhere are fighting the same struggle, regardless of the industry we work in. As unionized public sector workers in Canada, we are learning lessons from your struggle, especially about the dirty tricks the union and the company are using to break your strike. We expect the government and the public sector unions to employ similar tricks here, so we are arming ourselves with the knowledge necessary to defeat their efforts to sabotage our struggle.



In Canada, education workers are under attack from pro-corporate governments, which are forcing kids and workers back into unsafe schools so that parents can go to work to be exploited for the profits of the parasitic financial elite. Schools have become COVID farms where children and education staff are exposed to a disease that is evolving into more contagious and more lethal variants. Public education has been under assault for decades by pro-big business governments in Canada, which have imposed wage and benefit cuts on us, and slashed public spending on education.



Education workers and Deere workers in the US and around the world face a similar struggle. Governments in Canada and the US have been captured by the oligarchy and serve its interests. The assault on the working class in the private and public sector benefits the oligarchy. Cutting our wages, cutting our pensions and cutting our benefits means the elites get to steal more of our money and force us to live barely above the poverty line. All this is happening in the middle of a global pandemic where schools are forced to open, so that workers at John Deere and other profitable multinationals can go to work and be exploited for the profits of corrupt executives and shareholders. Both John Deere workers and education workers and their children are exposed to this lethal pandemic so that the rich can continue to increase their wealth by risking workers health and lives.



Just as your strike is part of a growing strike wave in the US, similar struggles are mounting here in Canada. Tens of thousands of public sector workers are currently on strike against attacks on wages and pensions in New Brunswick, and thousands of workers at mining, industrial, and food processing companies have walked off the job over the past few months.



The CERSC stands in solidarity with you, John Deere workers! Your struggle is part of a developing counter-offensive by the working class to secure decent-paying, secure jobs for all!

Warmest regards,

Laurent Lafrance for the CERSC

Striking Deere workers defeat second UAW-company agreement

Striking workers at John Deere defeated a second United Auto Workers-backed tentative agreement on Tuesday, voting to reject it by 55 percent and defying the UAWs attempts to ram the contract through. Union officials released five pages of contract highlights only two days before the vote, hoping to stampede workers into accepting the deal before they could adequately study and discuss it.

While the defeat of the contract is a courageous step forward by a significant section of industrial workers, it is more important than ever that control of the strike be wrested out of the hands of the corrupt UAW bureaucrats, who have been doing everything they can to secure Deeres wishes. There can be no doubt that UAW executives were holding emergency talks with their Deere counterparts on Wednesday and are continuing to plot with the company over how to overcome workers resistance.

The experience of the strike at Volvo Trucks earlier this year provides the sharpest warning to Deere workers. There, the UAW responded to a third rejection of a concessionary agreement by running roughshod over workers will and forcing them to re-vote on the deal they had just rejected, subsequently claiming ratification by a dubious margin of 17 votes.

For their struggle to be successful and workers to achieve their aims, the strike must find a new path forward. Rank-and-file strike committees should be quickly organized at every Deere facility, linking up with the Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee, in order to break through the UAW information blackout and mobilize reinforcements for the strike throughout the auto and heavy equipment industries.

The UAW spent much of Tuesday afternoon and evening keeping workers in the dark on individual plants vote outcomes, with many union locals waiting six hours or longer after polls closed before announcing their results.

The largest local, Local 838 in Waterloo, Iowa, which has nearly 3,000 workers and has been a center of opposition to both the contracts this year and in 2015, did not release its results until after the overall outcome was announced, in an apparent effort to prevent momentum building for an even larger no vote. Workers in Waterloo voted to reject the deal by 71 percent, which almost undoubtedly would have catalyzed even more opposition had it been revealed earlier in the day.

Read the full report

Auto parts worker in Toledo discusses the sellout at Dana and its implications for Deere

A Dana worker spoke to the World Socialist Web Site Tuesday afternoon about how the UAW forced through a sellout contract last month at the auto parts maker, comparing his experience with the contract vote at Deere.

They had the informational meeting Saturday and on Monday they wanted you to vote. There was no time for any kind of investigation. I saw it coming, the holidays coming up and the money. They knew what they were doing.

A lot young people they just hired, who were attending school or were not going to stay [were persuaded to vote yes.] They are bringing in so many new people, 100 every month, and probably only 10-20 stay.

They had everyone vote. Before you had to have 90 days, but this time they had everybody voting. They were using scare tactics saying you would lose this or that.

He described the intimidation that workers faced, saying At the union meeting a lady asked a question and the union guy says what are you, stupid? How do you talk to people like that? They would be like a hiring an attorney and he puts you down in front of the judge. The union told them that after working 19 days you would get 2 days off. But we came to find out that only applied if the product is not in demand. The product is always in demand. The people arent getting 2 days off. They lied.

The union doesnt do anything, he concluded. It is nothing but a sellout. The truth needs to get out about this place.

Waterloo Drivetrain Operations worker: Its time to step up and do something

A veteran worker at Deeres Drivetrain Operations in Waterloo, Iowa, said, Most of the people Ive talked to about the contract, their view is not very positive. The raise on this isnt really a raise after cost-of-living increases.

Everybody thinks we could get that same pre-1997 package that was in the past. Health care, we were paying nothing when I started, now its $40 for each visit, and more if you have to go to the emergency room.

I need to retire somedayI cant work till Im 100but Im not going to be able to retire at 60. Im not going to be able to work 30 years and then get out, cause our 401(k) is horrid.

And youll have to go out and get your own health insurance once youre retired, and by that point you wont be able to afford it.

Describing his experiences with the UAW, he continued, I dont know how many times weve gone to UAW with complaints, about overtime and other things, and theyll say, Well, thats a gray area. I need this gray area to become not a gray area. It should either be this way or that way. Its not that hard to print a true statement.

The UAW do nothing for us, he said. Theyre right in the back pocket for John Deere, its like they think Deere is the god and we have to do what they say.

He recounted the UAWs efforts to ram the 2015 contract through, not providing workers the full contract and or time to study the terms. In 2015 you were walking in blinded. And by the time we got done voting, the news already said we passed it.

First thing the UAW said about this contract is that its the best theyre going to do, he said. But obviously their calculators are broken or they dont know how to do math. Deere has 17 quarters with highly profitable gains, and yet dont want to give good wages and benefits. We still have people working here on food stamps.

Its all scare tactics, they think that were weak, In 2015, he said, No one was communicating, but people are getting more and more word out, and we have hope.

I know we had Facebook or whatever back then, but it didnt seem used as much. Its helped a lot for us to communicate to our brothers and sisters throughout Iowa and Illinois this year, so people feel comfortable voting no.

Concluding, he said, Its time to step up and do something, we cant just complain about it.

Deere workers issued statement Sunday opposing latest tentative agreement: Reject UAW-Deere blackmail!

After more than two weeks on strike, the United Auto Workers is trying to rush through another pro-company deal, which ignores our demands for raises big enough to make up for 25 years of eroding wages, time off with our families, and fully paid retiree health benefits and pensions for all workers. To add insult to injury, the UAW is trying to pull another fast one like it did in 2015 by making us vote before we have time to sufficiently study and discuss the deal. They are telling us to vote Tuesday without access to the full contract and letters of agreement that will dictate our lives for the next six years. We are workers, not industrial slaves! The Deere Workers Rank-and-File Committee calls on workers to demand the release of the full contract and all side letters now and insist on a full week to study the contract before any vote. If the UAW goes ahead and holds the vote, Deere workers should reject the deal on principle and toss it in the garbage where it belongs. Rank-and-file workers must also demand the right to oversee the voting process, so the UAW doesnt repeat what it did in 2015, when it claimed the hated contract miraculously passed by 180 votes. No one should doubt that the UAW wont try to make the vote come out the right way if they think theyre able to get away with it. The self-serving highlights no doubt conceal numerous other concessions that we would only find out later. What we do know, however, is enough to reject this deal like we did the first one.

View the full statement
It has been well documented internationally that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented impact on the mental health of broad layers of the worlds population. This includes people with existing mental health problems as well as those previously unaffected prior to the coronavirus crisis.

A new study published this month in The Lancet attempted to quantify the global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders, finding substantial increases worldwide. The study was a systematic review of published data that reported the prevalence of depression and anxiety before the pandemic, then compared this using 48 papers published during the first 12 months of the pandemic in 2020.

Health care workers transport a COVID-19 patient from an intensive care unit (ICU) at a hospital in Kyjov to hospital in Brno, Czech Republic late last year (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

The study, performed by investigators from the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and the University of Queensland in Australia, presented data compiled from 204 countries and territories. If the pandemic did not occur, model estimates suggest there would have been 193 million cases of major depressive disorder (2,471 cases per 100,000 population) globally in 2020.

However, the study's findings show there were 246 million cases (3,153 per 100,000), an increase of 28 percent, an increase of 53 million cases. More than 35 million of the additional cases were in women, compared with close to 18 million in men. Similarly, cases of anxiety increased by 76 million, 26 percent above what was expected had there not been a pandemic.

The study also found younger people were more affected by major depressive and anxiety disorders in 2020 than older age groups. The additional prevalence of both disorders peaked among those aged 20-24 years, translating into 1,118 additional cases of major depressive disorder per 100,000 and 1,331 additional cases of anxiety disorders per 100,000. This was found to decline with increasing age.

Further, the study indicated that some regions of the world fared worse than others, particularly those experiencing military conflict such as North Africa and the Middle East. The latter registered the largest rise in depression of 37 percent. South Asia saw the biggest increase in anxiety of 35%.

The heightened prevalence was associated with increasing COVID-19 infection rates as well as decreasing human mobility. The authors cited the combined effects of the spread of the virus, lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, decreased public transport, school and business closures, and decreased social interactions, among other factors. Further, it was estimated that countries more negatively impacted by the pandemic during 2020 were those with the greatest increases of these disorders.

The lead author of the study, Dr Damian Santomauro said in a press release Our findings highlight an urgent need to strengthen mental health systems in order to address the growing burden of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders worldwide.

The authors noted that mental health disorders are among the leading causes of the global health-related burden, with the two most disabling conditions, depressive and anxiety disorders, both ranking among the 25 leading causes of burden worldwide in 2019. This was the case internationally, and across gender lines, a trend that had held since 1990.

Dr Santomauro stated: Even before the pandemic, mental health-care systems in most countries have historically been under-resourced and disorganised in their service delivery. Meeting the added demand for mental health services due to COVID-19 will be challenging, but taking no action should not be an option.

The implications of this were highlighted by a study earlier this year which found that sufferers of the mood-related conditions were twice as likely to suffer severe adverse consequences from COVID infection, including serious illness, hospitalisation and death.

Published in July in JAMA Psychiatry, a Journal of the American Medical Association, it was a review and meta-analysis of 21 published studies that included more than 91 million people worldwide.

In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporations (ABC) Health Report, senior author Dr Roger McIntyre stated, we've all been familiar with the risk that is afforded if you have cardiovascular disease and obesity, and what we've learned is that the risk with these well-known pre-existing conditions  having a depression or bipolar disorder is in many cases doubling the risk, if not more than doubling the risk. So it is an extraordinary risk.

While it is as yet unclear the relationship between mood disorders and risk from COVID-19, the authors state that sufferers can show immune dysfunction that may lead to deficiencies in coping with viral infections. Further, people with mood disorders can be at greater risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity which are known to increase the dangers of COVID.

In addition, there are social factors that exacerbate adverse outcomes for those with mood disorders. These patients are increasingly poor, and have limited timely access to preventative health care.

The study authors note that many individuals with mood disorders reside in congregate facilities, such as psychiatric inpatient units, homeless shelters, community housing, and prisons, where risk of COVID-19 transmission is increased because of the inability to effectively socially distance and/or quarantine.

Professor Iain Hickie of the Brain Mind Institute at the University of Sydney, added: One of the mistakes about depression is to think of it as just a psychological response. It's a physiological perturbation. The body is perturbed, in the immune system, in the neuroendocrine or cortisol or stress response system, in the sympathetic nervous system, and in its metabolic system. So, depression is much, much more than just in your head, it's in your body, and your body is perturbed and has trouble then coping with things like infection, with viral illnesses.

Youth are particularly vulnerable. Professor Hickie explained that mood disorders start in young people, with most before the age of 25 years.

The findings of the report are supported by a similar study design in May 2021 in the journal Psychiatry Research. In over 60,000 COVID-19 patients, investigators from the University of Jordan found that a pre-diagnosis of mental health disorders increased the risk of COVI19 mortality and disease severity. Higher mortality occurred in patients with disorders such as schizophrenia.

This is exacerbated by the fear of contracting the virus, becoming seriously ill, the impact of lockdown and decreased social interaction. An earlier study in December 2020 of over 90,000 people from eight countries in the Journal of Affective Disorders revealed substantial increases in the rates of; anxiety (6 to 51%), depression (15 to 48%), post-traumatic stress disorder (7 to 54%), psychological distress (34 to 38%), and stress (8% to 82%).

The situation facing those with mental illness is not the result of the pandemic. The coronavirus has instead exacerbated what was an already existing crisis. This is due to the slashing of mental health care budgets in virtually every country, including the closure of care institutions, the cutting of staffing and beds in hospitals and the increased cost for private mental health treatment.

The World Health Organisation's Mental Health Atlas 2017 report found in a survey of 169 countries that spending on mental health on average was less than 2 percent of health budgets. Development assistance for mental health has never been more than 1 percent of global development assistance for health.

These research findings suggest that the crisis triggered by COVID will see a drastic increase in morbidity and mortality for those suffering from mental health disorders globally, not only during the pandemic, but for many years to come.

In addition to the toll taken by cuts to mental health services, the criminal response of governments to the pandemic has greatly exacerbated the pressures facing working people. While bailing out the banks, and forcing the working class to pay, capitalist governments have lifted lockdowns and other essential safety measures, allowing the virus to circulate, and millions to die, to ensure that corporate profit-making and capitalist exploitation can continue.
The Democratic Party suffered an historic electoral debacle in the Virginia gubernatorial election yesterday, where Republican Glenn Youngkin led Democrat Terry McAuliffe by a 51 to 48 percent margin, with over 95 percent of precincts reporting as of midnight. The 90,000-vote margin will be difficult for Democrats to make up in precincts that remain to be counted.

Democrats also suffered a substantial collapse of support in New Jersey, where Republican Jack Ciattarelli held a threadbare, late-night lead over Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy with three-quarters of ballots counted. Since most outstanding votes are from Democratic-controlled Newark, however, it is likely that Murphy will emerge victorious. Until recently neither election was considered particularly competitive, and both states voted for President Joe Biden by wide margins in 2020.

Terry McAuliffe

The elections in Virginia and New Jersey were the first major test of the Democratic Partys electoral support both since the 2020 presidential election and Trumps fascist coup attempt of January 6. The Democrats defeat in Virginia is particularly significant, since the state is home to Charlottesville, where a fascist thug murdered protester Heather Heyer at the Unite the Right rally in 2017. Last year, far-right Trump supporters plotted to assassinate sitting Democratic Governor Ralph Northam over coronavirus restrictions.

Despite this, the Democrats made no warning of the danger posed by the far right, demobilizing opposition to Trump and preparing their own defeat. Throughout 2021, Joe Biden has repeated his desire for a strong Republican Party. Evidently, the voters listened.

The dropoff in Democratic votes makes clear that the partys focus on racial and gender identity is being met with either indifference or revulsion on the part of broad masses of voters.

Particularly in Virginia, Republicans capitalized on widespread hostility to efforts by Democrats to incorporate identity politics into school curricula. Republican candidate Youngkin whipped up Trump supporters on a right-wing basis by calling for censorship and even promoted attacks on Toni Morrisons 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning novel Beloved. The Democrats have placed particular emphasis on race and gender politics in Virginia, a state which is critical to their national electoral strategy. In 2019, in the run-up to the 2020 election, a section of the Virginia Democratic Party attempted to oust Northam on the basis of allegations that he once dressed up in blackface, as well as Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax on the grounds of a sex scandal.

A clear warning must be made: The Democrats emphasis on identity politicspromoted by the Democratic Socialists of America, Jacobin magazine and the pseudo-leftis opening the door for Trump, whose political fortunes were substantially strengthened by Tuesdays vote. Trump immediately issued a statement taking credit for the Republican victories and consolidating his control over the Republican Party.

Less than a year ago, the Democratic Party won the presidency and both houses of Congress by pledging to reverse Trumps criminal handling of the coronavirus pandemic and to provide immediate economic support for tens of millions of people.

Under Trump, at least 400,000 Americans died of COVID-19. But Biden has fulfilled his pledge that nothing will fundamentally change, and another 350,000 people are dead as a result. Federal unemployment benefits have been cut, the eviction moratorium has ended, and the Democratic Partys own senators are responsible for blocking legislation to increase spending on infrastructure and fund popular social programs. McAuliffes racial appeals did not succeed in mobilizing minority voters, with 13 percent of African American voters and 31 percent of Latinos supporting the Republican candidate.

The collapse of voter support for the Democratic Party does not represent a rightward shift in the working class. The votes in New Jersey and Virginia took place as 10,000 John Deere workers voted 55 to 45 percent to reject a sellout contract agreed to by the Democratic Party-aligned United Auto Workers (UAW) at plants across the Midwest. In the course of the Virginia and New Jersey elections, the Democratic Party consciously refused to make any appeal to the militant mood among working people which has found expression in strikes and overwhelming contract rejections across the country.

The 2021 strike wave has firm roots in Virginia, where 3,000 autoworkers at Volvo Trucks went on two separate strikes earlier this year, rejecting three sellout agreements reached by the UAW. Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffes efforts to posture as an ally of working people fell on deaf ears in Pulaski County, where the strike took place, and where only 30 percent of voters chose the Democratic ticket.

The Democratic Party placed heavy emphasis instead on appealing to affluent voters in the northern Virginia suburbs of Fairfax and Loudoun counties. But McAuliffe fared substantially worse in those counties than both Biden in 2020 and incumbent Democratic Governor Ralph Northam in 2017. This is in large part because Youngkin more effectively appealed to wealthier voters by calling for ending vaccine mandates and reducing any limitations on business functions implemented on health grounds.

McAuliffe adapted to Youngkin on the coronavirus, appearing on the eve of the election with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten (salary $500,000), a chief proponent of reopening schools. Largely because of the school reopening policy of Ralph Northam, the average number of newly confirmed cases in Virginia remains 10 times above the summer lows.

Municipal elections also took place throughout the country. In Buffalo, New York, Democratic Socialists of America member India Walton, the only Democrat on the ballot, was overwhelmingly defeated by a write-in campaign organized by the Democratic Party and the unions in support of the incumbent Byron Brown. Walton had won the Democratic primary in June with 50.5 percent of the vote. The collapse of the DSAs campaign in Buffalo establishes once again that attempts to transform this 200-year-old party of capitalist reaction can only end in defeat.
Court documents released late last week revealed that the University of Florida (UF) barred three professors at the school from providing testimony in a voting rights case against the state, according to filings from federal court.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida [Wikimedia Commons]

A spokeswoman for UF, Hessy Fernandez, justified the prohibitions on the grounds that if the professors participated in the court case, it would be adverse to the universitys interests as a state of Florida institution. Fernandez added the university did not deny the First Amendment rights or academic freedom but rather, the university denied requests of these full-time employees to undertake outside paid work that is adverse to the universitys interests.

As part of their case against the legislation, a coalition of voting rights organizations sought three professors from the universityDaniel A. Smith, Michael McDonald and Sharon Austinto testify as expert witnesses. The plaintiffs in the case, which was filed last May, are suing Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee with the intention of overturning the new slate of voting restrictions that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law earlier that month, known as S.B. 90.

In rejecting Professor Smiths request, the Dean of UFs College of Liberal Arts and Sciences wrote that outside activities that may pose a conflict of interest to the executive branch of the state of Florida create a conflict for the University of Florida. Rejection of Professors Austin and McDonalds requests to testify were issued with similar arguments by an assistant vice president over the potential conflicts of interest.

On Monday, however, UF officials had been forced to dismiss their decision following a groundswell of opposition from law experts and academics who rightfully interpreted the prohibition as an attack on free speech and academic freedom. In a statement announcing the sudden about-face, the administration said it would allow the professors to speak out if they were not being paid to testify. The statement read, the university views the professors request as a request to be paid to testify against the state, which would therefore be adverse to the universitys interests as a state institution. The reformed position adds that if the testimony is given on their own time without using university resources, they would be free to do so.

A letter was released by lawyers for the three UF professors asking for clarification about what they deemed the universitys unlawful attempt to prevent them from providing truthful testimony on a matter of extraordinary public importance. A few hours after this was sent, the university altered its stance and UF President Kent Fuchs and University Provost Joe Glover asserted they were immediately appointing a task force to review the universitys conflict of interest policy and examine it for consistency and fidelity.

Also on Monday, the body that authorizes the accreditation for UF said it would initiate an investigation into the university over its decision to bar the testimony. The accrediting organization said it has already taken preliminary steps that could lead to a probe into whether the university faces non-compliance issues over the universitys decision to restrict the speech of its employees.

The universitys decision to deny the professors request to testify is in marked contrast to prior cases against state laws. In 2018, one of the professors named in the filing, David Smith, testified with the University of Floridas permission in two voting rights lawsuits against Floridas Republican-led government. One suit forced the state to provide Spanish-language ballots for Hispanic voters. The other overturned a state-imposed ban on early voting polling places on Florida university campuses. As with many schools nationwide, the university has traditionally allowed their academics to offer expert testimony in lawsuits filed against potentially unconstitutional and anti-democratic bills passed by the government.

One lawyer for the plaintiffs in the state case, Kira Romero-Craft, said that the universitys prohibitory decision goes against the core of what the University of Florida should stand for in terms of academic freedom. Craft also suggested that DeSantis himself most likely played a role in the move to suppress testimony over his right-wing voting rights bill, saying, it seems reasonable for us to understand whether the executive office of the governor had any role in participating in that decision.

Robert C. Post, a Yale Law School professor and expert on academic freedom and the First Amendment, told the New York Times that he knew of no other precedent where a university had imposed restraints on a professors ability to speak publicly. He said, the university does not exist to protect the governor. It exists to serve the public. It is an independent institution to serve the public good, and nothing could be more to the public good than a professor telling the truth to the public under oath. Henry Reichman, a professor emeritus of history at California State University, condemned the restrictions as crazy and said, the ultimate logic of this is that you can be an expert in the United States, except in the state where youre actually working and being paid by the state.

Governor DeSantis has not made an official comment on UFs decision, while his administration denies that it told university officials how to enforce its conflict-of-interest policies. However, the governor has appointed six of UFs board of trustees, with all of them being devoted supporters of the Republican Party. Each appointee has collectively given DeSantis or the states Republican apparatus nearly $900,000 in political contributions.

Signed into law as a transparent assault on democratic rights, targeting particularly the rights of working class voters, S.B. 90 places even more onerous restrictions on votes received by mail during elections. The law includes other mechanisms to suppress votes from residents across the state, including measures aimed at barring homeless people from voting and restricting the hours of availability for residents to access secure ballot drop boxes.

S.B. 90 criminalizes any person who possesses two or more mail ballots other than the persons own ballot and an immediate family member, making it illegal for voters to ask a trusted friend, family member or caregiver to pick up or drop off a vote-by-mail ballot. It retroactively invalidates previous vote-by-mail requests every year and requires that mail-in vote requests be renewed annually, a completely unnecessary procedure. More hurdles are also placed on election supervisors who track and maintain voting records. The 48-page law also introduced other repressive requirements on the voting process, such as restricting the ability of officials and organizations to provide snacks and water to voters waiting in election lines.

Among S.B. 90s provisions that are being challenged in the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim the law sharply limits the use of ballot drop boxes, makes it harder to obtain absentee ballots and places new requirements on voter registration drives. An attorney for the plaintiffs says the legislation imposes substantial and unjustifiable restrictions on the ability of eligible Floridians to vote and register to vote.

Moreover, volunteers or organizations who provide assistance to voters must now take an oath affirming that they are not the employer, agent of the employer, or an officer or agent of the union of the voter, and also that they did not solicit the voter at a polling place or drop box location. The oath has to be sworn and signed in front of an election official who must also sign the declaration.

An issue driving these voter-suppression measures has been the fear among sections of the ruling class of mail-in-voting, which was widely used during the 2020 presidential and statewide elections because of the health dangers posed by the pandemic. The widespread use of mail-in balloting has been one of the central sources of blame assigned by former President Donald Trump and his far-right supporters for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump and the entire Republican party have for the past year repeated the fraudulent and baseless claim the election was rigged and that the voting process was compromised due to an influx of ballots sent by mail.

DeSantis, who is a fascistic acolyte of Trumps, and has been championed by the media as a potential Republican presidential candidate, has joined several other Republican governors in passing draconian voter legislation aimed at maintaining or electing Republican officials.

Burnishing his far-right credentials, DeSantis has signed bills designed to eliminate public health measures meant to stop the spread of COVID-19 and pursue the homicidal herd immunity strategy of letting the virus rip through the population.

In June, DeSantis passed legislation with the aim of demonizing socialism and communism in civics education courses in K-12 schools while bolstering far-right ideology on college campuses.

Contained in the bills was the requirement that college students and professors register their political views with the state, an inflammatory impingement on political autonomy. The bill sparked massive outrage because of the fear of a repressive atmosphere on campuses that would follow and possible persecution from the state against dissenting views. One of the requirements from the bill is that faculty and students be surveyed on their political beliefs, with colleges at risk of losing their funding if the responses do not orient to the right-wing views of state officials.

DeSantis also recently awarded the Florida Medal of Freedom to Che Gueveras CIA killer Felix Rodriguez to shore up support among the most rabidly right-wing elements of the states Cuban exile community.

Despite their nominal opposition to the oppressive voter restrictions, the Florida Democratic Party has responded with meek helplessness to the moves by the Republicans. The Democrats have allowed the legislation to be approved while making clear they will take no meaningful action to block or override the Republican Partys strategy. The party has instead focused all their efforts on removing DeSantis in the 2022 Governors race, an outcome that appears unlikely given a collapse statewide in support for the policies of Joe Bidens White House and the Democratically controlled Congress as they whittle down the proposed Build Back Better social reform bill.

The intervention by UF to block the professors testimony is directly aligned with the fascistic strategy being pursued by DeSantis and the Republican-led legislature. The head of the schools board of trustees, Morteza Hosseini, is a close ally of DeSantis and is one of the six major Republican Party donors on the board. He was also a member of DeSantis transition team following the Governors victory in the 2018 November elections.

Hosseini made headlines last week when reports surfaced that he was planning on hiring and granting tenure to the pseudo-scientist and herd immunity advocate Dr. Joseph Ladapo in the coming weeks.

This comes several weeks after DeSantis named Dr. Ladapo as the states surgeon general. Ladapo was appointed to the position to strengthen DeSantis sinister efforts to keep Florida open despite the ravages of the pandemic. Like DeSantis, Dr. Ladapo is opposed to even the most minimal mitigation policies that can curb the virus, such as mask mandates, and opposes vaccine requirements. Dr. Ladapo has been on record saying, there is nothing special about them [vaccines] compared to any other preventive measures. Its been treated almost like a religion, and thats just senseless.
A judge appointed to reexamine the capital murder case of Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed recommended Monday that newly presented evidence is not enough to grant Reed a new trial. The ruling is a setback for Reed, 53, whose fight for a new trial has garnered national notoriety and the support of the Innocence Project, which has taken up his defense. Reed was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a young white grocery store clerk a quarter century ago and has spent 23 years on death row.

Rodney Reed photo montage. Dec 2020. [Innocence Project]

Reed, who is black, was convicted by an all-white jury. In a two-week hearing this summer, the Innocence Project presented evidence that the murder weapon was never tested for DNA evidence and that forensic experts admitted to errors in their testimony. They also brought forward new exculpatory witnesses as evidence pointing to the victims fiance Jimmy Fennell, who is white and a former local police officer, as the perpetrator.

Reed was scheduled to be executed on November 20, 2019, when only days before that date he was granted a stay by the same Texas court with directions for a review of Reeds claims that the State suppressed exculpatory evidence; that the State presented false testimony in violation of due process; and that he is actually innocent.

Reed has consistently maintained his innocence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will now hear Reeds bid for another trial. While it is not unheard of for the criminal appeals court to go against a judges recommendation in such a case, it would be unusual. It is unclear when they will make their decision.

Reed was convicted on May 18, 1998, by a Bastrop County District Court jury for the April 23, 1996, abduction, rape and murder of Stacey Stites, 19, a Giddings, Texas resident. Reed initially denied knowing Stites, but after his DNA matched semen found inside her body he claimed that the two were having a clandestine affair. A pickup truck belonging to Fennell was found near the murder scene, along with part of Stites belt, the purported murder weapon. Reeds attorney had subsequently argued that the belt allegedly used in the murder had never been tested for DNA.

Police claimed they could not find any witnesses who would attest to a relationship existing between Reed and Stites, and Reeds defense brought forward no witnesses who could testify to the affair. Reed said that he initially denied knowing the victim because he thought it would be best for him not to admit knowing a dead white girl and later because I knew she was seeing a cop, and were in the South. Theres still a lot of racism going on. Prosecutors at trial pushed for the death penalty by arguing that Reed posed a future danger based on a history of similar previous rape charges, for which he was never convicted.

Witnesses coming forward after the trial included Richard Derleth, who worked at the Bastrop Country Sheriffs office with Fennell. He said he occasionally saw Stites at the local grocery store where she worked and that on one occasion other employees told him they would be on the lookout for Fennell and would warn Stites if they saw him coming, causing her to run and hide from Jimmy.

Rebecca Peoples, a former coworker of Stites, said Stites told her that she was afraid of her fiance. In her sworn affidavit, Peoples said that Stites also confided in her that she was having an affair with a black man.

For months after the murder, Fennell was the prime murder suspect. A new witness presented by the Innocence Project, Arthur Snow Jr., said Fennell told him in prison, I had to kill my n*****-loving fiancee. The cop was imprisoned at the time for an unrelated kidnapping and sexual assault conviction, according to the Associated Press.

Reed has been scheduled to meet his death in the Texas death chamber three times. He was originally scheduled to be executed on January 14, 2015, but his execution was rescheduled to March 5, 2015, due to a request by the state; that execution date was stayed on February 23, 2015 to allow for consideration of further evidence. It was later rescheduled for November 20, 2019, but has been stayed pending the criminal appeals court ruling.

As the execution date nears, celebrities, including Kim Kardashian West, Rihanna, Beyonce, Meek Mill, Pusha T, Susan Sarandon, Seth Green and Oprah Winfrey, have publicly urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to exonerate Reed or stay his execution. A petition calling for Reeds freedom has collected more than 3 million signatures, according to Newsweek. In December 2020, ABC aired a special episode of 20/20 on his case.

In his six years as Texas governor, Republican Abbott has overseen the execution of nearly 50 prisoners, while only once sparing a condemned mans life. Republican Rick Perry, Abbotts predecessor as Texas governor, signed off on a staggering 235 executions in his nearly 11 years in office. George W. Bush oversaw the execution of 152 people as governor before heading to the US presidency.

Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, Texas has executed 579 death row inmates, far more than any other state and more than a third of the 1,538 death warrants executed during this period.

Texas is renowned for disproportionately meting out death sentences to African Americans and Latinos, as well as to foreign nationals denied their consular rights, those convicted of crimes committed as juveniles and defendants represented by incompetent, disreputable and overworked legal counsel. Texas prosecutors are notorious for witness tampering, withholding evidence and relying on false evidence from forensic experts.
The trial of the fascist shooter Kyle Rittenhouse began at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday with opening statements and witness testimony.

Rittenhouse faces six criminal chargesincluding first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicidein the shooting death of two men and the wounding of another on the evening of August 25, 2020, during demonstrations against police violence in Kenosha.

Rittenhouse displays a white supremacist hand gesture while meeting with members of the Proud Boys

The jury trial started with a 35-minute opening statement from lead prosecutor, Kenosha Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger. Binger reviewed the actions of Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old at the time, on the streets of Kenosha on the night in question that began with the shooter arming himself with an AR-15-style automatic rifle loaded with 30 rounds in the magazine.

Binger recounted in some detail the evidence that Rittenhouse shot to death both Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, wounded Gaige Grosskreutz and recklessly endangered the lives of two others during the third night of protests in Kenosha. The demonstrations, which erupted amid the nationwide George Floyd protests against police violence, were in response to the brutal shooting of African American Jacob Blake by a white Kenosha police officer two nights earlier.

Binger described how Rittenhouse, with his assault rifle strapped to his body with a single-point tactical sling, had already shot Rosenbaum four times and then fired two more rounds, one of which was deadly, as the victim began falling to the ground. Binger said, the shot that killed Mr. Rosenbaum was a shot to the back.

The Kenosha prosecutor focused his opening statement on the fact that among the hundreds of people protesting and counter-protesting in the city during those dayssome of which involved heated confrontations between groups and individuals the only one who killed anyone was the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse. Binger repeated this point three times.

In his opening statement, Rittenhouse defense attorney Mark Richards made plain his teams intention to make the murderous rampage of the shooter out to be an act of self-defense against an assault by protesters. Richards said he is not disputing the fact that Rittenhouse fired his rifle at least eight times and shot Rosenbaum and Huber to death and seriously wounded Grosskreutz. Richards stated, Ultimately, what this case will come down to, it isnt a whodunit, or when did it happen, or anything like that, it is whether Rittenhouses actions were privileged under the law of self-defense.

In a dispute with the prosecution over the use of photos and videos by the defense in their opening statement, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder sided with Rittenhouses lawyers and permitted them to cast the actions of the shooter as a response to a violent and unruly mob that attacked him in the street like an animal.

While Binger spent time speaking to the broader context of Rittenhouses actions, at no point in his opening statement did the prosecutor make any reference to the politics that motivated him to travel 30 minutes from his hometown of Antioch, Illinois to Kenosha with an assault rifle and start shooting people.

At the same time, Binger gifted the shooters defense strategy with references to looting, rioting, arson and violence that erupted after Blakes shooting on August 23. Binger went on to say that tourists from outside our community were drawn to the chaos in Kenosha, like moths to a flame that caused many of our citizens to fear for their safety, fear for their homes and their families, fear for their businesses and take steps to protect themselves whether it is to arm themselves, board up their windows. 

Rittenhouse was mobilized by a combination of his own right-wing enthusiasm for the police, law and order and the reelection campaign of Donald Trump along with calls issued by fascistic militia organizations for armed vigilante attacks on the mass protests that had swept across the country beginning in late May against the racism and violence of the police.

The legal defense and campaign to raise money for Rittenhouses release on bail after his arraignment are backed by the very same political forces which brought him to Kenosha on August 25. Rittenhouse has been hailed as a hero by far-right groups which later participated in the January 6 coup attempt in Washington D.C. He was photographed posing with leaders of the fascist Proud Boys organization in Wisconsin while flashing white power symbols.

The first witness called by the prosecution on Tuesday afternoon was Rittenhouses friend Dominick Black, who purchased the assault rifle for the shooter because he could not legally buy it himself since he was 17 at the time.

Black described how Rittenhouse stayed at his home in Antioch the night before the shootings and the two planned to volunteer the next day as part of an armed militia that worked to defend auto dealerships. He said that Rittenhouse called him on the phone immediately after he killed Rosenbaum and said, I shot somebody, I shot somebody.

Significantly, Black said that the shooters mother, Wendy Rittenhousewho subsequently participated actively with Republican Party officials in the development of her sons defense campaigntalked about fleeing to Michigan after she learned of the shootings in Kenosha. In the end, Black prevailed on the Rittenhouses for Kyle to turn himself in to police the next morning.

Rittenhouses lawyer Richards asked Black if he expected by testifying against Rittenhouse to be kept out of prison for the two felonies he has been charged with for illegally buying the rifle for the shooter. Black said yes, but he had been given no promises.

A second witness was FBI agent Brandon Cramin, who testified about law enforcement infrared aerial surveillance of the protest in Kenosha on the night of the shooting. With Cramin on the stand, the prosecutors played for jurors a grainy, black and white video taken by the FBI in an airplane flying 8,500 feet overheard.

The referred to one of the fuzzy figures on the ground as Rosenbaum which showed that Rittenhouse had chased after him. Following an altercation, the Rosenbaum figure could be seen falling to the ground from the shots fired by Rittenhouse.

The existence of the FBI surveillance video of the protest became a point of contention when Rittenhouses attorney Richards asked during cross-examination for the tail number of the two-man plane, to which the prosecution objected.

At this point Judge Schroeder intervened, and after he asked for a sidebar with the attorneys, then requested that the jurors leave the courtroom during a discussion about the FBI surveillance video. Richards told the judge that he believed there was more video taken by the FBI that was no longer available. Richards said it was preposterous that the FBI could capture video of alleged homicides and then dispose of it.

When prosecutor Binger told the judge that the federal government is not under our control, Judge Schroeder said, I beg your pardon and demanded to know what was going on. Schroeder then said the prosecution should skip the FBI witness for now and come back to the surveillance plane video later in the trial.
Over 700 University of Michigan faculty members have signed an open letter to the dean of the School of Music, Theater and Dance (SMTD), David Gier, protesting the universitys campaign against the internationally renowned composer and Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professor of Composition Bright Sheng.

The letter, signed by 716 faculty members so far and dated October 21, was made public by the Michigan Daily on Monday. The Daily also reported a separate open letter addressed to Gier in defense of Sheng that was written by a group of SMTD students, along with a petition signed by 59 students, as of Sunday.

Bright Sheng. (Image Credit: Bright Sheng)

The open letter from the UM faculty takes a principled stand in defense of Sheng, demanding that the university reinstate Sheng to his undergraduate course in composition and make a public apology both for the sanctions taken against him and the outrageous charges of racism. The letter correctly charges the university with violating academic freedom and fostering a climate of intimidation on campus.

Sheng was forced to resign from his undergraduate class in musical composition on October 8 after a group of students denounced him for showing the famous 1965 film version of Shakespeares Othello starring Laurence Olivier in a class on Giuseppe Verdis 1887 opera Otello.

A few of the students in Shengs freshman class complained that showing the film, in which Olivier wore black make-up in his portrayal of the Moorish General Othello, was a shocking violation of their safe space because Olivier was white. Gier threw the universitys support behind this ignorant and racialist nonsense, sending out a department-wide email stating that Professor Shengs actions do not align with our schools commitment to anti-racist action, diversity, equity and inclusion.

The professor who was appointed to replace Sheng in the class, Professor Evan Chambers, declared that Shengs showing of the film was in itself a racist act.

Along with his slanderous email, Gier announced that he had referred the matter to the universitys Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX office for investigation of discriminatory practices on the part of Sheng. Two weeks later, the university privately informed Shengs lawyer that it had dropped the investigation of his curriculum, a tacit confirmation that the claims of racism were defamatory and baseless. However, the university made no public announcement of its decision to drop the Title IX investigation.

The World Socialist Web Site and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality welcome the open letters by faculty and students. The IYSSE, which has maintained a chapter at UM for many years, initiated the fight to mobilize faculty, students and staff at UM as well as workers, academics and students more broadly against the attack on Sheng. It published and widely distributed an open letter dated October 15 demanding the immediate reinstatement of Sheng and a public apology from the university. The letter was read by thousands, and numerous professors, artists and others responded to its appeal by sending statements of support for Sheng for publication on the WSWS.

The faculty letter, addressed to Provost Susan Collins and President Mark Schlissel as well as Dean Gier, begins: We are writing to protest the campaign that has been waged against SMTD Professor Bright Sheng and to express our concern about his being removed from his class without due process.

It continues: We have seen this play out on other campuses. The assertion of creating an unsafe environment is used to silence, intimidate, and to justify administrative sanctions. While claiming safe space for themselves, Professor Shengs detractors deprive him of it and are willing to go as far as to disrupt his livelihood and teaching process.  As concerned faculty, we deplore the treatment meted out to Professor Sheng and the denial of due process. We further decry the efforts to besmirch his reputation.

The letter goes on to demand that the university reinstate Professor Sheng as instructor for his composition seminar and publicly acknowledge that the sanctions against him were wrong and that the university will keep its commitment to free speech.

It concludes by suggesting that the university encourage open discussion of the issues of race raised in Shakespeares Othello without fear of sanctions.

The students open letter makes clear the toxic and repressive atmosphere at UM fostered by the universitys relentless promotion of racial and identity politics as an orthodoxy that no one dare question. It states: The universitys response to the incident involving Professor Sheng has fostered an atmosphere of fear and animosity that is hostile to positive change.

As of this writing, the university has issued no public response to the open letters. Instead, university spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen sent an email to the Michigan Daily repeating the cynical lie that Sheng decided to step down on his own, in consultation with Gier.

Apart from the promotion of a toxic and repressive climate that is inimical to freedom of speech and thought and the McCarthyite denial of due process, where the accusation leads immediately to the punishment, witch hunts such as that against Professor Sheng promote a terrible intellectual atmosphere. The university immediately adopts the standpoint of students who evidently have never read Shakespeares plays and very likely know little or nothing about Verdis opera. There was a time when university students were expected to prepare for a course by actually reading the material under consideration.

The faculty letters statement that We have seen this play out on other campuses is certainly true. On September 30, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology cancelled a guest lecture by Dorian S. Abbot, a professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, who is considered an expert on aspects of climate change, after a group of faculty and students complained about videos and published comments in which Abbot criticized affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion programs that enforce an identity politics agenda.

Just four days ago, the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University held a segregated performance of Macbeth In Stride, a musical reworking of Shakespeares play authored by Whitney White, an African American blogger and entrepreneur. Calling it a Black Out Performance, the A.R.T. designated the performance an exclusive space for Black-identifying audience members.

The UM itself has been a leading promoter of this type of retrograde politics in the field of music and art. In 2018, a landmark concert performance of George Gershwins operatic masterpiece Porgy and Bess, based on an exhaustively researched and corrected version of the score, was marred by the efforts of the School of Music, Theater and Dance to denigrate the opera as a quasi-racist example of cultural appropriation because the Gershwin brothers and author DuBose Heyward were white.

In recent months, the university has stepped up its efforts to saturate the campus with racialist and identity politics. Among those brought to lecture on the campus since the beginning of the current school year is Nikole Hannah-Jones, the figurehead author of the New York Times 1619 Project, which presents a racialist falsification of US history, denying the progressive and revolutionary democratic content of the American Revolution and Civil War.

Another guest lecturer is Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a physics professor at the University of New Hampshire, who promotes the notion of white empiricism to claim that physics is fatally distorted by whiteness.

It is to be hoped that the open letters signed by faculty and students mark the beginning of a broad movement at UM and other campuses against the decades-long campaign, linked to the Democratic Party, to obscure the ever-widening chasm between the ruling corporate oligarchy and the working class and sow divisions among working people by promoting the politics of race, gender and other forms of personal identity.

It is necessary for students and faculty who cherish democratic rights, believe in the value of great art and culture, and defend the principles of scientific and historical truth to disabuse themselves of any notion that the politics of identity and race are progressive. This is a right-wing ideology that is promoted by major sections of the ruling class and its media institutions, such as the New York Times, the Democratic Partya party of Wall Street, the Pentagon and the CIAand the massively funded, state-aligned academic establishment.

The promotion of the essentially racist notion that whiteness is the central factor in society and history, rather than the struggle of the working class of all races, genders, nationalities against the global corporate ruling elite, is a key weapon in the ideological arsenal of the ruling class. It becomes all the more critical under conditions of a global crisis intensified by the pandemic and the mass death caused by the subordination of human life to corporate profit.

It serves the interests of privileged layers of the upper-middle class who use it to secure for themselves a greater share of the wealth within the top 10 percent and positions of power. On the campus, it is used to intimidate students who are turning toward socialism and Marxism and are opposed to appeals to race and blood, and slander them as racists.

It must be opposed as part of the fight to turn to the essential revolutionary force, the working class, and build a new political leadership that will unite workers and youth internationally in the struggle against social inequality, racism, war and repression.
Outside of the stage-managed proceedings of the conference chamber, the global COP26 climate summit has been dominated by the breakdown of Anglo-French relations.

Amid the talk of international unity and global solutions, Britain, the summits host, and France have been unable to put to bed a dispute over a few dozen fishing licenses in the English Channel.

The fishing industry as a whole represents no more than 0.1 percent of each countrys annual GDP.

Far from defusing the issue, the governments of Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron escalated the conflict to the point of issuing threats of force, trade wars and international legal action.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron at the COP26 summit. 01/11/2021. Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Credit: Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street/FlickR)

For several months, France has accused Britain of maliciously refusing to grant fishing licenses to some of its trawlers. Last Wednesday, French authorities detained a British vessel, the Cornelis Gert Jan, in Le Havre port, claiming it was not on the list of fishing licenses granted to the United Kingdom by French and European Union (EU) authorities.

French ministers then threatened a series of intensified checks on goods heading from France to Britain, and on British vessels in French waters, if licenses were not granted to all French ships by November 2, amounting to a semi-blockade. Other threats were made to shut off French electricity supplies to the island of Jersey, a British crown dependency.

Fisheries Minister Annick Girardin declared, Now we must speak the language of force because I believe unfortunately that this British government understands nothing else. This May, both Britain and France sent gunboats to the waters around Jersey during a protest of roughly 60 French vessels outside its capital, St Helliers port.

As COP26 delegates began to arrive in the UK Saturday, Britains Brexit minister Lord Frost threatened to invoke Article 16 of the UKs withdrawal agreement with the EU, unilaterally suspending elements of the deal.

President Macron and Prime Minister Johnson held a half-hour one-on-one discussion on Sunday but emerged bellicose. Macron insisted, The ball is in Britains court. If the British make no movement, the measures of 2 November will have to be put in place.

Johnson accused France of trying to punish the UK for Brexit, adding, It will be for the French to decide if they want to step away from the threats they have made in recent days about breaching the Brexit agreement Our position has not changed.

With COP26 underway, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss set a deadline of 48 hours for France to withdraw its proposed additional checks on UK goods and fishing ships before initiating legal action. Truss accused France of making completely unreasonable threats and behaving unfairly.

Commentators began to issue dismayed statements that this affair was upstaging an international gathering of the worlds governments, supposedly meant to coordinate a response to the existential threat of climate change.

The Observer s front page on Sunday warned, France and UK told: End dispute or youll wreck Cop26 summit. It quoted Chris Venables, head of politics at environmental charity Green Alliance, saying, Its quite frankly ridiculous that this row could destabilise the start of Cop26.

Ian Dunt, a columnist for the i newspaper, wrote, COP26 is being undermined by nationalist jingoism. He concluded, here we are, squabbling like children, while the world burns around us.

At the eleventh hour, Macron told reporters Monday evening that France had suspended its planned measures against Britain. He explained, Since this afternoon, discussions have resumed on the basis of a proposal I made to prime minister Johnson. The talks need to continue.

Frost will meet Frances minister for European Union (EU) affairs Clement Beaune in Paris Thursday.

Whether or not Britain and France manage to keep up appearances for the duration of COP26, the fundamental tensions between the two will remain unresolved. The fact that the first days of the summit were overshadowed by such a fierce dispute over so miniscule an economic issue points to the major geopolitical interests at work under the surface.

Britain continues to pursue membership of an inner circle of a US-led political and military alliance, directed primarily against China, which it hopes will help sideline the EU. Crossed swords with France are an opportunity to put pressure on European fault lines.

France is seeking to stop these plans in their tracks and build the EU into a bloc capable of striking agreements with America on its own terms, especially as regards differing agendas for conflict with Russia and China. It hopes to make the UK an example of the fact that, in the words of French Prime Minister Jean Castex writing to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen last week, leaving the Union is more damaging than remaining in it.

Both Johnson and Macron are also playing to their right-wing constituenciesJohnson over asserting post-Brexit sovereignty and Macron on the question of French fishing, which has a symbolic status with the far-right whose candidates are hotly contesting him for the presidency in next years election.

The concern expressed by political commentators over this Anglo-French conflict is motivated less by its impact on potential climate agreementsexcept to the degree that it threatened to shatter the fraud of serious international actionbut its implications for the stability and predatory ambitions of world imperialism.

Financial Times columnist Gideon Richman was most explicit, writing on Monday, UK-French rivalry puts the west at risk. He warned, The western alliance cannot afford that. The poison between the UK and France is liable to spread and infect Nato, the G7 and international negotiations on everything from climate change to trade.

UK-French frictions will also make it harder to form common western positions in disputes with China and Russia. Thomas Wright of the Brookings Institution worries that Britain and France risk turning into the Japan and South Korea of Europetwo close American allies that are also bitter rivals.

Rachmans proposed solution only emphasises how deep the inter-imperialist crisis goes. To use the language of counselling, he writes, the Americans need to stage an intervention. But he is forced to acknowledge, Americas ability to play the role of honest broker is complicated by Aukus [the agreement on nuclear military technology between the US, UK and Australia which overwrote a prior agreement between Australia and France].

Complicated is an understatement. The other diplomatic fiasco vying for top billing at COP26 is the feud between Macron and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

On Sunday, Macron accused Morrison of lying about his intentions to renege on the original submarine deal with France. Morrison accused Macron of levelling slurs and sledging off Australia. He responded on Tuesday by leaking a private text sent to him by the French president ahead of the AUKUS announcement, a move denounced by French officials.

Macrons hostility to Morrison is a none-too-veiled expression of frustration and distrust with the chief architect of the AUKUS deal, the United States, which President Joe Bidens admission of clumsy diplomacy will do nothing to placate.

Although technically playing out on the sidelines of COP26, these conflicts present a far more accurate picture of international relations and capitalisms response to climate change than the main event. The imperialist interests and tensions on show exclude any measures which impinge on the profit motives of each states major corporations and vital national industries. They make impossible any genuine global collaboration on any of the crises confronting humanity.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A multi-million dollar investment may be coming to Vigo County soon.

Tuesday evening, Great Dane of Terre Haute proposed a 50 million dollar expansion project to the Vigo County Council.

The proposed $50 million dollar Great Dane facility expansion project is a big undertaking with several key components. One of the biggest goals of the project is to bring dozens of new high-paying jobs to the local community.

Great Dane is one of the leading trailer manufacturers in the nation. And now the Vigo County location is looking to expand.

"This is exciting for me," Matthew Johnson, the Plant Manager at Great Dane of Terre Haute said. "I've done these types of projects before and that's probably the most exciting part is being able to bring something new [to the community]."

Johnson introduced the county council to the potential expansion at Tuesday night's Vigo County Sunshine Meeting. He says a project like this in his home community means a lot to him.

"It's where I live," he said. "It's where my employees live. So if I can improve the quality of life for them it helps with the whole operation."

Johnson says there are two main aspects of the production at Great Dane: Assembly and fabrication.

The proposed project is to take all nine Great Dane facilities nationwide and bring all fabrication operations to Vigo County.

"It's just exciting to have an industry go all in and want to put everything under one building in one location," Aaron Loudermilk, the president of the Vigo County Council, said.

The $50 million dollar project would bring 125 new jobs with an average of $25 per hour to the local community. There will also be dozens of construction job opportunities available with a prioritization on using local workers.

Although this is a big undertaking, county officials say they are hopeful a project like this will succeed.

"It's always great to have big projects like this," Loudermilk said. "I mean $50 million dollars is a lot of money. It's just a huge investment. Anything we can get in terms of getting jobs that are skilled jobs, so we can hopefully get those individuals in the workforce and have a job that has a good standard of living for them is always a benefit to this community, and I look to support those things."

The council will meet at the Vigo County Annex next tuesday for further discussion on the project. This will be at 5 in the evening and the public is welcome to attend.
WABASH VALLEY, Ind. (WTHI) - The Indiana Department of Health says it is starting its roll-out for the COVID-19 vaccine for younger kids.

A low-dose Pfizer vaccine was approved for children ages five to 11 on Tuesday evening.

The state says they are kicking off child vaccines with a clinic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. If you decide to make the drive to Indianapolis, you can stop in from 4 P.M. to 8 P.M.

The state says more locations will be added at this link.

Starting Thursday, parents can make appointments for their children by calling 2-1-1 or clicking on this link.

Having a COVID-19 vaccine available to our younger Hoosiers is a game changer in terms of our efforts to keep children healthy and in school for in-person learning, said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. Fully vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine if they are exposed but have no symptoms, so I encourage parents to get their children vaccinated if they are eligible.

How is the vaccine different for kids?

Kids five to 11 will receive a lower dose of the Pfizer vaccine than adults receive. Children receive one-third of the adult dose using smaller needles, designed specifically for children.

Learn more from the CDC here.

Vaccination numbers statewide
CHICAGO (AP)  Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared gun violence a public health crisis on Monday, saying $250 million in state and federal money will be directed toward the issue over the next three years.

Public health experts and medical groups have called gun violence a public health crisis for years. Over the summer, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order declaring a disaster emergency  on gun violence in the state.

Pritzkers office said about $50 million of the Illinois effort will come from the current state budget with the same approach in the following two years. Community organizations will be able to apply for funding in areas including youth intervention programs, trauma recovery and other mental health services.

Pritzker, a Democrat, called it an unprecedented statewide investment in the pursuit of violence reduction.

The move comes amid an increase in gun violence in several Illinois cities. Earlier this month, Peoria recorded a 30-year record for homicides. Violent crime has also spiked in Chicago, from expressway shootings to a rise in carjackings.
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - A Mississippi death row inmate may hold the key to solving a missing person's case, but time may be running out for answers.

Felicia Cox disappeared in 2007. Since then, her daughter Amber Miskelly has searched for answers.

David Cox. Source: Mississippi Department of Corrections. David Cox. Source: Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Miskelly sent a letter to David Neal Cox who is set to die by lethal injection on Nov. 17.

Read More - Mississippi death row inmate David Cox to be executed in November

She believes he is the reason for her mother's disappearance.

Miskelly is angry the state of Mississippi moved up the execution.

I had originally been told that it [execution] was supposed to be next year, she said. So, I thought I had more time to try to figure out  or at least contact David myself or something.

She fears he could die before revealing what he possibly knows.

According to the Pontotoc County Sheriff's Office, the 40-year-old mother of two disappeared on July 2, 2007.

Felicia Cox went to see her sister-in-law, Kim Cox, but instead encountered David Cox.

He was literally the last person with her when she was alive, Miskelly claims.

That's according to the missing person's report Kim Cox filed after Felicia did not return home that day.

After her disappearance, someone found Felicia's 1999 Chevrolet Blazer abandoned on Waldo Road in the Randolph community in Pontotoc County. The vehicle was locked but Cox's purse and medication were located inside the vehicle.

Her daughter said she normally kept her medicine with her at all times.

Three years later, David Cox killed his wife in a fit of rage unrelated to the disappearance of Felicia Cox.

He was sentenced to death.

Miskelly will not be at the upcoming execution but wishes she could.

I would want to be there because I want him to see my face and see my mom's face.

She is hoping for a miracle; she hopes Cox can provide some answers.

Law enforcement told WTVA, they've spoken with Cox over the years about Felicia's disappearance but he has not cooperated with them.

It is uncertain if they will try one last time to finally find out what happened on a summer day 14 years ago.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - A software issue has halted ordering for Mississippi State University cheese.

According to a university announcement, the 15,000-plus orders already placed will be delivered as expected.

We extend a heartfelt apology to our loyal customer base. Mississippi State University cheese has long been a holiday tradition, and this situation is disappointing to all of us at Mississippi State, said Keith Coble, vice president for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine and MAFES interim director. We expect to be back online in the new year, providing our signature farm-fresh dairy products to our long-distance customers.

Open this link to read the full announcement.
Barry Gibb stamps: Isle Of Man Post Office

Barry Gibb is honored today (3) with the issue of a special set of stamps by the Isle Of Man Post Office, celebrating the musical achievements and tireless charitable work of the great singer, songwriter, producer, Bee Gees co-founder and Manxman.

Im very proud of my Manx roots, says Barry. I was born and bred on the ancient, mystical, magical Isle Of Man, and I have very fond memories of growing up there, so to appear on a set of its stamps is not only a wonderful surprise, but also an honour and a privilege.

Gibb, the last surviving member of globally-revered pop giants the Bee Gees, was born at the Jane Crookall maternity home in the Isle Of Mans capital Douglas on September 1, 1946. He lived on the island until 1955 when the Gibb family moved, firstly to Manchester and then to Australia in 1958. With brothers Maurice and Robin, he returned to the UK in 1967 for the launch of the trios international career. He currently lives in Miami.

The new honor recognizes an incredible career that includes global album sales alone with the Bee Gees of some 200 million, as well as his 16 No.1 singles as a writer and 14 as a producer. He shares their BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music as well as eight Grammys, the Grammy Legend Award and the 2015 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The Bee Gees were awarded CBEs in 2004 and, in 2018, Barry was knighted by Prince Charles for his services to music and charity.

His latest, hugely successful album Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Vol. 1, which topped the UK charts on release in January 2020, nods to his roots in its title. The opening lyrics on its song Butterfly (Green fields where we used to wander, purple valleys, near my home. We would play there, beneath the sky, then I kissed you Butterfly) are a reference to the fields near where he grew up on the Isle of Man.

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Gibb has been hugely generous in his support for causes close to his heart such as UNICEF, the Princes Trust, Nordoff Robbins, the Diabetes Research Institute, the National Association of Police Athletic/Activities League, and Whatever It Takes. He has requested that this stamp issue will support the work of music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.

The seven new Barry Gibb Isle Of Man stamps feature him at various stages of his career, as follows:

Stamp 1: During the filming of the Bee Gees 1969 TV special Cucumber Castle (photograph by Mike Randolph/Paul Popper/Popperfoto via Getty Images);

Stamp 2: A portrait in the late 1970s at his home in Miami, Florida USA (photograph by Ed Caraeff);

Stamp 3: On the set of the film Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Los Angeles, October 1977 (photograph by Michael Putland/Getty Images);

Stamp 4: All For One Tour of Europe, 1989 (photograph by Denis ORegan);

Stamp 5: In concert at The Ahoy in Rotterdam, 1989 (photographer unknown);

Stamp 6: Glastonbury Festival, England, June 25, 2017: Barry Gibb performs the Legends slot at Worthy Farm, Pilton (photograph by Samir Hussein, Redferns);

Stamp 7: Performing at his home studio, 2019 (photograph by Desiree Prieto).

Buy or stream Barry Gibbs Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Vol. 1.

Looking for holiday gift ideas? Check out uDiscover Musics gift guides here  exclusive and unique gifts for fans of all ages and all types of music!

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.
Wednesday's TV highlights include 'Universe', 'Panorama' and 'The Premise'. (BBC/Disney+)

Our universe is in the spotlight on Wednesday night as Professor Brian Cox's Universe continues with an episode about the hunt for extra-terrestrials on BBC Two and Panorama takes a timely look at freak weather events on BBC One.

ITV is catching up with The World's Fattest Man: 10 Years On to see how his weight loss journey has progressed.

Read more: All the new movies and TV on Disney+ this November

New Disney+ series The Premise sees an ensemble cast take on a different scenario every week.

And Rick Stein is in Shanghai, sampling the local delights and giving BBC Two viewers some pointers on recreating them at home.

The best things to watch on TV on Wednesday, 3 November

Universe - BBC Two - 9pm

'Universe' looks at the scientific efforts to find extra-terrestrials. (BBC/Lola Post Production)

Professor Brian Cox is on the hunt for aliens in this second episode of the series, where he tracks recent efforts to discover whether extra-terrestrials are really out there and what form they take.

This breathtaking episode shows other worlds that are beyond most of our imaginations, including planets with the texture of polystyrene, others that live with extreme weather, and some that orbit two suns.

Panorama - BBC One - 7.30pm

'Panorama' looks at the extreme changes in world weather. (BBC)

As COP26 continues, Panorama takes a look at some of the once freak weather events that are now becoming increasingly commonplace because of climate change.

Read more: David Attenborough fans furious over maskless Boris Johnson photo

Following the floods in Germany, wildfires in Canada, Australia's mice plague and the dust storms of China, the programme looks at which areas of the globe are under the most pressing threat and what the effects could be.

The World's Fattest Man: 10 Years On - ITV - 9pm

Paul Mason has been battling to lose weight. (Paul Nixon)

Paul Mason weighed nearly 80 stone at his heaviest, but has been determined to beat his demons for good.

This documentary charts his efforts to lose weight over a decade, including surgery and therapy to combat his compulsive overeating.

The Premise - Disney+

Jon Bernthal is among the stars to appear in anthology series 'The Premise'. (Ray Mickshaw/FX/Disney)

An anthology series from The Office and Inglourious Basterds star B. J. Novak, each episode has a different cast of characters to create storylines based on topical subjects.

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Jon Bernthal, Ben Platt, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kaitlyn Dever and Lucas Hedges are among the stars who appear across the five episodes.

Rick Stein's Taste of Shanghai - BBC Two - 8pm

Rick Stein will travel to Shanghai in his latest series. (PA)

In his latest taste travelogue, Rick Stein takes a trip to Shanghai to discover how the city's food differs from the rest of the culinary offerings in China.

He adds some new dishes to his long list of kitchen skills, tries out some tasty dumplings and is left speechless by a rice wine tasting session.

Watch: Johnson sorry about COP26 wheelchair access 'confusion'
Mark Herring and Jason Miyares. Tasos Katopodis/Getty; Cliff Owen/AP; Shayanne Gal/Insider

Republican Jason Miyares on Tuesday defeated Virginia's Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring.

Miyares, a current state lawmaker and ex-prosecutor, is the state's first Latino attorney general.

His victory marks another big statewide win for Virginia Republicans.

Republican Jason Miyares defeated Democratic incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring in Virginia on Tuesday.

Polls in Virginia closed at 7 p.m. ET.

The candidates:

Miyares has served as a Republican member of Virginia's House of Delegates, which encompasses part of Virginia Beach, since 2016. He was the first Cuban American elected to the General Assembly, and has often highlighted his Cuban background on the campaign trail by telling the story of his mother's immigration to the US in 1965. He makes history as the state's first Latino attorney general.

Miyares has touted his experience as a former prosecutor to set himself apart from his rival. He's criticized how Democrats in office have handled public safety and is running "to keep our communities safe and secure," which includes fighting human trafficking, supporting the police, and restoring law and order, according to his campaign website. Miyares opposes increased gun-control policies and says gun violence should be solved by targeting criminals.

Miyares also opposes abortion except for cases of rape, incest, and medical emergencies. He's voted against Medicaid expansion and a minimum-wage increase.

"People know I'm a middle-of-the-road guy. I call balls and strikes," Miyares told WJLA. "I want to be a thoughtful and reasonable attorney general."

Herring, first elected in 2013, lost his bid for third term in office. He defeated fellow Democratic challenger Jerrauld Jones by over 13 points in the June primary.

Herring previously represented Virginia Senate's 33rd District, which covers parts of Fairfax and Loudoun counties, for eight years. His hometown is Leesburg, Virginia, where he established his own law firm before seeking public office.

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During his tenure as attorney general, Herring fought to uphold same-sex marriage, decriminalize marijuana, and protect the state's environment. He also successfully defended the Affordable Care Act against a Trump administration challenge at the US Supreme Court.

Herring told local TV station WJLA that he's running "to continue the progress we've been making in Virginia." His platform addressed building the economy, fighting for equality, tackling the opioid epidemic, and reducing gun violence.

The stakes:

Miyares ran alongside Glenn Youngkin, Virginia's new governor-elect, and Winsome Sears, the state's new lieutenant governor-elect. Herring was on a ticket with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe and lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Hala Ayala.

These three statewide races posed a significant electoral test of the Democratic Party's strength in the commonwealth since President Joe Biden took office in January.

If he'd been elected, Herring would have become one of the longest-serving attorneys general in Virginia's history.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/Photos Getty

His name wasnt on the ballot in Virginia, but the ex-president is sure to claim victory in a governors race where his endorsed candidate, Republican Glenn Youngkin, came from significantly behind to defeat Democrat Terry McAuliffe.

Painful as it is for Democrats to admit, what happened in Virginia is a win for Donald Trump in his comeback tour, and a reminder to the powers that be in Washington that the primary instigator of the Jan. 6 insurrection is very much on the prowl for a path back to the presidency.

Youngkin demonstrated that Trumpism with a smile can swing enough suburban voters back into the Republican fold to make a statewide victory for the GOP in Virginia a reality for the first time in a decade. He did it by spending big, keeping his distance from Trump while trying to frame the race as a referendum on President Joe Biden, and, crucially, highlighting the grievances of parents frustrated by the restrictions forced by the pandemic and a belief that their kids had become political pawns in an ideological battle over racial equity initiatives launched after the horrific murder of George Floyd last year.

Critical Race Theory is not taught in Virginia public schools, but it became the catchall phrase that drove the governors race after McAuliffe said, I dont think parents should be telling schools what to teach. The gaffe precipitated the Democrats slide in the polls. Critical Race Theory has become the laundry basket that holds everything that especially suburban white parents have become frustrated about, says Quentin Kidd, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University in Virginia.

The GOPs Sharia Law Liars Are Hyping Critical Race Theory Now

No question, that mobilized votes on the Right, but the reason McAuliffes remark was so damaging is that it reached deep into the suburbs as welltransforming a race he wanted to be about Covid and Trump into one about education as a culture war issue, and whether government knows better than parents about whats right for their children. A Monmouth University poll showed education and schools second only to jobs and the economy, up 10 points from September to October.

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Education has moved up in the agenda, and its pretty obvious why, says Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. Millions of parents had to deal with a radically different education, and many got the sense their kids were not getting the education they were before. The whole issue of mask mandates created confusion, and while critical race theory is only taught in grad schools and law schools, parents are concerned about how schools are teaching history. Democrats need to take account of these attitudes. They dont necessarily have to do a 180 on their position but realize a lot of parents are concerned.

Youngkins success showed Republicans a path to gaining the benefit of the former presidents support without having him as an anchor dragging down the campaign, no small accomplishment, says Stephen Farnsworth, director of the Center for Leadership and Media at Mary Washington University. Its not easy to navigate between suburban voters who dont like Trump but have voted for other Republicans, and people wearing MAGA hats.

At the same time, the issues around education that Youngkin surfaced are a testament to the continuing power of racial politics in the South, says Farnsworth. By focusing on Toni Morrisons Beloved, one of the most famous and celebrated works by an African American, and by taking on Critical Race Theory, the Youngkin campaign was able to talk about race in a way Virginians often prefer to talk about raceimplicitly not explicitly.

A Fuck You to the White Liberals Who Cleared the Runway for Trumps White Supremacist Suicide Mission

In the final weeks, the race came down to voters motivated by the specter of Trump versus those energized by the specter of CRT. Both were strong cards, said Farnsworth, and, with Youngkins win, you can say CRT broke the tie.

Farnsworth says that CRT is a 21st-century version of Republicans Willie Horton appeal, not necessarily as explicit but no less effective. An infamous 1988 ad for George H.W. Bush used the image of Willie Horton, a Black man serving a life sentence for murder in Masschussetts who raped a white woman and stabbed her boyfriend while he was released on a weekend furlough, to successfully paint the states Gov. and Democratic presidential nominee Mike Dukakis as soft on crime.

Virginia has been through a lot, Farnsworth continues, citing the recent removal of Confederate statues from Richmonds Monument Avenue and the ongoing trial of the perpetrators of violence when neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville four years ago. Youngkin has said very little about the statues. McAuliffe supports their removal.

Political scientist and analyst Larry Sabato grew up during the era in Virginia known as massive resistance and in a community, Norfolk, where the schools closed rather than adopt the Supreme Courts 1954 decision to integrate, so Ive always been sensitive to this, he told The Daily Beast. In 1973, when Mills Godwin, the only governor in Virginias history to win a second non-consecutive term (a feat that McAuliffe was attempting to match), Sabato recalled voters getting a warning in the mail that a major donor to Godwins opponent is a liberal leftwing Jew.

Sabato cites former Senator George Allen and his fondness for Confederate symbols as well as a local race where a key platform was No Voting Rights for the District of Columbianot a front-burner issue at the time but useful to raise the specter of a then majority Black population gaining two senators.

As a native Virginian, Sabato has seen the power of race to shape our politics, which is why the creator of the Crystal Ball political rating system housed at the University of Virginia, on the eve of this most watched race, switched his prediction from leaning Democrat to leaning Republican.

And Virginia indeed leaned that way, decisively.

Either way, Trump must be thrilled that a year after his ignominious defeat, that one of the states he lost by double digits is back in the Republican columnand that Democrats, disappointed by their partys failure to pass legislation and make good on their promises, stayed home or switched parties, handing a win to Trump that will reverberate for the coming year and beyond.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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One year after an election that ended with Donald Trump's loss, the GOP is still tightly yoked to his baseless claims of voter fraud  a coupling that's poised to roil the 2022 midterms as well as 2024.

A vocal group of lawmakers on the GOPs right flank has embraced Trumps repeated, unfounded arguments that his loss to President Joe Biden was tainted, some even declining throughout the year to say directly that Biden is the duly elected president. As the former president keeps pushing the same disenfranchisement rhetoric that helped propel the violence of Jan. 6, dozens more House Republicans have remained silent. Some worry Trump's false allegations might depress their base, but they're not distancing themselves.

I think hes reflecting the view of most of our base that are concerned, because there was election fraud in 2020, said Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the House GOP conference secretary, of Trump. There are a lot of Republicans out there worrying about it. So I think he is probably reflecting that accurate belief that we have to shore this stuff up.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who's kept Trump close as he presses a strong hand to win back the majority next year, said simply that people should participate in their elections when confronted recently with the former presidents warning that Republicans might stay home next fall or in 2024 without more attention paid to voter fraud assertions. McCarthy's No. 2, Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), last month told Fox News that he saw problems with states administration of the 2020 election that were not just irregularities.

The GOPs persistent embrace of debunked claims of widespread voter fraud, as well as the handful of Republican candidates seeking congressional seats after participating in Stop the Steal rallies, further underlines Trumps continued hold on the party after some Republicans drifted away following Jan. 6. After Trump and other California Republicans laid the groundwork for evidence-free challenges to a Democratic victory in the California recall election earlier this year, at least one House Republican had suggested  before Tuesday's election  that similar claims might be order in case of a loss by GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin in Virginia's gubernatorial race.

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In short, the party's balancing act surrounding the 2020 vote and Trump's influence isn't about to end  despite Democrats' interest in making 2022, and 2024, a referendum on the polarizing former president. And most conservatives aren't too worried.

We need to make sure that we're getting to the bottom of some very abnormal, anomalistic, strange or irregular things that happened, so that we don't have a repeat of that. We've got to have confidence in our election, said Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), a member of the House Freedom Caucus.

The continued circulation of Trump's fraud rhetoric has alarmed prosecutors and federal judges, who've described it as a harbinger of potential future Jan. 6-style violent episodes. Prosecutors have charged more than 650 people with breaching the Capitol during the pro-Trump insurrection earlier this year, with many defendants citing their allegiance to Trump as the reason they participated in the attack.

Some Republicans in the House, including stalwart conservatives, worry that Trumps obsession with his loss in 2020 could burn the party in future races.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) said that the former president's message is absolutely unhelpful when asked whether Trump's statements were helpful as his party looks to retake the majority.

When I talk to voters, I am very blunt with them. I say, Stop being self-defeating. Get out and vote, Crenshaw added, after being asked about Trump's statement. You shouldn't listen to anyone who tells you not to.

Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a member of the Jan. 6 select committee and the second House Republican who voted to impeach Trump to announce his plans to retire so far this year, called continued, baseless voter fraud claims a really dangerous thing.

There's still a significant amount of the country that believes the election was fraudulent. They truly believe  smart people, too, Kinzinger said in an interview.

Yet Crenshaw and Kinzinger, with their different degrees of criticism, are in the minority of the party. Many Republicans have preferred to brush Trumps rhetoric aside rather than reckon with it.

When asked about the fraud assertions, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said: Ill leave it to the [former] president.

It's not just the repeated debunking of arguments that widespread voter fraud cost Trump the election, including a public one from his former attorney general, that could come back to bite Republicans. Many in the GOP vividly recall their narrow losses in two Georgia Senate runoffs that handed Democrats the upper chamber in January.

Those races, on the eve of the Capitol attack, came amid Trumps furious barrage of alleged fraud in Georgia that he falsely claimed sank his campaign. Many Republicans quietly blame the former presidents rhetoric for the defeats, saying his messaging depressed the vote in the Senate runoffs by making some GOP voters feel their vote didnt count.

Trump's latest comment on voter fraud set off fresh alarms last month, when he warned that Republicans will not be voting in 22 or 24 until the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 is solved. Top Republicans have privately fretted that Democrats only stand to gain from such statements that risk alienating their base.

Look no further than the two Democrat senators from Georgia. Without Trump depressing the vote there, they would not have gotten elected, said one senior Republican lawmaker, speaking candidly on condition of anonymity.

Another prominent House Republican described how some anger among the party's base voters over the 2020 election appeared to be dying down before Trumps most recent statements. Now, this lawmaker said, constituents are asking how members plan to deal with the 2020 election or to protect the next election, with some indicating they wont vote if things arent sorted out.

A Trump spokesperson, asked about the former president's most recent statements about voter fraud, highlighted a follow-up statement in which he said he "in no way meant to imply that I would tell [Republicans] not to vote, but rather that they may not have the incentive to vote if the election process is not fully remedied."

Republicans election concerns have already spilled into GOP primaries, as candidates try to walk a line between engaging the pro-Trump base and trying to win a general election.

At last months Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference, two of the top Republican contenders in the North Carolina Senate primary split over allegations of fraud in 2020.

Both Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and former Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) acknowledged Bidens win, but Walker voiced concerns about mass mailing of these ballots  whos collecting them, whos filling them in.

Budd, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, has already received Trumps endorsement.
Purpose Investments is set to launch new carbon neutral classes of its bitcoin and either ETFs next week

With Canadians increasingly spoiled for choice when it comes to crypto-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs), more asset managers are channelling fees into carbon offsets to help ease concerns about energy-hogging digital currencies.

Purpose Investments is set to launch new "carbon neutral" classes of its bitcoin and ether ETFs next week. The Toronto-based firm managing more than $12 billion in assets says the new securities are expected to begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Nov. 9, under the ticker symbols (BTCC.J) and (ETHH.J), respectively.

In August, Calgary-based Accelerate Financial Technologies announced a carbon-negative ETF that uses up to 10 per cent of the fund's 69 basis point management fee to plant trees. In May, Toronto-based Ninepoint Partners said it would partner with software firm CarbonX to buy carbon credits for its bitcoin ETF using an undisclosed portion of management fees. (BITC.TO)

The new, greener investment options come as crypto-asset firms push back against claims of excessive energy use. The debate is heating up as world leaders gather in Glasgow for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

A report released on Monday backed by Coinbase and other crypto companies warns policymakers not to "throw the digital baby out the climate bathwater," touting the value of digital ledger technology for facilitating sustainable and inclusive finance. Its authors call for more transparent sustainability data, and for the industry to partner with "established leaders in carbon accounting and reporting."

The price of bitcoin (BTC-USD) soared to a fresh all-time high last month amid excitement over the first U.S. bitcoin futures ETF (BITO) beginning to trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Rising prices incentivizes more mining, a process that requires increasingly powerful computers solving increasingly challenging mathematical problems.

Crypto mining activity has increased in North America since the Chinese government crackdown on cryptocurrencies earlier this year. In New York, lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban the use of fossil fuels to mine bitcoin.

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Analysts at Bank of America recently put bitcoin's energy global consumption on par with American Airlines (AAL), which flies over 200 million passengers in a typical year. However, the pro-crypto report issued Monday by Global Digital Finance takes aim at such comparisons.

"While important for putting things into perspective, they can only provide partial insights at best," wrote two authors from Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.

"Electricity consumption is linked to block production, rather than transaction processing. Therefore, this comparison tends to be mainly theoretical and of little practical relevance without additional context."

Purpose has revealed plans for a suite of new crypto-focused funds since launching in February North America's first ETF designed to track the price of bitcoin.

Vlad Tasevski, chief operating officer and head of product, says cryptocurrency held in his firm's new carbon-conscious funds are "fully offset from a carbon perspective."

The firm says it's partnered with Patch Technologies, a San Francisco-based startup that helps companies measure their carbon footprint and finance offset projects. Those can include forest restoration or direct carbon-capture technology. Purpose says it plans to purchase offsets at the beginning of each trading week.

"We believe this is a world-leading way to offset all of the emissions associated with holding bitcoin and ether," Tasevski told Yahoo Finance Canada in a phone interview. "The fees on those classes will be higher. That increased cost will be used to actually purchase carbon credits."

The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC.TO) and Purpose Ether ETF (ETHH.TO) carry a one per cent management fee, and a management expense ratio capped at 1.5 per cent. Purpose says the additional cost of the carbon-friendly offerings will be reflected in the new class's management expense ratio.

Not everyone is sold. One prominent Canadian clean technology investor calls the use of carbon offsets a waste of scarce resources needed to offset essential, heavy-emitting industries.

Tom Rand, managing partner of the venture capital firm ArcTern Ventures, has been an outspoken critic of crypto emissions, and those who would buy offsets to improve the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) appeal of related investments.

"It seems a waste to use up scarce, quality carbon offsets on stuff like bitcoin, rather than useful industrial activities like aviation, steel or cement. Bitcoin is optional, cement, steel and flying are not," he told Yahoo Finance Canada.

"It will always be an energy hog. You're trading kilowatt hours for bits of bitcoin, and the number of kilowatt hours per bitcoin will always go up, because you have to make it harder and harder to mine the next bitcoin."

Last month, Bank of America Global Research found offsets issued in 2020 worked out to 0.4 per cent of total global emissions. Analysts at the bank described the market as still "relatively small." They forecast it will need to grow as much as 50 times for many companies to hit net-zero by their 2050 commitments.

While Rand would prefer the limited supply of high-quality offsets available today to go towards "real economic activity," he concedes it's "always good to seed the offset market [with investment]."

Tasevski sees more action on emissions coming from within the crypto community. The issue led to the creation of the Crypto Climate Accord (CCA) in April, a voluntary framework that asks cryptocurrency firms to reduce net carbon emissions from electricity to zero by 2030.

"Carbon impact going forward will be one of the key default costs of owning bitcoin. There is a bunch of work to be done to make the mining process more efficient," he said. "The CCA has already engaged a wide range of leading crypto industry stakeholders. We expect it to continue moving the needle in this space, especially as the market drives more attention to the climate crisis."

Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
"The Real Housewives" franchise is expanding overseas, but not everyone is a fan.

Executive producer Andy Cohen announced Monday that Bravo is producing "The Real Housewives of Dubai," marking the network's 11th installment and first international franchise.

"Everythings bigger in Dubai, and I couldnt be more excited to launch Bravos first international 'Housewives' series in a city Ive been fascinated by for years," Cohen said in a statement.

During an appearance on the "Today" show on Monday, Cohen excitedly shared: "Get your passports, our 11th city! We are going to the billionaire's playground. This is going to blow the lid off the entire franchise."

Following the announcement, the franchise's new location sparked fan outcry on social media. Although the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the richest countries in the world, offers a tantalizing display of opulence that translates well to reality television, social media users called out Bravo for overlooking the country's human rights violations against women and the LGBTQ+ community.

USA TODAY reached out to Cohen for comment. The network declined to comment.

RELATED: The problem with Bethenny Frankel's trans comments and 'Real Housewives' bigotry

Pack your bags for Bravo's first original international Housewives franchise, The Real Housewives of Dubai!    Bravoholics, we're leaving the hashtag up to YOU! Tweet using #RHODubai or #RHODXB to cast your vote, we'll be announcing the winner on Friday! pic.twitter.com/BlHIJAyVZV  Bravo (@BravoTV) November 1, 2021

But some potential 'Housewives' fans were unhappy about the news.

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"So now we're going to ignore the anti-gay laws and misogyny of UAE?" tweeted @TeresaForehea1. "Great pick! I see the 'social consciousness' of BRAVO didn't last very long."

Bravo has previously expressed its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and said its cast and crews are required to complete sensitivity and inclusion training.

In 2019, Cohen said Bravo is "the most inclusive channel in the history of television, as far as Im concerned."

Bravo's promotional video for "Dubai" refers to "The City of Gold" as the "land of opportunity" and "new American dream," but a 2021 Human Rights Watch report said women and girls face "significant discrimination."

According to the report, women in Dubai need written permission from a male guardian to get married, while men do not. "Laws still provide male guardian authority over women and loopholes allow reduced sentences for men for killing a female relative," the Human Rights Watch adds.

"A disgusting choice," tweeted @SwanBubbles about the Dubai location for the new version of the franchise. Twitter user @MariaMSaab added: "Pretty culturally tone deaf to call Dubai the 'new American dream.' "

Princess Latifa's attempt to escape Dubai was thwarted. Here's what we know about the FBI's role

"Real Housewives" executive producer Andy Cohen announced on Monday that Bravo is producing the network's 11th installment and first international franchise in Dubai. But the announcement was met with criticism.

The LGBTQ+ community also faces discrimination in the UAE, which "criminalizes forms of gender expression," according to Human Rights Watch. The UAE is ranked No. 142 on Asher & Lyric's 150-country list of best and worst countries for LGBTQ travel in 2021.

Other social media users addressed their concerns directly to Cohen, the series' executive producer, who is openly gay.

"(Shaking my head) seeing Andy supporting a Housewives franchise in Dubai with their anti LGBTQ+ laws and record," tweeted @jelevision. User @DaniVanella added: "Dear @Andy, it's illegal to be gay in Dubai... I wish you and @BravoTV would reconsider."

"@Andy Is it bothersome to you that you are going to be shining a potentially positive spotlight on a country where being gay is a crime?" wrote @AskMarkWard on Twitter.

Andy Cohen says he has 'robust' COVID-19 antibodies but can't donate them because he's gay

@Andy @thebossofyou Is it bothersome to you that you are going to be shining a potentially positive spotlight on a country where being gay is a crime? I realize that it is a luxurious destination, but. Not an indictment. I dont know enough about it. Thoughts?  Mark Ward (@AskMarkWard) November 1, 2021

This is not the first time the "Real Housewives" franchise  which premiered in 2006 with "The Real Housewives of Orange Country"  that's come under fire for bigotry. While the network aims to be inclusive, fans have pointed out problematic incidents over the years, from homophobic and racist comments to offensive costumes.

Bravo's latest installment based in Dubai will feature "a group of women navigating their relationships, careers, and supremely lavish and ultra-wealthy lifestyles in the United Arab Emirates whether theyre coasting on a private plane, running their own empires or hosting on a private island," the network said.

Despite the criticism, other fans seemed excited.

"Wow! Dubai is gonna smoke all the other cities. They have crazy money!!!" fan @vanessaj_socialbutterfly commented on Instagram. And others speculated whether "Ladies of London" alum Caroline Stanbury would join the cast. User @wineandbabies commented: "Can we get @carolinestanbury back please?????"

"The Real Housewives of Dubai" is set to premiere in 2022. A cast has not yet been announced.

Contributing: David Oliver

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Real Housewives of Dubai': Bravo's new show faces backlash
Young children began receiving COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday in what was a moment of joy not only for their parents but the kids themselves.

Cate Zeigler-Amon, 10, said she was "very, very, very excited and very happy" after getting her first dose at a drive-through vaccination site in Atlanta. Cate said she was ready to return indoors to eat at restaurants and have birthday parties "instead of having a freezing-cold outside birthday party."

Carter Giglio, 8, who is at a higher-risk for complications because of Type 1 diabetes, got his shot in Washington, D.C. Im ready to trash it, he said of his face mask, adding that he's ready to smell things he couldn't with the face covering.

Dozens of locations around the country began administering first doses to kids on Wednesday, and hundreds more sites are expected to open in the coming days as the national push to vaccinate some 28 million elementary school-age children ramps up.

In Houston, Camryn Zoe Emanuel, 8, braved the pinch of the needle so she could start seeing her friends more often. It didnt hurt that much, but it kind of hurt, she told The New York Times.

After getting vaccinated in New York, Zia Milli Bucci, 9, told CNN she was excited to go see "Hamilton" on Broadway.

The children's willingness to get the shots surely delighted Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who gave the pediatrics' vaccine the final clearance Tuesday night after an advisory panel had recommended them.

"This is really just a time for parents to celebrate," Walensky said Wednesday on "Good Morning America." "Importantly, we've taken the time to get this right, to do the science, to have a kids' dosing schedule."

At an afternoon news conference, President Biden said 20,000 sites nationwide would be available by next week to administer the children's vaccine, and he pointed out that minors make up one-fourth of the COVID-19 cases in the country.

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The president not only urged parents of school-age children to have them vaccinated, but also pushed for those 65 and older who are eligible to get booster shots.

"Vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 and boosters (to) provide additional protection for seniors and others are two major steps forward that are going to accelerate our path out of this pandemic,'' Biden said.

When will it be available?: Everything to know about COVID-19 vaccine and children

Also in the news:

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the NFL's reigning MVP, will miss Sunday's marquee game against the Kansas City Chiefs after testing positive for the coronavirus. An NFL source told USA TODAY that Rodgers is not vaccinated.

The National Institutes of Health will sponsor a four-year study to assess the long-term effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their children.

A study of deer in Iowa that have contracted the coronavirus suggests they could become "a major reservoir host'' that allows the virus to mutate and re-enter humans.

The World Health Organization granted emergency use authorization to an Indian-made COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, that had been used for months in the country. It is the eighth vaccine to which the WHO has given use authorization.

A Southwest Airlines pilot was cited for alleged assault and battery after a mask dispute with a flight attendant at a California hotel.

 Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded 46.2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 750,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 248 million cases and 5 million deaths. More than 192.9 million Americans  58.1% of the population  are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

 What we're reading: With the CDC approving vaccines for kids ages 5-11, parents have questions. Here are five factors for parents to consider when it comes to kids and the COVID-19 vaccine.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY's Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti tests positive for COVID-19 while at UN conference

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced Wednesday. Garcetti, who is attending the United Nations conference on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland, was feeling good and isolating in his hotel room.

He is fully vaccinated but hasnt received a booster shot, his office said.

Garcetti was scheduled to fly back to Los Angeles on Thursday but will follow U.K health guidelines, spokesman Harrison Wollman said. Those guidelines say an individual should quarantine for 10 days, meaning Garcetti might be stuck in Scotland until then.

The UN event, COP26, attracted world leaders, including President Joe Biden, and included safety measures due to the coronavirus. That included reduced capacity, social distancing and the use of a virtual platform to participate remotely.

Garcetti had been getting rapid COVID-19 tests each day of the conference, his office said, but had a PCR test before his flight home and got a positive result Wednesday. Garcetti had participated earlier in the day in a discussion about challenges with tackling climate change.

-- Christal Hayes

White House takes steps to counter misinformation about children vaccines

As they enthusiastically welcomed the coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5-11, members of the White House COVID-19 response team made a point Wednesday to tell parents about the importance of the shots, as well as their safety and efficacy.

Most notably, the experts sought to warn parents about what Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called the wave of misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines that is coming their way.

Murthy said the government is trying to counter these bogus claims with outreach efforts involving trusted sources such as doctors, teachers and faith leaders, as well as organizations well known to parents, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Forums and town halls with answers to parents questions, along with appearances by doctors on local media, will be also be part of the drive to provide accurate information to those making the decisions on whether to get the newly authorized pediatric vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech.

Many parents are already seeing inaccurate claims on social media, text threads and in their in-boxes, Murthy said. Misinformation robs them of (the ability to make informed choices). Thats why Im asking parents to please seek answers from credible sources, like their doctor, their local hospital, their local health department or the CDC.

Fellow team members Drs. Rochelle Walensky and Anthony Fauci underscored that, while older adults are more vulnerable to COVID-19, the virus has infected nearly 2 million children ages 5-11, sending 8,300 of them to a hospital. One-third of those kids required treatment in an ICU.

Now theres a tool to prevent many of those illnesses.

Pediatric vaccination has the power to help us achieve healthy, safe and inclusive environments for our children, Walensky said.

-- Jorge L. Ortiz

Walgreens, CVS to have kids' vaccine widely available by weekend

The country's largest pharmacies, Walgreens and CVS, are already accepting online appointments for children 5 to 11 to get the COVID-19 vaccine following the CDC's sign-off Tuesday night of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the age group.

Walgreens will begin administering the pediatric doses at thousands of stores nationwide starting Saturday. The first vaccine shipments are scheduled to arrive at some Walgreens locations this week, the company said Wednesday.

CVS will begin administering the vaccine this weekend, spokesperson Joe Goode told USA TODAY.

The vaccine will also be available at the offices of pediatricians and primary care doctors, children's hospitals and clinics at schools.

Vaccines.gov  the one-stop shop federal government website  is expected to soon list the closest available vaccine appointments for children.

"The COVID-19 vaccine is just as important to protect children as other routine immunizations are, and the expanded eligibility will help children stay in school safely and prevent severe illness due to COVID-19," Kevin Ban, Walgreens' chief medical officer, said in a statement.

The Biden administration's distribution program will be "running at full strength" the week of Nov. 8, presidential adviser Jeff Zients said Monday, as it has already ordered enough vaccine to cover all 28 million American children in the age group.

Arizona Supreme Court: Schools can keep mask mandates

It took the Arizona Supreme Court less than two hours Tuesday to agree that the Legislature's practice of stuffing policy matters into appropriations bills is unconstitutional.

The unanimous ruling from the seven-judge court upheld a lower court judgment that found the Republican-controlled Legislature violated the state constitution by including new laws banning school mask mandates and a series of other measures in unrelated budget bills.

The Supreme Court agreed with lower-court judge Katherine Cooper, who sided with education groups, including the Arizona School Boards Association, that had argued the bills were packed with policy items unrelated to the budget.

Coopers ruling cleared the way for K-12 public schools to continue requiring students to wear face masks to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. At least 29 of the states public school districts issued mask mandates before the laws were set to take effect, and some immediately extended them after Coopers ruling.

Colleges in red states require vaccines to keep millions in federal money

More universities are rolling out new COVID-19 vaccine mandates for university employees  this time for university employees.

That's because of the governments requirement that its contractors all be vaccinated or risk losing federal money. Many, although not all, universities receive federal money to conduct research.

Citing the federal order, colleges in states such as Arizona, Alabama and Mississippi have required their employees to be vaccinated, even after their local leaders opposed and sometimes outlawed such mandates. Other universities in red states such as Georgia, Missouri or Tennessee are interpreting the federal order more selectively.

Either way, the federal governments deadline to comply with the vaccine requirement is Dec. 8. The mandate allows exemptions for religious or medical reasons, and so will the universities adopting the new orders. Read more here.

 Chris Quintana, USA TODAY

NYC firefighters suspended for driving fire engine to senator's office to protest vaccine mandate

Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was "disgusted" after New York City firefighters drove a fire engine to New York state Sen. Zellnor Myrie's office to protest the city's vaccine mandate.

Six firefighters were suspended for 28 days  the maximum amount allowed by fire department regulations  pending further investigation, New York City Fire Department Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said at a Tuesday news conference.

"We were very, very troubled by this and took swift action," he said, adding that penalties may range "anywhere from what they've already received, up to and including termination."

De Blasio thanked Nigro for acting and issuing the suspensions of the firefighters, who, like most city workers, face a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to show proof of getting at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.

"These were members of the fire department in uniform who accosted fellow public servants who work for the state senator and mistreated them from everything we've heard, in uniform, on duty, acting on their own political beliefs," de Blasio said at the news conference. "That's unacceptable on so many levels."

Contributing: Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CVS, Walgreens open COVID vaccine appointment for kids: Updates
SINGAPORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb announced today the launch of a packaged insurance product that addresses the evolving risks faced by manufacturers, in Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia and Singapore. Known as Chubb Assembly, it will supplement the existing suite of insurance solutions the company currently offers for the manufacturing industry i.e. PremierTech for manufacturers of technology products and Life Sciences Liability for manufacturers of pharmaceutical products and medical devices.

The manufacturing industry is facing its fourth revolution (Industry 4.0) where manufacturers are leveraging technologies and embracing digital transformation to stay competitive and fuel productivity gains. These, in turn, have brought on a set of risks and challenges that manufacturers must be aware of, and be protected against, such as:

New supply chain risks as manufacturers' relationships with suppliers and customers become increasingly interdependent.

Greater exposure to cyber incidents as digitalization rapidly changes the factory floor with automation, robotics, internet-of-things (IoT), artificial intelligence etc.

Additional risks of being contractually liable for financial losses incurred by customers as manufacturers and customers are more intricately connected for a larger part of the product lifecycle especially if manufacturers add on services like maintenance and/or consulting.

Chubb Assembly is a scalable and modular insurance solution for manufacturers to address these risks and challenges. Key coverage features include:

Public and Product Liability : Offers broad protection for bodily injury and tangible property damage claims, premises liability claims and injuries to non-employees, as well as first and third-party product recall expense.

Manufacturing Errors & Omissions Liability : Responds on a manufacturer's behalf to third-party claims alleging financial or economic injury arising out of actual or suspected product defects, failure of products to perform or failure to perform a service in accordance with a contract.

Cyber Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): Provides an incident response platform to mitigate and resolve first-party cyber incidents that may entail business interruption, data recovery costs and extortion negotiation, as well as coverage for Third Party Liability arising from a cyber incident.

Mr. Kevin Stevens, Chubb's Head of Industry Practices in Asia Pacific, said, "Traditional insurance does not adequately address the evolving risks the manufacturing industry faces given the pace of change it is undergoing. Implementing Industry 4.0 will come with increased exposures, and Chubb Assembly can help manufacturers address these risks through insurance coverage and loss mitigation through Chubb's pre and post-loss services."

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About Chubb in Singapore



Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer. Chubb Insurance Singapore Limited, via acquisitions by its predecessor companies, has been present in Singapore since 1948. Chubb in Singapore provides underwriting and risk management expertise for all major classes of general insurance. The company's product offerings include Financial Lines, Casualty, Property, Marine, Industry Practices as well as Group insurance solutions for large corporates, multinationals, small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, to meet the evolving needs of consumers, it also offers a suite of tailored Accident & Health and Personal & Specialty insurance options through a multitude of distribution channels including bancassurance, independent distribution partners and affinity partnerships.

Over the years, Chubb in Singapore has established strong client relationships by delivering responsive service, developing innovative products and providing market leadership built on financial strength.

Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com/sg.

SOURCE Chubb
Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Terry McAuliffe Holds Election Night Rally

An attendee walks away after watching election results during an election night event for Terry McAuliffe, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, in McLean, Virginia, U.S., on Nov. 2, 2021. Credit - Stefani ReynoldsBloomberg/Getty Images

This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every weekday.

If the cornerstone of your electoral strategy is proclaiming that youre the antithesis of Donald Trump, it helps to actually have Trump on the ballot.

Absent that, as Democrats saw on Tuesday in Virginia, youre running a campaign against a specter. And while ghosts are scary, they arent real.

Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate in Virginias gubernatorial race, and his allies did everything they could to link Republican rival Glenn Youngkin to the ex-President. Even the state Democrats sent mail in the last week promoting Trumps praise of Youngkin. By Election Day, seven in 10 Virginia voters told The Washington Post that Youngkins ideas were similar to Trumps and voters were four times as likely to vote against Youngkin as for him based on Trumps endorsement.

But Youngkin smartly seemed to keep Trump at arms length during his campaign, even while doing little to silence Trumpist pet paranoias on how schools teach history, explain race and assert without evidence that the 2020 election was stolen from the 45th President. Trump was definitely a drag on Youngkin, but Joe Biden proved worse for McAuliffe. By a slight margin28% to 20%more voters told the exit pollsters that they voted to demonstrate their opposition to Biden than to have his back. That move was in full view among white women, who voted for Biden over Trump by a 50-49 margin last year and sided with Youngkin over McAullife by a 57-43 ratea 15-point swing in just one year.

After hours of a tight count, The Associated Press called the race for Youngkin at 12:37 a.m. With more than 95% of the votes counted, Youngkin was leading with 50.9% of the vote to McAuliffes 48.4%.

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Virginias political shift in recent elections has been one of the most dramatic in the country. The former capital of the Confederacy last elected a Republican Governor in 2009, in large measure as a rejoinder to Barack Obamas wobbly first year in office. Democrats in the state subsequently got their acts together, in large measure through the leadership of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine who are these days the commonwealths Democratic Senators and former Governors. McAuliffe won the governors mansion in 2013 on his second attempt and Democrats held it in 2017 as a symbolic check on the new Trump team. Biden would go on to win the state last year by a whopping 10 percentage points.

But the headwinds this election cycle were too much, both locally and nationally. Youngkin deftly tapped into voters unending anxieties about schools reopening, mask mandates and lessons on racism, turning education into a defining issue in the contest. His subtle dog whistles became roars as he weaponized fears about critical race theory, an academic framework that is not used in Virginias K-12 schools but, according to the right-wing echo chamber, has invaded every lesson in the commonwealth.

Democrats did themselves few favors. McAuliffe, a partisan animal as rabid as ever known in current politics, stepped in it when he declared from a debate stage that I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach. It allowed education to briefly overtake the economy as voters top worry. In Tuesdays exit polls, a shocking 24% said education was the most important issue facing the state. By contrast, education wasnt even an option when the question was asked of Virginians on last years exit poll.

McAuliffe hammered relentlessly on Youngkins similarities to Trump but forgot to remind voters that the four years of the McAuliffe administration were pretty good for Virginia families. He also committed what is perhaps politics most grievous sin: he told the truth when he acknowledged that Biden was unpopular in the state and may be a drag on McAullifes own hopes of becoming the first Democrat to be twice elected Governor of Virginia. (One previous Governor completed the comeback, but switched parties in his time from power.) Of the 13 Presidents dating to Harry S. Truman, Biden has a lower job-approval rating at this point in his presidency than all but Trump and Gerald Ford.

National Democrats, too, made some crucial missteps leading into Election Day. A nationalized recall in California was an early drain of attention and resources; anti-recall efforts spent more than $34 millioncash that might have been directed into Virginia. In Washington, Democrats have hemmed and hawed about infrastructure spending bills. Democratic strategists had warned the White House and lawmakers that leaving the proposals listless heading into Virginias elections would leave the party rightly open to criticism that it was directionless and lilting. Well, even as polls were open, Democrats continued to negotiate on the details, reaching a deal on prescription drug pricing inside legislation ostensibly meant to deliver roads and bridges.

McAuliffe also spotted this peril. Three weeks ago, in a typically blunt interview, McAuliffe told The Associated Press that Democratsincluding Bidenneeded to get their act together and pass the infrastructure package. But despite recognizing their folly, Democrats balked. And now theyre heading into next years midterms with the most unenviable label: Losers.

Virginias off-year elections offer something of a preview of whats to come in next years traditional midterm races that will feature all 435 House districts, 34 Senate seats and 36 Governors offices. Its really the one test for both parties to check in with a real electorate and take the temperature a year into a new presidency. Judging from crucial counties that have the biggest chunks of votes, McAuliffe wasnt able to match the margins that Biden posted against Trumpa warning that while 54% of Virginians carry an unfavorable view of Trump, some 17% of those who dont care for Trump were still willing to vote for Youngkin, according to the exit polls.

On their own, the Virginia results dont offer a prediction, but the information is nonetheless instructive. For instance, Tuesday seems to have indicated the blue bleed into the suburbs, mostly powered by women disgusted by Trump, may be slowing. The gains Democrats made in the Virginia burbs in 2018 and 2020 appear ready to disappear, perhaps a warning for a party that had hoped to turn those voters into reliable allies in the post-Trump years. The exit polls showed independents leaning more toward Republicans in Virginia, with about one-third saying the GOP was generally about right, compared to about one-fifth of them saying the same about Democrats. Thats undeniably bad news for Democrats, whose party was seen by a majority of all voters as too liberal.

Back in Washington, the results are likely to bring their own ghoulish realities. Democratic lawmakers were already skittish about their own prospects next year. A McAuliffe defeat, at least in part based on a bill that hasnt even been passed, is sure to rattle legislators who may interpret the voters wrath as a rejection of the partys current agenda. And party strategists, who in private were already conceding that 2022 was going to bring plenty of tough choices about where to defend incumbents and where to cut losses, now have their first report card of the Biden era in hand.

So when Biden lands back here in a few hours after his trip to Europe, he will be confronting a markedly different domestic political landscape than he left behind last week. His ambitious social-spending Build Back Better agenda remains stuck in a legislative back and forth. Progressives and moderates continue a standoff on a companion piece of a spending bill for hard projects like airports and railways. And a setback just across the Potomac River is sure to haunt Democrats who had until recently expected Virginia to continue its slide to the deep blue. After all, a Southern state that has since 2019 acted to abolish the death penalty, protect abortion rights and curb guns now has a Governor-elect who embraced Trumpism as a winning platform. But without Trump himself on the ballot, the ghost wasnt enough to spook Virginians.

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cadaver

getty

The body of an elderly man who died from COVID-19 was reportedly dissected in front of a live pay-per-view audience in Portland, Oregon, last month.

The man, identified by family as 98-year-old David Saunders, was sold to the Oddities and Curiosities Expo after his body was donated for medical research, according to KING 5.

After his death, his family told the news station they had donated his body to Med Ed Labs, a Las Vegas-based company that accepts whole body donations for medical research and training.

Jeremy Ciliberto, the founder of DeathScience.org, which partnered with the Oddities and Curiosities Expo, said he purchases these cadavers from Med Ed Labs for "north" of $10,000, KING 5 reports.

The Oddities and Curiosities Expo travels across the country showcasing "taxidermy, preserved specimens, original artwork, horror/halloween inspired pieces, antiques, handcrafted oddities, quack medical devices, creepy clothing, odd jewelry, skulls/bones, funeral collectibles," its website states.

In October, the expo stopped in Portland, where it held a live dissection of Saunders' body in front of a pay-per-view audience. According to KING 5, attendees were charged $500 per person to watch the dissection.

RELATED: 9 Firefighters Killed After Brazilian Cave Collapses During Training Exercise

"This is not a sideshow. This is very professional " Ciliberto told KING 5, adding that he had obtained proper consent prior to obtaining the body.

Saunders' family said they were not aware his body would be used in this manner, and they did not give consent, according to the news station.

Live dissections are not currently listed on the Oddities and Curiosities Expo website. Ciliberto did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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.

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A spokesperson for Med Ed Labs maintained that they were not aware that Saunders' body would be used for a pay-per-view event, according to KING 5. The company did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Saunders' body was prepared by Church Funeral Services in Louisiana. In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the funeral home told PEOPLE they were "extremely saddened for the pain that that Mr. Saunders wife is having going through."

"We are glad that the story has been broken and hope that this type of event never happens again," the spokesperson said.
Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley

Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley

Domino Kirke wished her husband Penn Badgley a happy birthday with a cheeky dessert.

In celebration of Badgley's 35th birthday  which was on Nov. 1 Kirke, 37, had New York-based baker Stacy-Ann Douge create a cake that hilariously honors his beloved character Joe Goldberg from the hit Netflix series, You.

Showing off the sweet treat on her Instagram Story Monday, Kirke revealed a berry-adorned dish that was molded in the shape of the numbers three and five. Atop the cake sat pomegranate seeds, macaroons, flowers and assorted fruit. However, the most standout part of the treat were the edible pictures of Goldberg, a stalking-obsessed serial killer, sitting atop the macaroons.

Kirke raved over the cake, writing: "Thank you @SweetsbyStacy82 I love eating my husband's face," adding a birthday cake emoji.

penn badgley birthday cake

domino kirk badgley/ instagram Penn Badgley's birthday cake

RELATED: Netflix's You Starring Penn Badgley Renewed for Season 4 Ahead of Season 3 Premiere

Kirke and Badgley tied the knot in 2018, and share baby son James, whom they welcomed in August 2020.

Badgley's birthday celebration comes after fans of the actor had a celebration of their own: the return of the popular Netflix show, which premiered on Oct. 12.

Just days before the premiere, Netflix announced that the show had been renewed for a season 4. The hit drama, based on Caroline Kepnes' best-selling novels, stars Badgley and Victoria Pedretti.

Season 3 follows Badgley's Joe and Pedretti's Love as they navigate being married, new parents and serial killers in an idyllic California town.

YOU

JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti in You

The show has many celebrity fans, including Cardi B. Last month, the rapper and Gossip Girl alum had a total fangirl moment over each other on Twitter, which later lead to Cardi pitching an idea for how she could be included in the next season.

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RELATED: Cardi B and Penn Badgley Have a Hilarious Fangirl Interaction on Twitter: 'He Knows Me'

On Oct. 21, Cardi, 29, tweeted, "So it's episode 1 and I'm at Paris Fashion week shutting it down! I turn around and there stands YOU... Ok finish it off @Netflix," she wrote seemingly in reference to season 3 ending with Badgley's character running off to Paris to chase after another love interest.

So its episode 1 and Im at Paris Fashion week shutting it down! I turn around and there stands YOU



Ok finish it off @netflix  pic.twitter.com/Y0TEKwlPbQ  iamcardib (@iamcardib) October 21, 2021

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Badgley addressed Cardi possibly joining the series, admitting to host Jimmy Kimmel: "I don't know."

"I mean, I definitely can't say, but there is actually, I believe, this is true. There's an actual Change.org petition."

Questioned by Kimmel on how he gave two conflicting answers about Cardi's possible appearance, Badgley clarified: "I can't say because I don't know."

The first three seasons of You are now streaming on Netflix.
A trial in the sexual assault lawsuit filed against Prince Andrew won't happen until near the end of 2022, a federal judge ruled Wednesday during a brief telephone hearing in the civil case.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said he wanted to set a trial date immediately, but the COVID-19 pandemic requires him to adjust timing to allow for jurors' safety.

"I anticipate somewhere in the September-to-December period of next year," Kaplan told the lawyers. "We have to put in a request (for a jury trial) toward the end of the previous quarter."

He also set a series of dates in November and December of this year for briefs, motions and disclosures from attorneys. Both legal teams said they expect to seek depositions from eight to 12 witnesses.

Queen invokes her 'dear late husband' Prince Philip: See her impassioned climate-change speech

Prince Andrew in January 2020, arriving at a church service in Norfolk, in eastern England.

Kaplan still has to rule on Andrew's motion to dismiss the case, so it's too early to say whether there will actually be a trial  or whether Andrew will travel to New York to appear in court.

Meanwhile, the Duke of York's American lawyers, who want Kaplan to throw out the civil suit brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, told the judge that Giuffre has since been sued herself for defamation by another accuser of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew's lawyers said they will seek to include witnesses in that case for Andrew's defense.

"There's a new lawsuit filed against the plaintiff in this case, and there may be witnesses related to that new matter who need to be deposed," the prince's lead lawyer, Andrew Brettler, told Kaplan.

Rina Oh, who says she was a victim of Epstein 20 years ago, filed a lawsuit against Giuffre last week, arguing she was defamed in a series of October 2020 tweets in which Giuffre asserted that Oh was Epsteins girlfriend and recruited girls for him to abuse. Oh says the FBI and other authorities have established that she was not a co-conspirator or part of Epstein's inner circle and that she has been damaged by Giuffre's false and defamatory bile.

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Judge rules: Key document in Prince Andrew's sex abuse lawsuit can remain a secret

Virginia Giuffre, center, who says she was trafficked by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has sued Prince Andrew, saying he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.

Giuffre, 38, an American who lives in western Australia and has a history of filing lawsuits related to Epstein, accuses Andrew, 61, of rape and sexual assault. She says that she was sex-trafficked to him at age 17 at his former friend Epstein's Manhattan home in 2001 and that the prince knew it at the time.

The queen's second son has vehemently denied Giuffre's accusations since she began publicly making them in January 2015. She hired celebrity lawyer David Boies to head her legal team and filed her lawsuit in federal court in New York in August.

Andrew and his London lawyers initially tried to ignore the lawsuit, then hired an American team headed by Brettler, a Los Angeles-based celebrity lawyer. The two legal teams have since argued over whether Andrew was properly "served" with the lawsuit documents; the prince eventually acknowledged he was.

They also have argued whether Andrew could access a sealed document in another Epstein-related lawsuit that the prince argues absolves him of liability in lawsuits by plaintiffs such as Giuffre. The document  a settlement reached in 2009 after Giuffre sued Epstein  remains sealed for now by Kaplan's orders. Boies says Giuffre's team will prove the settlement is irrelevant in a trial.

Law partners Sigrid McCawley and David Boies, representing accusers, talk to the media after a hearing in Manhattan in July 2019 about the arrest of financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges.

On Friday, Brettler filed a motion asking Kaplan to throw out Giuffre's lawsuit, arguing Andrew "never sexually abused or assaulted" her and citing multiple legal and constitutional grounds for dismissal.

Among other reasons, Brettler argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because Giuffre's accusations are too vague on when-and-where details and because her claims are barred under the sealed settlement agreement.

The prince's lawyers also are challenging the constitutionality of a temporary New York state "look back" law that allowed survivors of childhood sex abuse to sue their alleged abusers years later, arguing it violates the state's due process clause. Plus, the brief asserts, Giuffre acknowledged she was 17 at the time of her alleged encounter with Andrew in New York and thus met the age of consent.

Giuffre "may well be a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein," the brief opened. "However, and without diminishing the harm suffered as a result of Epstein's alleged misconduct, Prince Andrew never sexually abused or assaulted Giuffre. He unequivocally denies Giuffre's false allegations against him."

Andrew's lawyers argue that Giuffre has profited from her allegations against Epstein and others by selling stories and photographs to the media and by filing lawsuits and then collecting damages through secret settlement agreements.

"Giuffre has initiated this baseless lawsuit against Prince Andrew to achieve another payday at his expense and at the expense of those closest to him," the brief asserts. "Epstein's abuse of Giuffre does not justify her public campaign against Prince Andrew."

Giuffre's lawyers responded with two statements to USA TODAY.

"Prince Andrew's motion to dismiss fails to confront the serious allegations in Virginia Giuffre's complaint," Boies said. "He relies on a series of disputed alleged 'facts' which will be disproved at trial and which, in any event, are inappropriate at the motion-to-dismiss stage in this litigation."

Sigrid McCawley, another of Giuffre's lawyers, praised Giuffre's "bravery" and condemned Andrew.

"If Virginia Giuffre had stood silent in the face of outrageous statements like Prince Andrew and his legal team churn out routinely ... the decades-long sex-trafficking ring his friend Jeffrey Epstein operated and he participated in would never have been exposed," McCawley's statement said. "On the subject of money, lets be clear: The only party to this litigation using money to his benefit is Prince Andrew."

The brief details the history of lawsuits and settlements Giuffre has been involved in since 2009, when she reached an undisclosed settlement with Epstein himself. The brief also asserts she received $160,000 from the Mail on Sunday tabloid in London in 2011 after agreeing to an interview and selling the newspaper a photograph of her with Andrew that has rocketed around the internet ever since.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Mail on Sunday for comment.

The brief claims Giuffre herself recruited other young women into Epsteins alleged sex trafficking ring, citing what a former boyfriend and other friends told the New York Daily News in 2015. Their accounts suggested Giuffre, then known as Virginia Roberts, did not behave as if she were acting against her will, the brief argues.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince Andrew's sex-assault lawsuit might be tried in U.S. next fall
The Las Vegas Raiders released Henry Ruggs on Tuesday night, just hours after the wide receiver was booked and charged with two felonies for his alleged role in a fatal car accident earlier that morning.

Ruggs faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death and reckless driving, according to court records. He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance Wednesday.

The Las Vegas Metro Police Department said Tuesday that Ruggs, driving a Chevrolet Corvette, collided into the back of a Toyota Rav4 at approximately 3:39 a.m. on Tuesday. The Toyota burst into flames, and fire department officials found the driver - an unidentified 23-year-old woman - found dead inside the vehicle, police said.

Ruggs, who police said remained on the scene and "showed signs of impairment" and his passenger were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries before the wide receiver was booked into Clark County Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon.

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III (11) warms up before an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, in Las Vegas.

A charge of DUI causing death in Nevada would result in a prison sentence between two to 20 years.

"The Raiders are aware of an accident involving Henry Ruggs III that occurred this morning in Las Vegas," the Raiders said in a statement Tuesday prior to Ruggs' release. "We are devastated by the loss of life and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim's family. We are in the process of gathering information and will have no further comment at this time."

Ruggs, 22, was the No. 12 overall selection out of Alabama in the 2020 NFL draft. He led the 5-2 Raiders with 469 receiving yards this season and recorded 24 catches, including two touchdowns.

Follow Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz on Twitter @MikeMSchwartz.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Henry Ruggs released by Raiders after felony charges, fatal accident
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a fourth Democratic attempt to begin considering elections and voting legislation on the floor, casting fresh doubt on the majority party's ability to enact any type of reform this Congress.

In a 50-49 vote, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined Democrats to move forward on legislation that would restore a requirement that certain jurisdictions receive a green light from the Justice Department or a D.C.-based federal court before changing voting laws or procedure.

The Senate tried to take up the bill, named after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), after Republicans unanimously blocked Democrats separate, sweeping elections and ethics overhaul plan, which the GOP has panned as an effort to federalize elections. Wednesdays latest GOP blow to voting legislation is likely to renew Democratic calls to move forward without Republicans by changing the Senate filibuster rules.

This is our fourth, and I think final, attempt to find partners across the aisle who will defend the right of every American to vote, said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) Weve given it every possible effort over now five months, four different strategies. Its not going to happen, so were going to have to do it with 50 members. And were going to have to sit down and decide how were going to do it.

Thats not necessarily the conclusion Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), is coming to, after extensive outreach to the other side of the aisle on voting. Weve got Lisa Murkowski, we just need nine more, Manchin said. We need other people to be talking to each other and find a pathway forward. It cant just be one or two people talking to both sides.

The Lewis bill vote is perhaps the starkest example of the filibuster's status as the key obstacle to Democrats hopes of passing a new elections measure after a flurry of state-level laws they say are designed to restrict ballot access. The Lewis legislation at its core restores a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that would re-establish so-called preclearance requirements for jurisdictions with a history of discrimination.

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Those requirements were effectively neutered by a Supreme Court decision in 2013, Shelby County v. Holder, for relying on what the high court ruled was an outdated formula to determine which jurisdictions were subject to preclearance requirements. But before the Supreme Court ruling, the core provisions of the Voting Rights Act had been renewed several times over the preceding decades, including a 25-year extension approved by a 98-0 Senate vote in 2006.

That sort of large bipartisan approval will not come this year, with Republicans nearly universally united against the Lewis bill.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell ahead of the vote described the legislation as a Democratic power grab that would let Attorney General [Merrick] Garland dictate voting procedures.

The Voting Rights Act is still in effect, McConnell said. The courts havent struck down that law. Its simply false to suggest otherwise. The Supreme Court simply ruled that there was no evidence supporting the continuation of 40-year-old practices that were designed in the mid-1960s.

Wednesdays vote comes after Murkowski reached a compromise with Manchin and Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on the language for the bill. (Majority Leader Chuck Schumer voted against the bill for procedural reasons, thus reserving himself the right to call it up again.)

But Murkowski said that while the changes were helpful, theyre not sufficient to convince most of her Republican colleagues.

Theyre not enough to get more Republicans on to allow it to be this bipartisan bill, so Ive got some work to do, Murkowski said in an interview. I accept that ... I need to keep up my level of engagement with the colleagues that weve been working with, but also to try to do more one-on-one with Republican colleagues.

Liberal activists have continued to beat the drum about eliminating or modifying the filibuster so Democrats can pass voting rights legislation. On Wednesday, a handful were arrested protesting outside the White House, in what has now become a fairly regular occurrence.

While progressives widely viewed Democrats other elections and ethics reform as the vehicle to kill the filibuster, theres no sign that Manchin or his colleague Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) will relax their opposition to scrapping the 60-vote threshold required to quash a minority-party blockade of most bills in the upper chamber. And Manchin has already indicated he does not support a carve-out just for voting.

Following the failed vote, Schumer said that Democrats "will continue to fight for voting rights and find an alternative path forward, even if it means going at it alone." Earlier in the day, Schumer huddled with Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) about having "family discussions" with their colleagues about how to "restore the Senate" and pass the legislation.

We need two people to change their minds, said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). At least two Democrats need to change their minds on the filibuster.

The latest machinations on Capitol Hill also come at a tenuous time for election reformers in a Democratic bastion: New York. On Tuesday, New Yorkers voted on a pair of state propositions that would have cleared the way for permanent no-excuse absentee voting in the state and same-day voter registration. Both are core tenants of Democrats broader stalled elections bill, the Freedom to Vote Act.

Yet both appear headed for a defeat in the Empire State and are trailing significantly in the votes counted so far. While the yet-to-be-tallied absentee votes are expected to close that gap, the growing assumption in the state is that they will ultimately fail.

While Democrats praised Murkowski for supporting Wednesdays Lewis bill, most view her as an exception.

Were not getting anybody except Lisa, Kaine said. We got to talk with each other, but theres no stone thats been left unturned in the effort to try to find Republican votes.
Nov. 3NASHVILLE  It's fast approaching decision time for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee as a raft of bills passed by his fellow Republicans in the legislature last week begin arriving on his desk, measures intended to rein in COVID-19 precautions from businesses as well as federal and local governments.

The main bill, an omnibus measure which seeks to weaken or even eliminate vaccine requirements by businesses and government, makes it tougher for schools and local governments to impose mask requirements and much more. It was sent to Lee's office on Tuesday, legislative records show.

"Our teams are evaluating that, every piece of that bill, and they're briefing me on it on a daily basis," Lee told reporters Tuesday. "There's a lot to it, and we're looking at multiple aspects of that to make sure everything is as it should be."

Once a bill arrives, Lee has 10 days  excluding Sundays  to sign or veto each bill or allow it to become law without his signature.

"I think that what we're seeing is a response by the legislature, specifically to the mandates and particularly mandates from the federal government," Lee said. "When you have government overreach from the federal government, then you have response to that, and that's what's happened here."

But while GOP lawmakers rattled their swords at the Biden administration and its planned requirement for employers with 100 or more workers to impose COVID-19 vaccination requirements, they also went after state and local government policies, public school systems and boards as well as the state's six locally governed and appointed county health departments, including Hamilton County's.

Republicans have bristled over mask mandates and closure of businesses, especially in Shelby County and Metro Nashville. School board mask mandates there rankled GOP lawmakers as well.

The issue has been more muted in Hamilton County, which allowed parents to excuse their children from a mask mandate even before Lee issued an executive order requiring all school districts to offer that same option to parents.

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One of Republicans' measures ends local appointments of the health director in the six counties. If it becomes law, the county mayor would submit a list of nominees to the state health commissioner who would select one of them or ask a mayor to submit more. In Hamilton County, the head of the health department handed over the decision to impose mask requirements and closures to County Mayor Jim Coppinger, who called the shots.

The bill approved by GOP lawmakers no longer blocks all mask requirements as originally planned. But it does say governmental entities and public schools may only require masks when a county has at least 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the previous two weeks. It's a rolling 1% average with the 1,000 figure needing to be met every two weeks. Critics say it is too high a standard. The bill also requires locals to offer religious and medical exemptions.

State or local governments entities such as schools and even private businesses could no longer require proof of COVID-19 vaccination despite President Joe Biden's expected rule requiring vaccinations or weekly testing for entities with 100 or more workers.

Republicans backed off from their efforts to block employers from issuing mask mandates. That came after Ford Motor Co., which is building a new $5.6 billion operation in West Tennessee, as well as Volkswagen in Chattanooga and General Motors warned masks were what has allowed them to remain open during the pandemic.

Other provisions still have businesses concerned.

Language allows contractors whose federal funding would be at risk to apply to state Comptroller Jason Mumpower's office for a waiver from the state provision against vaccine requirements. Mumpower is to establish guidelines on what documentation is required to establish the company's case. The approved legislation also created exemptions from the ban on vaccine requirements for many health care providers if they participate in Medicare or Medicaid.

In response to a question about how he as a businessman feels regarding the restraints some bills place on private employers embodied in some of the bills, Lee, who headed a large home-and-business maintenance firm, said the question would better be posed to those currently operating the family-owned company.

Still, he acknowledged in response to a reporter's question, "I'm looking at this legislation to see the specifics of that and how it interacts with business.

"But there's a real balance there, listening to the people  the people includes businesses, they include individuals, they include groups. So that's the process that's happened here," Lee said.

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.
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Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday virtually flagged off IndiGo's flights on Bhopal-Raipur and Bhubaneswar-Jaipur routes, a statement said. Both the flights will operate three times a week, IndiGo's statement said. IndiGo chief strategy and revenue officer Sanjay Kumar said, "Direct connections between Raipur and Bhopal will cater to the regional travel demand between the two states, while augmenting inter and intra-regional accessibility."

On Bhubaneswar-Jaipur flights, he said the introduction of these direct connections will not only bolster the airline's domestic network, but also cut down the travel time between the two states by more than 50 per cent. Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan also attended the occasion over virtual platforms.

Also read: IndiGo operates maiden Shillong-Dibrugarh direct flight

IndiGo Airlines will be operating flights between Bhubaneswar and Jaipur thrice a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. "I feel honoured to have inaugurated the direct flight between the capital cities of Odisha and Rajasthan... This will boost tourism potential and ensure exchange of culture," the civil aviation minister said.

Scindia also said that efforts are underway to enhance the passenger handling capacity at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar from 25 lakh to 35 lakh with an investment of Rs 200 crore. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, on the occasion, said that tourists in Rajasthan will also get an opportunity to visit Odisha.

The direct flight will boost the tourism prospects of both the states, he maintained. Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan on September 17 had written to Scindia seeking his intervention for the commencement of flight services between the two cities.

"I thank Scindia Ji and all staff of his ministry for making this (direct flight services) happen. I also thank the authorities of Indigo," Pradhan said. Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, who was at the airport during the inauguration, said she has further urged the civil aviation minister to provide direct flight services from Bhubaneswar to Jammu, Shirdi and Guwahati.

IndiGo's Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer Sanjay Kumar, on his part, said the new domestic flight will strengthen regional connectivity and promote trade, commerce, as well as tourism.

"We are pleased to initiate direct connectivity between the temple city of Bhubaneswar and the pink city of Jaipur. We are committed to providing an affordable, on-time, safe and hassle-free travel experience," he added.

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New Delhi: UK-based Cairn Energy PLC on Wednesday said it has agreed to drop litigations to seize Indian properties in countries ranging from France to the UK as it has accepted the Indian government's offer to settle tax dispute relating to the levy of taxes retrospectively.

Meeting the requirements of new legislation that scraps levy of retrospective taxation, the company has given required undertakings indemnifying the Indian government against future claims as well as agreeing to drop any legal proceedings anywhere in the world.

The government now has to accept this and issue Cairn a so-called Form-II, that will commit it to refund the tax collected to enforce the retrospective tax demand. Following the issue of Form-II, Cairn will withdraw legal proceedings and will get a refund of Rs 7,900 crore.

Cairn said its undertaking shall be treated as having never been furnished if the Principal Commissioner for Income Tax either rejects the undertaking given by it in Form No.1 under rule 11UE(1) or the intimation of withdrawal given under rule 11UF(3), or declines to grant the refund.

Only after the refund is issued will the new legislation will be seen as working in the eyes of foreign investors.

In a statement, Cairn said it has "entered into undertakings with the Government of India in order to participate in the scheme introduced by recent Indian legislation, the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021, allowing the refund of taxes previously collected from Cairn in India."

"Subject to certain conditions, the Taxation Amendment Act nullifies the tax assessment originally levied against Cairn in January 2016 and orders the refund of Rs 7,900 crore which was collected from Cairn in respect of that assessment," it said.

Seeking to repair India's damaged reputation as an investment destination, the government in August enacted new legislation to drop Rs 1.1 lakh crore in outstanding claims against multinationals such as telecom group Vodafone, pharmaceuticals company Sanofi and brewer SABMiller, now owned by AB InBev, and Cairn.

About Rs 8,100 crore collected from companies under the scrapped tax provision are to be refunded if the firms agreed to drop outstanding litigation, including claims for interest and penalties. Of this, Rs 7,900 crore is due only to Cairn.

Subsequent to this, the government last month notified rules that when adhered to will lead to the government withdrawing tax demands raised using the 2012 retrospective tax law and any tax collected in the enforcement of such demand is paid back.

For this, companies are required to indemnify the Indian government against future claims and withdraw any pending legal proceedings.

"In order to satisfy those conditions, Cairn will commence the filing of the necessary documentation under rule 11UF(3) of the Indian Income Tax Rules 1962(Rules) intimating the withdrawal, termination and/or discontinuance of various enforcement actions," the firm said in the statement.

Cairn said it is working collaboratively with the Government of India towards expediting the refund within the process of the Tax Amendment Act Rules.

From the refund it gets from the Indian government, Cairn will pay a previously announced special dividend in early 2022.

"Pursuant to the undertakings issued under clause (a) of Rule 11UE of the Indian Income Tax Rules, 1962, Cairn UK Holdings (together with its parent company Cairn Energy PLC as an 'Interested Party') hereby confirms that any claims arising out of or relating to the relevant order(s) (as defined in the Rules) or any related award, judgment or court order, no longer subsist," it said.

The two have given an undertaking to "forever irrevocably forgo any reliance on any right and provisions under the awards, judgments and court orders."

Also, "given a complete release of the Republic of India and any Indian Affiliates with respect to the awards, judgement and court orders and with respect to any claims pertaining to the relevant order(s), as well as an indemnity in respect of any claims brought against the Republic of India or any India affiliate, including by related parties or interested parties," it said.

Cairn said the undertaking "confirmed that they will treat any such awards, judgement and court orders as null and void and without legal effect to the same extent as if they had been set aside by a competent court and will not take any action or initiate any proceeding or bring any claim based on that."

The August legislation canceled a 2012 policy that gave the tax department power to go back 50 years and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India.

The 2012 legislation was used to levy a cumulative of Rs 1.10 lakh crore of tax on 17 entities including UK telecom giant Vodafone but nearly 98 per cent of the Rs 8,100 crore recovered in enforcing such a demand was only from Cairn.

An international arbitration tribunal in December overturned a levy of Rs 10,247 crore in taxes on a 2006 reorganisation of Cairn's India prior to its listing, and asked the Indian government to return the value of shares seized and sold, dividend confiscated and tax refund withheld. This totaled USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty.

The government initially refused to honour the award, forcing Cairn to identify USD 70 billion of Indian assets from the US to Singapore to enforce the ruling, including taking flag carrier Air India Ltd to a US court in May. A French court in July paved the way for Cairn to seize real estate belonging to the Indian government in Paris. Also Read: RBI commits to integrating climate-related risks into fin stability monitoring activities

All these litigations will be dropped. Also Read: Diwali Offer: Buy iPhone 13 at just Rs 55,900 effectively, check how to avail deal

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New Delhi: Megastar Shah Rukh Khan's 56th birthday on November 2 literally illuminated the whole world. Dubai's Burj Khalifa honoured the king of hearts and was lit up beautifully last night. Extending all the love to SRK, fans made it a top trend and showered immense appreciation too.

Check out the video where Burj Khalifa lights up for King Khan on his birthday:

Also, here are some of the best fan reactions to it:

When the Biggest star shines on the Tallest building in the world for consecutive 3rd time! The worldwide love continues to pour and he deserves all the love & happiness in the world. #ShahRukhKhan #BurjKhalifa pic.twitter.com/4KMYk4KkgX  Jagatjit (@iamJagatjit45) November 3, 2021

SRK on #BurjKhalifa again. The love people from all around the world have for SRK is at another level pic.twitter.com/cbRkbwKWPU  Gurdeep (@Gurdeep_0701) November 2, 2021

This time SRK had a private celebration it seems and despite a huge crowd waiting for him outside his residence Mannat, the actor was not seen anywhere around. His famous wave from the balcony was also missed by many.

However, several reports suggested that Shah Rukh and his family ushered in his birthday celebrations together in Alibaug.

No photo or video of the celebration has come out as yet.

Many celebs wished the actor on his special day and thronged social media with birthday messages.

Recently, SRK's son Aryan Khan was granted bail in the cruise party drugs case and was back home after three long weeks.
New Delhi: Immediately after returning to India after attending the G20 Summit and COP26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually hold a review meeting with districts having low COVID-19 vaccination coverage on Wednesday.

The PM will hold the review meeting with 40 DM around 12 noon. As per an official statement from the Prime Minister`s Office, the meeting will include districts with less than 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Prime Minister will interact with District Magistrates of over 40 districts in Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, and other States with districts having low vaccination coverage. Chief Ministers of these States will also be present on the occasion, it added.

Meanwhile, India`s COVID-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 106.88 crore, as per data available on CoWIN portal. The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 107 crore on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said. As many as 37,38,574 doses were administered till 7 pm.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of final reports for the day by late night, the Ministry said.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said 78 per cent of India's eligible population has been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 38 per cent have received both the shots.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry underlined.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1.

The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the COVID-19 vaccination drive needs to be taken door-to-door now and stressed the importance of completing the inoculation by taking the second dose. Cautioning against any laxity after surpassing the milestone of 1 billion vaccine doses, Modi said "a new crisis can come" and quoted a saying to assert that one should not underestimate "diseases and enemies as they should be fought till the very end".

He called for equal attention to taking the second dose of the Covid vaccine, noting that whenever the cases of infection start decreasing, the feeling of urgency among people decreases.

Modi made the remarks as he interacted with district magistrates of over 40 districts spread across Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, and other states with districts having low vaccination coverage.

Talking about the issue of rumours and misunderstandings about Covid vaccination, he said awareness is the only solution for this and asked the state officials to take help from religious leaders in this regard.

The prime minister noted that religious leaders are very enthusiastic about the vaccination campaign.

Recalling his meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican a few days ago, he called for a special emphasis on taking the message of local religious leaders on vaccines to the public.

"Make short videos of them (local leaders) of 2-3 minutes and make their videos popular, make them reach every house," Modi said.

READ | Narendra Modi warns of 'new crisis' despite record 1 billion vaccination

Speaking to the officials, he urged them to change gears from making arrangements earlier for taking people to the vaccination centres and getting them safely vaccinated to now administering vaccines door-to-door.

Modi urged the health workers to reach every house with the passion of 'har ghar tika, ghar-ghar tika' (vaccine at every doorstep). He also urged the officials to work with the spirit of 'har ghar dastak' (knocking on every door) to ensure full vaccination of both doses. "Now we are preparing to take the vaccination campaign to each household. With the mantra of 'har ghar dastak', every household lacking the security net of a double dose of vaccine will be approached," he said.

The prime minister cautioned that while reaching out to every house, equal attention needs to be paid to the second dose along with the first dose of the vaccine. "You will have to contact those people who have not taken the second dose despite the stipulated time on a priority basis...Ignoring this has created problems for many countries in the world," he said.

He said Diwali is being celebrated after the important milestone of administering 1 billion doses and people should move forward with the resolve that they would celebrate Christmas after achieving new goals.

READ | Kedarnath prepping up to welcome PM Narendra Modi on November 5

Immediately after returning from his visit to Italy and Glasgow to attend the G20 and COP 26 meetings, the prime minister held the review meeting which included officials of districts with less than 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose of Covid vaccine. During the meeting, the district magistrates gave an account of the issues and challenges being faced in their districts, which has resulted in low vaccination coverage, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

They highlighted issues like rumours resulting in vaccine hesitancy, difficult terrain, and challenges created due to prevailing weather conditions in recent months, it said.

The officials also presented an account of the steps that have been taken by them till now to overcome these challenges and also shared good practises adopted by them which has led to increase in coverage.

During the interaction, the prime minister also discussed the issue of vaccine hesitancy and the local factors behind it in detail. He discussed a wide array of ideas that can be implemented for ensuring 100 per cent vaccination coverage in these districts.

Modi spoke about maximising community engagement through religious and community leaders, the statement said.

He exhorted all officials to ensure that the country widens its vaccination coverage by the end of the year and enters the new year with renewed self belief and confidence.

At the meeting, the Union Health Secretary gave an overview of the vaccination coverage in the country and also an account of balance vaccine dose availability in the states.

The official also talked about special vaccination campaigns being run in the states to further improve vaccination coverage.

Addressing the meeting, the prime minister thanked the present chief ministers and said that their attention will encourage the district to work with more determination.

Modi said in this biggest pandemic of the century, the country faced many challenges, but added that "one special thing in the country's fight against Corona was that we found new solutions and tried innovative methods".

He urged the administrators to work more on new innovative ways to increase vaccination in their districts.

Modi noted that even the better performing districts had similar challenges but they were met with determination and innovation. He asked the officials to develop micro strategies, keeping in mind the experience so far to go for saturation of vaccination by addressing the gaps at the local level.

Modi asked the district officials to make different strategies for each village, each town in the districts, if need be. "We all have many months of experience related to vaccination. We have learned a lot and even our Asha workers have also learned how to fight with an unknown enemy. Now you have to move ahead while making micro-strategy.

He suggested this can be done by forming a team of 20-25 people depending on the region. Modi also suggested trying to have a healthy competition in the teams that have been formed. Exhorting the officials to prepare region-wise timetables for local goals, the prime minister said, "You will have to do your best to take your districts nearer the national average."

Modi also asked officials to take the help of NCC and NSS volunteers.

The prime minister suggested to the officials that they could take the help of women workers in the government, and women police personnel in the vaccination drive and sometimes take them along for this work for 5-7 days. He emphasised that under the 'Free Vaccine for all' campaign, India created a record of administering about 2.5 crore vaccine doses in a day, and said this feat bears testimony to India's capabilities.

He asked the district officials to learn from good practices of their colleagues in better performing districts and emphasised approaches suitable for the local needs and the environment should be adopted.

Several chief ministers, including Maharashtra's Uddhav Thackrey, and Chhattisgarh's Bhupesh Baghel, were present at the meeting.

The prime minister lauded the chief ministers for their commitment to achieve the goal of 100 per cent vaccination in their respective states.

Modi also stressed on communication strategy for the vaccine drive, stressing the use of local language and dialects. "I am sure, with your joint efforts, the vaccination situation in your districts will improve very soon. Come, let us make the vaccine campaign successful by going door-to-door," he said.

He also urged the people of the country to come forward and not only get themselves vaccinated but also work to get others vaccinated.

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New Delhi: The Central government on Wednesday (November 3) rushed high-level teams to nine states/UTs having a high caseload of Dengue to assist them in public health measures for control and management of the disease. These nine states/UTs are Haryana, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir.

A total of 15 states/UTs reporting their maximum cases in the current year, and these states contribute 86% of the countrys total dengue cases till 31st Oct, according to the government.

The development comes in accordance with the directions of the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya during the review meeting on the dengue situation held here on November 1.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a higher number of cases in some states were reported in October this year as compared to a number of cases during the same period in the previous year.

It said, "A total of 15 states/UTs are reporting their maximum cases in the current year. These states contribute 86 per cent of the country`s total dengue cases till October 31," adding that a total of 1,16,991 dengue cases are being reported by states and UTs across the country.

The ministry informed that the high-level teams are asked to assist and support states to mount an effective public health response.

In addition, they also need to report on the status of vector control, availability of kits and medicines, early detection, availability and use of insecticides, the status of anti-larval and anti-adult vector control measures etc.

Earlier on Monday, Mandaviya held a review meeting in Delhi over the management of dengue cases, wherein he directed health officials to help the states in the matter.

Highlighting the urgency of intervention, Mandaviya pointed out that many poor people are affected by dengue who are weakened due to low platelet count.

The Union minister said, "Primary health care centres may prescribe antipyretic drugs to suppress the symptoms without addressing the root cause which may lead to the eventual demise of the patient," adding that testing is the most important step for identifying dengue.

He, thereafter, directed officials to ramp up testing so that all cases are reported and treated properly, and stressed the need for effective coordination between the Centre and states. The Union Health Minister also requested Delhi officials to look into the possibility of repurposing COVID beds to treat Dengue.

(With Agency Inputs)

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Glasgow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-day foreign visit to Rome, Italy and Glasgow, UK concluded on Tuesday, after enhancing India`s self-declared renewable energy commitments at COP26 in Glasgow, and outlining India`s position on global issues at G20 Summit.

Before departing for India following his 5-day visit to the United Kingdom and Italy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with members of the Indian community in Glasgow. Amid cheers and slogans of `Bharat Mata ki Jai`, a huge crowd of people dressed in Indian attire greeted Prime Minister Modi with folded hands at the premises of the hotel where the prime minister was staying.

#WATCH PM Modi plays the drums along with members of the Indian community gathered to bid him goodbye before his departure for India from Glasgow, Scotland (Source: Doordarshan) pic.twitter.com/J1zyqnJzBW  ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2021

Among the group were several children and PM Modi reached out to interact with them, shaking hands and giving hi-fives to some older kids. He was also seen holding one cheerful toddler.

#WATCH PM Narendra Modi interacts with young children as he departs from the hotel in Glasgow for the airport to return to India (Source: Doordarshan) pic.twitter.com/iT6b4o1AX3  ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2021

As PM Modi was departing for the airport, members of the Indian community bid him farewell to the accompaniment of the beats of drums and loud cheering. PM Modi also played along a few beats with the enthusiastic drummers who were dressed in traditional kurta pyjama and turbans as members of the Indian community gathered to bid him goodbye before his departure for India from Glasgow, Scotland.

PM Modi delivered a "seminal" statement at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) highlighting the range and depth of climate actions taken by India along with future goals that the country has set for itself at the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.

Addressing COP26 address on Monday, Prime Minister Modi announced five "amrit tatva" including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070. He declared that India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030.

Highlighting India`s efforts to combat climate change, PM Modi stated that India is the only major economy that has worked and delivered on the Paris commitments both in letter and spirit. Noting that climate change is a "big threat" to the existence of some developing nations, PM Modi said that he feels it`s his duty to raise the voice of developing countries.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi and British Prime Minister Johnson launched the Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative in Glasgow. The launch was part of the India-UK Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

PM Modi also attended the launch event of Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States and announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will build a special data window for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring through satellite.

He also participated in the Build Back Better for the World (B3W) event and laid stress on four aspects in infrastructure creation including sustainable and transparent finance that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

In Rome, Italy, PM Modi attended the G20 Summit and held several bilateral meetings with top world leaders. PM Modi met with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the 16th G20 Summit. During the meeting, leaders of India and the EU reviewed a wide range of issues covering political and security relations, trade and investment.

During his Rome visit, PM Modi also interacted with the community members from various organisations including representatives of the Sikh community.

Prime Minister Modi also held various bilateral meetings with several heads of the state on the sidelines of the G20. He met German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. In Rome, Prime Minister also met Indonesia President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong.

The Prime Minister also met French President Emmanuel Macron and the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership.

While attending the three sessions on issues like Global Economy, Climate Mitigation and Sustainable Development, Prime Minister highlighted how India has always been serious about its global obligations, emphasising the need to recognise Indian vaccines at the earliest.

He backed the 15% minimum corporate tax rate which will prove to be a vital step in making the global financial architecture fairer. Emphasising the need for Climate Mitigation and Climate Justice, Prime Minister presented three actionable points in front of G-20 partners.

On Monday, Prime Minister Modi announced five "amrit tatva" at the COP26 Summit including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070, while delivering the National Statement.

He said that India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030.Underlining the concerns of the developing nations at the COP26 the prime minister announced the one-word moment, LIFE...L, I, F, E, i.e. Lifestyle For Environment while delivering the National Statement on Monday.

India, UK plan to connect world's green power grids

Britain and India launched a plan on Tuesday to improve connections between the world`s electricity power grids to accelerate the transition to greener energy. Linking the grids would allow parts of the world with excess renewable power to send it to areas with deficits. For instance, countries, where the sun has set, could draw power from others still able to generate solar electricity, said a Reuters report.

Launched at the COP26 climate talks in Scotland, the "Green Grids Initiative" was backed by more than 80 countries and could set a model for how rich countries help poorer ones to reduce their emissions and meet the goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial norms.

"If the world has to move to a clean and green future, these interconnected transnational grids are going to be critical solutions," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement.

Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously outlined the trans-national grid effort. On Monday also Modi said his country would reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, two decades later than scientists say is needed.

Notably, the COP26 Summit is being held from October 31 to November 12 under the Presidency of the UK partnering with Italy. The high-level segment of COP-26, titled the World Leaders` Summit (WLS), was held from November 1-2. Heads of state/government of more than 120 countries attended the summit.

India calls for hike in climate finance to 1 trillion dollars

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday called upon the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries and urged that climate finance cannot continue at the levels decided in 2009 and should be increased to at least 1 trillion dollars to meet the goals of addressing climate change.

Speaking at the Ministerial meeting of the LMDC held on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow, Yadav underlined the unity and strength of LMDC as fundamental in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations to preserve the interest of the Global South in the fight against climate change.

The participating countries in the meeting included India, China, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Yadav highlighted that recognition of the current challenges being faced by developing countries required intensified multilateral cooperation, not intensified global economic and geopolitical competition and trade wars.

(With Agency Inputs)

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Glasgow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi played the drums on Tuesday and interacted with several members of the Scottish Indian community who had gathered to bid him farewell before he left for India, after his two-day visit to Glasgow for the United Nations COP26. Climate Change Summit.

As Prime Minister Modi departed for the airport, he was greeted with rhythmic drumming and enthusiastic cheers, as a huge crowd  many dressed in traditional Indian clothing and turbans  gathered for him to say goodbye before leaving for India.

In addition to shaking hands and greeting several members of the community, PM Modi joined in the festivities and played the drums for a few beats alongside the drummers, who cheered him on.

PM @narendramodi with the Indian community in Glasgow. pic.twitter.com/OkC50F2uaL  Prasar Bharati News Services .... (@PBNS_India) November 2, 2021

PM Modi also interacted with several families in the crowd, affectionately patting some of the children on the head and reaching out to shake hands with some of the younger ones in the group

A few in the crowd even got autographs.

During his visit, PM Modi held several bilateral meetings with his counterparts of the UK, Israel, Nepal, Italy, France among others. Prime Minister announced five "amrit tatva" at the COP26 Summit including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070, while delivering the National Statement on Monday.

He said that India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030. Underlining the concerns of the developing nations at the COP26 the prime minister announced the one-word moment, LIFE...L, I, F, E, i.e. Lifestyle For Environment while delivering the National Statement on Monday.

COP-26 is being held from October 31 to November 12 under the Presidency of the UK partnering with Italy. The high-level segment of COP-26, titled the World Leaders Summit (WLS), was held from November 1-2.

Heads of state/government of more than 120 countries attended the summit. On Tuesday, the Prime Minister also attended the launch event of Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States here and announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will build a special data window for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to get timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring through satellite.

He also participated in the Build Back Better for the World (B3W) event on Tuesday and laid stress on four aspects in infrastructure creation including sustainable and transparent finance that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

On the sidelines of COP-26, the Prime Minister met various leaders including, UP PM Boris Johnson, Nepal`s counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and others. Earlier on Saturday and Sunday, PM Modi participated in the G20 summit in Rome. He also met outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indonesian President Joko Widodo here on the sidelines of the G20.

On Saturday, PM Modi had met Pope Francis and presented him a silver candle stand and a book on India`s commitment to the environment during their meeting at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. Prime Minister also invited Pope to visit India during a "very warm" meeting at the Vatican City which lasted for an hour.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to the country on Wednesday (November 3) after concluding his visit to Rome (Italy), Vatican City and Glasgow (Scotland). At COP26 summit in Glasgow, the prime minister enhanced India`s self-declared renewable energy commitments and outlined the country's position on global issues at G20 Summit.

During his COP26 address on Monday, Prime Minister Modi announced five "amrit tatva" including the target to attain net-zero emissions by 2070. He declared that India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030.

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to the country after concluding his visit to Rome (Italy), Vatican City and Glasgow (Scotland). pic.twitter.com/xwYwbjJi3h  ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2021

At the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, PM Modi delivered a "seminal" statement at the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) and highlighted the range and depth of climate actions taken by India along with future goals that the country has set for itself.

Highlighting India`s efforts to combat climate change, PM Modi stated that India is the only major economy that has worked and delivered on the Paris commitments both in letter and spirit.

He also participated in the Build Back Better for the World (B3W) event and laid stress on four aspects in infrastructure creation including sustainable and transparent finance that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi and British Prime Minister Johnson launched the Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative in Glasgow. The launch was part of the India-UK Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

PM Modi also attended the launch event of Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States and announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will build a special data window for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring through satellite.

The 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) is the first major summit that was held physically, where more than 120 countries participated after the COVID-19 pandemic.

PM Modi also held various bilateral meetings with several heads of the state on the sidelines of the G20. He met German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Pope Francis, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In Rome, Prime Minister also met Indonesia President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. The Prime Minister also met French President Emmanuel Macron. Emmanuel Macron and the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership.

"Departing from Glasgow after two days of intense discussions about the future of our planet. India has not only exceeded the Paris commitments but has now also set an ambitious agenda for the next 50 years," tweeted PM Modi.

Departing from Glasgow after two days of intense discussions about the future of our planet. India has not only exceeded the Paris commitments but has now also set an ambitious agenda for the next 50 years.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 2, 2021

India calls for hike in climate finance to 1 tn dollars

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav has called upon the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries. He also urged that climate finance cannot continue at the levels decided in 2009 and should be increased to at least 1 trillion dollars to meet the goals of addressing climate change.

Speaking at the Ministerial meeting of the LMDC held on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow, Yadav underlined the unity and strength of LMDC as fundamental in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations to preserve the interest of the Global South in the fight against climate change. The participating countries in the meeting included India, China, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Yadav highlighted that recognition of the current challenges being faced by developing countries required intensified multilateral cooperation, not intensified global economic and geopolitical competition and trade wars.

The Minister also appreciated the efforts of the Third World Network (TWN) for its support to LMDC and expressed the need to ensure resources to TWN. Yadav called upon the LMDC countries to work closely to protect the interests of developing countries, including the need to ensure a balanced outcome with equal treatment to all agenda items including finance, adaptation, market mechanisms, response measures, and decisions on the delivery of transfer of environment-friendly technologies.

The countries collectively underscored that it needs to be ensured that the voices of the LMDC countries are heard loud and clear. The developed countries must provide means of implementation to developing countries in terms of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building.

They highlighted the empty promises of the developed countries and the inability to deliver the USD 100 billion per year by 2020. They also called upon the speedy finalisation of the Paris Rulebook.

(With Agency Inputs)
New Delhi: India reported 11,903 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours and the country's active count has now dropped to the lowest in 252 days, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday (November 3, 2021) morning.

Active infections now account for less than 1% of the total cases and currently stand at 1,51,209.

#Unite2FightCorona  India's Active Caseload (1,51,209) constitute 0.44% of Total Cases. pic.twitter.com/NgXuA7v9Ik  Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) November 3, 2021

India also saw 14,159 coronavirus-related recoveries and 311 deaths in the last 24 hours. The country has now so far recorded more than 3.69 crore recoveries and 4,59,191 fatalities.

On the other hand, with the administration of 41,16,230 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's vaccination coverage has crossed 107.29 crores, as per provisional reports till 7 am on Wednesday. The Health Ministry stated that more than 14.68 crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses are still available with the States and UTs to be administered.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a virtual review meeting with districts having low COVID-19 vaccination coverage on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting will include districts with less than 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

This is noteworthy that over 78 per cent of India's eligible population has been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while around 38 per cent have received both shots.

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New Delhi: Candidates seeking jobs in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) have got a few days to apply for several Assistant Professor, Assistant Director, Assistant Defence Estates Officer, Senior Scientific Officer and Medical Officer posts.

The notification has been released for over 60 vacancies on Commission's official website (upsc.gov.in).

Interested candidates can scroll down to check all the important details.

UPSC Recruitment 2021: Vacancy details?

Assistant Professor (Mechatronics) -- 1

Assistant Defence Estates Officer -- 6

Senior Scientific Officer Grade-II (Armament) -- 3

Senior Scientific Officer Grade-II (Chemistry) -- 3

Senior Scientific Officer Grade-II (Engineering) -- 3

Senior Scientific Officer Grade-II (Gentex) -- 2

Senior Scientific Officer Grade-II (Instrumentation) -- 1

Senior Scientific Officer Grade-II (Metallurgy) -- 2

Senior Scientific Officer Grade-II (Military Explosives) -- 2

Assistant Director (Economist) -- 1

Assistant Director (Information Technology) -- 29

Assistant Director (Horticulture) -- 3

Medical Officer (Ayurveda) -- 3

Medical Officer (Unani) -- 5

UPSC Recruitment 2021: How to apply

Interested candidates can ONLY apply ONLINE at http://www.upsconline.nic.in. Applications received through any other mode will not be accepted by the Commission.

UPSC Recruitment 2021: Last date to apply

Interested candidates can apply till November 11, 2021.

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New Delhi: Bollywood superstar, rather we would say world's biggest superstar Shah Rukh Khan turned 56 years old. As it is no hidden fact that the King Khan and his family have not been in their best time due to Aryan Khan's arrest in a drug seizure case. However, the family got a breather after Bombay High Court granted bail to Aryan in the case, thus allowing his release from the jail, where he was lodged for more than two weeks.

With his son's homecoming from Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail, the Badshah Khan had enough reason to celebrate his birthday on November 2 with his family. However, in a disappointment to his legion of fans, Shah Rukh broke an age-old tradition that he had been following for almost 20 years - that is, stepping up on the parapet of his palatial home Mannat, and waving and blowing kisses to thousands of his fans, gathered outside to catch a glimpse of their favourite superstar. However, the true fans of Shah Rukh must have surely understood the reason behind it and continue to love and support the actor.

But this year, Shah Rukh didn't step out on his balcony to greet his fans, who, like every year, had assembled outside his residence. In fact, according to reports, Shah Rukh Khan's manager asked police officials deployed outside Mannat to disperse fans, for security reasons, who had been waiting there.

Meanwhile, as per India Today, due to the nightmarish events around Aryan Khan in the past month, Shah Rukh and his family decided to celebrate his birthday at his Alibaug farmhouse.

On the work front, Shah Rukh has films like 'Pathan' and another untitled project by Atlee in his kitty.


MUMBAI: Actor Vijay Varma, who was stationed in Varanasi for a 2-month long schedule for an upcoming project, has headed back home to Hyderabad to celebrate Diwali with his family.

Talking about celebrating the festive days with family, Vijay shared, "I am really excited to be back with my family for Diwali. I always looked forward to this festival as a child so I really wanted to celebrate it back home."

He added that he was worried he might not be able to celebrate Diwali with family this year.

"When I had got my schedule for the shoots earlier, I was so worried that I won`t get to go back to Hyderabad for Diwali but luckily, I was able to wrap my schedules on time so I got these 2 days off. Diwali is no fun without family and I had been missing my family a lot when I was stationed in Varanasi these past 2 months for a shoot. The real fun of festivities comes in your own hometown and with your loved ones around so I am just super glad to be here," he shared.

The 'Gully Boy' actor has a bunch of super interesting projects in the kitty, for which he has been shooting non-stop in places like Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

These include, 'Darlings' with his Gully Boy co-star Alia Bhatt, 'Fallen' with Sonakshi Sinha and 'Hurdang' with Nushrratt Bharuccha and Sunny Kaushal besides another untitled project.
New Delhi: The month of November has several holidays --some being observed nation-wide while some local festivities being celebrated across the country. Several bank branches will remain closed in various states owing to these festivities.

Before visiting your bank branch this week, you must note down the list of important days during which banks will remain closed in the coming days.

Starting today (Wednesday), banks will remain closed for total 5 days this week although online banking activities will continue to work. The total number of days when banks in different parts of the country will remain closed is NOT sam for every region. For example bank branches might be closed for Chhath Puja in Bihar but NOT closed for Wangala Festival which is being observed in North-eastern states.

Here the list of bank holidays falling this week in November 2021. Check out the list.

Naraka Chaturdashi: November 3

Diwali Amavasaya (Laxmi Pujan)/Deepavali/Kali Puja: November 4

Diwali (Bali Pratipada)/Vikram Samvant New Year Day/Govardhan Pooja: November 5

Bhai Duj/Chitragupt Jayanti/Laxmi Puja/Deepawali/Ningol Chakkouba: November 6

Sunday -November 7

Holidays of the mentioned days will be observed in various regions according to the state declared holidays, however for the gazetted holidays, banks will be closed all over the country.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mentioned some days when the banking operations will remain closed in the month of November 2021, although online banking activities will continue to work. Reserve Bank of India places its Holidays under three brackets --Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act; Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday; and Banks Closing of Accounts. However, it must be noted that the bank holidays vary in various states as well not observed by all the banking companies. Banking holidays also depend on the festivals being observed in specific states or notification of specific occasions in those states.

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New Delhi: The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme, launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2019, aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions.

Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Now, with the disbursal of 10th installment of the PM-KISAN Scheme around the corner, it is important to know the eligibility. (PM KISAN Scheme documents rules changed, know what to do for registration to reap Rs 6,000 yearly benefits)

Who are eligible to get benefits under the PM-KISAN Scheme? Can both husband and wife claim Rs 6,000/year benefit?

Under the PM KISAN scheme, an income support of 6,000 per year in three equal installments is being provided to all land holding farmer families. Definition of family for the scheme is husband, wife and minor children. Hence, if both the husband and the wife applies for PM Kisan, both can't get Rs 6,000 benefit each. The beneficiary amount is for the entire family, hence either of the two has to give up on the amount.

ln the beginning when the PM-KISAN Scheme was launched (February, 2019), its benefits were admissible only to Small & marginal Farmers' families, with combined landholding upto 2 hectare. The Scheme was later on revised in June 2019 and extended to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings. The Central Government had notified a decision to extend the benefit of Rs 6,000 per year under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers in the country, irrespective of the size of their landholding.

Who are excluded from the PM-KISAN Scheme?

Those excluded from the PM-KISAN include institutional land holders, farmer families holding constitutional posts, serving or retired officers and employees of State or Central government as well as Public Sector Undetakings and Government Autonomous bodies. Professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers as well as retired pensioners with a monthly pension of over Rs 10,000 and those who paid income tax in the last assessment year are also not eligible for the benefits.

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(Reporter: DM Seshagiri)

Tirupati: The legendary Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar's sudden death due to a heart attack left his family, ocean of fan following and friends mourning. The 46-year-old icon was Sandalwood industry's one of the biggest stars and none can fill the void created with his shocking demise.

Several reports suggested that late Puneeth Rajkumar's close friend and Telugu actor Vishal will be taking on one of his philanthropic works which Appu star wanted to do. While talking exclusively to Zee News, Vishal said, "Puneeth being a true friend of mine, I will continue his work for the welfare of those 1800 children who were getting free education, I will invest my own money and energy so that those children don't suffer."

He added, "Yes I am willing to sacrifice my own property for Puneeth's dream". Actor Vishal was clicked at the Shri Padmavathi Temple entrance at Tiruchanoor.

Vishal fill in for the late Puneeth Rajkumar and take care of 1800 orphan girls who were earlier adopted by Appu star. He will sponsor their education as well - a task which Puneeth did in his lifetime.

Puneeth Rajkumar succumbed to a heart attack on October 29, 2021, Friday morning after he was rushed to Vikram hospital in Bengaluru as complained of chest pain.

His mortal remains were laid to rest at the Kanteerava Studio premises on Tuesday, October 31. The Kannada icon was accorded full state honours at his last rites. Puneeth's wife Ashwini, daughters Dhriti and Vandana performed puja along with other members of the family.

An ocean of fan following including top actors, politicians, Chief Minister of the state among other dignitaries bid him a tearful adieu.
New Delhi: If youre planning to buy the latest iPhone 13, then this could be really your chance, as the smartphone is selling at a massive discount, thanks to the Diwali sale. Launched in September 2021, Apple iPhone 13 has remained in high demand as the device packs several new features.

However, iPhone 13s high price makes it unaffordable for many. Such buyers can now buy the smartphone at a discounted price of Rs 55,990. The deal is offered by one of Apples authorized resellers in India, India iStore.

India iStore is offering a discount worth Rs 6000 on HDFC bank credit or debit cards on the purchase of iPhone 13 which is priced at Rs 79,900 for the base 128GB variant. After the Rs 6000 discount, the smartphones price comes down to Rs 73,900.

For buying iPhone 13 at Rs 55,900, youll now have to trade in your old smartphones such as iPhone XR and above. You can trade your iPhone XR for Rs 18,000 and get a total discount of Rs 24,000 on an iPhone 13 purchase.

With all the offers combined, youll be able to buy iPhone 13 at a discounted price of Rs 55,900. Customers can get additional discounts if they trade in their iPhone 11 or iPhone 12 models.

The discounts are also applicable on the purchase of other iPhone 13 smartphones, including iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Max. Moreover, customers can trade in other brand smartphones to upgrade to iPhone 13. Also Read: Nykaa IPO share allotment status: Follow simple steps to check your bids position

iPhone 13 series was launched by Apple in September early this year. The smartphone, which somewhat looks similar to iPhone 12, comes with several new features, including a new camera mode that can be used to shoot high-quality movies. Also Read: RBI commits to integrating climate-related risks into fin stability monitoring activities
Now and then, a new malware emerges. They are mostly unpredictable and a reflection of the porous security systems we have in the world. In 2019, the world battled one such malware. It was known as Agent Smith and was a little different from the regular malware the world was used to. In addition, it appeared to flourish more in India.

2021 makes it two whole years since companies battled with the malware. It is time for these businesses to cast their minds back, assess the problems the malware precipitated, and how to avoid future similar occurrences.

The Angel Smith Malware

Security firm Checkpoint was the first to discover the virus. The firm revealed that it had affected about 25 million devices, with about 15 million in India. It was called Agent Smith because of its mode of operation and its ability to evade detection. The malware also specifically targeted Android devices, exploiting vulnerabilities in that model of devices.

How did it work? The malware silently replaced installed apps with its version. It then used its app versions to show ads for financial gain. However, the uproar about the malware was great then because of its possibility to be used for huge attacks. With its capabilities, it could have been used for credit card theft or even eavesdropping.

The malware was thought to originate from India originally. Indians have always suffered security challenges, even in 2021. In that case, however, it was discovered that Indians suffered the most attacks because the malware was originally downloaded from 9App, a third-party app store.

9App was used by nationals of Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, a huge percentage of its users were Indians. This accounted for the many Indians that were attacked.

The malware was very efficient because it got embedded in Android devices without users even knowing it. It operated with the same model as other malware such as Gooligan, CopyCat, and Hummingbad.

Two years since it was discovered, security threats have not diminished. However, there are crucial lessons to be learned from its emergence and the havoc the single malware wreaked. It is only from learning from past mistakes that threats like that can be neutralized.

The Way Forward

It has been 2 years since the Angel Smith malware-infected millions of devices. However, threats will continue to exist, some of which will be like Angel Smith. So how do Indian organizations and businesses stay ahead of the threats?

Resist Using Third-Party App Stores

Downloading apps from third-party app stores will always be a terrible idea. This is because there will always be threats lurking around on such platforms in a lot of cases. In this case, third-party app 9App was the source of the Angel Smith malware.

Organizations should make it mandatory for employees to download apps only from recognized app stores as a precautionary measure.

Update Apps Periodically

It is always important to update apps periodically. Outdated apps could contain malware in themselves. In addition, they could also leave devices vulnerable to attacks. Software developers improve their software to plug holes and prevent attacks. Hence, when apps are not updated frequently, they compromise devices. One infected device could spell doom for a company. Hence, employers ought to make it a point of duty to update systems frequently. Thankfully, most apps notify you when there is an improved version. Similarly, organizations could automate the update process. This is simply through granting permissions to apps to get updated once there is a new version available. Automating the update process reduces the possibility of malware attacks.

Eliminating Ignorance

Ignorance is perhaps the biggest contributor to attacks. Employees who are unaware of safety tips and strategies end up putting organizations in danger.

Hence, it is imperative to conduct basic tutorials, teaching employees about the common dangers on the internet and how to avoid them. Of course, employees do not need to become tech experts. However, learning the basics about detecting and preventing attacks could go a long way. Now, more than ever, employees need to learn how to detect possible phishing efforts, malware-infested websites, and so on.

Installing Malware-prevention Software

Malware detectors are indispensable in todays world. Firstly, they serve a preventive purpose. They can detect malware and block them. In addition, the apps could also eliminate any malware or virus. There are several antivirus software that organizations can employ. To prevent a future Angel Smith malware, firms need to locate and use the strongest apps. These sorts of apps are subscription-based. Hence, organizations looking to prevent such attacks ought to be willing to expend some money in the process.

Final Thoughts

The Angel Smith malware caused a lot of havoc to Indian Android users. Unfortunately, several years down the line, many individuals and organizations still make the same mistakes that led to the malware. To prevent future attacks, organizations need to be primed to anticipate attacks.

(Brand Desk Content)
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh revealed while dancing with contestant Divyansh on 'Lungi Dance' that he was trying to impress Deepika Padukone while shooting for this track. He was interacting with the contestant in the show 'The Big Picture', hosted by Ranveer.

During the weekend episode, Divyansh will be answering the questions asked by the host Ranveer Singh and also they will be having conversations about their fathers. As Divyansh opens up to Ranveer about how his father has supported him in his struggles, the host also reveals how his father has deeply contributed to his success. Divyansh also told Ranveer that he is the first person from his village to become a Civil Engineer. He hails from Uttar Pradesh.

Both Ranveer and Divyansh in a conversation opened up about their life struggles. Divyansh shared about the hardships his father faced to get him a good education. Ranveer also told how his father struggled financially when he went to study in America. He further mentioned how his father never made him realise the troubles he and his mother went through and can relate to Divyansh's story.

Ranveer also danced with Divyansh on 'Lungi Dance' song. Ranveer revealed that he was trying to impress Deepika Padukone when she was shooting for this song. Ranveer said: "During the shoot of this song, I was on the sets as I was trying to woo Deepika."

'The Big Picture' airs on Colors.
Edinburgh [Scotland]: US President Joe Biden was disappointed with China`s President Xi Jinping for not attending the COP26 climate summit. Speaking at his closing press conference at the COP26 Summit, Biden expressed disappointment over with Chinese actions on climate in Rome, and also the lack of willingness for Chinese President Xi Jinping to show up at either the G20 or COP26 summit.

Joe Biden said, "It was a "big mistake" for China`s President Xi Jinping not to attend COP26. The rest of the world will look to China and ask what value-added are they providing and they have lost in building influence people around the world and all the people here at COP.

Biden said that staying at home may have cost Xi some influence on the world stage, adding "By showing up we`ve had a profound impact on the way I think the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership role. I think it`s been a big mistake quite frankly for China."

#WATCH: It's been a big mistake. The world will look to China & say what value-added they provided. They've lost the ability to influence people... here at COP. Same way I would argue with regard to Russia: POTUS on China, Russia not attending G20 & COP26 (Source: White House) pic.twitter.com/AUrLTTn1Wp  ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2021

Amid the tense relations between US and China, the US President also hit out at Beijing. President Biden said that he is not concerned with the possibility of an armed conflict with China, adding that he`s made clear to Chinese President Xi that this is "competition" not "conflict."

"Am I worried about an armed conflict or something happening accidentally with China? No, I`m not. But as I have said before, and I think we have talked about this. I look at China, and I have spent hours of conversations with Xi, both in person when I was Vice President and since I have been President, at least five or six hours where the conversations on the telephone and I am going to be having a virtual Summit. With him. I have made it clear. This is competition. It does not have to be conflict. I have also indicated to him. I am not reluctant to say publicly that we expect him to play by the rules of the road."

Biden also said that the US would not change its stance on several issues, including international sea lanes."We are not going to change our attitude toward the constitution and the national airspace, international sea lanes, etc. We also made it clear that we have to work on dealing with things like cybersecurity and a whole range of other issues," said US President.

"I am not looking for, I don`t anticipate there will be a need for physical conflict, but you know, as you have heard me say this before, my dad had an expression, `The only conflict worse than one that`s intended, is one that`s unintended," Biden added.

Asked about China, Russia and Saudi Arabia not attending the COP26 Summit in person, Biden said that it was a "problem" but that the US doing so had "a profound impact on the way the rest of the world is looking at the United States and its leadership role."

Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend either major summit this week - G20 and COP26 summits. The given reason for Xi and Putin`s absences at the summits is the ongoing COVID pandemic. Cases are spiking in Russia, and Xi has not left China in 21 months as the virus spread across the world.

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Kabul: The Islamic State has taken the responsibility for the deadly attack on a hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul which killed at least 25 people and injured more than a dozen on Tuesday.

The attack was carried out by armed gunmen and at least one suicide bomber.

The terrorists targetted the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital in one of Kabul`s more affluent neighbourhoods.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the attack was carried out by several members of the Islamic State, including a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives at the gate to the hospital.

A car full of explosives outside the hospital also exploded, wounding dozens, and several Taliban fighters were killed and wounded in the ensuing gun battle, Mujahid said.

The Islamic State Khorasan, also known as ISIS-K, took responsibility for the attack hours later.

One of those killed was Mawlawi Hamdullah Rahmani, a senior commander responsible for the Taliban`s Kabul corps and one of the first Talibs to enter the presidential palace after the government collapsed in August, said Wahidullah Hashimi, a Taliban government official.

The security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated significantly since the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15. ISIS has carried out several attacks including an attack on Kabul Airport during an evacuation by the US forces following the fall of Kabul.

The Taliban`s struggle to bring stability to Afghanistan has been dogged by a series of bloody assaults by ISIS-K.

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Kabul: In a move that is certain to cause further disruption to the Afghanistan economy that is already on the brink of collapse, the Taliban have announced a complete ban on the use of foreign currency in the country.

The new Taliban government has also warned of action for violating the order, according to a report by Al-Jazeera.

"The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) instructs all citizens, shopkeepers, traders, businessmen and the general public to ... conduct all transactions in Afghanis and strictly refrain from using foreign currency," the news channel quoted the statement by Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid as saying.

"Anyone violating this order will face legal action," the statement further read.

According to the channel, the US dollar is the widespread medium of exchange in Afghanistan`s markets.

The bordering areas use the currency of neighbouring countries like Pakistan for trade purposes, reported the news channel.

Notably, Afghanistan`s access to more than USD 9.5 billion has been blocked by the US, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the Taliban take-over in Kabul on August 15.

Millions of Afghans have been internally displaced, and thousands have left the country giving rise to a growing humanitarian crisis.

The country is in a dire economic situation with no international support and connectivity, resulting in an extremely difficult situation for ordinary people.

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Washington: Following rigorous review and authorization process by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday (local time) has formally recommended the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11.

"Today, following a rigorous review and authorization process by the FDA, the CDC has formally recommended the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11. This is encouraging news, and a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus," tweeted US President Joe Biden.

Today, following a rigorous review and authorization process by the FDA, the CDC has formally recommended the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11. This is encouraging news, and a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus. https://t.co/JjaLbqTDTp  President Biden (@POTUS) November 3, 2021

"It will allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others," read White House statement.

Over the last several weeks, the Biden administration has been working hard to be prepared for this moment.

"We are ready to act. We have already secured enough vaccine supply for every child in America, and over the past weekend, we began the process of packing and shipping out millions of pediatric vaccine doses. These doses - specially designed for these younger children - have started to arrive at thousands of locations across the country," read the statement.

The program will ramp up over the coming days and be fully up and running during the week of November 8. Parents will be able to bring their children to thousands of pharmacies, pediatricians offices, schools, and other sites to get vaccinated.

"Because of the groundwork we`ve laid, we can be confident that vaccinations for kids will be available, easy, and convenient," added the statement.

More than 78 per cent of Americans age 12 and older have gotten at least one shot, including millions of teenagers -- and the vaccines have proven to be incredibly safe and effective.

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